[Timgt5]

Just for fun I thought I would post a few pics of my ride

2000 Acura TL, bought in 2003 114K miles, all original, born in a factory in Ohio, living now in Morrisville NC:

[lisasays]

Ohh aye! very nice!

...you can pick me up at 8 =p

[Timgt5]

Ha ha! Driving this across the Atlantic my be a bit tricky though, thank you for the compliment all the same.

As an aside note, I love hearing Scottish women speak, I have a thing for Shirley Manson (lead singer for Garbage, and staring in last season's Terminator, the Sara Conor Chronicles)

[jbug]

It reminds me a lot of my GrandAm that I had til it kicked the bucket. I loved and hated that car.

Your car is pretty.

Jan

[Timgt5]

Thank you!!

[I_miss_my_kitty]

nice car. why did you choose it?

[Timgt5]

Originally Posted by I_miss_my_kitty

nice car. why did you choose it?

Good question. When it comes to cars I take a highly methodical approach with the following parameters:

1. I never buy new, new cars take a $1000-$2000 loss in value 5 minutes after you own them, I prefer to let some other sap eat the depreciation. The other advantage of used is it affords you the ability to buy a nicer car than you could using those same funds on a new car.

2. I had previously owned 2 small Hondas (1987 Prelude and 1994 Civic Coupe) but I wanted something bigger, more interstate capable, and more comfortable to drive. So therefore I was looking for Grace, Pace and Space.

3. I started test driving cars in the year 2000. I began with the Honda Accord Coupe and the Toyota Solara both stylish big 2 doors. After some thought however I felt that I really at this time in my life, needed four doors for parcticality.

4. In the realm of 4 doors I found all of the family cars to be boring to look at (Camry, Accord, Altima, Malibu, Gallant, etc...) So I began researching near luxury cars and came up with the following list: Lincoln LS, Chrysler 300M, Lexus ES300, Oldsmobile Aurora, Mazda Millenia, and Nissan Maxima.

5. The Lincoln was underpowered (V6 Model) and had poor reliability, as did the Chrysler, I eliminated both cars. The Maxima came in 2 flavors. At the time Nissan was struggling to survive and was engaged in a lot of cost cutting so it was using a solid beam rear suspension so you had the floaty GXE or the crisp handling but harsh riding SE. Neither setting suited my taste also the transmission felt hesitant when downshifts were needed. The Mazda Millenia was a nice enough car, but there were some questionable ergonomics and the small 2.3 miller cycle engine lacked low end torgue. I drove the Lexus ES300, very nice well crafted car but much like its cousins the Camry and Avalon, the ES suffered from an "old person barge like feel" lackluster handling and tepid acceleration. It was not worth the money. The Oldsmobile Aurora was a solid performer, well crafted and nicely styled. In my opinion the Aurora was the best car the domestic industry had for the money. Unflotunately I learned a month after I test drove the Aurora that GM had killed off Oldsmobile as a division. I was not going to deal with the depreciation that would have caused. I drove the TL last. The Acura was right on so many parmeters, the standard feature content was huge, sunroof, standard, leather, standard, bose stereo with cd changer, standard etc... The car was a deft balance of good reflexes and smooth ride. The assmbly quality was top notch. Like its Honda Accord cousin, the TL simply is good at everything and it had nice front and rear leg room to boot. So once I made that decision I just waited to find a 3 year old one to buy.

I got this one from a dealer at the coast who was desperate to sell it. There was nothing wrong the the car, but they were in a poorer community and nobody was willing to look at it. I was able to get it for right under 19K ( The price for a new one was $29,000) and he brought it to me. I then complete the transaction at home It was a pleasent experiance.

I intend keeping the car until it hits around 150K miles then I will probably trade it in.

TJ

[I_miss_my_kitty]

ok. interesting. i have another question about cars 2 actually.

when buying a used car are those with high mileage the best or little. i still can't figure out the mileage thing. and what do you think about the Chevy corvettes?

[Timgt5]

The first question is more complicated than you think, mileage is definately a factor, but it also depends on the kind of mileage. A car with higher highway only miles is likely to have less wear and tear than a city only car with lower miles. Also just as important is how well the original owner took care of the car. A car with higher mileage and proper maintenance( required service intervals, especially oil changes) and care( cleaning, waxing, not driving like Dale Junior trying to come from behind to win the Nextel Cup) can be a great buy depending on the maker. Used Hondas and most used Toyotas are always a good bet even though you pay a little more for them. If you can afford it a 2-3 year old well maintained car with between 30-50K miles is a great value (you pay 30-40% less for than for a brand new one and you still have up to 75% of the cars usuable life) Thats what I go for and so far it has been a great strategy. My previous car had 123K miles on it and I sold it for $4500.00 about 6 years ago. I would recomend before buying any used car to do 2 things, 1) always run a carfax or make the dealer show you one on the car you are looking at (make sure the VIN matches if he does on for you) and 2. Have it looked over by a third party mechanic you can trust. He will be able to identify any areas of concern you may have.

The Chevy Corvette packs a lot of performance for the money. The Vette is agile light weight and very powerful. Up through C5 they had a bit of a rough ride though so if you are used to something confortable I would stay away from these. The C6(Current Generation) has a considerably improved ride and even more performance. The interior quality however is not in the league with the likes for Porche, Ferrari, or Audi and much of the gear seems to have come from cheaper cars.

The General's small block pushrod V8 which powers the Vette is proven tech and with proper care will run forever. The fiberglass body however is expensive to repair so make sure to look at that carefully.

[I_miss_my_kitty]

ok thank you

[Hearty]

2003 114K miles, all original...

It looks brand new! Mine's only a year old and it looks 10 years old!


morningcalm

[Timgt5]

Thank you I intend on keeping it for a couple of years more here is one pic I want to add: