Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

fintail

I usually rent for leisure, and shop around so I can find a "premium" or similar for no more than a normal car. That can have varied results - my last one was a Hertz "Premium" Charger with likely no options. If one keeps leasing, a 40K mile car will seem alien.

Sandman6472

Wish us well if Erika does come!!

The Sandman

iluvmysephia1

CPAP ta help with the focus, fezo, wear your CPAP! Tee-hee. I should be wearing mine, so I can't really rib you too much.

Sandman6472

So, just did some searching and found out for 2016, VW added a usb port, aux input and cd player into the Golf. Needless to say, I am not a very happy camper right now as I'd actually like those things and can not figure out why in a new model, they would leave these things out until the 2nd year of the model year? I know it will do no good but plan to write a letter to corporate to voice my displeasure with this bonehead move. In this day and age, this omission is just unacceptable in a modern vehicle! Yes, I am not a happy camper right now!!

The Sandman :@ :@

stever

Most of the cars I've test driven recently have had a CD player. Don't get it, although one friend here claims to use hers for audio books. But she doesn't have a commute and doesn't really drive far enough to shopping to get a half chapter "read".

stickguy

well, CD players are being phased out, not added, in most cases.

other than that, equpment levels get changed around all the time. If you bought it knowing what it did and didn't have, can't really complain to the maker down the line. So either live with it, or trade it in!

anyway, I gave you the link to the little cable adapter that plugs into your MMI cable in the console. That gives you the USB end at least. with that, not sure what people use an aux input for these days.

sda

I may be an exception as I still use the AUX input. The Accord did not come with XM radio, so I have a portable XM Skyfi that I use in the car as well as the house and Skyfi boom box. Sandman, I feel your pain, the Accord EX will have XM for 2016 as well as some other updates such as a 60/40 folding back seat and Homelink that should have been there to begin with.

stickguy

I had an odyssey without XM. before the days of qux inputs, so I had to install a gizmo that had an aux and stereo inputs that I used for the roady. I was thinking that by these days, those units would have a USB connection. maybe not!

I was annoyed too that in 2005 the EXL oddy did not come with XM, but my Accord EXL did.

slorenzen

well, my "farm truck" has a single CD player and...a cassette player...

Beat that...

suydam

The 2015 Encore added guidelines for backup cam, wifi hotspot, and better Onstar package among others. It's just part of the way things happen now. Tech is changing all the time. Who has CDs any more? I put all of mine on my iPhone.

ab348

I don't know if I ever used the CD player in my cars that had one. I know I did a few times in rentals when I did long road trips years ago, but I never loaded up on CDs in the car the way I did in the '80s with cassette tapes. I have never used a mini-plug on an automotive Aux input either. I do plug my iPhone into the USB on the Cadillac and play music. The Cadillac came with the optional CD player, a book-sized black box mounted in the glove compartment. Totally useless to me. I'd rather have the extra glovebox space.

berri

I do a lot of highway driving and have a bunch of music on cd's, so eliminating the cd player could be a deal breaker for me if other vehicles I like still have one. I've used Sirius XM, but the channels of stuff I like tended to have too much DJ blabber.

Mr_Shiftright

Don't sweat that too much. You can buy an aftermarket unit that has all those things built into the faceplate of the unit for notta lotta money. I did this very thing to my Mini. It has AUX input and USB and single CD and they wired it right into my car's amp. The only downside if you do it is that if you have steering wheel controls for the radio, those won't work any longer.

sandman_6472 said:

So, just did some searching and found out for 2016, VW added a usb port, aux input and cd player into the Golf. Needless to say, I am not a very happy camper right now as I'd actually like those things and can not figure out why in a new model, they would leave these things out until the 2nd year of the model year? I know it will do no good but plan to write a letter to corporate to voice my displeasure with this bonehead move. In this day and age, this omission is just unacceptable in a modern vehicle! Yes, I am not a happy camper right now!!

The Sandman :@ :@

iluvmysephia1

Who has CDs any more?

