Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

michaellno

Have you ever been to the same dealership twice? LOL

Actually, since I've had 4 Fords and 4 Saturns since I moved to Colorado in 1993, yeah. 3 of the Fords came from our local dealership in my small town, and the Saturns were split between two dealerships owned by the same principal.

When I lived in CA the only repeat dealer was the one where we got our two Isuzus.

ateixeira

Wow, I have never bought the same engine layout in succession. I've had:

I-6
I-4
I-3
I-4
H-4
I-4
V6
I-4

Colors?

Red
Blue
Gold
Blue
Green
White
Blue
Blue

Blue dominates, though I've had very light and very dark blues.

michaellno

Blue dominates, though I've had very light and very dark blues.

I agree - the five blue cars I've had over the years have varied between medium and dark shades of blue. No light blue, though my folks owned two cars of that color - both Toyotas (1 Celica, 1 Camry).

rayainsw

I have had a couple not on that list:
I-5 [ Audi 5000 ]
and a rotary [ RX-2, 1971 ]
- Ray
Then again, I had a Fiat once, too .....

qbrozen

I seem to remember doing this list before. Here it is in descending order of number owned.

Mazda (3)
Volvo (3)
AMC (3)
Nissan (2)
Inifiniti [in my mind, I usually group Nissan/Infiniti and count this as one of my most commonly owned]

BMW (2)
Chrysler (2)
Toyota (2)
Benz (2)
Honda (2)

VW
Saab
Subaru
Alfa
Lincoln
Dodge
Mercury
Land Rover
Ford

5 V8s, 8 V6s, 6 I6s, 3 turbo 5-cyl, 2 turbo 4-cyl, 6 I4s, and an H4.

11 sticks (four 6-speeds, five 5-speeds, one 4-speed, and one 3-speed)

Colors? Oh man. That's tough... let's see...
7 Black
6 Red
4 Gold
4 silver
4 Blue
4 Green
2 White

And of those 31 .... no, I don't recall ever buying from the same dealership twice. Although 2 of the AMCs (a pair of Cherokees) came from the same private seller at the same time. It was a package deal.

stever

I hate to play since there's been so few.

Since 1974:

American Motors (green CJ-5)
Volkswagen (used - orange)
Datsun (used - yellow)
Toyota (red)
Chrysler (blue)
Nissan (silver)
Subaru (red)

So, technically, the Nissan is a repeat; maybe the Chrysler since they absorbed AMC. The Jeep, VW and Toyota were MTs.

qbrozen

maybe the Chrysler since they absorbed AMC.

Nah. CJ5 was distinctly AMC. So I wouldn't count it. Just like I don't count my AMC vehicles as Chrysler. I mean, that would be like counting my Chryslers as Benzes.

andre1969

Who would ask about the wheelbase? My response to that one would be "do you have a computer?" I am pretty judgmental and a little cynical, so I probably wouldn't be cut out for it...although I do know enough to not base anything on how someone is dressed, given the amount of casual looking money in this area.

I would want to know what the wheelbase is, but chances are, if I was looking at a car I would already have looked it up, either online or in the back of the sales brochure or whatever. So, I'm not going to dock the salesperson for knowing the wheelbase of every single car out there. For some reason, numbers like that do tend to stick in my mind, but I probably don't know the wheelbases of most of the modern cars out there.

isellhondas

Not all cars with a reputation for problems are troublesome.

LR comes in last place according to CR but I know a couple of people who have actually had decent luck with theirs.

They don't seem to age well and as the miles pile on the troubles escalate more so than with other cars. They really need to be kept after and ignoring problems will lead to disaster.

I have owned several cars that CR said were a must to avoid and I managed to excape the problems that others had.

stever

I noticed you didn't lump in your Chryslers and Dodge together. The CJ-5 was a 3 speed, and the Tercel a fun 5 speed.

The SuperBeetle must have been a 4 speed, but I really can't remember anymore. Well, it must have been since I remember it being a huge improvement over the Jeep's 3 speed. (and now confirmed by Wiki ).

isellhondas

I have never known what the wheelbase was on any car I have ever owned and somehow I have survived. I couldn't care less. Why would anyone care?

I think in 14 years I was asked that question maybe three times and I always had to look it up.

It seemed that the older the csutomer the more important that was just like their need for a full sized spare which is another thing I don't care about.

ab348

I am ashamed to say I have only had 12 cars since 1973:

Oldsmobile - 3
Buick - 3
Volvo, Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, Toyota, VW - 1 each

Pretty good mix of colors:

Red (3), Blue (3), Silver (2), White (2), Black, Green.

V-8s made up 6 of the assortment, with 2 V-6s, 3 I-4s, and one inline 6.

7 were 4-door cars and 5 were 2-doors.

There were 10 automatic transmissions and 2 5-speed manuals.

ateixeira

Then again, I had a Fiat once, too .....

Probably ran on 2 or 3 cylinders at any given time, so I-2, I-3 are also covered.

qbrozen

I noticed you didn't lump in your Chryslers and Dodge together.

True. Its just perception on my part. The Dodge was a V8 Dakota. So there is no overlap with Chrysler. It is distinctly a Dodge. The only one my mind seems to have a problem with is Infiniti/Nissan only because the 350Z and G35 I had were the same vehicle is most ways except the body sitting on top (and the Z was a helluva lot more fun).

If it wasn't for the fact the Mercury and Ford were 13 years apart in age, I might very well group those, too (Mustang and Zephyr, both with a 200cid I6 and 3-speed auto ... I even swapped the engine and trans from the Zephyr into the Stang before sending the Merc off to the scrapyard).

ateixeira

I'm proud of myself on this one - 6 sticks, only 2 automatics, and one was gifted to me so I didn't really get a choice. The other (a minivan) only came in automatic.

So basically I've chosen stick shift every time it was possible.

qbrozen

Boy, I forgot to break these out in other categories.

Ummm... 2 pickups, a microvan, a minivan, 4 convertibles (counting the jeep), 3 two-seat coupes, a 4-door hatch, a wagon, 8 SUVs, 2 five-seat coupes, and the rest sedans.

So what do we got?
11 japanese (although the accord was built in the US and pilot in Canada)
9 american
5 germans
4 swedes
1 brit
1 italian

Future plans include increasing that italian number. It just looks sad now in retrospect. And I'm surprised to see those numbers. I never would have thought they'd stack up that way. I guess my knee-jerk thought is to group all the euro cars. So if you look at it that way, it does agree a bit more with my initial assumptions.

I feel like I should make a spreadsheet or PPT presentation of this info so I don't have to go through all this effort again.

qbrozen

good grief, juice. 64 THOUSAND posts?! And I thought I was bad! :surprise:

ateixeira

Is it really up to that? Yikes. I need to find something else to do with my time. LOL

I've been on consistently since 1998 or so, I think. So that's 11 years, or 16 posts per day.

Not that many when you think about it.

breld

This is sorta fun (and yes, I think we've shared such lists before, but hey, they tend to change often enough in this crowd). I'm including my spouse's cars too.

Honda/Acura (4) (3 stick/1 auto)
VW (3) (all stick)
BMW (3) (2 stick/1 auto)
Toyota (2) (both autos (SUVs))
Mazda (2) (1 stick/1 auto)
Chrysler (1) (auto)
Subaru (1) (stick)
Infiniti (1) (auto)

Blue (5)
White (5)
Silver (3)
Red (2)
Green (1)
Yellow (1)

Here's my trivial yet amusing addition to the stats:

I calculated the years of ownership for each car (to date for current ones), and came up with this:

Honda/Acura (12 years)
Toyota (5)
VW (5)
BMW (4)
Subaru (3)
Mazda (3)
Chrysler (2)
Infiniti (8 months)

Blue (13 years)
White (7)
Silver (7)
Red (4)
Green (2)
Yellow (1)

These are simply a sum of years, not average - so there's overlap due to owning multiple cars, or due to spouse's cars. So what does all that mean? I haven't a clue. I've owned the same number of white and blue cars, but I've owned blue cars for almost as twice as long as white - does blue enjoy greater longevity than white? If I bought a yellow Infiniti, would I only own it for something like 3 weeks? Hmmmm.....

michaellno

I feel like I should make a spreadsheet or PPT presentation of this info so I don't have to go through all this effort again.

Yep, I put mine into an Excel file for future reference.

This is what happens when your boss is Canadian and today is a Canadian national holiday.

breld, I too added years of ownership but thought that listing it out would be a bit too geeky. I did notice that the most boring cars I've owned ('93 Accord DX and '03 Saturn L300) I've had the longest.

I have got to get crackin' on skewing my numbers towards the fun & sporty side of the scale.

qbrozen

well, we were both reset to that 4/13/01 date ... so just over 10 years. Figure roughly 3750 days ...
So, yeah, about 17 posts for you and a bit under 4 for me. I usually take weekends off, so I don't feel so bad now. :P

qbrozen

hey, interesting stats. I wonder if such calculating would lead to another car purchase.
"See honey? If I buy a blue car now, I'll keep it for at least 3 years. I promise!"

anonymousposts

Just wanted to see what you guys think of this car. I have an opportunity to pick one up for a great price. It has 114,000 miles, cloth, roof, and third seats. Appears to run great. And MOST IMPORTANTLY it's a 5MT.

Oh yeah, did I forget to say it was a 5MT?

Cause it is.

28firefighter

I drove a 2001 V70 T5 with Geartronic. The drivetrain - the engine and transmission were pretty good, but a bit of turbo lag.

The real issue with that year of V70 is that it was the first year of the redesign, and our car had electrical problems every other day it seemed. Climate Control would not respond to user input, doors would lock and unlock on a whim. Approach lighting would randomly turn out without any request from the FOB. I could go on.

Just beware what you may be getting into.

tifighter

I'd expect Q, Stick and Fezo to get pretty excited about this one...

roadburner

Here's my list...

Brands:
BMW (9) (5 stick/4 auto)
Ford (3) (1 stick/2 auto)
Nissan/Datsun (2) (1 stick/1 auto)
Buick (1) (auto)
Chevrolet (1) (1 auto)
Jeep (1) (stick)
Mazda (1) (stick)
Mitsubishi (1) (stick)
Volvo (1) (auto)

Colors:
Blue (3)
Green (4)
Silver (4)
Maroon (2)
Red (2)
Black (1)
Gold (1)
Tan (1)
White (1)
Yellow (1)

Body Style:
Convertibles- 2
Coupes- 5
Hatchbacks- 5
Sedans- 5
SUVs- 3

Drivetrain:
AWD- 1
FWD- 2
RWD- 14
4X4- 3

fezo

You'd be right there....

isellhondas

That Volvo will give you nothing but grief and when you decide to dump it, that 5 speed you love will make it saleproof.

It's a "great price" for a reason!

stever

A Women’s Health magazine reporter is interested in speaking with women on the appeal of SUV’s and Minivans. If you previously owned a minivan and currently own an SUV or other crossover utility vehicle and are interested in speaking with this reporter about why you chose it and what you like about it, please respond to pr@edmunds.com with your name, email address and day time phone number by Wednesday, August 3, 2011.

(I know it's been years since your Quest, Akangl, but sounds like you qualify; and maybe this will ring bells with some of the guys in here whose wives have switched).

stickguy

Well, got me out of the woodwork.

hell yeah, I want it. for a good price? Roof and Stick? Oh baby, sign me up, and I even am good with the cloth seats

Pretty sure I can take Fezo now. As long as I get at him before the new marrow kicks in, I might win the fight... (j/k here of course, don't be mad!)

Anyway, let me know when to shoot down to Ga to pick it up. Oh, and what color it is.

stickguy

interesting question Steve. This is the process we are about to go through, probably in 1.5 years, since it will be her turn by then, and she is over the whole minivan thing. Will also have the youngest child (only one left at home) driving and almost our of HS, so time for something smaller.

au1994

Here we go starting from '87 to present:

66 Mustang Convertible: blue
89 Chevy Beretta: red
95 Toyota Tacoma SR5: green
99 Explorer: blue
01 Accord SE: silver
04 4Runner: white
07 Ram: white
10 GMC Canyon: metallic beige
09 Wrangler: black
10 TSX: silver
11 328i coupe: black

This doesn't include the ex's vehicles. All were auto's (spare me ) Mustang and Jeep were 'vert's. Tacoma, Explorer, 4Runner and Jeep were 4x4.

qbrozen

Well, it will likely never give you mechanical problems. Electrical is another issue. Personally, I never recommend an older, high mileage european car to anyone who has to rely on a dealer to maintain and fix it. I don't know which camp you fall in.

Would I be all over it? Sure! Can I endorse it for everyone else? Nope.

So... what's the price?

There is a pretty ratty lookin one going through auction today. Green over black leather, stick, 118k miles. Probably going to do around $3k. I would consider a clean and nice one with all maintenance up to date at about $5k a "great price."

ateixeira

What stood out to me was you've only had 1 domestic and got rid of it quickly.

breld

What stood out to me was you've only had 1 domestic and got rid of it quickly.

Well, that was an old (1985 I think) Chrysler Laser that I inherited from my brother when I got my license. Once I graduated HS, I bought a Civic Si and never looked back as far as domestics go. I've never been enticed, but the new Ford products are pretty compelling.

andre1969

I have never known what the wheelbase was on any car I have ever owned and somehow I have survived. I couldn't care less. Why would anyone care?

For most people it's probably a status thing...you know "mine's longer". And once upon a time it WAS a status thing, as more expensive, luxurious cars usually had longer wheelbases.

A longer wheelbase will usually give you a smoother ride, all other things being equal. Of course, "all other things" usually aren't! Suspension, tires, etc probably play a bigger role nowadays than the wheelbase.

isellhondas

Yep, probably a "mine's longer" thing for sure!

akangl

A little late to the party but here goes, includes both mine and hubby's vehicles since 1988:

Brands:

Ford (14) (9 auto/5 stick)
Chevy (4) (3 auto/1 stick)
GMC (1) (auto)
Dodge (5) (4 auto/1 stick)
Nissan (5) (all auto)
Jeep (3) (all auto)
Honda (3) (2 auto/1 stick)
VW (2) (all stick)
Toyota (1) (stick)
Mazda (3) (all auto)
Chrysler (1) (auto)
Subaru (2) (all stick)

Colors:

Red (12)
Green (8)
Blue (2)
White (4)
Silver (5)
Grey (2)
Purple (2)
Brown (1)
Gold (4)
Black (2)
Black/Red (2)

11 SUVs, 2 minivans, 10 sedans, 2 coupes, 3 hatchbacks, 16 pickup trucks (4- 1/2 tons, 7- 3/4 tons, 4- 1 tons, and 1- minitruck). Of that mess 19 were purchased new and 25 were used including 1 traded to us for our business, 2 given to us, and 1 purchased from a junkyard to fix.

2 gas I-6, 10 gas V8, 2 diesel I-6, 3 diesel V8, 13 gas V6, 2 gas V10, 12 gas I-4, 2 of which were turbos.

Other useless trivia, we've purchased as many as 4 from the same dealership/salesperson many different times. We tend to be very loyal if treated right.

akangl

I have never known what the wheelbase was on any car I have ever owned and somehow I have survived. I couldn't care less. Why would anyone care?

I admit I research the WB of any truck I'm buying, however that's because we used to tow so many trailers. Longer wheelbase = safer towing of long trailers, especially when it comes to RVs. I'm a bit OCD about safety when it comes to towing.

mark156

Akangl, looks like you are a Ford girl with the favorite color of RED. :P

Mark

michaellno

Nice list.

However, I notice that you've purchased not one, buttwo, purple cars.

How does that happen? Was it a deliberate choice or what?

stever

Alaska gets the good colors. :-)

I'll check wheelbase, but overall length is important too. Gotta fit in my garage (although my current garage would handle most stuff).

The overall height is important too, but I've solved part of that issue by switching to a kevlar canoe that easier to lift overhead.

But I don't expect a salesperson to know this stuff.

qbrozen

So we're down to 4 cars again. Saab sold last night.

Son of the buyer may know someone interested in the MR2, too (I don't have it out for sale, but it came up while chatting). We'll see. Wife says I'll regret selling it. But, currently, I regret not being able to drive it. I just don't have the time in the morning to drop the kids off and drive back home to switch cars.

ateixeira

I actually look for less overall length. Easier to parallel park, fit in tight spots, etc.

I ignore wheelbase but I do consider turning circle, less being better of course.

Here's what's funny - my Sienna makes a tigher U-turn than my '98 Forester did, despite being 25" longer and having a wheelbase 20" (!) longer.

stever

Shorter length is important. Really like VW Vanagons and the original Dodge minivans for that. Roomy but short.

The other consideration is attack angle - if there's not much overhang, I can get lots of "street" cars down old gravel forest service roads. A bit of ground clearance helps a lot too.

michaellno

Here's what's funny - my Sienna makes a tigher U-turn than my '98 Forester did, despite being 25" longer and having a wheelbase 20" (!) longer.

We noticed the same thing when we owned our Expedition and the New Beetle at the same time ... the turning radius seemed to be about the same for both vehicles.

andre1969

Sometimes a bigger car will have a tighter turning circle. A turning circle is dependent more on how sharply the front wheels can turn, than wheelbase. Usually (but not always) a wider car (or rather a car with a wider front track) will be able to turn more sharply, because the wheels are further out from the engine bay area, and have larger wheel wells.

When GM downsized some of its big cars to FWD in 1985 and 1987, they actually got LARGER turning circles, despite losing 5-10" in wheelbase, and up to two feet in length!

Wheels and tires can also make a difference.

jayrider

My Jeep Liberty has a short wheelbase and it is a blast to zip around in traffic. Since I changed the shocks, it rides decent enough on the highway as well. Truly a fun vehicle on or off the road.

ateixeira

In Subaru's case it was the boxer engine - it's set low and wide in the chassis, and that limits how much they let the wheels turn.

It did improve dramatically for the 2009 redesign, in fact we have another Forester now and U-turns are no longer white-knuckle incidents.

corvette

A lot of GM cars still have large turning circles--the Malibu, for one. CR complains about it. It's probably a case of GM having a corporate standard of "under 40 feet sounds good enough to us" when competitors are closer to 35 feet.

I think it's easier to make a RWD car that will turn sharply, since you don't have to deal with a transverse engine, transmission, or CV joints.