Othaiii

That's the same color scheme my truck was originally, white & tobogo green. Beautiful, let's see if I can send an old photo prior to restoration.

Great truck,

Randy

Red_Hill

I drive a 2004 Tahoe Z71 most of the time and my 1999 F250 diesel powered, 6 speed manual PU the rest of the time. The Tahoe has 135K and the Pickup has 175K. My wife gets a new car every 4 years or so, she just got a 11 Equinox (nice little SUV- 24 AWD MPG with the 4 cylinder)

I tow a 32' CargoPro enclosed V-nose trailer with the pickup (to bike weeks,a little side business), other than that I plow or just drive around town with it- it is semi retired, I hope to get another 100K and 10 years out of it.

I really should replace the tahoe and get something that gets better mileage but it is a nice car and has been very dependable.

Red_Hill

Sorry meant to add a pic of the old pickup.

Destructor

2000 Grand Marquis, 2007 Grand Marquis. The 2007 gets parked for the winter.

Funkwagon455

I drive a '92 Custom Cruiser daily, it's the best daily car I've owned. Reliable, comfortable, respectable, utilitarian, reasonably priced, good mileage, and realistic to work on without major diagnostic abilities. I have recently had a few issues to deal with, and my wife expressed to me...."You know, you can't drive that car forever!!!" I replied, Your kidding right! She's just hitting her stride!!! Only complaint is the 5.7 tbi is not the powerhouse that the 455 cars are........If that Amsoil fed small block bowtie ever gives up, I see a nice,sanitary LS1 conversion in that car's future!! Good luck with your decision!!

http://www.texas442.com/oca2006/slides/DSC01054.html

PalmSpringsOlds

Still enjoying my 86 Olds Custom Cruiser as my DD. Had a similar budget, but decided that that much money was not well-spent for me. Was going to get a new Cadillac SRX or another new Audi, but wan to spend the money on an Airstream to tow behind thevwagon...

jpc647

I appreciate all the input. I work about 30 miles from home, and will be returning to school in a few months. Gas mileage isn't a huge huge concern, I mean I'm getting 18-19 with the Thunderbird and it's 302, nothing I buy comparable is size will be much worse. i'm just tired of working on all the stupid things all the time. I want something reliable, but that's got some *****. The Acura posted on the last page is an interesting thought.

It'd love another 87-88 thunderbird, but I can't find one with a 5.0 that's decent. Both the Genesis coupe and the monte have tranny issues, but at least the gen would be covered, and I would think in the next four years it would be figured out. I'm tired of driving junk and sort of want a "flashy" car now. I'm tired of being the "kid with the broken down old car". And I'm not about to spend a fortune on my cutlass either.

Lalo442

99 Ford Expedition 4X4 147K miles was one of the only guys to make it to work when the big blizzard hit us here in Chicago , When I take the Family out to dinner have room for 8 people in my truck ...

Sixgun77

I drive a base model ford Ranger. It's fine for hauling firewood and music equipment, but it won't tow a trailer.

Aceshigh

Yeah well, $35,000 on a car is a dumb move if you're still a young student.
This is the age where you need to not get sucked into the bling bling and realize actual value of depreciation.
I see so many young friends of my cousin make stupid car purchases they can't afford
and then get repo'd because they fall behind on payments and screw up their credit.

My cousin was 21 and bought a 2006 GTO brand new.
His payments are $682 a month x 7 years.
He can't even afford car insurance and his father helps him pay it.
Needless to say he's also still living at home.....but he's got a cool car.
Not the brightest thing he's ever done with his life.

Buy what you can afford......don't buy something you can't afford.
I know being young you think a super cool car will attract hotter women.

Some cases that's true, but being car broke to chase tail isn't really smart.

Moses

Sweet lookin' interior design! Makes you not want to EVER get out of this car!!

Moses

Smooth ride dude! My buddy with '04 GTO has '95 Roadmaster, he'll love to see your Cruiser!

Danielle's 71

i drive a 2002 acura rsx and i love it, even at my age ive never been much for imports but with gas the way it is, thank god for rice burners. its a fun little car to drive! i bought it wreck and i have $3000 dollars in it, thats with the price that i payed for it!

rocketraider

Knew a kid several years back who went and bought a Corvette, thinking it would be a chick magnet. Took everything he made and then some to pay for it and the insurance. Even though he had the car to attract chicks, he could not afford to take one out on a date so he still wasn't making any headway with women. He was living off cold cereal and baloney sandwiches until he finally got smart and unloaded the Vette.


jpc, find yourself something Asian and sporty. It will do fine until you can move up to an even better car and even though I tend to consider most Asian cars in the same category as washing machines, they're reliable and easy to tweak. You might find a nice Acura or even a 350Z for cheap money. I do not fit well in the Z car, is why I have only dreamed about owning one.

