George's Mile-High Garage

[neanderthal]

I guess i'm posting a lil late, since it seems the decision has been made.

I agree with the decision, and what pretty much everyone else has said. You'd be spending $4000 on a different colour, slightly more power and better maintenance history.
I always buy my cars and run them into the ground. It's cheaper to budget $1500 a year for repairs (not maintenance. Every car needs oil changes, tires, brakes, spark plugs etc) than to pay $200 (that's at the low end too) a month for a car.
In the two years I have owned my current car, I have spent about $800 on it; $350 was for a radiator, and I bought a couple of coils to fix a misfire that I had to take it to the mechanic for eventually, and two fuel pumps. It comes with two, one was failing and I just replaced both.) So I am ahead $1600 vs my budgeted repair costs.
On my previous car, I spent $1800 on a cylinder head refresh a year into owning it, and then drove it for nearly ten years with nothing major other than a waterpump. Which I changed myself.
I just did the oil change and plugs on my car for the bi annual smog test. It needs rear brakes at some point (and has needed them for a year already) and tires down the road. The tires on it right now are 60000 mile Michelin Primacy MXV4s with 60000 miles on them, and 5/32 still left on the tread. I'll get about another 20000 out of them because I don't accelerate hard, turn hard, or brake hard. They get rotated frequently. In other words, I know what my car needs as I am the one who has been supervising it's maintenance. With a new car, you're partially relying on the previous owners maintenance.

[George]

All good points above from TSG and neaderthal. Thanks. Wish I had the bucks to justify owning another Beetle as a toy. That's probably a bit too blatant a toy for a father of young twins who will need to go to college someday and never mind all the money they'll cost between now and then, so I keep my toys in the basement in guitar cases instead of in the garage. They're a lot cheaper than cars.

Although I was looking at this as pay $4000-ish for the car and then sell mine for at least $1500 - surely it's worth that and maybe a tiny bit more, so then this would be a $2500 deal, plus snow tires for the V6, which it doesn't have. I wasn't going to have to go into debt to do that so it looked like a good idea on Saturday, especially when my wife thought it was a good idea for a while.

I was thinking, "Let's say I spent $2500 - $3000 on my current car - full maintenance, new windshield, etc. Would it then be as good as the one across the street? No."

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, it won't matter as much anyway, because I'll be riding my bicycle to work instead of driving. I figure every day I don't drive it is another day tacked on to the end of its useful life.

[George]

P.S. For whatever it's worth, my Accord with 203,340 miles as of this morning has what the shop guy says are the factory original struts. The guy seemed a bit perplexed by this but said they are fine and do not need to be changed.

[Godson]

no vehicle with 200k on factory struts is good. He is doing you a monetary service as a nice guy. Stay with him.



Them shocks and struts need to go. Spend some money on your car, and you'll fall in love with it all over again.

[TheBenior]

They look good because the oil that's leaked out has since washed away

[George]

He specifically said they weren't leaking and he couldn't belive that, but I belive that Godson is correct. It's a good shop, and it being walking distance from my office makes it the obvious choice.

[Godson]

A single bounce test would show them be done

[thesameguy]

$4000 - $1500 = $2500 = a totally serviceable old Beetle. Just saying.

Also, don't rule out of the possibility that suspension can live for a good long time on a lightly driven car. The '02 9-3 I just sold had 150k on the original suspension, and it was in perfect shape. We finally replaced the shocks on Ingrid, the '85 745T at 180k, because it was t-boned and the rear left shock was broken. Quality OE parts & nice driving make for long lives from oil-filled suspension. IME, YMMV.

[George]

While doling out thank-yous, I completely neglected to acknowledge speedpimp's Car I'd Buy Right Now If I Could.

ATTACK OF THE MAZDA 6 V6 STICK WAGON PART DEUX!

I need one of these and a set of snow tires on black steelies so badly.




I really love that toned-down "old lady green" color. Just gorgeous. Would love to throw a family-sized load of skis and luggage in the back and boogie on up the hill and go skiing.

[Random]

There's one in that color near my office...I agree it's a great color.