Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tifighter

@isellhondas said:

Not to mention toy cars tend to have lots of owners. Seems like every used Miata has a minimum of 2 or 3 owners. An interesting point, Isell.

corvette

@xwesx said:
I don't know, Steve. I'm not sure downsizing is going to serve you well with the type of traveling you do! I'd be all over this if they would just throw a diesel engine in it....

In that event, I would replace my Fiesta with it in a heartbeat.

What about a C-MAX hybrid?

stever

@xwesx, we plan to look at a 2012 Transit Connect next week. Wonder if it's too tall for garage doors? Probably not an issue. Oh, diesel fumes trigger my wife's asthma, so that's not an option, even if it was an option. But yeah, the redesigned 2014 TC "minivan" may be a way to go, and the new one loses the higher roofline. Have to add the new one to the list.

@corvette, I heard that John O'Dell, senior editor here, just got a C-Max but I haven't heard the details yet. When we looked at them at the Detroit auto show a few years back our impression was that it was a bit small. More like a regular Prius sized vehicle (as opposed to the somewhat larger Prius v).

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Much appreciated (and please keep them coming).

Sandman6472

I did drive a C-Max at work late last year across the state from Lauderdale to Ft. Myers and it drove nice enough but it is a bit pricey for what one gets. Not sure if it's worth the extra money and I decided against it back in December when I purchased a cuv.

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright

Every used car is an abandoned car.

roadburner

@nyccarguy said:
How about now? They also have an '02 ///M3 with 66K miles.

Couldn't have optioned it out better myself- except I would have gone with Imola Red...

kyfdx

Anyone want to give this one a try?

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/17817/general/x/looking-for-a-performance-sedan

roadburner

@nyccarguy
How far away is that M3 from your stomping grounds?

qbrozen

might be one of the nicest original ones remaining

stever

Better link?

corvette

@Stever@Edmunds said:
Better link?

Nice. I wonder why the roundel on the steering wheel appears to be off center?

xwesx

@Stever@Edmunds said
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Much appreciated (and please keep them coming).

Yeah, the C-Max is quite small, I think. In look and feel, it makes me think that it could be the offspring of a Fiesta and a TransitConnect. LOL

It is really quite a small car (dimensionally, not much bigger than the Fiesta), but it has a far more upright stance. Storage space is minimal, though, unless you fold the rear seats. I get around the space issue a little on my Fiesta, though, by using our cargo tray (the one we bought for the Forester). I can't go too overboard with weight (1.25" Class II hitch receiver is the biggest available for this car), but it does add more area. And, like with the Forester, the FE penalty is zero.

Michaell

Let's see if I can get this to post:

Michaell

Hmmm, I guess I was holding my phone upside down ... although when I open it in MS Paint, it shows up correctly.

