Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

mjfloyd1

qbrozen said:

What is your ceiling height? looks like a tight fit for 2 cars.

Drywall is 11 ft. Need to raise garage door tracks and move opener over to the front corner. Should be good.  RS7 fits under the second highest stop. 

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

qbrozen said:

What is your ceiling height? looks like a tight fit for 2 cars.

Drywall is 11 ft. Need to raise garage door tracks and move opener over to the front corner. Should be good.  RS7 fits under the second highest stop. 

You'll have to take pictures when finished.

I only have 10'4" to the drywall... plus, a single 16' wide door, and only 19' wide total. Even if I had a lift on just one side, I'm afraid my wife would knock it over. It's tight already in there.

sb55

My son's truck. Nice and clean when it arrived. It's still mud season here in the north country, so it's gotten broken in!

Mr_Shiftright

This seems like a good deal:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/6097408688.html

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

This seems like a good deal:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/6097408688.html

All I know about these is from the movie "Cars" (animated). I like this. Looks in really good shape. Is it really a good deal?

tbirdmarco

@Michaell Car show was good not one thing that ws ground breaking. alfa was nice. mustang 1965 want to add to the fleet one day. everything elce ws ok. sorry no big exciting news to report hear.

laurasdada

So, after a loaner Chevy Traverse (holy understeer, Batman!), I'm once again in a LR Disco. My local Jag/LR dealer is on the smallish side, they can't figure out why the stop/start feature isn't working, so once again, the lovely XF is at the dealer, since Thursday. Awaiting word from Jag on what might be the cause. An electronic issue in a British car, whodathunkit?

So, after 3 years of no issues, 2017 has been a little tough. It's not really the car in my mind (well the dead KVM was a show stopper. But, handled) and the SA at the dealer is really working with me (take the leather cleaner in the back of the Disco, if you want it. I saw nothing... Nice, but while I'm a liar and a cheat, I'm not a thief!), always a loaner, a ride to/from my home a mile away (although, the loaner F-Type R has always just been loaned out before I get there, darn), snacks... well, it still bothers me that the car is never in/out in a day. Of course, I didn't buy it there and it is warranty work, so I'm probably not the top of the food chain. And, the Disco is pretty new, just not my cup of tea (no SUV is).

So, tomorrow I run a 5k, then head to see Bare Naked Ladies (and I was a bit distressed to be told that was the name of a band ; -) ) in CT, road trip in the Disco. I'll miss the XF. Seeing more XEs on the road, really a handsome masculine design. Interior, well, could use a bit of XF/XJ touches. Better in a lighter tone, no doubt.

The very red Giulia continues to catch my eye in my garage. But, likely no way I"m doing first model/year/factory Italian stallion. I'm just not sure what excites me now, and I do have to be somewhat practical if I'm to move on from the XF within the next year or so. I am drawn to the XE, I haven't lost faith in Jag I guess because, unlike GG/Cadillac, the dealer and Jag are not hiding, they are fixing the car, and proactively fulfilling TSBs I wasn't even aware of.

Sorry for the ramble, in a bit of a funk as a few life changes are on the near horizon (positive, but change is hard), after a meeting with the ex, then lunch with her and our son. That was nice, but I am so full that I shall never eat again. Until, of course, I do.

kyfdx

@sb55 Nice looking truck. I've been driving my friend's F-150 the last few days, and I'm over it. Ever wish you had a compact truck, instead of the Silverado?

stickguy

back from Ireland. Very tired. so will post random thoughts tomorrow as I have them.

But Michael, our Jetta needs the AC tweaked. Sport has the same problem my sons did. At higher speeds (I think 75ish) the AC seems to cut out. works fine at lower speeds. They did something to his (maybe software) to fix it. I tell the princess to just drive slower!

Nice review on the Maxima. I really want to try one out.

SB, glad the truck arrived. It does look sharp. I would have been happy to snag that for myself!

akangl

Well the deal is all done and the Jeep is officially ours. Was very bittersweet cleaning out the Explorer yesterday. I'll miss the old girl, but it was a good run, just shy of 4 years and 68k miles. The Jeep is so different, it doesn't feel like I'm driving a boat, its fun to drive and has a sporty feel. One nice perk I don't have to worry about ripping the stupid piece under the front bumper off on every darn parking curb! I don't know how many times I had to have that fixed on the Explorer. Now I need to find some trails to give the Jeep a real test and see how it does.

Michaell

akangl said:

Well the deal is all done and the Jeep is officially ours. Was very bittersweet cleaning out the Explorer yesterday. I'll miss the old girl, but it was a good run, just shy of 4 years and 68k miles. The Jeep is so different, it doesn't feel like I'm driving a boat, its fun to drive and has a sporty feel. One nice perk I don't have to worry about ripping the stupid piece under the front bumper off on every darn parking curb! I don't know how many times I had to have that fixed on the Explorer. Now I need to find some trails to give the Jeep a real test and see how it does.

Shouldn't be too hard to find quality trails, where you live.

Be interested in your thoughts of the 9-speed automatic.

sb55

kyfdx said:

@sb55 Nice looking truck. I've been driving my friend's F-150 the last few days, and I'm over it. Ever wish you had a compact truck, instead of the Silverado?

@kyfdx
Keep in mind there's a 10 year difference, as the Frontier my son just got is 2004 and my Silverado is a 2014. I need a full size truck to tow my boat, Airstream trailer and to haul stuff. I would rather drive the Silverado, but we've always had a truck or full size SUV (2 Suburbans and a Sequoia) when the kids were small, so the size doesn't bother me Plus, with huge discounts on full size trucks compared to a compact, the prices seem pretty similar. I recently saw an ad for $11,000 off of an F-150.

tbirdmarco

@laurasdada good luck with your car

tbirdmarco

@stickguy welcome back! cant wate to hear all about your trip!

tbirdmarco

@akangl nice nice.

tbirdmarco

did sum work on the THunderbird yesterday. finally got it an nice owial change takes 6 corts. next is the cullent. don't have to jack up the car considering how lo it was not tuff to do at all. have new rad hoses cumming already have the new belts to and thermastate to put on. have an new batory got 6 munths ago that stays on the charger so good to go with that. changed pluges whires cap and roter few munths back. also did order an elextronick distributer conversion kit not tuff to do at all. that is it for now.

graphicguy

LD...ramble away. We're cheap therapy. Then again, you get what you pay for.

rayainsw

' We're cheap therapy. Then again, you get what you pay for. '
And worth every penny you pay !
- Ray
Happy to listen here...

Mr_Shiftright

graphicguy said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

This seems like a good deal:

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/6097408688.html

All I know about these is from the movie "Cars" (animated). I like this. Looks in really good shape. Is it really a good deal?

If it is as nice as the photos, it's about $3000 to $4000 underpriced, yes. So there's money on the table here.

stickguy

so, some updates. Busy day so far. Normal getting organized after a trip, readjusting to the time zone, and for laughs, we had a new foster dog delivered at about 2:00 (after I managed to pick up a bunch of new bushes at the nursery, mow the lawn, go to the grocery store, and wash the car first. Getting up at 5:30 helps to pack more into the morning!)

Trip was great. Ireland is a cool place. Now for the important stuff (car related). Spent the first day in Dublin, after taking a taxi in. Then back on day 2 to collect my son at airport (he flew in a day later than us), pick up car, and head to west coast. After some discussions on extras, and an upgrade discount, I spent $10/day extra and swapped out a Renault Megane (I think, a smaller hatch he said was comparable to a Golf, this for 4 people plus bags, and a lot of driving). So went up to the next class (supposedly Jetta size, so I was expecting a Skoda sedan or some such).

Well, he comes back, and saying since I got ripped off paid for extra insurance (in retrospect, I should have confirmed with CC company they would have covered it all, and of course, I didn't need it), he was giving my something special. Ended up with a brand new LR Discovery sport that he said needed some break in miles put on. Had a whopping 32 KM on it (so roughly 20 miles) when I got it. Pretty blue over dove gray interior. My wife loved the colors. And really seemed to like the car (she road in the back so my daughter could ride shotgun to navigate and run the tech). Very much liked the dashboard.

anyway, turns out, driving on the left was no big deal. Got used to that quick. The problem I had was the truck was too darned big for the roads/traffic/parking. Felt like driving a Suburban around here in town. barely made it out of one parking garage. And had little room to spare in the tiny towns. But, plenty of room for luggage, and the passengers were happy (when not telling me I was too close to stuff on the left).

nice thing, had a super fancy navi system (a godsend in a foreign country). Bad thing, it figured since I had an AWD Landy, all roads were fair game. I swear I went on a few that would not qualify as a driveway, and at one point, we were sent down a road that was one (barely) lane, dirt tracks with a grass strip in the middle. And this was actually a 2 lane road! That was fun. As was trying to park in tight towns and the miniature sized parking lots. Next time, I get a Polo.

plus side, this thing was fantastic on the highway. seems for a small country with small roads, speed limits are generous. And roundly ignored, with next to no police presence. So cruising speed on the motorways (mostly low traffic too) was high. A few times I noticed I was doing 140km+ (and felt like I was barely moving) until I did the math in my head and realized it was around 86 MPH. Ooops.

This was the diesel model (as was most everything over there). Loved it. Smooth, quiet, pulled nicely, and returned (rough estimate) an overall 29-30 MPG in about 800 KM total (around 500 miles or so). Would have been much nicer in the US, vs. a country where a Golf is a full sized car!

Oh, funny to see equipment level. Other than the fancy navi, it was equipped like a rental version Malibu classic. No moonroof. Manual drivers seat.

next time I go (if just 2 of us instead of 4) will get an A class (Polo maybe, or a Fiesta, something that sized) and go crazy and get the manual trans, to see if shifting with my left hand is fun or not!

suydam

Always go small in Europe is our motto. Some of the villages we stayed at in Spain had roads that were barely paved goat trails. You could put your arm out the window and touch the wall on each side.

Mr_Shiftright

I actually had to ask people to move their tables so I could get by in Palermo Sicily. They were pretty nice about it, too.

fintail

I like to rent something that will cruise at 200 kmh, which is often a larger car. It's fun to fold in the mirrors to fit down a street, or be unable to find a suitable spot in a garage

cdnpinhead

So long as you didn't bugger up your left front tyre/wheel, you clearly figured out driving on the left.

Many from over here don't.

tbirdmarco

@stickguy nice rite up on your trip and your day today. glad you all had an nice time on your trip. I have never bin there have to go one day soon. nice rental car you had very big car good rite up on that to as whell.

roadburner

Now my wife is getting into the CCBA act- she found a 104k mile 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman. Automatic and most every option. She wants to replace the 193k mile X3. Her call if it checks out.

stickguy

hard to argue with cashing in your chips at that mile, but wow, I would highly recommend something a bit newer with way less miles. Otherwise, just keep the devil you know.

stickguy

fintail said:

I like to rent something that will cruise at 200 kmh, which is often a larger car. It's fun to fold in the mirrors to fit down a street, or be unable to find a suitable spot in a garage

the garage comment reminds me of a fun event I forgot to mention. Had to park in a garage in one small town (man traffic was a mess). I got in, and the lanes were big enough. Even found a spot I could get into fine. But, when I got to the exit (a gate where you had to put your ticket in), there were 2 lanes. one (left) kinda straight. The right one, a big bend. so I went left, behind a big Benz sedan (turned out to be a newer S class). Well, he was at the ticket machine, and I pulled up behind him. And noticed he was really tight between the posts on each side. As in, maybe an inch on each side. So he pulls out, and has to turn left to get out the exit. And we hear a loud scrunch noise. Seems that he was too wide (or not good enough to thread the needle) and scraped the heck out of his one side door. Oops.

yes, that gave me great confidence to pull in behind him and try the same thing. But I got through without damage (it helped to have spotters in the car at every window!)

rayainsw

My BMW 335 was at the outer limits of what I'd ever want
to drive anywhere we went in Europe.
- Ray
Not likely to return....

ab348

stickguy said:

hard to argue with cashing in your chips at that mile, but wow, I would highly recommend something a bit newer with way less miles. Otherwise, just keep the devil you know.

I have to agree. Especially with a Mini of that vintage.

fintail

Maybe that big S-class was a rental (not terribly uncommon in Europe) with full insurance. What damage?

Navigating an A8 in a parking garage meant for scooters and glorified kei cars in Bern was fun. I eventually just found an empty corner of the garage and used two spaces. The car was seriously the same width as the space. My last European rental was an X5 (upgrade from 5er/E), which usually didn't feel like too much of a handful, even in Italy. I've always found BMW park assist to be intuitive. I'll be back again at the end of the year and will probably have a car for at least a few days, probably won't rent higher than 5er/E category, and always get the insurance - peace of mind, and they are much more nitpicky about damage there than here. Can't wait to drive there again - although there are idiot drivers everywhere, it is far less than here.

Mr_Shiftright

roadburner said:

Now my wife is getting into the CCBA act- she found a 104k mile 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman. Automatic and most every option. She wants to replace the 193k mile X3. Her call if it checks out.

Get a PPI on that one.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

roadburner said:

Now my wife is getting into the CCBA act- she found a 104k mile 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman. Automatic and most every option. She wants to replace the 193k mile X3. Her call if it checks out.

Get a PPI on that one.

I'm pretty sure that it was serviced at my BMW indie shop so I'll essentially know the complete service history of the car.

Mr_Shiftright

Well that's great...especially the transmission service...that'd be good to check because you don't ever want to mess with that. Other than that, the usual suspects for that era of Mini--damaged radiator support, leaking power steering (open recall I believe) , leaking thermostat housing, power window issues, noisy timing chain at idle.

And of course, being a turbo, premium fuel always.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

And of course, being a turbo, premium fuel always.

Everything but the Wrangler gets premium, so that's definitely no big deal.

nyccarguy

Notice a few things about this picture.  1st is the beautiful, new hospital that employs my incredible wife.  Second is the iced coffee on the back of my wife's Pilot.  3rd is the fact that my wife parked in between a 6 cyl Jeep Liberty and a V8 Land Cruiser.  Al three are in the "LOW EMISSION, FUEL EFFICENT VEHICLE PARKING ONLY."  Now my wife parked there because it was literally the last spot available in the staff lot.  Compared to the Land cruiser and Liberty, her Pilot is low emissions & fuel efficient. 

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

Notice a few things about this picture.  1st is the beautiful, new hospital that employs my incredible wife.  Second is the iced coffee on the back of my wife's Pilot.  3rd is the fact that my wife parked in between a 6 cyl Jeep Liberty and a V8 Land Cruiser.  Al three are in the "LOW EMISSION, FUEL EFFICENT VEHICLE PARKING ONLY."  Now my wife parked there because it was literally the last spot available in the staff lot.  Compared to the Land cruiser and Liberty, her Pilot is low emissions & fuel efficient. 

You let her put stickers on her car? For shame!

;b

tjc78

My wife knows that a sticker on the car would be a no go.  I think she got that message when before the cars even get their second tank of gas dealer emblems and license frame are gone.  

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

Notice a few things about this picture.  1st is the beautiful, new hospital that employs my incredible wife.  Second is the iced coffee on the back of my wife's Pilot.  3rd is the fact that my wife parked in between a 6 cyl Jeep Liberty and a V8 Land Cruiser.  Al three are in the "LOW EMISSION, FUEL EFFICENT VEHICLE PARKING ONLY."  Now my wife parked there because it was literally the last spot available in the staff lot.  Compared to the Land cruiser and Liberty, her Pilot is low emissions & fuel efficient. 

You let her put stickers on her car? For shame!

;b

They are magnets. The only sticker on the car is the Yankees logo on the lower right rear corner of the back window.

stickguy

But that is the worst one, and you made it permanent?

fintail

Funny, everyone will just notice the stickers. At least it doesn't have an alma mater or related, or stick figure family on it

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

But that is the worst one, and you made it permanent?

Exactly! You might as well put the Pentagram on there---LOL!

breld

@nyccarguy - so was the iced coffee inadvertently left there by your wife?

Not that I'd be judging - I probably posted this here at the time, but I left my phone/wallet on the roof of my Mazda3 and drove off a few years back. Never did find it.

breld

Couple fun things - we're getting the windows tinted on all three vehicles today. Very excited about it - I know opinions differ on the matter, but I think the cars look a bit incomplete without tinted windows. I'm particularly anxious to see the GTI - love white cars with the dark windows.

Also, drove all around the metro Denver area this weekend with both boys' baseball games. On Saturday, one kid was playing north of the Denver area and the other was south - about 70 miles apart! Anyhow, the Durango's trip computer showed about 21 mpg for about 455 miles (some of that was before the weekend). I'm pleased and happy that I didn't let the MPG penalty sway me from going with the R/T. Not that it's great, but it's hardly worse than the V6.

Mr_Shiftright

I saw a car a few weeks ago with a camera on the roof, heading down our main street in town. I gesticulated wildly to the young lady driving, and she looked at me like I was legally dead (which you are in fact, in California, if you're over 50). So I just shrugged...sayonora Mr. Nikon.

On second thought I should have followed and waited 'til it fell off....

suydam

MANY years ago when I was a grad student, I was driving on the freeway when a man following me kept honking his horn and waving and pointing at me. I thought he was crazy so I drove faster. So did he. I pulled off the nearest exit. So did he. I pulled into a gas station. So did he. I thought I was going to be confronted by a psycho. He got out of his car and yelled. "I've been trying to let you know your briefcase is on top of your car!" AND IT WAS!!! How it didn't fall off I'll never know.

Mr_Shiftright

How about the people who drive into an underground parking garage with their bicycles still on the roof?

breld

Who would ever do that?

Mr_Shiftright

Beats me!

nyccarguy

breld said:

@nyccarguy - so was the iced coffee inadvertently left there by your wife?

Not that I'd be judging - I probably posted this here at the time, but I left my phone/wallet on the roof of my Mazda3 and drove off a few years back. Never did find it.

She put the iced coffee down on the back bumper to take the pic for me.