Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stever

Fasting? On Thanksgiving? Okay, I had BBQ, not turkey, for dinner, but it is Thanksgiving in Canada, eh?

kyfdx

...in the shopping derby for my wife's next vehicle...

2011 G37X (AWD sedan) with Premium and Sport appearance package... The salesperson gave me his demo to bring home, tonight (the puppy dog close..lol).. Now, she just has to pick from the three available color combinations that they have in this configuration..

White w/black leather
Blue Slate w/black leather (really dark gray/blue)
Black w/stone leather (medium gray interior)

At this point, the rankings are as above...

Numbers have been agreed on.... so, pretty much a done deal, unless I total that demo on the way back in tomorrow.. :surprise:

houdini1

That sounds like a great choice to me. For anyone who wants a bit of a performance car I think the G37 would be hard to beat overall. My choice would be white with stone.

Out of curiosity, did your wife show in interest in the new G25, and does it come with the awd option?

qbrozen

black interiors are at the bottom of my list these days. Black exterior ain't up there, either. Buying a new vehicle, I wouldn't settle, IMHO.

isellhondas

Buy what appeals to you the most. Everybody has a different opinion on colors and interiors.

Those are VERY nice cars!

qbrozen

I guess what I should have asked, and why I mention colors, is why, "she just has to pick from the three available color combinations that they have in this configuration"?

Is the deal really so unbelievable that you couldn't possibly get it on exactly what you want elsewhere or on an ordered car?

breld

That's a great choice. I like that they've added that sport package to the "x" model. I think this 2nd gen design of the G sedan has aged really well - when I see them I have to remind myself that it's at the end of its cycle.

tifighter

On a business trip again - this week's rental is the 11 Mustang V6 with the 6AT. This car is actually pretty nice. Its the premium, so leather seats, sync, the interior mood lighting etc. Not hard to get 30mpg highway...the throttle calibration is heavy, which helps the mpg, but makes it feel sluggish for the reported 300hp. Ride quality is good, as is interior quality. I have to think that one of these with a stick and the performance pack would be a lot of fun, while entirely livable as a DD.

kyfdx

Well... the deal is on the 2011 models only, so there are only six left....

But, we like black interiors.... so, the color choices are fine.... as of now, the Blue Slate is moving up the list... lol. If there were only black on black left, then we'd ask for a dealer trade, but she is fine with the choices.. Actually, Infiniti doesn't have anything that knocks your socks off (color-wise) in a G sedan.

She won't pick the black one, because a neighbor up the street has a black one, and it's always immaculate.... which her car will definitely not be...

As far as the G25X? That might have been in the running, but they only have two left... and, they are missing a few goodies that she'd like to have (memory seats, for one).. They price them at $50/mo. less on a 39 mo. lease, than the G37X with premium package..

She is happy, and I made a pretty good deal (9 MSDs allowed on an Infiniti lease).. The money factor is .0001 .. (no typo.. that's three zeroes)

stever

Nah, go with the first choice. I'm not wild about my Subie's black interior but I'd like it more if the exterior was white. :shades:

kyfdx

We've had

black/gray
red/black
gray/black
blue/black
black/gray
white/gray
black/gray
black/gray
green/gray
white/gray
white/tan

Lots of Honda products with gray cloth in there.... lol..

My choice (which absolutely doesn't matter) is white/black... but, I think she is going for the Blue Slate/black.. I've purposely not told her of my choice.. Because, if you remember, I picked the Z4.. :surprise:

isellhondas

Infiniti's while great cars have never had great resale value so I have to wonder what the residual percentage is ESPECIALLY this late in the model year?

Our UCM used to buy off lease Infinitis for thousands back of book and we were able to sell them for bargain prices and still make good money.

They may have mortaged tomorrow for today's sale figuring they would hope for the best 39 months from now.

That MF equates to about a 2.5% interest rate so depending on what the payment is, that's probably an excellent lease. IF you like to lease!

Sandman6472

Definitely!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

Got the Mazda a new set of shoes this morning. Ended up with Firestone Affinity's with a 70k warranty. Got on the web the other day and while searching, figured out that Firestone must've bought a big chunk of Tire's Plus as their tire selections and prices are so similar. Was holding on to a "buy 3 get 1 free" coupon from Firestone since the beginning of the month, somehow figuring we'd have to go this route sooner than later. These Affinity's were on the coupon. Tire's Plus website had 15% off each Affinity tire, so I called my guy there and tell him what I've found and he tells me, yes, Firestone owns Tire Plus now and yes, he will honor the coupon I have. I was going to get Primewell tires at $80.99/tire but they were not as good a tire. Ended up with Affinity's for $84/tire using the coupon...a much better deal for a much better tire. So now the wife is thrilled that she gets to keep her car longer and I'm happy as we can now push back our time frame to purchase something new when hopefully, the supply will be greatly improved.

They did recommend swapping out the spark plugs at 100k, which I will do in a few months. Also recommended a radiator drain/refill which again, will get done at 100k. But they also said a fuel injector service is needed which I questioned. Is this really necessary? I would think the gasoline would have a detergent attative to keep the injectors clog free. Am I correct here or should I spring for the $100.00 service? I want to keep this car running properly for the next year or so, so is it necessary? Also, we had the tranny drained/refilled back at 45k...is this a service I should have done now that we're at 96k?

T I A all. And I still can't get the used '07 BMW 330i I sat in at the Nissan dealership yesterday...or for that matter, the '09 TSX, '09 C Class MB and IS250. Three incredible cars with leather and all the goodies but to be honest, the BMW stole my heart! Texted the wife while I sat and listened to the killer stereo telling her she really needs to consider a CPO BMW for her next ride. These cars are really more than a step up from the econocars that we've been driving for years. I can just imagine the driving experience to be so much more than what we consider good now. Can't describe how wonderful these cars felt to my backside...I'm in love!!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

corvette

No fuel injector service unless she's having drivability problems, and even then, I'd try a bottle or two of Techron or Sea-Foam in the gas tank before having a mechanic do anything.

Edited to add: Probably yes on the transmission service if you're going to keep it a few more years.

kyfdx

The 36mo/36K residual is 63%..

That money factor equates to .024%, not 2.4%.. The finance/rent charge portion of the lease is $0.66/mo... That's right... 66 cents... :surprise:

While actual resale might be low, the lease program is where they've decided to put the incentives on the car... The selling price is right around invoice... the reisidual is high, and the money factor is effectively zero...

Including tax, I'm in around $380/mo. for a $42K MSRP car...

To be fair, I got the money factor down that low by using the MSD program... the base rate is .00091, which is right around 2.2% (still cheap).

michaellno

Including tax, I'm in around $380/mo. for a $42K MSRP car...

Wow. Just .... wow.

I've always had a rough rule that a lease payment is around 1-2% of the MSRP. You're under 1% with the Infiniti.

(you were really under with the Z4, but since the wife ixnayed it, that doesn't count)

The security deposit is equal to the pre-tax payment rounded up to the nearest $50, right?

I could use the equity in the ION to do something like this. I figure the ION is worth $5-6K in trade; 9 security deposits at, say $400 each is $3600, plus other start up fees. At the end of 3 years or so I get the $3600 back to do whatever I want.

But, I think the wife is off the leasing carousel.

In other news....

A couple weekends ago, we were running errands and saw an unusual number of Nissan Juke's. "I don't hate that" was the comment from the spouse. And, it seemed as if every one of them was driven by someone in our age bracket (late 40's).

Funky little thing, but when I checked them out on-line it looks as if they are decently equipped for not much money. About $23K for an SL (top level) FWD with a 6-speed manual. Guess that might be my next candidate for TDOTM (test drive of the month).

kyfdx

Infiniti takes the total payment, before reduction, including tax, and rounds it up to then next $50 increment... BMW uses the post-reduction payment.... So, for this lease, the deposit is $450 X 9.

I use a similar rule of thumb.. If the pre-tax payment for 3yr/45K is 1% of MSRP or less.. that is a killer lease deal.. Anything up to 1.2% is still good.... as it gets over that, I start looking for another vehicle or consider buying, instead... If a car can be bought for 20% less than MSRP, then that rule starts to fall apart.. It seems most cars lease out at 1.5% of MSRP (or even more)..

If a car doesn't have a good lease program from the manufacturer, it's not going to lease well, no matter how good a deal you negotiate.

We only did 3yr/36K on this lease... if we did 3yr/45K, the pre-tax payment would have been around $445/mo. (w/o security deposits)... that puts it at about 1.06 % of MSRP... So, a very, very good lease.. the security deposits put it over the top....

isellhondas

Infiniti has effectively buried themselves on that lease. Bad for them but good for you!

I think you are figuring your money factor/interest rate wrong but I'm not going to argue the point with you.

Wow...a 63% residual! What are they thinking??

tjc78

I think you are figuring your money factor/interest rate wrong but I'm not going to argue the point with you.

It is money factor x 2400 right?

Wow...a 63% residual! What are they thinking??

That could be the highest three year residual I've seen in a long time. Even a Lexus ES350 (which holds its value pretty well) ia usually is in the mid/low 50s.

isellhondas

Yes, as a rough rule of thumb if you multiply the MF by 2400 it'll relate to an interest rate.

No cars have better resale than Hondas do and an average residual for a Honda is around 57%.

You would THINK they would learn lessons?

kyfdx

Residual: It's no different than putting a $4000 rebate on a car.... The difference is, they don't have to pay it now.... they pay it in three years, when they re-sell the car...

Money factor: The money factor is .00091 before deposits... with MSDs, it's .00001 (four zeroes after the decimal).. Do the conversion... multiply those numbers and you'll get the approximate APR rate.. I've got the deal sheet printout.... the rent charge is $0.66 (66 cents) per month... I think you'll see I'm right on the numbers...

As you said.. it's good for me... Not really concerned what's good for Infiniti or IFS.... I'm sure the dealer is still making their normal gross.. Nice guys there.. I'm happy for them.

regards,
kyfdx

Sandman6472

Sat in one at the Nissan store on Tuesday and not to bad of a car/ute...pretty comfortable also. The Rogue was also a real nice ute though the seats and fabric were just so/so...I read that a Special Edition Rogue is due out soon which has some extra goodies like super nice alloys. We bought a 2001 Altima GXE Special Edition way back then and the extra stuff in the package made the car that much nicer...one thing we like about Nissan is their Special Edition packages add some really nice goodies for a small bump in price.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

tjc78

Money factor: The money factor is .00091 before deposits... with MSDs, it's .00001 (four zeroes after the decimal).

Your earlier post says .0001 (three zeros) either way very, very low.

Post 21676:
She is happy, and I made a pretty good deal (9 MSDs allowed on an Infiniti lease).. The money factor is .0001 .. (no typo.. that's three zeroes)

And I agree the "pumped up" residual is just a pay me now, pay me later type of thing. Either dump a huge incentive on the lease now and know your costs, or pump up the residual and take a gamble on the future.

michaellno

Sat in one at the Nissan store on Tuesday and not to bad of a car/ute...pretty comfortable also. The Rogue was also a real nice ute though the seats and fabric were just so/so...I read that a Special Edition Rogue is due out soon which has some extra goodies like super nice alloys. We bought a 2001 Altima GXE Special Edition way back then and the extra stuff in the package made the car that much nicer...one thing we like about Nissan is their Special Edition packages add some really nice goodies for a small bump in price.

I was hoping to test drive a Juke this past weekend, but the wife's classes on Saturday were canceled so we didn't spend the weekend in Colorado Springs like we normally due.

I'm looking at the SL model which comes standard with leather, sunroof, nav and rear view monitor.

kyfdx

I should double check my own work...

The second post is correct... .00001.. four zeroes... virtually nothing... That's off a base rate of .00091, with 9 multiple security deposits...

Total rent/finance charge for the 36 months is $23.76....

I had him check with IFS... because, BMW has a minimum of .0005, and I thought IFS might have a minimum, as well... but, he checked, and they'll go that low... I think the base rate was purposely set at .00091 because of that.. (guessing the computer program won't figure a negative money factor..lol)

regards,
kyfdx

Sandman6472

My neighbor is on his 2nd G coupe and loves it...he bought out his lease and is extremely happy he did. Nice car, he has the white/black combo which looks very sharp. And I just love the exhaust sound as he drives off, very intoxicating. Wish they made a smaller version car like the old G20, now those were really nice vehicles!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

My neighbor has a black over black G37x sedan. Must like black cars with the VQ engine, since he has a toy with that combo (a 2007ish Nissan 350Z with a stick). That doesn't get out much!

kyfdx

I have a co-worker who has a coupe with stick-shift... very nice..

But, 328 hp is ridiculous... I'd trade 50 HP for 2 more MPG... lol...

I'm just happy to be done with it, but a little bummed that we couldn't get a comparable lease on an SUV at the same MSRP..

ateixeira

I'd trade 50 HP for 2 more MPG

It's called "Altima".

kyfdx

Yeah.. but, that wouldn't be the same car now, would it?

ateixeira

Not at all, I'm afraid.

Last Altima I drove was a V6 manual, do they still make those?

Very quick but it felt like the front half of the car wanted to separate from the back half. :surprise:

kyfdx

Even in AWD form, the G37 is still basically a RWD car.... That's a big difference from FWD...

I'm not actually much of a Nissan fan.... Neither of the two we've had have been that great (though, that was in the '90s)..

But, have a lot of friends that swear by their Infinitis... and, the wife really likes it.. Plus, they'll bring her a car and take her's in for service.. Since the dealer is a 50-mile round trip and she works from home, that went a long way...

ateixeira

My last one was a Datsun, and it was RWD, too!

Sandman6472

Sweet!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

corvette

The one I saw at the auto show was pretty neat. I'm sure the turbocharged engine is a gem. The interior is kind of low-rent and the rear wheel wells didn't seem to have any sound deadening in them (my Altima has a fiberglass mat in that area, presumably to absorb road noise and protect the body from rust).

michaellno

The one I saw at the auto show was pretty neat. I'm sure the turbocharged engine is a gem. The interior is kind of low-rent and the rear wheel wells didn't seem to have any sound deadening in them (my Altima has a fiberglass mat in that area, presumably to absorb road noise and protect the body from rust).

I've taken a cursory glance at the Juke when I was evaluating new rides for the wife - it's quite small (wheelbase is < 100") with little cargo room.

However, for me it might not be so bad. I, too, am impressed with the 188 HP engine. I'd still like to test drive a FWD stick and see how it compares to the MINI Cooper S .. about the closest thing I can cross-shop it with.

Sandman6472

Just passed a black one about an hour ago on the way home...very nice! It had 17" alloys with a 55 profile...probably a pricey replacement size as anything over 16" does gets up there. The back door handles are recessed into the body work, a nice touch actually. This one was an SL as I recall and probably with an auto tranny...but really nice. Bet the mileage figures are nothing to write home about but I guess any of these smaller ute's will not have mileage as good as many of the newer compacts do now. If there was one with Elantra like mpg's, I'd be on board in a heart beat!

But, it's a nice looking unit even with those funky headlights!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

isellhondas

OK, I missed a zero.

MAN, these cars must be hard to sell! They give away the rate AND set an impossible residual!

But , certainly good for you! Enjoy!

nyccarguy

Saw a nice 2001 E46 M3 advertised in the back of this month's ROUNDEL:

Titanium Silver/Black, 76K miles, 6spd, moonroof, power hot seats, HK, no winters or accidents, recent Inspection II & Michelin Pilot Super Sports. $17,500 obo. MA

Any takers?

stickguy

just saw the preview on the upcoming (early next year?) mazda CX-5. sounds perfect if it has enough cargo room.

Sky activ 2.0 with a 6 speed stick? Plenty peppy and 30mpg+ highway? Sounds good to me!

the heck with the wife, I want one for myself...

fezo

Wow. That could indeed be a winner.

akangl

I'm not actually much of a Nissan fan.... Neither of the two we've had have been that great (though, that was in the '90s)..

Grats on the new car and the great deal! I've had 4 Nissans, 2 were good......1990 Stanza and the 1998 Altima. The others, both 2004 Titans just adored the shop. They were so bad the tech in service threatened to run over the white one with his bronco if he ever saw it again. Funny thing is that's one truck I'd love to have back....glutton for punishment I guess.

Infinities are sharp cars, we just recently had an Infiniti dealership open in Anchorage, first and only one in Alaska.

michaellno

just saw the preview on the upcoming (early next year?) mazda CX-5. sounds perfect if it has enough cargo room.

Sky activ 2.0 with a 6 speed stick? Plenty peppy and 30mpg+ highway? Sounds good to me!

the heck with the wife, I want one for myself...

As a Mazda owner, I've been following the news on the CX-5 closely. If they can keep the weight down, the SkyActiv engine might provide enough oomph. IIRC, it's rated for 155HP.

We shall see.

Like you, I've been suffering all this week with tile installation at my house. Today is day 5, and they still have part of the downstairs hallway and living room to finish, plus all the grouting and reinstallation of the toilet, sink and baseboards.

I think it may all be done tomorrow.

graphicguy

kyfdx....a really good deal on a really sweet car. Congrats. Did you buy it in Cincinnati?

ateixeira

I want to see a lighter, SkyActiv-powered ND Miata.

stickguy

Good luck with that. It will all be worth it in the end. At least the grouting is quick, and they can do the trim in 1/2 a day probably.

From the autoweek preview, the CX-5 is supposed to be about 3300#s (probably a FWD though). so figure maybe 3300-3500?

they did saw the FWD stick model felt quick, and that the AWD AT was certainly competitive for the class, so not worried about that.

If it has as much cargo room as the X3 or a CRV, it will be big enough.

ateixeira

If it has as much cargo room as the X3 or a CRV

I sorta doubt that...

CX7 has 29.9 cubes, 58.6 with the seats down.

CR-V is 35.7, 72.9.

And the CX5 is supposed to be smaller than the CX7.

It may be more space efficient and close, but don't expect 70+.

michaellno

CX7 has 29.9 cubes, 58.6 with the seats down.
CR-V is 35.7, 72.9.

Wow, that is interesting. The wife liked the looks of the CR-V when we were shopping, but when I told her it only had a 4-cyl engine, that killed it for her.

She likes her ponies!

Am surprised that the CR-V is larger inside.

However, the CX-7 is fractionally larger than the VUE we had.

ateixeira

Mazda over-styled it a bit. The greenhouse really eat up some space. Not as bad as Nissan, but not boxy and space efficient like Honda/Toyota/Subaru.