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Woof Blitzer posted:Gen 4 Trans am Which engine? What year specifically? There are massive differences. If it's an automatic it will lose 3rd and 4th gears, but they are readily available as it's the same trans GM put in every RWD. If it's a V8 with a stick it will hold up better but when it does break good luck finding anyone to rebuild it, the V8 manual cars had a T56. As stated it will squeak and rattle, and it will also leak water, even if it's not a t-top. It has huge "hips" so the side mirrors are for decoration only. It has a live rear axle with a fairly interesting third-link/torque arm thing which makes it handle slightly less terrible than a normal live axle car. Unload My Head fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Oct 26, 2017 |
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Oct 26, 2017 01:15
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Unload My Head posted:Which engine? LS1
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Oct 26, 2017 01:19
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The right choice. I edited my post above with more info.
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Oct 26, 2017 01:20
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The 3800 series 2 is a solid motor that will run forever with maintenance. The LS1 and LT1 motors are good too. The main problem will be the late 90s and 2000s GM interior. I worked at a Pontiac store 2001-2002 and the firebirds squeaked like it was full of mice even new off the transport truck.
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Oct 26, 2017 01:24
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JUST MAKING CHILI posted:The 3800 series 2 is a solid motor that will run forever with maintenance. The LS1 and LT1 motors are good too. The main problem will be the late 90s and 2000s GM interior. I worked at a Pontiac store 2001-2002 and the firebirds squeaked like it was full of mice even new off the transport truck. I'm a big 3800 SII fan, but it's not a performance motor unless you go crazy with a turbo and even then the speed shops supporting them have moved on now that the LS stuff is so affordable and easy. LT1 is an okay motor, but the gen-3 V8 is such a mind-boggling improvement over it that it's not worth looking at imho.
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Oct 26, 2017 01:33
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Unload My Head posted:Which engine? What year specifically? There are massive differences. What kind of squeaking? Engine or chassis?
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Oct 26, 2017 01:51
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Woof Blitzer posted:What kind of squeaking? Engine or chassis? The dash will probably fall into your lap.
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Oct 26, 2017 01:53
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More info: I've got 20k to spend on the base car and 25k to spend on parts. Was looking at 00-02 firebirds.
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Oct 26, 2017 02:12
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Proposed Budget Around the 40k area New or Used: Can do both, would prefer used Body Style: 2 door coupe, can be small, I can fit in a Miata fine How will you be using the car?: Daily driver, track occasionally. What aspects are most important to you? Basically want a sports car that I can drive to work every day and not kill myself and/or the car. Has to be a legit manual I refuse to use paddles good drat it get off my lawn. Cars I have looked at: BMW M2 used Toyota FRS new BMW 2 series or w/e the 2 doors are called Miata RF new Porsche Cayman used Basically at first I was pretty sure I was just gonna get a new mx-5 RF, but for like 3-4k more I can get a drat 2014 cayman, which is a whole lot more car for not a lot more money. I don't really have a good grasp of what 35-40k will get you so asking g for advice here. If I had to pick tomorrow I would probably get the cayman but I don't know how bad insurance and maintenance would gently caress me verse the Miata. I've heard the cayman is fine wrt cost of maintenance if you do the basic stuff yourself but I'm not a big wrench guy so I dunno. Also have no garage so I would feel a bit funny leaving that car outside. But, y'know, ~porsche~ Also I know the FRS is super popular but goddamn is that an ugly car e: I am completely uninterested in muscle cars Scionix fucked around with this message at 02:47 on Oct 26, 2017 |
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Oct 26, 2017 02:41
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I'll plug the FIAT 124 Spider. I own one and it's awesome. Get the Abarth version if you want it even hotter.
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Oct 26, 2017 03:52
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Woof Blitzer posted:What kind of squeaking? Engine or chassis? The body squeaks. The engine just piston slaps. Woof Blitzer posted:More info: I've got 20k to spend on the base car and 25k to spend on parts. Was looking at 00-02 firebirds. With that much cash burning a hole why are you looking at F-bodies? What is the goal of this operation? Drag racing, road course, crashing in front of Cars & Coffee?
