Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

ab348

fintail said:

Flipping it is tempting too, wonder if it would be worth the effort, or if I'd have seller's remorse.

I suspect you might have to expand you market area beyond your immediate area to get top dollar for something like that.

jmonroe1

@tjc78 said:
Bought this for my wife…. Does it count as a punch? Lol.

I guess that’s a bike you don’t want to be caught peddling to the convenience store, huh?

Jmonroe

jmonroe1

@benjaminh said:
That is crazy for a car that old.

Are you considering only vehicles by Mercedes Benz, or is there anything else in the mix? When is your lease up?

Well, he damn sure ain’t gonna get a G90 no matter how much @abacomike raves about his.

jmonroe

tjc78

I won’t be riding that bike at all….

She picked it out. We were riding up on the boardwalk today and people kept complimenting her on it.

Of course she said the Schwinn bike she has rides nicer, which is exactly what I told her! Ugh.

tifighter

28firefighter said:

I’m seriously racking my brain trying to decide if there is a play here with the Outback.

Three ideas:

Model 3 SR+ if I can find one - short term play that we would eventually flip.

Model Y LR

ID.4 Pro S AWD (least favorite, but has $7500 tax credit)

You know the answer. I guess the ID could be okay as a city car. But if you want to drive around town and take trips, just save yourself the headache and order the Tesla now.

28firefighter

I think that’s right, if there is one. But I’m concerned that at some point the used car market will normalize so I’m balancing that with potential revamp of the federal tax credit.

au1994

Yep…

corvette

Does it annoy anyone else when the car YouTubers read out a part number during a video? I'd never go to the trouble of ordering a part using a number I got from a video--part numbers change or they may have given the incorrect number. I'm fine with them just verbally stating "we used a Fel-Pro gasket because it was readily available / works better in this application," etc.

nyccarguy

If any of you guys ever come visit New York City, I highly recommend the 9/11 museum. To say it is powerful is an understatement.

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
If any of you guys ever come visit New York City, I highly recommend the 9/11 museum. To say it is powerful is an understatement.

I second this. It is a wonderful tribute. Did you do the walking tour as well?

tjc78

au1994

We did it 3 years ago and its quite moving. The memorial is beautiful.

fintail

Definitely. Still might come out a few grand ahead even in trade-in, depending on what the market is like then. It'll either be even more insane, or normalizing - these days, I wouldn't bet the farm either way.

ab348 said:

fintail said:

Flipping it is tempting too, wonder if it would be worth the effort, or if I'd have seller's remorse.

I suspect you might have to expand you market area beyond your immediate area to get top dollar for something like that.

nyccarguy

@tjc78 - Tom, we did not. Maybe that’s something I can do with my wife when we go back sans the kiddos. The museum itself was beautiful. Very moving. It was amazing to see about the construction and planning of the twin towers too. When did you go?

jmonroe1

Hey @au1994, when are they going to ship the doors or did you knock them off while off-roading?

jmonroe

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
@tjc78 - Tom, we did not. Maybe that’s something I can do with my wife when we go back sans the kiddos. The museum itself was beautiful. Very moving. It was amazing to see about the construction and planning of the twin towers too. When did you go?

We went Nov 2019. We also went before the museum was done and it was just the reflecting pools. I think that was in 2012.

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter said:
I’m seriously racking my brain trying to decide if there is a play here with the Outback.

Three ideas:
Model 3 SR+ if I can find one - short term play that we would eventually flip.

Model Y LR

ID.4 Pro S AWD (least favorite, but has $7500 tax credit)

I’d just wait till the @breld Tesla Y comes on the market. Should be any day now

explorerx4

Having recently finished Radiant Angel by Nelson DeMille, I was kind of worried when the 20th anniversary of 9 11 was about to happen.

nyccarguy

The Freedom Tower is beautiful, but I’ll take the old view any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

28firefighter

Tesla really does not discount demos very much anymore it seems.

stickguy

stopped at a car dealer today. Tricked the wife thinking we were going out food shopping (which we did, after.)

Visited the Toyota dealer. Sad sight of a parking lot. Used to be rows of each car, now a few scattered around. And the salesguys even admitted most of them were sold but they left them out front to take up space.

Managed to see a couple of Tacos. Only had used available, but close enough. An off road and a normal model (both 2019s I think). 4 door, short bed. Plus sat in the salesguy's own car, a 2021 loaded model 6' bed. Only one with the power seat I would not buy without.

decided not to drive one. But started it up, and the wife got to try out for fit. Overall, definitely a truck. She did not like getting in and out of it (especially the off road). and was not that enthused by the interior. fired up the engine and it definitely made noise! Surprisingly large. Big hood. I don't think I would want one without BLIS either, and that is a rare option.

I will go drive one by myself at some point just to see how it drives, but most likely bigger and bulkier than what we need, and I know the wife doesn't want one to drive. Though she did say "it's your car, you have to like it" but it would be nice if she was comfortable riding in it too!

I explained how a Maverick (or Santa Cruz) would be much more of a CUV like her car with the hatch replaced by a bed. She would want that if she had to use it. a Ridgeline, that would not be a tough sell to her.

I do want to see the new Frontier too. Basically same size and design as a Taco, but I think it has a lot more modern and more comfortable interior. If those come out, I would like to drive one too. And a Ridgeline, just for kicks. Assuming I can find any of them to try.

stickguy

also told her about the continuing 4xE rush. Pointed out a new design Wrangler to her, and she said it was not bad looking, and could be fun. But did point out that it didn't really add any practicality like a PU would (might as well just get a sedan instead). She also smartly noted that we were not likely to drive it off road either. So that would be an option if super cheap, but I suspect at this point, it is cheap lease relative to sticker, but not actually cheap!

roadburner

I'm beginning to think that M2 Comp prices will not be dropping anytime in the foreseeable future- If you exclude black and white cars there are less than 80 listed for sale in the US; of those only 8 are manuals. I may follow my bride's advice and just bite the bullet and buy one that ticks all the boxes. If the prices even partially follow the trajectory of the 1 Series M Coupe I'll be golden.

abacomike

@breld said:
On the subject of loans, I’ve tried to work directly with my bank or credit union, but I’ve yet to use them. The dealerships are so much more efficient at securing loans, and usually with better rates.

I am in total agreement with you, Breld!

My last two car loans were arranged at dealerships:

2020 MB E450 financed at 0% for 36 months
2021 Genesis G90 financed at 1.9% for 60 months.

No bank or credit union came close on either loan.

abacomike

@stickguy said:
the Maverick reservation/ordering system is actually a good thing now. I don't think any dealers are able to surcharge, because buyers will just move on to the next place that isn't. I was surprised to see this Toyota dealer selling at sticker.

speaking about Maverick, I was debating with the wife whether I should have added more options (meaning spend more money!) Her opinion was she would have just gotten everything, just in case. Lady must be made of money I don't know about! So I emailed the contact at my dealer, asking if they could make any changes to my order (even though they accepted it with a build date and VIN).

I figured No, and he confirmed it, but said he was happy to order an "additional" one for me. I did not Email back to make sure, but seems that I would not have to cancel the first one. I guess dealer is happy to guarantee at least 1 stock unit out of me! Not sure what Ford will think about it though since require a DL so would be easy to tell they were double booking me.

Don't think I will but could always change my mind at any point and do it.

My physical therapist has a new Maverick on order with an expected delivery date of December, January or February (his current lease expires in January) so he is not overly concerned about delivery dates at this point in time. Microprocessors are the bottleneck in production of new cars.

New car dealer lots are like ghost towns of the old west. Cannot remember a time like this in my lifetime with one exception - I ordered a 1965 Chevrolet Impala SS Coupe with the 327 V8 and GM closed down all assembly lines due to UAW strike. Had to wait 4 months for my new car. It was very frustrating. But only GM was affected at the time.

benjaminh

The Wall Street Journal has a 5-minute video on the chip shortage and the auto industry. Good summary of what we already know.

benjaminh

Offered at the almost empty lot at Wyler Toyota in Clarksville, Indiana, this 2019 Corolla base model with 54k miles for $22k. I'm glad I bought out my slightly older 2018 Acura TLX at the end of lease with at that time 39k miles for $18,400.

imidazol97

benjaminh said:

Offered at the almost empty lot at Wyler Toyota in Clarksville, Indiana,

"Cars like eggs are cheaper in the country." Wyler's motto when he was starting out.

corvette

@benjaminh - wow. Oxmoor Toyota's lot didn't look that bare when I was there a few weeks ago for service.

My boss recently purchased a late model used Highlander Hybrid. I shudder to think what it must've cost.

kyfdx

Out for a walk, today. Abandoned house for sale, and spotted this car in the “driveway”.

Picture is from the website. Didn’t have my phone

fintail

GM or Mopar roughly 1936-38, gives me a 37 Buick vibe.

On the car prices note, Retired service loaners now have asking prices equal to original MSRP

And a wagon - a year newer than mine, fewer miles of course, but dang that price, would be MSRP on one with quite a few options, crazy for a car heading for 2 years old

kyfdx said:

Out for a walk, today. Abandoned house for sale, and spotted this car in the “driveway”.

Picture is from the website. Didn’t have my phone

kyfdx

The street is actually up on the high side of car.

Had a hard time seeing if it was a sedan, wagon, or pickup. It's a lot more overgrown than this picture shows.

corvette

@kyfdx - shopping for a quick fix and flip?

roadburner

benjaminh said:

Offered at the almost empty lot at Wyler Toyota in Clarksville, Indiana, this 2019 Corolla base model with 54k miles for $22k. I'm glad I bought out my slightly older 2018 Acura TLX at the end of lease with at that time 39k miles for $18,400.

When I was looking at Supras earlier this year the lot was absolutely jammed with trucks and FWD appliances.

roadburner

tjc78 said:

This was created by some friends shortly after 9/11. This example was mounted on my bench until I retired. My 318ti has worn two smaller versions for 20 years.

roadburner

tjc78 said:

Bought this for my wife…. Does it count as a punch? Lol.

I thought Driver would NEVER sell his bike!

corvette

Poking around on Honda's website, the base trim level 2022 Pilot is now the EX-L. No more LX or EX. I assume not many people were buying them.

stickguy

quite likely to see more of that with the new normal shortages. Companies will just make more expensive models since they have to cut back somewhere.

and if used car prices stay high, poor people are going to be doubly screwed.

I did see elsewhere (YAA youtube) that extended warranty sales are way up. Probably people that in the past would have gotten a new car before the warranty ran out, now planning to keep them a lot longer.

nyccarguy

@kyfdx - I think it was you who inquired about the total cost of my AC job. The guy came back today and had to make a few adjustments and install 1 more supply duct & grille in our bathroom. Total cost was $20,352.72. I was able to purchase the Bosch Condenser & Air Handler through my business for $4,444.57. $15,908.15 was what I had to pay the guy for everything else.

corvette

@nyccarguy - ouch! Duct work isn't cheap on new construction, I'm sure it's an even bigger pain redoing it once the house is already built. But, it's hard to put a price on having a much more comfortable home.

How are the basement repairs coming?

mjfloyd1

@nyccarguy said:
@kyfdx - I think it was you who inquired about the total cost of my AC job. The guy came back today and had to make a few adjustments and install 1 more supply duct & grille in our bathroom. Total cost was $20,352.72. I was able to purchase the Bosch Condenser & Air Handler through my business for $4,444.57. $15,908.15 was what I had to pay the guy for everything else.

I do not recall if that was better or worse than the other quotes??

corvette

The base model Venza appears to be a decent value, if you're okay with the hybrid powertrain, which is the only one available. $33,885 for an AWD model with power liftgate, LED lights, BSM, etc. Just building a RAV4 XLE Hybrid, similarly equipped, puts you at a very similar price, and by all accounts, the Venza has a more premium feel by comparison. The Honda Passport Sport is $36,015 with AWD, adds a more powerful V6, but lacks BSM.

jmonroe1

@kyfdx said:
The street is actually up on the high side of car.

Had a hard time seeing if it was a sedan, wagon, or pickup. It's a lot more overgrown than this picture shows.

So you’re saying they prettied it up for the listing pic then let it go to hell again! Typical real estate workings.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

Out for a walk, today. Abandoned house for sale, and spotted this car in the “driveway”.

Picture is from the website. Didn’t have my phone

There’s probably a $2,000 ADM on that old car.

jmonroe1

@nyccarguy said:
@kyfdx - I think it was you who inquired about the total cost of my AC job. The guy came back today and had to make a few adjustments and install 1 more supply duct & grille in our bathroom. Total cost was $20,352.72. I was able to purchase the Bosch Condenser & Air Handler through my business for $4,444.57. $15,908.15 was what I had to pay the guy for everything else.

WOW, I think I’d have just bought more cases of cold beer.

jmonroe

Michaell

corvette said:

The base model Venza appears to be a decent value, if you're okay with the hybrid powertrain, which is the only one available. $33,885 for an AWD model with power liftgate, LED lights, BSM, etc. Just building a RAV4 XLE Hybrid, similarly equipped, puts you at a very similar price, and by all accounts, the Venza has a more premium feel by comparison. The Honda Passport Sport is $36,015 with AWD, adds a more powerful V6, but lacks BSM.

When I was in CA last month, my sister and I test drove a Venza Limited. $45K sticker, plus some markup, IIRC.

My sister really liked it, until she drove it. Of course, she was comparing it to luxury brands (Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus and Infiniti).

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
There’s probably a $2,000 ADM on that old car.

Nah, I think they’re calling it a weed whacking/finders fee.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@Michaell,
Good thing for those brands that she could tell the difference.

nyccarguy

The total came out to be slightly cheaper than when I priced it out last year. I know that it works and runs 100%. The guy who did the install is a Bosch service technician (he’s a guy that Bosch send to your house when you call them directly for repairs) so he’ll maintain and repair if necessary. It was a lot of money, but where I saved was by buying the condenser/air handler. Most places on their quote last year wanted $10K alone for those 2 items. It was a lot of labor to remove the old items and install new everything.

nyccarguy

@corvette

The basement is dried out. We are going to start piecing it back together. Haven’t finalized any plans or gotten any quotes for flooring yet.