What to buy?! BMW, Audi, 4x4, 4cyl, AWD, etc etc
 

I'm in need of some unbiased opinions here. So please be truthful and don't tell me what I want to hear! ;)

I've got a spare $2k-$3k that I'm going to buy a car/truck with this week. Obviously, I'd rather spend less if I could, but I set my limit at $3k.

For months now I've been checking CL every night (I never check CL). I've come across a thousand deals and passed on all of them. I'm having the hardest time in the world trying to make a decision on what to get.

At first I was set on a Ford F-150. The older ones, like the mid 90's with a straight 6. I heard the straight 6's go forever and they aren't too bad on gas. Something like the one below.

http://images.craigslist.org/3ne3o73...94594813ae.jpg

Then it was Broncos. Particularly the Bronco II. I found the perfect one, but the FULL RED interior fucking killed it for me. I tried to overlook it, but I just couldn't go for it.

It went from 4x4's to AWD's, like subaru and audi. Then I found a couple 4cyl 5 speeds that were all over 30mpg and would probably make a great daily driver, but I would hate every second of my life driving it.

The I found this last night.

1995 BMW 540i. 230k miles. V8 - 6 speed

http://images.craigslist.org/3n83p43...51e31619b0.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/3n93k83...56f5b911b1.jpg http://images.craigslist.org/3k13p73...3841411d47.jpg

Need brakes (guy has the parts), the seat is stuck in the recline position, and possibly a new starter.

Other than that he says its his daily driver and has no oil leaks, does not burn any oil, no knock, no shakes, etc. Near mint exterior, clean interior, good tires, everything works, etc.

I really want this thing bad! I really don't give a fuck, and kinda just want to go meet the guy today, hand him the cash, and that's it. If I debate it, I'll probably pass. I know I'd love it, and the little issues are no big deal to fix. Only thing that's got me stalling is that its a V8, so its probably terrible on gas. I know its RWD, so I'm thinking that with 250hp and 300tq, that might make for a terrible winter.

Everything else aside, I quit smoking and lowered some of my monthly bills, so the extra gas thing isn't TOO much of a factor. Its really that I was looking for a 4x4 truck for the winter, and now might end up with this. :facepalm:

So I turn to you guys for some sound advice and opinions. :bigtu:

Is "go buy the damn BMW" sound advice?

Get the BMW and a set of cheap wheels with snow tires if you really need it. Why not?

We can't possibly tell you what you want to hear, because after that rambling post we have no idea what the fuck you want, and neither do you. You want a car, or a truck. You want something that gets 30+ mpg, or you want a V8. You want a 4x4 or AWD, or a nice RWD for the winter. Why don't you try making up your mind before handing over a wad of cash?

Maybe I didn't tell you what you want to hear, so maybe I helped! :D I am going through some indecision myself on a new DD.

LOL

I have no idea at this point what to do.

Sucks that I even got my hopes up about the BMW. Fucking guy didnt post a phone #, so I can only contact him by CL reply. I sent him an email last night, and another one this morning with my cell #.

Hopefully he gets back to me and I can at least go check it out. Maybe if I drive it, that will make my mind up for me!

Avoid older Audi's... Unless you know what you're doing with them.

Geez your car is sexy, Do want that blue.

A friend of mine has a 540i and loves it. It handles pretty well for a larger, heavy sedan, and he drives the shit out of it. It's his daily, and is interesting enough to not bore him to death even given that he's got a slew of higher HP alternatives to drive.

I picked up a Legacy wagon last year as a utility/dd vehicle, and while it's night/day vs the Miata, it's not that bad overall. Slow as balls though...think n/a 1.6L Miata and you'll be in the ballpark. Uber reliable, cheap to maintain, nondescript, relatively comfortable and tons of room...my idea of a dd.

i would say if you only got 3k or so to work with. then buy the damn car for 1500!!!!

FWIW, I hate every minute I spend in my Euro Spec '90 525I over here. It's a decent car and has given me minimal problems (except trying to kill me on more than one occasion) but for some reason I just want to punch myself in the sack every time I get in it.

I owned a 98 subaru outback sport last winter. Had a laundry list of things wrong with it but still went like a champ. I LOVED that car and sold it for only a little under what I payed. You can find them for cheap.

Well the guy with the BMW just replied back with "sold it".

Motherfucker!!!! :vash:

I kept my whole day open just so I would be available to run right over and check it out as soon as he got back to me.

I swear, you need to be a god damn vulture to buy something worth buying on CL.

Back on the hunt I guess. Maybe it wasn't meant to be with that 540. It probably would have had me all fucked up for the winter. lol

I'm all about the XJ's. Fun in the snow, great on the trails, and room like a minivan.

its a good thing he sold it. this is a buyers market. bask in the glory. think big.

2000 or newer awd sedan. no looming big ticket maintenance. the bmw was none of those.

+1
lol

He only wanted $1500!

I found another one, black with less miles, but for more than double the price. I know, even then its still cheap.

I know I don't know what I want. I'd actually rather just drive the miata through the winter instead of spending money, but I cant keep doing that. Also the fact that I need a secondary vehicle that's more reliable and practical.

Just now I found a Durango that I was about to jump on, but that one already sold as well! :vash:

I'd look at used GTIs, you might be able to find one in that price range. I don't know if I'd buy a cheap BMW.

Remember, cars that were cheap off the show room floor are GENERALLY cheap to work on also....

I found a 1997 Saab SE 2.0T in great condition. One owner, well maintained and always garaged.

New clutch, timing belt and water pump done a year ago. Good tires and brakes, leather, power everything, etc.

The guy says it's great in the snow and gets 35mpg.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/8011/826i.jpg

http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2007/824j.jpg

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3645/8320.jpg

I'm not really into Saab's, nor do I know a THING about them. So I was hoping maybe some of you guys could share some opinions.

I'm getting paid the balance I'm owed for the building I painted (in cash) and going to check this thing out right afterwards. I'm thinking I might end up with a slob. lol

I don't know about that saab, but the later ones are rebadged WRX's. Half the cost, all the fun, just different body.

I've loved my WRX's, and my trucks. If I had to choose I'd have a 4x4 truck and a miata, not a wrx and a miata. If you get a truck, put some sandbags in the back, for the winter.

Edit: GRMS project car http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/pro...b-9-2x-linear/
a bit more than your budget, but one may come up.

I am in the same boat, selling my truck to keep the miata hopefully works out. Ill be able to pick something up cheap.

I have been looking at old subys alot.

A year ago i had an old audi 90 quattro, probably the last audi ill ever own.

Older subaru's are absolutely great.
I'd get a 2.5 RS in a heartbeat for a daily.
Great in the snow, not bad at all on gas, and fairly cheap to maintain.


Too bad around here they are expensive as SHIT. People seem to think their 99 2.5 RS is worth 10k 20 years later. I just can't believe the prices some idiots think their cars are worth.


If in your area they are not expensive, that's what I would suggest getting.
I would definitely advise AGAINST that slob. Unless you get the rebadged scoob one. Most others suck dicks.

Wait, what year is it? I think I've been transported into the future. Must go find a newspaper and then see if I can run into my past self and create a rip in the fabric of space-time.

Is it ridiculous for me to say that I've already kinda changed my mind on the Saab? lol

I thought about it all day today, and even though it looks mint inside and out....I just don't know if I can drive that thing.

My brothers keep telling me to sell the fucking miata and buy myself a half way decent truck.

Either way, slob or no slob, I WILL have a new daily driver by the end of the weekend. I just hope that I can find something that I'll know a little more about.

Shit, I've even debated the idea of a 2nd miata with snow tires and sand in the trunk, just cause I know they're dependable, easy to fix, and cheap enough to buy/maintain.

So I've been searching and searching, but its hard to find a car thats not already sold, listed by a scammer, or one that you actually get a call/email back from the seller.

Yesterday I had a guy call me out of the blue about the '99 Audi A6 wagon he had listed. I've emailed so many people that it took me a minute to remember which one it was.

He had it listed as "1999 AUDI A6 quattro .......... automatic fully loaded 119k leather, roof, drives great.........DENT in FENDER"

http://images.craigslist.org/3k03p13...196f1d1a72.jpg

I talked with him a little on the phone about the car and decided to take a drive with the gf to go check it out with intentions of buying it. Due to traffic it was a 2 hour ride to get there, and it was dark by the time we pulled in. Perfect.

Overall, the car was a piece of a shit. It had SO MANY things broken, dented, bent, cracked, snapped, etc, that I just couldn't believe he listed it as only having "dent in fender". :vash:

I took it for a drive, let it sit and warm up to see how well it idled, used a flashlight to inspect everything I could, and tried like hell to find a reason to buy it. I know for $2400 I couldn't expect a MINT condition A6, but this thing was pretty beat. The 2 things that killed it for me was when he opened the hatch, water came pouring out of the door itself, and the motor once warmed up had a distinct knock to it that didn't sound too promising.

I thanked him for letting me check it out and told him it had more wrong with it than I expected. He didn't look me in the eyes the whole time I was there until I was saying I didn't want it. Typical low life. Little did he know I had $2200 on me and would have paid him quicker than shit if it was actually "as listed".

Anyways, I'm going to check out an older volvo and maybe a mx6 today. The A6 would have been nice, but I guess you have to expect that you get what you pay for. lol

My two cents is that Saabs are fun. Powerful, turbo charged, although like any european brand, not terribly reliable. Then again you're not looking at any Hondas or Toyotas are you.

Only issue with them is that they're FWD. Avoid any and all automatics with the Saabs, no if ands or buts.

Thanks for the feedback Curly. I don't know much about European cars, but I'm certainly not opposed to them. I was hoping to check out an older 80's Volvo yesterday but it was already sold.

Total this weekend I drove 270 miles around CT looking at junks. Every fucking car I've seen so far has only been junk! WTF! :vash:

I had a guy call me back from his ad and he said it sold, but he has another 40-50 cars on his lot. He told me "I don't sell junks, they go back to the auction house, everything i have and sell is quality". So on this note I drove about an hour away to see what he had. We pulled in and I was instantly pissed. Every car was a joke. I mean, even if my budget was $10k, still nothing worth looking at. Thankfully the guy wasn't there so I couldn't tell him thanks a lot you lying fuck!

Next was another A6, this time a '98 sedan. I knew that it needed an axle and maybe valve cover gaskets ahead of time. The guy said it was leaking some oil on the manifold and was assuming that was the issue, or so he says. Axles are selling for $100 and I could throw it in on the lift no problem, but I wasn't sure about the oil leak deal and was more or less planning on it being no problem.

I really liked the car once I sat in it. It was a little beat up (missing the center console panel, radio didnt work, driver seat had some tears, passenger window didnt work, etc), but the black and brown leather interior had me wanting it bad. My gf couldn't understand why I liked the brown, she thought it looked terrible. lol

The guy let me start in up and drive it around the lot, but he said he couldn't let me take it out with the dealer plates on the road when they are technically closed on Sunday (I wasn't sure if that was bs or not). It seemed ok, but then again, I'm not familiar with Audi's. The oil leak was apparent due to the smoke billowing out from under the plastic engine cover. Overall it was in rough shape and I just couldn't see it being worth it in the end. It needed new tires, a brake job, new front axle, fix oil leak and a tune up to make it road worthy. So even though it wasn't that much work and a good price, all of that and 230k miles were enough for me to walk away.

Last was a MX6. It was a quickie that I set up with what sounded like a kid on the bottom end of the state. I had already halfway setup the meeting, so I figured I would go check it out. In the pictures this thing looked mint, and that was the only reason I was interested in the first place. In actuality it was a piece of shit. The exterior and interior were trashed, it had a "sport" fart can exhaust on it, with some stupid ass intake setup that was just a joke. I was polite to the kid cause he seemed really timid and shy, so I didnt want to be like "I cant believe I drove all the way the fuck down here to look at this shit", so I gave it a quick look and said I would sleep on it. He already called me today wondering what I thought. Jesus christ.

I know my budget isn't that stellar, but honestly, can I not find a half way decent vehicle for $2k-$3k anymore? And why do people insist on lying in their ads regarding the condition of the car, pictures, etc? Don't they know when would-be-buyers show up that there might be some misunderstanding? If this happens again, I might not be so polite to the next guy. :vash: I'll give him the ole hucklebuck.

You really should forget about buying a cheap Audi. Anything in your price range isn't going to have a stellar maintenance history, they're as (un)reliable as VW's, but are a magnitude more complicated, especially the suspensions & electronics, and are more expensive to fix.

If you need something cheap, think SIMPLE.

C

Look back into the volvo's .

850's 1500 and less, higher mileage beat,. Interiors can look like shit easily.

98-2000 s70 sedan and v70 wagons, 1500-3000. Dependable, more refined 850 volvo. suspensions wear out, but repairs are easy, and rather affordable. fcpgroton.com for parts on the cheap.

I have a 98 s70 T. its awesome, I love it, Midsized sedan, great power, Comfortable.

