Agreed too much money. For that you're getting into the A3 and CLA market. Though not exactly comparable, I'm not sure 35k is reasonable except if you're a die hard Honda fan.
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The Car Thread ... !
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The Focus RS and Civic Type R are so much better than either the A3 or the CLA from a driving perspective. The price of performance keeps going up because Merc, Audi, Bimmer et al dilute their brands. An actual Audi or Merc with legitimate horsepower is a heck of a lot more expensive than $35,000.
Not to keep beating a dead horse, but hopefully be able to finally bury it instead...
2014 Buick LaCrosse with Fairfax, KS assembly label
Oh, and by the way, RIP Wixom, MI
2014 Buick LaCrosse with Fairfax, KS assembly label
Oh, and by the way, RIP Wixom, MI
I'm mildly amused that the "QUALITY" label is peeling off
Fair enough-I'll point out that the Wixom label on the windshield of my LS is still perfect after 11 years
JW if any of you can answer me something. I know blue lights are illegal on all non-emergency vehicles. But I cannot find a law ANYWHERE that says ANYTHING about using GREEN or PURPLE coloured bulbs as turn signals on cars.
Reason I ask is because I was thinking getting a set of Purple LED Bulbs for turn signals in the front on the Impala and greeen or purple LEDs in the front of the Daewoo. As i said I cannot find anything in laws for use of other light colours other than blue.
Reason I ask is because I was thinking getting a set of Purple LED Bulbs for turn signals in the front on the Impala and greeen or purple LEDs in the front of the Daewoo. As i said I cannot find anything in laws for use of other light colours other than blue.
169.59.4 allows flashing lights, specifically includes lights required under 169.64.3(includes turn signals) and sets forth allowable colors - amber/white in front, amber/red in the rear.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.59#stat.169.59.4
Section 169.64.3 specifically states that all flashing lights (including turn signals) must be of the type approved in 169.59.4 (see above).
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.64
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.59#stat.169.59.4
Section 169.64.3 specifically states that all flashing lights (including turn signals) must be of the type approved in 169.59.4 (see above).
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.64
My Japanese sticker won't fall off, but there's a slight chance my airbag will actually try to kill me.I'm mildly amused that the "QUALITY" label is peeling off
Ditto here. As I read through this thread I want to yell at my computer screen. I completely understand "pride in ownership" and maintaining a vehicle that is far beyond it's useful life and value. I really do, but why on Earth anyone would do that with a Daewoo is beyond me. Mathew's posts read like that inane ranting of my toothless pothead painter who raves about his Datsun pickup, but with a 16 y/o high school kid's twist and some automotive version of a gun store commando.
Anyway, I don't have a comprehensive list to offer here, but I'm going to toss out the 05-06 e46 BMW M3 CS models. Really the pinnacle of an enthusiast vehicle attainable in the US, IMO. Maintainable without being tethered to a dealer. Lots of aftermarket. I feel this way not simply because I own one, but because I see their prices dropping very slowly compared to other vehicles. It wouldn't surprise me to see well maintained specimens selling for close to new prices in 20-30 more years.
For those not familiar with the CS model, and specifically the Interlagos Blue model pictures above, the CS model, also known as the Competition Package or ZCP was offered in 05 and 06 as more street friendly version of the CSL. It has A/C, a radio, etc. With the CS package, you got drilled rotors, with larger fronts, a tighter steering ratio, the Interlagos Blue paint option (not requirement), Alcantara leather steering wheel & parking brake boot, and an extra "track" mode for traction control. Maybe something else as well, I'm not sure. At any rate, I love mine even though it's currently broken down waiting on parts (pics posted earlier in this thread).
For normal cars
E30's
Fox body Mustangs
Gen 3 Camaros
928's and to a lesser extent 944/968
Golf 2 GTI's
Miata
less normal
B-body Impala SS
E30/E36 M3
Mustang SVO
Buick Grand National
No I understand that. Just people might be drawn to a more premium brand for that amount of money and sacrifice the performance.
So than white/amber switchback LEDs in the front (white being DRLs/parking lights and amber for turn signals) is legal?
I'm really excited about the Ford Focus RS if only for the fact that it gives Subaru some motivation to improve the WRX STi.
The short answer here is that to be legal, you need to have equipment that is DOT approved. Not DOT approved, not legal. If you're asking the question, then you're probably not buying something that is street legal. Pretty much every inexpensive aftermarket light is going to be illegal.
Color is not the only determining factor.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=169.57#stat.169.57.1
The visibility at distance is generally what exempts cheap LEDs from being legal. If you don't know or understand the law and aren't willing to spend real money on appropriate "mods" and "upgrades", you really shouldn't be working on your vehicle and would always be better served to just spend the money on a better/newer vehicle instead.
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A neighbbor had a Audi wagon and told me last month os so he had Euro spec headlight housinga tthat were not DOT apporved never had issues. His current Beetle he has also has no front plate he took the bracket off because it was beginning to fall off, he never had any problems with no front plate either. Rochester police are too busy to even care. 133 cops vs 110k people.
You asked about legality, not about chances of breaking the law without getting caught. Plenty of people bolt all kinds of garbage to their vehicles to "personalize" (devalue) them. It doesn't mean it's legal, intelligent, or safe.
These types of "mods" are typically only seen on the vehicles that teenagers drive for a reason. They're young and dumb enough not to know or care.
Weird that I found a post from May 2014 (last year), asking the exact same question, using some of the same language and that poster's location was shown as Rochester, MN.
Hmm ...
Love[d] the CS. I had friends with non-CS M3s that purchased those wheels (weren't they also a CS exclusive?).
I'm not much of a "blue car" guy, but for BMW, it's just fantastic and iconic, especially IB. My wife's Z3 was blue, but a more medium shade. I'm sure I've got a pic somewhere ...
Enthusiast Auto Group has one low mileage example listed for almost $70k. I'm pretty sure that sticker on that car was in the low $60k range new.
http://enthusiastauto.com/qsearch/?id=5096&form_display=51#.VXXG5c9VhBc
Granted asking price is not a good barometer of the market, but it does give credibility to the idea that those cars could become collector cars in the next 20-30 years.
Honestly I don't think most people even CARE about the value or lackthereof of their vehicles because most people get a new car after 3 years so most people probably don't even care about value. There is not many people out there like me that use 15yo cars as daily drivers.
As far as it beeing a teenage thing..... they most likely don't care about car value because they're TEENAGES the thing will be totalled in less than a year anyway. Plus a car has to HAVE value to even BE devalued.
I’m 38 and I DD a 1999 Jeep Wrangler that I’ve owned for more than 10 years and I’ve put 100K miles on it. I do care about value.
I'm 35 and daily drive a 1997 Jeep Wrangler that I've put well over 200k miles on since I bought it in 2000 or 2001. I've replaced the engine, transmission, rear differential, and virtually every other mechanical part on at least one time. It's not about just "value" to me, it's about value, taste, class & respect. I have rust coming through my fenders and I still respect myself and my vehicle enough not to put stupid crap all over it. It may not be worth more than $2k with the issues it has and the 265k miles on the odometer, but that doesn't mean I'm going to cheapen it even more by bolting on every < $20 "look at me" thing I can find on eBay or in Walmart or a parts store.
My pedal covers are almost worn through again. I'm going to buy OE style replacements, not those stupid looking colored "race style" bolt on crap they sell at the parts store.
The bottom line is that most "mods" and all appearance mods to an older vehicle are dumb if that vehicle also needs other maintenance things to be done to it. Why would you spend money upgrading the interior or lighting on a car that needs brakes, a/c service, and looks like it hasn't been cleaned inside in a decade?
Teenagers are idiots with no taste. People that think adding stick on "speed holes" to their fenders will increase the value or performance or even look good.
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Matthew,
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to knock you for your vehicle being filthy or even your odd fascination with Daewoo. My Wrangler, which I do care about, hasn't been washed in years. It's probably only been vacuumed out once in the last two years. That said, I'm not trying to blog about it like it's a masterpiece collector's vehicle that is something special. My friends give me grief and tell me that my Jeep is a POS and that I should sell it.
