Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tbirdmarco

q B lol lol lol

qbrozen

Alfa premium care, or some such thing, just called me. Wanted to know how its going, etc. i mentioned appleplay and she apparently gets that question a lot. She said "we hope apple does something about it." Ummm... how is apple supposed to fix my car stereo?? Anyway, I then said I'd be happy to just have siri work. She said I should talk to my dealer. Yeah, ok. Thanks.

28firefighter

What is Alfa Premium Care? Haha.

I haven't heard a peep from my dealer since I received a partial refund for some of my registration costs. I think they were happy to be done with me...

Drivingfool

Synthetic oil change at the VW store in the a m. Just over 44K so it's time as hate going to 10K per change. Got a coupon also so makes the price more inline with other places. This way, I can also check out the new inventory. Just wish they made an SEL model for 2019 as I'd probably swap out to one but since they don't make one, might just check out a Jetta. Saw another one today and they do look sharp. It would just fit in the garage but if it must be then...it must be! But, not looking to actively purchase anything right now.

The Driving Fool

roadburner

tifighter said:

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

Exactly. Over on another board there's a contingent of dullards who pride themselves on driving appliances for 200,000 miles or more. If anyone mentions that they bought a a car(especially a new one) that is more exciting than plain oatmeal the appliance operators descend on them and inform the new owner of his/her irresponsibility.
Methinks that their motivation is a feeling that if they are driving in the automotive equivalent of Purgatory then everyone else should have to as well...

fintail

Hey 28firefighter Is this one of the crazy lease deals similar to your old C-class?

Been thinking about cars again now that I am just a couple payments from pull forward, as they sometimes even bend that rule. I think this weekend I am going to try to get some definitive info on whether or not they negotiate a normal market price vs residual at lease end. I'd like to know my options asap.

28firefighter

They do run deals similar but not quite as deeply discounted as I’ve found. Also most of their cars are RWD which make them less desirable. 

ronsteve

roadburner said:

tifighter said:

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

Exactly. Over on another board there's a contingent of dullards who pride themselves on driving appliances for 200,000 miles or more. If anyone mentions that they bought a a car(especially a new one) that is more exciting than plain oatmeal the appliance operators descend on them and inform the new owner of his/her irresponsibility.
Methinks that their motivation is a feeling that if they are driving in the automotive equivalent of Purgatory then everyone else should have to as well...

Didn't buy an appliance. I'm just now looking to replace it after 192K. Can't complain one bit.

Didn't like the longshot deal on a '17 Outback because it went very close to stuff written off as above my price range. Contemplating whether the Volvo dealer's longshot bid to get me in a '15 XC60 will win out over an already-CPO '15 RDX Tech. Or if the better half will veto the Volvo on the gas or the RDX on the color.

fintail

I might have to employ your knowledge in the not terribly distant future, if things don't work out with the current car, and I find nothing used that I want. I've already browsed some inventories - I must be too picky, as there's not a lot that pushes my buttons.

28firefighter said:

They do run deals similar but not quite as deeply discounted as I’ve found. Also most of their cars are RWD which make them less desirable. 

28firefighter

Happy to. Whenever you want to chat, we can. 

tifighter

I would probably nominate @28firefighter to be our resident lease ninja. Or at least regional ninja. No leases on the horizon here, though.

28firefighter

tifighter said:

I would probably nominate @28firefighter to be our resident lease ninja. Or at least regional ninja. No leases on the horizon here, though.

I would be OK with adding Ninja to my business cards. 

tbirdmarco

Lol lol lol Q. B 

fintail

Once I get a firm answer on the end of lease for the current car, for sure.

I need to learn more about how to spot the current year low mileage cars that qualify for the crazy good leases like on your C. MB Seattle has a nearly perfectly optioned (missing just one thing) current year E on the lot with very low miles, I have to wonder why it is there.

28firefighter said:

Happy to. Whenever you want to chat, we can. 

28firefighter

Just got my call from "Alfa Premium Care" - no idea what purpose they'll serve, but hey, I'll take follow-up of any kind these days.

28firefighter

fintail said:

Once I get a firm answer on the end of lease for the current car, for sure.

I need to learn more about how to spot the current year low mileage cars that qualify for the crazy good leases like on your C. MB Seattle has a nearly perfectly optioned (missing just one thing) current year E on the lot with very low miles, I have to wonder why it is there.

The answer is because MB Seattle won't go deep enough on discounts for it to make sense to lease it. They told me they're a dealer that prides itself on services and amenities for customers and to sell it for the kind of price I wanted, would not enable them to do that. The sales rep also mentioned that he paid more for his Employee C-class lease, which means nothing.

fintail

Ah that's too bad. Good luck to them with that model, but with so much money floating around here, maybe it works.

My last 3 cars have been through Barrier/MB of Bellevue, but two of those were pre-Autonation. Every time, they were very open to negotiation, and the prices were fair - but not quite as crazy as the virtual sign and drive low price deals like I saw in Oregon, or the deal you got.

28firefighter said:

The answer is because MB Seattle won't go deep enough on discounts for it to make sense to lease it. They told me they're a dealer that prides itself on services and amenities for customers and to sell it for the kind of price I wanted, would not enable them to do that. The sales rep also mentioned that he paid more for his Employee C-class lease, which means nothing.

Mr_Shiftright

28firefighter said:

fintail said:

Once I get a firm answer on the end of lease for the current car, for sure.

I need to learn more about how to spot the current year low mileage cars that qualify for the crazy good leases like on your C. MB Seattle has a nearly perfectly optioned (missing just one thing) current year E on the lot with very low miles, I have to wonder why it is there.

The answer is because MB Seattle won't go deep enough on discounts for it to make sense to lease it. They told me they're a dealer that prides itself on services and amenities for customers and to sell it for the kind of price I wanted, would not enable them to do that. The sales rep also mentioned that he paid more for his Employee C-class lease, which means nothing.

So, basically the business model is: "You have to overpay us to treat you decently".

28firefighter

Basically. I'd change it a bit to say, we don't need to subscribe to the "sell more for less" model. Either they're happy with lower volume OR because of their location, they're selling enough as it is to people who don't care about price. That is similar to the BMW Seattle model.

jpp75

So an "interesting" (?) update on the beloved C30. CarMax offers a 30 day warranty and I had a couple of minor things for them to look at: tires needed balancing, trim piece loose around the sunroof, etc. Nothing major but easy fixes for a 10-year old car.

I dropped it off Monday night before heading out of town and they called yesterday to tell me that when they put it on the lift to balance they couldn't believe how rusted it was underneath. Essentially the service guy said it should have never passed their inspection process and they shouldn't have sold it to me......but they did and so here we are. To CarMax's credit they want to do the right thing and buy it back, but they're unsure exactly how that will work, so waiting on a call back to see what's next.

I'm clearly disappointed as I LOVE that car, but I certainly don't want it in the shape it's in. The mechanic told me that I had maybe a year or so before it wasn't driveable and if anything happened that required the subframe to be unbolted the bolts would break off and it would never be fixable.

Should be interesting to see how this unfolds....@michaell and @breld have already given me a couple of sanity checks, but hey I guess this means another punch this year.

fintail

I had heard that with Autonation at the helm, the Bellevue dealer would play a harder line, but they still seem to work deals - I think the Bluetec was OK, and your C deal. Barrier seemed pretty easy to deal with - it was also family owned and had a rep in this specific area, which maybe helped. When Autonation bought out the group, I know a lot of old timers left and now work elsewhere. From my visits, Tacoma seemed most eager to make a sale, but their inventory wasn't exciting to me anyway.

Mr_Shiftright

jpp5862 said:

So an "interesting" (?) update on the beloved C30. CarMax offers a 30 day warranty and I had a couple of minor things for them to look at: tires needed balancing, trim piece loose around the sunroof, etc. Nothing major but easy fixes for a 10-year old car.

I dropped it off Monday night before heading out of town and they called yesterday to tell me that when they put it on the lift to balance they couldn't believe how rusted it was underneath. Essentially the service guy said it should have never passed their inspection process and they shouldn't have sold it to me......but they did and so here we are. To CarMax's credit they want to do the right thing and buy it back, but they're unsure exactly how that will work, so waiting on a call back to see what's next.

I'm clearly disappointed as I LOVE that car, but I certainly don't want it in the shape it's in. The mechanic told me that I had maybe a year or so before it wasn't driveable and if anything happened that required the subframe to be unbolted the bolts would break off and it would never be fixable.

Should be interesting to see how this unfolds....@michaell and @breld have already given me a couple of sanity checks, but hey I guess this means another punch this year.

There's a nice white C30 in my area that I drove--but didn't buy because it was white and an automatic. Car ran great, and comes from a reputable dealer who specializes in Volvo.

http://www.angelmotors.net/active.volvos/A2453/A2453.html

I'm sure it's negotiable.

kyfdx

jpp5862 said:

So an "interesting" (?) update on the beloved C30. CarMax offers a 30 day warranty and I had a couple of minor things for them to look at: tires needed balancing, trim piece loose around the sunroof, etc. Nothing major but easy fixes for a 10-year old car.

I dropped it off Monday night before heading out of town and they called yesterday to tell me that when they put it on the lift to balance they couldn't believe how rusted it was underneath. Essentially the service guy said it should have never passed their inspection process and they shouldn't have sold it to me......but they did and so here we are. To CarMax's credit they want to do the right thing and buy it back, but they're unsure exactly how that will work, so waiting on a call back to see what's next.

I'm clearly disappointed as I LOVE that car, but I certainly don't want it in the shape it's in. The mechanic told me that I had maybe a year or so before it wasn't driveable and if anything happened that required the subframe to be unbolted the bolts would break off and it would never be fixable.

Should be interesting to see how this unfolds....@michaell and @breld have already given me a couple of sanity checks, but hey I guess this means another punch this year.

You asked @breld for a sanity check??

jpp75

Mr_Shiftright said:

There's a nice white C30 in my area that I drove--but didn't buy because it was white and an automatic. Car ran great, and comes from a reputable dealer who specializes in Volvo.

http://www.angelmotors.net/active.volvos/A2453/A2453.html

I'm sure it's negotiable.

Thanks shifty, but it's an AUTO.

After driving both I'd only want a 6 speed again in this car.

Mr_Shiftright

Might hard to find. Ask me how I know!

28firefighter

@jpp5862 - Can/will CarMax assist you in locating a substantially similar car for the same price? Maybe they can get you another one at their cost - or transfer one in from another area at their cost?

stickguy

JPP, that sucks. Just be greatful it was carmax, not a private sale. They have buckets of money. Can simply buy it from you, including sales tax. But simpler could be finding you a replacement, shipping it in, then doing as a trade in.

Or scrape up some extra cash, and buy the Golf R from Breld!

kyfdx

stickguy said:

JPP, that sucks. Just be greatful it was carmax, not a private sale. They have buckets of money. Can simply buy it from you, including sales tax. But simpler could be finding you a replacement, shipping it in, then doing as a trade in.

Or scrape up some extra cash, and buy the Golf R from Breld!

"Hi Carmax, I found a similar car to that C30. Can you buy it, then re-sell it to me for no additional cost?" Yes, yes.. it's a small hatchback with a stick. Slightly lower miles.

28firefighter

Isn't @kyfdx or @graphicguy buying the R?

stickguy

Kyfdx talks a good line. Then when the check comes, alligator arms and no wallet in sight.

stickguy

Just looked at carmax site. They list 6 C30s nationwide. All automatics.

stickguy

Nice later run car. New clutch! But base model, no options.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/749641053/overview/

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

Kyfdx talks a good line. Then when the check comes, alligator arms and no wallet in sight.

That's not true. He bought me a beer once!

corvette

tbirdmarco said:

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

The Jeep is a rental while I’m on vacation.  The CarPlay implementation is absolutely infuriating. If I plug my phone in via USB, it uses the GPS signal from the car. For some reason the car thinks it’s stuck in Illinois. So I have to tell the car to connect via Bluetooth every time I start it and use my 12v charger. 

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Kyfdx talks a good line. Then when the check comes, alligator arms and no wallet in sight.

Beers are easier... 🍺

qbrozen

jpp5862 said:

So an "interesting" (?) update on the beloved C30. CarMax offers a 30 day warranty and I had a couple of minor things for them to look at: tires needed balancing, trim piece loose around the sunroof, etc. Nothing major but easy fixes for a 10-year old car. I dropped it off Monday night before heading out of town and they called yesterday to tell me that when they put it on the lift to balance they couldn't believe how rusted it was underneath. Essentially the service guy said it should have never passed their inspection process and they shouldn't have sold it to me......but they did and so here we are. To CarMax's credit they want to do the right thing and buy it back, but they're unsure exactly how that will work, so waiting on a call back to see what's next. I'm clearly disappointed as I LOVE that car, but I certainly don't want it in the shape it's in. The mechanic told me that I had maybe a year or so before it wasn't driveable and if anything happened that required the subframe to be unbolted the bolts would break off and it would never be fixable. Should be interesting to see how this unfolds....@michaell and @breld have already given me a couple of sanity checks, but hey I guess this means another punch this year.