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Oct 26, 2017 05:11
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Deteriorata posted:I'll plug the FIAT 124 Spider. I own one and it's awesome. Get the Abarth version if you want it even hotter. Isn't that the same platform as the MX-5 but with a turbo and no roof? If I was going to do that I'd go with the miata for the roof, but if you know something I don't let me know (also I like the mx-5 styling better but that's subjective)
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Oct 26, 2017 06:48
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So guys, I've been thinking more, searching more, talking to friends more and I'm considering actually getting something more expensive than 6-10k or whatever. I found this https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/679144991/overview/ Which is literally new as well as a sharp Corolla https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/715331532/overview/#calculator-top I'm just not sure if it's a good idea or not. I can think of pros and cons and it's easy for me to focus on one or the other, I could easily convince myself it's a bad idea as it is a good one. First, what do you guys think of those 2? Good deals in general? Secondly, I know I've been approved but I'm not sure how badly I'm going to get screwed on interest. That will play a big factor in this. For a separate car, carmax quoted me a 27% interest rate and I told them to gently caress off. When I was talking to the guy with the Corolla I told him straight up I'm not going to take a really bad rate and he laughed when I told him what Carmax said. He said he can likely get a much more reasonable rate, but it would still likely be high because I have no credit. So what should I aim for as a first time car buyer with no credit? 8-12%? What's the hard cap I should tell them to gently caress off like I did to Carmax? Any traps to watch out for from dealers? Do you guys think looking at stuff like this is a good idea in terms of long term financial efficiency or are cheaper cars better? My commute is only about 15 miles total a day, maybe less even. I'm a single dude in Alabama and I make 50k a year and split a house with my brother, so I could afford it as long as I was careful with my budget. Part of my reasoning is if I'm going to be making payments be it 3 years or 5, it would make more sense to start out with something with low miles that wouldn't be as likely to need expensive repairs. I may be wrong but I feel stuff around 100k miles is starting to get a bit wore out and will need heavier maintaince, even if the vehicle itself is still considered reliable. Sorry for the rambling, just got done with a long night so my brain is scattered about with work and worrying about what to do with getting a car. Drunk Driver Dad fucked around with this message at 08:35 on Oct 26, 2017 |
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Oct 26, 2017 08:33
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Scionix posted:Proposed Budget Around the 40k area If you haven't worked on a car I don't think a Porsche is a good place to start. You're paying for maintenance on a $70,000, not a ~$40,000 it's probably more than you think. Have you considered a WRX STI, Golf R, or Focus RS? Neither are a coupe but they would fit the bill. Another option would be to get a hot hatch like a Focus ST, FiST, WRX, or GTI and use the leftover money for upgrades. If you're serious about taking your car to a track, if you buy a convertible like the Miata, you'll need to install a rollbar to take it on the track. You also may need to replace your seats when you install the rollbar. In the event you get into an accident, with stock seats, you may end up bashing your head against the rollbar.
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Oct 26, 2017 09:42
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Unload My Head posted:The body squeaks. The engine just piston slaps. My uncle used to let me ride in his firebird, and I've never had enough money to get one until now (I DD a Prius, exciting). I wanted to make it into a ~400hp GT car with modern niceties like apple CarPlay, heated seats, etc.
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Oct 26, 2017 12:44
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Re: Firebird. Be aware that the differentials in all 3rd/4th gen F-bodies is a tiny undersized piece of poo poo which exploded regularly with 250hp TPI motors, let alone an LSx. There is no way of 'beefing it up', it's purely a size issue, so if you plan to drive one hard and/or add piles of extra HP, you're going to need a complete custom-made drop-in diff. Luckily several companies make them now, it requires a custom-cast centersection because of the torque arm, as well as special housing ends because of the ABS sensors. Figure about $3000 for one along with the custom driveshaft you'll also need. You can install it yourself if you have common hand tools, that's the easy part. Source: I owned a diff shop for years, worked on hundreds of F-bodies.
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Oct 26, 2017 13:20
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JnnyThndrs posted:Re: Firebird. Any good sources on these diffs?
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Oct 26, 2017 13:35
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My 2002 Lexus IS300 that I've owned for almost 10 years now is starting to cost me a lot in repairs. Most recently I've been wanting to get the rust taken care of. I took it to a highly recommended auto body shop and they quoted me about $1,200 to fix bad rust on the rocker panels, and some on the fender, and some work on the bumper. I'm thinking this is the last chunk of change I want to spend on this car before I move on to something newer. Although if a case could be made for keeping it, I'm all ears, because I really love this car and I'm not particularly impressed by much out there today. So I'm hoping you guys could help me out! Proposed Budget: Would like to avoid taking out a loan, but I could swing a payment of up to $200 a month for a year or so. Ideally though I'd like to pay in cash. Considering if I like the car, I keep it a long time, I don't mind parting with a good chunk of my savings to get something I'll be using almost every day for the next decade. So I could take $5k from savings, $5k from stocks, and $4k from the sale of the Lexus. So I can scrape together $14k to pay in whole or a large part. New or Used: Used Body Style: 4 door sedan How will you be using the car?: My commute to work is 5 to 10 minutes. I occasionally have passengers but 90% of the time hauling folks around is done in my wife's car. So while I don't have passengers besides my wife and the dogge very often, I don't think I'll be able to get a fun 2 door or very sporty car. Do you prefer a luxury vehicle with all the gizmos?): Doesn't have to have crazy tech, no. Bluetooth is nice, and navigation is good but I usually find Google Maps to be a lot better than stock navigation systems. Power doors/locks/etc yes. What aspects are most important to you?: Reliability is important to me because I don't have the budget to keep doing this big repairs every couple months. MPG is not that important to me as it's a short commute and I don't do much city driving. I loved the small, compact, tight, cozy feel of the IS300 and I'd love to get something like that again. The power/joy to cost of ownership ratio with the IS was great. I've looked at Subaru WRXs and while they sort of fit the bill, it's just hard for me to like Subaru. IDK, it's probably me and I just need to get out of that mindset somehow. Newer IS350/250 seem big and under powered. I love the F type but seems pretty well out of my price range. I guess I just want something quick and fun but could also hold 4 passengers on occasion, and is on the reasonable side of cost of ownership, around $14, 15, maybe 16k.
