Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

@breld, I see stickguy being about 35k short on that. By the time we finish the next round of college tuition I will be lucky to hang onto the TL.

Speaking of which, I took it on a 100 mile highway run today. That is one fine road car. Even with 174k on the clock.

rayainsw

A friend here at work just bought a new TT.

Interesting - though not my cup of coffee . . .

Traded in a 2002 BMW 330 Coupe - NOT sport pkg.
[ Just over 63,000 miles. ]

• Ray

Not enough TQ 4 me ......

nyccarguy

@nextcar3‌

mazel-tov & congrats on the new Q50 punch! They are gorgeous! Enjoy!

nyccarguy

For some reason I seem to really be gravitating towards the Passat. Last night on our way back from The Stadium (Yankees 4, Red Sox 1) my Dad asked me: "how much longer is your lease?"

"5 months. End of September."

"What are you going to get next?"

I thought about it for about 10 seconds and blurted out: "Most likely a Passat. I'm going to look at the Subaru Legacy also."

"Diesel?" Dad asked

"Most likely, the range is incredible. I could go at least a week & a half between fill ups."

"Smart. Every time you get a BMW diesel as a loaner you seem to like it."

Earlier this afternoon, a customer pulled up in a 2013 Passat Wolfsburg Edition (2.5). He traded in his 4WD Crosstour for it. Seems to like it a lot. Smooth ride, big gas tank, he said it is tighter than his Accord.

abacomike

@nyccarguy said:
Earlier this afternoon, a customer pulled up in a 2013 Passat Wolfsburg Edition (2.5). He traded in his 4WD Crosstour for it. Seems to like it a lot. Smooth ride, big gas tank, he said it is tighter than his Accord.

One thing I've always noticed about the Passat (I leased a 2003 3.0 V6 and have test driven them recently) is that they are very tight cars. They seem rigid, not soft, in their suspension. It handles very nicely. It doesn't give you that spongy or loose ride like the Camry or the Accord.

That VW Passat Diesel (TD I believe) is a sweet car. I trust German Engineering - although I don't know if that car is built in Germany, Mexico or Brazil - or maybe even here. I haven't got the slightest idea where they build the diesels. Could be that they are only built in Germany if it's a diesel. You might want to check into that.

qbrozen

why don't they have a Passat CC diesel?

and where the heck is the mazda diesel they keep promising?

abacomike

@nextcar3 said:
Well, finally gave-in and traded in my GTI for a Q50. Lost a bit of money (negative equity) but overall happy with the trade. Payments remain the same with 0 down for the Q50. Found the Q50 to be the best match (was looking at TL, Optima Turbo, Q50/G37).The Q50 doesn't drive as well as the GTI (may be I just have to get used to the new driving style) but is better in every thing else (other than trunk space with the spare). Love the interiors and the audio system (not as good a TL).

The plan is to use it for couple of years, give it to wife, trade-in her car (Beetle) for something bigger (for myself).

Congratulations on selecting one of the hottest cars on the road for 2014. I was over at my old Infiniti dealership a few weeks ago to say hello to all the guys I used to manage. I sat in one on the showroom floor - they did a great job with that car. Larger than the G, smaller than the M, but sharp looking. The quality of the interior is "smashing" and their audio systems are usually Bose, I believe - I didn't check when I was sitting in the car.

You should be very, very happy with this one - a true looker, that's for sure.

xwesx

@abacomike said:

>

At the Lexus dealer I worked, the IS 300 had just been released in an assortment of "very unique colors." One of those colors was a mustard yellow-green color.

Trying to get an image of the color.... is it this? If so, I like it. But maybe not three cars' worth of like.

Michaell

Mike - the Passat is actually built in Chattanooga, TN.

q - I've put a post into RWTIV, if you care to look and respond

Tomorrow we go shopping at the MINI dealer. Right now the big issue is trade value. Edmunds and KBB put it around $12K for 'good' condition; I've asked q for his thoughts as well. This would give her a little bit of positive equity.

However, there is a CarMax not 1/2 mile from the MINI store - should I drop in there and get a quote from them? We do get a sales tax credit when trading in here in CO - with my tax rate, a $12K trade value saves us $900 off the new car.

I've also pulled cars.com for all 2010 MINIs like hers that are currently for sale here in metro Denver. Cooper HT, automatic. They range in price from $14-16K retail, so I can't imagine that $12K trade value is going to be hard to achieve.

