Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

suydam

I’ll guess 35.

Drivingfool

I'll take 39 if it's still available. And let's not talk about clutter as I've got a lot that I need to throw out. I save like everything I guess because I've lost so much stuff I wanted from my youth. When we moved to Florida in 1969, my dad gave us a 1 box rule and that was hard. But managed to save 1 box and over the years and with multiple moves, it's all gone. Shame, as all I wanted is some old pictures for my kids to see. Tried to get some from my estranged twin a few years back after I gave him his small inheritance, but he lied and has held them in ransom from my kids who've asked for them. Just some old pictures is all there is but maybe one day he'll see fit to send them.
2019 might be the year I do clean out most of my stuff in this house because I would like to move in 2020. But I must do it at my pace with no help.

sda

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous new year! I am going to be conservative and guess 28 punches.

sda

I am hoping one of these punches will be from me. Cars that have my interest, Accord EXL, Touring 1.5 or 2.0, Sport 2.0, Acura TLX Tech or higher, Mazda6 Grand Touring Reserve or Signature, Ford Fusion Titanium, Platinum or Sport V6 turbo.

henryn

My guess is 35 punches for this year.

pensfan83

I'll go with 37.

kyfdx

I could see a punch this year for me. 2020, at latest. Daily driver has 119K miles

28firefighter

44 is my estimate. We may be in for one because the X1 is done end of January 2020. 

fintail

I guarantee at least one punch from me, as I'll either be buying out the Bluetec, getting into a new lease, or buying a used car.

au1994

corvette said:

au1994 was the closest with a guess of 42 punches for 2018. Here's the final tally - please let me know if I missed any:

2018 punch list (total 44):
01/19/18 28firefighter 2017 Mercedes C300 Sport 4matic P3 (ex-service loaner lease)
01/22/18 jpp5862 2016 VW Touareg TDI Lux
01/25/18 rny41 2015 Acura TLX 2.4 30k
02/02/18 breld 2015 BMW i3 REX 20k
02/12/18 tifighter 2013 Mercedes E350 Cabriolet 45k
02/28/18 boomchek 2001 Honda CR-V xxk
03/17/18 breld 2017 Kia Sedona LX 10k CPO
03/17/18 breld 2018 Land Rover Discovery diesel
04/09/18 carnaught 2018 Toyota Prius IV
04/20/18 tbirdmarco’s mom 2018 Nissan Rogue SV
05/14/18 28firefighter 2002 Saab 9-3 Viggen 4-door 106k
05/21/18 sb55’s daughter 2014 Kia Soul+ 90k
06/06/18 steine13 2018 Chevy Cruze hatchback
06/25/18 benjaminh 2018 Honda CR-V
06/26/18 breld 2017 Toyota Prius Prime
06/28/18 henryn 2018 Ford F-150 Supercrew
07/02/18 benjaminh 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech package (lease)
07/03/18 john4546 2018 Honda Accord Sport
07/13/18 breld 2018 Audi Q7 Prestige 10k
07/25/18 breld 2017 VW Golf R 17k
08/10/18 tommister2 2018 Toyota Tundra CrewMax Limited
08/11/18 mjfloyd1 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Unlimited Rubicon
08/24/18 breld’s stepdaughter 2018 VW Jetta SEL
08/26/18 28firefighter 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Sport (convenience, FCW, nav)
08/29/18 breld 2017 Mazda Miata RF 8k
08/31/18 qbrozen 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio (lease)
09/03/18 jpp5862 2008 Volvo C30 84k
09/08/18 corvette 2012 Infiniti G37 71k
09/22/18 breld 2017 Porsche Macan S xxk
09/28/18 tifighter 2018 Tesla Model 3 Performance
09/28/18 ronsteve 2015 Acura RDX AWD Tech package 39k
10/04/18 pensfan83 1997 Honda Prelude Base 182k
10/30/18 anonymousposts1 2018 Toyota Camry XLE
10/30/18 anonymousposts1 2018 Toyota Highlander SE
10/31/18 anonymousposts1 2008 Toyota Sienna XLE 132k
11/19/18 Mr_Shiftright 2008 Volvo C30 112k
11/23/18 roadburner 2015 BMW X1 xDrive 28i M-sport 31k
11/28/18 au1994 2019 Subaru Crosstrek
11/30/18 jpp5862 2019 Toyota Tacoma Off Road Premium (lease)
12/08/18 qbrozen 2018 BMW X2 5k (lease)
12/14/18 stickguy 2019 Acura TLX A-spec (lease)
12/19/18 breld 2018 Audi A5 Sportback 6k
12/20/18 stickguy’s son 2019 Genesis G70 3.3T (lease)
12/26/18 qbrozen 2018 BMW 330xi 3k (lease)

Woo Hoo!! I’ll PM you my address so you can send my prize

qbrozen

I’ll go with 47

nyccarguy

I’m going with 38 punches for 2019

Drivingfool

Not sure if 2019 will be my year to swap out the Golf. Thinking I need to wait until I leave Hertz and then do something then. Might as well put the miles on the Golf and get something newer once I stop. My regular lead driver was made a full time employee today which is great for him. He's young with a small child and his wife also works full time after leaving Hertz. They both came from Cuba around 2008 and am glad they're both getting full time work with benefits. The other part time lead is pushing me to ask for full time work but he's not hearing me when I tell him 24 to 30 hours are plenty for me. I plan to transition out this year unless something major happens where I still want to work. So worse comes to worse, I just stay until next December. And a new vehicle can wait as long as the Golf behaves.
Right now, liking the Acura ILX and the Infiniti QX30. But also am waiting to see what they do with the Honda HR-V and the improvements it really needs. As much as I like the cpo BMW 328i's my local store has now, think it's just to big and too costly to maintain. But again, one never knows so I'll just say "never say never"!
I know that QX30 I drove last week at work isn't the base model as it has push button start and leather seats. Black over black with around 16K plus by now. Did speak with a manager at Hertz and he said it could be buyable at some point and to just let him know. But is this something 'd really like and black over black in Florida is just killer come the hotter months! So sitting tight right now and we'll see what happens.

Mr_Shiftright

I'd like to get myself one more new toy. Let's see, I have a two wheeler, I have 4-wheel drive (truck), I have a "hot" hatch--so what am I missing? Ah, 4-door something.

It must be BIG, *very* big. Or OLD, *very* old.

tbirdmarco

Happy new yearrr  all!

tbirdmarco

Very  good corvette  on the punch list for.   2018 

tbirdmarco

I did injoy reading all elce in hear Type your comment

tbirdmarco

Nice Breld congrads on the new house!  Hope that you do sell the old one quickly 

tjc78

Going high... 48

There are at least three of us that have maturing leases next year that didn’t purchase this year.  

stickguy

it all hinges on Breld! As always.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'd like to get myself one more new toy. Let's see, I have a two wheeler, I have 4-wheel drive (truck), I have a "hot" hatch--so what am I missing? Ah, 4-door something.

It must be BIG, *very* big. Or OLD, *very* old.

1990s era Impala SS?

benjaminh

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'd like to get myself one more new toy. Let's see, I have a two wheeler, I have 4-wheel drive (truck), I have a "hot" hatch--so what am I missing? Ah, 4-door something.

It must be BIG, *very* big. Or OLD, *very* old.

1920s-1940s??

graphicguy

If Acura actually gets the TLX S-Type into showrooms this year, I can see a punch for me. Maybe if I can ever get my butt behind the wheel of a G70, I might pull the trigger for one of those, too.

suydam

OK, guys, could use some advice. Started off New Years with a flat tire on the Encore. I think the OEM tires are Contis Pro Contact. Basically a Grand Touring All Season. Any recommendations for a replacement? Tire Rack is recommending something called Vredestein, which I’ve never heard of, Yokohama, which I’ve had on other vehicles in the past and didn’t care for, and BFGoodrich Advantage. Tires are 18”. We rarely drive in snow but do drive dirt roads going hiking with our dog. Looking for a blend of quiet, good handling, and longevity. Thanks for any ideas!

kyfdx

Around here, we only see Vredestein as winter tires. Always had a good reputation, though.

Sorry, no experience with the other ones.

ab348

Vredestein tires are made in the Netherlands. Been around for a while, usually see them on European cars understandably. They are now owned by Apollo tires of India but still seem to run everything out of Europe. I wonder why Tire Rack is recommending them for an Encore though.

Given the Contis are OEM and the Encore is 4-5 years old I suspect you are looking at buying more than one tire? The choice/price point may depend on how long you intend to keep the car. I would look at Tire Rack's ratings/comments for info on road noise, grip, etc. when making a decision on price point.

suydam

This one was a blowout so I’m hoping I don’t have to replace all 4. We’ll see how the others look. When we took it in for service this summer the tread was good on all of them.

stickguy

If replacing one, get identical. If doing all 4, look at the general Altimax RT43

stickguy

So, Honcker decided to make themselves less fun to play with. You used to be able to model different DAS options (all, some, or just 1st payment). Now they just show the highest amount, with a note that you can adjust DAS and payment after hitting purchase now

So if you want to see more of a sign and drive, need to do math to get a ballpark. Spoil sports there.

breld

Based on all the great press on the G70 and @stickguys sons account, I wish I would’ve pushed a bit more for my wife to consider one.  But at the end of the day, I can’t imagine she would’ve have embraced being an early adopter.  

For us for 2019, yes, we will have a much quieter year on the car front.  Just going through the process of evaluating the home move and purchase, we admitted to ourselves how much it costs overall just to switch cars at all.  

But I won’t make an overly bold prediction of no activity.  There’s a good chance I may sell off the Miata to free up space on the HELOC it’s on, for the sake of the home transaction.  Then when the dust settles I’ll find a replacement.  So that’s one.  

Could that be it?  

pensfan83

I think I originally said we would replace the Altima by end of 2018, and if the numbers would have worked on the Jeep we would have. However the extra money has been helpful in getting our HELOC knocked down after our house projects. Once that's taken care of we want to bulk up the college funds some. So I peg our chances at 50/50.

breld

I may have some Honda purchases.  

Lawn mower, snowblower...

Our low maintenance home was nice while it lasted.  Back to the ‘burbs.  

qbrozen

stickguy said:

So, Honcker decided to make themselves less fun to play with. You used to be able to model different DAS options (all, some, or just 1st payment). Now they just show the highest amount, with a note that you can adjust DAS and payment after hitting purchase now

So if you want to see more of a sign and drive, need to do math to get a ballpark. Spoil sports there.

yeah, pretty dumb. I hoped they'd go the other way and let you save preferences such as always showing sign and drive pricing or whatever. I also would like to be able to sort results.

stickguy

My next goal is getting HELOC down to zero. Would like you hat done in 2 years, max. To celebrate will upgrade the old car at that time! Though entirely possible the pay down coincides with my lease ending (likely with a pull ahead) so will still happen together.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

So, Honcker decided to make themselves less fun to play with. You used to be able to model different DAS options (all, some, or just 1st payment). Now they just show the highest amount, with a note that you can adjust DAS and payment after hitting purchase now

So if you want to see more of a sign and drive, need to do math to get a ballpark. Spoil sports there.

yeah, pretty dumb. I hoped they'd go the other way and let you save preferences such as always showing sign and drive pricing or whatever. I also would like to be able to sort results.

That would be nice. The hassle with the way they have it now is the DAS varies quite a bit, even for comparable MSRP cars. Some are $2,100, some are $3,400.

stickguy

breld said:

I may have some Honda purchases.  

Lawn mower, snowblower...

Our low maintenance home was nice while it lasted.  Back to the ‘burbs.  

I would love a close in, low maintenance house like yours. I’m fine with a yard just big enough for the dog. Wife wants more land, but she’s not the one that has to take care of it!

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

So, Honcker decided to make themselves less fun to play with. You used to be able to model different DAS options (all, some, or just 1st payment). Now they just show the highest amount, with a note that you can adjust DAS and payment after hitting purchase now

So if you want to see more of a sign and drive, need to do math to get a ballpark. Spoil sports there.

Why on god's green earth did they do that?

nyccarguy

breld said:

Based on all the great press on the G70 and @stickguys sons account, I wish I would’ve pushed a bit more for my wife to consider one.  But at the end of the day, I can’t imagine she would’ve have embraced being an early adopter.  

For us for 2019, yes, we will have a much quieter year on the car front.  Just going through the process of evaluating the home move and purchase, we admitted to ourselves how much it costs overall just to switch cars at all.  

But I won’t make an overly bold prediction of no activity.  There’s a good chance I may sell off the Miata to free up space on the HELOC it’s on, for the sake of the home transaction.  Then when the dust settles I’ll find a replacement.  So that’s one.  

Could that be it?  

