Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
My wife says that too. But more because she doesn’t want a seat someone else sat in.

Does she ask the mechanic to “hover” when taking it into the shop? Or does she cover it with a plastic cover? ;b

mjfloyd1

Michaell said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@Michaell said:

This is #4 since I’ve known them.

Over how many years?

Oh, goodness. I think we’ve been friends for 6 or 7 years. I have to date it to what he was driving the first time we met up - it was the 5-series. The one that got swapped for the Mazda 3. </blockquote

Wow. I can't Imagine moving everything 4 times over 6-7 years. Maybe some was still boxed up

breld

Let's see, my wife and I moved into our first home together when we got married in 2011. We stayed there for 5 years until we found the cool modern home more in the city. After 3 years staying there, we quickly realized we needed to move closer to my boys' schools as they were getting older, so moved out into our current suburb.

And all our intentions were settle in at this current home....until we made the mistake of browsing listings and found this new home. It sort of combines the modern style and finishes of our last house with the ranch style we have come to love with our current house. Plus...large garage.

stickguy

She isn’t that obsessed with it. But anything well used, where you can tell, will not make her happy.

stickguy

tifighter said:

tifighter said:

Curious to see how this auction plays out-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2009-bmw-z4-roadster-sdrive-3-0-6-speed-manual/

Well, the BaT Z4 closed today, and I'd say it went well for the seller.

Holy moley. $31k? Cross that off my list.

qbrozen

breld said:

Let's see, my wife and I moved into our first home together when we got married in 2011. We stayed there for 5 years until we found the cool modern home more in the city. After 3 years staying there, we quickly realized we needed to move closer to my boys' schools as they were getting older, so moved out into our current suburb.

And all our intentions were settle in at this current home....until we made the mistake of browsing listings and found this new home. It sort of combines the modern style and finishes of our last house with the ranch style we have come to love with our current house. Plus...large garage.

so 5 yrs, 3 yrs, 2 yrs .... on track for 1 year in this new one. ;b

mjfloyd1

@breld said:
Let's see, my wife and I moved into our first home together when we got married in 2011. We stayed there for 5 years until we found the cool modern home more in the city. After 3 years staying there, we quickly realized we needed to move closer to my boys' schools as they were getting older, so moved out into our current suburb.

And all our intentions were settle in at this current home....until we made the mistake of browsing listings and found this new home. It sort of combines the modern style and finishes of our last house with the ranch style we have come to love with our current house. Plus...large garage.

I’m just yanking your chain…

I can’t wait to see what cars you will buy

qbrozen

Moving is AWFUL. It never even occurred to me that we could have moved instead of refinancing. lol. I'm glad she didn't think of it.

stickguy

It’s going to take us years to get the wife to deal with all the stuff and mentally prepare to finally move. Been here 24 years. Wherever we go, better be a keeper!

28firefighter

Seems like you know where to sell yours, @tifighter.

cdnpinhead

I moved over 20 times since birth until my late20s. In my elementary and high school years my father worked for the government, and at that time they would pay for 4000# of stuff when we moved (at their request/requirement), so that didn't cover much. The phrase that seemed most relevant was "three moves are as good as a fire." I got really good at keeping stuff to a minimum.

Then I got married.

I'm fairly confident that our children will be faced with putting a 20 or 40-yard dumpster in the driveway and pitching all the stuff that my wife currently can't bear to part with.

Moving anywhere -- not gonna happen.

au1994

stickguy said:

She isn’t that obsessed with it. But anything well used, where you can tell, will not make her happy.

Thats the way mine was with the Land Cruiser. Every little scratch and blemish was noted and God forbid if it made a funny noise while driving.

I’d lie if I said this didn’t hasten its exit from the fleet.

stickguy

If I buy something used she will just give me the look if it is too nasty, and a "don't expect me to ever ride in that" remark.

tifighter

28firefighter said:

Seems like you know where to sell yours, @tifighter.

Ha. Actually, I've always wondered who would be the first of us to buy or sell something on BaT.

jmonroe1

tifighter said:

28firefighter said:

Seems like you know where to sell yours, @tifighter.

