Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Sandman6472

I'd like to go electric since I drive so little now but charging from a regular house plug is doable or not? Not sure I'd want to retrofit he house since we hopefully will be out of here within the next 3 to 4 years. But since I'm lucky if I drive 40 miles/week, an electric vehicle would rally work for me. And though my wife w'sfh the majority of the week, she'd go bonkers without her vehicle in the garage just waiting for her to use. I could do fine without one since when am n/s, only go out for a short time in the morning anyways.

Michaell

I read an article recently that stated that the loves chain of truckstops will be installing charging stations in every one of their locations, nationwide.

I think that will help

au1994

stickguy said:

a week and a half now that we have been a 1 car family (and already "banked" one saved lease payment!) and have not missed it in the least. And likely won't any time soon, unless I need to say run up north (2 hours) to do something with my father at his complex (which I might this weekend since they are moving from one building unit to another). But if I do, likely the wife comes anyway. If she doesn't, then would just have to hang at home where she has plenty of things to do (and really no place to go).

Theoretically we could have gone to one car until the first of the year. I am WFH until January and as noted earlier my wife is only 8 miles away so it would not have been inconvenient for me to take her to work when I needed the car. Could have banked the 4 Subaru payments in addition to the ~1400 profit from Vroom. That would have essentially doubled the Vroom profit but where’s the fun in that?

andres3

fintail said:

I've been "that guy" with my prior new MBs, service department probably cringes when I drive in the door, knowing it might not be something routine. It's not a $500 hooptie, I have some expectations too, and I also would with a Tesla.

28firefighter said:

Which is what I would do with any car I’m buying.

The best feeling in the world is when you use a super fine tooth comb for an extended time, and still come up with zilch to complain about on a 3-month special order vehicle coming across the Atlantic. Now that's satisfaction! Quality control I appreciate.

Sandman6472

Had the tires rotated today and then had the 4-wheel alignment redone as it was out a bit especially after the rotation. Very glad I re-uped the 3-year alignment policy last December as I do use it. Had an appointment for next Thursday but passed another Tires Plus and they pulled the Golf right into the bay. Took a bit to do as he drove it first and then rove it when done, but the guy did a great job of getting the wheel into that straight position I have to have. Have found that many can't do it properly, one needs to be very systematic and take their time to get it done right. But driving home, I was happy.
All we have left to do is schedule the right axle boot repair come mid October. If I in fact do need front brakes, will have it done then also and then, I'm done. Let it last me until the 2022 models come out and I'll be quite happy. From what I've been able to calculate, come my anniversary date at Enterprise, I'll maybe have driven just around 5K miles this past year. Thinking it best to just keep on saving and put off getting something new for at least another year. Luckily, there's nothing out there I have to have right now...or even want to have! Heck, I must be coming down with something!!!

stickguy

Sandman6472 said:

I'd like to go electric since I drive so little now but charging from a regular house plug is doable or not? Not sure I'd want to retrofit he house since we hopefully will be out of here within the next 3 to 4 years. But since I'm lucky if I drive 40 miles/week, an electric vehicle would rally work for me. And though my wife w'sfh the majority of the week, she'd go bonkers without her vehicle in the garage just waiting for her to use. I could do fine without one since when am n/s, only go out for a short time in the morning anyways.

yes, you can charge from a normal outlet. Just takes a bit longer. but if you are often leaving it for 12 hour stretches, should not be an issue. And only really need a lot of charge in it if you are going longer distances.

xwesx

tifighter said:

xwesx said:

For electric, such commonality has yet to exist (and probably won't with elitist pricks as major players in the "war").

Tesla has said, multiple times, that they would be open to the idea of letting other brands access Superchargers if they were willing to contribute to the costs of building the network. No one has stepped up, so I don't blame Tesla for not prioritizing commonality.

Well, and it isn't necessarily Tesla's fault, assuming that they are *truly* "open." I don't think there can be much argument that Tesla was an early adopter and that they are the dominant player in the electrics game. If the other manufacturers could access the network as equal partners and fit their vehicles with the same port (plug) equipment Tesla uses (without licensing fees), then what's not the advantage for everyone involved? The surge in available capital means vast network expansion, and the common access means better adoption rates, less frustration with charging, and regular demand. Perhaps the only loser here is the electric company, which may be pressed to keep pace.

However, I do not get the impression that this is the discussion on the table, nor do I think for a second that any of these guys has the best interest of the consumer in mind (at all).

andres3

28firefighter said:

Do they really need extra battery capacity, though?

