Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

after all you went through to get this one, hang onto it for a while. at least until 2016!

abacomike

stickguy said:

after all you went through to get this one, hang onto it for a while. at least until 2016!

Definitely!!!   

sda

I was intrigued by an article by Consumer Report stating that Cadillac was deep discounting to move the remaining 14s. Sure enough, locally ATS for 10k off, CTS up to 17.8 k off. Wow. Is GM taking a whooper loss on these? i did not think there was that much profit in these.

qbrozen

Hmmm... $13,500 off a V sport.

eh... not fast enough to replace the mustang, though.

qbrozen

speaking of cadillac, I picked up a coworker at the nissan dealer where she was getting service done and they have a used CTS-V up front. I took a peak. It is an '09 automatic, steel grey with light tan interior. Driver's seat was kind of beat up. I have no idea how many miles. I'm wondering if its the one bought at auction in NY 5 days ago with 64k miles for 28k. I wouldn't be interested at those miles and price, of course. Also not too keen on the 6-speed auto in that car.

henryn

Wow! 5 years old, or should I say 6 years old, beat up driver's seat, and $28k at auction? Seems unreal to me.

breld

Alright - I've been eyeing this used Durango for weeks now, and the asking price keeps dropping. Today, it dropped another $1k.

2014 Durango Limited

I could ask over at the RWTIV forum, but I'm curious about others' thoughts too. So Q - what are these going for at auction?

This dealer has two like this one - this silver one and another white one. On one hand, they're the cheapest in my area on cars.com, and seem to be good buys based on KBB values. On the other hand, you can get a brand new one for $4k off, or for about $38-39k. At $28-29k, these used ones start looking really attractive, but they may be bottoming out in the low $30k's.

nyccarguy

@‌breld

Does it have a HEMI?

No!

NEXT!

breld

Ha!

I do need to get something resembling decent gas mileage!

Although if I'm going for something more manly than the Odyssey, I suppose I should go all the way, huh?

Mr_Shiftright

Drove a used Porsche Boxster S yesterday---nice blue color, low miles, fast, clean, priced a tad high.....but it has me wondering if I'm a convertible kind of guy anymore? It' not like the San Francisco Bay Area is the tropics after all. And I'm the guy who is always advising people: "Don't buy a car for a feature you use only 5% of the time". You can RENT that 5%.

On the other hand, I've been talking to Jacques Andres, who owns Bay Bridge Motors (he built the twin-engined, 500HP MINI featured on the Jay Leno show, so you know he's nuts), and we're discussing whether to just pour a quick $5K or so into the old 2003 Mini and revitalize it---a little faster, a little better handling, some minor cosmetics, a monster detailing......like that...

On the used truck front....as you can tell I am a meticulous shopper who travels with cash in hand....I guess you'd say "I'll know it when I see it" kind of buyer.

I thought Dream Truck was at hand---looked good, had all the right equipment, good CARFAX, price was right....clean interior....and then I sat in it.

Well, the stench of mildew was so overpowering I actually thought about laundering my clothes when I got home and taking a shower. Obviously, the interior of this car would have to be torn down to bare metal. No thanks.

The search continues and the wheels keep turning!

stickguy

I'm starting a pool. Which happens first: shifty buys an old pick up, or road burner buys a hot rod?

qbrozen

there is an absolute glut of these at auction, but all are in that $30k-$31k range, so I don't know why that one is priced so cheap.

Mr_Shiftright

Ha! Could be a long wait, knowing us. You should invest your betting money so that it'd collect interest!

But you never know. I shopped for a MINI for almost a year, and then I spotted one off the freeway on a dealer's lot, just the right color, and bought it that same day. So you just never know. It has to tickle JUST the right spot for me. I even bought a Porsche 928 without looking for one.

Hey, gimme some slack. I have an outstanding record in years past!

slorenzen

" I even bought a Porsche 928 without looking for one."

Wow, SERIOUS money pit!

