Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

If I had time today I’d probably drive over. 

tifighter

Hey @fintail did you see this car yourself?

fintail

Nope, I didn't go to the sale, just had the data sent to me. I can email the seller or pass along contact data if someone is really interested. I think the seller has sale ads (in the garage sale section, probably not under cars for sale) on CL and other venues.

qbrozen

fintail said:

Another reason to run a dashcam. They can be cheaper than a tire. Here's one for the BMW bros, from an estate sale organizer I know of. 03 325xi wagon, 23K miles, local one owner, all records, maintained by the book, yada yada. They are trying to get $6400 for it:

Grey sport seats may be the biggest selling point behind the low mileage. Cooling system is 15 yrs old now though so that will need addressing, plus any rubber items that have yet to be attended to.

28firefighter

Think their biggest barrier to selling it will be that it’s not really advertised well and will be greenbacks only. I don’t keep that kind of money in checking...

fintail

It is a bit dear for a car at what is a glorified yard sale, which may bode well for negotiation tomorrow (prices day of sale are generally firm).

This seller disperses of cars now and then, and usually prices them fairly. Last year they had an 02 S430 at an estate in Bellevue - 80K , one owner, dealer maintained since new, immaculate - asking price was 4K, and I bet they took less. It would have been a bad idea, but something tempting as a fancy beater/work car of sorts.

mjfloyd1

andres3 said:

Accident Report:

So on the way home yesterday after work, taking the scenic "fun" way home to avoid traffic jams, I'm in a navigation induced shortcut through a rural hilly/mountainy residential road, and this guy with woman and young child in tow in a Mazda 3 hatch sticks his car out of a driveway at just the wrong moment without either looking "or seeing me," his words admitting he didn't see me. The driveway is steep downward off to the side, and they have tall thick bushes blocking view, and it's a very narrow road - almost a 1-lane road (not fit or std. for 2-way traffic).

I should have just rammed him, would have been all his fault. I should have installed a dash cam, it would help in cases like this.

However, the better driving skills and instinct got the better of me, and I swerved that Kia around him as best I could (no time to brake). Miraculously, the Kia managed to dodge him, and it couldn't of been by much more than inches. It all happened so fast, there was no time for any other manuever. After playing it over and over in my head, I made the right call; the only call that would have completetly avoided a wreck (and did, sort of).

Due to the narrow lane in Lakeside, and the Kia not handling like a TTS, I was unable to get it back on the road before hitting the front right tire hard against an asphalt curb (5-6") on the high side. I have a feeling the suspension was at least somewhat loaded to the right side as it appears I redirected the car leftward back onto the lane as luckily there was a "driveway" allowing my "dodge" on the right side, but the driveway runs out fast at 20-25 MPH.

The car has super tall sidewalls at 205/65R16, but apparently Michelin uses no steel in the sidewall of a LRR tire. It blew out, completely punching out a piece of sidewall (as if someone cut a flap out of the side wall).

Kia, in their infinite stupidity, didn't supply the Optima with a spare, not even a donut! Last time I will ever own or lease a car without a spare! It is such a dumb idea to have a "kit." Kits are useless in situations just like this. I was supposed to be road side assisted by Kia within 60 minutes, texts coming into me to verify that estimate from the phone call. 40 minutes in, a text saying a 20 minute estimate (all is well, I can live with 1 hour given I was somewhat rural and in a "rare" road location on a Friday late afternoon just after rush hour). Kia did give me some static when I said "it was technically an accident/collision." Unlike Audi, apparently they don't like covering accidents for tows. I changed my tune and said, well, there was no collison, because technically all that happened was a tire blow out as far as I know, and it's Kia's fault I was stuck (other than bad Mazda driver which I left out). It was late on a Friday afternoon quickly becoming evening and then dark.

Stupid tow truck company doesn't show. At 70 minutes in I call them direct, and am told due to a CHP 3-tow call, i might be waiting another hour! OH HELL NO! Kia's system allows me to report that I"m not picked up when I should be, so I get a call from them and they contact a competing tow truck company knowing the one that stood me up is a "problematic" tow truck company. I also call AAA, but I don't have my card on me, and while fumbling with them on the phone, I got a call that it would only be 30 minutes from the better Kia tow company, so I told Triple A to forget it.

