Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

roadburner

mjfloyd1 said:

@au1994 -I was to take daughter’s 4xe in for recalls but it would not start. Initially the dash lit up like Christmas lights and then the interior lights flickered and then nothing at all. I called for a tow. Jeep dealer tried to jump it and said it would not start. They said they updated several modules and was now working. It sure seems like it experienced the “lack of motive power” but thankfully in my driveway and not while my daughter was away at college. Everything now updated and I drove it to Indianapolis as a trial run so that if it failed, it was with me.

I took in my 4xe and all updates were done. I had experienced mild death wobble and they replaced the steering dampener and said that all four shocks were bad. The shocks are on order. I need to confirm that they checked the lower ball joints and track bar as I had tightened the track bar bolt in my driveway and the death wobble went away for a couple of weeks but then returned.

It was odd that when I called to schedule the vehicles for service, my Jeep went into death wobble. The service writer said he could hear it on his end and I didn’t need to make a camera video…

Death Wobble- It's a Jeep Thing. A heavy-duty steering stabilizer cured the problem on my TJ.
Once again, I'm content to keep my relatively ancient Wrangler.

qbrozen

Did I mention my last 4xe had what I assume is the death wobble? Hit any bump in the pavement at over 60 mph and the whole car would try to shake itself to death until you sped up or slowed down to change the frequency enough to make it stop. Dealer said they couldn’t replicate so I sold it that way figuring my excuse was “dealer says it is fine so it is fine.”

mjfloyd1

roadburner said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@au1994 -I was to take daughter’s 4xe in for recalls but it would not start. Initially the dash lit up like Christmas lights and then the interior lights flickered and then nothing at all. I called for a tow. Jeep dealer tried to jump it and said it would not start. They said they updated several modules and was now working. It sure seems like it experienced the “lack of motive power” but thankfully in my driveway and not while my daughter was away at college. Everything now updated and I drove it to Indianapolis as a trial run so that if it failed, it was with me.

I took in my 4xe and all updates were done. I had experienced mild death wobble and they replaced the steering dampener and said that all four shocks were bad. The shocks are on order. I need to confirm that they checked the lower ball joints and track bar as I had tightened the track bar bolt in my driveway and the death wobble went away for a couple of weeks but then returned.

It was odd that when I called to schedule the vehicles for service, my Jeep went into death wobble. The service writer said he could hear it on his end and I didn’t need to make a camera video…

Death Wobble- It's a Jeep Thing. A heavy-duty steering stabilizer cured the problem on my TJ.
Once again, I'm content to keep my relatively ancient Wrangler.

I’ve read contrasting opinions as to whether the steering stabilizer is the fix or just masks the real issue.

The service guy noticed fluid leaking from all shocks and said the shocks felt “weak” more so in the front. It also said the steering stabilizer felt “weak”. They had a steering stabilizer in stock so they replaced it. The shocks are on back order.

mjfloyd1

qbrozen said:

Did I mention my last 4xe had what I assume is the death wobble? Hit any bump in the pavement at over 60 mph and the whole car would try to shake itself to death until you sped up or slowed down to change the frequency enough to make it stop. Dealer said they couldn’t replicate so I sold it that way figuring my excuse was “dealer says it is fine so it is fine.”

Yep, that’s death wobble. Steering wheel and front end usually shake which makes the whole Jeep shake

henryn

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

I can't remember the make/model (the lease boards have been pretty busy the past week or so), but someone reported a quote on a $57K vehicle - $8500 up front and almost $1000/mo.

How do you figure that? Are dealers determined to never again be in a situation where the lease buy out gives the customer such high positive equity?

quick math, that is almost $45K paid over a 3 year lease. It would have to have the residual of a salvage title Yugo to get that bad.

But you forget the most important point: There's a sucker born every minute! And the dealership only has to find one.

I keep hearing that the chip shortage is over, but it seems the situation with buying a new car is really not improving, at least not from what I'm seeing and hearing. And until the sales of new cars get back up to previous levels, the prices of used cars will not decline, at least not anywhere close to previous levels.

And it seems that the number of new cars sold is still extremely low, by comparison to pre-pandemic levels. So we're looking at another 2 or 3 years for the market to stabilize?

mjfloyd1

henryn said:

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

I can't remember the make/model (the lease boards have been pretty busy the past week or so), but someone reported a quote on a $57K vehicle - $8500 up front and almost $1000/mo.

How do you figure that? Are dealers determined to never again be in a situation where the lease buy out gives the customer such high positive equity?

quick math, that is almost $45K paid over a 3 year lease. It would have to have the residual of a salvage title Yugo to get that bad.

But you forget the most important point: There's a sucker born every minute! And the dealership only has to find one.

I keep hearing that the chip shortage is over, but it seems the situation with buying a new car is really not improving, at least not from what I'm seeing and hearing. And until the sales of new cars get back up to previous levels, the prices of used cars will not decline, at least not anywhere close to previous levels.

And it seems that the number of new cars sold is still extremely low, by comparison to pre-pandemic levels. So we're looking at another 2 or 3 years for the market to stabilize?

I also wonder if the rising COVID cases in China will lead to chip shortage 2.0??

kyfdx

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

I can't remember the make/model (the lease boards have been pretty busy the past week or so), but someone reported a quote on a $57K vehicle - $8500 up front and almost $1000/mo.

How do you figure that? Are dealers determined to never again be in a situation where the lease buy out gives the customer such high positive equity?

quick math, that is almost $45K paid over a 3 year lease. It would have to have the residual of a salvage title Yugo to get that bad.

Just like the lottery and casinos, they are counting on finding customers who are bad at math.. Believe me, there is no shortage of them.

tjc78

@Michaell said:
I can't remember the make/model (the lease boards have been pretty busy the past week or so), but someone reported a quote on a $57K vehicle - $8500 up front and almost $1000/mo.

OMG.. and here I am thinking my Ram deal was just ok at 497/497 down plus shipping from FL. 58 and change MSRP.

tjc78

@mjfloyd1 said:
I also wonder if the rising COVID cases in China will lead to chip shortage 2.0??

The rising cases are due to the easing of restrictions. The government has said they will not do mass shutdowns again. So, any labor shortages should be short lived. My wife is on the phone with reps from China every couple of days, and this is what they are telling her.

mjfloyd1

I also see a Brooklyn grey over Fiona red BMW M4 competition x drive convertible with $99k sticker with an $11k discount and taking offers from a broker who is not charging a fee. That has @breld written all over it

mjfloyd1

@tjc78 said:

@mjfloyd1 said:
I also wonder if the rising COVID cases in China will lead to chip shortage 2.0??

The rising cases are due to the easing of restrictions. The government has said they will not do mass shutdowns again. So, any labor shortages should be short lived. My wife is on the phone with reps from China every couple of days, and this is what they are telling her.

Hopefully that’s right.

They estimate that 20% of Chinese population has Covid. I just wonder how bad it will get?

Michaell

tjc78 said:

@Michaell said:

I can't remember the make/model (the lease boards have been pretty busy the past week or so), but someone reported a quote on a $57K vehicle - $8500 up front and almost $1000/mo.

OMG.. and here I am thinking my Ram deal was just ok at 497/497 down plus shipping from FL. 58 and change MSRP.

Right now, that's probably in the top 5% of deals we've seen posted. Starting to see a deal here and there that is at or below 1% of MSRP - but, often that's with equity rolled over or some cash up front.

benjaminh

henryn said:

....I keep hearing that the chip shortage is over, but it seems the situation with buying a new car is really not improving, at least not from what I'm seeing and hearing. And until the sales of new cars get back up to previous levels, the prices of used cars will not decline, at least not anywhere close to previous levels.

And it seems that the number of new cars sold is still extremely low, by comparison to pre-pandemic levels. So we're looking at another 2 or 3 years for the market to stabilize?

What I got from the Wall Street Journal article is that the chip shortage just ended in the last few weeks or so. My guess is the higher supply of chips is just now starting to get to vehicle factories, and the substantial increase in supply won't really start showing up at the lots of dealers until February or even March.

Even then, there's probably pent up demand from millions who wanted a car, truck, or SUV, but who were priced out of the market. Those customers who've been sitting on the sidelines should start to come back to the market, which means that prices won't really collapse, but maybe more do something like a slow-motion soufflé slump.

My guess is that by the 4th of July supplies will be more or less equal do demand, and good deals might be possible on several models.

2019 was a year of peak production and sales in the US, with total sales reaching 19 million. If, in addition to chips, the supplies of other things (including workers) can keep pace, maybe we'll get back to 19 million again by 2024.

Sometime in late 2024 is when I'm guessing we might start to see an EV price war, because by then Tesla's new Texas factory might be making as many as 700,000 EVs a year. GM, Ford, VW, and a few others are planning to really accelerate EV production by 2024 too. The new 7500 rebate on EVs should mean that every EV will be easily sold, but even so I think EV prices will fall because of the fundamental change in the supply and demand equation.

Michaell

benjaminh said:

henryn said:

....I keep hearing that the chip shortage is over, but it seems the situation with buying a new car is really not improving, at least not from what I'm seeing and hearing. And until the sales of new cars get back up to previous levels, the prices of used cars will not decline, at least not anywhere close to previous levels.

And it seems that the number of new cars sold is still extremely low, by comparison to pre-pandemic levels. So we're looking at another 2 or 3 years for the market to stabilize?

What I got from the Wall Street Journal article is that the chip shortage just ended in the last few weeks or so. My guess is the higher supply of chips is just now starting to get to vehicle factories, and the substantial increase in supply won't really start showing up at the lots of dealers until February or even March.

Even then, there's probably pent up demand from millions who wanted a car, truck, or SUV, but who were priced out of the market. Those customers who've been sitting on the sidelines should start to come back to the market, which means that prices won't really collapse, but maybe more do something like a slow-motion soufflé slump.

My guess is that by the 4th of July supplies will be more or less equal do demand, and good deals might be possible on several models.

2019 was a year of peak production and sales in the US, with total sales reaching 19 million. If, in addition to chips, the supplies of other things (including workers) can keep pace, maybe we'll get back to 19 million again by 2024.

Sometime in late 2024 is when I'm guessing we might start to see an EV price war.

While supply may finally be catching up, I suspect that higher interest rates will continue to keep folks out of the market. No predictions on when those may start to come back down, but the days of 0%, .9% or 1.9% APR deals may not come back.

explorerx4

Are they the right kind of chips for automotive use?

mjfloyd1

May just be poker chips😂

qbrozen

Winter wheels and tires now on the wrx. I have certainly gotten my use out of these wheels. Originally purchased for autocross use on the G35x WAAAYYY back when. I want to say maybe ‘07? They also served duty on … I believe… a mazda5, S70, GTI, and probably others I am forgetting.

And here are some pics of the new shed. They were quite challenged at working on my non-flat property. As you can see, it will be fun for me getting in and out. I have to construct ramps. I used some old wood ones to get the mower in there but it was not easy.

tjc78

Love the shed!

stickguy

probably would have cost a bundle to dig out the hillside and half bury it.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen was that shed over $84k?

28firefighter

Anyone getting a last day punch in?

mjfloyd1

@breld has been awfully quiet…

28firefighter said:

Anyone getting a last day punch in?

qbrozen

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen was that shed over $84k?

is that in Canadian? Maybe.

Michaell

mjfloyd1 said:

@breld has been awfully quiet…

28firefighter said:

Anyone getting a last day punch in?

I've checked in with @breld today via text message ...

ab348

fintail said:

On the chronic car buyer front, my friend who bought the CT6 not long ago has tons of buyer's remorse, he fell out of love fast. Complains about the ICE and says it is just too big.

Remind me again of what engine his came with? Hard to believe it would be worse than whatever EcoBoost variant came in his Lincoln.

He told me he has cleaned out the interior and is going car looking today, knowing it is the last day of the month and last day of the year. He spotted a Regal Tour X at a dealer local to him, and he's going to check it out. I told him he's going to lose his shirt, he seemed to realize this.

Maybe I should offer him $20K in worthless Canadian dollars for it…

mjfloyd1

Michaell said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@breld has been awfully quiet…

28firefighter said:

Anyone getting a last day punch in?

I've checked in with @breld today via text message ...

Have the trade in values met his expectations?

mjfloyd1

qbrozen said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen was that shed over $84k?

is that in Canadian? Maybe.

I must be confused. I thought you posted shed was $42k but doubled with finishing interior (and more when you get electric done)??

fintail

breld said:

A local MB dealer is advertising lease deals on a new EQS SUV. $799/month, $9,999 down. Or work in that down into the monthly and you’re looking at $1,215/month. With an MSRP of $112,495, the monthly is 1.08% of MSRP.

Boom…these lease deals do exist. Don’t all rush over to your MB dealer at once…save one for me.

10K down lol, you'd have to be insane.

I suspect the EQS is not meeting expectations.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Anyone getting a last day punch in?

Years ago my buddy bought a used Mustang on NYE and got a 25% discount.

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
Winter wheels and tires now on the wrx. I have certainly gotten my use out of these wheels. Originally purchased for autocross use on the G35x WAAAYYY back when. I want to say maybe ‘07? They also served duty on … I believe… a mazda5, S70, GTI, and probably others I am forgetting.

And here are some pics of the new shed. They were quite challenged at working on my non-flat property. As you can see, it will be fun for me getting in and out. I have to construct ramps. I used some old wood ones to get the mower in there but it was not easy.

————————————————
That’s a good looking shed. Are you sure you want to grim it up with yard equipment? If you keep it clean it could serve as an auxiliary/private show room even after you have the new garage built.

You know that garage is going to look like a garage so that’s something to think about.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@28firefighter said:
Anyone getting a last day punch in?

————————————————-
I am being very careful so as not to let that happen. Oh wait, you mean car purchase punches . I was thinking left hooks.

jmonroe

qbrozen

mjfloyd1 said:

qbrozen said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen was that shed over $84k?

is that in Canadian? Maybe.

I must be confused. I thought you posted shed was $42k but doubled with finishing interior (and more when you get electric done)??

The garage will be nearly $90k. With the additional install problems, the shed wound up just under $11k.

roadburner

Today we took the C43 on a 50 mile round trip to a restaurant In Bardstown for an early dinner; so far the more I drive it the more I like it. One ability the C43 shares with my M235i is the way it can transform from a laid back cruiser to a hard-edged sport sedan at the flip of a switch- although even in quiet mode the exhaust pops and burbles as the car is coming to a stop, which I really like. And, despite the whining of numerous US automotive writers, my wife and I find the suspension tuning to be comfortable and spot on. Fuel mileage has averaged 26 mpg, which is more than acceptable in my book. Overall, I think I made the right choice.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
The garage will be nearly $90k. With the additional install problems, the shed wound up just under $11k.

That makes more sense…

Happy New Year

sda

qbrozen said:

Did I mention my last 4xe had what I assume is the death wobble? Hit any bump in the pavement at over 60 mph and the whole car would try to shake itself to death until you sped up or slowed down to change the frequency enough to make it stop. Dealer said they couldn’t replicate so I sold it that way figuring my excuse was “dealer says it is fine so it is fine.”

Hasn’t Chrysler/Jeep/Ram struggled with the death wobble for years? It puzzles me why it continues to be an issue especially since it is safety related. Very annoying at best.

I wish everyone a healthy, safe, prosperous 2023. Happy New Year!

nyccarguy

Happy New Year to all! What was the final count for 2022? Who guessed properly? Who will be the 1st punch of 2023 (@breld)?

stickguy

I punched last NYE. So that means I ended up taking 2022 off since Ford blew me off on building the 2nd Maverick.

Michaell

Perfect for this group…

28firefighter

Believe it or not, I’m setting a goal not to buy a car this year. I really love both of our cars and I’m feeling optimistic.

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter said:
Believe it or not, I’m setting a goal not to buy a car this year. I really love both of our cars and I’m feeling optimistic.

Cool story, bro 😎

rayains

"And, despite the whining of numerous US automotive writers, my wife and I find the suspension tuning to be comfortable and spot on." - Roadburner
I agree re: the X3.
- Ray
Quite pleased wth my choice as well...

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Believe it or not, I’m setting a goal not to buy a car this year. I really love both of our cars and I’m feeling optimistic.

——————————————
Needless to say not everyone in here will be buying a car this year. BUT, for that to be your goal for 2023 you otta lose your membership in CCBA for this year.

jmonroe

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Happy New Year to all! What was the final count for 2022? Who guessed properly? Who will be the 1st punch of 2023 (@breld)?

I think the tally is 41. Caveat: We have not yet heard from the Colorado contingent regarding any potential last-minute 2022 @breld shopping shenanigans.

nyccarguy

@28firefighter said:
Believe it or not, I’m setting a goal not to buy a car this year. I really love both of our cars and I’m feeling optimistic.

Last week on our way home from PA, I saw a dark Blue Elantra N driving rather enthusiastically. Sounded great. Seemed to be very composed!

tjc78

I’m good for one in 2023.

qbrozen

corvette said:

I think the tally is 41. Caveat: We have not yet heard from the Colorado contingent regarding any potential last-minute 2022 @breld shopping shenanigans.

That's it? Were breld and I responsible for like half?

roadburner

rayains said:

"And, despite the whining of numerous US automotive writers, my wife and I find the suspension tuning to be comfortable and spot on." - Roadburner
I agree re: the X3.
- Ray
Quite pleased wth my choice as well...

Our 2004 X3 was built before Munich softened the suspension in response to complaints about the "harsh ride." We never noticed it either. I think that the majority of US automotive "journalists" are not particularly knowledgeable or entertaining to read; methinks I'm going to let my Car and Driver and Road & Track subscriptions lapse and stick with the Brit magazines.

stickguy

me getting a punch is really up to Ford. unless I find some extra income in the couch cushions, and come up with a sports car of some sort to spend it on!

corvette

Reviewing Toyota's current offerings since I no longer really read the auto news mags/websites (although I did read about the new Tundra and Sequoia) - a few highlights that surprised me:
- Toyota Crown is overly styled and replaces the Avalon. I don't like the black plastic trim in the middle of the doors. Hybrid AWD powertrain only, and the Limited gets the 2.4 liter turbo engine paired with the hybrid powertrain. Supposedly, a plug-in hybrid is due soon, but I think they should have offered that at launch and, if it's powerful, in place of the Limited which is currently offered without the plug-in capability.
- 2023 Prius has very good styling and, surprisingly, is said to do 0-60 in 7 seconds, which is downright sprightly compared to any previous Prius. MPG gains seem to be nonexistant--52/52 for the new mid-line model vs. 54/50 for the old one. AWD is available. The 19" wheels on all but the base trim seem a bit large. No spare tire on any of them, though. A Prime plug-in hybrid is supposedly due soon.
- Highlander - the 3.5 liter V6 is gone, replaced by a 2.4 liter turbocharged I4, which is the exclusive engine on the non-hybrid. I wonder whether that might make its way to the Camry and Sienna.
- Corolla Cross Hybrid - as I previously mentioned, seems to be a decent horsepower bump over the regular model. Again, no spare tire.
- bZ4X - the Solterra looks better. Something like this is very much on the fringe for me--I think it needs to have a bit more range, possibly cost a bit less, and for sure have a better DC fast charge infrastructure than what's available in the areas where I sometimes travel.
- Mirai - I don't see the point here, unless they need it for emission compliance purposes. (For those as unfamiliar as I was, it's a $50k-$66k hydrogen fuel cell car that has RWD only and does 0-60 in a blistering 9.2 seconds).

stickguy

except for the sports car (Subota) I would not buy any Toyota that was not a hybrid. Does not seem to be much point.