Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

Nice! What did the discount come out to on the 2019s? Was I close?

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'd like to see positive equity at the end of 36 months on a 60 month loan, assuming no downpayment. Seems unlikely for almost any car. Certainly not enough equity to make up for the increased payments over a lease.

Well he has a point in that after 60 months you'll have something to sell or trade. But even if you can sell a 2014 Chevy SS for $30K, someone paid $50K for it only 4 short years ago. So $5K a year depreciation, more or less. About the same as lease payments really.

But if your Mini taught you anything, its that the repairs and maintenance outweigh the value in the end.

Michaell

breld said:

Well, I'll be making a short trip down to Colorado Springs tomorrow morning with my in-laws to complete their purchase of a 2019 Legacy 2.5i Premium, in Abyss Blue.

Should be a nice car for them - safe and reliable.

Should be in an out pretty quickly. Heuberger sells a ton of Subarus. Good luck!

cdnpinhead

Shortline in Denver made me a better deal on our 2017 Forester than Heuberger, and I never had a better delivery experience. Car still runs great, but Shortline screwed the pooch when they changed the oil in the summer of '17 (free, doncha know) when we were up in Winter Park. They left off the plastic cover and tightened the drain plug to a fare-thee-well, such that I had to take it to a local AZ dealer to get it extracted. Point being, the sales experience was the best in 50 years of buying cars and the service piece is just as (let's screwed) up as all the rest of them are.

ab348

I read something online somewhere today that for 2019 there will be no more manual transmissions available in Audis. Anybody know more about that?

imidazol97

stickguy said:

Picked up new wheels today! A GMC. Something different.

OK, it is actually a U-haul for the move tomorrow. The flat side 10' version. So basically a Vandura with a much taller, slightly wider, and squared off box in the back. Actually drove pretty nice. fairly new, with just 5,950 miles on it. Now just have to load it, drive to delaware, and unload.

I am seriously too old for this. good thing my son will be home, and the daughter's BF used to play football, so have some extra muscle. Good for the driving though. Hopefully no traffic so I don't have to fight a mess on 95. that is not fun, having to cross 6 lanes quickly to get to an exit.

Does it have cruise control?

breld

Shortline Subaru is now part of the Schomp automotive group, so they're are a true one-price dealer. Their price on a leftover 2018 was a bit higher than the Heuberger price on a 2019, and the 2019 comes standard with Subaru's Eyesight. So Heuberger was about $2,200 off MSRP - seems to me they pretty go at dealer invoice less holdback, and maybe even a little less.

I'm sure there will be additional incentives in the future, but the in-laws somehow got set on getting a Legacy, and they want it now for a road trip next month.

I have to fight the compulsion to have them look at other candidates, like the new Accord or a Mazda6. They want what they want, and if I steered them toward something different, inevitably something would go wrong or there'd be something they didn't like down the road.

And there's certainly nothing wrong with the Legacy - the Premium model is pretty well equipped if you can live without a moonroof and leather. So at about $23,700, it's pretty darn nice.

breld

ab348 said:

I read something online somewhere today that for 2019 there will be no more manual transmissions available in Audi’s. Anybody know more about that?

Yeah, I read that on C&D's website. I thought it was funny that the manual was offered on the A4/A5 but not the S4/S5 - the take rate must have been crazy low on the more "pedestrian" models.

I certainly wouldn't mind one though - definitely would have to go used though on something like that.

breld

28firefighter said:

Nice! What did the discount come out to on the 2019s? Was I close?

About 9% - so maybe a little less than expected, but from shopping around, seemed to be the best I could get at this point.

stickguy

will have to look at the actual final numbers Tuesday, but I think we should be at about 17% off on the 2019 jetta.

28firefighter

ab348 said:

I read something online somewhere today that for 2019 there will be no more manual transmissions available in Audis. Anybody know more about that?

Just read about it. Depressing. 

xwesx

stickguy said:

Picked up new wheels today! A GMC. Something different.

OK, it is actually a U-haul for the move tomorrow. The flat side 10' version. So basically a Vandura with a much taller, slightly wider, and squared off box in the back. Actually drove pretty nice. fairly new, with just 5,950 miles on it. Now just have to load it, drive to delaware, and unload.

I am seriously too old for this. good thing my son will be home, and the daughter's BF used to play football, so have some extra muscle. Good for the driving though. Hopefully no traffic so I don't have to fight a mess on 95. that is not fun, having to cross 6 lanes quickly to get to an exit.

Have a fun weekend!

corvette

Planning a trip out west for the end of September. Planning to arrive in SLC, hit Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the North Rim, and end up in Las Vegas to fly home. Any tips?

stickguy

xwesx said:

stickguy said:

Picked up new wheels today! A GMC. Something different.

OK, it is actually a U-haul for the move tomorrow. The flat side 10' version. So basically a Vandura with a much taller, slightly wider, and squared off box in the back. Actually drove pretty nice. fairly new, with just 5,950 miles on it. Now just have to load it, drive to delaware, and unload.

I am seriously too old for this. good thing my son will be home, and the daughter's BF used to play football, so have some extra muscle. Good for the driving though. Hopefully no traffic so I don't have to fight a mess on 95. that is not fun, having to cross 6 lanes quickly to get to an exit.

Have a fun weekend!

well, the truck is loaded. another masterpiece. No rope, and 1 bungee used. and that was probably overkill. But I left it. Also tired as heck from doing way too much carrying. Plus an 11:00 run to wally world, after discovering that the only padlock we could find was my daughters from school, and she had forgotten the combo. Could have lived without that trip, but now I own a fancy pants Brinks max security long hasp padlock.

Michaell

corvette said:

Planning a trip out west for the end of September. Planning to arrive in SLC, hit Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the North Rim, and end up in Las Vegas to fly home. Any tips?

Rent something comfortable. Beautiful scenery, but a lot of miles in a straight line. Not much interstate, either, based on your itinerary.

suydam

What are you planning to do in those places? Hike? Camp? Sightsee? That’s a lot of territory to cover.

28firefighter

http://www.universityaudilynnwood.com/lynnwood-used-cars/detail/Used-2016-Audi-A4-Man-quattro-20T-Premium-Plus/947/WAUHFAFL1GN004092

Pretty loaded - Nav, B&O, BLIS, and three pedals. An endangered species. 

ronsteve

Michaell said:

Time for CCBA Roll Call!

A completely unscientific survey. Copy and paste the questions, then provide your answers.

How many vehicles have you bought or leased in the last 6 months?

Last 12 months?

Last 24 months?

When do you expect to get your next vehicle?
In the next 6 months
6-12 months
12-24 months
Longer than 24 months (if you choose this answer, your CCBA membership privileges are at risk)

What are you looking at?

None since the wife's Jetta in 2013. Next in 6-12 months... quest for 200K on the Volvo is as big a motivator to wait as the continued 2 cars/zero payments status.

Looking primarily at 2015-17 Volvo V60 or Subaru Outback to replace the V70. Maybe the right XC70 if I can get the age/mileage/price in a decent spot, but that's pushing what I want to spend.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

http://www.universityaudilynnwood.com/lynnwood-used-cars/detail/Used-2016-Audi-A4-Man-quattro-20T-Premium-Plus/947/WAUHFAFL1GN004092

Pretty loaded - Nav, B&O, BLIS, and three pedals. An endangered species. 

I like it!  I dig the color too!

qbrozen

corvette said:

Planning a trip out west for the end of September. Planning to arrive in SLC, hit Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the North Rim, and end up in Las Vegas to fly home. Any tips?

We did a round trip: started in LV, drove through red rocks, death valley, and stopped for the night outside Yosemite. Spent the next day there then drove up to Lake Tahoe that eve. Spent a few days there, with day trips to Reno and Carson City. Left Tahoe to drive back across Nevada past Area 51 with an overnight at the Little A'Le'Inn and some roadside stops at the black mailbox etc. On to the next resort in South Utah where we soent the rest of the time visiting Zion, the North Rim, etc, before heading back to LV to catch the flight home. 2 weeks and 1800 miles of driving a rental Escape. Best trip of my life so far.

tifighter

corvette said:

Planning a trip out west for the end of September. Planning to arrive in SLC, hit Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the North Rim, and end up in Las Vegas to fly home. Any tips?

Valley of Fire is about an hour outside of Vegas has some interesting Petroglyphs. You’ll probably drive past it anyway.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

Planning a trip out west for the end of September. Planning to arrive in SLC, hit Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the North Rim, and end up in Las Vegas to fly home. Any tips?

We did a round trip: started in LV, drove through red rocks, death valley, and stopped for the night outside Yosemite. Spent the next day there then drove up to Lake Tahoe that eve. Spent a few days there, with day trips to Reno and Carson City. Left Tahoe to drive back across Nevada past Area 51 with an overnight at the Little A'Le'Inn and some roadside stops at the black mailbox etc. On to the next resort in South Utah where we soent the rest of the time visiting Zion, the North Rim, etc, before heading back to LV to catch the flight home. 2 weeks and 1800 miles of driving a rental Escape. Best trip of my life so far.

That was a few years ago with your kids, right? How'd they do on the trip? Did you camp outdoors or stay in hotels?

qbrozen

One night in a hotel, one night at the Al'E'Inn, which consists of nasty trailers, and the rest at 2-bedroom resort rooms. Yes, I think 3 summers ago.

They did pretty well. Of course, they don't appreciate the scenery as much as us adults, nor do they appreciate the fact that they are visiting all these places while growing up and I haven't gotten to see any of them until now. My kids have been to more places in their first decade of life than I had been by the time I was 30.

corvette

suydam said:

What are you planning to do in those places? Hike? Camp? Sightsee? That’s a lot of territory to cover.

Hike and sightsee. It is a lot of territory but I think it’s doable. I rented an intermediate SUV from Alamo. I’m going to assume it’ll be a Mitsubishi Outlander, so if I get something nicer I can be pleasantly surprised. 

roadburner

I wish I could talk my bride into this.
I remember clocking it in when it was new. We sold it to somebody in PA- and now it's back. It even has THP...

qbrozen

Clocking it? You know they used to use that phrase to mean turning back the odo.

henryn

I remember having an interesting conversation with a salesman about that practice. This would have been back around 1995 or so. We hit it off, and spent a couple of hours sitting around shooting the breeze. I made some remark about how much longer cars seemed to last "these days", that when I was young a car with 100k miles was definitely considered over the hill, on it's last legs, etc. He laughed, and said "in the old days" most cars made 200k miles, but no one knew it because they all had their "clocks run back" at least once.

qbrozen

On the highway this morn, I spot a bright blue Charger going the other way.

me: "ooo...that's like the one I was looking at. I have it tagged on my phone."
her: "you still have 10 mos on your lease."
me: "I know. Just being prepared."
her: "but you don't want to go back to a car. You said you like having a truck."
me: "yes, I do like the comfort but I miss zippy handling. Ideally, I want both. So I think I may decide to sell the Dodge and get what is essentially a newer version of that AND have a truck."

.....silence.....

roadburner

qbrozen said:

Clocking it? You know they used to use that phrase to mean turning back the odo.

I know that it also means rolling back the miles, but that's just what we called it when a new car arrived- inspecting it, making up a deal jacket, and parking it in the storage lot.

28firefighter

roadburner said:

I wish I could talk my bride into this. I remember clocking it in when it was new. We sold it to somebody in PA- and now it's back. It even has THP...

Was it a special order?  Interesting car. 

tjc78

qbrozen said:

On the highway this morn, I spot a bright blue Charger going the other way.

me: "ooo...that's like the one I was looking at. I have it tagged on my phone."
her: "you still have 10 mos on your lease."
me: "I know. Just being prepared."
her: "but you don't want to go back to a car. You said you like having a truck."
me: "yes, I do like the comfort but I miss zippy handling. Ideally, I want both. So I think I may decide to sell the Dodge and get what is essentially a newer version of that AND have a truck."

.....silence.....

Lol.  My wife wouldn’t know how long is left on either lease.   

We are on a trip to the shore for a birthday party without kids today/tonight.   We gave my SIL the Enclave to tote our kids and hers around so we drove the Elantra.   Wife proclaimed her dislike for it!   I showed her the odometer and it got 41.5 MPG.. for the trip down.  She said she would rather use more gas and be comfortable.   

roadburner

No, we actually had two wagons equipped the same way. The other car was Melbourne Red. The NCM that was there when I started was a gearhead(he drove a 435i Gran Coupe with a Dinan tune and exhaust) so I suspect he ordered them.

breld

I love getting to participate in a car purchase when someone else is writing the check.  

kyfdx

I like that color

tbirdmarco

 At Brown old so white cars next you’re getting? What’s leaving the sleep ha ha Ha 

tbirdmarco

Don’t know why that posted that just now from last week or whenever it was I last posted in here. Anyway world who did you help by a car? Anything leaving the flea. Ha ha ha enjoy the weekend everyone.

breld

Oh no - the Legacy is for my in-laws.  I was just happy to help out.  

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

kyfdx said:

I'd like to see positive equity at the end of 36 months on a 60 month loan, assuming no downpayment. Seems unlikely for almost any car.

Certainly not enough equity to make up for the increased payments over a lease.

Well he has a point in that after 60 months you'll have something to sell or trade. But even if you can sell a 2014 Chevy SS for $30K, someone paid $50K for it only 4 short years ago. So $5K a year depreciation, more or less. About the same as lease payments really.

But if your Mini taught you anything, its that the repairs and maintenance outweigh the value in the end.

That's true. My car, even though it is quite nice looking and runs great, is virtually worthless.

Mr_Shiftright

breld said:

I love getting to participate in a car purchase when someone else is writing the check.  

That's one of my favorite pastimes. "Should I get the _____option?" "Hell, yes!"

breld

Yeah, I had to fight the urge to encourage them to spend “a little more” for a higher trim level.  They’re retired and on a pretty tight budget.  

As it was, they got the Premium trim level with no additional options like the moonroof or Nav.  But for 2019, that Premium comes with Eyesight and CarPlay, as well as heated seats, power drivers seat, leather wrapped steering wheel...sort of a sweet spot for value it seems.

Mr_Shiftright

That's a nice package---not too much, not too little. The "goldilocks zone" of options?

nyccarguy

breld said:

Yeah, I had to fight the urge to encourage them to spend “a little more” for a higher trim level.  They’re retired and on a pretty tight budget.  

As it was, they got the Premium trim level with no additional options like the moonroof or Nav.  But for 2019, that Premium comes with Eyesight and CarPlay, as well as heated seats, power drivers seat, leather wrapped steering wheel...sort of a sweet spot for value it seems.

One of the aspects I really liked about my Legacy 2.5i Premium was the value.  My car didn’t have the moonroof or nav either.  Th fact that your in laws car includes eyesight is a bonus.  That was optional too. AWD,Heated cloth seats,Comfortable seats, big back seats, large trunk.

stickguy

just needs to have a moonroof too (an option package) and would have all the key items covered.

jpp75

I met up with @michaell this morning and drove this. I've been toying with the idea of a second "fun" car and these have been on my radar. I'm so buried in negative equity on the Touareg it's not going anywhere for a while but something like this is doable.

https://www.royalintlauto.com/2008-Volvo-C30/Used-Hatchback/Denver-CO/11152544/Details.aspx

Overall a great little car, I had never been in a C30 before so this was just a quick drive but I was really impressed with it. It appears to have been taken care of, the interior was in good shape, everything we tested worked just fine and the drive was great. Solid feeling, strong pulling engine, heavy but nimble steering.

Definitely something to think about......

Michaell

… and while @jpp5862 was thinking about the C30, we had enough time this morning to hit up the "real" Volvo dealer so I could test drive a CPO S60.

I had done no prior research, and showed up on the lot cold. Was shown a 2015 T5 Inscription AWD, white over black, with about 32,000 miles on it. Didn't get an exact asking price, but since I told them my budget was $20-25K, I assume it was in that range.

I don't know enough about Volvo trim levels, but apparently this one had the 2.0T engine - 248HP, I was told.
Off we went, on the typical "four rights" test drive, all city streets.

