Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

geo9

Who was one of our fellow car freaks who purchased
a new solara drop top new a year or so back and hated
it because it shook and drove like a marshmallow ?????
He sold it after just a few months..............

Anybody remember who it was????? Kdfx?????

Remember Driftracer bought a new PT-GT and also hated it
and it had many problems too. He dumped that one quick!

kyfdx

Not me.... We have a 3-series convertible... which my wife has become more fond of, now that top-down weather is here... I guess November isn't the best month to buy a convertible (except for the price!)..

And... I've been driving it this week.... I love it..

One button.. 18 seconds... no boot..The BMW is pretty slick.. No way I would get the Solara.. not fond of the looks..

lemmer

BMW 5 series.

The Saab convertible was Jerry's car involved when Kramer filled the radiator with his own blood.

andre1969

with the top down that makes me think of a bad impersonation of a 40's car. Just something about that misshapen rump. I think the Accord coupe would look good as a 'vert. As long as they could get the top to totally stow away, and not stick out like a PT Cruiser.

lemmer

Oops, I did it again.

With no great want or need, I bought a neighbor's RX300. It is a 2000 with 123K miles in perfect mechanical condition and all service is up to date. It needs a little body work where the bumper cover and just a little bit of the rear quarter scraped a pole. Inside, without a doubt, it is the most disgusting vehicle I have ever seen. Twin 5 year old boys have ground gum and other food products into the carpet, written on the backs of the front seats with a ballpoint pen, spilled drinks and done various other things that are beyond belief. It looks like wild animals have lived in it. Every door opened, every mat lifted, every crack examined revealed further untold horrors. But, everything works well inside, even all of the little compartment hinges covered in gelatinous former beverage products.

I couldn't resist the challenge. I paid $8,000 for it.

nippononly

"I couldn't resist the challenge."

:-)

qbrozen

4wd? moonroof?

if so, sounds like you paid right around wholesale, i think. tough for me to tell since my subscription to galves ran out.

You keeping it or fixing and reselling? Seems like you should be able to make a few bucks on it.

lemmer

2wd with a moonroof. My plan is to drive it for a few months while I clean the heck out of it, fix the dents and scuffs, and try to get my money back out of it.

I have a dealer friend that lets me look at the auction data. Rough Rx's with similar mileage seem to do right at about $9,000, but I can't imagine any of them are as dirty as this one inside.

michaellno

Challenge? Mission: Impossible seems more like it.

The only thing I can think of is that you're either:

1) a glutton for punishment; or
2) one of those folks who spends hours and hours detailing their vehicles

I'm sort of hoping that its (2).

Is your plan to clean the RX up and flip it for a profit? Or to clean it up and drive it until it dies?

Top-down madness:

I've always told my wife that I would someday own a car where the top went down. For the past year or so, I had been hoping that the Saturn Sky would be the car. But, as I have mentioned previously, I don't fit so well in it, so I'm now looking at my alternatives.

The one thing about this whole crazy notion is that I live in Colorado, and the top would stay up for something like 4 months during the year. Perhaps a coupe would be a better alternative ...

When I travelled for business and was lucky enough to snag a rental convertible, I would have the top down as much as possible, despite the outside temp - just keep the windows up and turn on the heater!

What really bugs me are those folks who have popped for the top down experience yet leave the top up, even when the weather is nice. The past couple of weeks has seen some pretty nice weather here, and when the wife and I are out running errands and see cars with the top up, we are a bit amazed.

Would love to hear from those of you who own (or have owned) convertibles as your daily driver -- what was your experience? Why do you do it? How much do you really have the top down?

qbrozen

I have a dealer friend that lets me look at the auction data. Rough Rx's with similar mileage seem to do right at about $9,000, but I can't imagine any of them are as dirty as this one inside.

Right. Which is why I pegged it at $8k (fair condition vs. good condition).

Depending on where you live, 2wd might not be a big deal. I think it would kill it here in the NE, though. Then again ... its still a Lexus. Well, good luck with it, regardless of what happens.

grandtotal

Thanks for the correction. Quite a lot of Seinfeld episodes involved cars when you think about it. Probably because it was a reflection on life and quite a lot of life revolves around cars.

fintail

Hmm...it's so OT, but so funny. IIRC George had a Buick and a Mercury Mystique, Newman had a Diplomat, Kramer usually had a 75-76 Caprice or something to that effect (and I think he had a downsized GM big car too), Frank Costanza had that Granada/Monarch, Jerry gave that Fleetwood to his parents (wasn;t it sold to Klompus?)...and Jerry got the trendy cars.

andre1969

but for some reason I do remember Newman's Diplomat. Wasn't it kind of a goldish/brownish color?

qbrozen

Don't forget George's LeBaron convertible that was once owned by "John Voight."

