Better for that than Demo Derby.

You're right about that!

Hi car fans.

My new wheels. Ordered in April - took delivery December! Painful wait but worth it. Not much sun in the UK recently but there was today so I took it for a spin and got a pikkie.

Do u like the colour?

Wow ! Very cool ( what's a pikkie)
The color? I guess I would say I am ambivalent, it looks spectacular but silver/grey tones are so common now days as to be kind of trendy.

hehe, sorry, it's what we call a photo in my part if the world!

As opposed to what those colonials call a packie.

Blimey.

Time to vacate this thread asap I think.

Bye.

Wait... wait!!! Do you guys call a guitar pick a "plekkie?" :-)

Just a wish!

Old Bimmer Z4/black/standard, y'all know what they look like. I wanna get a bumper sticker that reads "My other car is a D&R".

I like a lot here that are devoted to music and lot of times short of cash & don't need another monthly bill recently went car shopping for a new (to me) ride. I figured anywhere from 6 to 10, maybe 12 thousand dollars and the upper end was gonna take me a few more months to come up with the money. Well, I've been looking everywhere, CarGurus, Carvana, Craigslist and where I finally found one, Facebook Marketplace.

Strictly by the grace of God (or whomever or whatever else you believe guides your life) I found and fell into this deal for $3K. A 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK320 Cabriolet with 102K one owner, garage kept miles. This thing is just dang near new, at least it looks like it inside & out, in the trunk and under the hood. The value according to Kelly Blue Book is a little more than this with actually prices for ones in this condition with less actual miles going for $6-9K. This one had a minor transmission problem that has been repaired and serviced by a real hot-shot, Mississippi redneck mechanic (my kinda guy!) who works in a very affluent suburb of Memphis, TN.

Apparently the previous owner had it in the garage for a minute with the transmission problem, not willing to invest what the dealership or my guy wanted for the repair they just went and bought a new one. My guy ended up getting it for little or nothing, repaired, serviced it and then priced it to sell quickly (that's where I came in). When I first called him and asked the actual condition he said "Oh, this thing is the bomb! All it needs is gas.", yeah right! Turns out we had a mutual friend (thanks to Facebook fer' this useful information), so I contacted him before I went to see the car, My friend said "When it comes to cars this guy is a god, he got hired away from a big shop by doubling his money. Whatever he says when it comes to cars, believe it!" I literally trust this freind with my life, he's the ambulance EMT assigned to my district and I've known him for over 20 years.

Dude wasn't lying! This thing is the bomb. Sure I found a few issues, cosmetic mostly, including a dead high beam bulb (easy to change) and the worst was the two rear window sealing strips that have dry rotted (gotta put protectant on those things folks), $265 for the pair. I had the top down, doing 70 with Thelma Houston's Pressure Cooker CD absolutely rocking the Bose system with little if any distortion. So far I haven't found anything on the car that doesn't work as intended, but there are switches & buttons I am still learning what their function is. And the damn thing had 4 like new Yokahoma Avid Accend tires on it (there is supposed to be a full sized spare under the trunk, I just haven't looked. I bet it's there though). This thing is a luxury car in the truest sense, but at the same time it's a wicked sports car. At 80 MPH on the interstate it floats, but you can take an off ramp curve at 60+ and it just hugs the road, really a lot of fun to drive. I've some great cars in my life, once I had a 1991 Ford F150 short wheelbase, 6 cyl, 4-speed manual I wish I never got rid of (wife traded it in on a 2000 Expedition, left me with a mini-van. Do you see I really love my wife?) I have never "Loved" a car, but I just get excited to get behind the wheel of this thing. Before a car was just something to get me from point A to point B in a safe, expeditious manner. This thing is different, it's fun!