jayrider

~~~~> @nyccarguy said:

breld isellhondas‌

Thanks for the compliment! The Prelude still photographs well from 10 feet away;)

@Stever@Edmunds said:
New, but yeah, it's the resale/orphan aspect that niggles at the back of my mind. I'm in the frame of mind that if something doesn't work out, I'll trade it in two years. (Kind of looking at NM the same way, lol).

We're even looking at leasing for a couple of years. Guess I've been reading this durn discussion way too long. Prius v leases in the Midwest are good right now, but they want $2,400 down, and I saw a post of yours somewhere just this week about why you shouldn't put much money down on a lease. If I could drive-off for ~$800 on a v or a xB, I'd be there.

If don'r need leather, the II is getting great discounts now. A buy might be worth considering.

Michaell

@Michaell@Edmunds said:
Let's see if I can get this to post:

Strange, if you click on the .jpg link, it shows up correctly.

Edmunds, what have you done with my picture?

ab348

Looks fine on my iPad.

stever

If I click the photo, it's still upside down when it blows up. Cutting and pasting the URL works fine.

Great looking MINI btw.

(Tonight's fav is the Soul Plus Avo).

nyccarguy

@roadburner‌

It shows about 75 miles (close to 1 1/2 hours) south from where I work. Looks like South Jersey which might be closer to @stickguy, @qbrozen, & might even get @fezo out of the house;).

corvette

Nice MINI, michaell! I love the Union Jack covers on the mirrors.

qbrozen

That m3 is among a drag strip of dealers that I often drive thru on the weekends.

I don't know what the heck happened to my 323 link. Thanks for the fix.

nyccarguy

@michaell‌

I dig the a countryman ALL4 - very nice

nyccarguy

I saw a really pretty 328i Wagon today (2014). It looked to have either the sport or ///M Sport package. White with tan guts & xenon lights.

Michaell

@corvette said:
Nice MINI, michaell! I love the Union Jack covers on the mirrors.

Yeah, those are called "black jack" since they are grey / white / black. She had them on her old MINI as well, which was silver.

SHe's asked for the same pattern for the sunroof cover as well.

Oh - it's also got a name. Beckham.

I got to ride in the back seat when we went to dinner tonight. Decent amount of room back there, but the leather seats are kind of slippery, especially when the daughter puts her foot into it. Particularly when pulling away from a stop sign or light.

I doubt she's gonna see good mileage from it initially. She's used to the 118HP of her original, no the 181HP of the new one.

stickguy

That M3 is definitely closest to Q.

qbrozen

after cleaning it up again, might prove tough to let her go.

breld

Well, got back to Denver just fine in the TT this weekend. Everything went pretty seamless.

Arrived at Midway in Chicago around 2:00, took a cab to the dealership ($130 cab ride, which the dealership reimbursed us for, which I thought was nice), arriving there around 3:00. We were on the road around 5:00 in the TT. We got most of the way through Iowa before we decided we should stop for the night (almost 1:00 am) and get some sleep. But we were up and on the road again around 6:30 Saturday morning, stopped for a nice breakfast at a local spot in Lincoln, NE, and then made good time back, arriving home around 3:00 pm, all in time for a Saturday evening Easter service.

Here's a pic the salesperson took just before we were on our way.

stickguy

Nice long shake down cruise. Is it for sale yet?

breld

A little bonus that we were unaware of until we got to the Audi dealership - the previous owner had installed a built-in radar detector. Not a bad thing to have - particularly on the road trip back. It seemed to have caught a few speed traps along the way.

The TT is every bit the condition you'd expect it to be with 9,800 miles. Apparently it was owned by an older gentlemen who frequently buys cars from this dealership and has a place outside of Chicago, but also one in the city, where he kept this TT.

The only downside is the tech features are bit outdated - not unexpected for a 2008 model. It has navigation, but the iPod/iPhone interface is pretty antiquated. Not a huge deal, but a little step back from what we've been used to.

breld

@qbrozen said:
after cleaning it up again, might prove tough to let her go.

Wow! I can't say I know much about these older MBs, but that sure looks nice! I can imagine it'd be hard to get rid of, though not difficult to do so.

stickguy

Hey breld question for you. On your passat have you gad the opportunity to use the AC on the highway? Did a road trip in the Jetta and had the AC on, and noticed it seemed warm ( more like just having fan blowing). But if I slowed down to 65 or below, suddenly blew cold. 75, like the compressor turned off, even though we were not exactly stressing the engine.

Seems wrong to me but son reluctant to take it in. Not likely to be much impact to him, but maybe it will work normally when hotter outside (was only about 60, we just had on to keep windows closed)

qbrozen

thanks, breld. The interior is in truly remarkable condition. I think it could just about pose for pics if someone were trying to recreate a "new" 1986 catalogue.

breld

Stick- I haven't noticed any issues with the AC in the Passat. I'm certainly on the highway a lot, but can't say the temperatures have warmed up enough to a point that I really needed to cool the car down. I'll pay particular attention to it though as we get more into spring.

But all in all, that doesn't sound right.

kyfdx

Great looking TT... I love that "newer" body style.

graphicguy

breld....congrats on the TT...really nice car....very nice pic. May I ask which Chicago delaership you bought it from?

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

Your 300E looks fantastic. My parents had a '90 that was almost identical - Silver/Grey Leather & their climate control is in farenheit.

