Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
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$8500
In NY, and looks good all the way around...
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But, it looks pretty decent otherwise. Nice color combo, tires look like they have plenty of life. This would do right around $7k at auction, so the price is right, too. My guess is the owner has been offered around $6k on trade.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I can live with a coupe.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Interesting the the two cars on my list to possibly replace the XK in the fall (if I don't decide to snow shoe or all season it) are the "Best of the Best" in the latest Autoweek: Audi A7 and RR Evoque. I like the Evoque, I think I like the four door better than the coupe. Rear view is atrocious (in the coupe, at least, haven't sat in a four door), but overall a nice place to be. Dealer says all the Evoques they have are sold, good for them! A7 is a nice piece of work, gorgeous interior, good room with the hatch. But, $10k more than an A6? Then again, I'm a sucker for a hatch and the A6 styling is a bit of a snoozer, to me.
So, next real snow, enjoy your nap in the garage, XK. Let's go, 2002 RX300!
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Then you'll be fine.
My son likes the car well enough but now that he's driving it 5 days a week its starting to show signs that things are not as well as they were a year ago with it. So our thinking is if its not the headgasket and we can figure out where the antifreeze is going and fix it, then maybe squeak it by until the end of winter.
The kid doesn't want to take it with him like originally thought since its turning into a bit of a money pit. If it has blown the headgasket again, then the plan is to fix it and cut it loose. After that buy him a newer car, maybe in the $4k range since with school this semester he needs a car.
On the bright side, the other 2 members of the stable are behaving wonderfully. My F-150 just turned 13k, lots of driving with our daughter in the hospital since December 16th, no eta on her coming home, possibly another 3-5 weeks.
I know what you mean about old cars. It isn't just the money, but the sheer hassle of dealing with problem after problem wears you out.
Just had to do front brakes on my sons TL yesterday. Light was flickering, and not stopping like it should. Needed pads and a bleed (got new fluid as part of that, no extra charge!). So, now it is nice and safe. On top of doing work on the heater last month it cost me some $$, but heat (when you live in the north country) and brakes are kind of important to have!
But, seems good to go now, he likes it, and it has been (knock wood) a really good car for us. Hard to believe we have had it for over 3 years now (only put about 15K on it in that time though).
If it makes it 1.5 years until he graduates, that is all I really ask! After that, get a job and on his own to pay for what he wants.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
If it is the headgasket again, shouldn't the mechanic who did the repair be liable. I remember reading about you having it done, how long ago was it? It sounds to me like something wasn't done properly with the repair.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
When my 93 Taurus blew the head gasket (like all Ford 3.8 V6s or the era) the mating surfaces had to be machined.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
As others have suggested, if it IS the head gasket, the mechanic who did the work should cover the repair given the short time it's been.
And, yes, he should have checvked the head for warpage and milled if if necessary. Any mechanic knows this.
Nest thing you know someone will have a reliable Volkswagen!
They had the head machined when the gasket was replaced. The machine shop said it was a little off but should be ok. My little brother is a mechanic and mentioned the aluminium head and cast iron block is about as bad of combination as you can get. He said one risk of replacing the headgasket is that it will blow again if it can't get a good seal.
Its been about 900 miles since the repair and there is a 12k warranty thankfully. The kid will need a car when he leaves, but if we can squeak the Escort by until June when he leaves that would be great. He can get another car later after he's moved to his new base and after basic training.
The car is showing me symptoms I don't like, its running rough, has no power, horrible antifreeze smell when its running. Also, unless someone stole some gas out of it then the gas mileage has gone from 30 mpg down to 17 mpg which is extremely odd, especially since the worst I've seen is 27 mpg out of it. I put a locking gas cap on it yesterday, so we'll see what the next tank brings. It was a good thing I took it and filled it up at the gas station the other day, it was almost out of gas. The gas gauge doesn't work, so its a guessing game. I'll take it in sometime in the next few days and have it looked at.
Today I'm going to wash my truck, YUCK, the thing looks horrible and I can't stand it anymore. Hard to go from washing it once a week to it hasn't had a bath since September! Good thing there's a car wash where it can still be washed by hand in a heated bay since I refuse to take it through a car wash.
You might think it's funny, but my bank account doesn't.
My Audi at over 85K miles has cost FAR LESS to own than a '95 Dodge Neon for 65K miles.
At this rate, I'll have to drive about 320K miles in my Built in Germany car to reach the sum total of maintenance and repair costs the Neon absorbed.
