Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

qbrozen said:

I'm jealous I don't have a cool station wagon. And I'll be damned, if I did have one, that I'd be looking for a plebian SUV to replace it.

Not all that hard to find…you should have bid on this one from a few days ago…

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KdERyvQr/2020-mercedes-benz-e450-4matic-wagon

Heck, I’m just flattered that you like one of my vehicles. 😀

stickguy

that wagon probably has more usable space than an RDX. Just rides lower. Not that we need lots of cargo room when I have the truck for hauling duties.

my wife might be OK with a MB or BMW, but she has an aversion to wagons. She rejected an Outback a few years ago because it was a wagon, and did not buy my argument (of Subaru's logic) that it was a CUV, not a wagon.

breld

For the record, when we are driving passengers around, the backseat room in the E450 is surprisingly tight, and because I have other lower slung sporty cars, I actually like the SUV driving height as a daily (shame, shame, I know).

So those are the minor practical reasons for considering a switch, plus you know, Chronic Car Buying and all. But I hear ya all.

stickguy

my wife is used to sitting up higher, and has no desire to go back to a low riding vehicle. It has actually been well over 2 years now since we even had one of those (since I sold the TLX). a bit over a year with just an RDX, then 15 months with that and the Maverick.

kyfdx

My wife would never get a non-crossover, again. The last time I tried in 2011 (G37), ended up buying her another CUV just 18 months later, and my 19 yr old got to drive a 328 HP vehicle for 18 months..

fintail

breld said:

qbrozen said:

I'm jealous I don't have a cool station wagon. And I'll be damned, if I did have one, that I'd be looking for a plebian SUV to replace it.

Not all that hard to find…you should have bid on this one from a few days ago…

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KdERyvQr/2020-mercedes-benz-e450-4matic-wagon

Heck, I’m just flattered that you like one of my vehicles. 😀

Soft close, rare option. Color would make me lose my mind trying to keep it clean.

breld

I didn’t even realize mine had that soft close option until I accidentally didn’t shut the door all the way. Far from a necessity, but a nice option.

mjfloyd1

C’mon guys, @breld will be @breld

We should celebrate it!

henryn

I had mentioned before about the price increase on WeatherTech floor liners. I did break down and buy a set for my new Silverado, as I found no reasonable alternative. They fit well, and look fine, but one thing I don’t like – the smell. I don’t recall encountering this before, but they have a definite chemical smell – plastic, rubber, something which I don’t particularly like. And it tends to overpower the new car smell, which I do like. I’m sure it will pass in time, but by then the new car smell will also be gone. Disappointing, to say the least.

And the rubber bed mat finally came in, after being back ordered for several weeks. It’s very thick and very heavy, which is what I wanted. But – you knew there was going to be a “but”, right? It arrived during a cold spell, which definitely made installation difficult. For several weeks we had unseasonably warm temperatures, highs in the 80s, but the last 3 days the highs have been in the low 50s. The bed mat arrived rolled up tightly, and trying to get it unrolled and lying flat in the bed of the truck has proven to be a real challenge. I now have it more or less in place, but most definitely not lying flat. When the weather warms up again, I expect it will lose the curl and fall into place.

breld

I love 3D Maxpider floor mats. They don’t seem to be as widely available as Weather Tech, but the design and material is very luxurious. Not a big fan of Weather Tech mats. My wagon came with them and I ended up replacing those with the 3D Maxpider.

explorerx4

When my wife bought her Corsair, Lincoln gave her more than enough Lincoln points to pay for a set of 4 all weather tray style mats($185).
Our kid who just bought an Escape, ordered the comparable Ford mats from Fordparts.com and saved $20 off list delivered to the dealer for pick up.
Both sets cover the 2nd row hump, so have full coverage from side to side.

stickguy

That wagon is gorgeous. I would love it. But I bet my wife would choose a new X3 instead for the same price.

jmonroe1

@henryn said:
I had mentioned before about the price increase on WeatherTech floor liners. I did break down and buy a set for my new Silverado, as I found no reasonable alternative. They fit well, and look fine, but one thing I don’t like – the smell. I don’t recall encountering this before, but they have a definite chemical smell – plastic, rubber, something which I don’t particularly like. And it tends to overpower the new car smell, which I do like. I’m sure it will pass in time, but by then the new car smell will also be gone. Disappointing, to say the least.

And the rubber bed mat finally came in, after being back ordered for several weeks. It’s very thick and very heavy, which is what I wanted. But – you knew there was going to be a “but”, right? It arrived during a cold spell, which definitely made installation difficult. For several weeks we had unseasonably warm temperatures, highs in the 80s, but the last 3 days the highs have been in the low 50s. The bed mat arrived rolled up tightly, and trying to get it unrolled and lying flat in the bed of the truck has proven to be a real challenge. I now have it more or less in place, but most definitely not lying flat. When the weather warms up again, I expect it will lose the curl and fall into place.

