Reciprocating Mass

ddt,

At least the car places I read, jalopnik and ttac. The holy grail is as AWD turbo wagon with a stick shift. I like wagons because I sometimes need some extra space and my TL's rear seats do not fold down.

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Mokers
ddt,

At least the car places I read, jalopnik and ttac. The holy grail is as AWD turbo wagon with a stick shift. I like wagons because I sometimes need some extra space and my TL's rear seats do not fold down.

Back in 1998 (after my Integra was totaled), I came this close to getting an AWD Audi A4 wagon. They were hard to come by, and dealers weren't dealing. Finally thought I found one at a decent price, had the dealer back out (they claimed the car had been hit by a lighning-felled tree; I suspected they just found someone willing to pay more), and decided at that point that the car really was beyond my means. I wound up buying a CR-V, and then spent seven years mourning the fact that I didn't have the Audi.

My Audi TT was an endless series of electrical problems though, to be fair, it was a new design for that model year. I won't ever buy another Audi.

I came very close to buying a non-turbo but surprisingly peppy '88 Volvo wagon several years ago. Test drove it, and was going to transact the next day at lunch when he told me he already sold it. If I ever get another car it might be a banana yellow T-5R turbo wagon.

The (underpowered) '92 Mercedes Benz 200TE that I got for next to nothing in May 2010 will have to be pulled from my cold dead fingers before I let it go. Both my wife and I are in love with that car, it's 20 years old this year but looks, feels and drives like a new one (it's only done about 115K highway miles). I find it interesting there are apparently many car enthusiasts in the US which like wagons, yet the type itself is not very popular with the general public. I wonder why that is.

John, over in Europe Audi is currently becoming the most popular luxury brand, I know many people with A4s (wagons) and none of them has any electrical problems. Must have been a lemon car or model.

Wow - tliet is married? When did that happen?

Sept '10 ;-)

Coincidently we are on our honymoon trip right now.

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tliet
The (underpowered) '92 Mercedes Benz 200TE that I got for next to nothing in May 2010 will have to be pulled from my cold dead fingers before I let it go. Both my wife and I are in love with that car, it's 20 years old this year but looks, feels and drives like a new one (it's only done about 115K highway miles). I find it interesting there are apparently many car enthusiasts in the US which like wagons, yet the type itself is not very popular with the general public. I wonder why that is.

We liked our M-B 300E 1989. The main reason we got rid of it was the poor snow and ice performance. Ours was not all wheel drive and it was a bit of a handful at times. M-B dealer service was also expensive. But the design of the car and such was very nice. Very vault-like. The 3.0 liter straight six felt like more power than its ratings belied. I had it up to 137 mph on I-70 once. Loved all the little design touches. Speed-sensitive radio volume; memory seats. Headlamp washers and wipers. The way the taillights store spare bulbs, hinge at bottom (inside) and you can replace burned out lights in 15 seconds. The little sun visor over the rear-view mirror. Heated washer nozzles. One undulating wiper arm. Horn doesn't work with key out of ignition. I always wondered why the fuel filler door was oblong, and apparently wide enough to have TWO filler tubes. Since the internet, I've never bothered to search why. Dealer experience. Always washed and vacuumed the interior. They even clean(ed) the cassette tape heads as part of service! Ours was garnet red and I liked that color.

Oh, I don't think I mentioned my situation yet. The Prius owner's nightmare...
my main/traction/hybrid/drive battery is acting up. New replacement from Toyota is estimated at $2600.
Since mine is the first year (2001) and has gone 140,000 miles over 11 model years (not sure of actual mfr date), I don't think that's too bad.
Cost wise - shrug - it is what it is. But now the definitive cost per mile or such could be determined. Again, I averaged during my stint with it likely 49 mpg all around period.
I don't know what the price premium was on these when new in 2000, without looking it up. The thing has no rattles or squeaks or such. Built well.
I think that for 228 'cell phone' battery/cells to last since the year 2000 in and out of cold and heat is an amazing feat, quite frankly. And since the way they are packaged into 'blocks' it's likely that out of the 228, there are some that could go another so many years, I'd think. Some 'bad cells' pulling down the grade point average. :) [kinda how I feel of my role here! lol]

Long-term cost/battery life in the Prius is something I've been curious to see. So will they actually just check and replace the bad ones? Hope it isn't as bad as $2600 if so. Kinda nice to have a more modular system. Wonder if you could get better battery tech in now. Is there some sort of aftermarket replacement?

Dealers replace whole pack.
Independent shops might do the blocks/packs. But no telling how much longer the others will last.
Some owners buy batteries from wrecked Priuses/Prii. I've been told salvage yards use this site to offer up such items : http://car-part.com/
Now, a couple of places specialize in this stuff. Luscious Garage SanFran http://www.lusciousgarage.com/; and Re-Involt in NC http://www.re-involt.com/
Reinvolt does indeed replace with newer tech. They use the Gen2 packs from newer Prii to rebuild the Gen 1 batteries. And they are cheaper. Under $2000. My current problem is how do I get my car down to North Carolina? And make it worth the expense? (shrug)

My basic thought is that while pricey, a new one from Toyota will be a good thing. If I was having any other problems with this car, I would hesitate. But I am not.
However, it did afford me the opportunity to look at year-end deals. (now gone as of yesterday)

Such as Fiat 500 : $199/mo - zero due at signing
Chevy Cruze : $169/mo - $659 due (IIRC)
VW Jetta - $214/mo - zero due at signing
and
Versa base starts at $10,990 plus delivery et al.

So, $2,500 divided by 140,000 miles --> cost about 1.7 ¢ per mile. Savings in fuel has to be far greater than that. Again, the initial hybrid tax (amount above regular gas engined car) is not factored in here. Not sure what that would have been in 2000/2001.



I drove all those plus a raft of others. Wife is very scared to go into debt, though, with work a big unknown.
Surprisingly, the VW is a nice car for the money. And the nicest sales staff, too. (I've worked at a dealership and feel I can read these types of folks, too, to some extent)

I wanted to add that a DIY repair would be tough for me. They packs weight a lot and I sadly cannot lift that anymore.

Here is a site where a guy has photos (unboxing) of his DIY http://birdbird.org/cars/prius/battery-swap.html



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2012 05:45AM by El Jeffe.

So Bill, are you going to replace the battery or buy another car? I figure with that milage on it, 2K is not a bad price, or is it?

The extra space in the fuel cap on the W124 is indeed for bi-fuel purposes; http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/280180-dual-fuel-tank-w124.html.

Likely replace battery. A part of me wants to know if I can get BETTER fuel economy than to-date. Because when I got it there was 80k on it already. So, some on-line folks have said I should see a 2-4 mpg increase with a fresh battery. So, 53-55 mpg or so will be nice.

I drove down to Florida last year on just two tanks (~10 gal in tank or so. Never let it get close to empty). Can't complain about that.

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tliet
Sept '10 ;-)

Coincidently we are on our honymoon trip right now.

Congratulations!

I believe the diesel version of the Chevy Cruze is still on track to hit the US for the 2013 model year.

Hey, Po, there was a Prowler at the dealer where I test drove a Fiat 500

7,500 miles - not a typo.

http://bit.ly/wiMWYQ



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/04/2012 03:17PM by El Jeffe.

From 2000 even. It's too bad it'll be a few years before I can consider getting another one.

Thanks James.

DPBD

So, my boss wanted another car as having a new relationship meant he suddenly had 4 kids instead of 2 and asked me if I wanted to drive his BMW 320d touring until the end of the contract (another 3.5 years). So today I got it and I must say, the linked review is exactly as how I perceive this car. I've driven Alfas over the last 13 years, but this car is a hoot to drive. And when driving 'normal' it's only using 4.8 litres of diesel per 100 km. Oh, and the turbo diesel torque means it will push you in your seat at any gear.

fun fun fun!

Gosh, that's rough, t.

Enjoy!