Some good samaritans look at my car, and offer to find me a tire that'll fit. Sure enough, they live close and 5 minutes later they come back with a donut with matching lugs. Not quite as tall as it should be, but functional. They offer to put it on the back side, and I accept since no tow trucks are in sight. They say I can keep the donut so that I can use it in the future if need be. So just as we finish putting the donut on the rear tow truck from "acceptable" back up company shows. We get started on putting the good rear stock tire on the front right as we tell him, thanks for showing, but looks like I'm good to go home on my own instead of to the closed Kia dealership nearby.

Speaking of Mazda driver. He seemed cool and helpful, and even offered to help me change the tire before I remembered when opening the trunk that it was a useless and fruitless endeavor unless he had a similar size tire (guess I should have asked if Mazda had the same bolt layout and if he had a donut in hindsight!). He got very protective and information secretive when I asked for his insurance information. He mentioned I'll give you my information, but "there wasn't really a collision; I don't know how their going to handle that for you" I told him, "yes, thanks to me, our cars were spared a nasty collision, but my right tire wasn't. I feel I did nothing wrong here!" I barely got his driver's license number out of him, his insurance policy, and phone number/name. I took a picture of his car (license plate). Also took pictures of the scene all over.

If it's just my tire, I told him I wasn't making a claim (though I would ask him to pay for it personally/directly). However, I mentioned there could be suspension, alignment, and wheel damage, and I won't know until it's checked out.

I drive home, since the only light that shows up is the TPMS and low right tire inflation symbols graphics. As I'm turning left a block or two away (after chatting and thanking for some time these 2 good samaritans), the original tow truck company shows. I stop for 10 seconds just to tell him out my window the situation, then drive off not feeling the least bit bad about calling them off beforehand, as I get home about 15 minutes later at 9 PM!

Of course, after a mile or so the christmas tree of lights went up. OK, not that bad, just ABS and some other symbol besides TPMS. I went slow and avoided any hard braking or turning.

Now i need a new tire and can avoid paying dealership prices for that, but I'll probably still have to go to the dealership to clear codes and assess damage.

Anyone here have experience with a claim where there was a "phantom" collision that caused the "accidental" damage? This is as clear cut a case as there can be, but no dash cam footage

Lastly, with a lease.... can one tire on a FWD car be returned at the end of the lease "newish" while the others are near the end of their life 5/32nds? Am I doomed to have to replace all 4 even though I have less than 20K miles?

Last that I checked, tirerack will shave a new tire to the depth that you need. That would work if the tread depth remaining (5/32) is good enough depth for lease turn in.

carnaught

biancar said:

I think I'm about to buy a 2016 Audi A5 Cabriolet, 10,500 miles, all packages (Premium Plus, Technology, Comfort (which includes the "neckwarmer" heating ducts plus the ventilated seats). Ibis White with black roof, grey interior with beige seats. $38,500. Good deal? I'm trading in my 2005 350Z Touring Roadster, have no idea yet what he will give me for it. Private party sales are $10 to $12k, trade-in value around $8k. Only 36,000 miles on the Roadster.

This is my first venture into Audi-land. So far all my discussions with the salesman have been emails, as I'm out of town and can't actually see it until early next week, when I will test drive and decide for sure. He has sent me pictures, and it's a CPO car. So far everything looks good, Carfax checks out, Yelp reviews of this dealer are nearly all glowingly positive.

Audi guys, any particular advice for me? Price appears to be about $1,000 less than KBB's idea of market value, so my inclination is to take it without haggling, and try to get a high offer for the Z. Decent plan?

Anything in particular I should ask about or look out for during the test drive?

Keep in mind KBB’s prices are always higher than one can get for a given car, at least in my personal experience. If you’re interested, I would still haggle for a better price.

corvette

graphicguy said:

If it flooded (which might happen if you shut it down without getting it up to normal operating temps) you had to have it towed to the dealer for them to clear the fuel out of the ports.

My third gen Altima would flood in cold weather if you didn't get the engine up to full temp before shutting it down. Didn't require a tow to the dealer, just a ton of cranking. There was a bulletin about it, but mine was out of warranty by the time I realized there was a problem.

andres3

fintail said:

Another reason to run a dashcam. They can be cheaper than a tire.

