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Today I decided to keep my E-39 bmw forever, or, until I change my mind, which happens 10-20 times a week. The only thing that's kept me from thinking about buying a different vehicle is that I had a Major Audio System Crisis occuring the last few weeks. (If people think being a car nut is bad, they should try being a Audio Nut, or check out some of the audio forums).
My beloved British speakers that I'd owned for 8 years started dying a few weeks ago. I put an ad "as is, need repair" on one of the audio sites & sold them yesterday for $1100 cash. They weighed 80 lbs. each, & i helped the buyer out to his Volvo 850 wagon with them. Frankly, I couldn't believe I got that much, which is why I'm not posting this on an audio forum.
When you start measuring the cargo area of every vehicle you're considering to see how much audio gear you can pack in for your various audio buying/selling/schlepping-for-repair adventures, and want the handling of a bmw......it seems normal to me, but could be some advanced combination of audio/automotive neurosis(?).
Uuummmm.......I guess I'm OT again. But Good Luck with your 3-series,
cheers, woody
Thanks for the kind wishes... Even if everything gets sorted out, I'm not sure I'll want to keep it as a daily driver after the warranty ends. It seems like there are too many uncertainties in my life right now to trade it in, but on the other hand, it will never be worth more than it is now. Not to mention, I'm not sure what car I'd rather have. (This sort of analysis paralysis is what led me to keep the lemon Jetta for at least a year longer than I should have...)
An update on my friend's lemon-yellow Beetle: I was at her house today, and she asked me to check the oil, as she was unsure of how to read the dipstick. She said she had added a couple of quarts. I looked at it, and found it seriously overfilled. Then, she said the oil tended to spill out as she was filling it. After a little more Q & A, I figured out she had been adding oil via the dipstick tube. I showed her the location of the oil filler cap. It goes in tomorrow to have the oil pan replaced, so the overfill isn't a huge concern.
As I tell her, I don't go out drinking with the boys (anymore), chase skirts, gamble, lie, cheat or steal, so she should indulge this one mild vice.
I don't post much in this forum, but thought some might be interested in this topic.
Rocky
When we bought our house 6 years ago, I specifically had it pre-wired for the home theater. My wife is just like you ... she looks at the 5 different remotes (TV, Cable, Receiver, DVD and VCR) and just says "help". She can at least turn the TV and cable boxes on, but if the TV is set to the wrong input, she's stuck.
Anyway....
Not sure if I should feel grumpy today or not, given that GM just announced their '72 hour' sale - 0% for 6 years on pretty much everything in their inventory. Based on the purchase price of the ION, the payment would be about $75/month less. Oh, well.
Plus, I bet it is going to be a little more expensive to buy/sell lots of cars, but that is just a guess, because everything seems to be more expensive in the great NE.
That, and you will have to buy a lot of snow tires.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
North of Hartford should be the cheaper part of the state (cheap being relative). Go down toward NY, and 250K won't buy a 1 bedroom condo.
Depending on where else in NE you go, it gets worse. Anywhere near Boston is outrageous, and even lower NH has gotten quite pricey.
Of course, yo ucan go further North, but their isn't much there except for snow, but that would at least give you an excuse to buy a bunch of AWD vehicles!
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
If you want a pleasant listening experience you don't need a huge amp or six 15-inch subs. However, if you're wanting to impress the teenagers driving the Evos and tuned up Hondas, then you need a lot of power and really good speakers. AND, they're not really interested in how loud it is. They want to know what the Sound Pressure Level or SPL is. There is a brand of speakers and amps called Massive that recently broke the record for SPL. Ron has some of their amps on display at his store. The cheapest is around $600 and they go way up from there. But there are a multiplicity of brands out there that will do what you want for a lot less money. Just be tasteful in what you do.
I can't help myself here. So, is your friend a natural blonde? Just had to ask?
I would be about an hour away from hartford probably. The only areas that are cheap directly around hartford that are any good to live would be parts of bloomfield and certain areas just north of hartford. The Granby/East Granby area can be nice and fairly inexpensive. I am not familar with the area east of hartford in the Glastonbury area except that I have lots of customers that live there in very expensive houses.
I would guess there are more reasonable parts of the area but not any I have seen.
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
I've been looking in York County, Maine (the southernmost part, on the coast, from the N.H. border, to almost Portland). Still expensive, but not compared to the metro-boston area.....
Then there's the depreciation rate of bmw's, which gets esp. scary after the warranty runs out.....is the current-gen 3 made in SC, or Germany?
A friend of mine has one on order that should be in in a few weeks.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
How did she manage to get the oil down the tube anyway? Did she use the lid off a Mustard Bottle for a funnel or what? I laugh everytime I think about it!
When I first figured out it was two quarts low, I just opened the sludged-up filler cap and added it as best I could, sans funnel. Some of it spilled, but that's better than running with no oil.
Now keep in mind, Taburbitha was lifted 4" and riding on 33's and I'm only 5'6". It was a struggle during the daylight hours, let alone when it was dark out.
I miss that old Suburban, probably one of my favorite vehicles.
Is this an excuse to go out and test drive some cars?
Absolutely!!! Did you really think the CCBA forum would prompt any other answers?? The Sentra SE-R Spec V is a load of fun to drive, but its such a small car that it detracts from the fun factor.
One of the things I hated about living in FL (besides the bugs, the heat, & the lack of cultural opportunities), was that the only place you could drive to in a day's drive, was another part of......FL.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
I drove from Boston to Philadelphia on Sunday, two areas that are radically different from each other, and I didn't even have to make a potty stop. About 5 hours with normal traffic.
What does 5 hours get you in MOntana? THe middle of the state?
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Move to New Hamshire instead. No income tax. Not sure how they get you with cars though.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Woody, have you ever been to North Georgia? The ocean is the only thing missing from your NE list.
Anony, all I've got to say is that if you move to NE, I'll think about you this winter, when we here in the South are still running around outside in our shorts and t-shirts.
Heh. A few months back I got a nasty letter from a city in Connecticut about a couple hundred bucks in personal property taxes they claim I owe on an Eagle Premier. I sold the car in 1993 and moved out of Connecticut in 1997.
Needless to say, the dunning letter got the circular-file treatment
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Anyway, the Chrysler dealer in Anchorage doesn't want her (really lowballed the trade), said they have too many as it is, so I checked with a couple used car places in Fairbanks. One of them is offering $5500 for her, that's ACV. Dealers don't get a warm fuzzy feeling during summer when looking at a car with no A/C.......imagine that, lol.
So, would I be better off trying to sell her on my own? Downside is I really don't want to spend a lot of time doing it, not to mention I live 85 miles from town. Or do I just say heck with it and sell her to the used car dealer and be done with it?
Zippy is a base Focus ZX3 with ABS, 5-spd, 54,500 miles, no a/c, no pwr anything. Nice car but needs tires, windshield, probably an alignment, and possibly some suspension work......she's a little squeaky in the front, could be a rock though. I'll try to figure the squeak out tomorrow, last time it was a rock.
http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/AUTO01/606290371/- 1148
Rocky
P.S.
Here's another article...
Take that dealer up on his offer before he changes his mind.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Unfortunately, my only experience in GA is driving thru it on I-95. I'd love to check out Atlanta, Savannah, etc. I don't know anything about North Georgia tho.
I have considered other parts of the country as possibilities to move to, besides New England. Austin TX, NC, Pacific NW (Portland or Seattle areas), but it's real complicated to relocate that far (duh). I did like the winters in FL. It was sort of fun when the temp. would occasionally get down into the 30's, & everybody would freak out & think they were freezing to death.
I'd be fine staying in Taxachusetts, apart from the Winters, but the cost anywhere near Boston is insane......
Heck, I spent a week in Daytona Beach in February one year and the temp was in the middle 60's for most of the week. Folks were breaking out the heavy coats.
I, OTOH, was loving it as I left behind 30 degree weather in Denver at the time.
akangl - take that $5500 and run, baby.
cracked windsheilds and high mileage !
Not to mention high prices!
And it's not like the Ford Focus is a rare car, or something.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The tires are bad, at least the fronts are, they have a bald patch in the middle, seems to be normal for blizzaks (I left the winter tires on her since her summers are worn out too). The crack in the windshield is just par for the course up here, all 4 of our vehicles have broken windshields.
I think in order to sell her private party I'd have to put new tires on, a new windshield, and figure out the squeak. I might be able to see another $1500 over what the used car dealer offered which after spending another $500-$600 on the car doesn't seem worth it.
The Anchorage dealer offered $8000 for the Dodge (nada trade is $12,500) and $21,000 for the Titan (nada trade is $23,500). I feel those are fair, the Titans tires are less than 50% and it has a big time cracked windshield. The dodge has good tires, windshield cracked, dented tailgate, and some other scratches and such, nothing too big for being 7 years old.
The truck we are buying seems like a fair deal so I'm not grumbling too much about the trade values. I just hope we don't have to go through this for another few years.
Yeah, that reminds me, I also spent a week in Daytona Beach in February one year, & it was grey & chilly all week. Low 50's & damp during the day, Possibly in the upper 30's at night. Not common, but it happens.....& not what people go to FL for, even if it's "better" than the 20 degree weather they left behind. Oh, & there's practically a State Emergency if it ever gets near freezing at night in citrus growing areas. Again, rare, but it's a huge deal when it happens.
I got some great color film pics of the 24 Hours of Daytona tho.
OT: Try finding a hotel room within 50 miles of there during the races ... IIRC, I paid over $100 a night for some fleabag hotel that I wouldn't want my worst enemy to experience. What's funny is that for several years afterward, I got a Christmas card from them inviting me back.
Having grown up in SoCal, I totally get the freezing issue when it comes to produce. The growers put huge fans into the trees and fields to keep the ambient temperature above freezing.
ak: let me make sure I understand.
1) You're trading in the old Dodge, the Titan and Zippy for the new Dodge.
2) You still have the Sebring.
3) You are looking for a third truck (part work, part play).
Am I up to speed on this?
1) You're trading in the old Dodge, the Titan and Zippy for the new Dodge.
2) You still have the Sebring.
3) You are looking for a third truck (part work, part play).
Am I up to speed on this?
Almost. We are trading the Titan and the old Dodge on a used Dodge. Zippy is being sold to a used car dealer.
The used Dodge was way too good of a deal to pass up, so we jumped on it, its perfect, will do everything he needs so he shouldn't need another truck for many many years. Saved a BUNCH of money over the cost of a new one. Thankfully he doesn't deal well with change and likes to keep his truck for a long time, with the V10 gas prices pushed him over the edge. I can't see that happening with a diesel.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Zippy is not paid for, thus the reason I'm selling her. I don't need the extra car, insurance, and car payment now that I have the Sebring which is paid for. I'm selling her to a used car dealer because A. they offered more money than the dodge dealer and B. it does away with the hassle of trailering Zippy to Anchorage (3 vehicles going).
OK, I missed this somehow.
You've got a new Dodge Ram on order; in fact, it's at the dealer getting some accessories added and you'll be picking it up soon (this is the black one). Correct?
What are the particulars of the used Dodge that you're getting? Did I somehow miss that post, or are you trying to pull a fast one on all of us?
Would I do that??
As for the used Dodge, well, its a great deal and all the truck our business needs, we'll leave it at that.
I think of those as monster trucks! :-P
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
(I'm so glad I spent all those years in college & grad. school......) No use trying to figure all this out at this point, it sounds like Decisions Have Been Made. Hopefully.....