tbomachines gets it! lol, I don't NEED a new car, but man I think it would make life better. I brefly thought about the GTI, but haven't geven it all that much thought. My sister is a huge VW nerd and shes been feeding my Hyuandi vib. I guess since she wasn't pushing for the GTI, I kind of forgot about it lol. Her boyfriend did just buy a Genesis Coupe. I got to drive that on easter, it was pretty awesome.

lorainfurniture, I almost forgot about those things. Sacramento or as I call it in the summer time the "devils no no place", is hotter then hell! 2 summers ago I drove my 98 Dakota and I didn't care about MPGs becasue of the AC lol. That truck was a pile of crap, and honestly colored my view of new cars. I was lucky to sell that thing before it compleatly failed.

iwock, I've been wanting the Focus RS for years! sadly Ford hasn't even gotten the ST over here yet, and they've been predicting that for years.

I've got a short list of cars to test drive... In order of intrest.

Veloster Turbo
FR-S
Focus ST (when it comes out)
MazdaSpeed3
GTI (newly added)

My birthday is in October, and I'd like to get the car then. This would allow for the Veloster Turbo to come out and hopefully the Focus ST.

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I too was grappling with the same issues and bought a new GTI. 6 months and 9000 miles later I sold it for $2000 less than what I paid for it. I liked having the money in the bank better.

It will cost more money to run. Interest and depreciation along with the payment is going to be more to run, even with the 40MPG. I also was noticing some quality issues with my GTI that I wasn't pleased with. Paint imperfections, wheels getting cloudy, seats fraying, intermittent rattles, and a few electronic gremlins.

There are so many cheap, good gas mileage with good personality that are mostly gas and go.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Jim, I would like to exchange cars here in the future, sadly the SD isn't quite ready thought. the syncros in the transmission haven't been showing up to work LOL Its like driving an old truck now. I'm a pro at driving it at this point and hardly ever grind a gear but when I let others drive it they get frustrated... I have a rebuild planned for the transmission, but I must get the Toyota on the road first so I can get to work. This is currently what my garage looks like.



My friend is coming into to town tonight and we're going to rebuild the transmission this weekend. Its going to be fun, haven't rebuild one of these transmissions before. its the old FWD/4WD transmission.

After getting the Toyota's transmission rebuilt I should have all my skills hoaned to rebilt the very simple MB transmission.

I suppose y'all can see why it would be nice to have another car in the stable when looking at my garage

BTW Jim, Love the roof rack on your Subi

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Add a Honda CR-Z and Mini Cooper to your list.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I paid about $24k for a brand-new, loaded 2010 Milan Hybrid. It meets the criteria of being an appliance, but it's not sporty or fun to drive.

I got the car well off sticker because the Mercury name was going away, hybrids weren't selling at that time, and the dealer had a few on the lot.

I enjoy some aspects of the car, of which gas mileage on regular unleaded is one big one. Right now about 36-38 mpg, so a cost per mile in fuel of less than 10 cents. Scheduled maintenance is at the 10k interval, except for tire rotations. In 15k miles I've put gas in it, and paid $23 for the 10k service after I applied the "new car" credit. Cost of ownership is pretty low, including the concept of depreciating value since I got it well off retail. KBB (yeah, I know) currently values the car at more than I paid new for both private party and dealer.

I've got mixed feelings about the tech. It has satellite radio, big touch screen and integrated nav. The problem is that it's proprietary and there hasn't been a Navteq update for maps in two years. Likewise with traffic data, you're stuck with the company that the manufacturer selected. If I buy again, I'll look at not getting the dealer installed package.

I like the A/C. I like the concept of sitting "idling" with the engine off but the electrically driven compressor keeps the cool air flowing.

It's a daily driver appliance, and it does that well, but it's got no soul.

I find buying a 3 or 4 years lease return car is a better deal than a new car. You lose money the minute you drive it off the lot. The bulk of the depreciation happens in the first few years and the car is still relative new to be had at a deep discount.

