Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

breld said:

Interesting that you preferred the G37x over the Q50 - that, combined with the massive depreciation you mention, makes those G37s great used car buys, no? I know they are often brought up by several on the forum here as attractive buys.

I don't know, maybe one of my fellow Coloradans here will end up in one!

I've been looking on line at lots of things.

Had a quick getaway with the wife - celebrated 19 years yesterday.

The only car-related items we've discussed is her belief that I need a rear view camera in my next vehicle and how I think I'd like a stick shift next time. Oh, and the wife firmly believes I should wait for my lease to be up before I start shopping.

Ha!

I found a red GLI with 17,000 miles on it for $19,000. A couple of GTI's as well for under $20k.

sda

Michaell said:

breld said:

Interesting that you preferred the G37x over the Q50 - that, combined with the massive depreciation you mention, makes those G37s great used car buys, no? I know they are often brought up by several on the forum here as attractive buys.

I don't know, maybe one of my fellow Coloradans here will end up in one!

I've been looking on line at lots of things.

Had a quick getaway with the wife - celebrated 19 years yesterday.

The only car-related items we've discussed is her belief that I need a rear view camera in my next vehicle and how I think I'd like a stick shift next time. Oh, and the wife firmly believes I should wait for my lease to be up before I start shopping.

Ha!

I found a red GLI with 17,000 miles on it for $19,000. A couple of GTI's as well for under $20k.

Congratulations on 19 years! Better start planning for a big celebration for your 20th!

Michaell

sda said:

Michaell said:

breld said:

Interesting that you preferred the G37x over the Q50 - that, combined with the massive depreciation you mention, makes those G37s great used car buys, no? I know they are often brought up by several on the forum here as attractive buys.

I don't know, maybe one of my fellow Coloradans here will end up in one!

I've been looking on line at lots of things.

Had a quick getaway with the wife - celebrated 19 years yesterday.

The only car-related items we've discussed is her belief that I need a rear view camera in my next vehicle and how I think I'd like a stick shift next time. Oh, and the wife firmly believes I should wait for my lease to be up before I start shopping.

Ha!

I found a red GLI with 17,000 miles on it for $19,000. A couple of GTI's as well for under $20k.

Congratulations on 19 years! Better start planning for a big celebration for your 20th!

We've talked about it, but the new house and my current job situation have put any plans on the back burner.

jpp75

breld said:

Interesting that you preferred the G37x over the Q50 - that, combined with the massive depreciation you mention, makes those G37s great used car buys, no? I know they are often brought up by several on the forum here as attractive buys.

I don't know, maybe one of my fellow Coloradans here will end up in one!

Absolutely. We talked about buying the G37x at the end of the lease. The buyout was $32k and they offered a $4k discount so we could have bought it for $28k. Even at that price it was still more expensive than other used examples out there. Mine was a 2012 and had 18k on it at the end of 2014 and iirc similar examples were priced around $25k at the time. Plus as a CCBA I couldn't keep the G37x.

Michaell

Remembering my dad today. This was always the busiest day of the year for him. He would cruise the beaches and confiscate illegal fireworks. Then, a few months later, they would destroy them, along with other seized explosive contraband.

I was lucky enough to attend one of these. A large pit was dug out at Camarillo airport, and the materials put into it. A length of chain link fence was put over the top to prevent things from getting out of hand.

The year I went, it took a while to get the party started, but it was quite a sight once it did.

And then, a length of det cord went off. Blew the chain link fence about 50' from the pit. Fortunately, away from where we were all standing.

To this day, I still struggle with fire. Candles, BBQ grilles - you name it, I've got a healthy respect for it.

Everyone have a happy and safe Independence Day!

ab348

jpp5862 said:

Absolutely. We talked about buying the G37x at the end of the lease. The buyout was $32k and they offered a $4k discount so we could have bought it for $28k. Even at that price it was still more expensive than other used examples out there. Mine was a 2012 and had 18k on it at the end of 2014 and iirc similar examples were priced around $25k at the time. Plus as a CCBA I couldn't keep the G37x.

