Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Sube if not hiding something like leaking head gasket could make a fine winter beater.

The jag, good luck.

I need to assign you to find me wheels when the time comes

henryn

Feel like I'm getting closer to putting the Benz up for sale, so of course I've been perusing what's out there (not that I ever stop doing that).

I'm ahead of you, I already sold the Passat. (smile)

Trying to limit it to manual trans, but if its powerful enough, I suppose an auto would be OK under the right circumstances.

With my bad knees, the days of using a clutch are pretty much over for me.

I'm also not looking at anything with over 125k miles on it.

I agree with you there. It's amazing to me the miles that people put on cars these days.

stickguy

The latest wrinkle that my daughter is interested in going to a manual tranny is going to really expand my options. Maybe not a good thing?

stickguy

My wife was watching cars go by the other day. Saw a mini convertible and commented that it was a cute thing and could be fun to have.

Michaell

I know that postage rates have gone up, but this is ridiculous!

Got into a low speed fender bender in the parking lot of the local post office just now. Couldn't have been going more than 2-3 MPH when I looked away for a split second and bumped the person in front of me. Elderly gent, driving a first gen Highlander.

Totally my fault, and tell him so. Give him my name, contact info and insurance carrier and policy number. He's got a few scratches on his bumper; I've got a misaligned front left fender and the headlight connections under the hood are broke. The left side fog light is also askew.

Sadly, I'm on a first name basis with my local body shop (teenaged boys, don't you know), and he gives me a quick thought on the damage - $2000, give or take.

So, I'll be calling my agent tomorrow and file a claim. As this is a leased car, I don't have any choice but to pay the deductible and get it repaired.

$500 trip to the post office.

roadburner

@Michaell
Having been in your shoes not all that long ago, you have my sincerest sympathy- although I have you beat by $3000. On the bright side(no pun intended), I bought a couple of Phillips D2S HID bulbs and let the shop install them while they were replacing the bumper cover- at seven years and over 140,000 miles I knew they were living on borrowed time, and I did not look forward to pulling the cover myself to R&R the bulbs...

stickguy

OK, talk me down. I am strangely attracted to this (would be a lot worse if it was a better color combo!) Miles a tad high, but not outrageously. Looks pretty clean, and not that expensive. same year as my Volvo, probably only a couple of K more to swap.

I should of course look for something newer/lower miles, not just nicer. But hey, where is the fun in that?

http://torchlightmotors.com/2007-MercedesBenz-CClass/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/4628346/Details.aspx

roadburner

Must Resist: 1993 M5

All the problem areas have been addressed, and while not cheap, I doubt you'd lose any money if you keep it more than 3-4 years...

Michaell

@roadburner said:
Michaell
Having been in your shoes not all that long ago, you have my sincerest sympathy- although I have you beat by $3000. On the bright side(no pun intended), I bought a couple of Phillips D2S HID bulbs and let the shop install them while they were replacing the bumper cover- at seven years and over 140,000 miles I knew they were living on borrowed time, and I did not look forward to pulling the cover myself to R&R the bulbs...

Ugh, that isn't much fun, though getting great new bulbs installed for no extra charge is a bit of a bonus. I just turned over 14,000 miles on the E-GT.

So, quick question - am I on the hook for paying the deductible twice? Once for his repair, once for mine? Or is the deductible per incident?

stickguy

@roadburner said:
Must Resist: 1993 M5

All the problem areas have been addressed, and while not cheap, I doubt you'd lose any money if you keep it more than 3-4 years...

that certainly looks clean as a whistle. why resist if you want it? sell the 2002 and go for it.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

That Subaru is pretty close to me. Pound Ridge is the next town over from me on the other side of the NY/CT border.

roadburner

@Michaell said:
So, quick question - am I on the hook for paying the deductible twice? Once for his repair, once for mine? Or is the deductible per incident?

Just once, for the damage to your vehicle.

roadburner

@stickguy said:
that certainly looks clean as a whistle. why resist if you want it? sell the 2002 and go for it.

Believe me, it is VERY tempting. At one time I seriously considered collecting an E30 M3, E24 M6, and E28 and E34 M5s- the "First Generation" of M Cars. With E30 M3 prices now north of $30k and climbing it looks like I'll have to win Powerball to realize that dream...

Michaell

@roadburner said:
Just once, for the damage to your vehicle.

Shew! Thank you.

Well, I'll at least have a rental to report on while the repairs are being done.

stickguy

@nyccarguy said:
qbrozen‌

That Subaru is pretty close to me. Pound Ridge is the next town over from me on the other side of the NY/CT border.

