Intrepidation

I realize that, but perhaps he can reason with his parents about the amount of money spent on this Cutlass they bought as opposed to fixing the Mazda would equal up to fixing the Mazda, so selling it and fixing the Millenia would give BV a reliable car again without problems that keep croping up. I don't thin he needs to sell the Mazda, because as far as I can recall it was problem free besides some cosmetic stuff and the crappy tires. Fix it for less than teh cost of a new car, and have a good, reliable vehicle again. I think, though I could be wrong, he meant driving down a road that cuts through the woods (rural area).

You can't hear the noise when the car is at idle, it only makes itself known when you give it gas. It will make the noise whether the car is moving or not, it's definitely not suspension/tire related. As for belts and other internals I haven't looked closely at, beside checking all of the fluids, closer inspection will happen today. Thanks for the help man. Also, that stuff is insane regarding the complexity of replacing the chain, it's a full 2 pages in the Haynes manual I have...I know it's not something I could do myself...just far too complex.

There's 3 chains, and from what I've heard, having a mechanic fix it is very expensive...after I get a better idea what the problem is I'll start making calls to get estimates and see if there's a way to do it with someone and myself for much cheater...who knows.

Sony makes excellent screens, both TV and computer monitors. They are expensive though. I'm quite happy with my Hanns·G HW-192DJB Gloss Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor. The price was unbeatable for $200 and the picture quality, sharpness, and colors are superb.

:rotflmao: The Truck that's Changing Everything...because despite looking like a real truck, it can't do the work of a real truck

I'm fairly mechanically inclined but I've never gone that deep into an engine before. The deepest I went was replacing the valve cover gasket on the Shadow, oh and replacing a motor mount on the Shadow. My dad is very good (he dropped a 2.5 from an `86 Aries into a `91 Spirit for example), so I'm sure he could do it, the problem is he lives at an apartment place, which doesn't allow you to work on cars, and he can't come here (mom and him do not get along). I can help if someone with experience leads the way. Beyond that there's Sixty8 and XP, but I dunno if they can or would want to help. First thing's first I guess and that's to diagnose the problem, then move on from there...

My cousin has a Malibu and a Cavalier (both silver), the other cars besides mine at the dinner was a gold Hyundai XG a red Ford AeroStar, and a orange Caliber SXT.

It's a 2.7L, 190,007 mileage engine, yes it's got 3 timing chains. I've done some of research in reference to the 2.7L and there's a myriad of factors that can lead to failure. Basically, at it's mileage it's probably due for new chains/tensioners/water pump anyway...so it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case, however I simply don't know for sure, and I'm not good at diagnosing noises and things I can't see. My plan is to take it to my dad's tomorrow, which is only a mile or 2 from the house and have him listen, since he's pretty good at diagnosing problems. When I had him listen to that other noise I posted about, he suspected it might be worn tensioners/chains, and as they heat up the parts loose tolerance and move around slightly more than they should, causing the noise. Since the new noise, like the old one, only occurs after the engine has fully warmed up, like with the other noise, it leads me to suspect the problems are related. After it's looked at I don't plan to drive it until I can fix it, but if it's an expensive (timing chain) problem, I have no idea how I'll be able to come up with the sort of money to fix it...and that's the real killer. Despite all this, I have no regrets whatsoever buying this car, it's been great to me up until this point, and one way or another it will be fixed.

Sell th Cutlass and use the money to fix the Millenia?

Quick question, why not try taking out a smaller loan just to fix the Millenia and put new tires on it, as opposed to spending more on a new car? As I recall, it was reliable otherwise.

Who gives a rat's ass what the interior looks like so long as it's functional and the car has the performance to match it's specs and looks. That said, it does look 80's/90's in overall design.

I have yet to see one, which is ashame because I really want to!

Thanks, I try my best not to let it get me down, because no good comes out of being depressed, sometimes it just gets hard when it piles up one thing after another. I'm doing my best to keep an eye on the big picture, that is, one semester left until I graduate with a BFA, and hopefully get a real job in my field that make good money. Just gotta, y'know, get there. We're hopefully going to go to Wal-Mart tomorrow and she can apply there, at least it's something for now, and I hear they pay pretty good. As for my car, I'm really bummed out about it because it happens right as it's been mine for a year..timing and all. As for performance, it doesn't effect it any (it drives fine and doesn't loose power) but the noise itself scares me...that and I hate any noise that exists that shouldn't on any car.. Hopefully tomorrow I'll at least get an idea of what the problem is. Good luck with your mess too!

I hate the vert but the Z4 coupe looks pretty nice if a bit busy along the sides...but I hear the suspension tuning is...well..what suspension tuning? It's like riding without shocks or springs! Couper S sounds like fun, but the S2000 would also be a good choice for it's nice chassis. You could always get one used, have the same car as what you'd want new, and save the money! Consider a 300ZX? What about a first gen Viper?

That's just horrible Sixty8, I'm so sorry to hear that's how she passed on, she didn't deserve it. It's aggravating that the little $h! will only get 15 years, personally I think people like him deserve a punishment equal to the crime they commit. Still, you have to let it go, because it's not healthy for you and I'm sure she wouldn't want to you be tearing yourself apart inside, she would rather you be happy and enjoy life. Hope things get better for you man.

One a positive note, the server has been behaving well lately, for the first time in like, ever.

Those two answers are about as perfect as it gets for defining an enthusiast.

This is mainly about my car, but also how much my life sucks in general right now. For those who may not remember or care (then don't bother reading the rest of this post), Wednesday was the day I bought my very first car, my Dodge Intrepid (Friday I took delivery of it). To celebrate, I planned to give it a thorough cleaning inside and out, especially since we were going to take it to my cousin's for Thanksgiving. However, since it was cold, raw, and kind of rainy out, I just couldn't get up the energy to go do it. So instead I got up early Thursday morning, and after baking my famous (in the family circle) Pumpkin Pie, I took it to the car wash and cleaned it inside and out until it was basically spotless. As I cleaned out the interior, I reflected on what we've been through together. When I got the car it had 173,xxx miles on it, and that morning it was just shy of turning to 190,000 miles. That's 17,000 miles, one road trip halfway across the country, and many fond memories with it. It's been the car that's saved my ass when our other cars had problems, it goes on all of our outings, and it's just a really enjoyable car to drive and spend time in. Anyway, after cleaning it I drove back home and we went to my cousin's house for his annual Thanksgiving dinner. As usual, it was a lot of fun, with excellent food that left everyone stuffed. We got there at about 1pm and left at 6:30 or so. The drive home was uneventful on the highway, besides there being a lot of traffic. However when I got off of the highway I heard loud humming noise coming from the car. Whenever the rpms increased the noise got louder. I had no idea what the noise could be but it scared the hell out of me. We drove the last mile home, where I parked it in the driveway and left it there overnight. Next morning I got up early to check the fluids. They were all fine (of particular note was the tranny fluid, which is completely full and looks like it just came out of the bottle). Reluctantly, I turned the car on to move it in front of the house. To my surprise the noise was gone. I decided to drive it around to see if it would come back. I took it on the highway to the next exit and drove it around a bit. Nothing. By now the car was almost warmed up to normal operating temperature. When I got back in, my mom asked me to go get my brother from his friend's house, because his birthday present had arrived (his birthday was the 21st, but the gift hadn't arrived from Amazon till Friday). So I got in the car and drove it the short distance to his friend's house, picked him up and started heading home. When I got to the bottom of our hill, I heard the noise again. Same as before, a loud humming (that's the best way I can describe it) that gets louder as the rmps increase. Dejected, I parked it and it hasn't moved since then. I'm not sure what's wrong. I wonder if its related to that other noise I mentioned, which when I talked to my dad about it, suggested it was from the Timing Chain being worn. So I wonder if the two noises are related since the both behave similarly. I'm going to have him look at it tomorrow, but I'm sure the news won't be good. If it is indeed teh Timing Chain, I'm screwed, but then again anything that costs money to repair has me screwed, because to put it bluntly, I have none. Timing Chain replacement I'm sure will run me around a grand to do, and I have no experience doing such a massively daunting task, so I know I couldn't do it myself. Which bring us to the next major problem in my life, money. Most of have had money problems at some point or another, and some of us still do, so we all knowhow much it sucks. Basically, my girlfriend has had no luck finding a job. She got close to getting one that paid $10 an hour and even worked 3 days, but the job fell through without any real explanation. She's been out of work since July, which has left me as the sole bringer of income. I make about $150 a week (I can only work weekends because of school). That averages to $600 a month. Now, our monthly bills (car insurance for 2, loan payments, and payments for a bill she owes) total $800. That's before factoring fuel in. So We've been behind the ball for four and a half months. Couple that with the hole car accident mess and it's been tough. This issue with the Intrepid kills, because now we're a car short (again), and who knows how long it will be before we'll have the money to fix it. Which leads me to heartbreaking news. XP, I'm very, very sorry, but I don't think we can keep the Cadillac. You guys may be aware of this already, my girlfriend and I wanted whole-heartedly to buy the `71 Sedan Deville from XP, and have our own RWD, BOF land yaught to proudly drive around in. We even cleaned up the interior (it cleans up pretty damn well). The plan had been to start paying him for it as soon as she got her job, which at the time, prospects looked good, and upon full payment we would get the registration paperwork for it. I just don't see it happening, because as much as I love the car, I love mine more, and I don't have the money for either one. It sucks so bad. The only shred of good news is that we've had the Prizm back for about a month now (sorry I never posted photos), and it's been trouble free.. However it still needs brakes as the front rotors are badly warped. To further add to the situation, we lost heat last week, right when it got cold, for 3 days. We only got it back because of some home heating program that applies to us because I am a college student. I remember the actual bill being over a grand. So that's where my life is right now. I know it could be worse, but it sucks like holy hell. My poor car

