Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

akangl

stickguy said:

CEL On already? That would bother me a lot more than it seems to bother you!

Isn’t dark tint a problem when night is 20 hours of the day? Or whatever it is that far north!

Eh, its a Ford, I'm not worried about it. Probably the last goofy thing it does. In years of cars past I might have been upset about it but now I just shrug. My Jeep had moments of forgetting the key was in the car or how to shift the transmission, I just shrugged, cars be grumpy sometimes. If it breaks I'll fix it but otherwise I just shrug it off, the Jeep was a great car and I will always miss it.

I have severe migraines so tint is a necessity, my Jeep was tinted dark, its hard to drive otherwise.

akangl

explorerx4 said:

@akangel,
There probably is a break in period for the engine and maybe the tires. You my want ot look up what that is before you let'er rip.

I need to read the owner's manual but I don't think there's much, if any, break in these days. It has about 100 miles on it at the moment. I'm just not using cruise control and varying speeds, otherwise just driving.

benjaminh

Price increases for the all-new TLX....

https://acuranews.com/en-US/releases/highly-anticipated-2021-acura-tlx-set-to-arrive-at-dealerships-late-september

stickguy

that A spec is about $4k more than the MSRP on mine was. Steep, but I guess they look at it as eliminating the base engine entirely. Not sure that was the best idea, but we shall see!

Michaell

Called our local nursery to inquire about lead time for new trees. Quoted me end of October for delivery and planting.

Wife was good with it, so I went down and bought a baby blue spruce. Will get a call soon to schedule the delivery.

Also wanted an autumn blaze maple, but they were sold out. Next shipment arrives in early September, so I'm on the list to buy one when they arrive.

Makes me feels like I'm getting a new 80's Honda.

Good news, they called me back and found a "better" spruce for us. Saved me $20.

xwesx

akangl said:

The brakes are crazy touchy, it has the street pack with the 21" tires (OUCH on winter tires in a couple months) and the larger performance brakes.

That's insane! Get a set of 18" or 19" wheels for the winter tires, and it should save you a few hundred dollars on the cost of tires. It will take a 255/65R18 or a 255/60R19. Stock is 275/45R21.

explorerx4

@akangel,
My 2019 MKZ(Fusion cousin) has break in's list for engine, towing(1,000 miles) and tires(300 miles).
Owners' Manual has 'Breaking in' listed in the index.

sda

akangl, nice ride! I thought you had moved stateside somewhere out west like AZ??

qbrozen

So far, I'm not having good experiences trying to buy a bike.

Here are some examples.

1. Seller has 1 pic online. I asked for details and more pics. He responds he doesn't have a cell phone and that I can find reviews online. I explain that reviews are all hunky dory, but it doesn't tell me about HIS bike. So he writes back with generic details that you could pull from a brochure. Sigh.

2. Made that ebay offer. No counter, no email, no response at all. Has passed 48 hrs.

3. Inquired on dealer website about a BMW asking for details. No response.

4. Inquired on dealer website about a Yamaha asking for details. No joke, here it is word for word ... "It is in fair condition. It is a used motorcycle"

Wow. I feel like I should respond to that last one with something like "you obviously hate your job, I wish you luck finding a new one."

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Wow. I feel like I should respond to that last one with something like "you obviously hate your job, I wish you luck finding a new one."

Hahahahaha! You need to make that response; the message you received warrants it, plus it is too hilarious not to execute.

oldfarmer50

venture said:

28firefighter said:

Work on our yard has finally started. 6 weeks later than originally planned and already behind schedule by 3 days. Demo of the existing concrete patio (roughly 4x8) took two full days because it was reinforced with an obscene amount of rebar.

I hate house projects...

Only 6 weeks late? I'm surprised. One day to most contractors is a week. A week can be a month.

We were supposed to get our roof replaced in May. We got the estimate and timeline last Fall. When I called to ask about it last week they said they were shut down for 6 weeks and I am scheduled for September. June, July, and August = 6 weeks.

I finally got a call back from the home repair company who agreed to fix the tree damage to the deck back in March. Now they say that they are swamped with storm damage work that involves roof penetration whereas mine is just minor damage plus some elective work. The soonest they can come now is mid September.
They offered to refer me to another company that could do it sooner but I don’t know who this other group is. I don’t NEED to have the work done sooner but I WANT it done sooner rather than later.

What would you guys do?

kyfdx

I would wait

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

CEL On already? That would bother me a lot more than it seems to bother you!

Isn’t dark tint a problem when night is 20 hours of the day? Or whatever it is that far north!

Could be still in some sort of transport mode. All our Volvos had CELs lit on delivery. I understand we had to take them to a dealer who for $200 flipped a switch that enabled all systems.

akangl

xwesx said:

akangl said:

The brakes are crazy touchy, it has the street pack with the 21" tires (OUCH on winter tires in a couple months) and the larger performance brakes.

That's insane! Get a set of 18" or 19" wheels for the winter tires, and it should save you a few hundred dollars on the cost of tires. It will take a 255/65R18 or a 255/60R19. Stock is 275/45R21.

Cheaper just to get the 21" tires! Tires will set me back around $1300, wheels and tires....OUCH! Since we leased it buying 2 sets of wheels doesn't make any sense, I won't go through either set of tires in the 3 years we have it.

akangl

sda said:

akangl, nice ride! I thought you had moved stateside somewhere out west like AZ??

Nope, we thought we were going to have to but thankfully we new medication out the daughter's health has improved so we are able to stay in Alaska.

oldfarmer50

I thought of Akangl today when I got to drive a Cherokee Trailhawk. Definitely an upgrade over previous Cherokees I’ve driven.

I also got to drive my first Tesla today. A model S 75d. I can sum it up in one word WOW! The acceleration on that thing was incredible. It was like driving my Mustang in 1st gear, just pure torque. Interestingly, the torque was reversed when you let off the throttle, I assume from the regenerative breaking, so relatively little breaking was necessary.

Really had the potential to be a fun car. I may get one when that bag of money falls from the sky.

explorerx4

It looks like my Vroom deal is not dead.
Got an email about filling out some forms and esigning, all good.
Bill of Sale has my name listed as seller and coseller(should be my wife).
Filled out seller info and submitted.
Got an email after that, which needs coseller to sign.
Waited in phone queue for paperwork dept for 45 minutes or so, but gave up.
Will try again tomorrow.

corvette

Michaell said:

Makes me feels like I'm getting a new 80's Honda.

I feel that, I still remember my dad telling the story of buying one of the first Honda CRXs in the early/mid-80s. He was on "the list" and got the call that the truck had shown up. Did he want a red one or a white one? No radio, no A/C, no negotiation. I think he had the factory A/C installed at a later date, as well as a flip-up sunroof. He would have installed the stereo system himself.

xwesx

akangl said:

xwesx said:

akangl said:

The brakes are crazy touchy, it has the street pack with the 21" tires (OUCH on winter tires in a couple months) and the larger performance brakes.

That's insane! Get a set of 18" or 19" wheels for the winter tires, and it should save you a few hundred dollars on the cost of tires. It will take a 255/65R18 or a 255/60R19. Stock is 275/45R21.

Cheaper just to get the 21" tires! Tires will set me back around $1300, wheels and tires....OUCH! Since we leased it buying 2 sets of wheels doesn't make any sense, I won't go through either set of tires in the 3 years we have it.

Oh, I didn't realize it was a lease.

Just briefly looking at 18 vs 21 winters, the difference is close to $500.

And, three years, savings on annual change-outs is getting close to the cost of wheels over the course of three years... then you can just sell them at the end. You would definitely come out ahead. More work, but less cost. Darn trade-offs.

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

I also got to drive my first Tesla today. A model S 75d. I can sum it up in one word WOW! The acceleration on that thing was incredible. It was like driving my Mustang in 1st gear, just pure torque. Interestingly, the torque was reversed when you let off the throttle, I assume from the regenerative breaking, so relatively little breaking was necessary.

How many times did you break it?! They may not let you drive one again.

Was this an Enterprise car? Seems like an odd one to be in their fleet, but I will keep an eye out the next time I'm setting up a rental. I would like to use an electric car one of these times.

corvette

Having tires unmounted/remounted and probably rebalanced 2x a year would get annoying. I'd probably go with the 18" wheels I could resell. There are going to be a lot of people with Explorers in Alaska who could use them.

corvette

He's not quite as polished as the others, but I'm liking 100PercentJake's videos. Looks like Hoovie is big enough to start a tailwind for other Wichita YouTubers to get their start on.

