Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

Carvana pick-up scheduled for Thursday afternoon. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

Sandman6472

A/C went out again yesterday, there has to be a freon leak as it was refilled on 6/19. The a/c folks are coming in the morning so we'll see what happens. Not going into work since someone needs to be home and it falls on me. Luckily my work is flexible. Over at a nearby hotel now as sleeping was almost null last night, need a good night's sleep tonight to handle tomorrow.
Between my accident, illness and our a/c issues, I'm at my limit honestly. Not sure I can take much more honestly!!!

The Sandman

nyccarguy

corvette said:

When I was in Albuquerque, I reserved a luxury vehicle, and they let me pick anything on the lot, including a Volvo convertible or Lincoln MKX. I ended up taking the Escalade and thought it was a ridiculous vehicle. Of course, I ended up owning and loving a Yukon Denali and a Tahoe afterwards, so, you never know!

You should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque

xwesx

sandman_6472 said:

A/C went out again yesterday, there has to be a freon leak as it was refilled on 6/19. The a/c folks are coming in the morning so we'll see what happens. Not going into work since someone needs to be home and it falls on me. Luckily my work is flexible. Over at a nearby hotel now as sleeping was almost null last night, need a good night's sleep tonight to handle tomorrow.
Between my accident, illness and our a/c issues, I'm at my limit honestly. Not sure I can take much more honestly!!!

The Sandman

Hang in there, Sandy. You know they say that things tend to happen in threes! Maybe the next turn will be a trio of GOOD events!

28firefighter

While working on my Dad’s deal, a friend in seattle needed a car and liked a Stelvio Sport AWD. Put this together pretty quickly - seems the low option cars move easily for cheap:

MSRP: $46,240
Sale Price (Before lease cash):$36,875
Lease Cash: $3250

Term: 24
Mileage: 12k
MF: .000245
Residual: 59%

DAS: $1540 ($336 first month + $700 registration/RTA tax+ $150 doc fee + $354 tax on rebate and fees)

Monthly: $336 incl 10.4% tax 

Would have been much better at 10k miles and if he didn’t live in King County where registration is criminally expensive right now. 

Picks it up Thursday

kyfdx

Nice job!

xwesx

Oh, I forgot to mention that I dropped my wife's Forester off at the body shop yesterday to get those passenger-side windows replaced (and doors, and paint, and mirror.....). That stinkin' canoe did about $6,500 worth of damage!

28firefighter

xwesx said:

Oh, I forgot to mention that I dropped my wife's Forester off at the body shop yesterday to get those passenger-side windows replaced (and doors, and paint, and mirror.....). That stinkin' canoe did about $6,500 worth of damage!

Holy crapoly!

xwesx

Did I post the original incident here, or just over in Road Trips? Well, if anyone is interested and has no clue what I'm on about, just visit that thread (June 06) for the details...

suydam

Missed that one.

xwesx

suydam said:

Missed that one.

Here's the link to the post(s):

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5512426/#Comment_5512426

xwesx

And, another funny (frustrating?) bit about the Forester. While we were on our trip, that car drank FIVE quarts of oil (we only drove ~5,600 miles total), and it was ready for another when we arrived home. I always take a gallon of oil with me, but it drank the last of that before we re-entered Canada on the way home!

Someone mentioned that there was a TSB out for an oil consumption issue on the new "FB" block's 2.5L engines. I did some research, and sure enough there it was in black and white. Apparently a big class action suit, settlement, extended warranties, etc. etc.

I took it in to the local dealership to have them verify the issue. They changed the oil (charged me for that) and "set it" for a 1,200 mile test of consumption. We finished off those miles in about three weeks, after which I took it in and showed them that it had, indeed, consumed a little over another quart. The engine fails the test at >1/3 quart over that distance!

The fix? They replace the engine (short block). Man, what a trip indeed.... The car goes to the shop for that work as soon as we get it back from the body shop.

suydam

xwesx said:

suydam said:

Missed that one.

Here's the link to the post(s):

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5512426/#Comment_5512426

xwesx said:

suydam said:

Missed that one.

