Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I love that color!

Michaell

Apparently, window replacement companies have discovered the four square! In my mailbox today:

stickguy

and on top of that, isn't your house almost brand new?

explorerx4

@Michaell,
I can't tell, did they lowball the trade in of your old windows?

Michaell

stickguy said:

and on top of that, isn't your house almost brand new?

5 years old,now.

Michaell

explorerx4 said:

@Michaell,
I can't tell, did they lowball the trade in of your old windows?

No mention of trade in on this worksheet.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

@xwesx - good job chronicling your journey to and from the dealer. Audi does a great job at keeping their cars looking current. That Q5 loaner you have is sharp. I like it. Good to know the Quattro works as advertised, even with “crappy 3 season tires.” Is it different than the system in your Q7?

Quattro: I think it does work a little different. At least, it *feels* much more subtle, and I don't feel like it cuts power to benefit traction. I was truly surprised that it made it up my driveway, and I don't think my Q7 would have accomplished that with all-seasons mounted. I didn't need to cut the traction control or anything. Just pointed and let it figure it out.

fintail

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

fintail

I would have loved it if the E wagon was available with the larger displacement diesel or diesel hybrid (I think it's a bit heavy for the 2.1). Alas, MB has moved on.

nyccarguy said:

I understand your attachment to the Q7 TDI. A good customer of mine has a Cayenne Diesel with over 180K miles. He can well afford something new (He has his eye on the Cayenne S Coupe), but he says there is something about the Diesel that he just LOVES.

corvette

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I have a guy who will fabricate and install new sealed panes into my existing vinyl frames for a very reasonable price. Very nice when the frames are still good but the seals are starting to fail.

There's an episode of Andy Griffith where Aunt Bee finds a bargain on a side of beef and buys a used freezer to store it. The freezer doesn't work, and Andy keeps exhorting her to "call the man" from out of town to fix the freezer. As I'm recovering from my foot injury, I'm "calling the man" to do a lot of things. Driveway patch and sealing and deck refurbishment are both booked, as well as a pumping of my septic tank and grease trap. Still want to have my garage painted the same color as the house, and have some work done on the big (50'+) tree that looms overhead. Knock on wood, so far everything has cost less than I had expected.

corvette

Thunderbird Super Coupe - no idea of the pricing on these. I think TTAC or one of the auto rags I browse recently discussed them, so this was likely a targeted ad for me. The teal is a quintessential 1990s color.

stickguy

interesting car. Too bad it isn't a 5 speed. Man, that color though.

tjc78

Someone loved the Thunderbird. Looks really good for 147K miles.

My mom had a 96 in very 90s Pacific green over beige cloth. Kept it until around 50k miles and 10 years or so and it looked about as good as that one does now.

I actually really liked that car and the color worked. If it was a V8 and not the turd 3.8 I would have bought it and kicked it around awhile.

explorerx4

@corvette,
Best of luck with your foot healing.
They went all in on the tires on that 'Bird.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

If I drove enough miles to make a lease palatable, I'd be all over an Alfa. Assuming they would guarantee me a loaner car for service appointments.

There is a lot of conjecture about what Stellantis is going to do with their North American product mix. FIAT is almost certainly gone, and Alfa and Maserati may not be far behind. A few analysts think Chrysler will get the axe and that the Pacifica will be badged as a Dodge.

Chrysler is already calling the lower trim levels of the Pacifica the Voyager so maybe the next step is to make those Voyager trims a Dodge.

It is the best looking minivan on the market, although I guess that is damning with faint praise.

I drive the Pacifica quite often and I like it better than the Toyota Sienna.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Apparently, window replacement companies have discovered the four square! In my mailbox today:

Ha ha maybe the guy bankrupted his dealership and went into windows. Will you be buying the mop&glo window washing plan?

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I have a guy who will fabricate and install new sealed panes into my existing vinyl frames for a very reasonable price. Very nice when the frames are still good but the seals are starting to fail.

There's an episode of Andy Griffith where Aunt Bee finds a bargain on a side of beef and buys a used freezer to store it. The freezer doesn't work, and Andy keeps exhorting her to "call the man" from out of town to fix the freezer. As I'm recovering from my foot injury, I'm "calling the man" to do a lot of things. Driveway patch and sealing and deck refurbishment are both booked, as well as a pumping of my septic tank and grease trap. Still want to have my garage painted the same color as the house, and have some work done on the big (50'+) tree that looms overhead. Knock on wood, so far everything has cost less than I had expected.

You pump your own septic tank? Brave.

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I have a guy who will fabricate and install new sealed panes into my existing vinyl frames for a very reasonable price. Very nice when the frames are still good but the seals are starting to fail.

There's an episode of Andy Griffith where Aunt Bee finds a bargain on a side of beef and buys a used freezer to store it. The freezer doesn't work, and Andy keeps exhorting her to "call the man" from out of town to fix the freezer. As I'm recovering from my foot injury, I'm "calling the man" to do a lot of things. Driveway patch and sealing and deck refurbishment are both booked, as well as a pumping of my septic tank and grease trap. Still want to have my garage painted the same color as the house, and have some work done on the big (50'+) tree that looms overhead. Knock on wood, so far everything has cost less than I had expected.

You pump your own septic tank? Brave.

I'm guessing he was already paying to have that done..

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

Thunderbird Super Coupe - no idea of the pricing on these. I think TTAC or one of the auto rags I browse recently discussed them, so this was likely a targeted ad for me. The teal is a quintessential 1990s color.

I never understood why Ford supercharged the 3.8 which was prone to popping head gaskets. Unless that’s not the same engine I’m familiar with.

Auto Auctions Rebuilds got a deal on a 94’ Cougar with the NA 3.8 and quickly discovered why.

I was thinking, my 95’ Mark VIII was the same platform but the 4.6L 4 valve put out 280 horsepower vs. 230 for the SC.

tjc78

No it’s the engine. On late 80s through 95 it’s not an “if” it’s “when” will the head gasket fail. It still affected 96-99 but not nearly as bad. After that the supposedly got it right.

The 3.8 in the head gasket years was a true turd. I had one in my 93 Taurus and by 80k the head gasket was gone (thank you Ford extended warranty). It had decent torque but no top end. GM’s 3.8 was miles better.

au1994

Michaell said:

Apparently, window replacement companies have discovered the four square! In my mailbox today:

Wow! Its been years since I’ve seen the old 4 square. I think around 07 when I got my Ram 1500.

au1994

corvette said:

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I have a guy who will fabricate and install new sealed panes into my existing vinyl frames for a very reasonable price. Very nice when the frames are still good but the seals are starting to fail.

There's an episode of Andy Griffith where Aunt Bee finds a bargain on a side of beef and buys a used freezer to store it. The freezer doesn't work, and Andy keeps exhorting her to "call the man" from out of town to fix the freezer. As I'm recovering from my foot injury, I'm "calling the man" to do a lot of things. Driveway patch and sealing and deck refurbishment are both booked, as well as a pumping of my septic tank and grease trap. Still want to have my garage painted the same color as the house, and have some work done on the big (50'+) tree that looms overhead. Knock on wood, so far everything has cost less than I had expected.

That made me chuckle! I’m in a group chat with some friends and one of them was rambling on about all the home repair he had to do one weekend. Another friend dropped the ‘call the man’ line. I bet I hadn’t watched that episode in 20+ years but I bet I laughed for a solid minute. Impeccable timing!

au1994

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

If I drove enough miles to make a lease palatable, I'd be all over an Alfa. Assuming they would guarantee me a loaner car for service appointments.

There is a lot of conjecture about what Stellantis is going to do with their North American product mix. FIAT is almost certainly gone, and Alfa and Maserati may not be far behind. A few analysts think Chrysler will get the axe and that the Pacifica will be badged as a Dodge.

Chrysler is already calling the lower trim levels of the Pacifica the Voyager so maybe the next step is to make those Voyager trims a Dodge.

It is the best looking minivan on the market, although I guess that is damning with faint praise.

I drive the Pacifica quite often and I like it better than the Toyota Sienna.

As minivans go, its pretty attractive.

kyfdx

@corvette We have a big window that was created by mulling three big double hung windows, side by side, then adding custom transoms across the top. The double hungs have held up well, but the transoms lost their seal and fogged up. We had a glass company come out with three custom made units to replace those. They had to take off some trim and re-install to do it. But, it came out great, and was surprisingly cheap. Under $500 to replace all three double paned transom windows (24 X 10 each)

au1994

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I did windows about 8 years ago. On the good, better, best scale I went with better. After being home for the last year, they are drafty and won’t last another 5 for sure.

Anyone thats done it knows thats a bear of an expense.

qbrozen

au1994 said:

Michaell said:

Apparently, window replacement companies have discovered the four square! In my mailbox today:

Wow! Its been years since I’ve seen the old 4 square. I think around 07 when I got my Ram 1500.

I think I may have mentioned it at the time, but I was shocked when the very young salesperson at the BMW dealer in Freehold whipped out a 4-sq when shopping for the wife in Dec 2018. I just had to comment. Of course, being as young as he was, he didn’t really understand my surprise and snide remarks. I said, laughingly, that I couldn’t believe any bimmer dealer was still using the 4-sq. I’m sure I said much more but can’t recall the details.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

kyfdx said:

If I drove enough miles to make a lease palatable, I'd be all over an Alfa. Assuming they would guarantee me a loaner car for service appointments.

There is a lot of conjecture about what Stellantis is going to do with their North American product mix. FIAT is almost certainly gone, and Alfa and Maserati may not be far behind. A few analysts think Chrysler will get the axe and that the Pacifica will be badged as a Dodge.

That wouldn’t be surprising, at all!

They must be running great deals on Alfas as a result. I’ve probably seen 4x the amount of them on the street in the last 2 weeks as I’ve seen in all the time they’ve been on the market here.

au1994

I’m off on Friday and am seriously thinking of taking a Pilot on a test drive. Online shopping an EX-L AWD. Using the ‘get my price’ button the dealer already dropped almost 11% on price. I won’t make this months incentives but I am a Costco member which would net me $1k and this month lease incentives are $1750 I believe should those carry over. Super low financing available if I went that route.

Here are my thoughts/issues/concerns:

- Rest of the family doesn’t like the LC. Too old, worn in spots, tech out of date (of course!).
- It does do the trick of hauling our stuff around and thats why it was bought.
- Gas mileage is horrible and I knew that but I get 13-14 in town. I’ve read the Pilot forums and some say the claim of 19 in town is a pipe dream. But plenty of reports of 23-25 on the highway.
- Mileage is a legit concern and why I’m not considering an Expedition or Tahoe. They get expensive in a hurry too.
- LC is about to have needs: Tires, there’s a vibration at hwy speed (tire balance likely), suspension has become ‘loose’ again at hwy speed, catalytic converter still smells. I ran a bottle of Cataclean through it and it helped, A/C is just so-so. Had it charged late last year but its already weak again and its not even hot yet.
- Maybe I’m just becoming sensitive, but I thought on a few occasions I’ve felt a very slight transmission slip.

I figure I’m in for a couple of grand for tires and a suspension refresh. New Cat is 1100-1200. Don’t even want to think about the transmission.

BTW its at 140k miles today.

I figure I could trade it on the Pilot and lease again and put some cash in the bank. Basically be looking to do a 1st month and fee’s out the door on the Pilot with the rest of the equity coming back to me.

Anyway, thanks for reading. This has been very cathartic!

stickguy

I’d dump it. I assume they still bring silly money. Might get a good quick private sale. You did it, had your fun, now time to move on.

Pilot is nice. Bigger than I need, but if you got the needs, can’t go wrong n

breld

Agreed - so many good choices in the SUV segment. The Palisade is wonderful.

But can’t go wrong with a Pilot.

pensfan83

au1994 said:

fintail said:

With the way some things are built these days, yeah, they might be due for replacement.

Michaell said:

5 years old,now.

I did windows about 8 years ago. On the good, better, best scale I went with better. After being home for the last year, they are drafty and won’t last another 5 for sure.

Anyone thats done it knows thats a bear of an expense.

We replaced our windows within the the last few years. So far, so good but you are dead on about expense. We had the same company come back and replace our front door and sidelights last year.

pensfan83

au1994 said:

I’m off on Friday and am seriously thinking of taking a Pilot on a test drive. Online shopping an EX-L AWD. Using the ‘get my price’ button the dealer already dropped almost 11% on price. I won’t make this months incentives but I am a Costco member which would net me $1k and this month lease incentives are $1750 I believe should those carry over. Super low financing available if I went that route.

Here are my thoughts/issues/concerns:

- Rest of the family doesn’t like the LC. Too old, worn in spots, tech out of date (of course!).
- It does do the trick of hauling our stuff around and thats why it was bought.
- Gas mileage is horrible and I knew that but I get 13-14 in town. I’ve read the Pilot forums and some say the claim of 19 in town is a pipe dream. But plenty of reports of 23-25 on the highway.
- Mileage is a legit concern and why I’m not considering an Expedition or Tahoe. They get expensive in a hurry too.
- LC is about to have needs: Tires, there’s a vibration at hwy speed (tire balance likely), suspension has become ‘loose’ again at hwy speed, catalytic converter still smells. I ran a bottle of Cataclean through it and it helped, A/C is just so-so. Had it charged late last year but its already weak again and its not even hot yet.
- Maybe I’m just becoming sensitive, but I thought on a few occasions I’ve felt a very slight transmission slip.

I figure I’m in for a couple of grand for tires and a suspension refresh. New Cat is 1100-1200. Don’t even want to think about the transmission.

BTW its at 140k miles today.

I figure I could trade it on the Pilot and lease again and put some cash in the bank. Basically be looking to do a 1st month and fee’s out the door on the Pilot with the rest of the equity coming back to me.

Anyway, thanks for reading. This has been very cathartic!

We test drove a Passport, basically the same thing albeit a foot shorter and no 3rd row (but a huge cargo area). It's a very well packaged vehicle with lots of storage, cupholders, and USB ports. Not as exciting a drive or as flashy as some other SUVs but it's nonetheless a very solid choice. At the time though it was more expensive to lease one of those than the RDX due to the loyalty incentive Acura was offering. Had that not been the case we may well have ended up with one.

au1994

I’ve warmed to the Passport and will probably take a look/drive as well. We have used the 3rd row of the LC a couple of times. Although with au94 jr turning 16 next January, that need will probably drop. Theoretically I need to be able to tow the boat but I could probably ‘call the man’ for that if needed. Cargo capacity will be key. This is the ‘go to the lake’ vehicle and it amazes me how much stuff a family of 3 and a dog can haul to a second home.

Michaell

Just to clarify, that picture I showed everyone was an unsolicited piece of mail that I received yesterday.

I am not in the market for new windows.

@au1994 - I test drove the Passport and found it to be a competent vehicle.

After the stepkids got their licenses, we went from an Explorer to a VUE - no need for the third row.

pensfan83

A dealer in NJ has AWD '21 TLX A-Specs that would run me $421/month for 36/7500 with ~$1,500 DAS. For that price I would have been very tempted to stay with a sedan.

sda

One nice thing about the Pilot is they can seat 8, assuming you don't get the captains chairs of the other trim levels. They are extremely roomy and inexpensive to maintain. We miss the room of the Pilot when we travel, though we are pleased with the Q5. The Pilot is an easy vehicle to like.

fintail

My mom's 93 Taurus also lost its head gasket at ~80K. Her last Ford, I think she felt burned, and went to team Toyota, where she'll likely remain through her last car.

On the other side, my uncle's 3.8 98 LeSabre made it to around 170K when he sold it - even with a dented fender and at something like 17 years old, he had a buyer for it the day after I put up an ad for him - car was running strong.

tjc78 said:

No it’s the engine. On late 80s through 95 it’s not an “if” it’s “when” will the head gasket fail. It still affected 96-99 but not nearly as bad. After that the supposedly got it right.

The 3.8 in the head gasket years was a true turd. I had one in my 93 Taurus and by 80k the head gasket was gone (thank you Ford extended warranty). It had decent torque but no top end. GM’s 3.8 was miles better.

ab348

au1994 said:

I’m off on Friday and am seriously thinking of taking a Pilot on a test drive.

Any consideration of a Ridgeline? I actually like those.

au1994

ab348 said:

au1994 said:

I’m off on Friday and am seriously thinking of taking a Pilot on a test drive.

Any consideration of a Ridgeline? I actually like those.

I like them too. Only 2 problems.

- My wife doesn’t like trucks, although I think I could get her to come around on this with a higher trim cab. RT-L i the US.
- A friend just tried to negotiate on one and they are not moving at all as the refreshed model is thin on the ground.

tjc78

pensfan83 said:

A dealer in NJ has AWD '21 TLX A-Specs that would run me $421/month for 36/7500 with ~$1,500 DAS. For that price I would have been very tempted to stay with a sedan.

Pretty strong.

au1994

Unbelievable. Vroom just hit me with $900 less than I paid for the Land Cruiser in September. I’ve got about $600 in shipping and $1k in various maintenance and up keep but dang, thats solid.

ronsteve

au1994 said:

Unbelievable. Vroom just hit me with $900 less than I paid for the Land Cruiser in September. I’ve got about $600 in shipping and $1k in various maintenance and up keep but dang, thats solid.

It really makes you wonder how much the used car market is about to inflate. The trade-side numbers are super strong lately. (can you tell I'm looking for an excuse to go check out that allroad?)

pensfan83

tjc78 said:

pensfan83 said:

A dealer in NJ has AWD '21 TLX A-Specs that would run me $421/month for 36/7500 with ~$1,500 DAS. For that price I would have been very tempted to stay with a sedan.

Pretty strong.

For such a new model it is a pretty good value. The dealer is on LH and in North NJ. Not exactly close for me but if efforts to replicate it (or come close) locally failed, I'd make the drive for that deal if I were in the market. For the money there isn't much, if anything, I would rather drive.

oldfarmer50

au1994 said:

I’m off on Friday and am seriously thinking of taking a Pilot on a test drive. Online shopping an EX-L AWD. Using the ‘get my price’ button the dealer already dropped almost 11% on price. I won’t make this months incentives but I am a Costco member which would net me $1k and this month lease incentives are $1750 I believe should those carry over. Super low financing available if I went that route.

Here are my thoughts/issues/concerns:

- Rest of the family doesn’t like the LC. Too old, worn in spots, tech out of date (of course!).
- It does do the trick of hauling our stuff around and thats why it was bought.
- Gas mileage is horrible and I knew that but I get 13-14 in town. I’ve read the Pilot forums and some say the claim of 19 in town is a pipe dream. But plenty of reports of 23-25 on the highway.
- Mileage is a legit concern and why I’m not considering an Expedition or Tahoe. They get expensive in a hurry too.
- LC is about to have needs: Tires, there’s a vibration at hwy speed (tire balance likely), suspension has become ‘loose’ again at hwy speed, catalytic converter still smells. I ran a bottle of Cataclean through it and it helped, A/C is just so-so. Had it charged late last year but its already weak again and its not even hot yet.
- Maybe I’m just becoming sensitive, but I thought on a few occasions I’ve felt a very slight transmission slip.

I figure I’m in for a couple of grand for tires and a suspension refresh. New Cat is 1100-1200. Don’t even want to think about the transmission.

BTW its at 140k miles today.

I figure I could trade it on the Pilot and lease again and put some cash in the bank. Basically be looking to do a 1st month and fee’s out the door on the Pilot with the rest of the equity coming back to me.

Anyway, thanks for reading. This has been very cathartic!

Don’t those Land Cruisers have a cult following? Maybe put it on Craigslist for a big price and see who bites. You probably won’t get much for a trade.
EDIT: if they are giving you that much from the online dealers, you’d be crazy not to go for it.

[Deleted User]

or even Doug's site, carsandbids.com?

nyccarguy

@au1994 - how heavy is the boat/trailer that you tow? How often do you tow?

I do like the Passport. Since my wife had her hip surgery 2 weeks ago, I’ve left my Tacoma parked at the house. I’ve put over 1,200 miles on our Pilot over the last 13 days. It is comfortable, has plenty of power, and lots of room for passengers and cargo. Again, nothing about it jumps out at me. It just does a lot of things very nicely. Have you considered leasing?

Gas by me is ticking up and is now hovering at around $3.00 per gallon. It costs between $45 - $49 to fill up. Mixed driving nets me about 19 mpg. Straight highway will get 23 - 25 ish.

au1994

@nyccarguy Our boat is a 21ft ski boat and it probably comes in right at the 3500 lb capacity of the FWD Pilot and Passport. AWD gives them 5000lb capacity. I do have a guy at the lake that can tow it for service etc if necessary. I’d opt for AWD for the assurance in towing plus some of the hiking trails we like, AWD is a nice to have.

Definitely would lease and put the equity in my pocket. Gas here in GA will likely hit 3.00 by Memorial Day. 19 in mixed would be a boon to me!

It’s probably going to come down to room and the deal. I want to be able to haul everything to the lake comfortably so I’m leaning toward the Pilot. I find them good looking personally but the Passport is growing on me quickly. Silver over gray leather has caught my eye at the moment. The EX-L seems to hit the sweet spot of value for me.

sda

I like the Passport as well. They still are quite roomy and perhaps a little easier to navigate in tight quarters. It doesn't hurt that they have a conservative sporty look to them.

stickguy

EXL is almost always the best option at Honda.

I would also say throw the LC on a few sites since you’ll likely get way more than Vroom. If not, can always take their offer.

Will see what happens, but if sites and carmax are paying top $ still into May, I might just tell my daughter to cash out if it’s more than I want to pay for her Jetta. I doubt my son will want it in December, and I’ll end up flipping it sooner rather than later. Plus of course, I still don’t need a car!

breld

Went to the DMV to get yet another extension on the Leaf, but I was pleasantly surprised that they just yesterday processed everything from the dealership. Now the Leaf is official with plates and all!

So naturally I have a second test drive of the Polestar 2 at 2:00 pm.