I do! I was so glad the 2011 Kia Soul in clear white and 5-speed stick came with a CD player. I still go through CD displays at Hasting's and look for old Sheryl Crow or Creedence Clearwater Revisited CD's for anywhere from 50 cents to $5.99. One day I'll up myself on the new technology.

The 2015 Kia Soul I sat in on Viva Kia of El Paso's new car lot (the place I ended up getting my '11 Soul at) did not have a CD player in it. I asked the salesman with a little grin on my face why this pup didn't have a CD player? He looked at me like "get with the program, man! The carmakers are all phasing CD players out. They need every available inch in the dash/console area!"

I gave him my best "oh, yeah, I spose so" look and went on to some other subject. It took me a while ta ditch my old cassettes and go to CD's, too. Now I'm prepared that any Kia Soul I buy newer than mine will not have a CD player and I'll spend a couple hours on a Saturday afternoon edumacating me-self on MP3 players. Or....Android phones must have app.'s that you can load music on and play through the Aux input, eh? Be careful, take baby steps, iluv!

stever

Well, the player is built in the radio, so all you really need to do is get your music off the CDs and onto a USB stick, or even better, an SD card. Saw one advertised for sale this morning - 16gb SD for under $4.

How is your Soul doing? Getting blown around on the freeway much?

iluvmysephia1

It's doing fine. In fact, I need ta head out and find a good place ta give it a bath. Could go for one of those $10.00 complete automatic washes but those don't get the tough front-of-the-car bug guts out! May go scrub it at a pay-scrub place somewhere in town.

Sandman6472

The glove box has an sd slot but again, not quite sure how to use it. Just seems strange to me to wait a year to add things that the totally new model should've had...just makes no sense. And if cd players are being phased out like some are saying in here, then again, adding one in the second year is illogical. Trading for these little things ain't gonna happen as I do not want to buy anything for the forseeable future. Luckily I have XM till mid March of 2016 and if the price doesn't rise by too much, I'll sign up for another year. Just like having options which the usb port and aux connection would afford me. Basically, I want my cake...and want to eat it to...because I do! End of story!
As I recall, Audi added a single cd player in our A3 though no usb port. Seems that the entertainment guys should've gotten together at Audi/VW headquarters and communicated!!

The Sandman :@

stever

If you have music in MP3 format and a way to load up a card from, say, a laptop, you're about there. Go to Wally World and buy a cheap SD card, stick it in the laptop, move some MP3 files onto the card, remove the card and stick it in the VW's slot and see what happens. You should hear tunes coming through the radio.

Sandman6472

I have my music in iTunes right now plus in a flash drive. So what you're saying is to move the music from my iTunes onto a sd card, stick it into the slot in the glove compartment and bam, I'll be good to go. Sounds easy enough to me. Going to VW on Thursday for the 10K service and will ask about the sd player and what you told me since they should know how this all works.

The Sandman

iluvmysephia1

If you have music in MP3 format and a way to load up a card from, say, a laptop, you're about there. Go to Wally World and buy a cheap SD card, stick it in the laptop, move some MP3 files onto the card, remove the card and stick it in the VW's slot and see what happens. You should hear tunes coming through the radio.

Or, one could buy a SD card and stick it into a desktop, too. Then load up music from your desktop onto it, head ta your car and stick it in the slot and see what happens. I've got a few SD cards sitting around, I oughta experiment a bit and try it.

sandman - yeah, it does seem strange that VW's gonna go backwards and install a CD player in a new rig after not installing in that same type of new rig the year before? Huh? Seems odd ta me. VW's have a strange electrical history, though.

I don't have the extreme yearning for a '67 VW Bug that I had a year ago. I was getting close ta pullin' the trigger there for several months. Found a '67 Bug at a place just east of Hollomon AFB on Highway 70 about a year and a half ago that was going for only $3,000. 4-speed stick in white. Was told it ran fine. Hum. Now the older rig I am getting a bit of a hankering for is the '67-'68 Datsun 1600 roadster. In red.

stickguy

why bother with an SD card? Just throw it on a USB flash drive, and plug that in.

corvette

I don't think Sandy's Golf has a USB port for a USB flash drive, but does have an SD card slot.

I think it's normal and desirable for manufacturers to add features each year. VW could be like the Detroit automakers and delete standard features every year in an attempt to save money. VW may be especially concerned about bad press from electronic problems, and is being conservative in introducing features they haven't fully tested. Reviewers will tend to hone in on any sort of electrical/electronic glitch in a European vehicle.

stickguy

he just needs a short adapter cable (30 pin to USB) to connect to the MMI cable, and instant USB jack.

iluvmysephia1

why bother with an SD card? Just throw it on a USB flash drive, and plug that in.

Right...that's it, stickguy. Between the smartphones, desktops, laptops, cars and tablets, this device-nutty world has us runnin' hither and tither sometimes. But all in all, I do like the gadgets. Yep-I would just go get a USB stick and load onto that. The '11 Soul has a USB connector below the stereo ta plug the flashdrive on to and play tunes from.

Actually looking forward to this method 'cause I could load CD's on the tower of my desktop and record them on to my USB stick and then play loads of them in the Soul without the bother of storing tons of CD's. Isn't it cool ta catch the buzz of technology - even if it's about 5 years after other people? Sure it is!

slorenzen

I dunno, the MP3 format still doesn't sound as good as a CD to me.

The lows and highs are better on the CD, at least from my experience.

stever

I've heard that too, except I'm of the age where I can't hear that.

Years ago I'd read that cars made great sound chambers for listening to music. Then a couple of years ago, I'd read that cars are awful places to listen to music.

slorenzen

stever said:

I've heard that too, except I'm of the age where I can't hear that.

I suppose it's a curse, but I've always had a good ear for those things, even now in my old age.

Makes it necessary to buy more expensive audio equipment.

suydam

The Bose sound on my old Maxima was better than any sound system we ever owned. We used to joke that we should just listen to music in the car. And it was CDs. But time marches on. I just do not have room for tons of CDs any more! I don't even know if the cars I have now have CD players.

kyfdx

Volvo guys: Advice needed here.

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/36637/volvo/s60/2005-s60-2-5t?new=1

roadburner

slorenzen said:

I dunno, the MP3 format still doesn't sound as good as a CD to me.

The lows and highs are better on the CD, at least from my experience.

Agreed, I like CDs better as well...

iluvmysephia1

I don't actually see myself straying from CD's until I upgrade to a newer Kia Soul that doesn't have a CD player. Before that happens, I don't see it happening. So we'll continue to step on CD cases and break them, etc., because they overflow the storage areas we have. I do love the sound quality of CD's.

qbrozen

I know someone wants this:
http://m.cars.com/vehicledetail/#vdp?listingId=642994921

akangl

I don't think I've ever used the CD player in the Explorer, I used my iPod for a while plugged in to the USB port. Now I just stream Pandora through the Bluetooth, much nicer that way. Our Silverado has a CD player and a cassette player.....that will be getting changed very soon, needs new speakers too.

stickguy

I am not the somebody that wants a land yacht wagon.

qbrozen

where is Lemko? That's gotta be up his alley.

imidazol97

qbrozen said:

where is Lemko? That's gotta be up his alley.

Does anyone know which v8 engine that is in the Parissiene?

au1994

imidazol97 said:

qbrozen said:

where is Lemko? That's gotta be up his alley.

Does anyone know which v8 engine that is in the Parissiene?

My guess would be the GM 305.

jeffb0101

Ah, that station wagon brings back childhood memories. My friends across the street parents had two matching wagon like that. The rear facing seat was always fun. Us, we had a Chevy Mark III conversion van, complete with curtains and blinds on the back window, and a built in ice chest.

stever

My mom drove a few sort of similar wagons in the '60s, always Buicks. Even today, if I get on a train, I prefer to sit facing the front instead of "out the back window". One's pictured here with my sister's best friend, complete with missing chrome from the front door back.

ab348

That Parisienne likely has the Chevy 305. That is one of the full-size Pontiacs GM brought back after cancelling the big Pontiac line in the early '80s. Unfortunately they were a thinly disguised Chevy with the Chevy dash and a less attractive front end than the "real" Pontiacs. GM badge engineering at its worst.

berri

Boy Stever, that hairdo takes me right back to high school. Gosh, I'm already feeling younger She's cute btw!

kyfdx

Schwingggg!!

