Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Sandman6472

Audi is ready for pick-up after getting fresh synthetic oil/filter. Very glad it's so close to the house as I'm dealing with some vertigo today. They dropped her home & looks like they'll pick her up so makes this quite easy for me.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

Looks awesome, @kyfdx! How is it?

Pretty nice. I'd rather have 18" than 19" wheels. It rides okay, but expansion joints are noticeable. More rattles than my GTI. Great handling. Stiff clutch, notchy shifter, but easy to drive. Sounds great! Plenty of punch.

I'm driving it around on historic plates, leftover from our '87 325iS, so can't let loose, as I really don't want to get pulled over. (I do have an insurance card and bill of sale, though). Appears to have homelink, but I haven't tried setting that up, yet. CD changer in the frunk. Single CD slot in the dash. (old man approved).

10 way power seats. tilt/telescope wheel, so easy to get comfortable. I like the seat pretty far down, so that makes it easy to get in and out of (relatively).

Cosmetics are great. Have some really nice service records. It appears the last owner bought it in 2012 as CPO. Major service in 2020 that included plugs, belts, pulleys, water pump, etc. Car only as about 1200 miles since then. Oil change, just last month.

Sounds like a winner.

jmonroe1

Sandman6472 said:

Jmonroe, found this pic from 1976 of my twin & me next to the folks '75 Pontiac Grand Prix, white vinyl roof over black with a blood red interior. Was surprised they bought it because we usually owned 4-door vehicles for the most part. Up until then, they always had Cadillacs, Lincolns and a Buick in their fleet. And when we were all home, there was no way to fit all six of us in that thing. Typical GM for that time period and they stayed with Pontiac's for many years after that until my mom, a widow by then, started getting Mercury Grand Marquises.

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That brings back a lot of memories. Mine was burgundy with a factory hand painted white pin stripe, white landau top and white vinyl interior.

Those seats were a job to keep clean but I got good at it. I had a rule that the jeans my sons wore had to be washed at least 3 times. I learned my lesson with the drivers seat due to a pretty new pair of jeans I wore one time. I swore up and down I’d not go through a cleaning job like that again. It was pretty funny with the kids though. When they’d change into nicer jeans when we went out they’d yell out, “hey mom, how many times have these jeans been washed”. That really bugged Mrs. j and once she said to me, “how am I supposed to keep track of how many times I’ve washed those jeans”? I said, “use a marker on the inside of the waist band. Once you see 3, they’ll be fine”. She shot back with something like, “only you would think of something like that”. I replied with, “then you find a better way. Because I’m NEVER going through cleaning blue Jean stains from those seats again. The best one was the time when my youngest was getting ready and he yells out, “hey mom, what do these numbers mean in my jeans”? Her response was, “talk to your father”.

Even with those white vinyl seats I really liked that car.

jmonroe

sda

I had a 76 Pontiac Sunbird V6 with the ‘ luxury’ interior with white vinyl bucket seats. The dash was a darker blue with lighter blue carpet. I learned to clean the seats almost weekly to keep them looking nice. Fantastik cleaner was my friend. I thought it was a sharp looking interior. A gluten for punishment, years later I had a triple white 87 VW Wolfsburg cabriolet. Super sharp and even harder to keep looking clean.

Sandman6472

The blood red interior of our Grand Prix was some kind of velour popular in GM vehicles from that era. In '77, they traded the GP in for a 4-door Pontiac Bonneville, again with that blood red velour interior and all red on the exterior, no vinyl top. Had very low miles and turns out it was the wife's d d from the owner of the Pontiac dealer in Ft. Lauderdale. Dad had no issue buying loaners or salesmen's vehicles as they had low miles & sure he got a good deal on them. They had a diesel Pontiac Bonneville Parisianne in '79 with the Oldsmobile engine. A total nightmare from day 1 as I recall and do know it didn't last in the family too long!

carnaught

Love those red interiors, especially leather ones with white, silver and blue exterior colors.

corvette

My 2023 Maverick Hybrid is scheduled to be built the week of July 17. If they hold true to that, I'm guessing it will probably arrive at the dealer at about the same time they start taking orders for 2024 models.

