Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

sucks when that happens. But seems to be too common in recent years. Some of those systems got so fancy and new that it led to failures.

jpp75

Michaell said:

The BMW folks have been spending too much time in Colorado if they think that interior color is red.

As much as is like to avoid a black interior, if my choices were that or the color I saw last night, I'dhave to stick with black.

I second this, I actually sat in the vehicle @Michaell is mentioning and it was just hideous, there's no way I could spend more than a couple of minutes in there.

corvette

There is a street I drive on every day where there is something which causes the XM to drop over half the time, at the same spot. And I know it's not the car, because the Tahoe and the G37 both do it! Regardless of that, will probably unsubscribe from XM on the G37, since it's not my daily driver.

venture

corvette said:

There is a street I drive on every day where there is something which causes the XM to drop over half the time, at the same spot. And I know it's not the car, because the Tahoe and the G37 both do it! Regardless of that, will probably unsubscribe from XM on the G37, since it's not my daily driver.

There are a few places around me where that happens. Every time, every car.

tjc78

Same here 

cdnpinhead

Me too

fintail

I notice satellite radio hates some of the tree canopy streets in my area.

graphicguy

I could go for another red car. Matter of fact, I kind of like the fact that in a sea of grey, black and white, red cars are scarce these days. I like red interiors even more.

Saw a grey Stinger GT with red interior at a stop light yesterday. Very tasty!

breld

Pricing on the upcoming Arteon...

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a26972412/2019-volkswagen-arteon-price/

It'll be interesting to see how it does. I don't get the sense the Stinger has sold in any great numbers - VW may hold a little more appeal, but who knows. The RWD or RWD-bias of the Kia is mostly lost on the majority of the buying population, so the Arteon's style and potential "poor man's Audi" image may prove successful.

stickguy

I really like how easy it is to find my car in a parking lot!

breld

I'm curious as to any opinions on what a truly good price would be for the Mini Clubman I'm considering. For reference...

https://www.schompmini.com/inventory/certified-used-2017-mini-clubman-cooper-s-awd-station-wagon-wmwlu5c53h2c45851

So right now they're at $20,987, plus they have a $500 "car show" incentive. So at $20,487 I think it's a good deal - not great, but good.

Given my interest in the new Mazda3, I may just hold off and wait for pricing to come down on the new model. But there's certainly a lot of appeal for the Mini for me - the combination of that 2.0T, AWD and a manual is SO tempting. It's short on options, but I love the color combo.

Anyway, given the limited appeal of the not-so-loved Clubman paired with a transmission that few prefer, I don't suspect it will be a hot item when I turn around and trade. So if I do buy it, I'm particularly sensitive to buying this one right.

nyccarguy

breld said:

I'm curious as to any opinions on what a truly good price would be for the Mini Clubman I'm considering. For reference...

https://www.schompmini.com/inventory/certified-used-2017-mini-clubman-cooper-s-awd-station-wagon-wmwlu5c53h2c45851

So right now they're at $20,987, plus they have a $500 "car show" incentive. So at $20,487 I think it's a good deal - not great, but good.

Given my interest in the new Mazda3, I may just hold off and wait for pricing to come down on the new model. But there's certainly a lot of appeal for the Mini for me - the combination of that 2.0T, AWD and a manual is SO tempting. It's short on options, but I love the color combo.

Anyway, given the limited appeal of the not-so-loved Clubman paired with a transmission that few prefer, I don't suspect it will be a hot item when I turn around and trade. So if I do buy it, I'm particularly sensitive to buying this one right.

I like that color. What was the MSRP on that bad boy when new? I like the color combination & sparse options. Make sure you like how the MINI stick drives. I didn't particularly care for the clutch operation when I test drove one some 10 years ago. We know you're only going to keep this for a few months anyway, just prepare yourself for the depreciation hit. What does @qbrozen say about the price?

breld

Original MSRP was something like $33-34k.

Funny you mention the clutch - on my first test drive, I thought it felt okay, but a little heavy. So I took a longer second test drive and once I got more used to it I didn't think anything of it.

Q pegged the auction value at around $17-18k. KBB trade is only around $15k. So I'm thinking if I can get it in the $19k's I'd be good.

28firefighter

The good news with that price point is that by the time you're ready to flip it, it would probably be a good private party candidate.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

The good news with that price point is that by the time you're ready to flip it, it would probably be a good private party candidate.

I don't know about that. After his 2 weeks of ownership, would still be an $18k car PP, and he wouldn't even have the title in hand yet

stickguy

It’s dropping that much in 3 months?

qbrozen

3 mos? Oh, you are generous!

We're talking retail vs PP. And when I say 18, I mean any number starting with 18.

roadburner

My local Mini dealer has a 2017 Cooper S in Martini Racing livery- it has the JCW big brake kit as well as the JCW Pro Tuning kit. The tuning kit is cool; it also comes with a Bluetooth remote that activates exhaust flaps that practically bypass the muffler. I’m taking the Clubman there next Monday to have the brake fluid, coolant, and oil changed, so I may not be able to resist taking a test drive. 

breld

Nice. You ask for a simple opinion of value and everyone's a comedian all of a sudden.

To that point, I didn't see any response to the original question!

28firefighter

I'm going on record saying this will probably be the last lease transfer that I do. Too many tire kickers or people who proclaim to have great credit who, in fact, do not. The person currently in process was not approved on their own but BMWFS is willing to reconsider with a cosigner - and the individual is taking their sweet time with this, which ties up the car (I can't let someone else step in until they officially cancel it).

To BMW's credit, the process is very simple and within 12 hours of their initial credit application we had a response.

stickguy

Neat looking mini. Probably a fun little toy.

breld

That's frustrating. Sounds like there's enough interest that it will happen though - just a matter of finding a legitimate buyer.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

Neat looking mini. Probably a fun little toy.

A little too "look at me". I like a lower profile. Fun drive, though.

stickguy

I’ve never thought of doing a transfer. Interesting idea, but I make a deal with myself that if I get one, I ride it out.

28firefighter

It only works with a couple captives - mostly BMW and MB, though GM, Ford, Toyota, and Lexus let you do it too subject to more restrictions than BMW and MB. It went fairly smoothly with the Mercedes, just took forever with MBFS.

BMWFS has been very quick but the person taking it over painfully slow and lacking in communication.

laurasdada

Local Infiniti dealer advertising a used Stinger GT2 pkg: $37k.
Mazda has a nice red; my next car (unless I do another end of year beggars can't be choosers deal) I plan to be red or blue.
But, darn it, XF still puts a smile on my face every day!

stickguy

The Mazda red is gorgeous. If I’d gone with the CX5, I might have sprung the extra cost for that paint.

tjc78

It's funny these days... if it isn't silver, grey or black there is likely an additional charge!

xwesx

tjc78 said:

It's funny these days... if it isn't silver, grey or black there is likely an additional charge!

I was going to click "lol" on this, but realized that it's so true that it is sad, not funny.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

It only works with a couple captives - mostly BMW and MB, though GM, Ford, Toyota, and Lexus let you do it too subject to more restrictions than BMW and MB. It went fairly smoothly with the Mercedes, just took forever with MBFS.

BMWFS has been very quick but the person taking it over painfully slow and lacking in communication.

I've only done it with a BMW. And, even then, it was to a close friend.

I had that car for a whole month.

stickguy

Usually just the euros do that, but recently a few special paint types like the Mazda red. But that’s still only $300 or less, not $750 like Volvo gets for any plain old metallic.

fintail

For MB anything is extra aside from non-metallic black and non-metallic white. Metallic white carries roughly twice the upcharge from other metallics, and don't get me started on Designo colors. Higher models (S, SL, G, etc) are exceptions, with "free" colors carried in the higher MSRP.

The positive is that you actually have a wide palette, but you have to pay for it.

sda

Are these still so hot they command this price?

stickguy

Carmax is never shy about trying.

breld

That seems a bit high for a 2017, but yes, from what I can tell, the market continues to be strong on the Type Rs. The big mark-ups are mostly gone, but it may be a while before the used market breaks the $30k barrier.

suydam

tjc78 said:

It's funny these days... if it isn't silver, grey or black there is likely an additional charge!

When we bought the Encore metallic black was an extra charge over plain black!

tjc78

Yes, my LaCrosse was now that I think about it.

Sandman6472

Still happy I went with the blue on my VW Golf, don't see too many in this color. Never really looks dirty, the alloys let me know when it's time for a bath. And I've got Jetta SEL alloys on it with the 15 thin spokes which show everything. While at the VW store on Tuesday getting that recall done, saw the other set of alloys I had to choose from after we discovered they put the wrong size rims on my Golf. Truthfully, don't think I would've made the same choice if I had to do a do over. Honestly liked the other alloys better now. Not that I'm unhappy with what I chose, have gotten a few nice compliments on how well they make the car look. But, given just 15 minutes to decide, was a hard decision really. The alloys on the new 2019 black Golf SE I saw Tuesday look very nice also and for a few minutes there, I was going to see what kind of deal we could work out for a new Golf. But logic prevailed and I threw that idea out of my head as quickly as it came in. Not sure I want the same vehicle again next time and honestly, I still want to check out the Mini Cooper Countryman. But with the right combination of color and alloys as the size is just perfect.

corvette

suydam said:

It's funny these days... if it isn't silver, grey or black there is likely an additional charge!

When we bought the Encore metallic black was an extra charge over plain black!

Same for the Pontiac G6. That was one of the worse vehicle choices I’ve made, I think. 

ab348

Oddly, Cadillac typically only has a couple of no extra cost colours, solid black and silver metallic. There are 2 grades of extra cost colors, regular metallics are one price and tri-coats or tintcoats are an even higher price. My Red Obsession colour is in the latter category. In terms of the shade of red, it is virtually the same as the one Mazda sells.

qbrozen

breld said:

Nice. You ask for a simple opinion of value and everyone's a comedian all of a sudden. To that point, I didn't see any response to the original question!

There was a question? 

Mr_Shiftright

"Well....I'll see your macho pickup and raise you one...."

rayainsw

Looks like VW let a bunch of journalists loose on the Tail of the Dragon with 2019 GLIs -
and several reviews have been released - like this one:

https://jalopnik.com/the-2019-volkswagen-jetta-gli-is-why-sport-sedans-shoul-1833670064

- Ray
Seeing a few Autobah versions now showing up at local dealers...

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

Check this out

nyccarguy

Mr_Shiftright

Think it's real?

kyfdx

There is a guy near me that still has a few of them. I haven't been down that way in awhile, but @roadburner gets down that way, occasionally, when his wife comes home to visit.

kyfdx

I wonder if the fish and chips is any good?

kyfdx

Spotted a Range Rover Evoque Cabriolet, today. Top up, since it was raining. That makes my head hurt.