Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

Pajero is arriving in a week. I'm kind of, oddly, hoping it is a disappointment because things aren't looking good for selling the Jeep and I will apparently have to sell the Mitsu instead.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Pajero is arriving in a week. I'm kind of, oddly, hoping it is a disappointment because things aren't looking good for selling the Jeep and I will apparently have to sell the Mitsu instead.

The guy from Flying Wheels says the bottom has fallen out of the Jeep market.

tifighter

Captain Approach Angle, reporting for duty.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
The guy from Flying Wheels says the bottom has fallen out of the Jeep market.

Oh, that guy. Ok.

mjfloyd1

nyccarguy said:

On my way home tonight, WAZE diverted me off of the Merritt parkway and through the back roads of Greenwich. Ahead of me I saw a very old pickup truck in almost perfect condition in a Blue not too many shades off from my Wrangler. As fate would have it, there was a large branch in the middle of the road. The pickup stopped in front to clear. As I got out to help, I had to ask. A completely restored 1955 Willys. In the age of the iPhone, pics or it didn’t happen:

Tat gives me the Willys😂

mjfloyd1

roadburner said:

My Alfa dealer has a 2023 white over red RWD Giulia Veloce- with 0% APR for 36 months. Still lack the courage to pull the trigger.

Might take another look at the C43; a friend told me I likely didn’t set up Sport+ mode correctly- and it is at least $10k less expensive than anything else I find even remotely entertaining.

A guy in an Alfa Giulia pulled into Jimmy John’s just after me. I asked him how he liked it and he seemed to like it except he said a warranty repair took a while waiting on parts.

I asked buy or lease and he laughed and said that Alfas are to be leased not bought.

qbrozen

May have found a buyer for the Wrangler. I’ll go visit on Monday and report back. The danger these days is letting the cat out of the bag early and several other sellers tanking the market in a micro level. Lol

28firefighter

Back from 4 days down in San Diego and Legoland California. Beautiful weather for the most part except yesterday when the temps went over 100 and it basically just felt like an oven.

Booked a sedan through Avis but ended up with a 4Runner TRD Off Road - pretty well loaded up model with leather etc. Look cool, very comfortable, and swallowed our stuff, but man if that thing isn’t slow. Pretty sure I can run to 60 faster.

Landed back in Seattle last night and it was literally 40 degrees cooler.

Sandman6472

Love driving the 4Runner's at work but know that it's their vehicle & their petrol I'm using. For a d d, just too big, too slow & too thirsty except if I were a millionaire with no cares about money. One great thing about the Golf is that it's pretty fuel efficient & especially since I've cut back on like 80% of my driving since the end of 2019, enjoy it that much more. Think I hit 71,700 yesterday on the way home from work so still averaging under 3K/year while from 2015 till November of 2019, was doing 13K/year, a big big change. Back then, filled the tank once a week and now, lucky if I use an 1/8th of a tank and can probably go a month before I need to fill up, probably more than that! My local Cumberland Farms is charging $2.42/gallon with their card, so still high, pretty normal for our times.
Seems like the current boss is fine with me working 4 days but that's due to staffing issues and the fact that getting folks to work on the weekends are a problem. I'm cool doing that and I show up, do the job & go home with no drama. I know it's gong to end at any time but that's fine to. The extra income is appreciated!

28firefighter

Oh yeah. The fuel economy in the 4Runner was laughable. Used a quarter tank which was just over 8 gallons. At $6/gallon for 87.

tjc78

@28firefighter said:
Oh yeah. The fuel economy in the 4Runner was laughable. Used a quarter tank which was just over 8 gallons. At $6/gallon for 87.

I mean it is the Panther of SUVs. It’s been around largely unchanged for years.

Doesn’t matter. People love them and they hold their value.

I know this may sound a certain way, but with the way we drive fuel economy is totally at the bottom of my list. Considering I own two total guzzlers that is a good thing. At least I offset it at the shore driving the golf cart around.

28firefighter

@tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:
Oh yeah. The fuel economy in the 4Runner was laughable. Used a quarter tank which was just over 8 gallons. At $6/gallon for 87.

I mean it is the Panther of SUVs. It’s been around largely unchanged for years.

Doesn’t matter. People love them and they hold their value.

I know this may sound a certain way, but with the way we drive fuel economy is totally at the bottom of my list. Considering I own two total guzzlers that is a good thing. At least I offset it at the shore driving the golf cart around.

It fit our needs perfectly for this use case. If it were a little more peppy off the line, I’d seriously consider a cheap lease on one if the occasion arose. Your RAM is way way way quicker.

nyccarguy

The 4Runner is very cool. They’ve done their best to keep the tech up to date. I’ve had multiple conversations with my broker that end in him telling me; it’s really old and slow. You don’t want one.

That being said, I’m trying to convince my Dad to get a GX as his next truck.

tjc78

Still selling over MSRP even with a broker in most cases. They used to lease well back when discounts were a thing.

carnaught

About 4 mos. ago when in a Toyota showroom discussing the Corolla Cross, there was a ‘22 4Runner fully optioned but had an ADM of $12k ! I do not know what solar system they’re in.

tjc78

@28firefighter said:

@tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:
Oh yeah. The fuel economy in the 4Runner was laughable. Used a quarter tank which was just over 8 gallons. At $6/gallon for 87.

I mean it is the Panther of SUVs. It’s been around largely unchanged for years.

Doesn’t matter. People love them and they hold their value.

I know this may sound a certain way, but with the way we drive fuel economy is totally at the bottom of my list. Considering I own two total guzzlers that is a good thing. At least I offset it at the shore driving the golf cart around.

It fit our needs perfectly for this use case. If it were a little more peppy off the line, I’d seriously consider a cheap lease on one if the occasion arose. Your RAM is way way way quicker.

The Ram moves out nice even with the 3.21 gears. There is a wide range of 0-60 times out there and they range from 6.1 to 6.6. I’d say that is about right. Definitely slower than my S60 but about on par with the XC

pensfan83

carnaught said:

About 4 mos. ago when in a Toyota showroom discussing the Corolla Cross, there was a ‘22 4Runner fully optioned but had an ADM of $12k ! I do not know what solar system they’re in.

Was it a TRD Pro?

carnaught

pensfan83 said:

carnaught said:

About 4 mos. ago when in a Toyota showroom discussing the Corolla Cross, there was a ‘22 4Runner fully optioned but had an ADM of $12k ! I do not know what solar system they’re in.

Was it a TRD Pro?

Not sure..

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Love driving the 4Runner's at work but know that it's their vehicle & their petrol I'm using. For a d d, just too big, too slow & too thirsty except if I were a millionaire with no cares about money. One great thing about the Golf is that it's pretty fuel efficient & especially since I've cut back on like 80% of my driving since the end of 2019, enjoy it that much more. Think I hit 71,700 yesterday on the way home from work so still averaging under 3K/year while from 2015 till November of 2019, was doing 13K/year, a big big change. Back then, filled the tank once a week and now, lucky if I use an 1/8th of a tank and can probably go a month before I need to fill up, probably more than that! My local Cumberland Farms is charging $2.42/gallon with their card, so still high, pretty normal for our times.
Seems like the current boss is fine with me working 4 days but that's due to staffing issues and the fact that getting folks to work on the weekends are a problem. I'm cool doing that and I show up, do the job & go home with no drama. I know it's gong to end at any time but that's fine to. The extra income is appreciated!

$2.42 a gallon! For that price I think I’ll take a road trip. I just got gas yesterday at the second cheapest station for $3.76. To get it any cheaper I’d have to drive 50 miles.

jmonroe1

carnaught said:

About 4 mos. ago when in a Toyota showroom discussing the Corolla Cross, there was a ‘22 4Runner fully optioned but had an ADM of $12k ! I do not know what solar system they’re in.

————————————————-
In February of this year when Son #1 was interested in getting a Kia Telluride, when he found what he wanted at a dealer in Atlanta, the ADM on that beauty was $17K. Based on that and what you saw, I’d say the market has finally stabilized.

jmonroe

henryn

I saw RUG yesterday for $2.99 at an HEB. Walmart (Murphy's) was at $3.05, most places at $3.14 to $3.19. Big brand names on the freeway are still at $3.79.

I did notice that the difference for diesel is really up there. The Walmart which had RUG for $3.05 was at $4.49 for diesel. That is a heck of an upcharge.

stickguy

I just paid $3.75 at a Mobil in mass.

laurasdada

BJs gas yesterday, 3.74 RUG, $4.44 PUG (my choice, of course).

nyccarguy

I just "built my own" GTI S. I know, I know. VW. Manual Transmission. Under $31K includes Limited Slip Diff, Heated front seats, & heated steering wheel. This might warrant a test drive one of these days. What's the current story with these? Is VW only making Autobahn models or something?

mrwhipple311

stickguy said:

Id like one but a Z3 is probably more in budget.

I resemble that statement

ronsteve

Observations from here in Louisville... Regular unleaded is $3.69 plus or minus on my side of town, which stands to reason premium will be around 4.29. Costco was 4.04 when I filled up the RDX last week... going to take frequent visits to make sure the membership pays for itself. BUT...

Just for sh*ts and giggles, I did what still seems like a monthly check of my value on Carvana. After seeing something barely north of 14 last month, the offer I got yesterday was $17,8. Almost enough to really tempt me to shop, but with interest rates on the way up it may be pretty appealing to keep driving a car that's paid off.

I worry that if I go too long, the Jetta could start creeping closer to replacement age, and we might be faced with a 2-car-payment scenario. Mileage isn't a big deal these days because we have barely put 7K miles on it since the start of the pandemic. My shift work life isn't enough to let us go to one car. But after the numbers on the RDX, I decided to have a little more fun and enter the Jetta info... $8k on a 13 Jetta?! How the hell is Carvana going to stay in business?!

But what would I replace the RDX with? My automotive wanderlust seems to be at a low the last few months. The newer generation RDX with the turbo might be appealing, especially as much as the Acura dealership spoiled me during the traumatic timing belt service... an Outback XT could also be a player. But there's also something about having no car payments for a while.

Now if I was having a real CCB crisis, there is this guy... https://jeffwylernissanoflouisville.com/used/Mercedes-Benz/2016-Mercedes-Benz-E-Class-6ed40b200a0e0a9275aae8c07689b920.htm

mrwhipple311

Did a Carvana check on my Santa Cruz yesterday; 38.2k. Not bad for a vehicle I paid 37.7k for 9 months and 6k miles ago. Its not going anywhere; too perfect of a vehicle

kyfdx

Carvana dropped the offer on the RAV4 by $1000 from the month before. (it's already sold)

qbrozen

Brought the Jeep to the dealer whom I spoke with on the phone.

As a recap, I have about $52.7k into it. ‘22 Sahara 4xe, hardtop, cold weather, safety, adv safety, locking diff, towing, gorilla glass, and offroad cam. 5600 miles, hydro blue over brown. Offers have been all over the place from $46k to $53k.

This UCM is the only one of the 10 dealers I emailed on Fri who called (on Sat) and made an offer (rather than “come on down!”). He said $54k. Alright, good enough. Tell him I’ll come in Monday. Get here, he looks it over for 10 mins, comes back and says “OK. I’ll actually give you $55k.” Wow! Who does that?!

I’ll share the name when done here, if he doesn’t mind. It is a big dealer group, though, whom I’ve bought from in the past.

qbrozen

Nope. No name sharing. Lol.

oldfarmer50

ronsteve said:

Observations from here in Louisville... Regular unleaded is $3.69 plus or minus on my side of town, which stands to reason premium will be around 4.29. Costco was 4.04 when I filled up the RDX last week... going to take frequent visits to make sure the membership pays for itself. BUT...

Just for sh*ts and giggles, I did what still seems like a monthly check of my value on Carvana. After seeing something barely north of 14 last month, the offer I got yesterday was $17,8. Almost enough to really tempt me to shop, but with interest rates on the way up it may be pretty appealing to keep driving a car that's paid off.

I worry that if I go too long, the Jetta could start creeping closer to replacement age, and we might be faced with a 2-car-payment scenario. Mileage isn't a big deal these days because we have barely put 7K miles on it since the start of the pandemic. My shift work life isn't enough to let us go to one car. But after the numbers on the RDX, I decided to have a little more fun and enter the Jetta info... $8k on a 13 Jetta?! How the hell is Carvana going to stay in business?!

But what would I replace the RDX with? My automotive wanderlust seems to be at a low the last few months. The newer generation RDX with the turbo might be appealing, especially as much as the Acura dealership spoiled me during the traumatic timing belt service... an Outback XT could also be a player. But there's also something about having no car payments for a while.

Now if I was having a real CCB crisis, there is this guy... https://jeffwylernissanoflouisville.com/used/Mercedes-Benz/2016-Mercedes-Benz-E-Class-6ed40b200a0e0a9275aae8c07689b920.htm

Wow! Carvana upped their offer by almost $4k month to month? They either have a specific customer looking for that car or the stories of the car bubble bursting aren’t true.

How do they stay in business indeed?

corvette

andres3 said:

Are you sure the Q5 has the DSG Dual Clutch? Audi doesn't exactly advertise that they "cost cut" on several models including the SQ5, RS6, and S4 lately.

Yes, the four cylinder 2018+ models have a seven speed DSG, per Wikipedia. Either it is adapting to me or vice versa, regular old "Drive" mode seems to be better lately.

roadburner

ronsteve said:

Observations from here in Louisville... Regular unleaded is $3.69 plus or minus on my side of town, which stands to reason premium will be around 4.29. Costco was 4.04 when I filled up the RDX last week... going to take frequent visits to make sure the membership pays for itself. BUT...

Just for sh*ts and giggles, I did what still seems like a monthly check of my value on Carvana. After seeing something barely north of 14 last month, the offer I got yesterday was $17,8. Almost enough to really tempt me to shop, but with interest rates on the way up it may be pretty appealing to keep driving a car that's paid off.

I worry that if I go too long, the Jetta could start creeping closer to replacement age, and we might be faced with a 2-car-payment scenario. Mileage isn't a big deal these days because we have barely put 7K miles on it since the start of the pandemic. My shift work life isn't enough to let us go to one car. But after the numbers on the RDX, I decided to have a little more fun and enter the Jetta info... $8k on a 13 Jetta?! How the hell is Carvana going to stay in business?!

But what would I replace the RDX with? My automotive wanderlust seems to be at a low the last few months. The newer generation RDX with the turbo might be appealing, especially as much as the Acura dealership spoiled me during the traumatic timing belt service... an Outback XT could also be a player. But there's also something about having no car payments for a while.

Now if I was having a real CCB crisis, there is this guy... https://jeffwylernissanoflouisville.com/used/Mercedes-Benz/2016-Mercedes-Benz-E-Class-6ed40b200a0e0a9275aae8c07689b920.htm

If it was an E63 I'd be very tempted.

roadburner

Carvana offered me $22k for my 75k mile 2er.

henryn

Over the last year, Carvana offers on my 2013 F150 XL have varied quite a bit, starting at around $13.5, peaking at $15.2 a few months ago, and just now coming in at $12.1 (lowest to date). It's always interesting to see the latest numbers, but I have no intention of parting with it until I can get my hands on a new or newer one without breaking the bank.

I expect the solid underlying value of the truck to be at or about $10k, so I wouldn't expect to lose a great deal by waiting and keeping. And to tell the truth, I now wish I had kept my 2018 XLT instead of selling for a profit. Not something I ever expected to say, but there it is. I never predicted the craziness to last this long.

qbrozen

Got pics of my Alto. Looks better than described (seems to be the trend for these JDM buys).

Sandman6472

Sorry for the error there, paid $3.42 for regular at Cumberland Farms last week. H-ll, I'd love to see petrol prices down that low right about now! Just checked on my app, and it's still at $3.42 if one has their card. BJ's is at $3.35 right now but one must time it as sometimes, the lines are crazy. Have gone as early as 6:15 in the morning and it's fine but around 6:15 at night, forget about it! Have found that another great time to pull in is at 8:00 pm as most folks are home and not out shopping. Lots of times though, it doesn't pay to drive that far just to save a few pennies.

xwesx

fintail said:

Co-worker has an upper trim 2021 Crosstrek. I haven't driven it, but I have ridden in it, and the engine seems fine, no apparent straining or slowness. The older ones have kind of a wheezy reputation (and what is it with some older Subarus that always sound like they are in too high of a gear?).

stickguy said:

I got bored after we got home from looking at family room furniture again (carefully trying to steer my wife away from the super expensive sectional that the lady at the fancy furniture store did a good job upselling. and pointing her to a very good set that costs half as much but seems just as nice). So I did more searching on new car options for her.

Normal, reasonably affordable cars.

Subaru crosstrek

Probably old news at this point given the attention span in this group. I thought I would mention, though, that the Crosstrek isn't particularly small in terms of its length. It's probably a little shorter than a Forester, but they are certainly within inches of one another.

xwesx

tjc78 said:

What does everyone think of this for the truck? I like how it goes up the sides a little. I’ll mostly be carrying suitcases, coolers, etc.

I don’t think I need any protection for the sides. If I ever carry bulk mulch or something I’ll throw a tarp in.

https://www.weathertech.com/ram/2022/ram1500/techliner-bed-tailgate-protection/ram-bed-size/5-7-bed/ram-box-5/no/?OrderItemId=2160350347

I'm a big fan of WeatherTech. However, if it is like their cargo liners, it will have a fair bit of grippy-ness to it (particularly when it is warm outside). I can imagine some folks might find this very frustrating for loading or emptying the bed. I don't think it will behave like those hard plastic molded liners where you can just slide things all over the place on it.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
How ugly did you expect it to be or do you mean condition?

xwesx

kyfdx said:

@28firefighter I really like Discount Tire. I have a store about 12 miles from me.
Obviously, I think those are great tires.

@tjc78
A friend with an F-150 has a Bakflip tonneau cover. It works really well (along with a garden hoe.. lol)

I like Discount as well. At least, their physical location near Salem, OR. They had fantastic service last year when I was there mid-trip to Alaska.

Actually, I scheduled an appointment for both the Crosstrek and the Q7 for when we're there this year, too. October 3, IIRC. We are making only a quick stop at my mom's place this time, but it will be at least long enough to get three new sets of tires. The Q7 is getting both a new "summer" set, which are going to be LT tires this time around since I'm sick of paying ridiculous prices for tires that wear out in less than 20,000 miles, and a new winter set (the Yokohama IG51v are fantastic! Five winters PLUS I didn't take them off this spring. So, they have traveled all the way from Alaska in very warm temps and still are faring way better than the nearly-new Pirelli WalletEaters I had on last year). The Crosstrek gets a new set of "summer" (all-season) tires - also replacing the set that's currently on it (which happens to also be the OEM set).

xwesx

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:

Didn’t realize you got the S90 for that low a price.

Yup, was a good deal, IMHO.

Hahahaha! Since when were your opinions humble?

xwesx

corvette said:

The best deal by far was the TDI that got bought back under the Dieselgate settlement. I did pretty well on the Mustang GT as well as the G37 in terms of price paid vs. what I sold them for a year or two later.

Dieselgate doesn't count!


I think, for me, the 08 Forester and the 98 Escort were both pretty good buys. Strictly numbers, the Forester probably wins, though.

I bought them both with about 125,000 miles for $3,500 and $800, respectively.

Forester: Reconditioned it using a bunch of Subaru Bucks that were expiring and I had nothing to use them on (about $700) plus a thorough interior detailing to de-doggy it (about $150). Used it for two years, totaled it (a second time) at one point, which netted $5,100 after buyout, then spent about $3,500 to fix it. Stopped using it after getting the Q7, but let a friend use it for ~18 months, then let another friend use it for a couple years before finally selling it to that person for $2,800 with about 165,000 miles on it. Owned it from May 2015 to September 2020.

Escort: Spent about $1,500 doing initial reconditioning, including much of the suspension including springs and shocks. Another $80 for the best interior detailing ever performed. I think I put another $400 into it to rebuild the front end a bit (new headlights and plastic armature that supports them). Eventually sold it for $1,200 with about 165,000 on that one as well. Owned it from July 2008 through August 2012.

That said, with normal maintenance costs and insurance, I definitely put more into them than I got out of them. However, I didn't even need to put a new set of tires on the Forester (Escort got two). The summers were nearly new when I got it, and the winters were rejected by my wife due to their less-than-stellar performance compared to the last set, so I got her a new set of tires and used the rejects on the '08.

xwesx

I was six pages behind again. I keep letting time get away from me here. I keep telling myself, "Okay, I'll read one more page, then I gotta get outside and get some work done." Then, I click the next page and read that one, too. LOL

tjc78

@xwesx said:
I'm a big fan of WeatherTech. However, if it is like their cargo liners, it will have a fair bit of grippy-ness to it (particularly when it is warm outside). I can imagine some folks might find this very frustrating for loading or emptying the bed. I don't think it will behave like those hard plastic molded liners where you can just slide things all over the place on it.

That’s actually not a bad thing, IMO it helps things not slide around.

We just got back from the shore. Truck was so nice and easy to load. I threw a blanket down to protect the bed and loaded everything in flat. Ratchet strapped a tarp over everything just in case. No playing Tetris and everything fit with ease. We had a ton of stuff to haul back. No way it would have all fit in the XC.

corvette

Idk exactly what I paid for premium to fill the tank in the Q5 for the first time yesterday… the charge on my card was $60 and change for 15 gallons, but I used $0.20 of my better half’s fuel points, so I’m guessing it was $4.20 (nice).

qbrozen

xwesx said:

Hahahaha! Since when were your opinions humble?

Hey, listen, there ain't nobody better at being humble than me!

qbrozen

explorerx4 said:

@qbrozen,
How ugly did you expect it to be or do you mean condition?

The former doesn't seem possible.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

Over the last year, Carvana offers on my 2013 F150 XL have varied quite a bit, starting at around $13.5, peaking at $15.2 a few months ago, and just now coming in at $12.1 (lowest to date). It's always interesting to see the latest numbers, but I have no intention of parting with it until I can get my hands on a new or newer one without breaking the bank.

I expect the solid underlying value of the truck to be at or about $10k, so I wouldn't expect to lose a great deal by waiting and keeping. And to tell the truth, I now wish I had kept my 2018 XLT instead of selling for a profit. Not something I ever expected to say, but there it is. I never predicted the craziness to last this long.

If I remember correctly you got that 2013 truck for a bargain price. If it were me I’d keep it forever and get a good feeling every time I drove it.

Michaell

OK, need to get the hive mind going around here. It's time for the Edmunds version of "What Car Should I Buy"...

Youngest nephew was set on getting a new Civic Sedan, Sport trim. Turns out it's a bit out of budget. He's in mourning at the moment, but my sister and I have started to move on. Some general search parameters:

• Max budget of $18-20K
  
• Prefers a sedan, a hatch would be OK
  
• Blue or Black exterior color
  
• Reasonable mileage for the age
  
• Not going to break the bank for repairs and maintenance
  
• Does not want another Mazda (he's the one that sold his 3 to CarMax a week or two ago for $1500)
  
• Within 40 miles of zip 92127
  

I've already poked around on cars.com, but I want to get the opinions of the folks here.

No rush on this - he's driving my mom's Sonata for the interim.

Thanks!