Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jmonroe1

pensfan83 said:

kyfdx said:

@pensfan83 Yikes!

You know, I replaced the whole cooling system, at one point?

Yep, and I don't want to do that anytime soon. Took almost a half bottle of coolant to get it squared away and then I took it on a drive to the store. No drips, leaks, or coolant light so here's hoping it's been addressed. I did get a call back from the dealer but they thought I wanted to schedule an appointment for service so they put me through to the SA's mailbox again. That was Friday.

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To keep the system fully functional long term, I think you have to register the coolant addition.

jmonroe

roadburner

On Saturday a friend of mine from church had his Giulia Quadrifoglio parked a couple of cars down from me. We talked for some time and he said that in the year he's owned it the car has been flawless. He's absolutely in love with it. If something happened to the C43 I might be tempted, but I'd still probably stick with another Mercedes-AMG or possibly an M2 CS.

xwesx

roadburner said:

On Saturday a friend of mine from church had his Giulia Quadrifoglio parked a couple of cars down from me. We talked for some time and he said that in the year he's owned it the car has been flawless. He's absolutely in love with it. If something happened to the C43 I might be tempted, but I'd still probably stick with another Mercedes-AMG or possibly an M2 CS.

Sounds like he bought "the one."

tifighter

@corvette said:
You're not wrong. Quite a few punches in June. The Ariya that I just bought is now six spots behind on the list. Here's what I have so far:

2024 punch list (total 23):
01/03/24 carnaught 2024 Honda HR-V EX-L
02/09/24 js06gv 2024 RAM 1500 Longhorn
02/19/24 tifighter 2023 Honda Civic Type R
02/20/24 qbrozen 2011 GMC Sierra SLE 4x4 124k
02/28/24 oldfarmer50 2013 Ford F-150 XL RWD 8’ 3.7L 30k
03/31/24 28firefighter 2015 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI 77k
04/03/24 greg128 2020 Cadillac XT5 Premium 23k
04/13/24 ronsteve 2021 VW Tiguan SE 4Motion 38k
04/16/24 qbrozen 1998 Alfa Romeo 156 40k
04/30/24 venture 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
05/12/24 rny421 2024 Mercedes GLC
05/xx/24 clm8 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E lease
06/04/24 suydam 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV
06/04/24 breld 2023 Audi A6 Allroad
06/08/24 suydam 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV 2LT
06/14/24 benjaminh 2024 Subaru Outback
06/18/24 corvette 2023 Nissan Ariya Engage AWD (lease)
06/20/24 venture 2021 Subaru Legacy
06/22/24 breld 2024 VW Taos (stepdaughter)
06/25/24 tifighter 2024 Toyota Sienna Platinum AWD
06/28/24 venture 2025 Subaru Forester
06/28/24 xwesx 2013 Ford F250 Lariat 426k
07/01/24 au1994 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited

And here I came into the year thinking I wouldn’t make a punch…

au1994

What’s our record for a year?

andres3

roadburner said:

More:

andres3 said:

Looking at the newer X3 M40i's .... I like them, they are similar to the GV70 from Genesis, just a bit faster/quicker, a bit better handling, better exhaust sound and noises, and both of them have some oddball styling choices, particularly in the interior, but the Genesis even more oddball to me.

Found a '21 with 65K miles that might be right up my alley with the X3 M40i. Just need to see if they are willing to give a good price as the car does have a dozen little "cuts" about it, but I think I could live with it.

One example is no HK audio. How much does BMW's base sound system suck?
Another is the service records are good, they have no big holes, but they consistently lackadaisically got services a bit late, from 11.5K to 13K mile intervals. I give that a barely passing C- grade as at least they didn't miss one and the records prove it.

The base system isn't as bad as it used to be. Bavsound offers upgrades to the speakers and subs for @$1,400.

Thanks for the excellent recommendation. Bavsound looks like the perfect solution and they seem to think there stuff is good enough to even replace the HK speakers and subs for even more dollars (partly because HK system has more speakers). Crutchfield was going to be double (and it would sound better with amp and all), but Bavsound seems like the perfect compromise. Install will be a bit of a pain, but maybe a punch is looming now.

corvette

au1994 said:

What’s our record for a year?

We had 48 in 2020, but a few of those should be disqualified, since I was counting in-laws and others not on the board where the CCBA member didn’t financially assist. 45 in 2016 and 2018 and 46 in 2017. 43 in 2014.

au1994

corvette said:

au1994 said:

What’s our record for a year?

We had 48 in 2020, but a few of those should be disqualified, since I was counting in-laws and others not on the board where the CCBA member didn’t financially assist. 45 in 2016 and 2018 and 46 in 2017. 43 in 2014.

Challenge accepted

qbrozen

Something was following me very close today.

xwesx

Stop short, get out, and give that guy a piece of your mind!

28firefighter

Upgrade day. Finally removed the only vestiges of chrome.

Still debating painting or replacing my wheels with Jet Black of the same style.

Edit to add: I did do this myself. Surprisingly annoying.

28firefighter

And now my brother in law pointed out my chrome plate frames. Can’t unsee that now.

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Upgrade day. Finally removed the only vestiges of chrome.

Still debating painting or replacing my wheels with Jet Black of the same style.

Edit to add: I did do this myself. Surprisingly annoying.

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I see a few scratches, what did you use, a hammer and chisel?

jmonroe

28firefighter

You know how to make a guy’s OCD pop, @jmonroe1

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

You know how to make a guy’s OCD pop, @jmonroe1

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That’s why I’m here.

jmonroe

venture

28firefighter said:

And now my brother in law pointed out my chrome plate frames. Can’t unsee that now.

Front license plates are a crime on humanity.

kyfdx

venture said:

28firefighter said:

And now my brother in law pointed out my chrome plate frames. Can’t unsee that now.

Front license plates are a crime on humanity.

Agreed

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

You know how to make a guy’s OCD pop, @jmonroe1

I put the Piano Black grilles on the ZHP. So, no chrome, but the stock wheels still had the silver finish. I think that's perfectly appropriate. Silver isn't chrome.

nyccarguy

venture said:

28firefighter said:

And now my brother in law pointed out my chrome plate frames. Can’t unsee that now.

Front license plates are a crime on humanity.

I agree. I think they finally ditched the front plate requirement in CT. I've gotten used to the look of the front plate over the years, but cannot stand when to do so they have to drill into the front bumper to install the front plate. I can't tell you how many front plates I see where the plate is a few inches off center. My Tacoma came from PA which doesn't require a front plate. It came with a front bracket from Toyota. I was going to leave it, but since my son was going to be driving it I didn't want to take the chance. It came with instructions on what specific size drill bit to use and there are even 2 dimples in the front bumper to show you where to drill.

28firefighter

I hate that we have front license plates here (and in Cali where this car is from). I’d have left it off, but it was already drilled.

qbrozen

Only 2 other pics I took so far. Son went with me to port because the woman of the house insisted I have a babysitter.

We saw a beautiful near mint Panda there, so I took the chance to sit in it. Nope, I don’t fit. Weird considering it is bigger than a Kei vehicle. So we have eliminated that from the shopping list.

Of note: we were a bit disturbed by the different shades of red on the car. I thought possibly some replaced panels. But, no, after more inspection, I realized the rear doors are plastic! Guess that was their way of saving some weight. But now with age, the bumpers, spoiler, and rear doors are all a bit more faded than the metal parts. It isn’t horrible, but noticeable.

