Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

michaellno

Michael, do bikes count?
My guess for 2013, given the strong start and it's only early stages April, and especially since abacomike is contributing again..I'll go with a fairly conservative estimate of 33.

I'm just the humble scribe - tracking the punch list is something we started only this year.

If we allow bikes, then should we also include boats, RVs, PWC, ATV's? (gee, I feel like I've stumbled into a Progressive commercial).

Since Edmunds focus is on 4 wheel transport, I think it makes sense for us to limit the punch list to same.

Not that we don't talk about bikes here .. roadburner has one, and fintail recently acquired his license and has been making noise about getting a motorcycle.

We're real good at spending other people's money on this forum.

slorenzen

Fin,

After owning a road bike, if I were doing it again, I'd get a dual sport.

They are very competent on road, and you have the option of off road as well. Not that I would do that a lot, but even a logging road is too risky for most road bikes.

Just sayin'...

rayainsw

'When you do burnouts do they leave a yellow stripe?'
Hah - must try that ....
- Ray
But not in my neighborhood.....

Sandman6472

Yes, I will want an external mic so the people can here me talk better...thanks for reminding me about it. Meeting the installer in a bit and who knows, if they have all the equipment, I might just say the hell with it and do the install...the wife will get over it and really, it's coming out of my "gift" from my dad anyhow...she just doesn't get it, think it's a guy thing to begin with...we like our music loud and enjoy all the newest gadgets so I think I deserve this stuff!

I have some kind of sound card that goes into my android phone, the Radio Shack guy said I'd want one, and guess i can put my itune music on that and not on the phone per say. Figuring it'll cost around $200 to $275 give or take.

Wish me luck!

The Confused Sandman :confuse: :sick: :shades:

fintail

I have become used to the lane tracking/blind spot system, with the triangle lights in the mirrors, and steering wheel vibration. Hasn't saved me yet, but I find it amusing when I do something to make the wheel vibrate (weaving around poorly designed roads and not signaling when in a turn only off ramp can do it).

I am not really hung up on leather vs tex - kind of silly leather isn't standard when you pass 60K, but that's the German way. Tex is a good fake. It's another option I would have to be able to get for a steal to actually choose it and pay for it willingly.

I am enjoying my car (it is a bluetec), just a couple of small issues - malformed fuel door, and a rear deck rattle that will be treated next week. The tech I have dealt with was hesitant about it, as it is hard to duplicate - but now the rear area will be removed and re-assembled, making sure it is all tight and maybe some sound deadening or softening of border areas while possible. Rattles and pops drive me crazy.

tifighter

IMHO, as a rider and motorcycle owner, I don't think bikes should get counted on CCBA.

Bikes do, however, help the recovering CCB with another outlet. I've had a nice alternating scheme going for awhile:

07 - bike
08 - my car
09 - bike
10 - wife's car
11- my car
12- wife's car

What will 13 bring?

fintail

The dealer must be receiving some kind of incentive. Those rates are a good $75 lower than I can imagine.

CLA won't be sold in a fire sale either, I am certain of that. C is getting old, and I bet the profit margins are huge - the tooling is old and probably long since paid for, these aren't handbuilt exotics.

fintail

I am waiting to see what the new Honda CB500 series bikes are like before I make a move. They seem to be a good mix of size and price - but the new car makes me want to hold off on other spending.

I probably wouldn't go off road - mostly I think I would be limited to Sunday riding. Traffic around here is risky for a lot of other times.

ateixeira

I'm sure the accountants have the older C class fully amortized by now. Must be it.

The $29,999 CLA will be a unicorn, you just know dealers will have $36-45k models, mostly.

Sandman6472

Going there tomorrow morning at 9...yay! It was good to relax my aching spine today but I actually missed work...weird huh! Sunday no work as some have to take a defensive driving course and luckily, it ain't me! So another day off. Told him I'm busy next Thursday as we have workers coming to the house for a multitude of stuff and I have other scheduled things going on all day. Went to see the stereo guy and it's gonna cost me a few bucks to get what he says i need. Mulling it over now but probably going to go with a Kenwood head unit that he strongly recommends...told him I'm tech challenged and need a very easy to use unit and after some research, he came up with a Kenwood unit that he says is perfect for my wants and needs. So just have to schedule it next week and we're good to go! I will sleep on it tonight and make the appointment tomorrow morning...he says I'll be very happy with the whole set up & the increase in power since it'll add a bit to my amp that I had installed a few years back, he said it'll sound so much better that I'll just love it! We shall see!

