Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

I think they've earned a bad survey. Was this new or CPO? How many miles?

breld

@nyccarguy -

Three letters. W....R....X.

qbrozen

well, that Hummer I have kept my eye on for the past 9 months is now off the dealer's website. Was really hoping it would stick around till the VW is gone. Oh well. 

ab348

Ah, the risks of the arbitrage game...

breld

I keep having to remind myself that I'm not replacing the TDI when we sell it back, since it basically funded the difference between the S4 and the SQ5.

Michaell

breld said:

I keep having to remind myself that I'm not replacing the TDI when we sell it back, since it basically funded the difference between the S4 and the SQ5.

Is it so transitory that it doesn't even make your signature profile?

breld

Yeah - I suppose I'm embracing the decrease in fleet number (and decrease in insurance, maintenance, etc.)!

tjc78

stickguy said:

Will be a lot of serious looking this January at the philly car show, with all 3 of us looking to punch next year.

We should have an Edmund's night at the show. There are plenty of us in the area.

Michaell

breld said:

Yeah - I suppose I'm embracing the decrease in fleet number (and decrease in insurance, maintenance, etc.)!

But, once you sell your old house, all bets are off.

Can you say Mee-ya-ta? :laughing:

stickguy

I'm game. We had one many years ago.

stickguy

So, did BMW drive event today. Sadly, did not have the 2 series I expected. But, drove an X1 28i and X5 e-drive. Some quick thoughts:

Liked the 1. Good size. Nice driving. Had the sport seats (huge plus). Loved the 2.0 motor. That thing scooted. Took it on brief highway, and shot down the ramp, no fuss to hit 70. Then suddenly realized was doing 80, and felt like 40. Oops. Handled good in limited use. I could live with one.

x5, not as impressed. Just felt way too big and bargey, like driving a U haul. Plus the ecdrive part took some gettin used to. Also had lane assist on. Very odd to have wheel shake whenever I had to swing out near a lane line. This, I would pass on.

So of the 2, I would gravitate toward the 1, unless I needed a lot more room for some reason. Even then, would probably stop at an x3, and look at Acura if I needed something the size of an MDX.

I do like that 2.0t motor though. Big fan of the genre.

stickguy

Also got a nice mesh bag, embroidered golf hat, and free lunch. So fine day all around.

andres3

graphicguy said:

greg128 said:

tjc78 said:

Lots of VW and Audi love on these boards. Only two American cars. Wow.

Here's another: 2016 Malibu Premier. Smooth and quick with the 2.0 turbo & lots of tech. Wife's lease.

ooohhhh...nice Malibu Greg. Congrats. I have a "hopped up" version of that 2.0T motor in my CTS. I love these torquey 4 cyl turbo motors out today. And, the one in your 'Bu is one of the best.

These have been catching my eye whenever I see them on the road. Good choice.

Not sure what MPG you're getting, but with 7K miles on my Caddy, I'm averageing 23-24 MPG in mixed driving, and 28-29 MPG on the highway. That's burning premium, though and I keep my foot in it.

I'm happy with that.

That's excellent mileage for a hopped up 2.0T and considering you have a heavy right foot. What is your CTS' 2.0T power numbers rated at?

graphicguy

andres3 said:

graphicguy said:

greg128 said:

tjc78 said:

Lots of VW and Audi love on these boards. Only two American cars. Wow.

Here's another: 2016 Malibu Premier. Smooth and quick with the 2.0 turbo & lots of tech. Wife's lease.

ooohhhh...nice Malibu Greg. Congrats. I have a "hopped up" version of that 2.0T motor in my CTS. I love these torquey 4 cyl turbo motors out today. And, the one in your 'Bu is one of the best.

These have been catching my eye whenever I see them on the road. Good choice.

Not sure what MPG you're getting, but with 7K miles on my Caddy, I'm averageing 23-24 MPG in mixed driving, and 28-29 MPG on the highway. That's burning premium, though and I keep my foot in it.

I'm happy with that.

That's excellent mileage for a hopped up 2.0T and considering you have a heavy right foot. What is your CTS' 2.0T power numbers rated at?

I think it''s rated at 272HP and 295 ft/pd of torque.

breld

Michaell said:

breld said:

Yeah - I suppose I'm embracing the decrease in fleet number (and decrease in insurance, maintenance, etc.)!

But, once you sell your old house, all bets are off.

Can you say Mee-ya-ta? :laughing:

They are indeed catching my eye! But yes, being the proud owner of two houses at the moment is not nearly as fun as multiple cars.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

I think it''s rated at 272HP and 295 ft/pd of torque.

Here's the torque "curve." It's mostly flat and strong.

breld

Anyone else interested in the new Civic Hatch? Looks like they just released some info yesterday. Seems that will be the model they "kick off" the availability of the six-speed manual with the turbo engine. A "Sport" model will be available with 180 hp. Which sounds fun, but also seems to indicate that the Si will be limited to the sedan and coupe, with the "hot hatch" reserved for the Type R.

Given the current turbo model seems to perform about as well as the previous Si, this "sport" hatch seems pretty cool.

stever

Yeah, my wife is interested in seeing it. She likes the regular Civic and she's never been a Honda fan. Bad left leg so no manual in the cards. The hot hatch won't be here for a while, from what I heard.

imidazol97

greg128 said:

Here's another: 2016 Malibu Premier. Smooth and quick with the 2.0 turbo & lots of tech. Wife's lease.

Nice Malibu. Congratulations.
I haven't driven a 2016 yet, but if it's as competent driving as my 2014 2LT it's a great car. I'd like to have
the 2.0 turbo but I love my 2.5 NA engine and its mileage is great.

stickguy

breld said:

Anyone else interested in the new Civic Hatch? Looks like they just released some info yesterday. Seems that will be the model they "kick off" the availability of the six-speed manual with the turbo engine. A "Sport" model will be available with 180 hp. Which sounds fun, but also seems to indicate that the Si will be limited to the sedan and coupe, with the "hot hatch" reserved for the Type R.

Given the current turbo model seems to perform about as well as the previous Si, this "sport" hatch seems pretty cool.

I was already. Really interested now. Since I love smallish 5 doors. Could finally be the replacement for my 1991 626 hatch that I still miss.

breld

For me, it makes me nostalgic for, well, my '90 Civic Si. Loved that car. All 108 hp of it.

stickguy

I had a 1985 Si. Last year of a carb. Was probably at least 30HP shy of that, but quite fun to drive.

I bet dimensionally, the civic is real close to my Mazda. And, it's a stick, but more comfy and practical than the Si I almost got last year.

Better have apple car play at least

breld

As a group, our purchases this year seem to indicate a shift from BMW to Audi/VW.

Here's an ad that caught my eye to set us a little straight:

2003 ZHP

Michaell

breld said:

As a group, our purchases this year seem to indicate a shift from BMW to Audi/VW.

Here's an ad that caught my eye to set us a little straight:

2003 ZHP

That asking price is not too much higher than the buyout of my Elantra GT.

Decisions, decisions.

suydam

Now that the Civic has a hatch, I'll take a look. I wonder how the dimensions will compare to the Mazda 3. If bigger I probably will pass.

Michaell

suydam said:

Now that the Civic has a hatch, I'll take a look. I wonder how the dimensions will compare to the Mazda 3. If bigger I probably will pass.

Bigger in which dimension? It looks lower from the pictures. No idea about the length.

breld

And, speaking of Hondas...

1st Gen CRX

stickguy

I suspect longer, since IIRC the civic sedan is longer than the 3.

So, looking at a CD preview, seems you can get the stick up to the EX trim. Which is also the first one with moonroof and car play. So, perfect. Cloth seats! As long as I can make the manual adjustments fit me, has everything I need.

Will be interesting!

stickguy

Though odds are, there will be 5 stick units available. In the entire country!

stickguy

Nice looking ZHP. I could live without stereo taking up 1/2 the trunk

28firefighter

Oh gosh. A compelling Civic Si offering would be very very tempting.

And it'll hold a stroller since they've made the Civic bigger. I can sell this, I think...

kyfdx

Really low miles and gray leather. That's a nice combo.

28firefighter

That is a beautiful ZHP. Me want.

I need a bigger garage. And by bigger, I mean holds at least 8 cars.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

Nice looking ZHP. I could live without stereo taking up 1/2 the trunk

Yeah, that has to go, and the tint too.

fintail

Speaking of 1990 Civic Si, saw this online a short time ago

It's a Canuckian model, so it's a little different.

stever

My wife is a bit concerned that the new Civic hatch may be a bit too low. But it's not like she's going to be getting in and out all evening delivering pizza. (I haven't ruled that out, even if I do get lost in a closet).

Mr_Shiftright

ab348

The son-of-Crosstour Civic sedan is rather large, so it will be interesting if the hatch is about the same size. Too bad it is saddled with a truly ugly rear end.

stickguy

I am getting used to the butt on the sedan. Probably because see so many of them around on the roads now!

The hatch at least should be a lot less common.

breld

fintail said:

Speaking of 1990 Civic Si, saw this online a short time ago

It's a Canuckian model, so it's a little different.

That's it! That was my color too! Oh the memories!

Of course, for the 1990 model year, it was only offered in red, white and black.

stickguy

an Si with a slushbox? sacrilege.

corvette

breld said:

As a group, our purchases this year seem to indicate a shift from BMW to Audi/VW.

Here's an ad that caught my eye to set us a little straight:

2003 ZHP

No heated seats, no folding rear seats, then there's this, which, combined with the awful aftermarket stereo, indicates a clueless owner:


I love the exterior color. Not sure how I feel about the grey leather.

greg128

graphicguy said:

greg128 said:

tjc78 said:

Lots of VW and Audi love on these boards. Only two American cars. Wow.

Here's another: 2016 Malibu Premier. Smooth and quick with the 2.0 turbo & lots of tech. Wife's lease.

ooohhhh...nice Malibu Greg. Congrats. I have a "hopped up" version of that 2.0T motor in my CTS. I love these torquey 4 cyl turbo motors out today. And, the one in your 'Bu is one of the best.

These have been catching my eye whenever I see them on the road. Good choice.

Not sure what MPG you're getting, but with 7K miles on my Caddy, I'm averageing 23-24 MPG in mixed driving, and 28-29 MPG on the highway. That's burning premium, though and I keep my foot in it.

I'm happy with that.

The Malibu is an almost totally around town car getting 20-21 mpg. It continually gives you the average for the previous 50 miles. There was one 50 mile period with mostly highway driving which averaged 33MPG which I thought was pretty good.

I never thought that I would like a 4 cyl car but this 2.0T is pretty sweet. Maximum 258 ft/lb of torque is available from 1700 RPM all the way almost to redline. The result is pretty much effortless acceleration in any situation with the 8 speed transmission downshifting readily when prompted. My wife's previous Saturn XR with the 3.6 motor was probably as quick but didn't feel it probably because the torque peak for that engine was around 3500 RPM and the 6 speed transmission didn't like to downshift.

I am also impressed by the smooth character of the engine even at idle. It is hard to tell it is running from inside and it is very quiet from the outside. My limited experience with 4 cyl cars always left me with the impression of them being "buzzy". I guess these small turbos are the engines of the future and I agree they are nice.....but I don't think their long term durability will be known for a few years

breld

stickguy said:

an Si with a slushbox? sacrilege.

Didn't see that - mine wasn't like that! No automatic available in the U.S., which is something endearing about the model to date. Wonder if that will change with the new Si.

nyccarguy

breld said:

@nyccarguy -

Three letters. W....R....X.

I'll most likely gravitate towards that. I need to get my car fixed. Parking lots haven't been kind to it.

ab348

fintail said:

Speaking of 1990 Civic Si, saw this online a short time ago

It's a Canuckian model, so it's a little different.

That takes me back. I test-drove one of them in 1990, along with an Accord coupe and a VW GTI. I loved the visibility of the Si, but the Accord coupe was not much more $ and a better buy I thought. I ended up with the GTI because I thought it was better than either.

stickguy

well, the WRX and GTI both come with an automatic, so entirely likely that the Si will.

Bradd, I thought you were keeping the Legacy for kid duty? How many years until the oldest hits 16? A miled up, beat up, putt putt legacy, sounds like the perfect 1st car for all of the youngins.

stickguy

Good thing I still have 15 months to go, since within the last week, the short list has revised again. As of today, the 2 piquing my interest are the Ioniq, and Civic hatch EX stickshift. Neither of which was a twinkle a week ago!

also finally turned 12K on the Sonata this past weekend on a trip to Saratoga. Almost broken in at this point!

mjfloyd1

I just spoke with the GM of Audi Hunt Valley and he was very apologetic and is sending me a check to get the wheel repaired. He is also going to make sure that the first aid kit and lug bolt cover removal tool are sent.

Sandman6472

Found a nice white over beige 2014 X1 sDrive28I with 21,080 on the clock, asking $22,998 at a Ft. Lauderdale caddy dealer. Off tomorrow so might go on down there and give a look see. Plum crazy really but like it...a lot! Just hit 21,100 on the way home tonight so similar mileage to what I've been doing. Not the best mpg's, 23 city/34 hwy with a 2.0 turbo engine. Sweet vehicle but would prefer a blue over beige to be honest.
Got to do some miles in a 2015 VW Tiguan at work today, the lead driver knew I like these so let me take it on an extended drive to see how it did. Liked the higher seating it has and it just felt right, the 2.0 turbo engine had excellent acceleration with none of that momentary lag my 1.8 turbo has. It was just a pleasure to drive! Again that nagging voice in the back of my head screamed that this is what I should've bought back in December 2013. Might not be a bad idea to wait another year and get a CPO 2016 unit from the local VW used store. Have already paid for the 30K service on the Golf so I could still use it on the Tiguan.
As much as I love the Golf, I could see myself in either the X1 or the Tiguan. For the right price, it just might get done...sooner than later!!

The Sandman