I've reached that age...

yes.  That age where I'd rather just pay more money for a better example of a car than just buy a cheaper beater.  The age of walking away...

So..  I'm thinking about getting a play car and I thought I'd just start looking at local stuff in combination of looking for other things.

So...  I take a look at this car: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/d/1986-bmw-325-es-coupe/6631758143.html  and I bring my 7 year old along for the xperience.

1.  I pull up and notice a stance bro 325 e36 outside the house....  Hmmm.  Ohh looks like he's scheduled multiple people to see the car at the same time.

2. CAr has been sitting for some time..  it's just covered in dirt.

3. Has a few rust through spots near the jack points by the drivers and passenger side...

4. Strut tops look very solid... car dosne't look hit.

5.  Owner starts blabbing about how some mechanic offered him $1500 and how his sister saw an 86 325 advertised on craigslist for $6k and she knows he can get more.

6. Hood release is broken....  glove box is broken..  Sports seats aren't just worn they're torn.. 

7.  Car starts... has nasty top end tick....  Dude starts talking about how the coolant is low and the computer inside says so.. and how one time the gauge got very close to hot but didn't.. ..  So I pull the oil filler... no milkshake.  No white smoke on startup.  Exhaust is held on by bailing wire.

8. I tell the dude I'm gonna bounce.  Stance bro decides to take it for a ride..  I follow him out.  He has trouble keeping it running and it lets out some smoke on take off... 

So..  I'd rather just pay more or do a fly and drive...  This ain't worth my time.

Wise choice. Good reminder to me to be ready to walk away, a skill that I need to develop.

But it has the manuel transmission!  

I periodically look at the Minneapolis Craigslist for BMWs but the pickings are usually pretty slim (although there is a half decent e39 540i six speed on there right now.) 

In reply to stuart in mn :

But Atlanta has this. https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/bmw-e30-325es-track-car/6637770798.html

and I have 400k delta miles just wasting away.   Though I’d have to figure out how to get my wife to triple the budget we agreed on.  

I am now at the age where I put seat heaters on in 85* heat, with the AC on, because my back hurts. 

I often wondered if those old dudes at the beach cared what they looked like with shorts, blue socks, and sandals. I now know the answer.

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

I only seem to buy 2 kinds of cars at my age.  New with a warranty that I keep for a couple of decades. Or complete basket cases to race.  

Oops but I really can’t remember doing anything except that.  

In concurrence with this threads topic, I've reach the age that a big healthy crap is the highlight of my day. 

I'm the same way. My next car (unless life punches me in the face of course) is one I plan on keeping fairly close to stock (bolt ons/tune/suspension/wheels) and owning for as long as is physically possible. Because of this I don't mind spending more money on a closer to stock/nicer example and even have SWMBO approval to do so. I've owned plenty of half finished projects that ended up not being a good deal to go down that path again. 

this is why I bought an $11,000 abarth instead of a $1000 insight for commuting purposes. I could have gotten the honda running and looking decent at around $5000, but I like the piece of mind of my newer car.

I spent many years doing the beater car.  These are all cars I bought for under $2k, which were 15+ years old and had 125k, 150k+ miles at the time...Geo Prism, Volvo 850 wagon, Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Saab 9-5 wagon, Honda Accord.  They all did their jobs, but as I'm getting older, I just don't want to do that anymore.  So my definition of "beater" changed...my last one was my '13 Elantra.  I bought it when it was only 3 years old and had 50k.  It was a beater because of the Korean depreciation curve.  I really enjoyed that car, but after two years I was ready for something even better.  I can definitely see myself having another "beater" for fun, but probably (never say never) not as a DD.

This is going to be a project fun car.  I just am not going to waste time dealing with this jackhole who thinks he has gold. 

I, for some reason, thought this was going to be a thread about prostates. This makes for better reading. 

I've always driven junk. For a long time that was all I could afford but old habits die hard. It's taken a long time to stop looking for the budget project and spend the money on something nicer that's much less work. I was able to do it on my last purchase, spent double what I could have, and went for the top model with low mileage in very nice condition. Almost 4 years later it turns out I could get my money back, if not make a thousand bucks on the deal if i wanted and the low mileage no drama car has been nice to own.

