Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

Speaking of do-it yourself work, I've been in the car washing business the last 2 afternoons:

Where is the pic of your wife's car, clean? Wait, don't tell me you didn't wash hers, too!

In my defense, she's been working for home since this whole thing started over a month ago, so she's driven all of 5 or 10 miles in that month. Secondly, the Tiguan is huge and tall compared to the A4 and TTS, which makes it a pain in the you know what to wash, even at 6'3" tall, it's not easy to get the roof.

Lastly, my carwash business has a slow output. I'll get to it sooner or later. I did the dishes, does that count?

Ah no, not another one. Didn't anyone ever tell you dishes are women's work?

jmonroe

stickguy

not in my house. She complains less about doing the cooking when she can just leave the mess of dishes and pots/pans for me to take care of! Plus she just doesn't load the dishwasher correctly, so I have to redo it before running anyway.

imidazol97

X1 on the loading the dishwasher silverware holders and trays correctly for good cleaning.

roadburner

stickguy said:

Near my house someone has a red HHR SS. I assume that is the same powertrain as the Cobalt?

Yes. Chevrolet had the HHR SS and Dodge had the Caliber SRT- fast awkwardly styled cars for import haters.

tifighter

And apparently the performance package meant you got the Recaro seats and a Quaife limited slip diff.

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

X1 on the loading the dishwasher silverware holders and trays correctly for good cleaning.

It was bound to happen and it happened this morning. This is way too coincidental. The dishwasher gods must have heard me open my trap. Went into the silverware drawer to get a spoon for my morning coffee. As I'm about to dig into the Stevia bowl, I see some grit on the spoon. I go to get another spoon and I decided to check the others to see how they were. All good, I just got the sole dirty one. If anyone in here thinks I'm going to tell Mrs. j about this fluke you're nuts because I know she'll say, "if you dont like the way I load the dishwasher, do it yourself". There is no way I'm going to let her turn me into a @stickguy or @imidazol97, that just aint gonna happen.

jmonroe

imidazol97

There're a couple of other factors that might have prevented proper cleaning besides poor location for the splash to forcefully clean them Might be partially blocked filter screens. Or someone interrupted the cycle.

Appliance repairman on radio always says run a jar of Tang through on a cycle to clean. I use Bubble Bandit dishwasher detergent part of the time, which also removes scum and mineral deposits. Son used to live in apartment in Fairborn with worst water ever. Had to use Bubble Bandit or an additive from Walmart in each wash because of the minerals.

Use vinegar to clear as well, but don't use bleach because of seals. That was appliance guy's opinion.

corvette

Most DW detergent contains chlorine. I've found that the "pods" do a much better job than the standard liquid / powdered detergent. Even the cheap bags of pods from Aldi work well for me.

tifighter

I call today's random craigslist posting - a tale of two Audis;

Example #1

vs.

Example #2

Some feel these will become collectible, but until they do, we have quite a spread here...

28firefighter

I happen to love that era TT in silver, but love the stitching on the seats of the 2004. I think there was also a brown "baseball glove" type interior that was the best.

Assuming someone has maintained it well, that 2001 is a great fun car find for $8k. At $22,5, I'd be looking at a Porsche 996...

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

It was bound to happen and it happened this morning. This is way too coincidental. The dishwasher gods must have heard me open my trap. Went into the silverware drawer to get a spoon for my morning coffee. As I'm about to dig into the Stevia bowl, I see some grit on the spoon. I go to get another spoon and I decided to check the others to see how they were. All good, I just got the sole dirty one. If anyone in here thinks I'm going to tell Mrs. j about this fluke you're nuts because I know she'll say, "if you dont like the way I load the dishwasher, do it yourself". There is no way I'm going to let her turn me into a @stickguy or @imidazol97, that just aint gonna happen.

jmonroe

IIRC, the last time I used a mechanical dishwasher was 1995. I'm not sure that I would want one now.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

I happen to love that era TT in silver, but love the stitching on the seats of the 2004. I think there was also a brown "baseball glove" type interior that was the best.

Assuming someone has maintained it well, that 2001 is a great fun car find for $8k. At $22,5, I'd be looking at a Porsche 996...

