The Official Automotive Thread

[trae901]

Ok thanks for the info. I'll have to see again why the bank said that. Maybe they only pay a certain percentage of a vehicles retail value

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Take the bank pictures of the car and explain to them how it is worth 20k and find examples of similar cars with similar prices to show them examples. It sounds like the bank is just ignorant on classic car prices, they are thinking older car and this is a classic car that is older.

One thing they may be concerned about too is the market dropped a lot for muscle cars and that might be their concern. Five years ago that camaro might have cost 35k and today it's 20k, what about two years from now will it be 15k?

These were available for 1-2k in the early to mid eighties and made great high school cars.

 

[Jewbacca]

From a banking standpoint, it really isn't a value issue. As was already mentioned, any vehicle 20 years old or older doesn't qualify for standard auto loans per Fed guidelines. While a bank could go against said guidelines, the loan would have to be made with 100% of their own capital, whereas with a true auto loan, 80% of the loan can be borrowed by the bank from the Fed at the discount rate, which at present is basically zero. So, the bank makes all the interest, while putting up only 20% of the loan proceeds.

In the case of personal loans, Fed money is not available either, but the bank compensates for this by jacking up interest rates and lowering loan to values to keep their return on equity where they want it.

Bottom line, in the case of classic cars like this, they're going to apply personal loan underwriting standards, beat down the loan to value and ratchet up the interest rate to minimize their exposure and maximize their return. Of course, if you have enough money on deposit with them to far exceed the requested loan, they'll often apply what's called a "global relationship underwrite" and ultimately give you terms similar to a A tier auto loan. As the saying goes, they prefer to loan money to those who don't need to borrow it, and those lucky folks get the best terms.

And that, my friends, is why I don't miss commercial real estate finance! LOL

 

[trae901]

From a banking standpoint, it really isn't a value issue. As was already mentioned, any vehicle 20 years old or older doesn't qualify for standard auto loans per Fed guidelines. While a bank could go against said guidelines, the loan would have to be made with 100% of their own capital, whereas with a true auto loan, 80% of the loan can be borrowed by the bank from the Fed at the discount rate, which at present is basically zero. So, the bank makes all the interest, while putting up only 20% of the loan proceeds.

In the case of personal loans, Fed money is not available either, but the bank compensates for this by jacking up interest rates and lowering loan to values to keep their return on equity where they want it.

Bottom line, in the case of classic cars like this, they're going to apply personal loan underwriting standards, beat down the loan to value and ratchet up the interest rate to minimize their exposure and maximize their return. Of course, if you have enough money on deposit with them to far exceed the requested loan, they'll often apply what's called a "global relationship underwrite" and ultimately give you terms similar to a A tier auto loan. As the saying goes, they prefer to loan money to those who don't need to borrow it, and those lucky folks get the best terms.

And that, my friends, is why I don't miss commercial real estate finance! LOL

Very informative my friend. I guess I can see why the bank does that since you put it in the banks point of view. I might try to see if another bank will do a higher loan and pay the difference if possible for the '93 Camaro Z28 I posted above. Oh, and thanks for putting my next college course into a summary for me. I'm taking an elective for real estate/real estate financing lol. This next 8 weeks shall be interesting indeed lol.

 

[Jewbacca]

Very informative my friend. I guess I can see why the bank does that since you put it in the banks point of view. I might try to see if another bank will do a higher loan and pay the difference if possible for the '93 Camaro Z28 I posted above. Oh, and thanks for putting my next college course into a summary for me. I'm taking an elective for real estate/real estate financing lol. This next 8 weeks shall be interesting indeed lol.

LOL, well, feel free to PM Professor Jewy with any questions next semester! Having underwritten a couple of billion worth of CMBS and portfolio CRE loans, there isn't much I haven't seen in that arena. And get used to those terms like "return on equity", "return on capital", "loss reserve ratios" and so forth. You'll get a heaping helping of them, that's for sure.

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Good points about the loan type, I was was thinking of just a standard loan.

Maybe a credit union would be more flexible, but viewing this as a car loan would make it tough.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

http://jalopnik.com/wisconsion-cops-will-chase-you-into-a-rally-stage-with-1451611874

 

[DGSB0708]

yea your right, they dont appreciate the value of them at all. Oh, and it wasnt based off KBB it was based on a system they had called NADA. whatever that is. I bank with Navy federal credit union and their rates on loans is by far better than anywhere else here. It was also odd that the loan would not have been an auto loan either, they said since it was over 20 years old it would have to be a personal expense loan with collateral which would end up raising my finance percentage. whatevs. I got my eye on this beast. Checked it out earlier and it looks virtually untouched. Here is the link to other photos http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&csDlId=&csDgId=&listingId=123560330&listingRecNum=23&criteria=feedSegId%3D28705%26rpp%3D50%26isDealerGrouping%3Dfalse%26sf2Nm%3Dmiles%26sf1Nm%3Dprice%26sf2Dir%3DASC%26stkTypId%3D28881%26PMmt%3D1-1-0%26rn%3D0%26zc%3D28532%26rd%3D30%26crSrtFlds%3DstkTypId-feedSegId-mkId-mdId%26mdId%3D20770%26stkTyp%3DU%26mkId%3D20053%26sf1Dir%3DDESC&aff=national&listType=1

Trae, are you mil or ex-mil?  If so, why not go through USAA?  Use their car buy service.  They'll likely make the loan and since it's at a dealer... they (the dealer) might be on the USAA preferred dealer list which will save you some cash on the price.  Just a thought.  S-

 

[Smokeyjoe]

for the 68 Impala with the 327 (tim the toolmans - oh oh) :

Nice.

What's your opinion on why those became so popular about four or five years ago?

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Yea, exactly.

I started to see the prices go up fast a few years ago when i was looking for a mechanical refurb type project and was looking at Impalas, and then I started to see so many restored impalas at auctions and car shows that it blew me away and especially for what they were selling for at the auctions (I know, people usually overpay at an auction).

They used to be affordable like old corvairs or thunderbirds are now but no more.

The 80's were great for buying those and any now high priced muscle cars, we just bought them and drove the life out of them back then and junked them when they broke because they were only $800 to $1000.

 

[trae901]

Trae, are you mil or ex-mil?  If so, why not go through USAA?  Use their car buy service.  They'll likely make the loan and since it's at a dealer... they (the dealer) might be on the USAA preferred dealer list which will save you some cash on the price.  Just a thought.  S-

yes i'm mil but keep it on the down low lol.  I have insurance for my 2006 Infiniti m45 sport through USAA. ill put in a loan request now online and see if it will get approved or not. Didn't even think in trying USAA, I was going to other little mom and pops banks and financial services and got denied. I cross my fingers USAA will come through before the Z28 is gone

 

[trae901]

This is actually excellent advise. Being a vet. I have used them once or twice, although there was an occasion where they wouldn't give a traditional "car loan" for the 68 Impala with the 327 (tim the toolmans - oh oh) They offered a personal line of credit from which I could buy whatever I wanted, and if I remember correctly the int. rate was only 1 % higher.  Sorry, out of greens /default_mellow.gif

what branch were you in hooter, if you dont mind me asking.

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Haha, Hooter a MP. Who'd a thunk it.

Today I picked up my 1960 VW Notchback and drove it home, about 100 miles.

That little car ran Great and easily kept up with traffic on the highway doing 70mph.

This notchback has a 1600cc, or 1.6 liter, engine and I'm used to my Bugs with 1200cc engines tha are much slower and less powerful. The difference between the two was very noticeable and I'm glad I have tomorrow off to drive it around more.

It's a 100% original survivor car with only 90k miles and I am the second owner. I'll post a picture soon.

 

[Packrat]

Oh man!  I love this thread!

We definitely need this.  I need this!

i'm no expert but I love cars.   Yeah, enough to have made some stupid financial deals.  Get this:  When I was 20 I bought a 71 Matador for ~US$150.   What a lesson I learned.  It had no brake drum pads left so it was metal on metal to stop, leaked a can of break fluid a day, bald tires and I mean bald as Heisenberg (sorry, brother).  It held no steering fluid either and I think it ran on only seven of the eight cylinders.   What an idiot I was.  It cost me more to ditch it - good thing I knew the local sheriff who helped me out.   I lived at the top of a hill, started her up one day and let her roll, tried the brakes and nuthin' but floorboard.   So, I jammed on the emergency brake.  That would work, right?  Nope.  it was already stuck in the engaged position.  Maybe I shoulda checked it before taking off.   I was soooo lucky, I missed a Malibu by inches, turned left to head uphill and jammed it into a tree.   O f*ck!   I don't care what kinda brass cojones you've got that get your attention!  Well, y'know "stupid is as stupid does" (Forest Gump ref).  That was my last disaster, yeah many years ago (knockin' wood).  That was all just to tell you guys how car savvy I am.  

