Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

ab348

Whenver I'm behind one of those X5s, that cutline where the hatch cuts into the taillights drives me crazy. Just looks weird to me.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, looks like a mistake, doesn't it?

Mr_Shiftright

Calling Roadburner:

Let's have a road test review on this one if it comes to your dealership--

Limited Edition M2

nyccarguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

Calling Roadburner: Let's have a road test review on this one if it comes to your dealership-- Limited Edition M2

One of the commentors of that article mention a DINAN modified 230xi or 228xi posting some impressive numbers (with a lighter nose) compared to an ///M2.  What are your thoughts on this @roadburner ?  Have you driven a modified BMW with an N20 engine?

roadburner

Haven't driven a modded 230i/228i yet; they are actually a lot of fun in stock tune(with the Track Handling Package). We don't know if we'll get the limited edition M2; as it stands now our M2 slots are filled until late this ear...

corvette

Went by a Ford dealer and got the dealer code I needed for the auto show test drive bonus. Salesman asked if I was just there for the bonus or if I wanted to test drive a car. I told him I was just there for the bonus and was in and out in a few minutes. I've never had anyone make me take a test drive.

(When I go to a dealership and test drive a car, I often end up going home with it!)

Also, my name is slightly misspelled on the registration. Will be interesting to see whether Ford sells my contact info to anybody.

roadburner

I had a SM at a Saturn dealer get huffy when I came in on a "Test drive a Saturn, get a $25 VISA Gift Card!" promotion many years ago. I think he was ticked that I admitted from the get-go that I wasn't interested in buying one.

nyccarguy

It's funny.  The dealer where I bought & service my Legacy has an online only coupon for a $25 gift card with any test drive.  EXCLUDES WRX MODELS

nyccarguy

Got home early today.  Decided to fire up the Prelude which has been sitting for months (since late sept, early oct).  Tick, tick, tick vroom.  Started right up.  I'm excitied for the warmer weather so I can drive it more.

Here's a pic of my mudded up, manly looking Pilot.  Just don't call it a soft roader

Mr_Shiftright

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

Cars in Denver get dirtier than that from dirty snow and splashback.

Had breakfast with the wife and daughter, after dropping off the MINI. Daughter finally mentions in my presence her desire for the Infiniti GLA - er, QX30.

Gosh almighty, the Infiniti dealer is right next door to the MINI dealer. What better excuse does a CCBA'er need?

Boy, are these things small. You can tell the MB influence in the exterior design, but the interior is pure Infiniti. No "tablet stuck on the dash" look to the touchscreen. Nicely integrated.

Daughter wants silver or white with black interior - white only comes with wheat interior, so that's out. Need to figure out what packages she wants. I figure nav at least, but there are a couple other packages I'm not sure of - LED package and tech package. Tech package has blind spot warning, emergency braking, around view monitors, lane departure, adaptive cruise and intelligent parking. Is it worth $2200?

The good news is that the lease deals on these are pretty strong. For a car that stickers between $40-45K, $400-425/mo is pretty doable, rolling in the fees and including sales tax.

28firefighter

Michaell said:

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

Cars in Denver get dirtier than that from dirty snow and splashback. Had breakfast with the wife and daughter, after dropping off the MINI. Daughter finally mentions in my presence her desire for the Infiniti GLA - er, QX30. Gosh almighty, the Infiniti dealer is right next door to the MINI dealer. What better excuse does a CCBA'er need? Boy, are these things small. You can tell the MB influence in the exterior design, but the interior is pure Infiniti. No "tablet stuck on the dash" look to the touchscreen. Nicely integrated. Daughter wants silver or white with black interior - white only comes with wheat interior, so that's out. Need to figure out what packages she wants. I figure nav at least, but there are a couple other packages I'm not sure of - LED package and tech package. Tech package has blind spot warning, emergency braking, around view monitors, lane departure, adaptive cruise and intelligent parking. Is it worth $2200? The good news is that the lease deals on these are pretty strong. For a car that stickers between $40-45K, $400-425/mo is pretty doable, rolling in the fees and including sales tax.

I've seen as low as 300 month after tax out of Texas on a $44-$45k QX30 Sport.  That's a lot of car for the money. 

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

Cars in Denver get dirtier than that from dirty snow and splashback.

Had breakfast with the wife and daughter, after dropping off the MINI. Daughter finally mentions in my presence her desire for the Infiniti GLA - er, QX30.

Gosh almighty, the Infiniti dealer is right next door to the MINI dealer. What better excuse does a CCBA'er need?

Boy, are these things small. You can tell the MB influence in the exterior design, but the interior is pure Infiniti. No "tablet stuck on the dash" look to the touchscreen. Nicely integrated.

Daughter wants silver or white with black interior - white only comes with wheat interior, so that's out. Need to figure out what packages she wants. I figure nav at least, but there are a couple other packages I'm not sure of - LED package and tech package. Tech package has blind spot warning, emergency braking, around view monitors, lane departure, adaptive cruise and intelligent parking. Is it worth $2200?

The good news is that the lease deals on these are pretty strong. For a car that stickers between $40-45K, $400-425/mo is pretty doable, rolling in the fees and including sales tax.

I've seen as low as 300 month after tax out of Texas on a $44-$45k QX30 Sport.  That's a lot of car for the money. 

The national deals on the Infiniti website are under $300, but I didn't look to see how much money was due at signing. My calcs assume only first payment out of pocket - acquisition fee and dealer fee would be added into the cap cost. And registration is paid separately here in CO.

28firefighter

Here is what I saw:

$305 / month including tax, 
39/12k, zero down

2017 Infiniti QX30 Sport w/ Leather, LED & Tech packages

MSRP: $44,235
Money factor: .00003
Residual: 55%

This included Texas sales tax rolled in. 

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

Got home early today.  Decided to fire up the Prelude which has been sitting for months (since late sept, early oct).  Tick, tick, tick vroom.  Started right up.  I'm excitied for the warmer weather so I can drive it more.

Here's a pic of my mudded up, manly looking Pilot.  Just don't call it a soft roader

Isn't it great when they still fire right up after a long time off?! I always feel a bit of elation when I fire up my old rigs in the spring time.

I'll have to do a "before and after" set of shots when we drive the Q7 home. I suspect that poor thing is going to be straight up filthy! I am looking forward to this....

sda

nyccarguy said:

Got home early today.  Decided to fire up the Prelude which has been sitting for months (since late sept, early oct).  Tick, tick, tick vroom.  Started right up.  I'm excitied for the warmer weather so I can drive it more.

Here's a pic of my mudded up, manly looking Pilot.  Just don't call it a soft roader

Bring that Pilot to me and I will have it all nice and shiny.

suydam

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

In Ohio that would be after a trip to the grocery store.

nyccarguy

sda said:

Got home early today.  Decided to fire up the Prelude which has been sitting for months (since late sept, early oct).  Tick, tick, tick vroom.  Started right up.  I'm excitied for the warmer weather so I can drive it more.

Here's a pic of my mudded up, manly looking Pilot.  Just don't call it a soft roader

Bring that Pilot to me and I will have it all nice and shiny.

There might just be an after pic to this shot. Depending on the weather, I'm going to have the Pilot detailed towards the end of this week.  It is supposed to be in the 60s later this week, so commuting in the Prelude should be doable.

suydam

"LED package and tech package. Tech package has blind spot warning, emergency braking, around view monitors, lane departure, adaptive cruise and intelligent parking. Is it worth $2200? "

I have all those goodies on my Volt and I love them! Lane departure annoys me so I turned it off nut the parking sensors and blind spot Warning and rear cross traffic alert are fabulous. In a rural area those things wouldn't be as useful but in higher traffic areas they are terrific. Just my 2 cents.

