Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

roadburner

@Mr_Shiftright said:
MAN NEVER SATISFIED....it's true what you say.

Of course, there is such a thing as too much power in a car with a poor chassis and brakes...I believe the term I'm groping for is "Death Trap".

As you know from your time viewing others on the track-- "If you are a lousy driver with 200HP, you're going to be REALLY bad with 400HP".

I've had a lot of turbo and SC cars--the only thing I don't like about some turbos is peakiness---a big ON/OFF switch. Nowadays, "turbo lag" is rather rare in a modern car.

A friend of mine was the BMW Club's national driving event coordinator for years, and he always said that he wished that he could start every novice student out in a dead stock BMW 1600 with 165/80R13 Michelin XAS tires. Students would learn about conserving momentum and threshold braking as well as experience how the friction circle principle works at a relatively low speed. Today's cars are equipped with such effective traction and stability control systems that they can convince a ham-handed driver that he/she actually knows what he/she is doing.

Despite the admonitions from a few hand-wringing bedwetters, RB Jr.'s first car was a 1975 2002- dead stock save for Bilstein HDs, E21 Recaros, and a Weber 32/36 DGAV. I told him that if he drove it for a year with no accidents or tickets I'd allow him to upgrade, and he did- to my wife's 2004 X3. He actually told me that he thought that if he got something fast he'd only get into trouble...

oldfarmer50

What are some people thinking?

I was at the store today and in the parking lot I saw a Nissan pickup that had been entirely painted with what looked like that spray on bed liner stuff.

It looked awful.

I was just getting use to the flat black paint fad....but this?

abacomike

@oldfarmer50‌ said:

"I was just getting use to the flat black paint fad....but this?"

As they say, farmer, "... if you live long enough, you get to see everything!"

ray80

@oldfarmer50 said:
What are some people thinking?

I was at the store today and in the parking lot I saw a Nissan pickup that had been entirely painted with what looked like that spray on bed liner stuff.

It looked awful.

I was just getting use to the flat black paint fad....but this?

Maybe it was that plastidip stuff? Seems to be fairly popular with some (no idea why, but its their vehicles)

oldfarmer50

@ray80 said:
Maybe it was that plastidip stuff? Seems to be fairly popular with some (no idea why, but its their vehicles)

Is that what they call it? I googled "truck painted with bed liner" and came pretty close. The Plasti dip photos didn't look as bad.

http://i722.photobucket.com/albums/ww222/Roadhammer4/bedliner2.jpg

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50 Some of those paint colors available on the Mustang cost extra. Based on my Mom's Fiesta, it is worth it. Her car has extra cost Candy Red paint. It just pops.

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said: I googled "truck painted with bed liner" and came pretty close. The Plasti dip photos didn't look as bad.

Now that truck is what I would call U-G-L-Y.

abacomike

@driver100 said:

"Now that truck is what I would call U-G-L-Y."

That is what you call a 2 cover weather elements vehicle - an extra cover in case the first one blows off.

When you look up UGLY on the dictionary, a picture of that truck is adjacent to the entry word.

stickguy

Someone mentioned gas for the Jetta. The new vw 1.8t motor is designed and recommended to run on regular.

oldfarmer50

@explorerx4 said:
oldfarmer50 Some of those paint colors available on the Mustang cost extra. Based on my Mom's Fiesta, it is worth it. Her car has extra cost Candy Red paint. It just pops.

Yes, the yellow is $495 extra and the red is $395 extra. A mere pittance when you are trying to get your "baby" to look just right.

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said:Yes, the yellow is $495 extra and the red is $395 extra. A mere pittance when you are trying to get your "baby" to look just right.

A bargain I would say. When we looked at A4s in 2008 my wife wanted to know how much it would cost to get an A4 in S4 yellow. Audi would paint the car yellow on the S4 line for $4000!

