Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

andres3

cdnpinhead said:

It's a testament to the decency of these boards that no one seems to worry about fuzzing out their number plates. It's not like that . . . out there.

Never fully understood fuzzing out license plates, given it's public information each time you drive, but I have seen it done many times.

andres3

kyfdx said:

I love Discount Tire!

Is this going to generate more pop up ad revenue on this site?

In some areas, they are known/named America's Tires.

explorerx4

Town Fair sucks. Very high pressure and they treat their people terribly.

andres3

xwesx said:

benjaminh said:

Whatever you decide, you may know that Subaru has a guaranteed trade-in program. You enter your vin at their site and they give you a set trade-in value as long as your Subaru is in good condition.

https://www.subaru.com/gtp.html

Pffht. That's so useless. It only applies for up to eight years from the vehicle's in-service date. Who'd trade in a car that new?!

LOL! It actually is kinda useless because it's very hard to go 8 years without "other" bad drivers hitting you in CA, and even though Insurance companies will tell you there's no value difference between a vehicle that has been repaired and one that hasn't, but........................ Subaru says:

The Guaranteed Trade-In Program Value is based on the vehicle being in safe operating condition and free of existing and/or previously repaired collision damage which required panel and/or part(s) replacement.

I'm sure there's no good reason for that exclusion Everyone should believe what Insurance companies tell you.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

I never have lived near a discount tire store. I assume they might be affiliated with a different chain name around here.

38 states
1100 stores

Also, bought Tire Rack

————————————————
The closest one to me is about 10 miles away. Although I’ve only heard good things about them I’ll probably stay with the Firestone store where I’ve been buying Bridgestone tires for awhile now. Unless I want to try the Michelin Cross Climate tires that everyone seems to think so highly of.

jmonroe

ab348

I have an acquaintance in CT who used Mavis Tire there and was very pleased.

stickguy

In Jersey I had used Mavis for quite a while, once they finally came to the area. Before that used a few places. A local operation and NTB.

I used to get tires or brakes a lot more often I guess!

au1994

We may need to explain this ‘buying replacement tires’ to @breld.

Kidding, I had plenty of 1 year tenures in my past.

tjc78

Mavis is a great company! They bought all the NTBs and many other smaller chains.

My old boss works there and I was very close to jumping ship! Their corp office is in White Plains NY. I would have to had to relocate.

stickguy

You don’t want to know what your house would cost in Bergen or westchester.

breld

au1994 said:

We may need to explain this ‘buying replacement tires’ to @breld.

Kidding, I had plenty of 1 year tenures in my past.

All my vehicles come with tires for the full ownership period. Pretty good deal.

corvette

breld said:

All my vehicles come with tires for the full ownership period. Pretty good deal.

And oil changes!

stickguy

Lifetime wax also

carnaught

What is this? BRELD’s frequent flyer rewards?

Michaell

Just finished a long conversation with my sister. They are in the home stretch of their drive from Portland to San Diego, and nobody wants to make this drive again at the end of the summer to get the kid and the car back up to Spokane.

So, she's asked me to check into what it might cost to ship the vehicle. We figure it takes about 3 days and maybe $750 or so to drive it - hotels, gas, food. If shipping is roughly the same, they might consider it and put him on a $150 flight.

I know @breld has had cars shipped to him, but wanted to float the idea out to the group to see if anyone else had recommendations. It doesn't have to be enclosed, for sure.

explorerx4

The thing with shipping is you need to get quotes closer to the ship date.
I went through Shiply, a broker, and didn't respond to any of the initial quotes.
Got revised lower quotes after that.
Pretty sure qbrozen told me about that service.

andres3

Michaell said:

Just finished a long conversation with my sister. They are in the home stretch of their drive from Portland to San Diego, and nobody wants to make this drive again at the end of the summer to get the kid and the car back up to Spokane.

So, she's asked me to check into what it might cost to ship the vehicle. We figure it takes about 3 days and maybe $750 or so to drive it - hotels, gas, food. If shipping is roughly the same, they might consider it and put him on a $150 flight.

