Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

got to put the truck(lette?) to work again today. My idea about buying it knowing we would be moving soon turned out to make sense. Weird feeling when one of my plans goes like that... But I digress.

we had rented a storage unit to offload stuff before showing the house. The end of the first month was coming up and I had no desire to pay $200 for month 2 (1st month was half off). since they only let you use their truck to move in, I did it DIY. moved 2 chairs (one a bulky recliner where the back did not come out) and a bunch of boxes. Boxes fit in the RDX too, but that big chair quite possibly was not getting in. and if it did fit, a huge pain to wrestle it inside. With the truck, just lifted it up and slid it on in.

game in very handy, even without being the biggest bed in the world.

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With a REAL truck you coulda hauled 2 of those recliners and still had room for more stuff.

jmonroe

stickguy

and it would not fit in my garage or a parking spot.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

and it would not fit in my garage or a parking spot.

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Excuses, EXCUSES, EXCUSES.

jmonroe

henryn

stickguy said:

and it would not fit in my garage or a parking spot.

My full size F150 with the 8' bed will fit in most any parking spot. Now trying to maneuver the truck into that parking spot is a different story!

tjc78

I keep coming back to a small truck for a new vehicle. They are just too darn useful.

cdnpinhead

Most on here are too cultured to know that there's a C & W song "Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around," but there is.

jmonroe1

> @cdnpinhead said:

Most on here are too cultured to know that there's a C & W song "Give me 40 acres and I'll turn this rig around," but there is.

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How many acres do you think @stickguy would need for a full size pickup. OK, that’s a tuff question? How about with his trucklette?

jmonroe

fintail

Maybe 2500-3K each way? If one is fortunate enough to be able to take a year off to amble around, and will be sleeping in the rig much of the time, the money saved would add up fast vs renting something or especially staying in hotels. One could probably break even within 2 months.

tifighter said:

No. Just from friends from Zurich who decided to ship their van over and drive around the US for awhile. And Canada. And Mexico. TBD.

Depending on time I guess the numbers might work. Maybe 3K each way to ship it?

tifighter said:

@28firefighter said:

@tifighter said:

No. Just friends from Zurich who decided to ship their van over and drive around the US for awhile. And Canada. And Mexico. TBD.

That’s what - 6ish weeks to do it? Not cheap. Was the thoroughly beat up Cruise America RV option not their thing?

They are spending a year on this side. The shipping actually isn’t that expensive.

corvette

Strike 1: private seller, interior roached, VSC and CEL lights on. It drove extremely well, though.
Strike 2: dealer (closed), interior okay, hatch area pretty beat up
Strike 3: dealer (closed), car not visible on lot.
The hunt continues...

tjc78

On most newer Toyotas a CEL triggers the VSC / Trac light as well. Not sure why they do that, but there is most likely nothing wrong with that system.

corvette

Car Wizard has complained about that behavior, which is pretty much his only criticism of Toyota. It had a vacuum hose obviously broken/disconnected under the hood. Needed master power window switch, etc… not worth my trying to save it given the rest of its condition.

mjfloyd1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Just don’t bring it back without plates or full of bullet holes or tell the agent “the brakes are kind of weak over 150”.

150 is definitely unattainable. The wheels are so out of balance that 80 isn’t so great either.

xwesx

ab348 said:

For some Euroland camping aficionados it has become a thing to put their caravan on a ship and spend the summer here touring. As a seaport, Halifax receives many of these each spring and they are offloaded here awaiting their owners. Many are quite elaborate and unusual to our eyes.

http://truckfax.blogspot.com/search?q=camper

If seen several of those big Mercedes tanks up this way over the past decade. Strange beasts. Seem like total overkill to me, but perhaps they do take them into some questionable places.

breld

Keeping it somewhat car related…

kyfdx

I credit it to my attendance at that one game in 2020.

stickguy

I happened to find my sons (or it may have been mine) old Avs Jersey in the closet today while I was inventorying how much stuff we had left to get rid of or move. No idea why we still have that one.

explorerx4

@stickguy,
Patrick Roy.

Michaell

Did anyone happen to watch the documentary on ESPN about the late 90's Avs-Red Wings rivalry? I know @breld and I did.

Lots of blood shed during that time.

corvette

I did not realize that the 3.3 liter Toyota V6 engines used a timing belt, and apparently are interference engines, as well. I'm trying to avoid that in a used vehicle, since you're placing a lot of faith in the previous owner, their mechanic, and the quality of materials they used, if it was ever replaced.

I texted the owner of a "clean, one owner" Acura MDX yesterday asking when the timing belt was done and heard crickets.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

I did not realize that the 3.3 liter Toyota V6 engines used a timing belt, and apparently are interference engines, as well. I'm trying to avoid that in a used vehicle, since you're placing a lot of faith in the previous owner, their mechanic, and the quality of materials they used, if it was ever replaced.

I texted the owner of a "clean, one owner" Acura MDX yesterday asking when the timing belt was done and heard crickets.

Something like that, you have to assume that it wasn't done (and most likely one of the reasons they are getting rid of it) unless you see very detailed receipts. Tires are a good sign of how well a car is cared for. Are the tires brand new, but low quality? What are the date codes? Are they "good enough" to sell the car, but you are going to have to replace them within a year? Once thing I've learned is that anybody can have a car professionally detailed and change the oil so it looks good.

Michaell

corvette said:

I texted the owner of a "clean, one owner" Acura MDX yesterday asking when the timing belt was done and heard crickets.

Probably got your note and thought "I have to change the timing belt?" and were ashamed to respond.

fintail

Michaell said:

Did anyone happen to watch the documentary on ESPN about the late 90's Avs-Red Wings rivalry? I know @breld and I did.

Lots of blood shed during that time.

That was the pinnacle of the NHL, the best modern rivalry by far.

tjc78

@corvette said:
I did not realize that the 3.3 liter Toyota V6 engines used a timing belt, and apparently are interference engines, as well. I'm trying to avoid that in a used vehicle, since you're placing a lot of faith in the previous owner, their mechanic, and the quality of materials they used, if it was ever replaced.

I texted the owner of a "clean, one owner" Acura MDX yesterday asking when the timing belt was done and heard crickets.

Can you look a few years newer for something with the 3.5? Only weak point on those is a VVT oil line (pre 2010) that is not expensive to swap out for an all metal line.

Michaell

fintail said:

Michaell said:

Did anyone happen to watch the documentary on ESPN about the late 90's Avs-Red Wings rivalry? I know @breld and I did.

Lots of blood shed during that time.

That was the pinnacle of the NHL, the best modern rivalry by far.

It was put together well. Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux shared a stage at a sports bar outside of Detroit and shared their thoughts on the whole thing.

Turns out Lemieux never apologized to Kris Draper for his hit, and Draper hasn't forgiven Lemieux. Guess they won't be exchanging holiday cards.

henryn

I can remember, years ago, going to look at a used car from Craigslist. The owner had mentioned “maintenance records” in the ad, but when I asked she got a blank look on her face. She eventually came up with one receipt for an oil change, and another for state inspection, both found in the glove box clutter.

Ah, yes, Craigslist, it is indeed a strange world out there, and if you need proof of that, just venture onto Craigslist.

corvette

tjc78 said:

Can you look a few years newer for something with the 3.5? Only weak point on those is a VVT oil line (pre 2010) that is not expensive to swap out for an all metal line.

I've been looking at newer ones as well. I was just surprised, as my (very old) memories about timing belts were that Honda generally used interference engines while Toyota did not. You learn something new every day!

sda

I used to prefer an engine with a timing chain vs a timing belt but not so sure anymore. Many timing chains and tensioners are not lasting as long or longer than a timing belt and can be very expensive to replace. A timing belt replacement is generally less expensive and more predictable in that it is often included in the maintenance schedule. If either break, oh boy if an interference engine!

tifighter

Just had the timing belt, water pump and other work done on the Montero. Cost was pretty reasonable, and I’m glad to know it’s done. Now I can stop driving the other car where I shouldn’t-

mjfloyd1

@breld said:
Keeping it somewhat car related…

That SUV is getting long in the tooth assuming you still have it🤣😂

qbrozen

Wound up having to hire a truck to get the Gloria home. I only just completed everything for my TWIC today, so who knows how long before TSA grants it to me. I know I could arrange an appointment with an escort or whatever... just easier to let someone else do it this first time. Once I have all my own credentials and hardware and don't have to coordinate with anybody else, it will be far easier. Hopefully I'll see the car by the end of the week.

pensfan83

How's the setup of the business going? Is the physical location coming along?

roadburner

I found another M4 Comp; a 2019 one owner with 24k miles and a full dealer service history. The price is borderline reasonable. Might check it out next weekend.

henryn

roadburner said:

I found another M4 Comp; a 2019 one owner with 24k miles and a full dealer service history. The price is borderline reasonable. Might check it out next weekend.

If the pricing is indeed "borderline reasonable", it won't be there next weekend, it will sell today. Just the hard truth right now.

qbrozen

@pensfan83 said:
How's the setup of the business going? Is the physical location coming along?

