Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

ateixeira

I drove my wife nuts when I replaced the top on the NA Miata. One day to remove the old one and modify the frame to NB style, then a 2nd day to install the new top. And I used her car port space!

nyccarguy

If I'm able to go check this out for you, I'd be leaving from my job in The Bronx, NY (5 miles from the GW bridge), so it'd only take me 20 min to 30 min to get there. My only thing is that I know basics, if the car's been resprayed, if the engine sounds good, was that a wheel that snapped off during hard acceleration?...

Mechanically, the other guys run rings around me

xwesx

Something tells me that she doesn't really have a choice.

Haha, doesn't have a choice....

Did you pick up on this tidbit? wife was at the dojo

She's okay with it, or he's not doing it! :P

I understand though. I'm in the same boat, and my wife doesn't do martial arts! What's that phrase AJ's regularly repeating?

xwesx

I suspect the biggest potential issue with that 9-2 is simply not knowing its history. I think knowing history is important on any vehicle, but critical on a turbo. You'll be able to tell right away if it has any tranny issues (a fairly common problem with the 5-speed WRX cars that have been flogged in the past). The lurker might be any issues with the turbo system depending on oil change regularity and type of lubricants used.

Looks like a good find on the surface, though.

ateixeira

Happy wife, and she doesn't put her black belt skills to use!

kyfdx

That's the reality of buying a car from a dealer. You aren't going to know the repair history.

roadburner

You need to check to see if the front caliper pistons are cracked; they have a ceramic buffer on the pad side that doesn't like track days. One of the salesmen at my dealer discovered that problem on his 135i M Sport track rat. Turner sells a fix.

Kirstie_H

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qbrozen

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look.

qbrozen

Was wondering if someone would catch that.
She actually does karate, kickboxing, and krav maga. I only take part in the kickboxing.

qbrozen

I think looking at the history, bodywork, checking for leaks, and test driving would be plenty. It is priced aggressively enough that any minor details don't matter too much. You are certainly closer than I am. That's about 1.5 hours from me.

qbrozen

Personally, if I could have a seven car garage, one for each day of the week, would be so freakin' awesome i can't put it into intelligible words

I'd also love to be able to build my garage one of these days. I don't even want that much. Just to add a separate 3.5-car from my attached 2-car. The 1.5 would be the work area complete with lift.

xwesx

My goal is far more modest at this point..... finish the house so I have my 2-car for cars! My wife's already laid down the hammer though: No car projects that take more than a day. :sick:

kyfdx

Pulled the CarFax.... one owner.... no accident history... traded in to a NJ Audi/Porsche dealer..

Looks like this guy has only had it a couple weeks.... probably bought it wholesale from the Audi dealer...

Bradd... I might take you up on your generous offer... will see you in e-mail..

regards,
kyfdx

qbrozen

I am SO GLAD that's not closer to me. Talk about the wife beating me up... that would do it. I really wanted that car when I first saw it at the NY auto show prior to release. The 2-tone interior is so much nicer looking than the subaru counterpart.

ateixeira

She actually does karate, kickboxing, and krav maga

You'd better behave.

kyfdx

On the plus side... if you can find one, they are an easy $2K cheaper than the WRX..

The car is for my son... since I sold both of his cars, he is without transportation.... I did break down and buy him a pair of shoes, last weekend...

ateixeira

Another plus - they had 2 years' free service, so you know at least they started out with dealer-only servicing.

kyfdx

I'm pretty well sold on it... just need someone to put an eyeball on it, for me.... and, take it for a test drive...

$395 for a plane ticket... and an 11-hour drive is not something I'm looking forward to, though..

xwesx

Don't make me beat you to it! I'd have a $1200 ticket and a 60 hour drive, but I'd do it for the right car! :P

Oh, and that's terribly generous of you regarding the shoes. That kid doesn't know how good he has it!

qbrozen

A kid with that car would scare the bejesus out of me. My kid will have to have alot of driving school time under his belt before he gets a car that capable and nice.

kyfdx

He's 19, and has had an E30 for the last 18 months... I'm pretty sure he has already stared death in the face, a few times.... :surprise:

Sandman6472

Hire me...for the right price I'll drive it out...I am an experienced vehicle transporter now you know! I'll make ya a killer deal to...one ya can't refuse...lol!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

Boring day today...another day like Monday with a Ft. Myers to Miami run and then two Lauderdale to Miami runs. Drove a Dodge minivan on the 1st leg, a Mazda6 on the 2nd and a Chevy Cruze on the 3rd. All three were totally forgetable vehicles with the Dodge being the best of the bunch. Nice acceleration, comfy cloth chairs and a meaty steering wheel all made the experience o k but doubt we'd ever want to own one of these boxes on wheels. They fit their purpose beautifully but have all the excitement of a brand new refrigerator...really was a "blahmobile", in fact, all three were "blahmobiles"! Hopefully my next few runs will let me choose from something a bit more exciting and fun to drive!

