Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

breld

Congrats on the cc! I've always liked the looks of those, especially the recent facelift. Hard to go wrong with that 2.0t.

Michaell

Congratulations! Test drove a CC a year or so ago. Nice car.

One of the downsides to delivering pizza is all the time to think. Wait - maybe that's a good thing. Whatever.

Anyway, started thinking about a third car to share. Cheap lux lease came to mind. $350/mo could get us into a CLA, 320i or something similar. No long term commitment.

nyccarguy

Congrats on the new ride! A white one was parked next to me at a Yankees game a few weeks ago & it was simply gorgeous! Lots of little details that really make the car stand out. Audi quality interior, Mercedes-Benz CLS like styling. You've got yourself a winner! Enjoy! & let's keep updating our punch list;)

qbrozen

I think its much much better looking than the CLS, personally.

jayrider

In almost every scenario, the up charge for the hybrid rarely makes sense. I bought my Prius because I liked the car. Had they had the same body with a Corolla drive train for 5K less -- I would have bought it. On a personal note,Breld, you don't keep a car long enough to justify a hybrid. Depreciation trumps mpg in ownership costs but it doesn't show up until you trade or sell.
Having said all that, if getting 50 mpg plus rings your bell a bit, go for it. Having a car that is fun to drive, a beautiful interior, and great styling is nice. Watching the mpg monitor at 60 on a flat road with a tail wind ain't bad either.

roadburner

Nice car- Congrats!

fintail

Congrats. I've seen some of those with kind of a pleated interior that looked really nice.

nyccarguy

You could argue that too. Stands out, but not in a bad way. Very beautifully crafted & sexy lines. Style for the price, not sure anyone comes close to a CC.

breld

That new CLA may tempt the CC buying crowd a bit.

ateixeira

$5k is a pretty significant incentive, wow. Kudos.

Plus VW seems to have cut costs on at least some newer models, so getting the CC (which was pre-cost cutting) is probably a good thing.

ateixeira

CR tested the Accord at a steady 55mph, with an accurate fuel meter spliced in, and it got 49mpg. That's just amazing.

breld

Non-hybrid I assume? That is amazing. Not that I keep it to 55 mph on the highway very often. : )

To Q's point, my wife feels the same way about the Accord. Years ago, well before we met, when she was pregnant with her second, she claims she lost all sense and bought an Accord for all its practicality. A gold one at that. She hated it and would never want one again. She's all fine if I were to get one, but doesn't feel it will stick (as much as anything does I suppose).

The appeal to me is the Accord's great all-around performance, combining the roominess I need with efficient mileage, all at a very reasonable cost. I see it as a commuter that I wouldn't mind piling the miles on, while keeping the miles low on my fun car.

Ideally, I'd like to have one car (like the Accord) that I really stick to and then feel free to rotate the fun car as I desire. Something like the Accord seems to have good long-term potential, just for its inherent "goodness."

Having said all that, I've considered an Accord several times, and have never actually purchased one - choosing instead an Infiniti G20t one time (wrong choice actually), a Passat another time, and a TSX once.

But there is something about this new model that really appeals to me (obviously - hence all the talk about this "pedestrian" car).

ateixeira

Correct, that wasn't even the hybrid.

More car for less money than most. Scary how some pedestrian vehicles hit $40k nowadays, that aren't any better.

roadburner

Back in the early '80s my girlfriend(now wife) wanted a new Accord. This was during the dark days of the voluntary import restraints, which meant cars were in short supply. To say it was a seller's market was a gross understatement. EVERY Cincinnati Honda dealer played games with us. One dealer wanted a $500 deposit before they would take an offer to the Sales Manager, while another only wanted to talk payments- and all their cars wore $2000 ADM stickers. Not Honda's fault, I realize, but she never showed must interest in the brand after that...

Michaell

Those ADM stickers were there because the dealers had to bribe the Honda America sales team to deliver more cars (in the right colors) to them.

Wanted a Honda dealership? Six figure "blue sky" fee to the right executive.

Read Arrogance and Accords - fascinating story of the corruption within Honda American in the 80's and early 90's.

jayrider

The adm stickers are alive and well in almost all the Asian and Euro dealers in the St. Louis area. Some only appear in the F & I office.

stickguy

just thought I would throw that out there.

I mentioned to my wife last night as we were getting ready for bed that I had a dilemma, not being able to decide what to get (I mentioned the Wrangler, compact PU and Z4). She seemed confused why it was an issue of course, since I am not supposed to look until the summer at least.

sometimes the wife just does not "get it".

that, and she pointed out that I was inheriting the Volvo back, so I had to explain again the grand plan of selling that, and getting myself something I would rather have.

Only answer to that was reminding me that my daughter would have to share, and that she could not see her driving a PU. Something I did already realize.

such problems.

28firefighter

Thanks for the well wishes everyone! I pick it up on Sunday.

Regarding cost cutting, that is exactly what appealed to me about the CC - it looks much more expensive than its VW badge would lead one to expect and its interior is on par with Audi.

I'll post a picture once I pick it up!

stickguy

I want to hear all the $ details. I have some free time on Monday just in case...

28firefighter

As soon as I have the final breakdown of the fees rolled into the lease I'll let you know, but basically

MSRP: $32,890
36 months
10k miles a year
First month due at signing only (everything else wrapped into the lease)
$255/month + 9.8% tax

rayainsw

Congrats - enjoy!
- Ray
Liking the quality of my VW, so far ......

jayrider

What happened to the C30? Maybe I missed that part.

28firefighter

I sold it privately.

ateixeira

That sounds great....isn't the rule of thumb to try to get it below $100 for every $10,000 in price? You beat that with nothing down, basically. Kudos.

CC still shared DNA with the Audi A4, doesn't it?

Michaell

isn't the rule of thumb to try to get it below $100 for every $10,000 in price?

I think kyfdx referenced that ... 1% of MSRP for a lease is a good goal to shoot for.

Anyway, congrats on the new car.

I'm still thinking about a cheap lease of something fun. You know, my 50th birthday is in a couple of months ... perhaps I can treat myself to something the wife and I can share.

qbrozen

1% of MSRP for a lease is a good goal to shoot for

Is that before or after taxes and fees?

Let's see... our Leaf works out to approximately 0.82%, including all taxes and fees (which was weird on the Leaf to begin with...I think it was 0 tax anyway).

ateixeira

He shoots, SCORE! :shades:

I have a secret agenda: gotta get those purchases going to meet my guess at # of sales this year. LOL

nyccarguy

I know there are others on the list and there really isn't anymore Sport in the Accord Sport except that it looks cool. I keep seeing these Accord Sports around and catch myself saying: "damn that's cool." I saw 5 on the way in this AM (1 Blue, 1 Silver, 2 White, 1 Black).

28firefighter

I believe mine puts me at .85% with all taxes and fees included - 9.8% of the monthly payment is tax (!!).

nyccarguy

Funny, I don't see very many CCs around. Last night I saw a black one parked on the street near Yankee Stadium. I saw a white one on 95 while driving home tonight. Really sharp car. Pretty lines.

Sandman6472

South Florida is a real car lovers state as I see a lot of CC's and it seems like every 3rd vehicle is a new Accord, man those suckers are everywhere! Gotta a good feelin' that the Accord is going to take over 1st place from the Camry as Honda just got everything right this time...everything! I did get a chance to sit inside a new one at the dealer and I was totally blown away...simply outstanding! If they could just shrink this vehicle to the Civic size but keep everything the same, they'd sell a bunch of them...having driven the '13 Civic a few times and it's just is lacking from the inside to the outside! If they could just shrink the new Accord down to 3/4 size, it would be the best selling, and looking Civic of all time. I would definitely buy one next time if this in fact did happen...the new Civic, not so much. Man, that ILX is looking better and better!

The Sandman

stickguy

that sounds like a good deal. In Jersey, with tax, thta would be about $275/month. and somewhere around $750 total to drive off the lot.

nice car too. I assume at that price it is nicely loaded (power seats, moonroof). If I happened to be noodling around the lot and they offered it to me, I might just say what the heck and sign the papers!

I did look at the VW site the other day, and that is way less than their national advertised deal.

houdini1

My first Accord was a brand new 1979 4-door, burgundy red 5 speed. 1979 was the first year for the 4-door Accord. It is still one of my all time favs. It had 12 inch tires and was much smaller than today's Civic....but a great little car.

stickguy

they did a fantastic job restyling the Accord. I hated the previous model (all bloated and nasty) but the new one is sharp. FIrst time I saw it from behind, I thought it was a Lexus.

and for Bradd, there is a light blue/silver (real sharp looking) Sport in my neighborhood. I will say the wheels are sharp and the exhaust tips are snappy, but you get way too much important equipment on the EX/EX-L to settle for the sport. So to compromise, get an EX and swap on the Sport wheels (in the past, many people did this by putting V6 17" wheels on a 4 cyl).

the civic, style wise, does nothing for me, but everyone in my family likes the ILX Acura.

nyccarguy

The price differential between the EX & The Sport most definitely justifies the extra equipment. I've also been thinking about NOT having 4WD/AWD. There were definitely a few times last year when it really came in handy. Which brings me back to the CRV. I've been following edmunds LONG TERM 2013 CRV. I can get into a CRV EX 4WD for probably just over $26K including tax.

28firefighter

Stick,

I rolled the $625 acquisition fee as well as the licensing/doc fees into the lease itself so its truly just first month up front.

It has power seats, auto climate control, sirius, Xenons, heated seats, but no Moonroof. To get the moonroof I believe you have to get the Lux package which comes with Nav, Moonroof, larger wheels etc. I wasn't willing to cough up for all that extra stuff given that I use a moonroof exactly once a year.

roadburner

I wasn't willing to cough up for all that extra stuff given that I use a moonroof exactly once a year.

That is more often than I use mine.

Sandman6472

Agree about the styling on the ILX, it is one sharp vehicle and even though it's the same boy shell underneath, it looks totally different than the Civic and is definitely on my short list. Saw a new Verano at the mall today and it was about the same price as the ILX so that's also on the Sandman short list. Just hit 45k on the Civic today and it was filthy so we ran it through the car wash before dinner at Chili's and it still cleans up nicely...even my oldest told me to just keep it until it's at least 10 years old...and then some! And that is the plan here.

The Sandman

payson

You made a smart decision. I have a '11 CC Lux Limited, and the moonroof doesn't open, just tilts.

28firefighter

I figured I would highball it :-)

Seriously, the only "option" I cared about beyond the driving experience and styling was Xenon headlights. It makes a huge difference (to me) in nighttime driving and was something I regretted not getting as an option on the C30.

stickguy

I test drove the CRV when we were looking last year. As I recall, it was very honda-like, but not at all exciting. Very wallowy handling too. Pretty much the anti-BMW, so make sure to take one for a real drive.

if you want to go that way, consider looking at a Mazda CX5 (can get the 2.5 for some extra zoom zoom). Much nicer driving machine.

stickguy

I am not that fixated on Xenons, so if what I get does not have them I can live with it. But I do need a moonroof that opens!

28firefighter

I really really like the CX-5. What I did not like was the dealer attitudes - as if they had the worlds finest vehicle and they were doing us a favor by letting us drive it (us being my brother and sister-in-law). Plus, their first number was MSRP + Dealer Markup. I thought that went the way of the do-do bird!

oldfarmer50

Right now I'm watching some show where a 95yo former car dealer is selling 500 cars he collected over the years. They range from classics to junk. It was held in a farm field.

http://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/in-pierce-car-lovers-pay- - -thousands-for-pieces-of-auto/article_bc7c40a1-1231-598d-ab77-1e427e1f5184.html

Oh, BTW, I bought another car, a Lincoln Mark VIII.

I have a sickness.

Anyone want to buy a gently used Corvette?

I don't want to sell it but I have too many summer cars.

tifighter

I had the same experience when I looked at the Mazda6. I mentioned it on TTAC and got shot down over and over, with everyone telling me that the product is more important than the dealer experience. BS.

The CX5 and 6 are in the most competitive segments in the US market, with a customer base that rightly or wrongly thinks Camrys and CRVs are the standard to judge by. Its hard enough to get a customer to look at a Mazda to begin with, and the last thing they need is dealers making the experience any harder than it has to be. Its too bad, I like their cars...

stickguy

I just realized (thanks to another post) that the auction was on, so I have it one now. Man, they certainly don't have the same production budget as the Barrett-Jackson one!

so shocking bids. a '55 210 4 door, tired with miles on it, for 40K? Wow. someone must be buying it for the story.

I have only seen ratty used cars go so far. I wonder what the still new/no miles "leftovers" are going for?

I did kind of like the Suburban that just went. That could make a cool restomod. Drop it on a Tahoe chassis or something.

oldfarmer50

"... Only seen ratty cars..."

Yeah, what's up with the crazy prices for junky cars needing total resto?

stickguy

paying a lot for the story, that is for sure.

I can see interest in one of the no-milers selling on a new title, but the used trade ins that sat in a field for 50 years? Why?

nyccarguy

I love my BMW's "bright as day" adaptive bi-xenon headlights. Although mine have been a black mark on an otherwise amazing vehicle. They shined straight & bright for a while, then went kind of haywire. The right side started to shine up into the trees. The entire headlight assembly was replaced. Now the right side shines further out then the left. The lights seem to swivel much further to the right than the left. I'll have them look at it again during the next service. Not too far off.

nyccarguy

Test drive will be crucial. Dual lay noted:)