Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

dang you. I want one of those... At least you have verified that I need to get one when it finally is time.

Good call on the warranty. Even better, at the first sign of pending issues, dump it. Just not on me.

Still, with that mileage, if it shifts well now and the fluid is nice, odds really are that it will be fine for another 10-20K+

qbrozen

Well, the fluid is not nice right now, but I consider that a good thing. It is shifting so beautifully with the bad fluid that I have very high hopes for the transmission's condition.

As for other components, I really have no fear. The engines on these have proven themselves quite reliable. And, as for other things, when I do need to replace, I typically like to upgrade anyway. A warranty would prevent that.

roadburner

Swope just traded for a Sedona Red 2008 128i with 17,700 miles. It's optioned a bit odd; it has a sunroof(Bleh), Comfort Access(automatic unlocking and starting), Xenons, and Premium Sound. That's it- manual leatherette seats, no Premium Package or slushbox. They have it on eBay with a BIN of $25,500. I'm kind of tempted. It's a CPO car, so I'd have a decent warranty until July 2014 or 100K. The only options I wish it had are the Sport Package and heated seats. I can add a sport suspension and tires/wheels, and I can possibly even find some manual sport seats. The lack of bun warmers can be addressed by some sheepskin seat vests. That said, I really need to drive it, as I'm not sure 230 bhp is enough to suit me- along with the fact that I'd really like an M car. I hope to take it for a spin on Monday...

corvette

I closed on the repurchase of my lemon Pontiac G6 today. More relevant to this group, I bought a replacement (from the dealer that sold me the G6 and helped me get it repurchased).

I had forgotten that the dealer even had this on his lot, but I brought it home today. It's a lot like the 2002 Altima I used to have, but newer. It's great to drive. It rides very smoothly (and the CVT keeps the engine at lower, quieter RPMs), but will get out of its own way when you ask it to.

corvette

IMO, BMW under-rated the horsepower on that line of engines. That said, you'd probably still rather have a 135i with the twin turbo. :P

tifighter

Hey, congrats! Looks shiny...year? Trim? That G6 saga did last awhile, so I bet it feels even nicer to drive the new car...

corvette

2009 Nissan Altima 2.5S, which is the basic model. I like it a lot.

The funny thing about the G6 was, you could drive it, and it would be okay, until you went up a steep hill or let off the gas and let it engine brake, and then it would get the shakes. Something you'd probably let slide if the car were 10 years old, but not acceptable on a brand new vehicle.

roadburner

Nissans are excellent cars. We loved our 1993 Pathfinder SE.

roadburner

IMO, BMW under-rated the horsepower on that line of engines. That said, you'd probably still rather have a 135i with the twin turbo.

I'm a tad gun-shy of the N54, what with the fuel pump issues. As a matter of fact, I don't like the RFTs and the lack lck of a dipstick on the newer Bimmers(although the RFT issue is easily fixed). I'm still thinking hard about an E46 M3- or maybe even an E30 M3...

kyfdx

Sedona Red was the launch color for the 128i.. You'll see quite a few of them..

Options:
Sunroof.. pretty sure this is standard on a 1-series
Comfort access.. is the only way the fob/pushbutton thing makes any sense at all.. It's worth it, just so you don't have to do two things to start the car.. Plus, you never have to take the fob out of your pocket..
Xenons, hi-fi are both good..

But... no sport package or heated seats? I wouldn't add all that into a relatively new CPO unit.. You'd be better off just searching until you found one.. (no heated seats? must have been a southern car)

rayainsw

" the CVT keeps the engine at lower, quieter RPMs"
That may be the nicest thing I have ever seen written
about any CVT ....

Good luck!
- Ray
'Traditional A6' driver - right now...

jimbres

FWIW, I completely agree with your decision not to buy an extended warranty. If you're worried that you might be hit with a big repair bill a couple of years from now, then start putting aside money today. Open an online savings account & set it up so that it pulls a fixed amount of money from your checking account every month.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but extended warranties are for people who don't know how to budget & save.

stever

Many F&I people will tell you that the closer a customer gets to living paycheck to paycheck the more they need an extended warranty.

But this is CCBA, where people budget and save to buy cars every six months - "a couple of years from now" won't matter since the car will be gone and one or two more will have replaced it.

fintail

When I bought my car, I bought a warranty. The car was just out of factory warranty, and it had a few little defects I knew a warranty would cover, and these cost about half the price of the warranty to fix. Then about 6 months later the rear sunshade on the car jammed...that repair plus the others equalled the warranty price. Those plus a minor AC issue where the warranty saved me just a couple hundred dollars actually puts me ahead. Luckily the car has been pretty solid since. A few months before the warranty expires, I plan to take the car in and have it gone over for any more potential claims. I wouldn't buy a few year old high end car without a warranty.

stever

And you bought, I assume, a Mercedes? We're talking $800 brake jobs, right? Just for one axle? :shades:

For the money, I think I'd rather go the certified route where the manufacturer extends the warranty.

fintail

If you let your rotors become ruined on a sport model and only have repairs done at a dealer, you can spend that much yes. But if the car is maintained properly, brake pad replacement doesn't cost much more than on a much more boring car.

The MB warranty was much more expensive and offered nothing more. I also like to patronize the good local indy shop and not the sometimes surly dealership.

stever

I'd make some crack about boring into my wallet, but the idea here is to keep opening the wallet every few months to smurf up your ride.

No biggie, most hobbies aren't all that cheap. Golf would be more expensive.

You bring up a good point too - I haven't had a good indy mechanic that I've trusted since the early 90's. That really discourages me from buying used cars over and over again.

jimbres

Many F&I people will tell you that the closer a customer gets to living paycheck to paycheck the more they need an extended warranty.

People living paycheck to paycheck should stay out of car showrooms until they get a grip on their finances & stop living paycheck to paycheck. We should have learned at least this much from the recent (& not yet ended) financial debacle: you can't spend your way to financial peace of mind.

Look at it this way: there's an amount of money - let's call it x - such that if you had that amount in the bank, you wouldn't worry about car repair bills & you wouldn't bother with an extended warranty. You should figure out what x is for you & then come up with a plan for saving that amount.

But this is CCBA, where people budget and save to buy cars every six months - "a couple of years from now" won't matter since the car will be gone and one or two more will have replaced it.

I'm probably a little out of place here; my wife & I have bought a total of 6 cars over the past 25 years.

stever

Sounds good in theory, but in most places you can't get to your job without wheels. And if you're broke, you can't afford new wheels, or even late model wheels. Then if your $4,000 car breaks down and it costs $1800 to get it running, well, the extra $10 a month payment for the extended warranty could save your job.

I'm probably a little out of place here; my wife & I have bought a total of 6 cars over the past 25 years.

I found Edmunds back in '98 trying to keep from getting burned too badly buying a new car. That was the last time we bought new. I bought a used one from a friend about 5 years ago. So, I think we've had 4 cars since 1985. It does make it a bit hard to relate in here. :shades:

boomchek

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but extended warranties are for people who don't know how to budget & save.

I will disagree with you on this one. If you're buying a new car that you're planning to keep for longer than 3 years, and you spend $1000 to extend the bumper to bumper warranty from the 3 year 36k miles to 7 years, it could very well pay for itself during vehicle ownership.

This is not about saving or not saving, it's about betting that in a period of time components will fail and their replacement will exceed the warranty cost.

Cars these days aren't simple like they used to be 30 or 40 years ago. Most automotive systems work off computers and sensors and even to diagnose a problem you need hi tech equipment. You can't just get uncle bob to fix your car by hammering a part in place or adjusting the carburator. If something goes in a modern car you likely need to replace the computer, sensor, or the entire sealed component to make it run again. And at $100/hour labour isn't cheap either.

roadburner

Sunroof.. pretty sure this is standard on a 1-series

It may have standard at one time, but currently you can buy a 128i without having to pay $1050 for a hole in the roof that I never use...

But... no sport package or heated seats? I wouldn't add all that into a relatively new CPO unit.. You'd be better off just searching until you found one.. (no heated seats? must have been a southern car)

I'm not interested unless the price is very good. Checking out the 1er forums I found that a lot of people prefer the BMW Performance or H&R suspensions to the standard Sport calibration. A decent suspension, tires and wheels would probably run me @$3500. In any case, if I go with an E46 M3 I'll still have to spend around $1000 for dedicated winter wheels/tires.

tifighter

I'm probably a little out of place here; my wife & I have bought a total of 6 cars over the past 25 years.

Get the pitchforks...

oregonboy

it's about betting that in a period of time components will fail and their replacement will exceed the warranty cost.

Sounds like you are betting that the underwriters that calculate the warranty rates don't know their business. They, after all, are betting that the covered repairs to your vehicle will be substantially less than average for that make and model.

The substantially part represents their profit and remember the markup on these things is, ummm, substantial.

jayrider

Of course they base their predictions on thousands of policies. There are exclusions and deductibles and certain % are wrecked, disappear and get traded before any claims are payed. And I'm sure that there are a % of folks who have the policy and forget they have it. They know they can't lose. Wonder why so many 3rd party companies are going bankrupt. Poor mgmt and customer service I suppose. If I can get a manufacturers warranty that goes 4 years beyond the basic warranty for only 1k -- might consider it. The prices are usually way higher for a zero deduct bumper to bumper though. Some cpo programs are attractive but they have exclusions and deductibles unlike the original warranty. Some make sense and some don't. There is a well regarded indy bmw garage/sales company around me that sells 3rd party policies that they deal with exclusively. They have a fairly wide customer base and satisfaction is important to them staying in business. They sell you the car & the policy and make sure you understand the terms and handle all the claims and repairs. They have a stake in the whole deal and if you can trust them and their reputation it might be something to consider.

qbrozen

well, as always, I hope this car will be with me a long time. It just never turns out that way ... well, almost never. Had my S70 over 4 years and my Alfa about 10 years.

I think I will wait till it gets a little warmer, but I do plan to let the Benz go as well as the Mazda pickup. I really should get rid of some trees before cutting the pickup loose. And I'd like to get my use out of the Benz's snow tires and swap back on the cheapo all-seasons before selling.

boomchek

I'm sure they know their business, but they offset their losses against hundreds or thousands of policies they sell.

And yeah, markup may be huge, and profits may be huge, but if the plan makes sense for you and your vehicle, and it represents good value to you, then what difference does it make that the warranty company is making a huge profit? They need to make a profit in order to pay for your claim.

fintail

I have a good indy who helps me take good care of my cars...maybe that's why I'm not a member of CCBA...I have no desire to move on to newer/greener pastures :shades:

andre1969

Something you'd probably let slide if the car were 10 years old, but not acceptable on a brand new vehicle.

Yeah, on an old car it's called "character", but that excuse doesn't fly with a new car! Congrats on the Altima. Hope it's a good car for you. I'm curious to see how well it does for you, since I've come kinda close to buying one on a few occasions.

jimbres

Cars these days aren't simple like they used to be 30 or 40 years ago. Most automotive systems work off computers and sensors and even to diagnose a problem you need hi tech equipment. You can't just get uncle bob to fix your car by hammering a part in place or adjusting the carburator. If something goes in a modern car you likely need to replace the computer, sensor, or the entire sealed component to make it run again.

Yeah, cars are more complicated today, but that doesn't make them more expensive to keep running. The 2 worst cars that I've owned were a '78 VW Rabbit & an '80 Audi 5000, both purchased new. Both cars were dirt simple by today's standards: stick shifts, crank windows, no electronic safety aids (ABS was still in the future). The VW didn't even have A/C, but it still spent half its life in the shop until it finally threw a rod, at 49K miles, less than 4 years after I bought it.

The Audi lived longer but cost me more. We can look back on it now & joke about it at family gatherings, but owning it was a horrific experience. It & the Rabbit were the only 2 cars that we've owned for which an extended warranty might have paid off.

The point is that as strange as it sounds, today's complex cars are actually more reliable than the simpler cars of yesteryear. Consumer Reports points out that a repair record that would have qualified a car as much better than average 15 years ago now earns a car a worse than average rating.

jayrider

Had a 75 rabbit-- other than the valve job at 25k [vw paid half of the $300 bill] drove it for 110k with no problems. The front fenders were rusting away -- it still ran great when I wholesaled it for $1100. $4500 new. Lucky me.

jimbres

Good point.

It's conceivable that you might come out ahead if you buy an extended warranty on your next car, but you will certainly lose money if you buy an EW for each of your next 6 cars.

Speaking of markup: when I bought a new CR-V 4 years ago, I was obligated to listen to the F&I guy's pitch. It didn't seem to bother him when I rejected the alarm system, dealer financing (I was paying cash) or the mop & glow, but when I turned down the extended warranty, I really thought that he was going to cry. "But everybody gets this", he said. "EVERYBODY!"

Really, his voice was cracking when he said this.

boomchek

Congrats on your Altima. They're nice cars with lots of room, I sold them for 6 months back in 07.

jimbres

Our '78 was a blast to drive -- when it wasn't in the shop. The suspension was miles ahead of anything else on the market then. It was also one of the only popular-priced cars with fuel injection. None of the comparably priced Japanese cars had that.

It was also a handsome little car -- until the optional metallic paint (think I paid $125 for it) began to peel off - a month or so after I took delivery. The service manager's response to my complaint: they all do that.

For all that, I still look back fondly on that car. It was fast (for the time), fun to drive, easy on fuel & remarkably roomy, given its diminutive size. Great design, crummy execution.

This talk about VWs reminds me: I spotted a new GTI yesterday. Sharp! Looks like it would be a hoot to drive. How is VW reliability these days?

anonymousposts

We have put about 2500 miles on the Camry in the 6 weeks we have had it. I haven't found any flaws with the car yet ... about the only discussion Gee and I have had is whether we should have sprung for the V6. I am happy with the power of the 4 and happier with the gas mileage. He also has now decided that silver would've been okay .. just a little bit frustrating since we had found a silver one at fitz auto mall for about $1200 less than the blue one we bought. But to be far the blue one has the push button start ($500 option) and was only 90 miles away so we didn't have to spend money to drive/fly up to Maryland and drive the car back.

corvette: Congratulations on your Altima. I was very tempted to buy one but was ultimately scared away by the CVT and the engine problems I read about. However, I love the styling and would've been happy with one had the Camry SE not been available.

fezo

Your description mirrors my experience with my 80 RAbbit. When it ran right I loved that car. That just didn't happen often enough.

jayrider

My 75 was the first year for the rabbit and it was chrome yellow 9 aka schoolbus yellow] brown vinyl seats -- it got me through a blizzard on an interstate that was closed AFTER I got on it. Drove from Jacksonville ,il to springfield bottoming out the suspension in the deep ice ruts [ boom!! boom!!!.] Couldn't see much of anything but the fwd, bald tires and superior driving won the day. Of course I was 31 at the time and full of p & v. The new ones are about average in reliability -- free maintenance and reasonable resale. If the seats were a little less bolstered, I'd be tempted.

corvette

I like the CVT so far--don't really understand all of the reviews bashing it. It does take a little getting used to, but that's true of any new car. Nissan has extended the transmission warranty on all of their cars equipped with CVTs to 10 years, 120,000 miles, so if it breaks, I shouldn't be out of pocket for it.

The engine problems I've read about are mostly on the 2002-04 Altimas (I owned one of those too, also bought used, and never had engine trouble). The interior of the Altima seems to have more room than the G6, and the specs I've looked up confirm this. Strange, since the exterior dimensions are nearly identical. The Altima weighs less too.

grandtotal

about the only discussion Gee and I have had is whether we should have sprung for the V6

Uh oh, trouble in Paradise. But then we are in CCBA.

roadburner

Swope just got a 2007 335i Coupe; 40k miles,Red/Tan, manual, SP, and CWP:





They are asking $23,950...

nippononly

Gawd, are there ever deals in your neck of the woods! That car would be $8,000 more where I live.

breld

Seems like a great deal - a little high on the miles, but not too bad.

I checked out a similar car at the BMW dealer when I was having my 530xi serviced yesterday. 2007 335i coupe, Montego Blue, manual 6-sp, SP and heated seats, 30k miles It's certified and they're asking $30k. And this is a true no-haggle dealership.

If it had the premium package on it, I'd take a closer look, but I think I'd rather have the real leather and the couple of other goodies on the PP.

Anyway, point is, $23,950 seems like a great asking price, assuming there's no skeletons in that coupe's trunk.

anonymousposts

There is a known issue with the high pressure fuel pumps. The car may lose power suddenly on the highway and some 335 owners are on their third or fourth fuel pump. BMW did extend the coverage on it but still could be a major inconvenience. Before we bought the IS, I had found the exact sedan I wanted, 07 335 montego blue/black dakota leather, sport package, premium package, cold weather package. It had 40,000 miles and was $25,000. The fuel pump issues scared me away though.

qbrozen

Sounds like something they should be able to permanently fix with an updated unit, though. So I might not worry about it being a lifetime issue with the car.

40k miles is very high on such a car, but that does seem like a good price. Is it certified?

What is with that wood? Does not look right with that interior color.

jayrider

If you had to choose between a 2002 eldorado or a 2002 bmw 7 series -- less than 50k miles and $10000 --- which one would offer the most reliable cruise from NYC to LA ?

fintail

10K seems high for an 02 Eldo and low for an 02 7er - so for the latter, be careful that it has been taken care of and not pieced together.

For a one way 3K mile trip, both vehicles will probably be fine, but for longterm ownership, the BMW will be excruciating compared to the relatively simple Caddy.

jayrider

Parts and service would definitely be easier for the eldo -- price was just an estimate -- there are a number of low mile units out there but could be hazardous re history. I figure anything uou buy for 8-10k can only depreciate 8-10k no matter how long you own it. Major system breakdowns would mean a call to the charity donation hotline.

ghulet

nice looking BMW, I actually like that red (I usually am more of a gray or blue person); I do agree re the wood, a car that sporty with that sporty a color combination would probably be better suited for the brushed aluminum trim.

ghulet

what about a compromise between the two (say, a Seville STS)? That was you have a more usable back seat.

jayrider

Good suggestion -- how about an E series sedan ?

roadburner

I did a bit of sleuthing as I was wanting to see why the car wasn't a CPO. It turns out that the car had sustained enough accident damage that it could not be certified. And did the damage show up on Carfax?
Nope.
The search continues...