Car Enthusiast Club [Now Motorcycle friendly!] - First thread to 150k! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Bitter]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Theta_engine#Engine_recall

Avoid all those engines like the plague. I don't know if the replacement engines are any better than the original engines.

Mitsubishi are not bad cars, they're generally pretty reliable but unimpressive vehicles to drive compared to other offerings in the same price class. They have a cheaply built feel to them, at least in the US.

We don't really get Suzuki here in the US but the few I've worked on have been solid cars that honestly impressed me with their quality. I wish they were bigger in the game here, they'd be good competition. My sample size is very small and I suspect parts may be difficult or impossible to get.

Honda/Toyota are solid cars, not much to complain about. The Fit is a nice car, well built. Same for the Toyota offering. I think the Honda is the better of the pair but you pay Honda tax on the Fit for sure.

Volvo are good cars but not very friendly for the home mechanic and many things require dealer intervention. There's always a software update for something that's wrong.

[bcredeur97]

23 minutes ago, Bitter said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyundai_Theta_engine#Engine_recall

Avoid all those engines like the plague. I don't know if the replacement engines are any better than the original engines.

Mitsubishi are not bad cars, they're generally pretty reliable but unimpressive vehicles to drive compared to other offerings in the same price class. They have a cheaply built feel to them, at least in the US.

We don't really get Suzuki here in the US but the few I've worked on have been solid cars that honestly impressed me with their quality. I wish they were bigger in the game here, they'd be good competition. My sample size is very small and I suspect parts may be difficult or impossible to get.

Honda/Toyota are solid cars, not much to complain about. The Fit is a nice car, well built. Same for the Toyota offering. I think the Honda is the better of the pair but you pay Honda tax on the Fit for sure.

Volvo are good cars but not very friendly for the home mechanic and many things require dealer intervention. There's always a software update for something that's wrong.

local Kia Dealership we do work for has a massive pile of Theta engines in the back, lol. 

I asked and the techs were like "yeah we pretty much replace those all day"

[vetali]

2 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

for you gentlemen who are savvy about such things.

In no particular order I am looking at the following vehicles. If you could say Yay or Nay (in general) I'd greatly appreciate it:

 

This assumes low miles (130k or less) no accidents, records, etc.

 

Honda Element

Hyundai Elantra GT

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Toyota/Scion iM

Honda Fit

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (assuming I can find without WITHOUT a CVT)

Volvo T5

 

Thoughts? Opinons? Solid substitutes?

 

If you plan on having something that holds value... the Element. People pay DUMB money for those things.

[AlwaysFSX]

7 hours ago, bcredeur97 said:

I may have bought an abandoned 2008 Escalade ESV in downtown Lafayette from a rich guy selling a pub he owned there 

 

He dubbed the car “White Lightning”. It’s been sitting for 2 years lol 

 

I bought it because it runs and moves and is otherwise just extremely dirty (especially inside) 

 

Probably gonna flip it.

Bruh

Let us know when you find coke lmao

23 minutes ago, vetali said:

If you plan on having something that holds value... the Element. People pay DUMB money for those things.

Element people are weird.

[Bitter]

They're not as weird as Saab people. THEY'RE WEIRD.

[Radium_Angel]

12 hours ago, vetali said:

If you plan on having something that holds value... the Element. People pay DUMB money for those things.

I'm seeing that, holy cow are they overpriced...I mean I get that they are oddly functional inside (with the moveable seating etc) but it's not THAT unique...

[vetali]

11 hours ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Bruh

Let us know when you find coke lmao

Element people are weird.

I say this at work a lot... and Si people.

 

12 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

I'm seeing that, holy cow are they overpriced...I mean I get that they are oddly functional inside (with the moveable seating etc) but it's not THAT unique...

I never got it either. Rather save some money and get a CR-V if I was looking at small Honda SUVs. I still say first gen Pilot is better if you really need AWD and don't care about MPGs. Just gotta look out for rust on them. 2nd gens have a lot of issues.

[Bitter]

Mazda's are fairly good, they've gotten a lot better than 25 years ago.

[Radium_Angel]

1 hour ago, Bitter said:

Mazda's are fairly good, they've gotten a lot better than 25 years ago.

I've had two in the past, an RX-7 and a Protege5.

I enjoyed both. IIRC, they've divested themselves fully from Ford?

[Bitter]

4 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

I've had two in the past, an RX-7 and a Protege5.

I enjoyed both. IIRC, they've divested themselves fully from Ford?

They sure have, thankfully

[vetali]

4 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

I've had two in the past, an RX-7 and a Protege5.

I enjoyed both. IIRC, they've divested themselves fully from Ford?

The newer stuff is, like gen 3 Mazda 3.

