Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

andre1969

Wow, small world...my Dad lived in Clearwater back in the late 70's and early/mid 1980s', before moving back to Maryland in '87.

As for why that transmission failed so early? Two words: "Ultradrive" "A604"

Well, okay, one word and an alpha-numeric designation. :P

I once owned an '88 LeBaron turbo coupe. My uncle bought it used in 1990, and sold it to me in 1995 when I was married. I let the ex- have it in the divorce. It wasn't a bad car, to about 90,000 miles or so, but after that, it crapped out in a major way. By the time it was dead at 118K, I think the only major component that was still good WAS the transmission! But, it had the simpler, fairly reliable 3-speed, which I think they called the Torqueflite 525? It was the one that dated to the '78 Omni/Horizon, I believe.

kyfdx

I still want one of these

tjc78

The 3speed was never the problem. The 4 speed in the Caravans was, but even in the smaller lighter Kcars they would blow up if neglected.

stickguy

that looks like a nice unit. And with reasonable miles, not a bad price at all if it is as clean as it looks.

I could be very happy with one of those.

roadburner

I wouldn't mind one of these wagons:

nyccarguy

Ah, have you forgotten there is only room in my heart (& my garage) for only one 2 door, manual transmission car. My beloved Prelude:)

There should be tons of E90s for me to choose from. How about a fanatically taken care of 2006 330xi;)

stickguy

love the car. iffy on the wheels. Hate the color.

Looks like my daughters running shoes/

stickguy

I like this one. Miles are way out there, and probably too pricey. But I find it most amazing that in all the verbiage, never mentions that it was a stick shift! Had to look at the pics to find that out.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3502359878.html

This is hysterical. I doubt I could get out of my neighborhood without blowing a tire or getting stuck on a speed hump though.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3527535986.html

Seems to be a trend now on CL. Seems that every other car has a blown head gasket.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3527365408.html

I love these but it would be financial suicide since I am not gonna DIY on it.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3527312177.html

Zig on the cheap?

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3527581061.html

corvette

" iffy on the wheels."

Wait a minute, those look like the wheels on my 540i M-sport.

stickguy

they just don't go IMO with that car. Too low profile and overly large. Just look out of place to me.

corvette

The Catera had a reputation for being unloved, unreliable, and a repair nightmare... And that's when they were new! :P

Can't imagine that the passage of time has been kind to those.

au1994

A 4Runner of that vintage well sorted can bring good money. This one is not in that category. Gotta love the removable top.

944-Offer 3500, settle just north of 4 and drive it till something 'spensive breaks!

Sandman6472

Sweet!! I could learn to love one of these puppies but rwd would be the way to go down here in South Florida. Man, I'd be one happy camper if I could get one of these but I'd have to get a divorce first. She just doesn't get my love for cars and something like this or a C Class would give me true happiness for a long time. For a real long time!!!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

qbrozen

So we returned Saturday from the haul to Florida and back in the minivan. It served admirably. I was very impressed with the long-distance comfort. I sat in that driver's seat for 12 hours a day without issue.

Mileage wasn't so hot, but we were loaded down on the inside with an extra bundle up top to add to the wind resistance. When travelling at normal speeds, it was 21mpg or so, but I noticed a STEEP dropoff once the needle passes 80mph... roundabout 18mpg or so. On the way back Friday evening through the Carolinas, I had the opportunity to follow a couple of amorous drivers at 90+mph. That resulted in mileage under 16mpg. But at least I covered 750 miles that day, even with a rather long stop over to clean up one of the kid's mishaps.

The van did develop a little glitch just prior to leaving, however. Somehow my wife managed to use the power folding 3rd row at the wrong time with something blocking it. Surprisingly, the system doesn't know any better and kept trying to close or open the seat, which resulted in quite mangled hinges. The dealer wants $1800 to replace the whole seat. I wound up removing the 40% side and resetting the 60% side, which didn't seem to have any damage. Having the 40% side out of the car gave us more storage room anyway, so it worked out. Now I'll just have to figure out the next step, which I believe is ordering it online or finding one in a junkyard.

laurasdada

Yes, warning stickguy Robinson! Warning! My folks had a new Catera back when in Florida. Dad enjoyed driving it on those rare occasions when it wasn't in the shop. Not a long tenure in the family.

breld

Were you down there for Disney? We flew there the day after X-mas (7:00 am flight with four kids - that was a challenging morning) and stayed through New Year's Day.

A little chilly some mornings and evenings but otherwise a great trip - that was our first time to Orlando. We've been to Disneyland a couple of times.

We had a rental Caravan, which was so ubiquitous at the parks that I was able to keep tricking my son into attempting to get into other people's vans.

steine13

Learned Friends,

I figured if anyone knows, you guys would:

As posted a couple pages back, I'm in the process of picking out a cheap lease from the General. Right now it looks like a Cruze LS 6sp for $130/month including tax, with registration fees & plate up front.

Now for the question: That'll leave me carless two years from now, in Jan/Feb. Not really a problem, but at that point, it would be nice to have the option to add a month or two to the lease, and I've heard it said that that "usually" is fine with the captive finance houses.

