Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

@nyccarguy I found something similar to replace your Tacoma when the lease is up... Long bed and everything! Might be missing a few features from the newer models, but only has 200k-ish on the clock. Just getting broken in!

My first thought when I saw the ad was, "surely that has to be less than $10k!" Nope... :@ The resale value on these is insane.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

@nyccarguy I found something similar to replace your Tacoma when the lease is up... Long bed and everything! Might be missing a few features from the newer models, but only has 200k-ish on the clock. Just getting broken in!

My first thought when I saw the ad was, "surely that has to be less than $10k!" Nope... :@ The resale value on these is insane.

Thank-you ladies & gentlemen. @corvette will be here all week. Please don’t forget to tip your waitress.

The resale value is unreal on these.

stickguy

what the heck market are they comparing to?

Odometer is 4865 miles below market average!

nyccarguy

We are supposed to get 12” - 18” of snow tonight into Tuesday. The Prelude is resting under its blanket. The Pilot is in the garage ready for action. The Tacoma is ready to go to work tomorrow;)

sda

nyccarguy said:

We are supposed to get 12” - 18” of snow tonight into Tuesday. The Prelude is resting under its blanket. The Pilot is in the garage ready for action. The Tacoma is ready to go to work tomorrow;)

Magic carpet ride? I do like the blue color of your Pilot. As much as my wife likes the Q5, which she and the Q5 are in Jacksonville presently and she and her sister sent me pictures from the beach today, really? My wife still misses her Pilot.

sda

From the balcony of my SIL in Jacksonville, and loading the Pilot for the trip there a couple of years ago.

breld

roadburner said:

breld said:

So while I don’t like the driveway being taken up be extra cars, it is nice that...

Friday, I took the cars to the car wash, so I got to drive the wife’s MINI JCW.

Yesterday, we went to breakfast so I drove the X3. I then ran some errands on my own so took out the Supra for a couple hours. Then later my wife forgot a couple items at the grocery store so I made a quick run in the Leaf.

Hard to find any reason to go car browsing really (though I still find reasons).

My fleet isn’t as entertaining, but I do enjoy being able to change things up. I try to drive the 2er and Jeep several times per week- ditto for the Club Sport if there’s no salt.

Oh I’d beg to differ - your fleet is much more interesting. I aspire to having a more seasoned fleet, but my shopping desires get the best of me, as we all know.

laurasdada

Hello, Audi-philes. I test drove an '18 Audi A7 yesterday. Nice ride, comfy seat. Seemed to have a bit more road noise than the XF, but what I really noted was the brake pedal. A lot of travel, kinda soft feeling. Car stopped, no issue but such a different feel from the Jag. Is this an Audi trait or probably just this car?

Was planning on driving a Macan, too, but time didn't allow. Even considering downsizing the wallet and may drive a new Mazda3 turbo.

Next Saturday, we have a noon appointment to view real estate. On the way back, may surprise the fiance with a stop at an audi dealer on the way home to test drive an '18 S5. And, the "Fintail-like" '19 MB E450 sedan is still available about 40 miles north of me.

But, while the trunk is no longer magic, the Jag ride remains so. Sigh.

Michaell

Car dealers are closed on Sunday in Colorado, so it's always nice to walk the lots without any interruptions.

Was able to coordinate with Mr. & Mrs. @breld and @jpp75, so we met up at the local Volvo/Audi/VW/Mazda stores for a bit of a walkabout.

Nobody saw anything that made them go "ooo" (yes, even @breld was pretty happy with his current fleet), but I did get a chance to drive the Model 3 Dual Motor AWD that @jpp75 picked up a few months ago.

My first experience with an EV. As we turned onto the 4 lane road that is next to the dealership, I was told "floor it". Holy Mother of all that is Sacred - I had my foot on the floor for maybe 1 or 2 seconds and I couldn't tell you how fast we were going. Lift my foot of the pedal and - wham! - the regenerative braking takes over.

I got the hang of one-pedal driving pretty quickly, which is pretty cool. Had one other acceleration experience on a road that was marked at 35MPH. I figured I got it to 50+ MPH. When we got back to the dealer John told me "Nope, you were crowding 70". Yikes!

It was comfortable on the surface streets we drove on; quiet, too, as you would imagine. Didn't get into the interior too much (focused on driving, you see), but having had a Saturn ION, I was sort of used to not having any dials or gauges in front of me.

I certainly see the appeal of these, now. For just over $50K (before state tax credits), and not having to worry about maintenance beyond consumables (brakes, tires, wipers), I can almost say I can see one of these in my future.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

@nyccarguy I found something similar to replace your Tacoma when the lease is up... Long bed and everything! Might be missing a few features from the newer models, but only has 200k-ish on the clock. Just getting broken in!

My first thought when I saw the ad was, "surely that has to be less than $10k!" Nope... :@ The resale value on these is insane.

Wow! Words fail me. Somebody has to explain that to me. I suppose under perfect care and all highway miles but.....

sda

I haven’t driven any Audis recently except our Q5. There is a lot of travel and the pedal feels soft, almost mushy before the brakes engage, yet they work fine. The Passat has a more immediate, firm progressive feel. My wife drove the Passat for the first time for any significant distance and thought the brakes were too touchy yet said it took her a while to acclimate to the feel of the brakes in the Audi Q5 as compared to her Pilot which had a firmer more direct feel.

laurasdada

Thanks, SDA. Your Q5 brake description sounds similar to what I experienced.

corvette

The GLI’s brakes also felt weird, but I got used to it after a couple months of ownership.

Sandman6472

Breld, seriously, how do you like the Mini? I'm really leaning towards one next time I do buy for some reason. Think it's either going to be the Mini or the Corolla hatch, all depending on how much I really want to spend but more importantly, how they each drive. Must admit, "cheap to keep" is looking real good to me after these last few years with the Golf. But I want some sort of fun factor also even though I don't drive much anymore. Have decided to just wait till the 2022 models come out at this point unless something really goes wrong with the VW. Don't want to dump a whole lot of $ into it or it'll have to stay longer.

Sandman6472

My same thoughts the first and only time I drove a Tesla. The immediate acceleration is intoxicating and the first time one lets off the accelerator is quite a strange feeling. I also got used to driving mostly with the accelerator quite quickly as it's really the smoothest and best way to do it since the vehicle stops like a rock when ones foot comes off the go pedal. Definitely enjoyed that one time drive and think in time, could get used to it. The charging factor would be the only issue but since I hardly ever drive more than 10 to 15 miles at one time, could be doable. The only time it might be a problem is going up to visit the kids in the Orlando area. It's almost 200 miles each way so any EV vehicle I'd own would have to have a longer range just in case. Our mainly short trips would be just fine.
Our friends in Southern California have a couple and swear by them. They've retro-fitted both sides of their garage so charging is super easy and never an issue. She keeps hounding me to get one but just haven't looked into one yet. Did see a Bolt and liked the style better than the Leaf but haven't seen the most current Leaf so really can't comment on it's looks. But with the right vehicle with the extended range and an easy way to charge it at home, think I'd be a good candidate now due to the change in my driving.

Sandman6472

Going to pay the 2021 insurance bill later this morning since we're both home today. They were right, taking the AARP senior driving class lowered our bill for each vehicle by 10%. Prefer the classroom setting like all the previous times, but with the covid, doing it from home online was the only choice this time. They said it was an 8 hour class and indeed, they were spot on as it took me the whole 8 hours but I split it over two days. With my spinal issues, it's hard to sit at my desk for that long so I did it in shifts over those two days. I need to get up and stretch every so often, move a bit, and it worked out just fine.
We take it every 3 years which is just fine. Cost is reasonable and the savings really does help. Sure, it's not mandatory but why not take it? It keeps one updated on the little things we tend to forget over time, the little things that can really save us out there on the road. And the 10% is a nice bonus so basically, a win/win for us all!

nyccarguy

A ban on all essential travel in NYC today made Dad & I decide not to open up today. Good thing. My wife is getting her 2nd Covid Shot as we speak. I was able to drive her here which puts me at ease. The Tacoma continues to impress me.

breld

@Sandman6472 -

My wife’s MINI is a bit harsh for my taste as a daily driver. But that’s the 2 door hardtop John Cooper Works version. I believe the current Countryman is much more comfortable in every way, so certainly worth a try. But just make sure to take a nice long test drive and pay attention to the ride.

28firefighter

So - nearly one week update with the 5er wagon. I can see why these and their E91 counterparts are so coveted.

The N52 is silky smooth power plant, though not super powerful as @kyfdx has pointed out. I could see it being quite magoo with the automatic, but actually borders on fun with with the 6MT since you can more easily keep it in the ideal powerband. The ride quality is also outstanding - it isn't the ZHP or any other sports car - rides smooth and quiet on rough roads, but is shockingly easy to toss around when needed and does so with confidence. I did a Costco trip this weekend with it and it holds nearly as much in the hatch as the Outback. Add to that the amazingly comfortable interior and it is truly an unmatched feature set these days.

Would I have dropped the $15-$20k that examples like these are pulling on forums or BaT/Cars and Bids? Absolutely not - but for the ~$10k we acquired it for last summer it is a no brainer, IMO.

OK, so what's the bad? I'll break it down into two categories - design flaws and maintenance needs.

Design Flaws
(1) The power hatch and associated cargo cover are overly complicated parts just waiting to break. It works for now, but I can tell that these are not long for this world. I fully anticipate converting the power hatch to regular gas struts in the near future.

(2) Some mensa member put a whole bunch of modules for the car's systems in the spare tire wheel well. This would be fine except they routed the drainage lines from the sunroof cassette around there as well as over the battery housing in the hatch. So, if the lines become clogged? Hello expensive repair. I'll address this again under maintenance.

(3) There is absolutely no good place to store a phone while driving - no good cubby hole, no cupholder etc. Still working on where to put a mount feasibly.

(4) iDrive is hot garbage.

Maintenance
(1) The sunroof rubber seal should be replaced. It is fine for now, but I can tell it is old and approaching perished. I want to replace this proactively so that water is kept out from the sunroof drains in the first place to avoid an issue with #2 above.

(2) Power steering seems to have a bit of a whine. I know from the PPI that the PS has a seep somewhere so I'm wondering if it is just low on fluid? Will have my mechanic look at it.

(3) Oil pan is weeping though nothing is showing up on the driveway, so I'm going to try using some of the LiquiMoly Motor Oil Saver after the next oil change like I did on the ZHP. It stopped the weeping on the ZHP, so I'm curious to see how it does here.

(4) Idle is bouncing a bit when warmed up and stopped - no more than 40-50 rpm but it is noticeable. Wondering if this is also related to the PS whine that I hear. Confirmed battery is good and that alternator is charging.

(5) Needs an oil change - not by mileage, but by time - it's been about 6-8 months and I'd like to track any consumption from scratch.

Overall, I'm happy to have this gem in my stewardship for as long as it lasts. My wife even likes it, which nearly made me fall off my chair.

corvette

Nice! On the cell phone mount, I've had Panavise brackets in a couple of older cars, but now that I frequently use Waze for navigation, I prefer the higher position offered by an HVAC vent mount. Plus, they're not permanently mounted, so only take a few seconds to install.

28firefighter

So I forgot one other detail. The AUX jack for the iDrive (a simple 3.5mm jack) is located in the backseat on the rear of the center console - so I don't know if I can successfully mount on a vent and have the cable reach. Not a bad idea though to try. Suppose I could get a really long cable.

xwesx

sda said:

I haven’t driven any Audis recently except our Q5. There is a lot of travel and the pedal feels soft, almost mushy before the brakes engage, yet they work fine. The Passat has a more immediate, firm progressive feel. My wife drove the Passat for the first time for any significant distance and thought the brakes were too touchy yet said it took her a while to acclimate to the feel of the brakes in the Audi Q5 as compared to her Pilot which had a firmer more direct feel.

I'll say the exact same thing about the Q7.

corvette

After escalating the matter, I was able to persuade my insurance company to cover the $82.45 rental bill I incurred as part of the windshield recalibration. I'm sure I'm on their naughty list by now!

28firefighter

Don't worry - I'm sure they'll get it back from you when they raise your rates 40%.

Michaell

Can't trade in a lease?

stickguy

I responded. Based on my experience.

it also sounds like he already has the new car, so really hard to go back now! I am thinking it was a sales tax credit screw-up by the Caddy dealer.

au1994

Michaell said:

Can't trade in a lease?

Replied. Mine echoes @stickguy, looks like the Caddy dealer screwed something up and is trying to get the customer to pay for their mistake.

roadburner

Michaell said:

Can't trade in a lease?

It reminded me of when my dad and his law partner leased a couple of 1978 Caprice Classics from the local Chevrolet dealer. His partner didn't lease a second car and two weeks after he turned it in the dealer sent him a letter saying the car didn't sell for the residual- so he needed to send them $2000 to make up the difference. He told them to pound sand and that's as far as it went...

sda

@roadburner, did your son buy the BMW that you recently mentioned?

corvette

roadburner said:

Michaell said:

Can't trade in a lease?

It reminded me of when my dad and his law partner leased a couple of 1978 Caprice Classics from the local Chevrolet dealer. His partner didn't lease a second car and two weeks after he turned it in the dealer sent him a letter saying the car didn't sell for the residual- so he needed to send them $2000 to make up the difference. He told them to pound sand and that's as far as it went...

