Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

I think I...I mean my wife needs this.

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/sl500/1877462.html

Agree with stick, but if you can wrench it yourself...

fintail

First year R230, all I will say is not without risk.

corvette

stickguy said:

I always liked these from a functional standpoint. Perfect combo of size, utility and driving experience. This one is pretty, miles low, but no way am I going near a 15 YO VW, certainly not a complicated one like this. Too bad there are not many newer alternatives with the same practicality.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2002-volkswagen-passat-4dr_wagon_glx_v6_4motion_automatic-used-15981124.html

I'm surprised the EPA ratings are 19/26, my memory was that the AWD V6 wagon with an automatic had an unusually awful rating like 15/22. Beautiful color, though.

corvette

So, I've booked a "full size" (Chrysler 200 or similar) at the Thrifty rental counter at the San Francisco airport. I think they are owned by Hertz now. Any guesses as to what I will get? Should I switch to a different class?

kyfdx

My local independent mechanic has this for sale:
https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5968060089.html

One of his personal vehicles. (He is big into 4Runners and Toyo pickups).

28firefighter

Depending on how bad the rust is, I'd pick that up in a heartbeat. 

thebean

kyfdx said:

My local independent mechanic has this for sale: https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5968060089.html One of his personal vehicles. (He is big into 4Runners and Toyo pickups).

With a salvage title, I would run away.  But, that's just me.

kyfdx

It has some serious rocker rust on passenger side, under rear door, and some iffy rust underneath.

Not too worried about the salvage title. He likely bought it wrecked and rebuilt it, years ago. At 18 years old and 169K, salvage title is sort of irrelevant.

More worried about frame breaking in half from rust. Most $3500 4Runners have 300K+ miles, so it's kind of cheap. (Not $500 Range Rover cheap, though)

I could just ask him about it. He would be honest. He owns the shop. I've probably spent $5K there, over the last 7 years.

Mr_Shiftright

kyfdx said:

My local independent mechanic has this for sale:
https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5968060089.html

One of his personal vehicles. (He is big into 4Runners and Toyo pickups).

Hmmm....rust and a salvage title and pushin' 170K? . Cheap enough though--if something breaks, just pull off the VIN plates and flee the area.

Seems kinda pricey for all that. I'd put it at about $2000 as a fair deal. Drive it a year or two, junk it for $300, not bad at all.

28firefighter

Mr_Shiftright said:

My local independent mechanic has this for sale: https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5968060089.html One of his personal vehicles. (He is big into 4Runners and Toyo pickups).

Hmmm....rust and a salvage title and pushin' 170K? . Cheap enough though--if something breaks, just pull off the VIN plates and flee the area. Seems kinda pricey for all that. I'd put it at about $2000 as a fair deal. Drive it a year or two, junk it for $300, not bad at all.

I missed the salvage part. But even still, the frame rust would scare me. 

kyfdx

Yeah.. Not an expert. Rusty metal is not necessarily structural frame rust, but it might be (especially on this model). I'd just have to ask him.

Mr_Shiftright

If it had frame rust I wouldn't go near the thing. I thought it might be rust to the bed or body.

kyfdx

I was driving by, and it was parked out front, with a For Sale sign. Not like I could just drive on by. It was pretty and shiny!

28firefighter

I was finally able to wash some of the grime off the X1 from all the rain we had this week. I'm very happy with the results. 

For the life of me I can't find a single flaw on the body of the car and I went over every inch of it. Speaks pretty highly of how the dealer maintained these things for the first 5k miles of its life. 

kyfdx

Okay, made the mistake of showing my wife these pictures.

