[Sahil]

Originally Posted by manu7781

Hi Sahil,
First I will like to congratulate you for your new toy. It's a beautiful looking machine.
Sorry for the confusing post earlier. What I meant was it will be either a restoration and/or modification project. I personally would like to get a euro spec E30 M3 and work on. Do let me know you think of the option.
Manu

Thank you Manu !

I'd pick the Mini here as it would be the easiest to modify considering its only a few years old the parts would be readily available.
The other cars would require a lot more time and effort. So if you are willing to go through the headache of sourcing parts for discontinued cars it would only then make sense to pick the E30 M3.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Please post some info on how to go about looking and buying for a used bike. This is one territory i am thinking of entering but kind of get shivers thinking of it.
.

I know this was addressed to Chevelle, but I ll brief down what I went through.

My whole process of bike hunting,finalizing and buying took about 14 days.

I scanned Craiglist and looked at the classifieds (that you get in Kroger).
There were not a lot of options in both. I went and checked out a couple of bikes but got intimidated by the owners and the locality and chickened out. (Couple of owners wanted Cash only and they wanted upfront payment before they even allow you to test ride).

I had spread the word in my gym as well and put a notice in the classfieds box in the gym and office.
Finally, a gym dude wanted to sell his CBR 600RR and upgrade to a bigger bike. I went and checked out the bike , I didnt like the color (Black/Grey combo, i always wanted a red) but I liked the way how the bike rode.
I was instantly comfortable, and the quoted price was very reasonable (by my judgement) went ahead gave him an offer, got the loan sorted out and voila it was done.

This was my first foray into big engined bikes, Luckily, I had some good colleagues who lent me their bikes (R1,R6) to get a feel of sports bike posture and handling.

- I dont have any friends here, so all the bike inspection/etc was done by me.

- I didnt do any negotiation as I felt the price was reasonable

- I didnt spend a lot of time pondering on whether I can get a better offer or would it make sense in waiting for right color. Found a good bike just went ahead and bought it.

- You will hae to budget between 1000-2000 dollars for good riding gear. I bought Great helmets for me and wife, Great riding gear for her and passable ones for me

- Since I am new to US (<7 months), I am paying a big premium for my insurance.

I am very impuslive when it comes to car/bike buy and end up spending a lot on it due to this . During my 6 year stint in UK, With in the first year itself, i went ahead and bought a E46 325i (2004 done 39k miles) for 10K pounds, and I was literally bankrupt because of the maintenance and other issues, Sold off with in 2 year for 3K..

So, When you are scooting for bikes, You have to ride different bikes to see what suits your posture and your taste.
My next bike is defintely going to be a touring Bike. -

[kraft.wagen]

Would you mind sharing some information on the Loan? DCU offers around 4% for motorcycles, was just curious to know if there is a better rate

Also how is the loan disbursed? For eg. since you got it from a Private party was a check given to you or the seller?

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

I know this was addressed to Chevelle, but I ll brief down what I went through.

My whole process of bike hunting,finalizing and buying took about 14 days.

I had spread the word in my gym as well and put a notice in the classfieds box in the gym and office.
Finally, a gym dude wanted to sell his CBR 600RR and upgrade to a bigger bike. I went and checked out the bike , I didnt like the color (Black/Grey combo, i always wanted a red) but I liked the way how the bike rode.
I was instantly comfortable, and the quoted price was very reasonable (by my judgement) went ahead gave him an offer, got the loan sorted out and voila it was done.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Would you mind sharing some information on the Loan? DCU offers around 4% for motorcycles, was just curious to know if there is a better rate

Also how is the loan disbursed? For eg. since you got it from a Private party was a check given to you or the seller?

If I tell you my loan rate, I am going to be spat at . My APR is 8.59% for the Car and 3.45 for the bike. (I have credit history for only 4 months, didnt know i had to take a Credit card to have a solid credit history)

For bike - I had taken a loan of 4K and the cheque was overnighted to me. I had give the cheque to the seller. You would need to send DCU a seller's note for them to overnight the cheque to you. (Overnight charge = 15$)

You can give the cheque to the seller, they should be ok with it.

I am through with my Bike loan and almost done with the car loan.

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

If I tell you my loan rate, I am going to be spat at . My APR is 8.59% for the Car and 3.45 for the bike. (I have credit history for only 4 months, didnt know i had to take a Credit card to have a solid credit history)

For bike - I had taken a loan of 4K and the cheque was overnighted to me. I had give the cheque to the seller. You would need to send DCU a seller's note for them to overnight the cheque to you.

