Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

Just got a text from my former doctor. His oldest son is about ready to turn 16, so he wants to hand down his wife's car to him and get her a new MB.

She wants an E-class sedan, but in red. Thought that might be a challenge, but our local dealer has an E350 4Matic in Cardinal Red, with the Macchiato Beige interior. MSRP north of $70K.

We talked about leasing vs. purchase. Turns out a 60 month loan is about the same payment as a 36 month lease.

I may help him with the transaction.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

My buddy bought a used Mustang GT on New Year’s eve and got 25% off.

Sooo... used for 25% off the new price? How used?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

My buddy bought a used Mustang GT on New Year’s eve and got 25% off.

Sooo... used for 25% off the new price? How used?

Used, off the asking price of $25k. It was a 2012 GT Premium. This was the end of 2015 IIRC.

xwesx

I don't think there's any ten-year-old (+) Mustang GT that should be priced high enough to even be able to remove $25,000 without being in negative territory! Yikes.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
Used, off the asking price of $25k. It was a 2012 GT Premium. This was the end of 2015 IIRC.

IIRC, I was at like 22-23% off a new 2014 GT at the end of 2014. I probably shoulda held that one. Oh well.

stickguy

I bought my 2005 Accord in mid-December 2005. I forget the exact numbers but it stickered for 25ish K and I paid 20-20.5. And got a great trade in for my tC!

roadburner

The C43 is only a couple of tenths faster than my 2er 0-60 and in the 1/4 mile, but it's a much better sleeper; the decklid badge is the only clue that it's quicker than it looks.

henryn

qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Used, off the asking price of $25k. It was a 2012 GT Premium. This was the end of 2015 IIRC.

IIRC, I was at like 22-23% off a new 2014 GT at the end of 2014. I probably shoulda held that one. Oh well.

I was inspired by the deal @qbrozen made on that Mustang, and lined up a very similar deal here locally. But I never quite pulled the trigger, about as close as I've ever come without actually doing the deed. Looking back, I should have done it. Oh, well.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Used, off the asking price of $25k. It was a 2012 GT Premium. This was the end of 2015 IIRC.

IIRC, I was at like 22-23% off a new 2014 GT at the end of 2014. I probably shoulda held that one. Oh well.

My local Ford dealer had a 2014 GT sitting in his doorway proudly displayed when I paid a visit just when the new 2015 design came out. He must have thought it was made of gold because it was still there two years later, long after I bought my 2015 at a less delusional dealer.

qbrozen

I was off. Mine was a 2013. Bought June 29, 2013.

fintail

roadburner said:

The C43 is only a couple of tenths faster than my 2er 0-60 and in the 1/4 mile, but it's a much better sleeper; the decklid badge is the only clue that it's quicker than it looks.

You could do as they do in Europe and debadge it, or be crazy and downbadge it - C200 anyone?

corvette

Badge it as a diesel.

jmonroe1

@au1994 said:
Exactly

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Right, because when a snow storm is coming you want to get to the grocery store NOW, so you can beat the rush and not have to wait in long lines for your milk, bread and TP.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@breld said:
Our old neighbors whom we're still friends with (and we work with the husband) each bought a Model Y Performance within the past few months. So she bought one around the $70k price a few months ago and then he bought one at year end when they were offering the $3,750 incentive (prior to the increase to $7,500).

I'd absolutely be ticked - particularly because of the enticement to buy one prior to year end, only to decrease the actual price by $13k a couple weeks later.

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It’s usually wise to consider the reputation of an outfit before doing business with them. Kinda like the old saying, “if you lie down with dogs you might just wake up with fleas”.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@stickguy said:
Walked the lot at the ford dealer. They actually have some inventory now. Mostly bronco sports , escapes and explorers. Maybe a dozen F150s too.

Stuff is expensive. Makes a maverick lariat look like a screaming deal. Bronco sport with a 1.5l 3 banger for almost $39k, and escape SEL a little over $40k. Cheapest PU seemed to be about $51 and went up to about $67k. And man they are huge.

Nice mustang GT convertible on the showroom
Floor though. Red seats. Only $57k. But automatic. Good luck selling that in snow and salt country in mid winter.

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Well , you could do what my late Delray Beach brother did about 15 years ago did. He bought a convertible from a dealer he dealt with here in the Burgh area that was just collecting snow on it in January. Then had our cousin and nephew drive it down to him. He said he saved enough to fly both of them back to the Burgh and still have some money in his pocket. On top of that he refused to deal with the snakes selling cars in South Florida.

jmonroe

kyfdx

@qbrozen You own a place in SC, right? Have you looked into registering cars there, even though you have an out of state driver license?

