Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

nyccarguy

@qbrozen

Best wishes to you and a speedy recovery!

nyccarguy

We started vacation as of Saturday. My store was open, but I got everything I needed to do on Friday so I could have Saturday off. We are headed back to Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Some news and notes: The Highlander is a great vehicle if you have 4 people. 5 with luggage and a roof top box and it is cramped. My 17 year old is 5’ 10”. My wife is still recovering from her knee surgery (and needs another surgery to clean out the scar tissue) has to sit further back in the passenger seat than she normally would with her 5’4” frame.

I had looked into renting a van for the trip. Leaving on Friday AM and returning the following Saturday would have meant renting the van from Thursday to Monday. Once I factored in the insurance it was going to be over $1,500.

Our 1st stop for the night is Chesapeake, VA not too far from VA Beach and on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel. Nags Head, NC is about 1 1/2 hours away from here.

Talking to my wife (when she was awake) about the vehicle situation. I said our oldest is going away to college that we should just stick with it because the 5 of us are so rarely in the car at the same time. I really don’t want to go out and spend another $45-$50K on another vehicle.

The Highlander and Wagoneer aren’t exactly nose to nose, but you get the idea.

suydam

Most 5 seat vehicles are going to be cramped with 5 adults in them. Add an injury and it gets worse. But as you say, not often a problem for you. It is a reason we got the midsize Blazer rather than have 2 compact vehicles. It has a ton of room in the back seat. We chose it because we will have to deal with 2 car seats in the back whenever our kids visit for the foreseeable future. And now our oldest son is recovering from a badly broken leg! We’ll find out next month when everyone is here.

sda

@qbrozen said:
Due to my impending surgery next week, we had to cancel our trip to Myrtle Beach this year.

Best wishes

mjfloyd1

The Q7 is gone. Got $40400 plus $11000 from VWGoA

stickguy

Must be a relief to have the situation over with. Nobody needs that stress.

stickguy

Bradd, I can confirm once the kids have their own car and hit college it is much rarer to need all the seats. After our son left for school is when we downsized from the odyssey to an RDX. I sometimes missed the cargo room but never the seats.

au1994

nyccarguy said:

We started vacation as of Saturday. My store was open, but I got everything I needed to do on Friday so I could have Saturday off. We are headed back to Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Some news and notes: The Highlander is a great vehicle if you have 4 people. 5 with luggage and a roof top box and it is cramped. My 17 year old is 5’ 10”. My wife is still recovering from her knee surgery (and needs another surgery to clean out the scar tissue) has to sit further back in the passenger seat than she normally would with her 5’4” frame.

I had looked into renting a van for the trip. Leaving on Friday AM and returning the following Saturday would have meant renting the van from Thursday to Monday. Once I factored in the insurance it was going to be over $1,500.

Our 1st stop for the night is Chesapeake, VA not too far from VA Beach and on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel. Nags Head, NC is about 1 1/2 hours away from here.

Talking to my wife (when she was awake) about the vehicle situation. I said our oldest is going away to college that we should just stick with it because the 5 of us are so rarely in the car at the same time. I really don’t want to go out and spend another $45-$50K on another vehicle.

The Highlander and Wagoneer aren’t exactly nose to nose, but you get the idea.

When does your 4xe go back?

imidazol97

@jmonroe1
Best of outcomes with the surgery.

Thought of you yesterday. I was behind a white van with "Monroe Mechanical" as the
logo. Are you operating a company in the greater Cincy/Dayton area?

corvette

@mjfloyd1 - I'm not subscribed to Cars and Conversations, so I missed a lot of the drama with the Q7. What a disaster! Did you ever get the dash lights to turn off?

tjc78

Other than the crappy gas mileage a full size crew cab pickup with a tonneau cover is a great road trip vehicle.

When we did NJ to Florida we took waaayyy too much stuff and still had some room in the bed with the cover closed. We were 4 people but could have put another adult without much hurt to overall comfort

mjfloyd1

@corvette said:
@mjfloyd1 - I'm not subscribed to Cars and Conversations, so I missed a lot of the drama with the Q7. What a disaster! Did you ever get the dash lights to turn off?

For two days they were off but intermittent.

Seemed to come on when in town after starting in right turn with right turn signal on.

It is done!

28firefighter

Storm trooper mode is engaged on the BMW. And of course a shot of my car wash buddy (our newish puppy - 8 months old and 65 lbs already!).

nyccarguy

@au1994 said:
When does your 4xe go back?

March. Right around the time my 2nd son will get his learner’s permit.

pensfan83

Steelers Training Camp...a family tradition

ab348

mjfloyd1 said:

The Q7 is gone. Got $40400 plus $11000 from VWGoA

Don’t know the specifics obviously but that sounds Iike not the worst outcome. What a disaster though. Did you sell it or did they buy it back?

Now, what replaces it in the fleet?

mjfloyd1

No comment until check clears

Incoming Lexus RX 350h

carnaught

mjfloyd1 said:

No comment until check clears

Incoming Lexus RX 350h

What color? Is it a 2025 and how long was the wait?

stickguy

not a car but I finally found a place to order a shed from. Have to go back this week and finalize (and pay) then it takes the Amish dudes about 4 weeks to build it, then another 2 or so for delivery. Just have to make sure we get the landscaping (including all the final lot grading) done before it arrives since I will have them grade up the landing spot for shed at the same time.

I really want the shed so I can get all the outdoor and shed stuff out of the garage so I can finish putting that together the way I want. Amazing how much nicer it is having a way oversized garage. And very glad I spent the extra $650 to get an extra wide door (18' instead of 16'). Makes is so much easier to pull in and out and have space around the cars.

mjfloyd1

@carnaught said:
What color? Is it a 2025 and how long was the wait?

2024s are still in production so it is a 2024. Was built 7/22/2024 and originally to be at dealer 8/26 but now they say 8/12 or earlier. About a month wait and I was able to delay selling the Q7 about 2 weeks.

White with macadamia (tan). Got the luxury trim and it seems kinda loaded

kyfdx

The 18’ door is great, if you have a garage big enough to need it. 🙂

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

@jmonroe1
Best of outcomes with the surgery.

Thought of you yesterday. I was behind a white van with "Monroe Mechanical" as the
logo. Are you operating a company in the greater Cincy/Dayton area?

————————————————
I’m not the one having surgery. I think you have me mixed up with @qbrozen. I’m a little insulted since I’m not that tall and ugly.

As for the van you followed, could be someone is trying to take advantage of the good name our house flipping biz has earned.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Storm trooper mode is engaged on the BMW. And of course a shot of my car wash buddy (our newish puppy - 8 months old and 65 lbs already!).

————————————————
When I was a little kid, I grew up with a German Shepherd. Still my favorite dog breed.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

not a car but I finally found a place to order a shed from. Have to go back this week and finalize (and pay) then it takes the Amish dudes about 4 weeks to build it, then another 2 or so for delivery. Just have to make sure we get the landscaping (including all the final lot grading) done before it arrives since I will have them grade up the landing spot for shed at the same time.

I really want the shed so I can get all the outdoor and shed stuff out of the garage so I can finish putting that together the way I want. Amazing how much nicer it is having a way oversized garage. And very glad I spent the extra $650 to get an extra wide door (18' instead of 16'). Makes is so much easier to pull in and out and have space around the cars.

————————————————-
Yep, an 18 foot garage door is the way to go. I made sure I had that when we built in SC. However, I’m still sorry I let the builder and Mrs. j talk me out of getting a 3 car garage. We had the money and plenty of room to do it. I think they took advantage of my good disposition that day. Never again.

jmonroe

stickguy

I debated hard with myself on it. The add on cost was pretty steep to do it here. I thought about putting the stand alone up but after seeing the space it really would have been too big. But the oversized (basically 2.5 cars) one I got is plenty big enough, since at this point, it is unlikely I was going to get a 3rd car to justify it. so a 2 car with all the extras is going to do us fine.

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

28firefighter said:

Storm trooper mode is engaged on the BMW. And of course a shot of my car wash buddy (our newish puppy - 8 months old and 65 lbs already!).

————————————————
When I was a little kid, I grew up with a German Shepherd. Still my favorite dog breed.

jmonroe

I've had several GSDs, all were good dogs, but a couple were outstanding.

28firefighter

Tank is mostly GSD, but also Mastiff and Golden Retriever - a rescue for the same place our other dog is from. He’s the sweetest dog I’ve ever had and also the easiest to train yet. We didn’t change is name from the rescue - all of his litter mates have military names since they were born on Veterans Day.

au1994

I see your doggo and raise you one.

sda

au1994 said:

I see your doggo and raise you one.

Can you say spoiled?

au1994

Very!!

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen- good luck with your Nissen. Hope you have a speedy recovery

imidazol97

jmonroe1 said:

————————————————
I’m not the one having surgery. I think you have me mixed up with @qbrozen. I’m a little insulted since I’m not that tall and ugly.

As for the van you followed, could be someone is trying to take advantage of the good name our house flipping biz has earned.

jmonroe

Well, if you do ever have surgery, best wishes.

And best wishes for that good outcome for @qbrozen.

mjfloyd1

@ab348 said:
Don’t know the specifics obviously but that sounds Iike not the worst outcome. What a disaster though. Did you sell it or did they buy it back?

Now, what replaces it in the fleet?

I won’t say where I sold it but if you see one on carvana, I’d avoid it like the plague…

corvette

The fix is out: Toyota is replacing engines in the recalled Tundras and LX600s. Kudos to them for doing the right thing.

mjfloyd1

Very weird drop off. Guy invited us in. I gave him the two keys and title. He took pics of drivers license. That was it. He didn’t look at the mileage or car till we were driving off.

stickguy

Last time I sold to them I took it to the location. Paperwork was all set but the guy did go out and check the miles and take the pictures before finishing signing and handing us the check.

roadburner

My pup fetching a tree instead of a stick.

jmonroe1

My experience with Carvana was very easy when I sold Mrs. j’s 2012 Legacy Limited in 2019 with a tic or two under 30K miles IIRC. The guy couldn’t get it on the truck fast enough. Almost like he was afraid I’d change my mind.

jmonroe

breld

When I sold my Supra to Carvana the guy took it for a drive to make sure it was all good. There may have been other motivations for that test drive though.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

My pup fetching a tree instead of a stick.

————————————————
When I was a kid I fished with a fishing pole shorter than that.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

The fix is out: Toyota is replacing engines in the recalled Tundras and LX600s. Kudos to them for doing the right thing.

I just opened a notice from Kia about the 2.0L engine in my car. The good news is they are extending the warranty for 15 years/150,000 miles against failure similar to what the Toyota engines have experienced. They will replace any engine that fails providing you had the knock sensor software upgrade and can prove you changed the oil according to their recommendations. I save all my oil change receipts and have reduced the OCI to 4k miles so they won’t be able to pull the old jmonroe trick on me.

ab348

Did you get the knock sensor “upgrade”?

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Did you get the knock sensor “upgrade”?

Yes, last year. All it does is increase the knock sensor sensitivity so the computer can drop the engine into limp mode. By then I’m guessing that the motor is already damaged so it’s a pretty lame fix compared to Toyota’s response.

I still have to get the anti-theft upgrade done before 2025. I’ve heard they just hand you “The Club” and send you on your way. We’ll see.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

Did you get the knock sensor “upgrade”?

Yes, last year. All it does is increase the knock sensor sensitivity so the computer can drop the engine into limp mode. By then I’m guessing that the motor is already damaged so it’s a pretty lame fix compared to Toyota’s response.

I still have to get the anti-theft upgrade done before 2025. I’ve heard they just hand you “The Club” and send you on your way. We’ll see.

————————————————
So what you’re saying is, when you get a Kia, you get clubbed on the buy and then with the drive.

jmonroe

suydam

Loving the Blazer on short day trips. Yesterday was a bop out to wine country (about 80 miles or so round trip) with some friends who are visiting. 4 adults and a dog. I sat in the rear middle seat and had plenty of hip and leg room. I would have felt a little squished in the Kia (but still not bad). The rear AC vents are large and work great!
You do have to watch how fast you are going. On the return side I suddenly realized I was going 85. On the 101 through the hills.

Michaell

suydam said:

Loving the Blazer on short day trips. Yesterday was a bop out to wine country (about 80 miles or so round trip) with some friends who are visiting. 4 adults and a dog. I sat in the rear middle seat and had plenty of hip and leg room. I would have felt a little squished in the Kia (but still not bad). The rear AC vents are large and work great!
You do have to watch how fast you are going. On the return side I suddenly realized I was going 85. On the 101 through the hills.

Are you in SLO?

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

Did you get the knock sensor “upgrade”?

Yes, last year. All it does is increase the knock sensor sensitivity so the computer can drop the engine into limp mode. By then I’m guessing that the motor is already damaged so it’s a pretty lame fix compared to Toyota’s response.

I still have to get the anti-theft upgrade done before 2025. I’ve heard they just hand you “The Club” and send you on your way. We’ll see.

————————————————
So what you’re saying is, when you get a Kia, you get clubbed on the buy and then with the drive.

jmonroe

I knew that this was a throwaway car when I bought it but my research indicated they had fixed the metal shavings problem by 2019. That said it’s not a bad little grocery getter and I’m betting that I die before the engine does. A lot of the failures are associated with poor maintenance. It’s kind of like beating and starving a guy with a bad heart, he’s not going to last as long as if he got good treatment.

At least I didn’t pay Audi prices.

suydam

“Are you in SLO?”
SB County. I do enjoy visiting the Paso Robles wineries too, but we usually stay over a night if we do that. We have friends in Northern California who are members of several Paso wine clubs, so it’s nice to to meet them there and visit for a couple of days.

Michaell

suydam said:

“Are you in SLO?”
SB County. I do enjoy visiting the Paso Robles wineries too, but we usually stay over a night if we do that. We have friends in Northern California who are members of several Paso wine clubs, so it’s nice to to meet them there and visit for a couple of days.

Ah, so Buellton. Lompoc or Santa Maria ... or thereabouts.

I grew up in Ventura County, so was in SB a lot as a kid.

nyccarguy

@Michaell said:
Ah, so Buellton. Lompoc or Santa Maria ... or thereabouts.

I grew up in Ventura County, so was in SB a lot as a kid.

“I did 2 years in Lompoc…”