I know @breld has had cars shipped to him, but wanted to float the idea out to the group to see if anyone else had recommendations. It doesn't have to be enclosed, for sure.

Sleep in the car and reduce that hotel/gas/food charge drastically.....

qbrozen

@explorerx4 said:
The thing with shipping is you need to get quotes closer to the ship date.
I went through Shiply, a broker, and didn't respond to any of the initial quotes.
Got revised lower quotes after that.
Pretty sure qbrozen told me about that service.

Yeah, they don’t want to bother with you until you are ready to ship because they look to find someone already on that route who has open space.

Get the free estimate from uship and know that you can get it a little less than that.

xwesx

Michaell said:

Just finished a long conversation with my sister. They are in the home stretch of their drive from Portland to San Diego, and nobody wants to make this drive again at the end of the summer to get the kid and the car back up to Spokane.

So, she's asked me to check into what it might cost to ship the vehicle. We figure it takes about 3 days and maybe $750 or so to drive it - hotels, gas, food. If shipping is roughly the same, they might consider it and put him on a $150 flight.

I know @breld has had cars shipped to him, but wanted to float the idea out to the group to see if anyone else had recommendations. It doesn't have to be enclosed, for sure.

I am... just.... no. We're talking a road trip here! He just needs to make sure he doesn't take any more with him than fits in the car, get in, and go. I have no idea what this "hotels and restaurants" thing is. He should be able to make that trip in 1.5 days (e.g., two driving days) and $250. Come on, Mr. College Student, harness your sense of adventure!

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
You are right, I think the broker was uship and the actual shipper was shiply.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
You don’t want to know what your house would cost in Bergen or westchester.

We looked. Total sticker shock.

At the end of the day it made zero sense to leave for a modest increase.

cdnpinhead

xwesx said:

I am... just.... no. We're talking a road trip here! He just needs to make sure he doesn't take any more with him than fits in the car, get in, and go. I have no idea what this "hotels and restaurants" thing is. He should be able to make that trip in 1.5 days (e.g., two driving days) and $250. Come on, Mr. College Student, harness your sense of adventure!

You wrote the post that I was thinking, but the last time I posited that a road trip made sense, plus saving money, I got a "wow, just wow."

You and I and a few others on here actually enjoy driving a vehicle somewhere, somewhere more than 50 miles from home. We're an endangered species.

Michaell

cdnpinhead said:

xwesx said:

I am... just.... no. We're talking a road trip here! He just needs to make sure he doesn't take any more with him than fits in the car, get in, and go. I have no idea what this "hotels and restaurants" thing is. He should be able to make that trip in 1.5 days (e.g., two driving days) and $250. Come on, Mr. College Student, harness your sense of adventure!

You wrote the post that I was thinking, but the last time I posited that a road trip made sense, plus saving money, I got a "wow, just wow."

You and I and a few others on here actually enjoy driving a vehicle somewhere, somewhere more than 50 miles from home. We're an endangered species.

Hey, I'm with you guys. I was living vicariously through their trip down the 101 in OR and CA.

If I had the time, I'd be happy to accompany him on the return trip at the end of the summer.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I paid off the Wrangler in April and my FICO score was 829; in May it dropped to 805.

Go figure.

Mine dropped when I paid off an auto loan too. Now when I review my credit profile they suggest if only I had another card loan to pay off my credit score would go right back up.

explorerx4

I used to dread picking my kid up from Miami U, OH. It was about 800 miles one way and my 02 Explorer would be fully loaded on the way out but there were 3 of us.
There was alway more stuff on the way back and none of it was ever packed up when I got there, although only 2 for that trip.
I got pretty good at fitting everything in after several repacking attempts.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

It's a testament to the decency of these boards that no one seems to worry about fuzzing out their number plates. It's not like that . . . out there.

I can’t conceive of what you could do with that information but unfortunately, I’m sure someone has.😫

venture

nyccarguy said:

"Since Mrs. Venture is used to the turbo power in the Ascent, I wonder how she will feel about the standard boxer engine."

She'll be checking the turbo box!

I don't know if the turbo has ever been asked to do any work...at least when she is driving it.

venture

benjaminh said:

venture said:

...She definitely wants another Subaru. The Outback does not appeal to her for some reason, but the new Forester does...

We did some comparisons between the Outback and the Forester, and for us the Outback seemed like better value. Since the 2025 Forester is almost all-new and has gone up in price, the 2024 Outback actually has a slightly lower list price, even though usually it's the reverse since the Outback is a longer and slightly more luxurious vehicle. Also because the Forester is new, discounts are difficult to find, while we were offered $2k off list right away for the Outback. Currently there's 1.9% financing on the Outback for 48 months, while for the Forester it's 5.9%. For a four year loan the higher interest costs about $3k more. The Outback has 75.6 cubic feet of storage with the seats folded, compared to 69 for the Forester. The Outback with the standard engine can tow up to 2700 pounds, while the Forester is limited to 1500 pounds. The Forester has a 16 gallon tank, which is fine, but the Outback's 18 gallon tank allows for more miles between fill-ups. The Outback also has standard cross bars for the roof rack, which are an extra-cost accessory for the Forester. And a small thing is that the rear windows on the Outback go all the way down, while on the Forester they only go down about 2/3rds of the way. The new Forester no-doubt has improvements, but being a mostly new model might have less reliability, while the current generation Outback has been out for about five years and we hope has the bugs worked out.

Since Mrs. Venture is used to the turbo power in the Ascent, I wonder how she will feel about the standard boxer engine. It's enough power for us, but it's on the slow side when accelerating or passing. A turbo is available for the Outback as an option, but only the standard engine is available on the Forester.

Whatever you decide, you may know that Subaru has a guaranteed trade-in program. You enter your vin at their site and they give you a set trade-in value as long as your Subaru is in good condition.

https://www.subaru.com/gtp.html

I'm not looking for value. I'm looking for something that will make her happy.

Financing doesn't matter either since I will just pay for it.

She doesn't tow or haul anything. She used to haul kids, but they have grown and gone about their own business.

A turbo means nothing to her. I always get more in a trade than their program says it's worth. It's the one everyone says, "doesn't have a mark on it".

venture

pensfan83 said:

They finally opened a DT close (15 minutes) to us but I've been using the same family owned shop for tires since I was a teenager. When I needed tires for the Prelude last year DT was cheaper but the indie shop has always done right by my family so until they close the doors or sell the business I'll continue to patronize them whenever possible.

Same here. Discount Tire opened about a year ago about 10 minutes away. I don't buy tires often, but still go to the old family run business.

stickguy

Michaell said:

Just finished a long conversation with my sister. They are in the home stretch of their drive from Portland to San Diego, and nobody wants to make this drive again at the end of the summer to get the kid and the car back up to Spokane.

So, she's asked me to check into what it might cost to ship the vehicle. We figure it takes about 3 days and maybe $750 or so to drive it - hotels, gas, food. If shipping is roughly the same, they might consider it and put him on a $150 flight.

I know @breld has had cars shipped to him, but wanted to float the idea out to the group to see if anyone else had recommendations. It doesn't have to be enclosed, for sure.

Just store it in Fintails driveway for the summer!

xwesx

I'm a bit of a tire snob, and I will only buy the tires that I want for my car(s), so often that means that the "family-run business" won't get my business when it comes to buying tires. They often have specific brands, and even more limited models, that they carry. However, I'm all for having the tires installed there!

explorerx4

Neferious people clone license plates for a similar vehicle then stick the real owner with fines for tolls, camera speeding tickets, etc.

@jmonroe1,
What do you think of this one? Not 80 to 115K.
One of my problems is I have 2 kids and only 1 Mustang.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/vdp.action?listingId=376874322&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2&sourceContext=criteo&cgfv=0.25&cgfr=4&cgfab=Q&px8324=p66&dnetworktype=r&cgfdate=2024620&cgfloc=en&cgrt=1&cgp=28900&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=criteo_remarketing&param=148973&criteoSource=native&ax8324=2306760&cto_pld=yROBOKAhAAACd5GlkJm_3w&pid=mini_vdp_main_image#listing=376874322

xwesx

Michaell said:

Hey, I'm with you guys. I was living vicariously through their trip down the 101 in OR and CA.

If I had the time, I'd be happy to accompany him on the return trip at the end of the summer.

Oh, they did the 101?! That surely felt like a LONG trip! It's about 1,200 miles taking the most direct route, which I think would take him up through Winnemucca and 395 on Oregon's east side (through Burns and Pendleton). However, 101 is beautiful, so that makes up for it a bit, but (for me) not enough to contend with summer tourist traffic along the coast.

You should make time for the trip, if it's a possibility. I'm sure it would be a great time with lasting memories.

oldfarmer50

venture said:

nyccarguy said:

"Since Mrs. Venture is used to the turbo power in the Ascent, I wonder how she will feel about the standard boxer engine."

She'll be checking the turbo box!

I don't know if the turbo has ever been asked to do any work...at least when she is driving it.

Speaking of turbos, I had the opportunity to drive a F-150 xlt with the 2.7L ecoboost today. I was blown away by the 31mpg gas mileage over 150 miles of mixed highway and country roads. My 3.7L NA might get mid 20s if I had a tailwind. I’m sure the 10 speed auto helped with the mileage. It also beats my truck by 25hp and over 100ft.lbs. of torque which gave it a lot of pick up.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Toyota copied the wrong Ford turbo V6 and didn't do a good job of it.
The 2.7 is wayy under rated powerwise.
My Explorer has the 3.0 version of the 2.7.

28firefighter

I would absolutely roadtrip it myself or with some friends. There is lots of great places to stop on the way from Spokane to SoCal, too! Seattle, Rainier, Portland, Bend, Eugene, SF…

My drives across PA, OH, NJ, NY, DC etc in my college days are some of the best memories I have.

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

Neferious people clone license plates for a similar vehicle then stick the real owner with fines for tolls, camera speeding tickets, etc.

@jmonroe1,
What do you think of this one? Not 80 to 115K.
One of my problems is I have 2 kids and only 1 Mustang.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/vdp.action?listingId=376874322&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2&sourceContext=criteo&cgfv=0.25&cgfr=4&cgfab=Q&px8324=p66&dnetworktype=r&cgfdate=2024620&cgfloc=en&cgrt=1&cgp=28900&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=criteo_remarketing&param=148973&criteoSource=native&ax8324=2306760&cto_pld=yROBOKAhAAACd5GlkJm_3w&pid=mini_vdp_main_image#listing=376874322

————————————————
Probably not too much after you tell me how many times that car has seen 14K miles.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

nyccarguy said:

"Since Mrs. Venture is used to the turbo power in the Ascent, I wonder how she will feel about the standard boxer engine."

She'll be checking the turbo box!

I don't know if the turbo has ever been asked to do any work...at least when she is driving it.

Speaking of turbos, I had the opportunity to drive a F-150 xlt with the 2.7L ecoboost today. I was blown away by the 31mpg gas mileage over 150 miles of mixed highway and country roads. My 3.7L NA might get mid 20s if I had a tailwind. I’m sure the 10 speed auto helped with the mileage. It also beats my truck by 25hp and over 100ft.lbs. of torque which gave it a lot of pick up.

————————————————
All this talk of mileage in the 30’s reminds me of my ‘95 Bonneville with the 3800 V6 engine that got 32 MPG repeatedly when doing interstate driving with the AC on. Neither my ‘15 Genny or Mrs. j’s ‘18 Legacy can come close to that mileage on the interstate.

jmonroe

Michaell

stickguy said:

Michaell said:

Just finished a long conversation with my sister. They are in the home stretch of their drive from Portland to San Diego, and nobody wants to make this drive again at the end of the summer to get the kid and the car back up to Spokane.

So, she's asked me to check into what it might cost to ship the vehicle. We figure it takes about 3 days and maybe $750 or so to drive it - hotels, gas, food. If shipping is roughly the same, they might consider it and put him on a $150 flight.

I know @breld has had cars shipped to him, but wanted to float the idea out to the group to see if anyone else had recommendations. It doesn't have to be enclosed, for sure.

Just store it in Fintails driveway for the summer!

That would have been a great suggestion .... a month ago.

This will be his last year at EWU; once he gets his masters degree, it's off to a different school for his doctorate.

My sister is hoping the school is at least in California.

Michaell

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Hey, I'm with you guys. I was living vicariously through their trip down the 101 in OR and CA.

If I had the time, I'd be happy to accompany him on the return trip at the end of the summer.

Oh, they did the 101?! That surely felt like a LONG trip! It's about 1,200 miles taking the most direct route, which I think would take him up through Winnemucca and 395 on Oregon's east side (through Burns and Pendleton). However, 101 is beautiful, so that makes up for it a bit, but (for me) not enough to contend with summer tourist traffic along the coast.

You should make time for the trip, if it's a possibility. I'm sure it would be a great time with lasting memories.

I did drive the 101 from Oxnard to Arcata years ago, to visit a childhood friend who was attending Humboldt State University.

That was a long, one day drive - it didn't help that I got lost in SF and went in circles for a bit before finding the Golden Gate Bridge (this was in the days before smart phones and Google maps).

Came home using I-5, which was much quicker.

I know they took a more direct route when they drove him up last fall - him in his Jetta, mom and dad following behind with a U-Haul.

They deliberately took the scenic route - got some great pictures of the Oregon coast.

kyfdx

I took the 101 from Hollywood Hills to Westlake, just last month. I don't see what the big deal is.

kyfdx

The guy that owned my independent tire shop was about 10-15 years older than me. After I bought the BMW coupe in 2010, had him put on a set of used rear tires (255/35-18) that I had picked up on e-bay.

Afterwards, he said: I'd be okay if you didn't bring me any more tires for that car..

He just had a two-man shop. Did great work for me, but he closed up and sold the building in 2016. It's a Cross-Fit gym, now.

A lot of that happens when you get older. I turn 66 this month. My barber is 68, and he's been cutting my hair since 1979. He's down to two days/week. If he quits, I'm going with the pony tail.

Had the same PCP from 1989-2020. Solo practice. He was going to retire in 2021, but closed up shop when COVID hit. At least the new guy is 20 years younger than me.

I have a Firestone, Tires Plus, Tire Discounters and others within two miles of my house. I've bought a couple sets of tires from the Firestone store.. One from Tire Discounters. A set from Sam's Club, and another from Costco.

But, the best is Discount Tire. They really know what they're doing, and have great prices.

venture

I forgot - I bought a 2021 Subaru Legacy for my grandson last night. I'll post a little more info. if he ever gets around to sending me a picture.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Neferious people clone license plates for a similar vehicle then stick the real owner with fines for tolls, camera speeding tickets, etc.

@jmonroe1,
What do you think of this one? Not 80 to 115K.
One of my problems is I have 2 kids and only 1 Mustang.
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inventorylisting/vdp.action?listingId=376874322&entitySelectingHelper.selectedEntity=d2&sourceContext=criteo&cgfv=0.25&cgfr=4&cgfab=Q&px8324=p66&dnetworktype=r&cgfdate=2024620&cgfloc=en&cgrt=1&cgp=28900&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=criteo_remarketing&param=148973&criteoSource=native&ax8324=2306760&cto_pld=yROBOKAhAAACd5GlkJm_3w&pid=mini_vdp_main_image#listing=376874322

For that price you could buy mine. Not a convertible but seeing heaven when you floor it somewhat makes up for that.😉 similar mileage and mine’s original.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

venture said:

nyccarguy said:

"Since Mrs. Venture is used to the turbo power in the Ascent, I wonder how she will feel about the standard boxer engine."

She'll be checking the turbo box!

I don't know if the turbo has ever been asked to do any work...at least when she is driving it.

Speaking of turbos, I had the opportunity to drive a F-150 xlt with the 2.7L ecoboost today. I was blown away by the 31mpg gas mileage over 150 miles of mixed highway and country roads. My 3.7L NA might get mid 20s if I had a tailwind. I’m sure the 10 speed auto helped with the mileage. It also beats my truck by 25hp and over 100ft.lbs. of torque which gave it a lot of pick up.

————————————————
All this talk of mileage in the 30’s reminds me of my ‘95 Bonneville with the 3800 V6 engine that got 32 MPG repeatedly when doing interstate driving with the AC on. Neither my ‘15 Genny or Mrs. j’s ‘18 Legacy can come close to that mileage on the interstate.

jmonroe

Great engine. The gas gauge on my Oldsmobile was broken so after a 300 mile trip with passengers and luggage I was sure I was empty. It only took 10 gallons.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

The guy that owned my independent tire shop was about 10-15 years older than me. After I bought the BMW coupe in 2010, had him put on a set of used rear tires (255/35-18) that I had picked up on e-bay.

Afterwards, he said: I'd be okay if you didn't bring me any more tires for that car..

He just had a two-man shop. Did great work for me, but he closed up and sold the building in 2016. It's a Cross-Fit gym, now.

A lot of that happens when you get older. I turn 66 this month. My barber is 68, and he's been cutting my hair since 1979. He's down to two days/week. If he quits, I'm going with the pony tail.

Had the same PCP from 1989-2020. Solo practice. He was going to retire in 2021, but closed up shop when COVID hit. At least the new guy is 20 years younger than me.

I have a Firestone, Tires Plus, Tire Discounters and others within two miles of my house. I've bought a couple sets of tires from the Firestone store.. One from Tire Discounters. A set from Sam's Club, and another from Costco.

But, the best is Discount Tire. They really know what they're doing, and have great prices.

I know the feeling. I’ve outlived 2 out of three independent repair shops that I trusted. My current PCP is getting to retirement age but that concerns me less than losing a good mechanic.😟

stickguy

I had a PCP like that in Jersey. Close to 30 years. He retired and a young guy took over. Liked him but we moved up north. Managed to find a practice taking new patients but after one visit that guy retired. Switched offices and that PCP makes me look like a spring chicken. And in really good shape. I’m not counting on him even making it to my next appointment the shape he is in.

Cars, having just newer ones is easy. Haven’t needed anything but the dealer in years.

oldfarmer50

venture said:

I forgot - I bought a 2021 Subaru Legacy for my grandson last night. I'll post a little more info. if he ever gets around to sending me a picture.

When he sells it have him take it to Vermont where Subarus are worshiped as the official state vehicle! Just be careful of the quirky Vermonters.

Yesterday we were returning on rt. 22a which is an empty country road with only occasional passing opportunities. We came up on a Tacoma with roofing company graphics doing exactly 3 mph under the speed limit. After about 10 miles we got an opportunity to pass and did so but Mr. roofer took exception and pitched a fit with multiple middle fingers and shouting.

If we had known this guy owned the road we would have asked permission to pass.🤬

Michaell

I liked the PCP I had so much I followed him to 5 different practices, and waited out a brief relocation to AZ (he hated it!) and a sabbatical in Poland.

He's my age, and now works part time at a practice too far away from me to make the logistics work.

Same with my eye doc - he owned the practice and I loved going to see him. He sold the practice and started to work part time - I still try to arrange my appointments to get him when he's in the office. Bonus - he tracks a C6 from time to time.

pensfan83

Speaking of indie shops, I have got to land on one for the BMW or use one of the other area dealers. Went in for an oil change and coolant change on Wednesday. The steering wheel turned my hands black from grime as soon as I touched it, which the SA was appropriately livid about and got it cleaned up pretty quickly. Then I don't get a mile down the road before the coolant light comes on. It went off after a minute so I didn't think anything of it. Stopped for lunch and then on the way home it came on again and was on steady in 90 degree heat so I stopped off to get some coolant and watched the temp gauge like a hawk the whole ride home. This is the same dealer who won't take a waiter after 9AM, doesn't provide loaners to cars older than a decade, and whose systems were down on Wednesday so they photo copied a credit card, which I wasn't thrilled with at all, and will run it when they are back up.

EDIT: I checked the oil level when I got home as a precaution. At least they did that right.