Just remember the higher you go up on the food chain, the more complex the car and more that can go wrong. I think someone on here once referred to a Corvette they had owned as "needy". You'll find that a lot in a high-strung performance car. Great cars and beaucoup fun when they're right, but when you have to fix them...

Summerof84

Do yourself a favor and leave 17k in your pocket. This is a DD, you are thinking bling:

http://configurator.vw.com/ihdcc/con...10005/10005/33


See also, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Chevy....

MHENDERSON

1999 Ford Windstar.When I got my wife a Dodge Avenger I took the Windstar over.

OLD SKL 69

I'm a big fan of the Challenger, Charger, Magnum, and 300. I bought my wife a used 300 Hemi for around 20k, beautiful, loaded 18k miles. My current driver is a Magnum RT AWD. I picked it up two months ago, fully loaded, 49k miles for only 14k. (My second Magnum, put 120k trouble free miles on my 1st one I had) Fast and fun, and much cooler looking than most of the asian cars IMHO. Excellent reliability and I am easily getting 20mpg+. Oh and did I say its got a HEMI!

IMG_1714.jpg?t=1301449985

Aceshigh

C3's and C4's yea I can see that being true.
Drivetrains weren't all that great, rust issues with C3's, etc.
Plus C3's are absolutely horrible to fit in......I swear they're made for midgets.

C5's up to C6's have been damn near perfected though IMO.
Prices for Vette parts do come with a premium attached tho....no doubt there.
I would not hesitate for a second to buy a C6 be it a Grand Sport or Z06.
C5 Z06's with the 405hp LS6 were no joke either.

In fact, I've been chomping at the bit for 3 years now to just get a C6.....dying.

2 more years of $1000 a month student loan payments and it's free game.
Those LS6 , LS2, LS3, and LS7 motors are INSANELY easy to work on and tune
and the T-56 6 speed and TR6060's are in every performance car there is today.

Corvette is the best $$ performance car that America makes. Period.
Ford's GT was awesome, but had a supercar price point.
Dodge Viper, beautiful vehicle, but far more $$$ then a Z06 for the same performance.
ZR1 can't be touched by anything Eurotrash that's not 2-3x it's price mark.

jpc647

I guess the “problem” I see with this is my payments on a 2011 Camaro would be less than 250 a month for two years. Including my down payment and the 800-1200 I would get for a trade in. I can afford something nice and I sort of want one. Most of you guys on here have nice Cutlasses and 442’s. I’ll spend double what my Oldsmobile is worth to make it a nice car, and still left with someone I drive twice a month in the summer and never in the winter.

I did, I looked at a 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Almost bought it too, then the dealer tried to screw me.

Anything late model is complex, right? Anything after 1995 or so probably needs a fancy complex scan tool reader.

I am thining bling, sort of. Don’t we all think bling when driving our old cars around? Everyone compliments us etc(when say us, I mean all of you guys). That Volkwagen will burn oil in 50k miles and won’t climb a hill. A kid at work has a jetta, a couple years old with a 2.0l and he can’t keep oil in it.

Stevec

Did your fit get the spring recall? On certain Fits some springs in the valve train need to be replaced and valves need to be readjusted.

Aceshigh

So lets talk turkey.......
(yes, I'm this bored at work sitting in front of 3 computers 12 hours a day)

A 2011 Camaro V6 RS base MSRP is ~$22,680 if ordered with ZERO options.
We all know that's not including transport and delivery charges.
We all know that dealers never order base coupes either.
There's alot more $$ for them to order them loaded.

So lets just assume you walk out with a $25,000 out the door BASE Camaro.
This is your baseline. What kind of financing rates do you think you're going
to get to only have to pay $250 a month for 2 years ??? Lets say 0% APR for
sh**s and giggles. You would have to put down $18,000 PLUS your $1000
trade in value to walk out of there with a $250 payment for just 24 months.
BTW This would require IIRC Tier 3 credit rating which is over 720 FICO scoring.

So you have $18,000 in cash to put down and you're going to qualify for 0%
APR for 2 years ?? BTW I'm not being a hater here,......I'm trying to show you
numbers so you understand how this works. Many younger guys don't EVER
run the numbers and just think they can do it.

So I'm assuming here and just trying to help you understand how it plays out.
A dealer only wants to know what you're going to sign for.


Right now in THIS kind of really bad car market it's always better to buy a
restored car then it is to build it up yourself. Cars have depreciated very
badly since 2006 and parts vendors have increased prices almost 200% in
some cases. Doesn't take a genius to see the math there.

Green Turd Truck

I'm with ya there John! Same for me, except that with a 22 year old like me insurance is anything but cheap, but otherwise, especially in our corner of the country, we get mild winters and beautiful summers that are PERFECT for cruising!

