Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I thought the N line still had the 201ish HP version that the Sport had (it is just a rename of the trim?) That would be the comparable car to a base WRX or GTI anyway. Though on the Hyundai corporate vehicles site, they don't have the N line listed yet either.

edit: just checked, and it is the 201 (they use the detuned 176 HP in non sporty models of the Tucson, etc.). Same powertrain I had. Pretty quick, and entertaining.

this looks like a nice upgrade to the model I had. Probably should have kept that. Would have it it just had a power driver's seat (convincing myself to live without that was a mistake). And the base stereo was dismal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhEZkcnm4D4

ab348

The ATS has a camera mounted in a little black box below the rear view mirror that is flush with the windshield. At least I assume there is a camera in there. It seems to do lane departure, speed limit notification and rainsense wipers.

explorerx4

My wife's MKC has some sensor that needed to be recalibrated when she got her windshield replaced.
Might be something to do with the rain sensing wipers.

stickguy

Explorer, I watched a couple of reviews of the new design F150. Looks like nice upgrades. If you plan to get another one at some point!

venture

stickguy said:

Subaru Eyesight lives in a box up by the rear view mirror too. So if you replace the windshield, that has to come off and after putting on the new one, all has to be recalibrated.

Well...sort of.

It actually has 2 cameras, one on each side of the mirror, and they don't touch the windshield. Yes, they should be recalibrated if the windshield is replaced.

breld

@stickguy summed up the WRX vs GLI/GTI very well.

The WRX is fast as all get out, but just wasn’t particularly enjoyable to drive. I’ve tried them out 3-4 times and have always gone with a competitor.

venture

breld said:

@stickguy summed up the WRX vs GLI/GTI very well.

The WRX is fast as all get out, but just wasn’t particularly enjoyable to drive. I’ve tried them out 3-4 times and have always gone with a competitor.

But the WRX is fun to test drive. I usually drive a WRX before buying something else too...just for the fun.

stickguy

oh, I certainly was glad I did. at least I finally knew what I was missing. Then bought something else.

corvette

explorerx4 said:

My wife's MKC has some sensor that needed to be recalibrated when she got her windshield replaced.
Might be something to do with the rain sensing wipers.

Probably one of the safety nannies. But, the E39 and my Yukon both had windshields replaced, and didn't have to have the rain sensing wipers recalibrated. The E39's rain sensor didn't work as well after the replacement, though.

breld

Speaking of WRX’s, I saw this at the Volvo lot - I love this edition of it, especially with the Recaro seats.

https://www.mcdonaldvolvocars.com/used/Subaru/2019-Subaru-WRX-32bcdd020a0e0a17698ea0af9b9b213f.htm

roadburner

28firefighter said:

So, the lease transfer is in progress on the i3 - applicant was approved. Now just a paperwork and waiting game. Also, our home refinance should be closing on Saturday, so I'll be out of refi purgatory.

Has anyone here owned/driven a WRX that they could compare it to a GTI? I already know it won't be as refined, but feel like I should drive it just to cross-shop. Manual obviously, since the CVT is an abomination in that application.

I drove a new STI before I bought the 2 Series. I liked it pretty well, but it just felt too similar to my Mazdaspeed3. I'd prefer a GTI to a WRX, but an STI to a GTI.

stickguy

just saw an ad on TV about the Philly auto show. I assumed it was just getting scrapped, but they moved it back instead (for now, I guess!). Instead of early February, it will be in June. Though unlikely I hold out that long before buying something for myself.

stickguy

roadburner said:

28firefighter said:

So, the lease transfer is in progress on the i3 - applicant was approved. Now just a paperwork and waiting game. Also, our home refinance should be closing on Saturday, so I'll be out of refi purgatory.

Has anyone here owned/driven a WRX that they could compare it to a GTI? I already know it won't be as refined, but feel like I should drive it just to cross-shop. Manual obviously, since the CVT is an abomination in that application.

I drove a new STI before I bought the @ Series. I liked it pretty well, but it just felt too similar to my Mazdaspeed3. I'd prefer a GTI to a WRX, but an STI to a GTI.

comparison wise though, I assume the STi should be compared to the Golf R.

explorerx4

@corvette,
My wife confirmed the recalibration for for the rain sensing wipers.

explorerx4

@stickguy,
Although if I got another F-150, I'd like to get an XLT, it just doesn't work for us.
We usually, not this year, do a lot of long distance trips, so I like having memory seats.
You can't get those is an XLT, so I'm more likely to look at a higher end leftover.
Wife and I split a lot of the driving. Sometimes I can't get her out of the drivers' seat.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

I just realized today while cleaning up my files that we have a personal record 5 free-and-clear car titles in hand. 6 vehicle title if you count my motorcycle.

Nice! Same here! (Seven, if you count both my three-wheelers...)

xwesx

tjc78 said:

My S60 is Crystal (pearl) white and our XC is Ice white. In most lighting it’s very hard to tell the difference.

Like you, I do generally prefer the pearl whites but in some instances a nice bright white looks great.

I’ve owned more white cars than anything else at this point by far.

To this point, I have no white or black cars in my history; I am fully okay with keeping it that way!

tjc78

My Golf Cart is paid off, does that count.

xwesx

ab348 said:

Our crappy '74 Maverick taught me a lesson about automotive white paint at an early age. It was Ford Polar White, paint code 9D. Then the factory paint began flaking off the bottoms of the front fenders behind the wheels. I thought it would be easy to prep and respray that area. What I didn't know is that unlike black paint which is almost always just black (not so much today with metallic blacks, etc), there are an infinite number of formulations of white. I just bought a generic rattle can of white at a parts store and it didn't match at all, being way too bright. So I went to an auto body supply place and had them mix me the smallest can of Polar White they could. It had a lot of brown in it, and was not a bright white at all by comparison. Never liked that shade of white ever since.

Context is probably good to have when it comes to naming of colors.... See, "polar" white would rightly be a somewhat darker, earthy tone because in polar areas, snowfall is not necessarily as frequent as one might believe. And, with dust constantly settling on the surface of the snow, as well as during the long, slow spring melt, the surface of the snow tends to tinge a brownish grey on a regular basis. Only during and shortly after fresh snowfalls does the landscape turn a so-bright-its-featureless white.

xwesx

roadburner said:

stickguy said:

that makes sense. and one reason I never use the auto setting. it will blast heat or cold and change fan speeds when it feels like it needs to. I just want to pick a temp and fan setting and just leave it there. And don't like the AC running all the time.

I have no complaints with the automatic systems in the BMW, Mazda, or Mini vehicles I’ve owned. All have been “set and forget” with no issues. Likewise, I can be happy with an efficient manual HVAC system.

My Q7's ACC is set-and-forget for me as well, but my wife complains about it any time she is in the car. She's a woman of extremes when it comes to the temperature in the car... it's all hot, all cold, or off until one or the other is needed again. For her, there's no satisfaction in moderation.

xwesx

tjc78 said:

My Golf Cart is paid off, does that count.

Of course! It's a start, anyway.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

@stickguy,
Although if I got another F-150, I'd like to get an XLT, it just doesn't work for us.
We usually, not this year, do a lot of long distance trips, so I like having memory seats.
You can't get those is an XLT, so I'm more likely to look at a higher end leftover.
Wife and I split a lot of the driving. Sometimes I can't get her out of the drivers' seat.

It is funny how the naming conventions must keep getting more and more "elite" sounding. Forty years ago, XLT was the best-of-the-best trim available in the F150. Now, it's the "basic" version (or nearly so).

xwesx

Well, I ended up buying a car and a house on the same day. That's pretty cool! So much for debt-free living.

stickguy

my bicycle is paid off. And my push mower. But with only 1 car that is almost brand new, I am not doing to well with the titles in hand deal!

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

My 2009 Genesis clattered on startup from day 1. Others complained too, Hyundai claimed it was due to the top mounted oil filter draining back. Not sure if anything was ever done with that design on the 3.8.

I had the same oil filter situation on my Lincoln. The oil would drain down and the hydraulic timing chain tensioners took a few seconds to gain pressure. Rattled on start up for the 4 years I owned it.

28firefighter

GTI I was looking at sold...whoops!

Michaell

Titles to both the MINI and the Subaru are in my lock box.

corvette

Michaell said:

Titles to both the MINI and the Subaru are in my lock box.

I haven't been to my lockbox in over a year. I need to visit to update the list of passcodes and list of people who may wish to do me harm, etc. *shrugs*

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Our crappy '74 Maverick taught me a lesson about automotive white paint at an early age. It was Ford Polar White, paint code 9D. Then the factory paint began flaking off the bottoms of the front fenders behind the wheels. I thought it would be easy to prep and respray that area. What I didn't know is that unlike black paint which is almost always just black (not so much today with metallic blacks, etc), there are an infinite number of formulations of white. I just bought a generic rattle can of white at a parts store and it didn't match at all, being way too bright. So I went to an auto body supply place and had them mix me the smallest can of Polar White they could. It had a lot of brown in it, and was not a bright white at all by comparison. Never liked that shade of white ever since.

The white on my cargo van also peels off in sheets. That seems to be a characteristic of whites. Mine is Olympic white but it has weathered so badly that when I fixed a rust area and repainted with Olympic white, it didn’t match.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

I don’t remember the Mustangs being affected as badly, but it’s a problem. Even late run F150s suffer from it.

A quick Google will confirm it’s an issue

Modern Mustangs and other Ford’s with aluminum hoods have paint chipping problems along the leading edge.

Michaell

corvette said:

Michaell said:

Titles to both the MINI and the Subaru are in my lock box.

I haven't been to my lockbox in over a year. I need to visit to update the list of passcodes and list of people who may wish to do me harm, etc. *shrugs*

Oh, yeah, that list.

:laughing:

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

corvette said:

Michaell said:

Titles to both the MINI and the Subaru are in my lock box.

I haven't been to my lockbox in over a year. I need to visit to update the list of passcodes and list of people who may wish to do me harm, etc. *shrugs*

Oh, yeah, that list.

:laughing:

Is that like an enemies list?

https://youtu.be/6aRu2H05Hno

Michaell

Be kind if you decide to reply

ab348

Yet another recall for the new Explorer and Aviator. Bad motor mount bolts this time. At least this one is a small one. Apparently the 10th recall for the Explorer this year.


https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/2020-ford-explorer-recalled-for-the-10th-time-in-a-single-year

breld

As much as I liked the driving experience with the Explorer ST I tried out earlier this year, I did have reservations with the quality of materials and workmanship. That news there doesn’t do anything to help.

explorerx4

Recalls are bad, but it also means a potential problem is going to get fixed.
Over 66k Aviators/Explorers were sold in Q3. This recall affects 1,405 of this generation.
Of those 1,405, how many actually have the problem?

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

Recalls are bad, but it also means a potential problem is going to get fixed.
Over 66k Aviators/Explorers were sold in Q3. This recall affects 1,405 of this generation.
Of those 1,405, how many actually have the problem?

I'd imagine you'd have to beat on it pretty good to break the motor mount bolt. Maybe it was discovered when one got into an accident or was offroading or something else harsh. Just a guess.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

explorerx4 said:

Recalls are bad, but it also means a potential problem is going to get fixed.
Over 66k Aviators/Explorers were sold in Q3. This recall affects 1,405 of this generation.
Of those 1,405, how many actually have the problem?

I'd imagine you'd have to beat on it pretty good to break the motor mount bolt. Maybe it was discovered when one got into an accident or was offroading or something else harsh. Just a guess.

I managed to break a motor mount on my 69’ Plymouth. Took many years of hard effort but I did it.

explorerx4

@olfarmer50,
How many new Explorers have you driven? HAHA.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@olfarmer50,
How many new Explorers have you driven? HAHA.

A few. I drove an Edge down your way yesterday. Down rt. 8 to Stratford just past the old Sikorsky plant. Surprised they got that much snow.

mjfloyd1

Swap of wrangler for x3m40i went almost without a hitch. They had loan APR as 1.9% and it was supposed to be 0.9% but they corrected it right away. They had me in and out within 30 minutes since I sent all paperwork in and loan was taken care of yesterday. There was a $4500 rebate if I financed for 3 months with BMW FS

The ride back was uneventful. The ride was great on the highway. I must have been aiming for potholes when I initially test drove one but it was at night and on unfamiliar roads.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

Swap of wrangler for x3m40i went almost without a hitch. They had loan APR as 1.9% and it was supposed to be 0.9% but they corrected it right away. They had me in and out within 30 minutes since I sent all paperwork in and loan was taken care of yesterday. There was a $4500 rebate if I financed for 3 months with BMW FS

The ride back was uneventful. The ride was great on the highway. I must have been aiming for potholes when I initially test drove one but it was at night and on unfamiliar roads.

I've never had a BMW dealer finance office that didn't try to markup the interest or money factor.

Michaell

Help with negotiations

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/64478/general/x/negotiation-techniques-when-leasing-a-popular-vehicle#latest

mjfloyd1

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Swap of wrangler for x3m40i went almost without a hitch. They had loan APR as 1.9% and it was supposed to be 0.9% but they corrected it right away. They had me in and out within 30 minutes since I sent all paperwork in and loan was taken care of yesterday. There was a $4500 rebate if I financed for 3 months with BMW FS

The ride back was uneventful. The ride was great on the highway. I must have been aiming for potholes when I initially test drove one but it was at night and on unfamiliar roads.

I've never had a BMW dealer finance office that didn't try to markup the interest or money factor.

Strangely I had to go next door to the Honda store for the finance guy.

The extended maintenance of $899 for years 4 and 5 seems kinda steep...he said their cost was $749

Or $1699 for 5 years wheel and tire coverage - they had it packaged into increased monthly payments - I had to ask what the actual cost was. Tricky devils.

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

Swap of wrangler for x3m40i went almost without a hitch. They had loan APR as 1.9% and it was supposed to be 0.9% but they corrected it right away. They had me in and out within 30 minutes since I sent all paperwork in and loan was taken care of yesterday. There was a $4500 rebate if I financed for 3 months with BMW FS

The ride back was uneventful. The ride was great on the highway. I must have been aiming for potholes when I initially test drove one but it was at night and on unfamiliar roads.

Congratulations. Isn’t it interesting how when they make “mistakes” it’s always in their favor?

breld

Congrats @mjfloyd1! So BMW finance has the promotional 0.9% for CPO vehicles?

I may be following in your footsteps...I drove another X3 M40i today, among some other Volvo candidates. That M40i is something else.

nyccarguy

oldfarmer50 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Swap of wrangler for x3m40i went almost without a hitch. They had loan APR as 1.9% and it was supposed to be 0.9% but they corrected it right away. They had me in and out within 30 minutes since I sent all paperwork in and loan was taken care of yesterday. There was a $4500 rebate if I financed for 3 months with BMW FS

The ride back was uneventful. The ride was great on the highway. I must have been aiming for potholes when I initially test drove one but it was at night and on unfamiliar roads.

Congratulations. Isn’t it interesting how when they make “mistakes” it’s always in their favor?

When my Dad bought his Yukon in 2018, he took 0% financing for 5 years. We respectfully & politely declined everything that the F&I woman offered (VIN Etching, prepaid maintenance, wheel & tire insurance, extended warranty, scotch guard...). She then said: “this is what your payment will be. Just sign right here.” I held my hand up to prevent my Dad from signing the giant table sized tablet, whipped out my phone and added selling price plus sales tax, DMV Fees then divided by 60. The number I got was lower than what they wanted him to sign. The woman told me that I must have made a mistake. I then did the calculation in front of her and she went back through all the paperwork. The VIN etching was “mistakenly” automatically put on to the contract because “everybody just takes it.”

breld

I’m often torn on whether I tell the F&I person upfront that I’m not interested, or let them give their spiel and then decline everything.

breld

Drove a few cars today...

2018 XC90 T6 Momentum - obviously a familiar drive having owned the V90, but I found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed it. If I were to decide to stick with this size but cut back on the budget, this would be my choice (other candidates being an MDX, CX9 and X5 (previous gen)).

2018 XC60 T8 Inscription - figured since I’m considering the smaller size of of the X3, and I have a charger in the garage, may as well give it a whirl. It’s really nice and it grew on me as the drive progressed. The electric engine makes for very smooth starts and quick acceleration. But this Volvo dealer in particular seems to think the T8’s are like gold and price them as such. This one is the same year as the X3 m40i I’m considering, has more miles, and is $4-5k higher. So no, it’s not beating the drive of the X3 at that price.

And drove a second X3 M40i just to get more of a feel - it’s a jewel. This one is a 2019 and had the leather interior, which I did like over the pleather, and I really like the M steering wheel they put in starting with 2019. I realized the one in the 2018 model seems to be the same basic one as in my Supra. But having said that, the 2018 has half the miles of this 2019, and I prefer the Alpine White over black pleather over the 2019, which was black (the sparkly one) over beige leather.

mjfloyd1

breld said:

Congrats @mjfloyd1! So BMW finance has the promotional 0.9% for CPO vehicles?

I may be following in your footsteps...I drove another X3 M40i today, among some other Volvo candidates. That M40i is something else.

It was not CPO. It was an ex loaner with 7200 miles. I have no idea what program they used but they advertised at as 0.9 % X 60 months

I did price a new 2021 x3 m40i at Dreyer end reinnold that had leather and exec package and adaptive cruise. Only $18,600 difference. Ouch