Yeah, I guess I don't get it. At $8K, the silver one seems like a decent price. $22.5 for the 2004? No thanks. Given the additionally low miles, I might consider $10-11K. Maybe I'm being a Scrooge.

qbrozen

Both cars totaled. Interestingly, the Equinox, which was leased first, is underwater about $1800, which of course gap will cover. The Fusion is in the black by $1350. Can't figure that out for the life of me. But, hey, good for them. After the deductible on the Equinox, they'll walk away with $850. I pointed out they also saved ~$600-$700 for the lease turn-in fees, so $1500 for their troubles in replacing 2 leases ain't bad at all.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Both cars totaled. Interestingly, the Equinox, which was leased first, is underwater about $1800, which of course gap will cover. The Fusion is in the black by $1350. Can't figure that out for the life of me. But, hey, good for them. After the deductible on the Equinox, they'll walk away with $850. I pointed out they also saved ~$600-$700 for the lease turn-in fees, so $1500 for their troubles in replacing 2 leases ain't bad at all.

Inconvenience aside, sometimes these things work out for the best.

qbrozen

I told sis that, weirdly, it is almost lucky this happened now before the tanked resale values really hit their cars. Nearly $17k ACV for a 2017 fusion SE? Seriously crazy. I'm not sure it was EVER worth that. LOL.

pensfan83

My brother has the same car and if I recall correctly the RV was something like 52/53% on a 36/12 lease with a sticker around $25K so about $13,300. So yeah they did pretty good.

kyfdx

On my walk today, spotted an Audi A3 TDI, which brought back memories of Dieselgate. It was a highly optioned model, like the one @28firefighter bought. (pano roof, upgraded wheels, etc)

I think the owner is a real estate appraiser, as he was measuring the outside dimensions of a building.

He said it is a 2011 model that he bought last year for $11K from Carvana. It only had 20K miles!
He is a high mileage driver... used to lease, then pay the giant mileage overages, but now buys low mile used and drives them up to 200K miles (about three years). He raved about the vehicle and the fuel mileage.

And, then I walked home..

28firefighter

Mine is still for sale:
https://www.grandjunctionvolkswagen.com/used/Audi/2013-Audi-A3-481c08ee0a0e0ae8475c3b8c63521aa9.htm

If it drops below $10k I might consider buying it.

corvette

That's a steal on that A3, but I can't see a ten year old Veedub making it to 200k without some repairs.

corvette

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
What year was that Fusion? Does seem kind of unusual that it was not underwater too.

stickguy

A situation where leasing was definitely for the best. And should be able to go down to 1 car for a while too!

tifighter

28firefighter said:

I happen to love that era TT in silver, but love the stitching on the seats of the 2004. I think there was also a brown "baseball glove" type interior that was the best.

Assuming someone has maintained it well, that 2001 is a great fun car find for $8k. At $22,5, I'd be looking at a Porsche 996...

The '01 does say service history from new. How many of those receipts are for ignition coils, I wonder?

28firefighter

tifighter said:

28firefighter said:

I happen to love that era TT in silver, but love the stitching on the seats of the 2004. I think there was also a brown "baseball glove" type interior that was the best.

Assuming someone has maintained it well, that 2001 is a great fun car find for $8k. At $22,5, I'd be looking at a Porsche 996...

The '01 does say service history from new. How many of those receipts are for ignition coils, I wonder?

A lot. I'm trying to remember if Audi/VW would replace the coils all at once so they were even or just do one at a time.

tifighter

I recall one at a time since they didn't have enough parts initially to cover all of the warranty replacements. This one looks really nice and could be fun for $8K, but man, Golf IV bones always make me nervous.

28firefighter

My guess is you could drive that thing for a while and not lose a lot of money on it, assuming the major stuff works (e.g. the top).

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

I told sis that, weirdly, it is almost lucky this happened now before the tanked resale values really hit their cars. Nearly $17k ACV for a 2017 fusion SE? Seriously crazy. I'm not sure it was EVER worth that. LOL.

If used car listings are any guide the Fusion retains it’s value better than other domestic mid size like the Malibu. Fusion is generally priced higher.

coldinohio

audi TT:I had a similar 'arrest me red' 2002 TT roadster--i seem to recall the 225hp engine had 5V /cylinder; fun car; liked oil-- ~1liter/ 2500 miles which was felt by dealer to be 'normal'

it was my one and only lease--

fun car; very small

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

@qbrozen,
What year was that Fusion? Does seem kind of unusual that it was not underwater too.

‘17.

I just looked it up and auction value, pre-corona, was $13k. They definitely did him a favor.

qbrozen

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

corvette

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

Phobio, Apple’s official trade in partner. They gave $100, which by my estimation, was all one that old would be worth on a good day. Be aware, they send you a shipping kit and then it takes them a few days to process your old Mac before you receive a gift card. And, it took me a couple weeks to receive the new one because it was a custom order. If I had it to do over again, I would have just ordered the new computer first, done the trade in later, and stockpiled the gift cards for a future purchase, so I wasn’t without that computer for so long.

suydam

When we replaced our MacBook Air, we bought the computer, then went through the mail in trade, and used the gift card for the Apple Care warranty. As long as you get the trade in by 30 days, you can still purchase the warranty.

28firefighter

Just ran out to do some errands (curbside pickups) with the ZHP.

WSP had speed traps nearly every exit on 5 north. Rightfully so it seems. I was doing 5-10 max over to keep up with traffic and some folks were blowing past me - I’d estimate pushing 25-40 over the speed limit and weaving.

corvette

I've noticed an uptick in the number of "superspeeders" on the intertstate - no enforcement and less traffic encourages some people to drive flat out.

28firefighter

We’ve had a couple fatal and near fatal accidents recently that I think got WSP some bad press. So they’re kicking up enforcement.

fintail

Come to Bellevue and drive on surface streets - exact opposite. People are doddering around at 5-10 under, no signals, last second decisions - really not much different from normal now that I think of it.

qbrozen

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

Phobio, Apple’s official trade in partner. They gave $100, which by my estimation, was all one that old would be worth on a good day. Be aware, they send you a shipping kit and then it takes them a few days to process your old Mac before you receive a gift card. And, it took me a couple weeks to receive the new one because it was a custom order. If I had it to do over again, I would have just ordered the new computer first, done the trade in later, and stockpiled the gift cards for a future purchase, so I wasn’t without that computer for so long.

Oh, hell no would I take $100 for mine. Do you see what used ones go for? Even at 4 times that, it would sell in a heartbeat.

stickguy

not sure about troopers, but my daughter's friend is a local town cop, and with all the rules about what happens if they come in contact with a 19 infection, they were told to basically don't do anything unless a true emergency. So short of shooting someone or robbing a bank, they are not stopping you. speeding stops definitely off the table.

fintail

suydam

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

Phobio, Apple’s official trade in partner. They gave $100, which by my estimation, was all one that old would be worth on a good day. Be aware, they send you a shipping kit and then it takes them a few days to process your old Mac before you receive a gift card. And, it took me a couple weeks to receive the new one because it was a custom order. If I had it to do over again, I would have just ordered the new computer first, done the trade in later, and stockpiled the gift cards for a future purchase, so I wasn’t without that computer for so long.

Oh, hell no would I take $100 for mine. Do you see what used ones go for? Even at 4 times that, it would sell in a heartbeat.

No they don’t. Old and outdated and not getting updates anymore. Nobody wants yesterday’s software. I think I got $400 trade on mine, but it was newer than 2011.

corvette

suydam said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

Phobio, Apple’s official trade in partner. They gave $100, which by my estimation, was all one that old would be worth on a good day. Be aware, they send you a shipping kit and then it takes them a few days to process your old Mac before you receive a gift card. And, it took me a couple weeks to receive the new one because it was a custom order. If I had it to do over again, I would have just ordered the new computer first, done the trade in later, and stockpiled the gift cards for a future purchase, so I wasn’t without that computer for so long.

Oh, hell no would I take $100 for mine. Do you see what used ones go for? Even at 4 times that, it would sell in a heartbeat.

No they don’t. Old and outdated and not getting updates anymore. Nobody wants yesterday’s software. I think I got $400 trade on mine, but it was newer than 2011.

That was my conclusion. If your MBP is newer, it will likely fetch more. They will give you a quote before you send it in.

28firefighter

Holy moly. I had no idea you could option this to 70k.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2018-bmw-330i-xdrive-individual-m-sport-wagon/

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Just ran out to do some errands (curbside pickups) with the ZHP.

WSP had speed traps nearly every exit on 5 north. Rightfully so it seems. I was doing 5-10 max over to keep up with traffic and some folks were blowing past me - I’d estimate pushing 25-40 over the speed limit and weaving.

I’ve notice my local smokeys are back too their old tricks too. The speeders seem to all be driving Honda minivans.

ab348

I have an iPhone5 and an iPad2, both 2012 vintage I believe, sitting here now unused in the original boxes. I checked Apple Canada's trade-in site to see what they might be worth. While the phone was listed as eligible, once I went through the list and provided the full spec, they didn't want it. The iPad was worth a rousing $20. Needless to say both remain in the boxes on the shelf.

tjc78

iPad 2 is useless ... we have one sitting now. I also have an iPad 3 (or whenever they went to the new connector) that’s not much better but my daughter uses it for games.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Holy moly. I had no idea you could option this to 70k.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2018-bmw-330i-xdrive-individual-m-sport-wagon/

Anything is possible with a German car manufacturer. You should know that by now. Pretty car & color combo. I get it, but why? $70K for a 4cyl (that isn't a Boxster or Boxster S). The obvious answer is "because you can" and "the money doesn't matter to begin with." I also know this is far from the standard CL ad with 4 "picz" taken at night with an iPhone 4 in a 7/11 parking lot. Do we really need to see 267 Pictures of a 2 year old BMW with 18,000 miles? We get it. The car is in better than new shape, never seen snow, rain, or been driven in temperatures below 60 degrees or above 75, and when it wasn't too sunny (to prevent UV damage to the clear coat. It was professionally hand washed 4 times per week, professionally detailed every week with a clay bar, compound, & wax, then professionally ceramic coated once a month. Did I leave anything out? I KnOwZ wUt I gOtZ. No LoW bAlLZ. nO TrADeZ!

tjc78

No offense to brown lovers but IMO there are better colors for that car.

qbrozen

suydam said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

My new MacBook Air arrived today and it's great! I traded in my old one, which was a 2011 model. The old one was working fine, although the battery capacity was about half what it was when new. The officially supported OS on the old one was probably going to stop receiving security updates later this year, so I pulled the trigger when Apple introduced a revised model.

Who did you trade to and what did they give you? I have a 2011 macbook pro I am looking to replace. Was just shopping online today, as a matter of fact.

Phobio, Apple’s official trade in partner. They gave $100, which by my estimation, was all one that old would be worth on a good day. Be aware, they send you a shipping kit and then it takes them a few days to process your old Mac before you receive a gift card. And, it took me a couple weeks to receive the new one because it was a custom order. If I had it to do over again, I would have just ordered the new computer first, done the trade in later, and stockpiled the gift cards for a future purchase, so I wasn’t without that computer for so long.

Oh, hell no would I take $100 for mine. Do you see what used ones go for? Even at 4 times that, it would sell in a heartbeat.

No they don’t. Old and outdated and not getting updates anymore. Nobody wants yesterday’s software. I think I got $400 trade on mine, but it was newer than 2011.

If that is true, then why can’t I find one to buy for less than that? Cheapest I have found so far that will run at least Sierra is $450.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

Just ran out to do some errands (curbside pickups) with the ZHP.

WSP had speed traps nearly every exit on 5 north. Rightfully so it seems. I was doing 5-10 max over to keep up with traffic and some folks were blowing past me - I’d estimate pushing 25-40 over the speed limit and weaving.

If I still had mine (lol), I'd be tempted to do a high-speed run.

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

28firefighter said:

Holy moly. I had no idea you could option this to 70k.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2018-bmw-330i-xdrive-individual-m-sport-wagon/

Anything is possible with a German car manufacturer. You should know that by now. Pretty car & color combo. I get it, but why? $70K for a 4cyl (that isn't a Boxster or Boxster S). The obvious answer is "because you can" and "the money doesn't matter to begin with." I also know this is far from the standard CL ad with 4 "picz" taken at night with an iPhone 4 in a 7/11 parking lot. Do we really need to see 267 Pictures of a 2 year old BMW with 18,000 miles? We get it. The car is in better than new shape, never seen snow, rain, or been driven in temperatures below 60 degrees or above 75, and when it wasn't too sunny (to prevent UV damage to the clear coat. It was professionally hand washed 4 times per week, professionally detailed every week with a clay bar, compound, & wax, then professionally ceramic coated once a month. Did I leave anything out? I KnOwZ wUt I gOtZ. No LoW bAlLZ. nO TrADeZ!

Just to set the record straight...I never touched that car. :@

jmonroe