Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

qbrozen

well, yeah...

funny enough, the stang will be the 3rd current blue for us next to the volvo and Leaf.

Stick... I agree its too bright for me personally. I've seen that color in the wild and thought "damn, that looks cool." But for ME to drive it? ehhh... I'm just not that flamboyant. But it is what it is. Beggars can't be choosers, right? I'd really like to add Shelby stripes to it. Not sure yet if black or white would be best, though. I have to see the car in person and think about it.

So, yeah, $25,700 after the $4k rebates. Then just make 4 payments at the 4.9% Ford is sticking me with (necessary to get the full $4k vs just $3500), then I can refi with my CU at 1.9%. They were a bit light on my trade still, like I said before, but after adding in the significant tax savings, I feel good about it. It is definitely more than I'd get trying to sell it to a dealership, and probably only ~$700 less than I'd wind up with private party, which wouldn't be worth the hassle.

breld

My purchase isn't nearly as exciting as the Mustang entering Q's garage soon, but still thought I'd share some impressions of the Veloster after a day and 100 miles worth of ownership.

Overall, I am pleased and even a bit surprised at the comfort level of the car. I was up to 80-85 mph on the toll road this morning, and thought the car was quiet and handled itself well. We tested a Fiesta before visiting Hyundai, and thought the Veloster was more composed at highway speeds. But we did like the bright yellowish/orange color on the Ford - stepdaughter referred to it as "Nacho Cheese Metallic."

The packaging is nice - the rear seats are roomy enough for my 8 and 10-year old sons to sit back there comfortably, even with my driver's seat adjusted for my 6' 3" frame accordingly. So rear legroom is surprising - headroom would be an issue for adults. The third door is done well, being a "normal" opening door with a large opening.

It's certainly not a quick car with the base engine, but the "sport" mode on the dual-clutch auto holds the gears in a manner to compensate and makes it a bit more responsive. Plus, there are steering wheel paddles for shifting if desired. The steering, suspension and overall handling seems well balanced to me - I know Hyundai has been criticized for not getting the feel right for awhile, but they seemed to have done a pretty good job here. It's engaging enough to me to want to push the car a little. Bumps are absorbed well - that may have a bit to do with the base 17" wheels on our car. Bumping up to the turbo model would make for a pretty competitive hot hatch - since this will be a 16 year old's car in the not too distant future, the base engine is preferable.

Feature-wise, it's what you'd expect from Hyundai - two power outlets in the front console, USB, Bluetooth, XM radio, etc. Even this base Veloster has a nice-sized touchscreen interface. The one we bought also had the homelink/compass/auto-dimming mirror as an option.

Trip computer says I still have another 300 miles to go before empty, after already going 100 miles. 400 miles on the 13.2 mile tank (about 30 mpg) isn't bad - I expect it to improve through break-in.

Overall it's a nice combination of "fun and sporty (looking anyway)" in a practical package. At the $16.8k purchase price, feels like a good value.

Having said all that, if this wasn't going to my stepdaughter next year, I would have gone for the Elantra GT. It was a bit quicker, had a more comfortable ride and adds a bit more from a practical point of view.

kyfdx

Haha.... yeah, my son's car..

The Infiniti? Extremely fast and boring.... not a bad car.. I make my son drive it on the days he is working (20 mi., one way)

Koni FSDs (frequency selective damping)... Yes... a slight upgrade, but mostly just better because they'll be new... and, cheaper than stock. CABs (control arm bushings)... Also might be getting RTABs, if needed (rear trailing arm bushings)..

Plus road-force balanced and a custom alignment from the top guy in town, who also happens to be a TireRack certified installer...

