Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

kyfdx

Hmm.. brake problems on the new truck?

I might have to swap Independence Day for Easter..

nippononly

For the '07 Tacoma, the 4-cyl stick is rated at 23/28 mpg. Judging by past experience, I should be able to pull 26, 27 mpg routinely. That is my threshold of minimum acceptable gas mileage.

While I like a lot about the Ridgeline, both the price and the gas consumption are too high. For one thing, I am thinking of a 2WD rather than a 4WD Tacoma. And I don't really need a double cab - I would go extended cab if I went ahead.

And I agree, used Tacomas command outrageous prices. It would definitely be new or nothing for me.

growwise

Thats to be expected on a 7 year old truck. You payment didnt go down for nothing. :P

geo9

$600 FOR PARTS????

Oh well..the local GM garage wanted $1000 big ones to replace the front brakes (and related parts) on my dads
03 s-10 that has 16k miles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But to be fair he does RIDE them driving 2 footed all the time!

His solution?????????
Buy a new Dodge Dakota !!!!!!!!!!! :P

woodyww

Really hard to know how to judge the deal w/o knowing more details. (Even then I'm not sure I could figure it out). I do know that--paying for--& supporting---a $35-$40K + vehicle is a big financial committment for the average person (duh).

The brakes--I'd absolutely try to make them do the brake job for free. Esp. when the sales manager is your buddy, & you complained about the brakes from the start.....not fair!

woodyww

I went thru this exercise a few weeks ago. You get so much for your $$ with the Ridgeline--in size & features it's a lot more vehicle than the Taco, maybe more comparable to the Tundra (?).

Ridgelines are heavily discounted, I think. They also depreciate, a lot. Then I read the edmunds L-T test on the Ridgeline--all the struts failed after they drove it 10 miles at moderate speeds on a country road (??!!).

OTOH, you can drive a Toyota truck or SUV across Africa, or Australia, & probably not worry that much. (Just in case that situation ever comes up).....altho the Toyota stingy-ness with side & head airbags is a drag.

As a former 1986 Toyota p/u (bought used) owner, who flogged it mercilessly for 3 years, did 1 oil change, & it cost me $75 in repairs & maintenence, I know what I'd do.....

akangl

Back to the dealer I bought it from this morning. They put it up on the rack and looked it over, they agreed with the brake shop I took it to, said it needed rotors, pads, calipers, rear drums, and shoes. They replaced all of it and did a brake fluid flush today. They ate the entire cost of the brake repair. The difference in the truck is night and day. My sales manager friend who was off when all this happened yesterday took it out and drove it after the repair to make sure it was safe, he said it was great.

The GSM apologized to me today for how he treated me yesterday. He said he really thought it was buyer's remorse since I traded in such a nice newer truck. I told him I wasn't interested in having that truck back, I was happy with the Durango except for the brakes. He gave me a hug and said he was truely sorry for the way he acted.

I drove it home this afternoon, its AWESOME!!! Averaged an easy 18 mpg which included going through the mountains. Really impressed with it, especially for a 7 year old truck with 70k on it.

kyfdx

Okay.. Independence Day, it is..

akangl

Okay.. Independence Day, it is..

And what do *I* get if I make it past that point?? LOL

I doubt I'll get too excited about trading the Durango, its got everything I want and it works pretty good for us. I was wondering yesterday as I filled the back of it with all my daughter's stuff how I fit it all in the back seat of my Ram. She's got a lot of stuff!!

qbrozen

i luv ya, akangl, and don't intend to offend, but you have to realize how comical it is that EVERYTIME you get something "new," we poke fun and place bets and you respond saying "this time is it! i swear!!" and EVERYTIME, without fail, you have found something different you want in short order.

tifighter

Yeah, I think all we are saying is, this is the CCBA forum. It takes a lot to impress us when it comes to going through cars. And we are impressed.

Heck, my 'car a year' issue over the past few years only gets me on the JV squad here.

growwise

I also dont want to offend anyone.. :P but people on this forum make me look good. If only my wife agreed

Its all relative. Depends on who you compare yourself with.. Check out this guy who made it to 400,000 miles on his Audi. Ofcourse, your head will start spinning with all the repairs done to it...
http://forums.audiworld.com/v8/threads/20284.phtml#113824

jlawrence01

Sold the '96 Ciera to junkmycars.com.

Bought a '89 Cutlass Ciera last month.

Bought a '07 Toyota Corolla today.