Interesting. I guess not all leases are like the ones they use up here. Best example I can think of is my brother's case 5 years ago when the lease on his Ford Ranger was up. It had an inflated residual buyout number that was well above what they were going for in the market. The dealer agreed but said it was out of their hands, nothing they could do about that number. So what they agreed on instead was to let it go to the auction and the dealer would bid on it for him. I think he ended up paying $500 above a max auction price they had agreed to. He ended up getting the thing back for a much better price than the buyout. Your way sounds a lot simpler.

jpp75

ab348 said:

jpp5862 said:

Absolutely. We talked about buying the G37x at the end of the lease. The buyout was $32k and they offered a $4k discount so we could have bought it for $28k. Even at that price it was still more expensive than other used examples out there. Mine was a 2012 and had 18k on it at the end of 2014 and iirc similar examples were priced around $25k at the time. Plus as a CCBA I couldn't keep the G37x.

Interesting. I guess not all leases are like the ones they use up here. Best example I can think of is my brother's case 5 years ago when the lease on his Ford Ranger was up. It had an inflated residual buyout number that was well above what they were going for in the market. The dealer agreed but said it was out of their hands, nothing they could do about that number. So what they agreed on instead was to let it go to the auction and the dealer would bid on it for him. I think he ended up paying $500 above a max auction price they had agreed to. He ended up getting the thing back for a much better price than the buyout. Your way sounds a lot simpler.

Actually I think that's how it works here as well, this was a $4,000 discount direct from Infiniti Financial Services. The dealer can't do anything about the buyout price, but the lender (bank, Infiniti Financial Services, Ford Credit, etc.) can make those offers if they wish.

corvette

I think some of the lease programs (BMW and Volvo come to mind) used to allow dealers to accept a lease turn-in, buy it, CPO it, and then resell it to the original lessee with a CPO warranty. The manufacturers called shenanigans and I don't think this practice is allowed anymore.

mlevine

Lease buy out
My cousin in California had a MB E350 convertible coming to lease end. Very low mileage and wanted to buy it. The dealer was able to buy it at a lower price, certify it, and then sold it to him at a lower price. He saved significant money and also had it certified.

fintail

The lease end discussion has me wondering about my new E250. The residual is amusingly inflated, as I can get 2 year old cars now for the same or less than they claim the value is at 3 years, and that's not counting what will happen when W212 is a couple years out of production (not to mention negative diesel stigma). I wonder how much lower I could get it for vs the residual, should I want to buy it.

sda

jpp5862 said:

ab348 said:

jpp5862 said:

Absolutely. We talked about buying the G37x at the end of the lease. The buyout was $32k and they offered a $4k discount so we could have bought it for $28k. Even at that price it was still more expensive than other used examples out there. Mine was a 2012 and had 18k on it at the end of 2014 and iirc similar examples were priced around $25k at the time. Plus as a CCBA I couldn't keep the G37x.

Interesting. I guess not all leases are like the ones they use up here. Best example I can think of is my brother's case 5 years ago when the lease on his Ford Ranger was up. It had an inflated residual buyout number that was well above what they were going for in the market. The dealer agreed but said it was out of their hands, nothing they could do about that number. So what they agreed on instead was to let it go to the auction and the dealer would bid on it for him. I think he ended up paying $500 above a max auction price they had agreed to. He ended up getting the thing back for a much better price than the buyout. Your way sounds a lot simpler.

Actually I think that's how it works here as well, this was a $4,000 discount direct from Infiniti Financial Services. The dealer can't do anything about the buyout price, but the lender (bank, Infiniti Financial Services, Ford Credit, etc.) can make those offers if they wish.

I did a 24 month lease on a '96 Mazda Millenia. The residual ended up being $3500 higher than market value at lease end. I liked the car and offered to buy at at market rate. No dice. I ended up buying a new '98 Millenia that was discounted about $8000.

stickguy

I saw a bunch of G37s earlier this year (posted some here to tease Bradd). 2013s, low miles, in the very low $20s. Screaming deals, but sadly timing did not work or I would have been all over them.

ab348

sda said:

I did a 24 month lease on a '96 Mazda Millenia. The residual ended up being $3500 higher than market value at lease end. I liked the car and offered to buy at at market rate. No dice. I ended up buying a new '98 Millenia that was discounted about $8000.

It's really odd, that they would prefer to take their chances at an auction - where I'd expect they would get even less - than sell it to a willing buyer at a fair price.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

The '70 C10 is back in front of the neighbor's house tonight, so no sale. If he emails me tomorrow with a lowball price I dunno what I will do.

