Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

I do like the theory of a hardtop convertible like that SL500, but the wife and I both like this classic, too. 

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/350sl/1812828.html

Wife would prefer a 190SL, but that will never happen these days with what they are going for.

Not a bad choice for that model---you've got the slim chrome bumpers, which makes the car much more attractive than its later brethren. Also it has no catalytic converter, so isn't prone to hot start problems like the 450SL, and you can use leaded fuel if you could find it. Also, it doesn't have the complex, soon-to-break automatic climate controls either. Heat/AC is set manually, and might actually work in this model. Biggest Scary Thing is camshaft wear, so pre-purchase should require removal of the right side valve cover--for some reason the right side cam wears before the left. Frequent oil changes are mandatory on this engine. Also be prepared to make friends with the clerk at your local Mini-Mart gas station--you'll be seeing him/her often. Hardtop removal requires either two stout people or a winch. Soft top is mnually operated, so one less thing to go ka-flooey. Build quality is excellent, like a tank. No scuttle shake on this convertible! Price is a bit high for my tastes, but not out of line for an exceptional car. If paint and chrome are edgy, deduct accordingly. Looks to be a 2-/3+ car from here.

Yeah, from the brief info I have read, it would seem 72-73 is pretty much it for these. 

Fin - was there some sort of premium package on these? I have seen then with or without the chrome spats and wood console.

fintail

I think they only came one way pretty much, trim depends on model year. The chrome trim is aftermarket (wheels are likely not original to the car, too), and the console area in that one looks stock. Later ones had more wood around the HVAC controls.

qbrozen said:

Fin - was there some sort of premium package on these? I have seen then with or without the chrome spats and wood console.

tbirdmarco

@sandman_6472 good luck with the new phone have same phone going on 2 years lucklelly have not had any problems love it and with the bilt in voice over and text messaging can fully use the phone go on the internet email everything also still use desktop computer with my jaws talking computer program

tbirdmarco

@28firefighter sharp car.

stickguy

I do remember on the WD car, the first thing they did was take off the chrome lips. Made it look a whole lot better.

tbirdmarco

@sandman_6472 Feal bettor have an frend of the family who has constant cronick pain to as whell.

xwesx

@28firefighter, request for visual on interior seconded! That blue is quite pretty!

@stickguy, Love that 2002 Passat. Good color, super-low miles, wagon, AWD. Excellent! Seems like a lot of wear on that driver seat, though. I'm imagining a grocery-getter with lots and lots of very short trips.

stickguy

the downside to a really low mile car. It either sat for extended periods (not always good), or it did nothing but super short hops (also not good). This one isn't even averaging 4K/year.

Sandman6472

Just tracked phone on USPS.com and started in NC yesterday, in Columbia, SC last night and left about 12 hours ago. Just got into Opa Locka, FL right near the small airport that we bring a lot of vehicles to. Says it will be in my hands tomorrow afternoon at this point. Man, that was quick! Glad to see my old employer can still do things right when needed! Good job post office!

The Sandman

P.S. Will have to get used to a new operating system on my smartphone I guess. Have always had android since my first HTC unit back in 2015. Hope I am happy with the iPhone!!

suydam

Take it to the Apple Store and let them help you set it up. You'll be glad you did.

tifighter

fintail said:

I think they only came one way pretty much, trim depends on model year. The chrome trim is aftermarket (wheels are likely not original to the car, too), and the console area in that one looks stock. Later ones had more wood around the HVAC controls.

qbrozen said:

Fin - was there some sort of premium package on these? I have seen then with or without the chrome spats and wood console.

Whatever company made that chrome trim for the wheel arches on R107's must have made a good living; a lot of them have them. I am not a fan.

roadburner

suydam said:

Yes Chevy has an app that lets me send directions directly to the car before I go. Love that! Also can remotely check how long the charging takes and all kinds of other info. It must connect with Onstar.

