Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

roadburner

28firefighter said:

The service department makes or breaks the ownership experience for cars that perhaps have less-than-stellar reliability. Particularly when they don't adequately address a problem the first time and an owner has to keep coming back.

I looked up comments for the Clubmans of my car’s vintage on the CR website; one owner complained that the heater didn’t work. The dealer told her “They all do that.” In actuality the heaters in R55 Clubmans have no chronic issues.

explorerx4

I'm sure the low rating for Lincoln was due to the well documented(and ongoing?) new Explorer/Aviator disaster.

mjfloyd1

What is the explorer/ aviator disaster? I’ve not heard

Just looked it up - it’s bad when your driveshaft falls out

28firefighter

mjfloyd1 said:

What is the explorer/ aviator disaster? I’ve not heard

Just looked it up - it’s bad when your driveshaft falls out

It isn't a bug, it is a feature!

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

mjfloyd1 said:

What is the explorer/ aviator disaster? I’ve not heard

Just looked it up - it’s bad when your driveshaft falls out

It isn't a bug, it is a feature!

For off roading, like the Wrangler has sway bars that disconnect

mjfloyd1

Easily converted from All wheel drive to front wheel drive...

stickguy

the cheap fix for a Volvo with a bad angle gear too!

Michaell

Which MB should this member get?

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

When I looked at a 500 convertible they were low $20s. I think the hardtop was about $17k. My mid trim Soul listed at $22k with the base model at around $16k. When I bought in 19’ there were big discounts on the Soul.

Souls are a dime a dozen these days.

That’s only because they were 12 cents a dozen in their prime.🤪 They certainly are everywhere.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

fun times working on the Benz for what little time I had this weekend. I despise the fact they put this damned thing together with Torx bolts. Just absurd. I broke two T30 bits. Had to run to home depot and bought both loose ones they had plus a full set of bits that had one in it. Finish getting the cams out on one side, pull one head bolt, and then discover the E14 bit I bought off Amazon is too fat to fit in the hole. Had to order up 3/8 drive bits for delivery today. I'm taking pics along the way to prove the work was done for the next owner.

That’s interesting, JR was complaining of the same thing on his old 944 Porsche.

ab348

stickguy said:

the cheap fix for a Volvo with a bad angle gear too!

I was watching an ep of the recent Top Gear the other day where they were doing an off-road test of new SUVs. The Volvo suffered two fatal failures during their escapades including shearing of either the engine mounts or the front subframe connectors on the first one that they had. The replacement Volvo subsequently had another drivetrain failure. “They all do that” might have been true in that instance.

explorerx4

Latest GM news:
General Motors is recalling 5.9 million vehicles over defective Takata-built airbag inflators after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) denied GM's petition to avoid the recall.

roadburner

So much for a new 2er; production is locked with the end of production scheduled for 1/10/21

roadburner

I recently had a case where an idiot defendant tried to outrun the police in his POS pickup. The driveshaft fell out and the perp jumped out while the truck was still rolling. The truck then rolled backwards into one of the police cars.
The funny thing is that he was trying to avoid being picked up on a warrant for a no-show in a misdemeanor case. Now instead of looking at a maximum sentence of 12 months he’s now looking at up to 10 years.

28firefighter

So his Mensa membership is intact.

corvette

roadburner said:

...the perp jumped out while the truck was still rolling.

He's lucky he didn't get run over by one of the police who were chasing him.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I recently had a case where an idiot defendant tried to outrun the police in his POS pickup. The driveshaft fell out and the perp jumped out while the truck was still rolling. The truck then rolled backwards into one of the police cars.
The funny thing is that he was trying to avoid being picked up on a warrant for a no-show in a misdemeanor case. Now instead of looking at a maximum sentence of 12 months he’s now looking at up to 10 years.

With his ability to weigh the odds I bet he’s a favorite at the casino.

stickguy

corvette said:

roadburner said:

...the perp jumped out while the truck was still rolling.

He's lucky he didn't get run over by one of the police who were chasing him.

or his own pickup.

kyfdx

We built our house in 1998. We were the 3rd house in a small development of 35 houses.

The owner of the 2nd house built, who has been my friend for 22 years, recently contracted Covid-19, and has passed away.

Yes, over 80, but in relatively good health. I spent 20 minutes talking to him, just last month (from across the street).

ab348

Roadshow just dropped a review of the BMW M2 Competition. Not to bury the lead, they loved it.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2021-bmw-m2-competition-coupe-review

sda

kyfdx said:

We built our house in 1998. We were the 3rd house in a small development of 35 houses.

The owner of the 2nd house built, who has been my friend for 22 years, recently contracted Covid-19, and has passed away.

Yes, over 80, but in relatively good health. I spent 20 minutes talking to him, just last month (from across the street).

How horribly sad, sorry to learn.

28firefighter

Sorry to hear that @kyfdx.

tjc78

Sad news @kyfdx Very sorry to hear.

breld

Very sorry to hear of the passing of your friend @kyfdx.

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

We built our house in 1998. We were the 3rd house in a small development of 35 houses.

The owner of the 2nd house built, who has been my friend for 22 years, recently contracted Covid-19, and has passed away.

Yes, over 80, but in relatively good health. I spent 20 minutes talking to him, just last month (from across the street).

I'm sorry to hear about the death of your friend.

[Deleted User]

Sorry for your loss @kyfdx

roadburner

sda said:

kyfdx said:

We built our house in 1998. We were the 3rd house in a small development of 35 houses.

The owner of the 2nd house built, who has been my friend for 22 years, recently contracted Covid-19, and has passed away.

Yes, over 80, but in relatively good health. I spent 20 minutes talking to him, just last month (from across the street).

How horribly sad, sorry to learn.

Yes, I’m very sorry.

au1994

kyfdx said:

We built our house in 1998. We were the 3rd house in a small development of 35 houses.

The owner of the 2nd house built, who has been my friend for 22 years, recently contracted Covid-19, and has passed away.

Yes, over 80, but in relatively good health. I spent 20 minutes talking to him, just last month (from across the street).

That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 - did you get your S4?

Finally got the S4 yesterday in the dark of night. Pics coming soon. Transporter did a thorough inspection upon taking delivery from the dealership, and I seemed to trust them, as their inspection was more extensive than mine in the dark of night. They were also able to inspect in daylight, and shippers know to be meticulous because they can get blamed as the middle man.

Apparently I should have specified "faster shipping" with the selling dealer. Luckily, I wasn't in a super hurry, but they certainly gave the impression of not being in any rush at all whatsoever! They received the money (fully cleared) exactly 2 weeks before I got the car.

Car is far from "immaculate" as you'd expect in a car with 32K+ miles. I think it meets the standards of what a wise person that's been around the block would expect from a car with 32K miles (which is good), and it's a good thing I took the "immaculate" description by the sales lady over the phone with a grain of salt. Someone that took her literally would have been disappointed.

I couldn't resist a night test-drive though. For sure, the engine, quattro, and transmission feel good and strong. Definitely has that put your head into the back of your headrest power and torque from 0 MPH that I dig, .... a lot... and garners laughs from the 7 year old and complaints from the SO.

roadburner

ab348 said:

Roadshow just dropped a review of the BMW M2 Competition. Not to bury the lead, they loved it.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2021-bmw-m2-competition-coupe-review

I was talking to my friend who is the service advisor at my BMW center. He told me about another client who just picked up an M2 Competition to replace his M2. We all agree that the M2 is more like an M235i turned up to 11, while the M2C is on an entirely different level.
What convinced me of that was driving an M2C at the M Track Day at Kentucky Speedway.

nyccarguy

andres3 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 - did you get your S4?

Finally got the S4 yesterday in the dark of night. Pics coming soon. Transporter did a thorough inspection upon taking delivery from the dealership, and I seemed to trust them, as their inspection was more extensive than mine in the dark of night. They were also able to inspect in daylight, and shippers know to be meticulous because they can get blamed as the middle man.

Apparently I should have specified "faster shipping" with the selling dealer. Luckily, I wasn't in a super hurry, but they certainly gave the impression of not being in any rush at all whatsoever! They received the money (fully cleared) exactly 2 weeks before I got the car.

Car is far from "immaculate" as you'd expect in a car with 32K+ miles. I think it meets the standards of what a wise person that's been around the block would expect from a car with 32K miles (which is good), and it's a good thing I took the "immaculate" description by the sales lady over the phone with a grain of salt. Someone that took her literally would have been disappointed.

How many keys did you get with it? Will you sue the dealer for lost interest in your savings account over the past 2 weeks?

andres3

nyccarguy said:

andres3 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 - did you get your S4?

Finally got the S4 yesterday in the dark of night. Pics coming soon. Transporter did a thorough inspection upon taking delivery from the dealership, and I seemed to trust them, as their inspection was more extensive than mine in the dark of night. They were also able to inspect in daylight, and shippers know to be meticulous because they can get blamed as the middle man.

Apparently I should have specified "faster shipping" with the selling dealer. Luckily, I wasn't in a super hurry, but they certainly gave the impression of not being in any rush at all whatsoever! They received the money (fully cleared) exactly 2 weeks before I got the car.

Car is far from "immaculate" as you'd expect in a car with 32K+ miles. I think it meets the standards of what a wise person that's been around the block would expect from a car with 32K miles (which is good), and it's a good thing I took the "immaculate" description by the sales lady over the phone with a grain of salt. Someone that took her literally would have been disappointed.

How many keys did you get with it? Will you sue the dealer for lost interest in your savings account over the past 2 weeks?

2 Key Fob's, as expected. I did ask the transporter to verify and show me before signing.

LOL. NO lawsuits coming for a 2-week delivery delay. I will, however, if ever buying a car out of State with delivery included again, specify delivery in under 14 calendar days to final destination.

Transporter did confirm that if something happened during delivery "their insurance" would cover it.

sda

andres3 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@andres3 - did you get your S4?

Finally got the S4 yesterday in the dark of night. Pics coming soon. Transporter did a thorough inspection upon taking delivery from the dealership, and I seemed to trust them, as their inspection was more extensive than mine in the dark of night. They were also able to inspect in daylight, and shippers know to be meticulous because they can get blamed as the middle man.

Apparently I should have specified "faster shipping" with the selling dealer. Luckily, I wasn't in a super hurry, but they certainly gave the impression of not being in any rush at all whatsoever! They received the money (fully cleared) exactly 2 weeks before I got the car.

Car is far from "immaculate" as you'd expect in a car with 32K+ miles. I think it meets the standards of what a wise person that's been around the block would expect from a car with 32K miles (which is good), and it's a good thing I took the "immaculate" description by the sales lady over the phone with a grain of salt. Someone that took her literally would have been disappointed.

I couldn't resist a night test-drive though. For sure, the engine, quattro, and transmission feel good and strong. Definitely has that put your head into the back of your headrest power and torque from 0 MPH that I dig, .... a lot... and garners laughs from the 7 year old and complaints from the SO.

I’m sure you’re glad to finally take delivery. I suspect a weekend of detailing and waxing. I am still addressing a few small details on the Passat which most would just ignore. OCD kicks in. Though very clean and only 18k, it is 2 years old with some wear and minor blemishes. Enjoy.

28firefighter

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

breld

roadburner said:

ab348 said:

Roadshow just dropped a review of the BMW M2 Competition. Not to bury the lead, they loved it.

https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/reviews/2021-bmw-m2-competition-coupe-review

I was talking to my friend who is the service advisor at my BMW center. He told me about another client who just picked up an M2 Competition to replace his M2. We all agree that the M2 is more like an M235i turned up to 11, while the M2C is on an entirely different level.
What convinced me of that was driving an M2C at the M Track Day at Kentucky Speedway.

I’ve been reading articles and watching videos comparing the M2 and M2C - sounds like there is a preference for the exhaust note on the M2, but otherwise the M2C is clearly the improved model it’s intended to be. If some great buy on a 2018 LCI presented itself I could be tempted though.

I can see coming from an M235i you’d need to get the Comp to feel like you made a significant change. Suppose same could be said for the Supra.

corvette

28firefighter said:

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

IIRC, the first generation CX-5 was only offered with the turbo at first.

xwesx

andres3 said:

garners laughs from the 7 year old and complaints from the SO.

Your job here is done!

Congrats.

tifighter

A few maintenance items - I took the Z4 into a well-reviewed indy BMW guy just to get the PPI I never got in May and establish a baseline. He was quite positive about the car, and didn't really note that it had any issues, which is nice for once.

Then switched the X over to winters this week; ski season has started, and Nordic trails open up statewide Dec 1. Looks like I've put about 2500 miles on the car since March. Wow.

roadburner

corvette said:

28firefighter said:

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

IIRC, the first generation CX-5 was only offered with the turbo at first.

I thought that the first turbo Mazda CUV was the CX-7

stickguy

corvette said:

28firefighter said:

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

IIRC, the first generation CX-5 was only offered with the turbo at first.

I think you are confusing it with the RDX. That was a 2.3l turbo. The CX5 was originally only available with the NA 2.0l and was a putt putt mobile.

I drove the Mazda 6 with that drivetrain. I seem to recall it did not feel noticeably different than the regular engine, at least in the driving I was able to do on the test drive, but I am sure if you really hammer it it will be quite a bit faster. maybe 6.5 0-60 vs. 8.0?

28firefighter

I actually think he might be thinking of the CX-7 which did come with a 2.3L Turbo. IIRC, @Michaell had one. This turbo is totally different from that.

I keep coming back to picking up a 2019 GTI SE with Experience or Autobahn (to get the Fender audio and DCC) because they depreciated so heavily - if you shop right, can be found with sub 20k miles for the low 20s when the MSRP was the upper 30s. Seems like the perfect all around, all-weather daily driver....

Michaell

28firefighter said:

I actually think he might be thinking of the CX-7 which did come with a 2.3L Turbo. IIRC, @Michaell had one. This turbo is totally different from that.

I keep coming back to picking up a 2019 GTI SE with Experience or Autobahn (to get the Fender audio and DCC) because they depreciated so heavily - if you shop right, can be found with sub 20k miles for the low 20s when the MSRP was the upper 30s. Seems like the perfect all around, all-weather daily driver....

Yep, we had a CX-7 for something like 4 years and 60,000 miles. I really liked it, but the research showed it was akin to driving a grenade with the pin pulled. Bailed out of it and into the Outback.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

They had the turbo last year, on the GTR and Signature models.

28firefighter

Yeah - I meant 2020 as the new one - I guess 21s are out now.

au1994

28firefighter said:

I actually think he might be thinking of the CX-7 which did come with a 2.3L Turbo. IIRC, @Michaell had one. This turbo is totally different from that.

I keep coming back to picking up a 2019 GTI SE with Experience or Autobahn (to get the Fender audio and DCC) because they depreciated so heavily - if you shop right, can be found with sub 20k miles for the low 20s when the MSRP was the upper 30s. Seems like the perfect all around, all-weather daily driver....

Well, the GTI is awfully popular in these parts so I don’t think anyone is going to argue with you on this one

When you think about it, its not a stretch to say they are the new Saab. Fun to drive, functional with the hatchback, good in all weather, European.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Has anyone here driven the new CX-5 with the Turbo? Seems very compelling.

I’ve driven a CX-5 recently but I doubt it was a turbo. I like Mazda interiors over their competition.

corvette

Yes, I was confusing the CX-5 with the CX-7. I think the CX-7 was introduced as only featuring the turbo engine, then later they introduced a decontented non-turbo model.

The CX-5 was lauded for its driving dynamics, while simultaneously being panned for the 2.0 liter SkyActiv engine not having enough grunt. They later offered a larger displacement four, and the current model offers a turbo.

28firefighter

Interesting tidbit about the i3 that I've been tracking. Last year when the temperatures dropped below 50 (generally staying above 30) my range dropped down from about 125-140 miles to 100ish average per charge. This year, I'm averaging 70-85 miles per change with the temps below 50.

I know cold weather hampers EV range, but I'm wondering if something is going on? Seems like a pretty steep year over year drop to attribute to battery wear.

stickguy

if I decide to buy soon a 2019 GTI autobahn for low 20s would be a fantastic option. Still has the 6 year warranty too.

stickguy

son is visiting and I had to run out to the store with him, and he wanted to drive the RDX since he never had. I now know what sport+ is like. Revs a whole lot higher, and (per him) the steering firms up. Plus on the dash get extra gauges for boost and acceleration Gs (I think). Basically nothing I really need to use!