Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tifighter

Minivans rock. And there doesn’t really seem to be a bad one, except the Sienna doesn’t have removable second row seats. Which would probably be a deal breaker for me.

henryn

I am definitely a fan of minivans, I've owned 2 in a row now, and I live alone - well, 2 dogs.

I prefer the Mopar versions because of the fold flat 2nd row seats, I have mine folded into the floor about 98% of the time, giving me a huge flat area with easy access via the two sliding doors.

I do keep the rear seat in the upright position most of the time, as I like loading groceries and such into the well behind that 3rd row set. If the 3rd row seat is folded down, there is a really large flat area (think 4x8 sheets of plywood or sheetrock). But then my groceries tend to slide around on the way back from the store.

corvette

28firefighter said:

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

I think C&D had a long-term tester and liked it but had a bunch of problems related to the hybrid system and the MPGs were lackluster. Their conclusion was to buy the conventional ICE model instead.

jmonroe1

corvette said:

28firefighter said:

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

I think C&D had a long-term tester and liked it but had a bunch of problems related to the hybrid system and the MPGs were lackluster. Their conclusion was to buy the conventional ICE model instead.

————————————————
Why am I not surprised?

jmonroe

roadburner

I think my wife hates minivans worse than I do. From the time my son was an infant to Kindergarten he rode in a 1984 T-Bird Turbo Coupe, a 1993 Pathfinder SE, my Club Sport, and a second 318ti.

qbrozen

Minivan life certainly isn't for someone with 1 kid who doesn't make a habit of hauling stuff. Even an SUV is overkill in that use case.

28firefighter

@corvette said:
I think C&D had a long-term tester and liked it but had a bunch of problems related to the hybrid system and the MPGs were lackluster. Their conclusion was to buy the conventional ICE model instead.

There was a $7500 tax rebate though on leases that didn’t exist on the conventional.

Michaell

Member looking for help in purchasing a used Cherokee

stickguy

threw out some thoughts.

Michaell

stickguy said:

threw out some thoughts.

Much appreciated!

breld

qbrozen said:

Minivan life certainly isn't for someone with 1 kid who doesn't make a habit of hauling stuff. Even an SUV is overkill in that use case.

I think the concept of “overkill” and excess have different meanings within this group.

corvette

I was mildly interested in this when the bidding was below $2k:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-pontiac-aztek-2/

These looked better after the facelift when they got monochrome paint, and I don't think burgundy looks good on these.

breld

Wife and I were browsing Saturday and found an available Ioniq 5 we liked. This was at the dealership network that has Polestar, so I figured they’d be able to take the leased Polestar 2 in as a trade. But nope…only if I traded it for another Polestar. Oh well…I’ll just wait it out until the Polestar buyout/termination is more palatable.

Sandman6472

We could've used a minivan as our kids are very close in age but the other half said no way! Ended up in a Cutlass Supreme gifted to her from her folks and then into a couple of Toyota Camry's. And now, we like smaller vehicles to be honest and it never occurred to me that I should've gotten a minivan back then as I had the Corolla FX which was a small three door vehicle.

Sandman6472

Decided to keep my iPhone 12 instead of trading up for a 14. Instead, had Apple put a new battery in so I can keep it another year or two. Speaking with the Apple lady today, she assured me that the upcoming 15 will have the USB-C connector instead of the current lightning one. I had read that Europe has made it mandatory by 2024 and she said the U S passed something similar here. My two year old MacBook Air has the USB-C connector and think more of their products have them also. Just makes sense really though betting Apple will miss the added income they used to get from the lightning cables folks had to purchase. I do have a lot of them now myself as over the years, have found a few and others have just given me their old ones.
Decided to get a new battery put in as the price is going up by $20 in March and my 12 is in almost new condition, I always keep it in a case and have a screen protector on it. And, I'm just not ready to spend that kind of money again as mine was bought in May of 2021, still has plenty of life. I use it a lot at work so the battery life was down to almost 70 so figured since I'm keeping it, a new battery would give it new life. The Apple guy last week agreed saying if I was planning on keeping my 12, getting the new battery was the best thing to do...and cheapest way.
Also decided to get a trade-in value for my iPad Air2 and it was a ridiculous $35 off a $499 device. I wanted to get the new regular iPad this time around and found out the new iPad Air costs $100 more now. My current Air 2 only had 32 gigs storage and I'm using 21.1 gigs currently. The Apple lady said mine's in really good condition, looks brand new, and as long as I'm o k with the amount of gigs now, might as well keep it. I only use it to surf the web actually. I got on the Best Buy website and after going through all the steps, it shows me a trade-in of $120, which can not be right...why such a difference? Think I'll mosey on over to Best Buy one of these days and really find out if this is true for if it is, then I'd buy the new iPad there and call it a day. That one has 64 gigs so I'd be able to put back the apps & pics I took off today.

