Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

@graphicguy - congrats on the Infiniti!  Looking forward to pics.  

In Nashville, as we were touring one on of our apartments, there was a specialty car shipping truck in the parking lot.  Peeked inside thinking there'd be some exotic car - a Bentley, a Porsche...maybe some classic mustang.  

This is what I found...which I thought was pretty cool.

kyfdx

breld said:

@graphicguy - congrats on the Infiniti!  Looking forward to pics.  

In Nashville, as we were touring one on of our apartments, there was a specialty car shipping truck in the parking lot.  Peeked inside thinking there'd be some exotic car - a Bentley, a Porsche...maybe some classic mustang.  

This is what I found...which I thought was pretty cool.

Nice! I wanted a Gen I Scirocco so bad, but unfortunately I couldn't swing it on my $2.30/hr wage. (that one is Gen II)

breld

I forgot how much I liked those gen 2 sciroccos until I saw this one.  Can't remember the engine choices though - wasn't there a "16v" option?  

Michaell

breld said:

I forgot how much I liked those gen 2 sciroccos until I saw this one.  Can't remember the engine choices though - wasn't there a "16v" option?  

Yeah, I think it was the same engine as the GTI.

139 HP, IIRC.

I used to work with someone who owned a gen II Scirocco. Gold with gold interior. He traded it in for an Acura Vigor.

28firefighter

fintail said:

I was going to suggest the same to 28firefighter - find a vintage toy. Cheaper. But IIRC, he lives in rezoned Seattle, where housing prices are so high that mortgages require 2 incomes, but developers have been able to con/bribe their way into including no more than one parking spot per unit, because Seattle. Letting an old car sit outside would do it in, and nobody wants their DD sitting outside all the time either (unless the garage is filled with $200 worth of yard sale rejects while the $35K car sits outside).

You have absolutely nailed it. Nothing to add except its usually less than $200 worth of stuff and the $35k car is full of the overflow from the garage...

28firefighter

Now, I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out, but...I believe the primary problem with them was that the bodies survived OK for the most part, but the frame had a tendency to turn into a bucket of rust just waiting to break.

corvette

My garage isn't perfectly weathertight or squirrel-proof, which is a great reason not to store things other than tools (in a chest and Gladiator cabinet) and lawn equipment in there. Plenty of room for a car! 

cdnpinhead

28firefighter said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

roadburner

Around 1991 my bride was interested in a Corrado. The local VW dealers alienated us yet again by flat out telling us that they didn't have any in stock, we'd have to order one, and they didn't know how long it would take to get it.
Funny thing, my wife and I really liked the Hondas and VWs of that era but the games played by the dealers we visited caused us to cross both marques off our list.

28firefighter

cdnpinhead said:

28firefighter said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

Haha. I'm a 1987 baby. Right decade, so approximately, yes?

ab348

roadburner said:

Around 1991 my bride was interested in a Corrado. The local VW dealers alienated us yet again by flat out telling us that they didn't have any in stock, we'd have to order one, and they didn't know how long it would take to get it.
Funny thing, my wife and I really liked the Hondas and VWs of that era but the games played by the dealers we visited caused us to cross both marques off our list.

A co-worker/buddy bought a Corrado used in the late 1990s. I loved driving in it but man, did he have problems with it. Hard to say how hard the previous owner beat on it though.

I think what made him do it was that he previously worked at a law firm in our building and at that time one of the lady lawyers there had a yellow Corrado I would drool over in the parking lot. I thought they looked really good.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

cdnpinhead said:

28firefighter said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

Haha. I'm a 1987 baby. Right decade, so approximately, yes?

Oh, man. You mean to tell me you're younger than my step-son?

Yikes, that post just made me feel old.

28firefighter

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

cdnpinhead said:

28firefighter said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

Haha. I'm a 1987 baby. Right decade, so approximately, yes?

Oh, man. You mean to tell me you're younger than my step-son?

Yikes, that post just made me feel old.

Oops?

fintail

I think that style of Scirocco was sold here through MY 1988, so firefighter could have been a baby when a final run model was made.

tifighter

roadburner said:

Around 1991 my bride was interested in a Corrado. The local VW dealers alienated us yet again by flat out telling us that they didn't have any in stock, we'd have to order one, and they didn't know how long it would take to get it.
Funny thing, my wife and I really liked the Hondas and VWs of that era but the games played by the dealers we visited caused us to cross both marques off our list.

You dodged a bullet then. Notoriously bad...

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

cdnpinhead said:

28firefighter said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

Haha. I'm a 1987 baby. Right decade, so approximately, yes?

Oh, man. You mean to tell me you're younger than my step-son?

Yikes, that post just made me feel old.

Oops?

