Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Mr_Shiftright

Some guy was trying to tell me that a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe is now some kind of hot collectible worth $10K. I find that hard to believe. I'm thinkin' $6000 on a good day with the best ever car?

roadburner

@Mr_Shiftright said:
Some guy was trying to tell me that a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe is now some kind of hot collectible worth $10K. I find that hard to believe. I'm thinkin' $6000 on a good day with the best ever car?

That guy is smoking crack- the 2.5 RS was a half-[non-permissible content removed] effort by Subaru to mollify all the enthusiasts demanding that Subaru bring the WRX Stateside. I can't think of a single good reason to want one.

stever

@stickguy, just when I thought I had a handle on the SIL posts, the female version is back in play.

@nyccarguy, gotta agree that the blue/tan sounds nice. Congrats!

abacomike

About 4 weeks ago, I ordered a 2015 Mercedes E400 with the new twin turbo 3.0 L V6 (330 hp, 354 ft lb torque). I ordered it in Palladium Silver (light gray) w/ black leather interior. Got Keyless Go pkg., lighting pkg., lane tracking and blind spot monitors, surround camera vision (360 degree view of exterior of car), Park Assist pkg., AMG Wheels, rear spoiler, fold down rear seats, premium 1 pkg., multi contour drivers seat with massage, heated and ventilated seats, etc.

Being built on Thursday, and due at dealer on October 10th.

Will miss the CLS, but the E400 is a new model and more practical for my needs.

Driver ordered one also for delivery in Canada.

corvette

@nyccarguy said:
Thank-you corvette! Don't count my punch until I take delivery;)

OK, but you have to tell us when you take delivery so I can update the chart.

corvette

@abacomike said:
About 4 weeks ago, I ordered a 2015 Mercedes E400 with the new twin turbo 3.0 L V6 (330 hp, 354 ft lb torque).

Congrats! You're good for 1-2 punches per year.

abacomike

@corvette said:

"Congrats! You're good for 1-2 punches per year."

UNFORTUNATELY! The CLS is a great car, but very low and no back seat to speak of. The E400 is a much bigger car inside and I will be sitting higher up so I can see over the hood.

Just one pinch this calendar year, no two. Last year I had two. Enough is enough!

qbrozen

Last night, the wife squashed making a move right now. Don't know why she didn't say anything earlier. Guess maybe she thought I wasn't serious. Anyway, now she says I can't do anything until the Leaf is gone. I tried explaining that we'll pay more for a car later because all the 2014s will be gone, but that fell on deaf ears. Oh well. Who knows. Maybe by xmas, new Fits will be thick on the ground.

js06gv

@qbrozen said:
Last night, the wife squashed making a move right now. Don't know why she didn't say anything earlier. Guess maybe she thought I wasn't serious. Anyway, now she says I can't do anything until the Leaf is gone. I tried explaining that we'll pay more for a car later because all the 2014s will be gone, but that fell on deaf ears. Oh well. Who knows. Maybe by xmas, new Fits will be thick on the ground.

How many miles do you have on your Leaf now? I know you've mentioned that you haven't used it much.

Michaell

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. - Lord Acton

Why am I including a quote on tyranny in an automobile forum?

Because I just spent 4 of the last 8 days driving BMW's around greater Denver for the BMW Championship golf tournament.

While there were many models used during the week, the players drove either 750iL's or X5 35d's. We used them to shuttle players to and from the airport and the beginning and end of the tournament.

Holy cow, the power is addictive. Of the two, I much preferred the 7-series - and who wouldn't, with 445 HP on tap? Every time you stretched your right foot, you were doing 80. Some drivers reported doing 95 when they thought they were doing 65. Quiet, supple, handled really well - I'm finally beginning to see the light on why German cars are so well respected.

True story - on Sunday, Freddie Jacobson was one of the first players to finish. His instructions were to have the driver standing next to the car in the parking lot for a quick exit. After the introductions, the first words out of his mouth were "Do you have a lead foot?". Well, certainly, Mr. Jacobson, if you cover the traffic fines, I'll be happy to break whatever speed laws you'd like. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and I didn't have to do any more than 5-10 over the limit on the route to the airport.

