Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
Some of our numbers will be reduced by the $9K+ we made on the TDIs.

Forgot all about that. Some of you did very well

stickguy

Sorry I missed the TDI event. But I did made about a $6k profit for driving a maverick for 15 months!

Michaell

Speaking of which, I found this on my laptop the other day ... seems appropriate to post it now:

stickguy

Some sweet deals on that list.

kyfdx

After I bought mine, I went into overdrive trying to find another one. But, a week later, impossible to find.

corvette

At the time, there was a used car dealer in Lexington that was showing five of them in stock at decent prices. It was tempting to make an offer for some sort of a package deal on all five. I would have had to have stored at least a couple of them elsewhere, though--either at my parents' house, or my family's farm.

nyccarguy

I would have made out like a bandit if I wasn't so hellbent on owning a car with AWD or 4WD. I took a lengthy test drive in a Passat TDI which I really enjoyed and instead chose a cheaper, completely gutless Legacy.

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
I would have made out like a bandit if I wasn't so hellbent on owning a car with AWD or 4WD. I took a lengthy test drive in a Passat TDI which I really enjoyed and instead chose a cheaper, completely gutless Legacy.

That Legacy was definitely not one of your favorites!

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:

I would have made out like a bandit if I wasn't so hellbent on owning a car with AWD or 4WD. I took a lengthy test drive in a Passat TDI which I really enjoyed and instead chose a cheaper, completely gutless Legacy.

That Legacy was definitely not one of your favorites!

I think I might have hinted at my dislike once or twice here during its tenure with me.

nyccarguy

I saw a gorgeous X3///M Competition on my way in today. I think it was Brooklyn Grey. Had a few minutes while I was waiting on hold and decided to "build my own." $90K!

mjfloyd1

@kyfdx said:
After I bought mine, I went into overdrive trying to find another one. But, a week later, impossible to find.

Same here. I wanted to buy enough to fill my semi circle driveway but the wife was not all in. Sigh

My TDI was already a buyback for a blown turbo and had a new engine and turbocharger. 😂

mjfloyd1

Has anyone already posted this?

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles-a6159221985/

qbrozen

Michaell said:

Speaking of which, I found this on my laptop the other day ... seems appropriate to post it now:

Thanks! I couldn't recall what I made on that.

xwesx

stickguy said:

At this point I’m lucky I can remember all the cars I owned. A real stretch remembering what I paid for them. And really a guess what I sold them for!

So true! I need to think about the sale price on a few of them. I had most of the other information already in my spreadsheet, but I didn't think to write down the value at disposal, in most cases.

sda

@mjfloyd1 said:
Has anyone already posted this?

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles-a6159221985/

Jeep at the bottom, VW not much better. Get with it guys!

qbrozen

I actually used a calculator this time and added a new column to my spreadsheet to track gross cost. Showing a net loss of $197k. So not as bad as originally guessed.

Taking that number and dividing by 57 total driver years (33 for me and 24 for the wife), it comes to $288/mo.

ab348

Don’t tell Car Wizard on YT about that list.

CR seems very much in love with BMW/Mini these days. They are not makes that I would place anywhere near the top of a list of models that are inexpensive or easy to live with long-term, but maybe I’m wrong and things have changed.

I’m having a hard time understanding what the icons on their chart are trying to indicate. The misspelling of “Ownder Satisfaction” on the full web version of their chart is also a bit embarrassing.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@stickguy said:

At this point I’m lucky I can remember all the cars I owned. A real stretch remembering what I paid for them. And really a guess what I sold them for!

Yeah it took some thinking.

Also noticed another mistake. My Ram is 2022 lol

————————————————-
Let us know when you’re finished revising your list so we’ll know if you made the cut. So far, just so-so.

jmonroe

stickguy

ab348 said:

Don’t tell Car Wizard on YT about that list.

CR seems very much in love with BMW/Mini these days. They are not makes that I would place anywhere near the top of a list of models that are inexpensive or easy to live with long-term, but maybe I’m wrong and things have changed.

I’m having a hard time understanding what the icons on their chart are trying to indicate. The misspelling of “Ownder Satisfaction” on the full web version of their chart is also a bit embarrassing.

Mechanics don't deal with brand new cars. His comments about brands to avoid are as older, used cars.

nyccarguy

The No Mark Up Toyota FB group is bad for my CCBA. There's a dealer that posted something like $3,600 off of a $40K '23 GR Corolla Core.

oldfarmer50

Punch to report:

xwesx

ab348 said:

Don’t tell Car Wizard on YT about that list.

