Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

mjfloyd1

Hilarious for sale ad for a Fisker Karma (I probably have the long ad in the wrong order - using my phone)

oldfarmer50

akangl said:

Local dealer has this on their lot and its taking all of my willpower not to drag hubby down there with Gremlin to trade it in. Only roadblocks are 1. Gremlin is paid for, 2. I just put a really expensive canopy on Gremlin, and 3. we have spent several thousand dollars getting Gremlin reliable and it only has 125k on it so should be good for a while. That doesn't count the new stereo/speakers, back up cam, heated seats, and a few other things I've had done to the truck.

https://www.swickardpalmer.com/VehicleDetails/certified-2019-Chevrolet-Silverado_3500HD-Crew_Cab_Long_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_High_Country-PALMER-AK/1GC4KYEY5KF142580

Is the salt coating an extra cost option?

explorerx4

The blue car in the pictures is a Maserati. A glutton for punishment.

au1994

oldfarmer50 said:

akangl said:

Local dealer has this on their lot and its taking all of my willpower not to drag hubby down there with Gremlin to trade it in. Only roadblocks are 1. Gremlin is paid for, 2. I just put a really expensive canopy on Gremlin, and 3. we have spent several thousand dollars getting Gremlin reliable and it only has 125k on it so should be good for a while. That doesn't count the new stereo/speakers, back up cam, heated seats, and a few other things I've had done to the truck.

https://www.swickardpalmer.com/VehicleDetails/certified-2019-Chevrolet-Silverado_3500HD-Crew_Cab_Long_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_High_Country-PALMER-AK/1GC4KYEY5KF142580

Is the salt coating an extra cost option?

I thought for some reason they had moved to Houston.

mjfloyd1

explorerx4 said:

The blue car in the pictures is a Maserati. A glutton for punishment.

Notice the unpainted front bumper on the Mazer too

mjfloyd1

@xwesx said:
Gotta be careful with those shadows! With a name like that, it could get really unappealing really fast!

I don’t give a SHIFT😳

stickguy

that ad was hysterical. Wonder if anyone ever bought it?

It is a really sharp looking car. The LS swap sounds like a smart idea.

mjfloyd1

@stickguy said:
that ad was hysterical. Wonder if anyone ever bought it?

It is a really sharp looking car. The LS swap sounds like a smart idea.

Ad just posted 7 hours ago

andres3

stickguy said:

that ad was hysterical. Wonder if anyone ever bought it?

It is a really sharp looking car. The LS swap sounds like a smart idea.

That ad reminds me of my recent water intrusion issues. Now mine was from a bad windshield installation, but it made me realize that autonomous driving is a bad idea yet again due to water intrusion issues.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
that ad was hysterical. Wonder if anyone ever bought it?

It is a really sharp looking car. The LS swap sounds like a smart idea.

I’d like to see how that gets accomplished. J mean, we’re talking about a platform not designed to accept a transmission nor differential. That’s not just a swap, that’s a redesign and major surgery.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:
that ad was hysterical. Wonder if anyone ever bought it?

It is a really sharp looking car. The LS swap sounds like a smart idea.

I’d like to see how that gets accomplished. J mean, we’re talking about a platform not designed to accept a transmission nor differential. That’s not just a swap, that’s a redesign and major surgery.

It’s a PHEV with a 2.0 ecotec motor and limited slip rear differential

stickguy

Rich Rebuilds did an LS swap into a Tesla S. with a manual trans too.

tjc78

Man that 3500 long bed makes my Ram feel small

explorerx4

V8 conversions for the Fisker came out 10 years ago.

mjfloyd1

explorerx4 said:

V8 conversions for the Fisker came out 10 years ago.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/news/a29461/bob-lutz-fisker-karma-vlf-destino/

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:

@akangl said:
Local dealer has this on their lot and its taking all of my willpower not to drag hubby down there with Gremlin to trade it in. Only roadblocks are 1. Gremlin is paid for, 2. I just put a really expensive canopy on Gremlin, and 3. we have spent several thousand dollars getting Gremlin reliable and it only has 125k on it so should be good for a while. That doesn't count the new stereo/speakers, back up cam, heated seats, and a few other things I've had done to the truck.

https://www.swickardpalmer.com/VehicleDetails/certified-2019-Chevrolet-Silverado_3500HD-Crew_Cab_Long_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_High_Country-PALMER-AK/1GC4KYEY5KF142580

1. WTH is Gremlin?
2. Is it typical for dealers there to put up pics of their inventory absolutely filthy?

————————————————
They do that so you know what it’ll look like most of the time, especially during the Winter months, which like I said is most of the time up there.

Look at it as “Truth in Advertising”.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

@akangl said:
Local dealer has this on their lot and its taking all of my willpower not to drag hubby down there with Gremlin to trade it in. Only roadblocks are 1. Gremlin is paid for, 2. I just put a really expensive canopy on Gremlin, and 3. we have spent several thousand dollars getting Gremlin reliable and it only has 125k on it so should be good for a while. That doesn't count the new stereo/speakers, back up cam, heated seats, and a few other things I've had done to the truck.

https://www.swickardpalmer.com/VehicleDetails/certified-2019-Chevrolet-Silverado_3500HD-Crew_Cab_Long_Box_4_Wheel_Drive_High_Country-PALMER-AK/1GC4KYEY5KF142580

1. WTH is Gremlin?
2. Is it typical for dealers there to put up pics of their inventory absolutely filthy?

Gremlin is her Dodge tow truck that has been unreliable until they put lots of work and $ into it

I’d suspect that first picture was the trade in picture but I’d think it’s probably more or less normal with all the snow in Alaska.

————————————————
Gee, an unreliable Chrysler product. That ain’t really novel, is it?

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

That Cummins diesel in the Dodge pickup is a great motor

Michaell

I met up with Mr. and Mrs. @breld for lunch today. They brought the Mach-E, and I was given an opportunity to drive it.

This is the GT Performance model, and it was the fastest vehicle I have ever driven. They told me 0-60 is like 3 seconds, and after some time behind the wheel, I certainly believe them. No way could I have handled a full throttle pull on public roads - even @breld took it to 75 on a road marked for, I think, 40 or 45 MPH.

The ride was pretty nice, even though it's the sportiest trim Ford makes. Interior reminds me of a Tesla - one small screen in front of the driver, and a large tablet in the center.

When I took it on the highway, I noticed what seemed to be exhaust noise when I blipped the gas pedal. Turns out the Mach-E has three modes - Silent, Normal and "Unbridled" - the last mode fakes the exhaust sounds through the sound system. Pretty cool, if you're into that sort of thing.

Decent space in all the seats, and though I believe Ford positions it as an SUV, it sure didn't seem like one behind the wheel.

All in all, a very nice vehicle.

corvette

That Fisker ad reminded me of this ad for a Maserati:
https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/esh/6324690044.html

jmonroe1

corvette said:

That Fisker ad reminded me of this ad for a Maserati:
https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/esh/6324690044.html

————————————————
One good turn deserves another. I can’t even imagine all the flakes that guy got from the CL crowd. Like, “can you provide an extended warranty”?

jmonroe

28firefighter

@corvette said:
That Fisker ad reminded me of this ad for a Maserati:
https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/esh/6324690044.html

I’m convinced it’s the same person.

qbrozen

mjfloyd1 said:

It’s a PHEV with a 2.0 ecotec motor and limited slip rear differential

From what I understood, it had 2 electric motors on the rear wheels. So it may act like an LSD, it ain't one. And the engine acted as a generator for those electric motors.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Rich Rebuilds did an LS swap into a Tesla S. with a manual trans too.

Haven't seen it. How did he compensate for removing the "spine" of the vehicle? It would need a substitute frame of some sort to ensure rigidity and safety.

stickguy

Really finding the new Accord hybrid interesting. a full size barge (by my size scale!) loaded up sedan that is rated at 51 city, 44 highway.

Of course, I am not considering being in the big sedan market again at this point, but if I needed one, that would be the one.

they should slap a version of that powertrain into the Civic hatch. That would be really intriguing.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

stickguy said:

Rich Rebuilds did an LS swap into a Tesla S. with a manual trans too.

Haven't seen it. How did he compensate for removing the "spine" of the vehicle? It would need a substitute frame of some sort to ensure rigidity and safety.

I don't remember what they did but it took a lot of fabrication and bracing.

ab348

stickguy said:

Really finding the new Accord hybrid interesting. a full size barge (by my size scale!) loaded up sedan that is rated at 51 city, 44 highway.

Of course, I am not considering being in the big sedan market again at this point, but if I needed one, that would be the one.

Edmunds testers didn’t like it much.

roadburner

My C43 is actually a bit larger than I prefer; I certainly don't want anything bigger.

stickguy

@ab348 said:
Edmunds testers didn’t like it much.

I read that and IIRC mostly that was whining about getting rid of the 2.0t version nobody actually bought.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:
From what I understood, it had 2 electric motors on the rear wheels. So it may act like an LSD, it ain't one. And the engine acted as a generator for those electric motors.

Yep, the “differential” is two electric motors with one facing forward and one facing towards the back of the car.

qbrozen

Trying to decide if there is a market for this one here. And what that would be. Got about 48k miles and a small V6. It is a 1990 but looks more like something from the mid 80s, with a decidedly 70s vibe to it. Gloria "van."

mjfloyd1

Fisker Karma has a tunnel down the middle where the batteries resided. Looks like a good driveshaft tunnel

au1994

I think that would be a tough sell here.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

I met up with Mr. and Mrs. @breld for lunch today. They brought the Mach-E, and I was given an opportunity to drive it.

