Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

pensfan83

kyfdx said:

I'd pick the 2-row over the 3-row, every time. Those fold down seats still take up space when folded, and I'm never putting six or more people in my vehicle. (or 20 bags of mulch, either.. lol)

The CX-70 is still 200" long though, a couple inches longer than the MDX. That's about a foot too long for a 2 row SUV IMO. My parents Passport comes in at 189" and they have a ton of room behind the 2nd row and it's downright cavernous with that folded.

ab348

stickguy said:

I could get into a purple Golf with a manual.

VW calls the color Lapiz Blue but it is unquestionably purple metallic. I found the car on their website. $55,000 in worthless Canadian dollars.

https://www.vw.ca/en/inventory.html/details/WVWEB7CDXRW215421?postal_code=B3A2A3&distance=100&category=new&model=golfr

kyfdx

pensfan83 said:

kyfdx said:

I'd pick the 2-row over the 3-row, every time. Those fold down seats still take up space when folded, and I'm never putting six or more people in my vehicle. (or 20 bags of mulch, either.. lol)

The CX-70 is still 200" long though, a couple inches longer than the MDX. That's about a foot too long for a 2 row SUV IMO. My parents Passport comes in at 189" and they have a ton of room behind the 2nd row and it's downright cavernous with that folded.

I agree.. it's silly that it's the same size as the 90.

We rented a Passport and can confirm, the luggage area is huge.

nyccarguy

ab348 said:

The discussion about Mazdas is interesting. It seems like the public are either Mazda people or not. I have a difficult time with their products which seem to have a few long-standing compromises built in (the 6-speed automatic, the infotainment, the excess of black plastic trim outside) that they seem unwilling to address. I know from my limited experience riding in them that there is a bit of NVH with the ones I've been in which I suppose people consider an acceptable trade-off for the zoom-zoom factor. I have a hard time understanding their direction. I noted to my surprise a couple of lightly used CX-90s on the used lot at the dealer I visited yesterday which surprised me since I haven't really seen many on the road here yet. Hopefully they weren't retail sales that owners had already had enough of.

I feel like Mazda is an interesting company in the non enthusiast public eye. I feel like a lot of people equate Mazda with Miata. I feel like the 3 is an enthusiast's small car. People go to mazda looking for one. If you walk into a mazda dealer looking for a small car and then see the CX30 is much cheaper to lease than a similarly priced 3 you are going to think something is off. Do they still make the Cx5, or just the CX50? Either way, you've got a solid competitor to a CRV or RAV4. How much does the shopper prioritize interior fit & finish as well as athletic handling over fuel economy?

breld

Having had a couple Miatas, a Mazda3 and a CX-9, I've been a fan of Mazdas for sure, but haven't pulled the trigger on one for quite a while at this point. As I mentioned, we were almost there on the CX-50, but thought the Taos was too good of a value.

I like the CX-90/70...the interior looks very upscale and the powertrain definitely sets it apart from the competitors, but when I test drove one, I was a little underwhelmed. They get credit for developing the I-6 for sure, but it's certainly no BMW engine. And I've found the center console on this and the previous version to be intruding on knee room.

If/when I want to add a manual trannie to the garage, a Miata will always be a consideration, though I may steer more toward a GR86/BRZ. I think I'd be okay sacrificing the drop top for a roomier cabin.

andres3

breld said:

Sandman6472 said:

Which trim of the Taos is that? I like the SE myself, which is what I've got in my current Golf, the middle grade. But, I wish I had gone with the SEL back in 2014. Do like it in that color and the 0% financing is very tempting right now. Looks to be about 175" or so but need to look at my spec sheet because anything longer then that just won't fit on my side of the garage. Sure wish I had a garage similar to yours, heck, I'd love a 3-car garage!

Sandy - it’s an SE trim.

We had spent Friday afternoon and then the better part of Saturday shopping, looking at the Civic Hatch and Integra, the Mazda CX-30 and CX-50 and the Kona and Tucson before landing at VW. My stepdaughter initially liked the CX-30 the best, but my wife pointed out how tiny it was on the inside and convinced her that may not be the best idea for long-term. So then she gave the CX-50 a chance and ended up loving that. Even the lower trim models, which may have squeaked within our budget, are well equipped.

We actually stopped at the Mazda dealer Saturday morning to give them a first shot (we had already been there Friday afternoon and decided the CX-50 was top of the list). To be fair, I didn’t call ahead, and our salesperson was with another buyer. I told him we could just schedule a time to return since we were looking at other cars, and he sort of surprised me by agreeing and saying it’d be best if we came back later that afternoon.

So off we went to Hyundai and then VW. This whole thing started with my stepdaughter texting us a picture of that exact Taos, so obviously she already was drawn to it. Salesperson was fantastic and the deal was so easy that we just decided to get it done. Sorry Mazda salesperson!

The CX-50 I test drove over the weekend. I liked it decently enough. I drove the turbo version of course. It's roomy inside (wider than CX-5, but shorter roof line; but tall enough; it's sleeker). The turbo makes the car feel good; it has only decent HP numbers but it has outstanding torque. Makes it feel faster and more powerful than it is. I doubt there discounting them like Honda Passports though. I didn't care for the Passport, even with the big V6, it felt, big, plodding, kind of slow, heavy, and more noise/loud than go.

stickguy

@breld said:
Having had a couple Miatas, a Mazda3 and a CX-9, I've been a fan of Mazdas for sure, but haven't pulled the trigger on one for quite a while at this point. As I mentioned, we were almost there on the CX-50, but thought the Taos was too good of a value.

I like the CX-90/70...the interior looks very upscale and the powertrain definitely sets it apart from the competitors, but when I test drove one, I was a little underwhelmed. They get credit for developing the I-6 for sure, but it's certainly no BMW engine. And I've found the center console on this and the previous version to be intruding on knee room.

If/when I want to add a manual trannie to the garage, a Miata will always be a consideration, though I may steer more toward a GR86/BRZ. I think I'd be okay sacrificing the drop top for a roomier cabin.

My wife would make the convertible for room trade also. I really like the BRZ. I just wish it came with a moonroof. Not sure I can give up all up top light and air!

stickguy

@ab348 said:
VW calls the color Lapiz Blue but it is unquestionably purple metallic. I found the car on their website. $55,000 in worthless Canadian dollars.

https://www.vw.ca/en/inventory.html/details/WVWEB7CDXRW215421?postal_code=B3A2A3&distance=100&category=new&model=golfr

I love that color. Not too far off from my truck. But not in the least purple.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

@ab348 said:

VW calls the color Lapiz Blue but it is unquestionably purple metallic. I found the car on their website. $55,000 in worthless Canadian dollars.

https://www.vw.ca/en/inventory.html/details/WVWEB7CDXRW215421?postal_code=B3A2A3&distance=100&category=new&model=golfr

I love that color. Not too far off from my truck. But not in the least purple.

————————————————
You’re not looking at it in worthless Canadian sunlight.

jmonroe

laurasdada

Son-in-law, who traded his Golf R for a Tesla 3, just traded his Tesla 3 for a Golf R in that color. Bought in AZ, drove back to SF this past weekend.
He could be a member here.

pensfan83

breld said:

Having had a couple Miatas, a Mazda3 and a CX-9, I've been a fan of Mazdas for sure, but haven't pulled the trigger on one for quite a while at this point. As I mentioned, we were almost there on the CX-50, but thought the Taos was too good of a value.

I like the CX-90/70...the interior looks very upscale and the powertrain definitely sets it apart from the competitors, but when I test drove one, I was a little underwhelmed. They get credit for developing the I-6 for sure, but it's certainly no BMW engine. And I've found the center console on this and the previous version to be intruding on knee room.

If/when I want to add a manual trannie to the garage, a Miata will always be a consideration, though I may steer more toward a GR86/BRZ. I think I'd be okay sacrificing the drop top for a roomier cabin.

One of the brokers on LH has a manual (I think) GR 86 Premium with a $1,500 discount. Relative to MSRP I think that's a little under 5%.

roadburner

1995 Club Sport- 151k miles
2015 X1- 71k miles
2020 C43- 37k miles
2021 Sahara- 30k miles

stickguy

I barely cracked 30k between both cars. Which I have had for a combined total of 5 years and 4 months. And for about 15 months if that we only had 1 car.

xwesx

stickguy said:

good choice. My daughter is not really a big fan of her CX-30, and is looking forward to shopping next spring (I get to help this time!) since her lease is over June, 2025. It is a big cramped inside, and the gas tank is tiny and it annoys her to have to fill it so often (does not really get great MPG for something that size, a definite problem when it has a tiny tank).

She really wants a Volvo. that should be fun!

Hah! Yeah, you spoiled her early on. It's tough to forget those first cars, especially when they're really nice!

breld

Our daughter had her Jetta for just under 6 years and 64k miles. Bought it for around $21k and traded for $13k. Nice deal. Her mom and I should probably follow her lead.

sda

2006 Acura TL 185k miles
2016 Audi Q5 67k miles
2018 VW Passat 51k miles

ab348

stickguy said:

@ab348 said:

VW calls the color Lapiz Blue but it is unquestionably purple metallic. I found the car on their website. $55,000 in worthless Canadian dollars.

https://www.vw.ca/en/inventory.html/details/WVWEB7CDXRW215421?postal_code=B3A2A3&distance=100&category=new&model=golfr

I love that color. Not too far off from my truck. But not in the least purple.

One of us must be colorblind.

stickguy

https://www.vwvortex.com/attachments/img_0184-jpeg.349311/

Looks blue to me

ab348

Looks purple in person.

xwesx

My oldest vehicle is also my lowest mileage one at just over 75,000 and a solid 55 years old.

I finally moved the Q7 for the first time since October. Strangely, when I went to start it on Saturday, it initially started up for a few seconds, but then died. When I tried to restart, I could not get it to turn the engine over. It sounded like it was meeting resistance (e.g., hydrolocked) rather than just being a low battery. I decided to let it sit over night to charge up the battery again after multiple starting attempts. Sunday, I tried again using the old technique for clearing floods on carbureted engines: Turn on the car, press and hold the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor, then start. It cranked a couple times, then caught, coughing and sputtering until I let off the pedal, then smoothed right out and ran just fine.

Curious. But, boy, oh boy!, was it blissful to cruise it around the "block" a couple of times just to warm the engine up and cycle the fluids. That car is so smooth and quiet. The difference between it and my Forester is like the difference between my Forester and a Model T.

tifighter

@pensfan83 said:
One of the brokers on LH has a manual (I think) GR 86 Premium with a $1,500 discount. Relative to MSRP I think that's a little under 5%.

I don’t know how many of you are aware of the no mark up Toyota facebook group, but the 86 and GR Corolla are pretty easy to find now. Even the occasional MT Supra pops up sometimes.

xwesx

ab348 said:

One of us must be colorblind.

I dunno. In full sun, I think it is distinctly purple. Otherwise, it looks solidly dark blue. Very nice color either way.

Like the "black cherry" color that is somewhat widespread across manufacturers. Outside of direct sun, these cars often look black at a glance, but they are quite purple in bright sun.

pensfan83

@tifighter said:

@pensfan83 said:
One of the brokers on LH has a manual (I think) GR 86 Premium with a $1,500 discount. Relative to MSRP I think that's a little under 5%.

I don’t know how many of you are aware of the no mark up Toyota facebook group, but the 86 and GR Corolla are pretty easy to find now. Even the occasional MT Supra pops up sometimes.

For me it was never an issue of finding one at sticker. My Toyota dealer has been there since the beginning. But seeing one below is a surprise.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

Looks purple in person.

————————————————
I’ve already explained why.

jmonroe

corvette

Adios to the Volt!

oldfarmer50

benjaminh said:

Now that we have a new Outback for my wife, she suggests just selling our 2018 CR-V to our daughter at a very low price, rather than lending it to her long-term. Gives our daughter more stake in it being her car, and my wife says for insurance/liability that's a wiser move. Any thoughts?

It’s always good to help out your kids if you can and she gets a car with a known maintenance history. How low a price depends on you and your kid. I bought a number of cars from my parents as they bought new ones and in turn I pass my cars down to my kids.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I could get into a purple Golf with a manual.

I drove one today (automatic) and I can see why people like them.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I barely cracked 30k between both cars. Which I have had for a combined total of 5 years and 4 months. And for about 15 months if that we only had 1 car.

My fleet is 5, 9, 11 and 24 years old respectively and 25k, 18k, 31k and 87K miles.

xwesx

roadburner said:

1995 Club Sport- 151k miles
2015 X1- 71k miles
2020 C43- 37k miles
2021 Sahara- 30k miles

How about that.... in perfect matching order between age and mileage. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised!

Sandman6472

My Golf is going to be 10 come the middle of December and gotta a feeling it's going to be staying in the herd for awhile to be honest. Think I would've gotten a 2023 Kona like the wife has had I started looking about a year earlier when there were plenty in stock. Now, I've found a few down in Miami mostly and not in a color I'd want. And no way am I getting the same exact color as what we already have! So, best just to keep what I got and fix anything that breaks. The way I'm putting mileage on, I won't hit 90K for a good 4 to 5 years from now.

But, time will tell. Waiting to check out the new 2025 Nissan Kicks as it checks a lot of the boxes right now. Also like the Buick Encore GX. The idea of car shopping is giving me nightmares so just trying to save as much as I can right now.

ab348

With the regular Golf being discontinued here the only version you can get aside from the R version is the GTI. Unfortunately the color selection is atrocious - white, black or red. I mean, really…

roadburner

My son went from our 2009 328i to his CPO 2018 330i xDrive Sport.

qbrozen

I don’t think I could do this too effectively. Let’s see…

16-yr-old Charger 83k miles
16-yr-old Maser 74k (?) miles
10-yr-old Fiat 28k (?) miles
4-yr-old Volvo 48k (?)
13-yr-old gmc 128k
28-yr-old Suzuki 30k
28-yr-old Opel 35k
2-yr-old Sprinter 12k (?)

Alfa incoming but low miles
Coronet TMU
Mini is at 91k and not moving. lol

xwesx

qbrozen said:

I don’t think I could do this too effectively. Let’s see…

Valiant effort, sir, though a good problem to have (in my opinion!).

roadburner

breld said:

Having had a couple Miatas, a Mazda3 and a CX-9, I've been a fan of Mazdas for sure, but haven't pulled the trigger on one for quite a while at this point. As I mentioned, we were almost there on the CX-50, but thought the Taos was too good of a value.

I like the CX-90/70...the interior looks very upscale and the powertrain definitely sets it apart from the competitors, but when I test drove one, I was a little underwhelmed. They get credit for developing the I-6 for sure, but it's certainly no BMW engine. And I've found the center console on this and the previous version to be intruding on knee room.

If/when I want to add a manual trannie to the garage, a Miata will always be a consideration, though I may steer more toward a GR86/BRZ. I think I'd be okay sacrificing the drop top for a roomier cabin.

I loved my Mazdaspeed3; when Mazda kicked Mazdaspeed to the curb I lost interest.

ronsteve

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

Who needs a house out in Hackensack? Is that all you get for your money?

nyccarguy

We are doing years owned/mileage updates?

22 years - 163K miles - 2001 Prelude
2 years - 51K miles - 2022 Highlander
2 years - 37K miles - 2022 Wrangler
Less than 1 year - 16K miles - 2023 Tacoma

I did a lot of highway driving over the last few days in the Highlander. Filled up yesterday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the 28.79 mpg. Most tanks are between 17 - 20 mpg.

[Deleted User]

2021 Tacoma 15k
2013 Pilot 112k
2012 Corolla 83k
2007 4Runner 199k
2006 Sequoia 219k
1966 Mustang ~325k - it's a guestimate, shows ~25k, not sure how many times it's rolled over!

28firefighter

So, I must have forgotten about it, but my 2 has Apple CarPlay included except the default setting is that it only uses part of the display. Very annoying.

I ordered a Bluetooth OBD connector and downloaded BimmerCode to my phone. Pretty nifty setup. Was able to code Apple CarPlay to full screen along with a couple other things I didn’t know were adjustable (folding mirrors on lock, memory for heated seats/steering wheel etc).

I could have been killed!

tifighter

@tifighter said:

We’re in Tahoe this week for some vacay and have a Pacifica for our rental. Minivans rule. That is all.

Welp…

xwesx

YES!!!!! Congrats on that!

nyccarguy

Sienna!

28firefighter

Tried to tell you, @tifighter. They rock. If my wife wasn’t vehemently opposed to vans, we’d have had a Pacifica hybrid. I still think now with two dogs we may end up with one.

au1994

What left the fleet?

benjaminh

nyccarguy said:

ab348 said:

The discussion about Mazdas is interesting. It seems like the public are either Mazda people or not. I have a difficult time with their products which seem to have a few long-standing compromises built in (the 6-speed automatic, the infotainment, the excess of black plastic trim outside) that they seem unwilling to address. I know from my limited experience riding in them that there is a bit of NVH with the ones I've been in which I suppose people consider an acceptable trade-off for the zoom-zoom factor. I have a hard time understanding their direction. I noted to my surprise a couple of lightly used CX-90s on the used lot at the dealer I visited yesterday which surprised me since I haven't really seen many on the road here yet. Hopefully they weren't retail sales that owners had already had enough of.

I feel like Mazda is an interesting company in the non enthusiast public eye. I feel like a lot of people equate Mazda with Miata. I feel like the 3 is an enthusiast's small car. People go to mazda looking for one. If you walk into a mazda dealer looking for a small car and then see the CX30 is much cheaper to lease than a similarly priced 3 you are going to think something is off. Do they still make the Cx5, or just the CX50? Either way, you've got a solid competitor to a CRV or RAV4. How much does the shopper prioritize interior fit & finish as well as athletic handling over fuel economy?

I liked the CX-50 that I took on a test drive, but it did have some drawbacks. For a rather large exterior the interior size seemed unimpressive. And stats confirm that it has 56 cubit feet of room with the seats folded compared to 76 for both the Outback and CR-V. We rarely used all that room in our CR-V, but several times during the six years we've owned it we have used most of that room. The CX-50 also has a torsion beam rear suspension rather than the independent suspensions found in the CR-V and Outback. Even on bumpy pavement the CX-50's ride wasn't as good as our CR-V, and was definitely less comfortable than the luxury-like Outback. Power seemed weaker on the Mazda, even compared to the Subaru, and definitely when compared with the turbo CR-V. Finally, the control dial in the CX-50 for the dashboard screen seemed doable, but not as intuitive as the touch screens on the CR-V and Outback. Liked the CX-50, but to my surprise we liked the Subaru more.

I feel like the Mazda 3 can't be considered an enthusiast's car bc of its torsion-beam rear suspension. Another drawback is that the rear seat in the Mazda 3 is rather cramped.

PS Yes, Mazda does still sell the CX-5, which has quite an overlap in size and price with the CX-50.

stickguy

The odyssey was super
Convenient when we had our older
Lab. Very easy for him to get in and out the side door, and he loved laying in a bed between the middle seats and could put his chin up on the console between the front seats. Plenty of room for him to stretch back there.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

So, I must have forgotten about it, but my 2 has Apple CarPlay included except the default setting is that it only uses part of the display. Very annoying.

I ordered a Bluetooth OBD connector and downloaded BimmerCode to my phone. Pretty nifty setup. Was able to code Apple CarPlay to full screen along with a couple other things I didn’t know were adjustable (folding mirrors on lock, memory for heated seats/steering wheel etc).

I could have been killed!

My wife's X3 is the same way.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Tried to tell you, @tifighter. They rock. If my wife wasn’t vehemently opposed to vans, we’d have had a Pacifica hybrid. I still think now with two dogs we may end up with one.

Unfortunately, my mother in law is not going to be able to make our trip to the Outer Banks, NC with us this year as she planned. So with that in mind, I'm going to go ahead and rent a minivan since our highlander is clearly not big enough for the 5 of us plus luggage. There is an Enterprise near me (through Costco) that will rent me a Pacifica (or similar) for $633.

I've got to drop the Highlander off for service tomorrow. It needs an oil change and tire rotation. It is due for some fluid changes at 60K miles, but I want to get them done now. Front & Rear differential fluid as well as brake fluid. I asked if coolant and transmission fluid need to be replaced. The service advisor said no. "Those don't need to be replaced until 100K miles."

tjc78

@stickguy said:
The odyssey was super
Convenient when we had our older
Lab. Very easy for him to get in and out the side door, and he loved laying in a bed between the middle seats and could put his chin up on the console between the front seats. Plenty of room for him to stretch back there.

I have good friends who can drive anything they want. Their current fleet consists of 2 newer Escalades, one older Escalade truck (forget the name, Avalanche clone), F350 Dually and an Odyssey. The Odo is a few years old with over 100K on it and they drive it everywhere.

tjc78

Current fleet

2 year old Ram - 18K
(Almost) 1 year old EQE - 7K (had 3500 when bought)
2 year old Icon Golf Cart - 615

Yeah we don’t drive much