Bill,
The car I traded in on my Volvo purchase was one of those lease cars. Spent
its early years around the Detroit suburbs. It was a 2000 Cadillac Catera,
built in Europe, nice to drive on the Interstates. However, the air
conditioning system was a can of worms and I could never get it to the point
that the passenger side was adjustable, despite many hours of my own work
trying to straighten it out. I could see, as I checked out the problems,
that others had been into the system in its earlier life.
This made for numerous heated discussions with my most frequent passenger,
and I got to the end of my rope. I also saw one at the dealer's shop with
the cylinder heads removed, and was surprised at the small size of the
engine components which provided the peppy performance. This made me wonder
about its longevity. It was also extremely difficult to enter and exit the
Catera, especially for older, arthritic passengers. Having owned two
earlier Volvos, we decided that was the future for us.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Pearce" <billcpearce@xxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 10:35 AM
Subject: Re: [OM] Extended warranty
>I don't care if you're 125, a new car is a bad deal. It will depreciate a
> good 25% in the nanosecond it rolls off the dealer's property.
>
> Because of the structure of leases written by the manufacturer, at least
> in
> the US you can get great deals on cars that are near current models with
> very low mileage. My most recent purchase, a 2010 Lexus, had about 34,000
> miles on it, in almost perfect condition. Also, there are aftermarket
> warranties that will duplicate the manufacturers for additional miles. Buy
> one of those carefully. I got mine from the guy that would have to collect
> on the insurance if anything went wrong.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Andrew Fildes
> Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 6:51 AM
> To: Olympus Camera Discussion
> Subject: Re: [OM] Extended warranty
>
> Listen ohsocarefully.
> One car I looked at was a Toyota Corolla - 2004. Low mileage (50K miles),
> very clean, unmarked, new tyres, new clutch.
> About one third of the new price for the latest equivalent.
> I liked it a lot but I went for a small SUV because of the area I live
> in -
> semi-rural.
> Corolla 2001-2009 has the lowest breakdown rate of any vehicle by a large
> margin (UK figures).
> And remember that they're usually driven by people who can't fix even
> simple
> roadside problems.
> The sort of people that consider a flat tyre or battery to be a major
> unreliability problem.
> Toyota dealers are everywhere - they'll happily service it properly and
> inexpensively.
>
> You are in your eighties but I'll bet (a significant amount) that you're
> more automotively capable than my wife.
> She has an Echo (Yaris) which she's had for years, bought near new.
> Serviced by the local Toyota dealer every six months.
> They even bring her home and come get her at the end of the day (courtesy
> bus).
> Nothing has ever gone wrong - that's good because she couldn't change a
> registration sticker, never mind a wheel.
> If she does have a problem, she (and I) has roadside assistance (RAC -
> coupla hundred a year, premium level).
>
> Consider, if I'd bought that Corolla, I'd have had a reasonable
> expectation
> of another 50-100K miles over 5-6 years or more without a problem.
> I'd have saved a huge amount of money.
> My father made it through his entire eighties with a similar car (used
> Astra) on the same basis.
> I bought an old low mileage '96 Astra in London in 2009 because it was
> cheaper to do that than rent.
> Great little car - needed a new muffler and head gasket but after that, my
> son had had no problems.
> Good for the city - looks a bit rough, nippy, comfy, cheap to fix.
> He was grumbling the other day that it needed a new clutch (at 80K miles
> and
> 17 years old? Fair enough).
>
> I am eternally grateful to the people who buy new cars - they sort out
> which
> ones are the lemons, which ones are reliable, absorb the financial hit and
> save me lots of money.
> But mad at any age.
>
> Andrew Fildes
> afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.soultheft.com
> Author/Publisher: The SLR Compendium - http://www.blurb.com/books/3732813
>
>
>
> On 29/04/2013, at 3:17 PM, Jim Nichols wrote:
>
>> Bill, I think you are being a little harsh. Sometimes there are reasons
>> to
>> do so. When one gets in one's eighties, and cannot deal with a breakdown
>> on
>> the road, and can no longer see to maintenance details oneself, then a
>> new
>> car may be justified. It provides warranty service during the period
>> when
>> most problems show up. If one knows how to deal with the sales personnel
>> and paperwork pushers, the result can be a happy situation. I did just
>> that
>> five years ago, went to the dealer during the warranty period, and now
>> get
>> my maintenance done by a local independent shop which has good access to
>> parts and information. I'm sure this Volvo will outlive me.
>
> --
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