Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Dada, you got the coupe or convertible? I saw a convertible today in Jersey. Painted that flat, matte black that some people like these days. I was depressing. and quite ugly.

nyccarguy

"Not exotic" = booooooooooring;). If I'm going to trust anybody's CVT, it would be Honda. I do see some grumbling a over on the Legacy thread that have to do more with it's engine than CVT.

I've still got time to decide what I'm going to do. I also looked at my mortgage statement today. In July 2015, I'll be in my house for 5 years (with 25 years left to go on my mortgage). If rates stay in the ball park they are now (I see no signs of a massive hike), I might be able to refi my mortgage for 25 years sometime soon (currently @ 5 1/8%) & start saving some serious cash.

laurasdada

I have the coupe, I"m not so much a convertible guy. Silver, I can't own a black exterior, I get too depressed when my car isn't clean! Which, for black cars, is 5.5 days/week (especially in New England winters).

I test drove the prior iteration E class before buying my '05 Acura TL. LIked it, but just couldn't justify the ~ $20k over the Acura. Current E is nice, but like the 3, they're on every street corner. Maybe it's not a great criteria, but I'd like something I don't see coming and going every day.

I think I get it from my Dad, who had some off the beaten path cars in my youth: Borgward, Renault LeCar, 1955 Mercedes 300 convertible similar to this, but in grey:

http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.5064016709420249&pid=1.7

stickguy

I refinanced last year to roll all the remodel money into the mortgage (instead of HELOC). I think it was about 3% at the time (technically on a 10 year arm, but I really did not expect to be here more than 10 years at the time!)

nyccarguy

I totally understand you not seeing your car on every street corner. My wife makes it a point to tell me (often) that there are so many Gray Pilots out there, she often goes to the wrong one in the nursery school parking lot, or at the grocery store... I always laughed it off as she doesn't pay attention to where she parks. Well, last week I met her at soccer practice for my 7 year old after work. The plan was to switch cars so she could take him to swimming (don't ask, we didn't get the soccer schedule until a week before the season started) & I could drive my daughter & my 4 year old son home. I pull into this relatively small parking lot, look to my right & see a gray Pilot with a space open next to it. Great, I think. This is perfect. Uh no, not hers. I look to my left & uh, not hers. I look again to my right, & there it is. Then driving home, we pass an elementary school that was having "back to school night." We saw 4 gray Pilots parked on the street.

My BMW too. I love it, but they are EVERYWHERE!

qbrozen

hmmm... why not the A6 vs the Jag?
I believe odds are very good that the 4-door Audi will take care of that wind noise problem. Big coupes with frameless windows just can't do away with that problem not matter how well they are made, IMHO.

qbrozen

nice! well... perfect other than black/black.

corvette

IIRC, the reviews I read at the time indicated that the sport package on the early X3s had a relatively harsh ride, compared to other SP BMWs.

corvette

For me, having a modest car payment is a hedge against my being afflicted with Chronic Car Buying disease... With the exception of the Pontiac G6 which was repurchased by GM under the lemon law, I've never sold or traded in a vehicle which still had a lien on it.

Interest rates are so low right now that I expect substantially better returns on investments, in the long term, compared to paying off a low interest rate loan.

oldfarmer50

"...painted that flat matte black..."

Who decided that matte black was in any way a color to paint a car? Ugly!

I did see one recently where it looked appropriate. It was a 90's civic with rust behind the rear wheels and a big garbage can muffler.

Of course that begs the question of why someone would repaint a car without patching up the rust holes.

Mr_Shiftright

aren't those flat black cars mostly skins?

Sandman6472

Best thing to do is refinance into a 10 year mortgage and be done with it, or even a 15 year if doable. Suzy Orman agrees with this and we did it years ago before we just said what the heck and paid the damn thing off entirely. Life is so much easier without a house payment as those funds can be used for other kids stuff because just like you, we have 3 kids with only one supported by us now. I know how difficult it is to make sure everything gets paid and on time and luckily my wife did an outstanding job with it all!
I am hoping that interest rates will be close to 0% when it comes time for me to purchase my next ride as I've only financed once before I was married and the day after we returned from our honeymoon, my bride marched me to the bank to pay that sucker in full. But if the rates are still very low, I would not mid paying the vehicles off if my investments were making more where they were. To put down the whole $20k or so is a lot of cash especially if the finance charges aren't to much over the life of the loan. I know we did that with my oldest's Versa to get the extra rebate but paid it off within the month and the fee wasn't that bad. Everyone has to make their own choices according to their means I suppose.

The Sandman

oldfarmer50

"...most skins..."

