Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jpp75

nyccarguy said:

@sda - thanks!  The guy did a great job.  I do think the Q40/G37 are handsome cars.  They have just the right amount of chrome trim.  There isn’t a color that it doesn’t suit it well.  Pricing on these is very reasonable for what you get.  Now they are cheaper than a Civic LX.  I did pay less for mine last March than I did for my 175 hp Legacy.  It’s a great daily driver.  I’m always “looking,” like the rest of us (except @breld, he means business), but given the fact that I owe about $12K on the car, there’s nothing I’d want to replace it with that is anywhere near reasonable.

@breld - smart move taking the White Macan S.  Had you gotten one of the Blue Service Loaners, your wife surely would have traded out for an “S” by Columbus Day.

Glad the Q40 turned out well. I definitely have a soft spot for those cars given my experience with my G37x. They age well and the price to value ratio is a no brainer.

jpp75

@Mr_Shiftright After spending a few hours with the C30 today I say if you liked the automatic you should wait for a manual to come available and give it a try. I can't say enough good things about it for the price point and they seem to come up fairly regularly.

28firefighter

@breld you don’t seem as excited about this punch. 

stickguy

when you have punches every month, it's just another business deal. And why get attached when it will only be around for a few months?

tbirdmarco

Breld. Glad all is   Over  and done for now on the punches. For now  lol lol 

tbirdmarco

Breld do you have the link for  the broker  dealership. Sight 

tjc78

I haven't really been "excited" for a car purchase since I got the 09 Genesis. Everything else has more or less been like buying a washing machine.

When the Elantra goes back in November '19 I'm doing a lot of shopping and getting something I really want

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

What about a Volvo convertible? Saw one locally the other day, caught my eye as a good-looking car.

That's what I suggested, but he just turned up his nose and grunted---so I guess NOT!

ab348 said:

What about a Volvo convertible? Saw one locally the other day, caught my eye as a good-looking car.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

is that a definite requirement, or just a nice to have?

No, a convertible hardtop is not a requirement, but his ears perked up at the thought. You all know how it is with friends---you do NOT want to talk them into anything, no matter how strong your preferences!

These are all good suggestions!

Mr_Shiftright

tifighter said:

C70 was available with a stick. Rare as a breld keeper, though.

Really? I have never EVER seen one! That would be quite a nice car to own, however. The C70 is somewhat underappreciated I think (for what it is). Downside is a very dated interior.

Mr_Shiftright

fintail said:

MB R230 or C207 cabrio could fit in that. Not as sporty as a Porsche, but they don't exactly handle like a 40s car either.

Alas, Mercedes was ruled out--should have mentioned that earlies. Good suggestion, though.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Here you go, shifty. Seems they favor the Inifiniti and Lexus.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.automobilemag.com/news/luxury-hardtop-convertible-comparison/amp/

That's informative, thanks! Looks like the Volvo is the poor sister. One thing not noted in the article is that the C70 requires over 6.5 feet of clearance to open and close. That could be something you'd really want to remember!

Mr_Shiftright

breld said:

It’s a nice shop they have there - nice large indoor showroom.  I can seriously see working there as a semi-retirement job.  

I’ll be curious to see how they do with the Polestar.  They price things pretty realistically - I’m guessing they list it at around $41 or 42k.  

You have to keep in mind that a dealer + showroom has a decided advantage over the private seller in terms of getting a better price. For one thing......convenient FINANCING! One-stop shopping, so to speak. For another, they are set up for videos and photography.

breld

28firefighter said:

@breld you don’t seem as excited about this punch. 

Well, for one, it’s not in our garage yet, so I’m holding off on any additional review.  

And two, I’m aware of the potential for @breld fatigue. 

28firefighter

breld said:

28firefighter said:

@breld you don’t seem as excited about this punch. 

Well, for one, it’s not in our garage yet, so I’m holding off on any additional review.  

And two, I’m aware of the potential for @breld fatigue. 

Haha. On your part or ours?  Your dealings keep me living vicariously. 

ab348

28firefighter said:

breld said:

28firefighter said:

@breld you don’t seem as excited about this punch. 

Well, for one, it’s not in our garage yet, so I’m holding off on any additional review.  

And two, I’m aware of the potential for @breld fatigue. 

Haha. On your part or ours?  Your dealings keep me living vicariously. 

The whole thing has given me an idea to do an outline of a TV script about a fiendishly clever money-laundering scheme centered around turning over a huge number of vehicles.

roadburner

Did a bit of window shopping yesterday. Even stopped by the M-B dealers(luckily my wife saw nothing she wanted). It looks like if we get anythng the Wrangler JK that is 3 hours away is going to be the pick, since it has a locking diff, decent audio, heated seats and only 2 doors.

Drivingfool

So glad I found a retirement p/t gig in the auto business but it was a natural fit. Even the kids knew it. January will be 5 years that I've been at it and it's been an incredibly fun run, honestly but, this will be my last one. 2019 will be the last year I ever work again as I think at 65, I'm entitled to finally stop working. So many places in America I want to see and also want to relocate into a newer residence, and new would be just fine for me. We've always done new construction and since this will be my last move, want new again but not necessarily the same size. We shall see where it'll be but thinking Central Florida is the top choice right now.

