I do want to buy a used car

Handruin

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So after the second rs25 not working out, I'm moving on to other options like the subaru legacy and the acura 3.2 TL. I found a TL local to me here. Quite a few miles but it drives well and seems good when I looked at it last night. Only issue is that the 1999 to 2003 acura 3.2 TL's have a known transmission issue. This ones had the transmission replaced at 94K miles. I'm trying to figure out whether the new transmissions really fix the problem or not.

Not to scare you away, but I had a 2001 CL Type S that was known to have the same issues. I work with a guy who has the exact same car and has gone through 3 transmissions so far. Rather than recalling it, they extended the warranty to the owners until 100K miles (which the car you're looking at has surpassed). I'm not 100% confident they ever fixed the issue but rather continued to replace the trannys. If you want to inquire and read more about it, the best resource that I've been using for the past 8 years is acurazine.com.

For what it's worth, my CL never had the transmission die while I had it for about 70K miles.
 

Stereodude

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I'm tempted to buy a used 2003 M5 come spring time. :twistd:

Used & German outside of any warranty... Lots of :eek:wneddnce: potential though.
 

ddrueding

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Got smoked by an SLS on the way to Santa Barbara for the weekend. Following for a while at about 90, then I went to overtake...he didn't like that very much. Never saw him again.
 

ddrueding

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:p Yup. Though she refuses to claim ownership of something so expensive. The longer I wait, the larger my car budget gets. At some point, the amount I can spend will intersect with a car that I want. Seems to currently sit in the ~$30k range. That'll be another 6 months. Of course, by then, the 2011 models will be calling to me...
 

Fushigi

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Will, from an identity theft perspective, you might want to blur or mask your license plate number.

I'm still @ 152K on my car. I just don't drive that many miles anymore. Still, I'm looking to trade it in. Maybe this year if I find a good deal. If not, then next year.
 

Will Rickards

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Will, from an identity theft perspective, you might want to blur or mask your license plate number.

I thought about that before posting but was in a rush so I posted them without editing them. I just removed those photos with either license plate in them. But I don't see what they can get from my license plate number.

And I saw it all the time in searching for cars that people wouldn't post the VIN. That kind of made me crazy because I had to ask for it so I could run a carfax. I mean what does knowing a VIN get you? Even autotrader protects them behind a recaptcha type thing.

Or are these really for people making fake registrations and such for possible stolen cars?
 

MaxBurn

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I don't know what you can do with a VIN or tag number either but you can walk up to any car and get them no problem. I have only occasionally felt the need to hide them but not really sure why.
 

Fushigi

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VIN numbers can be used to order spare/replacement keys from a dealer. In theory you need to supply the registration or title but in practice not always. http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/vin.asp As noted in the article, for casual theft this is too cumbersome, but when you're listing a vehicle for sale or have a picture posted online that includes the license plate, your home address can be determined (from the ad or from DMV records) so the thief can generate keys in advance. From there, the theft is easy unless the car is always in a locked garage. It's even simpler if the thief has an inside man at a dealership to cut the keys.
 

Stereodude

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CARS did not take cheaper cars off the market. The traded clunkers were in service and weren't on the market to begin with. Sans CARS a good portion would still be in service. Article:

Besides, the US has over 170 million cars on the road. CARS took just under 700K and junked them so the number of vehicles went down by less than 1/2 of 1 percent. Any effect this has on the used car market will be temporary. Prices on new cars, which did spike some during CARS, are already moving back to pre-CARS levels.

To try and stay on topic, if you look at the results the vehicles taken off the road would not be candidates for Will. Price-wise, perhaps, but from a fuel economy standpoint and also from a cost to maintain standpoint they would be very poor choices.
So, now that we've got another year of data under our belt would you care to revise your claims since the data clearly shows Cash for Clunkers drove up used car prices? link
 

Will Rickards

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I'm not so sure it was just cash for clunkers. But it probably was a combination of people tightening their expenses and thus buying/considering used cars. Also the new car inventory reduction, which I think is still at very low levels in terms of months of inventory for certain makes. Just before this increase in demand we had the cash for clunkers program which reduced the inventory. But of mostly older cars that wouldn't be good used car purchase candidates.
 

Stereodude

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But of mostly older cars that wouldn't be good used car purchase candidates.
They took ~700,000 sub $5k cars off the market that "poor" people would have bought leading to a scarcity of sub $5k cars which in turn drove up prices. I'm not saying C4C was the only factor that drove up used car prices, but it clearly was a prime participant.

Granted I wouldn't likely be in the market for one of the vehicles they took off the market, but there are lots of people who buy those sorts of used cars.
 

Howell

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They took ~700,000 sub $5k cars off the market that "poor" people would have bought leading to a scarcity of sub $5k cars which in turn drove up prices.

There is always somebody out there who needs a cheap car even if temporarily. I tend to buy in the 8-10k range so now what that will buy me is a lesser quality car.
 

