Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

I want to go car shopping. it has been a long time. I am overdue. Really have not done it since early 2020 before we bought the RDX and were looking at options. I bought 2 Mavs since then but I ordered both of those before even seeing one in person.

Heck I buy houses more frequently than cars now.

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Petition Edmunds to create a Chronic House Buyers site. You can be the inaugural member and maybe even president. If you can convince them to let you be president this would allow you to set the monthly dues which entitles you to 10%.

jmonroe

roadburner

qbrozen said:

@kyfdx said:

Can't you find some weird Peugeot to import? Didn't they sell in Japan?

Always on the lookout.

Peugeots almost never come up.

Renault Alpines on occasion

Citroen Xanthia once in a while. Several 2CVs, but not terribly interested in those, especially at their silly prices.

The scarcity along with my condition requirements make for a tall order. I think I have bid on 2 Alpines in the past 2 years.

I always wanted a Renault 5 Turbo- what a hoot!

explorerx4

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Michaell

Member needs help with tools needed for a brake job

28firefighter

E-Golf is a dime a dozen in the PNW. They were really cheap to lease for a while in the pre-ID.4 era. Never got as cheap as the i3 though.

stickguy

I saw an i3 driving around this week. can't remember last time I saw one of those up here.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
I always wanted a Renault 5 Turbo- what a hoot!

Oh yes. Of course, very expensive. That or a Lancia Delta HF Integrale would suit me just fine.

laurasdada

stickguy said:

I want to go car shopping. it has been a long time. I am overdue. Really have not done it since early 2020 before we bought the RDX and were looking at options. I bought 2 Mavs since then but I ordered both of those before even seeing one in person.

Heck I buy houses more frequently than cars now.

They call you Flipper, Flipper...

breld

We’re having some design work done at the house, which is largely the reason we have had no punches in the car front.

The “wallpaper” guy came by today, driving up in this last gen Saab 9-5. I complimented him on it and he was more than happy to chat about it.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

The turbo's are not the problem with the Toyota V-6 engine. It's somewhere in the front of the engine in the crankshaft area.
The V-8 was rated at 14 mpg combined, so it could drain your wallet for a long time.
It did up the power game in pickup trucks, though when it was introduced.

As great as Japanese products are, they never seemed to get the hang of V8s as far as mileage is concerned. A new Nissan Titan V8 I drove got 9mpg on the highway.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I want to go car shopping. it has been a long time. I am overdue. Really have not done it since early 2020 before we bought the RDX and were looking at options. I bought 2 Mavs since then but I ordered both of those before even seeing one in person.

Heck I buy houses more frequently than cars now.

Get ready for sticker shock.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

210 hp. From a 460? No thanks.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50
210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

stickguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
Get ready for sticker shock.

Used to that from houses.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

E-Golf is a dime a dozen in the PNW. They were really cheap to lease for a while in the pre-ID.4 era. Never got as cheap as the i3 though.

We were in L.A., last week, and it's crazy what you see. Plus, EVs are everywhere. Probably saw a few dozen i3s. But, that e-Golf was local to me.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
We were in L.A., last week, and it's crazy what you see. Plus, EVs are everywhere. Probably saw a few dozen i3s. But, that e-Golf was local to me.

When I was in LA a few months ago I was stunned how many EQE/EQS I saw. Here in NJ the only place I’ve ever seen another one is at the charging station

corvette

@breld (and everyone else) - if you're ever in Sturgis, SD, I highly recommend the Saab Heritage Museum. They have one of those and a lot of much older stuff.

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:

@kyfdx said:
We were in L.A., last week, and it's crazy what you see. Plus, EVs are everywhere. Probably saw a few dozen i3s. But, that e-Golf was local to me.

When I was in LA a few months ago I was stunned how many EQE/EQS I saw. Here in NJ the only place I’ve ever seen another one is at the charging station

I was at the local park last night and, amongst just 30’ish vehicles, saw 3 Teslas, a Rivian SUV, one of those nondescript Korean EV SUVs, and a Hummer EV (far dmaller than I thought it would be).