I have friend that just bought a condo in Hilton Head, and is looking to garage a car there. Wondering if he can buy in SC, then register the car, there.

jmonroe1

@Michaell said:
Just got a text from my former doctor. His oldest son is about ready to turn 16, so he wants to hand down his wife's car to him and get her a new MB.

She wants an E-class sedan, but in red. Thought that might be a challenge, but our local dealer has an E350 4Matic in Cardinal Red, with the Macchiato Beige interior. MSRP north of $70K.

We talked about leasing vs. purchase. Turns out a 60 month loan is about the same payment as a 36 month lease.

I may help him with the transaction.

————————————————
See, it’s easy to spend someone else’s money.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

I was off. Mine was a 2013. Bought June 29, 2013.

That makes it an even better deal as they were discounting the 2014s in anticipation of the 2015 models having IRS for the first time. Everybody was hopped up for the new model. I know I was.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

roadburner said:

The C43 is only a couple of tenths faster than my 2er 0-60 and in the 1/4 mile, but it's a much better sleeper; the decklid badge is the only clue that it's quicker than it looks.

You could do as they do in Europe and debadge it, or be crazy and downbadge it - C200 anyone?

If he really wanted to fool people he could put Hyundai badging on it.

jmonroe1

@roadburner said:
The C43 is only a couple of tenths faster than my 2er 0-60 and in the 1/4 mile, but it's a much better sleeper; the decklid badge is the only clue that it's quicker than it looks.

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I’m sure I told you I had a sleeper once. An ‘80 Park Ave. That beast required a box of No-Doz every time I went to the grocery store. My son’s still talk about that car. Sometimes even affectionately.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

@stickguy said:

Walked the lot at the ford dealer. They actually have some inventory now. Mostly bronco sports , escapes and explorers. Maybe a dozen F150s too.

Stuff is expensive. Makes a maverick lariat look like a screaming deal. Bronco sport with a 1.5l 3 banger for almost $39k, and escape SEL a little over $40k. Cheapest PU seemed to be about $51 and went up to about $67k. And man they are huge.

Nice mustang GT convertible on the showroom

Floor though. Red seats. Only $57k. But automatic. Good luck selling that in snow and salt country in mid winter.

————————————————

Well , you could do what my late Delray Beach brother did about 15 years ago did. He bought a convertible from a dealer he dealt with here in the Burgh area that was just collecting snow on it in January. Then had our cousin and nephew drive it down to him. He said he saved enough to fly both of them back to the Burgh and still have some money in his pocket. On top of that he refused to deal with the snakes selling cars in South Florida.

jmonroe

I always said you should buy your convertible in the north in winter and buy it in the south in the summer.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
If he really wanted to fool people he could put Hyundai badging on it.

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That’s just downright LOW.

jmonroe

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

@qbrozen You own a place in SC, right? Have you looked into registering cars there, even though you have an out of state driver license?

I have friend that just bought a condo in Hilton Head, and is looking to garage a car there. Wondering if he can buy in SC, then register the car, there.

I did. What I found said I need an SC driver's license.

fintail

corvette said:

Badge it as a diesel.

And not a modern CDi/Bluetec badge, just an old "DIESEL" badge.

corvette

I finally installed the soft open accessory for the Maverick tailgate. The darn thing came with a ton of thread locker preinstalled on one of the bolts and I had trouble getting it to thread for that reason. Removing the thread locker made it much easier to install, and I tightened it with the baby impact gun just to make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

kyfdx said:

@qbrozen You own a place in SC, right? Have you looked into registering cars there, even though you have an out of state driver license?

I have friend that just bought a condo in Hilton Head, and is looking to garage a car there. Wondering if he can buy in SC, then register the car, there.

I did. What I found said I need an SC driver's license.

Thanks

sda

corvette said:

I finally installed the soft open accessory for the Maverick tailgate. The darn thing came with a ton of thread locker preinstalled on one of the bolts and I had trouble getting it to thread for that reason. Removing the thread locker made it much easier to install, and I tightened it with the baby impact gun just to make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

Pics! What is your impression of the Maverick so far?

corvette

Here is a screenshot of a video I took of the strut in action. I'm still enjoying the Maverick. It installed a new update for the infotainment, so I'm hoping CarPlay and bluetooth audio streaming work better.

corvette

Link to video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnaVW9cjNzY/

roadburner

@fintail said:
You could do as they do in Europe and debadge it, or be crazy and downbadge it - C200 anyone?

I believe that I’ve told this story before, but a friend of mine replaced the ///M3 badge on his heavily modified E36 with a German 316td emblem. Most Bimwads knew what was up but it was a hoot to hear clueless bystanders talk about how they now wanted a 316 since it was so cool and fast. European Car even printed a letter from one goofball who actually asked where he could buy a 316td; he wrote that he had seen one set FTD at a local autocross but none of the local BMW dealers sold them or knew anything about them.

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

I was off. Mine was a 2013. Bought June 29, 2013.

That makes it an even better deal as they were discounting the 2014s in anticipation of the 2015 models having IRS for the first time. Everybody was hopped up for the new model. I know I was.

Was that the first time, or just the first time across the lineup? I had a friend with a 2004 Cobra, and his had an IRS on it. I know for certain, because I helped him replace a half shaft on it that had a CV joint failure.

explorerx4

First time for IRS on a GT.

xwesx

corvette said:

Link to video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnaVW9cjNzY/

My initial thought is that I would get annoyed at how long that takes to open. However, I suspect that I would get used to it quickly enough.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Link to video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnaVW9cjNzY/

My initial thought is that I would get annoyed at how long that takes to open. However, I suspect that I would get used to it quickly enough.

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I’d like that too since I’m not into weight lifting anymore.

jmonroe

stickguy

I never bothered to put a strut on my Maverick. Tailgate is light enough that it does not bother me doing it the old fashioned way. Plus it would cost money!

I am not having luck with the latest update. I got one done last year but been trying lately to get the latest and the truck is not cooperating (a common complaint on the forums). not a big deal since mine works fine. I asked the service writer about it yesterday and he said they could do, just have to make sure the "1 guy" that really understands how that works was there! Just mention that the system has been glitchy and they will update under warranty. Will do that when it finally goes in for the side airbag recall (if they ever show up)

tifighter

@kyfdx @Michaell
I have a friend looking for a new minivan. Since you guys cover the buy/lease boards, are any models thinner on the ground than others that you’ve heard of? A quick look locally on cargurus makes it seem like dealers still think they’re made of gold.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

I was off. Mine was a 2013. Bought June 29, 2013.

That makes it an even better deal as they were discounting the 2014s in anticipation of the 2015 models having IRS for the first time. Everybody was hopped up for the new model. I know I was.

Was that the first time, or just the first time across the lineup? I had a friend with a 2004 Cobra, and his had an IRS on it. I know for certain, because I helped him replace a half shaft on it that had a CV joint failure.

Cobras might have had them along with hand built motors but 2015 was the first time a regular production Mustang had IRS.

Michaell

tifighter said:

@kyfdx @Michaell

I have a friend looking for a new minivan. Since you guys cover the buy/lease boards, are any models thinner on the ground than others that you’ve heard of? A quick look locally on cargurus makes it seem like dealers still think they’re made of gold.

We don't get a lot of requests for minivan lease numbers, TBH.

Neither do we track inventory.

Does your friend have a preference on brand? There really aren't many to choose from, now - Pacifica, Sienna, Odyssey and Carnival are the only ones I can think of.

corvette

stickguy said:

Plus it would cost money!

I am not having luck with the latest update....

I'm okay with the ~$40 for the tailgate strut. The hood struts are way more expensive!

I think the recent update was only for the XL/XLT infotainment, so may not apply to the Lariat, which I think has official "Sync" infotainment. It seems like I do have to manually connect to my home wifi, even though the password is already stored in the Maverick, then manually request that it look for updates, even though it is supposed to automatically do so.

stickguy

always have to manually connect. it just gets cranky about the update. last week I found the update and it sat at downloading for a long time and never did anything. Now I can't find the update again.

I think the Lux lariat has sync. Non-Lux though has the same infotainment as the other trims.

andres3

breld said:

28firefighter said:

breld said:

I’m quite surprised as to the extent of price cuts on the Teslas, particularly given the 3 and Y may be eligible for the federal tax credit this quarter (subject to buyer eligibility). The $13k reduction on the Y puts it back close to the $50k we paid for ours in 2021.

The fun part is actually seeing what the dealers with used Ys and 3s on their lots will have to do now. My local broker has had this one on their lot since they sold my Rivian months ago. It was originally priced like a new one around $70k (like lots of dealers), and now you can order a new 2023 Y Performance for about $55k and get it this month or next.

https://www.greenwoodautomotive.com/vehicle-details/used-2021-tesla-model-y-performance-parker-co-id-49011459

I'm a bit irked by the significant price drops but grateful I didn't buy at the top of the market.