Did not realize you were that close to there. My college roommate lived there so I visited a few times. talk about expensive, and they had a nice custom house. Lot of art too, since his father was a sculptor, and I believe fairly well known back then.

very country roads too.

nyccarguy

@‌Michaell

It is amazing how much damage can be done at a low speed collision. About a month ago, there was some police activity on my way to a Yankees game after work. The only way around it was to make an Illegal U-Turn. 4 cars in front of me go. I triple check to make sure its clear, cut the wheel, hit the gas - nothing. The check engine light goes on. I put my foot back on the brake, shift the car into Neutral, press the start button and the car fires back up. Still clear, I start creeping along to make sure its ok. I start to go and see there's a car that isn't stopping. BAM! I stop in time, but he hits my front, right bumper. So the bumper is hanging down & I see all kinds of "light malfunction" messages.

Ok, so I get the bumper fixed & repainted. The body shop plugs the light back in. The light works, the high beam works, the blinker works. Every time I start the car up I get a "right cornering lamp malfunction" message on the dashboard. What is the right cornering lamp you ask? The inner light that lights up when turning or backing up. So I'm afraid when I bring it to the dealer for its ne t service that I'm going to be on th hook for a new $1500 headlight cluster.

Michaell

@nyccarguy said:
@‌Michaell

It is amazing how much damage can be done at a low speed collision. About a month ago, there was some police activity on my way to a Yankees game after work. The only way around it was to make an Illegal U-Turn. 4 cars in front of me go. I triple check to make sure its clear, cut the wheel, hit the gas - nothing. The check engine light goes on. I put my foot back on the brake, shift the car into Neutral, press the start button and the car fires back up. Still clear, I start creeping along to make sure its ok. I start to go and see there's a car that isn't stopping. BAM! I stop in time, but he hits my front, right bumper. So the bumper is hanging down & I see all kinds of "light malfunction" messages.

Ok, so I get the bumper fixed & repainted. The body shop plugs the light back in. The light works, the high beam works, the blinker works. Every time I start the car up I get a "right cornering lamp malfunction" message on the dashboard. What is the right cornering lamp you ask? The inner light that lights up when turning or backing up. So I'm afraid when I bring it to the dealer for its ne t service that I'm going to be on th hook for a new $1500 headlight cluster.

Yeah, that's basically what my body shop guy told me today. Until he gets the front bumper off, he can't really give me a good estimate on the damage. There was some obvious stuff when we opened the hood, and the small crease in the front fender - right at the top where it meets the windshield - is noticeable when you look at the other side.

I'll see if I can get a pic - what's real obvious is the shut line between the hood and left front fender is about 3 or 4 times wider than before.

Sigh.

stever

I got tagged last year in Taos but at least I managed to talk the cop out of a ticket since it was debatable whose fault it was. Ball park estimate was $1,800, which would be closer to $4,000 in non-UP dollars. Never got it fixed (had dropped collision a couple of years earlier).

Bummer Michael.

corvette

@Michaell said:
$500 trip to the post office.

Ouch. Glad you weren't hurt. The guy in front of you, on the other hand, give him my business card before he says he's not hurt, would you?

Michaell

@corvette said:
Ouch. Glad you weren't hurt. The guy in front of you, on the other hand, give him my business card before he says he's not hurt, would you?

Thanks - sort of. Like I said, I was going just a couple of miles per hour when I bumped him. He seriously thought of getting a police report, but thought better of it.

Mr_Shiftright

Nice M5! But what's this "hand assembled" puffery? It's a 535 that BMW Motorsport bolted special parts to. Isn't every tuner car "hand assembled"? And, is that even a good thing? Lots of lousy cars were hand-assembled, too. Just sayin'...:)

Asking price is pretty good! . I would hit it at $16,000 if it's as nice as they say. It's a US model I presume, so maybe puts out what....260HP? Not bad, not bad.

@stickguy said:
that certainly looks clean as a whistle. why resist if you want it? sell the 2002 and go for it.

Claires

I got hit last week by a 1992 Chevy van that decided to take a left turn into my front end while I was going through an intersection. The driver said she didn't realize there was oncoming traffic (not sure what she was using, but my eyes usually provide pretty reliable information about stuff like that).

So the 2002 Jetta I'd been hoping to drive for awhile longer is in a salvage yard and I'm in the market for the first time in 12 years. Have to find something before my rental allowance expires at the end of the week. I really liked my Jetta, electrical problems and all, and haven't seen anything in that price range that excites me.

kyfdx

@claires That is a bummer about your car. If your budget is the value of a 2002 Jetta, you really are going to have a hard time finding something decent. If your market is a new Jetta, then there is a lot to choose from.

