Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

Was any deal on the Prius completely wiped out by the low value of the i3? I thought you leased that thing?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Was any deal on the Prius completely wiped out by the low value of the i3? I thought you leased that thing?

No.  They bought it used a few months ago.

graphicguy

@breld .....I’m not worthy!

Seriously....congrats on the new wheels. And yes, pics required!

benjaminh

breld said:

....I've been chatting with @michaell and @jpp5862 about this - the Clarity does offer more EV range and more interior space, but it certainly comes at a higher cost (even with the increased tax incentive) and somewhat more uncertainty on resale. Maybe Honda has found a good niche in the EV/Hybrid market, but hard to say at this point.

Yeah. At first I was thinking, "wow, the gumint will give us $7.5k to buy a Honda Clarity EV!" But then I realized it costs c. 4k more than comparable Accord Hybrid, and probably depreciates a lot faster. Add to that the strange styling, and my interest quickly cooled. Might consider one if the discount off of msrp was truly amazing—but that too would mean sales are slow and so resale wouldn't be very good.

Sandman6472

Nice color on the CR-V, and I for one like those alloys. Saw a new Clarity at the Honda store in white as it drove in. The arch over the rear wheels is a bit dorky looking and think folks will either like it...or not. I'm on the fence right now to be honest. I'm waiting to see the 2019 Insight to be honest and think it could be my next vehicle. I really like the Civic more and more and the Insight looks just like the Civic but with better mpg's. Will have to wait and see though.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

My chronic pain flared up this weekend pretty badly and basically spent all of Sunday in bed sleeping. Got up Monday about 3 am feeling crappy and set the alarm for 6:50 and would re-evaluate then. Didn't feel any better then so let my lead driver know that I'd not be in and would hopefully be better for Tuesday. Worked out to be a smart move and rested all day Monday so was feeling quite good today.
I did a lot of thinking yesterday and think that I might make December 31st of this year my last day of work. My chronic pain isn't getting any better and most days I struggle to whether up by 5:45 to shower and get ready. I like to give myself time to sit and relax plus with the school zone in our development, one needs to be out by 6:45 before the school zone starts blinking. All in all, I feel so much better sleeping in and not having to go into the office. As much as I want to stop at the end of 2019, not sure that it's the smartest thing for me to do. I turn 64 in November and with the small amount I'll be getting for social security, waiting till I turn 66 doesn't make that much sense. Hell, I could be dead by then and never use it!
Just have to get the wife on board which is the hard part. Will definitely wait until all my recent health bills are paid as insurance only pays like 80% or so, the rest I need to cover. I don't really need to replace the Golf any time soon, so think we'll be o k if I stop a year ahead of my original plan. Anyways, really is time for her to kick in for some of the overhead going forward. I really don't want to die young and not get to see the parts of America that we talk about so often!!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

The other company didn't agree to the $2500.00 for our diminished value claim and came back at $1410.00. That's ridiculous so we've gone back and asked for $2000.00. Now, just have to wait and see if they agree. Still have to pay the attorney 33% of whatever settlement I get but am o k with that. As long as the Golf behaves itself, have no issue keeping it for as long as I like. Looks as good as it did pre-accident and drives like new with no tire wear. The alignment is dead on straight, the best it's ever been I'd say and I still love he car. I have no problems keeping it.
So now, we just wait to hear yes or no but think they'll agree to the $2000.00.

The Sandman

suydam

It all depends on what healthcare is available to you before 65. We retired at 63 and 64, mainly because our employer covered our healthcare until age 65 (worth it to them to hire a younger, cheaper person). Without that we would have had to wait. That said, if you can manage it, you won’t regret it. We are busier now than ever, and we like everything we are doing! We loved our jobs too, fortunately, but I prefer setting the pace myself now.

benjaminh

Well, my wife and our 22-year old son got full use out of the new CR-V today. By chance the same day we bought the car was the day our 19-year old GE stove died. They found a new Frigidaire electric range on sale at Lowe's and decided they were going to pack it into the CR-V. What? I said. I don't think it has that much room? Why don't we hire someone for that? Etc. But despite my nay-saying they did it. It fit into the CR-V in its box (barely) and they brought it home and have now just about finished installing it. New stove looks like this....



Here's proof that a stove will fit in the new generation CR-V:

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld

Congrats!  Is this you blocking the leftover lane of I95 in CT at 6:30 this AM?

Nah - mine’s parked safely in the garage.  

nyccarguy

It is very cool and futuristic looking

breld

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Was any deal on the Prius completely wiped out by the low value of the i3? I thought you leased that thing?

No.  They bought it used a few months ago.

Of course it’s not like we didn’t lose value on the i3 from retail to trade, but at least that’s halted and the Prius should fare very well. 

stickguy

so this was a 2017 new leftover? Or does it have miles? Or did you go with the 2018?

I forgot already!

breld

benjaminh said:

....I've been chatting with @michaell and @jpp5862 about this - the Clarity does offer more EV range and more interior space, but it certainly comes at a higher cost (even with the increased tax incentive) and somewhat more uncertainty on resale. Maybe Honda has found a good niche in the EV/Hybrid market, but hard to say at this point.

Yeah. At first I was thinking, "wow, the gumint will give us $7.5k to buy a Honda Clarity EV!" But then I realized it costs c. 4k more than comparable Accord Hybrid, and probably depreciates a lot faster. Add to that the strange styling, and my interest quickly cooled. Might consider one if the discount off of msrp was truly amazing—but that too would mean sales are slow and so resale wouldn't be very good.

Agreed with everything you said - if they made a plug-in hybrid version of the current Accord (to qualify for the tax incentives), I would have gotten one of those in a heartbeat.  

Of course the Clarity is basically that, but the styling is still out for verdict, as is the overall appeal and resulting resale.  

I decided the Prius is bold enough to look weird and quirky through and through, but the Clarity is a bit of a mixed bag - some traditional styling elements mixed with some quirky elements (most notably the the rear fender skirt).  

breld

stickguy said:

so this was a 2017 new leftover? Or does it have miles? Or did you go with the 2018? I forgot already!

Leftover 2017 with some very minor hail damage - I actually couldn’t find a single dimple at the dealership after checking it out thoroughly.  But I did find about 4-5 minor ones under my LEDs at home.

It was about $1k cheaper than other leftover 2017s and was my color of choice, so was worth it to me.  Probably not even worth fixing the few dimples, but the savings will more than cover it if I choose to do so. 

breld

The large screen is sort of cool - obviously an attempt to mimic Tesla.  

corvette

Nice! Also, you're down to only eight punches in the trailing 12 month period.

breld

I’m trailing off!

stickguy

not sure if the price is good or bad, but this is a nice looking luxo barge for a budget price, with nice low miles. Should have a ton of life left in it. Not my cup of tea though.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2009-hyundai-azera-limited-used-17801065.html

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Nice! Also, you're down to only eight punches in the trailing 12 month period.

What's our count/list for the year?

benjaminh

My wife's new CR-V has given me car envy.

I confess I was doubtful about Honda Sensing. I still am, but less so after trying it out in the CR-V. The adaptive cruise control, which is part of it, seems to work surprisingly well. The lane keeping assist, I'm ashamed to say, also seems useful. Once-in-a-while in my car (which doesn't have it) I'm tuning the radio or something else and might get distracted for a fraction of a second. Then you correct, of course, if you start to drift. But LKAS prevents that drift from even starting to happen in the first place, and yet it's mild enough that you can easily overpower it if you need to. Plus if you try to let it steer for you in a few seconds it refuses by beeping at you and flashing a warning sign saying you need to steer your darn car. Haven't yet experienced emergency collision mitigation braking, and I hope not to, but probably that's useful sometimes as well.

