Anyone here drive a BMW 325i?

[Old Ironmaker]

Good news, my herself a nice late model Kia Optima yesterday. She found it online at A Brantford Ford dealer, made a call, asked all the right questions, researched it online for hours, went to see it Saturday. Took it for a spin on the 401 and around town. She made a good deal below market value and had the dealer do a few touch ups I missed and paint the entire hood due to chips. Made sure it came with 2 keyless entry fobs and will pick it up Friday. I'm proud of her. It won't pulls G's and weld you in the seat like she likes but I get my truck back after the winter.

AT

[huzzsaba]

On 2/19/2018 at 11:40 PM, Old Ironmaker said:

Good news, my herself a nice late model Kia Optima yesterday. She found it online at A Brantford Ford dealer, made a call, asked all the right questions, researched it online for hours, went to see it Saturday. Took it for a spin on the 401 and around town. She made a good deal below market value and had the dealer do a few touch ups I missed and paint the entire hood due to chips. Made sure it came with 2 keyless entry fobs and will pick it up Friday. I'm proud of her. It won't pulls G's and weld you in the seat like she likes but I get my truck back after the winter.

AT

congrats on the purchase!  Love the recent Kia and Hyundai products. They are pretty peppy if you ask me.  I was on a ticketless streak for 10 years until I rented a sonata for a trip last summer. ended up with 2 tickets on that trip to Alberta.  One was a traffic camera and one while overtaking someone on the rural roads of Saskatchewan

Quote

Huzz,  I can't seem to be able to PM with the new format or I would have for this info. You need to get a copy of this Springs CAA magazine. The Volvo Agera RS Supercar has a top speed of 447.19 KPH, no not a typo, 447.19 KPH at I don't know how many G's welding you in the seat. The Polestar 1 looks like a 2 door Maserati concept car, the rear spoiler deploys from the trunk once the car hits 100KPH. These ain't Moma's kid mover Volvo wagon or your Professors 4 door crash tested sedan. I hope they bring back the glory days of the P-1800. 

Sorry OI I didn't get to reply to your post about the Agera.  Its actually made by Koenigsegg company, but they are swedish like Volvo so pretty close.  Volvo has come a long way from their old boxy cars, and the power output is pretty impressive.  The new xc90 hybrid puts out 400 hp and can keep up with some pretty fast cars out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOdZXOF7mVU  check out this video

Edited February 21, 2018 by huzzsaba

[chris.brock]

On 2/19/2018 at 4:25 PM, Canuck said:

By the way, the BMW and Benz snobs at work will tell me that their cars are great, but they seem to be coming in late after dropping their cars off an awful lot. 

Yep, pretty common. Some guys, the stuff they buy, is automatically and always awesome. It's like they're delusional or maybe they can't admit they may have bought a dog because it insults their intelligence or manhood or something. It must be a syndrome.

 

 

[BillM]

I'd never buy something European without the ability to work on it myself.  Some of those people that just drop them off at the dealer??!?!?  Oh man, just asking for it!

[Old Ironmaker]

5 hours ago, BillM said:

I'd never buy something European without the ability to work on it myself.  Some of those people that just drop them off at the dealer??!?!?  Oh man, just asking for it!

With all the electronics today the days of the backyard mechanic are dwindling.  If you can do your own stuff good on you. I can change oil and some batteries, but I don't since it took me an hour to change the battery buried in the fender on the old Intrepid. I do all the service on my boat though.

I can't watch this shootout for the girls gold.

Edited February 22, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[BillM]

Working on these cars requires a bit more then a wrench, but it's not all that complicated.   Sure isn't like it used to be though (I actually have to 'register' the battery in my car when changing it, lol)

[DRIFTER_016]

1 hour ago, BillM said:

 (I actually have to 'register' the battery in my car when changing it, lol)

Well if that isn't the dumbest thing I've heard this week.  

[Canuck]

17 hours ago, chris.brock said:

Yep, pretty common. Some guys, the stuff they buy, is automatically and always awesome. It's like they're delusional or maybe they can't admit they may have bought a dog because it insults their intelligence or manhood or something. It must be a syndrome.

I think you are right.  By the way folks, thanks to this thread I am about to drop the hammer on a new 2017 MDX.  With rebate and dealer discount its almost $11,000 off MSRP.  That's hard to walk away from.  2018's have a few more gadgets, but not $11K worth.  Anyone want to buy a well-loved 09 with 150,000kms?

Edited February 22, 2018 by Canuck

[Canuck]

43 minutes ago, DRIFTER_016 said:

Well if that isn't the dumbest thing I've heard this week.  

That is the way that the German cars work now to keep you coming to the dealership.    When the battery on my X5 died a premature death (because of an electrical fault- but that is another story), I looked into whether I could replace it myself.  Well, the strange configuration/style of battery, and the programming needed to get things to work after replacement meant I had to get the dealer to do it.  

[BillM]

58 minutes ago, DRIFTER_016 said:

Well if that isn't the dumbest thing I've heard this week.  

Batteries degrade over time, the car knows this.  Leave it to Zee Germans!!!!!

[Old Ironmaker]

When I start looking for my weekend toy after we sell here I think I am going to look for a early Fiat Spider or Alfa Spider Veloce. I don't speak German but can just get by in Italiano. Those 2 vehicles are void of modern electronics and I know I can at least do a basic tune up and change a battery. Plus I can swear at it in broken Italian. A good pal had both in the 70's, he still has the 69' Fiat Spider. Rust is the issue with those Italian models and fitting a set of Golf clubs in them but that's what luggage racks are for. Arrivaderci macina Tedesco.

