So what kind of vehicle(s) does everyone drive?!

08/02/2007 09:41:50 PM · #176

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by Rebecca:
...Basically, follow your heart, but don't follow it over a cliff.

Ditto to EVERYTHING she just said.

I'm not much older than you are (I'm 21) and I'm just about ready to get out of college. When I turned 16, the first car I wanted to get was a BMW. I found several 325i/328i sedans with 1xxxxx miles on them for ~$8k-10k USD. After sitting down with my parents and talking to them about this, I found out how very unrealistic this was to actually do. BMW's are NOT cheap cars to own or maintain. They are fabulous machines, don't get me wrong (I'm looking into getting one too but more on that later), but they are expensive! Not only are the parts ridiculously overpriced, but they also have high performance, high compression engines that need premium gas to run (more cash out of your pocket). Not to mention the previously said insurance factor. The insurance is what sealed the deal for me to not buy that BMW when I was younger, it was INSANE! Instead I went with a Honda Accord EX-V6. It's an amazing car and has served me very well for the past 7 (almost 8) years. Is it a BMW? No, not even close. But it's a hell of a lot cheaper to maintain and run and insure. It's a fun to drive car (get the V6 though) that's reliable and cheap. Plus, if it's not fun enough for you, modifying a Honda is cake.

My mom is actually supporting me on this. but the 91' 320i has the BMW m20 engine which only needs 87, so fuel isn't more expensive.

I have done my research

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

08/02/2007 09:51:29 PM · #177

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
i have never sped once

Oh, and I call shenanigans on that one.

well i once or twice i did a couple km's over the limit(which is 90km on the highway, and i did like 93km/h when i first started)

TonyT

Fujifilm X-T5

08/02/2007 10:03:13 PM · #178

2005 Dodge Grand Caravan
2005 Dodge Stratus R/T
2005 Ford Mustang GT Convertible
1997 BMW 528i

Spork99

Canon EOS M6 Mk II

Canon EF-M 22mm f/2.0 STM Lens

08/02/2007 10:08:25 PM · #179

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by Rebecca:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
yup! i have nothing else to spend money on, no other payments i need to make, if i get the car soon ill have it paid off in the new year

I just ran a "What If" through our loan software...

If you put $1000 down (most lenders require 10%, and I rounded up to an even number to reduce your theoretical principal amount), then a $7700 loan at 8% (typical rate) spread over 12 months is $669.90 per month. With no downpayment, that figure goes up to $756.90 monthly. If you manage 20% down, the payment goes down to $606.52. The loan fees will probably run about $150-$200, payable up front, on top of the 10% downpayment.

I don't know how it is in Canada, but around here that's more than most people pay for rent.

Get a two year loan and put $1000 down, your payments will be about $348.32, $314.84 with 20%, and $393.55 with zero down.

Neither sounds like anything to handle on a part-time wage, frankly. I would vie for a three year amortization. That gets your payments anywhere from $218.15-$272.68 monthly. Before gas, insurance, and maintenance, remember.

I`m doing the finance through my girlfriends dad on the side and i just pay him when whenever at 0%

Oh, so he's buying you the car.

He imports cars from Japan, so its from Japan, he buys them then sells them for way more here, so he already bought this one and is selling it to me for less than what he paid for it.

Unless you have a finance agreement ON PAPER with payment terms that will be enforced, your girlfriend's daddy is buying you a car.

It's a nice gesture, but you really aren't buying the car, he is.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

08/02/2007 10:23:30 PM · #180

Originally posted by noisemaker:

My mom is actually supporting me on this. but the 91' 320i has the BMW m20 engine which only needs 87, so fuel isn't more expensive.

I have done my research

I had the 328is, the pocket rocket coupe, a '97, and it ran on 87 also, so I can back ya up on that. It's only the bigger BMWs that require premium, and probably the M3 as well though I'm not sure.

R.

HeiSch

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/02/2007 10:36:47 PM · #181

Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

My mom is actually supporting me on this. but the 91' 320i has the BMW m20 engine which only needs 87, so fuel isn't more expensive.

