Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

Perhaps it's the traffic issues in NJ that are jading your experience.

Here in the west, I love using adaptive cruise on the wife's Outback on the interstates.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

So some dude with a flatbed picked up the Alfa and gave me a receipt. Vroom emailed me and said they have fedexed a check to Ally.

Sounds like it is time to update your signature line in earnest!

xwesx

kyfdx said:

Yeah, if you told me 20 years ago that I'd pay $5 for a draft, I'd say you were crazy. Now, $5 is a bargain.

Most of the really good local margaritas are $8-$10.

But, if there are two of you, the pitcher usually cuts the cost by about 20%. I just have to make sure the wife is up for a 2nd margarita (or 3rd).

I will say... craft beer makes me really happy.

Saving the money NOT spent on over-priced alcohol makes me more happy.

I have a couple of family members who like to whine about how broke they are... usually at the same time they're feeding a substantial portion of their income toward things like cigarettes and alcohol. I just shake my head and feel no pity.

xwesx

stickguy said:

If I wanted that driving sensation I would let my wife drive.

And, as long as she never sees this, you just might make it out of here alive!

ab348

Hey, @Mr_Shiftright , maybe I missed it, but did the disposition of the Mini ever take place?

andres3

xwesx said:

How about this morning's temperature? BTW, that's about -46F.

Didn't know Audi's temperature had a "negative" symbol available! Thought 20 was cold in Tahoe over the Holidays.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

So some dude with a flatbed picked up the Alfa and gave me a receipt. Vroom emailed me and said they have fedexed a check to Ally.

Sounds like it is time to update your signature line in earnest!

Thanks for the reminder. haha.
Also have to update my spreadsheet!

ab348

xwesx said:

I have a couple of family members who like to whine about how broke they are... usually at the same time they're feeding a substantial portion of their income toward things like cigarettes and alcohol. I just shake my head and feel no pity.

I have neighbors who are both retired and do not seem to be very well off. Their lovely-looking daughter who I would guess is a couple of years on either side of 30 still lives with them although she has a regular job. The mother and daughter are both heavy smokers. I don't understand how they can afford it given the prices here. The other thing that baffles me is that they will both smoke outdoors in decent weather, but if it is rainy, snowy, really cold or windy they stay inside (where I assume they would continue smoking). I don't understand the reason to do it outside only part of the time since the house would still get stinky when they do it indoors.

jpp75

@stickguy Definitely adjust the ACC sensitivity to the lowest setting, it's the only one that really makes it useful. When my friend had his TLX he complained about how jerky and harsh it was, once he dialed the setting back to the shortest distance it was much better.

xwesx

For some reason, it seems that we cannot attract neighbors near me who do not smoke. Our newest set, here for a little over a year now, always come outside to smoke (so considerate to their OWN family!), which is the only time I ever see them.

They said hello once, and I was very friendly with them; asked why I had never spoken with them before, I said, "because you come outside and smoke every day, where I have to deal with it. That predisposes me to hate you, and I didn't want any reason to possibly confirm those feelings for good." I got a sideways look, and that's the last time I've had any contact.

Sometimes, I wish we had wet snow so I could make snowballs and pelt them when they're out there smoking.

pensfan83

I don't know how anyone, anywhere affords to smoke.

stickguy

Thanks JPP. I’ll give that a try. Dumb dealer screwed up and said they had my accessory in, but it was for an ILX. Considering they are 45 miles away, when I got there and they figured it out, I was kinda grumpy, since it was 100% a mistake on their end for not checking. They called Acura and apparently having tight part overnighted and should be able to install tomorrow. So they gave me a loaner. And if I want to let the lot jockey drive my car, they will deliver it Monday. I don’t think I’m going for that though.

