Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

nyccarguy

This 2002 Infiniti QX4 looks interesting

xwesx

Yep; that looks like a really nice find, @nyccarguy !

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

well now here is an interesting one... I have the chance to grab a 2001 Xterra 3.3 4wd with 104k miles for $1700. Obviously not super clean or anything but could be an interesting toy/work machine.

How much rust?

honestly, none of consequence. Frame looks great. No body rot I can see. The nose is made of 3 different colors, but, hey, nothing is perfect.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

This 2002 Infiniti QX4 looks interesting

that's a great find if you just want a clean 4x4.

qbrozen

while son was sitting with me, I came upon another v8 JGC. This one, though, is a 2006 with 78k miles.

au1994

nyccarguy said:

This 2002 Infiniti QX4 looks interesting

Underside pics please but yeah, that looks really good for that price. Great new driver car.

stickguy

Xterra sounds like a steal.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

The 1,500 mile report with the Legacy. Feel free to scroll by – it sort of bored me just typing it.

After having the BMW a short time, I knew it wasn’t going to make it through the long haul.

It was fast and handled well. It was pretty. I received more favorable comments from people over the 7 months I owned it than any other car I have owned for quite a while; even my former BMW. It looked somewhat menacing. When cruising on the highway, people in front of you moved over.

It didn’t have adaptive cruise control. Odd for that price point. It didn’t have fog lights because BMW engineers found a way to not need them (or maybe it was the bean counters).

When I opened a door, the radio started playing. I mean even if you just wanted to get your sunglasses. Then, if you didn’t lock it, the radio just kept playing. I don’t know for how long, but an oddity.

Many oddities that could have probably been fixed if I felt like taking the time to dwell on all the menus with iDrive and that little curious button on the end of the turn signal stock, but I didn’t.

I only kept it as long as I did because I couldn’t find anything else I liked until I realized the Subaru Legacy Sport didn’t just have the word “Sport” on the back and a higher price tag because of it.

The Legacy Sport is actually an XT without all the stuff I didn’t want. No ventilated seats which felt like sitting in a puddle of cold water, no navigation since WAZE is as good or better with Android Auto. And things I certainly can do without like power folding side mirrors, rear heated seats, 2 person seat settings since my wife never drives my car. The 180° front camera was nice, but I can do without that. I would have paid for it, but it is not available

The 260 HP, 2.4 liter turbo engine is quick. I was on the same on ramp I checked the BMW on last week and stepped on it. I reached 90 mph when I had to merge. The BMW got to 105. I can live with that. Certainly not slow. 0- 60 is 6.1 seconds. It’s a VCT, but Subaru did an amazing job giving it a shift point feel – 8 of them.

I’m not an audio nut, but the 12 speaker, 576 watt HK system is good. The LED steering responsive headlights are cool.

Not unhappy. No remorse.

I’m with you about not needing a lot of electronic features on my car. I particularly agree that cooled seats feel like sitting in a puddle of cold water.

————————————————
I’ve had cooling seats on both of my Genney’s (2009 and present 2015). Most of the time I forget to use it but when I remember it’s on for about 10 minutes then I turn it off. Heated seats I also forget to use but Mrs. j will remind me about those so they get more use. Never had the heated steering wheel but I’m sure I could remember to turn that on.

jmonroe

qbrozen

eh, JGC doesn't sound right in the video. Can't quite tell if just exhaust leak or something more serious. My concern with the Xterra is that the lack of power would get to me. On the upside, I'd probably have no trouble unloading it.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Nope, not today. I was in at $6k on the titan. Sold for 7900. In at $3k on the JGC. No idea what the result was but exited the auction window at 3800.

Guess I just want the wrong ones. Just 5 vehicles before the JGC was a $9k mmr odyssey that sold for 5200. So deals can be had. Actually saw maybe 25% sell below mmr today. Maybe a sign of things. This was the NJ auction, which I can’t say I frequent. I have a few on the radar in IL tomorrow, so we’ll see if location is making a difference.

