Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Sandman6472

Feel dumb! Went to VW for my "recall" appointment but turns out the letter was an "extended warranty coverage" for the steering wheel clock spring! Guess I mis-read the letter thinking it as a recall on their part. Oh well, it got me up a bit earlier on my n/s day today which ain't a bad thing. Just wish I had scheduled the Hyundai recall for today as the Accent is here for a couple of days it seems. No harm done but just feel a bit dumb for not reading the paperwork more closely. Luckily, the VW store is super close to the casa so jumped into Walmart to pick up some cleaning supplies.
While waiting for my service advisor at VW, noticed how old my vehicle is compared to what I was seeing there. It's already eight years old and though it looks pretty good, it's an older vehicle. And just not finding anything out there that I gotta have right now. And I don't want to settle this time just to get something newer as I know I'll be unhappy. Just hoping the new Hyundai Kona will be as good as I think because if not, not sure what else to look at. As much as I like the Corolla Cross, not sure it'll be enough to satisfy me unless I go for the hybrid version which I think is coming out later this year. Still just under 74K on the Golf, so keeping it another year won't be the worse thing in the world. I'd just have to do another oil change/filter swap & possibly purchase another tire as one of them is still an original from 2019 and is showing it's age.
Will just have to see what happens once the new 2024 Kona comes out later this year. And hoping they have a hybrid model sometime after it's initial debut. Not ready to get an EV yet but think a hybrid will be the answer for me going forward.

qbrozen

My random collection of bids today. All manual transmissions. The Levin is the 20v version, so something like 165 hp. Competitor to a Civic Si, I guess. I'll probably lose on that one.

Sandman6472

A bit slow at work so they didn't let us do a make-up day yesterday, Wednesday, which I kind of expected to be honest. Between now & the start of summer vacation in a few weeks, not much rental activity judging by the number of vehicles parked at the Palm Beach airport on Tuesday. Think it will get busy again around July 4th as that's when many folks take vacation so until then, we won't be that busy.
Drove a Dodge Charger on Tuesday and was amazed at how old school everything was. Doesn't feel like a 21st century vehicle at all and wonder when Dodge is going to do something about it. Just like the Toyota Corolla, seems to really need a total refresh as the competition is just so much better.

corvette

@qbrozen - you should hit up @nyccarguy if you end up winning that Corolla!

tjc78

I like the Pajero Mini

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

I like the Pajero Mini

I have one up for grabs (kind of) right now. It is a 5-spd, but not a turbo, however.

qbrozen

Just one example of the silliness that is MMR right now. 2 of the same make, model, trim. The more expensive one is a year older and has 7k more miles, a slightly lower condition report, and an accident history. On what planet does this make any sense?

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Just one example of the silliness that is MMR right now. 2 of the same make, model, trim. The more expensive one is a year older and has 7k more miles, a slightly lower condition report, and an accident history. On what planet does this make any sense?

Tell me what the MMR price represents?

My daughter has a 2014 Countryman S ALL4, with around 62-63K on the odometer. Curious what it might be worth in trade.

qbrozen

Manheim Market Report. The number there is what it should fetch at one of their auctions.

Assuming your daughter's is in nice condition, no accident history, and not a crazy color, the MMR is $12k. What does that mean in the market right now? Approximately nothing. If it truly is nice, the bidding could be like $14k. It makes no sense. But as a trade? $11k on a push. They should pay more if they want to retail it themselves, but no guarantees, of course. What color is it? Is she interested in selling?

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Manheim Market Report. The number there is what it should fetch at one of their auctions.

Assuming your daughter's is in nice condition, no accident history, and not a crazy color, the MMR is $12k. What does that mean in the market right now? Approximately nothing. If it truly is nice, the bidding could be like $14k. It makes no sense. But as a trade? $11k on a push. They should pay more if they want to retail it themselves, but no guarantees, of course. What color is it? Is she interested in selling?

Technically, the color is called "Royal Grey", but it's really a green, with black leather interior. It's been subjected to a hail storm, which resulted in about $5K worth of repairs, but the shop did a great job with it, and you'd be hard pressed to know the history by looking at it.

I doubt she'd be interested in selling, at the moment, because our finances are such that getting a replacement is out of the question.

corvette

Put the Maverick on the Battery Tender for a few hours. Still no dice. Cycled the ignition key and the interior lights work like normal, so maybe that was the problem all along. I’m guessing the BCM just shuts down certain functions if it hasn’t been started in a few days.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen - there’s a guy Chevy Dude who recently opened a used car lot in Southern Indiana. He did a video about this Acura MDX that he had his eye on. He said he couldn’t believe it sold at the auction for close to retail.

qbrozen

@nyccarguy said:
@qbrozen - there’s a guy Chevy Dude who recently opened a used car lot in Southern Indiana. He did a video about this Acura MDX that he had his eye on. He said he couldn’t believe it sold at the auction for close to retail.

That’s the guy who posts all the short vids and has the tag line something like “buying a car doesn’t have to suck”, right? I can’t stand him.

The absolute last straw was this clip where he complained “here is an example of customers doing it wrong.” He proceeded to show an offer sheet from a customer with an OTD price, and how this customer’s mistake was using an old price on the car. He said “the market has since changed.” No, you changed your price. You still paid the same amount for the car and would still make the same profit you set out to make. But you decided you wanted more and now somehow your customer is in the wrong?! Ew. He may as well cut to the chase and put on the plaid jacket and gold chains and slick back his hair. He absolutely deserves that Chevy dealership he dreams about.

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:

@nyccarguy said:
@qbrozen - there’s a guy Chevy Dude who recently opened a used car lot in Southern Indiana. He did a video about this Acura MDX that he had his eye on. He said he couldn’t believe it sold at the auction for close to retail.

That’s the guy who posts all the short vids and has the tag line something like “buying a car doesn’t have to suck”, right? I can’t stand him.

The absolute last straw was this clip where he complained “here is an example of customers doing it wrong.” He proceeded to show an offer sheet from a customer with an OTD price, and how this customer’s mistake was using an old price on the car. He said “the market has since changed.” No, you changed your price. You still paid the same amount for the car and would still make the same profit you set out to make. But you decided you wanted more and now somehow your customer is in the wrong?! Ew. He may as well cut to the chase and put on the plaid jacket and gold chains and slick back his hair. He absolutely deserves that Chevy dealership he dreams about.

————————————————
Next time don’t hold back, just tell us what you really think.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

tjc78 said:

Here it is

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRoyHuVX/

We saw them all over in Honolulu doing small delivery/tradesman work.

I saw a 2012 model in a showroom in Burlington VT last year. I can’t recall what they were asking but I think it was something outrageous.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

My random collection of bids today. All manual transmissions. The Levin is the 20v version, so something like 165 hp. Competitor to a Civic Si, I guess. I'll probably lose on that one.

I’m guessing manual transmission is a plus for your market demographic. For the under 30 set it’s probably exotic. Have you ever had any inquires from younger potential buyers as to when you’ll get some with automatics?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Just one example of the silliness that is MMR right now. 2 of the same make, model, trim. The more expensive one is a year older and has 7k more miles, a slightly lower condition report, and an accident history. On what planet does this make any sense?

Many of the YT car dealers have noticed the reluctance of consigner at auction to accept the reality of a falling market. Many cars are “no sales” when the high bid doesn’t come up to the seller’s reserve. I wonder if that is because the seller’s are expecting the higher prices indicated by MMR. If you watch some of those videos they show cars that have been run through the auction week after week with high bids thousands below reserve.

Who was it that said “books don’t buy cars”?

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

@nyccarguy said:
@qbrozen - there’s a guy Chevy Dude who recently opened a used car lot in Southern Indiana. He did a video about this Acura MDX that he had his eye on. He said he couldn’t believe it sold at the auction for close to retail.

That’s the guy who posts all the short vids and has the tag line something like “buying a car doesn’t have to suck”, right? I can’t stand him.

The absolute last straw was this clip where he complained “here is an example of customers doing it wrong.” He proceeded to show an offer sheet from a customer with an OTD price, and how this customer’s mistake was using an old price on the car. He said “the market has since changed.” No, you changed your price. You still paid the same amount for the car and would still make the same profit you set out to make. But you decided you wanted more and now somehow your customer is in the wrong?! Ew. He may as well cut to the chase and put on the plaid jacket and gold chains and slick back his hair. He absolutely deserves that Chevy dealership he dreams about.

If that’s the same guy I think it is, I stopped watching him when every video was about how he lost money on every car.

stickguy

But makes it up in volume?

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

Many of the YT car dealers have noticed the reluctance of consigner at auction to accept the reality of a falling market. Many cars are “no sales” when the high bid doesn’t come up to the seller’s reserve. I wonder if that is because the seller’s are expecting the higher prices indicated by MMR. If you watch some of those videos they show cars that have been run through the auction week after week with high bids thousands below reserve.

I had commented a week or so ago how every car I wanted to buy went far ABOVE MMR.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

Have you ever had any inquires from younger potential buyers as to when you’ll get some with automatics?

No.

qbrozen

Alright, so to the results from last night....

The Corolla was bid up to 989,000 yen. ouch. oh, but... NO SALE
The Today went to 310,000. NO SALE
Pajero Mini hit 327,000, which is nearly double what I paid for my automatic turbo. I knew it would be higher, so I shot for the moon with a 275k bid. Geesh.
I did win the one I wanted the least, the pickup. But they took it upon themselves to bid 175k for me when I offered 150k.

Yup, the Japanese market has caught up to the US. Sigh. Bad time to start a dealership, methinks.

corvette

It looks like the Dodge Hornet has been out for about a year, and I don't think I've seen any on the road. It looks like the standard 2.0T is pretty powerful, but a base model is around $30k and it's north of $40k well equipped, which is a tough pill to swallow when you know you'll be getting Alfa quality and reliability. The standard 17" wheels on the GT and GT Plus resemble hubcaps, and 215mm width tires seem a bit narrow. Perhaps the upcoming plug-in hybrid will be more compelling.

au1994

corvette said:

It looks like the Dodge Hornet has been out for about a year, and I don't think I've seen any on the road. It looks like the standard 2.0T is pretty powerful, but a base model is around $30k and it's north of $40k well equipped, which is a tough pill to swallow when you know you'll be getting Alfa quality and reliability. The standard 17" wheels on the GT and GT Plus resemble hubcaps, and 215mm width tires seem a bit narrow. Perhaps the upcoming plug-in hybrid will be more compelling.

Yeah, jeez, had no idea they have been out for a year. Never spotted a single one and likely won’t at $40k! Thats missing the market.

kyfdx

Is that what it is? A rebadged Stelvio?

pensfan83

kyfdx said:

Is that what it is? A rebadged Stelvio?

Tonale

qbrozen

corvette said:

It looks like the Dodge Hornet has been out for about a year, and I don't think I've seen any on the road. It looks like the standard 2.0T is pretty powerful, but a base model is around $30k and it's north of $40k well equipped, which is a tough pill to swallow when you know you'll be getting Alfa quality and reliability. The standard 17" wheels on the GT and GT Plus resemble hubcaps, and 215mm width tires seem a bit narrow. Perhaps the upcoming plug-in hybrid will be more compelling.

Really? I keep getting ads forced down my throat about it coming soon. Maybe that's just the R/T, which is what I would want anyway.

kyfdx

pensfan83 said:

kyfdx said:

Is that what it is? A rebadged Stelvio?

Tonale

Ah... thanks!

kyfdx

It seems pretty well equipped for $40K. Cheaper than a CR-V or RAV4, though probably smaller?

qbrozen

I could very well be wrong, but I think a GT AWD with cold weather pack compares to an HR-V EX-L AWD. The MSRP difference is about $2k. For that, you get something like 75% more HP and larger infotainment screen. I'm sure there are more differences, but that's what I noticed with the 5 mins I put into the search.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Many of the YT car dealers have noticed the reluctance of consigner at auction to accept the reality of a falling market. Many cars are “no sales” when the high bid doesn’t come up to the seller’s reserve. I wonder if that is because the seller’s are expecting the higher prices indicated by MMR. If you watch some of those videos they show cars that have been run through the auction week after week with high bids thousands below reserve.

I had commented a week or so ago how every car I wanted to buy went far ABOVE MMR.

Well, that’s just nuts. Sellers who got stuck overpaying perhaps? Either way, no matter if it’s overblown MMR or simply greed, it’s got to be frustrating.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

I could very well be wrong, but I think a GT AWD with cold weather pack compares to an HR-V EX-L AWD. The MSRP difference is about $2k. For that, you get something like 75% more HP and larger infotainment screen. I'm sure there are more differences, but that's what I noticed with the 5 mins I put into the search.

It will also most likely depreciate 75% faster

sda

Reliability is suspect as well.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Many of the YT car dealers have noticed the reluctance of consigner at auction to accept the reality of a falling market. Many cars are “no sales” when the high bid doesn’t come up to the seller’s reserve. I wonder if that is because the seller’s are expecting the higher prices indicated by MMR. If you watch some of those videos they show cars that have been run through the auction week after week with high bids thousands below reserve.

Who was it that said “books don’t buy cars”?

————————————————
That was me.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@qbrozen said:
Alright, so to the results from last night....

The Corolla was bid up to 989,000 yen. ouch. oh, but... NO SALE
The Today went to 310,000. NO SALE
Pajero Mini hit 327,000, which is nearly double what I paid for my automatic turbo. I knew it would be higher, so I shot for the moon with a 275k bid. Geesh.
I did win the one I wanted the least, the pickup. But they took it upon themselves to bid 175k for me when I offered 150k.

Yup, the Japanese market has caught up to the US. Sigh. Bad time to start a dealership, methinks.

————————————————
Who was it that said, “timing is every”? Oh wait, that was me too.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@sda said:
Reliability is suspect as well.

————————————————
So what else is new?

jmonroe

qbrozen

sda said:

Reliability is suspect as well.

Agreed. My sister's CRV was not the most reliable nor durable.

Wait... you were talking about the Honda, right? I did have electrical gremlins in my Stelvio, though. Same as I'm having on my Subaru, as a matter of fact. Huh. OH, that's right, and that I had in the Honda Fit.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

sda said:

Reliability is suspect as well.

Agreed. My sister's CRV was not the most reliable nor durable.

Wait... you were talking about the Honda, right? I did have electrical gremlins in my Stelvio, though. Same as I'm having on my Subaru, as a matter of fact. Huh. OH, that's right, and that I had in the Honda Fit.

Assuming you like the vehicle and willing to live with an Italian car, it seems like a bargain for what you get.

corvette

My five closest dealers have a total of two in stock and three in transit. Two of those dealers have no stock and none in transit. I skimmed a review of the R/T plug-in hybrid and it seems a little unconventional. Looks like you need an 80% charge on the battery to make the big power, and you have to basically hit "Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Start" in order to activate that mode. I do like that they omitted a driveshaft and that the rear wheels are driven only by an electric motor.

Also, it appears I was wrong, the 2023 GT did not go on sale until April, 2023.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Alright, so to the results from last night....

The Corolla was bid up to 989,000 yen. ouch. oh, but... NO SALE
The Today went to 310,000. NO SALE
Pajero Mini hit 327,000, which is nearly double what I paid for my automatic turbo. I knew it would be higher, so I shot for the moon with a 275k bid. Geesh.
I did win the one I wanted the least, the pickup. But they took it upon themselves to bid 175k for me when I offered 150k.

Yup, the Japanese market has caught up to the US. Sigh. Bad time to start a dealership, methinks.

Is there any potential in the government equipment auctions? I know your wife would love to have inventory around the property that was larger than her van!

kyfdx

I rented an off-site garage space, today... for the rest of the calendar year.
It's only 1.5 miles away, in the lower level of a commercial building. (parking lot level in the rear).
Single garage with a new manual door. (no opener)

More than I wanted to pay, but it's in a very convenient spot, and I thought I'd try it out for six months, before making a longer commitment. I've never garaged a car off-site, and not sure how it'll fit for me.

28firefighter

I’ve been keeping an eye locally for similar and, at least up here, this is a way taller order than you’d expect.

roadburner

One of my wife’s friends just opened a florist/coffee shop. We checked it out today and I found this inside:

roadburner

Obligatory “Look what I managed to fit into my hatchback.” photo:

sda

While having the Q5 serviced this morning I found this color, Chronos Gray, to be interesting. It has a slight green tint to it.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

Obligatory “Look what I managed to fit into my hatchback.” photo:

————————————————
It’s looks like your work is just starting after you unload that thing. Stuff like that is no longer in my permissible work zone.

jmonroe

stickguy

I was always more concerned with the mess at the end, not fitting it in. The truck eliminates that issue!

stickguy

I am relatively in the country and the main road outside our neighborhood still has some farms on it (for now). One house has a stand alone workshop/barn/garage (looks pretty new). 3 garage doors facing the road (short side of the rectangle. Middle door is RV height

Anyway, they have a 4 rent sign out by the road with 14x36 listed. So I assume one of the garage bays. About 1.5 miles from the house at most. If I had spare cars it would be tempting to find out what the setup and cost is!

tifighter

@kyfdx said:
I rented an off-site garage space, today... for the rest of the calendar year.
It's only 1.5 miles away, in the lower level of a commercial building. (parking lot level in the rear).
Single garage with a new manual door. (no opener)

More than I wanted to pay, but it's in a very convenient spot, and I thought I'd try it out for six months, before making a longer commitment. I've never garaged a car off-site, and not sure how it'll fit for me.

I have an offsite garage space as well. With a craftsman built in 1900, car parking here is challenging. I’ve become quite used to it now, and just trade one car for the other when I want to use it. As this is at the Griots storage facility, it’s actually fun since there’s lots to see every time I visit. The self storage places were more expensive.

pensfan83

@kyfdx said:
I rented an off-site garage space, today... for the rest of the calendar year.
It's only 1.5 miles away, in the lower level of a commercial building. (parking lot level in the rear).
Single garage with a new manual door. (no opener)

More than I wanted to pay, but it's in a very convenient spot, and I thought I'd try it out for six months, before making a longer commitment. I've never garaged a car off-site, and not sure how it'll fit for me.

No luck finding that widow renter I guess.