Car Talk

[5150 Lego]

Very nice!

I almost traded my car in for a W12 Phaeton, the price was right at 17,000$ but it was out of warranty and the Phaeton is a very very very expensive car to maintain.

Not to meantion very unreliable. $17,000??? Thats it? Was it in a wreak? How manymiles? That car sold for close to $80,000new. Thats a pretty drastic drop in price.

[Modulex Guy]

Not to meantion very unreliable. $17,000??? Thats it? Was it in a wreak? How manymiles? That car sold for close to $80,000new. Thats a pretty drastic drop in price.

Not a wreak at all, it only had just a bit over 60K on the odo, clean carfax other than a few minor repairs under warranty of previous owner shiny black paint with almost new tan interior.

It was a beautiful car, its just that there was no warranty is why I did not get it, if one thing would go wrong, then it would be a nightmare to repair and would probably destroy my wallet.

Its almost like any large, expensive European car, very costly to repair.

A buddy of mine has an Audi RS6 and its been in the dealer for 3 months now in service, the electronic adjustable suspension was blown and had to be rebuilt twice, the dealer also flew in a tech from Germany to rebuild the car, luckily everything is covered under warranty.

[prateek]

Not to meantion very unreliable. $17,000??? Thats it? Was it in a wreak? How manymiles? That car sold for close to $80,000new. Thats a pretty drastic drop in price.

The Phaeton like many Jags depreciate in price very quickly.

[Joey Lock]

The Phaeton like many Jags depreciate in price very quickly.

And? Its still a good looking car:

I mean my dad bought a 2002 Renault Espace for £12,000 in 2003-4 I can't exactly remeber, But nowheredays it costs £5000, And who cares! It has been reliable for my dad, He uses it for work, which is about a 1 and 1/2 hour drive each day. So that has lasted quite a while, and wil last quite a while longer. So if you buy a cheap Jaguar for like £6k, it doesn't matter that within 3 years its going to cost £4k, You still have a luxury saloon, with a pretty good engine. So Im fine with that. Anywho, If you buy the Jaguar when your say 20 or older, then buy the time it depreciates alot, you will have enough money to buy a brand new one that will cost like £6-8k. So its not that bad.

[5150 Lego]

And? Its still a good looking car:

I mean my dad bought a 2002 Renault Espace for £12,000 in 2003-4 I can't exactly remeber, But nowhere days it costs £5000, And who cares!

Wow. I really hope you take someone with you who knows about cars when you make your first purchase. There a very big difference from a car that deprciates from 12K to 5K in a few years time, then from $80,000K, to $17,000K. There's alot more you need to look at when buying a car than just "how it looks". If a car is going to depreciate that much over such a short period of time, then that general says that that model or brand car starts having serious problems. prateek is correct that Jags are nortirious for loosing there value. horrible electrical problems, parts are very expensive, and on many models, it is very difficult to get to the engine componets. This was the downfall of the W12 Phaten as well.

It has been reliable for my dad, He uses it for work, which is about a 1 and 1/2 hour drive each day. So that has lasted quite a while, and wil last quite a while longer. So if you buy a cheap Jaguar for like £6k, it doesn't matter that within 3 years its going to cost £4k, You still have a luxury saloon, with a pretty good engine. So Im fine with that. Anywho, If you buy the Jaguar when your say 20 or older, then buy the time it depreciates alot, you will have enough money to buy a brand new one that will cost like £6-8k. So its not that bad.

I don't understand what your trying to say? So if you buy a jag at $6K, then in a couple years it needs $4K in repairs that ok, cause you have a fancy car? Doesn't seem right if that what you getting at.

I also don't understand what your talking about a new Jag costing $8K??? Not in this life time.

[Joey Lock]

Wow. I really hope you take someone with you who knows about cars when you make your first purchase.

Would you like to come with me then? I mean you seem to know absolutely every single little thing about cars.

So if you buy a jag at $6K, then in a couple years it needs $4K in repairs that ok, cause you have a fancy car?

Good enough for me Especially if you already have a spare car to use. Which I will have.

If I like fancy cars, thats my decision, if I lose lots of money, thats my fault. But Im taking a chance to get a nice car, I dont want to buy a Citreon Saxo which sounds like a Gravy company, and it feel horrible driving it, I'd much rather wait to get a car I like and can be proud of. Its not like Im actually going to go ahead a buy the Phaeton, I was just stating that would you prefer to buy a crappy flat in a bad neighbourhood just because you really want to own a house, or would you prefer to save up and buy a place you can be proud of, and show your friends?

