Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

andres3 · November 2016

henryn said:
On the subject of the extended warranties, back in the 80’s and 90’s I always purchased an extended factory warranty on all new car purchases.

The extended factory warranty was quite useful even when the basic new car warranty was still in place. I was buying Mopar, Chevy, and Ford (cars and trucks), and none of their dealers offered free loaners when your new car was in the shop. But for all 3, if you had the factory extended warranty, and your car was in the shop for more than a single day, the extended warranty paid for a rental.

These days, you can reasonably expect to buy a new car and never use the factory warranty. With a little luck, I admit, but many people NEVER use the factory warranty. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, that just wasn’t the case. You expected problems, and they almost always did have problems.

I would call and schedule an appointment, and tell them to have a rental waiting. The service writer would point out that I would have to pay for the rental IF they got my car fixed the first day. And I was good with that. I could drop off the car and drive away in a rental. And if they got it fixed in one day, I was out about $30, big deal. And if they took more than one day, I was not concerned, their problem, not mine.

And a secondary argument for the extended service contract back in those days: I had more than one service writer / service manager tell me that having the extended warranty helped him when he was negotiating with Detroit to get repairs covered under warranty.

These days, no, I don’t buy extended warranties. I expect my new vehicles to be trouble free. Which (mostly) happens.

It seems that at least by 1982, Honda and Toyota had already figured out how to make extremely reliable cars. My father had an '82 Accord 5-speed that corroborates this, along with CR's red dots. The idea that no one had invented a reliable car before the 21st Century just wasn't in my worldview at all. In fact, that was my justification for going with a Dodge in 1994. I pretty much argued there was no way Detroit hadn't figured out how to make a reliable car by that "modern age."

sda · November 2016

I agree with henryn regarding the reliability of new cars and not needing to buy an extended warranty. I did not buy an extended warranty on the Accord that I bought new, but I did buy an extended warranty on the Honda Certified used 2010 Pilot that had 50k miles. There was some overlap between the Certified Honda warranty and the extended warranty. I got bumper to bumper coverage for 4 years and up to 120k with zero deductible for around $1100. I am happy to say that it has paid for itself. The Honda certified warranty covered the torque converter replacement about 4 months ago. However it would not have covered the 2 a/c repairs, and strut replacement. There is another repair that the extended warranty covered as well, but I can't remember what it was. The Pilot is at 93k so we still are covered for another 27k.

andres3 · November 2016

28firefighter said:
GTI Update:

Volkswagen got back to me and is refusing to replace the car. As much as I hate doing this, I'm going to retain a lemon law attorney, mostly because I feel as though VW is banking on me not doing anything about it and continuing to deal with issues.

My big issue is this whole fuel economy mess - VW says they'll continue to fix the car within the terms of the warranty, but is refusing to fix this particular problem. For that reason alone, I feel as though I need to stir things up.

This is disappointing to hear about. First, because you got a bum GTI (and my brother in law is looking at replacing his aging Mazda 6 with a "hatchback with balls" as he put it). The GTI fits the bill for his budget as well.

Secondly, because all VW has to do to fix the situation is either make your GTI work like it is supposed to, or give you another one that works like it is supposed to.

stickguy · November 2016

Nice X1. Like the colors. But would need a good inspection about the accident. That odo item is almost certainly a data entry issue.

A bit suspicious that not a BMW CPO. So likely the accident caused it to be at a Ford dealer.

28firefighter · November 2016

stickguy said:
Nice X1. Like the colors. But would need a good inspection about the accident. That odo item is almost certainly a data entry issue.

A bit suspicious that not a BMW CPO. So likely the accident caused it to be at a Ford dealer.

Agreed - I'm not as worried about the accident if the price is right and it is fixed correctly. Definitely would need a PPI at a BMW dealer.

That said, I'd still take a bath on the GTI - and be very depressed at the whole situation to begin with.

ab348 · November 2016

andres3 said:

Well, they did go bankrupt, and would have gone even more bankrupt without about 50 billion dollars in our tax money. I think that says more than enough>?

It doesn't say anything about what you contend. So as usual you are pulling stuff out of your [non-permissible content removed] again.

You really need to stop acting this way, Andres. Really.

stickguy · November 2016

So, a CX-7 is one of those used cars, like most bmws, where you need to add in some immediate maintenance to the price (before you even drive it?)

Seems logical.

Michaell · November 2016

stickguy said:
So, a CX-7 is one of those used cars, like most bmws, where you need to add in some immediate maintenance to the price (before you even drive it?)