BMW uses an app called ConnectedDrive that allows you to send addresses to the car as well as monitor charging. Best of all the latest version allows you to monitor more than one car.

fintail

Tons of 70s-80s era MBs gained those. I am always scared to think about what hides underneath, or what damage has been done. They are a little ostentatious for my taste, too.

tifighter said:

Whatever company made that chrome trim for the wheel arches on R107's must have made a good living; a lot of them have them. I am not a fan.

corvette

Speaking of Mercedes and chrome, I am seeing a lot of late-model MBs that not only have chrome door handles (which I think are factory), but chrome inlays around and in the "scoop" part of the door behind the handle (which I think are not factory). Is the added surround a frequently added accessory? I think they look tacky.

qbrozen

fintail said:

I think they only came one way pretty much, trim depends on model year. The chrome trim is aftermarket (wheels are likely not original to the car, too), and the console area in that one looks stock. Later ones had more wood around the HVAC controls.

Fin - was there some sort of premium package on these? I have seen then with or without the chrome spats and wood console.

Huh. Interesting. When I first saw the lips, I thought it was an add-on but then I have seen so many with them on...

Anyway, I found this pretty one but with no wood on the console, which prompted my question:

http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/mercedes_benz/350sl/1839621.html

BTW, I also prefer the fenders sans chrome.

imidazol97

sandman_6472 said:

Glad to see my old employer can still do things right when needed! Good job post office!

In my experience the post office has problems. They live in a past era of guaranteed lifetime jobs. I would ship things to my son at Ohio State, 5 blocks from a branch post office. Letters got there next day since it's right down the interstate 70 miles. Took 11 days to get a package returned that they refused to leave on his doorstep. I started using UPS and FedEx who got it there the next day and left it. Trying to get USPS to find the package was a nightmare of phone menus and obtuse sequences that didn't match finding the tracking number package's location. And rude, rude people when I did get someone on the phone in Columbus or somewhere on national site. The car companies, even when they have a problematic car, make the government mail service look bad. I've never been treated with that much disdain by a car company.

Edit: Of course, not all postal service employees are bad. But I sure ran into a bunch around Columbus on that problem.

suydam

I lived in a small town where the postmaster would check on elderly regulars if he didn't see them for a few days. I've never had a problem with any postal employee anywhere I've lived. I'm sure like any other company there are good and bad apples.

henryn

When I lived in a small town (1989 to 1999), the Post Office was great. You could not ask for friendlier people, or better service. Where I am now (Houston), I doubt you could find worse people or worse service.

Of course, the same thing was true for the police, and the court system (jury duty), and the tax office. Pretty much everything was nice, casual, relaxed, friendly, helpful in the small town. In the big city, the exact opposite.

suydam

As long as you belong there. For outsiders, not so much.

andres3

Okay, I'm late but here it goes:

First, going back to cars I don't own anymore:

'03 Honda Accord Coupe LX V6, '05 Civic EX sedan, '07 Civc EX sedan, all at Tipton Honda now known as Honda of El Cajon.
'06 Audi A3 at Audi of Downtown LA (not a stranger to driving for a good deal, and of course, locating exactly what I wanted; almost!).
'14 Audi S4 custom ordered from Germany with 3 month wait at Audi of Escondido.

Cars we still own:

'15 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI SE at Mossy VW of El Cajon.
'16 Audi TTS at Escondido Audi

Next punch - highly likely a Subaru, likely an Outback or Forester XT. Not sure which dealer yet, have them all competing, but Temecula gave me the best vibes so far, whereas the 3 in San Diego act or at least come off as arrogant (maybe they can be with how they are selling them!).

nyccarguy

andres3 said:

Okay, I'm late but here it goes: First, going back to cars I don't own anymore: '03 Honda Accord Coupe LX V6, '05 Civic EX sedan, '07 Civc EX sedan, all at Tipton Honda now known as Honda of El Cajon. '06 Audi A3 at Audi of Downtown LA (not a stranger to driving for a good deal, and of course, locating exactly what I wanted; almost!). '14 Audi S4 custom ordered from Germany with 3 month wait at Audi of Escondido. Cars we still own: '15 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI SE at Mossy VW of El Cajon. '16 Audi TTS at Escondido Audi Next punch - highly likely a Subaru, likely an Outback or Forester XT. Not sure which dealer yet, have them all competing, but Temecula gave me the best vibes so far, whereas the 3 in San Diego act or at least come off as arrogant (maybe they can be with how they are selling them!).

