Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

mb_enthusiast said:

Thanksgiving was nice. Spent part with dad in the rehab place and watched the Bears game. His memory was better. Had dinner with friends afterward. I had the best turkey and pumpkin roll I've ever had.

Oh, those look tasty! Glad to hear that your father his headed in the right direction!

corvette

Update - just opened the bottle of Maker's 46. I retract my earlier statement. It's a very good bourbon, but I think Four Roses Single Barrel is noticeably smoother.

kyfdx

Took the Tacoma in for service, today. My son dropped it off to me this morning, and took the Fit. When I got home with the Tacoma, I let him know.

Doesn’t look like he is bringing the Fit back. 👀

28firefighter

I believe in the biz that’s called Grand Theft Auto

stickguy

well, he did leave a trade in!

Smitty_7

breld said:

I'm gonna admit it - I like the newly revealed Mustang Mach-E.

I know the potential sacrilege with Ford attaching the Mustang name to the vehicle, but I like the styling cues.

The main thing that gives me pause is the pricing - $60k for a nicely equipped model (before incentives). Personally, I've assumed these new entrants into the EV world from the non-luxury brands would have to undercut Tesla. Not that they're available yet, but a nicely equipped long-range AWD Model Y is $53k.

I'll be curious as to how VW prices its first ID model next year.

I'm with you I really like the Mach-E's styling as well. I'm in the EV market and I've been going back and forth looking at all the different pricing options.

If anyone's interested I've found a bunch of information on the Mach-E from this forum - https://www.macheclub.com/

carnaught

I would be afraid to buy a new model Ford the first year - a good lease, however.....

tifighter

Ordered winter shoes for the X, for the upcoming nordic and downhill ski season. They don't make the Michelin Xi3 like I had and liked on the Volvo in this size. So I went Nokian this time. Not cheap, but cheaper than ending up in a ditch in the north Cascades.

breld

I put Blizzaks on the V90 last week and it fared very well through our latest storm.

xwesx

tifighter said:

Ordered winter shoes for the X, for the upcoming nordic and downhill ski season. They don't make the Michelin Xi3 like I had and liked on the Volvo in this size. So I went Nokian this time. Not cheap, but cheaper than ending up in a ditch in the north Cascades.

Well, at least you "had to settle" for an excellent tire!

Can you put after market wheels on Tesla vehicles? If so, can you also do alternate sizing on them? With the big rim craze still in full swing, I like to go -1 or -2 on my winter wheels.

nyccarguy

The maintenance required message came up on my Tacoma’s dash, so I made an appointment to bring it in. I asked what’s included in the 1st service (5,000 miles) with Toyota Care. It is a tire rotation and fluid top off. The local dealer doesn’t have loaner cars, but they do rent cars out on the cheap side. It’s cold here and I don’t feel comfortable driving the Prelude with its worn out performance tires to work. Plus it saves my wife the trouble of having to drive across town to pick me up tonight and drop me off tomorrow. Only 5 miles each way, but can take close to 45/50 minutes round trip during rush hour. So for $34 and change including tax I rented a 2019 Camry SE with about 10K on the odometer. I don’t like what I’m about to say, but it isn’t half bad. I actually kind of like it.

sda

45-50 minutes to travel 10 miles? Painful. Almost as bad is our commute home in the evening which is about 25 miles typically taking an hour and a half or more. It wears on you.

nyccarguy

It’s very congested where we are, especially during rush hour. The Toyota dealership is on the other side of I-95. It normally would be a 10 minute drive each way.

fintail

There's an X in my neighborhood with especially dbaggy black aftermarket wheels and "yellow wall" tires.

andres3

Out of focus, but notable for two main reasons coming back from Buttonwillow the other week.

I reset the gas computer as track mileage ruins the averages, and the car did as good as you can do with 350+ HP tuned and short 6-speed DSG gearing, over 28 MPG!

Secondly, I averaged (AVERAGED) over 70 MPH on this almost 200 mile stint through Socal. On second thought, since the speed limit is 70 MPH (max) in CA, it must have occurred in Mexico, for the record.

Sandman6472

My new job started today at Enterprise. It's gonna be a great job I think, worked 12 hours today! But, my commute took me less than 8 minutes to get home! A clear shot down State Road 7, 6.6 miles round trip! Sure beats the 60 miles/day round trip working for Hertz those almost 5 years. Seeing how I about fell into this new gig, am very happy. And the best part is only minimal trips down to Miami, will mostly be in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Only negative is I miss my co-workers more than I thought I would. But the 5 guys in my new crew seem to be very nice, and we're getting another 5 soon. So, will make lemonade out of those small lemons and all will be great!
This will be my last job and right now, we're just playing things day by day. No plans about retiring for the second time. I've let my wife know that within a 3 to 4 year time frame, I want to be out of South Florida. I wanted a 2 year time frame but she wanted more, so we came to the above agreement.
Best thing is that they gave me the week of the 23rd of December off! Told them I've worked all year with no vacation and I'm going out of town and I can not or will not change those plans. They were cool about it which I appreciated. I need to get away for a few days and with my future son-in-law coming down here that week, I'm going to go stay with my daughter and meet the new grandkitty. I've been informed that when they do marry & honeymoon, I'm going to be cat sitting at their house so, I need to get to know her and learn her routine. It's hard to find someone to come and take care of her thee times a day. So I've was elected. She's a hairless cat so my allergies with cat fur will not be an issue. And think she did this for me so I could come visit whenever I pleased.
All in all, life is good. Did learn some sad news. My estranged twin brother is very sick. So far, those around him won't answer my messages so against other's better judgement, I emailed him directly tonight and we'll see where this leads. I've left it in G-d's hands and he'll show us the way. If he answers, great. And if not, that's also o k since I made the first move as someone needed to and I knew he would not. Being the older twin, by 7 minutes, figured it was up to me. Told him basically I'm here if you need anything. But if you decide to blow me off, I'll be fine with that to. No expectations here, no hopes either. But I did what I felt was right in this situation. The ball's in his court so to speak. Got my glove on and will catch it if he decide to throw it back. If not, I'll take my glove off and that'll be the end of that!

corvette

xwesx said:

With the big rim craze still in full swing, I like to go -1 or -2 on my winter wheels.

I don't see the big OE rims going away anytime soon. I feel like the aftermarket tire market has caught up to the point where you can get relatively inexpensive tires (compared to OE tires) in most common sizes at a fairly reasonable price. People like the look, and I also think OE suspensions are now better tuned for a wider variety of wheel/tire sizes (versus 1-2 in the old days).

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

The maintenance required message came up on my Tacoma’s dash, so I made an appointment to bring it in. I asked what’s included in the 1st service (5,000 miles) with Toyota Care. It is a tire rotation and fluid top off. The local dealer doesn’t have loaner cars, but they do rent cars out on the cheap side. It’s cold here and I don’t feel comfortable driving the Prelude with its worn out performance tires to work. Plus it saves my wife the trouble of having to drive across town to pick me up tonight and drop me off tomorrow. Only 5 miles each way, but can take close to 45/50 minutes round trip during rush hour. So for $34 and change including tax I rented a 2019 Camry SE with about 10K on the odometer. I don’t like what I’m about to say, but it isn’t half bad. I actually kind of like it.

My son is getting a little “itch”. Went with him to test drive a Camry v6 XSE. I concur with you. I was dully impressed. Why someone would buy a Lexus over the Camry V6 is beyond me.

Not a sports car, but very refined with nice materials and all the Toyota reliability. He’s going to drive an Accord Sport 2.0T, also. Never thought he’d be willing to move from a GTI to one of those cars.

28firefighter

He’s going to miss the GTI

breld

Speaking of GTIs, I drove mine this morning for the first time in a couple weeks, as I've been enjoying the V90 in our snowy and cold conditions. It is indeed a blast to drive.

Here are some thoughts I've had while driving the Volvo over the last few weeks that I thought I'd share...

• Overall, very pleased with the choice. It turns out to be a great replacement for the Q7, exuding a luxury feel while still being somewhat sporty for a large vehicle.
  
• Having said that, it is NOT a sport wagon. It's supremely comfortable and enjoyable to drive and exactly what you would probably expect from it - I would characterize it much like the F10 5-series I had, meaning that as a compliment.
  
• So it is a much better contrast to the GTI than the A5 was.
  
• I love that it offers all the functionality of an SUV but with a bit more style and character. The back seat is limo-like and I appreciate the ground clearance it offers.
  
• The seats are wonderful.
  
• It's quick for sure, what with 300+ hp on tap. I will agree with reviews though, that the engine doesn't have much character to it - I think that's mostly an audible thing. I noted this morning that the sound from the GTI's engine (artificial as it may be) is much more appealing.
  