Nah. When I delivered pizza I worked with a bunch of high schoolers. Kept me young. Though I realize I may have shirts in my closet that are older than they are.

graphicguy

I loved those late '80s Siroccos. I remember test driving one a couple of times. The engine really was as smooth as a sewing machine and the shifter/clutch were wonderful.

Pulled the trigger on a BMW 325is instead.

corvette

Michaell said:

I wasn't exactly alive when that Scirocco came out. . .

May we assume you were approximately alive?

Haha. I'm a 1987 baby. Right decade, so approximately, yes?

Oh, man. You mean to tell me you're younger than my step-son? Yikes, that post just made me feel old.

Me too. I'll be 35 in a little over a week. 

andres3

tifighter said:

roadburner said:

Around 1991 my bride was interested in a Corrado. The local VW dealers alienated us yet again by flat out telling us that they didn't have any in stock, we'd have to order one, and they didn't know how long it would take to get it.
Funny thing, my wife and I really liked the Hondas and VWs of that era but the games played by the dealers we visited caused us to cross both marques off our list.

You dodged a bullet then. Notoriously bad...

My father almost got a VW Quantum back in '87 or so for our family car. He ended up in a '87 Jetta instead because the Quantum was a bit more than he wanted to pay or the dealer wanted to go down. I remember being really impressed with that Quantum. The salesman drove it like he stole it in a large parking lot. Using a few parked cars and concrete light pole bases as cones to be zig zagged around. Impressive enough; that a cop noticed; came into the parking lot, and had a "talk" with the salesman.

The Jetta ended up being a pretty good. That 5-speed manual VW made it to just past 100,000 miles with our family despite having 3 drivers (parents and older brother). It had some electrical gremlins mainly with the stereo system. The clutch didn't like having 3 drivers either. I learned how to drive with that car, and of course how to drive a manual transmission; so technically 4 drivers on that vehicle.

Mr_Shiftright

roadburner said:

Around 1991 my bride was interested in a Corrado. The local VW dealers alienated us yet again by flat out telling us that they didn't have any in stock, we'd have to order one, and they didn't know how long it would take to get it.
Funny thing, my wife and I really liked the Hondas and VWs of that era but the games played by the dealers we visited caused us to cross both marques off our list.

Lucky you. The Corrado was a troublesome automobile.

tifighter

I actually owned an 87 Quantum Syncro wagon in college. Red, 5 speed.
It was pretty cool in the early 90's. Even had a lockable center diff. My Subaru friends were jealous. I was jealous of their cars consistently starting and not stranding them...

andres3

tifighter said:

I actually owned an 87 Quantum Syncro wagon in college. Red, 5 speed.
It was pretty cool in the early 90's. Even had a lockable center diff. My Subaru friends were jealous. I was jealous of their cars consistently starting and not stranding them...

Oh, nice red wagon! The one we were test driving was a sedan, more like an early version of the Passat.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rPlWYBRpJQA

tbirdmarco

@graphicguy congrads on the new car. injoy it good luck with this one. grate color combo.

tbirdmarco

same hear with are garage. before got the thunderbird told mom we nead to clear it out they thaught I was joking or sumthing when I said was looking around at old cars. this or an mustang would have bin. will add mor to the colectione eventually. anyway the garage is still the same. have to see what to do. have to donate a lot to the salvation army or sum other. hope that everyone had an good week.

sda

fintail said:

We need pics of the Q50 now Do these have the fender badge with engine size? If so, there's your first job, remove it.

Sandman, you'd like me as a renter, the cars will be cleaner inside when I return than when I picked up.

fintail said:

We need pics of the Q50 now Do these have the fender badge with engine size? If so, there's your first job, remove it.

Sandman, you'd like me as a renter, the cars will be cleaner inside when I return than when I picked up.

You and me both. When I had the Chrysler 300 last week I wiped down the steering wheel, driver seat and some glass. It isn't the first time I've done this.

suydam

I wouldn't do that probably, because I assume they will clean it for the next customer, but I can't understand leaving a car with trash in it. I may drink coffee in a car but I don't eat in them. They have trash cans when you return a rental! Use them!

stickguy

might be that some people (not me!) are chronically late, and probably barely looking to make a flight, so just dump and run?

or maybe they are just sub human pigs.

stickguy

looks like some serious depreciation on this one. Not my cup of tea, but pretty cheap for the year/miles. Might make a fun car for a HS girl!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2014-fiat-500l-5dr_hatchback_trekking-used-16084463.html

Michaell

stickguy said:

looks like some serious depreciation on this one. Not my cup of tea, but pretty cheap for the year/miles. Might make a fun car for a HS girl!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2014-fiat-500l-5dr_hatchback_trekking-used-16084463.html

Oh, ick. The only 500L's I see have rental stickers on them.

