Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

mark156

Sounds like you have a cool Mom.... good for her to not be lusting after a Buick Century! :P

Mark

stickguy

for some reason, my father wants her to get an Escalade (OK, get him one), since she could qualify for that 6K# tax break. THankfully she will have none of it.

mark156

John, the 2007 Escalade looks pretty sharp from the pics I've seen. The whole interior is redesigned and looks very nice.

Tell your Mom to get the Mini convertible... cute and fun! Apparently, she is a VERY young 73! :P

Mark

corvette

I made it thru 2005 with only one car purchace.

Ditto...

If I can make it thru 2006, I may reward myself with that back up car I have been wanting.

Now, there's a thought... If I had a "back up car," I could just drive it when it's likely to snow, and leave the summer tires on my 325i (which would be perfect for days like today, it got over 60 degrees in Kentucky in January)...

guss

With the handle Corvette I would think there would be one of those as a backup in the garage already.

I was thinking the other way around, get something cheap and sporty for those nice summer days. Preferably something where the roof disappears and a stick.

A late eighties Vette would actually be on my short list. They seem to be at the bottom of the market price wise. My max price would be about $7500.

I just have to be good for another year and I think I can get the one that gives me dirty looks when I bring the AutoShopper home to go along with it.

gsemike

Between the late 80s and early 90s Vettes, isn't there practically no difference in price now while they were alot better cars by say 92 or 93? What year did they dump that horrid digital dash?

I've decided that I can't live with my LeSebre forever. The Altima will be paid off in another year and few months at which time I'll look for something in the $5k range. I was thinking a Probe GT might do the job. They're easy to find with a stick and I believe they were fairly reliable, no?

lemmer

Probe GTs had a decent powertrain, but the rest of the car just fell apart, and rather quickly at that. The Mazda upon which it was based wasn't much better.

They were really prevalent here years ago, but they have all but disappeared in the last few years. I can't remember the last time I saw a decent one, but at least they are cheap.

guss

I can live with the digital dash, I just like the 88 & 89 style a bit better than the 90 to 96's.

I think the Probes were pretty reliable because the were based on a Mazda platform.The ones I see anymore are getting the Integra/Civic treatment.

lemmer

I assumed we were talking about the V6 Probe GTs. The early Turbo Probe GTs were actually more reliable than the later V6 ones. Both models had a lot of body integrity issues, particularly with the plastic cladding.

zodiac2004

I have a Probe SE, 5-sp.
I'll have to say a >94 Integra would be extra money well spent over the probe.
It's not a bad car per se, but you do get what you pay for.

lemmer

They sweetened the lease deal on MDXs and they have $2,500 cash back on RX-8s.

I could go completely off the wagon.

guss

That is a huge disparity in your shopping criteria.

Unless maybe you are thinking of cleaning house and getting 2.

lemmer

I guess I could have been more clear:

Turn in leased Odyssey, get new MDX.

Trade in G35 on new RX-8.

stickguy

Taxes alonemight make that impractical, although a newer G35 might be worth more than a discounted RX-8.

I personally would rather have the G. The RX handles great, but required too many compromises for me to consider it as an only car/daily driver. Plus, I don't really fit in it.

What are the lease deals on the MDX that have you so excited? I almost did that last year before we bought our '05 Odyssey, but they weren't fantastic at the time, but still pretty good.

oregonboy

I often read this board, but have never posted here because I'm the antithesis of a CCB. I kept my last ride for 10 years. I would have kept it longer, but a stop-sign runner t-boned and totaled it.

Anyway, I recently received an e-mail from my favorite B-in-law, Gersh, that I though you guys would appreciate. An except follows:

Terri and I have ordered new Corvettes, which we hope to pick up at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green the week after next. Mine is a Z06, which is very hard to obtain unless you are willing to pay 10 or 20 K over list.

I was in frequent contact with a salesman at Kerbeck Corvette in Atlantic City, since they are the world's largest dealer and sell their Z06s at list. By ordering Terri's car from him (well below list), I became a preferred customer, and by remarkable luck a Z06 came available the same day--guess it was a right place, right time sort of thing.

