Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

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

More.

I think for stickguy's birthday I'm going to e-mail him the correct answer.

fintail

I feel that, I was 18 when I got the fintail. More than half my life now. And no regrets

xwesx said:

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....

:@

tjc78

stickguy said:

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.

I have to do Richmond Tuesday... work gang elected me to drive. At least it’s the company Tahoe, nice and comfy.

corvette

kyfdx said:

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

I occasionally get asked whether I do short term loans or marriage counseling. 

I’ve had the Tahoe ten months and the Mustang eight. So I’ve been clean for eight months. My name is corvette and I’m a chronic car buyer. 

tjc78

Michaell said:

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

Happy Birthday, @stickguy!

+1 Enjoy.

stickguy

my car just turned 6 months (and barely broke 3,000 miles). And yes, i was considering trading it in today! Really need to sell it to the princess to "force" myself back into the market. I will think of it as taking the hit to help her out!

The RDX, that will be 6 YO in September. And likely will be around for a long time yet. But ya never know!

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

my car just turned 6 months (and barely broke 3,000 miles). And yes, i was considering trading it in today! Really need to sell it to the princess to "force" myself back into the market. I will think of it as taking the hit to help her out! The RDX, that will be 6 YO in September. And likely will be around for a long time yet. But ya never know!

I was just thinking that I’m glad we ended up buying our Pilot as opposed to leasing it.  At 4 months in we have over 6,800 miles.  At this rate we will be at close to 20K for the year.

28firefighter

If I end up with a Forester it would probably be the XT Premium which I’ve been offered around $260 a month including tax, with first month and drive offs at signing. 

Not meaningfully less but definitely less flashy and a car my wife likes. 

Mr_Shiftright

ANSWER: In 2018 you can choose among 37 different convertibles available in showrooms. Undoubtedly there are some we can afford and don't want, and some we can't afford and do want.

pensfan83

At 7 months to the day I have 3,700 miles on the Acura. I'll be lucky to hit 7,000 miles when a year rolls around.

kyfdx

My wife has 11K+ miles in 7 months. Glad I passed on the 15K/yr lease.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

ANSWER: In 2018 you can choose among 37 different convertibles available in showrooms. Undoubtedly there are some we can afford and don't want, and some we can't afford and do want.

Care to list them? You didn't answer my question about variants. ;b

Mr_Shiftright

Car & Driver already did that for me!

https://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/droptop-roundup-every-convertible-currently-on-sale-in-the-us-in-2018?src=nl&mag=cdb&list=nl_dvr_news&date=042718#1

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Car & Driver already did that for me! https://www.caranddriver.com/flipbook/droptop-roundup-every-convertible-currently-on-sale-in-the-us-in-2018?src=nl&mag=cdb&list=nl_dvr_news&date=042718#1

Ah, Ok, my "top-of-mind" list missed Aston Martin, Maserati, Smart, R8, Beetle, and Wrangler (I would never have put it in a standard "convertible" grouping but I guess it has to go somewhere). I think I also forgot the Vette and the 2-series. I did, however, think the 6-series vert was still around, but they don't list it so maybe not.

qbrozen

Ah, but they did forget the i8 roadster that the BMW site has listed.

Oh, and I counted a couple of McLarens. They list none.

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, it actually lets you "build" one, so I guess it's available. Pretty sexy car.

roadburner

I've about decided to use the Mini as my work beater; it only has 110k on it and I'll only put about 6k miles per year on it. That lets my wife get the CX-3 or Renegade she's been eyeing.
Of course this all assumes I win...

stickguy

if she is looking at those, check out the Kona too.

Yes, I am on a Kona kick today!

if nothing else, it is quite a bit faster than those other options!

Michaell

stickguy said:

if she is looking at those, check out the Kona too.

Yes, I am on a Kona kick today!

if nothing else, it is quite a bit faster than those other options!

You've got me intrigued about that, especially with the 1.6T

28firefighter

That thing is probably a hoot to drive with the 1.6T. 

stickguy

I was checking pricing on Edmunds, and one of the plusses they listed in their review was power from the 1.6t engine. Noted that it was significantly faster than the competition (stuff like the CX3 and HRV). Considering it has about the same torque as my car, with a little less HP, and comparable weight, I am quite certain it will scoot along just fine.

Mr_Shiftright

The 1.6T starts at $24,700 I think.

tjc78

A coworker of mine was going to look at a Civic R this weekend.  Curious as to what the outcome will be.  I asked if there was an ADM.  He said yes, but he wouldn’t pay a dime above sticker.  

28firefighter

Hmmm. Just got home from Blaine (we stopped at the outlets on our way back) and the X1 is steaming from the front of the engine and it smells like coolant. 

No lights so far, but I also don’t have an engine temp gauge on this car. Not promising. 

stickguy

under warranty. park it and call the roadside number. and hope for the best!

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Hmmm. Just got home from Blaine (we stopped at the outlets on our way back) and the X1 is steaming from the front of the engine and it smells like coolant. 

No lights so far, but I also don’t have an engine temp gauge on this car. Not promising. 

Uh oh. Fingers crossed that it isn't anything major

28firefighter

I’m going to check the coolant level once the engine cools.  I never realized how annoying it was to not have a temp gauge in that car until now. 

corvette

I have a 1500 mile road trip coming up next weekend and am wishing I could take the Mustang, but I know the seating position will make my left knee cramp up about 200 miles in. I know it's not the smart choice, but I may do it anyway.

Mr_Shiftright

Buy some compression socks! Fox River makes some called "military fatigue fighter" socks--they don't look dorky like most compression socks.

corvette

Hmm... Maybe. Also, raise your hands if you've spun a MINI convertible out today. I attended the MINI Challenge at our local dealership. Light weight, a short wheelbase, and loose gravel on the track made for squirrelly handling. In my defense, I wasn't the only one who had that problem in that vehicle, nor did I have issues in any of the other vehicles.

Mr_Shiftright

A Mini doesn't "handle" so much as it pogo-sticks on any irregular surface. I'm running softer tires and less air and a different alignment set up, and that all helps.

roadburner

corvette said:

Hmm... Maybe. Also, raise your hands if you've spun a MINI convertible out today. I attended the MINI Challenge at our local dealership. Light weight, a short wheelbase, and loose gravel on the track made for squirrelly handling. In my defense, I wasn't the only one who had that problem in that vehicle, nor did I have issues in any of the other vehicles.

I almost signed up for that, but I decided to watch Talladega instead....

benjaminh

stickguy said:

my car just turned 6 months (and barely broke 3,000 miles). And yes, i was considering trading it in today! Really need to sell it to the princess to "force" myself back into the market. I will think of it as taking the hit to help her out!

The RDX, that will be 6 YO in September. And likely will be around for a long time yet. But ya never know!

Already? What is it about your Elantra that isn't satisfying? But I guess I understand the CCB mentality....

To waste some time today, I tried an experiment to see if an Accord Hybrid Touring was subjectively "worth it" to me personally over the EXL. I didn't think it would be for some reason, but adding up all the features and thinking about what I thought they would be worth to me in dollar amounts (again, this is very subjective, and your numbers would no doubt be different) made it seem to me that the Touring is actually a good deal. Anyway, here's what I got....

Accord Hybrid EXL $32,330 compared w/Hybrid Touring $35,600 ($3270 difference)

Here are the added features on the Touring, and then after that what they seem worth to me. Again, this is subjective. As an example, I used to really like built-in navigation on my cars, but in my 2016 Accord I have AndroidAuto, and the Google navi on that is so much better than regular navigation that I don't really think built-in navi is needed. On the EXL stand-alone navi is a $1000 option, but I'd say at most this is "worth" about $600 to me as an emergency backup in case I don't have my phone for some reason.

Adaptive Dampers: $800
Front and Rear Parking Sensor system: 600
Honda/Garmin built-in navigation: 600
Ventilated Front Seats: 600
Heated Rear Seats: 600
Head-Up Display with compass: 500
Near Field Communication: 400
Rain Sensing wipers: 300
LED high beam headlights: 300
HondaLink telematics w/remote starting, smart phone entry, car locator, etc.: 300
Side Mirrors w/reverse tilt down: 200
Mobile Hotspot Capability: 200
Chrome door handles with ambient lighting: 200
Wireless Phone charger: 200

Anyway, if I added it up correctly this all comes to c.$5800 for me, making the Touring seem like a good value. The reality, however, is that my wife's 2013 Accord EXL-navi, which we just made the last payment on last month, is running fine and needs nothing. We don't "need" a new car.

qbrozen

So, while not cars, I did buy 2 new wheeled transportation devices today.

Even low-end mountain bikes have gotten pretty ridiculous. My oldest chose a men's bike, so this should be the last one I ever have to buy him. My little one got a Schwinn that I could adjust high enough for me to be comfortable, so he'll be good for a long time. Each have 21 total speeds, dual front shocks, and are light enough that an 8-yr-old can pick it up with one hand. All for under $200 ea.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

So, while not cars, I did buy 2 new wheeled transportation devices today.

Even low-end mountain bikes have gotten pretty ridiculous. My oldest chose a men's bike, so this should be the last one I ever have to buy him. My little one got a Schwinn that I could adjust high enough for me to be comfortable, so he'll be good for a long time. Each have 21 total speeds, dual front shocks, and are light enough that an 8-yr-old can pick it up with one hand. All for under $200 ea.

Nice!  I love bike riding!

corvette

Pretty much resolved to take the Tahoe on my road trip next weekend. And am going to try to make it interesting by trying to fill up with E85 when possible. But am planning to take the Mustang on a shorter road trip in a month or so.

Also looked at possible replacements for the Mustang, which have better seating positions. Hertz has a bunch of 2017 Audi A4s for sale. You can also get Taurus SHOs reasonably cheaply, but I'm not thrilled with the seats being as flat as those in my Tahoe. Fusion Sports are not yet old enough to be in my price range. Charger is also an option. Maybe an older S3/S4?

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Pretty much resolved to take the Tahoe on my road trip next weekend. And am going to try to make it interesting by trying to fill up with E85 when possible. But am planning to take the Mustang on a shorter road trip in a month or so. Also looked at possible replacements for the Mustang, which have better seating positions. Hertz has a bunch of 2017 Audi A4s for sale. You can also get Taurus SHOs reasonably cheaply, but I'm not thrilled with the seats being as flat as those in my Tahoe. Fusion Sports are not yet old enough to be in my price range. Charger is also an option. Maybe an older S3/S4?

I’d hold off on filling up with E85.  It will cost you less money to fill up, but you will get significantly less MPG.  Also, one of the computers will most likely get screwed up.  The engine is designed to run or either E85 or RUG, it’s not good to mix it up.

corvette

I've done the E85 thing before. Since it's a flex fuel vehicle, it's supposed to be able to run any percentage of ethanol between 0 and 85%. The winter blends of ethanol contain at most 70%, so it's rare to fill the tank with precisely 85% ethanol.

I generally don't use E85 unless there's at least a 30% discount to regular fuel, to account for the lower mileage, but might just run it on this trip, for my own amusement.

I actually ran half a tank of E85 in the Jetta GLI (turbocharged and not a flex fuel vehicle) once. No CEL, no issues other than lower MPG.

Also discovered today that Discount Tire didn't reset my TPMS sensors when they rotated my tires a few weeks ago. I had to look in the Tahoe's manual to figure out how to get the computer to show the pressure readings for the correct tires.

stickguy

For some reason, I actually like this. Practical, like the color. Well equipped. Miles not bad. No clue if price is good, but clean 4WDs always hold value.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2006-jeep-liberty-4dr_limited_4wd-used-17598592.html

ab348

The Liberty seems largely unloved. I don't know why although I hear they are thirsty, but there must be other reasons.

28firefighter

Seems hard to go wrong for $7k on that one, but what do I know?

qbrozen

Google Jeep 3.7 issues. Might scare you off.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

For some reason, I actually like this. Practical, like the color. Well equipped. Miles not bad. No clue if price is good, but clean 4WDs always hold value.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2006-jeep-liberty-4dr_limited_4wd-used-17598592.html

NEXT!

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

Google Jeep 3.7 issues. Might scare you off.

I stand corrected.

stickguy

You people are a bunch of buzz killingtons.

Need to go back to looking at the dark red 2007 Lexus ES350. Old man comfort baby.

kyfdx

My friend bought that 2012 (or was it 2011?), recently.

It's a pretty big car, if you are used to anything smaller..

stickguy

I never drove one. But always loved the seats when I Sat in it at the car show. I do know my wife would love it!

Mr_Shiftright

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:

Google Jeep 3.7 issues. Might scare you off.

I stand corrected.

You're not going to let a little thing like rocker arms breaking off stop you, are you?

nyccarguy

Pilot is fixed good as new.

Michaell

As you all know, I am in the homeward stretch of the lease on my Jetta - about 16 months left.

And, it's never too early to begin thinking, and shopping, for the next ride.

But, the wife has weighed in with her opinion. Since I work from home, and am no longer doing the pizza gig on the side, there isn't much need for me to have my own car. Added to that, the wife and daughter commute together probably 95% of the time, so there is almost always a car in the garage.

This past weekend, we put this theory to an unexpected test. Due to some poor planning regarding furniture purchases, we had to make an emergency rental of a pickup truck. U-Haul to the rescue! Brought home the furniture, but by the time I got around to returning the truck, they had closed for the day. And, they were closed on Sunday. My Jetta was trapped and I had the truck until this morning.

I ended up driving the Subaru for most of the errands the rest of the weekend.

At the end, the wife decided she didn't like me driving "her" car - changing the seats, the mirrors, etc.

Therefore, there will likely be something to replace the Jetta next summer. I haven't figured out yet how this will work - the wife did mention buying something outright, but no idea of budget at this point. Likely will be another cheap lease, and there should be good deals out there, since nobody want sedans anymore.

Gives me a reason to continue shopping.