When Car People Give Advice on Purchesing

[xphiledan]

jalopnik won't even try to hide their love affair w the e30

[Be30mer]

I still think she should get an e30.

[Bishop]

Dammit the movie won't load for me...

[Adrian_Visser]

Awesome. I lol'd.

[Wh33lhop]

"She can take one at a time" was the best line.

That was a good one. Also "You are really crazy, she needs a rear wheel drive car to get superb handling dynamics."

The Mazdaspeed3 actually handles really well, for the record.

[quickervicar]

"The BMW dealer will charge an arm and a leg to work on an older BMW, and they will probably ruin the car in the process."

Snort!! :)

Does anyone else find that everyone asks you for advice on car purchases, then goes out & does exactly what Consumer Reports says anyway?

[dvs909]

Just got my sister into a '01 toyota avalon, and after watching this i nearly died. she has 2 kids as well and i went thru a less ridiculious version of that argument with her. tried for e46, G35, GS300 and plenty of other more entertaining cars but she wanted the appliance.

[Bimmerman325i]

So damn funny. I've gone through similar arguments with friends.

[quickervicar]

Just got my sister into a '01 toyota avalon, and after watching this i nearly died. she has 2 kids as well and i went thru a less ridiculious version of that argument with her. tried for e46, G35, GS300 and plenty of other more entertaining cars but she wanted the appliance.

Three recent advice seekers ignored my advice & went with the following:

-'89 Honda Accord because "we don't need a racecar, just something reliable" End result: needed a new cat $500, and a new carb (yes, carb) for $1200 within 6 months of ownership

-'01 Toyota Avalon because "they never break." End result: New (rebuilt) transmission @ 120,000 = $2,400

-'08 Infiniti FX45 because "they're neat." End result: cannot fit everything needed for 3 children in the back hatch, so the Tahoe is used 95% of the time. Needed new front driveshaft @ 35,000 = $450 + one day spent @ nearest Infiniti dealer, 1.5 hours away.

I wasn't suggesting S2000s or Alfas to these people. Just older Mercedes & BMWs.

[dvs909]

Three recent advice seekers ignored my advice & went with the following:

-'89 Honda Accord because "we don't need a racecar, just something reliable" End result: needed a new cat $500, and a new carb (yes, carb) for $1200 within 6 months of ownership

-'01 Toyota Avalon because "they never break." End result: New (rebuilt) transmission @ 120,000 = $2,400

-'08 Infiniti FX45 because "they're neat." End result: cannot fit everything needed for 3 children in the back hatch, so the Tahoe is used 95% of the time. Needed new front driveshaft @ 35,000 = $450 + one day spent @ nearest Infiniti dealer, 1.5 hours away.

I wasn't suggesting S2000s or Alfas to these people. Just older Mercedes & BMWs.

great, now i see that transmission problem in there and am starting to second guess myself. it is the 3rd avalon in the family, i had one that went past 300k on original everything for my first car, and my grandpa had one that went to 250k before he sold it, so we felt comfortable with another one.

[Wh33lhop]

Three recent advice seekers ignored my advice & went with the following:

-'89 Honda Accord because "we don't need a racecar, just something reliable" End result: needed a new cat $500, and a new carb (yes, carb) for $1200 within 6 months of ownership

-'01 Toyota Avalon because "they never break." End result: New (rebuilt) transmission @ 120,000 = $2,400

-'08 Infiniti FX45 because "they're neat." End result: cannot fit everything needed for 3 children in the back hatch, so the Tahoe is used 95% of the time. Needed new front driveshaft @ 35,000 = $450 + one day spent @ nearest Infiniti dealer, 1.5 hours away.

I wasn't suggesting S2000s or Alfas to these people. Just older Mercedes & BMWs.

And what do you think would have happened to these older Mercs and BMWs? What perfectly reliable, dependable older BMW could you get for '89 Accord money?

[rustybullet]

And what do you think would have happened to these older Mercs and BMWs? What perfectly reliable, dependable older BMW could you get for '89 Accord money?

my most recent e30 was bought for $700 i have driven it on 6 hour drives more then once since i have bought it. i love old people selling cars lol.

[quickervicar]

And what do you think would have happened to these older Mercs and BMWs? What perfectly reliable, dependable older BMW could you get for '89 Accord money?

Admittedly, this was several years ago. They overpaid for the Accord, based on the theory that it never needs service--ever. I try to explain to everyone that cars are cars and ALL will eventually need maintenance/service. They passed on a very clean W123 for roughly the same money. And yes, I will take an older W123 to a newer Accord any day of the week.

[b*saint]

92 accord only ever needed a starter in the 20k miles I put on it starting at 160k miles.

96 318ti needed close to a $1200 worth of stuff within 10k miles starting at 220k.

[Kershaw]

ahahah.

i have a friend (female) who is buying a car (new, budget = $15000) and she asked me for advice. it went down a lot like this. i told her to buy a used car, but her mother was philosophically opposed to used cars... a 1 year lease is about 2/3s a new car and is still basically new... w/e.

she ended up getting a scion xd.