Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

suydam

Sounds like the gall bladder was a secondary problem. Pneumonia is no joke. I spent a week in the hospital a few years back, and I was very weak for a month after. Take it easy, sandy!

laurasdada

Take care, Sandy! Hope you're back in playing shape quickly.

Heading to LA Saturday to visit with my family, including 84 yo dad who just had partial knee replacement surgery. Hopefully this will give him greater mobility. He was told it should end his knee pain, fingers crossed.

imidazol97

Sandy,
I'm sorry to hear you're having health problems. Go slow, and get better. I miss reading your car reports.

carnaught

nyccarguy said:

Wishing you a VERY speedy recovery @sandman_6472

+1

thebean

carnaught said:

Wishing you a VERY speedy recovery @sandman_6472

+1

+2

nyccarguy

pensfan83 said:

What's the verdict on Preludes of this generation? They don't seem to garner the praise (IMO) as the earlier or succeeding generation. Non-VTEC too.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=481808028&zip=15222&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=15222&startYear=1981&sortBy=relevance&maxPrice=5000&incremental=all&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&transmissionCodes=MAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=5000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&makeCode1=HONDA&modelCode1=PRE

The 4th Generation Preludes were a blast to drive. Very lightweight & the handling was fantastic. The styling and interior layout weren’t loved by the press. My best friend had a ‘92 Prelude Si with an Automatic that we loved. Obviously the crown jewel of the 4th gen Preludes are going to be the 1993 - 1996 190 hp VTEC models. The Prelude Si has a 2.3L non-VTEC 4cyl that pumps out 160 hp. The extra power of the VTEC is all at the top end.

I’m not thrilled with the color (exterior or interior) and the wheels aren’t my favorite either. But if you are looking for one that hasn’t been modified and lowered within an inch of its life, beggars can’t be choosers. Assuming the timing belt has been changed, that car has A LOT more life left in it.

benjaminh

Sandman: Hang in there!

sda

Speedy recovery Sandman!

Sandman6472

5’6” and 150. Amazing what a two week hospital stay can do for ones waisteline, lol!!! Seriously, a bit thin here and always have been because I finally learned it’s o k to push the plate away!! The rest were kind of big growing up but not me, know enough to stop eating when full.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Now just waiting to hear about the Golf. Wife convinced me to keep it for the time being so a good wash/wax and it’ll be all ready to go. Just hit 40K before my hospital escapades and keeping it clean and cozy till we decide what to do. All paid for and runs like a champ, so we’ll just wait and see. Do love it also and waiting till I find something more fun.
Best just to do nothing since I can’t drive for about a month or so. A nice vehicle so it just sits in the garage, waiting.

The Sandman

fintail

Wow Sandy, glad you're still with us. Go put a couple coats of wax on your baby to pass the time, then you'll like it even more when you're back out on the road.

Sandman6472

Wife finally got her new tires and while in hospital, her battery died so Audi gave her a new one. Think she’s ready to look at some new iron but we’ll see. Car looks great and my diminished value claim was taken care of. Now we just wait I guess. But the Golf is staying for the time being and am quite happy!!!


The Sandman

ab348

Glad to hear the diminished value claim worked out, well done. Now that is one less thing to worry about. Get well soon and please, my friend, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF first.

qbrozen

pensfan83 said:

What's the verdict on Preludes of this generation? They don't seem to garner the praise (IMO) as the earlier or succeeding generation. Non-VTEC too. https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=481808028&zip=15222&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=15222&startYear=1981&sortBy=relevance&maxPrice=5000&incremental=all&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&transmissionCodes=MAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=5000&firstRecord=0&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&makeCode1=HONDA&modelCode1=PRE

I don't believe I have ever seen one in such a blah color. Or maybe I just didn't notice it if I did.

corvette

Boring Beige Metallic. Not a great look for a sports car. I had no idea they even offered that on the Prelude. I remember silver, white, black, and fire engine red, plus maybe a medium blue color.

roadburner

sandman_6472 said:

Have been in the hospital and rehab for the past 16 or so days. Almost died according to emergency room doc as thought it was the flu again. Had septis and pnemonia then they found gall stones and last week removed my gall bladder. Rehab made me worse so came home yesterday. Walking with a walker now, fell in house with cane and fell again in hospital. Paramedics took me out of here a couple weeks ago. Feel like crap and starting home health care tomorrow. On leave of absense from work until mid June as doc says no driving till then.
Been a nightmare really and found out health care stinks in America!!!
They did come look at Golf for diminished value claim, my oldest took care of it. She rocks as do my other kids as they all came to the hospital to get me the help I needed!!!

The Sick Sandman

I hope you feel better soon- prayers for a quick recovery!

Mr_Shiftright

Get well soon!

Michaell

@sandman_6472 - get well soon. All your Edmunds buddies are pulling for you!

ronsteve

qbrozen said:

Interesting value proposition. Has already suffered roughly 85 cents per mile in depreciation.
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/730317310/overview?aff=share_other

That V60 near me keeps dropping in price, probably has to be in the same league right now... 21K miles, asking right around $20K.

ronsteve

laurasdada said:

28FF: Congrats and have a Viggen good time!

A child of SAAB: '71 99, '76 99 GLE (both Dad's) and '95 900s (mine, preemptive SUV strike). One of the counselors at a summer camp I attended had a black Sonnet III, I had a strange lust for it... I still have my Saab 50th Anniversary hat and t-shirt!

I am so unworthy, same car for ~4.5 years.

I've asked the odd "what if?" of myself about a 2002 9-3 that I test drove back in '05...

Wanna talk unworthy? I've had the V70 for 11 years yesterday.

iluvmysephia1

Good to hear from you, sandman, and get to feeling better soon!

sb55

@sandman_6472 I hope that you feel better soon. Since you live in Florida, maybe sit poolside for the next few weeks. Water rehab mixed with chaise lounge time should help speed things along......

rayainsw

'Sandy, glad you're still with us'
+1
Hope you feel better & better !
- Ray
Flying north soon, to spend time with daughter
and grandson ...

breld

Wife and I just started our vacation.

Our driver picked us up in a nice Audi A6.  

Based on this picture, you should be able to guess we’re not in the U.S. anymore.  

nyccarguy

Snow tires are finally coming off of my Infiniti today. I had to wait 3 weeks to get an appointment with a loaner car. While the All Seasons are getting mounted & balanced, I'm also going to have the oil (full synthetic) & filter changed. I'm curious as to what I'm going to get for a loaner car. 1st 2 times they gave me a QX60.

I started looking into suspension upgrades & found a company called HOTCHKIS that makes a set of thicker anti-roll bars for the Q40 AWD/G37X sedan. There are TONS of performance parts available for the RWD cars. My Prelude has a set of Suspension Techniques Front & Rear Anti-Roll bars that I feel are one of the best modifications out there.

breld

@sandman_6472 - glad to hear you’re out of the hospital and on the road to recovery.  

@28firefighter - congrats on the Saab.  That’s just plain fun.

On that Prelude, I had a ‘93 Si and absolutely loved it.  That gold color was put on a “special edition” as were those wheels.  I believe otherwise it was an Si with leather.  

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

Ha!  I should fly you out here and set you loose at the lumber yard with my AMEX card and have you build me a deck.  You could pick up a car and drive it back.  Make a punch out of it;)

Intriguing suggestion.....!

xwesx

Sandy - Glad to have you back in the land of the living! The health care system may not be the cat's meow, but your family certainly has you covered!

graphicguy

Hey Sandy....hope recovery is going well. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

nyccarguy

graphicguy said:

Hey Sandy....hope recovery is going well. Thoughts and prayers are with you.

Glad to see you are around! We haven't heard from you in a while either!

pensfan83

qbrozen said:

I don't believe I have ever seen one in such a blah color. Or maybe I just didn't notice it if I did.

Yeah I'm not too fond of the color either but selections of cars $5K or under and manual, that would interest me, are slim.

Funny enough a Saab came up in the search, it's only a few miles away too.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=484629372&zip=15222&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=15222&startYear=1981&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&maxPrice=5000&incremental=all&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&transmissionCodes=MAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=5000&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=100&makeCode1=SAAB&modelCode1=9-5

28firefighter

I like that Aero. Seems like a decent price if it's well sorted - actually almost too cheap...what's the availability and accessibility to Saab mechanics in Pittsburgh?

pensfan83

I honestly have no idea. A quick search turned up a place in Highland Park named Simply SAAB but a review from 3 days ago says they're out of business.

qbrozen

No such thing as "too cheap" for a Saab, IMHO.

28firefighter

Went to register the Viggen today and finish the title transfer. No go. Apparently it is old enough, yet new enough, to require an emissions test at one of the state emissions testing stations.

Half hour left on lunch, I ran up to Lynnwood, coughed up $15 and waited patiently praying that it would pass. Passed with flying colors - go figure.

