Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

_HighVoltage_ said:
Speaking of which...I just changed my oil for the first time on the Volvo. I don't know what kind was used before, but I decided to use the best - fully synthetic Mobil 1 10W40 High Mileage...
The car definitely runs smoother, however my leaking main seal is now leaking even more. It's still not as serious as to justify a $1,000 of repairs...
Sorry, Environment! :p
Click to expand...

I don't think Mobil 1 still makes a full synthentic anymore. I think its a synthetic blend. From what I remember they sort of slyly switched to a synthetic blend.

If you want a good synthetic that won't cost you an arm and a leg I'd go with Valvoline next time.
 
airmenair said:
If you want a good synthetic that won't cost you an arm and a leg I'd go with Valvoline next time.
Click to expand...

Speaking of Valvoline, Their engine gaurentee up to 300 000 miles. You have to register your car and it's mileage before 70 000 miles. My friends dad just bought an all origonal, unrestored 1968 Dodge Polara Wagon with 58 000 miles on the clock. He's going to register it in the valvoline program. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that's pretty funny. :lol:
 
New Legacy GT300 race car shakedown:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IG7dxG3az0o&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fspeedhunters.com%2F&feature=player_embedded#t=16[/YOUTUBE]

Please make a street version Suabru. Please.
 
JipJopJones said:
Speaking of Valvoline, Their engine gaurentee up to 300 000 miles. You have to register your car and it's mileage before 70 000 miles. My friends dad just bought an all origonal, unrestored 1968 Dodge Polara Wagon with 58 000 miles on the clock. He's going to register it in the valvoline program. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that's pretty funny. :lol:
Click to expand...

My Mustang has just under 57000 original miles :hmm:

I'll have to make note of this and read up on the specifics, though I imagine they've got ridiculous qualifiers for anything other than spontaneous oil combustion or something.

EDIT: 1990 or newer only, psh.

MORE EDIT: And it only covers repairs for "oil wetted parts" in the covered engine ["e.g. cylinder heads, oil pump, pistons"]. They will only pay for the repair of those parts, and nothing else, even if a ton of other stuff fails at the same time. And only up to a $5000 total value for the life of the guarantee, which ends June 1st, 2029. And all your oil changes must be made at an approved service facility, every 3000 miles.
 
Last edited:
Nabster said:
EDIT: 1990 or newer only, psh.

MORE EDIT: And it only covers repairs for "oil wetted parts" in the covered engine ["e.g. cylinder heads, oil pump, pistons"]. They will only pay for the repair of those parts, and nothing else, even if a ton of other stuff fails at the same time. And only up to a $5000 total value for the life of the guarantee, which ends June 1st, 2029. And all your oil changes must be made at an approved service facility, every 3000 miles.
Click to expand...

Great thing about rotaries is the whole combustion chamber is "oil wetted". You do frequent oil changes and can get very good rebuilt engines easily for under $5k.

So if you own a rotary, get this.
 
Another new steering wheel arrived in the mail today! :D
 
Adunaphel said:
So if your engine has a catastrophic oil leak and seizes while spewing oil all over the engine bay, does that count as oil-wetted?
Click to expand...

Or how about the last of the old British cars, the 90s XJS with the old 5.3L V12s? Some of them leak so badly the entire engine bay is covered in oil normally. Does every component then qualify as 'oil wetted'? :hmm:
 
Last edited:
Spectre said:
Or how about the last of the old British cars, the 90s XJS with the old 5.3L V12s? Some of them leak so badly the entire engine bay is covered in oil normally. Does every component then qualify as 'oil wetted'? :hmm:
Click to expand...

Hell, if the engine bay and the chassis rails are oiled up aswell, you can ditch the car insurance, Mobil delivers it for you! :lol::lol:
 
Maybe I shouldn't replace the rocker cover gasket then. Think I'm in the wrong country anyway, and I don't use Valvoline. Think they would notice though?
 
I noticed in the paper this morning, there's a small ad for a house described as "Living quarters and 7-car garage on maturely landscaped lot" unfortunately no price given. The picture shows 3 double-sized garage doors on the end of a long building. Nice to see some people still have priorities.
 
What the hell are those plastic strips some people have on the front windows/A-pillars of their cars ? You know the things, they look like some sort of aerodevices, but are not some ricermod. You see them on older cars, pre-2000, but I don't remember seeing newer cars with them fitted.
 
Air deflectors, basically they remove all buffeting when driving with the windows down at highway speeds.
 
Another question and I know it may be dumbd, but the info I have scraped up so far is a bit mixed:

Are Alfas actually THAT bad or is some of it down to the negative hype ? I am mainly interested in the 156. I have been reading up that they are not as bad as the reputation, but what is the reality ?

It very strongly seems I need to buy a car in the next couple of weeks and I have a few options, Alfa 156 being one unless they actually are as bad as everyone says. Other options include the previous gen Mondeo, because I used to have one, my father still does and I happen to like that car very much. Saab 9-3 is an option, so might be pre 1995 Mercedes C-class. Volvo V40 could be, but I would prefer a V70 though they are a tad expensive. E34 5-series would be nice, E39s tend to cost too much.

Overall I am looking at bigger cars, no coupes and preferrably estates, because I just like them the best. Other suggestions are welcome. What I want is something which is quite nice to drive, is big in the sense that 4 people feel comfortable and I in general I don't like to drive small cars, decently reliable. Fuel economy is NOT one of my main concerns, which is for example why a Mondeo with 2.5 V6 is an interesting prospect. Also doesn't have to be that new, Saab 9000, Volvo 850, Mercedes W124 are a few examples which interest me also.

Note that I do have to look at high mileage ones, think around 150.000km and upwards, Alfas go a bit under that, around 120.000.

Any comments, advice, ideas, notes, suggestions, corrections and whatnot are very welcome.
 
Last edited:
I never was happy with the reliability of my 850 Turbo. How much are used Jag x300 XJs over there?
 
My essonbaari two cents:

Alfa 156: you need to change the cambelt religiously, check for rust in sill seams.
Mondeo: check for crap paint repairs after the premature rust issues
Mercedes C-Class: check for rust absolutely everywhere
Volvo V40: check for peeling paint and yes, rust in sills; anaesthetic to drive, cheap electrics
Saab 9-3: check for rust if it's the 900NG derivative; have no qualms about the newer one
 
argatoga said:
I never was happy with the reliability of my 850 Turbo. How much are used Jag x300 XJs over there?
Click to expand...

Ugh...too much, I played with the thought, but they are expensive. The cheapest is 7500? with 207.000km, 4.0 engine, with full service history BUT it is RHD. Next one is 8500? 187.000km, 3.2 engine, service history and LHD.

Basically it's at least 10.000? if you want a half-decent, high mileage XJ here and even then it's only a few examples, around the 15.000? mark if you want some variety from which to choose from. And I've, for now at least, set a budget of 8000?. But that all depends on tomorrow, when I'll go to the bank and discuss with them about how much they can loan me.
 
Last edited:
It maybe a bit much, but how much for a Contour SVT (Mondeo ST something in Europe)?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top