Haven't read the article, but I gotta say up-optioned Discoveries and Suburbans are seriously enticing at current prices. Defenders are staying up there, though.
A co-worker has an M coupe - To me it looks exactly like the car Ace and Gary drove in "The Ambiguously Gay Duo".
I've been pondering a 1977-1990 GM B-body wagon for my next used car...how are the values on those holding up? Still worth about as much as a bag of dog turds?
@Cog. Friction, fueled by Jalopsinthe: If I didn't have an SUV, I'd be looking at those, too. Gotta go with the Olds Custom Cruiser. Or maybe a Safari.
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
Doesn't look like the most thorough list by a long shot. First, you want a good car that you can enjoy driving for a long time - at least till the economy decides to come back from its bender. Then you want a car that was very expensive, is generally well cared for, and whose value has sunk like Taco Bell through your intestines.
Japanese cars don't cut it because they hold their value too well. Half price is for chumps. You want something more like ten percent of sticker. Focus and Mini were too cheap to start with. BMWs, Loti and certainly the WRX have probably been thrashed and might be only a few hundred yards from spitting out their con rods.
What you want is a prestige car, a fashion statement, or the odd duck that never sold in large volumes and therefore doesn't have much of a following to prop up its price.
Out of this list I'd go with the Jag, Caddy and Aston. Boxster might work, if you can find it cheap enough and not thrashed.
I'll see their LS430 and raise them an early LS400.
I would absolutely love an early version of that in black. Preferably with a beefed-up suspension and much weight savings. I wonder if my uncle still has his.
@xeensd: Aren't those of the generation that the LeMons judges used as punishment? I seem to recall that they gave one black-flagged team the task of removing the starter from it, and they spent the first thirty minutes just figuring out where the starter was.
The '04-'97 first generation Miata is way better than the second generation Miata, if only because it's basically the same car and is way better looking.
The C5 is a C6 but cheaper.
The last generation F-body deserves metion if only because it's a dirt cheap way to get a 300+ HP engine connected to the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual.
Also, they left out the Porsche 914. Much more reliable than a used Boxster and easier to work on.
@Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet: To be clear, I didn't claim that a 914 was, in an absolute sense, reliable or easy to work on.
I simply claimed that a 914 is reliable and easy to work on relative to a Boxster.
Given the intermediate shaft (IMS) engine imploding problems that the Boxster has, just to start with, and the fact that the Boxster's engine is inaccessible from the top, I think my claim is pretty defensible.
Plus the 914 is cooler. Especially in orange or green.
@FionaScrapple: Had one of those for sale here in Portland a few months ago -- private seller and it looked like it'd been pampered. His starting price seemed way above book but I didn't realize the burgundy was such a rarity. Kind of an odd choice of color for something that in black, looks like the ultimate state-trooper mobile.
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was starred
If FromaBuick6 has to watch one more Chevy commercial, he's going to punch Howie Long in the face was unstarred
@Baron Plushroom von Falconpunchen: That would be sweet. You could just snag the motor from a 740 turbo too, since it is the same block. I am currently working on a swap from an '81 242 turbo that I wrecked into an '84 that I already had. The ignition, computers and wiring are all coming from a '93 740 turbo.
I highly recommend checking out TurboBricks if you haven't already. If you do, my screen name over there is "SwedishBrick242..." :)
Good call on the wheels. They are actually a replica of the Polaris, called Eiker E1. They are not quite as high quality as Volvo's Polaris, but they are half an inch wider and available new from IPD.com.
There are a lot of great people on TB and a lot of people who really know their stuff. Search around, ask questions, and shoot me a PM when you get on there ;)
04/17/09
In this discount economy, I could probably go with both.
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I've been pondering a 1977-1990 GM B-body wagon for my next used car...how are the values on those holding up? Still worth about as much as a bag of dog turds?
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Japanese cars don't cut it because they hold their value too well. Half price is for chumps. You want something more like ten percent of sticker. Focus and Mini were too cheap to start with. BMWs, Loti and certainly the WRX have probably been thrashed and might be only a few hundred yards from spitting out their con rods.
What you want is a prestige car, a fashion statement, or the odd duck that never sold in large volumes and therefore doesn't have much of a following to prop up its price.
Out of this list I'd go with the Jag, Caddy and Aston. Boxster might work, if you can find it cheap enough and not thrashed.
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I would absolutely love an early version of that in black. Preferably with a beefed-up suspension and much weight savings. I wonder if my uncle still has his.
04/17/09
With you on this one... solid v8 engine
even a GS300 with a venerable 2jz
would be nice.
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I'm not worried about replacing the starter. I doubt I'll ever have to.
04/17/09
The C5 is a C6 but cheaper.
The last generation F-body deserves metion if only because it's a dirt cheap way to get a 300+ HP engine connected to the rear wheels through a 6-speed manual.
Also, they left out the Porsche 914. Much more reliable than a used Boxster and easier to work on.
04/17/09
04/17/09
I simply claimed that a 914 is reliable and easy to work on relative to a Boxster.
Given the intermediate shaft (IMS) engine imploding problems that the Boxster has, just to start with, and the fact that the Boxster's engine is inaccessible from the top, I think my claim is pretty defensible.
Plus the 914 is cooler. Especially in orange or green.
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You have been absent for a while. How goes life in your corner of Canada?
04/17/09
I'd join a teabag-athon for an unmolested end-of-times Prelude.
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Actually, I'd got for a nice manual E39 M5. Yahtzee.
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I highly recommend checking out TurboBricks if you haven't already. If you do, my screen name over there is "SwedishBrick242..." :)
My '81:
04/17/09
Dunno why I hadn't joined TB yet. Good call!
Oh - and what wheels are those on your 242? Polaris? Love 'em.
04/17/09
Good call on the wheels. They are actually a replica of the Polaris, called Eiker E1. They are not quite as high quality as Volvo's Polaris, but they are half an inch wider and available new from IPD.com.
There are a lot of great people on TB and a lot of people who really know their stuff. Search around, ask questions, and shoot me a PM when you get on there ;)
04/17/09
Will do!
04/17/09
The new car market is limited, but the used car market is INFINITE!