Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

isellhondas said:

28firefighter said:

So I watched JRGo’s latest video and I think I’m done with his channel. It is great he’s invested in space for a shop. However, there is just entirely too much stupidity wrapped up into one video for me to support.

Top hits of stupidity...
(1) A large, unmasked gathering of people in a part of the country where COVID cases have exploded. In attendance were several folks who would be deemed high risk. On the next episode of WatchJRGo, “I’m a super spreader.”

(2) Doing massive donuts and burnouts in a confined space with many people standing around - including one person in a wheelchair who would have no ability to move out of the way if someone lost control.

(3) In case #1 wasn’t convincing, I’m sure standing in a building full of burnt rubber and diesel engine smoke without proper ventilation will really help keep their lungs in tip top shape.

I’m all for celebrating but come on...like one big cars and coffee ooopsie waiting to happen. There is a place to do crazy stuff - it’s called the track.

I watched the same episode and even commented on the stupid burnouts. Anymore of this from him and I'm done. I really like the Vise Grip Garage guy and Weird Beard the best.

I guess you’re done with him now after his latest video doing the 4 wheeler spins.

28firefighter

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

I was curious. I skimmed so missed the purchase price. I did watch his tour, and that place can eat up a lot of money real quick fixing it up.

but lots of room for projects!

Michaell

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

I was curious. I skimmed so missed the purchase price. I did watch his tour, and that place can eat up a lot of money real quick fixing it up.

but lots of room for projects!

I'll bet he drops another $100K to get it sorted and equipped the way he wants.

I wish he had posted the tour video first rather than the "grand opening" festivities.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

Good BBQ?

stickguy

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

It's flat? Is that a perk?

stickguy

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

I was curious. I skimmed so missed the purchase price. I did watch his tour, and that place can eat up a lot of money real quick fixing it up.

but lots of room for projects!

I'll bet he drops another $100K to get it sorted and equipped the way he wants.

I wish he had posted the tour video first rather than the "grand opening" festivities.

$100K easy if you want to address all the issues and make it nice. Roof, giant garage doors, industrial electric, none of that comes cheap. At least he might get sponsored on some stuff like the Bendpak lifts.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

No hills to ruin your hypermiling.

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

No hills to ruin your hypermiling.

Depends on which way you're driving.

It's all uphill from east to west - KC, KS, is 869' above sea level, while Goodland, KS, the closest town on I-70 near the CO border, is 3681' above sea level. 2800' is still a decent climb, even if it's over 450+ miles.

When you drive west to east, as @kyfdx did after buying the GTI off @breld (was that really only in February? Seems like ages ago), he got great MPG from that, and, likely, being downwind most of the way.

tjc78

It’s been two weeks with the XC90 and wife and I both are super impressed. We really liked our Enclaves but the difference in the driving feel is night and day. With the Buick it felt as big and heavy as it was (in a good way), but the Volvo seems downright nimble compared to it. The T6 has plenty of power for it and the ride is firm, but nowhere near harsh.

It’s a little smaller than the Enclave which the wife noticed, but we both agreed it’s plenty big.

All in all a good choice for us, and think we will be happy with it for the three years.

fintail

Short commute for storm chasing?

kyfdx said:

Name another one?

corvette

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

I was curious. I skimmed so missed the purchase price. I did watch his tour, and that place can eat up a lot of money real quick fixing it up.

but lots of room for projects!

I'll bet he drops another $100K to get it sorted and equipped the way he wants.

I wish he had posted the tour video first rather than the "grand opening" festivities.

Easily. He was already talking about all new garage doors (of which there are over a dozen on the building he is going to use). I was concerned he might have bitten off more than he can chew, because I found the commercial listing and I think it was listed at one point for $500k before it was auctioned. I think he said the electrical panels were in decent shape, so it will probably be a matter of customization, which he may do himself. And he can lease the unused building--heck, he could probably rent it to Hoovie to store the cars he has in the rented barn.

At $236k, he can probably get decent loan terms. I'm not extremely familiar with commercial mortgages, but my understanding is that the more money you borrow on a commercial building, the more likely it is that the financing will be a 30 year amortization with a balloon in 5 years--in other words, the bank can reassess your situation (and theirs) after five years, and have the option to pull the plug by refusing to refinance.

Michaell

corvette said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

I was curious. I skimmed so missed the purchase price. I did watch his tour, and that place can eat up a lot of money real quick fixing it up.

but lots of room for projects!

I'll bet he drops another $100K to get it sorted and equipped the way he wants.

I wish he had posted the tour video first rather than the "grand opening" festivities.

