Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

that is one of the bigger concerns to us about just packing it in and retiring early. how expensive it is to cover health insurance. At least for the first year when the income basis (I believe it is a look back year?) takes ACA out of the picture.

18 months of COBRA should get you past the income issue.

well, at about $15k per year for the 2 of us, it isn't helping by much. And that is before the $2k/person deductible!

I think you'll find that $1250/mo is pretty cheap. Before my wife qualified for Medicare, we were paying about $2400/mo.

That’s insane. When I drove the bus I was able to sign up the for the school insurance which covered about 90% of the premium. If we paid full premium it would have been about $13k a year. Total cost was about $200/month for both of us. Now under Medicare between part B and drug coverage it’s about twice that, about $400/ month. Still a pretty good deal.

Can you join a trade organization to get a group rate?

oldfarmer50

breld said:

I have a co-worker turning to me for advice on a truck purchase. Trucks certainly aren't my area of knowledge.

Over the weekend, he looked at a 2020 RAM "Warlock" edition w/21k miles that was about $34k at an Echopark. He didn't pull the trigger right away and it sold. He's currently in a very base Mitsi Outlander Sport (with a manual!) and is ready to get back into a truck. He'd like to stay around $30k, but would go more for lower miles (like the one he missed out on).

Any suggestions on what to look for?

I’d say to ignore the named edition of any truck if he wants to get the lowest price. Any truck with a title before the name is going to come with expensive, probably unnecessary, options and features. Just my opinion.

FWIW, he made a good choice on that standard shift Mitsu. Ever since they went to CVTs I would only buy one with a stick.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Ended up in Belle Glade today to pick up some Chevy Silverado's that were leased to a company out there. We picked up 6 white one's that had 4 by 4 capability. All had lots of miles starting from around 98K up to mine which had almost 180K on the clock. More than a few had an engine light on and some needed air in the tires. One wouldn't get out of first gear, so they left it & took the only one left. All white & all needed a head to toe detail in order for them to be sold. But the air in mine was cold & the FM radio worked. For such a high mileage vehicle, it drove nicely yo be honest. Someone will be getting a decent truck for probably a very cheap price.
That's the best part of this Enterprise job. We never know where we're going to go to either deliver or pick up vehicles. Since our crew is the largest, we have 6 permanent drivers, we usually get the longer trips that usually have multiple vehicles to deal with. And that's a big reason why I wanted on this crew, when I'm at work, I want to work...period! I want to work at least eight hours, but I'd rather work up to ten since I'm there anyways. Don't send me home at 4:30, as that's only eight hours of work & am more than willing to do more. Got off at 6:20 tonight which was fine with me. And sure, have to be back there at 8 tomorrow morning, but then I get two days off so a win/win for me. I think this is the job I love the most out of all that I've done in my life. For the first time, am at a job where I choose to be there...not like at my postal job where I really had to be there to raise our family. Knowing that I choose to do this puts a whole different spin on things, sure the extra income is nice, but we'd be just as fine without it. It just gives me that extra cushion I want right now to save for the future & when I won't be able to work anymore. I never want to depend on my children or anyone else to provide for us in our old age so continuing to work now will ensure that will never ever happen. Must be hard to be old & not have enough money...probably much easier to be young & not have a lot. But to be older & not have enough to live on, that must be horrible. And having to ask others for help must be humiliating & something I plan never to do!

Those lease returns can be a real mixed bag. A few weeks ago we were picking up long term leases from a big muffler and tire outfit. We took a number of older Ford Rangers out of multiple locations. Many of them had low mileage for the age but were really beat up, heavily dented beds, deep scratches, dings and areas of rust. Like you I figured that they would make it to small used car lots at a low price. Nope.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/eaad5361-37fa-4673-8fb0-23e82b8571f4/?aff=atempest&CMP=atempest&utm_source=AutoTempest&utm_medium=TRP&utm_campaign=atempest

stickguy

saw your dream truck yesterday OF. Was on 9 in halfmoon (by the Mitsu dealer) and got next to a late run style Ranger. xtra cab, in a nice dark red (similar to your Mustang I think). Truck looked absolutely brand new. Either someone really babied it, or it came from the south. I suppose it could have been restored but who would do that?

