Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

explorerx4

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

Have you seen the price of SB tickets?

tifighter

This is pretty drool-worthy-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-porsche-cayman-21/

Check out the pics for the conversion receipts. Wow.

kyfdx

tifighter said:

This is pretty drool-worthy-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-porsche-cayman-21/

Check out the pics for the conversion receipts. Wow.

I love that. What do you bet they blew their engine at the track?

tifighter

kyfdx said:

tifighter said:

This is pretty drool-worthy-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-porsche-cayman-21/

Check out the pics for the conversion receipts. Wow.

I love that. What do you bet they blew their engine at the track?

Ordered new as a base. Then taken for the conversion. Guy wanted to build a GT4 before there was a GT4 available.

corvette

I’m glad they converted it to a 3800. Should be very reliable.

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

This is pretty drool-worthy-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-porsche-cayman-21/

Check out the pics for the conversion receipts. Wow.

How do you verify that the engine swap was done right on something like that?

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
How do you verify that the engine swap was done right on something like that?

There could be ways but “trust me” ain’t one of them.

jmonroe

qbrozen

money well burned

rny421

So I just learned about a company called Kandi. They have a "neighborhood EV" that stickers for $12,000, and it's eligible for the $7,500 Federal EV rebate (and even some state EV rebates), meaning it can be had for $4,500 or less.

I vote that @breld buy one, since we know that he has lost more than $4,500 on many many many cars, so it's chump change to him

stickguy

That cayman does look like fun. Seems well done. Certainly cost enough.

xwesx

rny421 said:

So I just learned about a company called Kandi. They have a "neighborhood EV" that stickers for $12,000, and it's eligible for the $7,500 Federal EV rebate (and even some state EV rebates), meaning it can be had for $4,500 or less.

I vote that @breld buy one, since we know that he has lost more than $4,500 on many many many cars, so it's chump change to him

Interesting. 35 mph top speed seems reasonable for something that size, though it would make going from neighborhood to neighborhood a little tricky. It would be perfect for a local runabout in the area of Ohio where we have our house, as the roads that connect the closely located towns to one another are relatively low speed (35-50 mph) with four total driving lanes, so one could tool along at 30-35 and not get in anyone's way too badly.

stickguy

nice alternative to a golf cart I guess.

ab348

I wonder how they would treat that in a place like The Villages in FL where people use golf carts to get around the place.

corvette

I took advantage of the milder temps today for some al fresco motoring in the Prius and discovered there is a scraping noise coming from one of the wheels on the left side (probably the front) when driving in a straight line. It seems to go away when the brakes are applied. I’m going to keep an eye on it and see if it goes away.

sda

corvette said:

I took advantage of the milder temps today for some al fresco motoring in the Prius and discovered there is a scraping noise coming from one of the wheels on the left side (probably the front) when driving in a straight line. It seems to go away when the brakes are applied. I’m going to keep an eye on it and see if it goes away.

Always something, friendly challenges and wallet openers.

roadburner

BaT has a 2007 9-3 Aero SportCombi 6-Speed located in my home county; 120k miles but pretty clean. Parts availability keeps me from considering it.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
BaT has a 2007 9-3 Aero SportCombi 6-Speed located in my home county; 120k miles but pretty clean. Parts availability keeps me from considering it.

Want!

stickguy

pretty car. I absolutely love the color combo.

and want no part of trying to source bits and pieces for it.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

@roadburner said:

BaT has a 2007 9-3 Aero SportCombi 6-Speed located in my home county; 120k miles but pretty clean. Parts availability keeps me from considering it.

Want!

It IS nice.

corvette

That 9-3 looks great. I bet it will sell for over $10k.

28firefighter

Want want want.

henryn

I have bought and sold many a car through private transactions, I was doing so a long time before Craigslist or even the internet. And I’ve never really had an unpleasant or scary experience. One transaction did cause me some problems further down the road. I sold the 2008 Passat when it was 5 years old, so roughly in 2013. A guy came to my house, drove it, wanted it, and asked me to hold it. He was back an hour later with $8,000 in hundred dollar bills, fresh from the bank. I signed over the title and signed the title transfer form, and away he went. My mistake was in not getting his signature on anything that I kept.

Fast forward 15 months (yes, 15 months, well over a year) and I get a bill from the toll road authority for around $150. Seems the new owner had gone through a number of toll booths without paying, with the same license plates, and had never transferred the title. According to my records, the license plates were expired nearly a full year before this incident with the toll booths. I fought with the toll road authority for quite a while, but in the end I had to pay up. The state did remove the car and plates from my name after I called them so that it would not happen again.

