Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

BTW, if anybody has suggestions for good leases this month, I'm all ears. Not seeing much out there.

roadburner

Drivingfool said:

That BMW is calling your name!! Go for it!!

The Sandman/Driving Fool

We are.

28firefighter

I think you’re looking in the right places, @qbrozen. You’re entering the sweet spot for former BMW loaners, so I think that’s probably your best place to start. 

corvette

I generally avoid brick and mortar retailers between Thanksgiving and January 1. I ordered myself a previous-generation Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon today. I had a first-gen Paperwhite in 2011 or whenever they came out, got an iPad mini and sold the Paperwhite. Now, I've come to realize the iPad is okay for reading, but there is also some additional value in having a dedicated book reading device, so giving the Paperwhite another chance. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

Quite the quiet day here at the ol' ll household.

Only 3 of us here today, so kept it simple and made beef stew in the crock pot. Turkey and fixins will be on Saturday, when my stepson and his wife will be joining us.

Spent most of the day reading, watching football, and catching up on Edmunds posts. Even on a holiday, folks are still requesting lease numbers (hi @qbrozen!).

And, been doing some clandestine research on the pull ahead offer I got from my VW dealer.

Turns out I can likely lease a 2018 Passat SE for a few dollars less per month than I can a 2019 Jetta R-Line or SE.

But, both of those are a good $40-50/mo more than my current Jetta payment.

I smell a test drive in my future - maybe as early as tomorrow.

Sounds like everyone has had a great day.

Well someone has to keep you employed! ;b

I had over 100 posts today, most of them replying to Lease related questions. You weren't the only one shopping, just the only one I know reasonably well.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

I think you’re looking in the right places, @qbrozen. You’re entering the sweet spot for former BMW loaners, so I think that’s probably your best place to start. 

Was trying to look at MB, but there seems to be a habit of MB dealers to avoid posting original MSRP on their loaners. WTH is that about?
Am left wondering if a GLA250 or even C300 could enter our range.

I have put out inquiries on our LR. So far, carvana hit it at $5600 and KBB cash offer is $6100. Not unexpected, but still painful. I told the wife in our early discussions that I think $6k would probably be the number. Vroom, however, has yet to get back to me. Their "30-minute quote" is now at about hour 42.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

I think you’re looking in the right places, @qbrozen. You’re entering the sweet spot for former BMW loaners, so I think that’s probably your best place to start. 

Was trying to look at MB, but there seems to be a habit of MB dealers to avoid posting original MSRP on their loaners. WTH is that about?
Am left wondering if a GLA250 or even C300 could enter our range.

I have put out inquiries on our LR. So far, carvana hit it at $5600 and KBB cash offer is $6100. Not unexpected, but still painful. I told the wife in our early discussions that I think $6k would probably be the number. Vroom, however, has yet to get back to me. Their "30-minute quote" is now at about hour 42.

Even Vroom employees get the holiday off..

stickguy

I love the colors on the dark olive X1, and the blue over Mocha is lovely also. I could live with one of those.

under $300 with nothing down on an S60 would be hard to pass up. Last time I stopped by they had one that had MSRP ~ $40k, listed at $29,995. no clue if it could be leased though.

tbirdmarco

 Michael awesome what a snow if we do go on a test drive today. Cute hopefully you get your 6K for the Land Rover. You guys gonna keep the van? Put that up to for sale. 

kyfdx

Hood almost fell on my head, while I was adding oil. Might need a new car.

Mr_Shiftright

That was intentional on the part of the manufacturer. They don't like people working on their own cars.

henryn

We will need more information to follow what you're saying. Does your car have a hood prop that failed to stay put? Or do you have hood struts that have lost their lifting ability?

Or are you perhaps just looking for an excuse to go car shopping?

kyfdx

henryn said:

We will need more information to follow what you're saying. Does your car have a hood prop that failed to stay put? Or do you have hood struts that have lost their lifting ability?

Or are you perhaps just looking for an excuse to go car shopping?

Bad hood strut(s).

$107 for two OEM replacements. (if I do the labor).
I might have to junk it.

Mr_Shiftright

Depends what he's thinking of buying. Could be the hood inspired him, or in the worst case, brain damage.

qbrozen

Same here. LR hood won't stay up no more

henryn

kyfdx said:

Bad hood strut(s).

$107 for two OEM replacements. (if I do the labor).
I might have to junk it.

By "OEM", do you mean purchased from the dealer? If so, I would start seriously looking at RockAuto, Amazon, and eBay.

Unless, of course, you just want to go car shopping, in which case I would never discourage you. After all, this is CCBA!

kyfdx

henryn said:

kyfdx said:

Bad hood strut(s).

$107 for two OEM replacements. (if I do the labor).
I might have to junk it.

By "OEM", do you mean purchased from the dealer? If so, I would start seriously looking at RockAuto, Amazon, and eBay.

Unless, of course, you just want to go car shopping, in which case I would never discourage you. After all, this is CCBA!

I get a pretty good discount from the dealer (30% off list).

Yes, I could save half with aftermarket, but the next guy that owns it will thank me.

qbrozen

I find this "sale" quite humorous

henryn

I have a different attitude about that. Parts that are difficult to replace, I go for the best quality I can get. Something downright easy, different story. And I wouldn’t consider it a safety issue, either. I’ve never seen hood struts fail completely. They just get weak. You raise the hood, and it sinks slowly instead of staying put.

Quite often you can find the actual OEM parts on eBay or Amazon. Get the actual part number, and start searching. There is no reason on god’s green earth why a pair of hood struts should cost that much money.

Your money, your car. Have fun car shopping!

kyfdx

henryn said:

I have a different attitude about that. Parts that are difficult to replace, I go for the best quality I can get. Something downright easy, different story. And I wouldn’t consider it a safety issue, either. I’ve never seen hood struts fail completely. They just get weak. You raise the hood, and it sinks slowly instead of staying put.

Quite often you can find the actual OEM parts on eBay or Amazon. Get the actual part number, and start searching. There is no reason on god’s green earth why a pair of hood struts should cost that much money.

Your money, your car. Have fun car shopping!

30% off list is cheaper than Amazon or eBay for OEM. Also cheaper than ECS Tuning and other mail order houses.

Aftermarket might be okay for a mini-van.

28firefighter

Isn’t there medication out there to help with keeping “hood struts” up?

Mr_Shiftright

You mean an aphrodieselac?

I wonder what hood struts for a Ferrari cost?

Oh wait, I found them! $300.60 each.

henryn

Mr_Shiftright said:

You mean an aphrodieselac?

I wonder what hood struts for a Ferrari cost?

Oh wait, I found them! $300.60 each.

How many horsepower would that add? I would think at least 20?

henryn

kyfdx said:

henryn said:

I have a different attitude about that. Parts that are difficult to replace, I go for the best quality I can get. Something downright easy, different story. And I wouldn’t consider it a safety issue, either. I’ve never seen hood struts fail completely. They just get weak. You raise the hood, and it sinks slowly instead of staying put.

Quite often you can find the actual OEM parts on eBay or Amazon. Get the actual part number, and start searching. There is no reason on god’s green earth why a pair of hood struts should cost that much money.

Your money, your car. Have fun car shopping!

30% off list is cheaper than Amazon or eBay for OEM. Also cheaper than ECS Tuning and other mail order houses.

Aftermarket might be okay for a mini-van.

Nah, my T&C uses a prop rod. Never wears out. And kind of nostalgic. My first car, a 1949 Chevy, I used a broomstick to prop up the hood.

Mr_Shiftright

henryn said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

You mean an aphrodieselac?

I wonder what hood struts for a Ferrari cost?

Oh wait, I found them! $300.60 each.

How many horsepower would that add? I would think at least 20?

I like that they added .60 cents. Merciless.

corvette

28firefighter said:

Isn’t there medication out there to help with keeping “hood struts” up?

I've found that the cold weather decreases fluid circulation, leading to problems with struts getting up, or staying up.

nyccarguy

It seems I’m raising my kids the right way

roadburner

Okay, put me down for a punch; the deal worked out even better than I thought. I ended up being charged $315 less for the CPO certification- and the service department performed over $1,100 worth of work to bring it up to CPO spec- and they will also be providing a second key(per CPO requirements). Finally, my salesperson is a friend I helped out a lot when I worked there- he was unhappy with the paint detailing so I'm bringing it back next week to get a full exterior detail at no cost.
My wife loves the car, and I like it a lot as well. We both like the M Sport suspension tuning and sport seats- and the performance is more than adequate.
Not a bad truck for about the same price as a FWD Chevrolet Trax...

28firefighter

Congrats RB!

nyccarguy

Wow!  Big congrats to you and your wife Bailey!  Beautiful color and a very cool SUV!

benjaminh

Congrats!

qbrozen

Congrats, RB. We'll be heading out in the morn to check out the X2 and, if that doesn't float her boat, the S60.

tbirdmarco

Congrats on the  punch road burner 

tjc78

Congrats!

Michaell

@roadburner - congrats on the punch! Nice color combination.

I spent some time at the VW dealer today, following up on the email I received.

Turns out the email was a bit misleading - here is the relevant section:

I noticed you are about 9 months out from the end of your lease and wanted to propose a new lease offer to you. This new lease covers your remaining payments.

How would you interpret this?

Dealer simply rolled over the remaining payments (about $1800) into the quote. Then, there was something like $2000 in accessories and a $1295 service plan added in (yeah, right). First quote was over $500/mo!

After asking them to sharpen their pencil, they still came back at $350-375/mo, which is way more than I was willing to pay.

Every car has $1000 of unnecessary accessories, and they are unwilling to modify the selling price to compensate.

I suspect the dealer has changed personnel, and sales tactics as well.

Very unlikely I'll be a repeat customer of theirs, when the lease ends.

Only cost me an hour of time to learn this.

28firefighter

But, they got you in the door to discuss. Mission accomplished as far as they’re concerned. 

corvette

Time to find a new dealer! Most of the vehicles at the giant local Honda dealer have dealer installed accessories, whether that's something so cheap as a spoiler or as expensive as dealer installed leather, heated seats, pinstripes, and all-weather floormats on a Civic LX.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

But, they got you in the door to discuss. Mission accomplished as far as they’re concerned. 

Yeah, but since I have no more services scheduled, it's likely the last time I'll be there.

And, I've been recommending them to any lease shoppers in CO. No more.

Drivingfool

I sat in the car last night after dinner and later last night, went home and the oldest and the wife went out to Target. My new case for the the Pad came today and fits pretty good, not perfect considering I go it on "WISH", but paid about $10 to get it. Like it enough but the original Targus case I had definitely was better with an added strap. But, it'll do!!
My kid found the old off brand Fitbit knock of she got years ago. Set it up and charging now. Not exactly what I want, but will try it. Once the one comes back into stock, if still want it, will get it. But again, for the time being, it's free so I'll make it work.

The Sandman/Driving Fool

Drivingfool

Woke up early for Pepboys appointment but felt so sick, I ended up sleeping through it. Will try again tomorrow afternoon. Had another pain episode so slept most of the day which was great for my body. My kid spent the day with her friends which was even better as she's leaving tomorrow until around New Years but I'll go up in a week or two. Since I'm really just not feeling that well, might retire earlier than expected so I can rest. Or maybe a short leave of absence to find out what's up, just know I am tired most of the time and just want to relax. Might be time to just say "enough already" and just do it!

The Sandman/Driving Fool

pensfan83

Congratulations @roadburner !

ab348

corvette said:

Time to find a new dealer! Most of the vehicles at the giant local Honda dealer have dealer installed accessories, whether that's something so cheap as a spoiler or as expensive as dealer installed leather, heated seats, pinstripes, and all-weather floormats on a Civic LX.

