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The Car Guy Thread (1 Viewer)

So to expand on my post, a week ago a massive hailstorm (baseball/softball hail) took out both our cars. They were hauled away last night..  :(  We also have massive damage to our house--windows all out, roof shot and leaking, fence destroyed, etc. you get the idea. Our neighborhood is a third world country right now with every house covered in tarps and all of my neighbors losing their cars. There are no rental cars available--so people are literally driving various forms of  U-Hauls to get back and forth to work. 

So I picked up the checks from State Farm today and I am ready to buy cars. I had a Lancer GTS (great in snow--but wow, this car was a dog) and my wife had a Saturn Ion--yeah, I know not exactly cars that should be mentioned in this thread, but they were cars we owned forever and paid off. 

Our Tahoe and my 69 Mustang were garaged and survived, but here is where I am at: my wife is totally set on a 2016 Chevy Cruze LT---she likes this car over the newer styles and they are frankly a dime a dozen here. She wants me to take the settlement checks--roughly 12k and pay cash for a car. We were without a car payment for a bit and she doesn't want two payments. I want a car that is good in snow, but has some speed. What is out there? I want a WRX so bad, but they are in the mid to high 20's everywhere and the wife is a hard no on that. I am looking at 2016 Civics with the 1.5 and turbo (heard the 2,0 didn't have a great deal of power) or some Mazda, even though I know I would still have to come up with a little more money for these.  Any other suggestions in that price range?

I will just add that my comments on the GTO are based on being a Colorado native and way too many scary, snowy nights in my 69 Mustang in the 80's and 90's. I still have PTSD from those......

 
Courtjester said:
So to expand on my post, a week ago a massive hailstorm (baseball/softball hail) took out both our cars. They were hauled away last night..  :(  We also have massive damage to our house--windows all out, roof shot and leaking, fence destroyed, etc. you get the idea. Our neighborhood is a third world country right now with every house covered in tarps and all of my neighbors losing their cars. There are no rental cars available--so people are literally driving various forms of  U-Hauls to get back and forth to work. 

So I picked up the checks from State Farm today and I am ready to buy cars. I had a Lancer GTS (great in snow--but wow, this car was a dog) and my wife had a Saturn Ion--yeah, I know not exactly cars that should be mentioned in this thread, but they were cars we owned forever and paid off. 

Our Tahoe and my 69 Mustang were garaged and survived, but here is where I am at: my wife is totally set on a 2016 Chevy Cruze LT---she likes this car over the newer styles and they are frankly a dime a dozen here. She wants me to take the settlement checks--roughly 12k and pay cash for a car. We were without a car payment for a bit and she doesn't want two payments. I want a car that is good in snow, but has some speed. What is out there? I want a WRX so bad, but they are in the mid to high 20's everywhere and the wife is a hard no on that. I am looking at 2016 Civics with the 1.5 and turbo (heard the 2,0 didn't have a great deal of power) or some Mazda, even though I know I would still have to come up with a little more money for these.  Any other suggestions in that price range?

I will just add that my comments on the GTO are based on being a Colorado native and way too many scary, snowy nights in my 69 Mustang in the 80's and 90's. I still have PTSD from those......
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used Infiniti G37X

 
Dickies said:
Was serving a TO  :ph34r:

I'm a car guy for sure, but not like some of the guys in here.  I've accepted that there will always be faster cars out there, so my days of swapping parts to squeeze extra horsepower out of the engine are over.  I'm into classic cars, and honestly kinda enjoy fixing them up more than driving them

My current toy: '70 'Cuda, 383 4-bbl, 4-speed w/ original pistol grip shifter, 3.91 SureGrip, original AM/8-track ;) .  It's probably a 1 of 1 car when you factor all the options on the buildsheet (car was restored to be how it came off the factory floor minus all the goofy markings and stickers)

Again, not the fastest car out there, but it's fun to drive and can still eat up a set of tires.
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Some of you may have seen pics from other threads, but I'll post some pics of my car from the past 13 years... First a little background... I bought the car as a project needing basically everything, but the guy gave me probably 30 boxes full of parts that were either original to the car or accumulated via swap meets over the years.  The car had 39,000 original miles, and I bought it from the 2nd owner.  He blew the original engine doing burnouts in 1973 and the car sat in his garage since then.  The car had a rough life to this point.  Basically every body panel had been smashed and patched with Bondo.  The car looked pretty solid when I bought it and I didn't realize the amount of Bondo, but the price was right and I got an amazing deal so I can't complain.  I just wanted to have a nice driver that looked nice, so Bondo wasn't a major concern.  This album shows what I was dealing with and what I got the car to be.  I even contacted the guy I bought the car from to show how the car turned out and let him take the car for a spin.  :drive: .

