Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

sda

When we had our home built in 04, we selected a color of barely gray, essentially an off white. One evening when I did a quick walk thru after it had been painted I noticed it was the wrong color, antique white with a yellow hue. I called our salesperson to let them know onl for him to say I was wrong. I asked them to pull the paperwork and yes we selected barely gray. The entire interior of the house was repainted the correct color. In the meantime, every room has been repainted at one point or another a different color. My daughter wants her bedroom repainted now as the color in her room, a nice blue, she is tired of.

breld

We've been in our new house about 10 months now - we just met with the builder to go over warranty items and will schedule a full inspection soon prior to the 1 year mark.

Naturally there are a few items to address but we're extremely happy with the quality of the house, which is what we expected given that it was being built by the developer as his own house. There are a few paint touchups, some doors that need adjusting, and a fan that makes a slight buzzing noise...that's pretty much the extent of it. By far the best quality build we've seen.

jmonroe1

@stickguy said:
I just remembered what the worst part of the job is. taking everything back out of the garage. And even worse with a paint or epoxy, needs to stay out for a few days minimum. at least the tiles, you can move stuff side to side and put it back in immediately!

somehow I think I will get distracted with other projects and just sweep it out occasionally, and maybe buy a couple of the trays that you drive over to catch crap in the winter.

————————————————
What’s wrong with treating a garage like a garage. It’s not like you’re living there unless maybe you have pull out couch for when you detour to the garage when losing ground doing laps around the dining room table.

jmonroe

sda

Has anyone heard from @suydam lately? I haven't seen anything from him recently.

kyfdx

sda said:

Has anyone heard from @suydam lately? I haven't seen anything from him recently.

Pretty sure it's "her", and not for 18 months.

qbrozen

Just a few more years and I can import one of these gorgeous things.

carnaught

kyfdx said:

sda said:

Has anyone heard from @suydam lately? I haven't seen anything from him recently.

Pretty sure it's "her", and not for 18 months.

I’ve asked this a couple of times this last year with no replies. It is concerning. Wasn’t @suydam a transplant patient?

stickguy

Get that steering wheel in the left side and I would love one of those.

nyccarguy

I know the price is high, but what isn’t nowadays. Given the fact that it is over 10 years old I’d want a thorough PPI to see what the upcoming needs are, but with the Duratec V6 and 4WD this is a nice little SUV:

https://www.stamfordford.com/used-Stamford-2011-Ford-Escape-XLT-1FMCU9DG5BKB08887

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

I know the price is high, but what isn’t nowadays. Given the fact that it is over 10 years old I’d want a thorough PPI to see what the upcoming needs are, but with the Duratec V6 and 4WD this is a nice little SUV:

https://www.stamfordford.com/used-Stamford-2011-Ford-Escape-XLT-1FMCU9DG5BKB08887

And you're looking at this why, exactly?

corvette

The later model V6 Escape was in consideration when I was looking for a tide-me-over car. I think the loaded up ones even offered a backup camera. They do tend to rust along the rear fender area, so that is something to look out for. $10k seems steep, even given the good looking photos and low miles.

nyccarguy

@Michaell said:
And you're looking at this why, exactly?

Excellent question. The Ford dealer is near the beach. On my way home from the beach the other night I stopped by to check out the Yellow Bronco Badlands with its $20K ADM and other “newly flipped” Broncos they had proudly displayed on the lot. Checked out the dealer’s website because they always seem to have a good selection of local, used cars. This popped up. I’ve got a kid who is less than 2 month away from getting his learner’s permit. Something like this might make an excellent 1st car, depending on price and condition of course.

henryn

nyccarguy said:

I know the price is high, but what isn’t nowadays. Given the fact that it is over 10 years old I’d want a thorough PPI to see what the upcoming needs are, but with the Duratec V6 and 4WD this is a nice little SUV:

https://www.stamfordford.com/used-Stamford-2011-Ford-Escape-XLT-1FMCU9DG5BKB08887

I think, under the present conditions, that is a reasonable deal. And I like the Escape, especially with the Duratec V6.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

@Michaell said:

And you're looking at this why, exactly?

Excellent question. The Ford dealer is near the beach. On my way home from the beach the other night I stopped by to check out the Yellow Bronco Badlands with its $20K ADM and other “newly flipped” Broncos they had proudly displayed on the lot. Checked out the dealer’s website because they always seem to have a good selection of local, used cars. This popped up. I’ve got a kid who is less than 2 month away from getting his learner’s permit. Something like this might make an excellent 1st car, depending on price and condition of course.

After I posted, I thought to myself "how old are his kids?".

We spent $8K 20 years ago for a 4 year old Chevy Tracker with 60,000 miles on it as my stepson's first car.

nyccarguy

@Michaell said:
After I posted, I thought to myself "how old are his kids?".

We spent $8K 20 years ago for a 4 year old Chevy Tracker with 60,000 miles on it as my stepson's first car.

It’s really something I’m completely undecided about. When I got my license, I was fortunate enough that my Grandma gave me $8,500 to buy a car (at the time they were advertising Dodge Shadows for that price). I got some money from Mom & Dad, and some from my savings and got a brand new 1992 Beretta GT. I know buying a new car for a 16 year old isn’t the smartest thing. In today’s market, a good used car is $10Kish and even at that it will still need tires, brakes, fluids…. I’ve toyed with the idea of leasing a Tacoma with a stick…. Like every other automotive purchase that’s not my Prelude, I’m all over the place.

corvette

@nyccarguy - I didn't realize until recently that the Beretta and Corsica both got airbags in 1991. It never occurred to me because the larger and more expensive Lumina sedan and coupe did not get them until they were redesigned in 1995 and the coupe got renamed Monte Carlo. Most other low to moderately priced GM vehicles of the early 1990s went with door mounted belts. Embarrassingly, Cadillac's flagship Brougham had them and no airbags through 1992, despite having tons of other gadgets and geegaws.

fintail

I recall the first gen Lumina had a unique small hub/thin spoke wheel and recessed dashboard design, kind of futuristic in a retro way now:

corvette said:

@nyccarguy - I didn't realize until recently that the Beretta and Corsica both got airbags in 1991. It never occurred to me because the larger and more expensive Lumina sedan and coupe did not get them until they were redesigned in 1995 and the coupe got renamed Monte Carlo. Most other low to moderately priced GM vehicles of the early 1990s went with door mounted belts. Embarrassingly, Cadillac's flagship Brougham had them and no airbags through 1992, despite having tons of other gadgets and geegaws.

qbrozen

@nyccarguy said:
I know the price is high, but what isn’t nowadays. Given the fact that it is over 10 years old I’d want a thorough PPI to see what the upcoming needs are, but with the Duratec V6 and 4WD this is a nice little SUV:

https://www.stamfordford.com/used-Stamford-2011-Ford-Escape-XLT-1FMCU9DG5BKB08887

Considering I paid $4k for my 2010 with 100k, I can’t say I’m thrilled with that price. Granted, mine had rust issues, but who is to say they aren’t lurking on that one?

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
Get that steering wheel in the left side and I would love one of those.

Actually kind of odd that most Alfa’s I’ve seen from there are LHD.

roadburner

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

@Michaell said:

And you're looking at this why, exactly?

Excellent question. The Ford dealer is near the beach. On my way home from the beach the other night I stopped by to check out the Yellow Bronco Badlands with its $20K ADM and other “newly flipped” Broncos they had proudly displayed on the lot. Checked out the dealer’s website because they always seem to have a good selection of local, used cars. This popped up. I’ve got a kid who is less than 2 month away from getting his learner’s permit. Something like this might make an excellent 1st car, depending on price and condition of course.

After I posted, I thought to myself "how old are his kids?".

We spent $8K 20 years ago for a 4 year old Chevy Tracker with 60,000 miles on it as my stepson's first car.

Back in 2008 I bought my 1975 '02 for $4500. I spent around $2,000 on maintenance/repairs/upgrades before my son got it in 2011 as his first car.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

I know the price is high, but what isn’t nowadays. Given the fact that it is over 10 years old I’d want a thorough PPI to see what the upcoming needs are, but with the Duratec V6 and 4WD this is a nice little SUV:

https://www.stamfordford.com/used-Stamford-2011-Ford-Escape-XLT-1FMCU9DG5BKB08887

Already gone according to that link.

au1994

Just be careful playing in the used car end of the pool. As you may remember my MiL totaled her Forester and replaced it with a ‘16 Outback. What I didn’t mention is she has macular degeneration and in the past month it has taken a turn to the point where she will not be able to drive for too much longer.

I’ve already had quotes on the Outback and its not pretty.

nyccarguy

au1994 said:

Just be careful playing in the used car end of the pool. As you may remember my MiL totaled her Forester and replaced it with a ‘16 Outback. What I didn’t mention is she has macular degeneration and in the past month it has taken a turn to the point where she will not be able to drive for too much longer.

I’ve already had quotes on the Outback and its not pretty.

Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. Since I got my license in 1992, I've only owned 2 used cars. My 2015 Infiniti Q40 which was 2 1/2 years old and had less than 7,500 miles on it and my 1990 E30 BMW 325i which had about 82,000 miles. I am very skeptical of the used car market. It is amazing how an oil change and a professional detail can make even the most neglected car look perfect.

au1994

nyccarguy said:

au1994 said:

Just be careful playing in the used car end of the pool. As you may remember my MiL totaled her Forester and replaced it with a ‘16 Outback. What I didn’t mention is she has macular degeneration and in the past month it has taken a turn to the point where she will not be able to drive for too much longer.

I’ve already had quotes on the Outback and its not pretty.

Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. Since I got my license in 1992, I've only owned 2 used cars. My 2015 Infiniti Q40 which was 2 1/2 years old and had less than 7,500 miles on it and my 1990 E30 BMW 325i which had about 82,000 miles. I am very skeptical of the used car market. It is amazing how an oil change and a professional detail can make even the most neglected car look perfect.