grandtotal

Of course, you mean Jon Voight. Elaine borrowed a Taurus once and don't forget the time Jerry reserved a midsize, but all they had left was an Escort.

qbrozen

Nope. that was the joke. He thought it was Jon Voight, but the name on the registration was "John."

good grief. I need a life.

grandtotal

I forgot which way the actor spelt his name. I've recently been diagnosed with CRS so bear with me.

fintail

aaah how could I forget the LeBaron woody

Yep, it was a brown Diplomat

au1994

I had a 66 Mustang convertible that was my daily drive in HS. I know, poor me! Not like I'm a silver spoon baby. This was the 1st second car my dad bought for he and Mom in '74 I believe. He drove it for probably 5 years then saved her for me.

Anyway, it had no a/c so needless to say if it was above 65 and sunny, the top was down. I will say one thing, in the middle of July in the Alabama heat and humidity, there were a few times when I'd have given my arm for a/c. But man what a ride. 289 V-8, no smog equipment, 1st set of rear tires lasted about a week. Try explaining that to Dad. :P

zodiac2004

The only thing I can think of is that you're either:

1) a glutton for punishment; or
2) one of those folks who spends hours and hours detailing their vehicles

I'm sort of hoping that its (2).

Is your plan to clean the RX up and flip it for a profit? Or to clean it up and drive it until it dies?



For 8K? I'd do back flips on the seller's driveway for a half hour if I can get an '00 RX for that price.
That's a fair price (private party) for an '00 ES with similar miles/condition. For an RX, it's a steal.

michaellno

You know, I just figured out your Edmunds ID ... Auburn, class of 1994. I'm such a genius.



Anyhoo, some close friends of my folks bought their daughter a '73 Mustang convertible after she graduated HS .. this was in the mid-80's. I remember they paid $8500 for it. All I remember was that it was baby blue with a white top and white interior ... no clue what size engine it had.

I also remember that she treated that car very poorly. Don't remember what ultimately happened to it.

I hear ya on the rear tires only lasting a week .. I've never been fortunate enough to own a RWD car with enough power to do that, though I did manage to grind off about 5K worth of rubber off-roading once (dang hill!).

au1994

Way to go michaell! you're the first to figure it out, or at least let me know about it! War Eagle!! If there's any other Plainsmen...sorry Plainspeople out there.

michaellno

Well, shucks.



It was the Alabama reference in your last post that tipped me off.

I hate to say it, but I'm not an alum ... in fact, I was pretty close to going to the University of Tennessee after HS.

I have, however, been to Alabama a few times on business - mainly in the north, doing some work for TVA at a couple of the nuclear plants and some work for Redstone CU in Huntsville.

jefferyg

Hey, I used to live in Huntsville! Great Town! My wife and I would move back tomorrow if we could. Before that we were almost in L.A.(Lower Alabama) just north of Montgomery and about 40 miles from Auburn. Liked it there too, but orange and blue just never grew on me.

We did, however, purchase three trucks and a car while in Alabama, so I guess the state was good for my CCBA membership.

british_rover

That is funny my mom is from L.A. Dothan I think but I am not sure I would have to ask her.

We used to go down to Gulf Shores all the time when we were kids.

au1994

Small world. Lived in Huntsville for 12 years, from 86-98. Loved it and would move back in a heartbeat.

corvette

I don't think I'd own a convertible. Considering how infrequently I'd get to enjoy it (cold weather and rain plus bad allergy days), I can live with dropping the windows and opening the sunroof when conditions permit.

andre1969

I can tell you they're not all they're cracked up to be. While I've never regretted buying my '67 Catalina, and have enjoyed it immensely, none of my friends/family ever seemed to share my enthusiasm. The first thing my Mom did when she saw it was cry about how unsafe it was. And worse, I think that was Mother's Day 1994, and I had brought my Grandma down in it to my Mom's, so she was doubly-pissed that I had Grandma in it! Grandma liked it, but didn't want me to put the top down because it would mess up her hair!

And just about every one of my friends who has sat in it thought it was cool, until you got above parking-lot speeds, and then they cry about the wind in your face/hair, etc. Or it's too hot/cold/whatever.

My Dad thinks it's fat and ugly and would have rather seen me in a GTO. He said so himself. :P But he was unwilling to pony up the money to HELP see me in a GTO.

amixam

Honda Civic Hatchback '87
Nissan 240SX '90
Nissan Maximan '91
Honda Prelude VTEC '93
Honda Passport SUV '95
BMW 325ic convertible '96
Infiniti I30 '99
Infiniti G35 Sedan '02
Nissan Maxima '05 (present)

2nd cars
92 BMW3251c conv.
96 BMW Z3
03 Nissan 350z
05 Chrysler PT cruiser (proving there's such a thing as temporary insanity)

Total=13 cars.