There did used to be "open-end" leases, which were almost the same as the (now defunct?) GMAC SmartBuy program and other auto loan programs which usually had 36 month terms with a balloon payment at the end. Either way, if you didn't buy the car at the end of the term, you were supposedly liable for the difference between projected resale and what it was actually worth.

roadburner

sda said:

@roadburner, did your son buy the BMW that you recently mentioned?

He's still thinking about it; the problem is that neither his townhouse or his work parking garages have any charging stations- so he'd have to charge it off-site.

qbrozen

OH, this is simply amazing. I love it. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-saab-95-v4-estate-combi-station-wagon/

sda

qbrozen said:

OH, this is simply amazing. I love it. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1975-saab-95-v4-estate-combi-station-wagon/

I forgot the 2 stroke engine was replaced by the Ford V4. Impressive, unique car. I watched the video, brought back memories of driving older 4 cylinder cars and what they were like. You could drive them hard, have fun and not be worried about speeding. They rev’d their hearts out at highway speeds but still did fine.

fintail

Saab is a bargain at the current price, but it aint gonna stay there.

fintail

Doesn't sound like a very Smart Buy.

I suspect German (and probably Italian) lux brands in particular have amusing differences between residual and market value. On my prior E lease, they offered to sell it to me for something like 5-6K under residual.

corvette said:

There did used to be "open-end" leases, which were almost the same as the (now defunct?) GMAC SmartBuy program and other auto loan programs which usually had 36 month terms with a balloon payment at the end. Either way, if you didn't buy the car at the end of the term, you were supposedly liable for the difference between projected resale and what it was actually worth.

explorerx4

That Saab is awesome. The roof rack probably knocks down the top speed 10 mph.

stickguy

SAAB is very cool. even with a 4 on the tree.

stickguy

roadburner said:

sda said:

@roadburner, did your son buy the BMW that you recently mentioned?

He's still thinking about it; the problem is that neither his townhouse or his work parking garages have any charging stations- so he'd have to charge it off-site.

I would be fine with a plug in because I have a garage. I definitely would not get one if I did not have dedicated parking where I could easily charge it.

nyccarguy

This is on our way to get my wife’s 2nd Covid shot. New Canaan. Very picturesque & pretty New England town.

nyccarguy

This is I-95 South around 12:45 this afternoon.

nyccarguy

This is a shot of my deck. The grill cover hasn’t been cleaned off.

28firefighter

Soooo, shorts and t-shirt weather?

fintail

Over 50F in Spokane today. Again. Winter?

corvette

Google says the highways in the Northeast aren’t moving at highway speeds for some reason... *scratches chin*

stickguy

well, I miss the absurdly warm and dry winters. This is more than enough for me.

just came back in from shoveling what arrived since I cleaned the driveway off at about 9 this morning. That was heavy (part slush). Only about 3"or so this time, but it was incredibly heavy snow. would be great for a snowman or making iceballs!

but, driveway and walk all clear. Hopefully don't get too much overnight. Will scrape it off after breakfast, then 1 last time later in the day once it is all over.

I hate winter, and despise snow. At least (so far) I haven't had a heart attack from it!

xwesx

roadburner said:

sda said:

@roadburner, did your son buy the BMW that you recently mentioned?

He's still thinking about it; the problem is that neither his townhouse or his work parking garages have any charging stations- so he'd have to charge it off-site.

Just run an extension cord out the window of his townhouse.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

This is a shot of my deck. The grill cover hasn’t been cleaned off.

I'm jealous! We haven't had fresh snow (to speak of) in over two months now!

xwesx

stickguy said:

well, I miss the absurdly warm and dry winters. This is more than enough for me.

just came back in from shoveling what arrived since I cleaned the driveway off at about 9 this morning. That was heavy (part slush). Only about 3"or so this time, but it was incredibly heavy snow. would be great for a snowman or making iceballs!

but, driveway and walk all clear. Hopefully don't get too much overnight. Will scrape it off after breakfast, then 1 last time later in the day once it is all over.

I hate winter, and despise snow. At least (so far) I haven't had a heart attack from it!

As little as you drive, you could probably just wait a couple days and have it all/mostly melted.

venture

28firefighter said:

Soooo, shorts and t-shirt weather?

There was a guy at the end of my road shoveling his driveway yesterday with shorts on and no gloves. It was 27 degrees.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

This is on our way to get my wife’s 2nd Covid shot. New Canaan. Very picturesque & pretty New England town.

NY shut down all vaccination sites. Some folks were making the 150 mile trek to the only place they could get an appointment when they heard the news.