[Tom S]

This discussion popped into my head this morning when I read a post on a blog I follow that showcased a tractor produced by Porsche as a post-war project. Beautiful looking design (ever seen an art-deco looking tractor?), and it was emphasized several times that it was cheap to run / easy to maintain and repair. Now you can't even change the battery in a German vehicle without going through a trained mechanic? Can someone explain to me how this is progress? When did designers/manufactures become more concerned about  post-sales revenue than building a solid product?

Porsche Tractor for anyone who is interested: https://silodrome.com/porsche-tractor/

[Old Ironmaker]

59 minutes ago, Tom S said:

This discussion popped into my head this morning when I read a post on a blog I follow that showcased a tractor produced by Porsche as a post-war project. Beautiful looking design (ever seen an art-deco looking tractor?), and it was emphasized several times that it was cheap to run / easy to maintain and repair. Now you can't even change the battery in a German vehicle without going through a trained mechanic? Can someone explain to me how this is progress? When did designers/manufactures become more concerned about  post-sales revenue than building a solid product?

Porsche Tractor for anyone who is interested: https://silodrome.com/porsche-tractor/

.Lamborghini was originally tractor builders  after WW2 until Lamborghini who was building his tractors went to Enzo Ferrari and showed him how he solved Ferraris gearbox problems by using his tractor tranny's. The old man kicked him out of his office and Mr. Lamborghini swore to beat Ferrari at it's own game on and off the race track and actually did for a time .

The German cars were complicated to work on years ago, not just lately. My 69' 280S had manual windows. The window came off the track. There was a special tool to pop the fasteners off to get the door panel free, then there was about 3 layers of plastic, insulation and fibre board on to get to the window. But when you close a door on a Benz you can hear the quality and over engineering even back then. Those Becker AM, FM radio/cassette players that they used were as good as todays Bose units, no actually they were better. Most people that have never owned one are usually the first to criticize them.

The Lamborghini tractor history below. Their tractors looked similar as the Porche tractor back then Tom.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/03/lamborghini-cars-were-a-result-of-a-tractor-company-owners-frustration-with-Ferrari/

Edited February 22, 2018 by Old Ironmaker

[Canuck]

2 hours ago, Old Ironmaker said:

When I start looking for my weekend toy after we sell here I think I am going to look for a early Fiat Spider or Alfa Spider Veloce. I don't speak German but can just get by in Italiano. Those 2 vehicles are void of modern electronics and I know I can at least do a basic tune up and change a battery. Plus I can swear at it in broken Italian. A good pal had both in the 70's, he still has the 69' Fiat Spider. Rust is the issue with those Italian models and fitting a set of Golf clubs in them but that's what luggage racks are for. Arrivaderci macina Tedesco.

I like the way you think!  Those old Fiat's will keep you busy in your retirement years for sure.  They needed to be easy to work on, because they always had to be worked on!.

I love tinkering with cars and in my pre-career years spent most of my spare time with grease and engine oil under my nails.  Between my my brother, myself and my buddies we basically fixed every part on a long list of cars (we were gluttons for punishment).  Here is my list.  I will have the years wrong no doubt, but pretty close.  In no particilar order:

A series of VW beetles in the 70's, SAAB 900, VW Microbus, Jeep CJ5, Opel GT, Renault Fuego,  Chevy Monza, Chrysler New Yorker,  1953 Chev, 1984 Olds Cutlass Ciera, Cadillac Cimarron. 

Needless to say, not going down that path when I retire!

When I retire, I will probably look for a early 70s muscle car.  Maybe a Chevelle.  And do a resto-mod kind of thing.  Probably buy someone else's partly finished project. A buddy of mine is doing that to an early 70's GTO.  Its a pretty neat ride now. 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Canuck

[DRIFTER_016]

3 hours ago, BillM said:

Batteries degrade over time, the car knows this.  Leave it to Zee Germans!!!!!

Seems they learned from Apple!!!

Does your car slow down as the battery ages?  

[Dutch01]

BMW has Toyota, Honda, Mazda and Nissan beat according to people who actually study these things.

 

EDIT: Shoot I should have looked closer at my own stats, BMW is tied with Toyota. Mea culpa.

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Dutch01

[Dozer]

Porsche is a VW in a tuxedo, BMW's are science experiments.

[Dutch01]

As much as I loved my BMW's I'm a truck guy now. Kinda hard to fit my flip hut in a bimmer.

[Raf]

Id love a late 80s rx7 or early 90s mr2 as a weekender.  Back when cars were still relatively simple - without nannies and weighed nothing.

[Canuck]

Oh yeah, I forgot about my 1984 RX7.  That was such a sweet car to drive.  I loved that thing.  Very sad day when the first kid arrived and I had to sell it to buy a Ford Explorer (couldn't do the min-van just then)

[Old Ironmaker]

What fun is it to take a vehicle in for oil every 10,000K and never have to lift the hood in the lifetime of the vehicle. I was in shape when I had to bump start my cars.

[Dutch01]

I personally think this is a great time for car enthusiasts. Sure you can't work on them much anymore, but this is the golden age of horsepower and reliability in my experience. You can get a 455 hp Camaro SS for a little over $50k out the door. I've driven one and it was an unbelievable beast but also civil and very driveable if you want it to be.

Even my Silverado rides better than most old cars, and is "lux" enough with heated seats, Bluetooth and Carplay, On Star, wifi and 4g LTE cell, lots of horses.... What's not to love?

Edited February 23, 2018 by Dutch01

[Old Ironmaker]

They say they don't make things the way they used to. When it comes to todays vehicles thank God. Maybe we can't tinker with them but it was unheard of to get over 100,000 miles out of a car without it rusting to iron dust.