Grtechguy said:slefain said:https://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/d/marietta-1984-maserati-biturbo/7438339089.html
You are funny.
Only on GRM would someone *seriously* suggest this option for a DD. I love this place 
I actually thing the HHR suggestion isn't a bad idea, there's a nice one in Pensacola FL:
ProDarwin said:Aaron_King said:In reply to slefain :
That Biturbo is way more enticing than it should be.
Seriously. If that was close I might do something stupid.
Same. That car definitely looks to be worth near the asking price.
Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:ProDarwin said:Aaron_King said:In reply to slefain :
That Biturbo is way more enticing than it should be.
Seriously. If that was close I might do something stupid.
Same. That car definitely looks to be worth near the asking price.
The new seats in the Biturbo fixes my biggest complaint about the styling. That pushes far too many buttons to be healthy for me.
I have determined that 1984-85 are some sort of trigger years for me. I own three vehicles produced in that window and have another that was introduced in 1983.
The fly-and-drive thing just might be a good idea. I just flew back to Wisconsin from Orange County to pickup my Mazda3 and spent the day working on it. It really reinforces the thought that I'll never buy another Wisconsin car or car that has lived in salt. The cars in the southwest make up for years and mileage by being repairable without breaking bolts, torches, magic rust dissolving solutions, etc.. The flight back was $31 on a four day advance buy.
John Welsh said:Aaron_King said:In reply to slefain :
That Biturbo is way more enticing than it should be.
"Modified to be reliable" leaves me wondering.
Good look'n:
That's practically Bring a Trailer material, if not Cars and Bids.
Thought we had 2000 V70xc. Then after plugging in a scanner found the guy had disabled the engine light, had 7 MIL lights. removed drive shaft and the list kept growing. Topping all this off? The speedometer stopped working during our test drive.
too bad it only had 98K for a $3500 asking. Handheld ODBII/Canbus scanners are a lifesaver.
Had to walk away.
In reply to Grtechguy :
It's called something else but the "transfer case" goes bad on these Volvos and the budget solution is to then pull the driveshaft thereby reducing the car down to fwd only.
it does not take much to kill the haldex system in those cars. Just putting on a brand new tyre when the rest are half way through their lifespan can do it. Heck, putting 4 new tyres on and letting the fronts wear faster than the rears can do it.
In reply to Grtechguy :
Would you be willing to own this Volvo if it remained only fwd?
Did the seller seem receptive to a price drop? Could this become a $2k-ish Volvo?
Speedometer failures are popular on these models and seems to trigger additional codes. Quick search sample. https://www.ecutesting.com/common-faults/volvo/volvo-v70-s60-s80-xc90-instrument-cluster-fault/
In reply to John Welsh :
No.. he was super defensive about everything on the car. I could live with the FWD, but the other codes where O2 sensor, a rear light cable?, transfer case temperature sensor, camshaft solenoid and a couple more Volvo specific codes.
It really felt like he was hiding more as he focused on how clean the car and engine compartment was.
The missing driveshaft was information I had to dig out of him as well
I have my Jag an hour from you at $2k if you're into things like that.
In reply to Grtechguy :
Well, look like you'll have to kiss a few frogs before you find a prince. It's a tough, tough market. Anything under $3k will likely need work.
Is manual trans an option? Escort ZX2 w/ manual asking just $2.5k down from $3k. It's really hard to sell a manual trans car and being a two door car makes it that much harder. What I can't see in the pics is if there is rust in the rockers.
As mentioned, I just sold a 160k Prius for $5,800 (asked $6,200.) In Michigan, here is a 120k Prius asking $4.9k and a 116k Prius asking $6,200 they might be better deals than what I sold.
Don't forget my HHR, I'm willing to let it go.
A flight to Atlanta for an HHR from a trusted seller sounds like a perfect opportunity, if you can figure out the travel from airport to the seller.
Or, buy sight unseen and have the HHR shipped north. I'll bet that $500 will get it shipped right to your front door in Grand Rapids.
The used and new car market here in Central Florida is insane. Anything under 5 years old is ridiculously marked up. Performance models of any type have a premium tax. It's actually quite sickening. I think one of the worst offenders I saw was a Hyundai dealer with an Elantra N marked up $15k. The Acura dealer next to it had a TLX Type-S marked up for $7500 and that Elantra N is faster in a straight line than that TLX.
I can still find some decent stuff under $3k if I look hard enough but I need another car like I need another hole in my head. I'm about to get rid of my second car in 6 months and looking to keep trimming the fat while the gettin is good.
Stuff is definitely a lot of money, but I'm wondering if it really sells. For instance there are a ton of 2020-2021 Land Cruiser Heritage Editions for sale from $115-125k, but I don't see them actually selling.
Another data point is my '19 Golf R. It's in great shape and I built it right, currently have it listed for what KBB says is it's trade in value, yet I haven't gotten any real action on it except from dealers who want it stock. So while I do think there's a car shortage out there I don't think it's really driving the market into a seller's market when the cars are more expensive. Under $20k? Yeah, for sure, but $30, 40k or more? Not so much...
In reply to docwyte :
I've been looking for a new 4-5k$ winter beater since last October and I see the same thing as you. The asking prices are all insane, but no one is buying. And the cars that are listed at a normal price are gone within 24 hours.
From what I'm understanding, the dealers know they can't make the normal volume of sales, so they jack up the prices hoping to catch a desperate sucker. So one car sale brings in as much as four sales used to. I was checking out a nice Volvo S80 V8 that was a little overpriced in December. It was for sale for months. Just when I figured the seller was ripe to come back to earth, the listing disappeared. It was for sale at a dealer the week after for double the price. Insane times.
So I'm still looking, but at this point, I think I'll be finishing this winter driving my truck. The fuel I would save with something a little more economical aren't worth the insane current prices.
P.S. That Volvo would not have been a very logical/serious choice which is probably why I didn't pull the trigger sooner.
That ZX2 is bordering on challenge price territory If you can get the price down!
dxman92 said:That ZX2 is bordering on challenge price territory If you can get the price down!
I had also noticed on the ZX2 sellers FB page that on 12-19-21 he posted to having just bought the red ZX2. Then on 12-23-21, just one month later he posted about selling the car.
This doesn't make this all inherently bad but seems worthy of being aware of.
In reply to John Welsh :
Maybe on the hour drive home after buying it he realized he hated the car
...it happens
Don't buy a car at all if you can help it.
New, used, the market is messed up.
Same market but my buddy just picked up a better than average Nissan Xterra for $3500. He was the first to contact him with about fifty in line behind him.
Keep looking, if something shows up act immediately.
Sold my average Mazda 5, 2009, 170k for $3500 in ten minutes.
John Welsh said:dxman92 said:That ZX2 is bordering on challenge price territory If you can get the price down!
I had also noticed on the ZX2 sellers FB page that on 12-19-21 he posted to having just bought the red ZX2. Then on 12-23-21, just one month later he posted about selling the car.
This doesn't make this all inherently bad but seems worthy of being aware of.
I've looked at that ad and wonder if it's the same car I sold for a friend 6-7 years ago.
In reply to Grtechguy :
Another solid choice (rust free) from a solid character (trusted GRMer)
John Welsh said:In reply to Grtechguy :
Another solid choice (rust free) from a solid character (trusted GRMer)
And I'm committed to a fly-n-drive. This should be fun for mid-feb.
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