Our old neighbors whom we're still friends with (and we work with the husband) each bought a Model Y Performance within the past few months. So she bought one around the $70k price a few months ago and then he bought one at year end when they were offering the $3,750 incentive (prior to the increase to $7,500).

I'd absolutely be ticked - particularly because of the enticement to buy one prior to year end, only to decrease the actual price by $13k a couple weeks later.

They are only ever worth what you or someone else is willing to pay.

andres3

stickguy said:

you would be replacing your front bumper all the time from running into the idiots on their phones, not noticing the light changed.

Or just in need of replacing front brake pads and rotors like I just did.

tommister2

@stickguy said:
always have to manually connect. it just gets cranky about the update. last week I found the update and it sat at downloading for a long time and never did anything. Now I can't find the update again.

I think the Lux lariat has sync. Non-Lux though has the same infotainment as the other trims.

Our 2019 mustang was always slow downloading and installing updates. Ford had room for improvement there. Tesla and toyota updates are reasonably quick. If we ever get our maverick I will expect finicky updates and then hopefully be pleasantly surprised!

tjc78

@tifighter said:
@kyfdx @Michaell
I have a friend looking for a new minivan. Since you guys cover the buy/lease boards, are any models thinner on the ground than others that you’ve heard of? A quick look locally on cargurus makes it seem like dealers still think they’re made of gold.

I know the Sienna and Carnival were nearly impossible to get last year. That leaves you with the Odyssey that was really never discounted and the Pacifica which a few months back did have discounts if going through a LH broker.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

@tifighter said:
@kyfdx @Michaell

I have a friend looking for a new minivan. Since you guys cover the buy/lease boards, are any models thinner on the ground than others that you’ve heard of? A quick look locally on cargurus makes it seem like dealers still think they’re made of gold.

I know the Sienna and Carnival were nearly impossible to get last year. That leaves you with the Odyssey that was really never discounted and the Pacifica which a few months back did have discounts if going through a LH broker.

I’ve driven a lot of Pacificas and found them to be comfortable and all around good performers. The few Hondas and Toyota’s I’ve driven seemed to have a lot of road noise by comparison. I can’t vouch for reliability on any of them but I’ve driven the Chrysler’s with 120k+ mikes and they still felt tight.

tjc78

I’m very impressed with the quality of my Ram, very well put together. I haven’t driven a Mopar minivan in awhile but the ones I have always were nice.

Interesting conversation with the wife last night. I had the football game on and a car commercial came on. That prompted her to say that she didn’t want another SUV when her XC goes back since we have the truck now. I said that’s fine, and suggested an Acura TLX and showed her a picture. She wasn’t overly thrilled, so I showed her a 3 series which she did like. Then she asked if they still make “the car I had before” I said they still make the S60. “I want one of those” and then we don’t have to pay the dispo fee on the XC.

So…. Another S60 May enter the fleet later in the year. I suggested Denim blue over Blond, but that’s her choice.

28firefighter

I love the Pacifica PHEV. Have no use for a minivan, but it’s what I’d get if I did.

tjc78

I think we all have to come to terms that a minivan is the ideal family vehicle. The stigma is why we don’t buy them.

Seriously Enclaves, Highlanders, Pilots, etc are all tall minivans without sliding doors. Even more so if you have captain’s chairs in the middle (which is a must if you have two kids in car seats.

sda

I really liked our 03 Odyssey. It drove and rode well, got reasonable mpg, was very comfortable and was more versatile than the two Pilots we had later. The two sliding doors allowed for easy access and enabled tall items to be loaded into the vehicle. Removing the middle seats and folding down the third row seat created a huge cargo area. The Odyssey got better gas mileage than the Pilots as well. Often it would get 27 mpg on the road where the Pilots typically would get 22-23mpg in similar driving. I never let the minivan stigma bother me but it did my wife a little thus the 06 and 10 Pilots.

stickguy

agreed about how good minivans are. Perfect one vehicle to have. we had 3, from the time our 2nd kid was born to the first one was going into senior year of college and baby was going into junior year of HS and getting ready to drive soon.

wife was just ready for a new car at that point (I think the Odyssey was 7 years old then) and did not want something that big, so we ended up with the RDX. I don't think it was only about image, but probably was part of it (along with getting something smaller). I had no issues driving the van. And did miss it occasionally (such as when I had to pack 3 of us and all the kids stuff when we took her to college the first time, 8 hours away). Man that RDX was packed to the roof. the Odyssey would have been below eye level with room to spare.

as long as I have my truck we don't really have need for a larger CUV, but if we had to replace the Acura my wife would want something similar instead of a sedan, since she likes to sit up higher now.