Just the facts. Sorry if they don't fit your PRO Bailout bonanza class warfare mindset.
Including all costs? Purchase, insurance etc? I have a tough time believing a car costing double than what a Neon cost would be cheaper to own.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Well okay, the A3 cost pretty much exactly double the cost of the Neon INITIALLY. So I had to pay higher sales tax, higher registration/license fees, but you have to also take into account 1994 dollars were worth more than 2006 dollars!
Insurance is probably a dead heat as I was a "young" driver while driving the Neon, and also, the A3 benefits from being labeled a station wagon by insurance companies.
The gas mileage in the A3 is ever so slightly superior, despite having 70 more horses under the hood, though it does use premium to do so. The A3 weights nearly 1,000 lbs. more too.
The resale value of the Neon was neglgible at 65K miles, while my A3 is still worth something. 65K miles is pretty much the entire useful lifespan of a Chrysler based on resale values I see.
I meant the cost to own after you pay for the vehicle. It pretty much comes down to repair costs, since all cars need maintenance.
Whatever made you think I supported the bailouts? :confuse:
I am a capitalist. If you can't stay in business, you fail.
I have also owned german cars in the past.
Won't do that again. :lemon:
So the maintenance costs were less, not the overall cost to own. Big difference. A BMW will cost me nothing to maintain for the first 4 years, but will still cost significantly more to own that a Civic.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I'll take a U.S. built car over an Audi ANY day!
Also, you are comparing it against one of the worst American cars ever built.
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The Sandman
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
That's normal around here. I can usually spot an Audi ahead of me a long ways away. The other lovely thing people around here do is purple or blue or green HID lights or for even more fun, one green and one purple. *GRUMBLE*
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On the light subject, I will say the weird colored HIDs can be annoying - the old Civic crowd especially seems to like these.
I cringed when I was in Canada and caught myself asking a merchant if they accepted "American money." :mad:
Maybe we should just make it one big AU.
I found that Audi/VW's are usually pretty decent until they age a bit and get miled up. After 100,000 miles they are usually pretty shot.
Our store wouldn't resell a VW/Audi/Volvo unless it was exceptional and had very low miles. We just got burned too many times.
Used Land Rovers, we would wholesale as soon as they came in.
The globalists would just love a union like that, a standard to race down to.
I'm putting together a parts order and don't know what to do about the cooling system (86,000 miles on the clock). The radiator looks new, the expansion tank is old, and I don't know about the rest. Replace everything? Convert to an electric fan while I'm at it? Or wait and keep an eye on it?
I would change out *all* the fluids just to establish a baseline.
I bought an 8 year old car, the seller even showed me receipts for recent dealer service, but when I changed all the fluids, both the brake fluid in the clutch system and the rear diff fluid were bad.
I bought new wiper blades and a headlight restoration kit at Autozone this morning, and will be doing that and other general clean-up this weekend. I will post pics once I get the car cleaned, it's filthy from being on a car carrier!
- Ray
Uh, what's wrong with that?
The Canadian dollar is a separate currency from the American dollar and is valued independently. "American money" is what the US dollar is called by us up here.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
According to the Carfax, it was dealer maintained up until a couple of years ago. I found a repair ticket for an SRS light, DSC light, and window regulator in the glovebox--about $1,800 two years ago.
I managed to run the battery down last night beginning the cleanup process and trying to program the Homelink, etc., then had to get my dad to bring his Battery Tender because my jumper cables weren't long enough to go from the Altima to the jump point under the BMW's hood. It started up fine this morning after charging overnight.
I thought a Canadian might think it was un-PC... After I said that to the merchant, I realized that it made it sound like the US was the only country in America.
- Ray
LOVE my heated seats - even here in HotLanta...
A BMW that had warning lights come on ??
Say it isn't so!
Wiki probably Americanized the translation.
This thread is getting a bit looney. :P
Won't do that again.
I would have stayed away from audi in the 20th Century as well. Post 2000 Audi has shown improvements each and every year in quality and reliability.
Times have changed. I know this is what Big 3 supporters say, but Audi did not require a bankruptcy bailout in 2008.
I've read a few different stories/press releases on the WORST 10 or 20 American cars ever built, and for some reason, the Neon doesn't even make the list. Several news organizations have made their own "worst" lists, but the Neon seems to evade them. Seems a lot of US built cars are crap to me.
It means if you support bailouts of failed companies, then you support class warfare, because that's the bailouts were. They are a declaration of war against the lower and middle classes.