Not long after I had got the car where I wanted it, a semi changed lanes into me on the freeway and did the type of damage that most people would consider a total loss.  It took a long time negotiating with insurance companies, but I eventually settled on an amount that I was comfortable with.  I did not need to salvage the title and a check was cut to me so that I could do the work myself instead of paying a shop.  A lot of the work that I was very proud of myself for completing the first time around, in hindsight was child's play.  This is why I love tinkering with old cars.  Once you realize that nothing you do will permanently screw up the car it opens up new horizons and what seemed impossible is now doable.  Here is the album post-crash

 
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Courtjester said:
So to expand on my post, a week ago a massive hailstorm (baseball/softball hail) took out both our cars. They were hauled away last night..  :(  We also have massive damage to our house--windows all out, roof shot and leaking, fence destroyed, etc. you get the idea. Our neighborhood is a third world country right now with every house covered in tarps and all of my neighbors losing their cars. There are no rental cars available--so people are literally driving various forms of  U-Hauls to get back and forth to work. 

So I picked up the checks from State Farm today and I am ready to buy cars. I had a Lancer GTS (great in snow--but wow, this car was a dog) and my wife had a Saturn Ion--yeah, I know not exactly cars that should be mentioned in this thread, but they were cars we owned forever and paid off. 

Our Tahoe and my 69 Mustang were garaged and survived, but here is where I am at: my wife is totally set on a 2016 Chevy Cruze LT---she likes this car over the newer styles and they are frankly a dime a dozen here. She wants me to take the settlement checks--roughly 12k and pay cash for a car. We were without a car payment for a bit and she doesn't want two payments. I want a car that is good in snow, but has some speed. What is out there? I want a WRX so bad, but they are in the mid to high 20's everywhere and the wife is a hard no on that. I am looking at 2016 Civics with the 1.5 and turbo (heard the 2,0 didn't have a great deal of power) or some Mazda, even though I know I would still have to come up with a little more money for these.  Any other suggestions in that price range?

I will just add that my comments on the GTO are based on being a Colorado native and way too many scary, snowy nights in my 69 Mustang in the 80's and 90's. I still have PTSD from those......
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Buy my Mazdaspeed6. AWD turbo 6 speed. $7k. Boom

 
Dickies said:
Some of you may have seen pics from other threads, but I'll post some pics of my car from the past 13 years... First a little background... I bought the car as a project needing basically everything, but the guy gave me probably 30 boxes full of parts that were either original to the car or accumulated via swap meets over the years.  The car had 39,000 original miles, and I bought it from the 2nd owner.  He blew the original engine doing burnouts in 1973 and the car sat in his garage since then.  The car had a rough life to this point.  Basically every body panel had been smashed and patched with Bondo.  The car looked pretty solid when I bought it and I didn't realize the amount of Bondo, but the price was right and I got an amazing deal so I can't complain.  I just wanted to have a nice driver that looked nice, so Bondo wasn't a major concern.  This album shows what I was dealing with and what I got the car to be.  I even contacted the guy I bought the car from to show how the car turned out and let him take the car for a spin.  :drive: .

Not long after I had got the car where I wanted it, a semi changed lanes into me on the freeway and did the type of damage that most people would consider a total loss.  It took a long time negotiating with insurance companies, but I eventually settled on an amount that I was comfortable with.  I did not need to salvage the title and a check was cut to me so that I could do the work myself instead of paying a shop.  A lot of the work that I was very proud of myself for completing the first time around, in hindsight was child's play.  This is why I love tinkering with old cars.  Once you realize that nothing you do will permanently screw up the car it opens up new horizons and what seemed impossible is now doable.  Here is the album post-crash
Click to expand...
She's a beauty for sure.  Cuda's were always one of my favorites.