If you do regular driving, an Outback seems like a great car to lease.  High residual & low money factor.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

andres3 said:

Okay, I'm late but here it goes:

First, going back to cars I don't own anymore:

'03 Honda Accord Coupe LX V6, '05 Civic EX sedan, '07 Civc EX sedan, all at Tipton Honda now known as Honda of El Cajon.
'06 Audi A3 at Audi of Downtown LA (not a stranger to driving for a good deal, and of course, locating exactly what I wanted; almost!).
'14 Audi S4 custom ordered from Germany with 3 month wait at Audi of Escondido.

Cars we still own:

'15 VW Golf Sportwagen TDI SE at Mossy VW of El Cajon.
'16 Audi TTS at Escondido Audi

Next punch - highly likely a Subaru, likely an Outback or Forester XT. Not sure which dealer yet, have them all competing, but Temecula gave me the best vibes so far, whereas the 3 in San Diego act or at least come off as arrogant (maybe they can be with how they are selling them!).

If you do regular driving, an Outback seems like a great car to lease.  High residual & low money factor.

Funny, I forgot about the Kia lease, your post reminded me:

'16 Kia Optima Turbo LX at Fuller Kia.

Sandman6472

Well, I stayed with the post office as a letter carrier for 31 years and never really had a problem with any of my patrons. Been gone since October 2010 and spoke with an older customer last week as we still keep in touch. My last route was a 55 and older condo route and they treated me like their kin. Spent 19 years on the same route so I knew them, their families and they treated me very nicely. But I gave them over the top service when necessary and think most appreciated that fact.
So glad I'm retired from there now as have heard things have changed for the worse. But today, mail already came before I got home but found the lady so I could sign for my package as it was "signature confirmation" and she couldn't leave it without someone signing for it. Glad I left work a bit early as the phone is in perfect condition and just needs the sim card put into it later this week after the case comes from Amazon.com. So glad I won the auction!!

The Sandman

corvette

The letter carrier in my neighborhood must be some kind of ninja. He never sets off the motion detection on my video doorbell. Either that, or the doorbell isn't that good.

tjc78

I wouldn't know our letter carrier if I fell over him/her. I'm seriously not kidding. They must be good, because all the junk mail arrives nicely!

stickguy

miles a tad steep, at least (IMO) for the price, but I would not kick this one out of bed. Nice color. And I am a sucker for this type of hatchback.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2014-bmw-3_series_gran_turismo-certified_328i_xdrive_gt_gran_turismo_awd_navigation-used-15884862.html

Cheaper 2014, thanks to real stiff miles, but love how it is equipped. But my least favorite color combo just about.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2014-bmw-3_series-certified_320i_xdrive_awd_sport_package_navigation-used-15881302.html

year older, but low miles. not as loaded. I actually like the color though. probably a lot of people don't.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-bmw-3_series-certified_328xi_xdrive_awd_sedan-used-15498212.html

this one is a nice combo. Pretty, well equipped.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-bmw-3_series-certified_328i_xdrive_modern_line_awd_sedan_-used-15479887.html

Or can go back a model series, and pick up 2 cylinders. Certainly nice low miles. I do like white.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2011-bmw-3_series-328i_xdrive-used-16011005.html

imidazol97

sandman_6472 said:

Well, I stayed with the post office as a letter carrier for 31 years and never really had a problem with any of my patrons. Been gone since October 2010 The Sandman

Just like with people smearing car brands because of a few experiences, I oversmeared the USPS because of my problems with them in Columbus. We have a PO box here and the few folks who man the building are about half personable. Our branch has one of the 24-hour post office machines where you can do lots of things including print your label for packages and dump them into the hopper.

