Today I sold my first car today. Made $1800. 1999 Cadillac Catera.
So... (uhm) was this your first car when you started driving or did you just start working @ a used car lot?
Last edited:
Today I sold my first car today. Made $1800. 1999 Cadillac Catera.
First car when I started driving. Bought my 3 after seeing one in someones driveway while on the job.
great lookin job. cant wait to see before and after pics of the msp!
Winning Formula - 502-499-7459What shop would be best for an install of struts/shocks? If I keep my MS3 I'm going to need some Bilsteins or Konis.
Some don't like my choice, but I like Evolution Motorsport (Drew D). He knows a poopload about cars, has reasonable rates and does an excellent job. I've had him install 3 sets of shocks on my cars plus all of my work done for the last 15 years.
You could probably have it done faster other places, but better? Don't think so.
As an aside, you've been threatening to sell your MS3 for more than a year. Why don't you just sell the thing and get something you like and won't complain about? Just a question...
Daniel
I think it is a love/hate relationship.
You nailed it. I bought the car in July 2007 and I actually enjoyed driving the car for the first 15 months. When the LF strut blew at 25,000 miles(costing me a week of instructing and track time at Watkins Glen) I wasn't exactly pleased but I figured that no car is perfect. When the turbo started smoking 1,300 miles later I was not happy, and I began to seriously think of dumping the thing. In January I came very close to trading it for a 2003 540i Sport. This spring when the weather warmed up I mellowed out and decided to keep it; I installed the MSCAI I had bought a couple of years ago and I was even planning to fit Enkei RS-M wheels with Dunlop Direzza Star Specs. Come September the VVT actuator started making noise, but since it was a TSB issue I let it slide. My continued patience with the car was rewarded by the appearance of a CEL which turned out to be fault code P0401(Insufficient EGR flow)- which is not covered by either the powertrain or the emissions warranty. I'm thinking $500 or more in repairs.
Keep in mind I'm having the car serviced at Kings Mazda in Cincinnati because of the less than stellar reports I've heard about the service departments at Huffman and Oxmoor, so I blow at least a half day each time the car needs service or repair.
As for parts? Well, early on I thought that I'd give Oxmoor's parts department a shot at my business- I wanted a spare set of front brake pads. The parts guy comes back with a quoted price that is $57 over MSRP and $100 over the internet price offered by a couple of online Mazda dealers.
So there you have it. As it stands the car will soon need tires and brakes-don't forget the EGR repair-and Carmax just appraised the car for $13,000. What to do? If I actually believed that the EGR CEL would be the last major issue that I'd have to address for some time I'd probably hold on to it. Sad to say, I'm not all that confident about the overall reliability of the car. Believe me, I don't like the thought of taking a $12,000 depreciation hit, but I'm really not eager to find out if another problem-such as the timing chain issues some CX-7 owners are now dealing with-will eventually afflict my car.
Which means I'll probably take the money and run.
What.. CEL for real . dang it.. i got a P0421 code... Possible cause Exhaust Leak or Faulty catalytic converter... what to do.. what to do... anyone?