[Basil Ransom]

(09-14-2011 11:30 PM)houston Wrote:  

Get an older Lexus ES. I'll never buy something besides a Lexus after getting my 02. Lexus LS are clean as hell but good luck with that gas. They're horrible with it.

Mine gets 20 mpg or slightly under, I think, with premium gas. But I average 10-20 miles a day, so it's not a big deal.

The Lexus ES 2000-2001 is nice, but was totally redesigned in 2002 and has looked fugly ever since. I see tons of these older Lexus ESes on the road. The Lexus GS 300, 2005 (previous generation) and earlier is also cheap and nice.

[el mechanico]

These guys rebuild almost any contol module plug and play for you Euro car guys..
http://modulemasters.com/
This is a used part locator that all shops use. Search by zip and will put dead on the closest used part you need.
http://www.car-part.com/
These guys rebuild GM Ford Kia Hyundai electronics/gauges/stereos plug and play.
http://www.techni-car.com/
These guys rebuild Lexus gauges that go out all the time
http://www.lextech.org/Thanks_a_Million.html
This site is where all the super techs answer your questions for a couple bucks. Spot on almost everytime.
http://www.justanswer.com/
Iphone app and cable info to read engine codes etc
http://hackaday.com/2008/09/27/use-rev-o...d-ii-port/

This info will save you thousands and possibly make you money helping people. If you need more just ask-EL

[Chad Daring]

(09-15-2011 09:08 AM)el mechanico Wrote:  

Prius? C'mon don't do that.

That ride is the butt of most car jokes
This is funny
http://www.hybridcars.com/news/evil-prius-ads.html

Might be a joke, but the savings in gas aren't. When I was looking at getting one the difference in gas was almost $150/mo that right there was almost enough to sell me. Being a youngin' though they wouldn't budge from a shitball interest rate, 25% my ass.

[rudebwoy]

Not sure where you live, but there are alot of chodes driving around in nice cars without any women in my town.

Prius is economical and made by Toyota so you cannot go wrong. I think it sends a strong statement that you don't play be the rules and do not need a flashy car.

Luxury used cars are very cheap in my area, they are tempting to say the least.

[el mechanico]

Me
[attachment=3112]
You
[attachment=3113]
Worth $100 a month?

[tenderman100]

(09-15-2011 12:20 PM)el mechanico Wrote:  

I own an Import shop. This is true. Bmw being the best of the three.
I just can't drive one(Honda) because I like the feel of the way a BMW is built.

The same things go bad on everyone of them at about the same time(BMW) you could actually fix them before they ever break.

Newer Benz? O lawd! You have no idea how pissed most people who have them are.

Porsche/Audi/Vw? Same shit.

The Beamers are beautifully made cars. But when they break they drain your bank account.

When it comes to things mechanical, the Germans who build cars are just like the ones who built the tanks in WWII. Awesome machines, fantastic lines, tremendous firepower -- but when the Tiger breaks down, as it inevitably does, and at the most inopportune times, the pudgy little Sherman with its ugly profile and simple little engine and transmission, which can be driven and repaired by any farm boy, runs around the elegant Tiger and plants one right in the ass.

That's what happens when your mechanic hands you the bill for the brake job on your 530i. He plants one right in your ass.

[Chad Daring]

One of these

[babelfish669]

(09-14-2011 07:47 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

A 5 year car payment will keep you stateside FOREVER!!!!!

Have $30k in cash and nothing to do with it? Buy the car.

Imagine yourself with a used car in 2 years that you owe $15k on. Take $40k+(sticker plus the interest cost from your payment) and divide it by how much you make per hour. Thats how much of your life you traded for your car. And you get the opportunity not to change your mind about it 12, 24, 36 months from now.

[jdelisi]

Whatever you do don't buy a used car from a dealer. I have friends in that business and they tell me the markup is close to robbery. Buy from a private seller, don't try to negotiate the guy to death, because it gets personal and he might take offense. As long as you are both happy, and he lets you take the car to a mechanic for a look over, you will be getting a better deal in the long run.

Personally I have a lexus gs300 2006 which is in now in the $20-25k range and it is a great looking and driving car.

[ersatz]

When I finally capitulate and get a car to make my social life easier, I would probably get something like a Honda Fit to tide me over several years until plug in hybrids become viable. The gas savings on those will be killer, most people don't drive more than 20 miles/day (local errands, local club, see close by friends and family, etc) and if they do, those first 20 miles are effectively free. The gas savings alone on those guys will be killer.

[GiovanniRio]

Guess most of you are from the US. It's way different in Western Europe (and in my case Belgium). BMW & Audi are standard and seen every 10 seconds. 1 on 3 has a company car in Belgium. VW, BMW & Audi being in the top leased cars, so ... I look different towards cars.

First of all, I would NEVER drive a Prius. Nice to think about the environment, but there are other ways of doing it. It's a shit car... drives bad and offers no quality and especially lacks style. I would rather go for a small & cheap car...

I love a good car, enjoy its engine, its interior, the options & being able to go wherever I want in all comfort. I did up to 100k km/year in the past (now just 25k something as I live in different places around the world).

I had 3 BMW's, 1 Audi and 2 sport cars. They are/where all great cars to drive in. The BMW's & Audi where bought new, the others with 1-2 years & under 25000km. The only car I had some issues with is my current. Never had any problems with the BMW's or Audi. They are the top brands in the world, not only in comfort & looks, but especially in engine quality. So I could highly recommend them.

In between that I had about all imaginable cars under my ass renting them while on business, holidays, ...
I do have good experiences with small cars to, such as VW Golf, Audi A3 (new, not the previous), A4, Opel Astra (new model), BMW1,... It all comes down to your budget vs the quality you want & the time you'll spend driving in it. I personally don't mind spending +100k $ for a car. But I would NEVER spend that kind of money if I had to go to the bank for it, or would stop/limit my travels, parties, living quality,...

I also never spend much money on a car while I'm in Brazil. I used to drive a 5y old car over here giving me a nice relaxed feeling: if they steal it; have fun! - if it brakes down; I just cross the street & buy another one. Also works like a charm when some stupid cop threatens you to tow your car if you don't pay something... go ahead my friend

If 30k $ is the budget you have, focus on a 2y something old car, with around 20-30k km millage for basic cars. Don't start with an old Lexus, Jaguar,... because they already look terribly old fashion now - imagine in 5 years... + you place yourself in a "trying to be" position. "Trying to be" is always wrong. They'll also cost more to maintain. But never buy 100% new. They loose lots of value just by driving them out of the garage.

[ersatz]

(09-23-2011 11:00 AM)GiovanniRio Wrote:  

Guess most of you are from the US. It's way different in Western Europe (and in my case Belgium). BMW & Audi are standard and seen every 10 seconds. 1 on 3 has a company car in Belgium. VW, BMW & Audi being in the top leased cars, so ... I look different towards cars.

First of all, I would NEVER drive a Prius. Nice to think about the environment, but there are other ways of doing it. It's a shit car... drives bad and offers no quality and especially lacks style. I would rather go for a small & cheap car...

I love a good car, enjoy its engine, its interior, the options & being able to go wherever I want in all comfort. I did up to 100k km/year in the past (now just 25k something as I live in different places around the world).

I had 3 BMW's, 1 Audi and 2 sport cars. They are/where all great cars to drive in. The BMW's & Audi where bought new, the others with 1-2 years & under 25000km. The only car I had some issues with is my current. Never had any problems with the BMW's or Audi. They are the top brands in the world, not only in comfort & looks, but especially in engine quality. So I could highly recommend them.

In between that I had about all imaginable cars under my ass renting them while on business, holidays, ...
I do have good experiences with small cars to, such as VW Golf, Audi A3 (new, not the previous), A4, Opel Astra (new model), BMW1,... It all comes down to your budget vs the quality you want & the time you'll spend driving in it. I personally don't mind spending +100k $ for a car. But I would NEVER spend that kind of money if I had to go to the bank for it, or would stop/limit my travels, parties, living quality,...

I also never spend much money on a car while I'm in Brazil. I used to drive a 5y old car over here giving me a nice relaxed feeling: if they steal it; have fun! - if it brakes down; I just cross the street & buy another one. Also works like a charm when some stupid cop threatens you to tow your car if you don't pay something... go ahead my friend

If 30k $ is the budget you have, focus on a 2y something old car, with around 20-30k km millage for basic cars. Don't start with an old Lexus, Jaguar,... because they already look terribly old fashion now - imagine in 5 years... + you place yourself in a "trying to be" position. "Trying to be" is always wrong. They'll also cost more to maintain. But never buy 100% new. They loose lots of value just by driving them out of the garage.

How much is an Asian car in Europe? Here in North America BMW/Audi seems to only sell their higher end luxury versions. You can't get a cloth upholstered BMW in America, same with Audi. The cheapest Audi/BMW you can get starts at $27k USD (The A3) which pushes it into the luxury bracket. My friends guess the reason why is that because of Duty, Taxes, and Shipping that the european car makers decided to target the luxury segment since they would be less sensitive to the price increase.

European cars a generally known as cars where they have nicer more upscale interiors and more performance parts that are completely unreliable, over complicated and too expensive to repair and maintain. Basically nice on the outside, shit after you push it a bit. It's like if GM and Ford only sold Cadillacs and Lincolns in Europe.

People here generally expect their car to at least them 10 years/200'000km without too much hassle. Good Asian brands will last you 15 years. If it doesn't then it's an unreliable frustrating POS.

[BostonBMW]

I am going to go contranian here. My rides:

http://www.statusride.com/fleets-rates/

I drive a Maserati one weekend, Lambo another..Not a status thing for me, but the gold diggers antennae perk up even when I am doing mundane things like picking up my dry cleaning. F that.

My goal is usually renting out on Saturday + Sunday. Doing the errands deal Saturday AM, then taking the whip out to more secluded parts of NE and burnin it up. Can I a afford some wack monthly payment (lease or finance)? Sure but I don't need it.

[camrondells]

You can get a good price for a decent used car, last year I bought a second vehicle family, which is the 2005 caddy. 36,000 miles and body in excellent shape. The right price, so I had to jump on it. Everywhere there is a good deal to see year.

[rudebwoy]

If you want reliability then Toyota/Honda is the way to go, if you want flash then Audi/BMW are good for that. Several guys at work have VW's and really hate them, transmission problems seems to be common with these cars.

For the record, I myself would never drive a Prius - I was merely suggesting it for the OP.

[hydrogonian]

A buddy of mine just made a smart buy. He bought a 2004 lexus SUV with 100k miles for 12k. Garage kept, one owner. The guy was going to trade it it, and so he just gave him the trade in value. Now he's got a lexus that will go another 100k miles for 12k dollars. Pretty good, imo, considering the first owner paid 30k in depreciation to go the same distance. A situation like this would be ideal, the trick is getting someone who was going to trade in their car to sell it to you.

The model:

[ersatz]

If you remove the BMW/Audi badge, ignore the minor difference in shaping, have leather upholstery in both and compare a honda with a Audi/BMW with the same tires and engines with the same displacement/general features (like turbocharging or whatever), how much difference will you find?

[Screwston]

Everyone I know who's had a BMW says the same thing...they're trash under the hood. Never heard that about Lexus.