Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I'm over snow too. Could live without ever seeing it again.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

My random CCBA plan of the day involves the following: pay off the Pilot (May), double up on my Legacy payments until it is paid off. Add a 4th car to the fleet since I know my wife drives the Pilot out of necessity. The 2 most recent punches were mine (Legacy - BMW). The 3 previous punches were hers (X3, TSX, Pilot). I'm thinking a used 2 year old V6 Accord would be a nice addition to the stable.

"Saving" miles on the Pilot is not a bad plan. Full-size SUVs are spendy buggers, much like pickups, and they keep going up! If you have one that you like, keep it for its real purpose and put the miles on something else when you can!

I've had my forty-seven year-old pickup for nineteen years now, and I know I would have surely bought a truck (at least once) by now if I didn't have it there for the times I need it. As it is, I am free to foolishly spend that money on other things!

xwesx

Send a little this way! We haven't had new snow in nearly two months now!

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I'm over snow too. Could live without ever seeing it again.

Is your daughter at USC? Have you thought about moving to that area?

stickguy

Elon. I would love to move down to that area someplace. Haven't got wife fully on board. Now waiting to see where the princess ends up after graduating.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Elon. I would love to move down to that area someplace. Haven't got wife fully on board. Now waiting to see where the princess ends up after graduating.

I have to be farther east/south than that.. lol

laurasdada

Good luck to my more southern (than Mass) East Coast brothers with the next snowmageddon/snowpocalypse. It appears Ma Nature, so far, is sparing us New Englanders. Although, heart bleeds for the ski industry...

If shoveling, bend at the knees, take your time. Or hire someone. Or toss a kid out into the snow with a shovel... Or, as I'm considering, condo!

nyccarguy

@xwesx - there is absolutely no good reason to get rid of the Pilot in favor of another almost $40K SUV or Minivan.  my wife & I both like driving cars in favor of SUVs.  I've got my Subaru which I am grooming for the long haul (OCD preventative maintenance) and my beloved Prelude.  She's got her Pilot, but grabs my Legacy keys every chance she gets.  It just has to be "sporty" enough (a looker with good pickup).  The V6 Accord Coupe fits the bill.  Just thinking out loud.

fintail

I'm envious of the snow hitting the mid-Atlantic area. It's been several years since we've had a good snow event.

Mr_Shiftright

We had snow in 1968. We're due.

stickguy

@breld. Forgot to ask. What color Jetta did you get?

Michaell

stickguy said:

@breld. Forgot to ask. What color Jetta did you get?

I know ... but I'll let you guess.

His daughter picked the color, BTW.

stickguy

Looks best in white IMO. But I am biased.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Looks best in white IMO. But I am biased.

 Strike one! 

suydam

Blue?

tjc78

Red 

stickguy

I'll take black or gray, since those are the last color options. No blue. Just black, white red and gray.

Michaell

suydam said:

Blue?

 Strike two! 

Michaell

tjc78 said:

Red 

 Strike three! 

Michaell

stickguy said:

I'll take black or gray, since those are the last color options. No blue. Just black, white red and gray.

 Black it is! 

 The sport model is only available in those four colors? That is sad. 

corvette

Michaell said:

Black it is! 

 The sport model is only available in those four colors? That is sad. 

The GLI was pretty much the same way... Maybe five colors? And only a black interior. I get that a black interior is supposed to be sportier, but I think you should be able to have the sporty hardware (suspension, engine, brakes, wheels) and an ivory interior.

stickguy

nice thing about the Sport is the 2-tone interior. The seats are light, and it really looks sharp, and makes the interior not be a cave.

corvette

stickguy said:

nice thing about the Sport is the 2-tone interior. The seats are light, and it really looks sharp, and makes the interior not be a cave.

Nice. I have a light haired dog who gets nervous and sheds more than normal on car rides. Makes having a black interior annoying.

breld

Yeah - I liked the gray the best, or white, which she never would've gone for. But black was her first choice, and they had one, so why not?

Just sitting in various Jettas, the Sport by far has the most interesting interior.

breld

Picked up the A3 from the collision center and I'm amazed at what they can do with an "express" repair. Car looks great! We went straight to the Audi dealer and dropped it off for a Monday appointment to diagnose the transmission issue. Once that's resolved, it's off for a private party sale. With all these issues addressed, I'm hoping for an easy sale.

qbrozen

Shifty, you always say miles don't bother you on a Porsche that's been well cared for.

Michaell

Well, I may be using my GM Points after all.

My son in CA has been driving a mid 90's Mustang for the last 5 or so years. It's been a total money drain, which my folks have been helping him with.

Might make sense to get him a new Cruze or Sonic when I'm out in CA in a couple of weeks.

I'd cosign the loan with him, but hopefully we could keep the payments at a reasonable level for him to afford.

I found this at a Chevy dealer pretty close to where he lives:

http://www.santapaulachevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/new-2015-Chevrolet-Sonic-LT-Santa_Paula-CA/2496275863

Subtract the $4K of points from it and you've got a decent car for not a lot of money.

nyccarguy

So my son had a hockey game this AM at 7:00.  The hockey rink is about 20 minutes north of me, so we left at 6:05 and arrived at approximately 6:30 AM.  The roads weren't bad when I left the house, but after I got my son dressed and left the game they got worse.  I headed to work and got about 2 exits into New York, then turned around to head back home.  

nyccarguy

The picture is of I-95 northbound.  North of I-287 close to the NY/CT border.  

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

The picture is of I-95 northbound.  North of I-287 close to the NY/CT border.  

At least there isn't a lot of traffic.

Stay safe, all you east coasters.

Sandman6472

Over by the SprainBrook Pkwy I see...miss the area and will have to get back up there again, eventually. Have our 50th reunion in 2022 so might have to wait till then.
Yes, they fixed the lever on the second try and all is good. Personally, I love the blue over ivory which surprises me because have always gone with black or more recently, gray. The A3 is white over black but on that vehicle, it works...almost got the black over black but not something we really wanted to be honest. Have seen the A3 in other nicer colors around lately though.

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Clear in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area but going to reach a low of 44 tonight, supposedly. Now with the winds blowing at 25 to 35 mph, that's cold for us. Be safe up there folks and hope the power stays on and y'all have enough to eat. One thing we all need to remember, Mother Nature can be a [non-permissible content removed]!!

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

Shifty, you always say miles don't bother you on a Porsche that's been well cared for.

I know I said that, but I lied.

Well, no, that's not exactly true. What troubles me about high miles relates to VALUE, not mechanicals. Remember, I already drive a car that barely beat out Fiat in the reliability tables. (takes your breath away, doesn't it?)

Here's my reasoning, as warped as some might perceive it:

Let's say that statistically (YRMV) a modern car has an life expectancy of from 175K to 225K. Yes, yes, some cars make it past that and some die beforehand...but statistically, let's say that's "realistic"

So, following that train of thought when buying a used car, once the car hits 175K or more, it should, logically, be worthless.

So yeah, I buy a very nice Porsche with 150K that has been lovingly cared for, and I pay, say $11,500. Now in a few years when I run the mileage up to 180K or more, who is going to buy such a car? Even I wouldn't at that mileage mark.

So, I could end up with a rather savage rate of depreciation on a high mileage car.

Unlike the man who buys the brand new Mercedes S65 AMG and cheerfully absorbs a deprecation of $30,000 a year, I recoil at even a $4,000 a year massacre.

stickguy

if you buy this, you would be doing it with a LT horizon. 5-10+ years? 200-250K or whatever that takes you to.

qbrozen

I don't disagree. I made that mistake with the 540i. That was over 140k, IIRC. Well cared for, etc, but I could not get over the feeling that I was driving a timebomb so I dumped it after I put maybe 10-12k on it. I got out of it just fine and paid about $2k all told between the depreciation and repairs I made, but it is tough to enjoy the ownership of such a car. 

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

if you buy this, you would be doing it with a LT horizon. 5-10+? 200-250K or whatever that takes you to.

