Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen · June 2006

I'm trying to stay reasonable, lol.

Wow! I dunno. Two 1-ton trucks in the family is ... well ... SOME folks might say that's not so reasonable?

Heck, you could sell off everything, get yourself one of those monster haulers and one big trailer to take care of all your firewood duties, no?

Then you could get a reasonably-priced comfortable family hauler for grocery getting duties.

british_rover · June 2006

Ahh I would rather have the deuce and a half for a quarter of the money.

akangl · June 2006

Wow! I dunno. Two 1-ton trucks in the family is ... well ... SOME folks might say that's not so reasonable?

For what we do I don't think 2 1-tons is unreasonable, I just wasn't sure that's what I wanted.

I really loved the MDX, but after I saw the new Dodge sitting in the back of the dealership it was like MDX?? What MDX?? lol I'm a truck person and although I love SUVs I've never been happy with one for very long.

If my Titan was a 3/4 ton or a 1-ton this dilema wouldn't be here. I love my Titan, but I'm slowly driving into an early grave.......speaking of that, I better call the dealer for yet another appointment, ugh.

sandman46 · June 2006

Just got home from the tint shop & it looks great. I get that perpetual smile on my face whenever I walk into the garage now. Now we have two fun cars to drive that give me that smile. Tell me...what could be better than this?
A long time comming so all I can say is, "Thank you grandma"! You made your grandson very happy!!!!!

The Sandman

akangl · June 2006

Congrats on the new car, you deserve it.

mark156 · June 2006

Sandman... my grandmother did that for me once... gotta love'm!

Mark

anonymousposts · June 2006

I know the Civic has been in the works for a while. Did you trade the Sentra? Also, what kind of deal did they give you? Civics are pretty sparse around here.

We picked up our new ride today. I took some pictures when we got home I just have to upload them. Looks great. Drives like an Accord that went through basic training.

jefferyg · June 2006

Hey guys and ladies, I've been on vacation for the past couple of weeks and am just getting back in the saddle again. Sounds like some of you have been having some real fun over the past couple of weeks.

Sandman - hope you enjoy your Civic. I miss our 03 sometimes even though it was a bit cramped with the kids in the back seat. I looked at my neighbor's 06 Civic LX a few weeks ago. I'm still not sure I like the split instrument panel, but overall the car looks like an improvement.

Jolie - I hope I NEVER get into a dilemma such as you're in. However, I think in your line of work, bigger is better. Rob's suggestion may be a little over the top, but I was thinking along those same lines. A Kodiak or a Ford F450 or 550 could get you a lot more towing capacity, and many of those trucks are offered with a Crew-Cab option. You could even get a truck like that with a dump-bed.

Speaking of trucks, I drove the new F150 on our vacation. Worst observed fuel mileage was 16.5 mpg and the best was 21.1. Much of our driving was in the mountains, so I'm not complaining. The truck got no worse than the Mountaineer we traded would have in the same driving conditions.

We also drove the Passat, because I had to go to a convention following our vacation. The 06 VW Passat 2.0T got as good as 35 on the way up from home to Pigeon Forge, TN. It averaged 30.1 for the entire trip and we drove it a lot in the mountains.

As for my next car, just cranking the truck costs $$$, so I think I'm going to be in the market for a golf cart - something to run about in the neighborhood and occasionally to use for golf. Anybody got an idea what would be a good price on a used one?

ghulet · June 2006

Wow, I've been there long ago, but can't remember exactly why (Dollywood?); I remember some motel there had one of Elvis' mom's cars (maybe the first he bought for her), a yellow or pink '56 Cadillac sedan, IIRC. Oh yeah, this was the trip my family (me, my twin bro and stepdad in the BACK seat, mom and my GREAT-grandma--she insisted on riding shotgun, good thing she lived in KY--in front, reverse 'Leave It To Beaver' style), made in an '84 Camry (half ton of people, Smoky Mountains hills and twisties, ~105hp, automatic and a/c cranked, do the math). That car was traded in late '85, so I was 15 or 16 at the time. Like I said, long time ago!

Jolie, you realize we all at times think you're nuts, but it's all in good fun, and remember that too much truck sometimes is better than not enough truck to make a living. Just don't go overboard. And BTW, what happened to Zippy :confuse:

Sandman, congrats on the Civic! I hope you won't have even the minor drama you had with the Sentra. My favorite color is also Atomic Blue, though I'm not sure I'd feel the same way (nor may anyone else) at trade-in time....anyone remember the aquas of late '80s/early '90s cars, or the purple mid-90s Civics? Seemed cool at the time, right?

anonymousposts · June 2006

the Spider Condo is on ebay. Gee doesn't think it will sell .. but we'll see.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GORGEOUS-94-LS400-ANNIVERSARY-EDITION-MUST-SEE_W0- - QQitemZ250000527748QQihZ015QQcategoryZ14240QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Here are pictures of our new baby.

So far, the TSX is getting 26 MPG according to the trip computer. It feels faster than the Accord and the sound system is awesome. No regrets here.

michaellno · June 2006

Sandman's Civic.

Gee and Anon's TSX.

And my ION.

All dark grey.

Is it the new silver?

british_rover · June 2006

Untill I bought my MINI ever car I ever owned had been gray. Got very boring after a while.

michaellno · June 2006

british_rover: you got me thinking about the colors of the cars I've owned over the years:

'79 Pontiac Sunbird - beige
'77 Pontiac Ventura - medium blue
'85 Honda Accord LX - burgundy
'87 Isuzu P'up - white
'88 Isuzu Trooper - white over gold
'91 Mazda Protege - dark blue
'91 Nissan Sentra SE - red
'92 Honda Accord LX - dark blue
'93 Honda Accord DX - burgundy
'97 Ford Escort - beige/gold - we called it "mocha"
'99 Ford Expedition - white
'99 VW New Beetle - bright blue
'02 Ford Explorer - dark green
'03 Saturn L300 - pewter
'03 Ford Focus ZX5 - burgundy
'04 Saturn VUE - bright blue
'06 Saturn ION - Galaxy Grey

au1994 · June 2006

I think it must be. The Volvo we got last year is gray and it replaced a silver PT Cruiser. Most mfg's have at least one gray in their color offerings. To me color is very dependant on the model. I'll like a color on one model, then not like it on another by the same mfg.

There was a list in USA Today a few months ago listing the most popular colors. I think white was still #1, but the list included fleet sales which skews it.

au1994 · June 2006

hmmm..I'm all over the board as well:

'66 Mustang--Dark Blue
'89 Berreta--Bright Red
'95 Tacoma--Forest Green
'99 Explorer--Medium Blue
'02 Accord--Silver
'04 4Runner--White

Wife's
xx VW Fox--Sickly Light Green
'00 Mirage--Burgundy
'01 PT Cruiser--Silver
'06 Volvo--Gray

I'd buy the same color twice, but not back to back. Just one of my car buying quirks. Had a neighbor that would buy nothing but white, no matter the car.

Had a co-worker who was a die hard Texas A&M grad and would buy nothing but burgundy or white.

jefferyg · June 2006

I don't really think fleet sales skew the numbers that much, b/c even in models that aren't sold to fleets, white is still near the top.

Silver/grey, I believe, is the #2 color choice.

qbrozen · June 2006

Actually, silver took over the #1 spot a few years back.

british_rover · June 2006

and has been for a good long while.

akangl · June 2006

And BTW, what happened to Zippy

Not to worry at times I think I'm nuts, lol. This truck thing has driven me up the wall, I'll be glad when its over and I don't have to buy a new vehicle for a LOOOONNNNGGGG time.

Zippy is sitting out in front of the house by the car hauler trailer, she's been there for some time, gas gauge is on E, tires need replacing, and nobody drives her anymore. She will be leaving along with the Titan in a week or so. I will miss my good little car, she's been a great one for the 54,200 miles and 2 years I've had her.

andre1969 · June 2006

of the cars I've had over the years...

1980 Malibu: light blue
1969 Dart GT: beige with black vinyl top (removed when I repainted it)
1957 DeSoto Firedome: white over red
1968 Dart 270: white
1969 Bonneville: goldish/greenish, with black vinyl top
1983 Cutlass Supreme: "jadestone" (real pretty bluish/greenish/silverish mix)
1967 Catalina: pale creamy yellow, with black top
1988 LeBaron: champagne/brownish
1979 Newport: "Cashmere" (a light beige/creme)
1986 Monte Carlo: gray over silver
1989 Gran Fury: silver
1985 LeSabre: gray
1967 Newport: pale, creamy yellow
2000 Intrepid: silver
1979 NYer 5th Ave: two-ton creme/beige
1985 Silverado: white over red
1976 Grand LeMans: burgundy

My favorite colors are actually blues, greens, and tasteful mixtures thereof. Seems like the most common color schemes I've fallen into, though, have been gray/silver and creme/beige/yellow. I didn't plan on it that way though. I guess it just happened to be that whatever caught my eye at the time happened to be in that range of color!

Next time around, I kinda want a green car.

bumpy · June 2006

In order, mine were maroon, red, white, blue, maroon, and Variety Pack (tan + cream + gray + green + chrome + silver + rust

)

nippononly · June 2006

are silver, that ubiquitous shade, quite by accident - right car at the right price at the right time. I don't mind having one silver car (my truck), but when the Echo goes it gets replaced by something NOT silver.

Saw a burgundy '96 Accord EX 4-cyl the other day. The best kept car cosmetically I have ever seen, I think. Immaculate. It looked like it was fresh from the photo shoot for the sales brochure back in 1996. Brand new Michelin Energys. They were asking $6200 and I would have leapt (with a lower offer - maybe $5500? Mileage was 92K) if it had been a stick.

kyfdx · June 2006

Baby-poop tan.. '70 Galaxie
White w/green stripes.. '77 Cobra II
Gray.. '76 Jeep CJ-5
Beige.. '82 Accord
Gray.. '67 BMW
Slate Blue.. '84 Porsche
White.. '88 Mazda 323GTX
Black.. '90 Nissan 240SX
White.. '94 Acura Vigor
White.. '95 Nissan Pathfinder
Green.. '97 Accord
Green.. '98 CR-V
White.. '99 Accord
Black.. '01 Accord
Black.. '02 CR-V
White.. '92 Legend
Steel Blue.. '03 BMW
Silver Gray.. '05 BMW

Looking back at it... I was happiest with the color on the white, blue and gray cars... Even now, silver and gray cars really catch my eye...

The two blue cars I had were really unique colors, though... but,I might have liked them more because they were my two favorite cars..

regards,
kyfdx

EDIT: I'll never get another black car... not worth it..

rockylee · June 2006

Nice ride and congrats. Hey does the new TSX have the 5.1 system in it yet ?

Rocky

sandman46 · June 2006

Paid $17,000. for the Civic and got $7800. for the Sentra. Not a great trade price, but I was just hoping the service light wouldn't come back on. It still shuddered on a cold start up and had that hesitation when accelerating. The timing was right for me...& I had the cash all ready. Really glad I pulled the trigger on this puppy. 2 new LX's & 1 EX at work now. And my early mileage is showing about 32 mixed already...what's not to like.
We've been partial towards silver/gray cars since 1988...so the trend continue.
Very happy camper here, so now we have 2 cars that put that grin on my face the second I walk into the garage. Ain't life great!!!!! Really like the new Acuray'all got. One question though...does the DMV have a seperate line for you & Gee...lol!

The Sandman

dromedarius · June 2006

I can't STAND silver. My in-laws have three silver vehicles (Chrysler T&C, Ford F150, and Chevy Lumina) and my sister-in-law and her boyfriend have a silver Taurus and a silver Escort, respectively. That's five for five! Our gold CR-V REALLY shines parked next to that bunch. For some reason, silver doesn't seem to shine nearly as much as gold.

:P

guss · June 2006

That was always my problem with silver, while it never looked dirty, it never shined the way darker colors do.

I am not a big fan of white , but for some reason I like Ford's SUV's in white('00 Explorer, current '02 Escape).

Kyfdx, I love most any car in black, but I hand wash my car every week. In the winter it's a little tough though, the white salt shows awfully on black.

qbrozen · June 2006

i hate silver, too. Mostly because there are so darned many on the road.

Unfortunately, my new Accord is silver. The dealer only had two 6-speed sedans, and both were silver. But, on the fortunate side, its got the black interior like I wanted, so at least the part I am looking at most of the time is the right shade.

For the record, I wanted black on black, but Honda only offers that in the coupe, for some reason. Yeah, I know what a pain black is (my alfa is black, and the dodge dakota i had years ago was black). But its the nicest looking when clean. Besides, I figured since it was a lease, I would get the best years out of the paint.

jefferyg · June 2006

I'll never get another black car... not worth it..

Amen to that. Our black Passat is one of the best looking cars we've ever owned, especially when it's just been washed. But one sprinkle of rain and the beauty is tainted. And if you think a black exterior is hard to keep clean, try out a black interior with two kids. :sick:

As far as color schemes go, the favorite of my wife and I was the 93 Honda Accord we owned. It was Seattle Silver with a kind-of wine interior. Really nice looking interior and surprisingly easy to keep clean. That was one car that I wish I'd kept. We traded it in 03 because the A/C was going out on it. It had almost 150,000 miles and it could have used a paint job. I could have spent a few thousand on the car and gotten another 100,000 miles out of it easily.

I imagine that I'd stick with silver if you could get another interior color besides grey or black. It seems that every automaker has gone in that direction, and while I like the silver exterior, I'm not fond of grey in either a light or dark shade on the interior.

The one color I cannot stand on a vehicle is BROWN. When my wife and I got married she had an 87 Toyota Corolla four-door hatchback. It was brown with a brown interior. It was a gool little car, but it looked like a rolling turd/terd (however you spell it)!

michaellno · June 2006

And if you think a black exterior is hard to keep clean, try out a black interior with two kids.

Yep, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Our '99 VW New Beetle had a black cloth interior that was impossible to keep clean. We ultimately gave up trying. The fabric looked like it would wear forever, however. What was really frustrating was the few times we took our yellow, short-haired dog in that car. You could not get the fur out, no matter what you tried.

I agree with you on the brown ... when I was a kid, the folks bought a '73 Toyota Corona, which was brown/brown. Yep, "turd" is the right way to describe it.

I (heh!) totalled that car in '81 or so. T-boned a lady who made an illegal u-turn from the curb.

corvette · June 2006

I find black interiors easy to keep clean. They do show dust, but the mats will never get stained, and scuff marks are less noticeable. The other downside is the heat buildup.

Black exteriors, on the other hand, show swirl marks and fine scratches worse than any other color.

akangl · June 2006

To look at a used truck, turned out to be nothing that we wanted. GSM is an old friend of mine and he knows we have that truck sitting down in Anchorage waiting on accessories and such. He tried HARD to steal us, got me looking at a mega cab dually, very cool truck but dang it was $54k. He cut the price way back offered a huge trade on our trucks, lol, was doing anything he could to make a deal. I laughed and walked away. I guess the owner is breathing down his neck to not lose any more deals to anchorage. Funny thing is we tried them first before we went to anchorage and they wouldn't deal at all. Other thing I don't like about them is they throw $4k worth of accessories (most I don't want) on their trucks, why do dealers do that??

The Titan has to go into the Nissan dealer next week for a check valve and the check engine light is on. One is warranty the other is the hip national bank.

woodyww · June 2006

*I'll never get another black car... not worth it..*

I'm on my 3rd black car. I'm so sick of black, I could scream--it's so hard to keep clean, & only a few vehicles look good in black IMO, & then only when they are super-clean.

The worst is a black interior, IMO. Even in New England, even on 70 degree sunny days, you could cook Bar-B-Q on the seats. 80-90-95 degree sunny days; I don't see how people deal with it.

There are occasionally people on the RWTIV forum with a black/black/black convertible, or whatever, invariably from TX or FL, claiming that black is the best color on earth. But for some reason, they are always trying to sell the vehicle.....

akangl · June 2006

A Jetta with a black velour interior, that was the WORST vehicle to try to keep clean, I gave up after a while. We have 3 cats and a dog, while none of them ride in the car the hair transfers. Not to mention I'm a blonde so that doesn't help either.

I ordered my new Dodge in black, not sure what I was thinking exactly, but it is really beautiful. I just wanted something other than white, I'm sooooo sick of white.

corvette · June 2006

80-90-95 degree sunny days; I don't see how people deal with it.

On my car, I can hold the unlock button for 30 seconds to roll down the windows and open the sunroof. Doing that before entering the car lets out a considerable amount of hot air, although, on hot days, the steering wheel is too hot to touch along the top.

akangl · June 2006

Living in Yuma, AZ in the late 80's and my mom had a car with vinyl seats. On some days you couldn't even sit down in the car. She eventually got a 75 Cougar that was white with white leather and it had A/C which was a total luxury. I think that was one of the only vehicles she owned in AZ that had A/C.

dromedarius · June 2006

Our last car was black with a black interior. Black looks really sharp when it's clean, but we live in Minnesota with lots of winter salt on the roads, and it was literally impossible to keep clean. I think our gold car looks cleaner when its dirty than our black car did when it was clean.

And as other posters have mentioned, the black interiors are tough to keep clean as well. Every piece of dust seems to stick out as if the car is screaming "My owner is a slob!" My wife and I have sworn never to buy another new black vehicle.

nyccarguy · June 2006

I saw an ad in the NY Post today for a 1 year lease w/ 12,000 miles (pay up front with your credit card if you like, sorry no AMEX) for a 2006 Infiniti FX35 (MSRP $42,060 includes Leather, V6, Slushbox, smart key, bluetooth, sunroof, Bose Stereo w/ 6 disc changer, heated seats, & rearview camera) for $6164.70 plus tax.

woodyww · June 2006

I owned a black/black 1990 Saab turbo for 10 years. I put 3 sunshades in the front, side, & rear windows when it was parked outside in the summer--forget to put the sunshades in for 10 minutes on a hot day & it was unbearable.

The most fun was a 1973 Mercury Capri V6 with black interior that I had in FL for a couple of years, with either feeble or broken A/C. Of course you can survive that sort of thing better when you're young.

Before I bought my black/tan 2000 5-series, I drove a year old 2001 525iT, stick, Sport Package, Xenons, this gorgeous blue color, & of course........black interior. I blew it off because of that, but talk about how the color, the 17" wheels, & the black ext. trim can totally transform an E-39.....still bugs me a little that I didn't buy it.

bumpy · June 2006

80-90-95 degree sunny days; I don't see how people deal with it

I dunno; the SE-R has a black interior and I don't find it to be intolerably hot or even warm. The seats and headliner are gray, though. Maybe that makes a difference?

anonymousposts · June 2006

As I went through the list it surprised me that most of our cars have been black. Here's the list ..

Blue

2000 Honda Civic Si
2003 Honda Civic Si
1989 Ford Probe (my first car)
1992 Acura Integra
1989 Toyota Tercel

Black

1989 Civic Wagon
1991 Acura Integra
1991 Toyota MR2 (gee's car when I met him)
1991 Nissan 300ZX TT
2001 Honda Accord V6 Coupe
2003 Honda Accord EXL 5-speed
2001 Mazda Protege ES
2000 Honda Civic Si
1997 Dodge Dakota
1987 Toyota FX16 GTS

Silver

1987 Toyota FX16 GTS
1989 Toyota Celica GTS
1998 Honda Civic EX
1996 Honda Civic EX
2004 Honda Accord EX-L
1996 Honda Civic EX
1993 Acura Vigor

White

1982 Toyota Tercel
1993 Honda Accord EX
2002 Honda Civic Si
2002 Honda Civic Si
1994 Lexus LS400

Gold

1995 Lexus GS300
1991 Honda Accord
1999 Honda Accord
2000 Chevy Silverado

Red

1997 Toyota RAV4
1991 Acura Integra
2004 Honda Accord EX-L

Gray

2004 Honda Odyssey
2003 Acura MDX
2006 Acura TSX

Green

1994 Acura Integra

With the exception of the 1999 Accord, the 89 Civic wagon, the 91 Accord, the 82 Tercel, the 94 LS400, and the 95 GS300 all have had gray or black interior.

gee35coupe · June 2006

Is well on its way to having my personal stamp on it. Ebay is addictive. 06 Civic SI wheels, a-spec suspension, Comptech rear sway bar are already on the way. Yeah baby. I'm hoping for a driving experience like my old SI. I'm still in break in mode right now, but I can feel the fun trying to break through. I'm hoping it looks like the 06 version of this car.
http://www.tsxclub.com/forums/showpost.php?p=158381&postcount=2

Next will come a short shift kit and maybe some powerslot rotors.

sandman46 · June 2006

Figured you'd both love the Acura. Looked on Ebay for some '06 EX alloys and will wait a bit to purchase some. When the time comes, I hope y'all will steer me through the whole Ebay process. Seems a bit confusing at 1st glance.
Love the LX, just need to get the sound system up to par. Added door speakers with tweeters already in them, but the sound is still to low in the cabin. I want more power and sound in the upper areas of the cabin. Help!!! Don't want to spend an arm & a leg, but need to do something soon. Please get back to me on some suggestions when y'all have some time.
We're now partial towards silver/gray cars. My old '88 FX was a beautiful silver and loved that wedgy shape. But when the 3rd baby came along...it had to go for a sedan.
Let us see some pics of the Acura when all the accessories are in place.
Regards!!!

The Sandman

gee35coupe · June 2006

I might get some for the Accord too. It's almost tire time and I see that some of those wheels with tires have gone for aboout $700. Not bad considering how much those Michelins cost. I wouldn't mind a set of those 03-05 Accord Coupe 6MT 17" wheels either.

andre1969 · June 2006

I think my biggest problem with the color is that, like others have said, there's just too damned many of them on the road. In the past, I looked at it as an upscale color, and thought it looked good on larger cars, luxury cars, etc. And back when it wasn't such a common color, I thought it could add an upscale touch to an otherwise everyday car. But once they started putting it on Escorts, Civics, Corollas, etc, it just lost its magic.

corvette · June 2006

When I ordered my car, there were only a few colors available. Non-metallic black, red, and white; metallic silver, very dark blue (almost black), silver, charcoal, and another greyish color. I wanted Orient Blue, a medium blue, but they didn't offer that on the early production models, so the process of elimination landed me with silver.

Now that I've had a couple of silver cars, I think the next one will be a medium or dark blue or dark red.

corvette · June 2006

When selling a car on eBay, do people frequently want to call you to discuss the car? How far do you go to accommodate them?

jefferyg · June 2006

I saw one yesterday at Wal-Mart. It passed me in the parking lot, and I must say it is a head turner. I think if I ever decided to take the leap into the luxury market it would be a good starter vehicle.

I just wish Honda would make some of the same applications of style to their cars. Put a similar look on the Accord and they might just get me back.

jefferyg · June 2006

Oh, I forgot to mention, the TSX I saw was you guessed it - Silver.

akangl · June 2006

I was amazed at how much I liked that MDX, lots of nice touches. I've been trying to figure out how to make it work in my lifestyle and it just ain't gonna happen. I'll kill it with what I do, I think one trip down the logging road would spell disaster.......then again, the logging boss's wife drives her mercedes e-class wagon out there, lol. The other major hang up about it was I would have to take it 300 miles for warranty work, not a huge deal since I'm in Anchorage every 3 months anyway, but still a hassle.

Obviously I haven't bought anything yet, probably this next weekend the trio will leave the yard.

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