iluvmysephia1

fintail - did you watch the video? Man, I would be eaten alive by his '16 Scion iA. Earnhardt, Jr., driving. Then he gives that "ugghhawww" sound at the very end of his run, like he's all disappointed with his time and all. Shoosh - I'd be happy to autocross like that. 

tbirdmarco

hope that everyone had an good weekand. had the day off today. good quiet weekand over all. got to sit n the croze yesterday loved it that and the new sivick and virsa accord is nice to. and gm s u vs and ford stuff to. whent with my cuzian they live in queans walking distance to menny car dealers that is what we did yesterday. have an grate night and upcumming week to all.

tbirdmarco

@28firefighter saw an 2016 g t I fully loded leather everything stick shift at mager world to whent there to set in everything as whell cus we can. and you can start everything up. forget the miles on it was not much. ran grate had the fog lights to black car black interior. this place is in long island city not the best reputation this dealer but go every 6 munths or so to sit in all of the cars to along with going to all of the new car dealers.

fintail

It's often more the driver than the car. I am sure Vettel could beat me while in my mom's 4cyl Camry even if I was in a Ferrari

iluvmysephia1 said:

fintail - did you watch the video? Man, I would be eaten alive by his '16 Scion iA. Earnhardt, Jr., driving. Then he gives that "ugghhawww" sound at the very end of his run, like he's all disappointed with his time and all. Shoosh - I'd be happy to autocross like that. 

Sandman6472

Like that Countryman, a lot. Please give us your thoughts about it's driving around town. That size is perfect for my needs though a smaller 2 door could work also if the ride isn't too harsh. Since the new models will be built on the new X1 underpinnings, could very well be #1 on my short list in a couple of years. Since we're empty nesters again, I can go down to a smaller size and if we take the kids or friends with us, we always have the A3 as the family hauler. As flawless as it's been, think the wife's planning on keeping it longer than she originally thought. My guess is probably around 7 to 8 years now since she barely drives 12K per year, more like 10.5K. Luckily, she's extremely happy with it and the smaller size plus all the safety stuff she got on it.
Like that color combo on the Mini also as blue is my all time favorite color. A blue over blue would be the ticket for me.

The Sandman

stickguy

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Not nearly enough mud for off-road creds, sorry

Cars in Denver get dirtier than that from dirty snow and splashback.

Had breakfast with the wife and daughter, after dropping off the MINI. Daughter finally mentions in my presence her desire for the Infiniti GLA - er, QX30.

Gosh almighty, the Infiniti dealer is right next door to the MINI dealer. What better excuse does a CCBA'er need?

Boy, are these things small. You can tell the MB influence in the exterior design, but the interior is pure Infiniti. No "tablet stuck on the dash" look to the touchscreen. Nicely integrated.

Daughter wants silver or white with black interior - white only comes with wheat interior, so that's out. Need to figure out what packages she wants. I figure nav at least, but there are a couple other packages I'm not sure of - LED package and tech package. Tech package has blind spot warning, emergency braking, around view monitors, lane departure, adaptive cruise and intelligent parking. Is it worth $2200?

The good news is that the lease deals on these are pretty strong. For a car that stickers between $40-45K, $400-425/mo is pretty doable, rolling in the fees and including sales tax.

visibility out the rear and sides is so bad on these that you really want the BLIS at least. Active lane monitoring is a different story, at least to me.

Sandman6472

I saw the Infiniti GLA copy on the road today in Miami and it did look very nice. The size is appealing to me but that price, way more than I would ever spend. Now if I ever decided to lease, well, that's another story. Eventually will get over to the nearby Infiniti store to check one out. Nice that the white only has a light interior as living in South Florida for the forseeable future, a black interior just won't do for me. Truthfully, wish the A3 had a lighter interior because that black gets awfully hot when it's been left outside. Luckily, whenever it's at Casa Sandman, or Sand Hill as we like to call it, it goes right into the garage.

