I do want to buy a used car

[Chewy509]

PS. I know I ride a small bike at the moment**, but it's very fuel efficient (2.9L/100km or 81mpg), cheap to maintain, etc and with me not working, we're sensitive to monetary expenses. Once I graduate, the plan is to update my bike to something a little more "me".

** At Uni last week I parked next to a Kawasaki ZX-14 on one side, and the other side was a Yamaha V-Star 1300, and next to that was a Suzuki Boulevard M109R (109 Cubic inch or 1.8L engine). My bike felt very small.

 

[Handruin]

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.

Sounds like you're abusive to your car. Use credit...us folks in the US do it all the time.

 

[Chewy509]

Sounds like you're abusive to your car. Use credit...us folks in the US do it all the time.

Coug, since you're a business operator, any chance of a lease option tied to the company? (I don't know how it works in Canada, but suspect it's similar to here in Australia and elsewhere).

That way if the company goes under, all lease debts are part of the company debts and not tied to the person. (Check with your account/lawyer on your local laws in regard to that last aspect, as it's depends on your business type if the debt could still be brought against the person).

 

[BingBangBop]

Turn the wrench yourself.

And how old is your car that it still has a dizzy?

a '96 Honda Accord Lx

As to doing my own mechanic work. I suppose that is possible. I just don't know enough but one can learn.

 

[BingBangBop]

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.

I had a brother that was took his anger out on cars. If you ask him about it he just says that a car is just a thing and has no feelings so it is much better to take his anger out on it than people.

To this day, he still can't keep a car for more than a year before it self destructs and he's 50 now. He's learned to buy cheap throw-away cars.

To me, it might be just a thing but I look at it as an expensive thing and I don't want to waste that money. But then, I'm even tempered by nature and my brother runs very hot.

 

[CougTek]

My company is registered, not incroporated. So if it goes under, I go under, which is about to happen. I can no longer go credit because I've already gone there too often already. The garage says it's the shifter cable that's broken (second time on that car). It's a 500-600$ repair (it would be 80$ if it was an american car).

I laught when I read that Chewy's car is an Holden, as Holden is owned by GM. Clocker didn't know that GM could rip off customers like this, I guess.

 

[CougTek]

I had a brother that was took his anger out on cars. If you ask him about it he just says that a car is just a thing and has no feelings so it is much better to take his anger out on it than people.

That's about my view too. I don't have any morale problem to take my anger to people too, just legal problems. The car can't sue me.

 

[CougTek]

I've owned that car fo 7½ years now, so I'm not as bad as your brother.

 

[BingBangBop]

A bicycle (maybe with an electric motor)?

Can't say I every considered that as an option. I suppose that it is a reasonable choice when the weather is good but has the same basic problem as motorcycles when it gets cold or wet which is over half the year where I live.

 

[Will Rickards]

Somehow changing a bad wheel bearing turned into over a 1K repair on my 2001 Subaru Legacy.

 

[CougTek]

A bicycle (maybe with an electric motor)?

If I had 2700$, it would be for a used car. You know, something that can be useful in Winter. We have a real Winter here, not just a slight cooling like in Australia or the lower part of the States.

 

[ddrueding]

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?

The dealer is expensive, I know I won't be going there when I am out of warranty, but it is the only number I am familiar with at the moment.

Here is the PDF that spells out what is involved.

 

[BingBangBop]

I've owned that car fo 7½ years now, so I'm not as bad as your brother.

I would contend that no, you are at least as bad as my brother -- I've read too much of your exploits here. Keeping a guy in your basement because he owed you money ...

The difference is that he is buying totally disposable junk cars that don't cost more than $1000 to start with and normally won't last seven years even if you took care of them (of which he doesn't).

 

[Howell]

An oil change only costs like $30. My time is more valuable than that. Plus I'm running 10k miles between changes so I only pay maybe 5 times a year.

I'm coming up on the 180k maintenance interval in about a month. I'll have them flush and replace engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and engine coolant. I'll probably also need new tires. I'll report back then.

 

[Howell]

Sorry, I meant oil changes twice a year.

 

[BingBangBop]

Oil changes don't bother me. I bought a lifetime service agreement for oil changes for $69 when I bought my car. When I do the oil change, they also top off all the other fluids, lube the car, change wiper blades, change the air filter, rotate tires, change any burnt out light bulbs, and run the car through a car wash all for free. One of the best investments I ever bought.

 

[Howell]

Haha, no kidding.

Regular maintenance fluids and other are about $50-100 every couple years
Ball joints, cv shafts, tires and brakes are about $100/wheel every 5-10 years
Engine and transmission are about $3000 each when needed.

 

[BingBangBop]

One qualification: One does have to decline the work that they always wish to do to your car. Its annoying but I won't do work at the Honda dealership for it is too expensive and as far as I've determined it is almost always unnecessary. An example was last time I did an oil change they insisted that a HEPA filter needed to be replaced at over $300 the time before that it was a general inspection, to find any hidden problems, that cost over $200. I took the list of stuff they wanted to inspect to my normal shop and they said their price for the equivalent inspection was $45.