I also don't understand what your talking about a new Jag costing $8K??? Not in this life time.

New doesn't necessaraily mean Brand-New. And Im English, So I mean, £8000, We use £. Ever looked on AutoTrader UK?

Theres a car 2007 07 Reg JAGUAR X-TYPE 2.0 litre S - Price: £8,399

And if so Jaguars are soo popular over here in England, The Creators of Jaguar, the parts must be easy to get a hold of because this is the home of Jaguar.

[5150 Lego]

Would you like to come with me then? I mean you seem to know absolutely every single little thing about cars.

Easy there buddy. I made no such claim. But i do have alot of experience. I've worked as an apprentice automotive technician for ten yrs at car dealerships and currently work as an emergency vehicle tech building police/fire/ems vehicles. I've also built several race cars (primarily for drag racing) as well as competed in Sportsman classes, as well as SCCA events. I'm also on my 5th vehicle. So I've made some good purchases, as well as some not to good purchases.

My posts wasn't meant to offend you, but more offer some advice.

Good enough for me Especially if you already have a spare car to use. Which I will have.

If I like fancy cars, thats my decision, if I lose lots of money, thats my fault. But Im taking a chance to get a nice car, I dont want to buy a Citreon Saxo which sounds like a Gravy company, and it feel horrible driving it, I'd much rather wait to get a car I like and can be proud of. Its not like Im actually going to go ahead a buy the Phaeton, I was just stating that would you prefer to buy a crappy flat in a bad neighbourhood just because you really want to own a house, or would you prefer to save up and buy a place you can be proud of, and show your friends?

No one is saying that you can't like fancy cars, or you shouldn't be able to have a nice car. But when the discussion persist of reliability issues being one of the main reasons some cars drop drastically in price and you come back with..

"Who cares, it looks great!" Is not a smart way to make a major purchase. And while i agree that one should save up to get a car that they want instead of just settling, there's more that needs to be taken into a account than its initial purchase price as well as the "Cool factor".

New doesn't necessaraily mean Brand-New. And Im English, So I mean, £8000, We use £. Ever looked on AutoTrader UK?

Theres a car 2007 07 Reg JAGUAR X-TYPE 2.0 litre S - Price: £8,399

And if so Jaguars are soo popular over here in England, The Creators of Jaguar, the parts must be easy to get a hold of because this is the home of Jaguar.

Yes i know your from England. I used the American $ icon because i don't have the euro money icon on my key board. Also, not sure if you know this, but the Jaguar X-Type is basically a fancy Ford Taurus. Uses the same chassis and drive train. That's why that model is so cheap. Good thing is that since Ford took over Jaguar a few yrs back the quality has improved dramatically.

You make a good point about Jag being a domestic car in your country. So parts and labor should be a little bit cheaper. But it still is considered a "Luxury car" since it carries the Jaguar name. So maintenance and parts are still going to be a little more expensive than your average sports car. If you can afford this, then more power to you. But the average 20yr old can not. Regardless of the initial purchase price. While an $8k purchase price sounds great at time of purchase, as Polish Guy already mentioned, high maintenance cost such as belts, hoses, oil changes etc. or if something major goes wrong should always be accounted for. It makes no sense to buy something to show off to your friends but not have the money to take care of.

Alll i'm saying is that if you do decide to purchase a vehicle that has such a drastic price drop in only a few years time, then do some research as to why. Generally when a vehicle's price drops so low is either it has been in an accident, bad reliability, or starts falling apart a few years after new. Take someone with you that knows what to look for, or take it to a respectable mechanics shop to have it looked over.

[Jipay]

Would you like to come with me then? I mean you seem to know absolutely every single little thing about cars.

Good enough for me Especially if you already have a spare car to use. Which I will have.

If I like fancy cars, thats my decision, if I lose lots of money, thats my fault. But Im taking a chance to get a nice car, I dont want to buy a Citreon Saxo which sounds like a Gravy company, and it feel horrible driving it, I'd much rather wait to get a car I like and can be proud of. Its not like Im actually going to go ahead a buy the Phaeton, I was just stating that would you prefer to buy a crappy flat in a bad neighbourhood just because you really want to own a house, or would you prefer to save up and buy a place you can be proud of, and show your friends?

New doesn't necessaraily mean Brand-New. And Im English, So I mean, £8000, We use £. Ever looked on AutoTrader UK?

Theres a car 2007 07 Reg JAGUAR X-TYPE 2.0 litre S - Price: £8,399

And if so Jaguars are soo popular over here in England, The Creators of Jaguar, the parts must be easy to get a hold of because this is the home of Jaguar.

