Buying a new (used) car.. Help/Suggestions appreciated

the chinese kid is valid for all car companies i'm afraid.
But i have to agree that honda and toyota are rock solid, I've driven a toyota of 220000km and it didn't let me down for another 40000, then i sold it. I'm driving a honda now for 50000km, never any problems!

 

I dunno - my Buick Enclave runs phenominally well and has yet to have a problem. I've had excellent experiences with Buicks over the years, with the exception of a Skylark that blew a timing belt 500 miles from home. Granted it had 120k miles on it and was 10 years old, so it wasn't something that was all that out of character for any car.

I can't say the same for my Infiniti M35X. Or the Mercedes that I learned to drive with.

 

<threadjack>

Goddamnit! You know, I saw this coming. I did. I knew something was off about you. Some hidden life choice that means we can't be friends.

You. You and your kind. Those that willingly drive Buicks. B'yooo-ekz. Perhaps the single greatest sign a human being is ready for the scrap heap.

You and your kind are the reason why Pontiac was deep six'd. Instead of getting a fucking 2012 TransAm with like 500 HP, we get limp dick sedans!

</threadjack>

I need a cigarette.​

 

The Enclave is an SUV, you jackass. And when the choices were minivan or SUV to haul around my crotchfruit, I chose the lesser evil.

Did I ever tell you that I drove it down a gravel road once? True story. It was like off-roading but without any of the ickiness that offroading usually has.

 

I'm aware the Enclave is a SUV. Some genius in an Enclave nearly smashed me on my motorcycle. And I'm not talking about your specific vehicle.

 

Actually its a Crossover. Auto speak for a tall station wagon.

 

Such bickering....actually the OP just wanted info about buying a USED FOOKIN" CAR
I have a nice BMW 06 X5 for sale it's an SAV (sport activity vehicle....)

 

He told me he bought it at one of those "buy here pay here" lots, paid an arm and a leg for it and that he's put ~60,000 miles on it since he's had it. I have the VIN and I could run the CarFAX, it's that just by the point he brought out a salvage title the whole thing started seeming pretty shady to me.. If he had been up front I may have felt differently about the whole thing.

 

The fact that he drove it 60,000 miles is a good thing. Always try to buy from someone who has owned the vehicle for a while, you can get a feeling about how it may have been cared for

 

Being upfront always makes a buyer trust you more. Yeah, because he failed to mention it in the ad, makes me think he's just trying to get rid of the car. You are better off waiting on something else. Be patient but ask TONS of questions about the car.

 

Ahhhh a fellow SAAB owner. You know, they went into bankruptcy late last year and the company that bought them is going to make SAAB exclusively electric now.

With SAAB and Volvo, you can see the differences between GM and Ford. GM owned SAAB and wanted SAAB to just be a name plate change with Opel, but SAAB engineers refused, keeping only 2 models the 9-3 and the 9-5. SAAB had several buyers prepared to buy it, but GM refused to give up any of the SAAB patents they owned, claiming that they would give them to competitors. My feeling is GM was trying to punish SAAB for NOT allowing a "badge" change with Opel.


Ford allowed Volvo to break out and build more than just boxes, they willingly allowed and encouraged Jaguar and Volvo engineers to share info and designs.

Volvo is still in business and thriving better than ever, SAAB is...... wellll..... Ford refused bailout money, GM practically begged for it.

SAAB owners were the second most loyal to the brand (behind Mercedes owners). I strongly suggest watching TOP GEAR's tribute to SAAB on Youtube. Quite interesting, some of their designs.

 

Unfortunately my body shop has told me that it is getting hard to get SAAB body parts....long waits for fenders etc. too bad, I remember an early one that I had, mix oil and gas....it generally stunk from oil.....but ran like crazy

 

There is a company in Europe that owns the SAAB after market production. The wait should not be that long, I've looked online and have seen all kinds of parts available for SAAB that are affordable and delivery is guaranteed within a week. When I had to replace a rim, I was able to get an authentic SAAB rim for the same year, the day I needed it. (I got the old one repaired, so now i have an emergency tire that is full sized and NOT a donut.

The Ford Focus I had was a 2000 and the parts were far more expensive and harder to find, it was a horrendous car. I had the lugnuts on both rear tires rust off. The driver's side when I was doing 80 MPH on I-77. The car made a horrid noise, it was like an anchor just dropped on my car, I looked out and there was my tire tooling on by me. The passenger side I was lucky in that I had Pep Boys replace that tire and I recognized the noise from the rear and took it elsewhere and sure enough the lugnuts were rusting off. My issue was that Pep Boys never said a word to me about it. I also had the back axle rust off one of the tires and had to get that replaced. The Focus, from FORD was made in Mexico. I swear I will NEVER drive a Mexican made car again. Those parts that rusted should NOT have rusted on a 10 year old car. the mechanics working on it were amazed at how badly that 10 year old car with barely over 100,000 miles was underneath.I put so much money into that car before I sold it, it's amazing.

But I digress....

 

Guys, "Made in America" = "Will Spontaneously Combust".

OK, all the propaganda aside,

Really? Such a widely accepted claim and you still think it's erroneous? Chinese food bought down the store, is it American because it was cooked here?

It has to lie in the engineering. I fucking hate GM & Chrystler. American Cars are unreliable. So, it's manufactured and assembled here, cool. Why then do Fords misbehave more often than Toyota's? Is it a numbers game? More Fords = more adverse reports?

I honestly believe there is some sort of planned obsolescence that "American" vehicles incorporate in their engineering. Maybe I am being paranoid, but no Ford, Crystler or GM car has ever treated me right.

 

I may be that there is no "planned obsolescence" things are made at a price, and it may be that if "we" took better care of the products, cars for example, they would last a lot longer...consider that most vehicles no longer rust out, compared to 20-30 year ago.!!! The transmissions are so much better and last a LOT longer, mufflers are made from much better (some stainless steel) and last longer....tires last longer....they are much better....and SAFER..
I can't imagine what it would cost to produce a MUCH MORE LONGER LASTING VEHICLE
KEEP YOUR VEHICLE WELL MAINTAINED AND CLEAN...IT WILL LAST LONGER