The point is, the Honda dealership seems to feel it necessary to always try to get some money out of me. I no longer pay any attention to their recommendations and automatically decline.

 

[Handruin]

For years I've always done my own maintenance plan when bringing my car to a shop. I can't see spending $200-$500 on regular maintenance on a new car. I pick and choose the options I want done and not the regular scheduled plan that the dealer or manual suggests. Oil changes at my dealership are $39 and include a car wash. I'm fine with that cost and often times need the car washed anyway. Similar to Howell, I go roughly 7-8K miles between oil changes, so it's not that bad. I've done tires, brakes, and other fluids on my own schedule and would only do major items like the timing belt, spark plugs, etc when it's scheduled. The clutch will have to be done whenever it wears out...which I hope isn't for a while.

 

[ddrueding]

With my last car, when the warranty had expired I stopped all maintenence. I did an oil change whenever the low oil light went on (about every 50k miles) and didn't do anything else. It ran for another 135k after that, and the guy I sold it to now has nearly 300k miles on it. Yay for VW reliability.

I'm seriously considering trading in my car when the complimentary service and warranty are expired. It is so nice not having to worry about these things.

 

[CougTek]

Keeping a guy in your basement because he owed you money ...

That guy, BTW, vanished a few weeks later and no one knows if he's still alive or not. I found his brother and even him doesn't know. All we know is that he owed money to a lot of people that you don't want to mess with, but when we ask each others, no one says he did it. He was not the kind to be able to survive in the woods eating roots and hunting rabbits and if he was still alive somewhere, one of us would have found him. He's not bilingual so he would have to stay in Québec (he has/had no passport either). IMO, he's eating flowers by the roots and it wasn't me who did it. If anything, I probably extended his life by a few days when he was under my special care.

That 3000$ sure would be welcome right now.

 

[Chewy509]

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.

Hi Coug,

Any update on this? Have you managed to get this sorted out? (Hope it's gone well, and your business has picked up a little).

 

[CougTek]

I managed to find the money to fix my car in the following days. However, the "check engine" light has lit for the past week or so.

Regarding the business, I'll stop my operation at my current office by the end of the month. I've lost money for the past seven months and the bank account is empty. I'm looking for a job and in the meantime, I'll do business from my home.

I've had better times in my life.

 

[Stereodude]

If you've got an older car and the CEL isn't nearly permanently aglow you're doing something wrong.

 

[ddrueding]

My first car (944 Turbo) CEL was never on; it had burned out long before I bought the car

 

[CougTek]

If you've got an older car and the CEL isn't nearly permanently aglow you're doing something wrong.

Then my sensible care and personnalised touch with cars seemed to have been the right way to go.

 

[Chewy509]

I've had better times in my life.

Sorry to hear things haven't picked up for you.

Hope it doesn't take too long to find suitable work. ;-)

 

[ddrueding]

So tempting....of course there isn't a chance, but it is tempting.

 

[Handruin]

Nice price; low mileage. You should get it so I can be jealous. :smile:

 

[Stereodude]

The auction already got closed / withdrawn.

 

[ddrueding]

Yup, the auction was nearing the "Buy it now" price...I bet a deal was struck.

Low mileage white GT-R. That dash totally sucks, though. Would have to replace it with something better.

 

[Handruin]

What's wrong with the dash?

 

[Howell]

The door panels look really cheap too.

 

[ddrueding]

What's wrong with the dash?

This giant piece of plastic right here. It needs to be a computer touch screen. At the least an iPad docking port.

 

[CougTek]

What's agressing me isn't the plastic dash, it's the auto trans on a sport car. An auto trans on a GT-R, really?

 

[Handruin]

This giant piece of plastic right here. It needs to be a computer touch screen. At the least an iPad docking port.

Ah yes. That is an ugly piece of plastic. I thought you meant the upper part of the dash that joins with the window.

 

[Handruin]

What's agressing me isn't the plastic dash, it's the auto trans on a sport car. An auto trans on a GT-R, really?

Originally that bugged me too, but it's not a traditional slush-box auto. Given the transmission is a technology marvel with it's dual clutch performance, I overlook it in this car. The car can undoubtedly shift faster than either of us can and it's still more like a manual than you think. It's just missing an extra pedal for a manual clutch. There would be a certain element of fun that is lost. I noticed this when I test drove the Audi S4 in both manual and their DSG. Their dual clutch was smooth and accurate, but I loved the feeling of driving the manual more.

 

[CougTek]

It's true that the interior looks like a cheap Chrysler car from the nineties. I used to drive a Plymouth Colt (ok, that really was a Mitsubishi) and it looked pretty much like this, minus the LCD.

 

[Handruin]

It's meant to haul ass on the track, not be a luxurious and plush coupe.

 

[Stereodude]

Originally that bugged me too, but it's not a traditional slush-box auto. Given the transmission is a technology marvel with it's dual clutch performance, I overlook it in this car. The car can undoubtedly shift faster than either of us can and it's still more like a manual than you think.

Yeah, but I don't care about shaving 1.5 seconds off my commute due to a faster than a human computer controlled clutch. Having a 3rd pedal makes for a more enjoyable drive and that that's more important to me.