Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

andres3

stickguy said:

I am all a tingle.

I wish my Optima had the Elantra Sport 1.6T tuning and transmission tuning/software/improvements. Mine lags far behind, but still better than what I consider a dog (the 2.4 base FE engine from Korea).

stickguy

I still need to play with it more, and get through the break in period, but there is a huge difference in response and performance between the 2.4 in the sonata and the 1.6 in the sport. Nice powertrain. I even played with the paddle shifters the other day. They worked!

carnaught

ab348 said:

We are still waiting for the @carnaught announcement.

Very busy couple of days.  The new punch is a 2018 Mercedes GLC300, brilliant blue with beige interior, nav., 360 degree camera and Burmester (not Burmeister) audio.  Picture(s) to follow, when I can.

tbirdmarco

@carnaught sounds like an nice nice car is that the same like breld has that he got an munth or so ago for his wife?

tbirdmarco

@carnaught what car did you end up trading in!

stickguy

marco, yes, same model.

Naught, love the car, and those colors.

tbirdmarco

@stickguy THank you thaught so!

Michaell

andres3 said:

Michaell said:

When I leased my Elantra GT, i pre purchased the maintenance, as I was still delivering pizza and putting a lot of miles on the car. I followed the 3750 schedule.

Am meeting up with @jpp5862 and @breld this morning - breakfast first, then some test drives. @jpp5862 wants to test drive the RR Velar and (maybe) the Volvo V90. I'll try out the Elantra Sport and, if there is time, the 2018 Accord.

The first three dealers are within a mile of so of each other; the Honda dealer is a few miles from them.

On a lease why would anyone follow the "severe" schedule if it isn't required by the lease agreement? What is absolutely required on a lease? Does severe or regular schedule get left up to the owner's honor system? I was told the 1.6T in the Optima had a 5K mile interval for oil changes, period, no exceptions. Well, one exception, to do the first oil change at 3K, then every 5K miles thereafter.

It was my choice, given the number of miles I was putting on it. And, since the cost was part of my lease payment, I didn't feel bad bringing it in every 8-10 weeks.

Plus, I wanted to have all the services done by the dealer in case I had to file a warranty claim - fortunately, that never happened.

stickguy

that is the best reason to be cautious. JMonroe knows that well.

I suspect that I won't be close to the 3K miles in 3 months, so will go with the 6 month plan. Though the dealer is comping the 1st visit, and already made a 3 month appointment, so might just go in if the roads aren't salty! After that, I think I will go with the every 6 months plan, since miles won't be high at that point anyway.

stickguy

oh, big day planned tomorrow. If I get it all cleaned out and ready, plan to take the Sonata back to the dealer tomorrow night and turn it in. should be a quick process, and will be finally able to get the new one out of the garage.

tbirdmarco

@stickguy sounds like an plan to do that with your new car!

tbirdmarco

@stickguy nice nice so old car will be going back tonight! nice nice good luck!

rayainsw

'2018 Mercedes GLC300'
Congratulations - enjoy !
- Ray
Waiting for the pictures ...

graphicguy

carnaught said:

ab348 said:

We are still waiting for the @carnaught announcement.

Very busy couple of days.  The new punch is a 2018 Mercedes GLC300, brilliant blue with beige interior, nav., 360 degree camera and Burmester (not Burmeister) audio.  Picture(s) to follow, when I can.

Pics required or it’s just like you didn’t buy anything.....

graphicguy

Regarding service intervals, these days I think the computer decides what service is needed and when. I wasn’t aware there were still manufacturers around that still go by the “every 5K oil change” rules.

Computer kind of makes it a little tough for the likes of the dealership’s service dept or a “quickly lube” place to justify their never ending pleas of “service every 3K miles”.

stickguy

Hyundai still does not use a maintenance minder, like Acura has. There is a service due message, but I believe it just tracks date (possibly miles) to the schedule you picked. So not adjusting for actual usage.

carnaught

Here's a quick pic.

nyccarguy

@carnaught - beautiful! congrats!

mlevine

Nice color on the GLC carnaught. How does in drive?

stickguy

Ah, the lighter blue. they also have a dark midnight blue. Both are nice.

breld

I like that blue! Congrats!

graphicguy

carnaught said:

Here's a quick pic.