 
@Dickies there is something very satisfying about fixing up your own vehicle.  I ran over a fire hydrant with my 1984 Chrysler Laser when I was in H.S.  Luckily it was pretty much head on so I didn't wreck the uni-body frame.  I bought a Chilton's manual and sourced parts from the local junk yard.  I put the whole thing back together myself.  My older brother borrowed some equipment from the neighbor who was an auto body painter and painted it up for me.  Probably one of my proudest accomplishments still to this day.  Then I spun out on bald tires on my way to college my sophomore year doing about 70 on the expressway and slammed it into the cement median.  No coming back from that one.

 
Courtjester said:
So to expand on my post, a week ago a massive hailstorm (baseball/softball hail) took out both our cars. They were hauled away last night..  :(  We also have massive damage to our house--windows all out, roof shot and leaking, fence destroyed, etc. you get the idea. Our neighborhood is a third world country right now with every house covered in tarps and all of my neighbors losing their cars. There are no rental cars available--so people are literally driving various forms of  U-Hauls to get back and forth to work. 

So I picked up the checks from State Farm today and I am ready to buy cars. I had a Lancer GTS (great in snow--but wow, this car was a dog) and my wife had a Saturn Ion--yeah, I know not exactly cars that should be mentioned in this thread, but they were cars we owned forever and paid off. 

Our Tahoe and my 69 Mustang were garaged and survived, but here is where I am at: my wife is totally set on a 2016 Chevy Cruze LT---she likes this car over the newer styles and they are frankly a dime a dozen here. She wants me to take the settlement checks--roughly 12k and pay cash for a car. We were without a car payment for a bit and she doesn't want two payments. I want a car that is good in snow, but has some speed. What is out there? I want a WRX so bad, but they are in the mid to high 20's everywhere and the wife is a hard no on that. I am looking at 2016 Civics with the 1.5 and turbo (heard the 2,0 didn't have a great deal of power) or some Mazda, even though I know I would still have to come up with a little more money for these.  Any other suggestions in that price range?

I will just add that my comments on the GTO are based on being a Colorado native and way too many scary, snowy nights in my 69 Mustang in the 80's and 90's. I still have PTSD from those......
Click to expand...
You're in Fountain? Devastating what happened there! I was visiting family in Peyton a couple days after the storm. Incredible stuff on the news. I didn't even know hail got that large!

 
Dickies said:
Some of you may have seen pics from other threads, but I'll post some pics of my car from the past 13 years... First a little background... I bought the car as a project needing basically everything, but the guy gave me probably 30 boxes full of parts that were either original to the car or accumulated via swap meets over the years.  The car had 39,000 original miles, and I bought it from the 2nd owner.  He blew the original engine doing burnouts in 1973 and the car sat in his garage since then.  The car had a rough life to this point.  Basically every body panel had been smashed and patched with Bondo.  The car looked pretty solid when I bought it and I didn't realize the amount of Bondo, but the price was right and I got an amazing deal so I can't complain.  I just wanted to have a nice driver that looked nice, so Bondo wasn't a major concern.  This album shows what I was dealing with and what I got the car to be.  I even contacted the guy I bought the car from to show how the car turned out and let him take the car for a spin.  :drive: .

Not long after I had got the car where I wanted it, a semi changed lanes into me on the freeway and did the type of damage that most people would consider a total loss.  It took a long time negotiating with insurance companies, but I eventually settled on an amount that I was comfortable with.  I did not need to salvage the title and a check was cut to me so that I could do the work myself instead of paying a shop.  A lot of the work that I was very proud of myself for completing the first time around, in hindsight was child's play.  This is why I love tinkering with old cars.  Once you realize that nothing you do will permanently screw up the car it opens up new horizons and what seemed impossible is now doable.  Here is the album post-crash
Click to expand...
W.O.W. 

Awesome car. Awesome story. Beautiful work. To say that car found its way into the right hands is an understatment. You’ve now resurrected it twice. Hats off..

 
I’ve been jonesing for a Hellcat. Absolutely love them.

Otis loves cars.  Out of college bought a brand new C5 Corvette.  After that had an M3, and have had some other toys since, but now all family vehicles in the fleet.I don’t really have a daily driver since I take the train to work; Mrs O drives a new Audi Q7 which is pretty bad ### and quick for a kid mover; my car is the Yukon Denali, which I’ve recently been exploring trading in for a new Navigator.