Here's one for the BMW bros, from an estate sale organizer I know of. 03 325xi wagon, 23K miles, local one owner, all records, maintained by the book, yada yada. They are trying to get $6400 for it:

Michelin LRR Green X A/S 205/55R16 was cheapest at Discount Tire, and they had some in stock at a local one. I went there and got it done, about $149 out the door with taxes & intall by avoiding $3 disposal fee because I kept the "evidence" for now.

Took it to local closest Kia and they checked it "under warranty" for me, at no cost yet. Everything checked out but the front toe, and rear toe (????). Being as I 4-wheel aligned it about a month ago, maybe I can get the servicing dealer to chip in. If not, $240 damage plus about 5 hours of my valueable time. I will offer to just accept $240 from the guy on Monday. Let's see if he takes responsibility, or instead asks for Karma that should give him the fleas of a thousand Camels.

xwesx

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

Andre., I doubt you have a claim. if anything it is on your comprehensive. No collision, no witnesses, no police reports. And depending on your deductible, you will be paying for it anyway.

first step is the tire store to get a new tire on it. at least match the brand/model on there and you should be fine for the lease. while they have it in can check for any other damage, and check alignment.

and I agree with you about not having a spare. that is a hot button topic for me too. I made sure my Elantra had one!

That's sort of what I'm afraid of. There was technically a collision though, my front whee/tire with the asphalt curb rounding out of a driveway onto the road. Doubt I could claim "road hazard" on this one! LOL.

Never thought about being such a good driver that you get punished for a good deed! I mitigated the damages tremendously, and feel like I'll be punished. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back, wish I had video of my accident avoidance manuever; textbook real-world example.

Unless Mazda 3's are road hazards now. Doesn't matter, as these are OEM; no road harzard coverage.

Yeah, this is similar scenario (but to a much lesser degree) to when I lost my 1996 Outback. I didn't get anything for that except years of frustration trying to keep reliable transportation in the driveway. After that, I decided that I was never again going to try so hard to avoid a collision that I risked major damage to me or my car without making contact with the at-fault driver's vehicle. Not a chance.

Basically, witnesses and the cooperation of the other driver involved is the only thing that is going to get you anything from this.

I had a minor fender bender with another vehicle a couple years ago when they tried to change lanes while I occupied the other lane. I honked, moved over as far as I could to the left without hitting the median, and they just kept coming. Okay, no worries... hit me! They did. hahah

The adjuster asked if there was any way that I could have avoided it, and I straight told him, "not without entering the median, which was only about 4' wide and had 3' of packed snow/ice in it. There was no way I was going to do certain damage to my car without the other driver first hitting me." They came back with other driver at full fault, but I didn't bother with a claim on that one. It only did some scuffing on the side of my car, which was my 2008 Forester and has massive amounts of body damage due to that rollover that occurred before I bought it. So, the other guy, who probably had about $600 in damage to his driver door mirror, got a ding on his record for a stupid situation that he just couldn't accept was his fault. LOL

In your situation, though, you DID make the right call. Unfortunate that you damaged your front end, but a T-bone like that would have been so much worse for everyone.

28firefighter

Wife thinks I should take a ride to Mercer Island tomorrow...

andres3

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

Andre., I doubt you have a claim. if anything it is on your comprehensive. No collision, no witnesses, no police reports. And depending on your deductible, you will be paying for it anyway.

first step is the tire store to get a new tire on it. at least match the brand/model on there and you should be fine for the lease. while they have it in can check for any other damage, and check alignment.

and I agree with you about not having a spare. that is a hot button topic for me too. I made sure my Elantra had one!

That's sort of what I'm afraid of. There was technically a collision though, my front whee/tire with the asphalt curb rounding out of a driveway onto the road. Doubt I could claim "road hazard" on this one! LOL.

Never thought about being such a good driver that you get punished for a good deed! I mitigated the damages tremendously, and feel like I'll be punished. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back, wish I had video of my accident avoidance manuever; textbook real-world example.

Unless Mazda 3's are road hazards now. Doesn't matter, as these are OEM; no road harzard coverage.

Yeah, this is similar scenario (but to a much lesser degree) to when I lost my 1996 Outback. I didn't get anything for that except years of frustration trying to keep reliable transportation in the driveway. After that, I decided that I was never again going to try so hard to avoid a collision that I risked major damage to me or my car without making contact with the at-fault driver's vehicle. Not a chance.

