Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

pensfan83

When I was car shopping in 2005 I really wanted a 6 speed TSX but I couldn't stretch the budget that far.

stickguy

Same. I ended up with a 5 speed accord EXL instead, for about $6-7k less.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

WTH?? Something is horribly wrong when a '96 Saab is outbidding a restored 2002tii.
Am I missing something??

I am baffled

28firefighter

I think someone is going to have a serious case of buyer's remorse when the auction ends and it would not surprise me at all if the transaction is not completed.

fintail

BaT is sometimes like a parody of itself.

qbrozen

breld said:

No, no - not next week.

We have to close on the new house first.  

Oh, but a less expensive vehicle helps with that, right? So this week then? After you close on the house, she'll realize it was a mistake and want something expensive again, so you'll have that to keep you going.

suydam

I’m a little baffled by the cancellation as well. I usually cancel an appointment when the problem goes away, not when it recurs. Then I think, I was smart to schedule that!

qbrozen

Thisis a lot of damned cool for little money. Way cheaper than a Thing, for sure. Of course, judging by that driver's footwell, there is no way in hell I could drive it.

henryn

594 cc ? I've never seen an actual car with less than ... what was the original VW bug, 1200 cc?

qbrozen

The original Fiat 500 was 479cc

28firefighter

That TL Type S went for $14,850.

pensfan83

The TL-S ended at $14,850. @28firefighter was spot on.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

@roadburner
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1995-bmw-318ti-9/

I wonder what this will go for?
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-acura-tl-5/

I saw that ti. Nice.

corvette

I came close to buying a used 2nd gen TL or TL-S when the lease on my A4 was ending in December, 2008 (talk about bad timing to try to find a deal on another lease). The issue with the transmissions on those were very well known at that point and Acura had extended the warranty, so other than a potential huge, one-time inconvenience, they were priced pretty attractively.

Looks like the Mercedes store has moved to its new home way out in the east end. The old dealership has a few Sprinter vans sitting around, but all the other inventory appears to be gone, and the MINI signage has been pulled down already.

corvette

On the Saab - "The seller notes the dome light requires a manual shut off following the closure of the doors." Not a great sign.

Bidding on the 2002 was extended due to a last minute bid and it's now substantially higher than the Saab.

stickguy

the Ti only went for $6,799. a BaT bargain! And, you got me down the rabbit hole.

I love this as a little toy. Great colors. Even though only a 4 banger, fine for putting around town with the top down.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-bmw-z3-7/

and, while it looks nice, I don't know if I am more surprised that this ended up on BaT, or the crazy bids.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-nissan-hardbody-pickup/

another car I wanted when I got out of college, but didn't quite have the budget for. Tons of miles on this one. Still regret a few, like the 1985 GTI.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-toyota-corolla-6/

stickguy

2002 went for $26,000

marcogallo1986

You are welcome. Breld!

marcogallo1986

New York car guy any time  to do any Mor. Car looking 

marcogallo1986

 Feal. Better sand  man  I do pro  crastanate to an bit but like you alwas get it done!

corvette

$19,260 for a 23-year old example of one of the least-loved Saabs of the 1990s. That is going to be some buyer's remorse for sure. Just an insane price for something that wasn't that great, even when it was new. At that price and mileage, what do you even do with it? Keep it as a garage queen and try to find another sucker buyer when you're ready to flip it? Drive it and deal with the maintenance headaches, while knowing you're one fender bender from rendering it a regular 20+ old, almost worthless Saab witha bad Carfax?

stickguy

unless you are really rich and have a weird affinity for SAABs and really needed this for your collection, does not make much sense.

28firefighter

The upshot is they can at least get agreed value insurance. 

But good lord. 

Michaell

A very car-related day here at the ol ll household.

The Outback wouldn't start - called AAA for a jump and a test. Battery is OK, but the tech suggests I take it for a 30-45 minute drive to charge it up. Fortunately, I didn't have anything work related at the moment, so I took care of that. So far, so good.

Then, I get notified from the wife and daughter that the battery in the MINI needs to be replaced. The dealer had suggested this on the last service trip, so I figured it was time (62 months). Head to the local auto parts store and purchase a 730 CCA battery. Free installation, so I should be good to go.

Uh, no.

MINI, like corporate cousin BMW, requires that the battery be "registered", so I've got to take it to the dealer. Fortunately, the service department is open until 8PM (it was 5:30 when I called), and got an appointment for 6:30. Dealer is sort of across town, in rush hour traffic, and I had one other errand to run, then a quick stop at home.

I pull into the service drive right at 6:30, and told it will take 1.5 hours (!!!) to complete the job. At $165/hr. Oh well; in for a penny, in for a pound. $247.50 and 45 minutes later, all is good with the new battery. The last step was to take the original battery back to the auto parts store to get the "core charge" refunded.

BTW, the Outback still needs a service visit for 30K.

nyccarguy

Michaell said:

A very car-related day here at the ol ll household. The Outback wouldn't start - called AAA for a jump and a test. Battery is OK, but the tech suggests I take it for a 30-45 minute drive to charge it up. Fortunately, I didn't have anything work related at the moment, so I took care of that. So far, so good. Then, I get notified from the wife and daughter that the battery in the MINI needs to be replaced. The dealer had suggested this on the last service trip, so I figured it was time (62 months). Head to the local auto parts store and purchase a 730 CCA battery. Free installation, so I should be good to go. Uh, no. MINI, like corporate cousin BMW, requires that the battery be "registered", so I've got to take it to the dealer. Fortunately, the service department is open until 8PM (it was 5:30 when I called), and got an appointment for 6:30. Dealer is sort of across town, in rush hour traffic, and I had one other errand to run, then a quick stop at home. I pull into the service drive right at 6:30, and told it will take 1.5 hours (!!!) to complete the job. At $165/hr. Oh well; in for a penny, in for a pound. $247.50 and 45 minutes later, all is good with the new battery. The last step was to take the original battery back to the auto parts store to get the "core charge" refunded. BTW, the Outback still needs a service visit for 30K.

Ouch!  That hurts!  $165/hour is REALLY expensive too.  Yikes!  Glad you were able to “save the day!”  Great job!

stickguy

I still don't understand what the purpose of registering the battery is, but BMW should really stop it. If they are the only company that does it, must not be something that has to be done. And taking that long and charging that much is just obscene.

tjc78

I have to agree.

Also, if you are into your BMW for the long haul how much does the tuner cost that will allow you to do it yourself?

I wonder if one of those smartphone apps can do it with an OBD2 Bluetooth dongle.

corvette

An independent shop would probably be able to register the battery, and might not charge as much. 

au1994

I forgot about that annoyance of registering a battery. I think the OBD2 dongle @tjc78 refers to opens you up to all kinds of coding options including registering the battery.

RE @stickguys BaT finds:

The Z3 could be fun and may end up a bargain. With a stick they're pretty peppy. I don't mind the yellow but paired with the red is a little much!

Many years ago a good friend had one of those Nissan's. He swears to this day its the best truck he's ever had and that includes his new, loaded out Ram. We were in our early 20's when he had it and used it to haul duck decoys etc through the woods, it handled everything well despite being 2wd.

graphicguy

xwesx said:

I'm at 250 miles on the new FLX bicycle. Wonderful investment (so far) - it does exactly what I was hoping it would in terms of my ability to commute on it day after day.

I'm not entirely sold on the quality, though. It may be "aging" a little faster than I would like to see. We'll see how it holds up, I suppose.

Good to hear. Drop a note to the FLX folks. They’re usually pretty involved in customer support.

I don’t ride mine as much as you do. But, whenever I questioned parts of the bike, they were right there for me.

kyfdx

au1994 said:

I forgot about that annoyance of registering a battery. I think the OBD2 dongle @tjc78 refers to opens you up to all kinds of coding options including registering the battery.

RE @stickguys BaT finds:

The Z3 could be fun and may end up a bargain. With a stick they're pretty peppy. I don't mind the yellow but paired with the red is a little much!

Many years ago a good friend had one of those Nissan's. He swears to this day its the best truck he's ever had and that includes his new, loaded out Ram. We were in our early 20's when he had it and used it to haul duck decoys etc through the woods, it handled everything well despite being 2wd.

My friend bought a '98 Z3 with the 2.8 six, a couple of years ago. I've driven it a few times. Amazingly fun, and much roomier than a Miata. Never been in it with the top up, though.

graphicguy

For a friend....2016 75th Anniversary Edition. Female driven, had since new. She had the flames added (as she said...”seemed like the thing to do at the time”).

56K miles. $28,500 OBO.

kyfdx

Sharp.. Geez, those really hold their value. (not good for the used car buyer.. )

qbrozen

SOOO... the battery ... it has to do with the demand-driven alternator. The computer is programmed to track the age of the battery and charge more as time goes on. It is also programmed per the installed battery. Even if you purchase the exact same battery, the computer will be overcharging it thinking it is still an old unit.

As for the coders, some can and some can't. I have bimmercode and apparently it can't. Carly, however, can.

stickguy

It is shocking. Better off buying new.

I hope those flames are vinyl and will peel off!

qbrozen

graphicguy said:

For a friend....2016 75th Anniversary Edition. Female driven, had since new. She had the flames added (as she said...”seemed like the thing to do at the time”).

56K miles. $28,500 OBO.

Are you looking for a value? What else can you tell me about it? Going by nothing else other than miles, it is way overpriced. That's fair retail for one with 20k miles. Try $26k and be prepared to take 24. And that's still retail, FYI, but I'm banking on the crazy Jeep fanatics.

corvette

qbrozen said:

SOOO... the battery ... it has to do with the demand-driven alternator. The computer is programmed to track the age of the battery and charge more as time goes on. 

Charging more as the battery ages is an interesting idea, but the “programming” sounds like a function, like resetting the service reminder, that you should be able to perform on the on board computer. I am surprised a class action attorney hasn’t picked this up yet! 

I think all modern cars have demand driven alternators—I remember reading that the one on my Nissan Altima was variable voltage based on demand and would not produce a constant 14.x volts when operating, like a lot of others. I think the one in the Tahoe just cycles on and off. 

fintail

Hard no on that Jeep, spend a little more and buy a new one. I hope the flames are a wrap, I'll wager the gigantor 5th wheel/MH behind it is owned by the same person.

nyccarguy

Anybody else see the 98,000 miles 2013 Tesla Model S on Jalopnik's NICE PRICE OR CRACK PIPE today?

au1994

The resale on Wranglers is absolutely phenomenal.

28firefighter

So apparently BaT crashed yesterday around 11am PT because they were selling a Mercedes Gullwing and there was a spike in traffic associated with that auction. It sold for $1,234,567.

fintail

CP on the Tesla Jalopnik, early model with lots 'o miles, kind of like the Jeep, spend more and get more.

marcogallo1986

 Wow crazy mileage for that Tesla but it’s six or seven years old so just maybe not so crazy. Nice cheap posted about corporate.   Your friend is selling. 

marcogallo1986

  Wow, crazy court day for you over there Michael glad all is well now. 

henryn

Crazy business about registering the battery on that Mini (nee BMW). Those connectors / software programs that you can use on your smartphone or notebook computer to deal with very specific car brands tend to be expensive. The one for Volkswagens (VAG-COM) runs around $250 to $300, and I’ll bet BMW is more expensive.

On the Wrangler, there is absolutely no way I would buy a used model. The prices are insane, just buy a new one. Very similar with a Tacoma, just buy a new one.

As for paying $165 an hour at the dealership, what can I say? If you did your homework, you knew what you were in for BEFORE you bought the car, yes? I may have told this story before, but everyone knows old codgers tend to repeat their stories, so …

A friend of mine, retired school principal from New Jersey, moved down here to Houston after retiring to be near her son. She owns a 3 series BMW, leased, tells me she isn’t worried about costs because “everything is included, maintenance, everything”. Being from New Jersey, she is not used to our torrential downpours and street flooding. Doesn’t take long for her to hit a big enough puddle to drown out that BMW.

No problem, “everything is covered”, she calls the dealer, they send a wrecker, and then present her with a $1,500 bill. I never saw the paperwork, and she couldn’t tell me what was on it, but she swore to me the water was not more than 6 inches deep (more like 3 inches), and definitely didn’t get inside the car or up over the engine other than splashing.

She is adamant that BMW should cover this under the warranty. “A BMW should be able to drive through a few inches of water, there was something wrong with the car.” I tell her no, water damage (even just a temporary stall) is not a warranty issue, it is an insurance issue, call your insurance company. Turns out she has a $1,000 deductible on her insurance. Oh, boy.

She apparently got one of those great lease deals on a BMW, as a few people on these forums have done, and assumed (incorrectly) that because she was under warranty she was immune to those $165 an hour labor rates.

Michaell

Regarding the dealer rates .... we've owned this MINI for just over 5 years, and this is the first time I've paid them for any sort of service. Everything else has been covered under the warranty or the pre-paid maintenance plan my daughter got when we bought the car.

The dealer is actually pretty good - they've owned Honda and BMW stores for some time, and have recently added Subaru, Hyundai and Mazda dealerhips. Locally owned, daughter of the founder runs the business now.

I just looked - they also own an MB franchise in Utah, as well as a well known motorcycle dealer under a different name.

suydam

Well, you did pay — just in advance.

nyccarguy

That jeep is horrendous.

28firefighter

I have a friend that is shopping for a new ride - no really, for a change it isn't me. Euro obsessed though, like yours truly but doesn't have the itch to swap nearly as frequently. Wants a 4-door sedan.

Budget is about $30k but isn't particularly attached to new vs. used. I strongly suggested a new GLI given the value/$$ ratio plus the benefit of a nice long warranty. Drove a 35th Anniversary DSG and really liked it. Dealer quoted him 25,5 on an MSRP in the 28s + TTL. Then he made the mistake of also driving a 2013 Audi S4 DSG with about 70k miles from a private seller locally (asking $22k) - good shape, one owner, etc. That he loved, naturally.

SO - what would the sages here recommend? Buy the S4 and try to buy a fidelity or similar extended warranty and probably end up close to the price of the GLI or just take the performance cut and go new? Something else?

I think I'd probably be torn, too if I let myself drive both...as it is I haven't had anything but Turbo 4s for years so I don't really know what I'm missing.

kyfdx

If he is getting the S4, skip the warranty, and pay as you go.
$22K for a six yr old S4? Yikes.

I would probably choose the S4, but I wouldn’t recommend it for someone else.