Mr_Shiftright

SERIOUS. I got into so much trouble with that car. It was like the devil possessed me when I got behind the wheel. I should never own a Hellcat, that's for sure.

I think I'll test drive a latermodel Corvette C4 next. Never owned one of those. I don't like the big butt C5s and C6s.

What I really need....not "want" but NEED is 4 vehicles. I need a supercharged MINI for precision urban warfare, I need a convertible for norther California summer months, I need a truck for winter rains and hauling, and I need a GT coupe of some sort for long distance travel.

is that too much to ask?

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

SERIOUS. I got into so much trouble with that car. It was like the devil possessed me when I got behind the wheel. I should never own a Hellcat, that's for sure.

I think I'll test drive a latermodel Corvette C4 next. Never owned one of those. I don't like the big butt C5s and C6s.

What I really need....not "want" but NEED is 4 vehicles. I need a supercharged MINI for precision urban warfare, I need a convertible for norther California summer months, I need a truck for winter rains and hauling, and I need a GT coupe of some sort for long distance travel.

is that too much to ask?

If I could, I'd keep my MS3 for commuting and hooning around, have a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon for farm/mud/snow duties, a Boss 302(or upcoming GT 350) for my track rat, and a Charger Hellcat for the "family car." And I'd have to keep my 1995 ti and 1975 2002 to commemorate the era when BMW built cars that were meant to be driven by enthusiasts and not to be worn by status-conscious pricks.

graphicguy

sda said:

I was intrigued by an article by Consumer Report stating that Cadillac was deep discounting to move the remaining 14s. Sure enough, locally ATS for 10k off, CTS up to 17.8 k off. Wow. Is GM taking a whooper loss on these? i did not think there was that much profit in these.

That's true about Caddy discounting the best they make (ATS and CTS).

Those V-Sports are some of the sweetest luxury cars I've ever driven.

My dealer said his biz is up 27% this year per units sold and gross revenues, even though Cadillac overall is down.

With Cadillac rebates, he said he'll have a record 4th qtr. This is for a dealership that's been around 4+ decades, and sells nothing but Cadillacs.

In short, Cadillac's money tree is doing good things for the dealership, and their customers (like me).

It's not like these cars are dogs, either. The CTS just hit Car and Driver's best 10 list. And, the ATS is right there, too. Both are great cars.

My dealer says he's always strong with Escalades and SRXs. He said the only dogs in his showroom are the ELR (electric) and XTS (because it appeals to the older, former Caddy market).

He said the Escalades fly out of the store. The SRX's are popular, but they can at least keep stock on them. Not so with the Escalade.

CTS and ATS are their volume cars.

I think they said they sell more ATS/CTS than any other dealer in the state.

Great cars without a big discount. Icing on the cake if you are in the market and can take advantage of the big discounts, right now.

Their new CAdillac CEO came from Infiniti and Audi and said Cacillac is going to price their cars according to the level the competition does. So, that means the ATS will be priced like a 3 Series, C Class and A4. The CTS like a Mercedes E Class, Audi A6 and the BMW 5 Series.

nyccarguy

"And I'd have to keep my 1995 ti and 1975 2002 to commemorate the era when BMW built cars that were meant to be driven by enthusiasts and not to be worn by status-conscious pricks."

Speaking of, the BMW "badge wearers" are the ones we most poke fun at, but the other morning with some wet snow on the ground and falling I noticed a Z4 darting from lane to lane, riding people's rear ends, trying to drive much faster than the traffic in front of him, and switching lanes dangerously close. Now I'm the first person to move over for an aggressive driver (especially in my 175 hp Legacy), but there was literally no where to me to go (well, I could have moved over into the shoulder). He cut in front of me (i was in the left lane) and came within 6" of my front bumper. He had a special New York "BMW CCA" license plate. So its not only the status conscious badge wearers who are pricks

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

"And I'd have to keep my 1995 ti and 1975 2002 to commemorate the era when BMW built cars that were meant to be driven by enthusiasts and not to be worn by status-conscious pricks."

