Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78

Yes, it needs to be winterized.

Here is the lot we picked. Not a lot of trees, and backs up to the woods. Nice, sunny lot. Person just moved out so it's in decent shape. A little cleanup and maybe a few more tons of stone. The view out our kitchen window will be the open field.

Trailer will be basically where my car is. Please excuse the dirt on the car.... shell roads are dusty!

breld

Just to reiterate what others have said, @nyccarguy - sorry for the position your wife is in. Tough time indeed for the whole family, but based on the little I know of your and your wife's character, you all will come out the other side just fine and probably better for it.

ab348

@nyccarguy , did you just get a new Tacoma frame with an entire truck attached?

nyccarguy

nyccarguy said:

In Beverly Hills Cop II, a young Chris Rock plays the part of a valet at the famed Playboy Mansion. As Axel pulls up in the cement mixer he's driving, Chris says:

"Check this out. I get ten dollars for cars. I get twenty dollars for limos. What the hell is this?"

Axel smiles and replies: “My truck. Here’s fifty dollars. Put it next to a Limo.”

Punch my card! Took delivery of a 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4X4 Double Cab Long Bed - Black/Black - 24 month/15K miles per year.

pensfan83

She's a beaut Clark

stickguy

so did the Infiniti get traded in on this bad boy? quite a change going to this beast.

stickguy

put some chrome bumper bars, and no problems touch parking in the city!

28firefighter

Whoa! Congrats @nyccarguy! Did we bid a fond farewell to the Infiniti?

tjc78

Congrats !! Nice truck.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

nyccarguy said:

In Beverly Hills Cop II, a young Chris Rock plays the part of a valet at the famed Playboy Mansion. As Axel pulls up in the cement mixer he's driving, Chris says:

"Check this out. I get ten dollars for cars. I get twenty dollars for limos. What the hell is this?"

Axel smiles and replies: “My truck. Here’s fifty dollars. Put it next to a Limo.”

Punch my card! Took delivery of a 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Sport 4X4 Double Cab Long Bed - Black/Black - 24 month/15K miles per year.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nvWhmGlSi7U

mb_enthusiast

I've now seen three Q8s today alone. I usually see 1-2 per week. I guess the MF drop to .00139 did the trick, eh, @Michaell? Perhaps this means it is time to find something new...? After all, the service advisor today asked me what I was going to do once my lease was up. I only have like 30 months left.

mb_enthusiast

Are the sales figures on CarSalesBase.com accurate? I've been meaning to ask this.

nyccarguy

The Infiniti is being sold to Carvana. They are picking up on Sunday.

corvette

Congrats @nyccarguy! Way to surprise us--I thought you had decided to keep the Q40.

stickguy

welcome to the sell to Carvana crowd! I think that makes 4 of us now.

nyccarguy

I decided to go for the Tacoma. The broker from lease hackr gave me a fantastic price on a nicely equipped Tacoma (Auto/Premium/Tech/Tonneau) Double Cab Short Bed 4X4 in black. This was one of the easiest and transparent automotive deals I’ve ever made. The broker gives me the price and then negotiates on my behalf. The dealership delivered the Tacoma to the DMV Closest to my house. We registered it, got plates, put them on and I was ready to go in about an hour.

pensfan83

Looks great, enjoy it!

stickguy

nice deal. maybe next time I will get brave and go the broker route.

do they negotiate buy deals too, or just leases?

laurasdada

Congrats, Bradd! She is a beauty.
I'm just a slug. But, I'm thinking new/new to me by year end. Probably. Slug.

benjaminh

In 1999 I got my very first brand new car, a loaded 2000 model year Ford Focus ZTS. It was fun to drive, but the quality was not what I was hoping for. I assumed that Ford long ago fixed its quality issues, but....

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2019/09/as-ford-grapples-with-explorer-and-aviator-issues-one-reader-doesnt-like-what-he-discovered/#more-1689008

corvette

Any of you guys install a composite deck lately? My contractor recommends Trex, and I've ordered some samples, but I'm not wedded to that brand yet.

So much for paying the HELOC down to zero in the next couple of months... Still, I'd rather invest in a longer lasting deck than replace the deteriorated boards and restain the existing one.

stickguy

I am obsessed on finally getting the HELOC down to zero. trying to avoid major house expenses, just doing small stuff pay as you go. Got the rest of my bad trim replaced and capped this week, and in the next week should be getting a runner put on the stairs.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Any of you guys install a composite deck lately? My contractor recommends Trex, and I've ordered some samples, but I'm not wedded to that brand yet.

So much for paying the HELOC down to zero in the next couple of months... Still, I'd rather invest in a longer lasting deck than replace the deteriorated boards and restain the existing one.

My rails and spindles are Azec. I really wanted to have the whole deck made of that stuff, but it would have been a lot more money. Even my painter (who I am supposed to pay to stain and re stain every 3-5ish years) told me to do the deck in Azec.

pensfan83

stickguy said:

nice deal. maybe next time I will get brave and go the broker route.

do they negotiate buy deals too, or just leases?

Pretty sure most on LH will do either. There's some really good ones in NY/NJ too. For right deal I'd have no problem using one.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

nice deal. maybe next time I will get brave and go the broker route.

do they negotiate buy deals too, or just leases?

I assume they do buy deals as well. How many times have you walked into a dealership and known more about the car you are interested in than the sales dude? How many times have you wished that the dealer would just give their very best price off the bat? It was really just that easy.

stickguy

OK, I am sold.

corvette

I was looking at the papers for the G37 the other night, and realized the lender (with whom I now have my checking account, natch :@ ) charged a bunch of start-up fees (prepaid finance charge, etc.) as part of the loan. Would have been way better off to write a HELOC check and either keep the borrowed money there, or then go with Penfed or another lender which charges minimal fees. Will look into that the next time I buy.

Michaell

@stickguy - for the first time since my kids started to drive, there are no cars parked on the street. When @breld came to pick me up last Saturday, he commented that he was glad I was waiting out front, as he didn't know what house was mine without the Jetta parked in front of it.

breld

Congrats @nyccarguy!

There’s something special about these trucks. I plan on borrowing @jpp75’s Tacoma some time in the next few weeks in order to empty my storage unit into the new house.

I’m a little afraid I’ll enjoy it so much that I’ll join the taco club.

qbrozen

Congrats on the rig, @nyccarguy

kyfdx

corvette said:

Any of you guys install a composite deck lately? My contractor recommends Trex, and I've ordered some samples, but I'm not wedded to that brand yet.

So much for paying the HELOC down to zero in the next couple of months... Still, I'd rather invest in a longer lasting deck than replace the deteriorated boards and restain the existing one.

Depending on the size, I recommend AZEK decking (PVC). Composite decking is definitely not maintenance free. We did ours about six years ago, and I haven't thought about it since. Yes, it's more expensive, but worth every penny, IMO.

Of course, if your deck is 20' X 35', it might be cost prohibitive.

I think AZEK is owned by Timbertech (sp) now.

EDIT: We did powder-coated aluminum rails. Looks good with the AZEK and cost-effective/maintenance-free.

kyfdx

@nyccarguy Congrats! Looks great!

If you can wait until June, I'll give you the Predator steps off of my son's Tacoma. That's when his lease is up.

tjc78

I would have used a broker for the Volvo, I even spoke with one on the phone. Turned out I matched the deal myself but it certainly wasn't easy. I emailed quite a few dealers, had to explain how I came to my price etc.

The dealer I did end up buying from was awesome in every way, just too far.

Broker really really simplifies the process.

pensfan83

We thought about composite decking but for what we wanted to do the cost was exorbitant. Our project consisted of a tear down to just the piers and then rebuilding the flooring, lower deck, and adding a gable roof to the upper deck. We added power outlets and pre-wired for a TV too.

We also went with powdercoated aluminum for the railings and roof pillars.

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

@nyccarguy Congrats! Looks great!

If you can wait until June, I'll give you the Predator steps off of my son's Tacoma. That's when his lease is up.

I might take you up on that!

stickguy

Can’t wait to here the recap of the first round trip commute, compared to using the Q40

nyccarguy

Thanks guys for the well wishes on my new truck! It really does look sharp. I was supposed to get a short bed, but I didn't. So I will put the Long Bed to good use.

So far, so good. The ride is definitely on the choppy side. The truck is very well screwed together. No squeaks or rattles at all. Everything just works right. Wireless charging, The phone connects perfectly to the blue tooth, voice prompts to change the radio don't ask me to repeat myself. The Blind Spot Monitors are helpful. The adaptive cruise works perfect (much better than in our Pilot)

The power is definitely adequate. It's nowhere near the road rocket that my Q40 is, but I had no issues merging on to 95 this AM. Brakes are strong and surprisingly easy to modulate.

I have to get used to the size. I can't squirt my way in like I can in the Q40. I turned it off and the TC said I got 18 mpg on the 29 mile trip in. I'll most likely have to fill up tomorrow.

stickguy

At least this beast runs on regular.

tjc78

I really would like to have a truck but just not for my everyday commute.

My wife (believe this or not) said she wouldn't mind a truck for a DD .... so maybe when the Enclave goes back I could convince her.

In a perfect world.... I could have the Volvo (or something like it), a nice truck and then an older Panther for my land yacht "fix",

I saw a pristine 95-97 Black over Grey LTC sig for sale over the weekend. I wouldn't throw that out of the driveway.

Not sure the wife would go for the three car approach....but I went for the Trailer so maybe I have some leverage. At the very least my third car would be cheap!

tjc78

OR... pickup a screaming lease deal on a truck AND another small sedan. I'd wager for the payment on a three row SUV it could be a similar monthly cost (other than insurance)

stickguy

The dealer in town here has a nice blue 2001 TC. even has a moonroof. Just over 100k miles, and only $2,500.

https://www.royaleasing.com/details-2001-lincoln-town_car-4dr_sedan_signature-used-1lnhm82w81y733208.html

stickguy

Every time I make the jughandle in front of the ford dealer I see the row of Rangers. I really like the looks of those, and size is manageable.

Tom, you (well your wife) sounds like perfect candidate for a ridgeline.

I would love an old truck as a sort of toy. If I had a place to park it. I had a 1991 Nissan king cab for about a year, right when we bought out first house, and that came in handy. If I finally buy an old place to fix up (flip or downsize into) I would definitely pick up another truck.

tjc78

Exactly... cheap. In all reality it would be 95-97 or 2003-04. The 98-02 is largely unloved and I agree

Nice color on that one

stickguy

They all look like barges to me

tjc78

I miss having my S10.

Ridgeline ... hmm yes that would probably be perfect. Having a pickup bed would be a big help with our new campground living for the weekends.

stickguy

You can also tow modest trailers if need be

tjc78

stickguy said:

They all look like barges to me

Well they are ... here is what the one I saw looked like. I swear up and down if/when I get another at least it won't have a cloth/vinyl top!!

ab348

From time to time I find myself wondering why no manufacturer has revived the idea of building a subcompact pickup off a FWD platform like VW and Chrysler did in the '80s. Those were ahead of their time IMO. Not everyone wants something as big as a Colorado, Ranger or Tacoma.

stickguy

Hyundai seems to be coming out with one. Not sure how big it really is.

I think a big reason though is people want more room, and seats, in the cab. A rabbit PU was really tight.

28firefighter

If I could park it in my garage, a Tacoma would be on the list given the price point it hits. Alas, the HVAC and Hot Water tank are on my side of the garage so a 212" truck (at shortest) is decidedly not going to fit.