The "Blah" Sandman :sick: :shades:

ateixeira

I'm guessing not the new Mazda6?

The previous one was too big. On top of that the rear door was so low you had to duck to get in.

stickguy

if it was the premium model with a moonroof and power seat, I would be up looking at it.

I stopped to look at these when they were closing them out (after hearing about obscene deals) but of course the SAAB dealer near me had none left.

kyfdx

I did the same. Nothing left but Linear (non-turbo) models..

Sandman6472

Heck no, and the seating was so low even with the power seat in it's highest position...felt like I was in a Flintstone's car...out Mazda3 is such a better vehicle. But it did drive nicely so wasn't all that bad!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

nyccarguy

You got my gmail, right?

stickguy

I would not be surprised if you didn't have to make the trip. that seemed like a real nice car for the money, and may not last long. Unless fewer people than I suspect actually know what it is, and just see SAAB and move on!

I already decided that if I got one, I would spring for SAABARU personalized plates.

kyfdx

Actually... no, I didn't..checked SPAM files, too.. (unless you are named Anna, and want to know if I want to look at hot girls.... I got that one)

Click on my Host name and send it there....

Thanks!

kyfdx

Yeah... the plates would be cool, but we only get 6 letters in KY..

Saw an Ohio plate one: WRX PWRD

kyfdx

I would not be surprised if you didn't have to make the trip.

Positive vibes only, please!

crkyolfrt

Not a positive vibe I'm afraid, but maybe a worthy consideration?

Wouldn't this car fall into a category of potential insurance gouging or worse..future uninsurability? I'm finding that anything out of the ordinary in this type of class where a company no longer exists, insurers are afraid to insure it because they can't replace it and even becomes difficult assigning a 'totaled' price.

What a possibly great find though..

kyfdx

I've already checked into the insurance.... no issues..

It's 98% Subaru WRX... I could see body part issues in the future.. but, I'm not buying it for life..

Amazingly, it's only $280/yr more than the $4000 car my son is insured on now....

Just need a thumbs up from nyccarguy, and I'm ready to go! lol

isellhondas

Can someone tell me exactly what those Saab/Subarus actually are?

I saw one once, walked around it and honestly thought I was seeing things.

Is it a Subaru with Saab badging? Are these registered as a Saab or a Subaru?

What years were they produced and lastly, WHY?

corvette

Yes, it's a Subaru Impreza/WRX badged as a Saab 9-2X with some different interior trim. Saab sold them in 2004 and 2005 back when GM owned Saab and (I think) GM still owned a stake in Subaru. It's a real Saab in the sense that they were sold as new Saabs and had a Saab warranty. Why? Probably a last-ditch effort to prop up Saab's sales figures. Remember the Trollblazer, which was Chevrolet Trailblazer badged as a Saab 9-7X?

kyfdx

They are Saabs... but, underneath, it's just a Subaru Impreza (or WRX) with Saab badging. Body work is a little different (a lot prettier front end), and the interior trim is different, with the ignition in the console...

Why? GM was trying to extend the Saab lineup.. they only had a couple of cars... This gave them an entry-level AWD.. They did the same thing with the TrailBlazer platform (ever see a Saab 9-7X?)..

The 9-2X came in Linear and Aero
Linear based off a base Impreza with an NA engine..
Aero based off WRX with turbo engine..

Made in Japan by Subaru... Saab owners wouldn't buy them, because it wasn't a real Saab... Subaru owners just kept buying Subarus..

EDIT: corvette has it.. cars were produced in '04 and '05, but almost all are '05 models with a few '06s sprinkled in..

isellhondas

Well. thanks for the explanations and I'm happy that I wasn't actually seeing things.

Sounds just bizzare that such a union would have happened.