About auctions on Ebay..., ever tried auction sniper? I kept noticing lots of folks would win auctions and they weren't ones who had bid before and put in a limited bid to go higher. There you set your max and it puts in your bid a few seconds before the end. That way the price doesn't get run up by people putting in bids over a period of time so they can add their Ebay higher limit invisible bid. Hope you like your phone.

Sandman6472

Won't need it because I hardly bid on anything, been 10 years since the last time!

The Sandman

corvette

That reminds me, I still have the first thing I ever bought on eBay (in the late 1990s/early 2000s), an old metal European license plate. It now sits on top of the armoire in my living room. I think the guy I bought it from was from up north and commented that he had travelled through my hometown (where I had the plate shipped) when he was a kid.

fintail

VLC206 appears to be a pre-1963 British plate.

I know it's OT, but I anyway have no issues with USPS. I used to buy and sell a lot on ebay, and never really had an issue. My only real beef is that the two closest offices near me have closed, and the replacement office is more distant, and has an iffy parking lot. Our postal rates are cheaper than probably any other developed nation, and the service is reasonably fast.

breld

@stickguy - those 3-series GT's seem to be really good buys on the used market. The styling may be a little awkward (which is perhaps why they're good buys), but man they are super roomy in that backseat and the hatch is awesome. I also like that the seating position is a bit higher than other 3-series.

Could be a great choice for you!

28firefighter

I happen to really like the 3-series GT.  I like the 550i xDrive GT even more. Love that V8. 

Anyway, just back from our first birth false-alarm. Wife was sent over from the doctor after her BP was elevated. They let her go tonight but want to see us again Thursday. I think we are in the final countdown, folks!

I haven't forgotten about those interior pictures by the way. Between the hospital scare and our AC install, I've been a bit busy. Not to mention I have someone up here interested in taking over the lease on the Escape, so I'm working through that. 

tjc78

@28firefighter
good luck with the baby!! Exciting times.  I know that feeling of the doctor saying "get to the hospital now". Scary. 

Re: Ebay
Not the place it used to be.  I've been doing business with them for years, but in the early days it was with small sellers for used items etc.   Now it's basically another Amazon. The wife recently bought some food storage containers and the seller must sell on Amazon too as the packaging said Amazon Prime all over it. 

Sandman6472

Interesting luggage on the top of your armoire, are they usable or just for decoration? Guessing your hometown is somewhere in Europe.
My package got to me in just under 71 hours from North Carolina which is pretty impressive. True, I did have to hunt down the carrier as I got home after she came by. Found her driving back to her office, she pulled over, I signed for the package and I was home again. Tracking it online was a G-dsend as I was able to know exactly when it was out for delivery so I could be around home. Glad it all worked out.

The Sandman

cdnpinhead

My father was a mail carrier in Grand Junction when I was a kid. I walked part of his route with him several times and watched him put up the mail the day before a few times too -- fond memories. In spite of the inefficiencies and all the rest, the USPS gets cut plenty of slack in our house. Stamps were 3 cents in those days, by the way.

graphicguy

cdnpinhead said:

My father was a mail carrier in Grand Junction when I was a kid. I walked part of his route with him several times and watched him put up the mail the day before a few times too -- fond memories. In spite of the inefficiencies and all the rest, the USPS gets cut plenty of slack in our house. Stamps were 3 cents in those days, by the way.

Honestly, I'm amazed at how the USPS has transformed themselves, in a relatively short time. I see them delivering for FedEx and have seen them deliver 7 days/week over the holidays. My local post office actually has helpful people working there, now. Quite a change from just 5 years ago when no one seemed to care one iota about the customers at the Post Office.