Mr_Shiftright

Man, they 'd have to discount the hell out of that one for me to bite. Kinda risky. I wonder what wholesale is at auction?

fintail

I did that with my Chrysler 300 rental too, and I do it with pretty much rentals. I am not a big germophobe per se, but I know these are cleaned as quickly as possible, and errant dirt and fingerprints really irritate me, dirty windows especially. It's worth 5-10 minutes of work to keep me sane for the duration of the rental

sda said:

You and me both. When I had the Chrysler 300 last week I wiped down the steering wheel, driver seat and some glass. It isn't the first time I've done this.

stickguy

this is a nice looking car. Just too bad it has a black interior. Price seems OK (not that I am ever a good judge of that) for one with such low miles, and 1.5 years of BtoB warranty left.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2014-audi-a4-certified_a4_2_0t_quattro_awd_navigation-used-16112274.html

Though this one has more stuff, and an extra door! Just an extra 20K miles on the clock.

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

qbrozen

stickguy said:

looks like some serious depreciation on this one. Not my cup of tea, but pretty cheap for the year/miles. Might make a fun car for a HS girl!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2014-fiat-500l-5dr_hatchback_trekking-used-16084463.html

The L is just too damned ugly.
They range from 8k to 10k at auction.

stickguy

this is also pretty snazzy. For some reason, looks better than a V60. Might just be the color and wheels though.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2016-volvo-v60_cross_country-certified_v60_cross_country_awd_wagon_blis_navi-used-16112279.html

roadburner

stickguy said:

might be that some people (not me!) are chronically late, and probably barely looking to make a flight, so just dump and run?

or maybe they are just sub human pigs.

My wife works at my son's old school and when she is responsible for the car line she comes home with stories of how the interiors of some of the parents' cars are just nasty and disgusting. She said sometimes fast food wrappers and drink cups fall out when she opens the door. When RB Jr. was home from college for the summer and working at my BMW dealer washing and valeting customer cars he also came home with similar stories.

corvette

Mr_Shiftright said:

Man, they 'd have to discount the hell out of that one for me to bite. Kinda risky. I wonder what wholesale is at auction?

I'd be a buyer on a 500e for $4,000-ish. Unfortunately, I'm not in CA and don't have direct access to the auctions:
https://jalopnik.com/newish-electric-cars-are-coming-off-lease-and-oh-my-god-1790593342

fintail

You can find Leafs for 5-6K I think, too.

corvette

Hmm... Carmax has some Leafs in the $9,000 range, about the same price as the handful of 500es they have. Seems like a lot more car for the money.

fintail

And if they are that much at Carmax, CL will be amusing:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ctd/6015632025.html

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ctd/6016670377.html

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/6007934597.html

thebean

roadburner said:

might be that some people (not me!) are chronically late, and probably barely looking to make a flight, so just dump and run? or maybe they are just sub human pigs.

My wife works at my son's old school and when she is responsible for the car line she comes home with stories of how the interiors of some of the parents' cars are just nasty and disgusting. She said sometimes fast food wrappers and drink cups fall out when she opens the door. When RB Jr. was home from college for the summer and working at my BMW dealer washing and valeting customer cars he also came home with similar stories.

Let's face it - the majority of people (at least 50.1%) are simply disgusting.  Slobs, irresponsible, nasty - you name it.  More and more, I'm a hermit so I don't have to see them.

graphicguy

fintail said:

And if they are that much at Carmax, CL will be amusing:

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ctd/6015632025.html

https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/ctd/6016670377.html

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/6007934597.html

What's the range on those? IIRC, real world it's well under 100 miles, right?

stickguy

Ask QB, the only person I know that owned one (though something tickles my brain to think another poster here also got one?)

But I seem to recall you are correct. Maybe 80 miles in semi-normal driving? I would never handle range anxiety well I don't think.

suydam

107 miles. A good commuter car especially if you have a charging station at work.

qbrozen

I used to get about 100 in perfect weather and perfect driving conditions. Saw as low as 65 in sub-freezing temps on that same commute. 

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

I used to get about 100 in perfect weather and perfect driving conditions. Saw as low as 65 in sub-freezing temps on that same commute. 

If someone had a new driver, high school kid perhaps, maybe that Leaf isn't a bad idea. Couldn't really get THAT FAR away. And, given the school is probably within 10-15 miles of home, it would work as a school commuter for not a whole lot of cash ($5K). Maintenance should be low and upkeep, aside from tires, brakes and wipers, nearly non-existent.

Michaell

From today's newspaper - can't tell if it is an Audi, a Subaru or a Mazda 6 wagon. Any guesses?

fintail

Leaf might be good until the batteries conk out. Not sure what the replacement would cost, but probably at least as much as the value of those cheap used examples.

Ditched wagon looks like a Mazda 6.

roadburner

I'm pretty sure it's a Mazda 6...

28firefighter

Mazda 6 - headlights and wheels give it away.