Sandman6472

Encore GX was super nice but, just too big for my needs. Might be too close a fit in the garage also. A bit bummed out but will get over it. Tried a regular Encore next and it could definitely work. .5" longer than a Golf so a wash there. Drove nicely with the 1.4 turbo and 6 speed auto tranny. No Bose system on the model I'd get so again, a let down. But the price is pretty good and it's totally doable as my next ride if I decide to go in that direction.

tifighter

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I also got to drive my first Tesla today. A model S 75d. I can sum it up in one word WOW! The acceleration on that thing was incredible. It was like driving my Mustang in 1st gear, just pure torque. Interestingly, the torque was reversed when you let off the throttle, I assume from the regenerative breaking, so relatively little breaking was necessary.

How many times did you break it?! They may not let you drive one again.

Was this an Enterprise car? Seems like an odd one to be in their fleet, but I will keep an eye out the next time I'm setting up a rental. I would like to use an electric car one of these times.

And the 75D is the slow one...

Enterprise does have the Model S in the local fleet here. If I need a loaner for service, there is an Enterprise agent at the service center who 'rents' me the car on Tesla's dime.

And speaking of tires, I was looking at the Model X, and it is about due. 45 series tires + 5500 lbs + over 900lb/ft torque = tire subscription. Meanwhile, the Model 3 tires look great.

akangl

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

It looks like my Vroom deal is not dead.
Got an email about filling out some forms and esigning, all good.
Bill of Sale has my name listed as seller and coseller(should be my wife).
Filled out seller info and submitted.
Got an email after that, which needs coseller to sign.
Waited in phone queue for paperwork dept for 45 minutes or so, but gave up.
Will try again tomorrow.

This is the time to sell. Everything I’ve seen says that we’re at the top of the market and it’s about to crash. I think dealers panicked in April-May and dumped inventory. Then people got all that stimulus money and demand skyrocketed at the same time car makers shut down production. This led to a shortage of inventory which boosted wholesale prices. I heard one video guy claim prices are so high he could buy privately and make money selling at the auction.

But now a lot of the stimulus money is ending or has been spent. Demand will pull back and wholesale prices will tumble.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I also got to drive my first Tesla today. A model S 75d. I can sum it up in one word WOW! The acceleration on that thing was incredible. It was like driving my Mustang in 1st gear, just pure torque. Interestingly, the torque was reversed when you let off the throttle, I assume from the regenerative breaking, so relatively little breaking was necessary.

How many times did you break it?! They may not let you drive one again.

Was this an Enterprise car? Seems like an odd one to be in their fleet, but I will keep an eye out the next time I'm setting up a rental. I would like to use an electric car one of these times.

Yes, a company car with 7k miles going up for sale. Check the web site, there must be others. We have a large remarketing operation in Newburgh NY adjacent to the Mannheim auction. There are always a few dozen down there being detailed for sale. A while ago one of the guys found a model X with the gull wing doors and was like a little kid making them go up and down.

oldfarmer50

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

That’s beautiful. Why the heck would an O2 sensor be bad right out of the box? Chinese parts?

akangl

oldfarmer50 said:

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

That’s beautiful. Why the heck would an O2 sensor be bad right out of the box? Chinese parts?

Dealer thinks it might have gotten dropped at the factory then used anyway, quite comment apparently. I'm not worried about it, it happens. Its still fully functional and drives fine so its no big deal. Thankfully I have a good relationship with the service advisor at this Ford dealership (we've owned a lot of Fords) so he will get it taken care of as soon as the part gets in.

corvette

It happens... My dad's New Beetle was delivered with an airbag light on. I think it was the seatbelt buckle on the passenger side. They replaced it a few days later.

Michaell

A little leasing advice, please?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/62655/toyota/x/experience-finding-a-2020-tacoma-lease-during-covid#latest

cdnpinhead

P. T. Barnum lives, and the auto industry moves on.

[Deleted User]

Great color combo @akangl, enjoy!!!

xwesx

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

Looks mean! "She" could pass for my wife.

fintail

I was thinking that might be a TSLA stock price chart

Speaking of crashing, if there isn't a new round of both direct and indirect stimulus-related action, I'll wager the markets and overall economy both experience some sharp pains which indeed would put a damper on car prices. Winter is coming, something will need to be done, or we ain't seen nothing yet.

oldfarmer50 said:

This is the time to sell. Everything I’ve seen says that we’re at the top of the market and it’s about to crash. I think dealers panicked in April-May and dumped inventory. Then people got all that stimulus money and demand skyrocketed at the same time car makers shut down production. This led to a shortage of inventory which boosted wholesale prices. I heard one video guy claim prices are so high he could buy privately and make money selling at the auction.

But now a lot of the stimulus money is ending or has been spent. Demand will pull back and wholesale prices will tumble.

oldfarmer50

akangl said:

oldfarmer50 said:

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

That’s beautiful. Why the heck would an O2 sensor be bad right out of the box? Chinese parts?

Dealer thinks it might have gotten dropped at the factory then used anyway, quite comment apparently. I'm not worried about it, it happens. Its still fully functional and drives fine so its no big deal. Thankfully I have a good relationship with the service advisor at this Ford dealership (we've owned a lot of Fords) so he will get it taken care of as soon as the part gets in.

LOL, I had to read your post twice. At first I though you said they dropped the CAR at the factory.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I was thinking that might be a TSLA stock price chart

Speaking of crashing, if there isn't a new round of both direct and indirect stimulus-related action, I'll wager the markets and overall economy both experience some sharp pains which indeed would put a damper on car prices. Winter is coming, something will need to be done, or we ain't seen nothing yet.

oldfarmer50 said:

This is the time to sell. Everything I’ve seen says that we’re at the top of the market and it’s about to crash. I think dealers panicked in April-May and dumped inventory. Then people got all that stimulus money and demand skyrocketed at the same time car makers shut down production. This led to a shortage of inventory which boosted wholesale prices. I heard one video guy claim prices are so high he could buy privately and make money selling at the auction.

But now a lot of the stimulus money is ending or has been spent. Demand will pull back and wholesale prices will tumble.

When I was looking at used cars back in late April I noticed a lot of dealer price reductions. Some pretty significant. I bought in early June and still got what I think is a pretty good deal. Now, prices are much higher.

Do you like this chart better?

venture

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

28firefighter said:

Work on our yard has finally started. 6 weeks later than originally planned and already behind schedule by 3 days. Demo of the existing concrete patio (roughly 4x8) took two full days because it was reinforced with an obscene amount of rebar.

I hate house projects...

Only 6 weeks late? I'm surprised. One day to most contractors is a week. A week can be a month.

We were supposed to get our roof replaced in May. We got the estimate and timeline last Fall. When I called to ask about it last week they said they were shut down for 6 weeks and I am scheduled for September. June, July, and August = 6 weeks.

I finally got a call back from the home repair company who agreed to fix the tree damage to the deck back in March. Now they say that they are swamped with storm damage work that involves roof penetration whereas mine is just minor damage plus some elective work. The soonest they can come now is mid September.
They offered to refer me to another company that could do it sooner but I don’t know who this other group is. I don’t NEED to have the work done sooner but I WANT it done sooner rather than later.

What would you guys do?

They are not interested. I would move on.

graphicguy

benjaminh said:

Price increases for the all-new TLX....

https://acuranews.com/en-US/releases/highly-anticipated-2021-acura-tlx-set-to-arrive-at-dealerships-late-september

About what I expected. S-Type will be right in line with what I thought, too.....knocking on the $50K+ door.

graphicguy

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

Beautiful! I like the black wheels against the grey!

qbrozen

Got tired of dealing with people and just ordered one of these brand new. https://www.americanlifan.com/208.html

corvette

qbrozen said:

Got tired of dealing with people...

That’s pretty much my life story!

explorerx4

After about an hour on hold, someone, actually very helpful, answered the phone.
Gave them the information that needed correcting and they said I should get the updated signing documents today.

ab348

akangl said:

Here she is.....



(CEL is a bad o2 sensor, new one will be here in a week or so, no biggie)

Not a fan of black wheels but combined with that paint color they don't look so bad. That is an imposing machine overall, I like it. Don't go too crazy driving it with all that power!

explorerx4

Here is another information screen my truck(might be sold soon) has.

roadburner

I found an M4 at the dealer where my GM now works. Pretty well equipped and CPO to boot.

ab348

explorerx4 said:

Here is another information screen my truck(might be sold soon) has.

It's barely broken in!

qbrozen

So, does a motorcycle count as a punch? I mean, it is street legal and will be titled and registered, so I think it does. Although this is chronic CAR buyers.

ab348

Nope, that's just a motorized bicycle as far as I'm concerned, unless you are planning to modify it with a couple of more wheels.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Got tired of dealing with people and just ordered one of these brand new. https://www.americanlifan.com/208.html

I think that’s a good idea. No telling what a previous owner did to his bike.

https://youtu.be/7k4WJctQ4bI