My first was a '68 VW Beetle.  I was really into them.  All my friends hung out at one of those do-it-yourself-and-rent-out-space-and-tools places so I did learn to do some stuff.  I replaced the carb, clutch plate, engine seal (I had overfilled and it leaked, so...), but I had some help.  The worst for me was replacing the 68 muffler.  Ever do that?  It's a bitch when you have no lift and you are doing it in the street with dogs sniffing your feet and the job is a bitch itself.   The dumbest was replacing the clutch cable on the Beetle (gotta have two people for that stretch) and after replacing it finding out that the clutch pedal arm had a crack and that was why I couldn't completely disengage the gears.  What an idiot, but this is how you learn.   Now, my favorite bug is the post-WWII (maybe a 1949?) with the split rear window an sephamore turning signals (y'know, the little arms that flip up in the door panel left and right?  I'd love to see one of them again in great shape.   I remember the only way to get the heat to work was to get movin 'cause there was no fan. Not a great car in Florida in summer.   Gotta love the ingenuity of these cars, though and now VW pretty much owns the German auto market or a good deal of it, don't they?

I had to grown up eventually and become a responsible citizen so this is what I ended up doing once I had some real responsibilities (and got smacked around by dad a few times):

- borrowed money from dad to get a Dodge Colt stick (really a Mitsubishi Mirage but I didn't know).  I loved that car until some mutt rammed me in the side.  End of that one, but many memories including Christening the carpet with a burger and beer one night.

- again dad helped me so we bought two brand new Hyundai Excel's in 1986 (wtf?) - the first Hyundai's in America and look at 'em now.  Ever wanna punish someone, just give 'em one of these to drive for a coupla years.   The deal was I maintain dad's and he paid for mine.Great deal for me.  It was kinda okay, but dog slow.  Odd, tho, the reason I bought them was because they were purported to have the same insides under the hood as the Mirage, and for the most part they did.   Yep, 0-60 in 60.  Well, maybe a bit better, but it felt that way.  I have to say that they were actually reliable little dogs, tho.

- then came heaven.   I got my first Honda Accord '90 LX (US model).  What a dream.  To this day I still see some of them puttering about.   It had an amazing amount of Schlitz (to reference an ol' beer) for 95 horses. This was one of the great ones.   Everyone has a different philosophy on cars, and mine is simple:  Never confuse them with assets that you can make money or otherwise benefit from, and try to hold on to the great ones as long as you can, and I believe everyone runs into a great one now and then.  I have had three great cars...  read on unless you've had enough.

- After five years with my glorious LX the maintenance got too expensive  (I was a dumb kid) and the dealer offered me a great lease on a Honda minivan - their first try at the minivan market.   I think this mini was based on an Isuzu platform, and it was okay but way, way under powered which killed the gas mileage.  It cost about ten bucks to fill up but I hadda do it too often.

- Good thing it was just a two year lease 'cause I was gettin tired of that boat, and driving everyone who needed a lift to the bus stop around in it.

- Leased a '98 Accord EX V6 (US Model again) - black currant pearl color - like a deeeeep purple, almost black.  Oh, just gorgeous in the right light.  Talk about power!  This thing musta weighed under 1000 Kilo's (maybe 2200 lbs) so every time I took off at the light the front wheels chirped.   I'd never had any car with any kind of luxury features so we had a great honeymoon. Quick, great handling, and quiet.  I was quickly becoming a Honda loyalist.