There was a point I remember people talking about the post office being on their last legs, or being privatized. Now, they seem to be thriving.

About ebay....I don't sell a lot, but some....mostly audio equipment that I can't use anymore, or tech that I either don't, or can't use.

Used to be a better place. If you sold and shipped, were honest, and helpful, you'd get a good rating. Now, people can't even take the time to offer a rating (really the lifeblood to tell those buying from you, and selling to you, if you'r a good buyer/seller). I've probably bought/sold 350 times on ebay. Because most are too lazy to offer a rating, I have less than 50 ratings.

It used to be mortal sin to buy something on ebay and not pay for it. Happened to me twice in December alone. You would get a negative rating which would pull down your overall rating. You can't even do that, now. Sold some stuff around the Holidays, a Kitchen Aid mixer I don't use anymore and a high end digital camera.....several hundred dollars for each. Winner of each of those auctions didn't pay, didn't communicate why they didn't pay, didn't respond over repeated requests to pay.

Ebay's response? Wait a couple of days. If no payment comes, we'll tell the buyer not to do that anymore. I couldn't even leave negative comments.

Just met with some Amazon people a couple of weeks ago. Amazon Web Services (acting as agents to ship for ebay customers among others) is by far their biggest money maker. They aren't as big of a merchant as they were....too much overhead to stock everything people want. But, they are really good as a facilitator. They'll stock a company's wares and ship them for a fee. That's where the ebay connection comes in. Virtual companies buy a warehouse full of goods, have them stored, and shipped by Amazon. Amazon charges for the service. The virtual company doesn't even touch the goods.

28firefighter

tjc78 said:

@28firefighter
good luck with the baby!! Exciting times.  I know that feeling of the doctor saying "get to the hospital now". Scary. 
 

That is exactly what happened yesterday. I was home with the contractors and wife was at a routine appointment. They sent her right over and said "it might be tonight."

I imagine my driving to the hospital looked something out of Mario Kart or Grand Theft Auto. 

fintail

Funny thing, a couple weeks ago I bought some household products on ebay (not available locally), and they were shipped from amazon directly from the maker - yet the ebay seller had no apparent connection to the maker, and the ebay price was better than amazon. Ebay is still decent for buying or selling collectibles, but some of the fees have become onerous, and I've heard that customer care is lacking, and likely offshored (some execs needed larger yachts, it all trickles down!)

Worst USPS luck I have had was a package sitting at customs in LA for 2 weeks, for no apparent reason (it was a relatively inexpensive toy car from Japan). Then one day it showed up with no updates to the tracking status until delivery. I still prefer it to UPS or Fedex slow boat to China shipping, which is always about a week for something domestic.

Re: BMW GT, I think the 5er depreciates like week old bread, probably some decent used deals. I think the Gran Coupes fare no better than the normal versions, too, those are the ones I like - the sedan version of the coupe version of a sedan.

ab348

I only had one bad experience with USPS/Canada Post and that was 20 years ago. Bought a set of golf clubs from someone in S.C., they never showed. Seller sent me a copy of the shipping receipt he got from USPS so I gave it to Canada Post to trace. No response, clubs were gone for good. I blame Canada Post as much as USPS for that one and have no idea where they fell off the back of the truck.

Generally speaking, for Canadians buying things from US sellers, USPS is the way to go if possible. Far better rates generally than UPS or others when you take border fees into account.

roadburner

breld said:

@stickguy - those 3-series GT's seem to be really good buys on the used market. The styling may be a little awkward (which is perhaps why they're good buys), but man they are super roomy in that backseat and the hatch is awesome. I also like that the seating position is a bit higher than other 3-series.

Could be a great choice for you!

Yes, the GT is built on the stretched 3 Series platform sold in China. We had two CPO GTs about a month ago and both went pretty quick.

breld

I actually like the 5'er GTs too considering the really steep depreciation hit they take. I had one as a loaner once and was impressed at how comfortable and roomy it was.