So for at least one day, styling in a 2019 ILX base model. Interior, hasn’t changed a bit, but nicer looking outside. My TLX is much nicer, but it’s not a bad little car. More compact like I was used to. Controls and dash exactly like our RDX. Odd, it has Acura watch stuff now, but no BLIS or XM radio. Man FM away from a city stinks!

stickguy

Good MPG though. I reset the trip meter, and in 30 miles home was reading over 40. Way better than the TLX so far, even with same drivetrain. Might be newness, or the little extra weight, or possibly the wider tires. I’ll try to get a reading on the identical trip when I bring it home. Not expecting 40, but would be nice to see 35 at least.

tjc78

Michaell said:

Perhaps it's the traffic issues in NJ that are jading your experience. Here in the west, I love using adaptive cruise on the wife's Outback on the interstates.

Traffic in NJ.... what’s that 

stickguy

It is very rare in the DC-NYC corridor that you are in open traffic conditions that would allow for steady speed cruising on ACC. Idiots abound, going all kinds of varying speeds and cutting you off.

pensfan83

I would probably try it with less traffic and I would echo moving it to the lowest setting. It was a bit of trial and error for me as well but now it's a feature I would like to keep on my next car.

venture

stickguy said:

Used the adaptive cruise today. Moderate traffic on 3 lane interstate. It was, well, somewhere between weird and unnerving. Probably needed to dial down the sensitivity (I think it’s set to the default normal or medium setting). But seemed to be plenty far from other car. Just a constant feeling that I either ran into a 50 MPH headwind, or was dragging an anchor. Then if car cleared sorta floored it. If I wanted that driving sensation I would let my wife drive.

Unless you don’t want to pay attention (not really recommended) seems pointless. If traffic slows tap off the CC, and hit reset when it clears. Not really hard. And if traffic is heavy and erratic speed enough to have constant corrections, shouldn’t have cruise on anyway.

Not seeing this as a feature I’ll get a lot of use out of!

Once I got mine adjusted right I loved it. Best thing since sliced beer.

andres3

Superintendent at work has his own personal vehicle (A Dodge Ram with 150,000 miles).

Calls me up and asks if there's 2,300 in the maintenance budget for him! LOL $2,300 to repair a 150,000 mile Dodge, I told him he's pretty lucky in my book!

Also, a truck is worth $5k if it runs right?

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

Hey, @Mr_Shiftright , maybe I missed it, but did the disposition of the Mini ever take place?

Oh, Lord---no. We are still chasing down the Air Bag light problem, inch by bloody inch of wiring.

qbrozen

my brother still smokes. I've had the convo with him before but had it yet again while sitting at the subaru dealer. We did the quick math and his smoking habit costs MORE than the car payment he'd walk out of there with.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

my brother still smokes. I've had the convo with him before but had it yet again while sitting at the subaru dealer. We did the quick math and his smoking habit costs MORE than the car payment he'd walk out of there with.

And, most likely, it had no influence on his behavior afterward! Oh well, all you can do is lead that horse to water...

xwesx

andres3 said:

Didn't know Audi's temperature had a "negative" symbol available! Thought 20 was cold in Tahoe over the Holidays.

Oh, yes.... I haven't found the bottom yet, but I know it will display -46!

Sadly, the vehicle's electronics get rather upset about functioning in this type of weather. It's a little pathetic, honestly, given that I see a gang of VAG test vehicles traipsing about here every winter doing "cold weather testing." Apparently they aren't testing all the systems, or they are keeping them in heated environs when not traveling down the road. Either way, totally unrealistic and useless for Everyman Owner.

Mr_Shiftright

Probably they just don't see the point of engineering something for those extremes. I mean, who is even outdoors at -46F ??

xwesx

Mr_Shiftright said:

Probably they just don't see the point of engineering something for those extremes. I mean, who is even outdoors at -46F ??

Well, for a company that flaunts its engineering prowess, I would expect a high level of attention to detail.

And, if it's behavior over the last week disappears with warmer weather never to return (except under similar "extremes"), it won't bother me one bit. I'm not overly convinced it will, though.

corvette

Oh, gosh, what's the Q7 doing, now?

corvette

andres3 said:

Also, a truck is worth $5k if it runs right?

