Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I'm glad that we passed on the deal to get one of these.

suydam

Got the Encore back after TWO WEEKS in the Autobody shop replacing the front drivers door and assorted moldings and such. On Sunday it wouldn’t start! A neighbor helped us jump start it, and we drove it to the dealership and left it there. Still no word on what the problem was. It’s a little young to need a new battery (4 years) but that’s the cheapest fix so I’m hoping that’s the solution.

henryn

The battery died on my 2008 Passat when it was at the dealer for a transmission module upgrade / fix. Factory authorized fix / recall whatever. The service manager at West Houston VW called me to tell me the battery dropped dead, it's $185 for a new one. That service department was so helpful and friendly down through the years, I immediately believed them and authorized the new battery.

Which is what happens when you treat people right. You build up a little thing called "trust", which is so lacking in this modern world.

By the way, that transmission module fix from the factory was at 5 years / 90,000 miles. And the transmission had never given a moment's trouble.

cdnpinhead

I'm not sure what happened in the land of batteries, but sometime in the last five or so years a basic battery went from costing 50-60 dollars to 150. One person I discussed this with said it had to do with the cost of lead, which could be the case, or it could be some kind of environmental thing. Either way, batteries have quadrupled in price.

Oh boy.

nyccarguy

cdnpinhead said:

I'm not sure what happened in the land of batteries, but sometime in the last five or so years a basic battery went from costing 50-60 dollars to 150. One person I discussed this with said it had to do with the cost of lead, which could be the case, or it could be some kind of environmental thing. Either way, batteries have quadrupled in price. Oh boy.

I can tell you that the cost of lead has increased dramatically over the past 15 or so years.  I sell sheet lead and lead bends.  

nyccarguy

Both my Prelude and my Infiniti need state emissions inspection by the end of the month.  Sunday night we dropped off the Prelude.  Took the Infiniti to have its all season tires mounted & balanced, state inspection, oil & Filter change.  

Picked my 10 year old (and his goalie gear) up from hockey try outs in the Prelude.  Good Year shop told me the Prelude is going to need a new Power Steering Pump (to the tune of $791 including installation).  I’ll have my mechanic look at it to make that determination.  

They call 5 minutes ago to tell me that the tires I want them to put on my Infiniti are “completely worn out.”  Now I’ll agree that they are nearing the end of their lifespan, but they aren’t “completely worn out.”  I told them to put the tires with the most meat on the back and I’ll look into new tires at another time.

breld

It’s certainly challenging to have an aging car if you don’t have a trusted independent mechanic.  

Not it that I haven’t had good experiences at a dealership, but generally they don’t want to evaluate the situation on its own merits.  It’s usually more along the lines of, “well the car has so many miles on it, so it must need such and such.” 

breld

And I give up @nyccarguy - what’s the picture for?  

nyccarguy

breld said:

And I give up @nyccarguy - what’s the picture for?  

Whoops! I knew I forgot something. With the Infiniti in the shop, I took the Prelude to work today. It takes some getting used to. I feel every single bump in the road, it doesn't have the "off the line" power of my Q40, I love the panoramic visibilty, the lightness, & the crisp handling. Driving to work also means parking on the street. I wasn't happy about it, but slowly opened my door and saw it cleared the broken sidewalk by about the width of my finger.

graphicguy

Thanks @coldinohio ...that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Find something you like, make certain the deal is fair, win-win....everyone’s happy. Congrats, again.

WAX....I’m not as “anal” as I used to be about waxing my cars. There was a time, I bought borderless all cotton towels for washing and drying. I would make sure the clothes I wore when detailing my vehicles didn’t have any exposed metal so I wouldn’t rub against the paint. Know what? if you drive your car, imperfections will happen.

I still only hand wash (except in the winter, when I go to a “touchless wash” to keep the salt off.

Now, I want good protection and something that makes my car look shiny. Those spray on waxes look like they fit the bill. I’ve never traded or sold a car where the new buyer or dealership didn’t say...”wow, you took really good care of it”.

When I had my 20 year old Cobra, I had a trusted guy who worked on it who was a Mustang fanatic. While the Cobra never needed anything that I would consider a large ticket fix, my mechanic was always straight up with me, to the point of letting me look under it while he had it on the lift to makes sure there were no bushings that were bad, there were no leaks or “seeps” anywhere, the thickness of the brakes, etc.

