Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78

sandman_6472 said:

To be honest, the Encore is the only domestic that I'd even consider at this point to be honest. The Sandman

Are you being honest?

suydam

How old is the Sienna? A Toyota minivan's value is what it is. I'm not sure the miles matter all that much. Anyway you'll just have another vehicle with a lot of miles. 

xwesx

anony336 said:

The Highlander was a 2006 Limited 2WD. Gee doesn't want to put too many miles on the Sienna. He took the Highlander to Seattle from Atlanta last summer and put 10,000 miles on it. Thinks that would kill the Sienna's value and cause cosmetic wear and tear from road hazards.

Well, you know you have "it" bad when you sell a vehicle that's your proverbial beater just to turn around and say you need to buy another one! As a master of the "beater" mentality, I feel comfortable saying that the role of this vehicle is not to be pretty or snazzy or new. No, no. Its role is to be old, familiar, and dead reliable. It is difficult to meet those last two requirements with high turnover....

If your family makes it to Fairbanks, they should pay me a visit! Maybe I could set Gee up in my '69 Econoline for his trip home and make this Alaska run a REAL adventure for them! I would even be very happy reminding him that he need not worry about the impact of miles on its value.

breld

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Take it in for a trade in estimate. Never know. Might get you out even.

Funny timing. I guess I make my last payment 10/8/2017! I forgot that lease payments are done up front. Made first one when I got it 11/8.

I do have a CarMax in the town where I live ... could get an estimate from them and compare to my payoff.

The upcoming Cruze hatchback looks nice, but not available in time to use the GM credits you just received.

anony336

xwesx said:

The Highlander was a 2006 Limited 2WD. Gee doesn't want to put too many miles on the Sienna. He took the Highlander to Seattle from Atlanta last summer and put 10,000 miles on it. Thinks that would kill the Sienna's value and cause cosmetic wear and tear from road hazards.

Well, you know you have "it" bad when you sell a vehicle that's your proverbial beater just to turn around and say you need to buy another one! As a master of the "beater" mentality, I feel comfortable saying that the role of this vehicle is not to be pretty or snazzy or new. No, no. Its role is to be old, familiar, and dead reliable. It is difficult to meet those last two requirements with high turnover.... If your family makes it to Fairbanks, they should pay me a visit! Maybe I could set Gee up in my '69 Econoline for his trip home and make this Alaska run a REAL adventure for them! I would even be very happy reminding him that he need not worry about the impact of miles on its value.

He sold it, partially, to appease me. I thought it was crazy to have 4 cars for 2 drivers (5 if you count the demo I can get from work). It was old, familiar, and dead reliable. I think we just caught the new car "bug" and here we are. 

xwesx

anony336 said:

He sold it, partially, to appease me. I thought it was crazy to have 4 cars for 2 drivers (5 if you count the demo I can get from work). It was old, familiar, and dead reliable. I think we just caught the new car "bug" and here we are. 

Hahah; I get it, I really do!

My wife limited my vehicle collection to five. So, if I get anything else, something has to go. This has not been a problem up to now, but this rule (entirely reasonable rule, I might add) has me in a conundrum, as I still plan to get my Flex one of these days/months. And, I do NOT want to get rid of the salvage Forester I bought about seven months ago. This car is the perfect "kid car," and our son is nearly twelve now, so we should start thinking about this whole teen-driver bit coming down the road all too quickly.

What to do, what to do?

stickguy

Get a 6th and hope she can't count.

Or lump plow truck in with yard equipment, like a tractor? Claim Econoline is really a storage shed?

So many options.

breld

Hmm...for a "fun" car, I just noticed there are plenty of examples of Scion FR-S's listed for around $18k.

At that price, I would think you could drive it for a short while and not lose all that much when you tire of it.

stickguy

If you fit comfortably. I don't.

Michaell

breld said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Take it in for a trade in estimate. Never know. Might get you out even.

Funny timing. I guess I make my last payment 10/8/2017! I forgot that lease payments are done up front. Made first one when I got it 11/8.

I do have a CarMax in the town where I live ... could get an estimate from them and compare to my payoff.

The upcoming Cruze hatchback looks nice, but not available in time to use the GM credits you just received.

I saw the pictures of the new Cruze hatch -- looks an awful lot like my E-GT!

Sigh. Too busy with work to think too much about this. And, my head is spinning with re-fi numbers.

Anybody do a 20 year mortgage? Got an option for one and kind of like it.

nyccarguy

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/10-2016-cars-that-will-hold-their-resale-value-011737687.html

As Chronic Car Buyers, there are a few ways to look at this list:

Most if not all of the cars on this list won't be such a bargain used, so you might as well buy 'em new.

