She drove a new 1974 Cutlass til the mid 80's when it died.
Then she bought a 1987 Camry that she drove til about 2000 until it wouldn't pass emissions at 267K. It still ran fine though.
So I bought her a 1993 Accord that she drives now. I don't know how she does it. She doesn't seem to want a caar now either. What's wrong with her anyway.
is an anit-car person. In '66 she got her permit and a '63 Corvair 2 door. The car broke and she sold it to her brother. It bounced around the family until it was scrapped some 20 years later.
In '72 she got her permit again and was going to buy a Beetle from my uncle. While he was teacher her to drive with the clutch, she was T-boned by a drunk that ran a red light.
In '88 she got her permit a third time with plans to buy her best friends Pinto. It went the way one would expect a 10 year old Pinto to go.
To this day she has not gotten her drivers licence.
At the rate we are going the mortgage should be paid off in < 10 years. Our interest rate is only 4.1 and we do pay above the minimum payment so it's a priority but car buying doesn't affect our plans for it. As it is, if we stay here, it would be paid off before little Gee hits those costly teenage years. As far as we are concerned we are pretty responsible with our discretionary income. Compared to some we aren't but compared to a lot of people our age we are. I do admire those who can buy a car and drive it for years upon years.
I know what you are saying about Honda's "goodness". It's a feeling you just don't get from the other makes it competes with. Toyota has it's own brand of the feeling but Nissan and Mazda can't match it. Most domestics can't even dream about matching it. IMO, all the top-tier brands have a certain feeling about them that keeps people coming back. I would put Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes in this group. VW and Audi have a way of making some of their owners not care about all of the reliability issues so their owners must also get the same feeling. The goodness you talk about has been present in every Honda I have driven. Starting with a 91 Integra all the way up to the 04 Accord. Even our 96 Civic has it now after 10 years and 128,000 miles.
It won't let me make a paragraph. When I look at my message screen it shows the separation and when I click on edit it shows the separation but it will only post as one long paragraph.
Reliability-wise, my Nissan was on par with what I would expect from Honda or Toyota. But, it had several design issues that I wouldn't expect to find in a Honda or Toyota. The heater that quit heating at idle and cheap interior are well-documented in the 2002-03 models. Also, the door locks had almost no resistance, so it's easy to accidentally bump into the lock and lock the door as you exit the car. Again, I think Honda and Toyota put a little more thought into the details. The Accord and Odyssey interiors, in particular, are really impressive. I can't get attached to the new Civic's interior, but perhaps it will grow on me.
The auto-login is still having gremlins, maybe there's other stuff going on?
Well, the only reason this is not off-topic is that savings and car buying have a direct relationship... plus, nobody's ever been off-topic in CCBA, right?
My question: Does anybody know what it means when statistics are quoted for what people "save"?
Some gov't agency came out with numbers last week that were quoted on CNN/Money in excruciating detail, but I have no idea what they were saying.
Like, savings account? 401(k)? Is a Roth IRA considered "saving"? I assume home equity does not count?
Who cares if you don't have "savings" when you have half a million in your retirement accounts...
-Mathias (who is not encumbered with that kind of money...)
Well, I could be putting my new TSX payment against the Home Eq principal balance, but frankly I was tired of daily driving my '00 Celica. For better or for worse too in the job I'm now doing, unfortunately image does factor in to some extent. At least I was able to hit a decent compromise on driving fun, status, and most importantly, price.
I am however, out of the car market for at least three years, or until something gets paid off.
Hopefully, there is no real housing bubble, but even if there is, IMHO the correction won't be too severe if you've been in your home 5 years or more. My house has basically doubled in that time, meaning I've got huge equity, approaching mid 6 figures, but a little frightful because I could never now afford to buy into where I live.
With 401k deductions, IRA's, stock, and the "house-rich" pretend money, all the calulators say Mr.& Mrs. Racer63 will have a well funded retirement, even with figuring in college costs for Racer Jr. and the Racerette.
Hope so, since I swear the next car bought will be a genuine sports car, that I'm still missing out on with the TSX.
It doesn't count home equity, but does count retirement plan contributions, according to Bankrate. It also doesn't count capital gains that the accounts accrue.
[The term "savings"] doesn't count home equity, but does count retirement plan contributions.
Thanks. Ouch. If the savings rate is a fraction of a percent including retirement plans, then a lot of people have trouble coming.
This area is heavily GM. Word on the street is that people are scared and aren't spending money. The RV crowd in particular -- lots of GM retirees -- is very worried. They're simply not sure that they're pensions are going to be there at the present level.