I am through with my Bike loan and almost done with the car loan.

Well I was paying 9.99% for the S2000, with excellent credit history for 4 years in the US. Had a secure credit card as soon as a got my SSN.

Because of the previous car loan, I got 3.85% loan from a credit union for the Corolla.

I paid off the both loans in 2-3 months. Could not justify paying that rate of interest.
My credit rating fell after closing the loans early.

Our local credit union offer is 2% for cars newer than 2010.

[VLOCT]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Thanks VLOCT. Very much appreciated, the best part was, yesterday in Gym the regulars came and checked out the truck, and they were very pleased with my decision to go for it, I go to a gym frequented by the Blue collar. They echoed the same statements that you just said. They gave me some local garage contacts who could fix up anything/everything in the Truck.

My Wishlist is to get this painted in the Raptor SVT White shade - perhaps one day, If i am going to be here for that long.




It does, but it wont matter in your area which have the perfect riding weather all throughout the year.
I picked my 600rr up because I was getting for a steal and they guy wanted to dispose it fast. Sacremento has such a great collection of bikes, you would be spoilt for choices. Happy hunting bro!

If the previous owner has detailed records for the vehicle (or if he has none), I suggest you do the following if, these have not been done recently;

1. Flush and refill the coolant. Ideally should be done every 2 years to prevent sediment accumulation in the system.
2. Flush and refill the Brake Fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and hence has the tendency to absorb water and thus reduce effectiveness. Ideally, this should be done once in 4 years.
3. Flush and refill the Steering Fluid (insist on Synthetic)
4. Check the Air Conditioning System.

Should cost less than $500 (total) to do these.

Happy trucking.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by Jomz

Well I was paying 9.99% for the S2000, with excellent credit history for 4 years in the US. .

I am very very surprised at this, the only reason I didnt get a better rate with DCU is because of no credit history. 9.99% is way too high for somebody with rock solid credit history. I was adviced by my colleagues over here to spend some time building credit history before buying a Car as they felt 8.59% itself was atrocious.

Originally Posted by VLOCT

1. Flush and refill the coolant. Ideally should be done every 2 years to prevent sediment accumulation in the system.
2. Flush and refill the Brake Fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and hence has the tendency to absorb water and thus reduce effectiveness. Ideally, this should be done once in 4 years.
3. Flush and refill the Steering Fluid (insist on Synthetic)
4. Check the Air Conditioning System.

Happy trucking.

Thank you very much VLOCT. I have compiled all the advices that you have given me over the past 7 months into a little document for easy reference.


1. Flush and refill the coolant. Ideally should be done every 2 years to prevent sediment accumulation in the system. - DONE


2. Flush and refill the Brake Fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and hence has the tendency to absorb water and thus reduce effectiveness. Ideally, this should be done once in 4 years. - DONE

3. Flush and refill the Steering Fluid (insist on Synthetic) - DONE, But i dont think it was Syntnetic, Should i go for a complete flush and do syntetic again?

4. Check the Air Conditioning System. - A/C is bad. Cooling is pathetic. I will get the refrigerant topped and also have them look at the coils. At the moment, I am ok since the commute is very less. But I will definitely get this looked at.

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Age of the car, type of car - all that is also factored in deciding a rate of interest. So typically you may pay more for a sportscar than a family sedan. You may pay much less for a newer car than an old car. The car is the collateral on the loan, so if it is of good value, you get the benefit of better interest rates. Did I make sense?

Hmm, Yes but I never thought the type of car played any role in the loan rate. Say If i am going to go for Brand New Mustang vs New Accord. Would my accord have a lower interest rate as opposed to Mustang?

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

I am very very surprised at this, the only reason I didnt get a better rate with DCU is because of no credit history. 9.99% is way too high for somebody with rock solid credit history.

Age of the car, type of car - all that is also factored in deciding a rate of interest. So typically you may pay more for a sportscar than a family sedan. You may pay much less for a newer car than an old car. The car is the collateral on the loan, so if it is of good value, you get the benefit of better interest rates. Did I make sense?

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

Hmm, Yes but I never thought the type of car played any role in the loan rate. Say If i am going to go for Brand New Mustang vs New Accord. Would my accord have a lower interest rate as opposed to Mustang?

Probabaly. It depends on credit union policies.