Also, a BMW Performance short shift kit.. is going in soon, as well...

corvette

Nice fleet, and congratulations on the purchase!

stickguy

that odyssey is the same color as the one we sold last year.

and I love BMW blues.

stickguy

with recent discussion in the house about changing the car mix, she must have felt left out. Texted me before that she saw a cute little red 2 door BMW for sale on the way to her BFs house. and that I should get it for myself. Or that she would be happy to take it and give me Roberto (the Volvo, no idea where the name came from) and take that instead.

nyccarguy

As you all know, my current DD is a 2011 BMW 328xiA which I am madly in love with. Today I had to bring my car in for service (trunk latch, adaptive headlight, & battery cable recall) and was provided a loaner car to drive. I've had a fantastic experience with 2 previous loaner cars, a 2011 335d & a 2013 X1 28i. Today's loaner car write up is on the 2013 BMW F30 328xiA sedan.

I sit down in the car, adjust the seat & the mirrors, look for a place to stick the key (it's keyless go dummy!), put my foot on the brake, push the start button, tap the car into Drive and I'm ready to roll. The 4cyl N20 Turbocharged engine is most definitely nowhere nearly as smooth as my car's Inline 6 and kind of clatters like a diesel at idle.

The 1st thing I notice is the the new F30 is bigger than my E90. Bigger trunk, bigger back seat, more headroom, wider center console. Bigger, but not as comfortable. The new center console is wider and my right leg is not comfortable resting up against it.

The seats are nice and firm. Even though they are no Sport Seats, they have thicker bolsters than my car. I notice the buttons on the dash board are located much higher than they are in my car. The screen is smaller and I look down at the i-Drive controller and realize that this car doesn't have Navigation. No big deal, but the smaller screen looks like an afterthought. The steering wheel is bigger and is not as thick as the steering wheel in my car. Dash & interior materials are high quality.

Navigating my way out of the dealership's back lot, I notice the featherlight steering. I stop a minute after starting the car to adjust my seat some more and the car shuts off. What? Oh, auto stop/start. Take your foot off of the brake or tug the steering wheel and the car fires right back up instantaneously.

Right out of the dealership I notice how vague the steering response is and how soft the suspension is tuned. A few traffic lights later and I notice the "drive mode" button. I figure out the car is in "eco-pro" mode and toggle is forward 2 notches until it says "you are now in sport mode." Now we are getting somewhere. I notice the steering tightens up to an acceptable level and throttle response is instantaneous. I can't give it a full nail the gas and merge test because there is just too much traffic.

Once I'm on the highway, I figure I'll just toggle back down to "eco-pro" mode to see what kind of MPGs this baby can return. The car wallows, is unresponsive, and provides the same steering "feel" as a 1991 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Station Wagon. This lasts for approximately 25 seconds. I think to myself: "what are they kidding me?"

I toggle back into "sport" mode and notice the same thing that happened before, except now the 8 speed automatic shifts into 6th and won't go any higher, even though I'm cruising. Toggling the car into "comfort" mode dials back on the throttle response and steering weight. Plus the car will shift into 8th gear. But now the car is not as tight.

Pay the toll, dial up "sport" mode and mash the gas on the way out. The 8 speed autobox shifts crisply and the motor rockets the car forward. The engine and transmission are paired perfectly. You can tell they were designed together.

So now "sport" is the way to make the car drive decent. So in order to keep the revs down, select "sport," slide the beer tap shifter to the left, and "manually" shift into 8th gear.

Hit a decent amount of "bad weather" traffic once I hit the CT border. The brakes don't seem as strong as my E90, there seems to be a bit of pedal float until the brakes bite, and I can actually feel the car dive under semi hard braking.

While I was cruising, the trip computer said I was consuming fuel at a rate of 32 mpg. Even with the traffic, the car still returned 30.5 mpg. Good fuel economy numbers are nice, but that's not the main reason you buy "the ultimate driving machine."

ronsteve

that odyssey is the same color as the one we sold last year.

How did you actually sell that? I believe that color is No-Sale Blue!

au1994

I am a little over a month into my F30 and came from an E92 as a refresher.

