Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

28firefighter said:

Alrighty - so my car hunt saga, since I seem to have hit a wall....

As most of you know I have been pining for a GTI - a 2018/2019 Manual SE with Fender Audio and DCC. A fairly rare bird and seemingly non-existent in my region unless I want to cough up for a used Autobahn which seems to add, even used, $4k for stuff I don't want. I decided to revisit the GLI because they (seemed) more plentiful and dealers are discounting them steeply up my way. For 2021 it seems like they made a lot of incremental upgrades that fixed many of the shortcomings from 2019 and 2020. A GLI Autobahn is about $6k less than the comparable GTI Autobahn new, plus for my purposes, infinitely more practical which contributes to marital bliss.

I found a manual S to test drive, just to refresh my memory and really like it, so no issues there. Started speaking with the dealers to find out what was incoming because apparently manual GLI Autobahn's are not as plentiful in the PNW as I thought. My top choice color is Pure Gray. There is one (1) Pure Gray Autobahn with a manual coming into WA this week and it is pre-sold to another customer. The next one? April. I'm being offered a choice of white or black at a discount of anywhere from $4000-$4500 after my supplier discount with financing through VW at 2.9% for 60 months. Not terrible, but I had my heart set on Gray.

I tried reaching out outside of the area to a couple dealers (Southwest, Midwest) that had what I was looking for. Unfortunately each of these dealers is unwilling to discount as much as the dealers up here (perhaps regional incentive related) and the cars have nonsense accessories installed adding $1000+ to the price of the car. Plus the cost of shipping.

So my choices...

(1) Pay extra - well above market in the end - to get exactly what I want now brought in.

(2) Settle for a different color.

(3) Pivot to a DSG. There are plenty of vehicles in my area that have the DSG in Autobahn trim, in gray. My wife is pushing me not to do this because, and man do I love her for this, she doesn't want me to get bored with it.

(4) Do nothing and see what happens over the next 4 weeks (which is when the i3 should be departing).

hold out for the manual. that is the important part. I would take the big discount and go with the alternate color. I prefer white, but if you want a darker color, just go with black.

stickguy

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Was chatting with my son about my eventual next car. If I don’t get a pure sports car toy, or smaller beater PU, 2 best options seem to be a killer cheaper lease on an EV like a leaf, or some sort of smaller tall hatch or compact CUV. A Seltos or Kona sized. Maybe a Q3. I do like the XC40. In that general size concept.

You should look into the Mazda CX-30, now available with the 2.5 turbo engine.

my neighbor just got one of those for their daughter to take to college (she is also in NC so close to 500 miles each way). Really sharp looking. Someday I will stop at the dealer to scope one out.

stickguy

RDX is 9.5 months old now. Crossed 4k miles today.

I like the GLI, but I never really compared the interior to the GTI back to back. Not sure it would be a deal breaker to me, depending on the price. I would prefer the GTI, but I bet the wife would like a larger sedan better. Not that it is her decision!

28firefighter

The GLI interior is definitely a step below the GTI - especially in the back; but in return the space is much more usable.

stickguy

well, I never sit in the back, so who cares?

breld

28firefighter said:

Also, for @breld - I did not drive the JCW - it sold before I could get over to the dealer to drive it. I did try and put my son's car seat in the back of a friend's regular Cooper and it was....tight. So a non-starter there.

Oh yeah - I wasn’t even thinking of the need to put a car seat in the back of a hardtop. No way...I struggle a little to put our Corgi back there.

corvette

Can't find any road tests of the CX-30 with the turbo, which makes me think they may not be out yet, and are still subject to a press moratorium.

stickguy

it will drive the same. just be a bit faster.

compare a mazda 3 regular and turbo, or CX5, and I bet it will be the same.

Sandman6472

Go for the R...think you'll be super happy you did.
Sat in a new 2021 Mazda CX-30 at the dealer last week and did like it, for me, it's probably perfect size wise I'm guessing. A bit on the pricey side I thought and still not liking the audio controls down by the shifter. On the few Mazda 3's I've driven over the years, I just didn't like this set-up to be honest. Also, thought the screen was a bit on the smaller side but maybe for 2021 they've increased it's size. Not sure if it has the Bose audio system but I'd have to have that to buy any Mazda. But for the right price with the Bose, I'm all in!
Cleaned up the Golf this past weekend and saw it from a distance at work this morning, and man, still loving it! As much as I'd love to replace it now that it's just over 6 years old, I just can't when it's behaving like it is now. I still get that [non-permissible content removed] eating grin whenever I see it so guess it means...it's staying for awhile!
Now, the A3, the leak is still there! Have cleaned up the garage floor three times already and it keeps coming back. The wife is supposed to tell me when she wants it fixed so I can call the new mechanic and set up a day when he can check it out/fix it. It's gotta be on a day that I'm off as we'll have to drop it off and pick it up late in the day. This will be the first real issue we've had in 60K miles which is real good I'm thinking. And she still likes it so best thing to do is just fix it and go from there. Been super reliable except for it being on it's 3rd battery, gratis from Audi. So, that's the current plan as of now. It really is a nice vehicle and she loves the size and only 11 days older than mine in our small fleet.

