Car Talk Topic

[Joe Biden]

C5 RS6? It’s limited to 250 km/h but I think it would be the fastest sedan at the time without the limiter. The V8 was partially done by Cosworth and I’m sure it qualifies as financial suicide too. 

[sivispacem]

C5 RS6 would do 186 delimited but I don't think they ever offered them from the factory without a limiter.

 

The V8 comment has got me wondering about the Mercedes 6.2 and then I started wondering about the M119 and Porsche's hand in the Mercedes-Benz 500E. But that was released in 1990 and therefore pipped by the Carlton in the top speed stakes.

 

The "not an M5" rather than "not a BMW" comment mas me thinking...maybe Alpina? Special V8...the B10 Biturbo was pretty special and topped out at 180, but also crazy money these days. Maybe a B5 or B5S? 195mph top speed in 2005.

[Zyo]

Good guesses, and some great cars, sounds like a good list for a dream garage, but still no-one guessed it yet.

 

 

Fastest saloon car money could buy (Not an M5)

There's something special about that V8 engine. (Not an M5)

It was (is) one of Jeremy Clarksons favorite cars. He owned one, daily drove it, and described it as "the pinnacle of car development" in a non-ironic manner. "Best car in the world" in his words. (no googling). #not an m5

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by Zyo

[sivispacem]

The only cars I can think of the JC daily drove are/were his XC90, current Golf GTI and for a while, 600 Grosser.

 

Actually saying that I vaguely recall him dailying either an X308 or X350 XJR V8 too...or was it a Daimler Super Eight? I think both the XJRs were limited but maybe the Daimler's weren't? 

[Zyo]

And it is in fact, the mighty four litre V8 supercharged Jaguar XJR,

 

 

The tyre shredding 370hp, five second to sixty, wolf in sheeps clothing. The waterpump munching, chain-tensioner popping pinnacle of Jaguars fast saloons. A blend of british sporting elegance and american muscle. To quote another Clarksonism "the X308 is faster, in the real world, than a Ferrari F355... its the fastest saloon I've ever seen, the epitome of luxury, beauty, and performance."

 

It was the fastest thing you could buy with four doors for a time, and we're talking 911 performance (hashtag-disclaimer-nonturbo). The others (m-tech/AMG) have caught up now and left the old Jags in the dust for the most part, but its still bloody fast, sort of motorway on-ramp pin you back in your seat, feeling the g forces push the blood down into your legs, kind of fast. and yet incredibly civilised. I've not done a lot of B-road hooning on the test run, but what I did felt good, the weighty car kind of shrinks around you when pushed, with a really responsive and directional front end. Boot it on the motorway and its a rare car that will stick with it. The V8 purrs at tickover, but belts a helluva tune when pushing.

 

Bought from a jag-club member enthusiast friend, whos done all the right maintenance bits, its a good history car, Jag factory first owner, then a long one owner run for years with Jag service stamps, then owned by someone whos had it for three years. In fact I've had my eye on it for a while as I know he's after an old 12 cylinder XJ. I bought the green X300 XJ6 I used to have from him, and I've actually had a run in this XJR last year. So I know the car fairly well already.

 

I love a "sleeper" car, and this is a grandpa car that'll pootle to the golf course, and lay a trail of elevens all the way home.

Anyways... picking it up in the next week.

 

 

[Cutter De Blanc]

My car still doesnt run because I can neither find nor afford the mounting bracket. I'd just as soon sell it at this point

[itsallup]

I drive the pinnacle of japanese dependability. 2017 Corolla.

 

30 mpg, 40 thousand miles in the last five months, oil changing every five, just had the tires replaced and brake pads. Its got 73k on the ODO, and have not a single problem with it. 

 

Long far from what I would be pleased to be driving which in sense is a V8 with a four on the floor but it is dependable and gets me around. I floor it up to 95 to 100mph and it is stable even at the limit of its speed never had a problem.

 

Mercedes are really unreliable cars after they age over 150k miles. I know that because I work for Mercedes Benz dealerships as a technician and the dashboard almost always go christmas tree after a while and sensors start to bust, are a hefty price and some dont even have in stock or are possible to order even coming from Germany.

 

I imagine europe has enough of a surplus of them to knock around that makes it all but impossible not to have one there. But here in America the handout advice is sell before 100k miles or trade it in. And never buy a dealership pre-owned.

