Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

benjaminh

Night before last, as we were talking about my wife's new car before we got it, I said if it was for me I'd probably go with the Camry hybrid for the 7 second 0-60 time, Toyota reliability, 50 mpg, and sedan handling. But I encouraged her to go with what she really wanted. She's a gal who likes to get lumber at Lowe's for household projects, as well as mulch and soil for the garden, etc. So an Outback is more her style and fits better with how she uses a vehicle. She also doesn't like the low seating position of a sedan.

The reason for getting the Outback now, even though our daughter doesn't move to Ohio till August, was Subaru's 1.9 financing on the last of the 2024s. The 2025 Outbacks are already pouring into dealer lots, and since my wife wanted Crimson Pearl, a relatively rare color, it was clear that if we waited till August we would have lost out on the low interest rate, and that would cost about $2k in interest charges.

As an aside, the $1k a year gas savings with the Camry would have been wiped out for at least five years by the $2-3k above list the Toyota dealer wants to charge + the interest charges for a higher loan rate. So that argument for getting the Camry halfway died. Maybe by the end of the year Camrys will be plentiful and discounted, but we didn't want to wait that long.

Back to the Outback. Something that's been aggravating my wife lately is the proliferation of speed bumps on our local neighborhood roads. She's a slow driver, and so it's not that, it's just that she doesn't like being bumped so much even at slow speeds. The new Outback does help in dealing with what we've joked is the "Speed-Bump Industrial Complex" because of its soft suspension and comfort tires. The Outback is quite a bit more comfortable on those bumps than the CR-V and even my TLX

Speaking of tires, the Outback's seem good—Yokohama Ascend Grand Touring. Reading a few reviews the Yokohama GTs seem to be above average oem tires, with good performance in most situations. They aren't "Three Peak Mountain Snowflake" tires like our CrossClimate2s, but with Subaru's Symmetrical awd probably they are good enough for all our weather situations. The Ascend GTs are considered 65k tires, and so we'll probably keep them at least to 50k. I looked them up, and they cost $170 + installation each at our local tire dealer, but aren't available at Costco. Here's Tire Rack's 2-minute evaluation of the tire, which is mostly positive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTrrRQHIWKw

benjaminh

One thing that's puzzled me about Subarus since I started researching them some months ago is that they recommend replacing spark plugs every 60k, rather than 100k-120k like almost everyone else. Finally found the reason this morning...

Quoted from an Outback forum: "The Subaru spark plug replacement interval is 60k because its engines use a waste spark system. The plug fires twice per cycle, which means 60k is equivalent to 120k on a regular engine."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasted_spark_system

"A wasted spark system is a type of ignition system used in some four-stroke cycle internal combustion engines. In a wasted spark system, the spark plugs fire in pairs, with one plug in a cylinder on its compression stroke and the other plug in a cylinder on its exhaust stroke. The extra spark during the exhaust stroke has no effect and is thus "wasted". This design halves the number of components necessary in a typical ignition system, while the extra spark, against much reduced dielectric resistance, barely impacts the lifespan of modern ignition components.[1] In a typical engine, it requires only about 2–3 kV to fire the cylinder on its exhaust stroke. The remaining coil energy is available to fire the spark plug in the cylinder on its compression stroke (typically about 8 to 12 kV).

Advantages
Perhaps the most significant advantage of the system, compared to a single coil and distributor systems, is that it eliminates the high-tension distributor.[2] This significantly improves reliability, since many problems with a conventional system are caused by the distributor being affected by dampness from rain or condensation, dirt accumulation, and degradation of insulating materials with time...."

oldfarmer50

suydam said:

I am assuming this is pre-pandemic. Those days are over. My daughter told me she feels sorry for anyone our age shopping for cars now, because we expect an ability to negotiate that just doesn’t exist for popular vehicles. Invoice is out the window. Markups from MSRP are common. It’s starting to improve, but it’s still not great.

Most definitely pre pandemic. In the good old days up to 2020 I was able to negotiate substantial discounts on both new and used cars. But for the last two or three years I wouldn’t even bother making an offer. On the rare occasion that the company would have us deliver sold cars to dealers I would see various ADM plus mandatory add-ons slapped on every new vehicle. Those had pretty much disappeared by early this year but I think dealers are still reluctant to haggle like they used to. It’s as if they got addicted to being in the driver’s seat. I watch various YT car auction videos where the same car is run week after week and doesn’t sell because it doesn’t meet reserve.

I guess if people are willing to pay those mark ups the dealer has no incentive to change.

stickguy

we might keep the Acura 10 years (wife is fine like that, she is not big on change or learning anything new, not that she really knows how to use her car after 4 years!). But if we do, it still might not be close to 60K miles

oldfarmer50

suydam said:

They may have what you want but it just arrived a day ago and will be sold two days later. That’s the case with the Sportage we originally looked at as well as the one we bought. Now the Blazer EV was a whole different story. So it’s just depends on how popular the particular vehicle you want is.
We did get the Kia for $1500 below MSRP which I consider a good deal after checking out several dealers.

I think that’s the key, popularity. If everybody is chasing the latest shiny object, of course they will hose you. That’s what dealers do. Of course they still dig in like ticks on every car because that’s what they do now. Buying my truck was a chore which required me to up my OTD price and walk twice before they would meet me halfway.

Michaell

stickguy said:

we might keep the Acura 10 years (wife is fine like that, she is not big on change or learning anything new, not that she really knows how to use her car after 4 years!). But if we do, it still might not be close to 60K miles

9 years and counting with the Outback, and only 64K miles on it.

Doing price research on the Sportage, in anticipation of a possible purchase later today.

Dealer has 33 Sportage PHEVs on the lot, 14 of which are the X-Line trim. And, of those 14, 3 are the blue color that is the preference. MSRP is $41,140 on each of those three, with a $799 dealer handling charge, and a small upcharge to take their price to $43,179 (OK, only $1200 over MSRP, but still...).

Edmunds says TMV is $39,660; I figure I'd start at $39,200 (plus the $799) for an even $40K before trade in, taxes, etc.

Quick review on Edmunds (Carmax) tells me the MINI is worth $9400 in trade. I've saved that offer - which is good for a week - to use in negotiations with the Kia dealer. Probably should clean it out and get it cleaned up, inside and out.

Anything else I'm missing?

oldfarmer50

ronsteve said:

sda said:

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

It seems some dealers are starting to feel the pinch as inventory ramps up. I received this today.
Dear STEVEN,
I hope you are having a great day. My name is Alden and I'm the General Sales Manager here at Volkswagen of South Charlotte. The reason you are getting this email is that we accidentally ordered too many new Volkswagens from the factory and our lot is overflowing. We have more vehicles in stock than we have had in years, and we simply don't have room! Because of this, we are offering every new Volkswagen in stock at INVOICE price THIS WEEK ONLY. That's invoice, not MSRP.

That’s assuming invoice means the same thing to you as it does to the dealer.

As an aside, my son just passed thru Charlotte and was nearly stranded there after his flight from Las Vegas was delayed 4 hours and he missed his connection. That’s a pretty good sized airport you have there although the kid says the Vegas airport is bigger.

Sorry to learn your son missed his connection. Never good. Weather delay somewhere? The Charlotte airport has grown tremendously in size and volume in the past 20 years. It is impressive, yet I don't like going there much as it is always crowded, heavy traffic and parking has become an expensive hassle.

From that side of the equation, I can see the gripe with just about any hub airport. That being said, if you're making a connection, CLT is one of the more pleasant places to do so, especially compared to other AA hubs. (DFW you just hope you're on something big enough to go through the D concourse, ORD and PHL are pretty dumpy.) The rocking chairs upstairs at CLT are a nice touch.