Now this Mercedes has maintenance costs associated with it other cars don't, but if you're a decent mechanic (as I am) there are tons of Youtube videos that show everything you need to know for oil changes and such (a service A oil change at a dealer is $320, DIY is about $100-120 and lasts for 15000 miles using the right oil). Everything is overbuilt on a Mercedes, like the most engineered way of doing something is utilized regardless of cost, this little bugger was just shy of $50K in 2000 and it shows. The upside to all the hoopla & voodoo about maintenance is that people who can afford these cars either pay for maintenance as they go or purchase a service plan when they buy the car. Unless it's fleet/corporate car that gets a lot of miles from people that don't really care about the car because it's not theirs, these things are generally well kept. One online review stated that if the little compartment insert under the climate control is both original and not all beat to crap indicates that the owner took good care of their car. if your'e not mechanically inclined another way to tackle the maintenance costs is too get a savings account and every month put $100, $200, $300 (my plan) away just to cover these things and you will need it at some point. I figure $3,000 would cover anything that should or could happen that's not so catastrophic that the car really needs to go on to the junk yard such as total engine or transmission loss.

My only fear is it's gonna be real easy for this thing to turn into a high resolution speeding ticket printer, gotta watch out for that. Here's mine:

Glad you're happy with the purchase, these cars really depreciate, though with the higher costs of ownership you can see why.

Me, I'm still driving a 2005 Honda CRV AWD (soccer mom edition) with just shy of 230k on it, bought with 55k. Obviously long paid for at this point, but has been an excellent daily driver. The only repair I've had to do (not including standard wear items) is I had a knock sensor start throwing fault codes at me. Done all my own maintenance with synthetic oil about 10k between changes and genuine Honda fluids elsewhere and still runs like the day I bought it.

Nice looking Benz!

I'm moving back to Europe in a month after a year in Asia and ordered myself a Porsche Macan S in Jet Black Metallic:



After having had a string of BMW's it will be good to experience something different and I need something that can carry a drum kit.
I'd love a 911 but the inability to carry drums means this is as close as I can get for now.

I get it mid October, hopefully.

Still pushing my grandfather's 2002 E39 (540i). Bought it from his estate for $6k and have since put in over $30k more... It has over 120k miles, but a couple of years ago, when the plastic timing chain disintegrated and seized the motor, BMW found a brand new short block sitting in a warehouse, Stateside. Unfortunately, the engine mounting bolts were not included, so those had to be shipped on a slow boat from Deutschland. After dropping that in and rebuilding the top end, it's back to driving like a rocket sled.

Can't stand new cars of any marque.

I agree on that. I tried something new, a 2014 Mustang....but I ended up giving it to my mother. Right now I just have my truck (so I can move stuff around) but I do plan on getting a second car again. I most likely will get something from the 50s......not sure what yet. The only reason I got a newer truck is because my grandfather said he would pay up front and I could pay him back over time....but he wouldn't agree to do it on an old vehicle. I ended up finding a good deal on a 2007 Toyota Tundra 5.7L 4X4.

The taillights did come all cracked but I replaced them with some new aftermarket ones.

Still to this day I have only owned 2 door vehicles, and I always will.

Maybe you should look at something from '74?

In the various time-honored alphabetic ciphers:

'Somebodyperson' = 74
'Tundra' = 74
'Toyota Motor Corporation' = 74
'2 door vehicles' = 74
'cracked taillights' = 74
Even 'three attachments' = 740 (and 0 doesn't count in this practice, so... 74, again)

(;

Everything went shyte starting around 72 with the new emission standards. There are a few exceptions. I had a 72 Pontiac Grand Prix before....but I prefer 50s (then 20s and 30s are about tied for second, 60s for third, then 40s, then 70s, then 80s, then 90s, then 10s, then 1900s and older, then modern day. I for sure want a convertible again. I miss the open air so much, any car I get in the future will be a convertible. I don't care if it has A/C because I never use it....even though the average summer temperature here is 90f (32c).

Figures. I mean, 'shyte' = 72

s__h_y___t_e_
18_8_22_19_5


Whereas, 'ǝʇᴉɥs' = 74!

s__h__i__t__e
8_19_18_7_22


From Urban Dictionary:

'A shyte is a measure of information - usually on a computer. One shyte equals one byte. A shyte is used to measure corrupt data, bad programming and rubbish on the internet...'

