Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

au1994

Michaell said:

Or this, if I can live without CPO

I like it and its close to the one I was shopping against the X1 last year. Just look at the options list on these S60’s closely. I was baffled to see some, what I consider very basic things, not standard. Like a power passenger seat, heated seats etc.

stickguy

A few things come in packages. And they have trim levels (prestige vs. premium, etc.) and sometimes hard to tell what level a particular car is. Gotta look at the pictures. Especially the buttons on the center stack behind the shift lever! And on 15s, the dashboard since they updated the car mid model year (2015.5). Also when the 2.0t engine appeared for FWD versions.

Michaell

stickguy said:

A few things come in packages. And they have trim levels (prestige vs. premium, etc.) and sometimes hard to tell what level a particular car is. Gotta look at the pictures. Especially the buttons on the center stack behind the shift lever! And on 15s, the dashboard since they updated the car mid model year (2015.5). Also when the 2.0t engine appeared for FWD versions.

Yeah, I see that I'll have to study up on my Volvo knowledge. But, it's an excuse for another test drive, when I can get @jpp5862 and @breld together.

Which makes the TLX so compelling - pretty easy to understand what options it comes with.

stickguy

That has always been a Honda strength.

28firefighter

The Accord Sport 6spd is one of my favorite new car values on the market right now. Well equipped, well priced, drives great. Kudos where kudos are due.

au1994

stickguy said:

That has always been a Honda strength.

Yes. When I got my TSX it was either 4 cyl or 6 and Tech pkg or not. The Accord SE was simple too: Sedan or Coupe and your choice of 4 colors.

henryn

Here's one that should appeal to the Audi lovers amongst us (you know who you are!)

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/2014-audi-rs7-40t-prestige/6659325827.html

corvette

Only one pic? And seems cheap. Sounds fishy. 

kyfdx

corvette said:

Only one pic? And seems cheap. Sounds fishy. 

I'm going to go with a scam..

tifighter

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

Only one pic? And seems cheap. Sounds fishy. 

I'm going to go with a scam..

Surely not on craigslist. You're bursting my bubble, @kyfdx ...

Mr_Shiftright

Scams on CL? Is nothing sacred anymore?

Michaell

Next, someone will tell me that the stuff posted on social media isn't 100% true.

Oh, the humanity!

stickguy

corvette

My neighbor just spent $1,400 for a new catalytic converter and exhaust work on her rusted, beat up 1998-ish Camry. I was heartless enough to tell her that money would have been better spent on a newer car (also, there are cheaper places to get exhaust work done here in town). Her Camry has low miles but is 20-ish years old.

xwesx

corvette said:

My neighbor just spent $1,400 for a new catalytic converter and exhaust work on her rusted, beat up 1998-ish Camry. I was heartless enough to tell her that money would have been better spent on a newer car (also, there are cheaper places to get exhaust work done here in town). Her Camry has low miles but is 20-ish years old.

Meh. $1,400 seems like a lot for a lump sum payout, but she'd probably spend $4K or more annually on a new car just to have it sitting in the driveway. Unless it is leaving you stranded, the car you already own is nearly always the better way to go.

corvette

I may have understated how rough it looks. She just put new tires on it. I don’t think it has any leaks, but at 20 years old, only a matter of time. The only good excuse I can think for her to keep it is that she doesn’t travel far from town. No way would I trust it on a long trip. 

xwesx

corvette said:

I may have understated how rough it looks. She just put new tires on it. I don’t think it has any leaks, but at 20 years old, only a matter of time. The only good excuse I can think for her to keep it is that she doesn’t travel far from town. No way would I trust it on a long trip. 

Peace of mind is the "gotcha" factor on these old cars, for sure!

kyfdx

Interesting story:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/51924/general/x/bought-vehicle-title-problems#latest

andres3

jpp5862 said:

stickguy said:

so, really feeling this one. Favorite color combo, and all the required options. Not CPO for some reason, but still has 10 months of BtoB warranty left. After the updates, so has the fancy dashboard. Miles reasonable for the year, and fine for me, and price certainly seems to be appropriate. Unless I am way off the mark. I would be happy to trade pinks for my Elantra with them!

https://www.volvocarsprinceton.com/used/Volvo/2015-Volvo-S60-b583c2b20a0e0a6b352e65489036c979.htm

That was the exact same car I had back in NC. I loved it.

Also over in Switzerland I saw a ton of V40s, that would be the perfect car for you.

That Volvo has a beautiful interior, correctly done in all beige. I don't understand the parts bin sharing with black parts on a beige interior. The lower plastic and carpet should be a lighter color with beige interiors. Particularly the plastic on the doors in my opinion. I prefer "walnut" inlays with beige, to the standard aluminum trim common these days (which looks good against black).

This is ideal:

nyccarguy

The beige carpeting just gets WAY too dirty IMO.  The only reason I got my Legacy with a beige interior is because the floors were black.  I personally liked the contrast.

ab348

On my 2011 Regal the beige interior came with "Cocoa" (brown) carpets and accents which I thought was a good choice. I also do not understand the need to put a whole lot of black pieces in a non-black interior - I can only assume it is due to manufacturer's not wanting to have inventory of different-color bits in the name of cost-cutting.

graphicguy

@Michaell ....as soon as you mentioned the BMW test drive invite you got, one showed up in my mailbox yesterday, too. Same “$1,000” off your best deal come on, too.

Not in the market, but what the heck.

fintail

Black doesn't show dirt very much, hence it being a popular choice, especially among pragmatic German makes who put black interiors in an apparent majority of cars. I am glad my car has black carpets and mats - I saw a later model E with beige carpets/mats, and they didn't look new even when detailed and on the lot.

4 year old A8, feeling lucky, punk?

andres3 said:

you.

That Volvo has a beautiful interior, correctly done in all beige. I don't understand the parts bin sharing with black parts on a beige interior. The lower plastic and carpet should be a lighter color with beige interiors. Particularly the plastic on the doors in my opinion. I prefer "walnut" inlays with beige, to the standard aluminum trim common these days (which looks good against black).

This is ideal:

ab348

Black interiors show different kinds of dirt - pet hair, dust, lint, etc - far worse than lighter colors, which are more prone to discoloration with use, but which once cleaned stay clean-looking for a while. Black interiors seldom look totally pristine and are less visually interesting IMO.

28firefighter

The best seats I've had from a comfort and maintenance perspective were my plaid GTI seats, hands down. The Saab is definitely a close second, but Sam is seeing to it that the second seat is taking a beating...

henryn

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/fancy-bmw-750li-limo-rocket/6638615612.html

This looks like a lot of car for the money. Just how expensive would this be to maintain / repair /keep on the road? I'm guessing the very opposite of cheap.

stickguy

more than a Civic. Less than a 1968 Rolls Royce. Probably. But closer to the roller. especially with 150K on the clock.

Nice color interior though.

Mr_Shiftright

If you don't do any work yourself, and you don't join BMWCCA for parts discounts, you'll find even routine maintenance on this car quite expensive.

So a new radiator with labor might be $1,300, new power brake booster with labor around $1100, pads and rotors, probably $1200--$1800 with labor. right and left catalytic converters about $600 each + labor.

These are a VERY nice ride, so bring your rabbit's foot and maybe you'll get lucky. But if say you lose a transmission or blow a head gasket, you just junk the car.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

The beige carpeting just gets WAY too dirty IMO.  The only reason I got my Legacy with a beige interior is because the floors were black.  I personally liked the contrast.

I’m a sucker for beige interior ... but the combo you describe is the best of both worlds. I’ve had that on a few cars now and love it.

Sandman6472

Love my beige interior and the black carpet but also have the weather proof floor mats, the "monster mats", that came with the vehicle plus the carpeted mats. Easy to take care of which is a nice feature. Down here in South Florida, a dark interior can be brutal if left facing the sun, with leather being especially brutal when wearing shorts!! Mine windshield sunshade finally fell into pieces last week so need to get another one. My kid got hers on Amazon.com so plan on doing the same thing.

The Sandman

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

If you don't do any work yourself, and you don't join BMWCCA for parts discounts, you'll find even routine maintenance on this car quite expensive.

So a new radiator with labor might be $1,300, new power brake booster with labor around $1100, pads and rotors, probably $1200--$1800 with labor. right and left catalytic converters about $600 each + labor.

These are a VERY nice ride, so bring your rabbit's foot and maybe you'll get lucky. But if say you lose a transmission or blow a head gasket, you just junk the car.

