Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

ab348

pensfan83 said:

Oh man.....I want this so bad.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-buick-grand-national-gnx/

My buddy up-country has one, the latest in his string of free spending. It is a nice one too, one-owner until he bought it. It drives well and is fast for the era but it really does nothing for me. The interior especially is a letdown. I remember feeling that way when they were new and nothing has really changed.

graphicguy

pensfan83 said:

Oh man.....I want this so bad.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-buick-grand-national-gnx/

Not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but I think @isellhondas had one of those.

pensfan83

@ab348 I agree the interior is nothing special, mostly trim bits that differentiate it from a run of the mill Regal or Monte Carlo but I love the Regal GN/GNX/Monte Carlo SS's of 1984-87 and definitely plan to own one someday. I think @oldfarmer50 had the same affection for them IIRC.

Mr_Shiftright

pensfan83 said:

Oh man.....I want this so bad.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-buick-grand-national-gnx/

A lone candle, burning bright, in the bleak darkness of the 1980s. That car still looks B_A_D, don't it?

breld

kyfdx said:

For all the wagon lovers. This has to be an extremely rare combination. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-bmw-530-7/

The stick-shift would help, and that's a nice engine... but, the drive is uninspiring. Test drove a few of these, when new.

My first BMW was a ‘07 530xi with the manual.  Almost ordered a wagon, but went with the sedan instead. 

What I don’t get is how someone gets a manual with the wagon, which is a very intentional choice, and then forgoes the sport package.  

au1994

breld said:

kyfdx said:

pensfan83 said:

For all the wagon lovers. This has to be an extremely rare combination.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006-bmw-530-7/

The stick-shift would help, and that's a nice engine... but, the drive is uninspiring. Test drove a few of these, when new.

My first BMW was a ‘07 530xi with the manual.  Almost ordered a wagon, but went with the sedan instead. 

What I don’t get is how someone gets a manual with the wagon, which is a very intentional choice, and then forgoes the sport package.  

Yeah, I don’t get leaving off the sport package either. It’s like baking a cake and not icing it.

kyfdx

Back then, Sport package on an AWD was just cosmetics. Yes, you could get the seats, but no Sport suspension, etc..

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, I'd imagine it would be a rather dull car to drive as well. Obviously, the previous owner thought so---3,000 miles in 20 months of ownership. I could have walked that far in 20 months. (5 miles a day)

stickguy

I read the comments. Turns out to be 7,000 miles, not 3,000.

Mr_Shiftright

Still, not much per month. 350 miles a month. I'd drive 350 miles for a good burger. In 20 months I would have had about 22,000 miles on that puppy. While not exciting, I presume it would be a handy highway cruiser for me.

xwesx

pensfan83 said:

Oh man.....I want this so bad.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-buick-grand-national-gnx/

I knew a guy here in Fairbanks who has an '87 GNX. Amazing car.

breld

kyfdx said:

Back then, Sport package on an AWD was just cosmetics. Yes, you could get the seats, but no Sport suspension, etc..

Is it different now with AWD?

But yes, you are correct - in '07, they added a sport steering wheel as part of the deal too. Cosmetic from a performance standpoint, but I sure like the feel of those sport seats and thicker steering wheel.

kyfdx

breld said:

kyfdx said:

Back then, Sport package on an AWD was just cosmetics. Yes, you could get the seats, but no Sport suspension, etc..

Is it different now with AWD?

But yes, you are correct - in '07, they added a sport steering wheel as part of the deal too. Cosmetic from a performance standpoint, but I sure like the feel of those sport seats and thicker steering wheel.

I don't know about now... I only know about then...

roadburner

breld said:

kyfdx said:

Back then, Sport package on an AWD was just cosmetics. Yes, you could get the seats, but no Sport suspension, etc..

Is it different now with AWD?

But yes, you are correct - in '07, they added a sport steering wheel as part of the deal too. Cosmetic from a performance standpoint, but I sure like the feel of those sport seats and thicker steering wheel.

