Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

tifighter

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

28firefighter

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

That isn't a bug, it is a feature!

mb_enthusiast

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

28firefighter said:

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

That isn't a bug, it is a feature!

I haven't had any problems with my Q8. It's at the dealer today for a software update that will apparently fix its Auto start stop-associated lag.



Love that thing. Less than 2 years left on the lease. Can't believe it's been over a year already!

mb_enthusiast

Cayenne S startup crank issues:

Normal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf1lGbzmzlc

After sitting overnight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYIWvOHm2FU

andres3

mb_enthusiast said:

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

28firefighter said:

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

That isn't a bug, it is a feature!

I haven't had any problems with my Q8. It's at the dealer today for a software update that will apparently fix its Auto start stop-associated lag.



Love that thing. Less than 2 years left on the lease. Can't believe it's been over a year already!

Paint looks really good on that Q8. Is an RSQ8 in your future?

oldfarmer50

mb_enthusiast said:

Cayenne S startup crank issues:

Normal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf1lGbzmzlc

After sitting overnight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYIWvOHm2FU

Leaky injectors flooding the cylinder?

greg128

Sandman6472 said:

Pinhead, think you're right about that. Tend to over think too much stuff. Think it comes from wanting to be a pleaser, like everything consistent and to work correctly. Not much on change...never have been really. Don't want any flack from the wife either, but definitely shouldn't let that get in the way here. Need to do what makes "me" happy! Guess I'm just not wanting to repeat "the Tucson disaster" as we like to call it. I knew within a few minutes that the Golf would be my next vehicle and guessing, once I do start test driving, the same thing will happen. After testing out the audio system, I'll just turn it off and drive. I'll know pretty quickly if it all works...or not. I just need to start the process and see where the chips fall. Start with my short list and drive 'em all like back to back if possible. Then, if none of them really work, try a few more. And if nothing really floats my boat, just wait a bit.
But yeah, need to put this all in perspective already and just do it, like the commercial says! So guys, thank for the reality check here. Think I just needed to understand that my happiness is what matters here, whether I buy, lease or just stay the course for awhile longer.
So, thanks guys!!

You might want to consider buying a 1 year old example of a vehicle you like and pocket the savings. My son and I both bought 1 year old Buicks and both came with 3 years remaining of the original 4 year warrantyy. My son bought a 2018 Encore from Hertz with 12k miles for $17.5k. I looked up the Essence model from that year and the MSRP was around $32K. It is nicely equipped with leather, plenty of tech and LED lighting all around. He does a lot of driving and has around 35K miles on so far it without any problems. I am not optimistic however that the small turbo 4 will get him to over 200K miles like his previous Chevy Cobalt and Cavalier. He tends to keep his cars for a long time. I would call him "thrifty"

I bought a 2018 Lacroose a year ago from Carvana with 14K miles for $24K. The original MSRP for this Premium FWD 3.6 V-6 model was $42K. It is a sweet ride. . 0-60 in 5.6 sec according to Car and Driver and on a road trip recorded 41.7 MPG on regular gas. Smooth, refined, quiet, with tons of Tech and after owning it for a year it still has 2 years remaining on the original warranty. The wife doesn't drive much so it is only turning 20K miles.

Low mileage 1 or 2 year old cars are great values especially from manufacturers with less than stellar resale values.

mb_enthusiast

andres3 said:

mb_enthusiast said:

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

28firefighter said:

tifighter said:

I saw a black Q8 on the side of the freeway, hazards on, getting loaded onto a flatbed truck this morning. I'll bet that was a happy camper.

That isn't a bug, it is a feature!

I haven't had any problems with my Q8. It's at the dealer today for a software update that will apparently fix its Auto start stop-associated lag.



Love that thing. Less than 2 years left on the lease. Can't believe it's been over a year already!

Paint looks really good on that Q8. Is an RSQ8 in your future?

Thanks!

We will see! I'm pretty excited about it. I'd be willing to trade/sell the Cayenne for an RSQ8 once the Q8 lease is up.

qbrozen

Transporter called (not Jason Statham) and said they should be here tomorrow between 2 and 6pm.

rayainsw

"Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 1, 2020… BMW of North America announced today Q2 2020 sales results for the BMW and MINI brands in the U.S. For the sales period ending June 30, 2020, BMW brand sales totaled 50,957 vehicles, a decrease of 39.3% vs the 83,976 vehicles sold in the same time period last year."
- Ray
Did my part - in Q1...

ab348

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

sda

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

I read where dealers were pleading to Ford to keep the MKZ as it was one of the good sellers. I guess that didn’t happen. Chevy is getting ready to cut the Malibu early. Does Buick have any sedans for next year? Good grief.

oldfarmer50

sda said:

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

I read where dealers were pleading to Ford to keep the MKZ as it was one of the good sellers. I guess that didn’t happen. Chevy is getting ready to cut the Malibu early. Does Buick have any sedans for next year? Good grief.

It doesn’t make sense not to have at least one sedan in the lineup.

corvette

oldfarmer50 said:

sda said:

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

I read where dealers were pleading to Ford to keep the MKZ as it was one of the good sellers. I guess that didn’t happen. Chevy is getting ready to cut the Malibu early. Does Buick have any sedans for next year? Good grief.

It doesn’t make sense not to have at least one sedan in the lineup.

If nothing else, they can sell them to rental fleets. I'll give Ford credit for trying to keep retail sales, they offered a lot of premium features, offered AWD to dissuade people from CUVs, offered a hybrid / plug-in hybrid to provide tons of MPG, but the market has nonetheless moved to CUVs.

explorerx4

I bought my 2019 MKZ because they were still making them, but weren't the end of the line.
Not sure what is going to happen with the factory where they were built.

stickguy

Farmer, I agree. Need to have at least 1. Preferably 2 (small/medium and medium/large). Might not be the hottest segment, but still sell a fair amount, and keeps you from losing a fair number of buyers from the brand, that probably aren't going to be moving up the ladder with your brand.

Besides, most of the development cost is covered already since they ride on the same platforms as the CUVs.

oldfarmer50

Explain this to me. This is on cars and bids with Hoovies Camaro. Both 93’s. Same engine.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rk4WJGRk/1993-chevrolet-corvette-convertible

But the Corvette has 10k fewer miles. But is only bid at $6000 where the Camaro is bid $8000 both with 5 days to go. Corvette has about 10k fewer miles.

If you need provenance Hoodie even drove the Vet and highly recommended it.

So why the price difference?

28firefighter

There is no logic on auction sites like this. Whoever gets the Camaro will have the YouTube videos from Hoovie to go with it. The Vette not so much. That’s not worth anything to me personally, but maybe for some?

qbrozen

Don’t judge an auction by the time remaining. Let’s wait for the end result.

Figured y’all might enjoy my comment on this one: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1965-skat-kitty-mini-bike/

stickguy

probably true. cute little thing. I wonder if you can squeeze a hemi in there?

ab348

sda said:

Does Buick have any sedans for next year? Good grief.

On the Canadian website they are still showing the Regal but since they have sold a mere handful of the current version and they are now buying them from PSA since selling off Opel I suspect it is not long for this world. The rest of the lineup is all-SUV.

nyccarguy

@tjc78 - Did you happen to catch the burning Enclave on Hoovie's Hooptie Postings?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Transporter called (not Jason Statham) and said they should be here tomorrow between 2 and 6pm.

Duh! We all know "The Transporter" doesn't drive an AMG ML63

benjaminh

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

That's too bad. Seems like a nice car. I wonder if it's already a bargain luxury buy as a CPO?
Here's a positive review from Motor Week from a few years ago....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeLydNIUbjw

stickguy

way too big. I never got why people want such a barge.

graphicguy

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

Too bad, but not surprising given Ford’s decision to Go to an (almost) all SUV lineup.

Sadly, the times I’ve seen the Continental at the car shows, and got to sit in it, I thought it was the equal or better of anything Lexus, Mercedes and BMW had in the same category.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

@tjc78 - Did you happen to catch the burning Enclave on Hoovie's Hooptie Postings?

No I didn’t. I’ll have to check it out.

ronsteve

BaT has a couple that are otherwise fairly pedestrian, but they sure don't make 'em like this any more...

Peak Honda right here, probably my fave version of any generation of the Accord. If only it was a stick. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-honda-accord/

I actually wasn't convinced I could learn to drive a manual until I drove my brother's 1986 Accord hatchback.

And the Family Truckster... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mercury-grand-marquis-ls-colony-park/

tjc78

My stepbrother’s first car was an Accord just like that, but sedan. I was never really a fan of driving it, but liked the looks.

Well preserved wagon, that will bring a nice buck (well, it already has).

stickguy

Nice looking accord. But I think the next gen with exposed headlights could be even better. And of course, needs to be a 5 speed.

And how could you miss this classic wagon?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-amc-pacer-3/

tjc78

tjc78 said:

nyccarguy said:

@tjc78 - Did you happen to catch the burning Enclave on Hoovie's Hooptie Postings?

No I didn’t. I’ll have to check it out.

I couldn’t find it.

qbrozen

ronsteve said:

BaT has a couple that are otherwise fairly pedestrian, but they sure don't make 'em like this any more...

