Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

Comment of the day, for anyone following the Carlos Ghosn mess who is also a fan of Breaking Bad:
"Maybe Carlos should call Best Quality Vacuum and ask for a new dust filter for a Hoover MaxExtract PressurePro model 60."

28firefighter

Inquired about that TL - neither clutch nor timing belt have been done recently, so you have to figure $2000-$2500 for both of those in the somewhat near future.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Inquired about that TL - neither clutch nor timing belt have been done recently, so you have to figure $2000-$2500 for both of those in the somewhat near future.

That's why they are selling it then. They know it needs both which are costly maintenance items.

28firefighter

nyccarguy said:

28firefighter said:

Inquired about that TL - neither clutch nor timing belt have been done recently, so you have to figure $2000-$2500 for both of those in the somewhat near future.

That's why they are selling it then. They know it needs both which are costly maintenance items.

Exactly right - and if the car doesn't fit their needs anymore, there is no reason to dump that money in yourself. Bit of a double edged sword though because $5k for a car with 172k miles (even a clean one) and $2500 of needs is a bit unrealistic.

Maybe if I were a DIYer it'd make sense.

kyfdx

That M240i in Cincinnati has an interesting CarFax. Clutch and flywheel replaced at 113 miles.

28firefighter

That has to be a factory defect then? Is it possible to burn out a clutch that quickly?

pensfan83

28firefighter said:

Inquired about that TL - neither clutch nor timing belt have been done recently, so you have to figure $2000-$2500 for both of those in the somewhat near future.

Hard pass.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

That has to be a factory defect then? Is it possible to burn out a clutch that quickly?

Doubtful. I'm sure it came that way. Also, some sort of front "damage", but not necessarily an accident. Sounds like they weren't good with curb blocks, because it's listed at two different times.

kyfdx

There are only three 2017 M240i CPO coupe, manual, in the whole country, and two of them are at my local dealer.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

That has to be a factory defect then? Is it possible to burn out a clutch that quickly?

Lots of hard test driving.

pensfan83

It's a sign.

pensfan83

Here is the 3rd lol. Is this the better brown leather?

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/796406175/overview/?aff=share_email

stickguy

I love the white one. Same interior as that earlier gray unit (terra). But this one is not a CPO.

pensfan83

Maybe it's my phone but this looked darker to me.

stickguy

Internet pictures of cars to me often look way different than real life. I went off what they ousted.

stickguy

Ok, I’m doing a go fund me. I want this, bad. Just need a few nice people to help pay for it! Though I suspect the sheer amount of tech features would freak my wife out. Or at minimum, she would never change anything! But gorgeous car, and really loaded up.

https://www.bmwofalexandria.com/detail.cfm?inventoryID=480678&listType=C&NewUsed=0&specialFlag=&Year=&MakeID=&ModelID=629&VehicleTypeID=&Trim=&TransmissionID=&drive_train=&priceRange=&Mileage=&exteriorColor=&interiorColor=&usedHistory=LOA&fuelType=&CityMPG=&HywMPG=&specialOffers=0&special_offer_id=&maxVehicles=25&sortBy=5&orderBy=0&sortOrderBy=5,0&sortOrderBy=5,0&vehicleNumType=S&vehicleNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

28firefighter

stickguy said:

Ok, I’m doing a go fund me. I want this, bad. Just need a few nice people to help pay for it! Though I suspect the sheer amount of tech features would freak my wife out. Or at minimum, she would never change anything! But gorgeous car, and really loaded up.

https://www.bmwofalexandria.com/detail.cfm?inventoryID=480678&listType=C&NewUsed=0&specialFlag=&Year=&MakeID=&ModelID=629&VehicleTypeID=&Trim=&TransmissionID=&drive_train=&priceRange=&Mileage=&exteriorColor=&interiorColor=&usedHistory=LOA&fuelType=&CityMPG=&HywMPG=&specialOffers=0&special_offer_id=&maxVehicles=25&sortBy=5&orderBy=0&sortOrderBy=5,0&sortOrderBy=5,0&vehicleNumType=S&vehicleNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

I bet that leases out better than you think.

28firefighter

pensfan83 said:

Here is the 3rd lol. Is this the better brown leather?

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/796406175/overview/?aff=share_email

Oh this is nice.

stickguy

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

Ok, I’m doing a go fund me. I want this, bad. Just need a few nice people to help pay for it! Though I suspect the sheer amount of tech features would freak my wife out. Or at minimum, she would never change anything! But gorgeous car, and really loaded up.

https://www.bmwofalexandria.com/detail.cfm?inventoryID=480678&listType=C&NewUsed=0&specialFlag=&Year=&MakeID=&ModelID=629&VehicleTypeID=&Trim=&TransmissionID=&drive_train=&priceRange=&Mileage=&exteriorColor=&interiorColor=&usedHistory=LOA&fuelType=&CityMPG=&HywMPG=&specialOffers=0&special_offer_id=&maxVehicles=25&sortBy=5&orderBy=0&sortOrderBy=5,0&sortOrderBy=5,0&vehicleNumType=S&vehicleNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

I bet that leases out better than you think.