But I’ve also been wanting to pick up a sports car like a m Hellcat. Would be a ton of fun.  My weekend car kept in the garage is a 1979 International scout restomod, which replaced my wrangler and is such a blast and a head turner. People love it. Great car as a cruiser around town on a nice day. 

Pics of the Hellcat pls. 

 
Dickies said:
Some of you may have seen pics from other threads, but I'll post some pics of my car from the past 13 years... First a little background... I bought the car as a project needing basically everything, but the guy gave me probably 30 boxes full of parts that were either original to the car or accumulated via swap meets over the years.  The car had 39,000 original miles, and I bought it from the 2nd owner.  He blew the original engine doing burnouts in 1973 and the car sat in his garage since then.  The car had a rough life to this point.  Basically every body panel had been smashed and patched with Bondo.  The car looked pretty solid when I bought it and I didn't realize the amount of Bondo, but the price was right and I got an amazing deal so I can't complain.  I just wanted to have a nice driver that looked nice, so Bondo wasn't a major concern.  This album shows what I was dealing with and what I got the car to be.  I even contacted the guy I bought the car from to show how the car turned out and let him take the car for a spin.  :drive: .

Not long after I had got the car where I wanted it, a semi changed lanes into me on the freeway and did the type of damage that most people would consider a total loss.  It took a long time negotiating with insurance companies, but I eventually settled on an amount that I was comfortable with.  I did not need to salvage the title and a check was cut to me so that I could do the work myself instead of paying a shop.  A lot of the work that I was very proud of myself for completing the first time around, in hindsight was child's play.  This is why I love tinkering with old cars.  Once you realize that nothing you do will permanently screw up the car it opens up new horizons and what seemed impossible is now doable.  Here is the album post-crash
Click to expand...
Awesome. 

 
Dickies said:
Some of you may have seen pics from other threads, but I'll post some pics of my car from the past 13 years... First a little background... I bought the car as a project needing basically everything, but the guy gave me probably 30 boxes full of parts that were either original to the car or accumulated via swap meets over the years.  The car had 39,000 original miles, and I bought it from the 2nd owner.  He blew the original engine doing burnouts in 1973 and the car sat in his garage since then.  The car had a rough life to this point.  Basically every body panel had been smashed and patched with Bondo.  The car looked pretty solid when I bought it and I didn't realize the amount of Bondo, but the price was right and I got an amazing deal so I can't complain.  I just wanted to have a nice driver that looked nice, so Bondo wasn't a major concern.  This album shows what I was dealing with and what I got the car to be.  I even contacted the guy I bought the car from to show how the car turned out and let him take the car for a spin.  :drive: .

Not long after I had got the car where I wanted it, a semi changed lanes into me on the freeway and did the type of damage that most people would consider a total loss.  It took a long time negotiating with insurance companies, but I eventually settled on an amount that I was comfortable with.  I did not need to salvage the title and a check was cut to me so that I could do the work myself instead of paying a shop.  A lot of the work that I was very proud of myself for completing the first time around, in hindsight was child's play.  This is why I love tinkering with old cars.  Once you realize that nothing you do will permanently screw up the car it opens up new horizons and what seemed impossible is now doable.  Here is the album post-crash
Click to expand...
Amazing. Wish I had the time or knowledge to do something like this. 

Really want to pick up an older/classic car but I know little about fixing cars which has me nervous. Family has a Volvo xc90 people mover but that is it as live in Brooklyn but would love to buy something  else just for me. 

ETA - had an 86 wrangler back in mid 90s in HS which is my older car experience. 

 
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tjnc09 said:
I'm in the market for a Trackhawk.  The deals are out there now, need to find the right one.
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I've been talking to two dealerships that aren't local on getting a deal done for a Trackhawk.  The news of the Hellcat Redeye has me pausing somewhat though.

I don't think the Trackhawk is selling very well.  It's a very limited market for people who can afford a $100k vehicle and don't want it to be a luxury brand.

 
Otis said:
I’ve been jonesing for a Hellcat. Absolutely love them.

Otis loves cars.  Out of college bought a brand new C5 Corvette.  After that had an M3, and have had some other toys since, but now all family vehicles in the fleet.I don’t really have a daily driver since I take the train to work; Mrs O drives a new Audi Q7 which is pretty bad ### and quick for a kid mover; my car is the Yukon Denali, which I’ve recently been exploring trading in for a new Navigator.