Could you calm down please ?

A buddy of mine has an Audi RS6 and its been in the dealer for 3 months now in service, the electronic adjustable suspension was blown and had to be rebuilt twice, the dealer also flew in a tech from Germany to rebuild the car, luckily everything is covered under warranty.

That's a common problem on some RS models. Audi called back all its RS6 and RS4 models in the US to replace the suspensions. Luckly mine didn't have any trouble yet.

[Modulex Guy]

If you can afford this, then more power to you. But the average 20yr old can not. Regardless of the initial purchase price. While an $8k purchase price sounds great at time of purchase, as Polish Guy already mentioned, high maintenance cost such as belts, hoses, oil changes etc. or if something major goes wrong should always be accounted for. It makes no sense to buy something to show off to your friends but not have the money to take care of.

Quite right! since I'm only 19, with college expenditures I would have no easy way to pay for repairs if something went wrong on the car, if you can afford it go for it!

[posades]

Alright guys, I'm having some problems with my car and I was hoping maybe some of you knew what was going on.

First up is the starting issue. Sometimes when I go and try to crank the car in the morning it will hesitate to start, going on for a good 5-10 seconds before it actually starts. Now my car is only 4 years old and I don't drive like a maniac, so I don't think it has to do with the battery quite yet (don't they last longer than that?). I went to the Nissan dealership and of course they were trying to sell me a whole fuel injector kit or something, so I wanted a second opinion. Also the engine doesn't have to be cold for this to occur, it will happen sometimes after I've turned it on a couple times before.

Next isn't quite as serious but still annoying. Everytime it rains or it's really humid out, my car will squeak with a high pitched noise constantly. It sounds like a belt somewhere is loose or something; the sound usually goes away after driving for about 10-15 minutes (I'm assuming the time it takes to dry out). Anyone know what that might be?

These are some of the reasons I want another car, I shouldn't be having these types of problems with a relatively new car which I bought new.

[Modulex Guy]

Alright guys, I'm having some problems with my car and I was hoping maybe some of you knew what was going on.

First up is the starting issue. Sometimes when I go and try to crank the car in the morning it will hesitate to start, going on for a good 5-10 seconds before it actually starts. Now my car is only 4 years old and I don't drive like a maniac, so I don't think it has to do with the battery quite yet (don't they last longer than that?). I went to the Nissan dealership and of course they were trying to sell me a whole fuel injector kit or something, so I wanted a second opinion. Also the engine doesn't have to be cold for this to occur, it will happen sometimes after I've turned it on a couple times before.

Next isn't quite as serious but still annoying. Everytime it rains or it's really humid out, my car will squeak with a high pitched noise constantly. It sounds like a belt somewhere is loose or something; the sound usually goes away after driving for about 10-15 minutes (I'm assuming the time it takes to dry out). Anyone know what that might be?

These are some of the reasons I want another car, I shouldn't be having these types of problems with a relatively new car which I bought new.

Well, for your first issue, it might be the battery, they last about 4 to 6 years for a good battery. A good way to tell if your battery is going is to go to your car when it gets dark, before turning the car on turn on your headlights. After that, turn the car on and see if they dim at all when the car is cranking, if they do, its the battery.

Your second issue sounds like the belt might be a bit old and the rubber dried out a bit and humidity makes it squeak. I recommend going to AutoZone or any auto parts store and buy STP Engine belt dressing.

It comes in a spray can and gives the belt a coating of light lubricant and stop the squeak, put a it on the pulleys as well to get the underside of the belt too.

I hope it works out for you.

[prateek]

Alright guys, I'm having some problems with my car and I was hoping maybe some of you knew what was going on.

First up is the starting issue. Sometimes when I go and try to crank the car in the morning it will hesitate to start, going on for a good 5-10 seconds before it actually starts. Now my car is only 4 years old and I don't drive like a maniac, so I don't think it has to do with the battery quite yet (don't they last longer than that?). I went to the Nissan dealership and of course they were trying to sell me a whole fuel injector kit or something, so I wanted a second opinion. Also the engine doesn't have to be cold for this to occur, it will happen sometimes after I've turned it on a couple times before.

Next isn't quite as serious but still annoying. Everytime it rains or it's really humid out, my car will squeak with a high pitched noise constantly. It sounds like a belt somewhere is loose or something; the sound usually goes away after driving for about 10-15 minutes (I'm assuming the time it takes to dry out). Anyone know what that might be?