I’m afraid to ask. Though if it was local would be tempted to stop and look at it.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

Ok, I’m doing a go fund me. I want this, bad. Just need a few nice people to help pay for it! Though I suspect the sheer amount of tech features would freak my wife out. Or at minimum, she would never change anything! But gorgeous car, and really loaded up.

https://www.bmwofalexandria.com/detail.cfm?inventoryID=480678&listType=C&NewUsed=0&specialFlag=&Year=&MakeID=&ModelID=629&VehicleTypeID=&Trim=&TransmissionID=&drive_train=&priceRange=&Mileage=&exteriorColor=&interiorColor=&usedHistory=LOA&fuelType=&CityMPG=&HywMPG=&specialOffers=0&special_offer_id=&maxVehicles=25&sortBy=5&orderBy=0&sortOrderBy=5,0&sortOrderBy=5,0&vehicleNumType=S&vehicleNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

Ask and you shall receive. Just sent the check to Edmunds and asked that they forward it to you. Now you gotta hope the hosts will pass it along.

Just curious, can you live with those white seats? Too late to think about that now. The check is already gone so you'll just have to live with them but I just had to ask.

jmonroe

stickguy

They are tan. And yes. That’s what my wife wants. Not much different that our current car. They do offer a really white seat option, that I will pass on.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

They are tan. And yes. That’s what my wife wants. Not much different that our current car. They do offer a really white seat option, that I will pass on.

On my monitor they look VERY white. But, they look very nice too, just wouldn't want to maintain that look. So, you're sayin it's OK for Edmunds to accept my check.

jmonroe

stickguy

Check is good. Keep them coming.

Seats are standard BMW issue Canberra beige.

ab348

Given how you've described you wife's allergy to/difficulty with various simple infotainment system features, I'm not sure how well she'd take to that BMW beer-tap electronic shift control.

stickguy

I need to get her to drive one. But that I think will be OK once she gets used to it. It’s the infotainment, navigation, and complicated nanny stuff that might befuddle her.

ab348

I have yet to try one of those that is not very annoying.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

That has to be a factory defect then? Is it possible to burn out a clutch that quickly?

Maybe. Yes.

stickguy

She did like the nice, normal shift lever and straightforward controls on the Santa Fe.

ab348

Ask @driver100 about premature clutch failure on German cars.

au1994

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

Ok, I’m doing a go fund me. I want this, bad. Just need a few nice people to help pay for it! Though I suspect the sheer amount of tech features would freak my wife out. Or at minimum, she would never change anything! But gorgeous car, and really loaded up.

https://www.bmwofalexandria.com/detail.cfm?inventoryID=480678&listType=C&NewUsed=0&specialFlag=&Year=&MakeID=&ModelID=629&VehicleTypeID=&Trim=&TransmissionID=&drive_train=&priceRange=&Mileage=&exteriorColor=&interiorColor=&usedHistory=LOA&fuelType=&CityMPG=&HywMPG=&specialOffers=0&special_offer_id=&maxVehicles=25&sortBy=5&orderBy=0&sortOrderBy=5,0&sortOrderBy=5,0&vehicleNumType=S&vehicleNumVal=&vehicleNumTypeXS=S&vehicleNumValXS=

Ask and you shall receive. Just sent the check to Edmunds and asked that they forward it to you. Now you gotta hope the hosts will pass it along.

Just curious, can you live with those white seats? Too late to think about that now. The check is already gone so you'll just have to live with them but I just had to ask.

jmonroe

We had the ivory seats in the X6 and they were surprisingly easy to keep clean. Looked amazing with the space gray exterior.

ab348

Yeah, some people freak out over light colored upholstery but having had one car with a white vinyl interior and another couple with first light gray, then cashmere leather, it is a non-issue. Black interior usually look more dirty because every speck of dust, lint, etc shows up.

pensfan83

The quality of seat material makes a difference though. My mom's 2013 Escape had a tan leather interior that wore terribly. They unloaded it in 2016 and despite having somewhere around 45K the front seats looked like a car with double that mileage and my dad is pretty good about maintaining them. Their 2016 is silver over black and while they don't look dirty, the seats are again not wearing well.

fintail

2 cars ago I had a very light grey interior that looked very nice. Maintenance wasn't an issue, maybe because I don't have kids. Every couple months I would gently use a magic eraser to remove jeans dye from the drivers seat, and it would be good as new:



Current car is a paradise of brown, including the steering wheel. I also like this:



White would be pretty nice too, I could deal with it. This morning I saw a new unplated Dual Motor Model 3 with a white interior (and exterior), blue with white interior might be my choice. I've also seen an M6 Gran Coupe in my area in white with white interior.

tjc78

I've had many a light interior, including white in my current car.

Like @fintail said biggest issue is the blue transfer from jeans. I use a little Lexol and it's gone in no time.

kyfdx

My mother had white leather in a '67 Bonneville, '71 GrandVille, '72 Lincoln and then '76 Lincoln.

At 15 yrs old, I broke my ankle in a creek, and was covered in mud. When my Mom came to get me at my friend's house, she sprayed me down with a hose, before she'd let me in her car..

graphicguy

OK.....here’s this.......

https://jeffwylerfairfieldkia.com/new/Kia/2019-Kia-Stinger-aec4c42e0a0e0ae84bbdfcb835c62e7c.htm?mycarsr=vdp-recentCars

Wasn’t planning on it. Had the itch given I was out kicking tires.

Looked at Mercedes C Class and E Class, Honda Accord 2.0T Touring, Toyota Avalon Touring and Camry V6 XSE, Volvo S60 MOMENTUM, Genesis G70 3.3, and the above Kia.

Lots and lots of trunk money on this guy. I got it for $17K UNDER MSRP and WAY UNDER invoice. Pretty much every available option.

Most of you could tell I was smitten with it when I drove one when they first came out. I’m still a little wary of Kia. But, the dealership I ended up buying from was low pressure. Sales Manager said he wanted the ‘19s gone and he had money to play with (how much money, I wasn’t sure). I made what I thought was a ridiculous offer. He had to get GM approval, which they got today. Got into it a little bit with F&I about $250 doc fee. They said they wouldn’t deduct it. I was getting up to leave and they said they’d throw in 2 years of oil changes and tire rotations to offset the doc feel. I caved and signed.

It leases terribly, so it was a straight out purchase. I know resale is not ideal, but the deal I got, I think it’s a wash.

Bottom line, there are LOTS of VERY NICE cars on the market, today. Short of Fiat or Smart, they’re all made well. The performance of the Stinger and the value equation was pretty overwhelming in my book.

The white is quite pretty. Wanted red interior, but dealer said Kia wasn’t shipping many Stinger GT 1s or 2s, which get the red leather. The light leather is the same as I test drove in the G70.

Liked the Volvo quite a bit. But, to get what I wanted (Inscription) it was going to cost quite a bit more.

Probably would have pulled the trigger on the G70. There just isn’t much in the way of stock...anywhere around here. Plus, I still couldn’t come close to the deal on the Stinger.

Didn’t trade the TLX, as they low balled me on it. I have a couple of people who like my used cars (one is a neighbor) who know I take impeccable care of my cars. They always tell me to reach out to them before trading it.

Who knows, I may keep both. But, I’ll throw some seeds out there and see if I can get some bites on it.

Anyway, I think I’m the first punch of 2020. That’s a dubious distinction. Maybe kick off a flurry of punches.

ab348

pensfan83 said:

The quality of seat material makes a difference though. My mom's 2013 Escape had a tan leather interior that wore terribly. They unloaded it in 2016 and despite having somewhere around 45K the front seats looked like a car with double that mileage and my dad is pretty good about maintaining them. Their 2016 is silver over black and while they don't look dirty, the seats are again not wearing well.

Well, it IS a Ford. Their standard-level leathers are uniformly awful.

fintail

Congrats @graphicguy . Great color for it, that style wears white well. Amazing discount too, huge value for money at that price. I remember when the model debuted, some rather brave local dealers had a 10K ADM on loaded models. I can't imagine anyone went for that.

kyfdx

@graphicguy Congrats! Looks great.

stickguy

Sharp looking. Lots of car for $37k. And based on my sons g70, addictively fast!

jmonroe

@graphicguy, BIG congrats on that beauty. Looks good from here. I see you didn't bite on that generous $48,991 offer. Didn't think you would. Use it well and give us a couple reports.

jmonroe

explorerx4

GG,
Congrats on the new Stinger. Looks great and a killer deal.
I didn't think you would be getting a Volvo.

explorerx4

@pensfan83,
What model Escape was the 2013?
One of my kids has my wife's previous 2013 Titanium.
Seats are black, but didn't notice anything horrible about them last time I drove it, a few months ago.
It was dark out at the time.

sb55

Congrats @graphicguy
Nice looking car.

pensfan83

Nice @graphicguy, glad you are still in the TLX fraternity too

pensfan83

explorerx4 said:

@pensfan83,
What model Escape was the 2013?
One of my kids has my wife's previous 2013 Titanium.
Seats are black, but didn't notice anything horrible about them last time I drove it, a few months ago.
It was dark out at the time.

Both the 2013 and 2016 are Titanium.

explorerx4

@pensfan83,
I will admit Ford leather doesn't look great after a while, but it doesn't seem to tear, even with no care.
Will be seeing the Escape in about 3 months when we head up to Wisconsin, so I'll check out the seats.

laurasdada

GG: Congrats! Looking forward to updates, drive it in good health and stealth.
Fin: That is a beautiful, elegant interior. I'm relaxed just looking at it.

greg128

I did a search a few months ago on cars.com for vehicles (including trucks) for sale with over 300,000 miles in the entire country

The results:
Acura: 4
Audi :1
BMW: 3
Buick: 7
Cadillac: 4
Chevy: 201
Chrysler: 5
Dodge: 105
Ford: 266
GMC: 65
Honda: 40
Hyundai: 5
Infiniti: 1
Jeep: 19
Lexus: 11
Mazda: 3
MB: 10
Nissan:: 23
Ram: 21
Subaru: 2
Toyota: 70
VW: 6

Of course most are domestic trucks but I found the results interesting

stickguy

An Audi? Wow!