Sold the '89 Cutlass Ciera effective Friday.

guss

Way to go JL ! But, I thought you were holding out for a used Impala ?

kyfdx

Who is the Corolla for?

akangl

i luv ya, akangl, and don't intend to offend, but you have to realize how comical it is that EVERYTIME you get something "new," we poke fun and place bets and you respond saying "this time is it! i swear!!" and EVERYTIME, without fail, you have found something different you want in short order.

I know I know, lol, everytime I *hope* its the last time believe me, car shopping is getting to be less and less fun. I wouldn't have done it this time, but the thought of saving over $400/month just by downsizing was WAY too tempting to not do it. The loan on the Durango is small enough I can pay it off quickly.

The payment and insurance on the Ram was just stupid high, in fact, if I came clean about the whole loan/payment/interest rate/insurance stuff with that truck you would ALL shoot me!!! I wish I had gone with my gut feeling that night and NOT bought the Ram, I didn't want it, I tried to leave, but hubby talked me into buying it. I would have been better off to lose my deposit and walk away. Believe me, trading it in was a GOOD thing!!! Oh and I DID NOT roll one penny of negative equity into the Durango's loan!!

corvette

Check out this guy who made it to 400,000 miles on his Audi.

Par for the course with an older VW--some repair is required about every 3-5,000 miles, with a few longer stretches with no repairs where you delude yourself into thinking that everything's fixed.

woodyww

Well, of course this is supposed to be a forum where people celebrate themselves, or others, buying & selling cars as often as possible, like crazy. And sometimes if people counsel prudence, then they're branded as Squares who Don't Get It. (OK, so that makes the board Entertaining).

The one thing I'd say to akangl is, if your *gut feeling* is not to do a car trade, even if it's down to the last 2 minutes & you're feeling pressure, then Don't Do It. Unless you're getting some unbelievable deal, there's "Always Another Car".

And just to add my own crazy opinion: if you're "making payments", you need to be especially conservative. It's one thing if you're loaded enough to buy a new Porsche or RR or Dodge Ram out of Petty Cash. If not, well.....

Just my 2 cents, good luck.....

woodyww

That's an awesome story/thread. I wish the guy had totalled up the $$ amount--& time spent-- to get the audi to 400K. I'm guessing--he could probably have leased a brand new audi every 3 or 4 years for the same $$. But he's super dedicated (I can't stop laughing), you've gotta give him that!

jlawrence01

Way to go JL ! But, I thought you were holding out for a used Impala ?

The numbers worked. $13.9 for a new Carolla or $8.5 for a 2004 Impala with 65k miles. Seemed to me that I was buying 65k miles for $5,400.

And the vehicle will be my new ride.

sandman46

The Sandman

akangl

The one thing I'd say to akangl is, if your *gut feeling* is not to do a car trade, even if it's down to the last 2 minutes & you're feeling pressure, then Don't Do It. Unless you're getting some unbelievable deal, there's "Always Another Car".

I agree and that's how I feel now. I just wish I had felt that way back in July. Oh well, didn't cost us too badly to get out of the Ram thankfully. I'm glad to be out of it and into something a little more fit for us.

sandman46

My local Mazda dealer is trying to renig on our prepaid maintenance policy. At first they refused to pay for the 1st radiator flush, but after some nasty words back and forth they gave in. Now we're waiting to hear back from the GM as to what they'll do about the remaning radiator flush and the tranny service.
Very angry with them right now. I have a paper showing what we were told we paid for from the F&I guy. And there's also another paper with what they're saying we bought. Thus the problem. I've never been a fan of these things and won't do it again. But we just want what we were promised & paid for.
Not a happy camper today....

The Sandman :mad:

kyfdx

So.. what's with the '89 Ciera?

You in a $14K Corolla? While I can't argue with the value, that would be like Jolie buying a $40K pickup truck..

Wait.. no, it wouldn't.. :P

corvette

Ask for a refund of whatever you paid for the maintenance contract. Yes, you've gotten some value out of it with the services you've already used, but they should just goodwill those if there is some discrepancy and they're not willing to honor the description they gave you.

sandman46

I did look on the invoice they give me with the prices they wanted to charge and they wanted $129.95 just for the 1st radiator flush...totally outrageous! I've still got 6 oil changes, 2 tire rotations, a tranny service at 30k & the last radiator flush. Doubt they'll give me that much $. That's why we bought the damn thing in the first place, it seemed like we got a lot of services for $407 before tax.
The service manager contradicted himself a few times today and he did go speak with a higher up lady. I really think they knew they were wrong and finally did the right thing...for now. Hopefully the general manager will also do the right thing and fulfill the contract.
No more of these plans in the future for us. Or more documentation will be gotten up front. Why do so many dealers pull this sh_t in the first place? And then they wonder why people do not trust them.