These are some of the reasons I want another car, I shouldn't be having these types of problems with a relatively new car which I bought new.

Go to a privately owned garage and they'll tell you what is really wrong with it. Those guys almost never rip you off

[Ricecracker]

Good thing is that since Ford took over Jaguar a few yrs back the quality has improved dramatically.

And Ford recently sold Jag and Land Rover to Tata Motors .

[posades]

Go to a privately owned garage and they'll tell you what is really wrong with it. Those guys almost never rip you off

Yeah that's what I was thinking of doing next, but I wanted to see if there was a simple solution that didn't need any expensive repairs first.

[prateek]

And Ford recently sold Jag and Land Rover to Tata Motors .

Just watch the Tata Nano come out as a Jag all pimped out and stuff

[5150 Lego]

Hey guys. So over the last weekend i went to INfinion Raceway for the Forumla D drifting competion. Anyone here into drifting? Its most popular in Japan, but over the last few years have been growing in the U.S. Formula D holds 8 events a year, along with the Nopi events and Japan vs. USA competions. I had the privledge of hangin out with the Viper Club of America. Every year they rent out Turn 4 right in front of the staging area for the drift cars. This area is where the cars go through tire changes and get the cars prepared for their next runs. If your not familar with drifting, let me give you a quick go through...

Basicly the art of drifting is to slide your car around designated corners of the track. Drifting is a subjective sport and uses judeges and not any kind of timer. Your judged on four major criteria's...

Speed... The speed on whitch the cars enters the corners as well as the speed that is maintained during the run

Line... The ideal path the car can take coming as close to the "clipping points" on the track. The clipping points are points on the track the the judges want to see the cars come as close to as possible. Clipping points can be on the inside, or outside line of the track.

Angle... The maximum angle the car can maintian while still being in control.

Style/impact... basicly the excitment the driver can bring to the run. Smoke, bouncing off the rev limiter, taking your car to the limit. Defenatly the most subjective of the four criteria.

OK, enough with the chatter. On with some pics! Oh, and i promise this time i won't delete anything.

First, here is turn 4 were the Viper club was hanging out.

Our view of turn 4..

This is were all the cars got ready for there runs down the track.

Lets take a look at some of the cars.

One thing that orignaly drew me to drifting was the diversity of the cars. YOu have everything from Vipers, to Corrola's competing. All cars basicly street cars converted for drifting duties. Some cars are brand new, others are over 20yrs old. Engines range for 4cly turbos, to V10 monsters!

91' Mazda RX7.

One thing that is becoming a popular trend among the drifting crown is to swap out small displacment 4cly, or Rotory engines for large displacment V8 engines. This RX7 has a Chevy LS1 V8 Yup, thats right. A Chevy motor in a Mazda! Here's a closer look...

And this wasn't the only one. There were a number of Japanese rides sporting american V8's. The chevy motors have proven to be extremely reliable in racing conditions, and cheaper to build up than the 4 bangers that they orignaly came from the factory with. The torque band is low, right were you want it. its like the engines aren't even working and aren't being stressed. The less stress there under, the longer they'll last. But not all were sporting V8's from american manufactuers. Many sported engines from there own manufacter in order to keep factory sponsorship.

Here we have a Nissan S15 Silvia with all things.. A 5.6 liter V8 from a Nissan Titan pickup truck!

Thats 8 individual throttle bodies sticking through the hood. This thing sounded insane going around the track.

And how about this. Now normally a Scion TC uses a 4cyl engine horozontal mounted for front wheel drive. But this one has been converted to rear wheels drive and uses a 413 cubic engine from a Nascar!!! Over 500hp!!

Here the Drift Viper sponsored by BFGoodrich Tires and Nuformz driven by my favorite drift driver Sam Hubinette.

Supercharged V10 making over 800hp! Sorry no shots of the motor. They never had the hood popped when in the pits.

Hyundia Genisis Coupe driven by Rhys Millen. 450hp turbocharged V6. Very cool for a Hyundia.

So what does a Scion with a 500+HP V8 burn out look like???

Nissan 350Z convertable sporting a Nissan Titan 5.6 liter V8. This was actually the first car to sport a Japanese based V8.

Chevy Corvette. This thing was one of the loudest of the group!

The Vette and Scion drifting around the track.

I have some more pics in my phone. I'll upload them hopfully tomorrow. I apoligise for any spelling or gramar errors. Its getting late and i'm kinda rushing this post. Hope everyone enjoys the pics. I'll post some more tomorrow.

[Jipay]

Impressive cars here, but very american Drifting surely is an art because it requiers a lot of control over your car.