Ha. Actually, I've always wondered who would be the first of us to buy or sell something on BaT.

And the challenge has now officially begun.

jmonroe

venture

xwesx said:

au1994 said:

The Crosstrek had Eyesight. Never malfunctioned but would shut off during a heavy rain, IE when you could probably use it. Then about 6 months before I got rid of it I got a notice that the insurance was going up. No wrecks or tickets so I called the agent. Seems Allstate decided to increase the rate on it since Eyesight was expensive to repair and even a simple windshield replacement required a trip to the dealer.

This is the primary reason I think these systems are so foolish. They don't work during inclement weather at all, and, in many cases, make the vehicle more difficult to drive at the same time. In addition, drivers start to rely on them more and more (Adaptive Cruise, anyone?), and, as a result, they unconsciously start allowing themselves to be more and more distracted while they should be driving.

I don't recall if Eyesight was optional on the 2018 Crosstrek or not, but I'm very happy that they still offer a stick on those (for now - Eyesight and manual transmission are incompatible).

I'm happy with eyesight on both our cars but, as you referred to, it doesn't mean you should pay less attention when driving.

Adaptive cruise? I absolutely love it. I only use it on the freeways though.

I mentioned one time, we were going up I-695 one time and traffic came to a standstill. I let the adaptive cruise slow down and stop the car - just to see if it would.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:

There is a dealer in Philly with an '05 Tribute V6 4wd with 107k miles. Has some cosmetic issues and an ABS light, which I'm sure will detract most buyers. Just not sure when I'm willing to make the 45-min drive. Seems like I should be able to find a cheap car closer to home. But, then again, maybe not.

You really want to drive that all the way to SC?

What's wrong with a tribute? Or do you mean because of the ABS light? There is a common issue on those that is easily fixed.

I always liked that era Tribute/Escape. How important would ABS be in a no snow environment? Even better if you can fix it cheap yourself.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

I think we’ve crossed up discussions.

Anyway, a dealer not far from me has an ‘04 Impreza TS wagon with very low miles for $3k. I really thought I’d never own a Subaru again but those baby wagons always appeal to me and maybe the low miles and intended use will keep away the head gasket demon. They also have an ‘07 SX4 with 109k. Very pricey at $5k, however. But maybe a visit will at least net me seat time in each.

With low mileage at too good a price I’d worry that the gaskets may already be compromised and have been patched up with some head gasket goop. Any way to verify if that’s the case?

stickguy

if it is cheap enough and otherwise good shape, with the miles, budget for new head gaskets and be good to go.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

OH yeah, speaking of unfinished projects, the mechanic with the Benz called last night. He checked my timing and said it was spot on. He then checked the intake manifold and found some loose bolts (I never touched it). So he took it off and found it was filled with dirt and oil. It hadn't sucked any into the engine, because that was clean, but it was impeding airflow, causing the oil leak in the back of the engine, and causing a vacuum leak. Some pieces of it have broken/rotted away. He priced a new one and found they are $3k! So he asked if I'd prefer he clean this one and patch it up with new metal. Uhhhh... yeah, that's what I would do! Said he'll call me back in a couple of days to let me know how he makes out.

Right now, I'm considering this good news.

Sounds like you found a winner there. Any mechanic willing to fabricate anything is a keeper.

oldfarmer50

au1994 said:

The Crosstrek had Eyesight. Never malfunctioned but would shut off during a heavy rain, IE when you could probably use it. Then about 6 months before I got rid of it I got a notice that the insurance was going up. No wrecks or tickets so I called the agent. Seems Allstate decided to increase the rate on it since Eyesight was expensive to repair and even a simple windshield replacement required a trip to the dealer.

I just heard a news story today about how many of the safety nannies will malfunction during inclement weather; just when you need them most. The report recommend that you actually drive your car yourself and not depend on the safety features to do the thinking for you.

How innovative.

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

tifighter said:

Curious to see how this auction plays out-

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2009-bmw-z4-roadster-sdrive-3-0-6-speed-manual/

Well, the BaT Z4 closed today, and I'd say it went well for the seller.

Yawza!

jmonroe1

@venture said:
I'm happy with eyesight on both our cars but, as you referred to, it doesn't mean you should pay less attention when driving.

Adaptive cruise? I absolutely love it. I only use it on the freeways though.

I mentioned one time, we were going up I-695 one time and traffic came to a standstill. I let the adaptive cruise slow down and stop the car - just to see if it would.

Mrs. j’s 2018 Legacy has Eyesight and just week during a terrestrial down pour it acted up. Other than that one time it has acted normally as far as I can tell.

As for Adaptive Cruise Control I tried out what you did but I was only going 40 MPH. I had my foot hovering over the brake pedal the whole time. A couple times I almost gave in and hit the brakes but I hung tuff and let it do it’s thing. Being a quitter would have been the easy way out.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

If I buy something used she will just give me the look if it is too nasty, and a "don't expect me to ever ride in that" remark.

Don’t feel bad. My wife is down to riding in only one of my four vehicles and that one she put an air freshener in because she says “something smells”.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
I just heard a news story today about how many of the safety nannies will malfunction during inclement weather; just when you need them most. The report recommend that you actually drive your car yourself and not depend on the safety features to do the thinking for you.

How innovative.

Being the paranoid driver that I am I’ll never understand how people can put there faith in these new fangled nannies. I have to force myself to believe that the back-up camera is for real and not some car devils trick.

jmonroe

andres3

Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more. Cruising down the highway in top gear yesterday evening, a vibration, massive black smokescreen out the tailpipes, dummy EPC and Engine Lights, and loss of power. Towed to my Audi shop de jour by Triple A (95 minutes to get tow truck).

Short of 45,000 miles I'm getting a recommendation that I need (as suspected) a new engine, used or new. Very difficult to find a used S4 motor with such low mileage as mine. Ball park $7-9K for a used one 50 to 100K miles on it. Audi quoted $14,200 for a new one apparently.

The RISK of used cars.....:(

Of course, the shop manager says he's curious why the engine catastrophically failed too, since he's never seen one with low mileage fail, but that the diagnostic money for that is better put towards a new engine (used or new).

Suddenly, a DSG or AC Compressor failure seems like peanuts in comparison.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Don’t feel bad. My wife is down to riding in only one of my four vehicles and that one she put an air freshener in because she says “something smells”.

You have to stop her from riding in the car with you.

jmonroe

stickguy

jmonroe1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I just heard a news story today about how many of the safety nannies will malfunction during inclement weather; just when you need them most. The report recommend that you actually drive your car yourself and not depend on the safety features to do the thinking for you.

How innovative.

Being the paranoid driver that I am I’ll never understand how people can put there faith in these new fangled nannies. I have to force myself to believe that the back-up camera is for real and not some car devils trick.

jmonroe

I am the same way. And why I rarely used cruise. It was more relaxing to keep my foot on the gas, instead of hovering above the brake pedal.

jmonroe1

@andres3 said:
Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more. Cruising down the highway in top gear yesterday evening, a vibration, massive black smokescreen out the tailpipes, dummy EPC and Engine Lights, and loss of power. Towed to my Audi shop de jour by Triple A (95 minutes to get tow truck).

Short of 45,000 miles I'm getting a recommendation that I need (as suspected) a new engine, used or new. Very difficult to find a used S4 motor with such low mileage as mine. Ball park $7-9K for a used one 50 to 100K miles on it. Audi quoted $14,200 for a new one apparently.

The RISK of used cars.....:(

Of course, the shop manager says he's curious why the engine catastrophically failed too, since he's never seen one with low mileage fail, but that the diagnostic money for that is better put towards a new engine (used or new).

Suddenly, a DSG or AC Compressor failure seems like peanuts in comparison.

Man, that’s a tuff one. Maybe you can sell it to a mechanic as is and get a decent buck for it if it is in otherwise good shape. I doubt that a guy off the street would offer anything reasonable for it then take it to a mechanic for the repair. Let us know which way you go.

jmonroe

stickguy

with the crazy used market, probably better to just put the engine in. that cost, plus the lowball amount you will get for the dead car, probably isn't enough to get something as nice as you will end up with.

corvette

@andres3 - ouch! Hope you're able to get a good resolution to that situation.

fintail

Time for something like an R8 swap.

andres3 said:

Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more. Cruising down the highway in top gear yesterday evening, a vibration, massive black smokescreen out the tailpipes, dummy EPC and Engine Lights, and loss of power. Towed to my Audi shop de jour by Triple A (95 minutes to get tow truck).

Short of 45,000 miles I'm getting a recommendation that I need (as suspected) a new engine, used or new. Very difficult to find a used S4 motor with such low mileage as mine. Ball park $7-9K for a used one 50 to 100K miles on it. Audi quoted $14,200 for a new one apparently.

The RISK of used cars.....:(

Of course, the shop manager says he's curious why the engine catastrophically failed too, since he's never seen one with low mileage fail, but that the diagnostic money for that is better put towards a new engine (used or new).

Suddenly, a DSG or AC Compressor failure seems like peanuts in comparison.

nyccarguy

@andres3 - OMG! I hope you are ok and didn’t sustain any injuries. That must have been very scary. On the freeway no less. The car has been perfect before this? I’m sure this is a lot to process. Instead of a new or used Audi S4 motor that might be hard to come by, have you considered a Coyote Swap or an LS Swap?

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

And the challenge has now officially begun.

jmonroe

I think I'll likely put my Benz on C&B rather than BaT.

qbrozen

andres3 said:

Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more. Cruising down the highway in top gear yesterday evening, a vibration, massive black smokescreen out the tailpipes, dummy EPC and Engine Lights, and loss of power. Towed to my Audi shop de jour by Triple A (95 minutes to get tow truck).

Short of 45,000 miles I'm getting a recommendation that I need (as suspected) a new engine, used or new. Very difficult to find a used S4 motor with such low mileage as mine. Ball park $7-9K for a used one 50 to 100K miles on it. Audi quoted $14,200 for a new one apparently.

The RISK of used cars.....:(

Of course, the shop manager says he's curious why the engine catastrophically failed too, since he's never seen one with low mileage fail, but that the diagnostic money for that is better put towards a new engine (used or new).

Suddenly, a DSG or AC Compressor failure seems like peanuts in comparison.

Ugh. Sorry to hear it. Was hoping it wouldn't act like an S4 for you ... but here we are.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

@andres3 - OMG! I hope you are ok and didn’t sustain any injuries. That must have been very scary. On the freeway no less. The car has been perfect before this? I’m sure this is a lot to process. Instead of a new or used Audi S4 motor that might be hard to come by, have you considered a Coyote Swap or an LS Swap?

The Swap idea sounds cool in theory, but the amount of logistics and work and one-offs involved sounds daunting to me. A stage 2 supercharger pully upgrade and tuned S4 motor with 500+ HP (while your in there anyway) sounds more the way to go there.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

@andres3 - OMG! I hope you are ok and didn’t sustain any injuries. That must have been very scary. On the freeway no less. The car has been perfect before this? I’m sure this is a lot to process. Instead of a new or used Audi S4 motor that might be hard to come by, have you considered a Coyote Swap or an LS Swap?

Hahahah, some may hate me for this, but going 20 over the 65 speed limit gave me the momentum I needed to safely cross all lanes of traffic (luckily I was in a low traffic pocket), and exit the freeway to die less than 200' after the right turn off the off-ramp. Now, that low traffic pocket might have been due to my Spy Hunter smoke screen button.



Like that only blacker.

Car was perfect for 11 months; nothing but a freakin' oil change and getting close to getting my second one at 45K miles.

boomchek

andres3 said:

Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more. Cruising down the highway in top gear yesterday evening, a vibration, massive black smokescreen out the tailpipes, dummy EPC and Engine Lights, and loss of power. Towed to my Audi shop de jour by Triple A (95 minutes to get tow truck).

Short of 45,000 miles I'm getting a recommendation that I need (as suspected) a new engine, used or new. Very difficult to find a used S4 motor with such low mileage as mine. Ball park $7-9K for a used one 50 to 100K miles on it. Audi quoted $14,200 for a new one apparently.

The RISK of used cars.....:(

Of course, the shop manager says he's curious why the engine catastrophically failed too, since he's never seen one with low mileage fail, but that the diagnostic money for that is better put towards a new engine (used or new).

Suddenly, a DSG or AC Compressor failure seems like peanuts in comparison.

Yikes, sorry to hear that. My 2016 A7 has the same engine, and although it has only 59k kms (about 37k miles) it makes me a bit worried as I truly enjoy everything about the car so far. When I bought it last year through the dealership I work for (I bought it through an online dealer auction through my dealership), I also priced out an extended warranty and it was in the $4k-5k range (my cost) if I remember correctly with no repair caps. I took a gamble and skipped the warranty because I switch cars every couple years. Problem is I don't know what I would replace it with just yet.

boomchek

au1994 said:

The Crosstrek had Eyesight. Never malfunctioned but would shut off during a heavy rain, IE when you could probably use it. Then about 6 months before I got rid of it I got a notice that the insurance was going up. No wrecks or tickets so I called the agent. Seems Allstate decided to increase the rate on it since Eyesight was expensive to repair and even a simple windshield replacement required a trip to the dealer.

Unfortunately many new models with safety sensors built in behind the windshield require calibration. It adds a few hundred to our recon costs when we get a trade in with a cracked windshield, which requires sensor recalibration in the shop after windshield replacement.

boomchek

cdnpinhead said:

I moved over 20 times since birth until my late20s. In my elementary and high school years my father worked for the government, and at that time they would pay for 4000# of stuff when we moved (at their request/requirement), so that didn't cover much. The phrase that seemed most relevant was "three moves are as good as a fire." I got really good at keeping stuff to a minimum.

Then I got married.

I'm fairly confident that our children will be faced with putting a 20 or 40-yard dumpster in the driveway and pitching all the stuff that my wife currently can't bear to part with.

Moving anywhere -- not gonna happen.

That's what I told my parents when I was helping them move some stuff back into their attic (they built a storage up there) after they had some roof work done in their townhouse and it had to be emptied temporarily. I said that most of the stuff will going to go to donation or garbage unfortunately if we have to deal with it after they're gone. Old camping equipment with missing parts they haven't used in years, obsolete electronics, stereo parts, and cables, fancy but outdated clothing in bins, etc.

The last time they lent my sister camping equipment, the poles for the tent were missing, and my sister didn't realize it until she was at her campsite setting up the tent lol.

Dad offered me large style tower speakers from their 90s home stereo, but with tech being so advanced these days, my sound bar and a subwoofer does the same job without taking up the space so I politely declined.

They're not hoarders by any means but since they grew up in communist Eastern Europe where any leisure goods were scarce, they tend to hold on to some stuff longer than they should.

mjfloyd1

@andres3 - I wonder if Audi would help you out given the low miles.

Any chance that the used car dealer had a lifetime power train warranty?

I’ve read several instances of harmonic balancer/ crank pulley failures on the 3.0T Audi motor…

nyccarguy

@andres3 Not to rub salt in, but I forgot. You purchased that car used, not CPO correct? Did you modify it at all (chip? or is that your TT?)?

kyfdx

stickguy said:

if it is cheap enough and otherwise good shape, with the miles, budget for new head gaskets and be good to go.

My very budget friendly mechanic says $2K for head gasket on 2012 Forester.

sda

@andres3 , I would reach out to Audi as well. It wouldn’t hurt to mention you have had several Audis, including your TT, and also stayed in the family with your wife’s Tiguan. Good Luck!

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

if it is cheap enough and otherwise good shape, with the miles, budget for new head gaskets and be good to go.

My very budget friendly mechanic says $2K for head gasket on 2012 Forester.

That’s about the same for a head gasket on a Ford V6.

cdnpinhead

Gaskets guys -- those cars need two.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

Gaskets guys -- those cars need two.

Not on a cheap beater. You do the one and hope for the best.

corvette

mjfloyd1

2023 Acura Integra will have a stick shift available

https://www.autoweek.com/news/future-cars/a37962041/acura-integra-manual-tranmission/?source=nl&amp;utm_source=nl_aut&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;date=101521&amp;utm_campaign=nl25351116&amp;utm_term=AAA -- High Minus Dormant and 90 Day Non Openers

breld

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.