• It's fun to play around with the sportier "Dynamic" mode. Transmission response is much quicker, but a bit too aggressive at times. What I really like in that mode is the downshifting when slowing down - not sure if that's the product of the Polestar tune or not, but I suspect it may be.
  

tifighter

xwesx said:

tifighter said:

Ordered winter shoes for the X, for the upcoming nordic and downhill ski season. They don't make the Michelin Xi3 like I had and liked on the Volvo in this size. So I went Nokian this time. Not cheap, but cheaper than ending up in a ditch in the north Cascades.

Well, at least you "had to settle" for an excellent tire!

Can you put after market wheels on Tesla vehicles? If so, can you also do alternate sizing on them? With the big rim craze still in full swing, I like to go -1 or -2 on my winter wheels.

We have the factory 20" wheels; smallest you can go on the Performance is 19" to clear the brakes. Not sure if it is the same on the standard cars. I'll keep the winters on these wheels and get a different wheelset next spring for the other tires, but plan to stick with the 20" there too. The 22" is a little over the top for me...

qbrozen

https://www.autoblog.com/2019/12/04/buick-regal-discontinued/

tjc78

Not a huge surprise given sales. Pretty soon if you want a sedan it's going to have to be an import or luxury make.

I'm surprised they couldn't have come up with some sort of good leasing program to get more sold. It's not a bad car by any means and the GS version is actually pretty nice IMO.

ab348

Once they sold Opel to PSA, I don't think they wanted to sell any. There was zero marketing. I really liked my 2011 Regal Turbo, but the updated 2018 model didn't appeal to me at all.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

Once they sold Opel to PSA, I don't think they wanted to sell any. There was zero marketing. I really liked my 2011 Regal Turbo, but the updated 2018 model didn't appeal to me at all.

Same here in the states.. They made the lease program so bad, you couldn't even consider it.

xwesx

tifighter said:

xwesx said:

tifighter said:

Ordered winter shoes for the X, for the upcoming nordic and downhill ski season. They don't make the Michelin Xi3 like I had and liked on the Volvo in this size. So I went Nokian this time. Not cheap, but cheaper than ending up in a ditch in the north Cascades.

Well, at least you "had to settle" for an excellent tire!

Can you put after market wheels on Tesla vehicles? If so, can you also do alternate sizing on them? With the big rim craze still in full swing, I like to go -1 or -2 on my winter wheels.

We have the factory 20" wheels; smallest you can go on the Performance is 19" to clear the brakes. Not sure if it is the same on the standard cars. I'll keep the winters on these wheels and get a different wheelset next spring for the other tires, but plan to stick with the 20" there too. The 22" is a little over the top for me...

So, it sounds like aftermarket is an option. That's nice, even if there is not much flexibility in sizing. I do like to have all my tires mounted year-round. It reduces wear and tear on the tires, the rims, and on me!

tifighter

Yeah, I think Tire Rack alone has something like 30+ styles of aftermarket wheels for the X.

corvette

@xwesx considering a Model X to replace the Q7? How do those things fare in the extreme cold?

qbrozen

Maybe I need another hemi in my life.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/259150398

28firefighter

I'd swap the equinox for that in a hot minute.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

I'd swap the equinox for that in a hot minute.

If only it had come up for sale a few mos ago.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

I'd swap the equinox for that in a hot minute.

If only it had come up for sale a few mos ago.

So make the Equinox disappear.

roadburner

The 2008 Magnum SRT has a bit more cohesive styling; if one ever turns up around me I'd be sorely tempted.

qbrozen

roadburner said:

The 2008 Magnum SRT has a bit more cohesive styling; if one ever turns up around me I'd be sorely tempted.

it would just fail miserably as a winter beater for me. ;b

stickguy

not bad looking at all. I could try that if I needed a bad weather beater. I almost bought a 2005 3 series at that dealer, and just drove past it a week ago. TJC probably goes past that quite often too (well, maybe not so much going forward!)

with the miles, price seems fair if it is as clean as it looks.

Sandman6472

Drove a hemi in a Challenger at work today. Another driver who followed me from West Palm Beach down to Ft. Lauderdale said he heard me the whole way, as he was only a few vehicles behind me on the turnpike. That sucker was a bit loud and even heard it over the radio set to a very high number!