Do I recall you posting a few years back about coming across one of these that required a new wiring harness that was so expensive to replace that it made more sense to just junk the car?

fintail

You know it's a good car when the first word in the title is "Fancy".

A 150K mile 12 year old V12 car in Houston scares me, but that's a lot of car.

stickguy

that one is only a V8 too.

fintail

Ah crap, I was looking at an ad for a E32 750 earlier today (not for me) and it was on my mind.

For around $1500, this money pit is something, if it is cosmetically nice - few of the V12s on the road today:



Problem is, it is in Oz.

benjaminh

I'm behind the times and somehow just heard about Carvana. Don't need it myself, but seems like a potentially good way to buy a used car....?

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

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

benjaminh

This Carvana video is more straightforward....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-afpVx9fRU&t=93s

graphicguy

Carvana ads are everywhere here in the OH Valley!

nyccarguy

A cousin of mine used Carvana last year to buy a 435i Drop Top.  He was specifically searching around for highly equipped ///M Sport models.  His keen eye found one that was listed as a “base” car and priced as such according to his research.  He saw the pics, called and they verified that it indeed had EVERY option he was looking for.  He bought it & is very happy!

fintail

I've found looking for MBs with specific options can be frustrating, always mis-described. I have better luck simply viewing pics and looking for the features themselves.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

If you don't do any work yourself, and you don't join BMWCCA for parts discounts, you'll find even routine maintenance on this car quite expensive.

So a new radiator with labor might be $1,300, new power brake booster with labor around $1100, pads and rotors, probably $1200--$1800 with labor. right and left catalytic converters about $600 each + labor.

These are a VERY nice ride, so bring your rabbit's foot and maybe you'll get lucky. But if say you lose a transmission or blow a head gasket, you just junk the car.

A new radiator is $400 OEM
Hawk HPS pads run around $250 for both axles, $400 for four Centric rotors
Cats are expensive; that's why they make spark plug anti-foulers
Transmissions tend to be robust- assuming you drain/refill the ATF every 50k-60k miles. The Mechatronics seal is a major known issues; not horribly expensive to replace during a drain/fill.
The N62 engine is the major liability; VANOS, the coolant transfer pipe, valve cover/timing chain gaskets, and the garbage secondary air system are where you will usually find issues.
I'd avoid a car with the electronic suspension options as well.
On this car, the borderline illiteracy of the owner would give me pause.
Me, if I wanted an E65 I'd buy the best one I could find and stick $6k or so in the bank for the issues. I'd also take it to a good dealer to verify all software was up to date.
That said, I MUCH prefer the E38 Sport; much better looking, less fussy, and more fun to drive.

roadburner

graphicguy said:

Carvana ads are everywhere here in the OH Valley!

I hate going on Autotrader and having so many Carvana ads turn up in my searches. I'm looking for cars I can go look at.

28firefighter

This unicorn appeared on lease hackr from a dealer rep:
https://www.pacificbmw.com/vehicle-details/new-2018-bmw-3-series-330i-sedan-glendale-ca-id-21869745

$25XX upfront and $380/month plus tax, 36/10. Not a cheap loaner deal, but definitely a unicorn and a brand new car.

roadburner

Not a fan of light interiors, but nicely equipped.

28firefighter

I would prefer black interior for a car like that, but...I could survive.

stickguy

I would be very happy with that car. And you would never, ever find something like it at a dealer in the NE. Would have to be a custom order.

stickguy

I am done with black interiors. This is my last one.

pensfan83

Seeing it on one site was temptation enough but now you're doing it here too

28firefighter

I know - but @roadburner has always said how great a 330i 6spd with Track Pack would be, I just assumed it would be a special order.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

This unicorn appeared on lease hackr from a dealer rep: https://www.pacificbmw.com/vehicle-details/new-2018-bmw-3-series-330i-sedan-glendale-ca-id-21869745 $25XX upfront and $380/month plus tax, 36/10. Not a cheap loaner deal, but definitely a unicorn and a brand new car.

That's a bimmer I'd actually enjoy. But not at that price. 

roadburner

28firefighter said:

I know - but @roadburner has always said how great a 330i 6spd with Track Pack would be, I just assumed it would be a special order.

Exactly, I've also driven a 320i manual with the THP- and it was a hoot as well.