Picked this up in Dec of 2018.

2018 4matic C300. Fully loaded with the night package (Blacked out).

I owned a 2016 Mercedes CLA250. Loved it, but started to hate how small it was. Had to get a C class, perfect size.

Just was having this conversation with someone and we started doing a little digging here for those who care-

Turns out public transit isn't really *that* great when considering CO2/mile.

https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/ft...Change2010.pdf

For instance a single occupant in a tesla model 3 (@182 grams per mile per union of concerned scientists in my zip) is producing pretty close to the same as average light rail (.4lb/mi). But in a place with more renewables, like Portland the model 3 is .19 lb/mi with only one person in it. Which is actually better than the national average for commuter rail and comparable to a completely full diesel bus per passenger mile.

But a model 3 uses about 275 wh/mi. My ebike averages 16 wh/mi which is a pretty reasonable number for small form factor electric vehicles. So even on pure coal the small form factor EV absolutely destroys even a full bus or train at only .04 lb of co2/mi (and roughly .025 in my zip) and if charged from rooftop solar it's all the way down to .002 lb of co2/mi. Even a completely full commuter train at .1 lb of co2/mi per passenger is 50 times less efficient.

Of course you can't do everything you need to on an ebike or escooter etc, but in terms of efficiency and environmental damage there will never be a scenario where moving 1 ton of steel per passenger will outperform moving 40lb of aluminum/battery/motor per passenger.

If people can use a mix of driving, small form factor ev's, and then SFFEVs can also enable more use of public transit, this is a very realistic way to dramatically lower transit related co2. IMO SFFEV's should not be brushed aside as there is simply nothing that comes close when it comes to efficiency and co2 output.

My ebike, in average riding (and plenty of throttle, hills, braking with regen and carrying the kid, groceries, her bike on my bike), is getting just over 2000 mpg. My wife who is lighter than me and has a hybrid commuter instead of the big cargo ebike is closer to 3000 mpg.

It is a moot point because it is too late to stop global warming....in around 10 years we will be passed the point of no return. The needed changes wont happen by then. Global warming will start to really get noticeable in around 30 years and by 2100, millions of people will be displaced. Many parts of the globe will become so hot that they will be uninhabitable. Releasing sulfates into the air like an artificial mega volcano eruption will be our best line of defence.....but we run the risk of Yellowstone erupting and if that happens while we are having our sulfate campaign, that will be the end of Earth.

It is very scary and much worse than the scientists let on.

‘Moot’ not mute, mate.

Never used the phrase before in writing. I always thought it was mute but just pronounced as moot. I had no idea moot was a real word.

Started this thread back in April 2017 Glad to see so many contributors with a wide range of transportation.

I thought I'd provide an update.

We traded my Wife's car in for a Nissan X-Trail with all the toys. It is what it is (I'm not overly keen, but she loves it).
Me? There's a lot of deliberation and soul-searching about what to do with the Porsche (it might "only" be a 996 Carrera 4, but they're creeping up in value). I've looked at all sorts of stuff: Other Porsches, a cheap daily and a Ferrari 360, an Audi RS4, an R8, an M4, even an Aston V8 vantage or Maserati.
Yet, I've STILL got the Porsche. I've not found anything right now that's forced my hand into changing.

I've got an album out and am planning to take it live, so that might change things (hopefully, although it's only ambient/electronic stuff). There's licensing in place etc, so you never know.
We want to move house first - I want a nicer place, and some thing with a garage (should I go the nicer Porsche/Italian route).

So, in the meantime, I've treated the 996 to a bit of a refresh:

It's not the world's best car, but it's still mine

Dan

Don't watch Schmee150's Youtube channel. Don't do it!
Link

The only thing wrong with it is that it is not a convertible. ;p

Abarth 595

Transport back to simpler time ?