Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

Sandy - first off, thanks for the post. Your comment on insurance reminded me to call my agent to add the Hyundai. However, they were too busy to talk to me but I automatically have 14 days of coverage, so no rush.

Second, I hear you on quality of life. I'll be 50 exactly one month from today, and I was really hoping to get something new and fun and sporty. I suppose 1 1/2 out of three isn't too bad (new and somewhat fun - don't think sporty enters into the equation). Plus I'll probably be going in for surgery on my face next month, and I have to consider a colonoscopy as well. I'll be having a fun holiday season!

Just for grins, can you explain to us why all the subterfuge with getting the wife on board with the convertible? What are her arguments against you getting what you want at this stage of your life, especially as you've told us time and again that the money is yours, not shared.

I'm off to work delivering pizzas .. one last hurrah in the ION, as the son will come by tomorrow to pick it up. I've cleaned it out and transferred what I want into the Hyundai.

stickguy

had a fun day off today (wife and I took vacation since my daughter was off school). were supposed to go looking at colleges, but ended up car shopping instead. Gotta get priorities straight, right?

anyway, the 3 of us wandered up to look at a 2013 Mustang convertible (AT, 6 cyl). kid and I went with the salesdude. wife declined to climb in back and stayed at dealer. Kid fit fine in the back (being 5-2, 110# and a former competitive gymnast helped). Drove fine, OK car. Would have to get used to the high long prow though. Odd seeing the hood on a car like that! Daughter thought it was cooled. Liked the neon blue GT in the showroom better...

then went to look at the 2006 330ci BMW convertible. Took it out. They were not impressed. It had some "old car issues" (trim popping off, visor fell off, creaks/noises). Kid did not find the rear seat very comfortable (and did not like the backward seatbelts!). It was OK, but not quite what I suspected. and it smelled old. At this point, I don't think we want anything that seems old, though does not have to be new.

quite odd that both of them liked the Mustang much better than the E46.

so, down to the BMW dealer to look at an E90. Sat in one (top down) in showroom that was new. they liked that a lot more. And checked out a 2012 (vermillion red, gorgeous) outside. Plenty of room. Very nice. Good visibility with the top up. Zero trunk room with it down (my Miata had way more capacity). Expensive.

also sat in a 2013 128 convertible. blue over beige, wife's favorite color combo. Plenty of room inside, and much better trunk space (bigger sail panel blindspot though). Might be better with one of those over a 3 series.

In honor of Mack, To be continued........

stickguy

anyway, started discussing on the way home. Still not sure why the wife was going with the convertible idea. She does not like getting windblown, and doesn't like sun beating on her (she always closes the moonroof on me). so not sure how much use it will be. I am not fixated on it either.

so, we decided to go to an old plan (at some point, after college is over, get a toy sportscar as a spare). So, it would make sense to get a fixed roof car, opening up a world of options. Also decided that for a number of reason, better to get a "sporty" 4 door (more selection, cheaper, smaller doors, more usable). so now thinking about a 4 door 328, probably a 2009-2011 vintage (year largely dependent on when we do this).

Now just need to go find one to drive...

stickguy

was waiting at the used car place that had the 330 (he mostly has BMWs) and there were some roundels on the table, and I noticed your name on the masthead. That is like being famous, right?

also had some cool action shot racing photos of various BMWs and a few Porsches, I assume connected to the guy that owns the place (Kyle Griffith, is he famous too?)

oldfarmer50

"...house is paid for..."

Same here. Built it myself 30 years ago because I hated paying all that interest (also because I feared I wouldn't qualify for the loan). About $150/mo for land line cable and Internet. Another $100 for my son's phone because he let a pretty girl at the mall talk him into it.

Oh yeah, $20 every few months for a Trac phone which my other son always takes.

Pretty sad.

Except for the 5 cars and trucks I own.

oldfarmer50

"...I want to enjoy myself a little..."