No, it was not for sale. And these days the asking price would probably give you heart failure.

stickguy

yellow one seems pretty clean underneath. Not a salt belt car.

explorerx4

Their meter has the average selling price as 15.3K for that Ranger.

ab348

stickguy said:

apple always liked to do it's own thing. and did have a habit of changing plugs/chargers fairly often which made your old stuff obsolete when you upgraded!

changing for lightning to USB C does not seem like a big deal to me, other than (like many people) I have a ridiculous number of lightning cords floating around. So would have to make an investment on new ones to have spares. and probably a few adapters. Other than that won't really change much (not like when they got rid of the home button!)

I was reading on the Forbes site yesterday that for the new iPhone 15 Apple is planning to do some kind of chicanery requiring only "approved" accessories like cables to be used to unlock all of the fast charging and other advanced features on the new devices. "Approved" means having some chip within the cable that only Apple will license, so it means (a) those cables will be more expensive and (b) Apple makes a bit more money on each one sold. That dollar store USB C cable might not be such a good choice in that case.

tjc78

@ab348 said:
I was reading on the Forbes site yesterday that for the new iPhone 15 Apple is planning to do some kind of chicanery requiring only "approved" accessories like cables to be used to unlock all of the fast charging and other advanced features on the new devices. "Approved" means having some chip within the cable that only Apple will license, so it means (a) those cables will be more expensive and (b) Apple makes a bit more money on each one sold. That dollar store USB C cable might not be such a good choice in that case.

You knew they weren’t going to lose the income stream from the lighting cable patent.

It’s all stupid and meaningless. Switching from lightning at this point means I’ll have to carry two cables now. Lightning for IPad and Earbuds then a “special” Type C for the phone.

Ridiculous

At least wireless chargers use the old micro usb which are ubiquitous these days.

stickguy

Most people will probably just not care about the fast charging in that case and will stick with the current speed. No clue what the other special features are but I would probably not use them anyway even if they were included for free!

kyfdx

I had my last smartphone for five years. This one is only two years old? (iPhone 12 mini). By the time I need a phone, it will be the iPhone 18.

tjc78

I’ve had my 12 pro max for over two years now. Still plenty fast etc, but the battery is weakening showing only 84% of its original capacity. I’ll be a sucker and upgrade to the 15 when it comes out at the end of year

breld

My iPad Air has a USB-C plug and my iPhone 13 has lightning, so I already have the issue with needing several cables. I have a travel set with those two, a watch charger and one for my kindle (micro USB?) (which I rarely have to use). That way I don’t have to gather the various cables when packing.

Thanks for all the fun responses on the MDX vs Grand Cherokee question.

laurasdada

My watches charge by simply wearing them. Of course, all they do is tell the time and date (and, some , chronograph).
Now, get off my lawn!

(Full disclosure, I have two Apple watches; one died as the back of the case mysteriously shattered. A shame, it was a beauty)

breld

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:

I have a co-worker turning to me for advice on a truck purchase. Trucks certainly aren't my area of knowledge.

Over the weekend, he looked at a 2020 RAM "Warlock" edition w/21k miles that was about $34k at an Echopark. He didn't pull the trigger right away and it sold. He's currently in a very base Mitsi Outlander Sport (with a manual!) and is ready to get back into a truck. He'd like to stay around $30k, but would go more for lower miles (like the one he missed out on).

Any suggestions on what to look for?

I’d say to ignore the named edition of any truck if he wants to get the lowest price. Any truck with a title before the name is going to come with expensive, probably unnecessary, options and features. Just my opinion.

FWIW, he made a good choice on that standard shift Mitsu. Ever since they went to CVTs I would only buy one with a stick.

So he ended up finding another gray “warlock” edition RAM in Utah and pulled the trigger. You all may find yourselves in similar situations, but as often as I am asked for advice on car purchases, I have found that generally, these folks already have found what they want and just want some reassurance. They’re not looking for in depth reviews of all the competing options. Which is fine. I happily do enough research to make sure they’re not getting hosed on the pricing and the vehicle is clean without accident history.

As it stands, this seems like a nice truck - a 2022 with only about 3k miles, and priced maybe $5-6k lower than what you could buy a new one for, based on my research on incentives and such.

kyfdx

The Warlock isn't really a loaded up "special edition" vehicle. It's more of a budget truck. Which is what most people need.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

I’ve had my 12 pro max for over two years now. Still plenty fast etc, but the battery is weakening showing only 84% of its original capacity. I’ll be a sucker and upgrade to the 15 when it comes out at the end of year

Have had my XR since Sept 2019. Battery is showing 85%. Seems pretty good given that service length. My habit has typically been getting every 4th gen. So I may get a 14 when the 15 comes out and prices drop.

corvette

breld said:

You all may find yourselves in similar situations, but as often as I am asked for advice on car purchases, I have found that generally, these folks already have found what they want and just want some reassurance. They’re not looking for in depth reviews of all the competing options.

Same, with both IT advice and car advice.

kyfdx

Guess I should have asked about a new soundbar for the TV.

breld

kyfdx said:

The Warlock isn't really a loaded up "special edition" vehicle. It's more of a budget truck. Which is what most people need.

That was my impression too from looking at the listing. Nicely equipped though with heated seats/steering wheel, but with cloth seats, and obviously "just" the V6. $38.5k for a 2022 full-size truck (it is a 4x4) doesn't seem all that bad.

tjc78

@breld said:
That was my impression too from looking at the listing. Nicely equipped though with heated seats/steering wheel, but with cloth seats, and obviously "just" the V6. $38.5k for a 2022 full-size truck (it is a 4x4) doesn't seem all that bad.

That’s a good deal. I’m a sample of one, but can truly say I love my Ram. I kinda wish I sprung for a more equipped model, but I’ve yet to see a twin of mine so that’s cool to me.

explorerx4

You can't get a heated steering wheel on any 2023 F150.

nyccarguy

As my 16 year old is progressing further towards becoming a licensed driver (He's still got a long way to go) I'm very unsure about what to do for him as far as a car goes. Option #1 is to buy my Father-In-Law's 2016 or 2017 Outback. It depends on what my In Laws want for it. Option #2 is to spend $10ish K on a used car like THIS 2012 Toyota RAV4. Option #3 might be to lease him something. Stalking a few LH brokers' threads, I've noticed that even some ok-ish lease deals will end up costing just a little bit more over the course of 3 years. A new Crosstrek Premium for 36/10K comes out to $399/month sign & drive including tax (just using this as an example) or $14,262 over 3 years.

I know, I know, the debate as old as time itself. A $10K used car is going to NEED some sort of repair (even a Toyota) at some point while the new Crosstrek is only going to need basic maintenance.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

You can't get a heated steering wheel on any 2023 F150.

Surprisingly, my '23 Silverado has a heated steering wheel. That won't be needed very often in this part of the world.

henryn

corvette said:

breld said:

You all may find yourselves in similar situations, but as often as I am asked for advice on car purchases, I have found that generally, these folks already have found what they want and just want some reassurance. They’re not looking for in depth reviews of all the competing options.

Same, with both IT advice and car advice.

I have to agree on the car advice, but not really on the IT advice. On buying a new computer or printer or notebook, they generally want me to tell them "just go to this store (or online site) and buy this model, you'll like it". They really don't want to hear about options.

henryn

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

apple always liked to do it's own thing. and did have a habit of changing plugs/chargers fairly often which made your old stuff obsolete when you upgraded!

changing for lightning to USB C does not seem like a big deal to me, other than (like many people) I have a ridiculous number of lightning cords floating around. So would have to make an investment on new ones to have spares. and probably a few adapters. Other than that won't really change much (not like when they got rid of the home button!)

