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For the failures you're most likely to repair and wear items, you can safely generalize on manufacturer. 99% of Toyotas will be cheaper to repair than a BMW except for the one where it will be exactly the same. Fords will be cheaper to repair than Audis. There's not going to be a massive difference in parts/repair costs between your average cars from any mass-market brand. I have an Opel GT, a German "sports" car built by a French train company and imported to Buick dealerships for a grand total of six model years, fifty years ago. The vast majority of them have disintegrated into small piles of rust, and if you ask anyone at a parts counter for something for it, the reaction is invariably "for a what?". I can still, at a regular-rear end Autozone, buy an oil filter, brake pads, spark plugs, points, and even a thermostat, in stock either at the closest location or the next one further away. No, that's not a lot of parts, but that's the poo poo that's going to be needed most often. I can have quite a bit more shipped to my house in a matter of days from Rockauto or Amazon, and I can practically rebuild the car from scratch from parts available at the multiple specialty shops devoted to keeping Opels on the road. Point is that this (and the XLR) are extreme outlier cases that the average car buyer is not going to stumble into. You'd have to try hard to find a car with truly nonexistent support. Maybe a Daewoo?
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Feb 1, 2022 18:40
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While we're discussing cars, I'm going to wait until things settle down a bit with the chip shortage but could I go wrong with either a Lexus UX250h or NX300h? I want something nice, comfortable, maintainable, reliable but still relatively efficient. The only negative perspective I am able to think of is that they are slightly nicer rebadged Toyotas but that's kind of what I want without the costs of European vehicles. I'm fine with a hybrid and could care less about going fast.
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Feb 1, 2022 19:39
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Yes, honestly sounds ideal as long as you don't pull what some other poster did and assume that because something is a CUV that it's relatively large. The UX is small. The NX is slightly larger. I personally think the Venza is a good near luxury compromise; it's nice for a Toyota but doesn't suffer from Lexus' deranged styling efforts.
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Feb 1, 2022 20:26
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That's fine with me, I just want a slightly larger car with the convince, ride height and storage of a hatchback. I was also thinking about a CX-30 but there's no hybrid option. I didn't even realize the Venza even existed. That's an interesting option. Now my only remaining concern is what happens the supply shortage ends - I'm thinking that when it does if I buy a $25k car that going to be a $5k loss or more but I think I could live with that.
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Feb 1, 2022 21:33
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It's not going to suddenly just "be over". Even if every new car were just widely available tomorrow, the only pressure that immediately relieves on prices in the used market is removing the pool of "buyers who would buy new but can't wait long enough". New cars have been supply-constrained for so long that used cars will take at least a year or two to not be supply-constrained as well, and even then every seller isn't going to just suddenly drop their pants. Resale value should be one of the lowest concerns when buying a car. The only thing you should be worried about in that regard is if you're taking a loan out to buy the car, if/how long you will be underwater on said loan.
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Feb 1, 2022 22:07
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IOwnCalculus posted:Resale value should be one of the lowest concerns when buying a car. Case in point: BMW 7 series 
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Feb 1, 2022 22:13
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Hadlock posted:Case in point: BMW 7 series Which is actually what makesit such a good choice for the budget-conscious buyer on the used market!
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Feb 2, 2022 01:07
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IOwnCalculus posted:It's not going to suddenly just "be over". Even if every new car were just widely available tomorrow, the only pressure that immediately relieves on prices in the used market is removing the pool of "buyers who would buy new but can't wait long enough". New cars have been supply-constrained for so long that used cars will take at least a year or two to not be supply-constrained as well, and even then every seller isn't going to just suddenly drop their pants. I don't think it's going to be suddenly over but there's definitely going to an enormous change in value. See the study I mentioned earlier. Hadlock posted:Case in point: BMW 7 series  Nearly half of the cars value is gone in the first few years. Wowza.
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Feb 2, 2022 05:29
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Next question, When buying a car should I be trying to get below a certain mileage? As if, if I go above or below xx,xxx miles I'll save a bit or something or it doesn't matter in the long run just get the car checked out before you buy it.
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Feb 2, 2022 07:51
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Depends on your personal risk acceptance level Until about two years ago I don't think I'd ever owned (or serviced) any car under 120,000 miles, also never paid more than $3500 for a car, just drove the wheels off it, new oil change every 20-30k miles which is way, way above recommended service interval My wife on the other hand gets nervous when the car has more than 50,000 miles and has never paid less than $20,000, gets it serviced at the dealer Neither of us have ever been left stranded on the side of the road
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Feb 2, 2022 09:10
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Crosby B. Alfred posted:Nearly half of the cars value is gone in the first few years. Wowza. While high, that is not like, starkly unusual from the depreciation of any vehicle. Especially sedans and especially luxury cars. Bog standard stuff. Cars are always depressingly depreciating, if you aren’t down with always driving a completely depreciated 15+ year old vehicle
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Feb 2, 2022 14:20
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I used to think low mileage was a guarantee but that all changed when I bought the 32k mile 2005 forester to replace a totaled 78k 2004 forester. The 2005 was vastly more problematic Hint: one of those cars came from the rust belt and the other was from phoenix
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Feb 2, 2022 14:44
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I'm looking to buy a 2nd car in the spring, and I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts or advice. I currently drive a (paid off) 2016 Civic coupe and plan to keep it for winter driving. Proposed Budget: $30-$40k New or Used: no preference Body Style: 2 door coupe, but not a muscle car How will you be using the car?: daily driver What aspects are most important to you? RWD, manual transmission I've narrowed down the choices to a used Nissan 370Z or a new Toyota GR86. The Nissan has more HP but supposedly more road noise, so maybe not the best for a daily driver? Is there another option I'm missing?
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Feb 2, 2022 15:58
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Crosby B. Alfred posted:I don't think it's going to be suddenly over but there's definitely going to an enormous change in value. See the study I mentioned earlier. Yes, cars depreciate. My point was that when buying a car you should expect it to depreciate - the fact that if you bought a car in February 2020 it basically hasn't lost value between then and now isn't something to count on, but the market isn't suddenly going to flip over to "if depreciation had been normal in the last two years". Buy a car because you need/want to and because you understand that it will cost you money in every aspect, not because you think it's an asset or an investment.
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Feb 2, 2022 16:06
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The Nissan is really a grand touring car, a big fat fucker for long fast drives. The toyobaru is more of a small throwable sports car, think miatalogue. Are you planning on driving on curvy roads? The 370z platform is pretty old, which may be a concern or a plus.
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Feb 2, 2022 16:09
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PCjr sidecar posted:The Nissan is really a grand touring car, a big fat fucker for long fast drives. The toyobaru is more of a small throwable sports car, think miatalogue. Are you planning on driving on curvy roads? The 370z platform is pretty old, which may be a concern or a plus.
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Feb 2, 2022 16:23
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fenix down posted:Proposed Budget: $30-$40k You might be able to get a used BMW 2/4 series with that criteria. Maybe even find a cheaper Cayman, but it'd probably be pretty old. What's wrong with a Miata? It's a convertible, not a coupe, but I would call it the superior option out of all of these options.
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Feb 2, 2022 16:27
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Mustache Ride posted:You might be able to get a used BMW 2/4 series with that criteria. Maybe even find a cheaper Cayman, but it'd probably be pretty old.
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Feb 2, 2022 16:40
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The Miata is a great car. I put maybe $1k of repairs into my nc over 7 years. (Not including brakes and tires)
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Feb 2, 2022 16:54
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cars should never be treated as assets* *some exceptions apply in the collector car market you pedants, but for this thread's purposes no. and those assets routinely underperform. If you are considering a used 370z you should wait until the new Z comes out, it will be better in every possible way and should be available at the top of your budget. you can also save some more money to be able to afford it before it's out. The Miata is a great car but freeway commutes are not its forte. It's perfectly capable but that's not why you buy a Miata.
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Feb 2, 2022 18:30
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Biggest expense on my 11 years of NC ownership was $600 for leaking axle seals after 8 years of autocross and daily driving.
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Feb 2, 2022 18:33
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bird with big dick posted:Why’d you pour water on the screen? KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:i did really love the wording of "water got poured over the screen" so..this is just a theory but... right before i got the car, my friend wanted to detail it for me, which was nice of her. unfortunately, the day i got it, the inside was still wet and i guess by leaving the windows closed, a shitload of condensation built up on the windshield. like, more than i've ever seen before even on cold days with my previous cars. the windshield and dashboard got absolutely drenched, as if someone through a bucket of water a few minutes ago. so yeah, that water eventually dripped down to the infotaintment center and well...here we are 
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Feb 3, 2022 04:04
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I'm just imagining someone happily detailing away spraying down the interior with a hose and the doors open lol.
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Feb 3, 2022 04:12
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:cars should never be treated as assets* Topical story on why car collectors keep assets around that underperform: Just a few weeks ago I was like "Man I really have to sell my Aston while the market is hot and before it starts getting expensive to maintain" but then today I went out to the garage and ran it a bit so the battery wouldn't die and I could get the fluids moving around a bit and revving it made me feel like an 8 year old grinning from ear to ear so now I can't sell it and I'm back to square one 
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Feb 3, 2022 04:16
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Inner Light posted:I'm just imagining someone happily detailing away spraying down the interior with a hose and the doors open lol. How many enthusiasts out there are always wishing for a bare bones car with this, that the other thing, and a "hose out interior".
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Feb 3, 2022 12:33
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wesleywillis posted:How many enthusiasts out there are always wishing for a bare bones car with this, that the other thing, and a "hose out interior". I always assumed that's why taxis had vinyl seats.
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Feb 3, 2022 12:42
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So I've never owned a hybrid before, is it okay to just take it into my normal mechanic for oil change/checkup?
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Feb 4, 2022 20:08
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Should be. A hybrid still has a traditional internal combustion engine and oil system. It's usually just really small. I change my own on my Prius and it's the same process as anything else. Drain. Replace filter. Fill. For a "tune up" I'm not sure what else they'll actually look at that would be any different on a hybrid, plus with the sheer amount of hybrids on the road they should be familiar.
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Feb 4, 2022 20:30
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:yeah i would not think twice about spending $180 to get an AM alarm system out clean, the key words being out clean. nm posted:Aftermarket alarms are all terrible car poo poo. If you can get that poo poo ripped out cleanly, get it out. so i know why i want to get it of it, but is there any other reason to do so aside from the loving annoyingness of it all?
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Feb 5, 2022 18:26
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some minimum wage tweaker who is Stoked About Car Audio installed it so inevitably the connections will degrade and it'll cause problems, at minimum with the actual alarm itself just loving up, and at worst with it loving up other systems since it's hacked in to the wiring of the car
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Feb 5, 2022 19:36
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Mr Interweb posted:so i know why i want to get it of it, but is there any other reason to do so aside from the loving annoyingness of it all? Also the installers are usually lazy and use those dumb clips that slightly cut into the wires and it's sloppy as poo poo. Oh and the fact it's probably not so hard to disable them with whatever aftermarket clicker you can acquire.
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Feb 5, 2022 20:23
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Verman posted:For a "tune up" I'm not sure what else they'll actually look at that would be any different on a hybrid, plus with the sheer amount of hybrids on the road they should be familiar. In the days of electronic fuel injection, what even is a "tune-up" (if a shop were to advertise one) these days? Is there actually something consistent? Or do they just replace plugs and filters and maybe a PCV valve or something? I just stick to the published maintenance schedule for the most part aside from problems.
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Feb 6, 2022 01:17
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shortspecialbus posted:In the days of electronic fuel injection, what even is a "tune-up" (if a shop were to advertise one) these days? Is there actually something consistent? Or do they just replace plugs and filters and maybe a PCV valve or something? 
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Feb 6, 2022 01:24
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shortspecialbus posted:In the days of electronic fuel injection, what even is a "tune-up" (if a shop were to advertise one) these days? Is there actually something consistent? Or do they just replace plugs and filters and maybe a PCV valve or something? I've always wondered this as well. As someone who does all my own maintenance, I've never understood what a tune up means other than $500 for literally nothing but an oil change, fill up your tires, and maybe top off the window fluid. They're certainly not replacing brake pads, shocks, bearings, or end links. They're not swapping any diff/trans fluid, replacing belts, installing a new battery etc. It's not like they're adjusting valves or tuning a carburetor. No alignment. If they do, you're paying extra for those parts and labor. I think it's a scam and probably the biggest telltale sign they've got someone taking the bait who knows nothing about cars. It would be way too easy to just say "yeah it needed some new fluids, a new blah blah blah bearing, some engine adjustments, air in the tires etc" and just like that $1200 for a $60 oil change.
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Feb 6, 2022 02:49
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As you mentioned, What it used to be, at least where the name came from, is carburetor tuning, an art of rapidly-diminishing need. Probably other general preventative maintenance things were done, but that's the basis of the "tuning." Without that, it's an ambiguous term at best I think. Or there is some secret meaning I don't know.
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Feb 6, 2022 03:05
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shortspecialbus posted:What it used to be, at least where the name came from, is carburetor tuning, an art of rapidly-diminishing need. Points, plugs, condenser, distributor cap, rotor, set the dwell and the timing. I never touched the carburetor, myself.
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Feb 6, 2022 03:06
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Deteriorata posted:Points, plugs, condenser, distributor cap, rotor, set the dwell and the timing. I never touched the carburetor, myself. So in other words, "plugs" is all that's left. Interesting that the carb wasn't involved for you.
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Feb 6, 2022 03:14
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Thinking about swapping the 2020 86 for something my wife will drive. She refuses to learn stick or is too scared to mess it up or whatever but she won’t drive it lol I like the car a lot but my true love is motorcycles and I can cope until we have space for another Miata. Or the new Z  Would like to be able to carry a pair of bicycles and or camping gear with the new vehicle. The 86 is decent for camping but no good for carrying bikes Looking at everything from Volvo wagons (too expensive) to the 4Runner (too expensive?) to the maverick/Hyundai thing (don’t know much about these but I want a Ute) to a used like, sienna or something. All over the place.
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Feb 6, 2022 04:17
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I'm starting to look at trading in and replacing my Kia Soul (because I live in Milwaukee and I'm sick of replacing windows and expecting my car to be gone whenever I go to the store). Even with exactly every single bell and whistle I'm looking for and a pretty decent price, I'm guessing a 2014 Jeep Cherokee Latitude with 120k miles is probably a terrible idea?
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Feb 6, 2022 04:37
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shortspecialbus posted:So in other words, "plugs" is all that's left. Interesting that the carb wasn't involved for you.
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Feb 6, 2022 05:35
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