I'm not making any predictions for our household, but I do have a HELOC I need to start paying down from the deck we put up last year (I can only pay down interest only for a year, then can start paying down the principle) and a Bar-Mitzvah to pay for on 11/9/19.

pensfan83

I have heard of pre-payment penalties but never restrictions on drawing down the principal.

nyccarguy

Just for the 1st year. The Principal Balance must remain at least $25,000 for 1 year from the closing.

suydam

Yes, on mine I started paying down principal right away. I’m hoping to pay it off in 3 years. The bar mitzvah will be fun. We’ve lived through 3 of them. Our expense this year — a combined Jewish-South Indian wedding! Making the Volt lease decision complicated. Along with everything else.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'd like to get myself one more new toy. Let's see, I have a two wheeler, I have 4-wheel drive (truck), I have a "hot" hatch--so what am I missing? Ah, 4-door something.

It must be BIG, *very* big. Or OLD, *very* old.

1990s era Impala SS?

There you go. Or maybe a Lincoln LSC?

Mr_Shiftright

benjaminh said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I'd like to get myself one more new toy. Let's see, I have a two wheeler, I have 4-wheel drive (truck), I have a "hot" hatch--so what am I missing? Ah, 4-door something.

It must be BIG, *very* big. Or OLD, *very* old.

1920s-1940s??

If old, then VERY old, yes. Primitive, even.

nyccarguy

Any of you guys with Honda/Acura products that use CARPLAY with iPhone and WAZE; If I switch to CARPLAY, I can't play the AM/FM radio without switching out of the WAZE screen. If I want to use WAZE/CARPLAY and watch the WAZE screen, it "forces" me to listen to the music on my iPhone (which my family doesn't always want to listen to).

stickguy

Never used waze, just google maps. No issue using XM with that. I assume I have AM and FM, but have not tried either one!

28firefighter

I'm keeping a close watch on expenses this year. We'll need to replace the X1, as I mentioned, so that's a given. Beyond that, we are thinking about/trying for a sibling for Sam, so I'm using the intervening period to try and build up his WA GET account (WA 529 equivalent) and also leverage some cash we have to buy company stock through our ESPP.

breld

stickguy said:

breld said:

I may have some Honda purchases.  

Lawn mower, snowblower...

Our low maintenance home was nice while it lasted.  Back to the ‘burbs.  

I would love a close in, low maintenance house like yours. I’m fine with a yard just big enough for the dog. Wife wants more land, but she’s not the one that has to take care of it!

Yup, our current house was a nice treat - my wife just loved the architecture, and I welcomed an "earlier-than-expected" end to yard maintenance.

The yard at the new house won't be bad - the front has little grass to take care of, and the backyard is fairly shallow - where it needs very little grass, or even all out xeroscaping.

It's the driveway that's gonna be a headache when it snows (which, admittedly, is only a handful number of days in a year). It has a 3-car garage facing the street, and a split 1 car garage - so the result is a very large driveway. I look at it this way - the large driveway takes away space for a yard, which would require maintenance much more frequently than clearing the driveway. And, of course, the other side of the coin is...4 car garage!

Considering we're moving our office later this year and will be losing our parking garage, which my wife and I have taken full advantage of...it'll be nice to have the space at home now. I'm excited about having my fun car at home accessible all the time, instead of swapping cars from the work garage.

breld

nyccarguy said:

Any of you guys with Honda/Acura products that use CARPLAY with iPhone and WAZE; If I switch to CARPLAY, I can't play the AM/FM radio without switching out of the WAZE screen. If I want to use WAZE/CARPLAY and watch the WAZE screen, it "forces" me to listen to the music on my iPhone (which my family doesn't always want to listen to).

In the Audis, when I switch to Apple Maps or Waze, it often will switch to the iphone music. Then I have to manually switch back to the radio, and when I return to CarPlay, the radio remains as the audio selection.

I assume you've tried something along those lines?

breld

28firefighter said:

I'm keeping a close watch on expenses this year. We'll need to replace the X1, as I mentioned, so that's a given. Beyond that, we are thinking about/trying for a sibling for Sam, so I'm using the intervening period to try and build up his WA GET account (WA 529 equivalent) and also leverage some cash we have to buy company stock through our ESPP.

Congrats and good luck on the sibling!

And good for you for paying attention to the college savings early - it's hard to catch up with that as the years go by.

28firefighter

My experience with the VW CarPlay integration is that if you're running Navigation in the background and switch away to listen to FM radio, it will interrupt FM radio and switch back to Nav to show you the next direction. However, I have not used the latest iterations and Waze was not an option when I was using it.