Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stever

A reporter is hoping to find BMW owners who might have models with recalled airbags (mostly '00-'06 3 Series.) Please email PR@edmunds.com if you are able to have a quick conversation with the reporter today.

nyccarguy

Hello everyone from the beach in sunny Naples, FL.  Weather, Hotel, Food, even the airport is fantastic.

I almost pulled a Fintail-esq maneuver with the rental car.  1st Hertz gave me a Focus.  I walked up to it, saw the MA plates, the scuffed rear bumper, & so many door dings that it looks like it spent its life on the streets of Baghdad.

We got to customer service & complain (nicely of course).  They give us an Impala with LA plates.  Big door dent on the right side, slightly scuffed rear bumper.  I wanted to give it back, but got the "look" from my wife.  So off we went.  Car literally starts to shake at 45 mph.  At 70 on the highway it kept wanting to switch lanes.  I almost stopped at a good year tire shop to get an alignment in the rental, but didn't.

Lots of gorgeous cars down here.  Funny seeing MBs without the 4Matic badge on the back.  

ab348

nyccarguy said:

They give us an Impala with LA plates.  Big door dent on the right side, slightly scuffed rear bumper.  I wanted to give it back, but got the "look" from my wife.  So off we went.  Car literally starts to shake at 45 mph.  At 70 on the highway it kept wanting to switch lanes.  I almost stopped at a good year tire shop to get an alignment in the rental, but didn't.

Lots of gorgeous cars down here.  Funny seeing MBs without the 4Matic badge on the back.  

Is it an Impala "Classic"? I have had many of them over the years as rentals and every one of them, I swear, had the shake/vibration/alignment/tire balance issue you describe. It was uncanny. I wonder if they are delivered from the factory that way.

stickguy

I would have taken it back. especially if you are going to be driving around a bit. Or call and tell them it is unsafe, and make them bring a replacement out to you.

I had this once in Orlando with a Tempo. it was a death ride. But now I can't recall if I did anything about it.

I need to switch from Hertz (though I usually book through AAA and they are the cheapest). Their standards have gone way down. Last couple units were 40K+ miles, and not at all clean or well maintained. Did the job, but not confidence inspiring. Or I need to complain at the counter and tell them my tale of woe, and grovel for something newer.better.

ab348

Back around '90 or '91, I had a Budget rental Taurus in Florida. I was driving in the insane traffic on I-4 from Orlando to Tampa and ran over a road snake - a truck tire tread that had detached. I saw it, but was boxed in and could not miss it. Kept on going.

A bit later a station wagon pulls alongside and starts gesturing me to pull over, with hand signals that something was wrong with my car. I was coming up on an exit for Lakeland so I took it and pulled to the side on the ramp. The car that was gesturing to me followed and that had me a bit concerned.

I get out and see fuel pumping onto the ground. The return line fo rthe fuel injection had been snapped. The car was running fine but was spilling gas everywhere. The good samaritans were just that. They went to a phone and called Budget for me. After nearly an hour's wait, a Dodge Dynasty and a tow truck arrived. I got the Dodge, the Budget truck towed the Taurus away. I was impressed (though not with the Dynasty, it was a lousy car to drive by comparison to the Taurus).

I too would call for a replacement car for the Impala.

Michaell

nyc - sorry to hear about your rental travails. I, too, would have them bring you another car.

Been an interesting morning here. Went to breakfast with the family - afterwards daughter went north to go to work, while wife and I went south to home (Mazda had a noon appt for an oil change). Daughter calls in a panic - left rear tire is flat. We tell her to call MINI roadside assistance and we'll come to her.

MINI asks her if she has RFT - like she's gonna know? Turns out she does. So, I take the MINI to a local tire shop, wife and daughter take the Mazda to work. MINI has a hole in the tread - no debris - and it gets patched at no charge. Take MINI to work and wife and I head home.

Oil change for Mazda probably pushed to Monday. Tomorrow I take the E-GT in for service at the dealer.

Oh, the joys of being the fleet manager!

And, while at wife and daughter's office, wife's office mate comments that the hail storm that did $5K of damage to the MINI has totaled her car (10 year old Accord), so she's going to be shopping. Looking for a 3-row SUV that is a few years old and under 100K miles. $15K budget.

Gave her some ideas and my cell phone number. We'll see if she reaches out to me this weekend.

xwesx

Wow, ab... who knew that you had your own personal angels?!

fintail

You should have flown into Tampa, I know there'ss aa Sixt branch there. You could get one of those 2WD MBs - make a fine rental sled.

I am surprised Hertz is so junky - they once had a better rep. Maybe it's the location. Come to think of it, I haven't rented a car this year - all road trips in my own car. But next year I have a trip or two in mind, the rental is part of the fun if you are willing to spend just a little more, and count driving as part of the experience. I'd switch out the shaky car, too.

nyccarguy said:

Hello everyone from the beach in sunny Naples, FL.  Weather, Hotel, Food, even the airport is fantastic.

I almost pulled a Fintail-esq maneuver with the rental car.

stickguy

the 2 I had with all the miles (guess I still live in the past, when rentals were cut loose after a year or approaching 20K miles!) both came from smaller airports (Columbia SC and Greensboro NC). So not local stores where you more expect it.

a bit of a crap shoot I guess. In GB last month, we were at the end of the row, and there were some nice, pretty new looking cars we passed.

iluvmysephia1

Has anyone heard anything new on when the redesigned Mazda 2 is gonna be released? Now that I'm drivin' and diggin' my '11 Kia Soul I'm lost on where we stand with the new 2.

ab348

xwesx said:

Wow, ab... who knew that you had your own personal angels?!

Yeah, it was a bit bizarre. It was a mom with her 2 adult sons. Very redneck. The boys were smoking while gas was pouring from the disabled Taurus, very worrying. The mom was trying to convince me to join her at a Bluegrass festival! I resisted, nicely I assume. In the end, though, they did good and it all worked out. I suppose it could have been a FBI case if it went south.

One other thing I forgot about - after they made the call to Budget for me and eventually departed, I was standing there waiting. At one point a Florida State Trooper car pulls up. Trooper rolls down the window, says you can't park here. I explain that the car is disabled and help is coming. His response: "This is a bad area, don't stay too long." Then he pulls away. Thanks, pal.

brian125

iluvmysephia1 said:

Has anyone heard anything new on when the redesigned Mazda 2 is gonna be released? Now that I'm drivin' and diggin' my '11 Kia Soul I'm lost on where we stand with the new 2.

There was no announcement on a timeframe for U.S. sales, but because it’s being released as a 2016 model year, it can’t be sold here until the 2015 calendar year. last thing I read was sometime in may 2015/ mid year

iluvmysephia1

Thanks, brian125. I figured I'd have seen it on the net by now if it was released already. I'm not in the market anymore but I'm kind of interested in the 2016 Mazda 2 and how it drives and looks.

Sandman6472

I drove 2 of the Impala Classics from Miami airport today back to our store and both drove fine with no shake or shimmy. One had 27k and the other had 29k so must've been that particular vehicle. 90% of the vehicles I drive have no issues at all with the other 10% being tire issues or small dents and knicks. Any body damage is kept out of the rentable fleet and drivers like me are called upon to take them to maintenance to be repaired. I go to Lauderdale and Miami airports at least 5 times each week bringing vehicles that have issues due to customer neglect or accident. That's why it's probably a good idea to buy the offered insurance because no one knows when they might have an accident!

The Sandman

brian125

@sandman_6472

Have you had the opportunity to drive a 2015 Sentra yet? . Curious on your take. I drove a 2014 model and thought it was a nice ride for a small vehicle. roomy interior , handled fine and trunk space was better than I thought . Engine seem to labor up hills but overall a nice car with comfortable seats. Liked it better than the Chevy Cruze, and Corolla.

Sandman6472

Haven't tried a '15 but have driven plenty of '14 and hate the brakes...simply awful and the reason I won't ;et my wife even put it on her short list. Like everything else about it but the brakes are absolutely dismal!!!


The Sandman

fintail

An old joke I remember back then, the official Florida tourism slogan: "Maybe you won't get shot". And a sign at the GA border read: "We'll get you next time"

ab348 said:

Trooper rolls down the window, says you can't park here. I explain that the car is disabled and help is coming. His response: "This is a bad area, don't stay too long." Then he pulls away. Thanks, pal.

nyccarguy

The amount of driving I'm actually doing isn't worth the hassle if the phone call.  Besides the shake rattle & rolling, this Impala Classic isn't that bad.  Good pick up off the line, Smooth suspension, smooth shifting transmission.  Comfortable too.  

brian125

sandman_6472 said:

Haven't tried a '15 but have driven plenty of '14 and hate the brakes...simply awful and the reason I won't ;et my wife even put it on her short list. Like everything else about it but the brakes are absolutely dismal!!!




Didn't notice brakes. What do you mean by dismal? pedal to the floor before stopping or reaction time before stop?

brian125

fintail said:

An old joke I remember back then, the official Florida tourism slogan: "Maybe you won't get shot". And a sign at the GA border read: "We'll get you next time"

ab348 said:

Trooper rolls down the window, says you can't park here. I explain that the car is disabled and help is coming. His response: "This is a bad area, don't stay too long." Then he pulls away. Thanks, pal.

Do Florida cops even know what real police work is.? lol

corvette

rny421 said:

What about a Buick Verano? I had one as a rental and it was actually a great car. Quiet, smooth, peppy, liked the 2.4 engine better than the cruze's 1.4T. Not sure how close this one is to you, but it's pretty "cheap" and loaded. Although if I remember, you're like me and a sunroof is a "must have" which I don't think this has.

This drives me nuts... How does a car have backup camera, park assist, blind spot alert, cross traffic alert, remote start, telematics, and nav but no sunroof? I know the sunroof can add weight and affect the EPA ratings if more than a certain percentage are sold with the option, but still... Honda does it right, the sunroof is standard on the upper trim levels.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

Car literally starts to shake at 45 mph.  At 70 on the highway it kept wanting to switch lanes.  I almost stopped at a good year tire shop to get an alignment in the rental, but didn't.

The Xterra I rented in Austin, TX a year or two ago had an unsettling vibration above 90 MPH. Nissan's cruise control won't go over 89, so that's where I left it on the interstate.

corvette

sandman_6472 said:

Haven't tried a '15 but have driven plenty of '14 and hate the brakes...simply awful and the reason I won't ;et my wife even put it on her short list. Like everything else about it but the brakes are absolutely dismal!!!


The Sandman

Do they feel bad/soft, vibrate, or something else? I remember when I had both the Altima and the 540i in the fleet, the brakes on the BMW were much more firm and grabby. The Altima's brakes were very capable, but required a lot more pedal travel (and the pedal was softer) when making a firm stop.

I agree on the old Impala which is now the Impala Limited. Very dated and little in the way of infotainment, but a comfortable rental car. Haven't driven the newer ones with the 3.6 liter V6, but I'm sure it's an improvement over the 3.5 I last drove.

rayainsw

Corvette: "The Xterra I rented...unsettling vibration above 90 MPH. "

LOL

= Ray

Started my morning off right!

stickguy

I think I need help. I got tired of scratching out lease payments on a pad, so I recreated in an excel spreadsheet. I guess I was too lazy to find a good one on the internet (I do have bankrate bookmarked for a slick loan payment calculator).

was actually quite easy. Now, just have to plug in the few basic variables, and out pops the answer. And the first one I ran seems to say that based on True Car, I can get a 2014 Jetta base SE for $4,500 off MSRP. Use that in a lease, assuming nothing special for residual/MF, and paying just DMV + 1sr payment at inception, and should be able to roll out with a payment including tax of about $190/mo. Not too shabby.

nyccarguy

Stick

Seems like a good deal.  Just don't suck yourself into "for only $200, $225, $240 per month I can get a _________."

$190 becomes $300 very quickly;)

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I think I need help. I got tired of scratching out lease payments on a pad, so I recreated in an excel spreadsheet. I guess I was too lazy to find a good one on the internet (I do have bankrate bookmarked for a slick loan payment calculator).

was actually quite easy. Now, just have to plug in the few basic variables, and out pops the answer. And the first one I ran seems to say that based on True Car, I can get a 2014 Jetta base SE for $4,500 off MSRP. Use that in a lease, assuming nothing special for residual/MF, and paying just DMV + 1sr payment at inception, and should be able to roll out with a payment including tax of about $190/mo. Not too shabby.