$495 sounds like a bargain!

jayrider

@oldfarmer50 said:

4-500 bucks may be a pittance for some but for grinders, it represents a challenge that gives meaning to their car shopping souls.

imidazol97

@oldfarmer50 said:

I've had nothing but bad luck. The aforementioned Chevy, 82 Olds, 91 Olds, 84 Corvette and just recently my son's 98 Buick.

I'm sorry that you've had bad luck. I just traded in my 98 with 201,000 and 16 years. If cars were bought used, I wouldn't
know if someone else had used some of the improper additives to try to refill the system or doctor it if something is leaking.
I believe in general GM's AC compressors and systems along with transmissions are well-regarded parts for quality
and reliability. But there will be bad ones just as with all the other groups, even premium vehicles. GM has things they
can be criticized for but I am uneasy when the generalizations are put out and then repeated by others across the platforms
for talk, which tends to smear the parts and brand unfairly.

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said:

Oldfarmer, hold that thought about the Mustang for a second. How about a 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat with 707 horsepower? It comes with 2 ignition keys, one gets you up to 500 hp, the second key gets you to the top.

The Chrysler Group has just announced the official specs for the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and with a shocking, stunning and absolutely amazing 707 horsepower and 650lb-ft of torque, the supercharged Challenger is the most powerful American production car ever –

2015-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat

roadburner

If I buy a modern ponycar it will either be a Boss 302 Laguna Seca or a Hellcat; no other domestics interest me in the slightest.

robr2

@driver100 said:
Now that truck is what I would call U-G-L-Y.

The Line X paint has slowly become a choice for off roaders - it doesn't scratch - or for those who want to look like they off road.

oldfarmer50

@driver100 said:
2015-dodge-challenger-srt-hellcat

Sure gives you the horsepower bragging rights but the Challenger is so heavy that a lot of that power is wasted just getting it moving. At 4200 pounds that's 600-700 pounds more than the Mustang.

Like the Camaro I just can't love the styling. While it's not a bad looking car there's just something that looks a little off about it.

Too bad because as an old Chrysler fan I'd love it to be a winner.

Mr_Shiftright

4200 lbs is a lot of weight and it very much enjoys going straight even if you want to turn.

driver100

@Mr_Shiftright said:
4200 lbs is a lot of weight and it very much enjoys going straight even if you want to turn.

Yeh, but who cares, what time it do 0 to 60 in?

explorerx4

I think the current Challenger with the largest engine weighs about 4200. This one has a lot more hardware. Another thing. How much is it going to cost? The current GT500 is in the 50K range.
2012 800 HP, 2013 958 HP (street version) mustang.com/shelby-1000-hp-mustang-super-snake-to-be-revealed-at-ny-auto-show/

abacomike

@explorerx4‌ said:

"I think the current Challenger with the largest engine weighs about 4200."

Good grief - that's what my Mercedes weighs. That seems like an awful lot of weight for a mid-sized coupe. I'm sure the engine is quite heavy, but what about balance with that much weight up front?

explorerx4

@‌oldfarmer50 Here is a pic of my mom's Fiesta. It was washed a few weeks ago. Notice there is some brake dust on the from wheels. The black Escape in the picture was waxed a couple of weeks ago. https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/bo/h5p4ytqqoxpz.jpg "

oldfarmer50

@explorerx4 said:

@‌oldfarmer50 Here is a pic of my mom's Fiesta. It was washed a few weeks ago. Notice there is some brake dust on the from wheels. The black Escape in the picture was waxed a couple of weeks ago. https://us.v-cdn.net/5021145/uploads/editor/bo/h5p4ytqqoxpz.jpg "

That's a nice red color. Did you wax it for her?

Wasn't the Mazda Tribute the same as the Escape? The reason I ask is that my sister-in-law had a Tribute and last year it suddenly accelerated in reverse and took the corner off a building totaling it. She said it was a recall problem that she neglected to fix.