I GOTTA unlaod this Cruiser I HATE it.....only had it 3 mos...I don't know why I got it...LEASED it to make matters worse....put me back in a German convertible and swear I'll never do it again!

kyfdx

Yeah.... after that list, the PT really seems out of place...

I'm not surprised that you don't like it, given your former rides...

qwalls

Well, I've been lurking for a long time, but here is my list. I generally wait until a car is paid off before I buy something else (1 exception, the Lexus), but I'm always looking. I guess I've had enough car activity since 2000 or so to qualify for CCBA.

My cars:
'79 Chevette bought used from my Dad in '80 - my first car, what a dog.
'84 Buick Skyhawk (my first new car)
'88 Honda Accord (2nd new car, 1st import)
'97 Ford Explorer (3rd new vehicle, bought new in '96)
'85 Mazda 626 (first beater/Winter car, bought in '97
'90 Geo Prizm (2nd Winter car) bought in '97
'93 Accord (4th Winter car, replaced '91 Accord)
'99 Lexus LS400 bought used in '02
'05 Acura TL bought new in '04, love this car
'94 Acura Legend bought used in '05 (5th Winter car)
and...drumroll please, don't laugh Mathias
Just traded the '94 Legend for a '06 Scion xB. (6th Winter car, will give to my son to drive in 6 years. Hey, the Toyota place offered me $3k for the Legend with almost 170k miles...I was shocked, couldn't say no. $13k+ the Legend out the door. :-)

Wife's cars:
'89 Hyundai Excel (I traded it for the next car a week after we got married. Only car we were ever upside down on, and that wasn't my fault.)
'91 Honda Accord bought used in '93
'96 Toyota Avalon bought used in '99 (Kept the '91 as my 3rd Winter car)
'04 Toyota Sienna (bought new)

corvette

I thought you just bought a 350Z roadster earlier this month?

akangl

Got the VIN# for the new truck. He said it will be here June 15th, so should be getting a call from him here in the next 3 weeks.

Kind of exciting, sad, and scary all at the same time. Exciting because its a new truck, sad because I'm really going to miss certain things about my Titan and Zippy, and scary because I've never owned a diesel before and its a new truck.

steine13

Actually, as goofy as those cars are, they ain't bad. The styling is, uh, polarizing, but I was briefly tempted by the whole package... a colleague of mine has got one and he loves it. Barely gets 30 mpg, though, but admits to a spirited driving style. If it ain't too loud, it should be a great runabout car.

I'm not surprised you got $$$ for the Legend... I've seen one of your cast-offs; they tend to look alright for their age :-)

To the Scion dealer, it don't matter how much maintenance that car needs... if it looks good and runs "good" right now, they know they can get $3-and-change from a wholesaler, and that's all that matters.

[..]will give to my son to drive in 6 years.

Sure you will. As Mary Poppins said, "Pish Posh!". No CCBA'er worth his salt can possibly plan that far ahead.

That said, I'll keep my Millenia a long time, I think. At least six months :-)

-Mathias

qwalls

Yeah, they have a unique look.... "polarizing" is a great word...I like them though. Should be a fun little car. Isn't too loud at all around town, and not too bad on the highway. Not bad at all with the stereo on.

Thanks. I try to take care of my cars. Speaking of that, any word on the Avalon?

[..]will give to my son to drive in 6 years.

Sure you will. As Mary Poppins said, "Pish Posh!". No CCBA'er worth his salt can possibly plan that far ahead.

Well, that's the plan right now. The good thing is they hold their value really well. Funny you should mention that though. I was talking to a buddy this morning, and he said if an office pool starts on how long I'll keep it, he wants 12 months. :-) I think it will be longer than that though..my wife is already freaking out that we have three vehicles and the oldest is a 2004.

That said, I'll keep my Millenia a long time, I think. At least six months :-)

Six months assuming nothing better comes along during that time. :-)

Q

stickguy

we have 2 cars now, and both are 2005's.

I got a phone survey call last night, asking for my opinion about various cars. Needless to say, I was on the pone for about 1/2 an hour! I believe I scared the women doing the survey about how many cars I knew.

They were looking for opinions on mid-size family cars. It was either VW or Hyundai sponsoring it I think, although she did keep pronouncing Hyundai different ways, although that might not mean much!

stickguy

People are ganing up on me. In the last few days, I have heard from 4 people (SIL, friend, and 2 people I know that work with my wife) about helping them pick out new cars.

That's 1 luxo mid-size AWD sedan (M35 current front runner), 2 minivans and a compact CUV of some kind.

My SIL is my favorit client (the sedan). She doesn't have time to look, so she asks me to go check them out, do test drives, etc. and report back. The others just want opinions!