Forgive my ignorance, skins?

nyccarguy

I'd love to do that, but no way I'll qualify or be able to afford that.

fintail

Like a vinyl wrap

roadburner

I just wanted to mention that I find it very interesting that our mutual "friend" in the Mechanic's Life topic has been pointedly ignoring me- even though I've given him several opportunities to correct/lecture me in his usual winsome way. I can't help but wonder why? Advice from his therapist perhaps?

fintail

Saw this and thought I'd share it, nice old used car

Sandman6472

Now that's a really nice vehicle! Part of me would love a string of a few of these vehicles to just be able to try different ones. It would be fun for a few years to drive some super nice lux vehicles that didn't require a lot of $ to see how the other half live. I've always driven econoboxes and they've been o k but not a whole lot of fun...and I want fun now! I want a drop top for those days that the weather is nice and I want a lux vehicle to pamper myself a little bit...I guess I want it all, what I have denied myself my whole life due to the $ factor and having to raise my children. But now it's my time, time to make myself happy and do what I want even though my wife thinks I am nuts here but she just doesn't get it, only a car lover would, that swapping out vehicles when the bug hits ya is just part of the fun...finding something really nice and unique would be great. And if done right, maybe the overhead costs could be kept down a bit but, for a few years it would be super fun!
Maybe that's why I'm in here so much, I get to watch a lot of you guys get to do what I would love to. All I know is that I am getting bored with my Civic and want something...FUN!!!

The Bored Sandman

corvette

O.o That's a lot of scratch for a 20 year old car. Low miles, but still...

stickguy

Bradd, might not be as long a shot as you think. If the rates are still low (and keep in mind, 15 year rates are lower than 30 year normally) the difference between 3 and 5% is big, and can offset quite a bit of the drop from 25 years to 15 years. Yes, still likely to increase payment, but quite possibly much less than you might think.

and looking at the age of your kids, suddenly you have an expiring mortgage right around the time of a HS graduation!

just out of curiosity, I ran a 250K mortgage. 25 years @ 5% is 1,461/mo. 15 years at 3% is 1,726.

so, if you could take $260/mo out of car payments and redirect to mortgage payments, same total monthly outlay but you are mortgage free 10 years sooner.

of course, if you owe 500K instead, your BMW needs to turn into a hooptie!

stickguy

OK, for that one, I might excuse the black on black. Though I do recall reading that the ride on an X3 at first was brutal, especially with a SP.

I have actually seen a car a few times recently that I have fought myself not to stop and look at. I have been running up 206 to NY most weeks recently for familly stuff, and just below Hillsborough there is a last gen (E90?) 3 series parked in a driveway for sale. It is that browny/bronze color, and looks real sharp. I almost stopped yesterday to look (and thought about calling you from the car for a price quote!) but figured that might not be the best idea right at this point.

no clue what year, miles, trans or price though. But since it has been there for at least 3 weeks, probably not priced to move fast!

stickguy

more my budget, I went out shopping with the wife today, and near my house on a lawn was a ranger for sale. Newer front end, standard cab. black with some yellow graphics. Looked clean enough driving by. I would have stopped, but wifee might not have liked that.

best part, price soaped on the windshield: $2,200.

might find an excuse to borrow a car tomorrow and wander over to see if it is still there.

Sandman6472

Now that could be fun...and practical with the short bed. Bet it doesn't drive that badly either but I've never driven one so have no clue. Just remember that version with the redesigned front ens and it really did look pretty sharp and in black it would work. Bet the mileage figures aren't to bad either especially for around town duty...doubt you'd take it on the interstate much anyways. In your situation, cheap like this is probably the way to go since you work from home. I, on the other hand, need a somewhat dependable vehicle because I just can't call and say hey, I can't get there...once I commit, I have to go. One of the co-workers has a small Dodge pickup and he really likes it for the reason I mentioned up above but he says family members are always asking him to come give them a hand moving this or that. All in all, a good alternative for your next set of wheels.

The Sandman

oldfarmer50

"...like a vinyl wrap..."

You mean like the rolling advertisements? Oh, ok. Is that why they paint them that way? Doesn't make sense.

About a month ago they were having a local cruise might for pre-1986 cars. I saw two 70s cars painted matte black. I don't think they were planning on wrapping those cars up.

Fast & Loud did an old car like that and it looked horrible. Was a bust at the auction too. Just ugly in my opinion.

stickguy

I had to run out to Target after dinner, so swung by to look at it. SHould have brought a flashlight, since it was parked in the dark. Oops. But, I could read the brief description taped to the window.