The customer delayed because he wasn't sure about color, my salesman got his foot in the door for that order because he has been there 11 years, and he gave it to me, rather than any of (maybe) fifty other guys who have been hounding him. I had to decide about color on the spot or lose the order to someone else, but I have been looking at them on line for months, and decided on orange metallic--the salesman says it looks good in person, but we'll see.

My 1968 Charger RT is almost finished. Maybe a month or two. I have the engine running, but it needs exhaust pipes and muffler before I can do much tune-up. It also needs the interior put in, which won't take long. The exterior is done and looks sharp--cherry red.

I really think it's time to go visit Gersh again.

james

stickguy

any chance he would like to leave Terri and marry me?

stickguy

I am a married guy...

nippononly

on the used car search - every car I look at is either trashed or in decent shape but the dealer wants $4K over Edmunds/KBB retail for it. Tired of fighting that fight. I am now thinking I will just wait until Fit and Yaris are both here and drive them back to back, pick up a new car this summer or fall. With a Sube Impreza 2.5i as a runner-up that will get a drive as well. Like the new look. What doesn't work for me at all on the Tribeca looks decent on the Impreza.

zodiac2004

any chance he would like to leave Terri and marry me?

I believe you can now do so in certain states.

lemmer

The MDX lease isn't that great - 36 @ $399 with $1,999 due at signing, but last month it was 42 @ $399 with $3,500 due at signing.

My wife really wants an MDX and her lease is almost up on the Odyssey, so it might be time. I probably could talk her into a Pilot EX-L.

I only fit into a non-sunroof RX, so that is a bit of a compromise. But, I miss sports car handling and a nice manual transmission. I have no use for the automanual thing in my G.

guss

I have one in my Mazda. Kinda like kissing your sister and tie ball games.I have used it twice.

stickguy

your sister?

also, the G35 does come with a stick.

woodyww

I've been thinking that for a long time--getting a dedicated Winter car & maybe leaving the snow tires on it all year. For some reason, I HATE swapping tires on a RWD bmw twice a year, & sometimes never get around to it until Feb., & then don't do it because I figure I can hold out until April.

Right now, in Jan., I still have my snow tires in the trunk of my car waiting to be mounted. And I do have a 2nd set of rims, but the tires are new, & not on the rims yet......dumb. So getting a used Subaru or 4Runner might make sense.

woodyww

Have you checked out the MDX boards? There are predictions of blow-out deals on new MDX's in the Spring & Summer due to the new model coming out in the Fall I think.

But then, you wonder how much better the new-gen MDX will be.

lemmer

They have $2K marketing support on '05s now, and you might be able to get them pretty close to invoice before you take off the $2K. My dealer still has one or two left.

I doubt the '06s will get significantly better this summer, but you never know.

If you want a fire sale get a Yukon/Tahoe. Here they basically advertise them at 1/3 off. That is ridiculous. It is like buying jewelry at the mall. Have prices nobody would ever pay and then keep having sales and see if people will buy anything.

asafonov

If you want a fire sale get a Yukon/Tahoe. Here they basically advertise them at 1/3 off. That is ridiculous. It is like buying jewelry at the mall. Have prices nobody would ever pay and then keep having sales and see if people will buy anything.

Amen to that. I think this is part of the answer to the question why fewer people are buying Big 2.66 and especially GM - once you buy right before or after a big sale ends (or may be you are unaware of the sale in the first place and then find out), I can see there would be quite a bit of animosity towards the manufacturer. Whatever the price level - high, medium or low, it is so much more confidence-inspiring to have consistent prices and no fire sales. From what I heard, Scion may be the farthest in this direction.

corvette

I had mine put on in mid-December. So far, we've had one snow before I had them put on, and one snow after.

Guss et al - I considered a used Z06 before ordering the 325i, but after driving the Canyon around for a while I realized that I like having both a back seat and a trunk to load with cargo. I do have a fondness for them (hence, the handle), and I have a decent job prospect once I finish law school, so maybe someday... IMO, the 1980's-early 1990's Vette was not a very nice car compared to others in its class, except for maybe the ZR-1. My dad always had a thing for the blue and white Grand Sport model C4. The Vette became a lot more competitive with the introduction of the C5.

The museum delivery is really cool.

corvette

...I can see there would be quite a bit of animosity towards the manufacturer.

Bingo--remember in the mid-1990's just before Toyota killed the Supra, they reduced the price by $10,000 one year?

anonymousposts

for the MDX. Will probably go buy the tires this weekend. Should look pretty good once we get the running boards and the wheels on it.

Speaking of hobby cars ... I came across a 1989 Accord LXi with 125k in pretty great shape for the age. $1500. Only downfall is that it's an automatic. If it were a stick we probably would have bought it. Now that we are pretty much settled on the MDX, Accord, and LS as our "keepers" we are not opposed to picking up an older, nice car that's in good shape to drive around. That Accord with a stick would have been nice. Or maybe a 92-93 Accord EX 5-speed in white. A 93-95 Civic in white would also be tempting.

nippononly

I have renewed my CCBA membership twice in three months, a record even for me.

For some time, I have been tossing around all sorts of different thoughts for something to buy that would get me good fuel economy while being easy and cheap to drive around town, swerving from old Corollas to newer Accords, to finally contemplating picking up either a new Fit or Yaris later this year (as I was repeatedly disillusioned by the local used car market).

But then Toyota released the Yaris pricing, and I realized that with the exception of standard A/C, this car will be the same price as the outgoing Echo. So I began to figure, why buy new?

That realization coincided with not one but two Echos going up on the on-line inventory page at San Francisco Toyota. I just had to check them out...........

.......and YES, I have now purchased the ugliest car to come out of the Toyota factory in quite some time! :-)

Picked up an '02 Echo manual shift 4-door, A/C, CD, cruise (but wind-up windows and push-button locks) with 60K on it and a certified warranty, for $9K, which includes new tires.

So far I love it. C&D did a comparo 18 months ago between two hybrids and the Echo and a Jetta diesel. Needless to say, they didn't like the Echo, the cheapest car of the group by far. But they did manage 41 mpg in 75-80 mph highway driving, and 42 mpg around town.....and this is the leadfoots at a car magazine. So, I am hoping for great things. I have done 100 miles so far and the gauge hasn't even dropped to 3/4 from full.

And it is wonderful to drive a car that is fast and nimble without resorting to massive tires and a monster engine, but rather just through the tried and true method of reducing weight - this thing has a curb weight of about 2100 pounds.

A lot like an old Tercel I had for a little while years ago, only much better.

So anyway, with the membership renewed, I will now happily allow it to run out sometime in a couple of years, as I take active measures to quench the new car itch and stick with the two vehicles I have, both of which fit me perfectly. 2010 here I come without any further purchases, I hope. I know, I know, heresy! :-P

OK, speech over! :-)

mark156

Nip, I was going to ask you what color it was, but the Toyota place still had it in their inventory. So, you bought Silver! Nice looking little car from the pictures. It should last you forever!

Mark

anonymousposts

$9000 with 60,000? How much would it have been new?

andre1969

looked at Echos back in 2002 when he wanted something cheap and economical to run back and forth to work in. I think most of them were priced in the high $14K range, equipped about like Nippon's, although with an automatic tranny. So I'm guessing Nippon's might have been around $14K brand-new?

It was also hard to find them on the lots back then, at least around here. If you were lucky the dealers might have had one or two. My uncle originally wanted a true stripper with a stick, no a/c, etc. but none of the dealers could locate one, and even told him the factory would probably refuse to even build it if he ordered one! He ended up with an '03 Corolla (they came out very early in the year...he bought his Memorial Day weekend 2002) that really didn't sticker for much more. Around $15,600 IIRC.

nippononly

this car would have been right around $14K brand new. They wouldn't come down further on price on this one because of the certified warranty, but since that is actually worth a few hundred dollars for my peace of mind, I went ahead.

