Ask a Car Nut - Part Deux

[Zelig]

Suffice to say it is a quite standard way of determining whether or not a particular used car is all that desirable compared to other cars of the same year.

Right, you look at the total distance traveled. Distance per year doesn't matter because the cars are the same year anyway.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I'd stay clear of old Cadillacs and Pontiacs. The mentioned Ford Focus or Subaru seem like smarter deals. From personal experience, I can recommend VW Golf.

I actually bought a 2005 Cadillac STS. It was the best car in our price range (without taking a loan - which I really didn't want to do). It's at 100k miles which is a bit less than average. It had one previous owner who was a little old lady - the dashboard says 'hello margaret' as it cranks in the seat until it is right on top of the steering wheel. The interior has a single scuff (no I'm not kidding, in 9 years it has one scuff) on the door handle where the faux chrome has worn off and nice rubber floor mats.

I spoke with some mechanical engineers and a mechanic about the car before I purchased it and they all said to stay away from Northstar engines in Cadillacs (the V8's). This is a V6 and is not a Northstar engine and they all agreed it was a great car. Drives like a champ, has an awesome sound system and a bunch of perks we weren't really looking for in a car but it had anyways. The absolute last car I expected to buy was a Cadillac but everything else in our price range was terribly overpriced and/or had serious issues.



On bank loans - yeah, we talked to the banker that is my wife's friends husband. He confimed that the only time a loan makes sense in our situation is to build credit (ours is good) or to avoid wiping out our savings (which this didn't). I also suspect that as a banker, it's a lot easier for him to park his money in high-interest bearing savings/investment accounts than it would be for us and he said that there was no way we could make more on interest from savings account than a car loan would cost.


It has been soooooooooo long since I drove a car that was actually fun to drive. It's been a blast.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Grats. You can probably get a replacement door handle fairly cheaply if you so desire. And now you are all set to become a real estate agent.

What sort of gas mileage does it get?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Yeah people have been asking me when my retirement party is.

I think it gets 19/25 mpg but I have to check. It is not great but not terrible. MPG wasn't a primary consideration for us for this purchase mainly because we didn't have too many great options.

 

[peter grimes]

Congratulations! It's such a great feeling when you finally commit on a big decision like that. And if it's fun to drive? Bonus!

So a little old lady is a fantastic prior owner. Do you have the service records?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I sure do. Thanks

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I test drove a Chevy Cobalt and something odd happened. I put it into drive, took off the emergency brake and...nothing happened. I gave it a tad of gas and nothing happened. Then I put more gas into it and it felt like I had been hit in the rear bumper and the car lurched forward and then drove normally. Was that the transmission slipping?

 

[Formaldehyde]

It sure sounds like it. Was this a used car?

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Yes and it was horrible. After the transmission slipped, I didn't even want to tale it off the lot for a proper test drive.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Congrats!


..although, a German car and rocket engineering still seemed like a nice match..

 

[Formaldehyde]

Yes and it was horrible. After the transmission slipped, I didn't even want to tale it off the lot for a proper test drive.

Nope. You should run away from it and avoid that dealer. He was hoping it wouldn't act up while you took a test drive so you would buy it.

This is why I always recommend that you get a mechanic to take a look at any used car before you buy one unless you are extremely knowledgeable about cars. You should also get a Carfax as well. It is all too easy to get ripped off.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

i actually checked the Carfax on that car before I test drove it and nothing major showed up.


Oh I test drove a Chevy Cruz and it was a massive disappointment. I had a good opinion of the car before hand but it was terribly cramped and it even had manual side-mirror adjustors. Even my 95 Mystique has electric side-mirror adjustors.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Carfax typically wouldn't show if the car was in need of mechanical repair. It is primarily useful for validating the mileage and determining if the car had ever been involved in an accident which was reported.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is underway.

Audi talks smack to Porsche on their return:

Link to video.

 

[Formaldehyde]

The end of the world as we know it?

Harley-Davidson introduces electric motorcycle

 

[BvBPL]

How do they make it go potato potato?

--

Why don't they make cars with bench seats in the front anymore?

 

[Formaldehyde]

Why don't they make cars with bench seats in the front anymore?

Demand and safety.

Ford GT: "Now We're Back."


Link to video.


Link to video.

 

[Borachio]

Were the BBC right to sack Clarkson?

http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/jeremy-clarkson-sacked-top-gear-5392446

 

[Formaldehyde]

In a word, yes. But it is a shame that it will quite likely ruin the show.

 

[Formaldehyde]

So many bored wives... Surprise comes at 2:30...


Link to video.