Next is the turbo power on my wife's car. From reading reviews about turbo lag and excessive noise that's what I figured it's be like. Somehow I'd never before we got the CR-V driven a turbo car in my life. But now I think I'm a convert. It's like those old ads for Oldsmobile Rocket power—it adds a surge of useful power and fun when needed. I also wondered if a car as big as the CR-V (and it does seem big to me) would be overmatched by a 1.5 turbo. But it seems to work. From my pov almost no turbo lag and engine noise seems almost pleasing and not excessive.

In a lot of ways it's a bit better than my 2016 Accord—including surprisingly when it comes to the doors. The doors on my Accord have a good feel and sound to them. But the CR-V really does feel and sound like that old cliché of the bank vault door. It's the next level.

The stereo in my wife's car is also better. On paper the sounds systems are seemingly almost identical, which makes sense since they are both EX models—sound systems for people on a budget. They both have 6 speakers and 180 watts, which sounds ok, but in my car the sound is just barely adequate, and sometimes not even that, becoming tinny and painful. The CR-V in contrast sounds pretty good. They make more money on the CR-V, and so maybe they spent another few dollars on the speakers, plus engineered it a bit better? Seemingly so....

ab348

nyccarguy said:

It is very cool and futuristic looking

I suppose that is one way to describe it.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Nice! Also, you're down to only eight punches in the trailing 12 month period.

What's our count/list for the year?

Only 14 for the year. I don’t think it will copy and paste correctly on my phone. I’ll try to post a list at the half year mark on June 30. 

nyccarguy

benjaminh said:

My wife's new CR-V has given me car envy.

I confess I was doubtful about Honda Sensing. I still am, but less so after trying it out in the CR-V. The adaptive cruise control, which is part of it, seems to work surprisingly well. The lane keeping assist, I'm ashamed to say, also seems useful. Once-in-a-while in my car (which doesn't have it) I'm tuning the radio or something else and might get distracted for a fraction of a second. Then you correct, of course, if you start to drift. But LKAS prevents that drift from even starting to happen in the first place, and yet it's mild enough that you can easily overpower it if you need to. Plus if you try to let it steer for you in a few seconds it refuses by beeping at you and flashing a warning sign saying you need to steer your darn car. Haven't yet experienced emergency collision mitigation braking, and I hope not to, but probably that's useful sometimes as well.

Next is the turbo power on my wife's car. From reading reviews about turbo lag and excessive noise that's what I figured it's be like. Somehow I'd never before we got the CR-V driven a turbo car in my life. But now I think I'm a convert. It's like those old ads for Oldsmobile Rocket power—it adds a surge of useful power and fun when needed. I also wondered if a car as big as the CR-V (and it does seem big to me) would be overmatched by a 1.5 turbo. But it seems to work. From my pov almost no turbo lag and engine noise seems almost pleasing and not excessive.

In a lot of ways it's a bit better than my 2016 Accord—including surprisingly when it comes to the doors. The doors on my Accord have a good feel and sound to them. But the CR-V really does feel and sound like that old cliché of the bank vault door. It's the next level.

The stereo in my wife's car is also better. On paper the sounds systems are seemingly almost identical, which makes sense since they are both EX models—sound systems for people on a budget. They both have 6 speakers and 180 watts, which sounds ok, but in my car the sound is just barely adequate, and sometimes not even that, becoming tinny and painful. The CR-V in contrast sounds pretty good. They make more money on the CR-V, and so maybe they spent another few dollars on the speakers, plus engineered it a bit better? Seemingly so....

I completely agree with you that a turbo charged engine & adaptive cruise control are game changers. My Wife's Pilot Touring has the Honda Sensing. The Adaptive Cruise is WELL worth the price of admission.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

benjaminh said:

My wife's new CR-V has given me car envy.

I confess I was doubtful about Honda Sensing. I still am, but less so after trying it out in the CR-V. The adaptive cruise control, which is part of it, seems to work surprisingly well. The lane keeping assist, I'm ashamed to say, also seems useful. Once-in-a-while in my car (which doesn't have it) I'm tuning the radio or something else and might get distracted for a fraction of a second. Then you correct, of course, if you start to drift. But LKAS prevents that drift from even starting to happen in the first place, and yet it's mild enough that you can easily overpower it if you need to. Plus if you try to let it steer for you in a few seconds it refuses by beeping at you and flashing a warning sign saying you need to steer your darn car. Haven't yet experienced emergency collision mitigation braking, and I hope not to, but probably that's useful sometimes as well.

Next is the turbo power on my wife's car. From reading reviews about turbo lag and excessive noise that's what I figured it's be like. Somehow I'd never before we got the CR-V driven a turbo car in my life. But now I think I'm a convert. It's like those old ads for Oldsmobile Rocket power—it adds a surge of useful power and fun when needed. I also wondered if a car as big as the CR-V (and it does seem big to me) would be overmatched by a 1.5 turbo. But it seems to work. From my pov almost no turbo lag and engine noise seems almost pleasing and not excessive.

In a lot of ways it's a bit better than my 2016 Accord—including surprisingly when it comes to the doors. The doors on my Accord have a good feel and sound to them. But the CR-V really does feel and sound like that old cliché of the bank vault door. It's the next level.

The stereo in my wife's car is also better. On paper the sounds systems are seemingly almost identical, which makes sense since they are both EX models—sound systems for people on a budget. They both have 6 speakers and 180 watts, which sounds ok, but in my car the sound is just barely adequate, and sometimes not even that, becoming tinny and painful. The CR-V in contrast sounds pretty good. They make more money on the CR-V, and so maybe they spent another few dollars on the speakers, plus engineered it a bit better? Seemingly so....

I completely agree with you that a turbo charged engine & adaptive cruise control are game changers. My Wife's Pilot Touring has the Honda Sensing. The Adaptive Cruise is WELL worth the price of admission.

I concur! Have the Honda Sensing on my TLX. While at first, I didn't care for it. Now, that I've lived with it for over a year, it's as good as any quasi "self driving" vehicle I've ever experienced (albeit, only for about 30 seconds before the "nannies" urge you to grab the wheel).

Safety tech is good, too. Even better, you can turn all of it off when you want to get frisky with your steed.

28firefighter

The X1 went in for service yesterday because the service reminder was going off. At 17,000 miles (we got it in January 2017 with 5700 miles on it), it needed front brakes already. We live in a high traffic area, but I am not impressed.

The inspection report, to make matters a bit worse, shows that the run-flats are down to 4mm in the front and 5mm in the rear. Means I will likely need to replace the tires before rainy season starts next year. Here I thought I was going to make it until the end of the lease.

We have 18 months left on the lease (goes back January 2020).

pensfan83

Looks good @breld, congrats!

stickguy

28, tires is bad but brakes seems totally unacceptable. Do they still at least cover the brakes?

stickguy

Also, I am also fully on the small turbo bandwagon. The Jetta, and even more so the Elantra, drive great. Plenty of power, no lag (at least on Hyundai), and still excellent MPG. Win win really.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

28, tires is bad but brakes seems totally unacceptable. Do they still at least cover the brakes?

Yes - 100% covered. MY 2016 was the last year they covered brakes as part of the standard maintenance package. I'm not putting up a huge fight because it is not coming out of my pocket, but their reasoning is that we live in a high traffic area. I don't buy it.

stickguy

Free is good. One of my pet peeves is having to put tires on a lease. Just eats at my cheap, puritant soul.

Thankfully, both my leases made it until the end with enough tread. Sonata was only at 20k miles, but the Jetta will be close to 30k when it goes back next Monday. The OEM contis did great. Loved those tires.

au1994

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

28, tires is bad but brakes seems totally unacceptable. Do they still at least cover the brakes?

Yes - 100% covered. MY 2016 was the last year they covered brakes as part of the standard maintenance package. I'm not putting up a huge fight because it is not coming out of my pocket, but their reasoning is that we live in a high traffic area. I don't buy it.