And there have been some mods to the car. Has Eibach springs and the front tower brace, that I have found so far. Given my current health status, I can’t crawl around it just yet.

nyccarguy

tifighter said:

@corvette said:

You're not wrong. Quite a few punches in June. The Ariya that I just bought is now six spots behind on the list. Here's what I have so far:

2024 punch list (total 23):

01/03/24 carnaught 2024 Honda HR-V EX-L

02/09/24 js06gv 2024 RAM 1500 Longhorn

02/19/24 tifighter 2023 Honda Civic Type R

02/20/24 qbrozen 2011 GMC Sierra SLE 4x4 124k

02/28/24 oldfarmer50 2013 Ford F-150 XL RWD 8’ 3.7L 30k

03/31/24 28firefighter 2015 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI 77k

04/03/24 greg128 2020 Cadillac XT5 Premium 23k

04/13/24 ronsteve 2021 VW Tiguan SE 4Motion 38k

04/16/24 qbrozen 1998 Alfa Romeo 156 40k

04/30/24 venture 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport

05/12/24 rny421 2024 Mercedes GLC

05/xx/24 clm8 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E lease

06/04/24 suydam 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV

06/04/24 breld 2023 Audi A6 Allroad

06/08/24 suydam 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV 2LT

06/14/24 benjaminh 2024 Subaru Outback

06/18/24 corvette 2023 Nissan Ariya Engage AWD (lease)

06/20/24 venture 2021 Subaru Legacy

06/22/24 breld 2024 VW Taos (stepdaughter)

06/25/24 tifighter 2024 Toyota Sienna Platinum AWD

06/28/24 venture 2025 Subaru Forester

06/28/24 xwesx 2013 Ford F250 Lariat 426k

07/01/24 au1994 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited

And here I came into the year thinking I wouldn’t make a punch…

Where have I heard that one before?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Something was following me very close today.

Probably from Jersey I assume?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Only 2 other pics I took so far. Son went with me to port because the woman of the house insisted I have a babysitter.

We saw a beautiful near mint Panda there, so I took the chance to sit in it. Nope, I don’t fit. Weird considering it is bigger than a Kei vehicle. So we have eliminated that from the shopping list.

Of note: we were a bit disturbed by the different shades of red on the car. I thought possibly some replaced panels. But, no, after more inspection, I realized the rear doors are plastic! Guess that was their way of saving some weight. But now with age, the bumpers, spoiler, and rear doors are all a bit more faded than the metal parts. It isn’t horrible, but noticeable.

And there have been some mods to the car. Has Eibach springs and the front tower brace, that I have found so far. Given my current health status, I can’t crawl around it just yet.

The car looks fantastic from the photos! Clean engine bay! I hope you get stronger & better soon!

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

You know how to make a guy’s OCD pop, @jmonroe1

I put the Piano Black grilles on the ZHP. So, no chrome, but the stock wheels still had the silver finish. I think that's perfectly appropriate. Silver isn't chrome.

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Half way. Do you also take a shower with your skivvies on?

jmonroe

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

tifighter said:

@corvette said:

You're not wrong. Quite a few punches in June. The Ariya that I just bought is now six spots behind on the list. Here's what I have so far:

2024 punch list (total 23):

01/03/24 carnaught 2024 Honda HR-V EX-L

02/09/24 js06gv 2024 RAM 1500 Longhorn

02/19/24 tifighter 2023 Honda Civic Type R

02/20/24 qbrozen 2011 GMC Sierra SLE 4x4 124k

02/28/24 oldfarmer50 2013 Ford F-150 XL RWD 8’ 3.7L 30k

03/31/24 28firefighter 2015 Audi Q5 3.0 TDI 77k

04/03/24 greg128 2020 Cadillac XT5 Premium 23k

04/13/24 ronsteve 2021 VW Tiguan SE 4Motion 38k

04/16/24 qbrozen 1998 Alfa Romeo 156 40k

04/30/24 venture 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport

05/12/24 rny421 2024 Mercedes GLC

05/xx/24 clm8 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E lease

06/04/24 suydam 2024 Kia Sportage PHEV

06/04/24 breld 2023 Audi A6 Allroad

06/08/24 suydam 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV 2LT

06/14/24 benjaminh 2024 Subaru Outback

06/18/24 corvette 2023 Nissan Ariya Engage AWD (lease)

06/20/24 venture 2021 Subaru Legacy

06/22/24 breld 2024 VW Taos (stepdaughter)

06/25/24 tifighter 2024 Toyota Sienna Platinum AWD

06/28/24 venture 2025 Subaru Forester

06/28/24 xwesx 2013 Ford F250 Lariat 426k

07/01/24 au1994 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited

And here I came into the year thinking I wouldn’t make a punch…

Where have I heard that one before?
————————————————
Definitely not from @breld.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

I hate that we have front license plates here (and in Cali where this car is from). I’d have left it off, but it was already drilled.

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I bought Mrs. j’s 2012 Legacy new from a Subie dealer in Ohio. I guess they had front plates at the time because there were 2 holes in the front bumper. There was a plastic bag with the plate holder and 2 black screws in the trunk. The car was silver and the 2 holes in the bumper stood out like black dots. After getting more and more irritated looking at them, after about a week I painted the screws with some paint from a touch up stick I bought from a local Subie dealer. I then screwed the silver painted screws into the black holes and the holes almost disappeared.

I hate when they do that to a new car.

jmonroe

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Upgrade day. Finally removed the only vestiges of chrome.

Still debating painting or replacing my wheels with Jet Black of the same style.

Edit to add: I did do this myself. Surprisingly annoying.

Kidney transplant! Nice! Don't forget to regularly give it those immuno-suppressors.

andres3

28firefighter said:

I hate that we have front license plates here (and in Cali where this car is from). I’d have left it off, but it was already drilled.

drill holes are not as bad as a whole front license plate.

corvette

Yeah, I had just removed the front plate bracket from the Volt right before I traded it. Looked much better with two holes in the black bumper, and two holes in the plastic metallic look trim.

tjc78

My truck was from out of state and had no bracket from the factory. It does have four pre drilled holes in the bumper but they aren’t too noticeable.

It’s been just about two years and I still haven’t bought the bracket to install the front plate….

Procrastinators unite! Tomorrow

andres3

I found a Macan that's just the S.....

It has almost no options but the colors are good. The rear bumper isn't painted. The side blades by rocker panels are not painted. It has the key most important option which is the air suspension PASM (I've figured out you want that if your getting a Macan).

Is their a Bavsound for Porsches? The price might be right soon.

corvette

Any of our CO folks need a cheap local runabout?

https://www.tynansnissanaurora.com/new-specials/

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

Any of our CO folks need a cheap local runabout?

https://www.tynansnissanaurora.com/new-specials/

Wow, even with all those fees it looks like a bargain. I’ve driven Versas (not EVs) and they are good for what they are but once, four of us had to drive one from CT at the shore to upstate NY and it was not fun.

roadburner

It happened again; a friend who is also a Wrangler owner is looking at a 4xe. He called me today with questions after test driving one at a Jeep dealer- because the salesperson knew nothing about the PHEV Jeep. Also, the battery was totally discharged so my friend couldn't try out Hybrid or Electric mode.
How do these places stay in business? At BMW you had mandatory training on vehicles and you had to get additional training to sell i Performance vehicles or M vehicles.
All I know is that I would have been totally humiliated if a client had known more about any BMW -new or old- than I did.

oldfarmer50

When I went to buy my Mustang I was already committed to the purchase but they insisted that I take another test drive with the Mustang “expert” who could tell me about all the features. Much of the technical stuff I found interesting but I already had researched the new design fairly extensively so much of his expertise was wasted.

I did manage to scare him silent testing the handling characteristics in Sport mode so it wasn’t totally wasted time.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
Wow, even with all those fees it looks like a bargain. I’ve driven Versas (not EVs) and they are good for what they are but once, four of us had to drive one from CT at the shore to upstate NY and it was not fun.

The Leaf is nowhere close to a Versa. Although you wouldn’t want to try driving either very far.

breld

andres3 said:

I found a Macan that's just the S.....

It has almost no options but the colors are good. The rear bumper isn't painted. The side blades by rocker panels are not painted. It has the key most important option which is the air suspension PASM (I've figured out you want that if your getting a Macan).

Is their a Bavsound for Porsches? The price might be right soon.

just the S.

Funny.

breld

corvette said:

Any of our CO folks need a cheap local runabout?

https://www.tynansnissanaurora.com/new-specials/

The Colorado EV rebate of $5k goes a long way on the cheaper EVs. That’s nuts.

corvette

qbrozen said:

The Leaf is nowhere close to a Versa. Although you wouldn’t want to try driving either very far.

The base model's range isn't that great, and it's hampered by the lack of a CCS quick charge port (it still uses CHAdeMO, which are harder to find).

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Wow, even with all those fees it looks like a bargain. I’ve driven Versas (not EVs) and they are good for what they are but once, four of us had to drive one from CT at the shore to upstate NY and it was not fun.

The Leaf is nowhere close to a Versa. Although you wouldn’t want to try driving either very far.

Wow, I could have sworn I was looking at an ad for a Versa. I must be going senile.😫

fintail

roadburner said:

It happened again; a friend who is also a Wrangler owner is looking at a 4xe. He called me today with questions after test driving one at a Jeep dealer- because the salesperson knew nothing about the PHEV Jeep. Also, the battery was totally discharged so my friend couldn't try out Hybrid or Electric mode.
How do these places stay in business? At BMW you had mandatory training on vehicles and you had to get additional training to sell i Performance vehicles or M vehicles.
All I know is that I would have been totally humiliated if a client had known more about any BMW -new or old- than I did.

Back when I was leasing regularly, I had a couple salespeople tell me that I knew more about the car and brand than they did. I was always impressed when I got to talk with someone who actually knew all of the possible options/colors etc or something about older models. My first two leases were with an older guy who had been driving MBs since he bought a W116 decades ago, and also at the time owned a 70s 911S. When the dealer sold out to Autonation, he retired.

xwesx

Happy AMW, folks! Long live our independence to repair and maintain our own cars!

roadburner

@xwesx said:
Happy AMW, folks! Long live our independence to repair and maintain our own cars!

Kick the tires and light the fires!

roadburner

oldfarmer50

I saw a Tesla while out today with an unusual paint treatment. It was entirely matte black except for the right front fender which was traditional gloss.

My question is does Tesla offer matte paint and this guy replaced a bashed fender with whatever he could get or was the whole car glossy and the owner just hadn’t quite enough matte paint?

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw a Tesla while out today with an unusual paint treatment. It was entirely matte black except for the right front fender which was traditional gloss.

My question is does Tesla offer matte paint and this guy replaced a bashed fender with whatever he could get or was the whole car glossy and the owner just hadn’t quite enough matte paint?

————————————————
No telling what some Tesla owners will do. Even let their cars drive down the road on autopilot. Imagine that.

jmonroe

ab348

Could have been a wrap that peeled off at extralegal speeds.

stickguy

Now that I’m done buying houses I really want to start car shopping again. Right after we finish Shelling out for patio, shed and fence! and some new furniture. and wedding in August.

Ok, take the car off the list.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw a Tesla while out today with an unusual paint treatment. It was entirely matte black except for the right front fender which was traditional gloss.

My question is does Tesla offer matte paint and this guy replaced a bashed fender with whatever he could get or was the whole car glossy and the owner just hadn’t quite enough matte paint?

————————————————
No telling what some Tesla owners will do. Even let their cars drive down the road on autopilot. Imagine that.

jmonroe

Sometimes those autopilot cars are even worse without a driver:

https://youtu.be/Zf2kITXlzTI?si=sc_Jpj3ZllWdy93K