Sandman6472

Yes, Hertz does own the Dollar/Thrifty rental company as I deliver vehicles to their office in Miami Lakes on a regular basis. My big boss in fact came to Hertz from Dollar/Thrifty. At least down here, they get similar vehicles from my office that we bring to other Hertz locations. You should have a pretty decent rental as we are working very hard to keep our fleet on the newer side.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Very nice vehicle, could see myself in one of those eventually though a bit bigger than I'd like. Nice blue. BMW is on my radar for next time as well as MB and Mini Cooper, of course so is VW but from what I've read, the Golf has changed a bit with their different models as the SE and SEL no longer exist.
On another note, won the eBay auction for a brand new iPhone 6s Plus with 32 gigs last night. Came down to the last 2 seconds, maybe slightly less...this other bidder wanted it also and made me work for it. Had lost an earlier bid earlier in the day for a similar used unit, again down to the last minute. Crazy rush so we shall see. Paid sender right away and has been put into the mail as of 10 this morning. Now at least all my devices will be Apple.

The Sandman

corvette

Thanks for the info, Sandy! Do you know what they are keeping in the fleet now that they consider "full size?" I'd just as soon downgrade to get a Cruze with the turbo engine, if I had a good chance of getting that instead of something less desirable like a Sentra.

Michaell

I've got a standard size reserved in Cincinnati next week. I'll be in town all of 27 hours.

carnaught

28ff, very sharp car! Many safe enjoyable miles with it.

Sandman6472

I'd keep what you got right now as it's hard to really know what they'll have out back once you get to the counter. If they have a Cruze and you ask for it, chances are you will get it. Think a Cruze is a full size but not positive since I just transport them. The Cruze drives really nice with ample power, I love to drive them now unlike before.

The Sandman

28firefighter

Thanks all. It is beautiful and wife is ecstatic!

After all my going over it under a fluorescent light, my wife came out and found a small chip on the bumper lip that I missed and a barely perceptible ding on the rear passenger door. I can't even see it unless I'm looking down the side of the car under that specific light. 

sda

28firefighter said:

Thanks all. It is beautiful and wife is ecstatic!

After all my going over it under a fluorescent light, my wife came out and found a small chip on the bumper lip that I missed and a barely perceptible ding on the rear passenger door. I can't even see it unless I'm looking down the side of the car under that specific light. 

I would be delighted to have that in my driveway, very sharp.

houdini1

28firefighter said:

Thanks all. It is beautiful and wife is ecstatic!

After all my going over it under a fluorescent light, my wife came out and found a small chip on the bumper lip that I missed and a barely perceptible ding on the rear passenger door. I can't even see it unless I'm looking down the side of the car under that specific light. 

Wives are very good at things like that. Great car !

fintail

Not many X1s that loaded - the wheels aren't often seen. Enjoy!

roadburner

28firefighter said:

I was finally able to wash some of the grime off the X1 from all the rain we had this week. I'm very happy with the results. 

For the life of me I can't find a single flaw on the body of the car and I went over every inch of it. Speaks pretty highly of how the dealer maintained these things for the first 5k miles of its life. 

Lovely; I still lust after that Estoril Blue M Sport in Cincy.

stickguy

I like it!

qbrozen

I do like the theory of a hardtop convertible like that SL500, but the wife and I both like this classic, too. 

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/350sl/1812828.html

Wife would prefer a 190SL, but that will never happen these days with what they are going for.

henryn

@28firefighter that is indeed a very pretty car. I do like the color, and the wheels.

28firefighter

Thanks, all!

28firefighter

roadburner said:

I was finally able to wash some of the grime off the X1 from all the rain we had this week. I'm very happy with the results. 

For the life of me I can't find a single flaw on the body of the car and I went over every inch of it. Speaks pretty highly of how the dealer maintained these things for the first 5k miles of its life. 

Lovely; I still lust after that Estoril Blue M Sport in Cincy.

Oh man. I'd take any BMW in that color. 

This is really pretty too, though. 

28firefighter

fintail said:

Not many X1s that loaded - the wheels aren't often seen. Enjoy!

For sure. It was happenstance that we found this car, in this color, with these options AND happened to be able to make a deal work. 

Thanks!

breld

It's fun when things just work out that way! Beautiful car!

stickguy

Q, nice looking MB. Weird to see one with the convertible top up though.

Wheeler dealers did one like that this season (though I assume it was a later bumper car). I seem to recall, you don't want to have to repair the HVAC vent system!

iluvmysephia1

Nice rig, firefighter28!

