Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

My Tahoe would collect about a gallon of water in each rear door whenever it rained (the doors got heavy and you could hear it sloshing around). It would slowly drain out the tiny weep holes in the bottom over the next day or so. Apparently there were no electronics in the area and it seems to be a common occurrence on GMT900 platform trucks.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

2022 Frontier Crew 4X4 S trim

18/10 lease residual is 101%

So when the sleazy car salesman told me 20 years ago that used cars were going UP in value, he was telling me the truth?

28firefighter

4xE lease rates tanked this month. MF up, residual down.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

4xE lease rates tanked this month. MF up, residual down.

The party's over, boys. Thanks for stopping by!

au1994

28firefighter said:

4xE lease rates tanked this month. MF up, residual down.

That sucks. Is it going to kill your Rubicon deal?

28firefighter

Probably - but of course, my Jeep slipped back to D so it might not ever get built anyway!

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Probably - but of course, my Jeep slipped back to D so it might not ever get built anyway!

Money Factors seem to be up, across the board, this month.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

Sooooo IF you could find a dealer to sell you one at MSRP without a marked up MF you could be at $294 a month with just first OOP (including 6.625% tax)

Interesting

Edit: based on a 36K MSRP

I think you can do better than that. I estimated about $270/mo. on $40K MSRP, with 6% monthly tax.

kyfdx

henryn said:

kyfdx said:

qbrozen said:

dealer sent an estimate over. What they've recorded is that the rear door has the water issue and to fix that is $4200. So I could see insurance maybe looking at this and saying, "well, we'll cover THAT, but you are on your own with the rest." The whole estimate is $13k. But I think they are full of it with $7k moonroof replacement. I am fairly confident I can fix it by just removing the lousy wind deflector. I found out as I was driving to the dealer that the deflector does not retract, and the roof gets stuck on it. When I pull the deflector down manually, I can then close the roof.

I'll be shocked if your car insurance covers you for a vehicle repair issue.

Prepare to be shocked. In 2018, on my almost brand new F150, the main wiring harness from the front to the rear of the vehicle was torn up under the hood. Almost certainly by some animal, a packrat, a feral cat, who knows. The estimate was around $1,800 to replace the wiring harness, the insurance company covered it under comprehensive. All I was out of pocket was the $100 deductible.

Interesting side note, once it became an "insurance pays" item the price dropped from $1,800 to $1,100.

That's different than your car needing repair because some other part broke (sunroof drain/seal is a repair item, not an insurance loss event). I hope I'm wrong.

pensfan83

The amount of people who are going to lose their minds will be astounding, especially those only looking for a profit. I think there's one person on the other board who's flipped 5 or 6 different Stellantis vehicles

28firefighter

It won't hurt flippers all that much - it'll hurt people who want to keep them.

pensfan83

How big was the RV drop?

EDIT: Ouch, payments up what looks Iike an average of around $100 give or take. You're right on short term holds.

kyfdx

They've updated the Frontier residuals. What was 101% (mistakenly?) is now 97%.

jmonroe1

@kyfdx said:
They've updated the Frontier residuals. What was 101% (mistakenly?) is now 97%.

Should have known that was a bait and switch.

jmonroe

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

Sooooo IF you could find a dealer to sell you one at MSRP without a marked up MF you could be at $294 a month with just first OOP (including 6.625% tax)

Interesting

Edit: based on a 36K MSRP

A technicality, and kind of silly of me since it is a rental anyway, but paying ~$300/mo and not paying down the balance bugs me. An interest-only loan, essentially.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
I think you can do better than that. I estimated about $270/mo. on $40K MSRP, with 6% monthly tax.

I threw $800 in fees at it and NJ taxes the whole lease total so that brings it up a touch.

Have to say I’m mildly intrigued by this since it would be the perfect summer vehicle for me….however I have committed to giving the S60 back and not replacing it for awhile.

@qbrozen
Good point. It is basically all taxes, fees and interest.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:

I think you can do better than that. I estimated about $270/mo. on $40K MSRP, with 6% monthly tax.

I threw $800 in fees at it and NJ taxes the whole lease total so that brings it up a touch.

Have to say I’m mildly intrigued by this since it would be the perfect summer vehicle for me….however I have committed to giving the S60 back and not replacing it for awhile.

@qbrozen

Good point. It is basically all taxes, fees and interest.

They updated the residual. It's actually 97%...

So, add $45/mo. Still cheap for a lease

tjc78

Even with the bump it is one of the better deals out there today. Of course assuming you can find one and it’s at MSRP.

kyfdx

tjc78 said:

Even with the bump it is one of the better deals out there today. Of course assuming you can find one and it’s at MSRP.

Yup..

qbrozen

corvette said:

My Tahoe would collect about a gallon of water in each rear door whenever it rained (the doors got heavy and you could hear it sloshing around). It would slowly drain out the tiny weep holes in the bottom over the next day or so. Apparently there were no electronics in the area and it seems to be a common occurrence on GMT900 platform trucks.

Explains why so many I see are rusted out

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

That's different than your car needing repair because some other part broke (sunroof drain/seal is a repair item, not an insurance loss event). I hope I'm wrong.

I'm with you. At the same time, however, cars are covered every day for someone doing something stupid. Leaving a moonroof open or convertible top down during a rainstorm should certainly qualify for doing something stupid. So what would be the difference between that and one that leaks? Hell, if anything, a car developing a leak and flooding important compartments, through no fault of the owner, should be more willingly covered before someone who was texting and drove into a lake.

28firefighter

Service Engine Soon light came on the infiniti tonight.

I get what I deserve, I reap what I sow etc etc.

tjc78

@28firefighter said:
Service Engine Soon light came on the infiniti tonight.

I get what I deserve, I reap what I sow etc etc.

Uh oh… aren’t they known for catalytic converter issues?

henryn

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:

Sooooo IF you could find a dealer to sell you one at MSRP without a marked up MF you could be at $294 a month with just first OOP (including 6.625% tax)

Interesting

Edit: based on a 36K MSRP

A technicality, and kind of silly of me since it is a rental anyway, but paying ~$300/mo and not paying down the balance bugs me. An interest-only loan, essentially.

Your comment made me curious as to what interest rates are for car loans these days, I was sure that it went up, but I didn’t know by how much. My credit union is doing

36 months 2.59%
48 months 2.79%
60 months 2.99%
72 months 3.19% (minimum loan $25,000)
84 months 3.59% (minimum loan $40,000)

One particular note of interest – “up to 140% of Vehicle MSRP”

At any rate, you are definitely not “just paying interest”. $40,000 at 3.59% would cost you about $120 per month in interest.

28firefighter

tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:

Service Engine Soon light came on the infiniti tonight.

I get what I deserve, I reap what I sow etc etc.

Uh oh… aren’t they known for catalytic converter issues?

We will find out.

henryn

28firefighter said:

Service Engine Soon light came on the infiniti tonight.

I get what I deserve, I reap what I sow etc etc.

It could be something really simple and easy, like an O2 sensor. Keep your fingers crossed. Do you have one of those $10 OBD2 code readers? The kind that connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth, very handy to have.

corvette

I doubt auto loan rates will stay that low for very long. 30 year fixed mortgages are 5.375% at my bank. Weirdly, a 5 year ARM is 5.5%--it's normally significantly lower than a 30 year fixed, so it appears they've already priced projected near-term rate increases into the product. My ARM, refinanced in December 2020, is 2.375% through December 2025.

@28firefighter - do you have a code reader?

andres3

I still think insurance is a scam.

I like high deductibles because it means I'm paying the Cabal less.

Of course, after $1,000 it becomes pretty pointless. The discounts become tiny past that amount.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
I'm with you. At the same time, however, cars are covered every day for someone doing something stupid. Leaving a moonroof open or convertible top down during a rainstorm should certainly qualify for doing something stupid. So what would be the difference between that and one that leaks? Hell, if anything, a car developing a leak and flooding important compartments, through no fault of the owner, should be more willingly covered before someone who was texting and drove into a lake.