CR seems very much in love with BMW/Mini these days. They are not makes that I would place anywhere near the top of a list of models that are inexpensive or easy to live with long-term, but maybe I’m wrong and things have changed.

I’m having a hard time understanding what the icons on their chart are trying to indicate. The misspelling of “Ownder Satisfaction” on the full web version of their chart is also a bit embarrassing.

Yeah, I ownder. What of it?!

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

Punch to report:

That looks really nice! Congrats, OF. What are the details?

au1994

That looks incredibly clean OF!

au1994

6 months to go on the Jeep. Residual is ~$35,8xx and current payoff is $37,xxx. Last time I ran it through Carvana a few months ago, they hit it at $39,xx. Maybe there’s a hint of equity at the end?? EDIT- Ouch, reran Carvana…$30k.

I can get a Maverick at invoice but I probably need to decide in the next 2 months as my dealer quoted a 4 mo lead-time.

I’d consider a Grand Cherokee but I doubt I can get a Limited for anywhere near what I am paying on the 4xe.

Not a whole lot else in a reasonable price range I’m interested in staying in the small truck/mid-size non lux SUV world.

Anybody heard of any killer leases on a Tacoma or Frontier?

laurasdada

mjfloyd1 said:

Has anyone already posted this?

https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/cars-driving/which-car-brands-make-the-best-vehicles-a6159221985/

Woo Hoo! 2/3 of our fleet are #1!

Although, almost 3 years into Audi ownership, not an issue to report. Some minor recalls, but nothing has failed/broken. A7 remains a fine piece of work.

kyfdx

Adding up all my lease payments, and net depreciation on cars I've owned, then I'm around $290K (very roughly)

But, that includes the last three vehicles which were about $105K aquisition price, total, and which I still own. Estimate they are still worth $70K, if sold.. So, net drops to about $220K.

That's for me since 1976, and my wife, starting in 1994, when we acquired her first vehicle since we married.

Michaell

Congrats, @oldfarmer50. Must have been hard to find a regular cab.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Chrome bumpers and a tonneau cover. You went all Beverly Hillbillies on us.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

Punch to report:

————————————————
So you caved.

I can’t tell from the pic, is that an 8 foot bed? If not it has to be 6 1/2 feet anyhow.

Looks rust free. Good luck with it.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Punch to report:

That looks really nice! Congrats, OF. What are the details?

2013 F-150 XL RWD. 3.7L V6. 302hp. 8’ bed. Tow package and some appearance options. Remote start and cruise. Pretty well equipped for a stripper, it even has Sync although I’ll never use that.

The best part (fetish alert) no rust and only 30k miles.😇

oldfarmer50

au1994 said:

That looks incredibly clean OF!

Straight buy bid from the estate of some other old farmer.🧑‍🌾 As one guy said, it must have been his weekend truck.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Congrats, @oldfarmer50. Must have been hard to find a regular cab.

The only one I’ve seen listed in my price/milage range for 100 miles.

stickguy

nyccarguy said:

The No Mark Up Toyota FB group is bad for my CCBA. There's a dealer that posted something like $3,600 off of a $40K '23 GR Corolla Core.

huh. I could be interested in that, depending on how it is equipped!

stickguy

super nice looking trust. miles explain no rust, because that would be rotted if it saw regular winter time use.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Punch to report:

————————————————
So you caved.

I can’t tell from the pic, is that an 8 foot bed? If not it has to be 6 1/2 feet anyhow.

Looks rust free. Good luck with it.

jmonroe

I guess we both did.

It was one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever been through. They started off high, I low balled, they acted like I wanted their 1st. born but came down some more. I walked and then they had the internet closer texting me multiple times asking “what can we do?” I said meet my price…”no, the manager is rock solid at our price”. Then they lowered the price $100, I countered, they came down another $50, I said stick it and asked them if they really wanted to pay another month of floor plan. They threatened that if I wouldn’t buy it they would send it to auction where they could make more money. I said you do that but you’ll have to take your bogus “vin etching” $200 fee off the auction.

5 minutes later they called back and agreed to accept my offer if I absolutely took delivery by the end of the month. (See, floor plan is a real problem for dealers).

As a final move I made the deal contingent on it passing a PPI. They agreed, it passed and the rest is history. $14,300 plus TTL out the door. No silly vin etching or other bogus fees.

stickguy

good job.

Michaell

I gotta believe the 2WD anchored it to the lot.

explorerx4

oldfarmer50's car buying philosophy.
https://youtu.be/eBShN8qT4lk?t=32

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

I gotta believe the 2WD anchored it to the lot.

That’s the consensus. They also all want extra cabs with rolling entertainment studios.

cdnpinhead

Yeah, but you'll never get a proper grunt count from the Bro-dozer contingent here in AZ. You get one grunt for every two inches the truck is raised, one grunt for every inch that the tires extend beyond the fenders, and four grunts for duals (these get deleted if the truck has commercial signage and signs of actual use).

Seriously, it looks like a very useful vehicle, and you'll probably actually use it for its intended purpose.

tjc78

@oldfarmer50
Exactly what you’ve been looking for. Congrats

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Punch to report:

————————————————
So you caved.

I can’t tell from the pic, is that an 8 foot bed? If not it has to be 6 1/2 feet anyhow.

Looks rust free. Good luck with it.

jmonroe

I guess we both did.

It was one of the toughest negotiations I’ve ever been through. They started off high, I low balled, they acted like I wanted their 1st. born but came down some more. I walked and then they had the internet closer texting me multiple times asking “what can we do?” I said meet my price…”no, the manager is rock solid at our price”. Then they lowered the price $100, I countered, they came down another $50, I said stick it and asked them if they really wanted to pay another month of floor plan. They threatened that if I wouldn’t buy it they would send it to auction where they could make more money. I said you do that but you’ll have to take your bogus “vin etching” $200 fee off the auction.

5 minutes later they called back and agreed to accept my offer if I absolutely took delivery by the end of the month. (See, floor plan is a real problem for dealers).

As a final move I made the deal contingent on it passing a PPI. They agreed, it passed and the rest is history. $14,300 plus TTL out the door. No silly vin etching or other bogus fees.

————————————————
That’s the way to do it. The end of the month is real and so is the end of the day. Here’s my tale on that:

When we lived in SC I decided to buy another car. Did some shopping, the prices weren’t bad but not quite to my liking. Went into a Pontiac dealer late one Friday afternoon and got to bickering on the price of a used ‘95 Bonneville with not even 7K miles on it in August of ‘95.

So the story went, the car was previously owned by a retired Pontiac exec. Quite a story about that but I don’t want to get into that now. Anyway, we went back and forth, really just back, because I never backed off of my price. It was getting close to quitting time and the salesman played the game of going to his sales manager. After sitting there for a few minutes some of the lights were turned off. I said to Mrs, j something like, “let’s get out of here and we’ll go back and talk to Johnny at the Buick dealer tomorrow” (which was right next door). All of a sudden the salesman heads me off as I’m going to the door. He yells out, “hold it, we’ll meet your price”. I was about to keep walking because I didn’t like the game playing but figured why cut off my nose to spite my face and go through another negotiating session the next day, and besides, I liked the Bonneville more than the LeSabre anyway. I then said to the salesman, “why is my offer better now than it was 20 minutes ago”? His reply was, “you can see we’re closing and I won’t have another chance to sell that car today”.

Yep, timing is everything.

jmonroe

nyccarguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
That’s the consensus. They also all want extra cabs with rolling entertainment studios.

You definitely need to lift it, put purple lights in the wheel wells, & put on tires that stick out.

Michaell

I’m kinda surprised it’s not white.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
miles explain no rust

And RWD, so it could never go out in foul weather anyway.

Nice tool, though, OF. Probably a fantastic deal up there, I’d imagine.

stickguy

there are so few 10 YO trucks that aren't rotted out up here it is sad. If they are, it was either a garage queen like OFs, or came from the south!

tifighter

@stickguy said:
huh. I could be interested in that, depending on how it is equipped!

Do. It.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
2WD pickups are no problem in snow. Just add some weight over the rear axle. I drove one through 4 winters while my nice car stayed in the garage.

kyfdx

2WD are really hard to find around here, but there is always a contingent that wants them. In 2016, my friend asked for help in finding a lightly used F-150, but he would only consider RWD (which was the configuration of his 20 yr old F-150).

It took awhile, but he found a 2013 Extended Cab XLT with RWD, with 35K miles. Still driving it at 100K+.

Around here, they go quick, because they're "rare". lol