Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Sandman6472

All I know is I just want the light to go out/problem fixed. And since I do need something else taken care of, might as well do them both. And having a third vehicle & someone to help me with drop off/pick up, might as well do it all now. The Golf is running well besides this light coming on, nothing out there I really want or need right now, so fix the issue & it stays in the garage. End of story.
Size wise, did like the Buick Encore and drove one last December. Was underwhelmed with the vehicle as a whole, just didn't do anything for me and no compelling reason to even sit down & talk numbers. Now, the Encore GX was a different story and could work as a d d for me. But again, never even got that far in the process.

corvette

@tifighter - oof! That won't buff right out, but windshield swaps are usually pretty painless.

corvette

Took the Prius to the IKEA in West Chester (north of Cinci) and they had the outdoor chair/table set I had wanted to buy earlier this year in stock. Also got a new pillow and candles and miscellaneous stuff. Only got 39 MPG. There are a lot of hills on that trip, but it used to get about 42-44 MPG on the highway. I've heard that the aftermarket batteries don't give as much "boost" to try to improve their longevity, so the lower MPG may be a consequence of that.

28firefighter

@tifighter Could be worse. Could be the Tesla.

tifighter

The Model X windshield, the largest windshield ever produced, cost less than the M2 windshield. That German cut crystal is expensive…

graphicguy

corvette said:

Took the Prius to the IKEA in West Chester (north of Cinci) and they had the outdoor chair/table set I had wanted to buy earlier this year in stock. Also got a new pillow and candles and miscellaneous stuff. Only got 39 MPG. There are a lot of hills on that trip, but it used to get about 42-44 MPG on the highway. I've heard that the aftermarket batteries don't give as much "boost" to try to improve their longevity, so the lower MPG may be a consequence of that.

About 10 minutes from my house……..IKEA is the scourge we put up with daily around here.

fintail

How bad? Wagon got a new windshield last December, installed cost was something like $1800, thank heavens for a $100 glass deductible.

tifighter said:

The Model X windshield, the largest windshield ever produced, cost less than the M2 windshield. That German cut crystal is expensive…

Michaell

I think my wife and daughter are headed to IKEA today, after the parties they are hosting at the studio.

They need to pick up some gingerbread houses for their annual holiday event in December.

henryn

I hate Ikea. I absolutely suck at putting together their furniture kits. When I was younger, I could take apart, rebuild, and reassemble an automatic transmission (no small task, a very large number of parts). Or a 4 barrel carburetor, even a Thermoquad. But give me an Ikea furniture kit and I would screw it up every time.

Sandman6472

Pouring here in South Florida, wife just came in my office to tell me our street is flooding! Naturally, the Audi is outside in the driveway! Told her not to worry as we're taking the Golf over about 5 to the mechanics so she'll get her parking space back. Hoping the rain will be a short term event as we don't really need much more to be honest. Think we're right where we need to be for yearly rainfall as you don't want too much over...or too much under as it affects the next year and if we have a drought with sprinkler restrictions. Can get very tropical here with lots of rain at times, and we've still got another 6 weeks or so in the hurricane season, so we must keep our guard up. October & November storms can be pretty bad as we have seen in the past!

carnaught

Ah yes, I remember the days in S. Florida with water restrictions and SWFMD (swifmud), the S. Fl. Water Management District, with a cartoon alligator, dictating when we could sprinkle our lawns, wash our cars, etc.

jmonroe1

@henryn said:
I hate Ikea. I absolutely suck at putting together their furniture kits. When I was younger, I could take apart, rebuild, and reassemble an automatic transmission (no small task, a very large number of parts). Or a 4 barrel carburetor, even a Thermoquad. But give me an Ikea furniture kit and I would screw it up every time.

————————————————-
You have to approach those foreign instructions differently…like from the side not head on.

jmonroe

ab348

I hate IKEA because of their store layouts and how they make you behave like a lab mouse in a maze, no easy in, easy out. Plus the stores are so massive that you almost need to pack a lunch.

stickguy

ab348 said:

I hate IKEA because of their store layouts and how they make you behave like a lab mouse in a maze, no easy in, easy out. Plus the stores are so massive that you almost need to pack a lunch.

no need for lunch. get the swedish meatballs and lingenberries!

explorerx4

@henryn,
One of my kids put together an Ikea storage cabinet larger than this, couldn't find the same one, when she was 9 years old.
I showed her how to use an electric screwdriver then let her do the rest herself.

stickguy

I can't even count how many pieces I have put together (Ikea and similar). I could have a PhD in it by now. I do know they tell you not to use power tools. Can get away with it, but gotta be real careful!

stickguy

and drawers are the biggest hassle.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
One of my kids put together an Ikea storage cabinet larger than this, couldn't find the same one, when she was 9 years old.
I showed her how to use an electric screwdriver then let her do the rest herself.

Well, that puts her one up on me. If many people (most?) weren't able to handle the assembly, I'm sure they would be out of business by now. Just not my thing.

I finally learned how to take apart the newer notebook computers, you get a bunch (read dozens) of the plastic picks (like guitar picks) and go to town. I miss the days when notebooks had easily removable bottom panels, held in with screws.

corvette

I no longer work on tablets and phones, for that reason, nor would I be likely to work on something like the MacBook Air I have.

As for IKEA, my patio set was super easy, just needed one thumb screw installed. I tried the meatball platter for the first time and was disappointed, it wasn't bad, I just thought it was bland. I'll probably try the salmon salad next time. I still picked up some of the frozen meatballs and mashed potatoes, because I can spice them up at home. They also had some bags of chocolate coated almond toffee which is great if you like Heath bars, and my favorite from last time, a sandwich of two oatmeal cookie wafers with chocolate in the middle--I think a very large box weighing over a pound was $8.

venture

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
One of my kids put together an Ikea storage cabinet larger than this, couldn't find the same one, when she was 9 years old.
I showed her how to use an electric screwdriver then let her do the rest herself.

Well, that puts her one up on me. If many people (most?) weren't able to handle the assembly, I'm sure they would be out of business by now. Just not my thing.

I finally learned how to take apart the newer notebook computers, you get a bunch (read dozens) of the plastic picks (like guitar picks) and go to town. I miss the days when notebooks had easily removable bottom panels, held in with screws.

I can do a lot of things, but one thing I can't grasp, for some reason, is installing wiper blades. I put a set on my wife's car one time and the next time it rained one went flying off the car.

I just let the dealer do it now. Especially since they are replaced under warranty.

au1994

venture said:

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
One of my kids put together an Ikea storage cabinet larger than this, couldn't find the same one, when she was 9 years old.
I showed her how to use an electric screwdriver then let her do the rest herself.

Well, that puts her one up on me. If many people (most?) weren't able to handle the assembly, I'm sure they would be out of business by now. Just not my thing.

I finally learned how to take apart the newer notebook computers, you get a bunch (read dozens) of the plastic picks (like guitar picks) and go to town. I miss the days when notebooks had easily removable bottom panels, held in with screws.

I can do a lot of things, but one thing I can't grasp, for some reason, is installing wiper blades. I put a set on my wife's car one time and the next time it rained one went flying off the car.

I just let the dealer do it now. Especially since they are replaced under warranty.

Glad I am not the only one. I got a nasty cut when one slipped one time. Quick oil change places can do it quick as well.

sda

I try to stay with OEM wiper replacements as I’ve found them to wipe better and last longer, plus the original look is preserved. Some are indeed hard to click into place, remove or both!

breld

venture said:

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
One of my kids put together an Ikea storage cabinet larger than this, couldn't find the same one, when she was 9 years old.
I showed her how to use an electric screwdriver then let her do the rest herself.

Well, that puts her one up on me. If many people (most?) weren't able to handle the assembly, I'm sure they would be out of business by now. Just not my thing.

I finally learned how to take apart the newer notebook computers, you get a bunch (read dozens) of the plastic picks (like guitar picks) and go to town. I miss the days when notebooks had easily removable bottom panels, held in with screws.

I can do a lot of things, but one thing I can't grasp, for some reason, is installing wiper blades. I put a set on my wife's car one time and the next time it rained one went flying off the car.

I just let the dealer do it now. Especially since they are replaced under warranty.

Thank you for the great laugh this morning! I keep picturing the blade flying off and can't stop cracking up!

kyfdx

The young lady working the register at Advance Auto Parts replaces my blades. No extra charge.

breld

Sort of related to IKEA, I ended up at the Container Store this past weekend looking for a few things and ended up buying a complete Elfa desk set. We’ve used the Elfa system in our closets and extensively in the garage. They had taken down a 5’ desk display and were looking to sell it at a discount…about $2k retail and ended up getting them down to $650 (then they applied a discount coupon at the register that I don’t think they were supposed to, but I didn’t argue).

Now I don’t really have a need for a desk setup, but I ended up using most of the pieces to update my car wash station in the garage!

sda

Time gets away, two years ago yesterday I traded my Accord for the Passat. In the meantime I put 13k on it, now at 31k. So far all good.

nyccarguy

Any guesses as to what THIS is going to go for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3gojaW51/1994-acura-integra-gs-r-coupe

ab348

You know you're old when you can recall 3 or 4 different types of wiper blade attaching latches. I remember the early kind from the '60s when there was a little catch on top where the blade met the arm that you pushed down to remove, easy-peasy. Then it changed to a square hole punched into the attachment that you had to push a small screwdriver or other tool into to remove. The ATS has a design where there is a pivoting plastic retainer that is built into the blade where you lift up on one end and release the hook on the end of the arm to slide the blade off. I agree that OEM style blades are the best. Can't stand that blocky universal adapter a lot of parts store blades come with.

I lost a wiper blade once in an automatic car wash when the blower dryer blew it off our '73 Volvo. It wasn't found so the gas station guy gave us a replacement. I've also had a problem with GM's design (maybe others use this too) of not using a splined shaft for the arm but depending on a nut to hold the arm tight enough. That nut will inevitably loosen up over time and then you have no wiper action.

corvette

I’m guessing $30k plus on the Integra.

I can now see the window sticker on my Maverick and it looks like it was invoiced to the dealer on Friday, but no build date yet.

breld

corvette said:

I’m guessing $30k plus on the Integra.

I can now see the window sticker on my Maverick and it looks like it was invoiced to the dealer on Friday, but no build date yet.

I don't know...I'm thinking more like $15-20k tops. Miles are low for sure, but not crazy low. And it's been repainted twice (once to yellow and then back to the original black paint).

The seller should have sprung for a professional photographer - it doesn't present all that great in the pics and videos.

If anyone is interested, it's in my backyard.

kyfdx

@breld Literally?

stickguy

breld said:

corvette said:

I’m guessing $30k plus on the Integra.

I can now see the window sticker on my Maverick and it looks like it was invoiced to the dealer on Friday, but no build date yet.

I don't know...I'm thinking more like $15-20k tops. Miles are low for sure, but not crazy low. And it's been repainted twice (once to yellow and then back to the original black paint).

The seller should have sprung for a professional photographer - it doesn't present all that great in the pics and videos.

If anyone is interested, it's in my backyard.

Soon to be in the garage when you make space?

stickguy

corvette said:

I’m guessing $30k plus on the Integra.

I can now see the window sticker on my Maverick and it looks like it was invoiced to the dealer on Friday, but no build date yet.

Congrats. Hopefully not long now, but they are still moving build dates around all the time.

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

@breld Literally?

Under normal circumstances, I'd say: "So you bought it? It is literally in your back yard so your wife doesn't find out."

We are talking about @breld here, so the case very well might be that his wife bought it and put it in the back yard because there is no more room in the hangar garage.

breld

LOL. I actually considered inserting the words, "not literally" in my post.

I saw @nyccarguy had shared that GSR listing on FB last night and my heart jumped when I saw it was local to me. But I'm gonna try real hard to let the ZHP fill the fun car spot until the Integra Type S arrives.

carnaught

breld said:

LOL. I actually considered inserting the words, "not literally" in my post.

I saw @nyccarguy had shared that GSR listing on FB last night and my heart jumped when I saw it was local to me. But I'm gonna try real hard to let the ZHP fill the fun car spot until the Integra Type S arrives.

I’d say with your fleet, you are having lots of fun (sharing vicariously) - that’s great, Grand Poobah of the CCBA !

henryn

When I purchased this work truck last year, I had an immediate problem with one of the windshield wipers. It sprinkled on me during the initial drive home with the truck, and the windshield wiper on the drivers side did a really bad job of clearing the windshield. Upon closer examination, there was a clear protective cover on the rubber edge of the wiper blade, where it makes contact with the windshield. I had never seen such a protective cover before, but it was clearly intended to be removed when installing and no one had done so.

Replacing windshield wipers can be a bit tricky, but not really difficult if you take your time and pay attention.

nyccarguy

breld said:

LOL. I actually considered inserting the words, "not literally" in my post.

I saw @nyccarguy had shared that GSR listing on FB last night and my heart jumped when I saw it was local to me. But I'm gonna try real hard to let the ZHP fill the fun car spot until the Integra Type S arrives.

Obviously the Integra Type S is going to be based off of the Civic Type R. What's the price point going to be? It is going to have to be significantly higher than the Integra A-Spec 6MT and the Civic Type R. $48K? $50K?

venture

kyfdx said:

The young lady working the register at Advance Auto Parts replaces my blades. No extra charge.

When Mrs. Venture called me when one went flying, I told her to stop at Autozone where I bought them and ask them to install them. They did and didn't charge her for the "new" ones (the old ones were only 3 days old).

I forgot that they were under warranty that time.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

LOL. I actually considered inserting the words, "not literally" in my post.

I saw @nyccarguy had shared that GSR listing on FB last night and my heart jumped when I saw it was local to me. But I'm gonna try real hard to let the ZHP fill the fun car spot until the Integra Type S arrives.

Obviously the Integra Type S is going to be based off of the Civic Type R. What's the price point going to be? It is going to have to be significantly higher than the Integra A-Spec 6MT and the Civic Type R. $48K? $50K?

@breld and I met up for breakfast on Saturday and talked about that, specifically. I think we decided that $45K would be about right - comparable to the Golf R.

Before any dealer markups, of course.

But, we could be wrong.

breld

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

LOL. I actually considered inserting the words, "not literally" in my post.

I saw @nyccarguy had shared that GSR listing on FB last night and my heart jumped when I saw it was local to me. But I'm gonna try real hard to let the ZHP fill the fun car spot until the Integra Type S arrives.

Obviously the Integra Type S is going to be based off of the Civic Type R. What's the price point going to be? It is going to have to be significantly higher than the Integra A-Spec 6MT and the Civic Type R. $48K? $50K?

Yeah, I actually think $45k if not a little less. An A-Spec 6MT is about $37-38k, and I don't think there will be much of a premium over the Civic Type R, which will likely be low-$40k's. I think the Integra will be less of a track-ready car than the Civic, and so Acura/Honda are offering two different flavors of the performance car at a similar price.

Key difference to me is that there are decent Acura dealers around my parts and I can't say the same about Honda dealers. I was able to put a deposit on the Type S at MSRP with my Acura salesperson. I mostly get laughed at at the Honda dealerships.

breld

Yeah, I saw that too. I find that much more intriguing than the Integra. Good thing it isn't local to me.

ab348

Interesting article on how Ford is able to sell the Maverick so cheaply. Some of the conclusions are challenged in the comments though, so draw your own conclusions. I might want to get the underside sprayed for rust though.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/a-look-underneath-the-base-ford-maverick-shows-how-ford-can-sell-it-for-just-22-5k

qbrozen

It is cheap because it is a FWD car with a bed. Did they think the Focus was a bargain? I bet they are making more money on each Mav than they did each Focus. You forced me to post a comment to that article. lol.

corvette

Also, take a base Escape, remove a bunch of glass and steel from the rear, cheapen the interior a bit, and make the base powertrain FWD only with an engine architecture that dates back 10+ years.

corvette

I wonder what this will go for.

https://www.barrett-jackson.com/Events/Event/Details/1999-CHEVROLET-SUBURBAN-SOPRANOS-1ST-4-SEASONS-157450

sda

corvette said:

Also, take a base Escape, remove a bunch of glass and steel from the rear, cheapen the interior a bit, and make the base powertrain FWD only with an engine architecture that dates back 10+ years.

Regardless, Ford engineered a modestly priced attractive versatile vehicle that almost has its own niche market. Now if one could only buy one!

explorerx4

The rear wiper on the MKC is a major pain to replace. It took me 45 minutes and several failed attempts to get the new one on there and stay attached.
It's going to have a long life back there.

stickguy

for a while with the first RDX I was just getting blade refills from the dealer. no need to ever take the arm off.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Any guesses as to what THIS is going to go for?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3gojaW51/1994-acura-integra-gs-r-coupe

$12k.