This is a real dilemma for GM, because these people form a large part of their customer base... I have heard that the majority of new car sales at GM dealerships in the area use GMS pricing -- that's employees and family, not the "supplier" or similar plans that even schmoes like me can get.
Heck, used to be every GM employee/retiree was CCBA by definition 'cuz they could buy a new car every year and more or less drive for free...
My folks had always loved American luxury cars, though my dad and his brothers each bought identical 1958 Corvettes in 3 different colors from proceeds on an investment of a famous Braodway show. This is a list that I can remember.
Dad's List: 1955 Chyrsler 1958 Corvette 1963 Riviera 1967 Toronado 1970 Toronado 1972 Ford Torino Sport
Mom's List: 1957 Chrysler Station Wagon 1960 Cadillac Sedan De Ville 1962 Cadillac Sedan De Ville 1964 Cadillac Sedan De ville 1966 Lincoln Continental 1968 Cadillac Eldorado 1970 Cadillac Convertible 1972 Lincoln Continental 1975 Pontiac Grand Prix 1977 Pontiac Bonneville 1979 Pontiac Parisianne Diesel 1981 Pontiac Parisianne 1983 Pontiac Bonneville 1986 Mercury Gran Marquis 1988 Mercury Gran Marquis 1992 Mercury Gran Marquis 1996 Mercury Gran Marquis 2000 Mercury Gran Marquis 2003 Mercury Gran Marquis
Never could convince the folks to get a foreign car. And now that Mom passed on in late December, my brother has started to use the car while he shops to replace his 1990 Volvo 240. I guess I get my passion for cars from my grandpa who used to own a Chrysler/Dodge dealership in Westchester from 1950 till 1963. My other set of grandparents always got a new Imperial every 2 years from 1957 till 1969. Now those were awesome cars!
This was a month ago; regarding a base 5sp Silverado pickup.
kyfdx wrote: Base pickup? Bad idea... no one wants them... (I doubt you will, either.. once you get it).
I beg to differ. It turns out that one of the local Chevy dealers had a 2004 GMC 4.3l 5sp reg cab SWB truck. And they were happy to let me have it overnight... it had 9,500 miles and looked to be in great shape. It also was bright red, a smoker's truck without cruise or a sliding window, and it had 20" chrome wheels. Twen-Ty. Ugh.
I loved the way it drove. Smooth, fast, decent stick; the engine a little coarse but heck, it's a truck. Very easy to drive smoothly, 2000 rpm at 70mph in 5th gear, and 3000 in 4th. A real "overdrive" transmission, and plenty of power anywhere; also the redline has moved above 5k; it used to be 4,500 rpm, which made the truck a real dog... I drove one a decade ago and hadn't seen one since. I loved both the driving position and the seats... just grippy enough to keep me from sliding around, which is really painful when driving a stick shift and have your left foot and right arm up in the air.
The size would be just right for the missus to use for her antique shows. But it's no good. It took me five minutes to wrangle the darned thing into the garage. That's after I folded the pass side mirror. Then I had to squeeze between the rear corner of the truck and the garage door to get out... and I'm not that big.
The stupid truck is simply too big to be a daily driver; and leaving it OUTSIDE the garage is not good because then we can't squeeze another car past it into the second parking spot.
The price for a new one would be way right. Supplier pricing, rebate, GM Card; a $17k MSRP truck with AC and cruise and nothing else comes to $11,500 + TTL. And less if they choose to use one or six of those $250 coupons... less still if any "conquest" rebates apply... I think GM is getting truly desparate.
The stupid truck is simply too big to be a daily driver...
I would actually prefer the full-size, regular cab (Sierra) as a daily driver to a compact, regular cab (Canyon). The ride quality, visibility, and amount of room in the cabin are worth the extra width, and with the short wheelbase, the full-size is still decently maneuverable.
I'm the type that would go for a fairly basic full-sized truck. When it's time to finally retire my Silverado, I'd probably get a basic Sierra/Silverado. Standard cab, 8 foot bed. Only options I really want are an automatic tranny, a decent stereo with a cd player, and a sliding rear window. And I could probably deal with the V-6 (or whatever base engine is available by the time I'm in the market for a new truck). As it is, I'm sure the 4.3 they're using is more capable than the old 305-4bbl that's in my '85.
I'm out in the boonies though, where I could turn the thing around in my yard if I wanted to. And if I ever felt the need to shelter it, I could just build another garage or carport. And I'm accustomed enough to my '85 Silverado, that I'm sure a newer one would handle better, and probably seem like a step up for me. Although, a new equivalent of my truck is about a foot longer, so it might seem more cumbersome in tight spaces. But then the new ones are also more rounded off and tapered in the front, where mine is more flat-faced. That does make a difference in tight maneuvering, as you actually have less bulk on the sides up front, ahead of the wheels.