Guys, I need some feedback here to help me really decide. So please let me hear some opinions!

The Uneasy Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

This would be the perfect model for me, an entry level MB since I would like some lux if possible but spending $30k is a lot of cash! Maybe the small ute is really the way for me to go as I could stomach spending around $20k or so.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

crkyolfrt

What will 13 bring?

looks like another bike! haha

jayrider

Shoppers looking for 29k CLA's aren't visiting dealerships but there may be a few here in this forum.

fintail

I can't imagine one under 35K. It's a German car - EVERYTHING is optional, and those options aint cheap. Average price will be closer to 40.

Sandman will have to special order his base car. It can be done. Salesman I dealt with told me about someone who special ordered an E550 cabrio with no nav (!).

ateixeira

Big engine, convertible, V8, no....oh never mind.

Good luck selling that. Hope it was a lease.

fintail

Strippo E550. Old guy wanted it, thought of it as something like a muscle car, according to the salesman. I doubt it would even be leasable, will be impossible to sell later on.

ateixeira

Get a Boss 302...

I won't even try to process/understand that one.

abacomike

Shoppers looking for 29k CLA's aren't visiting dealerships but there may be a few here in this forum.

I saw one at the auto show. It's a mini-version of the CLS550, but the interior is more like a base C250. Very, very uncomfortable - at least for a 6'2" 250 lb. male like me. Even the CLS550 was too tight for me. The C class cars have gotten higher and higher in price, so they decided to come out with an a la carte type vehicle that could be had for $30,000. It is definitely no luxury vehicle - more like a VW CC.

Mercedes has raised the prices of their cars by $1000 per year for the last 5 years. So that $32000 C Class sedan is now $37000, and the E Class Sedan that used to MSRP starting at $47000 (2010) is now $52000 + transportation + options.

I truly doubt the CLA is going to take off like the C Class did in the last 5 years. With any options worthwhile, it will cost $36,000. For that kind of money, I would think the A4, 3 Series or IS250 would present stiff competition. Just MHO.

fintail

They are on the road already in Germany.

I wonder if they can pull off that price inflation, especially on the E. From what I can see, the E is already pricier than A6/5er/GS - maybe the subsidized leases make up for it.

One would think that a CLS, which is pretty much an E550 with a new body and a 50% markup, wouldn't sell either, but it seems to fly off the lot in my area. Style trumps all, it might for the CLA, too.

mark156

Well, I got the SL back after being in the shop for a week. As you may remember, I want to trade this vehicle in but wanted it to run well before trade. It was running rough and they put on a distributer, etc., to make it run smooth. It also needed top strut holders and a new drivers side door lock mechanism. All and all, the total was $2,300.

When I got back in the car the steering made a clicking noise when I turned the steering wheel back and forth. Which, it was doing a little before I took it in. That's when they said the top of the struts needed to be replaced. When I complained and told the guy I was NOT going to spend another dime on this car as he knew I was wanting to trade it in, he called me back later to tell me he was going to install new struts free. I'm still amazed.

Well, to my amazement, I have received an invitation to a reception of our new Maserati, Bentley, Rolls Royce dealer that is 200 miles from my 'mid-south' location. I think we are going to attend as we are seriously thinking of trading the '01 S500 and the '90 SL in for a new RR Ghost, Bentley Flying Spur or a Bentley Muslanne. Orders from headquarters (aka 'other half') wants the luxo ride! And, we need to get rid of two to make room for the new one as garage space is limited with the new inherited Lincoln.

I'll keep you guys informed to see if anything gels.

Mark156

crkyolfrt

And, we need to get rid of two to make room for the new one as garage space is limited

this is almost too funny, Mark..

that 2300 hundred wudda made a good down payment on a garage with a couple extra bays that wouldn't leave you having to compromise your collection so much...lol

But I commend you for investing that 2300. on a car you plan to trade in. I assume that this type of Karma comes back on ya...you're a quality man.

