Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

That SAABaru went for $6,800. Not bad.

And Hoovie got about $70k for the rolls. Not counting YouTube income, took a bath on this one.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rxeNlyOj/2005-rolls-royce-phantom

qbrozen

stickguy said:

I love that gt350. Great color.

And why aren’t you bidding on this one. No reserve!

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9XYPNwJp/2006-porsche-cayenne-turbo-s

oh yeah, and only 150k small miles. Lemme get right on that.

stickguy

Just means you can get it cheaper.

pensfan83

I much prefer the look of the ML. It still looks good today while the Porsche looks bloated to me. My $.02.

ab348

I don't follow many automotive Youtube channels, but I recently discovered that the delightful Elana Scherr (who does car reviews for Edmunds and other sites) has one with her husband Tom that is worth following:

https://www.youtube.com/user/challengeher1/videos

Elana did an article for Hemmings this week listing other sites she recommends:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/06/22/11-youtube-automotive-diy-channels-you-should-be-watching

stickguy

pensfan83 said:

I much prefer the look of the ML. It still looks good today while the Porsche looks bloated to me. My $.02.

But he wants a Porsche! Though I happen to agree with you here.

stickguy

Great. Just what I needed. More YouTube rabbit holes to get sucked down into!

kyfdx

I think the new Cayennes look great.. But, go back 5 or 6 years, and they aren't pretty.

benjaminh

From someone at the acurazine.com TLX discussion forum....

"Situation:
2018 Acura Technology ASpec (Black/Black) - FWD
Original lease was 12/26/17 (so at the 6 month left mark) and 3 year 12,000 miles
Buyout is $20,000 at 12/26/20....
Received letter from Acura at the 6 month mark this week. Offering $1,500 and of course a waiver of the disposition fee. Of course also indicating can move into a 2020 Tech Apec for $54 less per month for a new 36/12k lease."

So it seems like right now Acura is doing 6 month "pull-aheads" on some leases? If they're still doing this 6 months from now I might be getting a letter like this.

Most likely I'll try to buy it out. But I'll need to finance. I'm hoping Acura will do that, but would Acura's rates be competitive?

fintail

It looks like much of the old traffic hellstorm is back. Aside from office tower arterials, I'd say the Bellevue gongshow is at least 80% of pre-pandemic levels now. SB 405 backs up every weekday afternoon lately. Same stupidity as before, too - I notice terrible signal use, illegal and ill-advised U-turns up the wazoo, dopes going 15 in a 30 or 55 in a 30, every other "driver" holding a phone, stopping for invisible red lights, etc.

28firefighter said:

I really wish I lived somewhere with no traffic.

fintail

It's amazing how much time YT car stuff can consume - I try to limit it a little as one could do it all day.

The big name I watch is Hoovie, I guess. I watch RCR now and then, a couple auction flipper channels, HubNut when he doesn't go on a livestream of consciousness, Mercedessource now and then, Motorweek retro reviews, Jay Smart, along with a few dashcam channels and now and then an automotive history channel.

ab348 said:

I don't follow many automotive Youtube channels, but I recently discovered that the delightful Elana Scherr (who does car reviews for Edmunds and other sites) has one with her husband Tom that is worth following:

https://www.youtube.com/user/challengeher1/videos

Elana did an article for Hemmings this week listing other sites she recommends:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/06/22/11-youtube-automotive-diy-channels-you-should-be-watching

stickguy

Hoovie doesn’t post as often as JR. watching him is a full time job. But I’m also catching up on old content still. Watched the whole R8 catalog last night. Man, scary project.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Hoovie doesn’t post as often as JR. watching him is a full time job. But I’m also catching up on old content still. Watched the whole R8 catalog last night. Man, scary project.

I couldn't get into the R8 videos - too much wrenching.

Fun to watch him take a car he picked up for $1000, give or take, put in a few hundred worth of parts, and solve most of the problems.

