Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I did drive a 2021 Mazda CX-30 since that was on my interest list. only 5,600miles on it. But, pretty base spec (manual seats, no moonroof) but still pretty nice. Auto CC, BLIS and the other common safety stuff.

actually pretty nice. Respectably quick. Comfortable overall. A little road noise on the back road, but ride was good and great steering feel and handling (typical of a Mazda). Roomy enough for a small car. Seats a little narrow though. The wife found them too tight for her, and would likely be unhappy on a longer drive. I actually found the shoulder area a bit narrow, and felt the bolsters, which is not good since I literally live up to my name!

so nice car, would be fine to have, but does not really make sense to spend that much on one for what we need the car for.

On those Mazda’s I would go up one size and set aside a week to figure out how to change radio stations.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I did drive a 2021 Mazda CX-30 since that was on my interest list. only 5,600miles on it. But, pretty base spec (manual seats, no moonroof) but still pretty nice. Auto CC, BLIS and the other common safety stuff.

actually pretty nice. Respectably quick. Comfortable overall. A little road noise on the back road, but ride was good and great steering feel and handling (typical of a Mazda). Roomy enough for a small car. Seats a little narrow though. The wife found them too tight for her, and would likely be unhappy on a longer drive. I actually found the shoulder area a bit narrow, and felt the bolsters, which is not good since I literally live up to my name!

so nice car, would be fine to have, but does not really make sense to spend that much on one for what we need the car for.

On those Mazda’s I would go up one size and set aside a week to figure out how to change radio stations.

I figured that out on the test drive. But I also sit down and study the owners manual whenever I get a new car so wouldn't take long to get it all down.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

oh, this is the one I stopped to look at that was not available. And to head off the inevitable seats comments, the base ones don't bother me (though I would pick sport seats given a choice) and my wife actually prefers the base seats.

https://www.autolenders.com/used-car-inventory/BMW-3-series-JNU92505

That fits your $25k limit and those are low miles. What are you waiting for?

it was gone. Otherwise, who knows. But even though it was a modestly equipped example, the miles were good and it still had 6 months BtB warranty, plus the extra couple years of powertrain (that I assume BMW offers).

fintail

Got one of those big fold out screamer ad flyers in the mail - just look at those bargain prices!

ab348

Jeebus!

stickguy

every time I think I am nuts to buy now with the stuff I am seeing, I see something like this ad and think I am nuts not to.

I apparently guess wrong last year when I cashed out early! Though I would have barely used the car in the last 12 months, but at least I would have one.

stickguy

oh yeah, in the used place showroom we sat in a couple cars. Nice dark silver Miata RF. only 2,400 miles. I did discover that I fit fine in the new model. Plenty of room for my legs. But still an adventure climbing in and out. listed at 29k, which seemed reasonable for something that low miles so I assumed newish. Though it was a slushbox so off my list.

turns out the darned thing was a 2017. Somebody paid to not use that thing.

Also had a 2021 Acura TLX tech. so convenient to see just in case. No surprise, it was very nice and the wife liked it, and commented that the dash and controls (center stack) were just like her car.

They wanted I think 41.5k for it. Since the BMW 330i was the same price, pretty sure I would take that instead.

au1994

fintail said:

Got one of those big fold out screamer ad flyers in the mail - just look at those bargain prices!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

cdnpinhead

oldfarmer50 said:

. . . I would go up one size and set aside a week to figure out how to change radio stations.

Yea, verily.

It's not as if anyone on here keeps a vehicle long enough to get to know it thoroughly.

28firefighter

@cdnpinhead said:
Yea, verily.

It's not as if anyone on here keeps a vehicle long enough to get to know it thoroughly.

We’re nothing if not consistent.

nyccarguy

Hey everyone. Just wanted to update everybody. We got all of the carpeting & padding up. Took it as well as a lot of furniture & clothes to the dump. My painter/dry wall contractor came by. He cut some holes in the Sheetrock and pulled out some insulation. Despite the water in the driveway, I’m happy to report that all 3 cars are fully functional. Some water seeped into the floor of the Prelude, but it fired right up and we vacuumed it out with the shop vac. Then ran a fan and kept the doors open.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughtfulness and kindness.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

Hey everyone. Just wanted to update everybody. We got all of the carpeting & padding up. Took it as well as a lot of furniture & clothes to the dump. My painter/dry wall contractor came by. He cut some holes in the Sheetrock and pulled out some insulation. Despite the water in the driveway, I’m happy to report that all 3 cars are fully functional. Some water seeped into the floor of the Prelude, but it fired right up and we vacuumed it out with the shop vac. Then ran a fan and kept the doors open.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughtfulness and kindness.

That is good news, Bradd!

One small step at a time....

stickguy

good news. Not a great situation but if all you lost was flooring and a few feet of drywall and a couple pieces of rec room furniture, got off easy compared to a lot of people.

stickguy

poked around since 3 series was the fixation of the day. Found an interesting one at a sister store. another 2018 330ix, pretty well loaded (BLIS, navi, car play, etc.). But this one has the 17' wheels I prefer. Black over cognac, which is a really sharp looking color combo.

cheaper too. would be about $24,200 OTD (inc. tax and tags). A lot cheaper because higher miles at 61k. But, I don't put many on so probably a fair trade. I guess because of the miles, not CPO though. Still only 3.5 YO (3/2018 in service) so at least it was driven a lot!

interesting option. Keep it for 5 years at my likely 5K/year usage, and and still below 90k.

Michaell

stickguy said:

poked around since 3 series was the fixation of the day. Found an interesting one at a sister store. another 2018 330ix, pretty well loaded (BLIS, navi, car play, etc.). But this one has the 17' wheels I prefer. Black over cognac, which is a really sharp looking color combo.

cheaper too. would be about $24,200 OTD (inc. tax and tags). A lot cheaper because higher miles at 61k. But, I don't put many on so probably a fair trade. I guess because of the miles, not CPO though. Still only 3.5 YO (3/2018 in service) so at least it was driven a lot!

interesting option. Keep it for 5 years at my likely 5K/year usage, and and still below 90k.

You think like I do ... I keep thinking of finding something around $20-25K and under 40,000 miles - keep it for 10 years, and still get out of it with under 100K on the clock.

That color combo does seem sharp. I really don't want a black interior.

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

jmonroe1 said:

andres3 said:

55 City Freeway/Interstate Speed limits.....

I agree far too low. I don't mind them in Los Angeles when traffic is forcing me to go 1/11th that speed. However, at 6 AM on a Saturday/Sunday you best bet your top dollars I'm going to be ripping through.

Watch it; you’re going to be low hanging fruit for the early bird Smokey’s.

jmonroe

They have to eat breakfast too.

Yeah, but I thought the idea was to make sure it wasn’t you.

jmonroe

stickguy

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

poked around since 3 series was the fixation of the day. Found an interesting one at a sister store. another 2018 330ix, pretty well loaded (BLIS, navi, car play, etc.). But this one has the 17' wheels I prefer. Black over cognac, which is a really sharp looking color combo.

cheaper too. would be about $24,200 OTD (inc. tax and tags). A lot cheaper because higher miles at 61k. But, I don't put many on so probably a fair trade. I guess because of the miles, not CPO though. Still only 3.5 YO (3/2018 in service) so at least it was driven a lot!

interesting option. Keep it for 5 years at my likely 5K/year usage, and and still below 90k.

You think like I do ... I keep thinking of finding something around $20-25K and under 40,000 miles - keep it for 10 years, and still get out of it with under 100K on the clock.

That color combo does seem sharp. I really don't want a black interior.

at 60K I get 6-7 years out of it. Though if maintained well, still might be fine at that miles and 10 YO and long since paid off. Though who knows if I end up putting more miles on it once we finally move, or fewer!

$22,500 + TTL these days, just doesn't get you what it used to. though on a 3 year loan, for roughly the same monthly payment as the least on a Civic or something comparable, after 3 years I would own it.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

oh yeah, in the used place showroom we sat in a couple cars. Nice dark silver Miata RF. only 2,400 miles. I did discover that I fit fine in the new model. Plenty of room for my legs. But still an adventure climbing in and out. listed at 29k, which seemed reasonable for something that low miles so I assumed newish. Though it was a slushbox so off my list.

turns out the darned thing was a 2017. Somebody paid to not use that thing.

Also had a 2021 Acura TLX tech. so convenient to see just in case. No surprise, it was very nice and the wife liked it, and commented that the dash and controls (center stack) were just like her car.

They wanted I think 41.5k for it. Since the BMW 330i was the same price, pretty sure I would take that instead.

Maybe somebody bought the Mazda to take his wife on Sunday drives and she couldn’t get in and out so it sat unloved in the garage.

If you can fit in it, it might like a fun little car to drive although when I was in one it seemed like I was sitting at the bottom of a basket.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Hey everyone. Just wanted to update everybody. We got all of the carpeting & padding up. Took it as well as a lot of furniture & clothes to the dump. My painter/dry wall contractor came by. He cut some holes in the Sheetrock and pulled out some insulation. Despite the water in the driveway, I’m happy to report that all 3 cars are fully functional. Some water seeped into the floor of the Prelude, but it fired right up and we vacuumed it out with the shop vac. Then ran a fan and kept the doors open.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughtfulness and kindness.

You might want to spray some mold killer on your carpets. I left the top down on my convertible in the rain once and even though I dried the daylights out of everything I found a white film on the seats a few days later.

stickguy

went in to kick off my reservation for a Maverick. And immediately got confused. No reserve option on the website. I wonder if they stopped doing that? So looks like I do have to show up at the dealer to get it into the system. Something for Monday.

corvette

If they’re making it difficult, maybe just go with the low bidder on the Maverick forum.

stickguy

it seems to be Ford. When this first started, way I understood was you had to do it online entirely through the Ford site, and at the end, you picked a dealer to send it to. But that does not seem to exist, so you have to go into (or somehow work with) a dealer person to actually submit the order.

boomchek

stickguy said:

oh yeah, in the used place showroom we sat in a couple cars. Nice dark silver Miata RF. only 2,400 miles. I did discover that I fit fine in the new model. Plenty of room for my legs. But still an adventure climbing in and out. listed at 29k, which seemed reasonable for something that low miles so I assumed newish. Though it was a slushbox so off my list.

turns out the darned thing was a 2017. Somebody paid to not use that thing.

Also had a 2021 Acura TLX tech. so convenient to see just in case. No surprise, it was very nice and the wife liked it, and commented that the dash and controls (center stack) were just like her car.

They wanted I think 41.5k for it. Since the BMW 330i was the same price, pretty sure I would take that instead.

We have a used 17 Miata with manual transmission and hard top on our lot. I took it home once. Feels tight for me and I'm 5'10" 220lbs, but I don't know, not the car for me. Probably used to just comfort of bigger luxury vehicles. I think I'd much rather have a Honda S2000, more raw power and better handling.

ab348

Leave it to our boy @stickguy to be juggling a used 3-series with 60K miles and a not-yet-in-production Maverick pickup.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

it seems to be Ford. When this first started, way I understood was you had to do it online entirely through the Ford site, and at the end, you picked a dealer to send it to. But that does not seem to exist, so you have to go into (or somehow work with) a dealer person to actually submit the order.

So you can order a vehicle but you don’t have to put any money down and you’re not obligated to accept delivery?

stickguy

yup. Basically just putting your name on the list for a specific car when it comes in. If you don't want it, they just keep it as an in stock unit.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
yup. Basically just putting your name on the list for a specific car when it comes in. If you don't want it, they just keep it as an in stock unit.

I’m sure the packages and color combos are specific enough that you really can’t build a unicorn that would be un-sellable

qbrozen

Just ordered up some M/T tires. Went with 275/65/20. I ideally wanted 285/60 but couldn't find any I liked for a reasonable price. Getting the Nankang MT-1. Aggressive looking. 2 inches taller overall to fill the wheelwells better. And, yes, I want to take it off road, which is why I'm doing this. We are looking to hit the Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam at the end of October (for one thing) and I realized we probably couldn't even survive the beach crawl on the stock tires. And, yes, I ordered 5.

stickguy

should be a noisy 12 hour ride down with those bad boys on. Probably not quite as fast a one either.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@stickguy said:

yup. Basically just putting your name on the list for a specific car when it comes in. If you don't want it, they just keep it as an in stock unit.

I’m sure the packages and color combos are specific enough that you really can’t build a unicorn that would be un-sellable

probably not. The salesguy (after talking to manager about deposits) said the same thing, and they would only ask for one if you went really weird. I assume that means like a bright orange base model with zero options or something. But I assume the XLT (that I built) will be easily the most popular trim level, and we picked the nice options. So pretty well loaded, but still quite reasonable price.

XLT, extra cost paint, moonroof, luxury package, floor liner mats, soft folding tonneau cover, and a couple other small things still only stickers at $28,700. A Civic EX stickers for that much.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
should be a noisy 12 hour ride down with those bad boys on. Probably not quite as fast a one either.

Supposedly these aren’t much noisier. We’ll see.

benjaminh

stickguy said:

XLT, extra cost paint, moonroof, luxury package, floor liner mats, soft folding tonneau cover, and a couple other small things still only stickers at $28,700. A Civic EX stickers for that much.

A Civic EX is $3000 less—$25,700 with destination (in the unlikely event you could get it for that).

But yeah, the Maverick is a great value even with options. Sounds like a great vehicle. What color are you going with? Did they have a guess as to how many months it would be until it arrives?

stickguy

dark blue. extra cost color but the wife liked it.