What say you all?

qbrozen

its, of course, going to depend on the deal on the new one, too. They are averaging about $12k at the auction with 25-40k miles. It is a MINI dealer, so very well could push them up to that $12k if they want to keep it on their lot. Still cheaper for them doing that than buying it for $12k at auction and paying the fees and shipping to get it home.

abacomike

@xwesx‌ said:

"Trying to get an image of the color.... is it this? If so, I like it. But maybe not three cars' worth of like.
e it. But maybe not three cars' worth of like."

Yes, that's the color, but if memory serves me, it was more mustard looking - maybe that's faded but I can tell you it was not very popular on that color. Royal Blue, Silver, dark Gray and Red were very hot. Unfortunately the mustard was not hot (did I make a pun? Nah!)

stickguy

I think the Skyactiv D is going to arrive soon. Not sure what model first though, either the 6 or CX5. that could be a neat CUV option.

abacomike

@Michaell@Edmunds said:

"Mike - the Passat is actually built in Chattanooga"

Yes, I know they build them there, but do they build the diesel there? If yes, no need to respond. If no, where ?

ab348

@breld said:

• Subaru Legacy - they had the new model up on a podium, and I was anxious to see it in person. Unfortunately, it came off as pretty darn plain to me. There's nothing offensive, but it just seems very derivative - the front-end is sharp, but looks much like a Ford Taurus; the taillights look like they're from the Chrysler 200 recycle bin. I want to like Subarus (and have owned them in the past), but their styling just always seems to be a step behind.

I was in traffic next to a current model Legacy today and thought to myself how awful the styling was. It looked like it could have been designed 15 or 20 years ago. I just looked very boring and dated, even though it was a new car. Subies have never been known for their styling.

ab348

..

Michaell

@qbrozen said:
its, of course, going to depend on the deal on the new one, too. They are averaging about $12k at the auction with 25-40k miles. It is a MINI dealer, so very well could push them up to that $12k if they want to keep it on their lot. Still cheaper for them doing that than buying it for $12k at auction and paying the fees and shipping to get it home.

As previously noted, this is a 'one price' dealer - with the one price being MSRP minus the $2500 incentive offered this month.

ab348

@abacomike said:
Yes, that's the color, but if memory serves me, it was more mustard looking - maybe that's faded but I can tell you it was not very popular on that color. Royal Blue, Silver, dark Gray and Red were very hot. Unfortunately the mustard was not hot (did I make a pun? Nah!)

I took the time to look up the color chart on Edmunds for the 2003 IS last night. It showed a color called Solar Yellow that was like hot dog mustard on-screen. Don't remember ever seeing one here in that shade.

ab348

@breld said:

• GTI/Golf - I was surprised they had the new GTI and a Golf at our show. Spent most of my time admiring those models. Very upscale look, inside and out. Since one of my sons was with me, had him sit in the backseat and he said it was just fine. Hmmm....

The lease on my Regal Turbo is up in October and the new GTI will definitely be on my list of cars to look at then. I had a 1990 GTI that I absolutely loved. It wasn't all that fast, but it handled and rode wonderfully, had lots of room for its size, and was a great car. I never should have sold it when I did.

stickguy

If it is anything like Saturn was, the "one price" Mini place might use trade in allowance as the way to compete. Unless of course 1 outfit owns all the dealers anywhere close to you, in which case, they don't have much incentive (since not too many people want to travel 500 miles to get a car!).

but, if they aren't discounting, you shouldn't have to either.

one of these is what, 32K MSRP? so knock off 12 on trade and you are at 20, less the incentive so ~17.5 + TTL. Not sure what that is in Co., but I assume if you get the 12k on trade, she is looking at about 19K + her car to get into the new one?

stickguy

I sat in the regular model Golf at the Philly auto show (new style). It was actually a nicely loaded TDI with a stick (Euro model FWIW). Considering how nice the 1.8t engine is (based on driving a Jetta with that motor and an AT), may not be any real need to spend the extra $ on a GTI. Now, the GTD could be truly sweet (if expensive).

breld

The Golf at the Denver Auto Show was also a stick in red - probably the same one at your show? If those are the Euro models, then I'll be curious to see what extent of de-contenting shows up on the US version - VW's known to take away seemingly insignificant, but nice to have things, such as the sliding cover on the cup holders, extra storage spaces, and maybe even the parking sensors.

I do agree with you Stick - the 1.8T in the Golf should be a fun car and a reasonable alternative to the GTI. But I don't know, there's something iconic about the GTI that would probably draw me in.

breld

@Michaell@Edmunds said:
As previously noted, this is a 'one price' dealer - with the one price being MSRP minus the $2500 incentive offered this month.

I've purchased two cars from Schomp in recent years, and I thought they were very reasonable with the trade offers both times. I think their one-price approach takes the fluff out of the trade.

By the way, you were the one who referred me to John Friend over at the BMW shop - did you know he's now a manager at the Honda shop?

breld

@nyccarguy said:
For some reason I seem to really be gravitating towards the Passat.

Well, I can certainly endorse that, but I would recommend getting into at least the SE w/sunroof model. I have the 17" wheels on my Wolfsburg, and considering the size of the car, the 18"s look better proportioned. And the SE model will get you the touchscreen and backup camera, items I wish I had.

There's also a Sport model showing up on lots right about now - all cosmetic other than the 19" wheels. I don't care for the larger wheels (in size or style), but the Sport model does have some nicer seats, foglamps, a lip spoiler - not unlike the Accord Sport treatment. But you can only get the 1.8T.

breld

I am mildly considering a vehicle posted in the classifieds of a BMW forum.

2010 535i xdrive wagon. Automatic. Deep Sea Blue over Beige. Pretty much every option - Premium, M-Sport, Cold Weather, Nav, Heads-up display, shades, etc. MSRP of $71k.

With only 22k miles, the seller is looking for $35k or best offer. Basically, if he doesn't find a private seller, he's trading it in at the end of the month and already has the trade established at $31k (and he gets tax savings based on 6.5% tax rate). I informally offered $33,500, which is close to "break-even" for him on the trade, and he declined, stating he'd probably just take the easy route and trade at that point. I don't disagree with his logic.

Even at his asking price of $35k, I think it's a good deal for the car. Honestly, other than the hassle of getting the car from Indianapolis, my biggest concern would be the gas mileage. I've been spoiled with the Passat and am not eager to return to 20 mpg.

Anyway, thought I'd share those thoughts since we have other wagon-lovers here.

breld

Yeah, nevermind on that 5-series wagon. See - I'm like that dog in the movie "Up!". Easily distracted. "Squirrel!!"

I just found this article:

Golf Sportwagen - 4motion TDI

It's billed as a "concept" but seems to be one of those things that are likely for production. I'd be very interested.

stickguy

now that wagon I like. Might be an even better choice than a 4 door Golf. Wow.

Also, on the Passat, if it is like the Jetta you have to get the SE sunroof + connectivity package to get the fancy radio and better bluetooth stuff.

jayrider

@breld,

If nyccarguy is liking the Passat ---- do you know of any that might be available this Fall ?

Michaell

@stickguy said:
If it is anything like Saturn was, the "one price" Mini place might use trade in allowance as the way to compete. Unless of course 1 outfit owns all the dealers anywhere close to you, in which case, they don't have much incentive (since not too many people want to travel 500 miles to get a car!).

but, if they aren't discounting, you shouldn't have to either.

one of these is what, 32K MSRP? so knock off 12 on trade and you are at 20, less the incentive so ~17.5 + TTL. Not sure what that is in Co., but I assume if you get the 12k on trade, she is looking at about 19K + her car to get into the new one?

TTL is a bit different in Colorado. Sales tax is based on where you live, so for us it's 7.5%. No dealer fee, so we're saving a few hundred there. License is paid separately through the county, and there is a personal property tax assessed. It's due within 60 days of purchase, and will probably run her $600-700 total.

The MSRP of the Countryman she is looking at is closer to $38K - she wants it fully loaded with Nav, sunroof and the H/K stereo. Will probably come equipped with leather as well. Take $2500 off and now we're at $35.5 - which is what's posted on the dealer website.

There is only one other MINI dealer in Colorado, about 100 miles north of us (and way closer to breld). I think they would be amenable to negotiating but also have a dealer fee.

Michaell

@breld said:
I've purchased two cars from Schomp in recent years, and I thought they were very reasonable with the trade offers both times. I think their one-price approach takes the fluff out of the trade.

By the way, you were the one who referred me to John Friend over at the BMW shop - did you know he's now a manager at the Honda shop?

breld, good to know that Schomp does right by their customers on the trade. Am also hoping that as a repeat customer we might get a bit of extra consideration.

I did get an email from John announcing his move.

nyccarguy

@breld‌

Yes, I'd definitely spring for the SE w/ Sunroof over the Wolfsburg. The split spoke 18s are nice. I wouldn't go for the Sport because I think the 19s that it comes with are ugly & too big with too small side walls.