An old and time-honored practice at Honda dealers here, dating back to the days in the ;70s and '80s when Hondas were in such short supply that there was not even a choice of color. If a buyer wanted one, they took whatever the dealer could get and also endured having to pay for a pack of dealer installed accessories.

ab348

roadburner said:

Okay, put me down for a punch; the deal worked out even better than I thought. I ended up being charged $315 less for the CPO certification- and the service department performed over $1,100 worth of work to bring it up to CPO spec- and they will also be providing a second key(per CPO requirements). Finally, my salesperson is a friend I helped out a lot when I worked there- he was unhappy with the paint detailing so I'm bringing it back next week to get a full exterior detail at no cost.
My wife loves the car, and I like it a lot as well. We both like the M Sport suspension tuning and sport seats- and the performance is more than adequate.
Not a bad truck for about the same price as a FWD Chevrolet Trax...

I'm confused. Truck? What did you get? Colors? What happened to Mrs. RBs Mini?

benjaminh

ab348 said:

corvette said:

Time to find a new dealer! Most of the vehicles at the giant local Honda dealer have dealer installed accessories, whether that's something so cheap as a spoiler or as expensive as dealer installed leather, heated seats, pinstripes, and all-weather floormats on a Civic LX.

An old and time-honored practice at Honda dealers here, dating back to the days in the ;70s and '80s when Hondas were in such short supply that there was not even a choice of color. If a buyer wanted one, they took whatever the dealer could get and also endured having to pay for a pack of dealer installed accessories.

Indeed.

But if you just say you don't want any of them—and won't pay for them—sometimes Honda dealers will just throw them in for "free." At least that's been my experience. When we got our 2018 CR-V it has c.$1200 of dealer-installed stuff, and when I resisted they just gave it to us, plus we got an ok discount off of msrp.

Michaell

benjaminh said:

ab348 said:

corvette said:

Time to find a new dealer! Most of the vehicles at the giant local Honda dealer have dealer installed accessories, whether that's something so cheap as a spoiler or as expensive as dealer installed leather, heated seats, pinstripes, and all-weather floormats on a Civic LX.

An old and time-honored practice at Honda dealers here, dating back to the days in the ;70s and '80s when Hondas were in such short supply that there was not even a choice of color. If a buyer wanted one, they took whatever the dealer could get and also endured having to pay for a pack of dealer installed accessories.

Indeed.

But if you just say you don't want any of them—and won't pay for them—sometimes Honda dealers will just throw them in for "free." At least that's been my experience. When we got our 2018 CR-V it has c.$1200 of dealer-installed stuff, and when I resisted they just gave it to us, plus we got an ok discount off of msrp.

It was made pretty clear that wouldn't be happening at the VW dealer.

tjc78

Then you answer them by walking out.... just as you did.  This is 2018... not 1988.  I hate those things so much.   Last time I nogotiated with a dealer that had that stuff I wouldn’t do any calculations on the added items.  I kept using the MSRP.  They didn’t like that at all!

graphicguy

RB.......big congrats. We'll need to hear your opinion as you get more seat time.

stickguy

Samdy. take care of yourself first. That is really all that matters. It seems your body is clearly telling you it could use some rest more than a part time job. If you go back Monday, a few days should give you a clear indication if you should be working or not. If the answer is no, tell them you need a break, and go from there. Can always go back at some point, but does not sound like you will.

you can probably find some less strenuous part time job if you want to make some pocket change. Otherwise, you get SS soon, pension, savings, and just relax.

stickguy

Got obsessed over Thanksgiving with a Mecan. Though unfortunately the beer wore off, and figuring out how to get it into budget range was much harder! But darned if it isn't pretty. And those seats look like they are to die for.

https://www.porscheofcherryhill.com/certified/Porsche/2018-Porsche-Macan-81d6cb0a0a0e0adf5ba4389279629556.htm

But, did get me thinking about getting the wife a new car and just biting the bullet. Trade in hers, and decide later what if anything to do with the Elantra. All these X1 posts got to me! something in the low $30K range, after trade in, would not be too big of a loan. If I show her enough nice cars she might bite!

trading in mine on a lease is also an option. Let her beat up the lease in the stop and go commuting. Just has to be something she likes driving.

would be nice of course if over Xmas a killer lease on something we want pops up, add a 3rd car, or trade in mine on it (I assume you can trade in and get the tax credit on a lease, and just get a check cut back).

nyccarguy

@stickguy

You could use your RDX as a down payment. I freakin LOVE the MACAN! Go for it!