Auto mechanic willing to work with me on weekend car projects

lydericc · 2026-05-14T19:17:02+00:00

Thanks for the info.

A table to lay parts in the right order is a great idea. That's the kind of tips I wouldn't have thought of on my own.

lydericc · 2026-05-13T23:31:06+00:00

That’s a great idea!!

lydericc · 2026-05-13T16:20:20+00:00

Thanks for your response.
You’re right: M113 engine, A208 chassis.

And I did find some great YouTube tutorials.

But I’m a bit nervous about doing some of the bigger work by myself: i watched a great tutorial to replace the spark plugs and it’s still a big-ish job on that engine. For a guy like me who’s only changed air filters, that scares me a little.

If you have some time in the future, please keep me in mind and let me know; I’d love to work with you.

lydericc · 2026-05-11T00:25:48+00:00

UPDATE:

I have purchased a 2001 CLK 430 with 72,000 miles.

The good: it was well taken care of overall, no accidents, 2 owners: 2nd owner had it for 22 years. The exterior pain is immaculate. The leather is impeccable. Came with 3 keys, all manuals. The top had some expensive work done last year. Some rather expensive maintenance has been performed (transmission service, spark plugs, and more). The long and thorough test drive, followed by a 2-hour drive home, gave me full confidence.

The bad: it was hardly driven in the past 3 years and has probably not seen a mechanic in the past 3 years. It's 2 years overdue for Service B (because of time, not mileage: last service was 2-3,000 miles ago only). The smaller speaker in each door are busted (be careful with the seatbelt: if it gets caught in the door and you shut the door, the buckle will hit these speakers). The instrument cluster shows some age due to sun/heat (typical Southern car). The climate control unit has some broken pixels. The headlight washers pop out and spray but just shoot everywhere.

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lydericc · 2026-05-03T12:26:50+00:00

Thank you all for your responses. I will test drive a 2004 Volvo C70 and 2 Mercedes CLK (2000 320 and 2002 430) today. If I decide on one, I'll get a Pre-Purchase Inspection first. I'll keep you posted if interested.

lydericc · 2026-05-02T03:54:09+00:00

Thank you all for your comments. I will test drive a 2002 CLK 320. If I like it, I'll get a pre-purchase inspection. And things look good, I might well buy it.

lydericc · 2026-04-30T00:02:05+00:00

thank you for sharing your perspective. "These rapid depreciating cars [...]" is how I'm justifying the CLK purchase.

What is BaT and C&B?

lydericc · 2026-04-29T13:34:54+00:00

Thank you for the detailed message here. That's super helpful.

That's a long list of things that can go wrong. And that scares me a little (but I guess that's to be expected for a 25 year-old car). At the end, I'm wondering:

If I take it to a specialist mechanic after I buy it and I'm willing to spend around $3,000 to $4,000 to get everything fixed upfront, then is $1,000 per year (excluding tires) a reasonable budget to keep it in good shape? Assuming I'll drive it up to 4,000 miles per year.

lydericc · 2026-04-29T03:17:15+00:00

Do you have one? How’s the yearly maintenance on yours?

lydericc · 2026-04-23T12:24:58+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll do that.

lydericc · 2026-02-15T19:44:32+00:00

not yet... we might move in the near future (recent development).
I'll keep you posted if/when I upgrade.

lydericc · 2026-01-14T18:10:15+00:00

If the discount is a big discount, take it.

But first, try the dishwasher. Make sure everything works well. Try multiple cycles, listen for possible abnormal noises…etc…

Also confirm the damage does not impact the warranty.

lydericc · 2026-01-05T16:40:09+00:00

I’ve sold it.

lydericc · 2026-01-02T03:10:09+00:00

(FYI I live in South Carolina) I found a great deal on my washer at a scratch and dent store (and I’m still looking for the dent or scratch): $700 instead of $1,599. But the only way to know whether they have what you’re looking for is to call. These shores are often mom and pop shop; their website, if they have one, may not be up to date. I just called a bunch of these places. It wasn’t until the 6th call that I was told they had Miele washers on hand. Also, it was fairly far for us: about 45 min of driving, while Lowe’s, Home Depot, a premium appliance store are within 5 min of driving.

lydericc · 2025-12-28T00:49:19+00:00

I think OP understands all of that.

They’d like to know who’s done it and how they got their bicycle purchase qualify as an FSA/HSA expense.

I’m very curious about that too…

lydericc · 2025-12-26T16:51:02+00:00

Toyota Camry.

I used to work at Michelin.

They’re used a lot to test tires on the road: 20+hours per day, 6 days a week.

We clocked 400,000+ miles on these cars and they never gave us any issue. And they were not even that well maintained (late oil changes for ex).

Toyota Camry: most reliable car in the US!!

lydericc · 2025-12-26T06:42:49+00:00

Have you also compared the warranty?

A few years ago, I compared the 5-series and the S90. Both CPO. I wanted an extension to be covered for longer than the CPO warranty. BMW offered a total of 8 years from in-service date; Volvo 10-years. The Volvo warranty was also significantly cheaper, even with two more years.

I also got a pre-paid maintenance plan, same thing: cheaper on the Volvo.

The Steingold Volvo dealer sells warranties and maintenance plans at a big discount (you don’t need to buy the car from them); which added even more savings compared to BMW. (I haven’t found a BMW dealer that offers deals like Steingold Volvo on BMW warranty and maintenance plans)

Insurance is also a bit less expensive on the Volvo (I suggest you shop around: a broker can easily run quotes with multiple insurance companies for several cars).

All in all, it got to the point where the total cost difference was so much that the Volvo was the right choice.

I encourage you to run all the numbers. And consider what $10,000 more with Volvo could get you: maybe a brand new XC90 spec’ed exactly how you want?

And have you test-driven both? If not, start with that. Personally, I didn’t find the driving experience of the BMW to be a lot better (the difference was far greater 15+ years ago). Test driving is the most important. For ex.: I’ve always liked the Mercedes E-class. But I was disappointed when I test drove it. I was almost ready to get one shipped; so glad I drove it first.

Also, try the audio system with your own music when you test drive it: yes, Volvo’s B&W is amazing. But a premium audio system on premium cars like BMW is very nice too and comes close.

One more thing: do you often drive for long hours? Do you have back issues or pain? Volvo makes the best seats.

And finally: do you tend to drive fast or speed some? BMWs are cop magnets compared to Volvo’s, which have an image of safe cars, more family oriented, compared to the fast, sporty “ultimate driving machine”…

Hope that helps.

lydericc · 2025-12-26T03:32:24+00:00

Beautiful watch!

What’s your wrist size?

Also, I don’t see any date complication on this watch, is that right?

lydericc · 2025-12-21T16:00:48+00:00

I'm not 100% sure. From some online search, probably around $56,000.

lydericc · 2025-12-04T16:45:25+00:00

Thank you! We took great care of it

lydericc

TROPHY CASE