Destructor

I used to drive a 72 Eldorado (8.2 liter) as a daily driver for about 8 years. Upon graduating college most everyone bought new or nearly new cars, not me. I came across a very nice Eldorado which was already twenty something years old. I always liked the old Caddies so I bought one fairly cheap. It was easy to work on and most parts which I had to replace were standard GM bolt ons. I never had any problems with the front drive either. Gas wasn’t cheap but it wasn’t outrageous either. It was a fun car to drive. It was where I really began to get my experience working on vehicles, it was fun. No car payments either.

alek72us

i drive a 04 duramax, yes diesel is at 4.$ a gallon here but i only drive about a half mile to work everyday. i do want to get a 80s 442/hurst. for a summer daily driver.

My opinion on the cars u have listed.

Camaro----i will own one some day.
Suburu----- i hear alot of good about expecially the awd in the winter. insurance is alittle more expensive suburu's always have been. also the second u do anything to the wrx performance wise u just turned it into a needy car.
Hyundai-----i really like the genisis because of its looks. but the hyundai is the most expensive car in its class on insurance. because they are build with such thin and cheap materials.
Audi-------is way nice but will cost u more in the long run.

aliensatemybuick

My daily driver can be seen in reflection; a 1998 Olds Intrigue. 150K miles on it and just passed NJ inspection.

jpc647

No your assumptions are pretty much right on, except I was looking at an SS which MSRP is between 35,000-40000. You talk them down a couple, so your looking at 31-33k. I actually have approximately $25,000 to put as a down payment(probably not cash, but a bank check), plus 1,000 for the trade. I'm looking at a 2.9% interest rate on the 5,000-8000 I would be financing. Which can easily be paid off in a 24 month term.

And yes, I'm bored at work too, haha. i'm open to uggestion on what to buy. Obviously I want something with some "flash" and if I could do that for 10,000 I would, in a heartbeat. But I want something that will get out of it's own way and not have a ton of miles on it. My current car has 110k miles on it, I'm not looking to buy anything that has 70-80k miles, because in no time it's going to be trouble. i'm looking for low mileage, like 10-20k miles.

I meant I like the 2006 Monte Carlo SS I looked at with 18k miles on it. The tranny problems they have sort of scare me, but a regular flush and a tranny cooler for ($150) will fix that. But that is not worth 20k all said and done out the door.

jpc647

I wish my paint was that smooth. :/

nonhog

I'm driving a 08 Silverado 4.3, not a powerhouse but a good truck.
I try hard and get about 18 mpg avg.
I need better with rising gas prices and will be driving my wifes 66 Volvo project as soon as I seal up the windshield. I can't handle the thought of cleaning a fogged up windshield on my way to work. To old for that!
I'm going the other direction from you.

Aceshigh

Do you own a house yet ??

If you have $25,000 in a bank account you need to look at buying a house, or putting it in stocks if you don't.
My serious opinion. That $25,000 would be better invested then in a brand new vehicle that loses 20% of it's
value the minute you drive it off the lot.

Hell I'd buy a used 2008+ C6 Corvette with the 430hp LS3 before buying a Camaro SS chief.....



Here's something I think you should watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIgLyl66QxQ

That car has the 4L60e transmission in it behind the 5.3L V8 IIRC.
Not a problematic trans at all from what I know of them.

I was mistaking this car for the new Impala SS. It's not too bad actually.
The Impala is lame.

jpc647

Yes, between two accounts I have close to 25k. I'm 20 and know nothing about stocks, I'm not looking to lose my shirt here. I've been saving for 5 years, and this is approximately the sum I've saved(minus the 1972 cutlass purchase). I can't afford a house at the moment, I'm still in college.

The Corvette, I dunno, the power difference is probably so minute it's not much. The Camaro has a backseat and could sorta be used for something besides a race car.

Any my current car, my 88 Thunderbird is rotting out on me. It's not worth the money and time which would be required to save it. So I do need another car, this isn't just about wanting flash, I need to seriously start considering a replacement.

BlackGold

And you can't afford a new car, either. Nothing against you; I'd say that to a 50-year old as quickly as to you.

Seriously, I cannot understand why anyone short of a millionaire would ever buy a new car. Depreciation is wicked. You just as well take all your hard-earned money and burn it.

Buy a car that's at least 2 - 3 years old. Preferably older. You'll get every bit as much enjoyment out of it, it won't depreciate as fast or as much, and you'll still have money in your pocket.

cutlassjoe

Dude, That is so my next car. It will be the 5.7 Hemi I have a 2007 Charger RT that has about 108,000 miles. Runs like a champ and I can get about 25-26 mpg on the highway. Another year or two then I can do the Challenger. Very nice!

jpaulwhite

<--Heres my daily driver

jpc647

Alright. It'd say I can afford a new car, the debate is really whether or not I should. My payments would be like 200 a month, for 4 years. I'm not taking offense to it, just say I can.

