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Classic Cars Buying Luxury used cars
411 messages, Last post on Jul 13, 2009 at 10:22 AM
You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: andre1969 (May 19, 2009 11:21 am) MBs of that era were skilled at rusting. Fintails were the same way. |
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Replying to: fintail (May 19, 2009 11:28 am) Oh, and getting the NYer back from the mechanic ended up being a bit of an adventure. It stalled out just around the corner from his shop and wouldn't re-start. I called him and he came out to check on it. Couldn't figure out what it was, but then after about 5 minutes or so, it fired right up and ran fine. Damn thing must be possessed! At this point, he said he can't figure out what would be causing it, as it's intermittent. He suspects the orange ECU box on the firewall might be acting up intermittently. My guess is the Lean Burn. I asked him about disabling it and just going with a regular, early '70's style electronic ignition, basically like what you can order through Mopar Performance. He's balking at that because, get this, he says my car is so nice and original, he doesn't want to "butcher" it up. LOL, I'm like the hell with it, if it keeps acting up, lets rip the whole thing out and throw in a big-block!  Anyway, the car did fine the rest of the way back from the shop. And once I got it home, I even tried turning it off and on a few times and it fired right up. But who knows? Maybe at this point, I would've been better off it I asked him to swap, my NYer for that Benz! 
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Replying to: andre1969 (May 19, 2009 3:30 pm) Vapor lock! That brings back a lovely memory of learning what it was and how to fix it on the side of the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut in my mom's 56 Buick. Luckily a guy pulled right up behind us, explained the whole thing and had us back on the road. |
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Replying to: andre1969 (May 19, 2009 3:30 pm) "Needs dialing in" sounds like code for "the FI is messed up and I can't figure it out"...but maybe all it needs is a tune up and timing work. I had no second thoughts about putting electronic ignition in my fintail. It was still my daily driver at the time, and it's not some Pebble Beach-bound concours competitor, it's just a well kept old car. Driveability can trump originality, especially where few people will ever see it. The car started getting balky in damp weather, and that combined with the constant chore of maintaining the points made the decision easy for me. It's been pretty much problem free since. I think when it comes to repair costs,your old NYer is a wiser choice. Although, there's no reason why couldn't have them both...
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My delayed response to my question, and to shifty's and fintail's answers(all posted below) is, how I wish BMW and Mercedes would offer decontented versions of the 3 and 5 Series, and C and E Classes, respectively. Just imagine how appealing such cars would be if they weren't so high maintenance. I wouldn't miss that leading edge electronic stuff, but I'd be ecstatic about owning a reliable example of these cars that's not a money pit after the warranty expires. I'll bet there are others who feel the same as me. Maybe these are available in other markets. "Given their premium pricing, why can't Audi, BMW and Mercedes match the Japanese luxury brands on reliability and durability, other than engines? I suppose the cynical answer would be with another question, such as 'why can't the Japanese make a car that feels as good to drive as a BMW?' There's got to be a better answer, however." Replies to this message: Mr_Shiftright (May 18, 2009 2:25 pm) fintail (May 18, 2009 2:37 pm) Mr_Shiftright (May 18, 2009 3:00 pm) #326 of 360 Re: Why? [hpmctorque] (Mr_Shiftright) HOST May 18, 2009 (2:25 pm) "Too complex/ over-engineered?" #327 of 360 Re: Why? [Mr_Shiftright] (fintail) Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 18, 2009 2:25 pm) "Germans seem to have a 'innovation for the sake of innovation' mindset when it comes to automotive electrics - which means results are mixed at best. Germans are engine builders, not electronic gadgetry builders, it seems."
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Replying to: hpmctorque (May 19, 2009 7:05 pm) MB and BMW both started out in NA with more spartan models and the cars were a lot less complex until the mid 90s. Since then, everything we get is loaded by Euro standards.
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Replying to: fintail (May 19, 2009 7:27 pm) On the other hand, I've decided that I'd rather have BMW vinyl than leather. It looks just as good and holds up far better. As for me personally, I have just about given up on finding a decent sub $10K BMW. I am leaning towards an '03 G35, but part of me just wants to give up and buy a Lexus. I wonder if an ES300 with a great set of tires really feels significantly worse than a BMW in my daily drive to work. |
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Replying to: lemmer (May 20, 2009 5:41 am)
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 20, 2009 5:45 am) |
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Replying to: lemmer (May 20, 2009 5:41 am) |
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