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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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I had a 76 Cutlass with the Olds 350 while my wife had the Malibu with the Chevy version. While the Olds was nice on the highway, in town the thing had a huge hesitation problem. You could count to 4 or 5 before acceleration kicked in. It may have been the 4bbl carb. I preferred the Chevy engine and wished my Cutlass had been one of the Chevymobiles because I would have gotten a $500 rebate from GM and a better driving car.
I think the biggest jump was from the W108 o W116.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
At least I never got a speeding ticket until I saved enough to buy a '76 Trans-Am with the 455-4 spd. :shades:
This Bentley T probably sold for around $250K with T&L and all the options....and the price in the ad isn't right...it's just been lowered $10K for a quick sale, so 8 year depreciation is $182K.
What? Did I just type that? :surprise:
At 34,000 miles, how much was that per mile?
Unusual to see one without wires.
Quite the sensation in its day, and quite the bargain, too. People went GA-GA over this car, all over the world, in 1949---especially when you compare it to whatever else was usually seen on the road back then.
About the same price as a Cadillac convertible, but probably the fastest production car in the world at the time.
My 100LS was a great road car---very comfortable, a trooper in the snow and aside from the engine getting hot enough to smelt iron ore, pretty reliable.
My friend Rhonda had one, just like mine except it had no reserve gear---so she'd put a lug wrench with a long lever on a front wheel to leverage it out of her parking space. Clever. I think finally the studs broke off so she had to push it out.
We thought once about combining the two cars since hers had a great interior and a strong engine, and mine a good trans, excellent body.
Then we had another couple beers and forgot about that stupid idea.
Probably most of the 120s sold in the US had them but only a minority of Euro-spec models. Same applies to wire wheels I think. Many early XK-120s came w rear wheels skirted which IMO looks cool.>
Practically every E-Type sold in the US before 1970 came on wires w whitewalls.
The white stripes got skinnier as the years progressed.
I remember trying to talk my buddy into going w blackwalls on his '67 XK-E Coupe (to no avail).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
This is a "man's car"---heavy steering, very clunky gearbox---you had to put some muscle into the car to move it around. The manhole-sized steering wheel helped a lot with leverage.
Batteries were in the fenders I believe, which made for great fun on cold mornings when you had to jump start.
I also had my old beast out, yesterday it received its yearly deep cleaning.
50 years difference in design
Still photogenic after so many years
Turns out he has a 1988 944 Turbo S. With 244K on the clock, so no garage queen! Still takes it to the track events too.
Now I just have to figure out a way to go see it!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The car is almost new..only new seat covers added. It also has the 1920's technology vacuum powered wipers!<img src="
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I did not look back.
After arriving home, I bought new tires so when one of them goes flat, it can be repaired.
They were only 12 year old Michelin X's. :confuse:
Seller reports the following issues:
Needs tires-still rolling on originals currently.
Needs timing belt/water pump replaced-never done apparently.
Left front fender "replaced."
An inop passenger window and leaking windshield washer reservoir, plus...
"a speed dependent noise from the right rear but no vibration – it may indicate a wheel bearing needing repair."
Seller wants $11K. Lacking the performance of your friend's Turbo S, any fun left in a car like this?
The spare tire could be original, for all I know! When my 2000 Intrepid got junked, I held onto its compact spare. Maybe I should throw that in the trunk of the DeSoto, just in case. It uses the same bolt pattern, although I'm sure a tiny compact spare would really throw off the handling.
The tires on my '67 Catalina were at least 14 years old when I finally got them replaced. They were on the car when I bought it back in 1994, and truth be told, they didn't look so hot back then!
I could flatbed a nice 1988 Porsche 944 to your house for about $5500 delivered.
If it were a clean #2 1989 S2 model, maybe $11,000.
Geez, the last thing you want in a Porsche is one that's been sitting around. A Porsche is not discredited or much devalued by high mileage, and low mileage is, IMO, considered a liability to most Porsche buyers.
Just looking at the list I'm seeing $5K in repairs, and that's what we DO know.
Value? Parts car, at least in terms of the formula of "cost to repair vs. cost to buy one already done".
As for fun, I dunno--opening up an old crate like this is scary---what if the engine is NG? Car's totalled right there.
This isn't a Celica. This car is a *b--h* to fix right.
My understanding is that the rubber degrades to the point where tires are no good after seven years. Been thinking about replacing the 10 y/o (never used in regular
rotation) spare in my trunk.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
It's not only safety----they get very hard and inflexible, and give a lousy ride. I suppose for an old farm truck, this doesn't matter, but for a daily commuter, old tires can really ruin the ride. Sometimes people get used to the harsh ride and don't notice the degradation until they get new tires---then, the revelation occurs! :shades:
This one for example.
The turbo you listed is TWICE the car for 2/3 the price. (actually a bit of a steal if it's really nice).
Here's one---clean, professionally rebuilt, chipped, custom wheels, new water pump and timing belt, for $7500 asking price.
http://cars-on-line.com/35056.html
I figure mine is worth $2500 and it has 146K and isn't as nice cosmetically. Of course it has less than 10K miles on the clutch, the water pump/timing belt, injectors and the tires. That is $4K or so of maintenance right there, all of which this other car probably needs. I wouldn't be surprised if it needs motor mounts too among other things.
That, by itself, apparently is worth at LEAST $8,000 :P
In my humble opinion, a person would have to be flat out nuts to pay more than $2500 for this car.
The tragedy of it all is that when you are done, you just have a non-turbo 944, rated a "D" investment in Sports Car Market, with a current yearly depreciation rate of 22%.
I mean, common sense has to prevail here.
My "good luck" is largely because the guy before me took a bath on it. He paid $5400 for it and put more than $4000 of maintenance into it in a little over a year. So, I've been coasting on his $7000 loss.
That's the way to look at it: The Money Pit Calculator or something. :sick:
edited to add: Went back and found posts #12660 and #12662 regarding a 944 discussion 3 years ago in this topic. "Yeah it never ends. A 944 is a car you want to buy only one way, and that is MINT."
The car was in good shape but unfortunately was painted a very non-period medium metallic blue that did nothing for it. It had wire wheels and good chrome (not the wheels, those were painted silver gray).
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
Today I also saw a maybe late 70s-early 80s Alfa Spider with what seemed like a larger than normal rear spoiler. Also spotted an AWD Tempo in a BHPH ad in a used car rag.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
About a week and a half ago, I was in that area and drove down that street, to see if any of them were left. No Tempos to be seen, but there was an older Windstall minivan and an Aspire in the driveway. Dunno if that's a step up, down, or sideways?
From Tempo to Windstall and Aspire...sideways at best. A Tempo might actually be more durable than one of those vans. Ford has certainly improved right along with GM.
Funny you should mention that, as a few weeks ago while on delivery duty I saw not one, but TWO, Land Rover Freelanders parked in a driveway.
Masochists? Perhaps the homeowner is a LR mechanic? There's gotta be a good reason why that is.
The woman who got into the Topaz I saw looked to be 50ish.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93