I had never heard of either car having an UA problem and she suffers from MS so I always wondered if she hit the gas but didn't know it.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50, I did wax the Fiesta a few months ago. The Escape did have a recall for the cruise control, but I think it had to with it not disengaging. I don't think too many people put the cruise control on to drive in reverse.

thebean

Thanks to all that responded to my questions. Lots of good info there, especially the advice to stay away from 1-2 year old lease returns. I am going to take any used car I consider to my mechanic for a good going over. That's money well spent, I think. Still not sold on a turbo, as I don't drive fast much at all and seldom need that quick of an acceleration. Hopefully, the cars I consider will have decent sized 4-bangers.

Your answers have been a huge help. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Larry C

oldfarmer50

Larry,

When you actually buy your car come back and tell us all about it.

bwia

@bwia said:
An exotic purchase may be coming soon

In an earlier post I mentioned that I was considering ordering a used car directly from Japan for my Caribbean home. I am using a local broker and he sent me the below link.

I went through the website and this white 1999 automatic, two-door, 4WD model caught my eye. It looks clean inside and out, especially the headlights. The mileage at 60,800 miles seems very reasonable. Price, including cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) US$ 4,600. http://www.picknbuy24.com/detail/TOYOTA/RAV4/16859.html

Like *Driver100, I want to have my own wheels rather than spend $70.00 a day on rentals. It's a risk but one I am willing to take.

Any thoughts?

Update:

The RAV4 was shipped after going through a 139 point check. Let's hope the checks were other than perfunctory. It will take about two months to get there as the vessel makes numerous stops along the way.

Although the starting price was U.S. $2,550 but after transportation, import duties, environmental tax, and broker's fee, the final drive-off price will be U.S. $13,100. And that is a bargain versus buying locally.

My other alternative was to ship a vehicle from Boston for much less, but it would have been a left-hand drive. Since they drive on the left side of the road in the English-speaking Caribbean islands I wanted a reliable right-hand drive vehicle; thus the complicated procedure of buying directly from Japan. Wish me luck

oldfarmer50

"Although the starting price was U.S. $2,550 but after transportation, import duties, environmental tax, and broker's fee, the final drive-off price will be U.S. $13,100. And that is a bargain versus buying locally."

Wow! Over $10k in fees and taxes on a $2500 car.

I hope transportation was a big part of that.

bwia

@oldfarmer50 said:
"Although the starting price was U.S. $2,550 but after transportation, import duties, environmental tax, and broker's fee, the final drive-off price will be U.S. $13,100. And that is a bargain versus buying locally."

Wow! Over $10k in fees and taxes on a $2500 car.

I hope transportation was a big part of that.

Here is a rough break-down of the final cost:

Cost............................................................. $2,550

Transportation + insurance......................... 2,080

CIF (cost, insurance, freight)...................... 4,630

Port charges (govt. taxes) 148% of CIF..... 6,714

Commissions.............................................. 1,050

Other fees and bribes................................. 707

Total.......................................................... $13,100

oldfarmer50

"Other fees and bribes"

LOL, some things never change.

imidazol97

@bwia said:
Here is a rough break-down of the final cost:

Cost............................................................. $2,550
>
Transportation + insurance......................... 2,080

Good car-buying story. Thanks for posting.

isellhondas

Those fees are beyond NUTS especially the port charges!!

driver100

@thebean said:Still not sold on a turbo, as I don't drive fast much at all and seldom need that quick of an acceleration.

But, if you get the turbo maybe you will learn to drive faster.

Really, if you don't use it there is no sense paying for it and paying more if something goes wrong. I prefer a turbo if I can swing it, I think it is safer being able to accelerate or change lanes....or, sometimes even pass, but if you adjust your driving to the car you are using it isn't a problem.

