Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I was at the Honda dealer today (getting my car serviced),so of course wandered around the showroom looking at cars.

Sat in a pilot. Nice roomy cabin, and seemed to have good seats. Too big (boxy) for my taste, largely due to the big, high hood.

Curious to know how it would feel driving it. Pretty sure my wife wouldn't like it, after spending so many years in a minivan.

akangl

Curious to know how it would feel driving it. Pretty sure my wife wouldn't like it, after spending so many years in a minivan.

Oddly enough it drives much smaller than it is. Driving my Pilot is pretty close to driving a midsize sedan with a tall seating position. That's one thing I do like about it. Its easy to park, easy to deal with in crowded areas. It has a nice ride, tight steering, and can corner pretty darn good.

Now the Tahoe is a whole different story, it drives like a huge truck, I have less trouble parking the F-250.

nyccarguy

When is the Pilot due for a redesign? Does anyone think they'll put the 3.7L V6/6 speed automatic combo like the new Ody? SH-AWD as opposed to the VTM-4?

tifighter

Pilot will be awhile for a full redesign; the new CRV is now coming, which last was redone for 2007. The Pilot came out in 2009.

A mid-cycle refresh might be coming for '12. I don't think the Ody gets the 3.7L; it has the 3.5L with the 6AT on the Touring and above models. The 3.7L is on the MDX.

I'm curious if the RDX will get an update or go away altogether. They don't sell tons, and Honda has announced a new CRV for 12, but no mention of the RDX. Remember, the RDX came out before the last CRV...

akangl

Pilot will be awhile for a full redesign; the new CRV is now coming, which last was redone for 2007. The Pilot came out in 2009.

If Honda sticks to the usual then I would guess a mid-cycle refresh for the Pilot to come for the 2012 MY with a full redesign slated for 2015.

I'd like to see a 6-spd auto and smooth out the ECO mode that is on the 3.5L engine. It has a horrible habit of stumbling when going back to V6 mode from V3 or V4. The Tahoe I have as a rental has a similar thing that drops it to a V4 mode from V8, you can't feel it when it does it, nothing, its flawless. Sad thing is that big Tahoe with the 5.3L V8 averages better fuel economy than my Pilot. :sick:

nyccarguy

I can see you love the way your Pilot drives and are less than thrilled with the Tahoe you have as a rental. After driving 2004 & 2007 BMW X5s w/ Sport Packages (6 Cyl), my Dad bought a 2010 LTZ Tahoe last February. To say that he is thrilled with it is an understatement. The cylinder deactivation technology coupled with the 6-speed automatic transmission yields him pretty much the same gas mileage as his previous 2007 BMW X5 3.0si. I think he only averages 5 mpg less than I do in my 5-speed stick, 4 cyl, 2001 Honda Prelude Type SH. The 6 cylinder engines just aren't strong enough to make the SUVs they power get better gas mileage.

I've been researching the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new 290 hp Pentastar V6 gets a whopping 2 mpg more than the 360 hp HEMI V8 on the highway (According to the EPA).

akangl

I can see you love the way your Pilot drives and are less than thrilled with the Tahoe you have as a rental.

The main thing I dislike about the Tahoe is the steering, its very sloppy. My 1995 Ford F-250 with 179k miles has tighter steering. Couple the steering with the boaty ride and I just can't bring myself to like the Tahoe. Its a nice looking rig, lots of interior room, great gas mileage, but I'm glad I didn't buy one.

I've been researching the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The new 290 hp Pentastar V6 gets a whopping 2 mpg more than the 360 hp HEMI V8 on the highway

I came very close to buying a 2011 JGC with the Hemi, gas mileage was impressive for that big V8. Reason I didn't buy one was on a test drive I went to go up an icy on ramp and the Jeep went sideways, it wasn't until I started correcting it that the stability control even attempted to correct the car. Scared me enough to walk away from it.

On another note, the body shop called this morning and according to the Honda dealer they will have the liftgate on the 28th. So its looking like the 2 week time frame they estimated is correct.

anonymousposts

Anyone want to guess?

jayrider

Brand new VW Routan SE --- list 31400 bought for about 22452. Nice leather seats and 3 years of free oil changes. Congrats -- saved 10k over the Ody exl. Smart shopper.

anonymousposts

Nope, not a Routan. We will actually be selling our 08 odyssey to make room for the new addition. We also recently bought out the lease on the Camry so we will be keeping it for a while.

Hint: it is a not a minivan

lilengineerboy

When I towed the Honda back to TN with the motorhome, while driving the CR-V in the rain, the driver's wiper flew off never to be found again.

Yikes, I am on a road trip right now and Friday before I left I dropped by my local Honda dealer to pick up blade refills for the '07 Accord. They were on sale and the service tech came out and put them on for me. I also picked up an oil filter as the MM said I'm at 35% and this is going to be a 700 mile weekend.

At 30k I changed the brake fluid (with the Honda fluid) and the coolant (with the Honda coolant) but not the trans fluid (manual). I have 55k now so I imagine I will be repeating the cycle over the summer and possibly tires as well.

akangl

My son passed his road test on Thursday, he has his certificate for his license, but I haven't taken him to dmv yet to get it.

I took him out for a bit in the Escort today to work on learning how to drive a stick shift. I drove first and right away knew something was terribly wrong with the brakes. We never left the neighborhood, went back home and called the shop that had done the work on it.

I drove it back the 12 miles to the shop and really had to pay serious attention to everything. Turns out the master cylinder is out yet again, I think the car has had 30 miles put on it since it was replaced. Thankfully they are covering the repair, but once again the car is down for a few days waiting on parts. So in the meantime I'll either drive him to work or let him use the truck, although at 9 mpg and $4/gal of gas it will eat him alive.

I hope this isn't going to be an on-going issue with the Escort. Nice car but gotta have brakes!

Parts for the Pilot should be in on Monday, hoping to have it back sometime next week. The size of the Tahoe has kind of grown on me once I got used to it, going to be weird going back to the Pilot.

mark156

I picked up the CR-V from my local mechanic on Thursday. They changed the oil/filter and rotated and balanced the tires. They said the lil' Honda checked out perfectly (40,400 miles). I told them I use it as a 'toad' and to check the brakes, etc. (40,400 + 39,000 miles of towing). The mechanic said everything is perfect.

I really never use the brakes much on the Honda when towing as the coach has a 2 stage engine/jake brake (can't remember what they call it) that slows the coach really fast and then cuts out at about 16 mph... so, I only use the service brakes at very low speeds.

The only time the M & G auxiliary brakes will activate on the Honda is when I apply the service brakes on the coach. The M & G system attaches the air brakes on the coach to the master cylinder on the Honda and will apply the Honda brakes at the same pressure so the Honda never pushes or pulls the coach. Well, it will never really 'pull' the coach as it weighs 40,000 lbs and the Honda at 3,400 lbs.

I also had Rolls Royce serviced (47 yrs old) and it needs a few things...
-Power Steering gear box rebuild ($4,973)
-Radiator (small leak, needs to be rodded)
-New starter (showing weak)
-front sway bar bushings (cracked)
-valve cover gaskets (leaking)

The power steering gear box has leaked for a while and is slowly getting worse. All old RR's leak (even on the showroom floor when new). That's how you tell it needs oil, no more leaking! LOL!

Since we bought the car in '98, we have been averaging 400 miles a year. So, it's really not a rush to do anything. I'll get the bushings replaced soon, the other things are not an emergency.

Mark156

Sandman6472

Ditto on changing the brake fluid but still haven't done the coolant or tranny service as of yet. Will be hitting 31k this week so I think I've still got some time to get those things done...definitely by years end. With $ being a bit tight now, later in the year will just have to do.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

qbrozen

that's it? "not a minivan." That's all you're giving us?

Ok... a '56 BelAir coupe.

michaellno

that's it? "not a minivan." That's all you're giving us?

Ok... a '56 BelAir coupe.

Nah, I'm thinking some sort of crossover .. Acura RDX.

fintail

Not for me, but an old school friend who is prone to impulse purchases is test driving a Fiat 500 tomorrow. I'd say there's at least a 50/50 chance he'll but one.

stickguy

I want to drive one of them too. Totally ridiculous idea getting one, but would not be the first time I did something like that!

at least in this case, it is cheap.

actually, I did something similar when the Scion tC came out. Dumped my Maxima, and bought one (I believe I was the first retail delivery in the area, at least from that dealer). Really didn't work for me at the time, so kept it about 1.5 years, and traded it in on my Accord, and only got about 2K less for it than I paid originally.

I suspect the same thing might happen with the Fiat, just like when the Mini came out and they just did not depreciate much.

fezo

Now if i knew that history I could have bought your Maxima....

michaellno

Now if i knew that history I could have bought your Maxima....

What? I thought you'd just wait until stick died and hope that the Maxima was given to you in his will!

stickguy

you would have liked it. a 1998 SE, 5 speed (of course) cloth with a moonroof.

quick car, and fun if you enjoy torque steer!

fezo

I'd have lived with the torque steer. That just how I would have done that Maxima.

michaelll - stick's even worse than I am in this biz - wants me to pass all other offers up so he can sell me his Accord...

I'm not worried about him leaving me anything since he'll no doubt outlive me.

stever

Y'all would all save a lot of money if you'd just swap cars with each other every 3 months.

fintail

If the Fiat quality holds up, no doubt it will have decent resale for at least the first few years.

I hope my friend likes it and buys it - his Accord is getting up there (around 150K miles now I think - several cross country trips and long distance commutes) so he has been eyeing new cars, and he likes the Fiat. And I might visit him again in the fall, and then I'll get to drive it.

anonymousposts

It is not a 56 Bel Air. Classics are nice but we don't have the garage or driveway space to store one.

It is not a minivan and is not a make/model we've owned before.

I longed for a 98-ish maxima SE for a while but never pulled the trigger. That body style still looks great.

stickguy

well, I get screwed on this deal. we both have an Accord and an odyssey, except mine are newer and higher trim lines.

And not sure what I would do with a Celica slushbox where the top does not go down!

stever

Ok, the buying club can put you in charge of rotating new stock in every six weeks to keep the inventory "fresh". :shades:

corvette

VW Tiguan/Touareg? Volvo XC60/70/90? Dodge Journey?

anonymousposts

None of the above. We looked at a Honda Accord EX coupe 5-speed, Camry SE 6-speed manual, BMW 3-series, new Jetta Wagon/Sedan, new Ford Focus, Hyundai Genesis sedan, Kia Optima, and a new Honda Odyssey Touring. Our 08 Odyssey is OK but gee started missing bluetooth, satellite radio, and a sunroof.

stickguy

I know it is just an excuse, but I do have to point out bluetooth and sat radio are easily added to any car, certainly a 2008 Ody.

and don't you have an EX-L, with a moonroof? If not, what the heck model did you get?

quite a diverse list there. Going from a van to a 2 door coupe. So no really concerned about room for the kids and crap?

Off that list, i pick the BMW. You kept talking about them at some point but never pulled the trigger.

but whatever it is, it won't last a year.

stickguy

wait, are these in the dealers now? I have been wanting to try one out.

jayrider

At least give us a price target. Then we can tell you what you should have bought before you spill the beans. 2011 Dodge Charger.

tifighter

Since we bought the car in '98, we have been averaging 400 miles a year. So, it's really not a rush to do anything. I'll get the bushings replaced soon, the other things are not an emergency.

Wow, so how many miles do you put on that 300CE Cabrio I lust after?

anonymousposts

We have a basic EX Odyssey. Climate control, wheels, and power sliding doors but other than that it's pretty basic with cloth and no sunroof. If you plug the cell phone into it's aux input you can listen to music and hear calls through the car speakers... But it's not the same. We would've preferred an EX-L but the deal was too good to pass up.

We never tried to check out the focus in person. Gee lost interest once he found you can't get one with a stick and a sunroof. Manuals are getting harder and harder to get with any decent options. Even Honda has stopped making the accord ex-l with a manual and most Toyota regions will not web special order a camry SE with a manual, even though it's available from Toyota.

andre1969

Not for me, but an old school friend who is prone to impulse purchases is test driving a Fiat 500 tomorrow. I'd say there's at least a 50/50 chance he'll but one.

They'd probably be making snow cones in hell before I bought one, but I'm curious to try one out, just to see if I would be comfortable with something that small.

I never can remember...is it the Italians that are good at making small cars for bigger people, or the Germans? Or both? I know most VW models I've sat in, even the small ones, always seemed to have good room up front.

I have a feeling though, that even if it had enough front legroom and front seat comfort, I still might not be comfortable in something that small. I'm not so crazy about driving my uncle's '03 Corolla, because I just feel vulnerable in it. But, oddly, if I'm a passenger in it, it doesn't bother me.

tjc78

I drive my GF's 08 Elantra quite frequently. There is enough room even for a big guy like me, but, when you are used to driving something large a small car will never feel "right".

Heck, the smallest thing I ever owned was a Toyota Solara and while it was a great car (V6 loaded up) I didn't put 25K on it in three years and drove my 79 Continental more (gas was cheap then).

Heck, I even feel my Genesis is a little on the small side coming from two Avalons.

qbrozen

Y'all would all save a lot of money if you'd just swap cars with each other every 3 months.

I think it was fez and I who briefly discussed a car exchange program. I couldn't figure out the insurance issue, though, so it was quickly dropped.

qbrozen

We looked at a Honda Accord EX coupe 5-speed, Camry SE 6-speed manual, BMW 3-series, new Jetta Wagon/Sedan, new Ford Focus, Hyundai Genesis sedan, Kia Optima, and a new Honda Odyssey Touring.

Ok, so are we to assume it was one of these?

If so ... I'm going 3-series.

And what's with the ding on the Focus when you can't even get some of those other cars with a manual trans in any configuration?

tjc78

I'll guess at the Genesis.

fezo

Yeah, we had that idea. I still like it. I really like the idea of getting stickguy's nice, more recent cars as opposed to my been through the war machines....

anonymousposts

Bingo. Gee had been eying a genesis since they came out and they gave him a great deal to buy one.

Qbrozen: No knock on the Focus alone, but if he went with a small car he wanted a manual tranny with Bluetooth, streaming audio, USB input, and a sunroof. Almost no one builds a car with those options and a manuale. The manual transmission is becoming extinct in all but the most basic of cars or a few high end cars (a4, 3 series, etc). A Camry SE manual with upgraded stereo"> has all of the above but there were only a handful available in the whole country.

fintail

I'm pretty much as likely to buy one as you. My friend has actually experienced one before, in South America of all places, and found it to be fine to ride in and drive - but admittedly he likes the style more than the substance.

He's also not too big - maybe 5'9" 160 or so, so he should fit in most cars. I'm about 4 inches taller and heavier, and that can make a huge difference sometimes. German cars tend to be fairly space efficient inside, and some Germans can be pretty big - not Wally World scooter big like one might find in some places here, but substantial no less, so the cars are made for it. With the German market being pretty important in Europe, I have to imagine I'd fit no problem.

As long as a car has substantial feeling doors, I seem to not worry too much. But thin doors can make me feel uneasy.

tjc78

Gee had been eying a genesis since they came out

He had asked me about mine somewhere in this thread, IIRC I posted pictures up and he liked my color.

V6 or V8? Did he end up with the Cab Red pearl like mine?

stickguy

stopped at the Ford dealer near my house today, and the sales dude outside said none in yet, but they were expecting them soon. So who knows when they will actually show up!

I could swear though that you could spec out a hatch with stick and roof (since I did it). I need to go check that.

OK, I did check. You can (per Edmunds) get an SE hatch with a moonroof and stick. And with the option packages, you can basically configure it up to be the same as an SEL. so it can be done.

fezo

That would be a sweet combo. I'd go for that but I'm already supposed to buy your Accord.

Of course with the rotating collection that would mean I'd get your Focus and you'd get to drive whatever it is that Q has at the moment. I've given up trying to keep track of that!

Kirstie_H

A reporter is looking to interview anyone who recently considered buying a new Lexus but ended up getting something else, especially if it was related to styling, the freshness of the product or something that turned them off about the Lexus.
Please email pr@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, March 31, 2011 with your daytime contact information and a few words about your experience.

anonymousposts

When gee tried to build a 5 door on Fords website it didn't give him the option of a roof with the manual. Maybe we did something wrong?

We ended up with a titanium gray over black genesis 3.6 with premium and nav. Initially wanted the tech package but from what we read, the tech package Bluetooth doesn't have an audio streaming feature. It's an awesome car. We never would've believed someone ten years ago if they told us we'd own a Hyundai one day. MSRP was $38,300, we got it for 33,000 which = 399 lease with zero due at signing. If we like it, we will buy it like we did the camry.

fintail

Got a call from my friend. Said the dealer (ATL) had a few dozen in stock - no shortages. Test drove a couple of trim levels, didn't buy one.

But, that's because the dealer goofed and told him a large sunroof "cabrio" model is coming later in the year. He wants that...I predict he'll buy one. He's already talking about putting down a deposit.

roadburner

1. Bid on a 2007 335i coupe on eBay. Space Gray/Coral Red. Manual of course, a one owner with 52K on it. Bid $21,000 and held firm. Some lucky sod got it for $21,100.

2. While getting the Mazda serviced I checked out the used inventory at the Porsche dealer across the street. They had a gorgeous Alpine White/Chestnut Brown 2008 335i M Sport sedan. With a slushbox...

3. My local BMW traded for a 2002 M3. Unfortunately it has the awful SMG tranny, and -if that wasn't bad enough- it boasts what is possibly the most nauseating color combination I have ever seen.
Really.

stickguy

I do like the interior color. the outside, not so much.