Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

You mean to tell me that none of the words above make it onto the flag list for the forum software? I love this place!

qbrozen

tifighter said:

I'm talking Monteros, not the Sport. 3rd gen Monteros.

Oh heck! You just opened my eyes. I had no idea they were different. The Sport is smaller. That explains a lot, and changes things since the Pajero is not the smaller Sport.

tifighter

qbrozen said:

tifighter said:

I'm talking Monteros, not the Sport. 3rd gen Monteros.

Oh heck! You just opened my eyes. I had no idea they were different. The Sport is smaller. That explains a lot, and changes things since the Pajero is not the smaller Sport.

From a post on ExPo-

mjfloyd1

All quiet on the VW Beetle and Fiat 500 front??

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

All quiet on the VW Beetle and Fiat 500 front??

————————————————-
Please, weren’t you taught to leave sleeping dogs and posters with fantasies lie?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

Dangit. This Mitsu I think may make more sense than a Pajero. Just as an example, a '96 with 100k miles sold at auction last night for 500k yen. With shipping and fees, I'd wind up into it for about $7k before any unforeseen reconditioning and repairs. Granted, that would be a diesel. But also RHD.

That seller has another with lower miles and larger engine. I'd really prefer to avoid leather. And, honestly, I don't know much about either engine, but seems to me the 3.0 was fairly reliable. I didn't even know a 3.5 existed.

Those are all variants of the 6G7 Cyclone engine. The 3.0 is the 6G72 and the 3.5 is the 6G74. I had the 6G75 3.8 version in my Eclipse. Very torquey motors especially with VVT. Butterly smooth

The biggest problem I heard about them is valve seals that leaked.

————————————————

You’re not being totally honest when you said, “The biggest problem I heard about them (Mitsubishi engines) is valve seals that leaked”. Then again at your age maybe you have forgotten about my ‘05 Hyundai XG350 that blew an engine in 2012 with just under 43K miles. That car had the Mitsubishi V6 3.5 6G74 engine.

Until the engine blew up it was a good engine with no hint whatsoever of ANY problems. Nice power, smooth, silent, not an oil burner, no oil leaks. Pretty much everything you’d want in an engine for a family sedan. Very surprising how it happened too. Mrs. j was decelerating coming to a light from a speed of 35 MPH when BAM a loud noise. However, the engine kept running allowing her to pull into a gas station right at that light.

Yes, this is the engine that Hyundai bounced the warranty claim on because the dealer said there was a discrepancy with my oil change log. They stood fast about not honoring the 100K mile engine warranty even when I pointed out how they incorrectly showed the wrong mileage on a work order when they did a warranty claim, for a seat belt light that stayed on, about 3K miles before they did the last oil change on it within a month of the engine blowing.

I’ll bet you remember that now.

jmonroe

That must have been a batch of throwaway engines that Hyundai got cheap since they had no intention of honoring the warranty anyway.

qbrozen

I've casually looked at this stuff before, but I'm starting a deeper dive into becoming a licensed dealer. NJ is such a pain in the butt. I really hate this whole thing about having physical office and showroom space with proper signage, etc. Not just NJ, but that's what I'm working with, of course. Just a cursory look and I think I found a space not far from home for under $600/mo that could work. BUT, I might want to get a small warehouse space to keep cars inside. Just a thought.

I also paid a whopping $27 for a book and video series to educate myself better on all of it. It is actually A LOT of content for the money.

andres3

henryn said:

DVD-Audio was considered extinct by 2007 (according to Wikipedia). A quick search on Ebay and Amazon shows that some are still available, but they are not priced like collector's items, more like coasters.

graphicguy said:

sda said:

Tire sensor replaced, tires rotated, $75. That is half of what the Honda dealer quoted, $140 plus tax. Todays glamor picture, it still drives great.

Boy....I have a bunch of DVD-Audio Disks that sound glorious in that version of the TL. Don't know if they're collectors items or coasters at this point.

Sounds like coasters it is. Will you take $1/coaster?

corvette

@qbrozen KY is similar... 2,000 square foot parking lot, 100+ square foot office, business name, signage, posted opening hours, etc... It would probably be easier if you had a friend with a dealership license who would take you on as a "salesperson" in exchange for a vig.

qbrozen

corvette said:

@qbrozen KY is similar... 2,000 square foot parking lot, 100+ square foot office, business name, signage, posted opening hours, etc... It would probably be easier if you had a friend with a dealership license who would take you on as a "salesperson" in exchange for a vig.

I have no friends

carnaught

qbrozen said:

I've casually looked at this stuff before, but I'm starting a deeper dive into becoming a licensed dealer. NJ is such a pain in the butt. I really hate this whole thing about having physical office and showroom space with proper signage, etc. Not just NJ, but that's what I'm working with, of course. Just a cursory look and I think I found a space not far from home for under $600/mo that could work. BUT, I might want to get a small warehouse space to keep cars inside. Just a thought.

