Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

roadburner

My M235i called for plugs around 50k miles. The Condition Based Service system doesn’t use a fixed mileage so the replacement interval is dependent on driving style.

sda

nyccarguy said:

sda said:

roadburner said:

@sda said:

x3 Change the plugs. Audi/VW seem to call for replacement at more frequent intervals so don't second guess it. The Q5 and Passat also have that delay pulling from a stop. The severity of the delay seems to be how quick you get on the throttle, it hesitates then moves away with a burst of power. I've found that 'rolling' into the throttle eliminates that feeling and I can still quickly speed off. Of course driving in 'S' is always fun.

My old X3 and the Clubman both called for a plug change at 100k miles. I was late by over 12k miles on both. I noticed no difference in performance or economy in the case of the X3, but the Clubman picked up power and economy. My wife even noticed the difference in the Clubman.

I do find it curious that the Q5 required its first spark plug change at 35k. The intervals are every 40K thereafter. The Passat requires every 40k. It seems most manufacturers have the interval at 100-105k. Not sure why the intervals are so short on Audi/VW. I know there were issues with the coil packs in the early 2000s, guess they're being over cautious.

IIRC, my Mom's Cayennes called for new Plugs at 40K miles. On the 2011, my parents paid out of pocket for it. On the 2016 they bought prepaid maintenance for up to 50K miles.

We were extremely fortunate the original owner bought the pre-paid maintenance to 45K. That transferred over to us. The first major maintenance which included spark plug replacement was covered. The next service will be the first one I will have to pay for, which should be a simple oil change.

nyccarguy

sda said:

nyccarguy said:

sda said:

roadburner said:

@sda said:

x3 Change the plugs. Audi/VW seem to call for replacement at more frequent intervals so don't second guess it. The Q5 and Passat also have that delay pulling from a stop. The severity of the delay seems to be how quick you get on the throttle, it hesitates then moves away with a burst of power. I've found that 'rolling' into the throttle eliminates that feeling and I can still quickly speed off. Of course driving in 'S' is always fun.

My old X3 and the Clubman both called for a plug change at 100k miles. I was late by over 12k miles on both. I noticed no difference in performance or economy in the case of the X3, but the Clubman picked up power and economy. My wife even noticed the difference in the Clubman.

I do find it curious that the Q5 required its first spark plug change at 35k. The intervals are every 40K thereafter. The Passat requires every 40k. It seems most manufacturers have the interval at 100-105k. Not sure why the intervals are so short on Audi/VW. I know there were issues with the coil packs in the early 2000s, guess they're being over cautious.

IIRC, my Mom's Cayennes called for new Plugs at 40K miles. On the 2011, my parents paid out of pocket for it. On the 2016 they bought prepaid maintenance for up to 50K miles.

We were extremely fortunate the original owner bought the pre-paid maintenance to 45K. That transferred over to us. The first major maintenance which included spark plug replacement was covered. The next service will be the first one I will have to pay for, which should be a simple oil change.

When my parents took delivery of the 2nd Cayenne, they called me from the F&I office. The F&I manager asked them if they wanted to buy an extended warranty for $5K or $5,500 to bring the B2B to 100K miles. He also asked if we wanted to buy pre paid maintenance for $4,200. I quickly said no thank-you to both. They are going to trade the car in before it hits 50K miles & we are comfortable having it serviced by a local Porsche mechanic. He said: what if I can do the pre paid maintenance for $2,800? I said OK.

Fast forward a few years when they were searching for a Macan. After owning 2 Cayennes and seeing how much they depreciate when you drive 20 - 25K per year, my parents decided they wanted to lease, keep the car under warranty, & buy the prepaid maintenance. The lease programs are terrible and no dealer would discount the prepaid maintenance. It wasn't worth it for close to $1,500 per month for 2 years/25K miles per year.

jmonroe1

Sandman6472 said:

I like the Santa Cruz but just not sure I'd be the kind of customer to buy one. Thinking a small CUV will be just perfect for my needs.
After talking with some guys at work and having a co-worker drive the Golf, the majority think that slight nano second of no power is turbo lag and swapping out the spark plugs will most likely not improve the situation. Telling them that when I start out in "S" mode instead of "D" mode, the slight lag isn't there, makes them agree that new spark plugs are a waste. Seems a lot of turbos do this and changing the spark plugs will probably do nothing with this issue. So, think I'll just cancel the appointment and save myself $165. Their conclusion seems logical to me and haven't noticed a lot of gas consumption since new either. I might stop by & have them check out the brake fluid to see if it might not need to be replaced. Replaced the original brake fluid back at the 30K service so thinking that at 68K, might be time to do this again. But will see if he can just look at the fluid and see if it still looks in good shape. Figure if it's really black, he'll tell me and he'll just put new fluid in there. Original pads & rotors all around with no noises whatsoever, just wish the pedal grabbed a little bit higher. But don't want to throw money at something that doesn't need to be done right now.
Still, haven't driven anything out there that makes me want to swap out my keys with, maybe just best to keep what I got for now and keep on looking as new entries hit the market. At my age, think I'll maybe have two or three more cars in my future so this next one I want to be a fun one like the Golf has been over these past 6.5 years. Think it best to just get what I want & not worry about the price.

If your bake fluid is “really black”, having a lack of power due to plugs that need to be changed could be a real benefit to saving your life. Regardless of what @andres3 says, speed kills if you can’t stop in time.

FWIW, only a chemical analysis can tell you if your brake fluid is up to spec. Because of this, manufacturers make it easy on owners by recommending brake fluid change intervals at a predetermined time/mileage period.

In my book stop comes before go.

jmonroe

roadburner

@jmonroe1 said:
If your bake fluid is “really black”, having a lack of power due to plugs that need to be changed could be a real benefit to saving your life. Regardless of what @andres3 says, speed kills if you can’t stop in time.

FWIW, only a chemical analysis can tell you if your brake fluid is up to spec. Because of this, manufacturers make it easy on owners by recommending brake fluid change intervals at a predetermined time/mileage period.

In my book stop comes before go.

jmonroe

I change the brake fluid every two years on my street cars and every six months if the car is used on the track.

marcogallo1986

Good afternoon. All. So it doesn’t matter if I use Google, or my Facebook account, when I close the browser I still have to re-login every time. Edmonds is giving me issues with sending the link to reset my password gonna keep trying everyone. anyway send man think it’s time for a new car ha ha Ha. Can’t way you can comfortably afford it makes you happy. And six years you’re definitely way overdue for a new car. And he seems very nice I was watching the live stream review video from one of my favorite channels out there on YouTube, Readis rides. also I think TFL now, another one of my favorites to the video on the Z as well. Jay Monroe glad you maintain your cars very well sounds like you seem to be behaving yourself today but I just today ha ha Ha. Anyway everyone hope everyone’s having an awesome day, back to doing house stuff here fun fun fun will chat more later.

marcogallo1986

Yeah for the time being Sandman do the plugs if you’re gonna keep the car and I got a new ride anytime soon. And yeah Santa Cruz, and Maverick are basically little mini mini trucks that will appeal to many people at the Subaru Baja did true. Want to check both them out soon when I can anything beats watching YouTube videos checking them out in person. He’s the best with any ride.

corvette

Visited the Saab Heritage Museum in Sturgis, SD. A great collection.





Here are some highlights.

laurasdada

Very nice, corvette. Sigh.
Learned to drive in a '71 Saab 99, four on the floor with "freewheeling." That became my car to use.

Got rear ended by a drunk doing ~35+mph while at a stop sign late at night in my dad's '76 99 GLE?; car was shoved into intersection. Entire rear end crumpled, my two friends and I not a scratch and I drove the car home. The Capri that nailed me was totaled. Kid's father bought it back, fixed it up and kid totaled it again 6 moths later.

'95 900S, to avoid the dreaded SUV at the time. Probably just as utilitarian as the '02 Lexus RX300 it was traded for. But, a lot more fun to drive. Also, a stick, the last I've owned.

jmonroe1

marcogallo1986 said:

Good afternoon. All. So it doesn’t matter if I use Google, or my Facebook account, when I close the browser I still have to re-login every time. Edmonds is giving me issues with sending the link to reset my password gonna keep trying everyone. anyway send man think it’s time for a new car ha ha Ha. Can’t way you can comfortably afford it makes you happy. And six years you’re definitely way overdue for a new car. And he seems very nice I was watching the live stream review video from one of my favorite channels out there on YouTube, Readis rides. also I think TFL now, another one of my favorites to the video on the Z as well. Jay Monroe glad you maintain your cars very well sounds like you seem to be behaving yourself today but I just today ha ha Ha. Anyway everyone hope everyone’s having an awesome day, back to doing house stuff here fun fun fun will chat more later.

@marcogallo1986, I can only promise to work at it one day at a time. But it’s nice to know you can see the results.

jmonroe

kyfdx

Used Camry shopper needs advice:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/67021/toyota/camry/buying-a-used-2012-camry-xle-gas-any-advice-for-me#latest

mjfloyd1

Tom Wood Ford in Indianapolis is advertising (TV ad) up to $6000 off 2021 F150s. I suspect mop and glow for $5999

28firefighter

mjfloyd1 said:

Tom Wood Ford in Indianapolis is advertising (TV ad) up to $6000 off 2021 F150s. I suspect mop and glow for $5999

Up to $6000 off their $10,000 ADM price.

au1994

28firefighter said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Tom Wood Ford in Indianapolis is advertising (TV ad) up to $6000 off 2021 F150s. I suspect mop and glow for $5999

Up to $6000 off their $10,000 ADM price.

And it will arrive in 90 days.

mjfloyd1

Jeep Chat says Stinggrey 4xe was in paint yesterday. They said white one has all parts gathered for two days in a row 🤞

mjfloyd1

The Tom Wood ad actually said “tired of paying MSRP?” - so hopefully it’s the real deal discount

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

The Tom Wood ad actually said “tired of paying MSRP?” - so hopefully it’s the real deal discount

Well, they could have meant you can avoid paying MSRP by paying more than that.

[Deleted User]

mjfloyd1 said:

Jeep Chat says Stinggrey 4xe was in paint yesterday. They said white one has all parts gathered for two days in a row 🤞

What did I miss? You ordered two?!?!?

mjfloyd1

@dad23 said:
What did I miss? You ordered two?!?!?

Yes. One for each daughter. Gotta be fair. I suspect younger one will not want it (too big) but we will see.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

My guess is the Nissan Z won’t be quick enough for you, @roadburner . Still being built on the ancient FM platform, so expect it to be porky for its size. With 350 lb-ft torque, I doubt it will have strong pull out of corners.

I think it depends on the particular motor and rear gearing. I never thought my Mustang was super fast off the line because of the rear gear ratio. I saw a video today that compared the Coyote to the LS and Hemi. Both those latter engines were described as “torquey” while the Ford is supposed to be better at the top end. From my experience that’s true. So it could depend on how the drivetrain is set up.

As an aside, when I did the mods to my car it was claimed it gave me a 7200rpm red line up from 6500. I never tested that until Sunday when I found an empty highway ramp irresistible. That motor can rev! It pulled strong right past the old red line with no problem. Very satisfying.

explorerx4

Vehicles list on the Tom Wood website has some small discounts listed.
It did says up to 6k on 2020/2021's, so I'm assuming that might be on some 2020's.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

My guess is the Nissan Z won’t be quick enough for you, @roadburner . Still being built on the ancient FM platform, so expect it to be porky for its size. With 350 lb-ft torque, I doubt it will have strong pull out of corners.

I think it depends on the particular motor and rear gearing. I never thought my Mustang was super fast off the line because of the rear gear ratio. I saw a video today that compared the Coyote to the LS and Hemi. Both those latter engines were described as “torquey” while the Ford is supposed to be better at the top end. From my experience that’s true. So it could depend on how the drivetrain is set up.

As an aside, when I did the mods to my car it was claimed it gave me a 7200rpm red line up from 6500. I never tested that until Sunday when I found an empty highway ramp irresistible. That motor can rev! It pulled strong right past the old red line with no problem. Very satisfying.

I agree. Again, I think that my main issue with the 400Z would be waiting for all the dealer hijinks to end so that I can buy one at a reasonable price.

nyccarguy

@roadburner said:
I agree. Again, I think that my main issue with the 400Z would be waiting for all the dealer hijinks to end so that I can buy one at a reasonable price.

With a Nissan dealer, that’s at least 2 years away

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

Tom Wood Ford in Indianapolis is advertising (TV ad) up to $6000 off 2021 F150s. I suspect mop and glow for $5999

My local Hyundai dealer is advertising Elantra leases fir $139/mo. That’s sounds good but I’m wondering if that factors in big upfront money.

stickguy

cheap advertised leases always do.

benjaminh

This guy owns several Acuras, and his newest is a TLX Type S. This is not really an evaluation of the car, but more of a long and scenic road trip. The video is about 9-minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1swb47FZLM

nyccarguy

That color is awful

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
That color is awful

1976 wants it back.

fintail

Rear is a bit overstyled too - could the exhaust tips be any larger?

corvette

Has anyone used the Dr. Colorchip touch up kit? The Prius has a lot of chips on the hood and rear bumper. I’m thinking it would be very painstaking to make it look right using a standard touch up pen, and the Dr. Colorchip system seems to be easier to use, although more expensive.

benjaminh

Yeah, I like red on the TLX better.

This guy has already ordered his own base hybrid Maverick. Here he's checking out a loaded one at his local Ford dealer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z87IolE2LOE

explorerx4

@corvette,
I used Dr Colorchip on the hood of my wife's vehicle. It came out pretty good, although on some of the chips I put the paint on too thin. There is a lot left over to refill or fill new chips.

jmonroe1

corvette said:

Has anyone used the Dr. Colorchip touch up kit? The Prius has a lot of chips on the hood and rear bumper. I’m thinking it would be very painstaking to make it look right using a standard touch up pen, and the Dr. Colorchip system seems to be easier to use, although more expensive.

How many latex gloves do you estimate it will take to get a job you’ll be satisfied with.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe1,
I'll use the same glove that was originally included. It still looks ok to me.

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
I'll use the same glove that was originally included. It still looks ok to me.

Sooner or later you’re going to run out of fingers.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe1,
After I run out of fingers, I'll turn it inside out.
I'm cheap, so I cut the included cloth in half, too.

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
After I run out of fingers, I'll turn it inside out.
I'm cheap, so I cut the included cloth in half, too.

WOW. What else do you reverse and use again?

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonoe1,
Don't worry, I have no reversible clothing.

tjc78

More Maverick content. Sorry it’s Tiktok

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRNXy2H3/

stickguy

Really need the embargo to end so driving reviews can be published.

Seen a number of them on the Santa Cruz and overall very positive. Just ignore the “it ain’t a real truck” grumps. Most people don’t care that the DCT isn’t great at rock crawling off road.

tjc78

Yeah.. it’s not a real truck

And neither was the El Camino, Ranchero, Rampage, Baja etc

Different class of vehicle for a different purpose.

In all honesty it would be a great vehicle for our lifestyle going to the beach often, hauling light stuff between two homes, etc.

Easier to keep the bed free of sand/dirt than inside an SUV.

stickguy

I’m liking it. Just not the price. With a hitch could easily serve my needs. Just wish there was an SE turbo with moonroof, BLIS, power seat and car play. Closer to 30k.

au1994

Guess the factory is catching up from being down for a week or so…I was pulled up a week in the schedule to the week of 8/23. Probably going to go ahead and part with the Land Cruiser next week. Offers are a little softer than before plus those that have viewed in person are deducting for tires which it really does need. I’m still going to get what I paid for it and maybe a bit more so I can’t complain. I put a little maintenance into it but thats it. And my fair share of gas of course. The big V8 is fun to romp on but man, 14 mpg in town is tough!

Talking to my dealer yesterday and he says its not a chip shortage with FCA. They have plenty and are allocating them to high margin vehicles, specifically Wranglers and Ram’s. The problem is workers. They use a pod system and if, pre COVID, a pod had 10 worker’s, it now has 5 as they are trying to keep some measure of distance in the manufacturing process. Basically the line is just running slower is what I took away from it.

roadburner

If only this 440i was RWD.

stickguy

now that is a good looking car.

Michaell

@roadburner said:
If only this 440i was RWD.

As the saying goes, if your aunt had, er, huevos, she'd be your uncle.

The search continues...

qbrozen

Wow that is a bold price. About $8k-$9k markup.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

If only this 440i was RWD.

I like the looks of that. Is $49k a good price for a 3 year old 440?

Tonight I revisited local Mustang Mach 1 inventory and found a nice one in red very close by me. Sticker was about $54k but list price was $61k. I actually got on the dealer’s live chat (which I’m guessing is just an AI computer designed to get your info). I asked why the $61k price and only got requests for personal information. I finally told them that I assume it was an ADM and I wouldn’t play that game.

roadburner

qbrozen said:

Wow that is a bold price. About $8k-$9k markup.

It is CPO and has $4,500 of M Performance accessories- including the MPPSK. This is the second 440i xDrive manual I've found that is really nicely equipped. Meh.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
It is CPO and has $4,500 of M Performance accessories- including the MPPSK. This is the second 440i xDrive manual I've found that is really nicely equipped. Meh.

The auctions don’t care about the accessories.