The Sandman

stickguy

if you can really get a nicely loaded one on a lease for barely over $300/mo, I would be talking to them. I do like it, and the price would be hard to beat.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iCLdTn_-GqU

stickguy

actually, the QX30 talk has me back on the "find a too good to pass up lease deal" train. Could be fun times out trolling the week after Xmas. And NE eve is Saturday I think?

best part will be that I could not get anything for a bit, and maybe stretch it through presidents day. So can lowball my way around the automall, and see who bites! This could be way more fun than shopping lower priced used cars. That can get real old, real quick.

stickguy

Marco, the Ioniq is high on my list of new stuff I want to drive at some point.

Michaell

Well, @qbrozen put the kibosh on any thoughts I may have had on trading out the MINI for a QX30. He hit the MINI trade value at many, many, many dollars under the current loan balance. So, the daughter keeps driving it. She still likes the car a lot - and, with only 28,000 miles on it, she's got a lot of life left in it. Extended warranty and pre-paid maintenance to 100K, so it ought not to cost a lot to keep on the road. If she keeps up this pace, it will have roughly 60K on it when it's paid for,

@sandman_6472 - the loaner car I had today is the Clubman. This sits lower to the ground than the Countryman, which is more of a small SUV. And, the Clubman has two hinged rear doors that open to the side, rather than a hatchback.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with it. @breld made the observation that it was like an eccentric Golf, and I thought the analogy was apt. The ergonomics are way better than the previous generation MINIs, but still pretty different from anything from Japan or Germany.

I'd have to look at the weight, but it didn't feel as sprightly with 190HP as my Jetta does with 150HP. Of course, the Clubman I drove had AWD, so that makes it heavier from the start. Was built solidly.

And, in the showroom, was the first 2017 Countryman in the state of CO. Had a pricetag that just exceeded $40K. Sadly, t comes standard with the same 190HP engine I had in my loaner.

Gotta step up to the John Cooper Works trim to get the 240HP engine from the X1.

uplanderguy

Returning our free Rent-a-Corolla this morning. It drove fine, but we all commented on how closing the door sounded like you were putting the lid on a galvanized garbage can. It actually echoed.

Plus, it had no floor mats--rental counter guy says "Corollas don't come with mats" and there was a hole in the carpeting, right where your right heel would rest. This was a 2016 car with 28K miles.

I know rental car miles are normal-car miles to an exponent.

I'll say this, it had excellent tire/wheel balance at all speeds.

It was free because of a couple items I had mentioned here earlier, so I'm happy overall.

tjc78

stickguy said:

actually, the QX30 talk has me back on the "find a too good to pass up lease deal" train. Could be fun times out trolling the week after Xmas. And NE eve is Saturday I think?

best part will be that I could not get anything for a bit, and maybe stretch it through presidents day. So can lowball my way around the automall, and see who bites! This could be way more fun than shopping lower priced used cars. That can get real old, real quick.

We are both going to be beating up the dealers in SJ at the same time. The wife is already tired of hearing about it! Yeah, I'm gonna wear her down to where I just buy whatever I want lol.

Checked out the Pilot again on Hondas site. Second row captain chairs (as someone pointed out here) if you spring for the Elite. There is still a center console between them, but it looks like you could easily step over it.

tbirdmarco

@stickguy Nice want to sit in that one to as whell and that kia nearo that is out now. have to wate to go to an kia dealer or when I do go to the new York auto show soon have to see when it will be this year. injoy your day.

suydam

I actually don't mind Corollas as a rental. They are roomy enough for 4 or even 5 in a pinch. Good FE. Good visibility. Decent basic transportation. 

Michaell

suydam said:

I actually don't mind Corollas as a rental. They are roomy enough for 4 or even 5 in a pinch. Good FE. Good visibility. Decent basic transportation. 

I rented one last year on a trip to CA. Drove from LA to SD, then back to my hometown north of LA. As noted, decent transportation. Not sure I would want to own one, even though it's a direct competitor to the Jetta I currently drive.

uplanderguy

My new Cruze feels absolutely sexy in comparison to the Corolla, but of course, I'm an outlier.

Struck me as a funky instrument panel, too, although after 500 miles I was used to where everything was.

The tinny door sound was commented on repeatedly by my wife and daughter, two of the most non-car people one could look for.

fintail

My mom had a Corolla before her Camry, the prior generation. It got rear ended at highway speed by a distracted pickup driver, while my brother was driving. It crumpled as well as one could hope for, but the rear seat passenger had some injuries. For some reason she liked the car (bought it without telling me!), and was ready to replace it with another Corolla, but it felt tinny to me compared to a Camry that we test drove. Something about it didn't seem right to me. I encouraged her to buy the more substantial car, and she did - no issues nearly 8 years later.

suydam

uplanderguy said:

My new Cruze feels absolutely sexy in comparison to the Corolla, but of course, I'm an outlier.

Struck me as a funky instrument panel, too, although after 500 miles I was used to where everything was.

The tinny door sound was commented on repeatedly by my wife and daughter, two of the most non-car people one could look for.

Oh the Cruze is a nicer car -- though not always in rental versions. I don't want to own a Corolla, in fact our rental experiences crossed them off the list. But as a rental it's fine. You know what you get. Compared to the bare bones Jetta I had last year -- probably in no way resembles your car, Michaell.

Michaell

suydam said:

uplanderguy said:

My new Cruze feels absolutely sexy in comparison to the Corolla, but of course, I'm an outlier.

Struck me as a funky instrument panel, too, although after 500 miles I was used to where everything was.

The tinny door sound was commented on repeatedly by my wife and daughter, two of the most non-car people one could look for.

Oh the Cruze is a nicer car -- though not always in rental versions. I don't want to own a Corolla, in fact our rental experiences crossed them off the list. But as a rental it's fine. You know what you get. Compared to the bare bones Jetta I had last year -- probably in no way resembles your car, Michaell.

I rented a Jetta last year, as well. Similar to my car, but I suspect it was a 2015, so no rear view camera, no Apple CarPlay.

I like the equipment level of my car - no blind spot, no lane warning, no cross traffic warning. I understand the value of those tools; my wife's car has them. I just like that my car is sparsely equipped.

breld

I'd agree with @michaell on his assessment of the Clubman's power - I'd characterize it as better than adequate, but it doesn't have the feel of, let's say, a GTI. At the same time though, it does have a heavy substantial feel to it. Wife and I visited the MINI dealer this past weekend (the "other" one than where @michaell was at), and they also had a single 2017 Countryman. I like the look of it - proportions are the same as before, but it's size increased overall, putting it back on top over the Clubman, as is appropriate. This one was well equipped, and only about a $1k higher than the sticker on our Clubman.

Just got to Nashville today for a quick business trip. There's five of us, so we rented an Expedition (I just threw that in to keep it on topic). I got introduced to "hot chicken" for lunch, and we're hitting an NHL game tonight, so a fun trip.

corvette

Hot chicken is pretty great. We have it in Louisville too--Joella's Hot Chicken.

Michaell

breld said:

I'd agree with @michaell on his assessment of the Clubman's power - I'd characterize it as better than adequate, but it doesn't have the feel of, let's say, a GTI. At the same time though, it does have a heavy substantial feel to it. Wife and I visited the MINI dealer this past weekend (the "other" one than where @michaell was at), and they also had a single 2017 Countryman. I like the look of it - proportions are the same as before, but it's size increased overall, putting it back on top over the Clubman, as is appropriate. This one was well equipped, and only about a $1k higher than the sticker on our Clubman.

Just got to Nashville today for a quick business trip. There's five of us, so we rented an Expedition (I just threw that in to keep it on topic). I got introduced to "hot chicken" for lunch, and we're hitting an NHL game tonight, so a fun trip.

What is "hot chicken"?

And, I noticed that the new Countryman has power seats, which I think is a first for MINI.

tjc78

I see that Hot Chicken on the Food Network / Travel channel and really want to try it.  I've been to Tennessee too, and missed out on it.  