[sivispacem]

4 hours ago, Inttelix said:

Mercedes are really unreliable cars after they age over 150k miles.

I think that has a lot to do with the era of Mercedes that have commonly done 150-200k. It's mostly stuff from the early/mid noughties when Mercedes was in the depths of a massive slump in quality. 

 

Which isn't to say the later stuff is particularly reliable, but it's not visibly rusting into the ground.

[itsallup]

I can only imagine how these 2015s will stand the pain 20, 30 years from now with all the sensors and electronics. It would be a technological disaster to try and fix these things.

 

I had a client with a 2016 c300 dealership pre-owned who had codes coming up from the obd for map sensors, o2 sensor, misfires. Took it to the dealership under warranty had it all supposedly replaced, six months later calls for a jumpstart in the middle of a freeway I found it strange because the car just doesnt die all of a sudden if its the battery. So I got there and told her to turn the key and the car starts and sputters itself even at full throttle never stabilizes and shuts down. No dashboard light came on, she took it to the dealer they told her warranty was over and the cost of repair were of 3,400 dollars.

 

In this specific case it kind of was a little bit of both customer service and german craftsmanship.

[QuackinAColdOne]

On 12/14/2020 at 3:37 AM, Inttelix said:

No dashboard light came on, she took it to the dealer they told her warranty was over and the cost of repair were of 3,400 dollars.

 

In this specific case it kind of was a little bit of both customer service and german craftsmanship.

What ended up coming out of that? Did the customer pay the full $3,400?

 

I own a 2015 Nissan Sentra SR and am constantly worried about my CVT eventually failing. Right now, I need to pay nearly $300 for a transmission control module.

[itsallup]

Just now, QuackinAColdOne said:

What ended up coming out of that? Did the customer pay the full $3,400?

 

I own a 2015 Nissan Sentra SR and am constantly worried about my CVT eventually failing. Right now, I need to pay nearly $300 for a transmission control module.

 

I dont know if she fixed it and sold the car or if she just sold the car. But my advice to her when I saw her was to sell it before it becomes an endless money pit.

 

On your sentra, the nissans have a very weak CVT transmission. Just something I should warn you about.

 

See this video from Scotty:

 

[QuackinAColdOne]

6 minutes ago, Inttelix said:

 

On your sentra, the nissans have a very weak CVT transmission. Just something I should warn you about.

 

I've been well aware but the financial situation is making it a difficult choice on whether or not to see. The payoff is somewhere over $6,500 with a 9.29% APR - I paid principle-only payments of $94.85 every month for two years. The car itself will probably be sold or traded at a loss for something else, but I'm not sure what. I'd hate to go from a 2015 to a 2010 Civic with a lot higher miles, even though Civics are inherently a lot more reliable, I still feel like I'm losing a lot.

[itsallup]

you wont be losing if you buy a 2016-2018 corolla though. I have one and I love it. Drove 45 thousand miles with it the last six months trouble free, only changing oil brake pads and tires.

 

It is the ultimate daily driver, I have nothing but good things to say about it.

[QuackinAColdOne]

I'm going to a Toyota dealership Saturday morning to test drive a 2015 Mazda3 s Touring and a maybe a 2011 WRX. The WRX is about $18,000 so I don't think I'll be able to get it, but the Mazda3 is definitely something I want.

 

The only thing is, I'm not very familiar with driving a manual. The salesman said it's quite alright and that he will get me up to speed, but what if I buy this thing and I have trouble driving on the way home? I'm scared sh*tless about that part.

[Outcast]

Try and find a time where there's minimal traffic, so preferably not during rush hour.

 

It's usually the stop and go traffic that's nervewracking if you're new to a manual, otherwise you should be fine. 

 

Good luck!

[QuackinAColdOne]

Thank you, very much. I’ll come back with an update.

[sivispacem]

On 12/23/2020 at 9:05 PM, Inttelix said:

Drove 45 thousand miles with it the last six months trouble free

Wait, you're driving 250 miles a day, 7 days a week? That's like 5+ hours of driving every single day. I can't think of a lower circle of hell than having to do that in a Corolla.

[QuackinAColdOne]

-deleted-

Edited January 4, 2021 by QuackinAColdOne

[itsallup]

On 1/1/2021 at 4:56 AM, sivispacem said:

Wait, you're driving 250 miles a day, 7 days a week? That's like 5+ hours of driving every single day. I can't think of a lower circle of hell than having to do that in a Corolla.

