Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

kyfdx

breld said:

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.

You're a tough nut to crack...

nyccarguy

@kyfdx said:
You're a tough nut to crack...

@breld did just buy that gorgeous new place with lots of garage space. You didn’t expect him to let it sit empty, did you?

stickguy

breld said:

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.

So did I. But when will they even arrive? Spring? Winter? Could be waiting a long time. And of course, entirely possible they package the stick in a way that you won’t want.

Always hard waiting for some promised new car. Might never arrive, or not like it when it does. And you need to buy something eventually (and not all of us can flip at will!)

Not having a viable used car market, kind of limits flexibility too now.

sda

stickguy said:

breld said:

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.

So did I. But when will they even arrive? Spring? Winter? Could be waiting a long time. And of course, entirely possible they package the stick in a way that you won’t want.

Always hard waiting for some promised new car. Might never arrive, or not like it when it does. And you need to buy something eventually (and not all of us can flip at will!)

Not having a viable used car market, kind of limits flexibility too now.

Are you trying to be a ‘Killjoy’?

jmonroe1

breld said:

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.

Here we go. A new car for the new garage. Hell, maybe even 2 since it can accommodate 6. The most wasteful thing in a house is an unused garage bay.

jmonroe

qbrozen

breld said:

Acura knows their target audience. I saw that little video and am instantly thinking about reaching out to my salesperson at the local Acura dealership.

You could just get a Civic R. Oh... wait ...

Michaell

Spotted on my way back from Chick-Fil-A this morning…

sda

The fit of the soft top on the Bronco looks sloppy. I am not impressed. What is Ford doing?

stickguy

Folds back real easy though.

nyccarguy

They are obviouly heading to the trails to do some wheeling. Look at the mountains straight ahead of them.

mjfloyd1

@nyccarguy said:

@kyfdx said:
You're a tough nut to crack...

@breld did just buy that gorgeous new place with lots of garage space. You didn’t expect him to let it sit empty, did you?

Ahh yes, the six car garage with an attached house

I see an Acura Integra and a Miata coming back into the fold…and these are the days of our lives…

fintail

Panera or Panda Express?

nyccarguy said:

They are obviouly heading to the trails to do some wheeling. Look at the mountains straight ahead of them.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

They are obviouly heading to the trails to do some wheeling. Look at the mountains straight ahead of them.

FWIW, it's about a 2 hour drive to get to those mountains - the ones you see are 14'ers. I'm pretty sure one of them is Mt. Evans, which has a paved road to the summit.

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

If I buy something used she will just give me the look if it is too nasty, and a "don't expect me to ever ride in that" remark.

Don’t feel bad. My wife is down to riding in only one of my four vehicles and that one she put an air freshener in because she says “something smells”.

The hard truth is that you only notice it when she's in the car, but it's probably better not to say anything.

corvette

Michaell said:

I'm pretty sure one of them is Mt. Evans, which has a paved road to the summit.

That one is a gorgeous drive near sunset.

xwesx

andres3 said:

Cross posting because I need to vent!

I have bad news to report.

The 2015 S4 out of Arizona 11 months ago is no more.

Oh, man.... that's the worst news! Seems ridiculous that an engine would suffer that sort of failure at anywhere near those miles! Even a 100,000 on the clock would be too soon. Any possibility it is a turbo failure rather than the engine itself? Probably not, I guess, but if the shop hasn't diagnosed it and is just going with the safe bet....

If it is the engine, makes me think that maybe something wasn't torqued quite right from the get go and the engine just didn't have proper tolerances on something that finally couldn't handle the added stress anymore. Audi's probably thanking its lucky stars that you ran the car past its time limit on the warranty before this happened.

Michaell

corvette said:

Michaell said:

I'm pretty sure one of them is Mt. Evans, which has a paved road to the summit.

That one is a gorgeous drive near sunset.

I've lived in Colorado 28+ years, and haven't been to the top of Mt. Evans. Went about halfway once, but the weather got too dicey to go the rest of the way.

Been to the top of Pikes Peak, however, even though I didn't drive it - took the cog railway with my son.

xwesx

andres3 said:

Car was perfect for 11 months; nothing but a freakin' oil change and getting close to getting my second one at 45K miles.

Hahahahah; the Spy Hunter reference was golden!

cdnpinhead

Michaell said:

I'm pretty sure one of them is Mt. Evans, which has a paved road to the summit.

That it does, and it's a beautiful drive; I've been up it four or five times in various vehicles. Not for the faint-hearted, though. Guard rails? We don't need no stinkin' guard rails. Actually it's easier to keep the road clear if there are no guard rails in the way. That said, the Mt. Evans road closes every winter and often doesn't open all the way to the top until late June.

mjfloyd1

@xwesx said:
Oh, man.... that's the worst news! Seems ridiculous that an engine would suffer that sort of failure at anywhere near those miles! Even a 100,000 on the clock would be too soon. Any possibility it is a turbo failure rather than the engine itself? Probably not, I guess, but if the shop hasn't diagnosed it and is just going with the safe bet....

If it is the engine, makes me think that maybe something wasn't torqued quite right from the get go and the engine just didn't have proper tolerances on something that finally couldn't handle the added stress anymore. Audi's probably thanking its lucky stars that you ran the car past its time limit on the warranty before this happened.

That one is supercharged

28firefighter

@Michaell said:
I've lived in Colorado 28+ years, and haven't been to the top of Mt. Evans. Went about halfway once, but the weather got too dicey to go the rest of the way.

Been to the top of Pikes Peak, however, even though I didn't drive it - took the cog railway with my son.

We did the railway up to Pikes Peak, too, when we were in town from my now-BILs wedding in Manitou Springs.

corvette

I thought Mount Evans was more picturesque than Pikes Peak. The road up Pikes Peak is much wider. Mount Evans is narrow, but I think the speed limit is 15 or 25. It's narrow enough, with steep enough drop-offs, that you aren't really tempted to go faster!

rayainsw

andres3 -
So sorry to hear of that KABOOM!
- Ray
Driving now for over 55 years - and no such kaboom...
yet

jmonroe1

corvette said:

I thought Mount Evans was more picturesque than Pikes Peak. The road up Pikes Peak is much wider. Mount Evans is narrow, but I think the speed limit is 15 or 25. It's narrow enough, with steep enough drop-offs, that you aren't really tempted to go faster!

You don’t know @roadburner very well, do ya?

jmonroe

qbrozen

Took the trip to go see the '04 Impreza with 75k. Interior certainly looked the part, as did under the hood and the rest of the undercarriage. The paint, though? Wow! I haven't seen anything that bad in a long time. Would that deter me? Not really. Just an excuse to rattle can the whole thing and maybe put on some racing stripes. hahaha.

But, no evidence of a t-belt change, and there is an exhaust leak in the rear ahead of the muffler. I really really don't want to have to change another boxer t-belt in my life if I can avoid it. On the other hand, I had the thought that maybe the boys would find it fun to park it in the field, tape up the lights and windows, and go nuts painting it.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Took the trip to go see the '04 Impreza with 75k. Interior certainly looked the part, as did under the hood and the rest of the undercarriage. The paint, though? Wow! I haven't seen anything that bad in a long time. Would that deter me? Not really. Just an excuse to rattle can the whole thing and maybe put on some racing stripes. hahaha.

But, no evidence of a t-belt change, and there is an exhaust leak in the rear ahead of the muffler. I really really don't want to have to change another boxer t-belt in my life if I can avoid it. On the other hand, I had the thought that maybe the boys would find it fun to park it in the field, tape up the lights and windows, and go nuts painting it.

I've found that, with vehicles of that age and price point, there's always something about them that is just far and away rougher than you might find on a comparable unit elsewhere. The trick is finding "that thing" that you don't mind dealing with.

I agree with you, though; the timing belt change on an EJ25 is not fun in the least!

corvette

This is interesting. Possibly the highest mileage Si of this generation in existence. I need to pull the photos up on my laptop to get a better look:
https://www.andymohrford.com/used-Plainfield-2002-Honda-Civic-Si-SHHEP33582U301354

Edit: Looks fairly beat up, inside and out. But, would probably make a nice beater, especially if the price were a little lower.

xwesx

corvette said:

This is interesting. Possibly the highest mileage Si of this generation in existence. I need to pull the photos up on my laptop to get a better look:
https://www.andymohrford.com/used-Plainfield-2002-Honda-Civic-Si-SHHEP33582U301354

Edit: Looks fairly beat up, inside and out. But, would probably make a nice beater, especially if the price were a little lower.

Wow; plus 300, and asking $4K?! These guys are optimistic (or desperate... or both!).

Edit: Oh, I see now why they're asking so much.... it's the stellar detail work they did to ready the car for sale!

andres3

nyccarguy said:

@andres3 Not to rub salt in, but I forgot. You purchased that car used, not CPO correct? Did you modify it at all (chip? or is that your TT?)?

I bought the S4 stock and kept it stock as a daily driver. Never tracked or modded. That might be the problem, Audi's like being driven hard.

Not CPO, my older A4 was... but CPO is only a year now (unlimited miles) and the car was just too old to CPO.

andres3

sda said:

@andres3 , I would reach out to Audi as well. It wouldn’t hurt to mention you have had several Audis, including your TT, and also stayed in the family with your wife’s Tiguan. Good Luck!

Yeah, all favorable things, but every unfavorable thing moves you half way out the ball park:

Unfavorable things:
1) bought the car used
2) bought it from a BMW dealership (not Audi)
3) Over 6 years old with '14 first manufacturing/sale date.
4) They may want me to tow it to the Audi dealership and pay them diagnostic money without committing to helping me first.....

Seems like a very long shot from outside the ballpark a bit.

On the other hand, they said they'd consider my application for a BUYBACK request. Seems like a long shot too; since the law doesn't require lemon buybacks on used cars as far as I know in California/AZ?

stickguy

corvette said:

This is interesting. Possibly the highest mileage Si of this generation in existence. I need to pull the photos up on my laptop to get a better look:
https://www.andymohrford.com/used-Plainfield-2002-Honda-Civic-Si-SHHEP33582U301354

Edit: Looks fairly beat up, inside and out. But, would probably make a nice beater, especially if the price were a little lower.

I almost bought one of those for a huge discount when that version went out of production and they could not give them away. But by the time I discovered the deal it was too late.

that one, would roll the dice at $1,500. Certainly not $4k. I am sure it is hiding some nasty secrets.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:

Took the trip to go see the '04 Impreza with 75k. Interior certainly looked the part, as did under the hood and the rest of the undercarriage. The paint, though? Wow! I haven't seen anything that bad in a long time. Would that deter me? Not really. Just an excuse to rattle can the whole thing and maybe put on some racing stripes. hahaha.

But, no evidence of a t-belt change, and there is an exhaust leak in the rear ahead of the muffler. I really really don't want to have to change another boxer t-belt in my life if I can avoid it. On the other hand, I had the thought that maybe the boys would find it fun to park it in the field, tape up the lights and windows, and go nuts painting it.

I've found that, with vehicles of that age and price point, there's always something about them that is just far and away rougher than you might find on a comparable unit elsewhere. The trick is finding "that thing" that you don't mind dealing with.

I agree with you, though; the timing belt change on an EJ25 is not fun in the least!

Remember, no one ever sold an old car because it was running TOO good.

On the issue of timing belts, when I bought my Sebring with 82k miles for about $2k it needed rear brakes and two tires. The previous owner hadn’t change the timing belt nor did he know if it had been changed by the original owner. On my motor it’s recommended to be changed at 60k miles and it’s required at 100k miles. Since a timing belt job on that car would cost about $1,100 I decided to chance it until the higher mileage. At the rate I drive it that won’t be until 2036. If it breaks before that how much would I lose?

I say on an old beater, drive it until it blows up.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

This is interesting. Possibly the highest mileage Si of this generation in existence. I need to pull the photos up on my laptop to get a better look:
https://www.andymohrford.com/used-Plainfield-2002-Honda-Civic-Si-SHHEP33582U301354

Edit: Looks fairly beat up, inside and out. But, would probably make a nice beater, especially if the price were a little lower.

That’s certainly a testament to the lack of suitable used cars. Two years ago you’d never find a car like that on a new car lot.

corvette

oldfarmer50 said:

That’s certainly a testament to the lack of suitable used cars. Two years ago you’d never find a car like that on a new car lot.

"It's a Honda! It'll run forever!" j/k

I'm seeing a *lot* of ads in the low five figure range for vehicles for sale "as traded" with zero reconditioning/repairs. Seems to happen frequently with cars with high residual like a 4Runner that are extremely miled up, but still worth in the $20k range.

corvette

I'm pretty sure I caused one of the modules on the Prius to freak out by putting the car in accessory mode while I had the battery maintainer connected to the 12v battery. When I went to drive it this evening, the gauges wouldn't light up, and there was no backup camera. Everything else worked. I unplugged the modules from the 12v battery and plugged them back in, and that seems to have reset things. Like a computer, it just needed to be restarted!

Plan to take it to the muffler shop early tomorrow morning to get the rear O2 sensor replaced. Bonus: the CEL being caused by the bad O2 sensor did not reset, so I didn't have to drive it around for a drive cycle to get the code to come back.

roadburner

stickguy said:

My wife says that too. But more because she doesn’t want a seat someone else sat in. Also why if we buy a resale house, I need to replace the thrones before we move in!

For my car, she doesn’t care really, but her car will always be bought new.

Since we were married in 1986 we have leased two new cars(Volvo 740 Turbo, i3 REx) and bought three new cars(Club Sport, 318ti Active, MS3). Like me, my wife usually prefers a nicer used car for the same price; her X1 M Sport cost a bit more than an EcoSport S, so it wasn't a tough decision

mjfloyd1

@andres3 said:
I bought the S4 stock and kept it stock as a daily driver. Never tracked or modded. That might be the problem, Audi's like being driven hard.

Not CPO, my older A4 was... but CPO is only a year now (unlimited miles) and the car was just too old to CPO.

Did you get a PPI? Wondering if it was truly stock as the prior owner could have flashed the ECU and installed a smaller supercharger pulley.

Several Audi dealers were Stasis or APR dealers...so "dealer serviced" can still mean it was modified

roadburner

The Mini developed a slight coolant leak; I mentioned to the SA that one of the coolant pipes has a reputation for leaking. Got a call back that the tech thought the water pump was seeping. The next day I got a call and was told that the tech looked closer and the leak was due to the coolant pipe. Kudos to tech who actually take the time to accurately diagnose the problem!

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

oldfarmer50 said:

That’s certainly a testament to the lack of suitable used cars. Two years ago you’d never find a car like that on a new car lot.

"It's a Honda! It'll run forever!" j/k

I'm seeing a *lot* of ads in the low five figure range for vehicles for sale "as traded" with zero reconditioning/repairs. Seems to happen frequently with cars with high residual like a 4Runner that are extremely miled up, but still worth in the $20k range.

I know that some states allow dealers to sell “as is” cars for a cheaper price but not NY. I suppose that protects the consumer to some extent but the unintended consequence is that there are few sub $5000 cars on NY lots.

qbrozen

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

I'd say that's accurate. As a non-resident, you won't be able to register in SC.

au1994

qbrozen said:

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

Easy solution…just flip them every 2 years, selling in SC.

stickguy

I just saw a tribute like that on FB in the next town over. looked very clean (and they claimed it was). I think about 120 miles, asking $4,800. Seems high, but maybe not these days.

for the car, definitely have to register up here. My guess, you just let the sticker expire. Nobody down there is likely to say anything about an expired sticker from out of state. only other choice is to bring it back and that seems silly.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

Cheat. Make your own.

jmonroe

ab348

qbrozen said:

I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

As if you would still be driving that after 2 years...

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:

oldfarmer50 said:

That’s certainly a testament to the lack of suitable used cars. Two years ago you’d never find a car like that on a new car lot.

"It's a Honda! It'll run forever!" j/k

I'm seeing a *lot* of ads in the low five figure range for vehicles for sale "as traded" with zero reconditioning/repairs. Seems to happen frequently with cars with high residual like a 4Runner that are extremely miled up, but still worth in the $20k range.

I know that some states allow dealers to sell “as is” cars for a cheaper price but not NY. I suppose that protects the consumer to some extent but the unintended consequence is that there are few sub $5000 cars on NY lots.

Another prime example of the "Protect the Moron" philosophy.

Sandman6472

Got a $1.00/hour raise at Toyota starting on 10/1 so now we're at $10.00 at both jobs. Sundays are now open for anyone to work until years end it seems. We're open from 10 to 4 and only two folks are on the current schedule. Personally, I'd love to give up Mondays and work Sunday but not from 7 to 4 since I get off at 6:30 on Saturday night. Think I'd have no issue going in a bit later on Sunday but just staying the course right now. Am thinking of giving my notice come January as I've done it and it's just o k. I like Enterprise better because I don't have to deal with customers and though I'd say 80% of folks are real nice, it's that other 20% that make it tough to even want to go in. But, not making any decisions right now as I'd feel bad leaving before the holidays when a couple of drivers have put in for time off. Since I took off last week to go out of town for our kids wedding party, it wouldn't be right to leave the others in a lurch knowing those guys won't be there.
So, will just stay the next couple of months and make a decision either way in January to see what, if anything, comes next. Being that tax season will be starting then, might just keep working so the house stays quiet for my wife as our offices are right next door to each other and I tend to be a bit noisey when home. Still have to get that Bluetooth soundbar for our Samsung t v so I can use my Bluetooth headphones when watching t v. Just want to get an inexpensive unit that's compatible with Samsung and easy to set up. Will look on Amazon.com and see what I can score.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

Cheat. Make your own.

jmonroe

They try that up here sometimes but with all the fancy police spy equipment it usually doesn’t work.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Got a $1.00/hour raise at Toyota starting on 10/1 so now we're at $10.00 at both jobs. Sundays are now open for anyone to work until years end it seems. We're open from 10 to 4 and only two folks are on the current schedule. Personally, I'd love to give up Mondays and work Sunday but not from 7 to 4 since I get off at 6:30 on Saturday night. Think I'd have no issue going in a bit later on Sunday but just staying the course right now. Am thinking of giving my notice come January as I've done it and it's just o k. I like Enterprise better because I don't have to deal with customers and though I'd say 80% of folks are real nice, it's that other 20% that make it tough to even want to go in. But, not making any decisions right now as I'd feel bad leaving before the holidays when a couple of drivers have put in for time off. Since I took off last week to go out of town for our kids wedding party, it wouldn't be right to leave the others in a lurch knowing those guys won't be there.
So, will just stay the next couple of months and make a decision either way in January to see what, if anything, comes next. Being that tax season will be starting then, might just keep working so the house stays quiet for my wife as our offices are right next door to each other and I tend to be a bit noisey when home. Still have to get that Bluetooth soundbar for our Samsung t v so I can use my Bluetooth headphones when watching t v. Just want to get an inexpensive unit that's compatible with Samsung and easy to set up. Will look on Amazon.com and see what I can score.

You have to get over that outdated work ethic. Haven’t you heard that quitting your job and not working is the latest trend?

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

I have a appt this afternoon to see a 2005 Tribute Awd Limited. Would rather not have leather but I’ll put on covers.

I thought I’d have to register the car in SC, but then thought “maybe I need an SC license to do that.” The interwebs agrees, but also tells me you can have only one license at a time. So, evidently, although the car will live in SC, it must be registered and insured in NJ. Huh. So how the heck does that work? I can’t be the only person wanting to do this. I do not want to drive it to NJ and back every 2 yrs for a new inspection sticker.

Cheat. Make your own.

jmonroe

They try that up here sometimes but with all the fancy police spy equipment it usually doesn’t work.

That’s ridiculous. That’s just drawing attention to the situation. However, if @qbrozen does take my advice and cheats, I’d hate for him to get caught and have to post from jail. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.

jmonroe