It depends on the car; some are now available with M Sport or M Adaptive suspensions.

elias

#1 son's diesel cruze gets 62 all around when he was driving it, slower state highways instead of interstates for my diesel cruze which gets 51 all around. his wife drives the cruze more now, around town. he is driving the diesel canyon mostly and noticed a significant mpg increase with premium diesel , from 27 to 32 mpg.

stickguy

other than my least favorite color combo, I kinda like this one. For me, it would actually make sense functionally and $ wise.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2013-bmw-x3-xdrive28i-used-17817917.html

graphicguy

These aren’t for sale, but sure are purdy to look at......


https://youtu.be/i9lQgRC37xQ

mjfloyd1

Nevermind

nyccarguy

Spent some quality time with my beloved Infiniti tonight.

Sandman6472

The diminished value claim is complete...signed, sealed and almost delivered. Their company agreed to the $2000.00 claim that we settled on. Wanted $2500.00 but I had the $2000.00 figure as the lowest I'd go. Lawyer gets $666.00, a 1/3. and the Carfax fee was $39.99 but I made them pdf me a copy for my records. So I'll be getting a check for $1294.01 and that's o k with me. I know the value of the Golf has gone down so this will help compensate for it. Now, if I could get the $75.01 I paid out to Hertz for the extra rental and even my $400.00 deductible, I'd be thrilled!!
Thanking G-d that the Golf is behaving and just hit 42K on the odometer. Hoping to keep it another couple of years, and then go from there. Still glad I went for the D V claim as any extra bit I can get back will help!!!
Now, the hospital/doctor bills are coming in and they are just, "OUTRAGEOUS", there are no other words to describe it. I can see why folks can go into bankruptcy after a long extended hospital stay. On paper, we're already over $100K and we're not through. Honestly, I'm not sure how we're gonna pay all these charges that insurance doesn't cover. It's totally outrageous!!!

The Sandman :@

sda

sandman_6472 said:

The diminished value claim is complete...signed, sealed and almost delivered. Their company agreed to the $2000.00 claim that we settled on. Wanted $2500.00 but I had the $2000.00 figure as the lowest I'd go. Lawyer gets $666.00, a 1/3. and the Carfax fee was $39.99 but I made them pdf me a copy for my records. So I'll be getting a check for $1294.01 and that's o k with me. I know the value of the Golf has gone down so this will help compensate for it. Now, if I could get the $75.01 I paid out to Hertz for the extra rental and even my $400.00 deductible, I'd be thrilled!!
Thanking G-d that the Golf is behaving and just hit 42K on the odometer. Hoping to keep it another couple of years, and then go from there. Still glad I went for the D V claim as any extra bit I can get back will help!!!
Now, the hospital/doctor bills are coming in and they are just, "OUTRAGEOUS", there are no other words to describe it. I can see why folks can go into bankruptcy after a long extended hospital stay. On paper, we're already over $100K and we're not through. Honestly, I'm not sure how we're gonna pay all these charges that insurance doesn't cover. It's totally outrageous!!!

The Sandman :@

That is hard to comprehend, especially since you had insurance. I hope you can reduce that with some negotiation. Wish you good health and all the best.

Sandman6472

Drove a new Accord LX at work today and it was nice, had excellent pick up in traffic...just an overall very nice mid size vehicle. Do I like the new Camry more? I'd say yes as it feels just a bit more buttoned down and think the engine/tranny is a bit smoother to be honest. Sure, I'd love either of them but if I had to choose, I'd go with the Camry.
Sat in the new Honda Insight again today and am liking it even more. Very Civic like in looks and very impressive mpg's, something that I'd really like eventually. Am putting off test driving one as I know I'd want to purchase it and right now that's the worst thing financially I can do! Want to try and get another couple of years out of my Golf, as long as nothing major crops up. That means holding out till some time in 2021 or 2022 before I buy, which would mean keeping the Golf for 7 years, bought in December of 2014 as it's a 2015 vehicle. Doing about 13K miles/year would come out to about 91K at the end of 7 years. Just wondering if that's possible considering the accident and all?
Well, at this point, it's staying in our garage until further notice and gotta feeling we'll be moving out of South Florida before I get myself another vehicle!!! A shame they won't give us anymore hours at Hertz because I could sure use an extra $5K in pay the next year or two!!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

SDA, I've got a 7 page bill here with all these charges and the hospital wants over $4200 just for my part. Granted, all I've got are "Explanations of Benefits" and it tells me that "these are not a bill, retain for your records", but still, I'm having a slight anxiety attach right now!! Since I've never really been sick and my wife basically negotiated with the hospital when our son had his open heart surgery many years ago, I really am clueless as to how the insurance game works.
Personally, if the whole thing costs me around $4K out of pocket, I think I'd be o k with that. Anything higher is going to cause some major financial issues. Just might mean working an extra year or until I turn 66 in 2020. Was really hoping to pack it in by the end of 2019 as my spinal issues are getting worse each year and what I can do when I'm off is getting limited as the constant pain makes me want to just sit a lot. Don't really want to increase my meds because they do make me very tired at times and there's no real cure for my chronic pain. Have been dealing with it since the on the job injury in April 2005 and the constant pain is taking it's toll on me. Also, the gall bladder surgery has left me very weak and tired...only took 6 weeks off as I needed to get back to work.
This whole situation might just make our moving plans come a little faster then we've planned. Might make sense to sell within the year, the price of our house keeps going up according to Zillow.com and Realtor.com. Also, once our oldest moves to her new house in Orlando in September, we really don't need our 4/2 home here in suburbia. Our area is for families with young kids an cashing out sooner than later could solve a lot of issues. Just might mean pushing things up a year and moving to Central Florida to a cheaper place. I think the time has come to start working on our moving plan!!!

The Sandman

stickguy

I am with you on the moving plans. We have a pretty big 4 bedroom colonial. Traditional suburbia place in a nice neighborhood. Just really bigger than we possibly need now, even though the wife seems to think going smaller is impossible! She is wrong though. IMO.

our son is long gone and not coming back. And the daughter is moving to her "big girl" apartment in August. At that point, we really should be able to clean out some crap and get serious about finding a replacement house. Only issue is settling on a place to move to (it won't likely be close to here), and dealing with work issues if we move elsewhere. That is really holding us up at the moment. Well, listing maybe, but not cleaning out the junk and getting ready!

I have been patient, but after we move out whatever the princess is taking, the rest of the junk in the basement needs to be addressed finally. And really dealt with.

stickguy

drove through one of our local auto rows this evening to drop my daughter off someplace. Was right around the corner from a Carmax. I seriously considered just stopping in for an estimate. That would probably be a bad idea. Especially because we were heading back from the VW dealer after turning in the Jetta.

Yes, I officially am down to just 2 cars (for 3 people, what kind of insanity is that?) until mid-August most likely when the princess finally moves and can get her DL switched to her new state.

so in theory I could flip the Elantra and get a new car for myself any time. Would still be in the same circumstance of having to share it for 6 weeks with our daughter, so buying and selling while doing that doesn't make much sense. Though most of my schemes don't. Now, if I change direction and sell to her instead (pretty sure it won't happen) then I really need to be looking ASAP!

henryn

sandman_6472 said:

SDA, I've got a 7 page bill here with all these charges and the hospital wants over $4200 just for my part. Granted, all I've got are "Explanations of Benefits" and it tells me that "these are not a bill, retain for your records", but still, I'm having a slight anxiety attach right now!! Since I've never really been sick and my wife basically negotiated with the hospital when our son had his open heart surgery many years ago, I really am clueless as to how the insurance game works.
Personally, if the whole thing costs me around $4K out of pocket, I think I'd be o k with that.
The Sandman

$4K out of pocket for a hospital stay, with surgery, is not bad at all.

My last major medical was in 2008 (total knee replacement). I was fortunate enough to have really good insurance, with a "stop loss" provision. $2,500 out of pocket, maximum. There is a long story about how I happened to have insurance that good, but I was very thankful to have it.

I have been on Medicare for the past 18 months, and so far I like it. I haven't had any major medical procedures (yet), so ...

@abacomike talking about the "doughnut hole" made me go do some reading, I was not aware of those issues. Hopefully I won't get into any expensive drugs.

ON EDIT: A friend of mine (work colleague) had a light headed spell of some kind and fainted at work about 2 years ago. He came around almost instantly, swore he was okay, but they insisted on calling an ambulance. He was out of pocket around $2,500 for the ambulance ride and the emergency room visit, and they never found anything wrong with him. He was more than a little _____ about his boss insisting on the ambulance ride, but what are you going to do? She was just CYA, and so it goes...

henryn

On the subject of selling out and moving, I am not at all sure what I am going to do when / if I retire. Originally, when I moved here into this lower income neighborhood in order to get a short commute to my job downtown, I was certain that one day I would retire again and move away from here.

But now I’m not so sure. I’m starting to think that I will keep working as long as I am able, as long as my mind remains sharp (well, reasonably so – there are those who would question that!) And I’m having second thoughts about moving away if I do retire. I have made some pretty good friends here in this neighborhood.

Right now, life is okay the way it is. Or better than okay, really. So no hurry to make decisions.

And to get back around to cars (or trucks) – I removed the front air dam on my new truck this evening, and stored it away. It is ridiculous to have a truck with only about 4 inches of ground clearance in the front.

stickguy

you have to live someplace. Unless you need to do it to cut costs, no point moving if you like where you are.

tbirdmarco

 Send man sorry to hear about the crazy hospital bills wow I heard that from others how expensive they can get quickly yes you gonna convince the wife to move sounds like a plan and save you a bunch of money in the long run to the new need the space you currently have 

henryn

stickguy said:

you have to live someplace. Unless you need to do it to cut costs, no point moving if you like where you are.

The house is paid for. And being over 65, my taxes are now fixed, and really low. I won't mention how low, I have seen what some of the regulars here are paying in taxes, and you would hate me, so ...

stickguy

my big focus is getting property taxes way down. I could live plenty of different places. The wife is a lot more picky. good thing, it is almost impossible for me to go someplace more expensive. Going back to upstate NY would make her happy (being closer to family), but would do nothing toward saving money, or having a chance to retire before 70.

My daughter screwed up my plan. I was sure she was staying in NC, so we could have moved down to be close to her.

Sandman6472

Won't move back to Westchester, taxes are just too high for us plus the winters are just too cold for the other half. Think we're staying in Florida to be honest but on which coast is the question. Think it's more important to be near the oldest as her sister will move up there by the beginning of 2020, once her 3 years is up where she works now. There's a reason why she needs to wait 3 years but I have no clue. All I know is I want to downsize into a 3/2 and if it's a condo, so be it. 1500 square feet works for me but want new construction as it's nicer and this will be our last home before I get creamated I'm sure. Would like to move where we get some colder weather in the winter but doubt that'll happen.
Been here in this house since July 3rd 1987...it's time to go!! It served us well and we do like it still but time to let a new growing family take it over and have their life in it. Good luck to them as it's been pretty good to us!

The Sandman : )

benjaminh

Someone out there predicted this punch....



A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

nyccarguy

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch.... A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Almost the same price as a lease on a 2018 Accord EX. But now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that rather mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot, and we both drove around a little to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

The Force is strong with this new one...

Way to go @benjaminh!  2 punches in a week?  You are keeping the shop open my friend!  Congrats!  

benjaminh

Two more views of the new TLX....

breld

@benjaminh - nice punch! Well done!

28firefighter

Congrats @benjaminh!  Two punches in as many weeks is @breld level work. 

Michaell

@benjaminh - congrats! I've been chatting off-line with @breld and @jpp5862 about the possibility of picking up a CPO TLX next year when the Jetta lease is up. I'll be interested in reading about your experiences with yours as you break it in and get comfortable with the features.

andres3

stickguy said:

28firefighter said:

OK, @Stickguy - a crazy idea for your son. He is going to take an absolute bath on his A3. Granted, it is hard to beat an M240, has he thought about getting a tune for his A3? That would make it A LOT more fun.