To me the trick is not increasing battery capacity, but rather improving charging technology so that it (1) doesn't harm the batteries as much to do Level 3 charging regularly, and (2) can charge from < 5% to 100% in 15-20 minutes. Will it be as fast as putting gas in your car, no, but it would be sufficient for a road trip.

I don't think 20 minutes would fly at all. Just think of how crowded gas stations are and it takes less than 5 minutes. Every electrical station would have to have at least 25-50 stalls to make it work.

ab348

The real trick would be to have many power stations at businesses where you would be spending 20 minutes anyway, not gas stations.

fintail

19 months into the E wagon, so far the only real fault/quirk is only one half of the console lid warms up when the heated function is on.

andres3 said:

The best feeling in the world is when you use a super fine tooth comb for an extended time, and still come up with zilch to complain about on a 3-month special order vehicle coming across the Atlantic. Now that's satisfaction! Quality control I appreciate.

stickguy

3 year lease?

nyccarguy

We are open to electric as well. My wife likes the idea as well as long as it is economically feasible. Like @au1994 said, there is no shortage of cars in the $40 - $50K range (no pun intended). I’m not ready to spend more money per month when a very nice (insert luxury brand here) can be leased for a lot less.

Range isn’t an issue for us as my wife typically does 40 - 60 miles per day of in town driving. There are Tesla Superchargers around here. I wonder what it would cost to use those vs. having a level 2 (I think?) home charger purchased & installed.

I’d consider a used Model 3 if the prices begin to come down as everyone tries to dump theirs for a Model Y. I feel like a lot of used Tesla Model 3s are prices at or above the cost of a new Base Model 3.

corvette

I think the convenience of a home charger would outweigh the expense, unless there happens to be a Supercharger at a location where you regularly spend half an hour or more. Most of the Level 2 chargers I've seen are variable amperage--if your home electrical system can only support a 30 amp circuit (or if it's a long run from your panel and wire is expensive), you can run it as a 30 amp charger instead of one of the higher amperages.

fintail

Yep. Performance this winter might strongly influence how I proceed with it.

stickguy said:

3 year lease?

28firefighter

My home charger was installed as part of a utility program tracking EV charging habits. All I pay, over the course of 36 months on my utility bill, is the cost of the equipment - about $1000. They covered the install and upfront fees. Of course, with COVID the i3 only needs charging every 2-3 weeks....

roadburner

I just used a Level 1 charger on the i3; we couldn't tell much difference in our electric bill.

suydam

That’s what I do also with the Volt. Our garage is hooked into the common condo electric, not my personal account, so I put on a monitor. It comes to around $30 or $40 a year. Pennies. The Volt only has a 50 mile range but that is fine for around town driving. I never use gas in town.

mjfloyd1

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

Do they really need extra battery capacity, though?

To me the trick is not increasing battery capacity, but rather improving charging technology so that it (1) doesn't harm the batteries as much to do Level 3 charging regularly, and (2) can charge from < 5% to 100% in 15-20 minutes. Will it be as fast as putting gas in your car, no, but it would be sufficient for a road trip.

Even 45-60 minutes, on a road trip, is not problematic... as long as the charger isn't in the middle of concreteville (e.g., there's something available within walking distance to occupy time). For example, the Tesla Supercharger in Twin Falls, Idaho, is collocated with a long boardwalk along the rim of the Snake River canyon. One could walk for hours along that scenic rim and completely forget the true purpose was to charge the car.... Walking for an hour for another 400 miles of range? Yeah, that's a good trade-off and a much-needed stretching of the legs.

However, distribution matters... and the charging network still needs two things:

1. Regularly spaced availability across much, or even all, of the road network if not in North America, then at least the US and Canada.
2. Common interface. Imagine how annoying it would be if you could only stop to gas up at "compatible" stations? There's a tiny bit of that with fossil fuels, but, basically, if one wants to fuel up with gasoline or diesel, they just stop at the nearest station and do so. For electric, such commonality has yet to exist (and probably won't with elitist pricks as major players in the "war").

Forty five to sixty minutes would not work for me if I was driving 1000+ miles (like when we go to FL). Adding 3 hours to a long drive. Ugh

Michaell

mjfloyd1 said:

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

Do they really need extra battery capacity, though?

To me the trick is not increasing battery capacity, but rather improving charging technology so that it (1) doesn't harm the batteries as much to do Level 3 charging regularly, and (2) can charge from < 5% to 100% in 15-20 minutes. Will it be as fast as putting gas in your car, no, but it would be sufficient for a road trip.

