Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

28firefighter

I put a deposit on an incoming performance blue Elantra N DCT. Got a $1400 discount - $900 dealer and $500 finance rebate. Seems worth it to sample the goods. Wife is an agreement as long as we swap the Tesla for the Y when it comes in. Which is fine.

Quick math tells me I can make a couple k on the Infiniti, even with what I put into it.

My name is 28FF and I have a problem.

stickguy

if you are making money on the moves, does not sound like a problem to me.

stickguy

CHBS time again. Got another bid in on a house that we saw yesterday. Typical for these days. listing came up Thursday night late, so I asked our agent (we were out looking with her Friday AM) to see it too. Showings started Saturday and we got 1st slot at 8:30 (double booked apparently since another agent was there too). we liked it so planned to bid.

by this morning, our agent said the listing agent told her they already had offers in so final deadline was 7:30 tonight. so we bid (over ask of course) and wait to hear.

frustrating and expensive, but at least the process moves quick! But if you are somebody that likes to take time to think things over and analyze, you don't belong in this market.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

90K miles and 0-60 in 9.7 seconds…. Let that soak in for a few minutes.

Abarth or nothing.
That is all.

roadburner

sda said:

28firefighter said:

The Infiniti left my wife stranded at the supermarket this morning. Bad crankshaft position sensor. I replaced it in the lot, but she is not amused.

I can only imagine. If it was my wife, she is one and done, i.e. she would not drive it again.

My wife will tolerate 1 or 2 issues- especially if I'm able to fix them.

stickguy

my wife is probably down to 1 significant issue. problem is she has the fancy car which is not going anywhere, and I know she isn't taking my car.

though these days not much of an issue since she barely drives anyplace anyway.

breld

@28firefighter - sounds like a great deal on the Elantra! Any idea when it’s due in?

@stickguy - best of luck on the house!

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

CHBS time again. Got another bid in on a house that we saw yesterday. Typical for these days. listing came up Thursday night late, so I asked our agent (we were out looking with her Friday AM) to see it too. Showings started Saturday and we got 1st slot at 8:30 (double booked apparently since another agent was there too). we liked it so planned to bid.

by this morning, our agent said the listing agent told her they already had offers in so final deadline was 7:30 tonight. so we bid (over ask of course) and wait to hear.

frustrating and expensive, but at least the process moves quick! But if you are somebody that likes to take time to think things over and analyze, you don't belong in this market.

Paying over sticker for a car would drive me crazy. Paying over ask for a house would make my head explode.

jmonroe1

@tifighter said:
Constructive feedback- Next time if you’re going to post 17 pics from an ad, just post a link to the ad. Scrollapalooza, especially from a mobile device. At least no one quoted it all in a reply.

———————————————

Probably an indication folks have lost interest already.

jmonroe

28firefighter

@breld said:
@28firefighter - sounds like a great deal on the Elantra! Any idea when it’s due in?

@stickguy - best of luck on the house!

In theory 5/29, but who knows with transport these days.

corvette

tifighter said:

Constructive feedback- Next time if you’re going to post 17 pics from an ad, just post a link to the ad. Scrollapalooza, especially from a mobile device. At least no one quoted it all yet in a reply.

Fixed that for you.

cdnpinhead

tifighter said:

Next time if you’re going to post 17 pics from an ad, just post a link . . .

Or you could talk to the wall.

nyccarguy

breld said:

28firefighter said:

The Infiniti left my wife stranded at the supermarket this morning. Bad crankshaft position sensor. I replaced it in the lot, but she is not amused.

I’m still at the part where you were able to diagnose the issue and replace the part in the parking lot.

I’m impressed.

+1 @28firefighter

Excellent job diagnosing the problem, fixing the car in the parking lot, then securing a replacement in record time.

kyfdx

sda said:

28firefighter said:

The Infiniti left my wife stranded at the supermarket this morning. Bad crankshaft position sensor. I replaced it in the lot, but she is not amused.

I can only imagine. If it was my wife, she is one and done, i.e. she would not drive it again.

Bought an '03 BMW 325i for my wife on a Saturday. 7 months old. She drove it to work on Monday, and it left her stranded in the parking lot at work.

explorerx4

After driving home her new SHO is 1996, my wife went to the store.
When she came out the car was dead.
I had no idea what the problem was until I jiggled one of the battery cables. It needed to be tighten.

tjc78

Only car to strand my wife was the 08 Elantra. It was only a battery so the car got a pass.

When the 09 Genesis stranded me/us a handful of times she wouldn’t drive it. They did finally fix it and the rest of time I had it everything was fine but ….

ab348

nyccarguy said:

breld said:

28firefighter said:

The Infiniti left my wife stranded at the supermarket this morning. Bad crankshaft position sensor. I replaced it in the lot, but she is not amused.

I’m still at the part where you were able to diagnose the issue and replace the part in the parking lot.

I’m impressed.

+1 @28firefighter

Excellent job diagnosing the problem, fixing the car in the parking lot, then securing a replacement in record time.

Keeping a large box full of spares and a tool kit in the trunk of any 15 year-old Infiniti pays off!

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

CHBS time again. Got another bid in on a house that we saw yesterday. Typical for these days. listing came up Thursday night late, so I asked our agent (we were out looking with her Friday AM) to see it too. Showings started Saturday and we got 1st slot at 8:30 (double booked apparently since another agent was there too). we liked it so planned to bid.

by this morning, our agent said the listing agent told her they already had offers in so final deadline was 7:30 tonight. so we bid (over ask of course) and wait to hear.

frustrating and expensive, but at least the process moves quick! But if you are somebody that likes to take time to think things over and analyze, you don't belong in this market.

Paying over sticker for a car would drive me crazy. Paying over ask for a house would make my head explode.

I’m still amazed at people buying used cars for a price that is over what they cost new. It’s amazing to me what I’m seeing used cars sell for overall, right now. It’s worse than the price gouging on new cars, and that’s pretty bad, currently.

tjc78

Slow morning at work today since a ton of people are at a show.

What else to do but look at some broker “deals” on LH

These are all 36 or 39 months / 10K a year with just first and broker fee if applicable due at signing. Include 6.625% NJ tax

TLX Tech - $43645 (5% discount) $703 /month
Q50 Luxe - $45999 (6.6% discount) $698
Camry XLE V6 - $39000 (0% discount) $710
330XI (order) - $46800 (6.25% discount) $716
Sonata Limited - $36,069 (?) $552

stickguy

Paying $600/month for 3 years to own the Maverick doesn’t seem so bad after all!

qbrozen

Wife agreed with me that the Wrangler is a little small for our needs. Of course, that would be solved with the Sprinter, but let's not think about that. Let's instead think about replacing the Wrangler. lol. As you know, I've already been eyeballing JDM stuff for this purpose. Well, maybe you knew. Anyway, after digging a little, as cool as they are, it appears to me the Land Cruiser Prado is actually no larger than a 4-door Wrangler. So that leaves me with the Pajero ... OR, my new fascination, a Nissan Safari. It is just so darned cool looking. Far rarer, though, at least at the auctions. I was in love with one at the end of last week, but a manual transmission kept me from bidding. This isn't that one, but just a pic to help visualize why I want one.

28firefighter

@nyccarguy said:
+1 @28firefighter

Excellent job diagnosing the problem, fixing the car in the parking lot, then securing a replacement in record time.

They are known for going out and my BIL had an extra from when his went. It’s accessible from the top back of the engine with the air box off, so I got lucky on both the supply and repair pieces.

sda

When we bought new the 99 Passat 1.8t to replace her 97 Altima my wife was truly excited about her new ride. A few days later and less than 100 mile on it, it acts up, speedometer, all gauges max out, all dash lights lit up and it won’t accelerate. She pulls of the road, calls me very upset. She restarted it and all was fine. I had the dealer pick it up and they gave us a loaner. Who knew they couldn’t find any issue. My wife was scared to drive it so I did for a week. It took a while for her to build confidence to drive it again. It never acted up again. She loved that car.

breld

My mom drives an '01 Passat 1.8T (the 2001.5 model where they facelifted it mid-year). I believe it has something like 70-80k miles on it. I also had a 2000 Passat GLX (V6 manual) for a short while.

Other than the GTI, that generation Passat is one of the best models VW ever put out.

stickguy

Safari is cool. Good luck driving that to SC though.

Maybe a hitch tray for the Jeep? Or tow a small uhaul if needed for long southern road trips?

Maybe the big van finally shows up to make it easier.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Safari is cool. Good luck driving that to SC though.

Maybe a hitch tray for the Jeep? Or tow a small uhaul if needed for long southern road trips?

Maybe the big van finally shows up to make it easier.

oh, its not for SC trip, necessarily. Even going to the grandparents with 4 of us plus 2 dogs plus food is tight in the Wrangler. I went to Home Depot with my son over the weekend and it was a challenge to pack it all.

qbrozen

This is kinda wild. Original owner’s manual and what I think are service records arrived with hard copies of the export cert and bill of lading.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

Wife agreed with me that the Wrangler is a little small for our needs. Of course, that would be solved with the Sprinter, but let's not think about that. Let's instead think about replacing the Wrangler. lol. As you know, I've already been eyeballing JDM stuff for this purpose. Well, maybe you knew. Anyway, after digging a little, as cool as they are, it appears to me the Land Cruiser Prado is actually no larger than a 4-door Wrangler. So that leaves me with the Pajero ... OR, my new fascination, a Nissan Safari. It is just so darned cool looking. Far rarer, though, at least at the auctions. I was in love with one at the end of last week, but a manual transmission kept me from bidding. This isn't that one, but just a pic to help visualize why I want one.

————————————————-

Is it that foggy where you live?

jmonroe

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

Is it that foggy where you live?

jmonroe

One should always be prepared for when the power grid goes down during the zombie apocalypse.

henryn

qbrozen said:

jmonroe1 said:

Is it that foggy where you live?

jmonroe

One should always be prepared for when the power grid goes down during the zombie apocalypse.

That's true. I own a LOT of flashlights, and I have a big stock of candles. When the power goes out in the neighborhood, which happens once or twice a year, the neighbors show up at my door looking for candles. Last year, during the Great Texas Freeze I was a very popular guy for a couple of days.

roadburner

@graphicguy said:
I’m still amazed at people buying used cars for a price that is over what they cost new. It’s amazing to me what I’m seeing used cars sell for overall, right now. It’s worse than the price gouging on new cars, and that’s pretty bad, currently.

Based on my prior experience I should have known better, but I checked out the Mach 1 inventories of a few SC Ford dealers; most all were charging $4k to $5k over MSRP for cars with over 2k miles on them. And they were the base models at that.

tjc78

That’s really cool Q to go along with the vehicle.

stickguy

Wish us luck people. We just had an offer accepted on a house up near old farmer. Clock is ticking on getting this place ready to list then get ready to move.

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

sda

stickguy said:

Wish us luck people. We just had an offer accepted on a house up near old farmer. Clock is ticking on getting this place ready to list then get ready to move.

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

Congratulations!

stickguy

Thanks I think…

Michaell

stickguy said:

Wish us luck people. We just had an offer accepted on a house up near old farmer. Clock is ticking on getting this place ready to list then get ready to move.

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

Congrats!

I get it ... now comes the hard part. I really don't want to deal with the stuff in our basement, should we decide to move.

28firefighter

Congrats, @stickguy

ab348

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Safari is cool. Good luck driving that to SC though.

Maybe a hitch tray for the Jeep? Or tow a small uhaul if needed for long southern road trips?

Maybe the big van finally shows up to make it easier.

oh, its not for SC trip, necessarily. Even going to the grandparents with 4 of us plus 2 dogs plus food is tight in the Wrangler. I went to Home Depot with my son over the weekend and it was a challenge to pack it all.

Sounds like you need a Suburban.

stickguy

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Wish us luck people. We just had an offer accepted on a house up near old farmer. Clock is ticking on getting this place ready to list then get ready to move.

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

Congrats!

I get it ... now comes the hard part. I really don't want to deal with the stuff in our basement, should we decide to move.

We have been making some progress down there. I can see light at end of tunnel. But pace needs to pick up.

Bigger issue is moving 4 hours away. I can’t just make multiple trips running back and forth like it it was local.

stickguy

At least our upstairs is fairly well done. A bit more weeding out to donate, then just stuff to pack. We in the past mostly consolidated the stuff to sort through and weed out into the basement so at least it would all be in one place!

Michaell

stickguy said:

At least our upstairs is fairly well done. A bit more weeding out to donate, then just stuff to pack. We in the past mostly consolidated the stuff to sort through and weed out into the basement so at least it would all be in one place!

Will the new place have a basement, as well?

andres3

benjaminh said:

andres3 said:

My 2015 S4 is operating as a flawless daily since all the issues related to the HPFP failing have been resolved. 48,000 miles being crossed today. Knocking on wood.

If I may ask, what was the price again for getting it fixed?

Close enough to Gov't work with the S4 repair total in this video. Except this old ragged abused/neglected S4 doesn't even need an engine!

Also, my S4 after being washed Sunday photographs quite well if I do say so myself:

andres3

cdnpinhead said:

andres3 said:

My 2015 S4 is operating as a flawless daily since all the issues related to the HPFP failing have been resolved. 48,000 miles being crossed today. Knocking on wood.

How many miles do you have on the new engine? There is no substitute for a competent independent shop. Hope it continues to go well.

About 4,400 miles? I honestly am not worried about the engine failing within the 1 year warranty period (12K miles) so I'm not really keeping track of that number.

I'm tempted to do a Stage 1 tune since APR's stage 1 is so good (400+ HP).

Even stock it's as close to perfect a daily driver sport sedan as one can get IMHO. Gas mileage isn't great, but that's what happens when you go fast in a dual-clutch AWD 3,800 lb cruiser.

andres3

nyccarguy said:

Gorgeous '98 Type SH with 63K miles just sold for $27K

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3yXjWEP7/1998-honda-prelude-type-sh

$27,000 is S4 money at that mileage. And were talking 7 years old rather than 24. Even after being burned; I'd take my chances on the S4 at that money. Don't get me wrong, I like the Prelude, but it is a 4-cylinder motor with FWD.

How much was this Prelude when new?

Gives me an idea, Honda should resurrect the Prelude to beat the BRZ and be a RWD 2023 Prelude.

tjc78

Congrats @stickguy !

If I know the market as well as I think I do you’ll sell in one weekend with multiple offers.

The “stuff” well can’t help you there other than don’t fear getting a dumpster. Faster and easier than trying to throw it away piece meal.

qbrozen

ab348 said:

Sounds like you need a Suburban.

That's the backup choice if the Sprinter never comes.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Wish us luck people. We just had an offer accepted on a house up near old farmer. Clock is ticking on getting this place ready to list then get ready to move.

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

good luck.

My brother and his fiance, out of nowhere, sold my folks' house that we kindly sold them very cheap at the end of last summer. Making quite a profit, of course, but then spending it on a smaller house further down the Parkway. Go figure.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

@graphicguy said:

I’m still amazed at people buying used cars for a price that is over what they cost new. It’s amazing to me what I’m seeing used cars sell for overall, right now. It’s worse than the price gouging on new cars, and that’s pretty bad, currently.

Based on my prior experience I should have known better, but I checked out the Mach 1 inventories of a few SC Ford dealers; most all were charging $4k to $5k over MSRP for cars with over 2k miles on them. And they were the base models at that.

I had a hard enough time paying MSRP for my Honda. Then, I remembered how much I made on the Acura. Felt better.

Still, only had the Accord for a month and used prices still going up, as are new prices, with even less inventory than a month ago.

BTW...a friend of mine was at that BMW soirée you attended this weekend.....

graphicguy

Given our abundance of stuff (not mine!) and the owner of said stuff having emotional attachment issues, this may be painful. Hopefully worth it in the end.

Yay!!!!! Congrats!

tifighter

New meats for the Montero picked up at the Tire Rack DC.