How to own a Ferrari Enzo for less than $5/month

"b33g33" (b33g33)
01/08/2016 at 15:51 • Filed to: None

Is anyone else tired of these endless posts from “Tavarish?”

Can we have a rule that only Doug DeMuro is allowed to post ridiculous headlines on Jalopnik?

DISCUSSION (50)

Iheartmy365kHonda - Car enthusiasts do like FWD > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 15:57

I don’t mind Tavarish’s articles, but I think he forgets that a fraction of people actually have time or money to make working on once expensive Mercedes Benzes a hobby.

Jcarr > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 15:57

That’s his thing, has been for a long time.

I’m not interested in them so I just don’t click on them.

450X_FTW > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 15:58

Put $1,000,000 down on a $1,000,300 car and finance the remainder for 60 months?

Kinja'd!!!

Arrivederci > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 15:58

I enjoyed his articles about flipping cars - the buying, restoration and selling process, but not these very much.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:00

I for one, enjoy Tavarish posts a lot more than Doug’s. Everybody thinks Doug is soooo funny as soon as he writes something.

To each his own, then

fourvalleys > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:01

I don’t bother anymore, but I spent some time criticizing one of his recent posts. Bottom line:

If he’s stating a fact - the purchase price of this used luxury/exotic car is less than a new Toyota Yaris - then they’re okay. Horribly boring, but nothing wrong.

If he’s saying that someone consider said Toyota Yaris should instead consider a used luxury/exotic car? Garbage. Nobody is looking for a Yaris as a second/weekend car, and they’d be insane to buy an 80k mile Mercedes or Aston Martin instead. The maintenance costs could ruin someone.

So yeah, I don’t bother.

Berang > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:02

Can we have a rule that all of Doug’s posts need the to start with “From the Doug House:”

TractorPillow > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:11

I think they are boring, but people seem to like them so I understand why they keep him around. He found a clickable niche and is making a living off of it; I think it’s poor “journalism” but respect him for finding something that takes little to no research/work and makes money on it.

Short-throw Granny Shifter is 2 #blessed 2b stressed > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:14

Yeah totally. His wrench it yourself fallacy is predicated on having access to a fully stocked professional garage and experience handling some of most iconic luxury cars of the last half century. That may be his reality, but its wildly impractical for me, and I’m willing to bet most of the readership as well. He needs to stick with practical repair guides or write-ups on his own cars.

AkursedX > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:14

His most recent article on the M3 transmission swap is a great article and filled with a lot of good resources and info and how to do it and how much it actually costs.

But I don’t consider a few thousand dollars, plus the cost of an e46 smg m3 anywhere near ‘next to nothing’ like the title of his article states.

B_dol > TractorPillow
01/08/2016 at 16:16

He puts out a lot of content and while the buy used X for the price of new Y is clickbait, his buy, fix/clean and flip articles are always a fun read.

Jalopnik, oppositelock, articles like his (and yours) have thoroughly convinced me I will never buy new again. Unless i get into McLaren MSO bespoke territory :)

MonkeePuzzle > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:16

$5/month? EASY!

step 1: be born hot

step 2: maybe “improve” looks with breast implants

step 3: land yurself a lonely richer

step 4: put the $5 back in your pocket

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:18

It seems Jalopnik as a whole has went way down the shitter since Travis left.

It seems now that jalopnik consist of primarily: Jalopnik buyer’s guides, “check out this Youtube Video”,or cross posted from other sites.

There used to be a time with actual stories with actual content. Now it’s nothing but pure garbage on there.

Oh hey look another petrolicious video, hey look another Jay Leno video, hey check out this lambo that drives thru a puddle, this subaru fell off a cliff,ect.

I don’t know when it specifically went to shit but Jalopnik isn’t even in the same playing field as it once was.

E92M3 > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:20

As someone who has never bought new I like his posts. I have a very narrow mindset when it comes to my “next car”, so it’s cool to see what else has deprecated to the price of a new Toyota. Even though I wouldn’t ever buy most of what he’s found.