But I’ve also been wanting to pick up a sports car like a m Hellcat. Would be a ton of fun.  My weekend car kept in the garage is a 1979 International scout restomod, which replaced my wrangler and is such a blast and a head turner. People love it. Great car as a cruiser around town on a nice day. 

Pics of the Hellcat pls. 
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I now have Plum Crazy SRT center cap decals on & my "Hellcat" caliper decals are in the mail. Going to install a Ikon Motorsports rear diffuser tonight.

http://i67.tinypic.com/34fmejt.jpg

http://i64.tinypic.com/ohohti.jpg

 
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dkp993 said:
Huge car nut.

DD is a ‘12 supercharged Audi A6 Quattro.  Fun weekend car is a 96 911 (993) with a decent amount of mods.  Have owned a 98 fully built mustang (endless mod list) and a nice pro touring 66 chevelle with a 427 big block.  Really hoping to pick up a 16/17 GT350 in the coming year.  
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Interesting.  I've collected too many cars. 

Daily drivers are Audi A6 Quatro, Audi Q7, Volks GTi, Porsche Mecan S, and then for fun I have a '96 Porsche 993 C2 Coupe, a '90 Porsche 964 triple black Cab, and a '75 Porsche Carrera coupe.  Plan to sell the GTi and '90 Porsche soon just to free up garage space. 

Surprisingly, of all the cars the Mecan S is the fastest by far.  The most fun is the '90 Porsche Cab.  Nothing like the sound of an air-cooled engine with the top down.

 
I am the Walrus said:
Interesting.  I've collected too many cars. 

Daily drivers are Audi A6 Quatro, Audi Q7, Volks GTi, Porsche Mecan S, and then for fun I have a '96 Porsche 993 C2 Coupe, a '90 Porsche 964 triple black Cab, and a '75 Porsche Carrera coupe.  Plan to sell the GTi and '90 Porsche soon just to free up garage space. 

Surprisingly, of all the cars the Mecan S is the fastest by far.  The most fun is the '90 Porsche Cab.  Nothing like the sound of an air-cooled engine with the top down.
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You can't drive them all at once so they are not all DDs lol. Time to consolidate & pick a DD then sell others for more $ in bank or buy something fun. That's what I would do.

 
Magic_Man said:
You can't drive them all at once so they are not all DDs lol. Time to consolidate & pick a DD then sell others for more $ in bank or buy something fun. That's what I would do.
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Fair enough.   Those DD's are used by me, my wife, and my 2 sons, although I tend to rotate through them.

 
tjnc09 said:
I've been talking to two dealerships that aren't local on getting a deal done for a Trackhawk.  The news of the Hellcat Redeye has me pausing somewhat though.

I don't think the Trackhawk is selling very well.  It's a very limited market for people who can afford a $100k vehicle and don't want it to be a luxury brand.
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Saw a track hawk on the showroom floor of my local dealer the other day. 91k I think.  But gorgeous. 

 
I am the Walrus said:
Interesting.  I've collected too many cars. 

Daily drivers are Audi A6 Quatro, Audi Q7, Volks GTi, Porsche Mecan S, and then for fun I have a '96 Porsche 993 C2 Coupe, a '90 Porsche 964 triple black Cab, and a '75 Porsche Carrera coupe.  Plan to sell the GTi and '90 Porsche soon just to free up garage space. 

Surprisingly, of all the cars the Mecan S is the fastest by far.  The most fun is the '90 Porsche Cab.  Nothing like the sound of an air-cooled engine with the top down.
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964 is a just a beautiful car.  Drove one once back in the late 90s and was awesome.  How is maintenance on a car like that.  

 
Redwes25 said:
964 is a just a beautiful car.  Drove one once back in the late 90s and was awesome.  How is maintenance on a car like that.  
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I absolutely love driving that 964.  The only reason I plan to sell it is because IMO it has the least upside of the Porsches I own, and it would be the easiest to replace somewhere down the road. 

Maintenance is average. I do an oil change every year and new tires every 3 years.  I bought it with 54K miles on it, and just turned 71K.  I did a partial re-seal and new clutch/pressure plate when I bought it.  Last year I replaced the brake pads/rotors.   I put an after-market dual exhaust on it last year.  Beyond those items it just normal, routine maintenance.

 
I am the Walrus said:
I absolutely love driving that 964.  The only reason I plan to sell it is because IMO it has the least upside of the Porsches I own, and it would be the easiest to replace somewhere down the road. 

Maintenance is average. I do an oil change every year and new tires every 3 years.  I bought it with 54K miles on it, and just turned 71K.  I did a partial re-seal and new clutch/pressure plate when I bought it.  Last year I replaced the brake pads/rotors.   I put an after-market dual exhaust on it last year.  Beyond those items it just normal, routine maintenance.
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I think the 964 is the last 911 with a true classic 911 look to it.  Price has moved a lot on it but think that look will keep it going up more than later cars.  That is of course my non-expert opinion.  

 
Redwes25 said:
Amazing. Wish I had the time or knowledge to do something like this. 

Really want to pick up an older/classic car but I know little about fixing cars which has me nervous. Family has a Volvo xc90 people mover but that is it as live in Brooklyn but would love to buy something  else just for me. 

ETA - had an 86 wrangler back in mid 90s in HS which is my older car experience. 
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Thank you.  Honestly it's not rocket science, but it is a lot of work.  If you are serious just get an older car that is less desirable and make sure parts are readily available.  

My first car was a '68 Camaro with a 327/Powerglide.  I bought it for $2,000 and other than running strong it needed a lot of work.  The first thing I did was replace the seat foam so that my butt didn't sag all the way to the floorboards.  Had no idea what I was doing, but went to the library and read some books (this was before YouTube) and got it done.  With the seats out of the car I realized it would be really easy to replace the carpet which was worn, faded, and dirty.  It had a dingy vinyl top that I hated, so I removed it with the idea of just spraying it with rattle-can paint to "match" the white paint on the rest of the car, but then realized I should get out some of the dents on the other body panels and just have it painted by someone who knows what they are doing.  The body work is slow and tedious, but even if mistakes are made they are always correctable.  Next I swapped the automatic trans for a 4-speed, the 70's rallye wheels for 60's rallye wheels, put a spoiler on the trunk lid, and finally actually had it painted.  The car went from being the laughing stock of my HS parking lot to the envy over 2.5 years with really only minimal work done to it.

I've since helped friends and family members on their cars and obviously my own car, but I assure you that you are more knowledgeable about cars now than I was at 16 years old.  I knew nothing, but was willing to learn and get my hands dirty.

 
Dickies said:
Thank you.  Honestly it's not rocket science, but it is a lot of work.  If you are serious just get an older car that is less desirable and make sure parts are readily available.  

My first car was a '68 Camaro with a 327/Powerglide.  I bought it for $2,000 and other than running strong it needed a lot of work.  The first thing I did was replace the seat foam so that my butt didn't sag all the way to the floorboards.  Had no idea what I was doing, but went to the library and read some books (this was before YouTube) and got it done.  With the seats out of the car I realized it would be really easy to replace the carpet which was worn, faded, and dirty.  It had a dingy vinyl top that I hated, so I removed it with the idea of just spraying it with rattle-can paint to "match" the white paint on the rest of the car, but then realized I should get out some of the dents on the other body panels and just have it painted by someone who knows what they are doing.  The body work is slow and tedious, but even if mistakes are made they are always correctable.  Next I swapped the automatic trans for a 4-speed, the 70's rallye wheels for 60's rallye wheels, put a spoiler on the trunk lid, and finally actually had it painted.  The car went from being the laughing stock of my HS parking lot to the envy over 2.5 years with really only minimal work done to it.

I've since helped friends and family members on their cars and obviously my own car, but I assure you that you are more knowledgeable about cars now than I was at 16 years old.  I knew nothing, but was willing to learn and get my hands dirty.
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Older cars are more forgiving and generally you have more room to work with.  Everything isn't crammed on top of each other.  I was 17 when I rebuilt the front end of that Chrysler Laser I smashed up with just a Chilton's manual and some junk yard parts.  Dickies is right that as long as you don't mind getting your hands dirty it isn't too hard to do a lot of it.

 
Otis said:
Tempted to walk in and offer 80k and see what happens :unsure:
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If I needed an SUV, that's the one I would go for. If you need an SUV & want a fun DD too, do it. If not, buy a sports car or Hellcat Redeye.

