Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Sandman6472

Saw a bunch of "new" used vehicles we bought at PBI yesterday from a few Florida dealers. Guess it works both ways when the situation calls for it. A bunch of nice looking low mileage vehicles that were getting their license plates put on before being put into the fleet. We have not taken one vehicle that we've sold to any dealer in way over a year, as that's what I was originally hired to do. Back then, we were quite busy dropping off sold vehicles to dealers all around the area. But this chip shortage has now turned us into buyers from dealers just to keep our numbers up. What strange times we are living in it seems!

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Yesterday, the wife saw something on the road that piqued her interest. A full-sized conversion van. Yeah, I kid you not. Her thinking is that we might like something bigger than the T&C for traveling with the kids and dogs and luggage. She started researching prices on them. HOLY COW! I honestly would have thought those things depreciate like stale bread. Not that asking prices should dictate the market but I have not seen any late model used one for under $60k that doesn’t have round-trip-to-the-moon mileage on it.

I may tell her to check out a used Metris. Lacks in many creature comforts, but I see a couple of used ones with leather and a couple other options for $30k with 30k miles. Maybe I could add aftermarket comforts.

Depending on how much room she needs you might look at a Chevy Astro conversion van. Not so bulky but still roomy.

nyccarguy

My best friend just bought a Tacoma SR 4WD 4cyl (Access Cab/Long Bed) as a secondary delivery vehicle since his 2 year old (80K mile) Prius was totaled from Ida. He paid sticker plus the dealership's $1K conveyance fee. While chatting with the manager at the dealership, they told him they normally sell 400 new cars a month. Last month they sold 14.

sda

boomchek said:

So I went to a Ford dealer today to check out the full size Bronco, and surprisingly they had a couple 4 doors available in stock available for immediate delivery with no msrp markup.

Wife and I decided to get a 2nd newish car to complement our Audi A7. The A7 has been our main family car for the past year and a half and her drive to part time work car as I mainly just bought cheap trade ins every 6 or so months we got at work to use for my 10-15 minute commutes (I had a couple W204 Mercedes C classes, Lexus IS, Audi A4 wagon, older X5, older Civics in the past 2 years).

Now the cheaper stuff is harder to come by due to car shortage and our dealership keeping almost everything for retail sale, so we decided to maybe get a 2nd car that's newer and nicer than my older commuters.

I was originally really excited for the Bronco, even aiming to get the base 2 door soft top unit to use as a inexpensive commuter and fun summer or winter runner. But apart from a couple 4 doors in stock, the 2 doors have about a year wait list.

The 4 door base model (4 cylinder, automatic, soft top) we test drove was a bit disappointing, and for the near $50k price I think I'd be better off finding something else. Maybe we got a bit spoiled driving mostly luxury cars the past few years but my wife wasn't impressed with all the plastics inside and outside, and I didn't care for the narrow looking base steel wheels, and the puny 4 cylinder engine sound that did not match the bulkiness and toughness of the overall Bronco look. The trick soft top that could be flipped up opening the front passenger compartment was neat, but how often would I be using it. I'd probably get more tired of the noise of constant rain hitting the soft top for the 6 months out of the year here in BC. And the rear cargo area access is only through a bottom half door, while the soft top upper half is fixed and not unzippable making cargo loading a bit of a chore. I'm sure in the summer the removable soft top and the frameless doors would give it an open airy feeling but that, and the "new model" look of it is the only appealing thing about it to me.

We also looked at a higher model, Big Bend I think, and although it looked a bit nicer outside (glossy grille vs flat black plastic grill on the base model, alloy wheels, and couple other things) I'm not sure it made an impact on me.

While it may be a cool novelty car, and maybe the 2 door would be better for me due to its cheaper price tag, I think I'll cross it off the list.

Other vehicles we are considering:

New Impreza WRX, relatively cheap 2-3 year leases due to strong residuals. $199 bi weekly $0 down taxes in. That's Honda Civic price territory for something a bit more fun, but base WRX is manual only and wife wouldn't be able to drive it. Plus I'm not crazy about its looks. Cheap payment, AWD, and fun factor is the only appealing thing here.

New Subaru Crosstrek. Once again super cheap leases ($155-$200bw for 2-3 years), and decent amount of car for the money but I think I would get bored of it fairly quickly too.

New Golf Comfortline or Highline. Fairly well equipped and fun to drive with cheap leases available as well but I have a feeling I'd get bored of it within a few days so having one for 2-4 years might feel like a chore.

New Genesis GV70. Decent looking SUV with relative cheap lease payments ($250-$300bw). There's also a wait of a few months for these. It would be my wife's main driver while I'd be daily driving our A7.

Maybe a used late model Mercedes GLC or a BMW 4 series convertible. A BMW convertible right now is most appealing as it's a folding hard top and has awd which is great for all seasons, 4 seats so we can drive kids to school, and would make a fun summer car for our family.

So we're all over the map right now but the the search continues....

@boomchek , IIRC you are working at a Honda store currently? Do they frown on their employees not driving a Honda product? The Honda Passport seems to have more fun dialed into it than the CR-V, HR-V or Pilot.

qbrozen

Apparently all back windows in the metris are fixed in place. That is a deal breaker.

tjc78

nyccarguy said:

My best friend just bought a Tacoma SR 4WD 4cyl (Access Cab/Long Bed) as a secondary delivery vehicle since his 2 year old (80K mile) Prius was totaled from Ida. He paid sticker plus the dealership's $1K conveyance fee. While chatting with the manager at the dealership, they told him they normally sell 400 new cars a month. Last month they sold 14.

That’s a stat right there.... car business thrives on volume. Can’t make money selling 14 units a month.

sda

tjc78 said:

nyccarguy said:

My best friend just bought a Tacoma SR 4WD 4cyl (Access Cab/Long Bed) as a secondary delivery vehicle since his 2 year old (80K mile) Prius was totaled from Ida. He paid sticker plus the dealership's $1K conveyance fee. While chatting with the manager at the dealership, they told him they normally sell 400 new cars a month. Last month they sold 14.

That’s a stat right there.... car business thrives on volume. Can’t make money selling 14 units a month.

That is really concerning.

breld

Got a call from the Audi dealer earlier in the week letting us know that my wife’s A4 Allroad’s estimated delivery date has moved to February (from December).

My wife’s immediate response was…”what else can I get that’s interesting in the meantime?”

That’s my girl.

stickguy

didn't you get a Tesla already? Don't see it in your summary there. I would assume it just means that you did not get to doing it yet, though entirely possible you already got rid of it!

Is the Mini still around, or is it just the Tesla, Polestar and XC60? as if that isn't enough for 2 people!

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

nyccarguy said:

My best friend just bought a Tacoma SR 4WD 4cyl (Access Cab/Long Bed) as a secondary delivery vehicle since his 2 year old (80K mile) Prius was totaled from Ida. He paid sticker plus the dealership's $1K conveyance fee. While chatting with the manager at the dealership, they told him they normally sell 400 new cars a month. Last month they sold 14.

That’s a stat right there.... car business thrives on volume. Can’t make money selling 14 units a month.

The UCM also offered him $72K for the CPO 2017 Lexus LX 570 he pulled up in. He paid $68K for it a few months ago. That truck he's not getting rid of.

Sandman6472

Getting the brake fluid changed on Thursday as it's past due. My buddy is going to change the air filter/cabin air filter for me so just got to pick those up. He's got the tools so should be pretty simple from what he said. Will let my mechanic check the spark plugs and if needed, will do that also. So far, all is running fine and since I'm keeping it, best to get these little things done.
A3 will be getting new sneakers in a few weeks as she definitely needs two at this point. Will have him get three at the shop just in case it's needed. And then, we should be all done with maintenance for the time being.

boomchek

@sda said:
@boomchek , IIRC you are working at a Honda store currently? Do they frown on their employees not driving a Honda product? The Honda Passport seems to have more fun dialed into it than the CR-V, HR-V or Pilot.

I do work at a Honda store. We don't frown on employees not driving our products. Many don't lol. As silly as it may sound I typically don't drive cars from the brand I work for because I see them every day and want to experience different brands. Plus the Passport leases are in the $350-$400 bw range and to me it just feels like a shorter Pilot.

au1994

sda said:

boomchek said:

So I went to a Ford dealer today to check out the full size Bronco, and surprisingly they had a couple 4 doors available in stock available for immediate delivery with no msrp markup.

Wife and I decided to get a 2nd newish car to complement our Audi A7. The A7 has been our main family car for the past year and a half and her drive to part time work car as I mainly just bought cheap trade ins every 6 or so months we got at work to use for my 10-15 minute commutes (I had a couple W204 Mercedes C classes, Lexus IS, Audi A4 wagon, older X5, older Civics in the past 2 years).

Now the cheaper stuff is harder to come by due to car shortage and our dealership keeping almost everything for retail sale, so we decided to maybe get a 2nd car that's newer and nicer than my older commuters.

I was originally really excited for the Bronco, even aiming to get the base 2 door soft top unit to use as a inexpensive commuter and fun summer or winter runner. But apart from a couple 4 doors in stock, the 2 doors have about a year wait list.

The 4 door base model (4 cylinder, automatic, soft top) we test drove was a bit disappointing, and for the near $50k price I think I'd be better off finding something else. Maybe we got a bit spoiled driving mostly luxury cars the past few years but my wife wasn't impressed with all the plastics inside and outside, and I didn't care for the narrow looking base steel wheels, and the puny 4 cylinder engine sound that did not match the bulkiness and toughness of the overall Bronco look. The trick soft top that could be flipped up opening the front passenger compartment was neat, but how often would I be using it. I'd probably get more tired of the noise of constant rain hitting the soft top for the 6 months out of the year here in BC. And the rear cargo area access is only through a bottom half door, while the soft top upper half is fixed and not unzippable making cargo loading a bit of a chore. I'm sure in the summer the removable soft top and the frameless doors would give it an open airy feeling but that, and the "new model" look of it is the only appealing thing about it to me.

We also looked at a higher model, Big Bend I think, and although it looked a bit nicer outside (glossy grille vs flat black plastic grill on the base model, alloy wheels, and couple other things) I'm not sure it made an impact on me.

While it may be a cool novelty car, and maybe the 2 door would be better for me due to its cheaper price tag, I think I'll cross it off the list.

Other vehicles we are considering:

New Impreza WRX, relatively cheap 2-3 year leases due to strong residuals. $199 bi weekly $0 down taxes in. That's Honda Civic price territory for something a bit more fun, but base WRX is manual only and wife wouldn't be able to drive it. Plus I'm not crazy about its looks. Cheap payment, AWD, and fun factor is the only appealing thing here.

New Subaru Crosstrek. Once again super cheap leases ($155-$200bw for 2-3 years), and decent amount of car for the money but I think I would get bored of it fairly quickly too.

New Golf Comfortline or Highline. Fairly well equipped and fun to drive with cheap leases available as well but I have a feeling I'd get bored of it within a few days so having one for 2-4 years might feel like a chore.

New Genesis GV70. Decent looking SUV with relative cheap lease payments ($250-$300bw). There's also a wait of a few months for these. It would be my wife's main driver while I'd be daily driving our A7.

Maybe a used late model Mercedes GLC or a BMW 4 series convertible. A BMW convertible right now is most appealing as it's a folding hard top and has awd which is great for all seasons, 4 seats so we can drive kids to school, and would make a fun summer car for our family.

So we're all over the map right now but the the search continues....

@boomchek , IIRC you are working at a Honda store currently? Do they frown on their employees not driving a Honda product? The Honda Passport seems to have more fun dialed into it than the CR-V, HR-V or Pilot.

Passports are a slick package. Seem to check a lot of boxes for those that don’t need the 3rd row.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
Apparently all back windows in the metris are fixed in place. That is a deal breaker.

That’s nothing a little sawzall won’t fix

au1994

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

Apparently all back windows in the metris are fixed in place. That is a deal breaker.

That’s nothing a little sawzall won’t fix

Hold my beer…

mjfloyd1

@au1994 said:
Hold my beer…

Hey, watch this…

jmonroe1

@mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:
Apparently all back windows in the metris are fixed in place. That is a deal breaker.

That’s nothing a little sawzall won’t fix

Faster with a big one.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@ab348 said:
DeMuro hates it.

https://youtu.be/sa8kHgmZIiQ

Given things are slow in here, I finally decided to watch this video. I have a question. Is this guy still around? It’s hard to believe Benz didn’t put out a contract on him.

jmonroe

fintail

Doug is kind of like a millennial version of Scotty Kilmer, with an act that starts out amusing but gets old fast. I doubt any manufacturer takes him seriously beyond short term publicity. From the way the Metris was marketed, I don't think MBUSA took it seriously, either.

jmonroe1 said:

@ab348 said:

DeMuro hates it.

Given things are slow in here, I finally decided to watch this video. I have a question. Is this guy still around? It’s hard to believe Benz didn’t put out a contract on him.

jmonroe

au1994

mjfloyd1 said:

@au1994 said:

Hold my beer…

Hey, watch this…

Many a rednecks famous last words…

corvette

This F-250 is my former neighbor and her husband on the Tail of the Dragon. I don't think they specifically planned to go there, but realized they were in the area and decided to go for it. I asked him whether I should take the Prius or the Tundra, and he recommended the Tundra. The nondescript CUV behind them seems not to have any issues keeping up.

qbrozen

unfortunately, while we were at a little league game today, another mom just so happened to pull up in a Transit Explorer conversion. My wife struck up a convo and got a tour. She is really hooked. Damned things are $77k new. And I'm honestly not sure why. Granted, I didn't get a tour, but I priced out a loaded Transit straight from Ford and it came to $57k. This company seems to swap out the seats, add a moonroof, and install an overhead console with LCD, blu-ray, and video game hookups. Does anyone else think $20k is excessive for that? And, actually, now that I think about it even more, the Transit wouldn't be $57k because that has upgraded seats already, so you can leave off the $3800 livery package, bringing it down to about $53k. So we're talking $24k-$25k to outfit it. Pretty darned sure I could beat that.

stickguy

The one I put 1,000 miles on was not fast, but actually drove really nice, and even with the highest roof and long WB, still averaged about 19MPG on RUG. I would have no problem driving one cross country. Way nicer than a Chevy van.

If you want a project, and get a cargo version, should not be hard to do a custom job. Though I guess you would want a passenger version, for windows! maybe a used 15 passenger like they use for a shuttle?

boomchek

fintail said:

Doug is kind of like a millennial version of Scotty Kilmer, with an act that starts out amusing but gets old fast. I doubt any manufacturer takes him seriously beyond short term publicity. From the way the Metris was marketed, I don't think MBUSA took it seriously, either.

jmonroe1 said:

@ab348 said:

DeMuro hates it.

Given things are slow in here, I finally decided to watch this video. I have a question. Is this guy still around? It’s hard to believe Benz didn’t put out a contract on him.

jmonroe

I find Doug's reviews are pretty funny in a car geek sort of way. He is a typical car geek but it's nice to see him getting his hands on some ultra rare supercars of today and 80s and 90s. I'm also surprised Mercedes didn't put out a contract on him after the Metris review.

tjc78

@qbrozen
Have you looked into Sprinter van conversions. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few of those.

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:
@qbrozen
Have you looked into Sprinter van conversions. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few of those.

Yes. Too big. Those are like buses.

They convert all full size vans. She wants AWD, though, which are less common.

I dunno. It is A LOT of damned money. Told her the very first step is for me to measure the parking garage when I get to the condo next week.

Hey, maybe I could get the T&C roof raised and trunk lengthened. Haha

sda

qbrozen said:

@tjc78 said:
@qbrozen

Have you looked into Sprinter van conversions. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few of those.

Yes. Too big. Those are like buses.

They convert all full size vans. She wants AWD, though, which are less common.

I dunno. It is A LOT of damned money. Told her the very first step is for me to measure the parking garage when I get to the condo next week.

Hey, maybe I could get the T&C roof raised and trunk lengthened. Haha

Do you need that much room? The T&C is roomy in it own right. Perhaps a trailer hitch luggage carrier would work. Take it off once you get to the condo. Much cheaper.

qbrozen

@sda said:
Do you need that much room? The T&C is roomy in it own right. Perhaps a trailer hitch luggage carrier would work. Take it off once you get to the condo. Much cheaper.

I think she is thinking more passenger space rather than gear. 4 of us plus grandparents plus 2 dogs plus luggage. I’ll be working on talking her out of it.

stickguy

A regular passenger transit will handle all that.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
A regular passenger transit will handle all that.

Of course. But she wants it decked out.

au1994

Suburban would probably fit the bill but they get $$ in a hurry.

nyccarguy

Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

28firefighter

@nyccarguy said:
Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

Think it is related to the flooding or something else?

Michaell

qbrozen said:

@sda said:

Do you need that much room? The T&C is roomy in it own right. Perhaps a trailer hitch luggage carrier would work. Take it off once you get to the condo. Much cheaper.

I think she is thinking more passenger space rather than gear. 4 of us plus grandparents plus 2 dogs plus luggage. I’ll be working on talking her out of it.

After everything you’ve bought, you’ll deny her this?

sda

nyccarguy said:

Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

Perhaps the clutch slave cylinder? Did you check the fluid level?

stickguy

Get a used passenger Transit, and work your magic spiffing it up.

I assume she basically wants something like this?

https://www.gmcconversionvans.com/inventory/2016-ford-conversion-van-explorer-limited-se-rwd-hi-top-1ftye9zv5gkb47081

nyccarguy

@28firefighter said:

@nyccarguy said:
Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

Think it is related to the flooding or something else?

Flooding. Car glides through the gears when it is off. Upon startup it won’t shift into gear. Thinking the 2 plates maybe seized together…

stickguy

in that case, might get a new clutch out of the insurance company.

nyccarguy

@stickguy said:
in that case, might get a new clutch out of the insurance company.

Clutch job on my car is $2,400. I’m afraid they might take my $1K deductible and total the car.

stickguy

I think you could argue against that valuation!

guess it needs to flatbed over to a shop to find out what is really going on. Maybe there is just a trout stuck in the flywheel.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Get a used passenger Transit, and work your magic spiffing it up.

I assume she basically wants something like this?

https://www.gmcconversionvans.com/inventory/2016-ford-conversion-van-explorer-limited-se-rwd-hi-top-1ftye9zv5gkb47081

Yep, that's the one. As you can see, they want ABSURD prices for used ones (not like anything is reasonable these days).

au1994 said:

Suburban would probably fit the bill but they get $$ in a hurry.

I thought that ... but then looked at the specs. The Suburban has no more interior space than the van. 121 total cu ft in the Suburban vs 144 in the T&C. The smallest Transit (not Connect) is 225.

Michaell said:

After everything you’ve bought, you’ll deny her this?

Hey, we just bought her a condo. Where does it end? :b

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
You are on quite a bad streak.

@stickguy,
I had to read your post a couple of times, at first I thought it was a misspelling.

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
Yep, that's the one. As you can see, they want ABSURD prices for used ones (not like anything is reasonable these days).
I thought that ... but then looked at the specs. The Suburban has no more interior space than the van. 121 total cu ft in the Suburban vs 144 in the T&C. The smallest Transit (not Connect) is 225.
Hey, we just bought her a condo. Where does it end? :b

I’d like to see you top that off by getting her a new vacuum cleaner to maintain it.

jmonroe

28firefighter

@nyccarguy said:

@28firefighter said:

@nyccarguy said:
Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

Think it is related to the flooding or something else?

Flooding. Car glides through the gears when it is off. Upon startup it won’t shift into gear. Thinking the 2 plates maybe seized together…

Ugh. I’m sorry, man. What a crummy development.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen - happy wife, then you at least have a chance at happiness

mjfloyd1

@nyccarguy - I hope you can get the quaalude up and running/driving.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Get a used passenger Transit, and work your magic spiffing it up.

I assume she basically wants something like this?

https://www.gmcconversionvans.com/inventory/2016-ford-conversion-van-explorer-limited-se-rwd-hi-top-1ftye9zv5gkb47081

Yep, that's the one. As you can see, they want ABSURD prices for used ones (not like anything is reasonable these days).

au1994 said:

Suburban would probably fit the bill but they get $$ in a hurry.

I thought that ... but then looked at the specs. The Suburban has no more interior space than the van. 121 total cu ft in the Suburban vs 144 in the T&C. The smallest Transit (not Connect) is 225.

Michaell said:

After everything you’ve bought, you’ll deny her this?

Hey, we just bought her a condo. Where does it end? :b

To quote from your signature line…

55 car history and counting

Long way to go for her to catch up.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

Not good news. I started up the Prelude today. I planned on taking it on some local errands. It started up, but I couldn’t get it into gear at all.

Was it stuck in park? My son’s friend left his car in our barn and now we have no start and stuck in park. Code Po700 TCM.

But wait, yours is a manual so never mind.

stickguy

I certainly hope not, since it is a stick!

sounds like something in the clutch is stuck or broke.

nyccarguy

Let’s all raise a glass and toast to @roadburner ! He sent me an article that guided me on “unsticking” a clutch after a car has been partially underwater as my Prelude was. I read it a few times and figured “what do I have to lose?”

I started the car in gear and it slowly started to lurch forward. I kept my foot on the clutch and drove about a block in 1st gear until I could shift. Then I took a joyride around to make sure all the fluids heated up properly! It’s alive!

Thank-you again Bailey so much!