Sandman6472

After two days, think this new Enterprise gig is a good fit. So much closer to home, took me about 8 minutes to get home tonight even with traffic. About 3 lights and then I come in behind the Audi dealer, the short cut. And driving less than 7 miles a day those days I do work as compared to the 60 I was doing at Hertz. Am starting to meet a few more folks now so in time, will get to know more by name. There's over 30 drivers so, a lot of folks to meet. And we all don't work the same schedule. Almost all are retired guys like me who work a couple to a few days a week. There's even three women I hear. I just got used to the younger folks I worked with at Hertz. And I only had a few days to say good-bye...it was kind of rushed as Enterprise needed me to start this week.
All in all, the right move for me. No looking back now till I decide to retire again, maybe next year.

corvette

qbrozen said:

Maybe I need another hemi in my life.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/259150398

@kyfdx this could be an option if your son doesn't bring back the Fit.

The accident reported when it was less than two years old concerns me - that could have been a lot of damage and not totaled a two year old car.

corvette

Good luck with the new gig, Sandy!

laurasdada

qbrozen said:

My wife will complain about everything when she rides in the beater. "it smells funny. it's making noise. why haven't you gotten rid of the dead body in the back?" It is nonstop. She doesn't understand the beater concept.

Hell, she worries me when it comes to new cars. Last week, as she is going OUT the door: "I can't take the van because some light is on that means the car will quit." WHAT?! What light is that?! When did it come on and you didn't tell me? "I don't know. I don't think it is the engine light. It is something else. Bye!" Long story short, it was the check engine light for loose gas cap. Again.

Then this morning, again as she is leaving, "the oil light is on in the BMW." What do you mean? Low oil? "I think it wants an oil change. So I can't drive it." Turns out it is the service indicator telling her, in plain English, that she will be due for an oil change in another 1500 miles.

My theory, for many women, is that a car is simply a closet on tires.

kyfdx

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

Maybe I need another hemi in my life.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/share/259150398

@kyfdx this could be an option if your son doesn't bring back the Fit.

The accident reported when it was less than two years old concerns me - that could have been a lot of damage and not totaled a two year old car.

Hmmm... I do like wagons.

Michaell

Ooo, I just peeked at that Magnum ad - AWD would work well here.

qbrozen

corvette said:

The accident reported when it was less than two years old concerns me - that could have been a lot of damage and not totaled a two year old car.

I find it less concerning when the owner continues to hold onto it and drive it for years after.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

The accident reported when it was less than two years old concerns me - that could have been a lot of damage and not totaled a two year old car.

I find it less concerning when the owner continues to hold onto it and drive it for years after.

Agreed. If you see an accident on the carfax from November, then the car was traded in or sold in December or January, then there was a problem with how the car drives or was repaired.

stickguy

After 10 years if it still looks and drives fine, not likely to be an issue.

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

He’s going to miss the GTI

Yeah.....I think you’re right. I think he’s being “influenced” by the female in his life right now.

Still, I’d consider either of those, if I was in the market.

tifighter

laurasdada said:

qbrozen said:

My wife will complain about everything when she rides in the beater. "it smells funny. it's making noise. why haven't you gotten rid of the dead body in the back?" It is nonstop. She doesn't understand the beater concept.

Hell, she worries me when it comes to new cars. Last week, as she is going OUT the door: "I can't take the van because some light is on that means the car will quit." WHAT?! What light is that?! When did it come on and you didn't tell me? "I don't know. I don't think it is the engine light. It is something else. Bye!" Long story short, it was the check engine light for loose gas cap. Again.

Then this morning, again as she is leaving, "the oil light is on in the BMW." What do you mean? Low oil? "I think it wants an oil change. So I can't drive it." Turns out it is the service indicator telling her, in plain English, that she will be due for an oil change in another 1500 miles.

My theory, for many women, is that a car is simply a closet on tires.

This is accurate.

fintail

I've long joked that upmarket CUVs/SUVs, especially the RX, are designer handbags on wheels.

laurasdada said:

My theory, for many women, is that a car is simply a closet on tires.

andres3

Found this at the Grapevine Rest Stop parking lot. Definitely at least one vehicle I think @fintail would take home at the right price.

@abacomike @driver100 might pick at least one of these too! @mb_enthusiast might take three!

xwesx

corvette said:

@xwesx considering a Model X to replace the Q7? How do those things fare in the extreme cold?

No, not at all. I was just curious about *his* Model X.

And, while the Cybertruck is intriguing, I would much rather have a Rivian offering if choosing between them.

Speaking of the Q7, though.... just turned over 90,000 miles on the way home last night.

And then, as if thumbing its nose at me, it wouldn't start this morning. I had to jump it with the Forester. Of course, it *was* -10F (~ -23C) this morning, but I had its engine warmed up, so that shouldn't have been an excuse.