Seems logical.

Not all of them. The last year or two they were also available with the NA 2.5 engine.

28firefighter · November 2016

Update on the GTI:
Lemon law attorneys reviewed my repair history and narrative and have determined I have a claim. They're sending me a representation.

I need to review the agreement, but under WA consumer protection laws (apparently), lemon law related settlements require the manufacturer to reimburse all law firm representation costs if there is a settlement on top of whatever settlement I receive. This is as opposed to receiving a settlement and the law firm taking a percentage of it for their fee.

They said the process usually takes between 120-150 days and is impacted by whether the car ends up back in the shop again during that time for same or new issues (basically strengthening the claim).

stickguy · November 2016

yeah, but what is the fun in that?

andres3 · November 2016

ab348 said:

andres3 said:

Well, they did go bankrupt, and would have gone even more bankrupt without about 50 billion dollars in our tax money. I think that says more than enough>?
It doesn't say anything about what you contend. So as usual you are pulling stuff out of your [non-permissible content removed] again.

You really need to stop acting this way, Andres. Really.

I think you just don't want to accept reality.

If the bankruptcy had nothing to do with poor quality you'd have to argue the following:

1) Lost market share was all due to the greatness of the competition and had nothing to do with the poorness of the Big 3.

2) Spending tons of money on warranty claims doesn't have an effect on the bottom line.

3) Having to deal with buyback claims has no effect on the bottom line.

I just don't see any area where the Big 3 we're not a systemic failure from top to bottom. That's the only way you get to losing billions every month.

kyfdx · November 2016

GM bailout cost to the government turned out to be around $11 billion.

andres3 · November 2016

kyfdx said:
GM bailout cost to the government turned out to be around $11 billion.

Not including opportunity cost and the time-value of money.

xwesx · November 2016

Regarding extended warranty:

The only one I have had on a car was for one of my newer ones: The 2010 Forester. Prior to that car, most of our vehicles were older and miled up, but we rarely had issues with them. When we did have issues, I just knuckled down and fixed them... occasionally I even went so far as to take them to a shop to be fixed. Mostly, though, I did the repairs myself.

The "newest" car I ever owned (for any length of time) prior to the 2010 was our 1996 Outback, which had a mere 83,000 miles on it when we bought it in August of 2000. We drove it to 220,000 over the course of six and a half years (with plenty of problems along the way!). Living with inevitable repair bills was just part of owning cars.

With the 2010, though, when the time came to either get the EW or skip it (car had about 35,500 miles at the time), I already knew that the head gaskets were starting to seep and I was starting to hear a transmission noise at very cold temperatures, so I figured the warranty was a decent bet. For my wife, it was major peace of mind. Plus, no cash out of pocket due to "Subaru Bucks," so we went for it. It paid off in a BIG way after an oil pump seal failure at 66,000, and replacement of head gaskets, the bearings and races on the center differential, and both rear wheel bearings (all at around 95,000 miles). I'm sure we have plenty of repairs in the future as well, but that was about $5,000 more that I didn't have to spend!

But, on the next car? Probably not; I'll evaluate when the time comes.

nyccarguy · November 2016

My Legacy is the ONLY car I've ever taken an extended warranty out on. I bought the Subaru Gold 5 year/100K EW. Between the fact that my car is the 1st year of a major redesign, the unknown of owning a car with a CVT long term, & Subaru's past history with head gaskets, for the $1400 ($20/ month) it is well worth the piece of mind. My Subaru Gold warranty also includes wheel & tire insurance (pro rated after 50K miles). I also drive more than average (19K+ per year) & would blow through Subaru's BtoB 3 year/36K miles before year 2.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:
GM bailout cost to the government turned out to be around $11 billion.
Not including opportunity cost and the time-value of money.

I think the bailout was a poor short-term decision but a great long-term decision. Kinda like buying a run down apartment building in a bad neighborhood that turned out to be Chelsea or Tribeca in Manhattan. People would have said you were crazy.

Sandman6472 · November 2016

Service engine light came on in the Accent over in Tampa, Hyundai said it's an O2 sensor. Called my guy and he said they can still drive it and bring it in next week. Even though the miles are low for a 2008 model, it's still an eight year old vehicle which did sit a lot the last few years, she would go days without driving it and then it was only short trips. The kind of driving that's not very good for any vehicle as it never got time to really warm the engine up and it hardly ever went on the expressway, only when I or the wife got to drive it.
Will take it in on Tuesday, my n/s day, and see what's going on. Will fix it if that's whats needed as she's keeping the vehicle for another few years as she can not afford a newer vehicle and I'm not fitting the bill. Does drive o k even though the mpg's aren't the best, but again, it's an eight year old vehicle. And I spent a lot of cash on it this year...a lot!

