Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

pensfan83

explorerx4 said:

I bought an expensive tri fold hard cover.
It's a total piece of crap. Leaks at the seams where the pieces meet.
Power folding running boards are the best, though.

My buddy has a Tacoma with the same style OEM cover and has the same problems.

explorerx4

When going on a trip, if I ever do that again, I put my old rooftop box in the bed and I bought some good size plastic bins for other stuff that shouldn't get wet.

roadburner

I have yet to find anyone who can put a number on the Saleen. It's currently at $12,000 with 3 days to go.

roadburner

Also, my dealer just took in a 2018 M3.
Uninspiring color combo(white/over black)- Check
DCT- Check
Hole in roof- Check
Pass.

roadburner

And a week before, they got an M4 with the same issues- although on a M4 a sunroof is immeasurably worse because the hole in the roof deletes the carbon fiber roof panel.

28firefighter

Have you thought about asking them to try and find exactly what you’re looking for? Seems like you have a good relationship with them.

roadburner

28firefighter said:

Have you thought about asking them to try and find exactly what you’re looking for? Seems like you have a good relationship with them.

I really do; but it’s an order of magnitude harder to find a pre-owned car and trade for it. The best they can do is keep an eye out for something that would interest me.

28firefighter

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

Have you thought about asking them to try and find exactly what you’re looking for? Seems like you have a good relationship with them.

I really do; but it’s an order of magnitude harder to find a pre-owned car and trade for it. The best they can do is keep an eye out for something that would interest me.

Maybe at the BMW auctions when they reopen?

corvette

stickguy said:

isn't the Tacoma scheduled for a refresh soon? It's only about a decade overdue!

Hope you’re sitting down... Rumor is it won’t get a redesign until 2024!

Michaell

Finally got out to walk some lots with @breld (and wife) and @jpp75. They had already hit a few lots by the time I caught up with them. Walked the MINi / BMW lot, then drove north to look at some Audis. Both of them found vehicles that interest them.

Social distancing was observed.

explorerx4

Rumor has it next generation of Tundra is going Ecoboost.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

stickguy said:

this is a fantastic car. I could enjoy it. wonder what it ends up going for?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-saleen-s281/

DG was my childhood hero; my wife told me to go ahead and bid on it; let's see how high it goes...

Too bad GG sold his Cobra Mustang. You two could drag race.

My Stinger would absolutely smoke my old Cobra! So would that Saleen!

Yeah, 465 vs 320 no contest I guess but it would still be fun to watch.

explorerx4

Move up 10 years and a Terminator Cobra would make it more interesting.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I have yet to find anyone who can put a number on the Saleen. It's currently at $12,000 with 3 days to go.

What’s your high bid so far?

stickguy

hopefully $12,000

corvette

explorerx4 said:

Rumor has it next generation of Tundra is going Ecoboost.

Yeah, I think they will adapt the 3.5 twin turbo from the Lexus LS, and probably a hybrid / plug-in hybrid as well, although I think it would take a lot of (expensive) batteries to make a plug-in on something that big and heavy.

stickguy

this one is very pretty car. not going to run into a twin, that is for sure. Too bad it doesn't have a real manual tranny.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-aston-martin-v8-vantage-roadster-4-2/

this one might be among the very rare BaT items that end up within my budget! probably fun. But definitely going to be a project, and possibly a pretty deep (if not bottomless) pit once you start. Just might end up with it completely disassembled in the garage, and the body stripped down. though on this car, that might only take 2 hours with nothing but a pipe wrench and socket set. I do like the color combo though.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-triumph-spitfire-6/

though this is a much nicer car, in way better shape, and probably a vastly better buy. I do like it.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-mg-mgb-35/

tifighter

roadburner said:

I have yet to find anyone who can put a number on the Saleen. It's currently at $12,000 with 3 days to go.

I'll guess about $30K.

explorerx4

Move up 10 years and a Terminator Cobra would make it more interesting.

28firefighter

Sunday funday.

andres3

Any year TTS is good, though I've heard the more recent ones are harder to tune in case you'd consider turning it into a speed demon with a Stage 1 tune that works as good in the TTS as any stock model ever made (or Golf R). It's almost as if Audi/VW intended for people to go Stage 1 at least.

Red interior is awesome, though not available with Vegas Yellow, which I personally love on the TTS/TTRS. Rare color, very eye opening in person, even better than in pics.

I'd settle for the gray interior. Black is all too common.

I would check underneath to see there's no leaks coming from the Haldex, and if there is, that it is still under warranty so you can get a new rear diff. Other then that, the car's been rock solid. Would steer clear of prior wrecked models though, as the fit and finish from Audi is impeccable, and no body shop in the USA can come close from what I've seen.

qbrozen

roadburner said:

I have yet to find anyone who can put a number on the Saleen. It's currently at $12,000 with 3 days to go.

