$ Buying a Car General - Eight thousand dollars for a 2005 Subaru Baja?

[Two Hands]

Range Rovers, do you like doing the same repairs on a 10 year old BMW, while the car is new?

I recommend everyone who has Fuck You money to buy a Range Rover, two if you'd like to be daring.

 

[Torque Wheeler]

I recommend everyone who has Fuck You money to buy a Range Rover, two if you'd like to be daring.

That's like owning a horse. The cost isn't in the animal itself but the upkeep and boarding and vet visits. Super cool cars though

 

[You're MDNWU]

Range Rovers, do you like doing the same repairs on a 10 year old BMW, while the car is new?

Are their cooling systems just as shit as virtually every single BMW? Or disintegrating wires in headlights or engine bays that can't handle the heat? Maybe more cheap plastic that cracks seemingly immediately? Or questionable locations for various service items that BMW knows will need replaced in regular intervals?

 

[Uber driver reviewer]

Rust is the killer of old cars, my 20 year old Toyota only has 70,000 miles on the clock and is mechanically perfect. But since they salt roads here, I had to weld in new rocker panels and neutralize what i couldn't fix with acid. In addition to the usual crusty brake/fuel line and exhaust falling off.

Pre 2008 is not an option for northerners (unless you get lucky and find some grandpas old car that spent decades gathering dust in a garage).

Suggest that all residents of road salt states find a shop that applies “fluid film”. It’s a wax, lanolin, oil mixture that is sprayed on exposed unpainted surfaces and inside voids to inhibit rust. If you have surface rust, it will mostly halt and somewhat reverse the corrosion.

Usually your first application will be more thorough and cost more. After that you go in for annual or every other year for a touch up treatment (depends how much you drive through rain and snow as that will slowly wash off the treated surfaces)

You can apply it yourself but you’ll never be able to to the job that a trained tech with professional sprayer and lift will be able to do. I pay like $190 for initial and $125 for reapplications. I’ve had it done to my last few Lexus cars and they have held up great to salt.

As far as how to buy a car? Unless you have money to throw around on whatever you want, buy as much Lexus as you can afford. The made in Japan models will be the best bet. The VIN starts with “J”. The RX350 and RX400h are excellent all-around vehicles for almost anyone. I like the LS400/430/460 the most in terms of overall reliability and build quality, but they are getting up there in years, If you are buying new, the Lexus ES is a ton of car for the money. The car business isn’t a charity so get your budget together and buy the car that you’re focused on with the best maintenance record. That is where you’ll save money in the long run.

 

[Friend of Dorothy Parker]

Just throwing out one of a million scenarios: +/- for the following mid/small SUVs, or better choice among something like

• a 2023 Kia seltos or sportage with 30-50k miles vs
• a 2019 bmw x3 with 80-100k
• vs 2019 Infiniti qx50 with 80-100k.

Let's say all are in the $17-22k range.

And ftr I've spent literally 20 minutes eyeballing prices online, and so haven't gotten down to car makes with names past "K"; I'm in the general guidelines/ ballpark top-line info-gathering stage; no bully pls. The budget might also be half this amount - much math to do, so again am just getting preliminary opinions.

Not interested in 15+-year-old cars. I have one of those (large Mazda SUV) and it's vomiting up its guts. Also - generally, I'm beholden to mechanics for maintenance and repairs, no significant DIY here for cars.

Appeciate any thoughts (& prayers...)/ opinions/ guidance/ perspectives.

 

[Uber driver reviewer]

Just throwing out one of a million scenarios: +/- for the following mid/small SUVs, or better choice among something like

• a 2023 Kia seltos or sportage with 30-50k miles vs
• a 2019 bmw x3 with 80-100k
• vs 2019 Infiniti qx50 with 80-100k.

Let's say all are in the $17-22k range.

And ftr I've spent literally 20 minutes eyeballing prices online, and so haven't gotten down to car makes with names past "K"; I'm in the general guidelines/ ballpark top-line info-gathering stage; no bully pls. The budget might also be half this amount - much math to do, so again am just getting preliminary opinions.

Not interested in 15+-year-old cars. I have one of those (large Mazda SUV) and it's vomiting up its guts. Also - generally, I'm beholden to mechanics for maintenance and repairs, no significant DIY here for cars.

Appeciate any thoughts (& prayers...)/ opinions/ guidance/ perspectives.

Forget these black people cars.

Get a rav4 or a Highlander, get as much as you can afford, rx350 is nice too.

