Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

“ I will preface it with he is unlike most people here - he likes cheap old cars, and he keeps them until they croak. He'll probably never have a new car, and he's fine with that. He likes basic, and he'd never finance.”

You just described me. However, I wouldn’t want to pay that much for a truck with that milage. Even considering that it’s a Toyota and the market is beyond crazy. The only comparison I have is my cargo van which is similar miles and year (but not as good condition) for $1800.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
that seems to be the new normal. Just doing my usual Rodo browsing, seems that most stuff is up 10-20%. Though it varies considerably based on what exists on the lots!

I checked a Kona lately. SEL AWD. I think sticker was ~$29,000. 36/10 was $340 DAS/month. a year back or pre covid I think that was more like $290-$300.

some stuff that must be in shorter supply was really high. $490 Tucsons, $600 Rangers, stuff like that. I think the TLX was still pretty good.

basically, if you want a car now, and you want a cheap deal, better pick something that nobody actually wants!

I sure hope by August 2022 things have normalized. I’m not paying these prices and I don’t have any interest in a 4XE !

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

I actually liked this one-
BaT 650i.

That car is sharp! I always like the 650s particularly the convertibles. But that price for those miles? I’d worry about what repairs were looming.

stickguy

I hope for better pricing around new years, otherwise I don't know what I will do. probably just find something cheap but boring if I really need it. Or just wait it out? Will suck to have money to spend and nothing I want to spend it on.

mjfloyd1

Arrived safe and sound on a semi with a 40 foot trailer.

stickguy

Nice looking. Big but stylish.

nice house too!

stickguy

actually, if the market is still like that at year end, I bet that I would have bought out the TLX if I still had the lease.

mjfloyd1

@stickguy said:
Nice looking. Big but stylish.

nice house too!

Thanks

We built the house and moved in when our oldest was 10 months old

I call it the “exactly what were you thinking house”. It is way bigger than we need but that’s what people built 19 years ago. Full basement but parts were drawn as crawl and the builder said we’d have 6 foot crawl spaces so we just made it basement.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

fintail said:

Nice! I think that's the best generation of the Tacoma: Right size, good, clean design, and still fairly simple (although with far better road manners than its predecessors).

I nearly bought one that is identical to that except was manual back in 2015 when I picked up the 2008 Forester. Unfortunately, it was gone before I was able to get to it (well, someone flew in from Anchorage to get it, so the seller didn't want to sell it out from under the guy who was already on his way).

I had a 1986 predecessor of that truck and it was not suited to the rust belt. Everything but the frame totally rotted long before it should have. Mechanically it was a disappointment too. Head gaskets, alternators, power steering leaks…you name it. Was a total wreck at 120k miles.

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

Arrived safe and sound on a semi with a 40 foot trailer.

Impressive.

carnaught

benjaminh said:

stickguy said:

Not thinking a Maverick is a likely option this year....

What about a Genesis G70? I think it leases for about $420 a month (with just fees and taxes down) with conquest incentive. At c. 184 inches long it's about 10 inches shorter than a 2021 Acura TLX.

https://www.genesisoflouisville.com/inventory/new-2021-genesis-g70-2-0t-all-wheel-drive-4d-sedan-kmtg34laxmu075242/

For a car offering a lot for the money, an $80 bumper appliqué is outrageous, a donation.

28firefighter

Looks great, @mjfloyd1!

xwesx

mjfloyd1 said:

Thanks

We built the house and moved in when our oldest was 10 months old

I call it the “exactly what were you thinking house”. It is way bigger than we need but that’s what people built 19 years ago. Full basement but parts were drawn as crawl and the builder said we’d have 6 foot crawl spaces so we just made it basement.

We built ours 19 years ago, too. Granted, we're *still* building ours, but what's life without adventure?

benjaminh

stickguy said:

actually, if the market is still like that at year end, I bet that I would have bought out the TLX if I still had the lease.

My guess is that maybe by November the market will start to come back to Earth. I saw part of a 60-Minutes interview a couple of months ago with the ceo of the leading chip maker in Taiwan, and iirc he said that in about 6 months supplies for passenger vehicles will probably be getting more or less back to normal. So maybe 4 more months of this current craziness? I also saw a quote from Elon Musk saying that all over the vehicle manufacturers are over-ordering chips right now. If even c. 80% of these over-orders eventually come in, then maybe by December or so we might start seeing a flood of vehicles coming into dealerships. And most dealers have probably over-ordered too. And so my out-on-a-limb prediction is that it might be a December to remember because that might be when the prices start to really fall? But that's just my hunch from trying to read the tea leaves, and I could well be wrong.

mjfloyd1

@carnaught said:
For a car offering a lot for the money, an $80 bumper appliqué is outrageous, a donation.

Nope, outrageous is $475 for lights that show Audi rings when you open the doors, $340 for all weather floor and cargo mats and $185 for rear hatch bumper paint protection.

I thought the wheels looked horrible online but I really like them in person.

Happy wife - at least I have a chance at happiness…

stickguy

I would not mind have some dealers suddenly overstocked around Christmas. Will give me something to do the week after when I use up the rest of my vacation time! President's day is also a prime shopping time.

xwesx

Here's my latest project - some simple storage for the laundry room. I finally finished it three days ago and was able to get a neighbor's help to set it up last night.




It's fairly monstrous at ~84"x89"x18" and moves in two pieces.

stickguy

in the big scheme of things, I would not really notice the difference leasing something now. Using that Kona as an example, sure I would prefer it at the 1% target ($300/mo) but if it ends up being $340 not going to change my life much. Still better than paying $4,000 more to buy something than it should be going for now, and might disappear in value soon.

Just need to avoid absurd deals like a $450 F150 for $800/Month!

or buy something that normally sells with no or minimal discount because it is already priced cheap. Actually, a new Maverick could fit that bill. and just pay sticker-ish.

henryn

stickguy said:

in the big scheme of things, I would not really notice the difference leasing something now. Using that Kona as an example, sure I would prefer it at the 1% target ($300/mo) but if it ends up being $340 not going to change my life much. Still better than paying $4,000 more to buy something than it should be going for now, and might disappear in value soon.

Just need to avoid absurd deals like a $450 F150 for $800/Month!

or buy something that normally sells with no or minimal discount because it is already priced cheap. Actually, a new Maverick could fit that bill. and just pay sticker-ish.

I could see paying MSRP for a Maverick. That is, if I actually like the Maverick after I see and test drive one. Which sounds like it may not happen anytime soon.

stickguy

dealers could get some stock when people that ordered change their minds. Just need to have somebody looking out for you when it happens.

but they priced that low enough, especially if you get a modestly equipped version, that even sticker is a good deal and big discounts are not likely (or required).

nyccarguy

@mjfloyd1 - that Q7 is gorgeous! Best of luck with it!

xwesx

stickguy said:

in the big scheme of things, I would not really notice the difference leasing something now. Using that Kona as an example, sure I would prefer it at the 1% target ($300/mo) but if it ends up being $340 not going to change my life much. Still better than paying $4,000 more to buy something than it should be going for now, and might disappear in value soon.

Just need to avoid absurd deals like a $450 F150 for $800/Month!

or buy something that normally sells with no or minimal discount because it is already priced cheap. Actually, a new Maverick could fit that bill. and just pay sticker-ish.

That's a good point. In the grand scheme, one could probably do a lot worse than a mediocre lease in the current market, and it puts them off for a few years until they will need to consider another move. Hopefully, the market is sane again at that point and there are more/better options to consider.

roadburner

benjaminh said:

stickguy said:

Not thinking a Maverick is a likely option this year....

What about a Genesis G70? I think it leases for about $420 a month (with just fees and taxes down) with conquest incentive. At c. 184 inches long it's about 10 inches shorter than a 2021 Acura TLX.

https://www.genesisoflouisville.com/inventory/new-2021-genesis-g70-2-0t-all-wheel-drive-4d-sedan-kmtg34laxmu075242/

2.0?
Meh.

stickguy

a review just popped up today of the 3.3t, RWD. You would never find one of those at a deal around here. The RWD part.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_r3PbPbTUk

roadburner

Herewith the object of my affection:

stickguy

gorgeous colors. Pedal count is correct.

must be a relative unicorn. should grab that one up and be done with it.

I would not mind that same car in a 330i variant.

xwesx

roadburner said:

Herewith the object of my affection:

Dang. That's snazzy. I agree with @stickguy 's sentiments.

fintail

I live in the land that rust (mostly) forgot, so it is a safer bet here. Of course, there's also the Toyota tax. That truck probably sold for around the same 10 years ago, but as some other costs have doubled/tripled during that timeframe, this isn't too surprising given the condition and mileage.

This is the insane world we live in

Double the doors, double the drive wheels, more than double the price

No doubt it was a bit less when new

oldfarmer50 said:

“ I will preface it with he is unlike most people here - he likes cheap old cars, and he keeps them until they croak. He'll probably never have a new car, and he's fine with that. He likes basic, and he'd never finance.”

You just described me. However, I wouldn’t want to pay that much for a truck with that milage. Even considering that it’s a Toyota and the market is beyond crazy. The only comparison I have is my cargo van which is similar miles and year (but not as good condition) for $1800.

Michaell

Didn’t you read his first post? $10k over his self-imposed budget.

tifighter

roadburner said:

Herewith the object of my affection:

Well, you'll never find another one.

benjaminh

stickguy said:

....or buy something that normally sells with no or minimal discount because it is already priced cheap. Actually, a new Maverick could fit that bill. and just pay sticker-ish.

But if a TLX is too big for you at 194 inches, why would a Maverick be okay at 200 inches? Yes, it's a practical vehicle in some ways, but I think that the Maverick will be only so-so when it comes to handling and interior luxury.

And here's my guess....0-60 with the hybrid engine in about 10 seconds.

I think the Maverick will have additional mark-ups beyond msrp for the first few months, but at list price it is a compelling vehicle from my pov.

benjaminh

This concept electric vehicle by Mini is weird, but I like it. It's 9 inches shorter than a Civic, but has lots of interior space.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36903380/mini-vision-urbanaut-future-specs/

mjfloyd1

@roadburner, you need to discuss this with @breld

But life is short and if it is truly the car of your dreams…

Is it kinda purplish brown?

People like colors way different than I like

But the world would be awfully boring if we all drove the boring colors that I like

benjaminh

@roadburner

Looks like a great car to drive around corners. What's the year and the price?

mjfloyd1

https://www.bmwofcincinnatinorth.com/used/BMW/2018-BMW-M3-4a4ae2570a0e09af6a62d4e969c2d418.htm

24k ish miles

Almost $68k

benjaminh

Wow. Great car. Very rare.

And since the original msrp was 82k maybe the price is actually okay? And maybe they'd consider 64?

mjfloyd1

The Q7 wasn't supposed to have the matrix headlights (not on the Monroney window sticker) but it sure looks like it has them. Weird

benjaminh

Brand-new $125k Tesla Model S Plaid explodes in flames. No accident. Just fire. Driver escapes, but was briefly trapped.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/01/tesla-plaid-fire/

“He’s in the car, he smells and sees the smoke, turns around and sees the smoke is filling up the cabin, then flames, and reacts almost immediately,” Geragos said in an interview. “The door malfunctions, he gets out and somehow the car is still running [down the road] according to witnesses as he’s trying to get away from the car. And within moments of him getting out of the car, the car is engulfed in flames.”

“Once he saw the fire shoot out of the back, that’s when he immediately pulled over to try to exit the vehicle,” Setchen said. “He tried to get out of the vehicle; he was pushing the door frantically and it would not engage.”

Finally, he said, the owner put the weight of his body against the door.

“He was able to push the button again and lean against the door very hard and that’s when it opened up,” he said.

mjfloyd1

@benjaminh said:
Brand-new $125k Tesla Model S Plaid explodes in flames. No accident. Just fire. Driver escapes, but was briefly trapped.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/07/01/tesla-plaid-fire/

“He’s in the car, he smells and sees the smoke, turns around and sees the smoke is filling up the cabin, then flames, and reacts almost immediately,” Geragos said in an interview. “The door malfunctions, he gets out and somehow the car is still running [down the road] according to witnesses as he’s trying to get away from the car. And within moments of him getting out of the car, the car is engulfed in flames.”

“Once he saw the fire shoot out of the back, that’s when he immediately pulled over to try to exit the vehicle,” Setchen said. “He tried to get out of the vehicle; he was pushing the door frantically and it would not engage.”

Finally, he said, the owner put the weight of his body against the door.

“He was able to push the button again and lean against the door very hard and that’s when it opened up,” he said.

Awkward.

Both the fastest car 0-60 and fastest to engulf in 🔥

tjc78

@mjfloyd1
That Q7 really is nice!

rayainsw

mjfloyd1 -
as others have said: Sharp SUV.
- Ray
And sharp castle \ house !

ab348

Tacoma frames up here were apparently stamped out of papier mache. But at least Toyota is good about replacing them. Always a pile of new ones out back at the local dealer, stacked like cordwood:

sda

ab348 said:

Tacoma frames up here were apparently stamped out of papier mache. But at least Toyota is good about replacing them. Always a pile of new ones out back at the local dealer, stacked like cordwood:

I wonder if the service department conveniently uses this as an opportunity to say while we have your Taco disassembled we noticed it needs… this is a good time to address it $$$.

kyfdx

Seems doubtful. If Toyota isn't paying for it, it would be cost prohibitive for an old truck.

We had a friend with a late '90s Tacoma, and they bought her truck back in 2003 for frame rust issues.

sda

kyfdx said:

Seems doubtful. If Toyota isn't paying for it, it would be cost prohibitive for an old truck.

We had a friend with a late '90s Tacoma, and they bought her truck back in 2003 for frame rust issues.

I was vague. I was meaning the owner would be charged for all the potential extra work sticking the owner with a bill they hadn’t anticipated. A money maker for the dealer.

stickguy

lots of posts! so let's see:

TLX is longer than I need but still drove nice and does fit in the garage. A middle size sedan is just a preference really. Given a choice something in the Civic size range (184"?) or a little smaller just overall is better IMO. Bigger serves no purpose and is overkill. I will say though, the TLX never seemed to be as big as it really was. And actually width is a bigger problem than length. Skinny cars fit in the garage easier!

A Maverick (or any of those trucks) is of course longer, but different type of vehicle serving a different purpose. I just don't want to deal with a real truck at 240" or so. But another big plus to the Maverick is that it is much skinnier than bigger trucks (I think 8-10" narrower than a Ranger even) so can get into the garage without taking off the mirrors.

the M3? My opinion is that a dream car (especially an exceptionally rare one) is a tangible thing that you get when the stars align. A budget is just an arbitrary number in your head (assuming of course you have the money available for whatever you want). And you can't take it with you. And in this case, if you are worried about "leaving it to the kid" they just get a super nice car instead! RB can consider it a reward for going back to work after being retired.

if you have limited money and have to worry about eating every month, then no, definitely don't spend all your savings on a fancy car.

qbrozen

roadburner said:

Herewith the object of my affection:

The seats don't have thigh extensions like the sport seats in a 4-cyl 3-series? That seems really odd to me.

cdnpinhead

henryn said:

They apparently put good paint on those old Tacomas.

You bet. The VOC police weren't up to speed as much as they are today and it was still possible to use actual enamel. Remember Ditzler paint? Real colors that didn't chip and were much less likely to look like they'd been put on with a roller.

benjaminh

stickguy said:

...And actually width is a bigger problem than length. Skinny cars fit in the garage easier!....

Then a 2022 Maverick, with a width of 72.6 inches, might work well.

The 2021 TLX has a width of 75.2 inches.

The previous generation of TLX has a width of 73 inches.

roadburner

@oldfarmer50 said:
That car is sharp! I always like the 650s particularly the convertibles. But that price for those miles? I’d worry about what repairs were looming.

My SA and I both wished that BMW had brought over a six cylinder E63- the V8 isn’t horrible but the six is much easier to maintain. I was lucky to have a 645Ci to drive for a week.