Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

my wife rarely drives these days either. Occasionally she goes someplace alone, but not often. If we are together, we drive. So she might go weeks at a time without touching the steering wheel.

explorerx4

@corvette,
In the last year or so, the T&C had some major repairs. At some point, loading up an older vehicle on a long trip, while beating on it is a gamble.

stickguy

should have jammed everybody into the Jeep!

corvette

stickguy said:

should have jammed everybody into the Jeep!

Or the AMG!

explorerx4

Of course, I hope they get back home without any more problems.

Sandman6472

Have no issue only getting $10/hour to work for Enterprise, think I'm getting a $.25 increase on December 3rd, it'll be the start of my 3rd year there. For some reason, didn't have the yearly evaluation last year and they had raised us to $10/hour that August. Also missed the profit sharing by two days last year so should be interesting to see how much we get for the 2021 year. Never worked for a company that had profit sharing before. And also getting a 401K while working part time is also a first.
Feel so much better now that I'm down to one part time job, feels like a weight has been lifted off me honestly. It wasn't a bad job but dealing with the public is not something I want to do at this point. Quitting was also easier than I had expected, was a bit nervous about doing it. But they took it very well and didn't press me about giving them a two week notice or anything like that. Just handed back my shirts and thanked them for everything. A few hours later I remembered that I had also quit Hertz but that was to get a better job. Just was tired of working 40 to 42 hours every week,5 days a week, and just wanted to go back to those 3 days. Did let my boss at Enterprise know that I'm now available for any extra hours they may have now that season is here. Not holding my breath about any extra hours but just wanted him to know I'm now available if needed.

xwesx

roadburner said:

Before the deluge(Thursday):

I love the window decal: "Respect Your Elders"

xwesx

tjc78 said:

Ugh, what a trip!!

Hmmm... I must have missed another post on the subject.

Will someone point to it?

Sandman6472

Was talking with the wife about seriously getting that sound bar for our family room t v since I'll be home more now so I can use my blue tooth headphones so I can listen just through them. She said why not just get a new smart t v with that feature included already! Now I need to find out if Samsung makes a 50" smart t v with the ability to listen only through blue tooth wireless headphones if needed? We like Samsung and their products and since we already have a 40", might want to go up to a 50".
Think it's a great idea really since I'd love a smart t v, want to move up to a 50" one and have the ability to listen through my blue tooth headphones while she works in the office without hearing it.

xwesx

corvette said:

Both Hoovie and the CDJR salesman pronounce the Wrangler model as "4 x e" and not "4 by e," at around the 9 minute mark of this video.

Both wrong.

We all know it's "forksy."

xwesx

Michaell said:

+4

My wife only pulled that card one time, with the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan, and that was only after the second time it stranded her way off in no man's land with two young children.

All things considered, it was probably the right move, but it sure didn't feel like it at the time!

stickguy

was browsing listings (hey, why not?) at a local place that specializes in Mercedes. along with the usual bunch of E, C and MLs, this time capsule popped up. Actually seemed to be one of the better deals these days!

https://www.aviautosales.com/details/used-1966-mercedes-benz-sl-class/77703291

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

was browsing listings (hey, why not?) at a local place that specializes in Mercedes. along with the usual bunch of E, C and MLs, this time capsule popped up. Actually seemed to be one of the better deals these days!

https://www.aviautosales.com/details/used-1966-mercedes-benz-sl-class/77703291

For who?

jmonroe

Sandman6472

Don't forget all to change the clocks tonight. We fall back one hour since Daylight Savings Time is officially over in the United States. Shame it's not used all year around since it would be nice to have some daylight after one gets off of work. By 6:00 here in South Florida, it's dark already which kind of sucks. On those days I work, get up in the dark and get home the same way. Hate that really!

qbrozen

@tifighter said:
Z4 no tiene un softtopo. Solamente un topo rigido retracto.

As for the car, it has to be a 2 series.

I thought you could get either. No wonder it never had the popularity the z3 did.

qbrozen

Oh, wife is already saying “guess we should sell it now while we can.”

I may have crossed up threads. Not sure if I put one post on non-car talk thread and one here? Anyway, short of it is: cracked radiator, overheating, just so happened past a CDJR dealer on Fri morn and they jumped through hoops to get us back on the road by Sat morn. Son and I missed our flight and I had to do some fancy packing to fit the 4 of us, 2 dogs, a bird, and all our luggage for the 11-hr drive. During the 2nd stop of the day, I got a whiff of coolant. Opened the hood and was greeted by steam. Not overheating but just runoff. After poking around, I found the lower hose on the verge of totally letting go of the radiator. Thankfully, the clamp was still there halfway up. So obviously, in his rush, he failed to move it back into place. I found an autozone, bought a pair of pliers and a gallon of antifreeze. Laid down in their parking lot, pushed the hose back on, finagled the clamp back into place, and topped it off. Was perfectly fine the rest of the trip.

I think we’re both now anxious for a new Sprinter after this trip.

While the van’s lifetime warranty is a wonderful thing, I think I mentioned here before that Vroom offered $15k for it. That seems like A LOT for an 8-yr-old Chrysler. We thought we’d hold it till the Sprinter arrived, but now she is wary, as others said their wives would be. So it may leave us sooner. We just aren’t sure what to do in the interim. She also said “hey, I’ll drive the Benz.” I had to remind her that it is WAY older than the T&C so she isn’t exactly upgrading on reliability.

All told, we have 3 vehicles going to the sales block. The trick is figuring out which to do when. I’m thinking Jeep goes first only because I am concerned that the potential deeper savings thanks to tax incentives will drive down the used values.

2nd really should be the van. That could drop thousands if the market equalizes. Last is the Benz since I don’t think that value is changing much anytime soon.

tjc78

Sandman6472 said:

Was talking with the wife about seriously getting that sound bar for our family room t v since I'll be home more now so I can use my blue tooth headphones so I can listen just through them. She said why not just get a new smart t v with that feature included already! Now I need to find out if Samsung makes a 50" smart t v with the ability to listen only through blue tooth wireless headphones if needed? We like Samsung and their products and since we already have a 40", might want to go up to a 50".
Think it's a great idea really since I'd love a smart t v, want to move up to a 50" one and have the ability to listen through my blue tooth headphones while she works in the office without hearing it.

You don’t need a new TV or a sound bar to use Bluetooth headphones with your TV. They sell adapters that plug into an existing headphone jack or audio output. Should only cost $20-30.

Go to Amazon and type *Bluetooth headphone adapter*

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

Here is the Prius in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah (popularized by the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil):

You know, I’m getting pretty sick of you southern guys flaunting your rust free cars in the faces of us poor northern slobs. :@

Seriously though, both those cars look amazing.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

explorerx4 said:

I know better than to put my wife in that situation(putting her in a hooptie for a long trip).

The T&C isn't old enough to be a hooptie, IMO, plus it has a lifetime warranty. I could see it becoming a beater for @qbrozen if the missus doesn't want it anymore.

I suppose that depends on your perspective. For me a 14’ with under 80k miles would be right in my sweet spot but for somebody who changes cars more often than socks it would be an antique.

stickguy

Keep the van and avoid long trips!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

my wife rarely drives these days either. Occasionally she goes someplace alone, but not often. If we are together, we drive. So she might go weeks at a time without touching the steering wheel.

My wife gave up driving due to health issues and can only get into one of my four vehicles so every time we go out it’s in the grocery getter, which is ok since we usually go out together to get groceries.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Have no issue only getting $10/hour to work for Enterprise, think I'm getting a $.25 increase on December 3rd, it'll be the start of my 3rd year there. For some reason, didn't have the yearly evaluation last year and they had raised us to $10/hour that August. Also missed the profit sharing by two days last year so should be interesting to see how much we get for the 2021 year. Never worked for a company that had profit sharing before. And also getting a 401K while working part time is also a first.
Feel so much better now that I'm down to one part time job, feels like a weight has been lifted off me honestly. It wasn't a bad job but dealing with the public is not something I want to do at this point. Quitting was also easier than I had expected, was a bit nervous about doing it. But they took it very well and didn't press me about giving them a two week notice or anything like that. Just handed back my shirts and thanked them for everything. A few hours later I remembered that I had also quit Hertz but that was to get a better job. Just was tired of working 40 to 42 hours every week,5 days a week, and just wanted to go back to those 3 days. Did let my boss at Enterprise know that I'm now available for any extra hours they may have now that season is here. Not holding my breath about any extra hours but just wanted him to know I'm now available if needed.

Profit sharing for 2020 was about a third of what it was in 2019 but I’m just blown away that we get that and a 401k match in a dinky part time job.

corvette

qbrozen said:

While the van’s lifetime warranty is a wonderful thing, I think I mentioned here before that Vroom offered $15k for it.

Glad you were able to complete your trip after getting sidelined. That is a very generous offer. I was thinking it was probably worth under $10k, in which case, given the warranty, it might have been be worth keeping as an around-town beater.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

@tifighter said:

Z4 no tiene un softtopo. Solamente un topo rigido retracto.

As for the car, it has to be a 2 series.

I thought you could get either. No wonder it never had the popularity the z3 did.

First generation Z4 was a soft top. 2nd gen (2009+?) is a folding hardtop.

We had a 2011 model for a month.

sda

qbrozen said:

Oh, wife is already saying “guess we should sell it now while we can.”

I may have crossed up threads. Not sure if I put one post on non-car talk thread and one here? Anyway, short of it is: cracked radiator, overheating, just so happened past a CDJR dealer on Fri morn and they jumped through hoops to get us back on the road by Sat morn. Son and I missed our flight and I had to do some fancy packing to fit the 4 of us, 2 dogs, a bird, and all our luggage for the 11-hr drive. During the 2nd stop of the day, I got a whiff of coolant. Opened the hood and was greeted by steam. Not overheating but just runoff. After poking around, I found the lower hose on the verge of totally letting go of the radiator. Thankfully, the clamp was still there halfway up. So obviously, in his rush, he failed to move it back into place. I found an autozone, bought a pair of pliers and a gallon of antifreeze. Laid down in their parking lot, pushed the hose back on, finagled the clamp back into place, and topped it off. Was perfectly fine the rest of the trip.

I think we’re both now anxious for a new Sprinter after this trip.

While the van’s lifetime warranty is a wonderful thing, I think I mentioned here before that Vroom offered $15k for it. That seems like A LOT for an 8-yr-old Chrysler. We thought we’d hold it till the Sprinter arrived, but now she is wary, as others said their wives would be. So it may leave us sooner. We just aren’t sure what to do in the interim. She also said “hey, I’ll drive the Benz.” I had to remind her that it is WAY older than the T&C so she isn’t exactly upgrading on reliability.

All told, we have 3 vehicles going to the sales block. The trick is figuring out which to do when. I’m thinking Jeep goes first only because I am concerned that the potential deeper savings thanks to tax incentives will drive down the used values.

2nd really should be the van. That could drop thousands if the market equalizes. Last is the Benz since I don’t think that value is changing much anytime soon.

Glad you made it home safe. Always a plus to have good mechanical and repair savvy.

ab348

It sounds like you’ve already decided the van has to go, but while you experience was certainly stressful keep in mind that incident #2 was the mechanic’s fault, not due to any inherent issues with the vehicle. If he hadn’t made that goof you would have been fine.

qbrozen

@ab348 said:
It sounds like you’ve already decided the van has to go, but while you experience was certainly stressful keep in mind that incident #2 was the mechanic’s fault, not due to any inherent issues with the vehicle. If he hadn’t made that goof you would have been fine.

Absolutely. It wouldn’t bother me. But, like many others’ wives here, she won’t trust it for a while, if ever. Once bitten…

benjaminh

My local Acura dealer has only 4 new vehicles in stock. Normally they have about over a hundred. Back in June one microchip CEO was saying things would probably get better by the end of the year, but they seem to be getting worse.

stickguy

it will be interesting to see what happens when the chip (and any other component) shortage ends, and makers are able to crank back up and flood the market. How long before the pent up demand is satisfied?

That though would really help the used car market, if people hanging on to the old hoopties finally dump them all for new cars.

fintail

For new cars, the local MB dealer has 7 non-Sprinters in stock, and only 5 are actually on the ground, on site. Crazy.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Absolutely. It wouldn’t bother me. But, like many others’ wives here, she won’t trust it for a while, if ever. Once bitten…

I always feel a little bad for cars when it comes to wives. After all, they are machines, and it is inevitable that they will suffer mechanical failures from time to time.

ab348

benjaminh said:

My local Acura dealer has only 4 new vehicles in stock. Normally they have about over a hundred. Back in June one microchip CEO was saying things would probably get better by the end of the year, but they seem to be getting worse.

I just happened to roll through the lot of the Ford Dealer closest to me about an hour ago since they were closed. They had 4 or 5 F-150s, a Mustang an Escape, an Edge, and 2 Bronco Sports. Even the used lot was pretty thin. There were a bunch of new Transits out back, and a lot of what looked like commercial vehicle lease returns.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

it will be interesting to see what happens when the chip (and any other component) shortage ends, and makers are able to crank back up and flood the market. How long before the pent up demand is satisfied?

That though would really help the used car market, if people hanging on to the old hoopties finally dump them all for new cars.

But think what kind of used cars they will be dumping on the market. I spotted a rental in our fleet with 88k miles. When this all shakes out the general public will be putting some pretty worn iron onto the market.

explorerx4

A lot of people haven't been driving as much due to working from home, so mileage could be lower on a lot of vehicles.

tifighter

440i Coupe

Not @roadburner spec, but it is nice. I love how you can pull up the original window sticker, which is about $3K less than they are asking now.

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

440i Coupe

Not @roadburner spec, but it is nice. I love how you can pull up the original window sticker, which is about $3K less than they are asking now.

Good luck on getting almost 5% on the loan as well.

mjfloyd1

That Ram T Rex looks like it is a 4 exxxxxxxxx 4

stickguy

for those of you who scoffed at the idea, the 300K (give or take) mile Volvo wagon, up to $3,400 bid with 3 days to go.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3OAVAZnj/1987-volvo-740-gle

rny421

Sorry to make you wait! It's a 2016 BMW M235 convertible with a manual transmission. Bought it with ~11K miles. Super quick, comfortable, and the manual transmission is very slick. I'll upload pictures later.

stickguy

sounds nice. I guess you decided to up the budget after all to get something nicer!

xwesx

I wasn't expecting anything so new. I figured @stickguy had us covered with the Audi TT.

corvette

The Prius now has over 225,000 miles and made it back from the ~1,900 mile road trip without incident. This included a run on the Tail of the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, and the Moonshiner 28. It averaged over 43 MPG. Full disclosure, it did rev its guts out due to the elevation changes on the Skyway. It also consumed enough oil that it's now right at, or slightly below, the full mark, depending upon which side of the dipstick you read. I didn't have to use any of the spare oil or coolant I had brought along with me.

explorerx4

@corvette,
I hope you are not trying to convince us it was a great driving experience.
My sister had one of that generation and it reminded me of driving a brand new 10 year old car.
The only joy was seeing how far I could go before the engine kicked on.

stickguy

so big question, was it worth driving that instead of a relatively luxury barge truck to save ~$150?

corvette

@explorerx4 IMO, it wasn't the penalty box you might expect--the seats were comfortable and the climate control and stereo worked very well. On the other hand, it is underpowered (by my standards), and there is a lot of engine and road noise. There is not a lot of wind noise due to the aerodynamics.

I have probably said this here before, but the genius of the Gen2 and subsequent Priuses is that they drive like (or better than) a contemporary compact car of the same model year, while generally integrating more high end features, and delivering substantially better fuel economy. (By that measure, it's not underpowered compared to a 2007 Civic or Corolla, but personally, I'd lump them all into the same broader category of "underpowered.")

stickguy

not sure it is getting you that much on a trip like this. 43 is certainly good, but on longer trips my daughters Jettas, and my Elantra (from my personal experience) could both top 40 (the Jetta for sure). Depending on the mix and route maybe only upper 30s, but still pretty close.

City/urban short hops, I imagine the Prius will have a bigger advantage.

corvette

stickguy said:

so big question, was it worth driving that instead of a relatively luxury barge truck to save ~$150?

The theoretical difference in fuel cost would have been a little more than that, but I see where you're going with the question. No, the fuel savings alone were not worth it. Other considerations which factored in were a general "shakedown" to prove to me that it's reliable on a longer trip, should I want or need to take it. Also, the Tundra is now sitting roughly dead even at the allotted monthly mileage on the lease, and I have another road trip planned for December (which I plan to take the Tundra on), which will push it close to the total 24k allotment. (Yes, if I take the six month extension, I will get another 6,000 miles, but that hasn't been formally offered yet.) So, I also avoided potential excess mileage charges.

corvette

stickguy said:

43 is certainly good, but on longer trips my daughters Jettas, and my Elantra (from my personal experience) could both top 40 (the Jetta for sure).

Apples and oranges... Anything newer is going to be better. We're talking about a $2,700 used car here. There aren't many available in that price range that will break 40 MPG highway.

explorerx4

@corvette,
I didn't like when it was new, especially because of all the noise, so I doubt all that wear wouldn't make it any better for me.
I can't imagine it was any fun to drive on the Tail of the Dragon, maybe that wasn't your point.
If you are happy with, that's all that matters, for you.

stickguy

My daughter is now quite perturbed with Ford. She texted asking what was up with my new car. Because she is training home the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and wants to make plans. Most of which require a car, so she was hoping I would buy one for her to use (well, for me, but her to steal while she is here).

I had to break her heart and let her know a new one will not have arrived by then, and she was not taking the only car in the house to run around visiting people.