Michaell

I spotted my first cyber truck in the wild yesterday. God, they are awful looking. But, there was a slightly lifted Ram 2500 in the next lane, an$ the Tesla looked small by comparison.

Worst thing about it is that it turned into my housing development. Hope it doesn’t depress the property values.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

The turbo's are not the problem with the Toyota V-6 engine. It's somewhere in the front of the engine in the crankshaft area.
The V-8 was rated at 14 mpg combined, so it could drain your wallet for a long time.
It did up the power game in pickup trucks, though when it was introduced.

As great as Japanese products are, they never seemed to get the hang of V8s as far as mileage is concerned. A new Nissan Titan V8 I drove got 9mpg on the highway.

————————————————
9 MPG is getting dangerously close to GPM territory.

jmonroe

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.

Plus, that's after the re-calculation in 1972.

1971: 330 HP
1972: 220 HP

Same performance

kyfdx

Saw three Cyber trucks in a week, where I've only seen one, locally, ever.

Rivians are everywhere, though to be fair, I see one almost daily, here.

Mercedes GLE? The PHEV coupe version is everywhere, and if it's not that one, it's the 63S model. Whichever Mercedes you see, it's the one that is 200% of the price of a base model.

And, so many supercars blatting their way by, that by the time I look, I can't tell a McLaren from a Lambo.

Porsche Macan? Saw probably 100-200 of them in six days. That's what my wife wants, but she said out there, it would be just like driving a CR-V.

tjc78

I’ve seen three different Rivians this weekend on my
street.

The SUV one looks very close to a Wagoneer

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.
————————————————-
At least back in that era you could do somethings about those factory installed engine choking emission systems. You can’t do much, if any, of that today. I disconnected the vacuum line from the EGR valve and installed a catalytic converter “test pipe” on several of my cars and friends cars that vastly improved the performance of those cars. Those were very easy to do mods.

Not anymore. The car manufacturers have all but eliminated the shade tree mechanics.

jmonroe

fintail

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.

————————————————-
At least back in that era you could do somethings about those factory installed engine choking emission systems. You can’t do much, if any, of that today. I disconnected the vacuum line from the EGR valve and installed a catalytic converter “test pipe” on several of my cars and friends cars that vastly improved the performance of those cars. Those were very easy to do mods.

Not anymore. The car manufacturers have all but eliminated the shade tree mechanics.

jmonroe

I remember my dad telling me about removing some emissions junk from my mom's mid 70s T-Bird (460), I guess it might have made a difference, and I don't think something that age would even have a check engine light. I have a memory of riding up the driveway on my big wheel and seeing the Bird, hood up, and my dad removing stuff.

Haven't seen a Cybertruck yet, and I am ok with that. Even here in Spokane, Rivians of all varieties are common sights.

Michaell

kyfdx said:

Porsche Macan? Saw probably 100-200 of them in six days. That's what my wife wants, but she said out there, it would be just like driving a CR-V.

3-Series/A4/C-Class are as common as Camrys and Accords in LA.

tjc78

@jmonroe
I did a good full dual exhaust, deleted the smog pump and advanced the timing a bit and it did wonders for the 400 in my 79.

jmonroe1

fintail said:

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.

————————————————-
At least back in that era you could do somethings about those factory installed engine choking emission systems. You can’t do much, if any, of that today. I disconnected the vacuum line from the EGR valve and installed a catalytic converter “test pipe” on several of my cars and friends cars that vastly improved the performance of those cars. Those were very easy to do mods.

Not anymore. The car manufacturers have all but eliminated the shade tree mechanics.

jmonroe

I remember my dad telling me about removing some emissions junk from my mom's mid 70s T-Bird (460), I guess it might have made a difference, and I don't think something that age would even have a check engine light. I have a memory of riding up the driveway on my big wheel and seeing the Bird, hood up, and my dad removing stuff.

Haven't seen a Cybertruck yet, and I am ok with that. Even here in Spokane, Rivians of all varieties are common sights.
————————————————-
I only had big block GM V8 engines back then and none of my cars had a CEL. The only lights I remember were the ALT and TEMP lights. Not even an OIL light that I can remember on those engines.

I’m sure your dad saw results from his tinkering otherwise he wouldn’t have tinkered. Almost everyone I worked with back them had their hoods up doing something on the weekends, even if it was just a weekly engine oil and transmission oil check via the dipstick, which BTW, will be obsolete and only seen in museum cars in the not too distant future.

jmonroe

stickguy

stopped to look at sheds today to get ideas. Place had dozens of buildings on the lot. Everything from normal 8x10 sheds to big 2 car garages. I think they were on the expensive side (not just from my last purchase about 5 years ago, but from looking at other local places). But some of the sheds were built better than a lot of new houses are!

almost convinced to switch back to an actual garage again. Need to go back and measure out the space again. Did not realize until today that they can do a garage with a wood floor, and have it approved as a garage. Just need to overbuild the under structure. So saves a ton on money over doing one on a slab. He gave us some flags so we can go down and stake out some placements. But I really don't need a 12x20 building if we never get a 3rd car. so probably just going to get a nice 8x10 or 8x12 shed with double doors, and put it at the top of the driveway, with an extra parking spot in front of it. Need to bring the big tape measure next visit!

Lots of progress. all the bathrooms (including the walk in shower) are all tiled (master floor still needs grout). All the hard floors are in (so entire house other than the bedrooms that will get carpet). And the great room is full of boxes because the kitchen and vanities were delivered and at least the kitchen island and lower cabinets go in this coming week, and counters will be templated. At that point, a rush of finish work (trim, rest of paint, and lighting/plumbing fixtures). That should happen quick.

Sandman6472

I sure hope at the end of the day, going from the old house to the 2nd new one won't have cost y'all a fortune! I want to downsize when we do end up doing something but y'all seem to be staying with a good amount of square feet. We're pretty comfortable with just under 1900 sq. ft. as this place was pretty small to begin with. And now, two of the bedrooms are being used as offices while the fourth has the kid's king for when guests need a place to stay over. We never use the dining room and the living room is mostly empty as we never did get around to buying any furniture as we never used it. Wife has a long table in there to stretch out when she's doing taxes and such.

When the time to move does come, would love to downsize a bit and bank a nice sum of change if possible. Hurricane insurance bill came the other day and it's just under $5K right now. And am sure the property tax bill ill rise a bit come November. Glad I plan ahead for these two expenses to help soften the blow. And I'm almost to the point of retiring for good sooner then later!

Sandman6472

Thanks for all the good wishes...it's been a rough week and it's taken both of us to finally find a therapy center to help me. My usual place is under staffed and over booked and told us to maybe go find another place. With the wife's help, am scheduled for next Friday afternoon not too far from the house. Haven't driven in over a week and don't plan to quite yet. That crazy 24/7 dizziness has gotten a bit better but am still in bad shape about half the time. I might have to use Lyft for the appointment but hoping staying off my feet another six days will help. Without the walker we have, I might not be here typing right now! Trust me, vertigo is something y'all do not want to get! Stick, might want to consider safety bars in the showers in the new place as good insurance going forward.

tjc78

It’s funny how you get used to space and/or the location can skew it a bit.

Our primary is 4400 sq ft. We both say never anything smaller… yet for 2.5 months a year we make do with 1500 sq ft at the shore.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4 said:

Here's one for tjc78.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-lincoln-continental-mark-v-14/

Pretty nice example. Same colors as my 79 Town Coupe was.

@oldfarmer50

210 HP in 1978 wasn’t too bad. I’ve driven these.. feels quicker than you’d think for such a boat.

Well, those emissions choked big blocks still had a lot of torque so maybe I’m being overly harsh.

Plus, that's after the re-calculation in 1972.

1971: 330 HP
1972: 220 HP

Same performance

That’s when they went from gross horsepower ratings to net, right? I always wondered when that happened. I assume engines are still using the new system so a modern 400 hp engine would seem fantastic under the old system.

xwesx

corvette said:

@breld (and everyone else) - if you're ever in Sturgis, SD, I highly recommend the Saab Heritage Museum. They have one of those and a lot of much older stuff.

I drive through Sturgis all the time, but I've never stopped there.

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:
It’s funny how you get used to space and/or the location can skew it a bit.

Our primary is 4400 sq ft. We both say never anything smaller… yet for 2.5 months a year we make do with 1500 sq ft at the shore.

We are fairly similar. I think 4500-4800 primary but we survive with 950 at the beach. BUT, no way we need 4500+ once the kids are out. Will definitely downsize.

explorerx4

One of the problems with downsizing is that it's not always cheaper then what you already have.

Michaell

We've got 1700sf on a single level, with another 1700sf as an unfinished basement, for 3 of us.

Wife talks about downsizing to something more maintenance free, but we don't know what that looks like, or where.

The house across the street from us has the same floorplan, but the basement is finished. They put it on the market for $820K a month ago, then dropped the price twice, first to $785K, then down to $755K.

I think high interest rates are keeping a lot of folks out of the market.

My folks' house in CA will be going on the market next weekend. Have spent the last 6 weeks getting it in shape - new floors, new paint, new light fixtures, and new hardware on the doors and cabinets, plus some minor things as well to make it show better. My folks bought it new in 1968, and it's the only house my sister remembers living in.

3+2, 1400sf, on a 7200sf lot. Realtor is pricing it at $799,900, and expects offers above asking.

I'll post the MLS link when it goes live.

qbrozen

I can guarantee my downsize would be FAR cheaper! I could save $700/mo just in taxes without even trying.

stickguy

Sandy, we did spec out a grab bar for the shower (which is a walk in "room" so no sides to step over at least). It actually includes a shelf for bottles so it serves double duties, and does not look like a safety bar (but is heavy duty and will be attached to strong blocking in the wall).

Size, well, it is different when you build new. Does not cost that much more to go a bit bigger. One of the other places we looked at had one less bedroom and 450 SF less, but was almost the same price. So no, we did not "need" the extra room, but it was more of an investment in the future (resale!)

the house we have realistically is enough SF (or close). Just needed to have some in different places. So the new one addresses the spots we really cut back on more than we should have (Garage, mudroom, pantry, kitchen, island). The extra bedroom and lot size, more of a bonus that balanced out the rest.

we figure for a while, we will be fine with it. How long that is, we will find out! But, it has a lot of upgrades and should pack a lot of "wow" factor down the line if we ever decide to sell (I highly doubt we will lose money on it). Once we do age out though, next place will be a lot smaller and 1 level living.

I told my son today that in a few years when they are looking to move to a bigger place for a family we would sell it to them, though his idea was just trade houses (they have a 3/2 ranch that would be plenty of room for us other than the 1 car garage!)

corvette

The new builds in my area tend to be on the fringes of the metropolitan area and aren't close to anything (I'm talking about a 15 minute drive to the nearest grocery, not necessarily the one you want to go to). Bonus: Planning & Zoning is extraordinarily slow, but the things that have been approved are completely disjointed and don't make sense. Hope other cities are different!

ab348

I don’t know if houses in most places have spiked in price the way they have where I live, but in 25 years my house has appreciated 450% +/-. So while you might enjoy that when it comes time to downsize, I wonder if the new smaller place will cost much less than your sale proceeds. The old saying that the cheapest car is the one you already own may also apply to houses.

qbrozen

Don’t discount upkeep. Downsizing could mean half the roofing square footage to maintain, half the siding, fewer HVAC systems, fewer windows and doors, smaller lawn, etc.

venture

My oldest grandson is looking to buy his first car. He wants a Nissan Altima AWD for some reason. Probably a 2022 or 2023 with his budget.

I can't think of a reason for him to not do this, other than for what it is.

stickguy

corvette said:

The new builds in my area tend to be on the fringes of the metropolitan area and aren't close to anything (I'm talking about a 15 minute drive to the nearest grocery, not necessarily the one you want to go to). Bonus: Planning & Zoning is extraordinarily slow, but the things that have been approved are completely disjointed and don't make sense. Hope other cities are different!

a lot of that up here. We are actually moving much closer to civilization. Going from 10 miles to Target or Lowes, to about 1 mile. But we intentionally did not buy in a big new neighborhood. This place is an infill. a small local custom builder that finds a few lots in existing neighborhoods and builds whatever you want. This lot is in a very convenient older area. All together 5 houses, on about 5 acres. I believe originally the land was owned by the water department (maybe had a pump station on it?) but it was never developed, and just surrounded by established older houses. So we get the advantage of new construction, without the disadvantage of living long term in a construction zone, or being in some neighborhood off by itself with no trees.

plus being new, while there is more house, I will never have to do anything to it (replacing systems, flooring, kitchen, etc.) And there is a whole lot more privacy than we have now!

stickguy

venture said:

My oldest grandson is looking to buy his first car. He wants a Nissan Altima AWD for some reason. Probably a 2022 or 2023 with his budget.

I can't think of a reason for him to not do this, other than for what it is.

interesting choice for a kid. How old is he? Practical at least, assuming he really needs AWD. a FWD should be a lot simpler, and somewhat cheaper.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

We've got 1700sf on a single level, with another 1700sf as an unfinished basement, for 3 of us.

Wife talks about downsizing to something more maintenance free, but we don't know what that looks like, or where.

The house across the street from us has the same floorplan, but the basement is finished. They put it on the market for $820K a month ago, then dropped the price twice, first to $785K, then down to $755K.

I think high interest rates are keeping a lot of folks out of the market.

My folks' house in CA will be going on the market next weekend. Have spent the last 6 weeks getting it in shape - new floors, new paint, new light fixtures, and new hardware on the doors and cabinets, plus some minor things as well to make it show better. My folks bought it new in 1968, and it's the only house my sister remembers living in.

3+2, 1400sf, on a 7200sf lot. Realtor is pricing it at $799,900, and expects offers above asking.

I'll post the MLS link when it goes live.

Man, when I hear you guys talking about 4000 sq ft houses I feel like I’m living in a shack. As it is when i give directions to my home I have to tell people to look for a big mansion and you’ll find my house next door.😩

I think land values have as much to do with house prices as interest rates. My BIL just sold some property down the street from me and he got an above asking price offer within 24 hours.

qbrozen

@venture said:
My oldest grandson is looking to buy his first car. He wants a Nissan Altima AWD for some reason. Probably a 2022 or 2023 with his budget.

I can't think of a reason for him to not do this, other than for what it is.

Reasons not to?
1. CVT
2. CVT
3. CVT
4. SEE reasons 1-3

roadburner

venture said:

My oldest grandson is looking to buy his first car. He wants a Nissan Altima AWD for some reason. Probably a 2022 or 2023 with his budget.

I can't think of a reason for him to not do this, other than for what it is.

One of my friends is a confirmed gearhead; he's had Astons, BMWs, Porsches etc... When he picked up his new Cayman he asked his 17 year-old son if he'd like to drive it home and the kid said, "No thanks."
If that had been my kid he would have started asking if he could drive it home the week before we picked it up.

corvette

venture said:

I can't think of a reason for him to not do this, other than for what it is.

The Big Altima Energy group on Facebook can probably give him a few reasons.