And oh yeah, the $8k in cash? When I went to deposit that in my credit union, they had to take my picture so they could report the transaction. Sheesh. Big time drug trafficker, that’s me!

mjfloyd1

Saab 9-3 Not want.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

I have bought and sold many a car through private transactions, I was doing so a long time before Craigslist or even the internet. And I’ve never really had an unpleasant or scary experience. One transaction did cause me some problems further down the road. I sold the 2008 Passat when it was 5 years old, so roughly in 2013. A guy came to my house, drove it, wanted it, and asked me to hold it. He was back an hour later with $8,000 in hundred dollar bills, fresh from the bank. I signed over the title and signed the title transfer form, and away he went. My mistake was in not getting his signature on anything that I kept.

Fast forward 15 months (yes, 15 months, well over a year) and I get a bill from the toll road authority for around $150. Seems the new owner had gone through a number of toll booths without paying, with the same license plates, and had never transferred the title. According to my records, the license plates were expired nearly a full year before this incident with the toll booths. I fought with the toll road authority for quite a while, but in the end I had to pay up. The state did remove the car and plates from my name after I called them so that it would not happen again.

And oh yeah, the $8k in cash? When I went to deposit that in my credit union, they had to take my picture so they could report the transaction. Sheesh. Big time drug trafficker, that’s me!

In my state the seller keeps the plates and the new owner has to get his own. What we have to do is scrape the registration sticker off the windshield so no one can drive around with the old one.

I’m surprised they took your picture for $8k. They only have to report over $10k to the feds unless they think you’re structuring multiple smaller amounts. My hoopties usually sell for so little that nobody cares.

Sandman6472

After I graduated high school, my folks moved over to their country club and sold their vehicle, a 1972 Ford Torino GT coupe to my brother, and bought a golf cart as they were allowed on the streets around the club. They kept in one one side of the two-car garage so it could be charged at night. We'd use it to drive around the neighborhood and to play golf as we lived on a long fairway with a lake right behind the pool. One thing about golf carts, in the wrong hands, they can be very dangerous as I learned first hand. Had not my friend yelled out, I would've lost both legs when the kid playing in my friends golf cart came backwards at full speed and closed the door of my folks brand new car with such a loud noise. It happened so quickly that I was just able to swing my legs into the car when it hit it. Think I was in shock for about 5 minutes. It was their brand new 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix and the passenger door was badly dented. Going home & having to explain what happened to my folks was really hard but luckily, once they heard how hurt I could've been, they calmed right down. The kid playing in the golf cart was the cousin of a friend of mine they never liked...I kept him away from them for a long time after this incident.
It was their first Pontiac and they ended up getting a few more over the next 8 or so years. The worst was the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville Parisienne with the Oldsmobile diesel engine...awful from day one!

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

I have bought and sold many a car through private transactions, I was doing so a long time before Craigslist or even the internet. And I’ve never really had an unpleasant or scary experience. One transaction did cause me some problems further down the road. I sold the 2008 Passat when it was 5 years old, so roughly in 2013. A guy came to my house, drove it, wanted it, and asked me to hold it. He was back an hour later with $8,000 in hundred dollar bills, fresh from the bank. I signed over the title and signed the title transfer form, and away he went. My mistake was in not getting his signature on anything that I kept.

Fast forward 15 months (yes, 15 months, well over a year) and I get a bill from the toll road authority for around $150. Seems the new owner had gone through a number of toll booths without paying, with the same license plates, and had never transferred the title. According to my records, the license plates were expired nearly a full year before this incident with the toll booths. I fought with the toll road authority for quite a while, but in the end I had to pay up. The state did remove the car and plates from my name after I called them so that it would not happen again.

And oh yeah, the $8k in cash? When I went to deposit that in my credit union, they had to take my picture so they could report the transaction. Sheesh. Big time drug trafficker, that’s me!

In my state the seller keeps the plates and the new owner has to get his own. What we have to do is scrape the registration sticker off the windshield so no one can drive around with the old one.

I’m surprised they took your picture for $8k. They only have to report over $10k to the feds unless they think you’re structuring multiple smaller amounts. My hoopties usually sell for so little that nobody cares.

I also thought the threshold was $10k. I asked the lady who ran the credit union, whom I have known for better than 20 years, and she said the amount was lowered after 9/11.

Sandman6472

Had my yearly evaluation at work last week and everything worked out great. Boss was happy with my performance and my willingness to work whenever needed, called me a great team player, which I appreciated. Getting a $.25 raise started soon which I'll happily take. We get another dollar raise come August like we did last year I've heard. This year will be the first year I'll be eligible for profit sharing, a perk I've never got before. Am also enrolled in their 401K program, again, something I've never gotten before. Enterprise is such a much better company to work for and with just over two years there, was the best move I've ever made, bar none!
Someone I haven't worked with for awhile asked me if I'm still working at the Toyota store and was quite surprised when I told him I left there the beginning of November. He asked me why and told him with both gigs, was just too many hours and it took a huge toll on my health. Maybe me getting vertigo wasn't a direct result of it, but felt working all those hours wore me out to where I got the vertigo. Felt it was a sign to make a life change and it was easy to decide which job had to go! And looking back three months later, was definitely the right decision to leave!

stickguy

I bought and sold a bunch before and after CL (remember calling the local paper and dictating an ad?) Never really had any scary experiences. A few flakes of course.

I remember the kid that showed up first to look at my integra. Had his GF with him, drove it, and wanted it, happy with asking price. I think he gave me something as a deposit ($100?) and had to run out to find a machine to get more. came back in a few minutes with a weird assortment of cash in a bag that we counted out on the trunklid. 20s, 10s, you name it but they dug deep and came up with the full amount.

I did meet some nice people going to look at their cars.

breld

I sure wish people would invest in something as fundamental as decent tires.

Snow started falling this evening, roads were merely slushy, so I head out to go to my neighborhood gym so I don’t have to venture out tomorrow.

Stopped at a light in my nice new X5, and got rear-ended by a Grand Cherokee. Low speed, not much damage, but the rear bumper definitely has some damage, which I assume means a whole new bumper cover.

Guy was nice enough and apologetic. We exchanged all the pertinent information, and I still went on to my Orange Theory class.

Bummer.

roadburner

breld said:

I sure wish people would invest in something as fundamental as decent tires.

Snow started falling this evening, roads were merely slushy, so I head out to go to my neighborhood gym so I don’t have to venture out tomorrow.

Stopped at a light in my nice new X5, and got rear-ended by a Grand Cherokee. Low speed, not much damage, but the rear bumper definitely has some damage, which I assume means a whole new bumper cover.

Guy was nice enough and apologetic. We exchanged all the pertinent information, and I still went on to my Orange Theory class.

Bummer.

How aggravating. At least your perp was only borderline idiotic.

corvette

@breld glad you are okay!

[Deleted User]

breld said:

I sure wish people would invest in something as fundamental as decent tires.

Snow started falling this evening, roads were merely slushy, so I head out to go to my neighborhood gym so I don’t have to venture out tomorrow.

Stopped at a light in my nice new X5, and got rear-ended by a Grand Cherokee. Low speed, not much damage, but the rear bumper definitely has some damage, which I assume means a whole new bumper cover.

Guy was nice enough and apologetic. We exchanged all the pertinent information, and I still went on to my Orange Theory class.

Bummer.

That just sucks, sorry to hear that Hopefully not a lot of brain damage getting it fixed!

28firefighter

@breld said:
I sure wish people would invest in something as fundamental as decent tires.

Snow started falling this evening, roads were merely slushy, so I head out to go to my neighborhood gym so I don’t have to venture out tomorrow.

Stopped at a light in my nice new X5, and got rear-ended by a Grand Cherokee. Low speed, not much damage, but the rear bumper definitely has some damage, which I assume means a whole new bumper cover.

Guy was nice enough and apologetic. We exchanged all the pertinent information, and I still went on to my Orange Theory class.

Bummer.

Ugh. That’s a bummer, man. Glad you’re okay and it’s only the bumper.

henryn

stickguy said:

I bought and sold a bunch before and after CL (remember calling the local paper and dictating an ad?) Never really had any scary experiences. A few flakes of course.

I remember the kid that showed up first to look at my integra. Had his GF with him, drove it, and wanted it, happy with asking price. I think he gave me something as a deposit ($100?) and had to run out to find a machine to get more. came back in a few minutes with a weird assortment of cash in a bag that we counted out on the trunklid. 20s, 10s, you name it but they dug deep and came up with the full amount.

I did meet some nice people going to look at their cars.

Probably the funniest experience was when I sold an old AMC station wagon. A bunch of hispanic kids, looked about high school age, and no English. But nice friendly kids. We negotiated with sign language, and writing numbers on a piece of paper. They emptied their pockets, pooled all of their money, and came up about $50 short. I was amused and let them have the car.

mjfloyd1

@breld said:
I sure wish people would invest in something as fundamental as decent tires.

