Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

Hahahahaha! I laugh, but that's no joke.

breld

qbrozen said:

@breld , so what’s the Macan story? Wife moved on already? Did they get back to you with a number on the Bronco?

They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

Sandman6472

We moved down to Florida from New York in October of 1969 right before I turned 15. The folks had a '68 Cadillac Eldorado and a '69 Oldsmobile Toronado, both front wheel drive vehicles needed for snow but not so much for year round sunshine. My dad & a couple of his golfing buddies knew a dealer in Orlando and the three of them made a package deal on three 1970 Cadillac DeVille convertibles. My mom got first choice and picked a light blue with a white top & white interior. My favorite was the white over white over white with red carpeting...was a truly stunning car in that combination. The last was a bronze like body with a white top and white interior. All beautiful vehicles but the triple white DeVille really caught my eye.
Enjoyed that car during my high school years and it was used in a couple of homecoming parades as I recall. I'd put the top down the most of everybody and was a logical vehicle for South Florida living.

au1994

breld said:

qbrozen said:

@breld , so what’s the Macan story? Wife moved on already? Did they get back to you with a number on the Bronco?

They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

I like that idea. Pretty soon your garage is going to be NSFW.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

xwesx said:

I will add that having resources like YouTube available now are really quite fantastic. I remember back to jobs I did decades ago, like replacing the head gaskets in our 1996 Outback, and I wonder how I ever plucked up the courage to start tearing into that thing.

I’m surprised that a course on replacing head gaskets on ‘90s Subarus wasn’t made a mandatory part of auto trade school curriculum back then..😁

————————————————
Who said it wasn’t?

jmonroe

qbrozen

@breld said:
They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

I lost track… is the MINI gone?

stickguy

not in his signature line, but that is probably hard to keep up to date. Though if it is, I somehow missed that he bought an E46 ZHP.

qbrozen

So this is fun. After doing the work on the Nissan, I took it for its first shakedown test drive. After a few miles, I kicked it in the rear, it downshifted, and BOOM. Huh, that didn’t sound good. Charging light came on. I figured maybe it snapped a belt. Drove straight home and pulled into the garage and shut it down. Popped the hood and saw what was left of the coolant falling to the ground.

Here is a pic of the problem. This is brand new, mind you. Granted, you could argue it is partly my fault because I had to extend the pulley a half inch, which would cause more torque on the end of it, but c’mon, this is ridiculous. Nothing more than subpar manufacturing. And, yes, I torqued the bolts to spec. Even though it didn’t break at the bolts anyway.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

@breld said:

They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

I lost track… is the MINI gone?

What MINI? It's been a little while since they've had one in the stable.

Michaell

stickguy said:

not in his signature line, but that is probably hard to keep up to date. Though if it is, I somehow missed that he bought an E46 ZHP.

Wow, you really haven't been paying attention.

He bought that from @28firefighter and had it shipped to Colorado.

explorerx4

@michaell,
Moving does that to you.

explorerx4

I have a loan, so lien, on my Explorer(CT title).
Need to get the title switched to Ohio to register it there.
Has anyone done one of these moves having a lien in one state that needs to be transferred to another state?

qbrozen

Michaell said:

What MINI? It's been a little while since they've had one in the stable.

Really? Where did the last one go? I believe it was her ... third??

roadburner

@breld said:
They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

Your ordeal reminds me of back in 2015 when I went with a friend to a local Ford dealer; he had decided to buy a new Explorer. The price on the new Explorer was good, but they hit his trade(an immaculate KIA Forte SX)at $1800 under the offer he had received from CarMax. They claimed to have called around and gave all sorts of lame excuses as to why they were lowballing him, even claiming that KIAs weren't hot sellers in Louisville(I guess that's why there were only four KIA dealers in the Kentuckiana area). My buddy is retired Army and has a very low tolerance for BS and almost walked. The dealer eventually matched CarMax and the deal was done. But the whole Kabuki Theater over the trade left a bad taste in my mouth.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

So this is fun. After doing the work on the Nissan, I took it for its first shakedown test drive. After a few miles, I kicked it in the rear, it downshifted, and BOOM. Huh, that didn’t sound good. Charging light came on. I figured maybe it snapped a belt. Drove straight home and pulled into the garage and shut it down. Popped the hood and saw what was left of the coolant falling to the ground.

Here is a pic of the problem. This is brand new, mind you. Granted, you could argue it is partly my fault because I had to extend the pulley a half inch, which would cause more torque on the end of it, but c’mon, this is ridiculous. Nothing more than subpar manufacturing. And, yes, I torqued the bolts to spec. Even though it didn’t break at the bolts anyway.

————————————————-
You probably already checked this but is the pulley off-center from the axis of its designed rotation?

jmonroe

breld

Yeah, the last Mini was the JCW hardtop, and that was sold almost a year ago when we took delivery of the Tesla, which was quickly traded for the M340i. And yes, that was her 3rd hardtop, in addition to a Clubman.

And collectively, this would be out 5th GTI, not including the Golf R.

If I were looking for an affordable sporty daily, I'd have plenty of options...Civic, Integra, maybe even a Hyundai product, GTI, etc. For my wife, her "resets" are pretty much limited to the GTI and a Mini.

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

@michaell,
Moving does that to you.

it does. If I am still alive and even marginally sane by Friday of next week it will be a miracle. This has been a very painful experience. Plus I way underestimated how little of the "stash" of stuff the other half actually had gone through, or was ever willing to part with. Now just need to finish shoving it all in boxes, and hope the movers can fit it all on their truck next week (hopefully the stuffed to the gills 15' Uhaul I will be driving up tomorrow will be enough of the overflow to make it all work). If not, we will be making some touch calls on what to punt to the junk pile on the curb. Probably don't really need that 3rd queen size bed set (we are probably buying a new king set anyway once we get there). And I am sure we can find some other stuff if need be.

breld

And the dealership with the Macan did just get back to me. They actually came back with a trade on the Bronco $3,500 higher than the best offers we had previously received...close to $10k more than our purchase price.

I don't think it changes my wife's direction, but who knows.

The Macan still may be overpriced, but as we always say, the difference is the only thing that matters. Is a slightly used 2021 Ford Bronco Big Bend plus $22k worth a slightly used 2021 Macan S?

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

I have a loan, so lien, on my Explorer(CT title).
Need to get the title switched to Ohio to register it there.
Has anyone done one of these moves having a lien in one state that needs to be transferred to another state?

I will be doing that soon too! I have not had to, but my son did (that was a lease). Pretty sure it does not matter to the DMV. They have paperwork for everything and will get what they need from the lien holder. Having to get our DLs and registrations converted might be the worst part of the whole ordeal!

explorerx4

@stickguy,
i think we are going for the DL's first then new Registration and titles.

stickguy

I asked my new insurance agent up there and he told me that I needed to change the registrations before I could change the car insurance. And I believe he said that we had to do our DLs first too (but I might have made that part up!) In any case I would probably try and do it all together if possible. If not I will do the DLs first.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

I have a loan, so lien, on my Explorer(CT title).
Need to get the title switched to Ohio to register it there.
Has anyone done one of these moves having a lien in one state that needs to be transferred to another state?

I haven't done such a thing at this point. This is what Ohio "BMV" has to say about it.

I'm not sure what the portion about lien actually means, though, since clearly the lienholder isn't going to release interest in the vehicle just because the state of registration changes.

explorerx4

@xwesx,
I guess this is the pertinent part.
If your lienholder has your title, you must complete a transfer request form and send it to your lienholder. Please contact a County Clerk of Courts Title Office to obtain the form.
Just another thing to figure out.
I have the remainder of 6 year 0% financing left and don't want to give that up.

sda

qbrozen said:

So this is fun. After doing the work on the Nissan, I took it for its first shakedown test drive. After a few miles, I kicked it in the rear, it downshifted, and BOOM. Huh, that didn’t sound good. Charging light came on. I figured maybe it snapped a belt. Drove straight home and pulled into the garage and shut it down. Popped the hood and saw what was left of the coolant falling to the ground.

Here is a pic of the problem. This is brand new, mind you. Granted, you could argue it is partly my fault because I had to extend the pulley a half inch, which would cause more torque on the end of it, but c’mon, this is ridiculous. Nothing more than subpar manufacturing. And, yes, I torqued the bolts to spec. Even though it didn’t break at the bolts anyway.

I see the belt jumped off the pulley, but with coolant leaking, what happened? Is that a cracked water pump housing? How frustrating.

xwesx

breld said:

And the dealership with the Macan did just get back to me. They actually came back with a trade on the Bronco $3,500 higher than the best offers we had previously received...close to $10k more than our purchase price.

I don't think it changes my wife's direction, but who knows.

The Macan still may be overpriced, but as we always say, the difference is the only thing that matters. Is a slightly used 2021 Ford Bronco Big Bend plus $22k worth a slightly used 2021 Macan S?

Weeeeeeeeeeellllll..... probably.

As long as SHE doesn't have bad vibes about the overall experience, because lord knows y'all don't actually need a reason to swap out a car! When you DO have one, WATCH OUT!

qbrozen

sda said:

I see the belt jumped off the pulley, but with coolant leaking, what happened? Is that a cracked water pump housing? How frustrating.

Yup. Cracked all the way around the base. Belt would have come off after. Thankfully the fan did not come in contact with the radiator.

Fan was centered. I mean, the 4 holes all lined up. I detected no vibrations.

This was part of a "timing belt kit" I bought from Amazon. The pump was in a GMB box. I've now ordered a Gates.

qbrozen

breld said:

The Macan still may be overpriced, but as we always say, the difference is the only thing that matters. Is a slightly used 2021 Ford Bronco Big Bend plus $22k worth a slightly used 2021 Macan S?

Personally, I think I'd keep the Bronco and save $22k. Although it is unlikely I'd be in the Bronco in the first place. So maybe I'm the wrong person to ask.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

explorerx4 said:

@xwesx,
Did you take pictures during disassembly to figure how to put all that back together?

Oh, yes I did! And, I actually had to refer to those photos last night to get me started on putting one of the vacuum system's hubs back on the engine. I'm getting very close now. Sadly, I finally dropped a couple bits of metal where I can't reach them, so I called it enough last night and will try to pick up a magnetic doohickey that can maybe reach down there to get them. If that fails, well.... they might be lost for a time....

You mean until they are dislodged by the exploding engine?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

So this is fun. After doing the work on the Nissan, I took it for its first shakedown test drive. After a few miles, I kicked it in the rear, it downshifted, and BOOM. Huh, that didn’t sound good. Charging light came on. I figured maybe it snapped a belt. Drove straight home and pulled into the garage and shut it down. Popped the hood and saw what was left of the coolant falling to the ground.

Here is a pic of the problem. This is brand new, mind you. Granted, you could argue it is partly my fault because I had to extend the pulley a half inch, which would cause more torque on the end of it, but c’mon, this is ridiculous. Nothing more than subpar manufacturing. And, yes, I torqued the bolts to spec. Even though it didn’t break at the bolts anyway.

Defective Chinese parts? I’ve seen videos where the parts are bad out of the box and there’s one Ford mechanic who shows how counterfeit parts are being put into Ford packaging.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

I have a loan, so lien, on my Explorer(CT title).
Need to get the title switched to Ohio to register it there.
Has anyone done one of these moves having a lien in one state that needs to be transferred to another state?

I think the new title will show the existing lien unless you have a release letter from the lender.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

@breld said:

They have yet to call back with a trade offer on the Bronco. And my wife reminded ourselves that this network actually has a Ford dealership. So it's beyond me why it's so challenging to provide a trade on a nice almost-new Bronco, even a lowball one.

My wife did receive the generic follow up emails asking how the experience was and how they can be of further assistance. She replied with a very factual response and has heard nothing.

But, as others have alluded to, it doesn't take much to move on from one idea to another. She realized she has grown quite fond of the Bronco and would like to keep it, though it's not ideal as a daily. So she started considering less expensive options to park along side it. Right now, she's hot on the trail of a new GTI. DSG.

Your ordeal reminds me of back in 2015 when I went with a friend to a local Ford dealer; he had decided to buy a new Explorer. The price on the new Explorer was good, but they hit his trade(an immaculate KIA Forte SX)at $1800 under the offer he had received from CarMax. They claimed to have called around and gave all sorts of lame excuses as to why they were lowballing him, even claiming that KIAs weren't hot sellers in Louisville(I guess that's why there were only four KIA dealers in the Kentuckiana area). My buddy is retired Army and has a very low tolerance for BS and almost walked. The dealer eventually matched CarMax and the deal was done. But the who Kabuki Theater over the trade left a bad taste in my mouth.

Had the same thing with the Mustang so I walked. They called two days later and caved. The best negotiation is the door.

stickguy

the Porsche won't be around for more than a couple of months anyway. is it worth the move and potential depreciation hit for that?

roadburner

breld said:

Yeah, the last Mini was the JCW hardtop, and that was sold almost a year ago when we took delivery of the Tesla, which was quickly traded for the M340i. And yes, that was her 3rd hardtop, in addition to a Clubman.

And collectively, this would be out 5th GTI, not including the Golf R.

If I were looking for an affordable sporty daily, I'd have plenty of options...Civic, Integra, maybe even a Hyundai product, GTI, etc. For my wife, her "resets" are pretty much limited to the GTI and a Mini.

My wife definitely wants a newer Clubman when my dealer opens their Mini franchise.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
Defective Chinese parts? I’ve seen videos where the parts are bad out of the box and there’s one Ford mechanic who shows how counterfeit parts are being put into Ford packaging.

That is very possible. When I looked at the GMB unit on another website, it did not look like what I received. Also, when I looked up the part number for what was listed in the package deal I bought, it was completely different as well. When I extract the broken one, I’ll have to look for markings to see what I actually received.

28firefighter

Well. It wouldn’t be a week if there wasn’t a punch pending. Barring any surprises from the deal negotiated or logistics, I’ll be picking this up this weekend…fresh off the truck.

breld

@28firefighter - congrats! I look forward to hearing your impressions.

And I really like that color.

Michaell

@28firefighter - very sharp looking, and I agree with @breld about the color.

I'm guessing this is a lease?

Similar in color to the ID.4 we have on order.

28firefighter

It’s a buy, as much as it pains me. The lease on this, as with most things today, is a travesty.

tjc78

Awesome @28firefighter !! Congrats.

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter - that took longer than I figured that it would🤣😂

Did you trade the Infiniti?

[Deleted User]

Congrats @28firefighter

stickguy

Sharp. Looks mean. And man those are skinny sidewalls.

explorerx4

Congrats 28firefighter,
At first I thought it was an EV, but it's just the way the gas pump is set up.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

Well. It wouldn’t be a week if there wasn’t a punch pending. Barring any surprises from the deal negotiated or logistics, I’ll be picking this up this weekend…fresh off the truck.

wow. Congrats.
I could probably do without the red accents, but sharp looking.

qbrozen

good god! That Alfa 155 sold for over $26k! At dealer auction! Someone loves Alfas far more than Americans, that's for sure.

28firefighter

@mjfloyd1 said:
@28firefighter - that took longer than I figured that it would🤣😂

Did you trade the Infiniti?

It’ll go up for sale privately as soon as I have the new one.

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Well. It wouldn’t be a week if there wasn’t a punch pending. Barring any surprises from the deal negotiated or logistics, I’ll be picking this up this weekend…fresh off the truck.

————————————————
Congrats and enjoy it. BUT, you’re one of those bandwagon jumpers. Lately it seems fashionable or at least acceptable to own a Hyundai. You should have tried it in 2005 when I bought my first Hyundai. Almost every time I came to a light or got out of the car, I got those sneering looks. Well, not everyone can be ahead of the curve.

jmonroe

roadburner

@28firefighter said:
Well. It wouldn’t be a week if there wasn’t a punch pending. Barring any surprises from the deal negotiated or logistics, I’ll be picking this up this weekend…fresh off the truck.

Nice!

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

Well. It wouldn’t be a week if there wasn’t a punch pending. Barring any surprises from the deal negotiated or logistics, I’ll be picking this up this weekend…fresh off the truck.

wow. Congrats.
I could probably do without the red accents, but sharp looking.

————————————————
I kinda like that accent but they splashed some of it on the calipers.

jmonroe

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

I kinda like that accent but they splashed some of it on the calipers.

jmonroe

I would just prefer a different color. The whole "hey, red stripe means sporty!" thing is beat to death. Something more adult would be fine. Almost anything other than red.