Michaell

@Claires said:
I got hit last week by a 1992 Chevy van that decided to take a left turn into my front end while I was going through an intersection. The driver said she didn't realize there was oncoming traffic (not sure what she was using, but my eyes usually provide pretty reliable information about stuff like that).

So the 2002 Jetta I'd been hoping to drive for awhile longer is in a salvage yard and I'm in the market for the first time in 12 years. Have to find something before my rental allowance expires at the end of the week. I really liked my Jetta, electrical problems and all, and haven't seen anything in that price range that excites me.

Sorry to hear about your Jetta - apparently it isn't good luck to be a moderator here lately.

At least you've come to the right place. We've got all sorts of opinions on how to help you spend your money.

stever

@claires, well phooey, that stinks.

roadburner

@Michaell said:
Well, I'll at least have a rental to report on while the repairs are being done.

I made it easy on Safeco- I told them I didn't need a rental.

roadburner

@qbrozen said:
I like the color of that x1. What color is the interior, though? Looks more grey in the pics, but could be the lighting. Personally, I'd prefer tan with the brown exterior. Didn't your mother ever tell you brown and black don't go together?

It's black. I think you could also get light tan.

stickguy

New golf is nice. Just not out yet.

Look at the Mazda 3. If you liked the model Jetta, should love the 3

graphicguy

@stickguy said:
OK, talk me down. I am strangely attracted to this (would be a lot worse if it was a better color combo!) Miles a tad high, but not outrageously. Looks pretty clean, and not that expensive. same year as my Volvo, probably only a couple of K more to swap.

I should of course look for something newer/lower miles, not just nicer. But hey, where is the fun in that?

http://torchlightmotors.com/2007-MercedesBenz-CClass/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/4628346/Details.aspx

I like it, Miles wouldn't scare me if everything else checks out. Not sure about the value on this, though. Seems really high. 10 year old Benz C class....$5K...maybe $6K? You know the drill....Hope for $5K, pull the trigger at $5,500.....If I've had a couple of beers while looking at the car.....$6K, because I won at poker with my buds the weekend before.

roadburner

@Mr_Shiftright said:
Nice M5! But what's this "hand assembled" puffery?

It is most definitely NOT puffery. While the E24 M6 was assembled on the regular assembly line, the E28 and E34 M5 body shells were sent to BMW M GmbH in Garching and the cars were assembled there(except for E28 M5s built prior to September 1986, which were assembled at the Preussenstrasse facility).

stickguy

Even edmunds pegs it as 8k plus private, 10k dealer.

stickguy

For 6 grand or below, heck yeah I would grab it.

graphicguy

@stickguy said:
Even edmunds pegs it as 8k plus private, 10k dealer.

Shows you what I know.

roadburner

@Claires said:
I got hit last week by a 1992 Chevy van that decided to take a left turn into my front end while I was going through an intersection. The driver said she didn't realize there was oncoming traffic (not sure what she was using, but my eyes usually provide pretty reliable information about stuff like that).

That really stinks. I hope you find a nice car within you budget(are you sure your neck or back aren't hurting a bit since Chevy lady crashed into you?).

henryn

Michaell:
Totally my fault, and tell him so.

Never, ever, ever do that. If your insurance company finds out that you did so, they are very likely to cancel your policy.

What you do, you tell the other driver:

I am not allowed to admit "fault", but I will tell my insurance company exactly what happened, and I expect they will pay to fix your car.

That way, you reassure the other driver that you are going to take the blame, but you don't upset your insurance company.

nyccarguy:
So I'm afraid when I bring it to the dealer for its next service that I'm going to be on th hook for a new $1500 headlight cluster.

Was this an insurance claim? If so, you're covered. If you paid for it out of pocket, well....

rayainsw

One more car now available with - 'six-speed manual transmission' .

In case anyone here cares...

http://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2015-chevrolet-ss-gets-standard-six-speed-manual-transmission.html

breld

@roadburner You're not gonna come across an M5 like that very often, right? If it checks out, you kinda have to go for it!

@Michaell I'd say that's one of the best advantages of a lease - you don't have to deal with any loss of value on a leased car (as long as it's repaired properly).

Michaell

@henryn said:
Never, ever, ever do that. If your insurance company finds out that you did so, they are very likely to cancel your policy.

Water under the bridge now.

Besides, I've been with my agent for almost 21 years and have filed (sadly) multiple claims in that time. This is the first one in many years where I was at fault.

I doubt that I'll get cancelled - but I wouldn't be surprised to see a bit of a rate increase with the next renewal.

Michaell

@breld said:
Michaell I'd say that's one of the best advantages of a lease - you don't have to deal with any loss of value on a leased car (as long as it's repaired properly).