450X_FTW > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 16:20

I wouldn’t lop Andrew Collins into that mix though, I enjoy his articles the most, primarily because he reviews cars still, and trucks which I’m more bias towards.

TractorPillow > B_dol
01/08/2016 at 16:23

Completely agree about the buy/fix and flip articles.

Buying used is definitely the way to go for me. Allowed me to own some really amazing cars and not lose any money at all.

People often judge me for driving all the cars I have (not knowing I’ve never spent more than $40k on a car) because they think its an impractical choice, but when a car has hit a certain point of depreciation it doesn’t go much lower for unique cars. Makes practical sense to me!

StingrayJake > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:24

Why buy a tricked out John Deere lawn mower when you can buy this vintage Volkswagen Beetle for the less? My column.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > 450X_FTW
01/08/2016 at 16:26

The truck yeah stuff and even the lane splitter stuff is still 80% awesome I’m talking Jalopnik itself as instead of writing something they’ll rely on sharing something from youtube,truck yeah,lanesplitter,foxtrot alpha,and finally oppo(the stuff from oppo is usually worthy though so I’m not complaining about that).

There is nothing wrong with sharing all that stuff if it is in addition to all the great stories but when it is instead of great stories,reviews,news,ect it gets REAL annoying REAL quick.

Even worst is when they just post a picture. With a one line description along the lines of “This car is neat wouldn’t you want one”

Torch is the only one out of the whole Jalopnik staff I find actually takes time to write a proper articles. Most of the time they are not serious articles but atleast it’s something he did including drawings and what not and not just something shared from somewhere else.

DasWauto > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 16:35

The push into Youtube is the only thing that has really expanded since Travis left. The rest have been par for the course for long before that (since Matt and Ray before him) and are not on PG. If anything, Jalopnik has diversified and pushed more of its content onto subblogs (Truck Yeah and especially Lanesplitter), which may make it look like the main site suffers for it, but you have to look at it as a whole.

DasWauto > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:42

I don’t bother reading them myself but that’s just Tavarish’s game and you shouldn’t look at it as serious buying advice, moreso just showing you what can be had if you’re ambitious. I think it was party-vi who said this once: ‘Tavarish gives terrible advice for people who need a car, he gives great advice for people who want a car.’ It’s a gimmick and I’m a bit tired of it, so I don’t read them anymore and stick to his flips and technical articles, but you can’t take them too seriously when they’re not intended as such.

BREADwagon > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 16:47

Noticed this too. Jalop is slowly getting absorbed into the mothership, and soon to be made up almost entirely of ‘sponsored content’

Berang > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 16:48

I think Torch and Raph still post some interesting content. But I also get the feeling that there’s not as much “hands on” content as in the past. I also like lanesplitter being a thing now - in part because it still has a lot of “hands on” original content. There’s still some really good stuff there.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 16:52

I’m not tired of it. I like his posts. The latest one was great.

Never imagined that converting an SMG BMW M3 to a manual would be a feasible, if somewhat advanced, DIY job...

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Berang
01/08/2016 at 16:53

That’s exactly what I mean. If it’s an actual article with actual content that someone put real effort and research into it then I really don’t care where it originated from what I don’t like is when these so called journalist take the easy way out and just shares a youtube video with a quick blurb on what the vid is about. I mean I can do that in 5 mins so it’s hardly journalism.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 16:53

I love the Jason Drives segments...

Birddog > StingrayJake
01/08/2016 at 16:53

I would read that..

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/08/2016 at 16:56

Which is original Jalopnik content and is perfectly fine. I enjoy those too.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:00

Looks like you’ll just have to fill in the gaps with the AMAZING content I create:

http://cigarlounge.kinja.com/the-movie-big-…

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/08/2016 at 17:02

Sounds like a plan.

Did you try your all weather tires in the snow yet?

Patrick George > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:02

http://jalopnik.com/the-very-best-…

Patrick George > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:06

You don’t understand. It’s all Jalopnik. Truck Yeah, Foxtrot Alpha, Lanesplitter, all of it. Like different sections of the same newspaper. We all work all day together developing stories and then put them in these sections.

And if you don’t think there’s been great stories, news, reviews, and more lately, plus original video for the first time ever... I don’t know what to tell you. Look harder.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Patrick George
01/08/2016 at 17:09

And those are the articles we know and love. It just seems there used to be more of these.

I especially liked this one:

http://jalopnik.com/why-did-mechan…

Pat you know as well as I do that it could be better than it is currently.

I know I’m in no position to critique anything since I’m pretty much as far from a journalist as could be. Hell I can barely write my name without making mistakes.

Just take it as one guy’s unpopular opinion but if I noticed it odds are others might feel the same way.

Patrick George > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:13

I’d love to have that stuff every day, every article, but big-hit stories and videos take time and energy and money to put together. That’s true of any outlet. We try to balance that by having a steady stream of content all day long. I doubt folks would be happy if we only posted once every two or three hours like some sites do.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Patrick George
01/08/2016 at 17:16

I suppose you are not wrong on that point. It might be just me. I’ll try to be more patient I guess.

Patrick George > BREADwagon
01/08/2016 at 17:19

Not true. Not happening.

Autohaus Derp > StingrayJake
01/08/2016 at 17:27

10/10 would read.

B_dol > TractorPillow
01/08/2016 at 17:33

Benefits of being financially savvy in an irrational hobby. Still in the early stages of my car journey and sold my dealer-financed 50K mile FR-S to pick up a Z4M coupe for essentially a few $K and taxes.

My friends and neighbors started asking me about my priorities in life... Now to plan ownership stints in a Rx7 fd, Lotus Exige, doorless wrangler, this list is long.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:46

Yes... have used them in snow once so far. Better than the worn out tires I had on before... not to mention better than regular all-seasons I’ve used in the past. But then for the money, they had better be.

My driveway has a bit of a hill to it... and on the old tires, I had to build some momentum to get up it when it was snow/ice covered. With the new tires, I don’t have to do that.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/08/2016 at 17:49

Perfect. I’m getting a set of those this fall. My tires factory all seasons will have ~40,000 miles on them by then and will need replacement.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 17:53

Oh yeah... I’m sure the Nokian WRG3 tires will be way better than factory all season tires. Probably have a higher load and speed rating too.

Another nice thing about them... they ride quite smoothly and quietly compared to the garbage tires that came with my car... and compared to other better All season tires too.

nermal > b33g33
01/08/2016 at 17:57

I don’t think the M3 article was that bad actually. If anything it took quite a bit of effort to compile, and was interesting.

Also, the depreciated-expensive-car headlines put things into perspective. No, you shouldn’t buy a v10 BMW for New-Civic-with-steelies money and expect it to cost the same to maintain. But it’s still interesting.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
01/08/2016 at 17:58

That’s what I’m counting on. I just learnt about these about 2 months after buying winter tires for my wifes car. I’ve been kicking myself ever since. every six months I have to get the tires swapped over. It’s getting to be a pain.

I’m a true beleive in winter tires I just couldn’t financially make it work for this season but I can promise you I’ll be rocking it next winter. It’s so annoying when you try to turn and the front end just plows. Next season I’ll be prepared.

The stock Goodyears on my Fusion were garbage in the summer when they were new so you can imagine just how useless they are now with 50% ish treadwear in 6" of snow.

BREADwagon > Patrick George
01/08/2016 at 18:01

Seriously? Let’s look at the current 10 articles on the front page... that I see on my phone right now.

First, a shared story from foxtrot about El Chapo and guns.

Then scroll past an advert.

2nd article, shared gawker deals!!

3rd article, sponsored content about raspberry pi

4th article, COTD.

5th, good article (finally) about gesture control. Half way there and first real article

6th, one picture and a paragraph about old car adverts.....

7th, WOULDN’T YA KNOW ANOTHER SPONSORED CONTENT ARTICLE. About BED SHEETS

8th, shared article from garage about liens on cars. Good info if not with a click baity title. I’d consider this the 2nd real post.

9th, shared buyers guide on a q50. 3rd real post.

10, a picture of a fiat with a single sentence...

11, OMG BONUS GAWKER DEALS ON GRANOLA

“Not happening?” I can’t believe you said that.

As far as I can tell, the FP is 70% mix of garbage sponsored content or lazily shared from other parts of the Gawker mothership.

Peace.

Patrick George > BREADwagon
01/08/2016 at 18:06

I dunno why you see so many ads and sponsored deals, I see like three of those on my phone.

Bear in mind it’s the last workday before the Detroit Auto Show. Things might be slow on the news front today but all the fireworks will hit then. Don’t judge us not on one weaker day before a MAJOR event with a bunch of folks out for travel for that, but on all the cool shit we do all the time.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Luc - The Acadian Oppo
01/08/2016 at 18:06

When everyone says all season tires are “no season tires”, they’re leaving out the fact that it’s mainly the cheap OEM tires, junky/cheap store-brand all seasons and some of the crap from Bridgestone/firestone that are the ‘no season tires’.

Spend some money on some quality Michelin Primacy, Hankook Optio 4S or the Nokians I got, and all season tires definitely can be useful for All Seasons for day to day driving.

You won’t get the absolute best performance... but unless you’re in a race, that doesn’t matter. A decent set of tires combined with sensible driving is all that’s needed.

BREADwagon > Patrick George
01/08/2016 at 18:24

“I see like three of those”...I wrote there’s 1 straight up advert and 2 sponsored content advertisements...the same 3 you see.... plus a gawker deal. That’s 40% of the articles I see that don’t relate at all to Jalop or similar sub-blogs (like truck yea). How guns relate to automobiles, I have no idea.

I understand the newspaper analogy, as well as the notion of looking at the sub-blogs as under the umbrella of Jalop, but the content is just not there. Jalop won me over because of its singular focus and genuinely interesting insights. It’s very difficult to find it now on the FP. Don’t get me wrong, it is still there, but burried.

If you only have enough material to post every couple of hours, do that and stop burying it under bullshit that takes up 70% of Jalopnik.

It’s not just a weaker day, it’s a trend.

Jalopnik turned into a click baity advertisement fest compared to the Jalop that ‘Luc - The Acadian Oppo’ and I were referring to. Now you’re posting anything and everything just to keep the clicks up.

Patrick George > BREADwagon
01/08/2016 at 18:34

We’ll agree to disagree, friend.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
02/23/2016 at 15:57

Well yeah, cheap summer tires or cheap winter tires are pretty bad at their jobs too. But I think the point is that a high priced all season is going to cost more than a mid level summer tire AND mid level winter tire, and likely still not be as good at either job. It is paying a lot for a compromise. But yeah, most people definitely just lump all of the all-season tires together, when there are definitely outliers that perform well. Tire technology is crazy!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Dasupersprint - base trim is enough
02/23/2016 at 16:02

I actually like Tavarish’s writing style more than Doug’s. But I enjoy the content written in Doug’s articles more. So like a hybrid of the two would be great. I enjoy Doug’s style too though so I suppose that sounds confusing lol.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)
02/23/2016 at 16:45

Nah... I priced it out. When you include mounting, the extra set of wheels and other things, two sets of cheaper tires are much more expensive than one higher quality set of all-season/4 season tires.

The Nokians I bought were $150/tire. Mid range tires cost $100-$120.

Only shitty el cheapo tires cost half as much. And even then, it still costs more since you still have the cost of mounting/balancing/wheels.