Basically, witnesses and the cooperation of the other driver involved is the only thing that is going to get you anything from this.

I had a minor fender bender with another vehicle a couple years ago when they tried to change lanes while I occupied the other lane. I honked, moved over as far as I could to the left without hitting the median, and they just kept coming. Okay, no worries... hit me! They did. hahah

The adjuster asked if there was any way that I could have avoided it, and I straight told him, "not without entering the median, which was only about 4' wide and had 3' of packed snow/ice in it. There was no way I was going to do certain damage to my car without the other driver first hitting me." They came back with other driver at full fault, but I didn't bother with a claim on that one. It only did some scuffing on the side of my car, which was my 2008 Forester and has massive amounts of body damage due to that rollover that occurred before I bought it. So, the other guy, who probably had about $600 in damage to his driver door mirror, got a ding on his record for a stupid situation that he just couldn't accept was his fault. LOL

In your situation, though, you DID make the right call. Unfortunate that you damaged your front end, but a T-bone like that would have been so much worse for everyone.

I agree, after thinking about it over and over, sleeping on it, and more, I made the best move. Bad luck the tire didn't survive. Bad luck the Kia alignment never stays aligned; though it feels and drives fine by my senses, but the dealership says a quick check revealed it was out of alignment.

If the tire had survived, I probably wouldn't have even thought more than a few minutes about it, and maybe posted about it here. Makes a good case for having a TTS, I think I could have made the move and still gotten back away from the curb in time, OR been driving faster so that I was past the point of the collision at the time of the collision (when they pulled out)

This near-miss tire damage accident did teach me some value to going slow though. Still, I was going a "relatively" low speed, how low can you go? It was just bad timing again. There are no driveways on the freeway thankfully.

nyccarguy

Pilot got its first “oops” yesterday.

fintail

Sale runs 9-3. Check the listings in the morning to check if the car is there, or contact the seller on the off chance it actually sold (I have doubts, it's a niche thing). I have her email if it isn't in the listings. As the day goes on, they'll be more inclined to negotiate - they are in business to clear the contents, and they receive commission, something beats nothing.

28firefighter said:

Wife thinks I should take a ride to Mercer Island tomorrow...

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Pilot got its first “oops” yesterday.

Oh, dang, did the garage door get slammed on it?

tjc78

Wow, matches the dent in the door my wife’s Enclave has!

Sucks!

28firefighter

Good idea. Thanks @fintail. 

tifighter

28firefighter said:

Wife thinks I should take a ride to Mercer Island tomorrow...

Ha. I’ve thought this would be an option to buy for my mother to replace her tin can 1st gen CRV. Dog gate for her golden retriever and she’s happy. Figure a little money upfront to take care of some things, but that’s okay, it’s a 6k car.

28firefighter

Agreed. Apparently sold. 

Now I guess I have to go to brunch...

stickguy

nasty Bradd. what happened?

Mr_Shiftright

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

Andre., I doubt you have a claim. if anything it is on your comprehensive. No collision, no witnesses, no police reports. And depending on your deductible, you will be paying for it anyway.

first step is the tire store to get a new tire on it. at least match the brand/model on there and you should be fine for the lease. while they have it in can check for any other damage, and check alignment.

and I agree with you about not having a spare. that is a hot button topic for me too. I made sure my Elantra had one!

That's sort of what I'm afraid of. There was technically a collision though, my front whee/tire with the asphalt curb rounding out of a driveway onto the road. Doubt I could claim "road hazard" on this one! LOL.

Never thought about being such a good driver that you get punished for a good deed! I mitigated the damages tremendously, and feel like I'll be punished. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back, wish I had video of my accident avoidance manuever; textbook real-world example.

Unless Mazda 3's are road hazards now. Doesn't matter, as these are OEM; no road harzard coverage.

I agree. It's a comp claim.

nyccarguy

My wife didn’t pull into the garage far enough and the metal handle scraped its way down the tail gate.  It is a tight fit in the garage.  It was only a matter of time before it happened.  I am neurotic and check every time.

qbrozen

Saw a new Tiguan on the road for the first time I recall. Really sharp looking. Way better than the old one.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

Pilot got its first “oops” yesterday.