The Optima he picked up on auction ought to be interesting. Though it cost him close to $6K to acquire it.

corvette

I couldn’t really get into the R8 or the Porsche. I do like his “fix and flips” where he only has the car for a few days or a few hours, fixes the things that make it undrivable, and then puts it back on the road.

xwesx

sda said:

My experience with German cars is they like to digest their rotors. Often the rotors require replacement each time the pads are replaced.

Oh, well, that's good to know. I thought the rotors looked a little worn the last time I replaced pads, but nothing like they do now. Must be a really "unique" compound they use. Rotor replacement isn't a big deal in terms of parts cost or degree of difficulty, but I just hate tossing those huge pieces of metal (even if they do get recycled) unless it is really necessary.

xwesx

stickguy said:

That SAABaru went for $6,800. Not bad.

And Hoovie got about $70k for the rolls. Not counting YouTube income, took a bath on this one.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rxeNlyOj/2005-rolls-royce-phantom

Considering RR depreciation, I think he did quite well on it!

stickguy

I like the cheap cars better too, but have found the R8 series interesting. The 944 was just another hooptie beater, and fun.

That Copart Kia, no way he gets a profit out of that. But man, was he impressed by how they engineered the doors!

breld

I got out over lunch to the dealership to take a look at the ZR1 for @xwesx.

@xwesx - I PM'd you a Dropbox link with 20 pics. Unfortunately, it was getting an oil change when I stopped by, so the pics are of the car in the service center with the hood up.

It certainly was impressive in person.

There is a deposit on it, so I do hope it's your friend who made it - the manager said the buyer was from North Carolina.

Figured I'd share a couple of the pics here too...

corvette

Agreed. I was shocked by all the added fees from Copart. And as a private individual, you’d have to go through a broker in my state, which would add another $400.

Used to be that most salvage rebuilders in my area tried to make the cars look decent but didn’t replace blown airbags. He will probably not make money on it if he tries to make everything right.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

That SAABaru went for $6,800. Not bad.

And Hoovie got about $70k for the rolls. Not counting YouTube income, took a bath on this one.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rxeNlyOj/2005-rolls-royce-phantom

Isn’t that the whole point of his channel. As I said, you should buy his stuff when he sells. He spends a fortune fixing everything.

stickguy

corvette said:

Agreed. I was shocked by all the added fees from Copart. And as a private individual, you’d have to go through a broker in my state, which would add another $400.

Used to be that most salvage rebuilders in my area tried to make the cars look decent but didn’t replace blown airbags. He will probably not make money on it if he tries to make everything right.

Well, he is following the YouTube playbook. Started with cheap cars, splurged on a R8, now shopping at Copart. They do it for views and content mostly.

He actually said so on one of the R8 pieces, that he wanted to show the process and he realizes it might not be a profitable flip. But will get content out of it, and now has some partnership with the local Audi dealer. So making money elsewhere.

corvette

Seems like he hooked up with O’Reilly’s early on, too. I’m guessing that means free or discounted parts.

stickguy

At this point, sure must be sponsored.

rayainsw

In case anyone is interested - R&T published a test
of the M340i a while ago. It hit their web site this week.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/a32026978/2020-bmw-m340i-review/

- Ray
Agree with most of what they say here...

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

https://www.autoweek.com/news/sports-cars/a32906801/the-toyota-gr-supra-20-now-has-a-price-dollar43945/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_aut&utm_medium=email&date=062220&utm_campaign=nl20693899&utm_term=AAA -- High Minus Dormant and 90 Day Non Openers

Not sure why someone would want a slow Supra. If you want cheaper, get the previous 50 less HP 3.0 (last year) version.

I personally don’t see it as any different than Audi offering A4 vs S4 or A5 vs S5. Different motors, suspensions and price points.

