37 replies to this topic

[McNulty]

Yo Cerrano, you should talk to your mom.  She gives the best stick shift lessons.

[BSLZackKiesel]

My parents bought me a 1995 Subaru Legacy wagon for $1,000 in my senior year of high school 5 years ago (130,000 miles). 5 years and 40,000 miles later, still running pretty well.

[RShack]

My parents bought me a 1995 Subaru Legacy wagon for $1,000 in my senior year of high school 5 years ago (130,000 miles). 5 years and 40,000 miles later, still running pretty well.

 

The key thing there was lotsa years with a low (for that age) miles... so, yeah, something Japanese with lotsa years and <150K miles should be good for a while... 

 

Personally, I'd pay more if they have records showing that they used only synthetic oil... because synthetic oil pretty much eliminates (yes, I did mean to use that word) engine wear... (and since you don't have to change it as often, it doesn't really cost more...)

[SammyBirdland]

So, it turns out my mechanic is a Honda Civic expert and can completely rebuild a Honda motor for $600 in three days, maybe even while sleeping.

 

We're going to keep an eye on Craigslist and local dealer auctions for good candidates.

[SammyBirdland]

Well, I made my purchase, and I bet you're all going to think I'm crazy. I put a feeler out on Facebook saying I was looking to buy. A trusted buddy of mine said he had a 2009 Toyota Prius...with 214,000 miles...for $3000. It still runs like brand new and gets the same fuel economy that it did on day one (average 42 MPG). He was driving it back and forth from York, PA to Baltimore daily and putting 35,000 miles on it per year. He had another buyer considering it, but, like me, he was worried about the big expensive hybrid battery. I immediately started doing research and found that people are using these cars for taxis and are routinely going 300,000, 400,000 or even more, all on the original battery. I watched some videos on YouTube and found that I could definitely change out that battery myself without having to pay someone else to do it. I then started looking at prices for batteries and see that I could get one for anywhere from $800 to $1300 based on miles, included warranty, etc. I'm prepared to do that job whenever it is needed, and I'll still be right around my original budget price point. So, we have a Prius now. I'm working on changing all the fluids, filters, etc. It's running perfectly so far, I've driven 150 miles and I'm averaging 43.6 mpg.

[RShack]

If you drive mostly highway miles, Prius' are not worth their extra cost... because the situations in which hybrids of that architecture pay off best is in stop-and-go driving... so, somebody with his driving pattern never got the max benefit from the hybrid...  when you include the cost of the car, he would have been better off economically getting a fuel-sipping normal little car without all the hybrid stuff...

 

But you might get some benefit from his driving pattern... because the batteries weren't worked as hard in highway cruising as they would have been if his 200+K was done mostly in around-town driving....

[SammyBirdland]

I'll update this thread from time to time. I feel comfortable right now, but we'll see if I've made a terrible mistake. We are still debating whether to send this high mileage vehicle to school two hours away, or to keep it at home and give her our 2012 Jetta to use instead. We have till August to decide.

[RShack]

I'll update this thread from time to time. I feel comfortable right now, but we'll see if I've made a terrible mistake. We are still debating whether to send this high mileage vehicle to school two hours away, or to keep it at home and give her our 2012 Jetta to use instead. We have till August to decide.

 

Exactly what kind of Jetta?

[SammyBirdland]

2.0 motor, manual transmission.

[NewMarketSean]

[SammyBirdland]

I was thinking about getting this for the back windshield:
 

 

[NewMarketSean]

Anyway, stick with your decision.

 

I had a friend trade in a hybrid car after two years because he freaked out about the battery. I thought it was a little premature.

 

Still see a lot of older Priuses on the road so you should be OK.

[SammyBirdland]

Yesterday I ran some motor flush through the engine and did an oil change (Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic 5w30).  We took it for a long drive and the average went up to 44.6 mpg.

When we got home, I washed the engine bay because it had never been done before and was pretty dirty.   I took it for a test drive and it was running like crap, like it was missing.  It only did it at speeds under 45 MPH.  I must have gotten some water in the spark plugs.   So today I put the hood up and let it air out in the windy day today.  At lunch time I topped off the gas and added a can of Berryman B12 Chemtool, and then I replaced the spark plugs.  They were pretty well spent, with white powdery residue all over the ends.  I also took apart the airbox, cleaned the throttle body, and cleaned the MAF sensor.   Once I put everything back together, I started it up and the engine started acting crazy, revving high, low, high, low, over and over again.   After some googling, I disconnected the negative battery terminal for 10 minutes and then hooked it back up, which made it all better.

 

I've been taking it on long drives this evening to test everything out real good.  Over the past 60 miles I'm now getting 52.2 MPG.   

[NewMarketSean]

You know what you're doing so any purchase would've been the right one.

[RShack]

Yesterday I ran some motor flush through the engine and did an oil change (Valvoline MaxLife Full Synthetic 5w30).  We took it for a long drive and the average went up to 44.6 mpg.

When we got home, I washed the engine bay because it had never been done before and was pretty dirty.   I took it for a test drive and it was running like crap, like it was missing.  It only did it at speeds under 45 MPH.  I must have gotten some water in the spark plugs.   So today I put the hood up and let it air out in the windy day today.  At lunch time I topped off the gas and added a can of Berryman B12 Chemtool, and then I replaced the spark plugs.  They were pretty well spent, with white powdery residue all over the ends.  I also took apart the airbox, cleaned the throttle body, and cleaned the MAF sensor.   Once I put everything back together, I started it up and the engine started acting crazy, revving high, low, high, low, over and over again.   After some googling, I disconnected the negative battery terminal for 10 minutes and then hooked it back up, which made it all better.

 

I've been taking it on long drives this evening to test everything out real good.  Over the past 60 miles I'm now getting 52.2 MPG.   

 

Cool...  

 

New plugs, fresh oil, and then a bath... it just got a little confused... cars are now basically rolling computers, so the car equivalent of Ctrl-Alt-Del is now a tool...   

 

Do you intend to track gas-in and mileage-out to see if the mpg meter is correct?

[SammyBirdland]

Cool...  

 

New plugs, fresh oil, and then a bath... it just got a little confused... cars are now basically rolling computers, so the car equivalent of Ctrl-Alt-Del is now a tool...   

 

Do you intend to track gas-in and mileage-out to see if the mpg meter is correct?

 

That's probably a good idea.  The gas mileage meter resets automatically with each fill-up, so I could probably do the same thing on a phone app.

[DJ MC]

That's probably a good idea.  The gas mileage meter resets automatically with each fill-up, so I could probably do the same thing on a phone app.

 

I use an app called FuelLog, which has worked very well for me.

[RShack]

That's probably a good idea.  The gas mileage meter resets automatically with each fill-up, so I could probably do the same thing on a phone app.

 

My bride's Acura TL tells the truth... but my Mini Cooper S just flat out lies... (my M-B 250SE Cabriolet is too old to do either one...)

 

My folks used to record all gas purchases in a little notebook they kept in the glove compartment... because you used to be able to write off all the gas taxes on your income tax... but even after the gov't decided to tax the money you spent on taxes (WTF?), they kept doing it (and I still do it) because if gas mileage drops in a way that doesn't make sense, it's an early warning about something... even if that's just a dirty air filter...