Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78

kyfdx said:

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.

It is tempting with the wide open roads.

graphicguy

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.

I use SellYourMac.com. Have done business with them before, and they’re local. Good folks and usually generous on trade or sell prices.

pensfan83

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.

roadburner

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/

We had two at my store optioned similarly minus the BMW Individual paint.
Funny story, one of our NCMs moved away and as a "Parting Gift" to the GM he ordered a 440i xDrive Gran Coupe with BMW Individual paint and trim. It stickered for over $70k-almost as much as an M4-and we all thought it would take a pound of Semtex to move it out of the showroom(so did the departed NCM). Then one Saturday a customer came in asting to test drive our $150k Protonic Red i8. He drove it and wanted to buy it at sticker. Walking back to the salesperson's cubicle he spoted the $440i GC and said, I think my wife would like that color, how much is it? The salesperson told him and he said, write that one up too. He either didn't know or didn't care that we would have almost certainly cut the price by $15k just to move it over the curb.

28firefighter

I happen to like this seller. He’s known for finding relatively rare equipment BMWs. Lots of late model manuals, wagons, etc. and given that it is an auction, I appreciate the level of detail.

The most interesting things about that car are:
(1) A wagon with the track handling package.

(2) The BMW individual paint which, depending on angle, I either love or totally hate.

(3) The leather stitched dash. I have never seen that before in a 3er of that generation.

sda

roadburner 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/

We had two at my store optioned similarly minus the BMW Individual paint.
Funny story, one of our NCMs moved away and as a "Parting Gift" to the GM he ordered a 440i xDrive Gran Coupe with BMW Individual paint and trim. It stickered for over $70k-almost as much as an M4-and we all thought it would take a pound of Semtex to move it out of the showroom(so did the departed NCM). Then one Saturday a customer came in asting to test drive our $150k Protonic Red i8. He drove it and wanted to buy it at sticker. Walking back to the salesperson's cubicle he spoted the $440i GC and said, I think my wife would like that color, how much is it? The salesperson told him and he said, write that one up too. He either didn't know or didn't care that we would have almost certainly cut the price by $15k just to move it over the curb.

That salesman had a good pay day.

explorerx4

As a vehicle buyer, I'm somewhere in between that BMW(s) buyer and jipster.

houdini1

qbrozen said:

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.

They are just like cars, cheap if you are selling, expensive if you are buying. :@

roadburner

28firefighter said:

I happen to like this seller. He’s known for finding relatively rare equipment BMWs. Lots of late model manuals, wagons, etc. and given that it is an auction, I appreciate the level of detail.

The most interesting things about that car are:
(1) A wagon with the track handling package.

(2) The BMW individual paint which, depending on angle, I either love or totally hate.

(3) The leather stitched dash. I have never seen that before in a 3er of that generation.

The two we had were M Sports with THP, H-K, CWP, nav, and all the idiot protecting nannies.

xwesx

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/

Well, at least it was tastefully optioned up. Ironic, though, that the owner decided to turn it around so quickly after spending so much on it!

corvette

I like the color on that wagon. I wonder what would be involved in swapping in the engine from a 340...

xwesx

qbrozen said:

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.

My son figured out some way to have older MacBooks run the newest software. I don't recall all the steps he goes through, but he was able to successfully do this with two or three machines that were 10+ years old. Surprisingly, they were much faster after the upgrades, too. IIRC, he said there is some sort of block baked into each particular version upgrade of the OS for models older than a certain point. Once you fool that version into installing on the older hardware, all newer upgrades are just like normal.

explorerx4

Probably a lot more to be spent on that wagon.

stickguy

I love the color combo. stunning.

price on this is impressive. wow.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-volkswagen-rabbit-gti-12/

corvette

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

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.

My son figured out some way to have older MacBooks run the newest software. I don't recall all the steps he goes through, but he was able to successfully do this with two or three machines that were 10+ years old. Surprisingly, they were much faster after the upgrades, too. IIRC, he said there is some sort of block baked into each particular version upgrade of the OS for models older than a certain point. Once you fool that version into installing on the older hardware, all newer upgrades are just like normal.

There is a workaround to allow the installation of newer MacOS versions on unsupported older hardware. I tried that for a while and there were a few glitches. I prefer to run supported hardware/software.

explorerx4

Stupid money for that GTI, does look great on top though.
Doesn't look nearly as good underneath and I'm pretty sure a non stock radio.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

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.