 

[Thiletonomics]

Just throwing out one of a million scenarios: +/- for the following mid/small SUVs, or better choice among something like

• a 2023 Kia seltos or sportage with 30-50k miles vs
• a 2019 bmw x3 with 80-100k
• vs 2019 Infiniti qx50 with 80-100k.

Those 3 SUVs have flaws that may cause headaches later on though.

• The Seltos has either a CVT (aka GARBAGE), or a DCT, and Hyundai-Kia DCTs have had numerous complaints about rough shifts, although they haven't reached Ford PowerShift-levels of terrible.
• BMW is self-explanatory, with all the OIL LEAK jokes out there.
• QX50 is an absolute turd on wheels, as it has both a variable engine AND transmission, and people have complained about how the power delivery isn't smooth at all. (2.0 VC-Turbo + CVT) Nissan also recently recalled their VC-Turbo engine cars due to numerous engine failures. The 4-Cylinder engines have had fewer failures than the infamous 3-Cylinder in the Rogue. It's still a turd of a powertrain that has extra complexity for not much better fuel economy.

 

[Darkholme's Dungeon]

Suggest that all residents of road salt states find a shop that applies “fluid film”. It’s a wax, lanolin, oil mixture that is sprayed on exposed unpainted surfaces and inside voids to inhibit rust. If you have surface rust, it will mostly halt and somewhat reverse the corrosion.

Another less used, probably illegal because of the EPA one I've seen rurally is used sludgy motor oil + dirt.

 

[Sneeds]

I want to get a newish diesel truck and eventually get the emissions junk removed “by accident”. I’ve looked at older pre emissions diesels but they’re either expensive and mint or expensive and clapped out.

 

[Amin Yasister]

My chances of buying a decent car improved dramatically when I moved to somewhere warm and sunny. Very little rain too, and no salt chucked on the road in winter, so very few cars have any rust.
And only a few rare mornings here where temperature reaches down to 40°F , so the engine and gearbox oil is never really cold.

Just have to check the service history and the title papers to see it was in state from new, and hadn't been in the rust belt at the start (or at anytime) in its life.

As my dad used to say "You can swap mechanicals, but the chassis and body work not so much". However, cars end up in the scrap yards here because the mechanicals are worn out, not the body.

 

[Uber driver reviewer]

Another less used, probably illegal because of the EPA one I've seen rurally is used sludgy motor oil + dirt.

That definitely will prevent rust, but it makes more of a mess and isn’t good to get on other things like bushings, boots, seals, breathers, etc. it will also wash off pretty fast. The oil+dirt thing is really more of a solution for old pickup truck frames before they got too complex in the early 2000’s.

Those 3 SUVs have flaws that may cause headaches later on though.

• The Seltos has either a CVT (aka GARBAGE), or a DCT, and Hyundai-Kia DCTs have had numerous complaints about rough shifts, although they haven't reached Ford PowerShift-levels of terrible.
• BMW is self-explanatory, with all the OIL LEAK jokes out there.
• QX50 is an absolute turd on wheels, as it has both a variable engine AND transmission, and people have complained about how the power delivery isn't smooth at all. (2.0 VC-Turbo + CVT) Nissan also recently recalled their VC-Turbo engine cars due to numerous engine failures. The 4-Cylinder engines have had fewer failures than the infamous 3-Cylinder in the Rogue. It's still a turd of a powertrain that has extra complexity for not much better fuel economy.

Honestly, the bmw is probably going to be the most reliable. Especially if it has the 6 cyl. But things like tires change intervals and tire selection is going to be very costly. As will some of the landmark service intervals. It’s not the best choice, but it’s the best of the bunch,

 

[Mister Fister]

That definitely will prevent rust, but it makes more of a mess and isn’t good to get on other things like bushings, boots, seals, breathers, etc. it will also wash off pretty fast. The oil+dirt thing is really more of a solution for old pickup truck frames before they got too complex in the early 2000’s.


Honestly, the bmw is probably going to be the most reliable. Especially if it has the 6 cyl. But things like tires change intervals and tire selection is going to be very costly. As will some of the landmark service intervals. It’s not the best choice, but it’s the best of the bunch,

The B58 and B54 are amazing engines. Check the year and the engine.

 

[Aurellia Spaghettellia]

I don't know much about cars, but owned a few.
I dislike a lot of things that started showing up maybe 2018+ or around there.

I prefer a manual handbrake to an electronic one.
I prefer turning the key to pressing the engine button.
I miss on-board navigation systems that could work without a phone.
Also, something about these turbocharged small engines feels worse.

Not to mention the interior materials just got generally worse too.

