Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Curious to see if any of you have any recommendations of a good source for a used Lexus Right Side Passenger Mirror Assembly (power folding w/ blind spot, heated). The other day while my Mom was driving home from work, some jerk on a bicycle wasn't paying attention and came flying out of the bike lane and crashed into her. The pedal made a nice 18" - 24" long scratch on the passenger side rear door, and knocked her right side mirror off.

She pulled over immediately and asked the guy if he was ok. He stood up, said no. She said, ok I'm going to call the police and ambulance. He started walking around, then walked in front of a bus and crossed the street.

MY poor mother was besides herself.

So he pulled a hit and run? Be sure to file a police complaint although if this happened in NYC I wouldn’t expect the police to do much. It wouldn’t surprise me if a year from now your mom receives a lawsuit letter. Try to find local cameras and get video before it gets erased.

I may be paranoid but it helps to be prepared.

tjc78

We don’t post enough pictures of our rides!

Cleaned both of mine and took some.

The guzzler

tjc78

Gas free zone

tjc78

fintail

nyccarguy said:

Curious to see if any of you have any recommendations of a good source for a used Lexus Right Side Passenger Mirror Assembly (power folding w/ blind spot, heated). The other day while my Mom was driving home from work, some jerk on a bicycle wasn't paying attention and came flying out of the bike lane and crashed into her. The pedal made a nice 18" - 24" long scratch on the passenger side rear door, and knocked her right side mirror off.

She pulled over immediately and asked the guy if he was ok. He stood up, said no. She said, ok I'm going to call the police and ambulance. He started walking around, then walked in front of a bus and crossed the street.

MY poor mother was besides herself.

Christmas is coming, buy her a dashcam (with front and rear views). No way in heck would I live in the NY metro area and not have one.

corvette

roadburner said:

A few years ago what passes for a daily newspaper in Louisville published a guest opinion from some goofball that argued that bicyclists should not have to follow the rules of the road.

The “donorcycle” adage seems to apply to just as many bicyclists as motorcyclists.

tjc78

One week update on the EQE.

Wife loves it … so that’s really all that matters.

We took it to dinner last night. Plenty of room for the four of us. All in all electric or not it is a very nice car.

Seats are super comfy even for my larger frame. It handles like a comfy sedan. Not sporty, but secure and the ride while firm is not harsh a bit even on 20s. It’s quick but certainly not what I’d call fast these days. Plenty enough to win a stop light Grand Prix against most and cruise at highly illegal speeds.

The Burmeister audio is impressive and the screens, cameras, navigation displays are amazing.

Setting up a second profile was a bit frustrating. We had to make another Mercedes Me login, send an invite and then jump through a few QR code scans and pairing the car to the newly created login. A bit cumbersome and took a few series of tries to get it. I’m pretty techy so I could see someone who isn’t getting frustrated.

One annoyance is that unless you are on the audio specific screen you can’t skip a song to the next one from the steering wheel controls. A bit of an ergonomic miss.

stickguy

family punch to report. Got invited to dinner at my son's house last night. and when we took the dogs out through the garage it was minus one Audi, but stuffed full of a large Kia.

apparently last Saturday he went back to the Kia dealer and worked out a deal on the Telluride, and was able to trade in his S4 (no clue how the $ worked on that but I think it was basically a wash to the remaining money owed).

Sat in it. Quite large, but very nice interior. Honestly, without looking at a badge, it looked like a Mercedes. Big wide screen, fancy and comfy seats. More tech than most people will ever figure out. But well done. I can see why they are so popular.

He does not seem to miss the Audi too much. Kia is certainly not as quick but he said it is no slouch, and if you punch it it moves. He does appreciate not having to get in and out of such a low car, and loves the extra room to carry stuff. And thinks it drives nice enough for what it is (though still getting used to the bigger size).