None of those are two seaters though! The TT is a 4-seater technically, but for the sake of argument the TTS maintains close to 300 HP stock, not 250, so different ballpark and their is the TTRS. I suppose the regular TT is somewhat like a "slow" Supra. Same with the R8, you can get the 4.2 V8 or the 5.2 V10 (at least you used to have a choice, not sure anymore). It would be like offering the R8 with the A4 drive-train to me (252 HP).

I suppose their are some buyers out there for an R8 like that. I think there's pictures floating around of TT owners that made them look like an R8 with side blades and all

mjfloyd1

You start with “none of those are two seaters” and end with putting an A4 (four seater) drivetrain into a two seater R8. I’m trying to follow the logic here but end up at “word salad”.

xwesx

breld said:

I got out over lunch to the dealership to take a look at the ZR1 for @xwesx.

@xwesx - I PM'd you a Dropbox link with 20 pics. Unfortunately, it was getting an oil change when I stopped by, so the pics are of the car in the service center with the hood up.

It certainly was impressive in person.

There is a deposit on it, so I do hope it's your friend who made it - the manager said the buyer was from North Carolina.

Fantastic! Thanks so much for doing that! They had it in the service area, and you didn't say, "Hey, mind if we dyno it while I'm here?" LOL

Yes, the dealer processed the deposit from my friend yesterday. I want to say he is planning to finalize on Friday or Monday, and I'm sure your report will be the icing on the cake for him.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

Seems like he hooked up with O’Reilly’s early on, too. I’m guessing that means free or discounted parts.

I guess that a fair trade for O’Reilly’s having to stock parts for an 80s Porsche.

explorerx4

Anyone volunteering to drive that Corvette to NC?

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

You start with “none of those are two seaters” and end with putting an A4 (four seater) drivetrain into a two seater R8. I’m trying to follow the logic here but end up at “word salad”.

The A4 is an example of how the 2.0T in the Supra doesn't makes sense. It makes as much sense to me as putting a 4-banger in the R8.

roadburner

xwesx said:

sda said:

My experience with German cars is they like to digest their rotors. Often the rotors require replacement each time the pads are replaced.

Oh, well, that's good to know. I thought the rotors looked a little worn the last time I replaced pads, but nothing like they do now. Must be a really "unique" compound they use. Rotor replacement isn't a big deal in terms of parts cost or degree of difficulty, but I just hate tossing those huge pieces of metal (even if they do get recycled) unless it is really necessary.

Depending on the car I often can go through two sets of pads before I need to replace the rotors. Even my dealer thought the rotors on our our E83 X3 were good for a second set of pads.

mjfloyd1

All examples that I have given are real and available. Different drivetrain, different suspension and different price points within a single model.

The 2 liter Supra may meet someone's needs and budget better than a 3 liter. It is good to have choices.

A two liter R8 isn't available...

roadburner

qbrozen said:

Another one for @roadburner

Nice. I could do without the Ford spec Recaros- nowhere near as comfortable as you'd expect.

breld

Given the Z4 is offered with both engine choices, seems to only make sense for Toyota to do the same with the Supra.

It’ll be interesting to see how the new 86/BRZ, reportedly to be available with Subaru’s 2.4l turbo, will be compared to the 2.0T Supra. But obviously completely different platforms from different companies - I imagine the overall feel between the two will be distinct.

roadburner

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

breld

@roadburner - I envy your patience with the process, but then again, you also have much more commitment to your choices than I.

Eagerly await your selection.

28firefighter

roadburner said:

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

I don’t think it’s an old man’s car, but I also happen to think you won’t be happy with anything except an M2.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

Anyone volunteering to drive that Corvette to NC?

I may have.... but he is going to ship it.

stickguy

last month either car and driver or road and track did a 4 vs. 6 cylinder comparison test. without instrumented testing, but 2 writers took them on a road trip and compared them. In the end, one flat out preferred the 4. I don't still have the issue but I think it came down to handling, balance, etc. and everyday usability.

the 2.0 tests out at 5.0 flat 0-60 so for 99% of use it is not slow by any means. and if you prefer a handler, and want to economize a bit, it certainly makes sense to have it as an option. Good enough for BMW, why not Toyota, if it helps them sell a few more units?

choices are good!

roadburner

breld said:

@roadburner - I envy your patience with the process, but then again, you also have much more commitment to your choices than I.

Eagerly await your selection.

Thanks. I do tend to hold on to cars for a while. I’ve had the Club Sport since November 1995, the Wrangler since May 2002, and the M235i since January 2016.

roadburner

28firefighter said:

roadburner said:

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

I don’t think it’s an old man’s car, but I also happen to think you won’t be happy with anything except an M2.

The more I look the more I think that it would have to be a 2019-up M2 Competition; the 2018 has essentially the same engine and interior as my M235i. The Competition gets you a twin turbo S55 and M Sport seats- plus the manual is even faster than the DCT. The M2C is a full half second quicker than my 2er in the quarter mile. Unfortunately, a 2019 M2C is at least $7,000 over my budget.

28firefighter

That’s just another year of depreciation!

28firefighter

This is a fun one. With a year of warranty to boot.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/cto/d/olympia-2012-mini-cooper/7147254632.html

breld

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

roadburner said:

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

I don’t think it’s an old man’s car, but I also happen to think you won’t be happy with anything except an M2.

The more I look the more I think that it would have to be a 2019-up M2 Competition; the 2018 has essentially the same engine and interior as my M235i. The Competition gets you a twin turbo S55 and M Sport seats- plus the manual is even faster than the DCT. The M2C is a full half second quicker than my 2er in the quarter mile. Unfortunately, a 2019 M2C is at least $7,000 over my budget.

This may come off as biased, but have you considered the Supra?

Michaell

A little help from our Pennsylvania contingent?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/61810/honda/x/is-500-reasonable-to-pay-for-title-and-transfer-fees#latest

28firefighter

Michaell said:

A little help from our Pennsylvania contingent?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/61810/honda/x/is-500-reasonable-to-pay-for-title-and-transfer-fees#latest

Responded. Not from PA anymore, but just full of useless knowledge that I store for moments just like this.

pensfan83

Michaell said:

A little help from our Pennsylvania contingent?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/61810/honda/x/is-500-reasonable-to-pay-for-title-and-transfer-fees#latest

Done

qbrozen

roadburner said:

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

An XF is a big sedan. Quite different from a 2-series. But you were shopping the Stinger, so maybe it makes sense.

Problem I see is that both that and the Giulia are much slower than your previous requirements indicated.

qbrozen

breld said:

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

roadburner said:

So, my wife wants to go look at the CPO 2017 XF S at the dealer. My 25 year old son assures me that it's not an old man's car, but I'm not convinced. It's cheap enough, at $35k.
A dealer in TN has a gorgeous new RWD Giulia TI Sport, but potential reliability issues and stratospheric depreciation are enough to warn me off.
What got this whole car hunt started was my wife's interest in a 50th Anniversary 370Z, but virtually every dealer ordered them in silver and black rather than white and red- right now I can't find a single one in the US.. Again, a price of around $35k is tempting- if the color was right.
If I go with an M2 I want an LCI car, which limits me to 2018-up.
Might do some more hunting this week.

I don’t think it’s an old man’s car, but I also happen to think you won’t be happy with anything except an M2.

The more I look the more I think that it would have to be a 2019-up M2 Competition; the 2018 has essentially the same engine and interior as my M235i. The Competition gets you a twin turbo S55 and M Sport seats- plus the manual is even faster than the DCT. The M2C is a full half second quicker than my 2er in the quarter mile. Unfortunately, a 2019 M2C is at least $7,000 over my budget.

This may come off as biased, but have you considered the Supra?

Pretty sure that is over budget

stickguy

Maybe not in 3 months, if he wants to go to Colorado to pick up a silver one.