Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I mowed the lawn yesterday. I could never live up there. Just seems awful.

ab348

stickguy said:

I mowed the lawn yesterday. I could never live up there. Just seems awful.

Tell us how you really feel, Stick. 😆

corvette

Mrs. Wizard just picked up a used Maserati Levante. I guess the Land Rover was too reliable to produce enough videos for the channel.

qbrozen

Tried to go to the MVC again today, for 3rd time, to try to register the LT1. I never made it. After a while on the road, the Charger started to overheat. Pulled into a parking lot. I could hear the fan was not on. Checked fuses, which were OK. Banged on the relays. That didn’t work. After it got back to normal temp, I tried again. Got hot again, pulled into 2nd parking lot. Started pondering how I could get away without getting a tow. Everything is fairly accessible under the hood. Hmmm... if I could jump the fans, and they spin, I could at least get home. Wires. Where to get wires? Oh, my battery tender. Lots of excess wire there, and it is already hooked to the battery. No tools. Crud. I mean zero. Nothing. Even nail clippers would do. A little knife. Anything. But no. Decided I had nothing to lose by trying, so like a crazed squirrel, I began gnawing on the wire (yes, I unplugged it first). To my surprise, I succeeded in getting through one side, then the other. Enough, at least, to yank it apart. Then stripped them with my teeth. Unplugged the harness, found the 2 that worked to turn the fans on, shoved the wires in, and after some fiddling, got them to stay somewhat in place with the wire tie I had on the tender in the first place. Closed the hood and jumped on the road home. Temp stayed surprisingly steady and I made it. But still no registered Camaro. SIGH!

But somewhat proud of my ingenuity.... and teeth

stickguy

Need one of those resister switches the wizard uses. Assuming you have a dead one.

Dealing with the DMV is a reason I am not excited about buying out the Jetta. Must be killing the private sale market.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Tried to go to the MVC again today, for 3rd time, to try to register the LT1. I never made it. After a while on the road, the Charger started to overheat. Pulled into a parking lot. I could hear the fan was not on. Checked fuses, which were OK. Banged on the relays. That didn’t work. After it got back to normal temp, I tried again. Got hot again, pulled into 2nd parking lot. Started pondering how I could get away without getting a tow. Everything is fairly accessible under the hood. Hmmm... if I could jump the fans, and they spin, I could at least get home. Wires. Where to get wires? Oh, my battery tender. Lots of excess wire there, and it is already hooked to the battery. No tools. Crud. I mean zero. Nothing. Even nail clippers would do. A little knife. Anything. But no. Decided I had nothing to lose by trying, so like a crazed squirrel, I began gnawing on the wire (yes, I unplugged it first). To my surprise, I succeeded in getting through one side, then the other. Enough, at least, to yank it apart. Then stripped them with my teeth. Unplugged the harness, found the 2 that worked to turn the fans on, shoved the wires in, and after some fiddling, got them to stay somewhat in place with the wire tie I had on the tender in the first place. Closed the hood and jumped on the road home. Temp stayed surprisingly steady and I made it. But still no registered Camaro. SIGH!

But somewhat proud of my ingenuity.... and teeth

Holy crap. This is the best story I've heard in a while! Thanks for the laugh, and nice work on that ingenuity! Necessity and all that....

sda

1. 
   

qbrozen said:

Tried to go to the MVC again today, for 3rd time, to try to register the LT1. I never made it. After a while on the road, the Charger started to overheat. Pulled into a parking lot. I could hear the fan was not on. Checked fuses, which were OK. Banged on the relays. That didn’t work. After it got back to normal temp, I tried again. Got hot again, pulled into 2nd parking lot. Started pondering how I could get away without getting a tow. Everything is fairly accessible under the hood. Hmmm... if I could jump the fans, and they spin, I could at least get home. Wires. Where to get wires? Oh, my battery tender. Lots of excess wire there, and it is already hooked to the battery. No tools. Crud. I mean zero. Nothing. Even nail clippers would do. A little knife. Anything. But no. Decided I had nothing to lose by trying, so like a crazed squirrel, I began gnawing on the wire (yes, I unplugged it first). To my surprise, I succeeded in getting through one side, then the other. Enough, at least, to yank it apart. Then stripped them with my teeth. Unplugged the harness, found the 2 that worked to turn the fans on, shoved the wires in, and after some fiddling, got them to stay somewhat in place with the wire tie I had on the tender in the first place. Closed the hood and jumped on the road home. Temp stayed surprisingly steady and I made it. But still no registered Camaro. SIGH!

But somewhat proud of my ingenuity.... and teeth

You are a Boy Scout.

xwesx

I made the mistake of putting the Crosstrek into Vroom just to get a number on it since I don't know whether we will keep it or not after the summer. Surprisingly, or perhaps not in this market, they came back at $18,938, which is basically the same price we paid for it at the turn of the year. Good!

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
MacGuyver would be proud!

@xwesx,
AWD/4WD prices usually go up in September.

28firefighter

Survey says: sell the charger.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Tried to go to the MVC again today, for 3rd time, to try to register the LT1. I never made it. After a while on the road, the Charger started to overheat. Pulled into a parking lot. I could hear the fan was not on. Checked fuses, which were OK. Banged on the relays. That didn’t work. After it got back to normal temp, I tried again. Got hot again, pulled into 2nd parking lot. Started pondering how I could get away without getting a tow. Everything is fairly accessible under the hood. Hmmm... if I could jump the fans, and they spin, I could at least get home. Wires. Where to get wires? Oh, my battery tender. Lots of excess wire there, and it is already hooked to the battery. No tools. Crud. I mean zero. Nothing. Even nail clippers would do. A little knife. Anything. But no. Decided I had nothing to lose by trying, so like a crazed squirrel, I began gnawing on the wire (yes, I unplugged it first). To my surprise, I succeeded in getting through one side, then the other. Enough, at least, to yank it apart. Then stripped them with my teeth. Unplugged the harness, found the 2 that worked to turn the fans on, shoved the wires in, and after some fiddling, got them to stay somewhat in place with the wire tie I had on the tender in the first place. Closed the hood and jumped on the road home. Temp stayed surprisingly steady and I made it. But still no registered Camaro. SIGH!

But somewhat proud of my ingenuity.... and teeth

That’s true hillbilly car repair.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

@qbrozen,
MacGuyver would be proud!

@xwesx,
AWD/4WD prices usually go up in September.

Yes, and that is good for us, if the market holds, because we should all be headed back to Alaska right about then. We could get rid of it in late June, too.

Or, just keep it and have it available so we can fly down there whenever and not need to rent a car.

Sandman6472

At work today, had to bring a Tiquan to the VW for some warranty work. While there, saw the new electric ID vehicle and it's larger than I thought, much longer, and no way will it fit in my garage. So, am either stuck with getting a new GTI when they come out or wait for the new Taos, due out this fall. It should be a bit smaller than the older Tiquan and if so, should work for my needs. I really want/need something a bit taller with easier ingress/egress and think the Taos could just be the one. Gotta feeling that the Subaru Crosstrek vehicle will be longer than 174" but if not, could definitely work. Really thinking 2022 is the time to finally treat myself to something new.
But, will give the Taos serious consideration once the time does come. Hopefully the 0% financing will still be in place as I've never been able to utilize that perk. Am a good 75% invested and don't want to stop that monthly income so keeping that $25K invested would be wonderful and pay the monthly nut with some of my dividends. This way, I get a new vehicle and my investments pay for it over time.

Michaell

As I read the story of @qbrozen and the Charger, I start to think about his signature line:


'07 ML63 - not running, likely to go to shop
'08 Charger R/T Daytona - running (sort of)
'67 Coronet R/T - in pieces in the garage
'13 Fiat 500c - why haven't we heard more about this? Is it .... reliable?
'14 Town&Country Limited - wife's car; no news is good news?
'18 BMW X2 - lease, under warranty, no issues

qbrozen

Michaell said:

As I read the story of @qbrozen and the Charger, I start to think about his signature line:


'07 ML63 - not running, likely to go to shop
'08 Charger R/T Daytona - running (sort of)
'67 Coronet R/T - in pieces in the garage
'13 Fiat 500c - why haven't we heard more about this? Is it .... reliable?
'14 Town&Country Limited - wife's car; no news is good news?
'18 BMW X2 - lease, under warranty, no issues

Projects allowed. ;b

You forgot one. Camaro - not registered.

Minor inconvenience with the Charger. I'm not worried. Probably a relay. I'll hook up the scanner when I get a chance.

I'm in the Fiat right now, as a matter of fact (not typing while I drive, I'm waiting for my son to come out of jui jitsu). It is a perfectly adequate car. It should visit a dealer soon just to get oil changed, and to acquire a 2nd key.

Yup, T&C is fine since its last warranty visit. Lifetime warranty = lifetime car.

8 mos left with the X2 lease. Then we'll see. She has expressed no problem taking the ML from me, if that's what is deemed the best course of action, and as long as it is running. ha.

I gotta have more free time at some point in the future, right?? That's when everything will be sorted.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen - you win the “car” portion of the internet for today. Maybe even the week.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

As I read the story of @qbrozen and the Charger, I start to think about his signature line:


'07 ML63 - not running, likely to go to shop
'08 Charger R/T Daytona - running (sort of)
'67 Coronet R/T - in pieces in the garage
'13 Fiat 500c - why haven't we heard more about this? Is it .... reliable?
'14 Town&Country Limited - wife's car; no news is good news?
'18 BMW X2 - lease, under warranty, no issues

Projects allowed. ;b

You forgot one. Camaro - not registered.

You don't make it easy when you have yet to update the signature line!

nyccarguy

Nice lookin S4 Prestige at a local Ford dealer.

https://www.stamfordford.com/used/Audi/2018-Audi-S4-433e8fe20a0e0a171251749a770679b2.htm

Price seems kinda high for a car that looks like it had the warranty clock punched in 2017.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Nice lookin S4 Prestige at a local Ford dealer.

The ad says 13,505 miles, but the odo shows 24,929. Just an honest oversight, I'm sure. But, it also looks like they reported the 13,505 to CarFax and now it shows a mileage inconsistency on the report. And, the previous owner or lessee apparently didn't take it to a dealer for service, but did take it to Valvoline to get the oil changed once. #facepalm

tjc78

@qbrozen
You should have posted a pic of that Macgyver fix!

tifighter

qbrozen said:

I gotta have more free time at some point in the future, right?? That's when everything will be sorted.

Famous last words.

Sandman6472

Q, what about the new Camaro? You don't list it anywhere but isn't it in the driveway? Have seen my son-in-laws new 2020 Camaro and it's sharp. He special ordered it with a lot of the goodies. It's blue with the stripes and does look sharp when cleaned up. It's his second or third Camaro and he's a pretty big guy but he loves them. I know I can't sit in the rear seat as I can get in...but have an issue getting back out. Also, a bit claustrophobic back there for me, too much anxiety sitting back there...feel like I can't get out, very unnerving. My daughter gets it and lets me sit up front as she's smaller than I am.
Beautiful vehicle though.

corvette

tifighter said:

qbrozen said:

I gotta have more free time at some point in the future, right?? That's when everything will be sorted.

Famous last words.

I know someone who is a complete train wreck of a small business owner, and the famous last words at that business are, "I'll drop everything and take care of this for you tomorrow."

qbrozen

I can’t find my sig on mobile. Oh well.

Sandy, how the heck did you even get in the back?? My 11-yr-old had to lounge across both seats and couldn’t even get his feet on the floor to get in.

stickguy

speaking of DMV, I actually pulled them out to check, but my registration from the Elantra is still good until 12/31 this year, and I kept the plates. so if I do get a car, will just throw those plates on, tell Allstate to add it to the policy, and try to get to DMV before the end of the year. Just need to keep the old paperwork on the Jetta in case get stopped.

xwesx

tifighter said:

qbrozen said:

I gotta have more free time at some point in the future, right?? That's when everything will be sorted.

Famous last words.

No truer words shall ever be stated. I wasn't going to say anything, as I keep hoping for a little of the same....

Michaell

stickguy said:

speaking of DMV, I actually pulled them out to check, but my registration from the Elantra is still good until 12/31 this year, and I kept the plates. so if I do get a car, will just throw those plates on, tell Allstate to add it to the policy, and try to get to DMV before the end of the year. Just need to keep the old paperwork on the Jetta in case get stopped.

Just renewed the tags on the Outback last week. $218 and change, $150 or so of it was the property tax. Cost me an extra buck to pay on line. Should get the sticker later this week.

stickguy

NJ DMV moved some stuff to online only, but I think just renewals. Anything new, and you have to go in. But they don't allow walk ins now, and apparently it can take months to get an appointment, and if anything happens at the office they will just cancel and you have to try all over again. The state basically just said everything is extended indefinitely I think. So I would have no problem driving on my valid registration and tags, even if not switched onto the new car. As long as the insurance company will cover it!

qbrozen

stickguy said:

NJ DMV moved some stuff to online only, but I think just renewals. Anything new, and you have to go in. But they don't allow walk ins now, and apparently it can take months to get an appointment, and if anything happens at the office they will just cancel and you have to try all over again. The state basically just said everything is extended indefinitely I think. So I would have no problem driving on my valid registration and tags, even if not switched onto the new car. As long as the insurance company will cover it!

As of March 4:

There are no current extensions for standard driver licenses or learner's permits, commercial driver's licenses or learner's permits, non-driver IDs, vehicle registrations, inspections, or temporary tags.

stickguy

There are tons of expired temp tags running around. That requires in person visit which are almost impossible to get some places. The rest looks like stuff that you can do (mostly) on line without going in. Registrations already where, licenses with a recent picture are now.

nyccarguy

5 MONTHS TO GO...

breld

Reading @qbrozen’s account of his recent improvised repair makes me feel woefully inadequate.

ab348

stickguy said:

NJ DMV moved some stuff to online only, but I think just renewals. Anything new, and you have to go in. But they don't allow walk ins now, and apparently it can take months to get an appointment, and if anything happens at the office they will just cancel and you have to try all over again. The state basically just said everything is extended indefinitely I think. So I would have no problem driving on my valid registration and tags, even if not switched onto the new car. As long as the insurance company will cover it!

Ah, one of the prime rules of bureaucracy at work here - if you can come up with a plausible reason to not do your job, use it, and keep using it until you are ordered to do otherwise. The only real risk is that some politician might start to wonder why your job needs to be done in that way at all, and then try to change your process. But that is usually so complicated and full of barriers to change that the probability of it happening is infinitesimal.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

Nice lookin S4 Prestige at a local Ford dealer.

https://www.stamfordford.com/used/Audi/2018-Audi-S4-433e8fe20a0e0a171251749a770679b2.htm

Price seems kinda high for a car that looks like it had the warranty clock punched in 2017.

Had this conversation with my son the other day. Given I’ve owned both an S4 with the V6 turbo, and the Stinger with the V6 turbo, they essentially drive the same. They really do. Understandable given the engineering and management.

Even some of the switchgear in the interior is similar. The suspension feels very similar between the two, also.

The big difference, even though the Stinger is using essentially the same tech and very similar engineering, the S4 is WAY MORE expensive to maintain. That said, it will also hold its resale value WAY MORE than the Stinger, too.

kyfdx

Runflat on wife's car started leaking.. Nail in the shoulder. 19" tire. $403 for replacement OTD.

stickguy

Ouch.

breld

I told @michaell I was going to wait to share this until things were more firm, but what the heck...

I visited our new Polestar Denver “Space” yesterday. Calling it a soft opening is a bit generous - they were still having some minor construction performed, but I was invited in a manner of speaking to come on down.

Both the manager and salesperson there are from a dealer network I frequent often (and, in fact, where I just purchased the son’s Tiguan) and that made for a fun and comfortable experience talking about the Polestar 2 and its competitors. They also had a Polestar 1 that I regret not taking pictures of.

Long story short...I placed my order for a Polestar 2. It was already high on my list, but the sales manager put lease numbers together that were much lower than expected. Now...I think it’s gonna turn out that she mis-quoted and she’ll have to retract the offer. She very confidently added the $7,500 tax rebate as a reduction in the cap cost, and I’m confident it’s already applied in the form of a higher residual.

But since I was already most of the way there to lease one at what I believe is the correct rate, I figured I’d see what comes of it. Not optimistic, but maybe since she mis-quoted, they’ll provide some additional discount as a gesture.

They’re also offering a $2k incentive if you trade in your ICE vehicle so I got a quote on the X3 which came back pretty strong. So, wife and I are considering that, and if we want another SUV in the fall we’ll shop again. Assuming the Polestar is more than sufficient as my primary car, we won’t need as nice (or powerful) an SUV as the M40i.

With all that said, in addition to the refundable deposit on the Polestar, I also have a refundable deposit on a Rivian and an on-hold order for a Model Y. So who knows what the end result will actually be!

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Ouch.

IIRC, they were over $1300 for the set, when we put them on 17K miles back. So, the charge for a single one is not surprising. Just hurtful.

When we bought the car, my one regret was the optional 19" wheels vs. standard 18".

And, don't get me started on runflats, with no spare. Yes, I don't have to change a tire in a shady part of town. But, I also can't pop on a spare and keep using the vehicle, while waiting for a new tire. We were down for two days.

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

Ouch.

+1

stickguy

The end result will be a very crowded driveway at Casa Breld.

Michaell

stickguy said:

The end result will be a very crowded driveway at Casa Breld.

Which always benefits his friends who have only one car, in the event an extra car is needed on a temporary basis (can anyone say Leaf? I knew that you could).

carnaught

@breld, I believe the $1k deposit on a Tesla is non-refundable, no?

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

speaking of DMV, I actually pulled them out to check, but my registration from the Elantra is still good until 12/31 this year, and I kept the plates. so if I do get a car, will just throw those plates on, tell Allstate to add it to the policy, and try to get to DMV before the end of the year. Just need to keep the old paperwork on the Jetta in case get stopped.

Luckily, I can do most of my registration renewals online and annual inspections don’t require a visit to DMV. I wonder though, what would happen if I bought another car private party. I haven’t been to the DMV since I bought the Sebring in 2018.

stickguy

Same here. I’ve seen a ton of people online over the last year having huge problems after buying a car private party but not being able to register it.

sda

kyfdx said:

Runflat on wife's car started leaking.. Nail in the shoulder. 19" tire. $403 for replacement OTD.

For one tire? That'll puncture the checkbook!

breld

carnaught said:

@breld, I believe the $1k deposit on a Tesla is non-refundable, no?

The order fee for Tesla is technically non-refundable, though I've heard that you may get it back on request.

That said, it's $100, not $1k.

explorerx4

Never mind the deposit, how about getting charged for an extra car?
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36019938/tesla-sales-double-charged-vehicles-complaints/

cdnpinhead

ab348 said:

Ah, one of the prime rules of bureaucracy at work here - if you can come up with a plausible reason to not do your job, use it, and keep using it until you are ordered to do otherwise. The only real risk is that some politician might start to wonder why your job needs to be done in that way at all, and then try to change your process. But that is usually so complicated and full of barriers to change that the probability of it happening is infinitesimal.

Be careful, my man.

in over 20 years I've gotten exactly three abuse warnings, and two of them came after I posted that I was surprised at how efficient and effective the system was set up where I got my first Covid shot. I also made a single comment as to how surprised I was that the government could do anything efficiently. That said, maybe I'll get another one for this.

roadburner

kyfdx said:

Runflat on wife's car started leaking.. Nail in the shoulder. 19" tire. $403 for replacement OTD.

Wow; it was only $253 OTD to replace an 18” tire on the X1 at my dealer.

ab348

cdnpinhead said:

Be careful, my man.

in over 20 years I've gotten exactly three abuse warnings, and two of them came after I posted that I was surprised at how efficient and effective the system was set up where I got my first Covid shot. I also made a single comment as to how surprised I was that the government could do anything efficiently. That said, maybe I'll get another one for this.

I wrote that based on 32 years of experience in government. If someone with more experience in government than myself wants to refute it, they are free to attempt to do so. First and foremost, the #1 thing a bureaucracy tries to do is to protect the bureaucrats.