Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

Sandman6472

My wax guy came over yesterday and did a wonderful job on both cars. Naturally, 5 minutes from home tonight, we had torrential rains for about a half hour. Never fails, get the car washed and it always rains! Water beaded up nicely though and the white paint on the A3 looks flawless, the metallic blue on the Golf ain't so bad either.
Funny, after a good detail, feel like I'm driving a brand new vehicle!

The Sandman

stever

Here's my quickie test drive review of that hipster Matrix.

roadburner

sandman_6472 said:

My wax guy came over yesterday and did a wonderful job on both cars. Naturally, 5 minutes from home tonight, we had torrential rains for about a half hour. Never fails, get the car washed and it always rains! Water beaded up nicely though and the white paint on the A3 looks flawless, the metallic blue on the Golf ain't so bad either.
Funny, after a good detail, feel like I'm driving a brand new vehicle!

The Sandman

Today I gave the 2er a good cleaning- I tried out BMW's Car Wash Shampoo, Insect Remover and Express(spray on) wax. All three worked great, and the prices are pretty reasonable- $27 before the customary 20% discount.
I also have some BMW polish I bought some time ago- I'm going to use it on the ti; I'm going to display the 2er and ti in my town's spring festival car show.
They will probably be the only imports there, but who cares?

Michaell

stever said:

Here's my quickie test drive review of that hipster Matrix.

Thanks for the write up. I sat in an iM this past week when I took a look at the iA. The one feature I noticed was missing was the push button start. The iA has it, surprisingly enough.

stever

Yeah, that was an obvious omission to me too (but forgot about it while drafting the review). It seemed a bit short on the feature list but the MSRP was only around $19,200.

It did have folding mirrors - must be made for 30's Seattle garages.

iluvmysephia1

2016 Scion iA


Well, friends, I finally did it yesterday afternoon. I called Mountain States Scion. I had a nice long conversation with a very positive young man and, I don't know how to tell you this, this pursuit has been envigorated once again. Now, Mountain States Scion does a nice volume of vehicles, they are a "Great Auto Dealer" (more on that later - I can't find their ad that mention a phrase here!) and they are an A+ - rated car dealer by the BBB.

This young man, after hearing my honest confession of being upside-down on my trade, feels confident we can make a deal. I was honest about my trade, but really, if I only had two wooden nickels to scrape together over the phone, this young man would've still said "come on down!"

We are back on and ya know, I have read so much about this car and my pal over at the Scion iA forum that I attend sort of solidified things for me when I watched his slalom at the Fulton County Stadium site. Watch the video. And this guy is a perfectionist, but, not in a condescending way. He nailed it! The car ate up the turns!

He said "well, we can come up with something over the phone this week." Humm. OK, I thought. Then he goes "Sir, we'll buy your trade anytime you want. You don't even have ta buy a car from us for us ta do that."
Huh? What the? I worried that some Denverite could come in and buy the Stealth iA in the 7 days leading up to next Friday the 22nd of April, 2016.

Denver is supposed to get a foot of snow this next several days. After giving him my line on "the young folks that would want ta buy my Scion just aren't taught how ta drive stick shifts anymore, are they" and he agreed. His comment, you might wonder?

"I don't think that's gonna happen!" I took his thought and immediately placed myself emotionally beside my Dad at a Seattle Supersonic's game in the 70's. Naw, I don't think that's gonna happen either, pal.

RIP Dad. I will catch you later.


"Well, we would ask a deposit from you, and, it's non-refundable."

Gulp.

Onward and upward. I have passed the treshhold on this Stealthy pup. I asked candidly about the numbers and told him that I would be willing to go $1,000 down, but that I'd rather go $0 down. Didn't phase him. OK, then. I am still going to test drive the little might-might, but, this one is the car I am choosing. Mitsubishi caused some real grief to the Mrs. and I on Saturday, June 29th, 2014. Thank goodness for the nice folks at Viva Kia/Mitsubishi we were able to get a nice Urban Warrior oughta the deal. Kia is rockin' like Ted Nugent and Foghat and Aerosmith in the mid-70's right now. They have my utmost respect.

But I turned the corner yesterday on this. If the Stealth-ster breaks down in the city of Denver I will possibly call this off. Really don't think that's gonna happen. Like the '08 Lancer GTS, I have turned the page and barring a twistin' tornado with a raging fire to destroy, I'm gonna go get me a Scion. This isn't me first rodeo. I will sacrifice $500 if I absolutely hate the car and I'll walk. Then drive this cute little Urban Warrior from Kia back to the beef-laden quarters of southwest Kansas.

Her - "Where are you going?"

Him - "I'm goin' to go get me a Mitsubishi."

Her -"I'm comin' with!"

The Mrs. will look cute in the Stealth-ster. One mod I will do before May rolls past is hire one of these places to tint the windows. Somebody on the iA site tinted his Stealth iA 20% and the results were absolutely stunning. The kids really (big kids, too) like to mod up their rigs. This one is the only one I plan on doing.

roadburner

Congrats! As for tint, I paid $125 to have the aftermarket tint removed on the M235i; I hated it.

rayainsw

I had planned to have new tires put on the Charger the next time Michelin’s
‘$70 prepaid visa card with purchase of 4’ promotion showed up.
Checked this week and it was on - until today.
Had new Pilot Sport A/S 3+ installed last night at my local Discount.
- Ray
So far, excellent . . .

stever

You know Iluv, after it's all said and done, it's just a car. Non-refundable deposits aren't my bag.

If the car is gone or the deal goes south, you still get a nice trip to Denver out of the deal. That's the fun part - getting a deal on a new car would just be gravy.

carnaught

Re: non-refundable deposits, I'd consider putting it on my cc (preferably an AMEX card), and if the deal doesn't materialize, register a dispute on the charge which would nullify it. I would give disclosure to the dealership from the beginning that I was intersted in the car but that since I don't believe non-refundable deposits I will have my cc company hold the payment of the deposit if the deal doesn't go through.

henryn

I have lost a few non-refundable deposits in my day. Hmmm.... Two that I can think of, neither one on a car. I lost a $100 deposit on a townhouse back around 1974, and never regretted walking away from it. Sometimes walking away, even at a modest cost, is the right course of action.

@rayainsw Aren't you at about 20k miles on that Charger? Seems like a short life span for the OEM tires. What tires came on it, and how many miles did you get?

breld

@iluvmysephia1 - well, I can vouch for the snow. It's not accumulating yet, but it's blowing sideways right now. And it'll continue through the weekend. So, yes, that Scion is not going anywhere this weekend.

On the non-refundable, I suppose the dealership can have an agreement stating as much, but I'm not so sure they can actually refuse to refund a deposit if you haven't taken delivery of the car. I think it's more of a tactic to make sure you're serious and to have you feel beholden to them.

In any case - good luck and if it get to that point, enjoy your drive out here. Next week will be much warmer!

Michaell

breld said:

@iluvmysephia1 - well, I can vouch for the snow. It's not accumulating yet, but it's blowing sideways right now. And it'll continue through the weekend. So, yes, that Scion is not going anywhere this weekend.

On the non-refundable, I suppose the dealership can have an agreement stating as much, but I'm not so sure they can actually refuse to refund a deposit if you haven't taken delivery of the car. I think it's more of a tactic to make sure you're serious and to have you feel beholden to them.

In any case - good luck and if it get to that point, enjoy your drive out here. Next week will be much warmer!

@iluvmysephia1 - if you do get out here, give us a heads up and perhaps we can get together. @breld and I are on the south side of town - not more than a 20-30 minute drive from the dealer.

Deposit - I agree with @breld - the idea is by collecting the deposit, the dealer feels they have taken you out of the market. Little to they know that you're only working with them. No other dealer around is offering an iA for anything close to that price.

Good luck!

rayainsw

OEM on the Charger = Firestone FIREHAWK GTs. Not great tires – just OK,
for a high performance car – IMHO.
They were not ‘worn out’, certainly, but worn enough that I wanted
new tires – and I have a 1,000 mile driving weekend starting this Friday.
Just over 20,000 miles on them.
- Ray
Just preferring to replace early – rather than late . . .

stickguy

parked next to a nice really dark blue 5 series today. Wife was in love. Her favorite color. She wants that on her next car, so I told her she could pick out the color on my next one (though I get to pick the car!), since she isn't getting one for a lot of years.

the 5'er was nice looking, but kinda big. Liking the idea of a 2 series, or a nice 3 series, since there are tons of those around off lease. And they come in Blue!

Michaell

stickguy said:

parked next to a nice really dark blue 5 series today. Wife was in love. Her favorite color. She wants that on her next car, so I told her she could pick out the color on my next one (though I get to pick the car!), since she isn't getting one for a lot of years.

the 5'er was nice looking, but kinda big. Liking the idea of a 2 series, or a nice 3 series, since there are tons of those around off lease. And they come in Blue!

Not blue, but would this work?

http://www.schompbmw.com/used/BMW/2008-BMW-335xi-highlands-ranch-co-0e4173fe0a0e0a6b7893c9a84c751c52.htm

stickguy

looks nice. but too old. I am also the heretic here, because I would be happy to have the base engine not the 35i.

If I go used, I am thinking 2 years, 3 tops. Unless it is something I really like, that is really cheap.

something like this. with about 30K fewer miles!

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/662879280/overview/

Michaell

stickguy said:

looks nice. but too old. I am also the heretic here, because I would be happy to have the base engine not the 35i.

If I go used, I am thinking 2 years, 3 tops. Unless it is something I really like, that is really cheap.

something like this. with about 30K fewer miles!

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/662879280/overview/

What am I missing? My car has 43k, yours 67k.

stickguy

5 years? That was the closest I found on a quick search. Hence the comment about being 30K miles over!

Michaell

stickguy said:

5 years? That was the closest I found on a quick search. Hence the comment about being 30K miles over!

Sorry - my thinking has slowed from all the snow I've moved today. Predicting 22" when its all said and done.

Really want to move somewhere warmer.

Mr_Shiftright

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ctd/5495999801.html

stever

C'mon on down @Michaell - you can check out the golf courses next week. Was a cool 65° today, but should be back up in the 80s by Monday. Got company Friday/Saturday night though, so call ahead.

Emailed the Toyota dealer Friday afternoon after the test drives and the phone call.

Heard squat....

stickguy

If I got 2' of snow now, I would just abandon the place with what I could pack into the car, and head south.

That is a nice looking one Shifty. Something like that, or a MB C class. I do prefer that size car.

roadburner

stickguy said:

the 5'er was nice looking, but kinda big. Liking the idea of a 2 series, or a nice 3 series, since there are tons of those around off lease. And they come in Blue!

Get the 2er; the F30 3ers are snoozers...

stickguy

I drove a Sonata. A 3 series is still going to be a step up the excitement scale.

will really depend on what I decide about 2 vs. 4 doors.

stickguy

somehow I completely missed that BMW even made these oddball hybrids. based on the price they are asking, compared to other 5 series, no one else cares either. These apparently came with an $8k premium, for basically the same MPG and worse driving dynamics.

still, at 30K CPO, and still under BtoB warranty, cheap for a 5 series.

http://www.turnersvilleautomall.com/detail-2013-bmw-5_series-activehybrid_5-used-14863353.html

iluvmysephia1

You know Iluv, after it's all said and done, it's just a car. Non-refundable deposits aren't my bag.

If the car is gone or the deal goes south, you still get a nice trip to Denver out of the deal. That's the fun part - getting a deal on a new car would just be gravy.

You're right, stever. I would like ta head over on Friday. Would try ta get up early and out of Dodge (!) by 9:00AM and so we'd get to the dealer by 4:00PM. We're gonna try and hammer out most all of the details by phone and e-mail this early workweek. Denver has some huge stores I noticed on the way down I-25 on the way to SW Kansas. Whoa!

About the tint - I need to take a good look at the factory tint. If good I'll just leave it.

Yeah, I would love to meet a few of you - I hope the Mrs. comes along. She'll probably freak. I'm trying to block her reaction out of my mind so I have a clear car-trading head. If she flips I will have to re-examine my "best laid plan of mice and men!" She need not freak out - we're paying payments anyway on the Soul for 3 1/2 more years as we sit now. And I won't do a deal I haven't examined closely. Oh, and yes, I would put any holding deposit down on a CC, for sure. Any dispute is then covered and can be nullified by our CC company. I agree. I am thinking even $250 ta just hold it if we agree on details. See what they say - I'm thinking they want to sell the last 6-spd. MT iA on the lot and will "deal" with earnestness. The young man I talked to really worked on the positive energy thing - not a bad way ta approach car sales, the only way, I think.

We'll see, like I've said all along, what do I have ta lose. Gas is cheap ta get from Dodge ta DEN. $50 round trip of gas and I'd like ta hit a store or two - I know the Mrs. would. The 2016 Scion iA doesn't have Android Auto - I'm thinking I can copy my CD collection onto a jumpdrive on my desktop at home and then plug it into the iA's USB connection. Bluetooth connect it up and rock out - can't wait ta experiment with it. The iA gets 31mpg city and 41mpg highway, a nice boost over the Soul.

Michaell - how do I get ahold of you? Can you PM me your cell number on here? Love ta meet up with you and breld for a bit.

Michaell

iluvmysephia1 said:

You know Iluv, after it's all said and done, it's just a car. Non-refundable deposits aren't my bag.

If the car is gone or the deal goes south, you still get a nice trip to Denver out of the deal. That's the fun part - getting a deal on a new car would just be gravy.

You're right, stever. I would like ta head over on Friday. Would try ta get up early and out of Dodge (!) by 9:00AM and so we'd get to the dealer by 4:00PM. We're gonna try and hammer out most all of the details by phone and e-mail this early workweek. Denver has some huge stores I noticed on the way down I-25 on the way to SW Kansas. Whoa!

About the tint - I need to take a good look at the factory tint. If good I'll just leave it.

Yeah, I would love to meet a few of you - I hope the Mrs. comes along. She'll probably freak. I'm trying to block her reaction out of my mind so I have a clear car-trading head. If she flips I will have to re-examine my "best laid plan of mice and men!" She need not freak out - we're paying payments anyway on the Soul for 3 1/2 more years as we sit now. And I won't do a deal I haven't examined closely. Oh, and yes, I would put any holding deposit down on a CC, for sure. Any dispute is then covered and can be nullified by our CC company. I agree. I am thinking even $250 ta just hold it if we agree on details. See what they say - I'm thinking they want to sell the last 6-spd. MT iA on the lot and will "deal" with earnestness. The young man I talked to really worked on the positive energy thing - not a bad way ta approach car sales, the only way, I think.

We'll see, like I've said all along, what do I have ta lose. Gas is cheap ta get from Dodge ta DEN. $50 round trip of gas and I'd like ta hit a store or two - I know the Mrs. would. The 2016 Scion iA doesn't have Android Auto - I'm thinking I can copy my CD collection onto a jumpdrive on my desktop at home and then plug it into the iA's USB connection. Bluetooth connect it up and rock out - can't wait ta experiment with it. The iA gets 31mpg city and 41mpg highway, a nice boost over the Soul.

Michaell - how do I get ahold of you? Can you PM me your cell number on here? Love ta meet up with you and breld for a bit.

I'll reach out to you with my contact info. I may not be available Friday night ... prime time for pizza delivery.

Would you be staying over and heading home on Saturday? Might make something work.

@stickguy - par for the course around here in April. The snow has the consistency of a slushee when I shovel it. Heard it's supposed to let up tomorrow around noon. Ugh.

@stever - I've got Las Cruces on my list of cities I track weather for; noticed it was cool today but set to warm up next week. Wife and I both are thinking of a move to warmer climes. Have to see how the job situation works out.

iluvmysephia1

I'll reach out to you with my contact info. I may not be available Friday night ... prime time for pizza delivery.

Would you be staying over and heading home on Saturday? Might make something work.


Michaell - doubtful we'd hotel it Friday night, have 2 dogs and 2 cats to care for. If it doesn't work out this time for some reason maybe we could meet at the Denver Auto Show or something. When is that, BTW?

Michaell

iluvmysephia1 said:

I'll reach out to you with my contact info. I may not be available Friday night ... prime time for pizza delivery.

Would you be staying over and heading home on Saturday? Might make something work.


Michaell - doubtful we'd hotel it Friday night, have 2 dogs and 2 cats to care for. If it doesn't work out this time for some reason maybe we could meet at the Denver Auto Show or something. When is that, BTW?

The Denver Auto Show is in March or April each year.

iluvmysephia1

You might be in Las Cruces, NM, next year, Michaell!

henryn

I spent Saturday afternoon doing test drives. Started out at the Kia dealer, and drove a new Soul.

First of all, I like the looks. With all of the conversations in here lately, I have been noticing them on the road, and I like the look. Up close is every bit as good, and they have some very pretty colors not just “you can have any color you want, as long as it’s black, white, or silver”.

The car (Soul Plus or “+”) comes reasonably well equipped. Backup camera, XM radio, alloy wheels. And it has a fairly good amount of space inside for the driver. I was able to get comfortable, and the visibility was good.

Performance? I wasn’t expecting much, and I didn’t get much. I think this would make a good city commute car, which is primarily what I would be doing with it. I really wouldn’t want to make a road trip in it, but then it isn’t intended for such use, is it?

The salesman was professional, knew his cars, and was fairly balanced in his sales pitch. He told me that he was going to offer his best price up front, and he did. About $500 under TrueCar, and no mop and glow or nitrogen or other bogus nonsense.

I left the Kia dealer, and drove up the freeway to the Honda dealer. This dealership has “mop and glow” on the windshield of every new Honda. $399 for nitrogen, $299 for something else, a total of over $1,000 in completely bogus dealer add ons. I wonder if the dealerships know just how slimy that looks to a knowledgeable customer? Gives me a strong urge to wash my hands.

The salesman was good though. Retired after 30 years working in the oil field services industry, so we swapped some war stories. And he knew his cars. I test drove a Honda CR-V, the SE model (similar to the base LX only with alloy wheels and window tint. Not as well equipped as the Soul, no XM radio for one thing. But it is faster, noticeably so. I tried sitting in an HR-V, and the console was a deal breaker, no way I could deal with that. The salesman suggested I try an Odyssey, which I have never driven, so I tried one. Much friendlier to my knee, great seat and seating position.

Which got me started thinking about minivans, so I went up the freeway to Carmax and drove a Grand Caravan and a Sienna, both 2015 models. I liked all 3, the Odyssey, Grand Caravan, and Sienna.

The Kia Soul? A very nice package, and impressive for a small, inexpensive car. I’m just not at all sure that I’m cut out to own a small, inexpensive car. I like luxury cars, and trucks. If I were to go with something like the Soul, I do believe I would pick the Soul over the CR-V.

sda

stickguy said:

looks nice. but too old. I am also the heretic here, because I would be happy to have the base engine not the 35i.

If I go used, I am thinking 2 years, 3 tops. Unless it is something I really like, that is really cheap.

something like this. with about 30K fewer miles!

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/662879280/overview/

That's a lot of miles on a 2013...does the price reflect a decent discount because of this?

stickguy

Henry, Minivans are basically luxury cars now if you go up the model line a few clicks. And if you are used to (and enjoy) larger cars (based on what you own now, I would say yes) won't even seem big. Amazingly useful, but drive "smaller". and can't beat the nice upright seating position.

try the Kia too (Sedona?). Breld has one and really likes it. Seems to be the least mini-vanish, without losing the positive attributes.

though a van is going to be a whole lot more expensive than a Soul, unless you get a base model (and really, who wants that?)

Maybe try out a Mazda CX-5. similar size to a CR-V, but drives better, and a touring has a lot of goodies on it.

stickguy

@SDA, I honestly have not tried to figure out pricing on those, but I suspect the miles will be a tough sell. It is a bit cheaper than similar ones with miles in the 30's. Depending on my needs when the time comes, a higher mile but OCD maintained unit, at a considerable discount, may make sense since right now, I don't but many on my car.

iluvmysephia1

henryn - Kia really nailed it when designing the Soul. The car drives nice, has no rattles and very little wind noise and cabin noise intrusion. Even though I'm shopping the 2016 Scion iA, our Kia Soul is not just a consolation prize. I love that Kia Soul! Very dependable. It's one of those cars that you just start up and run it and enjoy it.

stever

@Michaell, y'all are welcome any time. Job market is better over in AZ I suppose, but cost of living is cheaper here. Bit milder than Tucson's summer weather too. But we don't get the saguaros though; even the hardier Argentine one is struggling in our courtyard.

@iluvmysephia1, quick trip! Need to find a neighborhood kid to dog sit; that's always worked well for us.

@henryn, excellent review. The weak spots for the Soul for me are the mediocre mpg and the lack of a blind spot detection system. I think it'd be fine on a road trip, but buzziness could be a concern. My wife doesn't much care for Hondas and she's never been comfy on the passenger side in an Odyssey - the dash is just a bit intrusive. Our issue with the HR-V was the AC - our tested couldn't keep up. I like the CX-5 but my wife thought it was a bit rolly. We tested the Sport model and I was slinging it around a bit.

I'm back at the Prius v Five with Advanced Tech - great mpg and all the goodies (if I cared about power, I wouldn't be cross-shopping the Soul).

My wife is leaning Soul because the panoramic sunroof on it opens.