The Driving Fool

roadburner

I'll be 67 when my term ends- and this time I am well and truly done...

kyfdx

I wake up with the sun.. or later, depending on my alcohol consumption, the previous evening.

corvette

My rental in Utah is a Jeep Cherokee Limited. It drives really well. The nine speed auto does a good job of getting it moving at around town speeds. On the highway, the four cylinder is weak, especially at altitude. The 3.6 liter Pentastar would really kick butt in this application.  I think they use a downsized one. 

Michaell

corvette said:

My rental in Utah is a Jeep Cherokee Limited. It drives really well. The nine speed auto does a good job of getting it moving at around town speeds. On the highway, the four cylinder is weak, especially at altitude. The 3.6 liter Pentastar would really kick butt in this application.  I think they use a downsized one. 

Used to be a 3.2; not sure if they still offer it

stickguy

I think all the models use the 3.6 now, from a little time spent poking around with Honcker.

corvette

Interesting. This one is definitely a four. Played with the (backwards) manual shift and  I don’t think it ever gets into ninth gear at highway speeds, at this altitude. Even so, it turns pretty low rpms in seventh or eighth gear. 

Edit: going to have to pop the hood, now. It’s a 2019, and according to Jeep’s website, they offer a 2.4 liter NA four, the 3.2 mini Pentastar, and a 2.0 turbo engine. Apparently the Limited (which I have) comes standard with the 3.2, and the turbo is an optional upgrade. 

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

SPEAKING OF WHICH....I need your guys help with choosing a few options for a friend of mine.

He has a 2003 Boxster, which, at 100K miles, is aging in typical Boxster fashion--things are breaking, seats are sagging, top is ripping. It's time to bail. Also, he's getting uncomfortable in the car. The Boxster of that era has a cramped cockpit and the interior is rather cheap all in all.

But he likes convertibles. So I was thinking we could move him into either a more comfortable two-seater (no Miatas) or a good-handling 4-seat convertible.

He'd like to spend no more than $25K and he wants a car with no more than perhaps 60K on the clock, perhaps less.

I was thinking Nissan 370Z, or maybe a BMW 128i, 135i or 328i---but I'm not too familiar with the BMW line-up in that price range. I might consider Audi.

Anything else come to mind? How do we sort out the different BMWs into a preference?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to avoid my own biases, as it is a friend who is involved.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but how about something like a late ‘90s Cobra ‘vert? Loved mine. No, it’s not going to be a BMW or Audi. But, it will sound great. Easy to maintain and work on. He’ll get loving stares wherever he goes.

graphicguy

ronsteve said:

Michaell said 

ronsteve said:

breld said:

Michaell said:

Question for the esteemed members here. I know speed impacts mileage- what about tires and weather?

We drove the Outback to Santa Fe yesterday. We did the identical trip 16 months ago. The first time we got almost 28 MPG; yesterday we saw only 24. I put new tires on it about 6000 miles ago. I did most of the trip at 85 (I think I used 77-78 on the cruise control last year). And, there was quite a bit of cross wind yesterday.

I'm stumped trying to understand a 15% drop.

Thoughts?

Yes, 3.6R. Wife likes her ponies under her right foot.

Then not alarming at all. Would be more worried about that mpg from the 2.5. 

Trying to decide if the 3.6 is something to wait and/or drive up to Cincinnati or Dayton to get, which is what it currently takes to hit my price point. 

Outback or possibly RDX punch may be coming by the end of October. 

If you’re coming up this way for the Acura, PM me. I “know a guy”!

graphicguy

breld said:

stickguy said:

so, where is the recap of the big Volvo for Porsche swap? Should be done by now!

Well nothing too exciting or unexpected.  We went in at noon today and completed all the paperwork and handed over the keys to the Volvo.  But my wife didn’t want to take delivery of the Macan until they repair the scratch on the hatch and tint the front windows.  

The ad’s still up.  

http://denver.clscars.com/mobile/inventorydetail.aspx?StockNumber=682142

Congrats to you and the Mrs. I’m a sucker for the red interior. Looks great with the white. Plus, you got the 6 cyl.

Great job!

xwesx

roadburner said:

Did a bit of window shopping yesterday. Even stopped by the M-B dealers(luckily my wife saw nothing she wanted). It looks like if we get anythng the Wrangler JK that is 3 hours away is going to be the pick, since it has a locking diff, decent audio, heated seats and only 2 doors.

Unless someone else buys it before you decide to pull the trigger!

roadburner

xwesx said:

Unless someone else buys it before you decide to pull the trigger!

Well, actually that dealer group has two JKs identically equipped except that one has a body color hardtop and the other has a black hardtop.

Mr_Shiftright

graphicguy said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

SPEAKING OF WHICH....I need your guys help with choosing a few options for a friend of mine.

