Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

At those priced, ignore the cracks and just fill in the holes with readymix?

The driveway needed to be replaced 10 years ago when we moved in. It is crumbling and COMPLETELY shot now.

How about filling in low spots with gravel and pave over it. I assume that the original driveway base was prepared properly. It should be pretty stable. The block edging won’t be raised like they are now but that might aid drainage if the blacktop comes up even with the top of them. If you have a clay soil it’s going to be tough to prevent cracking no matter what base you put in but getting the pavement raised a bit might.

Just be sure to use a weed killer on that grass in the cracks or it will push right up through the new blacktop.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Truck is getting picked up tomorrow about 8am!

Congratulations. Did you decide to do this on the spur of the moment or did you plan it out for some time.

explorerx4

I entered my info for a quote just to see what it would be and got an offer I couldn't refuse.
It was way higher than the Carvana quote.
Today, I looked online and there only seem to be about 10 of this year/model for sale nationwide.

tjc78

So what’s the replacement?

A 2020 Bullitt would be a nice stablemate to the Fox.

stickguy

go with a Raptor. those seem cool.

stickguy

less exotic than a new driveway, but I am currently chasing around after someone to source and install a new sliding door out to our patio. Seems like it should be simple. But getting people to actually call back, that aren't also absurdly high priced, is painful.

can certainly see why many people just go to HD or Lowes and tell them to send over whatever rando dudes are working that day to do the best they can installing stuff!

stickguy

got too busy with work to call AFC today. hopoefully tomorrow. Though might be a problem if they do give me a number lower than expected.

tjc78

Starting to get the “end of lease” letters for the Enclave. Guess I need to figure out what to replace it with.

Hasn’t been a big topic of discussion with the wife as moving is definitely looking more and more like reality.

Have a realtor coming next week to walk the house and see what’s it worth and also have a call with the builder’s agent tomorrow to talk preliminary pricing on a new development going up about 10 miles south of us. I think it’s going to be above budget with all the upgrades we want, plus the taxes will be steep being new construction (16K or so). So, a house in an established development may be the way to go.

Big step, at least we should have a good bit of equity but resetting the clock and taking on a much bigger mortgage takes a lot of thought!

stickguy

which town? There is one for sale in my neighborhood, but no granny pod apartment.

Michaell

stickguy said:

less exotic than a new driveway, but I am currently chasing around after someone to source and install a new sliding door out to our patio. Seems like it should be simple. But getting people to actually call back, that aren't also absurdly high priced, is painful.

can certainly see why many people just go to HD or Lowes and tell them to send over whatever rando dudes are working that day to do the best they can installing stuff!

Not cheap, but when we replaced ours in our first house, we went with Pella. Had the blinds in between the glass panes, which was cool.

stickguy

we stopped at the Pella store. Almost had a heart attack when he said the rough estimate price. And that was before it did not even include installation.

those blinds are cool, but we have no need for any blinds on that door so won't be spending extra on them.

Michaell

stickguy said:

we stopped at the Pella store. Almost had a heart attack when he said the rough estimate price. And that was before it did not even include installation.

those blinds are cool, but we have no need for any blinds on that door so won't be spending extra on them.

We replaced the front door of our second house with a Pella.

Similar to many of the car stories around here, we put the house on the market a week after it was installed.

nyccarguy

I bought my front door through HD and had their “at home services” install. The guy did a perfect job.

benjaminh

Elon Musk is saying that in four years Tesla batteries will have much greater energy density, resulting in electric cars that have longer range and cost less. If this pans out I'd probably like my next car to be electric.

https://www.autoweek.com/news/green-cars/a33795786/elon-musk-hints-at-new-battery-tech-that-could-greatly-boost-ev-range/

explorerx4

One of the things that made the truck easy to sell is that it just sits most of the time.
My car, which I bought last October, has 4600 miles on it..

tjc78

stickguy said:

which town? There is one for sale in my neighborhood, but no granny pod apartment.

Gloucester Twp/Sicklerville is where the development is. Schools are a lateral move which is a little tough to process at the price point.

I keep looking near you or Burlington county but can’t seem to find what we are looking for in the budget.

Mullica Hill/South Harrison isn’t out of the question either.

Hardest part of new construction from what I'm seeing is getting the pretty large deposit without the equity in our current home. It's also pretty pricey when you consider that homes that aren't brand new already have fences, nicer landscaping, etc for the same or less money.

ab348

tifighter said:

Did someone say pavers?

Nobody has commented on your lovely house, so I will provide kudos. It looks great, especially the stone work on the posts, which is a feature I always liked. In your climate the fancy paver job on the driveway should be fine but up here with snow and frost they can be problematic. Where the Tesla is parked seems a little tight for opening doors though.

Question: the railings lining either side of the stairs look to be steel, is that correct? I have similar but much older ones on my front steps and are facing the 3rd or 4th refinish of them since I bought the place. Regardless of the R&R I do on them (painting those skinny little verticals is a real pain) the paint just does not seem to last and then they start to rust again. I am debating internally about trying to find someone to take them off, sandblast, do whatever repairs they may need and either respray or powder coat them. The alternative is to get rid of them entirely and go with one of the aluminum or vinyl prefab kit types sold at home improvement stores. I like the look of those (several neighbors have them) but am not sure how robust they are.

benjaminh

sda said:

I am interested to see what changes Honda makes to the '21 Accord and how much of a price increase will result. With the ever increasing price of vehicles I am curious if there is a price point where consumers give up on buying the vehicle and decide to lease them instead. Car payments of $500+ for 60+ months, then add in increased insurance premiums, maintenance, taxes, gas (all your general ownership costs) quickly becomes a financial burden.

My guess is that the refreshed 2021 Accord will only have a modest price increase, but as you say financing a 30k Accord over 5 years comes to more than $500 a month, which is still sticker-shock territory for me. In spite of the rave reviews for this generation of Accord it's been a bit of a sales flop compared to the previous generation, although a lot of that is just the general decline in sales of sedans.

Never thought I would lease, but the lease offer for my TLX was too good to pass up. If I'd had to finance it the sticker shock would almost certainly have stopped me, even though now I'm thinking of buying out the lease.

My wife and I could probably share one car if we had to, making our second car really a luxury. If I turned it in at the end of the lease we'd not only save the monthly payments of buying it out, but c. $1200 a year in insurance. But driving a nice car is a luxury that seems worth it to me. Every time I drive my car it's a mood boost.

As you know the Civic these days is the same size as the Accord back in c. 1995, and the Civic EX is a good value that would have a payment of about $400 a month. If you decide to replace your 2013 Accord at some point you might consider a Civic. But you could probably also drive your Accord to 200,000 miles with only scheduled maintenance.

nyccarguy

@tifighter - your home is gorgeous! I thought @qbrozen & I were the only ones here with solar panels;0

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

So what’s the replacement?

A 2020 Bullitt would be a nice stablemate to the Fox.

I know a dealer in Seneca Falls NY that has two 2019s in their showroom that I bet they would deal on.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

which town? There is one for sale in my neighborhood, but no granny pod apartment.

Gloucester Twp/Sicklerville is where the development is. Schools are a lateral move which is a little tough to process at the price point.

I keep looking near you or Burlington county but can’t seem to find what we are looking for in the budget.

Mullica Hill/South Harrison isn’t out of the question either.

Hardest part of new construction from what I'm seeing is getting the pretty large deposit without the equity in our current home. It's also pretty pricey when you consider that homes that aren't brand new already have fences, nicer landscaping, etc for the same or less money.

We looked at GT before we bought this house (a new build on sicklerville road By cross keys). Correct about same taxes, less snobby schools. I think Gloucester county is still cheaper. Get bigger yard too. Burlington taxes also good.

New build is tough unless you want to go out a ways. Our house was about 3 YO when we bought, and neighborhood just finished. So still seemed new, but PO but in bounds, deck, shed, etc. much easier (And usually cheaper since resales competing with the builder if still there) way to do it, flip side Being you don’t pick every finish. Plus, if you want a dual master or in-law suite arrangement going to make it harder to find.

When we move, new would be nice, but more likely is a house needing a full remodel and we get what we want that way. But that really requires floating 2 houses for a while.

Mt. Laurel is worth a look but new there isn’t cheap. Could get lucky on a nice resale. Multicast Hill, country with big yards still.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Sandman6472 said:

GG, is there an Enterprise location near you? You might want to see about working part time for them like OF and I do. Better yet, fill out the app online and get on indeed.com and see if they are hiring drivers? The majority of folks in my office are retired who are just looking for something to do either two or three days each week. Until your business really takes off, might just be a way to keep busy a few days a week and make some extra income. I started ot at Hertz that way back in 2014 as I got tired of spending 2013 as an independent contractor for a couple companies that moved vehicles for all the rental companies around. I knew I want to be a paid employee so got into Hertz and now Enterprise, a better company for employees as it's privately owned.
Just a suggestion until your business gets off the ground. Trust me, if I lived closer, I'd like to be a driver for you to. Especially on my n/s days as we only are working 3 days/week now.