They’re worth their weight in gold when you fine one who’s honest and knowledgeable.

stickguy

You do get spoiled with more comfort. I noticed a big difference going from the Elantra to the TLX.

marcogallo1986

 28 fire fighter, she most likely will go with the Subaru ascent, how about the Volkswagen atlas might be a tad bit bigger, satin one last year in the third row seat had plenty a room, at least I thought. Compared to a lot of other stuff out there. And I love the Boxee styling of the atlas. 

marcogallo1986

 Wow New York car guy, all those cars going in for service the other day. 

marcogallo1986

 Did you get to bring your prelude to your mechanic for a second opinion, on the power steering pump,   New York car guy. Type your comment

28firefighter

We've considered the Atlas, @marcogallo1986. I'm always a fan of the german products, but this one just didn't do it for me. It excelled in the space arena, but that was about it - it didn't drive especially well, it was pricey (especially to lease), and I don't love how it looks. The Ascent is definitely better looking inside and out, IMO.

nyccarguy

marcogallo1986 said:

 Did you get to bring your prelude to your mechanic for a second opinion, on the power steering pump,   New York car guy. Type your comment

Not yet. I'm going to seek out the opinion of my mechanic here in The Bronx. Whatever he says, I'll go with.

andres3

28firefighter said:

We've considered the Atlas, @marcogallo1986. I'm always a fan of the german products, but this one just didn't do it for me. It excelled in the space arena, but that was about it - it didn't drive especially well, it was pricey (especially to lease), and I don't love how it looks. The Ascent is definitely better looking inside and out, IMO.

CR loves the Alltrack, didn't like the Atlas at all. Also, initial reliability might be poor (though I might have a bad memory these days and have been found to be wrong on occasion).

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

We've considered the Atlas, @marcogallo1986. I'm always a fan of the german products, but this one just didn't do it for me. It excelled in the space arena, but that was about it - it didn't drive especially well, it was pricey (especially to lease), and I don't love how it looks. The Ascent is definitely better looking inside and out, IMO.

What about the Highlander?

28firefighter

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

We've considered the Atlas, @marcogallo1986. I'm always a fan of the german products, but this one just didn't do it for me. It excelled in the space arena, but that was about it - it didn't drive especially well, it was pricey (especially to lease), and I don't love how it looks. The Ascent is definitely better looking inside and out, IMO.

What about the Highlander?

Highlander is on our list to look at. Some of the things that bug me are that it is fairly outdated and that we would have to step up to a Limited Platinum to get things like LED lights, backup sensors etc.

stickguy

But from what I’ve seen, they lease cheap

28firefighter

The SE and XLE lease cheap - high residuals. But that gets you halogen projector lamps, no reverse sensors, etc. The Limited and Limited Platinum have residuals 4-5% lower which really hurts.

stickguy

Seems true. Just checked Honcker and a limited was and extra $200 DAS plus $200/month more, over a $41k XLE with moonroof and BLIS and other normal goodies. That’s what I was shopping when I was shopping. Pretty good deal at $374/month (39/12)

Limited MSRP is $4k higher, and total cost to lease $7,400 higher!

28firefighter

I think I've mentioned this before here too, but my wife has it in her head that she wants a Subaru. I'm not really for or against one, so I'm not inclined to dissuade her unless she decides herself she likes something else better. Happy wife, happy life.

qbrozen

@28firefighter , well, apparently, you are supposed to get an X6 right now.

stickguy

I only sat in and scooped out the ascent and highlander, but based on that and lots of reviews, I would get the Subaru.

ab348

28firefighter said:

I think I've mentioned this before here too, but my wife has it in her head that she wants a Subaru. I'm not really for or against one, so I'm not inclined to dissuade her unless she decides herself she likes something else better. Happy wife, happy life.

Sounds like you're getting a Subaru then. Save yourself some time and aggravation, ignore all other brands, and use your time getting the best deal on the most suitable Subie you can find.

28firefighter

ab348 said:

28firefighter said:

I think I've mentioned this before here too, but my wife has it in her head that she wants a Subaru. I'm not really for or against one, so I'm not inclined to dissuade her unless she decides herself she likes something else better. Happy wife, happy life.

Sounds like you're getting a Subaru then. Save yourself some time and aggravation, ignore all other brands, and use your time getting the best deal on the most suitable Subie you can find.

I suggested that - but she wants to drive a couple others to make sure she isn't being unfairly biased. I think she is going to give herself analysis paralysis. All of that is fine with me until if and when the X1 makes an exit.

breld

@28firefighter - no doubt you've considered it, but the CX-9 always catches my eye around town.

28firefighter

breld said:

@28firefighter - no doubt you've considered it, but the CX-9 always catches my eye around town.

It has caught ours, but leases poorly - also, not really a fan of any Mazda dealerships locally.

Sandman6472

The recall was done at VW earlier today. That Black over black Golf SE was out front and looks beautiful! Am sure it'll show any and all swirl marks after a few months and black leatherette is not something I really want. If they had any other colors with a beige interior, well we might start a conversation. But do I really want the same vehicle again even though the infotainment center is vastly improved with the usb port and aux input. And then, black over black?? Decided to just come home and not go any further. They had a stunning Beetle drop top inside but I'd want the hardtop if I went in that direction.
So now that the recall is done, just going to look around and see what's out there. Again, nothing really excites me at this juncture, so doing nothing is the best course of action to take.

sda

I made the mistake of buying the same car twice. Though nothing wrong with the second one (two model years newer with some updates) I quickly tired of it.

Mr_Shiftright

28firefighter said:

We've considered the Atlas, @marcogallo1986. I'm always a fan of the german products, but this one just didn't do it for me. It excelled in the space arena, but that was about it - it didn't drive especially well, it was pricey (especially to lease), and I don't love how it looks. The Ascent is definitely better looking inside and out, IMO.

The Atlas got panned pretty hard by Consumer Reports, too, as I recall.

tjc78

sda said:

I made the mistake of buying the same car twice. Though nothing wrong with the second one (two model years newer with some updates) I quickly tired of it.

I did it with the Enclaves.  Basically the exact same car except the newer one has some additional safety nannies.  

We dont quite regret it, but by the end will be ready for something else.

I had back to back Avalon’s but the 03 and 06 were radically different.  Same with Grand Marquis 89 and 04 were very different cars so they don’t quite count.  

corvette

ab348 said:

I think I've mentioned this before here too, but my wife has it in her head that she wants a Subaru. I'm not really for or against one, so I'm not inclined to dissuade her unless she decides herself she likes something else better. Happy wife, happy life.

Sounds like you're getting a Subaru then. Save yourself some time and aggravation, ignore all other brands, and use your time getting the best deal on the most suitable Subie you can find.

Isn’t (or wasn’t) there a Subaru salesman in the PacNW who used to run a Subaru website on the side? All about cars or something? I’d probably try to buy from him if I could. 

kyfdx

Summer tires are going on, on Thursday!

Expect snow this weekend.

corvette

kyfdx said:

Summer tires are going on, on Thursday! Expect snow this weekend.

It’s my dog’s eighth birthday party at my parents’ house. I’ll plan to drive the Tahoe so we will be assured of no snow. 

28firefighter

corvette said:

Isn’t (or wasn’t) there a Subaru salesman in the PacNW who used to run a Subaru website on the side? All about cars or something? I’d probably try to buy from him if I could. 

Yep - that's the dealer we're headed to on Thursday to do some test drives. It's his day off but it is the only time my wife and I could find to go together to look without child in tow.

suydam

Diagnosis for the Encore: needs a new battery. One month over the 4 year warranty so it’s on my dime. Sigh.

Sandman6472

Be happy that's all it was. On my third battery in my 5th year of ownership but down south, the heat makes them go much quicker for some reason. I usually try to catch it before it happens but the last couple of times, have got stuck in the garage and a guy with a hand held unit got me started each time. My VW roadside has expired so luckily, my Safeco insurance includes it also so we're both good. The Audi is still under warranty methinks or almost at the end. It's also on it 3rd battery come to think of it.
The Accent is home over night and that little guy keeps going and going. No issues to speak of and think it just hit the 40K mark. Still no talk of a replacement yet so I'm not saying a word. When it's time, I'll hear about it.

stickguy

you guys beat me. I only made it 2 months and 1,000 miles on my OEM battery!

Michaell

Back in the early 90's, we were a two Isuzu family (P'up and Trooper). Gas was approaching $1.50/gal (gasp!) and we had a toddler, so we sold both and bought new cars. Wife picked up a '91 Protege LX with an automatic, dark blue. A year later, it was my turn to pick a car. We found a light blue Protege LX with a stick, but thought it would be dumb to have two of the same car.

I ended up with a Sentra SE, 2-door.

corvette

suydam said:

Diagnosis for the Encore: needs a new battery. One month over the 4 year warranty so it’s on my dime. Sigh.

Autozone has free installation, but a premium AGM battery for the Tahoe was around $180, and the employee had an awful attitude about providing the free install (because it required removing a support bracket and took maybe ten minutes longer than a normal battery).

nyccarguy

I know some of you guys lurk (stalk) Bring a trailer.  What are your thoughts on that Green NSX with 187 miles?  I’m in love with those seats!

@Mr_Shiftright - there’s a Guards Red Cayman with less than 28K on it that I know you’ve seen out of the corner of your eye

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

I know some of you guys lurk (stalk) Bring a trailer.  What are your thoughts on that Green NSX with 187 miles?  I’m in love with those seats!

@Mr_Shiftright - there’s a Guards Red Cayman with less than 28K on it that I know you’ve seen out of the corner of your eye

That might be a nice buy, without the BaT premium price.

marcogallo1986

 Of all above guys. That and SX sounds awesome. 

marcogallo1986

 28 fire fighter, can’t wait to hear all about the test tryouts Thursday are you and the wife are going to do at the Subaru dealer. How far is this dealer from your house? This guy used to come in these forms? You might have a possible punch Thursday night. Type your comment

28firefighter

Unlikely to have a punch Thursday night. 

Dealer is about 5 minutes away. 

marcogallo1986

 New York car guy, sounds good yes will go with your opinion of your mechanic that you trust in the Bronx definitely. When you get the chance to bring it to him. 

marcogallo1986

 My mom had to back to back cars a 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe in red bright red nice color ford fully loaded was nice. And then we got a 2006 black one fully loaded. Type your comment

marcogallo1986

 The 2003 was a lease, and the 2006 we had bought and had it for eight years until 2013 when she had the Senada but she can’t, for two years or so before she treated that in and had beast the Maxima that she had before the current room but she has now.