Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

Sandman6472

Always check the CarFax! Sure, they're not 100% reliable but, always check. Interesting what's in there.

The Sandman

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

Even if true, it shouldn't matter to you. If they want to show $12650 for your trade and charge you full price on their car, then so be it. Comes out the same for you either way. As Terry always said, "The difference is the difference." At least I think that's what he said.

Firefighter and Q. I don't have to have the car, there are lots of them around and the Passat is OK to use..The Passat goes in for service Tuesday, and the VW dealer has a Mercedes dealership....will see what they have and what they would offer.

Q, What Terry says is exactly right. Right now the difference is $15800....I said I would come in today at $14000. I can hold off it is more than that, which I think it will be. They haven't called back and it has been over an hour so they aren't that interested....that is OK. If it wasn't meant to be it wasn't meant to be.

Sometimes they wait up to a week before they call back. Stay tough.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright said:

graphicguy said:

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

Does this count as a punch?



https://www.flickr.com/photos/97396424@N08/shares/9NP6Xi

Yeah, that'll get you a punch alright, like getting your lights punched out.

jmonroe

?????????

I think he means that on a bicycle, sometimes a car will "a-door" you.

I better clear this up.

@graphicguy wanted to know if he could get a "punch", like in CCBA, because he bought bike. I figured those guys would not want to hear anything about a bike purchase, motorized or not, and because he was wasting their time, might prefer to "punch his lights out" for even asking.

I guess someone might want to shoot me for that too. I think I'll need a chest protector pretty soon.

Sounds like a few posters here have lost their sense of humor lately. Maybe it was the election.

jmonroe

stever

Back to politics, I have a neighbor who manages a dealership. Ran into him today for the first time in months so talked some shop. He has new owners and the "board" was quizzing him as to why sales were down in the last couple of months.

This guy is pretty smart - he had already pulled the numbers for 2008 and 2012 and found that sales were down in those years for the three months prior to the general election. That shut his owners up.

His store does True Car, USAA and another buying service or two. He's happy to pay those guys $300 a pop for a sale since all he cares about is hitting his numbers. Hitting his numbers means anywhere from $300 to $700 per car from the manufacturer and that's what pays for the new car expenses and commissions. The real money, as most of y'all know, is in used car sales.

driver100

stickguy said:

that off lease place, Sandy seems to like it. or at least sees a lot of their cars out and about. One other nice thing is they say the price is all-in, and not added dealer fee (which down there, seems to be $699 or so).

I am not that worried about CPO, if it is going to mean a $4-6K upcharge. But, I do want something under factory warranty. So a lot of the ones I look at online still have 1-1.5 years of BtoB warranty left, plus a couple of years of powertrain. So, enough to make me comfortable.

Those off lease prices were really good. If we lived closer I would check it out. They have up to 7 year warranties too. If they have a good record I would go, but it is about 5 hours away.....a long way to go for warranty work.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

Even if true, it shouldn't matter to you. If they want to show $12650 for your trade and charge you full price on their car, then so be it. Comes out the same for you either way. As Terry always said, "The difference is the difference." At least I think that's what he said.

Firefighter and Q. I don't have to have the car, there are lots of them around and the Passat is OK to use..The Passat goes in for service Tuesday, and the VW dealer has a Mercedes dealership....will see what they have and what they would offer.

Q, What Terry says is exactly right. Right now the difference is $15800....I said I would come in today at $14000. I can hold off it is more than that, which I think it will be. They haven't called back and it has been over an hour so they aren't that interested....that is OK. If it wasn't meant to be it wasn't meant to be.

Sometimes they wait up to a week before they call back. Stay tough.

That helps. Our friendly sales guy said he would call back...but never did. They may wait and see if they can get full price for a week or so, or, they may play tough...from what Sandman says that is their technique.

I found one with twice the mileage, same colors, for $24000, $1000 less in Clearwater. We went to a bmw dealer yesterday, and they said there would be lots of lease returns coming in over the next month....I guess a lot of leases start when new models come out....not sure why? I like a 2014 328, but not as much as the C.

stickguy

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

that off lease place, Sandy seems to like it. or at least sees a lot of their cars out and about. One other nice thing is they say the price is all-in, and not added dealer fee (which down there, seems to be $699 or so).

I am not that worried about CPO, if it is going to mean a $4-6K upcharge. But, I do want something under factory warranty. So a lot of the ones I look at online still have 1-1.5 years of BtoB warranty left, plus a couple of years of powertrain. So, enough to make me comfortable.

Those off lease prices were really good. If we lived closer I would check it out. They have up to 7 year warranties too. If they have a good record I would go, but it is about 5 hours away.....a long way to go for warranty work.

aren't you by tampa? They have a store in Orlando. that is only 1,5 hours, so not quite as bad!

jmonroe

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

driver, there are a lot of those C classes out there. with an assortment of colors, though the red is probably on the rarer side. so if you don't do anything now, not like you won't have plenty chances in the future (and the MB will certainly depreciate faster).

Also, don't discount Carmax. Sometimes they do odd things, especially with super clean low miles cars.

Good advice stick. I have been looking at others and anything with that low miles is either $1000s more or there is no warranty. 5 year warranty is better than new, which was 4 years. Probably make you jump through hoops to keep the warranty in force. The red is very rare, and beige interior is pretty rare too. I checked Edmunds on the Passat, they have dealer trade in price of $11744 and dealer selling price of $14,960. I could be wrong, but if they gave me $13000 they don't have to do a thing to it, and they would make a quick $1000 or more.

We all tend to think that our kids are smarter than others, our dogs are cuter, and our cars are worth more than they really are.

I'll go along with the dogs and cars comment but not about my kids being smarter than others because sometimes they are bricks.

Now, about @driver100's Passat, if he gets 13K for it from that dealer, I'll bet that dealer would give me 52K for my 15' Genny because it doesn't even have 6K miles on it and the wax job is much better than when it was picked up. Before you laugh, they are pretty popular in Southern FL at least on the East Coast they are.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

jmonroe said:

Sounds like a few posters here have lost their sense of humor lately. Maybe it was the election.

Nah -- my guess is that they think they suffered a micro-aggression and need a safe space. Maybe we need a safety pin emoji, not that we'd all use it (meaning me, by the way).

suydam

Move on.

houdini1

jmonroe said:

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

driver, there are a lot of those C classes out there. with an assortment of colors, though the red is probably on the rarer side. so if you don't do anything now, not like you won't have plenty chances in the future (and the MB will certainly depreciate faster).

Also, don't discount Carmax. Sometimes they do odd things, especially with super clean low miles cars.

Good advice stick. I have been looking at others and anything with that low miles is either $1000s more or there is no warranty. 5 year warranty is better than new, which was 4 years. Probably make you jump through hoops to keep the warranty in force. The red is very rare, and beige interior is pretty rare too. I checked Edmunds on the Passat, they have dealer trade in price of $11744 and dealer selling price of $14,960. I could be wrong, but if they gave me $13000 they don't have to do a thing to it, and they would make a quick $1000 or more.

We all tend to think that our kids are smarter than others, our dogs are cuter, and our cars are worth more than they really are.

I'll go along with the dogs and cars comment but not about my kids being smarter than others because sometimes they are bricks.

Now, about @driver100's Passat, if he gets 13K for it from that dealer, I'll bet that dealer would give me 52K for my 15' Genny because it doesn't even have 6K miles on it and the wax job is much better than when it was picked up. Before you laugh, they are pretty popular in Southern FL at least on the East Coast they are.

jmonroe

Thanks for the 2 out of 3 agreement. I'll take it. That is better than I usually do.

Now, when are you going to step up to a real Genesis, Genesis, and complete your luxury car ownership dreams. I don't know how you can live without all those new safety systems that they made standard !

Mr_Shiftright

I was reading an interesting science article on "smart kids" and it seems that they are very good at learning tactics faster than adults (like say in a video game) but not very good at long-term strategic planning (as say in chess).

So we think they are geniuses and then they grow up to be like us

jmonroe

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

driver, there are a lot of those C classes out there. with an assortment of colors, though the red is probably on the rarer side. so if you don't do anything now, not like you won't have plenty chances in the future (and the MB will certainly depreciate faster).

Also, don't discount Carmax. Sometimes they do odd things, especially with super clean low miles cars.

Good advice stick. I have been looking at others and anything with that low miles is either $1000s more or there is no warranty. 5 year warranty is better than new, which was 4 years. Probably make you jump through hoops to keep the warranty in force. The red is very rare, and beige interior is pretty rare too. I checked Edmunds on the Passat, they have dealer trade in price of $11744 and dealer selling price of $14,960. I could be wrong, but if they gave me $13000 they don't have to do a thing to it, and they would make a quick $1000 or more.

We all tend to think that our kids are smarter than others, our dogs are cuter, and our cars are worth more than they really are.

I'll go along with the dogs and cars comment but not about my kids being smarter than others because sometimes they are bricks.

Now, about @driver100's Passat, if he gets 13K for it from that dealer, I'll bet that dealer would give me 52K for my 15' Genny because it doesn't even have 6K miles on it and the wax job is much better than when it was picked up. Before you laugh, they are pretty popular in Southern FL at least on the East Coast they are.

jmonroe

Thanks for the 2 out of 3 agreement. I'll take it. That is better than I usually do.

Now, when are you going to step up to a real Genesis, Genesis, and complete your luxury car ownership dreams. I don't know how you can live without all those new safety systems that they made standard !

I don't know what the 2017 has in the way of safety or anything else for that matter than my 2015. Looks wise, I'd have to line them up side by side to see any differences.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

I was reading an interesting science article on "smart kids" and it seems that they are very good at learning tactics faster than adults (like say in a video game) but not very good at long-term strategic planning (as say in chess). So we think they are geniuses and then they grow up to be like us

My older kid is an idiot in every way. I thought the little one was, too, but he is starting to impress me. Still needs to work on his street smarts, but when it comes to analytical thinking, he (at 6 yrs old) is already way beyond the 10 yr old. I can still whip them both in video games, though. I'd like to think I can hold that advantage but since I only spend maybe an hour a month on average playing, it is doubtful. 

houdini1

My kids were not very smart when they were little, but I am beyond shock that they turned out so well as grown ups. Shocked and relieved. Our three grandsons are geniuses compared to my sons and me at their ages. Book smart anyway. 'Ol grand dad still has 'em beat on street smarts though.

Mr_Shiftright

Karl Benz was a child genius. Scary smart.

driver100

stickguy said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

that off lease place, Sandy seems to like it. or at least sees a lot of their cars out and about. One other nice thing is they say the price is all-in, and not added dealer fee (which down there, seems to be $699 or so).

I am not that worried about CPO, if it is going to mean a $4-6K upcharge. But, I do want something under factory warranty. So a lot of the ones I look at online still have 1-1.5 years of BtoB warranty left, plus a couple of years of powertrain. So, enough to make me comfortable.

Those off lease prices were really good. If we lived closer I would check it out. They have up to 7 year warranties too. If they have a good record I would go, but it is about 5 hours away.....a long way to go for warranty work.

aren't you by tampa? They have a store in Orlando. that is only 1,5 hours, so not quite as bad!

I missed that. I will check it but Orlando is more like 2 hours of hard driving. What do you do if you need a warranty repair...do you have to take the car there? I hate going to Orlando. I think the population around here has doubled this year, way more traffic, and housing is booming. Some neighbors said just get a golf cart...you can get whatever you need by getting there on a golf cart. I have never driven one, and it will make me feel older than driving a Buick

driver100

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

</

JM, ever been hit by a huge waste removal truck going about 45 mph while trying to speed through a yellow light?
And then your car going diagonally across the road up on to a church lawn, and just slipping between a concrete telephone pole and a bus shelter? Then getting out of your car and seeing the trunk pushed in up to the rear window, and the headrests popped out? It gives you a slightly different perspective in how vulnerable we can be.

berri

Personally, I don't think I could own an expensive car. Parking lot scratches and knicks on it would bug me, let alone garbage truck in the trunk!

stickguy

whatever warranty they sell will just be a 3rd party one, so you can take it to any repair shop that will accept the plan (so be real careful about researching whatever they offer),

for a while though, it will be still under the normal MB factory warranty. And if you really want the primo extended one, you can buy an official MB warranty, which will basically be the same exact thing you would get on a CPO unit

so, worth a call tomorrow to see how much you could buy one for (and whatever the F&I guy tells you, there most likely is a dealer online (though a forum) that will sell it to you for a lot less!

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

Karl Benz was a child genius. Scary smart.

How did you know that? If he was so smart why isn't it called a Benz Mercedes?

I checked and you are correct...he was a child prodigy.
Karl Benz Child Prodigy Short Biography

driver100

berri said:

Personally, I don't think I could own an expensive car. Parking lot scratches and knicks on it would bug me, let alone garbage truck in the trunk!

It is just money. What is better, having the money sitting in the bank or actually getting some use and fun out of it?

stickguy

I can't complain about my kids. Both were always good at school, got into good colleges, etc. That and staying out of jail and off drugs IMO is as much as anyone can really hope for.

interestingly, both are home since yesterday for the week. First time the whole family has been together for an extended period in years. Kind of a shock to our system (me and the wife), since we have gotten used to an empty nest!

driver100

Stick....I will look into it. That MB CPO warranty is 162 check points...it is basically like buying a new car.....but hoping it isn't a lemon.
I will definitely look into it...their prices were excellent....and no DOC fees!

jmonroe

driver100 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

I think my car would have held up pretty well too because it is a pretty good sized car and has good crash testing results. However, it wouldn't have had to given you're situation because I think I would have run that early yellow light.

jmonroe

stickguy

well, most likely the lease place does a once over too. Those checks can be a bit over sold. Assuming whatever you buy is good on tires and brakes, most of what you are paying for is the warranty.

stever

stickguy said:

Those checks can be a bit over sold.

Tires match? 4 checks.
Minimum tread depth? 4 checks.
Spare? Tread? 2 checks.

Even after all that we've had people post that their CPO cars had mismatched tires. Still isn't a bad idea to have a CPO PPI.

stickguy

my acura dealer does a multipoint inspection with my $28.99 oil change special. I get the checklist and everything. I believe it has about 120 items on it (though many are N/A, since it is all inclusive so items like clutch are included!)

the inspection they do does not take long. What is supposed to add value is what they replace (brakes/tires if more than 1/2 worn, etc.). But all that is real easy to check.

jipster

stickguy said:

my acura dealer does a multipoint inspection with my $28.99 oil change special. I get the checklist and everything. I believe it has about 120 items on it (though many are N/A, since it is all inclusive so items like clutch are included!) the inspection they do does not take long. What is supposed to add value is what they replace (brakes/tires if more than 1/2 worn, etc.). But all that is real easy to check.

Acura might do all 120 checks on their multipoint inspection, but I have my doubts with Ford and Hyundai. They rarely check cabin air filter. Went to change the cabin air filter in my Mercury Mariner, when I first got it. It wasn't there! The filter compartment, under the hood by front windshield,looked as if it had never been opened. The car had about 102,000 miles at the time. 

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

I think my car would have held up pretty well too because it is a pretty good sized car and has good crash testing results. However, it wouldn't have had to given you're situation because I think I would have run that early yellow light.

jmonroe

You would have run the yellow light ........and hit the car about to turn left in front of me, or one of the people about to cross the street to get to the bus stop.

graphicguy

driver100 said:

Pull up to MB Sarasota....nothing to do with Mike...would like his advice but not a good time right now.
They have the car ready to go, just need some info from me. Before we find our sales rep I get asked by about 4 different sales guys if I need help. We sit down, I meet the guy who will appraise the Passat, and I meet the sales manager and some other dignitary (probably drives a Buick).
They get my license and phone number etc. They tell me they own VW dealerships so will give me top price for the trade in.
We test the car, and explorer, it looks exactly like the car you had on the cars.com link...red, with a spoiler and fancier wheels than average. The car is immaculate. It started out as a loaner car.....for 6000 miles. Then it was leased for 2 years and only went another 6000 miles. It is in mint condition. One crazy thing on the Carfax report was it is listed as red each time it came in for service, but once at about 9000 miles they said it was black. Salesman checked and said it was a mistake, happens quite often. Does make you wonder about accuracy.

We take the car out and we love it. My wife loves the outward vision, it is comfortable, it handles beautifully on the highway. The little 4 cyl 201 hp is a bit rough, but when you need power it is there, not like the 330 hp E400 but more than adequate for most situations. Cars.com talked about less interior room than competitors....wasn't a factor for us, very comfortable. It is solid and handles beautifully on the highway. Would have loved a rear camera and blind spot warnings but have gotten by for many years without.

I checked KBB for trading in the Passat (2013, SE, no options) and got a value range of $11365 to $12800 approx. I wanted $14000 because it is off the charts perfect with unusually low mileage. When they look it up they get $11300! I don't know if they just use the lowest figure or if they can get into a different screen. They claim the C250 was worth $26847 and they have discounted it as much as possible at $25167. One really great thing is it has a 5 year, 100000 mile warranty...that is incredible...only cars in top shape come with that warranty.

There is a $699 dealer service fee which I said they could drop, and they gave me a big story about why they can't do that....but, I said I think you can....take it off the C or add it to the Passat - I learned that trick from you guys.

The total difference using their prices including DOC fee, registration $400, taxes, $900 came out to $15850.

I told the salesman we are taking it in on Tuesday for the oil change and we will see what kind of value VW puts on it. In the meantime I sent him the KBBs for the Passat and C Class that I found, and said if we were arount $12500 differnce we could talk about it.

My wife and I love the car, and we think it would be perfect for our needs. The Passat served us well and it is great for getting around town, but I think it is pushing the envelope to drive it at 80. It is fine, but there is little reserve power if you had to get around someone. It just isn't as solid as a Mercedes, and the handling just isn't the same.

How much can I trust these Auto Nation guys? In total we must have been approached by about 12 different salesmen when we were on our own, all friendly and nice but a bit much....feel pounced on.

Comments are welcome!

Driver....cool! I think that's the same one my sister has (except for color and hers is a C300, so not sure the difference). She loves hers. Although, she still longs to have another Jag (which is what she traded for the C).

Keep us posted.

houdini1

jipster said:

stickguy said:

my acura dealer does a multipoint inspection with my $28.99 oil change special. I get the checklist and everything. I believe it has about 120 items on it (though many are N/A, since it is all inclusive so items like clutch are included!)

the inspection they do does not take long. What is supposed to add value is what they replace (brakes/tires if more than 1/2 worn, etc.). But all that is real easy to check.

Acura might do all 120 checks on their multipoint inspection, but I have my doubts with Ford and Hyundai. They rarely check cabin air filter. Went to change the cabin air filter in my Mercury Mariner, when I first got it. It wasn't there! The filter compartment, under the hood by front windshield,looked as if it had never been opened. The car had about 102,000 miles at the time. 


How many years did we get along without a cabin air filter? What with rolling the windows down, opening and closing doors, etc. I wonder what good it does and a dirty one would be worse than none at all. Probably not a bad idea just to take the thing out. It is good for one thing though, dealer profit.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

I think my car would have held up pretty well too because it is a pretty good sized car and has good crash testing results. However, it wouldn't have had to given you're situation because I think I would have run that early yellow light.

jmonroe

You would have run the yellow light ........and hit the car about to turn left in front of me, or one of the people about to cross the street to get to the bus stop.

I don't remember you ever saying that you were confronted with those situations.

All I remember is you said you had plenty of time to stop, so you stopped.

jmonroe

Michaell

(posted in CCBA, but I know not everybody reads that thread)

My dad's truck finally sold last week. $5000 to a CHP officer who will treat it right.

Lots of memories with that truck; one last pic for all to see.

jmonroe

jipster said:

stickguy said:

my acura dealer does a multipoint inspection with my $28.99 oil change special. I get the checklist and everything. I believe it has about 120 items on it (though many are N/A, since it is all inclusive so items like clutch are included!)

the inspection they do does not take long. What is supposed to add value is what they replace (brakes/tires if more than 1/2 worn, etc.). But all that is real easy to check.

Acura might do all 120 checks on their multipoint inspection, but I have my doubts with Ford and Hyundai. They rarely check cabin air filter. Went to change the cabin air filter in my Mercury Mariner, when I first got it. It wasn't there! The filter compartment, under the hood by front windshield,looked as if it had never been opened. The car had about 102,000 miles at the time. 

I don't think the dealers actually check to cabin air filter because most of them require removing the glove box to get at it. This is no big deal since it is relatively easy to do but they don't go through that little bit of work to look at it only to be told you don't want it. I'm pretty sure they just go by the miles for most cars because of what I just said.

When Mrs. j's 12' Subie went in for an oil change with a little less than 26K miles this past Spring the dealer said it needed a cabin air filter. I didn't let them change it. About a week later I changed it myself. Yes, it needed changed but it was not as dirty as I thought it would be but because I was "in there" I changed it.

For a little proof of what I just said, lookie at what you have to go through to change the cabin air filter on a 2005 Subie Legacy. If I had one of those '05's it would never get changed.

https://youtu.be/DXhdQNEKJss

jmonroe

jmonroe

Michaell said:

(posted in CCBA, but I know not everybody reads that thread)

My dad's truck finally sold last week. $5000 to a CHP officer who will treat it right.

Lots of memories with that truck; one last pic for all to see.

Man, that is a real classic.

Why didn't you keep it. I know it was in CA but c'mon man, that would have been worth the ride.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for safety but I'm not hung up on it like most people seem to be today. So far, just having good ABS brakes, seatbelts and airbags is enough for me.

jmonroe

I think my car would have held up pretty well too because it is a pretty good sized car and has good crash testing results. However, it wouldn't have had to given you're situation because I think I would have run that early yellow light.

jmonroe

You would have run the yellow light ........and hit the car about to turn left in front of me, or one of the people about to cross the street to get to the bus stop.

I don't remember you ever saying that you were confronted with those situations.

All I remember is you said you had plenty of time to stop, so you stopped.

jmonroe

Somewhere along the line I did mention it. I told the cop about the car turning left in front of me and he said if he hit you it would be his fault...he can't do anything until you have cleared the intersection. I thought great, that way I have a full on frontal crash but....it won't be my fault!

driver100

RE 2014 C250
The difference is $15800 all in, between the C 250 and the Passat.
We offered $14000 difference yesterday and they were supposed to call back.
Didn't get a call yesterday, they called this morning and left a message, can't accept $14000.
I have been looking for similar cars and there isn't anything I can find better.
Considering offering $15000, but, not sure if they will then hold out for $15800.
I have to word it carefully.

sda

<Acura might do all 120 checks on their multipoint inspection, but I have my doubts with Ford and Hyundai.

We bought our Pilot as a Certified Honda which came with the Certified Honda Warranty, an extensive inspection list that included invoices of work done (new brake pads, battery, alignment, oil change, wiper blades, air and cabin filter to list a few), an individualized notebook with picture of the car, a copy of the clean Car Fax, etc. It was fairly impressive. What was not impressive is that I found out after we purchased it that it had accident damage to the tune of $5500! I found the receipts in the glove box. The accident repair was done by that same Honda dealer's body shop. I went back to the selling dealer, and they said, yes it was repaired, there was no structural damage and it still met CPO requirements. I did get them to renegotiate our deal and got a price reduction of $2500 and a letter of assurance that if we had any issues with the Pilot that were related to the accident repair that they would cover it. It has been fine so far.

Buyer beware---you can buy a CPO with accident damage. I will have an independent inspection made next time I buy a used vehicle.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

RE 2014 C250
The difference is $15800 all in, between the C 250 and the Passat.
We offered $14000 difference yesterday and they were supposed to call back.
Didn't get a call yesterday, they called this morning and left a message, can't accept $14000.
I have been looking for similar cars and there isn't anything I can find better.
Considering offering $15000, but, not sure if they will then hold out for $15800.
I have to word it carefully.

I'm a little surprised at you. Why not use the "Driver Method" for this purchase. That is, what ever the difference is divide that number by all the seconds there are for all the days you plan to keep it. You won't even care about the difference then.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

RE 2014 C250
The difference is $15800 all in, between the C 250 and the Passat.
We offered $14000 difference yesterday and they were supposed to call back.
Didn't get a call yesterday, they called this morning and left a message, can't accept $14000.
I have been looking for similar cars and there isn't anything I can find better.
Considering offering $15000, but, not sure if they will then hold out for $15800.
I have to word it carefully.

I'm a little surprised at you. Why not use the "Driver Method" for this purchase. That is, what ever the difference is divide that number by all the seconds there are for all the days you plan to keep it. You won't even care about the difference then.

jmonroe

That is brilliant and I agree for the most part. The car is actually worth $15800 difference probably, don't see one we like as much. 12k miles, 5 year warranty...it is like a new car. If we use it for 5 or 6 years $1000 here or there doesn't mean a lot on a yearly basis. I just don't like their attitude....kind of take it or leave it. But, do I paint myself into a corner and leave it for the sake of $1000 or possible $2k?

jmonroe

sda said:

I assume it had a clean Carfax. If it did that doesn't give Carfax much credibility.

As I understand it, there is no penalty, maybe not even a requirement, for a shop that does not enter accident info for a VIN. That pretty much says the industry is on the "honor system" and since this is the car biz, what does that really say?

jmonroe

driver100

sda said:

Carfax has real limitations. Like this C250, it is listed as red about 8 times when it comes in for service, then all of a sudden it is Black. How could that happen...then it is red again about 3 times after. I am sure the fine print says something about not being responsible for any errors.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

RE 2014 C250
The difference is $15800 all in, between the C 250 and the Passat.
We offered $14000 difference yesterday and they were supposed to call back.
Didn't get a call yesterday, they called this morning and left a message, can't accept $14000.
I have been looking for similar cars and there isn't anything I can find better.
Considering offering $15000, but, not sure if they will then hold out for $15800.
I have to word it carefully.

I'm a little surprised at you. Why not use the "Driver Method" for this purchase. That is, what ever the difference is divide that number by all the seconds there are for all the days you plan to keep it. You won't even care about the difference then.

jmonroe

That is brilliant and I agree for the most part. The car is actually worth $15800 difference probably, don't see one we like as much. 12k miles, 5 year warranty...it is like a new car. If we use it for 5 or 6 years $1000 here or there doesn't mean a lot on a yearly basis. I just don't like their attitude....kind of take it or leave it. But, do I paint myself into a corner and leave it for the sake of $1000 or possible $2k?

If you want my answer, I have already said I doubt that I could buy a car from that dealer. With all the cars down your way, I'd keep looking. They might even call back since this is almost the end of the month. No one ever said having hot pants for a car is the best way to buy one.

Ain't you learned nothing from all your years in here?

jmonroe

Michaell

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

(posted in CCBA, but I know not everybody reads that thread)

My dad's truck finally sold last week. $5000 to a CHP officer who will treat it right.

Lots of memories with that truck; one last pic for all to see.

Man, that is a real classic.

Why didn't you keep it. I know it was in CA but c'mon man, that would have been worth the ride.

jmonroe

Before he passed, my dad specifically wanted the truck sold, and the proceeds split among the four grandsons. Both my son and my nephew wanted it for themselves, and dad figured to avoid the confrontation by simply selling it.

Plus, I've nowhere to park it here in Colorado, and it's 2WD, which wouldn't go well in the winter.

I'm glad it found a good home.

Surprisingly, I never got a ticket in it.

driver100

They wanted $15800 difference. I offered $15000 this time.
They came back at $15200.....we accepted.
Will go and sign papers today....have to get money and transfer it.
I am pretty excited, I love that little car...and I can't find one I would like as much and they are all priced the same or higher.

It's a go then, sorry it took so long JM.

stever

Cool, congrats!

jmonroe

driver100 said:

They wanted $15800 difference. I offered $15000 this time.
They came back at $15200.....we accepted.
Will go and sign papers today....have to get money and transfer it.
I am pretty excited, I love that little car...and I can't find one I would like as much and they are all priced the same or higher.

It's a go then, sorry it took so long JM.

I would have played their game and said NO. But then again, I'm not the one that had the hot pants for it either.

Call back when it is a final/done deal.

jmonroe

jmonroe

Michaell said:

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

(posted in CCBA, but I know not everybody reads that thread)

My dad's truck finally sold last week. $5000 to a CHP officer who will treat it right.

Lots of memories with that truck; one last pic for all to see.

Man, that is a real classic.

Why didn't you keep it. I know it was in CA but c'mon man, that would have been worth the ride.

jmonroe

Before he passed, my dad specifically wanted the truck sold, and the proceeds split among the four grandsons. Both my son and my nephew wanted it for themselves, and dad figured to avoid the confrontation by simply selling it.

Plus, I've nowhere to park it here in Colorado, and it's 2WD, which wouldn't go well in the winter.

I'm glad it found a good home.

Surprisingly, I never got a ticket in it.

OK, I get it now. Except for the part about never getting a ticket in it.

jmonroe

ab348

henryn said:

The house I'm presently in was built around 2005, and the bathroom sinks (all 3 of them) do NOT have an overflow hole or whatever they might be called. While I don't have any small kids around to worry about, what I do encounter is "vapor block". After brushing my teeth and shaving in the morning, I often have to use a plunger to get the water to drain so that I can clean the sink. I do hate a dirty sink with razor stubble and toothpaste stains.

I meant to respond to this earlier, @henryn, but forgot. My bathroom sink was always much the same. The plumbing vent for the house is right there so I am pretty sure the drain has good venting, but that drain was always very slow. I blamed some of that on the fact that it did not have an overflow vent, but I no longer think that is the case.

I used a lot of drain cleaner products to try to free it up, both liquid and crystals (which I think work a bit better because I can hear them doing their thing down there). But while they helped some, it was still slow. I mentioned it one day to my 93 year-old neighbor and she loaned me this, which she said she uses weekly on her sink:



I took it in there, filled the sink and as it was slowly draining away used this thing on it. Holy cow! After a half-dozen or so plunges all this goop came up - probably a mixture of soap, shaving cream, and toothpaste. It was unreal. The cleaners may have loosened some of it but it never totally got out of there. After that, the drain worked like a champ. I returned it to her with thanks and found one of my own at HD. I think it was only $3-$4. Now I use it every week also, no more problems.