Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tbirdmarco

 Sandy sorry to hear about issues you’re having with your Apple MacBook Pro I know sometimes this gives me a problem on my phone when I try to post things sometimes the page jumps all over the place not sure with your MacBook Pro how to fix those issues I’m sure someone else in here has more knowledge than me on this good luck man 

qbrozen

I wouldn't touch a volvo with neglected AWD system. Could cost a transmission.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

oh man, I really love this one. rare beast. But fun. ton of work done (seller is going to take a bath it seems). too bad about the typical bad angle gear, but at this price, even needing to fix that you won't be too bad off. Or, just unhook the rear shaft and run FWD! And Driver, on this car, not dangerous.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2007-volvo-s60-r-sonic-blue-ext-atacama-interior/

There seems to be A LOT of information in the comments section. "The seller notes that the AWD system might not be functioning correctly, and the rear wheels are potentially not being powered."

"I MIGHT have brought my arrow head collection..." - George Carlin

STAY AS FAR AWAY FROM THIS AS YOU CAN! The current owner obviously put a lot of money and care into this car. He seems to have LOVED it, but has had ENOUGH. That's why he's selling it. How much is it to replace that "angle gear" and any other worn parts from the AWD system (at the dealer, not in @qbrozen's garage)?

graphicguy

stickguy said:

as noted in other thread, seems to be an apple or safari issue. Threads are shifted way down the page, so start scrolling until you get to them.

Same issues using Google. Some days I can see the forums (albeit, not where they’re supposed to be). Some days I can’t and I wait a couple of days to log back in.

nyccarguy

I haven't had any issues.  I use my iPhone (mobile site, safari) and my desktop at work (full site, Google Chrome).

kyfdx

I'm having the same issue on my iPad.

I know they are working on it. Didn't realize it was affecting a Macbook, though.
I'll pass that along.

No trouble viewing it on Google Chrome, though.

kyfdx

@sandman_6472

You should try re-booting your MacBook. I just checked mine, and there are no issues with viewing the forums.

kyfdx

Car show, yesterday.

Some of my favorites:

Alfa Romeo Guilia Quadrofoglio (sp?).
Awesome enough that I could see dropping $80K for it.

BMW i8 - Loved it, but hard to get in and out of, for an old man.. lol

Lexus RC-F - Nice, but I'll take the Alfa, for just a little more money.

Civic SI and Type R - both nice. The Civic is an amazing package for $25K MSRP, either coupe or sedan.

Colorado ZR-2 - very cool, but $50K for the diesel variant they had at the show.
-------------------------------------------

Other interesting notes:

Mercedes: No show

Lexus: Impressive looking fleet, overall.

Acura: Looked puny and unimpressive next to Lexus. The TLX A-Spec was the only thing halfway interesting.

Genesis: In a big space, the cars just don't look to have the proper proportions, especially the G90. Very long, but weird.

Land Rover/Jaguar: Geez... how many different SUVs can you make? The answer is: A lot! (thanks Monty Python)

Kia Stinger: Porky and not cheap. Seeing it in person didn't make me want one. For the same price as the GT2 AWD they had on display, I could get an Alfa Guilia (and, I would).

Alfa Stelvio: Similar to an X3 in size, but smaller from the rear doors back. The one they had on display was pretty much the same MSRP as my wife's 2017 X3. I'd chance one, on a lease.

Porsche: All locked up.

Jeep: Sat in a TrackHawk. 707 HP. $98K. The otherwise top of the line Summit was next to it. I think I'd get that one, and keep $42K in my pocket.

JL Wrangler Unlimited: $39K for Sport trim. Not so bad. $50K for Sahara? Seems like a lot.

Ford: Low cost Mustang GT, $40K. Focus RS, $43K!

Maybe more, later..

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

Car show, yesterday.

Some of my favorites:

Alfa Romeo Guilia Quadrofoglio (sp?).
Awesome enough that I could see dropping $80K for it.

BMW i8 - Loved it, but hard to get in and out of, for an old man.. lol

Lexus RC-F - Nice, but I'll take the Alfa, for just a little more money.

Civic SI and Type R - both nice. The Civic is an amazing package for $25K MSRP, either coupe or sedan.

Colorado ZR-2 - very cool, but $50K for the diesel variant they had at the show.
-------------------------------------------

Other interesting notes:

Mercedes: No show

Lexus: Impressive looking fleet, overall.

Acura: Looked puny and unimpressive next to Lexus. The TLX A-Spec was the only thing halfway interesting.

Genesis: In a big space, the cars just don't look to have the proper proportions, especially the G90. Very long, but weird.

Land Rover/Jaguar: Geez... how many different SUVs can you make? The answer is: A lot! (thanks Monty Python)

Kia Stinger: Porky and not cheap. Seeing it in person didn't make me want one. For the same price as the GT2 AWD they had on display, I could get an Alfa Guilia (and, I would).

Alfa Stelvio: Similar to an X3 in size, but smaller from the rear doors back. The one they had on display was pretty much the same MSRP as my wife's 2017 X3. I'd chance one, on a lease.

Porsche: All locked up.

Jeep: Sat in a TrackHawk. 707 HP. $98K. The otherwise top of the line Summit was next to it. I think I'd get that one, and keep $42K in my pocket.

JL Wrangler Unlimited: $39K for Sport trim. Not so bad. $50K for Sahara? Seems like a lot.

Ford: Low cost Mustang GT, $40K. Focus RS, $43K!

Maybe more, later..

Thanks for the update.

Didn’t make it last night. MAybe tomorrow. Acura booth has been puny the last few shows. Not sure why. They aren’t doing themselves a ny favors. Benz wasn’t there last year, either. Again, they aren’t doing themselves any favors. Not sure what they’re marketing budget is, but considering the flock I’ve seen in the Lexus booth in the past, I’m sure they’ve missed out being conspicuous by their absence.

Probably try to get there tomorrow.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

I wouldn't touch a volvo with neglected AWD system. Could cost a transmission.

I agree. That particular car sounds like one big headache that isn't done tormenting people. The seller seems like he's just trying to escape with his life on this one.

breld

So, that 435i my wife and I looked at a couple weeks ago was at an independent broker/dealer shop. I ended up chatting quite a bit with the owner, who used to be a salesperson/manager for a BMW shop and wanted to try out his own thing.

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

But has anyone else gone through such a process to purchase a car? I always thought it'd be great to have someone willing to search auctions for the car I want and then add a fair profit over that. The $800 seems a bit too good to be true to be honest - what's the potential catch or challenges in going such a route?

nyccarguy

breld said:

So, that 435i my wife and I looked at a couple weeks ago was at an independent broker/dealer shop. I ended up chatting quite a bit with the owner, who used to be a salesperson/manager for a BMW shop and wanted to try out his own thing.

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

But has anyone else gone through such a process to purchase a car? I always thought it'd be great to have someone willing to search auctions for the car I want and then add a fair profit over that. The $800 seems a bit too good to be true to be honest - what's the potential catch or challenges in going such a route?

So you are going to have automatic, monthly wire transfers set up into his kids' college fund?

breld

I had to read that a couple times to get it. So basically...yes.

qbrozen

breld said:

So, that 435i my wife and I looked at a couple weeks ago was at an independent broker/dealer shop. I ended up chatting quite a bit with the owner, who used to be a salesperson/manager for a BMW shop and wanted to try out his own thing. My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options. He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling. Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities. But has anyone else gone through such a process to purchase a car? I always thought it'd be great to have someone willing to search auctions for the car I want and then add a fair profit over that. The $800 seems a bit too good to be true to be honest - what's the potential catch or challenges in going such a route?

The couple of times folks have told me they are working with someone in this capacity, I have discovered the "deals" are no different than any dealer. "Oh, sure, it was this much at auction, but then there are the auction fees, transport cost, and you want it washed, right? And it needed new tires, so you'd have to pay for that." Etc.

jpp75

breld said:

I had to read that a couple times to get it. So basically...yes.

Maybe he'll give us a group discount?

stickguy

about 10 years ago, there was a guy over in PA (Qbrozen will remember him) that was active on the Volvo boards that did this. He had a dealer license (though I think at that time, no physical location). And you could do that with him. Find a car running at auction, set a price, and if he could get it within your price cap, he would get it and sell to you for a modest markup. I think about $1,000 (not sure about transport fees). In any case, much less than normal dealer markup.

I actually stopped at his house once (it was near work - and a really nice place) because I was looking at some V50s. Got to see his office set up. Way cool to watch Manhiem auction running in a live stream. A couple of monitors, and you could see every lane (must have been at least 8 at a time). He had dealer account, and could bid right over the internet. No need to be on site.

I do recall that he had a colleague out that way that would inspect cars he was interested in. I did not end up getting one from him (the Volvo's ended up going way more than what we were looking to pay) at the time, then stopped working out that way.

He also had an incredibly sweet V70R (the box ones) with super low miles. And an Aussie GTO 6 speed. Among a few other nice things.

xwesx

breld said:

So, that 435i my wife and I looked at a couple weeks ago was at an independent broker/dealer shop. I ended up chatting quite a bit with the owner, who used to be a salesperson/manager for a BMW shop and wanted to try out his own thing.

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

But has anyone else gone through such a process to purchase a car? I always thought it'd be great to have someone willing to search auctions for the car I want and then add a fair profit over that. The $800 seems a bit too good to be true to be honest - what's the potential catch or challenges in going such a route?

I've thought about this, too. Seems like it would be a good option for someone living half a continent away. Just send out your own hawk, and then they can do the leg work and get back to you when they have a match!

stickguy

quite a few people do it. Pretty sure that the local guy to me that I often post links for will take orders. I never discussed it with them, so don't know what kind of markup they would be looking at for the service.

kyfdx

I had a long-time co-worker who had a dealer's license.

This is someone I knew very well, and would see five days/week. It's amazing the details that couldn't be kept straight. To the point that I was frightened he would buy a car for me, and it would be completely wrong.

I just gave up on him. We talked cars all the time, but he just didn't have my level of interest in getting the exact car I wanted. I would have had to attend the auction with him (possible 10-15 years ago, but hard to do today).
I wanted someone like me, to go get a car.

I can believe the guy doing it for $800, but those are pretty slim margins. Especially, if he is sticking his neck out on a $40K vehicle.

kyfdx

Another car show note:

Acura... the NSX is very cool.. but, locked up.

imidazol97

kyfdx said:

Another car show note:

Acura... the NSX is very cool.. but, locked up.

About the Cincy Auto Show... are the people in the booths "factory reps" or are they local salepersons who are working at the booths? A Cincy morning talk person on KRP keeps saying they're all factory reps.

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

kyfdx said:

Another car show note:

Acura... the NSX is very cool.. but, locked up.

About the Cincy Auto Show... are the people in the booths "factory reps" or are they local salepersons who are working at the booths? A Cincy morning talk person on KRP keeps saying they're all factory reps.

It's about 50/50.

The bigger displays have spokes"people", who definitely have specific knowledge of the vehicles. Not sure I'd call them "factory reps", though. I'm sure they are hired specifically for the shows. Some of them are very informative, enough I had to shoo one away.

Smaller displays (Kia, VW, Jag, Volvo, etc) definitely use salespeople.

The Alfa display, three cars jammed up against a wall, was manned by a customer of the local dealership. He has one, and just bought another for his wife! He took it seriously, too. He was up to speed on the models there that he didn't own. Probably talked to him, more than any other rep.

nyccarguy

"He has one, and just bought another for his wife"

So 1 for the road & another for when it is in the shop

coldinohio

rof lmao nycarguy

breld

qbrozen said:

breld said:

So, that 435i my wife and I looked at a couple weeks ago was at an independent broker/dealer shop. I ended up chatting quite a bit with the owner, who used to be a salesperson/manager for a BMW shop and wanted to try out his own thing.

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

But has anyone else gone through such a process to purchase a car? I always thought it'd be great to have someone willing to search auctions for the car I want and then add a fair profit over that. The $800 seems a bit too good to be true to be honest - what's the potential catch or challenges in going such a route?

The couple of times folks have told me they are working with someone in this capacity, I have discovered the "deals" are no different than any dealer. "Oh, sure, it was this much at auction, but then there are the auction fees, transport cost, and you want it washed, right? And it needed new tires, so you'd have to pay for that." Etc.

Yeah - that's more or less what I fear. But, I'll chat with him and see how it goes before I commit to anything.

ab348

breld said:

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

What could possibly go wrong?

breld

ab348 said:

breld said:

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

What could possibly go wrong?

I run out of garage space?

stickguy

Breld, the nice thing about this is that he will know what cars are running in advance. So you can look at the listings, and pick out which ones you are willing to take, and set a max price. then he either gets it, or moves on to another one. The charges are easy enough to define in advance. Hammer is what it is, transportation, fees, will all be the same. then his charge. Stuff like refurbishing, up to you, but can just indicate that all cars will be as is, where is!.

The other benefit is, if they are nice cars, and he is selling retail also, should (in theory) be able to flip them back for about what you paid (minus the $800) since you are otherwise buying at auction price, making the car better than when you got it, and giving him back a front row ready creampuff!

corvette

It sounds like breld has cut out his local drug dealer, and is now going directly to the supplier.  

qbrozen

stickguy said:

about 10 years ago, there was a guy over in PA (Qbrozen will remember him) that was active on the Volvo boards that did this. He had a dealer license (though I think at that time, no physical location). And you could do that with him. Find a car running at auction, set a price, and if he could get it within your price cap, he would get it and sell to you for a modest markup. I think about $1,000 (not sure about transport fees). In any case, much less than normal dealer markup. I actually stopped at his house once (it was near work - and a really nice place) because I was looking at some V50s. Got to see his office set up. Way cool to watch Manhiem auction running in a live stream. A couple of monitors, and you could see every lane (must have been at least 8 at a time). He had dealer account, and could bid right over the internet. No need to be on site. I do recall that he had a colleague out that way that would inspect cars he was interested in. I did not end up getting one from him (the Volvo's ended up going way more than what we were looking to pay) at the time, then stopped working out that way. He also had an incredibly sweet V70R (the box ones) with super low miles. And an Aussie GTO 6 speed. Among a few other nice things.

I stopped in to see him once, too. Saw the same V70R and GTO. He helped me get a dealer out his way to buy our XC90 off us. Got a decent price for it; way more than any dealer in NJ was willing to give us.

Mr_Shiftright

Here's one for fintail:

http://www.fantasyjunction.com/cars/2072-Mercedes-Benz-AMG E63 Wagon-5.5 Litre Bi-turbo V8

Substantial depreciation, and looks like a nice car--with warranty!

At 4500 lbs, I presume it doesn't accelerate as much as it "hurtles". Must be fun to scare an Audi R8.

stickguy

gorgeous car. But miles seem steep for one of these "exotics"

fintail

I think they want all the money for that E63. It's not low miles, not fully loaded, final year of the pre-facelift style inside and out. On the pro side, it is a nice color combo, lives in a good area, has a bit of warranty. Depreciation will continue for awhile. I'd consider one of these if I don't buy my lease car or re-up, but I might go for a facelift model.

28firefighter

An E63 wagon *drool*

stickguy

am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab).

Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

tbirdmarco

 Nice we’re not on the show you attended either yesterday or today well so the guy owns to alphas cool 

tbirdmarco

 Nice we’re not on the show you attended either yesterday or today well so the guy owns to alphas cool 

tbirdmarco

 Broiled sounds interesting having someone because to the auctions seems like you’ll be able to golf course even quicker that way would be awesome if I was able to do that so you’ll be getting rid of the type or sooner than any car looking this weekend? 

tbirdmarco

 Stick no you’re not crazy look into it ha ha 

kyfdx

class="Quote" rel="stickguy">am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab).

Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

Ugh... it’s a Chevy Trailblazer...

Michaell

breld said:

ab348 said:

breld said:

My wife and I shared our propensity to switch out cars, and he said he could definitely help us out in finding cars at auction. I exchanged some e-mails with him to let him know that I'm zeroing in on the m235i as my next fun car and asked him how that might work if I give him the parameters I'm targeting as far as color and options.

He responded saying that we would agree on a margin over the auction price - he suggested $500 plus a $300 dealer handling.

Now, at auction price plus $800, I'm all giddy with excitement over the possibilities.

What could possibly go wrong?

I run out of garage space?

Not at work, you won't.

I've seen your garage at home - and, you have 6 vehicles in your fleet.

But, I get the allure of this approach.

corvette

stickguy said:

am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab).

Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

I think the 2007 model finally got electronic stability control. I know the early 9-7xs didn't. It'd be nice to find one with the 5.3 liter V8.

tbirdmarco

Lol lol nice nice

qbrozen

I must be missing how many miles on that wagon. Manheim has nothing to go on. 2014s with miles in the mid 30s are about $65k at auction.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab).

Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

Don't be crazy Stick. Calm down, walk away from the "buy" button.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab). Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

No. No. No. No. 

Cheap beater? Here ya go.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/197033222

Mr_Shiftright

If you buy that Saab, your dog will have to teach YOU how to beg.

tbirdmarco

 Nice VW posted above the four away for me at all in Brooklyn cool 

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

am I a complete lunatic for actually being interested in this as a spare/2nd/beater car? Certainly won't mind tossing the dogs in this one! The interior is even the same color (yellow lab). Might just be the price talking to me. Since I am cheap a tightwad frugal http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2007-saab-9~7x-awd_4dr_i6-used-17327683.html

No. No. No. No. 

Cheap beater? Here ya go.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/197033222

That's the exact car we almost bought before we leased our X3 back in '07.

nyccarguy

Here's a very highly optioned C300

https://www.mbnanuet.com/inventory/certified-used-2015-mercedes-benz-c-class-4dr-sdn-c-300-4mat-awd-4matic-4dr-car-55swf4kb5fu006397?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=January_February_CPO_Event_Second_Email&utm_content=January_February_CPO_Event_Second_Email+CID_b8c9d8f5f11d95fa617c0c0e725e926f&utm_source=Email Marketing&utm_term=2015 C 300 4MATIC