- Only I wasn't.  I got a great job offer and decided to stop screwing around with leases because I ran beyond the mileage and always ended up with scratches  Well, you know the deal with leases.  It makes sense for some people, especially if you follow the rules and can expense it.   Not a fit for me financially.   The Honda Finance creeps never asked for a penny when I gouged all four bumpers and dinged the doors on the minivan.  When I turned in the purple EX they decided to itemize every scratch and send me a bill. Why?  because I found a great deal elsewhere.   On, of all things, an Audi!  There was a web site in 2000 that listed a 2001 but it was under priced - so I made 'em own up to it, and when I picked up the car the dealer assured me that no one made a penny on that car.   Good for me. 'bout time I won one.  From the Matador to brand new Audi, and I loved that car.  I would have it still today but that is another story.  I have to say, just IME and IMHO for what you pay for an Audi, you get so much more than the other foreign passenger cars.  And, yes this was also one of the three great cars I've ever owned. My doors got dinged more times than I can count, but I never got a dent or paint loss when it happened. Same for bumper scratches.  I don't know enough to know why, but the Audi was a true M1 Abrams tank.

 I know, BMW, BMW....

- Well, lemme tell you, I got my chance.   I "inherited" a 2002 BMW530i loaded an I mean loaded, so I let the Audi go - my saddest car separation.  Well, the BMW was heaven on earth, the perfect driving machine.   For about six months, then all kindsa stuff went wrong.  Still under warranty, I had that car in the shop a lot. I needed my own dedicated mechanic. Things you never hear about happening were going on with this lemon and the original owner was a family member.  The last straw was when the dealer couldn't figure out why the rear passenger fans wouldn't stop spinning when the car was off.  I hadda disconnect the battery cable to park.   Yes, when you do that on a Bimmer bad things happen to all things electric. Every three days the battery was dead.  Enough.   

- Back to Honda, got a brand spankin new 2008 Accord EX V6 and lemme tell you, they don't warn you about the sheer power of this car.  It's not like the 1998 Purple EX V6.   They made real progress.  That car does 0-60 in about six seconds give or take and turns off two cylinders on the highway and handles like it's on rails.   This, too was one of the great ones.  I kept it for about four years and my son has it now. Our deal is that he can have it, but it doesn't leave the family.   When I bought it I bought the door bumper guards and it made it look really slick, too.   The kid has lotsa dings and scratches o it now, but he maintains it well and I'm glad it stays in the family.

- What did I do?  The tragic passing of grandpa let us inherit.... yes!  another Audi!  Mostly because when it came time for grandpa to buy a car in his seventies I told him what to get.   

An interesting side note about all this stuff is that I have many siblings, and they have all gone to Audi's - except the one black sheep of the family, the accountant, who insists it doesn't add up.   Yeah, okay, brother.  I still love you.

We all know that car decisions are not financial, especially when you have special needs, are a commuter, or depend on it to take out clients.

So, here's a question.  How do you find a good mechanic?   Someone you can trust?  I can no longer lay in the street to change a muffler or even the oil.

Thanks for reading, friends.  I love this subject and I love cars, car mags, car accessories and all the stuff that empties your wallet but brings joy when you polish that last bit of wax off the chrome.

Keep writing about yours, too, I love it all

Regards to All,

PR

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

Man, you guys talking about all these classic cars, making me feel young /default_laugh.png

Currently have a late 90s and a mid 2000 vehicle. Have only owned two other vehicles in my lifetime (yeah I'm probably a bit younger than you guys). The newer one is my project car, with AWD and a turbo from the factory, it was a great platform to start with. Have done a LOT of work on it over the years, many suspension/brake upgrades, has a larger than stock (but still DD friendly) aftermarket turbo, which spools quickly and makes good power. Upgraded fuel pump/injectors/intercooler/exhaust, etc. Some exterior bits also, I could go on but you guys get the point. It is fast, and handles like its on rails. It will induce a "holy shit!" out of of anyone who rides with me, if I decide to give it some throttle, or hit backroads or some of my favorite curvy on ramps.

The late 90s is a larger vehicle, much more ground clearance, I take it camping or off road, help people move with it, etc. Ironically, the 3.8L V6 in it gets better mpgs than my newer 2.5T H4 project does. So I DD the older vehicle more frequently.

Sorry to be so vague guys, but due to the nature of this forum, I don't want to be too specific. Jewy has seen pics of my project, and can vouch for its beauty :lol:

 

[Smokeyjoe]

Yea Heisenberg, I know what you mean about posting too much info about the cars you have or work on. Some cars may be more rare and easy to associate with an owner and many of us may have already plastered our projects on auto sites.

You must be the "new" generation of car guys the magazines talk about, 80s and 90s and 00s are the years you prefer and grew up with.

I keep wondering where all the Brass era cars will go soon with the owners getting older and passing away and the appreciation for those cars is dying with them, plus the space and commitment needs of those cars is much more then most others.

Great story Packrat, I can relate to the VW parts, /default_smile.png. My high school car was a VW Baja bug, what a pain in the ass that thing was and it always needed something fixed.

We just bought a new car for my wife to commute in, first new car since 1991, and we looked at and drove the Audi, the entry level one they have. It did run great and was very nice but it looked similar to many other cars.

Then we looked at the Volvo site and saw the C30 they have , test drove it and bought one. It's been a great car and has a unique look, its a two door, and the hatch back is great for loading and unloading our two dogs.

I had never liked Volvos and considered Volvo drivers to be on par with mini van drivers and didn't want to be associated with a Volvo...until I drove it.

For an entry level model it was very fast, 5 cylinder turbo, and rode very smooth. I had them add the power chip to bump up the HP and I was blown away with how fast it is.

I have never owned a car that has so much clean and available power, When I see a car I want to pass on the highway and I press the gas, its like the car accelerates at the speed of thought its so responsive and then the turbo kicks in and WOW.

It really is too much power for a car that size should have and it's raw power. They do have their stability controls that are difficult to find to disable, but no controls to keep the wheels from spinning or things like that.

We have been very happy with the C30 Volvo and I never liked Volvos.

I tend to keep my cars and still drive as my primary car my 1992 ford explorer i bought new in 1991. At this point it has cost me about $900 per year not counting gas to own and drive it. It's still in great shape with the original motor now at 240,000 miles.

 

[Beranda]

Oh man!  I love this thread!

We definitely need this.  I need this!

i'm no expert but I love cars.   Yeah, enough to have made some stupid financial deals.  Get this:  When I was 20 I bought a 71 Matador for ~US$150.   What a lesson I learned.  It had no brake drum pads left so it was metal on metal to stop, leaked a can of break fluid a day, bald tires and I mean bald as Heisenberg (sorry, brother).  It held no steering fluid either and I think it ran on only seven of the eight cylinders.   What an idiot I was.  It cost me more to ditch it - good thing I knew the local sheriff who helped me out.   I lived at the top of a hill, started her up one day and let her roll, tried the brakes and nuthin' but floorboard.   So, I jammed on the emergency brake.  That would work, right?  Nope.  it was already stuck in the engaged position.  Maybe I shoulda checked it before taking off.   I was soooo lucky, I missed a Malibu by inches, turned left to head uphill and jammed it into a tree.   O f*ck!   I don't care what kinda brass cojones you've got that get your attention!  Well, y'know "stupid is as stupid does" (Forest Gump ref).  That was my last disaster, yeah many years ago (knockin' wood).  That was all just to tell you guys how car savvy I am.  

My first was a '68 VW Beetle.  I was really into them.  All my friends hung out at one of those do-it-yourself-and-rent-out-space-and-tools places so I did learn to do some stuff.  I replaced the carb, clutch plate, engine seal (I had overfilled and it leaked, so...), but I had some help.  The worst for me was replacing the 68 muffler.  Ever do that?  It's a bitch when you have no lift and you are doing it in the street with dogs sniffing your feet and the job is a bitch itself.   The dumbest was replacing the clutch cable on the Beetle (gotta have two people for that stretch) and after replacing it finding out that the clutch pedal arm had a crack and that was why I couldn't completely disengage the gears.  What an idiot, but this is how you learn.   Now, my favorite bug is the post-WWII (maybe a 1949?) with the split rear window an sephamore turning signals (y'know, the little arms that flip up in the door panel left and right?  I'd love to see one of them again in great shape.   I remember the only way to get the heat to work was to get movin 'cause there was no fan. Not a great car in Florida in summer.   Gotta love the ingenuity of these cars, though and now VW pretty much owns the German auto market or a good deal of it, don't they?

I had to grown up eventually and become a responsible citizen so this is what I ended up doing once I had some real responsibilities (and got smacked around by dad a few times):

- borrowed money from dad to get a Dodge Colt stick (really a Mitsubishi Mirage but I didn't know).  I loved that car until some mutt rammed me in the side.  End of that one, but many memories including Christening the carpet with a burger and beer one night.

- again dad helped me so we bought two brand new Hyundai Excel's in 1986 (wtf?) - the first Hyundai's in America and look at 'em now.  Ever wanna punish someone, just give 'em one of these to drive for a coupla years.   The deal was I maintain dad's and he paid for mine.Great deal for me.  It was kinda okay, but dog slow.  Odd, tho, the reason I bought them was because they were purported to have the same insides under the hood as the Mirage, and for the most part they did.   Yep, 0-60 in 60.  Well, maybe a bit better, but it felt that way.  I have to say that they were actually reliable little dogs, tho.

- then came heaven.   I got my first Honda Accord '90 LX (US model).  What a dream.  To this day I still see some of them puttering about.   It had an amazing amount of Schlitz (to reference an ol' beer) for 95 horses. This was one of the great ones.   Everyone has a different philosophy on cars, and mine is simple:  Never confuse them with assets that you can make money or otherwise benefit from, and try to hold on to the great ones as long as you can, and I believe everyone runs into a great one now and then.  I have had three great cars...  read on unless you've had enough.

- After five years with my glorious LX the maintenance got too expensive  (I was a dumb kid) and the dealer offered me a great lease on a Honda minivan - their first try at the minivan market.   I think this mini was based on an Isuzu platform, and it was okay but way, way under powered which killed the gas mileage.  It cost about ten bucks to fill up but I hadda do it too often.

- Good thing it was just a two year lease 'cause I was gettin tired of that boat, and driving everyone who needed a lift to the bus stop around in it.

- Leased a '98 Accord EX V6 (US Model again) - black currant pearl color - like a deeeeep purple, almost black.  Oh, just gorgeous in the right light.  Talk about power!  This thing musta weighed under 1000 Kilo's (maybe 2200 lbs) so every time I took off at the light the front wheels chirped.   I'd never had any car with any kind of luxury features so we had a great honeymoon. Quick, great handling, and quiet.  I was quickly becoming a Honda loyalist.

- Only I wasn't.  I got a great job offer and decided to stop screwing around with leases because I ran beyond the mileage and always ended up with scratches  Well, you know the deal with leases.  It makes sense for some people, especially if you follow the rules and can expense it.   Not a fit for me financially.   The Honda Finance creeps never asked for a penny when I gouged all four bumpers and dinged the doors on the minivan.  When I turned in the purple EX they decided to itemize every scratch and send me a bill. Why?  because I found a great deal elsewhere.   On, of all things, an Audi!  There was a web site in 2000 that listed a 2001 but it was under priced - so I made 'em own up to it, and when I picked up the car the dealer assured me that no one made a penny on that car.   Good for me. 'bout time I won one.  From the Matador to brand new Audi, and I loved that car.  I would have it still today but that is another story.  I have to say, just IME and IMHO for what you pay for an Audi, you get so much more than the other foreign passenger cars.  And, yes this was also one of the three great cars I've ever owned. My doors got dinged more times than I can count, but I never got a dent or paint loss when it happened. Same for bumper scratches.  I don't know enough to know why, but the Audi was a true M1 Abrams tank.

 I know, BMW, BMW....

- Well, lemme tell you, I got my chance.   I "inherited" a 2002 BMW530i loaded an I mean loaded, so I let the Audi go - my saddest car separation.  Well, the BMW was heaven on earth, the perfect driving machine.   For about six months, then all kindsa stuff went wrong.  Still under warranty, I had that car in the shop a lot. I needed my own dedicated mechanic. Things you never hear about happening were going on with this lemon and the original owner was a family member.  The last straw was when the dealer couldn't figure out why the rear passenger fans wouldn't stop spinning when the car was off.  I hadda disconnect the battery cable to park.   Yes, when you do that on a Bimmer bad things happen to all things electric. Every three days the battery was dead.  Enough.   

- Back to Honda, got a brand spankin new 2008 Accord EX V6 and lemme tell you, they don't warn you about the sheer power of this car.  It's not like the 1998 Purple EX V6.   They made real progress.  That car does 0-60 in about six seconds give or take and turns off two cylinders on the highway and handles like it's on rails.   This, too was one of the great ones.  I kept it for about four years and my son has it now. Our deal is that he can have it, but it doesn't leave the family.   When I bought it I bought the door bumper guards and it made it look really slick, too.   The kid has lotsa dings and scratches o it now, but he maintains it well and I'm glad it stays in the family.