Has anyone here any experience that way -- heck, now I think about it, maybe this is the wrong place; you guys would be able to answer the "early termination" questions

Seriously, anyone know how this works?

We do have another car, but I try to keep that one dry and salt-free.
Most likely scenario, if GM keeps up their usual tricks, I just slide over into another lease.

Cheers -Mathias

ateixeira

I like that TL better than the newer one. Plus it's pre-beak style.

Miles are miles, though. You wonder how much longer it'll last.

xwesx

it is remarkably comfortable and civilized.

Now, see, that's just not something I can say about any of my old cars. Not even close! Actually, I crack up laughing when I even consider such a notion.

I have a the following, with 50% of my fleet manual (M) transmissions:

1969 Ford Econoline 100 - 18 yrs (I've had the body of this van since 1994, with all the mechanicals, interior, etc., coming from a 1971 E100 my dad bought new and gave to me in 1991)
1969 Chevrolet C20 (M)- 16 years (June 1997)
1974 Ford Pinto wagon - 15 years (given to me by my mother in Dec 1997 - she purchased in the 1989, I think, but has had a blown engine since Jan of 98)
1976 Ford F250 "highboy" - 6 years (given to me by my grandfather in June of 2007; he purchased it new)
---
2010 Subaru Forester (M)- 3.3 years (Sept 2009)
2011 Ford Fiesta (M)- 0.3 years (Aug 2012)

While I really do like fun, I only ever plunk my cash down on practical, though I must say that the Fiesta, especially, does a great job of combining both.

ateixeira

Can't get around a big frontal area dragging in the wind at high speeds.

Sucks about the seat. Neat feature, too.

qbrozen

While down there, had the chance to check out the GM Test Drive at Epcot. Pretty neat ride. At the end, you are shuffled into their own personal car show. The kids love that sort of thing, so we hung out there for a while.

I was absolutely shocked at some of the sticker prices I saw. Off the top of my head, it was $32k+ for a Malibu. $33k for a FWD 4-cyl Equinox without a moonroof! And $44k for a FWD Traverse! :surprise:

xwesx

I must have missed that post.... you folks went into overdrive there for a while, so I may have gone from "reading" to scanning....!

Did you pick up a new vehicle? I thought your wife already had a van?

qbrozen

oh, its the same one. An '08 Limited now with 67k big miles.

ateixeira

$33k for a 'nox is not that high, I've seen one at $39k!

qbrozen

Yes. We were there from the 28th to 4th. If only we knew, huh?

We hit both Universals and all 4 Disney parks. We were very very busy.

qbrozen

I actually think the power 3rd row is an unneeded feature. Why is pulling a handle so hard? And what really chaps my backside is that it has NO manual override! So if that motor dies in the upright position, I don't even know how the hell you can get to the bolts underneath to remove it.

qbrozen

but a FWD 4-cyl without even a slider? That's just absurd.

ateixeira

I don't want it, but I bet if I asked my wife she would.

It's easier to roll a window up yet we all want power windows.

jayrider

Honda has 3 year leases on 2012 Civic LX for $149 zero down plus tax and license. Check that out. I'm sure you could get a 36 month quote on the Cruz.
ridewithg.com has info as well.

xwesx

Okay, it sounded to me like the van was new-to-the-family. Universal and Disney all in one go. I couldn't do it. :sick:

breld

Funny! We could have crossed paths and wouldn't have even known it. I mean, there were only 10's of thousands of people there .

We did the same thing - Universal and the 4 Disney Parks. We were much more impressed with Disney than the Universal parks - I just think Disney has it down on how they handle the large crowds. But all our kids love Harry Potter, so we thought we needed to get down there before they outgrew it.

qbrozen

the whole harry potter bit was insane. its such a shame we couldn't really enjoy it since we could barely walk through the crowd. Seemed like half the people in the park were in that one little corner.

Islands of Adventure is my favorite park, though.

I've been down there a couple of weeks prior to christmas in past years and found the attendance at the parks to be on the lighter side. Apparently, that changes drastically when the holidays actually come around.

breld

Yeah, based on one of the park attendant's advice, we got to Universal a bit before they opened and went directly to the Harry Potter section. We were able to get on the rides and walk around a bit with ease for about an hour. We left by lunchtime when the crowds got insane again and returned to Disney.

Obviously Disney is crowded too, but I just think they're better prepared. At the locker area at the Harry Potter castle, it was so crowded and insane that the Universal park attendants were getting upset at the customers - don't think you'd see that at Disney. Having said all that I really liked the rides at Universal - just not the overall experience at the peak season.

My stepson has down syndrome AND autism, so we have a special needs pass that allows us to essentially skip most of the lines at Disney. It's the best thing for him, and the other kids just get spoiled (as do we).

Sorry for the off-topic! To get back on topic, the VW salesperson e-mailed me back on the Golf R, asking if I was interested. I said I was, but not at the price they had offered. Haven't heard anything back yet.

stickguy

the power seat to me is a silly piece of fluff. Really easy to put it down, and why is it necessary to do it from the front? You sitll have to go around back to put something in there!

for Q, I am sure you can remove the motor part and rig something up. Or just leave it out, and have a 6 seater!

power windows, they have an actually practical value. You can control them from the driver's seat all around. Those I would have trouble doing without, unless it was something the size of a Miata.

oldfarmer50

Acura TL--- can even an Acura go that many miles without developing expensive problems? It's new enough that you might be able to throw a junk yard motor in it and still have a nice car for personal use. You'd never be able to resell it though.

Civic--- strictly for cruise night. You could paint it Orange.

4 Runner---let's see you take a truck that's worth $1400 and spend a grand to find out that the motor is shot. Yeah, that makes sense. I always thought that if you were a mechanic who did nothing but head gaskets you could make a nice living.

944---I think you could do better if you really want one. I can't imagine it wouldn't need work....expensive work.

Catera---now you're down to my neighborhood but isn't that just a pimped out Cavalier?

stickguy

you are 15 years late on the Catera. That was the 80s vintage Cimmaron.

No, I would never buy a Catera wither. I just distracted by shiny cheap objects (Squirrel!)

the TL, that could be interesting, depending entirely on the price, which here I think is still too high. If legitimately long distance highway cruising, the engine was barely working anyway, so I would not be at all surprised if it went 250-300K without any issues.

plus, that one has the most important feature. No AT to crap out on you.

for my needs (low mile putting around town) it could be perfect!

I was actually debating with myself before (yes, I know how that sounds..) whether you are better off with old and low miles or new and high miles. One has use, but newer non-wear components. The other obviously had a lot of sitting around and potential dry rot and age related failures.

oldfarmer50

"...1969 Econoline..."

Gee, and I thought I ran a lot of old iron. :surprise:

stickguy

serious diet, or bigger car.

considering what happened the last time I lost 30+ pounds my wife will never go for that. So I think that my dalliance with a cute little toy mobile might be short lived. Though at this pace, I am maybe doing 30 miles/week and may not need gas again until March, so I guess I can suck it up.

I really liked the ATS though. And they are running a teaser lease (ATS base with moonroof, for $299/mo with only about $850 up front + tags. Lot of car for the money!

though more likely we wait until June and hope Junior scores a job, so he can lease one and I can take the TL back.

breld

I think it's your duty to give that ATS a shot and report back to us. The reviews have been intriguing.

I have yet to see one on the road, but I saw one in a shopping mall (for marketing purposes, it's not like someone drove it through Blues Brothers style) and thought the proportions looked really nice in person.

oldfarmer50

"...really like the ATS..."

Are you sure you're young enough? Around here they're running a series of commercials where two 20- something guys drive an ATS at insane speeds on a gravel road and down a mountain. Obviously, they are going for a different demographic.

stickguy

In 2 weeks we are going to the auto show, so I will get to at least see and sit in everything on the market. My son, who now seems obsessed (Gotta love it!) is rearranging his schedule so he can go too (we used to all go, but he has not been in probably 5 years being away at college recently).

I guess my new car fun will be going out to look at cars for him. At least I won't have to pay for whatever purchase that leads up to!

stickguy

I am currently driving an Integra Hatchback. I think I can handle the demo on the ATS...

and this from the guy with a Vette and an Eclipse?

breld

I'm gonna go look at this tomorrow.

'11 335xi msport

A couple of months ago I missed out on a similar white one that didn't have navigation or the m-sport (though it did have the "normal" sport). I'm not crazy on the red interior, but do like the Le Mans Blue quite a bit.

Would look good parked next to my Topaz Blue 530i, no?

ateixeira

Wasn't the Catera an Omega? Or was it Vectra based?

fintail

Omega. Still plenty of them on the road in Germany (Catera is fading fast, barely see them anymore), some still in taxi fleets - but are diesels, and I suspect that makes the difference.

On the car buyer topic, I received a voicemail today from the place I bought from - in 2006, asking me to come in and look at the 2 MBs they have on the lot - a boring spec C-class and a lightly equipped E coupe. Not what I need.

jpp75

I looked at the ATS at the auto show here a couple of months back. The exterior looks good but I wasn't impressed at all with the interior. It was way to cramped, even for this size/segment. The reviews are intriguing though and while I wouldn't buy one you're right, it is a lot of car for the money.

corvette

Wow. I love the color combo. A lot of the used ones I look at dont have folding rear seats, which is an option I would want.

corvette

The Truth About Cars posted a close up picture of the instrument cluster in the ATS. It looked like something out of a 1984 Camaro.

stickguy

since we were discussing Caddys. I actually like this one a lot, even the color, and seems like a total OCD owner. And right near by! Price seems to be not that bad, though miles are a bit steep.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3527581061.html

Or get a "real" Caddy. love the thermometer. Someone find Lemko.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3529951290.html

Or one for TJC

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3529866620.html

Now, this is what made America great, right? Amazing condition for one of these.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3529635595.html

Or do it the German way.

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/3529604273.html

roadburner

I like the Subie and the Fiesta; and a high school buddy had a Pinto Cruising Wagon with that wild graphics package: