Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

breld said:

No doubt there’s a sizable premium on this, but all in all it’s a nice vehicle for not a ton of money.

https://glenshelly.com/sales/2001-bmw-325xi-touring

my favorite colors. But a slicktop? That hurts me in my soul. And if I ever do finally bite the bullet on an E46, it won't have AWD.

breld

I didn’t notice the slicktop. I’m with you, I’d prefer a sunroof as well, but certainly can’t be choosy on something like that.

I really prefer the facelift E46 though (‘03 I think for the wagon? Maybe ‘02?)

stickguy

I might actually pick the sport pack moonroof RWD car with the AT, over the Xi slicktop if I had to pick one, and everything else was equal. Really depends on what I think I would miss the most, and at this point, I'm used to the slushbox! And at least the BMW has a really good one.

Though at this point an E46 is getting into antique toy territory, so if I decide to do that, it better be exactly what I want (and makes more sense to hold out for a stick if the DD is a 2 pedal model)

roadburner

mjfloyd1 said:

@roadburner

I assume you have seen the M2 CS with increased horsepower and suspension changes and more carbon fiber.

Looks like Dinan offers even higher HP via tunes but not the adjustable suspension from the M3/4

Yes, but you really pay for the upgrades. I've entered several charitable car raffles. If I win a C8 it's going on the block immeditely and I'll be ordering a CS

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

bummer that it doesn't have the missing link piece (manual trans) but this is a nice car. Wonder what it is going to sell for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9Wn2zNOR/2003-bmw-325i-touring

and this, I loved these back in the days. Would not mind having one now, but might have trouble adjusting to how tiny it is! 1 owner and reasonable miles are bonuses, as is unmodified. But definitely needs some serious TLC.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36L1DQRx/1986-honda-crx-si

You guys with your station wagons. Next you’ll be making Mini vans cool again.

That old Japanese iron continues to amaze me with the prices they bring. Are you sure you’d enjoy driving a car with 91 hp.? Maybe get a nice K car wagon and combine both.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@roadburner

I assume you have seen the M2 CS with increased horsepower and suspension changes and more carbon fiber.

Looks like Dinan offers even higher HP via tunes but not the adjustable suspension from the M3/4

Yes, but you really pay for the upgrades. I've entered several charitable car raffles. If I win a C8 it's going on the block immeditely and I'll be ordering a CS

After you pay taxes on your winnings of course.🥵

tjc78

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

Just make sure you show the lease end inspector (2) keys.

tjc78

LOL. They are already on the ring together so I can't forget.

qbrozen

The wife is very much interested in this:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/829653842/overview/

Talking with seller through email currently.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

bummer that it doesn't have the missing link piece (manual trans) but this is a nice car. Wonder what it is going to sell for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9Wn2zNOR/2003-bmw-325i-touring

and this, I loved these back in the days. Would not mind having one now, but might have trouble adjusting to how tiny it is! 1 owner and reasonable miles are bonuses, as is unmodified. But definitely needs some serious TLC.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36L1DQRx/1986-honda-crx-si

You guys with your station wagons. Next you’ll be making Mini vans cool again.

That old Japanese iron continues to amaze me with the prices they bring. Are you sure you’d enjoy driving a car with 91 hp.? Maybe get a nice K car wagon and combine both.

Yup. I drive one when new. Quite zippy. Manual trans, and weighs very little. No, it won’t out drag your mustang, but it keeps up with traffic just fine.

Edit: looked it up. 8.5 seconds 0-60. So perfectly normal economy car of today range.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

The wife is very much interested in this:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/829653842/overview/

Talking with seller through email currently.

I like it a lot. Heck, if it was a stick, at that price, I would consider it for myself!

mjfloyd1

I thought FIAT stood for fix it again Tony??

qbrozen

mjfloyd1 said:

I thought FIAT stood for fix it again Tony??

You think I'm scared? I've got an AMG! LOL!

mjfloyd1

Good point. Well taken.

I remember my dad having a Fiat X19 that I learned to drive as my first car. I remember having a rubber mallet in it to smack the starter solenoid if it failed to start.

I also remember pulling up behind an Ashplund (?sp) tree truck that was towing a shredder behind it. The truck started to back up and I tried and tried to get it into reverse. The shredder made nice grooves up the hood of the x19. Awkward

tjc78

Cool little car Q!

corvette

Not an Abarth, though.

28firefighter

The weather over the last week in Western WA has finally highlighted for me the two weak spots of the i3 in terms of handling as we've had some really nasty winds up north of the city (and more coming) as well as heavy, steady rain. Two things:

(1) The narrow tires that help with efficiency and handling normally are quickly overwhelmed by any substantive water on the ground. Not so much from a hydroplaning perspective, but rather just pulling the car off course.

(2) The narrow-and-tall nature of the design means that in gusty winds this thing blows all over the place - I'd say anything over 10 mph wind wise and you can really feel it.

Neither of these is fatal, but given the weather we've had over the last couple weeks I've certainly been preferring to drive the Outback when it is available. I went into this knowing it probably wasn't going to be the best all-weather vehicle.

28firefighter

The Fiat isn't for me, but if you have the means to fix it then the value proposition is hard to argue with for a little convertible.

sda

28firefighter said:

The weather over the last week in Western WA has finally highlighted for me the two weak spots of the i3 in terms of handling as we've had some really nasty winds up north of the city (and more coming) as well as heavy, steady rain. Two things:

(1) The narrow tires that help with efficiency and handling normally are quickly overwhelmed by any substantive water on the ground. Not so much from a hydroplaning perspective, but rather just pulling the car off course.

(2) The narrow-and-tall nature of the design means that in gusty winds this thing blows all over the place - I'd say anything over 10 mph wind wise and you can really feel it.

Neither of these is fatal, but given the weather we've had over the last couple weeks I've certainly been preferring to drive the Outback when it is available. I went into this knowing it probably wasn't going to be the best all-weather vehicle.

When does the lease on the i3 end?

stickguy

The drivetrain is just Chrysler stuff. I assume same as in a Dart?

28firefighter

9.5 months. But since when does that have anything to do with anything in CCBA?

breld

I think that Fiat is a great answer for what you and your wife are looking for. We drove them when they first came out - hard not to have fun with that small size. And it certainly has some character.

tifighter

I had a 500 convertible as a rental car in Corsica a few years back. Fun car, easy to park, you sit up high like almost a tiny crossover. Perfect for the narrow roads there. It wasn't fast, however.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

The drivetrain is just Chrysler stuff. I assume same as in a Dart?

Kind of. The Dart did not have the non-turbo 1.4. Would not have been well received in that application. The 500 is just 2400 lb, so they can get away with it. The Dodge used the turbo version from the Abarth.

I test drove a 500 when they first came out. It was a hoot whipping it around the little test track the dealer had.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

Just make sure you show the lease end inspector (2) keys.

Get them to sign a receipt too. Prevents aggravation later.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

The wife is very much interested in this:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/829653842/overview/

Talking with seller through email currently.

LOL, is that the price or the estimated first year repair costs? I’m ashamed to admit that when I was looking for convertibles I briefly considered a Fiat drop top.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

Just make sure you show the lease end inspector (2) keys.

Get them to sign a receipt too. Prevents aggravation later.

I’m taking a picture of the dealership person holding them.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

Just make sure you show the lease end inspector (2) keys.

Get them to sign a receipt too. Prevents aggravation later.

I’m taking a picture of the dealership person holding them.

Then they'll have the keys and lose the car.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

The drivetrain is just Chrysler stuff. I assume same as in a Dart?

Yeah but I believe the Dart drivetrain is Fiat. So......

stickguy

I was thinking more parts availability.

Plus, a little NA 4 banger is going to be pretty simple and easy to work on. Hopefully.

stickguy

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:

I have the lease end inspection on Thursday for the Enclave. I have to get some stuff out of it, but otherwise it's ready to go back.

They are coming in the morning and plans are to return it either that night or over the weekend.

That ends a 9 year run with Buick (2012 LaCrosse, 2015 Enclave, 2017 Enclave).

Just make sure you show the lease end inspector (2) keys.

Get them to sign a receipt too. Prevents aggravation later.

I’m taking a picture of the dealership person holding them.

Then they'll have the keys and lose the car.

I take pictures of the car too at the dealer. Just in case.

I do that with a rental car or U haul also if I don’t walk out with a full check in receipt printed out.

isellhondas

OK, in our effort to downsize we parted with our trusty 2003 Trail Blazer with 155,000 miles and traded in our 2007 Lexus ES 350 last week. Sitting side by side in out garage now is our 2016 CRV EXL with a whopping 15,000 miles....and.....Another CRV! this one is a white 2020 CRV EX...no leather! Hopefully I'll resist the urge to buy a third car that looks like fun. The Trailblazer was starting to nickle and dime us and so was the Lexus. Those nickles and dimes are more like 1000.00 every time something would happen. Last winter on a dry street, the TrailBlazer decided to throw itself into 4WD low range all by itself going 40 MPH! That was 1200.00! The Lexus dropped the passenger side window off it's track! Get this.....In order to fix this the entire glass and regulator need to be replaced! Lexus wanted 1000.00! I had them just disable it since I rarely lower that window anyway! Yes, I disclosed this to my old store where I traded it in. The 2020 CRV is MUCH different than the 2016 in a lot of ways. The technology is amazing and complex too! I'm still trying to figure it out. It has adaptive cruise control that is so spooky to use I doubt that I ever will. I was appalled to learn it has no CD player! How will I listen to my massive collection of over 300 CDS? It has Apple Play (whatever that is?) I have a newer I Phone. Oh man, I miss my 1952 Chevy!

xwesx

28firefighter said:

The Fiat isn't for me, but if you have the means to fix it then the value proposition is hard to argue with for a little convertible.

No doubt! The car is practically new, and, in the photos anyway, it looks like it! Strange "convertible" top on it, but definitely unique. It's like a Tesla, but without the glass.

stickguy

isellhondas said:

OK, in our effort to downsize we parted with our trusty 2003 Trail Blazer with 155,000 miles and traded in our 2007 Lexus ES 350 last week. Sitting side by side in out garage now is our 2016 CRV EXL with a whopping 15,000 miles....and.....Another CRV! this one is a white 2020 CRV EX...no leather! Hopefully I'll resist the urge to buy a third car that looks like fun. The Trailblazer was starting to nickle and dime us and so was the Lexus. Those nickles and dimes are more like 1000.00 every time something would happen. Last winter on a dry street, the TrailBlazer decided to throw itself into 4WD low range all by itself going 40 MPH! That was 1200.00! The Lexus dropped the passenger side window off it's track! Get this.....In order to fix this the entire glass and regulator need to be replaced! Lexus wanted 1000.00! I had them just disable it since I rarely lower that window anyway! Yes, I disclosed this to my old store where I traded it in. The 2020 CRV is MUCH different than the 2016 in a lot of ways. The technology is amazing and complex too! I'm still trying to figure it out. It has adaptive cruise control that is so spooky to use I doubt that I ever will. I was appalled to learn it has no CD player! How will I listen to my massive collection of over 300 CDS? It has Apple Play (whatever that is?) I have a newer I Phone. Oh man, I miss my 1952 Chevy!

Congrats. For the music, just copy them all to a flash drive and leave it in the car.

xwesx

isellhondas said:

Sitting side by side in out garage now is our 2016 CRV EXL with a whopping 15,000 miles....and.....Another CRV! this one is a white 2020 CRV EX...no leather! Hopefully I'll resist the urge to buy a third car that looks like fun.

Nice; congrats! You may need to update your handle from "isellhondas" to "ibuyhondas."

tjc78

"9.5 months."

But who is counting?


@isellhondas
Congrats!

explorerx4

A Rural Vermonter has a video on replacing the starter in a 500.
It was not an easy task.

stickguy

Well, thankfully, I’ve never had a car that needed one replaced!

28firefighter

tjc78 said:

"9.5 months."

But who is counting?


@isellhondas
Congrats!

This is the second longest I've held a car...that's a big deal...

xwesx

stickguy said:

Well, thankfully, I’ve never had a car that needed one replaced!

Have you ever had a Fiat?! Hahah; me neither... so I have no idea.

qbrozen

I've searched and it seems most owners have had positive experiences with their 500s. Most naysayers don't even own them and are just repeating past biases they have heard.

stickguy

Good luck finding a modern convertible with that low mileage for that price. That isn’t a fiat! At least I easily fit in the fiat, unlike a Miata.

kyfdx

Every 500 I've been in (including Abarth), the shifter feels like it's stuck in a bucket of molasses.

It just puts me off of them.... I'm sure it's a hoot, otherwise.

kyfdx

Punch... yesterday

28firefighter

So, hive mind, thinking about potential replacements for the i3. Not really thinking of doing anything now, but definitely all over the place a la @stickguy.

Here is what I am thinking off the top of my head.
(1) Buy an older daily driver something <$10k - thinking of that 2008 528xi 6MT I posted the other day. Downside to that is it is old, maintenance won't be cheap, and I imagine my running cost when all is said and done will still be in the 300-400 range. Anything I get here needs to have a little personality.

(2) Hack a lease on a BMW loaner of some kind - either a 330 or 540 (if I can find one). Downside here is that it will be considerably more than I pay now (everything is...) and they just don't get me all that excited.

(3) Pick up a Toyota Tacoma lease - my quick napkin math says if I can find a TRD Sport or Off-Road with Premium and Advanced tech at invoice, then I should be able to lease it for just under $300/month first month and MSDs at signing for 24 months. This is most intriguing for me because of the price point and I've always kind of wanted one in Cement or Army Green. Downside is that I really don't see myself using the utility of a pickup much, if ever, and it might annoy my wife as she isn't much of a pickup person.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

So, hive mind, thinking about potential replacements for the i3. Not really thinking of doing anything now, but definitely all over the place a la @stickguy.

Here is what I am thinking off the top of my head.
(1) Buy an older daily driver something

3) SR V6 4WD Double Cab... Killer residuals. MSRP is $34,XXX.

stickguy

28, roughly my conceptual plan options. Just not as fancy a car on the lease!

stickguy

kyfdx said:

Punch... yesterday

Nice. Looks like new. Remind me, year, miles and $? Definitely a nice basic spare car type.

kyfdx

My son's replacement for the Tacoma lease. He says he'll pay me for it, by the end of the year.

2012 Forester 2.5X w/manual transmission
125K miles.
Fairly well equipped... power everything... auto-dimming/compass mirror.

It really does look as good as the picture. Single owner, with the Carfax showing a ton of maintenance, including a new clutch at 97K miles.

$6315 + $250 doc fee + tax/title.