Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

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!

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/

AND IN CALIFORNIA?.......Nothin'!

Be sure to look at the photos before you start making plans--I'm finding that maybe 30-50% of the cars listed as "manual" are, in fact, automatics. I almost wasted a 50 mile trip a few days ago for that very reason.

stickguy

I always verify. Saw a bright blue one today in my office lot. Peeked in window, and sadly, automatic.

stickguy

Besides, Washington is close. You would drive that far for a taco.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

@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?"

Wow; this was all on a 50MPH road? Sounds like that "Parkway" name is a bit of a misnomer.

I imagine there are probably a lot of roads that could be described similarly to this in that area, but it sounds familiar to me. Never drove on it, but did ride a few buses between the NYC/Newark area and West Point, NY.

tbirdmarco

Lol lol 

tbirdmarco

 Have to also re-log in from time to time, but that’s once every other month or so. Have the peach bowl parked on my phone just logon here whenever I want, and of course the most recent page I don’t want it for a couple of days. 

tbirdmarco

Breld what car is next?

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

Besides, Washington is close. You would drive that far for a taco.

Yes but not an automatic taco.

qbrozen

tbirdmarco said:

Breld what car is next?

I'm going to guess a smaller, more efficient vehicle for the wife to drive when not driving the Macan. Maybe back to a Mini. Possibly a GTI.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

tbirdmarco said:

Breld what car is next?

I'm going to guess a smaller, more efficient vehicle for the wife to drive when not driving the Macan. Maybe back to a Mini. Possibly a GTI.

Every time I think that the family has the "right" set of vehicles, I'm proven wrong.

Though I think the Q7 is a (for now) keeper. I can see the Miata going by next spring or summer, when the weather - and the market - is more convertible friendly.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

tbirdmarco said:

Breld what car is next?

I'm going to guess a smaller, more efficient vehicle for the wife to drive when not driving the Macan. Maybe back to a Mini. Possibly a GTI.

With 2019 GTIs arriving in VW showrooms in the not too distant future, Mrs @breld could score herself a smokin deal on a 2018 GTI S 6MT Leftover.

stickguy

had some time to kill over lunch, while waiting for IT at work to swap me over to a new laptop (enforced goofing off!) so swung through the Volvo dealer. Sat in an S60 in the showroom. Man, that is a comfy car. I just really like the interior. Would be nice to drive those seats! rand down their used row (largely service loaner 2018s). Some pretty good discounts, but none that were quite right to ask about. Thought about taking one out for a spin, but did not really have the time, or want to get into it with the sales guy today.

breld

qbrozen said:

tbirdmarco said:

Breld what car is next?

I'm going to guess a smaller, more efficient vehicle for the wife to drive when not driving the Macan. Maybe back to a Mini. Possibly a GTI.

You know what would be really cool - a Golf R.

breld

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

tbirdmarco said:

Breld what car is next?

I'm going to guess a smaller, more efficient vehicle for the wife to drive when not driving the Macan. Maybe back to a Mini. Possibly a GTI.

Every time I think that the family has the "right" set of vehicles, I'm proven wrong.

Though I think the Q7 is a (for now) keeper. I can see the Miata going by next spring or summer, when the weather - and the market - is more convertible friendly.

This would be my guess as well.

jpp75

@benjaminh My Volvo is a 2008, so 10ish years old.

@stickguy Thanks for all that research, ironically I've been in Chicago for work and that R line was about 3 miles from where I was staying. I called yesterday planning to go drive it but they had a deposit on it and said it would be gone today.

@28firefighter Thanks for the offer! I'm still waiting for CarMax to call me and find out what the next steps are. Clearly I can't do anything until we have the buyback solidified. So far all I have is the lead service advisor saying they want to buy it back.....

@Mr_Shiftright I've had the same experience with the number that say they're manual but really aren't.

I return to Denver tonight and will go down tomorrow and see what's up. They told me I can pick up the C30 as "it's completely safe to drive" but if I'm not comfortable driving it they would put me in a loaner.

nyccarguy

@jpp5862 - That really stinks about your C30. I'm glad carmax appears to be standing behind their products!

stickguy

definitely take a loaner. as long as you are driving their car, and yours is sitting there taking up space, they have incentive to make it go away.

plus, that explicitly admit that there is a problem with the car!

graphicguy

@jpp5862 ...WOW....incredible about the C30. And, good to hear CARMAX is stepping up to do the right thing. Just wondering....what kind of power the Service Manager has to swing you out of a (potentially) faulty car?

I know my Caddy Service Manager acted like I had 3 eyes whenever I requested to meet/talk with him. He made it clear he wanted no part of the fiasco that I had going on. I had a service writer really go to bat on my behalf, however....taking pictures of the scorched area under the car, taking pictures of the melted wiring, etc.

tbirdmarco

Agree with  you Q. b  you   Never no  with Breld  

tbirdmarco

Lol lol lol 

tbirdmarco

 Sounds like an nice car stick guy 

corvette

qbrozen said:

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. 

That’s annoying. Pretty sure the VW Passat loaner I had in 2013 or 2014 would automatically reconnect Bluetooth streaming on startup. 

corvette

graphicguy said:

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”.

It’s actully an OE Apple USB cable, and others are reporting the same problem. I checked Jeep’s website with the VIN and it said no updates were available. The workaround is that, due to this issue and spotty cell service in the mountains, I’m using the Garmin GPS I brought along for navigation, and plugging the phone in to the USB port and using CarPlay to stream my podcasts while driving, so no Waze.  I have an iPhone 6s and when it’s connected to CarPlay, if I try to look at maps or pull up a website on the phone, it’s slow to the point of being unusable. Again, IDK if that’s because I have an old phone, or if it’s a CarPlay issue generally, or something with Uconnect. At this point I think they should have called it Udisconnect. 

stickguy

I wonder what happened to poor iLuv? My guess, he made the trip to sheboygan to buy a Sentra, and his wife whacked him with a shovel and put him into a coma.

xwesx

Well, guys, I'm off to SLC tonight for a 3,000 mile drive back to Fairbanks! I'll most likely follow up once we're back in town. Adieu!

breld

@xwesx - be safe and have fun!

tbirdmarco

 Stick guy, was wondering the same thing would happen to my love, hopefully will hear from him soon. 

tbirdmarco

Lol. Gool  lol  now now, I don’t want anyone in here getting the wrong idea because this damn phone. Ha ha 

tbirdmarco

 Have a safe trip wait can’t wait to hear all about it. Happy Friday everybody, have a good upcoming weekend all. 

qbrozen

@28firefighter
did you get this welcome packet in the mail? Nice little notebook

qbrozen

Just noticed they actually printed my name inside on the brochure. That's a little impressive.

stickguy

I was out running errands yesterday. Saw at least 2 stelvios within a couple miles of each other. So they are getting out there.

stickguy

What’s wrong with a loan well into your 60’s? Asking for a friend.....

stickguy

The loan, that’s what happens when you buy a well used car but still finance out for low payments. And why I created my 5 year rule (age plus years of payments remaining can’t exceed 5 combined).

I’m not bothered by the net equity though. If you are making the rest of the payments then selling right away, no real difference in dumping it now and just making the payments in a different loan.

graphicguy

corvette said:

graphicguy said:

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”.

It’s actully an OE Apple USB cable, and others are reporting the same problem. I checked Jeep’s website with the VIN and it said no updates were available. The workaround is that, due to this issue and spotty cell service in the mountains, I’m using the Garmin GPS I brought along for navigation, and plugging the phone in to the USB port and using CarPlay to stream my podcasts while driving, so no Waze.  I have an iPhone 6s and when it’s connected to CarPlay, if I try to look at maps or pull up a website on the phone, it’s slow to the point of being unusable. Again, IDK if that’s because I have an old phone, or if it’s a CarPlay issue generally, or something with Uconnect. At this point I think they should have called it Udisconnect. 


iOS 12 was supposed to speed up older iPhones. Something’s weird. How much memory does it have?

Sad story....I had heard that mobile phones carry more germs than toilet seats. Don’t know if it’s true or not, but decided to take my case off my iPhone X last night and wipe it down with anti-bacterial wipes. My first mistake was trying to do it on my kitchen table, which is made of marble. 2nd mistake was not doing it in an area where the floor isn’t made of hard tile.

You can see where this is going....taking off the case, which was being stubborn, caused it to slip out of my hand and squirt across the kitchen table, up into the air, with my bumbling...fumbling hands trying to grasp it, all the while just knocking it further into the air. For my next performance, I will watch as it bounces across the floor, not once, not twice, not three times, but 4 times.

Don’t know why, but I slowly approached where it finally came to rest, as if to wait for it to somehow take at least one more bounce.

Well, the back is cracked. I wait to turn it over.....awww !@#$ $%^$....you piece of %^&*. Both front and back are broken. This is going to be expensive.

Phone is only 11 months old. I put the broken carcass back into the case, and drive to the Apple Store.

One of the nice appointment setters greeted me, and as I said nothing but showed her my phone, she sighed. She looked up my phone. No matter, warranty doesn’t cover “abuse”. She asked if I had the phone in the case (a proper silicon Apple case) when it happened. “No...I was trying to clean it...case was off.”

She complimented my on my hygiene and asked me to wait until she could confer with a colleague. A few minutes later, the two come to me, with the new colleague stating since the phone broke while it had an Apple case on it.....I began to correct him....my original helper shot me a look and shook her head....Apple would replace it.

Hallelujah!!!!! I love Apple!

stickguy

All those trillions, going to good use!

I never take my case off. For a reason.

28firefighter

Glad that worked out for you GG! For every good story about Apple like that that I have, I have half a dozen more that don't go nearly as well. My earlier time with Apple in the Steve Jobs days were consistently like that.

28firefighter

@qbrozen - not yet, I don't think. I'll ask my wife before she leaves.

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

Glad that worked out for you GG! For every good story about Apple like that that I have, I have half a dozen more that don't go nearly as well. My earlier time with Apple in the Steve Jobs days were consistently like that.

I recall your story about Jobs. I get it. It’s always a crap shoot. I’ve had times when Apple infuriates me. Other times, they are as gracious as can be. Not sure it matters, but my company is a major supplier for Apple, and they have me on record as having a MacBook Pro, an iPad Pro, and of course, the iPhone.

28firefighter

It makes sense.

Ultimately I ended up buying the new iPhone XS because over the weekend my iPhone 7 gave up the ghost completely. Battery was trashed and apps were continually crashing. Even with a full reset, it was still happening. It bothers me that 2 years is the useful life for a device, but I guess it is what it is.

pensfan83

We've been on the odd numbered iterations of the Galaxy S line, starting with the 3 and now on the 7. Knock on wood but both our S7's still hold a charge relatively well and we haven't had any crashing issues. We would normally have upgraded by now but unless performance drops off dramatically I see no reason to upgrade.

suydam

The life of any electronic device is variable. My iPhone 6s is still chugging along nicely, as is my 3 year old iPad. OTOH my previous iPad crashed and burned after 2 years. They are complex devices that we carry everywhere and use constantly.

corvette

My iPhone 6s is a 64 GB model with plenty of free memory and runs great on iOS 12 so long as it’s not plugged into the CarPlay in the Jeep. 

ab348

stickguy said:

I was out running errands yesterday. Saw at least 2 stelvios within a couple miles of each other. So they are getting out there.

Were they both broken down on the side of the road?

graphicguy

@stickguy ...maybe I came off a little too strong. Nothing wrong with a car loan at 60. But, I've always felt, why pay for something you can't use and no longer own, as is the case of rolling over negative equity into another car (which probably won't be all that good at holding resale value)?

I used to be a staunch "buy only" person when it comes to vehicles. Now, seeing all the deals you guys post about leases, I may go that route on my next go round. The big advantage there, I won't have to come out of pocket for 10s of thousands of dollars.

In iluv's case, it made zero sense to me. You have a functioning car (the Kia) which has warranty (assuming he was under 100K miles). Pay off the Kia and then look at your next move. To me, that was the obvious way to go. I'm guessing his wife felt the same way. Aside from his little reactions about how unworthy some of us are in our beliefs, I felt sorry for him.

He was obviously stuck with a car he no longer wanted or enjoyed (although, anyone who uses the moniker "iluvsephia" would seem to love Kias in general). He was upside down in an 11 year old car (something I'm still trying to wrap my head around), and trying to move away from it, for another car he loved.....the SENTRA. Couldn't you see this scenario play out the same way a little down the line on the Sentra, too?

corvette

I didn’t know his Soul was 11 years old. Have they even been out that long? Didn’t he plan on getting a Scion at one point? 

graphicguy

corvette said:

I didn’t know his Soul was 11 years old. Have they even been out that long? Didn’t he plan on getting a Scion at one point? 

You might be right. Maybe I mistook the age with the year. Maybe it's a 2011 Kia Soul. But still, 7 year old vehicle with negative equity? What kind of loan was it? And, I thought he said he had $3K of negative equity, IIRC.

I don't know that a 7 year old (8 model years) Kia Soul is even worth $3K, is it?

carnaught

stickguy said:

I never take my case off. For a reason.

But, if you do, do it in a padded room.

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

It makes sense.

Ultimately I ended up buying the new iPhone XS because over the weekend my iPhone 7 gave up the ghost completely. Battery was trashed and apps were continually crashing. Even with a full reset, it was still happening. It bothers me that 2 years is the useful life for a device, but I guess it is what it is.

I looked at the new ones. I really liked the "big" iPhone XS Max. That had a gorgeous screen and was really legible. But damn.....they wanted like $1,200 for that one. Surprisingly, they had them in stock, which is unusual for a new iPhone since they just introduced it.

They said I could trade in my iPhone X for an XS. I was tempted, but I wanted the big one, but didn't want to part with the money to get it.

How do you like the XS? I heard they're blazing fast and face recognition is a lot better.

nyccarguy

Here’s some stuff that’s available to me on honcker for 18,000 miles per year: