Red Ring Tupperware Party, Duck, duck Harm....no Harm, no fowl! #20

My friend worked at GM for 5 years. Couldnt take it after the government took over and fled. Now works for a pepsi co.

Woolburr wrote in post #13680628
Here is the rarity Chief....a NS/EMD hybrid.....RP-E4C road slug

IMAGE LINK: http://www.frogdawg.co​m/p31202955/e438f6

I didn't realize there were any slugs that new. I thought that idea went away a long time ago, that it was almost as cheap to build a full-fledged locomotive.

Harm wrote in post #13680270
^ sweet photo, Dan!

John, will you have to fix up those trains coming to the museum??

I don't know what condition the locomotive is in. I suspect it probably runs, but beyond that I don't know. The 70-ton switcher we acquired last summer was in operating condition and we've since used it on at least one train.

The last four vehicles I've purchased have been Toyota products, and I'm a believer. The current car has 140K miles on it, and still runs like a watch. The Tundra has 124K miles on it, and I wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere. The only expensive problem I've had with either vehicle (besides tires and a recent A/C repair on the Lexus) was one of the catalytic converters went bad on the truck, and Toyota picked up half the tab, even though it had over 100K miles at the time, and was well beyond the warranty. In the meantime, I've gone 5 years without a car payment, and love the freedom.

Ah, the world of dealerships. I know the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. And it pretty much always comes down to the people who work there and the people who own it. I know some really amazing sales folks who will bend over backwards to help you out. They have a lot of return customers and get a lot of referrals. Then there are the others. And then there's the management. A good salesman's hands can be tied really tightly by a bad manager.
I would have no problem going somewhere else to find someone willing to treat you right.

My Grand Prix is just shy of 200k and all it's had is a water pump replacement, new plugs, tires, brakes, wipers, oil, filters, and new front bearings. It was a real runner. It's still going strong but i have a long commute and I'm concerned with the 1/2 shaft. It's got a wobble. So far I have had pretty good luck with most of my cars. My GMC I sold at 160k, gave another grand prix to my son who drove it into the ground, two ford vans did pretty good. (wifes car)

The real stinkers were our Toyota, that one was by far the worst and got a life time ban from me. A car should not disintegrate in less than 5 years.. ever..
Datsun b210. I think it had an engine, but I'm not sure. it might have been a rubber band.
Dodge Monoco. Never met a gas station it could pass up. I didn't know they sold cars that got less that 10 miles a gallon.

I've been very happy with my '99 4Runner. Around 180k miles now. Routine maintenance except for one rear axle bearing and an oxygen sensor. We went down to look at a new 4Runner and had a severe attack of sticker shock. I decided to keep this one and run it until it dies.

I have only had 2 new cars in my life. My wife buys them new but I always go the used route. When I worked close to home, the most i would pay for a car was $500. It would last 2 years or so and i would sell it for say $500. Had a bunch like that, 67 caddi (my personal fav), '73 Grand Prix, the Monoco, Plymouth Duster, an old Valiant with push button transmission, and others. When I got the job I have now and have to commute 80 miles a day, I go for program cars. My upper limit is 15k and it has to have under 20k miles. I broke the rule with my last Grand Prix as it had 33k miles, but it lasted 200k. I compensated with the G6 though. Way under 15k and just at 20k miles.

I have a 93 Ford Probe with 177k on the close gets 33mpg on a regular bases. this year I will have had it for 11 years. For the 1st 8 years I put a starter and a battery into it. Since, I put a waterpump, timing belt, clutch and front pipe into. I do all the work myself and have no intentions of parting with it as it still looks great inside and out.
2nd vehicle is out 2007 Mazda CX-9 which we purchased in July 2008, they were working hard to unload it. It has 56k on it and has had zero issues other than crappy OEM tires. I test drove the Chevy Trailblazer and the Chrysler equivalent. The fit and trim on both vehicles was extremely cheap for the price. I would go Mazda or Ford again in a Heartbeat.

Chet wrote in post #13681827
I have a 93 Ford Probe with 177k on the close gets 33mpg on a regular bases. this year I will have had it for 11 years. For the 1st 8 years I put a starter and a battery into it. Since, I put a waterpump, timing belt, clutch and front pipe into. I do all the work myself and have no intentions of parting with it as it still looks great inside and out.
2nd vehicle is out 2007 Mazda CX-9 which we purchased in July 2008, they were working hard to unload it. It has 56k on it and has had zero issues other than crappy OEM tires. I test drove the Chevy Trailblazer and the Chrysler equivalent. The fit and trim on both vehicles was extremely cheap for the price. I would go Mazda or Ford again in a Heartbeat.

Ford Probes take very well to body kits

I do most of the work myself as well. I use to work as a VW mechanic long time ago and am basically a cheapskate. The only thing I wont work on are trannys.

gjl711 wrote in post #13682046
I do most of the work myself as well. I use to work as a VW mechanic long time ago and am basically a cheapskate. The only thing I wont work on are trannys.

I've opened up tranny's, but that's as far as I'll go as you usually need special tools to do the rest. I also buy the official shop manual for a keeper vehicle. Can usually get them on EBay for $10, and beats the Haynes manual any day.

gjl711 wrote in post #13682046
I do most of the work myself as well. I use to work as a VW mechanic long time ago and am basically a cheapskate. The only thing I wont work on are trannys.

"Trannys" can cost you a lot of money for very little satisfaction...

Oh, you meant car trannys...

Never Mind

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #13682098
"Trannys" can cost you a lot of money for very little satisfaction...

Oh, you meant car trannys...

Never Mind

I'm sure some would be satisfied. Sorry you've had such bad experiences.

First truck: 1995 Chevy Silverado, bought it for $3000 with 303,714 kms on it. Spent $800 to safety it, including $500 worth of tires. Drove it for 5 years, only put a reasonable amount of money into it, and it's now sitting in the yard waiting for me to part it out.

Second truck: 2002 GMC Sierra, bought it for $3500 with about 220,000 kms on it. Spent about $600 to safety it, plus some more for maintenance. It was in rougher shape than what I had anticipated, the guy I bought it from apparently doesn't know all that much about routine maintenance. But the interior is in really good shape, all the features work (A/C and cruise!!!), and the body is fixable.

The first truck I just plain won out on. This second one I spent a considerable amount of time looking for. Comparable trucks were typically $1000 or more higher than he was asking for this one. Which made it worth the 600 km drive to get it and trailer it home.