 

I liked my 2nd gen other than it being completely base model which didn't even have power locks. Handled well, at least until I got my Civic. You used to be able to get them for much less than equal Hondas and Toyotas... used car market has screwed that up unfortunately.

[Bitter]

19 minutes ago, vetali said:

The newer stuff is, like gen 3 Mazda 3.

 

I liked my 2nd gen other than it being completely base model which didn't even have power locks. Handled well, at least until I got my Civic. You used to be able to get them for much less than equal Hondas and Toyotas... used car market has screwed that up unfortunately.

My moms 2010's dash is melting, sadly she missed the goodwill recall by about 3 years because she didn't know about it and never mentioned it until it was really bad. She's got like 70,000 miles and it's garage kept but still melting and falling apart. Other than that, good car.

[iHardware Shelden]

On 4/24/2023 at 4:25 PM, Radium_Angel said:

for you gentlemen who are savvy about such things.

In no particular order I am looking at the following vehicles. If you could say Yay or Nay (in general) I'd greatly appreciate it:

 

This assumes low miles (130k or less) no accidents, records, etc.

 

Honda Element

Hyundai Elantra GT

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Toyota/Scion iM

Honda Fit

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (assuming I can find without WITHOUT a CVT)

Volvo T5

 

Thoughts? Opinons? Solid substitutes?

 

The Element like some have mentioned have really hold their value, they are awesome all around cars if you can find a nice one. Reliable and practical if you need a larger vehicle. If not the Honda Fit has an awesome community behind it, they are super fun (and ugly but that's also what makes them fun )and reliable. Little easier to find than the Element from what I have seen.

Had a Volvo with the Turbo 5cl and that was an amazing car, also reliable but they can be a pain and little expensive to work on and get parts for but IMO worth it.

 

You can't go wrong with the iM either though I think the Fit would be a little more fun if you got a manual, nothing beats a Honda manual. Auto though I would go with the Toyota/Scion.

[iHardware Shelden]

13 hours ago, Radium_Angel said:

I'm seeing that, holy cow are they overpriced...I mean I get that they are oddly functional inside (with the moveable seating etc) but it's not THAT unique...

 

13 hours ago, vetali said:

I say this at work a lot... and Si people.

 

I never got it either. Rather save some money and get a CR-V if I was looking at small Honda SUVs. I still say first gen Pilot is better if you really need AWD and don't care about MPGs. Just gotta look out for rust on them. 2nd gens have a lot of issues.

The Element got really big in the camping and car living community over the past while and they shot the prices up big time here in Colorado and I assume all over even.

The lack of a B pillar and ability to spray out the interior with a hose is pretty cool though! 

Personally not my kinda car but a cool/weird product from Honda

[vetali]

2 hours ago, Bitter said:

My moms 2010's dash is melting, sadly she missed the goodwill recall by about 3 years because she didn't know about it and never mentioned it until it was really bad. She's got like 70,000 miles and it's garage kept but still melting and falling apart. Other than that, good car.

Mine was okay at 120k when I traded in. I see it on a few 2nd gens that come in. Usually right by the MID hood. Seems hit or miss. Shame because I think that interior has aged quite well for how a lot of late 2000s and early 2010s interiors were. My blower motor was starting to make noise... you have to pull the dash to get to it lol.

 

39 minutes ago, iHardware Shelden said:

 

The Element got really big in the camping and car living community over the past while and they shot the prices up big time here in Colorado and I assume all over even.

The lack of a B pillar and ability to spray out the interior with a hose is pretty cool though! 

Personally not my kinda car but a cool/weird product from Honda

Its neat for that stuff, and doesn't really have competition even to this day with overlanding being so popular now. We had a manual with like 80k miles back pre-covid and they sold it for like 20k in a few hours. Had a facelift with 120k miles that we sold for 18k to someone that flew over from Kansas (I'm in Washington) and drove it back. People love them. When they come into the shop its pretty much a guaranteed sell on any work.

[Levent]

Is there anyone here that has VW Erwin account that can help me out? I am bracing to do timing chain and engine/transmission mounts in my Polo but for the life of my I cannot find any good sources (other than one single video).

[iHardware Shelden]

10 hours ago, vetali said:

.-snip-

I definitely much prefer the way the face-lift ones looked personally, a manual one would be fun!

[Commodus]

Have to admit I have an almost-irrational jonesing for the Kia EV9 right now. Yes, an electric three-row SUV. First... well, look at it:

 

 

As a new parent, the thought of a slick-looking electric SUV that can carry my family and all its gear on a road trip is pretty appealing. That and Hyundai/Kia have a pretty good reputation for in-cabin tech.