Ahhhhh......boy, that sure is “purty”. Big congrats! Love the color!

tifighter

Yeah, I like that blue. Nice choice @carnaught

Michaell

@carnaught - let me add my congrats!

I was able to drive the @breld GLC last weekend - not enough seat time to really form an opinion, but the seats were comfortable and I liked the punch from the engine, even in city traffic.

Mr_Shiftright

So I sent my friends out with a list of cars to drive. They wanted a Sedan or small hatch. So they tested Camry, Accord, Civic, Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra, Corolla, Honda Fit, VW Golf.

Seems like the Civic won. These are not car people. They buy a car and drive it for ten years.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

So I sent my friends out with a list of cars to drive. They wanted a Sedan or small hatch. So they tested Camry, Accord, Civic, Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra, Corolla, Honda Fit, VW Golf.

Seems like the Civic won. These are not car people. They buy a car and drive it for ten years.

Not a bad choice from the list.

suydam

Sounds like a good car for them.

Mr_Shiftright

Yes it is. They did their "homework" as far as actually testing, driving and crawling around all these cars. I told them to not even consult me about numbers until they found a car they really liked. I'd rather people work from that angle than the numbers angle.

Of course, they tempered this approach with some pragmatism. I'm sure they would have liked a Mercedes E class.

So they didn't entirely ignore window stickers.

Biggest complaint on most of the cars? You guessed it. Visibility.

roadburner

Michaell said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

So I sent my friends out with a list of cars to drive. They wanted a Sedan or small hatch. So they tested Camry, Accord, Civic, Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra, Corolla, Honda Fit, VW Golf.

Seems like the Civic won. These are not car people. They buy a car and drive it for ten years.

Not a bad choice from the list.

Yes, they could have done far worse.

ab348

Nice vehicle, @carnaught . I am seeing that shade of blue on a lot of new cars now.

28firefighter

Beautiful car, @carnaught. Also, great choice taking the Burmester sound system.

xwesx

stickguy said:

that is the best reason to be cautious. JMonroe knows that well.

What is the story on that?

xwesx

carnaught said:

Here's a quick pic.

So shiny! Which one left to make room in the garage?

xwesx

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

In Audi's I've owned, you can turn "off" the ESP to make the lawyers happy, or you can really turn it off. In order to do the latter, you have to press and hold the ESP Off button for 2 to 3 seconds without letting go. You should see on the dash "ESP OFF" with some additional notation to the what I call "half-off setting." I think this only works if the ESP is on when you start the process.

Thank you for the insight, Andres! I'll check it out when I'm next in the seat.

Shockingly, I actually remembered to try this out last night, and the verdict is.......!

Nada. Less intrusive is as lenient as it will go. Maybe their historical data tells them that knuckleheads tend to drive these cars.... I wish I could say that I buck that trend.

Additionally, the manual shift option is useless as well, as it is highly restrictive in both its up and down shifting zones, as well as being very quick to shift on its own. It will hold gear a little on downhill slopes, which is marginally useful, though I am certain the additional engineering effort to add the option was not worth the investment.

tbirdmarco

@carnaught nice nice love the color!

Sandman6472

Sat in the 2018 Buick Encore today and like the changes to the dash. The infotainment center is nicely integrated into the dash and not like an afterthought like the last generation. The seats were comfortable and this one had a moonroof, something I have come to love in my vehicle. Interior about the size of my VW Golf to be honest though the outside looks a bit beefing and the roof is definitely taller. Need to drive one again but wouldn't feel bad owning one to be honest. They also got some Chevy Cruze hatchbacks in also and am excited to drive one soon. My oldest has decided that that will be her next vehicle. Her fiance loves Chevy and drives a Camaro so figure that's where this is coming from. I see that my days of advising her are at an end but guess it's natural. Will make sure I have enough seat time in one so I can know what issues to look for when she does do her test drive.

The Sandman

tbirdmarco

@sandman_6472 those are boath nice cars did sit in boath want my mom to go and look at the oncor next year think she will like it! and to switch it up to! posabal VW Tigwan to like the new one a lot! have you sat in any of the new 2018 GMC Taranes! what do you think of them have to look at one soon! to as whell! as long the daughter is happy with her choice on her next car is what matters!

stickguy

got some more data points on MPG on the new car. Had to run up to Lowes, and on the drive back (local roads, a few stop lights got stuck at, some stop signs) the TC said 29.3. And I was trying to exercise it a bit, but got stuck behind a minivan.

really impressed so far with the handling. Compared to the Sonata, I have to re-calibrate my brain as to how fast can zip around corners! This thing just grips and turns nicely.

stickguy

Dumb hyundai. They upped the incentives in November. I should have waited a week. Rats. Oh well. you never know.

imidazol97

stickguy said:

Dumb hyundai. They upped the incentives in November. I should have waited a week. Rats. Oh well. you never know.

Congrats on the new car. How's the Uber business coming?

stickguy

they send me emails quite often. Odds of actually ever driving, are low. But maybe someday!

rny421

Congrats @carnaught! I love the Mercedes GLC. Speaking of the GLC, I am starting to think about a replacement vehicle for my Ford Edge. I have about 95k miles currently, and am putting on 2k+ miles per month recently, so it's possible that I could replace it within the next 3-4 months. I started browsing and drafting a list of vehicles I want to take a look at.

I feel like I'm going through what @stickguy did - I'm all over the place. On one hand, I would like to have something with better gas mileage, and have the perfect regular commute for something like a Fusion plug-in Hybrid, but on the other hand, I seem to prefer SUVs. I also have become accustomed to something that's quiet, solid feeling, decently quick, and loaded with features (Leather, Navigation, Sunroof - preferably panoramic, xenons)

Here's my draft list thus far:

1. Ford Edge
   
2. 2018 GMC Terrain
   
3. BMW X1
   
4. BMW X3
   
5. Mercedes GLC
   
6. 2018 Audi Q5
   

Budget is about $35k, which makes it impossible for the new Terrain and Q5, as they are brand new models, and are not even on the used market yet, let alone at that price. I guess I could hold off a year to wait for prices to come down, but once I get the idea in my head.....

stickguy

at 25,000 miles/year, you are going to get hammered with a luxo brand on depreciation for those miles. But, flip side, you are spending so much time in the saddle that you want something really nice. And heck, it is only money.

Can also consider a VW Tiguan. Or a Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T?

Michaell

Nice article about the McLaren showroom @jpp5862 and I visited this past spring

fintail

Nice color on the GLC, hard to get more blue than that, congrats

au1994

Nice GLC @carnaught

qbrozen

rny421 said:

Congrats @carnaught! I love the Mercedes GLC. Speaking of the GLC, I am starting to think about a replacement vehicle for my Ford Edge. I have about 95k miles currently, and am putting on 2k+ miles per month recently, so it's possible that I could replace it within the next 3-4 months. I started browsing and drafting a list of vehicles I want to take a look at. I feel like I'm going through what @stickguy did - I'm all over the place. On one hand, I would like to have something with better gas mileage, and have the perfect regular commute for something like a Fusion plug-in Hybrid, but on the other hand, I seem to prefer SUVs. I also have become accustomed to something that's quiet, solid feeling, decently quick, and loaded with features (Leather, Navigation, Sunroof - preferably panoramic, xenons) Here's my draft list thus far:

1. Ford Edge
2. 2018 GMC Terrain
3. BMW X1
4. BMW X3
5. Mercedes GLC
6. 2018 Audi Q5

Budget is about $35k, which makes it impossible for the new Terrain and Q5, as they are brand new models, and are not even on the used market yet, let alone at that price. I guess I could hold off a year to wait for prices to come down, but once I get the idea in my head.....

Does it have to be the new Terrain? They depreciate harshly and even 1-yr-old models are a screaming bargain.

carnaught

Thanks to all on your comments/congrats; I appreciate it! More pics. and impressions when I have the time.

carnaught

@my421, I cross shopped the Macan, Q5, X1 and I was waiting for the new X3 when the car came into the Port of Los Angeles with just what I wanted. The deal I worked for my ‘16 C300 trade undercut the Macan by between $16-17k.

tbirdmarco

@stickguy glad you are liking the new car mor and mor! yes you never no you got an nice deal on yourse!