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

I do like the theory of a hardtop convertible like that SL500, but the wife and I both like this classic, too. 

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/350sl/1812828.html

Wife would prefer a 190SL, but that will never happen these days with what they are going for.

Not a bad choice for that model---you've got the slim chrome bumpers, which makes the car much more attractive than its later brethren. Also it has no catalytic converter, so isn't prone to hot start problems like the 450SL, and you can use leaded fuel if you could find it. Also, it doesn't have the complex, soon-to-break automatic climate controls either. Heat/AC is set manually, and might actually work in this model.

Biggest Scary Thing is camshaft wear, so pre-purchase should require removal of the right side valve cover--for some reason the right side cam wears before the left. Frequent oil changes are mandatory on this engine.

Also be prepared to make friends with the clerk at your local Mini-Mart gas station--you'll be seeing him/her often.

Hardtop removal requires either two stout people or a winch. Soft top is mnually operated, so one less thing to go ka-flooey.

Build quality is excellent, like a tank. No scuttle shake on this convertible!

Price is a bit high for my tastes, but not out of line for an exceptional car. If paint and chrome are edgy, deduct accordingly. Looks to be a 2-/3+ car from here.

fintail

I'd be looking for a few grand less on that early 107, but it doesn't look bad. For the reasons Shifty mentions, early cars are more desirable than middle cars. For 107s, the (US spec) ones people want are pre-74, and 560SLs. Just keep in mind, they are cruisers for the boulevard with no sporty pretense, these aren't an original 300SL.

Mr_Shiftright

You may turn the wheel to the left at high speed, but the 350SL will pretty much go straight.

However, if you hit anything under 4,000 lbs, you will utterly destroy it.

Gas mileage might not be too bad on the early 350SL if you baby it.

fintail

I can imagine 16-18 on the highway if you cruise at a steady 58 mph

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

I do like the theory of a hardtop convertible like that SL500, but the wife and I both like this classic, too. 

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/350sl/1812828.html

Wife would prefer a 190SL, but that will never happen these days with what they are going for.

Not a bad choice for that model---you've got the slim chrome bumpers, which makes the car much more attractive than its later brethren. Also it has no catalytic converter, so isn't prone to hot start problems like the 450SL, and you can use leaded fuel if you could find it. Also, it doesn't have the complex, soon-to-break automatic climate controls either. Heat/AC is set manually, and might actually work in this model.

Biggest Scary Thing is camshaft wear, so pre-purchase should require removal of the right side valve cover--for some reason the right side cam wears before the left. Frequent oil changes are mandatory on this engine.

Also be prepared to make friends with the clerk at your local Mini-Mart gas station--you'll be seeing him/her often.

Hardtop removal requires either two stout people or a winch. Soft top is mnually operated, so one less thing to go ka-flooey.

Build quality is excellent, like a tank. No scuttle shake on this convertible!

Price is a bit high for my tastes, but not out of line for an exceptional car. If paint and chrome are edgy, deduct accordingly. Looks to be a 2-/3+ car from here.

28FF....absolutely beautiful. Do have pics of the interior? I do really like it!

Q and Shifty......I would be willing to sink my own money on that Benz. I really, really love that one. I know American classic iron (enough to get into trouble). I don't know a lick about European classic iron, though. Although, I've always liked those older, classic Mercedes 'verts.

Mr S.....what's a fair price on it?

Sandman6472

Gave the Golf a nice bath yesterday at the car wash and then drove it a bit. Car drives very smoothly and tracks like new with the new run flats. Honestly, can't tell any difference between these and regular tires. Haven't been on the expressway yet as I took Friday off as my spine was in a bad place and ended up staying in my recliner 90% of the day, too painful to even walk much. First time in over a year that I didn't feel able enough to even drive because of the intense pain. Luckily I see my pain doc on Thursday and will see about adjusting my meds. As it is, not sure if I'll work a nine hour shift tomorrow, might just work a half day through Thursday and not push myself.