I came to the same conclusion a few years ago. I worked hard all my life and denied all the frills. Now, when I can afford a few extras I indulge. Not often but enough to see what it was I was working for.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Don't worry about leaving the car outside. Just get a car cover.

Btw, one of your fellow Floridians on another board who is also a former car salesman told me that this is the PRIME convertible buying season.

Sandman6472

The vehicle money is a gift from my dad's estate, yes that's true. She just thinks it makes no sense to have a 3rd vehicle sitting in the garage, she'd rather have me invest the funds for retirement but I have done that with most of it so that idea won't fly. She just views it all as a waste and says I have the Civic and that's all I need. Also the parking issue as the Civic would have to stay outdoors all the time and since we never widened the driveway, a lot of moving vehicles would be involved but since I am the one who does the moving, it's a moot point. She basically thinks I am nuts to waste the money on it but she knows how much I love cars, has always known it is my passion. And as I said earlier, I just can't go out and do it and drive it home as that would be sneaky and I am not sneaky.
You're lucky that yours is on board with it. But since I am working now, she might give in to me as it will only cost me the purchase price and the extra insurance yearly. The petrol dollars would just be split between both vehicles and to be honest, once she drove it I think she'd love it and want to use it often. She's already told me that if I were to get the Acura ILX that she was going to drive it also...she said the same thing a few years back when I almost bought the used Volvo S40. I would have not much of a problem if she did drive it occasionally even though we have different driving styles. Now that I am retired and the kids are basically gone, I want to do for me now, call it selfish but it is out time right now and as long as I continue to work, which I plan to do, I don't see the problem. So we shall see but best to get everything lined up and thought out to make the best case for purchase.
Luckily I am not to invested emotionally here and I won't be crushed if nothing even happens here...this is a want and not a need, something for my 59th birthday present and since I got this very nice gift from my dad, why not use some of it for me as I've said, the majority is going into my retirement savings for our future. If we could not afford this, there's no way I'd even think about it but this is actually doable,so why not get some happiness for me...and for her. She would love it once she just gets in, drops the top and drives especially that now our nicest weather of the year is about to start. We do not have a real spring or fall...it's either hot and humid or cooler and dry and when I say cool, I mean in the high 50's and 60's...perfect convertible weather. What's there not to like here. And we both deserve to have some fun!!! Also, i know the kids would also love it!

The Sandman

oldfarmer50

"...surgery on my face next month, and I have to consider a colonoscopy as well..."

LOL, please don't set it up like that! It's too easy!

oldfarmer50

"...not sure why the wife was going with the convertible..."

Isn't it obvious? Your wife is buying a car for YOU! You have married the perfect woman!

Bet she and your daughter are in on it together. Check to see if they are giggling behind your back.

Sandman6472

I hope all is o k, I don't like to pry so I didn't mention it. I am a good listener but don't ask many questions as eventually, the details do come out. I just hope that everything works out for you as I know right now your life is pretty intense with the kids. Life sure ain't easy and as I told my daughter last night, it's not always fair...all we can do is make lemonade out of the lemons we sometimes get and always hope for the best for us, our families and folks we know. Never wish bad things on others as no one deserves that stuff...wish everyone well always! Karma is something I will never mess with and just want the best for everyone I know or meet!

The Sandman

stever

Sorry to hear about your friend. We just got home from a week hanging out at the Marquette hospital where my mother-in-law is weighing her options from a cancer recurrence. At least she's had a long, productive life (86). Too many people on the floor are more like your friend's age though. :sick:

It's interesting to hear about how people handle family finances. Neither one of us here are shoppers so that probably helps. With all the down time we had this past week, we mumbled about going to a car dealer or two, but that never happened either. Did eat out a lot, which is about our favorite hobby.

Sandman6472

Ditto on the eating out, something my other half loves to do so much more than I do...I prefer to cook at hoe and I only bake or broil, nothing too much but enough. She would rather eat out 24/7 and that's where she spends the most. Guess I could always make a deal that we'd eat out as much as she wants but we'll have to see. We really aren't big spenders and our smallish house isn't coordinated...hell, we still have a couple of the older t v's and out flat screen is only a 32", no monster one yet. She did spend a large chunk of change this week on a new computer, monitor, printer and the guy to install and set the whole thing up with dual monitors and dual printers, a very nice home office set up but she works from the house and needs it all. Have no clue how much she spent as she has her own business account. Now that I'm an independent contractor also, she had me set up my own savings/checking for my small business as I have to pay quarterly taxes. My pension goes into our joint account which she carries and handles...as long as I have a few bucks in my pocket and my credit card, I am good.
We've always lived way under our means and have what we need...our kids always wanted more but we instilled our values in them so they now know the value of a buck and also live below their means. No sense being showy and one doesn't have to have the best and the most to live a happy life. This want of a drop top is really the first time I've really ever splurged on something just for me and luckily the price isn't too far out there for what I am getting.

The Sandman

Michaell

sandy - thanks for the background. Not sure my wife is 100% on board with this but she called the DIL before doing the deal and she told my wife she could use her own car which means that the son would use the Saturn. So, a cheap lease was the way we decided to go.

oldfarmer - ugh, I didn't really think that through when I typed it, did I? Not a good mental image, for sure.

stick - sorry to hear about your friend. A HS classmate passed away a couple of years ago - cervical cancer. Six weeks from diagnosis. OTOH, glad to hear that you and the family were out car shopping - and that you're refining the plan as you go.

nyccarguy

Stick - so terrible what's going on with your friend. When things happen to older family, it is upsetting, but we deal with it. When medical things happen to our friends it really puts things in perspective. This coming February will be the 10 year anniversary of a friend of mine who died a few months shy of his 27th birthday.

roadburner

was waiting at the used car place that had the 330 (he mostly has BMWs) and there were some roundels on the table, and I noticed your name on the masthead. That is like being famous, right?

As my late father would have put it, "I stand high in low places."

Sandman6472

My older sister died when she was 57 from cancer, she was a bad smoker...went into the hospital on a Thursday not feeling well and never came out, died that Monday. My older brother died from pancreatic cancer after being ill for 6 months on his 58th birthday. My twin lost an eye to cancer over 30 years ago and my dad died from it at 64. When I turned 59 last week I thanked G-d up above for letting me pass this milestone and I decided that I need to do something special since who knows if I will make it to 60. Then I saw the ad in Autotrader of the '05 BMW drop top and just knew I had to have it. It might not make sense to many except the folks in here about my wanting this just to celebrate my life. Each day we get is a gift from G-d and I have been very blessed with a great wife and three amazing kids. The only bad thing is the chronic pain I live with on a daily basis but if that's the worse that happens to me, I'm very o k with it.
If things go according to my plan, hopefully by next Friday there will be another addition to our vehicular stable. But for now, I will no longer bore y'all with the details. I just hope I can add a punch to our final total for 2013. Wish me luck folks! G-d willing my plan will come to fruition, and this would make me the happiest guy on the planet!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

oldfarmer50

"...not a good mental image..."

Don't worry, most posters wouldn't notice since they aren't a wise-[non-permissible content removed] like me. Besides, Sandy got me good when he responded to your post through mine and I suddenly got worried about my kids.

I think you got a terrific deal on that lease.

stickguy

Since there are a few owners (and experts!) here, a question.

an E90 328 (so the NA 6), what fuel do you need to use? Is premium required and a must, or recommended and not really needed? The wife was asking.

kyfdx

If you don't use premium, the ECU will adjust to protect the engine.. but, you'll get less performance.. and, may even get lower MPGs..

Every car we own uses Premium.. I don't think about it, any more... I love how all of the "engineers" will tell you that they have "always used regular" in their premium required/recommended cars and "it makes no difference"..