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Oct 26, 2017 13:46
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The slowest IS250 has about the same performance metrics as the old IS300 with much better fuel economy. People complain about it being underpowered because everything has five hunnert horspwoer these days.
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Oct 26, 2017 13:55
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:So guys, I've been thinking more, searching more, talking to friends more and I'm considering actually getting something more expensive than 6-10k or whatever. I wouldn't take an interest rate over 4% for a new car loan. I'm expecting to get 1.99% or MAYBE 2.99% for 3-5 years when I buy. You can "afford" almost any car out there if you take a long enough loan, and the dealership is going to try to put things in those terms, they'll talk to you about the monthly payment instead of the price of the car or the interest rate. Some dealers are offering insanely low rates too, Hyundai was doing 0% on 72 month loans for 2017 clearouts, and 1.99 on 2018s. I know it sucks because you need a car and don't want to drive a shitbox but building your credit by taking an inflated interest rate on a really expensive depreciating asset kinda sucks. Is there anyone who could co-sign with you to get your rate down into reasonable territory? In the meantime you should start building your credit.
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Oct 26, 2017 14:08
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:So guys, I've been thinking more, searching more, talking to friends more and I'm considering actually getting something more expensive than 6-10k or whatever. Have you checked with a local credit union yet to see if you can qualify?
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Oct 26, 2017 14:19
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Woof Blitzer posted:Any good sources on these diffs? Either the Strange or the Moser diffs are good: https://www.spohn.net/shop/1993-1997-GM-F-Body/Drivetrain/Strange-Engineering-12-Bolt-Rear/Strange-Engineering-12-Bolt-Rear-Complete.html http://www.moserengineering.com
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Oct 26, 2017 14:49
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Woof Blitzer posted:My uncle used to let me ride in his firebird, and I've never had enough money to get one until now (I DD a Prius, exciting). I wanted to make it into a ~400hp GT car with modern niceties like apple CarPlay, heated seats, etc. With a $45k budget you could buy a new SS Camaro which would have 400+ HP, Apply Carplay, leather heated seats and a warranty.
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Oct 26, 2017 17:05
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Maksimus54 posted:With a $45k budget you could buy a new SS Camaro which would have 400+ HP, Apply Carplay, leather heated seats and a warranty. I don't think that's the point. His cool uncle didn't take him for rides as a kid in a new Camaro.
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Oct 26, 2017 17:08
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My sister just bought a 2001 V6 auto accord. Is this the one that eats transmissions? Should I advise her just to scrap it when any major breakage happens?
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Oct 26, 2017 17:14
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Throatwarbler posted:I don't think that's the point. His cool uncle didn't take him for rides as a kid in a new Camaro. Someone has to mention some automotive sanity. The initial search for the firebird is fine, and if the nostalgia is all that matters I certainly wouldn't want to dissuade him. However after mentioning a rather large budget to build a 400HP GT car I think a new car recommendation isn't out of line.
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Oct 26, 2017 17:25
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Twerk from Home posted:My sister just bought a 2001 V6 auto accord. Is this the one that eats transmissions? Should I advise her just to scrap it when any major breakage happens? Yes https://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2001/
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Oct 26, 2017 17:58
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OK, good. I advised her to scrap that thing whenever it has a repair that costs more than $800. She only paid $300 for it anyway. Hopefully it lasts a year.
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Oct 26, 2017 18:06
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mariooncrack posted:If you haven't worked on a car I don't think a Porsche is a good place to start. You're paying for maintenance on a $70,000, not a ~$40,000 it's probably more than you think. Thanks. I was concerned about the maintenance for the Cayman, but from reading people that daily drive one it didn't seem awful. Basically, interior electronics are not super reliable, dealership costs are high if you don't want to do your own basic service, and tires are expensive and need replacing every 12-15k miles. Brakes, oil, and air filter are supposedly very easy to work on. I don't suppose anyone here has one? Also the new Miata has a hardtop so I dunno if a roll bar is still necessary there, but I could be wrong. Scionix fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Oct 26, 2017 |
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Oct 26, 2017 18:35
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Jiminy Christmas! Shoes! posted:Have you checked with a local credit union yet to see if you can qualify? That's actually was I was going to do tomorrow when I'm off work.