————————————————
Since you like the new car smell (who doesn’t), I’d remove those mats now and wait for a warm day. Then set them out in the driveway for a few hours to cook in the sun. Turning them a couple times wouldn’t hurt either. Then let them cool completely in the garage for a day or two to see if that helped.

jmonroe

qbrozen

breld said:

qbrozen said:

I'm jealous I don't have a cool station wagon. And I'll be damned, if I did have one, that I'd be looking for a plebian SUV to replace it.

Not all that hard to find…you should have bid on this one from a few days ago…

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KdERyvQr/2020-mercedes-benz-e450-4matic-wagon

Heck, I’m just flattered that you like one of my vehicles. 😀

Oh, I'm not brave enough for another Benz.

henryn

jmonroe1 said:

@henryn said:

I had mentioned before about the price increase on WeatherTech floor liners. I did break down and buy a set for my new Silverado, as I found no reasonable alternative. They fit well, and look fine, but one thing I don’t like – the smell. I don’t recall encountering this before, but they have a definite chemical smell – plastic, rubber, something which I don’t particularly like. And it tends to overpower the new car smell, which I do like. I’m sure it will pass in time, but by then the new car smell will also be gone. Disappointing, to say the least.

And the rubber bed mat finally came in, after being back ordered for several weeks. It’s very thick and very heavy, which is what I wanted. But – you knew there was going to be a “but”, right? It arrived during a cold spell, which definitely made installation difficult. For several weeks we had unseasonably warm temperatures, highs in the 80s, but the last 3 days the highs have been in the low 50s. The bed mat arrived rolled up tightly, and trying to get it unrolled and lying flat in the bed of the truck has proven to be a real challenge. I now have it more or less in place, but most definitely not lying flat. When the weather warms up again, I expect it will lose the curl and fall into place.

————————————————

Since you like the new car smell (who doesn’t), I’d remove those mats now and wait for a warm day. Then set them out in the driveway for a few hours to cook in the sun. Turning them a couple times wouldn’t hurt either. Then let them cool completely in the garage for a day or two to see if that helped.

jmonroe

I have considered that exact move, and I'm thinking I may get out and do that this afternoon. It is a pretty day here, sunshine, low humidity, but still cool (around 56 degrees).

ON EDIT: I was also thinking about returning these, as I am at this time not a satisfied customer. I went online and found their return policy:

All products must be returned in new/unused condition. Shipping must be prepaid by the customer on all returns.

Definitely not customer friendly. I should have known there was a reason these are not available through Amazon or Walmart Plus. At this time, I would have to recommend against doing any business with WeatherTech.

roadburner

I'd love it if I could have bought a C43 wagon- but it's NLA in the US.
I might sell a kidney(or two) if the G90 M5 Touring becomes a reality. A 735 hp PHEV- what's not to like?

au1994

kyfdx said:

My wife would never get a non-crossover, again. The last time I tried in 2011 (G37), ended up buying her another CUV just 18 months later, and my 19 yr old got to drive a 328 HP vehicle for 18 months..

Mine too. She’s firmly in the S/CUV camp now. Tried to steer the convo to TLX, A4, 3 Series etc and there was no interest. She likes the driving position plain and simple.

au1994

Looks like the Pajero is nosing up there. Good to see.

Michaell

au1994 said:

kyfdx said:

My wife would never get a non-crossover, again. The last time I tried in 2011 (G37), ended up buying her another CUV just 18 months later, and my 19 yr old got to drive a 328 HP vehicle for 18 months..

Mine too. She’s firmly in the S/CUV camp now. Tried to steer the convo to TLX, A4, 3 Series etc and there was no interest. She likes the driving position plain and simple.

My wife is the same way. We've had SUVs for the better part of the last 25 years, with one small gap for a year or two. The Outback, while more wagon-y, still has a decent amount of visibility. We didn't notice that much of a difference between that and the CX-7 we had before it.

I doubt I could get her to go back to a "regular" car again.

