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[#] Mon Aug 18 2014 11:39:38 EDT from Ladyhawke

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Broke the 80hr week barrier.  :-/

Zzzzzzz



[#] Mon Aug 18 2014 13:24:19 EDT from fleeb

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That's a barrier?

[#] Tue Aug 19 2014 14:47:19 EDT from Ladyhawke

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It certainly should be!!



[#] Fri Oct 10 2014 21:24:20 EDT from Sig

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Sold the Subaru.

Ad is up for a few more days. It was well-received.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/4707236275.html

[#] Fri Oct 10 2014 23:37:41 EDT from ax25

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Good copy Sig.  A must read by any fan of Stephen King.



[#] Sun Oct 12 2014 10:26:52 EDT from LoanShark

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Nice ad. Makes me nostalgic; I owned that same car. Same color, same year, probably almost the same options packages. Totaled by a deer in 2009.

[#] Tue Oct 14 2014 09:23:23 EDT from IGnatius T Foobar

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The deer had been drinking and shouldn't have been on the road in the first place.

[#] Tue Oct 14 2014 19:24:55 EDT from LoanShark

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best argument against gun control.

[#] Fri Oct 17 2014 11:10:54 EDT from fleeb

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I suppose this is an achievement...

I need to release my car into the wild, and let it go.

I've had it over 12 years now, and it has performed reasonably well for me, even if I kinda hate VW for being dicks about a few things. But it has started to exhibit too many little problems in a row lately, leading me to think that it's time to find another car, and get rid of this one.

Within one month, I've had the engine coolant reservoir replaced because the old one cracked and was leaking, the brake lights housing repaired (only the middle brake light has worked for the last several months), and now my wipers have failed. In total, getting the best price possible for the repairs, I have already spent $800 with another $400 likely for the wipers. That's enough.

[#] Fri Oct 17 2014 11:30:47 EDT from LoanShark

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typical shit for old cars and from what I've heard, VW especially. You either need to start DIYing the small stuff or the mechanics will nickel-and-dime you to death. Congrats on getting 12 years out of it; sounds like it has been mostly trouble-free if $800 is "enough"... heh.

[#] Fri Oct 17 2014 11:51:16 EDT from vince-q

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Rule of thumb I use for used car upkeep

If your car costs you, in six months, more than the equivalent of one car loan payment (based on what you paid for it - pretend you had a loan for that amount), and if this happens for two consecutive six month periods, it is time to get rid of it.

Example: if the imaginary car loan would have cost you $300/month and if you have encountered more than $300 in upkeep (DIY here - mechanic labor does NOT count) in two successive six month periods, move on.

EXCEPTION: if the car is an extremely rare collectible, or if the car was more than 20 years old when you bought it. In either of those cases double the allowable expense.

My gut feel, just because it is a VW, is that you should get rid of it and move on. VWs are notorious money-pits after roughly 10 years age. And there is absolutely NO car they EVER made (except the original Beetle) that I woulld own, never mind keep.

[#] Fri Oct 17 2014 12:40:03 EDT from fleeb

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Heh, this is precisely why I'm moving on. It was okay while I had it, but it's just starting to get to a nickle-n-dime phase. There's more than the immediate stuff that needs attending, and I'm unwilling to sink money into this.

[#] Fri Oct 17 2014 14:27:26 EDT from vince-q

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fleeb - I completely agree. There's a point in the relationship between car and owner where it simply becomes unsustainable in the absence of the over-riding consideration of "extreme collectability" for that particular car.

VW Beetle (original): keep at all costs
VW Bus (1960s/70s vintage): keep at all costs
All other VWs: dump ASAP

[#] Sat Oct 18 2014 08:31:29 EDT from fleeb

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Oh, yeah, I wish I still had my vintage VW beetle (1971 Superbeetle), but it did have some pretty nasty problems. I needed a car that worked.

Sorta the same position today, but with a newer and less-wonderful car.

After some research, I think the Honda Accord (with a v4 engine) wins. That thing seems to be a veritable tank. If I can find one that isn't even remotely fancy (no moonroof or any of that crap), it should give me no problems for a very long time. And it has great gas mileage.

[#] Sat Oct 18 2014 10:04:44 EDT from vince-q

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And it has great gas mileage.


Unless that means more than 40 mpg, and NOT a hybrid, keep looking.

[#] Sat Oct 18 2014 14:12:17 EDT from Sig

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I think my 1973 Capri is a great car for someone. Someone who has the knowledge to take care of its little idiosyncracies and the money to get the body work done right. Someone else, in other words.

[#] Sun Oct 19 2014 00:24:54 EDT from ax25

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If you believe Click and Clack actually worked on cars, they said that Honda seemed to make some fairly reliable cars:

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=top&story=cartalk-cars-we-hate&subject=more&aff=cartalk&cartalksvc

I have never been able to scrape up enough to buy one, but I have owned the "honorable mention" at the end of the article (AMC and Chrysler), and would have to agree with the assessment of them :-)



[#] Sun Oct 19 2014 01:01:15 EDT from vince-q

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One of my favorite "oddball" cars is the first-generation Honda Civic Del Sol. Most likely because that car reminds me, in an "almost looks like" way, of the first generation Toyota MR2. *Very* similar body style.

I had 2 different first-gen MR2s. The first was supercharged and - generally - a nice car. The second, I restored almost from junk, to showroom-new condition. And along the way put over 200,000 miles on it. Sold it with 330,000 miles on it, needing a valve job (disclosed to the buyer) for roughly three times what I paid for it.

Current car is a 2002 MR2 Spyder (convertible). **Very** fast in spite of being naturally aspirated in every way. And best of all, it averages around 37 mpg burning regular gasoline.

In about a year I am planning to move on from the MR2. It's a great car, and I'm going to miss it. But it is starting to be just a tad small for all the "ham stuff" I keep finding myself needing to carry from one place to another. So... looks like a "real trunk" and a back seat with (shudder) four doors is lurking in my future. Fortunately fuel economy in the newer stuff has gotten quite good in the last five years or so.

[#] Sun Oct 19 2014 10:25:25 EDT from Ladyhawke

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Sat Oct 18 2014 08:31:29 AM EDT from fleeb

Oh, yeah, I wish I still had my vintage VW beetle (1971 Superbeetle), but it did have some pretty nasty problems. I needed a car that worked.

Sorta the same position today, but with a newer and less-wonderful car.

After some research, I think the Honda Accord (with a v4 engine) wins. That thing seems to be a veritable tank. If I can find one that isn't even remotely fancy (no moonroof or any of that crap), it should give me no problems for a very long time. And it has great gas mileage.

Agree with the "veritable tank" comment.  Have owned 2 Honda Accords.  First one I bought used and sold at 180k miles.  Second one I bought "new" in 2002....now has 120k on it, and (knock on wood) aside from normal maintenance and a new bumper, remains all original and as dependable as the day I bought it. 



[#] Sun Oct 19 2014 16:40:23 EDT from Sig

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I had a few MR2s (all MkIs) and loved them.

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