I wasn’t being critical of the airport. It was just that for an autistic guy traveling alone it was stressful to be in such a large (relative to our local) airport and miss his connection. He called me not knowing what to do and I had to direct him to the airline to book on another flight. I was quite proud of him for handling it himself and grateful the airline accommodated him.

stickguy

Benjamin, smart getting the outback instead of versing your wife into a sedan she really didn’t want. That rarely ends well and most likely you would be picking between the Camry and Acura soon to keep 1!

I also wouldn’t be without one utility vehicle of some kind (pickup, wagon or CUV). We often enough need the boxy capacity that it would be a hassle to not have it available. This week I had to pick up a bulky wine fridge at Lowe’s and it sat fine in the back of my truck. And would have laid down in the RDX. And would not have gotten into most of my sedans, if any. The 20 bags of mulch also worked better in a truck bed.

My wife also likes the higher driving position. She dislikes low cars. She also has only regularly driven a minivan or RDX since about 1995 so is certainly used to the view from up there.

stickguy

@Michaell said:
9 years and counting with the Outback, and only 64K miles on it.

Doing price research on the Sportage, in anticipation of a possible purchase later today.

Dealer has 33 Sportage PHEVs on the lot, 14 of which are the X-Line trim. And, of those 14, 3 are the blue color that is the preference. MSRP is $41,140 on each of those three, with a $799 dealer handling charge, and a small upcharge to take their price to $43,179 (OK, only $1200 over MSRP, but still...).

Edmunds says TMV is $39,660; I figure I'd start at $39,200 (plus the $799) for an even $40K before trade in, taxes, etc.

Quick review on Edmunds (Carmax) tells me the MINI is worth $9400 in trade. I've saved that offer - which is good for a week - to use in negotiations with the Kia dealer. Probably should clean it out and get it cleaned up, inside and out.

Anything else I'm missing?

Maybe a Carvana quote. Otherwise make it shiny and wear your Kevlar boxers.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
So, 2.25 miles per hour of charging.

@tjc78 how about your EV Mercedes?

Since charging is free and we don’t drive much I do not have a home charger (yet). Our car tops out at 300 miles at 100% charge.

At the superchargers (150KW) - 30% to 80% is a half hour. The last 20% takes another half hour.

tjc78

Bradd.. big congrats!

Sandman6472

So, am perfectly happy doing nothing right now after hearing all these stories. Hate to get all excited about a vehicle only to have it sold from under my feet because my timing was a bit off. Stopped looking all together and will wait probably another year unless...unless something I love falls in my lap!

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

So, am perfectly happy doing nothing right now after hearing all these stories. Hate to get all excited about a vehicle only to have it sold from under my feet because my timing was a bit off. Stopped looking all together and will wait probably another year unless...unless something I love falls in my lap!

I think I mentioned my BIL paying for all sorts of add-on options for a Maxima near Orlando so the games are still being played in Florida.

ab348

stickguy said:

I also wouldn’t be without one utility vehicle of some kind (pickup, wagon or CUV). We often enough need the boxy capacity that it would be a hassle to not have it available. This week I had to pick up a bulky wine fridge at Lowe’s and it sat fine in the back of my truck. And would have laid down in the RDX. And would not have gotten into most of my sedans, if any. The 20 bags of mulch also worked better in a truck bed.

Last week I needed a few 10’ deck boards to replace a few that had gotten soft after many years. I already knew that 8’ boards are the max I can fit into the ATS with the seat folded down so I knew these would be poking out the back. No problem with securing them but I discovered that because the inside of the trunk lid is completely lined, there is no place to tie it down. I ended up trying a bungee cord on the one spot of the lining that isn’t totally solid, a cut where the emergency trunk release handle is found. Unfortunately the lining was flexible enough that it allowed the lid to move over bumps, which wasn’t ideal. But I got them home with no issue. It did make me wish I had something that could handle that sort of thing occasionally.

stickguy

I had some more stuff to drop at our son's house today (using him as a free storage unit for things we don't want to try and pack on a truck! so the truck came in handy. A couple of tower speakers and a couple of cases of wine just shoved in the back and easy to access.

benjaminh

Took our new Outback today to a favorite park for bike riding. As our salesperson demonstrated for us, the cargo cover conveniently can be taken off and hidden away. You can put it in a dedicated spot for it above the spare tire. This allowed us to put our two folding bikes in the back while still having the seats up. I'm quite familiar with this winding stretch of road down to Turkey Run Park, having taken it many times in my TLX as well as a few times in the CR-V. Given the cushy ride I was surprised at how nimble the Outback was on tight turns. The Yokohama Avid Ascend GT tires performed well too, giving good grip without squealing like a 70s cop show when pushed a bit. So far impressed with the car, which has a surprising number of quirks and unique features. For instance, there's a special hidden button on the back tail gate. If you don't have the key fob, or your key's battery dies, you tap in your own preprogrammed 5 digit code in the back and it will unlock your car for you. If your key fob battery dies, but you still have it, just hold it next to the starter button and the vehicle will still start (although probably that last thing is true of other cars as well?).

In case you are carrying something, you can also wave your hand or elbow across the Subaru star logo on the back, and then the power tailgate will lift up.

Reviews of the new Camry commented on how all the materials for the back seat Camry doors are hard plastics, but the materials for the rear doors on the Outback are the same as the front, and have cushioned fabric and soft touch materials.

The power driver's seat is 10-way, instead of 8-way for the CR-V as well as my TLX. Surprisingly luxurious station wagon. The power with the standard engine is adequate for our needs, and mpgs seem good so far.

On a side note, we are not only Chronic Car Buyers but also Chronic Cat Adopters. Below is Odie, who is the fifth cat that one of our grown kids has literally rescued off various streets. Odie was a kitten wandering the streets of Columbus, Ohio, eight months ago, perhaps about to be run over, when some college friends of our daughter rescued him. They couldn't take him, and neither could she (already has a cat, who actually doesn't get along with Odie), and so we got the guy. He bonded with my wife right away, but at first he wouldn't let me pet him. After a month, however, he began to warm up to me, and shortly after that we became good friends.

corvette

I love the Parklands! I wonder whether that feature on the tailgate can be used to deliberately lock the keys inside the car and retrieve them later (I think some runners prefer not to carry around car keys or other extra stuff).

ab348

Hi Odie!

benjaminh

corvette said:

I love the Parklands! I wonder whether that feature on the tailgate can be used to deliberately lock the keys inside the car and retrieve them later (I think some runners prefer not to carry around car keys or other extra stuff).

Yes, exactly. Normally the key can't be locked in the car, but there's a way to put the Subaru key "to sleep," and then it could be hidden in the car somewhere and locked in the car. When someone gets back from a run, or whitewater rafting, or whatever, you can then get into your car, wake up your key, and be on your way.

I don't think it's something we'd ever use, but...who knows?

Another weird quirk of it is that one screen shows the oil temperature, and not in terms of cold, medium, or hot, but very specifically—151 degrees Fahrenheit, or whatever it is at that moment, and I'm sure it can be changed to Celsius/metric as well. We don't need to monitor our oil to that degree lol, and so we put instead the "widget" screen level (as Subaru calls) on to the temperature and weather where you are, with forecasts for 3 hours later, and also 6 hours.

corvette

In the Volt, I have the gauges set to provide the most basic information available. The Maverick has physical basic gauges and a small info center in the middle. On the Maverick, I keep the info center on the lane departure screen, since that makes it easy to see when the LDWS is locked onto the lanes.

suydam

It took us 3 months to get comfortable with the tech in the Kia! I have become a big fan of the voice assistant because you never have to take your eyes off the road.
The Blazer does that one better by integrating Google Assistant into the system. We have had great fun by asking it the wing speed of hummingbirds and who is favored to win the U.S. Open. I think we will enjoy that on a long road trip which we will be taking later this fall!

roadburner

The Jeep has a page that displays water/oil/ATF temperatures, oil pressure and battery voltage.. I select it when I'm interested in what the IC engine is doing.
On the C43 I have engine oil temp, ATF temp and boost on the left of the speedometer/tachand on the right I have average speed, average mpg and range.
In both vehicles the guages readout the exact temperatures/pressures and are not buffered- unlike the useless gauges on modern BMWs.

roadburner

I felt extremely sorry for the guy who posted this on another board:
The other day [my wife]caught me scanning wild eyed on the computer (as I tend to do for hours) looking at all sorts and brands of classic cars. She just finally says "why dont we just go and get a Challenger or a Charger since you want another car so bad and forget about going with some Toyota Rav4 or Camry or Honda CRV etc.... Now she has put all the pressure on me because I been trying to do the right thing here by going with a sensible / economic keeper daily driver and she is dangling the sports car thing in front of me again..... I have a feeling I will do the common sense thing
Currently the poor sod owns a 200k mile 2009 Accord and a 99k mile 2018 Accord.

I replied:
If your wife is in favor of buying an entertaining car over a soul-slaughtering appliance, then I say GO FOR IT! I've been blessed with a wife who has never attempted to curtail my automotive purchases and activities and I could not be more thankful. I know too many people whose spouses do their best to eradicate any interesting vehicles in their garage under the guise of practicality. A pox on them.

ronsteve

The Tiguan has a page dedicated to oil temperature (to the degree Fahrenheit). My better half was in a semi-panic when she got in it once and I happened to leave the display on that page when I drove it last. Now I make sure I leave it on range when I get out. (We have put about 800 miles on it in the 9 weeks we have had it, and I think I have probably driven 700 of those miles)

One page the RDX has that the Tiguan doesn't is the individual tire pressures. It's a good chance to check regularly and adjust as needed, which I have two that seem to lose a couple psi before the others.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I felt extremely sorry for the guy who posted this on another board:
The other day [my wife]caught me scanning wild eyed on the computer (as I tend to do for hours) looking at all sorts and brands of classic cars. She just finally says "why dont we just go and get a Challenger or a Charger since you want another car so bad and forget about going with some Toyota Rav4 or Camry or Honda CRV etc.... Now she has put all the pressure on me because I been trying to do the right thing here by going with a sensible / economic keeper daily driver and she is dangling the sports car thing in front of me again..... I have a feeling I will do the common sense thing
Currently the poor sod owns a 200k mile 2009 Accord and a 99k mile 2018 Accord.

I replied:
If your wife is in favor of buying an entertaining car over a soul-slaughtering appliance, then I say GO FOR IT! I've been blessed with a wife who has never attempted to curtail my automotive purchases and activities and I could not be more thankful. I know too many people whose spouses do their best to eradicate any interesting vehicles in their garage under the guise of practicality. A pox on them.

At the very least a man deserves a wife that will tell him “you might as well do it, you know that you’ll do whatever you want anyway.”

stickguy

that sounds like my wife. "just do it so I can stop hearing about it" along those lines.

Sandman6472

Got up a bit early this morning and ended up picking up a breakfast sandwich and brought it home to eat. Noticed that the fuel gauge is down just above a quarter of a tank full and thinking of letting it get down a bit longer before I fill it up gain. Last time I put some 87 octane was on May 11th, so I really haven't driven that much. Was thinking some fresh petrol might just be the thing to do now. Saw BJ's has 87 at $2.99, the lowest I've seen in over a year! Still out of work this week as I have a couple of therapy sessions plus another couple of doctor appointments this week. Have set my return to work day as a week from Monday, the 17th as I feel it's time to get back to my "normal" life again. The wife made a snarky comment last night that I seem to be enjoying the time off which I just let go. It's not that I'm enjoying it, more like I'm starting to feel more like "me", as I was shaken up a bit from the intense dizziness I had about half a dozen times...scared me to the core honestly! But it's made me think about what I really want to do going forward.

Decided that retiring again is not what I want right now, think I'd go nuts really. I like the social interaction plus I do like to drive. But don't want to make any major changes right now so hoping to get the doctor's note releasing me to drive on Thursday and go from there. And will play it by ear then. I'll know soon enough if the dizziness comes back and if so, I'll turn in my keys, so to speak. But, it's got to be my decision here, mine & mine alone. I won't be a safety hazard to others or myself going forward. So, plan on keeping the Golf a bit longer and revisit things at the end of the year. It'll need an oil change/rotation come September which will probably get done. It'll be 10 years old come December and doubt it'll have 80K on the clock. As long as nothing needs to be fixed, will shoot for another year. Tires are in great shape though might have the brakes checked over since everything is still original. No longer trips are planned this year, wife has a couple of conferences in Orlando this summer and early fall, but I'm going to keep on working and see what happens.

oldfarmer50

Is this a sign that the car market is returning to normal?

Yesterday I got a mailer from the Kia dealer offering me a $500 discount just like in the old days. Then this morning the local multi line dealer was advertising $1750 off on any Hyundai on the lot. I’ve also heard radio ads offering $6k off on Silverado trucks.

Now of course these may just be the come ons to get you in the door where they can hit you with ADMs or bogus mandatory dealer installed options but it at least sounds encouraging.

stickguy

Just look at how full the lots are. Seem to be back to relatively normal.

28firefighter

Helped my buddy pick up a BMW i5. Discounts are back! He’s down in NorCal and I was able to get him 14% dealer discount plus rebates and buy rate MF. He got a loaded up eDrive 40 with M performance professional and is thrilled - even has massaging seats.

Not the kind of BMW I want to drive, but he’s happy!

greg128

stickguy said:

Just look at how full the lots are. Seem to be back to relatively normal.

Saw in our paper lease deals of $89 per mo. for new Equinox (MSRP $28K) and $99 per mo. for Equinox EV (MSRP $50K). Of course reading fine print for 24 months - 10K miles per year. $3500 down plus $995 bank fee plus tax and fees additional on both. Also includes all lease incentives that not everyone is eligible for. What is interesting is that the ICE and EV versions are basically similarly priced despite the $22K difference although I am sure that the federal tax credit applies on the EV.

ab348

suydam said:

It took us 3 months to get comfortable with the tech in the Kia! I have become a big fan of the voice assistant because you never have to take your eyes off the road.
The Blazer does that one better by integrating Google Assistant into the system. We have had great fun by asking it the wing speed of hummingbirds and who is favored to win the U.S. Open. I think we will enjoy that on a long road trip which we will be taking later this fall!

Every time I've tried using voice on either the ATS or the iPhone it cannot understand me. It's worse than an ex-wife.

I see people talking to their phones or their cars and I just don't understand why my voice is apparently a dialect they can't decipher. But IMO they look dorky doing it so I take some comfort from that.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

suydam said:

It took us 3 months to get comfortable with the tech in the Kia! I have become a big fan of the voice assistant because you never have to take your eyes off the road.
The Blazer does that one better by integrating Google Assistant into the system. We have had great fun by asking it the wing speed of hummingbirds and who is favored to win the U.S. Open. I think we will enjoy that on a long road trip which we will be taking later this fall!

Every time I've tried using voice on either the ATS or the iPhone it cannot understand me. It's worse than an ex-wife.

I see people talking to their phones or their cars and I just don't understand why my voice is apparently a dialect they can't decipher. But IMO they look dorky doing it so I take some comfort from that.

If those systems can decipher all the various American accents it should have no trouble with Canadian….unless you’re speaking French.🤨

My Mustang has voice commands for various things but I got bored with it after a week and never used it again.

stickguy

I never even think of using voice commands. Unless I happen to be using carplay and want a text read or to call someone.

sda

Happy Father's day! This looks like the ultimate cruiser. I saw it this morning at the Cadillac dealer.

sda

I haven't seen this lot so full in years. They have a good selection of all models

stickguy

I imagine Cadillac sales are not that great lately.

qbrozen

FINALLY got the correct brakes pads and compressor. Was able to button it up today. What a bear getting that compressor replaced. And, since I was under there, I crafted a replacement tray for the missing one. And took it for a spin. What a fantastic car to drive. I can’t understand how they make it feel so light.

I really think, if the Alfa fits me and meets expectations, I may sell the Charger.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

I felt extremely sorry for the guy who posted this on another board:
The other day [my wife]caught me scanning wild eyed on the computer (as I tend to do for hours) looking at all sorts and brands of classic cars. She just finally says "why dont we just go and get a Challenger or a Charger since you want another car so bad and forget about going with some Toyota Rav4 or Camry or Honda CRV etc.... Now she has put all the pressure on me because I been trying to do the right thing here by going with a sensible / economic keeper daily driver and she is dangling the sports car thing in front of me again..... I have a feeling I will do the common sense thing
Currently the poor sod owns a 200k mile 2009 Accord and a 99k mile 2018 Accord.

I replied:
If your wife is in favor of buying an entertaining car over a soul-slaughtering appliance, then I say GO FOR IT! I've been blessed with a wife who has never attempted to curtail my automotive purchases and activities and I could not be more thankful. I know too many people whose spouses do their best to eradicate any interesting vehicles in their garage under the guise of practicality. A pox on them.

At the very least a man deserves a wife that will tell him “you might as well do it, you know that you’ll do whatever you want anyway.”

————————————————-
That has to be Mrs. j talking. As long as her car starts, moves when it’s put in gear and gets her back and forth from the grocery store/mall, she’s all smiles. She doesn’t care what I buy for myself since she’s never going to drive it anyhow. The best part is, I didn’t even have to train her, she came wrapped up for me like that.

As for her general knowledge of cars she probably thinks a V6 is twice as big as a V3.

jmonroe

stickguy

Mrs. JM and Mrs. SG sound similar. But mine got to be a brand snob when I got her the first Acura. So it has to be nice, and relatively simple for at least the basics since BMW level stuff my send her over the edge. But Lord forbid if it strands her. 1 and done at this point.

She does though care what I buy, because she has to ride in it. as long as she can get in and out OK and it is comfortable enough, then it is all up to me.

roadburner

stickguy said:

I never even think of using voice commands. Unless I happen to be using carplay and want a text read or to call someone.

The C43 voice recognition works very well, as did the setup in the 2er. I find it most useful for radio station selection and simple navigation commands like "Go home." or "Previous destinations."

roadburner

stickguy said:

Mrs. JM and Mrs. SG sound similar. But mine got to be a brand snob when I got her the first Acura. So it has to be nice, and relatively simple for at least the basics since BMW level stuff my send her over the edge. But Lord forbid if it strands her. 1 and done at this point.

She does though care what I buy, because she has to ride in it. as long as she can get in and out OK and it is comfortable enough, then it is all up to me.

My wife was even on board with my plan to buy a supercharged Elise, but it sold before I was able to grab it.

jmonroe1

I’m at a car cruise right now with Son #1. He brought his 2017 Chevy SS in Orange Blast color. It’s attracted a fair number of folks but not because of the color (which of course doesn’t hurt) since these car buffs know it’s a Holden built in Australia and sold here as an SS and it’s also badged here as a Pontiac G8 but those don’t seem to be nearly as popular.

This place is HUGE, 22 acres per their web site (Norwin Elks Lodge No. 2313). My Son told me it starts at noon but you better get here early. We got here at 11:30 and drove around to find a parking. You name it and it’s here. Not too far from where we parked there was a 1953 Packard in the original color of light cream green. Last year they said they had 1400 cars. Almost all were show cars and it looks like that today too. I’m trying to convince myself it’s this BIG. Bigger than any car cruise I’ve ever attended. You gotta see it to believe it.

jmonroe

stickguy

roadburner said:

stickguy said:

Mrs. JM and Mrs. SG sound similar. But mine got to be a brand snob when I got her the first Acura. So it has to be nice, and relatively simple for at least the basics since BMW level stuff my send her over the edge. But Lord forbid if it strands her. 1 and done at this point.

She does though care what I buy, because she has to ride in it. as long as she can get in and out OK and it is comfortable enough, then it is all up to me.

My wife was even on board with my plan to buy a supercharged Elise, but it sold before I was able to grab it.

I don't think my wife could get in an Elise. If she did, might not ever get out.

Michaell

jmonroe1 said:

I’m at a car cruise right now with Son #1. He brought his 2017 Chevy SS in Orange Blast color. It’s attracted a fair number of folks but not because of the color (which of course doesn’t hurt) since these car buffs know it’s a Holden built in Australia and sold here as an SS and it’s also badged here as a Pontiac G8 but those don’t seem to be nearly as popular.

This place is HUGE, 22 acres per their web site (Norwin Elks Lodge No. 2313). My Son told me it starts at noon but you better get here early. We got here at 11:30 and drove around to find a parking. You name it and it’s here. Not too far from where we parked there was a 1953 Packard in the original color of light cream green. Last year they said they had 1400 cars. Almost all were show cars and it looks like that today too. I’m trying to convince myself it’s this BIG. Bigger than any car cruise I’ve ever attended. You gotta see it to believe it.

jmonroe

I saw an SS the other day with vanity plates that read "LSTHREE".

oldfarmer50

I got ambition today and washed both the summer cars. The Mustang got the ceramic/silicone sealant that really shines and the hooptie just got the wash & wax. Both look good.

I’m debating on whether or not to have paint correction done on the convertible. There is some checking on the clear coat mainly on the trunk but I can see some blotchy spots in a few areas. I just wonder if it’s worth it and if I start down that road will I be tempted to put a new top on or do other “more than it’s worth” stuff.

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

I’m at a car cruise right now with Son #1. He brought his 2017 Chevy SS in Orange Blast color. It’s attracted a fair number of folks but not because of the color (which of course doesn’t hurt) since these car buffs know it’s a Holden built in Australia and sold here as an SS and it’s also badged here as a Pontiac G8 but those don’t seem to be nearly as popular.

This place is HUGE, 22 acres per their web site (Norwin Elks Lodge No. 2313). My Son told me it starts at noon but you better get here early. We got here at 11:30 and drove around to find a parking. You name it and it’s here. Not too far from where we parked there was a 1953 Packard in the original color of light cream green. Last year they said they had 1400 cars. Almost all were show cars and it looks like that today too. I’m trying to convince myself it’s this BIG. Bigger than any car cruise I’ve ever attended. You gotta see it to believe it.

jmonroe

There was an SS at the last show I attended; it had been re-badged with the correct Holden emblems.

stickguy

I was going to wash and wax the RDX today to get it out of the way, since withe the move and a wedding coming up time for that will be tough to find. Plus I won't have a paved driveway when we move in! But instead I mowed and edged the yard before lunch and helped out with some packing. We got a lot of packing to do yet, but have gotten quite a bit out of the way. it just never ends.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

jmonroe1 said:

I’m at a car cruise right now with Son #1. He brought his 2017 Chevy SS in Orange Blast color. It’s attracted a fair number of folks but not because of the color (which of course doesn’t hurt) since these car buffs know it’s a Holden built in Australia and sold here as an SS and it’s also badged here as a Pontiac G8 but those don’t seem to be nearly as popular.

This place is HUGE, 22 acres per their web site (Norwin Elks Lodge No. 2313). My Son told me it starts at noon but you better get here early. We got here at 11:30 and drove around to find a parking. You name it and it’s here. Not too far from where we parked there was a 1953 Packard in the original color of light cream green. Last year they said they had 1400 cars. Almost all were show cars and it looks like that today too. I’m trying to convince myself it’s this BIG. Bigger than any car cruise I’ve ever attended. You gotta see it to believe it.

jmonroe

There was an SS at the last show I attended; it had been re-badged with the correct Holden emblems.

————————————————
My Son is in a small group of Holden owners, maybe 10 guys. One of the guys had/has 2 SS’s and he re-badged everything with Holden badges. No one else wants to do that, at least not yet. My Son jokes with the re-badged guy that he wants to keep his car original. Just like it came off the line.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Washing and polishing? Yup, did some of that today.