Hmm., I need to find someone too busy to look at high end sports cars. Wonder if the Porsche dealer will let me take a few out?

qwalls

Didn't know the Odyssey was available with a stick. :-)

stickguy

if it was, I would have bought it!

We were an all stick family until 1995, when my 2nd child was born and we joined the minivan brigade. And don't think I wouldn't have bought a stick if it was offered.

An Odyssey with the drivetrian from a 6 speed TL would be nice. Make it a sport model without power doors, and I'm in.

Hey, if Mazda made a speed version of the 5 model, it would be time to downsize!

woodyww

Might not be a bad idea to investigate an Extended Warranty on a Chrysler product--esp. on an expensive, fairly complex vehicle.....

I wonder what Terry thinks about the Dodge/Cummins?

jbollt

I wonder what Terry thinks about the Dodge/Cummins?

We already know what Terry thinks...

30585

You need another vehicle like I need another 6 iron in my bag ...

1.) cancel the order on the Ram.

2.) drive the Focus til' the wheels fall off.

3.) drive the Titan til' the second coming.

4.) drive the Sebring til' it breaks, again and again.

5.) keep your connection with the junkyard.

6.) stay away from the car lots.

durability05

I'm in a similar situation, I have a 2006 Mustang Pony pkg convertible. It is a weekend car only, I just drive it two days a week, but mostly with the top down. It is 90% sunshine here in Southern California. I actually prefer to drive it top down. However my wife always has this uncomfortable look in her face, and she actually does not enjoy top down driving. My small kids like it only on the low speed mode.

akangl

LOL, if the Titan could haul a 14k lb trailer this wouldn't be an issue. Its too hard only running one truck for our firewood business, we get too slammed and most times have to run 2 trucks and 2 trailers. Just ask the Titan what last fall was like..........it'll cringe in horror.

For a change this isn't an impulse buy........this has been thought out and it seems logical. We should have bought a diesel years ago.

woodyww

I finally looked up the edmunds review of the Ram 2500/3500 with the Cummins diesel. It sounds pretty amazing. The consumer reviews on edmunds were also highly positive (but you probably know all that already).

akangl

I finally looked up the edmunds review of the Ram 2500/3500 with the Cummins diesel. It sounds pretty amazing. The consumer reviews on edmunds were also highly positive (but you probably know all that already).

My dad has an 01 Ram 2500 Cummins and that truck has been to hell and back again. Its been a great truck through 2 accidents including a rollover. The truck currently has 100k on it and still runs great.

We looked at all three and liked the Dodge best, hard to beat that Cummins.

nippononly

I am flirting with buying another car - have two already, CERTAINLY don't need a third! But it's an '84 Celica GTS in preemo condition (externally, anyway. The only commentary on the for sale sign is "smogged"), they only want $900, for me it's a memory car, and besides, you can't go TOO far wrong for $900 can you?

Then I noticed a couple of other cars on the same lot that got me thinking it might be more fun to get something else cheapish, something that would be good for a highway car for my trips to L.A. There was a '99 Beetle there, 107K, in nice shape, the guy wanted $6500. Also an '00 S60 2.5T with less miles and new tires for $8500, and finally an '00 Impala LS with the 3800 and new tires also, with 75K miles, for $6000. Of those, only the Beetle was a stick, but I figure maybe that wouldn't matter much if it were my highway car...

Buying used in the $6-8K range, the HonToys I could buy would be older than I would like, which is why I am looking in a different direction, but I do wonder: if I go VW/Volvo, will the repair bills soon make me regret it? In my area I could probably resell either of those again fairly easily.

Or do nothing at all...hmmm...it doesn't look like I am going to make it through the year without another purchase, as originally planned. :sick:

akangl

I am flirting with buying another car - have two already, CERTAINLY don't need a third!

Hehehe, welcome to my world.........we have FOUR right now. Parking is very tight around here, 2 on one side of the house and 2 on the other. Not to mention the 4 trailers with the threat of a 5th being added any day now. We look like a used car lot!

stickguy

if it actually ran IK, and wasn't a rust bucket, and had a stick, and wasn't on the wrong coast, I would grab it myself. I always wanted one of these, and it could make a good starter unit for my son.

Ah, who am I kidding. It wold be a toy for me.

kyfdx

Was the '84 still RWD? If so, I would grab it.... assuming that the body hasn't rusted completely away.. I remember the Celica being amazingly fast, compared to my '82 Accord hatch... They were competitors at the time, believe it or not...

corvette

My friend is looking at a used yellow New Beetle to replace the Mazda that she crashed. All I told her is that they're cute and nice to drive, but as picky as she is, I don't think she is going to endure a temperamental, out-of-warranty European car for very long.