If you can post a detailed description of paint, interior, engine bay and underside, I could tell you what a fair deal is.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

I saw a bunch of G37s earlier this year (posted some here to tease Bradd). 2013s, low miles, in the very low $20s. Screaming deals, but sadly timing did not work or I would have been all over them.

I'm past that stage of my life thank-you very mich

mlevine

I have a dodge charger lease coming up in December and I am considering buying the vehicle ,but not at the price listed. I will try to talk to the dealer and see if they will buy the car and give me an extended warranty for a price much less than listed. If not, will need to lease another vehicle.

corvette

ab348 said:

It's really odd, that they would prefer to take their chances at an auction - where I'd expect they would get even less - than sell it to a willing buyer at a fair price.

I think the finance companies have some sort of residual value insurance which only applies if they sell the vehicle at auction, but not if they negotiate a deal to sell the car to the original lessee for less than the residual value on the contract.

houdini1

fintail said:

The lease end discussion has me wondering about my new E250. The residual is amusingly inflated, as I can get 2 year old cars now for the same or less than they claim the value is at 3 years, and that's not counting what will happen when W212 is a couple years out of production (not to mention negative diesel stigma). I wonder how much lower I could get it for vs the residual, should I want to buy it.

I predict that MB will be in the same boat as VW before your lease is up, so you may get a great deal, like almost free. They must be a little rattled because there is no 2017 MB diesel yet.

qbrozen

corvette said:

It's really odd, that they would prefer to take their chances at an auction - where I'd expect they would get even less - than sell it to a willing buyer at a fair price.

I think the finance companies have some sort of residual value insurance which only applies if they sell the vehicle at auction, but not if they negotiate a deal to sell the car to the original lessee for less than the residual value on the contract.

That is what I have heard.

breld

Just drove this candidate (that I mentioned above) and really liked it. Great condition - only an "s" model, so no sunroof and 16" wheels, but I was pleasantly surprised at how nice it drove. And forgot how much room the hatch has in these.

2014 Sportwagon

nyccarguy

@breld - a buddy of mine from college (lives in CO) is getting his Passat TDI bought back for $27K. He doesn't think you'll be able to buy one now and get it bought back.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

@breld - a buddy of mine from college (lives in CO) is getting his Passat TDI bought back for $27K. He doesn't think you'll be able to buy one now and get it bought back.

They may not be planning to offer that to new purchasers now, but if VW is unsuccessful in coming up with a repair that brings the cars into compliance, they may be forced to buy back all of them.

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld - a buddy of mine from college (lives in CO) is getting his Passat TDI bought back for $27K. He doesn't think you'll be able to buy one now and get it bought back.

Why?

breld

the settlement documents are actually pretty explicit about eligible owners including those who purchase an eligible vehicle after September 2015 and before the claims period ends. It specifically states those who sell their cars after June 28th cease to be eligible owners, and those who acquire the car after June 28th are therefore eligible owners.

I may end up being the guinea pig for this and will eagerly report back, good or bad.

toomanyfumes

The dealer where we bought our MKX does that a lot. The residual at the lease end is high, he lets Ford buy them back, then buys the car back at auction. That's he we got ours with the color and options we wanted, and he was able to certify it.

nyccarguy

I saw a Black/Black Golf R over the weekend. Very unassuming. Clean design. I know I've made comments about the rubber band sidewalls, but the GTI/R is a sharp looking ride.

I see Dodge is offering an additional $500 HEMI bonus cash now. Speaking of, how is @rayinsw doing with his Charger?

I was at a friend's house on Sunday. We were talking cars. They've got a '14 Accord Touring & a '14 Forester Limited XT. Guy says he LOVES the forester. The Turbo & Size are perfect for him, his wife, & 2 young daughters. Their Accord is fine, but the power driver's seat is giving them trouble, the memory seat doesn't function, & the Navigation system is "glitchy." He's going to take the Accord in to see what the damage will be (it is out of warranty), and has an apointemnt to test drive an ///M235i Drop Top. It will be interesting to hear his take on it. I told him NOT to go test drive the. ///M235i unless he plans to buy it. He won't be able to say no to that car.

rayainsw

I passed 24,000 miles in the Charger this past weekend.
There is really little to report. I have no buyer’s remorse – none at all. The hemi provides enough TQ to be entertaining. The 8-speed trans. behaves well. The seats are an excellent combination of comfort and support – even for my old back.
The MPG are about as expected, given the V8 and the weight. Very good on the highway [ low RPM at cruise ] and not very good in HotLanta stop & slow traffic.
The handling [ improved, particularly in the rain, by the Michelins ] is also very good. The ride is excellent, particularly given the very low profile 20” tires.
I have only been to the dealer for regularly scheduled maintenance, so far.
- Ray
Well satisfied here – for now . . .

roadburner

rayainsw said:

I passed 24,000 miles in the Charger this past weekend.
There is really little to report. I have no buyer’s remorse – none at all. The hemi provides enough TQ to be entertaining. The 8-speed trans. behaves well. The seats are an excellent combination of comfort and support – even for my old back.
The MPG are about as expected, given the V8 and the weight. Very good on the highway [ low RPM at cruise ] and not very good in HotLanta stop & slow traffic.
The handling [ improved, particularly in the rain, by the Michelins ] is also very good. The ride is excellent, particularly given the very low profile 20” tires.
I have only been to the dealer for regularly scheduled maintenance, so far.
- Ray
Well satisfied here – for now . . .

Those are just fantastic cars- and a tremendous value.

breld

I imagine others here may have the same experience, but I'll speak for myself that up until recently (over the past 2-3 years), I was very biased against domestic cars. But that has certainly changed - @rayainsw's experience with his Charger, @qbrozen's CTS - those are great examples of how we don't have to be "stuck" on the imports anymore, whether they be Japanese or German.

My wife remains pretty biased, so it may take a little work on my part before I put a Charger, Mustang or Camaro in our garage, but it could be done. She did say over the weekend that she likes the new Pacifica (she scans through all my magazines so is up to date on all the latest reviews).

kyfdx

I could drive a Mustang. 300+ horsepower for $20K-$25K in the used market.

stickguy

My wife, who is normally car oblivious, still is adement about some brands, mostly domestic. Hates fords (no clue why) and won't consider Chevy (ditto). And I keep pointing out new caddys, and get "it's an old mans car". I did point out I am in fact qualified now, but she was against the back end of the CTS (even though lights were cool)

Should be an interesting shopping experience next year! I did find one quite attractive car (her favorite color). Loaded up too.

http://www.toyotacertifiedatcentralcity.com/used-Philadelphia-2013-Lexus-ES+350-4dr+Sdn-JTHBK1GG2D2063167

roadburner

While I do consider domestics, my wife is likely stuck on BMW- MINI too if the dealer was in the same group as my BMW dealer. One domestic she likes is the Jeep Renegade- which is basically a Fiat...

roadburner

I may yet have another punch; some of the lease deals for BMW employees are just crazy cheap...

imidazol97

roadburner said:

I may yet have another punch; some of the lease deals for BMW employees are just crazy cheap...

I knew this would happen! Lol.

au1994

Well...I made a punch this weekend. I feel kinda stupid about the whole thing and it's been a real lesson learned, albeit the hard way. I traded the E350 for a CPO 2013 335i convertible. It's white over black, M-Sport, premium pkg and comfort access and has just under 23k miles. Not going to lie, I took it in the shorts a bid on the trade but at the end of the day the Mercedes just wasn't me. A fine car by any standard, looked great, was absolutely loaded with options but just not sporty enough for me. Guess I haven't grown up yet even though I hit 45 this weekend. The BMW is going to be a little tighter for all 3 of us than the Mercedes but still bigger than the E46 I had. Lesson learned for me!! And it's great to have a very understanding spouse

stickguy

Get your wife a new ride? Not like the X3 owes you anything. Maybe a nice convertible!

tifighter

Congrats on the punch! Not a bad fall back plan...

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, no, the fox is in the hen house!

kyfdx

Last Saturday at the local Cars n Coffee, a gorgeous 2011 Audi S4. 61K miles, one owner (leased, then bought and CPOed). Dark gray metallic, with two tone red/gray interior. (lava/platinum, or something like that). Running 19" summer tires on stock wheels, plus a set of 18" winters. He has it for sale for $26,500.
Oh yeah. It's a STICK!! Also, 6 months left on CPO warranty.

It really gets me thinking. But, then the other thing that always comes up, once you decide you might spend a certain amount on a car. What else can I get for that price?

New base model GTI?

Or, this:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2009&zip=45202&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&transmissionCode=MAN&transmissionCodes=MAN&maxPrice=30000&showcaseListingId=0&mmt=[POR[CAYMAN[]][]]&vehicleStyleCodes=COUPE&modelCode1=CAYMAN&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=2007&makeCode1=POR&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=500&listingId=429280298&Log=0

nyccarguy

@au1994 - Wow! That came out of nowhere! Congrats on the 335i Drop Top! Enjoy it!

nyccarguy

imidazol97 said:

roadburner said:

I may yet have another punch; some of the lease deals for BMW employees are just crazy cheap...

I knew this would happen! Lol.

I was thinking the same thing to myself. It took him quite a while to pick out his "perfect" ///M235i, so 2 in a year wouldn't shock me especially if he now gets crazy employee pricing.

kyfdx

@au1994 Really nice.

You don't have to give up sport, just because you are aging. As long as you can get in and out of it, get what you like.

ab348

Nice car @au1994 - just get some sheepskins or white towels for those black leather seats when you have the top down.

stickguy

Nice 335. Very attractive colors. And that cayman is pretty, but isn't that an IMS roulette motor?

As to that S4 for sale, key is warranty expiring soon. He knows the car better than anyone, and may not want to fly blind at those miles!

nyccarguy

@breld - You might be on to something

https://www.yahoo.com/news/buyback-cash-bought-vw-diesel-sept-18-140000586.html

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Nice 335. Very attractive colors. And that cayman is pretty, but isn't that an IMS roulette motor?

As to that S4 for sale, key is warranty expiring soon. He knows the car better than anyone, and may not want to fly blind at those miles!

He said he is getting a Tesla.

I don't think the Caymans have that motor. The oldest base Cayman is 2007.

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld - You might be on to something

https://www.yahoo.com/news/buyback-cash-bought-vw-diesel-sept-18-140000586.html

I saw that today too, which was reaffirming. I have to admit to my geekness - I've read through all the settlement documents more than once, even highlighting several areas to determine whether a current buyer would qualify, and I get to the same answer and outlined in that article.

Whoever the registered owner is at the time of buyback will receive the "Vehicle Value" amount. And the owner will also get the "Restitution" amount. If you owned the car on September 18, 2015, you get 100% of the Restitution; if not, you (potentially) share 50% of that with the individual who owned it at September 18.

So the math is all there to determine whether a current purchase price makes sense or not. And yes, I have a spreadsheet comparing various used cars out there to the potential buyback.

breld

I went to the "EchoPark" dealer who has the gray sportwagen to get a trade value on the X5. I was not expecting a strong value from them, and they didn't disappoint. Their trade offer was crazy low - which is fine, 'cause I'm okay private partying the car, but the problem is their price on the VW is a bit high. They're asking $19,981 for this car - NADA clean retail is around $15k, kbb retail tops out at $18.5k. EchoPark, if you're not familiar with it, is just like Carmax, so the prices are what they are. Knowing that, I still couldn't resist pointing all the value information to them, and even showing them a listing from a VW dealer for an almost identical wagon at $17.5k. The salesperson and manager totally understood where I was coming from, but admitted they couldn't do anything to affect the price.

Thing is, the buyback on that car should be around $25k - so it still certainly makes sense, even at that $20k price. But it just irks me to pay over market for the car anyway. But I'm still considering it - the nice thing is it's still under VW warranty in case anything were to go wrong.

There's another one about 1-2 hours away from Denver that I'm inquiring about. It's a 2013, but still with only 25k miles, and it's the fully loaded "Nav & Sun" model. They've priced it more fairly, at $17.5k. And buyback on that one is $24k. I've asked for the Carfax and will go from there.

breld

@au1994 - congrats on the new BMW! So you tried something different out and decided it wasn't for you and made the change - nothing wrong with that! Enjoy!

Mr_Shiftright

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

Nice 335. Very attractive colors. And that cayman is pretty, but isn't that an IMS roulette motor?

As to that S4 for sale, key is warranty expiring soon. He knows the car better than anyone, and may not want to fly blind at those miles!

He said he is getting a Tesla.

I don't think the Caymans have that motor. The oldest base Cayman is 2007.

Yeah, unfortunately, Caymans of that era do have the KA-Boom motor. You wanna be real careful of a used one and the IMS bearing upgrade on that model requires splitting the engine case, so you don't want to do that.

Basically, if the motor goes or needs to be split, you have totaled the car. Too bad, too---great car!

Best thing to do is buy it right, change the oil every 3,000 and cut open the oil filter each time and pray.