Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Dang. This is pretty sweet for the money.

https://www.sq1auto.com/used/Alfa Romeo/2018-Alfa Romeo-Giulia-95767808ac18355bf624a96e12a11d16.htm

5 owners in 6 years? Yikes! I know the CarFax says no but I’d double check to see if it was owned by a rental company. I know we had a bunch of them.

qbrozen

@28firefighter said:
What’s wrong with it that it’s had 5 previous owners…but yeah, lot of car for the $$.

First was a lease.
2nd was a little over a year and 12k miles.
3rd owner had it repo’d
4th appears to be a dealer.

So I’d say more like 3 real owners, with the 3rd being forced to move on.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Was about to clock out from work today, and no phone! I was already back in my VW and almost had a heart attach! Look over, and see the chase van is still there and the lead driver is sitting in it. Open door, & there it was, on the front seat. He had no clue it was even there!!! Boy, was I happy to see it sitting there as it was already 1:57 and needed to be off by 2:00 pm. Same feeling we all get when we can't find our wallets or phones, that sheer feeling of panic races through your body & one feels like the heart will burst. Got my phone, clocked out & took a few minutes to calm down a bit before driving home. Funny thing, I usually check all my pockets on my cargo shorts/pants and wear that style just for the extra pockets for the wallet, cell phone, charger & charger cables. One never knows when the phone power will die out so a hand held charger is a must plus the cables to drive them all. Now that I've got the iPhone 15 Pro Max, no longer need the lightning cable and can use the regular usb-c cable. But since many of the older vehicles only have the usb-a connector, have to carry one of those also. Many of the newer vehicles have both but some, like VW products, only have the usb-c connection, so one needs to be prepared for this. Can't wait till the day we all use the usb-c cable and all vehicles have the usb-c connector. So glad Europe forced Apple to conform to the rest of the world & stop using that ridiculous lightning cord!

LOL! Old man’s hazard right there. We have one guy on our team who loses his phone at least once a day. Then we have the times one our more of our guys leaves his phone at home. When you add in the times people forget EZ passes in cars it’s like a game of hide and go seek.

The only non-laughing matter is when someone loses a transporter plate (cost $10k). Then our boss starts using colorful language.

28firefighter

I’m not sure I want a first MY Alfa Giulia that was repoed on the third go around…though it’s a lot of car.

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

My Mom has a current CX-50 - I don’t find the knob setup all that troublesome. It does take a bit to get used to it, but once you get a feel for it and learn that you can also nudge it left/right it becomes no more distracting than a touch screen IMO.

In all honesty the CX-50 drives very nicely. Ride is firmer than most and it handles very well. Great steering too. A bit underpowered for me but I’m sure they have a more powerful engine option

I took my sister to a Mazda dealer to check out the 70 series (big 2 row SUV?) when she was looking at EVs. Very nice. She said it was too big. So, the sales person got the keys for the 50. Very nice also. Had a turbo engine. That was a quick little (not really little) CUV. I liked it. Nice on the inside. Good looking on the outside. Felt very well made. Nice materials. I was impressed given its $41K sticker.

At the time, she was still stuck on getting an EV (which she never ended up buying).

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

Great interior on the Alfa.

RED...absolutely LOVE it!

Michaell

graphicguy said:

tjc78 said:

My Mom has a current CX-50 - I don’t find the knob setup all that troublesome. It does take a bit to get used to it, but once you get a feel for it and learn that you can also nudge it left/right it becomes no more distracting than a touch screen IMO.

In all honesty the CX-50 drives very nicely. Ride is firmer than most and it handles very well. Great steering too. A bit underpowered for me but I’m sure they have a more powerful engine option

I took my sister to a Mazda dealer to check out the 70 series (big 2 row SUV?) when she was looking at EVs. Very nice. She said it was too big. So, the sales person got the keys for the 50. Very nice also. Had a turbo engine. That was a quick little (not really little) CUV. I liked it. Nice on the inside. Good looking on the outside. Felt very well made. Nice materials. I was impressed given its $41K sticker.

At the time, she was still stuck on getting an EV (which she never ended up buying).

When my sister was shopping SUVs a couple of years ago, we test drove a CX-50 Turbo. I think the sticker was around $42K, and I, too, thought it was a lot of car for the money.

My sister, however, was hung up on getting a luxury brand, so I found her a used Volvo XC40, which she and her husband ended up buying.

Sandman6472

Yep OF, happens a lot to other drivers also but the first time in many many years that it happened to me. I've also left my wallet on my desk a few times but luckily, I live super close to the office that we just drop by & I pick it up. Hey, we all have our senior moments! That panic feeling is truly awful! I'd hate to lose this current phone as I've only had it a little over a week and starting to get used to the larger size. The case it came with was just too heavy so ordered another one from wish.com and should be here by the end of the month. Also am getting a couple screen covers so I can protect it also. My old phone really looks brand new as I always kept it protected and it shows. Just going to keep it as a spare and let the Mrs. use it if hers goes south so she can decide what she wants next. Her XR phone will probably not receive any of the periodic updates by the time the iPhone 17 comes out, so by then, she'll need to upgrade. She could use my 12 before she has to decide what comes next.

qbrozen

@28firefighter said:
I’m not sure I want a first MY Alfa Giulia that was repoed on the third go around…though it’s a lot of car.

Eh. LOTS of repo’s happening the past few years. I swear there must be some Reddit thing where people advise each other to bury a ton of negative equity and then get the car repo’d to make it all magically vanish.

Sandman6472

I had read somewhere that Mazda was going to update the infotainment systems in their vehicles for 2024 but maybe I was wrong. I guess I could get used to anything but , would rather not. Did see pics of the new 2025 GTI and they've also changed the infotainment system and have gone to a bigger tablet style. Bigger in that it really sticks out but I do like it! The dealers near me haven't gotten any 2025 models in yet but I've got plenty of time to wit here.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

I watch this guy's videos all the time. Usually he's trying to bamboozle someone selling a Lamborghini. 2015 Scion tC 6MT

Checked out some of the vids. Agree with you. Kind of reminds me of that Towbin Dodge dealer in Vegas. You always get a little bit of a sleazy feeling watching them operate. Flying Wheels is somewhat like that, too. The owner one vid claims how he's millionaire and in another how bad his business is.

Curious about the JS dealer....I keep seeing a Mitsubishi sign in their vids. Do you know if they're a Mitsu dealer? Or, just a used car dealer.

au1994

@graphicguy said:
Checked out some of the vids. Agree with you. Kind of reminds me of that Towbin Dodge dealer in Vegas. You always get a little bit of a sleazy feeling watching them operate. Flying Wheels is somewhat like that, too. The owner one vid claims how he's millionaire and in another how bad his business is.

Curious about the JS dealer....I keep seeing a Mitsubishi sign in their vids. Do you know if they're a Mitsu dealer? Or, just a used car dealer.

Oh man, that’s a flashback. The Towbin show made me want to shower.

mjfloyd1

@oldfarmer50 said:
5 owners in 6 years? Yikes! I know the CarFax says no but I’d double check to see if it was owned by a rental company. I know we had a bunch of them.

Did @breld maybe own this Alfa?
😇

Michaell

Member needs help selecting a used car

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/71780/mazda/x/help-choosing-my-first-car#latest

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@28firefighter said:

I’m not sure I want a first MY Alfa Giulia that was repoed on the third go around…though it’s a lot of car.

Eh. LOTS of repo’s happening the past few years. I swear there must be some Reddit thing where people advise each other to bury a ton of negative equity and then get the car repo’d to make it all magically vanish.

Could it be possible that some people think that way?

corvette

oldfarmer50 said:

Could it be possible that some people think that way?

Many! I don't think any states require non-recourse auto loans.

The more sophisticated of the fraudsters will have gap insurance and the car will be declared a total loss under suspicious circumstances. No repo on the credit report, although any missed payments would still be a dent.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

qbrozen said:

@28firefighter said:

I’m not sure I want a first MY Alfa Giulia that was repoed on the third go around…though it’s a lot of car.

Eh. LOTS of repo’s happening the past few years. I swear there must be some Reddit thing where people advise each other to bury a ton of negative equity and then get the car repo’d to make it all magically vanish.

Could it be possible that some people think that way?

makes it all vanish. Other than the torpedo through your credit score and chance of financing again.

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:

@benjaminh That’s good news!

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Yes, I’ll second that…very good news.

jmonroe

Ditto!

28firefighter

I would like to thank past me for investing in a motorized device that doesn’t drive - a portable generator and panel lockout connection. We’re getting slammed with high winds tonight and naturally lost power 20 mins. Back up and running with a few mins of effort.

au1994

Got to keep that wi-fi going so you can shop for cars.

explorerx4

I've got a portable generator. Probably 75% of the hours on it were put on by people I lent it to when they lost power.

28firefighter

Ran for about 6 hours last night before I put it away for the night (no sense wasting it when everyone is asleep). We’re still out and I’m still on the first 20lb tank of propane.

explorerx4

If seen a lot of recommendations to change the oil a couple times after a few hours of running early on.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Ran for about 6 hours last night before I put it away for the night (no sense wasting it when everyone is asleep). We’re still out and I’m still on the first 20lb tank of propane.

I see they’re calling the storm a “bomb cyclone”. LOL gotta love the scare tactics. Have you heard any explosions yet?😂😂😂

28firefighter

Yes, actually. We had transformers blowing left and right. Winds hit 65 at my house. Wasn’t really scare tactics IMO.

And @explorerx4 I am going to change the oil this weekend for that exact reason.

au1994

28firefighter said:

Ran for about 6 hours last night before I put it away for the night (no sense wasting it when everyone is asleep). We’re still out and I’m still on the first 20lb tank of propane.

Still out? I’m guessing there will be surge in the birth rate in about 9 months.

Kidding aside, stay safe!

sda

When the Arteon is turned off it displays a summary. It will maintain it and add to it if the car is driven again within 2 hours. Today, back and forth to the hospital with mom to check on dad. We are hoping he will be released to go to rehab today or tomorrow. He will be 89 on December 1.

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

Ran for about 6 hours last night before I put it away for the night (no sense wasting it when everyone is asleep). We’re still out and I’m still on the first 20lb tank of propane.

————————————————
Just make sure you don’t use all your propane, otherwise you won’t have anyway to grill your ribeyes tonight.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

sda said:

When the Arteon is turned off it displays a summary. It will maintain it and add to it if the car is driven again within 2 hours. Today, back and forth to the hospital with mom to check on dad. We are hoping he will be released to go to rehab today or tomorrow. He will be 89 on December 1.

————————————————
Here’s hoping your Dad will get to rehab and home for Thanksgiving.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

sda said:

When the Arteon is turned off it displays a summary. It will maintain it and add to it if the car is driven again within 2 hours. Today, back and forth to the hospital with mom to check on dad. We are hoping he will be released to go to rehab today or tomorrow. He will be 89 on December 1.

Here’s hoping he makes a full recovery.

kyfdx

sda said:

When the Arteon is turned off it displays a summary. It will maintain it and add to it if the car is driven again within 2 hours. Today, back and forth to the hospital with mom to check on dad. We are hoping he will be released to go to rehab today or tomorrow. He will be 89 on December 1.

My GTI works the same way.

Sandman6472

Our first cold front is coming through tonight and will be down to 51 Thursday late night. About time as the summer was pretty brutal here! Love this time of year and should be almost a week of cooler temps at night. Means we get to turn the a/c off for a bit, something I'm o k with!

stickguy

The hunt for the princesses next car is in full swing. Her dealer even sent a spam email saying they wanted to trade her into a new car! Not likely with 6-7 lease payments left. was nothing related to a lease ending just fishing.

So far the options discussed are a bigger Mazda (cx 50), a Taos, cross trek, XC40 and an X1. The Tucson was mentioned and discarded.

Should be fun.

imidazol97

Our AC is off. Low tonight is 32 and tomorrow promises 35 with snow accumulating on grassy areas 1 to 2 inches, but roadways will just be wet due to ground temperatures.

It's such a relief not to have to worry about the humidity now. Bring on the winter.

NOT.

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

Our AC is off. Low tonight is 32 and tomorrow promises 35 with snow accumulating on grassy areas 1 to 2 inches, but roadways will just be wet due to ground temperatures.

It's such a relief not to have to worry about the humidity now. Bring on the winter.

NOT.

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Kinda makes you wonder about a guy that complains about walking around in shorts and having a warm spoon in his mouth most of the year.

jmonroe

laurasdada

I'll take a few inches of snow over wildfires...

breld

I'd like to report that for the first time this calendar year, all of our cars have permanent plates.

28firefighter

And to celebrate you are going to sell one?

stickguy

Nah. Just buy another one.

nyccarguy

breld said:

I'd like to report that for the first time this calendar year, all of our cars have permanent plates.

Can you rank them in order of most driven to least driven?

au1994

Did i miss a memo or are all roofing contractors required to drive a jacked up F-250 with tires sticking out a foot from the wheel wells and stadium lights on the roll bar?

roadburner

The 2024 BMW M2- Now available with even more ugliness!

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

Did i miss a memo or are all roofing contractors required to drive a jacked up F-250 with tires sticking out a foot from the wheel wells and stadium lights on the roll bar?

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It must be the hood you live in.

Being a helper in the flip biz, all of the roofers that came to give us a quote showed up with old pickups ready to start right away.

jmonroe

au1994

jmonroe1 said:

au1994 said:

Did i miss a memo or are all roofing contractors required to drive a jacked up F-250 with tires sticking out a foot from the wheel wells and stadium lights on the roll bar?

————————————————
It must be the hood you live in.

Being a helper in the flip biz, all of the roofers that came to give us a quote showed up with old pickups ready to start right away.

jmonroe

Oh I’m not talking about the actual workers, those guys are fine.

These are driven by the bro types that sell the job is my guess. They are a carbon copy of each other…same truck, same sun glasses, same beard, same tattoos…

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

jmonroe1 said:

au1994 said:

Did i miss a memo or are all roofing contractors required to drive a jacked up F-250 with tires sticking out a foot from the wheel wells and stadium lights on the roll bar?

————————————————
It must be the hood you live in.

Being a helper in the flip biz, all of the roofers that came to give us a quote showed up with old pickups ready to start right away.

jmonroe

Oh I’m not talking about the actual workers, those guys are fine.

These are driven by the bro types that sell the job is my guess. They are a carbon copy of each other…same truck, same sun glasses, same beard, same tattoos…

————————————————
Are you sure it isn’t the same guy that is working for multiple roofing companies.

We’ve only had one “quote” guy show up and he was driving a company car (I’m pretty sure it was a Chevy).

jmonroe

Michaell

My contact when I had my roof replaced last year drove a Raptor.

But, he is a serial entrepreneur, and has ownership stakes in multiple companies.

breld

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

I'd like to report that for the first time this calendar year, all of our cars have permanent plates.

Can you rank them in order of most driven to least driven?

The EVs are by far the most driven (Q8 E-tron for me and the GV60 for my wife).

My wife will take the A6 Allroad when she wants something more cushy or if we are going a longer trip.

And then the sports cars are last, as expected. Although she just took the Cayman out to meet a friend and run some errands.

Michaell

The member in upstate NY found an Accord. Thoughts?

qbrozen

Was required to go in person to the MVC to renew my license. I was shocked to be in and out in about 10 mins, so I took the truck through inspection. Only been driving it for 8 months without a sticker. That process also took just 10 mins.

New MAF sensor arrived for the Alfa. It did the trick. She is good to go now. Much more fun to drive when it has all its horses.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Was required to go in person to the MVC to renew my license. I was shocked to be in and out in about 10 mins, so I took the truck through inspection. Only been driving it for 8 months without a sticker. That process also took just 10 mins.

New MAF sensor arrived for the Alfa. It did the trick. She is good to go now. Much more fun to drive when it has all its horses.

Wow. Sounds like one heck of a day. We all need more like that!