The X5, too, was no slouch, not with all that torque. And, so un-diesel like - no clattering at all. I would think most folks would have guessed it to be a gasoline-engined car. Other than the power and the torque, the rest of the X5 felt a lot like my wife's CX-7 - overboosted steering, decent handling, though the 31MPG rating for the highway is about 30% better than the Mazda's.

If only they weren't so expensive. Found a Monroney sticker in the trunk of one of the 750's - $99K without any options (really? there are things you have to pay extra for on one of these?). Never saw a sticker for the X5, but they price out starting in the $50's or $60's, right?

Anyway, I've now got the serious joneses for something with a lot of power - there is no hole in traffic you can't squeeze into when you have that kind of power available.

Mustang GT - 400+ HP for $30K (give or take). Probably the best power to price ratio on the market.

qbrozen

The Leaf has something absurdly low. I believe 9k.

ab348

@qbrozen said:
Last night, the wife squashed making a move right now. Don't know why she didn't say anything earlier. Guess maybe she thought I wasn't serious. Anyway, now she says I can't do anything until the Leaf is gone. I tried explaining that we'll pay more for a car later because all the 2014s will be gone, but that fell on deaf ears. Oh well. Who knows. Maybe by xmas, new Fits will be thick on the ground.

[gloom]

au1994

@qbrozen said:
Last night, the wife squashed making a move right now. Don't know why she didn't say anything earlier. Guess maybe she thought I wasn't serious. Anyway, now she says I can't do anything until the Leaf is gone. I tried explaining that we'll pay more for a car later because all the 2014s will be gone, but that fell on deaf ears. Oh well. Who knows. Maybe by xmas, new Fits will be thick on the ground.

Not sure where you are located but in my area Leaf's are moving off the lots are quick as they arrive. If you are very close to the end of the lease maybe you wouldn't have a problem off loading it early via trade while continuing down the path of selling the Benz and Volvo privately.

I'd only expect to break even on the trade in of course and would be clear that you wouldn't do it otherwise.

graphicguy

Mike....Bradd...congratz to you both on your new rides. I like both of them.

qbrozen

au1994 - those are most likely all leases. Nobody wants to buy the used ones. Mine would fetch $13k-$14k as a trade. My payoff? $22,700. Yeah... there is nowhere to go but back to Nissan with this one.

I'm not selling my Volvo, by the way. There is no better beater than that one.

breld

Congrats Bradd on the Legacy - that would be my color of choice as well.

And congrats to Mike as well - sounds like an awesome machine.

Mr_Shiftright

BMW 7 series is a fantastic car as long as you don't have to own one Voted one of the world's worst cars by Forbes magazine. But then...if the car wasn't seductive, it couldn't be so lethal.

That's what I thought. Thanks. I'm also going to post over in Real World Values just to see if any other commen> @Michaell said:

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. - Lord Acton

Why am I including a quote on tyranny in an automobile forum?

Because I just spent 4 of the last 8 days driving BMW's around greater Denver for the BMW Championship golf tournament.

While there were many models used during the week, the players drove either 750iL's or X5 35d's. We used them to shuttle players to and from the airport and the beginning and end of the tournament.

Holy cow, the power is addictive. Of the two, I much preferred the 7-series - and who wouldn't, with 445 HP on tap? Every time you stretched your right foot, you were doing 80. Some drivers reported doing 95 when they thought they were doing 65. Quiet, supple, handled really well - I'm finally beginning to see the light on why German cars are so well respected.

True story - on Sunday, Freddie Jacobson was one of the first players to finish. His instructions were to have the driver standing next to the car in the parking lot for a quick exit. After the introductions, the first words out of his mouth were "Do you have a lead foot?". Well, certainly, Mr. Jacobson, if you cover the traffic fines, I'll be happy to break whatever speed laws you'd like. We got to the airport in plenty of time, and I didn't have to do any more than 5-10 over the limit on the route to the airport.

The X5, too, was no slouch, not with all that torque. And, so un-diesel like - no clattering at all. I would think most folks would have guessed it to be a gasoline-engined car. Other than the power and the torque, the rest of the X5 felt a lot like my wife's CX-7 - overboosted steering, decent handling, though the 31MPG rating for the highway is about 30% better than the Mazda's.