Sandman6472

I'm so ready to go back to a CUV at this point, just a smaller one. Loved the Tucson for the egress/ingress, the main reason I bought it, but it was just too big for me. The upcoming 2024 Hyundai Kona looks to be the perfect size and has those few inches of height I want. Plus having the 1.6 turbo engine and the Harman Kardon audio system, two more things I really want. Sat in another Mini Cooper Countryman last week after having driven one the week before that and found it's something I could live with. But, overall, think the Kona is going to win out especially in the Limited trim.
Going forward, plan to start putting away any extra income away towards a downpayment for when the time comes. Think I'm done dollar cost averaging in the market at this point, and will just stay the course. Goal is to put away a good ten grand and use that plus the Golf for the downpayment & then finance a small portion. Not willing to upset the portfolio on an new vehicle & if things don't work out right away, can always wait another year if need be. But the last thing I want to do is put another set of tires on the Golf so will just see how things go.

corvette

breld said:

...the backseat room in the E450 is surprisingly tight...

Hoovie had that issue with car seats in the E wagon he bought his wife.

jmonroe1

@roadburner said:
I'd love it if I could have bought a C43 wagon- but it's NLA in the US.
I might sell a kidney(or two) if the G90 M5 Touring becomes a reality. A 735 hp PHEV- what's not to like?

————————————————
That’s a hellava route to take to avoid long lines at the men’s room.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@henryn said:
I have considered that exact move, and I'm thinking I may get out and do that this afternoon. It is a pretty day here, sunshine, low humidity, but still cool (around 56 degrees).

ON EDIT: I was also thinking about returning these, as I am at this time not a satisfied customer. I went online and found their return policy:
All products must be returned in new/unused condition. Shipping must be prepaid by the customer on all returns.

Definitely not customer friendly. I should have known there was a reason these are not available through Amazon or Walmart Plus. At this time, I would have to recommend against doing any business with WeatherTech.

————————————————
So much for made in the good ole USA.

jmonroe

corvette

Took the Prius to Saunders Springs Nature Preserve today.

fintail

roadburner said:

I'd love it if I could have bought a C43 wagon- but it's NLA in the US.
I might sell a kidney(or two) if the G90 M5 Touring becomes a reality. A 735 hp PHEV- what's not to like?

USDM has never had a C AMG wagon. We did get a 203 C wagon, I want to say 02-05, but no AMG model here. Oddly, Canada did get the current C as a wagon, recently dropped likely due to sales volumes and maybe CUVs having higher margins. They also got the C43 wagon.

jmonroe1

@corvette said:

Took the Prius to Saunders Springs Nature Preserve today.

————————————————
Do you actually think you can preserve it a while longer doing that?

jmonroe

sda

I don’t think my wife will go back to a sedan. She loves the Q5 but cautions if it starts to ‘cut up’ it’s history. She has asked about the Honda Passport as she likes the size, the V6 that we’ve had experience with and the good service our local dealer has consistently provided.

qbrozen

au1994 said:

Looks like the Pajero is nosing up there. Good to see.

Quite a ways to go. Honestly, under $12k would be kind of disappointing.

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
Quite a ways to go. Honestly, under $12k would be kind of disappointing.

————————————————
If it doesn’t fetch what you want, can a seller renege like buyers?

Of course we’re all hoping it doesn’t come to that.

jmonroe

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

If it doesn’t fetch what you want, can a seller renege like buyers?

Of course we’re all hoping it doesn’t come to that.

jmonroe

I would never.

stickguy

I assume if you did, that would be the last car you ever list on the platform.

nyccarguy

Speaking of wagons, check out this Reliant K Wagon I spotted on I95 New England Thruway in The Bronx, NY. My grandparents in Pittsburgh had one in this exact color. Photo credit goes to my son, Andre (16).

tjc78

Couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve seen one of those.

It wasn’t a wagon, but it reminds me of Ed Rooney’s car.

Michaell

The family of some childhood friends had a K-car wagon, I think with the fake woodgrain. Before you shame them, the other car in the garage was a 914-6.

We took the wagon to Riverside Int'l Raceway to watch the IMSA race there. This was during the time when the Lowenbrau Porsches were dominating pretty much every race...

stickguy

must be someone that has a million dollars, and got a nice Reliant automobile.

stickguy

Finally a decent priced Low mile local work truck for old farmer.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/762575311884716/?mibextid=6ojiHh

jmonroe1

@stickguy said:
Finally a decent priced Low mile local work truck for old farmer.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/762575311884716/?mibextid=6ojiHh

————————————————
Why tell @oldfarmer50? I thought you wanted something like that.

jmonroe

stickguy

It is even close to me! My wife would probably have some words to say about bringing that home. Plus I am surprised if it isn't already sold (but you never know).

I suppose I could go check it out. that should probably cure any desire I have for a 20 YO Chevy truck.

jmonroe1

@stickguy said:
It is even close to me! My wife would probably have some words to say about bringing that home. Plus I am surprised if it isn't already sold (but you never know).

I suppose I could go check it out. that should probably cure any desire I have for a 20 YO Chevy truck.

