Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jayrider

You will fit fine in a Prius. Lots of room and a flat bottom steering wheel. Local dealers are advertising $1500 off MSRP which means there is even more if you work a bit. The real deal though is the Honda Insight which can be bought for 18 K. So if you want an appliance with nice room and a hatch both would work. A lightly used Insight can be had for 13-14K.

Michaell

While I have test driven a Prius C, I'm not sure that my next car would be a hybrid.

I've got my ION for pizza duty; it gets a pretty consistent 25-28 MPG for me.

The next car will hopefully be something a bit more fun and sporty.

Perhaps a low mileage 24 or 36 month lease while I keep the ION. Hmmmm.....if I kept the payments around $325/mo, that ought to open up options.

nyccarguy

Check out this 2008 Acura TSX

if the link doesn't work, it's a 2008 BLACK/Black Acura TSX w/ a 5 speed manual & only 33,000 miles. Dealer serviced & religiously maintained. Not a bad car for an asking price of $16,000.

jayrider

Are you sure you don't have enough equity to trade your BMW on something else? Why wait a year -- find something you like and let them run the numbers on a trade. I did great trading my Murano after 2 years.

nyccarguy

I definitely don't have equity in my BMW. Part of the way my lease was subsidized is due to BMWFS inflated residual value. So the only way out of the lease is to "ride it out" or if there is some sort of pull ahead program. Besides, I just put 4 new tires on it a little less than 3000 miles ago.

Model Year 2011 3 series sedan sales stretched out from May 2010 until May 2012. So there are a lot of 328xi sedans out there right now & and continuous supply coming off lease from now until next November. I've seen 328xi sedans advertised now for less than what the residual is projected to be NEXT September.

roadburner

My dealer has a ton of 2011 3ers on the lot.

fintail

Nice cars, dead reliable, but I'd want it even cheaper. Soon to be 6 years old, pretty basic spec - it was like what, 28K when new?

jayrider

new tires change the equation. so, a month before you turn it in, shop it as a trade on the car you want. sounds like fun to me.

mvs1

I'm in a very similar situation as you. For what its worth he's what I'm doing now on a lease buyout and some opinion mixed in as well.

I leased my 335Xdrive in December of 2010, it's a 2011 model. Loaded up, nav, msport, etc. exact color, options, etc i wanted at the time. mileage after three years is south of 23k. When I leased it my cap cost reflected a discount off msrp of around $5,500 (MSRP was north of $55k), as I got it at invoice less plenty of good incentives they had out at the time (maybe $3k or there about). I'm seeing my model with options and mileage selling for between 35-38k locally now as CPOs, my residual is $31.8. So I'm buying it out soon, at residual minus $2k + fees to certify it and a few other charges such as doc, plates, etc.

I spoke with the dealer I leased from who didn't really want to be bothered with me buying it out, and stated it was residual as "you cant negotiate residuals like you used to be able to do." plus all their junk and they're doing me a favor.....so I tossed them to the side, and sent a nice nasty gram with smiley faces and went elsewhere and got treated right.

Insert rant- I tell them I'm fine with you making money, as you aren't building these palaces with amenities, and you certainly get paid so you're not giving product away....so sell me a car and make money since this isn't the first time your dealership has made a sale, and this isn't the first time I've bought a car, so make me feel like I did well and let's move on, but absolutely, never, ever, ever, never tell me you aren't making money....cause that's where I lose it. End rant!

The BMW dealers in CT and NYC seem to be flooded with 2011s right now and don't want them back. Now is actually a good time IMO to buy out the lease on a 1.9 over 60 month note or .9 up to 48 months. Between a year and two from now I think the prices will rebound a bit as the supply tightens up a bit. I'm planning on keeping this car as a daily driver for awhile and leasing something else in a year or two, which is a change for me as I'm listening to my wife more lately who asks why I keep turning leased vehicles in with low mileage and then a few years later saying,"I should have kept that car."

Having equity in leases is really about timing, if you leased in say 2008-2009 (when the world stopped) which I also did, by 2010-2011 it wasn't hard to have between 2500-3500 in equity on luxury cars at lease end as the economy picked back up a bit and people got back to spending. A relative of mine sells Hondas and they were giving people 1000-1250 off lease buy outs just a few years ago on Civics and Accords and a bit more on Pilots which isn't to bad for cars with msrps south of $20-25k

Sandman6472

"goofy two tiered dash"...I think it's the best thing since the horse and carriage!! I always know exactly how fast I'm going and I think it looks pretty cool to! I finally got to drive a couple new Civics this week and though I'm not crazy about it and prefer my dash layout, it is a natural progression of this vehicle. Right now, the only Honda product I'd purchase is the Accord and really think if Honda just came out with a smaller Accord and put the Civic name plate on it, it would sell like nobody's business!

The Sandman

nyccarguy

So we are in the same neighborhood. I live in Stamford, CT. You and I have opposite problems. You lease and come in WAY under the miles. I took out a 20K per year lease on my 2011 328xi back in March of 2012. There is NO WAY my car will be worth even remotely close to its stated residual. Plus I don't want MY specific car due to the fact I'm having some recurring problems with the hood alignment, trunk latch, & swiveling xenon headlights. In addition to these issues, I don't want to take out a loan for a car that will have 50K miles and be out of warranty + have to pay for maintenance.

nyccarguy

SO we last left my parents deciding to trade in their 2011 Porsche Cayenne V6 Tiptronic w/ over 56K miles due to the fact they dodged a massive repair bill to replace the nav/radio/bluetooth unit which was graciously covered under warranty.

The Porsche dealer is trying to push a 2013 V6 Cayenne on them with some different options (that they don't particularly want). Anyway I'm pretty sure they've written off another Cayenne due to the high maintenance costs.

So they are back to BMW. My Mom drove a 2013 X5 35 Premium which she said she likes and will be happy with. Dad drove it after work today. So I'm mowing the lawn and the phone rings:

Dad: "I drove the X5. Like it. What are the numbers you put together?"
Me: "I don't know. I left the paper at work. I didn't think you were going to buy today!"
Dad: "What good are you?" (he was joking) They only want to give us $37,500 for the Porsche."
Me: "EXPLETIVE! Tell them you'll pay $54,485 for the X5 including maintenance up to 100K miles if that's all they are going to give you for the Porsche. Tell them you'll sign today."
Dad: "OK, he went back to the head honcho."

So they agreed to sell the $61K MSRP X5 for $54,485 which is $2K below invoice, but will not budge on the price of the Cayenne. They offered to knock $350 off the extended maintenance pkg.

After getting up to leave, they are met at the door by the "head honcho." AFter talking to my Dad, my Dad puts him on the phone with me. The "Head Honcho" tells me they are "all in." We can't give any more money towards the Porsche, can't take any money off the price of the X5, and won't give any more than the $350 off the extended maintenance.

I thank him for his time. I instruct my parents to get up and tell them you'll get back to them.

I know the price of the X5 is good. I'm thinking they can BUY the extended maintenance at any time before the warranty is up. My thing is with the Porsche. I just can't believe they won't give more than $37,500. I know it has high miles. I don't think he's "all in."

Advice from the board please.

Thanks

stickguy

There was a new MDX out on the floor of the cherry hill mall today. It was really, really nice. MSRP 43k (non-tech package).

I also saw a new style Cayenne sitting out front of target. It was snappy looking.

all that has nothing to do with your questions, because I have no clue about the real price on the Cayenne. Do they have a carmax available to get a buy bid at?

I do know that the trade in credit in NY is about $2,700 on the trade value, so Carmax would have to be over 40K to break even.

still, 17K plus TTL to swap a hi mile, problematic Cayenne for a new, under warranty for many many years X5 does not sound like a horrible deal to me.

jayrider

37.5K may or not be fair. It is however all they are willing to give you which may mean they really don't want it. I'm sure you have the resources to determine the best wholesale price for the Porsche ---- whether they are willing to deal at that number seems to be the issue.

Michaell

Oh - you thought I bought a car.

Sorry, in this case the "C" stands for computer. New laptop purchased today that I'm using to write this post.

The three of us in this house now own a total of 6 computers. 5 laptops, one desktop (semi-retired). 2 Apple, 4 Windows.

Anyway, this post is somewhat car related as I was able to test drive a 2014 Mazda 3. Was the i Touring hatchback, black on black with an automatic. Internet sales rep took me on my test drive.

First impression - gosh, this thing is good looking in the flesh! Long, low hood with the sculpted headlights. Looks very feline like with the curves in the sheet metal.

Inside, Mazda have done a good job as well. The interesting thing was that while the speedo was analog, the tach was digital. Not like the old Honda S2000 digital - this looked like a real tach, just without any needles. A bit video-game like, but not obnoxious or intrusive.

As this was a fairly base car, the center stack was a bit plain. 3 knobs for climate control, and a pod-like thing sticking out of the dash for the audio controls. In higher trims this will be a full touchscreen with nav, if optioned.

The gated gearshift is gone - simple P-R-N-D, then over to the side for the manual control. On the "s" trim level, paddle shifters are available on the steering wheel.

The test drive was about 85% city streets, 15% highway. Even with only 155HP, you could tell that the reduced curb weight helped acceleration. I never felt like it was underpowered; I can only imagine what another 30 HP would do.

Ride was firm, but not jarring. Nice reflexes on the handling, though I didn't get to take too many corners to really test it out.

Salesman told me that more inventory is on its way, but would be probably the end of October before the 's' models arrived.

sandman, you might want to have the spouse take a close look at these when it's time to replace her current 3. I think you'll both be pleasantly surprised.

fintail

Ah the fun of dealing with dealers. One thing I will say about the 35 X5from the rental I had - I doubt it gets much better mileage than the V8, but it isn't as easygoing as a big engine.

And speaking of big engines... -I noticed this in a local car rag, and I kind of like it. Not a P3 car, but looks well equipped (I spot parktronic and pano anyway), final year car, decent color, un-special miles but I bet it could be had for around 30. If only I wasn't in a lease...

28firefighter

I'd want it cheaper than $16k given its age and body style. Dealer is located not far from where I was living in Pittsburgh.

I can think of worse cars to mile-up.

nyccarguy

Right. And somebody else pointed out (Fintail?) that the car was $28K new. So regardless of the miles & condition, it should depreciate more than 50% after 5 years. My guy tells me the dealer gave him $12K on the trade.

tjc78

We were at the CHM too last night having dinner with Friends at Maggianos. Love that place.

Just catching up, hope your mom is doing ok.

I showed my wife that MDX last time we were there and she wasn't impressed. I thought it was really nice and I think they lease out well.

nyccarguy

I'm sure they all do as the 1st wave of 2011s are coming off their 3 year lease

mvs1

I live in Shelton now as of last year, before that Monroe for about 8 years. worked in Stamford for years, but moved the company in 2010 to a less expensive part of the state.

Yes, very different situations, they don't want your car back with high mileage. The only way they give you anything is if you lease/buy another BMW, but its essentially pocket pool as they'll give you something on one end and offset it with less of a discount....probably better letting the car go completely. Do you want another BMW? Which dealer are you working with?

andre1969

The anniversary date is actually tomorrow, 9/23. But it was on this Sunday last year that I bought my 2012 Ram. Hard to believe it's been a year already!

Nothing too glamorous, but here's a pic of it:


Still has yet to hit the 5,000 mile mark. I think it's around 4800 right now. I'm one of those statistics that doesn't really "need" a truck. But it's nice to have...except when it comes to parking it in tight spaces...

nyccarguy

I actually suggested they look at the MDX, but there's no dealer in Rockland for servicing. Closest dealers to them are Ramsey (where you bought your RDX?) in NJ or Larchmont (where I serviced my TSX) in Westchester. While neither are that far, they aren't exactly close or convenient.

nyccarguy

You are right, that might be all they are willing to pay. It just kills me that they are going to put it on their lot asking $44K & sell it to the 1st buyer who offers them $41,500.

corvette

I think BMW still offers an OEM extended warranty through 100k. It's not cheap, but would give you more coverage than the standard 50k. Of course, if the dealer can't fix what's wrong with it, any warranty is pretty worthless.

corvette

I'd want the extended warranty, not the extended maintenance, on an X5. They're different animals. Can you get a buy bid on the Cayenne from Carmax?

corvette

I'm at:
2 iMacs (1 is at my office)
2 laptops
1 iPad mini (jailbroken)
1 Kindle Fire with generic Android software
1 Kindle Paperwhite
1 Nexus 4
1 iPhone 4 (jailbroken)
1 Garmin GPS plus the built-in nav in my car

...for 1 person. Probably selling the iPhone as soon as I get all my stuff set up on the Nexus. I was "due" for a new desktop at the office this year, but didn't replace it because the old one does everything I need it to do. My name is corvette and I'm a chronic technology buyer...

jayrider

So there is 4k difference from trade in value to retail. If you would be happy with splitting it to 2k difference, have your folks go to the dealer at the end of this month ready to buy at that number. All they can say is no as they walk out the door. If you could sell it yourself for 41500, how much would you lose on sales tax [trade vs cash] ? Here in Illinois, you would have to pay $2700 based on 6.5%. Something to ponder.

kyfdx

I don't need a truck, because I have a friend with a truck.... ;-)

Michaell

The computers are only part of it.

3 iPhones (2 4s, 1 4)
4 Kindles
3 iPads

My daughter is the early adopter in the family, though she hasn't upgraded her iPhone 4 since she would have to switch from an unlimited data contract with Verizon.

stever

Not sure how many are police specials.

City auction of Crown Vics in Naperville IL.

nyccarguy

Being that its the last year of the body style that's been around since '07 & the engine that's been around since '12 (calendar year 2011), I'm not too concerned with the car imploding at 50K when the warranty expires.

nyccarguy

I tried to convince my parents that the diesel would be a better & less expensive option. My Dad said "sounds good." My Mom said: " I just want a regular gas car." Sometimes it's not worth the argument.

corvette

The major carriers really kill you between the 2-year contracts and exorbitant data costs. I'm using Straight Talk now, and am switching to Airvoice in October when my plan expires (both of those piggyback on AT&T's network).

corvette

Probably all of them. They're also getting rid of a copier that is newer than the newest one at my office.

nyccarguy

Not sure if you've been down here lately, but Stamford has changed a lot, even in the 3 years I've been here. I hear Shelton is really nice too.

I've driven the new F30 3 series and don't particularly care for it. Plus I'm looking to (how shall we say) trim the budget. One way to do that is by buying a more (boring) pedestrian car when the lease is up on my BMW next year.

My parents are working with Wide World BMW in Spring Valley, NY (not too far from the Tappan Zee Bridge in Rockland County, NY. We've bought 6 cars from them since 2004. Dad an '04, then '07 X5. Mom an '05 530i, then '08 328xi. My wife's (former) 2007 X3 & my current 328xi.

nyccarguy

I'm thinking of carmax, but the closest one is a little out if the way. Might try that auto trader guaranteed trade in number thingy?

stickguy

Thanks for remembering Tom. Mom still in hospital, recovering from Surgery (had on Friday). Still crossing our fingers everything stabilizes and she doesn't have setbacks.

certainly was a long week.

on a car note, the RDX did a good job ferrying my Dad back and forth, and my sister had a ride and liked it.

stickguy

Yeah, I bought at Ramsey. Good price. Confused operation.

stickguy

wonder what they lease for?

I got to check out the sticker on a new Fusion (it was in my neighbors driveway, and is a demo since he is a Ford salesman). Not bad looking. It was an SE. nicely equipped, with basically everything I needed (power drivers seat, moonroof, XM, alloys). Sticker was about 27.5K. This was a 1.5l model (odd, I thought the small engine was 1.5l).

Could be a contender when I have to pull the trigger, if cheap enough. Though I probably want something a bit smaller. Pretty good MPG too per the sticker (28/26 I think)

corvette

The 1.5 liter is new for 2014. Before that, Ford offered a 2.5 liter normally aspirated base engine, a 1.6 liter turbo, and a 2.0 liter (V6-equivalent) turbo.

They use a lot of the 1.6 liter engines in Escapes, so they are offering the 1.5 liter engine (which produces similar power figures) in the Fusion for 2014 to alleviate supply issues for the 1.6.

I haven't driven one, but have read that the Fusion drives well and has a more European feel than the Accord/Camry/Altima, so I would probably like it. On the other hand, I've also read that the MyFordTouch system has a lot of features but is slow and unstable.

mvs1

I make it up to Stamford a few times a month at least, a few really good restaurants I don't have locally now. Shelton was farm land for awhile but is not being developed and was labeled "The last affordable town/city in Fairfield county".

I drove the F30 when it came out, I was looking forward to getting out of my lease and into the latest and greatest...but honestly it made me want to buy my lease out more so after driving it. The start/stop feature is really bad, I know you can shut it off, but man I just don't want it or hopefully in the coming years they make it much less noticeable for the driver.

I was thinking about trimming the budget and for some reason the Acura ILX with. Manual tranny caught my eye, I've yet to drive one though and my wide again takes me out of it for now.

I've dealt with both Greenwich and Bridgeport (which is owned along with Ridgefield). I'd like to actually buy my cars from the same dealership, but the guys I like end up moving elsewhere, and again my wife reminds me how we've actually bought/leased from the same dealership only once, so just shop the new car we want and multiple dealerships, very different from your family's experience.....anywho...good luck with your search!!

nyccarguy

Stick - glad your mom made it out of surgery OK! Hope all goes well with the recovery. Keep us posted;)

nyccarguy

So the more I think about it, if $37,500 is all the money they are willing to give my parents for the Cayenne, then so be it. Either way, they are coming out ahead. Buying a $61,370 X5 for $54,485 ($6,885 off sticker) is a great deal plus it is literally going to cost them NOTHING to maintain for the next 50,000 miles (1 set of tires). The Porsche will most likely call for an oil change within the next 10K miles, burn through a set of tires in another 20K miles (the 1st set lasted 35K), and require another major service (plugs, brakes, rotors) to the tune of another $4K by the time it hits 100K, & who knows if anything else will go wrong between now & then.

Plus as an added bonus for my parents, when they go to trade in this X5, it will have average miles for a 2013 (being they are buying it in September instead of January.

stever

A reporter is looking to talk with a Texas resident who's in the market for a new pickup truck. If you're able to help, please contact pr@edmunds.com with your preferred contact info by Thursday, September 26, 2013.

nyccarguy

Is anybody home?

ateixeira

You woke me up from my summer hibernation.

Michaell

Is anybody home?

Nah, we're all out car shopping. :-)

Had a long talk with the wife over the weekend about our transportation. The CX-7 is closing in on 40K after 2.5 years. She's putting on a fair number of miles with her new job. The reimbursement helps, but not much, since mileage is counted from her office, so the 22 miles from home to there don't count.

So, we discussed the possibility of a lease of something that is fun and gets better mileage as a 3rd car. I could use it for errand running - keeping the ION for pizza duty only - and she could drive it to work on the days where she doesn't need to haul stuff around in the back of the Mazda.

Figure we can cover both bases easily for $300-325/mo. 12K/yr lease with $0 out of pocket.

This wouldn't happen until next summer, but it's a plan. Maybe.

The biggest hurdle is the parking .. right now the Mazda and the MINI have the garage and the ION lives on the street. A 4th car means two on the street. And, the perception that 4 cars for 3 drivers is a bit wasteful.

Would love to retire from the pizza job but the money is too good to walk away from.

rayainsw

No.
- Ray
@work...

tifighter

Holy...where have you been hiding?