Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:

So we’ve purchased two vehicles from Carvana (and traded in our vehicles as well) and I’d say overall the experience has been very positive with the pricing and the vehicles themselves.

But their title department (or whatever company they outsource with) stinks. On our first GTI (@kyfdx’s), they ignored my request for self-registration, so I not only lost out on transferring my current plates, but also missed out on the credit due to me on those plates. Now, we’re still waiting on the title complete notice on my wife’s MINI, which is now a week or two past the initial expiration of the temp tag. And, they just fedex’d me documents to sign for the title work on the traded-in MINI. Problem is, they have our old address on the docs (even though they sent them to our current address) and my name on that paperwork, when my wife is the only person on the title of that car.

That is indeed their weak point if you do a search online. It’s frustrating, but it wouldn’t stop me from buying another car from them if it was the right one at the right price. It’s annoying from a logistical perspective, but it’s up to them to get the title work done.

Carvana has a reputation for being a few thousand higher than the traditional dealer, are you saying that cars you’ve bought from them are competitively priced? I like that their cars are supposed to be accident free but I wouldn’t want to pay a lot more for that privledge.

Deals are not consistent there. Anywhere from great deal to overpriced. Have to evaluate on a case-by-case basis.

Yeah, I suppose I should clarify that the two vehicles I’ve purchased through Carvana were at least fairly priced and, more importantly, exactly what we were looking for that wasn’t available locally (i.e., a GTI SE manual with plaid and a fully optioned JCW with super low miles).

I’d definitely make a deal for something local if it is available - I hate waiting even a week or two for Carvana to deliver!

breld

roadburner said:

qbrozen said:

roadburner said:

So my wife and I drove over to the Toyota dealer in Indiana to look at the Supra. The store was packed with truck and appliance shoppers. The salesman I’ve been talking with was busy, but the Supra was sitting at the front of the showroom; I think it was the only car people weren’t looking at. We both sat in it. Two complaints I’ve read about are the seats and the limited luggage space. We both thought the seats were fine, and my wife thought the luggage space was fine(I thought the subwoofer grills are a bit ricey, but you don’t have to look at them that often).
Two pet peeves are the lack of a heated steering wheel and no external release for the hatch, but neither are deal breakers. My wife liked it a lot but I really need to drive it(with an ambient temperature of 30F I thought that driving a car fitted with PSS tires was a waste of time).
If I could get it for $9k off MSRP like Breld did I’d likely buy it. For only $4k off I’m not so sure.

If you'd only buy it if a great deal, maybe it isn't the right car. (?)
As picky as you are, I think the deal should be icing, not the deciding factor. Just one man's opinion.

It’s like any purchasing decision I make; I won’t buy a car(or motorcycle, or HTS equipment) unless I believe it’s worth the price.
As an example I wouldn’t buy an M2 Comp if it was priced only $2k less than an M2 CS. It’s no worth the price difference.

Well said. I kind of snicker when a salesperson asks me what price point we are targeting ...obviously there’s a budget we have in mind, but I usually respond that we’re more looking for the best value.

In fact, when I’m looking at M2s, I’m wondering if it’s better just to pony up a little for the Comp. The 2018 Long Beach Blue manual example that’s available locally is priced at $48k...that’s way high and I wouldn’t pay it. But I’d consider a 2019 Comp for $52k.

fintail

I wonder if there be more lower mileage late model cars on the market soon, as pandemic restrictions have cut back on commuting and leisure driving for many. Last two errands I ran, I took the long way just to drive the car for a few more minutes.

breld

mjfloyd1 said:

coldinohio said:

are they different sized keys? maybe angle ..

mjfloyd1 said:

I forgot to add the most important picture

They are the same size. I thought the same thing and put them side by side to check

Not surprisingly, the X3 and Supra keys are the same (other than the stripes on the side of the X3)...I found a nice silicone case to fit over the Supra key to differentiate it.

stickguy

with the fence, in our town, you can't have fencing in front of the house line. At least not a fence like that (not sure about a low white picket one! But think not)

rules are a bit different for a corner property. I know there are setback rules to the road/sidewalk, and definitely corner sightlines.

fintail

Volvos definitely wear white well.

Winter has been so mild here, I was able to wipe down the wagon yesterday too. I told myself I was going to "let it go" during the cold weather, but we've had so relatively little of it that I've been able to keep up my OCD ways.

tjc78 said:

Boring day here.. nothing much to do, so I did the right thing (VGG reference!) and froze myself washing both cars and cleaning the garage a bit.

breld

Another quick Carvana note. The financing they offer is definitely for a certain clientele. We were going to use our credit union, but when we went there, they said they won’t work with Carvana due to their titling delays and issues.

So the path of least resistance was to go through Carvana’s financing, with the idea we’d refinance it as quick as possible. As we’re waiting on the title work for the JCW, I couldn’t stand it anymore and paid off the loan with our HELOC.

We have strong credit...Carvana’s rate was 7.20%.

tjc78

fintail said:

Volvos definitely wear white well.

Winter has been so mild here, I was able to wipe down the wagon yesterday too. I told myself I was going to "let it go" during the cold weather, but we've had so relatively little of it that I've been able to keep up my OCD ways.

tjc78 said:

Boring day here.. nothing much to do, so I did the right thing (VGG reference!) and froze myself washing both cars and cleaning the garage a bit.

Yes they do. I was stunned when my wife wanted white. She has been against that for years. I tried to put her in a diamond white Enclave and she wanted no parts of it.

tjc78

Our Volvo keys are luckily different. Since my car is
an Inscription it has the interior color keyed fob. The poverty XC90 Momentum does with a plain black fob.

The Volvo fobs are huge, really wish they were smaller.

corvette

tjc78 said:

The Volvo fobs are huge, really wish they were smaller.

The fob on the Tundra is square, blocky, and otherwise unaesthetic, which is why I bought a silicone cover for it. Nissan does this right, although some critics have accused their fobs of looking like giant suppositories.

stickguy

we were never white car people. First one (other than a junker Celica I had in the late 80s) was the 2015 Jetta. Which we all liked. Then the Elantra which looked really good in white. I was still a bit surprised that the wife liked the white on the RDX. Part of that was them not offering a blue like she really wanted.

corvette

breld said:

The financing they offer is definitely for a certain clientele...
We have strong credit...Carvana’s rate was 7.20%.

Many people don't shop financing terms at all, sort of like how many people don't realize you're allowed to pay more than the minimum payment (which can be a smart move, depending upon the interest rate).

If I don't lease again, I may just use my HELOC to avoid dealing with financing.

stickguy

Unless I had the money to write a check, I would likely just use the Carvana financing too, since dealing with lining something else up sounds like a nightmare. then just pay it off after a few months (Refi or Heloc).

I can't recall ever getting my own financing. Maybe way back in the 90s I did it once? Never financed a private sale purchase, and when I needed it from a dealer just got it through them.

28firefighter

For anyone financing, I highly recommend DCU. If you setup direct deposit with them, their rates are 1.9% for up to 65 months, new and used, refi or original loan. Before everything happened with my Dad I was approved for a loan on the Golf R in about 15 seconds. Can buy from a dealer or private party.

If you don’t want to do direct deposit, the base rate is 2.49%.

Sandman6472

Sad news...my twin brother ended his journey on earth late Saturday afternoon. The leukemia he had been suffering from took him at age 66. I didn't expect to feel the sadness I did when I got the text shortly afterwards but, I am profoundly sad right now. It's sad that he couldn't let go of his anger after so many years. G-d knows I tried and tried to get through to him as I had let go of all that negativity years ago.
May you rest in peace with the rest of our immediate family, leaving me now the last sibling left to carry on. I love you, and always have...it's just a shame you didn't know that...that's one thing you should've always known!
R I P Steve!

tjc78

Very sorry to hear Sandy. Loss is never easy. We are here for you.

28firefighter

So sorry Sandy.

sda

Very sorry to learn Sandy. Life is so fragile.

laurasdada

Sandy, so sorry for your loss. 28FF, sorry for your father's pain and suffering, but it sounds like (as with my father), that things are working out as well as could be hoped for.
My dad has moved out of the hospital to a rehab facility. He's still on oxygen, but at greatly reduced amounts. 87, and beating Covid...hopefully.

carnaught

@Sandman6472, my sincere condolences to you regarding your loss. It’s got to be difficult also because you were estranged. Where did he live; did he have a wife and family?

stickguy

sorry to hear Sandy. Even estranged, still hard to lose a sibling (and I imagine, even harder when it was a twin).

Sandman6472

28, so very sorry to hear about dad, but in time, sure things will get much better. Hoping for a speedy recovery!

ab348

My sympathies, Sandy.

mjfloyd1

@Sandman6472 - sorry for your loss

Sandman6472

They lived in Ashville NC after leaving Ft. Lauderdale back in 2017. No kids, he leaves his husband.

mjfloyd1

breld said:

mjfloyd1 said:

coldinohio said:

are they different sized keys? maybe angle ..

mjfloyd1 said:

I forgot to add the most important picture

They are the same size. I thought the same thing and put them side by side to check

Not surprisingly, the X3 and Supra keys are the same (other than the stripes on the side of the X3)...I found a nice silicone case to fit over the Supra key to differentiate it.

@breld - you must have used Kia Finance since you only have one key for each vehicle

au1994

Sandman6472 said:

Sad news...my twin brother ended his journey on earth late Saturday afternoon. The leukemia he had been suffering from took him at age 66. I didn't expect to feel the sadness I did when I got the text shortly afterwards but, I am profoundly sad right now. It's sad that he couldn't let go of his anger after so many years. G-d knows I tried and tried to get through to him as I had let go of all that negativity years ago.
May you rest in peace with the rest of our immediate family, leaving me now the last sibling left to carry on. I love you, and always have...it's just a shame you didn't know that...that's one thing you should've always known!
R I P Steve!

Very sorry

qbrozen

roadburner said:

qbrozen said:

roadburner said:

qbrozen said:

roadburner said:

So my wife and I drove over to the Toyota dealer in Indiana to look at the Supra. The store was packed with truck and appliance shoppers. The salesman I’ve been talking with was busy, but the Supra was sitting at the front of the showroom; I think it was the only car people weren’t looking at. We both sat in it. Two complaints I’ve read about are the seats and the limited luggage space. We both thought the seats were fine, and my wife thought the luggage space was fine(I thought the subwoofer grills are a bit ricey, but you don’t have to look at them that often).
Two pet peeves are the lack of a heated steering wheel and no external release for the hatch, but neither are deal breakers. My wife liked it a lot but I really need to drive it(with an ambient temperature of 30F I thought that driving a car fitted with PSS tires was a waste of time).
If I could get it for $9k off MSRP like Breld did I’d likely buy it. For only $4k off I’m not so sure.

If you'd only buy it if a great deal, maybe it isn't the right car. (?)
As picky as you are, I think the deal should be icing, not the deciding factor. Just one man's opinion.

It’s like any purchasing decision I make; I won’t buy a car(or motorcycle, or HTS equipment) unless I believe it’s worth the price.
As an example I wouldn’t buy an M2 Comp if it was priced only $2k less than an M2 CS. It’s no worth the price difference.

That’s kind of my point. So you want the CS, but would settle for a Comp for the right price. So why not get the CS?

My vehicle purchasing budget. I’ve already increased it by $15,000- and I’ll have to bump it even higher to go with a CPO M2C...

Sounds like it is not that far out of reach to get exactly what you want. Maybe wait a little longer for the prices to come down?

breld

@Sandman6472 - sorry to hear of your loss.

breld

28firefighter said:

For anyone financing, I highly recommend DCU. If you setup direct deposit with them, their rates are 1.9% for up to 65 months, new and used, refi or original loan. Before everything happened with my Dad I was approved for a loan on the Golf R in about 15 seconds. Can buy from a dealer or private party.

If you don’t want to do direct deposit, the base rate is 2.49%.

Thanks for the tip - I’m gonna look more into it. I’ll have to find out if they can “refinance” a vehicle that is technically paid off (on my HELOC). I seem to remember my current credit union saying they could only refinance an existing auto loan, but I did use a previous credit union at one point to finance a car that we floated with cash.

qbrozen

Ugh. Trying to get the MB fixed is frustrating. Ordered the generic connector on Ebay that looked right. Took more than 2 weeks to arrive, waited till I had time and the weather was cooperating and tried today. No go. Just won't click into place. Back to searching for OEM. I'm convinced it does not exist for my vehicle. The only diagram I can find that even includes that connector is for the C63/E63, and it is for the whole hose assembly, including 4 connectors and 3 hoses. It states it does not fit the ML, however. But, I don't have a choice, so I coughed up the $80 for it. Will be here sometime this week. Sigh.

nyccarguy

@sandman6472 - I’m so sorry to hear about your twin brother’s death. May he Rest In Peace.

breld

Boy this is nice.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/835183158/overview/

28firefighter

Very nice!

corvette

@breld - love the exterior color, although I do wish interior colors besides black were more common on high performance models.

stickguy

nice looking Audi. But needs the brown interior.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@tjc78,
That fence across the street would definitely be against code around here.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed that. I figured the neighbor put it up to muffle the sound of burnouts coming from across the street.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I wonder if there be more lower mileage late model cars on the market soon, as pandemic restrictions have cut back on commuting and leisure driving for many. Last two errands I ran, I took the long way just to drive the car for a few more minutes.

I thought prices were supposed to be dropping by now but last week we delivered a Subaru to a dealer for $20k. Edmunds said dealer retail was $19 so either prices are still inflated or Edmunds is using old data.

There may be stir-crazy people out there who are sitting on piles of cash willing to pay high prices but I’m still wary. And we still have tax season to get through.

oldfarmer50

breld said:

Another quick Carvana note. The financing they offer is definitely for a certain clientele. We were going to use our credit union, but when we went there, they said they won’t work with Carvana due to their titling delays and issues.

So the path of least resistance was to go through Carvana’s financing, with the idea we’d refinance it as quick as possible. As we’re waiting on the title work for the JCW, I couldn’t stand it anymore and paid off the loan with our HELOC.

We have strong credit...Carvana’s rate was 7.20%.

Ouch!😓 I’ve never financed a car for more than 2%.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Sad news...my twin brother ended his journey on earth late Saturday afternoon. The leukemia he had been suffering from took him at age 66. I didn't expect to feel the sadness I did when I got the text shortly afterwards but, I am profoundly sad right now. It's sad that he couldn't let go of his anger after so many years. G-d knows I tried and tried to get through to him as I had let go of all that negativity years ago.
May you rest in peace with the rest of our immediate family, leaving me now the last sibling left to carry on. I love you, and always have...it's just a shame you didn't know that...that's one thing you should've always known!
R I P Steve!

Sorry for your loss Sandy, my uncle died of leukemia some years ago. You did all you could.

breld

This came across my FB feed this morning. Kinda cracks me up that a limited edition can be “back by popular demand.”

breld

corvette said:

@breld - love the exterior color, although I do wish interior colors besides black were more common on high performance models.

stickguy said:

nice looking Audi. But needs the brown interior.

It has 3 pedals. Let’s not discriminate too much!

breld

But...if you really want that brown interior, you can give up the 6 cylinder turbo and sport seats...but keep the manual.

https://www.audiflatirons.com/used/Audi/2014-Audi-A5-6574d21c0a0e0adf35290a4d5834cd51.htm

stickguy

true on oddball used cars. not that I am willing to get involved with a V6 turbo 8 year old Audi.

breld

Looking at the inventory at the place that has that manual S5...they also have this wagon.

It’s no unicorn with the automatic trannie, but still, a 60k mile E91 with the m-sport package is pretty cool.

https://www.boothmotorsllc.com/inventory/2011-bmw-3-series-328i-xdrive-wagon/308753

tifighter

Was gone cross country skiing over the holidays, so I finally got around to driving the Z4 for the first time in weeks yesterday. Fun, but I swear it is getting lower to the ground every time I drive it. It must be because I am getting taller, younger and better looking on every drive. Right?

stickguy

Ti, that is my worry about having a midlife crisis and treating it with a low slung sports car. I might not be able to get my wife out of it.

qbrozen

This new Santa Fe they are advertising the heck out of looks REALLY nice.

mjfloyd1

tifighter said:

Was gone cross country skiing over the holidays, so I finally got around to driving the Z4 for the first time in weeks yesterday. Fun, but I swear it is getting lower to the ground every time I drive it. It must be because I am getting taller, younger and better looking on every drive. Right?

Maybe the tires are flat?

stickguy

qbrozen said:

This new Santa Fe they are advertising the heck out of looks REALLY nice.

before we bought the RDX and were test driving, we drove a Santa Fe turbo. And really liked it. Was probably the 2nd choice after the Acura (and probably was the best option, but the wife wanted the "premium" car. Though the Hyundai actually had a lot more features.