Seems you can get a lightly used one, maybe even CPO, for mid-$30k's or so. The thing is, if you compare it to a legitimate sport sedan or wagon, it of course falls short in performance, but as an alternative to a traditional SUV, I think it's a great buy.

28firefighter

So just in case we didn't have enough going on, someone tried to apply for credit in my name at 4 different banks yesterday. Looks like they used the right name, an old address, and an incorrect social security number.

The irony is that I had a fraud alert out just as a precaution after my wife had some trouble earlier this year, and they still went ahead with the inquiry - the banks totally ignored it (this includes Chase).

So...I've gone the nuclear approach and locked my credit report up completely using security freezes from all 3 bureaus. Will do the same for my wife tonight.

corvette

sandman_6472 said:

Interesting luggage on the top of your armoire, are they usable or just for decoration? Guessing your hometown is somewhere in Europe. My package got to me in just under 71 hours from North Carolina which is pretty impressive. True, I did have to hunt down the carrier as I got home after she came by. Found her driving back to her office, she pulled over, I signed for the package and I was home again. Tracking it online was a G-dsend as I was able to know exactly when it was out for delivery so I could be around home. Glad it all worked out. The Sandman

The luggage is usable for storage but was not really built for travel. My hometown is in Kentucky, but I really like British things.

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

sandman_6472 said:

Well, I stayed with the post office as a letter carrier for 31 years and never really had a problem with any of my patrons. Been gone since October 2010 The Sandman

Just like with people smearing car brands because of a few experiences, I oversmeared the USPS because of my problems with them in Columbus. We have a PO box here and the few folks who man the building are about half personable. Our branch has one of the 24-hour post office machines where you can do lots of things including print your label for packages and dump them into the hopper.

About auctions on Ebay..., ever tried auction sniper? I kept noticing lots of folks would win auctions and they weren't ones who had bid before and put in a limited bid to go higher. There you set your max and it puts in your bid a few seconds before the end. That way the price doesn't get run up by people putting in bids over a period of time so they can add their Ebay higher limit invisible bid. Hope you like your phone.

BAT won't allow sniping, which is why some people like it.

Mr_Shiftright

Just read where the 2017 Subaru BRZ has an infotainment app for identifying birds.

Now that's niche marketing!

suydam

I'm not usually identifying birds while driving.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

So just in case we didn't have enough going on, someone tried to apply for credit in my name at 4 different banks yesterday. Looks like they used the right name, an old address, and an incorrect social security number.

The irony is that I had a fraud alert out just as a precaution after my wife had some trouble earlier this year, and they still went ahead with the inquiry - the banks totally ignored it (this includes Chase).

So...I've gone the nuclear approach and locked my credit report up completely using security freezes from all 3 bureaus. Will do the same for my wife tonight.

I just talked about this over in the Stories forum... my wife's credit is completely locked out from all three agencies because of an identity theft problem. Hopefully you can resolve it quickly

nyccarguy

@tjc78 - That's nuts! From a family member too? People are just un real

Back on topic. Anybody in the market for a pretty much loaded up Black/Black 2014 335xi with a 6-Speed Stick? 22K Miles. $37,598 asking price. This was a $60K car just 3 years ago.

http://cpo.bmwusa.com/certified/BMW/2014-BMW-335i+xDrive+Sedan-af338a620a0e0a1725c5dc925a6f57c2.htm?geoZip=06902

stickguy

Black over black. Would have to be incredibly cheap for me to do that.

nyccarguy

Here's a nice 428xi Grand Coupe with only 18K miles for $34,686
Navigation
Cold Weather Package
Driver Assistance Package


http://cpo.bmwusa.com/used/BMW/2015-BMW-428i+xDrive+Gran+Coupe-a46c24e90a0e0a176100fb45bb6dc50a.htm?geoZip=06902