The pros - The car is quiet and pretty fast (I'm comparing this to the TLXs I've driven in the past month). As I've noted before, I'm a sucker for a turbo engine. This one had zero turbo lag (much like the C30 I rode in earlier that morning). I didn't notice anything untoward about the transmission, so I'd mark that as a plus. I didn't get a chance to really test the handling, but to me it seems comparable to the Acura. The controls fall readily to hand, as well. @jpp5862 said the back seat was comfortable. The trunk was decently sized.

The cons - First thing I noticed was that there was no backup camera, just sensors front a rear. Was surprised about that. Second, I'm not sure if it was me or the seat, but I was expecting to be more comfortable, given all the praise I hear about Volvo seating. There was something like a large flat board inserted into the cushion in my middle upper back. Not sure if this is adjustable. The bottom seat cushion was comfortable, however. Another thing I would have to get used to is the dash layout - like most cars, you can cycle through various displays, but there was no separate tach and speedometer. Just a digital speed readout in the middle of a centrally located tach. Again, didn't get enough time with it to determine if I can change that.

All in all, I'm not sure I gave the S60 a fair chance. Part of that was my lack of research before the test drive, so I think I'll remedy that and try again at a later date. Part of it was that I was on a tight time schedule this morning, so I didn't get the time to pore over the car like I wanted.

The other thing that I have to consider is the Volvo CPO warranty - 7 years or 100,000 miles from the original date of service. In this car's case, I would have 4 years and 68,000 miles left. Since I'm averaging only 6000 miles a year, that means the CPO warranty would end before I had 60,000 miles on the car. And, I'm just not sure how I would feel about driving a 7 year old Volvo out of warranty. Issues I do not have with the Acura.

tbirdmarco

Nice  nice.   What cooler  is that 

tbirdmarco

It is an 2019 

stickguy

Michael, you want the "2015.5" MMY refresh. That has the fancier digital dashboard. Pretty sure you can change the display on that. BU camera was optional, and in 2015 not all that common. Later years seem to have it more often. For the seats, my guess is someone had the lumbar support dialed all the way out.

so yes, sounds like if you are seriously considering, should look at a different car, and spend a little more time playing with it first.

also, in 15 (and I think 16), the FWD cars got the new 2.0t 4 cyl motor. I really like that engine. Much better MPG ratings too. But the AWD units still had the old 2.5t 5 cylinder.

I don't really trust the Volvo AWD system reliability. and it takes a pretty good hit to MPG (as least on the sticker) with the newer cars that have the 2.0T. I have been looking for a FWD car. Less to go wrong, and cheaper to buy!

Michaell

stickguy said:

Michael, you want the "2015.5" MMY refresh. That has the fancier digital dashboard. Pretty sure you can change the display on that. BU camera was optional, and in 2015 not all that common. Later years seem to have it more often. For the seats, my guess is someone had the lumbar support dialed all the way out. so yes, sounds like if you are seriously considering, should look at a different car, and spend a little more time playing with it first. also, in 15 (and I think 16), the FWD cars got the new 2.0t 4 cyl motor. I really like that engine. Much better MPG ratings too. But the AWD units still had the old 2.5t 5 cylinder. I don't really trust the Volvo AWD system reliability. and it takes a pretty good hit to MPG (as least on the sticker) with the newer cars that have the 2.0T. I have been looking for a FWD car. Less to go wrong, and cheaper to buy!

Thanks for the info. I think the sales guy mentioned it was a 2015.5 - @jpp5862 asked about it. 

And, I don’t need AWD either, but I suspect FWD will be harder to find in CO. 

Mr_Shiftright

jpp5862 said:

I met up with @michaell this morning and drove this. I've been toying with the idea of a second "fun" car and these have been on my radar. I'm so buried in negative equity on the Touareg it's not going anywhere for a while but something like this is doable.

https://www.royalintlauto.com/2008-Volvo-C30/Used-Hatchback/Denver-CO/11152544/Details.aspx

Overall a great little car, I had never been in a C30 before so this was just a quick drive but I was really impressed with it. It appears to have been taken care of, the interior was in good shape, everything we tested worked just fine and the drive was great. Solid feeling, strong pulling engine, heavy but nimble steering.

Definitely something to think about......

So what's the story on the C30? Good rep? Bad rep? I don't know much about this car.

Just snooping around the classifieds, and manual transmission versions of this car seem quite scarce.