Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

Once @ab348 mentioned he couldn't pull up the listing, I checked for myself and had the same result. This was just before I took a new GTI out for a test drive to make sure I still liked it as much as before. Since I did indeed love it, and realized how much I wanted the SE trim but plaid seats, I was very disappointed.

But just before I left the dealership, I checked for the Carvana GTI again and it was available. So I completed the trade/purchase on my phone right there in the parking lot. In a way, having the listing temporarily unavailable highlighted how much I wanted it.

As you're going through the purchase steps, you are allotted a certain amount of time as you're entering information - so I would imagine the car was "pending" while someone else was doing that, but once they didn't complete the process it became available again.

benjaminh

So you got the GTI?! Congrats!

breld

Thanks! It's scheduled to be delivered a week from Friday (the 16th).

Regarding back seat room, I was gonna say that car seats (particularly those for infants) take up loads of space. Once you "graduate" into booster seats and then no car seats at all, it becomes much less of an issue. Well...until your 16 year old gets to be 6' 2". But then he's driving anyway!

roadburner

pensfan83 said:

The WRX is fun to drive and the handling is very tight and connected to the road, but it has a pretty stiff ride and road noise was pretty prevalent. It was also tight in the back with a car seat. The last time I drove one was in 2014 when shopping for the Fusion's replacement so YMMV.

I test drove a 2015 STI; a lot of fun, but my wife and I thought the experience was too similar to my lightly modified Mazdaspeed 3. Anyway, I was ready to go back to RWD for my track toy.

stickguy

that was one reason I did not keep my Miata very long (I think about 8 months). I had 2 younger kids at the time (8 and 13 maybe?) and it was just hard to find a time to use it, since obviously couldn't take both of them, so usually could only take it out by myself, so it sat a lot.

kyfdx

breld said:

Thanks! It's scheduled to be delivered a week from Friday (the 16th).

Regarding back seat room, I was gonna say that car seats (particularly those for infants) take up loads of space. Once you "graduate" into booster seats and then no car seats at all, it becomes much less of an issue. Well...until your 16 year old gets to be 6' 2". But then he's driving anyway!

Okay, I could be ready to buy this by November, if you can wait that long.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

I'm still unsure if I could go the broker route. But, if the deal was good enough, I could suck it up. Hey, I pushed the "do it" button on Honcker, and that was a total leap of faith!

If you zero in on exactly what you want, get a few quotes from some local dealers. It usually doesn’t cost anything to reach out to a LH broker. They are completely transparent. See what you can save and it will most likely offset the broker fee.

tifighter

breld said:

breld said:

ab348 said:

I can't get that Carvana GTI listing to open any photos. I wonder if that is somehow related to the forum issues with Firefox here.

ETA: Opened Chrome, it can't open any photos there either, so forget that theory. Also noted that the GTI is now shown as sale pending.

Unbelievable - that’s not pending due to me. :@

Corrected. Now it’s pending, to me. 😁

I clicked “like” for this post. What I like about it is that it was posted within 24 hrs of an earlier post that said it would be a “no-punch” year. Thank you for tireless commitment towards creating content for us @breld

28firefighter

It’s truly dedication to a craft.

breld

And I really believed it when I posted earlier about the high probability of a "no-punch" year.

cdnpinhead

Think of it as shifting a manual transmission. If you're a heavy truck driver, you'll do 2-3 shifts to get across an intersection, and another 300 before the end of the day. Breld does this stuff in his sleep.

It's interesting to watch.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

@tjc78 - you’ve seen some of the magic deals on LH. If the Q50
Is what you like, then the broker might be the quickest, easiest, & cheapest route.

I played with the numbers the dealer gave me and we are about 2000-2500 apart to hit virtually the same deal as the LH brokers (figuring the $400 fee). The one on LH is missing about $1600 of options the one I drove last night had.

I think I can do it locally, but if not I would probably just go the broker route.

tjc78

@stickguy

I have a trip this week, so unless I can go Sat it won’t be until next week.

I can’t imagine not loving the S60 since I loved the S90 I rented. We will see, this is the fun part doing all the test drives.

I haven’t done this for awhile. The Enclave was a phone deal and the Elantra was a quick deal where I didn’t drive anything else.

sda

breld said:

And I really believed it when I posted earlier about the high probability of a "no-punch" year.

Congrats, pics when you get a chance. I wasn’t fast enough to see them on Carvana. I assume you sold the Miata at the same time?

ab348

breld said:

And I really believed it when I posted earlier about the high probability of a "no-punch" year.

Not sure if I should be proud or ashamed for being the enabler that made you fall off the wagon. :laughing:

stickguy

Carvana to Breld is like an on-line casino to a gambling addict. when you can, on a whim, any time of day or night just pull out your phone and click one button to buy a car, there really is very little in the way of checks and balances in place!

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@stickguy

I have a trip this week, so unless I can go Sat it won’t be until next week.

I can’t imagine not loving the S60 since I loved the S90 I rented. We will see, this is the fun part doing all the test drives.

I haven’t done this for awhile. The Enclave was a phone deal and the Elantra was a quick deal where I didn’t drive anything else.

I need to look at CHV to see if they got any into their loaner fleet yet. The 2018 I looked at (fully loaded up) was a screaming deal. I just did not want black over black. And waited a bit too long anyway.

marcogallo1986

@breld congratulations, see I don’t come in here for a few days and you’re back at it again that’s awesome.

tjc78

I need to look at CHV to see if they got any into their loaner fleet yet. The 2018 I looked at (fully loaded up) was a screaming deal. I just did not want black over black. And waited a bit too long anyway.

The S60 pricing gets up there really quickly! I'd like to find a loaner T6 Inscription to try and hack a deal on. There really aren't that many Volvo dealers nealr us, so to get a good deal I may have to go over the bridge or north.

Salesman last night seemed a little surprised I was cross shopping the Volvo with the Infiniti. I wasn't sure why, they are in the same class, no?

@breld
Awesome!

stickguy

seems like a natural comparison. same basic size, class and price.

I was looking at the T5. I am fine with FWD on it, and that has enough HP already. My guess is loaners are not going to be a T6.

I never got serious enough to start venturing out of the area, but I have never had a problem when shopping getting CH to work on price. I did talk to Princeton at one point, and there are always the dealers in PA. Red Bank is a good option too I think, and not that far away.

tjc78

On LH they have some really high MSRP T6 loaners, still more than I want to spend but crazy deals on mid to high 50s MSRP. Some have the B&W audio which is a 3,000 option. I would love to have that as I have B&W speakers in my house, but that's a pretty steep price.

stickguy

well, I was wrong. they do have some. The T6 are momentums, but if you get the options (multimedia, premium) it pretty much comes out to be an Inscription.

this one is loaded. Gorgeous color.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-41f692bd0a0e0a6b249372991fbda30b.htm

If you don't want to be quite so flashy, and can live without the rubber band tires and multimedia package, this one is a good deal.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-2d56d1590a0e0a173d36db407e0ad985.htm

Like the red one but black over black, if you want to be in a somber mood instead.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-c14ce2700a0e0a171377b1d8f01c0b44.htm

nice T5 inscription, other than black guts. Too bad it doesn't have blond or amber. I would like this configuration, minus the 19" wheels.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-a78c53f70a0e0ae825211e0588317bc6.htm

tjc78

That top one is really nice, great colors for sure.

graphicguy

tifighter said:

Gratu

28firefighter said:

benjaminh said:

28firefighter said:

The backseat is tight on the GTI - I'm not sure any teenager is going to want to sit back there. I'm all for enabling, but perhaps a GLI 35th Anniversary 6speed for the $23,5 I've seen advertised would do the trick?

The backseat of the GTI is pretty good imho, esp. for a car of that size. Great headroom because of the rare these days squarish styling. And the legroom for the rear passengers of the GTI is good enough unless you have someone with really long legs. The GTI is a rare sports car that can hold four grown people with reasonable comfort.

I’m showing this to my wife tonight. I’m lobbying hard for a GTI or WRX to replace the X1.

Test drove the WRX when my son was in the market. I’ve mentioned, he ended up with the GTI over the WRX because the Subie felt crude when compared to the GTI. Drive both. I’d be interested in hearing your assessment.

graphicguy

Wait...what? @breld ....did you just buy a GTI? I DID NOT even remotely see that coming!

tjc78

I DID NOT even remotely see that coming!

Neither did he.

nyccarguy

@breld - did you even test drive a GLI?

stickguy

Give that a couple of months

stickguy

Last year, when I was considering a fun/manual trans car, I drove a GLI and WRX back to back. VW drove like a Lexus in comparison (and that’s a compliment). I found the Sube to be kinda rough, noisy and crude. Rorty is an old term that fits it. At my age, not what I was looking for, and my wife, really not a fan!

pensfan83

If I was single, a decade younger, and my commute was minimal I'd take a WRX. As others have said the GTI does so many things well and the refinement is leaps and bounds above the Subaru.

corvette

One of my friends got a Mustang GT to replace a 2005-ish BMW 6-series. He traded the Mustang on a WRX and very quickly got rid of the WRX. He has a newer 6-series now.

pensfan83

tjc78 said:

On LH they have some really high MSRP T6 loaners, still more than I want to spend but crazy deals on mid to high 50s MSRP. Some have the B&W audio which is a 3,000 option. I would love to have that as I have B&W speakers in my house, but that's a pretty steep price.

I thought I saw someone picked up a high MSRP T6 R-Design for $370/month. Not sure if it was a loaner but that's a great value.

tjc78

Yeah but probably pretty close to 3000 OOP. The one broker shows payments under 400 but with 2500 DAS w/o tax and broker fee for R-designs.

stickguy

From the little looking I’ve done, it really seems like the designer models (R, polestar) don’t offer enough for the price extra money. Even a lighter option momentum is very well equipped.

carnaught

stickguy said:

well, I was wrong. they do have some. The T6 are momentums, but if you get the options (multimedia, premium) it pretty much comes out to be an Inscription.

this one is loaded. Gorgeous color.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-41f692bd0a0e0a6b249372991fbda30b.htm

If you don't want to be quite so flashy, and can live without the rubber band tires and multimedia package, this one is a good deal.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-2d56d1590a0e0a173d36db407e0ad985.htm

Like the red one but black over black, if you want to be in a somber mood instead.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-c14ce2700a0e0a171377b1d8f01c0b44.htm

nice T5 inscription, other than black guts. Too bad it doesn't have blond or amber. I would like this configuration, minus the 19" wheels.

https://www.cherryhillvolvocars.com/commercial-used/Volvo/2019-Volvo-S60-near-philadelphia-pa-a78c53f70a0e0ae825211e0588317bc6.htm

Wow, over $5k dealer add-ons on that first S60 one.

breld

graphicguy said:

Wait...what? @breld ....did you just buy a GTI? I DID NOT even remotely see that coming!

Yes, yes I did. Well, I don't take delivery until a week from Friday.

And like @tjc78 pointed out, I didn't really see it coming either. I guess it goes back to earlier in the year when I was strongly entertaining the idea of trading it for that manual Clubman S. I'm very happy I didn't do that and kept the Miata for most of the Spring/Summer season. But I don't see myself holding on to it through another winter season to fully enjoy it again next year, so decided to "just browse" for a more practical fun car. At the end of the day, and I think everyone will agree, I think the GTI will be a much better choice than the Mini would have been.

Of all my trades, the Miata certainly was a rare positive one - paid $25,000 last August, and trading it to Carvana this month, just about one year later, for $23,253. That was definitely worth it to me to own the RF for a year. And I didn't even have to service it.

breld

ab348 said:

breld said:

And I really believed it when I posted earlier about the high probability of a "no-punch" year.

Not sure if I should be proud or ashamed for being the enabler that made you fall off the wagon. :laughing:

Shame!

breld

@tjc78 - just like @stickguy, I anxiously await your assessment of the S60. I imagine it will be a very different take on the luxury/sport sedan than the Infiniti, so it'll be interesting to see how it strikes you.

I would say a V90 is the current front-runner to replace my Q7 when that time comes. But (famous last words) - that is no time soon.

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld - did you even test drive a GLI?

I didn't. The pricing in my area is getting better, but not all that aggressive yet (and of course no used ones are yet available). And while I like the GLI, we do have a current gen Jetta in the family already and, more significantly, it does nothing for my wife. In contrast, she adores the Golf/GTI.

The Miata was "all me" for sure, so getting a fun car that she also likes this time around is a good thing.

28firefighter

I love the way the GLI drives and once behind the wheel you forget its a Jetta quickly. The GTI really gets me though.

Michaell

As the person who likes to go against the grain, the GLI appeals to me more. But, once inside, you can tell the difference in heritage between the Golf / Jetta with the interior components. I find the Golf / Alltrack / GTI to be a bit more luxurious than the Jetta.

Not that I'd kick either out of the garage.

Down to my last couple of weeks with the Jetta - will go back on the 19th, and I'll be in CA for 6 of those days. 16,4xx miles on it, and I may have to put a splash of gas in it before then.

I also set up a service appointment for the Outback. 30K service, which is a bunch of inspections, along with an oil change and a replacement of the air filter. I think it's been driven maybe 1000-1500 miles in the last 4 months.

marcogallo1986

So this weekend Sunday to get out in the car Sunday night late and yesterday Monday with my cousin, you’re so help me paint down all the oil pan bowls and went to go buy a new oil drain plug did it will change oil leak is a lot better the time being, but have a new oil pan coming, since the new drain bolt gets tight 10 spoons, the threads on the oil pan are screwed up, won’t fall out but please it anyway, oil pan gasket. Also the wind valve cover gasket‘s too.

marcogallo1986

Also did a power steering fluid change by turning the wheel lock to lock with the car off, and he return line cough in a bottle.

tjc78

The Elantra is due for service now, I think I'm going to let it go and just turn it in needing an oil change.

It won't have more than 1000 miles over the interval. I think it will be fine. I am taking it to Baltimore from South Jersey tomorrow but that's still under 250 miles.

marcogallo1986

What a work out that was but enjoyed it. So I think that’s it for now with it, oh took it to a drive-through car wash it’s the cleanest it’s ever been it’s me washing it in the driveway ha ha.

jmonroe1

sda said:

qbrozen said:

Got the police report today. The nice officer wrote “driver one [the truck] at fault. Improper lane change and sideswiped driver two.” THANK YOU!

Then got a call late in the day that my car is ready. I will go first thing in the morn.

Good news on tagging fault on the truck driver. Absolutely amazing your car is repaired already! The Honda body shop had the Pilot over a week to do a minor body repair, not anything as serious as what you experienced.

You've right about it being amazingly fast. Kinda sounds like they raised the radiator cap and drove an exact replacement car under it.

jmonroe

stickguy

All these leases going back, and new shopping. I’m jealous!

Taking the TLX to Saratoga (Lear jet is in the shop!). Will roll over 5,000 miles by the time we get home, approaching 8 month of ownership mark. RDX turns 7 YO 1 month from now, and will likely be sitting at about 56,000. We need to drive more, but makes it a lot easier to keep it around long term.

roadburner

Still contemplating installing an LSD and a mild tune in the 2 Series instead of picking up something new(er). So far I’ve found an American, an Asian, and a German coupe- any of which might work.

xwesx

marcogallo1986 said:

Also did a power steering fluid change by turning the wheel lock to lock with the car off, and he return line cough in a bottle.

Nice work! That's the way to do it. It's very controlled, thorough, and you don't end up wasting much new fluid (by mixing it with the old).

pensfan83

roadburner said:

Still contemplating installing an LSD and a mild tune in the 2 Series instead of picking up something new(er). So far I’ve found an American, an Asian, and a German coupe- any of which might work.

My guesses, American=Bullitt Mustang, German=CPO M2 (maybe a 440i), Asian is a tough one.