Their no chg strut replacement looks good on them too..who says Karma doesn't live and thrive among us on a daily basis?? I sure hope the SL falls into some good hands that will appreciate that ride.

fintail

Your SL will be a nice acquisition for someone - sounds like it will be healthy again. I'd be curious to see what you can get for it, the R129 market has a lot of variation.

akangl

I'm the unofficial "ops manager" and maintain the punch list, plus the guesses of how many punches we'll have in 2013. Here is the full 2012 list as well as the 2013 punches to date (notice that we count both new and used, lease and purchase):

2012 Punch List (total 22):
01/12/12 corvette 2003 BMW 540i 85K
01/29/12 anon 2007 Toyota RAV4 72K
02/12/12 tifighter 2007 Mazda Miata PRHT 14K
02/15/12 breld 2012 BMW X3
02/15/12 stickguy 2007 Volvo S40 91K
02/28/12 breld 2009 Honda Odyssey 45K
03/22/12 nyccarguy 2011 BMW 328xi (lease)
05/02/12 anon 2012 Toyota Prius
07/22/12 roadburner 2009 BMW 328i
07/31/12 breld 2011 Audi A5 17K
08/05/12 qbrozen 1998 Volvo S70
08/20/12 breld 2007 VW Beetle 56K
08/23/12 xwesx 2011 Ford Fiesta 14K
08/31/12 stickguy 2013 Acura RDX AWD
09/14/12 steine13 1995 Toyota Camry 123K
09/23/12 andre1969 2012 Dodge Ram
09/25/12 anon 2008 Honda Odyssey 57K
10/30/12 jpp5862 2002 Nissan Pathfinder SE 135K
11/xx/12 jayrider 2012 Buick LaCrosse AWD
12/17/12 mark156 2013 Honda CR-V EXL w/ nav
12/21/12 stickguy 2000 Acura Integra LS 166K
12/23/12 anon 2013 Honda Accord

Your 2012 list is missing my 3 punches.

4/8/12 2007 GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT 4x4 Duramax 41k miles
9/1/12 2011 Toyota Yaris 21k miles
9/12/12 2012 Ford Focus SE (new)

Sandman6472

Going to the Ocoee auction in a few hours...just north of Orlando, I think it's a Manheim place and it's huge, simply huge. Was there once before so should be fun. We take 95 up and meet at our normal location at Exit 201. Then we get over to the turnpike and straight into Ocoee...we go in as a group for paper work purposes. The crew chief has to keep his records straight as to who drives what, etc. We usually can't trade vehicles but on Thursday that guy took the Suburban from me as I was a bit unsure and he loves 'em...he traded me for the '12 Escape and it was great, nice little ute's but really thirsty. Their mileage really stinks but they run well and are very smooth...this one had leather/power seat so I was a happy guy. Bought him lunch that day, insisted as that was a cool thing to do and the boss had no clue and didn't bother to tell him as he was p o'd at Enterprise and their lack of organization. Turns out the last 3 vehicles didn't have "Louisville" on the windshield so we wasted almost an hour locating them...man was he pissed off and they canceled the 3rd run as Rail head closes at 6 and we would not have made it back in time!

My gut is telling me that we're going to have more runs added to us after Ocoee, just a hunch I have but that's cool as the wife is finishing up the last few returns that folks dropped off today. She also has 3 clients coming over tomorrow to pick up/pay her for their returns. And I know a few are stopping by on Sunday as well. Monday nite at 11:59 she can finally exhale and relax a bit as all the extentions will have been filed. This year she has worked super hard and I think she picked up a few new clients but also lost a couple, old postal co-workers who decided to go somewhere else. The majority of her customers stay for years and years as they feel comfortable with her...they just mail 'em or express mail them to her. A few she's never actually met and does it all by phone & mail...seems to work as they keep coming back year after year! She is good I must say...fair & honest I always tell folks up front so they know she has ethics and won't do shady things...she's black & white all the way where I am the gray area guy. I do admire her honesty & integrity!

Can't sleep again tonight so here I sit on the computer. I'll probably catch a nap on the way home from Orlando if Mr. Pie Hole shuts up for a bit but I must admit that he's been pretty good the last few weeks. We've actually had a few nice conversations about cars I must admit...he does know a whole lot about cars and we are landsmen so I'm trying to be a bit more patient with him though yesterday when I had enough, I put my head phones on & he got the message!

The Sleepy Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

The brakes on the Civic are starting to make that grinding noise again so I think it's time to do the fronts again. They did the work on the rear drums last Friday and those are in good shape now he told me but the front pads need to be changed out I suspect. Luckily I did get a $25 off coupon in the mail yesterday, good until the 18th of May so I will use that and just have them done. Think these are the original pads and with 39,5 on the vehicle, I tend to think they are original as I also have no paperwork that says otherwise and I keep all my paperwork in the glove compartment. Best to just suck it up, use the coupon & replace them and hopefully the rotors can be turned and reused to save a few bucks. Can honestly say that it hasn't cost too much since new...the a/c problem was a fluke and Honda did pay half after the warranty period had ended since they could've said too bad Charlie. But since it was an unusual failure, they went for half even though I asked for 100% repayment by them. I think if I had done all my work at a Honda store I could've gotten the whole thing gratis but it didn't work out that way. I still trust my mechanic to do the majority of stuff I have done and his oil change prices are much better also. He knows I service 4 vehicles so he gives me a $20 charge for the oil & filter changes on each one. And have purchased 12 new tires from him to boot plus I reupped my alignment policy on the Civic and got one on the oldest girl's Versa. He occasionally throws me a free change there which is good business on his part as I've been with him(them) for about 11 years now. He's close, does good work & won't just throw parts at a problem and most importantly, she who must be obeyed trusts him, so why look somewhere else.

The Satisfied Sandman :sick: :shades:

Sandman6472

This is the unit we're thinking of putting into my Civic as it has the inputs in front as well as the Bluetooth connectivity that I really want as it will make it easier to make/receive calls. He said the mic would be situated on the rear view mirror on the top so there should be no sound distortion when talking...should be pretty crystal clear. He said he sells many of these units and is a good unit for what I am looking for. It will also add a bit of power to my existing amp which is an added bonus as I've already replaced the stock speakers and added tweeters a few years back. A dash kit will be needed to have a seamless look and not hurt the existing dash, something vitally important as i need a clean install. A co-worker recommended this place and they did a nice job in his vehicle...he is a good person & wouldn't send me to a place he didn't trust and let's be honest, word of mouth is a powerful selling point, if this guy did a crappy job, my co-worker would let me know. We've become friends since I started and he hasn't been wrong on anything he's told me yet.

Will call in the morning and set up an appointment for next Friday I think as Friday's seem to be our slow day of the week I have a pic of the unit and I do like it...the installer/manager insisted that I'd be happy with the install and the sound so I am taking a leap of faith here. He spent some time talking with me & he picked up on my hesitancy about doing this and didn't push...just the opposite as he told me to go home and do my research to satisfy any questions I might have. I did remember about the mic after I'd left but he had the answer when I called him back so I do feel good about the whole thing. Now all I need to do is schedule it, pay for it & then enjoy my gift to myself. I'm getting stoked now so hopefully all will work out positively...i know it will! I've done aftermarket head units on all of my rides and have enjoyed the results each time as I have to have tunes whenever I drive...or what's the point! And I do like some extra volume to surround myself with the music...my taste is very eclectic and I'm all over the place with mostly 60's and 80's with some 70's thrown into the mix. Being able to use my ipod or flash drive will be excellent actually and of course having the phone integrated is the perfect scenario for me. this is gonna be great!

The Excited Sandman :sick: :shades:

nyccarguy

Mark - I commend you as well for doing the right thing by your 500 SL. My vote is for the Bentley Mulsane. It's just drop dead gorgeous, inside & out.

graphicguy

Mike...I concur. You'll be hard pressed to find a $30K CLA. However, it will get feet in the showroom.

Personally, I think it opens up the brand to a much younger crowd (not a bad thing). For the priced of a loaded Accord, you can get into a Benz.

Granted, you may not get all the "stuff" you can on an Accord. And yes, it will be a 4cyl vs a 6 cyl in a loaded Accord. But, you'll have the star on the front. For many, that's all they were seeking to begin with.

tifighter

...and came across this VW ad. Not really my thing personally, but the pricing seems like a fair for what's basically a half GTI underneath. Didn't these things just came out recently?

abacomike

Personally, I think it opens up the brand to a much younger crowd (not a bad thing). For the priced of a loaded Accord, you can get into a Benz.

I tend to agree with your statement. When I was younger, very younger, I must admit that the Mercedes product was something I envied, but could not afford at the time. Now that I am retired and have owned many Mercedes vehicles, I could never drive anything else. I tried, as you know, to go back to Lexus last year, but it could not compare to the German engineering, styling and quality. I think I had that car less than 4 months until I ran, not walled, back to my Mercedes dealer and got back into one.

It has absolutely nothing to do with snobbery or elitism. I've owned BMW 5 series vehicles, but they are built for driving, not for enveloping you in luxury and technology the way Mercedes does. BMW's are great performance and handling vehicles, but I appreciate a more luxurious environment when I am in a car.

Yes, the CLA will attract the younger buyer, but I wonder how many younger buyers are going to pop for a front wheel drive, 4 cylinder VW-like vehicle in the $35,000 to $38,000 range? Only time will tell.

roadburner

Not really my thing personally, but the pricing seems like a fair for what's basically a half GTI underneath. Didn't these things just came out recently?

The only VWs that interest me are the Golf R and GTI; I was never a big fan of their sedans and now that they are "Americanized" you couldn't give me a Passat or Jetta. That said, they are selling at a healthy clip, so I guess VWoA knows its target market extremely well...

roadburner

Personally, I think it opens up the brand to a much younger crowd (not a bad thing). For the priced of a loaded Accord, you can get into a Benz.

BMW tried that in the '90s but they didn't have their ducks in a row. They offered the 318ti at a very low price point, but BMW Finance didn't make their loans any more accessible to younger buyers. On top of that, the cars didn't offer much profit to the dealers or BMW NA. While a lot of articles will claim that the ti was a failure in the North American market, it actually met its sales targets in the first two years. The problem was, instead of being a conquest car it was selling to people like me- BMW owners who wanted an inexpensive track toy and/or a second Bimmer in the driveway(at one point my wife had a ti as well)...

fintail

That's one thing the CLA won't have to worry about, being a track toy :shades:

MSRP will be high-ish, but I bet leases will be cheap. I bet it's a lot cheaper to build than C when the platform is new, too. That's how highlines sell in NA now anyway - might as well go with it.

I kind of want this

abacomike

That's one thing the CLA won't have to worry about, being a track toy

MSRP will be high-ish, but I bet leases will be cheap. I bet it's a lot cheaper to build than C when the platform is new, too. That's how highlines sell in NA now anyway - might as well go with it.

I kind of want this

I agree about the "track toy" comment, however, they will build an AMG version that probably will be. The 4 cylinder engine is more than capable of delivering a quick off-the-line time, but will be lost in the pack after the first several seconds.

Mercedes designers and engineers (along with their market researchers) probably know exactly what they are doing. To come out with a vehicle that looks sharp on the outside and sports that infamous star logo on the front grille and rear end can't be too bad. I'm sure Daimler learned their lesson after the Chrysler fiasco.

Every car/SUV they produce is targeted to a specific market niche rather than trying to attract all buyers to everything they make. My brother just bought a CL550 bi-turbo that is truly a fantastic automobile - but not made for large segments of the NA population. The same is true for their S Class Sedans and the SL550 or the SLK.

But their E Class and C Class are intended to attract the middle and upper middle income niche ( whatever is left of those two segments after the last 5 years). They know what they are doing, so we'll see if they made the right decision with the CLA.

ateixeira

Look at the miles, that's not even broken in!

Demo? Loaner? Buyers remorse? Weird.

ateixeira

That bike has even fewer miles than the Beetle.

Not uncommon on bikes. Guy shows up and wife freaks out, he has to take it back.

His loss is your gain, that's a sweet bike!

Warning: that'll be your first Ducati but not your last. My buddy's on his 3rd one.

