Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

imidazol97

fintail said:

That's the thing - it's the same powertrain variant (hybrid). But he swears the old one was faster, I suspect perception is an issue. He also claims the engine in this one has to work harder

What is the bumper to bumper warranty on the Lincoln. An option because of his 5 year commitment would be to purchase an extended warranty to be sure most problems are covered if the car continues to have problems.

Are there online dealers who sell Ford's version of B 2 B warranty at a discount like there are for GM's GMEP warranty?

corvette

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

That's the thing - it's the same powertrain variant (hybrid). But he swears the old one was faster, I suspect perception is an issue. He also claims the engine in this one has to work harder

What is the bumper to bumper warranty on the Lincoln. An option because of his 5 year commitment would be to purchase an extended warranty to be sure most problems are covered if the car continues to have problems.

Are there online dealers who sell Ford's version of B 2 B warranty at a discount like there are for GM's GMEP warranty?

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

Sandman6472

Don't get me wrong, the RAV4 is a decent mode of transport, just not something I'd want on a day to day basis. I like smaller vehicles, at work today they had me driving Chevy Suburbans and hated every minute of it. Thank G-d the Sirius/XM radio worked so at least I had good music to listen to. Miami traffic was insane this afternoon but having good music really helps.
But even the RAV is a thirsty little devil and showing only getting 22miles/gallon, am used to a bit over 30 and almost 40 on the highway. Decent acceleration though and like the seats and being able to slide in and out instead of falling into the seat. Haven't put it back in the garage since that one night and don't plan to. Off tomorrow so will swing buy Enterprise and see if anything smaller has come in. Maybe I shoulda kept that Sentra I had but didn't like the CVT in it, Honda and Toyota do a much better job with theirs.
Apple sent me an email, my new battery is at the Boca Raton store and have a 10 am appointment to have it installed tomorrow, $29.00 plus tax. And looks like I'm the only bidder on the iPhone 8 Plus, slightly used. Am hoping someone swoops in tomorrow before auction ends at 3 PM and takes it home. Probably should of waited a few more months to upgrade but if it turns out to work as it should, can always sell mine and only be out a few bucks. Probably also should of looked at the iPhone 8 and called it a day but such is life. No longer going to obsess about certain things.
Hope to stop by the collision enter tomorrow and see how they are progressing with the Golf. Haven't seen it since I brought it in on the 29th so want to take some pics of it. Have had some time to process everything and decided to keep an open mind. Drive it a bit after they return it and listen to anything I can hear, if there's anything to hear. Checking the alignment will be easy and watching the tires wear over time will tell me a lot. Truthfully, am hoping they get me my deductible back and do something about the diminished value, put me back where I was before with an excellent vehicle with no accident history besides the broken side mirror. I'd be happier then and more likely to keep it instead of trading it quickly...might be nice to prove the wife wrong here!!!

The Sandman

andres3

Speaking of bad alignment, anyone want to chime in on how long you'd have to drive new tires (how many miles?) to start being able to tell the alignment isn't correct? I suppose it depends on the severity of the alignment faults, but let's say mild out of spec numbers for argument's sake.

stickguy

10,000 miles? Just a guess if it is only out a little.

imidazol97

corvette said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle.

It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

kyfdx

imidazol97 said:

corvette said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle.

It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

Can you imagine how high that insurance premium would be?

corvette

kyfdx said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle. It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

Can you imagine how high that insurance premium would be?

Especially for some of us... *cough*, breld, *cough*

fintail

I talked to my Lincoln friend yesterday - no decision. I think he is hesitant to take a big loss. Maybe he will stick it out. He apparently isn't on the steering wheel fall off recall anyway. He also mentioned something funny, along the lines of "if Lincoln stops making cars, I bet I could get a deal on a Continental!".

corvette

Darn you, 28ff, for getting me on the Leasehackr forums. The Lexus GX seems to lease really well. But it seems dated like the Tundra. 

28firefighter

corvette said:

Darn you, 28ff, for getting me on the Leasehackr forums. The Lexus GX seems to lease really well. But it seems dated like the Tundra. 

It is completely addicting. Sorry not sorry.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

corvette said:

Darn you, 28ff, for getting me on the Leasehackr forums. The Lexus GX seems to lease really well. But it seems dated like the Tundra. 