I also paid a whopping $27 for a book and video series to educate myself better on all of it. It is actually A LOT of content for the money.

How about an over sized raincoat you can open to show perspective customers your merchandize?

roadburner

graphicguy said:

sda said:

Tire sensor replaced, tires rotated, $75. That is half of what the Honda dealer quoted, $140 plus tax. Todays glamor picture, it still drives great.

Boy....I have a bunch of DVD-Audio Disks that sound glorious in that version of the TL. Don't know if they're collectors items or coasters at this point.

Bring them to Casa RB; my Sony X800M2 can play them- along with most every other CD or DVD format.

jmonroe1

👳🏿‍♂️

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

@qbrozen KY is similar... 2,000 square foot parking lot, 100+ square foot office, business name, signage, posted opening hours, etc... It would probably be easier if you had a friend with a dealership license who would take you on as a "salesperson" in exchange for a vig.

I have no friends

————————————————

Ahhhhh. If you get access to that auction site again or you get into the biz like you’re trying to do now, I predict you’ll be swimming with friends.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

graphicguy said:

sda said:

Tire sensor replaced, tires rotated, $75. That is half of what the Honda dealer quoted, $140 plus tax. Todays glamor picture, it still drives great.

Boy....I have a bunch of DVD-Audio Disks that sound glorious in that version of the TL. Don't know if they're collectors items or coasters at this point.

Bring them to Casa RB; my Sony X800M2 can play them- along with most every other CD or DVD format.

————————————————
@graphicguy, did you notice he didn’t say a word about refreshments. Maybe he expects you to bring those for the service he’s going to provide.

jmonroe

explorerx4

My home CD player crapped out a while back so I replaced it with a spare DVD player.
It plays CD's just fine, so I assume music DVD's would work as well.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
My home CD player crapped out a while back so I replaced it with a spare DVD player.
It plays CD's just fine, so I assume music DVD's would work as well.

It will play them but not the way they were intended to play. The players made for audio had a six channel discreet output for the surround mix.

I still have my DVD-A player, a Yamaha. It serves as a CD player in my theater. Hardly ever gets used. I do still have a handful of DVD-A discs but haven’t played one in years.

andres3

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

My home CD player crapped out a while back so I replaced it with a spare DVD player.

It plays CD's just fine, so I assume music DVD's would work as well.

It will play them but not the way they were intended to play. The players made for audio had a six channel discreet output for the surround mix.

I still have my DVD-A player, a Yamaha. It serves as a CD player in my theater. Hardly ever gets used. I do still have a handful of DVD-A discs but haven’t played one in years.

That's why I always liked Oppo disc players, they always play everything on a disc pretty much; whereas your average cheap DVD player can't play DVD Audio discs.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
I have no friends

We are both your friends and your enablers, little buddy 🤣👍

explorerx4

@qb,
Carole is your friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAR_Ff5A8Rk

mjfloyd1

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————-
Please, weren’t you taught to leave sleeping dogs and posters with fantasies lie?

jmonroe

My wife tells me that I am not good at following instructions.

I was really asking for a friend…🤣😂

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————-

Please, weren’t you taught to leave sleeping dogs and posters with fantasies lie?

jmonroe

My wife tells me that I am not good at following instructions.

I was really asking for a friend…🤣😂

————————————————-
Oh, one of those kinda guys. We know it couldn’t have been @qbrozen since he has no friends.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

Another dedication for @qbrozen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEkIou3WFnM

andres3

I don't see anything out there tempting me right now. As long as this S4 runs; there's no reason to jump ship. Other than the PCV's this car is actually continuing to get good reviews for reliability up to about 150,000 miles.

mjfloyd1

andres3 said:

I don't see anything out there tempting me right now. As long as this S4 runs; there's no reason to jump ship. Other than the PCV's this car is actually continuing to get good reviews for reliability up to about 150,000 miles.

Well, not this particular car…😇. Hopefully your HPFP won’t act up again and wreak havoc

roadburner

tjc78 said:

I still have my DVD-A player, a Yamaha. It serves as a CD player in my theater. Hardly ever gets used. I do still have a handful of DVD-A discs but haven’t played one in years.