Yes the only way to rationalize such a purchase would be with a longterm horizon, I agree. If I amortize the MINI over the 6 years I've owned it, it's a pretty normal depreciation rate and a fairly normal repair rate PER YEAR. But had I only kept it 2 years, it would have been more costly purchase on a per year basis.

I'm under some pressure because the MINI needs brakes and rotors all around and I'm worried about the clutch.

ab348

Michaell said:

Well, I may be using my GM Points after all.

My son in CA has been driving a mid 90's Mustang for the last 5 or so years. It's been a total money drain, which my folks have been helping him with.

Might make sense to get him a new Cruze or Sonic when I'm out in CA in a couple of weeks.

I'd cosign the loan with him, but hopefully we could keep the payments at a reasonable level for him to afford.

I found this at a Chevy dealer pretty close to where he lives:

http://www.santapaulachevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/new-2015-Chevrolet-Sonic-LT-Santa_Paula-CA/2496275863

Subtract the $4K of points from it and you've got a decent car for not a lot of money.

I dunno about the Sonic. I can't get past the "motorcycle" IP, and they seem really small. I think they have generally received decent reviews though. It doesn't look like they are giving much on the price for a year-old model though. Maybe they don't have much to play with.

What about this for not much more? It is a model year newer and a more substantial car.

http://www.santapaulachevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/new-2016-Chevrolet-Cruze_Limited-LT-Santa_Paula-CA/2612980093

Sandman6472

Will need to get the tires rotated soon as I'm already at 14,500. Might also get the back brakes cleaned and adjusted as the pedal feels a bit low and mushy. Looking for the middle part of this week or next and then will have the alignment redone. Since I'm doing a tick over 1K/month, the second oil change will take place either June or July, right around 20K though can do it a bit earlier to like the first one. Will be doing the 20K and 30K service at the VW store since I pre-paid them already. Looking back, wish I had bought a few more since the price was discounted and this way I know they are using real VW parts. Probably is a good German mechanic somewhere in the area that I can get things done later in it's life. Will do a search and see what I come up with since there are many German auto owners in my area, many of them.
Luckily the tires are wearing nicely and hoping to get close to 50K on them before replacing. Not sure if I'll go to Tires Plus like we usually do, they also own Firestone or vice versa, or check out the Goodyear store down the street. Saw a pretty meaty tire there and the guy I spoke with says they price match...will have to check this out also. Have Continentals right now and as I said, they are wearing very well.

The Sandman

stickguy

I would definitely try to scrape up the extra $25 or whatever it takes to get into a cruise instead of a Sonic.

Sandman6472

Sonic??? Meh is pretty much the best I can say about them as we seem to be phasing them out of our fleet. And just like the Spark, was a passenger in one last night, they both need to go...rather spend a bit more to move up to a Cruze if one must get a Chevrolet. The pics of the new upcoming model look pretty nice to...wouldn't be my first choice, or even my second, but would drive one if need be. As I've already said, right now I'm in my German stage so wouldn't be looking at any domestic. But, things could always change here.

The Sandman

nyccarguy

Sandy - I'm with you regarding the tan interior. My Legacy's Lapis Blue exterior over Ivory Cloth interior looks great. The black floors & mats make it much more functional. I used to be against light interiors, now I'll go for another, as long as the floor is black.

Sandman6472

Have black Monster Mats that came with the vehicle, have the cloth mats in the hatch. Black carpets too, a very nice combo. Funny, the A3 only has the carpeted mats and we haven't gotten around to getting the Monster Mats for it yet but think her vehicle could really use them. Like you, now, I prefer a lighter interior but most of the vehicles I drive at work are dark ones...guess Hertz just orders them that way. On some of the stickers I've seen at the new car area, a lot of them say "Fleet" on them which leads me to believe they have some different features than regular vehicles sold to the public...like seeing those nicer 18" rims on the Jetta S's. They must get some kind of special pricing also for the amount they buy I'd guess also. Just makes sense to give a discount when one buys in bulk.

The Sandman

carnaught

Congrats to our undisputed Grand Poobah, Breld, on his latest acquisition!