He considered tunes. Cheaper than trading up to an S3. Worried about warranty I think. But I’ll mention it.

The bath is taken on the Audi already. At least he is looking at a used car that depreciated as much if not more. So conceptually, if he had bought that new instead, would be at the same place.

Sounds like breld justifying might as well switch!

He would get cheaper interest rate, and more warranty and free service, to help offset extra cost.

Has he even used the warranty for the A3 once yet?

qbrozen

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch.... A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing. They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

So you gonna share the lease deal?

au1994

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch....



A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

That looks great! Makes me want to go to the Acura dealer tomorrow and try to pull off the elusive “2-for”...an MDX for my wife and a TLX for me!

graphicguy

@benjaminh Yay....that is too cool. Love the color and the look. Congrats!

We’re building quite the Acura fan club around here.

pensfan83

Very nice @benjaminh, congratulations! I'll be anxious to hear your impressions of the 4 cylinder model.

au1994

qbrozen said:

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch....



A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

So you gonna share the lease deal?

I’d be interested to know as well.

rayainsw

benjaminh, -
Congrats - enjoy !
- Ray
Still many months away from another punch ...

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch....



A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

So you gonna share the lease deal?

Yeah. Inquiring minds want to know.

stickguy

Yes, need he numbers.

Asking for a friend........

pensfan83

They are in the 2018 TLX Lease Thread....I was curious too and my investigative nature got the best of me

sda

benjaminh said:

Someone out there predicted this punch....



A new lease of a 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 with Tech Pkg. Let me tell you, some Acura dealers are indeed dealing on these. Now I have ELS concert sound, which is great, instead of that mediocre Accord EX system. It was the last 2018 TLX 2.4 on on their lot. Lots of luxury touches and quality throughout. The deluxe carpet on the deluxe carpet mats even feels nice. Engine and transmission performance are pleasing so far. Took my wife into the empty school parking lot and we both drove around a little in circles to experience PAWS. Seems like a real thing.

They also threw in two years of free maintenance. Their waiting room in the service area has premium tea, coffee, and other drinks, as well as nice snacks. Getting away from the overcrowded Honda World Service waiting area, where I've spent some time over the past 16 years of owning Accords, is going to be nice.

Oh man, I am jealous! Wonderful car! I have been shopping CPOs, Tech 2.4 and V6 but know it can't happen for a while unless I sign divorce papers. Patience is a virtue..

benjaminh

Like most auto deals it was its own special case. To make a long story short, they gave me a very good value on my trade of my 2016 Accord EX. The Accord had 27k miles and was in very good shape but not perfect. For instance it had a significant paint scratch. Almost exactly 2 years ago I paid 22.5k + TTL for the Accord, and they gave a trade-in value of 17k, which means that I got two years of great use out of the Accord for 5.5k. My remaining loan from Honda on the car was a little over 11k, which gave me almost 6k to fold into the deal. I know most people say don't put that much into a lease, but I wanted a lower monthly payment. Anyway, my lease payment on the TLX including taxes and everything else is 229 a month for 36 months with 12k miles a year. When I got to the dealership things started at 270 a month with an initial trade-in value of c.15.3. I had really gone to the Acura dealer almost on a whim. I've admired Acuras since 1986, but I told them quite honestly that a lease at 270 a month meant that I realized it just wasn't in the cards for me to lease something beyond a new Accord. But they were at the end of their sales period and needed to meet a certain goal, and so they very pleasantly did whatever it took to get me into the new TLX. The TLX Tech has a list price of 37.6, which was already marked down before I stepped in the door to c.29, in large part because of big incentives from Acura. The final residual value after 3 years, should I want to purchase the TLX, is c.18k. Right now I doubt I could find a nicer car in 3 years for 18k. But the trick is will I want the next tech improvements at that time.

The Milano leather seats on the TLX are very comfortable as you'd expect—and way beyond my Accord's cloth seats