Well, that’s concerning. I live in a high traffic are as well and am racking up the miles to the tune of 60 per day just to get to work. My tires seem to be wearing ok though and I’m at about the same amount of miles you have. Mine is a 17 so the brakes will be on me when they need to be done. Or I could just trade it!

Still fairly impressed with the X1 but I am getting a little tired of some rattles and the overall noise level of the vehicle especially at this price point.

Power is good, handling is good for a CUV and mileage is great even in all the stop and go that I do. Still think it’s attractive for what it is as well.

I really miss having a convertible though.

henryn

I am of two minds about the brakes. I have never owned a car where "normal wear" parts were covered by the manufacturer (brakes, clutch, tires, windshield wipers, etc). I have had windshield wipers replaced on a new car, and I had the front tires replaced on a Chevy van once. They sold me a brand new van with the front end so far out of alignment the front tires were gone at 5k miles.

But if they are going to cover the brakes under a "maintenance package", then they should cover the brakes, period.

28firefighter

au1994 said:

Well, that’s concerning. I live in a high traffic are as well and am racking up the miles to the tune of 60 per day just to get to work. My tires seem to be wearing ok though and I’m at about the same amount of miles you have. Mine is a 17 so the brakes will be on me when they need to be done. Or I could just trade it!

Still fairly impressed with the X1 but I am getting a little tired of some rattles and the overall noise level of the vehicle especially at this price point.

Power is good, handling is good for a CUV and mileage is great even in all the stop and go that I do. Still think it’s attractive for what it is as well.

I really miss having a convertible though.

I generally agree with your sentiments. I like the way it drives, it gets good gas mileage, and fits our needs nicely. Luckily the rattles haven't been too bad, but the road noise is atrocious and I attribute that largely to the Pirelli RFTs.

henryn

stickguy said:

Also, I am also fully on the small turbo bandwagon. The Jetta, and even more so the Elantra, drive great. Plenty of power, no lag (at least on Hyundai), and still excellent MPG. Win win really.

Agree, 100%. I am a big fan of small turbo charged engines, and have been for a number of years. I know a lot of people are worried about longevity, particularly in full size trucks, but I'm not planning to keep one for 200,000 miles so not a problem for me.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Was any deal on the Prius completely wiped out by the low value of the i3? I thought you leased that thing?

Didn't you mark this on the Breld scorecards we passed out?

tjc78

28firefighter said:

The X1 went in for service yesterday because the service reminder was going off. At 17,000 miles (we got it in January 2017 with 5700 miles on it), it needed front brakes already. We live in a high traffic area, but I am not impressed. The inspection report, to make matters a bit worse, shows that the run-flats are down to 4mm in the front and 5mm in the rear. Means I will likely need to replace the tires before rainy season starts next year. Here I thought I was going to make it until the end of the lease. We have 18 months left on the lease (goes back January 2020).

I would ask to see the pads... my 2006 Avalon “needed” pads at 20k miles according to the dealer.   Turned that sucker in with 34k on those same pads.   FWIW I drive pretty hard in a high traffic area too.  

Edit... didn’t see response. Since it is free, no harm done! 

28firefighter

@tjc78 If it were an owned BMW and if it weren't free, I would have pushed. I know the brake wear sensors are definitely conservative, but if I don't take it in when it says, I could have an issue at the time of lease return.

pensfan83

stickguy said:

Free is good. One of my pet peeves is having to put tires on a lease. Just eats at my cheap, puritant soul.

Thankfully, both my leases made it until the end with enough tread. Sonata was only at 20k miles, but the Jetta will be close to 30k when it goes back next Monday. The OEM contis did great. Loved those tires.

Likewise. I replaced the tires on the A4 with brand new tires but only because I still had 6+ months on the lease and could at least get some usage out of them. If I was forced to replace them merely to pass its end of lease inspection I'd definitely replace the tires with used ones that had just enough tread to pass.