My son figured out some way to have older MacBooks run the newest software. I don't recall all the steps he goes through, but he was able to successfully do this with two or three machines that were 10+ years old. Surprisingly, they were much faster after the upgrades, too. IIRC, he said there is some sort of block baked into each particular version upgrade of the OS for models older than a certain point. Once you fool that version into installing on the older hardware, all newer upgrades are just like normal.

mac genius was surprised at my machine when I brought it in a few months ago. 2011 model with a 1 TB hard drive expansion and running Sierra. He said "I'm not surprised you don't want to replace this. You obviously did A LOT of work on it to get it where you want." I had to confess I bought it off ebay configured that way by the previous owner.

Problem with mine is that the graphics card took a dump, which is apparently common on my model. I did some research and found I could crack it open and bypass the card and use the onboard graphics processor, which I did. BUT, the caveat is that it will not wake up from sleep; you have to do a hard restart every time, and, worse yet right now, no external monitors will work. So the machine is still usable, just not fully functional. It is annoying me with the way things are right now because we plug our laptops into HDMI to do online meetings and classes through the big screen.

kyfdx

More stuck-at-home news.

My wife's gym is closed, but they have workout videos on-line. She wanted to stream them to our TV in the basement, but it is a 2009 model dumb TV. The TV was rarely used the last couple of years, but now the puzzle table is down there, etc..

We have a built-in custom entertainment center. The absolute largest screen I can get in there is 60". Which naturally is the size that is being phased out. I could put in a 55" that might be newer/better, but just not worth paying extra for.

I found a 2019 model LG 60" 4K smart TV for $399!!

This replaced a 52" Sony LCD 1080p. Which was $1800 in 2009.

All hooked up.. looks great, plus the wife is happy.

imidazol97

xwesx said:

... IIRC, he said there is some sort of block baked into each particular version upgrade of the OS for models older than a certain point. Once you fool that version into installing on the older hardware, all newer upgrades are just like normal.

That's the sad part about Apple to me. Making older products slow down so people will buy newer.

breld

kyfdx said:

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.

What’s wrong doing a high-speed run in the GTI?

kyfdx

breld said:

kyfdx said:

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.

What’s wrong doing a high-speed run in the GTI?

I really like the car, but at 150 mph, I'd rather be in a RWD.
(doubt the GTI can do that, though)

tifighter

Weekend random craigslist posting is just for @roadburner. You're welcome.

28firefighter

Wow. The stuff you can find in CA...

roadburner

tifighter said:

Weekend random craigslist posting is just for @roadburner. You're welcome.

Luckily for my wife it's in California...

fintail

Has to be one of the best Bavarias left, seems to be an unloved model. Shame the seller doesn't give more photo details about the apparent boo-boo. Also seems to be a lot of road rash on the hood edge for that mileage, but that could just be from the area where it lived.

kyfdx

More Dieselgate reminiscing:

Seeing the A3 TDI got me to looking. There is a Cincinnati used car dealer that has ELEVEN of them for sale!

https://www.premier-autoinc.com/cars-for-sale?Make=Audi&Model=A3&MaxPrice=-1

(plus some newer 2015 models)

28firefighter

They’re asking pretty reasonable money. I think the asking price for my TDI is probably $1500 high.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

They’re asking pretty reasonable money. I think the asking price for my TDI is probably $1500 high.

Yeah.. plus I'm amazed at the low mileage on most of them. Maybe, they all sat collecting dust for a couple of years, before they fixed them?

28firefighter

Mine sat for just over 2.5 years before being sold. Returned in Jan 2017 and sold at auction 9/19.

I’m assuming a lot of deferred maintenance - on any id plan to do tires, battery, oil, all air filters, spark plugs, brake fluid, and DSG. Possibly brakes, too.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

Mine sat for just over 2.5 years before being sold. Returned in Jan 2017 and sold at auction 9/19.

I’m assuming a lot of deferred maintenance - on any id plan to do tires, battery, oil, all air filters, spark plugs, brake fluid, and DSG. Possibly brakes, too.

Yeah..not sure I'd trust that used dealer. But, they obviously know the model.

tifighter

fintail said:

Has to be one of the best Bavarias left, seems to be an unloved model. Shame the seller doesn't give more photo details about the apparent boo-boo. Also seems to be a lot of road rash on the hood edge for that mileage, but that could just be from the area where it lived.

It's big money for a Bavaria, but find another one like this one.

tifighter

28firefighter said:

Wow. The stuff you can find in CA...

Yeah, just search 1950 to 2010, manual transmission under 50k miles on SF Bay Craigslist. See you in an hour...

fintail

Impossible, no doubt. And I am sure it could be had for less. Seller just rubs me the wrong way by hiding the damage.

Of course, for my tastes, I can get a heck of a W108 or fintail for similar money.

tifighter said:

It's big money for a Bavaria, but find another one like this one.

stickguy

my theory is sure, it might be big money for that particular model, but for collector cars, it really is not that much if you A), want one and , want the best, most authentic one out there. At $20K, how much can you really be "overpaying"? $5,000? not enough to pass on the car of your dreams. Just watch any big auction, emotion spends way more than that on a car you just gotta have!

pensfan83

kyfdx said:

breld said:

kyfdx said:

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.

What’s wrong doing a high-speed run in the GTI?

I really like the car, but at 150 mph, I'd rather be in a RWD.
(doubt the GTI can do that, though)

I haven't even pushed it to 110, let alone 150 haha.

corvette

kyfdx said:

I found a 2019 model LG 60" 4K smart TV for $399!!

I had a mid-2000s 57" Mitsubishi DLP television. The light bulb had to be replaced on a regular basis and it took a long time to start up. Replaced it with a 55" Insignia Roku TV in 2015 - 1080p, but it was only $449. I've since bought a Roku TV for my bedroom, and tried to save a few bucks buying a non-smart TV for my study, since I had a spare Roku device lying around, which was a mistake. I really like having the Roku integrated with the TV.

imidazol97 said:

That's the sad part about Apple to me. Making older products slow down so people will buy newer.

My iPhone 6s is still humming along pretty well, as is my iPad mini 2. The iPad will not run the current iOS, but does occasionally get security updates.

kyfdx said:

I really like the car, but at 150 mph, I'd rather be in a RWD.
(doubt the GTI can do that, though)

I think they are governed at 130, although I never got close to that in the GLI.

suydam

My iPhone 6s is still running beautifully. Occasionally Apple had to slow down older models in order to run new software on them, but that hasn’t been necessary for awhile now. My iPad 2 was also running fine, but battery life really diminished. I recently replaced it with the new iPad 3. Got a very good trade in on the old one as well.

stickguy

pensfan83 said:

kyfdx said:

breld said:

kyfdx said:

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.

What’s wrong doing a high-speed run in the GTI?

I really like the car, but at 150 mph, I'd rather be in a RWD.
(doubt the GTI can do that, though)

I haven't even pushed it to 110, let alone 150 haha.

well, now you know it is good for it. And if something goes wrong, you know who to sue!

ronsteve

tjc78 said:

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

And colors that don't add an extra $5K to the price!

stickguy

we have a big Sony DLP (I think, the bulp style). used to be the main TV. I think I replaced that bulb twice. Once their was a recall and I think someone came out to replace the engine, but that was a long time ago and my brain keeps getting foggier. Been in the basement since about 2011 when we got a new flat panel for the family room (can't believe it is 9 YO already). only gets used when someone is using the elliptical, some I am nursing it along. takes a while to warm up but finally gets there. If the bulb goes, it gets tossed and the family room unit goes down there, and we upgrade the main one. But I am fine not spending any money on TVs now!

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Mine sat for just over 2.5 years before being sold. Returned in Jan 2017 and sold at auction 9/19.

I’m assuming a lot of deferred maintenance - on any id plan to do tires, battery, oil, all air filters, spark plugs, brake fluid, and DSG. Possibly brakes, too.

Hopefully they didn’t change the spark plugs.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

... But I am fine not spending any money on TVs now!

If I had to spend on a new TV, I'd want one made somewhere else than China. Are there any?

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

stickguy

might be a few made in Korea.

Bradd, shined up good. And your deck looks great!

but man, your driveway is an embarrassment dude. Ouch.

stickguy

I assume that fart can exhaust is aftermarket, right? They did not come that way stock?

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

might be a few made in Korea.

Bradd, shined up good. And your deck looks great!

but man, your driveway is an embarrassment dude. Ouch.

Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Monday will be the Prelude’s official 18 year mark with me.

I know the driveway is embarrassing. It was shot and needed to be replaced when I moved in 10 years ago. That was going to be this year’s project. I got a quote from a guy to rip up, put new gravel down (3”) reuse my Belgian blocks, & put a Belgian block apron where the concrete slab comes out of the garage. $13K.

I might wait until the fall or next Spring. Business is dead right now. Dad & I just took a 25% pay cut (each) so we don’t have to lay anybody off. It will be temporary. Things will come back again eventually. We are healthy. That’s what is important.

stickguy

how much less to do asphalt? I am not a fan of block driveways. Pain for snow, get blocks moving sometimes, worry about weeds. plus definitely costs more to do from scratch. But I guess if you got a bunch of blocks laying around could be less.

mine is concrete. More expensive than asphalt, but at least I don't have to seal it. I did that a couple of times at my prior house and hated it.