Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Replying to: michaell (Nov 07, 2008 10:21 pm)

Replying to: akangl (Nov 08, 2008 4:44 pm)

Well, call me a city boy as I thought a Pony was a young horse. What makes a Pony a Pony? Is there a size difference?
 
Glad to hear that you moved. They showed perma-frost on the Alaska show and how a mess it can be with global warming. Who would have thought putting gravel over it would keep it from thawing!
 
I think I'll stay in Palm Springs..... the coldest we get at night is in the 40's in the winter.... every once in a while we hit freezing but for just a very short time. I think the last time we had snow was in the 1930's (from what I hear, I wasn't born until the late 50's) .
 
Mark156

Replies to this message:
• akangl (Nov 08, 2008 10:16 pm)
  • boomchek (Nov 09, 2008 12:47 pm)

Replying to: mark156 (Nov 08, 2008 9:56 pm)

Replies to this message:
• boomchek (Nov 09, 2008 12:47 pm)

Replying to: akangl (Nov 08, 2008 10:16 pm)

Thanks for the explanation... I also thought a Pony is a young horse, hence I was wondering if your Pony is 35 years old, how long do horses live then?
 
And speaking of new trucks, Guss is right, there are some very good deals to be had right now.
 
We're blowing out Rams like never before.... a loaded SXT 1500 with a Hemi and Quad Cab, tow pakg (7500 lb tow capacity) that stickers at $41k MSRP can be had for about $27k CDN right now. You might have even better deals in the US.

I'm really having second thoughts about holding on to my Mazdaspeed3. It's a great car to drive(even if it is FWD) and my selling dealer has an excellent service service department, but several problems are giving me pause.
1. The selling dealer is located 2100 miles away from my house. It's not so bad to drive up for service, but recently...
 
2. The LF strut was dead at 25000 miles, and the turbo went belly up at 26000 miles- and only ONE track weekend The dealer gives me a loaner to take home, but I still wind up driving 400 miles per defect.
 
3. So, you ask, how come I don't use one of my local(Louisville) dealers? Good question. Well, the locals have a policy of never hiring service techs with opposable thumbs. And the parts departments charge significantly over MSRP for parts. How does $250 for front pads sound? No, not parts and labor; $250 for just the pads.
 
So that's where I'm at. The only cars that I'm considering are used BMWs. I have a great local dealer, a great indie shop, and I've been driving and wrenching on them for over 25 years. A local used car lot has a 2003 330i 6 spd. Performance Package car that still has a bit of BMW CPO warranty left. I think I could get it for the Mazda and $2K. I'm debating whether to run the Mazda a bit more and see how it holds up, but of course it will continue to depreciate. Any thoughts?

Replies to this message:
• corvette (Nov 09, 2008 5:41 pm)
  • roadburner (Nov 09, 2008 7:19 pm)
    • qbrozen (Nov 10, 2008 9:45 am) and 1 more...
• woodyww (Nov 12, 2008 2:41 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Nov 09, 2008 2:21 pm)

Replies to this message:
• roadburner (Nov 09, 2008 7:19 pm)
  • qbrozen (Nov 10, 2008 9:45 am)
    • roadburner (Nov 10, 2008 1:23 pm)

Replying to: corvette (Nov 09, 2008 5:41 pm)

Replies to this message:
• qbrozen (Nov 10, 2008 9:45 am)
  • roadburner (Nov 10, 2008 1:23 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Nov 09, 2008 7:19 pm)

Replies to this message:
• roadburner (Nov 10, 2008 1:23 pm)

Replying to: qbrozen (Nov 10, 2008 9:45 am)

Interesting about your turbo. My competition at the autoX is going to need a tranny rebuild on his MS3 with about 18k miles. He's having a recurring problem of it popping out of 2nd.
 
The seals on the MS3 turbos are failing, and more than a few MS3s have the problem. If the car idles for more than 3-4 minutes a thick cloud of blue/white smoke pours out of the exhaust. I've too have heard of a few transmissions going south. I wanted to keep the car for at least 4-6 years, but now I just want to unload it before:
1. The warranty expires, and
2. The car's reputation for reliability catches up with its resale value...