Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

andres3 said:

On the latest Audi FOB, no need for hiring the "man" or any tools to do the job, all it takes is fingers, which is finally in 2020 a good design. I remember older keys being more difficult.

That's not to bad, to be honest. I think I typically need to change the battery on my Q7's fob around once every six months. I think that is annoyingly often, since the units for my wife's Forester are still original, as far as I know. We bought that car within a few months of the Q7, around 3.5 years ago, and haven't touched the batteries at this point.

xwesx

tifighter said:

The want is strong here -
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-mercedes-benz-230sl-17/

That's okay, but how about this instead?

fintail

Was a 15K or so car all day long 20 years ago. 113s have cooled a little now, especially non-280SLs.

tifighter said:

The want is strong here -
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-mercedes-benz-230sl-17/

sda

My daughter has the DVD, I can relate!

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

The want is strong here -
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-mercedes-benz-230sl-17/

I like the stance on that one.

Michaell

fintail said:

Was a 15K or so car all day long 20 years ago. 113s have cooled a little now, especially non-280SLs.

tifighter said:

The want is strong here -
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1966-mercedes-benz-230sl-17/

The owner of the first company I worked for after graduating college in the mid 80's had a Pagoda (don't remember the model). A year or two after I started, he traded it in for a 560 SEL (vanity plate "TH BEAZT")

roadburner

28firefighter said:

My 3.5 yo son is obsessed with both Frozen and Frozen II. I've instituted a once-every-two-week viewing restriction because I simply cannot take it anymore.

Fortunately my son tended to mirror my taste. The kids media he liked were mostly tolerable like Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine. By around 3-4 he was watching Star Trek: First Contact, Power Rangers Turbo, ,my Heisei era Godzilla bootlegs and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
He watched First Contact a lot.; one day when he was almost 5 we were standing in the checkout line at a local grocery store and he says in a loud voice, "You know what Dad? I think today is a good day to die!" The cashier didn't say a word the whole time we were checking out...

roadburner

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

On the latest Audi FOB, no need for hiring the "man" or any tools to do the job, all it takes is fingers, which is finally in 2020 a good design. I remember older keys being more difficult.

That's not to bad, to be honest. I think I typically need to change the battery on my Q7's fob around once every six months. I think that is annoyingly often, since the units for my wife's Forester are still original, as far as I know. We bought that car within a few months of the Q7, around 3.5 years ago, and haven't touched the batteries at this point.

The fob for my M235i triggered a "Low Remote Battery" message for the first time just last week. Not bad for longevity- and a simple DIY fix.
The battery in my Club Sport's lighted key is still going strong at 25 years.

corvette

roadburner said:

The battery in my Club Sport's lighted key is still going strong at 25 years.

Is that one that recharges when the key is in the ignition (like the E39 and E46)?

28firefighter

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

My 3.5 yo son is obsessed with both Frozen and Frozen II. I've instituted a once-every-two-week viewing restriction because I simply cannot take it anymore.

Fortunately my son tended to mirror my taste. The kids media he liked were mostly tolerable like Winnie the Pooh and Thomas the Tank Engine. By around 3-4 he was watching Star Trek: First Contact, Power Rangers Turbo, ,my Heisei era Godzilla bootlegs and Gamera: Guardian of the Universe.
He watched First Contact a lot.; one day when he was almost 5 we were standing in the checkout line at a local grocery store and he says in a loud voice, "You know what Dad? I think today is a good day to die!" The cashier didn't say a word the whole time we were checking out...

Lol. I don’t watch a ton of TV or movies anymore except after he goes to bed. We do watch Wheeler Dealers together - he likes watching Ant take apart and reassemble engines.

au1994

Clicking around while sitting on a conference call...

2020 MB GLB $47,2XX msrp. 36/10 lease $617 with 4k down. That’s laughably bad.

qbrozen

My wife would love this color combo, but the history is so bad I just can't do it.
https://uniquemotorsms.com/newandusedcars?clearall=1&vin=WBAWR33558P150422

I'm trying to understand how carfax can report "minor accident" and the result is 3 sides of damage, a tow, and a mechanical issue. The number of owners is the real kicker.

fintail

MB published leases are often horrible. You have to find a dealer offering something special, or play hardball like with any other purchase.

kyfdx

au1994 said:

Clicking around while sitting on a conference call...

2020 MB GLB $47,2XX msrp. 36/10 lease $617 with 4k down. That’s laughably bad.

Popular vehicle. Pretty typical quote for a $47K MSRP. No incentives

stickguy

That is a pretty BMW.

andres3

roadburner said:

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

On the latest Audi FOB, no need for hiring the "man" or any tools to do the job, all it takes is fingers, which is finally in 2020 a good design. I remember older keys being more difficult.

That's not to bad, to be honest. I think I typically need to change the battery on my Q7's fob around once every six months. I think that is annoyingly often, since the units for my wife's Forester are still original, as far as I know. We bought that car within a few months of the Q7, around 3.5 years ago, and haven't touched the batteries at this point.

The fob for my M235i triggered a "Low Remote Battery" message for the first time just last week. Not bad for longevity- and a simple DIY fix.
The battery in my Club Sport's lighted key is still going strong at 25 years.

I'm pretty sure modern cars with the always on-demand keyless entry sensing is what is draining the batteries so fast. Have to say I like the feature though. Amazon sells "basics" brand batteries, but I avoided those as I'd rather pay more for a longer lasting battery. Memories of "Radio Shack" batteries that were cheap but had only a half life came to mind.

breld

The Wiggles were pretty big when my boys were toddlers, so that was a popular play in our house (and we went to see them in concert 3 times). And Disney/Pixar's Cars came out around that time too, so that was constantly on, and we collected all the related die-cast Cars toys for awhile. It's very nostalgic for me when we visit Disneyland/California Adventure and are at the "Cars Land" section. The boys to this day still love it.

stickguy

My son texted me about the 2022 Genesis Gv70 sport. That is a seriously sharp looking unit. Might be a good replacement for his G70.

They really need to figure out how to get more dealers up and running though.

fintail

Especially as our elected leaders/grifters have failed to proceed with stimulus on par with other developed nations (relative to GDP) while the economy is still sickly at best, indeed the money is just laying around

tifighter said:

The Fed printed trillions this year. So, actually, yes there are people with piles of money just laying around, as it happens.

breld

You know, for the price of a new GTI, this would be a cool and comfortable fun car...

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/824812003/overview/

Since Audi never put the 6-speed manual in the current gen S4 and S5, it's easy to forget they did include it as an option on the A4 and A5 for 2017 and 2018.

au1994

kyfdx said:

au1994 said:

Clicking around while sitting on a conference call...

2020 MB GLB $47,2XX msrp. 36/10 lease $617 with 4k down. That’s laughably bad.

Popular vehicle. Pretty typical quote for a $47K MSRP. No incentives

I didn’t realize they were so popular. I like the kinda old school square look they have.

andres3

breld said:

You know, for the price of a new GTI, this would be a cool and comfortable fun car...

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/824812003/overview/

Since Audi never put the 6-speed manual in the current gen S4 and S5, it's easy to forget they did include it as an option on the A4 and A5 for 2017 and 2018.

Audi's transmission offering model is frustrating.

2009-2016 You get a manual or a slush box in the A models. In the S model, you get the manual or DSG.

2017-2021 you get a manual or a DSG in the A models. However, in the S models, you get a 8-speed slush box.

20XX-2020 you get dumb fake exhaust tips in the SQ5. For 2021 they fixed that.

roadburner

corvette said:

roadburner said:

The battery in my Club Sport's lighted key is still going strong at 25 years.

Is that one that recharges when the key is in the ignition (like the E39 and E46)?

No, thank goodness- those were the worst. The Club Sport has just a plain old key- all the battery does is illuminate the lamp when I press the button.

kyfdx

breld said:

The Wiggles were pretty big when my boys were toddlers, so that was a popular play in our house (and we went to see them in concert 3 times). And Disney/Pixar's Cars came out around that time too, so that was constantly on, and we collected all the related die-cast Cars toys for awhile. It's very nostalgic for me when we visit Disneyland/California Adventure and are at the "Cars Land" section. The boys to this day still love it.

My son is a little older. I don't want to brag, but I've seen Arthur, on stage and in person!

sda

roadburner said:

corvette said:

roadburner said:

The battery in my Club Sport's lighted key is still going strong at 25 years.

Is that one that recharges when the key is in the ignition (like the E39 and E46)?

No, thank goodness- those were the worst. The Club Sport has just a plain old key- all the battery does is illuminate the lamp when I press the button.

My 95 VW GLX VR-6 had a key like that. Press the VW logo and a light on the long end of the key would shine to allow you to find the door keyhole. I opted for the then 'new' remote entry which made the light unnecessary. Regardless I thought that was a neat feature.

stickguy

kyfdx said:

breld said:

The Wiggles were pretty big when my boys were toddlers, so that was a popular play in our house (and we went to see them in concert 3 times). And Disney/Pixar's Cars came out around that time too, so that was constantly on, and we collected all the related die-cast Cars toys for awhile. It's very nostalgic for me when we visit Disneyland/California Adventure and are at the "Cars Land" section. The boys to this day still love it.

My son is a little older. I don't want to brag, but I've seen Arthur, on stage and in person!

I saw the Pokémon movie in the theater. From the front row. I’m still scarred.

mjfloyd1

kyfdx said:

breld said:

The Wiggles were pretty big when my boys were toddlers, so that was a popular play in our house (and we went to see them in concert 3 times). And Disney/Pixar's Cars came out around that time too, so that was constantly on, and we collected all the related die-cast Cars toys for awhile. It's very nostalgic for me when we visit Disneyland/California Adventure and are at the "Cars Land" section. The boys to this day still love it.

My son is a little older. I don't want to brag, but I've seen Arthur, on stage and in person!

I saw the Wiggles on stage and in person. Not sure if I am bragging or shaming myself

roadburner

Another couple of shows my son and I enjoyed when he was a bit older:

Full Metal Panic- Think 90210 meets Gundam
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmwVZ-p9XOk

Neon Genesis Evangelion; I can't even begin to explain it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHBq54SVQGU

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

My son texted me about the 2022 Genesis Gv70 sport. That is a seriously sharp looking unit. Might be a good replacement for his G70.

They really need to figure out how to get more dealers up and running though.

The 22’s are already out? That’s like Christmas in July.

stickguy

not out yet. They just released early look pictures. But his lease is not up until December, 2021 so plenty of time for it to arrive!

stickguy

pretty good review on the new Tucson. Impressive updates. This one should be a winner in that class. Pretty room cargo space too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5io3hOyIGw

stickguy

some pretty interesting stuff overseas too. That we never get.

roadburner

So my Cincinnati dealer received a 2017 M2; three pedals and the Executive Package. 25k miles. White, but I could add the M Performance stripe kit to amp the appearance up a bit.
Then I saw the Carfax; FIVE owners- starting in Hawaii.
No thanks.

stickguy

Carvana just dropped the price on my old TLX again. Now down to $29,990. Considering they paid $28,800 or so for it, not looking to make much at this point.

ab348

The TLX was an '18 model, @stickguy ? They might be buying it a birthday card.

stickguy

2019. Low miles. Sharp looking. Hope it sells soon. I feel guilty about it.

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1539595

mjfloyd1

Why should you feel bad about it? You sold when it was the right time. For all you knew, prices could have continued to rise and they would have made out like bandits.

Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug.

mjfloyd1

roadburner said:

So my Cincinnati dealer received a 2017 M2; three pedals and the Executive Package. 25k miles. White, but I could add the M Performance stripe kit to amp the appearance up a bit.
Then I saw the Carfax; FIVE owners- starting in Hawaii.
No thanks.

Well only the first guy prolly drove it like he stole it 😂

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

2019. Low miles. Sharp looking. Hope it sells soon. I feel guilty about it.

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1539595

Sharp color combination! Looks great!

explorerx4

Hopefully Vroom finally has my paperwork to sell my old truck straightened out.
They have sent me a couple of different forms multiple times to sign and return.
At one point, they were arranging to pick it up again.
I got my check a couple of months ago and loan payoff letter a couple of months ago.
It's still for sale for $50,480, down a couple of thousand from when originally listed.

mjfloyd1

roadburner said:

So my Cincinnati dealer received a 2017 M2; three pedals and the Executive Package. 25k miles. White, but I could add the M Performance stripe kit to amp the appearance up a bit.
Then I saw the Carfax; FIVE owners- starting in Hawaii.
No thanks.

CarGurus ad says three owners but when you click on north Cincinnati dealer ad and carfax it shows five owners. Looks like really low miles in Hawaii and the last owner in Maryland put more miles on it.

andres3

stickguy said:

2019. Low miles. Sharp looking. Hope it sells soon. I feel guilty about it.

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1539595

You can feel guilty when it goes below your sale price and you buy it back!

stickguy

mjfloyd1 said:

Why should you feel bad about it? You sold when it was the right time. For all you knew, prices could have continued to rise and they would have made out like bandits.

Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug.

Oh, I don’t care about Carvana. They made the offer so they have to live with it.

I feel guilty to the car, that it’s sitting on some lot, without an owner to love it.

stickguy

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

2019. Low miles. Sharp looking. Hope it sells soon. I feel guilty about it.

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/1539595

You can feel guilty when it goes below your sale price and you buy it back!

That’s not happening. If I had wanted to buy it, I would have bought it out myself cheaper.

pensfan83

ab348 said:

The TLX was an '18 model, @stickguy ? They might be buying it a birthday card.

Mine was an '18 with very low miles so the dealer CPO'd it and stuck it on their lot with a very optimistic price. I checked about a month ago and it was gone so I guess they found a sucker very nice buyer to take it home.

stickguy

I'm surprised it did not sell being so nice, but only because the market seemed crazy at the time. I did think it was a bit overpriced, competing with any remaining 2020 leftovers.

breld

Maybe this is finally the start of the normalizing of pricing that everyone is anticipating at year-end.

stickguy

maybe. The fact that the economy (and stock market) are reversing again (and no pending stimulus) could be tanking it too.

I assume much of the spike was pent up demand from the months where you couldn't really get a car, but with so many people driving less now, quite possible that demand has been sated.

breld

You timed it so well, getting rid of the TLX at peak prices when you didn't need to replace it.

stickguy

I am way ahead of the game. I got cash out (covered my DAS and at least 1 payment), and out of any potential dispo fee next year (not figuring to be leasing another acura). And have now banked 2 payments I think.

and considering in almost 2 months, I have not had any need for a 2nd car so really would have barely touched it, it did work out perfectly. I also don't expect that our needs will change before year end (wife won't be going back to her office until at least end of Q1 at this point) so should easily be able to stretch into next year, pocketing the savings. And if I really suddenly needed another new car, I could go lease something for a lower payment sign and drive, and not be any worse off.