Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen

OK, I know we shot down the used XF-R, but what about this beauty?

Putting aside what you may personally think of its looks, because I happen to love it. Only thing with that one is that I don't know if it has the sport chrono pack.

I brought up the point to the wife about financing a car that is already 5 years old and her response was "what the hell does it matter if you only keep it for 2 years?" hmmm...

graphicguy

Shifty....too cool...congratz.

graphicguy

Q...count me in as one who likes the styling of that Panny, too. Like that color, also. Nice car.

graphicguy

henryn said:

Michaell said:

Got a phone call from my son today ... his '97 Mustang might be on its last legs. He took a friend to LAX yesterday and it decided to overheat on him at the terminal.

Prognosis is a new radiator, water pump and heater core. The odo died a couple of years ago with just over 147K on it, so I figure it's got 160-170K on it now. 3.8L V6, 4 speed auto.

Son has a Fiesta rental for the day - he likes all the new tech available. Not sure if he can afford a car payment at this time, but I suspect he may start looking more seriously. We shall see.

A quick look turned up a few Focus / Fiesta models with low-ish miles (under 50K) for under $15K.

I would think that you could get a brand new one for less than $18k? Let me go look.
...
Truecar says a brand new 2015 Fiesta for $14,473.

That's about right on the Fiesta. My son bought one of the new versions a couple of years ago. He said the dual clutch trans is a little quirky. But, aside from that, it's a reliable, fun little car.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen‌

I too happen to LOVE the way the Panamera looks. I know you are a DIY guy, but Porsche "stuff" is expensive (Direct Injection means new plugs at 50K). Going to the dealer is a mortgage payment. That being said, that car most likely had a $120K sticker price in 2010 and has relatively no miles. Is it an early build 2010? My Mom's early build 2011 Cayenne had the NAV/Bluetooth/Radio computer crap out on her at 50,100 miles. Luckily they got it covered, otherwise it would have been $5K to replace.

That being said, Porsches are expensive for a reason. There's not a hint of "cheapness" anywhere in the cars. The interiors are beautifully crafted. They build the cars down from the top. The Turbo comes 1st, then they figure out how to make it work in the "less" expensive cars. Unlike BMW that turns the $50K X5 into a $100K X5 ///M.

Despite spending close to 10% of their Cayenne's $60K MSRP on maintenance in 2 1/2 years, my Mom would get another one in a heartbeat.

qbrozen

2-3 years ago, I got to test drive a v6 PDK panamera. I have lusted after them ever since. My only issue was it up shifting itself at redline. The salesperson told me the sport chrono pack fixes that. So I feel that is a must have. Otherwise, the car was wonderful. Really shrinks around you as you drive.

henryn

$12k down. $880 per month for 5 years. For a 5 year old car?

"Going to the dealer is a mortgage payment."

"NAV/Bluetooth/Radio computer ... $5K to replace."

Q, you're going from bad to worse.

nyccarguy

@breld‌

We haven't had an update on the condition of your wife's GTI in a while. Are all the teething issues fixed?

breld

@nyccarguy‌

Thanks for asking. Yeah - I'd say the teething issues have been addressed. Most of it had to do with the grill and part of the rear spoiler on the hatch - those parts were replaced (obviously under warranty) and no issues have come up since.

For Sandy's sake, I believe both those pieces were specific to the GTI, so no worries there.

Funny though - this morning, my wife calls me and shared that her car doesn't have a CD player. Apparently, she dug out some Christmas CDs she wanted to listen to while driving around today - but unfortunately, nowhere to play them directly in the GTI! Of course, you could download them onto her iPhone, or onto a SD Card, but no simple slot for the CD.

Other than that, she is very happy with her car!

qbrozen

breld said:

Funny though - this morning, my wife calls me and shared that her car doesn't have a CD player. Apparently, she dug out some Christmas CDs she wanted to listen to while driving around today - but unfortunately, nowhere to play them directly in the GTI! Of course, you could download them onto her iPhone, or onto a SD Card, but no simple slot for the CD.

Well, it was bound to happen. Heck, I'm not even sure my Fit has a CD player. Never looked for it.

breld

So last night over dinner, we discussed our desire to upgrade the Odyssey. We decided the simplest, most direct way to address that is to simply get a newer van - that was after many crazy ideas of trading her GTI, or selling my BMW, and then getting an older GTI or a 3-series....All to try to "justify" the cost of new (or newer) van. She finally came to her senses for both of us and proclaimed that we really should just keep the cars we like, and just replace the van we want to upgrade. Radical!

In any case, I suggested we sell the Odyssey first before upgrading, since we wouldn't be short a car in the interim - and not too hard to locate and find a new van.

Here's my question for you all - our Honda, an '09 EX-L RES with 85k miles, is overall in good shape, but does have a few blemishes - 1) the rear bumper, on one side, was scuffed/scraped at some point recently, so could use a little paint work; 2) there was a large dent on one fender that I was able to mostly "pull" out, but there is still some "remnant" of a dent; and 3) there's a dent/scratch from some road debris at the lower part of the passenger door.

I'm gonna get a ballpark estimate from this "scratch and dent" place here, but what are your thoughts on the significance of these items on a minivan? Basically - what's it worth to fix such things for a private sale? The interior is in wonderful condition with no rips, tears or anything.

I know Stick sold his Ody within the past couple of years - any tips?

Thanks!

qbrozen

ok, ok, ok... How about this one?

Sure, its a v6, but with the AWD and sport chrono plus, 0-60 comes up in just 5 secs flat and has a top speed of 160. Not too shabby while getting 26mpg. Now that one happens to be covered by warranty for almost 3 more years! You could almost convince yourself its like buying any number of new cars.

qbrozen

Breld - it really depends on the cost of the repairs. If you could take care of them both for $500, I'd say do it.

stever

@breld, when I was nursing our Quest to 200k for bragging rights, my wife didn't blink at getting stranded when the timing belt went at 180k. The next couple of breakdowns didn't bother her too much either. The ding I put in it on one of our last NM road trips in the right rear (large platter size) before moving was the biggest issue. It was on "her side" so she had to look at it all the time. The van looked okay otherwise in spite of the rough duty we put it through. Couldn't justify the $1,800 to fix the dent but it put the van on the short-timer list for sure.

nyccarguy

@breld‌

the GTI won AUTOWEEK's BEST OF THE BEST award. They gave it a great review & posted sharp pics of the red/4door/6 speed/slick top in their magazine. Helluva car for not a helluva lot of money!

ab348

qbrozen said:

breld said:

Funny though - this morning, my wife calls me and shared that her car doesn't have a CD player. Apparently, she dug out some Christmas CDs she wanted to listen to while driving around today - but unfortunately, nowhere to play them directly in the GTI! Of course, you could download them onto her iPhone, or onto a SD Card, but no simple slot for the CD.

Well, it was bound to happen. Heck, I'm not even sure my Fit has a CD player. Never looked for it.

My ATS has one, apparently an optional item, but it is inside the glove box. I doubt if it will ever get used.

xwesx

breld said:

what are your thoughts on the significance of these items on a minivan? Basically - what's it worth to fix such things for a private sale? The interior is in wonderful condition with no rips, tears or anything.

I wouldn't bother with any of the exterior blemishes. Just shine that puppy up and put it up for sale. The net impact of such minor things is gonna be nil at the end of the day. Things like interior blemishes and a cracked windshield are way more significant to potential private party buyers when it comes to utilitarian vehicles like this.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

You could almost convince yourself its like buying any number of new cars.

Well, I'll agree that it is a nice-looking car, if not a bit unconventional in the shape. Color wise, the white just doesn't "sing" like that previous one. It seems like a stark departure from your buying trends in general, so it must be something that really grabs you.