I was reading on the Forbes site yesterday that for the new iPhone 15 Apple is planning to do some kind of chicanery requiring only "approved" accessories like cables to be used to unlock all of the fast charging and other advanced features on the new devices. "Approved" means having some chip within the cable that only Apple will license, so it means (a) those cables will be more expensive and (b) Apple makes a bit more money on each one sold. That dollar store USB C cable might not be such a good choice in that case.

Yet another reason why I won't own any apple products.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
You can't get a heated steering wheel on any 2023 F150.

Supply challenges or just an omission ?

explorerx4

@tjc78,
Supposedly supply problems, you get a credit for it.

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
As my 16 year old is progressing further towards becoming a licensed driver (He's still got a long way to go) I'm very unsure about what to do for him as far as a car goes. Option #1 is to buy my Father-In-Law's 2016 or 2017 Outback. It depends on what my In Laws want for it. Option #2 is to spend $10ish K on a used car like THIS 2012 Toyota RAV4. Option #3 might be to lease him something. Stalking a few LH brokers' threads, I've noticed that even some ok-ish lease deals will end up costing just a little bit more over the course of 3 years. A new Crosstrek Premium for 36/10K comes out to $399/month sign & drive including tax (just using this as an example) or $14,262 over 3 years.

I know, I know, the debate as old as time itself. A $10K used car is going to NEED some sort of repair (even a Toyota) at some point while the new Crosstrek is only going to need basic maintenance.

I like the “cheap” lease idea. Car will be reliable and safe. Only problem with that is with a new driver you may have to worry about minor damages (curved wheels, etc).

stickguy

in that case might be worth ponying up for the damage waiver plans they love to push when signing lease paperwork.

I did the cheap lease option when my daughter went off to college. When they were home, it was cheap beater cars (HS parking lots are a menace).

since this is the 1st of 3 kids, my suggestion would be to get something a little more expensive but a lot newer (still used) and just keep passing it down to the next kid. Not sure of ages, but assuming they are 16, 13, 10, and you want the car to go through the end of HS days, that means need about 8 years out of it.

The outback, if miles are reasonable and they took care of it, could be a good option. Otherwise, something in the 2018-2020 range. A 4 cylinder smaller/midsize car. Non Turbo if possible. Something not too expensive to maintain.

so, basically what in the old days was buy a Corolla/Camry off lease but those are silly pricey now most likely. So something that would do the same job. Mazda 3? Malibu or Cobalt. Fusion. Something along those lines. Possible could substitute a small CUV (like the outback) to expand the options, but those usually cost more and get worse MPG.

If it was available now (and with a 94 YO owner, never know when that might happen) my father's 2019(?) Sentra with less than 20k miles.

whatever you get, stick with the NA engine (so on the Fusion, the 2.5l) and avoid the turbos. non-GDI if possible.

evaluate needs when each kid graduate HS. Too hard to predict what they will do, assuming all go to college. Local or far away, in a city, can freshman even have cars, etc.

kyfdx

@nyccarguy As, @stickguy notes, a sedan will be a lot cheaper than an SUV. Buy something cheap for a new driver.

au1994

nyccarguy said:

As my 16 year old is progressing further towards becoming a licensed driver (He's still got a long way to go) I'm very unsure about what to do for him as far as a car goes. Option #1 is to buy my Father-In-Law's 2016 or 2017 Outback. It depends on what my In Laws want for it. Option #2 is to spend $10ish K on a used car like THIS 2012 Toyota RAV4. Option #3 might be to lease him something. Stalking a few LH brokers' threads, I've noticed that even some ok-ish lease deals will end up costing just a little bit more over the course of 3 years. A new Crosstrek Premium for 36/10K comes out to $399/month sign & drive including tax (just using this as an example) or $14,262 over 3 years.

I know, I know, the debate as old as time itself. A $10K used car is going to NEED some sort of repair (even a Toyota) at some point while the new Crosstrek is only going to need basic maintenance.