 

[Blue Flying Leaf]

I want to get a newish diesel truck and eventually get the emissions junk removed “by accident”. I’ve looked at older pre emissions diesels but they’re either expensive and mint or expensive and clapped out.

You can't. It's an integral part of the vehicle now. Best you can do is code it out in ecu or restrict usage.
Removing DPF does work but EGR removal may crack your head due to higher combustion temperatures.

Also, something about these turbocharged small engines feels worse.

It's just lag and fake power. They are reasonably ok on highway when they are under boost already but in low range it's gutless.

 

[Google.com]

Ya, so my last new to me car I knew what I wanted. A Volvo XC70, first I wanted a P2 but I ended up going with a P3 (Love it btw, can't recommend it enough best car). My first attempt to buy one I tried going to used car lots and found them to all be trying to scam me, cars with obvious issues, one not so obvious that managed to waste 2 fucking days of my time.

So my next attempt after used car dealerships failed me was facebook marketplace... Couldn't Mark Zuckerberg insists that because I care about my privacy I must be a robot and I am unable to use marketplace even if I do their gay face scan thing.

So then I decided to call around at official Volvo dealerships to see if any had a car. This is an old discontinued model for almost 10 years now, Volvo is done with them they don't care. So I ended up having to hop a few states away. I found a perfect condition well maintained one a couple states away at a dealership. Best thing is that they wanted that thing off their lot, it was old an old trade-in they wanted to sell certified pre-owns and new cars they didn't want this thing.

So I found the car I wanted but I didn't actually want to go there to see it which is a bit risky. I managed to convince the salesman to send the car to a random repair shop of my choosing in their area and have it inspected there to make sure all was good. Worked out a cash deal to have it shipped + some discount for some very minor cosmetic damage and a bad battery the shop found.

All in all I ended up paying only a grand above the price the shitty used car places wanted for a car in way worse condition and older with more miles. I will probably try this again on my next car, it seems these dealerships don't like having old cars on their lot and are willing to put up with a lot of stupid bullshit to sell them no matter what. It was pretty quick too, wrapped up the deal in a day, made it clear I only wanted to communicate in email, took 2 calls, like 10 outgoing emails total and didn't even need to leave my home.

Got here in 2 days, had the car immediately inspected again at a trusted local mechanic who thought they found one more issue but it turns out the bad battery issue got worse in transit and the car was doing some load shedding thing, when I put the new bat in everything reset and was fine.

TLDR: I had some luck having an older trade-in car shipped from out of state from a brand licensed dealership.

 

[Sneeds]

You can't. It's an integral part of the vehicle now. Best you can do is code it out in ecu or restrict usage.
Removing DPF does work but EGR removal may crack your head due to higher combustion temperatures.

There are delete kits available online with tuning software. Granted they’re 1-3k but it’s cheaper than fixing the emissions system.
Also they just sound better deleted

 

[Inspector Rex]

Do not under any circumstances buy a car with the GM 1.4l turbo ecotec engine. It is probably the worst engine ever produced.

Huh? The only common issues they have are thermostat and heat exchanger. Maybe they're different in US, but European Opels are running forever with them.

 

[Darkholme's Dungeon]

The oil+dirt thing is really more of a solution for old pickup truck frames before they got too complex in the early 2000’s.

Well you can see I have a penchant for old ass shit lmao.

Huh? The only common issues they have are thermostat and heat exchanger. Maybe they're different in US, but European Opels are running forever with them.

American milage/ year and maintaince habits (see: none) is your answer why. *cough* Defintely not the plastic electronically controled water pump

There are delete kits available online with tuning software.

They went after those kits and people who install them HARD during sleepy joe. I think Trump's eased off on it (and cheveron deference got yeeted) but who knows when it'll enforced with total pound your ass prison time again (5 years!). Obviously YMMV if its california or some other shithole.
EPA is the ATF of the car world.

 

[Squanto Airi]

Would a Mazda B Series truck be a wise truck purchase, or should I still consider attempting to get a Ranger from the 90s/2000s?

 

[FieldPiece]

Huh? The only common issues they have are thermostat and heat exchanger. Maybe they're different in US, but European Opels are running forever with them.

They have a fuckton of problems over here but maybe it's different. I'm talking about the engine Chevy put in the Sonic and Trax. Me and everyone else I know has had massive issues with them. Bad cooling system, evap leaks, burning oil, losing power, bad PCV, water pumps always go out, maintainence is a pain (took me 4 fucking days to change out the water pump), and half the shit is made of plastic.