Since you like those little cars from Asia maybe you could pick up one of these:

https://youtu.be/3IoU5FuNi84?si=VXU18SYZa93iZPV3

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

The 1,500 mile report with the Legacy. Feel free to scroll by – it sort of bored me just typing it.

After having the BMW a short time, I knew it wasn’t going to make it through the long haul.

It was fast and handled well. It was pretty. I received more favorable comments from people over the 7 months I owned it than any other car I have owned for quite a while; even my former BMW. It looked somewhat menacing. When cruising on the highway, people in front of you moved over.

It didn’t have adaptive cruise control. Odd for that price point. It didn’t have fog lights because BMW engineers found a way to not need them (or maybe it was the bean counters).

When I opened a door, the radio started playing. I mean even if you just wanted to get your sunglasses. Then, if you didn’t lock it, the radio just kept playing. I don’t know for how long, but an oddity.

Many oddities that could have probably been fixed if I felt like taking the time to dwell on all the menus with iDrive and that little curious button on the end of the turn signal stock, but I didn’t.

I only kept it as long as I did because I couldn’t find anything else I liked until I realized the Subaru Legacy Sport didn’t just have the word “Sport” on the back and a higher price tag because of it.

The Legacy Sport is actually an XT without all the stuff I didn’t want. No ventilated seats which felt like sitting in a puddle of cold water, no navigation since WAZE is as good or better with Android Auto. And things I certainly can do without like power folding side mirrors, rear heated seats, 2 person seat settings since my wife never drives my car. The 180° front camera was nice, but I can do without that. I would have paid for it, but it is not available

The 260 HP, 2.4 liter turbo engine is quick. I was on the same on ramp I checked the BMW on last week and stepped on it. I reached 90 mph when I had to merge. The BMW got to 105. I can live with that. Certainly not slow. 0- 60 is 6.1 seconds. It’s a VCT, but Subaru did an amazing job giving it a shift point feel – 8 of them.

I’m not an audio nut, but the 12 speaker, 576 watt HK system is good. The LED steering responsive headlights are cool.

Not unhappy. No remorse.

I’m with you about not needing a lot of electronic features on my car. I particularly agree that cooled seats feel like sitting in a puddle of cold water.

————————————————
I’ve had cooling seats on both of my Genney’s (2009 and present 2015). Most of the time I forget to use it but when I remember it’s on for about 10 minutes then I turn it off. Heated seats I also forget to use but Mrs. j will remind me about those so they get more use. Never had the heated steering wheel but I’m sure I could remember to turn that on.

jmonroe

Heated steering wheel and seats are much more useful, especially when jumping in and out of cold cars during winter.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

Since you like those little cars from Asia maybe you could pick up one of these:

https://youtu.be/3IoU5FuNi84?si=VXU18SYZa93iZPV3

I've stick with my luxurious and muscular 3-cyl Kei cars.

kyfdx

XTerra would be an easy sale..

greg128

<



jmonroe

Heated steering wheel and seats are much more useful, especially when jumping in and out of cold cars during winter.

I was informed by the wife who currently drives the 2018 Buick Lacrosse that must-haves for her next car that she has now:
- Blind Spot monitor
- Heated seats and steering wheel
- Front parking proximity sensors (Buick only has rear)
- Massaging & memory seats
- Remote start
- Cross traffic alert

No mention of the need for:
Ventilated seats
-HUD
- Articulating headlights
- Lane keeping alert
- Front distance monitor or forward collision alert

au1994

qbrozen said:

eh, JGC doesn't sound right in the video. Can't quite tell if just exhaust leak or something more serious. My concern with the Xterra is that the lack of power would get to me. On the upside, I'd probably have no trouble unloading it.

No you wouldn’t , there is a bit of a cult following there.

stickguy

Reminds me. I saw one of those little Kei pickups driving last weekend. I clue which brand as it was going the other direction. On the Mass pike. Yes, someone was driving one on the highway, and in the real hilly portion too

qbrozen

Purchased the Xterra. $1714 all in, including transport and auction fee.

