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Comments
The Sebring sounds like a perfect vehicle for you, I know you will have fun with it. $650?? you can't go wrong with that!
How many miles are on the Sebring? From the picture that you posted, I can't believe that car is almost 10 years old... the style still looks new.
mark156
The Sebring sounds like a perfect vehicle for you, I know you will have fun with it. $650?? you can't go wrong with that!
How many miles are on the Sebring? From the picture that you posted, I can't believe that car is almost 10 years old... the style still looks new.
The Sebring has a whopping 55,650 miles on it and runs like a new car. Right now it just needs airbags (on order), a driver's side headlight/turn signal (on order), and brakes (will do that in the next week or so). Its a fun car to drive and I figure its pretty much depreciation proof.
I hate VW's. Possibly the least reliable Euro make other than Land Rover. And I'm a guy, so I wouldn't be caught dead in the current Beetle.
The S60....CR actually gives decent reliability ratings to, & "recommends it". If you can find a nice one, with hopefully maintenence records, have it checked out, etc......it would be my choice of the 3. And I assume it has Volvo Safety, which I doubt the beetle or an '84 toyota can come close to. It has new tires? If it has other new "stuff"; brakes, shocks, whatever, & seems nice......sounds like a good Road Trip Car to me.....
And, I drive a new Land Rover (2006 LR3 HSE)... no problems so far. My brother has a 2003 Discovery.. and no problems there either.
Happy motoring to all. mark156
I buy a car because I like the looks of it, how it drives, power or any combination thereof. If it happens to be a "chick" car... that's ok with me.
I had a really bad Oldsmobile back in 1981 and I showed them! I made them go out of business since I never bought another Olds or any other GM product for that matter!!! :P
mark156
I've owned one VW (1990 Passat), & one LR ('98 Range Rover). I hated the VW, & it always had at least one serious problem. I loved the RR, except for the fact that I was always taking it in for repairs (usually electrical stuff, 2 dead radios, & a leaking window), & the staggering depreciation, so I bailed on it before the warranty ran out. One of the 2 coolest vehicles I ever owned tho.
FWIW, I felt much differently about the original, 1960's Beetle.....they seemed to have a real purpose then besides looking "cute".
Just my 2 cents
I have yet to see a male in a modern Beetle ragtop, and I rarely see one in a standard Beetle. That's just how things play out. The same can be said for upmarket small SUVs.
Meet the "Millenium Chicken":
It did pretty well, and the climate control is still alright... but I'm $800 into the front suspension and will have to double that before it's over.
Great highway cruiser, though. 24 mpg @ 70 mph with the canoe.
Thought y'all might be amused.
-Mathias
That's pretty amazing... What did the Vibe get with the canoe?
With TWO boats.
See also
link title; I may have posted that here before. I still get a kick out of that setup, but it is actually quite sturdy.
-Mathias
Well, I picked the Land Rover because the Mercedes I traded was a really good vehicle but the new 2006 ML500 didn't offer seating for 7 anymore. So, I started looking around. I wanted a higher end vehicle that offered a large engine (I drive through the mountains and needed cargo space and power). I looked at the Volvo XC90, the new Jeep Commander and the Land Rover LR3. The LR3 won because of the space in the interior. You would not believe how much this vehicle will hold.
I have two timeshares on the west coast the I spend time at during the summer. I load a lot of stuff that I use for the trip and the LR will fit perfectly. I didn't want a Suburban/Escalade because of the exterior size. I go to Los Angeles a lot and parking space is at a premium. The LR3 seems to fit me perfectly (four wheel drive, ability to travel snow/mountain roads, room for seven, space for cargo).
I picked the Land Rover because if fit my needs, not because it fit an image (maybe a little
A little Beetle convertible would be fun to scoot around town in for short trips.
mark156
Last time he had a show he put all of the stuff in the LR3 no problem. He still had room left over for more stuff.
The Volvo sold before I could look at it, and the Beetle is black - not my color, so I took a pass.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
He's giving the usual talk of having another buyer on the line, etc etc. I suppose if I do want it I ought to speak up by tomorrow or Wednesday...
I kinda like it. It has a strong engine and good brakes, and the Bose stereo really is good. And OMG - an early 90s Japanese car with an intact power antenna? I should buy it just to report it to the Guiness Book!
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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I have an '82 Fiat spyder calling my name.I am not looking for a Spyder , but it is at an office complex with 1 for sale sign on it on that I pass on my way home from work.
I stopped just out of curiosity and the owner just happened to be outside catching a smoke. She said she was the original owner and only drives it 300 mile a year now.It only had 55k on it! The black repaint looked pretty bad, but it had no rust.She was only asking $2200.
I had too walk away without even a test drive. If I come home with my 5th car in 5 years there will not even be a trial separation. But, if the Spyder is there again today , who know's it might be worth that chance.
But if the Maxima still has the original 4DSC(Four Door Sports Car) stickers in the back passenger windows then it pulls up to almost even.
I agree completely.
Think about it. How many hours would it be before you get tired of the Maxima if you get it.
There must be some redeeming qualities for an unnecessary purchase, and 3 pedals would go a long way in fulfilling that.
I hate power antennas, far too fragile. My Sebring's met its demise when it hit the tree. Haven't gotten around to even putting an antenna on the car, can't figure out what to put there, whatever it is it won't be power!
I have yet to see a male in a modern Beetle ragtop, and I rarely see one in a standard Beetle. That's just how things play out. The same can be said for upmarket small SUVs.