Peak Honda right here, probably my fave version of any generation of the Accord. If only it was a stick. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-honda-accord/

I actually wasn't convinced I could learn to drive a manual until I drove my brother's 1986 Accord hatchback.

And the Family Truckster... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mercury-grand-marquis-ls-colony-park/

I was watching that wagon... but saw this morning it was over $12k. Holy cow.

tjc78

It seems as the Panther wagons bring the most money of all the body types. 90/91 were much lower production than the earlier years.

qbrozen

I wonder if this will jump up in the end. $23k with less than 2 hrs to go.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3ONgXwgj/2004-bentley-continental-gt

tjc78

Wonder how bad that would be to live with if you do your own repairs.

28firefighter

Isn't it just a Volkswagen?

qbrozen

I just looked at the receipts posted. $875 for a USED window regulator! $575 for a light bulb! (doesn't specify what bulb) $1500 for "2-yr service." Just ... ouch.

fintail

Those pop up light Accords are still not uncommon here. They were insanely popular back in the day, seemed like there was one on every corner. I remember that hard wearing velour.

mb_enthusiast

All of this Ferris Bueller talk reminded me of a tribute blog I wrote about John Hughes upon visiting his grave:

I stopped by this incredible man's grave yesterday afternoon. John Hughes was behind so many of the films that young people who lived through the '80s and '90s came to love including Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Home Alone, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club.

John Hughes was the North Shore's greatest ambassador, an institution, a master director, producer, and writer who captured some of the essence of this incredible part of the world. Ordinary People and Risky Business (probably my favorite movie) may have come earlier, but it was Hughes who catapulted our communities in suburban Chicago onto the silver screen and into the minds of American moviegoers.

I often feel that Hughes' films froze teenage life on the North Shore in time. I am frequently asked about Mean Girls, a more contemporary comedy by Tina Fey, and whether or not that was representative of teenage and high school life here (Mean Girls being inspired by Evanston Township High School (ETHS)). There is often some disappointment when I tell them, 'No, North Shore public high schools are too big and there is too much pressure to succeed academically and athletically to become bogged down in that extreme cliquishness.' Instead, I always point them to Hughes' films.

Hughes' films approached difficult social issues impacting young people and parents from latchkey kids to the rise of the upper-middle-class, academic pressure, the pressure to meet expectations, alcoholism, abusive parenting, father-son relationships, drug use, teen sexuality and romance, conformity, individuality, stereotyping, social status, class barriers, and materialism.

Hughes' characters always spoke more to me than those in more contemporary teenage comedies. Hughes' protagonists were obstinate in their individualism and rebelliousness, but also desiring of acceptance and unashamedly materialistic. This made them genuine, and unquestionably confused. They were callous and neurotic. We were burned out and ended up in therapy as soon as we turned 19. They smoked like chimneys. We smoked like chimneys—and like them, we mainly smoked cigarettes. Pot makes you dumb and lazy, so we thought. Ferris drove Mr. Frye's Ferrari without approval. We drove mom's Mercedes with permission—to school. Hughes knew that the reality is that while most people feel, and want to be, different, they don't want to destroy 'the system.' We probably know a 'Bernie Bro' or two from high school, but I think most of us from here are like our parents—unmistakably moderate in our politics, even apolitical, and his films skip them—as we do every day. As a friend told me before the release of the summary of the Mueller investigation, "Do we care anymore?"

Hughes' North Shore is an Eden of homogeneity and privilege—an authentic euphemism for the suburban apotheosis. It was the perfect backdrop to tell these stories. The '80s never died here—the music, the barriers, the clubbing, the yuppies... Even in the aughts and twenty-tens, we lived like his characters. Hughes accumulated and made permanent the North Shore teenager's attitudes and anxieties with a healthy ribbing while maintaining respect and sympathy. Hughes also skipped some of our darkest challenges, suicide by Metra and injuries and deaths from teenage drinking—but those are too much for comedy. Even so, Hughes managed to be honest about our flaws, laugh at them, but maintain the allure, the mystique. I met someone my age from out-of-state who’d recently moved to Evanston. He had been binge-watching Hughes’ films and some of the other Chicago classics. As we finished talking he told me, “I wish I had grown up here.”

ronsteve

stickguy said:

Nice looking accord. But I think the next gen with exposed headlights could be even better. And of course, needs to be a 5 speed.

Thing is the hatchback went away in the next generation, and the design was super boxy. Then from '94 on the waistline started rising a bit too much. Though the '08 V6/6MT Coupe wasn't bad!