My CD player was my only dalliance with "High End" audio- a Rotel RCD-855 player with Audioquest Sorbothane feet and Discrete Technology interconnects. And it's plugged into a hospital grade outlet.

corvette

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

Sandman6472

OF, drove a newish 2022 Kia Sorento at work today and was amazed at how well it was appointed inside plus the way it drove. Was a base model in black over black cloth but was a nice combo in the sunlight. Peppy engine and it seemed to sip the petrol on my 30 mile drive from West Palm to western Coral Springs. Seats were comfy and the cloth was grippy, excellent egress/ingress. Ergonomics were spot on with everything right where it should be and the audio was decent sounding. If in the market for a mid-sized CUV, would definitely have one of these on the short list.
Earlier in the day, drove a newer Ford Ecosport, Titanium edition which should be top of the line. Had the better audio system, a B&O unit I think, but have no idea what that stands for. The size was dead on perfect for my needs and egress/ingress wasn't bad at all. A bit anemic when I hit the gas pedal but one just would need to plan early to merge into traffic. Looked up the mileage figures and a bit dismal for it's size to be honest. And it's a Ford...something I'd never even consider buying. But for the rental market...why not.

Michaell

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

No. Green chilies with tomatoes.

corvette

Michaell said:

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

No. Green chilies with tomatoes.

Ahh, so, a motor oil Velveeta cheese additive, then?

Michaell

corvette said:

Michaell said:

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

No. Green chilies with tomatoes.

Ahh, so, a motor oil Velveeta cheese additive, then?

Yup!

tjc78

@roadburner said:
My CD player was my only dalliance with "High End" audio- a Rotel RCD-855 player with Audioquest Sorbothane feet and Discrete Technology interconnects. And it's plugged into a hospital grade outlet.

That’s a nice piece. Rotel is still making making high end stuff, but I haven’t heard any of their newer offerings.

tjc78

@Sandman6472 said:
OF, drove a newish 2022 Kia Sorento at work today and was amazed at how well it was appointed inside plus the way it drove. Was a base model in black over black cloth but was a nice combo in the sunlight. Peppy engine and it seemed to sip the petrol on my 30 mile drive from West Palm to western Coral Springs. Seats were comfy and the cloth was grippy, excellent egress/ingress. Ergonomics were spot on with everything right where it should be and the audio was decent sounding. If in the market for a mid-sized CUV, would definitely have one of these on the short list.
Earlier in the day, drove a newer Ford Ecosport, Titanium edition which should be top of the line. Had the better audio system, a B&O unit I think, but have no idea what that stands for. The size was dead on perfect for my needs and egress/ingress wasn't bad at all. A bit anemic when I hit the gas pedal but one just would need to plan early to merge into traffic. Looked up the mileage figures and a bit dismal for it's size to be honest. And it's a Ford...something I'd never even consider buying. But for the rental market...why not.

B&O is Bang & Olufsen a Danish audio company.

ab348

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

They have pivoted away from that business with the decline of high-end audio pasta.

au1994

corvette said:

Michaell said:

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

No. Green chilies with tomatoes.

Ahh, so, a motor oil Velveeta cheese additive, then?

One of the great guilty pleasures in life!

ab348

I know there are still a lot of Lincoln fans around, especially for the Town Car models from the '80s onward. I discovered This Interesting Article about proposed Lincolns that never made production, some of them older models, but several from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Fomoco dodged a few bullets I think.

graphicguy

I used my OPPO 205 for years to play my DVD-As, SACDs, DVDs and Blu Rays. Tempted to sell it, given they are going for crazy money on fleaBay. But, as long as I can play my disks in my home theater (I do, because of my large Blu Ray collection), I’ll probably hold on to them.

I’ve got some good ones, too.

-DOSD by Pink Floyd in multi-channel
-King Crimson-Court of the Crimson King
-Emerson, Lake and Palmer-Trilogy
-Elton John-Tumbleweed Connection

And others…..

At one point, they were playable in the Acura TL’s sound system, and sounded wonderful.

Alas, Acura quite supporting the format a while ago.

But, my disks live on.

sda

The proposed 76 Mark front end reminds me a bit of the 69-70 Grand Prix.

graphicguy

No surprise here, but in Korea, it’s being reported that the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia K5 and Stinger are to be no longer. Production stops this summer.

Too bad….when I had my Stinger, that was large fun. And, I bought it well, when they couldn’t give them away. Sad to hear they are going away.

tjc78

@ab348 said:
I know there are still a lot of Lincoln fans around, especially for the Town Car models from the '80s onward. I discovered This Interesting Article about proposed Lincolns that never made production, some of them older models, but several from the '70s, '80s and '90s. Fomoco dodged a few bullets I think.

Good read and certainly some questionable choices there.

Could you have imagined if they didn’t release the 90
Town Car on the Panther? Lincoln would have been long gone. That was a Motor Trend Car of the year and sold incredibly well. I always felt it was a shame the 90 carried over the 5.0 because the 4.6 wasn’t ready.

I think this design could have made a nice Continental for the times.

au1994

graphicguy said:

No surprise here, but in Korea, it’s being reported that the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia K5 and Stinger are to be no longer. Production stops this summer.

Too bad….when I had my Stinger, that was large fun. And, I bought it well, when they couldn’t give them away. Sad to hear they are going away.

I’m very surprised at the Sonata, I thought they sold relatively well. Not surprised on the Stinger, unfortunately. A great car with the wrong badge.

Before long it will just be the Camcord left in sedanland. I really hate the loss of the Passat and 6. Those were 2 good ones.

ab348

tjc78 said:

Could you have imagined if they didn’t release the 90

Town Car on the Panther? Lincoln would have been long gone. That was a Motor Trend Car of the year and sold incredibly well. I always felt it was a shame the 90 carried over the 5.0 because the 4.6 wasn’t ready.

I think this design could have made a nice Continental for the times.

I'm not certain the stated date of 1990 for that one is correct given that the photo has a date of 1982, so it likely for a mid-80s intro based on the yet-to-be released Taurus platform. But FWD/V-6 was what GM went to and as the piece says, that drove hordes to the Panther-based RWD Lincolns. It is a nice design though and probably could have done well as an addition to the Lincoln lineup in the '80s. I would guess the design is from the early days of the Telnack era at Ford styling.

The "197x" Continental shown in the piece was pure Gene Bordinat though. It seems like he took the upcoming '79 Grand Marquis design and had hidden headlights and assorted gingerbread tacked on to make it a Lincoln. I can't imagine that would have done too well. It would have made a nicer Grand Marquis, though.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

corvette said:

Rotel.. don't they make pasta?

They have pivoted away from that business with the decline of high-end audio pasta.

————————————————-
This new world is great.

I’ve learned more Spanish reading labels today than I did when I was in high school. Where was this new world when it could have help me pass Spanish the first time I took it?

jmonroe

ab348

jmonroe1 said:

This new world is great.

I’ve learned more Spanish reading labels today than I did when I was in high school. Where was this new world when it could have help me pass Spanish the first time I took it?

jmonroe

I hate to tell you this, JM, but that label wouldn't have helped your Spanish very much. The second language on it is French.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

jmonroe1 said:

This new world is great.

I’ve learned more Spanish reading labels today than I did when I was in high school. Where was this new world when it could have help me pass Spanish the first time I took it?

jmonroe

I hate to tell you this, JM, but that label wouldn't have helped your Spanish very much. The second language on it is French.

————————————————
That is probably my problem. I never learned enough Spanish early on to pass it, thereby giving me time to take French.

jmonroe

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:

I don't see anything out there tempting me right now. As long as this S4 runs; there's no reason to jump ship. Other than the PCV's this car is actually continuing to get good reviews for reliability up to about 150,000 miles.

Well, not this particular car…😇. Hopefully your HPFP won’t act up again and wreak havoc

Well, I'll let you know in about 145,000 miles how that's going. By then, the transmission would have about 190,000 miles.

roadburner

@graphicguy said:
I used my OPPO 205 for years to play my DVD-As, SACDs, DVDs and Blu Rays. Tempted to sell it, given they are going for crazy money on fleaBay. But, as long as I can play my disks in my home theater (I do, because of my large Blu Ray collection), I’ll probably hold on to them.

I’ve got some good ones, too.

-DOSD by Pink Floyd in multi-channel
-King Crimson-Court of the Crimson King
-Emerson, Lake and Palmer-Trilogy
-Elton John-Tumbleweed Connection

And others…..

At one point, they were playable in the Acura TL’s sound system, and sounded wonderful.

Alas, Acura quite supporting the format a while ago.

But, my disks live on.

I have ELP’s remastered “Pictures at an Exhibition “ and it sounds amazing.

roadburner

@graphicguy said:
No surprise here, but in Korea, it’s being reported that the Hyundai Sonata, the Kia K5 and Stinger are to be no longer. Production stops this summer.

Too bad….when I had my Stinger, that was large fun. And, I bought it well, when they couldn’t give them away. Sad to hear they are going away.

I figured the Stinger was not long for this world, sadly. You can’t sell a car aimed at the entry-level Euro market in a Kia showroom- never mind the absolutely horrible quality of service. I dodged a bullet by passing on a GTS.

roadburner

@sda said:
The proposed 76 Mark front end reminds me a bit of the 69-70 Grand Prix.

Exactly!

stickguy

Sonata and Passat became somewhat redundant as the Jetta and Elantra kept growing. Civic too, basically an accord with less rear legroom.

explorerx4

The 58 Lincoln passed a lot of styling on to the 61.
The 1988 Conti looks like a 4 door AMC Pacer or maybe inspiration for the Panamera.