Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

Oh, did I mention it is actually a 4-door? Haha

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I was referring to bed capacity. If you have to hook up a trailer to haul lumber or a dozen bails of hay it’s not a truck I’d buy.

As to the Maverick, I wasn’t looking at them. I was looking at old style Rangers with a 7’ bed or a F-150 single cab with an 8’ bed.

You know…..manly trucks.😙

Well, to be fair, that's not the truck's fault. You can get a smaller cab with bigger bed on the Colorado or Dakota. I just happen to want more cabin space so I can carry more than one passenger.

And that’s fine, we all have different needs. I’m just saying that today’s 4 door, tiny bed pick ups are not my cup of tea.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

ummm.... say what??

I’m not the most knowledgeable person but what is a sensor lamp?

stickguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
I’m not the most knowledgeable person but what is a sensor lamp?

It measures your blinker fluid.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
If you open the tailgate of a pickup with a 5 1/2 foot bed, guess how long the flat surface is?

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

Oh, and check out the description, BTW.

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If you have some spare time and want some fun ask him if he had the muffler bearings greased when he did the last oil change.

jmonroe

au1994

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

Oh, and check out the description, BTW.

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If you have some spare time and want some fun ask him if he had the muffler bearings greased when he did the last oil change.

jmonroe

I certainly did on mine! No need to ask!! Sure, I pay a little extra for it, but its worth it.

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

Oh, and check out the description, BTW.

————————————————
If you have some spare time and want some fun ask him if he had the muffler bearings greased when he did the last oil change.

jmonroe

I certainly did on mine! No need to ask!! Sure, I pay a little extra for it, but its worth it.

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I don’t blame you. They can be expensive to replace when they burn out. Most of the time it’s best to replace the entire muffler assembly.

jmonroe

ab348

xwesx said:

Seems like a fair price, to me. I paid nearly 10,000 for just my windows (11 of them) nearly fifteen years ago, and that didn't include getting them to my house or installation, both of which I did myself. If that price is all-in start to finish, I'd go for it.

I didn’t mention that the 5 basement windows do not require any interior trim since they are in an unfinished part of the basement and just fit into the existing wooden buck attached to the opening in the foundation. I cannot understand that installation price. I’m in the process of getting other quotes.

corvette

ab348 said:

No more Eagle Rare though which used to be not so rare here. Same with Blantons.

Those of us who live in Bourbon Country (TM) can't even get Blantons.

corvette

qbrozen said:

no worries. looks like it will be on the roof any second.

roadburner

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.
Next? Who knows?

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
If you open the tailgate of a pickup with a 5 1/2 foot bed, guess how long the flat surface is?

But that would be cheating.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.
Next? Who knows?

Did it come with the headliner? That’s a nice addition, if amazon has them. I also like the idea of the tailgate storage solutions, like this one: https://a.co/d/anx64p0

nyccarguy

@roadburner said:
I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.
Next? Who knows?

A lift? 40” Mickey Thompson Tires? Angry Grill?

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

@roadburner said:

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.

Next? Who knows?

Did it come with the headliner? That’s a nice addition, if amazon has them. I also like the idea of the tailgate storage solutions, like this one: https://a.co/d/anx64p0

————————————————
They thought of almost everything, even the pop rivets. Do the have an upgrade that also provides the drill and drill bit.

jmonroe

roadburner

qbrozen said:

@roadburner said:

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.

Next? Who knows?

Did it come with the headliner? That’s a nice addition, if amazon has them. I also like the idea of the tailgate storage solutions, like this one: https://a.co/d/anx64p0

No headliner, but thinking about adding one.

Sandman6472

Turns out it was a snapped cable in the tranny. It was done yesterday afternoon but since I had a train to meet, which was late, made sense to just pick it up this morning as the girls were headed to St. Augustine to look at a couple of apartments complexes and to choose one. Looks like the shifter cable broke which caused the tranny to be stuck in the "D" position. We're back on the road with the wallet being about $275 lighter. But good to have this behind us and hoping for things to quiet down for a bit. This vehicle will be making multiple trips up to St. Augustine in the next year so just hope nothing else major happens. Until the new Kona debuts, just not ready to settle for the Corolla Cross.
The lease will probably start the middle of November so we'll have time to get her set up since it's a four hour drive from home. Looks like I'll be renting a Tahoe size vehicle to bring up her bar stools and other boxes as she's decided to leave her king bed & couch at our house and just get new with the couch being a pull out kind for when one of us visits. The plan to get a two bedroom place have been squashed as it just made no sense at this time. Our move time table has now been moved up a bit though with us being in Central Florida sometime in 2025, hopefully much earlier. But think it'll take me that long to blast my wife out of here. And it'll take me awhile to purge all the "stuff" I've accumulated in the 37 years we've lived in our house. When I look around and see all that I've got, it overwhelms me but, it's definitely time to start "letting go" of things. And being closer to Orlando is the plan right now.

Sandman6472

Stick, I understand what you are saying as it makes zero sense to keep a vehicle that one is afraid to use as intended. The wife is getting to that point with her A3. They're in St. Augustine as I type to find a place for our kid to rent next month, so there will be more trips that her, or my, vehicle will be taking there in the future. And since it's a four hour trip, she needs to have a dependable vehicle, we both do, to do this long drive. I've been pointing out different vehicles to her as she insists on A3 size but one that has a shorter hood. She still likes the Mazda3 but the hood length was the deciding factor for her not getting one. I think the CX-30 is perfect for her since she'll like the slightly higher seating position and am betting the hood will look smaller with a higher seating position. She mentioned another A3 but I'm not super happy with that choice but that's her call.
We also talked about my situation & all she asked is that anything I get is not much wider than the Golf. I tried telling her that only the Hyundai Venue or a GTI would give us the 168" length or a little less, most newer vehicles in this class have grown to around 174", give or take. With the 6" length addition on the upcoming Kona, that puts it at 172", about the same as the Corolla Cross. She mentioned getting a sedan instead but told her I definitely am getting a CUV with a slightly higher seating position. So, my choices will be limited here which is why I'm hoping to wait till November of 2024 to start a serious search for anything unless the Golf has other issues.
Funny, I drove a 2023 Camry LE at work yesterday and really did like it! Has plenty of power and comfortable seats. Apple Carplay synced easily with my iPhone which was a plus. Just wish it were Corolla size as the basic Corolla just doesn't give me what I'm looking for. I'm hoping driving a Corolla Cross Hybrid will give me that extra acceleration I'm looking for. I'm no speed demon, far from it, but when I hit the accelerator, I want my vehicle to go! Have had enough turbo lag these past nine years with the Golf so anything I get going forward has to not have this issue. I know my choices are limited but I know I'll find what I'm looking for...eventually.
Doubt I'll lease as it makes no sense. But, now that we'll be spending more time in Central and Northern Florida, maybe it's not such a bad thing. Since I don't like vehicle issues much anymore, being always under warranty with a lease might just give me the piece of mind I'm looking for. And since I'm probably going to finance this time around, it could really work. The other idea is borrowing from my Roth IRA account and paying myself back monthly. But first, I need to find the right vehicle.

au1994

corvette said:

ab348 said:

No more Eagle Rare though which used to be not so rare here. Same with Blantons.

Those of us who live in Bourbon Country (TM) can't even get Blantons.

Unfortunately, I have heard that from others as well.

au1994

nyccarguy said:

@roadburner said:

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.

Next? Who knows?

A lift? 40” Mickey Thompson Tires? Angry Grill?

I did floor liners front, rear and cargo, slightly larger Falken Wildpeaks, Hella driving lights, yellow Laminex on the factory fogs and Rugged ridge sill guards.

Yes, I know it’s a lease but outside of the tires everything was quite reasonable. And it’s a Jeep, as an owner you are morally obligated to modify and personalize. Otherwise they come and repossess it.

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

nyccarguy said:

@roadburner said:

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.

Next? Who knows?

A lift? 40” Mickey Thompson Tires? Angry Grill?

I did floor liners front, rear and cargo, slightly larger Falken Wildpeaks, Hella driving lights, yellow Laminex on the factory fogs and Rugged ridge sill guards.

Yes, I know it’s a lease but outside of the tires everything was quite reasonable. And it’s a Jeep, as an owner you are morally obligated to modify and personalize. Otherwise they come and repossess it.
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And you actually got your wife to believe that?

jmonroe

stickguy

Sandy, I vote for pushing to move soon. And make sure to get a bigger garage so you can get whatever car you want!

And trust me, on a deadline, stuff gets dealt with quick!

roadburner

au1994 said:

I did floor liners front, rear and cargo, slightly larger Falken Wildpeaks, Hella driving lights, yellow Laminex on the factory fogs and Rugged ridge sill guards.

Yes, I know it’s a lease but outside of the tires everything was quite reasonable. And it’s a Jeep, as an owner you are morally obligated to modify and personalize. Otherwise they come and repossess it.

I was deciding between the Quadratec and Rugged Ridge sill guards, but I ended up choosing the Quadratec guards because of my past good experiences with them.
The Jeep rubber mats have a built-in funnel on each front mats that fit into the drain holes in the floorboards. To access the plugs you have to remove a small precut section of carpet, remove the drain plugs and snap the mats into place. The plugs are then pressed into place on the mats to seal things up. On my Jeep the carpet sections were missing as were the drain plugs; I suspect the lessee used the same mats and simply pulled them out and took the plugs with them. No biggie, I picked up a set of 4 on Amazon and Prime delivered them overnight for free. So they go into service tomorrow.

I'll just say it again, I don't see how anyone can complain about the ride/handling of a JLU Wrangler; they don't handle like a GLC or an X3, but the driving experience is certainly not unpleasant.

breld

Took a little time today for some Mustang browsing and another test drive. I’ll say my initial interest was a bit more about the novelty of something new and different to consider, but at this point I’d be hard pressed to choose the Acura over the Mustang. I’m just impressed with the overall comfort and driveability of the Mustang, along with the obvious feel and sound of the V8.

I had this preconceived notion that it didn’t have the same level of build quality and feel as something like the Honda or Acura, but that isn’t the case in the examples I’ve looked at and driven. And I did try a 2019 Bullitt to get a feel for the Tremec trannie…while the interior did feel dated, it drove great and fit and finish seems to have held up well.

So I’m left with color choices, Performance Pack or not (I’d at least opt for the Brembos), wheel options, and Recaros or not (though after sitting in both, I think I prefer the increased comfort in the non-Recaros).

Some pics from my browsing (the Grabber Blue one is from online…I just am fond of that color)…

stickguy

Dark blue is Sharp. My Atlas blue is like a mix of grabber and that dark one.

breld

Actually, that is Atlas Blue on the Mustang.

corvette

The royal-ish blue would be my first choice, followed by white. Really liked the red metallic on the one I had.

qbrozen

My ‘14 was grabber blue. It was BRIGHT.
I chose grabber blue from the list of those available for dealer trade thinking it was the dark blue. Whoops. But I did like it anyway. Just far more conspicuous than I was intending.

stickguy

@breld said:
Actually, that is Atlas Blue on the Mustang.

Looks much darker on my phone in that picture. But it’s a beautiful color in person.

au1994

jmonroe1 said:

au1994 said:

nyccarguy said:

@roadburner said:

I'm going down the rabbit hole with respect to adding accessories to the Sahara; I knew that my BMW MasterCard points could be used with other vendors but Amazon lets me use them seamlessly. So far I've picked up the Jeep all-weather floor mats; next up will be Quadratec door sill entry guards and a 21" Antenna Source antenna to replace the OEM 31" antenna which hits the garage door.

Next? Who knows?

A lift? 40” Mickey Thompson Tires? Angry Grill?

I did floor liners front, rear and cargo, slightly larger Falken Wildpeaks, Hella driving lights, yellow Laminex on the factory fogs and Rugged ridge sill guards.

Yes, I know it’s a lease but outside of the tires everything was quite reasonable. And it’s a Jeep, as an owner you are morally obligated to modify and personalize. Otherwise they come and repossess it.

————————————————
And you actually got your wife to believe that?

jmonroe

Other than the tires, she was pretty cool about everything.

au1994

breld said:

Took a little time today for some Mustang browsing and another test drive. I’ll say my initial interest was a bit more about the novelty of something new and different to consider, but at this point I’d be hard pressed to choose the Acura over the Mustang. I’m just impressed with the overall comfort and driveability of the Mustang, along with the obvious feel and sound of the V8.

I had this preconceived notion that it didn’t have the same level of build quality and feel as something like the Honda or Acura, but that isn’t the case in the examples I’ve looked at and driven. And I did try a 2019 Bullitt to get a feel for the Tremec trannie…while the interior did feel dated, it drove great and fit and finish seems to have held up well.

So I’m left with color choices, Performance Pack or not (I’d at least opt for the Brembos), wheel options, and Recaros or not (though after sitting in both, I think I prefer the increased comfort in the non-Recaros).

Some pics from my browsing (the Grabber Blue one is from online…I just am fond of that color)…

I don’t think there’s a bad choice there.

nyccarguy

Just got back from a hockey tournament in Marlborough, MA. The haunted shoot out. My son’s team made it to the semi final round, but lost. The ice was frozen, the officials were terrible, & parents on the opposing teams were well behaved for the most part.

Saw a White Jeep that @roadburner should use as his muse and inspiration as well as a Jeep that should be offered like this from the factory.

Contrasting to last week’s traffic free trip to VT. Friday’s drive up was brutal. Took me over 4 hours to drive 150 miles!

nyccarguy

And in other non board related chronic car buying news…

My friend who bought the Corvette a few weeks ago took delivery of an AEV Prospector. What is that you ask? A modified Ram 3500 with a lift kit, huge tires, fender flairs, & other upgraded off road/over landing goodies…. It is freakin massive.

stickguy

I love the orange one. The white one, not sure about the angry bird grill, but those wheels are just awful IMO.

stickguy

oh, I drove out to Boston from Albany Friday afternoon. Lots of cars on the Pike. and so much rain. Not a good time. Coming home this morning, a real breeze!

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

I love the orange one. The white one, not sure about the angry bird grill, but those wheels are just awful IMO.

My sentiments exactly. The Orange 01 4Xe was awesome. The White one is the reason people shouldn't be drinking or doing drugs while shopping on Amazon or Quadratec.

ab348

The orange one would make me roll my eyes a bit and give a rueful shake of the head. Not awful, just some bad choices.

The white one... just no.

au1994

ab348 said:

The orange one would make me roll my eyes a bit and give a rueful shake of the head. Not awful, just some bad choices.

The white one... just no.

Even though it was my favorite show growing up, the orange one is just a bit much. It did make me chuckle though.

Each to his own but the white one is just too many bad choices for me starting with the angry grill. I just do not understand that.

28firefighter

So, interesting data point for all of you. I've been filling our cars with Costco fuel for basically the last 6 years exclusively (obviously excluding the electric ones) - premium (92) most of the time since that's what the cars called for.

Since I bought the BMW I've noticed the fuel economy has been on the lower end of what I'd expect is normal - 16/17 mpg in spirited city driving. By sheer happenstance, I had to fill up the other day and wasn't near costco so filled up at a Shell station with 92. Since then I've had the same spirited city driving (no highway yet) and fuel economy has gone up to nearly 20mpg. No other factors have changed.

What gives? That is a major difference and I've always operated under the assumption that Costco fuel is basically the same high end stuff as Shell....but maybe not anymore?

kyfdx

Shell is usually 93 octane for premium, though I doubt that would make any difference for most cars. Certainly not 3-4 mpg. (and, usually more power, not necessarily better economy)

28firefighter

I need to double check - I don't think we get 93 up here.

But either way the whole thing doesn't make any sense to me, and of course I'll verify by hand when I fill up again...

corvette

Punch pending…

au1994

corvette said:

Punch pending…

Well didn’t see that one coming. Prius replacement?

xwesx

au1994 said:

Well didn’t see that one coming.

In that case, I think he should have said, "Sucker punch pending."

nyccarguy

@corvette said:
Punch pending…

Dumping the Maverick & cashing out?

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Dumping the Maverick & cashing out?

Funny you mention that... Carvana offered me about $3k over MSRP about a month ago. Maybe I should have kept that 2023 Hybrid order after all!

stickguy

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:

Dumping the Maverick & cashing out?

Funny you mention that... Carvana offered me about $3k over MSRP about a month ago. Maybe I should have kept that 2023 Hybrid order after all!

you should have. no risk!

Last week Vroom was below MSRP on mine. still more than I paid for it though. Not looking to sell but I could have gotten out a smidge ahead (maybe even after the cost of the bed liner). So at least it was an option. Just no windfall like my last one.

I think the lower trims are still better for that. They just get priced like a Lariat.

breld

Not exciting car news, but nevertheless…I’m in Atlanta for work and there’s 8 of us traveling, so we rented a couple vehicles. I chose a minivan, ‘cause what’s better for hauling around people and their luggage.

This Pacifica Hybrid has completely surprised me in how nice it drives. The powertrain is super smooth and quick (for what it is). We had an Odyssey and Sedona back in the day, and if I was needing a van today, I’d have to give the Pacifica a serious look.

jmonroe1

breld said:

Not exciting car news, but nevertheless…I’m in Atlanta for work and there’s 8 of us traveling, so we rented a couple vehicles. I chose a minivan, ‘cause what’s better for hauling around people and their luggage.

This Pacifica Hybrid has completely surprised me in how nice it drives. The powertrain is super smooth and quick (for what it is). We had an Odyssey and Sedona back in the day, and if I was needing a van today, I’d have to give the Pacifica a serious look.

————————————————
Almost sounds like you’re warming us up for a punch.

jmonroe