He got just about top of the line. SX Prestige X-line I think. Might be one model higher, but it is loaded. Front and surround cameras were cool. Camera based rear view mirror option. Heated and cooled rear seats (captain's chairs). And plenty more.

at some point I will get to drive it.

roadburner

So Thursday my assistant resolved one murder case with a plea agreement where the defendant agreed to testify against the co-defendant (who we believe actually pulled the trigger).
By mid-afternoon Friday a new murder case was on our plate. One step forward, two steps back..

stickguy

We all know that Big pharma Law keeps the murder rate up to keep themselves in jobs. Otherwise there would be no crime.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

family punch to report. Got invited to dinner at my son's house last night. and when we took the dogs out through the garage it was minus one Audi, but stuffed full of a large Kia.

apparently last Saturday he went back to the Kia dealer and worked out a deal on the Telluride, and was able to trade in his S4 (no clue how the $ worked on that but I think it was basically a wash to the remaining money owed).

Sat in it. Quite large, but very nice interior. Honestly, without looking at a badge, it looked like a Mercedes. Big wide screen, fancy and comfy seats. More tech than most people will ever figure out. But well done. I can see why they are so popular.

He does not seem to miss the Audi too much. Kia is certainly not as quick but he said it is no slouch, and if you punch it it moves. He does appreciate not having to get in and out of such a low car, and loves the extra room to carry stuff. And thinks it drives nice enough for what it is (though still getting used to the bigger size).

He got just about top of the line. SX Prestige X-line I think. Might be one model higher, but it is loaded. Front and surround cameras were cool. Camera based rear view mirror option. Heated and cooled rear seats (captain's chairs). And plenty more.

at some point I will get to drive it.

————————————————
Two years ago when Son #1’s 2015 Kia van with around 150k miles was acting up, he wanted a Telluride in the worst way. He no longer needed a van and was more that happy to see the van gone from his garage. But, this was when the pandemic was in high gear. He found a Telluride equipped the way he wanted right down to the color but it was at a dealership in Atlanta and he’d have to pay the shipping from there. He would have done that but the dealer wanted 15K over MSRP as a Market Adjustment. He couldn’t swallow that so he passed and got a used 2015 Infinity CUV (I can’t remember the model) from a dealer in Buffalo. Then last Winter he bought his 2018 BMW X3 M40I. That one came from a Benz dealer in Portland OR (yep, having cars shipped from large distances doesn’t bother him). That seemed to cure his itch for the Telluride. Then to be sure the Telluride itch was gone he bought his 2018 Chevy SS last Spring. I can’t remember where that one came from but it wasn’t from another galaxy.

Like I’ve said before, his end of the flip houses seem to be doing a lot better than my end.

jmonroe

ronsteve

A friend of mine just sent me a clip he shot at his local Lexus dealer. The new RZ450e on the lot has a bump sticker that includes (get this) $995 for Catalytic Converter Theft Protection. I wonder how many they will get with that scam.

I'm still a ways away from the next service on my '15 RDX, but I'm sure I will once again decline the GDI fuel system service, as the J35Z2 is not a DI engine.

laurasdada

Same family punch, brother in law in NJ finally replaced their decrepit, city abused VW Jetta with a '24 Telluride yesterday. He said they closed the dealership negotiating. Not sure what was negotiated, but he said he bought at "list."
He really wanted a new Soul, she wanted the Telluride. End of a boys dream, they were clouds in his coffee.

stickguy

His dream was a Soul? That seems, well, odd.

Confirmed my son also got a 2024 and paid msrp

stickguy

I’m mostly bummed that in no longer have the newest car in the family.

laurasdada

Yes, he has "eclectic" tastes in cars, he loves and wanted boxy!
A good, bright and successful man, but not really a car guy. Very, very family man, hence the Telluride.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

I’m mostly bummed that in no longer have the newest car in the family.

————————————————
I guess it’s tough keeping up with the @stickguy’s

jmonroe

jmonroe1

ronsteve said:

A friend of mine just sent me a clip he shot at his local Lexus dealer. The new RZ450e on the lot has a bump sticker that includes (get this) $995 for Catalytic Converter Theft Protection. I wonder how many they will get with that scam.

I'm still a ways away from the next service on my '15 RDX, but I'm sure I will once again decline the GDI fuel system service, as the J35Z2 is not a DI engine.

————————————————
Well, with all the talk lately about the rash of stolen catalytic converters and what it costs to replace them, I think we’d all be surprised with how many hits the dealer gets on this one.

jmonroe

stickguy

on an electric car?

ab348

stickguy said:

I’m mostly bummed that in no longer have the newest car in the family.

Take solace in the thought that you still have the newest truck..

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

on an electric car?

————————————————
I missed that it was an electric car. But I’m sure they’ll still get a few hits.

BTW, the industry or maybe it’s the posters that have to stop using a “small e” as the designation for an electric car. Are they trying to hide the fact that it’s electric?

jmonroe

roadburner

This may get me suspended from CCBA, but I'm actually extremely content with the present RB Fleet. I do plan to sell the Triumph and pick up a dual-purpose bike that I can ride around the farm. And today my wife mentioned that she thought we should also get a side by side ATV/UTV.
I also bought a few tickets to win this. I'd have to keep it...

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

This may get me suspended from CCBA, but I'm actually extremely content with the present RB Fleet. I do plan to sell the Triumph and pick up a dual-purpose bike that I can ride around the farm. And today my wife mentioned that she thought we should also get a side by side ATV/UTV.
I also bought a few tickets to win this. I'd have to keep it...

————————————————
Buy a few for me too since I’m not a member of the club. Then we’ll see which one of us has the luck. When I win I’ll even let you drive it a little.

jmonroe

andres3

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

Neon's literally had a 99% head gasket failure rate; so it's earned; not bashing, just truth telling.

I have no idea what that has to do with a 4.7 v8.

Both American made.

xwesx

So, I mentioned helping my friend with the lift on his Tesla. Here's a photo of it in the wild from a couple days ago:



Again, nothing crazy. It brought the clearance from 6" to 8.5" (e.g., Subaru territory).

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

So, I mentioned helping my friend with the lift on his Tesla. Here's a photo of it in the wild from a couple days ago:



Again, nothing crazy. It brought the clearance from 6" to 8.5" (e.g., Subaru territory).

————————————————
He’ll thank you when you get more snow. Which shouldn’t be too far away.

jmonroe

ab348

For a moment I thought that was a gas filler on the C-pillar.

oldfarmer50

ronsteve said:

A friend of mine just sent me a clip he shot at his local Lexus dealer. The new RZ450e on the lot has a bump sticker that includes (get this) $995 for Catalytic Converter Theft Protection. I wonder how many they will get with that scam.

I'm still a ways away from the next service on my '15 RDX, but I'm sure I will once again decline the GDI fuel system service, as the J35Z2 is not a DI engine.

Selling CAT theft protection on an EV has to be criminal fraud. Your friend should call the cops.

You should post the picture of that sticker.

corvette

@xwesx what effect does the lift have on the range?

stickguy

@corvette said:
@xwesx what effect does the lift have on the range?

Probably less than the low temps!

qbrozen

Big improvement.
Grille guard is rusted pretty bad but I just decided to wire brush it all down and coat in rust reformer. Cut out the headlight grilles, too. Probably more work than it is worth. Bumper and grille were in good shape, just bad paint.

xwesx

corvette said:

@xwesx what effect does the lift have on the range?

Unknown at this time. My friend is in Antarctica for the next couple months or so. I expect he'll have it all graphed out by the end of winter and provide me with a thorough update!

@stickguy probably isn't wrong in his response, though.

xwesx

Very nice, @qbrozen ! Looks great and vastly improved. I think that driver headlight should be next on the list.

I don't remember: Is that a manual or auto?

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Very nice, @qbrozen ! Looks great and vastly improved. I think that driver headlight should be next on the list.

I don't remember: Is that a manual or auto?

————————————————
I agree but it sure took long enough.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Auto. Did they come with the 3.3 and 4wd in manual?

Yes, it took me several days in my precious spare time.

Forgot to point out those are new driving lights in place of the old fogs, of which one was not working.

I was looking online for replacement projector headlights but have come up empty. They are the old halogen lenses, so can’t be polished. It would seem, if I want replacements, they will have to be the same style currently on there. That’s why I put in the driving lights.

xwesx

They sure did, though that actual layout is fairly rare. I think the manual topped out at the "SE" trim level, and the V6 was optional until the next trim up.

As for the headlights, I think the passenger one looks fine, but for whatever reason the driver side housing is just fogged out, which really diminishes the lighting (even for those old housings!). I didn't notice the new auxiliary lights, but they look nice and subtle in there!

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Big improvement.

Grille guard is rusted pretty bad but I just decided to wire brush it all down and coat in rust reformer. Cut out the headlight grilles, too. Probably more work than it is worth. Bumper and grille were in good shape, just bad paint.

Looking hood.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
Are you looking for something like this?
https://www.headlightsdepot.com/catalog/nissan/xterra/2000/headlights

qbrozen

I was hoping to find a projector replacement. But I might just go clear lenses. Amazon has a set for $90.

au1994

oldfarmer50 said:

ronsteve said:

A friend of mine just sent me a clip he shot at his local Lexus dealer. The new RZ450e on the lot has a bump sticker that includes (get this) $995 for Catalytic Converter Theft Protection. I wonder how many they will get with that scam.

I'm still a ways away from the next service on my '15 RDX, but I'm sure I will once again decline the GDI fuel system service, as the J35Z2 is not a DI engine.

Selling CAT theft protection on an EV has to be criminal fraud. Your friend should call the cops.

You should post the picture of that sticker.

I'm not litigious and believe in buyer beware but I might have to call the local BBB about the CAT theft protection.

mjfloyd1

Maybe this will sway @breld

https://www.autoweek.com/podcast/a45769295/2023-honda-civic-type-r-quick-spin-drive-review/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_aut&utm_medium=email&date=110823&utm_campaign=nl33300146&user_email=aa8fb836422a392012af3c9116972e4ed85fd20fd898fd1602bc92f77eeabc60&GID=aa8fb836422a392012af3c9116972e4ed85fd20fd898fd1602bc92f77eeabc60&utm_term=TEST- NEW TEST - Sending List - AM 180D Clicks, NON AM 90D Opens, Both Subbed Last 30D

tifighter

I would like to drive one of these, and the ITS too. It’s a shame the dealers are such jerks with these two cars. It’s easier to buy a M3.

oldfarmer50

Is there still a $10k market adjustment on those? That would kill my desire to have one.

qbrozen

Got some gifts this morn. Signs for my garage and my wife put together a poster of random cars of mine/ours she found pics of.

stickguy

https://www.bmwofsouthalbany.com/used/BMW/2013-BMW-M3-Albany-253591580a0e0a931dba26b9b82450a3.htm

Not sure if the combo or age, miles and price make sense, but dang this is pretty. With the correct number of pedals too

au1994

The car collage is great!

tjc78

@au1994 said:
The car collage is great!

@breld would need a 4x8 sheet of plywood

xwesx

Very thoughtful gifts! Good thing she only used a fraction of the photos of your cars.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@au1994 said:

The car collage is great!

@breld would need a 4x8 sheet of plywood

————————————————
Slight correction…for each parking space.

jmonroe

roadburner

Funny thing; my Sahara is showing a longer electric-only range than the 22 miles Jeep claims. I keep the Wrangler in the downstairs garage and for the past few days the displayed range at 100% charged has been 27 miles. It's apparently accurate as my round-trip is 24 miles and when I get home the range displayed is 2-3 miles.
I'm still loving it; it's fun to drive with just the right amount of technology.