Will Rickards

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So on saturday I attempted to drive from PA to DC to attend the rally to restore sanity. But my car had other plans. As I was exiting the toll on 895 S in Baltimore MD, the clutch went. I could not shift into any gear. 1pm on a saturday 95 miles from home. Towed back home at a cost of $325. Mechanic says it needs a new clutch which will cost me $1000. So 3 days later I have my car with the new clutch and flywheel. Feels very different. There is almost no resistance to pushing in the clutch. It feels much more disconnected from the action. On the old one it was pretty hard to push. And there seemed to be some feedback even if it was very slight. So I'm getting used to it.

While it was there I had them put in a new catalytic converter, another $500. The check engine light is finally off. It was off and on since I've owned the car. I had them do it now because inspection and emissions is due in December. And they would have it taken apart anyway to do the clutch.

My $4000 used car has now cost about $7000-7500 and lasted a year. I now know there were warning signs for all of this that I was not experienced enough at the time to see.

Back to the new clutch. I'm not sure but it seems that putting it into gear is sometimes harder. Like whatever locks you out of the gears hasn't fully disengaged and you have to force it a bit. I have to go back next month anyway to get the inspection done.
 

timwhit

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I'd bring the car back to the mechanic and tell them that the clutch doesn't feel right and it's hard to shift now. They should fix it for you.
 

CougTek

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My transmission broke today. It is now stuck in second speed. The engine has made a worrying amount of noise since last Fall. I totally ruined the driver's door (interior and exterior) due to my temper some time last year. The CD player has not worked since 2007. The brakes are past due for a change, both the rear and front ones. There's almost 215000Km on the meter. I think it's time to change.

But I only have 27$ in my bank account. Me thinks I'm screwed.
 

BingBangBop

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I just did a full tune-up on my car where the shop replaced wires, plugs, cap, rotor,... There goes $650 that I'll never see again. I can't say it wasn't due, and the car does run much better than it did, But golly gee whiz batman when did normal maintenance start getting so expensive? My mind is stuck in a time warp where a tune-up is supposed to cost $120-$240.

P.S. They wanted to do well over $1000 more work as normal maintenance and minor repairs that I declined. I'm getting to the point where normal "maintenance" exceeds the value of the car. It is insanity.
 

ddrueding

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The maintenance is still complimentary on my cars, but after that expires, were I to have it done at the dealership, I would be spending $500-$750 every 10k miles.
 

BingBangBop

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I did not do that work at the dealership. It would have been significantly more there. When I have gotten estimates, the dealership typically costs between 50%-100% more than the shop I went to.

I originally bought a Honda on the theory that it would basically last forever, as long as I maintained it. However, I did not anticipate that repair costs would eventually get so expensive that it would be more cost effective to buy another car than to just maintain a good working car.

It gets hard to justify even doing "normal maintenance" once a car gets old enough. It is like inkjet printers where it is cheaper to buy a new printer than to buy cartridges.

There has to be a better way.
 

Clocker

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The maintenance is still complimentary on my cars, but after that expires, were I to have it done at the dealership, I would be spending $500-$750 every 10k miles.

WTF kind of 'maintenance' do you get for that? No newer car should require that kind of maintenance expense. Or does your dealer charge ridiculous prices for oil changes?
 

Chewy509

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Or does your dealer charge ridiculous prices for oil changes?
That's the one.

I'm about to get a 20K service on my bike. First quote was $450 + parts from a Yamaha dealer, second quote was $240 including all parts from a Yamaha service specialist... The reason it's so expensive is that valve clearances need to be tested and adjusted, otherwise a normal service is only around $120 (including parts).

Our car on average runs between $250 and $450 for a service depending on the work. I'm dreading the 160K service, which requires all belts to be replaced and engine timing to be calibrated accordingly, estimated at around $800 for the service. (and brakes are going to be due around the same time as well). :(

Also since the warranty has run out long ago, we do the 'minor' service ourselves, since it's just a oil change + filter and check everything and top up as needed. Major services we still get done at a service centre.
 

MaxBurn

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Yamaha? We talking about a bike?

I used to do valve adjusts on my concours every season just because that and a through carb balance and mixture adjust made the thing idle and run so well. Unless the engine needs shims you don't have I'd say get a service manual and a couple of tools that won't cost what the service costs and do it yourself.
 

Chewy509

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Wow. What kind of car is that?

Car is a '02 Holden Frontera 4x4 w/3.2L V6 (also called Opel/Vaxhuell Frontera or Isuzu Wizard is different parts of the world - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isuzu_Wizard).

Bike is a Yamaha Virago 250. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XV250

The only reason for getting the bike serviced this time at a service centre is the amount of work needed vs my free time. Normally for just an oil change and new spark plugs (which is every 5000kms), I'll do that myself, but the next service needs some additional work including chain adjustment, choke adjustment, valve clearances, etc. Don't have the free time to do that at the moment.

PS. Sorry reread my post, it was a little confusing mixing the two. apologies for that.
 
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