I've seen that one, it was pretty funny.

Hey Fly, I still want an Aurora, can I give you a down payment of 2 bits of string, a rubber band, and some rope I used to fish my friend's R/C plane out of the river? I'll throw 2 quarters and 5 dimes in. Also, can month payment consist of $1.35 and a pretty bow leftover from last Christmas?

Why not just put the money towards fixing the Millenia then? IF you do that then add soem tires that don't, you know, suck, it should be good to go right?

Happy Thanksgiving! We're going to my Cousin's house for the annual Turkey Dinner which is both huge and awesome. Last year we had an Italian Turkey and a Bacon Wrapped Maple Turkey And then of course there's a all the side dishes...and they are awesome cooks! We're not going unprepared though, as my girlfriend is making green bean casserole and I'm in the process of finishing up my pumpkin pie (the best there is, as someone you know who eats one :AH-HA_wink: ). And the Egg Nog! I f-ing love Egg Nog (Hood Golden Egg Nog FTW!!)

A free vinyl roof? How could I refuse?!

DETROIT — Backed by a hefty $300-million launch marketing campaign, the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu reportedly is quickly streaming out the doors of the dealerships nationwide that have been fortunate enough to get a few of the hot-selling models. Evaluations of Malibu's initial sales performance necessarily are just anecdotal at this early point, because it has been officially available only for less than a month and is still just beginning to trickle into most showrooms. But GM spokesman John McDonald confirms that Malibu "has had very fast turn rates" that have been contributed to "by limited supply at the start of the system fill." The nation's top seller of the old Malibu, Duane Paddock in Kenmore, New York, said that he had logged 11 sales in the first two weeks of the car's availability and that he had another eight orders waiting as of early this week. Chevrolet has reported record numbers of hits on its Web site because of curiosity about the Malibu, stoked in large part by two "takeovers" of online advertising that GM staged over the last month. Critical reception for the car has been overwhelmingly positive, which has encouraged car buyers to give Malibu a closer look. To some extent, the limited availability — but big buzz — surrounding Malibu is strategic for the company, which has placed a huge bet that the sleek new sedan will finally comprise a significant GM competitor to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The two cars have dominated the huge compact-sedan market for several years. Meantime, however, GM launched what has become an annual "Red Tag" incentive program to clear out 2007 models as it tries to extend U.S. sales gains to a fourth straight month. While GM in general has been reducing incentive levels over the last year, it has been running the Red Tag program annually since at least 2004. The company is using the program of incentives as high as $1,000 on 2007 models — available through January 2 — "to clear out some 2007 models and introduce some people to 2008 models," McDonald said. What this means to you: If the Malibu has caught your eye during GM's marketing blitz for the car, you'd better get your order in soon if you want to be enjoying your new purchase in early '08. — Dale Buss, Correspondent http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=123628