Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

28firefighter

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.

Did you calculate the original MSRP on it?

breld

pensfan83 said:

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

I saw that. At some point I imagine he'll realize that funny enough, it's not worth more than what he paid for it earlier this year. And who knows, maybe less!

fintail

It's tough to determine all of the options given the resolution of the photos,but it must be at least 70K. It has P3, which is something like 10K by itself.

28firefighter said:

Did you calculate the original MSRP on it?

fintail

Yep, that's a Tex car. I don't mind Tex, and would pick it to have other options. The leather is nice - soft, smells good, but Tex isn't bad, and is very durable. Most people also can't tell the difference. Very German to have a car with a 70K or more MSRP and pleather interior.

sda said:

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.

breld

So apparently our co-worker has his loan lined up for the purchase of the Golf R and would like to close on it this Friday.

Breaking new ground here - we'll be selling a car before putting plates on it.

tifighter

breld said:

So apparently our co-worker has his loan lined up for the purchase of the Golf R and would like to close on it this Friday.

Breaking new ground here - we'll be selling a car before putting plates on it.

Already changed the Edmunds signature too. It's like it never happened.

28firefighter

If you can figure out MSRP @fintail I can tell you if they can get close. If its just P3, it could be as low as a 66k MSRP, which is about right given that they have it advertised for 64k.

To get to 600 down and 600 month you'd need a solid 15%+ depending on if you qualify for fleet.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

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/

if that R design had the 2-tone leather, it would be perfect.

28firefighter

Depending on if there was interest and timing, I might be able to shoot down to Olympia to look at that C30.

Drivingfool

Saw an R design at the dealer today in their pre-owned section. Was a silver/gray color and looked very attractive on it. Really seem to pushing Jetta's and Tiguan's and saw many parked here and there.

The Driving Fool

nyccarguy

breld said:

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

I saw that. At some point I imagine he'll realize that funny enough, it's not worth more than what he paid for it earlier this year. And who knows, maybe less!

Cars are a depreciating asset.  What a concept!

nyccarguy

breld said:

So apparently our co-worker has his loan lined up for the purchase of the Golf R and would like to close on it this Friday. Breaking new ground here - we'll be selling a car before putting plates on it.

Nice!  I’m sure you got a good price for it!

breld

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

So apparently our co-worker has his loan lined up for the purchase of the Golf R and would like to close on it this Friday. Breaking new ground here - we'll be selling a car before putting plates on it.

Nice!  I’m sure you got a good price for it!

Well, a little better than having Carvana pick it up, and a good deal for sure for our co-worker.  So, I’d say a good deal all around.  

ronsteve

Punch pending... the "sales and leasing expert" I have been working with is off tomorrow, so taking delivery Friday.

tbirdmarco

 Ron Steve can you give us some details I really wanna know, what do we have to wait till Friday. Me and everyone and here are dying to know. 

benjaminhf

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.

Yikes. What year is this vehicle?

breld

For you Apple CarPlay users - i just upgraded to iOS 12 yesterday and so now I have Waze available on CarPlay.  In case you didn’t know that was coming.  

tbirdmarco

 Got you Corvette, so jeeps a rental OK, just was wondering. Enjoy the rest of your vacation chat later. 

tbirdmarco

 Sorry to hear what happened to the car he bought recently JPP, but I’m glad that Carmax it’s owning up to it as much as it stinks in there gonna buy it back from you and work with you I’m buying another one. Have to see what car you will get next if you can’t find another C 30 sister. Rare. 

tjc78

breld said:

For you Apple CarPlay users - i just upgraded to iOS 12 yesterday and so now I have Waze available on CarPlay.  In case you didn’t know that was coming.  

Yes, it’s cool.  If you upgraded right away like I did there was about a week gap between IOS12 and the newest version of WAZE.  At least it works now, along with Google maps. 

stickguy

I don't use Waze, but do want to try out google maps. So I guess I should go ahead and update ios. I usually wait a bit to make sure.

breld

This actually seems like it was a good buy on BaT.  I shared the listing with my neighbor who was looking for one of these wagons, but I don’t think he went so far as bidding.  

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-mercedes-benz-e63-wagon/

stickguy

nice looking wagon. snazzy.

pensfan83

breld said:

I saw that. At some point I imagine he'll realize that funny enough, it's not worth more than what he paid for it earlier this year. And who knows, maybe less!

Everyone is just trying to ride the wave of 90's car nostalgia.

stickguy

I have moved on to early 70s Fords. That's where the big money is these days!

fintail

I decoded the VIN and built one to what appears to be the same spec - decoder vs reality is sometimes inaccurate. From what I can tell, MSRP almost at 70K exactly, but could be 68K depending on an option. If MSRP is even 70, 64K is too much already, as it isn't brand new anymore.

IMO 64K would be a bit too much for a brand new one at that MSRP, especially on the cusp of Q4.

I qualify for fleet. But this is all just fun chatter until I know for sure what will happen to the current car. I'll try to visit the dealer this weekend and get something firm. If I won't keep it, I'll have some work to do.

28firefighter said:

If you can figure out MSRP @fintail I can tell you if they can get close. If its just P3, it could be as low as a 66k MSRP, which is about right given that they have it advertised for 64k.

To get to 600 down and 600 month you'd need a solid 15%+ depending on if you qualify for fleet.

ab348

fintail said:

I qualify for fleet. But this is all just fun chatter until I know for sure what will happen to the current car. Z I'll try to visit the dealer this weekend and get something firm. If I won't keep it, I'll have some work to do.

Fin, do you have a sense of what market value of your car is? I was thinking there might not be many comparables considering it's a diesel.

28firefighter

As always, let me know @fintail. 

fintail

I think at lease end, it might be a 35K car. Residual is 42K.

ab348 said:

Fin, do you have a sense of what market value of your car is? I was thinking there might not be many comparables considering it's a diesel.

fintail

Definitely. I think you're more skilled at the bargain hunting than me, and I too like a deal.

28firefighter said:

As always, let me know @fintail. 

qbrozen

breld said:

This actually seems like it was a good buy on BaT.  I shared the listing with my neighbor who was looking for one of these wagons, but I don’t think he went so far as bidding.  

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2014-mercedes-benz-e63-wagon/

Buyer paid pretty much trade-in value. I can't believe the money these bring. 20% premium over the sedan version.

fintail

I'd take an E63 wagon, at least before thinking about running costs. I think "Cavansite" blue is the same color as my car ("Indigo"), with a different name for the Canadian market. It definitely has a different look depending on lighting.

I'd want to know from where in Canada it comes - the rust heaven of Ontario/Quebec or the gentle climate of Victoria.

corvette

Update: Uconnect automatically reconnected audio streaming from my iPhone ONCE out of dozens of times starting the car. The people on the Jeep and Apple boards are complaining about the GPS problem I’m having with CarPlay.  Also, the proximity key is supposed to unlock the doors when you put your fingers in the cup behind the door handle, before you grab the handle. It’s failed to do that in time twice now. I think Chrysler must be using Alfa Romeo electronics on the Cherokee. It’s otherwise a pleasant, comfortable vehicle to drive. 

28firefighter

Now now. I haven’t had any problems with the keyless entry.....

...yet. 

tbirdmarco

 Welp gland Kriebel sell the people are we worker of yours, at least he’ll be out of the fleet and then with for now on Friday. And then onto the next car to replace it with in the fleet, Ha ha ha 

Drivingfool

For some reason, computer didn't recognize me again about an hour ago. Weird because I did the new operating system in my MacBook over 24 hours ago. But again, had issues getting in here. WTF?? I always thought when a company fixes their software, things get easier for the users. But in this case, at least 3 of us have had to change our names and make new accounts just to get in here. I know as for me, I'm getting to the end of my rope here, my patience is about to run out with Edmunds.com. As much as I enjoy this site, the difficulty factor is just getting to the point that it ain't worth it and it makes me sad.
Once and for all, can't anyone in the organization fix this nagging issue? I mean c'mon folks, there must be one of the many tech folks who can figure out this issue and just fix it already!!
O K, sorry for the rant, but since this is my favorite site on the web, man do I have a real life or what, hate that it's getting more and more difficult to use it. I think having to change my screen name was the final straw for me. It's something I didn't want to do and something I'm still not happy with. There must be a way to combine both accounts and move forward??? Anyone???

The Sandman/Driving Fool

(How do we combine accounts here so all my posts remain plus everything else stays? There must be a way to combine both accounts!!)

Michaell

Drivingfool said:

For some reason, computer didn't recognize me again about an hour ago. Weird because I did the new operating system in my MacBook over 24 hours ago. But again, had issues getting in here. WTF?? I always thought when a company fixes their software, things get easier for the users. But in this case, at least 3 of us have had to change our names and make new accounts just to get in here. I know as for me, I'm getting to the end of my rope here, my patience is about to run out with Edmunds.com. As much as I enjoy this site, the difficulty factor is just getting to the point that it ain't worth it and it makes me sad.
Once and for all, can't anyone in the organization fix this nagging issue? I mean c'mon folks, there must be one of the many tech folks who can figure out this issue and just fix it already!!
O K, sorry for the rant, but since this is my favorite site on the web, man do I have a real life or what, hate that it's getting more and more difficult to use it. I think having to change my screen name was the final straw for me. It's something I didn't want to do and something I'm still not happy with. There must be a way to combine both accounts and move forward??? Anyone???

The Sandman/Driving Fool

Have you opened a ticket with help@edmunds.com? If not, I would recommend doing that.

Drivingfool

Was impressed with the new audio system look in the new VW's, makes my unit look positively ancient! Nice to have the option of Sirius/XM and Apple CarPlay at the same time. Think if it wouldn't be super complicated and expensive, I'd love to swap out the new unit for my old one. Just the head unit as I like the Fender set-up I've already got but like the look of the new audio unit. The had a white over black Golf SE in the new car showroom and sat in it for about fifteen minutes or so. Feels just like mine does but the addition of the Apple CarPlay, USB/aux interface, push button start and 16" alloys seem to be the only difference. There's also the new 6/72 warranty which ain't too bad. Price had an M.S.R.P. of just over $26K but thinking there must be some kind of discount since it's a Golf and they seem to sell in pretty low numbers.
Didn't get with the sales guy who came over to ask about their current inventory as hated to waste his time though, he did approach me. Saw on the receipt that the front tires have 8/32 of tread while the rears have 7/32, with front and rear brakes in great shape. Have just over 22K on the tires and brakes are original equipment. Had my mechanic check them a couple months ago and he said they're just fine contrary to what I thought.
So, staying the course with the current Golf as nothing really wrong with it. Happy with the 17" run flats though not sure I'd do it again as they've risen in price due to those ridiculous tarriff's I'm guessing. Liked the white but would do it over beige but starting to like the dark gray color as my #1 choice.

The Sandman/Driving Fool

Drivingfool

Is that really going to help? I know the powers that be must know about this issue already as now, there are 3 of us going through this nonsense. Doesn't someone who has the knowledge in the tech department that has a fix for this issue? At this point, feel like I've got multiple personalities, lol!! But seriously, would sure love it if it could be fixed already!!

28firefighter

You should open a ticket with Kirstie through the help desk and give her an opportunity to fix things. 

Michaell

Drivingfool said:

Was impressed with the new audio system look in the new VW's, makes my unit look positively ancient! Nice to have the option of Sirius/XM and Apple CarPlay at the same time. Think if it wouldn't be super complicated and expensive, I'd love to swap out the new unit for my old one. Just the head unit as I like the Fender set-up I've already got but like the look of the new audio unit. The had a white over black Golf SE in the new car showroom and sat in it for about fifteen minutes or so. Feels just like mine does but the addition of the Apple CarPlay, USB/aux interface, push button start and 16" alloys seem to be the only difference. There's also the new 6/72 warranty which ain't too bad. Price had an M.S.R.P. of just over $26K but thinking there must be some kind of discount since it's a Golf and they seem to sell in pretty low numbers.
Didn't get with the sales guy who came over to ask about their current inventory as hated to waste his time though, he did approach me. Saw on the receipt that the front tires have 8/32 of tread while the rears have 7/32, with front and rear brakes in great shape. Have just over 22K on the tires and brakes are original equipment. Had my mechanic check them a couple months ago and he said they're just fine contrary to what I thought.
So, staying the course with the current Golf as nothing really wrong with it. Happy with the 17" run flats though not sure I'd do it again as they've risen in price due to those ridiculous tarriff's I'm guessing. Liked the white but would do it over beige but starting to like the dark gray color as my #1 choice.

The Sandman/Driving Fool

I have CarPlay in my Jetta, and I just updated the iOS on my iPhone to version 12. Now I can use both Google Maps and Waze, in addition to the regular Apple Maps.

qbrozen

corvette said:

Update: Uconnect automatically reconnected audio streaming from my iPhone ONCE out of dozens of times starting the car. The people on the Jeep and Apple boards are complaining about the GPS problem I’m having with CarPlay.  Also, the proximity key is supposed to unlock the doors when you put your fingers in the cup behind the door handle, before you grab the handle. It’s failed to do that in time twice now. I think Chrysler must be using Alfa Romeo electronics on the Cherokee. It’s otherwise a pleasant, comfortable vehicle to drive. 