Good luck and thanks for reporting back, not everyone does which isn't very thoughtful....and, yes, tell us what you buy.

driver100

@bwia said: Although the starting price was U.S. $2,550 but after transportation, import duties, environmental tax, and broker's fee, the final drive-off price will be U.S. $13,100.

Fascinating sales story. How a $2300 car becomes a $13k car.....it's like a magic trick.

What I would keep in mind though, is;

• Your mileage is going to be low so this car could easily last 10 or 20 years, which brings the yearly cost down to $1300 or maybe even $700 a year.

• You may trade the car in one day and you will recoup a lot of that initial payment, so the car will never cost you the full $13K.

• In 10 years that $70 a day to rent a car will be about $140 unless there is serious deflation.

It is a perfect car for getting around in a holiday spot. We have friends who are going to rent a Susuki 4 wheeler for 3 months in Costa Rica.......$1200 a month. They can get a high mileage old big American car for a lot less, but it could break down easily.

Remember, if you leave the car for over 6 to 8 months you may want to add Stab-il to the gas tank and inflate the tires before you leave.

It looks brand new. Enjoy!

explorerx4

@bwia, That has to be the most unique sales story posted here. And congrats on your purchase.

oldfarmer50

@driver100 said:

"$2500 car becomes a$13,000 car"

Makes it easy to understand the stagnant economies in countries like that.

imidazol97

@oldfarmer50 said:
"$2500 car becomes a$13,000 car"

That's the biggest "document" fee we've seen reported here on Edmunds.

Mr_Shiftright

How about importing to the Phillippines? Every car is subject to an average rate of 40% customs duty, around 10-12% VAT and ad valorem tax from 15-100%. (based on piston displacement).

So for a big american boat, it might cost 152% the value of the car PLUS the shipping, insurance, land transport, etc. So a $10,000 car might end costing you about $28.5K

dino001

This import story shows how good we have it here when it comes to cars. Many countries charge king's ransom for those transactions in terms of taxes, which causes volumes to be much lower, which raises prices even higher. Double whammy. So when new car cost double of tripple of prices here, then used market is also smaller, ie residuals are actually higher and that's how it still pays off to import something to those places, even if taxes and fees are quadruppling the starting price.

abacomike

@driver100 said:

"Fascinating sales story. How a $2300 car becomes a $13k car.....it's like a magic trick."

Speaking about car prices around the world, I have a question for you driver:

Let's assume a brand new Mercedes or BMW has a sales price of $60,000 here in the USA. What would that same car cost in Toronto, in US dollars, not Canadian dollars since I don't know the conversion ratio of American to Canadian. In other words, would there be a net difference in pricing? If so, please extrapolate that difference. I'm just curious.

I know my CLS 550 that costs $82,210 here in the US is well over $105,000 in Canada, but there is a difference in the value of Canadian vs. US dollars. That's why I asked you to price that $60,000 car in US dollars here and in Canada.

If there is a significant difference in net costs, what is that due to? Tariffs, duty, etc?

driver100

@abacomike said:I know my CLS 550 that costs $82,210 here in the US is well over $105,000 in Canada, but there is a difference in the value of Canadian vs. US dollars. That's why I asked you to price that $60,000 car in US dollars here and in Canada.

To keep it simple, a car would cost you about 20% more to buy in Canada, without the exchange calculated, because that varies. That 20% is pretty close to the numbers you gave.
The exchange rate varies, right now the U.S dollar is worth about $1.08, or almost another 10% difference.

The Passat cost $23K in Florida, here it would have cost $27 to $28K. And, many cars are built in Canada still cost 20% more here. Some reason are less population so higher costs to ship, real estate is much higher (avg price of a home is about $360k), salaries are higher, taxes are higher, health costs, etc. 20% seems excessive to me, 10% would be more realistic.

From what I can figure out, a car in England will cost about 160% of what a car would cost in the US. Mostly due to built in taxes...those taxes support a very, by US standards, liberal government, and a costly place to live.