One who does a lot of driving could theoretically lease one of the cars on this list for 10K per year, then drive double that, trade it in at the end of the lease (instead of turning it in) possibly with some equity without paying over mileage charges.

Let's say 3 years (or even 2 years) is too long of an automotive commitment for you (not sure if anybody here fits the bill), you could lease one of these vehicles and get out of the lease early by trading it in and it being worth the remaining lease payments plus residual (My best friend did this with a Wrangler after 6 months).

corvette

Michaell said:

Take it in for a trade in estimate. Never know. Might get you out even. Funny timing. I guess I make my last payment 10/8/2017! I forgot that lease payments are done up front. Made first one when I got it 11/8.

I do have a CarMax in the town where I live ... could get an estimate from them and compare to my payoff.

The upcoming Cruze hatchback looks nice, but not available in time to use the GM credits you just received.

I saw the pictures of the new Cruze hatch -- looks an awful lot like my E-GT! Sigh. Too busy with work to think too much about this. And, my head is spinning with re-fi numbers. Anybody do a 20 year mortgage? Got an option for one and kind of like it.

30 year here. If I stay in this house that long and don't make extra payments, it will be paid off when I'm 63. 

stickguy

15 or 20 can work, if the payments are comfortable. Only do it if the interest rate is enough lower to matter. If you are paying about the same rate, might as well stay at 30 and make extra payments when you want. Doing it that way you have an option if you are a little cashflow short in a particular month.

my last refi, I actually went with a 10 year ARM, because the interest rate was quite a bit lower. It made sense because I did not want to increase the payment, and wanted the lower rate, and at the time I was not expecting to stay in the house any longer than that. So assuming I sold out in 10 years or less, I got all the benefits! If instead we stay here longer than that, oops. Better hope the rates are low then too! I actually can't remember how many times the ARM could reset, but it would take a while before I could possibly be down $ wise overall.

would not recommend doing this unless you were pretty positive you weren't planning to stay in the house longer than the fixed period.

Michaell

There is no way I or the wife will do an ARM. We're in a 30 year fixed at 4.25%. I'm seeing 15 year numbers at or less than 3.5%. 20 year at 3.875%. All with points credits to minimize our out of pocket costs at signing.

stickguy

the fixed part was 10 years, the only reason I did it. Rate was at least 1% lower (we are paying something like 2.8% on it, amortized over 30 years).

I also don't plan to stay in this house after that, but I have been wrong before.

breld

Michaell said:

breld said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Take it in for a trade in estimate. Never know. Might get you out even.

Funny timing. I guess I make my last payment 10/8/2017! I forgot that lease payments are done up front. Made first one when I got it 11/8.

I do have a CarMax in the town where I live ... could get an estimate from them and compare to my payoff.

The upcoming Cruze hatchback looks nice, but not available in time to use the GM credits you just received.

I saw the pictures of the new Cruze hatch -- looks an awful lot like my E-GT!

Sigh. Too busy with work to think too much about this. And, my head is spinning with re-fi numbers.

Anybody do a 20 year mortgage? Got an option for one and kind of like it.

We committed to a 15 year mortgage 3 years ago and consider it one of the best financial decisions we've made. Basically, that extra amount we committed toward the mortgage would've been eaten up by this and that (probably cars), so we feel good about forcing ourselves to put it toward the house.

stickguy

Good idea Breld. We were in the middle of 2 college tuition cycles, so cash flow was king!

as soon as we finish paying tuition, all that money is going to get dumped into paying off mortgage sooner (until we move hopefully!)

and for you younger folks (there are some of you!) that is also a good way to deal with college tuition. Get a good house early on in a nice area, pay it down quicker to build equity, they you can HELOC or refi as needed to pay to put the kids through school. Works better for FAFSA purposes too (instead of having cash in the bank).

28firefighter

stickguy said:

Good idea Breld. We were in the middle of 2 college tuition cycles, so cash flow was king!

as soon as we finish paying tuition, all that money is going to get dumped into paying off mortgage sooner (until we move hopefully!)

and for you younger folks (there are some of you!) that is also a good way to deal with college tuition. Get a good house early on in a nice area, pay it down quicker to build equity, they you can HELOC or refi as needed to pay to put the kids through school. Works better for FAFSA purposes too (instead of having cash in the bank).