roadburner

@breld - and anyone else with a newer M-B(although I'm certain fintail already knows). A Brit named Nick O'Leary has a YouTube channel that contains dozens of tutorials addressing various M-B features. I've found it very helpful- especially while making the transition from iDrive to COMAND.

corvette

It's looking like Louisville no longer has a new car show--some unofficial websites say it's scheduled for January 27-29, but there's nothing on the event calendar for the fair & expo center that weekend besides the circus (insert witty joke here) and the Boat/RV show.

Since we have a couple of locals on this board, I found this interesting bit of local history a while back--a documentary film about the closure of a beloved White Castle location at the intersection of Eastern Parkway and Bardstown Road (a Valvoline Instant Oil Change location sits there now):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK44CcAiCJk

kyfdx

We used to have two White Castles, nearby. One was a drive-thru only, and they closed that a couple of years ago. But, they just completely rebuilt the other one. So, it's basically brand new.

There are probably four or five other ones in the metro area, if I bothered to look for them. The rebuilt one is just 2.5 miles away, though.

Covington, KY used to have three WCs (pop. 50K at that time), but now, they are down to one.

corvette

There is one very near my house (I walk by there on my way to my favorite pub) and another within a short drive. The Krystal chain isn't in this part of the state, so far as I know, but I think their sliders are inferior.

I kind of snickered when I walked by the Krystal on Bourbon Street in NOLA and discovered that it serves booze--that has to be the only one in the country with that offering.

Michaell

No White Castles here, but we have been getting both In-n-Out's and Whataburgers opening up.

Read that In-N-Out will be opening a plant in Memphis, to service that region (I think they'll open up stores within 3-4 hours of the plant, IIRC).

kyfdx

corvette said:

There is one very near my house (I walk by there on my way to my favorite pub) and another within a short drive. The Krystal chain isn't in this part of the state, so far as I know, but I think their sliders are inferior.

I kind of snickered when I walked by the Krystal on Bourbon Street in NOLA and discovered that it serves booze--that has to be the only one in the country with that offering.

Krystal is terrible. I remember when I was a kid, and we'd stop to use the bathroom. I'm 8 yrs old: "No, Mom, that's okay, I can hold it another four hours, we don't have to stop at Krystal". Nasty.

au1994

What is this White Castle you speak of? Krystal is what you need…

xwesx

corvette said:

I was mildly interested in this when the bidding was below $2k:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-pontiac-aztek-2/

These looked better after the facelift when they got monochrome paint, and I don't think burgundy looks good on these.

I had some good friends who bought one of these new. Looked just like this! She was so proud of her new car! She couldn't stop talking about it, in truth, and when I finally saw it, I just had to choke down my revulsion. LOL

stickguy

this will be the first year since 1987 (when I moved there) that I will miss the Philadelphia auto show, since I relocated and am not driving 4+ hours to do it!

I should convince my son (shouldn't be hard) to run down to the NY auto show. I went there once, some time in the 1970s.

Michaell

Looks like the Denver show is back on at the convention center, scheduled for April.

Will have to see if I can get @breld and @jpp75 to attend, again.

corvette

Prius dash is finally out. Now, to get the circuit board to my dad to solder on a new capacitor. I also took the opportunity to remove the “lock pick” mod that the previous owner had installed on the infotainment. It provided an RCA input that you could use to play video on the screen as well as disabling some of the annoying features on the nav system. That was a cool party trick in 2007, but I think the aftermarket electronics are a liability due to their age at this point. On a related note, there is an absolute ton of wiring in the dash as well as a lot of computer modules. It’s a wonder these things didn’t end up with maligned reliability on account of that.

xwesx

Well, it's great that you didn't have to dig very deeply to get all that out. It could have been a real pain the butt!

ab348

xwesx said:

Well, it's great that you didn't have to dig very deeply to get all that out. It could have been a real pain the butt!

If you think that's bad, just imagine how tough it is to replace a dash light bulb!

qbrozen

Looks like you could have tossed a grenade in there and made less of a mess.

Hope you labeled everything! haha.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

I was mildly interested in this when the bidding was below $2k:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-pontiac-aztek-2/

These looked better after the facelift when they got monochrome paint, and I don't think burgundy looks good on these.

I KNEW Those would become collector’s items but nobody listened. I may have missed my opportunity to pick a bunch of those up cheap and corner the market.

oldfarmer50

breld said:

Wife and I were browsing Saturday and found an available Ioniq 5 we liked. This was at the dealership network that has Polestar, so I figured they’d be able to take the leased Polestar 2 in as a trade. But nope…only if I traded it for another Polestar. Oh well…I’ll just wait it out until the Polestar buyout/termination is more palatable.

I just got out of an Ionic hybrid. I’m not sure if it was the plug in type. It rode very nicely, handled curvy country roads reasonably well and had a bit of zip (not as much as a full electric though).

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

this will be the first year since 1987 (when I moved there) that I will miss the Philadelphia auto show, since I relocated and am not driving 4+ hours to do it!

I should convince my son (shouldn't be hard) to run down to the NY auto show. I went there once, some time in the 1970s.

They run a bus trip down there from Albany. Much better than driving.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

Looks like you could have tossed a grenade in there and made less of a mess.

Hope you labeled everything! haha.

————————————————
Like I said before it looks like he’s preparing it to be parted out.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

I was mildly interested in this when the bidding was below $2k:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2001-pontiac-aztek-2/

These looked better after the facelift when they got monochrome paint, and I don't think burgundy looks good on these.

I KNEW Those would become collector’s items but nobody listened. I may have missed my opportunity to pick a bunch of those up cheap and corner the market.

————————————————
Don’t lose hope, they’ll become cheap again before you know it. They’re not true collector cars as much as they’re true junk.

jmonroe

corvette

jmonroe1 said:

Like I said before it looks like he’s preparing it to be parted out.

"Hello, *insurance company*... Someone broke in to my detached garage, ransacked my Prius, and left the interior perfectly disassembled with no fasteners broken. Can you please have it towed to the dealer for a repair estimate?"

jmonroe1

corvette said:

jmonroe1 said:

Like I said before it looks like he’s preparing it to be parted out.

"Hello, *insurance company*... Someone broke in to my detached garage, ransacked my Prius, and left the interior perfectly disassembled with no fasteners broken. Can you please have it towed to the dealer for a repair estimate?"

————————————————
When can we pick it up?

jmonroe

Sandman6472

Saw eye doctor today, first time since my second cataract surgery in 2015. All is fine and no need for another surgery as of now. Great news to hear as I really thought I'd need to be "tweaked" again as the surgeon told me at the last one in 2015. He said the changes are minimal right now and surgery is just not warranted right now. My first surgery was in late 2013. I was myopic back then with astigmatism, read with my left eye and saw distances with my right. Wore glasses all the time which I hated. Now, it's just reading glasses which I knew going into all this.
Very relieved to be honest as last time, my eye hurt for a few days after it...was very uncomfortable. Also might be a good idea to not wait seven years for another eye exam. This getting older stuff is great if one is healthy. If not, it really can suck, big time!

