Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

@qbrozen - here is one for your import biz... Not sure whether 1996 is too new to import, though. Euro market Pontiac Trans Sport with a stick shift and a Quad 4 under the hood.

https://auto.bazos.cz/inzerat/155210331/pontiac-trans-sport-175000-km.php

How much is 50,000 Kc?

About $2100

qbrozen

import a Pontiac? Pass! lol.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Good grief!

It has been 3 weeks since salesperson said “Sprinter is built. Should be here in 2-3 weeks.” Now he says “Sprinter is built. Awaiting a microchip. Fingers crossed it ships first week of August.”

Welcome to the car biz, Q. What a noob.

Michaell

@oldfarmer50 - at least one dealer has some Mavericks for sale; this was just posted in the Maverick lease thread:

mjfloyd1

Those wheels, oh my eyes…🤣😂

explorerx4

Steelies are in.

corvette

Looks like a fleet order—all white XLs with some sort of tonneau.

explorerx4

@corvette,
I think you nailed it.

Michaell

mjfloyd1 said:

Those wheels, oh my eyes…🤣😂

A decent set of alloys wouldn’t run that much.

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Those wheels, oh my eyes…🤣😂

A decent set of alloys wouldn’t run that much.

————————————————-
That’s the only way they could get a decent delivery date. Anyway they’ll look just fine when they put the plastic caps over them.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Paint em black and put chrome dog dishes in the center.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

@oldfarmer50 - at least one dealer has some Mavericks for sale; this was just posted in the Maverick lease thread:

Those look like utility vehicles. I’m already driving one of those.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Those look like utility vehicles. I’m already driving one of those.

————————————————-
Look closely, you won’t find a spec of rust on any of those.

jmonroe

qbrozen

My wife is kind of a wet blanket when it comes to my schemes. She is a Project Manager, so I kind of get it. At the same time… let me fly! Lol.

Anyway, she said something like “you should research why dealers in that area have failed.” OK, I don’t see how that is possible, so here is what I said to her:

_IMO, dealers fail when they don’t understand the vehicles and don’t have a grasp on the market. They work on the presumption that volume is key. I believe quality is. I believe that you have to be picky, know what is desirable, and focus on those with larger margins.

I see so many dealers who say “love the Nissan Murano because I can get them cheap and people love them.” What they are missing is that 1) they are plentiful and people have many choices so the margins are slim and 2) it is a POS that can come back to burn you when something like the transmission fails. These same dealers will ignore a Volvo 850 T5R because they have heard Volvos are problematic, so they have no clue that a nice one is worth A LOT to a small group of enthusiasts.

Cool cars are constantly ignored at dealer auctions while crap is king. It is backwards, and it is because there are so few enthusiasts compared to salesmen. How much junk have you and I seen at dealer lots over the years? Stuff I would never even allow on my lot. That’s how I want to be different._

tifighter

Well, I see you’re working on the salesman skills.

Did she buy it?

stickguy

Old farmer should go to this. Not far from him. I’m sure they will have a few work hoopties mixed in with the million dollar cars

I actually got a private tour of this collection a few years ago. It was impressive to see.

https://www.broadarrowauctions.com/vehicles?page=2&q[branch_id_eq]=3

nyccarguy

@qbrozen said:
My wife is kind of a wet blanket when it comes to my schemes. She is a Project Manager, so I kind of get it. At the same time… let me fly! Lol.

Anyway, she said something like “you should research why dealers in that area have failed.” OK, I don’t see how that is possible, so here is what I said to her:

_IMO, dealers fail when they don’t understand the vehicles and don’t have a grasp on the market. They work on the presumption that volume is key. I believe quality is. I believe that you have to be picky, know what is desirable, and focus on those with larger margins.

I see so many dealers who say “love the Nissan Murano because I can get them cheap and people love them.” What they are missing is that 1) they are plentiful and people have many choices so the margins are slim and 2) it is a POS that can come back to burn you when something like the transmission fails. These same dealers will ignore a Volvo 850 T5R because they have heard Volvos are problematic, so they have no clue that a nice one is worth A LOT to a small group of enthusiasts.

Cool cars are constantly ignored at dealer auctions while crap is king. It is backwards, and it is because there are so few enthusiasts compared to salesmen. How much junk have you and I seen at dealer lots over the years? Stuff I would never even allow on my lot. That’s how I want to be different._

There are some smaller lots that do seem to cater to certain cars. They buy them and fix them instead of just having the cars professionally detailed so they look nice in photos.

Look at the money some of these cars on BaT & C&B bring. People don’t just want to see the finished product. They are willing to pay for the car and see it was done properly.

qbrozen

Absolutely, @nycarguy . I just want to avoid the fixing part as much as possible. lol. Also, I'm not, as you know, a one-brand guy. I have too much knowledge about too many random vehicles to waste it. hahaha.

I doubt it, @tifighter . Probably a speech only enthusiasts would understand.

roadburner

As I mentioned ober at C&C, one of my wife's friends is on the board of a local NPO, and she invited us to a reception that was graciously hosted tonight by the local Mercedes-Benz dealer. As far as cars went, there were only 4 in the showroom- all CPO cars. There was a C Class and a smaller SUV wearing the AMG equivalent of M Sport trim; very nice, but nothing that screamed "GOTTA HAVE IT!" The one car I could actually see myself owning was a sinister 2016 AMG GT S- although with an asking price of $99k I'd rather have an M2 CS, an M4 CS, or a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 for similar money.
However, my wife fell in love with a 2021 Jupiter Red G 550; I think she would actually have voted to buy it at $100k, but unfortunately the asking price was $179k.

corvette

@qbrozen - I think Hoovie went down the same path with his dealership and ended up not really making money. It’s a tough business.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

My wife is kind of a wet blanket when it comes to my schemes. She is a Project Manager, so I kind of get it. At the same time… let me fly! Lol.

Anyway, she said something like “you should research why dealers in that area have failed.” OK, I don’t see how that is possible, so here is what I said to her:

_IMO, dealers fail when they don’t understand the vehicles and don’t have a grasp on the market. They work on the presumption that volume is key. I believe quality is. I believe that you have to be picky, know what is desirable, and focus on those with larger margins.

I see so many dealers who say “love the Nissan Murano because I can get them cheap and people love them.” What they are missing is that 1) they are plentiful and people have many choices so the margins are slim and 2) it is a POS that can come back to burn you when something like the transmission fails. These same dealers will ignore a Volvo 850 T5R because they have heard Volvos are problematic, so they have no clue that a nice one is worth A LOT to a small group of enthusiasts.

Cool cars are constantly ignored at dealer auctions while crap is king. It is backwards, and it is because there are so few enthusiasts compared to salesmen. How much junk have you and I seen at dealer lots over the years? Stuff I would never even allow on my lot. That’s how I want to be different._

This guy has a lot of advice on being a dealer. Whether his advice is any good is up to you. I find his visits to the auctions entertaining.

https://youtu.be/8-pIDTCUlUg

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

@qbrozen - I think Hoovie went down the same path with his dealership and ended up not really making money. It’s a tough business.

I think Hoovie just started up again as a dealer to save on taxes.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

As I mentioned ober at C&C, one of my wife's friends is on the board of a local NPO, and she invited us to a reception that was graciously hosted tonight by the local Mercedes-Benz dealer. As far as cars went, there were only 4 in the showroom- all CPO cars. There was a C Class and a smaller SUV wearing the AMG equivalent of M Sport trim; very nice, but nothing that screamed "GOTTA HAVE IT!" The one car I could actually see myself owning was a sinister 2016 AMG GT S- although with an asking price of $99k I'd rather have an M2 CS, an M4 CS, or a 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 for similar money.
However, my wife fell in love with a 2021 Jupiter Red G 550; I think she would actually have voted to buy it at $100k, but unfortunately the asking price was $179k.

————————————————-
Here’s another guy that thinks he can take it with him.

jmonroe

explorerx4

Yesterday, the Flying Wheels guy sent me an email after I commented on one of his videos.

qbrozen

I’ve watched all those guys on youtube. Honestly, not one of them is on point. Most are in the entertainment biz first. From what I’ve seen of Hoovie’s “business,” he is trying to be the American Mike Brewer, and we know he never would have made money in the real world. And, in Mike’s case, that wasn’t his intention. He wanted to bring cars back to life and make entertainment. Although he sometimes pretended otherwise.

roadburner

So I received the following email from an out-of-state BMW dealer:
My team has discovered an opportunity for you to drive home a pre-owned BMW. Trade in your 2014 BMW M235i Coupe and enjoy the updated benefits of a newer 2020 BMW 230i xDrive Coupe.
Call me crazy, but I don't consider giving up 72 hp and being saddled with AWD to be "benefits."
But that's just me.

mjfloyd1

@Michaell said:
A decent set of alloys wouldn’t run that much.

Then you have to dismount tires and TPMS ( assuming wheels are the same size and you don’t have to buy new tires). Then buy wheels, install TPMS and mount tires.

Cheaper to get wheels that you like from the factory.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
So I received the following email from an out-of-state BMW dealer:
My team has discovered an opportunity for you to drive home a pre-owned BMW. Trade in your 2014 BMW M235i Coupe and enjoy the updated benefits of a newer 2020 BMW 230i xDrive Coupe.
Call me crazy, but I don't consider giving up 72 hp and being saddled with AWD to be "benefits."
But that's just me.

“My good man, I will consider your proposal if you can also guarantee me cloth, manual seats, manual windows, and nothing more than an AM radio. Otherwise, your 230 will feel like too much of an upgrade and I fear I will have cheated you in the trade.”

cdnpinhead

Well, there are certainly a couple of different camps rendering opinions here.

Tight steering, a crisp manual transmission, decent suspension, HVAC and something for entertainment works for me. It's clear that many on here wouldn't put such a car out if it were on fire, let alone buy one.

ab348

This announcement by Ford seems like it needs to be taken with many large grains of salt considering they cannot meet the demand for their existing vehicles regardless of power source and that all their TV ads now contain a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen saying you cannot actually order anything at the moment, only buy what you can find on a dealer lot that hasn't already been spoken for.

https://t.co/NLw1Ydcn5n

stickguy

In about 2 weeks all the 2023 order banks open so you will be able to order anything. I wonder if they will hold more production back for dealer stock this time around.

corvette

The batteries aren’t the only constraint item… Spray in bed liner, of all things, has been a Maverick constraint.

jmonroe1

cdnpinhead said:

Well, there are certainly a couple of different camps rendering opinions here.

Tight steering, a crisp manual transmission, decent suspension, HVAC and something for entertainment works for me. It's clear that many on here wouldn't put such a car out if it were on fire, let alone buy one.

————————————————-
I can appreciate everything you said EXCEPT for the manual transmission part. I learned to drive on a stick thanks to my Dad who took his ‘58 Plymouth Sport Suburban station wagon that had a slush box to the dealer for one of the many times he did that. The dealer provided loaners back then so he specifically asked for a stick shift.

After a few attempts to get the car out of our level driveway without stalling it he immediately took me to the back of the development we lived in where new homes were being constructed. I thought he did that to get me away from traffic on streets till I could figure out how that beast worked.

Well, that was part of his reasoning but the main reason was to get me to stop in the middle of a good size hill. When I got to that spot he yells out, “STOP”. I had no idea why he yelled like that but in my panic I forgot to depress the clutch. That’s what he was counting on so he said something like, “OK, so now you know you have to depress the clutch every time so you don’t stall. You can’t forget to do that. Start it up and let’s go “. I put the emergency brake on, start the car, gingerly finagle the clutch until I could feel it grab then I released the emergency brake and off we went up the hill. Well, not too far. I’d say maybe about 15 feet. Again he yells out stop but not as loud as before. This time I got him. I pushed in the clutch so the beast didn’t stall. Got a left handed complement for that and he said, “OK, let’s go”. I’m about to grab for the emergency brake and he, “NO, not like that. Slide your right foot off the brake and onto the gas BUT at the same time ease your left foot off the clutch till it grabs being carefull not to stall the car”. That didn’t go too well. In fact, it didn’t go too well for at least a dozen times.

It’s a damn good thing there wasn’t milk and ice cream in the trunk or we could have had a few milkshakes. Finally, I kinda mastered how to do it but I didn’t like doing it although I have to admit it was a good experience.

Fast forward to when I got out of the Navy and I got a job driving for UPS while going to night school. When I took my driving test the guy said something like, “you’re pretty good at this. We’ll hire you.” I guess I have my Dad to thank for that but after driving those trucks around all day, I swore up and down I’d never buy a car with a stick and I haven’t.

Definitely like learning how to ride a bike. Some things you never forget but that doesn’t mean you have to like it.

jmonroe

ab348

In other Ford news, Bloomberg is reporting they plan to cut about 8000 mostly salaried jobs, the majority in their months-old Ford Blue internal combustion section.

rayainsw

First test I have seen for the new Z:

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-nissan-z-performance-first-test-review/?wc_mid=4035:23355&wc_rid=4035:166971&_wcsid=A686AC88EA2BEBC42E39377C1D9156F2CF764479E2F37E2B

kyfdx

rayainsw said:

First test I have seen for the new Z:

https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2023-nissan-z-performance-first-test-review/?wc_mid=4035:23355&wc_rid=4035:166971&_wcsid=A686AC88EA2BEBC42E39377C1D9156F2CF764479E2F37E2B

C&D had it in a comparison test, this month, with 3 other competitors.

qbrozen

omg. That price made my eyes pop out of my head.
A mustang GT performance pack is $5k cheaper and outguns it quite easily.
That's disappointing.

breld

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

mjfloyd1

@breld said:
So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

The inflatable kayaks will stink it up so clearly you need this AND the Rivian pickup🤣😂

au1994

breld said:

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

No, hold out for an AMG version. I’d give a very important appendage for one of those.

qbrozen

au1994 said:

No, hold out for an AMG version. I’d give a very important appendage for one of those.

And then another to keep it running, so you wouldn't have enough left to enjoy driving it.

breld

The fever is running hot. We ran by a few more lots to check out a couple other E-class wagons, then stumbled upon a 2021 Macan S. Now that’s in the running.

Always thought her run with the Macan was short-lived…she gave it up for the A5 Sportback because her special needs son was screaming his head off in the Macan but quiet as can be in the test drive of the A5. The solitude didn’t last long, and she was bitter over giving up the Porsche.

roadburner

I was interested in the new Z, but no longer.

fintail

Looks like a fair option load, I see distronic, pano, leather, surround view. Might be interesting to see what else it has, go to a vin decoder (I am too lazy)

breld said:

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

breld

fintail said:

Looks like a fair option load, I see distronic, pano, leather, surround view. Might be interesting to see what else it has, go to a vin decoder (I am too lazy)

breld said:

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

Per the window sticker:

Macchiato Beige/Black Leather
19” AMG Twin 5-Spoke Wheels
Illuminated Door Sills
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats
Panorama Sunroof
Active Multicontour Front Seats w/Massage
Black Headliner
3-zone Climate Control
Lowered Suspension w/Selective Damping
Soft-close doors
LED Logo Projectors
Driver Assistance Package
Parking Assistance Package
Exterior Lighting Package
Warmth and Comfort Package
AMG Line Exterior
Premium Package

My wife’s favorite feature…the bolsters that adjust and “hug” you when you turn. 😀

fintail

Nice spec. Similar options to my car, but I have Tex, normal seats (I want to say maybe active seats only with leather) and don't have soft close - soft close is pretty uncommon.

breld said:

fintail said:

Looks like a fair option load, I see distronic, pano, leather, surround view. Might be interesting to see what else it has, go to a vin decoder (I am too lazy)

breld said:

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

Per the window sticker:

Macchiato Beige/Black Leather
19” AMG Twin 5-Spoke Wheels
Illuminated Door Sills
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats
Panorama Sunroof
Active Multicontour Front Seats w/Massage
Black Headliner
3-zone Climate Control
Lowered Suspension w/Selective Damping
Soft-close doors
LED Logo Projectors
Driver Assistance Package
Parking Assistance Package
Exterior Lighting Package
Warmth and Comfort Package
AMG Line Exterior
Premium Package

My wife’s favorite feature…the bolsters that adjust and “hug” you when you turn. 😀

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

omg. That price made my eyes pop out of my head.
A mustang GT performance pack is $5k cheaper and outguns it quite easily.
That's disappointing.

Also you don’t need octane booster to do it.

qbrozen

They only needed it because they put in 91. I have no idea if the mustang PP would start to knock when racing it on 91, but it definitely would not make full power.

laurasdada

breld said:

fintail said:

Looks like a fair option load, I see distronic, pano, leather, surround view. Might be interesting to see what else it has, go to a vin decoder (I am too lazy)

breld said:

So my wife is attracted to this:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d30bfdc8-a941-4ef2-a26b-ed3376b44cdb/

2020 E450 wagon. Only 10k miles with an original MSRP of $82,610 (the sticker was in the glove compartment). Seems well equipped.

Asking $68k. Last year of the “real” wagon without the all road treatment.

Seems to be priced fair compared to KBB trade, but what does that mean these days?

Per the window sticker:

Macchiato Beige/Black Leather
19” AMG Twin 5-Spoke Wheels
Illuminated Door Sills
Heated and Ventilated Front Seats
Panorama Sunroof
Active Multicontour Front Seats w/Massage
Black Headliner
3-zone Climate Control
Lowered Suspension w/Selective Damping
Soft-close doors
LED Logo Projectors
Driver Assistance Package
Parking Assistance Package
Exterior Lighting Package
Warmth and Comfort Package
AMG Line Exterior
Premium Package

My wife’s favorite feature…the bolsters that adjust and “hug” you when you turn. 😀

The hugging bolster, that was an interesting sensation. When we test drove the SL450 last summer, I was unaware of this feature, so as I took country lane turns with some vim (and I was surprised by the decent way it went around a corner), was surprised by the gentle shove! I think she enjoyed it too. Alas, she didn't find the SL feminine enough.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

They only needed it because they put in 91. I have no idea if the mustang PP would start to knock when racing it on 91, but it definitely would not make full power.

I don’t know what the current PP involves but my Mustang runs just fine on 91 octane even with the new tune. Previously it ran fine on 87 octane.

Doesn’t the new Z have a computer that adjusts the timing? I haven’t heard of a car that actually knocked due to octane in the last 20 years.