I return

[AZhitman]

All good points, Joel. I've had great luck with buying cars sight-unseen, so I may be a bit spoiled. I assume the worst going in, and if I wind up with a peach, I'm stoked. Of my Datsuns, all but 2 have been sight-unseen. Bought Bex's new MS3 without driving it, my DD was bought online from Dalllas. Bought my G Coupe from ATL (never had even driven a G)... the list goes on.

I ask for a lot of pictures, and I know what the common issues are. I ask for maintenance Hx, and if it's spotty, I pass.

Of course, your best point had to do with the buyer - big difference. Point taken.

[Florida240sx]

Welcome back

[Dittoz7]

Yay

[nissangirl74]

Holy crap, Ditto?!?!

[OriginalWheelman]

I guess my question is this: Why do people from "rust states" not buy cars from the southwest and just ship them home?

You could buy a rust-free G20 / Miata (just examples) here for $3000 and have it shipped to that frozen armpit you live in for under $1k, and have several years of enjoyment before the rust claims yet another victim.

I've never understood spending good money on a used car in New England, KNOWING full well it's eaten up with rust. Seems idiotic.

Everything Bubba said is true but the truth from an enthusiast living there who has done this many times, they rust out, fast. The weather eats the paint off. That happens anywhere. The problem is what the salt and moisture do to exposed metal. It does not take long for it to happen. Most every car I bought rust free was as rusty as a Buffalo car after 2 or 3 winters. It's just not worth it unless you paint it and undercoat it when you buy it and that is so much money, you can just buy a newer car and get more bang for your buck. Buffalo cars are rusty for a good 10 years. The reason for that is because once an area rusts, it largely stops. The oxidation happens on the surface and grows around the edges. The rust starts slowly, and grows like moss. It just creeps and gets bigger. But when you take a car with all the metal exposed it all rusts right up in no time. Really it doesn't even need to be the exposed metal. Once the clear coat is gone the paint lets so much moisture through to the metal will rust under the paint and bubble through.

[nismo212]

Hey everyone haven't been here for a while, Ive been busy with work.

*for anyone that doesn't know, I'm in the market for a new ride and need some advice on picking one"

I discussed with my parents how I wanted to purchase my own vehicle for under $4000 to save miles and gas but they thought it may be better just to terminate the lease early on the Ridgeline and trade it in for a different vehicle (I can choose any car I want).

My 2013 Ridgeline is in good condition with a KBB price of like $23,000 with 28,000 miles assumed. I need to take it in for some body work (light scratches, couple of dents, college parking lots etc) before I trade it in.

I am looking for something under $23,000 that is not "crazy fast", AWD, customizable, safe, sporty with low miles (under 60,000) and well made.
These are the options I have chosen so far.

Current gen Infiniti G37x sedan (pro: Fast, Con: bad mpg)
Audi A5 2.0T (pro: sporty coupe, not crazy fast (won't crash) 210 hp, very fuel efficient 30 mpg, con: can't find one yet)
BMW 328i or 330i x drive sedan or coupe (pro: sporty, not crazy fast (328i), 4cyl (328i) con: BMW reliability is eh and MPG is eh for the engine)
Mercedes C300 4 matic sedan (pro: sporty, not crazy fast, mpg ok Con: V6, MB reliability and parts are $$, feminine looking)
Cadillac CTS 4 (pro: 4 cyl, good mpg, awd, domestic, cheap parts con: not a big modding platform

So far the A5 2.0T is on the top of my list. It has great reviews from consumer reports, very fuel efficient, modding platform, and Quattro AWD is highly rated.

What's your opinion?

[numbnuts240]

awd luxury sedan for modding. dude, have you seriously not listened to anything we've told you over the years? i get it, some people are born into money and their parents will take care of them. if they're willing to buy you a car that you can customize, fine. but seriously think about it. you have no experience seriously wrenching on cars, and you consider vehicles that can be finicky and require loads of expertise to tune? not to be too harsh, but you're an idiot. i take it back. i intend full harshness. you're an idiot.

[nismo212]

Im not talking about full engine swaps, rebuilding the engine, upgrading the turbo etc. I would only do that to a $3000 project car

For "mod purposes" Im talking about:
cosmetic improvements (example, take the A5, add some RS5 upgrades)
bolt on engine improvements (intake, exhaust)
suspension (lower it a little, add some camber)
Wheels (some nice TSW wheels on some NITO tires )

[numbnuts240]

cosmetic improvements (example, take the A5, add some RS5 upgrades)

expensive parts and body work (gonna have to paint that stuff)

bolt on engine improvements (intake, exhaust)

requires tuning to see real results

suspension (lower it a little, add some camber)

what's the camber for? most people who lower their vehicles do just that. there is much more involved to keep handling in check than just lowering. and as for camber, unless you're tracking, there isn't much point besides wasting tire tread. also, daily driving a lowered car, especially in new england, is a nightmare

Wheels (some nice TSW wheels on some NITO tires )

yes, hard core, expensive tires for daily driving.

dude, buy a newer civic si. bolt on whatever you want. it's quick, easy, and cheap to maintain with a great gearbox. that's a serious suggestion, btw. if you claim you need awd because of winter, your money would be well spent on some type of winter driving course.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Or winter tires. You can buy a lot of snow tires for the price difference of a civic SI and an Audi A5.

[OriginalWheelman]

[sx moneypit]

[Bubba1]

Add some Alteeza lights and instant detailer, and that could be Nala's next taxi.