I've sat in all the small trucks, and there's not a single one that I like. Even the bigger ones, like the Dakota and Tacoma. The Dakota just feels bulky, but not roomy. And the Tacoma has an awkward driving position for me...too close to the door and offset from the steering wheel. And none of those little 'uns have much of a bed. Even if they have the payload capacity, they just don't have the bed space.
Have you looked at a compact or mid size? I guess with your GM card, that would be a Canyon. An extra cab (2 door) would give a decent amount of room up front, and the bed size isn't going to be too much different than a standard cab full size, right?
At least it should be narrow enough to fit into the garage, although maybe not that much shorter.
There seems to be plenty of room up front in a regular-cab Canyon/Colorado, but very little storage space. An extended-cab would help provide a makeshift "trunk," and the ride would be better due to the longer wheelbase. Also, I think the blind spots are reduced on the extended-cab. However, the inline-five in those trucks makes Volvo's inline five sound like Lexus made it.
I've actually thought about that. In my area, last time I checked at least, you're allowed to cover up to 25% of your total square footage with structures, driveways, patios, decks, etc. Well, I have 4.28 acres, so the way I figure it, that means I can build roughly 1 acre worth of stuff.
Well, I figure that between the footprint of the house, garage, sheds, deck, patio, etc, I'm only at around 2500 square feet of coverage. Plus maybe 4000 for the driveway (a high estimate) So I figure I have roughly 40,000 square feet left to build. :shades: Or roughly 41 more 24x40 garages. I'm sure the county would put their foot down eventually though.
I made the move to smaller trucks simply because for my purposes a full size truck is a waiste. Sure I like the room, but to me trucks are utility vehicles. I don't have anything against most full size trucks, but I find some to be comical.
Where I grew up we called crew-cab pickups "crummies". Something to haul 6 loggers, chain saws, cables, axes, shovels, 2-stroke oil and cans of gas. They had a purpose other than status.
They're to long and heavy to be any good off-road. They cant offer the ride and handling of a family car. They are a hazard in town, and safety is a major misconception. You pay a premium for what?
I just spent some time searching some completed eBaymotors listings. I searched for all completed items for vehicles between 2002 and 2004, and sorted by mileage. There were the usual big diesel pickups, limos, and economy cars racking up such high mileage, but interesting findings included several 2002-04 Explorers, Mountaineers, Escalades, and Odysseys, and a Buick Rainer, with mileage between 100-200k. Also interesting was a 2002 BMW M5 with 122k, listed twice but didn't sell either time. Good grief, there were a lot of Escalades with high mileages on there!
Here are the TDIs I found: 2003 Jetta GL TDI wagon, manual, hubcaps, 185201 miles, $12099.69 2002 Golf GLS TDI, auto, alloys, sunroof, 136,581 miles, $7125. Scuffs, scratches, and a check engine light 2002 Jetta GLS TDI auto sedan, 134,390 miles, $8300. 2002 Jetta GLS TDI manual wagon, moonroof and leather, 118,500 miles, $13995 BIN. Really Clean.
Dad's Beetle cost about $17,500 new. No official word from Terry in RWTIV, but it looks like he might get around half of that back, as people are paying crazy money for these.
No tractor, at least not yet. Most of my land is forested, thankfully, so there's really not a whole lot to cut. My grandma has an old 1990 Montgomery Ward riding tractor that I use to cut the grass, and she lives right across the street from me, so it's easy to swipe it when I need it.
Oh, it's kinda disturbing that stuff like this is so readily available on the internet, but I found this aerial shot of my neighborhood. Most of my property shows up on it. It's the old house toward the left side of the picture that's real close to the road. Kinda scary that this type of stuff is out there. Oh well, at least you can't see my neighbors fooling around in their hot tub out back!
I always thought a golf cart would be cool to have. How good are they at off-roading, though? As in, more off-road than your typical golf course green?
If you want pictures of your neighbors fooling around in their hot tub try this sight.
Just kidding, I would never want pictures of my neighbors even in their snow suits. On either side they all outweigh me by at least 50 lbs. , and I am no light weight.
Anyway with all this talk about fiscal responsibility this question sort of fits in here. Has anyone successfully done a down size trade ?
I am contemplating trading/selling my Mazda 6 wagon for a small front wheel drive SUV like an Escape,Rav4,Liberty or something that sits higher like a Vibe and hopefully put $3k to $4k in my pocket.I would probably have to go a model or two years older with maybe a few more miles.
I would like to get something sit a little higher because my knees don't like the trip getting up and down in the Mazda. I also need something shorter in length if I want to continue parking my car in the garage. The kids bikes and toys have begun to take over my side.
Sure, it can be done,but you probably won't get that much back in the end, and you wil have a much older or higher mile car that you won't like as much. The 6 doesn't have great resale, so strike one. Strike 2 and 3 are taxes/fleas and maintenance costs on the new ride.
I actually did a dwon trade of sorts that left me with a new car, no car note, and more $ in my pocket. I sold my practical car (a Maxima)and toy car (Miata) at the same time, and bought a semi-practical/semi-toy car to replace them both (a Scion tC). Even with tax/tags, I spent less on it than my 2 older cars brought in. Plus I saved $100/month on my insurance bill!
Of course, the tC ended up being a little short on the practical side, so I flipped it into a great deal on a new Accord. But I am done for now. I swear!
That is kinda what I thought, plus losing the sales tax credit on $4k are the downsides .But this would be one of those trades that would at least be easy to get past the trade approval committee(the wife).
Trading down reminds me of the Charles Barkley trade about ten years ago. The Sixers trade the best rebounder in the game for Jeff Hornacek and 3 ball boys. Makes me wonder if I can get quality in return for my car.
I have not checked with Terry , but I checked 2 dealers around here and they were offering $13k to $14k real monet for my 6.Thats not too bad considering I drove it a year and put on 16k miles.
It's just an idea at this point, I guess maybe the long winter is making me itchy. Plus $4k in the bank will go a long way to the toy, but that is a dream that will not be happening for a while. If only Mazda had made the Miata 6" bigger I would have one in my garage now.
Do you think come spring you will be missing the Miata at all ?
probably won't clear that. If you can get 14k ACV, you would have to buy a car for ~9K to have 4K left over after taxes, etc. You just won't get much of a matrix or Escape (I I remember your choices) for 9K. IMO, if you are going cheap, go real cheap (say a '98 Sable for 4K). Otherwise, keep what you have and enjoy it for a long time. all MHO of course.
I miss the Miata on occasion, but there were so few times that I could really use it right that it wasn't really worth having. Plus, it was really uncomfortable for my aging, oversized body.
In my case, I am hanging onto the "kids graduate college, buy a nice 4 seat convertible" dream. Only have to wait about 10 years! That new Volvo C70 looks mighty tasty.
Try a our MDX for our 1996 Civic. It wasn't a trade per se. But that's what we ended up with. No car note and much less insurance. Now if I could just get rid of the LS400.
keep the LS! Maybe it will set the record as the longest-lived car in your fleet ever! :-)
I may be moving out of the area in about a year, in which case I will probably trade two cars for one - who wants to move across the country with two cars? That would be a sort of trade down, although I would be buying new. Perhaps I will finally get that stick shift Accord EX.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Nah he got a good deal on the LR3 and good value on the freeloader err freelander.
Owner loyalty bonus, plus it was coming up on the end of the year so the very rare Land Rover rebates were out and then we threw in a about 1500 in discount on top of all that.
Do leases count? We got rid of our '02 Explorer with 7 lease payments left and purchased an '03 Focus. Payments dropped from $580/mo to $320/mo and gas mileage almost doubled.
Starting to get the jones for something new. Not that there is anything wrong with the Focus, just would like something different. Lately, have been thinking about a Mazda 6i 5-door with a stick. MSRP of about $24K before supplier discount and rebates .. perhaps under $20K before taxes?
may be moving out of the area in about a year, in which case I will probably trade two cars for one - who wants to move across the country with two cars?
Good lord, I don't even want to THINK about moving, with my fleet! :surprise: I wonder how much it would cost to rent an auto carrier? Seriously though, if something like that happened, I'd probably cut a few cars loose before moving. And then if I really started grieving over their loss, just buy something else to ease the pain! :P With the exception of my Dart, which doesn't run, and my DeSoto, which has been sitting too long, I think any of my other cars would be able to survive a cross-country trip. Might be a sort of an adventure, to fly back out here, drive one of the old beasts to its new destination, and then fly back and do it again. But it would be pretty time consuming, plus expensive with plane tickets. And fuel.
an older couple moved in from Maryland last year. The house has a short driveway leading to a small single-car garage. They brought with them: an old, slightly ratty Mercedes SL coupe, an early-90s E, a late-90s ML, a Ford F-250, two tractors, a backhoe, and three trailers. The open land next to the garage was a plowed field not so long ago, so anything parked there bogs down in the mud (which they learned the hard way). They now have all their crud sitting in the front yard while they wait for the several dump truck loads of fill dirt they brought in to settle down.
Yes we down sized. We went from a Caravan to a Neon and from a Dodge Dakota quad cab 4X4 to a Jeep Liberty Diesel. Our insurance dropped almost $80. a month and the fuel mileage was a big improvement. Caravan was 17 to 19 mpg and the Dakota was 15 to 71.5 mpg. Now the Neon gets 29 to 32 mpg and the Jeep Liberty Diesel gets 22.5 in the dirt and hilly roads around here to 26 mpg on the open long highway. We have a 1996 Neon with 178,000 on the same original engine, (two rebuilt transmissions) and it still gets 30 mpg! The 2004 Neon is better build and is more comfortable but still gets about the 29 to 32 mpg. Now I have no engine over 4 cyclenders and it seems like the right thing to have down sized for us.
Well, I really love my truck - all the goodness of the older model I used to have and more. So it hits the road with me if I move. But I can't really imagine flying all the way back and spending the gas money to drive across the country in.............my Toyota Echo? Don't think so. :-)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
No, the MSRP is about $26k for the Impala. The Grand Prix GXP's MSRP was around $29k LAST year, but GM dropped it down to $27k or so (with their across the board price reductions).
Is everyone growing up?? I've looked at a few cars down here in TX, been offered $21.5k for the Titan. Only thing I've found besides the Pilot (which can't tow much) that I like is an Expedition, however, its questionable on its towing abilities.
So, the Titan has remained. She will turn 41k tomorrow me thinks, still a great truck. Have had her for just shy of 16 months. Zippy I hear is doing fine and has around 53k on her, she will be 2 in July. The Dodge is quickly losing ground on mileage to the Titan and will once again be the lowest mileage vehicle in our group, I think its at 48k or so, have had it for just over 2 years.
Is everyone growing up?? I've looked at a few cars down here in TX, been offered $21.5k for the Titan. Only thing I've found besides the Pilot (which can't tow much) that I like is an Expedition, however, its questionable on its towing abilities.
I'm 99% sure the Expedition has a similar towing capability of the F-150, so about 9000 lbs or so? Either way, without checking I guarantee it will tow (over?) double what that Pilot will! :P
Just so nobody gets the wrong idea with the above post, I wasn't bagging on the Pilot. It's a fine mommymobile, an SUV with excellent road manners (much better than the Expedition in that regard). However, if you want something that can tow...
$26k is the base price. The one at the auto show was $29,xxx with leather, sunroof, and Bozo sound, all of which are extra.
Haha, Bozo sound. That's pretty accurate, because I felt like a Bozo for getting it in my car. The sound is good enough, but when time comes to replace it, good luck! You have to rewire the whole thing, new speakers, new head unit, amp, sub, everything. I tried throwing a new HU in my car with a "step down" adapter, and it sounded like crap. Oh well.
to be a very good car. We are averaging 35-38 MPG. It's seeing more use than the Accord beacause I take the Civic to work and leave the Accord for Gee and little Gee. So far we have put over 1,000 miles on it.
As far as our Civic search goes .. we came WAAAY too close to winning a SI with NAV on Ebay. We were the winning bidder up until 38 seconds remaining. Fortunately, someone outbid us. Price was $21,290. $1000 off of MSRP and only $45 in doc fees. One car that has been catching my eye is the new RAV4. Seems nice and has plenty of power. I'm just not a fan of most Toyota driving positions.
Comments
Then she bought a 1987 Camry that she drove til about 2000 until it wouldn't pass emissions at 267K. It still ran fine though.
So I bought her a 1993 Accord that she drives now. I don't know how she does it. She doesn't seem to want a caar now either. What's wrong with her anyway.
In '72 she got her permit again and was going to buy a Beetle from my uncle. While he was teacher her to drive with the clutch, she was T-boned by a drunk that ran a red light.
In '88 she got her permit a third time with plans to buy her best friends Pinto. It went the way one would expect a 10 year old Pinto to go.
To this day she has not gotten her drivers licence.
I know what you are saying about Honda's "goodness". It's a feeling you just don't get from the other makes it competes with. Toyota has it's own brand of the feeling but Nissan and Mazda can't match it. Most domestics can't even dream about matching it. IMO, all the top-tier brands have a certain feeling about them that keeps people coming back. I would put Honda, Toyota, BMW, and Mercedes in this group. VW and Audi have a way of making some of their owners not care about all of the reliability issues so their owners must also get the same feeling. The goodness you talk about has been present in every Honda I have driven. Starting with a 91 Integra all the way up to the 04 Accord. Even our 96 Civic has it now after 10 years and 128,000 miles.
The auto-login is still having gremlins, maybe there's other stuff going on?
My question: Does anybody know what it means when statistics are quoted for what people "save"?
Some gov't agency came out with numbers last week that were quoted on CNN/Money in excruciating detail, but I have no idea what they were saying.
Like, savings account? 401(k)? Is a Roth IRA considered "saving"? I assume home equity does not count?
Who cares if you don't have "savings" when you have half a million in your retirement accounts...
-Mathias
(who is not encumbered with that kind of money...)
I am however, out of the car market for at least three years, or until something gets paid off.
Hopefully, there is no real housing bubble, but even if there is, IMHO the correction won't be too severe if you've been in your home 5 years or more. My house has basically doubled in that time, meaning I've got huge equity, approaching mid 6 figures, but a little frightful because I could never now afford to buy into where I live.
With 401k deductions, IRA's, stock, and the "house-rich" pretend money, all the calulators say Mr.& Mrs. Racer63 will have a well funded retirement, even with figuring in college costs for Racer Jr. and the Racerette.
Hope so, since I swear the next car bought will be a genuine sports car, that I'm still missing out on with the TSX.
Thanks. Ouch. If the savings rate is a fraction of a percent including retirement plans, then a lot of people have trouble coming.
This area is heavily GM. Word on the street is that people are scared and aren't spending money. The RV crowd in particular -- lots of GM retirees -- is very worried. They're simply not sure that they're pensions are going to be there at the present level.
This is a real dilemma for GM, because these people form a large part of their customer base... I have heard that the majority of new car sales at GM dealerships in the area use GMS pricing -- that's employees and family, not the "supplier" or similar plans that even schmoes like me can get.
Heck, used to be every GM employee/retiree was CCBA by definition 'cuz they could buy a new car every year and more or less drive for free...
-Mathias
This is a list that I can remember.
Dad's List:
1955 Chyrsler
1958 Corvette
1963 Riviera
1967 Toronado
1970 Toronado
1972 Ford Torino Sport
Mom's List:
1957 Chrysler Station Wagon
1960 Cadillac Sedan De Ville
1962 Cadillac Sedan De Ville
1964 Cadillac Sedan De ville
1966 Lincoln Continental
1968 Cadillac Eldorado
1970 Cadillac Convertible
1972 Lincoln Continental
1975 Pontiac Grand Prix
1977 Pontiac Bonneville
1979 Pontiac Parisianne Diesel
1981 Pontiac Parisianne
1983 Pontiac Bonneville
1986 Mercury Gran Marquis
1988 Mercury Gran Marquis
1992 Mercury Gran Marquis
1996 Mercury Gran Marquis
2000 Mercury Gran Marquis
2003 Mercury Gran Marquis
Never could convince the folks to get a foreign car. And now that Mom passed on in late December, my brother has started to use the car while he shops to replace his 1990 Volvo 240. I guess I get my passion for cars from my grandpa who used to own a Chrysler/Dodge dealership in Westchester from 1950 till 1963. My other set of grandparents always got a new Imperial every 2 years from 1957 till 1969. Now those were awesome cars!
The Sandman
kyfdx wrote: Base pickup? Bad idea... no one wants them... (I doubt you will, either.. once you get it).
I beg to differ. It turns out that one of the local Chevy dealers had a 2004 GMC 4.3l 5sp reg cab SWB truck. And they were happy to let me have it overnight... it had 9,500 miles and looked to be in great shape. It also was bright red, a smoker's truck without cruise or a sliding window, and it had 20" chrome wheels. Twen-Ty. Ugh.
I loved the way it drove. Smooth, fast, decent stick; the engine a little coarse but heck, it's a truck. Very easy to drive smoothly, 2000 rpm at 70mph in 5th gear, and 3000 in 4th. A real "overdrive" transmission, and plenty of power anywhere; also the redline has moved above 5k; it used to be 4,500 rpm, which made the truck a real dog... I drove one a decade ago and hadn't seen one since. I loved both the driving position and the seats... just grippy enough to keep me from sliding around, which is really painful when driving a stick shift and have your left foot and right arm up in the air.
The size would be just right for the missus to use for her antique shows. But it's no good. It took me five minutes to wrangle the darned thing into the garage. That's after I folded the pass side mirror. Then I had to squeeze between the rear corner of the truck and the garage door to get out... and I'm not that big.
The stupid truck is simply too big to be a daily driver; and leaving it OUTSIDE the garage is not good because then we can't squeeze another car past it into the second parking spot.
The price for a new one would be way right. Supplier pricing, rebate, GM Card; a $17k MSRP truck with AC and cruise and nothing else comes to $11,500 + TTL. And less if they choose to use one or six of those $250 coupons... less still if any "conquest" rebates apply... I think GM is getting truly desparate.
-Mathias
The stupid truck is simply too big to be a daily driver...
I would actually prefer the full-size, regular cab (Sierra) as a daily driver to a compact, regular cab (Canyon). The ride quality, visibility, and amount of room in the cabin are worth the extra width, and with the short wheelbase, the full-size is still decently maneuverable.
-Mathias
I'm out in the boonies though, where I could turn the thing around in my yard if I wanted to. And if I ever felt the need to shelter it, I could just build another garage or carport. And I'm accustomed enough to my '85 Silverado, that I'm sure a newer one would handle better, and probably seem like a step up for me. Although, a new equivalent of my truck is about a foot longer, so it might seem more cumbersome in tight spaces. But then the new ones are also more rounded off and tapered in the front, where mine is more flat-faced. That does make a difference in tight maneuvering, as you actually have less bulk on the sides up front, ahead of the wheels.
I've sat in all the small trucks, and there's not a single one that I like. Even the bigger ones, like the Dakota and Tacoma. The Dakota just feels bulky, but not roomy. And the Tacoma has an awkward driving position for me...too close to the door and offset from the steering wheel. And none of those little 'uns have much of a bed. Even if they have the payload capacity, they just don't have the bed space.
At least it should be narrow enough to fit into the garage, although maybe not that much shorter.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
(jk) :P
I've actually thought about that. In my area, last time I checked at least, you're allowed to cover up to 25% of your total square footage with structures, driveways, patios, decks, etc. Well, I have 4.28 acres, so the way I figure it, that means I can build roughly 1 acre worth of stuff.
Well, I figure that between the footprint of the house, garage, sheds, deck, patio, etc, I'm only at around 2500 square feet of coverage. Plus maybe 4000 for the driveway (a high estimate) So I figure I have roughly 40,000 square feet left to build. :shades: Or roughly 41 more 24x40 garages. I'm sure the county would put their foot down eventually though.
Where I grew up we called crew-cab pickups "crummies". Something to haul 6 loggers, chain saws, cables, axes, shovels, 2-stroke oil and cans of gas. They had a purpose other than status.
They're to long and heavy to be any good off-road. They cant offer the ride and handling of a family car. They are a hazard in town, and safety is a major misconception. You pay a premium for what?
Here are the TDIs I found:
2003 Jetta GL TDI wagon, manual, hubcaps, 185201 miles, $12099.69
2002 Golf GLS TDI, auto, alloys, sunroof, 136,581 miles, $7125. Scuffs, scratches, and a check engine light
2002 Jetta GLS TDI auto sedan, 134,390 miles, $8300.
2002 Jetta GLS TDI manual wagon, moonroof and leather, 118,500 miles, $13995 BIN. Really Clean.
Dad's Beetle cost about $17,500 new. No official word from Terry in RWTIV, but it looks like he might get around half of that back, as people are paying crazy money for these.
My DH and I are members of the CMV(motorized vehicles)BC. It's a good thing we have acreage, too.
2 tractors
2 riding lawn mowers
2 four wheelers
1 golf cart
4 cars
1 truck
all for 2 drivers
Oh, it's kinda disturbing that stuff like this is so readily available on the internet, but I found this aerial shot of my neighborhood. Most of my property shows up on it. It's the old house toward the left side of the picture that's real close to the road. Kinda scary that this type of stuff is out there. Oh well, at least you can't see my neighbors fooling around in their hot tub out back!
I always thought a golf cart would be cool to have. How good are they at off-roading, though? As in, more off-road than your typical golf course green?
Just kidding, I would never want pictures of my neighbors even in their snow suits. On either side they all outweigh me by at least 50 lbs. , and I am no light weight.
Anyway with all this talk about fiscal responsibility this question sort of fits in here. Has anyone successfully done a down size trade ?
I am contemplating trading/selling my Mazda 6 wagon for a small front wheel drive SUV like an Escape,Rav4,Liberty or something that sits higher like a Vibe and hopefully put $3k to $4k in my pocket.I would probably have to go a model or two years older with maybe a few more miles.
I would like to get something sit a little higher because my knees don't like the trip getting up and down in the Mazda. I also need something shorter in length if I want to continue parking my car in the garage. The kids bikes and toys have begun to take over my side.
Does this make any sense at all?