You mentioned doing something stupid… I left the moonroof open on one of my Enclaves overnight way back when. It didn’t rain super heavy but the interior got pretty soaked. I thought for sure I would be submitting a claim, but I caught it quickly enough that no damage was done. The seat sensor was wonky for a few weeks but eventually came around.

corvette

@andres3 - I had $1,000 auto deductibles at one time. I think it was about $50 cheaper per year. The last few loans/leases I've had, the lender required a $500 deductible.

tjc78

@henryn said:
Your comment made me curious as to what interest rates are for car loans these days, I was sure that it went up, but I didn’t know by how much. My credit union is doing

36 months 2.59%
48 months 2.79%
60 months 2.99%
72 months 3.19% (minimum loan $25,000)
84 months 3.59% (minimum loan $40,000)

One particular note of interest – “up to 140% of Vehicle MSRP”

At any rate, you are definitely not “just paying interest”. $40,000 at 3.59% would cost you about $120 per month in interest.

You are also paying $695 acquisition fee, taxes and whatever dealer fees you roll in. On an 18 month lease that adds a good bit to your payment

kyfdx

.00290 MF approx = 6.9% APR

Also, since you are only paying down $2000 of the "loan balance", almost the entire $40K is subject to finance charges for the lease term. About $230/mo. of the lease payment is going to finance charges, in the $40K MSRP example.

andres3

28firefighter said:

Service Engine Soon light came on the infiniti tonight.

I get what I deserve, I reap what I sow etc etc.

The Tiguan's check engine light ended up just being a bad battery. They replaced it free of charge under warranty.... I was sure a "prorated" charge was forthcoming, but no. GO VW!!!

On the other hand, the dealership said the air filter was "red alert" in need of replacement, the cabin filter was "yellow alert" and one of the tires was "red" while the other 3 were yellow. They said due to the somewhat uneven wear, she should get an alignment. Check this out, they quoted an absurd $60 per air filter, but also, $700 for a 4-wheel alignment because her Tiguan has "safety assist" features!!!!

And people say the term stealerships might be overused.....

corvette

Car Wizard has discussed the battery issue on either his or Hoovie's channel, as it relates to (I believe) one of Hoovie's Lambos. Basically, due to all the modern electronics, you start by testing the battery. If the battery is more than a couple of years old, there's a decent probability that it's the source of the problem even if it tests good.

sda

How many miles on the Tiguan? If it tracks true and isn’t wearing the tires badly I think I’d pass on the alignment and accept a little less tire life.

28firefighter

I ran the codes and it is crankshaft a and b errors. On its face, a sensor issue. However, this code combo is known for being due to loss of oil pressure when a gasket on the timing cover blows. Given that under the hood reeks of burnt oil, the two codes, and my luck I’d say I’m toast.

sda

28firefighter said:

I ran the codes and it is crankshaft a and b errors. On its face, a sensor issue. However, this code combo is known for being due to loss of oil pressure when a gasket on the timing cover blows. Given that under the hood reeks of burnt oil, the two codes, and my luck I’d say I’m toast.

Ugh. Are you seeing any oil on the ground? Check the dipstick for oil level? Our TL is dripping oil from the rear main seal. Thankfully more a nuisance as the oil level doesn’t budge off the full mark yet I check it every week. Not sure what I’ll do if it gets worse as it will be fairly expensive in regards to its age and mileage to fix. With car prices as they are today I suspect I’ll have it repaired.

xwesx

Yeah, that's a safe bet.

28firefighter

No oil on the ground. Oil level is fine. So whatever it is hopefully isn’t catastrophic damage yet.

xwesx

andres3 said:

The Tiguan's check engine light ended up just being a bad battery. They replaced it free of charge under warranty.... I was sure a "prorated" charge was forthcoming, but no. GO VW!!!

On the other hand, the dealership said the air filter was "red alert" in need of replacement, the cabin filter was "yellow alert" and one of the tires was "red" while the other 3 were yellow. They said due to the somewhat uneven wear, she should get an alignment. Check this out, they quoted an absurd $60 per air filter, but also, $700 for a 4-wheel alignment because her Tiguan has "safety assist" features!!!!

And people say the term stealerships might be overused.....

Not to be overly contrarian, but the cost per filter doesn't seem overly absurd to me considering that I pay around $30 per filter for my car... and I then I still have to install them. Sometimes, that's a royal PITA in itself, but I can see a tech charging $30 each for them given the time involved.

henryn

Hmmm... the Fram air filter for my Pacifica is $12.63 on Amazon. And for my F150, $10.56 on Amazon. The cabin air filter for the Pacifica is $11.59. The F150 doesn't use a cabin air filter, at least not in 2013 for the XL trim.

corvette

There may be a slot to add one to the F150 if you want to. Conversely, if you have a car that is offered in some trims with no cabin air filter, but yours has one, you can probably safely delete it if you don't want to deal with replacing it.

Some of the monthly oil/filter sales at Autozone allow you to buy a cabin air filter or an engine air filter for a few bucks more.

henryn

28firefighter said:

I ran the codes and it is crankshaft a and b errors. On its face, a sensor issue. However, this code combo is known for being due to loss of oil pressure when a gasket on the timing cover blows. Given that under the hood reeks of burnt oil, the two codes, and my luck I’d say I’m toast.

Sounds like you've been doing some online research. What is the estimated cost for replacing the gasket on the timing cover for that make and model? Hopefully this is nothing like the oil change on a Bugatti...

explorerx4

@henryn,
Just watched a YT video on installing a cabin air filter on an 08-14 F150.
Conclusion, they don't have one.

henryn

kyfdx said:

.00290 MF approx = 6.9% APR

Also, since you are only paying down $2000 of the "loan balance", almost the entire $40K is subject to finance charges for the lease term. About $230/mo. of the lease payment is going to finance charges, in the $40K MSRP example.

6.9% D___! That's bad. Really really really bad. Like if your credit score was below 500 or something. A little quick math, that's $230 a month in interest. Crazy crazy. At 2.59% (from the credit union), you would only be paying $86 a month in interest. A serious difference.

henryn

And speaking of interest rates -- if you've $10k sitting around, you might want to get in on this deal:

https://slickdeals.net/f/15758386-us-treasury-series-i-savings-bonds-inflation-rate-earnings-may-october-22-9-62-interest-annualized-for-6-months-limit-10k-year-per-person

U.S, Government Treasury is currently offering 9.62% Interest Rate (Annualized for 6 Months) in combined Fixed + Inflation Rate Earnings valid on newly issued Series I Savings Bonds purchased from May through October 2022. Limit of $10,000/year per person.

corvette

It looks appealing at first glance, but the fixed rate is now 0%. When inflation goes down, so will the rate paid on the bonds--all the way to 0 if there was no inflation in a given semiannual period. The people who bought in the late 1990s and early 2000s and held on to them (with fixed rates of 2-3% or higher) are doing pretty well.

qbrozen

Still on the hunt for our house guest’s suv replacement. She was keen on the XC90 but I kept saying maybe she needs to consider buying something cheaper. My search pointed her to 2019 CPO Explorer, CX9, Flex, Durango, or Atlas. She is anti-GM and I am anti-CVT (nissan/infiniti/subaru). I showed her an MKT and she doesnt like the looks. Sent her a Corsair but I’m not sure its big enough.(?)

28firefighter

@henryn said:
6.9% D___! That's bad. Really really really bad. Like if your credit score was below 500 or something. A little quick math, that's $230 a month in interest. Crazy crazy. At 2.59% (from the credit union), you would only be paying $86 a month in interest. A serious difference.

600 or below you’re talking interest in the 20% range if you can even get approved. 6.9% was for people in the 600-700 range…

stickguy

28, hope the G can be taken care of for not too much money. but these days, certainly worth fixing anything.