Speaking of, the BMW "badge wearers" are the ones we most poke fun at, but the other morning with some wet snow on the ground and falling I noticed a Z4 darting from lane to lane, riding people's rear ends, trying to drive much faster than the traffic in front of him, and switching lanes dangerously close. Now I'm the first person to move over for an aggressive driver (especially in my 175 hp Legacy), but there was literally no where to me to go (well, I could have moved over into the shoulder). He cut in front of me (i was in the left lane) and came within 6" of my front bumper. He had a special New York "BMW CCA" license plate. So its not only the status conscious badge wearers who are pricks

I'll agree there, when I was on the CCA Board we actually kicked some people out of the organization for their conduct at club events, etc,

breld

Wife and I went to look at Durangos over the lunch hour. I shouldn't have driven the Hemi.

au1994

"And I'd have to keep my 1995 ti and 1975 2002 to commemorate the era when BMW built cars that were meant to be driven by enthusiasts and not to be worn by status-conscious pricks."

My kingdom for a true sports sedan! Becoming less enamored with the 335i

roadburner said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

SERIOUS. I got into so much trouble with that car. It was like the devil possessed me when I got behind the wheel. I should never own a Hellcat, that's for sure.

I think I'll test drive a latermodel Corvette C4 next. Never owned one of those. I don't like the big butt C5s and C6s.

What I really need....not "want" but NEED is 4 vehicles. I need a supercharged MINI for precision urban warfare, I need a convertible for norther California summer months, I need a truck for winter rains and hauling, and I need a GT coupe of some sort for long distance travel.

is that too much to ask?

If I could, I'd keep my MS3 for commuting and hooning around, have a Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon for farm/mud/snow duties, a Boss 302(or upcoming GT 350) for my track rat, and a Charger Hellcat for the "family car." And I'd have to keep my 1995 ti and 1975 2002 to commemorate the era when BMW built cars that were meant to be driven by enthusiasts and not to be worn by status-conscious pricks.

Its so odd for me to go from the E46 to the F30. Shocking how the dynamics of the a car can change over 8 years.

The 335 will be my last 3. Its a very nice car and the engine and transmission combo are spectacular but there is no driving enthusiast blood left. Steering is numb, handling while not numb doesn't inspire confidence.

Not sure if there are any true sport sedans out there in the vein of the former 3 series so I'm not sure what route I will go next but I am beginning to like the luxury CUV's: Q5, RDX, GLK but surprisingly not the X3.

nyccarguy

breld said:

Wife and I went to look at Durangos over the lunch hour. I shouldn't have driven the Hemi.

Whoops. My bad:)

corvette

Abaco, I already had your purchase down as an October delivery... Replacement car? What happened to the original? 

breld

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

Wife and I went to look at Durangos over the lunch hour. I shouldn't have driven the Hemi.

Whoops. My bad:)

Yup - first drove the V6 and it was certainly adequate. Kinda like driving the minivan, which is to say it was just fine.

But they had a "Citadel" model that had other features we liked (like 2nd row captain's chairs) - and it just happened to have the Hemi. I really just wanted more seat time in the car regardless, so I said we should just take that one out and we could get a feel for the Hemi at the same time.

Not surprisingly, the performance of the relatively large "truck" was quite transformative with the extra two cylinders. Of course, the justifiers we are, my wife and I agreed that there's no sense in saving some money on gas if it means I don't like the car.

And, of course, liking the V8 opens the door to the R/T model.

Realistically, with the miles I drive, not sure I could stomach the 16 combined MPG. Though I guess the V6 is only 19 MPG. So the savings really isn't all that much....

See what I'm doing here?!!??!!

au1994

breld said:

Wife and I went to look at Durangos over the lunch hour. I shouldn't have driven the Hemi.

Friend has a Ram regular cab with the Hemi. He let me drive it the other day and yeah, that could get addicting. And costly in rear rubber!

abacomike

corvette said:

Abaco, I already had your purchase down as an October delivery... Replacement car? What happened to the original? 