@jayrider‌

Ha! Breld's Passat is the 1.8T. I'm going to look at that, but the model that really interests me is the TDI given the miles I drive. I'll just have to make sure I'll be able to get used to the DSG at lower speeds (as a few here have pointed out).

breld

Yes, unfortunately my passat doesn't fit NYC's needs (for the same reasons I'd like to upgrade). Good thought though!

And I agree on the sport model. If I got one, I'd try to swap the wheels with an owner with the split-spokes (bristols).

stickguy

Bradd, I thought your wife was going to be the primary user, with you mileing up the Pilot? So diesel seems to be less desirable.

nyccarguy

@stickguy‌

All things (especially in this forum) are temporary. That is the short term plan. Glad you are paying attention:) Let's just say we are talking Passat TDI here. We lease it for 3 years/36K miles. After 3 years, let's say the Pilot has 100K on it. I'll buy out the Passat (assuming I like it and it is problem free) and take it as my DD. We can get something for her that's a little more fun. Good night folks. Don't forget to tip your waiter:)

boomchek

@ab348 said:
I was in traffic next to a current model Legacy today and thought to myself how awful the styling was. It looked like it could have been designed 15 or 20 years ago. I just looked very boring and dated, even though it was a new car. Subies have never been known for their styling.

We have a 2011 Subaru Legacy on our lot with only 30k. It's a fully loaded model. It drives nice, and it's nicely equipped inside but there's isn't anything spectacular or unique about it when compared to others in its class. Not to mention the Nav interface and graphics look like they're from a cheap 10 year old aftermarket unit. Very pixelated and just not nice to look at.

I like the styling of the previous generation Legacy the best. Very nice lines to it and it didn't look like anything else in its class.

qbrozen

hmmm... got an email from my dealer advertising a 2014 Altima 2.5S CVT for $59/mo for 24 mos/24k miles with $2999 down. There is a whole mess of fine print about tags, doc fee, acquisition fee, and even destination being extra. But I'm thinking that still comes out to a heck of a deal with $0 down. Wonder if the wife would be interested. She has said she really prefers a hatch/wagon, but that certainly doesn't stop her from driving my Volvo all the time.

stickguy

based on the discounts I have seen on the Altima (which I actually liked quite a bit when I drove it a few days ago), you could quite possibly get a basic S for around $200/mo with little to nothing up front.

if the 2013 SV w/moonroof I drove was a better color (sand beige, yuck), and I actually needed one, I would have made a run at it.

stever

Hm, $2400 down, 24 months, $209 a month for a Prius v in the Midwest. That would let us get into the new generation or try something else in two years, if we can live with 24,000 miles. Nothing up front would be mo betta naturally.

Looks like we're running ~17,000 miles a year between the two cars. Might put a damper on road trips.

qbrozen

I dunno. That's like $325-330 with zero down and adding tax. Do you need one that big? The Prius C is something more like $240 under the same terms.

stever

Well the "c" in Prius C is for city, so I don't think the ride would be acceptable, nor would it be big enough.

I'd really love to hang out on the sidelines until the 2015s get here. We could even delay the move to the fall. The UP is pretty nice in high summer. Shoot, there's less than two feet of snow left in the yard right now.

Maybe look at a Soul. The base is available with a manual but the engine in the other models is "better". Resale would be an issue if we went with the manual and decided to trade in a year or two though. Would be fun to drive though.

qbrozen

If you don't mind a 3-yr lease, a Fit ain't looking too bad. Should be somewhere in the $225 / $0 down area. Maybe less with a manual trans.

stever

Off the list thanks to an overnight test drive a few years back. The "consensus" in the household is that they are too low to the ground (including the new version, yet unseen. )

kyfdx

@qbrozen said:
If you don't mind a 3-yr lease, a Fit ain't looking too bad. Should be somewhere in the $225 / $0 down area. Maybe less with a manual trans.

I think you can do a Fit for $200

Michaell

Howdy, folks!

Long day here in Colorado. I left the house around 10 this morning, didn't get home until after 8 tonight.

First was a visit to the Denver Auto Show. Unfortunately, I had a bit of a headache and the sensory overstimulation limited my time there to about an hour. Highlights:

M235i - nice size. I could see myself in a 228i (or even a 220i, if they decide to release one).

A3 - also a nice size.

One trend I'm not liking is the 'tablet' look for nav / audio / climate control. Looks aftermarket.

Not sure where I stand regarding body style for my next car - now that I've got the hatchback jones out of my system with the E-GT, I could go back to a sedan or maybe a coupe next time around. Of course, that's all dependent on whether I'm still delivering or not. What I really ought to do is find a beater for delivery, then have a nicer car for other duties. Eventually. Maybe. Someday.

So, after the auto show, I had the MINI detailed so I could take it to the dealer and see if we could make a deal on a Countryman S ALL4 for the daughter.

When we left the story, we had established a 'hope for' trade value of $12K, and found a white Countryman S ALL4 that the daughter wanted. Royal Gray was the second color choice.

Turns out the white one was a special order from a customer, so it wasn't available. The Royal Gray, while showing in the dealer's inventory, was actually loaded onto the truck at the port yesterday (my hometown in CA!) and won't be in Colorado until early next week.

So, onto the trade. I tell the sales manager I have a number in mind, but want to see what he says then we'll discuss any difference of opinion. He takes one look inside and proclaims it 'line ready'. A quick drive up and down the block and a few minutes in front of the computer and gives me a number. $12K.

Yes! Ok, that pothole is averted. By this time, wife and daughter arrive at the dealership. Introductions all around, and he finds us a car to test drive. Lets us go on our own, which is nice. The tester doesn't have nav, but it gives us a pretty good sense of how it drives. Daughter likes it -- more like her MINI that she was thinking it would be.

Back at the dealer, we sit down with the salesperson, who writes up the deal on the Royal Gray that is due next week. MSRP minus $2500 discount, minus trade, minus $500 loyalty (yay! that was unexpected), add sales tax and loan payoff. Daughter adds a couple of accessories - tint and "black jack" mirror covers, both of which will be done when the car arrives, and we've got a deal.

Took forever to get into finance - probably a good 90 minutes, if not more. But, all went smoothly once we got there - 2.9% from BMW FS, and she's good to go. Sales Manager will provide us with a gift card to one of our favorite restaurants as compensation for the wait.

So, we left her hardtop with the dealer and they gave her a loaner until the car comes in - which they'll bring to her office and swap.

Her loaner? Roadster S. BRG. Swell - it's supposed to snow tomorrow, but warm up a little on Monday. Whatever - the deal is done and she's a happy camper.

Stopped for dinner on the way home to decompress; now watching the Masters on the DVR.

And, the daughter has already 'suggested' what she wants for her birthday this summer - the 'black jack' shades for the sunroof.

I'll see if I can post pix when we get it to the house. And, I'll need to update my signature line.

stickguy

good job. It is nice when things work out, like when I went with my son for his Jetta, and the perfect one was sitting there, fresh off the truck. Even better, is when you don't have to make the payments!

abacomike

@Michaell@Edmunds‌ said:

"One trend I'm not liking is the 'tablet' look for nav / audio / climate control. Looks aftermarket."

I've notice more and more manufacturers going with that type of NAV screen. I saw some pics of the 2015 CLS 550 and it had a tablet sized screen that was adjustable up and down. I really didn't like the looks of it. In the upward position, it looked like it covered some of the line of sight adding to limited visibility over the dashboard. Thus , I would imagine you kept the screen in the low position when driving and in the up position when not moving.

I think that the 7"-8" screens are sufficient. Lexus has gone to the dual 11-12 inch screens. But I didn't like the fact that navigating through the options requires a mouse like controller that seemed to overcompensate when trying to select an option. All this while driving. I did not like it at all.

It seems like the manufacturers are trying to put too much into the screen options. Now there are apps, web browsing, to name a few. Who needs all that in a car when we all have smartphones if we need to get email etc.

rayainsw

Michaell@Edmunds
So, will you have an opportunity to drive the new MINI?

Congrats! Enjoy!

• Ray

In wait mode . . .

graphicguy

Michaell...Great! Wonderful when a deal goes smoothly on a car you want. Can't wait to see pics.

stever

@Michaell@Edmunds said:
What I really ought to do is find a beater for delivery,

Boy do I have a Subaru for you LOL.

Really liked the Hyundai Elantra Touring we tested about 4 years ago. There's about 45 manual transmissions ones for sale, but none closer than ~350 miles away. There's an automatic a couple of hundred miles away in WI but it's chili pepper red, like the one in Boise we tested. It was a bit too much at the time, but since we're moving to chili pepper country....

isellhondas

Michaell,

" My hometown in CA"?

Same as mine? San Pedro?

Michaell

@isellhondas said:
Michaell,

" My hometown in CA"?

Same as mine? San Pedro?

Nope ... Oxnard. MINIs (and Jaguars, and Mazdas) come in through the Port of Hueneme.