Sandman6472

Would you keep the hybrid and sell the first one like Stick did? Funny, I drove two Corolla's back to back last week, both brand new and one a hybrid, and was amazed at how much power the hybrid had compared to the regular aspirated one...was like night & day! Reminded me of driving an EV in a way as the instant acceleration is there and it blew me away. Did notice the tach acting a bit manic as it moved with every push of the accelerator and went down to "0" when I took my foot off both pedals or was braking. It's something I think I could get used to going forward.
Will be interesting to drive the new 2024 Hyundai Kona Hybrid to see if the driving experience is similar. I get that there will be a premium to purchase a hybrid vehicle but think the higher mileage will eventually negate the additional price. Plus, there's really no price one can put on the "fun factor"of having instant acceleration at your feet! And like I did with most of my past vehicles, I'll know within a very short period of time if I'm eventually going to go home with it.

Sandman6472

Stick, at work, some of the folks call me "Stick" because I walk with a cane. I know my first day there, the resident comedian gave me the name "Citizen Cane" first and then came up with "Stick" right after that. Kind of broke the ice with me being the new kid on the block, and folks call me by both but "Stick" is the more popular one it seems.
How did you get the name "Stick"? Funny how we all seem to get nicknames at certain places that stick. At the post office, it was "Sandman" and most from there still call me that. A bunch of us locals get together every couple of months & have a lunch to catch up on things, the next being on the 24th of this month. I'm one of the only folks who still work part time but I'm also a bit younger than most of the others to. I enjoy working to be honest & one sees it in a different light when one does it because they want to instead of because they have to! When you do retire, you definitely should check into working at Enterprise. Flexible days/hours and great benefits for part time workers...there's really no downside to working there! Just ask O F. I look forward to getting up & going there weird as that might sound.

kyfdx

Brothers

Banished from the garage

New resident

laurasdada

Exactly like our garage! Except here, the GTI is an A7 and the Cayman is an M240. The X3 is an X3, so exactly!
Who lives outside, or do you rotate?

carnaught

@kyfdx, sharp fleet you got ! Enjoy !

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

Brothers

More like cousins. And not even close cousins. More like those ones you see only at family reunions and you can't even remember their spouse's or kids' names. ;b

corvette

Sandy, unless something changes, I plan to keep my existing 2022 Maverick and let the dealer I ordered the 2023 from keep it when it arrives. If I think I can take delivery of it and resell it for a profit, I would certainly do so. As it stands, I like the AWD and turbocharged engine of the one I have now--the hybrid I ordered doesn't offer AWD.

nyccarguy

@kyfdx - You have got to trade in that X3 and get your wife a Jaguar XKR.

kyfdx

laurasdada said:

Exactly like our garage! Except here, the GTI is an A7 and the Cayman is an M240. The X3 is an X3, so exactly!
Who lives outside, or do you rotate?

It's only been a day. I'm looking for a nearby garage space. The Cayman will not sit out. (and, neither will the wife's car)

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

@kyfdx - You have got to trade in that X3 and get your wife a Jaguar XKR.

You like that plate? I asked the clerk for something easy to remember. Loved it.

But, she would want another X3 or a Macan.

kyfdx

corvette said:

Sandy, unless something changes, I plan to keep my existing 2022 Maverick and let the dealer I ordered the 2023 from keep it when it arrives. If I think I can take delivery of it and resell it for a profit, I would certainly do so. As it stands, I like the AWD and turbocharged engine of the one I have now--the hybrid I ordered doesn't offer AWD.

What do you have to make, to make it worth it? $1000? Or, more?

corvette

@kyfdx - not exactly sure. I'd guesstimate that if I could get $1,500, it would be worth it. Plane ticket to Philly, one night in a hotel (I get a good discount on that due to the girlfriend) and drive it back here, so probably a couple of tanks of gas. I'd probably clear about $1,000 for burning a day of PTO.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
After your comment, I went back to look at the picture with the plate.
"My name is Bond, Jane Bond".

kyfdx

corvette said:

@kyfdx - not exactly sure. I'd guesstimate that if I could get $1,500, it would be worth it. Plane ticket to Philly, one night in a hotel (I get a good discount on that due to the girlfriend) and drive it back here, so probably a couple of tanks of gas. I'd probably clear about $1,000 for burning a day of PTO.

No idea about out of Louisville, but out of CVG, one-way tickets are $400+ to PHL.

However, Frontier flies Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and last I checked it was $59, one way.
The drawback? If your plane doesn't fly for any reason, it is two days, before your next chance.