Sandman6472

Yes, we has a couple Parisienne's, during those years, the first being a diesel with a Olds engine in it, crazy vehicle that had glow plugs that needed to warm up. After a couple years, they went back to the regular gas powered Parisienne, a silver over maroon if memory serves me correctly. The folks usually had Caddy's and Lincoln's till they went to Pontiac's about 1975, then around 1990, my mom went with Grand Marquis and had a couple of those with the ridiculous 1/2 vinyl roofs but did have the nicer wire wheel covers. Funny how they liked to drive bigger vehicles and we're just the opposite now, love our small ones. But back then, petrol prices were a lot lower and money wasn't a consideration for them.

The Sandman

fintail

Wow, that was only a 3 year old car, must have had a rough life.

berri

Funny how they liked to drive bigger vehicles and we're just the opposite now, love our small ones.

Maybe you shrunk? Sorry, couldn't help it

stever

Sorry guys. She's married down in Florida. I was ~11 when the photo was snapped and my sister is about seven years older than me, so the girl in the pic is around 70 (that's the new 50 you know).

nyccarguy

I'm coming up on a big number at the end of Next month. September 27 will be my Legacy's 1st birthday. I crossed over the 18,000 mile mark yesterday afternoon. I'm happy with the car. I'm happy with my purchase. I feel like it was a smart purchase. I like the brand. I like what owners have to say about their Subarus. I even like that the dealership employees seem to drive Subarus not just because they get a demo allowance or special employee pricing, but because they want to.

The Legacy makes a fantastic daily driver. It is comfortable without being too soft. It has lots of room. I can take my wife's Pilot whenever I need and put all 3 of my kids' car seats (boys in high back boosters, girl in her Britax marathon that LATCHes in) in the back. It has a generously sized trunk that I can fit all of our Costco shopping in (plus it gets held up by struts). The interior is well finished. Materials are high grade for the price point.

The AWD system is magnificent. I've even gotten used to the CVT. I know it isn't a performance oriented transmission, but the Legacy isn't a performance vehicle. Which brings me to my only gripe about the car. 175 horsepower in this day & age "ain't much." I have gotten used to the car's adequate acceleration. It isn't sluggish. It has no trouble keeping up with traffic. Most days I just hop on I95 and set the cruise at 70 until I hit the NYC city limits.

Once our Pilot is paid off next May, I plan on starting to make extra payments so I can pay the Legacy off early.

The car guy in me is constantly checking out other cars on the road. Obviously the Teslas (met a guy yesterday who drove his Model S P85D across the country & back, covering 500 miles per day), 911s, Mustangs, & ///M3s of the world get my attention. But there are cars out there that I can see myself driving. I've got an "automotive bucket list" of cars I want to own. As well as certain aspects I want (I want to own a car with a V8, I want to own a car with more than 300 horsepower).

Which brings me to my next point. I've been seeing a lot of Dodge Chargers out there lately. I've obviously got to drive one (don't worry, I'm staying clear of the dealership at all costs). They come in quite a few different flavors which entice me (V6 - 300 horsepower - AWD) as well as V8 - RWD. Is it an automotive "sin" to buy a car like the Charger with a 6 cylinder? Is the prospect of owning a RWD, 375 horsepower V8 enough to get me to start swapping snow tires every Decemer & April? I just know that if the Charger is the right car for me, when (& if) the time comes, I can most likely get an insane deal on one. They've always got cheap financing plus incentives, I qualify for USAA pricing, plus I know somebody who is an ex-Chrysler employee who will give me one of his "friends & family" certificates.

Just some random thoughts that go through the mind of a Chronic Car Buyer. Thanks for listening folks!

graphicguy

Bradd...you've echoed everyone's sentiment I've ever known who owns a Subaru. You all love them. That's a good thing.