- What did I do?  The tragic passing of grandpa let us inherit.... yes!  another Audi!  Mostly because when it came time for grandpa to buy a car in his seventies I told him what to get.   

An interesting side note about all this stuff is that I have many siblings, and they have all gone to Audi's - except the one black sheep of the family, the accountant, who insists it doesn't add up.   Yeah, okay, brother.  I still love you.

We all know that car decisions are not financial, especially when you have special needs, are a commuter, or depend on it to take out clients.

So, here's a question.  How do you find a good mechanic?   Someone you can trust?  I can no longer lay in the street to change a muffler or even the oil.

Thanks for reading, friends.  I love this subject and I love cars, car mags, car accessories and all the stuff that empties your wallet but brings joy when you polish that last bit of wax off the chrome.

Keep writing about yours, too, I love it all

Regards to All,

PR

PR, 

I really enjoyed that auto recap thoroughly.

I've been intimidated by this thread; but have found myself reading it daily. (I'm a girl)

Pack Rat has inspired me to share a few autobiographical automatic details.  But please, if you're going to laugh at me; please do so openly, so I know about it.

I learned to drive on a John Deer riding lawn mower.  I grew up in a small town mostly loggers and cattle ranchers (and meth cooks) made up the population.  My parents did not grow anything except hay and exotic animals.  However, Dad imported MaryJ. by the contractor bags...I can't be sure he wasn't growing it somewhere on our property as well. The John Deer was a great safe fun (slow) place to learn and it introduced an standard transmission early; which I still feel should be required by all drivers.

My parents were volks drivers and then volvos.  So I next learned to drive a volvo station wagon turbo (when turbo was new and troublesome) my Dad's car was constantly overheating and this was due to the newly created turbo capabilities.  I learned to drive this 'trailer' years later maybe at 10 in a empty parking lot.  Living in the country; gave young kids access to driving sooner than our 'towny' counterparts.

When it was time to get my license and select my first ride; I was offered by Dad (always car involved) a car that I still rarely hear about.  

Dad had fallen asleep at the wheel of his 1989 Merkur Scorpio  (I believe it was a after too much Imimprimine).

So, the deal was if I paid to spring the car from the body shop; it was mine.  Plus I had to pay for insurance and Dad would get me a gas card (AKA cigarette card)

That gas card came in quite handy.  I could buy every meal at the Chevron and eat all the shit my mom wouldn't buy for the house.

So the Merkur was the equivalent of the friend that you just adore but is ALWAYS in some kind of trouble.  Being that the car was a bit rare; most mechanics saw dollar signs as soon as I drove on the lot.  It wasn't all that exotic (it was a ford for goodness sake).

The poor muffler was never pristine.  It was loud and everyone knew when I was a mile away.  Sneaking out of the neighborhood at night literally had this 16 year old chick pushing the car out of the driveway in neutral.  It was that loud.

Unbeknownst to me; my very mechanically challenged father had forgone a new exhaust and had taken (are you ready?) flattened tin cans and medium gauge wire and patched the 3" diameter swiss cheese holes throughout the exhaust with these cans.

One day as I drove with friends down a country road after a day at the crick (yep we went to the crick to hang out).  We all heard a loud crash and what we all thought was a lost hubcap.  We also noticed that the car was unusually quiet.  I pulled over and quickly realized that I was sans muffler and 8 feet of my exhaust. We went back and loaded the carcass into the trunk as if we had hit a wild animal.  

It was the beginning of the end.  I loved that car.  For a teenager who loved getting in the backseat with 'friends' I must report one of the more spacious backseats can be enjoyed in a Merkur Scorpio.

The next jump was a difficult but short lived experience with an Oldsmobile or Chrysler (I have blocked this period out)

Next jump was to a beater 1988 Toyota Celica.  It did it's job after I rid it of the lemon status I bought it at.  It was my first purchase unassisted and in a new state.  I drove this car to the ground (or so I thought).  At the end I had to ask my passengers to crawl through their window (Dukes of Hazzard style).  I thought I'd have to drive it off a cliff late at night; but I made $600 when I sold this beaut.  Next was a beautiful and enjoyable 12 year love affair with a Toy. 1997 Celica SE hatchback.  It was brand new when I got it and it was a joy to drive until the day we sold it.

