Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Getting old ain’t for wimps.

Just ask Mike.

28firefighter

Sometimes being young ain’t for wimps either. I have one in October 

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Getting old ain’t for wimps.

Just ask Mike.

60 yrs old, later this year.. I'm due for all of the fun stuff.

stickguy

New spark plugs??

cdnpinhead

I had my second colonoscopy a week or so ago, and it was a piece of cake. The prep was only a quart and a half twice (night before, morning of) and the medication I got prior to the procedure worked well. The whole thing was much less of an ordeal than the first one was 10 or 12 years ago. One small benign polyp, so it'll be five years to the next one.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

New spark plugs??

Fuel injector cleaning.

Mr_Shiftright

They probably hate their jobs.

Mr_Shiftright

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

this is snazzy. Way out of my price range of course. But snazzy.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2015-porsche-boxster-roadster_s-used-17449391.html

Porsches are so freakin expensive.  New or used.  I get that their asking price is “just that.”  In reality, how much over auction value (or what they paid for it) are they selling that for?  Is it $10K, then someone walks in and offers $5K off and they “settle” at $4K - $4,500 off after “intense negotiations?”  

I was looking at the Porsche website on Tuesday (everyone kept asking me what I want for my birthday, so I had to tell them something).  After building a few different 911s, Macans, Caymans, & Boxsters, I did a quick CPO search.  Every Boxster that was listed for under $45K had close to or over 50K miles on it or was at least 7 years old.

I know there’s no such thing as a “cheap” Porsche, but that base Cayman I posted for Shifty that was on jalopnik the other day looks like a good price.  For the price of a Civic Si, you can have a Mid Engined Cayman.

Used Porsches can be a good deal if you buy the right one. They are very durable cars and can last you a long time. And it's true, no other car drives quite like one (not saying better or worse, just "different").

"Affordable" older Caymans that are worth owning seem to be going for $18K--$29K, You pay more for the "S", and there is a significant difference in power. It's not just trim.

thebean

Mr_Shiftright said:

They probably hate their jobs.

You would think that, but the doctor I use for this loves what she does. She says it's really satisfying when she finds colon cancer early and knows she helps a person prolong their life longer than if they never had the colonoscopy.

breld

On the 2019 Jetta, if anyone cares, they released pricing on it yesterday. Starts at right around $19-20k, about $23k for an SE and $25k for an SEL. There's also a premium model for a couple grand more. And the obligatory VW R-line model for about $800 over the SE.

A nice suite of safety tech is standard across the board, other than on the base S model (to which it can be added). SE comes with a pano sunroof. SEL comes with the virtual cockpit and a newly available "Beats" stereo.

I think it's a 90% chance we'll replace my stepdaughter's Jetta with this new Jetta. Coming out of the VW lease, I assume it'll be easiest and most cost-efficient to stick with the brand, and she likes the Jetta. No real reason to search too hard for other options.

stickguy

wonder when they will be out? That would be an option for us too. Problem is, my daughter is going to have a pretty hefty commute at least to start, and quite likely would blow through the miles on a lease. And will not likely have the budget to buy one new to start.

however, if it was nice enough, I could flip the elantra to her and get one. Only assuming of course they were killer leasing, which might not happen right away.

any idea when they hit the dealers?

stickguy

actually, depending on terms, could make a good lease to buy for her. Can afford the payments now, and easily buy it out at the end. Still get the 6 year warranty I think.

have to get looking.

28firefighter

I'm most interested in the GLI trim when it becomes available.

stickguy

will probably be nice. I could probably get by fine with a nicely equipped SE though. Certainly an SEL

28firefighter

Agree - equipment wise I could go with a near-base unit though I do like virtual cockpit (my FILs A4 has it). I just want that 2.0T.

au1994

28firefighter said:

I'm most interested in the GLI trim when it becomes available.

Me too as long as they don’t detune and decontent this version so it doesn’t steal sales from the GTI.

stickguy

oh lordy lordy I am in love.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volvo-242-turbo-coupe-2/

well, mostly in love. Would like different wheels and a bit more sidewall, ditch the roll cage, and more normal sports seats (R models fine). But, nit picking. This must be a blast to drive.

stickguy

just specced out a Jetta SE. Not bad. $23K and it is well equipped. They even switched to a darker brown instead of light beige interior. Pano, BLIS, car play, keyless entry/go. Got all the bases covered. with a 6 year BtoB warranty, a nice package. I was impressed by the performance of the 1.4t engine, and hard to argue with the MPG ratings. should be a winner riding on the new moduler chassis.

http://www.vw.com/models/2019-jetta/trims/2019/se-trim/edit/tab/summary/interior-color/n4q-fb/

28firefighter

stickguy said:

oh lordy lordy I am in love.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volvo-242-turbo-coupe-2/

well, mostly in love. Would like different wheels and a bit more sidewall, ditch the roll cage, and more normal sports seats (R models fine). But, nit picking. This must be a blast to drive.

So many questions...like...why?

My ideal build would be to find the old 940 Turbo wagon my family had, drop the 4 cyl Volvo block and auto transmission and put a Mustang V8 engine in with manual trans.

stickguy

the V8 swap is pretty common. there are kits for that. Steve McQueen had one! I could live with that too. But a 240 with a later turbo motor has appeal too.

this one though is way over the top. Same car, with more normal wheels and interior, and a worked over 940T motor would be wonderful.

kyfdx

cdnpinhead said:

I had my second colonoscopy a week or so ago, and it was a piece of cake. The prep was only a quart and a half twice (night before, morning of) and the medication I got prior to the procedure worked well. The whole thing was much less of an ordeal than the first one was 10 or 12 years ago. One small benign polyp, so it'll be five years to the next one.

Yeah... my wife had hers, recently.. Much easier than 10 years ago.

It never really bothered me that much, though. I just looked at it, as a cleanse.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

New spark plugs??

Fuel injector cleaning.

My doctor is a rip-off. Pretty sure he'll try to upsell me on the transmission flush and intake cleaning.
Maybe, even the walnut blasting (I bet that hurts!)

tifighter

stickguy said:

oh lordy lordy I am in love.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volvo-242-turbo-coupe-2/

well, mostly in love. Would like different wheels and a bit more sidewall, ditch the roll cage, and more normal sports seats (R models fine). But, nit picking. This must be a blast to drive.

I like it. I'd like it more if it were a wagon, but that's me. I remember driving a friend's 240 Turbo wagon in high school on a trip to Vancouver BC. Comfy seats, torque, and that long roof...I guess I haven't moved on much.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

oh lordy lordy I am in love. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-volvo-242-turbo-coupe-2/ well, mostly in love. Would like different wheels and a bit more sidewall, ditch the roll cage, and more normal sports seats (R models fine). But, nit picking. This must be a blast to drive.

Funny. As I was reading the posts here and considering what I would do, top of my list was an R engine swap. Finally clicked the link to find that is exactly what they did. Interesting they used a 5-spd instead of 6. I question why in the world they left the back seat in when it can't be accessed. I'd love to have the car but would need to remove or modify the rollbar. I am also not a fan of the chosen wheels. A set of modern volvo 17" would be better, IMHO. 

Mr_Shiftright

thebean said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

They probably hate their jobs.

You would think that, but the doctor I use for this loves what she does. She says it's really satisfying when she finds colon cancer early and knows she helps a person prolong their life longer than if they never had the colonoscopy.

Oh I thought we were talking about automobile insurance agents. Yes, a career as a doctor can be rewarding, though not as profitable as it once was.

stickguy

nice thing on that 240 is that the parts we don't like are easily changable. Wheels of course. and a few minutes with the wrenches would have the rollcage and seats out. Unless they welded it in!

still, someone handy like you could have it all sorted out in no time.

Mr_Shiftright

An "18-year build"? He must work carefully!

That would be a fun car, at least at the present bid level. I've seen a few 240 conversions. I remember a Ford 289 that was really a slick install---very pro.

thebean

Mr_Shiftright said:

They probably hate their jobs.

You would think that, but the doctor I use for this loves what she does. She says it's really satisfying when she finds colon cancer early and knows she helps a person prolong their life longer than if they never had the colonoscopy.

Oh I thought we were talking about automobile insurance agents. Yes, a career as a doctor can be rewarding, though not as profitable as it once was.

Oh, well in that case, yes.  I bet insurance adjusters are really depressed with their job.  Imagine having to be a dispectable human being every single workday.

corvette

thebean said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

They probably hate their jobs.

You would think that, but the doctor I use for this loves what she does. She says it's really satisfying when she finds colon cancer early and knows she helps a person prolong their life longer than if they never had the colonoscopy.

Oh I thought we were talking about automobile insurance agents. Yes, a career as a doctor can be rewarding, though not as profitable as it once was.

Oh, well in that case, yes.  I bet insurance adjusters are really depressed with their job.  Imagine having to be a dispectable human being every single workday.

Hey, I resemble that remark! :@ I don’t work in personal lines, though. 

Sandman6472

Tomorrow at 10 am is when I'll be there to pick my Golf up. Dropping the Elantra rental off about 9:15 or so, a couple days early, but I have to go into work Monday morning. My wife thought I should keep it till I'm sure about the Golf being o k but if it isn't, will bring it back Monday and rent another vehicle and go from there. But, think it'll be fine and if I'm unhappy, will just take a drive over to CarMax and see what the accident did to the trade price. But, going to stay optimistic here and believe all will be in order.
Will have to try the GTI before too long to see what I've been missing all these years. The new Jetta looks nice but think it'll be a bit too big for my needs but will drive one just to see. Call me nuts but still like the new 2018 Camry and 2018 Ford Focus as well as the 2018 Honda Accord. Just wish the Honda HR-V had the turbo from the Civic as I've always liked the EX-L model but think for the next generation, they'll also put back the knobs on the audio system like they did with the Accord. Honda seems to listen to their owners and usually fixes mistakes like this sooner than later. And the HR-V fulfills the size requirement. All the magazines still complain about the lack of power throughout the power band, a serious mistake in this segment. Sticking a turbo under the hood usually addresses this issue nicely. I know that the few times I've had to hit the accelerator in the Elantra, it made a horrible noise as it downshifted to move ahead. The engine definitely let me know that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated for long. My Golf does this same manuveur much quieter and without all the fuss.

The Sandman

nyccarguy

Good luck Sandy.  It hasn’t been an easy road for you with this. You know it will all work out for you in the end.  Plus you are due for a “punch.”  

Shifty - can you run his VIN to see if the CarFax shows the accident yet?  Maybe if it doesn’t, he can take the car straight to carmax for an appraisal that’s good for 7 days.  That gives him a week to car shop and make a decision.

qbrozen

sandman_6472 said:

Tomorrow at 10 am is when I'll be there to pick my Golf up. Dropping the Elantra rental off about 9:15 or so, a couple days early, but I have to go into work Monday morning. My wife thought I should keep it till I'm sure about the Golf being o k but if it isn't, will bring it back Monday and rent another vehicle and go from there. But, think it'll be fine and if I'm unhappy, will just take a drive over to CarMax and see what the accident did to the trade price. But, going to stay optimistic here and believe all will be in order. Will have to try the GTI before too long to see what I've been missing all these years. The new Jetta looks nice but think it'll be a bit too big for my needs but will drive one just to see. Call me nuts but still like the new 2018 Camry and 2018 Ford Focus as well as the 2018 Honda Accord. Just wish the Honda HR-V had the turbo from the Civic as I've always liked the EX-L model but think for the next generation, they'll also put back the knobs on the audio system like they did with the Accord. Honda seems to listen to their owners and usually fixes mistakes like this sooner than later. And the HR-V fulfills the size requirement. All the magazines still complain about the lack of power throughout the power band, a serious mistake in this segment. Sticking a turbo under the hood usually addresses this issue nicely. I know that the few times I've had to hit the accelerator in the Elantra, it made a horrible noise as it downshifted to move ahead. The engine definitely let me know that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated for long. My Golf does this same manuveur much quieter and without all the fuss. The Sandman

Camry and Accord would be quite a bit bigger than the Jetta

stickguy

the Jetta is probably about 5" longer now than an Elantra. So getting up there.

here is one that will make OldFarmers heart flutter. Not that exciting a car, but look at them miles!

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2013-buick-verano-4dr_sedan_convenience_group-used-17509125.html

Sandman6472

Funny, had looked at the Verano back at the same time as when I bought the Tucson. Of course, the price quoted me was ridiculous so told the guy, if you come across a demo in the next month, silver or charcoal, my 1st choice, give me a holler and we can do the deal. Naturally, about 5 months later, he calls and has a charcoal unit, a demo with low miles, and says I'm writing it up right now. Had to say "whoa partner", I've already bought a vehicle like 4 months ago. Guess he didn't understand when I told him "in the next month". I started my search with Buick as I had seen a Verano in the mall in that pearlized white paint and fell in lust. And my usual m o when I do buy something is it takes me about a month from start looking to making the deal. Since I usually try about 7 or 8 vehicles, a month's time frame usually works out for me as I tend to try some stuff, then go home and agonize over it, then try some more stuff and repeat the agonizing because I hate to pick the wrong vehicle.
But back in the end of 2013, damn if I didn't pick the wrong thing! And now, I'm just not ready and haven't been ready for awhile now. Just hope it's o k and I can put it off for a bit.
My kid called earlier and said the person who does the "diminished value" claims at work is out this coming week so we have to wait till she returns to the office. Not a bad thing so I can get a good chance to put the Golf through it's paces to see if indeed, anything is seriously wrong to bolster a case!

The Tired Sandman

ab348

That Verano is nice if a bit of a blandbox (though at least it does not have a black interior). I think it is priced a bit high even given the miles. Those were good cars.

stickguy

it was not priced yet when I posted the link. But I agree that the price, even if market correct, is more than I would pay!

for me, and my low usage, better to pay a lot less for one with higher than normal miles I think and let it average out over a couple of years.

corvette

I saw a Cascada the other day. Bright red does not look good on that car at all. 

Mr_Shiftright

nyccarguy said:

Good luck Sandy.  It hasn’t I been an easy road for you with this. You know it will all work out for you in the end.  Plus you are due for a “punch.”  

Shifty - can you run his VIN to see if the CarFax shows the accident yet?  Maybe if it doesn’t, he can take the car straight to carmax for an appraisal that’s good for 7 days.  That gives him a week to car shop and make a decision.

Sure, can do! Post it here or email me

tbirdmarco

intrested in the new v wThis new

stickguy

checked with the salesguy at the VW dealer we got the Jetta from (they really want me to come in and renew!) He said they will get a unit in mid-April for test drives, then anticipating mid-May to get units to sell. So I will go scope one out whenever it shows up.

Sandman6472

Up early this morning, wonder why!! Dropped the rental back at Hertz at 9 am, luckily I was first in line for drop off's. Over to the collision center but still detailing it so did the paperwork and waited the half hour. Brought it around all shiny looking and must admit, impressive. Started the walk around and noticed the blue metal door strip missing and one of the lug nuts missing something as it looked different. Pics were taken as my service guy was off, and completed the walk around with no issues found. Was told if the alignment was off to come on back but turns out to be just fine. My 3 year policy runs out next month so can still have it checked at Tires Plus.
On my way to the expressway to get it up to 75 or so, my service guy calls and says he'll order the missing parts Monday morning and have me come back when he gets them. Thanked him very much for his great work. Noticed on their was that it's also a Mercedes Preferred shop and while waiting, a guy my age brought his wife's MB in for an estimate.
Got her up to 80 and no shaking and car tracked pretty straight so am relieved about that since it was a big issue with me to get it done right.
Still plan on doing the diminished value claim because right now, it's staying in my garage. Want to wait a few weeks to see how things go before I make any kind of decision to be honest. Am pleased this nightmare is over but truthfully, expected more issues than the two I found. Now, I just want to finally exhale and take it all in.
Thanks for all your support as it's been tough on me. Knowing how anally I take care of my vehicle, it was a real blow that this even happened but now it's home and things will be fine. But still going to go to CarMax and get an estimate and go from there. I might just find soon that I need to get me something else to help me move on!!

The Relieved Sandman

Sandman6472

Shifty, here's the vin and hey, thanks a whole bunch!!

3VW217AU9FM044856

It's a 2015 VW Golf, Blue silk over beige.

Will be very interested to see if it's even been recorded yet and if not, how close Q got with his $14,500 pre-accident price. I'm bettin' that it's lost at least $1K due to this incident. Still under 40K miles and only put on roughly 1300/month. looking amazingly good for all it went through and think the repairs are guaranteed for as long as I own it but will find out. Also, need to find out how long I need till I can wax the whole vehicle? Thinking that waiting 6 to 8 weeks should be sufficient as our rainy season starts mid May.
Again, many thanks for your help with this and if not recorded yet, might have to wait a month or two till they document the collision of 3/28/18. As my dad would say, "you are a gentlemen and a scholar"!

The Relieved Sandman

fintail

Missing lug nut and side trim? Quality is job twelve!

I visited my friend with the green MKZ today. Now he says he will keep it for at least a couple years. I don't know, I give up

Mr_Shiftright

sandman_6472 said:

Shifty, here's the vin and hey, thanks a whole bunch!!

3VW217AU9FM044856

It's a 2015 VW Golf, Blue silk over beige.

Will be very interested to see if it's even been recorded yet and if not, how close Q got with his $14,500 pre-accident price. I'm bettin' that it's lost at least $1K due to this incident. Still under 40K miles and only put on roughly 1300/month. looking amazingly good for all it went through and think the repairs are guaranteed for as long as I own it but will find out. Also, need to find out how long I need till I can wax the whole vehicle? Thinking that waiting 6 to 8 weeks should be sufficient as our rainy season starts mid May.
Again, many thanks for your help with this and if not recorded yet, might have to wait a month or two till they document the collision of 3/28/18. As my dad would say, "you are a gentlemen and a scholar"!

The Relieved Sandman

Nope, CARFAX is clean. Says you had a new water pump put in last November, and that you recently purchased a copy of "Motorcycle Momma"...juuuuuuust kidding on that last one!

Sandman6472

They got the water pump down correctly, don't ya know. Have to look at the exact date but it's only a matter of time before this recent collision shows up. Give it till July 1st, if not sooner!!
Again, thanks and maybe on July 1st, I'll ask ya again to check where it's at. At this point, think I'll still have it by then!!

The Sandman

cdnpinhead

Funny how the stuff you worry about usually doesn't happen and the stuff that happens can't be anticipated.

stickguy

in the end, stuff is just stuff.

andres3

breld said:

On the 2019 Jetta, if anyone cares, they released pricing on it yesterday. Starts at right around $19-20k, about $23k for an SE and $25k for an SEL. There's also a premium model for a couple grand more. And the obligatory VW R-line model for about $800 over the SE.

A nice suite of safety tech is standard across the board, other than on the base S model (to which it can be added). SE comes with a pano sunroof. SEL comes with the virtual cockpit and a newly available "Beats" stereo.

I think it's a 90% chance we'll replace my stepdaughter's Jetta with this new Jetta. Coming out of the VW lease, I assume it'll be easiest and most cost-efficient to stick with the brand, and she likes the Jetta. No real reason to search too hard for other options.

I think I'm guilty of blinking, and missing an @breld punch. What's this V60 Polestar in your ownership list, and is it the wagon or sedan? I see Volvo is finally getting serious about performance by putting non-skinny 245 tires on it, (they used to put skinny tires even on Polestar trims). 3,900 lbs must be a load though (sedan slightly less than that, the wagon slightly more).

Saw an S8 with the 5.2 V10 today at the Cars & Coffee (now that I want!).

andres3

sandman_6472 said:

Funny, had looked at the Verano back at the same time as when I bought the Tucson. Of course, the price quoted me was ridiculous so told the guy, if you come across a demo in the next month, silver or charcoal, my 1st choice, give me a holler and we can do the deal. Naturally, about 5 months later, he calls and has a charcoal unit, a demo with low miles, and says I'm writing it up right now. Had to say "whoa partner", I've already bought a vehicle like 4 months ago. Guess he didn't understand when I told him "in the next month". I started my search with Buick as I had seen a Verano in the mall in that pearlized white paint and fell in lust. And my usual m o when I do buy something is it takes me about a month from start looking to making the deal. Since I usually try about 7 or 8 vehicles, a month's time frame usually works out for me as I tend to try some stuff, then go home and agonize over it, then try some more stuff and repeat the agonizing because I hate to pick the wrong vehicle.
But back in the end of 2013, damn if I didn't pick the wrong thing! And now, I'm just not ready and haven't been ready for awhile now. Just hope it's o k and I can put it off for a bit.
My kid called earlier and said the person who does the "diminished value" claims at work is out this coming week so we have to wait till she returns to the office. Not a bad thing so I can get a good chance to put the Golf through it's paces to see if indeed, anything is seriously wrong to bolster a case!

The Tired Sandman

Actually, if there's anything noticeably "wrong" with the car, that doesn't bolster the DV claim case. It works against you and the body shop.

It's a tactic insurance adjusters use. They claim that the problems you have are between you and your chosen body shop. The false presumption being, of course, that all flaws and problems are fixable, and that all body shops are supposed to do flawless repair jobs.

The advice I was given by my DV appraiser is to claim "all my complaints about the body shop's craftsmanship and workmanship have been subsequently addressed, and they have been resolved to my satisfaction" in the courtroom.

Your claim is with "inherent" DV, which is the DV assuming "perfect" repairs.

andres3

fintail said:

Missing lug nut and side trim? Quality is job twelve!

I visited my friend with the green MKZ today. Now he says he will keep it for at least a couple years. I don't know, I give up

LOL! Based on my experience with 3 different body shops in San Diego, I'd take those 2 problems any day of the week if they were the only 2.

Apparently customers do quality control for body shops nowadays.