————————————————
Good idea. You might as well get in on the action in here and it won’t break your bank. Maybe your neck but not your bank.

jmonroe

breld

Beautiful sunny day today, so got to wash all the dust off the new Bronco and installed the side steps. Also played around with taking the front roof panels off.

Having had the soft top on our previous 4 door, this hard top is really nice. Visibility is greatly improved with larger glass windows versus the plastic ones on the soft top. It might be a little quieter, but you experience pretty significant wind noise above 50 mph. It’s also nice to have the package on this one that we didn’t on the last, which includes BSM, Keyless Access, Auto Climate and other nice things you’d normally expect.

akangl

Just put me down for a punch. Got a solid deal on this 2023 Audi Q5 e 55 S line Prestige. I was rather surprised at how hard they worked for the deal. I left once pretty annoyed and they called me to come back, deal changed in my favor by $13.7k. Came out with $58k for the Tahoe (I wanted more but well that’s how it goes) and their $71k Q5 for $67k. All in all I wasn’t too sad to see the pokey pig go away. The Q5 is a blast to drive, I see my first speeding ticket in 11 years very very soon.

nyccarguy

@breld - I saw a Bronco just like yours in the same color this AM. It looks great. I like the way the Bronco looks much better with the Hard Top. The ones I see with the soft tops are always sagging like they don't fit properly.

Nice punch @akangl ! How much electric range are you supposed to get with that? Is that the same dealer that @xwesx has taken his Q7 Diesel to for service?

breld

Nice choice @akangl - I drove one of those a few years back and was really impressed with the way it drives. Audi definitely took the performance angle with its PHEV.

akangl

@nyccarguy said:
@breld - I saw a Bronco just like yours in the same color this AM. It looks great. I like the way the Bronco looks much better with the Hard Top. The ones I see with the soft tops are always sagging like they don't fit properly.

Nice punch @akangl ! How much electric range are you supposed to get with that? Is that the same dealer that @xwesx has taken his Q7 Diesel to for service?

The electric motor has around 25 miles of range which is more than enough for me on an average day. Most of the gas with the Tahoe was spent warming it up (Didn’t fit in the garage), driving the kid 3 miles to school, and coming home. Then doing the same to pick him up in the afternoon. You’d be surprised how much gas gets sucked down doing that. The rest of my driving is mainly running errands in town which is 5 miles away. Truly this car was the perfect match since there’s not a lot of chargers around and we do take trips occasionally so having the gas engine is nice.

I’m guessing it may be the same dealer unless they opened an Audi dealership in Fairbanks which I don’t think they did. However I’m not up on Audi since this is my first one.

akangl

@breld said:
Nice choice @akangl - I drove one of those a few years back and was really impressed with the way it drives. Audi definitely took the performance angle with its PHEV.

I was honestly blown away by its performance. It’s quick, handles great, and the awd is flawless. Amazing car. I’ve never really paid much attention to Audi since it really wasn’t my thing but looking in to EV and PHEV it blew everything else out of the water.

It’s nice being back in a nimble quick car. I was missing the power of the ST. Tried to tell myself I wasn’t but that proved to be a lie.

nyccarguy

akangl said:

@nyccarguy said:
@breld - I saw a Bronco just like yours in the same color this AM. It looks great. I like the way the Bronco looks much better with the Hard Top. The ones I see with the soft tops are always sagging like they don't fit properly.

Nice punch @akangl ! How much electric range are you supposed to get with that? Is that the same dealer that @xwesx has taken his Q7 Diesel to for service?

The electric motor has around 25 miles of range which is more than enough for me on an average day. Most of the gas with the Tahoe was spent warming it up (Didn’t fit in the garage), driving the kid 3 miles to school, and coming home. Then doing the same to pick him up in the afternoon. You’d be surprised how much gas gets sucked down doing that. The rest of my driving is mainly running errands in town which is 5 miles away. Truly this car was the perfect match since there’s not a lot of chargers around and we do take trips occasionally so having the gas engine is nice.

I’m guessing it may be the same dealer unless they opened an Audi dealership in Fairbanks which I don’t think they did. However I’m not up on Audi since this is my first one.

Oh cool. So about the same as my Wrangler 4Xe. Enjoy!

Michaell

Congrats on the new Audi, @akangl! Sounds like you've got the perfect use case for the PHEV powertrain.

tifighter

This has @qbrozen written all over it.

stickguy

I had no clue that that powertrain was ever offered in the H3. I still don't want one, but at least that is an interesting unit!

qbrozen

tifighter said:

This has @qbrozen written all over it.

Definitely up my alley, but not at that price with those miles. Plus, the cloth interior is pretty miserable on those.