What to buy?! BMW, Audi, 4x4, 4cyl, AWD, etc etc
#42
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I've attached some pictures. You guys tell me what you think.
After some searching around it seems that the issue with the rear suspension can be fixed by replacing the strut assemblies for right around $200 for the pair. I can order them and probably have them in by the weekend, depending on shipping time of course. I have access to a garage with a lift again, so no more crawling around under jackstands like a normal backyard mechanic.![wink](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Having the car aligned and/or the tires balanced isn't too bad considering I have a buddy that owns a tires shop, so that would be quick and cheap.
I'd hate to be up ***** creek 2 weeks from now, but it seems like other than the suspension, the rest of the car isn't SO bad. But last night I was definitely pissed. I'm glad I went to sleep before I called the guy in a rage. lol
Even still I don't know if I should call him or not. I don't want him to say the wrong thing to make me snap and then start a war over this thing. But at the same time, I would like to let him know that he ******* lied to my face.
After some searching around it seems that the issue with the rear suspension can be fixed by replacing the strut assemblies for right around $200 for the pair. I can order them and probably have them in by the weekend, depending on shipping time of course. I have access to a garage with a lift again, so no more crawling around under jackstands like a normal backyard mechanic.
![wink](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Having the car aligned and/or the tires balanced isn't too bad considering I have a buddy that owns a tires shop, so that would be quick and cheap.
I'd hate to be up ***** creek 2 weeks from now, but it seems like other than the suspension, the rest of the car isn't SO bad. But last night I was definitely pissed. I'm glad I went to sleep before I called the guy in a rage. lol
Even still I don't know if I should call him or not. I don't want him to say the wrong thing to make me snap and then start a war over this thing. But at the same time, I would like to let him know that he ******* lied to my face.
#43
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I did some searching about the state laws and buying used cars, but everything I'm reading is regarding dealer sales, not private sales.
So in a calm moment I called the guy and left him a message. Calmly. I said that the drive home was no good and the car is not what he claimed it to be. I had to keep it short cause its one of those shady google voice systems that only lets you talk for a minute.
He called me right back, pretending like he didnt know who I was. He said he didnt listen to my vm and whats up. I told him that the rear suspension is shot and he made no mention of that problem. He said "I'm sorry I didnt know there was a problem, I'm not a mechanic". I told him you don't need to be a mechanic to clearly feel the car bouncing up and down as you drive down the road. I stressed the fact that he called himself such an honest guy, and didnt want to waste either of our time, and that the car is what he says it is before I even drove up there. I asked him how could you claim to be such an honest guy, claim to drive the car 6 days a week 1 hour each way commuting, and now tell me you didnt feel the bouncing on the highway.
I told him now we have a problem and he said "no, i don't have a problem, I sold you the car as is, its yours now, if you don't like the car sell it". Motherfucking piece of ****!
I still didnt let myself get mad, but then he said that he didnt like my tone of voice, that I don't even know him and I'm talking to him like that. That's when I said "you don't like my tone?" and I told him I could be back up there in a quick minute with his car for my money back. That's when he started to say to come, then he said what am I going to do, and then that went into I was threatening him. lol
He ended with saying his uncle is a cop and he's going to call his lawyer and have me arrested. What a little ****. If the guy was in my vicinity right now......it wouldn't be good. Lying piece of ****.![vash](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/vash.gif)
Whether he's bluffing or not, I really don't give a ****. I didn't threaten him at all. I just called him out on being a lying sack of ****. Even through all of it I stayed calm until he told me that he didnt like me calling him saying this stuff to him. And that it was only $1750 over and over. Thats when I got mad.
I cant let myself go on anymore about this. I'm either going to end up getting arrested for assault or having an aneurysm. Its better left alone and I'll just fix the god damn thing. ****.
So in a calm moment I called the guy and left him a message. Calmly. I said that the drive home was no good and the car is not what he claimed it to be. I had to keep it short cause its one of those shady google voice systems that only lets you talk for a minute.
