Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

ateixeira

financial OR logical sense...

Or no sense, 'cause you just feel like it!

laurasdada

I'm the same way, a dirty car makes me sad... Winter's obviously aren't easy on me. Especially for my dark blue TL. My current ride is silver, doesn't show the dirt quite as much. But, I can see it!!!

The Black Magic car polish helps, though. I can still see a shine under the layer of yucky stuff. I think I last polished in October.

stever

A reporter would like to talk to someone under the age of 30 who bought a car within the last few months. Please reach out to pr@edmunds.com by Wednesday, March 20, 2013 if you'd like to help.

fintail

That Subie was probably rattle-canned. I can't think of many cars I would want with black wheels. Maybe an 80s vintage AMG, where the lips would still be silver - but that would be on a black car, so it would be more like body color.

In my area, BMWs with black wheels tend to be the ones where the owner decided not to spring for the optional turn signals and mirrors :shades:

gouldn

Dive 'em all, but I've found that the 09+ models of the Forester took a pretty significant handling hit over the earlier generation. Of course they are a lot bigger and more comfortable too. My 01 is at 202k and still works fine, although it's definitely hinting that its time may be near.

Myself, I'm now leaning towards ditching the small-suv concept and just getting a used Lexus GS with a trailer hitch bike rack, and slapping some marathon, and mountain biking stickers on it for cred The comfort level in those cars is very nice, and $30k will get me nice clean used one. I like BMW's too, but frankly the sharpness in their handling is lost on me. The RWD Lexus handles well enough and is a nicer riding car IMO. In my experience both are very reliable. I've had terrible luck with Audi, so that one is off the list, and VW by association too, I'm afraid.

I'm also going to try a 2 year old C350, but I am leery of MBZ. I sat in a C300 and felt the interior quality did not match the price point. The newer C350's look nicer. I really like the E diesels, but they are a bit more than I want to spend at this point.

fintail

Do they consult you before buying, or just surprise you? My mother did that once - with a Corolla.

Interesting that they don't warm up to Japanese lux cars, which is something common in Europe as a whole. Sounds like you might find a 2001 S600 sitting on their driveway someday.

For the black wheeled Maserati, probably for someone of stereotypical aesthetic sensibilities.

fintail

Cut the leash! She must love you to have put up with you for so long :shades: , so she'll survive a car. I'll sound like a cliched dork, but you only live once, and you can't take it with you.

Good luck with their Sixt run. Maybe you'll get to move one of their E350 cabrios.

fintail

That, or they think it looks rough or menacing. Nothing more imposing than a Scion with black painted wheels, intimidating! :shades:

fintail

2011+ C-class will be the best, facelift year, LEDs and a better interior.

ronsteve

2005 Legacy GT wagon - the only year you could get that gen with a manual.

Now we can't get a Legacy wagon at all, just Outbacks.

At least the Outback XT wagon lived thru 2009. And was still available with the manual.

Now you can't even get an Outback with a turbo. And it's not really a wagon anymore. If I wanted an SUV, I'd get a Forester... at least it's still got the panoramic moonroof! Even though you can't get the XT with the manual anymore either.

More than once I have kicked myself for not getting a Subie with a turbo and a manual when I bought back in '07. Still I soldier on with my V70 2.5T... just hoping there's still something interesting on the market when the time comes to replace it.

boomchek

Yes, I was with them when they got it.

I think they got tired of my spiel about european cars needing a lot of maintenance and decided to go for it anyways. They checked it out and everything was fine with it anyways.

Their reasoning is that every old car will require repairs anyways and they just don't want to be driving a boring car.

tifighter

I thought this video with the Forester project manager was interesting. At the end of the video, he says the performance of the new 14 XT is very close to the JDM Forester STI. So needless to say, it sounds like this generation is an improvement over the last.

fintail

I can understand their line of thinking - I've behaved the same way most of my driving life. I have also mostly also chosen models I knew were relatively easy to live with (for a MB, not compared to a Camcord). I guess as time moves on and the cars they want to become later model years, they might have better luck - I think MBs are a lot better in the past 5 or so years.

boomchek

Speaking of old Benzes I'm tempted to look at a mid 90s CL500. The dealer who's selling it here wants $5900 for it and the car has 200k (120k miles).

It's listed as $6900 on their site but $5900 on Craigslist. It might be a fun car but it'll guzzle triple the amount my Echo takes.

link title

gouldn

Trading an Echo for a CL500 .... Love it!!!

mark156

Boom, if you like that high mileage old CL then you would love my 2001 S500 with only 88,000 pampered miles (not Kilometers). I'm """"thinking""""" of letting it go at the end of the year when the 2014's come out. I'm curious to what the new S-class will look like as the 2007-2013's just don't do it for me.

Honestly, a high mileage Mercedes at any price is not enticing (to me). They could run into high repair costs real quick as I'm sure you know as you are a car guy.

Good luck,
Mark156

stickguy

probably better to keep the Echo to use while the Benz is in the shop, and you are waiting on your kidney removal surgery to be able to pay to fix it.

boomchek

I go through cars often so it's not like the Benz would be a long term fleet car for me. I think I'd keep it a few months before moving to something else, and hoping that I won't run into anything major during this time. Just having hard time paying dealer retail when I know I can score one for cheap if one ever shows up at the local auction. :shades:

And I'd have a hard time giving up the fuel economy of my Echo. But realistically I don't think I'll be doing anything until I come back from holidays in mid April.

Sandman6472

Just got home and someone else got to drive "2" E350's...I was so frickin' pissed off!!! Sixt is the only company that takes our licenses and assigns car(s) to us individually and naturally the lady who doesn't want a Benz got one for both trips...and they wouldn't let us swap rides for even one trip! I had a 2013 Hyundai Accent, G-d must be sending me a signal since this is what the wife wants, and a 2013 Camry SE. The Camry was nice but it's sprung terribly as i felt everything...every pothole, every dip, every frickin' thing that it started to make me car sick! Nicely done interior but I now understand why Toyota has fallen back to the end of the pack...this car was soooo boring, soooo boring. C'mon Toyota, stop with the bland boring garbage and give us a real decent handling vehicle already...sheesh!

Even the Accent rode better than this Camry but I still prefer the Kia Rio over the Accent...same car but the Rio is just nicer looking inside and out and it drives smoother. Maybe if the Accent had had the alloys with the lower profile tires it would have driven better but it seems to have better power than our '08 GLS and drives smoother. But the shift pattern was a bit wonky and did upshift at the weirdest times. The Rio I drove recently had a more buttoned down ride and definitely was more planted to the ground...I'm gonna push for the Rio when the time comes.

Wasn't to bad really as we met at 5:30 and did 2 trips from Miami airport to just outside the West Palm Beach airport and got back to Lauderdale at 11:30...there were 5 drivers and we moved 10 vehicles. Not sure if we'll have work tomorrow but told the boss I'm ready to go as early as 8 if needed.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

boomchek

What color is your S500? There is a ton of your generation S Class in my area, most priced in the $10,000 range plus or minus a few grand.

And yeah I know high mileage european cars are potential money pits that's why I'm not going to hurry down and test drive the CL500 today!

boomchek

probably better to keep the Echo to use while the Benz is in the shop

Haha, yeah I agree. But sometimes having multiple cars is more of a hassle than convenience. You drive one to pick up another from the shop, you leave the other one there, then you don't feel like going back to get it so a few days go by before you drag your wife to drive you to pick up car #3.

Sandman6472

Yep, this year will be 32 years so I guess by this time we're kinda stuck...and also, when i kick, she'll still get about 2/3 of my postal pension so why not keep me around. And yes you're right, she'd probably survive me getting a car of my dreams as it's basically already paid for...my dad saw to that. So when 2017 rolls around, I'm sure that I'll be able to find a pretty nice vehicle to scratch that itch if not before. But even driving up I-95 tonight, my Civic drove just as nice as that brand new Camry, just as nice and I do like the 180" size so I'll just do the new stereo to keep me happy for the next few years and all will be good!

Nite all.

The Tired Sandman :sick: :shades:

mark156

The '01 S500 is Black with light tan leather. We almost got rid of it early on when glitches started driving us crazy.... no wipers, the locks wouldn't work correctly, etc., it was like a gremlin in the electrical system. Come to find out, the wiring harness was defective.

It took 3, three week stays at the dealership to figure out what was going on. We were out of town during those times so it was not a big event. Once they figured it out, the car has been a real good running car so that's why it's been around for almost 13 yrs. (bought in summer of 2000).

But, I'm ready for a new replacement as I want to trade two cars for one new one. As I mentioned a while back, the 1990 500SL with 56,000 miles is ready to go too. Can't keep'm forever! :P

Mark156

tifighter

Okay, but keep that E320 Cabriolet. I don't want to be tempted

stever

Trading an Echo for a CL500 .... Love it!!!

There was a tweet yesterday from our senior analyst - "Interesting trade spotted in @edmunds data: An '82 Chrysler New Yorker for a new Nissan Juke".

ateixeira

Beats a similarly priced Smart ForTwo.

fintail

C140s are freakshows in a way - which is good, but they scare me. Several years ago a co-worker had a final run car like that one. It nickel and dimed them to the point where they ran away and took a huge loss. I'd only touch a mint low miles car with all needs attended to. A higher miles 140 sitting with no plates on a repo lot bodes ill. Nicer ones probably exist in Van.

You should bug mark156 about selling you his early R129 SL or W220 - one owner cars, maintained well, with issues sorted. Might cost a little more to purchase, but will be a lot less to keep going. Those are the kind to snap up when you can.

fintail

Depends on the Scion - I find the new tC to be terribly uncool, a Brabus Smart beats it - but that's just my opinion. I still find "Smart" to be an oxymoronic name for the car.

fintail

So go for it - you only live once, and nobody is guaranteed tomorrow :shades: You're a car person, sounds like she isn't...there has to be a compromise.

By 2017, current model C and E will be cheap, but also won't be new. I wonder if you will like the new CLA, which will base just under 30K (very base).

fintail

Think of a gigantic E-class, that's what renders of the new S look like, to me. But it will have some new technology that is had by nobody else, that much is always certain. Sell boom your SL or S500, he might give more than the sad trade-in values anyway :shades:

I'd only look at higher mileage cars that get there via age. 150K on a 40 year old car is less troublesome than on an 8 year old car.

fintail

That stinks about the Sixt cars. They are your best bet for being able to drive a highline, from what I can tell. She gets a new MB, you get an Accent - someone doesn't like you!

Wifey can have a Rio as she just doesn't care - but for you...it would be nothing to enjoy.

I suspect with the Camry "SE", to make it "sporty" to middle America, Toyota just put stiff shocks on it, and job done. It might be less wallowy than an LE, but composed like an actual sporty car, I can't imagine.

tjc78

My Mom had an 09 SE, pretty much firm just to be firm. Same steering feel and handling as an LE, just an illusion of "sport". At the limit it probably is better than an LE but no one takes a Camry to the limit anyway. I will admit to liking the body kit and larger wheels.

roadburner

My Mom had an 09 SE, pretty much firm just to be firm. Same steering feel and handling as an LE, just an illusion of "sport". At the limit it probably is better than an LE but no one takes a Camry to the limit anyway. I will admit to liking the body kit and larger wheels.

GM used to do something similar- just add stiffer damping and increased steering effort and you have a "sporty" car. Can't say I blame them; I'm all but certain that less than 1% of US drivers know the difference between steering effort and steering feel.

Sandman6472

This really peaks my interest actually and the timing will be right. And the way things are going lately, not sure if I'll be in the same marital situation. Since this new job, the balance of power has shifted in the house and someone is non too pleased! When a control freak starts to get some resistance, gets pretty "interesting" to say the least. Luckily she's been staying at one of my kids place 3 nights + a week. Sometimes G-d just knows when to give people some space I think. I'm no longer the person I was last year when I was in the thick of a deep depression and wouldn't leave the house. 180 degree turn has occurred and it's ruffling some feathers but hey, no one said change is easy and life will go on in some form or another. I like where I'm at right now and the person I've become and I will no longer apologize for doing what I want for me anymore...58 years has been long enough trying to make everyone else happy except myself. Now, it's my turn! So call me selfish whatever, this is my time now!

O k guys, rant over. Back to cars...lol!

The New And Improved Sandman :sick: :shades:

corvette

"...I do like the 180" size..."

I had my new tire installed on the Jetta GLI this morning at Discount Tire, and two people there thought it was a Passat due to its size! Then, they forgot to give me back the key to my wheel locks. Luckily, I discovered that before I left town. Other than that, it was a good experience. They were willing to sell me their road hazard warranty on all four tires for $103, which I accepted because a lot of the reviews on the OEM Dunlop tires mention that they are extremely prone to impact damage. The staff was friendlier and the shop was cleaner than my previous tire store. I will probably go back there.

corvette

There was a tweet yesterday from our senior analyst - "Interesting trade spotted in edmunds data: An '82 Chrysler New Yorker for a new Nissan Juke".

I figured Andre would end up with an Altima the way he talks about them all the time! :P

Sandman6472

I know it stinks and the funny part is that other person didn't want the Benz and even offered to swap one of them...the boss said no as the paper work was already complete. But it did give me a good chance to drive the Accent in a real world situation even though we'd get the top of the line model with alloys and cruise, and it wasn't super bad though the Civic is a better driver. Not sure the wife will even notice what I did as her Mazda3s is so much more of a car and endless power just waiting to be unleashed. Still think the Rio is the better choice here if she does in fact go down this road as she just loves her 3s. Going to suggest that she try the 2014 3 and see what she thinks as if it drives exactly the same, she says it so easy for her and getting into parking spaces is effortless, it might just make sense to get a Skyactive 3i Touring and call it a day. But it's totally her choice and all I'll do is drive the final choice and sit in while "we" negotiate the deal. As things are, I only drive her car to maintain it and she never drives mine which is a good thing as we have different driving styles. I tend to keep a constant pressure on the accelerator while hers is an on/off approach which after awhile gives me a headache...too much jerkiness actually. But we just have different styles.

When she tells me, I'll be ready to help her buy. I always tell her to start test driving after tax season is done so she knows what's out there and what she wants but it falls on deaf ears. Once her a/c finally quits though, it'll be me who has to get it fixed. At this point, we're doing nothing and will deal when it does die. And life goes on!

One co-worker had 2 Volvo small utes which looked nice and I have always wanted to try one of them also but hopefully will in time. We do work for Sixt every week or so so the odds are pretty good I'll eventually get something fun for a longer drive period. Still having a blast...the others also still think I'm nuts but they are not car folk so they'll never understand!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

A bit confused here...why would a brand new vehicle need new sneakers already? Am I missing something here? Didn't you buy new? What day is it? Totally dazed and confused, which is the phrase I want on my grave marker, "He went through life totally dazed and confused"...it just fits me ...really. I've been told before that "I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer" and I was the average kid in our family...the other 3 were over achievers and were like valdictorians and won honors and all. I was the average child in the middle and content to be there. Nothing wrong with average folks...it's a pretty good place to be to!

Bet you're loving that GLI to. Almost snagged a Passat the other day but did enjoy the Jetta I drove even though the aux set up confounded me so I had to use the trusty cd's I carry along. The Jetta did remind me of a Japanese/Korean import though and not of the European ride I've heard so much about. Car And Driver did a long term wrap up recently of the Jetta GLI, or was it Motor Trend, which I've just skimmed but will read next time I'm in the "library". it was a red one and looked pretty cool...I like the Jetta and Focus in red even though it can be seen miles away...the color just works on these vehicles!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

mark156

Yep, I'm keeping the '95 E320 Cabriolet as it has just under 39,000 original miles (Arctic white, Ash [grey] leather, black clothe top) new Michelins. And, just recently a new water pump. I started smelling antifreeze, so after 17 yrs. it's first mechanical repair.

At a tight parking place at a restaurant (2 yrs. ago) I barely tapped a brick wall with the corner of the back bumper....just a tiny tap... but it nic'd the paint. So, off to the repair shop to have the bumper cover repainted. :sick: On these year Mercedes, the bottom half is a slightly different color. The top is Arctic white as I mentioned but the bottom is more of a light milky grey. The paint job was an absolutely perfect match as the car is pristine.

Mark156

fintail

I guess that makes it more grounded to the ground, and you get the things guys like, such as rims and a smooth body :shades:

My mom's LE is pretty much a Japanese 1980s Buick Century in terms of handling - but that's the kind of thing she likes, so it's fine.

fintail

You guys just need to split your automotive worlds. She drives what she wants, you drive what you want. She can have an economical Rio, you can have your plush premium compact, all is right with the world. Problem solved, right? :P

I am pretty sure Sixt carries the XC60 there, maybe even XC90, so you could get one, along with MB GLK and ML in the SUV world.

fintail

That would probably be the one I would keep. The mileage is special, the car is quite rare, although unfortunately, still devoid of collector demand. Good color for it, too.

stever

I'd keep driving the Civic Sandy. If you buy a new car, then you'll land in something you like even better one week later moving cars around. :shades:

Plus, if you actually buy something, there goes the thrill of the chase (present company excepted of course).

ateixeira

Haven't ever seen a Brabus outside of a YouTube video.

Around here those hourly car rental places use them, like Car2Go, in fact I saw one today. I think nowadays they all go to fleets.

corvette

"A bit confused here...why would a brand new vehicle need new sneakers already?"

It only needed one. I hit a crater (not a mere pothole, this was a crater, I tell you!) on the interstate and my front passenger tire got a huge bubble on the sidewall. No warranty or help from VW or the dealer even though it only had 1500 miles on it, so I ordered one new tire from Tire Rack and had it installed.

boomchek

I'd actually be interested in both of your cars but I think you're a bit ways away from me and with the cost of shipping and then importing them to Vancouver, it might not make sense for me (or you).

Otherwise they sound like a nice pair. :shades:

boomchek

I know what you're saying but the "repo" lot is not really a repo lot. Guy buys all his cars from auction, other dealers, etc.

The plate issue is normal here in BC. Car insurance plates stay with the owner, not the car. For example, I still have the plates for the MDX I just sold, I can transfer them (and insurance that's attached to them) to my next car I buy or I can just cancel it all and return them.

So all cars that get traded in to dealers get their plates removed and transfered to the new car that people buy.

I would tink this C140 would be less troublesome than the next generation, even though the 00 and up look a 100 times nicer and sleeker.

fintail

I've seen numerous Brabus Smarts on the road here. There are privately owned ones here too - people here are open to dorky expensive things. There was even a private importer of them in the area years before they were officially sold here - back then they'd get 25K+ for one (!)

fintail

Oh, down here, plates go with the car unless they are special series/personalized.

I'd still be leery of that C140, unless it has records, or you can have a fine tooth comb inspection performed by a good mechanic. Still a lot of things to go wrong, even if it lacks the airmatic/abc/zillion other issues of the newer cars. A really concours C140 shouldn't go much past 10K today, and it'd be hard to turn a 5K dog into that for another 5K.

Sandman6472

Steve, that's the current plan as I really need to keep it for at least 10 years or give it to my son when the proper time comes. In that case, I'd be forced to purchase something so we'll see. We also discussed giving the boy the Civic, me taking the 3 and the wife getting new...a scenario which just might work as I don't drive that much, the boy would be thrilled and the wife gets what she wants. I could live with the 3 for a few years as long as the a/c works and it doesn't have any more major problems. Decisions decisions but time will tell. Definitely need to get the wife into something reliable that she likes and the Hyundai/Kia long warranty is something she really does want. hey, the way they've taken care of the few issues we've had on the '08 Accent has been great so she's sold. We bought across the street last time and might just do it again. And having no trade-in is definitely an easier way to go.

Even though I do lust for something new and fun, I can wait as again, driving the Civic earlier, it put a smile on my face with it's smoothness. I did fill up last week with Shell instead of Hess,Valero or BP and the car seems to be more responsive but it could also be my imagination but I don't think so. Isn't Shell a tier 1 brand or does that really matter these days with the engines doing their own thing. This has always confused me, the tier 1 and tier 2 gasoline products. I just know with the Shell in the tank, the vehicle just drives better than ever before!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

And Fin, I think they did indeed have the XC60's like my neighbor has...a real sweet looking crossover.