Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

qbrozen said:

The mini lies dormant atop a lift. Alto awaits further wrapping. Car projects have taken a back seat to trying to get the garage done. Yesterday, I dug the trench and ran the wire from the basement box to the garage subpanel. I’m hoping to at least get lights and outlets done this weekend.

That sounds like a lot of fun, TBH! And, no winter there yet, so that's an added bonus.

I am going to head over to a friend's house in the morning to help him put a lift kit on his Tesla Y before he heads out of town for a couple months for his annual trip to Antarctica.

corvette

@xwesx - convince him he needs to take his newly-lifted Tesla to Antartica to test its capabilities.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

jmonroe1 said:

I don’t want to insult you but make sure the panel in the stand alone garage is a true “subpanel” where the ground and neutral bus bars ARE NOT tied together electrically. This typically means you need a 4 conductor cable (black, red, white and bare or green insulated ground wire) running between the main house panel and the stand alone garage subpanel.

It’s not rocket surgery but you CANNOT connect the neutral and ground wire to the same point electrically in a “subpanel” like you do in the main panel in the house.

jmonroe

I ran 6/3 underground wire, so I got that covered. I was not aware the neutral and ground had to stay separate, so thanks for that tip. It is a main-lug only load center. I ran 12/3 to one of my outlets in anticipation of a 240v device (compressor or heater or both), but it is looking like I won't even use that. At least I'm future proofed.

————————————————
If the panel you got came with a “green screw”, DO NOT install that screw through the insulated neutral bus (the neutral bus bar that is mounted on a plastic insulated base). If you do you will then connect the neutral bus, even though it is mounted to an insulated plastic base, to ground (the box) because the screw will thread into threads on the metal box, thereby grounding that neutral bus. If that is done, you have now undone the isolation between the neutral bus and the ground wire bus and box. There should be instructions about the use of the “green grounding screw”. But in short, DO NOT use it anywhere in a sub panel.

One more thing, 6/3 copper wire is typically good for 50 amps but if your wire run is too long the wire must be downgraded to 40 amps. I can’t remember exactly the wire run length when you have to downgrade to 40 amps but I seem to remember once your wire run is more than 100 feet you have to consider downgrading. Again, I can’t remember the exact length.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

The mini lies dormant atop a lift. Alto awaits further wrapping. Car projects have taken a back seat to trying to get the garage done. Yesterday, I dug the trench and ran the wire from the basement box to the garage subpanel. I’m hoping to at least get lights and outlets done this weekend.

That sounds like a lot of fun, TBH! And, no winter there yet, so that's an added bonus.

I am going to head over to a friend's house in the morning to help him put a lift kit on his Tesla Y before he heads out of town for a couple months for his annual trip to Antarctica.

————————————————
Antarctica, well if you want to make Alaska seem like the tropics, that’s a good place to go. Unless global warming has changed that place, I remember reading years ago, that Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. Even hot coffee there isn’t hot.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

I’d do the Mustang (or even better the Vette)! Change it up a bit.

28firefighter said:

I’d do the Mustang (or even better the Vette)! Change it up a bit.

Better see if you fit in a Corvette before going that route. I thought I wanted one until I tried to sit in a C8. Then there’s the issue of $15k ADMs.

kyfdx

One thing about driving the Cayman that I'm not used to.. If you accelerate out of a turn, it has enough torque to get the rear wheels to break loose. And, the stability control is pretty lenient. I've had some interesting drives..

In my 330, you had to be going too fast for the turn to get the rear wheels out, and even then, the stability control made an immediate correction. No way you were getting the rear end loose on dry roads, via the throttle.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
One thing about driving the Cayman that I'm not used to.. If you accelerate out of a turn, it has enough torque to get the rear wheels to break loose. And, the stability control is pretty lenient. I've had some interesting drives..

In my 330, you had to be going too fast for the turn to get the rear wheels out, and even then, the stability control made an immediate correction. No way you were getting the rear end loose on dry roads, via the throttle.

Sounds like a blast.

kyfdx

Yeah.. pretty fun. The one yesterday had me looking for cop cars, though..

qbrozen

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————
If the panel you got came with a “green screw”, DO NOT install that screw through the insulated neutral bus (the neutral bus bar that is mounted on a plastic insulated base). If you do you will then connect the neutral bus, even though it is mounted to an insulated plastic base, to ground (the box) because the screw will thread into threads on the metal box, thereby grounding that neutral bus. If that is done, you have now undone the isolation between the neutral bus and the ground wire bus and box. There should be instructions about the use of the “green grounding screw”. But in short, DO NOT use it anywhere in a sub panel.

One more thing, 6/3 copper wire is typically good for 50 amps but if your wire run is too long the wire must be downgraded to 40 amps. I can’t remember exactly the wire run length when you have to downgrade to 40 amps but I seem to remember once your wire run is more than 100 feet you have to consider downgrading. Again, I can’t remember the exact length.

jmonroe

The run would up being much shorter than I expected. I had ordered 75 feet and wound up with about 20 left over. Supposed to be good for 60 amps, from what I’ve read. Regardless, I’ll never be pulling anywhere near that.

breld

@jmonroe1 - thanks for sharing your insight into the electrical projects…it’s way over my head but I find it fascinating. And @qbrozen, I’m equally impressed with your ability/courage to tackle such a project on your own. I gave myself a shock (literally) when I was switching out a light switch to a dimming smart switch and realized I had shut off the wrong breaker (after the fact). So I tend to leave what may seem like the simplest projects to the professionals.

breld

And thanks to all who have shared their opinions and experiences on what @Michaell accurately termed the “Brian vs. Dom” options.

I do like the idea of trying something completely different than anything I’ve had before, particularly when the Mustang has been somewhat of a passion of mine since I was basically a kid. So…we’ll see. A lot of this is driven by the ambitious pricing of the Integra Type S. Personally, I think Honda and Acura both took what happened over the past couple years with extreme mark-ups on things like the Type R and built it into the MSRP…except the market is changing.

The Type R started in the $30k’s, then crept up to the $40k’s and now sits at $45k MSRP. And the Type S is $7k more than that. I think the buyers are intelligent enough to start considering the competition that can be had in the $50k’s. On most of these forums, the posters often bring up the M240i as an obvious option. A lightly used M2 Comp isn’t gonna be much more than that Integra.

It kinda makes me sad how Honda and Acura have made these great vehicles so much less accessible.

breld

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

ab348

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

Fellow member @uplanderguy who does not post in this topic just took delivery of a new Corvette in the last week or so from a small local dealer at straight MSRP.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/6342330/#Comment_6342330

tjc78

Just read Ram is dropping the 5.7 Hemi V8 after 2023. There is a new inline 6 called the Hurricane coming.

roadburner

ab348 said:

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

Fellow member @uplanderguy who does not post in this topic just took delivery of a new Corvette in the last week or so from a small local dealer at straight MSRP.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/6342330/#Comment_6342330

@breld You may be 20-30 years too young to buy a new Corvette.

roadburner

breld said:

And thanks to all who have shared their opinions and experiences on what @Michaell accurately termed the “Brian vs. Dom” options.

I do like the idea of trying something completely different than anything I’ve had before, particularly when the Mustang has been somewhat of a passion of mine since I was basically a kid. So…we’ll see. A lot of this is driven by the ambitious pricing of the Integra Type S. Personally, I think Honda and Acura both took what happened over the past couple years with extreme mark-ups on things like the Type R and built it into the MSRP…except the market is changing.

The Type R started in the $30k’s, then crept up to the $40k’s and now sits at $45k MSRP. And the Type S is $7k more than that. I think the buyers are intelligent enough to start considering the competition that can be had in the $50k’s. On most of these forums, the posters often bring up the M240i as an obvious option. A lightly used M2 Comp isn’t gonna be much more than that Integra.

It kinda makes me sad how Honda and Acura have made these great vehicles so much less accessible.

I don't mind the Recaros being manual, but I can't understand how the Fiesta ST and Focus ST/RS got heated Recaros but the Mustang didn't. Are they heated on the GT you drove?

sda

tjc78 said:

Just read Ram is dropping the 5.7 Hemi V8 after 2023. There is a new inline 6 called the Hurricane coming.