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright

I'd say if it checks out really well, and is "nice" but not pristine (which it doesn't seem to be), then around $12,500--$13,500 is a fair offer. $15K--$19K for really sharp, $25K for concours. I've seen shabby ones for $3,000 and so-so "drivers" with needs for around $7,500. You're paying a little more for the chrome bumper model.

Buy a good one, stay away from needy ones no matter how cheap.

suydam

Curious about the Nav systems on new cars and I figure you all have owned enough cars to have a good sample! We took a little road trip to LA yesterday in the Volt and used the Nav for the first time. We were going to a couple of places for the first time and navigating LA can be tricky. Usually I just use Google Maps which I could do if I wanted. I really liked the large screen in the Volt and the voice directions were clear and got us to each place in good time. Discovered that the directions for the next street also display just below the speedometer which is nice for the driver. On Google maps you get alternate routes which help you pick the best one if you have a little familiarity with the location. It appears that the Nav just picks what they think is the best route for you. Is that typical?

tjc78

Our Enclave allows you to pick shortest/fastest and I think there may be a setting for "avoid toll roads". That's about it.  

There are times I know most of the way somewhere except the last few turns and it eventually recalculates to the way I want to go if I take a slightly different way. 

suydam

Yes, this did that too. But the Volt and the Buick are both prone to weird "warnings" like: "Danger! Animals on the road!" ??? Or "roads may be icy" when it's over 40. I wonder if they mean -- somewhere along the freeway, maybe several hundred miles from where you are?

28firefighter

@graphicguy I don't have any handy but when it stops raining again I'll grab some shots!

stickguy

that drives me nuts with Navi. Sometimes their way, is not at all what I would do. So I also tend to just go what I think is best, and wait until I need it to pay attention. Eventually, we do usually sync up.

I also always preview the route before getting in the car, so i know the options, and what to expect.

one nice thing about the VW. I have the carnet app, so can plan out a route (including alterations to make it the way I want it), then upload to the car and ready to go. that is convenient. A couple of times, my daughter called from the car, needing to find some place, and I did it and sent it along, and it popped right up on the screen. Hit accept, and away she went. modern technology, can just be pretty cool at times.

suydam

Yes Chevy has an app that lets me send directions directly to the car before I go. Love that! Also can remotely check how long the charging takes and all kinds of other info. It must connect with Onstar.

breld

Seconded - that ability to plan a trip and "send" it to the car is pretty cool...and practical. I have that on the BMW and have used it a few times - use my phone app to send addresses for baseball practices to the car before we take off.

I've found traffic information to be invaluable with navigation now. The BMW has Sirius Traffic, and it is pretty handy in coming up with detours as necessary. I'll use it now even when I'm very familiar with the route, just in case traffic necessitates an alternative route.

I was going to a basketball game yesterday in the Durango, which doesn't have any traffic info. Fortunately, I saw signs of an accident ahead on the route, so I punched the address in my phone and it successfully came up with alternate routes.

corvette

Girlfriend and I went to the Louisville Auto Show this afternoon. First stop was Ford, I think they had the largest display of anyone there. Spokesperson says, "we're doing the $50 gift card offer again this year." Great, sign us up! She collects all our contact info then I ask where we go to do the test drive and fulfill the requirements for the gift card. Turns out, they email you a coupon, and you then take it to your Ford dealer to do the test drive and get the gift card. So, although they had vehicles available to test drive at the auto show, you couldn't test drive one of them to get the $50. :@ I will probably still do it since I live within spitting distance of a Ford dealer, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Other impressions:
GMC Canyon Denali - $46k for a "premium" compact truck with no keyless ignition. Unbelievable!
Toyota Tundra - they had a moderately equipped extended cab one for $41k, which seemed reasonable compared to other midrange trucks there, but I'm betting there is less incentive money on the Tundra compared to the domestics.
Toyota Tacoma - $37k for a moderately equipped crew cab. I think I'd pay $4k more for a Tundra.
Honda Ridgeline - all of the cool features of the original version without the awkward styling or Fisher Price interior.
Toyota 4Runner - didn't realize you could get a third row (it looked pretty useless). But, I liked that you could get a nicely equipped one with leather without gargantuan sized wheels.