Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

ab348

28firefighter said:

Wife has presented me with two options: Get a fun to drive, more expensive car that I'll be happy with, or get something very inexpensive and have my fun car right now (a la a 350z). With the latter option I could easily lease an Accord/Passat/Jetta/ in an automatic to fill that role.

None of my business, but I'm confused. Isn't option 1 what you already did, and she doesn't like it? What makes her thin she's like a different flavor of #1?

Sounds to me like you could be in minivan/mid-to-large SUV country soon, so maybe just do that.

28firefighter

I like the MB but it really isn't "fun" to drive - it's a bit of a boat, even with the sport package. I really enjoy driving it but for totally different reasons.

That said, I don't. Which is why I'm exploring the latter.

pensfan83

As a former A4 owner I can't say enough great things about that car, especially if it's a manual. It balanced sport/luxury perfectly.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

I like the MB but it really isn't "fun" to drive - it's a bit of a boat, even with the sport package. I really enjoy driving it but for totally different reasons.

That said, I don't. Which is why I'm exploring the latter.

Quit asking the wife for opinions/permission for vehicles.. Problem solved!

Really... you can do it..

28firefighter

My hope is that by being collaborative now about the process, that when I really want to do something crazy (like an M3), she'll be so pleased that I was pragmatic over the years that she won't fight me on it.

I'm young and full of ridiculous hopes and dreams, as you can tell.

28firefighter

@Mr_Shiftright Anything crazy with this VIN? JN1AZ36A84T004638

thebean

28firefighter said:

My hope is that by being collaborative now about the process, that when I really want to do something crazy (like an M3), she'll be so pleased that I was pragmatic over the years that she won't fight me on it.

I'm young and full of ridiculous hopes and dreams, as you can tell.

Man, you haven't been married long, have you? The fact that you have any hope at all gives me a clue about that. I agree with @ab348 - go ahead and get a minivan and embrace the hopelessness.

28firefighter

Probably will be wife's next car - or a similar 3 row crossover. Not there yet though.

For the record, I've been married for about 6 years.

nyccarguy

A gentle reminder as to one of the major benefits of the automatic transmission (not pictured).

Sandman6472

Ah, driving on I-95 in New York and Connecticut. Mentioned we lived in upstate Westchester but us kids summered in Connecticut in Clinton, exit 61 on the Conn. Thruway. Remember it was only a 90 minute ride from home to camp. By April 15th, the trunks got put out in the basement level and the grandmother's took on the task of sewing on our name labels on all our summer clothes. Come Sunday the last week of June, early morning off we go. By 11, we arrive and then the folks go and we have eight wonderful weeks to play basically.
Your pic reminded me of the anticipation as we counted off the mile markers until we got to #61. Yes, happy memories from growing up in an area I can no longer afford. But back in the sixties, it was home.

The Sandman

cdnpinhead

Looks more to me like the Merritt Parkway. Nearly always a pretty drive, but sometimes slow, plus which the merging on and off can be an adventure.

nyccarguy

cdnpinhead said:

Looks more to me like the Merritt Parkway. Nearly always a pretty drive, but sometimes slow, plus which the merging on and off can be an adventure.

@Sandman_6472 got it right.  I-95 Northbound.  The Merritt is a MUCH prettier ride when there’s no traffic, no accident, or 2 cars going the exact same slow speed in front of you.

stickguy

Ah. I95 traffic. I have 1 more slog from Philly to NC coming up in a few weeks, down to see our daughter graduate college. That road through Delaware, Baltimore, DC and Richmond is always a treat. Coming back Sunday night is always a real blast too.

nyccarguy

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

tbirdmarco

Wow New York car guy nice nice 

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

Did you buy that new?

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

Did you buy that new?

Yup. It was a leftover.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

kyfdx said:

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

Did you buy that new?

Yup. It was a leftover.

Tomorrow is 8 years to the day that I've owned my '06 BMW. It will be 12 years old in July.
40,200 miles at purchase.. About 115,600 now..

nyccarguy

tbirdmarco said:

Wow New York car guy nice nice 

Thank-you

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

That's really cool.

The longest I kept a car was my '82 Accord (12 years)

ab348

nyccarguy said:

kyfdx said:

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

Did you buy that new?

Yup. It was a leftover.

Congrats! Hard to believe they would have had those sitting around for a year, but I guess things in your market are different than here. There were relatively few of those sold locally - certainly fewer than the previous generation with the Tokyo-by-night '90s dash - and I would guess that dealers did not order many for stock. I remember seeing a few when they were new but none in recent years. It is odd in retrospect to recall how demand for the 2nd-gen car went off the scale, and even the 3rd-gen did OK, but then demand seemed to decline fairly quickly.

suydam

ab348 said:

28firefighter said:

#3 would land me in jail. 

I love the Porcelain interior but suspect many would not.

This is a good comment:

"I know a guy that leased one of these new……$2700 month! He traded out of a SLR that ended up costing him $100 a mile in depreciation. He paid over sticker to get an early SLR and then found it was too difficult to drive (he was partially disabled). Held onto the SLR too long and got killed at trade in time so he figured leasing the new CL65 would limit his losses."

At 55K miles I would be worried about some expensive needs with a car like this.

Porcelain interior? I’ve already spilled coffee on it.

ab348

suydam said:

Porcelain interior? I’ve already spilled coffee on it.

No worries. It's porcelain so nothing will soak into it.

suydam

Longest car we owned was a Toyota minivan. Got us thru the kid years and then done!

pensfan83

16 years, very nice.

Longest I ever owned a car was my '05 Mazda 6 at 6 years so you have that beat by a decade.

fintail

Just hit 23 years for the old dear:

Mr_Shiftright

I bought my Mini 10 years ago with 53,000 miles. Now it has 146,000. The car was a disaster all the way through 80K, then has since settled down to merely being troublesome. I have, in a sense, amortized the catastophes.

roadburner

Next month I will have owned my Wrangler for 16 years. November will mark 23 years since I picked up my Club Sport.

kyfdx

Mr_Shiftright said:

I bought my Mini 10 years ago with 53,000 miles. Now it has 146,000. The car was a disaster all the way through 80K, then has since settled down to merely being troublesome. I have, in a sense, amortized the catastophes.

Pretty sure I would have dumped that one, after hearing all of your issues.

breld

fintail said:

Just hit 23 years for the old dear:

Wow! Nice pic!

Mr_Shiftright

Oddly enough, it never actually broke down on me. I think if it had done that, I would have ditched it. Mostly the problems were really shoddy build quality and difficulty of access to make repairs/maintenance. Also the car is fun to drive. It amuses me. I must be amused while driving or I get very restless.

breld

No surprise, but I think the longest I've owned a car is about 5 years. That was my 1993 Prelude coming out of college.

Mr_Shiftright

OK! Snap Quiz!

Can anyone take a guess as to how many models of convertible you can buy in 2018?

fintail

MB alone has convertible versions of C, E, S, GT, SL, SLC with seemingly endless engine variants.

stickguy

15

fintail

Thanks. The car is listed in the dictionary under "photogenic", and distance combined with cleanliness hides what they call "patina" these days

breld said:

Wow! Nice pic!

stickguy

saw something today for Sandy. Was at dealer getting my first oil change. They had a Kona on the floor, so I scoped it out. I actually really, really liked it. Basically a taller sitting, slightly shorter, Elantra GT. Sales manager wanted me to take one for a spin, but I did not do it (was about to but got called back to service since my car was done). Not being a stroke, the SM said it was slow and the sales guys were bored, so it would give them something to do!

Sandy, you should like it. Barely longer than the Golf at 164", but sits taller, so amazingly roomy and comfy inside. And being a Hyundai, loaded with goodies. Was a limited, so had the same drivetrain as my car (slightly less HP so had a different tune on the 1.6T engine) so I expect would still be pretty quick.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

15

Not even close. More.

Michaell

We interrupt shifty's quiz to wish a happy birthday to one of the regular posters in this thread.

Happy Birthday, @stickguy!

Michaell

As to the number of convertibles, I'll go with 27.

stickguy

Thank you kind sir.

qbrozen

hmmm... off the top of my head, I can think of more than 25 (not even sure all are actually still available). Assuming I'm forgetting some, I'll say 32.

And that's if, as fin says, we exclude the variants. Like, are the Boxster and Boxster S counted as 2 or 1?

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Wife has presented me with two options: Get a fun to drive, more expensive car that I'll be happy with, or get something very inexpensive and have my fun car right now (a la a 350z). With the latter option I could easily lease an Accord/Passat/Jetta/ in an automatic to fill that role.

Given how little you pay for the MB, how is it going to work in your favor to swap out of it early? Will you really save enough to justify the effort?

kyfdx

@28firefighter If you need more marital advice, just ask. I'll just change hats from my stick-shift instructor gig.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Probably will be wife's next car - or a similar 3 row crossover. Not there yet though.

For the record, I've been married for about 6 years.

Hey, you have to start somewhere!

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

My Prelude is officially 16 years old today

I'll just reiterate my prior statement: You have to start somewhere!

xwesx

fintail said:

Just hit 23 years for the old dear:

That's what I'm talking about!

xwesx

After seeing some of the "I've owned x car this long" posts, I'm rather glad that my oldest owns still start with a '2'; the longer I've owned them, the older I am, and that is getting to be enough years to make me a little sad....

:@

ab348

stickguy said:

Sandy, you should like it. Barely longer than the Golf at 164", but sits taller, so amazingly roomy and comfy inside. And being a Hyundai, loaded with goodies. Was a limited, so had the same drivetrain as my car (slightly less HP so had a different tune on the 1.6T engine) so I expect would still be pretty quick.

Well, he didn't like the Tucson, and this is a slightly smaller version of that, so I dunno. And it is rather strange-looking.

stickguy

the Kona is actually a totally different platform I think, and type of car. Going to feel much different. It is really about the size of a Golf.