Sandman6472

Lawyers office just called, the $2000 was accepted for the diminished value claim! After the $666 to the lawyer and the CarFax fee, I'll get a check for $1293 and change. Am o k with this as I never thought I'd see a dime in D V to be honest. Sure, would've preferred the whole $2500 but better to not be greedy on certain things! Now, if we can also get my $400 deductible back down the road, I'll feel much better about it all. Still am very pissed off that it happened in the first place, and think it should've been totaled, but will take what I can get here and move on.
The only major issue is closing the front passenger door, and I need to take it in to be checked out. If I don't slam it hard enough, I get a certain error message to appear on the dash with a certain icon. Slam it a bit harder, and it all goes away and works normally. A bit annoying but have lived with it since I got it back. I got sick before I could take it back in to the collision center but will do it on my next day off. It's guaranteed for as long as I own it, the repair work, so not worried. And to be honest, after all my bills are paid off and I find something I really like, I'll probably trade it in anyways. Time will tell.
The turbo isn't really an issue and if I know I need to get up to speed quickly, I just pit the tranny into "S" mode and zoom, off I go with seamless power up the power band. I've been changing the synthetic at around 7500 miles now, so no issues there. Tire Plus has a $49 special for full synthetic that I get which works for me. I just don't feel comfortable at going to 10K miles between swapping the oil/filter and cheap insurance to go down to 7.5K intervals.

The Sandman

xwesx

benjaminh said:

Here's proof that a stove will fit in the new generation CR-V:

That, sir, is impressive!!!

xwesx

benjaminh said:

My wife's new CR-V has given me car envy.

Start the countdown, gentlemen!

mlevine

I have always had to replace tires at least once on leases. I do not try to see if it makes it as I hate to place new tires on upon lease return. I take into consideration when negotiating a new leas that I will need a tires.

kyfdx

Guess I've been lucky. I've never replaced tires on a lease. (though, bought winter tires for RWD leases, so that mitigated the mileage on the original tires)

28firefighter

We've never had a lease blow through tires like this, especially given that we're on track to have only put a total of 27-28k miles on the car, including the mileage that was on it when we leased it.

Hindsight being 20/20, given that I hate the RFTs anyway, I should have taken them off and stored them and put on some non RFTs that I actually liked.

tjc78

Out of all my leases, I've only had to replace tires (because of wear) on my 2006 Avalon. Bridgestone Turanza EL400... wouldn't have made 27K miles. I replaced right around 22K just to get rid of them. I still see that tire on some new Toyota/Lexus vehicles. Junk.

stickguy

If you get lousy OEM tires, better to buy good ones at the beginning, and save the crappy ones to put back on at the end. If you know you likely have to anyway get them. At least you get advantage of driving on the good ones.

henryn

machaikford.com/new/Ford/2018-Ford-Mustang-houston-tx-bf173aca0a0e0adf6270a662caaeebc3.htm?searchDepth=2:30

I went down on my lunch break and drove this. 2018 Ford Mustang Ecoboost, 10 speed automatic. A heck of a lot of car for $22.7.

I'm probably not going to do it, but ... Tempting.

mlevine

Where I live the roads and heat seem to eat tires. If am very good with proper inflation and rotation.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

We've never had a lease blow through tires like this, especially given that we're on track to have only put a total of 27-28k miles on the car, including the mileage that was on it when we leased it.

Hindsight being 20/20, given that I hate the RFTs anyway, I should have taken them off and stored them and put on some non RFTs that I actually liked.

Not all run flats are created equal. The OEM Continental RFTs that came on my 2011 BMW 328xi were OK. Then one day I got a "flat" on the way home from work. There was a big hole in the side of the tire. I could hear the air WHOOSHING out. I drove home and saw a set of 4 Michelin Pilot MXM ZP (Zero Pressure) got better ratings and were not too much more money than 2 new OEM RFT would have been. Turns out those Michelins did EVERYTHING better than their OEM counterparts.