As far as depreciation; I understand as soon as I drive away it's not worth as much, however my 72 Cutlass isn't worth what I paid for it 3 years ago either, and it may be 10 years before the values go back up? So as far as depreciation, it's part of buying anything. If I'm going to "waste" money isn't it better spent on something I can use 12 months a year, everyday if I need to and not on something that's driven maybe 40 times a year? I'm asking, It'd like an honest response to that.

As far as something 3-4 years old, your right, its cheaper and the depreciation is less, but a car 3-4 years old is going to start to need thing, batteries, tires, alternators, etc. Any car out of factory warranty I feel I should probably buy an extended one, which is 2,000 no matter which way I look at it. So it' like between an almost new genesis and a 5 year old Monte, the difference is 8k. For $2,000 a year, I know everything is covered, and I don't have to worry about it. And I have a nicer car with more options, like Navigation, bluetooth, heated seats, etc.

Again, this is how I'm thinking. Any car is a bad investment, so isn't it better to "invest" in a car I'll be using all the time and therefore enjoying more? And a car(either one) faster, more reliable, and more fuel efficient than my Olds?

toro68

My DD is a 1999 Ford Escort Zx2. Four banger wiht a 5-speed. I save my transportion money for my Oldsmobiles!

Warhead

DD-2000 Dodge Dakota Extend cab, 4.7, automatic, lift kit (previous owner) 1 Battery, 1 crank sensor, 2 sets of tires, 1 set of front brake pads in 50K miles. VERY reliable. I have hauled cars with it. 22mpg on the hwy.

I'd rather have a house, than any sort of bling car.
Women really like to date men with a house, and you have a place to take them too. If I were to do it all over again, I'd BUY a quadraplex, live in the 1st unit, and have the 3 renters pay the mortgage for me. Low prices right now.

Spend 10K on a small extend cab truck, put the other $15k into solar stocks (First Solar is a good one), or Exxon-Mobil, or Slumberger.
I.E.-- energy stocks!


Jim

auto_editor

I hear the "What car should I buy?" question about thirty times a day, and my answer usually goes like this:

What will you not hate after having it for 12, 24, 36, etc. months?

When I was your age--not really that long ago--I had my pick (as I still do) of the latest and greatest vehicles for "testing purposes." Most of that testing was commuting time (in CA it's just the way things go), and beyond that it was dating, moving, vacationing, etc.

Nothing will make you hate a Corvette, Camaro, Challenger, etc., faster than having a dresser to move, friends to take on double-dates, plants to pick up from Home Depot, etc.

THERE WILL BE MORE OF THOSE TIMES THAN ANY OTHER. TRUST ME.

You want comfort, capability, economy and reliability. After that, it's all gravy.

My very first car was an '81 Volvo 240 DL wagon, and in addition to having no power anything it was beige and had a brown vinyl interior. Apart from being without A/C (a chick-friendly feature), it SERIOUSLY delivered in every one of those departments I mentioned (including folding rows of seats, which is a you-and-a-chick-friendly feature ).

When you're a college-attending, decently-turned-out, non-a$$hole you're rounding third in the potential-long-term-relationship race. Add in the fact that you drive a PRACTICAL car--which shows you're a responsible/non-typical suitor and that you therefore have money to spend on, well, whatever SHE wants--you're golden.

You may have noticed that everything I just said relates to how someone else (a female, I presume) is in charge of what matters here. Get used to it. Though at 20 it may seem far-fetched, in five years or so getting a jump on this will pay off big-time.

I agree with the whole "not buying new cars" thing, even if it means less "business" for me. But I think nearly-new (i.e. perhaps a "demo" or certified lease return that's still under warranty for at least two years) makes the most sense in your situation.

There are some decent-looking and -performing five-door hatches out there that you wouldn't be ashamed of, and so long as you do your homework--including LOTS of "sittin' in" in addition to test-driving--you'll have a car that can handle (almost) anything you'd ask of it, every time you ask, without causing you financial or personal hardship.

But what do I know. I STILL HAVE that Volvo and the chick it "got" me. And a house. And a retirement fund. And kids. And...

19Starfire62

DD's per my sig. Just put my Audi back on insurance today.

Aceshigh

If you're seeking financial advice.....
You would probably do best by knowing the level of personal success of the person giving it to you.
It's not as important , but helps Makes sense right ??

BUT.....if you're seeking dating or female attraction advice.....
You're gonna want to know how hot the guys wife is or girlfriend. Make sense right ??
Could be a guy with this kind of success telling you how to attract a woman. LOL

The problem with forums where anonymity is prevalent, you don't know who looks like
this behind a computer screen trying to be an E-pimp.

Toms 69-76 Custom Vista

1976 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser. 455