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

[IPD]

1 hour ago, vetali said:

That shitbox gets no hat tipping from me.

Fair.  I was never a big "Rebadged Isuzu" fan.  Even worse when Honda made it on their own.

 

I really miss Isuzu in the lower 48 though.  GM is satan.

[IPD]

1 minute ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

Apples or oranges?
Pear

Well the SLK is:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-MB which is easier to source parts for in Europe--like BMW, Audi, etc

-SLK55 is stupid fast, and will beat a C6 manual corvette in the 1/4 mile

 

P.S.

Piss on Big Money Waster.

[PandaCopyRight]

57 minutes ago, Neroon said:

Been looking for either a BMW E93 330i (3 series hardtop convertible around 2007)(super rare), or 1 of the faster Volvo c70s (also a hardtop convertible around that age).

Currently driving a Peugeot 307CC (2006 hardtop convertible), but I want something that goes to 60/100 faster, and offers better comfort.

 

The BMW is my preference, but prices have went up instead of down, and because they are so rare, prices are all over the place anyway. The Volvo's are easier to get, and a bit cheaper. They are also more reliable, but will use up a bit more gas.

 

I still prefer the BMW, but will likely end up with the Volvo. Btw I live in Europe, so maintaining a BMW isn't as expensive as it is in other parts of the world.

 

Anyoje got any opinions on it? Btw incase anyone wonders, yes a hard top is required. It's my daily and in my line of work (youthworker) having a softtop is like begging for it to be stabbed.

Both options would be comfortable and somewhat expensive to repair and have plenty of stuff to break as they are technically luxury brands.

Both should have similar fuel economy and that would more or less depend on your driving style.
All car prices have gone up recently, some have gone up more than others but that's unfortunately the current market.
Also for you id more look into what is the driving experience or looks you want:
C70 T5 would feel torquey down low in the RPMs cause of the turbo 5 cylinder. Will be most likely FWD but should be available to find in an AWD spec as well if you go for the older models.
E93 330i would need to at higher RPM for a similar torque and for a shorter amount of time, but will have more "go" in the higher RPMs cause of the naturally aspirated 6 cylinder and will be RWD

Personally id go for the Volvo C70, but i already own a 2015 Volvo V40 so i may be slightly biased towards it 

[PandaCopyRight]

3 minutes ago, IPD said:

Well the SLK is:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-MB which is easier to source parts for in Europe--like BMW, Audi, etc

-SLK55 is stupid fast, and will beat a C6 manual corvette in the 1/4 mile

 

P.S.

Piss on Big Money Waster.

you do understand that not everyone cares about being the fastest on the dragstrip? 
Also judging by the cars mentioned by that user, most likely the SLK they could afford would be the SLK 280 ... or maybe even a lower spec one (MB tends to be overpriced AF at least over where i am)

[JoaoPRSousa]

25 minutes ago, IPD said:

Well the SLK is:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-MB which is easier to source parts for in Europe--like BMW, Audi, etc

-SLK55 is stupid fast, and will beat a C6 manual corvette in the 1/4 mile

 

P.S.

Piss on Big Money Waster.

 

Europe is a whole different market to the US. An SLK55 is not in the same price bracket of the E93 nor the C70.

Who cares about quarter mile times???

 

Proud Big Money Waster here.

[JoaoPRSousa]

I need myself a commuter.
I have option A which does the quarter mile in 18 seconds and 40MPG and option B that does the quarter mile in 6.9 seconds and 6.9MPG.

 

Should I go for option B?

[Neroon]

48 minutes ago, IPD said:

SLK55 AMG

I've looked a lot at the R171 models, and they look awesome, and bet they are really nice. Now the AMG is definitely above budget, being about twice the price of the Volvo. I've of course looked at the regular versions, but while I used to consider it, when we heard we had a baby on the way, any 2 seater was an automatic no. Don't get me wrong, my gf has a Kia Ceed so we got the family car going, but I don't want to change car again in a while because she is old enough to be in a convertible.

39 minutes ago, PandaCopyRight said:

Both options would be comfortable and somewhat expensive to repair and have plenty of stuff to break as they are technically luxury brands.

Both should have similar fuel economy and that would more or less depend on your driving style.
All car prices have gone up recently, some have gone up more than others but that's unfortunately the current market.
Also for you id more look into what is the driving experience or looks you want:
C70 T5 would feel torquey down low in the RPMs cause of the turbo 5 cylinder. Will be most likely FWD but should be available to find in an AWD spec as well if you go for the older models.
E93 330i would need to at higher RPM for a similar torque and for a shorter amount of time, but will have more "go" in the higher RPMs cause of the naturally aspirated 6 cylinder and will be RWD

Personally id go for the Volvo C70, but i already own a 2015 Volvo V40 so i may be slightly biased towards it 

I've heard good things about the C70 in terms or reliability. Obviously there is always "what if the roof mechanism breaks" but I haven't seen anything to worry about yet, unlike for example the VW Eos, which has a really cool roof mechanism (has a roof window in the hardtop), but they break often, and costs thousands to repair. I haven't checked prices on the Volvo and BMW, but I've seen Peugeot complete roofs + mechanism for like 250-500. (Reliable roof, less reliable car = loads of spare roofs)

 

I'm looking to test drive both, have been looking for the 330 a long time, but they are so hard to find, and figured I'd wait for a dealer close to test drive it, but no luck so far. To give you an idea, there are currently 4 on offer in my country, and it can take up to 2 months before a new one is offered.

 

Volvo's are much less rare, so I've been looking at that for about a month now, and there are some in decent driving distances, so gonna check that out soon.

I see advantages in both engines, quicker at lower RPM sounds good, but I don't mind hitting 5k RPM, hell I already do it with my Peugeot, and that bastard is very slow (about half of what they will do). Afaik 5 cilinders will provide constant power, so in that regard it does what I wanted, because I wanted a 6 cilinder for that reason.

 

I think for me the main difference is, is that the BMW has a lot more mods, and while I have no interest in making a ricer out of it, I did want to give it some upgrades. I'm sure there are some options with the Volvo, but not as many. I do have ideas for the console though, since that would be perfect for a custom big screen as the car radio.

 

15 minutes ago, PandaCopyRight said:

you do understand that not everyone cares about being the fastest on the dragstrip? 
Also judging by the cars mentioned by that user, most likely the SLK they could afford would be the SLK 280 ... or maybe even a lower spec one (MB tends to be overpriced AF at least over where i am)

The 280 is definitely in my range, but yeah got a 2 month old baby, so not the most practical car for that. This is also a big plus for the BMW and especially the Volvo, because those are 2 of the biggest hard top convertibles.

[Bitter]

Oooof this 2019 is rough.

[Bitter]

For some reason this one didn't attach. What the hell, were they just spraying acetone at the dash?

[DANK_AS_gay]

10 minutes ago, Bitter said:

For some reason this one didn't attach. What the hell, were they just spraying acetone at the dash?

 

Looks like someone has been making Meth.

Or they smoked, and bought a strong (too strong) odor bomb, that reacted with the labels.

[Neroon]

2019? How in the hell... what happened to it?

[DANK_AS_gay]

It really does look like something exploded with force in there, what else would shatter all of that plastic? I stand by the odor bomb/ meth idea, but meth is looking more and more accurate.

[bcredeur97]

58 minutes ago, Bitter said:

Oooof this 2019 is rough.

I’ve never seen a car that bad with so few miles lol 

[bcredeur97]

47 minutes ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Looks like someone has been making Meth.

Or they smoked, and bought a strong (too strong) odor bomb, that reacted with the labels.

The label on GM’s do wear off like that when they get old, but to be that worn so soon is crazy 

 

also the Instrument cluster with the broken cover and things being pushed in. It really just looks like someone slams/hits everything they touch lol 

[DANK_AS_gay]

On 5/20/2022 at 12:16 PM, IPD said:

I just discovered that the Corvette E-Ray is coming.  AWD Corvette?  Convertible?  Christ, all they have to do is announce that Statutory Grape is a color option, and I'll just sign over my eternal soul right now on pre-order.

Is this sarcasm?

Oh Gosh I hope it is sarcasm. Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

1 minute ago, bcredeur97 said:

The label on GM’s do wear off like that when they get old, but to be that worn so soon is crazy 

 

also the Instrument cluster with the broken cover and things being pushed in. It really just looks like someone slams/hits everything they touch lol

 

44 minutes ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

It really does look like something exploded with force in there, what else would shatter all of that plastic? I stand by the odor bomb/ meth idea, but meth is looking more and more accurate.

 

[Bitter]

26 minutes ago, bcredeur97 said:

I’ve never seen a car that bad with so few miles lol 

Mmhmmm 156,000 miles tho.

[IPD]

3 hours ago, JoaoPRSousa said:

Proud Big Money Waster here.

Well there's no accounting for lack of taste, I guess.  But sure, bash away at MB.

[IPD]

3 hours ago, Neroon said:

I've looked a lot at the R171 models, and they look awesome, and bet they are really nice. Now the AMG is definitely above budget, being about twice the price of the Volvo. I've of course looked at the regular versions, but while I used to consider it, when we heard we had a baby on the way, any 2 seater was an automatic no. Don't get me wrong, my gf has a Kia Ceed so we got the family car going, but I don't want to change car again in a while because she is old enough to be in a convertible.

I've heard good things about the C70 in terms or reliability. Obviously there is always "what if the roof mechanism breaks" but I haven't seen anything to worry about yet, unlike for example the VW Eos, which has a really cool roof mechanism (has a roof window in the hardtop), but they break often, and costs thousands to repair. I haven't checked prices on the Volvo and BMW, but I've seen Peugeot complete roofs + mechanism for like 250-500. (Reliable roof, less reliable car = loads of spare roofs)

 

I'm looking to test drive both, have been looking for the 330 a long time, but they are so hard to find, and figured I'd wait for a dealer close to test drive it, but no luck so far. To give you an idea, there are currently 4 on offer in my country, and it can take up to 2 months before a new one is offered.

 

Volvo's are much less rare, so I've been looking at that for about a month now, and there are some in decent driving distances, so gonna check that out soon.

I see advantages in both engines, quicker at lower RPM sounds good, but I don't mind hitting 5k RPM, hell I already do it with my Peugeot, and that bastard is very slow (about half of what they will do). Afaik 5 cilinders will provide constant power, so in that regard it does what I wanted, because I wanted a 6 cilinder for that reason.

 

I think for me the main difference is, is that the BMW has a lot more mods, and while I have no interest in making a ricer out of it, I did want to give it some upgrades. I'm sure there are some options with the Volvo, but not as many. I do have ideas for the console though, since that would be perfect for a custom big screen as the car radio.

 

The 280 is definitely in my range, but yeah got a 2 month old baby, so not the most practical car for that. This is also a big plus for the BMW and especially the Volvo, because those are 2 of the biggest hard top convertibles.

It really sounds like the issue here is wanting:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-Family friendly (sedan or at least 4 seats)

 

That puts you in rarefied air with few options that will fit the bill.  That's just how it is.  In the history of the automobile, the number of cars that were offered as hardtop convertible with rear seats that were more than an afterthought....can probably be counted on 1 hand--and that dates back as far as the Ford Skyliner.

[PandaCopyRight]

1 hour ago, Neroon said:

I've looked a lot at the R171 models, and they look awesome, and bet they are really nice. Now the AMG is definitely above budget, being about twice the price of the Volvo. I've of course looked at the regular versions, but while I used to consider it, when we heard we had a baby on the way, any 2 seater was an automatic no. Don't get me wrong, my gf has a Kia Ceed so we got the family car going, but I don't want to change car again in a while because she is old enough to be in a convertible.

I've heard good things about the C70 in terms or reliability. Obviously there is always "what if the roof mechanism breaks" but I haven't seen anything to worry about yet, unlike for example the VW Eos, which has a really cool roof mechanism (has a roof window in the hardtop), but they break often, and costs thousands to repair. I haven't checked prices on the Volvo and BMW, but I've seen Peugeot complete roofs + mechanism for like 250-500. (Reliable roof, less reliable car = loads of spare roofs)

 

I'm looking to test drive both, have been looking for the 330 a long time, but they are so hard to find, and figured I'd wait for a dealer close to test drive it, but no luck so far. To give you an idea, there are currently 4 on offer in my country, and it can take up to 2 months before a new one is offered.

 

Volvo's are much less rare, so I've been looking at that for about a month now, and there are some in decent driving distances, so gonna check that out soon.

I see advantages in both engines, quicker at lower RPM sounds good, but I don't mind hitting 5k RPM, hell I already do it with my Peugeot, and that bastard is very slow (about half of what they will do). Afaik 5 cilinders will provide constant power, so in that regard it does what I wanted, because I wanted a 6 cilinder for that reason.

 

I think for me the main difference is, is that the BMW has a lot more mods, and while I have no interest in making a ricer out of it, I did want to give it some upgrades. I'm sure there are some options with the Volvo, but not as many. I do have ideas for the console though, since that would be perfect for a custom big screen as the car radio.

 

The 280 is definitely in my range, but yeah got a 2 month old baby, so not the most practical car for that. This is also a big plus for the BMW and especially the Volvo, because those are 2 of the biggest hard top convertibles.

Regarding a similar Merc to the C70 and E93 would be something like the CLK i think, but i dont think they made a hard top. Then there is the C207 E class which i still think didnt have a hard top but that might be way over budget. Audi also has an option in the shape of a B6 or B7 generation A4 and later A5, but again i think its a soft top only. Another option if it wasnt a soft top would be a one of the later generation Saab 9-3. You can look into them if you wish but they seem to not have hard top convertibles.

 

Always test out the cars you are trying to decide between, cause a car thats better on paper wont always be the one you want after driving them.

What i can say about the Volvos reliability is that the C70 was made during an era where Ford owned Volvo ... so its basically a nicer looking luxurious 2 door mondeo convertible ... with a 5 cylinder turbo engine. The T5 engines as long as you are not trying to tune it to push its limits, it will last, especially if its maintained well.

BMW i know less about, but the 6 cylinder engine should also be great, just make sure its not leaking oil and that there are no vanoss faults... which is a common thing on BMWs.

 

Basically the quicker at lower RPM would mean that its easier for daily drivability. Both C70 and E93 will be way quicker than your current 307 either way.

 

BMW will always have more aftermarket parts, especially if there is a M car based on the same chassis ... which in this case its the E92 and E90 M3, but volvos as wall can have some aftermarket goodies, just bit more difficult to come by and usually more money cause there are no cheapo knockoff options.

[IPD]

1 hour ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Is this sarcasm?

Oh Gosh I hope it is sarcasm. Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

 

 

No, Yes, Yes, and Yes.

 

I'll also double down and say that I would much prefer the LT4 or LT5 engine to the LT6 engine; given half a chance on a C8 with any of the 3 choices--the LT6 is the last one I'd pick.  20 more HP and MINUS 180 torque....is not an "upgrade".

[JoaoPRSousa]

12 minutes ago, IPD said:

Well there's no accounting for lack of taste, I guess.  But sure, bash away at MB.

 

Please point out where I bashed Mercedes-Benz, your honour.

And regarding taste, everyone is different and everyone has different tastes. If you don't like it, that's your problem.

[Stahlmann]

What do you guys think about the Cupra Born or EV's in general? Thinking about ordering one as my next car. Planning to switch cars sometime next year. If i were to do so, i need to place the order in the next few months. I had a VW ID3 a while ago (which is basically the same car) when my A3 was in for repairs and that experience convinced me that my next car would be fully electric. Currently i shortlisted the Kia EV6, Hyundai IONIQ 5, VW ID3 and Cupra Born (my favourite atm).

 

[AlwaysFSX]

3 hours ago, DANK_AS_gay said:

Do people really want an AWD Corvette? Let alone a purple one, with no engine noise.

Oh fuck yeah that'd be fun as hell.

[bcredeur97]

4 hours ago, Bitter said:

Mmhmmm 156,000 miles tho.

when i was looking on my phone I thought I saw a different number on the dash. My mistake!

[Neroon]

3 hours ago, IPD said:

It really sounds like the issue here is wanting:

 

-Hardtop Convertible

-Family friendly (sedan or at least 4 seats)

 

That puts you in rarefied air with few options that will fit the bill.  That's just how it is.  In the history of the automobile, the number of cars that were offered as hardtop convertible with rear seats that were more than an afterthought....can probably be counted on 1 hand--and that dates back as far as the Ford Skyliner.

It is absolutely a limited space. There is actually a wikipedia with all the (modern) hard top convertibles. I can tell you I've looked into all of them, now I don't remember why I didn't like some, but generally I looked for cars available under say 12,5k with under 200k KM (125k miles), at least decent reliability and say like 7 seconds to 100kph/62mph. That created a pretty narrow list, of course already owning a hard top convertible, I really had to feel it was an upgrade. I've looked at 2 seaters, both at MB R171 models, and the MX5 NC, but the NC was too small for me, and eventually all 2 seaters ended up being scrapped from my potential list.

With 4 seaters I only looked at real 4 seaters, those 2+2 models for insurance reasons, was a no go for me. I just think it looks wacky to drive that.

I made that list during winter of 2020, with a clear goal for the next winter to buy that E93. But between cars being hard to get, and life getting back to normal due to covid, prices on those cars went up a few grand. So while 10-11 grand would be very doable, all the sudden 14-15k was the new 'low' point, with only a few really bad models hitting around 12k.

The car I'm looking for is obviously a weird one. I want a convertible, but a metal roof, I want a car for enjoying the weather, but I want it to be relatively quick, oh and I want it to be a decent family car as well. It's like a car of only compromises. Now if I had a garage or something like that, I might have just bought a second car, get like a hatchback or something and a softtop 2 seater, but I just don't want to expose a softtop to our weather through the year.
Because of that though, hard tops were quite popular here, and I see a lot of different models driving around here. So while there are limited choices in models, there are plenty of cars to buy in general, just some versions are very rare.

 

3 hours ago, PandaCopyRight said:

Regarding a similar Merc to the C70 and E93 would be something like the CLK i think, but i dont think they made a hard top. Then there is the C207 E class which i still think didnt have a hard top but that might be way over budget. Audi also has an option in the shape of a B6 or B7 generation A4 and later A5, but again i think its a soft top only. Another option if it wasnt a soft top would be a one of the later generation Saab 9-3. You can look into them if you wish but they seem to not have hard top convertibles.

 

Always test out the cars you are trying to decide between, cause a car thats better on paper wont always be the one you want after driving them.

What i can say about the Volvos reliability is that the C70 was made during an era where Ford owned Volvo ... so its basically a nicer looking luxurious 2 door mondeo convertible ... with a 5 cylinder turbo engine. The T5 engines as long as you are not trying to tune it to push its limits, it will last, especially if its maintained well.

BMW i know less about, but the 6 cylinder engine should also be great, just make sure its not leaking oil and that there are no vanoss faults... which is a common thing on BMWs.

 

Basically the quicker at lower RPM would mean that its easier for daily drivability. Both C70 and E93 will be way quicker than your current 307 either way.

 

BMW will always have more aftermarket parts, especially if there is a M car based on the same chassis ... which in this case its the E92 and E90 M3, but volvos as wall can have some aftermarket goodies, just bit more difficult to come by and usually more money cause there are no cheapo knockoff options.

Yeah afaik all the MB models are softtop if you want a 4 seater. Same with the other mentioned models. I know there are some nice hybrid (as in hybrid roofs) models these days, that have like a hard top with the cloth over it, but afaik those are all on the newer side and thus cost more.

 

Oh for sure, but I do have experience with 3 series, so I know what to expect for the most part, but yeah definitely want a test drive. Never driven a Volvo though.

 

Afaik a lot was still designed and made in Sweden, including the engine, so hoping that qualifies it to be better than a Ford.
The 330 generally has a lot more issues than the Volvo, it could be worse, because the 335 is a straight up disaster.
There is a E93 M3 btw, so loads of options.

Would be easier if money wasn't an issue, would just straight up buy an F33 (4 series) which were build until 2018 I believe.

4 hours ago, Bitter said:

Mmhmmm 156,000 miles tho.

I had a 20 year old E46 with around that mileage, and it looked way better than that.