Now I need to try and go back this afternoon to get tabs.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Went to register the Viggen today and finish the title transfer. No go. Apparently it is old enough, yet new enough, to require an emissions test at one of the state emissions testing stations.

Half hour left on lunch, I ran up to Lynnwood, coughed up $15 and waited patiently praying that it would pass. Passed with flying colors - go figure.

Now I need to try and go back this afternoon to get tabs.

Congrats, then!

nyccarguy

Q40 is at the dealer. Picked up a very nice Black/Black Q70 (formerly the M37) AWD Sport as a loaner. It drives great. Syrupy smooth, ultra comfortable (really nice leather) seats, wrap around cockpit dash. Very powerful and seems to handle well for its size. It has these gigantic, 20” wheels with rubber band tires. The rims are all curb scratched. With 12K, I’m sure they won’t last much longer than another 6 or 8 K miles or so. Very noisy. It is a nice place to spend a day or 2, that’s for sure.

stickguy

Here’s the RWD 3 series wagon previously discussed. Just missing the stick.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-bmw-3_series-sports_328i-used-17667569.html

nyccarguy

This Q70 barely fits in my garage

Sandman6472

Thanks for the good wishes all, glad to be able to sit and type.
Learned one thing, sickness brings out the cracks in a marriage and gonna be a tough road here. Now that I need the help, finding out my wife isn't cut out to do much. But these next few weeks will show me a lot, not sure our marriage is strong enough to overcome all this. But plan to get well and then take a few days at the beach, alone, and really think if I want to stay married. Since I've never lived alone, have no clue. But know one thing, things have to change here, can no longer let the wife always tell me what to do. She likes to be in control of it all, even my checkbook, which isn't good.
So we'll take some time to get well. On a leave of absence through mid June. Then will sit and think hard, at the beach, about where my life is going. At 63, am no longer going to be unhappy everyday!! And if I must be alone for a bit, so be it. We both deserve to be happy and right now, neither one is. Think if pressed, she'll totally agree on this.
Leaving it in G-d's hands now and if we're meant to get to year 37, he will show us. And if not, we have 3 great kids so think overall, we done good!!
Thanks for listening, have finally come to the conclusion that living a life unhappy is not worth it for all involved. I just want to be happy & healthy and want the same for her also. And maybe, just maybe, we've come to the end of our road. The love & respect is still there, but sometimes even that ain't enough.
Thanks for letting me vent here, just needed to let it all out!!

The Unhappy Sandman

28firefighter

Hang in there, @sandman_6472. Severe illness and near-death experiences make one very introspective. Don’t make any decisions or major life changes until you’re well on the other side and starting to feel yourself again.

Although my relationship is stronger than ever, I have been/still am where you are on a number of other issues. 

benjaminh

28firefighter: OT, I realize, but by any chance do you have any thoughts on the show Chicago Fire? It's corny, but I kinda like it. I realize much of it isn't "realistic," just as hospital shows and cop shows on tv aren't "realistic" much of the time....

ab348

Sandy, kudos to you for opening up about things. I honestly am not totally surprised based upon reading your posts here over the last few years. But as @28firefighter wisely notes, don't rush into a decision. My initial reaction was that a few long honest discussions need to happen for both of you, but not right now until your own situation and thinking stabilizes. Best of luck with whatever happens.

suydam

I’ll second that opinion.

nyccarguy

Thanks for opening up to us @sandman_6472.  I don’t know what you are going through, but I can tell you wives can be ball busters at times.  Definitely wait until your body heals itself completely before you make any life decisions.

carnaught

ab348 said:

Sandy, kudos to you for opening up about things. I honestly am not totally surprised based upon reading your posts here over the last few years. But as @28firefighter wisely notes, don't rush into a decision. My initial reaction was that a few long honest discussions need to happen for both of you, but not right now until your own situation and thinking stabilizes. Best of luck with whatever happens.

Well said, @ab348.

@sandman_6472, so, sorry to hear about your marital challenges, added to the health issues. Feel free to bounce your feelings off us. As has been said multiple times, we are here for you. We are a non-biased, objective group who care.

graphicguy

NYC....you aren’t getting rid of me that easily. I still like your Q better than the Q70 loaner you have.

Just read they aren’t making a new 370Z until 2020, and it may be based on the Benz architecture for the C class with the boosted 4 cyl instead of a 6 pot. To me, that’s sacrilegious not to have a Z car with a 6.

nyccarguy

corvette

Nice. They could have given you a V8, though!

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Nice. They could have given you a V8, though!

They wouldn’t have gotten it back