I actually did a dwon trade of sorts that left me with a new car, no car note, and more $ in my pocket. I sold my practical car (a Maxima)and toy car (Miata) at the same time, and bought a semi-practical/semi-toy car to replace them both (a Scion tC). Even with tax/tags, I spent less on it than my 2 older cars brought in. Plus I saved $100/month on my insurance bill!
Of course, the tC ended up being a little short on the practical side, so I flipped it into a great deal on a new Accord. But I am done for now. I swear!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Trading down reminds me of the Charles Barkley trade about ten years ago. The Sixers trade the best rebounder in the game for Jeff Hornacek and 3 ball boys. Makes me wonder if I can get quality in return for my car.
I have not checked with Terry , but I checked 2 dealers around here and they were offering $13k to $14k real monet for my 6.Thats not too bad considering I drove it a year and put on 16k miles.
It's just an idea at this point, I guess maybe the long winter is making me itchy. Plus $4k in the bank will go a long way to the toy, but that is a dream that will not be happening for a while. If only Mazda had made the Miata 6" bigger I would have one in my garage now.
Do you think come spring you will be missing the Miata at all ?
I miss the Miata on occasion, but there were so few times that I could really use it right that it wasn't really worth having. Plus, it was really uncomfortable for my aging, oversized body.
In my case, I am hanging onto the "kids graduate college, buy a nice 4 seat convertible" dream. Only have to wait about 10 years! That new Volvo C70 looks mighty tasty.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I may be moving out of the area in about a year, in which case I will probably trade two cars for one - who wants to move across the country with two cars? That would be a sort of trade down, although I would be buying new. Perhaps I will finally get that stick shift Accord EX.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
We owed him a pretty large chunk of change at the end of that deal.
He traded in the freelander 4 years later for a 2006 LR3 S.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Owner loyalty bonus, plus it was coming up on the end of the year so the very rare Land Rover rebates were out and then we threw in a about 1500 in discount on top of all that.
Problem is, a manual shift Camry SE is the proverbial needle in the haystack. At least they made the moonroof standard on the SE now.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Starting to get the jones for something new. Not that there is anything wrong with the Focus, just would like something different. Lately, have been thinking about a Mazda 6i 5-door with a stick. MSRP of about $24K before supplier discount and rebates .. perhaps under $20K before taxes?
Good lord, I don't even want to THINK about moving, with my fleet! :surprise: I wonder how much it would cost to rent an auto carrier? Seriously though, if something like that happened, I'd probably cut a few cars loose before moving. And then if I really started grieving over their loss, just buy something else to ease the pain! :P With the exception of my Dart, which doesn't run, and my DeSoto, which has been sitting too long, I think any of my other cars would be able to survive a cross-country trip. Might be a sort of an adventure, to fly back out here, drive one of the old beasts to its new destination, and then fly back and do it again. But it would be pretty time consuming, plus expensive with plane tickets. And fuel.
2006 Chevy Impala SS - V8, leather, sunroof
$25,8xx
Isn't MSRP on the SS something like $29K?
Farout
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2006 Chevy Impala SS - V8, leather, sunroof
$25,8xx
Isn't MSRP on the SS something like $29K?
No, the MSRP is about $26k for the Impala. The Grand Prix GXP's MSRP was around $29k LAST year, but GM dropped it down to $27k or so (with their across the board price reductions).
So, the Titan has remained. She will turn 41k tomorrow me thinks, still a great truck. Have had her for just shy of 16 months. Zippy I hear is doing fine and has around 53k on her, she will be 2 in July. The Dodge is quickly losing ground on mileage to the Titan and will once again be the lowest mileage vehicle in our group, I think its at 48k or so, have had it for just over 2 years.
I'm 99% sure the Expedition has a similar towing capability of the F-150, so about 9000 lbs or so? Either way, without checking I guarantee it will tow (over?) double what that Pilot will! :P
Haha, Bozo sound. That's pretty accurate, because I felt like a Bozo for getting it in my car. The sound is good enough, but when time comes to replace it, good luck! You have to rewire the whole thing, new speakers, new head unit, amp, sub, everything. I tried throwing a new HU in my car with a "step down" adapter, and it sounded like crap. Oh well.
As far as our Civic search goes .. we came WAAAY too close to winning a SI with NAV on Ebay. We were the winning bidder up until 38 seconds remaining. Fortunately, someone outbid us. Price was $21,290. $1000 off of MSRP and only $45 in doc fees. One car that has been catching my eye is the new RAV4. Seems nice and has plenty of power. I'm just not a fan of most Toyota driving positions.