Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tifighter

My parents are the same age. Had a 924, which was incredibly unreliable. And a Toyo truck when the first 4x4's came out in '79. Then a 924. That was replaced with a 944 when they came out in '83. Then a Land Cruiser with a manual tranny. They kept the 944 for 11 years, the LC for about the same. Both were replaced by a Volvo which they kept for entirely too long (it had all sorts of problems), then finally to the current Buick. There were some other things mixed in there as well, like a Tercel, two Nissan Z's and a Jeep, but the Porcshes and Toyotas were around the longest.

As a side note, I attribute this to my complete lack of interest in Porsches. My dad's cousins had 911's (my dad looked at a 911, he didn't want the same thing so when the 944 was announced, it was a done deal). All anyone talked about was their Porsches. Oh well...

benjaminh

woodyww:

I'm a very, very, very beginning player. I like music, but I'm not a crazy musician or car nut really. Got an Essex 46" contemporary upright in Mahogany. Costs new: 5k. At that price, you can guess it was made in China, and it was, but by a well respected Korean piano maker named Young Chang to Steinway's specifications. Essex is the entry level Steinwway brand. It's not a Steinway by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a good little piano. You can find more about it, if your curious, at:

http://www.steinway.com/essex/

In cars, I think you might say that an Essex is a Honda Accord DX, back when they made such things, or maybe it's a Hyundai Sonata...Since I own an Accord I guess my taste in cars and pianos could be said to be similar.

andre1969

here's a pic of my new (well new to me at least) Buick...

rayainsw

Congratulations - and best of luck!
- Ray

stever

Nice touch with the bow. Enjoy!

ghulet

Congrats, Andre!!

benjaminh

Love the bow. Did they do that, or did you? Willing to give us final details on the price, the purchase experience, etc.? Again, many congrats. You move faaaast. Nice, nice wheels.

andre1969

They had those bows on all their cars in the showroom, but let me take one off so I could put it on mine and take that pic.

As for final price it was $8,138 out the door, with tax, tag transfer, and all that other junk they tack on (which in this case, really wasn't a whole lot). Overall the experience was nice, easy, and low-pressure. I'd definitely consider buying from them again.

I kinda hope I didn't move TOO fast, though. I was looking forward to testing out a few different cars, but this Park Ave just seemed too good to be true. And I have a feeling that if I procrastinated too much, this one would have sold quickly and I would have lost it.

boomchek

Congrats on the Park Ave. It's a nice ride, and a lot of bang for the buck!!

For some reason, I, and most of the people here knew we wouldn't see you in a 4 cylinder import. Enjoy the Buick!

corvette

Now, if only I could get my mom to buy one (she's been driving a RENTAL car for two years, because she insists she can't get a car loan, despite having equity in her house and retirement money; I want to choke her sometimes).

PenFed has car loans at 3.99%... Pretty cheap even if you're averse to paying interest charges.

corvette

Looks very clean. Nice Christmas present to get for yourself!

oregonboy

Congats, Andre -
Definitely a good choice for your needs and desires... PURRR-FECT.

fintail

Congrats! You probably did the right thing...as was said, you'll probably be happier in this than a more common new 4cyl car, and you aren't tired to longterm payments. Lemko's going to love it, too.

mark156

Andre, it looks brand spanking new in the picture, beautiful car.. so shiny!

Hope that you get many years of enjoyment out of it!

Mark

andre1969

I really do feel like I made the right choice here. If I had a really long commute, I would've considered a 4-cyl intermediate a bit more seriously, but I don't forsee my commuting habits changing anytime soon. And even if they did, this car was rated something like 18/27, which isn't that much worse than my Intrepid's 20/29.

And it is nice being able to just pay cash and be done with it...not have to worry about a monthly payment and all that fun stuff. If I had gone the route of a new car, I probably would have financed it for 5 years, but then just scrambled to pay it off ahead of time, unless the APR was something silly like 0.9% or something.

It'll be interesting to see how long the car does last. I have a gut feeling that it won't make it to the mileage that the Intrepid did, simply because it'll take me years to get to that point. The Intrepid had 150,000 miles on it, 94K more than this Buick does now. At the rate I've been going lately, it'll take 14-15 years to close that gap. And a lot can happen in 14-15 years!

tifighter

Looking good, Andre; I like it. I am always impressed with what I hear about the 3800 engine, so I think that car will take care of you for many years. Enjoy!

imidazol97

Congratulations on the new car!

roadburner

Congrats!

anonymousposts

Congratulations on your new car! I hope it gives you many years of loyal service like your Intrepid!

lilengineerboy

Congrats on the new whip. I hope it provides many years of good service.

roadburner

The M5 saga continues...
Since the PPI had given the M5 an extremely clean bill of health I set up an appointment for today with my salesperson. First the good news: They offered me decent money for the Mazda; almost exactly what I was hoping for. Now the bad news. As you may recall, on Monday my salesman told me that the Used Car Manager said to offer me the car for $14000- prior to the PPI(which I was paying for). It turns out my sales person caught the flu and was out Tuesday to Thursday. While he was out sick, the UCM took it upon himself to fit the car with four new Michelin Pilot A/S tires and also run the car through the recondition/detail shop. So now the price is $15500... :mad: And thus the car is just about -you guessed it- $1500 over the maximum number my wife and I had agreed upon. So we walked. I'm really not upset with my salesperson(he was left out of the loop and was very apologetic) but I am royally ticked off at the UCM. I don't know why he couldn't wait on the PPI to see if I'd take it. Or at least tell me that he was about to fit the tires and such(the tires weren't even that bad; they had at least another 5000 miles worth of tread on them). I suspect that the UCM belatedly realized that he screwed up by offering the car to me for $14000, so he's using the tires/reconditioning as an "out". We've bought a Pathfinder as well as three BMWs from this dealer group(and given countless referrals) but this situation has left a very bad taste in my mouth.

benjaminh

The back seat room in the Park Ave just is hard to believe--it's limo big. And since it's front drive, it actually has more room because there isn't a big drive train hump in the middle. It's one of those good old cars where if you absolutely have to you can squeeze four people in the back seat--if they're all skinny and you're going for a very short ride. I know, not enough seatbelts, but you get the idea.

Wonderful choice. And to be able to skip the payments will be great.

I like the styling of this car. It's bold and American, but also clean and kind of euro at the same time. I like that they went with an integrated hood ornament for this year.

This car has lighted vanity mirrors that are quite deluxe as I recall. I forget what's so nice about them, but I was impressed 7-8 years ago when I had one as a rental. Maybe it was just the first lighted vanity I'd had in a car, even as a rental.

Congrats Andre. This looks like a great choice. Aside from the souped up engine, what other features are part of the Ultra package?

anonymousposts

Sounds like they goofed. The story of dealers changing things at the last minute is all too common. Happened to me when I drove to Tennessee to buy the Camry. Fortunately, I was able to get them to honor the original price and even got another $100 knocked off.

How much would those tires have been if you had bought them yourself? The way I see it, if it is still the car you want, I wouldn't let it stop me. If the value is there in the tires and they gave you a good offer on the MS3 which is a car are unhappy with, then see if they will meet you in the middle.

benjaminh

When you get a chance, andre, how about a view under the hood, in the back seat, trunk, etc.?

andre1969

Sure, when I get it home, I'll take a ton of pics! As for what all the Ultra added over the base, I wasn't totally sure, so I looked up both on Edmund's. Looks like the Ultra also got you standard leather seats (not sure if it's a different pattern than the optional leather seats on the base model, and come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a Park Ave of this generation with cloth, anyway!).

The Ultra also came standard with a CD player, while the base had a cassette. At extra cost, you could get a stereo with CD and cassette, which mine has.

The Ultra also added auto-dimming rearview and side mirrors, driver information center/trip computer (which I haven't had time to figure out yet), garage door opener, heated seats, leather steering wheel trim, heated side view mirrors, power driver's seat with memory (base model just had power seats but no memory), rain sensing wipers, traction control, and stability control.

It looks like the only options my Ultra has are the Heads-up display and moonroof. Also offered, but not on mine, were bucket seats, center console, chrome wheels, OnStar, and "Special Factory Paint", which I don't know if mine has or not.

Wow, now that I just went through that big list, it sounds like an awful lot of stuff just waiting to break, doesn't it? :surprise:

roadburner

How much would those tires have been if you had bought them yourself? The way I see it, if it is still the car you want, I wouldn't let it stop me. If the value is there in the tires and they gave you a good offer on the MS3 which is a car are unhappy with, then see if they will meet you in the middle.

The tires would be close to a grand(from Tire Rack). I did raise my offer to cover what I thought would be the dealer cost of the tires and the "reconditioning". So they know I'd like the car but I'm not going to take a hosing for it.

The thing that ticks me about the tires is that I was going to put summer/track tires on the OEM wheels and buy a set of 17" winter tires/wheels from Tire Rack. Now I'll have to either buy 18" winter wheels for the Michelins -not cheap- or sell the tires... :mad:

Looking on the bright side, they may be sitting on the car for a while. With Christmas coming and considering the age and asking price of the car($16950) I think it may be a hard sell. My wife noticed that the car's "As-Is, No Warranty" sticker has a big hand-written(in Sharpie!) addendum on the bottom that reads "No Warranty due to vehicle mileage and Performance car[sic]". She thinks that will scare a lot of folks off. We'll see...

woodyww

This is the: 2000 Park Ave Ultra, 56000 miles, supercharged 3.8, leather, CD, S/R? It looks beautiful! Very sharp, I love the low miles, & all the goodies. Well done!

fezo

Way to go, andre! The bow is a cute touch.

Dang, now I know that's a staged picture and all but the car looks fabulous. I swear when the Ody goes I'll replace it with a big sedan.

corvette

...sticker has a big hand-written(in Sharpie!) addendum on the bottom that reads "No Warranty due to vehicle mileage and Performance car[sic]..."

That sounds sleazy. If it's beyond the warranty period, it's beyond the warranty period, no explanation needed.

imidazol97

56,000 mi? 2000? Bleed brakes with fresh fluid. Change transmission fluid by drain and fill--put on a Purolator filter or wait until 30K more and drain again; use Dexron VI trans fluid to fill (Walmart brand of Dexron VI works fine for mine). Drain and refill DexCool--unless you know it's been changed recently; drain and refill every 2 years. Service supercharger. Check battery to see if it's been replaced or is original Delco; better to replace early than let it tease the electrical system. You're set to go.

I've always loved the styling on those. I remember the first time I saw that body being tested on US 23, an interstate level highway south of Flint, with red lenses all over the rear to conceal the actual taillight configuration. I thought it was a Riviera remodel until I saw the front. That part of the highway qualified for the worst broken up road in Michigan in the right lane and that's where she was driving it.

woodyww

Did you have a signed purchase agreement for the $14K? Frankly I wasn't giving good odds on this one working out. Not sure why, maybe only because I liked the blue M5 on fee-bay so much. Also, Is $15500 out of line for the miles, year, condition?

If it were me, I'd look for the nicest, lowest miles, pristine M5, even color I liked, & pay a couple $thou more if necessary......I do understand why you're NOT Happy with that dealer tho.....

scared2buy

Cant believe that I almost purchased a precertified 2009 acura tsx with technology package yesterday. It had a clean carfax but I stuck to my guns and took it to a mechanic who found that the car had been hit hard in the back. The whole rear suspension had been replaced!! I suppose the precertification means nothing. It was a dealer loaner vehicle and the GM and salesperson stated that they did not know that the loaner had been in an accident as the person that had it fixed it on their own!! Do they really think people would fall for such lies. Any way I almost bought the car for 27, 000 as it had 7710 miles. Aside from the accident, would that have been a good deal ????? Im still shopping for an acura.

dstarinieri

Good job on getting the inspection. Almost bought a 2010 TSX this summer, but bought a CPO BMW. I could have had a 2010 without the tech for 27,500 plus tax, etc. The tech adds about $3000.00. I dont think that was a good deal they were offering you.

roadburner

Did you have a signed purchase agreement for the $14K? Frankly I wasn't giving good odds on this one working out. Not sure why, maybe only because I liked the blue M5 on fee-bay so much. Also, Is $15500 out of line for the miles, year, condition?

I didn't have a signed purchase agreement, but my sales guy has ALWAYS been a straight shooter- no games, last minute tricks, or added fees. That's why I think that it's the UCM who is being a greed jerk. In any event, it's not like I need the car; if this one sells I'll find another one...

Sandman6472

Great looking car...way cool!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

mark156

You know, if it sits on the lot for a while, they just might call you back if they know you are still interested (at your price). Sit tight, you might just get that car!

Mark

roadburner

You know, if it sits on the lot for a while, they just might call you back if they know you are still interested (at your price). Sit tight, you might just get that car!

That's the plan. I do think that it might be sitting there a while. My sales associate knows I want the car and that I'm ticked about the stunt the UCM pulled. They may decide to take the sure thing even though it's a skinny deal.

shonewillym

I have given information of this car....

bolivar

whereon youse information of us....

woodyww

They may decide to take the sure thing even though it's a skinny deal

Yeah, make them eat it (cost of the new tires, etc), if you do buy it. (Gee, 10 y.o. M5, 90K miles is it, in KY, in Dec.???). They might come to their senses during a blizzard in a couple of weeks.

Plus, so many nice used bmw's out there......

michaellno

When you first posted about the Park Avenue, I told myself that you're gonna get it.

Congratulations on the new ride. Sounds like a real cherry of a car. Hope it brings you many years of use, pleasure and enjoyment.

benjaminh

Andre: The Ultra sounds like good stuff all around. Nice to have the stability, dimming mirrors, etc. How's the operation of the sunroof/moonroof? I recall that GM makes good ones, esp. on uplevel models like yours...

fezo

Andre - have you actually got the car yet??

andre1969

Andre - have you actually got the car yet??

Yup, just got home about 20 mins ago, in fact. You'd think I'd be out joyriding in it and such, but I had kind of a crap day at work, and I'm kinda tired, and really needed a beer. :shades:

And now that the car is all mine and stuff, I'm starting to find stupid things wrong with it. Not broken things, but just annoying, petty stuff...but the stuff that probably drove customers away from GM. For one thing, why does a car this big have a glovebox that small? And the cupholder has to be one of the stupidest things ever. You open the armrest, pull it out and flip it over, and spread it out. Flimsy thing too. Actually, that's how I know this car was babied...if it had been put to normal use, I'm sure that thing would have been broken years ago! And for some reason, I thought the sunroof would be able to flip up OR go back into the roof, but this one only goes back into the roof. I know that's the more desireable of the two functions, but don't some sunroofs do both?

But, if I'm having to stretch to find things wrong with it, like the cupholders and glovebox, I guess that's an indication that it's a good car overall! It ain't everybody's thing to be sure, but I like it! And it's a good thing to know that it's all bought and paid for, inspected, and ready to go. And even though it was about $8100, I guess it was really only $6100, since I got $2000 for the Intrepid.

fezo

Yeah, the sunroof on our Accord will flip or go back into the roof. To be honest I don't use the flip option very often.

Those thing you are finding are definitely the types of things that drive me crazy but are really not a big deal. You ought to see the cupholders on my Celica. Just a cheap slide out piece of plastic that is just begging to break. Little things, too. I have a nice travel coffee mug that won't fit in it.

Funny to have that small a glovebox. You would think with that size car they'd assume you want big everything. I assume the trunk is big enough tat Bin Laden could be hiding behind the spare.

I loved the picture you posted of it. Makes me want to go out shopping a big American car....

imidazol97

Don't you have a glovebox in the folddown armrest in the back seat?

Do you have large catch alls in the bottom of each door for maps and things?
Are there pockets on the back of each front seat to put things in that might go in a glovebox? Atlases? Tissue boxes? Game books for the kids?

>flimsy

Sounds like the cupholder in our 98 LeSabre. It still survives to this day!

ghulet

strangely, my '95 Saturn SL2 had a pop-up and slide sunroof (as does my current hoopty, the ancient 528e), but the Saturn's sunroof was the slide-outside-the-roof (above, not into) variety, which aren't too durable because they leave a lot of the mechanicals and hinges, etc. exposed. Also, the metal (frame and hinges) rusted badly, which eventually caused the sunroof to fail (i.e., not function AND leak). Hopefully better materials (non-corrosive) are used on a higher-end (and newer) car like your Buick. Bottom line, I think it's great that your sunroof goes into the roof, rather than above it.
I'm excited for you, that you got a car that you like, and it doesn't have to be new or expensive. Wise move!

andre1969

Don't you have a glovebox in the folddown armrest in the back seat?

Yeah, it does have a small compartment in the backseat armrest. That's something my Intrepid didn't have...although an ES model might have. It has pockets in the lower doors...but again, the Intrepid's were bigger. However, my Intrepid didn't have the map pockets in the backs of the front seats like this car does, so that's a nice touch.

Oh, and the first thing some of my friends noticed with this car was the pass through to the trunk. They said that would come in handy for drinking beer...if I got pulled over by the cops, they could just reach through there and stash their booze in the trunk!

ghulet

I remember being pulled over in our Caprice (I was probably 17 or 18) and the guys in the back literally ripped the backseat out to hide the beer. Ay yi yi.

As to the map pockets, my old BMW has them, but they're those stupid strung-together type that invariably stretch out. So you can neither hide anything, nor put anything small, nor have anything invisible....Mercedes did the same thing, then changed to a cloth (or vinyl) solid-panel type shortly thereafter. Mine are still intact, but basically useless. :sick:

imidazol97

> pass through to the trunk. They said that would come in handy for drinking beer

I can see a Tim Allen type using roller glides for kitchen draws to mount a bar on a track through that opening and just pull it into the rear seat and then roll it back: out of sight, out of mind.

Another feature is you have an opening in the trunk floor for the fuel pump and gauge should they ever give trouble.