This is the GT Performance model, and it was the fastest vehicle I have ever driven. They told me 0-60 is like 3 seconds, and after some time behind the wheel, I certainly believe them. No way could I have handled a full throttle pull on public roads - even @breld took it to 75 on a road marked for, I think, 40 or 45 MPH.

The ride was pretty nice, even though it's the sportiest trim Ford makes. Interior reminds me of a Tesla - one small screen in front of the driver, and a large tablet in the center.

When I took it on the highway, I noticed what seemed to be exhaust noise when I blipped the gas pedal. Turns out the Mach-E has three modes - Silent, Normal and "Unbridled" - the last mode fakes the exhaust sounds through the sound system. Pretty cool, if you're into that sort of thing.

Decent space in all the seats, and though I believe Ford positions it as an SUV, it sure didn't seem like one behind the wheel.

All in all, a very nice vehicle.

That’s the one I’d like if I ever went EV but it would have to be a lease as I wouldn’t want to own one for the 10+ years I normally keep cars.

What would the monthly cost be for a 3 year low mile (10k/year) lease?

nyccarguy

@Michaell said:
I met up with Mr. and Mrs. @breld for lunch today. They brought the Mach-E, and I was given an opportunity to drive it.

This is the GT Performance model, and it was the fastest vehicle I have ever driven. They told me 0-60 is like 3 seconds, and after some time behind the wheel, I certainly believe them. No way could I have handled a full throttle pull on public roads - even @breld took it to 75 on a road marked for, I think, 40 or 45 MPH.

The ride was pretty nice, even though it's the sportiest trim Ford makes. Interior reminds me of a Tesla - one small screen in front of the driver, and a large tablet in the center.

When I took it on the highway, I noticed what seemed to be exhaust noise when I blipped the gas pedal. Turns out the Mach-E has three modes - Silent, Normal and "Unbridled" - the last mode fakes the exhaust sounds through the sound system. Pretty cool, if you're into that sort of thing.

Decent space in all the seats, and though I believe Ford positions it as an SUV, it sure didn't seem like one behind the wheel.

All in all, a very nice vehicle.

A few years ago, a friend let me drive his wife’s Tesla model S 75D. I punched it and quickly found myself going 82 in a 35 or 40 mph zone. The instant torque is crazy!

nyccarguy

So this past Friday, I officially made 1 full year with the Wrangler. I put just under 23,000 miles on it. Which brings me to my next topic for the group. A little over 13 months ago, I sold our somewhat aging & somewhat less trustworthy 2017 Pilot and bought a very nice 2022 Highlander. I knew going into it that the Highlander was a little smaller than the Pilot when it came to interior cargo space and 3rd row passenger space. I thought the difference was something we could deal with as 90 something percent of the time, we don’t have it loaded with 5 passengers plus luggage. It isn’t. Friday we left to go skiing in Vermont for the day. We stayed at an inn overnight and skied yesterday. We had the skis and poles up in a cargo box that we borrowed from a friend. My wife and I shared a suitcase. Each one of our children had a very small roller suitcase. In addition we had ski boots, jackets, snowpants, & helmets which take up a lot of room. The car was just too cramped. I was comfortable driving it, but it is always an issue with who sits in the 3rd row. It never was with any of our Pilots.

My 11 year old daughter who I’m sure has ADHD was crying back there to the point where I pulled over and put her in the 2nd row and have my 5’10” 16 back there.

I’ve got to start looking into some other options. I’m pretty certain I can get out of my Highlander free and clear.

au1994

Another Pilot? Grand Cherokee L?

100% with you on this. Nothing worse than being crammed in and not being able to see out the back is a pet peeve of mine. If jr didn’t drive on his own to the lake our current fleet wouldn’t work. We can fill up the Jeep or X1 when we go for an extended stay or have to take up material for a project.

nyccarguy

@au1994 said:
Another Pilot? Grand Cherokee L?

100% with you on this. Nothing worse than being crammed in and not being able to see out the back is a pet peeve of mine. If jr didn’t drive on his own to the lake our current fleet wouldn’t work. We can fill up the Jeep or X1 when we go for an extended stay or have to take up material for a project.

Honda has really done a great job with the new Pilot from what I’ve seen, but I’m sure they are prohibitively expensive at the moment. I test drove a GCL and I don’t know if it makes that much of a difference as far as interior space goes.

The funny thing is that when we take my Jeep places, nobody complains. I wonder if it the additional space and headroom.

28firefighter

One of the brokers on leasehackr is advertising 11% off on a GC L leased order. Worth checking into?