The Sandman

qbrozen · November 2016

Service light or Check Engine light? If the CEL, yes, it is related to emissions and usually fine to drive.

roadburner · November 2016

jpp5862 said:
<
I just called my service advisor for an update. He asked for the third time if I had a diesel or a gas version. I reminded him it was gas and he said "right, we're looking into options and need to see if we have one you can drive"

Since I took it in the first time they've had a 2017 Wolfsburg on the lot and it was there yesterday so this is a mix of stalling and incompetence.

In other words, the standard level of service for the VW dealers in the Louisville area...

graphicguy · November 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:
GM bailout cost to the government turned out to be around $11 billion.
Not including opportunity cost and the time-value of money.
I think the bailout was a poor short-term decision but a great long-term decision. Kinda like buying a run down apartment building in a bad neighborhood that turned out to be Chelsea or Tribeca in Manhattan. People would have said you were crazy.

Mr Shiftright....I agree! I was against the auto bailouts at the beginning. But, the more I started thinking about it, there would have been thousands of people without jobs, collecting unemployment benefits. Plus, the revenue from the taxes they paid, Federal, State, Municipal, would not be collected.

So, considering all of that, it may have cost the Federal Gov't, but paid for itself on a state and city level.

Jipster.....welcome back!

tjc78 · November 2016

@Mr_Shiftright You are the man!! I had listed my Grand Marquis for $3000 and was gonna take $2700. On your suggestion I raised the price to $3500 and settled on $3200.

I just have to take out my upgraded stereo and restore stock. Dropping it off to the new owner on Monday night.

Thanks again!

So now I need a car! Pretty set on the Elantra. Quest begins Tuesday night.

Michaell · November 2016

tjc78 said:
@Mr_Shiftright You are the man!! I had listed my Grand Marquis for $3000 and was gonna take $2700. On your suggestion I raised the price to $3500 and settled on $3200.

I just have to take out my upgraded stereo and restore stock. Dropping it off to the new owner on Monday night.

Thanks again!

So now I need a car! Pretty set on the Elantra. Quest begins Tuesday night.

Congrats on the sale and good luck with the search. See you in the Elantra lease discussion.

stickguy · November 2016

have fun. At least there are a ton of 2017 Elantras on the ground to pick from. and based on my emails from Hyundai dealers, they are aggressive about moving them.

Sandman6472 · November 2016

That sold quickly, just wish I had had the same luck back when i was selling my '06 Civic on Craigslist. Finally had some interest after it was traded into the dealer, naturally! Hoping to sell my Golf privately when the time comes as I'm hoping some kid will want it to modify it. My indie VW/Audi store down the street tells me that the market is pretty big down here for late model VW's and Audi's and he agreed that mine would be a good candidate since it's basically stock still. Even though I'm looking for a replacement, am quite happy with it and everything else I'm looking at is much larger, at least 12" longer. Not too sure I want to go much larger to be honest.
A shame that the Mini Countryman's ride is a bit harsh from what I've heard. Since I've never driven one yet, will try to go during the week and give it a test. Won't go on a weekend as I hate to take up a sales guys valuable time, isn't right since I'm not buying anything today.

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

tjc78 said:
@Mr_Shiftright You are the man!! I had listed my Grand Marquis for $3000 and was gonna take $2700. On your suggestion I raised the price to $3500 and settled on $3200.

I just have to take out my upgraded stereo and restore stock. Dropping it off to the new owner on Monday night.

Thanks again!

So now I need a car! Pretty set on the Elantra. Quest begins Tuesday night.

You may send my portion to: M. Shiftright, c/o........oh, never mind.

Great! Congrats on what we hope was a quick and easy sale. Sometimes selling a car can be....well....trying....

stickguy · November 2016

my last few CL sales have been a major PITA. not that actual transaction, just the time and hassle of flakes and no shows.

but both, once an interested person finally showed up, were snapped right up.

Not really sad that I won't be selling anytime soon. The RDX is likely staying, and if not, gets traded. the other 2 are lease returns. So no curbstoning in my future!

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

When I bought my last MINI, the salesman said: "Oh, wow, a real tire-kicker" and laughed. Little did he know that that's how you actually check for bad control arm bushings in a MINI (a notorious fault). If you kick the front of the tire really hard, you can actually see it move rearwards if the bushings are NG.

CL is where you take someone who is all bubbly about "how wonderful people are".

Gee, maybe we should have a CL topic. I have a couple of good tales to tell.

xwesx · November 2016

Taking out the stereo sounds like a PITA. Buyer could probably not care less about the unit you have in there, but if he was willing to pay you 3500 with it as-is, I'd just take it and move on.

stickguy · November 2016

Here is an OldFarmer special. Check out those miles!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2000-cadillac-eldorado-2dr_coupe_esc-used-15677565.html

tjc78 · November 2016

He really didn't want it. Said it was too complicated. No big deal. The old system is already just about in. Popped the door panels, put the factory door speakers back in and connected them to the factory harness. Pulled the head unit out, GPS antenna, and plugged in the factory stereo. All that's left is to get a set of adapter plugs so my aftermarket rear speakers can be plugged into the factory harness. I'm not pulling the rear seat and swapping those, totally not worth it. All my wiring was neatly tucked behind the trim and taped off. I'm not pulling it all out.

Mr_Shiftright · November 2016

stickguy said:
Here is an OldFarmer special. Check out those miles!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2000-cadillac-eldorado-2dr_coupe_esc-used-15677565.html

I don't think dealers really understand that "museum quality" isn't a compliment, if you think about it for a minute.

28firefighter · November 2016

Today I learned that registrations in WA expire on a certain day and not just the end of the month like the sticker would lead me to believe. Whoops.

tjc78 · November 2016

28firefighter said:
Today I learned that registrations in WA expire on a certain day and not just the end of the month like the sticker would lead me to believe. Whoops.

That was one of the reasons I hoped my 04 sold quickly! The registration was up at the end of the month!

tjc78 · November 2016

stickguy said:
have fun. At least there are a ton of 2017 Elantras on the ground to pick from. and based on my emails from Hyundai dealers, they are aggressive about moving them.

Yeah, Burns has 70 or so. I can't imagine what Turnersville must have.

28firefighter · November 2016

tjc78 said:

Today I learned that registrations in WA expire on a certain day and not just the end of the month like the sticker would lead me to believe. Whoops.
That was one of the reasons I hoped my 04 sold quickly! The registration was up at the end of the month!

I was sending paperwork to the lemon law attorney and saw at the top of my registration that it expires on Monday. Booked it over to the local state tag place to remedy that!

ab348 · November 2016

stickguy said:
Here is an OldFarmer special. Check out those miles!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2000-cadillac-eldorado-2dr_coupe_esc-used-15677565.html

I don't see an asking price.

That really is a bit of a relic now. Even has a cassette deck! I guess a real Cadillac fan might want it.

stickguy · November 2016

they post the cars as a coming attraction. sometimes the pictures arrive before the price.

nyccarguy · November 2016

@tjc78 - great job selling the Merc. Enjoy your quest. Maybe you could take over @stickguy's lease and then he can get something new.

stickguy · November 2016

well, in late December, the Jetta comes back until the end of April (my daughter is doing a term abroad, leaving early January), so I will end up with 2 cars and no where to go.

I really timed that out poorly.

Sandman6472 · November 2016

Gave the mail lady the envelope I sent to the clerk of the courts to plead NOT GUILTY over this stupid license issue. If anyone at the Dade County clerks office had bothered to look in my file to see that I did everything that was required which included paying the fine, I wouldn't be in this mess now! I figure the people who work there do the job they were hired for and get paid for but, seems this is not always the case. I even have the paperwork that said the issue the [non-permissible content removed] up on was taken care of in November of 2015 so I can't quite figure out why this issue is still dogging me. And if that cop hadn't given me that verbal warning on Tuesday, I never would've known that my license was suspended in the first place. Hell, I could've been driving around that way for the next many years not knowing.
Sorry for the rant but I just do not understand any of this. I would hope that folks working for a county, state or government job would do their jobs correctly. Sad to say, this is not the case sometimes and any faith I have had in our government, is almost totally gone now. [non-permissible content removed] Forever it seems!!!

The Sandman :@

xwesx · November 2016

28firefighter said:
Today I learned that registrations in WA expire on a certain day and not just the end of the month like the sticker would lead me to believe. Whoops.

I suspect there's a story behind that..... And, all I had to do was read a couple more posts to find out what it was!

nyccarguy · November 2016

kyfdx · November 2016

Is that your new ride?

nyccarguy · November 2016

kyfdx said:
Is that your new ride?

Oh lord no. I saw that black/black C300 4Matic Coupe yesterday while filling up. That car is stunning, especially from the back. It seemed like everyone had their "weekend cars" out for the last hurrah yesterday. I saw a Red Ferrari 458 Italia cruising down 95 in CT, a dark grey Alfa Romeo 8C on the Henry Hudson Parkway in NYC, & a C7 Corvette drop top on the West Side Highway in NYC.

Some people have an extremely warped sense of reality. I'm sitting at a light on the West Side Highway. A guy pulls up next to me in a gorgeous Red with a Black Top 911 GTS Cabriolet. My boys are checking the guy's car out & we give him a thumbs up. He rolls his window down & thanks us. Tells us he LOVES the car & it drives great. Then he says he likes it because it is a car that you own because you love driving & not to show off. Then he proceeds to tell us that it's a lot of car for the money & you really don't have to be a bizillionare to own one.

Let's check out the Porsche website & see if I can crunch the numbers & make it work. Uh. No.

fintail · November 2016

It's like the old C coupe, but thicker. I prefer it in a ligher color with multi spoke wheels. Porsche guy isn't a bizillionaire, just a simple multi millionaire

roadburner · November 2016

@breld: Just received word that the X5 diesel begins production as of January 2017. F25 X3 production is winding down so only a "very small quantity" of diesels will be built in December 2016.

breld · November 2016

Thanks for the update @roadburner! Since a used current gen diesel X5 would be on my shortlist, I just wanted to make sure current production wasn't halted for some reason.

jpp75 · November 2016

roadburner said:

jpp5862 said:
<
I just called my service advisor for an update. He asked for the third time if I had a diesel or a gas version. I reminded him it was gas and he said "right, we're looking into options and need to see if we have one you can drive"

Since I took it in the first time they've had a 2017 Wolfsburg on the lot and it was there yesterday so this is a mix of stalling and incompetence.
In other words, the standard level of service for the VW dealers in the Louisville area...

I haven't heard anything from the dealer, no surprise there. I looked up the next steps in the warranty book and it just says to contact them and they will work with the dealer.

I'll give them a call but I don't expect they'll do much. They have bigger fish to fry these days than forcing a dealer to call me back and fix the car.

nyccarguy · November 2016

jpp5862 said:

roadburner said:

jpp5862 said:
<
I just called my service advisor for an update. He asked for the third time if I had a diesel or a gas version. I reminded him it was gas and he said "right, we're looking into options and need to see if we have one you can drive"

Since I took it in the first time they've had a 2017 Wolfsburg on the lot and it was there yesterday so this is a mix of stalling and incompetence.
In other words, the standard level of service for the VW dealers in the Louisville area...
I haven't heard anything from the dealer, no surprise there. I looked up the next steps in the warranty book and it just says to contact them and they will work with the dealer.

I'll give them a call but I don't expect they'll do much. They have bigger fish to fry these days than forcing a dealer to call me back and fix the car.

Such a shame. I saw a Black 2017 A4 Allroad yesterday! It is gorgeous.

Sandman6472 · November 2016

Drove a new C 300, CLA 250 and GLA 250 today and to be honest, the GLA is my favorite followed by the CLA. Found a couple CLA's at this on off lease site which are actually affordable. But still want to try a 328i and IS 250, IS 200t in the near future. Right now, I think if my wife would let me, I'd seriously check out that 1 Series I found at the BMW dealer. It's priced right and with 30K for a 2013 model, seems to be in excellent shape. I know the mpg's aren't that good but for some reason it's calling me. Logically, it's just plain dumb to even think about it but I do really want it. Coming up on 23 months of Golf ownership and at just under 24K on the clock so seems I could've leased after all. Have never done it and figured I'd be over the milage limits so never seriously considered it, big mistake on my part!
At this point, have put the extended warranty purchase on the shelf and will think about it again as I get closer to 36K miles. So far, all has been well with no issues cropping up so am putting some funds away just in case. For now, staying the course and doing nothing.
Accent goes in on Thursday for a few issues the Hyundai dealer in Orlando said we needed to address. Trust my mechanic down here to fix what's necessary and wait on the unimportant things should there be any. I'll fix what he says needs doing and since my daughter still hasn't found employment yet, I'll have to fit the bill. Still a good little car for her and with it just hitting 28K, worth more to us than getting maybe $5K for it on trade. Even though I prefer mine, I have no problem driving it and would if our situation ever changes.

The Sandman

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