Forkian
Member
CarMax doesn't sell any cars in the $5k price range. CarMax is almost always $10k and above.
Looking for a good car
- Thread starter frequentflier
- Start date
CarMax doesn't sell any cars in the $5k price range. CarMax is almost always $10k and above.
"American Branded" is a very good way to label the vehicles. A good number of the foreign branded vehicles are technically "Made in the USA" (meaning the content and finally assembly meets the criteria.
Ironically some of the big "American" names are not made in the USA, technically Mexico is in the Americas, but also part content is not going to be much different than the "foreign" cars.
The best measure of a vehicle is looking them up in such things as Consumer Reports and compare the various criteria on reliability, cost of ownership, etc.
Ironically some of the big "American" names are not made in the USA, technically Mexico is in the Americas, but also part content is not going to be much different than the "foreign" cars.
The best measure of a vehicle is looking them up in such things as Consumer Reports and compare the various criteria on reliability, cost of ownership, etc.
glhs837
Power with Control
Exactly. Had the list of suppliers for my 2006 Charger. Body = Canada, final assembly = Canada, engine = Mexico, transmission = Mercedes design duplicated in Indiana, suspension, Mercedes design duplicated at lower cost/materials quality by various sub vendors, Continetnal-Teves ABS/ESP system. But it was quintessentially an American car.
3CATSAILOR
Well-Known Member
Try the Toyota dealer.
OldHillcrestGuy
Well-Known Member
Wish I was ready to let my 2002 Grand Prix with 77,000 miles go, garage kept, never a engine problem, have had some electrical problems but they are being fixed as I write this, we have a super excellent great mechanic and he just went over the whole car and he said engine, brakes and all the moving parts are in great shape. The wife and I had 4 cars and 2 drivers and we are both retired and what did we do this past spring but go and buy a 2003 T Bird (always liked that car) that was for sale on the side of the road. Only 75,000 and body insides great, but after we got it turns out it needed a lot of engine work, if it wasn't for our mechanic we would have had to mortgage the house lol with repairs (purrs like a kitty now). Our other 3 cars are all Toyota's and never had one problem with them. If I last long enough to buy another new car, Toyota is at the top of my list followed buy a Subaru (had 4 Subbies before I went to Toyota). When we got the Bird we just couldn't decide which car to get rid of between the Grand Prix and a Corolla, so now we a full driveway lol.
frequentflier
happy to be living
Through one of the online buy and trade sites, we found a 2004 GMC Envoy for $3200. The guy replaced the power steering pump and something else. It is currently getting inspected at our mechanic's shop. There is a good chance the AC doesn't work but at least the heat does! I think it has 160K miles on it and appears to be in pretty good shape.
Thanks everyone for your advise!
Thanks everyone for your advise!
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frequentflier
happy to be living
So.....even though it was *inspected* prior to being sold, it needed front and back brakes and a tire.
My guess is it is still possible to "buy" and inspection in St Mary's County!
My guess is it is still possible to "buy" and inspection in St Mary's County!
black dog
Free America
Save all the old parts and let the Inspection Dept of the State Police know...
Let the man that inspected it the first time explain to the Trooper how it passed inspection.
glhs837
Power with Control
Well, there's different levels of rigor and judgment involved, although there shouldn't be. And depends on what you mean by "needs brakes". Pads and rotors, or just pads? Some mechanics refuse to do a "pad slap", they insist that the rotors must be replaced when you do the pads. And I think the criteria on pads is that they have not yet hit the wear indicators. Some mechanics might see that they are really close and say they need to be replaced. some might see that the wear bars on the tires are within the legal limits, but close and sign off, others might, recognizing that even if the wear bars are legal, that you lose like %50 of your wet weather handling when they are within a certain distance of the surface and demands replacement.
frequentflier
happy to be living
Unsure of what all was wrong regarding the brakes (I wasn't there but my husband was) but I DO know that our mechanic was truly pissed off that someone recently passed this car. It is an $800 fix for brakes plus a new or used tire. (My husband admitted he should have caught the tire when he looked at the vehicle.)
black dog
Free America
When you do a Maryland State Inspection tires, rotors and brake pads are checked by measurements.. Rotors or drums to thin--- fail,,,, Pads or Shoes to thin--- fail......
Not enough rubber left---- fail....
.personal opinion is not involved in passing or failing a State Inspection.
Not enough rubber left---- fail....
.personal opinion is not involved in passing or failing a State Inspection.
glhs837
Power with Control
http://www.agapeauto.com/marylandst...o-pass-the-maryland-vehicle-state-inspection/
In a perfect world, this is true, the tech will pull the technical specifications for each part of each vehicle inspected and take the measurements. In the real world, mechanics don't always do those things. Wear bars not even with tread? tread depth good. Wear indicators on pads not scraping yet, away you go. Wear pattern on tires looks good? Car tracks straight and true on the test drive? Caster and camber must be good. And I'm not saying they are doing it for bad reasons. Some will use inspection to drive repair business and some will really think it's best to call out the repair in the customers best interests. The best will note exactly where the margins are and why they think replacement is or is not a good idea, even if the equipment is still barely within limits. Big world, lots of variations of people, bosses and vehicles.
black dog
Free America
I worked as a line Mechanic at Ralph Brown Buick and Tom Hatton Pontiac as a young man, I'm well aware how it works. All measurements are written down on the Inspection sheet..It's very easy for the Trooper to go to the previous Inspection station and pull the paperwork
It's as simple as if these parts failed Inspection within a few hundred miles the State Police should be notified..
What's next with this State Inspector, a leaking caliber that fails and a accident with injury?
glhs837
Power with Control
The form does require pad and rotor/drum thickness numbers. Tires are pass/fail. I submit your experience what 30 years ago at a dealership might vary just a bit from what happens at the average independent mechanic.
black dog
Free America
Yea, because car safety inspections have changed so much in 30+ years.. LOL...
It's either done correctly and honestly,,,,, or it's done fraudulently...
The data nowadays gets entered online and printed out... BFD...
There are garages where you can buy a "passed" inspection. So records can be falsified. I think what they count on is that nobody is going to come looking for those records.
There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence that certain inspectors will find a problem, a needed repair, that can be negotiated.
frequentflier
happy to be living
Update: "inspection" station has been reported to the State police and all the parts that needed to be replaced were saved and documented. In the end, the vehicle needed $1500 worth of work; a majority of it things that should not have passed inspection. The state police said they are familiar with this particular inspection station...
The good news is our mechanic said this should be a pretty decent vehicle for these folks to get around locally now.
The good news is our mechanic said this should be a pretty decent vehicle for these folks to get around locally now.
black dog
Free America
Awesome.... Maryland State Troopers don't play...