My 10-yr-old created the Excel spreadsheet for calculating leases, that I still use.. and, he is 20, now. It is as rudimentary as it gets.

The thing about leases? You can calculate them with pencil and paper... Try doing that with a car loan.

Mr_Shiftright

You should check out the Hertz in Sonoma sometime. It has all the ambience of a small grocery store situated in some mountainous region of the Balkans. One time I went there with a friend and there was a handwritten note scrawled on a torn piece of notepaper---"Out to Lunch".

You got that right!

fintail said:

You should have flown into Tampa, I know there'ss aa Sixt branch there. You could get one of those 2WD MBs - make a fine rental sled.

I am surprised Hertz is so junky - they once had a better rep. Maybe it's the location. Come to think of it, I haven't rented a car this year - all road trips in my own car. But next year I have a trip or two in mind, the rental is part of the fun if you are willing to spend just a little more, and count driving as part of the experience. I'd switch out the shaky car, too.

nyccarguy said:

Hello everyone from the beach in sunny Naples, FL.  Weather, Hotel, Food, even the airport is fantastic.

I almost pulled a Fintail-esq maneuver with the rental car.

Michaell

Just had the E-GT in for its fifth service in 12 months ... glad I pre-paid for them!

No issues to speak of, except the dealer wanted me to spend $235.99 on a 15,000 mile service that seemed to include nothing more than an engine and injector clean and a cabin air filter replace. Pass.

Had a '15 Elantra Sedan Limited as the loaner. Nav, backup camera, keyless entry and start, sunroof and (p)leather. Nice car - wish I had upgraded on my GT to include them.

Service rep told me that 600 new cars were damaged in the hail storm that got the daughter's MINI - the dealer is only a mile or so from the office. New Elantras for as little as $11.5K.

jayrider

No issues to speak of, except the dealer wanted me to spend $235.99 on a 15,000 mile service that seemed to include nothing more than an engine and injector clean and a cabin air filter replace. Pass.

Can't blame them for trying. I wonder how many OK's they get out of 50 offers.

stickguy

11.5? Yes, I would take one with some dimples stamped as hail damaged and hand it to my daughter to use through college and keep at the end. that is a good deal. Would not even care that she does not like them.

she does have a valid reason (at least on the Sonata). when we test drove it, she had a terrible time seeing out of it. Might be because she is short, but the blind spots were nasty for her.

henryn

stickguy said:

11.5? Yes, I would take one with some dimples stamped as hail damaged and hand it to my daughter to use through college and keep at the end. that is a good deal. Would not even care that she does not like them.

A year or two back we had a major hail storm here, hit a row of dealers down on the freeway. I went down and looked at some of the cars. Modern cars have a lot of things that can be damaged by hail. Rear view mirrors, trim everywhere, it was a major big deal, not just dimples in the sheet metal.

Back nearly 20 years ago I had a custom van, a 3/4 ton Chevy. It was heavily damaged on the roof and hood (what little hood it had) in a hail storm. As the van was already 4 years old, and no one would ever see the roof anyway, I had the hood fixed, several trim pieces, and both outside rear view mirrors replaced. I pocketed the $1,100 it would have cost to fix the roof. When I sold it 2 years later, the new buyer never even looked at the roof.

stickguy

it would of course depend on the level of damage, and assuming the safety type items (glass, mirrors) were repaired correctly. Trim, etc.? Not worried. Not for a car that will live at college for 3.5 years! Take the OCD out of play at least.

stickguy

funny thing about damage. Owners (well, those of us that obsess about everything auto related) get all worried about any flaws when you go to sell. But buyers often don't (the exception being the few loonies that expect any old car to be better than showroom new).

early in its life my accord had a parking lot incident, and ended up with a damaged front bumper skin. some cracks, rumples and a decent sized hole. I of course thought it was a major flaw. Always bugged me. Just not enough to replace it.

when I went to sell it, I assumed potential buyers would immediately see the damage, and grill me, grind me, or run away. Instead, the couple that came to see it first (and of course bought it, being one of my cars!) I am pretty sure never actually noticed it. I did not bother to force them to look, but they were in front of the car, and it was obvious.

You never know what people will care about.

corvette

stickguy said:

she does have a valid reason (at least on the Sonata). when we test drove it, she had a terrible time seeing out of it. Might be because she is short, but the blind spots were nasty for her.

Heh... They specifically advertised the good visibility on the new Sonata vs. the competitors when the new model came out in

Michaell said:

Just had the E-GT in for its fifth service in 12 months ... glad I pre-paid for them!

Sheesh, is the service interval every 3,750 miles? I think the oil level on my GLI has risen due to fuel dilution as a consequence of my 2 mile commute.

corvette

stickguy said:

11.5? Yes, I would take one with some dimples stamped as hail damaged and hand it to my daughter to use through college and keep at the end. that is a good deal. Would not even care that she does not like them.

Hey, stick, I have the perfect car for you to give to your daughter - Scratch & Dent Edition Volvo:
http://www.rallye-motors.com/2006-Volvo-S40/Used-Car/Cincinnati-OH/5082084/Details.aspx

I'm not convinced it has stability control, as that wasn't standard until 2007 (then again, you already own a 2007 example).

stickguy

well, I have a full quota of S40s. Don't need another. Though overall, that sounds a lot like mine, just a year older.

corvette

stickguy said:

well, I have a full quota of S40s. Don't need another. Though overall, that sounds a lot like mine, just a year older.

Looks a lot rougher than yours!

stickguy

the dealer is right though. Solid as a bank vault, and perfect for a teens HS car.

just stretched it a bit with "cool and sporty".

Michaell

corvette said:

stickguy said:

she does have a valid reason (at least on the Sonata). when we test drove it, she had a terrible time seeing out of it. Might be because she is short, but the blind spots were nasty for her.

Heh... They specifically advertised the good visibility on the new Sonata vs. the competitors when the new model came out in

Michaell said:

Just had the E-GT in for its fifth service in 12 months ... glad I pre-paid for them!

Sheesh, is the service interval every 3,750 miles? I think the oil level on my GLI has risen due to fuel dilution as a consequence of my 2 mile commute.

Exactly .,, 3750 miles between oil changes. Don't want to upset the gods at Hyundai should I ever need to file a powertrain claim.

The good news is that the accumulation should start to slow down. I dropped one delivery shift a week - only 3 now instead of 4. Am finding I can go a whole week between fill ups - 250 to 325 miles per depending on how busy the shift is and how much other driving I do.

Pushing 19K miles and my one year anniversary is 11/7.

Sandman6472

Whenever I fill up now, the range shows between 358 to 355 which isn't great but acceptable and I usually go a week between fill ups depending on useage. my commutes to work is 60 miles round trip and I work either 3 or 3.5 days a week depending on how quickly I accumulate my hours. Wish the office was closer but I don't want to transfer to the local office because I am comfortable where I'm at. Right now am at just under 14k and think I'll be at 15k on 12/1, the date I took it home last year. Those few months of driving to and from West Palm Beach added a lot since it was close to an 80 mile round trip but have been on a leave of absence since the end of March and not sure I want to go back actually.
The vehicle with the longest range that I've driven at work is the Altima and it's usually around 500 miles give or take with a full tank. Drove a few newer ones this week and must say that I don't even notice that it's got a cvt tranny to be honest as it drives like a normal car. If I were in the market for a mid sized vehicle, this would be on my short list!!!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Wife just went out to look at vehicles and gave her a list which included the Mazda3 i Touring, the Elantra GLS with preferred package and the Accent GLS with alloys and cruise control. I like the Elantra Limited but she don't want a sunroof though it would be cool to have one. Told her she really needs to go on a weekday when it's less busy but she's free today and she has to start sometime. Just hope she finds something she would like to own for the next 8 to 20 years. On thing I do know, once I hit 60k on mine, I'll seriously look at a replacement and see what's out there then as I'd like to swap out while I'm still working part time.

The Sandman

jayrider

sandman_6472 said:

Wife just went out to look at vehicles and gave her a list which included the Mazda3 i Touring, the Elantra GLS with preferred package and the Accent GLS with alloys and cruise control. I like the Elantra Limited but she don't want a sunroof though it would be cool to have one. Told her she really needs to go on a weekday when it's less busy but she's free today and she has to start sometime. Just hope she finds something she would like to own for the next 8 to 20 years. On thing I do know, once I hit 60k on mine, I'll seriously look at a replacement and see what's out there then as I'd like to swap out while I'm still working part time.

The Sandman

Sandy, Your wife seems to have a real firm idea on what she wants in a car. I would let her make a choice without much input from you. If you get too involved in the purchase and she isn't happy down the road ?.... I'm just saying.

stickguy

I agree about it being her choice, but I also think he is right giving her a few suggestions, based on his much broader experience (and of course, all of us!) of options that, based on what she has said she likes, sound like good "short list" options.

once she drives them, if she wants to by a Trabant, let her do it without saying a word.

Sandman6472

She loved the Mazda3 I Touring especially all the safety gear and went back for a 2nd drive. She drove the Accent and said meh, it was o k and didn't get to try the Elantra as the guy she dealt with wasn't too interested she said. Tried the Imprezza and said it was just o k. I told her to try a Elantra, Kia Rio and Kia Forte so she can see the difference between Hyundai and Kia, not much. Also mentioned the Toyota Prius since she wants to try a hybrid, Buick Verano, Chevy Cruze and Sonic, VW Jetta and a Corolla just to name a few. As of now, I'm done but will answer questions and told her to look at Edmunds.com and Truecar.com as they have a wealth of information about everything.
Didn't realize she likes all those safety features but let her know that these things add onto the bottom line so she needs to factor these things into how much she wants to spend but figure that $25k otd is the upper most limit she'd ever go. Should be an interesting couple of months here until she pulls the triggerbut I know it'll be before December 31st at midnight!

The Sandman

stickguy

Told you she just needed to go to Mazda. Consider it inevitable at this point. And the 2015 has the good stuff standard. Backup cam with blind spot monitoring and rear cross path warning. That is on the i Touring at MSRP $21,400.

the only fancy stuff (that none of the other options she is looking at has anyway) that you can pay extra for is a forward collision warning and mitigation system and a lane-departure warning system, That is only available on the SGT, which is going to sticker over 30 large.

True car type pricing on the i touring should be right in the 20-20.5K range. So add Doc/DMV/tax, subtract her trade, and going to be way under 25K OTD. And frankly, that is the nicest car of the bunch. Only the Jetta is comparable, and that still needs some options added and you don't get some of the safety stuff either.

breld

If this would've been available before I bought my 535 earlier this summer....

M-sport 5-wagon

breld

I'm intrigued by this too.

Manual Accord EX

Lot of car for the money - like many of us, I prefer the look of the Sport model, but the EX does have some nice tech features and a sunroof.

breld

Over the weekend, my wife was using the van to pick up a dining table she found on craigslist. After she picks it up, she calls to ask where the nearest gas station is, as she's running low.

A few minutes later I get another call from her - the car totally ran out of gas and she's stuck on the side of the road (thankfully in a relatively safe location). Fortuitously, I am at a 7-11 getting some snacks for my son's baseball game, so I purchase a gas can, fill it up, and have her up and running pretty quickly.

So....she takes some responsibility, but places most of the blame on the fact that the Ody has a indiscrete warning light and no audible chime to warn of low fuel.

That, plus the lack of Bluetooth, has her suggesting we now need a new van.

Since I am the one who primarily drives the Ody, I'm not too motivated to spend the money on an upgrade. But if I did....it'd probably just be an upgraded Odyssey - get into a 2011+ newer model. Though I am actually quite intrigued by the new Kia Sedona - except that would mean going new, and much more money.

Funny - the thought of a new van doesn't exactly get the juices flowing.

Michaell

breld said:

If this would've been available before I bought my 535 earlier this summer....

M-sport 5-wagon

wow - wonder if I could talk the wife into this.

AWD? Check.

Wagon? Check. (she doesn't want her next car to be an SUV/CUV)

Fast? Check plus.

Loaded? Looks to be, though she wants all the latest safety equipment (blind spot, rear camera, etc.)

About the only thing wrong with it is that it's used ... she's just not a fan of that.