Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

mjfloyd1

andres3 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Hey it’s working!

Strangely after driving it for 3.5 hours and hitting bugs, it did not look freshly detailed when I arrived back home. They call me Captain Obvious

You didn't have a big RAM truck 3 feet in front of you though

Wouldn’t the big RAM truck three feet in front of you end up taking most of the bug hits so your car would be less dirty??

nyccarguy

stickguy

The Jag is the scary one to be out in the city.

tjc78

stickguy said:

The Jag is the scary one to be out in the city.

If you live in NYC and can afford that ... you aren’t worried about it

graphicguy

Yay...yay...yay......thanks to the Edmunds team for fixing the picture feature. Now, where was I...oh yes, some catching up. I don’t have pics of the turntable yet, but will get some.

I do have a pic of the house I was looking at (and is still for sale)......2BR, one bath, detached garage. Still think it’s a bit small.

laurasdada

GG, I'd think at minimum, you'd want 1.5 baths. 2 better, for guests. And, if a problem arose with one bath, redundancy!

graphicguy

@mjfloyd1 ....cool car. Big Congrats!!!!!!!

laurasdada

The Jag E-type, that's what stuck with me since the '60s and led me to finally buying the '09 XK (and then my '13 XF). Pace with Grace.

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

Yay...yay...yay......thanks to the Edmunds team for fixing the picture feature. Now, where was I...oh yes, some catching up. I don’t have pics of the turntable yet, but will get some.

I do have a pic of the house I was looking at (and is still for sale)......2BR, one bath, detached garage. Still think it’s a bit small.

Glendale is a great location. Pretty house.

graphicguy

laurasdada said:

GG, I'd think at minimum, you'd want 1.5 baths. 2 better, for guests. And, if a problem arose with one bath, redundancy!

LD.....No disagreement. The owner is anxious because it’s been on the market for a month. In normal times, not a big deal. But, given the heated real estate market around here, it’s been harder to sell and the owner is concerned. It’s not over priced, either. It’s in a very nice area. But, it is tiny. Never know. If it becomes such a good deal, might buy it for rental property. Not sure I want to be a landlord, though.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

Remind me again who amongst us figured out the VW TDI buyback (so that I was able to partake)?

@breld was the one that did the homework, and convinced the rest of us.

I think we had at least seven of us, or more that bought a TDI

au1994

stickguy said:

The Jag is the scary one to be out in the city.

That’s exactly what I thought!

au1994

graphicguy said:

laurasdada said:

GG, I'd think at minimum, you'd want 1.5 baths. 2 better, for guests. And, if a problem arose with one bath, redundancy!

LD.....No disagreement. The owner is anxious because it’s been on the market for a month. In normal times, not a big deal. But, given the heated real estate market around here, it’s been harder to sell. It’s not over priced, either. It’s in a very nice area. But, it is tiny. Never know. If it becomes such a good deal, might buy it for rental property. Not sure I want to be a landlord, though.

RE: Landlord. Been there, done that. Sort of. I had a rental house and used a management company as the monthly fee was negligible, like $75. The first set of renters were great. Rented for a year and even though they had small kids, there was virtually no damage. The second set was a different story. Signed a 2 year lease but absolutely trashed the place. Like locked themselves out once and kicked the garage door in. Did the repair themselves and of course it showed. Carpet ruined. Some sort of substance on the ceiling in the 2 story entry. I was planning on selling after they left anyway so I had already budgeted for some refreshing but they cost me an incremental 8k easily. It would have been the old blood from a stone scenario or I would have pursued something in small claims.

stickguy

I don't think I could ever be a landlord, so not even willing to try.

those TDIs, I remember when QB got his Jetta wagon they had a twin to it I seriously thought of buying (would have actually traded in the RDX on it) but it was the day before we were to leave on vacation, so not a good time to try to convince the wife to go along with one of my schemes. By the time we were back, it was gone and really too late.

would have made a nice profit on that, and taken it and replaced the RDX with something nicer with the windfall.

mjfloyd1

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Remind me again who amongst us figured out the VW TDI buyback (so that I was able to partake)?

@breld was the one that did the homework, and convinced the rest of us.

I think we had at least seven of us, or more that bought a TDI

I knew I liked @breld, this must be why!

breld

Okay, a few pics - pretty much the same as @mjfloyd1’s other than exterior color and his steering wheel I’m jealous of! His extra 20 horsepower doesn’t show up in pictures. 😀

28firefighter

I was part of the TDI arbitrage. Had a nice 2013 A3 TDI Premium Plus with S Line and Optics package. Great car.

28firefighter

Really nice @breld! Congrats!

mjfloyd1

@breld - if you slap a VTEC sticker on it, you will have more horsepower than I have!

mjfloyd1

breld said:

Okay, a few pics - pretty much the same as @mjfloyd1’s other than exterior color and his steering wheel I’m jealous of! His extra 20 horsepower doesn’t show up in pictures. 😀

Are we to refer to you as KRYSTAL now??

They must have changed the premium package too. Mine has the live cockpit pro (digital dash) included with the premium package.

breld

LOL - I actually did update the driver profile this morning...Krystal is indeed my wife’s name.

I think you’re right on the digital dash and package contents - the xdrive e30i I drove yesterday had that but no head up display.

breld

And I just looked back at the pics of yours - the sort of bronze color grill and trim goes well with your silver. I think it clashes on the white - I’m considering ordering all the gloss black pieces to replace them. But I’m generally a fan of the “blackout” options that many cars offer, especially with white.

mjfloyd1

I like the white

It looks like the grille is similar in color to the wheels so I’d let it slide. If you get the gloss black then you have to replace grilles, mirror caps, those weird boomerang things on the sides and all the badges.

Mine has heads up display and digital dash. Even more weirdness in how they package things.

I’m honestly surprised about what is not included with BMW. My daughter’s Honda CRV touring AWD has leather, adaptive cruise, and wireless charging all standard.

stickguy

I like the steering wheel on that one. and not sure if I prefer the digital dash or regular one.

28firefighter

Digital dash is so hit and miss for me. Some do them really well (like Audi) and others not so much.

breld

What’s sort of fun is that all our cars (other than the Leaf) now share the same BMW infotainment system with wireless CarPlay and charging. So jumping in and out of any of the three is pretty seamless.

And only one of them actually has a BMW badge!

nyccarguy

@breld Congrats! Beautiful X3!

graphicguy

@breld....big congrats. Always love your stable and the additions to it.

tjc78

@breld
Congrats! Love the white and those wheels look great.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

Digital dash is so hit and miss for me. Some do them really well (like Audi) and others not so much.

I’m pretty happy with the Volvo setup. Very clear, good response and I get to have the map in the middle if I choose to.

kyfdx

Love those seats!

graphicguy

RE: Landlord...

I had rental property down in Hilton Head for many years. It was a 4BR-4 full bath condo within walking distance to the water. Sold it a few years ago. Rented it to golfers. Had a lot of regulars who rented it the same week, year after year. Had no issues with them. I did have issues with new(er) renters who only wanted short term rental (less than 1 week). They're the ones who trashed the place.

A bit different than someone who signs an annual lease.

I got out of the Hilton Head condo at the right time. I could have sold it for around 20% more in this latest real estate run up. But, I would have paid maintenance, taxes and upkeep on what is been a vacation rental crash right now. Probably a wash.

If the lady who owns the house pictured makes me an offer I can't refuse (it's FSBO), as she's been calling very week to gauge my interest, I may pull the trigger. I'd have a huge downsizing job to do if I did, though.

stickguy

add me to the list of people that recommend against fewer than 2 baths. Unless the place has the room to expand (say, finish the attic into a nice master suite, making it a 3/2).

And most important, is the detached garage 2 car sized? that is a bigger deal breaker than not having enough bathrooms!

Michaell

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Remind me again who amongst us figured out the VW TDI buyback (so that I was able to partake)?

@breld was the one that did the homework, and convinced the rest of us.

I think we had at least seven of us, or more that bought a TDI

My spreadsheet showed 10 names, but I didn't get full information on two of the transactions.

FWIW, @qbrozen did the best, with just over $13K of profit; average profit was around $9K.

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

I like the white

It looks like the grille is similar in color to the wheels so I’d let it slide. If you get the gloss black then you have to replace grilles, mirror caps, those weird boomerang things on the sides and all the badges.

Plus the odds are probably 50-50 that @breld would flip out of it before the pieces get delivered.

corvette

graphicguy said:

If the lady who owns the house pictured makes me an offer I can't refuse (it's FSBO)...

That probably explains why she's having trouble selling. Especially in an urban area, FSBOs don't get a lot of attention. I've done fine with one bath, but it's just me and the dog and I rarely have houseguests. Inexplicably, the previous owners installed a 50 gallon electric water heater, which is massive overkill for a one bathroom house in the era of high-efficiency washing machines and dishwashers. I plan to replace it with a 40 gallon Rheem Marathon (plastic tank that is supposed to last forever) when the time comes.

Re: rentals - a really great property manager makes all the difference in the world. It's nice to have a relatively steady flow of income, although there's always the caveat that you may have to make a large capital expenditure on something.

corvette

@breld - how many miles on the X3 you ended up with? Congrats to you and @mjfloyd1 both!

nyccarguy

Just because I want to make @cdnpinhead ’s day. This is what happens when a 1st generation TSX falls into the wrong hands:

cdnpinhead

As someone once said (a famous person whose name escapes me -- imagine), there's no accounting for taste.

That said, I appreciate the thought. My TSX just turned 170K the other day and, much to my surprise, it's still on its original clutch. It (or I) may live long enough to match or exceed my 240Zs mileage, but that'll take a few more years.

xwesx

graphicguy said:

Yay...yay...yay......thanks to the Edmunds team for fixing the picture feature. Now, where was I...oh yes, some catching up. I don’t have pics of the turntable yet, but will get some.

I do have a pic of the house I was looking at (and is still for sale)......2BR, one bath, detached garage. Still think it’s a bit small.

The problem with downsizing is that you must introduce your mind to the reality of it.

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Test.

My first car was an 82 Mustang with a straight 6 and AT. Black with red guts. I still have a soft spot

I never knew Ford had a 3.3L straight 6. You learn all sorts of new stuff here.

xwesx

breld said:

Okay, a few pics - pretty much the same as @mjfloyd1’s other than exterior color and his steering wheel I’m jealous of! His extra 20 horsepower doesn’t show up in pictures. 😀

Nice! Good move, too. I think the Porsche was at-risk of having a license plate installed.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Test.

Oooh, that's pretty.... but why not post a photo of your own car?!

Not all my cars are junk you know. Just most of them.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Yay...yay...yay......thanks to the Edmunds team for fixing the picture feature. Now, where was I...oh yes, some catching up. I don’t have pics of the turntable yet, but will get some.

I do have a pic of the house I was looking at (and is still for sale)......2BR, one bath, detached garage. Still think it’s a bit small.

Would you really want to paint all that trim?

oldfarmer50

breld said:

Okay, a few pics - pretty much the same as @mjfloyd1’s other than exterior color and his steering wheel I’m jealous of! His extra 20 horsepower doesn’t show up in pictures. 😀

Very nice in white. Those seats look comfy.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Remind me again who amongst us figured out the VW TDI buyback (so that I was able to partake)?

@breld was the one that did the homework, and convinced the rest of us.

I think we had at least seven of us, or more that bought a TDI

My spreadsheet showed 10 names, but I didn't get full information on two of the transactions.

FWIW, @qbrozen did the best, with just over $13K of profit; average profit was around $9K.

Well, that’s a nice honor, although I am probably the only one who ate up so much with negative equity. LOL.
Remove that and my real profit was likely near the bottom of the pile, to be fair. I don’t recall exact numbers but I seem to recall thinking I made $7k? Maybe.

breld

corvette said:

@breld - how many miles on the X3 you ended up with? Congrats to you and @mjfloyd1 both!

It had 18k miles.

tifighter

Congrats @breld and thanks for adding an 18 to your fleet. I was beginning to feel itchy when I saw that a 2019 was oldest car in your signature line...

breld

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Remind me again who amongst us figured out the VW TDI buyback (so that I was able to partake)?

@breld was the one that did the homework, and convinced the rest of us.

I think we had at least seven of us, or more that bought a TDI

My spreadsheet showed 10 names, but I didn't get full information on two of the transactions.

FWIW, @qbrozen did the best, with just over $13K of profit; average profit was around $9K.

Well, that’s a nice honor, although I am probably the only one who ate up so much with negative equity. LOL.
Remove that and my real profit was likely near the bottom of the pile, to be fair. I don’t recall exact numbers but I seem to recall thinking I made $7k? Maybe.

Well, that negative equity was there either way, so I think the whole thing is absolutely “real” profit.

breld

tifighter said:

Congrats @breld and thanks for adding an 18 to your fleet. I was beginning to feel itchy when I saw that a 2019 was oldest car in your signature line...

Thanks - I was explaining to my friend who’s also my insurance agent that I just felt compelled to scale back a bit.

The Porsche was the nicest car I’ve ever owned but not the most expensive. We actually paid more for the Land Rover and the Q7 that followed that up.

But that was at a time before my kids had licenses and we lived further away from everything, so I was in my car A LOT. I think I put around 30k miles in the Q7 in the year I had it.

So the Porsche, while indulgent in most any circumstances, definitely felt that way as a grocery getter. In fact, my wife pointed out that during the summer I was in the Supra more than anything.

So scaling back on the Porsche into a still extremely nice SUV makes me feel better about the whole fleet, in particular that fairly expensive fun car I have.