Check behind with car dealerships. try and ride around back. if a car is parked, no tags its probably a trade in. These days dealerships would take a shot of cash in their pocket. YOu offer cash money, take it away no service required, they dont have to pay to auction it transport etc.

Just an idea. Used car lots are junk.

Seems like you are going the car route, but I have been thinking about getting an older 4runner 99-02 (with the sr5). It's 4wd, auto (so the wifey could drive it), they last a long ass time (some rack up near 300K and its a non-interference motor so no worries about timing belts), parts are cheap and plentiful, and its a yota....food for thought

On my way to New Haven now to check out a 1 owner '03 Ford Taurus. 170k highway miles. Mint interior and exterior. 4 New tires. New brakes. New timing belt and water pump done 10k ago.

Guy wants $1900. I talked to him on the phone for a bit and out of everyone I've dealt with so far, he's the best yet. I'm going to offer $1500 cash, right here right now, and see if he takes it.

I really don't want a Taurus, but then again, I already have a car that I love and don't pay any mind to it. I really just need to keep in mind that this isn't forever, its just for now. Would I rather have a 4wd or AWD truck, blazer, or station wagon? You bet! Only trouble is I'm not willing to spend more than I set aside for this. I need to keep some money in the bank as a cushion for myself. If I go and blow it all on a truck and then this winter sales slow down, or things get rough, I'll be fucked.

Hopefully the search ends tonight!

NOOOOOOO!!!! DO NOT GET THIS CAR IF IT IS AN AUTO!! mark my words ^^^^^^^^^^

Too late. Already got fucked.

At last second I went to meet a spanish couple to check out their '00 Chevy Blazer, and it was in decent shape but she didn't have the title in hand. It was just another issue I'd have to deal with. I did talk them down from $2100 to $1700 though. I told them I had another car to check out and would get back to them.

Went to see the Taurus and it checked out pretty much how the ad stated it. The guy on the other hand, I didn't like. On the phone he was alright, but in person I didn't fucking like him one bit. I checked everything out, took it for a quick drive, and then went back to the parking lot.

He had it listed for $1900 so I offered $1500. He said no right away. He said that tomorrow morning he had a guy coming that already offered $1800. He kept saying he knew KBB was in the $3k's and that he knew what he had. I knew as well that for around that price it was still a good deal, at least I thought. I offered $1750 and said at least let me use the $50 to fill the gas tank up and he accepted.

The ride home was probably one of, if not the worst fucking ride I ever drove in my life. The whole rear end of the car bounces up and down, it shakes over 60mph, and the smell inside was making me nauseous after awhile.

I did this to myself. I rushed into so I didn't have to waste anymore time looking on CL and driving around the state looking at junks. Yet somehow, I still ended up with one. I definitely feel like I was taken for a ride. I'm gonna call the guy tomorrow and let him know that he's a lying fuck and that I'm pissed. I know he probably wont care, but I'm gonna get a little irate on him for sure. :vash:

you should of bought my car
http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/2083517672.html

Its morning and I'm not overly exhausted anymore.

I joined up on the taurus forum to see exactly what these guys do for the bouncing suspension. After spending 10 mins on there I can see already that I'm not going to look forward to posting or hanging out over there. Hard parking a taurus is wayy worse than any slammed miata. :giggle:

Tomorrow I'm going to try taking the car down to the shop and put it up on the lift. Check out the suspension and everything to see what the fuck is the problem. If I just need to replace the rear struts/shocks that's not that bad. The car shaking over 60mph is probably just an alignment or balance issue, so I guess that's not worth stressing out about either.

I'm just mad the guy lied to me. He even said "tell me what you have to do for this car" in his kroatien accent. Fucking dick! :vash: I guess I'll start with balancing the tires, getting an alignment, replacing the rear struts, and punching you right in the mouth. lol

If I went into it KNOWING it had issues, that would be on me. But I don't like being lied to. He could have mentioned this shit before I drove all the way to new haven at the end of the day, let alone before I handed him cash and he signed the title. I almost feel like if I could go back in time, I would buy the black A6 sedan I saw on Sunday. At least that thing was worth putting money into. This was supposed to be a quick buy and I'd start DD it tomorrow, without having to put any money into it beside tax, reg, etc.

Ohh well live and learn right. :hs:

Well it's too late now, but taureses suck. Also, volvos aren't much of a drivers car, and saabs have some of the most comfortable seats ever. Like I said, way too late. Just put it back on CL if he doesn't take it back. And always test drive a car up and above 60, you'll be doing that regularily anyways.

