For Sale Section

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Hate to do it, but I am going to sell my new in box Metric TLC leather seat upholstery that I can't find the time to install. These came with the truck and are front and middle, two tone with the center console cover and armrests. I also have some hog rings that I will throw in. Looks like it is currently $1350 from Metric TLC + shipping so I will sell these for $1080. I will take some pictures tonight and post them on the main for sale forum.
 
bhmmapping said:
What's the plan for replacement?
Click to expand...

Looking like a wagon of some sort. I need a combination of good MPG and space. If VW made a Passat Wagon TDI I'd do it in a heartbeat. I bought a 2011 Golf 2dr TDI a few months ago (April) and have put 8k miles on it getting 44mpg hwy and 30mpg city if I drive it like I stole it. I kept the cruiser thinking, hell, it's paid for, only costing me insurance, not worth getting rid of. I haven't driven it but a couple of times since I bought the Golf.

So... that said, probably a Subaru Outback. 33mpg and loads of space. (Relatively speaking for a vehicle that gets 30+ MPG highway) Nobody makes mid-full size wagons any more. I'd love something the size of a 90's Caprice wagon with a diesel in it that got high 30's MPG. About the only game in town there is a Mercedes, and I don't want to spend that much on the vehicle or the maintenance. Even then, the Mercedes E class wagon is actually smaller than the Outback.

I just wish the Outback didn't have 8" of ground clearance. It looks a little ridiculous. Eventually I'll probably put legacy springs / struts under it to give it a more appropriate stance for a street going vehicle. No plans to "offroad" a wagon.
 
MB wagon all the way. Find a 2000-2002 W210 wagon and you will be right at 30mpg. My old one I changed the oil and put gas in it. Don't believe for a second the Outback is bigger. The MB still has an available rear facing 3rd row.
 
Don't want to get into a high mileage daily driver. I want something low miles (read: <25k) or new, 30mpg plus highway, <$35k. Cargo space upwards of 70 cu ft with seats folded down. Seats four adults comfortably. Really don't want a luxury brand that has expensive tastes when it comes to service and repairs.
 
I'm just glad you're keeping an open mind, evaluating all options and being objective. No matter what.
 
BamaHeel said:
Might I suggest this to enable, er, assist your wide open search:

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/
Click to expand...

Not unlike this, uh, land cruiser forum to tell me to buy another Toyota SUV? ;)

My mother in law has a Venza. I dig it. I just can't get over the styling and the price. The hybrid Highlander is $40k+ new and tough to find used with low miles for a decent price (like any Toyota). The 4R and LC get mileage lower than what I want. I love the VW TDI engine. Father in law has gotten 250k plus miles out of 4 of them in Jetta wagons, it's just not enough space. My wife's Jetta Sportwagen TDI has been great, as has my 2dr Golf TDI. Unfortunately VW discontinued the Passat wagon altogether, much less a TDI. The Audi Allroad is a maintenance nightmare according to our VW/Audi garage (Hutchinson Automotive). Volvo is much maligned in pretty much any model, just ask Matt B or my cousins who own an XC90 that's been in the shop plenty. I get the Merc thing, but everyone I know (except you) has spent a mint on them in scheduled maintenance and repairs keeping them running past 100k miles.

The reality for me at this point is that my automobile has transitioned from a hobby to a pure necessity, and I'm adjusting accordingly. On a car forum of any type, that's a minority view, and that's cool. I get that. I just don't want to work on a car on the weekend at this stage in my life, and I don't want to deal with being in and out of the shop and having down time if I can't work on it myself.
 
I think French was pointing out the obvious, that you have Outback fever and are going to rationalize it regardless of what anyone else says. I don't care if you buy an Outback. If that is what you want, get it. I have always thought they were cool looking little cars but Clarence had one and I think his overall opinion was that it should have been bigger and/or should have gotten better gas mileage for what it was.

Anyway, I don't ever really think upgrading cars for MPG makes financial sense - if you were looking at an 18k outback, sure, but to move into the 30k range it would take you 150000 miles to make up the difference.
 
One warning about the outback ( and a large reason why we sold ours); Jim Burke is the only dealership in Birmingham and there service folks are flat out incompetent mechanics and crooks.
I have numerous examples but in general they will tell you something is not covered until you pull out your warranty and show them it is. They will forget to order parts (expect a long wait if you need anything more than an oil change).
They will try to convince you that you need x, y, and z if you don't want to lol a bus load nuns.
 
justbecause said:
Truth.
Click to expand...
Not always. The golf has had a positive cash flow effect. Monthly payment $264. $0 down. Monthly fuel savings, $200, Monthly mileage reimbursements $800-1100 (1500-2k miles a month) depending on the month. Cost to operate per mile, $0.12. Cruiser cost to operate per mile $0.41. The difference in operating cost per mile more than makes up for the remaining $64 or so in monthly outlay.

