Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Michaell

Beckham is back from the MINI dealer - in addition to the scheduled oil change, the water pump had a small leak and was replaced under warranty.

Service advisor commented that this was a known issue with the '07 model year, but hadn't seen it yet on a 2014.

On one hand, glad that the problem was discovered and remedied on the first visit, but ... should a water pump fail at 10K miles?

Guess I'll have to keep a close eye on fluid levels going forward.

The reason it has 10K miles after only 6 months is due to two road trips - one to Utah (1200 miles) and another to New Mexico (1000 miles, give or take) - in addition to the regular back and forth she does for work.

roadburner

corvette said:

roadburner said:

. The only downside is I would have to sink some money into a sound system upgrade; new speakers, amp, and a decent sub. The base system is miserable.

If you can upgrade without replacing the head unit, all the factory integration / steering wheel controls should continue to work. Shouldn't be that hard (famous last words)!

Kicker makes a kit with an amp and a sub that is supposedly equalized to the Mustang interior. It is totally PNP- no splicing, drilling, etc. $1299.

Mr_Shiftright

Ah well, you own a Mini, you're going to have something pecking at you all the time.

Here's the JD Power 2013 reliability list. You can look for Mini near-ish the bottom. As a consolation, it's not nearly as bad as VW nor does it carry the rock-solid guarantee of trouble that Land Rover provides all buyers.

It's one of those cars that is worth the risk.

JD POWER 2013 Reliability

Michaell said:

Beckham is back from the MINI dealer - in addition to the scheduled oil change, the water pump had a small leak and was replaced under warranty.

Service advisor commented that this was a known issue with the '07 model year, but hadn't seen it yet on a 2014.

On one hand, glad that the problem was discovered and remedied on the first visit, but ... should a water pump fail at 10K miles?

Guess I'll have to keep a close eye on fluid levels going forward.

The reason it has 10K miles after only 6 months is due to two road trips - one to Utah (1200 miles) and another to New Mexico (1000 miles, give or take) - in addition to the regular back and forth she does for work.

laurasdada

My investing strategy? Buy high, sell low, take the tax break. I am looking forward to working well into my 80s... Why do I mention this? Join Costco for bargain gas, a week later prices for PUG drop everywhere around here to Costco levels (or lower)! Costco PUG has gone up .06/gal since I joined... Regular is only $2.90/gal though.

stickguy

saw .$2.71 today at the Citgo. price war on the downside.

stickguy

Just cruising the net. Looking for wonderful bargains. But I found this. Looks like it could be a decent cruise around car. not sure what the right price is, now that winter is fast approaching.

http://www.outletcars.com/details/1ZVHT84N685193555

and for something totally different, other than the color, I really like this. low miles, and price from what I can tell is actually pretty good.

http://www.subaruofcherryhill.com/used/Volvo/2008-Volvo-V70-eeb0fa770a0a00643306331ecc5c46d7.htm

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

This Mustang GT looks interesting. If it had the Track Package and not just the Brembos it might be worth $23k-$24k.

Sombody thought it was worth the money, it's sold. Are Stangs really that popular? I guess MSRP will be the price on the 15s for a long time.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Average age of Buick buyers is down to 57 according to Buick. Lincoln has the oldest average age at 61.

Yeah, I own a Lincoln and I'm 62.....I'm above average!

oldfarmer50

stever said:

stickguy said:

Maybe just me, but finding decent used car buys now is not at all easy. Old, very miley junk for not huge but still too much money, or a few year old stuff for barely less than new.

New cars aren't getting any cheaper either.

Do new cars cost too much? (fortune.com)

I had to laugh when the author said "rust is no longer a problem". He obviously never owned a car in the northeast.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

graphicguy said:

Difference being, I like Ford's and GM's 4 cyl turbos much more than I do Audi's or BMW's. Those are more refined than their German counterparts.
.

I haven't driven BMW, GM, or Ford's recent efforts at a turbo four. I can report that VW uses a device to generate fake engine noise in the GTI and GLI, which is acceptable to me at full throttle, but is annoying and too loud at light throttle. I pulled the plug the first week I had the GLI and the engine is nearly silent up until 4500 rpm or so.

Really? I'd feel cheated if I bought a car like that without knowing. Why not just use different exhaust to get the right sound?

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Just cruising the net. Looking for wonderful bargains. But I found this. Looks like it could be a decent cruise around car. not sure what the right price is, now that winter is fast approaching.

http://www.outletcars.com/details/1ZVHT84N685193555

and for something totally different, other than the color, I really like this. low miles, and price from what I can tell is actually pretty good.

http://www.subaruofcherryhill.com/used/Volvo/2008-Volvo-V70-eeb0fa770a0a00643306331ecc5c46d7.htm

Don't know about the Subie but the v6 4.0L Mustang was like driving a truck. Not impressive.

nyccarguy

So one of the features I didn't get in my Legacy (that I had in my TSX & 328xi) is the "built in" navigation. I didn't want to pay for it because I rarely use it. Tonight was date night with the wife. The restaurant we met our friends at was in New Canaan, one town up from where we live. I had a basic idea where it was, but wasn't 100% sure. So we are walking out the door and my wife says to me: "Take the truck?" Date night is just a little less intimate in the Pilot, so we took the Legacy. I used WAZE on my phone. Pretty cool how it connects to the car's audio system via Bluetooth. It got us there in plenty of time.

stickguy

that whole article was a stretch. he basically said that all the standard features on the new car were worthless (or did not make up for the 5K delta in real dollars). Go back and add in all the options to the 1965 to even get it close (wheels, AC, PS/PW, whatever else you can throw on) and it probably ends up turning out that the 2015 is actually cheaper.

tommister2

nyccarguy said:

So one of the features I didn't get in my Legacy (that I had in my TSX & 328xi) is the "built in" navigation. I didn't want to pay for it because I rarely use it. Tonight was date night with the wife. The restaurant we met our friends at was in New Canaan, one town up from where we live. I had a basic idea where it was, but wasn't 100% sure. So we are walking out the door and my wife says to me: "Take the truck?" Date night is just a little less intimate in the Pilot, so we took the Legacy. I used WAZE on my phone. Pretty cool how it connects to the car's audio system via Bluetooth. It got us there in plenty of time.

I'm a big fan of Waze. It's not perfect but it has saved me time on many occasions. 

qbrozen

stick, that mustang is good looking, but about the worst possible configuration you can get, IMHO.

Volvo is pretty sweet, although I know zero about the 6-bangers. I never understood why they switched to a larger, less powerful engine than the T5. Must be an NVH thing. That is priced below wholesale, however. Gotta wonder why.

stickguy

The 4.0 V6 I assume you mean. I know that they switched to the nicer 3.7(?) in about 2011 or 2012, but those cost more. I at least like the color combo on it! I have not driven a Mustang with that engine, but I suspect it would be fine for me.

Volvo did seem cheap. around private party $ per Edmunds. Carfax is clean. Bought and serviced at the Volvo dealer right next to the Sube dealer. Might have to check that out.

stickguy

oh, the Volvo 3.2 L6? pretty sure they made that move for smoothness. The T5 worked fine, but didn't give that luxury feel. My SIL had an XC90 with the 3.2, and it was a nice, smooth engine. Not particularly fuel efficient though from what I can see.

corvette

oldfarmer50 said:

Really? I'd feel cheated if I bought a car like that without knowing. Why not just use different exhaust to get the right sound?

I knew about it before I bought the car. I think it's difficult to tune the exhaust note with a turbo because the turbo naturally attenuates engine noise to some extent.

henryn

corvette said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Really? I'd feel cheated if I bought a car like that without knowing. Why not just use different exhaust to get the right sound?

I knew about it before I bought the car. I think it's difficult to tune the exhaust note with a turbo because the turbo naturally attenuates engine noise to some extent.

The turbo is part of the problem, but the biggest part is all of the sound deadening material. The manufacturers have worked really hard to isolate the inside of the car from exterior noises. If you buy a performance oriented car, you want to hear it when you get on it, and there is no easy way to make that happen and still keep you isolated from the road noise.

My 2013 F150 with the 5.0 V8 has a very nice exhaust note, but you can't really tell from inside the truck, you have to stand outside to really hear it.

Sandman6472

WAZE is a great app and we use it all the time. Having Bluetooth in my Tuscon is a really nice feature and folks say they can not tell what kind of phone I am on when I talk through the car's speakers. Just waiting for the day when all car makers follow Chevy's lead with the wifi hot spot right in the vehicle...good move by GM to start it at the bottom and move the feature up into other products, for once the low folks on the pole get something early on!
Stopped by my stereo guy the other day and we discussed making the system sound better. he told me the head unit in my old Civic was a better unit than what I have now and since we've already done the amp, we need to go in steps here. He recommended a device that he can to make the sound sound richer if you will. he sat me in the shop's owners vehicle and I could hear how much better the sound was and he brought his computer in to show me how we can tweak the system. He thinks that to throw new speakers in at this point isn't smart because they might just sound fine with this unit he wants to put in. So now have to decide if I really want to spend the additional money but I must admit, the difference in sound quality in the owners vehicle was pretty damn good. Just need to decide if the additional expenditure is really worth it right now.
It's about a 4 hour job so I can just bring my laptop and sit there...just what I want to do on a day off but hey, would make a great birthday gift to me!!

The Sandman

qbrozen

stickguy said:

The 4.0 V6 I assume you mean. I know that they switched to the nicer 3.7(?) in about 2011 or 2012, but those cost more. I at least like the color combo on it! I have not driven a Mustang with that engine, but I suspect it would be fine for me.

Volvo did seem cheap. around private party $ per Edmunds. Carfax is clean. Bought and serviced at the Volvo dealer right next to the Sube dealer. Might have to check that out.

hmmm.. then Edmunds is low-balling it, too. Out of what went across the block recently, one with 48k miles sold for $13k and another with 60k went for $12k.

I meant the whole package on the stang: 4.0, automatic, and extra convertible weight, along with manual cloth seats.

stickguy

I actually prefer cloth seats in a convertible. not as many burned legs.

ab348

stickguy said:

I actually prefer cloth seats in a convertible. not as many burned legs.

Don't order a black interior in a convertible.

fintail

I went car looking today. Apparently October isn't the time to lease a Bluetec - dealer told me it has a really bad money factor right now. An E350 with MSRP 3K higher than a similar Bluetec on the lot would lease for about $175/month less. Crazy - much more than any fuel savings. If it comes to that, I would go for a gas, the difference is too much. I hope things are better next month,when I might make a move. The salesman I dealt with before and the manager who I know there were trying to get me to move today, but I made a payment 2 days ago, so no deal. The cars I looked at were 14s, so eventually might be leftovers, although I have heard that doesn't make a big difference.

Also looked at a nice space grey on light color (cashmere?) 535d, leftover 2014, I wonder how it would lease. No 328xd wagons on the lot.

carnaught

fintail said:

Also looked at a nice space grey on light color (cashmere?) 535d, leftover 2014, I wonder how it would lease. No 328xd wagons on the lot.

You'd have to factor the Mercedes lease disposal fee into the deal. Been there, done that .

ab348

fintail said:

I went car looking today. Apparently October isn't the time to lease a Bluetec - dealer told me it has a really bad money factor right now. An E350 with MSRP 3K higher than a similar Bluetec on the lot would lease for about $175/month less. Crazy - much more than any fuel savings. If it comes to that, I would go for a gas, the difference is too much.

The local Benz dealer here still has the dark blue over gray interior E250 they have had for quite a while, but today on the podium out front they have an "Executive Demo" 2014 E250, black with gray interior, on display. No pricing shown unfortunately. Odd thing with this dealer is that they show demos on their website as new cars with MSRP only, not as the used cars they are.

tifighter

@fintail Was at the auto show today at qwest and MB had a $500 rebate for show goers. My wife likes the GLK. I'm okay with it but was disappointed with the seats. ML was better, more shape and comfort, she thinks its too big. The X5 on display had the optional multi-contour seats, which were quite good; X3 seats were flat. Starting to see a trend here. Looked at Audi, meh. Lots of people gushing over the Q3...they have a hit on their hands. Was hoping to look at a Touraeg but none present.

Other random likes:
-New CRV was pretty good, reasonable comfort, tons of space, class leading MPG. It makes the need for a RDX refresh pretty obvious now that CRV has Touring trim level.
-The new GMC Canyon midsize is impressive, and feels about 1000% nicer inside than a Tacoma or Frontier. But everyone walked past it, probably thinking it was a Sierra.
-Kia K900: well, I liked it actually. Interior comfort is excellent. Putting the brand challenges aside, I think the big error here is RWD only; it is really going to limit sales. If you had to take a road trip in it, you wouldn't be disappointed. They had the new Sedona as well, which looks pretty nice.
-New Jeep Renegade will sell well, I think. It looks good in person, and I overheard a lot of women proclaiming their love for it. Ka-ching!
-Small Tesla stand beyond packed. Lots of asking about the Model 3. I hope they figure out a way to make it profitably; it could be the car that truly makes the company. I hope its a smaller S with a liftback and not a trunk, but that's me...

stickguy

the RDX is now in it's 3rd year basically unchanged. It should be due for it's mid-cycle refresh soon, I guess for 2016. I have not seen the CRV yet, but there is still going to be a pretty good distinction, even if the touring now overlaps in price. Just the engine difference is enough.

corvette

tifighter said:

-The new GMC Canyon midsize is impressive, and feels about 1000% nicer inside than a Tacoma or Frontier. But everyone walked past it, probably thinking it was a Sierra.

Yeah, the really dated mid-size trucks haven't caught up to the nice interiors on the more recent full-size ones. Haven't seen a new Canyon/Colorado in person, but can't imagine mistaking it for a Sierra, the proportions are very different! I remember the bad old days when nobody offered a crew cab, 1500-series full size truck (it was extended cab only), and the back seats had very little legroom. Now, even the extended cab models have usable back seats.

stickguy

I still wish Ford brought the Ranger over. I loved that when I saw it last year on amazing race.

fintail

Yep it's like $795 I think. Something more to keep people in the fray, I guess. Just gotta work on that Bluetec rate, maybe better deals coming for November/December.

carnaught said:

You'd have to factor the Mercedes lease disposal fee into the deal. Been there, done that .

fintail

Sounds like the dealers there have a monopoly, and a bit of a racket going. No pricing, bad website, not cool. There are 4 MB dealers within an hour of me, so that makes some competition, I think.

ab348 said:

The local Benz dealer here still has the dark blue over gray interior E250 they have had for quite a while, but today on the podium out front they have an "Executive Demo" 2014 E250, black with gray interior, on display. No pricing shown unfortunately. Odd thing with this dealer is that they show demos on their website as new cars with MSRP only, not as the used cars they are.

fintail

I was there yesterday, I posted a few observations in the new sightings thread. I am still shocked at how crowded Tesla was, seeing as they are such a common sight here.

Funny thing, CRV didn't even catch my eye as new, and I must have walked right past the Canyon. I was also with people, people who have no interest in trucks, maybe I was distracted. I do remember looking at the K900, but thinking the adjacent Cadenza was maybe better value, as resale on the large car will be catastrophic, and the BMW wannabe design doesn't warm all hearts, no matter the equipment level. Huge badging doesn't look elegant either. RWD is just icing on the cake. I notice that even here, the majority of E and 5 on the lot are now AWD.

Speaking of seats, I drove an E350 with active/massage seats today, just for the heck of it. Pretty amusing stuff, and fun how they hug you in corners.

tifighter said:

@fintail Was at the auto show today at qwest and MB had a $500 rebate for show goers. My wife likes the GLK. I'm okay with it but was disappointed with the seats.

stickguy

Pretty sure the CRV did not change externally (or just minor tweaks maybe). The big changes are under the skin. CVT, and probably an engine upgrade (meaning basically the 4 Cyl. Accord powertrain), and some other features stuff.

nyccarguy

@stickguy‌

Honda dealer in Westport is advertising 2014 Accord Sports for 0 down, $228/ month. They've also got a 2013 Legacy 2.5i with 13K on the clock listed for under $19K.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy‌

Honda dealer in Westport is advertising 2014 Accord Sports for 0 down, $228/ month. They've also got a 2013 Legacy 2.5i with 13K on the clock listed for under $19K.

I really can't overstate how much my wife likes her Accord. When she was shopping, I was trying to "advise" her to get the Accord Sport.....fun car to drive, especially for a Honda. She wanted all the "lux" stuff on the EX-L Nav, though. I think she fell in love with all the tech in my TL, and wanted as much of that in her Accord as they offered.

To me, the Accord Sport was more fun, though. Not a guy who leases, but that looks like a pretty good payment on a lease, NYC, right?

Got what I'm sure was a mass email from the local Cadillac store about clearing out the last of the '14s. Pretty hefty discounts.....$9.5K off all '14 CTS's and ATS's in stock. That should put a loaded ATS turbo AWD Performance with Bose, leather and NA V(if they have them in stock) right around mid $30K or a CTS loaded up with turbo, AWD, leather in the low $40s. For those cars? May be quite a deal if you're in the market.

Michaell

graphicguy said:

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy‌

Honda dealer in Westport is advertising 2014 Accord Sports for 0 down, $228/ month. They've also got a 2013 Legacy 2.5i with 13K on the clock listed for under $19K.

I really can't overstate how much my wife likes her Accord. When she was shopping, I was trying to "advise" her to get the Accord Sport.....fun car to drive, especially for a Honda. She wanted all the "lux" stuff on the EX-L Nav, though. I think she fell in love with all the tech in my TL, and wanted as much of that in her Accord as they offered.

To me, the Accord Sport was more fun, though. Not a guy who leases, but that looks like a pretty good payment on a lease, NYC, right?

Got what I'm sure was a mass email from the local Cadillac store about clearing out the last of the '14s. Pretty hefty discounts.....$9.5K off all '14 CTS's and ATS's in stock. That should put a loaded ATS turbo AWD Performance with Bose, leather and NA V(if they have them in stock) right around mid $30K or a CTS loaded up with turbo, AWD, leather in the low $40s. For those cars? May be quite a deal if you're in the market.

That is a lot of car for the money. I've been reading a lot lately about the new ATS coupe - I think they look sharp and with the 2.0 Turbo they have good get up and go.

ab348

tifighter said:

-The new GMC Canyon midsize is impressive, and feels about 1000% nicer inside than a Tacoma or Frontier. But everyone walked past it, probably thinking it was a Sierra.

Hmm. The local dealer has a single new Canyon parked right out front and last week when I was there I did the same thing, walked right by it without a second look. That seems to be a common problem.

After I got in my car and drove away I noticed it as I passed by the building, so I turned around and went back.

First impression is that it is pretty big. This was a 4-door so that adds to the size, but even in terms of things like front end height it is large. It is a bit narrower than the Sierra and probably smaller in every dimension, but it "reads" big, almost like an early-'70s full size pickup. The interior was nice enough (all-black so it would never get a thumbs up from me) but I found the dash and instrument cluster a bit bland or plain, not sure quite how to describe it. Certainly I wasn't wowed by much of anything. No pricing shown on this one. It is not a bad looker and totally inoffensive but I didn't get that got-to-have-it feeling at all.

stickguy

Agreed that it is still a big truck. I think very close in dimensions to a half ton Chevy from the 90s, before they really started bloating up.

Need to make one the size of a minivan. That would be useful.

tifighter

Yeah, when you see the Canyon between a couple Sierras like they had at the show, it looks very similar. This was a loaded SLT; I'm not saying it rivalled an Audi inside, but compared to something like a Frontier or Taco, it is a clear upgrade. More like a mid-level full size in terms of material and content, and a crew cab back seat that's not complete torture like the competitors. Still not as much interior room as a Ridgeline, however.

stickguy

good news everyone. I found the lost unicorn!

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4723890143.html

and its close cousin, the spotted splynx:

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4707538661.html

au1994

stickguy said:

good news everyone. I found the lost unicorn!

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4723890143.html

and its close cousin, the spotted splynx:

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/4707538661.html

Love the strut tower brace on the Camry.

Wasn't even aware that that generation Maxima was available with a stick!

roadburner

Oh my: 2006 Cayman S

Mr_Shiftright

Nice car the Cayman S. Of course we must always sweat the IMS bearing defect. The lower the mileage, the greater the risk.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

Nice car the Cayman S. Of course we must always sweat the IMS bearing defect. The lower the mileage, the greater the risk.

I know, that's what really keeps me from pulling the trigger...

Mr_Shiftright

I've been sniffing at buying a 996 or Boxster S but after paying for 2 pre-purchase inspections and finding some troubling evidence in each of the car's oil filters (not necessarily meaning a disaster, but...troubling evidence), I'm getting kind of cool to the idea, and may isolate my search to 996s or Boxsters that have a certified sticker on them of a re-engineered IMS bearing installed.

With the Boxster/Cayman , ya' got 3 problems. Ya' got oil leaks, ya' got the IMS bearing and ya' got premature clutch failure. The oil leaks are either there or not there, so you're good with a visual inspection; the clutch failure WILL happen at 80K or less, guaranteed; the IMS either happens pretty early on, or not at all, or so I'm told...in most cases. Best thing there is to cut the oil filter in half and have a look.

The scary thing is that if the IMS disintegrates, that's an engine rebuild, and that's $18,000 bucks!

breld

I like those stick! The color's not my cup of tea though. I remember looking at the Camry back when those were available - I seem to recall some sort of "special edition" LE that had some sport appearance package and, of course, available in a stick.

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

I've been sniffing at buying a 996 or Boxster S but after paying for 2 pre-purchase inspections and finding some troubling evidence in each of the car's oil filters (not necessarily meaning a disaster, but...troubling evidence), I'm getting kind of cool to the idea, and may isolate my search to 996s or Boxsters that have a certified sticker on them of a re-engineered IMS bearing installed.

With the Boxster/Cayman , ya' got 3 problems. Ya' got oil leaks, ya' got the IMS bearing and ya' got premature clutch failure. The oil leaks are either there or not there, so you're good with a visual inspection; the clutch failure WILL happen at 80K or less, guaranteed; the IMS either happens pretty early on, or not at all, or so I'm told...in most cases. Best thing there is to cut the oil filter in half and have a look.

The scary thing is that if the IMS disintegrates, that's an engine rebuild, and that's $18,000 bucks!

I swear, I think I'm keeping the Mazda or else reverting back to my redneck roots and buying a Shelby Mustang or Challenger SRT. Not the sharpest handlers, but not a financial debacle if something goes sourh...

breld

I've never owned a Porsche, but once in awhile the thought crosses my mind on a used Boxster. And then I read these posts from the much more knowledgeable base here, and realize that's not a direction I should be going.

kyfdx

I could live with a base Cayman, I think...

Last week, bought a set of winter tires/wheels from a guy who had sold his E46 BMW.. Long-time Porsche guy.. Had the BMW because his Porsche was a 911 GT3 RS , which is basically a track car.. Sold both of them and got a brand-new Cayman S.. But, with PDK transmission. I'll cut him some slack, because he is in his '70s and his wife is tired of driving a stick. Plus, he is a founding member of the local PCA chapter and chief track instructor.

Oh yeah... the family sedan? Audi S6 with the V-10 engine. I felt like a little boy..