Michaell

After 6 months and over 7000 miles, I'll agree that Subaru makes a darn good car.

So, a buying and selling story from me today. Closed on the sale of my house as well as the purchase of our new home. Selling side went off without a hitch at 9:30 this morning.

The buy transaction, however, was a little dicey. We were scheduled to close at 1PM, but there was a problem with our lender sending the paperwork to the wrong title company. Our realtor said this was the first time she'd seen this happen in more than 20 years on the job. Once we got that straightened out, we signed our paperwork and expected the lender to release the funds electronically to the title company. Realtor got confirmation that it had been done. Title company didn't see the money. Back on phone to lender, who confirms wire transfer was sent. Nope - still no money. After 20 gut wrenching minutes, the money finally shows up and everybody gets paid.

So, flush with enough money to buy a stripped 2015 Mustang GT, the wife and I start shopping. Ordered 1700sf of ceramic tile, a new over the range microwave and a new front storm door. Wife and daughter have paint colors picked out and will get paint later this week. We take possession of the new house on Saturday, but aren't moving into it until the 21st. Plan to rip out all the flooring (currently a mix of hardwood and carpet) and replace with tile and hardwood, heating the main floor tile. Labor Day weekend will be spent painting, installing the storm door and microwave, replacing all the locks and getting the bedrooms and stairs measured for new carpet.

Next few weeks looks to be quite busy to prepare the house. If the budget allows, we plan to replace the countertops, which are currently Formica and in horrible shape. If you've upgraded your countertops, I'm interested in your stories about pros/cons - granite, engineered surfaces, quartz, etc.

I took the day off of work, but ended up more mentally exhausted than usual. Good thing we don't buy houses as often as we buy cars.

au1994

Michaell said:

After 6 months and over 7000 miles, I'll agree that Subaru makes a darn good car.

So, a buying and selling story from me today. Closed on the sale of my house as well as the purchase of our new home. Selling side went off without a hitch at 9:30 this morning.

The buy transaction, however, was a little dicey. We were scheduled to close at 1PM, but there was a problem with our lender sending the paperwork to the wrong title company. Our realtor said this was the first time she'd seen this happen in more than 20 years on the job. Once we got that straightened out, we signed our paperwork and expected the lender to release the funds electronically to the title company. Realtor got confirmation that it had been done. Title company didn't see the money. Back on phone to lender, who confirms wire transfer was sent. Nope - still no money. After 20 gut wrenching minutes, the money finally shows up and everybody gets paid.

So, flush with enough money to buy a stripped 2015 Mustang GT, the wife and I start shopping. Ordered 1700sf of ceramic tile, a new over the range microwave and a new front storm door. Wife and daughter have paint colors picked out and will get paint later this week. We take possession of the new house on Saturday, but aren't moving into it until the 21st. Plan to rip out all the flooring (currently a mix of hardwood and carpet) and replace with tile and hardwood, heating the main floor tile. Labor Day weekend will be spent painting, installing the storm door and microwave, replacing all the locks and getting the bedrooms and stairs measured for new carpet.

Next few weeks looks to be quite busy to prepare the house. If the budget allows, we plan to replace the countertops, which are currently Formica and in horrible shape. If you've upgraded your countertops, I'm interested in your stories about pros/cons - granite, engineered surfaces, quartz, etc.

I took the day off of work, but ended up more mentally exhausted than usual. Good thing we don't buy houses as often as we buy cars.

Congrats! No matter how easy the realtors tell you its going to be, its always a stressful process. I bought my 3rd house in 2013 from the proverbial little old man. He was selling b/c he could not longer keep up with it so I got a bargain in the area I wanted but it came with work.

One of those tasks I had done last year was replacing the Corian in the kitchen and bathroom counter tops. Went with granite in both spots and could not be more pleased. Zero problems with fit, staining, scratches etc. The kitchen granite is black and the only caution there is it makes it difficult to see spills sometimes and if you don't do a good job cleaning those up, smudges and smears stick out like a sore thumb.