He called me right back, pretending like he didnt know who I was. He said he didnt listen to my vm and whats up. I told him that the rear suspension is shot and he made no mention of that problem. He said "I'm sorry I didnt know there was a problem, I'm not a mechanic". I told him you don't need to be a mechanic to clearly feel the car bouncing up and down as you drive down the road. I stressed the fact that he called himself such an honest guy, and didnt want to waste either of our time, and that the car is what he says it is before I even drove up there. I asked him how could you claim to be such an honest guy, claim to drive the car 6 days a week 1 hour each way commuting, and now tell me you didnt feel the bouncing on the highway.
I told him now we have a problem and he said "no, i don't have a problem, I sold you the car as is, its yours now, if you don't like the car sell it". Motherfucking piece of ****!
![vash](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/vash.gif)
He ended with saying his uncle is a cop and he's going to call his lawyer and have me arrested. What a little ****. If the guy was in my vicinity right now......it wouldn't be good. Lying piece of ****.
![vash](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/vash.gif)
Whether he's bluffing or not, I really don't give a ****. I didn't threaten him at all. I just called him out on being a lying sack of ****. Even through all of it I stayed calm until he told me that he didnt like me calling him saying this stuff to him. And that it was only $1750 over and over. Thats when I got mad.
I cant let myself go on anymore about this. I'm either going to end up getting arrested for assault or having an aneurysm. Its better left alone and I'll just fix the god damn thing. ****.
#47
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Go ahead with the repair, you know it needs it, atleast you can do it. no labor cost involved. You might get this thing riding great. Think tho, if the rear shocks are shot, what about the front... Do the Rears and see where the ride is.
for 250$$ you might have dramatically improved the car overall. clean it up more. Pop it up for 2500 sell it right back.
Goodluck
for 250$$ you might have dramatically improved the car overall. clean it up more. Pop it up for 2500 sell it right back.
Goodluck
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It's not really buyers remorse, I just feel like I've been had. I sell A LOT of stuff to people I don't ever met face to face, however I never lie or fluff up my descriptions to make a better sale.
I'm just ranting to you guys is all really. I know that I got a pretty good deal and if it turns out that it's just the suspension, then I'll make out alright. I'm just thinking if then guy lied about that, what else might be wrong.
#49
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Go ahead with the repair, you know it needs it, atleast you can do it. no labor cost involved. You might get this thing riding great. Think tho, if the rear shocks are shot, what about the front... Do the Rears and see where the ride is.
for 250$$ you might have dramatically improved the car overall. clean it up more. Pop it up for 2500 sell it right back.
Goodluck
for 250$$ you might have dramatically improved the car overall. clean it up more. Pop it up for 2500 sell it right back.
Goodluck
I have it setup to put on the lift tomorrow and check everything out.
#53
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Sorry about the luck man. At the shop Id say 85% of my diagnostics are on Fords. Some are good but Ive seen tons of problems. Sure all cars and all manufacturers have problems but Ford seems to be a reoccuring problem in my bays.
Tauruses ALL DAY LONG. Did you get the 3.0? OHV or DOHC?
I may see a ton of Tauruses cause they built so many, or because they are ****. Who knows. I say do some repairs and flip it and get something you actually like. You have to be in it everyday.
Im a big proponent on mid nineties chevy trucks. Mine got **** for mileage but for 200K miles it was reliable and when something broke it was cheap to fix (all but lower ball joints, LOTS OF LABOR, back before I did my own work).
Im not a big Honda fan even though i did own one, but if you can find a rust free one, fixing them is SO CHEAP. It will probably need a Tbelt and axles but thats easy work.
When looking for a DD look at repair cost and parts availability. Its gonna be cheap so its probably going to need repairs sooner than later. If you do your own work and parts are cheap who cares. The problem comes in when its your dd and it has to be fixed by tommorrow to get to work and you cant get parts for a week.
Ive had nightmares with parts availability on suzukis, izusus, kias, hyundais, vws, jags, audis and others tha arent as horrible include bmw, mercedes, and saab.