ab348

corvette said:

Can't find any road tests of the CX-30 with the turbo, which makes me think they may not be out yet, and are still subject to a press moratorium.

They’ve been out for quite a while. I looked at one on a dealer lot back in the summer. They struck me as pricey for what you get. The black plastic cladding on the wheel openings and lower body looked really chintzy.

corvette

The CX-9 is closer to my preferred size. The thought of acquiring a used CX-9 when the Tundra lease is up has crossed my mind.

Sandman6472

In person, the Seltos is bigger than it looks while the Venue is just the opposite, at least to my eyes. We saw a new Seltos in the mall and before I could say a word, the wife says it's too big for my side of the garage without me even saying if I liked it or not...I do! Not crazy that one must get AWD to get the better turbo engine and the Bose system but hey, that's what it is. AWD in South Florida is kind of silly except when we get torrential rains which do happen, especially during hurricane season. But for the rest of the year, not loving it. Do like the Toyota Rav4, in XLE trim, as it gives the biggest bang for the buck but again, size could be an issue here. They drive great and the interior is nicely done though some pieces are a bit on the cheaper end of the spectrum. But Toyota sure knows how to make a reliable piece of work for a decent price. The quality and reliability are just built in, something I really do want to get back to at this point. Just a bit tired of the drama that some German makes have after a certain mileage and some of the issues I've had are unusual and think VW dropped the ball with me and should've met me at least halfway instead of telling me "tough sh-t"!
So, in my next vehicle, I want reliability but it has to be fun, it has to put that sh-t eating grin on my face every time I see it like my Golf does now. And of course, meet my specific size requirements with an above average audio system and all for a price of under $30K. I know it's a tough order but am sure there are maybe a half dozen or more vehicles to meet these criteria. Thinking Japan and Korea made might have the upper hand here but am open to almost any make here.

nyccarguy

My sister was rear ended while sitting at a red light on Sunday afternoon. Her leased GLC took it like a champ. The rear bumper cover along with the actual bumper are toast along with the rear tailgate. She got hit so hard that her seat belt broke and the front airbags almost deployed. A bunch of air bags and sensors need to be replaced. $20K worth of damage.

She wasn’t injured. The car was 100% drivable.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

My sister was rear ended while sitting at a red light on Sunday afternoon. Her leased GLC took it like a champ. The rear bumper cover along with the actual bumper are toast along with the rear tailgate. She got hit so hard that her seat belt broke and the front airbags almost deployed. A bunch of air bags and sensors need to be replaced. $20K worth of damage.

She wasn’t injured. The car was 100% drivable.

I'm glad she's okay.

explorerx4

@nyc, Glad your sister is ok, but seat belt breaking is disturbing.

corvette

@nyccarguy glad she's okay. Also a good argument for leasing. There's a lot of stuff under/near the rear crash bar that can get damaged if it's hit hard enough. Did the seatbelt break, or just have the pretensioners fire? Once they deploy, the seatbelt usually won't reel back in.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

@nyccarguy glad she's okay. Also a good argument for leasing. There's a lot of stuff under/near the rear crash bar that can get damaged if it's hit hard enough. Did the seatbelt break, or just have the pretensioners fire? Once they deploy, the seatbelt usually won't reel back in.

I think it was the tensioner that broke.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

My sister was rear ended while sitting at a red light on Sunday afternoon. Her leased GLC took it like a champ. The rear bumper cover along with the actual bumper are toast along with the rear tailgate. She got hit so hard that her seat belt broke and the front airbags almost deployed. A bunch of air bags and sensors need to be replaced. $20K worth of damage.

She wasn’t injured. The car was 100% drivable.

I’m glad she’s ok. Is the car totaled? If not will the insurance cover everything? Is she in the city, there’s been a lot of horror story crashes there lately?

nyccarguy

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

My sister was rear ended while sitting at a red light on Sunday afternoon. Her leased GLC took it like a champ. The rear bumper cover along with the actual bumper are toast along with the rear tailgate. She got hit so hard that her seat belt broke and the front airbags almost deployed. A bunch of air bags and sensors need to be replaced. $20K worth of damage.

She wasn’t injured. The car was 100% drivable.

I’m glad she’s ok. Is the car totaled? If not will the insurance cover everything? Is she in the city, there’s been a lot of horror story crashes there lately?

She wasn’t in the city. She lives in the Suburbs (Rockland County) with my parents and her 2 girls. The other guy’s insurance isn’t totaling her GLC.

The Mercedes dealer went above and beyond. She made an appointment to meet the adjuster at the body shop the dealer uses. Her service advisor met her at the body shop at 8:00 AM to advocate on her behalf.

andres3

Golf R's do hold their value well; too well in my opinion. Between an S4 or Golf R, similarly priced, it's going to be S4 all the way for me. But I've had a lot of cars similar to the Golf R..... if I had never had anything like it, things might be different.

sda

@nyccarguy, glad your sister is ok. It really shows how the safety of new vehicles have improved. Hopefully she won’t be sore later on. A neighbor was just hit head on in their 2021 Seltos. The other driver was at fault. Minor injuries to the wrist, glasses knocked off from the air bag, soreness for a week or so afterwards, but given the severity of the crash, the car protected her. The front end was crushed yet the driver’s door opened without extra effort. The Seltos is totaled.

28firefighter

I’m going to pass on the Golf R. While I can afford the splurge I don’t think I’ll appreciate the difference between a GLI/GTI enough to warrant it.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

My sister was rear ended while sitting at a red light on Sunday afternoon. Her leased GLC took it like a champ. The rear bumper cover along with the actual bumper are toast along with the rear tailgate. She got hit so hard that her seat belt broke and the front airbags almost deployed. A bunch of air bags and sensors need to be replaced. $20K worth of damage.

She wasn’t injured. The car was 100% drivable.

Maybe not "100%" if the seatbelt tensioners are fried. But, that's pretty impressive nonetheless. New cars tend to get a lot of flack for how easily they mar (maybe not so much anymore since they have been this way for decades now!), but they sure do protect the occupants well.

I'm glad to report that my cars are still crash-free, though a moose did try to put a dent in our day (and our Forester). My son was driving, and he now has his first moose encounter under his belt.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmgNI-55aSI

nyccarguy

@xwesx - Wow! Good job remaining calm. I’m sure inside your head you were screaming: “Stop the f$%@ing ca!”

Nice dash cam footage. Which dash cam do you have?

ab348

That looks like a reasonably built-up area. I'm not sure I'd want to live in a spot where a moose might visit my property.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

@nyc, Glad your sister is ok, but seat belt breaking is disturbing.

+1

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I kinda like this one. Cheap for one. But those miles, are steep.

Just need to budget for a stereo upgrade including a BU camera.

https://www.royaleasing.com/details-2006-honda-ridgeline-rt_automatic-used-2hjyk16246h550880.html

Yikes! That looks like one that Auto Auction Rebuilds or Weird Beard would feature from Copart.

Maybe just me as I’m more curmudgeonly these days (or so I’m told). But, that guy from Auto Auction Rebuilds just rubs me the wrong way. Another one of those guys who can take 5 minutes to say what it takes normal people 5 seconds to say.

qbrozen

So wife got a call last week. Local BMW dealer tells her "your car notified us it needs service." Fine, so she books appt for this morn. Not sure why this came from local dealer when we've only been to the dealer we leased from further away. I did not know she was going to local dealer till she got back. Anyway, I had asked her to get the tires rotated, as I believe I mentioned here before the other dealer had not done. Guess we now know why. This advisor tells my wife, "We don't do that. The Xdrive technology is so smart that rotating tires is not necessary." I have no idea WTH the Xdrive tech has to do with tire wear beyond driving in a straight line. I really wish I had been there to explain this to the advisor.

Service is done and they call her up. He goes over the findings and tells her she'll need 2 front tires. Now it triggers with her. She points this out to the advisor as incongruent with his previous statement. His reply is "well, that's not what I meant. We don't rotate them here. You can take it elsewhere and have them rotate them, though." wow. I think I may have to go further with this. See if I can get to the bottom of this claim about it being too smart to need rotating because then that must mean ours is defective and the tires should be covered under warranty.

corvette

The Toyota guy who sounds like he’s screaming all the time was really annoying, as well.

graphicguy

mjfloyd1 said:

28firefighter said:

All great feedback everyone, I appreciate it.

The GLI is, unsurprisingly, going to depreciate like a rock - roughly $10k based on what I'm seeing for used 2019s and 2020s for sale. I don't hate the white though, and it is available...

