Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

Cheap beaters, not so cheap any more.

xwesx

tifighter said:

Today's CL post. You can all tell me to drop the crack pipe-
Not usually a red fan, but itsa nice.

That thing looks sweet under the car cover! I might not ever drive it if it was mine.... just open the garage door and look at the covered car.

stickguy

Like an old rolls Royce. Just sit in to read the paper and smell the leather. Like a small gentleman’s den.

explorerx4

I saw one of those Maser convertibles(cream/tan) on my walk today.
Also a newly plated white Mach E in another driveway.

tifighter

fintail said:

I'm no expert as three pointed stars rather than tridents consume my funds, but I was thinking something of that age would be more like 30K. I know the market has inflated, but most of the inflation seems to be around more mass market offerings.

nyccarguy said:

tifighter said:

Today's CL post. You can all tell me to drop the crack pipe-
Not usually a red fan, but itsa nice.

I saw a Coupe version of this getting gas. That V8 sounds so damn good. There's no way that car is worth close to $50K is it?

It is hard to find comps, that's for sure. Pretty much all the listings I can find are for coupes. A 20k mile 2010 Cab went through BaT in Feb for $46K.

Wikipedia says 28,805 coupes, and 11,715 cabrios over the run, globally.

tifighter

xwesx said:

tifighter said:

Today's CL post. You can all tell me to drop the crack pipe-
Not usually a red fan, but itsa nice.

That thing looks sweet under the car cover! I might not ever drive it if it was mine.... just open the garage door and look at the covered car.

Yeah, this one is a looker for sure. I was relieved to find out it (probably wouldn't) fit in my garage spot.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
I see your town had some flooding. Another good reason to keep your Taco.

corvette

explorerx4 said:

Drove by a Chick Fil A in Wilkes-Barre PA on Monday about 2pm.
The parking lot was full and the double drive through lanes wrapped around the building.

It's the same here. There is an Arby's immediately next door to my local CFA, which is almost never busy. Which led me to a million dollar idea: Close and gut the Arby's and build a second CFA next door to the constantly busy CFA.

corvette

henryn said:

My mama cooked cornbread in a skillet, and it was round. And also had zero sugar. Impossible to get cornbread these days that isn't sweet.

My late grandmother used skillets, as well. I always preferred the smaller one with a thinner pour, since there was a higher crispy/crust ratio that way. No idea whether she added sugar, but it only tasted sweet if you added a pat of butter.

corvette

@tifighter - I prefer Maseratis of a slightly older vintage:
Beautiful Italian Paperweight!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

A bit up there in miles, but looks nice. Not like I put many on. Price is right for this market.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2005-ford-f150-stx-274k-miles/7343588349.html

With a stick and lower price, I’d like this too.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2006-honda-civic-ex-special/7335118052.html

But I’m not this brave even if it was a stick. Laughing at $1,200 estimate to fix. If real, it would be fixed. Maybe that was just the down payment. Looks like a JRGO special.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2000-bmw-series/7342033510.html

Is it just my low mile fetish or are those really high miles on those. But what do I know, the market is in the Twilight Zone. I think your best bet is to canvas your neighbors and relatives for pending sales.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Cheap beaters, not so cheap any more.

How about this one to hold you over until prices stabilize?

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/amityville-2005-honda-civic-3000/7340194188.html

nyccarguy

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,
I see your town had some flooding. Another good reason to keep your Taco.

There was actually much more flooding in The Bronx (unless that’s what you are talking about) where I work. Major highways were flooded.

mjfloyd1

@xwesx said:
I like the sound of forksy better than tooksy. ;D

I’ve been @xwesx’d again

xwesx

mjfloyd1 said:

I’ve been @xwesx’d again

Possibly, but I helped name your daughters' Wranglers, so a little more appreciation is in order!

I'll wait for it; this may be something better retrospected than prospected.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

A bit up there in miles, but looks nice. Not like I put many on. Price is right for this market.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2005-ford-f150-stx-274k-miles/7343588349.html

With a stick and lower price, I’d like this too.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2006-honda-civic-ex-special/7335118052.html

But I’m not this brave even if it was a stick. Laughing at $1,200 estimate to fix. If real, it would be fixed. Maybe that was just the down payment. Looks like a JRGO special.

https://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/d/voorhees-2000-bmw-series/7342033510.html

Is it just my low mile fetish or are those really high miles on those. But what do I know, the market is in the Twilight Zone. I think your best bet is to canvas your neighbors and relatives for pending sales.

No, it isn't just you. 274k miles on that Ford pickup is ... words fail me. Just too much, I guess. I find it very hard to believe there is much useful life left in any car or truck with that many miles.

stickguy

even for a pickup that often run up big miles, that is a lot. Not long ago that was what, a $1,500 runner that you used as long as it lasted then threw out? For me, not a huge deal since doing maybe 2K a year is not that risky if it already made it that far!

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

Cheap beaters, not so cheap any more.

How about this one to hold you over until prices stabilize?

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/amityville-2005-honda-civic-3000/7340194188.html

I like that vintage Civic. but that one looks like a beater. Plus had a replacement motor thrown in? not a good vibe.

mjfloyd1

@xwesx said:
Possibly, but I helped name your daughters' Wranglers, so a little more appreciation is in order!

I'll wait for it; this may be something better retrospected than prospected.

You are going to have to wait for it

stickguy

stopped after dinner to show the wife a Kona (Hyundai dealer was right next to the bookstore she wanted to go to anyway). Pulled in, and happened to find a spot right next to their demo Kona (they keep some samples out front). And conveniently, it was unlocked. So was able to get in and poke around without even talking to anyone.

it was an SEL AWD. So, the 2.slow motor. Sticker was about $25,800. Manual cloth seats and no moonroof. otherwise, pretty well equipped. Really nice looking red too. tan interior, looked nice and bright and airy.

I thought the wife would hate it, but she surprised me. She thought it was "cute" and liked the interior. For something that small, it had quite a lot of usable interior room. Plenty big enough for us. And really had the perfect hip point height to slide right in. Not crawling in like a sedan or climbing up like bigger CUVs. Nice boxy cargo area too.

so, really a nice option if I decided to get a normal car instead of a pickup or sports car. I do want to drive one first, but I assume it drives similar to an Elantra. Just need to find a limited with the 1.6t engine, power seat and moonroof.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

@jmonroe1 said:

So, Mrs. @roadburner is already set for her “wants”. Is there going to be anything left for you after she gets hers?

jmonroe

There is enough to go around, I just have a mental/financial block about spending north of $60k for a car.

Sounds like another way of saying you’re cheap and it’s because of your mental condition.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

corvette said:

explorerx4 said:

Drove by a Chick Fil A in Wilkes-Barre PA on Monday about 2pm.
The parking lot was full and the double drive through lanes wrapped around the building.

It's the same here. There is an Arby's immediately next door to my local CFA, which is almost never busy. Which led me to a million dollar idea: Close and gut the Arby's and build a second CFA next door to the constantly busy CFA.

Somehow, Arby’s-fil-A just doesn’t sound right.

jmonroe

benjaminh

stickguy said:

stopped after dinner to show the wife a Kona ....
so, really a nice option if I decided to get a normal car instead of a pickup or sports car. I do want to drive one first, but I assume it drives similar to an Elantra. Just need to find a limited with the 1.6t engine, power seat and moonroof.

The Kona at my dealer equipped that way has an msrp of c. 31k—plus an additional dealer mark-up of 4k. 35k for a Kona seems....wrong. But as we know so much of the vehicle market is that way right now.

I saw a youtube video by "your auto advocate" (now YAA) warning against paying thousands above msrp for a car at this point, because when prices crash you could be buried in negative equity.

PS Stocks continue to fall at my local Honda dealer, a large place called Honda World. Planet Honda there has shrunk from hundreds of new vehicles to a few dozen. The worst may still be ahead as far as I can tell. Not a single Pilot in stock, which is normally one of their biggest sellers. I'm surprised there aren't more stories in Car and Driver, MT, etc. on the new car drought of 2021.

stickguy

the Hyundia dealer was like that. Something like 57 Elantras listed, but 3 Konas, 5 sonatas, 3 Santa Fes. Something like that.

corvette

I'm assuming Pilots and the like are "available," but are already sold (at MSRP or higher) once they arrive on the truck. I think the third generation Toyota Highlander was like that for a while. And, of course, any Honda in the 1980s. The early CR-X my dad bought, he had to visit a dealer to get on the wait list. They eventually called him and said they had gotten a delivery. The options were a red one or a white one.

henryn

corvette said:

explorerx4 said:

Drove by a Chick Fil A in Wilkes-Barre PA on Monday about 2pm.
The parking lot was full and the double drive through lanes wrapped around the building.

It's the same here. There is an Arby's immediately next door to my local CFA, which is almost never busy. Which led me to a million dollar idea: Close and gut the Arby's and build a second CFA next door to the constantly busy CFA.

I would go to Arby's a dozen times for every one stop at CFA. No accounting for taste, I guess.

henryn

benjaminh said:

PS Stocks continue to fall at my local Honda dealer, a large place called Honda World. Planet Honda there has shrunk from hundreds of new vehicles to a few dozen. The worst may still be ahead as far as I can tell. Not a single Pilot in stock, which is normally one of their biggest sellers. I'm surprised there aren't more stories in Car and Driver, MT, etc. on the new car drought of 2021.

Many people are completely oblivious to what is going on in the car market. Tonight I was out with my Meetup group, dancing to a Beatles tribute band who are quite good. I was talking with an attractive woman who happens to be a banker, works in loan approval. She is quite well aware of what is going on, she is seeing a lot of loan applications for ridiculous amounts and mostly turns them down unless they have extremely good credit.

She said a lot of people are going to wind up upside down on their car loans, and I can readily believe that.

benjaminh

stickguy said:

the Hyundia dealer was like that. Something like 57 Elantras listed, but 3 Konas, 5 sonatas, 3 Santa Fes. Something like that.

That's why my guess is that the only car on their lot that you might be able to negotiate on would be that manual transmission N line Elantra. And even that one maybe not. Hyundai is still offering 0% for up to 60 months on Elantras, but looking at the fine print the N line isn't included.

Are there any good leases on the Volvo S60? Those are probably all gone as well. At this point it's probably at or above msrp for almost everything, everywhere. And as we all know used car prices are through the roof too, even on old cars with high miles like those you listed.

I think there's a chance that you might be stuck, stickguy, with being carless for a while, because there's almost nothing out there that's going to appeal to you as a vehicle, while also appealing to you as a good deal. But think of the money you'll save in the next several months!

explorerx4

A new playground for Qbrozen(where the car was purchased).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLewUck2MM

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

Cheap beaters, not so cheap any more.

How about this one to hold you over until prices stabilize?

https://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/d/amityville-2005-honda-civic-3000/7340194188.html

I like that vintage Civic. but that one looks like a beater. Plus had a replacement motor thrown in? not a good vibe.

Isn’t that what you’re looking for, a beater that you can have fun with and abuse until the market calms down? If you have to pay twice what a used car is worth why not do it with a cheap one? When you get your fun toy next year you can leave this one on the side of the road and walk.

I’ve paid less than that for most of my hoopties and most have gone many miles.

And this one is a Honda which go a million miles without an oil change.

benjaminh

Since the Kona with the optional turbo and moonroof has an msrp of about 30k, once prices come down maybe consider A CR-V EX or EXL?....

kyfdx

stickguy said:

even for a pickup that often run up big miles, that is a lot. Not long ago that was what, a $1,500 runner that you used as long as it lasted then threw out? For me, not a huge deal since doing maybe 2K a year is not that risky if it already made it that far!

In the '80s/'90s, we routinely put 300K on E-350 Econolines. But, by that time, the vehicle was used up. Body welds and everything else had taken a beating.

sda

benjaminh said:

stickguy said:

stopped after dinner to show the wife a Kona ....
so, really a nice option if I decided to get a normal car instead of a pickup or sports car. I do want to drive one first, but I assume it drives similar to an Elantra. Just need to find a limited with the 1.6t engine, power seat and moonroof.

The Kona at my dealer equipped that way has an msrp of c. 31k—plus an additional dealer mark-up of 4k. 35k for a Kona seems....wrong. But as we know so much of the vehicle market is that way right now.

I saw a youtube video by "your auto advocate" (now YAA) warning against paying thousands above msrp for a car at this point, because when prices crash you could be buried in negative equity.

PS Stocks continue to fall at my local Honda dealer, a large place called Honda World. Planet Honda there has shrunk from hundreds of new vehicles to a few dozen. The worst may still be ahead as far as I can tell. Not a single Pilot in stock, which is normally one of their biggest sellers. I'm surprised there aren't more stories in Car and Driver, MT, etc. on the new car drought of 2021.

I witness the same trend locally. I guess the HR-V isn’t selling or Honda was able to produce those in Mexico where chips were available instead of the US where chip supply is scarce?

benjaminh

Yeah, kind of a mystery about the HR-V, but here's my guess. Most of Honda's vehicles are pretty competitive with similar vehicles from Toyota, Ford, whatever, but the HR-V I think is considered underpowered, small, and overall just not that impressive. And so my guess is that very few who want a CR-V can be convinced to go down to an HR-V instead.

Sandman6472

At the Acura dealer in Delray yesterday and saw a pre-owned 2018 ILX w/ AcuraWatch Plus, CPO if I'm not mistaken with just shy of 27K miles, 26,980 to be exact, asking price of $22,785. A pearl white color over a light brown interior and it the sun, a gorgeous vehicle. They also had a couple TLX with the red interior and the A-Spec option that my buddy was interested in.
Just wish the ILX was a bit smaller in length as it was a really nice looking vehicle. Not sure if it's the same size as the A3 but a vehicle I think we'd both enjoy.

Sandman6472

The leak has not come back since the other day but we've decided to still drop it off to see if there is an issue. My gut is telling me that it might happen again so best we get it checked out and if it turns out to be nothing, at lest we'll know one way or the other. And if something is wrong, we'll be catching it early. No way she wants to trade out of her A3 now, so might as well keep things fixed as they occur. Same thinking we're having with the Golf, fix whatever is wrong until there is inventory out there to choose from. Paying inflated prices right now is a bit crazy and we're not willing to do that. And since the new 2022 Bolt, Corolla Cross and GTI aren't even out yet, we'll just fix whatever goes wrong.

Sandman6472

New tire is fine, and no longer is the Golf pulling to the right a bit. I had inquired about swapping the remaining right front tire to the left but the service guy said to leave things as they are and put the new tire on the left front, and see what happens. Turns out he was right as the car was aligned a couple of months ago and I've really tried not to hit any curbs or pot holes. Car tracks nice & straight now with a centered steering wheel, so I'm happy. Just need to get it washed as the brake dust is a bit too much on the alloys. Now that the rains have subsided for a bit, time to run it through the local car wash and vacuum it out. Plan to clean out the interior before I go though as it's a bit messy to be honest. And I've been taking my one co-worker home most days since he still hasn't replaced his Versa he sold to Carvana yet. He has an older Civic in his garage that he needs to get running so he'll have some wheels. Just needs to get a few more parts and do it! The two Nissan dealers he's been dealing with on a couple of new Versa's are still a bit off on the monthly payment he wants. Have suggested they meet in the middle but as of now, no one is budging, so he's still without useable wheels going on three weeks now. If that were me, I'd be going nuts having no vehicle to use!

qbrozen

@explorerx4 said:
A new playground for Qbrozen(where the car was purchased).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLewUck2MM

Damn, man, why you gotta do me like that? I ain’t got money to be throwin around right now on those. Lol.
Lincoln was a nice score.

benjaminh

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/07/where-your-author-ultimately-decides-to-give-up-golf-part-iii/

"....Given driving would not return to The Before Times, the seemingly stupid prices consumers are willing to pay for used cars these days, and the irritation I experience every single time the dealer got hold of the Golf, it was maybe time to sell. The dealer’s GM reached out previously to say hello after seeing an article here (hello there!) and said he was interested in buying the Golf. At the time I’d said I liked having two cars (which I really do) and didn’t want to sell. But I came around, as one does when an idea plants itself Inception-like in one’s mind....

I asked “Any wiggle room?” Received a response the next day, with an attached screenshot of comparable cars for sale (I love seeing comps). He could come up to $22,500. I went to grab my title and check the purchase price, as that’s one of those figures you forget. $22,678, plus $1,587 to the Ohio government. That’ll do, I said....The Golf’s already listed for sale at an ask of $26,000."

jmonroe1

henryn said:

corvette said:

explorerx4 said:

Drove by a Chick Fil A in Wilkes-Barre PA on Monday about 2pm.
The parking lot was full and the double drive through lanes wrapped around the building.

It's the same here. There is an Arby's immediately next door to my local CFA, which is almost never busy. Which led me to a million dollar idea: Close and gut the Arby's and build a second CFA next door to the constantly busy CFA.

I would go to Arby's a dozen times for every one stop at CFA. No accounting for taste, I guess.

Ain’t that true.

jmonroe

henryn

qbrozen said:

@explorerx4 said:

A new playground for Qbrozen(where the car was purchased).

Damn, man, why you gotta do me like that? I ain’t got money to be throwin around right now on those. Lol.

Lincoln was a nice score.

--------------end quoted material--------------------------

I have to disagree with that conclusion (Lincoln was a nice score). $3k for a 26 year old car that comes home on a wrecker? With tires that are 18 years old (very unsafe to be driving on). Yes, the interior looked nice but I would definitely take a pass on that one.

In the pre-pandemic times, that would have been at most a $1k car. At most.

Back in 2012, I was in need of basic transportation for a fairly short period. I found a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis at a dealer, and paid $3,500. It was clean inside and out. It did not need tires, the A/C worked, I drove it for about a year and sold it for $300 less than I paid for it. During that year, it needed no repairs and cost me nothing but an oil change. That is the kind of car you want to be looking for.

jmonroe1

Sandman6472 said:

New tire is fine, and no longer is the Golf pulling to the right a bit. I had inquired about swapping the remaining right front tire to the left but the service guy said to leave things as they are and put the new tire on the left front, and see what happens. Turns out he was right as the car was aligned a couple of months ago and I've really tried not to hit any curbs or pot holes. Car tracks nice & straight now with a centered steering wheel, so I'm happy. Just need to get it washed as the brake dust is a bit too much on the alloys. Now that the rains have subsided for a bit, time to run it through the local car wash and vacuum it out. Plan to clean out the interior before I go though as it's a bit messy to be honest. And I've been taking my one co-worker home most days since he still hasn't replaced his Versa he sold to Carvana yet. He has an older Civic in his garage that he needs to get running so he'll have some wheels. Just needs to get a few more parts and do it! The two Nissan dealers he's been dealing with on a couple of new Versa's are still a bit off on the monthly payment he wants. Have suggested they meet in the middle but as of now, no one is budging, so he's still without useable wheels going on three weeks now. If that were me, I'd be going nuts having no vehicle to use!

C’mon man, you’re the enabler.

jmonroe

tjc78

@henryn said:
--------------end quoted material--------------------------

I have to disagree with that conclusion (Lincoln was a nice score). $3k for a 26 year old car that comes home on a wrecker? With tires that are 18 years old (very unsafe to be driving on). Yes, the interior looked nice but I would definitely take a pass on that one.

In the pre-pandemic times, that would have been at most a $1k car. At most.

Back in 2012, I was in need of basic transportation for a fairly short period. I found a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis at a dealer, and paid $3,500. It was clean inside and out. It did not need tires, the A/C worked, I drove it for about a year and sold it for $300 less than I paid for it. During that year, it needed no repairs and cost me nothing but an oil change. That is the kind of car you want to be looking for.

Wow. I sold my 04 for more than that in Nov 2016.

qbrozen

@henryn said:

I have to disagree with that conclusion (Lincoln was a nice score). $3k for a 26 year old car that comes home on a wrecker? With tires that are 18 years old (very unsafe to be driving on). Yes, the interior looked nice but I would definitely take a pass on that one.

In the pre-pandemic times, that would have been at most a $1k car. At most.

Back in 2012, I was in need of basic transportation for a fairly short period. I found a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis at a dealer, and paid $3,500. It was clean inside and out. It did not need tires, the A/C worked, I drove it for about a year and sold it for $300 less than I paid for it. During that year, it needed no repairs and cost me nothing but an oil change. That is the kind of car you want to be looking for.

How many miles did yours have? The panthers have become more valuable, even pre-pandemic. Low-mile examples command a premium. Can he flip it for a profit? Not likely. I could see $4500-$5k well-sorted, and it will take him some money to get there. He wasn’t clear if his $3k included the fees or not.

henryn

qbrozen said:

@henryn said:

I have to disagree with that conclusion (Lincoln was a nice score). $3k for a 26 year old car that comes home on a wrecker? With tires that are 18 years old (very unsafe to be driving on). Yes, the interior looked nice but I would definitely take a pass on that one.

In the pre-pandemic times, that would have been at most a $1k car. At most.

Back in 2012, I was in need of basic transportation for a fairly short period. I found a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis at a dealer, and paid $3,500. It was clean inside and out. It did not need tires, the A/C worked, I drove it for about a year and sold it for $300 less than I paid for it. During that year, it needed no repairs and cost me nothing but an oil change. That is the kind of car you want to be looking for.

How many miles did yours have? The panthers have become more valuable, even pre-pandemic. Low-mile examples command a premium. Can he flip it for a profit? Not likely. I could see $4500-$5k well-sorted, and it will take him some money to get there. He wasn’t clear if his $3k included the fees or not.

I would think that he would be well north of $5k by the time he gets it "well sorted". He stated the fan was $140, and new tires will run about 6 hundred (not buying premium tires). And the air conditioning wasn't working well. He will be lucky if he gets off for $1k fixing the A/C. And if it's been basically sitting for several years (as appears to be the case), there will likely be more repairs needed. Definitely a gamble, and one not likely to pay off.

I guess if he has fun doing it, then that's all that matters.

And the 2003 Grand Marquis had about 140k, but it was solid. 140k is not so bad on a Panther, especially if it has been maintained. One that has half the miles, but has sat for years would be a lot less likely to be trouble free.

roadburner

Some of you might remember the case I had involving a MGM that was partially submerged in a pond. I pled the case out and obtained $3,500 for the victim. I would not have been able to recover that much, but one defendant violated his bond conditions and was looking at an extended stay in our Crossbar Hilton until his trial date.

explorerx4

The same guy just bought an auction Crown Vic PI for a client in Germany.
It was in pretty decent shape and he got it pretty cheap, maybe around $2500?

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@henryn said:

I have to disagree with that conclusion (Lincoln was a nice score). $3k for a 26 year old car that comes home on a wrecker? With tires that are 18 years old (very unsafe to be driving on). Yes, the interior looked nice but I would definitely take a pass on that one.

In the pre-pandemic times, that would have been at most a $1k car. At most.

Back in 2012, I was in need of basic transportation for a fairly short period. I found a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis at a dealer, and paid $3,500. It was clean inside and out. It did not need tires, the A/C worked, I drove it for about a year and sold it for $300 less than I paid for it. During that year, it needed no repairs and cost me nothing but an oil change. That is the kind of car you want to be looking for.

How many miles did yours have? The panthers have become more valuable, even pre-pandemic. Low-mile examples command a premium. Can he flip it for a profit? Not likely. I could see $4500-$5k well-sorted, and it will take him some money to get there. He wasn’t clear if his $3k included the fees or not.

If he is going to drive it for a little while and the AC isn’t a total mess he could probably break even. Maybe make $500.

A lot of fans of the 95-97 Models.

laurasdada

Hello, All:
Went to a Cars n' Coffee this morning at a local auto museum and park (former turn of the 20th century millionaire's estate). Tomorrow, on the lawn, British Car Day. I plan to go.

Fun, got a free t-shirt from a Boston luxury/performance dealership (New, Maserati/Alfa. With tasty used...). Highlight of the look, but no sit in cars, for me was a bright red Alfa Romeo Montreal. With the window hand crank handle on the passenger's seat. Viva Italia!

Second highlight, a brand new-ish looking 911S with a PCA badge. And the license plate of "LOL PDK." Stick, of course. I'm sure that would bring a knowing smile to most here.

Talked Aston Martin with the above mentioned dealer. His advice, be the second owner (Thanks, Captain Obvious! He admitted large depreciation. Yes, I owned two Jags). Perhaps of the '19 DBS the were showing, originally a mere $330k. But, now a giveaway at $260k. I thought long and hard, smiled and turned and ran away as fast as I could. Actually discussed used DB11 V8, he noted prices should be in the low $100s; locally prices are in the mid-$100s.

Latter day Ford GTs; NSX, Evora GT, R8, assorted Porsche, including a 918 in the museum. Lots of Lambos, McLaren, C8 & C7 Vettes but surprisingly not a Ferrari or Maser in sight. A Nissan Skyline GTR, right hand drive (JDM). As well as the former estate owner's collection of turn of 20th century cars; Winton, Fiat, a Bailey electric; many strange and wonderful horse-less carriage machines.

So, in conclusion, I would have been much smarter to be rich. Lesson learned.

laurasdada

And, followed by a Chik Fil A lunch. Which, I enjoyed while reading Car and Driver.

Meanwhile, LF test drove an Audi Q5e; she really liked it, much more powerful than the strictly dino version, she felt. She loves the Audi interior, but seats aren't as comfy as GLC and X3e. She also doesn't like run-flats (replacement cost mostly; I have explained to her that when the time comes, we can shop go-flats. Like my A7e, the Q5e comes with go-flats and a can of goo/inflator) which is the strike against the X3e. But, she plans to test drive all again.

She did 3 test drives of the CX-5 before buying. Smart woman.