Sandman6472

Drove a Rav4 the other night at work and thought it was a pretty good vehicle. Liked the interior a bit more than my old Tucson, the gauges and look of the dash seemed more modern plus felt more comfortable in the seat which were cloth. Prefferred the Tucson engine as thought it pulled and shifted a bit better but liked the similar interior lighting color, purplish. Never test drove a Rav4 back in 2013 which is a shame because think I would've bought one instead, either XLE or Limited trim. They felt about the same size which is just a bit too large for my tastes...prefer the HR-V size CUV to be honest as it seems a bit better suited for more spirited driving. Just curious if the HR-V is close to size with the X1 or the GLA 250 as I really like either of those as well as the VW Tiguan.
Originally, liked the Tiguan in SE trim but it was a bit on the pricey side and a CPO unit would've made more sense. But things went a different way and here we are. Funny how we all get a new vehicle but immediately start looking for it's replacement down the road...very rare that we find a vehicle that makes us stop the hunt. Think this is because with all the changes out there, there's always something down the road which peaks our interest and eventually has to be the gotta have it vehicle we just can't live without. Funny, I now have the perfect job to someone who is afflicted with the new car syndrome, with so many makes and models to try out and the best part is never knowing what I'm going to drive next!

The Sandman

Michaell

ab348 said:

Michaell said:

Well, I may be using my GM Points after all.

My son in CA has been driving a mid 90's Mustang for the last 5 or so years. It's been a total money drain, which my folks have been helping him with.

Might make sense to get him a new Cruze or Sonic when I'm out in CA in a couple of weeks.

I'd cosign the loan with him, but hopefully we could keep the payments at a reasonable level for him to afford.

I found this at a Chevy dealer pretty close to where he lives:

http://www.santapaulachevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/new-2015-Chevrolet-Sonic-LT-Santa_Paula-CA/2496275863

Subtract the $4K of points from it and you've got a decent car for not a lot of money.

I dunno about the Sonic. I can't get past the "motorcycle" IP, and they seem really small. I think they have generally received decent reviews though. It doesn't look like they are giving much on the price for a year-old model though. Maybe they don't have much to play with.

What about this for not much more? It is a model year newer and a more substantial car.

http://www.santapaulachevrolet.com/VehicleDetails/new-2016-Chevrolet-Cruze_Limited-LT-Santa_Paula-CA/2612980093

I looked at the Cruze inventory, too. I could do an LS for about the same price.

This would be a purchase, not a lease. Kid would make the payments.

xwesx

I agree on the Sonic vs. Cruze. The Cruze is a much more substantial car and the pricing isn't really sufficient, i think, to justify the purchase of the Sonic. The only thing that the Sonic really brings to the table is the hatch, but it sounds to me like this is more of a basic transport sort of situation than really needing something with high versatility.

A co-worker has a Cruze.... LTZ maybe? It's really nice and comfortable (his is a 2012 and basically has all options that do not require the addition of leather seating), and it has a manual transmission!

Mr_Shiftright

carnaught said:

Congrats to our undisputed Grand Poobah, Breld, on his latest acquisition!

Yep, we sit at the foot of the Master.

Michaell

xwesx said:

I agree on the Sonic vs. Cruze. The Cruze is a much more substantial car and the pricing isn't really sufficient, i think, to justify the purchase of the Sonic. The only thing that the Sonic really brings to the table is the hatch, but it sounds to me like this is more of a basic transport sort of situation than really needing something with high versatility.

A co-worker has a Cruze.... LTZ maybe? It's really nice and comfortable (his is a 2012 and basically has all options that do not require the addition of leather seating), and it has a manual transmission!

The kid is 6'3" so I suspect the Cruze would fit him better.

suydam

Hmm. My son is that size and even the 'bu looked like he was in a toy car. He got a used Impala and is very happy. They depreciate like rocks so a very good value.

imidazol97

Michaell said:

I looked at the Cruze inventory, too. I could do an LS for about the same price.

This would be a purchase, not a lease. Kid would make the payments.

The LS has the 1.8 L Ecotec engine. All other Cruzes have the 1.4 Turbo.