Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tifighter

@breld said:
So what was “reasonably” priced for the M2? I noticed a 2020 Comp on Carvana with 13k miles for something like $63k - that actually seems like a decent deal compared to $55k OG examples.

And I’d say it’s too bad we don’t live closer - we could just have our own little car swap club!

I think the BRZ/86 is at the top of my sporty list at the moment - I assume it’s a bit roomier than the Miata. And compared to a marked up Civic Si, I’ll take a BRZ at MSRP all day.

Regarding the OG cars, that $55K got you a very nice one with no more than 10K miles four months ago. Now it would have 30K miles for $56K, and pre-LCI. As for the comp, it was a 19 with about 15K miles for $60K. Good history, including the 1200 mile service, silver, manual, etc. The 20 that you quote seems okay in this market, I agree. It’s interesting trying to determine what good value is anymore. With Comps in the mid-60s, they are running into the Cayman S which they originally undercut.

As for the 86, I fit fine into my 17 at 6’2”, and it was much roomier than the NC Miata I had in the past. The issue with the first gen was, of course, the motor, and it sounds like that has been addressed. MSRP for one would be a good value. Even the first gen, blah motor and all, would walk away from my roadster in some tight twisties. It should be a fun car. The idea of a Civic Si does nothing for me, personally.

stickguy

my daughter recently left her job at one of the big banks and the big boss man there is obsessed with getting people back in the office. They obviously have a lot of them, but it seems to be very culture driven.

Fin, interesting to here your take as a "younger" worker (though at this point you are probably in the middle straddling the generations). I know a lot of us older (sadly I turn 60 this year) people with decades in that are very happy to never see an office again. No commutes, and none of the office politics nonsense. It offers nothing really for me, and I am way more productive WFH than if I had to schlep into an office every day.

28firefighter

If I never saw an office again, I would not be disappointed. But I do think there is value to periodic in-person gatherings to build team cohesion.

stickguy

ordered up a tonneau cover for the Maverick today. Sadly it might not arrive for 3-5 weeks, so I will have to make due. Might be able to get one quicker from a local place (at least 2 weeks ago he thought he could get one, who knows now) but that is the way it goes these days. I can wait a little to save $150.

now just need to get something done with the bed.

I watched a video on how to install the cover, and it looks absurdly easy. Paying to have it done would embarrass even me. I would have if it was being done at the same time as the bed liner, just for convenience, but no point in driving back to pay somebody for 10 minutes work, tops.

also got the fancy nice one, since it would take about 2 minutes to remove the whole unit if I want to swap it over. Just need a fresh piece of stick on gasket to go at the front lip of the bed. Easy enough.

graphicguy

Had a home office for 25 years of my career. It’s good and bad. The bad? You can’t get away from it. My office was in the room right next to my bedroom. I could hear emails and phone calls (given I was working with international folks) at all hours of the day and night. It became a habit for me to peak inside the office when I wasn’t working to see if the voice mail lite was blinking on the office phone. More times than not, I’d listen and respond if there was a voice mail. Lunch hours were usually fix a sandwich and eat it at my desk.

The good…… lack of dress code….in the summer, I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In the winter….sweat pants and hoodies. Need to run to pick the kid up from school? No explanation. Just hit “OOTO” on my OUtlook. No traffic going to, or coming home from work. I could literally jump from bed into my office after making coffee in 10 minutes. I was always in a better, more productive mood, not dealing with commuting, or worse, listening to the co-worker in the office next to me drone on about his/her weekend or partner or another co-worker.

I reported out of Austin, TX and Freemont, CA (our HQ). Once every couple of months I’d trek to either of those places for group get-togethers. But, I got to the point where I don’t think I could have gone back to an every day trek to an office.

fintail

Yeah, I am in the middle. I see those a little older than me bouncing off the walls with excitement about returning (or trying to mandate the return with mixed results), and younglings appearing somewhat displeased to be back. Of course, this is anecdotal, and there are exceptions. What amused me most is that leadership even admitted that productivity would fall with a full-on return, but some really wanted it anyway.

I am on the same mindset of 28ff below, I like WFH and probably even get more done, but meeting people now and then is a positive too.

stickguy said:

my daughter recently left her job at one of the big banks and the big boss man there is obsessed with getting people back in the office. They obviously have a lot of them, but it seems to be very culture driven.

Fin, interesting to here your take as a "younger" worker (though at this point you are probably in the middle straddling the generations). I know a lot of us older (sadly I turn 60 this year) people with decades in that are very happy to never see an office again. No commutes, and none of the office politics nonsense. It offers nothing really for me, and I am way more productive WFH than if I had to schlep into an office every day.

Michaell

WFH - I've been doing it for going on 14 years. First 8 of them was with IBM, after I was reassigned to a group that didn't have anything to do with the office I used to work at. In that time, only once met my peers, and never met face-to-face with my manager (I had 3 of them over that time frame). IBM has bounced back and forth between mandatory come-to-the-office and WFH (real estate is expensive!).

Last 5+ years have been with my current company. There is an office about 10-15 minutes from me that I would frequent every week or two, just to stay connected, but my immediate team was spread out over North America, so we were good at working remotely.

Last year, I moved to a different team, with a more global purview. I think the last time they met up was 3 or 4 years ago, in Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio). Have mentioned to our director how I think it's time we look at doing so again, once travel restrictions ease up a bit more.

Like @graphicguy, WFH has pros and cons, which he articulated nicely. The only thing I'll add is that there isn't always a big difference between working and vacation, since you're in the same location for both.

corvette

Came back from lunch to Word locking up and not letting me print a file to PDF because it couldn’t connect to our horribly slow cloud storage. Had to restart, then delete the Edge icon from my taskbar, exit the Ringcentral app, and open my preferred browser and homepage (this happens every time I restart because of the settings from corporate). Now to find the Word document I was working on and try to print it again. IT did provide a workaround to the cloud printing to physical printers, which was taking about five minutes to print a single page document, but seems generally unconcerned about their “corporate standard” configuration making it difficult or impossible for people to work.

Anyway, in the light snow, the Tundra struggled starting from a dead stop on a slight incline and I had to engage 4WD for a few seconds to get it going.

stickguy

IT and security is much more interested in their specialty. Being able to do your job efficiently, way down the priority list. So sadly worker bees are trained to just suck it up and waste their time.

I agree that meeting people on occasion is nice. Every so often a client meeting, or corporate get together as a chance to see people. Everybody likes those! I could use one right about now, but it isn't happening any time soon.

stickguy

for fun cars I did sit in the new Si recently. It was nice. Just needed power seats. But if you aren't really into hard core driving, the 6 speed sport touring hatch is pretty much the same thing. Very slightly slower and no LSD, but it has some extra features for a couple grand more $. The upcoming Integra should merge the 2 (Si performance bits, normal car features and much better Acura seats).

I test drove a 2018 BRZ too, and found it to be very enjoyable. I did not get a chance to really hammer it but around town no issues with power output. And I fit in it very well. quite comfy and I could see out of it. 2 things I could not say about the 2000 Miata I had. A NC or ND Miata might fit me better but I have not tried them out. The BRZ though could serve as a most times DD if you wanted it to. Also a very good buy for the sticker price.

tjc78

I’m WFH and my entire team is spread throughout the northeast. I have no problems managing them and with all the various communication tools speak to them all day.

Not sure I could ever go back to an office full time.

It can be tough to disconnect, but that’s the case
WFH or not.

au1994

I am nearing 2 years WFH. It started out as 2 weeks and has been extended so many times its a joke now. My boss has already said he will adopt the hybrid model. The office only officially closed briefly during the early stages of the pandemic but they still prefer we don’t bring in a lot of visitors. I’ll go in for half a day or so every month just to show my face, stock up on supplies or have lunch with some folks. Most of the time when I go in there are very few people to see. The company is happy. We have had a couple of great years and tackled some big projects all mostly remote.

I have gone both ways on it but am a big fan of WFH now. I get an hour or more of my day back not commuting. Less dry cleaning and less gas consumption. My boss and I stay in touch regularly, same with my direct reports.

Yes I work more, probably 6 to 6 and 99% of the time breakfast and lunch are at my desk, but I love what I do so it doesn’t bother me. If needed, I have suppliers meet me at restaurants convenient to me or in their hotel conference room as I do believe it is important to keep a connection with them.

Its not a constant grind so lots of laundry gets cleaned, yard work done and random errands run during the week so it free’s our weekends up.

And yes, since all I need is an internet connection and the lake house has internet, you can guess were I spend the majority of my summer. Grabbing a beer and taking a boat ride at the end of the day doesn’t suck.

jmonroe1

@kyfdx said:
Some people (even salaried management) need supervision to insure their productivity. This is true, even if you feel it doesn't apply to you.

When I was a working stiff in management there was one guy in management above me that felt that ALL of his people, management and others required some type of supervision. After I retired I was asked to come back as a consultant. I initially declined but they talked me into it. I remember one time there was a very unique problem that came up so to have some fun I asked the guy that hired me how he wanted me to proceed. He said, “@jmonroe, we asked you to come back because we know that you don’t need supervision”. When I reminded him that so and so didn’t feel that way. He said, “when he retired nobody asked him to come back. Do I have to say any more”?

Like I’ve said before, they liked me more after I retired and came back than they did when I was on their regular payroll.

jmonroe

stickguy

being able to do productive stuff throughout the day is wonderful. As is never having to worry about scheduling any kind of work at the house.

andres3

Longer post in the Cars & Conversations forum with more details, but essentially it looks like an evil High-Pressure Fuel Pump is the cause of all my issues in the S4. Mixing fuel into the oil and sabotaging the engine.

Should get the Audi S4 back tonight as an extra $500 HPFP is nothing among friends and engine replacements, right?

Crossing fingers Audi will issue a letter starting a retroactive 7 year 120K mile warranty on the S4 HPFP like they did with my A3 years ago. Then I can claim they owe me for the whole bill maybe.

qbrozen

Trying to work out a deal on a new WRX in VA at the moment. They claim to be asking MSRP, but their doc fee is an absurd 799. I ran the numbers using base MF and a slightly more reasonable 499 fee and arrived at $2500 DAS and $399/mo for 36/10, so that's what I sent them. We'll see.

Like I said, this is not a payment shopper's deal, by any means. I think $29k is pretty cheap for the vehicle, even if that is MSRP. And the buy rate is approximate to 2.4% interest. I thought about buying, but it doesn't really change anything. I could put $5k down and have the same payment for 6 yrs. I think the lease is slightly better just from a cash-in-pocket perspective without costing any more in the long-term.

The way it works is a 6-yr loan now would have a total cost of ~$34k by the end, inclusive of all taxes and fees. A lease now will be $16.8k total cost for 3 yrs with $17k RV. With tax and fee, that's $18.5k buyout. So ~$1300 more? And, of course, if I avoid tax on the buyout, then it is almost a wash. AND, in the end, I project $7k equity, thereby driving my lease cost to $10k. That's an effective $277/mo, which doesn't seem bad ... right?

ab348

My WFH experience is now dated (7+ yrs) and limited. I had one employee who asked and received permission to try it and I never had any complaints from her clients but back then the tech was pretty clunky and she eventually ended up being in the office a day or two each week because of that. I don't know how well it would have worked for me, even with dedicated space at home with proper tech and communications. A lot of my job was dealing with the Board Chair and CEO when they wanted to talk about some issue. When they summoned you, you dropped everything. A similar thing would happen when another VP or Director wanted some advice on the QT about something. It strikes me that you would need a much more structured way of keeping abreast of what your team was up to than what we were used to as well. A lot of that was done by either me or them just popping in for a chat periodically. Glad all of this is no longer something to deal with.

Funny coincidence: just yesterday I mistakenly was copied on a work email from a former colleague. The current CEO and myself share the same first name and the sender clicked on the wrong name suggestion. First time that has happened in a while.

tjc78

@au1994 said:
I am nearing 2 years WFH. It started out as 2 weeks and has been extended so many times its a joke now. My boss has already said he will adopt the hybrid model. The office only officially closed briefly during the early stages of the pandemic but they still prefer we don’t bring in a lot of visitors. I’ll go in for half a day or so every month just to show my face, stock up on supplies or have lunch with some folks. Most of the time when I go in there are very few people to see. The company is happy. We have had a couple of great years and tackled some big projects all mostly remote.

I have gone both ways on it but am a big fan of WFH now. I get an hour of my day back or more not commuting. Less dry cleaning and less gas consumption. My boss and I stay in touch regularly, same with my direct reports.

Yes I work more, probably 6 to 6 and 99% of the time breakfast and lunch are at my desk, but I love what I do so it doesn’t bother me. If needed, I have suppliers meet me at restaurants convenient to me or in their hotel conference room as I do believe it is important to keep a connection with them.

Its not a constant grind so lots of laundry gets cleaned, yard work done and random errands run during the week so it free’s our weekends up.

And yes, since all I need is an internet connection and the lake house has internet, you can guess were I spend the majority of my summer. Grabbing a beer and taking a boat ride at the end of the day doesn’t suck.

Depending on what type of summer program the kids have, we will probably spend Friday - Monday down the shore. That’s a big perk of WFH for sure

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Trying to work out a deal on a new WRX in VA at the moment. They claim to be asking MSRP, but their doc fee is an absurd 799. I ran the numbers using base MF and a slightly more reasonable 499 fee and arrived at $2500 DAS and $399/mo for 36/10, so that's what I sent them. We'll see.

Like I said, this is not a payment shopper's deal, by any means. I think $29k is pretty cheap for the vehicle, even if that is MSRP. And the buy rate is approximate to 2.4% interest. I thought about buying, but it doesn't really change anything. I could put $5k down and have the same payment for 6 yrs. I think the lease is slightly better just from a cash-in-pocket perspective without costing any more in the long-term.

The way it works is a 6-yr loan now would have a total cost of ~$34k by the end, inclusive of all taxes and fees. A lease now will be $16.8k total cost for 3 yrs with $17k RV. With tax and fee, that's $18.5k buyout. So ~$1300 more? And, of course, if I avoid tax on the buyout, then it is almost a wash. AND, in the end, I project $7k equity, thereby driving my lease cost to $10k. That's an effective $277/mo, which doesn't seem bad ... right?

Sounds good. You know how it goes though. These dealers are very proud of their doc fee. $277 effective including tax is a sweet deal on a WRX. Like you said, the real money is at the back end where Subaru's RV is projected at $17K. Try finding a used (not modded to death) 3 year old WRX for $17K.

The dealer where I bought my Legacy in Rye, NY has 2 used WRX on the lot:

A Black Base 6MT with 15K miles for $32K
A Silver Premuim 6MT with 11K miles for $34K

Both 2019 models

stickguy

andres3 said:

Longer post in the Cars & Conversations forum with more details, but essentially it looks like an evil High-Pressure Fuel Pump is the cause of all my issues in the S4. Mixing fuel into the oil and sabotaging the engine.

Should get the Audi S4 back tonight as an extra $500 HPFP is nothing among friends and engine replacements, right?

Crossing fingers Audi will issue a letter starting a retroactive 7 year 120K mile warranty on the S4 HPFP like they did with my A3 years ago. Then I can claim they owe me for the whole bill maybe.

Good luck. My thought process is, on a big expensive job like this, I don’t try to reuse wear parts. Especially ones known to fail with bad consequences. Really the while you are in there plan. Probably motor mounts, trans mount, rad hoses, all that stuff too.

stickguy

I’m hoping the Ford holds its value too. Specially since my residual value at the 3 year mark will be zero.

qbrozen

Benz bill is finally tallied.
Wife guessed 3500. I guessed 4400. My reasoning was I like to shoot high and be pleasantly surprised. Or at least less sad.
and the bills reads ... drrrrrrumrrrrrrroolllllll..... 4200.

stickguy

Should work like new at least. Now you can either enjoy it, or get it on cars and bids before something else breaks.

sda

I guess a bit less sad... Based on how much work he did that is probably reasonable. I hate to even think of how much the bill would have been if the work had been done at the dealer. I hope it drives great!

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
Should work like new at least. Now you can either enjoy it, or get it on cars and bids before something else breaks.

More like hope the wife doesnt break it before then!
She’ll use it until a Jeep arrives.

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
Benz bill is finally tallied.
Wife guessed 3500. I guessed 4400. My reasoning was I like to shoot high and be pleasantly surprised. Or at least less sad.
and the bills reads ... drrrrrrumrrrrrrroolllllll..... 4200.

How’s it feel not to have screwed yourself so badly.

jmonroe

andres3

qbrozen said:

Benz bill is finally tallied.
Wife guessed 3500. I guessed 4400. My reasoning was I like to shoot high and be pleasantly surprised. Or at least less sad.
and the bills reads ... drrrrrrumrrrrrrroolllllll..... 4200.

Chump change!

corvette

@qbrozen said:
She’ll use it until a Jeep arrives.

When you have multiple Jeeps on order, I guess you have to say “a Jeep” and not “the Jeep.”

stickguy

What arrives first, a Jeep, or a TRX?

Michaell

Member needs help with title issues in WA/OR

jmonroe1

@andres3 said:
Chump change!

You tell em. Your tax bill was probably around half of that.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Almost live view of my birdbath, suffice it to say, today is a WFH day:



Fortunately, this storm was predicted, and my employer even encouraged WFH.

The new working world has been difficult for the organization - there's a younger set who would be fine if they never saw the office again, and a more established contingent who has devoted their life to "office culture" and feel like something is missing in their lives if they aren't physically in the office. Leadership has tried to make a hybrid model, which I think has mostly worked, as there's a lot of discretion, especially if one has a more progressive/non micromanagerial director (I do). There have been growing pains, as a questionably worded "return to the office" announcement resulted in a wave of resignations, which then resulted in what are likely disguised retention bonuses (I am not complaining), and the hybrid model. Personally, I don't mind going in, but the past nearly 2 years has offered proof that one not need be there 5 days a week to get work done.

That’s the way my birdbath usually looks by this time but you can still see the green grass through about an inch we got last night.

Sometimes an inch is worse than a foot. This morning at 5:30 the town hadn’t salted the roads and it was slick until I got to the highway. Most folks in the northeast know to just slow down in snowy weather but you always have the “I have 4 wheel drive” people who end up on their roof.

My only time the snow stopped me was when we got 4 feet in 1970. I enlisted a bunch of my buddies and made a deal with my dad that if we shoveled his 150 foot driveway we could borrow his station wagon. He thought he made a sucker bet but 4 hours later we were cruising through the snow drifts as the only car on the road.

We have some drivers at work who won’t come in if it snows but most of us don’t care.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

WFH - I've been doing it for going on 14 years. First 8 of them was with IBM, after I was reassigned to a group that didn't have anything to do with the office I used to work at. In that time, only once met my peers, and never met face-to-face with my manager (I had 3 of them over that time frame). IBM has bounced back and forth between mandatory come-to-the-office and WFH (real estate is expensive!).

Last 5+ years have been with my current company. There is an office about 10-15 minutes from me that I would frequent every week or two, just to stay connected, but my immediate team was spread out over North America, so we were good at working remotely.

Last year, I moved to a different team, with a more global purview. I think the last time they met up was 3 or 4 years ago, in Dublin (Ireland, not Ohio). Have mentioned to our director how I think it's time we look at doing so again, once travel restrictions ease up a bit more.

Like @graphicguy, WFH has pros and cons, which he articulated nicely. The only thing I'll add is that there isn't always a big difference between working and vacation, since you're in the same location for both.

My entire suit and tie career was either at-home or remote office. The farm life was the ultimate work from home but even the bus driving was relatively free of supervision while actually doing the job.

I think part of my decision to retire was spurred by them putting surveillance equipment on the bus.

Some people need supervision and some people detest it.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Benz bill is finally tallied.
Wife guessed 3500. I guessed 4400. My reasoning was I like to shoot high and be pleasantly surprised. Or at least less sad.
and the bills reads ... drrrrrrumrrrrrrroolllllll..... 4200.

How does $4200 compare with the cost of replacing it with anything else in this market? Count your blessings.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

Benz bill is finally tallied.
Wife guessed 3500. I guessed 4400. My reasoning was I like to shoot high and be pleasantly surprised. Or at least less sad.
and the bills reads ... drrrrrrumrrrrrrroolllllll..... 4200.

How does $4200 compare with the cost of replacing it with anything else in this market? Count your blessings.

Well, that’s one way of looking at it, if you can ignore whatever amount he paid for it in the first place.

stickguy

have to compare what it was worth non-running, vs. now running like new and not leaking all over. Gotta figure that increase was more than the cost of fixing it.

corvette

oldfarmer50 said:

I think part of my decision to retire was spurred by them putting surveillance equipment on the bus.

Growing up, all of our school buses had a camera facing the passengers. I think the reason being that they expected the driver to pay attention to the road and not to notice which student started a fight.

jmonroe1

@corvette said:
Growing up, all of our school buses had a camera facing the passengers. I think the reason being that they expected the driver to pay attention to the road and not to notice which student started a fight.

Did they also have a camera to notice who finished the fight?

jmonroe

qbrozen

As to the MB, if that previous sale can give a good indication, I figure mine should fetch $20k, easy. $13k original purchase price, shipping/tax/tags, plus the parts I already put into it (the head bolt conversion, etc), I think that puts me to about $20,700'ish out of pocket.

TRX is due first. I'll check in again with chat tomorrow and see where everything is.

I've gotten on reply on the subie. Just hit up another 4-5 dealers. I could still fall back to something less pricey.

Here is a really intriguing one. A bit on the pricey side. $12.5k would be plenty high on it.

Could always supersize it. Kinda defeats the purpose for me looking for a sporty, tossable snowbound vehicle.

fintail

We had that a few weeks ago - just an inch or or two of snow, but the roads were wet beforehand, then froze, so it became chaos. A co-worker said it was the worst she's seen in 20+ years of commuting here. Roads here generally aren't salted, and are treated with something that seems to wash away, so it might be iffier than in east coast snow country. I don't mind snow without an ice rink under it, but a foot of snow or ice makes me want to stay in, and WFH helps with that. I think the city brings out the plows at 4".

I think we got around 8-10" today, this area might average 45-50" in a winter. Now it is freezing rain, then it will rain, then will clear off and freeze over - that will be a mess.

oldfarmer50 said:

fintail said:

Almost live view of my birdbath, suffice it to say, today is a WFH day:



Fortunately, this storm was predicted, and my employer even encouraged WFH.

The new working world has been difficult for the organization - there's a younger set who would be fine if they never saw the office again, and a more established contingent who has devoted their life to "office culture" and feel like something is missing in their lives if they aren't physically in the office. Leadership has tried to make a hybrid model, which I think has mostly worked, as there's a lot of discretion, especially if one has a more progressive/non micromanagerial director (I do). There have been growing pains, as a questionably worded "return to the office" announcement resulted in a wave of resignations, which then resulted in what are likely disguised retention bonuses (I am not complaining), and the hybrid model. Personally, I don't mind going in, but the past nearly 2 years has offered proof that one not need be there 5 days a week to get work done.

That’s the way my birdbath usually looks by this time but you can still see the green grass through about an inch we got last night.

Sometimes an inch is worse than a foot. This morning at 5:30 the town hadn’t salted the roads and it was slick until I got to the highway. Most folks in the northeast know to just slow down in snowy weather but you always have the “I have 4 wheel drive” people who end up on their roof.

My only time the snow stopped me was when we got 4 feet in 1970. I enlisted a bunch of my buddies and made a deal with my dad that if we shoveled his 150 foot driveway we could borrow his station wagon. He thought he made a sucker bet but 4 hours later we were cruising through the snow drifts as the only car on the road.

We have some drivers at work who won’t come in if it snows but most of us don’t care.

sda

qbrozen said:

As to the MB, if that previous sale can give a good indication, I figure mine should fetch $20k, easy. $13k original purchase price, shipping/tax/tags, plus the parts I already put into it (the head bolt conversion, etc), I think that puts me to about $20,700'ish out of pocket.

TRX is due first. I'll check in again with chat tomorrow and see where everything is.

I've gotten on reply on the subie. Just hit up another 4-5 dealers. I could still fall back to something less pricey.

Here is a really intriguing one. A bit on the pricey side. $12.5k would be plenty high on it.

Could always supersize it. Kinda defeats the purpose for me looking for a sporty, tossable snowbound vehicle.

When you purchased the MLB were you aware of the mechanical issues? This is an over-generalization but it seems German cars become quite needy as they approach 100k where Asian and to a lesser degree, domestic do not require much attention. The driving dynamics, solidity and perceived quality of German cars is typically top notch.

stickguy

both look nice. will be labor intensive of course, but you can handle that. There IMO isn't that much difference in size so they probably drive similar. the 5 is just a bit longer. I would take either based on condition and price.

the 530 is about 10 minutes from my son's house. I am going up some point this winter but probably not until February. If I was up there I would go take a look. Can always send Old Farmer. He is pretty close.

I was in Canton MA last summer. right near the Ikea south of Boston!

roadburner

In January 1994 we had a huge snowfall for KY- over 22" on top of 1" of ice in less than 12 hours. I had my POS 1973 Bronco but of course it wouldn't start. The snowfall arrived Sunday night and we didn't get out the drive until Friday, when the owner of an adjacent farm plowed our road. Less than 6 months later the Volvo 740 Turbo was traded for a Pathfinder SE with the Off Road package.

qbrozen

@sda said:
When you purchased the MLB were you aware of the mechanical issues?

I was not

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
both look nice. will be labor intensive of course, but you can handle that. There IMO isn't that much difference in size so they probably drive similar. the 5 is just a bit longer. I would take either based on condition and price.

the 530 is about 10 minutes from my son's house. I am going up some point this winter but probably not until February. If I was up there I would go take a look. Can always send Old Farmer. He is pretty close.

I was in Canton MA last summer. right near the Ikea south of Boston!

I’ll be damned. You are right. Only 11 lbs more for the 530. Wow.

roadburner

We had a minor snowfall today, but of course the region was paralyzed. I sent everyone home at noon and the judicial center closed soon after- and it is also closed tomorrow. Even though the Clubman would have handled things fine, I drove the Wrangler so I would be able to drive around any accidents. While driving home I saw two cars stuck in the ditch(a Civic and a PT Cruiser); I kept the Wrangler in 2WD 99% of the time. The worst part of the drive home was following a newer Cherokee home. The driver was terrified and wouldn't drive over 30 mph- and tapped the brakes every 2000 feet at a minimum.

jmonroe1

@roadburner said:
We had a minor snowfall today, but of course the region was paralyzed> I sent everyone home at noon and the Judicial Center closed soon after- and is also closed tomorrow. Even though the Clubman would have handled things fine, I drove the Wrangler so I would be able to drive around any accidents. While driving home I saw two cars stuck in the ditch(Civic and a PT Cruiser) . I kept the Wrangler in 2WD 99% of the time. The worst part of the drive home was following a newer Cherokee home. The driver was terrified and wouldn't drive over 30 mph- and tapped the brakes every 2ooo feet at a minimum.

I learned many moons ago that driving on snow (I don’t know anyone who knows how to drive on ice unless you have chains) for a few hours will teach you more about driving than a cross country trip. Snow teaches you how you must feel the car in the seat of your pants. One you get that feel you’re pretty much set for many, many miles of safe driving.

jmonroe

corvette

roadburner said:

We had a minor snowfall today, but of course the region was paralyzed.

We stayed open until 5, although they told everyone they may work from home tomorrow, which I'm definitely taking advantage of. Traffic on city streets was moving slowly, but most of them were in pretty bad condition when I went home for lunch and again when I headed home for the evening.

Michaell

What's wrong with 30 MPH?

My wife, who is a Colorado native and got her license while living in Wyoming and has a birthday in February and had RWD vehicles initially, has never had an accident in over 40 years of driving.

Her advice to me - California native - was this: "Only go as fast as you want to be going when you lose control". She had no problem doing 30 MPH when she felt the conditions warranted.

Just because you want to go faster doesn't mean that everyone should.

roadburner

Car and Driver Just tested an M240i xDrive. The thing is unnecessarily heavy; 3,900 pounds- or only 300 pounds less than my old 1974 Monte Carlo. It is legitimately fast, but I'm thinking a 2018 F83 M4 DCT would suit me much better- it's a tick faster north of 100 mph, only 4" longer, and 230 lbs. lighter. The M2 Comp posts nearly identical numbers to the M240i and is over 300 lbs. lighter. The M340i RWD is equally fast and 50 lbs. lighter.
I'd rank the alternatives-by my preference-as follows:
1. M2 Comp
2. F83 M4 Comp
3. M340i (Only with HP Tire and Cooling)

At least I will no longer worry about buying the new 2er...