 
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Dickies said:
Thank you.  Honestly it's not rocket science, but it is a lot of work.  If you are serious just get an older car that is less desirable and make sure parts are readily available.  

My first car was a '68 Camaro with a 327/Powerglide.  I bought it for $2,000 and other than running strong it needed a lot of work.  The first thing I did was replace the seat foam so that my butt didn't sag all the way to the floorboards.  Had no idea what I was doing, but went to the library and read some books (this was before YouTube) and got it done.  With the seats out of the car I realized it would be really easy to replace the carpet which was worn, faded, and dirty.  It had a dingy vinyl top that I hated, so I removed it with the idea of just spraying it with rattle-can paint to "match" the white paint on the rest of the car, but then realized I should get out some of the dents on the other body panels and just have it painted by someone who knows what they are doing.  The body work is slow and tedious, but even if mistakes are made they are always correctable.  Next I swapped the automatic trans for a 4-speed, the 70's rallye wheels for 60's rallye wheels, put a spoiler on the trunk lid, and finally actually had it painted.  The car went from being the laughing stock of my HS parking lot to the envy over 2.5 years with really only minimal work done to it.

I've since helped friends and family members on their cars and obviously my own car, but I assure you that you are more knowledgeable about cars now than I was at 16 years old.  I knew nothing, but was willing to learn and get my hands dirty.
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Thanks for the encouragement. Think the biggest issue might be the time. Not sure I could devote the time needed on a real project.  I am more leaning towards buying something that is in good shape and maintaining it and also use a mechanic for certain more difficult tasks.  Not the cheapest way to do it obviously and I think the hardest part might be picking the right car to start with. 

 
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Hey carguys

My 2000 bmw’s ‘EMI’ light came on while I was changing lanes and all of a sudden I couldn’t accelerate.  I was flooring the pedal and just sort of stuck at like 40mph in highway traffic. The oil indicator came on too but I don’t think I’m due for that yet, and that light seems to go off and on anyway.  212k miles.  The engine temperature gauge was normal.  I just had the battery replaced 2 days ago.

I pulled over, turned on my emergency blinkers and sat on the side of the road for a few minutes.  I decided to drive it to a bmw service center and drop it off.  

Now that it’s there, and I’m getting diagnostics on the car for $135, should I just move forward with the repairs at the bmw service center or is there a better option I should look at?  I feel like the dealerships always try to ring people up but I didn’t really know where else I could take it.  I could ostensibly drive it elsewhere and have a good grip on what kind of service I’ll need to fix it.  

What do?  Just go through with it?  I’m leaning towards it, just wanted to make sure I’m not missing something here.  

 
Oh man.  Don't know where to put this, but needed to share somewhere.  Just traded in my 2015 GMC Yukon Denali for a 2019 BMW X7.  They just started selling them this week. I walked in and saw one in the showroom and fell in love, and just went for it.  Didn't even test drive it...  It has the bigger engine, turbocharged V8 makes 460hp and 480 lb/ft of torque, and it has basically every option you can get. M package, 22" wheels, etc. etc..  It's the most expensive car I've ever bought by a good margin.  Picking it up tomorrow.  Hopefully I don't hate it.

 
Otis said:
Oh man.  Don't know where to put this, but needed to share somewhere.  Just traded in my 2015 GMC Yukon Denali for a 2019 BMW X7.  They just started selling them this week. I walked in and saw one in the showroom and fell in love, and just went for it.  Didn't even test drive it...  It has the bigger engine, turbocharged V8 makes 460hp and 480 lb/ft of torque, and it has basically every option you can get. M package, 22" wheels, etc. etc..  It's the most expensive car I've ever bought by a good margin.  Picking it up tomorrow.  Hopefully I don't hate it.
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Should have bought a Trackhawk 😉

 
I am the Walrus said:
Interesting.  I've collected too many cars. 

Daily drivers are Audi A6 Quatro, Audi Q7, Volks GTi, Porsche Mecan S, and then for fun I have a '96 Porsche 993 C2 Coupe, a '90 Porsche 964 triple black Cab, and a '75 Porsche Carrera coupe.  Plan to sell the GTi and '90 Porsche soon just to free up garage space. 

Surprisingly, of all the cars the Mecan S is the fastest by far.  The most fun is the '90 Porsche Cab.  Nothing like the sound of an air-cooled engine with the top down.
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Similar tastes!  Nice.  Yeah my 993 is no longer considered “fast” but not many can hang with me on a mountain road.  Love that car.  What color is yours?  Mines a triple black 6 speed with techart formula’s and the M030 suspension.  

Have been looking a lot at the Macan S lately to replace my A6. Can pick them up at a great price.

 
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Otis said:
Oh man.  Don't know where to put this, but needed to share somewhere.  Just traded in my 2015 GMC Yukon Denali for a 2019 BMW X7.  They just started selling them this week. I walked in and saw one in the showroom and fell in love, and just went for it.  Didn't even test drive it...  It has the bigger engine, turbocharged V8 makes 460hp and 480 lb/ft of torque, and it has basically every option you can get. M package, 22" wheels, etc. etc..  It's the most expensive car I've ever bought by a good margin.  Picking it up tomorrow.  Hopefully I don't hate it.
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Let us know what you think. Our lease ends on our Volvo XC90 in October and we need a new family hauler and from online articles that new BMW looks nice. 

 
Redwes25 said:
Let us know what you think. Our lease ends on our Volvo XC90 in October and we need a new family hauler and from online articles that new BMW looks nice. 
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Will do. I’ve been looking for a while and just couldn’t find anything else that was big enough and that I liked. The new Navigator was just OK for me. Hate the big Benz truck. And there’s really not much else beyond the Yukon/Suburban/Tahoe. But I’ve been reading a ton about these X7s and have been really curious. It sounds awesome, and I liked what I saw.  Will report back. 

 
Otis said:
Oh man.  Don't know where to put this, but needed to share somewhere.  Just traded in my 2015 GMC Yukon Denali for a 2019 BMW X7.  They just started selling them this week. I walked in and saw one in the showroom and fell in love, and just went for it.  Didn't even test drive it...  It has the bigger engine, turbocharged V8 makes 460hp and 480 lb/ft of torque, and it has basically every option you can get. M package, 22" wheels, etc. etc..  It's the most expensive car I've ever bought by a good margin.  Picking it up tomorrow.  Hopefully I don't hate it.
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Are the tires all-season?  If not, I believe you should have them swapped on.  I have a Grand Cherokee SRT that had the performance tires and it is terrible in snow conditions. Swapped them out for all-season and now it is great in the snow.  Of course since I swapped them, we had hardly any snow here in NY.

 
baymen said:
Are the tires all-season?  If not, I believe you should have them swapped on.  I have a Grand Cherokee SRT that had the performance tires and it is terrible in snow conditions. Swapped them out for all-season and now it is great in the snow.  Of course since I swapped them, we had hardly any snow here in NY.
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Good to note. I will have to investigate. My wife has an Audi Q7 which is pretty great in the snow, but we usually drive my car on the weekends, so I’ll want something that’s solid for the family in the winter.  

Thx. 

 
OMG. The BMW X7 is going to win a crapton of awards and stellar reviews. This thing is awesome in every way. 

 
Otis said:
OMG. The BMW X7 is going to win a crapton of awards and stellar reviews. This thing is awesome in every way. 
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I wouldn't plan on keeping it too long.  Sell/trade it before it's out of warranty.  BMW's aren't what they once were.  

 
squidrope said:
I wouldn't plan on keeping it too long.  Sell/trade it before it's out of warranty.  BMW's aren't what they once were.  
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Honestly the nicest car I've ever driven, by leaps and bounds.  If you're saying quality stinks now, I guess we'll see.  But so far I'm really impressed.

 
Otis said:
Honestly the nicest car I've ever driven, by leaps and bounds.  If you're saying quality stinks now, I guess we'll see.  But so far I'm really impressed.
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The cars are designed to be exactly what you are stating.  Unfortunately they have all kinds of "glitches" in the electronics, and the mechanicals are designed to fail.  Enjoy it while you can.

 
Hey car guys - I am only moderately educated about cars.

Looking at 2 SUV's..   one is a v6 with a regular transmission and no turbocharger..   the other is a 4 cylindar with CVT and turbocharger.   My gut tells me that the naturally aspirated v6 with a conventional transmission would be way more reliable.. but I've never owned a CVT car with a turbocharger...  is there nothing to fear with that tech in 2019?

 
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