The Golf R is interesting - would be about $4k-$5k more, BUT, I think I'm likely to recoup much more of it. Not sure if I'd get a DSG or manual there - almost everyone seems to say "DSG" on that model.

The last wildcard here would be perhaps trying to snag a lease on an outgoing 2020 S3 which is just effectively a Golf R sedan...

You should buy what makes you happy. If you get something that you really do not like, you will end up selling or trading for something else that you like. And loose money all along the way.

Life is short. Get what you really want and keep it longer because you really like it.

Says the guy who traded his Wrangler after 2.5 ish years. Hey I thought I liked it...so learn from my mistakes

My Stinger turns 1 year old this week. I’m not seeing anything next year that will float my boat (with the possible exception of the TLX S-Type). So, I’ll put the Stinger in the “LIKE” category.

Even though I got ~$17,000 off MSRP on the Stinger, I’m afraid to look at what the depreciation will be once I trade, particularly given they may have made the last ones in 2021. Aside from the recall (for potential fire...which gets taken care of tomorrow) and the woeful dealership service dept, it’s been a stellar car.

I do agree, though. Get what you want.

graphicguy

@xwesx ....you’re a good passenger. Glad nothing bad happened, but I would have been pushing the imaginary brake and going full “STOP...STOP.....STOP” mode if that were me.

kyfdx

Typically, BMW won't recommend tire rotations. Of course, they'll do it, if you insist.

qbrozen

I should also point out that there are fewer than 30k miles on her car. She got over 60k miles on her van's tires. I don't normally blame a car for eating tires, but I have to in this instance. That is really really fast wear given her driving style.

au1994

qbrozen said:

I should also point out that there are fewer than 30k miles on her car. She got over 60k miles on her van's tires. I don't normally blame a car for eating tires, but I have to in this instance. That is really really fast wear given her driving style.

Less than 30k is what we got on the OEM Pirellis on the X1 sDrive. I wasn’t particularly happy with that lack of durability especially since there are about 4 choices of run flats in that size, none of which was a bargain. On the upside, the Continentals I replaced them with seem to be wearing better.

omarman

I don't know if my dad would have been that calm if something that big crossed the road with me driving on a learner's permit! I slowed the playback down to .5 and tried to count the "slow down" instructions. I think it was 10 times starting around 44 seconds. Thought I heard a "slow - moose!" included in the mix too.

Glad that it was the good kind of learning experience for your son. Pretty sure if my dad had been along for the ride there would have been a lot of dick van [non-permissible content removed] non permissible content.

qbrozen

au1994 said:

qbrozen said:

I should also point out that there are fewer than 30k miles on her car. She got over 60k miles on her van's tires. I don't normally blame a car for eating tires, but I have to in this instance. That is really really fast wear given her driving style.

Less than 30k is what we got on the OEM Pirellis on the X1 sDrive. I wasn’t particularly happy with that lack of durability especially since there are about 4 choices of run flats in that size, none of which was a bargain. On the upside, the Continentals I replaced them with seem to be wearing better.

Have the service report in front of me now. $900 for 2 new tires and alignment. LOL!

breld

Hold on a sec...you can change the tires on cars?

breld

@graphicguy - congrats on the 1 year anniversary with the Stinger. And don’t worry about depreciation...didn’t you hear those don’t depreciate? You just need Demuro to lay a hand on it!

breld

C&D just posted an article on updates VW has made to the Arteon for 2021.

In case you forgot that even existed, you should check out used ones...what made for a largely unloved new model makes for a great buy on the used market IMO. AWD, sleek styling, punchy engine.

This one’s pretty darn nice for $27k...

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/831380419/overview/

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I kinda like this one. Cheap for one. But those miles, are steep.

Just need to budget for a stereo upgrade including a BU camera.

https://www.royaleasing.com/details-2006-honda-ridgeline-rt_automatic-used-2hjyk16246h550880.html

Yikes! That looks like one that Auto Auction Rebuilds or Weird Beard would feature from Copart.

Maybe just me as I’m more curmudgeonly these days (or so I’m told). But, that guy from Auto Auction Rebuilds just rubs me the wrong way. Another one of those guys who can take 5 minutes to say what it takes normal people 5 seconds to say.

I suffer AAR’s manner to get to the content but you’re right, there’s something about him. If you read his comments section he’s acquired a number of trolls with whom he frequently gets into arguments.