Here's the link to the post(s):

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5512426/#Comment_5512426

Wow. That was a close one. Glad everyone is ok. Once I was just driving along a country road, as I’d done a thousand time before, when a stone got thrown out by a man mowing his yard. Completely shattered the passenger window. I mean SHATTERED. A pile of tiny bits of glass all over the front passenger seat. And even some on the dog in the back seat. Fortunately i did not have a (human) passenger! But what a weird event — that had to happen at precisely the moment I was driving by.

stickguy

wes, look at the bright side. Between the canoe and the TSB, you are basically getting a brand new Forester out of the deal!

Michaell

stickguy said:

wes, look at the bright side. Between the canoe and the TSB, you are basically getting a brand new Forester out of the deal!

Except for the deductible....

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

While working on my Dad’s deal, a friend in seattle needed a car and liked a Stelvio Sport AWD. Put this together pretty quickly - seems the low option cars move easily for cheap:

MSRP: $46,240
Sale Price (Before lease cash):$36,875
Lease Cash: $3250

Term: 24
Mileage: 12k
MF: .000245
Residual: 59%

DAS: $1540 ($336 first month + $700 registration/RTA tax+ $150 doc fee + $354 tax on rebate and fees)

Monthly: $336 incl 10.4% tax 

Would have been much better at 10k miles and if he didn’t live in King County where registration is criminally expensive right now. 

Picks it up Thursday

Wow! So just about $400 effective monthly for 24 mos on $46k msrp. Fantastic job. 

qbrozen

I keep staring at this. Also $46k msrp.

stickguy

You people are killing me.

pensfan83

Wonder if there's any deals on Scat Pack.....

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

I keep staring at this. Also $46k msrp.

Ooo....oooo....ooooo....I really like Challengers. Not enough to pull out the checkbook, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. And, I agree with @pensfan83 ....get the Scat PAck!

corvette

Carvana is supposed to come to my office tomorrow to collect the Mustang. 

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

I keep staring at this. Also $46k msrp.

So the question is @Michaell & @kyfdx:  which challenger Model & trim has the best lease deal right now In your humble opinions.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

I keep staring at this. Also $46k msrp.

So the question is @Michaell & @kyfdx:  which challenger Model & trim has the best lease deal right now In your humble opinions.

That's a good question.

But, without transaction prices, it's hard to know.. There are at least 11 different trims with different programs.

R/T Plus
R/T Plus Shaker
T/A
T/A Plus

All have low MF, reasonable residuals, high incentives.

qbrozen

Scat Pack, with nearly same MSRP, is $177 more per month. I don't know why exactly, but the T/A Plus is the cheapest V8 Challenger (for me, on Honcker) by a wide margin.

Honestly, I'm digging that green, too. And, with the T/A, I believe that gives it a flat black hood, wheels, and spoiler. Also, as a T/A Plus, it has alacantara seats, navigation, etc. Really wish I could jump on it right now.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Scat Pack, with nearly same MSRP, is $177 more per month. I don't know why exactly, but the T/A Plus is the cheapest V8 Challenger (for me, on Honcker) by a wide margin. Honestly, I'm digging that green, too. And, with the T/A, I believe that gives it a flat black hood, wheels, and spoiler. Also, as a T/A Plus, it has alacantara seats, navigation, etc. Really wish I could jump on it right now.

Does that get you the shaker hood?  In all seriousness, the deals on these things should be around when the lease is up on your truck, unless there have been so many interest rate hikes that they jack up the money factor...

The numbers do make it very tempting.  Is that Honcker app legit?

@corvette - fingers crossed on dumping the Mustang!

qbrozen

i've read a few positive reports on Honcker. I'd like to try it myself one day and find out first hand. From what I have seen so far, it seems to cater more positively to FCA vehicles. Not so great on German makes. Hit and miss on the asian brands.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

I keep staring at this. Also $46k msrp.

I like it, I like it---but I will never EVER wear anything resembling Army green again, I assure you.

Mr_Shiftright

The New Veloster N

Seems like they are gunning for the Civic Type R and the Golf R, and, of course, cutting the price.

qbrozen

Using kyfdx's numbers from the lease discussion, looks like that T/A is a decent deal. A little more than 10% off plus $3k lease incentive and $1k conquest. So roughly $46.5k with net cap of about $37.5k. About 0.58% interest and 65% residual.

28firefighter

Exactly right Q. I have a hard time counting the $700 registration fee in my deal quality because that’s year over year reality here, but fair is fair. 

Now, dealing with the east coast dealers on a Ti Sport has been a whole other round of terrible.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Scat Pack, with nearly same MSRP, is $177 more per month. I don't know why exactly, but the T/A Plus is the cheapest V8 Challenger (for me, on Honcker) by a wide margin. Honestly, I'm digging that green, too. And, with the T/A, I believe that gives it a flat black hood, wheels, and spoiler. Also, as a T/A Plus, it has alacantara seats, navigation, etc. Really wish I could jump on it right now.

Does that get you the shaker hood?  In all seriousness, the deals on these things should be around when the lease is up on your truck, unless there have been so many interest rate hikes that they jack up the money factor...

The numbers do make it very tempting.  Is that Honcker app legit?

@corvette - fingers crossed on dumping the Mustang!

not a shaker hood

Sandman6472

A/C guy just got here and filling unit with freon. Said he'll find the issue and if it's a bad part, will order it. Also going to get an estimate for a new system as it's 14 years old come October. Spoke to an a/c person yesterday and they also agreed that it's probably time for a replacement. Tired of this happening monthly here in the summer. Also, a newer unit should be more economical to run. Remember our bill going down with the last change out in 2004. Think it's time!!

The Sandman

pensfan83

Speaking of deals someone on leasehackr nabbed a loaner 430i w/M-Sport, blind spot, park distance CarPlay, and other assorted options for $371/month incl. tax for a 24/10 lease. Almost 30% off sticker.

au1994

pensfan83 said:

Speaking of deals someone on leasehackr nabbed a loaner 430i w/M-Sport, blind spot, park distance CarPlay, and other assorted options for $371/month incl. tax for a 24/10 lease. Almost 30% off sticker.

Wow! That’s incredible

Michaell

au1994 said:

pensfan83 said:

Speaking of deals someone on leasehackr nabbed a loaner 430i w/M-Sport, blind spot, park distance CarPlay, and other assorted options for $371/month incl. tax for a 24/10 lease. Almost 30% off sticker.

Wow! That’s incredible

How much out of pocket to start?

pensfan83

Looks like a true sign and drive.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

Scat Pack, with nearly same MSRP, is $177 more per month. I don't know why exactly, but the T/A Plus is the cheapest V8 Challenger (for me, on Honcker) by a wide margin.

Honestly, I'm digging that green, too. And, with the T/A, I believe that gives it a flat black hood, wheels, and spoiler. Also, as a T/A Plus, it has alacantara seats, navigation, etc. Really wish I could jump on it right now.

My wife might kill me, but I'm tempted as well...

Sandman6472

A/C is in death mode!! Found leaks in the outside coils which are not fixable. This time it took more than 3 times the freon it needed last month. But bottom line is were getting a new unit as of tomorrow. Tech can't guarantee how long we'll have cold air this time and in South Florida in July, it's frickin' hot!!! Start tomorrow about 8:30 and should take about 4 to 5 hours to complete. We changed all the piping and other things inside back in 2004 when we upgraded to a 3.5 ton unit so since we're keeping the same size unit again, the tedious work is already done it seems. I just want the house cool and comfortable again, around 76 degrees where we usually keep it.

The Sandman


(P.S. Since bad things seem to come in three's, this should be it for the year. First was my car accident, second my emergency surgery and now this. Enough already!!!)

xwesx

suydam said:

Wow. That was a close one. Glad everyone is ok. Once I was just driving along a country road, as I’d done a thousand time before, when a stone got thrown out by a man mowing his yard. Completely shattered the passenger window. I mean SHATTERED. A pile of tiny bits of glass all over the front passenger seat. And even some on the dog in the back seat. Fortunately i did not have a (human) passenger! But what a weird event — that had to happen at precisely the moment I was driving by.

Yeah, the rock from a mower scenario is just freakish in terms of timing! A retired employee stopped by here last Friday out of the blue. We normally don't see her but once every few months, and she was just here a couple weeks ago, so we were all surprised. Well, turns out that the same type of deal happened to her just about a mile away from here. It took out the middle passenger side window of her minivan! That's a LOT of glass!