Really? How would you know?

I wouldn't risk a $10K engine to save $2 per week..

corvette

I was riding in a friend's ML350 the other day, and watched him fill it up with regular. It didn't seem to run rough or anything.

I always put premium in the GLI and try to use top-tier fuel at least every once in a while to try to reduce the chance of deposits (not that I'll keep the car long enough for that to matter :P ).

fintail

I think it will run fine, but maybe not have the same power output - like retarded timing or some modern equivalent. I am not sure if that is a car that "recommends" or "requires" premium, but I suspect it is the latter. I've rented MBs and BMWs in the US that "require" it, but I'd wager a lot of money they usually got RUG, and cheapo brands at that. They still ran fine, but maybe not optimally.

I've always ran Chevron premium in my gasoline cars, and never had fuel system issues.

Sandman6472

So I am assuming that this vehicle will also need to use high test, not a big deal I suppose but something that is good to know. Paid $3.17.9 the other day which is the lowest we've seen in years...felt pretty good actually as the prices have seen awfully high for a long time. Supposedly we are importing so much less now so the prices should be dropping to under that magical $3 mark. Am pleased with the Civic's mileage but I know whatever I decide to do will mean a higher monthly petrol bill but since I've started work, I've seen my petrol bills soar as I've put almost 8k on the vehicle since the end of January, a big jump!
Just curious...if one gets a ticket and goes to school, is that violation still on one's record and can one's insurance company see it? I was bad back in march, very very bad, and got caught in the same place and had to go into court. I paid the fine and went to school even though the cop never showed...out of all the people there, the lady judge called me up last and she just said do ya just want to go to school? After some of the things she had done in that courtroom prior, I jumped at it instead of saying that it should be thrown out due to his not showing up but didn't want to press my luck. As of yesterday, my insurance man didn't see it anywhere but I didn't tell him either. He just said my rate would go up $590 for the year on the drop top. So I guess it won't show up...right? Road, did I do the right thing here by just agreeing with the lady judge??

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

stickguy

our RDX (V6) is premium recommended, regular at minimum. something like that. I normally used premium, and as a test, filled up with regular. Could not tell the difference (the darn thing is overpowered anyway, so losing a few HP would not be noticeable). I even got record MPG on the trip I took on that tank.

so functionally, no difference. I would only worry if there was a chance for LT damage.

Besides, it is basically identical to one of the Honda engines that runs on regular. I never take it over about 3.5K anyway, so (as I suspect) if the tweaks were at the upper end of the rev range, I am never getting to them anyway!

crkyolfrt

Most instances of detonation, if using 87 when 93 is required, will happen in the lower rev range during potential lug type situations...going up a grade, car full of people, A/C on, auto tranny having picked as tall a gear as possible at that rpm to conserve fuel, higher than usual ambient temps, trailer towing, etc. It doesn't have to have all of these aspects in order to detonate, in fact it doesn't have to have even one, but the more boxes checked, will increase the odds of a particular car that requires premium, will detonate if it gets RUG (if knock sensors weren't constantly making timing adjustments to help fend that off). If you find cars like the RDX or MDX seemingly being quite forgiving of lower octanes, then it can be due to things like their state of tune (meaning the design state of tune from new, not a maintenance thing), compression ratio, shape of piston tops, and numerous other parameters.

If possible to summarize and in an attempt to avoid all the numerous grey areas..the higher the performance intent of any given vehicle that requires PUG, the greater the chance that engine management will retard timing enough that not only performance, but poorer FE also will be fairly noticeable if subjected to RUG.

roadburner

I run name brand premium in everything but the Wrangler, the price delta is so small I don't even think about it...

Sandman6472

Road, when I went to court and the cop didn't show, did I do the right thing by taking the judge's offer to go to school for no points? She was pretty tough and for some reason, out of the 25 or so cases, she called mine last so I was basically almost alone in her court room. Guess I didn't want to piss her off so I took the deal instead of balking and refusing since the cop was a no show. Truth be told, I was guilty of going 33 miles over the speed limit...I just let the vehicle get away from me, it was a cool day and I had the sunroof open and the tunes playing...I just was booking it too fast!

The Sandman

stever

I've used 8922 gallons of gas in the van since new. Assuming a twenty cent spread between regular and premium, that's $1,784 in savings.

Or $127 a year. That over two free tanks of gas a year.

kyfdx

"Besides, it is basically identical to one of the Honda engines that runs on regular"

If it was identical, then Acura wouldn't recommend premium... just saying..

kyfdx

"Or $127 a year."

Like I said... $2 per week... ;-)

crkyolfrt

Just did some quick (but conservative in an effort to be overly fair..or depending on your perspective..minimze the cost differential) math for a driver here in Cda using RUG instead of PUG. This is assuming no appreciable dif in mpg which sometimes isn't the case so there is grey area here of course.

I've converted our 4.54 l gal to your 3.78l and used $ parity. Here I used only 15¢ / litre, yet it can be much more depending on where and when. Like I say, I'm going conservative..and used a very reasonable 12000 mi / year. And using 23 mpg (your mpg) which I think is fair enough for many higher performance types that are going to require PUG. So a little over 521 gal per year. Works out to $300. So for vehicles that couldn't avg 23 mpg or anyone that does more than 12k mi/yr, the cost dif could/will be much much more. In this example though, for Cdns we're talking over 2.5 times Steve's calcs with his van. Works out to about 8 bucks / 14 US gal refill. So with my situation, it does factor in when choosing a new vehicle.

roadburner

I think that you made the best of a touchy situation. My philosophy was always "You must be present to win"- but a lot of judges don't share my laid-back attitude. You did fine.

fintail

But the van would run on kerosene or moonshine, right?

Sandman6472

Just what I thought actually...just wanted to get out of there, pay the fine and finish the class and be done with it. I am now super careful where ever we go and if I am am last in, who cares but I no longer speed. It was a very expensive lesson and one that I will not forget as I hate throwing out money that I worked so hard for. Just plain dumb! It was odd that I was the last case in that crowded court room and I had to drive clear across the state to do this...not once but twice! An expensive lesson but I learned from it and as of yesterday, it wasn't on my insurance record.
Bet if you were the judge I might've had a different outcome since I thought the police needed to be there to prove their case? And right now I am involved with a lawyer and judge with the probate of my dad's estate and waiting for the judge to put me in charge. Turns out my mom moved some assets into her estate that she was only supposed to get the proceeds from. Looks like I will have to sue her estate to first get the principle put back into my dad's estate and then sue for the payments I should've gotten since January of 2006. I was written out of her will and she moved some assets into her estate, trust, to keep me from getting my 1/4 share...this situation will have to be rectified and I will have to get paid back 8 years of interest payments. This is going to be a problem because there's only my twin brother and my siblings spouses that I have to go after to get things put back where they belong plus get those payments that they have gotten since 2006. But first I have to write them all checks, or make sure the assets get to their accounts from the brokerage account. Then I might have to sue if we all can't get things straightened out as there must be thousands of dollars here I am guessing...have no clue. Just know that they all tried to steal money from me...I was already able to get the annuity my siblings tried to hide from me by going to the company directly. Once they were "outed", the funds went back into the estate where the funds belonged...came out to be close to $32k they tried to "steal"! I just want to be "fair", a constant in my life especially this week, I just want to follow the wishes that my dad wrote out in his will and that's what I plan to do, get those assets returned to their rightful home and be fair with the other three. That is an executors job I believe!

The Sandman

stever

Moonshine? No, it's not a diesel. It would sure hold a lot of battery packs though.

$2 a week here, $2 a week there. I've been on salary some but more often making my own rain over the last ~40+ years, and when you have your outgo "under control" you don't lose sleep if you decide to take off on the road for a month or if you get fired from a contract. (Or if your family gets "weird").

Now, if your thing is head-snapping acceleration, that's cool. Or if premium saves money from better mpg, that makes sense too. Some of us just have different stuff we'd rather spend our money on. Or would rather have the time rather than the dough.

corvette

I went to an entertaining (and informative) CLE class about probate last week. The final slide gave the ultimate cheat sheet to avoiding probate and estate problems: Only get married once (and stay married), only have one kid, don't get sick, and don't die! :P

Sorry to hear about the problems with your father's estate, hope you get it worked out!

Sandman6472

The ironic part is I am the one who is ending up as executor and there's a provision where I get to decide when my twin gets his 1/4 share since my 2 other siblings are gone. My dad put in a clause due to my twins "quirky" mental health over the years but I have promised him that it's his outright once I can distribute the funds and other assets but first I will need to have all the complete assets moved from my mom's trust and returned to it's rightful place in my dad's which is not going to be easy. And what broke up the family after my dad died was all this that he left behind and since I do not know what was removed yet, I don't really know the exact amount that is supposed to be there. It's a bad thing when there's money involved and greedy siblings and I hate to pay an attorney $400/hour just to sort things out but I will so hoping the others will cooperate as it's costing us each $100/hour technically. As long as they willingly put back the principle and pay me for all those years whatever they've received, things should be done quickly and as cheaply as possible. Just makes me angry to have to go through all this nonsense, to have to fight my brother for what is legally mine and which my mom basically stole from me, her own flesh and blood! Bat [non-permissible content removed] crazy...the reason I walked away after my dad died!
Confirmed with the wife again about going to the car show next Saturday and showed her a few of her choices on the way to dinner tonight. She liked a few and hated a few and says she wants to just fix her a/c now and keep her Mazda another year. Think we still need to look at new vehicles anyhow as I think it's time to purchase within the year. I think once she goes and sits in a few vehicles and start to get a bit more enthused, I might persuade her to purchase even sooner, like the week before New Years 2014. I just want it done with and move on to the next issue as I know her vehicle will break down at the most inopportune time and cost a lot to fix and then she'll tell me she no longer trusts it and to get into something else. I want to skip all that drama and just cut to the chase with a nice new 2014 model and be done with it be it Hyundai, Mazda whatever...just something brand new for her that she likes and can drive without issue.

The Sandman

fintail

Everyone has different priorities. For some, life is too short to drive an invisible numb box. For others, their car is no different from their toaster, and less important than their toothbrush or shampoo.

If a car requires premium, do it . If it recommends it, at least think about it. If premium is a problem, that person simply shouldn't be looking at a car that recommends or requires it.

Does this place pay enough to allow random month long vacations, even for a miser like you?

For most private sector workers, unless they marry well or are born lucky, time is related to money, you usually can't have both.

Sandman6472

Absolutely Fin...we have been savers our whole 32 year marriage and then we both got somewhat lucky so though we still have to watch, we do have the luxury to do more. My wife works, not flu time but close, and I've gone back after taking a couple years off to nurse myself back from being pretty ill...and now I'd love to get more hours so we can live a little while still saving for retirement. I have put in a couple of apps for a couple of jobs and still waiting to hear back. I do think that once they see my age, most either put my app to the side or just knock me off their list of applicants which is a shame...I never mention my cane and figure once they actually meet me and see I can maneuver without much problem. And I do want to drive and not using my personal vehicle...so the search continues and eventually something will come up. All the crew chiefs have said that things are supposed to pick up and I hope they are right cause I know we are all ready to start working hard again.
Spoke with some co-workers and no one worked this weekend so far though I did let my new boss know that the other guy on the team that I have been akin to work and then home are not a two for one deal and that I am only responsible for myself. I've asked him to chip in for gas and all and he's done it only once and I've been driving him for a few weeks now and I let him know again on Thursday that this will have to change...so we shall see. My new boss understood that I will drive him sometimes but not as a steady diet as sometimes after work I meet the wife in Lauderdale for a bite to eat, sometimes I stop by friends and many times I do have things to do so he will need to either buy a vehicle or go back to the bus. Until then, I will take him when it works for me as I hate others being so dependent on me...it's starting to suffocate me!
Have decided to stop by the nearby BMW store tomorrow just to walk around their used area and see what they've got, maybe even take a short spin in anything that catches my eye. For some reason I like the BMW drop tops and the MB sedans, go figure. Luckily both stores are pretty close to the other as well as the VW and Audi stores nearby also. Something around the $14k mark with miles in the 50's would make me feel a whole lot better, something that maybe was driven 7k to 8k/year would be a better fit actually...that 88+k number is starting to concern me a bit. I have a feeling that at 90k, major things red to be done to German vehicles and those could get pricey...the point of all this is to find something fun but with a very reasonable price tag and something not to be used as a daily driver...more of a nice weather vehicle. And a nice finished inside ceiling would be wonderful as I don't want to go deaf driving anything with the top up as when it gets too hot outside, the top will be up and the a/c on. I know I am asking a lot here but I think I can find the perfect vehicle out there and I do have time on my side which is great. If nothing happens even by next summer I won't die because this is a definite want and not needed one bit...this is me trying to be spontaneous and not thinking much about the costs involved for once! Totally not me!!!

The Spontaneous Sandman

stever

Well, these days you can work a lot of jobs while you are "away" (bet you didn't notice I was at a hotel 5 nights last week). Having an expensive sports car in the garage means having to work long hours to pay the vig (sorry Michael :shades:) and insurance and maintenance. Not to mention that premium gas is even higher here than the $3.99 diesel.

And yeah, you never have time and money at the same time.

ronsteve

"Besides, it is basically identical to one of the Honda engines that runs on regular"

If it was identical, then Acura wouldn't recommend premium... just saying..

Does it have identical power figures? If there's a difference, then that is what the premium gas in the Acura will get you.

ronsteve

I run name brand premium in everything but the Wrangler, the price delta is so small I don't even think about it...

Exactly, roadburner... the delta at many stations around here is just 20 cents a gallon, 30 cents at worst. If the premium gets me an extra 2 mpg, then I am breaking even on fuel costs before we even consider what's good for the engine.

When I start seeing 25-30 cpg between mid-grade and premium, that's when I'll start to tighten up the wallet a bit. The few times I've put mid-grade in the Volvo my mpg hasn't suffered much if at all. Haven't dared to put in regular.

I usually stick with the name-brands... Shell when it's convenient, but usually BP because there's a BP right across from my office. If the needle drops too low on me while I am on the East End, I'll go to Thornton's rather than Marathon or Speedway, because I don't want to support the badly-behaving monopoly that drives the fluctuations (gouging?) of gas prices around here.

ronsteve

I've used 8922 gallons of gas in the van since new. Assuming a twenty cent spread between regular and premium, that's $1,784 in savings.

But if your van is premium recommended or required, you don't know how many gallons you may have unnecessarily burned as a result of using regular. Just a 5% difference in consumption is ~450 gallons, which at the midpoint of prices since 1999 ($2.50) would cancel out over $1100 of your savings.

sb55

I don't know why, but the differential between regular and premium has been creeping up. Here in VT it is now a $0.55 difference. ($3.99 premium and $3.45 regular) And, I have 2 cars that require premium. There are 2 stations around that have non-ethanol premium that I will throw in when I can. To tell the truth, the mileage should be a little better w/o ethanol , but I don't notice a huge difference. The problem is, that I don't drive a consistent route, so every tank is different anyway.

imidazol97

> There are 2 stations around that have non-ethanol premium that I will throw in when I can.

How can you tell there is no ethyl alcohol in the premium? In my state, there are no signs on the pump to indicate 10% ethanol--they're not required anymore to encourage ethanol use required in the fuels.

sb55

That's what the sign says:) It's an off brand and they can get it from Canada.
It's only 2 stations about 15 miles away and also the marinas around here can get no ethanol gas for boats.

stever

But if your van is premium recommended or required, you don't know how many gallons you may have unnecessarily burned as a result of using regular.

Right.

Premium "required" might not be a deal killer but it would definitely go onto the con side of my spreadsheet when I'm comparing cars.

On the road last summer, I "splurged" on some ethanol-free regular gas for the van, hoping to at last break the mythical 30 mpg tank. That tank was worse than average. Best mpg was on 85 RON at elevation in NM, but the van's record is still stuck at 29.9.

oldfarmer50

"...that's an executor's job..."

Yes it certainly is. When my mother died and I became executor I sat my two brothers down and said: "I know that you borrowed various sums from the folks over the years (I had too but much, much less) and as executor I'm suppose to get it all back. But if you both agree we will cancel all debts to the estate and go from there."

Sure I lost some money but it kept peace in the family and I still have a relationship with my brothers.

Fighting over money can destroy a family. If you have a good relationship with your siblings now, you might want to think about it.

crkyolfrt

That is very big of you farmer. If your brothers were to practice an equally big gesture, then they should have said, well I owed Mom x amt and the other bros etc. Otherwise the relationship literally has a price on it. I say this from experience and to this day, my bros is very well off, and much of his wealth came quite literally at MY expense. He talked Mom into selling him a valuable lake shore property at a time when I could not compete. Years prior to that, he talked her into selling him the half of the farm separated by a creek. And as you can imagine, the prices were quite low. The lake shore lot I think he paid 50k for. 10 - 15 years later he turned down $790000. for it when he put it on the mkt to speculate. And there are many many examples of this to varying degrees. When Dad died he had left me our old Cletrac bulldozer. Well I was away too busy trucking and my bros ended up selling it. And kept the proceeds. And many other examples just exactly like that one..did the same thing with a tandem 5th wheel trailer that my stepfather left me when he died.

So while I sound like I'm portraying sour grapes...I guess I am no doubt..but my point is, as long as I am paying (fastforwarding to present timeframe) be it whether I give to them or things like my Pathfinder to my nephew, rather than sell it for 2000k when he was trying to pay down his mortgage, or whatever, as long as I am paying, I seem to be in their life more. Kept apprised of what they're up to and if they plan to go on vacation etc. But if I start holding back and not be the patsy (since I can't even afford to anymore...they could buy me out 30 x over..or more) then I notice that I am not nearly as involved with their life either. I was literally paying to be a part of their life.

Isn't that a little too close to what a lady of the evening does? Charge people for their presence? But at least with that scenario, they are strangers and on some level, perhaps a case could be made for the exchange of money.

When it's family..it just plain hurts.

stickguy

the spread from RUG to PUG by me also seems bigger. Not the $.10/step it used to be. Quite often, it is a good 40-50 cents, so starting to be "real" money,

I need to check the outputs on the Honda and Acura V6. Particularly the CR, which I don't thing changed. IIRC they tweaked it slightly on the top end, where I never go.

stickguy

OK, talking to myself here, but if I don't, who will?).

checked a number of sources, including TOV. Bottom line, the RDX and the 2013 Accord are using the same J35Y (earth dreams) V6 engine. output is within a couple for HP and torque. compression ratio is the same at 10.5-1.

but, the Accord is regular recommended, but the RDX is PUG but OK to use RUG (with usual disclaimer about MPG or performance).

a few people on TOV said they had confirmation from Acura that it did not matter.

why is a good question. I go with the "premium cars need premium gas" theory (meaning it is all mental!)

I still go back and forth with what I use, but would not worry at all about using regular all the time in the rdx.