Hope that is of some help. I guess that is another reason you are fortunate to live in the US.

driver100

@imidazol97 said:That's the biggest "document" fee we've seen reported here on Edmunds.

Best lol of the day.

abacomike

@driver100 said:

"Hope that is of some help. I guess that is another reason you are fortunate to live in the US."

Yes, driver, thanks!

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said:"$2500 car becomes a$13,000 car"

Makes it easy to understand the stagnant economies in countries like that.

There may be some advantages. Bwia likes to go there to get away from it all. Maybe no highways, traffic, dog eat dog society has some advantages. I don't think it is for me, but, maybe low gross national productivity and a stagnant economy is more enjoyable to some people.

Some people may be content even if they don't have a new Mustang, or 535!

abacomike

@driver100 said:

"Maybe no highways, traffic, dog eat dog society has some advantages. I don't think it is for me, but, maybe low gross national productivity and a stagnant economy is more enjoyable to some people."

If you think about what you said, driver, you've described the perfect vacation spot for those who want to get away from it all - no highways, no traffic, etc. a guy could get used to a place like that very easily.

That's what I loved about living in the Coachella Valley (California Desert Resort Communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, etc). Small communities surrounded by golf courses and tennis courts and isolated from all the hustle and bustle of LA and San Diego, about 30 miles east of San Bernadino.

Ahhhhh - the good life - I really miss it!

sterlingdog

@driver100 said:
There are a few Buick vehicle owners here who said their GM cars have not been recalled. On NBC Nightly News they said every GM model has now been recalled except for the Terrain, Equinox and Volt. I know NBC is supposed to lean to the left (according to some people) but is that story true?

The NBC story can't be true because my '09 Cadillac SRX has NOT been recalled.

Richard

sterlingdog

@imidazol97 said:
In fact, for a time some other companies were using GM's compressors.

I totally agree. I've owned several GM cars and never had a problem with the AC compressor. Also, remember that I live in the South where it is very hot four months out of the year. Our AC systems get plenty of workouts.

Richard

sterlingdog

@roadburner said:
I remember Brock Yates writing that in less than 25 years Mercedes was transformed from a brand that was sold at Studebaker dealers and beloved of eccentric college professors into one of the most respected/aspirational automobiles in the US and the world. BLW followed a similar trajectory from 1955 to 1980, leaving behind the Baroque Angels and Isettas and becoming the marque that was known for building iconic sports coupes and sedans. Of course Munich is now squandering that brand image by trying to be all things to all people, but I digress...

Your post reminds me of a good friend who purchased a new BMW in 1970. He bragged about the quality, performance, outstanding materials and workmanship, etc. His was the only BMW in town and people just laughed and walked away. I think that by now he is the one who has had the last laugh. He recognized something that the rest of us didn't have a clue about in 1970.

Richard

sterlingdog

@abacomike said:
SPEAKING OF HURRICANES

I was pretty amazed that a small, insignificant Low Pressure Area off the coast of St.Augustine, FL, could develop in just 3 days from a "nothing" into a hurricane. Usually these storms organize in the Gulf of Mexico this time of year and later in the hurricane season, off the coast of Africa as they travel across the mid Atlantic toward the East and West Indies.

It's very ominous for a Category 2 hurricane to form so close to the mainland U.S. I understand that the Gulf Stream influenced this fast organization. I thought the El Nino in the Southeast Pacific was going to inhibit hurricane development this year. Guess the meteorologists got that one wrong.

We were at Cape Hatteras and were forced to leave Thursday morning. God was with us because my BIL got much worse Thursday night and we were able to take him to the hospital at home. Hospice has been called in so it won't be long now....oncologist figures about two weeks. We came home yesterday to check on house and wash some clothes. We'll be going back Tuesday. My sister really needs us now.

Richard

sterlingdog

@driver100 said:

When I saw the picture of that truck, I knew that there was no accounting for taste on the part of some people.

Richard