Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78

@breld
OMG gorgeous

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@breld

OMG gorgeous

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I agree but if you’re not careful applying the wax there’s lot of grooves you’ll be digging wax out of with toothpicks.

jmonroe

tifighter

@breld said:
So here’s the curveball that happened today. Crazy, but just got swept up and went for it!

He’s talking about the dog, right?

Nice. @breld you never disappoint…

qbrozen

Did not see that one coming. Nice snag, @breld . I’m trying to recall a lexus. Hmmmm

Anyway, what color are the guts of the vette?

stickguy

An GX big suv?

tjc78

@jmonroe1 said:
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I agree but if you’re not careful applying the wax there’s lot of grooves you’ll be digging wax out of with toothpicks.

jmonroe

lol! Wax? It won’t even get an oil change 😎

nyccarguy

Wow @breld ! Congrats! That’s gorgeous! You are going to love it!

[Deleted User]

blindsided indeed @breld, what a gorgeous car!

breld

qbrozen said:

Did not see that one coming. Nice snag, @breld . I’m trying to recall a lexus. Hmmmm

Anyway, what color are the guts of the vette?

We had the lightly used GX 460 for family duty and it rarely was driven, especially when I got the Q8 e-tron. Figured you’d be pleased with culling the SUV herd!

Black GT2 seats in the Corvette.

tjc78

I love the contrast stiching and red belts.

ab348

Needs red seats. That’s probably why the person who ordered it abandoned the poor thing. I smell a trade coming soon. 😁

breld

Thanks for the kind responses!

I had flirted with getting a C8 for a little while, but clearly my wife and I are much more compelled to buy something sitting in front of us rather than order and wait.

This one was an extra allocation spec’d by the dealer for inventory and was meant to be nicely equipped but without much of the “extra” performance options, like the Z51 package. If I had ordered one, I would have gone really light on options to keep the price down, but this has a lot of nice-to-haves….performance exhaust, front lift, magnetic ride control, the GT2 seats in Napa leather, and some other fun options, like the red seatbelts.

That front lift with memory should prove handy…it’ll raise the front 3 inches and has a memory where it will automatically lift at specified locations (like when pulling into the driveway). GT2 seats are really nice and comfy…they had a used 2020 that I test drove with more aggressive seats and that never would have worked.

oldfarmer50

breld said:

So here’s the curveball that happened today. Crazy, but just got swept up and went for it!

Sweet. How do fit into it?

stickguy

picture reminds me that I really do need to make the wife cut stuff from her new house wish list so I have money left over to do an epoxy floor. Hopefully professionally done, though I could always do it DIY. I watched some videos and does not seem to be too bad, especially on newer concrete with stains so no need to degrease and grind (that I would not do). Just paint it with the etcher, wash it out, then roll the epoxy on and throw down the chips.

stickguy

Got the link today from the builder of all the plumbing fixtures that are included to review. A trip to the plumbing supply house will be happening soon so the wife can drive herself nuts looking at options and not being able to decide, and will convince herself that we will make the wrong choice again and hate it. Me, as long as water comes out, I don't care and can't even remember what the bathroom fixtures we have now even look like.

Good thing is he includes upgraded design that I would want anyway (separate valved adjustable hand held sprayer in the shower, stuff like that, which looks just like what we put in our last house that cost a lot of money).

breld

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:

So here’s the curveball that happened today. Crazy, but just got swept up and went for it!

Sweet. How do fit into it?

Once I’m in, it’s quite comfortable. Getting in and out isn’t challenging, but takes some care.

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

Wow @breld ! Congrats! That’s gorgeous! You are going to love it!

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Let me finish that for you…”for a LITTLE while”.

jmonroe

carnaught

Congrats @breld on the C8 - swweeet !

qbrozen

breld said:

We had the lightly used GX 460 for family duty and it rarely was driven, especially when I got the Q8 e-tron. Figured you’d be pleased with culling the SUV herd!

Ah, one of the extra SUVs. Makes sense. I think.

I'll go out on a crazy limb and say you may hang onto this one a little while. I mean, where the heck would you go from a supercar? It would have to be another, far more expensive, supercar. Unless you get weary of climbing in and out, of course.

qbrozen

Daihatsu made it to ebay today. I don't have the title yet but hoping it will arrive any day now.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
Ah, one of the extra SUVs. Makes sense. I think.

I'll go out on a crazy limb and say you may hang onto this one a little while. I mean, where the heck would you go from a supercar? It would have to be another, far more expensive, supercar. Unless you get weary of climbing in and out, of course.

@breld will get a taste of the C8 and trade for a Z06 with Z07 package

roadburner

breld said:

So here’s the curveball that happened today. Crazy, but just got swept up and went for it!

Very nice!

mjfloyd1

Maybe @breld will join me at the corvette car show

file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/5B61EF9C-85B0-4F6E-A0A9-A35663D8E520/Resized_image000000.jpeg

28firefighter

Really awesome, @breld! My BIL and I have flirted with ordering a C8 to share custody of. We still may at some point, but right now the inability to take the kids anywhere with it would be a problem.

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

Maybe @breld will join me at the corvette car show

file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/5B61EF9C-85B0-4F6E-A0A9-A35663D8E520/Resized_image000000.jpeg

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Corvette car show? That looks more like the men’s gray hair club.

jmonroe

stickguy

jmonroe1 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Maybe @breld will join me at the corvette car show

file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/5B61EF9C-85B0-4F6E-A0A9-A35663D8E520/Resized_image000000.jpeg

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Corvette car show? That looks more like the men’s gray hair club.

jmonroe

basically the same thing.

corvette

Big blocks and tall socks...

mjfloyd1

Those big blocks (especially with side pipes) sound good though

roadburner

mjfloyd1 said:

Maybe @breld will join me at the corvette car show

file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/dc/12/5B61EF9C-85B0-4F6E-A0A9-A35663D8E520/Resized_image000000.jpeg

They look a bit young to be real Corvette owners.

tifighter

Don’t listen to them, breld. Socks with sandals prevent blisters AND breathe.

28firefighter

Seattle formal attire, you mean.

Sandman6472

Looks like we're going to have a punch before years end. Usually takes her about two weeks to finally drive & decide on what to purchase. For me, it's frustrating as it shouldn't take so long. But, she's not me and to her, it's an appliance with four wheels that gets her from place to place. And right now, she only wants something small. I don't agree with her thought process so I just stay out of it. Usually, I give her a possible list of potential vehicles, then I follow her to pick it up. She doesn't ask my help on anything else, so I just stay out of it. Same thing goes for maintenance. I'm pro-active and don't like to wait till things happen unless I have no choice. She, on the other hand, waits till something happens. This is the third vehicle in a row where something happened and she was forced to replace it. Seems silly to me, but it's ultimately not my vehicle or decision.
She liked the Buick Encore GX, a lot. Next up will be a Mazda CX-30 and possibly a Kia Forte. She prefers the outgoing Hyundai Kona to the brand new model, something which I can't wrap my head around!! But again...not my choice! I was going to mention the new Chevy Trax but it might be just too long for her. Got a feeling the new Audi A3 is out as even though very familiar, she doesn't like it's reliability score.
I'm not sure she's finding the whole thing fun. Once I decided on the Golf, it was fun knowing I'd one day own it which became reality a week later. But fun is the one variable missing right now. We did talk about having my mechanic just fix the A3 and be done with it, but again, she said when do we stop throwing money into it. And the only answer I had was probably now.
We're supposed to leave on Thursday for about five days while we get the kid settled in St. Augustine but since I'm still not feeling well at all, I might just be staying home again. I have a rental set up for Tuesday for a week so she'll probably take that. In the case I do go, I'd just have to drive the rental from Orlando to St. Augustine which is only about two hours.
So, lots going on right now. Would be so much easier if I was back to normal but we're dealing with the cards we've been dealt. Plan to just make the best of things going forward.
Love the Corvette Breld!!! Very cool!

Sandman6472

Have my first physical therapy appointment later on today. They were so backed up, took over a week to get in to see my therapist. Not all therapist know how to deal with BPPV vertigo and remember it took me many phone calls to finally get to this guy. This episode began the morning of October 4th, the day we left for Ocoee/St. Augustine. Remember I woke up with it and have had it ever since, the longest episode to date! It's past annoying already and effecting our lives here making me not present most of the time. I'm kind of at my wits end right now and hoping we can come up with some way to resolve it already. Haven't worked since October 31st and not scheduled to return until the 8th of December at this point. Hoping to move it up a week if I'm feeling better but won't do it if I feel unsafe getting behind the wheel. Will have to drive to therapy today but luckily it's not too far from the house.

laurasdada

Congrats, breld. You are living my best life. Love the doggie!!!

roadburner

My son drove the 328i home so I hope to sell it within the next week or so. He tried to sell it to CarMax in Charlotte but the store continually threw up roadblocks,even though he had my title with a notarized siniture and at least 2 PoAs.
Idiots.

28firefighter

What replaced it?

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

What replaced it?

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I’m thinking his son only needs 1 car. So he’s thinning out the herd.

jmonroe

andres3

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

Yes, but it's a rare failure, not one that happens at a 100% rate like head gaskets on Neons.

So it gets a pass? Interesting.

Some years Subarus also guarantee head gasket replacement, yet folks leave them alone. We live in a very biased society from both sides.

I think people only give even rare failures a pass if the rest of the car is otherwise good. If the transmission, air conditioning/compressors, and everything else were engineered with planned obsolescence as the main concern, it's another story. That's the difference. I can understand putting up with an unreliable car because it has redeeming qualities, but for me, some of those redeeming qualities has to be the reliability of other parts of the car.

Some people give the unreliable cars a pass because they cost a fraction of the “better” brands. If I bough a Neon I would be disappointed if the engine blew but not surprised. If an engine blew on an Audi after spending 3X as much for one, I’d be pissed.

That's the fallacy, though. That a more expensive car is any more or less reliable than a cheap one.

Dodge wasn't really undercutting anyone's prices by much. Sure, it was less, but it wasn't like it was 1/2 the cost.

roadburner

@jmonroe1 said:
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I’m thinking his son only needs 1 car. So he’s thinning out the herd.

jmonroe

That’s correct. He was letting his girlfriend use it while her car was in the shop. So now he’s down to his 330ix.

mjfloyd1

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

Yes, but it's a rare failure, not one that happens at a 100% rate like head gaskets on Neons.

So it gets a pass? Interesting.

Some years Subarus also guarantee head gasket replacement, yet folks leave them alone. We live in a very biased society from both sides.

I think people only give even rare failures a pass if the rest of the car is otherwise good. If the transmission, air conditioning/compressors, and everything else were engineered with planned obsolescence as the main concern, it's another story. That's the difference. I can understand putting up with an unreliable car because it has redeeming qualities, but for me, some of those redeeming qualities has to be the reliability of other parts of the car.

Some people give the unreliable cars a pass because they cost a fraction of the “better” brands. If I bough a Neon I would be disappointed if the engine blew but not surprised. If an engine blew on an Audi after spending 3X as much for one, I’d be pissed.

That's the fallacy, though. That a more expensive car is any more or less reliable than a cheap one.

Dodge wasn't really undercutting anyone's prices by much. Sure, it was less, but it wasn't like it was 1/2 the cost.


So you made a bad choice?😎

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

Yes, but it's a rare failure, not one that happens at a 100% rate like head gaskets on Neons.

So it gets a pass? Interesting.

Some years Subarus also guarantee head gasket replacement, yet folks leave them alone. We live in a very biased society from both sides.

I think people only give even rare failures a pass if the rest of the car is otherwise good. If the transmission, air conditioning/compressors, and everything else were engineered with planned obsolescence as the main concern, it's another story. That's the difference. I can understand putting up with an unreliable car because it has redeeming qualities, but for me, some of those redeeming qualities has to be the reliability of other parts of the car.

Some people give the unreliable cars a pass because they cost a fraction of the “better” brands. If I bough a Neon I would be disappointed if the engine blew but not surprised. If an engine blew on an Audi after spending 3X as much for one, I’d be pissed.

That's the fallacy, though. That a more expensive car is any more or less reliable than a cheap one.

Dodge wasn't really undercutting anyone's prices by much. Sure, it was less, but it wasn't like it was 1/2 the cost.

So you made a bad choice?😎
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Probably not the first time. I remember him telling us about buying an unreliable watch one time.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

Speaking of unreliable. I wonder if Cadillac has improved theirs lately?

jmonroe

andres3

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

Yes, but it's a rare failure, not one that happens at a 100% rate like head gaskets on Neons.

So it gets a pass? Interesting.

Some years Subarus also guarantee head gasket replacement, yet folks leave them alone. We live in a very biased society from both sides.

I think people only give even rare failures a pass if the rest of the car is otherwise good. If the transmission, air conditioning/compressors, and everything else were engineered with planned obsolescence as the main concern, it's another story. That's the difference. I can understand putting up with an unreliable car because it has redeeming qualities, but for me, some of those redeeming qualities has to be the reliability of other parts of the car.

Some people give the unreliable cars a pass because they cost a fraction of the “better” brands. If I bough a Neon I would be disappointed if the engine blew but not surprised. If an engine blew on an Audi after spending 3X as much for one, I’d be pissed.

That's the fallacy, though. That a more expensive car is any more or less reliable than a cheap one.

Dodge wasn't really undercutting anyone's prices by much. Sure, it was less, but it wasn't like it was 1/2 the cost.

So you made a bad choice?😎

Wasn't entirely my choice under the parameters of the financial assistance/contributions. Beggars can't be choosers too.

The more I think about it, equating cost with reliability makes no sense. Zero sense. Honda and Toyota had inexpensive Corollas and Civics since the ice age and those are as reliable as anything they've ever built to date.

The Fits were reliable too. You can't really get more reliable than flawless and those mid-90's Corollas (as well as the Geo Prism badged versions) were indestructible. I'd put one of those up against any Lexus.

stickguy

gee, you would almost think that simple machines have less to go wrong with them!

andres3

I'm not sure how my nearly 8 year old Audi TTS got me to Buttonwillow Raceway and back for a HPDE weekend event with the SoCal Audi Club this past weekend, given how unreliable Audi's apparently are.

For some reason, no Audi broke down on the track that I saw, and it got me all the way home, after 7 full hard sessions without even throwing a check engine light.

There was some damp, even wet conditions Saturday, which was fun. The Porsches, BMW's, and Corvettes all went into slow motion with the weather, as my TTS past them all. Maybe it's the SoCal drivers

To be fair, the brand new RE-71RS tires helped a lot for the damp conditions. They are more of a dry tire, but being brand new they were ideal in the damp/sprinkling conditions. On the last session Saturday when it really rained they were both no longer brand new and showing their limitations with water.

P.S. The rumble strips at the edge of the track are like ice when wet. The paint just leaves standing water on them.

Oddest track car of the Weekend = Lexus GS-F.

roadburner

Here's a head scratcher:
When we bought the Wrangler we applied and were approved for a loan through my local credit union. The Jeep dealer found a better rate through another credit union so that's what we went with. Apparently the dealer had also tried to finance us through Stellantis Financial Services and the application was rejected. Today Stellantis sent us the rejection letter, stating that part of the reason for the rejection was our credit scores- mine was 812 and my wife's was 796.
We don't have a mortgage on our home and at the time of application we had one auto loan with a balance of $3,500 on the C43 (since paid off). No late payments on any credit cards or any on other accounts for that matter.
The letter gave a number to call to get the specifics so I'm calling them tomorrow.
I did not realize that our finances were in such awful shape.

andres3

stickguy said:

gee, you would almost think that simple machines have less to go wrong with them!

Is any car really a simple machine. Thousands of parts go into them.

andres3

roadburner said:

Here's a head scratcher:
When we bought the Wrangler we applied and were approved for a loan through my local credit union. The Jeep dealer found a better rate through another credit union so that's what we went with. Apparently the dealer had also tried to finance us through Stellantis Financial Services and the application was rejected. Today Stellantis sent us the rejection letter, stating that part of the reason for the rejection was our credit scores- mine was 812 and my wife's was 796.
We don't have a mortgage on our home and at the time of application we had one auto loan with a balance of $3,500 on the C43 (since paid off). No late payments on any credit cards or any on other accounts for that matter.
The letter gave a number to call to get the specifics so I'm calling them tomorrow.
I did not realize that our finances were in such awful shape.

You are slumming it with a wife with an under 800 score of course

I honestly thought the highest threshold for "best deal" credit wise was 750.

au1994

roadburner said:

Here's a head scratcher:
When we bought the Wrangler we applied and were approved for a loan through my local credit union. The Jeep dealer found a better rate through another credit union so that's what we went with. Apparently the dealer had also tried to finance us through Stellantis Financial Services and the application was rejected. Today Stellantis sent us the rejection letter, stating that part of the reason for the rejection was our credit scores- mine was 812 and my wife's was 796.
We don't have a mortgage on our home and at the time of application we had one auto loan with a balance of $3,500 on the C43 (since paid off). No late payments on any credit cards or any on other accounts for that matter.
The letter gave a number to call to get the specifics so I'm calling them tomorrow.
I did not realize that our finances were in such awful shape.

I’d really like to know the answer to that one.

28firefighter

This happened for me with CarMax - I ended up financing through CarMax Auto Finance for the BMW, but got a rejection some weeks later from some other bank they work with. Same reason. My credit score is 835 and my utilization is < 6%...makes no sense.