Even 45-60 minutes, on a road trip, is not problematic... as long as the charger isn't in the middle of concreteville (e.g., there's something available within walking distance to occupy time). For example, the Tesla Supercharger in Twin Falls, Idaho, is collocated with a long boardwalk along the rim of the Snake River canyon. One could walk for hours along that scenic rim and completely forget the true purpose was to charge the car.... Walking for an hour for another 400 miles of range? Yeah, that's a good trade-off and a much-needed stretching of the legs.

However, distribution matters... and the charging network still needs two things:

1. Regularly spaced availability across much, or even all, of the road network if not in North America, then at least the US and Canada.
2. Common interface. Imagine how annoying it would be if you could only stop to gas up at "compatible" stations? There's a tiny bit of that with fossil fuels, but, basically, if one wants to fuel up with gasoline or diesel, they just stop at the nearest station and do so. For electric, such commonality has yet to exist (and probably won't with elitist pricks as major players in the "war").

Forty five to sixty minutes would not work for me if I was driving 1000+ miles (like when we go to FL). Adding 3 hours to a long drive. Ugh

Or when I drive to California (1100 miles). It's 17 hours already; not sure how I'd feel having to recharge for an hour rather than spending 5 minutes to refill the gas tank in Grand Junction (264 miles from home), Richfield, UT (225 miles from GJ, overnight stop), Mesquite, NV (203 miles from Richfield) and Barstow, CA (236 miles from Mesquite).

I totally see using an EV as an errand runner around town, but until they can cut the recharge time down, I'm not sure I see it for any sort of long distance travel.

tjc78

I honestly have zero interest in electric cars.

We drive much less than we used to and even big SUVs aren’t that bad on gas today. The cars also run cleaner than ever.

I’ll stick with gas until I have no other choice or gas becomes so expensive it doesn’t make sense any longer.

stickguy

I’m still fine with something like a volt that works both ways.

roadburner

tjc78 said:

I honestly have zero interest in electric cars.

We drive much less than we used to and even big SUVs aren’t that bad on gas today. The cars also run cleaner than ever.

I’ll stick with gas until I have no other choice or gas becomes so expensive it doesn’t make sense any longer.

I liked the i3; we used it as a commuter/runabout car. I would not want one as my only car. The only PHEVs I like are the 3 and 5 Series i Performance models as they aren’t abysmally slow and are available in RWD.

28firefighter

I'm test driving a Tesla Model 3 on Tuesday as my first act of funemployment.

andres3

I'm trying to make a deal on the Alltrack in Phoenix, but 1-way flights are in short supply at any $$$$.

Thank you Covid-19 for ruining flight availability too! The Dodge dealership is pretty stubborn.

$500 documentary fee? LOL. In CA this is $80. They also want $350 for the tint job on the windows.

If they can let go of that nonsense, we might have a deal if they can find a reasonable shipper to San Diego.

breld

@andres3 - what is it about this Alltrack that is so appealing as to deal with the hassle of buying out of state?

Are they really that scarce in the San Diego area?

andres3

breld said:

@andres3 - what is it about this Alltrack that is so appealing as to deal with the hassle of buying out of state?

Are they really that scarce in the San Diego area?

The preferred really well done beige interior makes it rare and scarce in every City. Also this one is the right mileage (only 31K), and the right price. It looks super clean and well taken care of; I think it's a lease return 1-owner no accident car. They've had the car for a couple blue moons so hopefully they are super motivated to make a low-ball deal, they've already advertised the "car will go to auction" if not sold soon

I also never sold a set of good 17" wheels with Michelin A/S 3+ on them with 65%+ tread life left that fit the car. Just sitting in the garage from my laziness of selling.

qbrozen

NJ MVC is the BEST!

Decided to finally bite the bullet and go wait in line to register the ML63. Jump through all the hoops, wait in all the lines, get to the desk, hand over the paper work and ..... she stared at it for a while .... talked to a supervisor .... looked it over again .... asked for any other paperwork I had .... and rejected the title.

So, here's the story. Way back in Feb, the title transferred hands from an Autonation Honda dealer to some private dealer THROUGH the Autonation Auto Auction in Orlando. The MVC has an issue with this because "we don't know if Autonation Auction had the right to sell a car titled to Autonation Honda. We need an affidavit stating they are one in the same company." IT IS AUTONATION! Are you freakin kidding me?!

I think I have it handled, but, man, that is is BS right there. I called the titling department at the auction, sent them a pic of the title, pointed out the issue. Just like me, the woman said "IT IS AUTONATION!" Yup, yup, I know. So she is sending me the letter/affidavit.

One stroke of positivity is that the MVC lady gave me a pass to bypass the lines next time. The agency is 30 mins from my house, though, so still eats up a lot of my time. Ugh.

andres3

qbrozen said:

NJ MVC is the BEST!

Decided to finally bite the bullet and go wait in line to register the ML63. Jump through all the hoops, wait in all the lines, get to the desk, hand over the paper work and ..... she stared at it for a while .... talked to a supervisor .... looked it over again .... asked for any other paperwork I had .... and rejected the title.

So, here's the story. Way back in Feb, the title transferred hands from an Autonation Honda dealer to some private dealer THROUGH the Autonation Auto Auction in Orlando. The MVC has an issue with this because "we don't know if Autonation Auction had the right to sell a car titled to Autonation Honda. We need an affidavit stating they are one in the same company." IT IS AUTONATION! Are you freakin kidding me?!

I think I have it handled, but, man, that is is BS right there. I called the titling department at the auction, sent them a pic of the title, pointed out the issue. Just like me, the woman said "IT IS AUTONATION!" Yup, yup, I know. So she is sending me the letter/affidavit.

One stroke of positivity is that the MVC lady gave me a pass to bypass the lines next time. The agency is 30 mins from my house, though, so still eats up a lot of my time. Ugh.

And I just called the MV departments of States a name someone took offense too. Oh well. Also, is a "spam" flag a badge of honor? LOL. What does that exactly mean?

qbrozen

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

NJ MVC is the BEST!

Decided to finally bite the bullet and go wait in line to register the ML63. Jump through all the hoops, wait in all the lines, get to the desk, hand over the paper work and ..... she stared at it for a while .... talked to a supervisor .... looked it over again .... asked for any other paperwork I had .... and rejected the title.

So, here's the story. Way back in Feb, the title transferred hands from an Autonation Honda dealer to some private dealer THROUGH the Autonation Auto Auction in Orlando. The MVC has an issue with this because "we don't know if Autonation Auction had the right to sell a car titled to Autonation Honda. We need an affidavit stating they are one in the same company." IT IS AUTONATION! Are you freakin kidding me?!

I think I have it handled, but, man, that is is BS right there. I called the titling department at the auction, sent them a pic of the title, pointed out the issue. Just like me, the woman said "IT IS AUTONATION!" Yup, yup, I know. So she is sending me the letter/affidavit.

One stroke of positivity is that the MVC lady gave me a pass to bypass the lines next time. The agency is 30 mins from my house, though, so still eats up a lot of my time. Ugh.

And I just called the MV departments of States a name someone took offense too. Oh well. Also, is a "spam" flag a badge of honor? LOL. What does that exactly mean?

It means the message is best served with eggs.

stickguy

This one, I really like. Wonder what it will go for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3BlAp2nE/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-hatchback

au1994

stickguy said:

This one, I really like. Wonder what it will go for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3BlAp2nE/2008-subaru-impreza-wrx-hatchback

That is nice. I have no idea the market on these but the low miles and lack of modifications will likely push it up there. Looks like it would be perfect for your needs. #enabler

stickguy

it would be perfect.

28firefighter

Stupid money, is the answer. Stupid money. I'd expect somewhere around $15k. Probably worth that given that it is an unmolested example.

stickguy

$15? wow. I was figuring around $8k. Miles aren't bad but it is far from pristine.

fintail

Weird to see one of those without added flamboyant bric a brac spoilers or worse, stickers, vape smoke film, etc. Modern equivalent of a stock 32 Ford.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

$15? wow. I was figuring around $8k. Miles aren't bad but it is far from pristine.

Maybe the Seattle CL market has me thrown, but I don't see this going sub-10k.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

$15? wow. I was figuring around $8k. Miles aren't bad but it is far from pristine.

Maybe the Seattle CL market has me thrown, but I don't see this going sub-10k.

I do think the first two years of the new body style WRX were down on power, compared to the 2009+ models.
This basically had the old engine from the earlier model.

Not that 227 HP is slow by any means. Of course, being the hatch, it will go high.

explorerx4

Randomly just watched this auction finish up. 30K.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rblA8MVD/1986-porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet

stickguy

here is an interesting one, for you PNW people. Love these. Only thing better (other than not being black over black) is if it was a V instead. Love the wagons.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KZBDo1QA/2010-volvo-s40-t5-awd-r-design

Michaell

I belong to the Colorado Subaru Group on FB, and I think many WRX owners are partaking of our most favored product when they price their used cars for sale. Modded to within an inch of their lives, engine swaps, etc.

Curious as to how much the one on C&B goes for.

qbrozen

$10k would be fair on the Sube, IMHO, but I’d guess it goes to $12.5k.

stickguy

If I did for some reason get something like this WRX (or comparable Si or GTI) it would only be if it was close as possible to stock, especially mechanically. A few nice upgrades is fine, but major work like that, hard pass.

28firefighter

Big fan of that S40

andres3

Yellow stick shift wagon: https://audiclubna.org/find-of-the-day-2001-imola-yellow-audi-s4-avant/?utm_source=BenchmarkEmail&amp;utm_campaign=Unfair_Advantage:_Audi_News_Roundup_WEEK_39_2020,_by_Audi_Club&amp;utm_medium=email

Only 5 owners, what could possibly go wrong on such a well maintained model?

andres3

Looks like the stubbornness with a 350 tint fee, a $500 documents fee, and a $650 shipping fee (to go a lousy 300 miles; paging @graphicguy to beat that price) is stalling this new deal in it's tracks. Its bad enough they insist on financing for 4 months to get that price, then they add all these shenanigans to it.

corvette

andres3 said:

...financing for 4 months to get that price...

I know dealerships lose the spiff the banks pay them if someone pays off a loan within a very short time period, but I would think they would have no recourse against the consumer.

28firefighter

corvette said:

andres3 said:

...financing for 4 months to get that price...

I know dealerships lose the spiff the banks pay them if someone pays off a loan within a very short time period, but I would think they would have no recourse against the consumer.

Pretty sure they don’t. At least not up here. Still just not a nice thing to do...

stickguy

andres3 said:

Looks like the stubbornness with a 350 tint fee, a $500 documents fee, and a $650 shipping fee (to go a lousy 300 miles; paging @graphicguy to beat that price) is stalling this new deal in it's tracks. Its bad enough they insist on financing for 4 months to get that price, then they add all these shenanigans to it.

300 miles? Drive out and drive it back. If the wife doesn't want to drive you, just rent a car 1 way and drop it off.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

mjfloyd1 said:

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

Do they really need extra battery capacity, though?

To me the trick is not increasing battery capacity, but rather improving charging technology so that it (1) doesn't harm the batteries as much to do Level 3 charging regularly, and (2) can charge from < 5% to 100% in 15-20 minutes. Will it be as fast as putting gas in your car, no, but it would be sufficient for a road trip.

Even 45-60 minutes, on a road trip, is not problematic... as long as the charger isn't in the middle of concreteville (e.g., there's something available within walking distance to occupy time). For example, the Tesla Supercharger in Twin Falls, Idaho, is collocated with a long boardwalk along the rim of the Snake River canyon. One could walk for hours along that scenic rim and completely forget the true purpose was to charge the car.... Walking for an hour for another 400 miles of range? Yeah, that's a good trade-off and a much-needed stretching of the legs.

However, distribution matters... and the charging network still needs two things:

1. Regularly spaced availability across much, or even all, of the road network if not in North America, then at least the US and Canada.
2. Common interface. Imagine how annoying it would be if you could only stop to gas up at "compatible" stations? There's a tiny bit of that with fossil fuels, but, basically, if one wants to fuel up with gasoline or diesel, they just stop at the nearest station and do so. For electric, such commonality has yet to exist (and probably won't with elitist pricks as major players in the "war").

Forty five to sixty minutes would not work for me if I was driving 1000+ miles (like when we go to FL). Adding 3 hours to a long drive. Ugh

Or when I drive to California (1100 miles). It's 17 hours already; not sure how I'd feel having to recharge for an hour rather than spending 5 minutes to refill the gas tank in Grand Junction (264 miles from home), Richfield, UT (225 miles from GJ, overnight stop), Mesquite, NV (203 miles from Richfield) and Barstow, CA (236 miles from Mesquite).

I totally see using an EV as an errand runner around town, but until they can cut the recharge time down, I'm not sure I see it for any sort of long distance travel.

You’d have to plan side trips on your way down and go sightseeing while the battery recharged. Now there’s an idea, put charging stations at all tourist stops along the way so travelers kill a couple of hours at your amusement. The trip itself could be a vacation.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

I honestly have zero interest in electric cars.

We drive much less than we used to and even big SUVs aren’t that bad on gas today. The cars also run cleaner than ever.

I’ll stick with gas until I have no other choice or gas becomes so expensive it doesn’t make sense any longer.

I had zero interest too until I drove that Tesla. Really got me interested but only for a model that had super performance and that alas, is beyond my meager finances. I went by the Karma dealer a few times today. I know nothing about them but they are sharp looking.