Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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It just kills me seeing perfectly good cars cut up like that. Of course some would say that "perfectly nice" shouldn't be in the same sentence with an MGB of that vintage...
Everyone else has forgotten about this, but.... I was putting a spring coat of wax on my 08 328i and decided to wash down the engine.... and noticed.... that it has damper struts holding up the hood. So I then opened the hood on my wife's 98 328i and noticed that IT has hood damper struts too....
Now if I could just find the dipstick on that 08, maybe I'd open the hood more often
Actually, cars aren't too far away from that now. I found out, about a year ago, that my 2000 Intrepid is capable of displaying the word "dOnE" on its digital odometer. My mechanic jokingly said that's the sign for "it's done, time to junk it and get another"! :surprise:
I forget now how, exactly, I got it to display that, but it was when the car was stalling out intermittently, and one day left me stranded at work. I left it, got a ride home, and then drove something else the next day. That afternoon, I went out to start the car, and it wouldn't. I turned the ignition on-and-off a few times, and probably triggered something, or reset something, because that's when it displayed "dOne", and then the next try, it fired right up. It behaved itself on the way to the mechanic, and he replaced the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors, and the car has behaved fine since then. Well, except for the a/c compressor seizing up and and oil pressure switch going bad and lying to me about not having oil pressure!
Right ! And there's no temperature gauge any more either... It's not as smart as Andre's car 'cause it doesn't actually come out and say "dOnE", but it has this thing called TeleService that's supposed to automatically notify the BMW Service Department when the car needs service.
"This feature allows the Service Advisor to proactively set up a customer appointment and have the needed parts ready. This saves time for the customer and the BMW center; reduces the chance of a breakdown later – adding to the owner's peace of mind; and helps ensure prompt and proper maintenance for maximized long-term value."
I can't decide to think of it as:
1. ET phoning home
2. Lassie going for help
3. The car ratting me out to the Service Department. "Herr Mueller! Lokki haz been speeeding again!"
Hahhahahahha! That is probably not far from the truth! Pretty soon, manufacturers will likely have some sort of baby sitter device that will allow them to track the use of the vehicle in order to investigate warranty claims for possible denials as a result of "abuse."
I know there is a device that can be purchased and plugged into the OBD-II port. It tracks the past 40 hours (I think) of vehicle information in order for an owner (read this as "parent!") to review activity by other drivers. This includes engine RPMs, top speeds, etc.
Well, yes and yes. The car has never had a problem or fault that even made it run rough, but I've spent a good amount of money on maintenance. Of course with BMW you buy rotors every time you do the brakes (25K). You flush the radiator and the brakes every two years. Oil changes are seven quarts of synthetic. You buy good tires. Belts and hoses after 5 years.
As for repairs, well, just the standard aging E36 stuff, a radiator, a door speaker, shocks and struts, suspension bushings. The AC blend door is getting a little slammy sounding, but it's still working and taking apart the dash is $$$ so it can wait.
It can be argued that some of this stuff is routine for any car, and Roadburner will tell you that I paid triple what he pays for labor (and yes I use a good private shop), but I have to say that the Acuras I used to own before I went on my BMW kick were less maintenance intensive. Perhaps part of that is girlfriend syndrome - the more you like her the more you spend on her... the good roses from the flower shop, when the ones at the grocery would really do just fine.
Lemko - I like the idea of an email much better than the telephone based system...
It would surely be nice if BMW would match Acura's cost of ownership, or that Acura had BMW's driving dynamics, but I guess that's too much to ask for.
Well, I've actually had two of them; both 1998's. One for me, which I traded for an 03, (and now an 08), and my wife's which has 56,000 miles on it in 11 years. It's polished and pampered and she wants to keep it forever.
I ran mine to about 60K miles....shortly before it was going to need another (BMW) inspection servicing. My experience with that car was very similar, although it never got the new radiator, etc.
I really love driving the BMW's. Wish I could afford an M3 someday... but that's not likely.
Acura lost the thread somewhere on the driving experience after old man Sochiro Honda passed away back in 1993. They're still great cars, but they just don't have that "Oh Daddy! Please drive me faster and harder" feeling anymore.
As we were discussing above (and as he's said repeatedly) somewhere about 70 -80K you have to do struts, shocks and mounts, bushings, clutch, Guibos a.k.a. Flex Disks, radiator, etc in addition to the routine maintenance.
Do you have to do all that same stuff again after the second 70-80K?
I'm betting that the answer is the obvious "Yes", meaning that, even properly maintained, this baby is about to need some money pumped into her within 10K miles or so. Also, my general rule is that (given that brake rotors last 25K and tires 50k ) avoid any BMW with mileage evenly divisible by 25).
So, suddenly your 10K car becomes a 14K car or starts the slow shuffle toward the boneyard.
Say it ain't so, Joe (Mr. Shiftright)....please?
Do you post on the TTAC board sometimes?
but your point is a good one. You don't want to buy someone else's DEFERRED maintenance bill.
I have rarely bought a used car that I didn't have to put a couple thousand bucks into. (and my offer reflected this anticipation). I don't like squishy shocks, oil leaks, cracked belts and hoses, non-working rear windows, static in the radio and non-working AC. Other owners can blissfully ignore these items and be very happy and get from place to place. Not me. I don't require perfection. If the power window is a little slow, that's fine, and I can fidget with a lock and live with a little whine in the differential.
Yes..... It's an interesting place, although I prefer the camaraderie on Edmunds
As it has turned out, aside from the very first car I purchased (my '96 Outback), I have done very well with this. One day, I would love to find an honest owner who is also forthcoming with the car's needs. Heck, I might pay the person a little more than I otherwise would just for saving me the trouble of having to dig to find those problems myself. A big one I come across with Subaru Outbacks is the head gasket issue. Nobody wants to admit they have that problem, but they want to charge you full market price for the car as if it did not! :sick:
With a BMW (up to a certain year), I want to see a bill for new radiator, water pump, control arm bushings, driveshaft bushing, rotors, etc. If the owner never had those done, then he's been very lucky but the time is at hand.
Even though Outbacks are among the most common used cars around here, there are few being sold at any one given time and the demand for them is strong. So, they tend to turn over quickly and it is not all that difficult for a seller to defraud a buyer, unless the buyer knows of the gasket problem and goes through the effort of inspecting for signs. Even then, sellers often deny the issue, deny to sell the car for an appropriate price, and move on to the next buyer hoping that person is less thorough.
Sure there is...napalm! It won't fix the problem, but it'll make it go away. :shades:
One problem, after I drove it for a few miles, I let it idle for about 10 minutes or so while I took a close look at it. It stopped running and wouldn't restart for about ten minutes. After that, it ran perfectly again. The seller is taking it back her mechanic on Monday to see what the issue is. As an aside, the seller was driving a near perfect 635CSi.
Also check out the low miles '98 540 6-speed in Regrettable Beige
http://www.sanrafaelmitsubishi.com/Pre-Owned-Inventory.html
Kind of a shame too, I cleaned the car yesterday, and it was running excellent today.
About 10 years ago something like this happened, the shifter acted weird, then it would try to get stuck in park or not indicate the gear on the dashboard. Must be related.
Last week was actually a fairly good week for my old cars. I've been convinced that my '76 LeMans had an electrical problem and wasn't getting a spark. I even took a spark plug out and had a friend hold it to the head and then to the exhaust manifold, while I cranked it, and he said there was no spark. But for some reason, I was convinced there was something else going on.
So Wednesday I went out there and tried to crank it. Got a brief grumble as it momentarily fired up, but then it died. So at least I knew it wasn't the spark. I tried again, but there was nothing. After a few more tries, I jammed a pen down in the throat to wedge the choke flap partly open. Still nothing. So then I sprayed some starting fluid in there, and tried again. Still nothing. A little more starting fluid, turned the key, and I got a nice little backfire and shot of flame out of the carb! :surprise: Then one more try, sucker fired right up, and has been behaving fairly well ever since. I even took a chance with it yesterday and drove up to Baltimore and back. It's still a little reluctant on the first start of the day, but otherwise, pretty much just turn the key, and if it doesn't fire right up, it just takes a little press of the gas pedal, and it starts.
My blue '79 New Yorker had been giving me fits, even after it came back from the mechanic the other week. Well, Friday morning it started, so I drove it around the neighborhood. Came home, and decided I'd take it to work, figuring if it left me stranded, the worst that would happen is I'd have to get some exercise by walking the 3.5 miles home.
Well, sure enough, that afternoon, it wouldn't start. I popped the hood and just started pulling wires loose and re-connecting them, to see if that would knock some crud loose perhaps, or maybe make a better connection somehow. I popped the distributor cap off and looked inside. Rotor and cap looked fine, as they should since I replaced them fairly recently. Still, I took a finger and rubbed all the contact points. Now some of the internal crap on the distributor wasn't looking so hot, with a little surface rust. So I rubbed that too. I snapped it back together, and then turned the key, and it fired right up! So I'm guessing that maybe there was just some dirt or crud somewhere, causing a bad connection? And ever since then, the car has been fine. It'll start up every time. Well, not always on the first try, but at least it's starting again! So basically, it's back to acting more or less how a late 70's car should. :shades:
I'm going to try forcing myself to drive a different car for each day of this week. Today's the only rain-free day they're calling for, so I drove the convertible. I'll probably do the 5th Ave tomorrow, as I have to leave work early for an appointment, and want to make sure that I have a car with me that I KNOW will start in the afternoon! It would be just my luck that the LeMans or the blue NYer will get me to work and then decide to start acting up again. :mad: So then I figure between Wed/Thurs/Fri I'll try to work in the LeMans, the blue NYer, and the pickup.
Hopefully I won't have to start sinking any major money into the cars anytime soon, because I really want to buckle down and start saving up for my DeSoto fund. I want that thing roadworthy by April 2, 2010...my 40th birthday.
Oh, great! I'm in the middle of the street and traffic is backing up behind me! I put the very dim blinkers on, stand by the left rear of the car waving traffic past me and hearing a lot of comments directed at me that can't be repeated in polite company. I foolishly left my cell phone at home, so I can't even call for help. Where's a cop when I need one?
Well, after about 15 minutes a Philadelphia Police Crown Vic appears about a block away and I'm signalling to the officer for help. Instead of getting help, the crotchety old geezer starts lecturing me about leaving a disabled car in the middle of the street and telling me I should've pushed it off the street. RIIIIIGHT! I'm going to push a 2 ton car by myself with nobody at the wheel allowing it to collide with whatever is in its way. I'm doing my best "yes sir, yes sir" with this knucklehead when I really would like to hold up a single finger indicating this Keystone Kop's IQ. Of course I don't do this because I don't feel like reinacting the Rodney King incident.
Eventually, I convince the unaffable officer to help me get the car off the road onto the sidewalk next to a tavern. The tavern's patrons see my distress and come to my rescue. One guy gets his car and tries to jump start my Brougham. I do get my car started, but the car died again after a few minutes left with that sickening dead....click!
Well, I'm running out of ideas until I remember I have a spare battery back at my place. I walk back, get the battery and my tool kit, jump in my other car and put it in my Brougham. I figure this battery has enough juice in it to get my car back in the garage. I am successful. I put the Brougham away and walk back to the tavern to fetch my other car.
I plan on taking the Brougham to my friend's place which is only about a block away and have him look at it. I'm suspecting a bad alternator though I didn't see a NO CHARGE light. What else could it be? When it comes to electrics, I'm clueless.
In a sense, I guess it's better the Brougham pulled this stunt near my place rather than out in the middle of the PA Turnpike!
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I've only had one GM alternator fail, the one in my '80 Malibu. As it was dying, the idiot light did come on, but it was extremely faint. In the daytime it was almost invisible. The way my Granddad explained it to me, the car wasn't getting enough juice to turn the light completely off, although that seems kinda confusing to me. I'll admit though, I'm pretty clueless with electrical stuff, too.
I guess it's also possible that the battery is just that dead. With older cars, you can pull the battery out while the car's still running and be fine...until you turn the car off, that is! But with newer ones and all the electronics and such in them, I think if the battery gets too weak, it can actually kill the car while it's running, rather than just keep it from starting. This happened to my Mom & stepdad's '99 Altima.
Have you messed with the car any since putting the spare battery in? Also, try the headlights. I'd think that if the alternator was dying, the lights would start getting weak. At least, that's what happened when the alternator in my '68 Dart died. It still ran for awhile, but the lights got weaker and weaker, and finally, it refused to re-start after being turned off.
As it is stuck in the "3" position (for forward gears it has 2-3-4, no manual low, and 4 is not an overdrive), it drives at low speeds normally and shifts fine, and will start and creep along presumably in 2nd, as 1st is very low and has to be manually kicked down via a button under the gas pedal.
I am most irked because this is an expense - and I am trying to be frugal as I am taking a couple weeks off in the fall and going to Europe - and I want to have it mostly paid for before I go.
Today I took the E55 in for its biannual oil change, and the indy mechanic I patronize noticed the belt that controls the aux fan was messed up, and the fans weren't moving. So that added a nice $75 to my oil change. Lucky me :shades:
Now with lemko, it looks like we are all having minor car problems right now, what a coincidence. At least the fintail is an easy starter - really, eerily so, as I can let it sit for weeks and weeks, and it will start on the first turn of the key and run just fine.
Your DeSoto needs to get back on the road! Do you plan to have the paint buffed out or any detail work done? I assume it is pretty oxidized from not being used.
I leave to pick up my family in PA on Friday and will bring back a ball joint press kit with us. So, my next auto project upon arriving home in late June is to replace the ball joints on my '69 pickup.
It is tough work, sometimes, keeping up with all the cars' needs. I am not surprised that Andre is a little behind with his massive fleet!
The old beast was looking pretty good yesterday, too
The fins double as extensions to ease in pushing the car :shades:
Got myself a tiny 3rd degree burn thanks to a roadside repair of a clogged fuel filter that is located way to close to an exhaust manifold. Maybe we need a thread about project car war wounds. ;b
The clog came after the autoX last week while driving home. Oddly enough, no mishaps during the event.
I was quite surprised by the Z. Especially considering I was running on 1 completely bald, 1 nearly bald, and 2 very aged and cracked all-season tires. I actually didn't know how bad their condition was until I decided to rotate them the night before the event. It was also at that time that I discovered the rear brake pads were about 2 stops from being metal on metal. Thankfully I had the replacement set on hand.
At the last minute, the autoX was moved from the parking lot to the road course. I was a bit nervous taking the Z to its first event and having it be the road course, but it told me alot more about the car. It was quite fun. I wasn't worried about my times, of course, I was just there to "shake down" the car. It surprised me how easy it was to run through the course. It transitions so easily through slaloms. Not nearly the herculean effort it takes to try to hustle all 3700 lbs of my G35X through the cones.
It is going back this weekend, now with new max performance summer tires and I have shocks arriving tomorrow, so I gotta get those on before Sat.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
My '88 300 ZX has been quite reliable overall. It had 92,000 miles when I bought it in '94, and now has 181,000. My '87 E30 had 102,000 when I bought it four years ago, and now has 124,000. The BMW has required considerably more repairs and maintenance per mile than the Nissan. They're both enjoyable to drive, in somewhat different ways. With periodic repairs, they should each go well over 200,000 miles, if I should keep them. I know I've saved some money compared to owning, say, two newer compact cars, especially with the Nissan. However, my transportation needs could have been met with one new/newer Corolla or Civic, or something comparable, and that might have been a little more economical, at ~10,000/year, than driving two older cars. The difference wouldn't have been much, though. The bottom line is, assuming you can afford a new/newer car, you should own old ones only because, well, you like old cars, as we seem to.
If there were a new car that really lit my fire, for a reasonable price and cost-to-own, I'd buy it. However, I have a difficult time identifying one that would bring me a lot of pleasure. I love Corvettes and Porsches, but they're impractical, and I'd probably end up either getting a lot of speeding tickets, or being frustrated, since driving on a track doesn't appeal to me. I've done it, and I'll admit it's thrilling, but it's more expensive than I can justify.
I suppose one of the reasons I drive old cars is that, like you, I've been a car nut all my life, and I know a lot of (useless) facts and stories that I enjoy swapping with others, whether it's when I fill up the gas tank or at a social gathering. And maybe, deep down, I think I'm outsmarting the system, although my rational mind tells me I'm just kidding myself. Still another reason may be that anyone with reasonably good credit can drive a new car, but not everyone can drive an old one. Well, maybe that's not quite accurate, but driving an old car does set you apart, even if it's in a strange way.
Well, I've wasted your time by saying a bunch of stuff you already knew. I assume you drive your old cars for reasons that are similar to the ones I've stated, but I'd be interested in learning why you own your old GMs, Mopars, and Fintail.
I do have a modern car as a daily driver, although it isn't the latest thing anymore...it has as much technology as a new car, and it too is unusual and more fun for me. I don't see cars as appliances or transportation pods.
I too want a daily driver that is less mundane than normal.
I remember I bought the now classic MB Buyer's Guide when I was 12...so I guess it was bound to happen.
Bits and pieces of all the sentiments shared hold true for me. I like old cars, I like working on them (okay, it is a like-loathe relationship: I tend to like *thinking* about working on them, then loathe actually doing it....), I have had a couple of mine since a teen (I have worked on my van since I was 13, but I purchased the current body it occupies a few years later, at 17), and they are far, far less expensive to own than any new car, even a rock bottom Kia.
I suspect I spend around $1000 annually on auto maintenance and about $1300 on insurance. Licensing adds another $100 per year per vehicle - that is the one expense that is fixed per vehicle. Now, admittedly, those costs are mostly on my two primary drivers, both '98 models (which hardly qualify as "old" cars but are still long since paid), but until I have a garage in which to work, even keeping my old fleet in mechanically sound condition does not add more than another $500 or so in any given year. Even then, the cost tends to be sporadic... $500 one year, but then no expenses for another two, three years before another $500 pop.
Once I get to the point of restoration, I cringe to think what they will cost me. But, only my '69 pickup is restoration worthy (meaning spare no expense). The '69 van will end up with a nice makeover, but it has had a sorted enough history to make it worth no more than that even considering the sentimentality involved.
Oh, and Fintail, I should probably mention that I also lack the garage space and patience. But, I am working on the patience part and working quite hard at it. Even six months ago, that job probably would have beaten me at the injury (at least for the night), but this time I was able to work through it, amiably, and persevere. It felt pretty good... :shades: