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Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

32399 messages,  Last post on May 23, 2013 at 6:05 AM

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What is this discussion about? Car Buying

Messages Page 2785 of 3241

#27832 of 32399 Re: the young and the curious [corvette] by roadburner

Oct 05, 2012 (5:14 pm)

Replying to: corvette (Oct 03, 2012 7:24 pm)
My dad bought a white CRX in the mid-80s. I'm not sure what year, but it had no factory A/C. The dealer called him when his spot was up on the waiting list, and told him they had just unloaded two of them from the car hauler. He had to pick whether he wanted a red one or white one and take delivery within a day or so in order not to lose his place in line.
 
About that same time my wife was looking at an Accord; EVERY dealer in the Cincinnati area wanted to play games of one sort or another(one wanted a $500 deposit just to take our offer to the sales manager). She ended up going down the Euro path and -with the exception of a 1993 Pathfinder SE- never looked back.

#27833 of 32399 Re: Time to Fess Up [ateixeira] by akangl

Oct 05, 2012 (6:02 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Oct 05, 2012 9:24 am)

I also know where the drug houses are
  
Easy - the one where the car is worth more than the house.
 
Not around here, usually the dealers and addicts drive the ratty Escorts, cavaliers, subarus, and cheap trucks/SUVs. Cops seem to profile those too. I made sure my son's Escort had no equipment violations before I let him drive it so he wouldn't get harassed.
 
On another note, if fuel prices keep rising my truck very well could be still clean in the spring. Diesel fuel is $4.25/gal last time I looked. I've been driving the Focus or Yaris.
 
I remember when I used to put 30k miles/yr on my vehicle, now I put maybe 12k/yr on, so much has changed since the accident.

#27834 of 32399 Woo-Hoo! by roadburner

Oct 06, 2012 (7:34 am)

I found one of my dream cars.
And yes, I know it's British(although the running gear is 'murrican), it's a slushbox, and the interior needs work.
I don't care...

#27835 of 32399 Re: Woo-Hoo! [roadburner] by tjc78

Oct 06, 2012 (7:49 am)

Replying to: roadburner (Oct 06, 2012 7:34 am)
Well, you would have no trouble finding parts.
 
Cool car!

#27836 of 32399 Re: Woo-Hoo! [tjc78] by roadburner

Oct 06, 2012 (8:29 am)

Replying to: tjc78 (Oct 06, 2012 7:49 am)
Well, you would have no trouble finding parts.
  
Cool car!
 
Yes, I've always had a soft spot for the Interceptor. It exudes that retro-cool '70s British GT vibe- much like a DBS. As for non-Mopar parts, they aren't that hard to find either.

#27837 of 32399 E39 maintenance by corvette

Oct 06, 2012 (3:47 pm)

Picked up the 540i from the mechanic today. Had the brake fluid flushed, the differential fluid changed, and the automatic transmission fluid changed. They also replaced the valve cover gaskets, which were leaking a small amount of oil. If I keep getting things fixed, I may actually try to make it my daily driver!
 
The independent BMW mechanic reminded me twice that the ATF and diff fluid are specified by BMW to be "lifetime" fluids before agreeing to change them. (I suppose engine oil is also a lifetime fluid. Just don't change the oil, and when the engine blows, the oil has lasted for the lifetime of the engine. QED.)

#27838 of 32399 Every car in the neighborhood.... by mark156

Oct 06, 2012 (4:24 pm)

Yes, I'm one of those too that know everyone's car in the neighborhood. And, the different cars I've had or that my family has had helps me remember the past...... purty accurately I might add!! LOL!
 
Mark156

#27839 of 32399 Re: E39 maintenance [corvette] by roadburner

Oct 06, 2012 (5:52 pm)

Replying to: corvette (Oct 06, 2012 3:47 pm)
The independent BMW mechanic reminded me twice that the ATF and diff fluid are specified by BMW to be "lifetime" fluids before agreeing to change them. (I suppose engine oil is also a lifetime fluid. Just don't change the oil, and when the engine blows, the oil has lasted for the lifetime of the engine. QED.)
 
You rarely find an indie shop that follows the BMW company line on lifetime fills. My dealer doesn't even try to talk me out of tranny and diff oil changes.

#27840 of 32399 Re: E39 maintenance [roadburner] by fintail

Oct 06, 2012 (6:37 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Oct 06, 2012 5:52 pm)
MB tried that "lifetime" baloney around the turn of the century, too. It leads to eventual transmission failure, especially in high torque high output engines (E55 are known to have a failure by 100K if not changed). I had the fluid in mine changed around 40K - and my mechanic agreed and says he recommends it every 50K miles at least.

#27841 of 32399 The honeymoon is over...sort of. by andre1969

Oct 07, 2012 (7:00 am)

Well, it's been two weeks now, and the "newness" of my Ram has worn off a bit. I've had a chance to fill it up three times now. First time was a mix of local driving, a bit of highway, and returned a dismal 13.6 mpg over 168.5 miles. Second time was last night, up in PA. It included a bit of local driving, then a highway run up to Harrisburg, then out to Carilsle, back to Harrisburg, and then stopping off on the way home. That time it came out to a shocking 20.1 mpg! I wasn't exactly driving slow, got it up to 90 a couple times, and for the most part was doing around 70-75 on the highways. I went 205.2 miles on this tank.
 
However, I think that time, the fuel pump might have shut off a bit early. I filled up again this morning. This run included the drive home, and then running out to the bank this AM, and then to the gas station, and it came out to around 17.5 mpg, over 103.5 miles.
 
If I average the last two fill-ups though (308.7 miles, 16.157 gallons), it comes out to a still-decent 19.1 mpg.
 
Fuel economy is supposed to improve a bit after a vehicle gets "broken in", right? I've heard that, although it never happened with my old 2000 Intrepid. It got more-or-less its EPA rating right from the start, although in later years, once I moved ~3.5 miles from work, it got lower. My office moved a couple years ago, so now I'm only ~2.5 miles from work, so that's going to sink my economy a bit more, on any car, since a disproportionate amount of driving time is spent warming up.
 
As for complaints, I have a few, but none that make me regret buying it. Yesterday, we tried putting three people across, and let's just say there's a reason most trucks have bucket seats these days! It has enough shoulder room, at 66 inches. But the center seating position is horrible! The floor is raised up, and the dash juts out a bit, so the center passenger has to sit in an almost fetal position, with his knees in the HVAC controls. My old '85 Silverado actually has a better center position. Much less dash intrusion, and the floor doesn't rise up as much.
 
And, I'm still getting used to the bulk of it. Out on the road, it's just fine. But in tight maneuvering it can be annoying. Today, trying to go through the drive-in at the ATM was a bit of an adventure. I'm also noticing, more and more, how rough-riding it is. It doesn't squeak or rattle, and certain bumps won't make it feel like it's about to bounce out of control like my '85 Silverado sometimes does. But, it's still pretty firm. I think part of it might be that it's built *too* solid. In most pickup trucks (maybe not the newest though), I can notice the bed and cab flexing at different rates over bumps, but in this Ram, they feel like they're all one piece. That probably transmits the jolts more directly to the driver than if it flexed a bit.
 
Oh, and the horn's a bit wimpy sounding.
 
But, overall, I'm happy with it. I think I'll keep it.

Messages Page 2785 of 3241

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