Oweee!!!!! Man, what is with this last Friday?! We sail through 4/13 no problem, but 4/20? Nope....

stickguy

Bradd, do what we do. always stop in reverse when you think you are in, and check the camera to make sure you are in far enough. Or go old school and put a mark on the wall to line up with. The old tennis ball on a string to hit the windshield will work too.

stickguy

I like the tiquan too. It is now a nice looking, nice sized package. I have also seen quite a few Atlas' recently. they must be selling OK.

almost lost the Elantra yesterday. in 2 lanes of traffic (really tight stretch of road), in the left with a little space in front of me. Right line stops up, so some dude in an Econoline van decides to switch to my lane. Ignoring the fact that I was next to him. Had to nail the brakes and he barely missed taking out my RF fender. Good thing the person behind me was paying attention.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

My wife didn’t pull into the garage far enough and the metal handle scraped its way down the tail gate.  It is a tight fit in the garage.  It was only a matter of time before it happened.  I am neurotic and check every time.

My wife's car has a good 24" all around, when it's in the proper spot... Pretty easy. But, I never close the door without walking to the back of the vehicle. OCD, I guess.

Same with mine... even more room, front to back. I back in, and still walk to the front of the car to check. Yep, still have 2 feet of clearance. (but, I've only had that car for eight years.. maybe, I'll get used to it).

stickguy

my car is short enough. pretty easy. Plus I have a mark on the wall that if it is even with my head, I am good.

the wife's side is actually longer. We used to part the Odyssey there no problem. Usually on that side I have to back up, not pull further in (to allow more room to get to the stairs to the house).

just use the BU camera. Pause in reverse, and will show you clearly if in far enough.

unless of course you back in (I don't really understand doing that in the garage, but whatever). Or have an old car without one!

imidazol97

We have a 2 1/2 car garage with plastic storage tubs and other stuff along the one side. I use reference locations on the sides of where I park to tell me I'm in far enough. One is a dot on the wall that I line up with the B pillar when I back in the Malibu. The other is storage box for old tax forms for the Cobalt that pulls in.

I back the car in on the one side so that the two cars can be tighter toward the outsides of their spaces, leaving more room for opening doors between the two cars.

My leSabre had scratches on the bumper from the hinges on the garage door hitting it when it wasn't quite far enough in.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

my car is short enough. pretty easy. Plus I have a mark on the wall that if it is even with my head, I am good.

the wife's side is actually longer. We used to part the Odyssey there no problem. Usually on that side I have to back up, not pull further in (to allow more room to get to the stairs to the house).

just use the BU camera. Pause in reverse, and will show you clearly if in far enough.

unless of course you back in (I don't really understand doing that in the garage, but whatever). Or have an old car without one!

Our garage isn't real wide.. If I back in, I can get closer to the outside wall, leaving more room in between for egress from either vehicle.

Plus, the pickup is parked in the driveway, which only gives me about a car length between the pickup and the garage door. Backing in is like parallel parking. I could pull in easily, but then wouldn't be able to back out, to get around the pickup, without making multiple maneuvers.

nyccarguy

xwesx said:

Pilot got its first “oops” yesterday.

Oweee!!!!! Man, what is with this last Friday?! We sail through 4/13 no problem, but 4/20? Nope....

It was Friday 4/20 as a matter of fact

28firefighter

My wife thinks I’m crazy for stopping in reverse to check the backup camera after pulling in. 

stickguy

my wife finally learned to wait until I turn the car off before opening the door and starting to get out. Only had to run her over a few times for it to register!

fintail

Too bad the BMW sold, I was hoping I could enable an impulsive purchase.

Maybe people need to do the tennis ball on a string trick in the garage. I think that's what my grandpa did back in the day, cramming his enormous Chryslers into an early 60s garage that might not have been intended for fuselage size cars.

I do the stop and reverse for the backup cam trick, too. It also is handy for pulling forward in outdoor lots and making sure you are in the right position.

sda

Ouch! I would have thought your garage door would have reversed and gone back up once it felt resistance. It may need adjustment. I have a small concrete block as a tire stop for both cars, and a scribe mark on the garage floor so I can determine whether the block has moved. I feel confident that has prevented a similar situation.

Very simple and effective.

corvette

sda makes a good point. Maybe check the calibration on the opener so that it is using the minimum force necessary to operate the door. 

ab348

imidazol97 said:

We have a 2 1/2 car garage.

I always find parking the 1/2 car especially difficult.

iluvmysephia1

We have an automatic garage door opener for our house's garage in our new-to-us house here. I just look in the rear view mirror to see that I'm far enough forward to hit the "close the door"clicker.

I have hinted to Mrs.iluvmysephia1 "wouldn't it be cool to have a rear view camera in our next rig?" Of all the electronic goodies offered a rear view camera would be my favorite, along with Android Auto.

benjaminh

A new Honda video on driving a manual transmission.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzyKM1RS1Xg

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

xwesx said:

nyccarguy said:

Pilot got its first “oops” yesterday.

Oweee!!!!! Man, what is with this last Friday?! We sail through 4/13 no problem, but 4/20? Nope....

It was Friday 4/20 as a matter of fact

Sorry to hear. My wife and son had a couple of scrapes with the X3...

28firefighter

I’ve been perusing CL for cars under $10k for fun, and man is it depressing.  Absolute garbage cans that people think are worth a fortune.  

Also, how is it that almost every car has been dealer serviced with tons of recent maintenance?

Michaell

OK, folks. A little test for both car fans and fans of obscure movies.

What car can you name that has been in different movies?

I can think of two....

1. Red Saab convertible, found in both "A Time to Kill" and "Sideways"
2. Orange-ish 1st generation Hyundai Excel was seen in both "Knocked Up" and the ever-popular "Paparazzi" (driven by Chris Rock as a pizza delivery guy)

Any others?

tbirdmarco

 Well sorry to hear about all these little accidents this past Friday crazy crazy 

nyccarguy

This article sums (https://jalopnik.com/driving-a-1999-honda-prelude-will-make-you-miss-honest-1825400309) up the Prelude's driving experience nicely. Since the weather broke, I have started driving the Prelude around town, & drove it to work with me today. It is just joyous & such a pleasure. The way the car handles still blows me away.

fintail

Although not identical, the yellow and black Rolls-Royce Phantom in "The Yellow Rolls-Royce" is quite similar in appearance to Auric Goldfinger's yellow and black Rolls-Royce Phantom in "Goldfinger".

Hmmm...the Gran Detroit Farm and Country convertible in "Planes Trains and Automobiles" reminds me of George Costanza's ex-John Voight LeBaron

This is a tough one if a color match is desired, I can think of several with the same car (Porsche 928 in "Risky Business" and "Weird Science" but different colors), don't want to cheat on imcdb.

Michaell said:

OK, folks. A little test for both car fans and fans of obscure movies.

What car can you name that has been in different movies?

I can think of two....

1. Red Saab convertible, found in both "A Time to Kill" and "Sideways"
2. Orange-ish 1st generation Hyundai Excel was seen in both "Knocked Up" and the ever-popular "Paparazzi" (driven by Chris Rock as a pizza delivery guy)

Any others?

fintail

I can find plenty of interesting old cars for under 10K, but they are virtually all old to the point where you wouldn't want it as a DD.

28firefighter said:

I’ve been perusing CL for cars under $10k for fun, and man is it depressing.  Absolute garbage cans that people think are worth a fortune.  

Also, how is it that almost every car has been dealer serviced with tons of recent maintenance?

fintail

A BaT distraction finds this - maybe the rarest G bodystyle variant. Shame about the upholstery, but I'll agree with the comments, this is actually worth 6 figures

stickguy

28, that is a big reason why I end up bailing on cheap and leasing or buying new. But, you can find good stuff, in basic cars, for low to mid teens. So not much more money, much more car.

Easier if you finance. Just go out another year or 2. But cash buyers must be hurting if they are limited to medium 4 figures.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

OK, folks. A little test for both car fans and fans of obscure movies.

What car can you name that has been in different movies?

I can think of two....

1. Red Saab convertible, found in both "A Time to Kill" and "Sideways"
2. Orange-ish 1st generation Hyundai Excel was seen in both "Knocked Up" and the ever-popular "Paparazzi" (driven by Chris Rock as a pizza delivery guy)

Any others?

I think "obscure movies" is the key here. Otherwise, it is just too easy. (hey, Smoky and the Bandit 1, 2, and 3? Fast and Furious black Charger? haha)