Weird Beard is more interesting in my opinion but he gets a lot of his cars from AAR.

corvette

Glass guy asked whether I could pull the Tundra in the garage in case it rains. Found out the hard way it doesn’t fit if you try to back it in. The XM antenna is now loose. Trying to figure out how much of a bear it will be to pull the headliner and fix it.

28firefighter

Arteon looks like my old CC (to me) and appears to be headed the same direction...

RE: BMW tires, my wife's X1 was down to 3/32 by 23k miles. Ended up replacing them with a set of OEM equivalents off a used tire site for $350 shipped. I get the impression the X1/X2 just eat tires.

28firefighter

@corvette - womp womp! I've seen the Car Weezard pull enough headliners to know it will probably be annoying.

qbrozen

breld said:

Hold on a sec...you can change the tires on cars?

Yes, I can. YOU can't.

qbrozen

breld said:

C&D just posted an article on updates VW has made to the Arteon for 2021.

In case you forgot that even existed, you should check out used ones...what made for a largely unloved new model makes for a great buy on the used market IMO. AWD, sleek styling, punchy engine.

This one’s pretty darn nice for $27k...

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/831380419/overview/

Heck, I thought Arteon was the name of one of their many SUVs. So when is that one arriving in your driveway?

ab348

qbrozen said:

I should also point out that there are fewer than 30k miles on her car. She got over 60k miles on her van's tires. I don't normally blame a car for eating tires, but I have to in this instance. That is really really fast wear given her driving style.

Two points: first, what was in the message that the car sent to the dealer regarding service?

Secondly, if you want to sing the blues regarding tire wear, check out my story: when I had the ATS in the tire shop last month to get the snow tires/wheels installed, they noted that the OE Bridgestone Potenza RE050A runflats were approaching minimum tread depth, not totally worn out but getting questionable to put back on next spring. These tires probably have no more than 7000 miles on them. I realized shortly after getting the car that they would be a problem when I noticed the treadwear rating was 140, as low a number as I've ever seen. And I've come to hate them as an everyday tire. They are really a track day tire, great on a twisty 2-lane but overly responsive to steering input to the point of being dangerous on an expressway, where they are very twitchy and quite unsettling. I've wanted them gone for a while but hadn't figured it would be this soon. But I suspect I'll be replacing them come spring because I really hate them.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

@xwesx - Wow! Good job remaining calm. I’m sure inside your head you were screaming: “Stop the f$%@ing ca!”

Nice dash cam footage. Which dash cam do you have?

Funny responses!

Yes, I think the hardest part for me was accepting the "I really have no control over what happens here" impulses. He was struggling with the idea of jabbing the brakes too hard and causing the car to slide, especially after his initial punch on the brakes kicked it loose for a brief moment. He was judging the speed that the moose was traveling across, and figured he would just slow enough to clear it, but I had to remind him that it was a MOOSE - just because it was going a certain speed and direction at one moment didn't mean it would continue that way. I have seen them veer, stop, slip... you name it, and leaving yourself avoidance options when you can makes a lot of sense! It was probably 20 feet in front of the car as it exited the roadway, so there was still some room.

Location: Moose are found anywhere here, even the middle of downtown Fairbanks. This particular area is called "Farmers Loop," and while it is well-populated with people, there are also greenbelts on either side of the developments, so it is a regular area for moose to traverse. All things considered, this was a perfect time and place to cross paths with one: There was plenty of light (there is nothing reflective on a moose - not even the eyes), no other cars to consider in the immediate area, and no brush along the shoulder to hide the movement.

Finally, the camera is a Blackvue DR750S. We installed it on my wife's car back in August of 2018, and it is a highly reliable and durable unit.

xwesx

corvette said:

Glass guy asked whether I could pull the Tundra in the garage in case it rains. Found out the hard way it doesn’t fit if you try to back it in. The XM antenna is now loose. Trying to figure out how much of a bear it will be to pull the headliner and fix it.

Ugh! That's interesting... My grandfather had the same issue with his Expedition: He could park the car in his garage, but he couldn't back it in without having clearance issues. He ended up putting scrapes on his roof rails (and the door trim) to learn that lesson. I'm glad you didn't do any more damage than that!

I'm surprised the mobile glass guy doesn't have a portable cover he can erect over his patients when it is raining.

corvette

It's only loose towards the rear. Given that it's a lease and that I can't even find a part number or diagram of how it's attached, I think I may try some body molding tape to see whether that will keep it held down.

Also, it just started raining, so they left before starting to work on it. I'm also surprised they don't have one of those lightweight 10x10' tents.

ab348

Just Googled that camera. It sure isn't cheap, at least here in Canada, $500 of our worthless Canadian dollars.