Clarence, that's the one thing that worries me. I'm doing research now to figure out if there are any good independent garages that service them. Franklin unfortunately won't touch them.

As far as "outback fever." I'm not going to argue on the internet. I determined what I wanted in my next car b/c it's silly to have two cars when there's likely a combination that would get me what I need in a single vehicle. Mash up a high MPG diesel and a spacious SUV, and you get a wagon. Go look at the wagons on the market, Audi, Merc, Volvo, Venza (kinda), Highlander hybrid (kinda) Honda crosstour (Kinda), Subaru, Older VW Passats, and that's about it that meet the space requirements. Of all of those, the Subaru gets the best MPG for the buck. Oh s***... I just argued on the internet... dammit.
 
Last edited:
yea. I have been there done that with a TDI.

$1K in maintenance every 10k miles like clockwork.

I even justified it the same way, "my carpayment is X, I drive Y, the difference is Z, this car doesnt cost me anything it saves me so much money!" then the clutch goes out.
then the rear axle bends.
then you find out you "really" do need a steel oil pan skid plate, not that plastic bubble wrap crap from the factory.
then waterpump/timing belt.

head light went out, well s*** you have to take the whole front bumper apart to change that, better hope you dont accidentally deploy the air bag doing that.

the ONLY nice thing about my TDI was the time my fuel pump went out and I found it that you didnt have to drop the tank, you pull the rear seat, unscrew a little door, and bam. fuel pump is right there under a little screw cap. but I didnt get the exact right fuel pump, (there were 3 offered that year) so I always had a CEL light and my mileage dropped 1mpg because the pressure or some German BS wasnt exactly right.
 
justbecause said:
yea. I have been there done that with a TDI.

$1K in maintenance every 10k miles like clockwork.

I even justified it the same way, "my carpayment is X, I drive Y, the difference is Z, this car doesnt cost me anything it saves me so much money!" then the clutch goes out.
then the rear axle bends.
then you find out you "really" do need a steel oil pan skid plate, not that plastic bubble wrap crap from the factory.
then waterpump/timing belt.

head light went out, well **** you have to take the whole front bumper apart to change that, better hope you dont accidentally deploy the air bag doing that.

the ONLY nice thing about my TDI was the time my fuel pump went out and I found it that you didnt have to drop the tank, you pull the rear seat, unscrew a little door, and bam. fuel pump is right there under a little screw cap. but I didnt get the exact right fuel pump, (there were 3 offered that year) so I always had a CEL light and my mileage dropped 1mpg because the pressure or some German BS wasnt exactly right.
Click to expand...

Dunno man. We bought my wife's with 11k on the clock, and she's got close to 70 now on regularly scheduled maintenance which has been like clockwork. I bought my golf with 62k on it, got 70k now, no hiccups. A lot of that sounds like abnormal wear and tear. I've never had a car that I've ever bent an axle, burned up a clutch, or dented an oil pan.

bhmmapping said:
How did you come up with the .41 per mile on the cruiser?

Edit: just did the math on my 80, and if I gave it away tomorrow for free it has only had an operating cost of .43 per mile.
Click to expand...

Can't find my original spreadsheet, but some quick math (I hadn't figured depreciation into my initial calcs)
Item Mileage Interval Cost Per Mile Cost
Tires 50,000 $1,800.00 $0.04
Oil Change 5,000 $60.00 $0.01
Gas 13 $3.85 $0.30
Brakes 50,000 $1,500.00 $0.03
Depreciation 20,000 $2,500.00 $0.13
Cruiser Total $0.50


Tires 50,000 $450.00 $0.01
Oil Change 7,000 $100.00 $0.01
Gas 38 $4.00 $0.11
Brakes 75,000 $800.00 $0.01
Depreciation 69,000 $8,000.00 $0.12
Jetta Wagon Total $0.26


Tires 50,000 $450.00 $0.01
Oil Change 7,000 $100.00 $0.01
Gas 40 $4.00 $0.10
Brakes 75,000 $800.00 $0.01
Depreciation 8,000 $700.00 $0.09
Golf Total $0.22

At the federal reimbursement rate or $0.56/mi, I'm making $0.06/mi on the cruiser and $0.34/mi on the golf. Plus the savings on fuel that I'm driving for personal purposes... I'm still not sure how this shakes out to be "not worth it."
 
Last edited:
I side Keith as far as the potential earnings go on a vw diesel.

I did the same with my jetta. Yes I had to spend about $3k in maintenance over 150k miles but with mileage reimbursement I earned about $7k above all my expenses including the purchase.

If you are racking up the miles then I would not want a newer car though, Just a cheap one that gets really good mileage.

P.S. I would not listen to Zack, he has a long history of making terrible decisions when it comes to vehicles.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom