Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

suydam

Boycottting an entire make of vehicle over one dealership seems silly. Just go somewhere else. In fact, you could probably go to that dealer on another day and have an entirely different experience. I doubt it was profiling, whatever that means. Just incompetence. I prefer not to be approached initially.

stickguy

When 5 sales people are just hanging around chatting, and see the only customers in the store looking over a car for an extended period, and don’t budge an inch to connect with them (including when they give up and head toward the door), it is a pretty clear signal they are not interested in you being there. So, profiled and message sent.

That actually is the only Lexus dealer anywhere near me. Which is odd, considering how many multiples of other brands there are, including Audi and Cadillac. I guess they don’t feel any competitive pressure.

qbrozen

Stick, did you see this?
That is quite a bold move!

henryn

xwesx said:

The emergency brake uses a separate set of pads from the standard rear brakes, or does if it has rear disc brakes. So, don't use the effectiveness of the E.B. as an indicator of the health of the pads.

As you suggest, they are probably just fine at 41,000 miles. It is good to check them all at the same time, though!

It’s actually quite different on a VW from whatever you think you’re accustomed to. They bias the brakes so that the rear pads wear out before the fronts. Yes, I know, sounds strange, almost unbelievable, but do a quick google search and you will see that it is true.

stickguy

Not sure what that is. But sounds expensive!

Will they lease me one for $320/month, no money down?

henryn

graphicguy said:

Plus, women waved at me when I had the top down in the Cobra and I was tooling along.

It has been many, many years since I owned a convertible, but I do remember that. Fondly.

There were many other parts of the convertible ownership experience that I don't remember as fondly, which is why I don't own one today.

But, yeah, tooling along with the top down, spotting a pretty girl, and having her smile at you and wave, that was pretty neat.

ab348

henryn said:

It’s actually quite different on a VW from whatever you think you’re accustomed to. They bias the brakes so that the rear pads wear out before the fronts. Yes, I know, sounds strange, almost unbelievable, but do a quick google search and you will see that it is true.

Sounds like an early Ford Edge. I recall reading that they went thru a set of rear pads every 6000 miles.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

Not sure what that is. But sounds expensive! Will they lease me one for $320/month, no money down?

Give us a few months. 

pensfan83

The S60 looks like a smaller S90, not that that's a bad thing.

Care by Volvo is the subscription service that nets you the car, insurance, and maintenance for a monthly fee. On a T8 I would bet it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $800-$1,000/month.

henryn

ab348 said:

henryn said:

It’s actually quite different on a VW from whatever you think you’re accustomed to. They bias the brakes so that the rear pads wear out before the fronts. Yes, I know, sounds strange, almost unbelievable, but do a quick google search and you will see that it is true.

Sounds like an early Ford Edge. I recall reading that they went thru a set of rear pads every 6000 miles.

The 2008 Passat that I had went 100k miles on the rear pads. Never did replace the fronts.

stickguy

My accord had that issue too

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Not sure what that is. But sounds expensive!

Will they lease me one for $320/month, no money down?

No. No, they won't.
I'm guessing $950/mo considering they want $850 for the T6 R-design.

stickguy

I assume that is the subscription plan deal.

And just a tad too rich for my blood. Heck I could finance one for that.

qbrozen

yup.
prices are nuts.

henryn

I know there are a lot of BMW fans around here, and a lot of manual transmission aficionados. So for your entertainment,

2007 BMW 335i, 6 speed manual, leather seats, and an additional 70HP thanks to a “TUNE1”.

Hmmm… nowhere do I see the miles listed …. Not good.

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/6-speed-manual-335i-sedan/6611967366.html

kyfdx

I'll guess 150K+ miles

+70 HP? No, that's not a time bomb...

Michaell

Posted to our local "Next Door" application this morning:

1995 Toyota Camry Coupe, 5-speed manual, white with grey cloth interior. 205,000 miles. One owner; meticulous records. Non-smoker, no hail damage or mechanical issues. Asking $1900.

kyfdx

2-door Camry.. Don't see one of those, every day.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

2-door Camry.. Don't see one of those, every day.

Yeah, that's why it caught my eye. Actually looks in pretty good shape, based on the pictures.

fintail

Come to Seattle, I see them maybe every three days.

Sounds like a fair deal if it all checks out.

Michaell

fintail said:

Come to Seattle, I see them maybe every three days.

Sounds like a fair deal if it all checks out.

If I'm not mistaken, this was the generation that was over-engineered. And the car that Ford couldn't believe was priced the way it was, when they disassembled it as they worked on developing the ovoid Taurus.

stickguy

I would buy that Camry if it ran strong

corvette

henryn said:

I know there are a lot of BMW fans around here, and a lot of manual transmission aficionados. So for your entertainment, 2007 BMW 335i, 6 speed manual, leather seats, and an additional 70HP thanks to a “TUNE1”. Hmmm… nowhere do I see the miles listed …. Not good. https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/6-speed-manual-335i-sedan/6611967366.html

I’ve never heard of a “TUNE1.”  Good grief, the steering wheels on the non-SP E90s are ugly. 

mjfloyd1

I wonder if he means Dinan stage 1??

pensfan83

Speaking of manual BMW's, one owner 530i that came up in my never ending search.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=487769671&zip=15025&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=15025&startYear=1981&sortBy=relevance&maxPrice=6000&incremental=all&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=75&transmissionCodes=MAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=6000&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=75&makeCode1=BMW&modelCode1=530I>

stickguy

now that one, I really like. I would buy something like that. Assuming the 2" stack of receipts included the right work, and it checked out in a PPI. Cheap enough. As am I.

nyccarguy

pensfan83 said:

Speaking of manual BMW's, one owner 530i that came up in my never ending search.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=487769671&zip=15025&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=15025&startYear=1981&sortBy=relevance&maxPrice=6000&incremental=all&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=75&transmissionCodes=MAN&startYear=1981&numRecords=25&maxPrice=6000&firstRecord=25&endYear=2019&searchRadius=75&makeCode1=BMW&modelCode1=530I>

No Sports Package = No Sport Seats = No thank-you

roadburner

There was a red E39 M Sport 530i manual in the Louisville area a few years ago. I would have picked it up in a heartbeat. The E39 is the best 5 Series ever, in my opinion.

breld

Agreed. When I happened upon my ‘02 530i sport manual years ago, it had 55k miles, cost me $12,900 and I drove it as my main car for over a year - and for me that’s something!

breld

By the way, that manual A4 sold. Apparently someone didn’t care that much about the yellow bumper.

PF_Flyer

Have you recently purchased a small used car due to budget reasons or because of gas prices? If so, a journalist would like to chat with you about it. If you're interested, please reach out to PR@edmunds.com no later than 9 a.m. Pacific this Friday, June 22. Thank you!

qbrozen

corvette said:

I’ve never heard of a “TUNE1.”  Good grief, the steering wheels on the non-SP E90s are ugly. 

hmmm... neither burger nor dinan claim those gains with just a tune.

tjc78

Michaell said:

Posted to our local "Next Door" application this morning:

1995 Toyota Camry Coupe, 5-speed manual, white with grey cloth interior. 205,000 miles. One owner; meticulous records. Non-smoker, no hail damage or mechanical issues. Asking $1900.

I like that generation Camry.

jpp75

tjc78 said:

Michaell said:

Posted to our local "Next Door" application this morning:

1995 Toyota Camry Coupe, 5-speed manual, white with grey cloth interior. 205,000 miles. One owner; meticulous records. Non-smoker, no hail damage or mechanical issues. Asking $1900.

I like that generation Camry.

Their best design by far. My parents owned one, I loved that car.

rny421

Just took an extended weekend vacation, and had a 2018 GMC Terrain FWD as a rental. I actually really liked it.

The 1.5L had an adequate amount of power. Granted, there were five of us, so there was more weight in it than would typically be in the car. It actually felt fast from 1500 RPM to 2500 RPM, but then would run out of steam. Gas mileage was decent, 26.5 mpg on a 70/30 highway/city split. My highway driving is on the quicker side, and I'm not afraid to punch it, so most people would probably get better gas mileage than me. The engine auto-stop didn't seem consistent, but maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention.

The seats were comfortable, but narrow. The cloth seats were pretty hard, but I didn't find them uncomfortable. The ride was very quiet for its class - something that's important to me in a vehicle.

Overall, very nice ride. I'd definitely look into it if I was in the small/midsize SUV market.

corvette

jpp5862 said:

tjc78 said:

Michaell said:

Posted to our local "Next Door" application this morning:

1995 Toyota Camry Coupe, 5-speed manual, white with grey cloth interior. 205,000 miles. One owner; meticulous records. Non-smoker, no hail damage or mechanical issues. Asking $1900.

I like that generation Camry.

Their best design by far. My parents owned one, I loved that car.

Yeah, in terms of materials quality and durability, in some circles it was considered on par with the (twice as expensive) Lexus LS400.

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe they juiced the turbo---that could be scary.

corvette

Playing with the online configurator for the Ford F-150... it is possible to option a midlevel F-150 Lariat to within spitting distance of a comparably equipped F-150 Limited (the top trim level). If pondering leasing a $60k truck, I suspect at that point it's probably better to just wait for GM to offer another subsidized lease on a Sierra Denali with the optional 6.2 liter engine.

stickguy

poking around looking at car listings (what else is there to do to pass the time, right?). Saw this. Seemed to be too cheap. Until I got to the part about an accident requiring a new hood and a replacement airbag. Though if done right, might not matter. As long as you never want to sell it! Heck of a discount though off a 42K MSRP car that is only 8 months old (only made it 3 weeks before the accident).

http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2018-Volvo-S60/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/10498356/Details.aspx

I like this one too. A lot cheaper of course, but more miles. Seems fair though.

http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2014-Volvo-S60/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/10996179/Details.aspx

and this, is nice. Like the color. Prefer non-black interior of course. And no sports seats. But for what it is, the price seems strong.

http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2015-BMW-X1/Used-SUV/Parlin-NJ/10850859/Details.aspx

stickguy

I do like these. Even the color. Nice low miles, so will last a long time. Sadly, looks like a base model. I could live with one of these but has to have the Navi package, with the bigger AV screen, and BU camera.

http://www.eimports4less.com/detail-2007-lexus-es_350-4dr_sedan-used-17775789.html

can always grab myself a Studebaker! Though i thought that technically they didn't carry that name at this point.

http://www.eimports4less.com/used-studebaker/

henryn

Tomorrow is my Friday off, and I'm going down to the Ford dealer for a test drive on that new Mustang GT Premium, 6 speed manual. I know I fit in the new Mustangs (test drove one a couple of years ago), but I'm not too sure about a clutch. Only one way to find out.

I figure if I'm ever going to own another manual transmission, purely fun car, now is the time. I am 67 years old, not getting any younger.

stickguy

I am a bit younger than you, but still not finding really low slung cars to be as much fun as they used to be. The clutch, well, I am fine with that!

nyccarguy

Looks like Ford is pushing the F-150 XL. Obviously the seasoned Edmunds negotiator can do better, but they are advertising 24 month/10,500 mile per year leases on:

2018 F150 XL SuperCrew 4X4 STX w/ Sport Package & 2.7L EcoBoost V6

$189/month for 24 months with $3,529 due at signing after the following rebates:  

$1000 Customer Cash
$1500 Bonus Cash
$1000 XL SuperCrew Bonus Cash
$300 2.7L EcoBoost cash
$750 RCL renewal cash

henryn

So, $3,529 divide by 24 is $147. $147 plus $189 is $336 per month (effective) for 24 months. On a fairly low mileage lease -- I think the norm is more like 12k miles per year, isn't it? And isn't the barometer for a good lease deal supposed to be 1% of sale price per month? An XL Supercrew can definitely be purchased for less than $33,600. Heck, right around $32, 500 will get you an XLT Supercrew with the 301a package.

But that wouldn't include the 4x4, so ...

qbrozen

henryn said:

So, $3,529 divide by 24 is $147. $147 plus $189 is $336 per month (effective) for 24 months. On a fairly low mileage lease -- I think the norm is more like 12k miles per year, isn't it? And isn't the barometer for a good lease deal supposed to be 1% of sale price per month? An XL Supercrew can definitely be purchased for less than $33,600. Heck, right around $32, 500 will get you an XLT Supercrew with the 301a package. But that wouldn't include the 4x4, so ...

1% of MSRP

qbrozen

stickguy said:

poking around looking at car listings (what else is there to do to pass the time, right?). Saw this. Seemed to be too cheap. Until I got to the part about an accident requiring a new hood and a replacement airbag. Though if done right, might not matter. As long as you never want to sell it! Heck of a discount though off a 42K MSRP car that is only 8 months old (only made it 3 weeks before the accident). http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2018-Volvo-S60/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/10498356/Details.aspx I like this one too. A lot cheaper of course, but more miles. Seems fair though. http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2014-Volvo-S60/Used-Car/Parlin-NJ/10996179/Details.aspx and this, is nice. Like the color. Prefer non-black interior of course. And no sports seats. But for what it is, the price seems strong. http://www.torchlightmotors.com/2015-BMW-X1/Used-SUV/Parlin-NJ/10850859/Details.aspx

Lots of miles on that white s60. The black one is not a bad price IF the carfax shows it as a minor accident and not a branded title AND the repair is top notch. A clean one would run you about $32k-$33k.

nyccarguy

henryn said:

So, $3,529 divide by 24 is $147. $147 plus $189 is $336 per month (effective) for 24 months. On a fairly low mileage lease -- I think the norm is more like 12k miles per year, isn't it? And isn't the barometer for a good lease deal supposed to be 1% of sale price per month? An XL Supercrew can definitely be purchased for less than $33,600. Heck, right around $32, 500 will get you an XLT Supercrew with the 301a package.

But that wouldn't include the 4x4, so ...

I was just looking at it on my phone last night and don't know what the MSRP is. Now you are going to makew me look it up.

graphicguy

I’ve always thought those STude Avantis were really cool. I’ve seen a few of them in the wild over the years....usually at car shows.

Every owner I’ve talked to says theirs is for sale. Apparently, build quality wasn’t the best. And, getting parts, at least for the earlier ones, is quite the chore.

corvette

henryn said:

Tomorrow is my Friday off, and I'm going down to the Ford dealer for a test drive on that new Mustang GT Premium, 6 speed manual. I know I fit in the new Mustangs (test drove one a couple of years ago), but I'm not too sure about a clutch. Only one way to find out. I figure if I'm ever going to own another manual transmission, purely fun car, now is the time. I am 67 years old, not getting any younger.

Pay attention to the placement of the dead pedal. Mine is the previous generation, but I can’t drive it more than a couple hours without my left knee cramping up. 

kyfdx

corvette said:

jpp5862 said:

tjc78 said:

Michaell said:

Posted to our local "Next Door" application this morning:

1995 Toyota Camry Coupe, 5-speed manual, white with grey cloth interior. 205,000 miles. One owner; meticulous records. Non-smoker, no hail damage or mechanical issues. Asking $1900.

I like that generation Camry.

Their best design by far. My parents owned one, I loved that car.

Yeah, in terms of materials quality and durability, in some circles it was considered on par with the (twice as expensive) Lexus LS400.

I like the '88-'91 model. Probably the best transportation bang for the buck. V-6 model had a lot of oomph. You could get it with a stick. Nice, tidy '80s size. Stay away from later ones with motorized mouse seatbelts.