I'll bet the Saab dealers and mechanics hated them. They would have had to buy manuals, shop equipment and tools to work on them. The sales staff would have had to learn all about Subarus and I can hear them now..." Shh...it's really a Subaru"

It sounds like a business decision that was doomed to fail.

Still, they weren't bad looking cars and they are certainly unusual. Finding trim and body parts might be a real challenge now.

I would have to think that being a "[non-permissible content removed]" car of sorts and an "orphan" at the same time they could be a lot of car for the money and not easy to sell.

Interesting....Thanks for filling me in!

kyfdx

It sounds like a business decision that was doomed to fail.

Everything GM touched in that decade went to hell...

I would have to think that being a "[non-permissible content removed]" car of sorts and an "orphan" at the same time they could be a lot of car for the money and not easy to sell.

That's what I'm counting on.... though, I'm not sure about the "not easy to sell" part.... hoping that is true, as well..

ateixeira

Yeah, the 3 outsells the 6 by a wide margin. Very uncommon.

They're bringing a diesel variant of the new 6, let's see how it does.

ateixeira

It got some steering improvements that the WRX only got one model year later.

I actually think the styling is better, too.

Plus it had those 2 free years of dealer servicing.

If you timed it right, those were a massive bargain, I seem to recall Aeros for $18,999...or is my memory playing tricks on me? They were a steal at one point, though.

tifighter

If you timed it right, those were a massive bargain, I seem to recall Aeros for $18,999...or is my memory playing tricks on me? They were a steal at one point, though.

Yeah, the inventory on the Aeros lasted about 2 weeks once that price came out. The non-turbo Linears were around a little longer; I test drove a red Linear at the time that was 16999 plus TTL but didn't do it as it was too close to the Protege5 I already had. The Aeros were long gone.

laurasdada

I was invited to my local Jag/Land Rover/Fisker dealer for their kick-off intro of the new AWD Jag XF and XJ. I stopped by after work, showroom well lit and full of Jags on one side and LRs on the other. The XF and XJ are beautiful cars, as somewhat of a car contrarian (carntrarion?), I'd strongly consider them over the ubiquitous E, 5, A6, S, 7 and A8 (not that there's anything wrong with any of them other than the aforementioned ubiquity, mho of course). As this winter has rendered my current childish ride unusable several times, I'm thinking maybe it's time to grow up and once again wear sensible shoes. Nah. Not yet. Only a few more weeks of winter to go!

The affair was catered, two young, attractive women tending a table of treats. The brushetta was especially tasty. Unfortunately (for the dealer), two things were missing: Customers and Fisker. I was one of two customers, and I really was just a looky-Lou which I was honest about. The other gentleman was checking out a LR RR Evoque, he left with a brochure as he got into his 1990s era Taurus. Not that there's anything wrong with that. At least it goes in snow...

The other missing element, Fisker. Not surprisingly, the dealer has given up on that experiment. Every time I visited, they noted the difficulty in sellilng the $100k hybrid looker. At year end, the were offering $15k off msrp + tax credits. They did sell their final few in inventory. C'est la vie, que lastima.

Looking forward to the Jag F-Type. For me, I'm awaiting the coupe. Of course, even less sensible shoes than my current Britstang. Oh, grow up already!

xwesx

GM.... It's what makes a Subaru, a Saabaru! :P

laurasdada

GM.... It's what, well, helped kill Saab. :sick:

kyfdx

You got me thinking... I'd checked insurance rates on a WRX.. Checked again... the Saab is $120/yr more than a comparable WRX (on a 19-yr-old male student)...

ateixeira

GM.... It's what makes a Subaru, a Saabaru!

Good one!

xwesx

$10/mo? I've had worse. You're making up for it on the initial purchase price. Plus, I suspect it is even more difficult to find a well-treated WRX of that age.

kyfdx

Well.. the WRX was already $280 more than the car he was driving.... so, now we are up $400/yr...

That's substantial.... but, up until a couple of months ago, we had four cars, and now we'll have three.... and the total car insurance outlay will be about the same.... (within $50/yr)..

I'm giving this about a 10% chance of happening... It has to last until the weekend, first.... then, I have to arrange purchase, and it's about two weeks before I can get there... That's a lot of time for things to go wrong...

But, I have the will and the means.... so, we'll see what happens..

We've been looking for a car pretty solid for a couple of months... and, really this is the best thing we've seen that meets our parameters...