Or one of the QX80/Armada deals…

qbrozen

FYI, mach e values, including the GT, have been plummeting.

In Pajero MINI news, new plugs solved the stuttering under load problem.

au1994

QX/Armada is a good suggestion. Certainly would solve the space issue!

sda

qbrozen said:

Trying to decide if there is a market for this one here. And what that would be. Got about 48k miles and a small V6. It is a 1990 but looks more like something from the mid 80s, with a decidedly 70s vibe to it. Gloria "van."

Looks very similar to an early 80s Maxima wagon. Probably not a coincidence.

stickguy

I am another vote for that Gloria being a dud in the US.

And what Bradd really needs is a minivan.

for a CUV, I never found any of them to have much usable cargo room with someone in the 3rd row. So if getting another one of them go with a 2nd row bench and just make the kids sit together. frees up a lot more cargo room.

or get one of those hitch mount cargo trays.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I am another vote for that Gloria being a dud in the US.

And what Bradd really needs is a minivan.

for a CUV, I never found any of them to have much usable cargo room with someone in the 3rd row. So if getting another one of them go with a 2nd row bench and just make the kids sit together. frees up a lot more cargo room.

or get one of those hitch mount cargo trays.

We rented an Expedition EX-L around 2011 in Colorado. 3 adult men and 3 teenage boys. Enough room behind the 3rd row for all of our luggage. It was truly massive.

Michaell

I had a long conversation with my sister yesterday - the first one since she's gotten settled into her new house. Got caught up on the transportation issues and needs of her three kids:

Nephew #1 is 25 and just returned Friday from a year-long stint in Japan, where he was an English teacher to middle school students. He got back his 2015 Jetta with 100K on it, but realized that his license had expired, and that my sister had removed him from the insurance policy. The insurance has been dealt with, and he'll get his license reinstated in the next couple of days. Next up for him is his masters program at Eastern Washington University, just outside of Spokane. He will be moving up there in August, and my sister and BIL will go with him and take a small U-Haul of his furniture for his apartment (yes, I've been in touch with @fintail about life in the area). Looking on Google Maps, it turns out that it's a 1200+ mile drive and over 20 hours from SD to Spokane, only a portion of which is on interstates - most of it is on US Hwy 395 or US 95, through a lot of desolate stretches in CA, NV and OR.

Nephew #2 is 22 and drives the late 90's 2WD 4Runner. Now with 178K, he could probably sell it for more than they paid for it a few years ago ($6K). Looking on-line, the asking prices for used 4Runners (even those with 2WD) are absolutely insane. The new house they've moved into is about 20 minutes further away from everything (jobs, schools, shopping), and the high gas prices are starting to affect him. However, he is currently saving his money to spend the summer in Spain with his GF and her family. So, he soldiers on with the Toyota ... for now.

Nephew #3 is 19 and is hot to trot to get a new (to him) car. He is currently driving my mom's '03 Sonata, which I now think has finally broken the 50K mile barrier. His dream car is a new (or nearly new) Civic Sport sedan, but these are all selling for low to mid-20K, and is just out of his budget. He's got about $8K stashed away for a down payment, so my sister and I perused cars.com to see what else might be available. Found a '16 Altima SR with only 37K miles on it for $17K, and a 2021 Kia Forte LXS with 30K miles on it for $19K. She sent those along to him, to gauge his interest. Ideally, my sister would like him to have a loan of not more than $300-ish per month for 36 or 48 months, which is doable with the down payment and budget he's working with. Just a matter of him finding the right car...

If #3 gets something new, then the Sonata can be handed off to #2, and he can sell the 4Runner to create a down payment on something newer for him. While the Sonata doesn't get great mileage, it's gotta be better than whatever the 4Runner gets.

My sister and BIL are still sharing the XC40 they bought last summer.

Michaell

Maybe @nyccarguy can borrow his dad's new Tahoe for the skiing trips. Or rent something bigger.

Seems like another situation where you're getting a car for a 5% use case.

fintail

It's cool, i would drive it, but prices would need to be similar to a like condition Maxima wagon - which means there might not be a ton of meat on the bone after all costs are accounted for.

I'd be looking for any LHD oddball Euro stuff to ship over.

qbrozen said:

Trying to decide if there is a market for this one here. And what that would be. Got about 48k miles and a small V6. It is a 1990 but looks more like something from the mid 80s, with a decidedly 70s vibe to it. Gloria "van."

au1994

Seems like another situation where you're getting a car for a 5% use case.

Isn’t that like our mission statement or something?

stickguy

heck, I liked the MG F idea from a few weeks ago if it was LHD. Not going to run into another one of those around here! Or of course, any parts for it.

28firefighter

In my case the 5% use case exception is being generous.