It came in without Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitors, both of which are standard on the E400.  So after 3 days, they took it back and built me another one.  So I had 2 of them in the last 2 months.

Mercedes came through for me and added the Driver's Assistance Package to the Park Assist, Lighting Pkg., Trar Spoiler, etc.  they paid the difference.  And my dealer added the 19" Wheels and Performance tires for $1290 OTD, saving me $2200.

I love that new E400.  Takes the place of the E550.

stickguy

Breld, just pull out your official Driver1000 cost justification calculator, and you will have extra gas cost a moot point in no time.

Real world in something that size, probably not much difference.

qbrozen

breld said:

Realistically, with the miles I drive, not sure I could stomach the 16 combined MPG. Though I guess the V6 is only 19 MPG. So the savings really isn't all that much....

See what I'm doing here?!!??!!

Huh. Kinda surprised at the mileage numbers given its the same engine as our van but with 2 more gears. It does have AWD, but the RWD only gets 1mpg better. They are pretty similar to our van's EPA numbers. With which BTW, we get about 22 to 23 mpg combined.

breld

You have a HEMI in your van?

Just kidding.

henryn

Speaking of Cadillacs, low prices, and incentives, I just received an email from Cadillac. I wonder if this is just another incentive available to every Tom, Dick, and Harry, or more like the “Chevrolet Private Offer” incentives from a couple of years ago. Those were the real deal, and could save you a cool $1,000.

NOW IS THE TIME.

The holiday season is a great time to purchase a new Cadillac! You can take advantage of these exclusive private offers on the 2014 Cadillac CTS Sedan, ATS, XTS or ELR. These private offers are in addition to most other incentives.

You'll find the latest styles and most innovative technology throughout our entire lineup!




TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
$4,000 PURCHASE CASH ALLOWANCE1
ON A 2014 MODEL YEAR CTS SEDAN


$2,000 PURCHASE CASH ALLOWANCE2
ON A 2014 MODEL YEAR ATS, XTS OR ELR


• Can be combined with most current incentives
• Can be transferred to individual in same household
• Offer ends January 5, 2015
CERTIFICATE NUMBER: _________

stickguy

at this point, it sounds like if you walk in and ask politely, the Caddy dealer just gives you a car.

jayrider

breld said:

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

Wife and I went to look at Durangos over the lunch hour. I shouldn't have driven the Hemi.

Whoops. My bad:)

Yup - first drove the V6 and it was certainly adequate. Kinda like driving the minivan, which is to say it was just fine.

But they had a "Citadel" model that had other features we liked (like 2nd row captain's chairs) - and it just happened to have the Hemi. I really just wanted more seat time in the car regardless, so I said we should just take that one out and we could get a feel for the Hemi at the same time.

Not surprisingly, the performance of the relatively large "truck" was quite transformative with the extra two cylinders. Of course, the justifiers we are, my wife and I agreed that there's no sense in saving some money on gas if it means I don't like the car.

And, of course, liking the V8 opens the door to the R/T model.

Realistically, with the miles I drive, not sure I could stomach the 16 combined MPG. Though I guess the V6 is only 19 MPG. So the savings really isn't all that much....

See what I'm doing here?!!??!!

MPG shouldn't even be on your radar ---- that cost is almost nothing when viewed with depreciation. If you want it -- get it. If your gas bill keeps you from putting food on the table, the posters on this forum will send you a weekly box of bologna, Velveeta and Wonder bread.

breld

You're right, of course - a HEMI Durango would cost me about $70-80 more a month for gas (based on my fancy color-coded MPG comparison spreadsheet ), compared to the Odyssey (the V6 Durango is more or less a wash).

Certainly doesn't keep food off the table, but higher MPG just feels good. Mentally, knowing you're getting in the teens for MPG with all the improvements in efficiency these days is tough.

rayainsw

I'll handle the bread...
= Ray
Drove a couple of 5.7L V8s recently - and understand the attraction........

stever

We get plenty of Spam around here - it's pretty good sliced thin and fried to a nice brown sheen.

Talked up a Kia Soul owner today who downsized from a Tahoe. Four passengers fit nicely and he likes the gas mileage and it's fun to drive. Filling a car to the brim like we tend to do may be a challenge.

stickguy

I love spam. My wife refuses to buy it, so if I want it I need to shop for myself.

Breld, how the heck many miles do you drive the big family truckster a month? I can't believe you get more than 25 on the Odyssey. Say 18 for the Durango. At 1K miles/month, you are burning an extra 15 gallons. At $3/gallon (if it goes back up!) that is $45/month.

so I guess if you are putting 1,500 miles/month on it (18K/year) you might blow $70 extra. Consider it the price of being "cool".

ab348

breld said:

See what I'm doing here?!!??!!

Oh yeah. The old, "Well, just one more can't possibly hurt me..." rationalization.

We love it too.

ab348

stickguy said:

at this point, it sounds like if you walk in and ask politely, the Caddy dealer just gives you a car.

Well, not quite. But those incentives in the mailing are just scratching the surface. I got something in excess of $7K off sticker on my ATS, and as for @graphicguy, well, I am reminded of the old "Start the car!" Ikea commercial in his case...

corvette

abacomike said:

It came in without Lane Tracking and Blind Spot Monitors, both of which are standard on the E400.  So after 3 days, they took it back and built me another one.  So I had 2 of them in the last 2 months.

Wow. I wonder what happens with the "old" one? Sold as a used car with no representations as to the features? Sent to the crusher/recycler?

I remember when my parents bought a new Volvo 960, there was a burlwood shortage. That wasn't a problem on the 850, as wood trim was (I think) a dealer installed accessory. The 960 had wood trim standard. There were several 960s on the lot with a "Wood trim delete" option on the factory sticker, with a credit of a few hundred bucks. I doubt Mercedes would do such a thing.

graphicguy

AB...ATS and CTS...both great cars for the money. Add in the discounts, and they become outstanding....so much so, my dealer is having a tough time moving the '15s, which don't have any trunk money included.

Sandman6472

The ride home tonight was extremely smooth so I think it's "learning" my driving style I guess. I don't miss the 2.4 engine like I thought I would to be honest. And we had a Kia Sportage at work today and I don't really miss the tucson honestly, miss some things about it but not the overall vehicle. I liked the car but didn't really love it if that makes any sense! Need to sit down and read the manual so I can go in and ask all my questions. The wife did it the other day but came up with a few more and she also needs a car wash. It's great that both our dealers are so close to our house that we can drop over whenever...hate when I used to have to drive half way over town to get to Honda but the Nissan dealer is over there. Luckily the Hyundai store is very close also.
Just heard the Accent is coming home tomorrow so I will check out the sneakers and put some new ones on if they are that bad...they couldn't rotate them in August and they are leaving a week from Wednesday for their road trip. Think I'll get it it's yearly detail when they come home as it'll be a bit nasty. But now I guess I'll have to stick it in the garage until they leave or move cars around before the mailman comes, he bitches if we park it in the street though our box is on the other side of the driveway! Really hate to leave mine outside at night and don't mind moving vehicles around before I go to work.

The Sandman

sda

They are really nice cars. Very tempting. 2014 ATS 2.5, sunroof, heated seats, $24660. I know it isn't the 2.0t or 3.6, yet what a buy! Too soon for me as I promised to keep the Accord for a long time. What have I done?

graphicguy said:

AB...ATS and CTS...both great cars for the money. Add in the discounts, and they become outstanding....so much so, my dealer is having a tough time moving the '15s, which don't have any trunk money included.

ab348

That is an unbelievable price, @sda.

stickguy

I don't think I could convince myself to get that car with the 2.5 instead of the 2.0T. Would have to save a whole lotta cash. Then I would probably regret it.

abacomike

@corvette said:

"Wow. I wonder what happens with the "old" one? Sold as a used car with no representations as to the features? Sent to the crusher/recycler? 

I do not know what they did with the first car - it only had 123 miles on it.  The car was never titled to me, so it was a new car.  I forgot to ask the dealer what they did with the car.  Mercedes stepped up and bent over backwards for me.

The 19" Mercedes optional wheels and summer performance tires they put on today were also part of the dealer's doing. The dealersip was outstanding and did everything they could to make me happy.

breld

stickguy said:

I love spam. My wife refuses to buy it, so if I want it I need to shop for myself.

Breld, how the heck many miles do you drive the big family truckster a month? I can't believe you get more than 25 on the Odyssey. Say 18 for the Durango. At 1K miles/month, you are burning an extra 15 gallons. At $3/gallon (if it goes back up!) that is $45/month.

so I guess if you are putting 1,500 miles/month on it (18K/year) you might blow $70 extra. Consider it the price of being "cool".

Well, yeah, I drive around 20k miles a year, maybe a little more. It's always been spread among 2 or 3 cars, but the idea behind something like a durango would be that it could be the primary commuting car for me - something enjoyable, but with the third row.

So with the miles I drive, the fuel efficiency does add up. But still a question whether it's worth it to forego something I'd enjoy.

abacomike

abacomike said:

@corvette said:

"Wow. I wonder what happens with the "old" one? Sold as a used car with no representations as to the features? Sent to the crusher/recycler? 

I do not know what they did with the first car - it only had 123 miles on it.  The car was never titled to me, so it was a new car.  I forgot to ask the dealer what they did with the car.  Mercedes stepped up and bent over backwards for me.

The 19" Mercedes optional wheels and summer performance tires they put on today were also part of the dealer's doing. The dealersip was outstanding and did everything they could to make me happy.

Corvette, I just saw the car they took back on the dealer's inventory - 10 photos of it.  The've had the car 7 weeks so I would imagine they are selling it as a new car but with a revised Monroney or an addendum. Original MSRP was $69285 I believe, but I am sure someone is going to get a stupendous deal on it.  It has everything except lane tracking and Blindspot monitors.

au1994

abacomike said:

abacomike said:

@corvette said:

"Wow. I wonder what happens with the "old" one? Sold as a used car with no representations as to the features? Sent to the crusher/recycler? 

I do not know what they did with the first car - it only had 123 miles on it.  The car was never titled to me, so it was a new car.  I forgot to ask the dealer what they did with the car.  Mercedes stepped up and bent over backwards for me.

The 19" Mercedes optional wheels and summer performance tires they put on today were also part of the dealer's doing. The dealersip was outstanding and did everything they could to make me happy.

Corvette, I just saw the car they took back on the dealer's inventory - 10 photos of it.  The've had the car 7 weeks so I would imagine they are selling it as a new car but with a revised Monroney or an addendum. Original MSRP was $69285 I believe, but I am sure someone is going to get a stupendous deal on it.  It has everything except lane tracking and Blindspot monitors.

Glad Mercedes and the dealer stepped up for you. That could have turned out messy! I'd love to have been on the other end of some of those conversations between the dealer and corporate.

qbrozen

so here's something I find a little odd. Just perusing and came upon an XJ supercharged for sale, so I was doing a little digging ... how did Jaguar manage to make the XF weight MORE than the XJ? I'm comparing 2012 models of each in supercharged form. The XJ is only about 30 lbs lighter, but lighter nonetheless, while being a class larger.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

so here's something I find a little odd. Just perusing and came upon an XJ supercharged for sale, so I was doing a little digging ... how did Jaguar manage to make the XF weight MORE than the XJ? I'm comparing 2012 models of each in supercharged form. The XJ is only about 30 lbs lighter, but lighter nonetheless, while being a class larger.

More aluminum (aluminium?) in the body of the XJ?