What role would something like this play in your fleet? Replacement for the Mustang?

laurasdada

My XF has a single slot, but I can upload 10 CDs to the hard drive. Which I've done, so I can have 11 CDs available, 18 radios presets, ipod/mp3 connectivity. Keep forgetting to activate my free trial of XM, though... But, I got the music in me.

henryn

qbrozen said:

ok, ok, ok... How about this one?

Sure, its a v6, but with the AWD and sport chrono plus, 0-60 comes up in just 5 secs flat and has a top speed of 160. Not too shabby while getting 26mpg. Now that one happens to be covered by warranty for almost 3 more years! You could almost convince yourself its like buying any number of new cars.

Not quite as insane as the last one, mainly due to the warranty.

"like buying any number of new cars", yes exactly like buying 3 new economy cars, or 2 brand new Mustang GTs, or ...

Mr_Shiftright

Corvette C4 might be fun if I could find a clean one with the LT1 or LT4 engine (1992 on up I think). You're right though, they are cheesily built. On the plus side, you can often go to Autozone for parts, or even Home Depot As for the reliability of "old cars", seems to me that once a car clocks 125K+, it doesn't matter very much if it's a 2003 or a 1993. It's all a crap shoot at that point.

breld

qbrozen said:

Breld - it really depends on the cost of the repairs. If you could take care of them both for $500, I'd say do it.

Yup, that's what I was thinking. Thanks Q (and others for the advice).

As it turns out, a small chip and crack in the windshield has spread, so I probably will shell out the $250 deductible to get that replaced. It's at the bottom of the windshield and not noticeable, but still figure it would be important to a buyer.

Gave it a good wash this afternoon, and those blemishes really don't look all that bad, particularly for a 6 year old van. I then stopped by a Kia dealer to take another look at the Sedona. They offered to buy the Odyssey for $13k - not too bad for a dealer offer, especially given the windshield and blemishes. I was hoping for $14k privately, so I'm at least considering their offer.

Q - am I off-base on my numbers for a private sale on the Ody (again, 2009 EX-L w/RES, blue over gray, 85k miles)?

breld

Q - on the Porsche, I know you already think this way, but just figure out what the depreciation is expected to be over the next 2-3 years (or whatever the term you figure you'll own it for). Obviously the big hit has been taken, so really your cost over the next 2-3 years would be what, another 20% or so; so $12-15k maybe? That's certainly a very reasonable cost to own and drive this car you've been lusting after. As long as you can "float" the cost over that term, which I'm sure you can, go for it!

Obviously, that certified one with warranty makes it a much easier decision, huh?

henryn

breld said:

qbrozen said:

Breld - it really depends on the cost of the repairs. If you could take care of them both for $500, I'd say do it.

Yup, that's what I was thinking. Thanks Q (and others for the advice).

As it turns out, a small chip and crack in the windshield has spread, so I probably will shell out the $250 deductible to get that replaced. It's at the bottom of the windshield and not noticeable, but still figure it would be important to a buyer.

Gave it a good wash this afternoon, and those blemishes really don't look all that bad, particularly for a 6 year old van. I then stopped by a Kia dealer to take another look at the Sedona. They offered to buy the Odyssey for $13k - not too bad for a dealer offer, especially given the windshield and blemishes. I was hoping for $14k privately, so I'm at least considering their offer.

Q - am I off-base on my numbers for a private sale on the Ody (again, 2009 EX-L w/RES, blue over gray, 85k miles)?

Don't forget the sales tax advantage, if you trade it in. I know it's not true in all states, but most states do not charge sales tax on the value of your trade in, only on the difference. Here in Texas, at 6.25% , that would amount to $13,000 times .0625 = $812.50 savings in sales tax.

Have you priced that windshield? It might not be as expensive as you think. I had a windshield replaced in a 2008 Passat for around $225 total, no insurance involved. They do vary, depending on make / model. I had a windshield replaced on a motor home once, $3k. I was very happy to have insurance on that one!

breld

Yeah - we are in all likelihood going the lease route for the van, so I don't believe there is any sales tax advantage there. If we were buying, I think I'd jump all over that $13k considering the tax savings.

Michaell

breld said:

Yeah - we are in all likelihood going the lease route for the van, so I don't believe there is any sales tax advantage there. If we were buying, I think I'd jump all over that $13k considering the tax savings.

Correct - no tax advantage on a trade in for a lease in CO.

The $13K offer does seem strong - heck, that would cover 2 years of lease payments at $500/mo.

qbrozen

You still get the tax break. Assuming you are paying $13k depreciation on the Sedona, you'd pay $0 tax, in other words.

$13k is a really strong offer. In NJ, that's $13910 with the tax benefit. I think you could ask $16k and get $15k private party, but you'd have to spend money on it. Figure, in the end, after all of your time and effort, you net $300 more? I'd trade at $13k.

Edit: whoops, just saw the post above. CO screwing you, apparently.

stever

Back in late April, I paid ~$10,000 for an '09 Grand Caravan with 125,000 miles, so $14k for a low mileage Odyssey should be doable, if not more. At some point you hit the "for that money let's just buy something new" barrier though. For $14k we may have just downsized early with something new.

qbrozen

breld said:

Q - on the Porsche, I know you already think this way, but just figure out what the depreciation is expected to be over the next 2-3 years (or whatever the term you figure you'll own it for). Obviously the big hit has been taken, so really your cost over the next 2-3 years would be what, another 20% or so; so $12-15k maybe? That's certainly a very reasonable cost to own and drive this car you've been lusting after. As long as you can "float" the cost over that term, which I'm sure you can, go for it!

Obviously, that certified one with warranty makes it a much easier decision, huh?

Depreciation is part of the problem. If it was a 911, it would be easier to judge. The Panamera has been holding up pretty well over the past 5 years, all things considered, but 5 yrs isn't a good deal of data for me.

abacomike

Just want to take this opportunity to wish all of my Christian friends and your families here on CCBA a Blessed, Merry Christmas with hopes for a Great Car Buying New Year.

Sandman6472

Brought the Golf in this morning and as I suspected, the wheels were out of balance and the alignment was a bit off, the steering wheel was a bit off center but all is well now. After a wash, was out of there about 2 hours later. Glad I made the appointment for 8 this morning. Nice little rig and saw my Tucson all shined up and in their pre-owned section. They fixed the couple of garage door hits and have it online for $18.6k but doubt they'll get that much even though it did look really good.
Took the Audi in for a wash and vacuum yesterday and they do do things right there but suppose it's similar to what Lexus, MB and BMW do for their customers. Something about going a bit more upscale and the expected service they give to their customers is something I could get used to.

The Sandman

breld

Thanks for all the feedback on the Ody numbers. Helps a lot.

Even if there was a tax break on the lease, you wouldn't want to "prepay" a lease anyway, right? Always hear that you shouldn't put much, if any, down on a lease.

The idea is that we put the proceeds of the Ody sale toward the debt on the wife's GTI. Then when the lease is up on the van, we can reevaluate whether we still need a 3-row at that time at all (one kid off to college - yikes!)

breld

abacomike said:

Just want to take this opportunity to wish all of my Christian friends and your families here on CCBA a Blessed, Merry Christmas with hopes for a Great Car Buying New Year.

Same to you Mike!

nyccarguy

To all my friends who celebrate - Merry Christmas!

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

@breld‌

the GTI won AUTOWEEK's BEST OF THE BEST award. They gave it a great review & posted sharp pics of the red/4door/6 speed/slick top in their magazine. Helluva car for not a helluva lot of money!

The GTI S with the lighting and performance packages is an outstanding car, but for my purposes it would be more of the same(FWD hot hatch) only slower- but with a nicer interior...

qbrozen

breld said:

Even if there was a tax break on the lease, you wouldn't want to "prepay" a lease anyway, right? Always hear that you shouldn't put much, if any, down on a lease.

Although I disagree with the logic of people saying put nothing down, even if you followed it, you just take a check for the trade-in. Tax benefit would still apply, if your state offered it.

Sandman6472

A3 is tucked away in the garage as the wife and daughter took her Accent on their Florida trip. Decided to put the miles on hers instead of the A3 since they were going into areas that might be a bit dirty and messy and the wife didn't want to muck up her new ride just quite yet. Have no plans to use it since I've basically got the same thing. Funny thing, the neighbor came over to ask her how she likes her Audi and since Monday, they've got a new Audi suv in the front drive. Guess they liked what my wife said and decided to go for it also. There's is a dark gray color and big, very big! But now, we've got 2 Audi's on the street and 3 VW products. Well, make that 4 since the guy across the street has a pre-owned Porsche 911, a real sweet ride in dark blue. So now, we have vehicles from all the major producers from America, Asian and European...a nice cross sample of different makes and models. Probably very typical of middle America right now.
Read in the paper today that they expect that there will be about 16.5 million new vehicles sold in America this year and forecasting upwards of 17 mil for 2015. Pretty good numbers I'd say and just happy that we could do our part in 2014 to make that lofty number. If you had asked me a month ago if I'd be buying again this year for me, I'd of said you were crazy but as I told me kid earlier, never say never because things change and situations materialize that changes things. Some times in life, stuff happens we don't expect and my situation is a perfect example. Just happy that I could do the swap without much to consider though I did have a bunch of sleepless nights there, before and after!
But at the end of the day, we are all happy...and that's all that matters!

The Sandman

suydam

Porsches and Audis in middle America? I don't think so.

qbrozen

not sure how I didn't think of this before.

We'll have to see if that link works, but a Macan S equipped exactly how I would want is basically the same price as a 5-yr-old Panamera, with equal performance. Seems like a bargain in comparison.

venture

qbrozen said:

not sure how I didn't think of this before.

We'll have to see if that link works, but a Macan S equipped exactly how I would want is basically the same price as a 5-yr-old Panamera, with equal performance. Seems like a bargain in comparison.

Nice! Seven speed PDK? Auto or manual? That thing is loud.

Launch Control. Really?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

not sure how I didn't think of this before.

We'll have to see if that link works, but a Macan S equipped exactly how I would want is basically the same price as a 5-yr-old Panamera, with equal performance. Seems like a bargain in comparison.

Now you are speaking a little more sensibly. The only thing I'd personally delete is the Air Suspension. Stick with regular old steel springs & upgrade to Bilsteins when you want to replace. Air suspensions can be quite pricey to repair once they break out of warranty.

stickguy

Nice option. I would go that route if you gave me a $60k gift card to the Porsche dealer.

Ten grand in options? That makes it a stripper Porsche. I could delete the air suspension. Probably a couple other things too. And still have fun!

qbrozen

Well, since I'm all about performance, I added all the performance options. Oh and heated and ventilated 14-way seats. I mean, hell, if you spend $58k, what's a little extra for some comfort?

And, let's be honest, me keeping it past the warranty is extremely unlikely.

nyccarguy

OK, so the question now becomes, how much equity do you have in the Mustang? Because that's what's going to significantly reduce the sticker price of the Macan S.

rayainsw

'..me keeping it past the warranty is extremely unlikely. '
Understatement ?
- Ray
Still awaiting arrival.....

stickguy

I would absolutely get the fancy seats.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

OK, so the question now becomes, how much equity do you have in the Mustang? Because that's what's going to significantly reduce the sticker price of the Macan S.

Well...none. But I will tell you that is DAMNED IMPRESSIVE because I financed the purchase price, plus taxes and fees, plus a warranty, and here I am now dead even at just 19 mos into ownership. And, technically, I can cancel the warranty for a refund and walk away with cash.

stickguy

So pretty much the same as if you leased.

Mr_Shiftright

Gee, 400HP and only tows 1650 lbs. That's pathetic. Oh, wait, a Macan is never going to tow anything.

jayrider

Mr_Shiftright said:

Gee, 400HP and only tows 1650 lbs. That's pathetic. Oh, wait, a Macan is never going to tow anything.

The problem is that the hitch mounts to the back seat belt bolts.