I have done my research

I had the 328is, the pocket rocket coupe, a '97, and it ran on 87 also, so I can back ya up on that. It's only the bigger BMWs that require premium, and probably the M3 as well though I'm not sure.

R.

I drive an 328 and before that the 330, always used 87, no knocking,no problems.
I talked to a real trained technician: use 87, if the engine starts knocking, change brands. Sometimes it's just that the gas gets older.

ElGordo

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS for Canon

08/02/2007 10:38:37 PM · #182

My assortment of old junkers is as follows:

1978 Dodge motor home 440 cid, gets 6 mpg. I use it as a guest house.

1986 Jeep Cherokee, last model produced by American Motors, runs sweet with 148,000 miles.

1987 Chrysler New Yorker in pristine condition.

1991 Saturn SL1, 1st year of production, gets 46 mpg with 172,000 miles!

1991 Cadillac Seville, 5.0 liter V8, makes a great 'low rider'!

These are all 'current' possessions!

Past vehicles, too numerous to list.

Message edited by author 2007-08-02 22:45:32.

Agaricus

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

08/02/2007 10:41:49 PM · #183

First to last...

1970 Toyota Corolla
1966 Buick Special
1966 Dodge Polara Station Wagon (ugly as sin)
1966 LTD 2 door
1976 Plymouth Volarie
1956 Ford Fairlane
1988 Plymouth Reliant
1990 Mecury Station Wagon
1972 F150
1992 Ford Windstar
1989 Jetta
1999 Saturn
1970 Ford Gallaxy
2004 Kia Sorento
2006 Honda Civic

Dang, never listed them...seems to be quite a lot. Wish I still had the Polara though. It was ugly as sin, big as a boat 383 engine, gold/copper color, built like a tank, got probably 10 miles to the gallon, and I have never seen another one like it. I was very partial, still am, to those big old boats like the Gallaxies, Buicks etc..

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

08/02/2007 10:51:13 PM · #184

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by Rebecca:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
yup! i have nothing else to spend money on, no other payments i need to make, if i get the car soon ill have it paid off in the new year

I just ran a "What If" through our loan software...

If you put $1000 down (most lenders require 10%, and I rounded up to an even number to reduce your theoretical principal amount), then a $7700 loan at 8% (typical rate) spread over 12 months is $669.90 per month. With no downpayment, that figure goes up to $756.90 monthly. If you manage 20% down, the payment goes down to $606.52. The loan fees will probably run about $150-$200, payable up front, on top of the 10% downpayment.

I don't know how it is in Canada, but around here that's more than most people pay for rent.

Get a two year loan and put $1000 down, your payments will be about $348.32, $314.84 with 20%, and $393.55 with zero down.

Neither sounds like anything to handle on a part-time wage, frankly. I would vie for a three year amortization. That gets your payments anywhere from $218.15-$272.68 monthly. Before gas, insurance, and maintenance, remember.

I`m doing the finance through my girlfriends dad on the side and i just pay him when whenever at 0%

Oh, so he's buying you the car.

He imports cars from Japan, so its from Japan, he buys them then sells them for way more here, so he already bought this one and is selling it to me for less than what he paid for it.

Unless you have a finance agreement ON PAPER with payment terms that will be enforced, your girlfriend's daddy is buying you a car.

It's a nice gesture, but you really aren't buying the car, he is.

i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

EBJones

Nikon D200

08/02/2007 10:52:20 PM · #185

I think there's a picture on here somewhere. . . . . :)

From the St. Augustine, FL GTG:

It's a 2007 Toyota Solara.

Oh, yeah. . . I have that other truckish thing too. :)

Message edited by author 2007-08-02 22:58:05.

08/02/2007 10:54:03 PM · #186

Based on my research on the BMW 3 series (since I'm looking into getting one), they *can* run on 87, but are suggested to run on 91/92. The reason you don't get knock is that the engine senses the knock being imminent and automatically retards the timing to adjust for it. I'm not sure if you're familiar with what causes engine knock, but newer cars can adjust their timing to accomodate for the change. What year BMW's did you have by chance? A far as I know most, if not all, use premium gas and have since at least 1999.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR

08/02/2007 10:54:44 PM · #187

Originally posted by noisemaker:

i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

Will the title be in your name?