True - no hassles with diminished value and all that. I've been using my body shop for a long time now. I trust the work that they do.

Mr_Shiftright

I still wouldn't personally pay an extra nickel for 'hand assembled'--I guess that was my point, clumsily made . I mean, so when Dieter bolts in a rear seat that's bad, but when Hans does it, it's special? I don't get it. I suppose one could argue that with low production and a slow assembly line, there is more attention paid to detail, but whether it's enough to actually mean anything--one has to wonder. I suspect Zimmers and Clenets are hand assembled, for better or worse I don't know.

But the debate is empty, because I think the price asked is quite fair for that car.

@roadburner said:
It is most definitely NOT puffery. While the E24 M6 was assembled on the regular assembly line, the E28 and E34 M5 body shells were sent to BMW M GmbH in Garching and the cars were assembled there(except for E28 M5s built prior to September 1986, which were assembled at the Preussenstrasse facility).

qbrozen

@rayainsw said:
One more car now available with - 'six-speed manual transmission' .

In case anyone here cares...

http://www.edmunds.com/car-news/2015-chevrolet-ss-gets-standard-six-speed-manual-transmission.html

Cool. Now if they could just increase efficiency 20%, they'd have something competitive.

qbrozen

Chronic car selling?

stickguy

no pictures of the engine. Must be hiding something.

stickguy

oops. Just found your flicker link. Man, that is a lot of pictures. you put the average CL poster (3 shots in the dark with no flash, in a junked up garage) to shame.

does look incredibly clean for the age. Just wonder what the market is for one of these. What do you do with it? Not really suitable for a DD, too nice (and expensive) for a beater, and are these collectible?

Mr_Shiftright

It had better be a glittering jewel at that price. You can buy a very nice, and more modern, E320 for less. I liked the line about "many sensors"

SCENE: The desert, in a cheap Hollywood Grade B movie. The Arab warlord is interrogating the British officer:

"You bring sensors, Colonel?"

"Yes, Afendi, I bring many sensors"

qbrozen

well, that's like saying you could get an E36 for less than an E30, so it must be a better buy. Maybe fintail would back me up, or maybe I'm totally off base, but I'm pretty sure this is the one those in the know would want.

And, as Mike Brewer would say, maybe I'm being a bit "cheeky with my asking price." But I don't think fair value is THAT far below.

breld

Well, I know next to nothing about Mercedes, much less more vintage ones, but for a classic car with low miles in good running order, seems more than fair to me. I mean, when you get down to below $5,000, seems to me a car that runs well is a pretty good buy. Just my opinion.

breld

Oh no. Just when I figured we were done for the year.

Local ZHP

I'm actually not very enthusiastic about making another punch - my "fun car" money was intentionally put toward the 535xi. But Imola Red over natural brown? Pretty low miles too. And, most importantly, it's local.

I talked to the owner - second owner who's had it for 5 years. Routine maintenance is all complete, but none of the bigger ticket items have been done. It was in an accident this past December - doesn't sound terribly serious, but did have some bodywork done on the driver's rear side.

Price is actually reasonable NOT considering the accident - so I don't know, figure another $1-2k off normal PP values, assuming the repairs were done well? When I asked if the price was negotiable (but not wanting to get into specifics), she was pretty enthusiastic about it being so.

If I end up looking at it, can't do it until the end of the week, and someone else is looking at it tonight, so could be gone by the time I get around to it, which would be somewhat of a blessing.

graphicguy

@qbrozen said:
Chronic car selling?

Good looking car. I'm betting you won't own it after this coming weekend.

kyfdx

@breld said:
Oh no. Just when I figured we were done for the year.

Local ZHP

I'm actually not very enthusiastic about making another punch - my "fun car" money was intentionally put toward the 535xi. But Imola Red over natural brown? Pretty low miles too. And, most importantly, it's local.

I talked to the owner - second owner who's had it for 5 years. Routine maintenance is all complete, but none of the bigger ticket items have been done. It was in an accident this past December - doesn't sound terribly serious, but did have some bodywork done on the driver's rear side.

Price is actually reasonable NOT considering the accident - so I don't know, figure another $1-2k off normal PP values, assuming the repairs were done well? When I asked if the price was negotiable (but not wanting to get into specifics), she was pretty enthusiastic about it being so.

If I end up looking at it, can't do it until the end of the week, and someone else is looking at it tonight, so could be gone by the time I get around to it, which would be somewhat of a blessing.

Natty brown interior..... yum... Other than that, it's almost identical to my car.. just a couple thousand more miles.. My car has some paint work to the passenger-side rear fender.. Pretty hard to find any 8-9 year old car without paint work.. Pretty good buy at $12K-$13K, I'd say..