Snow started falling this evening, roads were merely slushy, so I head out to go to my neighborhood gym so I don’t have to venture out tomorrow.

Stopped at a light in my nice new X5, and got rear-ended by a Grand Cherokee. Low speed, not much damage, but the rear bumper definitely has some damage, which I assume means a whole new bumper cover.

Guy was nice enough and apologetic. We exchanged all the pertinent information, and I still went on to my Orange Theory class.

Bummer.

That stinks. Glad you were not hurt.

Shoulda leased that one

Probably no damage if you didn’t have those darned front license plates I kid

Sandman6472

Totally sucks but you are o k so that's what really matters here. This X5 isn't a keeper in your ever changing fleet, so just a bump in the road for y'all. Still, sucks when a vehicle is brand new like yours is.

ab348

Good thing it was an all-weather/all-conditions/all-terrain Grand Cherokee and not some lethal sedan. Otherwise he might have plowed into you at such speed your shiny new car would be a write-off.

au1994

Sorry to hear @breld.

Glad you are ok and its a minor ding. Hopefully not too much of a PITA to deal with!

qbrozen

Ugh. Well, good thing you’ll trade it before it shows up on carfax.

au1994

roadburner said:

BaT has a 2007 9-3 Aero SportCombi 6-Speed located in my home county; 120k miles but pretty clean. Parts availability keeps me from considering it.

Are parts really that bad? At this point weren’t the mechanicals GM?

roadburner

@au1994 said:
Are parts really that bad? At this point weren’t the mechanicals GM?

There is a Saab USA parts site but I don’t know if their inventory is very comprehensive. There used to be a good Saab indie tech in Louisville but I don’t know if he’s still around.

stickguy

JRGO has a 9-5 he has been trying to finish. He seems to get parts from SAABparts. Lots of small bits and pieces like window rollers and seals.

tjc78

That sucks @breld. Same thing happened to me many years ago with my 2000 Solara. I didn’t even have tags yet and was hit in the back.

graphicguy

explorerx4 said:

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

I wish. I’m a fan, but there’s a financial limit to my fandom. I’ve already spent more the past couple of weeks than I had planned to. Good think I’m not married, or I might be in trouble.

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

Have you seen the price of SB tickets?

Walt…don’t know if you’ve heard/seen the advertisements for “packages” to go to the SuperBowl around town. I have a friend who bought one of them. Round trip airfare from CVG to LAX, 3 nights lodging in LA, welcome dinner, tix to the game….price?

$10K

He says he thinks it’s a deal. I view it as the price of a brand new big screen home theater system.

All about perspective.

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

explorerx4 said:

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

I wish. I’m a fan, but there’s a financial limit to my fandom. I’ve already spent more the past couple of weeks than I had planned to. Good think I’m not married, or I might be in trouble.

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@graphicguy,
Does that mean you are going to LA?

Have you seen the price of SB tickets?

Walt…don’t know if you’ve heard/seen the advertisements for “packages” to go to the SuperBowl around town. I have a friend who bought one of them. Round trip airfare from CVG to LAX, 3 nights lodging in LA, welcome dinner, tix to the game….price?

$10K

He says he thinks it’s a deal. I view it as the price of a brand new big screen home theater system.

All about perspective.

$10K for one person? Sounds about right.
Provident travel had non-stop airfare, plus three nights hotel, and transportation (airport and game) for $3500 p/p. Add in two game tickets and your are at $20K.

Sunday night, I had r/t airfare for $442/ea, a hotel room for four nights for $140/nt, and a rental car for $220.
$1250 for transportation and lodging for two. Very cheap. And, then I looked at the ticket prices. Umm... nope!

By contrast, tickets to the Cotton Bowl this year were $315 ea. And, if we'd made the CFP championship in Indianapolis, those tickets were only $650/each.

stickguy

Priorities and opportunity.

You can always buy a TV. But might never have a chance to see your favorite team in the SB again.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Priorities and opportunity.

You can always buy a TV. But might never have a chance to see your favorite team in the SB again.

Yeah, but it isn't like we can't watch the game...

stickguy

Seems like my Maverick fleet might not grow for a long time. Ford having continued problems, especially with hybrids, getting them built. So production estimates keep getting pushed back (for people that ordered a lot earlier. I don’t even have one).

I’d guess that mine will get built in July, at the earliest. At that point, might as well wait for a 2023, for Christmas!

stickguy

Also really glad I took the one I did, instead of waiting for the 2nd one.