I was afraid that would be next.

mjfloyd1

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

It didn’t have the Recardo seats? How disappointing 😂

My first car was a Stang but none since. I had to have the door hinge welded after a couple years so I don’t really have a soft spot for them…😂

mjfloyd1

roadburner said:

ab348 said:

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

Fellow member @uplanderguy who does not post in this topic just took delivery of a new Corvette in the last week or so from a small local dealer at straight MSRP.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/6342330/#Comment_6342330

@breld You may be 20-30 years too young to buy a new Corvette.

Ouch. What about a 1963 split window? I am feeling old.

mjfloyd1

ab348 said:

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

Fellow member @uplanderguy who does not post in this topic just took delivery of a new Corvette in the last week or so from a small local dealer at straight MSRP.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/6342330/#Comment_6342330

That picture is funny Y Miami😂

I was seeing C8 for under MSRP before the strike. I wonder if my Wrangler has gone up in value?

Michaell

I have never, not once, seen @breld in New Balance shoes - Nike and Adidas, mostly.

mjfloyd1

Michaell said:

I have never, not once, seen @breld in New Balance shoes - Nike and Adidas, mostly.

I picture @breld as a hey dude or on cloud kinda guy

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:
Just read Ram is dropping the 5.7 Hemi V8 after 2023. There is a new inline 6 called the Hurricane coming.

It is already here. That’s what you’ll find in the Wagoneers. Or at least the L version like we had ordered a while back

oldfarmer50

breld said:

On the muscle front, the Mustang I drove had the Recaro seats. They were attractive, but no doubt snug. The base ones on the GT Premium may be a better choice for overall comfort and adjustability, as they are powered versus the manual Recaros.

And the Corvette would be straight MSRP on an order. There’s some temptation, but even at MSRP it’s not exactly cheap. I think I’d be looking at somewhere around $80k.

I’m assuming the Mustang you want is one with some sort of performance package. I only say this because the Coyote in its base form isn’t as fast off the line as some of the pushrod competition. That leaves it up to rear end gearing to give you that neck snapping launch. Mine has 3:31 gears but I sometimes wish I had gotten 3:55 or even 3:73 for more low end. I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with 30 mpg highway mileage and use of sport mode for the 2% of the time I want to do spirited driving.

explorerx4

Hint for breld. oldfarmer50, when are you planning on putting your Mustang away for the winter?

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@tjc78 said:
Just read Ram is dropping the 5.7 Hemi V8 after 2023. There is a new inline 6 called the Hurricane coming.

It is already here. That’s what you’ll find in the Wagoneers. Or at least the L version like we had ordered a while back

Oh didn’t realize that. I wonder if that what was in the Wagoneer I rented. It moved along very well.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Hint for breld. oldfarmer50, when are you planning on putting your Mustang away for the winter?

Whenever I see the first flake of snow. Not because I fear driving it in winter, I’ve driven company 5.0s in the Vermont mountains in winter without problem. But because I don’t want it to rust.

qbrozen

Ok… where the heck did the post about lifting a Tesla go? Meant to come back later to address and I now can’t seem to find it. ANYWAY… I find that very surprising. Never occurred to me it would even have a simple enough suspension to do such a thing. And do you have to a monthly subscription to keep it lifted, or …?

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Ok… where the heck did the post about lifting a Tesla go? Meant to come back later to address and I now can’t seem to find it. ANYWAY… I find that very surprising. Never occurred to me it would even have a simple enough suspension to do such a thing. And do you have to a monthly subscription to keep it lifted, or …?

I seem to remember an article this past week on Jalopnik or Autopian about lift kits for the Tesla.

corvette

I think @xwesx 's friend lifted his Tesla. I'm not familiar with the factory suspension geometry, but I'm sure it didn't improve the range.

mjfloyd1

qbrozen said:

Ok… where the heck did the post about lifting a Tesla go? Meant to come back later to address and I now can’t seem to find it. ANYWAY… I find that very surprising. Never occurred to me it would even have a simple enough suspension to do such a thing. And do you have to a monthly subscription to keep it lifted, or …?

https://www.motortrend.com/news/popup-motor-tesla-model-y-lift-kit-off-road/

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Ok… where the heck did the post about lifting a Tesla go? Meant to come back later to address and I now can’t seem to find it. ANYWAY… I find that very surprising. Never occurred to me it would even have a simple enough suspension to do such a thing. And do you have to a monthly subscription to keep it lifted, or …?

Lifting an EV would be the least of my worries after watching Uncle Tony’s Garage recent video on EV fires burning holes in parking garage floors.

qbrozen

So I had found a good deal on a Colorado at a dealership network I typically avoid. It is a ‘20 with mileage in the teens for $28k. I had reached out and gotten the usual assault of emails, texts, and phone calls. Unfortunately, with the weather and intra-house nagging, I couldn’t get over there. Good thing because they raised the price $1300. Maybe they got too many inquiries or just realized it was too good of a deal for their liking.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

So I had found a good deal on a Colorado at a dealership network I typically avoid. It is a ‘20 with mileage in the teens for $28k. I had reached out and gotten the usual assault of emails, texts, and phone calls. Unfortunately, with the weather and intra-house nagging, I couldn’t get over there. Good thing because they raised the price $1300. Maybe they got too many inquiries or just realized it was too good of a deal for their liking.

————————————————
Kinda explains why you typically avoid that dealership network.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

I just saw a @qbrozen special at Kroger. It says “Domingo” on the badge

qbrozen

oddball subaru

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

I just saw a @qbrozen special at Kroger. It says “Domingo” on the badge

An old and time-honored brand no doubt. 🙄

nyccarguy

Vermont is quite beautiful for those of you who have never been:

corvette

One of my friends on social media posted this as the CHEAPEST low mileage E63 wagon in the US. Salvage title, but (allegedly) cheap nonetheless. Copart listing showed relatively minor front end damage, which has now been repaired. It's been listed for 500 days, so they might take less than the asking price.

I think Hoovie should buy it sight unseen and then let the Car Wizard do a post-purchase inspection on it.

stickguy

black on black with black wheels? Not a fan.

probably fast though.

kyfdx

Vermont and Connecticut are the only 2 states I haven’t been, East of the Mississippi.

stickguy

Vermont does have some very pretty areas. and a lot of nothing too! and cows. lots of cows.

We were going to run over for a weekend trip this month but didn't end up happening. Maybe in early November if the weather holds! might just be 1 day though since we are only about 45 minutes from VT.

CT, that is like 3 different states depending on which part you are in.

trying to remember what states I missed. And where the Mississippi is! I think I missed KY, OH, WV and Indiana. Illinois, PA, all the southern coast (SC, NC, GA, VA) and NE states I got.

roadburner

My son and his girlfriend were in town for a friend's wedding (we were invited as well- it had to have cost a fortune). Today we took them to lunch before dropping them at the airport. After that was another wedding about 50 miles away. Anyway, we took the Sahara; I kept it in e-save mode for all but a few miles, meaning it ran on the IC motor 99% of the time. It doesn't have the sharp reflexes of a performance SUV such as a Macan or a X3 M40i, but it's a very nice cruiser. At 80 mph it felt perfectly stable. The seats are comfortable and the Alpine audio system is pretty good as well. Couple all that with legitimate off-road capability and it's a perfect fit for the RB garage- especially in light of the fact it's averaging over 30 mpg in spite of the high-speed cruising in e-save.

stickguy

what did you get, a hardtop 4 door?

Michaell

stickguy said:

what did you get, a hardtop 4 door?

That's how the 4xe is equipped.

stickguy

I have only ever seen 4 doors but know that hardly any 2 doors are sold these days so wasn't sure if it was even offered.

Michaell

It's easier for me to list the states I haven't visited, in all the years I traveled:

Idaho
Montana
South Dakota (I don't count changing planes in Sioux Falls)
Vermont
Louisiana
Mississippi
Arkansas
Kansas
West Virginia

cdnpinhead

Here are all the states I haven't visited:

kyfdx

I think I have 10 more to see, West of the Mississippi.. 38/50.

qbrozen

@corvette said:
One of my friends on social media posted this as the CHEAPEST low mileage E63 wagon in the US. Salvage title, but (allegedly) cheap nonetheless. Copart listing showed relatively minor front end damage, which has now been repaired. It's been listed for 500 days, so they might take less than the asking price.

I think Hoovie should buy it sight unseen and then let the Car Wizard do a post-purchase inspection on it.

Not cheap enough, but close. Only one at auction to judge against, which had 55k miles and sold for $56k. Figure a generous bump for mileage would put this one at $60k auction and $65k retail. Cut that in half for salvage title to arrive at $32.5k.