Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

benjaminh

Edmunds has just released its video review of the 2019 Acura RDX....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJQw6z01fzA

stickguy

NJ you pay the tax up front. But just on the payments.

stickguy

breld said:

stickguy said:

so this would be to replace the i3, or an addition to the fleet?

Wait, do you still have the 2012 Mini too? I thought you were down to just the 3 cars?

Replace the i3 with something more practical regarding driving range.  

2012 Mini is indeed gone.  So yes, 3 cars - my Discovery, her Volvo and the i3. 




cool. was just basing it on your signature line. That still has the Mini listed.

breld

Took the Volvo in for routine maintenance today and saw this in the showroom.  Special order V90 R design (not the cross country).  

stickguy

interesting. Not going to see many of those on the road.

qbrozen

Not a fan of the chrome mirror caps

28firefighter

Want the wagon. 

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Not a fan of the chrome mirror caps

Those are white on my phone

stickguy

looked white to me.

so, Bradd, what is your "friend" with the Infiniti looking at to replace it?

carnaught

breld said:

Took the Volvo in for routine maintenance today and saw this in the showroom.  Special order V90 R design (not the cross country).  

Me likey.

jpp75

I like that wagon a lot. If I didn't have the perfect ride with the TDI Touareg one of those would be on my list.

Sandman6472

Hoping to go to the Hyundai store tomorrow afternoon and test the Elantra GT. Saw their inventory online and all seem to be base models. I really want the upgraded audio system in whatever I buy as I like a nice sounding stereo. All the new safety nannies is a good idea as I am still a bit shaky after my February accident.
On the Elantra Iroing hybrid, that split rear window is an issue as I hated it in every Prius I’ve driven at work, something I might just have to get used to. Also like the Elantra Limited so we’ll see. I prefer Hyundai over Kia and luckily the Hyundai store is so close to the house. The Audi, VW and Hyundai stores are all close to us while the Nissan store is on the other side of town along with Buick and Honda.
Where I end up, who knows.

The Sandman

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

looked white to me. so, Bradd, what is your "friend" with the Infiniti looking at to replace it?

My friend would like to invoke his 5th ammendment right not to incriminate himself.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

looked white to me.

so, Bradd, what is your "friend" with the Infiniti looking at to replace it?

My friend would like to invoke his 5th ammendment right not to incriminate himself.

What laws do you think you'll break by answering? Marital harmony?

@sandman_6472 - There is an $1800 "Style" package and a $4300 "Tech" package (which requires the "Style" package). The Tech package includes an upgraded stereo. But, $6100 just to get the stereo seems a bit excessive.

Mr_Shiftright

breld said:

Took the Volvo in for routine maintenance today and saw this in the showroom.  Special order V90 R design (not the cross country).  

Robert Cumberford likes it. He says: "“If you like station wagons—I do, very much—this is the one to have. Good-looking, great interior, plenty of room, plenty of performance, good road behavior. Of all the cars in the test fleet, this is the one that I can imagine buying and keeping in use for 10 to 15 years without much maintenance expense and with safety for all passengers. Nice is a good word for this car. And it will be the right word far in the future, when colors have faded and there are scratches and dents and signs of normal wear and all the new has disappeared.”"

Looks like the AWD version gets the higher HP engine and the FWD the lesser.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Not a fan of the chrome mirror caps

Those are white on my phone

Well, hell, white makes even LESS sens

not that i'd kick it out of the garage. I'd just swap those out, or maybe wrap them in black to better fit with those wheels.

corvette

Maybe they’re supposed to be silver but showed up as white in the photo? White mirror caps would only make sense on a MINI. 

Sandman6472

That hybrid Elantra, I can't spell, much less pronounce that word. Ioniq is how it's written but please don't ask me to say it! The mpg's seem pretty wicked to say the least. Am quite curious to see how it drives and if it's pretty slow. Don't need a rocket ship but don't want a penalty box either, when I hit the accelerator, I want to see adequate forward movement and match my current Golf. I put the selector in "S" mode, and I'm gone so would expect similar forward motion. The mpg's really have my interest especially with petrol prices changing on a daily basis. Could live with 50 miles to the gallon at this point very easily.
This is the first vehicle to peak my interest where I'd like to go test drive one. Like that it also has all the safety stuff that are trickling down the food chain. Must admit that my fender bender in February still has me a bit rattled and notice myself driving slower especially after my recent surgery. Must admit, it's nice to be home for a bit and still have another week as am trying to go back next Friday if possible. Finally feeling like me again which is pretty good, eating whatever I want though folks at my pain doc's office today kept asking why I look so skinny. Told them a few weeks in a hospital will do that to ya.
Both girls were in tonight and were telling me stuff I had no clue about while I was there. Apparently, the first day out of ICU, I wanted to sit in the chair, got up and proceeded to fall and hit my head on the floor. Bumped my head and had to get a CAT scan of my head...have no memory of it at all. I know they had a nurse stay with me in the room for 48 hours and after that, I was moved to a room right in front of the nurses station. They told me other stuff I said or did but again, have no clue. Do remember waiting to go into surgery and the anastegilogist putting something in my i.v. but nothing after that. And I had to pee every hour on the hour and I refused the cup after they took that tube thingy out of my penis.
So glad we're two weeks post surgery and home. But will be quite ready to return to work in a week, just need that time to rest up.

The Sandman

stickguy

The Inoiq is nice. But I believe not that quick. Might feel quicker with torque off the line, but you won't be winning any drag races.

The base GT has decent power from the 2.0l engine. Have to step up to the sport (I think they call it that on the GT) to get the 1.6t hot rod motor. That comes with some of the other goodies standard.

Michaell

@sandman_6472 - say it with me:

EYE
ON
ICK

See? That wasn't so hard. :laughing:

I took a brief look at them this past weekend while helping my son. Yes, the MPG is pretty stellar (57 city, 59 highway for the Blue trim level), but a quick read of the review on Edmunds put me off.

Basically, the seats aren't comfortable and it doesn't ride well. My son will be putting a lot of miles on his car for work (for which he is reimbursed), and those looked like deal breakers to me. That, and the Ioniq was $3K more than the E-GT.

And, I don't think you'll like the acceleration (or lack thereof). Won't have the 'put a smile on your face' kick the Golf gives you.

suydam

Try a Volt. Effortless acceleration.

breld

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Not a fan of the chrome mirror caps

Those are white on my phone

Well, hell, white makes even LESS sens

not that i'd kick it out of the garage. I'd just swap those out, or maybe wrap them in black to better fit with those wheels.

They’re like a satin silver finish. And they alone turned me off of the R design model of the XC90. Audi seems to pull it off on their “S” models, but they look cheap on the Volvo.

So I’d agree - a swap or wrap would be a good idea.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

@sandman_6472 - say it with me: EYE ON ICK See? That wasn't so hard. :laughing: I took a brief look at them this past weekend while helping my son. Yes, the MPG is pretty stellar (57 city, 59 highway for the Blue trim level), but a quick read of the review on Edmunds put me off. Basically, the seats aren't comfortable and it doesn't ride well. My son will be putting a lot of miles on his car for work (for which he is reimbursed), and those looked like deal breakers to me. That, and the Ioniq was $3K more than the E-GT. And, I don't think you'll like the acceleration (or lack thereof). Won't have the 'put a smile on your face' kick the Golf gives you.

I have been pronouncing it eye-ahn-eek.

stickguy

Like ionic. Just spelled funny.

corvette

They should get Alanis Morrissette to sing a song about it. 

kyfdx

@stickguy Would you have any input on this question?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5509347/#Comment_5509347

stickguy

Done.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Done.

THanks!

Michaell

Getting settled into the new homestead, and I get a nice surprise from VW - because I've moved outside the town limits, my sales tax rate went down, and with it, my lease payment. Not sure if this is a permanent change, but my June payment will be almost $10/mo less than it was in my old house.

Mr_Shiftright

What are you planning to do with all this extra money?

thebean

sandman_6472 said:

...And I had to pee every hour on the hour and I refused the cup after they took that tube thingy out of my penis...

The Sandman

Way TMI.

xwesx

thebean said:

Way TMI.

You just HAD to point that out, Bean! I was able to block it out the first time through.

thebean

xwesx said:

thebean said:

Way TMI.

You just HAD to point that out, Bean! I was able to block it out the first time through.

Some things you just can't un-see.

stickguy

had the RDX in for service today (a true bargain. 1/2 hour at the dealer, no appointment, and out the door with fresh synthetic, multi point inspection and fluid top up, and a new rear wiper blade for $52.00) so of course, looked at the just released 2019 RDX. Had one in the delivery bay of the showroom with a "sold" sign in it (good news I guess!) that I was able to sit in. So, had the sales dude get another one out and took a few laps on the test track.

Overall, a winner. Tremendous upgrade in the interior and tech. Also roomier, and very comfortable. Drove nicely. Great steering, solid handling (feels a lot nicer and more planted than mine). Happened to be an Advance model, and tried out the whiz bang ELS stereo. Amazing. Have never heard that kind of sound in a car before. Speakers in the ceiling, excellent idea!

lots of features to play with. Would definitely be a learning curve. I did like the little touch pad. Much better than a mouse gizmo, and way better than a touch screen.

Would like to get one out on the open road eventually (will take the wife to the other dealer that doesn't have a test track) but I suspect it will drive great.

I liked this thing. A lot. I think Acura is going to sell a ton. Was nicer IMO than the X3 I looked at next door, and a bunch cheaper.

They also had some TLXs in the showroom. I do still like those. for a "gotta move the leftovers" lease offer, I could make do with one!

stickguy

saw a few X2s at the BMW dealer. I don't quite get it. Seemed like a squashed, less useful X1, but for more money (one in the showroom was over $52K, with the most garish red seats I have ever seen). Not much space in the back at all. They did have a couple of really nice looking 430 GCs though. That is a nice car with the hatch. But also well over $50k, even with the 4 banger.

28firefighter

I find the X2 baffling 

benjaminh

stickguy said:

....I liked this thing. A lot. I think Acura is going to sell a ton. Was nicer IMO than the X3 I looked at next door, and a bunch cheaper.

They also had some TLXs in the showroom. I do still like those. for a "gotta move the leftovers" lease offer, I could make do with one!

Thanks for the report. Did they seem interested in your potential trade and/or ready to make a deal on the new RDX?

andres3

stickguy said:

With good tires, fine in winter. You still get good ground clearance at least. If FWD is fine in a sedan, why not a wagon? Which is all I use it as, like most people. It will never see off road conditions that actually require AWD. So really just for snow.

I like AWD for all conditions, but particularly inclement weather, even just a light rain.

Consumer Reports, which is my Bible on cars, really liked the Alltrack! They ranked it higher than the Outback, even with the 3.6 6-cylinder, though part of that score takes into account the lower price and better value too.

I like wagons, but I also like sedans and coupes. Wagons have the most utility of those 3 though.

stickguy

I did not talk numbers or about my trade in. Not ready for that. I doubt on day one though they were cheap selling them! there was a sold one in the delivery area, and we stopped to look at colors on the way back from test drive and I think they had a total of 5 more. Well, not colors since every one they had was white, black or gray.

They did have a white over espresso interior. That combo, I really liked!

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

What are you planning to do with all this extra money?

Well, it's 14 payments left, and I just contracted a $2200 concrete job, so I guess you could say that I've spent it already.

stickguy

piece of advice for y'all. Never try to explain finance, or the concept of sunk cost, to my wife.

I did learn to leave her out of the process from here on out. She likes her car, so she can keep it. I will just do what I want with mine, when the time seems right, and surprise her with something new when she least expects it!

I did call her out over dinner about not liking my car. She tried to deny it. When I repeated her complaints I just got "the look" Plus, we took the Jetta tonight (it was in the way) and she again commented that it was "too small". Being bigger than my car, that seems like it could be an issue!

benjaminh

stickguy said:

piece of advice for y'all. Never try to explain finance, or the concept of sunk cost, to my wife.

I did learn to leave her out of the process from here on out. She likes her car, so she can keep it....

And, I hesitate to say it, but your wife may possibly have some logic on her side in terms of $ when it comes to keeping your 2013 RDX. Most Acuras will go 10 years/100k miles with just regular maintenance, and your RDX is only at the halfway point.

I'm in a similar place with my wife's 2013 Accord EXL navi. The tech on her Accord, like the tech on your RDX, is from a different era already. And yet my wife's car is still a perfectly functioning and comfortable machine. Like you we blew our budget a bit when we got the car 5 years ago. The 2018 Accord Hybrid is a great car that's safer, has better tech, more room, much higher mpg, etc. But in terms of dollars and sense I'm still having trouble finding a reasonable way—financially—to justify buying a new car. The 2018 Accord Hybrid will save c. $500 a year in gas compared to the 2013, but that's a drop in the bucket compared to the new car loan, which will probably be c. $300 a month (if we can swing a great deal, and Honda gives low financing) even after our trade-in.

stickguy

well, I told her she could keep her car. that is off the table (for now!) We were discussing my car. She could not quite grasp the concept that whatever I paid for it (or put down) is gone, and no longer relevant.

The whole purpose of swapping my car out now is if I can get enough out of it to get into something that works better overall (and she likes more). We actually take my car everywhere, unless need the extra cargo room (or have to take the dog). So doesn't matter to me what she drives. The RDX doing 4-6K miles/year is going to last a long time! I am fine keeping that as the spare car.

I just think she would be happier if the main car was something bigger and more comfy like an S60 or TLX.

thebean

Just my opinion, but I agree with @benjaminh above.  It sounds like you really, really want something new and are using the wife to justify it.  It never makes financial sense to trade a car on the first year or so that you own it, unless it has major problems that are costing you money, which seems not to be the case here.

stickguy

well, she does count. sometimes!

but year one or 2 or 3, doesn't matter. Asset is an asset. If you keep buying cars and selling them after 1 year over time will spend more money. Though always will have a new car!

to me, if I am not keeping it past 3 years (picking a reasonable number) anyway, might as well do the deal now and keep the replacement car instead.

benjaminh

@stickguy....if I'm remembering correctly the negative factors with the Elantra Sport are: too small/not comfortable enough, doesn't have power passenger seat....but is there anything else?

Your wife isn't wild about it, but is there anything that bugs you? Did you get a manual? I forget. If so, are you thinking about an auto for your next car.

A trade-in on an almost new car, as you know, not only has a hit with depreciation, but also has those TTL transaction fees.

But if it's really not the right car for you and your wife, then it probably is a good idea to just move on.

The low cost alternative for a somewhat bigger and more luxurious car would be the Sonata. Your Hyundai dealer who sold you that Elantra would probably make you a good deal, and incentives are high.

But, to be blunt, it seems like you are longing for a luxury car. Nothing wrong with that! Acura and Volvo are both great choices. And a lease on one of those might be a possibility.

The base TLX is a very nice car for the money. But it probably has a power to weight ratio that's lower than your Elantra Sport. It's quick enough, but it's not going to press you back into your seat very much if that's what you're looking for. The V-6 TLX will have gobs of power, but of course it's also going to guzzle gas in the city (on the highway the cylinder de-activation make it pretty good on gas).

The Volvo S90 and V90 have big incentives from Costco right now—invoice pricing minus $3k Volvo/Costco rebate, plus all the regular Volvo incentives. But that's a very big car. Amazingly the Volvo S90 is rated higher in combined mpg (27) than the Elantra Sport (25).

stickguy

I have the AT. I think your 25 might be for the manual, I average over 30,

my biggest gripe is no power driver's seat. I convinced myself it would not matter. I was wrong. I get by though, with a little pillow I stick under my right thigh to give my leg some support.

I do like driving it though. My wife would prefer it was bigger (more comfortable, with a power seat for the passenger too). It does get really good mileage at least. But, while it is fun, with our crappy roads, something more compliant with bigger sidewalls and comfortable suspension tuning would be nice.

I would prefer a TLX V6 if I got one. Much more entertaining, at the expense of a few MPGs. Not like I put that many miles on a car! And the S90 is way too big. If I get a Volvo, it would be a 60.

Luxury car not really required, as long as it drives nice, and has the right features. and size. An Accord would be fine if I wanted something jumbo. I am a bit sorry I did not check out a Sonata turbo in the redesign. They were very rare at the time (still are pretty much) but could have been a good alternative.

one good thing is since I bought this car, I own the plates. If I trade it in, I get a sales tax credit. And if buying a replacement, can transfer the tags over for just a couple $$. Doesn't help though if I lease instead.

Sandman6472

Sorry about the "TMI" but it's what happened. Guess I'm still a bit in shock that all this happened. Saw my new general doctor today and after reading my file, he kept saying that i was pretty sick. But I like him, he's funny, so think I'm in good hands.
This is the first time in 63 years that I've been really sick, up to now been very healthy generally. So this threw me for a loop but as the days go by, it'll become a memory. But at my age, things could happen and now, I'm ready. Hopefully they won't though.

The Sandman

benjaminh

stickguy said:

....I would prefer a TLX V6 if I got one. Much more entertaining, at the expense of a few MPGs. Not like I put that many miles on a car! And the S90 is way too big. If I get a Volvo, it would be a 60.

Luxury car not really required, as long as it drives nice, and has the right features. and size. An Accord would be fine if I wanted something jumbo. I am a bit sorry I did not check out a Sonata turbo in the redesign.....

The 2018 Sonata 2.0 turbo limited seems to be about $28.5k with discounts. But that's about same price that you can get a 2018 Accord EXL 2.0 turbo--$28.5k, which is c. 4k off of msrp. The Accord seems like the better choice since they seem to be about the same price. Plus the Accord will have Sensing--lane keeping, full stop cruise, cmb, etc. Does Hyundai have anything like that?

The Volvo V60 is about the size of a BMW 3-series. Might be a good choice. Nice looking car. But seems to cost more than a BMW 3-series....?

My local BMW dealer seems to have a great lease deal. Must be some catch, but I can't find it??


2018 BMW
320i
xDrive Sedan
$0 Down
Lease For
$299/mo
VIEW INVENTORY

Sandman6472

Never made it to the Hyundai store as was pretty tired after the doctors appointment. The guy understood, so will go the beginning of the week. Never thought about the lack of grunt in the Ionig to be honest but will have to drive it. The GT with the 1.6T seems to be the one I should strive for as it'll have the power I want, the power drivers seat and the better audio system. But they have nothing in stock right now. Also want to try the Elantra Limited just to see.
Got a strange feeling that I'll be keeping the Golf longer than I think. The DV case is moving along so we'll see how that plays out. Getting bills daily from doctors, the hospital...but just waiting to see how much it'll cost me out of pocket. So buying a big ticket item is probably not the best thing to do right now unless it's my Golf and not that much more. And if there's 0% financing, something I'd be interested in to. Best thing is I don't have to do anything right now and keeping the Golf might just be what needs to be done.
Looks like the kid is going to keep the house after all. We all sat down earlier and discussed how we can make this work. The wife knows how much I want to move so we're working on a plan to get it done. The kid really wants to own and not pay rent anymore which I get. It's also a beautiful house so we're going to make it work. Personally, would love to sell ours and move there but we'll see. So the house has calmed down and tomorrow, the rest of her furniture is coming home. Luckily we have room in the house for it and any overage will go in the garage and if I have to park outside for a bit, so be it. Parents do what they can to help their kids so we're willing to do whatever she needs as she's a great kid. Hopefully she'll find another guy when the times right and G-d will see to that! I just need her to be happy again and smile!

The Sandman