Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

And' the Vroom offer just came in. Any guesses?

Four years old, 30,000 miles. I'm going to say about 65%

65% of what?

Oh, sorry; I was thinking of it as 65% of what you paid new.

Not bad - actually about 61% of the negotiated price, before taxes and fees and such.

venture

xwesx said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

They probably left the crap OEM tires on it and figured they were good to go!

What are they using on those now? Potenza RE92s, Goodyear Eagles, or Dunlop Grandtreks? I think those are all bottom of the barrel OEM tires for AWD vehicles.

I am honestly not sure. I haven't looked at anything newer than about 2014, and they had Yokos on them at that point. I have a neighbor that purchased a 2017 Outback, IIRC, and that one had Continentals on it. An okay warm weather tire, but not something I would use on snow or ice.

My Legacy came with Goodyear Eagle LS2's. Not very good in snow/ice. They rate around a 9.2 on the ole suck-o-meter.

au1994

The Crosstrek came with Falkens. Not an aggressive tread pattern, but so far a nice quiet tire.

tjc78

We went to the Philly auto show yesterday (was supposed to be today, but my mom had a funeral and couldn’t watch the kids, so wife and I played hookey)

I had my nearly 5 year old and 3 year old with us so didn’t get to do a full in depth look but here are some observations

If I was in the market for a full size pickup it would certainly be tough choice. They are all so nice in the middle to upper trims. I think my favorite was the Ford, but man does Dodge have a nice interior.

No BMW or Cadillac present.

Genesis had their own display not next to Hyundai

Sedans definitely take a back seat to SUVs and Trucks. It seemed like they were always at the back of the booths or tucked into a corner in the bigger displays

Hyundai Pallisade, very nice package. Big enough, but honestly looked bigger in the pictures.

Jeep had their massive ride along with the track. It had at least an hour wait.

Kids were tired so I didn’t even make it to the other room with Lexus and MB. That’s just as well I had enough with ugly front ends with Toyota. Man oh man the front of the Avalon destroys others is a really nice piece.

tjc78

Forgot one thing... black wheels, everywhere

Ugh, I must be the minority but it’s a fad I wish would end

fintail

We got a mere 4" or so in Bellevue out of this latest snowfall, although some areas got a lot more. Snowiest February in maybe 30 years.

xwesx said:

Silly Seattle's inability to handle snow caused our flights to be cancelled in advance, so looks like we'll be starting our little two-week "vacation" two days late (assuming the airlines don't cancel on us again).

28firefighter

We have about 7-8 in our yard 

fintail

We've had a new spurt of snow in the past hour here, I think this could make it 5" for the current storm. I've heard some places in the Tacoma/Puyallup area got 10"+. 7" at Seatac. We had around 5" here Monday as well, pretty awesome. Beautiful morning here, my usually busy street might be averaging a car every minute or two, I am not driving today.

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

Forgot one thing... black wheels, everywhere Ugh, I must be the minority but it’s a fad I wish would end

I like black wheels on certain cars.  I don’t like when people black out the wheels on cars that don’t come with black wheels from the factory.

qbrozen

Yup. Certain cars/designs/colors for me. Like a T/A Challenger in a body color other than black.

Mr_Shiftright

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

Just watched a Subaru Crosstrek go down our street sideways (snow started about an hour or so ago). Still had temp tags.

That's what they get for thinking AWD equals more traction. They probably left the crap OEM tires on it and figured they were good to go!

Silly Seattle's inability to handle snow caused our flights to be cancelled in advance, so looks like we'll be starting our little two-week "vacation" two days late (assuming the airlines don't cancel on us again).

Someday perhaps people will figure out that all AWD does is improve acceleration---not braking, not handling--if the tires can "bite" when you step on the gas, then you got something going--4 tires can slip on sheer ice as well as 2, or 6, or 8.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Yup. Certain cars/designs/colors for me. Like a T/A Challenger in a body color other than black.

I happen to like the way the Grand Cherokee looks with Black Wheels in either white or black. Now I've seen it done to the stock wheels (either painted or plastidipped) on Infiniti Q40/G37 & Q50s that I DON'T LIKE.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

Forgot one thing... black wheels, everywhere

Ugh, I must be the minority but it’s a fad I wish would end

I like black wheels on certain cars.  I don’t like when people black out the wheels on cars that don’t come with black wheels from the factory.

I think it really depends on the vehicle. Shape, color, equipment, etc., all play a role. Black, grey, or accented w/ such looks good with dark colors on vehicles that have an off-road bent. Chrome/silver on those same vehicles just seems off to me. However, those lighter shades look far better suited on vehicles that are meant to be clean than the dark colors. I am also a fan of gold on white or WRC blue Subaru vehicles.

xwesx

fintail said:

We've had a new spurt of snow in the past hour here, I think this could make it 5" for the current storm. I've heard some places in the Tacoma/Puyallup area got 10"+. 7" at Seatac. We had around 5" here Monday as well, pretty awesome. Beautiful morning here, my usually busy street might be averaging a car every minute or two, I am not driving today.

Enough to be fun, anyway! I would like a decent snowfall here this winter. Everything has been quite small so far. Accumulation must be well below average for this time of year.

Speaking of which, though, I should probably go plug in the plow truck and get some clearing done before we leave.

Mr_Shiftright

Black wheels are nice for "outlaw"-type cars that are perhaps tastefully lowered.

marcogallo1986

 I read with the above, depending on the shade of paint color. 

marcogallo1986

 Good luck to your daughter Michael on the business and your wife too. Agreed tires is everything not odd. 

marcogallo1986

 Nice on the Philly auto show highlights thanks for sharing with us.  TJCType your comment

fintail

Enough to be pretty, although now my street has been plowed and sanded, and is ugly. Still, I will take it - this is the most snow we've had since 2008, and around here, you have to embrace it when you get it. Reminds me of typical winters in the Columbia Basin when I was a kid, I loved that weather.

xwesx said:

Enough to be fun, anyway! I would like a decent snowfall here this winter. Everything has been quite small so far. Accumulation must be well below average for this time of year.

Speaking of which, though, I should probably go plug in the plow truck and get some clearing done before we leave.

andres3

tjc78 said:

Forgot one thing... black wheels, everywhere

Ugh, I must be the minority but it’s a fad I wish would end

Seems to be standard to have black wheels on white Range Rovers/Land Rovers.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

That's especially crazy. I went $750 over auction. So they are offering you $1500 over. Wow. That is private party retail.

Wife shot it down, even though it represents almost $6k of positive equity. Can't say I blame her

Based on your experience, we plugged my dad’s into vroom. $19k. Also $1500 over auction. Wow.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

That's especially crazy. I went $750 over auction. So they are offering you $1500 over. Wow. That is private party retail.

Wife shot it down, even though it represents almost $6k of positive equity.

Can't say I blame her

Based on your experience, we plugged my dad’s into vroom. $19k. Also $1500 over auction. Wow.


Makes you wonder how they'll stay in business if they keep overallowing on the buy bids.

kyfdx

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

That's especially crazy. I went $750 over auction. So they are offering you $1500 over. Wow. That is private party retail.

Wife shot it down, even though it represents almost $6k of positive equity.

Can't say I blame her

Based on your experience, we plugged my dad’s into vroom. $19k. Also $1500 over auction. Wow.

Makes you wonder how they'll stay in business if they keep overallowing on the buy bids.

Private equity investments

Mr_Shiftright

"We cheat the other guy and pass the savings on to you!"

qbrozen

Interestingly, I find myself thinking “well since they are overpaying for my dad’s and he’d get a significant tax break, overpaying for theirs works out just fine.”

It is like they have arranged their own little microeconomy of automobiles.

Sandman6472

Going to hit 50K this week on the Golf. Found the paperwork for the last oil change under the front seat the other day, guess it fell under there somehow. Looks like I only went about 6K miles before the one I had done last week. Also at the VW store as I like to get every other one done there. And even though it says I can go up to 10K between changes, like to stay around 8 or so. This time was a bit premature but rather that then say 12K or so.
They did a check up and everything else seems to be in order but said I need new wiper blades. Got the fronts last time at the VW/Audi store down the street so guess it's time to go back there and replace them. Tires in good shape but need to rotate soon. Brakes seem a bit low to me but they said no problems. Alignment is good. So, staying the course and will possibly look for a 2020 model down the line. Besides the QX30 I'd go for right now, not much else excites enough to trade the Golf honestly so why do anything right now. So will just save my pennies and do it when it feels right. Probably not the right attitude for this forum but, not going to go out and buy just to buy. Don't want another Tucson episode either so the logical thing is to just hold off until the urge comes back!

corvette

kyfdx said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

qbrozen

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale.

Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered.

Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this:
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

au1994

Still not a big fan of solid black wheels, I’ve come to accept the partially black ones like on the Crosstrek and X1. It’s a trend that has lasted a long time it seems to me.

stickguy

I thought Carvana was nuts for going so high on my Elantra. Until they apparently flipped it i a couple weeks for top dollar! Makes me really annoyed that the dealer I bought at would not have come even close (to take advantage of tax savings). The dealers that offerd 2-3K back of Carvana missed a chance for a nice profit on a quick sale.

stickguy

I made the car show today. Place was packed. I still can't believe BMW bailed. they used to have tons of visitors. Saw all the options from my final short list. Turns out, we did not like the Cherokee at all, so a great Honcker deal was useless. The Outback though, that was nice. Still liked the NX (probably should have just gotten that). Also really liked, of all things, the Ford Edge.

Turns out I guess we are really snobs now, because most of the cars just did nothing for me. And a lot of interiors that felt the same. Did see the new RAV4. Not anything special.

The new Mazda 3 looked really nice. Well, the sedan did. The hatch, well, that has issues in the rump IMO. The new MB A class was also sharp. My son thought it could be an option down the road if the 43 AMG version comes out.

Overall though, our (wife and I) favorites were Volvos. We love the XC40 (liked that when we sat in one at the dealer also). Should be roomy enough. Though the XC60 was also snazzy, and bigger. Finally saw the new S60, and really really liked that too if wanted a sedan. 3 years from now, could be a great used option. We just like the style, seats, etc. Our daughter was mad, because she wants an XC40 next, and I already got the TLX, another of her dream cars.

I also really liked the new Ranger. Trying to remember if there was anything else notable, but can't think of it now.

stickguy

our son took us for a ride today in his G70 3.3t. My lord, what a beast of an engine. Took off like a shot, and when it upshifted you got slammed back into the seats again. seriously quick. Rides nice and comfy too. I get to drive it tomorrow. Impressive.

28firefighter

The G70 looks and feels absolutely phenomenal from looking at it during the auto show. If the right opportunity presented itself, I’d be all over it. 

The GLI is also incredibly enticing. 

henryn

I had a gig this evening, and I was over sitting up the equipment around mid-day. This was an expensive high rise condo building, and as I was leaving there was an Aston Martin sitting in the front circle. I just went and looked it up, it was a DB 11. I have to say the pictures really don't do it justice, that is indeed a very fine looking automobile in person.

kyfdx

Attended the Cincinnati show, yesterday.

Mercedes and Genesis were missing. Not sure why they didn't have Genesis, considering the huge display from Hyundai.

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale.

Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered.

Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this:
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

He'll have to throw build quality and reliability out the window I fear.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale. Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered. Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this: https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

He'll have to throw build quality and reliability out the window I fear.