Ugh. Sorry dude. Nothing's worse that dumping money into an uninspiring and unworthy car.

We bought a used 1996 Camry 4-cyl auto base model a few years back. High miles, but the body was clean, interior was decent, and the engine bay wasn't spotless, but clean enough. No red flags in the brief test drive, and the price was right.

Within 6 months that car started leaking and burning so much oil it wasn't funny. It was my wife's car, so I made sure she knew how to check the oil level and refill it (and made sure I never retightened the filler cap too tight for her). It got to where she would drive around with a couple quarts of cheap oil and a funnel in the trunk. Once a week I'd pull the empty bottles and refill them. The smell of hot oil was so bad in the cabin you had to open the windows on long drives.

Joe, I really wish I'd seen this thread earlier. I was just in a very similar position, looking for a dependable sub $2K car that would fit a car seat.

I ended up with a bittersweet deal.

Found a $1300 1993 Lexus LS400. I did a good bit of research as well as talking to my uncle who's got a shop, and these are very well made cars that are just now falling into an affordable spot in the market while they still have plenty of life left.

Bonuses:

~25mph highway
decently quick (sweet V8)
comfy...duh
timeless styling
made by Toyota when they had something to prove...ie over-engineered
plenty of space


So I educated myself on common issues and went to check this car out. They thought it had a serious transmission problem since it would CLUNK when you put it in gear. They apparently couldn't tell the motor was idling at about 2500rpm because the tach was broken and the motor is so damn quiet you can't tell. I found where the vacuum leak was and drove home happy.


There were some undisclosed issues that pissed me off...and I know what you mean by being pissed about lying. They told me the gas gauge would drop out sometimes...as in be at zero when it really had gas left in it...and insinuated that when it read something it was accurate. Next day on the way to school it still read a half tank when it ran out of gas...fuckers!

Oh well, like it otherwise...need to take some pics.

So when are you pulling the motor to put in the Miata?

Since you're searching CL, try www.SearchTempest.com

Allows you to search multiple city's CL within a certain mileage range at the same time. Makes things easier.

*edit* NVM, I see you bought something.

By law you have 3 days to take it back, no questions asked. If he has a problem with it you can get the authorities involved. At least thats how it works in Washington.

It's probably different where you're from but it's worth looking into.

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. ;)

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 shits 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 fucking lied to my face.

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 shit! :vash: 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 fuck. If the guy was in my vicinity right now......it wouldn't be good. Lying piece of shit. :vash:

Whether he's bluffing or not, I really don't give a shit. I didn't threaten him at all. I just called him out on being a lying sack of shit. 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. Fuck.

Damn dude, you have got to have some of the worst fucking luck. :facepalm: I say you take a ride back up to the guys house with Miataspeed2005 and politely ask for your money back :giggle:

Ive been super unlucky with this whole trying to find and buy a car deal.

Yeah I'm sure showing up with Nick wouldn't be taken as a threat. :laugh:

What do you expect for a 1750 dollar car though? Around here, that gets you a 200k mile jalopy which will need 3k just to be driveable. You didn't so THAT bad. A lot of people don't notice bad shocks as they don't just die one day.

Buyers remorse sucks doesn't it? :vash:

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

I know I can't expect much for the price. I'm just mad that the guy went on and on about how he's a honest trustworthy guy, etc etc.

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.

I'm trying to keep that in mind. Maybe I'll have to put $500 into it and then in the spring I can turn around and sell it for closer to KBB price.

I have it setup to put on the lift tomorrow and check everything out.

Seriously, do the struts, give it a good wash and detail, inside and out, and resell it for a profit.

Would I be able to resell it so soon after I just bought it? Is it really as simple as that?

Dealers do it on a daily basis ;)

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 shit. 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 shit 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

It really does not look like a bad car to me, especially for what you paid. The 3.0 will run forever, but the transmissions, not so much.

Man up, accept the deal you made, throw some shocks on it and drive the thing :)

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.

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 fuckin' 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 shit."

Note: This is not my personal opinion, simply an example.

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 fuck 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 fucking 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 fuck is this shit?".

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 work on them all the time but couldn't see it was an OHV engine from the pictures? :jerkit: :giggle:

Just bustin your chops ;)

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.

At work cant see pics, so thats why i asked