Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I absolutely love these. Looks like a nice one that must have sat a long time, but was refurbed correctly. Going to be more than much budget I assume. Pretty rare these days to see an original, low mile model.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rJlZQyaz/1982-toyota-celica-supra

for something newer, this is gorgeous. A few red flags (dirty carfax and a clutch at 11k miles) might be keeping the bidding down. Could be a fun toy.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3L0kbBO7/2015-ford-mustang-gt-50-years-limited-edition-coupe

I don’t get the Celica, less than a thousand miles a year. What was the owner saving it for?

stickguy

seems odd to me too. not like it is a Ferrari. Must have been somebodies toy. Either that or it got stored for a long time.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

I see a hood repaint in the future of that Mustang.

That hood is rough but is typical of those aluminum fronts. I had mine touched up twice. Sounds like that car lead a hard life.

I don’t know how desirable those anniversary editions are.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

saw that too. the OF special.

Ford had that problem for years. While peeling paint might be ok on a beater, if I paid the premium price that Mustang probably commanded I would be royalty POed at that level of build quality.

When I had my hood done it was no where near as bad:

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
I don't remember the Transit being uncomfortable on the 1,000 miles I put on it one weekend. But I was paying $52/day to rent, not $80k to own! Not Acura or Lexus seats by any stretch, but I have had a lot worse. And this was the high roof version, so headroom, not an issue. Considering I could stand straight up and not hit anything.

This one did not have the stock seats, though. And, while I’m sure most would be comfortable, it just didn’t work from my 6’5” frame.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

I don't remember the Transit being uncomfortable on the 1,000 miles I put on it one weekend. But I was paying $52/day to rent, not $80k to own! Not Acura or Lexus seats by any stretch, but I have had a lot worse. And this was the high roof version, so headroom, not an issue. Considering I could stand straight up and not hit anything.

This one did not have the stock seats, though. And, while I’m sure most would be comfortable, it just didn’t work from my 6’5” frame.

I never thought a van’s driver’s seat was uncomfortable. Any passengers behind the driver were in for slow torture though. My Chevy is bare bones with no power seat or tilt wheel. I must have gotten lucky because it fits me fine. The Transits I’ve driven were even better. None of them were as quiet as a car or SUV.

Sandman6472

Not sure I would want to do a Transit van as my d d to be honest. I personally do not like driving them and glad we're back in the Voyager now as our chase vehicle. They just seem so big and unstable but to each their own I guess.

Sandman6472

Drove a couple different shuttle Camry's at work today and all of them no longer have Sirius/XM radio anymore. A real shame as it was a nice perk having it in the background to be honest. And doubt the extra cost for the six shuttle vehicles would be that much per year but guess the dealership doesn't see the need to continue it. But I do like the way the newer Camry drives, plenty of power and the seats are pretty comfortable.
Don't see me going past the holidays though at this point. Plan on going to see my boss at Enterprise and asking for possibly working every other Thursday and see what happens. They asked a bunch of us to work this past Thursday but since I had plans already, I had to decline. At least ask earlier in the day instead of waiting to almost 5 pm to then ask us to work. This working just over 40 hours each week is just not something I want to do much longer but an extra day every other week would be easier. My spinal issues aren't getting any better to be honest, and find myself moving slower then ever before. On my n/s days, I'm more tired than I used to be and find that I'm not able to do as much as I used to. My wife mentioned it to me last week and said is everything alright? She said I don't appear to be my usual happy self and told her that it's getting harder and harder to work these extra hours at the Toyota dealer. She said it's simple...quit! Give your notice and leave if you're not happy. So, am thinking of waiting till years end and then letting them know I'm leaving. The last two weeks of December are going to be a bit rough as a couple folks are taking off and I was already asked to fill in on Thursday of those weeks since we'll be closed on the 25th and 1st. Said yes without thinking it through so now feel obligated to stay on through then.
It definitely is the best thing to do for me at this point. It was something I've always wanted to do and now, I've done it. So, as of now, will work till the first of the year and then say adios. It definitely is the right thing to do going forward and now that I've made a decision, feel so much better!

roadburner

stickguy said:

I know white over black is not a favored combo, but is an M4 suitable? 3 pedals, no opening roof, seems to have the right stuff!

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/36Waza4Z/2021-bmw-m4-coupe

Nice! But certain to go for considerably over my budget.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Drove a couple different shuttle Camry's at work today and all of them no longer have Sirius/XM radio anymore. A real shame as it was a nice perk having it in the background to be honest. And doubt the extra cost for the six shuttle vehicles would be that much per year but guess the dealership doesn't see the need to continue it. But I do like the way the newer Camry drives, plenty of power and the seats are pretty comfortable.
Don't see me going past the holidays though at this point. Plan on going to see my boss at Enterprise and asking for possibly working every other Thursday and see what happens. They asked a bunch of us to work this past Thursday but since I had plans already, I had to decline. At least ask earlier in the day instead of waiting to almost 5 pm to then ask us to work. This working just over 40 hours each week is just not something I want to do much longer but an extra day every other week would be easier. My spinal issues aren't getting any better to be honest, and find myself moving slower then ever before. On my n/s days, I'm more tired than I used to be and find that I'm not able to do as much as I used to. My wife mentioned it to me last week and said is everything alright? She said I don't appear to be my usual happy self and told her that it's getting harder and harder to work these extra hours at the Toyota dealer. She said it's simple...quit! Give your notice and leave if you're not happy. So, am thinking of waiting till years end and then letting them know I'm leaving. The last two weeks of December are going to be a bit rough as a couple folks are taking off and I was already asked to fill in on Thursday of those weeks since we'll be closed on the 25th and 1st. Said yes without thinking it through so now feel obligated to stay on through then.
It definitely is the best thing to do for me at this point. It was something I've always wanted to do and now, I've done it. So, as of now, will work till the first of the year and then say adios. It definitely is the right thing to do going forward and now that I've made a decision, feel so much better!

Sandy, up here. They have been asking for weekend volunteers all summer to work the airport. They won’t hire enough cleaning staff so they aren’t able to clean the cars and shuttle them back and forth. Now we do the driving while the cleaners….clean.

That extra work ended this past weekend but they still assign us to the airport on our regular days. The company has to be careful not to give us more than 30 hours/week average or they would have to pay benefits.

greg128

explorerx4 said:

I see a hood repaint in the future of that Mustang.

I see most aluminum hoods and tailgates on Ford vehicles over 6 or so years old with the paint bubbling issue. Hopefully they have found a solution for it by now. There are millions of aluminum body F-150s out there.
Potentially plenty of work for body shops.

qbrozen

Whew! Resale on those Sprinters is NUTS. Kind of forces us to order new. About $68k new loaded up and auction value on 3-yr-old versions is $61k. After dropping $5k-$7k on moonroof and RES, it’ll still be $5k less than the Transit Explorer. Go figure. BTW, the 4wd is a diesel. So win-win, IMHO.

Having a very tough time parsing the options, though. For example, select the 10” screen with nav and it says backup cam not compatible. Huh? It you want backup cam, it makes you drop to 7” non-nav. Now, it COULD be that the 10” comes with the 360-view cam, but it doesn’t specify that, so I can’t be sure. Then it has so many other mystery options. Like “comfort bench seats” in the rear. So are the standard ones not comfortable? Are they even benches standard? It doesn’t say.

BTW, I’m here in SC this morn. Killing time till the uhaul place opens. 6 am was the only flight. Left the house at 2:45am today. Ouch.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Whew! Resale on those Sprinters is NUTS. Kind of forces us to order new. About $68k new loaded up and auction value on 3-yr-old versions is $61k. After dropping $5k-$7k on moonroof and RES, it’ll still be $5k less than the Transit Explorer. Go figure. BTW, the 4wd is a diesel. So win-win, IMHO.

Having a very tough time parsing the options, though. For example, select the 10” screen with nav and it says backup cam not compatible. Huh? It you want backup cam, it makes you drop to 7” non-nav. Now, it COULD be that the 10” comes with the 360-view cam, but it doesn’t specify that, so I can’t be sure. Then it has so many other mystery options. Like “comfort bench seats” in the rear. So are the standard ones not comfortable? Are they even benches standard? It doesn’t say.

BTW, I’m here in SC this morn. Killing time till the uhaul place opens. 6 am was the only flight. Left the house at 2:45am today. Ouch.

Maybe look at pictures of used ones to try and see the differences?

You are correct the backup cam makes no sense.

jmonroe1

@tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:
Whew! Resale on those Sprinters is NUTS. Kind of forces us to order new. About $68k new loaded up and auction value on 3-yr-old versions is $61k. After dropping $5k-$7k on moonroof and RES, it’ll still be $5k less than the Transit Explorer. Go figure. BTW, the 4wd is a diesel. So win-win, IMHO.

Having a very tough time parsing the options, though. For example, select the 10” screen with nav and it says backup cam not compatible. Huh? It you want backup cam, it makes you drop to 7” non-nav. Now, it COULD be that the 10” comes with the 360-view cam, but it doesn’t specify that, so I can’t be sure. Then it has so many other mystery options. Like “comfort bench seats” in the rear. So are the standard ones not comfortable? Are they even benches standard? It doesn’t say.

BTW, I’m here in SC this morn. Killing time till the uhaul place opens. 6 am was the only flight. Left the house at 2:45am today. Ouch.

Maybe look at pictures of used ones to try and see the differences?

You are correct the backup cam makes no sense.

Hey, what do you think about this? Maybe they can’t get the large chips required for the 10 inch display. I can almost hear a salesman shooting from the hip about that.

jmonroe

sda

qbrozen said:

Whew! Resale on those Sprinters is NUTS. Kind of forces us to order new. About $68k new loaded up and auction value on 3-yr-old versions is $61k. After dropping $5k-$7k on moonroof and RES, it’ll still be $5k less than the Transit Explorer. Go figure. BTW, the 4wd is a diesel. So win-win, IMHO.

Having a very tough time parsing the options, though. For example, select the 10” screen with nav and it says backup cam not compatible. Huh? It you want backup cam, it makes you drop to 7” non-nav. Now, it COULD be that the 10” comes with the 360-view cam, but it doesn’t specify that, so I can’t be sure. Then it has so many other mystery options. Like “comfort bench seats” in the rear. So are the standard ones not comfortable? Are they even benches standard? It doesn’t say.

BTW, I’m here in SC this morn. Killing time till the uhaul place opens. 6 am was the only flight. Left the house at 2:45am today. Ouch.

Good luck! Hope the closing and all goes smoothly. Exciting fun times ahead!

oldfarmer50

greg128 said:

explorerx4 said:

I see a hood repaint in the future of that Mustang.

I see most aluminum hoods and tailgates on Ford vehicles over 6 or so years old with the paint bubbling issue. Hopefully they have found a solution for it by now. There are millions of aluminum body F-150s out there.
Potentially plenty of work for body shops.

Mine started bubbling at 9k miles and then again at 12k. Both times fixed by the dealer. My friend had a 2012 Mustang and the whole leading edge peeled off. I don’t know if they fixed it by now but they’ve had the problem since 2005 so I’m not optimistic.

qbrozen

@sda said:
Good luck! Hope the closing and all goes smoothly. Exciting fun times ahead!

Thanks. Closing is done. We did that remotely on Fri.

These people seriously left EVERYTHING! Like I want their sheets and towels? Seriously?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Whew! Resale on those Sprinters is NUTS. Kind of forces us to order new. About $68k new loaded up and auction value on 3-yr-old versions is $61k. After dropping $5k-$7k on moonroof and RES, it’ll still be $5k less than the Transit Explorer. Go figure. BTW, the 4wd is a diesel. So win-win, IMHO.

Having a very tough time parsing the options, though. For example, select the 10” screen with nav and it says backup cam not compatible. Huh? It you want backup cam, it makes you drop to 7” non-nav. Now, it COULD be that the 10” comes with the 360-view cam, but it doesn’t specify that, so I can’t be sure. Then it has so many other mystery options. Like “comfort bench seats” in the rear. So are the standard ones not comfortable? Are they even benches standard? It doesn’t say.

BTW, I’m here in SC this morn. Killing time till the uhaul place opens. 6 am was the only flight. Left the house at 2:45am today. Ouch.

You’re taking about the Mercedes, right? I can’t comment on the comfort of the rear bench seats in those but the bench seats in every other van I’ve ridden in are horrible for comfort. Can you get captain’s chairs in that?

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@sda said:
Good luck! Hope the closing and all goes smoothly. Exciting fun times ahead!

Thanks. Closing is done. We did that remotely on Fri.

These people seriously left EVERYTHING! Like I want their sheets and towels? Seriously?

Same with us Q. Nearly everything including cleaners, vacuum, iron, dishes, towels.

The towels came home to dry the cars with.

stickguy

can't blame them. You bought it furnished, and they don't want it so why not leave it to you to decide to keep or toss? And of course, do the work.

it does make some sense though, if you were buying just to rent, free bedding and towels would be a nice bonus!

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:

@sda said:
Good luck! Hope the closing and all goes smoothly. Exciting fun times ahead!

Thanks. Closing is done. We did that remotely on Fri.

These people seriously left EVERYTHING! Like I want their sheets and towels? Seriously?

Same with us Q. Nearly everything including cleaners, vacuum, iron, dishes, towels.

The towels came home to dry the cars with.

Omg. Brilliant! I’m working off 3 hrs sleep here so thank you for the suggestion!

ab348

QB, what is the use case for the Sprinter van (or whatever) again?

28firefighter

His wife wants one. Which is as legitimate a reason as I’ve heard here….

ab348

Well I just scrolled back and saw the explanation. 🤔 Maybe she can get a part-time job driving a shuttle bus for Marriott to get it out of her system. Since the Transit she fell in love with is a no-go maybe she’ll come back to her senses with more delay time.

qbrozen

She said “I’m excited about this!” Which is like the most she has ever said about a car purchase. I’m screwed.

corvette

The Texan posting the Maverick videos said his has just a hitch and not the 4K tow package. The shorter axle ratio on that package should shave a couple tenths off the 0-60 time.

tifighter

28firefighter said:

His wife wants one. Which is as an actual legitimate a reason, compared to most as I’ve heard here….

Yeah, that looks right.

jmonroe1

@tifighter said:
Yeah, that looks right.

We might even get a new member out of this and she has to be better looking than anything we already have in here.

jmonroe

qbrozen

so, fyi, for those who commented on my Transit comments, the cargo Transit I am renting right now has a far better seat and seating position than the outfitted conversion we drove.

I am currently trying to talk the wife into one of those rather than the Sprinter. It is like $10k cheaper.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
so, fyi, for those who commented on my Transit comments, the cargo Transit I am renting right now has a far better seat and seating position than the outfitted conversion we drove.

I am currently trying to talk the wife into one of those rather than the Sprinter. It is like $10k cheaper.

It never works out well when I talk my wife into anything. “I told you that I wanted” x rather than y comes to mind…

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

so, fyi, for those who commented on my Transit comments, the cargo Transit I am renting right now has a far better seat and seating position than the outfitted conversion we drove.

I am currently trying to talk the wife into one of those rather than the Sprinter. It is like $10k cheaper.

Nissan NV?

stickguy

Drove a frontier today. Pretty loaded SV. MSRP of ~$39,000, + a $3k ADM.

Nice interior. Dash and tech was modern. Much better looking than a Tacoma. Still felt big and bulky though. Definitely a real truck, nor an CUV with a bed!

Length wasn’t bad, but it felt overly wide. I blame a lot of that on the typical now big, blocky hood that makes it look like piloting an aircraft carrier from the back. Would definitely take some getting used to piloting in traffic. Other than the length out back, did not feel all that much different than the last F150 I drove. I do miss the days of short, low, sloped hoods!

Ride was normal 4x4 bouncy. Engine was strong though. Nice sound and really pulled hard. Dislikes, the drivers seat was not very comfortable for me (padding and lack of adjustments). Back seat, very uncomfortable. I’d rather have the short cab and jump seats actually.

I think if I did want something this size, ridgeline would work better. But for new, I’m probably better suited to a Santa Cruz or Maverick sized trucklet. I would buy an older compact though, if they could be found, like my 1990 Nissan king cab. Even a Gen 1 frontier.

nyccarguy

I am currently trying to talk the wife into one of those rather than the Sprinter. It is like $10k cheaper.

Master Yoda says there is no try. Only do or do not. In this case, Do not

qbrozen

yeah, yeah. I know. I've made the mistake before. But she hasn't even driven the Benz. Sigh.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

yeah, yeah. I know. I've made the mistake before. But she hasn't even driven the Benz. Sigh.

Weren't you just regaling us with the cars you've bought without a test drive? She's not entitled to the same consideration?

mjfloyd1

@carnaught said:
That M4 is detailed very nicely. Paging @roadburner to the white courtesy phone.

Has anyone gotten used to the giant nostril look of the BMW grille? It would have looked much more tolerable if they made the bottom half body color…

breld

mjfloyd1 said:

@carnaught said:

That M4 is detailed very nicely. Paging @roadburner to the white courtesy phone.

Has anyone gotten used to the giant nostril look of the BMW grille? It would have looked much more tolerable if they made the bottom half body color…

I, for one, am getting used to it on the few new 4-series I've seen around, as well as a new M3 that I see occasionally in the neighborhood.

That said, I am happy they didn't go that direction on the new 2-series.

au1994

mjfloyd1 said:

@carnaught said:

That M4 is detailed very nicely. Paging @roadburner to the white courtesy phone.

Has anyone gotten used to the giant nostril look of the BMW grille? It would have looked much more tolerable if they made the bottom half body color…

Getting used to it but I still think it looks like something off a Weber.

Wife likes it and she is the likely recipient of the next vehicle purchase. Notice I said likely.

qbrozen

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

yeah, yeah. I know. I've made the mistake before. But she hasn't even driven the Benz. Sigh.

Weren't you just regaling us with the cars you've bought without a test drive? She's not entitled to the same consideration?

1. I never complain afterwards.
2. We always know mine are short-term, and I've made money on most of mine.
3. Shut up.

ab348

qbrozen said:

so, fyi, for those who commented on my Transit comments, the cargo Transit I am renting right now has a far better seat and seating position than the outfitted conversion we drove.

I am currently trying to talk the wife into one of those rather than the Sprinter. It is like $10k cheaper.

I'm curious why she thinks she needs the high-roof version? The "low roof" Transit (which isn't all that low) is around 80 inches tall.

stickguy

might be nice to be able to stand up and walk around, but if you can't fit it in the parking spot, should be able to live without that. Still pretty tall with the base height model. And on long trips, you aren't standing up anyway! Might be different if you were camping in it.

mjfloyd1

@breld said:
I, for one, am getting used to it on the few new 4-series I've seen around, as well as a new M3 that I see occasionally in the neighborhood.

That said, I am happy they didn't go that direction on the new 2-series.

It seems to look “better” with dark colors because, well, you do not see the grille with dark exterior colors.

If they painted the bottom half the same color as the exterior color it would look more like the old kidneys ish???

Maybe I’ll get used to it like I have with Audis?

ab348

stickguy said:

might be nice to be able to stand up and walk around

Let's just hope she doesn't decide it needs a fireplace and a hot tub too.

mjfloyd1

@ab348 said:
I'm curious why she thinks she needs the high-roof version? The "low roof" Transit (which isn't all that low) is around 80 inches tall.

She wants what she wants

It is less painful to accept it and move on

Happy wife, happy life

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

@ab348 said:

I'm curious why she thinks she needs the high-roof version? The "low roof" Transit (which isn't all that low) is around 80 inches tall.

She wants what she wants

It is less painful to accept it and move on

Happy wife, happy life

This probably says a lot about why I never got married.

explorerx4

Watched a Motorweek segment where they reviewed the M440i convertible.
The grille area look isn't improved by a US plate. A euro plate would bisect it, which would look better.
Kind reminds me of a modified Kia tiger nose grille.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

qbrozen said:

yeah, yeah. I know. I've made the mistake before. But she hasn't even driven the Benz. Sigh.

Weren't you just regaling us with the cars you've bought without a test drive? She's not entitled to the same consideration?

1. I never complain afterwards.
2. We always know mine are short-term, and I've made money on most of mine.
3. Shut up.

1. She complains if she picks the wrong vehicle?
2. You bought the T&C new in 2014?
3. :laughing:

mjfloyd1

@ab348 said:
Let's just hope she doesn't decide it needs a fireplace and a hot tub too.

I thought I’d talk my wife into a Q5 since it is steel bodied and easier to repair.

She wanted a Q7 since it protected her and my daughter so well.

How can I argue with that?

She has another Q7 but I did figure out how to get a replacement policy so we would get a new model year Q7 if it gets totaled again

roadburner

mjfloyd1 said:

@carnaught said:

That M4 is detailed very nicely. Paging @roadburner to the white courtesy phone.

Has anyone gotten used to the giant nostril look of the BMW grille? It would have looked much more tolerable if they made the bottom half body color…

I don't mind it on a dark colored car so much. I think Munich is getting some pushback; as noted, the new G42 2er lacks a giant grille, and the LCI(facelifted) G30 5 Series doesn't wear a a gaping maw either.

corvette

@mjfloyd1 - did your carrier ever make the settlement on the total loss "right' to reflect current used vehicle pricing?