It is done. I had to so I could take pics to send with my application. Only hitch right now is phone service because I’m having some hardware issues. Been trying to utilize a cellular hotspot. Bought one box and fought with that for several hours and with 3 different SIM cards before I threw in the towel and ordered a different box. Now, of course, delivery of that has been delayed.

stickguy

I love that red.

oldfarmer50

sda said:

I used to prefer an engine with a timing chain vs a timing belt but not so sure anymore. Many timing chains and tensioners are not lasting as long or longer than a timing belt and can be very expensive to replace. A timing belt replacement is generally less expensive and more predictable in that it is often included in the maintenance schedule. If either break, oh boy if an interference engine!

Only one of my cars has a timing belt (the oldest one). There’s no record of it being changed before I bought it at 82k miles. Since the car only cost $2k and the belt would cost $1100 I decided to roll the dice and wait to 100k miles before begrudgingly changing it.

The only car that had a timing chain problem was my 95’ Lincoln Mark VIII where the tensioner didn’t engage quickly enough on start up causing a one second rattle. I think the problem comes from the very long chains on some of those DOHC motors like the 4.6L 4 valve. I never had a bit of trouble with the much shorter chain on the 4.3L V6 in my hooptie cargo van.

It may be just psychological but all in all I’d rather have a chain than a belt.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I found another M4 Comp; a 2019 one owner with 24k miles and a full dealer service history. The price is borderline reasonable. Might check it out next weekend.

That’s my favorite BMW color. I think my company only buys black ones.

tjc78

@oldfarmer50 said:
Only one of my cars has a timing belt (the oldest one). There’s no record of it being changed before I bought it at 82k miles. Since the car only cost $2k and the belt would cost $1100 I decided to roll the dice and wait to 100k miles before begrudgingly changing it.

The only car that had a timing chain problem was my 95’ Lincoln Mark VIII where the tensioner didn’t engage quickly enough on start up causing a one second rattle. I think the problem comes from the very long chains on some of those DOHC motors like the 4.6L 4 valve. I never had a bit of trouble with the much shorter chain on the 4.3L V6 in my hooptie cargo van.

It may be just psychological but all in all I’d rather have a chain than a belt.

A 4.6 will run for an eternity with that little startup rattle. My 04 MGM had it if it sat for more than a few days.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

I found another M4 Comp; a 2019 one owner with 24k miles and a full dealer service history. The price is borderline reasonable. Might check it out next weekend.

I really like the color!

fintail

You don't see that kind of thing anymore, for better or worse - and almost certainly never will again.

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Michaell said:

Did anyone happen to watch the documentary on ESPN about the late 90's Avs-Red Wings rivalry? I know @breld and I did.

Lots of blood shed during that time.

That was the pinnacle of the NHL, the best modern rivalry by far.

It was put together well. Darren McCarty and Claude Lemieux shared a stage at a sports bar outside of Detroit and shared their thoughts on the whole thing.

Turns out Lemieux never apologized to Kris Draper for his hit, and Draper hasn't forgiven Lemieux. Guess they won't be exchanging holiday cards.

corvette

Maybe it's just the lighting or angle, but the aspect ratio on the tires on that M4 looks to be near zero.

jmonroe1

@graphicguy said:
I really like the color!

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Yes, that is a nice color.

I have an idea. Since you live relatively close, go over there and buy it out from under him. That otta teach him a lesson not to dilly-dally about buying when the price is good enough; especially these days.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@corvette said:
Maybe it's just the lighting or angle, but the aspect ratio on the tires on that M4 looks to be near zero.

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I agree but that’s probably why that car drives like it’s glued to the road. Just watch out for expansion joints and pot holes.

jmonroe

kyfdx

corvette said:

Maybe it's just the lighting or angle, but the aspect ratio on the tires on that M4 looks to be near zero.

They look like 21" from here.

qbrozen

@kyfdx said:
They look like 21" from here.

You have a massive monitor. Look like 2.1s from my perspective.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

You have a massive monitor. Look like 2.1s from my perspective.

Hahaha. Smart alek. I just about spit my tea out my nose.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

You have a massive monitor. Look like 2.1s from my perspective.

Hahaha. Smart alek. I just about spit my tea out my nose.

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Better than losing a good swig of beer, like what almost happened to me.

jmonroe

tifighter

Haven't heard from @28firefighter recently. How many 0-60 runs do we think he's made by now?

qbrozen

@tifighter said:
Haven't heard from @28firefighter recently. How many 0-60 runs do we think he's made by now?

Firefighter? Depends how many times he had to get on the highway.

explorerx4

Hey qbrozen,
You've gotten vehicles shipped. Do you use a particular service? Thx.
Got a quote to ship the Mustang from CT to OH, $820. Seems expensive.