Now I'm a mom and wife and 'professional' adult.

I drive (and happily) a Lexus vehicle and am likely done with exciting cars.  

Go ahead laugh.

That was enjoyable for me though.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

No laughter here, I enjoyed reading all of that. Thanks for sharing Beranda.

Edit: Just wanted to add that Toyota is a great car manufacturer. I have worked on a lot of them, and they are overall very reliable and solid vehicles. I am especially a fan of their older trucks, as well as the newer Tacomas and Tundras.

I'll post an amazing Top Gear video of an older Toyota truck later, after work. Some of you may have seen it already, but its certainly thread-worthy.

 

[Heisenberg / HNB]

Yea Heisenberg, I know what you mean about posting too much info about the cars you have or work on. Some cars may be more rare and easy to associate with an owner and many of us may have already plastered our projects on auto sites.

You must be the "new" generation of car guys the magazines talk about, 80s and 90s and 00s are the years you prefer and grew up with.

Yep this is all pretty accurate.  I may be of the "new" generation, but can certainly still appreciate everything automotive, from classic cars, to trail ready offroad vehicles, to Euro cars, to Japanese Imports, to American muscle.

I've been active on various car forums for 10+ years before finding DBG.  If anyone thinks DBG is a "rough" board, or that the moderators here are "too tough", you should go poke around at a car forum for a while.  Or better yet, go create an account and ask a seemingly innocent that has probably been answered once or twice (or a hundred) times before.  And see what kind of response you'll get /default_laugh.png 

 

[Packrat]

@Heisenberg,

Oh, man - now I've gotta know which cars you're talking about, but of course I'll respect the privacy you want to maintain. Hmmm... who makes a 3.8L v6, well that could be a lot of cars.  It think I have an idea of the 2.5T tho.   Well... maybe not.   

but... I am grinning and @Beranda no, not laughing.  I've always wanted to drive a John Deere but forget it where I live.  It might stand out just a tad.   

Driving a stick should be mandatory in driving school.  Safety, cornering control, all you need is a downhill or a good push with a bad battery (i've had lotsa them).  I can't think of many things in favor of an automatic except there are more people to buy them and senior citizens need em.

Oh! Volvo's and Saab's (RIP)!  Now I need to know how the Swiss can make a FWD more stable in the snow than a 4WD.   One of my many siblings has a grey (it used to be darker but it's soooo old now) Volvo 544 (talk about tanks) and it still runs.  It's his family's driving instruction car.  I liked it, but oooooh I only wanted the P1800.  Now that was a car and chick magnet.

I'd heard of a Merkur Scorpion but only saw one once.  There were a few XR4Ti's in the neighborhood.   I thought they were really cool but when I got older realized they were European Fords.  Not to take anything away from them, because when I rode in one it was a blast.

Midasize it!  I used to hear that all the time.  That's why I hadda change my VW muffler.  I tried everything to avoid it, including this tape that was metallic and wrapped around the affected parts and the exhaust manifold heat was supposed to fuse it to the muffler.  What crap that was.  Ended up having to do the job anyway.   

Believe me or not, there was this guy who had a 59 Silver Shadow in our neighborhood.  Yes, that's right, a Rolls.   Unkempt and unshaven, he ran it up and down Main Street where we lived with no muffler but two galvanized steel garbage cans in the trunk. Ahem.  Let me repeat that: no muffler but two galvanized steel garbage cans in the trunk.  Hadda be doing it for effect.   Since he didn't fix it, it had to be for fun.   I will never understand that, but whenever I fly for business and look down at the cowling covering the turbine jet compartment and the RR symbol I smile a smile no one will ever understand let alone believe.

Ah, I've become too conservative in my old age.

H -

"Sorry to be so vague guys, but due to the nature of this forum, I don't want to be too specific. Jewy has seen pics of my project, and can vouch for its beauty  /default_laugh.png "

I like talking about this stuff, but do you really think there's risk to anonymity I we stick to general info?   I mean, no countries, provinces, states or license plates; we s/b okay, yes?

Oh - I see your new post.   You are talking about stuff that's unique and could be tied back to you personally, right?

Regards,

PR