My brother had the '86 hatchback, and would go on to have a '91 sedan and '92 coupe, as well as an '88 Integra. I spent 5 years with an '02 Accord V6 coupe, and my now-ex had a '93 del Sol for too short of a time.

fintail

That was a great tribute, thanks for sharing it - as a Hughes fan, I very much enjoyed the read.

I took a road trip a couple years ago - as I was going to visit a friend at Northwestern, I spent several days in the Chicago area, and used Evanston as my base. As I am also a filming locations geek, I got to see a bunch of bucket list locations with locations from various Hughes films, along with others. It was an awesome experience, and something you say appeared very true to me as well. The 80s never died there - I definitely had a feeling not just of deja vu from the movies, but of something that was there in the past.. Visiting some of those locations, even though a few of the houses have slight modifications, it was like time had barely passed. Even if some houses have new residents, I suspect the demographics haven't changed. The leafy, obviously expensive and privileged neighborhoods appeared as homogeneous as you mention, and almost like they arrived to the present day in a time warp. I wouldn't have been surprised to see Joel's dad's 928 zoom around a corner, or the McCallister kids playing on a sidewalk.

When I was a younger kid, living in a small west coast town, I watched the movies and had an idea that teenage life would be like those movies, that the world of Ford Tempos and ordinary tract houses and not worrying about anything would somehow morph into this world of upper middle class affluence and drama and fun antics. I later realized the settings for those movies aren't the real world for most, but they still approached many real issues faced by all young people, and the movies are still among my favorite. It must have been quite a place to grow up in, especially back in the day of those films.

mb_enthusiast said:

All of this Ferris Bueller talk reminded me of a tribute blog I wrote about John Hughes upon visiting his grave: He had been binge-watching Hughes’ films and some of the other Chicago classics. As we finished talking he told me, “I wish I had grown up here.”

oldfarmer50

benjaminh said:

ab348 said:

Automotive News is reporting that Lincoln killed the Continental model today despite being a favorite of auto journos everywhere but seemingly few buyers. That leaves them with an all-SUV lineup.

That's too bad. Seems like a nice car. I wonder if it's already a bargain luxury buy as a CPO?
Here's a positive review from Motor Week from a few years ago....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeLydNIUbjw

They ride very nice. Not as much of the rolling lounge chair ride like Lincolns of the past but still very comfortable.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

ronsteve said:

BaT has a couple that are otherwise fairly pedestrian, but they sure don't make 'em like this any more...

Peak Honda right here, probably my fave version of any generation of the Accord. If only it was a stick. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1987-honda-accord/

I actually wasn't convinced I could learn to drive a manual until I drove my brother's 1986 Accord hatchback.

And the Family Truckster... https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-mercury-grand-marquis-ls-colony-park/

I was watching that wagon... but saw this morning it was over $12k. Holy cow.

Up to $14k with an hour to go.

andres3

The Bentley GT had prior accident damage history and paint work, and still went for over $23K! Wow!

I would think if you wanted a Bentley you wouldn't want shoddy US body-shop work on it.

benjaminh

Since I like my leased 2018 TLX, today I asked my Acura dealer what the numbers would look like to buy it out. After the $699 doc fee, taxes, interest on the loan, etc. it came out to a rather high monthly, and so decided to just ride out the lease for now. But we instead took what was to be the downpayment on the TLX and used it to wipe out the rest of our loan on my wife's 2018 CR-V. And so in a couple of weeks when the title arrives we'll own one car free and clear.



I heard that there are some proposals in Congress to try next year to restore the $7500 tax credit on electrics for Tesla, GM, and everyone else. I realize that might not pan out, but if there's even a chance to get a Model 3 for close to 30k after the tax credit I might consider that option, even with the quality and service drawbacks with the brand. Over the last 9000+ miles in my TLX I've averaged more than 31 mpg in a roughly even mix of city and highway, but that still means that I'd save at least $1000 a year on gas vs. the costs of running a Model 3 with juice.

28firefighter

Why did you ask the dealer about buying out your TLX? You should call Acura Financial instead. A $699 processing charge to buy out a lease is nuts.

Rarely does it make sense to buy a leased car at the end of the lease - generally the residuals are much higher than the car is worth.

tjc78

Agreed, if you want it just deal with the leasing company directly. You should only have to pay for the new registration.

benjaminh

I called Acura first, and they told me the payoff amount, which is reasonable imho because Acura residuals are fairly realistic. But I guess to support the profits of Acura dealers Acura wouldn't let me just finance directly through them. They told me I had to work with my local dealer.

corvette

Get a loan through Penfed or one of the other discount auto loan outfits, then call Acura and tell them you want to buy out the lease and already have financing. Should save you the $699.

28firefighter

And probably will end up with a better rate...