Pretty much agree with your assesment. I thought I'd get used to the steering in comfort mode but really haven't. Its not enough to make me regret getting the car but its nothing like the E92's feel. Sport mode is very, very close though. Unfortunately most of my commute is spent crawling in traffic so its not worth it to go to sport mode all the time.

I have the sport seats in mine and coming out of the E92 with the std seats, the sport ones are night and day better!

I went with a 335 this time to keep the I-6 that I had come to know and love in my 328 so I can only say my test drives of a 4cyl echo your thoughts but I didn't think the idle was that bad. Auto start/stop is much more noticeable in the 4cyl. It has become habit now to disengage that when I start the car. Overall very pleased with the drivetrain. The turbo I-6 flies.

I'm not a large guy so I fit in fine. Had a 6 footer of average build as a passenger and he was comfortable as well.

Brakes...thought it might just be me but no they are not as responsive as the E92's. I've seen comments on bimmerfest to this point as well. Its a lease so I guess I'll just learn to live with it. They just don't seem up to the performance image of the car.

Overall still happy with the car, I think its great looking and love my color combo of Alpine White over Coral and Black. I miss the 'sportiness' of the styling of the coupe but didn't want to get the same model back to back and I am hearing/reading that the 428 and 435 will be more expensive than the 328/335 coupes and deals, at least initiallly, on leases will not be that attractive.

qbrozen

that's the same way my 6-speed works. Put it in DS and it won't shift to 6th unless you manually do it. But then once in manual mode, it won't downshift until you bury your foot, drop below 1k rpms, or do it yourself. Its kind of silly, IMHO.

Anyway, I will only be driving mine another 4 miles as long as everything goes as planned in the F&I office this evening. The new car came in last night, so I swung in this morning on the way to work and found it parked by the service bay with a SOLD sign on it.

rayainsw

I eagerly await your initial impressions.
Good luck, tonight!
- Ray
TQ = 390? Nice....

qbrozen

TY. Its a beast alright. I mean, the bimmer was putting down very similar performance numbers after my mods, but it feels very very different in how its delivered.

Biggest problem the stang has is the 235 all season rubber. What the hell were they thinking?? But I've got summer rubber at home already waiting for its new ride.

tjc78

Very nice, it would be very hard for me to not shut off the traction control and leave a trail of rubber.

Good luck with it, what a change from the 135.

corvette

Wow, that's very blue, but I think it will be an entertaining car!

How loud is the factory exhaust?

breld

Mmmm - I know stick and even yourself think that blue is a bit too bright, but I'm liking it. I think it's because the car has the guts to back up the showy color.

Of course, this is coming from someone who had a yellow Miata. :P

qbrozen

Don't get me wrong. I saw it and thought "wow, that's gorgeous."

But there is a difference between seeing it and being seen in it. I'm quite a reserved person and don't like to be noticed.

Kirstie_H

A reporter seeks to interview:
1. a husband/wife team who just bought a car together
2. a car salesperson who has sold a car to a memorable husband/wife team
If you have a story to share, please email PR@edmunds.com no later than Thursday, May 30, 2013 and include your daytime contact information.

breld

Yeah, I'm the same way (surprise, surprise - a "reserved" CPA). I definitely felt conspicuous in that yellow Miata I had - not exactly anonymous driving.

In a funny way, I kinda like driving around in our minivan - you definitely just blend in with the rest of the crowd.

michaellno

In a funny way, I kinda like driving around in our minivan - you definitely just blend in with the rest of the crowd.

And you're gonna drive a blue Veloster for the next 8 months?

:P

Paging breld - your beige Camry is parked in slot 7.

ohenryx

The only thing holding me back from a new Mustang GT or Challenger R/T is ... (drum roll, please) ... the police. I guarantee you more speeding tickets in that Mustang GT. I can drive by them in my pickup at 80 mph (in a 70 mph zone), and they will take no notice. You can be right behind me, at the same speed in that Mustang GT, and you will get a speeding ticket every time.