You think I do this for free? Nah you got it all wrong. Each call I make from 45 to 180 dollars. It is a comfortable car, with cold air conditioning, navigation system with built in bluetooth and carplay, subwoofer and bose speakers power steering, low gas mileage, never breaks down, and I drive in floridian smoothly paved highways.

 

love my car it is dependable and I always enjoyed driving because I was a taxi driver. Circle of hell would be trying to reach one third of those miles in six months in any mercedes benz from 2015 on. The engine would seize, even if taken care of like a baby these cars are just name and no dependability whatsoever.

 

crappiest customer service i have ever seen, promises to be a luxury brand but all the client gets is a temporary ride which eventually becomes an endless troublemaker with serious problems whether it is electrical or mechanical.
 

yesterday i was at the Mercedes dealership of Miami and how do they keep going I dont know, I guess the emblem is a symbol of status and that is pretty much it. Had a client with a 2020 gla with two broken engine mounts and one broken transmission mount. 1360 dollars plus labor. Not covered by the warranty. Unbelievable.

[sivispacem]

1 hour ago, Inttelix said:

You think I do this for free? 

No I think you, at the very least, embellish significantly if not just outright make sh*t up.

 

You're apparently a roadside assistance driver, but you do all of your roadside assistance work in a personally owned Toyota rather than a vehicle supplied by your employer. You apparently routinely handle calls for Mercedes-Benz, even in the cases of cars that are under MBs own in-house roadside assistance programme due to their age. And despite your nominal role being basic assistance, you happen to spend enough time milling around MB dealerships after dropping off clients that the mechanics have done multiple hours of strip down work to diagnose mechanical issues which would be covered under warranty but you claim apparently weren't.

 

None of it makes any sense.

[itsallup]

1 hour ago, sivispacem said:

No I think you, at the very least, embellish significantly if not just outright make sh*t up.

 

You're apparently a roadside assistance driver, but you do all of your roadside assistance work in a personally owned Toyota rather than a vehicle supplied by your employer. You apparently routinely handle calls for Mercedes-Benz, even in the cases of cars that are under MBs own in-house roadside assistance programme due to their age. And despite your nominal role being basic assistance, you happen to spend enough time milling around MB dealerships after dropping off clients that the mechanics have done multiple hours of strip down work to diagnose mechanical issues which would be covered under warranty but you claim apparently weren't.

 

None of it makes any sense.

Yeah I rather have you think that i am making it all up really doesnt matter to me at all. I wouldnt really want to impress anybody on an internet forum, matter fact I dont need to prove anything to anybody. 
 

At the end of the day it is simply expression of opinions. You are absolutely entitled to believe whatever you want. If you dont, hey tough luck. Its not gonna make me upset. Shoot, difference of opinion happens.

[Pavle]

we've decided on getting a new "family / daily car" soon, and i've compiled a short list of cars that meet our requirements and price range. but after some cars on that list not being all that good, and my mom not liking a few of them, we've gotten down to three cars: Golf MK6, in my opinion the prettiest Golf, great car, prices only going down. 4th gen Renault Clio, mom loves the way it looks, good petrol engine and it would make a very nice daily driver. and the third is the Opel Astra J. it looks pretty good, at least the hatch version and they've got good diesel engines. my vote goes towards the golf, as it's honestly the best car on the list, but the Clio looks reeeeeeeeaaaally good, and I am very biased towards frenchies. no real opinion on the Astra as it's just an OK car.

 

truly a clash of titans

 

pics for reference

 

 

 

 

[QuackinAColdOne]

If the Astra is just an okay car, maybe you could scratch it off your list? If there are no real outliers with that, maybe there’s not a reason to stress on that one.

[sivispacem]

That generation of Astra is terrible. I've had several as hire cars over the years and they're truly hateful things as are most Vauxhalls. Any reason for considering the Clio over the larger Mégane which is more the size of the other two?

[Pavle]

4 hours ago, sivispacem said:

That generation of Astra is terrible. I've had several as hire cars over the years and they're truly hateful things as are most Vauxhalls. Any reason for considering the Clio over the larger Mégane which is more the size of the other two?

mom loves how the clio looks, and its the car she leans towards to the most. no real reason other than that as used meganes are around the same price as the clio.

[Tchuck]

The Clio does look pretty damn good, and I also have a soft spot for French cars thanks to the 306 I used to drive. My cousin's 206 and Clio (2nd gen) were also pretty nice. As was my dad's 307.

[Outcast]

On 1/7/2021 at 5:39 AM, Inttelix said:

Circle of hell would be trying to reach one third of those miles in six months in any mercedes benz from 2015 on. The engine would seize, even if taken care of like a baby these cars are just name and no dependability whatsoever.

 

crappiest customer service i have ever seen, promises to be a luxury brand but all the client gets is a temporary ride which eventually becomes an endless troublemaker with serious problems whether it is electrical or mechanical.
 

yesterday i was at the Mercedes dealership of Miami and how do they keep going I dont know, I guess the emblem is a symbol of status and that is pretty much it. Had a client with a 2020 gla with two broken engine mounts and one broken transmission mount. 1360 dollars plus labor. Not covered by the warranty. Unbelievable.

 

I don't know about that. We put about 65,000-85,000km per year on our S-Class and 7 Series (W220/W221/F02/W222) and no major problems have occured. Truthfully the F02 7er wasn't great so we replaced that with the W222 S500, which has been stellar so far. Keep in mind the roads over here probably aren't even half as nice as in the US so we're talking rough roads and potholes. I also daily a G500 which now has 150,000km on the odometer and that has literally never let me down, and I bash on that car by going off-road every other weekend. I've knocked bits off of it and beached it a couple times on a 40° incline with a massive 90° step at the top, and I also take it through moving water a metre deep semi-regularly, but no mechanical issues so far either. I do tend to service my vehicles more regularly than most people though so that may be why they've largely been trouble free. I also took delivery of a Range Rover Vogue brand new last year and I've put 30,000km on already in my first full year of ownership and it has been absolutely wonderful. I have had my Range Rover serviced 4 times already in 2020 but thats just because I rack up the miles faster than average and I like to stick to my own maintenance plan, not the manufacturers.

 

So I beg to differ that "trying to reach one third of those miles in six months in any mercedes benz from 2015 on. The engine would seize, even if taken care of like a baby these cars are just name and no dependability whatsoever."

 

Oh, and it's not like I've not had experience with Toyotas. I also have an FJ Cruiser and Alphard, also had several generations of the Lexus LS up to the LS460L, and I'd say generally speaking Toyotas are just crap to be in compared to their German brethren. 

[Zyo]

On 1/16/2021 at 12:10 AM, Pavle said:

we've decided on getting a new "family / daily car" soon, and i've compiled a short list of cars that meet our requirements and price range. but after some cars on that list not being all that good, and my mom not liking a few of them, we've gotten down to three cars: Golf MK6, in my opinion the prettiest Golf, great car, prices only going down. 4th gen Renault Clio, mom loves the way it looks, good petrol engine and it would make a very nice daily driver. and the third is the Opel Astra J. it looks pretty good, at least the hatch version and they've got good diesel engines. my vote goes towards the golf, as it's honestly the best car on the list, but the Clio looks reeeeeeeeaaaally good, and I am very biased towards frenchies. no real opinion on the Astra as it's just an OK car.

 

 

 

 

 

Relating to a recent experience of mine, as my Toyota was in for a brake job, my company paid me a rental to replace it short term, and it was a 2018 Ford Fiesta ST-line, which quite frankly impressed me very much. I'm not much of a Ford fan and I would never consider a three pot 1.0 litre engine as something I would buy, but bloody hell was that a good car to drive. I thought it was a diesel when i first drove it, and it doesnt accelerate quickly, but it was massively fun to drive. I did a 40 mile B-road run in light snow to return it, and it was an incredibly engaging 40 minute drive. Honestly for a zero-road tax, 75 mpg eco-motor, it was brilliant. Worth considering too. I'll admit I did have a little look on autotrader that evening.

 

 

 

[MitchMaljers]

Gonna pick up an OEM M front bumper for my E39 tomorrow in the same color Titansilber 354.
Can't wait to mount it. Also got a left front fender because mine had been painted badly before. When I was pressure washing the fender some bits of the paint came off, go figure.

 

[Mach1bud]

Time and money holding up the progress on my truck project. I'm like $300 and 6 hours of work away from getting it on the road. Just have neither of those lol. It's killing me seeing this engine on the stand everyday and not in the truck.