Speaking of the Expedition, sat in a 70k example at the auto show.  If you are putting out that much, may as well get a Navigator.  

Sandman6472

Drove a '17 Mazda3 today, base model but had leather and alloys, 17"ers. Drove better than I expected, liked the seats. Now that I've got my iPhone 6s Plus, I hook it up in any vehicle without Sirius/XM and it paired easily in the Mazda, extremely easy. Would definitely try the "S" version if interested in purchasing just to see the difference. Overall, gonna give it a 8 on The Sandman Scale. Since I only drove it about 20 minutes, not enough time to evaluate it on the highway to check out how it performed in expressway traffic. But ergonomics were very good and easy to use the iPhone and get my music. Impressive little runabout..."Zoom Zoom"!
Was back at the Honda store as we had to move some newly purchased '17 Civics down from the parking garage to be put into rental service. Noticed that '13 328i was gone but not surprised as it was a very good deal with somewhat low mileage for the year first put on the road. But figured it wouldn't last the week. Ditto for the '16 ILX they also had, gorgeous maroon over beige automatic equipped Acura. Again, they had it priced to sell and that color combo was absolutely stunning. Just from the way it looked and the interior appointments, rating it a 9.5 on The Sandman Scale. Just wish I got to drive it because if I were in the market, would've been very tough to pass up.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Was with a bunch of us older drivers today and finally found out why they dropped our hours a few weeks ago to 24 again. Apparently, one of the two new guys was looking at my time card and complained that that certain week I got close to 30 hours. He went to our boss, and our bosses boss and ratted me out. So, they made everyone except one of us part time folks work just 24 hours for the following few weeks. Needless to say I am not happy. No one should be comparing time card hours because things happen. I work the beginning of the week on the busiest days most weeks which explains why sometimes I do get more. But I know I've never gone to management complaining about hours, when I do go is to ask for more for us all!
As we all started comparing notes, we get the feeling that we need to start watching what we say around this guy because turns out he threw a couple of the other guys "under the bus" with management. We drivers usually watch each others backs and look out for each other to make sure things are done somewhat fairly but running to management to complain about fellow drivers just seems a bit nasty. I don't think this guy's gonna last because he hasn't shown up for two weeks now with no phone call or text to explain. He also changed his days/hours due to his other part time gig which is causing some staffing issues since he was one of two hired to work the last three days of the week to make sure there was coverage. But gotta feeling he ain't coming back. This has happened a few times before where folks stop coming and we never hear from them again. Common decency should be shown at work and at least resign instead of not coming and not communicating why. Just is bad form I think in the work place!
Rant over now!!! :@

The Sandman

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6-K-AtDjsk

tbirdmarco

@sandman_6472 Hat rats like that at work. we have quite an few whair I work to. just avoide them as much as I can. man peapol can be so nasty so sad not rite. glad you drivers look out for one other the way it should be.

tbirdmarco

we don't have this hot chicken hear in new York. have to try this down the road when I am down south. sounds so ummy.

corvette

Michaell said:

I'd agree with @michaell on his assessment of the Clubman's power - I'd characterize it as better than adequate, but it doesn't have the feel of, let's say, a GTI. At the same time though, it does have a heavy substantial feel to it. Wife and I visited the MINI dealer this past weekend (the "other" one than where @michaell was at), and they also had a single 2017 Countryman. I like the look of it - proportions are the same as before, but it's size increased overall, putting it back on top over the Clubman, as is appropriate. This one was well equipped, and only about a $1k higher than the sticker on our Clubman. Just got to Nashville today for a quick business trip. There's five of us, so we rented an Expedition (I just threw that in to keep it on topic). I got introduced to "hot chicken" for lunch, and we're hitting an NHL game tonight, so a fun trip.

What is "hot chicken"? And, I noticed that the new Countryman has power seats, which I think is a first for MINI.

The original:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince's_Hot_Chicken_Shack