NikonJeb

Nikon D850

08/02/2007 10:59:12 PM · #188

Whoa....

Okay, everybody take a deep breath. Ya gotta look at some cold hard facts here.

Cars are not an investment. Period. They are probably the most troublesome and expensive ongoing financial liability you will ever have and you will most likely have it/them your whole life.

The objective, from a cold, hard, reality standpoint is to limit your liability by making intelligent, realistic, choices about a vehicle based on your needs and your budget. Too many people endure hardship, expense, and aggravation by making choices based on the heart.

You *MUST* be sensible first if you don't want to be married to an albatross.

You CAN NOT, and MUST NOT, follow your heart with a car choice for your necessary vehicle to get you to work, school, and daily life commitments. You *MUST* use your head, and almost moreso with your earliest car decisions than later on. First and foremost you must have rock solid, reliable, dependable, cheap transportation.

This means that this vehicle will NOT be one you could fall in love with on a bet. The cool cars, the badass cars, the beautiful cars are all out there, but trust me, VERY FEW, if any of those cars are what you want on a 24/7/365 basis.

I have driven, and owned and maintained everything from Camaros, to Healeys, Jags, Firebirds, VWs, Mustangs, 2002s, MGs, Jeeps, trucks.....you get the idea. Right now I'm in a brand new Ford Focus that's costing me $200 a month to lease and it just gets dropped off at the dealer if anything breaks for the three years and 30,000 miles of its lease. I have to change the oil and rotate the tires (About $50) every 5000 miles and that's the extent of my obligation to the warranty/maintenance. It doesn't get much easier than that and there are a plethora of cars out there that are in a similar category. We got CD, cruise, power windows, locks, mirrors, and it's BRAND NEW!!! You can find something that you can live with painlessly just about in any car line......watch your specials. (Right now the Fusion is having leasing specials that are cheaper than my Focus was!)

Now I also have the MGB, and the Westfalia camper, but I'm 52 and have worked on cars my whole life and can do anything anywhere that they need. I have the experience, tools, connections, and money to afford a playtoy should I choose.

If you want that cool car, save your money, or buy a rat and fix it up, or inherit it (Lemme know how planning that works out, will ya?), but the only way to have the toy is as a second car. They will make you suffer if you try to have them as your everyday car. I cannot tell you how many cool cars I ended up with over the years because they broke a person's will and wallet at the same time.

I'm not trying to diminish your enthusiasm for cars, just remember to keep 'em straight. That guy with the Skyline GTRs? You wouldn't even believe what you have to do to even get one of them into the US! The BMW??? Great cars if you plan on spending as much to maintain one as a car payment. The person who talked about an older A4 or BMW????? Those cars are SERIOUS nightmare cars, because they're at the point now where the really expensive stuff starts to go.....things like $1100 catalytic converters, $1500 dual mass clutch and flywheel assemblies, timing belts, water pumps, and a lot of that stuff is kind of considered to be normal in the German car community.

And getting these older cars through emissions testing is a whole 'nother nightmare all of its own.

The guy that was talking about the hot mods?

Try getting some slammed and chipped car through safety and emissions testing in most states! It will *NOT* happen! And all that stuff costs thousands of dollars to do properly and every time you try to squeeze another HP out of an engine or chassis, the driveability and reliability goes down exponentially. Not to mention that the more mods you put into a car, the fewer people there are who are capable and qualified to work on them.

I've been blessed with the ability to work on cars my whole life, and also with the clarity to understand that they are secondary to real life.....they complement life, not ruin/run it. As long as I can drag my old tired @$$ into the driver's seat I'll have some kind of cool car in my driveway just waiting for that weekend tour or cool evening with the top down, but there will also be a stone good car there too that'll go across the street or across the country on a moment's notice.

I have been in the car business ever since I was 16, will probably be in it for the rest of my life, but they will always take a back seat to my family and home.

But......I'd also be happy to tell you about the 2Â½ weeks and 8000 miles my wife and I spent touring the US in a '68 Firebird 400 convertible.

This shot was taken with the 'Bird in the background 3000 miles from home.

