After scraping the underbody across the frozen ice in my driveway...
02-20-2007, 11:28 AM
#76
Banned
Originally Posted by MrBonus
$14,000 FIRM. 
An even $15k and you've got yourself a steal.
02-20-2007, 12:29 PM
#77
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by OCBen
Not only are you a cheap accountant, but you're a tough negotiator too, not leaving any room for negotiation.
An even $15k and you've got yourself a steal.
An even $15k and you've got yourself a steal.
02-20-2007, 01:18 PM
#78
Banned
Originally Posted by MrBonus
How about you just give it to me as a gesture of good will? I can even will out the Form 709 at no cost to you for the excess amount of fair market value over the gift exclusion.
Brilliant! ... Why didn't I think of that.
02-28-2007, 10:58 PM
#79
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Considering this is a rather well traveled, international board, has anyone driven a Smart car? They're supposed to be coming to the states in 2008.
http://www.smartusa.com/
http://www.smartusa.com/
02-28-2007, 11:15 PM
#80
Drifting
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Another Ex pat Brit in SoCal
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Originally Posted by MrBonus
Considering this is a rather well traveled, international board, has anyone driven a Smart car? They're supposed to be coming to the states in 2008.
http://www.smartusa.com/
http://www.smartusa.com/
Yes - fun - especially the Brabus versions!
It's like a Mercedes golf cart, well made, but lots of plastic panels outside.
It's fun rather than performance, and tons of customizable options
It's a bit like Lego actually!
People will laugh, but it feels like a bigger car when your driving one.
If you are city driving only, it's worth a look.
And don't forget you can park them sideways in the smallest parking spaces!
03-01-2007, 09:55 AM
#81
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by cdodkin
Yes - fun - especially the Brabus versions!
It's like a Mercedes golf cart, well made, but lots of plastic panels outside.
It's fun rather than performance, and tons of customizable options
It's a bit like Lego actually!
People will laugh, but it feels like a bigger car when your driving one.
If you are city driving only, it's worth a look.
And don't forget you can park them sideways in the smallest parking spaces!
It's like a Mercedes golf cart, well made, but lots of plastic panels outside.
It's fun rather than performance, and tons of customizable options
It's a bit like Lego actually!
People will laugh, but it feels like a bigger car when your driving one.
If you are city driving only, it's worth a look.
And don't forget you can park them sideways in the smallest parking spaces!
03-01-2007, 10:20 AM
#82
Banned
Originally Posted by MrBonus
Most of my commute is 4 miles up the road but I would like something that I can occasionally take on longer trips.
How 'bout a bike then? ... Oh yeah, that white stuff on the road thing.
03-01-2007, 02:27 PM
#83
Originally Posted by MrBonus
Very cool. Most of my commute is 4 miles up the road but I would like something that I can occasionally take on longer trips. Honestly, one of the hot hatches seems to make the most sense for me.
Good luck, Ian!
03-03-2007, 01:40 PM
#84
Rennlist Member
Well guys I can tell you that I have 2 rear engined, rear wheel drive with their a$$es larger than their noses cars in my garage... Only the wrong one has the turbo... its the one with the 3 cylinders!!!
AKA my Smart Brarus Cabrio.
All I can say is AMAZING! And the new version out in a few months which will probably be easier to get US spec will get you guys hooked. Although the new version is 19 centimeters longer than the older one, which is shown parked vertically in the picture above... so no more vertical parking...
The one I have is 700cc three cylinder turbo, BRABUSed up to 75hp. But the engine block comes from the roadster, the other lotus like version which has a significantly better engine. As a result all "street races" I have done with the hotheads at my local smart club with chipped 62hp versions pumping as much as 90 or 100hp they always eat my dust with the 75 real Brabus horses...
The new version grows to 1000cc. Thats amazing. I can imagine it will be spectacular. The non turbo version will have 71hp but atmospheric, non turbo, so it wont be as zingy to drive. But the turbo BRABUS version to be launched in Sept 07 will have 100 horses. And that I can barely wait for.
The car is the most excellent daily driver. Automatic or semi auto Tiptronic style, with paddle shifts. Parks anywhere, and consumes absolutely nothing. Insurance is 1/10th!!! of my full comp C4S's... And it goes like the wind. Not by stopwatch but by seat of the pants. That mini turbo kicking in is just excellent. Suspension is a bit stiff with the 16in wheels, its a bit tooth shattering as the weight is so small, it seems to bounce off potholes a bit... There is one longevity issue, a badly ran car could have turbo issues at 80k kms, or like what 50k miles. Needs a turbo rebuild which is quite expensive, but only if you really dont take care of it, like cool it off a bit after a spirited run, or start it cold and go like hell... All the things you arent supposed to do to a turbo, only more, because of the size of the engine...
Its expensive to buy for what it is, but remember you are buying a little mercedes car, packed with technology. Turbo engine, ABS anti spin, semi auto, tip style transmission with paddle shifts, packed with electronics. If you can wait for it, then I wholeheartedly suggest that you do...
Here are some side by side with a monster parked on the street...
Concerned for safety? Had an unfortunate incident last year, a stupid cow (not the animal, the other kind) ran a stop sign in a golf and hit me right on the side. Broke front axle, and hit all the side of the car. The steel tridion case absorbed all the impact, and it barely deformed the car. It was amazing. The cost to fix was absolutely massive, thank God insurance paid for it, but it came to like Eur 7k. That was like a third of the cars value. But I feel quite safe driving it knowing that this thing is build strong. Now mind you this is not the case for a 100mph (top speed approx in mine, a bit less for the non brabus ones) kiss with a telephone pole or a side railing, but its good for in town driving. Here is what the car looked like after the crash. The tridion shows under the passenger door.
AKA my Smart Brarus Cabrio.
All I can say is AMAZING! And the new version out in a few months which will probably be easier to get US spec will get you guys hooked. Although the new version is 19 centimeters longer than the older one, which is shown parked vertically in the picture above... so no more vertical parking...
The one I have is 700cc three cylinder turbo, BRABUSed up to 75hp. But the engine block comes from the roadster, the other lotus like version which has a significantly better engine. As a result all "street races" I have done with the hotheads at my local smart club with chipped 62hp versions pumping as much as 90 or 100hp they always eat my dust with the 75 real Brabus horses...
The new version grows to 1000cc. Thats amazing. I can imagine it will be spectacular. The non turbo version will have 71hp but atmospheric, non turbo, so it wont be as zingy to drive. But the turbo BRABUS version to be launched in Sept 07 will have 100 horses. And that I can barely wait for.
The car is the most excellent daily driver. Automatic or semi auto Tiptronic style, with paddle shifts. Parks anywhere, and consumes absolutely nothing. Insurance is 1/10th!!! of my full comp C4S's... And it goes like the wind. Not by stopwatch but by seat of the pants. That mini turbo kicking in is just excellent. Suspension is a bit stiff with the 16in wheels, its a bit tooth shattering as the weight is so small, it seems to bounce off potholes a bit... There is one longevity issue, a badly ran car could have turbo issues at 80k kms, or like what 50k miles. Needs a turbo rebuild which is quite expensive, but only if you really dont take care of it, like cool it off a bit after a spirited run, or start it cold and go like hell... All the things you arent supposed to do to a turbo, only more, because of the size of the engine...
Its expensive to buy for what it is, but remember you are buying a little mercedes car, packed with technology. Turbo engine, ABS anti spin, semi auto, tip style transmission with paddle shifts, packed with electronics. If you can wait for it, then I wholeheartedly suggest that you do...
Here are some side by side with a monster parked on the street...
Concerned for safety? Had an unfortunate incident last year, a stupid cow (not the animal, the other kind) ran a stop sign in a golf and hit me right on the side. Broke front axle, and hit all the side of the car. The steel tridion case absorbed all the impact, and it barely deformed the car. It was amazing. The cost to fix was absolutely massive, thank God insurance paid for it, but it came to like Eur 7k. That was like a third of the cars value. But I feel quite safe driving it knowing that this thing is build strong. Now mind you this is not the case for a 100mph (top speed approx in mine, a bit less for the non brabus ones) kiss with a telephone pole or a side railing, but its good for in town driving. Here is what the car looked like after the crash. The tridion shows under the passenger door.
03-03-2007, 08:06 PM
#85
Intermediate
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Man, a little ice and you're scraed off sriving your car in the winter? 
C'mon, man, you're making p-car drivers in the north look bad! They DO have snow and ice and other frozen **** form the sky in Germany, where your baby was conceived, designed, tested and built!
It's a tough litle car..the German engineers drive in (sometimes) worse conditions thta we have in the US...more latitudes on par with Northern Canada, actually.
I bought my new 06 C4Cab w/hardtop and winter tires and I am cognizant of the low clearance compared to my wife's BMW X3, but my C4 traction kicks any SUV's ***. I was passing when a BMW X5 was sliding all over the road on Valentines Day, when all of Boston was shutdown....
Drive, Man Drive! Your car was built for winter!
Damon
C'mon, man, you're making p-car drivers in the north look bad! They DO have snow and ice and other frozen **** form the sky in Germany, where your baby was conceived, designed, tested and built!
It's a tough litle car..the German engineers drive in (sometimes) worse conditions thta we have in the US...more latitudes on par with Northern Canada, actually.
I bought my new 06 C4Cab w/hardtop and winter tires and I am cognizant of the low clearance compared to my wife's BMW X3, but my C4 traction kicks any SUV's ***. I was passing when a BMW X5 was sliding all over the road on Valentines Day, when all of Boston was shutdown....
Drive, Man Drive! Your car was built for winter!
Damon
09-26-2007, 08:44 PM
#86
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
For those that care, I ended up picking up a 1997 Lexus LX450 with 119,000 miles on the clock for a paltry $7250. It was one of my childhood dream cars and makes perfect sense for my whopping 3.5 mile commute.
09-27-2007, 10:46 AM
#88
Drifting
Join Date: May 2006
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Wow, that's a big hot hatch! What happened to the Golf sized picks?
If I'd known you were going supersized, I'd have put forward the Landy as a great option!
You'd have had a great winter vehicle that waterproofs your driveway as standard!
Congrats on the Lexus any way - great to read the thread back again
If I'd known you were going supersized, I'd have put forward the Landy as a great option!
You'd have had a great winter vehicle that waterproofs your driveway as standard!
Congrats on the Lexus any way - great to read the thread back again
09-27-2007, 12:08 PM
#89
Burning Brakes
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Dianic, If I understood you correctly-you were totalled by a cow driving a golf cart. Too much ouzo, if you ask me mate On a more serious note, the Smart car will probably have a few more than 90horses when it get's here. The price will be around $20k and I believe the mpg is not that great either. I still think we'll get more chicks with these than our Porsches
On a more serious note, the Smart car will probably have a few more than 90horses when it get's here. The price will be around $20k and I believe the mpg is not that great either. I still think we'll get more chicks with these than our Porsches
01-11-2008, 09:56 AM
#90
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
So after replacing the power steering pump, valve cover seal, oil pan gasket (all leaking) the trim around the driver's side door (Causing a leak when it rained in the headliner) on the LX450, and preparing to fix the rear main seal, the heater core started leaking coolant and I flipped my lid, went out, drove all of the hot hatches, and came home with a Mazdaspeed 3 in the same day. They gave me $400 less than I paid for that piece of s__t at the trade-in and I couldn't sign the papers fast enough as I glanced out of the corner of my eye at the milkshake of oil and coolant forming beneath it in the parking lot.
So here's my new beater/daily driver:
So here's my new beater/daily driver: