Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Sandman6472

Not crazy about my Fitbit but the Apple watch is just too big for me. We'll see how long it lasts!

28firefighter

@jmonroe and @pensfan83 walk into the dealer.

“We represent a buyer...”

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

FINE. I’ll go $10.5, but want new floor mats and a full tank of gas.

Hell, if you can be bumped up that easily you don't need two guys negotiating for you.

jmonroe

qbrozen

jmonroe said:

qbrozen said:

FINE. I’ll go $10.5, but want new floor mats and a full tank of gas.

Hell, if you can be bumped up that easily you don't need two guys negotiating for you.

jmonroe

ALWAYS leave room to move up. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting your first offer accepted and eternally doubting your shrewdness. ;b

explorerx4

One of my kids wants a wagon, but has been complaining that the on;y ones around are high end euro models.
That Cadi is just what she is looking for, other than not being new.

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

One of my kids wants a wagon, but has been complaining that the on;y ones around are high end euro models.
That Cadi is just what she is looking for, other than not being new.

get one of the outgoing Regal TourX. Big discounts.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
She has brought up the TourX several times.
My son in law is a great guy, but due to my daughter's much higher compensation, he is costing them more money than he should.
For that reason, I never advocate a new vehicle for her, still paying on her current one.

fintail

Miled up but super cheap for one of these - if it passes a specialist PPI, I'd be very tempted to roll the dice. 212 is known as a solid platform.

laurasdada

Greetings from NJ: drove from MA to Jersey City Xmas day. Wonderfully light traffic, plenty of available street parking at GF's brother's place. Went in to lower Manhattan yesterday, including a very nice Indian dinner. Today, for GFs young nieces, saw the movie Cats. Even if you love cats, no reason to see this movie. I saw it on Broadway a very long time ago, at least the movie allowed me to figure out the plot. After, took a long walk along the Hudson in Palisades Park. No snow to be seen, temps in the mid/upper 40s.
Stuffed the CX-5 to the gills with luggage, presents and 3 passengers; it's a very nice drive. And Mazda appears to be selling a lot of these 10 Besters, I'm seeing them everywhere.
Possibly heading home tomorrow, after dropping relatives off at JFK to return to SF. Looking forward to Pats game Sunday; not so much going back to work Monday.

And, for the umpteenth year in a row, no new car in the driveway with a giant red ribbon from Santa to Laurasdada.

roadburner

As I posted in C&C:
So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

corvette

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

Sandman6472 said:

Corvette, nice pic! Is that a Fitbit on your wrist?

Thanks! Yes, it is - a Fitbit Inspire. I have a love/hate relationship with them. They are inexpensive and more than pay for themselves through getting Amazon gift cards from my health insurance wellness program, but I don't think I've ever had one last longer than two years.

The last one died on me days before I was to leave on vacation, where I would get a bunch of steps in. I hustled to Target and found the Inspire on sale. Used my credit card with the generous warranty benefits instead of the 5% off Target Red Card because there's a decent chance I'll need the warranty if history is any guide.

My wife had similar issues with Fitbit, and finally gave up on them. I will say, they were very responsive to problems, and sent her at least three new units, over a couple of years.

She has an Apple Watch, now

I never even tried to get a concession from Fitbit. I heard the going rate for a broken device was 25% off retail on a new one. I needed one right then and the sale price at Target was close to that, and I didn’t have to wait for shipping.

Everyone I know with an Apple Watch loves it. They’re clearly much better built. I just wish it did sleep tracking and had more than a one day battery life.

nyccarguy

One of the biggest “drawbacks” for electric cars seems to be range anxiety. My Mom was invited to her friend’s son’s future wife’s wedding shower. It was on Long Island which is a little over an hour away from my where my parents live. My Mom who drives EVERYWHERE doesn’t like driving to Long Island for some reason. Her friend offered to drive to the shower, so my Mom accepted, drove to her friend’s house and got in the back of the husband’s Nissan Leaf. To be continued.

nyccarguy

Apparently they just got this lead and haven’t had a level 2 charger installed yet. So they headed out to Long Island with the car not fully charged up. They stopped in Fort Lee, NJ to pick up 2 more passengers. So yes, now there are 5 adults in a not fully charged Leaf heading over the George Washington Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway, then to Long Island (read: lots of traffic).

The guy driving the Leaf is very nervous & his wife is in Uber Nag Mode. He’s not using the heat. They get to Long Island with a few miles to spare & he finds a place to plug in. They were there for a few hours and the guy has about 60 miles of juice to go back the way he came. They leave Long Island, sit in traffic, drive across the Cross Bronx (more traffic), and back over the bridge to Fort Lee. The NaV routes him through back roads to get on the Palisades at exit 4 instead of 1. Lots of hills. The wife is in super ultra, mega Nagging mode now.

They made it off of the highway, back to the guy’s house which was all down hill. As he pulled into the driveway, the car ran out of Juice.

28firefighter

Sounds like poor planning and a misunderstanding of electric power.

jmonroe

@nyccarguy, would that be considered an electrifying tale?

jmonroe

Sandman6472

Think the range anxiety would be just too much. Luckily with my commute now, an electric vehicle looks to be doable if I decide to go that route. But, a hybrid might just be the better way to go. Liking the Hyundai Ionig though I do need to drive one.
Was very impressed with the Mazda CX-5 I drove last week and that great Bose sound system. Should look into the CX-3 and see if it also has a Bose system similar to the one I had. Love the size but Mazda dash's just are too spartan for my tastes. Don't like the controls on the console for the audio and HVAC settings, too much eye time off the road ahead. Wonder what the new in between vehicle is going to be like.
Have a feeling the new Hyundai/Kia cousins small ute's might just be too under powered for me though I like the size and the interior. The Venue I sat in at the dealer was really very nice and just sorry I missed seeing the Denim Edition in the outside yard but I went in the wrong direction. The Hyundai stores near us have zero inventory of these and the Kia version ain't out yet. From the pic I've seen, the dash is nicer looking and has some hints of their new Telluride dash in it. So, gotta see it to and drive them both.
Also, want to see the new 2020 Golf and what Honda is doing with the new HR-V. Truthfully, have never drove one yet but have sat in plenty. Hate that the EX-L has only one radio knob and hear it's under powered also. But, really do need to test drive one soon.
But, just hit 62K today on my 2015 Golf and got it freshly cleaned and waxed so all that hard sprinkler water stains are gone. Looks brand new really and it's driving great, just hope the fate's are asleep right now. Keeping it for the time being as after I get home, will be putting very limited miles on it until the next time I come up to Orlando, probably around Memorial Day or so. Want all these new vehicles to be out in the market by then so a deal will be able to be made if I fall in lust with anyone of them. Just like the Golf, I'll know within 5 minutes or so behind the wheel if one of them is the next vehicle on my side of the garage. It usually takes me a very short time to make up my mind. The radio test is quite easy, it must have 6 speakers or more and have plenty of power so by 1/2 of the volume, it blows my socks off. That takes minimal time to decide upon. Then, testing of the stopping power, hate for a really low pedal that grab's too early. And lastly, the acceleration and how quick to speed are we. And it must sound just right.
Once these things are nailed down, we have my next vehicle. All we need to do is get it for a decent and fair price to both. Give me 0% financing, and hell, we've got a done deal!!!

ab348

Trust me, you don't want a CX-3.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

Sounds like poor planning and a misunderstanding of electric power.

And.... the wife.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

Apparently they just got this lead and haven’t had a level 2 charger installed yet. So they headed out to Long Island with the car not fully charged up. They stopped in Fort Lee, NJ to pick up 2 more passengers. So yes, now there are 5 adults in a not fully charged Leaf heading over the George Washington Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway, then to Long Island (read: lots of traffic).

The guy driving the Leaf is very nervous & his wife is in Uber Nag Mode. He’s not using the heat. They get to Long Island with a few miles to spare & he finds a place to plug in. They were there for a few hours and the guy has about 60 miles of juice to go back the way he came. They leave Long Island, sit in traffic, drive across the Cross Bronx (more traffic), and back over the bridge to Fort Lee. The NaV routes him through back roads to get on the Palisades at exit 4 instead of 1. Lots of hills. The wife is in super ultra, mega Nagging mode now.

They made it off of the highway, back to the guy’s house which was all down hill. As he pulled into the driveway, the car ran out of Juice.

Not the area to be a newbie with an all electric. One wrong turn or accident and all bets are off.

stickguy

The cx30 should be better. I think that one is based on the new 3.

Drove to Saratoga last night for a party. Dark back country roads, and pretty foggy in spots. Lights on the RDX weren’t great for that. One more reason to upgrade! But, it did drive nicely. Can’t complain about that.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

nyccarguy said:

Apparently they just got this lead and haven’t had a level 2 charger installed yet. So they headed out to Long Island with the car not fully charged up. They stopped in Fort Lee, NJ to pick up 2 more passengers. So yes, now there are 5 adults in a not fully charged Leaf heading over the George Washington Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway, then to Long Island (read: lots of traffic).

The guy driving the Leaf is very nervous & his wife is in Uber Nag Mode. He’s not using the heat. They get to Long Island with a few miles to spare & he finds a place to plug in. They were there for a few hours and the guy has about 60 miles of juice to go back the way he came. They leave Long Island, sit in traffic, drive across the Cross Bronx (more traffic), and back over the bridge to Fort Lee. The NaV routes him through back roads to get on the Palisades at exit 4 instead of 1. Lots of hills. The wife is in super ultra, mega Nagging mode now.

They made it off of the highway, back to the guy’s house which was all down hill. As he pulled into the driveway, the car ran out of Juice.

Not the area to be a newbie with an all electric. One wrong turn or accident and all bets are off.

Having done that drive and being very familiar with the area, heck yeah. You can easily get stuck for a long time. Not terribly far miles wise, but resource intensive!

I am not suited for electric, personality wise. I would probably need a big cushion. Say, figure out normal expected juice need for a trip, factor in everything that can go wrong, than half that range. So basically I would be willing to take a fully charged Tesla to the local mall!

Also why you get to the airport 3 hours early if I take you, but I never, ever, miss a flight.

sda

nyccarguy said:

Apparently they just got this lead and haven’t had a level 2 charger installed yet. So they headed out to Long Island with the car not fully charged up. They stopped in Fort Lee, NJ to pick up 2 more passengers. So yes, now there are 5 adults in a not fully charged Leaf heading over the George Washington Bridge to the Cross Bronx Expressway, then to Long Island (read: lots of traffic).

The guy driving the Leaf is very nervous & his wife is in Uber Nag Mode. He’s not using the heat. They get to Long Island with a few miles to spare & he finds a place to plug in. They were there for a few hours and the guy has about 60 miles of juice to go back the way he came. They leave Long Island, sit in traffic, drive across the Cross Bronx (more traffic), and back over the bridge to Fort Lee. The NaV routes him through back roads to get on the Palisades at exit 4 instead of 1. Lots of hills. The wife is in super ultra, mega Nagging mode now.

They made it off of the highway, back to the guy’s house which was all down hill. As he pulled into the driveway, the car ran out of Juice.

Whew. I was on edge just reading about that trek. I imagine your mom thought..never again..and was edgy as well.

suydam

I assume this was a regular Leaf with a shorter range. It’s no different than running out of gas because you forgot to gas up before a trip. People who haven’t owned electric cars are very worried about this type of scenario. One of the big surprises of owning one is how routine it becomes very quickly. I bought a plug in hybrid because I wanted a gas backup, but I wouldn’t hesitate to get a pure EV now with the longer ranges. Just like with a gas vehicle you have to charge regularly and plan your trips. Every winter we read horror stories of people who took a wrong turn and ran out of gas on some remote mountain road. Yet few people worry about buying a gas vehicle! The plug in hybrid is a good compromise that allow folks to see how easy owning an EV is.

suydam

Re the Fitbit: I use the Map My Walk app on my iPhone.

explorerx4

@suydam,
I don't want to have to support the infrastructure for charging an electric vehicle at my house.
Perfectly fine letting someone else support gasoline access/storage.

suydam

You object to plugging your car into a garage wall outlet?

explorerx4

Yes. Don't want to have to worry about tripping over a cord.
I also have a vehicle that lives outside. Charging it up in cold weather could be an exercise in frustration with current battery technology.
I'd rather just spend 10 minutes at the gas station once a month and not have to think about it the rest of the time.

corvette

I keep a battery maintainer on the car in my garage, so I still have a cord and a box to trip over, even with an ICE vehicle.

Good news - Santa delivered some cash, and I paid off the G37 loan this morning.

jmonroe

corvette said:

I keep a battery maintainer on the car in my garage, so I still have a cord and a box to trip over, even with an ICE vehicle.

Good news - Santa delivered some cash, and I paid off the G37 loan this morning.

Hopefully you have a little left over and can make one payment on my '15 Genny. Don't get me wrong, I'd still have 4 more payments on my 5 year 0.9% loan. I only need $349.95 (yeah I got it on sale).

Thanks

jmonroe

roadburner

28firefighter said:

Sounds like poor planning and a misunderstanding of electric power.

I agree. My wife had more Range Anxiety than I did, but she wasn't a nag. A couple of times she did come by the dealer and swap her i3 for whatever I was driving if she thought the car was close to firing up the REx. I'd just plug the car into one of the Level II chargers and forget about it. At home I had the L1 charger plugged into a ceiling outlet in the garage while the charger itself was attached to a reinforcing column. Super convenient and nothing to trip over.

roadburner

corvette said:

I keep a battery maintainer on the car in my garage, so I still have a cord and a box to trip over, even with an ICE vehicle.

Good news - Santa delivered some cash, and I paid off the G37 loan this morning.

I bought an accessory plug that mounts to the bolts on the battery terminals on the ti so I don't have to take the lid off the battery box to connect/disconnect the maintainer.
But I can still trip over it...

corvette

roadburner said:

corvette said:

I keep a battery maintainer on the car in my garage, so I still have a cord and a box to trip over, even with an ICE vehicle.

Good news - Santa delivered some cash, and I paid off the G37 loan this morning.

I bought an accessory plug that mounts to the bolts on the battery terminals on the ti so I don't have to take the lid off the battery box to connect/disconnect the maintainer.
But I can still trip over it...

I have those on both my cars, and had one on my riding mower when I had one. They seem to be really cheap on eBay or Amazon.

Sandman6472

Great news!! We're having a wedding!! 10-10-20 is the date down south right near our house. Super excited here now, just have to sit down and see how much this is gonna cost me! Will be just after sundown on that Saturday as it won't be a religious ceremony, both mom and me were cognizant about waiting till the Shabbat Queen leaves and Shabbat is over. We had our wedding on a Sunday so we had no issues but we're Jewish...an he's not! So have to tread lightly here but on this point, both of us wouldn't budge, Shabbat has to be over and sundown is supposed to be 6:58 that night. So, a 7:15 ceremony should be just fine. It's also Columbus Day weekend though down south here, it's not anything special.
Glad I'm still working so we can help them as much as we can. Our last name ain't Rockefeller or Vanderbuilt but will do what we can to make it as nice as it should be!
Having two girls, I knew this day would come. With our son, we just had the dinner the night before to cover. Luckily, the venue is right near the house and we'll do it all right there. Mentioned having a chuppa but not sure they'll go that way, though, I think they should.

Sandman6472

Leaving tomorrow morning. Going over to the Chevy store to get her free oil change on the Cruze. The first one her selling dealer threw in when she bought it. Going to one closer to home in Kissimmee I think.
Not quite ready to go home but must go back to work. My future son-in-laws 2012 Camaro is in the shop back home as he's having a tranny issue. Might be time for him to get a new one but, with the wedding coming up, he needs to watch his nickels and dimes. He'll be home later tonight so we can "discuss" things. Just wish my wife was here to be in on things. She did tell our daughter she can wear her dress if she so desires. Luckily they want a smallish wedding, about 50 people I'd say from what she's told me. We have really no close family to speak of so we'll see.

carnaught

@Sandman6472, congrats on the upcoming wedding to look forward to!

tjc78

@Sandman6472

Big congrats!!!!

On another note, better keep that Golf maintained well.... I think it's service life just got extended!

kyfdx

60-70 Edmunds friends and their +1? At $40/per, that's going to be an expensive reception.

28firefighter

I find the i3 range estimator to be nearly spot on. I watch it for entertainment sake but I have no qualms driving it everywhere, especially with the charging infrastructure.

corvette

kyfdx said:

60-70 Edmunds friends and their +1? At $40/per, that's going to be an expensive reception.

$40 per? I don’t think you’ve priced wedding receptions lately.

roadburner

A couple of friends have sons and when they got married in both cases the bride's family expected them to share the cost of the wedding as well as pay for the rehearsal dinner. I told my son that if/when he gets married we aren't paying for the wedding. However, I'll give the couple a BIG cash gift if they will just elope and be done with it.

28firefighter

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

60-70 Edmunds friends and their +1? At $40/per, that's going to be an expensive reception.

$40 per? I don’t think you’ve priced wedding receptions lately.

To say the least. I’m 7 years removed and you aren’t getting catering from chick-fil-a for that kinda $$.

jmonroe

Sandman6472 said:

Leaving tomorrow morning. Going over to the Chevy store to get her free oil change on the Cruze. The first one her selling dealer threw in when she bought it. Going to one closer to home in Kissimmee I think.
Not quite ready to go home but must go back to work. My future son-in-laws 2012 Camaro is in the shop back home as he's having a tranny issue. Might be time for him to get a new one but, with the wedding coming up, he needs to watch his nickels and dimes. He'll be home later tonight so we can "discuss" things. Just wish my wife was here to be in on things. She did tell our daughter she can wear her dress if she so desires. Luckily they want a smallish wedding, about 50 people I'd say from what she's told me. We have really no close family to speak of so we'll see.

What do you mean -"no close family"- what are we, chopped liver? :@

jmonroe

corvette

roadburner said:

However, I'll give the couple a BIG cash gift if they will just elope and be done with it.

Good strategy, and that's my preference if I ever get married, as well. For me, a traditional wedding is kind of like dividing by zero in mathematics - the venue I'd prefer (the Speed Museum) requires you to use their contracted caterer, which is a fine enough place, but I'd want my local pub (which also does catering) to handle my reception. A complete non-starter!

corvette

28firefighter said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

60-70 Edmunds friends and their +1? At $40/per, that's going to be an expensive reception.

$40 per? I don’t think you’ve priced wedding receptions lately.

To say the least. I’m 7 years removed and you aren’t getting catering from chick-fil-a for that kinda $$.

A cousin worked for CFA and had CFA nuggets as an app, but traditional Irish stuff as the main course. It was a booze free wedding, but I repeatedly threatened my mom I would bring a flask...

roadburner

Test Drive Update: It turns out the Giulia was the only car I ended up driving. The Toyota dealer didn't allow test drives of the Supra. Only if you bought one. Insanity, and that dealer is off my list. We let people test drive just about anything at BMW. Over at Hyundai they had only one veloster N, and it had two strikes against it: it was black and it didn't have the Performance package which gets you 25 more hp, summer rubber, and a locking front differential.

cdnpinhead

Weddings in the Southwest (AZ) back in the '60s & '70s didn't include the ostentatious receptions with a band and sit-down dinner to the tune of many thousands of dollars. It was common for the bride's family to provide a simple buffet at the family home or the church that cost next to nothing, compared to what Eastern weddings did. As I aged, I learned that Eastern weddings cost what amounted to a significant down payment on a house. I was stunned then, and still am.

Yeah, I know -- OK boomer, and a Western one at that -- OMG.

explorerx4

My daughter's wedding was over 30k, but I wrote a few checks and it was done.
Was pretty fun, except me having to make a speech and dancing solo with my daughter.

roadburner

cdnpinhead said:

Weddings in the Southwest (AZ) back in the '60s & '70s didn't include the ostentatious receptions with a band and sit-down dinner to the tune of many thousands of dollars. It was common for the bride's family to provide a simple buffet at the family home or the church that cost next to nothing, compared to what Eastern weddings did. As I aged, I learned that Eastern weddings cost what amounted to a significant down payment on a house. I was stunned then, and still am.

Yeah, I know -- OK boomer, and a Western one at that -- OMG.

I agree; I would take the cash every time..

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

My daughter's wedding was over 30k, but I wrote a few checks and it was done.
Was pretty fun, except me having to make a speech and dancing solo with my daughter.

So, you don't know how to talk or dance. Yep, you're perfectly suited for writing checks.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Good god. $200/mo all in for a Tacoma double cab v6 SR on a 39/12k term. Insane. And very very tempting.