Thanks, Sandy! I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone. As you mention, I’m trying to start my own business vs working for someone else. And, with the COVID thing lingering, I’m trying to keep myself “out there” doing something I enjoy (driving). But, good advice. I appreciate it.

Funny you mention working for someone like Enterprise. I know a person who belongs to my church who is a “runner” for them. He’s about 10 years older than me. But, we were chatting last Sunday about combining forces and going to all the Enterprise locations locally (Cincinnati and Northern Ky) to see if we could collectively get all of their transport business.

As it stands, I’m doing about 2-3 transports per week just between the 3 Acura stores in the general vicinity. That only occupies 1 or 2 days/week though. Not a lot, but if I can get 3 or 4 more dealerships into the fold, I’d be happy.

You must be willing to work cheap if you can undercut minimum wage with no benefits. Just be careful. A lot of the old guys you’d be putting out of work are ex military or former cops. So many car trunks to get lost in.☠️

I think the reason I have any work doing this is because I’m available at a moment’s notice (which seems to be a “thing” now....do a dealer trade and have it available before the customer can leave the showroom). Plus, I charge by the job, not by the hour. They aren’t paying me to sit around and wait for the next transport.

My benefits are being covered by my former employer until the end of this year. All I want to do is to cover my COBRA next year and beyond until I can get on the Medicare thing.

explorerx4

Truck is on the carrier and on its' way to Manheim.

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:

which town? There is one for sale in my neighborhood, but no granny pod apartment.

Gloucester Twp/Sicklerville is where the development is. Schools are a lateral move which is a little tough to process at the price point.

I keep looking near you or Burlington county but can’t seem to find what we are looking for in the budget.

Mullica Hill/South Harrison isn’t out of the question either.

Hardest part of new construction from what I'm seeing is getting the pretty large deposit without the equity in our current home. It's also pretty pricey when you consider that homes that aren't brand new already have fences, nicer landscaping, etc for the same or less money.

Buy as much school district as you can. All 3 of my children attended (my daughter is set to start 4th Grade) a wonderful elementary school. The middle schools have a lot to be desired and I'm not sure about the high schools.

stickguy

That’s why we spent a little more and did not get brand new back then. One of the better districts in the area. Which worked well, but being empty nesters now, really no reason to stay and pay the taxes!

kyfdx

@explorerx4

Awesome!

corvette

@explorerx4 - Congrats! Did you sell to a wholesaler, or one of the chains like Vroom?

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

@tifighter - your home is gorgeous! I thought @qbrozen & I were the only ones here with solar panels;0

I've got them, too.

explorerx4

@corvette,
Sold it to Vroom and they sending it to Manheim.

tjc78

Mom doesn’t need/want a full in-law suite just a first floor bedroom and full bath.

Agree on the schools, lots to think about. I really wanted to wait until the new year to start this but the new construction would need to be signed in Oct/Nov as they are saying it would be done Feb/Mar This is for phase 1 which of course is cheaper

breld

explorerx4 said:

@corvette,
Sold it to Vroom and they sending it to Manheim.

I don’t get why they don’t resell it themselves?

Congrats! It’s pretty much a dream of all of ours that someone makes an offer on a car we own that we can’t refuse.

tifighter

ab348 said:

tifighter said:

Did someone say pavers?

Nobody has commented on your lovely house, so I will provide kudos. It looks great, especially the stone work on the posts, which is a feature I always liked. In your climate the fancy paver job on the driveway should be fine but up here with snow and frost they can be problematic. Where the Tesla is parked seems a little tight for opening doors though.

Question: the railings lining either side of the stairs look to be steel, is that correct? I have similar but much older ones on my front steps and are facing the 3rd or 4th refinish of them since I bought the place. Regardless of the R&R I do on them (painting those skinny little verticals is a real pain) the paint just does not seem to last and then they start to rust again. I am debating internally about trying to find someone to take them off, sandblast, do whatever repairs they may need and either respray or powder coat them. The alternative is to get rid of them entirely and go with one of the aluminum or vinyl prefab kit types sold at home improvement stores. I like the look of those (several neighbors have them) but am not sure how robust they are.

Thanks. There is more room for doors than this picture angle shows, but it is mostly parked that far in to take advantage of the shade.

And yes, those rails are steel - good eye. It was painted before we bought the house five years ago, so I don't know what the product is. But it has held up pretty well. It is a flat black finish; probably a rust-inhibitor of some sort. But there are a few small spots of surface rust, so I'm sure there's more to come.

fintail

A Tesla with a front plate, not something seen every day!

My cousin just bought a house in UP, a fairly large time warp one owner 80s custom build with an in-ground pool, cost less than half the price of a similar house on the eastside. Seems to be a bit much house for their family, but they have help.

qbrozen

Definitely the end of the world in the car universe. Friend of mine with a 2019 330xi lease with 17 months to go just got a Carvana offer for only $142 below the buyout. On a 3-series! That's beyond silly.

explorerx4

Just got confirmation that the check is in the mail!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

less exotic than a new driveway, but I am currently chasing around after someone to source and install a new sliding door out to our patio. Seems like it should be simple. But getting people to actually call back, that aren't also absurdly high priced, is painful.

can certainly see why many people just go to HD or Lowes and tell them to send over whatever rando dudes are working that day to do the best they can installing stuff!

I just gave up and got a referral to the home repair company’s “guy” who may be able to do work on my house sooner. The original company had been delaying and delaying when they could do the work and I was afraid we’d be under snow before they’d have time. As the work involved the replacement of the front door and roof work I didn’t want to keep dragging things out.

I hope this other company pans out. I used to do all this kind of work myself but I ain’t no youngin’ no more and I’d rather have a pro involved in case something unexpected comes up.

All the people staying home must have had time to find all the things around the house that need fixing because these repair companies are slammed.

breld

Just checked Carvana for a value on the V90 our of curiosity given some of these outrageous stories. Still $3,400 under the amount owed on the lease - but that’s really not that bad given I’m not even a year into the 2 year lease.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Sandman6472 said:

GG, is there an Enterprise location near you? You might want to see about working part time for them like OF and I do. Better yet, fill out the app online and get on indeed.com and see if they are hiring drivers? The majority of folks in my office are retired who are just looking for something to do either two or three days each week. Until your business really takes off, might just be a way to keep busy a few days a week and make some extra income. I started ot at Hertz that way back in 2014 as I got tired of spending 2013 as an independent contractor for a couple companies that moved vehicles for all the rental companies around. I knew I want to be a paid employee so got into Hertz and now Enterprise, a better company for employees as it's privately owned.
Just a suggestion until your business gets off the ground. Trust me, if I lived closer, I'd like to be a driver for you to. Especially on my n/s days as we only are working 3 days/week now.

Thanks, Sandy! I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone. As you mention, I’m trying to start my own business vs working for someone else. And, with the COVID thing lingering, I’m trying to keep myself “out there” doing something I enjoy (driving). But, good advice. I appreciate it.

Funny you mention working for someone like Enterprise. I know a person who belongs to my church who is a “runner” for them. He’s about 10 years older than me. But, we were chatting last Sunday about combining forces and going to all the Enterprise locations locally (Cincinnati and Northern Ky) to see if we could collectively get all of their transport business.

As it stands, I’m doing about 2-3 transports per week just between the 3 Acura stores in the general vicinity. That only occupies 1 or 2 days/week though. Not a lot, but if I can get 3 or 4 more dealerships into the fold, I’d be happy.

You must be willing to work cheap if you can undercut minimum wage with no benefits. Just be careful. A lot of the old guys you’d be putting out of work are ex military or former cops. So many car trunks to get lost in.☠️

I think the reason I have any work doing this is because I’m available at a moment’s notice (which seems to be a “thing” now....do a dealer trade and have it available before the customer can leave the showroom). Plus, I charge by the job, not by the hour. They aren’t paying me to sit around and wait for the next transport.

My benefits are being covered by my former employer until the end of this year. All I want to do is to cover my COBRA next year and beyond until I can get on the Medicare thing.

I think most of the dealer employed swap drivers are on call as well. I know none of our drivers get to sit around at all. We go from one assignment to the next all day long.

I guess they’d save on mandated expenses like worker’s compensation and payroll tax though. You might just be the new Uber.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@corvette,
Sold it to Vroom and they sending it to Manheim.

Now that’s interesting. They don’t want to retail it themselves? Can wholesale prices be that insane that they can flip it at the auction and make more money than selling it themselves? Maybe all these stories of dealers paying more than retail at auctions are true.

explorerx4

Next week, I'll ask Q if he wouldn't mind taking a look.
Definitely would like to know.
The transport guy, at one point, said to me "Aren't you going to ask where it's going? Everybody does that."

xwesx

ab348 said:

Nobody has commented on your lovely house, so I will provide kudos. It looks great, especially the stone work on the posts, which is a feature I always liked.

I agree; it does look lovely! I was only pondering snarky comments last night, so I opted for saying nothing instead.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

Definitely the end of the world in the car universe. Friend of mine with a 2019 330xi lease with 17 months to go just got a Carvana offer for only $142 below the buyout. On a 3-series! That's beyond silly.

I should re-run the Volvo for giggles !

xwesx

stickguy said:

That’s why we spent a little more and did not get brand new back then. One of the better districts in the area. Which worked well, but being empty nesters now, really no reason to stay and pay the taxes!

It probably makes a lot of sense to move the house on to the next family that can make the most of it, especially if you downsize rather than upsize.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

@corvette,
Sold it to Vroom and they sending it to Manheim.

For the price they paid for it, they must be highly optimistic about the auctions right now. Hopefully they realize their investment.

stickguy

xwesx said:

stickguy said:

That’s why we spent a little more and did not get brand new back then. One of the better districts in the area. Which worked well, but being empty nesters now, really no reason to stay and pay the taxes!

It probably makes a lot of sense to move the house on to the next family that can make the most of it, especially if you downsize rather than upsize.

That’s my philosophy. My wife seems stuck on us somehow needing as much SF as we have now. No clue why. And extra bedrooms for 2 days at thanksgiving.

kyfdx

xwesx said:

explorerx4 said:

@corvette,
Sold it to Vroom and they sending it to Manheim.

For the price they paid for it, they must be highly optimistic about the auctions right now. Hopefully they realize their investment.

As soon as you get actual car guys out of the car biz, you'll see some stupid stuff. Some manager having to move a certain amount of volume to make his quarterly or monthly numbers, no matter the profit/loss.

breld

This isn't exactly new news, but I just came across this today about a "makeover" for the Durango.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33023019/2021-dodge-durango-refresh-revealed/

Man, between this and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler sure knows how to milk a model for years. Of course, the JGC is about to be replaced with a new model, and calling these revisions to the Durango a "makeover" is a bit exaggerated.

Having said that, it's enough to pique my interest. I liked my Durango, so a few nice updates to the interior does go a long way.

xwesx

Interior looks really good. I'm not sure what changed on the outside beyond maybe the hood. Hey, if it keeps people interested, why go overboard?

Subaru could take a few cues from them. They have a habit of butchering the styling just to say they have something new, even though most of what's underneath never changes. Give me a gen-3 Forester with LED lighting, 2.4 DIT engine w/ 6-speed manual, and an updated interior, and I'd be a happy man.

Michaell

breld said:

This isn't exactly new news, but I just came across this today about a "makeover" for the Durango.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a33023019/2021-dodge-durango-refresh-revealed/

Man, between this and the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler sure knows how to milk a model for years. Of course, the JGC is about to be replaced with a new model, and calling these revisions to the Durango a "makeover" is a bit exaggerated.

Having said that, it's enough to pique my interest. I liked my Durango, so a few nice updates to the interior does go a long way.

Just looked at that article. I know you've had two already, but there are some tasty options there, and the updated interior may bridge the gap to the Euro contenders you're considering, post V90.

breld

I'd definitely get the Hemi again, and most likely in the R/T trim as well. That V8 gives the SUV a character all its own and sets it apart for sure. I didn't really have any complaints on the interior, but the more traditional shifter, larger screen and updated climate controls are welcome. Their Uconnect system is quite good, and with CarPlay included now, there's really no issue with the infotainment.

Some of the safety nannies were a little obnoxious in execution though - I remember trying to back out of a parking space during a snowstorm...I think the sensors mistook the snowflakes as obstacles and the car literally kept stopping very abruptly.

Palisade/Telluride are of course worth considering given all the rave reviews - just have to get used to the idea of paying close to sticker for a Kia/Hyundai.

And then the usual European candidates - XC90, X5, Q7, GLE.

My favorite (as you know @Michaell) would be a newly updated MDX.