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Oct 26, 2017 20:36
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Scionix posted:Thanks. I was concerned about the maintenance for the Cayman, but from reading people that daily drive one it didn't seem awful. Basically, interior electronics are not super reliable, dealership costs are high if you don't want to do your own basic service, and tires are expensive and need replacing every 12-15k miles. Brakes, oil, and air filter are supposedly very easy to work on. I don't suppose anyone here has one? There's a guy in AI that has one. It is going to be expensive to keep on the road as a daily. It's all relative when it comes to Porsche owners. Consumables are more expensive than on other cars, not just limited to tires - especially if you want to go OEM. It sounds like based on the cars that you are comparing it to that the Cayman is on the high end of your budget, AND it has higher operating costs. Not a great combination.
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Oct 27, 2017 00:01
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Woof Blitzer posted:My uncle used to let me ride in his firebird, and I've never had enough money to get one until now (I DD a Prius, exciting). I wanted to make it into a ~400hp GT car with modern niceties like apple CarPlay, heated seats, etc. Maksimus54 posted:With a $45k budget you could buy a new SS Camaro which would have 400+ HP, Apply Carplay, leather heated seats and a warranty. ...And not be a pile. I have owned several F-bodies and they are a cool and fun car, but they are not a good or nice car. OP, if you do this, you need to admit that you are accepting additional cost to end up with an inferior end result solely for nostalgic purposes. If you're cool with that then go for it.
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Oct 27, 2017 04:19
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I wanna replace my Focus and its terrible transmission with a Cmax. I know I should be getting a Prius/Prius V but I don't fit in the drat things. I'd look at a manual Focus hatchback but finding one in the titanium trim is almost impossible. If I can't get a manual transmission I'd rather have a hybrid. Either way I want the fancy stuff like leather seats, navigation, etc. Is there anything glaringly bad about the Cmax? I do a mix of city and highway driving and my budget is roughly $20,000 CAD for what it's worth.
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Oct 27, 2017 10:52
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I talked to my mom and she's willing to cosign on anything under 8k or so. Is there anything bad about Altimas? I found this https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/715498487/overview/ . Are the CVT's bad about blowing up or anything? Also looking at a Hyundai https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for...delCode1=ACCENT
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Oct 27, 2017 14:57
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:I'm just not sure if it's a good idea or not. I can think of pros and cons and it's easy for me to focus on one or the other, I could easily convince myself it's a bad idea as it is a good one. F I am going to go ahead and say 'no, this is a bad idea' Get yourself something that you can pay off within 12 months. Any longer than that and i can guarantee that something in your life is going to change and make this car a millstone around your neck: You get a better job and want to leave the area You lose your job and can't afford to run the car You meet the woman/man of your dreams and want to move in with them Any/all of the above happens to your brother. Plus nobody wants a Corolla for 5 years. Spend $3k on something that runs. Keep $500 in the bank to cover any repairs in 12-18 months, pay cash for a nicer car if your finances allow.
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Oct 27, 2017 15:19
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Also sounds like that dude needs to get a credit card. There's no reason most people shouldn't have a credit card and use it like debit. It helps out when the time comes in your life to need credit. Then in 6 months to a year, his prospective interest rate will go down at least 5%. Which is a big deal on a multi thousand dollar purchase.
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Oct 27, 2017 15:30
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Yeah I was thinking a lot could happen in 5 years. I'll probably just go with my mom's suggestion and look at stuff in the sub 8k, though.
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Oct 27, 2017 15:32
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:Yeah I was thinking a lot could happen in 5 years. I'll probably just go with my mom's suggestion and look at stuff in the sub 8k, though. $3-5k will get you something perfectly acceptable (reliable and you don't look like a hobo) Remember, every dollar you don't spend on this car is a dollar in your pocket you can spend in the pursuit of beer, boobs or spiritual enlightenment.
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Oct 27, 2017 15:36
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Honestly I'm going to go look at those last 2 I linked. They are a little more than what you said but not by too much. I'd still like to know if those CVT's in the Altimas are explodey though.
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Oct 27, 2017 15:43
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:Honestly I'm going to go look at those last 2 I linked. They are a little more than what you said but not by too much. I'd still like to know if those CVT's in the Altimas are explodey though. They've had issues. Nissan did do an extended warranty program (up to 10 years on the CVT for model years 2003-2010) but that's just about to end on that car. Neither of those cars will be anything close to "fun to drive." Have you looked at craigslist?
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Oct 27, 2017 15:50
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