Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

I think the QX50 is dead too. Was a good deal, but really didn’t “speak” to either one of us.

My MO however is to analyze, then over analyze, and do a spreadsheet to nail down a short list (3-4 tops).

Then randomly buy something not on the list because I felt like it.

A lot of pressure now, since your fellow Jersey resident scored the $360/mo. deal on the X2.

He cheated and put money down.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

He cheated and put money down.

You can call it $330/mo with $2k CCR. Don't bother me none. ;b

stickguy

I should just sell my car now. Pretty sure I won’t get a deal close enough to make it a net win, even with the sales tax credit. But will give it a couple more shots.

pensfan83

nyccarguy said:

Since it was sunny yesterday, I took the Prelude to pick up 2 of my kids from Hebrew school. I liked it so much, that I piled all 3 of them in it plus my 9 year old's goalie equipment. Dropped my daughter off at a play date & headed to an away game about 1/2 hour north of me (Bridegport). The car drives great!

It's only been 3 weeks and I miss driving mine

carnaught

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

He cheated and put money down.

You can call it $330/mo with $2k CCR. Don't bother me none. ;b

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

He cheated and put money down.

You can call it $330/mo with $2k CCR. Don't bother me none. ;b

When the LR rolls away, time to update your car profile.

xwesx

carnaught said:

When the LR rolls away, time to update your car profile.

Says the man distinctly lacking one.

xwesx

Ah, forgot about this..... a small milestone for the Q7 last week:

henryn

I remember when @qbrozen purchased that LR. My thoughts at the time were along the lines of, "Better him than me!" or perhaps "There goes a very brave man."

Q, how long did you own that thing anyway? I note that you were still upside down, but as long as you have the wherewithal to just pay it off, that is not a problem.

henryn

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

He cheated and put money down.

You can call it $330/mo with $2k CCR. Don't bother me none. ;b

Hmmm... $330 + ($2,000 / 36) == $385.55

Still not bad at all for a new (or nearly new) very pretty BMW.

And as the wise man says, "Happy wife == priceless!"

nyccarguy

@xwesx - You did a fantastic job editing the picture so it doesn't show any of those pesky warning lights.

stickguy

Your MPG stinks and it is way too cold for human habitation.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

@xwesx - You did a fantastic job editing the picture so it doesn't show any of those pesky warning lights.

What?! No editing! There are none present, and it's been nearly a year since I saw one there. Thanks for jinxing me though. My goodness; friends these days....

xwesx

stickguy said:

Your MPG stinks and it is way too cold for human habitation.

Too cold? Are you kidding me?! It was better than 20F that day. The winter has been quite warm this year. I think this morning was our first sub-zero of the year.

Yeah, the readout resets with every startup, and I had only driven it a couple city miles before hitting 80,000 and needing to pull into a parking lot to take the photo.

Still, it stinks in the winter months anyway - averages probably 20 mpg (versus 24+ during the summer).

That said, I still get 400+ miles per tank, so can't complain about that!

nyccarguy

xwesx said:

stickguy said:

Your MPG stinks and it is way too cold for human habitation.

Too cold? Are you kidding me?! It was better than 20F that day. The winter has been quite warm this year. I think this morning was our first sub-zero of the year.

Yeah, the readout resets with every startup, and I had only driven it a couple city miles before hitting 80,000 and needing to pull into a parking lot to take the photo.

Still, it stinks in the winter months anyway - averages probably 20 mpg (versus 24+ during the summer).

That said, I still get 400+ miles per tank, so can't complain about that!

WOW! That is friggin cold! YIKES! Your TDI Q7 is averaging about what my Infiniti does on a weekly basis. I'm lucky to get 300 miles to a tank. I filled up this AM having driven it 305 miles since the last fill up.

28firefighter

Despite my best efforts to flog it, the Alfa is averaging about 24 MPG with mostly city driving. On mostly highway driving, I'm seeing upper 20s/low 30s depending on traffic.

stickguy

Made $50 today at least. Wanted to look at one of the short list options, so checked inventory, and every time I did got a pop up for a test drive certificate. I figured they must want me to use it, so I registered. Already got the email back it was processed.

breld

Congrats @kyfdx on the post count!

Congrats @qbrozen on the X2 - we like those, and certainly seems you got a great deal.

breld

It may be a bit quiet for the time being in our household on the car front.

We expect to be moving within the next few months - not to go into all the details, but basically, for the past 8 years, we've located ourselves in the Metro Denver area that was more convenient for my stepkids and their needs (private school for my stepdaughter, caregiver for our son with special needs), with me bearing the burden of commuting time for my boys (we live about 30 miles from where their mom lives and thus where they go to school).

My stepdaughter has been in college for a couple years, and more significantly, with my sons being in 8th and 10th grade, their lives are more and more entrenched in their "school" neighborhood, what with school activities, sports and social lives...so we made a big decision to move down to their neck of the woods and plant ourselves there at least until they're both off to college.

Probably should have considered this when we moved a few years ago, but just didn't think it would be necessary.

So, we're in the midst of shopping for a new house. We may or may not sell our current home - we're considering keeping it and renting it out if we can swing it.

It'll be a busy and crazy first quarter of 2019.

xwesx

breld said:

It'll be a busy and crazy first quarter of 2019.

That may be a bit of an understatement! However, if you can make it happen, you very well could end up happier (and less stretched) because of it! Good luck, breld!

28firefighter

Good luck, @breld - sounds like you're putting priorities in the right place and that is what matters. Hopefully it dramatically improves your quality of life.

henryn

I hate moving. I mean, really really hate moving. But sometimes it is the right thing to do, and that sounds like the case here.

Good luck.

xwesx

henryn said:

I hate moving. I mean, really really hate moving. But sometimes it is the right thing to do, and that sounds like the case here.

Good luck.

I'm with you on that, Henry! My family moved around (mostly locally) a fair bit when I was growing up, plus I had to move annually during college. Been in the same place for nearly eighteen years now, and that is fine by me!

breld

Thanks guys.  We’re kicking ourselves a bit for not doing it sooner (like when we upped and moved a few years ago for the sake of this house we love), but certainly don’t want to put it off any longer and look back thinking we missed out on an opportunity to be closer (literally and figuratively) to my boys.  

@henryn - yes, I hate the moving process as well.  Fortunately, we downsized houses last go around, which means we decluttered a ton at that time. Should make for a somewhat easier and more efficient move this time around.  

tbirdmarco

Good luck with the move  breld 

tbirdmarco

New York car guy nice on taking the praylood out on an nice drive yesterday  stick guy want to hear the short listt of cars.

roadburner

We moved to our present home in 1992, and we aren't going anywhere unless someone offers us a huge amount of money.

qbrozen

henryn said:

He cheated and put money down.

You can call it $330/mo with $2k CCR. Don't bother me none. ;b

Hmmm... $330 + ($2,000 / 36) == $385.55 Still not bad at all for a new (or nearly new) very pretty BMW. And as the wise man says, "Happy wife == priceless!"

Oh yeah. $390. Close enough.

stickguy

well, made my first ever visit to carmax. Was happy with the result. Quite the operation though. They hit my car right about what I expected, and what would make me quite happy to get from a dealer. So hopefully they will price match! Also $2,500 more than the lowball an actual dealer gave me earlier in the day. cheeseballs.

definitely got the incentive to complete a deal by this weekend now!

graphicguy

roadburner said:

We moved to our present home in 1992, and we aren't going anywhere unless someone offers us a huge amount of money.

Same here....been here since ‘94. Before that, moved 4 times in 10 years.

Throw enough money at me so I can buy as nice of a place in Fiji, and buy all new stuff, I’ll make the move.

corvette

I'm in the process of going "all in" on my cute little Cape Cod. I'd prefer more land and a larger garage, but it's plenty enough for me and my dog, and I don't see any marriage prospects on the horizon. Did new siding and concrete work, and am installing a mini-split HVAC in the upstairs, also accepted a bid to remove the existing (badly done) fiberglass insulation from the attic and install spray foam. A few other small projects and it should be almost perfect.

pensfan83

Barring anything unexpected we have no intentions of moving until we're empty nesters or someone offers an obnoxious amount of money. We have a good school district and love our neighborhood, which has been almost completely turned over with young families whom we and the kids have befriended.

kyfdx

Built this house in 1998. Couldn't pry my wife out of here with a stick.

qbrozen

Oh, I think someone asked how long we've had the Rover. I believe it is 3 years this month.

pensfan83

I like this Mustang. Seems well sorted and tastefully modified.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-ford-mustang-gt-5-0-convertible-3/

stickguy

kinda considering a slightly used (CPO probably) something too now. Of course that makes the decision making process (and of course, the searching) much more complex. Life is hard!

really looking to wrap up this weekend, while I have quotes in hand, and so out of the way before Xmas. Would be easier if the wife was not busy at work. So online digging today, probably looking real world this afternoon and evening, and we are both off Friday so should be able to hit a dealer no later than then to wrap it up.

Maybe.

suydam

It’s too bad you have to go through such contortions to find what you want. My happiest purchases are the ones where everything just fell into place. Conversely I never felt that great about vehicles that I had to go through hoops to make a deal happen. Once we were killing ourselves trying to make a VW deal work. In frustration I left the dealership. On the way home we passed a Nissan dealer advertising a huge sale. I said to myself, the Nissan Maxima is a really nice car. So on a whim we stopped in and did a test drive. We got a great deal and drove it home that afternoon. To this day it’s one of my favorite cars. I hope something like that happens for you and your wife.

venture

Mr_Shiftright said:

ab348 said:

For many people, getting rid of a Land Rover might be a cause for celebration!

I think "dodging a bullet" is the term that comes to mind.

My son still has his Land Rover. We usually, occasionally, talk about our cars. Haven't heard anything about the LR.

stickguy

oh, to me, the deal is the easy part (relatively). Though sometimes deciding to stretch the budget is hard, but once that hurdle is cleared, just a matter of making some contacts to nail down a price and go do the deal.

deciding which option to get is always the tricky part. Though even harder when there are many fine options.

28firefighter

I was thinking about what you posted, @qbrozen, about the X2 vs. the Alfa and I actually think it largely holds true for the X1 as well. The X1 beats the Alfa in just about everything except driving dynamics - build, appearance, interior quality, ride comfort, technology, and utility. The Alfa walks all over it in terms of engine, transmission, handling etc.

I love the Alfa and will happily flog it for the next 20 months, but it is becoming apparent after 2000 miles that it is just built like crap. Starting to rattle a bit, the infotainment is completely on the fritz (it created 25 extra presets of a radio station I like), and I've noticed some panels that aren't perfectly aligned.

I don't see how Alfa lasts here if this is what they're building...

kyfdx

Alfa: RWD based, longitudinal engine layout.

BMW: FWD based, transverse engine layout.

That tells you all you need to know about handling.

Mr_Shiftright

venture said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

ab348 said:

For many people, getting rid of a Land Rover might be a cause for celebration!

I think "dodging a bullet" is the term that comes to mind.

My son still has his Land Rover. We usually, occasionally, talk about our cars. Haven't heard anything about the LR.

Don't worry. It's all about statistics vs. reality. There are, for instance, stories of people falling off a ten-story building and landing in the back of a memory foam mattress flatbed truck. There's always a chance things work out.

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

Alfa: RWD based, longitudinal engine layout.

BMW: FWD based, transverse engine layout.

That tells you all you need to know about handling.

Eh, I don't find it that simple. A GTI outhandles a Lexus GS. Or what about a Civic R? Depends more on the engineers' goals than the platform. BMW has grown soft, period.

Mr_Shiftright

Getting a FWD car to handle really well AND be civilized in ride comfort isn't all that easy. No matter how you cut it, you're nose-heavy. It can be done though but it requires sophistication.

28firefighter

You'd think BMW would be sophistimacated enough to figure that one out if VW did...

breld

Mr_Shiftright said:

Getting a FWD car to handle really well AND be civilized in ride comfort isn't all that easy. No matter how you cut it, you're nose-heavy. It can be done though but it requires sophistication.

Like the Civic Type R I had. That's why I got all the stares..."Wow...that's a sophisticated car."

qbrozen

Thar she goes!

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

kyfdx said:

Alfa: RWD based, longitudinal engine layout.

BMW: FWD based, transverse engine layout.

That tells you all you need to know about handling.

Eh, I don't find it that simple. A GTI outhandles a Lexus GS. Or what about a Civic R? Depends more on the engineers' goals than the platform. BMW has grown soft, period.

All else being equal, I stand by the above.

It's a lot more work to get a front-driver to handle better.

Picking the top front-driver and comparing it to a luxo-barge doesn't change the dynamics.

stickguy

culled the short list from 3 to 4, plus eliminated buying used (unless I show up at the dealer and they have the perfect CPO sitting out front!). So sticking with leasing this time around, and next time a car comes up for replacement will splurge more.

I did drive an RDX again last night. Certainly nice, but they are really expensive to lease. Don't really want to add that much to the monthly payment. Told the wife she can have one when she is finally ready to let her old RDX go, and we will buy one to keep a long time (the old one is over 6 years with us already). So that got lopped off the list.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Thar she goes!

Goood riddance!

venture

Mr_Shiftright said:

venture said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

ab348 said:

For many people, getting rid of a Land Rover might be a cause for celebration!

I think "dodging a bullet" is the term that comes to mind.

My son still has his Land Rover. We usually, occasionally, talk about our cars. Haven't heard anything about the LR.

Don't worry. It's all about statistics vs. reality. There are, for instance, stories of people falling off a ten-story building and landing in the back of a memory foam mattress flatbed truck. There's always a chance things work out.

Good one.

What I meant though was I suspect something is up since he never mentions it. The first time I saw it I asked if he bought an extended warranty. He didn't seem to like that.