It is completely addicting. Sorry not sorry.

What do the leasehackr forums have that we don't?

pensfan83

Michaell said:

What do the leasehackr forums have that we don't?

There's brokers and dealers (sales folks) who advertise deals that the average car buyer would never think would be possible on a car with a like MSRP. For example one of the BMW sales folks has an advertised deal for a 2017 BMW 530i Loaner (M Sport, premium package, HK stereo, car play, driver assistance, M sport brakes) for $337/month on a 24/10 lease with $2,000 out of pocket, assuming the buyer qualifies for loyalty incentive.

There's also forums for sharing deals, dealer/broker reviews, and a marketplace where people advertise leases they want to swap in/out of. The main section though is where people post their dealer quotes and others provide feedback on whether it's a good, bad, ugly, or a screaming deal. It gives insight into what people can aim for when soliciting lease quotes and what unicorn deals might be out there.

Though I find it's a very informative resource, not everyone may find it useful. A lot of the unicorn lease deals posted by brokers and sales people are on the West Coast, mainly Southern California, and very few are willing to ship. And to score that C300 loaner with 3,500 miles for under $350/month is going to require legwork...which could range from days to months, which not everyone is willing to invest if their lease expires in a month and they are just starting to shop.

For me personally I won't compromise what I want to drive for the sake of a low lease payment. If the car I target can be "hacked" then I'm more than willing to invest the time needed to get that payment, which would be quite a bit because there are no dealers in Pittsburgh that would even come close to meeting some of the deals people get in other parts of the country.

corvette

I’m more flexible on that. Wrong color, not my preferred options, or even not my preferred make/model may be okay for a 2-3 year period if the price is right. If I’m buying, I’m more picky, since in theory, it could stay longer than 2-3 years. 

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

corvette said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle.

It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

You know, that's not a bad idea! Let's run that up to marketing and see who salutes it!

28firefighter

I agree the most useful part of it is the brokers/dealers that share deals because, if nothing else, it shows you the art of what is possible (when other dealers may tell you it is impossible). It also provides a quick reference at any given moment to determine what is a "cheap lease" - so for instance, this month, the cheap leases are the Equinox, Terrain, and Encore on 24 month one pay leases. For luxury cars, the S90 is a smoking deal if you're in the western region and qualify for A-Plan.

The unicorn deals are rare, require a good deal of hawk like watching, and legwork. Like I said previously, it took me months to find mine.

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

imidazol97 said:

corvette said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle.

It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

You know, that's not a bad idea! Let's run that up to marketing and see who salutes it!

Carmax has a 5-day version of that right?

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

imidazol97 said:

corvette said:

If he's disenchanted with the car, a warranty won't help.

That's right. I thought I'd missed a post about a problem with the new vehicle because a post said the previous Lincoln was an above average speciment while the current Lincoln may just be a below average quality vehicle.

It's buyer remorse. Too bad there's not insurance against that. LOL

You know, that's not a bad idea! Let's run that up to marketing and see who salutes it!

Carmax has a 5-day version of that right?

Mr_Shiftright

Yes they do but it's really kind of pointless. Very few people are going to return a car after going through all the searching, paperwork and hassle to buy it, and if buyer remorse is going to set in, that probably takes a few weeks time to grab hold of you. It might take weeks or a few months for things to really start annoying or disappointing you.

Under my new Buyer's Universal Remorse Policy (BURP), I'd give you one month's insurance.

ab348

I seem to remember maybe 10 years ago or so, GM had some kind of 30-day money-back deal on offer. I wonder (a) what the takeup rate on it was and (b) how much they lost on the now-used vehicles they took back.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

I seem to remember maybe 10 years ago or so, GM had some kind of 30-day money-back deal on offer. I wonder (a) what the takeup rate on it was and (b) how much they lost on the now-used vehicles they took back.

I might be wrong (as usual), but I thought Chrysler had that, as well.

stickguy

Carmax is useful, in the way they showed in one of their ads. Young dude falls in love with a sports car, buys it, drives it home, and his pregnant with holding a toddler is standing in the driveway giving him "the look".

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Carmax is useful, in the way they showed in one of their ads. Young dude falls in love with a sports car, buys it, drives it home, and his pregnant with holding a toddler is standing in the driveway giving him "the look".

I think I saw the same ad for a divorce attorney!

laurasdada

Congrats, Breld and welcome to the Hail Britania car club!
And, sigh, the bruised yet still lovely XF motors on. Haven't yet had time to schedule repairs, got the Amica check a week ago.
And, sigh, the lovely XF is over four years old, but (as almost always) my New England frugality keeps pulling me back from seriously cars shopping. Of course, my MO is to shop at the end of the year... I guess I am the Beal to Breld's Loki. Sigh.

andres3

Mr_Shiftright said:

Yes they do but it's really kind of pointless. Very few people are going to return a car after going through all the searching, paperwork and hassle to buy it, and if buyer remorse is going to set in, that probably takes a few weeks time to grab hold of you. It might take weeks or a few months for things to really start annoying or disappointing you.

Under my new Buyer's Universal Remorse Policy (BURP), I'd give you one month's insurance.

With the knowledge and experience I've gained over the years, I'd have used the 5-day clause on the Neon as it didn't start the first morning in the garage, and had to be towed. At the time I thought maybe it was a fluke problem. Time and experience now tells me that's a sign from the heavens, an omen, and to quickly abandon ship when that happens again, if it ever happens again; I'll just call the lemon lawyer before the tow truck arrives.

andres3

ab348 said:

I seem to remember maybe 10 years ago or so, GM had some kind of 30-day money-back deal on offer. I wonder (a) what the takeup rate on it was and (b) how much they lost on the now-used vehicles they took back.

I bet the take-rate was very low if they had mountains of holes and exclusions like:

No refund for registration, taxes, licenses, document fees, and more.

Losing all that money would be a big deterrent. In order to be a real buyback no remorse policy, it would have to refund all of it, 100%. Your only expenses should be gas, insurance (pro-rated to the time you used up), and that's it!

qbrozen

IIRC, they charged a per mile rate. And, yes, I'm sure some nonrecoverable fees, such as those imposed by DMV, would have to be absorbed by the buyer as well.

pensfan83

corvette said:

I’m more flexible on that. Wrong color, not my preferred options, or even not my preferred make/model may be okay for a 2-3 year period if the price is right. If I’m buying, I’m more picky, since in theory, it could stay longer than 2-3 years. 

That's fair. At the end of the day though I want to like the car I am going to spend 2-3 years in, notwithstanding the payment.

However I would probably be at least open to giving the alternatives strong consideration if say I wanted an A4 but could get a comparable C300 or 330i/340i for far less.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

IIRC, they charged a per mile rate. And, yes, I'm sure some nonrecoverable fees, such as those imposed by DMV, would have to be absorbed by the buyer as well.

Maybe someday we'll see 6 month leases.

breld

6 month leases? I do that now - I just act as the lessor and bank. It's an expensive lease. :@

breld

laurasdada said:

Congrats, Breld and welcome to the Hail Britania car club!
And, sigh, the bruised yet still lovely XF motors on. Haven't yet had time to schedule repairs, got the Amica check a week ago.
And, sigh, the lovely XF is over four years old, but (as almost always) my New England frugality keeps pulling me back from seriously cars shopping. Of course, my MO is to shop at the end of the year... I guess I am the Beal to Breld's Loki. Sigh.

Thanks! I'm very excited about getting to know the new brand - and since I'm not nearly as handy as @qbrozen is with his Land Rover, I'm happy to be under warranty for awhile.

A couple weeks ago, the wife and I were browsing a Jaguar/Porsche lot and saw an XF wagon - that was a very sharp car!

breld

I'm well over 300 miles on the Discovery already and am really enjoying the driving experience.

No doubt the seats in the runner-up Volvo were amazing, but these thrones in the LR are great as well. I'm particularly enjoying the higher seating position - being 6' 3", it's a nice transition in and out of the car. The individual armrests are a nice touch, and the center armrest is wider than in the Durango, enough so that my son and I aren't bumping arms. Overall length is a bit shorter than the Dodge - not a bad thing to have a little more space when pulling into the garage.

Acceleration with the diesel feels about as strong as the Hemi once the car gets going, but there is most certainly noticeable turbo lag when starting off; putting it in Sport mode helps somewhat, but it's still there. It is far smoother than the Durango. There was a "raucousness" to the Hemi that wasn't all bad, but the "burps" they worked into the shifts at full throttle were not particularly pleasing to my ears.

On imperfect roads, you hear and feel the bumps more than, say, the Audi Q7, but it's not unpleasant. It just has a solid feel to it.

I'm getting used to the infotainment system and I like it. Most reviews criticize it for being slow to respond and occasionally needing a reboot - I agree it's not instantaneous at times, but it seems pretty good to me. And one big reason I went for a 2018 was in hopes of having some bugs worked out - so no "reboot" of the infortainment so far for me. All in all, I prefer the Audi system with the MMI dial, but the screen on the LR is bigger, so the touchscreen aspect works out okay. They added a "virtual cockpit" instrument cluster for 2018, similar to the Volvo and Audi, and I have to say, that was another reason I went for the new model year. There's a coolness factor to it, but from a practical perspective, I do like having the shrunken navigation system right there in front of me.

No remorse here on the choice - though I did have some anxiety over the weekend on whether I should have ordered one. But really, this one was 90% of what I wanted, and I get to have it now. I liked the XC90 for its style (and value) and the Q7 for its sport sedan driving manners, but as an entire package, I'm very pleased with my choice.

au1994

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

IIRC, they charged a per mile rate. And, yes, I'm sure some nonrecoverable fees, such as those imposed by DMV, would have to be absorbed by the buyer as well.

Maybe someday we'll see 6 month leases.

24 months would be the sweet spot for me. My 2011 328 was a 24 mo lease but I haven’t seen BMW off that term in a while. Most seem to steer away from that term now. With the German makes, I would assume that the heavily subsidized residuals have something to do with that.

28firefighter

au1994 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

IIRC, they charged a per mile rate. And, yes, I'm sure some nonrecoverable fees, such as those imposed by DMV, would have to be absorbed by the buyer as well.

Maybe someday we'll see 6 month leases.

24 months would be the sweet spot for me. My 2011 328 was a 24 mo lease but I haven’t seen BMW off that term in a while. Most seem to steer away from that term now. With the German makes, I would assume that the heavily subsidized residuals have something to do with that.

Often times 24 month leases are the sweet spot on loaner deals where you're getting significant discounts (18%+) before incentives. We were discussing unicorn deals, and folks were getting 2017 330e loaners (that had $6000 minimum in BMW rebates) in the mid 200s with 0 down for 24 months while there was inventory. Was higher for 36 months.

tifighter

I,too, like 24 mo leases. The Soul EV is a 36mo and at the time I thought it wouldn't be a problem. Technically it is not, but it feels like forever. It looks like there will be a lot more EV choices next summer so I guess it has worked out for the best. That's what I'll tell myself, anyhow.

xwesx

From what I have read, it seems that the "subscription model" idea that the car companies are toying with now are really meant to cater to that "I'm not sure what I really want... or how long I want it!" mentality. While *possibly* more expensive for subscribers than some alternatives, such as purchase and keep for ten years, the subscription idea simplifies the automotive experience and removes all the variables we are so used to having:

1. Drive any vehicle you want (within the limits of the manufacturer's lineup) and swap out at any time.
2. TTL included.
3. Insurance included.
4. Maintenance included.

Basically, you just drive the car - any car - and don't worry about anything else other than fuel. All for the low, low price of $X! IIRC, for Cadillac it was something like $1,400 monthly. Ouch! But, all in, I probably spend $750 per month on my Q7, so if I could get in on a practical program like that for maybe $6-700 per month for something like Ford or Subaru (maybe even Chevrolet), I would at least consider it if I had full access.

au1994

24 mo in is just when the itch really starts for me. Although the past 2 purchases Ive traded after about a year each

If I’m in a 24 mo lease, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and am not as tempted to get out early and take a potential bath financially.

36 is tough. I’ve been lucky with pull aheads or a willing dealter to get out at the 30-33 month mark before.

stickguy

Breld, what is your Disco missing that you would have gotten if you ordered with no concern for budget?

tifighter

stickguy said:

Breld, what is your Disco missing that you would have gotten if you ordered with no concern for budget?

A coupon for half off of an Evoque convertible.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, that was cold tifighter.

Michaell

tifighter said:

stickguy said:

Breld, what is your Disco missing that you would have gotten if you ordered with no concern for budget?

A coupon for half off of an Evoque convertible.

There was one of those in the showroom. @jpp5862 and I were trying to convince Mrs.@breld to get it. She said she'd had enough of the convertibles with the Beetle she briefly had last summer.

And, I know the answer to the original question, but I'll let @breld answer it.

tifighter

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh, that was cold tifighter.

What, too soon?

Secretly, I kinda like the Evoque vert because its such an oddball. I was at the Overland Expo in AZ last year and LR had a display and off road course they'd let you test drive on. RR's and Discos of course. But they actually had the vert there too. Take that, Murano.

Mr_Shiftright

"Oddball" is a very kind way of putting it, yes.

Sandman6472

I love the Evoque but it's a bit pricey for my blood and even though a CPO unit could work, on a LR, I'd want to be first owner.
I knew within a few weeks that my Tucson was a mistake, a big one at that. But since the wife told me not to get it, never mentioned it as I never would've heard the end of it! Even when I mentioned the Buick Encore last week, she started bitching about being just like the Tucson and to tall. If she had done some research, she would've seen that it's the same length, 167.5" vs. 168 an d not that much taller than my Golf. The Buick/GMC store keeps leaving me phone messages about buying the Encore as they have excellent deals through 4/2, really excellent deals!! A lot of dealer cash and car show cash plus another one I qualify for and 2 years of free maintenance. Makes for a stellar deal but the timing is off. Doubt the Golf will be home by then, maybe a few days later and still want to see how the Golf turns out. Will they compensate me for the diminished value and get my deductible back are things that have not been addressed yet. Think I'd be happy with the Encore and think if they had totaled mine, one might have been in my garage by now.
Still need to test drive the couple Hyundai hatchbacks to see how they drive. No VW Golf SEL's in the immediate pipeline and not sure I'll like the VW GTI. In reality, the Subaru is just too long for my needs while the Buick Encore hits that sweet spot for me. Perfect size with enough current tech to enjoy and a nicely integrated infotainment system. The seats are comfy for my spinal issues and the ingress/egress is superb. Fit and finish am not so sure and some of the GM stock parts are a bit on the cheap side. The current rebates make the one I like very affordable but have to wait and see what I get back from the collision center. Then I'll make my decision.

The Sandman

stickguy

I broke the "3 payments left" barrier on the Jetta, and have been getting a lot of mail/email/texts from the dealer I bought it from. they really want me to come in for a pull ahead. Will waive the last 3 payments of course, plus the usual discounts and incentives.

If I wanted to get a replacement, and something they had out now, might be tempted. But will just wait it out, and let it go back in July. I do need to find out if there is a grace period on the turn in fee (for Hyundai, I think I had 2 months to get a replacement to not have to pay the disposition fee) because pretty sure I would not get a replacement right away. Unless it is going to be my daughter's car, which I doubt.

right now, I think the plan is to just send it back, and share the Elantra for a while. Really won't need 3 cars until August most likely.

breld

stickguy said:

Breld, what is your Disco missing that you would have gotten if you ordered with no concern for budget?

I may have toyed a bit with other color choices.  There is a blue called Byron Blue that I like a lot but at the end of the day, white was also a top choice the whole way.  

I may have chosen the upgraded stereo.  Though the one in the HSE that I have is pretty good as is.

I probably would have selected a “black exterior” package that includes gloss black accents.

And I would have most certainly selected an upgraded wheel.

I probably would have spent an additional $2-3k, and the discount would likely have been less, since they were a bit more motivated to sell the one they had.  So I’m not torn up about saving the money.  

And since the wheels are the main thing I’d upgrade, that’s a relatively easy thing to do, albeit expensive.  And I get to keep my “small” 20” wheels for a winter set.  

stickguy

except in NJ (where I think it will never stop being), winter is a long way away. So I would hold off on the wheels for a while! Just in case....

ab348

Thanks for the morning chuckle, @breld. You keeping a vehicle long enough to need a winter set of wheels? The odds are astronomical...

rayainsw

2018 Land Rover Discovery - Congrats !
- Ray
And good luck !

qbrozen

Dammit! Boredom has gotten the better of me and I perused BaT. Shouldn't have done that. I want this:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1996-land-rover-range-rover/?utm_source=dailymail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018-03-23