I have to stop at the dealer tomorrow to actually get an order in. They really have no clue at this point how long it will take since heavily dependent on Ford not running out of parts to make them. I do know that if you order an 2.0t they are being scheduled a lot sooner than a Hybrid. Could always spend an extra $1k for that, but would feel obligated to upgrade to AWD and that suddenly pushes the price up to about $32k.

benjaminh

I do like that dark blue color, which Ford calls Alto blue.

The 2.5 hybrid should have adequate power for the Maverick. And the city mpg will be great for a vehicle of this size. For your style of driving it might be a good fit.

But (and I realize this is being picky) I just don't like the sounds that hybrids make. Not only are they loud and unrefined, but they can hold rpms sometimes at an almost constant level that can make a vehicle drone in an unpleasant way. When I test drove a 2018 Accord Hybrid EXL I expected to fall in love with it—but instead it annoyed the heck out of me. The lease was much better for the TLX anyway, but that Honda hybrid engine was a dealbreaker. Also the TLX was faster 0-60, and seemed to have fun getting there, rather than feeling like it was tortured and struggling. The Ford Hybrid engine seems similarly annoying in this video of the Escape Hybrid with the identical engine to what's found in the Maverick. He accelerates at 7 minutes in:

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

For me personally, getting the 2.0T for just $1000 more seems like a bargain. FWD only should still work fine with the 2.0T as long as you don't try jack-rabbit starts.

Here's a comparison number that I think is interesting. The hybrid has 155 lbs of torque. The 2.0T has 277.

If you ever fully load your Maverick with heavy cargo, say 1500 pounds worth, my guess is that the hybrid engine might struggle in some situations.

benjaminh

Here's a reviewer driving the Escape with the 2.0T that's also used for the Maverick. Starting at 15:30 he merges onto the freeway. He clearly likes the power of the 2.0T Ecoboost, as well as the shift quality of Ford's 8-speed transmission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW224fuhano

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

If you can fit in it, it might like a fun little car to drive although when I was in one it seemed like I was sitting at the bottom of a basket.

Speaking of sitting in the bottom of a basket... my brother met met in North Carolina when I went down there to get my trailer. He let me drive his ZL1 Camaro. Feeling like I was sitting with my rear end dragging on the ground was the least of my worries. Driving-wise....

I was blown away! I've never been in a car that feels like it literally wants to kill you... all the time! That's just way too much power for any car to reasonably possess. My brother said, "Okay, look... I know you're an old man now, but my car resents it when it is driven that way."

stickguy

benjaminh said:

I do like that dark blue color, which Ford calls Alto blue.

The 2.5 hybrid should have adequate power for the Maverick. And the city mpg will be great for a vehicle of this size. For your style of driving it might be a good fit.

But (and I realize this is being picky) I just don't like the sounds that hybrids make. Not only are they loud and unrefined, but they can hold rpms sometimes at an almost constant level that can make a vehicle drone in an unpleasant way. When I test drove a 2018 Accord Hybrid EXL I expected to fall in love with it—but instead it annoyed the heck out of me. The lease was much better for the TLX anyway, but that Honda hybrid engine was a dealbreaker. Also the TLX was faster 0-60, and seemed to have fun getting there, rather than feeling like it was tortured and struggling. The Ford Hybrid engine seems similarly annoying in this video of the Escape Hybrid with the identical engine to what's found in the Maverick. He accelerates at 7 minutes in:

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

For me personally, getting the 2.0T for just $1000 more seems like a bargain. FWD only should still work fine with the 2.0T as long as you don't try jack-rabbit starts.

Here's a comparison number that I think is interesting. The hybrid has 155 lbs of torque. The 2.0T has 277.

If you ever fully load your Maverick with heavy cargo, say 1500 pounds worth, my guess is that the hybrid engine might struggle in some situations.

You sir, are a bad influence. I will watch both of these later. Good point that the 2.0t FWD will just get worse MPG around town (probably by a lot, that Escape was showing trip MPG of 39.1!) but should be OK traction wise. Definitely going to be faster of course.

I wonder how many FWD 2.0ts they are ordering? Probably not a whole lot.

benjaminh

If you can skip the floor mats and the moonroof for your Maverick that will put you back at your original msrp. A moonroof is nice, but if forced to choose between that and getting a great engine and transmission, I'd go with the great engine and transmission. And I've begun to think floormats are a bit overdone. They came standard on our CR-V and on our Acura, but I think I could live without them. Seems like a whole generation of vehicles is going to go into the junkyard with pristine carpets because everyone has mats, and the actual carpets in most vehicles never get used. My Mom had rubber mats in her 2013 Accord that last time I visited, and I finally convinced her to let me take them out and put them in the basement. I suggested that she was the best person to enjoy her carpets in her own car, rather than the next owner or the junkyard prowlers, and she agreed.