I really like the Kei pickup. Very nimble, easy to see out of, sooo useful. If only I could fit comfortably.

ab348

Took the ATS in last Friday to have the OE wheels swapped over to the winter rims and snow tires I bought for it right after I got it. At the time I bought a set of GM TPMS sensors for those too. Seems like every other year the tire shop screws up the relearn process and I have to return to get them to try again. I’ve only driven it a couple of times since the swap and today when driving home from the dentist I got the dreaded TPMS warning on the dash. I was only a few blocks from the shop so I went there to get them to try again. It took 3 of them before one seemed to hit the magic combination in what is admittedly a pretty awful process.

Driving home the display adjusted itself to show 38psi at each corner. If true, that means they didn’t bother to adjust the pressures when they installed the rims. Wouldn’t be the first time I had that happen with them. I’ll check tomorrow… [sigh…]

roadburner

Luckily with my Mazda and BMWs you simply swap the wheels and the car connects to the TPMS automatically. I understand that there is a reset required on the Mercedes but it's a simple DIY process.

roadburner

greg128 said:

<



jmonroe

Heated steering wheel and seats are much more useful, especially when jumping in and out of cold cars during winter.

I was informed by the wife who currently drives the 2018 Buick Lacrosse that must-haves for her next car that she has now:
- Blind Spot monitor
- Heated seats and steering wheel
- Front parking proximity sensors (Buick only has rear)
- Massaging & memory seats
- Remote start
- Cross traffic alert

No mention of the need for:
Ventilated seats
-HUD
- Articulating headlights
- Lane keeping alert
- Front distance monitor or forward collision alert





I definitely want heated seats/wheel, decent headlamps, and surround view with parking sensors. Everything else depends on the individual vehicle.

xwesx

I was considering a parallel parking spot last weekend when I went with my daughter to play pickleball. The spot was a little tight, between two poorly parked pickups, and she said, "You want to park THERE?! You're not going to fit." I said, "I won't, huh?" (challenge accepted!).

One attempt, parking complete, smoothly located along the curb (again, these pickup drivers had no such desire to get anywhere near the curb or even parallel to it). I had about two feet of space on either end of the car, which is plenty for a space like that.

She laughed and said, "I really didn't think we were going to fit!" I just told her that I'll expect her to do that too before I let her take her driver exam next summer. LOL

stickguy

problem isn't fitting. It is being that close to 2 barges that are likely to bang into your car without even noticing.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

I was considering a parallel parking spot last weekend when I went with my daughter to play pickleball. The spot was a little tight, between two poorly parked pickups, and she said, "You want to park THERE?! You're not going to fit." I said, "I won't, huh?" (challenge accepted!).

One attempt, parking complete, smoothly located along the curb (again, these pickup drivers had no such desire to get anywhere near the curb or even parallel to it). I had about two feet of space on either end of the car, which is plenty for a space like that.

She laughed and said, "I really didn't think we were going to fit!" I just told her that I'll expect her to do that too before I let her take her driver exam next summer. LOL

————————————————
C’mon man, 4 feet of space and you’re going to take credit for that? I should have had you picking out parallel parking spots for me when I was being taught how to do that instead of my Father.

jmonroe

corvette

Some progress on the Volt… oil was changed in January, about 10k miles ago, with Mobil 1 0w20. GM says it’s good for two years or 15k, so I’m leaving it. The engine air filter looks good, and the cabin air filter looks okay, although I’ll probably go ahead and change it. Got the tires rotated at Discount Tire.

The headlights are better than the Prius and the low beams are LED. Annoyingly, the high beams are halogen.

Drove about 12 miles today on a full charge, and still have 8/10 showing on the gauge.

xwesx

stickguy said:

problem isn't fitting. It is being that close to 2 barges that are likely to bang into your car without even noticing.

That's true, but I have cameras that operate on my car all the time, so I don't mind getting them for hit and run, either. That's one of the advantages to driving old cars.

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

C’mon man, 4 feet of space and you’re going to take credit for that? I should have had you picking out parallel parking spots for me when I was being taught how to do that instead of my Father.

jmonroe

Yeah, it's not full-on precision, but it's close enough that they need to have a solid understanding of their vehicle dimensions and available space in order to do it without difficulty. That's all I'm really going for. I don't expect them to be experts on their first day without a leash; they just need to be better than 90% of the other drivers out there.

xwesx

corvette said:

Some progress on the Volt… oil was changed in January, about 10k miles ago, with Mobil 1 0w20. GM says it’s good for two years or 15k, so I’m leaving it. The engine air filter looks good, and the cabin air filter looks okay, although I’ll probably go ahead and change it. Got the tires rotated at Discount Tire.

The headlights are better than the Prius and the low beams are LED. Annoyingly, the high beams are halogen.

Drove about 12 miles today on a full charge, and still have 8/10 showing on the gauge.

What bulbs do the high beams use? If it is standard, like an H11 or 9005, you can do a direct swap with LEDs for better power savings.... or far better light output!

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

C’mon man, 4 feet of space and you’re going to take credit for that? I should have had you picking out parallel parking spots for me when I was being taught how to do that instead of my Father.

jmonroe

Yeah, it's not full-on precision, but it's close enough that they need to have a solid understanding of their vehicle dimensions and available space in order to do it without difficulty. That's all I'm really going for. I don't expect them to be experts on their first day without a leash; they just need to be better than 90% of the other drivers out there.

————————————————
I know what you mean. It won’t hurt young drivers to learn how to parallel park. I just couldn’t help thinking about all the skinny parking spots my Father searched high and wide for when I was learning how to parallel park. Of course cars had real bumpers back then so a tap here and there was no problem. Today you can’t do that or it’ll cost you a grand or more. But then again, there are backup cameras today.

Good luck with getting your daughter over that hurdle.

jmonroe

corvette

@xwesx - I may look into it after driving it more at night. I was only able to use the high beams for a few hundred feet this evening. They're still better than the Prius overall (although I think its high beams may have also been halogen)--its lights were weak in general, even the interior lights.

qbrozen

Here are some pics to peruse. Looks pretty good for the money. I'll probably just black out the grille and bumper. Interior will take a good scrubbing. Underside looks very solid.

tjc78

@Sandman6472 said:
Safelite guy came but couldn't use the gel on the windshield as the crack was just too big, we need a replacement windshield. The tech couldn't do it, he could barely speak English and needed his phone to translate anything past "yes" or "no" answers. Glad I was at work as I would've been quite unhappy, how can a company send out an employee who can't communicate effectively! Glad he wasn't knowledgeable enough to swap out the windshield. So now, coming back on Friday morning to do the replacement.
Hoping things go as well as when they repaired mine a couple years back. Was a very good experience actually. Just unacceptable to send folks who can barely speak English to be honest to do work like this. Communication is so important on things like this and using one's cell phone to translate the simplest sentences just doesn't work for me. Luckily, as far as I know, insurance will cover the cost of everything.
It's always something it seems but, think we need a break from anymore automotive issues. Oil started leaking from under the A3 since she got home and the "EPC" light issue needs to be addressed. Have to restart the vehicle to make it go away but when the engine is warmed up, the icon doesn't appear. Very strange really. Am actively trying to convince her that another A3 is just not the answer here but think something Japanese or Korean should be her logical choice for a new vehicle. Like the Kia Forte or Hyundai Elantra as they should be close to the size of the A3. And there's also the CX-30 as for 2024, Mazda is getting rid of that awful infotainment nonsense and replacing it with a more logical set-up. Long overdue to be honest. And think the extra few inches of height might be very welcome for her.

The guys that installed the ceramic tile in my bathrooms and laundry room at the shore didn’t speak a word of English. Any communication went through the foreman via phone. A little frustrating but they did a dynamite job and worked clean.

kyfdx

@qbrozen I think I'd try to flip it for $5K.

au1994

Anyone else having issues with insurance rates going up even in absence of claims? We are with Allstate and just experienced our 3rd rate increase in as many years. And yes, I shopped it last time this happened. The results were mixed. One would be better on cars but worse on homes etc. I need to run numbers but we may be to the point where its better to break things up.

Agent says inflation. A 10k repair on a car is now 14k. Totaling many they used to fix due to the cost and complexity to fix. Allstate has him on restrictions as to what he can quote for new customers based on driving record, value of homes etc.

Michaell

au1994 said:

Anyone else having issues with insurance rates going up even in absence of claims? We are with Allstate and just experienced our 3rd rate increase in as many years. And yes, I shopped it last time this happened. The results were mixed. One would be better on cars but worse on homes etc. I need to run numbers but we may be to the point where its better to break things up.

Agent says inflation. A 10k repair on a car is now 14k. Totaling many they used to fix due to the cost and complexity to fix. Allstate has him on restrictions as to what he can quote for new customers based on driving record, value of homes etc.

I saw a 12% bump in our premium with our last renewal through State Farm for the Outback.

tjc78

Yep same here about a 15% bump with no claims.

stickguy

I would have snapped that up for $1700 to be the winter beater for taking the salt punishment.

28firefighter

I’m dreading our renewal.

28firefighter

@qbrozen I’m very curious to know what that interior smells like. I’d also check every nook and cranny of that car for illicit substances before driving it. Looks like maybe someone was living in it?

ab348

QB, any thoughts of removing the cowcatcher up front?

qbrozen

ab348 said:

QB, any thoughts of removing the cowcatcher up front?

Oh, I like those. Only thing I'll try to do is remove the headlight guards from it.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

@qbrozen I’m very curious to know what that interior smells like. I’d also check every nook and cranny of that car for illicit substances before driving it. Looks like maybe someone was living in it?

heck, my brother's cars always look far worse than that, and he doesn't live in his. haha.

Speaking of my brother, I figured, if I don't want to keep it, he'll likely become the new owner when the Escape I sold him expires.

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld

Regarding this Mustang you are going to buy, are you planning on ordering it or taking delivery from local dealer stock?

I’ve considered placing an order, but I’ll likely just pick something from dealer inventory when the time is right. It could be an anomaly, but there are 2-3 out there on the lots right now that I’d be happy with, so not sure if I need to order.

qbrozen

au1994

qbrozen said:

Here are some pics to peruse. Looks pretty good for the money. I'll probably just black out the grille and bumper. Interior will take a good scrubbing. Underside looks very solid.

Not bad underneath given the NY plates. Always a little concerning when you see quarts of fluid in the back . Tires look decent from what can be seen. I'd bet you could find some center caps cheap to clean up the look.

roadburner

I think that I may need to start a Chronic Model Car Buyers Anonymous topic. My old office had over 400 cars in it (along with the Godzilla collection my son and I assembled), and I swore I wouldn’t go overboard in the current office. So much for that…

xwesx

Yep! But, at least you only have what, maybe two years left? How many more can you collect during that time?! (yes, that may be a challenge.....)

stickguy

First I knew that those carvana flatbeds could hold 2 cars.

roadburner

@xwesx said:
Yep! But, at least you only have what, maybe two years left? How many more can you collect during that time?! (yes, that may be a challenge.....)

Fourteen months- but who’s counting?

xwesx

Speaking of cattle-pushers, I updated the bumper on my wife's Crosstrek over the weekend. Last year, her lower bumper fascia was damaged by some debris on I90 through Ohio, and she wanted me to fix it. Even though the damaged portion was blackout plastic in the lower center of the shell, the whole shell is actually one piece, so I would have had to replace the entire thing (about $1,200) and paint the portion that was not intended to remain black (another $300-400 if I do it myself). Instead, I was able to find a steel bumper replacement that basically fits exactly into that blacked out, damaged area. At $650, it was a simple decision for my money-conscious brain....







Plus, now there are really nice tow points on the front of the car (which my wife pointedly told me she is highly unlikely to ever use).

qbrozen

If it is one piece, how did you replace just a portion? Was there cutting involved?