Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

henryn

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

benjaminh

benjaminh said:

2012 red MIata 5-speed manual, 25k miles, good carfax, c.$14k....

https://www.acuraofserramonte.com/used/Mazda/2012-Mazda-Mazda+MX-5+Miata-6c4f2f210a0d0cc72933944126ea930c.htm

@Mr_Shiftright : Any thoughts? Would a Miata manual potentially work for you?

nyccarguy

henryn said:

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

One last stop and we are back home!  Great vacation!

Ha!  We do travel as a group of 5.  We all ride.  My daughter who is 6 1/2 doesn’t ride long distances (yet), so I have a trailer bike that attaches to my bike so we can all ride together.

breld

nyccarguy said:

henryn said:

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

One last stop and we are back home!  Great vacation!

Ha!  We do travel as a group of 5.  We all ride.  My daughter who is 6 1/2 doesn’t ride long distances (yet), so I have a trailer bike that attaches to my bike so we can all ride together.



Well done! Sounds like you all had a great time. I’m more than a little jealous of the awesome NY pizza!

Mr_Shiftright

benjaminh said:

benjaminh said:

2012 red MIata 5-speed manual, 25k miles, good carfax, c.$14k....

https://www.acuraofserramonte.com/used/Mazda/2012-Mazda-Mazda+MX-5+Miata-6c4f2f210a0d0cc72933944126ea930c.htm

@Mr_Shiftright : Any thoughts? Would a Miata manual potentially work for you?

I like Miatas but I don't fit well in them. No legroom. My knee hits the steering wheel when I shift, unless I splay out my legs and use the clutch pedal on the oblique, so to speak. Not comfy.

andres3

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

andres3

28firefighter said:

Assisted with two punches for a friend and then for my Dad. One on each coast. 

Deal #1:
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sport AWD
Vesuvio Gray
MSRP: $46,240
Term: 24/12
DAS: $1500 (first month, doc fee, WA tabs)
Monthly: $336 including 10.4% tax
Seattle

Deal #2:
Alfa Romeo Stelvio Ti Sport AWD
Misano Blue
MSRP: $52,890
Term: $24/12
DAS: $1000 (first month, tags, doc fee)
Monthly: $448 including 9% PA tax
Registered Philly Area, Picked up Northern NJ

These cars are pretty great values IMO for a European crossover. 

Does Alfa offer free rentals for the routine warranty services?

nyccarguy

breld said:

nyccarguy said:

henryn said:

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

One last stop and we are back home!  Great vacation!

Ha!  We do travel as a group of 5.  We all ride.  My daughter who is 6 1/2 doesn’t ride long distances (yet), so I have a trailer bike that attaches to my bike so we can all ride together.

Well done! Sounds like you all had a great time. I’m more than a little jealous of the awesome NY pizza!

As good as NY Pizza is, we have some astoundingly good Pizza here in CT.

ronsteve

henryn said:

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

There IS an age-old rule about how many bicycles a person should own. That number is n+1, where n is the number of bicycles that person currently owns.

andres3

A wagon.... green... not all black interior.

Just seems about $3K overpriced:

https://www.carmax.com/car/16369529

Sandman6472

I miss New York and Connecticut pizza, pretty hit & miss down here in South Florida. I am so ready to leave it ain't funny!! My daughter's in Orlando this weekend and will go check on how far her new house is. Had an uncomfortable talk with wife about moving, again, and again told her once the girls go, within a certain time frame to be decided later, think we need to go also! Also said within the next couple of months, we need to get up to central Florida and start looking at communities for us. Would love new construction but house or condo makes no difference to me, just know that I'm not staying down here if our girls are up there! Am just hoping the housing prices keep their upward trajectory for the next couple of years. Prices seem to be very reasonable up there so we need to start the search.
Starting to slowly purge through my stuff, I know tonight, we both went through years of paperwork and got rid of useless paper. Next I start on my closet and the two bins under our bed of papers/direction booklets and other stuff dealing with the house and what we did to it. I order to come up with a good price to sell our house, we need to know what upgrades we did over the years. We don't have a pool, one of very few, so we'll need to price accordingly plus in 31 years, we haven't done that many upgrades. A buyer is going to come in here and put their own stamp on the house so the price needs to reflect that. But thinking a bit under $400K will be our starting point and adjust from there.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the whole process especially the purging part. So many things I own that really need to be gone already. The garage will also need some special attention but mostly just need to bring the garbage bin in and loading it up! The time has come to start the moving process folks!

The Sandman

tjc78

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

stickguy

I was in our basement (storage side) with my son last night (he is home visiting). He made a comment about "there is a lot of crap down here". He also wants none of it. I just mumbled something about talking to his mother.

But if my dream of moving/downsizing is to ever come into play, we need a serious purge first. And that is going to be tough for her. I could get it done in one weekend, maybe 1 dumpster, a garage sale, and a few trips to goodwill!

stickguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

benjaminh said:

benjaminh said:

2012 red MIata 5-speed manual, 25k miles, good carfax, c.$14k....

https://www.acuraofserramonte.com/used/Mazda/2012-Mazda-Mazda+MX-5+Miata-6c4f2f210a0d0cc72933944126ea930c.htm

@Mr_Shiftright : Any thoughts? Would a Miata manual potentially work for you?

I like Miatas but I don't fit well in them. No legroom. My knee hits the steering wheel when I shift, unless I splay out my legs and use the clutch pedal on the oblique, so to speak. Not comfy.

exactly how I drove my Miata. And why I did not keep it very long. newer ones are much better at least.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

If I do replace the Elantra, I don't want to go huge, but most likely it will be slightly bigger. But definitely wife would like it to be a big more comfy/luxurious.

qbrozen

andres3 said:

A wagon.... green... not all black interior. Just seems about $3K overpriced: https://www.carmax.com/car/16369529

Its carmax. Of course it is overpriced.

ab348

tjc78 said:

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

It is coming on to the time of year when GM typically starts throwing around big incentives. Maybe not on the new Regal as I think they are not very thick on the ground yet being imported from Euroland (and I personally don't like it as much as the previous version in any event) but more likely on the Lacrosse, if you can adapt to the terrible beer-tap shifter.

suydam

We moved from a large 4 bedroom house with a full basement to a tiny condo of around 1000 square feet. We couldn’t be happier. We got rid of probably 90% of our belongings. It was very difficult AND very liberating. Best thing we’ve done since the kids moved out long ago. What we now have is so manageable and I’m not a prisoner of stuff anymore.
The way we did it was in steps. I’d go in a room and figure out maybe 10% of stuff I no longer needed. Two weeks later I’d realize that I couldn’t tell you what I’d purged. That gave me the courage to do another round of 10-20%. And so on.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

nyccarguy said:

henryn said:

I don't think you have enough bicycles. You should rush out and buy some more to adorn your car.

One last stop and we are back home!  Great vacation!

Ha!  We do travel as a group of 5.  We all ride.  My daughter who is 6 1/2 doesn’t ride long distances (yet), so I have a trailer bike that attaches to my bike so we can all ride together.

Well done! Sounds like you all had a great time. I’m more than a little jealous of the awesome NY pizza!

As good as NY Pizza is, we have some astoundingly good Pizza here in CT.

Apizza? New Haven style?

corvette

andres3 said:

A wagon.... green... not all black interior. Just seems about $3K overpriced: https://www.carmax.com/car/16369529

Gorgeous colors. Of course, I’m biased, since my parents’ Q5 has the same color combo. 

tjc78

stickguy said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems. The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

If I do replace the Elantra, I don't want to go huge, but most likely it will be slightly bigger. But definitely wife would like it to be a big more comfy/luxurious.

I’d step up to Sonata sport 2.0T if the deal was right.  That’s a much better size for me with a decent amount of power.   At least your Elantra has that going for it.  

Sandman6472

Suydam, that seems to be working for me, a little bit at a time, come back...a little more. Think I could really do a great job in a couple of days as I want to look at everything, read whatever to see if it's indeed keepable, then dump it or keep it. The garage might be a bigger job so will get the kids to help me like we did about 4 years ago. I sat and they brought things to me, used them as the labor as at the time, I wasn't feeling 100%. And anything heavy I delegate to them. My drawers and closet I do myself as I look much closer at stuff. Since I started about a month ago, down about 25%, which for me is pretty damn good! My office, took over my sons old room, is a real mess of papers and small stuff I need to go through.
We did that yesterday, the wife and I, on bills from 2018 that must be put into their proper files. She usually starts with one file dated for the current year. Around six or seven months in, we sit down and make piles such as power bills, phone bills, water bills, etc. and then they go into their individual files in the filing cabinet. This way we can compare from year to year if necessary. System seems to work for us so why fix what ain't broke.
Next Saturday morning I'll start with my office and tackle it by the end of Sunday hopefully. All I need is quiet and to be left alone to work. Yes, and some garbage bags to fill up. Trash gets picked up Monday and that'll be that. The clothing is another matter. I have too many shirts and shorts so must pare things down a bit. Luckily most of it is in great shape and can go to charity to be used again. Our clothes are clean and all buttons are usually in good working order. Just hard to get rid of stuff I know I'll want to wear later on.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

We finally have Wawa stations down here and about an hour ago, regular was $2.49/gallon of regular. Wife had gone earlier and called me. Checked with Gas Guru and she was indeed right so went over and filled up. Been a long time to see it crack $2.50/gallon down here!!

The Sandman

28firefighter

God I miss Wawa

stickguy

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

If I do replace the Elantra, I don't want to go huge, but most likely it will be slightly bigger. But definitely wife would like it to be a big more comfy/luxurious.

I’d step up to Sonata sport 2.0T if the deal was right.  That’s a much better size for me with a decent amount of power.   At least your Elantra has that going for it.  

Looking back, I think that would have been a great option for me. But, at the time, they pretty much did not exist. Maybe 1 in the whole area. I don't think they really came out until very late in the year. and are still pretty rare.

should go drive one. Maybe trade up!

stickguy

28firefighter said:

God I miss Wawa

we just got back from a week at the beach. Save a bundle on lunch since it is hoagie fest time, and the hoagies are about 1/2 the price of other stores.

28firefighter

Yep. $5 for a classic last weekend. So good. 

tjc78

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

If I do replace the Elantra, I don't want to go huge, but most likely it will be slightly bigger. But definitely wife would like it to be a big more comfy/luxurious.

I’d step up to Sonata sport 2.0T if the deal was right.  That’s a much better size for me with a decent amount of power.   At least your Elantra has that going for it.  

Looking back, I think that would have been a great option for me. But, at the time, they pretty much did not exist. Maybe 1 in the whole area. I don't think they really came out until very late in the year. and are still pretty rare.

should go drive one. Maybe trade up!

No joke... some night we should meet over at Burns or T'ville and give it a shot. Salesman gets two leads for the price of one!

I think they are still pretty uncommon, last time I checked only a handful at our local dealers

sda

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

It is coming on to the time of year when GM typically starts throwing around big incentives. Maybe not on the new Regal as I think they are not very thick on the ground yet being imported from Euroland (and I personally don't like it as much as the previous version in any event) but more likely on the Lacrosse, if you can adapt to the terrible beer-tap shifter.

I like the new Regals, have only seen one in the wild so far. It will probably make for a great used car value as the depreciation on them is horrible. Wonder how long they will be produced given that GM Opel was sold and sedans are out of favor.

tjc78

Local dealer has a Regal wagon as a service loaner. I was pretty surprised at that.

Michaell

Met up with @breld and @jpp5862 yesterday for lunch and a test drive.

This time, it was a 2015 Acura TLX V6 Tech SH-AWD. Charcoal over black leather. 40,000 miles, advertised as CPO for $23,900.

The purpose of the test drive was to compare it to the 4-cyl TLX I tested a few weeks ago. Would I like the V6 better?

The majority of the car is as I remember it from the first drive. Comfortable seats, good ergonomics, plenty of room (there were actually 5 of us on the test drive, and those in the back professed being comfortable back there). I had a few opportunities to wring out the V6, and it is quite peppy versus the 4-cylinder. As the weather was dry, I didn't much notice the AWD system, so I may also have to test a V6 FWD as well.

After the test drive, @breld asked a telling question - since most of the TLX's I see are being offered for $22-25K, and I found two cars that were similarly priced but one was a 4-cyl and the other a V6, which would I take? I had to really think about that for a bit - since the equipment levels on the Tech package are the same, the only difference would be the engine. It may come down to small issues like color - inside and out. I'd really like to avoid black seats if I could. Mileage may matter, too. Given how little I drive, would it much matter if I found the right car with 38,000 miles versus one with 28,000, if the price difference was only $500-1000?

Bonus Review!

@breld brought the Golf R, and I had a chance to drive it back from the dealership. Stalled it once, trying to learn the clutch engagement, but once I had that sorted, it was a blast. Even though it's a 6-speed, I found that I didn't have to downshift if I didn't want to - I could just floor the throttle and get up to pretty much any speed I needed to. Mostly highway driving, so no chance to explore the handling.

And, it's not all that dissimilar from the Jetta, on the inside - yeah, more buttons and features, but I felt right at home behind the wheel. I can see why y'all will fight over it if they decide to sell it.

I never drove the Type R, but did ride in it once, and the Golf is so much more …. mature, in every respect.

Makes me think about a used GTI or GLI - with a long and comprehensive warranty attached.

28firefighter

Or just get in line to buy the Golf R :-D

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Or just get in line to buy the Golf R :-D

Too expensive for me. 

stickguy

my son showed me a picture his friend sent of his MB. Backstory, about a 2 years ago he was obsessed by 90s vintage (I think) big benz sedan (320SEL? might be the V8 though.) Big honking car. Got it cheap, and it was clean, and former owner poured a ton into it. He has had issues since, and some money into it, but probably not too bad. But, he got tired of that one, and has been trying to sell it for about a year, no bites. Not surprised, since he was the sucker in the room!

anyway, picture was of the front end smashed up. Left fender, headlight, hood, etc. damaged. Given the cheap value, and price of parts, has to be a total. So (for some bizarre reason) he is looking at replacement. an older diesel was one, an older E class, and some oddball from the 70s. some people never learn.

oh, the funny part. He had the car in the shop for some repair (again, no surprise). And the repair shop had an accident while test driving. So he got lucky. Finally getting the car to be gone, and probably saved on paying the repair bill!

graphicguy

@Michaell ...if you take that TLX SH-AWD out again, get on it around corners. You’ll find you run out of nerve before the car runs out of ability. Hard to get used to, but if you gas the TLX going into a corner (vs braking), it will tuck in nicely and make you look like Andretti.

Michaell

graphicguy said:

@Michaell ...if you take that TLX SH-AWD out again, get on it around corners. You’ll find you run out of nerve before the car runs out of ability. Hard to get used to, but if you gas the TLX going into a corner (vs braking), it will tuck in nicely and make you look like Andretti.

There were a few corners on the test drive, but given I had a car load of passengers, I didn't want to be too aggressive with my driving. If I get a chance to go out by myself, I'll give that a go.

The TLX has a nice balance between ride and handling.

andres3

tjc78 said:

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

@corvette and @nyccarguy
well, of course you WANT the hemi, but it will cost you double the monthly. I was just throwing the bargain deal up for consideration. 300hp is enough for most people, especially when tied to that incredible payment.

If I could get out of the Elantra... I’d be down at the dealer looking at a Ram. That is a great deal.

How about your unwanted Elantra for my unwanted Optima. ONLY that doesn't really solve any problems.

The car has been reliable, but I feel like I bought a "pretender" The AC in my TTS is more comfy in the recent 100 degree heat than my Optima.

Its just not really the car for me. Wife had it on Friday while I had her being serviced and proclaimed her dislike for it, too. We just prefer something bigger. I wish the new Regal or LaCrosse leased well.

Well, the Optima is a lot bigger than the Elantra..... Cross-Country road trip in your future?

andres3

OH! SO! My my my! A Misano red 2014 S4 Premium Plus DSG with Napa Leather & B&O sound & Rear Diff is for sale in Folsom, CA, at the VW dealership.

If this car sounds familiar it is because it is very familiar.

92,100 miles (guy drove it over 20K/year! KNEW IT WAS A GOOD RUNNING CAR!)

Sounds like he banged up the front and rear in little "incidents" but had it "professionally repaired" according to the sales guy there. Not that it matters as the first accident already established the DV.

Army recruiter owned.

Apparently the gas mileage wasn't as good as he was hoping for.

@qbrozen What should I offer? Only would want it if they are willing to sell at limited profit.

28firefighter

I think owning an S4 with 92k miles and damage history, even if it was yours, would be a mistake...

nyccarguy

andres3 said:

OH! SO! My my my! A Misano red 2014 S4 Premium Plus DSG with Napa Leather & B&O sound & Rear Diff is for sale in Folsom, CA, at the VW dealership.

If this car sounds familiar it is because it is very familiar.

92,100 miles (guy drove it over 20K/year! KNEW IT WAS A GOOD RUNNING CAR!)

Sounds like he banged up the front and rear in little "incidents" but had it "professionally repaired" according to the sales guy there. Not that it matters as the first accident already established the DV.

Army recruiter owned.

Apparently the gas mileage wasn't as good as he was hoping for.

@qbrozen What should I offer? Only would want it if they are willing to sell at limited profit.

You found your EXACT car that you sold due to shoddy post accident repair quality and now you want to BUY it again?

jpp75

I also had the opportunity to drive the Golf R and as @Michaell noted it was amazing. If I had to describe it in a single word I'd use "planted" as the suspension and drive was just amazing. It took a second to get used to the high uptake on the clutch but it was effortless once you get the feel of it. I also had the chance to drive the new Q7, simply a stunning vehicle. Beautiful color scheme, great wheels and so smooth. I definitely see the appeal over the Discovery.

Now back to slumming it in my Touareg.

jpp75

tjc78 said:

Local dealer has a Regal wagon as a service loaner. I was pretty surprised at that.

I really wanted to like the new Regal but the dash was such a letdown. The Sonic has a nicer dash than the Regal. As @michaell said, someone at Buick should be fired over it.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

andres3 said:

OH! SO! My my my! A Misano red 2014 S4 Premium Plus DSG with Napa Leather & B&O sound & Rear Diff is for sale in Folsom, CA, at the VW dealership.

If this car sounds familiar it is because it is very familiar.

92,100 miles (guy drove it over 20K/year! KNEW IT WAS A GOOD RUNNING CAR!)

Sounds like he banged up the front and rear in little "incidents" but had it "professionally repaired" according to the sales guy there. Not that it matters as the first accident already established the DV.

Army recruiter owned.

Apparently the gas mileage wasn't as good as he was hoping for.

@qbrozen What should I offer? Only would want it if they are willing to sell at limited profit.

You found your EXACT car that you sold due to shoddy post accident repair quality and now you want to BUY it again?

The shoddiness was all aesthetics for the vast majority of concern. The repairs done by the dealership (quite extensive) seemed to be well done.

Also, at 20K or less it's OK if it's been banged up. At $30+K value, it wasn't that OK. I know the maintenance was religious the first 48K. Would be curious to see maintenance records. I wouldn't pay top dollar.... but... for the right price...

andres3

28firefighter said:

I think owning an S4 with 92k miles and damage history, even if it was yours, would be a mistake...

Remember though, the car was the most reliable I've ever had personally. 48K miles with a low beam bulb and washer fluid hose being the only issues, both of which were touched by the unmentionable body shop.

28firefighter

There is a big difference between a 48k mile Audi and a 92k mile Audi.

I'd let the nostalgia go and walk away.

Mr_Shiftright

andres3 said:

28firefighter said:

I think owning an S4 with 92k miles and damage history, even if it was yours, would be a mistake...

Remember though, the car was the most reliable I've ever had personally. 48K miles with a low beam bulb and washer fluid hose being the only issues, both of which were touched by the unmentionable body shop.

You've passed the dreaded 80K mark on an Audi. You are now in a high-risk area. Price it accordingly.

ab348

jpp5862 said:

tjc78 said:

Local dealer has a Regal wagon as a service loaner. I was pretty surprised at that.

I really wanted to like the new Regal but the dash was such a letdown. The Sonic has a nicer dash than the Regal. As @michaell said, someone at Buick should be fired over it.

Only one has made its way to my dealer, ordered in as either a sales demonstrator or as the personal car for one of the salesmen. Whatever, he is driving it every day. I totally agree about the dash, hard to understand how they landed on that. This one also has cloth seats, which were not even available on the previous model. I think it is the same cloth they used on the Verano, not very attractive. The exterior design has a number of jarring features too, especially the awkward rear quarter window design and the overall size of the thing which is close to Lacrosse bulk. Not a winner.

fintail

A lot might also depend on if it was owned by a 55 year old recruiter, or a 35 year old recruiter - not the same thing.

andres3

fintail said:

A lot might also depend on if it was owned by a 55 year old recruiter, or a 35 year old recruiter - not the same thing.

I'm going to go with either he was 30, or 65. That would explain the "repaired" front and rear fascias for minor fender benders at least. Have to admit the paint looks good in their interior lighting photos from Folsom Lake VW. Probably had a good detailer.

Audi started recommending timing belt changes at 75K miles instead of 100K miles on the A3 I think. I wonder if that has to do with the 80K miles being a dreaded figure.

A test drive would tell a lot. Has it held up over the years, or does it feel like an old and tired car?

stickguy

Premium at ConocoPhillips yesterday was $2.92.9