I was actually surprised to learn a non-girly girl I used to work with on the other side of the country drove a New Beetle, let alone a man. The thing comes with a flower vase, for cryin out loud!
I'm not one to judge someone for what they drive, but..yikes. Even less-masculine than a New Beetle is the Cabrio, also a VW.
A coat hanger always worked for us back in the old days(70's). Just make sure to use a wire one,plastic dosn't work quite as well.
It would be interesting to see you tootle up to some sort of Land Rover meet in your Beetle convertible--say one where they did serious off-roading, with people who do their own wrenching........this board is generally very civilized compared to ones dedicated to older LR's or bmw's.........
A guy who owns 2 high end $50K+ european vehicles, & your point is (I think?) that no one should have value judgements about certain cars? Like, we're all supposed to be so PC, that we're not gonna have strong automotive biases??? Or express them?
But, if you're Above being influenced by what others think about the cars you drive, more power to you. Perhaps it requires owning Two $50K cars to reach that advanced state however......
*A little Beetle convertible would be fun to scoot around town in*
Forget about chick car or what it looks like what I really care about is how it drives.
The beetle drives freaky. They thing just feels wrong with the dashboard longer then the hood. That would keep me from driving either one of them and the fact taht I do not like small convertiables would kill it the rest of the way.
The wife had wanted one ever since they were released in the spring of '98. Some good friends of ours bought one (red, with beige interior) and we had a chance to drive it. I agree with rover that the length of the dash was odd at first, but we soon got used to it.
So, since we had a car coming off lease, we pulled the trigger on a bright blue GL with a black cloth interior. It was a 2.0L with a stick and the only thing we added was a 6CD changer.
The family (wife, son and I) drove that car for 6 years and 70K miles before we traded it in. While it wasn't perfect mechanically, we were never stranded by it. Since we had purchased the extended warranty, it didn't cost an arm and a leg to repair the things that did go wrong (O2 sensor, AC, power steering, more belly pans than you can shake a stick at).
The only real issue was its lack of ground clearance. Living in a semi-rural area as we do, we encounter a number of unpaved roads and a fair amount of snow in the winter; the NB ("Beauty" was its call sign) didn't like either of those conditions very much.
We used it mainly for in town errands and commuting - since it was a GL, it didn't have cruise so was not taken on too many road trips. It got around 28-30MPG most of the time.
Would we buy another? Not a coupe, as the 'been there, done that' mentality exists, but the wife wouldn't mind a convertible. However, since she has her car ('04 Saturn VUE), whatever we buy would be mine to drive and I think that it's too 'cutesy' for me. That, and at the moment, the only engine that is available is the 2.5L 5-cylinder. Throw the 2.0L turbo and DSG into it and then it becomes a more difficult decision.
Is she aware of the ongoing 'girl car' issue with the New Beetle? Would she say it is more manly than a Mustang V6 convertible with an automatic? Surely she would say it is more manly than a Miata with an automatic transmission?
No way. The Mustang looks like a Mustang, regardless of what's under the hood. The Miata reminds me of the old MGs, which are kinda manly cars from the "fun to drive" aspect. I'd buy one in British racing green, and paint a stripe right down the middle.
There is a guy down the street with a really well-kept '85 Supra. I keep thinking of just going down there and making him an offer even tho he isn't selling! :surprise:
His is a stick.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2000 VW New Beetle GLS 2.0 (the one prone to oil consumption)
131,000 miles(!)
Automatic, leather, sunroof. Supposedly in good condition except it needs tires. No indication of when the timing belt was changed, and it's an interference engine.
Asking $6800, willing to take $5700. I told her it's a $5,000 car, and even then, budget $2000 or so per year in repairs, if it's just the usual stuff and nothing major goes wrong (i.e., snapped timing belt).
Another big issue I see with the Beetle is fuel mileage. I looked at a couple of them the other day and noticed that for the size car, the mileage figures are a little low. I believe your money is better spent on the Jetta with the 2.0T engine. You'll get both better mileage and a much more fun driving experience.
As for the Mustang. I wouldn't settle for anything but a V8 in the Mustang. IMO, Ford should call only the GT a Mustang. As far as I'm concerned the V6 model is a gelding! :P I saw a lady driving a GT today in that purpley-blue color (I prefer red). The car has got a sweet exhaust note - just idling through the parking lot it sounded fast. I could definitely see myself driving one. But that's going to have to wait a long while. :mad:
A V-6 Mustang would be plenty for me. I won't be going anywhere that I need more than 210 hp. But, like you my 2 door coupe days are on hold for awhile.
Well, which dealer do you have an appointment with? Doesn't that pretty much determine what manufacturer(s) you have to look at? Or are we talking used? And, if so, what kind of used cars does the dealer usually have?
'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
The reason why I couldn't care less if the Beetle has a "girly" tone is that I belong to a southern California antique car club and I'm so used to seeing the guys driving up in anything from a vintage pink Cadillac to a vintage 1960s muscle Mustang. I have a 1964 antique that I drive to the car club gatherings (1st Wed. of every month). I would really like to find a prestine 1976 AMC Pacer..... or a 1979 Lincoln Town Car or maybe even a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham. I like goofy cars, what can I say?
Happy Motoring! mark156
I know where you are coming from though on the offbeat cars. If the right deal came along on a later model Pontiac Aztec(the second most ridiculed car in the last 50 years) I would seriously consider it. It's ugly enough to be kind of cool, and it has a ton of utility. But, it would have to be a heck of a deal.