That actually actually is an interesting idea. We don't have any kids yet, but did dump a significant amount of our savings into purchasing our home - now property values are going up. It never occurred to me to treat it as a source of savings for college if and when the time comes.

xwesx

I hadn't considered that. My frugality is actually working against me!

ab348

I bought my house in '97 and was able to put 20% down. I had a 25 year mortgage with renewal after 3 years. Those first 3 years were tough and when the time came for renewal I had run up my line of credit mostly by buying/doing house stuff, so I rolled that into a new mortgage. I took a variable rate and over the intervening years the rates kept dropping and dropping. At one point in '08 or '09 the rate was 0.8%! I had added some extra principal payments and it was all paid off in 2013. Nice feeling.According to the property tax assessment roll the house is now worth 2.5 times what I paid originally.

tifighter

15 year here. I can't count very high.

Sandman6472

Had a 30 year back in '87, then went to a 15 year in '93. At that time, I was working crazy overtime and the wife went back to work part time so she started adding extra which came off the back end. With her being a CPA, she knew how to amortize it and by mid '95, she shows me this document which turned out to be the paid off mortgage. Don't know exactly how she did it but was definitely the right thing to do before the 3 kids started college. Looking back, I now understand why she had me keep my economobiles for such long periods!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Busy busy few days at work. Drove another Renegade and I think it's an awesome vehicle, like it better than the Cherokee which I like a lot. Getting into a Patriot right after was a real let down as it's nowhere as nice as the Renegade...the Renegade is fun, great to throw around and drive a little more spritely if you will. Today seemed to be CUV day because my next trip was...a '15 Tucson SE like I had but in that awful red color. Again I realized what a mistake that purchase was and was thinking if the Renegade had been out at that same point at the end of 2013, there would've been no way that I wouldn't have purchased the Renegade instead. Think if I had done that, I'd still be driving it today. Not saying the last generation Tucson was a bad vehicle, it was just the wrong vehicle for me and I know if I had picked the right CUV for me back then, I'd never have traded out for the Golf. But I did it and got out at the right time.
Never realized that the Encore/Trax twins were a smaller vehicle than the Tucson as I do like that size. Like the '16 model better because they have a nicer selection of alloys and definitely think Buick did a much better job on the interior than Chevy did. You just know that the Encore is a more upscale vehicle by the interior appointments, it just is a step above but it also costs more to go with the Buick. But think that's what GM had intended here. Either way, it is the nicest domestic in my eyes with the Verano a close second and I'd have no problem owning either if things were different...I just think they are both that good!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Had a talk with my boss today and basically asked him to go to bat for me with his boss to get some more hours. The 24 I get now just isn't enough and since it costs me gas and tolls of $3.00 each day I go down, I like to stay for a whole day and with the way things have been going, on the third day of work, I only end up with 5 or so hours. Told him I would really like around 30 to make it me working 3 whole days and I'd consider doing 4 days if my hours were increased accordingly, like 30 to 32. Am not holding my breath, but I've been asking for more hours for over a year now and really want them. And with the one driver who doesn't come anymore due to him making so much with Red Cap and Uber, figure they should to be giving me some of those hours accounted for but not being used.
I was very calm and collected when we talked and didn't put any conditions on my request because I'm not going anywhere to be honest. At my age, 61, am glad to have the job as walking with a cane never was an issue with Hertz, everywhere else I applied saw it as a negative and I was always sent away with a polite "no thanks"! Both company's I drove long distance with didn't have a problem with it either because they saw that I could do the driving with no issues and never called out sick...just made sure to have my doctor visits on days I didn't work.
So, hoping that they will see things my way and throw me the extra hours I want, as 30 would be the optimal number since I do not want to work full time anymore.

The Sandman

corvette

tifighter said:

I can't count very high.

You and me both! If I hit the lotto tomorrow night, I will have to learn, though.

berri

Sandman, I wonder if Jeep is smart selling all those vehicles into the rental fleets. Same with plastering the Jeep name on these half breed smaller crossovers. I wonder if it will dilute the Jeep brand at some point? But then, BMW and MB seem to be downscaling some of their offerings too lately.

Michaell

OK, I got to thinking more about my GM Rewards. And started looking on-line.

$1450 lease cash on the Trax, $2125 on the Malibu Limited 1LT, and a whopping $3455 on the Cruze Limited.

Hmm.

Trax would be about $213/mo with tax, Malibu $171/mo and the Cruze $137/mo, assuming $600 doc fee and $600 acquisition fee.

Not taking into consideration any negative equity on the E-GT.

nyccarguy

$600 doc fee just burns me up

brian125

michaell

Why bother with above vehicles wait till summer and go after something you want will enjoy next couple of years. Changing a vehicle for change sake is a mistake In $$$ unless you love deal and car . Is getting the Trax or Cruze a game changer??

The Trax 's motor will make for a terrible driven experience. Cruze limited is a ok vehicle at that lease price .

I actually do like the 2016 Malibu but thinking Chevy won't work with you on any Neg equity in Elantra with over 2k cash incentive.

$600 doc fee does hurt this deal

Mr_Shiftright

Maybe in a year or two you can spring for a Chevy Bolt. I'm sure once the pipeline is full they will be dealing on that car as well---and the 200 mile range encroaches on Tesla territory for 1/3rd the price.

Michaell

brian125 said:

michaell Why bother with above vehicles wait till summer and go after something you want will enjoy next couple of years. Changing a vehicle for change sake is a mistake In $$$ unless you love deal and car . Is getting the Trax or Cruze a game changer?? The Trax 's motor will make for a terrible driven experience. Cruze limited is a ok vehicle at that lease price . I actually do like the 2016 Malibu but thinking Chevy won't work with you on any Neg equity in Elantra with over 2k cash incentive. $600 doc fee does hurt this deal

At the moment it's just an appliance. Something to run errands in and use for pizza duty. I won't make a deal for the deals sake - I gotta fit it it and have the minimal equipment I want. 

No guarantees anything will happen, but it can't hurt to look

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

$600 doc fee just burns me up

Fact of life here in Colorado. Closing in on Florida for excessive fees, however. 

breld

We are seriously considering trading the S3 on a 2012 X5 diesel.  Hang on...

carnaught

"Changing a vehicle for change sake is a mistake in $$$......"

Why, that is what membership in the CCBA is all about!

It's okay Michaell, we understand.

Mr_Shiftright

There are no mistakes in the CCBA. When one door closes, another opens. However, the hallways can be annoying at times.

Me? I tend to overthink my car buying decisions, and gather up much more information than I actually need. While this might have saved me once or twice from a bad decision, I think it has also cost me missed opportunities.

stickguy

that is certainly a big change Breld. Obviously the first domino (bye bye Sedona?). hard to keep up with you guys.

I have at times overthought and missed out, but more often my cheap gene overrides my heart (pulling that wallet out can cause serious pain!)

Michaell

No shopping for me, today. One of our dogs needed an emergency trip to the vet and now has a bandage on his left rear leg. Wife had a hair appt, so I'm on dog sitting duty. 

Stick, the Sedona is a lease. May be tougher to get out of it. 

stickguy

well, that makes a difference. Going back to the matrix, that leaves him without the fun sedan. So either need to add 1 more to the fleet, or trade something else. I vote for expansion!

Michaell

stickguy said:

well, that makes a difference. Going back to the matrix, that leaves him without the fun sedan. So either need to add 1 more to the fleet, or trade something else. I vote for expansion!

Still has the S4

breld

Yup - S4 is still there, so that certainly fills the fun car category.  

Pretty easy transaction.  Based on the values I looked up, I offered a straight trade; we ended up at $500.  

Nice low mile 2012 X5 35d.  Deep sea blue over oyster, sport package, nav, comfort access, parking sensors.  30k miles.  

Michaell

breld said:

Yup - S4 is still there, so that certainly fills the fun car category.  

Pretty easy transaction.  Based on the values I looked up, I offered a straight trade; we ended up at $500.  

Nice low mile 2012 X5 35d.  Deep sea blue over oyster, sport package, nav, comfort access, parking sensors.  30k miles.  

Congrats! Nice color combo. 

stickguy

that is sharp. I like those. Just totally confused about what vehicle you use for what now!

28firefighter

But. I loved the S3...

stickguy

we all did. but blink and it is gone...

still not sure where his fun MT sedan fix is coming from (when he did not have to drive the Sedona). I'm sure that will be rectified soon enough.

breld

stickguy said:

that is sharp. I like those. Just totally confused about what vehicle you use for what now!

Well, we have choices now, that's for sure.  And we got rid of that pesky redundancy with the two Audi sport sedans!  

corvette

Breld, congrats and keep 'em coming! Great color combo.

suydam

"that is sharp. I like those. Just totally confused about what vehicle you use for what now!"
Me too. I can't wait to hear the new rationalization explanation.

rayainsw

Breld - congrats - looks wonderful !
Enjoy !
- Ray
Bets on how long this BMW stays in the stable, anyone ?

stickguy

will be gone before next Xmas.

28firefighter

I say gone by June 2016.