I'd be more excited about the Encore but the dealer really soured me with the $1,400 mop and glow "desert protection package". They'd eat it but what junk fees will they try to stick me with every time I take it in for service?

iluvmysephia1

stever - you don't like the Scion iA? Is it the big 'ole gaping maw in front? Because that car gets 31 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway. I have never seen one being sold for as low as the one in Denver, though. All that car (backup camera, pushbutton start, accident avoidance and lane departure warning, 7" entertainment screen, plus it's a Mazda! I want the driving dynamics. They're absolutely outstanding and that guy on the iA forum just shot through that slalom in Atlanta. I still can't believe that - he has done one engine mod to quicken the getup - but this car is so light at 2,395 lbs. that everyone getting one will get great engine performance out of their iA) for only $13,895 is amazing.

corvette

First fuel fill on the Murano. It took 20.5 gallons (tank is rated to hold 21.6) and looks like I got about 20 MPG with a lot of cold starts and quite a bit of city driving. I filled it with premium since I thought the VQ35DE engine required it, but now that I look at the owner's manual, regular is recommended for "hardtop" Muranos. It appears they slightly detuned the engine in 2011 to allow the recommendation of regular fuel.

The hardtop models have 260 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque, on regular.

Premium is recommended for the CrossCabriolet models, which produce 265 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque.

Guess I will be filling up with regular from now on.

stever

>you don't like the Scion iA? Is it the big 'ole gaping maw in front?

@iluvmysephia1, I've been driving minivans for 27 years. As long as stuff works, has decent ergonomics and is reliable and cheap enough to run, I don't much care about the exterior styling. Some of the interior stuff would bug me, like the new Prius hatch console and all that white trim in it.

The '82 Tercel served us well, but I really like the boxiness of the Soul more, then a hatch/wagon style. So I didn't even hunt for the iA on the lot the other day.

Besides, I wouldn't want to grab one and steal your thunder.

suydam

I liked the Soul but it seemed boxy and definitely tippy in the wind. I thought it might be like my old Vibe -- not a car I'd want to take on the highway. Lot of them around so I'm probably minority opinion.

carnaught

suydam said:

I liked the Soul but it seemed boxy and definitely tippy in the wind. I thought it might be like my old Vibe -- not a car I'd want to take on the highway. Lot of them around so I'm probably minority opinion.

Yeah, I cross shopped the Soul with the Encore and really liked the latter overall much better. The Soul, for the money, is not a bad choice.

stever

@iluvmysephia1, you may want to check on the iA tires. Apparently they are an odd-ball size and spares aren't common. TireRack only carries one model that fits it. P185/60R16 86H's.

stickguy

back in the day (the 80s) that was the hot set-up for the sport hatches. The GTI and Colt Turbo (among others) ran that size. Just 14" wheels. Seemed so low profile back then. And interesting fact, the default size used on the miata.net tire calculator (I love that tool)

I seem to keep buying cars with unique sizes. When the 2005 Odyssey came out, the only other car using that size was IIRC a rolls royce. And there were at most 3 options. After a few years (and before I needed them) more came out.

The RDX also had a funny size, and I think at first there were few options. Many more now.

Good news, you can use other sizes. Assuming the wheel is OK (should be wide enough), a 205/55-16 is only .06% off in total diameter, so basically identical. And there are a boatload of tires in that size!

stever

And if you have a flat 8,000 miles in and just want to replace one tire?

stickguy

you buy a new one.

corvette

My 2002 Altima had 205/65-16 tires. I think there were only two tires made in that size, both of them OE. I ended up getting 215/60-16s to replace them, as that is a much more common size. In later model years, even Nissan used the 215 width tires as OE.

Sandman6472

Have 225/45/17's on both the Golf and A3 and would really prefer a wider sidewall, at least a 55" but doubt I'd do anything to change things. But thinking a 215/55/17 could work if I'm doing my calculations right and doubt there'd be any penalty in mpg's. But so far, tires are wearing very evenly and expect to see at least 40K on them, if not more. They are Continentals which should be a good brand. Procontact TX are what I have while the A3 has a Pirelli kind. Since I got the wheel/tire off an '15 Jetta SEL, think I got a better tire than regular Golf SE's had with the original alloys which I hated.
As of now, doing nothing but maybe in the future will look into this.

The Sandman

stever

stickguy said:

you buy a new one.

Apparently that's the issue, OEM sizes aren't readily available. (link) Unless you are saying just to get one "close enough".

corvette

stever said:

stickguy said:

you buy a new one.

Apparently that's the issue, OEM sizes aren't readily available. (link) Unless you are saying just to get one "close enough".

I just read it as "you buy a new [car]."