Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Still some lease deals out there. Just poking around Rodo, and dealer by me has a nice blue over gray passport. EXL, MSRP $39,800, 36/10 for $379/mo with $379 DAS. Good value.

tjc78

I wonder with the used car boom that the banks will start pumping up residuals a bit. Even 1 or 2% can really help lower the monthly on a lease.

fintail

My late grandmother/grandparents had a set like that Maytag, it was even older, early 60s, in that copper color popular then, bought when the recently-sold house was built. I am pretty sure it was still being used past Y2K, when something broke and a part couldn't be sourced.

My parents bought a GE set when I was born, harvest gold - we had it until around the time I graduated high school, I think. With 3 kids, that set probably averaged a load a day. They don't build some things like they used to.

ab348 said:

I've had my LG front-loader for maybe a dozen years. They make good washers, although mine had the board for the LED display flake out a few years ago and the part is NLA. Probably could be fixed by someone who knows that they're doing but I can't be bothered.

Clothes washers seem to have taken a big step backwards over time. While they may be more energy and water-efficient now, the old ones lasted forever. When I moved into this house in '97 it had a Sears Kenmore set from the early '80s that lasted until 2010 with just minor repairs. My parents had this classic Maytag set from the '70s that were almost indestructible that they never should have stopped making.

mlevine

I think used car market is over inflated. I suspect residuals will not go up much as this often projects 2, 3, or 4 years down the line what the vehicle will fetch. I would like to see money factor on certain models improve as some are ridiculously inflated.

cdnpinhead

Our Forest Lakes cabin was built/finished over several years and was completed in the early/mid '70s. Washer, dryer and refrigerator are all Maytag and still working fine. Nothing made today sounds like it can even come close.

explorerx4

Probably not related to vehicle sales, but i saw that the moratorium on evictions was extended(might be by state).
Maybe people have been buying new cars instead of paying their rent.

fintail

Given income vs cost of living trends over the past 40 years, I'd have to see some data on that one to believe it, seems kind of fantastic.

explorerx4 said:

Probably not related to vehicle sales, but i saw that the moratorium on evictions was extended(might be by state).
Maybe people have been buying new cars instead of paying their rent.

rayainsw

C8s - at local dealer yesterday

Rick Hendrick Chevrolet in Duluth, GA
In top 10 Corvette sales in US – last numbers I could find.

I saw that their web site showed 6 C8s ‘in stock’.
Odd – as I was thinking all assembled were still
only ‘sold orders’ – and dealers still had waiting
lists months long.
Anyway – was in the neighborhood, so I stopped in
to check. Sure enough, at least 6.
Contacted my friend – who has a 2006 C6 Corvette
and we met there. He had only seen one on a
turntable at a show. [ He drove his ‘Vette. ]
One black convertible was being delivered \ picked up.
The new owner was gracious enough to let
us both sit in his new C8!

If I was in the position I that I was in late 2006
when I ordered my 2007 C6. I might be tempted. . .
- Ray
No longer in the market . . .

au1994

benjaminh said:

When I was a kid in the early 1970s I used to leaf through the pages of the huge annual Sears catalog. One of my favorite sections was for the washing machines, including "Sears' Best," which was a push button machine that looked futuristic. Fast forward to about 2005, and my wife and I finally decided to get the best front loading washing machine from Sears, which was about $1200 or so. The salesperson advised us to get the extended warranty, and even mentioned that these machines were not always reliable, and so we did. The machine failed multiple times, including flooding our laundry room once. In fact, it failed so many times that it triggered the automatic lemon part of the extended warranty, which meant we got a brand-new washer for free. This time we went with LG, which we've been using for something like a dozen years without any problems that I can recall. Knock on wood. Seems like it's a really well-engineered machine, living up to the dreams I had of fancy washing machines when I was a kid.

Pretty sure I had the pants the kid has on.

au1994

stickguy said:

Still some lease deals out there. Just poking around Rodo, and dealer by me has a nice blue over gray passport. EXL, MSRP $39,800, 36/10 for $379/mo with $379 DAS. Good value.

Wow. If you’re in the market for a nice CUV, thats a hard deal to pass up. As you mentioned, EXL is the sweet spot in trim levels.

benjaminh

@stickguy

I don't have rodo. Is it fun to browse through? I started to sign up but got worried when they asked for a social s. #. Plus I worried that I'd get tempted and actually go lease something. Since I actually really like my current car that wouldn't be wise at all.

Anyway, in spite of that, if you ever feel like looking up the best lease deal for a Volvo S60 hope you'll post.

stickguy

au1994 said:

benjaminh said:

When I was a kid in the early 1970s I used to leaf through the pages of the huge annual Sears catalog. One of my favorite sections was for the washing machines, including "Sears' Best," which was a push button machine that looked futuristic. Fast forward to about 2005, and my wife and I finally decided to get the best front loading washing machine from Sears, which was about $1200 or so. The salesperson advised us to get the extended warranty, and even mentioned that these machines were not always reliable, and so we did. The machine failed multiple times, including flooding our laundry room once. In fact, it failed so many times that it triggered the automatic lemon part of the extended warranty, which meant we got a brand-new washer for free. This time we went with LG, which we've been using for something like a dozen years without any problems that I can recall. Knock on wood. Seems like it's a really well-engineered machine, living up to the dreams I had of fancy washing machines when I was a kid.

Pretty sure I had the pants the kid has on.

I had the jacket.

stickguy

benjaminh said:

@stickguy

I don't have rodo. Is it fun to browse through? I started to sign up but got worried when they asked for a social s. #. Plus I worried that I'd get tempted and actually go lease something. Since I actually really like my current car that wouldn't be wise at all.

Anyway, in spite of that, if you ever feel like looking up the best lease deal for a Volvo S60 hope you'll post.

The social I forgot about, but needed to actually do a deal. I can’t recall if you can download the app and use it, but maybe not. And yes, it can be dangerous. That’s how I got my TLX. Was sitting around one night playing with it, saw a great deal on it, and next thing you know, I hit the accept button and off to the races! I now mostly use it as reference. Occasionally see a sweet deal, but usually ones way higher than the pro hackers here come up with. It at least gives me a baseline worst case!

Oh, they buy cars now too, so you can combine trading in your old one with leasing the new one at the same time!

graphicguy

rayainsw said:

C8s - at local dealer yesterday

Rick Hendrick Chevrolet in Duluth, GA
In top 10 Corvette sales in US – last numbers I could find.

I saw that their web site showed 6 C8s ‘in stock’.
Odd – as I was thinking all assembled were still
only ‘sold orders’ – and dealers still had waiting
lists months long.
Anyway – was in the neighborhood, so I stopped in
to check. Sure enough, at least 6.
Contacted my friend – who has a 2006 C6 Corvette
and we met there. He had only seen one on a
turntable at a show. [ He drove his ‘Vette. ]
One black convertible was being delivered \ picked up.
The new owner was gracious enough to let
us both sit in his new C8!

If I was in the position I that I was in late 2006
when I ordered my 2007 C6. I might be tempted. . .
- Ray
No longer in the market . . .

Kind of surprised there are C8s on any lots. A few weeks ago, a friend and I drove down to the Corvette Museum for the day. They were still doing museum deliveries. One of the staff we spoke to said they were totally booked for deliveries through April.

Of course, not every buyer wants Corvette Museum delivery. But, it does point to the fact that they're probably selling all that the plant can make.

laurasdada

Have yet to figure out the wacky "timer" method of charging the A7. I've set every setting, pushed every button and have yet to have the timer shut off charging at the appointed time. I think I only have one more trick up my sleeve, then I'm suing Audi/VW for emotional distress.

Did I mention I'm fully Moderna'd? Second shot shut me down the next day, still residual fatigue the following day. Today, right as rain. It didn't really hit me until ~21 hours after the shot, I thought I was gonna get away with no/little side effect. Way to go, immune system!

explorerx4

@laurasdada,
Thanks for the update on the 2nd Moderna, getting it next week.
Can't quite relate as much to the electronmobile.

Michaell

I’m scheduled to get the second Pfizer shot on Monday afternoon. I’m guessing Tuesday could be a bit rough.

Learned that a co-worker in the UK got the second shot on Sunday, and has been absent from work since, due to side affects. Don’t know which version was given.

benjaminh

I had my second shot of Pfizer eight days ago. The first shot had almost no side effects for me beyond a sore arm, but the second shot hit me like some bricks. It was almost like a mini flu that lasted for about four days. But worth it.

A week from today my wife and I are going on a road trip to celebrate. We are going to see some art museums, some parks, two car museums, and stay in some nice B & Bs along the way.

tjc78

Michaell said:

I’m scheduled to get the second Pfizer shot on Monday afternoon. I’m guessing Tuesday could be a bit rough.

Learned that a co-worker in the UK got the second shot on Sunday, and has been absent from work since, due to side affects. Don’t know which version was given.

My second Pfizer shot was uneventful. No symptoms at all. My wife got second Pfizer Monday night and still isn’t 100%.

My boss had his second Moderna and was out for two days. It really seems to be hit or miss.

Michaell

Thanks for the feedback, folks.

Guess we'll just have to see how it plays out.

Daughter is scheduled to get her second shot the week after we do. I don't know what version she got.

xwesx

laurasdada said:

Did I mention I'm fully Moderna'd? Second shot shut me down the next day, still residual fatigue the following day. Today, right as rain. It didn't really hit me until ~21 hours after the shot, I thought I was gonna get away with no/little side effect. Way to go, immune system!

I had mine on the 10th, and same thing: It hammered me hard by about 9pm that day and stuck around into the later evening of the next (the only issue was extreme fatigue). However, by Monday morning, I was good to go. Great; just in time for work!

Sandman6472

Had both Pfizer shots. Sore arm both times, that's it. Felt fine otherwise. Wife had a sore arm and a headache with first shot but only a sore arm on second. Easy peasy really!! No one should be scared to get the vaccine. There's no hidden agenda here, it's just a couple of shots folks. Put on your big boy and big girl pants and just get it done already so we can get back to normal. Enough with the excuses already!!!

tifighter

One pfizer down over here.

qbrozen

Alright, so put in the new crank sensor and no change. I had one more thought, which was to make sure I didn’t put the exhaust cam in 180 out of alignment. Took off that side cover yet again, checked ... nope, its good. Then, because a really good MB mechanic on youtube said so, I decided to check the split rings on the cam phaser bushing things. 1 - 2 - 3 checked out on intake. 1 - 2 - .... wait... exhaust is missing one! And one of the other 2 isn’t in the right slot. Huh. How the heck did that happen? Is this my problem? Maybe. Hopefully. But now where the hell to find one of these rings?? I may need to buy a whole new bushing thing for $100. I’m going to try an MB dealer.

Michaell

For all you Acura fans out there

benjaminh

Thanks for posting that background of Type S history. They didn't go into much detail at all about the new TLX Type S, but probably they'll do another video for that.

Quite possibly this is Acura's farewell to the gas engine sports sedan. Their next type S, in five years or so, might be electric.

au1994

2 Pfizers in here. Sore arm for both but no other side effects for me. My wife had her second Pfizer in January and had the fatigue etc about 18 hours after.

I did have a bit of a body rash about a week after the 1st but nobody seems to think it was related. Just one of the random joys of getting older I guess.

kyfdx

Used car listings for a local Chevy dealer were in the paper, today.
The prices are depressing.

On what planet should a 2018 Traverse be worth $43K?

tjc78

At some point people have to stop buying used and move to new.

With interest rates as low as they are a few thousand more for new translates to very little per month to those who finance.

I’m pretty sure brand new Traverse models could easily be had under 43K.

tjc78

Edit -
A mid range LT Leather is $40,595 brand new with 1.9% financing for 84 months.

au1994

kyfdx said:

Used car listings for a local Chevy dealer were in the paper, today.
The prices are depressing.

On what planet should a 2018 Traverse be worth $43K?

There isn’t one. The 2021 Pilot EXL I was looking at stickered just under 40k.

Things are crazy right now. New cars in short supply, used values in the stratosphere. But it’s just everywhere: consumer packaged goods going up (check your grocery bill), building materials way up, petro-chem market up and transportation costs rising due to fuel cost and capacity.

tjc78

I haven’t seen too much of an uptick at the grocery store, but everything else is spot on.

One of my fixture manufacturers doubled... yes doubled their steel surcharge. That hurt.

Lumber is in another universe too. We had a deck quoted and for 400 sq ft it was over 14K. No way!

roadburner

I received my second Moderna 3 weeks ago. Didn’t notice any side effects aside from my arm being a bit sore. If my wife hadn’t looked into getting appointments I would probably still be unvaccinated. I’m not an anti-vaxxer, I just don’t worry about it much- if at all.

ronsteve

2nd Moderna had some mild side effects... mainly chills that compromised my sleep the first night, and the resulting fatigue the next day. But 30 hrs after the shot, it was just the knot at the injection site, and arm soreness that actually faded quicker than with the first one.

nyccarguy

Steel and copper are up and continue to climb. Manufacturers raised prices in January, April, and are planning on more price increases in June.

graphicguy

Michaell said:

For all you Acura fans out there

Thanks...very cool!

corvette

Anyone want to go halfsies on this?

graphicguy

corvette said:

Anyone want to go halfsies on this?

Wonder what Jiffy Lube would charge for replacement wiper blades for that while you're getting an oil change?

[Deleted User]

corvette said:

Anyone want to go halfsies on this?

Maybe we could all pitch in, have a CCBA car share?

kyfdx

Sold the predator step bars off the Tacoma for $200. 👍

explorerx4

Who want to pay for gas for the Ferrari? 8/12 mpg

houdini1

Apparently this is my first time back after a format change. Took a while before I found you guys. Is there anything I should know about the new format?

stickguy

Nope. Works the same, just a little harder to read fonts and colors.

fintail

Lumber is up over 120% YOY last time I checked. Everything seems to be pacing real estate insanity (save for wages, of course).

tjc78 said:

I haven’t seen too much of an uptick at the grocery store, but everything else is spot on.

One of my fixture manufacturers doubled... yes doubled their steel surcharge. That hurt.

Lumber is in another universe too. We had a deck quoted and for 400 sq ft it was over 14K. No way!

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Alright, so put in the new crank sensor and no change. I had one more thought, which was to make sure I didn’t put the exhaust cam in 180 out of alignment. Took off that side cover yet again, checked ... nope, its good. Then, because a really good MB mechanic on youtube said so, I decided to check the split rings on the cam phaser bushing things. 1 - 2 - 3 checked out on intake. 1 - 2 - .... wait... exhaust is missing one! And one of the other 2 isn’t in the right slot. Huh. How the heck did that happen? Is this my problem? Maybe. Hopefully. But now where the hell to find one of these rings?? I may need to buy a whole new bushing thing for $100. I’m going to try an MB dealer.

Well, every time you're in there, you either find something new or check another item off the list, so you're heading in the right direction!

xwesx

tjc78 said:

Lumber is in another universe too. We had a deck quoted and for 400 sq ft it was over 14K. No way!

Holy smokes.... $8 for a 2x4x8 here. That's just unreal! Nothing as painful as the 4x year-over-year increase between 2002 and 2003 (went from $1/ea in 2002 to $4/ea in 2003), but at least the prices remained fairly steady for the next decade or so before slowly creeping up. I want to say that they were around $5/ea last year, so this is a pretty hefty jump.

However, I haven't been paying attention to the market forces this time. What is the supposed cause of such a hike?

xwesx

fintail said:

Lumber is up over 120% YOY last time I checked. Everything seems to be pacing real estate insanity (save for wages, of course).

tjc78 said:

I haven’t seen too much of an uptick at the grocery store, but everything else is spot on.

One of my fixture manufacturers doubled... yes doubled their steel surcharge. That hurt.

Lumber is in another universe too. We had a deck quoted and for 400 sq ft it was over 14K. No way!

Ah, okay. That makes sense - gotta gouge while the gouging is good!

nyccarguy

houdini1 said:

Apparently this is my first time back after a format change. Took a while before I found you guys. Is there anything I should know about the new format?

The new format has been quite difficult for us. It has caused many of our members to do things that many "consider to be unnatural."

@28firefighter factory ordered a Wrangler 4XE from the factory.
@abacomike traded in his Twin Turbo V6 Powered MB E450 for a Genesis G80.
@graphicguy sold his Kia Stinger to CarMax & bought himself a sweet looking TL SH AWD A-Spec (White/Red)
@breld sold his Supra and now has (3) Electric Vehicles on order
@qbrozen sold his wife's leased X2 & if he doesn't find her a suitable replacement soon, he's going to be sleeping in his ML63 AMG which still isn't running

Sandman6472

Have noticed that most car dealers have put more space between their vehicles so the holes don't stand out as much. But no doubt about it, inventories are way down. When rentals come back to each office, there are folks waiting for them to be cleaned/sanitized and out the door they go. Our sold lots are basically empty now and we've taken vehicles with close to 50K on them and put them back into the rental pool just to meet the crazy demand. I've been in this business now since January of 2013 and have never seen things this bad! This pandemic has hit every facet of our everyday lives and it ain't over yet. Think once the chip industry gets back to normal, the rest will fall into place.
Another downside for us is they've had to cut our hours a bit and no one's happy about that. I know we were hired to work 25 hours per week but we were getting much more gong into March of 2020 when things just stopped. Since June, we've been working but with much less hours. And recently, they've been cut down even more. But, it is what it is and we're doing the best we can. With summer coming, a bunch of our crew takes a few months off so that'll definitely help us get a few more hours each week. I'm quite happy to get 30 per week as I don't want to go back to full time work at my age. Luckily, I don't have to either which takes all the pressure off.
And as much as I'd like to go to Carmax and get a quote to sell my current vehicle, nothing out there I really gotta have right now. Waiting on the Taos and new Chevy Bolt to hit the market and go from there. I'm a perfect candidate for an EV since I don't have to worry about range anxiety driving as little as I do now. And if Chevy can deliver a Bolt at around $25K or so, I'm totally in. So now, we just wait and pray we have no more vehicular drama going forward.

stickguy

Stopped at the Porsche dealer today. They had a row of 6-7 Taycans outside. Interesting looking. Bigger than I thought, and basically just look like face lifted Panameras. One had a window sticker up. Base 150k, with options 175k. Ouch.