So I'm in the market for something else now and here's my predicament. Looking for a 98-02 Z28/SS and I'm going to mod it. Do I spend the money on a really low mileage (25k miles) car, $10-$12k, or half for a still clean and solid one with 100k miles? Buying the cheaper high miler leaves me with money to buy an Abarth too. The more expensive one doesn't.

Suprf1y said:

I've always driven junk. For a long time that was all I could afford but old habits die hard. It's taken a long time to stop looking for the budget project and spend the money on something nicer that's much less work. I was able to do it on my last purchase, spent double what I could have, and went for the top model with low mileage in very nice condition. Almost 4 years later it turns out I could get my money back, if not make a thousand bucks on the deal if i wanted and the low mileage no drama car has been nice to own.

So I'm in the market for something else now and here's my predicament. Looking for a 98-02 Z28/SS and I'm going to mod it. Do I spend the money on a really low mileage (25k miles) car, $10-$12k, or half for a still clean and solid one with 100k miles? Buying the cheaper high miler leaves me with money to buy an Abarth too. The more expensive one doesn't.

I'd go with the 100k car, assuming it is really clean and solid. Any car that is that old is going to need work, even the 25k car will likely need something (tires are likely to be aged, rubber may be cracked, etc.)

Especially if the Abarth you're referencing is not a basket case. 2 cars are better than one.

Personally, from my own experience the main difference between a ~$1000 vehicle and a $3-$4k vehicle, is on a $1k vehicle I know by the time I sink another $2-$3k into it I’ll have a pretty reliable vehicle.

Conversely, on a $3-$4k vehicle I’ll probably need to sink another $1-$2k into it to get it I to comparable condition as the vehicle above. It seems to be a sliding-scale too: on a $10k vehicle it may only need another $500 put into it, and at some point(that varies) you’ll find a good used car that doesn’t really need anything. 

Terrible buy is terrible.

Sounds more to me like you've reached the age where you have the experience to spot which "cheap" cars aren't going to be cheap.

I've reached that age where my son is old enough to mow the lawn.

I feel like I've just won the lottery 

MadScientistMatt said:

Terrible buy is terrible.

Sounds more to me like you've reached the age where you have the experience to spot which "cheap" cars aren't going to be cheap.

NermalSnert said:

I often wondered if those old dudes at the beach cared what they looked like with shorts, blue socks, and sandals. I now know the answer.

I dress like a bum intentionally, because I'm a smug shiny happy person and my net worth is pretty close to 7 digits, with another 12-ish working years to go.

Appleseed said:

In concurrence with this threads topic, I've reach the age that a big healthy crap is the highlight of my day. 

My 1 year old would like to tell you that age starts pretty dang young.

I looked at a 318 coupe about a year ago and bounced before the owner even showed up.  Sent him a text message that I wasn't interested.  Too much rust, undercarriage damage, interior wasted.  Seller gave me a tough time, but I'm not sure why.  I wasn't going to buy his pile and I saved us both some time.  

In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :

"Owner starts blabbing about how some mechanic offered him $1500 and how his sister saw an 86 325 advertised on craigslist for $6k and she knows he can get more."

When this E36 M3 starts, unless I'm really interested, I usually bail out of principle.  

dculberson said:

Appleseed said:

In concurrence with this threads topic, I've reach the age that a big healthy crap is the highlight of my day. 

My 1 year old would like to tell you that age starts pretty dang young.

May he/she never  change. 

AngryCorvair said:

NermalSnert said:

I often wondered if those old dudes at the beach cared what they looked like with shorts, blue socks, and sandals. I now know the answer.

I dress like a bum intentionally, because I'm a smug shiny happy person and my net worth is pretty close to 7 digits, with another 12-ish working years to go.

I dress like a bum because I pretty much am one, and I figure a few bad turn of events could have me living down the street on the beach. So I’m preemptively doing my best to assimilate with the homeless there before I might actually need to.