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I suppose you could do the "shifty test" and drive the crap out of them for 1/2 hour before buying, to see how they react under stress, and if it passes that kind of test, this might indicate somewhat longer life (6 months? a year?). But often a seller won't let you do that to a car, and can't say as I blame them, since they know as you do that every 250K car has a heart condition and shouldn't climb stairs. :P
You are gambling at this point.
Heck, even with "only" 158k miles on the Benz I just bought, I consider it a gamble. As long as it lasts 4 months, it has paid for itself, essentially. Anything beyond that is money I've saved by not having a car payment.
Now, as a parts car, I'd say that Volvo might be worth the current bid ($1300), as you could probably get $500 just for the seats.
'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
'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
It's probably not something that you can do in high-density/high real estate value areas, as space is at a premium; not to mention HOA's and such. I could probably get away with it where I live, although eventually, as the car started losing too many parts, I'd have to throw a cover over it to keep the county off my back. But, like you alluded to, there is a value in your own personal time. I had thought about trying to part out my '68 Dart, but really didn't want to deal with the hassle. Plus, the second somebody pulled the 8 3/4 rear end out of it, it would be sitting up on blocks, and kinda hard to move around in the yard, if necessary.
Hate to say it, but I've been kinda lazy lately...haven't gotten around to putting it on yet.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/ctd/1429257641.html
and a nice 6-series (don't know where they're getting the '1988' from, this is clearly an '83 or '84, or the claim of '6-speed manual'):
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/ctd/1427869623.html
this 535i looks OK, too:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/1423938970.html
third Corrado I've seen in a week:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/1431709123.html
nice lil car for the price, though a stick would be better:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/ctd/1431691115.html
wonder what 'needs some work' entails, as these are imfamous:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/ctd/1431678967.html
The pricing on the '87 535i leave me wondering what may be wrong with it, since it seems to me to be priced below market.
The work the ML should receive entails driving it back in time to a C4C promotion (they must have been eligible, right?). Dark chapter in history.
Strangely enough, my uncle still owns a '99 ML320 he bought new; it has over 140k miles and he says it has been relatively problem-free. However, he says that electrical gremlins pop up from time to time.
'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
Those cars were renown for shoddy build quality and infinite electrical issues, they are regarded as the lowest quality MB in the history of the firm. The engine itself might keep going, but there could be problems with everything else.
ML that needs some work. Lemme guess: Check Engine Light on, electronic issues, sensors, emissions? Probably needs more work than it's worth otherwise seller would get it fixed. I never liked those or the new MLs. The BMW suvs look better imo.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
'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
RE: the term "needs some TLC" or "needs work".
translation: "I found out what the problem was and what it costs to fix, and decided that same day to sell the car to you".
And that is the exact reason why I keep an extra, old car around. My daughter and SIL both just finished law school (please, no lawyer jokes :P ). They have one car between the two of 'em, which was fine while they were living in the city within walking distance of school. But now that they both have jobs (
For less than $250/year for insurance and registration, she couldn't have come anywhere close to that with any kind of used car. And, at least the Sentra is a known quantity, which could not be said for a $2000 used car.
here it is!
I'd be all over it!
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
Ford built the Sierra XR8 about 25 years ago for homologation purposes in South Africa. Must have been fun.
That ain't it.
Your 'normal' German will take the car in to the dealership for everything.. the once-a-year or 15,000 km oil change and the once-a-year emissions checkup.
And every other year, for sure, to get the inspection sticker where they try to poke a screwdriver through the floor or rocker panels. No driving rustbuckets, you see.
In the course of all this, they will not flinch if it costs, on average, $1,500 or 1k euro to get out of there. Which it will, unless something is wong.
My mom, for instance, had new brakes and rotors done all around for some idiotic amount of money -- six or seven hundred euro, iirc -- because the brakes were so worn that they wouldn't have made it anoterh 30k kilomters. IOW, the stuff gets inspected, and if it looks like it might not make it to the *next* inspection, it gets replaced.
With that kind of overkill, it's little wonder that German cars last a long time and tend to look great at 15 years old. Running a Passat 2.0 Turbo on the Buick/Toyota maintenance plan -- 2 oil changes a year, and air up the tires -- will kill the silly thing.
The Buick, meanwhile, will go on craigslist at 100k and be in "excellent" condition. By which I mean it'll still be running OK, and with some maintenance, go another 100k.
EDIT: I agree with what Shifty said.... it's the other side of the same coin.. they have never seen a truly high-reliability, low maintenance car.
Cheers,
-Mathias
http://chambana.craigslist.org/cto/1438176533.html
Crying Uncle
That's quite a list I think that he's going into the Army to get away from this thing
WOW
87 Porsche
Probably pretty good if it looks good in person Most of these at this price have a lot more miles, then again, this is a Brooklyn car
Somebody here has to like this
The Aztek is a decent deal if the miles are low and you can live with the ugliness.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
I agree---parts car. That engine might be worth some bucks if it's half-way decent.
BTW, I had one of those L35 engines in a '92 GMC S15 Jimmy. Scary fast. Nothing that sits that high off the ground should be able to accelerate like that. A couple of years later GM changed the intake and FI, dropped the HP to 190 and improved the gas mileage.
Oh, but that Jimmy could fly!
One of my friends, who currently has a 2004 Crown Vic, had a 1995 Grand Marquis GS previously, in a shade of blue that was very close to that '93, if not identical. He bought it with around 57,000 miles on it, and I think it had around 175,000 when he traded it in 2004, for his Crown Vic. And now he has at least 150,000 on that car.
I think my favorite of those cars is the 1992 Crown Vic. That was the only year it had that controversial grille-less front-end. A lot of people didn't like it, for that very reason, but I thought it was neat. It really made it stand out, and in a good way.
I thought the grille on my buddy's '95 Grand Marquis was a bit odd looking at first, too. Something about the way it was rounded off, it just didn't quite seem to fit on the car correctly.
Based on that 15 minute drive, I have to wonder whether the 944, even the turbo, is wonderful enough to justify the maintenance and repair headaches, and expenses that are likely to come with the ownership experience. My answer would be "no way."
Incidentally, the 924 was subsequently traded for a 928. Now that would have been the one to drive, but I didn't get a chance to drive it.
For example: "$25,000 in receipts the last two years"