Sandman6472

Got my new battery in my iPhone 12 on Monday and all is great again. After much research & talking with the Apple tech, waiting for the iPhone 15 or 16 is the way to go I think. My 12 isn't much different from the newer 14 except it would be 128 gigs instead of 64. Just will need to watch how many apps I download & get rid of the ones I no longer visit. Spending the $69 plus tax for the new battery was the right call for me at this time. They even said my 12 is in perfect condition so why change right now...has always had a case and a screen saver as a precaution.
Did decide to upgrade on my iPad though. Ordered a new iPad, the regular one this time with 64 gigs and will be trading in my older Ipad Air 2 at Best Buy. Apple only wanted to give me $35 for it but according to the B B website, they offered a whole lot more. Think I got my current Air 2 on Thanksgiving in either 2015 or 2016...the box doesn't say and can't find the receipt. The kids went & got it for me at a Black Friday sale so think the receipt got lost somehow. Regardless, it only had 32 gigs and I was using close to 26 of those gigs right now. Decided to just treat myself now as I find I'm using my iPad more and more recently. Probably will have the newer processor and hold a charge longer. Whatever, since I decided to keep my current iPhone 12, this was the best way to go. Supposed to be ready tomorrow but will probably go pick it up on Thursday as it's our daughters birthday tomorrow and we're going out for dinner at this point. Also need to clean out all my info on the Air 2 before I turn it in.
It's been a great iPad but the time has come to upgrade it. This will be the newest model and at $449, a decent price. So, an early birthday present to me!

henryn

corvette said:

jmonroe1 said:

Like I said before it looks like he’s preparing it to be parted out.

"Hello, *insurance company*... Someone broke in to my detached garage, ransacked my Prius, and left the interior perfectly disassembled with no fasteners broken. Can you please have it towed to the dealer for a repair estimate?"

Back in 2015 or thereabouts, thieves made off with the hood and left front quarter panel from my new F150. A truly professional job. They unbolted and unscrewed everything, and took all of the bolts and screws. In addition, all of the wiring harness were carefully disconnected, not a single wire was cut.

Working in my driveway, in the middle of the night, it would have been very easy to cut the wires instead of disconnecting, and I would expect to find some of the bolts and screws on the ground. Nope, not one cut wire, not one bolt or screw left behind.

That theft was not done by ordinary crooks, it was done by a professional body repair man. That was the first year for the new aluminum body panels on the F150, and he probably had a need for exactly what he took off my truck. Hell, he probably scouted around until he found one in a matching color!

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

corvette said:

jmonroe1 said:

Like I said before it looks like he’s preparing it to be parted out.

"Hello, *insurance company*... Someone broke in to my detached garage, ransacked my Prius, and left the interior perfectly disassembled with no fasteners broken. Can you please have it towed to the dealer for a repair estimate?"

Back in 2015 or thereabouts, thieves made off with the hood and left front quarter panel from my new F150. A truly professional job. They unbolted and unscrewed everything, and took all of the bolts and screws. In addition, all of the wiring harness were carefully disconnected, not a single wire was cut.

Working in my driveway, in the middle of the night, it would have been very easy to cut the wires instead of disconnecting, and I would expect to find some of the bolts and screws on the ground. Nope, not one cut wire, not one bolt or screw left behind.

That theft was not done by ordinary crooks, it was done by a professional body repair man. That was the first year for the new aluminum body panels on the F150, and he probably had a need for exactly what he took off my truck. Hell, he probably scouted around until he found one in a matching color!

I remember that. I was so outraged for you.

kyfdx

@henryn
I can't imagine coming out to find missing body panels.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

@henryn
I can't imagine coming out to find missing body panels.

With all the guns in TX I can’t imagine a crook like that would have a long career.

tifighter

Just returned to Zurich today. While we in the US go back and forth on EVs, the Swiss seem to be all in. They’re everywhere here, and it’s a noticeable increase even compared to a year ago.

Michaell

tifighter said:

Just returned to Zurich today. While we in the US go back and forth on EVs, the Swiss seem to be all in. They’re everywhere here, and it’s a noticeable increase even compared to a year ago.

I would imagine, like Norway, Switzerland has set up the tax regulations for favor EVs.

oldfarmer50

I guess I’m stepping up in the world.

I just got a solicitation for an American Express card. Interest rates up near 27% and a $700 annual fee but you earn points for both Sak’s and Walmart memberships (funny, I didn’t know Walmart required a membership). Lots of perks if you are a world traveler like tifighter but not so much for an old clod kicker like me.

Do any of you guys require a $700 fee card for your daily life? It definitely seemed to be targeted towards the upper class.

Me, I still use cash for 99% of my purchases.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

tifighter said:

Just returned to Zurich today. While we in the US go back and forth on EVs, the Swiss seem to be all in. They’re everywhere here, and it’s a noticeable increase even compared to a year ago.

I would imagine, like Norway, Switzerland has set up the tax regulations for favor EVs.

Those are both countries that I assume have abundant hydro power available for charging and where pipelines for fossil fuel would be hard to construct.

corvette

@oldfarmer50 - some of the points cards provide benefits that more than outweigh their annual fee, if you know how to work their system. I do not, so I stick with no annual fee cards that either offer cash back (and pay off every month) or 0% for XX months (and pay off when the promotion ends).

henryn

corvette said:

@oldfarmer50 - some of the points cards provide benefits that more than outweigh their annual fee, if you know how to work their system. I do not, so I stick with no annual fee cards or cards that either offer cash back (and pay off every month) or 0% for XX months (and pay off when the promotion ends).

My ex-wife had one of those cards. She was a frequent business traveler, international as well as domestic, and the perks she got at airports made the card a worthwhile investment.

I have an entry level Amex card, and use it frequently. I pay a fairly small annual fee, which I could easily avoid with a different card, but I find it worth the cost. When I have a dispute with a vendor, Amex is on my side. Visa and Mastercard are on the merchant's side, you have to prove you don't owe the money. Amex is on your side, the merchant has to prove that you do owe. Big difference.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

tifighter said:

Just returned to Zurich today. While we in the US go back and forth on EVs, the Swiss seem to be all in. They’re everywhere here, and it’s a noticeable increase even compared to a year ago.

I would imagine, like Norway, Switzerland has set up the tax regulations for favor EVs.

Those are both countries that I assume have abundant hydro power available for charging and where pipelines for fossil fuel would be hard to construct.

————————————————
I think they’re tired of the cleanup mess they’ve lived with for years from bursted fuel supply lines as a result of freezing. Ain’t technology great?

jmonroe

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

I guess I’m stepping up in the world.

I just got a solicitation for an American Express card. Interest rates up near 27% and a $700 annual fee but you earn points for both Sak’s and Walmart memberships (funny, I didn’t know Walmart required a membership). Lots of perks if you are a world traveler like tifighter but not so much for an old clod kicker like me.

Do any of you guys require a $700 fee card for your daily life? It definitely seemed to be targeted towards the upper class.

Me, I still use cash for 99% of my purchases.

————————————————
I stopped doing that years ago. I got tired of going to the ATM for cash every other day. I now use my credit card for everything and I mean EVERYTHING. Even when I go to the convenience store to get a 1/2 gallon of milk. Prices today are set to account for almost everyone using a credit card. The way I look at it is if you pay cash you’re giving these companies a bonus and I don’t want to do that.

I really like the idea that both Home Depot and Lowe’s gives me a 10% discount because I’m a veteran. You can rest assured they are not taking that money out of their pockets. Everyone who shops there is subsidizing my discount so please don’t stop patronizing these places.

FWIW, I go to a few restaurants that give me a veterans discount too. They must be really ripping off their cash paying customers since their prices are set for credit card sales and discounts for veterans and seniors etc. Their otta be a law against that.

jmonroe