It is a 1994, with 160K on it. AT. Did not specify engine. But, it had some nice upgrades. The side graphics were Saleen (right!) and racecraft suspensions.

it did have nice looking slotted mag wheels, a rear valance replacing the back bumper, nice chrome dual exhaust pipes. And a soft cover over the bed. Couldn't see the interior though.

but, for the money, looked nice enough. Might have to go check it out in the daylight!

stickguy

the ones I have seen were actual paint. My daughters BF has a 90s something mustang painted matte red. I just don't like the look.

oldfarmer50

"...nice old used car..."

Now you're in my neighborhood. Low milage Cali (no rust) car. Me like.

Price is about double what I'd like to pay however.

oldfarmer50

"...I guess I want it all..."

Think beater. I'm as poor as a church mouse and I have all the major food groups. A luxury car, a sports car, a truck (van) and the wife's car. I'm looking for a sports car convertible to really round out the group.

oldfarmer50

"...I might excuse the black on black..."

I'm not a SUV guy and I don't run in BMW circles but I recently saw an X3 in a dark red (almost burgundy) that looked really nice. It was THE color for that car.

oldfarmer50

$2200

Year, milage?

EDIT: caught up with your other post. 160k is pretty high. Too high for a milage paranoid like me.

If it's the 4.0L motor it might be ok. That was a dedicated truck motor for Ford.

Sandman6472

But you also have the room to park your fleet and a wife that is willing to let you have so many. We have limited parking space and the thought of a 3rd vehicle just sitting in the garage and not being used is something that would drive her nuts. I would love to have a drop top and use it when the weather is nice and just swap places on my side of the garage with my other vehicle. Maybe eventually I can do something like this after the last kid is out and working because it'll only be the two of us and our expenses will be lower. As it is now, we both purchase our own vehicles with monies our parents left us and we keep it all separate from our communal monies, i.e. my pension, which goes into the joint checking account. But it is for our living expenses so I have no issue with that. Anything else that we want to buy for ourselves we do without needing permission since it is our own funds. It works fine for right now and will in the future! And eventually, I will get what I really want I have no doubt!

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright

1993 GS300 ---even Kelley Blue Book (price guide to the stars) only rates it at $3800. I was going to say, given the condition, that about $4500 is all the money in the world.

isellhondas

I didn't check KBB but I was thinking that just MAYBE that 20 year old Lexus could possibly hit 5000.00.

Those were basically glorified Avalons.

Very nice cars. I noticed he seller didn't auction it he placed a "Buy it Now" number.

He certainly wrote an emotional ad for it making sure he hit all of the "hot buttons" didn't he?

oldfarmer50

"...you also have the room..."

True, on the latest aquisition no one was more surprised than I when the wife gave the green light since she had thrown a fit over the prospect of a new Mustang. Might have had something to do with the $40k price difference.

Have you considered renting a storage unit and rotating cars by season? I can't imagine not having a convertible in Florida in winter. Have you seen those cheap Chryslers on Craigslst?

As to dependability just give your beater a 1 month shakedown cruise to work out the bugs. My $900 van broke down twice in the first month but after resolving those issues it's run fine for the last 4 years.

fintail

I agree, ~5K should be enough to drive it home. I've always kind of liked those early GS.

Avalon didn't come around until 2 years after that car was built.

fintail

A lot cheaper to wrap than paint. I think matte paint jobs have a bad rep for not being durable. Black looks terrible when dirty, too (and very douchey on some cars).

oldfarmer50

"...black looks terrible when dirty..."

True but matte looks terrible when clean.

I haven't seen matte in the winter yet. Does it hide the dirt and salt?

I just can't get my head around that paint.

stever

Is that that "peelable" plastic paint, aka paint wrap aka PlastiDip?

fintail

I've seen cars with the matte wrap in my area, kind of jerky things like a Range Rover or older S-class.

I meant the black matte looks terrible when dirty - even worse than when clean.

stickguy

not having the room to park keeps me from getting the occasional cheap odd ball car I run across. And one of the reasons (besides not driving it!) that I sold my Integra. If I bought a toy it would need the garage, meaning the volvo gets booted outside, and my daughter has to deal with the icing up issue in the winter (she leaves for school around 7).

if I parked in the driveway, it would require constant moving back and forth which I don't want to do.

my son already gets stuck parking in the road, and that is not very good at our house, but I don't care with his car! No place really for another bomber out there.

now, once these kids get out of here, then I can do something!

nyccarguy

It is a nice, old, used car for sure, but like every other "nice, old, used, low mileage car" with a really detailed description in meticulously maintained condition, it is too damn expensive! Just the fact that these guys drove the car from CA to MO means they got this car for cheaper than cheap and are attempting to make a killing on it.

$7588 as a "buy it now" price? I'll bet you they paid $1500.00 for it.

corvette

"Those were basically glorified Avalons."

It's RWD and has an inline 6 engine--would have to be a different platform than the Avalon. I always liked the styling of the GS, though.

fintail

No doubt, the guy is doing it the antique dealer way and looking to double his money at the very least. Very few nice old GS out there though, I thought it was remarkable.

A low mileage cheap late run MB W140 would appeal to me.

laurasdada

The original, and imho, the best looking GS (a Giugiaro design, iirc). I believe it has the same engine as our '02 RX300, 220hp V6. Not the gutsiest engine (in the RX, at least), but it's been a faithful servant. Starts first time, every time.

A6 vs XF? A6 would have advantages, however, due to the handsome, yet uber-conservateive exterior styling, I have no emotional attachment. Love the interior, though.

Went to a "Cars n' Coffee" gathering at the Lexus dealer Saturday morning. Great turnout, some wonderful cars of all shapes, sizes and un-muffled sounds! Talked with a gentleman for some time regarding his "mid-life crisis mobile," a 1986 Ferrari 328GTS. Red, of course. The post-Magnum model, gorgeous. Like me, he had saved for 20 years for this, his fantasy toy. Unlike me, however, it is not his daily driver as my XK is....for now... Still analysis paralysis. Gorgeous day here, Platinum XK gleaming in the sun. How can I just banish her!!!

BTW, anyone enjoy the Pats and Red Sox show yesterday?!

crkyolfrt

I'm looking at the fender lip behind the rear wheel on the driver side. That sure looks like bubbled paint, with some serious corrosion happening under there. If that's the case, then it will continue to be difficult and expensive to constantly try to fix the look.

Plus the cassette-only will hurt it. Being a Nakamichi system might make it a bit involved refitting a more up to date system.

And far from up to date crash worthiness..

But still, does look very well taken care of. The driver's seat looks new still. Beautiful lines. Simple, yet elegant and easy to see out of. Love the rear ends on those.

Unfortunately though, at some point insurability will be an issue and if you are caught with a DD on antique insurance, it could result in a refused claim, and for extra insult, hugely increased future premiums on no matter what you're trying to insure cuz you were caught lying to them.

The sales pitch was laid on a bit thick, IMO. It sorta suggests that they did pay way less and hope to clean up on it.

Michaell

Went to a "Cars n' Coffee" gathering at the Lexus dealer Saturday morning.

I stumbled across one on Saturday morning .. Porsches. Mostly 911's, but there was a Cayman and a Boxster or two, plus a 928.

Oh, and I saw a Spyder there as well. Pretty cool sighting.

laurasdada

The mega(billionaire, Herb Chambers) dealer also showed some of his wares from his multiple dealerships. His personal Bugatti Veyron was also there. But, Porsches, Cobra (replicas), Vettes, Muscle Cars, a Citroen SM, Ferrari's, Trucks, souped-up Civics (even a Jag XJS convertible). Really just an impressive show of folks and the cars they love! With free muffins and coffee!

isellhondas

Actually I WAS wrong with my comparison to the Avalon. Thanks guys!

It probably has a CD changer in the trunk. Very common during that time.

I may be off here IF those cars have a strong following that I'm unaware of.

Some old Hondas will bring crazy off the chart money.

An 88-91 Civic 4WD Station Wagon for example. NUTS money!

Any 96-2000 civic Hatchback especially a DX with automatic and A/C

A 1990-1993 Accord especially an EX Auto.

Throw away all of the books and price guides in these IF they are especially nice with low miles.

About five years ago I took in a MINT 23,000 mile Seattle Silver Accord from the original owner who had ALL
services done including a recent timing belt and water pump done in our shop.

We had to pay dearly for it because she knew of several people who "might" be interested in it.

I think we paid full retail and marked it up quite a bit from there.

People would call and tell us how overpriced it was..." I understand, maybe you can find a "typical" one for a lot less"

One woman came and looked at it, drove it and was about to buy it when a "helpful friend who is a car expert" showed
up and told her it was overpriced.

It sold a couple of hours later. The first woman returned to buy it and left very unhappy.

MAYBE that Lexus is a car like that? I have no idea.

fintail

I hope that lower valence behind the rear wheel is plastic, and that the bubbling is an illusion - if not, yeah, that's a red flag. Probably a CD changer in the trunk, the 90s rolled that way.

I don't think it's hard to insure an old DD car, at least not in Murica. I know people with early 80s cars that seem to have no issue staying on the road. But yeah, the seller probably paid something like $3500 for it.

fintail

I have a friend who would pay 5K today for a mint low mileage one owner documented 92-93 Accord LX or EX. He had one when he was younger and remains in love with that generation.

Seattle Silver = 1993?