I think Ford's 2.0T and 8-speed transmission in the Maverick are about as good as the 2.0T and 8-speed in the BMW 3-series. With it you transform your Maverick from a poky mpg miser into a vehicle that's as fast and powerful as your wife's RDX.

In terms of gas costs, given that you seem to drive about 8000 miles a year, I think the added gas cost of having the turbo would probably be about $400 a year The difference in gas costs with an Escape Hybrid and an Escape with the 2.0 turbo driven 8k miles a year is somewhere around $350, and it'll be a bit more with the Maverick.

ab348

benjaminh said:

In terms of gas costs, given that you seem to drive about 8000 miles a year, I think the added gas cost of having the turbo would probably be about $400 a year The difference in gas costs with an Escape Hybrid and an Escape with the 2.0 turbo driven 8k miles a year is somewhere around $350, and it'll be a bit more with the Maverick.

Well, right now and for the last 8 months he is driving 0 miles a year since he hasn't had a second vehicle for that period.

stickguy

Yes, I have not put gas in the 2nd car for a full 12 months now!

math wise, the extra cost of gas is probably not that significant. Plus some of the miles going on the new car will come off the RDX, which gets crappy mileage to start with, so not going to lose anything there.

and zero chance I give up the moonroof, and I hate slopping up the carpets in the winter so all weather liners are a must. Especially up in snow country.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
Yes, I have not put gas in the 2nd car for a full 12 months now!

math wise, the extra cost of gas is probably not that significant. Plus some of the miles going on the new car will come off the RDX, which gets crappy mileage to start with, so not going to lose anything there.

and zero chance I give up the moonroof, and I hate slopping up the carpets in the winter so all weather liners are a must. Especially up in snow country.

There are times I pick which car to take based on which one has more gas.

28firefighter

No pictures but definitely a bucket list car for me…

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/auburn-2007-volvo-v70r-m66/7374383711.html

benjaminh

A few more details for me on this video on the Maverick, including that even XLT models need a key in the ignition to start it, rather than having push button start. The Lariat has push button start. Also, somehow the 2.0T Mavericks get 1 inch more of rear legroom for some reason, which seems strange.

I do like adaptive cruise control, which is now standard even on a Civic LX, but it looks like you need to get a fully loaded Maverick Lariat with the Luxury Package to get ACC on the Maverick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8EgYEi5Wc

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@stickguy said:

Yes, I have not put gas in the 2nd car for a full 12 months now!

math wise, the extra cost of gas is probably not that significant. Plus some of the miles going on the new car will come off the RDX, which gets crappy mileage to start with, so not going to lose anything there.

and zero chance I give up the moonroof, and I hate slopping up the carpets in the winter so all weather liners are a must. Especially up in snow country.

There are times I pick which car to take based on which one has more gas.

before I sold the TLX, I picked based on which one had sat the longest to make sure they would both start instead of having a dead battery.

stickguy

the 2.0T has more legroom (and bigger under seat storage space) because the battery is under there and eats into it a bit. But, I don't sit back there, so who cares? Key, that I did not know about. Hopefully it at least has fobless entry. Having to deal with fishing that out and pushing buttons, would be weird!

ACC, not a concern to me. Plus I would be unlikely to be taking it on long highway trips where I might consider using it.

stickguy

V70 sounds nice. And better condition than the dog that Elliot Alvis is screwing around with on Youtube.

but pretty odd selection of picture.

I like those, a lot. Not cheap to maintain, but at least this one sounds like a good base to start with. And great color combo.

no clue if the price is good, bad or indifferent. But probably going to hold it's value at least. Not a lot of nice, reasonable miles ones left.

stickguy

Huh. Turns out an XLT Maverick really is old school. Need to push the fob (or I guess, use the keypad) to get in, and put the key in the ignition to start it. Been a while since I had to do that, but I assume I can still handle it. Maybe even appropriate for a "truck"! Also not worth $4,000 to upgrade to a Lariat to get keyless go.

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

No pictures but definitely a bucket list car for me…

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/auburn-2007-volvo-v70r-m66/7374383711.html

For $20k you don’t even get a picture? The seller is counting on some real fans.

mjfloyd1

Pictures are up now. It’s not black on black. It’s navy blue on navy blue

corvette

@28firefighter said:
No pictures but definitely a bucket list car for me…

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/auburn-2007-volvo-v70r-m66/7374383711.html

It has pictures now. Super low miles. Do you have room for an extra car?