He has a 2003 Boxster, which, at 100K miles, is aging in typical Boxster fashion--things are breaking, seats are sagging, top is ripping. It's time to bail. Also, he's getting uncomfortable in the car. The Boxster of that era has a cramped cockpit and the interior is rather cheap all in all.

But he likes convertibles. So I was thinking we could move him into either a more comfortable two-seater (no Miatas) or a good-handling 4-seat convertible.

He'd like to spend no more than $25K and he wants a car with no more than perhaps 60K on the clock, perhaps less.

I was thinking Nissan 370Z, or maybe a BMW 128i, 135i or 328i---but I'm not too familiar with the BMW line-up in that price range. I might consider Audi.

Anything else come to mind? How do we sort out the different BMWs into a preference?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm trying to avoid my own biases, as it is a friend who is involved.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but how about something like a late ‘90s Cobra ‘vert? Loved mine. No, it’s not going to be a BMW or Audi. But, it will sound great. Easy to maintain and work on. He’ll get loving stares wherever he goes.

I think that would be a hard sell for this dude--he's really not all the into the POWER of the car, but more into handling. I like to steer cars with the gas pedal but I don't think he gets the concept.

tbirdmarco

Nice on the new Jeep that you and the wife want to get  when will you all be pulling the trigger. On   It?

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Interesting. This one is definitely a four. Played with the (backwards) manual shift and  I don’t think it ever gets into ninth gear at highway speeds, at this altitude. Even so, it turns pretty low rpms in seventh or eighth gear. 

Edit: going to have to pop the hood, now. It’s a 2019, and according to Jeep’s website, they offer a 2.4 liter NA four, the 3.2 mini Pentastar, and a 2.0 turbo engine. Apparently the Limited (which I have) comes standard with the 3.2, and the turbo is an optional upgrade. 

Welcome to The Dark Side apprentice.  You’ll find that most regular cars feel slow compared to your G37.

tbirdmarco

 Is there a punch in here that I am missing corvette along with your G 37B recently. Do you have any jeep to? 

roadburner

tbirdmarco said:

Nice on the new Jeep that you and the wife want to get  when will you all be pulling the trigger. On   It?

Still trying to determine the best way to finance it.

ab348

The C&D long-term test of the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio has not been without its challenges:

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/alfa-romeo-giulia-quadrifoglio-reliability-update

Mr_Shiftright

That's so interesting. That review could have been written 30 years ago on an Alfa and would be saying pretty much the same things pro and con.

mjfloyd1

graphicguy said:

stickguy said:

so, where is the recap of the big Volvo for Porsche swap? Should be done by now!

Well nothing too exciting or unexpected.  We went in at noon today and completed all the paperwork and handed over the keys to the Volvo.  But my wife didn’t want to take delivery of the Macan until they repair the scratch on the hatch and tint the front windows.  

The ad’s still up.  

http://denver.clscars.com/mobile/inventorydetail.aspx?StockNumber=682142

Congrats to you and the Mrs. I’m a sucker for the red interior. Looks great with the white. Plus, you got the 6 cyl. Great job!

It has tan interior in the ad

tbirdmarco

 Rude Brunner I’m sure you and the wife figure it out soon. 

tbirdmarco

 Floyd one congratulations on the punch what did you end up buying missed some postings in here. 

qbrozen

Today, my wife asked, "Aren't you going to buy your Alfa at the end of the lease?"

hahahahahahaha

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Today, my wife asked, "Aren't you going to buy your Alfa at the end of the lease?"

hahahahahahaha

"Thank-you very much! Don't forget to tip your waitress!"

tjc78

A more appropriate question would have been “Do you think you’ll keep the Alfa until the end of the lease” 

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

A more appropriate question would have been “Do you think you’ll keep the Alfa until the end of the lease” 

Or "Do you think Alfa will buy it back before the end of the lease?"

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

That's so interesting. That review could have been written 30 years ago on an Alfa and would be saying pretty much the same things pro and con.

If you click on the page 2 link at the bottom of the page it takes you to another story about it with more reliability woes. The other interesting things in that piece are the comment about the tires being diabolical in the wet and the hair-trigger brakes.

henryn

All in all, I don't think I will ever own an Alfa. No, probably not. One of these days, I might get a wild hair and buy a used Mercedes or BMW. Maybe. But Alfa? No, call me a coward, I'm not going there. I admire the courage of those who do, but ...

carnaught

The only way to have and enjoy an Alfa is by leasing.

tifighter

If an Alfa floats your boat, just do it. Nobody lies on their death bed and wishes they bought a Corolla...

stickguy

the driving experience sounds kinda cool. Being broken down or at the dealer for extended periods, not so much.

So basically I can do quirky character, as long as it is reliable!

kyfdx

I just need free loaner cars...

If it's going to be broken a lot, then I can take the lower mileage allowance.

stickguy

well, my BIL put something like 2,000 miles on his loaner Jag recently. so can be done.