Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

sb55

Burlington Vermont hit a record 65 yesterday. Only around 30 today. But no snow or ice.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

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?

Me painting all the wood and trim? Not on your life. That’s a job I’d hire out.

I see a trip hazard on those front steps. LOL

All the trim work on the front of that house looks like something from This Old House
where they have resurrected the appearance of a home to what it originally had. Lots of
detail, ornamental work done there.

As for painting, I'd love doing it. Otherwise, call the "guy."

Sandman6472

We got down to 42 this morning in South Florida. Was getting breakfast at 6:30 this am and the Golf temp reading showed 42. It was a bit nippy for us but think yesterday with all that wind, felt colder. Went outside for a short walk but was cold and wife laughed and said doubtful that we'll end up where it's cold. Even though I've been saying we need to go back to where there's some snow, wondering if she's really right here about staying in the warmer areas of the U S.

corvette

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

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?

Me painting all the wood and trim? Not on your life. That’s a job I’d hire out.

Despite lots of practice, my painting skills aren't great. I'm really good at the prep work and can do touch-up, just not the actual painting of large areas and having to edge around trim and other obstacles.

tjc78

I’ve become a pretty good painter, I just hate doing it.

fintail

Yep, as others stated, the top car is "sport", the bottom car "luxury". These trim names existed for some time, but became most apparent with the MY 2014 E facelift, when the "sport" received the more aggressive coupe-like grille without a hood ornament. Before this, "sport" had more cladding, but still had a traditional grille and hood ornament. Powertrains are the same, but the luxury trim has less cladding, and has a softer suspension. This strategy continued with the current (W213) E-class introduced for MY 2017. As MB has been hellbent on trying for a youthful image, sport probably outnumbers luxury by at least 10:1 for cars in dealer inventory. For the MY 2021 E-class facelift, the luxury trim has been dropped for this side of the pond, but still available at home where there maybe more traditionalist buyers.

oldfarmer50 said:

I need an education.

My brother bought a used 2015 MB E 350 4 matic. Beautiful car. Dark blue over tan interior. Rode like a limousine. When I went to look up some specs I noticed 2 different front ends for that listing.

Could some one explain the difference.

sda

fintail said:

Yep, as others stated, the top car is "sport", the bottom car "luxury". These trim names existed for some time, but became most apparent with the MY 2014 E facelift, when the "sport" received the more aggressive coupe-like grille without a hood ornament. Before this, "sport" had more cladding, but still had a traditional grille and hood ornament. Powertrains are the same, but the luxury trim has less cladding, and has a softer suspension. This strategy continued with the current (W213) E-class introduced for MY 2014 As MB has been hellbent on trying for a youthful image, sport probably outnumbers luxury by at least 10:1 for cars in dealer inventory. For the MY 2021 E-class facelift, the luxury trim has been dropped for this side of the pond, but still available at home where there maybe more traditionalist buyers.

oldfarmer50 said:

I need an education.

My brother bought a used 2015 MB E 350 4 matic. Beautiful car. Dark blue over tan interior. Rode like a limousine. When I went to look up some specs I noticed 2 different front ends for that listing.

Could some one explain the difference.

IIRC your MB is a luxury trim. Very smart looking in and out.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

I’ve become a pretty good painter, I just hate doing it.

Same. And I do it anyway because of how expensive it is. Just inside though. I hire someone to do the outside trim work.

Sandman6472

Just passed the AARP Senior Driving Class. Took it yesterday and today, 4 hours each day. Need to take it every 3 years to et the senior discount on our car insurance but well worth it. First time I ever took it online but at this point, as of Thursday, only online course is being offered due to the pandemic. I've taken it in a classroom situation with a teacher every other time before. The last couple of years it has been given in a classroom at our local police station. Usually on a Saturday and we'd bring our lunches and just eat there. Think I still prefer the classroom setting as it's done in one day instead of doing it online in two days.
Bottom line is I passed as the wife did last month. Now, all we need to do is send our insurance agent the completed pass forms and then he sends them onto our insurance provider. It's only good for 3 years and then, one must take another driving class. But it's a good refresher so glad I took it again.

isellhondas

au1994 said:

ab348 said:

au1994 said:

And again, from the buying experience to service, dealers wonder why people can’t stand them. Mine have been mostly good. I’ve gotten the hard sell on ‘needed’ items like fuel injector cleaning

Now recently, I took the LC to the dealer for an oil change and lube of the driveshaft. They came back with 1800 in recommended maintenance. Most of which was plugs (900) which I had already done somewhere else for much, much cheaper. They just go by the book and mileage without checking/thinking. I can kinda get not wanting to pull a plug and see the condition but they also recommended wipers (done and real easy to check that) multiple other fluids (again most easy to check and see that they are clean). Doesn’t start the relationship off well with the dealer.

My Cadillac dealer is much the same. The sales guy I dealt with was one I disliked so much by the end that I swore to myself I would never buy anything through him again. As for the service dept., I truly do like the service advisor I'm assigned to. She has gone to bat for me over things that others there were being stubborn about. But she, like all the others there, is first and foremost about upselling their overpriced "recommended" services, the prime one being brake caliper lubrication, closely followed by alignments. Drives me batty.

Brake caliper lubrication? That’s a new one on me as ongoing maintenance.

Well, now...in parts of the country where roads are salted the brake caliper pins can easily get corroded and when corroded enough they will stick and cause the brakes to drag. Of course they should be lubed everytime the pads are changed. This would be a "gravy job" which takes very little time to do and at 150.00 hr labor rates could easily add 75.00 to the bill for a ten minute job.

Power steering "flushes" are another job some places love to sell. Important? Well....kinda...maybe.

isellhondas

graphicguy said:

tjc78 said:

fintail said:

East Coast Classics is a good YT channel, shows how neglected some of the surplus auction material can be, but a bargain slips through now and then.

Anyone see Vice Grip Garage’s 56 Buick Special? Really cool story about him buying his Dad’s car back and the adventure to get it home. Cool picture montage at the end of the car through the years. Worth watching

Just watched that last night. Really worthwhile story and well worth watching.

Yes, and it was impressive especially the ending! I really like this guy! His videos keep getting better. I'll say the same thing for the Weird Beard episodes. Highly reccommended.

laurasdada

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day! After the lovely 14" snow of a week ago, all washed away by constant rain and temp in the low 60s. A shame.
For the 60th year in a row, no new car with a big red bow for Laurasdada.
Hope springs eternal, wait'll next year.

fintail

I agree , and yes, my car is a luxury trim. I wanted the hood ornament, the trim line was a major factor in choosing the car.

Sport:



Luxury (my car):

sda said:

IIRC your MB is a luxury trim. Very smart looking in and out.

corvette

isellhondas said:

...brake caliper pins can easily get corroded and when corroded enough they will stick and cause the brakes to drag.

I think my dad had that problem on either his Civic or CR-X. The dealer was pretty thorough, and I'm sure they lubed the pins, but that car saw all highway miles, and it had been probably 100k miles since the brakes were done, so that was probably also a factor.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I’m up by old farmer today. The 2 feet of snow washed away. Buy got a fresh dusting to an inch this evening. So technically a white Christmas!

Aren’t we nice to have taken care of that for you?

Sandman6472 said:

We got down to 42 this morning in South Florida. Was getting breakfast at 6:30 this am and the Golf temp reading showed 42. It was a bit nippy for us but think yesterday with all that wind, felt colder. Went outside for a short walk but was cold and wife laughed and said doubtful that we'll end up where it's cold. Even though I've been saying we need to go back to where there's some snow, wondering if she's really right here about staying in the warmer areas of the U S.

Hey, did they take you up on your offer to work on Christmas Day? I worked Christmas Eve and they booted us out at 3:00.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I agree , and yes, my car is a luxury trim. I wanted the hood ornament, the trim line was a major factor in choosing the car.

Sport:



Luxury (my car):

sda said:

IIRC your MB is a luxury trim. Very smart looking in and out.

And I thought it was weird to have trim specific badging on the Mustang GT vs. the 6cyl .

corvette

It really does give the E-class a different look, I wasn't aware of the difference until now.

corvette

LOL @ Hoovie's latest video. Selling (or giving away) a car that won't start for the new owner has to be slightly embarrassing. Legend has it that the same happened to a friend of the family who owned a GM dealership when he was delivering a new 1980s GM product to a customer, so I guess the Corvette was just performing as typical for the era.

ronsteve

kyfdx said:

Seems like every other Crosstrek is this color:

Reminds me of the classic "no-sale blue" of the '70s and '80s!

fintail

This kind of thing has also existed on the C-class for several years. It's also somewhat specific to US/Canadian spec cars - European models have trim lines with different names and some details. At one time, the luxury was more of the base car with sport being an upcharge, but eventually carried the same price,

Oh yeah, for your brother's car, I can relate to them, as over the years I leased 3 of that style (W212 - one of mine was even a similar color combo). Had virtually no problems with any of them, and they seem to be aging pretty well per chatter on MB forums. Fingers crossed he got a nice car, and will have an easy ownership experience.

oldfarmer50 said:

And I thought it was weird to have trim specific badging on the Mustang GT vs. the 6cyl .

28firefighter

Can I just say, that I find it very irritating when a sales person tries to actively dissuade you from getting the vehicle, color, and options you want simply because they can’t acquire it.

Rather than offering an alternative and being upfront, I had someone tell me today why I’d made the wrong choice. This after I explained all the research I’d already done to land there. To which I said, “if that’s the case I either chose the wrong dealer, the wrong brand, or both.”

Sandman6472

We got off Thursday night around 4:30 but we were busy bringing in rentals as the line was pretty long from the airport shuttles.
And no work on Christmas Day even though I did volunteer. Ended up starting the AARP Senior Driving Class yesterday and finished the other 1/2 of it today. Took me about 8 hours and the wife had taken the same time about a month ago. Once I knew I'd have this long four day weekend coming up, decided to take the class then since it's only given online at present. And since our insurance comes due early February for the coming year, it was time to just do it! All we need to do is upload our certificates to the insurance folks and get or discount taken off.
And I'm sure my rate for the Golf will come down a lot since I only drove maybe 4K miles this past year. The longest trip I took in it was to Orlando last year this time so it was really all local driving. Another big reason I just repaired the Golf in October. As much as I wouldn't mind the Chevy Trax Premier with the Bose audio system, I really want to try the new Golf GTI coming out in 2021 to see if it's something I should consider as my next vehicle. Not sure if I'd do the same vehicle again but think the changes inside the new GTI and it being the perfect size have made me postpone anymore searching for my next vehicle. Feel I need to try it and see how I like it and if I like it enough to purchase one. I don't want to have buyers remorse again like I did with the 2014 Tucson so best to just fix/keep the Golf and then try out the new GTI before I make a major decision.

roadburner

28firefighter said:

Can I just say, that I find it very irritating when a sales person tries to actively dissuade you from getting the vehicle, color, and options you want simply because they can’t acquire it.

Rather than offering an alternative and being upfront, I had someone tell me today why I’d made the wrong choice. This after I explained all the research I’d already done to land there. To which I said, “if that’s the case I either chose the wrong dealer, the wrong brand, or both.”

That reminds me of the idjits at the VW dealer I dealt with before I bought my MS3; the GTI was my first choice but the dealer was happy to let me walk rather than ordering the car the way I wanted.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

This kind of thing has also existed on the C-class for several years. It's also somewhat specific to US/Canadian spec cars - European models have trim lines with different names and some details. At one time, the luxury was more of the base car with sport being an upcharge, but eventually carried the same price,

Oh yeah, for your brother's car, I can relate to them, as over the years I leased 3 of that style (W212 - one of mine was even a similar color combo). Had virtually no problems with any of them, and they seem to be aging pretty well per chatter on MB forums. Fingers crossed he got a nice car, and will have an easy ownership experience.

oldfarmer50 said:

And I thought it was weird to have trim specific badging on the Mustang GT vs. the 6cyl .

I hope so as well. His only had 36k miles on it when he bought it. 49k now and he said he’s had zero issues. So much for the out of warranty horror stories.

fintail

If he had bought an early 2000s S-class or even a ~2003 E-class, I'd say 'may God have mercy on his soul', but these later Es have proved to be solid. MB earned a reputation for some troublesome cars around the turn of the century, but the entire range in recent years doesn't seem to have a ton of issues. There will always be Germanic parts and servicing costs, but one should expect that before signing on the dotted line.

oldfarmer50 said:

I hope so as well. His only had 36k miles on it when he bought it. 49k now and he said he’s had zero issues. So much for the out of warranty horror stories.

corvette

Anyone want on the waiting list for the forthcoming Apple iCar?

qbrozen

corvette said:

Anyone want on the waiting list for the forthcoming Apple iCar?

So that they stop supporting it 2 yrs later when they make an iCar2? Pass.

au1994

isellhondas said:

au1994 said:

ab348 said:

au1994 said:

And again, from the buying experience to service, dealers wonder why people can’t stand them. Mine have been mostly good. I’ve gotten the hard sell on ‘needed’ items like fuel injector cleaning

Now recently, I took the LC to the dealer for an oil change and lube of the driveshaft. They came back with 1800 in recommended maintenance. Most of which was plugs (900) which I had already done somewhere else for much, much cheaper. They just go by the book and mileage without checking/thinking. I can kinda get not wanting to pull a plug and see the condition but they also recommended wipers (done and real easy to check that) multiple other fluids (again most easy to check and see that they are clean). Doesn’t start the relationship off well with the dealer.

My Cadillac dealer is much the same. The sales guy I dealt with was one I disliked so much by the end that I swore to myself I would never buy anything through him again. As for the service dept., I truly do like the service advisor I'm assigned to. She has gone to bat for me over things that others there were being stubborn about. But she, like all the others there, is first and foremost about upselling their overpriced "recommended" services, the prime one being brake caliper lubrication, closely followed by alignments. Drives me batty.

Brake caliper lubrication? That’s a new one on me as ongoing maintenance.

Well, now...in parts of the country where roads are salted the brake caliper pins can easily get corroded and when corroded enough they will stick and cause the brakes to drag. Of course they should be lubed everytime the pads are changed. This would be a "gravy job" which takes very little time to do and at 150.00 hr labor rates could easily add 75.00 to the bill for a ten minute job.

Power steering "flushes" are another job some places love to sell. Important? Well....kinda...maybe.

That does make sense. I’ve never lived in snow country so it was new to me.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

Anyone want on the waiting list for the forthcoming Apple iCar?

So that they stop supporting it 2 yrs later when they make an iCar2? Pass.

Now, be reasonable, Q. They would support it for four years.

tifighter

I saw online that many Ford dealers are adding $5-15K ADMs on the inbound Mach-E...even to those that were ordered. New tech, but same dumb games...

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

I saw online that many Ford dealers are adding $5-15K ADMs on the inbound Mach-E...even to those that were ordered. New tech, but same dumb games...

That’s a rotten thing to do on an already ordered vehicle. I suppose they figure if the first customer balks they can screw somebody else. For me the principle would be more important that being the first kid on the block. I would never buy that car or patronize that dealer.

qbrozen

tifighter said:

I saw online that many Ford dealers are adding $5-15K ADMs on the inbound Mach-E...even to those that were ordered. New tech, but same dumb games...

Who reported being charged ADMs on pre-orders? I’d like to see the agreement they signed because they’d be idiots for agreeing to pay whatever the dealership deemed fair rather than MSRP.

oldfarmer50

I know this isn’t the most sought after BMW but I always liked the style.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KPmMAleo/2012-bmw-650i-convertible

My millionaire former next door neighbor had two of them.

stickguy

Nice car. Don’t trust the engine of course. And terrible color combo for a convertible.

28firefighter

Beautiful car, but I've seen the Car Ninja work on too many BMW V8s of that era. No thanks!

isellhondas

28firefighter said:

Can I just say, that I find it very irritating when a sales person tries to actively dissuade you from getting the vehicle, color, and options you want simply because they can’t acquire it.

Rather than offering an alternative and being upfront, I had someone tell me today why I’d made the wrong choice. This after I explained all the research I’d already done to land there. To which I said, “if that’s the case I either chose the wrong dealer, the wrong brand, or both.”

Reminds me of when I was still selling Hondas.

Every so often Honda would REALLY lay an egg by coming out with some color that almost everyone thought was just horrible. Typically they would learn a lesson and the color would be a one year only color.

So, in 1998 when the "new" Accords came out they had a color called Raisin Pearl. It was kind of a dark lavender mixed with beige. Unlike some colors, it didn't grow on you. It just wasn't attractive at all.

YET, there will ALWAYS be someone how just LOVES some of these oddball colors. One day I got a call for just one of those people! This woman just HAD to have a Raisin Pearl Accord and to the great joy of my Sales Manager I delivered the one we had sitting on our lot for nearly a year!

I love a happy ending!

ab348

Up here it seems some Honda dealers are tired of the boring colors and limited choices Honda offers on their new cars. So now they just order them in white or black and then send them to a shop to be wrapped in more varied colors the factory doesn't offer. I don't know what the extra charge for that is but they are quite eye-catching once in the showroom.

tifighter

qbrozen said:

tifighter said:

I saw online that many Ford dealers are adding $5-15K ADMs on the inbound Mach-E...even to those that were ordered. New tech, but same dumb games...

Who reported being charged ADMs on pre-orders? I’d like to see the agreement they signed because they’d be idiots for agreeing to pay whatever the dealership deemed fair rather than MSRP.

So would I. But most people don't hang out on car buying forums for fun, so I am guessing there are plenty of people that can get burned with these games to make it worth the dealers time.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Beautiful car, but I've seen the Car Ninja work on too many BMW V8s of that era. No thanks!

Oh that’s right, I think Hoovie brought one of those V8s into the Ninja and it was just trash. Oh well, I didn’t like the color anyway.

I still like the style though.

roadburner

My dealer has a new M2 Comp in stock. Sunset Orange, Executive Package, and DCT(unfortunately). Still, if I hit the lottery I’d probably pick it up.

stickguy

Ninja always has at least 1 V8 BMW engine in pieces. Mostly rod bearings I assume.

stickguy

I love orange cars.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

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??

Yes, I was happy to see the big truck shielding my S4 upon arrival on the truck trailer bed. It's those kicked up stones I worry about; not so much the bugs. I've had some bad luck with windshield nicks and chips in the past.

28firefighter

So, I am intentionally keeping my hunt close to the vest...but lets just say that perhaps I've gone too far in the direction of buying exactly what I want vs. buying a deal. While what I want is technically possible as a configuration, it seems that it basically doesn't exist.

kyfdx

Stopped by the dealer for a maintenance issue, and they had some interesting cars in the maintenance lounge. Crappy pictures to follow.

kyfdx

kyfdx

kyfdx

kyfdx

Also, thought you’d enjoy these pictures from my lease turn-in. 🙄

stickguy

Nice eye candy!