I have bought new cars before and I regretted it the minute I left the lot. Nowadays, I treat car as disposable item. If it costs too much to fix then I just junk it. I do not need to buy full collision for used car and it is a win-win. Case in point, I bought a 1999 Neon 5-sp for my son for $1600 and he has been driving it for the last 4 years almost trouble-free, apart from replacing the engine mount. He changed oil every 4K miles and has some minor fender benders (broken mirror ), otherwise it has been a nice little car with good gas mileage. My daughter drove the 300D to the NoCal meet last year and that was a disposable car also. She drove it for 2 years but had problem with the rear brake in the last 6 months. We gave her another car and took the 300D back to SoCal, upgrade the radio and check other stuffs and I am sure she would like to have it again. She finds the 300D a very 'cool' car.

The bottom line is that as long as the old car is reliable and does not cost an arm and a leg or a lot of your time to maintain it then it is worth keeping. If it costs $200 a month to fix plus your time then I would move on to a different car.

Just my $0.02.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

The Veloster and FR-S are at the top of my list becsue they are pretty simple for modern cars. CR-Z is a very sexy car. The russian across the street for me just built one Its a damn good looking car. but the hybridness is something I'm not looking for. Honestly if I could find a CLEAN, non-ricer, old man owned, CR-X I'd buy it, cash NOW... because its a simple car. sadly the CR-Z is nothing like its predecessor when it comes to being simple.

Minis do nothing for me. I don't care what you say, I'd buy a Kia Rio before a Mini.

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The 200 a month figure isn't all maintenance. The engine in the SD was at the end of its roap about 2 years ago, and I started putting money into rebuilding the power trian, shes almost 100% aside from the transmission as stated above, but now I'm putting that 200 a month into the tercel, she needs an overhaul badly as well. Honestly I will likely get that 200 a month down here soon once the tercel is fixed... but the problem with owning 2 old cars is that you have to work on one of them at all times to have reliable transportation.

I've never known what its like to have a car that just runs. I'm sure part of that is me. I can't stand to have a car slowly falling apart around me. I'm always tweaking things here and there to keep the car running the best it can. I'd hope that a new car wouldn't require tweeking.

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Thanks, but I'd rather get a 250cc motorcycle. Dead reliable, and 65-70 mpg easily. Then again, I live in NYC so I don't have to drive daily. (Thankfully!)

If Honda sold the crz as a normal car is buy it too.

I recently was considering a newer car as well, mostly because I have been driving a lot recently, but instead of a 5 year old TDI, I reverted to old ways, bought a 500 dollar 86 jetta, combined it with a good 85 diesel engine, put about 1500 dollars into parts and repair, and now I have a 2grand bare bones commuter that I've already put 6200 miles on without a hiccup, and it returns a respectable 45mpg.

The car is mechanically fully refreshed, but is not overly pretty, so I don't worry about scuffing and body damage. Its so simple and basic, its not even funny, only loads on the engine are alternator and water pump, drivin by a single belt.

Someone with your skills Nik would probably get bored with a new car. Plus a second question is I d on't see you posting that you will get rid of the tercel or MB, so instead of switching the 200 bucks over to a new car payment, aren't you adding a new car payment to the 200 dollars spent on the other rides?

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Agreed, they screwed up with that one. I wanted 4 seats and a hybrid OPTION not a full line.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Honda sucks. They've axed their fun cars like the S2000 and instead sell crap like the CRZ. A 2 seater that is neither sporty nor that economical for a hybrid. Even the new Civic Si has lost its high strung, high revving, high bhp/liter engine in favor of a larger displacement I4.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Just about everybody, who has the assets, caves in to the swan song of a new vehicle.

Naturally, they justify the purchase with the examples of how cheap the maintenance is.............they can go 100K with the hood welded shut.

They also manage to achieve a life beyond fixing old M/B's on the weekend.

But, the bottom line is simple: Nobody wrenches forever. Sooner or later, depending on priorities and capabilities, everybody will succumb to the pull of the smoothness, handling, and power of a new vehicle.

Count on it. The manufacturers certainly do.


Personally, I still love the soul of the 25 year old M/B's with the relatively effortless maintenance capability. But, I too, know full well...........the time is coming, sad to say.

I could buy with cash tomorrow. I have better things to spend the cash on, like downpayment on some foreclosed houses. Maybe in five years...

My old M/B has required minimal maintenance from me, and certainly not even close to every weekend.

As far as smooth performance, I actually don't want something smooth. I want my car to feel like a MACHINE, not a mf'ing dishwasher or a g-d Nintendo on wheels. If I go electric, I'd definitely choose Tesla sports over Prius or Volt. Rough and beastly is the name of the game.