You can own a vehicle that you personally have an attachment to and take pride in ownership of that vehicle without crudding it up with a bunch of cheapo "upgrades". Just don't expect others to share your appreciation for your favorite junker, and stop trying to justify it with ridiculous claims of how it's somehow "better" than newer vehicles. Let's face it. If you were given the opportunity to pick between your Daewoo and a 2015 compact from Ford, Chevy, Kia, Honda, or Hyundai, would you honestly pick the Daewoo with 10 years of grime inside, no A/C, and various mechanical issues?
edit: It's just like I told my dad when he was looking for a reliable vehicle after separating from his wife. You need to get something modern that you don't have to work on, because you don't have the ability (he's on disability now and getting older) to "fix up" something old that needs work. Rather than taking my advice and looking at a compact Hyundai that gets 40mpg and has a 10 year 100k warranty for a couple hundy a month, he went out and bought a 1985 El Camino with fading paint and 50k original miles, talking about how low the miles were and how it shouldn't need much work. I've lost count of the times I've had to help him work on that redneck junkheap. Just changing the rear shocks made me want to pour gas on it and strike a match.
Just to be clear, I'm not trying to knock you for your vehicle being filthy or even your odd fascination with Daewoo. My Wrangler, which I do care about, hasn't been washed in years. It's probably only been vacuumed out once in the last two years. That said, I'm not trying to blog about it like it's a masterpiece collector's vehicle that is something special. My friends give me grief and tell me that my Jeep is a POS and that I should sell it.
You can own a vehicle that you personally have an attachment to and take pride in ownership of that vehicle without crudding it up with a bunch of cheapo "upgrades". Just don't expect others to share your appreciation for your favorite junker, and stop trying to justify it with ridiculous claims of how it's somehow "better" than newer vehicles. Let's face it. If you were given the opportunity to pick between your Daewoo and a 2015 compact from Ford, Chevy, Kia, Honda, or Hyundai, would you honestly pick the Daewoo with 10 years of grime inside, no A/C, and various mechanical issues?
edit: It's just like I told my dad when he was looking for a reliable vehicle after separating from his wife. You need to get something modern that you don't have to work on, because you don't have the ability (he's on disability now and getting older) to "fix up" something old that needs work. Rather than taking my advice and looking at a compact Hyundai that gets 40mpg and has a 10 year 100k warranty for a couple hundy a month, he went out and bought a 1985 El Camino with fading paint and 50k original miles, talking about how low the miles were and how it shouldn't need much work. I've lost count of the times I've had to help him work on that redneck junkheap. Just changing the rear shocks made me want to pour gas on it and strike a match.
I think this is a key point.
I have spoken many times in this thread about my "pride and joy" Lincoln LS. It's a car to which I'm very attached and which I love driving. It's been with me for nearly 8 years and 80,000 miles. I take a lot of pride in keeping it clean and in as good of mechanical shape as I can. At the same time, though, it is my daily driver and after 140K miles it looks the part. As hard as I try, I can't hide the door dings, side view mirror scrapes(my fault) or the idiot time I dinged the rear quarter to take the battery out of my dad's car to Autozone. In short, I'd put it at above average condition for an 11 year old daily driver with 140K miles, but it's far from perfect. In fact, I was just thinking this morning about how I'm really overdue to do a full hand wash, wax, and-most importantly-polish the clouded headlight lenses.
To me, I get genuinely excited every time I take a sharp curve in my LS, or accelerate out on a curvy back road and hear the V8 roar to life. I'll readily admit that it's not the car for everyone. For some folks, they'd rather have a more comfortable ride(i.e. a Mercedes) or a better handling ride(BMW). I'd put the LS somewhere between examples I've drive of the two, and to me it's a great compromise.
At the same time, though, there's a reason why they haven't been made in 9 years. The biggest motivator was poor sales(I think likely because it really wasn't a car that appealed to Lincoln's target market at the time, nor were the people to whom it appealed likely to buy a Lincoln), along with a change in direction a Ford that really left the LS without a place in the line-up. It didn't help that it was an oddball platform(DEW-98) that was only shared with the short-lived T-bird and the Jaguar S-type(FoMoCo was trying to get rid of Jaguar at the time).
Along those same lines, it was designed to take the Cadillac Catera and do "one better" on it(which I'll add-having driven both extensively-FoMoCo hit it out of the ballpark). Cadillac really one-upped them with the CTS, however-especially the CTS-V, and the LS couldn't compete without Ford pouring serious money into it that they didn't want to and probably couldn't justify.
So, again, while I'll probably(figuratively) drive mine until the wheels fall off-or at least find the stereotypical 2006 "Grandma drove it to Church on Sunday" LS-that's my decision and I don't necessarily expect anyone else to agree with me.