Have there been widespread problems with that setup? I haven’t read any up to this point.

stickguy

I drove my son's G70 3.3T today. The engine is a beast. I probably only got into it for half throttle, and it still shot ahead. Must be a hoot to come off an on ramp and just bury it. triple digits in no time. Great steering, excellent handling. Ride was firm, but reasonably well composed. A little smaller that what the wife would want. But, not cramped. Definitely skewed to the sporty side though.

Biggest issue I had was that it was really low. I was getting in, and lowering into it and when it seemed like i should have hit seat, still had a long way to go!

so, if you want a compact sport sedan (emphasis on sport) and don't mind being low and stiff, a fantastic option. Great tech too, and quality interior. Really did make the prior gen 3 series look and feel outdated.

for us, I would not get one, but I would not turn down a free one! Now, if they come out with a CUV based on it (think Stelvio to Guillia), that could be an awesome package.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I drove my son's G70 3.3T today. The engine is a beast. I probably only got into it for half throttle, and it still shot ahead. Must be a hoot to come off an on ramp and just bury it. triple digits in no time. Great steering, excellent handling. Ride was firm, but reasonably well composed. A little smaller that what the wife would want. But, not cramped. Definitely skewed to the sporty side though.

Biggest issue I had was that it was really low. I was getting in, and lowering into it and when it seemed like i should have hit seat, still had a long way to go!

so, if you want a compact sport sedan (emphasis on sport) and don't mind being low and stiff, a fantastic option. Great tech too, and quality interior. Really did make the prior gen 3 series look and feel outdated.

for us, I would not get one, but I would not turn down a free one! Now, if they come out with a CUV based on it (think Stelvio to Guillia), that could be an awesome package.

I've heard that Genesis will be introducing CUVs soon, to round out the lineup.

tjc78

Michaell said:

I drove my son's G70 3.3T today. The engine is a beast. I probably only got into it for half throttle, and it still shot ahead. Must be a hoot to come off an on ramp and just bury it. triple digits in no time. Great steering, excellent handling. Ride was firm, but reasonably well composed. A little smaller that what the wife would want. But, not cramped. Definitely skewed to the sporty side though. Biggest issue I had was that it was really low. I was getting in, and lowering into it and when it seemed like i should have hit seat, still had a long way to go! so, if you want a compact sport sedan (emphasis on sport) and don't mind being low and stiff, a fantastic option. Great tech too, and quality interior. Really did make the prior gen 3 series look and feel outdated. for us, I would not get one, but I would not turn down a free one! Now, if they come out with a CUV based on it (think Stelvio to Guillia), that could be an awesome package.

I've heard that Genesis will be introducing CUVs soon, to round out the lineup.

Only makes sense... that’s what sells 

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale.

Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered.

Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this:
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

He'll have to throw build quality and reliability out the window I fear.

Have there been widespread problems with that setup? I haven’t read any up to this point.

Just the overall odds of an FCA product. Statistical likelihood. Each one might be different.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale. Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered. Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this: https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

He'll have to throw build quality and reliability out the window I fear.

Have there been widespread problems with that setup? I haven’t read any up to this point.

Just the overall odds of an FCA product. Statistical likelihood. Each one might be different.

Other than the headlight issue we had, our T&C has been remarkably trouble-free thus far. Approaching 60k miles and 5 years of age. As for the hemi Charger, I’d imagine there are thousands of cops who would swear by them. Like any brand, ya gotta pick the good ones. 

henryn

qbrozen said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

Private equity investments

CarMax used to over-offer on certain "problem child" vehicles like Land Rovers, to the point that dealers would often suggest selling a prospective trade-in to CarMax instead of taking the trade.

my wife's went to carvana for the same reason. I never did see it on their site for sale.

Oh, by the way, my Alfa is back on Vroom and the price has been lowered.

Gotta see if I can convince my father he NEEDS this:
https://www.vroom.com/inventory/dodge-charger-2014-2C3CDXDT1EH199811

He'll have to throw build quality and reliability out the window I fear.

Have there been widespread problems with that setup? I haven’t read any up to this point.

Just the overall odds of an FCA product. Statistical likelihood. Each one might be different.

Other than the headlight issue we had, our T&C has been remarkably trouble-free thus far. Approaching 60k miles and 5 years of age. As for the hemi Charger, I’d imagine there are thousands of cops who would swear by them. Like any brand, ya gotta pick the good ones. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- end previous quotes-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

My 2016 Town and Country is now 3 years old (2 years with me), and 44k miles (10k with me). I have changed oil, replaced the tires, and replaced one O2 sensor. Pretty good, in my opinion.

au1994

Let’s see, I’ve had a pretty decent track record with FCA:

- 01 PT Cruiser - zero problems in 4 years and about 50k.
- 06 Ram 1500 - 1 warranty job in the suspension in 2 yrs
- 07 Wrangler - 2 years, gas tank replaced as the vent plugged. Was out of warranty, barely and the covered it. When I got rid of it the trans fluid was black and smelled according to a tech at the oil change place. I did not notice any problems but was pretty much in the hunt for something else at that point. That just pushed me over the edge as I was well out of warranty then.

stickguy

I won’t take the time to recap my 1996 voyager. But that put me off chrysler for a long time! I did really like that car though. Nice to drive, and super useful. And it was the SWB model so perfect size.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

I won’t take the time to recap my 1996 voyager. But that put me off chrysler for a long time! I did really like that car though. Nice to drive, and super useful. And it was the SWB model so perfect size.

My father in law had an AWD Town & Country. I think it was a 1994. The engine was replaced 1x and the transmission 6 or 7 times (under warranty) as well as every possible mechanical failure. The van had well over 250K on it and the body was "all original" when he finally junked it in '00 or '01.

On the flip side, I know quite a few customers who bought these for their workers "to beat on" with well over 200K on them and they look and drive like there is 50K on the odometer.

pensfan83

Never owned any ChryCo/DC/FCA product but my parents had an early 90's Voyager that had its share of issues, mainly with the transmission. Then a Grand Cherokee (WJ) that went through a transfer case, blend door replacements, and various electronic issues. Those were the only non-Ford products they've owned since their '78 Malibu.

EDIT: Malibu was a 1978

Mr_Shiftright

Well maybe it's more perception than reality, but the automotive media isn't helping. Here's just a casual Google search result that a typical buyer might find. It only took a few minutes to find all of these:

"The 2019 Dodge Charger has a spacious interior, and few class rivals can match its performance, but it lacks the refinement and efficiency of many competitors. A poor predicted reliability rating also sinks the Charger to the bottom half of our large car rankings."

"The Dodge Charger is essentially the four-door version of the above Challenger is also among the most fun to drive cars in its 700-plus horsepower SRT Hellcat edition, but doesn’t otherwise fare much better than its two-door relation, getting both JD Power’s lowest dependability scores in all categories, and a one-out-of-five reliability rating from Consumer Reports."


"While the Dodge Charger has left behind its poor reliability ratings from 2013-15, owner surveys and other data still point to below-average scores in this department. Problem areas have included the drive system, brakes, and in-car electronics.

That added up to the lowest score of any sedan in the full-size segment."


"The 2019 Dodge Charger offers mediocre reliability. Don’t expect it to match the dependability of a Lexus sedan. This could be a factor for the drivers who’re looking to keep their car on a long-term basis. After the Charger’s original warranty expires, you’ll need to cover the cost of any repairs"

qbrozen

Imagine if Hyundai still had the burden of its '90s reliability. Yikes!

You may recall, our '08 T&C had several issues when it passed 80k miles, but the wife wanted another one... I just made sure to get the warranty this time. All were basically van-specific issues like the failed 3rd row motor, failed A/C that may have been the rearmost condenser, and failed DVD unit. Just think, if it was a zero-option model, it would have had zero issues!

corvette

An acquaintance of mine got a new 300S and apparently the rear diff locked up or something and caused damage to the transmission. Under warranty, but she was really unhappy about it.