Most of the window was still there, but it was slowly crumbling. I took about a half-hour and, along with another employee, we carefully taped up the window to preserve what was left of it until she could get it to a glass shop. Serious mess, that!

xwesx

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

wes, look at the bright side. Between the canoe and the TSB, you are basically getting a brand new Forester out of the deal!

Except for the deductible....

No deductibles this time around. My only expense (or should be only expense) was the Lowe's visit (about $200 in tools and materials) and the oil change at the dealership last month (about $75).

xwesx

corvette said:

Carvana is supposed to come to my office tomorrow to collect the Mustang. 

Not like you're counting down or anything.....

xwesx

sandman_6472 said:

A/C is in death mode!! Found leaks in the outside coils which are not fixable. This time it took more than 3 times the freon it needed last month. But bottom line is were getting a new unit as of tomorrow. Tech can't guarantee how long we'll have cold air this time and in South Florida in July, it's frickin' hot!!! Start tomorrow about 8:30 and should take about 4 to 5 hours to complete. We changed all the piping and other things inside back in 2004 when we upgraded to a 3.5 ton unit so since we're keeping the same size unit again, the tedious work is already done it seems. I just want the house cool and comfortable again, around 76 degrees where we usually keep it.

The Sandman


(P.S. Since bad things seem to come in three's, this should be it for the year. First was my car accident, second my emergency surgery and now this. Enough already!!!)

Yikes; good luck with it, Sandy! At least, a month from now, you shouldn't need to wonder when the cooling will stop. Peace of mind counts for at least something!

corvette

Honcker now works for me in Louisville. They appear to only have Nissans, and I’m not finding any great deals. 

benjaminh

corvette said:

Honcker now works for me in Louisville. They appear to only have Nissans, and I’m not finding any great deals. 

What kind of deal on what kind of car are you looking for?

corvette

Just browsing. Check out the “deals of the day.” 

Sandman6472

Yes, once it's installed...we're done! And this will be the last major thing to get done here hopefully until we sell! Unless the water heater decides to act up again but that's what the house service contract is for. Hoping with the new a/c that the bill for 2019 will go down a bit since that's the major appliance to need repair since we use it 3/4 of the year if not more. If we have a warm winter, then we use the a/c as it still gets warm/hot until a cool front comes through.
As I tell my kids, life is very strange and things can happen at the worst possible time. You decide how to handle things, make lemonade or lemons? I choose the lemonade so not going to stress this and exactly what I told the wife, let me handle it. And I've done that already. When I was making the arrangements, I asked the guy to be honest, which unit/brand would you put in your own house? Hopefully he was being honest with me here!

The Sandman

nyccarguy

Old saying in Yiddish:  Man Plans, God Laughs

suydam

Sandy, good move on replacing the unit. You’ll really notice a difference on your bills. We are fortunate that we don’t need AC where we live. We have “G-d’s AKA the Pacific Ocean breezes which really cool temps down in the evening.
You asked a couple of questions earlier about the Encore. I don’t think it will be the right vehicle for you. Yes, it does have a bit of turbo lag, and it’s not the most powerful engine, both of which are important to you. I like the Encore because it’s the Swiss Army knife of vehicles — does an awful lot of things competently in a very small space, and in a quiet and very comfortable cabin. It’s a second vehicle for us. For effortless power I have the Volt. The Encore is comfortable enough that we’ve driven it on long drives up and down the coast, and it made the trip across country when we moved quite well. But it’s not going to give you that pleasurable scoot off the line that you like about your Golf. The Golf gets better mpg as well, doesn’t it? It’s a trade off. For us having a second, truly utility vehicle, but a smaller quiet one with a luxe feel, and at a very good price, fit the bill. We’ve never had a single problem with it, another plus. Everyone has to decide what’s important to them.

kyfdx

48 month leases? That’s weird, Nissan lease programs suck for 48 months. Maybe, a credit union or US Bank lease?

nyccarguy

Hello from Cape Cod, MA.  I’m having a wonderful vacation and really love it here.  I’m also thinking about how wonderful life would be if I could have a stable similar to @roadburner.  A Wrangler Unlimited & an ///M235i Coupe.