Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

andres3 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yes, but the Cruze really is nicer looking than the Civic.

Yes, but what % of MSRP are 3 year old 36K mile Cruze's selling at? Are they depreciating like the old Chevy, or something better?

Can't tell you about selling prices, but the residuals for the Cruze and Civic are as follows for 3 years, 36,000 miles.

Cruze Sedan and Hatch - 57%
Civic - residuals vary from 62% (LX, Sport and EX Hatchback) down to 56% (Touring Sedan)

Not a huge difference

If you could put the Civic running gear into the Cruze body, you'd have a winner!

tjc78

Thanks guys, yes it certainly is similar to a LaCrosse.    The Buick gets near 50k really quickly for seemingly nit that much more content.  The Chevy is fully optioned at 40k.   

Michaell

I have absolutely no idea what made me think of this, but was reflecting on the local car dealers when I was growing up. It seemed that most owners owned only one dealership at the time (1970's). In my town there was:

Hal Watkins Chevrolet (where dad got his '70 C-10)
Lunsford Toyota (where mom got her '73 Corona)
Tom Coward Ford
Kirby Oldsmobile

I know there were others (VW and Mazda, specifically), but the names escape me. Who owned the dealerships in the town you grew up in?

28firefighter

Too many to remember, but some...

Kerry Pacifico Ford
Kennedy Ford
Don Rosen Porsche
Don Rosen Audi
Jim Wynn Volvo

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Too many to remember, but some...

Kerry Pacifico Ford
Kennedy Ford
Don Rosen Porsche
Don Rosen Audi
Jim Wynn Volvo

Ah, you sparked a memory ....

Masterson VW and Porsche. I remember seeing the first gen GTI there, and I did a report for school (7th or 8th grade) on the 924; I cut out all the pictures from the brochure and mounted them on poster board. Didja know that the Cd on the 924 was 0.36? Why that has stuck with me after almost 40 years is odd.

fintail

I grew up mostly in 2 towns. I can't remember the names, but I think almost all dealerships were owned individually. Small towns - one had Toyota but no Honda that I recall, that same town had VW, where the other town that had Toyota and Honda (small Honda space, shared with Buick/Olds/GMC) did not have VW. The latter town did have another shared dealer, Chevy and Toyota were not just under the same umbrella, but shared a building. I always wondered how that was allowed.

Today, the first town is pretty much the same sans VW, while the latter lost the Buick/GMC stuff and Honda took over the building, Chrysler is long gone, Ford, GM, and Toyota are now owned by the same firm, and Toyota finally got its own building a few years ago.

stickguy

Ted Schultz ford was in my little town. We had a tiny Volvo dealer too, but not named after anyone that I recall!

jpp75

We had Bostic Ford, Austin Chevrolet and Ken's Chrysler in our town.

Ford is now Freedom Ford which is a regional dealership group but the Chrysler dealer is still independent as far as I remember. The GM dealer went out of business in the late 90's and was never replaced. The closest dealer is now about a 30 minute drive away. My sister and brother-in-law bought their Acadia from there, it spent lots of time in the shop (water leaks, audio issues, stabilitrak, just to name a few) and they tired of driving 30 minutes each time and ended up trading for a Sequoia.

jpp75

@tjc78 I've had the new version of the Impala for a rental, overall a good car and worth checking out. I'm sure it's a screaming bargain for one that's a year or two old. I don't care for the pop up infotainment system, my only other complaint is how spartan the instrument cluster is, the speedo and tach seem out of place in the rest of the car.

stickguy

One drove past me today. Black. Looked sharp. Though entirely possible it was actually a new Malibu!

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

Ted Schultz ford was in my little town. We had a tiny Volvo dealer too, but not named after anyone that I recall!

Schultz Ford is still there.  The Volvo dealer was Star Volvo (which is now Honda of Nanuet, part of the DCH auto group) which was also owned by the same guy who owned Key Mercedes-Benz/Honda.  The MB dealer is now Mercedes-Benz of Nanuet.

suydam

I think once you get out of large cities you still have single owned dealerships. That's the case in my former home. And SoCal towns as well.

ab348

stickguy said:

One drove past me today. Black. Looked sharp. Though entirely possible it was actually a new Malibu!

The two models have a very similar look, and the upsizing of the current Malibu means it is not all that much smaller on the outside.

I am not normally a fan of dark paint colors on vehicles, but I have seen Impalas in black and other dark shades and it really seems to work with that design. My dealer had a black LTZ with saddle color leather in their showroom last year that was a stunner.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

Ted Schultz ford was in my little town. We had a tiny Volvo dealer too, but not named after anyone that I recall!

Schultz Ford is still there.  The Volvo dealer was Star Volvo (which is now Honda of Nanuet, part of the DCH auto group) which was also owned by the same guy who owned Key Mercedes-Benz/Honda.  The MB dealer is now Mercedes-Benz of Nanuet.

DCH is huge - they own a bunch of dealers in CA, and have for years.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

DCH is huge - they own a bunch of dealers in CA, and have for years.

We have a bunch in NJ, too. Interesting. Did not know they were national.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

DCH is huge - they own a bunch of dealers in CA, and have for years.

We have a bunch in NJ, too. Interesting. Did not know they were national.

DCH has quite the history with Honda - rumors of bribes of Honda HQ officials to get favorable dealership locations back in the 70's and 80's.

The book "Arrogance and Accords" talks about the DCH owned dealer in my hometown in CA (Honda of Oxnard).

stickguy

Bradd, when I was little, Schultz was in PR (where the shop rite is now). They moved to nanuet (?) many years ago, but are still around.

And in the early 70s, PR and Nanuet ( maybe spring valley, right by where the thruway exit is) both had volvo dealers.

qbrozen

I need a bigger garage

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-alfa-romeo-164-3/

stickguy

Looks nice. But FWD. have I sell take a look. I think it is in his town

thebean

In my hometown:

Chase Chevrolet
Roach-Saunders Ford
Gladen Buick-Opel
Fritz Triplett Mercury
Young Oldsmobile-Cadillac
Can't remember the AMC dealer, but it was a guy's name.

All gone now - under different ownership or gone altogether.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

I need a bigger garage

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-alfa-romeo-164-3/

No you need an electronics expert Careful. VERY seductive car to drive.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

I need a bigger garage

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1994-alfa-romeo-164-3/

Timing belt blew at 25K miles! Love it!

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

andres3

Low mile old cars give me the opposite effect of what they do to @oldfarmer50

My impression is they have low miles because they were in the shop most of the time.

xwesx

Interesting topic.... car dealerships of old.

I honestly cannot remember the names of any of the dealers in my town save one: Comrie's. They sold all of the GM brands except for Chevrolet. Now, though, this same town has (I kid you not) exactly zero new car dealerships. Twenty years ago, they had Ford, GM, and Chrysler, but none of the "foreign brands."

Overall, the town seems far more lively and vibrant than it did in those days, so I guess the lack of dealerships isn't hurting it any. And, the Pasco auto complex is only a quick hour away; they have every brand under the sun in close proximity to one another, so what, really, is the point of shopping a small town dealer?

kyfdx

I see plenty of dealerships with the old names.. but, most have been bought by Autonation, Penske and Sonic.

andres3

Anyone here live in Nevada? If you do, you can test drive your car legally at 80 MPH now:

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/nevada-joins-handful-states-spans-80-mph-driving-47391917

So much more progressive in the right ways than California. I'm embarrassed for my State.

Michaell

andres3 said:

Anyone here live in Nevada? If you do, you can test drive your car legally at 80 MPH now:

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/nevada-joins-handful-states-spans-80-mph-driving-47391917

So much more progressive in the right ways than California. I'm embarrassed for my State.

Not a very long stretch, and it doesn't do you much good in SoCal, as it's I-80.

Now, if they open up the stretch of I-15 between Las Vegas and Mesquite, then I'll be a happy camper.

breld

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

Mr_Shiftright

andres3 said:

Anyone here live in Nevada? If you do, you can test drive your car legally at 80 MPH now:

http://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/nevada-joins-handful-states-spans-80-mph-driving-47391917

So much more progressive in the right ways than California. I'm embarrassed for my State.

You call allowing people who can't drive at 55 mph to drive 80 mph "progress"?

tjc78

I remember traveling to Montana when they didn't have speed limits.   90 with the CC on and didn't touch the pedals for over 90 miles.  That was a boring hour...  

fintail

I can attest that traffic moves a bit faster than 80 on the LA-LV corridor. Maybe this is just a limit coming to terms with reality.

Michaell

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

See, that's the mindset that tells me half the fleet will be gone by New Years Eve.

ab348

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

Frankly, I'm surprised that your DMV doesn't have a special "Breld" category of tags that are always temporary.

breld

ab348 said:

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

Frankly, I'm surprised that your DMV doesn't have a special "Breld" category of tags that are always temporary.

