Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

au1994

Ok Maverick guys, what are the must have accessories I need to start shopping for.

Got a build date of 6/17. Dealer still says it won’t hit his lot till August.

stickguy

What I designed was one garage, 26' long, with the normal garage door on the front, and double shed doors on the back so I could take the yard stuff in and out that way. Though would still likely drive the mower in the front door.

greg128

Wife is liking her new to her XT5. We still had the 2018 Buick Lacrosse that I was using to go to work but didn't make sense as I was leaving the old Chevy work truck which I previously used to commute at our shop.

I decided to put the Buick up for sale. I put it up on Autotrader and a few days later I began getting messages from some California number. I ignored them for a while but they were persistent. I was asking $20,200 for it - premium model with 38K miles in immaculate shape aside from the tires which were original and 6 years old. I paid $24K for it in 2019 with 14K miles (pre-pandemic). The 4th message claimed Carmax was offering $19,000 for it, which I thought was a good offer especially since Carvana was around $16,500.
It is now sold for the full amount even though I thought they would try to ding me for the tires.

It was an easy transaction. I am happy considering the depreciation hit was only around $1K a year.
I will be looking for something for myself later in the year if and when used prices come down a bit more.
I will be probably looking for a smaller used truck, possibly Colorado, Ranger, or Ridgeline. I have a bias against 4 cyl Turbos and would much prefer a V-6. Unfortunately I am a bit spoiled and would want a fully loaded model. All safety equipment, upgraded stereo, Leather, etc. Unfortunately high used prices seem persistent.

explorerx4

@greg128,
At least you got the benefit of high used vehicle prices when you sold.

Sandman6472

Tint is off the Golf and looks so much better. Tint guy said it was pretty old and was time for it to be taken off especially since it had turned purple and had all those bubbles in it. He showed me some samples of lighter tint and told him I'll let him know when I want to do it. It's been in the 90's down here since mid week so want to see how it goes before I decide to re-tint it. Wants $170 to re-tint it which is right in the other quotes I've gotten. Came to the house and did a great job especially with the clean up...there is none! Guy did good work from what I can see.

Looked at the Kona and it's got factory tint on the back 2-doors and the rear hatch so understand now why she's not going to tint the front windows.

corvette

@au1994 - Congrats! Here are the list of mods I have done, some of which won't apply since cruise is now standard on all trims and (I think) you have ordered a trim which includes the power tailgate lock:
All weather floor mats
Back seat cover
Battery Tender quick connect
Bed cover
Bed mat
Cruise control
Dash cam
Power tailgate lock
Soft open tailgate
Tailgate letters
Traffic sign recognition

tjc78

@Sandman6472 said:
Tint is off the Golf and looks so much better. Tint guy said it was pretty old and was time for it to be taken off especially since it had turned purple and had all those bubbles in it. He showed me some samples of lighter tint and told him I'll let him know when I want to do it. It's been in the 90's down here since mid week so want to see how it goes before I decide to re-tint it. Wants $170 to re-tint it which is right in the other quotes I've gotten. Came to the house and did a great job especially with the clean up...there is none! Guy did good work from what I can see.

Looked at the Kona and it's got factory tint on the back 2-doors and the rear hatch so understand now why she's not going to tint the front windows.

If I wasn’t leasing my truck it would absolutely have the front doors tinted to match the back.

stickguy

corvette said:

@au1994 - Congrats! Here are the list of mods I have done, some of which won't apply since cruise is now standard on all trims and (I think) you have ordered a trim which includes the power tailgate lock:
All weather floor mats
Back seat cover
Battery Tender quick connect
Bed cover
Bed mat
Cruise control
Dash cam
Power tailgate lock
Soft open tailgate
Tailgate letters
Traffic sign recognition

I assume you got Forescan? I never did. Of your list, I got the floor mats with the truck. Put the bed cover and tailgate letters on myself. Lariat came with tailgate lock and CC. I have seat covers I put in when the dog is visiting. and I had a bedliner sprayed in. And skipped the rest.

no clue if I have traffic sign recognition.

rny421

It's been a while!

The 2017 GLC was traded in while we waited 6 months for our 2024 GLC to come in. White exterior with Neva Gray leather (basically white). Really happy with how it looks and drives.

I turned the 2021 Audi E-tron lease back in. I considered buying it out, but figured I'd get bored with it very quickly. I've been daily-ing the M235 while looking for a deal for my "everyday" car.

I was all over the map. Looked at a used XC60 or Macan, or an EV lease deal on an EQE, i4, iX, RZ.

Then Polestar 2 deals were announced in early May. $10K customer cash plus $2K Costco. I was able to snag a White Polestar 2 Long Rage AWD with Nappa leather. $65K MSRP, $0 down, $440/mo with all taxes, fees, and broker fee included. I should be picking it up in the next two weeks!

I'll upload pictures later (is there a reason I can't upload multiple at once?)

corvette

@stickguy - yes, you need the FORScan software and an adapter to code the cruise control and the traffic sign recognition (if not already present). I also want to do the mod to unlock all drive modes (mine is missing off-road since it doesn't have the off-road package). The tailgate lock was plug and play.

xwesx

rny421 said:

I'll upload pictures later (is there a reason I can't upload multiple at once?)

It only takes one at a time, but you can drag and drop into the comment window, so it's pretty fast.

stickguy

walked the site at the new house with the builder and a tape measure today. after looking at where a full garage would sit, decided it would be too close to the house and awkward in the spot it would have to be. So that cemented the choice to skip it. Instead, we are extending the driveway to add a parking spot and turn around spot (side entry garage). And will just put a big shed at the back corner off that piece of driveway tucked away by some trees.

So that will free up a considerable amount of $. The wife was very excited when I told her that once we got the move over with we could start looking at cars again! Pretty sure she has missed that in the last 4 years. Pretty sure. But not positive.

Seeing the place fully drywalled and painted really gives a sense of the spaces. The garage is really big for a 2 car. The oversized (18') garage door makes a big difference. Nice high ceiling too. I think it measured out to 612 SF. Won't be cramped in there.

stickguy

So far the shopping list is a 2 series, BRZ and a GTI. Maybe an Integra. I did mention skipping some things due to being a manual, but she said it did not matter since she could still drive one if needed. Not sure I would go that way, but maybe. I do want her to be comfortable driving whatever we get.

kyfdx

18' door is really nice.

stickguy

kyfdx said:

18' door is really nice.

that was a must. Current house is our first double door (always had 2 8' singles before). easier to get in only having 1 side to worry about clipping with your mirror, but not having the spacer in the middle makes the cars too close together. This will be like have the separate doors, with the 2' upright between them cut out!

stickguy

oh, also on the shopping list is a trip to the Porsche dealer. A Mecan would be an easy transition, though she pointed out that was not really a fun car. But I hear they still had those also!

or possibly an EV>

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

walked the site at the new house with the builder and a tape measure today. after looking at where a full garage would sit, decided it would be too close to the house and awkward in the spot it would have to be. So that cemented the choice to skip it. Instead, we are extending the driveway to add a parking spot and turn around spot (side entry garage). And will just put a big shed at the back corner off that piece of driveway tucked away by some trees.

So that will free up a considerable amount of $. The wife was very excited when I told her that once we got the move over with we could start looking at cars again! Pretty sure she has missed that in the last 4 years. Pretty sure. But not positive.

Seeing the place fully drywalled and painted really gives a sense of the spaces. The garage is really big for a 2 car. The oversized (18') garage door makes a big difference. Nice high ceiling too. I think it measured out to 612 SF. Won't be cramped in there.

————————————————
I think you’re making @Sandman6472 jealous of you’re roomy garage.

FWIW, I was insistent about having an 18 foot garage door when we built our house in SC. I’m only sorry I let Mrs. j and our builder talk me out of a 3 car garage. We had plenty of space and the money to do it so I should have stuck to my guns.

jmonroe

stickguy

the lot for this house had some constraints so bringing the garage our another 8' or so that would have been required to go 3 bays would not really work. so with the side entry I would have had to do an L shape (the 3rd bay straight ahead, 90 degrees from the main garage). Builder was willing, but the cost was more than I was willing to go at that point.

probably should have just had them rework the front facade and make it front load. Less fancy but could have much easier extended the garage over what is now the driveway. Though that would have led to a fairly short driveway, so what we got (basically a 2.5 car) was the most logical compromise.

rny421

*edit*
Hmm... trying to upload pictures, but seem to be having issues. It's showing up as an attachment in the post that doesn't show anything when you click on it. I'll try again later

corvette

Not sure of the door width on my old house, but the garage was 24x24, and that was plenty of room for two midsize cars, shelves, and a riding mower. I miss that now that I live in a more metropolitan area where land is at a premium and I have a much smaller lot.

stickguy

I think the new one is 22' deep, which is plenty for my cars, but it is 26 -27' wide (there is a bump out 1/2 way into the garage). so should have plenty of space for my shelves, a workbench, and until I get a shed the mower and snow blower. Though if I need a rider, won't have to get that until next year since probably won't really have grass to mow until then! Until I decide to buy one, will be spending a lot more time pushing around my walk behind Ego. and probably having to take a break to recharge the battery.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

I think the new one is 22' deep, which is plenty for my cars, but it is 26 -27' wide (there is a bump out 1/2 way into the garage). so should have plenty of space for my shelves, a workbench, and until I get a shed the mower and snow blower. Though if I need a rider, won't have to get that until next year since probably won't really have grass to mow until then! Until I decide to buy one, will be spending a lot more time pushing around my walk behind Ego. and probably having to take a break to recharge the battery.

————————————————
Why not buy another battery? Breaks are for the weak.

jmonroe

stickguy

I have the small one that goes with the weedwhacker. So I could use the big one until it runs out, stop for a beer break and switch batteries, and hope by the time the little one runs out the big one is full again.

I looked at the fancy zero turn style Ego riding mower today at Lowe's. $5,995. Yeah, if I can't drive that to Vermont in nice weather not paying that much.

Michaell

Member needs help with identification

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/71071/ram/x/can-anyone-help-me-identity-this-2015-ram#latest

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

Member needs help with identification

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/71071/ram/x/can-anyone-help-me-identity-this-2015-ram#latest

————————————————-
FWIW, I provided my two cents worth but I was thinking, why bother because almost all of these non-regular posters ever come back and let us know how they resolved their concerns.

I don’t think any of us who comment are looking for a pat on the back but it would be nice to know the outcome.

jmonroe

28firefighter

Another punch to report of sorts. Not the automotive kind. We fostered a dog a few weeks back alongside our current pup. He turned out to be the best boy and I couldn’t shake him. So I drove up north to the foster’s house and picked him up today. He jumped into my arms when I got there and then fell asleep on my arm for the ride home.

He’s a German Shep mix - mastiff, golden retriever, and some others. Most German Shepard though. I’m such a sucker.

stickguy

congrats. I know from my foster days, when the right good dog finds you, you need to keep him.

ab348

rny421 said:

*edit*
Hmm... trying to upload pictures, but seem to be having issues. It's showing up as an attachment in the post that doesn't show anything when you click on it. I'll try again later

Let me do a test:

pic #1


pic#2


pic #3


Seems to work! Are you clicking on the little postage stamp-like icon at the top of the posting box?

rny421

Here we go! My iPhone seems to be working better for this.

kyfdx

I always find an iPhone or iPad is easier for posting pictures to the forums.

explorerx4

One of my kids left their 2013 Escape here while she went on a trip to Ireland for her sabatical with my wife.
We bought it in Oct 2012 abd it has over 100K on it. It's rated at 28 mpg highway and it still can get that.

It needs a lot of cleaning but I have plenty of time to work on that.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

rny421 said:

*edit*
Hmm... trying to upload pictures, but seem to be having issues. It's showing up as an attachment in the post that doesn't show anything when you click on it. I'll try again later

Let me do a test:

pic #1


pic#2


pic #3


Seems to work! Are you clicking on the little postage stamp-like icon at the top of the posting box?

————————————————-
I like pic #3 the best. pic #2 was a waste of film.

jmonroe

kyfdx

Be careful @jmonroe1 That's probably his Mom.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

Be careful @jmonroe1 That's probably his Mom.

————————————————-
Lucky guy.

jmonroe

stickguy

picked out laundry machines Saturday. went back and forth and for some reason pivoted at the last minute to go with a front loader washer again. We have top load now, but the wife has trouble reaching the bottom of the tub. So we decided to just commit to wiping off the gasket to keep it from getting moldy. The other reason is so that we can get the pedestals, so we won't have to bend over to get into them.

Picked a Whirlpool set (salesguy really liked that brand, but he was an old timer so quite possibly was remembering the good old days). But after reading up on them when we got home, and stopping at Lowes to look at stuff again, we had him switched to the mid level LG set. With a rebate will end up being about the same price. And these are a pretty gray steel color!

So one more thing off the go broke buying stuff list.

nyccarguy

Has anybody been on the Porsche website lately? A 911 starts at $114K before destination. Good grief.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
You should see what the old ones are going for now.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

@nyccarguy,
You should see what the old ones are going for now.

Nope... don't look

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

Has anybody been on the Porsche website lately? A 911 starts at $114K before destination. Good grief.

————————————————
So you’re saying you don’t think you can sell enough valves and pipe to get into one of those, right.

jmonroe

ab348

stickguy said:

Picked a Whirlpool set (salesguy really liked that brand, but he was an old timer so quite possibly was remembering the good old days). But after reading up on them when we got home, and stopping at Lowes to look at stuff again, we had him switched to the mid level LG set. With a rebate will end up being about the same price. And these are a pretty gray steel color!

So one more thing off the go broke buying stuff list.

The LG front loaders are really good and IMO better than the Whirlpools.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

walked the site at the new house with the builder and a tape measure today. after looking at where a full garage would sit, decided it would be too close to the house and awkward in the spot it would have to be. So that cemented the choice to skip it. Instead, we are extending the driveway to add a parking spot and turn around spot (side entry garage). And will just put a big shed at the back corner off that piece of driveway tucked away by some trees.

So that will free up a considerable amount of $. The wife was very excited when I told her that once we got the move over with we could start looking at cars again! Pretty sure she has missed that in the last 4 years. Pretty sure. But not positive.

Seeing the place fully drywalled and painted really gives a sense of the spaces. The garage is really big for a 2 car. The oversized (18') garage door makes a big difference. Nice high ceiling too. I think it measured out to 612 SF. Won't be cramped in there.

I still don’t think you gave the shipping container a fair shot.

stickguy

how big are those? 10x20? I could use it as a shed! probably cheaper. Just won't tell the wife before it gets dropped off.

stickguy

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Picked a Whirlpool set (salesguy really liked that brand, but he was an old timer so quite possibly was remembering the good old days). But after reading up on them when we got home, and stopping at Lowes to look at stuff again, we had him switched to the mid level LG set. With a rebate will end up being about the same price. And these are a pretty gray steel color!

So one more thing off the go broke buying stuff list.

The LG front loaders are really good and IMO better than the Whirlpools.

Consumers reports really likes them. We have an LG now (top loader) so the wife is already familiar with all the controls. I think we will be much happier getting these instead.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Picked a Whirlpool set (salesguy really liked that brand, but he was an old timer so quite possibly was remembering the good old days). But after reading up on them when we got home, and stopping at Lowes to look at stuff again, we had him switched to the mid level LG set. With a rebate will end up being about the same price. And these are a pretty gray steel color!

So one more thing off the go broke buying stuff list.

The LG front loaders are really good and IMO better than the Whirlpools.

I came home from work and my wife said the washing machine was broke and making a terrible sound so I’ll probably be heading to the big box tomorrow. I think it’s a whirlpool so I might take your recommendation if I can find a simple LG without too much tech garbage. I don’t think the old was is even ten years old which I guess is the lifespan these days.

stickguy

kyfdx said:

explorerx4 said:

@nyccarguy,
You should see what the old ones are going for now.

Nope... don't look

so, I probably should not check prices or tell the wife about them before I stop at the dealership to browse?

I need a shopping list. So far, including stickshift options (might as well try them out!) a random list is:

2 series coupe
Mini 2 door or convertible
Subaru BRZ (I really, really like these!)
GTI
GR Corolla (wife would despise this one!)
Civic Si or Integra A spec (manual only)
Elantra N
Nissan Z
WRX (might like the new ones better)

and more suggestions? I assume Roadburner will recommend a hot rod C class.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Picked a Whirlpool set (salesguy really liked that brand, but he was an old timer so quite possibly was remembering the good old days). But after reading up on them when we got home, and stopping at Lowes to look at stuff again, we had him switched to the mid level LG set. With a rebate will end up being about the same price. And these are a pretty gray steel color!

So one more thing off the go broke buying stuff list.

The LG front loaders are really good and IMO better than the Whirlpools.

I came home from work and my wife said the washing machine was broke and making a terrible sound so I’ll probably be heading to the big box tomorrow. I think it’s a whirlpool so I might take your recommendation if I can find a simple LG without too much tech garbage. I don’t think the old was is even ten years old which I guess is the lifespan these days.

Lowe's has some good deals on the LGs now, the 3000 (base level) and 4000 (mid-level that we are getting). I think the units are about $100 more as you go up a model range.

corvette

@stickguy - I've had a Samsung front load washer and dryer since 2015. No mold or mildew, but I leave the washer door slightly open when I'm not using it. I do have to pull dog hair out of the washer gasket drain every so often.

corvette

kyfdx

My son's friend from down the street was home for Mother's Day. Got a different car.

2016 Golf R with stage 1 APR intake and APR wheels. Automatic transmission. 330 HP.

He let me drive it. It was fun.

stickguy

8 cars? I had that by the time I graduated college. And I was broke.