[Neroon]

Had my car sprayed for a few weeks now, and already have super deep damage (through my clear coats and 3 layers of yellow), looks like a kid smashes into it with their bicycle handlebars (looks like there was no rubber on them). Getting it fixed is gonna cost me a pretty penny, and I have no idea if I have enough paint left to get it done, otherwise I also have to buy new paint, which is never gonna look exactly the same. Oh and I have no idea who it was, so no insurance...

[Radium_Angel]

47 minutes ago, Neroon said:

Had my car sprayed for a few weeks now, and already have super deep damage (through my clear coats and 3 layers of yellow), looks like a kid smashes into it with their bicycle handlebars (looks like there was no rubber on them). Getting it fixed is gonna cost me a pretty penny, and I have no idea if I have enough paint left to get it done, otherwise I also have to buy new paint, which is never gonna look exactly the same. Oh and I have no idea who it was, so no insurance...

So irritating...I'm sorry

[711jrp]

11 hours ago, Neroon said:

Had my car sprayed for a few weeks now, and already have super deep damage (through my clear coats and 3 layers of yellow), looks like a kid smashes into it with their bicycle handlebars (looks like there was no rubber on them). Getting it fixed is gonna cost me a pretty penny, and I have no idea if I have enough paint left to get it done, otherwise I also have to buy new paint, which is never gonna look exactly the same. Oh and I have no idea who it was, so no insurance...

If you just had it done, if you get the paint from the same place, new paint from the same mixing scheme should be bang on. As you have some old paint but not sure you have enough or you are sure you don't have enough, get them to get some new and use that for the first two coats and then use your old paint on just the drop coat and it should be cock on.  

[Neroon]

25 minutes ago, 711jrp said:

If you just had it done, if you get the paint from the same place, new paint from the same mixing scheme should be bang on. As you have some old paint but not sure you have enough or you are sure you don't have enough, get them to get some new and use that for the first two coats and then use your old paint on just the drop coat and it should be cock on.  

Yeah that's my plan, we will see though what they will say. 

[Radium_Angel]

Off to pick up a 2013 Suzuki Kizashi, wish me luck.

[HM-2]

Going to second view a very tidy and low-mileage 650i Gran Coupe next week. 

 

 

Med Blue 2016 FL M-Sport with ivory extended leather and Grey Poplar. Shadow line and 20" 373Ms. Not a massive spec car, but everything I'd want and the big ol' thing can bloody shift with a 445bhp twin turbo V8. Just need to figure out if I can fit it on the drive.

[WallacEngineering]

Right, I forgot about the Car Enthusiast Club.

 

This is my current Car - a 2020 Honda Civic Si I picked up in Summer 2021 with just 9,000 miles on the clock for $18,000 (Utah USA).

 

I really like the car for its balance of economy and sportiness. Its definitely the best value sports car on planet Earth. With a tiny 1.5L TurboCharged Inline-4 it does surprisingly well and I have hit 140 MPH in it with no issues. And because of that tiny engine during normal driving it averages 35 MPG in town and about 40 MPG on the highway.

 

The most impressive thing by far tho is the handling. Borrowing the engineering from its bigger brother (Type-R: Worlds Fastest FWD Production Car on a track), this thing handles like an absolute Go-Cart driving on a road made of superglue. For the first time, Im actually getting scared of cornering speed and backing off before I can push it beyond its limits on the windy mountain roads. Never before have I seen an economical FWD car such as this pull the kind of cornering forces that this thing does.

 

To compliment its insane cornering I just replaced the worn-out tires recently with the new Generation Continental Extreme-Contact DWS-06-Plus. An extremely high-end UHP All-Season tire that handles similarly to bespoke summer tires on dry asphalt.

 

I love Honda's "Rallye Red" and it has the best looking exhaust tip ever made with these great factory-upgrade/optional 18" wheels which are actually quite rare as most buyers did not want to spend the extra $2000 when the default free option was already quite nice to begin with.

 

 

 

 

 

It was only $18,000 while similar examples in age and mileage were selling for $23,000-$24,500 and that is because some idiot crashed it. Don't worry, its not a Salvage Title, it has the Honda Warranty. Its simply cheaper because of the bad history and dirty CarFax.

 

Im surprised at how low they priced this car. There was no mechanical damage whatsoever in the accident (I saw pics and information on CarFax regarding the accident). It literally just got a new Front Bumper, Hood, and Headlights. That's literally IT.

 

They didn't even have to replace the radiator or Intercooler because there was simply no damage and having owned the car now for about 2 years and just passing the 32,000 mile mark this week, there have been no issues whatsoever.

 

Im confident at this point that I can forget about the warranty and begin modifications this Summer. Plans are fairly simple with an ACT Stage 1 Clutch + Light-Weight Flywheel kit, then Stage 1 Tune for 91 Octane with some supporting mods that should push me into the region of 240-250 BHP.