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#21
03-22-2005, 06:03 PM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
If going for an older car and wanting good reliability and an engine that will last forever need to be looking at the german manufacturers a merc, BMW then Audi and Volkswagen [/ QUOTE ] mercedes first for reliability? lollerskates. japan absolutely trounces germany in this dept, but mercedes in particular is a joke. and i'm a german car fan/driver. 
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#22
03-22-2005, 08:24 PM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] If going for an older car and wanting good reliability and an engine that will last forever need to be looking at the german manufacturers a merc, BMW then Audi and Volkswagen [/ QUOTE ] mercedes first for reliability? lollerskates. japan absolutely trounces germany in this dept, but mercedes in particular is a joke. and i'm a german car fan/driver. [/ QUOTE ] If by older car he means early-mid 80s mercedes, the op might have a point.I question how reliable any 20 year old car is though  . Once you hit the 90s, mercedes, vw, and audis are the the bottom of the barrel in all the reliablity studies. The engines might be ok (except for VW and Audis with bad coils) but they all suffer from numerous electrical problems. Do 15 minutes of googling if you care about the details. I haven't heard too many bad things about BMW and Porsche reliability but I think they are still a step down from honda and toyota (and therefore lexus and acura) but equal to the good american brands and secondary japanese ones.Of course reliability isn't the reason most people pick a car. It is about being safe, looking good, and cost of ownership.
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#23
03-22-2005, 10:26 PM
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Re: Buying used cars
no to police auctions.
go ahead and buy from a local, but learn at least a little about cars. they will not have washed the engine, so get under and look for oil leaks. check the pavement under the car for oil. test basic suspension by sitting hard on each corner. check the hoses and transmission fluid (should be thinly translucent). etc. test drive it. take a hard turn in each direction to check the cv boots, test the brakes, check the lights, look at the upholstery, ask about oil changes. i don't know squat about cars. last one i could fix stem to stern was a '72 Dodge Dart and even then got confused by the vacuum advance. but have bought a dozen used ones from individuals and one from Carmax. it pays to do the basic checks. get it inspected by a mechanic too. my 2 cents. matt
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#25
03-23-2005, 04:02 AM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
The last used car I would buy is a European car. I'd buy American before European. [/ QUOTE ] What about early 90s korean? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] The big question hear is what do you mean by used. There is a huge difference between 2-3 year old car and a 5-7 year old. Once you cross that 100K mark/timeframe there are a bunch of part s that begin to wear out. Still cheaper than new but it can get pricey. Personally I am still shuddering at the thought of buying a mid 90s audi. They do look good though...
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#26
03-23-2005, 05:07 AM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
The last used car I would buy is a European car. I'd buy American before European. [/ QUOTE ] Well then you are an idiot, American cars are some of the worst out there. Chrysler are in Europe selling crap cars, Chevrolet are trying it now and a few others are coming they all have the same thing in common that they are rubbish drives and are no where near the quality of German makes. As for my previous comments about mercs I was talking about the older cars the old C and E class the engines are good for a good few hundred thousand miles, and I would rather have somthing like that than an old ford or similar.
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#27
03-23-2005, 06:31 PM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] The last used car I would buy is a European car. I'd buy American before European. [/ QUOTE ] Well then you are an idiot, American cars are some of the worst out there. Chrysler are in Europe selling crap cars, Chevrolet are trying it now and a few others are coming they all have the same thing in common that they are rubbish drives and are no where near the quality of German makes. As for my previous comments about mercs I was talking about the older cars the old C and E class the engines are good for a good few hundred thousand miles, and I would rather have somthing like that than an old ford or similar. [/ QUOTE ] Your views on quality are a decade out of date. German cars (MB,VW and Audi. Not sure about BMW) have gotten worse while american cars have gotten better. The american cars might not feel as well built, but they score significantly better on every reliablity survey I have seen for the past 5 years.
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#28
03-23-2005, 10:33 PM
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Re: Buying used cars
[ QUOTE ]
Your views on quality are a decade out of date. German cars (MB,VW and Audi. Not sure about BMW) have gotten worse while american cars have gotten better. The american cars might not feel as well built, but they score significantly better on every reliablity survey I have seen for the past 5 years. [/ QUOTE ] Those reliability surveys are unreliable. They are biased because people who buy European cars have much higher expectations than people forced to own U.S. crap. And this won't even be an issue much longer, as GM is close to bankruptcy and Ford is close behind. It's a coinflip whether Chrysler will be shut down by DaimlerBenz soon as well.
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#30
03-24-2005, 01:35 AM
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Re: Buying used cars
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