Can confirm there will be damage both self inflicted and from others. We considered getting a Civic, Corolla, Kona or the like brand new and making that his 1st and last car from us but it just wasn’t the right time to spend that kind of money and then there is the aforementioned damage.

My BiL offered the 328i for a song and yes, there have been some pricy repairs but it’s still not a new car payment.

All of the colleges he is considering allow cars for freshman. This wasn’t a guarantee in my day so that also played into the new vs used conversation. I didn’t want to have a relatively new car sitting around for a year.

Most likely we will look to flip the X1 to Jr and find something new for the wife. She still wants an C/SUV so plenty of options.

So, to answer your question, I’d go RAV4 if you don’t mind replacing before college. The Outback (in my mind) would get him through HS and college with minimal maintenance.

28firefighter

Big, slow sedan to start (I'm thinking a used Sonata, K5, Malibu, Impala) and then, if they prove responsible, can flip that into a cheap lease. Any of those should be relatively inexpensive used and generally pretty reliable.

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

TTRS for @andres3

https://www.mbofwalnutcreek.com/used/Audi/2018-Audi-TT+RS-near+San+Francisco-ef2c229a0a0e0a992a434bb3799cdb94.htm

Great example, but Nardo Gray is a no go. NO grays. Might be suckered into White, might be BRIBED into black.

But age, mileage (low), and pricing is fair. There's a white one near me with 25.5K miles same year.

I think the fixed wing delete is a mistake on RS cars (like the one you linked). I love the mechanical wing on the TTS, but for the TTRS, it deserves a bigger fixed wing.

explorerx4

My wife's ex MKC is no longer listed on the dealer website.
Next week I'll do a search by VIN to see if anything pops up.

nyccarguy

@stickguy

since this is the 1st of 3 kids, my suggestion would be to get something a little more expensive but a lot newer (still used) and just keep passing it down to the next kid. Not sure of ages, but assuming they are 16, 13, 10, and you want the car to go through the end of HS days, that means need about 8 years out of it.

Definitely something to consider. The kids are almost 2 1/2 years apart.

stickguy

Even better. Only need 7 years out if it!

Plus, this

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_osfab_QAgs

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

saw your dream truck yesterday OF. Was on 9 in halfmoon (by the Mitsu dealer) and got next to a late run style Ranger. xtra cab, in a nice dark red (similar to your Mustang I think). Truck looked absolutely brand new. Either someone really babied it, or it came from the south. I suppose it could have been restored but who would do that?

No, it was not for sale. And these days the asking price would probably give you heart failure.

There are two old style Rangers down the road from me that look to be in good shape. I don’t know the year or the mileage but I was thinking of dropping a note in their respective mailboxes to see if they were interested in selling. As you say, the price would probably make me cry.

stickguy

Probably would have Been more cost effective to have ordered a Maverick XL AWD and kept it a long time.

stickguy

@explorerx4 said:
My wife's ex MKC is no longer listed on the dealer website.
Next week I'll do a search by VIN to see if anything pops up.

I’ve been stalking carvana. My mav still isn’t listed. Seems odd since it literally just needed a quick bath and vacuum to be perfect and ready to sell.

stickguy

I like the style on those rangers. But driving one would remind me of how cramped and uncomfortable they are.

ab348

stickguy said:

since this is the 1st of 3 kids, my suggestion would be to get something a little more expensive but a lot newer (still used) and just keep passing it down to the next kid. Not sure of ages, but assuming they are 16, 13, 10, and you want the car to go through the end of HS days, that means need about 8 years out of it.

I think this is sound advice. Get something reliable and boring to drive, like a late model Corolla, RAV or the like. That way they won't want to keep it forever and be willing to let the next one take it.

stickguy

Or if willing to lease just buy a new Elantra SE or whatever they call it now. All the modern safety goodies, great mpg, and sticker only low 20s. And assuming you keep oil change receipts under some warranty still when the baby graduates HS. can get same result out of a recent year CPO but won’t save you much.

Do a 6 year loan and it would be like having 2 straight cheap leases!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

yellow one seems pretty clean underneath. Not a salt belt car.

stickguy said:

yellow one seems pretty clean underneath. Not a salt belt car.

Looking at the CarFax it was delivered out of Rochester NY and I’m guessing was probably a large fleet lease from Enterprise by Mr. Tire in NJ which is a subsidiary of Monro Muffler. All the Rangers we collected up here were from Monro and were all banged up. Maybe a few made it unscathed but I suspect there is a lot of Bondo under that nice paint.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

As my 16 year old is progressing further towards becoming a licensed driver (He's still got a long way to go) I'm very unsure about what to do for him as far as a car goes. Option #1 is to buy my Father-In-Law's 2016 or 2017 Outback. It depends on what my In Laws want for it. Option #2 is to spend $10ish K on a used car like THIS 2012 Toyota RAV4. Option #3 might be to lease him something. Stalking a few LH brokers' threads, I've noticed that even some ok-ish lease deals will end up costing just a little bit more over the course of 3 years. A new Crosstrek Premium for 36/10K comes out to $399/month sign & drive including tax (just using this as an example) or $14,262 over 3 years.

I know, I know, the debate as old as time itself. A $10K used car is going to NEED some sort of repair (even a Toyota) at some point while the new Crosstrek is only going to need basic maintenance.

So is it that you love the Prelude too much, or that your son doesn't love the Prelude that it won't be their first car?

andres3

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

since this is the 1st of 3 kids, my suggestion would be to get something a little more expensive but a lot newer (still used) and just keep passing it down to the next kid. Not sure of ages, but assuming they are 16, 13, 10, and you want the car to go through the end of HS days, that means need about 8 years out of it.

I think this is sound advice. Get something reliable and boring to drive, like a late model Corolla, RAV or the like. That way they won't want to keep it forever and be willing to let the next one take it.

As a younger child in the family I resent this advice!!!! LOL. You get tired of hand-me-downs.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Their meter has the average selling price as 15.3K for that Ranger.

Those valuation guides are pretty self serving IMO. Much like Edmunds they’re trailing indicators based on past overpriced sales. Pre pandemic that would be a $8k truck tops. To give you an idea of how skewed the low end used market has become I saw a 2000 Chrysler convertible like the one I paid $2000 for now going for $3500 with a blown transmission.

I suppose I should be glad that it’s not for sale by Carvana. They’d want $20k.

stickguy

These aren’t quite as cheap as they used to be but certainly something that would do the job for the next decade without breaking the bank

https://www.matthewshyundaischenectady.com/new/Hyundai/2023-Hyundai-Elantra-ef76ba720a0e0a9a502b59af7faee63f.htm

stickguy

@andres3 said:
As a younger child in the family I resent this advice!!!! LOL. You get tired of hand-me-downs.

I was last and the only boy. I just got nothing.

2 of the 3 of use had cars in HS. Both purchased with our own money for a combined ~ $500. 2 very beat up chevies.

andres3

I wonder if a company like Mitsubishi ever did a buy this car, get a free TV and stereo promotion from products under the company umbrella.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

As my 16 year old is progressing further towards becoming a licensed driver (He's still got a long way to go) I'm very unsure about what to do for him as far as a car goes. Option #1 is to buy my Father-In-Law's 2016 or 2017 Outback. It depends on what my In Laws want for it. Option #2 is to spend $10ish K on a used car like THIS 2012 Toyota RAV4. Option #3 might be to lease him something. Stalking a few LH brokers' threads, I've noticed that even some ok-ish lease deals will end up costing just a little bit more over the course of 3 years. A new Crosstrek Premium for 36/10K comes out to $399/month sign & drive including tax (just using this as an example) or $14,262 over 3 years.

I know, I know, the debate as old as time itself. A $10K used car is going to NEED some sort of repair (even a Toyota) at some point while the new Crosstrek is only going to need basic maintenance.

I got a nice E36 coming next week. Only 45k'ish miles. Dead nuts reliable and plentiful parts supply. Won't do better for $10k, I'm certain.