The flashier the paint, the more obvious that it is a "GT" (stripes, etc), the more tickets you are going to get. Your new blue Mustang might be pretty bright, but without stripes it shouldn't be "too much" of a cop magnet.

breld

Ha Ha - I know - if it were more of a permanent fixture in the garage for me (if there is such a thing), I would have gone for the Elantra GT. Or at least a turbo Veloster so there'd be more performance to back up the looks.

But it will be cool for my stepdaughter.

nyccarguy

I actually was passed by an F30 335xi this morning. White/Red Interior, I assume it was the sport line. It was sharp. Very sharp.

My F30 loaner without Xenon Headlights and with the base 17" wheels just doesn't even look right. My Dad pulled into work this AM and said: "What'd they give you a 5 series?"

Sport Seats are an option I wish I could have on my car. I am happy with the standard seats though.

qbrozen

I can drive by them in my pickup at 80 mph (in a 70 mph zone), and they will take no notice. You can be right behind me, at the same speed in that Mustang GT, and you will get a speeding ticket every time.

First time that happens, I'll get the whole car wrapped in flat black. haha.

Come to think of it, all flat black with reversed out blue shelby stripes would be pretty freakin sweet. :surprise:

nyccarguy

qbrozen - I'm not talking about the Sport Mode (DS) in the 6 speed automatic transmission. With the F30 you can actually select a sport setting that tightens up the steering and increases the sensitivity of the throttle response. You can also select (DS) just like in our 6 speed automatics.

You are going to LOVE that Mustang my friend. I've seen Grabber Blue and it is beautiful. Matches the car's personality well. I haven't seen one without the stripes though.

jayrider

Don't forget the winter tires. Back in Chicago [early 70's] did just fine with rear snows on our rwd cars. What I forgot was how skinny those tires were vs today's dimensions. Makes a difference. Congrats on the GT -- could make an old man feel young in that color. If you like mods, you bought the right car.

qbrozen

oh, i know. i just meant that whole "you're in sport mode so you don't want high gear" mode is common between the two.

qbrozen

Already have a set, complete with wheels. They were originally from my G35, then used them on my GTI, then my 540i (with adapters). Well, the wheels were the extra set for my G35, but the snows on them aren't that old. They are actually pretty new. Anyway, the offset and bolt pattern are the same for the mustang and the G35, so they should be direct bolt on.

I also have a complete set of other all season tires in the right size and 6 summer tires of slightly varying sizes that I believe will fit.

breld

I didn't post impressions from my Saturday test drives this past weekend since they were pretty pedestrian cars, but I will say the Mazda6 was impressive.

I drove a Touring model (automatic). Acceleration was pretty brisk, the traditional 6-speed auto was a welcome change over the CVTs a lot of other manufacturers are providing, and the handling was engaging. I definitely like the looks of it too. The Touring model seems like a pretty good value for around $25k. I'd choose it over the Accord I drove earlier that day, though that Accord Sport model was a great value too.

It will be interesting to see how the diesel model does later this year.

xwesx

Stick:

Better make sure they check out the resistance in those wires! My guess, given the state of the plugs, etc., is that those things are well past their prime. A common source of pack failure is high wire resistance, which causes excess stress on the coil packs (where the charge builds up). Just FYI; but wires are cheap (probably about $40-50 and no additional work to install them when doing the other work involved).

That TL will out-live all of you! Hahahahah!

xwesx

Breld, since you buy a tenth of the cars sold in the US, you should suggest to Mazda that they strongly consider offering the wagon version of the 6! Your opinion may hold clout with them!

On a more serious note.... you guys have to slow down! So far, we're way over target for punches on the year. :P

breld

LOL!