The Sandman :mad:

corvette

I bet Mazda requires only a drain and fill for the radiator service. A lot of dealers buy radiator and tranny flush machines from third-party suppliers and then charge higher rates for these "enhanced" services. Honda specifically issued a service bulletin warning that they didn't approve of the transmission flush machines.

With the cooling system, there's probably less to damage with the machine. My Nissan called for the first drain and fill at 60k and then every 30k thereafter. If I had the coolant flushed, I'd probably only do it every 60k, since probably 95+% of the fluid is exchanged with a flush, as opposed to probably 50% with a drain and fill.

jlawrence01

I blew the engine in my '96 Olds Ciera February 4th.

I wanted to take the time to do the research before buying a new car. Also, since I have only the one car in my house, I needed to have a car to keep my car insurance in force. I called my mechanic and told him I was looking for a beater. He found me a beater for $600. I have been driving it for about six weeks until I found another car.

I am selling it back to the mechanic on Friday for $500. End of story.

woodyww

I must have missed a few of your posts, but: what year is your mazda? And why does it need so many tranny services & radiator flushes if it's new-ish, & under warranty???

And.....it's a "service plan" from that dealer, not a mazda plan good at all mazda dealers? And if they're sleazy, how do you even know they actually do the work?

Personally, I wouldn't do even half that stuff on a Japanese economy car.....it's not like an old Jag that needs constant maintenence.....

akangl

While I can't argue with the value, that would be like Jolie buying a $40K pickup truck..

Hey, easy now! I corrected the mistake and dropped down to a $12k SUV, doesn't that count for anything??

sandman46

It's a 2005 mazda3s and the policy was to good to pass up. And I also knew that if we had it, my wife would finally take care of her car. We got 15 oil changes, 7 tire rotations, a tranny service at 30k miles & 2 coolant system flushes all before 45k miles or 36 months. We paid $407.00 plus tax. My figuring was based on each oil change being $20.00 which comes out to $300.00 right there. I felt the extra $107.00 was well worth the other services. And I knew if we bought it, the wife would buckle down and use it, as she hates to waste $!
Good news is the general manager spoke with the wife this morning and will fulfill the rest of the contract. He just wants her to bring in our documentation tomorrow morning so he can sign off on it. I'm glad for that but have learned a lesson here...NO MORE MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS. 3k oil changes are really ludicris in this day and age and the other services can definitely be done at later mileage intervals.

The Sandman

corvette

Left to my own devices, I'd probably do all of those services less frequently, except the tire rotation. We've had problems with tire noise on a couple of vehicles when they aren't rotated frequently.

sandman46

Live and learn...right?

The Sandman

woodyww

Here's a sad maintenance plan story: When I bought my current bmw at 2 yrs. old, it had the balance of the 3 yr. "free maintenance" (so worth it on a bmw or audi IMO). But I spaced on the ending date of the plan, & so when I took it in for the 15K service, it cost me $200+. Would have been free 2 or 3 weeks earlier.

When my ex & I owned Toyotas & Hondas, we'd run them up to at least 50 or 60K miles, & barely do any maintenance except for a few oil changes, & sometimes 8K between those I think. The cars still ran like new when we finally sold them.

Heck, my bmw is 6 years old, & I still haven't even had a coolant system flush. Guess I should do that huh.....

bdc2020

As the Sandman said earlier, 3,000 mile oil changes are just ridiculous. I'd say 5,000 is more accurate (non-synthetic). Same with the radiator flush and tranny flush. I've done 1 radiator flush in that last 4 cars/trucks I have owned (all domestic) and never had any issues with any of them. Each one was/is over 75,000miles at this point, with one at 105,000 miles now.

Tire rotation and proper inflation is a good thing. Same with an alignment check now and then if you drive over a lot of rough stuff.

Maybe we could cure some of our oil problems if we stop putting new oil in constantly and stretch it out a bit more.

growwise

when I took it in for the 15K service

Funny I happened to read something on a different forum regarding this.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=835758&page=0&f- part=all&vc=1

15k is way too long IMO :surprise:

One more reason to avoid used bay-em-wey. Most of the people who lease dont bother to do minimum maintenance.

Just look at the following UOA (used oil analysis). these used bimmers are going to hell. Just look at the averages where they need to be at in the right most column.

nvbanker

I feel superior right now, having just taken my Lexus in today for its $240 oil change.....

woodyww

Hhhmmmmmm.......this guy waited until 19K miles for his first oil change on his bmw? And he was down 2 quarts? And his oil filter was shot?

I suppose you could possibly? make a case to avoid all used luxury cars, because some owners don't do enough maintenance. However I've owned 2 bmw's I bought used, both in mint condition, checked the maintenance records before I bought them, & (knock wood!) haven't had any excessive or unusual problems.....& I do a synthetic oil & filter change once a year, which is $50-$60.....

akangl

Oil changes, they offered us that with the Durango for something like $399. I called my little brother and asked him, he said don't bother, switch the truck to synthetic, it'll be better for it anyway. I questioned switching it with 70k miles on it, but he said it would be fine.

So far I haven't seen a single leak with the truck, so hopefully I can do it and not have a problem. Its going to be due for an oil change soon at the rate I'm driving it, have had it a week and already put 1400 miles on it.

corvette

I think the "leaking when switching to synthetic" is an extremely rare/overblown problem, and not something that would keep me from switching if I wanted to.

I think the Durangos are or were prone to sludge formation, so the synthetic is probably a good idea.

akangl

I think the "leaking when switching to synthetic" is an extremely rare/overblown problem, and not something that would keep me from switching if I wanted to.

I think the Durangos are or were prone to sludge formation, so the synthetic is probably a good idea.

I hadn't heard of the sludge problem with the Durangos, that's scary! I checked the oil in this one after driving it over 1000 miles and its clean clean clean. Will probably do an engine flush and switch it over, doesn't seem to have any issues with the engine.

My little brother looked at it yesterday and was impressed with how well it runs. He also had to adjust the driver's side door for me, that was the only thing I found wrong with it, he said it was from people leaning on it. Took him 2 minutes to fix it.

I'm not too worried about the truck, its under warranty until 120,301 miles, pretty much totally covered.

woodyww

Drove by a Subaru dealer today, took a chance & just went in to "browse" for 10 minutes. W/in 30 sec., a salesman was bugging me. I explained I was just "looking" but he followed me around the showroom, talking & talking while I managed to sit in 4 subies for 45 sec. each. I would have spent more time, because the interiors of the WRX, Outback, etc. seemed pretty appealing, for the $$, but it was pretty clear there were only 2 choices: 1. Leave, or 2. Have this salesman on my case for every second I was there.

There was a new dark red WRX there for around $25K, new, can that be right? It seemed like something I might want to adopt, maybe in wagon form. I can see why people hate certain car brands tho because the dealers near them are obnoxious......

corvette

$25k MSRP with cloth and a manual... TMV is close to MSRP, but I think it should be less, since it's getting redesigned next year.

tifighter

New Impreza/WRX will debut at NYIAS in a little over a week. Will be pretty interesting to see what they've done...

nvbanker

I suppose you could possibly? make a case to avoid all used luxury cars, because some owners don't do enough maintenance.

I think this would be a mistake. You Could get a BMW or something like that bad one, but I have leased for 15 years and always take care of the maintenance. And I've had 2 leased Lexus that clearly had been well maintained.... I just acquired a used Cadillac that seems to have been well cared for as well... There are ways to tell. One of them is to call the new car dealer, give them the vin, and ask them to check the database for how often the car came in. Just one way....

woodyww

For a lot of us, buying used luxury cars is the only way to afford one. I bought my Saab 9000, my Range Rover, & my 2 bmws, all used. No unusual problems with any of them, except keeping the RR repaired was a PITA. However I'm a low-mileage fanatic, & obsessive about checking out the maintenance records before purchase.

I was looking at the edmunds True Cost info today on the Outback--they have Depreciation in the "High" range. Maybe buying a used Subie is the way to go too (?). I'd want a current gen. Outback tho. And if there's a new WRX coming out, maybe buying used, or waiting to see if there are some great year-end deals, makes sense....

corvette

I thought used Subarus went for crazy-high money, especially in the northeast.

lilengineerboy

I think anywhere there is white stuff Subarus are in demand. This is especially true near ski friendly locales.

nvbanker

I thought used Subarus went for crazy-high money, especially in the northeast.

They do, even in the Southwest - people like to go to the mountains to ski.

growwise

Woody,
Saab, RR & Bimmers? After those, Sube will feel pedestrian IMO. Once the novelty wears off, you might get tired of it soon..

Granted, top of the line outback has decent(ok great) interior but its one thing if you are stepping up in the food chain.. different story when you are coming down from RR/BMW.

How about Acura, Lexus or Infiniti? Did you look at new/used G35, M35, ES350, RDX, RL?