If only they weren't so expensive. Found a Monroney sticker in the trunk of one of the 750's - $99K without any options (really? there are things you have to pay extra for on one of these?). Never saw a sticker for the X5, but they price out starting in the $50's or $60's, right?

Anyway, I've now got the serious joneses for something with a lot of power - there is no hole in traffic you can't squeeze into when you have that kind of power available.

Mustang GT - 400+ HP for $30K (give or take). Probably the best power to price ratio on the market.

au1994

" My payoff? $22,700"

Ouch.

Sorry, guess I confused the impending Volvo departure with another poster

au1994

"BMW 7 series is a fantastic car as long as you don't have to own one"

I suppose if you don't mind a 4 digit lease payment, you could always just drive it while under warranty. I'm as big a fan of the Roundel as you will find and I wouldn't take one out of warranty for free.

Mr_Shiftright

There you go. You must only have the BMW 7 Series while under warranty. That's the smart man's bet. Lease it, turn it in after three years and point to the dashboard lit up with its Christmas tree warning lights and say: "Your problem now".

Sure do drive great though, for a big car. When my friend jumped from his V-12 to his brand new Lexus, it sure felt to him like he had lost 4 cylinders--and he had!

xwesx

@stickguy said:
A fine upgrade from a 15 YO 180K Odyssey, that is currently dead at a garage with a shot trans.

A 2000 Odyssey with 180K on it?! How many transmissions has it eaten up to now? That era of Honda minivan wasn't known for its transmission reliability.... LOL

xwesx

@Mr_Shiftright said:
Some guy was trying to tell me that a 1999 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS coupe is now some kind of hot collectible worth $10K. I find that hard to believe. I'm thinkin' $6000 on a good day with the best ever car?

$6K? That wouldn't be a good day... it would be the BEST DAY EVER!!!

Seriously, though, the only thing that makes the 2.5 RS coupe "collectible" is the fact that you can take the guts out of a WRX and directly swap it onto the RS body. The RS, being significantly lighter, handles like a bat out of hell on top of a WRX. I know of three or four guys who did that locally. Results varied greatly based on the quality of the swap (attention to detail) and, of course, the care given to the source components.

laurasdada

Congrats on the Subie, Bradd. Now, you have some New England street cred!

When I bought my current ride, I went in armed witha 2.24% rate from my credit union. Jag dealer got me 1.84%, so you never know...

As I "feared," in initial pix at least, new Jag XE looks a bit "mini-me-XF"-ish. Not a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more Ian Callum magic. But, perhaps in the flesh, it will be its own man. Warming the cockels of my heart to see Jag expanding, hopefully thriving.

qbrozen

the 2.5RS was a step between the impreza and wrx, but it was, at least, a coupe. It was the lightest car they offered with the biggest 4-cyl they offered at that time. So I can understand the appeal. I remember stopping and drooling over one when it first arrived. I was, after all, young and foolish, and my favorite video game at the time was RallyCross on the Playstation.

But since being eclipsed by the WRX, I don't see why it would be worth more than an early one of those.

Mr_Shiftright

I can't see why it would be worth anywhere near an early WRX since the X has about 2X the horsepower.

Michaell

@Mr_Shiftright said:
There you go. You must only have the BMW 7 Series while under warranty. That's the smart man's bet. Lease it, turn it in after three years and point to the dashboard lit up with its Christmas tree warning lights and say: "Your problem now".

Sure do drive great though, for a big car. When my friend jumped from his V-12 to his brand new Lexus, it sure felt to him like he had lost 4 cylinders--and he had!

It's funny - many of the cars this week had check engine lights illuminated. BMW had some folks at the tournament resetting the ECU's on the cars in the parking lot.

Yet when I picked up Angel Cabrera's car from the hotel yesterday, the check engine light was back on. We were told that it was the type of fuel that was put into it, and not to worry.

These cars had less than 500 miles on them when we were taking them back to the drop lot.

Love the power, not so sure how I feel about the reliability.

qbrozen

so, for fun, I searched my Nissan dealer's inventory for any manual transmission cars. Turns out they have several 2014 Versa Notes with sticks. Hmmm... ok, let's look into this. Purchase price would be about $14,500. They would happily take the Leaf in early, I'm sure. I know its roomy because I drove a CVT version not that long ago.

But, what's this? The only version you can get a stick in is the S, which has .... wait for it... crank windows!! Are you kidding me?! I don't ask for much, but power windows should not be an add-on feature these days. That's absurd.

Mr_Shiftright

I used to kid my friend and tell him that BMW needed a voice command "Engine Light OFF!"

@Michaell said:
Love the power, not so sure how I feel about the reliability.

Sandman6472

I drove the same 320i back to our office this week and the "sport" button is amazing, makes owning this vehicle something I'd love to do. I even turned off the "eco" button on my vehicle and noticed it does seem to accelerate a bit quicker...the smile on my face has gotten bigger every day since I turned it on as I feel like I am driving a different vehicle! That extra rush one gets when hitting the accelerator is a real rush and just wish those pesky cops weren't spoiling all our fun!

The Sandman

nyccarguy

Graphicguy, Breld, & Laurasdada:

Thanks for the good luck wishes. I appreciate them & am sure my Subaru ownership experience will be positive.

@Michaell

The torque that the 6cyl BMW diesels produce is just sick. I had a 2011 E90 335d as a loaner when I brought my car in for service. I'd have the cruise set at 70 in the middle lane, move into the left lane to casually pass a slower car, and look down at the speedo to see I was going over 100 mph. Not to mention that I wasn't trying to get good fuel economy & for 2 days averaged a solid 10 mpg more than my 328xi gasser;)

Sandman6472

Have been texting some of my friends from my old company in Ft. Lauderdale and am thinking of writing a letter to the owner to see about being re-instated as a part time driver. It's super slow right now but season is right around the corner and hopefully work will pick up. Feeling a bit better and I have Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays when I am not at Hertz where I could be available to work. Would rather go to Lauderdale than West Palm due to the decreased mileage to get there. So tomorrow will sit down and write a letter to get some feedback to see if this could be a possibility. My old boss was "fired" so the reason I left is gone now and I was a good driver for them. So we'll see how this all pans out. I've put the past behind me and hopefully, they have to. Right now, I'd love to put as much green away these next five or so years and beef up our retirement accounts considerably. The next time I retire, I plan to stay that way and not worry about a time clock anymore!

The Sandman

xwesx

@nyccarguy said:
Thanks for the good luck wishes. I appreciate them & am sure my Subaru ownership experience will be positive.

Of the four Subaru vehicles I have owned, only the experience with the second was less than great. Honestly, though, it wasn't the car as much as my expectations of it after having come off 6.5 years of owning our 1996 Outback.

The one constant I found in all three of the "new" Subarus (2007-2010), is that of interior rattles. Don't be shy about getting those addressed under warranty should they show up. They don't typically start with them, but they do show up after a few thousand miles. Our Forester, which has about 76K on the clock now, had several rattles addressed early on and none have since reappeared. I feel good about that, as we rapidly approach our five-year anniversary of owning it (about a week away).

nyccarguy

@xwesx‌

Thanks for the heads up. Rattles (real or phantom) are a good way to squeeze a loaner car out of the service department when I bring it in for "just an oil change."

stickguy

I'm the one with the Volvo on the block. Just washed/waxed/detailed interior this afternoon. Looks much, much better. Only a couple of the touch up places didn't come out good (I think I missed one with the smooth out sponge!). but for an old car, pretty minor and overall looks very nice. So, tomorrow hopefully the sun comes out, so we can get some pictures and I can get an ad out on CL. Then we see what happens.

stickguy

the odyssey (I think it is actually a 1999) had 1 tranny replaced at some point I believe. and lived a hard life overall.

kyfdx

Anyone in this group have SUV opinions?

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/20137/gmc/acadia/looking-at-midsize-suvs#latest

stickguy

yes. They are big, and 1/2 the people that buy them really should be getting a minivan.

Probably not what they want to hear though.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
yes. They are big, and 1/2 the people that buy them really should be getting a minivan.

Probably not what they want to hear though.

And another 49% should be getting something smaller and more economical.

kyfdx

@stickguy said:
yes. They are big, and 1/2 the people that buy them really should be getting a minivan.

Probably not what they want to hear though.

Geez... maybe just go over there and answer the poor guy's question? Everyone in CCBA will eventually die, and we need new members to stick around...

Sandman6472

Have been texting some of my friends from my old company in Ft. Lauderdale and am thinking of writing a letter to the owner to see about being re-instated as a part time driver. It's super slow right now but season is right around the corner and hopefully work will pick up. Feeling a bit better and I have Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays when I am not at Hertz where I could be available to work. Would rather go to Lauderdale than West Palm due to the decreased mileage to get there. So tomorrow will sit down and write a letter to get some feedback to see if this could be a possibility. My old boss was "fired" so the reason I left is gone now and I was a good driver for them. So we'll see how this all pans out. I've put the past behind me and hopefully, they have to.

The Sandman

au1994

@Mr_Shiftright said:
I used to kid my friend and tell him that BMW needed a voice command "Engine Light OFF!"

Aww c'mon now...they're not that bad. They just like a bit more mechanical attention than say a Honda, Toyota, Nissan, et al.

Kidding aside, yes I have spent about 1500 in preventative maintenance on the E46 since I purchased it and it was just that...cooling system, all fluids, CCV,,,the only thing that was failing was a fan clutch, The fluids were done at my choice just so I had peace of mind that they were fresh claimed to have been done before. Also took the opportunity to add an H&R Touring Cup kit and wow...

Love, This. Car.

breld

@nyccarguy said:
The torque that the 6cyl BMW diesels produce is just sick. I had a 2011 E90 335d as a loaner when I brought my car in for service. I'd have the cruise set at 70 in the middle lane, move into the left lane to casually pass a slower car, and look down at the speedo to see I was going over 100 mph. Not to mention that I wasn't trying to get good fuel economy & for 2 days averaged a solid 10 mpg more than my 328xi gasser;)

One of my co-workers leased a 535d earlier this year and loves it. He let me take it out on a test drive when I was deciding on my Passat replacement and that diesel is indeed addictive. Of course, buying a new one was out of the question, so that left me with the gas versions. On a recent trip to Vegas, he apparently averaged closed to 39 mpg on certain stretches. Once these AWD diesel BMWs start hitting the used market, I could see myself going that way - maybe another 5, but a 328d wagon would be pretty cool.

abacomike

@driver100:

Driver, what options did you order for your E400 Sedan?

As an example, did you order Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitors? Did you order the Premium 1 Package? Sport Model or Luxury Model? 18" Wheels and Tires or standard 17"? Lighting Package with full LED's or not? Ventilated seats or not?

Thanks!

breld

Just browsing for some manual fun:

Sort of tempted to go look at this:

Mazda6 wagon

Don't see too many of these anymore:

MS Protege

But holy curb rash Batman! And that front bumper needs to be put on a bit better than that.

stickguy

Interesting oddballs.

qbrozen

$5k for either of those is plenty.

qbrozen

ugh. The lack of manufacturer support for manuals is disappointing.

Like the Note I mentioned before, where you can only get a stick with crank windows, Kia is doing the same thing with the Rio5. And what is with the horrible mileage on the Soul? I guess drag coefficient really does make a huge impact.

So, ~$16k pricepoint, new, hatch/wagon, stickshift, Bluetooth, power windows(!) and locks, air conditioning, cruise control, and highway mileage at least mid 30s. Are my options really that limited? I've got the Fit, Fiesta, and mazda2. Any others I'm missing?

stickguy

Base corolla? But that is a sedan. Sonic, or whatever the mini Chevy is these days?

breld

Elantra GT will sticker for higher than that, but you may be able to get close with some dealing. I was pretty impressed with the manual shifting one I drove a couple years ago. Or go slightly used on one of those and take advantage of the combination of Hyundai depreciation and long warranty.

stever

A reporter would like to speak to a recent car shopper who has used their mobile device to look for car inventory, compare pricing, look at trim packages, etc. while on a dealer's lot. If this is you, and you'd like to share your story, please send your daytime contact info to pr@edmunds.com no later than 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET on Thursday, 9/11/14.