Thank you. The car really is in good shape. New tires and it looked like the PO never touched the back seat. The problem is we over paid in this market and knew it and of course we may take the hit on depreciation quicker than expected.

It may be time to shuffle the fleet with the exception of the Jeep. Au94 jr might not like it but he may be in an Outback soon. Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

nyccarguy

Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

Better that than the Nike Express

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

Better that than the Nike Express

“ It is a piece of s@#$! Don't worry about it, I don't even have a piece of s@#$! I have to envy yours.”

stickguy

nyccarguy said:

Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

Better that than the Nike Express

or even worse, the big yellow box

nyccarguy

@stickguy said:
or even worse, the big yellow box

Ye ol’ Cheese Wagon

stickguy

My kids had beaters in HS. Just go watch the parking lot once after final bell and you’ll never send a nice car. Resembles a demolition derby.

jmonroe1

@au1994 said:
Thank you. The car really is in good shape. New tires and it looked like the PO never touched the back seat. The problem is we over paid in this market and knew it and of course we may take the hit on depreciation quicker than expected.

It may be time to shuffle the fleet with the exception of the Jeep. Au94 jr might not like it but he may be in an Outback soon. Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

————————————————-
Have you looked into after market badges?

jmonroe

au1994

stickguy said:

My kids had beaters in HS. Just go watch the parking lot once after final bell and you’ll never send a nice car. Resembles a demolition derby.

Yeah, I was looking at his last week and counted at least 5 “thats new” scratches and dings.

qbrozen

Got more detailed pics on the Suzuki. It is far nicer than I thought.

sda

@au1994 said:
Thank you. The car really is in good shape. New tires and it looked like the PO never touched the back seat. The problem is we over paid in this market and knew it and of course we may take the hit on depreciation quicker than expected.

It may be time to shuffle the fleet with the exception of the Jeep. Au94 jr might not like it but he may be in an Outback soon. Quite a blow for a HS Jr to go from a cool BMW to that!

Yet he may attract the girls if he has dogs riding with him.

au1994

qbrozen said:

Got more detailed pics on the Suzuki. It is far nicer than I thought.

I have to admit, there is a certain functional charm to it.

tjc78

A few surfboards on top, a Salt Life sticker, and some teal accent stripes and it’s ready for the beach.

Michaell

Does the odometer really say 35,xxx KM?

qbrozen

Michaell said:

Does the odometer really say 35,xxx KM?

58,xxx

tjc78

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)
Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497
DAS - $497
Broker fee - $500
$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

au1994

Congrats! I think you are going to be really happy with that!

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)

Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497

DAS - $497

Broker fee - $500

$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

Seems like a very reasonable lease. I would have avoided black, but other than that, seems like the perfect build.

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)

Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497

DAS - $497

Broker fee - $500

$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

Very nice truck! Excellent price in this market!

kyfdx

@qbrozen
Beach car

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

@qbrozen
Beach car

We could dress up as the crew of the SS Minnow.

corvette

tjc78 said:

A few surfboards on top, a Salt Life sticker, and some teal accent stripes and it’s ready for the beach.

There's a thing that I say when I see a "Salt Life" sticker that I can't repeat here... Anyway, I really dig the blue seat fabric on that Suzuki, it kind of looks teal in some of the pics.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

Does the odometer really say 35,xxx KM?

58,xxx

Thanks - still really low. Looks to be in great condition.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)

Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497

DAS - $497

Broker fee - $500

$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

Congrats on the final deal. If I need to borrow a truck, I know who to call!

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

Got more detailed pics on the Suzuki. It is far nicer than I thought.

————————————————-
Nice? You’re never gonna fix me up for a blind date.

jmonroe

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Seems like a very reasonable lease. I would have avoided black, but other than that, seems like the perfect build.

Thanks!

I think it wears black well, but typically it’s not my first choice either.

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)

Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497

DAS - $497

Broker fee - $500

$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

Congrats on the final deal. If I need to borrow a truck, I know who to call!

———————————————
Folks with trucks should get a free membership in the ‘Witness Protection Program’.

jmonroe

Michaell

jmonroe1 said:

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

Signed the paperwork on the RAM and overnighted it back today. They are supposed to be loading it on a truck tomorrow along with others.

I’m hoping Monday maybe?

I got pretty lucky on this one. Chrysler Capital upped the rebate from the July numbers in my region.

I’m very happy with this lease in this market.

MSRP - $58,125 ($51,300 selling price, $999 doc fee took some of that back)

Payment with 6.625% Nj tax - $497

DAS - $497

Broker fee - $500

$510 effective.

For whatever reason dealer did a full picture set even though it was sold before arrival.

https://www.lithia.com/new/Ram/2022-Ram-1500-5d59ab0b0a0e0a9914acf241965f6aff.htm

Congrats on the final deal. If I need to borrow a truck, I know who to call!

———————————————
Folks with trucks should get a free membership in the ‘Witness Protection Program’.

jmonroe

Don't I know it. When the first wife and I had the '86 Isuzu P'up, we got calls all the time.