We've never had a problem with the auto unlocking in our 2014, and so far its working in my stelvio. But uconnect has never automatically streamed from our devices. We always have to push the Media button and select the device. 

tbirdmarco

 That’s the way it is with the older you connect systems, always have to connect phone yourself usually buy what was mentioned above. Newer stuff on the newer products not sure. That’s the way it is in my sisters jeep. 

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

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

@breld moved too quickly. I was thinking he’d part with it in several more months. See, I don’t know him as well as I thought I did.

Anyway, yes he did offer it to me but he was making the deal NOW! Regrettably, I had to pass.

graphicguy

corvette said:

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. 


Hmmmm.....CarPlay should be seemless to the car’s infotainment screen. It uses a cell signal to place the car on Apple Maps.

It should charge via the USB port in the car. Something’s awry if it’s using the GPS signal from the car.

Either there’s firmware in the car that needs to be updated, or the cable is somehow “non-spec”.

nyccarguy

@Mr_Shiftright - I can see your hesitation to replace your Mini. This past Saturday, I had to take the Saw Mill River Parkway from work to my son's Squirt Hockey game in Ridgefield, CT. For those of you unfamiliar with the road, it is a 4 lane (2 North Bound, 2 South Bound) very old highway in New York with a 50 mph speed limit, lots of twists, and turns as well as multiple traffic lights. As I merged on, I saw a Mini Cooper Countryman. (This was a "base" car and not an "S") that looked like it was eager to get by a HEMI powered Charger that was left lane camping. I blasted on to the highway, then slowed down to my regular 70 mph pace and made sure the Mini had plenty of space to move over and pass on the right, then pass me on the left.

The Mini flew by me and went back into the left lane. By my guesstimate he was doing at least 85 - 90 mph. I had him in my sights and kept an eye on him. A few miles later, there was an Audi RS4 driving in a somewhat aggressive manor. I watched the RS4 which could completely over power a lot of cars on the road, but not to mention a "Base," non turbocharged Mini roll up behind the Mini. The RS4 rode the Mini's rear end. The Mini moved over, but maintained his speed (90+ at this point) through some twisty sections. The RS4 backed off and let the Mini keep going. Not ONCE did I see the Mini even touch his brakes.

"Judge me by my size will you?"

stickguy

Sandy, it seems that the primary issue is dead email addresses. Which required a new account. But now that you have driving fool set up, at most might have to log back in once in a while. I had to do that occasionally in the past too.

Devices try to be helpful by storing (cookies) your info, to log you back in automatically. But sometimes they get confused, and try to use old info. So logging back in should cure that.

Maybe Edmunds tech at some point figures out how to merge accounts, but we all know who you are anyway!

tjc78

Yes, every once in a while I have to re-login.

I think part of the problem is, if you have the site bookmarked (to the "My Discussions Page") and have to login it brings you to a login that doesn't work.

You have to scroll all the way to the bottom and use the link to sign in from there. Please excuse the terrible drawing, in a hurry

fintail

I don't want to insult Shifty, but it is nice to see stereotypes ring true for both brands. Around here, I see too many aggressive yet inept Mini drivers - the type who will weave through traffic, no signals (BMW product after all), but get stuck at the same moronically sequenced light as everyone else. And Audi, don't get me started

nyccarguy said:

The Mini flew by me and went back into the left lane. By my guesstimate he was doing at least 85 - 90 mph. I had him in my sights and kept an eye on him. A few miles later, there was an Audi RS4 driving in a somewhat aggressive manor. I
"Judge me by my size will you?"

breld

graphicguy said:

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

@breld moved too quickly. I was thinking he’d part with it in several more months. See, I don’t know him as well as I thought I did. Anyway, yes he did offer it to me but he was making the deal NOW! Regrettably, I had to pass.

Yeah, we even surprised ourselves on how quickly we moved on with this one.  

We did offer it out at the best trade we received (Carvana) plus tax savings.  But even at that, the spread between trade and retail doesn’t seem to be all that wide on these.  So...I don’t doubt there will be good options in the future on Golf Rs.