At least that much, probably. What year and cab style? 4WD?

xwesx

corvette said:

Oh, gosh, what's the Q7 doing, now?

Oh, well, just gremlin-y stuff: I open the doors, no interior lights. I close the doors, the lights come on, then shut off as normal. I open the rear hatch, it works fine, I try to close it.... nothing. I eventually just forced it shut manually (which it REALLY doesn't like, but oh well). I try to use the radio, the screen says "loading" for about two minutes, then the whole system just shuts down. Seriously? FM RADIO? What's so hard about that? LOL

What else.... Oh, the illumination on a circuit (includes door panels, center panel, overhead, etc., but NOT dash display) began flickering wildly when I shut the car off the other day. It wouldn't turn off, just flickered almost imperceptibly fast. I eventually gave up trying to get it to stop and just went inside. Several hours later when I came back out, no flickering, worked like normal.

No response from the "touch sensitive" handles on the vehicle, either to lock or unlock. I either have to pull the handle a half-dozen times to get it to unlock, or fish the FOB out of my pocket and use the flip-key. The headlights have auto-adjustment in them, so if I am carrying a heavy load, the lights will point further down to stay at the right level, etc. Well, those didn't adjust properly once, so they were pointed high. I tell you what.... visibility was EXCELLENT that trip, but several oncoming cars let me know they didn't appreciate it very much. LOL

Odd stuff; one offs (I hope).

sda

Electrical issues are what have plagued many of the VW/Audis I’ve owned. My ‘06 2.0t Passat had electrical issues and a thirst for oil. That finally wore me down and other than an HHR which I liked, wife not so much, we have had a good experience with multiple Hondas. They haven’t been perfect, but very good overall.

stickguy

took the loaner ILX out to dinner tonight. Pointed out to the wife that it pretty much has her RDX dash and controls in it. She liked that, from a standpoint of being able to figure out how to use it all.

after dinner I made some innocuous comment about the car, and her response was that it was too small, and she preferred a bigger car. I did tell her that is why I got the TLX, to make her happy. Not sure she bought it, ,but didn't complain!

sda

Do you find the noise levels in the ILX objectionable? Does it feel peppier than the TLX as it weighs less? I find the revised pricing and changes to the ILX appealing. Having owned an 09 Civic EX and didn’t have an issue with its size, I’d be fine with the ILX.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

took the loaner ILX out to dinner tonight. Pointed out to the wife that it pretty much has her RDX dash and controls in it. She liked that, from a standpoint of being able to figure out how to use it all. after dinner I made some innocuous comment about the car, and her response was that it was too small, and she preferred a bigger car. I did tell her that is why I got the TLX, to make her happy. Not sure she bought it, ,but didn't complain!

What did the ILX order?

stickguy

stuff we should not have eaten. Don't want the car getting fatter.

SDA, I think it is a bit louder than the TLX, but overall not objectionable. definitely not as smooth or solid feeling. Odd thing is, the sound is completely different. TLX has much different "growl" to it, and the trans feels more substantial. I was not expecting that much difference since it is basically the same drivetrain.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

my brother still smokes. I've had the convo with him before but had it yet again while sitting at the subaru dealer. We did the quick math and his smoking habit costs MORE than the car payment he'd walk out of there with.

I quit smoking when cigarettes hit $1.00/pack. I decided I'd rather spend that money on car modifications/restorations.

Sandman6472

What exactly is adaptive cruise? Don't have it on either vehicle in the current stable right now, so really have no clue about it. Can someone please give me a short explanation please?

qbrozen

xwesx said:

Oh, gosh, what's the Q7 doing, now?

Oh, well, just gremlin-y stuff: I open the doors, no interior lights. I close the doors, the lights come on, then shut off as normal. I open the rear hatch, it works fine, I try to close it.... nothing. I eventually just forced it shut manually (which it REALLY doesn't like, but oh well). I try to use the radio, the screen says "loading" for about two minutes, then the whole system just shuts down. Seriously? FM RADIO? What's so hard about that? LOL What else.... Oh, the illumination on a circuit (includes door panels, center panel, overhead, etc., but NOT dash display) began flickering wildly when I shut the car off the other day. It wouldn't turn off, just flickered almost imperceptibly fast. I eventually gave up trying to get it to stop and just went inside. Several hours later when I came back out, no flickering, worked like normal. No response from the "touch sensitive" handles on the vehicle, either to lock or unlock. I either have to pull the handle a half-dozen times to get it to unlock, or fish the FOB out of my pocket and use the flip-key. The headlights have auto-adjustment in them, so if I am carrying a heavy load, the lights will point further down to stay at the right level, etc. Well, those didn't adjust properly once, so they were pointed high. I tell you what.... visibility was EXCELLENT that trip, but several oncoming cars let me know they didn't appreciate it very much. LOL Odd stuff; one offs (I hope).

You sure its not an Alfa?

Michaell

sandman_6472 said:

What exactly is adaptive cruise? Don't have it on either vehicle in the current stable right now, so really have no clue about it. Can someone please give me a short explanation please?

Adaptive cruise will slow your car down if the car in front of you slows, then return to the set speed when the car in front speeds up or moves out of the way.

stickguy

also known as radar cruise. But yeah, basically it will pace your car against cars in front of you.

Sandman6472

Not sure I'd trust that. I've been eyeing a 2018 ILX with the Tech Package as I want Sirius/XM radio in my next vehicle also. They have a few white over beige ones that appeal to me for some reason. Not sure I'd want two white vehicles in the garage but if it happens, so be it. I'll be at 49K within a week and starting to think that I might want to trade out of it before it hits 60K as I'll be at 50K in to short a time to really decide what I want next. Liking both the Acura ILX, but the 2018 one with the Tech Package and the Infiniti QX30, but would also want the Sirius/XM and push button start/stop which means I can't get the base model. Also want the power seats on both but the QX30 is really a MB GLA 250 underneath. For some reason though it gets better mpg's in the Infiniti than in the MB. The one I had in March of 2018 was disappointing in the mpg department which led me to return it and go with a Rav4 until I had to give it back.
Now the QX30 that I drove at Hertz a few weeks back, had the SAT radio and the power front seats but was black over black and had already 16K on the clock. Talked with a manager friend and he said if I really wanted to purchase it, he could probably locate it or a similar unit. But also heard from someone else that the discount we get is only about $1K off the price. Might be better trying to get a loaner from the local Infiniti store. But at least I've found a couple of vehicles I'm actually wanting to test drive, so things are looking up!

xwesx

qbrozen said:

You sure its not an Alfa?

I better check the logo again; someone better not have pulled a fast one on me!

Like I said, though, I'm really hoping that it shapes up once we get more reasonable temperatures.

stickguy

Sandy, you can turn off the adaptive feature and just use it as straight, old fashioned cruise control.

and my opinion is, for any model Acura, you want the tech package.

for the ILX, it received a refresh for 2019, but it is almost entirely outside cosmetics, so if you like the way a 2018 looks, no reason not to go with that.

breld

And I’ve found not all adaptive cruise controls are created equal.  Have had it on Audis, a Land Rover, a Dodge, the Prius and a Volvo.  

Of those, the Volvo was by far the smoothest.  I imagine Teslas are pretty good.  

tbirdmarco

 Kind of figured all cruise controls were created equal. Man QB you’re talking about your Beamer with some Redlands one just gone. More so than the Alpha had wow you got a bad one then, if it continues see if they’ll swap you into exactly the same car another one though. 

tbirdmarco

 Tajja it’s West not to be read back a page my bed. Stick a guy how come you have the loaner car? I guess I should be back in a few more pages haven’t been in here in a day or so. Ha ha have a good night all and happy Friday. 

tbirdmarco

 Started having margaritas around my birthday love them now that I want to get one tomorrow night have to see what I’m gonna do. Prefer it over beer and also soul of white wine too. 

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Oh, gosh, what's the Q7 doing, now?

Oh, well, just gremlin-y stuff: I open the doors, no interior lights. I close the doors, the lights come on, then shut off as normal. I open the rear hatch, it works fine, I try to close it.... nothing. I eventually just forced it shut manually (which it REALLY doesn't like, but oh well). I try to use the radio, the screen says "loading" for about two minutes, then the whole system just shuts down. Seriously? FM RADIO? What's so hard about that? LOL

What else.... Oh, the illumination on a circuit (includes door panels, center panel, overhead, etc., but NOT dash display) began flickering wildly when I shut the car off the other day. It wouldn't turn off, just flickered almost imperceptibly fast. I eventually gave up trying to get it to stop and just went inside. Several hours later when I came back out, no flickering, worked like normal.

No response from the "touch sensitive" handles on the vehicle, either to lock or unlock. I either have to pull the handle a half-dozen times to get it to unlock, or fish the FOB out of my pocket and use the flip-key. The headlights have auto-adjustment in them, so if I am carrying a heavy load, the lights will point further down to stay at the right level, etc. Well, those didn't adjust properly once, so they were pointed high. I tell you what.... visibility was EXCELLENT that trip, but several oncoming cars let me know they didn't appreciate it very much. LOL

Odd stuff; one offs (I hope).

You sure its not an Alfa?

Or, it’s -43F!

Not sure I’d blame that on Audi

tbirdmarco

 You are welcome bro, where it went smooth now you’re to find a car to replace it in the suite Ha ha ha I know you will and the coming year, or some other car will be leaving the sleep. When is the closing on your new house going to be? 

corvette

stickguy said:

Sandy, you can turn off the adaptive feature and just use it as straight, old fashioned cruise control.

May be true on Acuras, but I don't think it's true for adaptive cruise in general. I think the F-150's adaptive cruise can't be disabled or turned off to make it a conventional cruise control.

corvette

Also, I saw a 2019 Silverado in the wild yesterday, and I heard a distinct sputtering sound, like an old Volvo 240. I guarantee it had the new 2.7 liter turbo four engine. I'm not sure it's going to be a hit. People will compare that engine to the 2.7 liter Ecoboost V6 in the F-150, and I think the Chevy will come up short, based upon the performance numbers I've seen. I haven't driven the Chevy yet, but I think I'd prefer the Ford. Also, despite its ancientness, the Tundra now has a ton of standard active safety features, which is also a huge plus. If I had to replace the Tahoe, I think the F-150 and the Tundra would be the main contenders.

corvette

@kyfdx , I bought that TCL Roku TV for my bedroom at Target tonight, and am watching it right now, using an extension cord because I can't easily get to the outlet behind the dresser where it's located.

Tomorrow, I plan to use furniture moving pads to slide out the dresser, replace the electrical outlet with a GFCI outlet[1], and install a short extension cord which will allow me to plug things in without moving the dresser, then plug the TV and a lamp into that.

[1] Most of my house has two conductor wiring. The National Electric Code allows you to install three prong outlets with this wiring, so long as they are GFCI protected. When I bought the house, I installed those outlets on the first plug in each circuit, and set the downstream ones to trip the first outlet, if there was an issue. Now, I've realized that some of the first outlets on each circuit are difficult to access, so I'm replacing all the outlets with GFCIs which won't trip the others on the circuit in the event they detect a ground fault (which is also permissible under the NEC).

fintail

Bluetec had a hiccup this evening - shut it off with radio on, opened door (which should turn off the radio) - radio didn't shut off. Pressing the start button or radio button did nothing. I locked and unlocked the car, which turned off the radio. I wonder if that has any link to the battery fun of a few weeks ago.