Sure would make it more efficient! Sheesh!

Mr_Shiftright

And his own zip code.

Michaell

ab348 said:

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

Frankly, I'm surprised that your DMV doesn't have a special "Breld" category of tags that are always temporary.

I know that you can renew the temp tags here in CO - though, I don't have the details. Would save him a bunch of money.

suydam

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

All your tags should be temporary.

qbrozen

Rare one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/696727727/overview?aff=share_other

risky one:
 https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/691974901/overview?aff=share_other

practical one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/700309808/overview?aff=share_other

cute one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/697744804/overview?aff=share_other

familiar one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699275780/overview?aff=share_other

stickguy

can't imagine why the W8 never sold. Twice the price and no one could tell.

fordfool

Michaell said:

I have absolutely no idea what made me think of this, but was reflecting on the local car dealers when I was growing up. It seemed that most owners owned only one dealership at the time (1970's). In my town there was:

Hal Watkins Chevrolet (where dad got his '70 C-10)
Lunsford Toyota (where mom got her '73 Corona)
Tom Coward Ford
Kirby Oldsmobile

Buffalo, New York had Tinney Cadillac. They are long gone.
I don't suppose the name helped.

http://blogs.artvoice.com/avdaily/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/tinney-cad-nov-1961-300x243.jpg

Also have Amigone Funeral Home.

andres3

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags. Much easier to trade a car in that has been registered.

I like temp tags because then you are not subject to any kind of camera enforcement. Unequal protection or harassment under the law.

carnaught

breld said:

Just this week, we went from 3 cars with temp tags to only 1 (got the plates on the Durango and GTI).

It's the little things - I hate having temp tags.....

Well, you know what you've got to do about this, LOL......

stickguy

I think there are people in Philly running on 3 YO temp tags. If not more.

stickguy

this must be a real odd bird, with the handshaker.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-mercedes~benz-slk-certified_slk250_convertible_6_speed_manual_trans-used-14161084.html

For a normal car, I like this one. Nice low miles. Might be a decent deal?

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-mercedes~benz-c~class-certified_c300_4matic_luxury_model_awd_navigation-used-16381218.html

graphicguy

stickguy said:

this must be a real odd bird, with the handshaker.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-mercedes~benz-slk-certified_slk250_convertible_6_speed_manual_trans-used-14161084.html

For a normal car, I like this one. Nice low miles. Might be a decent deal?

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2013-mercedes~benz-c~class-certified_c300_4matic_luxury_model_awd_navigation-used-16381218.html

I like that SLK. But, it's spring, and spring always gets me to want to drive topless!

stickguy

if you are, I hope you at least spent the winter lifting weights, so you look good doing it.

I would like a convertible, but it really needs to be a 3rd car/toy when I get one. Would likely not go well if I try to make that my only car. So I need to move first to get garage/parking arranged.

breld

qbrozen said:

Rare one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/696727727/overview?aff=share_other

risky one:
 https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/691974901/overview?aff=share_other

practical one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/700309808/overview?aff=share_other

cute one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/697744804/overview?aff=share_other

familiar one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699275780/overview?aff=share_other

I like that wagon a lot. Often spend time searching for the elusive manual wagon with the sport package, but any nice E46 wagon with low miles is a nice find.

The C-class sure seems like a lot of car for the money - anything wrong with that one? I didn't look at the details.

kyfdx

breld said:

qbrozen said:

Rare one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/696727727/overview?aff=share_other

risky one:
 https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/691974901/overview?aff=share_other

practical one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/700309808/overview?aff=share_other

cute one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/697744804/overview?aff=share_other

familiar one:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/699275780/overview?aff=share_other

I like that wagon a lot. Often spend time searching for the elusive manual wagon with the sport package, but any nice E46 wagon with low miles is a nice find.

The C-class sure seems like a lot of car for the money - anything wrong with that one? I didn't look at the details.

I'm always looking for a RWD E46 wagon.. hen's teeth.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

can't imagine why the W8 never sold. Twice the price and no one could tell.

It's because it had "VW" on the grille. I would take a chance on one except that the idea of having to repair it gives me pause--it's like buying a miled-up Audi A8.

qbrozen

breld said:

The C-class sure seems like a lot of car for the money - anything wrong with that one? I didn't look at the details.

Just pulled it up. Bad title and the last reported mileage was 64k. whoops!