I actually went to the dealer with an eye on a green '99 Corolla they had, with 72K miles, automatic. It had just passed the point of being on the road seven years, so was not certified. They had it priced at an outrageous (IMO) $9888, and after dickering for longer than I cared to, they just would not come down below $8600. There was nothing special about the Corolla, in fact, it only had a cassette player, it had "Dark Horse" tires (el cheapo brand), but of course had the full power package plus cruise. But since for me the power package is overrated, I decided to go $400 more on a more basic, uglier car with fewer miles, the warranty, better gas mileage, and a CD player. Not to mention, a stick instead of the automatic.

After having done a couple of hundred miles in it now, I am very satisfied with the decision. I like funky-ugly cars, I am just weird that way. I actually think the Echo has a cute face, it is just the stuff behind the A-pillar that makes it look like a rolling egg. :-P

I am gleefully hoping for 40 mpg on this tank: I am just below half a tank on the gauge with about 240 miles driven. I hope it doesn't disappoint.

And quite accidentally, I now have two silver cars, after I said to myself two years ago that silver was so over and I wasn't buying any more silver cars! :-)

anonymousposts

a 95 Accord EX 5-speed 4 cylinder. Light blue with the blueish-gray interior. Looks to be in good shape. Newer tires. Only problem we see is it has 175,000 miles. It would be a good car to drive on trips to the mall where we don't want our other cars to get dings. We could also drive it to work and back. $2500. Gee says "yes", I say we should just drive the Accord we have and put all of the miles on it. As much as we drive we would be at 200,000 miles on that Accord within a year or so.

nippononly

besides, wouldn't it be a waste of a very nice vehicle to buy an OLD Accord to drive every day when you have a brand NEW Accord (well, not BRAND new, but you know what I mean) sitting at home?

If you want a beater for ding-prone trips to the mall and the office, buy something completely different, like an older Subaru Legacy. It would have less years and miles at that price than the Accord you are contemplating. Or how about a miled-up PT Cruiser? You could be the retro envy of all your friends! :-)

anonymousposts

is just going through a "depression" of sorts since his wheels didn't fit the MDX. He even suggested selling the MDX and buying that old Accord instead?!? Seriously, he thinks it would be a good project car because of all the aftermarket support. To me, the miles are too high and given the choice I would much rather drive the 04 Accord.

lemmer

Why didn't the wheels fit? Where did you buy them?

I am a little sad, as I realized the new MDX lease dropped the annual mileage to 10K. I didn't realize this until we already went to the dealer and picked out a color.

We looked at a new Odyssey and Pilot, but my wife really wants an MDX.

corvette

I know I've said this a million times, but the 94-95 Accord EX 4-cylinder is one of my favorites of the Accord line. I don't like the grille or wheels on the V6 model in those years, and don't like the taillights, front-end treatment, or factory wheels on the 96-97 models. Call me picky.

Your new Accord will probably end up with a lot of miles on it, but I've never thought that matters so long as you enjoy it. It's a Honda, so it's not likely to degenerate into a moneypit, and even with high miles, it will still fetch crazy money when you sell it.

growwise

It's a Honda, so it's not likely to degenerate into a moneypit, and even with high miles, it will still fetch crazy money when you sell it.

A friend of mine bought a used Honda Accord (previous generation) and had a lot of problems with it. For starters, the transmission was leaking all over and was replaced under warranty by used car dealer. The dealer probably got some junk transmission and installed it to get rid of him. Well now, the second one died.. He is fed up and wants to sell. Honda is known for weak transmissions and the car had only 100k miles. The sad part is that he paid $9500 for this car and is right now in no condition to sell. He looked past good used cars of other brands with lesser mileage and got unlucky. As far as engines go, Honda has it pat.. but they still have some way to go in tranny area.

gee35coupe

Because of a wierd mistake from the seller. I bought them on Ebay. The auction listed the correct size but the boxes had the size that I bought scratched off and another size put on. The seller had a guarantee and I bought them with a credit card so I'm not too concerned.

My project Accord is a manual transmission. I wouldn't buy an older Honda with an auto. However my mother does have a 1993 Accord automatic with about 170k on it. I like the 1994-1995 Accords. I'm gonna make it my Civic replacement. CIA, springs, exhaust. Nice.

michaellno

My father-in-law, who lived in Cheyenne, passed away unexpectedly last week and he had a '92 Subaru Legacy wagon with 138K on it. Since there is only my wife and her sister (and the sister doesn't have a license), I figured that we'd end up taking the car.

Wrong --- sis in law says that it might be time for her to learn to drive (we bought her a scooter a couple of years ago to get around - she lives close to downtown Denver). I figure it will take probably $500 or so to rehab it. One of the two exhaust pipes exiting the muffler is missing, and the drivers door does not lock. Add to that insurance and registration, and .... well, we'll see.

Our son drove her home in it and he says it ran fine. It's possible that she'll just sell it, but that's not our problem now.

Good to see folks falling off the wagon left and right - nippon, congrats on the Echo.

steine13

Count your blessings.
You missed the idiot belts on the '92.


Good beater for CO, though...

-Mathias

guss

Congrats on the Echo. They are cool in a runt of the litter sort of way. If you can get 50mpg's out of it, make sure you drop by the Prius forum to let them know.

For a while I was thinking of an Aztek, the ugliest car since the Pacer.I figured I could get one cheap and use it to go camping with the kids.They are so butt ugly but have a ton of space inside .But I woke up from that nightmare when I realized I would have to drive it to work and hear the remarks.

guss

Mathias,

Did you ever come clean on CCBA your new(to you) Civic. I saw you mentioned it on other boards but maybe I missed the details.

I feel like I am in 7th grade again , but we need details.

From he who can't get a date or another car for awhile.

nippononly

It appears that 10 gallons of gas is going to go more than 400 miles, which means that I still haven't got to the point of needing to fill it up and get my first idea of how the gas mileage will be. But that is exactly why I bought this car, so I will be patient!

Had an hour to kill last night, read some reviews of this car, seems the "professionals" mostly disliked this car for the price and the looks, but appreciated the fuel economy, peppy acceleration and good brakes, and tons of inside storage. Owners rate it very highly after a year or more of ownership, and it seems a number of people are getting 45 mpg with careful driving. :-)

And michaell: this is my last time off the wagon for a few years, I swear!

jaserb

This is the kind of guy who drives a car until it's completely worn out. He really wanted a Camry but it was more money than he wanted to spend and it was right during the Corolla model changeover between '02-'03 so the dealer didn't have any Corollas he liked. He hated it almost immediately - asked me if I thought he could take it back.

I told him, "Well, the bad news is that you bought it new. So you're going to lose your shirt if you try to trade it right away. The worse news is, it's a Toyota so it'll probably last forever and you'll be stuck driving a car you hate!"

That's really good gas mileage you're getting. My brother's "new" '02 Escort is getting about 32 so far, but that's with an automatic and a lot of city driving. Of course it was a lot cheaper - $5600 with under 36k miles. You gotta love the orphans that nobody else wants.

-Jason

jefferyg

Has your mother had any problems with her 93? We had a 93 Silver Accord LX with automatic that we bought brand new and got almost 150,000 trouble free miles out of it. My wife loved that car, but when the a/c started going out at about 146,000 we traded it for an 03 Civic.

The only other problems we had out of it were not the fault of the car. It just seemed that people with no insurance had a real affinity for it. When it was almost brand new, two kids decided to to have a fight on the hood at the school where my wife taught. :mad: Twice it got backed into in parking lots and once a guy hit us in the rear coming off the interstate where we lived. :sick: Needless to say all the repainting was starting to show.

If I were to run across another 93 that had not been seriously injured and was in decent shape I think I'd have to give it a serious look.

woodyww

Just a question: you're sure you want 20" rims on an mdx? I had 18" alloys on my Range Rover & those suckers were HUGE (& beautiful). It was harder to find places to mount & balance even 18's tho. Are there any pictures online of mdx's with 20" rims? I'm just curious.

obyone

how's about 22s?

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/547292

here's the 20s

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/551747