Off topic- Anyone ever owned one of these cars?

[Kiwibird]

was a/c used? you will get puddles of water after running the A/C...

No. The car had been parked several days before we looked at it and we only took it for a MAYBE 10 minute test drive around the block. We didn't run the A/C at all either.

In any case, we're looking at better cars now!

 

[Scott]

OMG! Like the universe has bestowed it's 'blessings' upon us getting a second car at this time! Yesterday, completely unexpectedly we got a check for a good chunk of money from my husbands prior employer. Apparently, there was a class action lawsuit brought against the company and he was entitled to a payout because it pertained to things that happened while he worked there. We knew nothing about it as he hasn't worked there for several years. NEVER have we just had money "fall out of the sky" (so to speak) like this. Usually, it would be the exact opposite and some massive expense would come up or something, not enough money to actually buy a decent car randomly show up in the mail. I truly can't believe it! SO excited now that we don't have to look at total junkers.

Congratulations April and Joe! Your "universe" of possibilities just expanded! ironically it will make your search more difficult as the list of candidates is larger and the stakes are higher! But you'll find something just perfect.

 

[Kiwibird]

Lol. So my stubbornly optimistic (but lovable) husband just had his first (indirect) encounter with a online scammer. I told him not to bother with the cars that seemed "too good to be true", but did he listen? No, he got angry and told me I was a "negative person with a defeatist attitude" I may be a slightly abrasive and cynical realist but very rarely am I wrong about such things. Well, he found one of those "too good to be true" deals this AM and insisted I contact the person (I offered to help out contacting people so a REAL good deal doesn't slip away since he works set hours during the day and I don't). $6K KBB car for $1700 because the "husband died". I think not. But, being as well all have to learn, I went ahead as per his request and engaged the scammer:48:.

Text messages immediately sounded off, bad spelling/grammar too instructing me to email his "sister" who was actually the one selling the car, so I sent the email (from a throwaway account, and was told I was being "paranoid"). Got a message back, sounded great (too great), so I told them we'd come test drive it tonight since it was posted in an suburb only about 30 min drive from us. LOL. They immediately emailed back some crap about shipping the car from another state for a 5 day "trial period" from a "secure ebay facility" with sealed title paperwork (whatever the hell that means). My husband is so intelligent, but I guess that whole 'hope springs eternal' thing can overshadow rationality and logical thought. I just don't get it. He keeps hoping to encounter these mysterious "kind people" of the world willing to give a good deal just for the sake of being a good person and I keep telling him it's never going to happen because the likelihood of finding one is about the same as discovering the tooth fairy or easter bunny really exist.

 

[SailBoat]

Sometimes a bucket of ice and water helps!

So, here is the 'ice' part of this overall event! The down side to all this great news is the ugly horror of the IRS! They are going to want their chunk of the heavenly gift. So, depending on how the monies are provided you will need to pay Income Taxes. Most Corporations will pay the Income and SS Taxes subtracted from the payment. Assure that is a reality. NOTE: If you suffer from SailBoat Luck, the gross amount will be just enough to push you into the next Tax Bracket, since the gross amount is add to your 2018 gross income. So, even if the Income Taxes have been paid, it may or may not be enough based on that reality. Double check that now by projecting your gross 2018 Income, plus this added amount.

The best tool is just like with Kiwi! Distraction! As it commonly buys time and time is not on the side of the scammer!

FYI: It is not as simple to transfer ownership with the combination of the Death of the prior owner and transferring a 'clean' Title becomes ever more difficult when one adds the joy of State to State Transfer. Not recommended for the average citizen with limited knowledge. Contact your Secretary of State Office for clarification and the pitfalls that scammers can bring to this difficult transaction.

That's the cold water part!

 

[Kiwibird]

Sometimes a bucket of ice and water helps!

So, here is the 'ice' part of this overall event! The down side to all this great news is the ugly horror of the IRS! They are going to want their chunk of the heavenly gift. So, depending on how the monies are provided you will need to pay Income Taxes. Most Corporations will pay the Income and SS Taxes subtracted from the payment. Assure that is a reality. NOTE: If you suffer from SailBoat Luck, the gross amount will be just enough to push you into the next Tax Bracket, since the gross amount is add to your 2018 gross income. So, even if the Income Taxes have been paid, it may or may not be enough based on that reality. Double check that now by projecting your gross 2018 Income, plus this added amount.

The best tool is just like with Kiwi! Distraction! As it commonly buys time and time is not on the side of the scammer!

FYI: It is not as simple to transfer ownership with the combination of the Death of the prior owner and transferring a 'clean' Title becomes ever more difficult when one adds the joy of State to State Transfer. Not recommended for the average citizen with limited knowledge. Contact your Secretary of State Office for clarification and the pitfalls that scammers can bring to this difficult transaction.

That's the cold water part!

Taxes were withheld and the amount wasn't enough to put us in a higher bracket (first thing we checked actually!).

I will indulge my husband once or twice until he learns contacting these scammers leads nowhere, but while I do not make it my policy to tell a grown man what to do, I would firmly put my foot down on any exchange of money/personal info etc... with anyone I suspect to be a scammer. However, I think after today he will be unlikely to pursue any further "deals" like that!