Its taken me 3 days to get an air filter for a suzuki and over a week to get 2 studs and lugs for another suzuki
Tauruses ALL DAY LONG. Did you get the 3.0? OHV or DOHC?
I may see a ton of Tauruses cause they built so many, or because they are ****. Who knows. I say do some repairs and flip it and get something you actually like. You have to be in it everyday.
Im a big proponent on mid nineties chevy trucks. Mine got **** for mileage but for 200K miles it was reliable and when something broke it was cheap to fix (all but lower ball joints, LOTS OF LABOR, back before I did my own work).
Im not a big Honda fan even though i did own one, but if you can find a rust free one, fixing them is SO CHEAP. It will probably need a Tbelt and axles but thats easy work.
When looking for a DD look at repair cost and parts availability. Its gonna be cheap so its probably going to need repairs sooner than later. If you do your own work and parts are cheap who cares. The problem comes in when its your dd and it has to be fixed by tommorrow to get to work and you cant get parts for a week.
Ive had nightmares with parts availability on suzukis, izusus, kias, hyundais, vws, jags, audis and others tha arent as horrible include bmw, mercedes, and saab.
Its taken me 3 days to get an air filter for a suzuki and over a week to get 2 studs and lugs for another suzuki
#55
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Simple as that. There's nothing to stop you.
I was on the other side of some buyer's remorse with my CRX. Sold it to some older gent who drove down from Arkansas (to Jacksonville) to see it. Had it listed on a forum, pictures, disclosed faults, etc. I offered to let him drive it and he told me to just take him for a ride instead. So I did, he bought it for 5k, left, thought that was the end of it.
The next day he's calling me telling me the car is "undriveable", has a loud exhaust, harsh ride, etc. (what do you expect with a modded/swapped CRX, anyway?) Said he was in Gainesville and he'd appreciate it if I drove over there, caravanned (sp?) my CRX back to Jax, and paid for a ticket to get him back to Arkansas.
I loled.
EDIT - I'll second Opti's Honda recommendation. An early-mid '90s Civic/Integra/Accord will run forever, sip gas, and be cheap to fix if it does break. Add to that that they're easy to find parts for and easy to work on, and it's a no-brainer.
I was on the other side of some buyer's remorse with my CRX. Sold it to some older gent who drove down from Arkansas (to Jacksonville) to see it. Had it listed on a forum, pictures, disclosed faults, etc. I offered to let him drive it and he told me to just take him for a ride instead. So I did, he bought it for 5k, left, thought that was the end of it.
The next day he's calling me telling me the car is "undriveable", has a loud exhaust, harsh ride, etc. (what do you expect with a modded/swapped CRX, anyway?) Said he was in Gainesville and he'd appreciate it if I drove over there, caravanned (sp?) my CRX back to Jax, and paid for a ticket to get him back to Arkansas.
I loled.
EDIT - I'll second Opti's Honda recommendation. An early-mid '90s Civic/Integra/Accord will run forever, sip gas, and be cheap to fix if it does break. Add to that that they're easy to find parts for and easy to work on, and it's a no-brainer.
#56
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Joe, I hate to be the mean guy, but I'm honest with my friends...
You got a stinkin' deal on the car. For the money that's an awesome buy, and you can't find crap like that in Houston that isn't clapped out, maintenance completely ignored, and riding on steelies because they just pulled their 22"s off it.*
You were also afforded a test drive...and should have been more thorough. I made the same mistake. The guy even asked if I wanted to take it on the highway (610 loop in rush hour...yeah right). I said no and have been living with a severely out-of-balance tire. Needs new rubber so no point in rebalancing it.
Take your lumps. Fix cheaply and enjoy as utility transportation...or fix and flip and buy something that peaks your interest for some reason or another. I never thought I'd enjoy a 3800lb Japanese Buick...but being able to ride 80 miles each way to school and feel as fresh as I walked out the door when I arrive is pretty ******' nice. I find I'm more productive than when I was riding the bike every day. It's boring, but I also don't get speeding tickets.
*this is not a racist comment...large diameter "rims" are available for purchase (or rent) to all...and it's a lifestyle comment...not a colored one.
For reference, this is a racist comment:
"I wouldn't ever buy a car off a black man because they don't take care of their ****."
Note: This is not my personal opinion, simply an example.
You got a stinkin' deal on the car. For the money that's an awesome buy, and you can't find crap like that in Houston that isn't clapped out, maintenance completely ignored, and riding on steelies because they just pulled their 22"s off it.*
You were also afforded a test drive...and should have been more thorough. I made the same mistake. The guy even asked if I wanted to take it on the highway (610 loop in rush hour...yeah right). I said no and have been living with a severely out-of-balance tire. Needs new rubber so no point in rebalancing it.
Take your lumps. Fix cheaply and enjoy as utility transportation...or fix and flip and buy something that peaks your interest for some reason or another. I never thought I'd enjoy a 3800lb Japanese Buick...but being able to ride 80 miles each way to school and feel as fresh as I walked out the door when I arrive is pretty ******' nice. I find I'm more productive than when I was riding the bike every day. It's boring, but I also don't get speeding tickets.
*this is not a racist comment...large diameter "rims" are available for purchase (or rent) to all...and it's a lifestyle comment...not a colored one.
For reference, this is a racist comment:
"I wouldn't ever buy a car off a black man because they don't take care of their ****."
Note: This is not my personal opinion, simply an example.
#57
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Its the 3.0, but I'm not sure if its a DOHC or not. Its a SES, but I have no idea what the **** that means. lol
You know, I'm not a dick or anything, and I didnt mean to get the guy all pissed off at me today, but he ******* lied right to my face. I WISH I could go back in time and tested it on the highway. This way I could have said right then and there, with him in the car, "what the **** is this ****?".
There's some other minor details that are bothering me and making me think that the cars been sitting for a bit. I cant say for certain though until I get it on the lift and take a full look around.
I did a search on common car problems and found this site called carcomplaints.com. This is what came up for a '03 Ford Taurus. I think you guys are right about the transmission problems. lol
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Ta...03/index.shtml
I guess Ill just try and fix it up and maybe just use it through the winter, or sell it and try to find something else. Not sure yet, but I do plan on ordering the parts for it tomorrow once I know what I need.
You know, I'm not a dick or anything, and I didnt mean to get the guy all pissed off at me today, but he ******* lied right to my face. I WISH I could go back in time and tested it on the highway. This way I could have said right then and there, with him in the car, "what the **** is this ****?".
There's some other minor details that are bothering me and making me think that the cars been sitting for a bit. I cant say for certain though until I get it on the lift and take a full look around.
I did a search on common car problems and found this site called carcomplaints.com. This is what came up for a '03 Ford Taurus. I think you guys are right about the transmission problems. lol
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Ta...03/index.shtml
I guess Ill just try and fix it up and maybe just use it through the winter, or sell it and try to find something else. Not sure yet, but I do plan on ordering the parts for it tomorrow once I know what I need.
#58
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Sorry about the luck man. At the shop Id say 85% of my diagnostics are on Fords. Some are good but Ive seen tons of problems. Sure all cars and all manufacturers have problems but Ford seems to be a reoccuring problem in my bays.
Tauruses ALL DAY LONG. Did you get the 3.0? OHV or DOHC?
I may see a ton of Tauruses cause they built so many, or because they are ****. Who knows. I say do some repairs and flip it and get something you actually like. You have to be in it everyday.
Tauruses ALL DAY LONG. Did you get the 3.0? OHV or DOHC?
I may see a ton of Tauruses cause they built so many, or because they are ****. Who knows. I say do some repairs and flip it and get something you actually like. You have to be in it everyday.
![Jerkit](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/jerkit.gif)
![Giggle](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/gay.gif)
Just bustin your chops
![wink](https://www.miataturbo.net/images/smilies/wink.gif)
Sell it for profit and buy an XJ. I'm a major advocate. We have two and they cost next to nothing to maintain.... They are like a 4WD Miata that likes fuel.
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