Some good and bad there. Amazing they are owning up to it.

jpp75

Mr_Shiftright said:

There's a nice white C30 in my area that I drove--but didn't buy because it was white and an automatic. Car ran great, and comes from a reputable dealer who specializes in Volvo.

http://www.angelmotors.net/active.volvos/A2453/A2453.html

I'm sure it's negotiable.

Thanks shifty, but it's an AUTO.

After driving both I'd only want a 6 speed again in this car.

jpp75

@28firefighter as @stickguy found they don't have any manuals in their inventory right now but they did mention working with me to find another car, which I'm open to. I supposed if anyone could find one easily they could.

@stickguy I agree that I'm fortunate this happened with CarMax, although as I pointed out to them yesterday had I been buying this from an independent dealer or private party I would have had PPI done and would have never bought the car when this was discovered. I think they actually get that and agree, that's part of the "premium" CarMax experience that you pay for, the peace of mind you aren't buying a car with major issues, so they are at least standing behind that.

tifighter

Bummer @jpp5862
Since we can all agree that another C30 stick would be a unicorn, the letters GTI keep flashing in my eyes for this situation.

breld

28firefighter said:

Isn't @kyfdx or @graphicguy buying the R?

Not the right timing for them. As it turns out, one of our co-workers heard we were selling it and will be buying it from us. So that's easy.

jpp75

tifighter said:

Bummer @jpp5862
Since we can all agree that another C30 stick would be a unicorn, the letters GTI keep flashing in my eyes for this situation.

The GTI is certainly a natural choice, and I'm not opposed but @breld and I discussed that a GTI in this price range is likely to be "needier" than the Volvo (not that Volvo's are trouble free), plus I love the uniqueness of the C30.

However given they were never big sellers to begin with it's definitely a unicorn.

breld

Hmm...@Mr_Shiftright and @jpp5862 may be a bit quiet about their findings for a little while as they both compete for that unicorn!

28firefighter

All of this talk about fun cars had me check the weather for the weekend it seems like a perfect time to get the Viggen out for a cruise! I had it out this weekend driving along the beach in West Seattle down into Burien with very little traffic. Was lovely.

fintail

Not the most "fun" car per se, This is the car at MB of Seattle - I'd take this on a $600 down/$600 month lease.

I like the colors on this car, and it has two important options - full LED gauges (must-have for me), Distronic (almost a must-have). No pano, but I could deal with that as it those other two, and want two of the three. Quite rare to see a 4cyl car with this spec. I also like the matte finish wood, I want a light matte wood, or the striped option.

stickguy

fancy car. Me, I still don't like the dash design on that. but as always YMMV

fintail

I'd rather buy out my Bluetec at a real world price, or find an even higher optioned one, but I am thinking what I will do if neither of those are possible. I could get into a new lease. I've also thought used S or G, but those will create running costs maybe in excess of what I want.

sda

fintail said:

Not the most "fun" car per se, This is the car at MB of Seattle - I'd take this on a $600 down/$600 month lease. I like the colors on this car, and it has two important options - full LED gauges (must-have for me), Distronic (almost a must-have). No pano, but I could deal with that as it those other two, and want two of the three. Quite rare to see a 4cyl car with this spec. I also like the matte finish wood, I want a light matte wood, or the striped option.

wow, I forgot how expensive they've become.  I'm surprised at that price it doesn't have leather.  Still very nice, has great presence.

stickguy

expanded search of C30s (yes, I am that bored). a few interesting ones.

this one is nice looking. like the color. seems to be a good mix of $ and miles.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/749915642/overview/

this one looks even better. and loaded up with leather, power memory seats and moonroof. I like it!

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/743581665/overview/

nice loaded R design for the midwest crowd.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/748861483/overview/

and, one for the PNW crowd. Can't tell what options on it though.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/749246394/overview/

pensfan83

@breld that white Prelude is down to $7800 now.

Drivingfool

Oil change was super easy. Sat in some of their new vehicles and liked the Jetta with the Beats audio the best. Since they no longer make the Golf SEL, might have to go with a GTI as the SE in the showroom didn't excite me one bit. 16" wheels when I now have 17"ers is not something I'd like to do but the alloy design wasn't to bad. No Fender audio system either...bummer! Oh well, VW might not be my next vehicle I suspect.

The Driving Fool