Sandman6472

Got to drive a Ford Edge today as someone else wanted the Fiesta and I didn't want a Crown Vic...choose one of the Edge's. A nice vehicle which had pretty good power and had comfy seats but which is a bit on the thirsty side. See a lot of them down south here for some reason as they seem better suited for the north. They canceled our 2nd run, a Lauderdale to Miami run at the last minute so was done by 5. Nothing on tap for the next couple of days but we'll see what really pans out...if one of the other crew's need a driver, I'm good to go.

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

ateixeira

Did you prefer thae Edge or the Escape you recently drove? Sibling rivalry.

You had the older Escape, right?

corvette

There are still Crown Vics in rental fleets?

roadburner

1. Some of you may remember that my wife shopped the Mini Countryman before buying her CPO 3er. Well, like a good CCBA members I'm always checking dealer web sites for "interesting" prospects and one thing that I keep running across are very low-as in under 10k-mile Countrymen. They don't sell in large numbers, so the number of used seem to be a bit out of proportion...

2. The local Caddy dealer is pushing a $299/mo. no-money-down 36 month lease on the base ATS; I'm kind of surprised. Is it a bid to increase market share or is the car not selling as well as we have been led to believe?

Sandman6472

Prefer the new Escape hands down over the older one as it is a much better vehicle in every way. The Edge is a bigger ute and I prefer the smaller Escape ute though the mileage is pretty lame! And yes, they still have Crown Vics but they are being phased out from what I can see. The Focus is all over the place and not a bad driver though I doubt I'd ever buy one but it's the perfect rental lot queen!

The Sandman :sick: :shades:

corvette

"The Focus is all over the place and not a bad driver though I doubt I'd ever buy one but it's the perfect rental lot queen!"

Glad to hear it. I've never driven the current model, and that's what I'm supposed to get when I go to Texas next week. I'm kind of looking forward to it.

tjc78

There are still Crown Vics in rental fleets?

Must not get reserved much, as the last ones were built mid 2011. If they are your thing they are a steal on the used market. The only problem with the later ones is many features (that my 04 Grand Marquis has) were stripped away.

fintail

Oh yeah I know...I would bet on the little car being a success. If there is something the Germans do right, it is exploiting niches, and leveraging profit margins. The brand kept its equity intact after some less than golden years, and is storming ahead again.

I wonder if the attractive leasing will last forever. I consider myself nothing better than middle class, and I didn't have to kill my pocketbook to get a new E - but of course, I am single, no kids, and don't have as many splurges as many of my peers.

I am curious if the C250 diesel will be around for the next generation.

fintail

I was going to ask the same thing. And the worst part is, some fleets considered it "premium". If I had a premium reservation today and I received a 2 year old CV, I wouldn't be driving away in it.

fintail

I bet that's the case. I see Ducatis all the time here, a Streetfighter on the road in the rain yesterday (love those, but too extreme for me). I've been told the Monster is pretty user-friendly, and I know I fit on them comfortably.

Problem is, it is about 4K more than I was wanting to spend on a bike. And then I would want sliders, tail chop/fender eliminator, different mirrors - there's several hundred more. New gear, another grand. But it's cool, I even like the color, matches the new car :shades:

tifighter

the Mini Countryman

The one thing I do know about these, from the Mini forums, is that they eat clutches at an alarming rate. Like under 10-15k miles, for a lot of owners. Mini has yet to acknowledge any issue last I saw. Weird.

ATS lease
You might find this article interesting.

tifighter

Demo? Loaner? Buyers remorse? Weird.

Exactly what I was thinking. And these things sticker around $23-24k base new. Its not CPO, but I would have guessed they were bringing more at auction than what is being asked for it. Surprising. While I think the Golf/GTI is more interesting, you could do worse for the money.

stickguy

Hey, if the ATS is getting major incentives on cheap leases, works for me. I never thought it was going to be a winner for Caddy, but they didn't ask me.

tifighter

Warning: that'll be your first Ducati but not your last.

I've looked before, but just haven't pulled the trigger on a Duc. A friend has had many and has held onto a nice 90's Paso. His wife had aMonster. I sort of liked the Multistrada when it came out, but couldn't do it; I ended up picking up a nice Triumph Sprint ST with the 1050 triple instead. That was a pretty sweet bike.