On your sig it is Triton, Not Trinitron - that was Sony in the good old days

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by Jomz

On your sig it is Triton, Not Trinitron - that was Sony in the good old days

PMs, exist for a reason!!! You should have PMed rather than posting , all that coolness associated with truck owning is down the drain.

Any chance of you heading to Louisville in the future?

[Jomz]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

PMs, exist for a reason!!! You should have PMed rather than posting , all that coolness associated with truck owning is down the drain.

Any chance of you heading to Louisville in the future?

Probabaly, there is a church there which i used to go to, But recently they are not conducting services.

It is a motorhead guy who is the priest - a mallu doctor, He has a Merc G55 AMG.

Anyway,I was thinking of a tristate meet.

there is vivekiny, Mpower, Me & you living within 100 miles of each other.

[VLOCT]

Originally Posted by ToroRosso

I am very very surprised at this, the only reason I didnt get a better rate with DCU is because of no credit history. 9.99% is way too high for somebody with rock solid credit history. I was adviced by my colleagues over here to spend some time building credit history before buying a Car as they felt 8.59% itself was atrocious.



Thank you very much VLOCT. I have compiled all the advices that you have given me over the past 7 months into a little document for easy reference.


1. Flush and refill the coolant. Ideally should be done every 2 years to prevent sediment accumulation in the system. - DONE


2. Flush and refill the Brake Fluid. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and hence has the tendency to absorb water and thus reduce effectiveness. Ideally, this should be done once in 4 years. - DONE

3. Flush and refill the Steering Fluid (insist on Synthetic) - DONE, But i dont think it was Syntnetic, Should i go for a complete flush and do syntetic again?

4. Check the Air Conditioning System. - A/C is bad. Cooling is pathetic. I will get the refrigerant topped and also have them look at the coils. At the moment, I am ok since the commute is very less. But I will definitely get this looked at.

If the steering fluid has been changed, leave it alone unless you feel something is wrong. If it's fine, wait till it get's pretty dirty and then deal with it.

For the a/c, do not do a cheap fix. If you're not fixing the a/c now, I'd suggest not using it at all. If you use a leaking system after just refilling it, the air and moisture in the system will play havoc with it. DO NOT DO A REFILL WITHOUT DOING A COMPLETE VACCUUM OF THE SYSTEM AND THEN REFILLING IT. Any moisture present, and I guarantee you there will be in a non functioning a/c system, in the system must be vaccummed out. Like I said, this is not a quick fix.

Take it to a real professional, when you want it fixed. There are multiple components that need to be looked at. Most people just look for a leak, fix it and then refill. THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE DONE. You can end up with a bad compressor down the line, assuming it's ok now.

[ToroRosso]

Originally Posted by VLOCT

DO NOT DO A REFILL WITHOUT DOING A COMPLETE VACCUUM OF THE SYSTEM AND THEN REFILLING IT. Any moisture present, and I guarantee you there will be in a non functioning a/c system, in the system must be vaccummed out. Like I said, this is not a quick fix...

Roger that! I have set up an appointment with an A/C mechanic (Ken Towerys) for next Tuesday, I will update further once he takes a look.

[AltoHoncho]

Here I am faced with the dilema again... heart vs mind... I have a BMW 328i and a Lx IS250 available for purchase here in US... now kinda confused... the age and miles are nearly same and the Lx holds its value too as compared to BMW... its a 3k USD premium for the BMW vs the speccd Lx...
Not sure which one to zero down on... HELP !!

Mod Note : Please avoid typing with excessive dots.........like................this.

Hi... I wanted some of your inputs and suggestions on Lexus IS250. I am about to make a purchase offer for it, Is there anything you advice me for. Its a used vehicle and 70k miles driven but maintained really well.
Its a V6 but a Lx so do I really need to get a waaranty unlike the german V6? There is a BMW on offer too but about $3k higher than the Lex, anything on that front would be helpful.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by AltoHoncho

Hi... I wanted some of your inputs and suggestions on Lexus IS250. I am about to make a purchase offer for it, Is there anything you advice me for. Its a used vehicle and 70k miles driven but maintained really well.
Its a V6 but a Lx so do I really need to get a waaranty unlike the german V6? There is a BMW on offer too but about $3k higher than the Lex, anything on that front would be helpful.

Need more information.
What year, maintenace history, certified / not, how long you plan to keep the car, usage - daily driver. / garage queen, etc., etc.

Extended Warranty is a peace of mind thing - you may need it, or you may not.

There are multiple providers who give great deals but won't cover anything so read up on reviews and read the fine print before you decide to purchase.