So choose wisely and well to do what you must to get there every day, and if you still think that you have the wanderlust and the ear for a tuned exhaust and a silky, winding country road, get thee a spot where you can drag that old jalopy home and start the resurrection process.

Happy motoring!

jackal9

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

08/02/2007 11:00:10 PM · #189

'98 Mustang GT, 4.6 triton and a 5 speed, black on black. We don't have enough room on this tread to list all the cars I've owned in the past, lol. Total number is around 60...

08/02/2007 11:09:11 PM · #190

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

The person who talked about an older A4 or BMW????? Those cars are SERIOUS nightmare cars, because they're at the point now where the really expensive stuff starts to go.....things like $1100 catalytic converters, $1500 dual mass clutch and flywheel assemblies, timing belts, water pumps, and a lot of that stuff is kind of considered to be normal in the German car community.

The guy that was talking about the hot mods?

Try getting some slammed and chipped car through safety and emissions testing in most states! It will *NOT* happen! And all that stuff costs thousands of dollars to do properly and every time you try to squeeze another HP out of an engine or chassis, the driveability and reliability goes down exponentially. Not to mention that the more mods you put into a car, the fewer people there are who are capable and qualified to work on them.

Maybe I should pass on those older cars then... What about ones with evidence of replaced parts like that? By old, I'm talking about 2001/2002 not any older than that. By the time I'm ready to buy a car, it'll be 2009 at least so the car I'd consider as "old" would be 2003-2005. I have been thinking about just leasing a car initially and then buying out the lease at the end. Good idea or bad?

As far as mods go, I was talking more about electronic mods than performance mods... Things like a GPS system if there isn't one present, some new speakers and maybe a subwoofer. I've done all this already and know a great deal of how to wire, support, and fix all the electronic aspects of this. I realize that performance modifications = reduced life and reliability. This is the reason I wouldn't even consider it at this point.

08/02/2007 11:24:14 PM · #191

Originally posted by NikonJeb:

its easy to import skylines and alike into Canada. the Skyline all we did was replace the headlights with Honda accord lights and put markers on the side.
the BMW was imported to and was passed with everything stock.

08/02/2007 11:24:44 PM · #192

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

Will the title be in your name?

Yeah

08/02/2007 11:26:27 PM · #193

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

Will the title be in your name?

Yeah

I dunno about Canada, but in the US you need to be at least 18 to have a car in your name.

08/02/2007 11:26:38 PM · #194

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

it still different with different cars in the 3 series.. there were still a few different engines used in the 3 series. It all depends if its an e30,e36 etc...

08/02/2007 11:27:27 PM · #195

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

Will the title be in your name?

Yeah

I dunno about Canada, but in the US you need to be at least 18 to have a car in your name.

Nope i can have a car in my name.

whats the legal driving age in the US?

08/02/2007 11:29:30 PM · #196

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Nope i can have a car in my name.

whats the legal driving age in the US?

You can have your license and drive at 16, but need to be 18 in order to legally own a car yourself. Or do anything else for that matter.

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

08/02/2007 11:30:22 PM · #197

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by SamDoe1:
Based on my research on the BMW 3 series (since I'm looking into getting one), they *can* run on 87, but are suggested to run on 91/92. The reason you don't get knock is that the engine senses the knock being imminent and automatically retards the timing to adjust for it. I'm not sure if you're familiar with what causes engine knock, but newer cars can adjust their timing to accomodate for the change. What year BMW's did you have by chance? A far as I know most, if not all, use premium gas and have since at least 1999.

it still different with different cars in the 3 series.. there were still a few different engines used in the 3 series. It all depends if its an e30,e36 etc...

Right, I was saying the 3 series that are at least 1999 (maybe older?) and newer are all suggested to run on premium.

jackal9

Canon EOS-50D

08/02/2007 11:33:11 PM · #198

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:

Originally posted by SamDoe1:

Originally posted by noisemaker:
i don't understand :S... he already has bought the car, he owns the car. and he'll be selling it to me

Will the title be in your name?

Yeah

I dunno about Canada, but in the US you need to be at least 18 to have a car in your name.

Nope i can have a car in my name.

whats the legal driving age in the US?

Not sure what state you're referring to but in Oklahoma you can put a car in someones name at 16...