That's what pushed me to ship, rather than drive mine home.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

kyfdx said:

Brothers

More like cousins. And not even close cousins. More like those ones you see only at family reunions and you can't even remember their spouse's or kids' names. ;b

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More like from different mothers.

jmonroe

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

More like from different mothers.

jmonroe

what kinda weird cousins are in YOUR family?!

pensfan83

@kyfdx said:
No idea about out of Louisville, but out of CVG, one-way tickets are $400+ to PHL.

However, Frontier flies Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and last I checked it was $59, one way.
The drawback? If your plane doesn't fly for any reason, it is two days, before your next chance.

That's what pushed me to ship, rather than drive mine home.

My RT from Pittsburgh to Newark was nearly $700 aboard United.

Michaell

explorerx4 said:

@nyccarguy,
After your comment, I went back to look at the picture with the plate.
"My name is Bond, Jane Bond".

Uh, Bond never drove a Jag. Aston Martins, BMWs, and the odd Ford or Chevy.

The baddie from "Die Another Day", however, did.

kyfdx

pensfan83 said:

@kyfdx said:

No idea about out of Louisville, but out of CVG, one-way tickets are $400+ to PHL.

However, Frontier flies Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and last I checked it was $59, one way.

The drawback? If your plane doesn't fly for any reason, it is two days, before your next chance.

That's what pushed me to ship, rather than drive mine home.

My RT from Pittsburgh to Newark was nearly $700 aboard United.

We bought tickets for our Texas trip in February, and they were reasonable. $410 R/T, CVG to DFW, IAH to CVG.

Bought tickets to SEA on Delta for my son's honeymoon, R/T non-stop from CVG for $415/ea. (purchased last month) Also reasonable.

That's why those PHL prices stunned me.

ab348

corvette said:

@kyfdx - not exactly sure. I'd guesstimate that if I could get $1,500, it would be worth it. Plane ticket to Philly, one night in a hotel (I get a good discount on that due to the girlfriend) and drive it back here, so probably a couple of tanks of gas. I'd probably clear about $1,000 for burning a day of PTO.

But if you take delivery, aren’t you going to pay sales tax on the full amount?

pensfan83

kyfdx said:

pensfan83 said:

@kyfdx said:

No idea about out of Louisville, but out of CVG, one-way tickets are $400+ to PHL.

However, Frontier flies Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, and last I checked it was $59, one way.

The drawback? If your plane doesn't fly for any reason, it is two days, before your next chance.

That's what pushed me to ship, rather than drive mine home.

My RT from Pittsburgh to Newark was nearly $700 aboard United.

We bought tickets for our Texas trip in February, and they were reasonable. $410 R/T, CVG to DFW, IAH to CVG.

Bought tickets to SEA on Delta for my son's honeymoon, R/T non-stop from CVG for $415/ea. (purchased last month) Also reasonable.

That's why those PHL prices stunned me.
For one way yeah, that's high. That's often what it is (or higher) for R/T from PIT to PHL, gotta love the monopoly AA has on that route. Same with PIT to EWR and United.

Leisure routes to Florida OTOH are far more competitive as you would expect.

tjc78

My ride for the week. Not fully loaded but pretty darn nice.

tjc78

Gonna put about 500 miles on it tomorrow… I’ll let you know my impressions. So far around town it kinda feels like my truck.

explorerx4

@michaell,
He did drive a Jag in Skyfall, although it was a government car.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

jmonroe1 said:

More like from different mothers.

jmonroe

what kinda weird cousins are in YOUR family?!

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The next time we have a family reunion, I’ll be more observant and let you know.

jmonroe

au1994

tjc78 said:

Gonna put about 500 miles on it tomorrow… I’ll let you know my impressions. So far around town it kinda feels like my truck.

I really like those. Probably a great road trip ride but I would probably hate DDing it after a week.

Michaell

explorerx4 said:

@michaell,
He did drive a Jag in Skyfall, although it was a government car.

I thought that was M’s ride

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

My ride for the week. Not fully loaded but pretty darn nice.

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That thing looks very lonely.

jmonroe

au1994

Jeep is back from an oil change and tire rotation. And taking care of 4 open recalls . I got a little behind on that I guess you could say. No major issues after about 17k miles. MPG hovers between 28-30 avg. A squeak at the back window and tailgate that the inter webs have a solution for but other than that it’s been solid. I’ll be 2 years in this September so sure, I’ve started shopping

kyfdx

@pensfan83 @corvette

Of course, part of it was looking at flying next week, rather than two or three months away.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

corvette said:

@kyfdx - not exactly sure. I'd guesstimate that if I could get $1,500, it would be worth it. Plane ticket to Philly, one night in a hotel (I get a good discount on that due to the girlfriend) and drive it back here, so probably a couple of tanks of gas. I'd probably clear about $1,000 for burning a day of PTO.

But if you take delivery, aren’t you going to pay sales tax on the full amount?

Yes... that's part of the equation, for sure.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

My ride for the week. Not fully loaded but pretty darn nice.

That's the extended version, right?

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
That's the extended version, right?

Yes. It feels as long my truck.

I have to see what engine it has, because I had to make a quick turn and it hauled.

tjc78

No wonder .. standard engine is 510 HP

pensfan83

Do those have the same interior as the GC? If so, how do you like it?

rny421

Hello everyone!
It's been a while, but I'm always lurking. I figured I'd give you all an update.

I convinced the better half to part ways with her 2017 GLC300. Vroom offered $21.5K, which I felt was very fair given that it had 68K miles. Vroom was much more clunky and complicated than Carvana was when I sold my TLX, but maybe that's why Carvana is likely going out of business.

The plan is to ride out the E-Tron and BMW M235 for the summer, and we just placed an order for a 2024 GLC300. White, AMG package, with Neva Grey interior (basically white) which will deliver by November. We did look at a few other things:

Drove a used Velar - loved the look of the exterior and the ride, but the MB felt more like home. I was also afraid of it being in the shop too often.

Drove an F-Pace - loved the exterior and interior, but the 4-cylinder engine and ride were so disappointing. No joke, my 2004 VUE had a smoother 4-cylinder, and the ride was not worthy of a $60K car. You could feel every imperfection, and it didn't even have low profile wheels. Both my wife and I were very disappointed.

Thought about a Model Y, but my wife wasn't ready to have two EVs.

The GLC will look like this:

corvette

ab348 said:

But if you take delivery, aren’t you going to pay sales tax on the full amount?

Yes. I'd need $1,500+ above the OTD price, including sales tax, to make it compelling.

corvette

Car Wizard's latest vid has a 136,000 mile 2004 VW Phaeton. Haven't finished the vid, but I'd assume just from that that it's mechanically totaled.

explorerx4

@tjc78,
If you are going on a long drive in the GW and since the company is paying, maybe you could sneak some PUG in there and see what it can really do.

stickguy

First leg of the trip home. Stories to follow. This was traffic getting out of philly, a little highway then some back roads to get to the pizza place we like.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

First leg of the trip home. Stories to follow. This was traffic getting out of philly, a little highway then some back roads to get to the pizza place we like.

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What traffic? Does anybody see any traffic?

jmonroe

stickguy

someone asked yesterday about the Accord (2020 sport) rental. Nice car. Actually drove well. Comfortable ride, quite, nice steering. Lousy visibility to the sides and back though (really missed BLIS on that car). really good seats, tech easy to use. One negative, the lower dash/console stuck out too far and dug into my knee a bit.

but, according to the TC for the first 200 miles from home to lunch stop it got 39.5 MPG. Hard to argue with that. Almost all highway with no traffic issues, plus some 55 MPH type back roads.

stickguy

purchase experience overall really good (same dealer I got the 1st one from, and I assume where Corvette ordered from, though that dealer has 2 locations not far from each other). well organized, papers all set, in and out quick from finance with zero upsell. And nice that not only do they discount heavily, they add nothing at all to the car.

only problem was when we looked it over before signing found a couple of chips on the rear door (Looks like someone drop a tool maybe?). so that was some back and forth with the salesguy/manager. Ended up getting touched up (after the paint shop actually mixed up some paint since they did not have touchup paint in stock). Not the best job, but I did get to keep the large amount of extra paint. will likely find a good detail shop that can fix the chip right.

if I was local I would have either left the car or brought it back another time to make their shop do it. But decided to just deal with it myself at some point if the defect bothers me. We needed to get back on the road anyway so I will just redirect some of my savings from the 1st flip to it.

hard to argue with the deal. with the dealer below invoice discount, and the Ford private offer (that they quickly got straightened out since my address had changed) I paid about $4,500 less than the $34,320 sticker. OTD, with NY tax and Doc and DMV fees, right about $1,500 back of MSRP. Basically a reverse ADM!