Still I prefer watching standard races, as they're more tensed (usually, formula one being a boring exception). Also judges are always partial while a timer isn't.

[Joey Lock]

Impressive cars here, but very american Drifting surely is an art because it requiers a lot of control over your car.

Still I prefer watching standard races, as they're more tensed (usually, formula one being a boring exception). Also judges are always partial while a timer isn't.

And I would love to watch a re-enactment of the Brooklands races, But they cut the track off to allow the Vickers Valiant V-Bomber's that were in supply there to fly off.

I prefer endurance racing and Le Mans 24-Hour or British Touring Car Championship and also the World Rally Championship on Dave. Rather than American Supercharged Nitro Mustangs and Corvettes that try to drift but they really are not drifting cars.

[5150 Lego]

Impressive cars here, but very american Drifting surely is an art because it requiers a lot of control over your car.

Still I prefer watching standard races, as they're more tensed (usually, formula one being a boring exception). Also judges are always partial while a timer isn't.

Well not all American. Some like the Nissan Silvia with the Titan V8 are straight out of Japan. Its even retained right hand drive and is built by Japanese tuner Signal Auto. There known for building some of the wildest Japanese Tuner cars on the planet. There were plenty of other examples but as you probably have noticed I'm partial to American Muscle cars as well as anything V8 powered. There's something about the sound of a V8 that commands respect!

During the same event they had the Indy car series running or IRL as its called now. I took some pics and I'll post them up later tonight. Though it was just qualifying, there really wasn't anything "intense" about it to me. Kind of repetitive actually.

BUt you are correct that some a judged sport can be partial. That was even evident during this particular drifting even with some questionable calls.

Do you really find F1 boring? I find it to be one of, if not thee most intense form of motor sport out there.

]

I prefer endurance racing and Le Mans 24-Hour or British Touring Car Championship and also the World Rally Championship on Dave.

24hours of Le Mans is definitely a cool race. I love to watch them race at night. Rally is also one of the most intense forms of racing there is. Lots of skill needed with little, if not no room for error.

Rather than American Supercharged Nitro Mustangs and Corvettes that try to drift but they really are not drifting cars.

This statement couldn't be farther from the truth. For yrs American cars dominated the Drifting scene. Even when they went against the more experienced Japanese drivers, it was clear that many of the American muscle cars had advantages over the Japanese cars. This was even proven when Vaughan Gittin Jr. won the D1GP world championship in 06 with his Falken tires/Ford sponsored Ford Mustang GT. In 04' Sam Hubinette won the Formula D championship in 04' with his dodge Viper Competitions coupe, and then again in 05' with his street Dodge Viper SRT10.

Rhys Millen then took the 06' Formula D championship in his Pontiac GTO and also became the Red bull drifting world champion in 08' with his Pontiac Solstice and 2ND went to his team mate Dai Yoshihara in the same Pontiac GTO that gave Rhys his 06 championship.

So yes, American cars are more than capable of holding there own in drifting.

[Perterz]

Any rat or rod lovers in the house?

[Jipay]

There's something about the sound of a V8 that commands respect!

Amen, there can't be anything better. Beside a V10 of course I was driving around in my RS4 when a lambo came behind us, and frankly, its noise was purely monstruous. It mades me shiver

I still never heard a true V12 aswell, I assume it must be pure sweetness.

[5150 Lego]

Amen, there can't be anything better. Beside a V10 of course I was driving around in my RS4 when a lambo came behind us, and frankly, its noise was purely monstruous. It mades me shiver

I still never heard a true V12 aswell, I assume it must be pure sweetness.

RS4 huh? Very cool. What year? Those cars have lot of potential it its the bi turbo V6. Though the V8's have plentoy of get-up too.

[Jipay]

I have a V8 version, from 2007. This is definitly a car that has the potential to be uped to 500+ BHP, but at the same time, I want to keep it in its original state somehow.

My baby

[Modulex Guy]

Nice RS4!

[5150 Lego]

I have a V8 version, from 2007. This is definitly a car that has the potential to be uped to 500+ BHP, but at the same time, I want to keep it in its original state somehow.

My baby

Nice ride. The RS4 is one of those cars you really don't have to do anything to. Very sexy right out of the factory. I strongly considered doing the BI turbo V6 swap into my Passat when i had it. Located a wrecked RS4 and could have snagged the engine and harness for around $4K. Glad i dind't though. After doing some reseach i found it would have been a wiring nightmare and wouldn't have been worth it in the end other than the "Cool factor".