Perhaps a Maxima? 10 years old or so are under $10K and are pushing 300 horse. Hell...maybe I should be looking into one of them. If only they had a manual tranny...
You drive a Mazda, don't you? I've never been impressed with Mazda's design/ engineering. It's not "bad," I just don't think it's as good as Honda, Toyota, Ford or GM. If you want a Mazda 3, I'd recommend just getting a Ford Focus; same engine, better chassis and engine management system.
I've been impressed more then once by a high mileage/abused Mazda. They stayed tight. Then again, we're talking late 80's/early 90's Mazdas, so it's quite possible they've shit the bed since then.
Today I had the bump stops, rear sway bar bushings, and end links replaced. I'm kind of bummed that the bushings and end links are poly, but the ACDelco OEM parts just aren't available. The bump stops are OEM (And more expensive), but I imagine they're not as harsh. Long story short, the ass end still makes noise every bump I hit. Everything has been replaced, so I suppose this is the trade off for having a tight suspension. I didn't expect Cadillac quiet, but I was hoping for a bit quieter. Oh well, the car feels great and if the trade off is a bit of noise from the back, so be it. It goes around corners completely flat under acceleration now, so what's a little noise on bad road? The last mechanical thing wrong with the car is the windshield washer reservoir. It has a crack and leaks, so I just ordered a new one. I'm probably going to have the car resprayed in the next few months, I'm already balls deep into it so what's another $5K or so? I dig the car and it's an absolute kick in the ass to drive, so why not? I'm also still looking for another car. I should buy something responsible and put the Z on ice for weekend drives, but ....it's hard. I'm leaning hard towards a C5 Corvette. My biggest dilemma is leg room....a toy car should have a manual transmission, but 'vettes are bit limited in that regard. I wonder how much I would hate myself if I bought a Corvette with an automatic.
You might be able to pick up a nice c6 really cheap soon. Chevy actually announced that the 2020 c8 corvette is going to be a mid engine, no rooms any more. Some of the prices of the c7 z06 and such have fallen alot lately. still expensive put way cheaper then they used to be.
And theres a lot of theories around whether or not shops get kickbacks based on reporting. It might be good for a cursory look or a second comparison, but it shouldnt be involved in any serious decision making. As an aside, I bought a new car 3 weeks ago. For the love of god, do not use True Car. They are worthless and only refer you to dealerships, who never stop contacting you.
Maybe some areas handle things differently but my shop has no way to report damages to anyone. In CA, if the damages are over $750 (which virtually all are) then the person is supposed to file that with the DMV. I'm guessing insurance companies may file things to CarFax but I've had cars that I know were in accidents show up as no accidents on CarFax. I'd use it as a tool but not gospel. If you're worried about it having been in an accident, ask the seller that you want to have it inspected. If they balk, well, there's probably a reason. If they're ok with it, just take it to a local shop (not a big chain like Caliber, Abra, Service King etc) and throw a few bucks at the person to look it over. If it's obvious, they'll spot it right away as they know where to look and what to look for. If they have to really look, then either it hasn't been repaired or it was done well enough that I wouldn't worry about it.
I get crashes not reported would not show up. I’m mainly just wanting to see if it was ever salvaged and a registration history, though any major accident reporting would obviously be nice to have. There isn’t some dmv database for this? I looked at a car yesterday that obviously had been repainted on the back quarter panel and the front bumper. The rest of the cars paint is so fresh I can’t not believe it’s been totally repainted.
It depends on the state. CA will show "Salvaged" on the registration and title. Some states like Utah, IIRC, don't have anything like that. You can buy a burned out hulk, rebuild it and it'll say clean title. Car Fax will give you the number of owners but even that can skewed if the car was traded in and it went to auction so be sure to check length of ownership.
I guess I am probably asking for the impossible. Do BMW's self destruct after 100K miles? I see several in my price range.
I know you don’t want to drive one, but Honda Accords are pretty solid. I’ve had two of them and it was when I had really long commutes. They’re reliable and get great gas mileage. You could do a lot worse. I personally wouldn’t bother with a BMW after 100K, you’re looking at a lot of maintenance. You could go for a reasonable SUV like a CR-V or something too. I just bought a Grand Cherokee and love it. I don’t drive it to the city since I take the train, but it’s a fun car.
Yes they do but if you are handy and do preventative maintenance on the known issues it can mitigate the headache. Had I just changed out the 5-6 items that any enthusiast site had recommended for the e46 generation I drive, I'd have far less complaints. I have a 330ci convertible and I fucking love it as my daily driver, fast and fun. The thing that bothers me more than mechanical stuff is the plastics. Interior and exterior trim pieces just fucking disintegrate because I guess Germany has a requirement that that X percentage of plastics have to be recycled, my brothers 2004 Jetta TDI is the same way. Im looking for a second driver now just because I need a back up for when I need a few days/weeks to change out stuff on my BMW. You have to realize though Im a procrastinating insomnia plagued zombie that can turn a 2 hour weekend diy into a multi year ordeal. A second driver isn't required if youre a normal diligent handyman. If you don't have the time or ability Id probably skip it though. You can find plenty of peppy Jap cars in that price range, Im looking for an MR2 as we speak and 10k will get you a semi low mile Turbo that you won't have to touch mechanically for 5 years.
Well, I have a 2001 325ci and 2006 325, both a little past 100,000 miles. The entire cooling system has been replaced twice in the 2001 and once in the 2006, which means it is due any time now. The interior in the 2001 is trash - headliner falling down in five places and driver side seat bolsters are worn through. The plastic bits (vents, cup hlders, etc,) have broken in both cars and all the power window switches have been replaced at least twice. The paint on the 2001 is burnt through like a 30 year old Yugo parked too close to the sun. It has been parked outdoors most of it's life, so maybe not ytpical. The good news is the drive line is still good in both and they still drive like you expect a BMW to drive, i.e., about as good as a sedan can drive. I have no experiencce w/ the 5xx or 7xx cars, but personally I'll never own another BMW again. p.s. - All the above is fixable if you are a DIY guy. p.p,s. - Never, ever, let a dealer work on the car. A decent independent is going to cost about half as much.