But fortunately, he seems to have moved on to looking at cars that seem more 'realistic'. And I am confident he'll find a decently maintained, older car with reasonable milage for the new budget we're looking in. My car is a 2001 and in great shape exterior, interior and under the hood, so I know those cars are out there. But finding a low mileage car in good shape much newer than 15 y/o? Unlikely to never going to happen

 

[gracebowen]

I wanted a newer car too. I finally picked a 2000 Ford Taurus that I paid top dollar for. I actually paid 200 over blue book value. I did this because it was clean, nice body and new tires. It has double sun visors, sun roof and tinted windows. There was absolutely nothing mechanically wrong with the car. Also less than 140000 miles and believe to be a 1 owner car before I brought it

Because of all of the scammers (at least 5) exactly as you described I decided to only deal with dealers.

 

[Kiwibird]

YAY! Hubby finally found a good car at a good price. There is a local homeless shelter that takes used cars as donations, has certified mechanics fix them up and resells them on a used car lot they run for lower than normal dealerships and the money goes to helping the homeless. He ended up getting a nice little 99 Mecedes C-something with only 136K miles and 'felt right'. Seems like a good car that was well maintained. Lots of "power" features and buttons that'll take months to learn though lol. Very glad the car shopping process is over and hope this one will last a few years!

 

[Scott]

You'll love that car, but fair warning, please find an honest and skilled independent German Auto specialist. You don't want to go to the Stealership for repairs, ever!

 

[Kiwibird]

You'll love that car, but fair warning, please find an honest and skilled independent German Auto specialist. You don't want to go to the Stealership for repairs, ever!

He seems pleased with it and we took a bit of a drive around earlier and it is quite comfortable and a whole lot smoother of a ride than my car. I've been taking my car to an independent mechanic down the road from us for several years and they've always been honest and done good work, so I'm sure if they aren't able to do repairs on foreign cars, they can point us in the right direction of who can. Last time I took my car to the dealership (about 2 years after I bought it) for the fuel pump to be replaced, they screwed it up and some lady flagged me down in a parking right after I picked it up to tell me my car was leaking GASOLINE Independent reputable mechanics ever since! With any luck though, we'll only need to do routine maintenance in the foreseeable future as the car was checked over by a certified mechanic prior to sale and has no foreseeable major issues.

 

[Scott]

You'll love that car, but fair warning, please find an honest and skilled independent German Auto specialist. You don't want to go to the Stealership for repairs, ever!

He seems pleased with it and we took a bit of a drive around earlier and it is quite comfortable and a whole lot smoother of a ride than my car. I've been taking my car to an independent mechanic down the road from us for several years and they've always been honest and done good work, so I'm sure if they aren't able to do repairs on foreign cars, they can point us in the right direction of who can. Last time I took my car to the dealership (about 2 years after I bought it) for the fuel pump to be replaced, they screwed it up and some lady flagged me down in a parking right after I picked it up to tell me my car was leaking GASOLINE Independent reputable mechanics ever since! With any luck though, we'll only need to do routine maintenance in the foreseeable future as the car was checked over by a certified mechanic prior to sale and has no foreseeable major issues.

Sounds good, April. My experience with older German autos is they are well built and generally reliable, but with age comes the inherent failure of long-lived components. They are generally pricey and often do not have secondary "after market" sources. Hopefully yours will provide long and reliable service.

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

I had always driven older beaters,until 2011 when I purchased from "the stealer" an off-lease 2008 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL. I loved the looks and there is a bazillion of them out there.

The only options the car DIDN'T have,was navi and back-up camera. The car had 50k and the dealer put on new tires and new brakes. At 120k I replaced the tires and brakes! I got 70k miles out of the set's the dealer did! The only problem I had was the altenator crapped out at about 80k and my son and I replaced it. We had to remove the front clip to get at the dang thing lol.

The altenator and replacing the battery once was the only repairs I had to do.

I changed the oil and filter(s) religiously using either Amsoil or Mobil One Synthetic. At 123k miles,and on my birthday lol,a !@%^$& deer ran out from behind a building,forcing me to yank the wheel hard to the right,where I went off the road,down thru nasty underbrush and down an embankment The 'green lizard" totaled the car! Severe damage to the under carriage, over $6,500. I had paid the car off four months earlier and luckily I kept the collision insurance on it. After the $500 deductible was paid they gave me a check for $6,300.


They paid for a rental for a month while I went looking. I really wanted another Altima! I wanted one with as much,or less miles,with the same options ( leather,moon roof,6 CD stereo,blue tooth ect ect) but could not find one that was in as good condition as mine was before it got wrecked. I was only willing to pay $7k max.


The rental they gave me was a 2017 Ford Fusion Hybrid..an AWESOME car!

45 mpg average. and it was loaded except for a moon roof. It had navi and camera ect. I never drove a hybrid. When the car was in that mode you couldn't even tell the car was "running" lol..and it had plenty of zip to it.


Anyway...I ended up getting a 2010 Fusion lol not hybrid though and no navi. It had 114k miles,with new tires/brakes. Dealer wanted $6995 but he agreed to $6300. White with tan leather,looks/rides/drives great!

That's my story,and I'm stickin' with it!


Jim

 

[Scott]

A shame your Altima was totaled. Seems you had one in great shape, so sad you couldn't find another.

Fusion is a bright spot in the Ford lineup. I had a 2011 hybrid, same body style as your current. First American car I owned in a long while, and was not disappointed! Good luck with yours!