Easily. He was already talking about all new garage doors (of which there are over a dozen on the building he is going to use). I was concerned he might have bitten off more than he can chew, because I found the commercial listing and I think it was listed at one point for $500k before it was auctioned. I think he said the electrical panels were in decent shape, so it will probably be a matter of customization, which he may do himself. And he can lease the unused building--heck, he could probably rent it to Hoovie to store the cars he has in the rented barn.

At $236k, he can probably get decent loan terms. I'm not extremely familiar with commercial mortgages, but my understanding is that the more money you borrow on a commercial building, the more likely it is that the financing will be a 30 year amortization with a balloon in 5 years--in other words, the bank can reassess your situation (and theirs) after five years, and have the option to pull the plug by refusing to refinance.

He posted a video today that broke down the costs. All in, he estimates $3500/mo. Property tax was around $15k annually.

corvette

I did some cocktail napkin calculations, and the more I look at them, the more I think that, for people who want to have something new-ish and swap vehicles every 3-ish years, a decent lease is probably a far better deal than buying slightly used and trading after the same three year period. And, if you can get a "bargain" lease similar to the Tacoma or Tundra, you come out far ahead. In most of the calculations, the only way the cost comes out significantly lower for a three year time period (factoring in estimates for maintenance and repairs), is to buy something 5+ years old outright, and it also helps if you keep it for a longer time period than three years (which is tough for most of us here).

corvette

Really liking LegitStreetCars' build of an ML55 AMG. I would not trust the reliability of the first-gen ML, but given his experience as a former MB tech, I'm sure he will be fine.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

I did some cocktail napkin calculations, and the more I look at them, the more I think that, for people who want to have something new-ish and swap vehicles every 3-ish years, a decent lease is probably a far better deal than buying slightly used and trading after the same three year period. And, if you can get a "bargain" lease similar to the Tacoma or Tundra, you come out far ahead. In most of the calculations, the only way the cost comes out significantly lower for a three year time period (factoring in estimates for maintenance and repairs), is to buy something 5+ years old outright, and it also helps if you keep it for a longer time period than three years (which is tough for most of us here).

And here I thought my buying cars and keeping them until they disintegrated was hoarding. Now I find out I’m amortizing.🚘

breld

corvette said:

I did some cocktail napkin calculations, and the more I look at them, the more I think that, for people who want to have something new-ish and swap vehicles every 3-ish years, a decent lease is probably a far better deal than buying slightly used and trading after the same three year period. And, if you can get a "bargain" lease similar to the Tacoma or Tundra, you come out far ahead. In most of the calculations, the only way the cost comes out significantly lower for a three year time period (factoring in estimates for maintenance and repairs), is to buy something 5+ years old outright, and it also helps if you keep it for a longer time period than three years (which is tough for most of us here).

As most of us probably do, I give a LOT of thought to this. Usually it’s done in a way to simply justify whatever purchase I’m currently desiring.

I’d tend to agree with you, but I think it’s largely dependent on the specific vehicle. Of course the largest cost usually will be depreciation of the car, so I would generally think that cost of years 1-3 of a brand new car is greater than years 3-6 of the same used car.

But years ago when we had an Odyssey, I started to rethink that. We bought a used 3 year old model and then traded it after a couple years. Once I thought about it, I think we would have experienced a similar loss in value on a new one. Now, that’s with a Honda product, and a popular one at that. And of course you have to finance or otherwise pay for the higher cost of a new example until you trade or sell.

Leasing makes that much easier - you only have to finance a portion of the cost of the car and you have a fixed exit.

Best thing in any case is to amortize the cost over a longer period, which I find very challenging. 😀

kyfdx

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Looks like JR stole those warehouses. Listed for over $400k and he got it for $236k. Commercial real estate must be in the dumpster in his area.

Perks of Kansas I guess.

Name another one?

Good BBQ?

To be fair, I had decent BBQ in Junction City, where I stopped for lunch.

But, most of the good BBQ that people might connect with Kansas, is actually in Kansas City, Missouri.

Sandman6472

Or just find something you really like enough to keep 5 to 6 years. I think I would've been o k with the Golf had I worked closer to home and not putting on 13K miles/year. Starting year 7 of ownership come December 12th, and say if I had only driven 7K/year, I'd just be in the mid forties right now, a big difference. But also, I've had some unusual issues that most vehicles just don't get.
Now today, I drove a new 2021 Rav4, a 2020 VW Atlas and a 2020 Ford Ecosport to name a few. The Rav4 was a real delight to drive as well as was the Atlas, but both a bit big for my garage. The Ecosport would fit nicely but, it just wasn't that peppy on the turnpike and the interior was a bit on the cheap side. I wouldn't buy one, it was an "SE" model which is mid-grade with the "Titanium" being their top of the line. My co-worker drove a 2021 Ford Escape and it looked nicer and am betting it drove nicer to. But not sure if it would fit on my side of the garage either since the last generation Escape just made it with maybe an inch to spare on each side. So, that would be out also.
Sat in a new 2021 Jetta at the VW store and that also is really tight on my side of the garage. I know a Mini Cooper will fit nicely as does the GTI but that new 2021 Taos might just make it but I'd probably want the "SE" or "SEL" and they can be a bit pricey. So for me right now, keeping the Golf and fixing the issues that crop up is still the best way to go, but only for another year, maybe two!

stickguy

I just watched that ML video, and was popping over to post the link. Give QB something to think about after he finishes the head bolts! Or is his the generation after this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWD67quZyds

qbrozen

Mine is the next gen ml63

stickguy

Good points on modestly used cars depreciating. If you are buying used, get something that is hammered by year 2, so less room to fall! A couple year old Honda, traditionally not a great idea, especially if you are going to cross the threshold of what is usually considered low miles, to higher miles. can take a much bigger hit going from 40k to 80k, than 0k to 40k.

I did see on Rodo a few offers recently below the 1% target. All happened to be Hyundais. a couple Ionics, and an Elantra. The Elantra (a blue value edition, so moonroof, BLIS, etc.) stickered for about 22k, and was $214 DAS, $214/month 36/30,000. So, cheap monthly, cheap to run.

And at this point, very real chance that we will hit 10 years on the new RDX and not have cracked 60,000 miles.

stickguy

saw my sisters new (got it this past April) Forester. Very impressive. Should have showed this to the wife instead of the outback. Its a nice medium blue, touring model so well loaded with the saddle brown interior. Super good looking color combo. Comfy seats, nice size, excellent visibility. No wonder they are popular. She seemed to think it was plenty fast enough (it replaced a 4 cyl TSX). She certainly is not a drag racer, but she said it zipped along just fine at 80.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

saw my sisters new (got it this past April) Forester. Very impressive. Should have showed this to the wife instead of the outback. Its a nice medium blue, touring model so well loaded with the saddle brown interior. Super good looking color combo. Comfy seats, nice size, excellent visibility. No wonder they are popular. She seemed to think it was plenty fast enough (it replaced a 4 cyl TSX). She certainly is not a drag racer, but she said it zipped along just fine at 80.

They’re great. Needs a turbo.

stickguy

I'm almost positive my wife would not notice the difference.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I'm almost positive my wife would not notice the difference.

Mine would.

tjc78

Mine too.

ab348

An online friend sent me a link to her father's pickup he had decided to sell - a 2008 Silverado LT with the 6.2 engine which he bought new and used for trailer towing in the summer. In winter it lived in the garage as they went to Florida. About 65K miles, insanely clean and pristine. She said her dad was obsessive that way. Black exterior with alloys, a light (gray or tan, one of those GM non-colors) cloth interior, 4 doors. It was tempting but he was asking $16K Cdn which struck me as a lot for a 12 y-o truck. If it was $12K I might have been interested myself. But apparently it sold right away.

nyccarguy

A few weeks ago, the Pilot needed service. In preparation, I bought all my own parts for the mechanic. At close to 3 years & 58K miles I decided it was time for a brake fluid change, the rear differential fluid needed changing, it needed an oil & filter change, & a Tire Rotation.

$4.59 for a bottle of OEM Honda Brake Fluid & a $100.00 Labor Charge (the dealer wanted $150 for a brake fluid service).

$15.26 for 2 bottles of OEM Honda Dual Pump II Fluid & a $75 Labor Charge (the dealer wanted $120 for a rear differential service). Plus the last time I had the diff fluid changed (15K miles), the dealer put too much fluid in (the mechanic measured when he drained it).

Oil & Filter Change was most likely a wash. He charged me $30 Labor and I supplied the OEM Honda Filter & Mobil 1 0W20 Full Synthetic Oil.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

An online friend sent me a link to her father's pickup he had decided to sell - a 2008 Silverado LT with the 6.2 engine which he bought new and used for trailer towing in the summer. In winter it lived in the garage as they went to Florida. About 65K miles, insanely clean and pristine. She said her dad was obsessive that way. Black exterior with alloys, a light (gray or tan, one of those GM non-colors) cloth interior, 4 doors. It was tempting but he was asking $16K Cdn which struck me as a lot for a 12 y-o truck. If it was $12K I might have been interested myself. But apparently it sold right away.

Truck prices have gone truly insane recently. I was recently looking at small pick ups for sale and couldn’t find anything made in this century for under $10k that didn’t have 200,000 miles on it.

A truck with that milage regardless of year would be very desirable. What did the previous owner tow? If it was heavy stuff you might have dodged a bullet.

nyccarguy

My mechanic also noted the brakes are low and will need to be replaced by the next time I have the oil changed. BernardiParts.com (where I have found they have good pricing and an easy to navigate website) had a "Black Friday Weekend Special," 10% off if you spend $200 ($75 plus is always free shipping). I bought a set of OEM Pads & Rotors for the front & rear for $433.

stickguy

a PU like that is always going to be snapped up immediately.

I know what you mean about inflated prices. Every time I think about a used smaller truck (Ranger, Colorado, Frontier class) and cruise the listings, it is obscene. Standard cabs with needs and lots of miles for silly money.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

a PU like that is always going to be snapped up immediately.

I know what you mean about inflated prices. Every time I think about a used smaller truck (Ranger, Colorado, Frontier class) and cruise the listings, it is obscene. Standard cabs with needs and lots of miles for silly money.

Speaking of pickups, my wife found a full sized Air Hockey table for sale in a very ritzy town at a good price. The thing is 4' x 8'. I got it strapped in and home safely. Definitely going to need a Full Sized truck next time:)

[Deleted User]

28firefighter said:

There is a broker on the east coast that gets deals like this regularly. Swapalease is legit. I’d say you might be able to get close on a new one for yourself if you shop a bit.

Thanks @28firefighter, I guess I was a little skeptical with the price at first, but then the stock photo, the cut and paste of all the specifics and it's listed as grey over blue? I did send an email and left him a voicemail but no response yet.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Truck prices have gone truly insane recently. I was recently looking at small pick ups for sale and couldn’t find anything made in this century for under $10k that didn’t have 200,000 miles on it.

A truck with that milage regardless of year would be very desirable. What did the previous owner tow? If it was heavy stuff you might have dodged a bullet.

She said they once had a travel trailer, but decided they weren't going to do that any more, so they sold that as well.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

My mechanic also noted the brakes are low and will need to be replaced by the next time I have the oil changed. BernardiParts.com (where I have found they have good pricing and an easy to navigate website) had a "Black Friday Weekend Special," 10% off if you spend $200 ($75 plus is always free shipping). I bought a set of OEM Pads & Rotors for the front & rear for $433.

Does it need rotors? I was under the impression that having rotors worn below spec every time the pads wear out was more common on European cars, but not Asian or domestic ones.

roadburner

stickguy said:

a PU like that is always going to be snapped up immediately.

I know what you mean about inflated prices. Every time I think about a used smaller truck (Ranger, Colorado, Frontier class) and cruise the listings, it is obscene. Standard cabs with needs and lots of miles for silly money.

It's the same situation with 2-4 year old Wranglers. Might as well buy new.

stickguy

Wranglers and most Hondas always fell into the better to buy new category. When you see 1-2 YO ones listed for more than the real price of a new one, only makes sense.

sda

That’s why I bought the Accord new. Depreciation on the Passat is heavy which made for a good used car buy, especially since it has a factory warranty to 7yrs/84k remaining
and it currently has 19k/ mi.

kyfdx

The best used cars are from @breld

stickguy

I wish I got the one you did.

roadburner

If I had the garage space I would have bid on this. Far from perfect but I could have it looking much better with a weekend or so of effort..

stickguy

cool looking. But IMO that generation just got too bargey.

I just couldn't get something like that with the automatic. And personal issue, I despise that design of the shifter that Ford used back then.

My future (at the time) BIL had a 72 or 73 Mach 1 FB somewhere in the mid 70s, that I got to ride in a few times. His was IIRC a 302, but it did have a manual (3 speed though). bet that is a rare combo these days.

Oh, and I do remember one thing. be really careful cresting a hill on a wet road. that back end, had a mind of it's own.

stickguy

now this one, is right up my alley. For the right price, I would love to have one of these as my toy.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-dodge-omni-3/

stickguy

oh, picture posted using Chrome on a Win10 antique laptop. I just copied the link and stuck it in the drop down box URL section..

tjc78

kyfdx said:

The best used cars are from @breld

Plenty of inventory, that’s for sure!

tjc78

stickguy said:

now this one, is right up my alley. For the right price, I would love to have one of these as my toy.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1985-dodge-omni-3/

I have a soft spot for those and the Shelby Chargers since I was a kid. Dad had an 86 Shelby Charger. It was such a cool car to ride in when you were a kid in the 80s.

mjfloyd1

kyfdx said:

The best used cars are from @breld

But an @breld clutch is a ticking time bomb 💣

28firefighter

Burn.