@breld‌

Glad you made it back to CO alright!

nyccarguy

So we made our annual Easter trip to the NY Auto Show yesterday. I don't have too much to report as I went there with my 3 kids who are 7, 5, & 2 (sans my wife, she had to work), my Dad, my sister, her husband, & their 2 daughters (4 & 2). The kids all had a fantastic time! I didn't get too much seat time as I was busy making sure none of the kiddos got doors smashed into their heads.

I was able to pick my head up for a few minutes and check out some rides. I know a few of you have been excited to see the new Acura TLX. The car is handsome, but it looks like they stopped the styling budget at the rear end. Very plain looking IMO.

Mazda had a really cool 25th Anniversary display of Miatas. They had a couple of pristine looking 1990 models and a handful of rare, concept Miatas. The one that really caught my eye was the Yellow Miata M Coupe (I know, I know, sacreligious).

The new Highlander is really nice. High quality interior materials and a well laid out interior. Then I looked at the price tag of the one I was looking at. It damn well should be really nice. The loaded Highlander Hybrid has an MSRP of close to $50K! That's nuts!

I really liked the CT 200H. Nice, tight, little car with great seats and fantastic interior materials. The White F Sport they had on display looked the part of it's $40K + MSRP.

There were hoards of people checking out the MB CLA.

BMW had a 228i coupe with their "track and handling package." The 2 is definitely a nicer looking car than the 1 it replaces.

One thing I noticed is that you cannot see out of any of these cars. Massive Blind Spots.

breld

@graphicguy said:
breld....congrats on the TT...really nice car....very nice pic. May I ask which Chicago delaership you bought it from?

It was the Audi Exchange. Good experience.

stickguy

Everything has massive blind spots now. Instead of visibility you get more cameras.

graphicguy

breld...that is a good dealer. I could have gone with them or Audi Westmont (who I ended up doing business with on my S4).

NYC...thanks for the report. I concur with stickguy....cameras are taking the place of windows to look out of in our cars.

Q...man...what a nice looking Benz!!!!!!

stever

We had a good dealer experience at a "local" Ford dealer. Got to drive a new Transit Connect Wagon. Sort of a truckish minivan that's a bit shorter than our Quest. Would like to see and drive a 5 passenger but I don't think they have the rear seats figured out. You lose a good bit of room with them folded and they'd be a pain to unbolt because of the hydraulic arms underneath.

Also sat in a C-Max but didn't drive it. Seems roomy "enough".

Good car day - we also met a woman over lunch who had a Prius V and she let us sit in her car and check it out. The space in the C-Max seemed a bit more user friendly.

Mostly we got additional reinforcement that it's going to be hard to downsize from a minivan after all these years.

A long road trip to buy a car sounds fun. Maybe we'll find one in Denver and drive it back to Chicago and then go north.

qbrozen

How was the TC compared to a mazda5?

I'd be really really interested in one if, for one, it had a decent boot behind the 3rd row, and, 2, they offered RES, which I don't see available through their website configurator. And, no, I'd rather not do aftermarket again. I've gone through all that trouble a few times now and nothing compares to an all-integrated entertainment center like we have in the Chrysler.

qbrozen

could be a good bit of fun for the money

xwesx

@Stever said:
Mostly we got additional reinforcement that it's going to be hard to downsize from a minivan after all these years.

Ah.... see?!

It turned out to be doable for us, but it sure hurt for a while (and I still haven't removed vans from my system, which is probably obvious).

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

It could also be a good bit of money. My wife's friend had an '03, stick shift, adult driven & well maintained. Above 75K miles it constantly needed $400 this & $500 that (indie VW shop). The check engine light literally came on a block away from the dealer on her way to trade it in.

corvette

@nyccarguy said:
It could also be a good bit of money.

Indeed. My MKIV Jetta had 10,000 mile service intervals, which didn't really matter, because you could be assured that something else would break well before the next regular service!

Michaell

@qbrozen said:
could be a good bit of fun for the money

And how much over the $3k asking price will it cost to replace the wheels and tires? Another grand?

nyccarguy

More on the NY Auto show Acura display. I know the ILX has received a lot of criticism for being a "pig with lipstick" (quote @sandman_6472‌ never more). It might be a CIVIC SI underneath, but it is a very nice, grown up Civc Si. Super nice interior materials & very well screwed together. It might not be worth the $30K price, but a year old dealer demo for the same price as a civic Si might be worth a look.

I keep getting mailings from my former Acura dealer "we need your trade," your trade could be worth 20% more than book value..." Come in for a test drive of one of our pre owned cars and receive a $25 gas card. Hmmm...

graphicguy

nyc...I've acquired some decent money cards this year alone by accepting manufacturer's gift card promotions.

stickguy

I liked a lot about the ILX. would probably be fine with one of them. Just a couple of quibbles. The price being one of them, but that was "flexible".

what bugged me most was the base model was missing XM, and only came with a cave black interior. Not all that quick, but smooth, but very silly that the 2.0l engine (basically just a Honda Civic spec engine) is listed as a PUG unit. I honestly think Honda takes identical engines, but because Acura is a "premium" division, they list them as PUG recommended. RSX to Accord is the same situation.