A similar year/miles GT500 would be in the high 20s. Not really sure how this would stack up. I suppose knowing the production numbers on the shelby might help. But Shelby’s name is far more popular, too.

stickguy

I actually like the Saleen better. And of course, there is the BaT factor. I did notice when I was browsing before that they have a Gullwing running, which was already up to $1,350,000. Yowzers.

explorerx4

GT500 was only making 550 HP in 2012.

sda

28firefighter said:

Sunday funday.

It looks great and really like the color. It has to be a joy to drive.

explorerx4

Here, no matter what color vehicle you have, if you leave it outside, by the next day it's green.

28firefighter

explorerx4 said:

Here, no matter what color vehicle you have, if you leave it outside, by the next day it's green.

We just went through that. Thankfully things have quieted down and I can get a bit more mileage before it’s covered in pollen.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

this one is very pretty car. not going to run into a twin, that is for sure. Too bad it doesn't have a real manual tranny.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-aston-martin-v8-vantage-roadster-4-2/

this one might be among the very rare BaT items that end up within my budget! probably fun. But definitely going to be a project, and possibly a pretty deep (if not bottomless) pit once you start. Just might end up with it completely disassembled in the garage, and the body stripped down. though on this car, that might only take 2 hours with nothing but a pipe wrench and socket set. I do like the color combo though.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-triumph-spitfire-6/

though this is a much nicer car, in way better shape, and probably a vastly better buy. I do like it.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-mg-mgb-35/

I’m guessing that the two happiest days you’ll have with those cars is the day you buy them and the day you sell them.

stickguy

at least with the cheap ones, there are the nice days in between driving with the top down! The Aston, I probably would not enjoy that as much, since I would generally live in terror of some massively expensive parts failure! There just isn't as much chance of an MGB hoovering your entire bank balance.

roadburner

A friend had an Aston- a DB7 I believe. He said there were no major issues and he regrets selling it.

Michaell

Member needs advice buying a car for a new driver:

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/61412/general/x/need-advice-looking-for-a-used-car-for-my-daughter-who-will-be-turning-16-soon#latest

ab348

I love the styling of Astons and the cars themselves are very good drivers for the most part from what I gather but that one seems to be saddled with the much-criticized sequential-shift gearbox like the Vanquish. See here: https://youtu.be/WbC8Sqi3vrU?t=228

stickguy

cross that tranny off the list!

tjc78

@28firefighter
Car looks great!

graphicguy

stickguy said:

but the Cobra would sound much better, and be way cooler!

That’s true. Plus, the Cobra would leave a patch of tire 100 feet long when prompted. That’s something the Stinger CAN’T do.

oldfarmer50

Wrong power to skill to brains ratio:

https://youtu.be/zPAGSmeSAM8

stickguy

Florida plates. 'Nuff said.

qbrozen

What do you think of this? Looks clean. Miles aren't too awful. Wonder what care and feeding is like. They paid $9500 for it.

28firefighter

That is intriguing.

fintail

Default answer to that engine - head bolts. Also, FL. But if it checks out, could be some fun for the money.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

What do you think of this? Looks clean. Miles aren't too awful. Wonder what care and feeding is like. They paid $9500 for it.

Nice. An AMG should move around well. Almost 80k miles is about my upper limit for a used car. I wonder how those age. Dealer wants a 33% profit. About average.

stickguy

lot of money for a risky 2007. but if you are feeling lucky, punk, go for it!

qbrozen

Doesn’t seem to be any such thing as NOT risky when shopping high-strung SUVs. At least the AMG badge should help hold value better than an ML550.

corvette

Anyone tried to buy that really thin felt tape that OEMs use to prevent plastic parts from rubbing against each other and squeaking and rattling? The center console of the G37 was making an awful racket yesterday and I've disassembled it and am trying to eliminate points of contact. I bought some generic felt tape from Amazon and hope it will be thin enough and sticky enough to accomplish that.

tjc78

I’ve used the smooth side of Velcro with success.

28firefighter

tjc78 said:

I’ve used the smooth side of Velcro with success.

I’ve done the same. But never occurred to me to look for felt tape.

fintail

My first new E-class had a lot of cracking and popping sounds from the rear deck area - design flaw where plastics with tight panel gaps were aligned near each other, and these plastics would expand and contract with temperature. It drove me nuts, and I took the car in for it via a warranty claim more than once. They finally solved it (after replacing the entire rear deck and sunshade - I told them this wasn't the issue, but this was ignored) by taking apart some sections and placing felt tape.

corvette

The Velcro is a good idea, but I think some of the clearances on the console are too tight for it to work. I was able to fix one part which creaked when I moved it, but was inaccessible, by spraying silicone spray in it.

nyccarguy

My random thought for the day. I had some more seat time in the Pilot this weekend when we went to see my in laws on Long Island. Maybe when the lease is up on the Tacoma I’ll make that my daily driver and lease a sedan for my wife.

graphicguy

@oldfarmer50 ...I love those compilation videos where the idiocy of some people are framed and hung for the world to see.

Seriously, someone who buys a sports car, and has zero experience in driving sports cars (like @roadburner suggests), shouldn’t get a license for said car. Then again, stupid is stupid, regardless of experience level.