I'd love to see that Mazda6 wagon over here. I'll give them a call and see what I can do! :P

stickguy

I asked about the wires. apparently it does not actually have them. Who knew?

tjc78

Probably "Coil on Plug".

stickguy

yeah, it is individual coil packs. Of course, that is also why it costs so much when 3 die at the same time.

tjc78

Yep, got 8 in the Merc and from what I understand they are a weak point. If one goes, I'll replace them all. On that car it's an easy DIY. Old RWD American iron can be good sometimes.

stickguy

I am sure that if I wanted to, it is an easy plug and play on the TL. I think they just snap on top of the plugs. Problem was, I did not have any way of knowing what the problem was, and I was 4 hours from the car.

if it does it again, I may have the codes pulled, and if it seems to be that, just replace the other 3 myself. But I hope to just milk the car until no longer needed without doing more to it!

js06gv

Love Grabber Blue. It is an awesome color and one I would've seriously considered, but my wife fell in love with the brick red interior so black exterior it was.

Don't know if you're going to tinker with the exhaust, but in my opinion it was almost like Ford was trying too hard to make the car more refined with the stock setup. Always sounds good, but just too tame. I have a theory that the stock mufflers sound better on manual tranny cars because they can be wound out more (no manumatic in my 2011; didn't become avail until 2013). Anyway, I put Borlas on my wife's Mustang and couldn't be happier. Nice throaty sound at startup and around town without getting beaten up on the highway.

kyfdx

I love that color.. reminds me of Laguna Seca Blue on the E46 M3..

I'm still stunned to find out that your 135i was an automatic.... I had no idea.. :surprise:

michaellno

On a more serious note.... you guys have to slow down! So far, we're way over target for punches on the year.

No, we're not. Counting the latest punches from this week, this is where we stand for 2013:

2013 Punch List (total 14):
01/08/13 breld 2011 BMW 335xi 27K
01/11/13 steine13 2013 Chevrolet Cruze LT (lease)
01/15/13 breld 2010 BMW 328xi wagon 21K
01/18/13 qbrozen 2013 Nissan Leaf (lease)
01/19/13 anon 2013 Toyota Sienna (lease)
02/13/13 corvette 2013 VW Jetta GLI
02/16/13 fezo 2004 Mazda6 wagon 77k
02/17/13 fintail 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec (lease)
03/22/13 js06gv 2013 Ford F150 King Ranch 2WD
04/04/13 kyfdx 2011 BMW X3
04/09/13 au1994 2013 BMW 335i (lease)
05/01/13 abacomike 2014 MB E350 Sport
05/27/13 breld 2013 Hyundai Veloster
05/29/13 qbrozen 2013 Ford Mustang GT

Punch guesses for 2013:
Michaell 15-17
Xwesx 22
Stickguy 25
abacomike 25
Qbrozen 28
Au1994 30
Anon 31
gimmestdtranny 33
Tifighter 34
Jpp5862 35
Steve 36
Roadburner 37
Nyccarguy 38
Rayainsw 39
Ateixeira 40
sandman 43
Kyfdx 45

stever

Thanks for updating the list.

I see we have quite a few slackers. :shades:

michaellno

At the rate we're going (14 through 5 months), we should be around 34 for the year.

qbrozen

thanks for the tip. I would like a bit more bass down in the RPM range.

So the deal was obviously sealed last night and I drove it home (then again to work this morn). The numbers were exactly as discussed, so no surprises there. I did, however...and I may regret this...take the extended warranty. Full bumper-to-bumper for 6 years for $1200. Felt like a really good price, especially to someone coming from a line of European cars. I did find it online after I got home for $1005, though. Just not sure its worth going through the trouble for a couple hundred bucks. I know I've been against extended warranties for a long time, but with my luck lately and the low price, I figured it can't be that bad of a financial decision. Any opinions on that?

BTW, computer told me 25.5 mpg on the trip home. I could certainly live with that. :surprise:

michaellno

q - congrats on the Mustang! Have to admit I'm a bit jealous as the GT is on my 'short list' of mid-life crisis cars. $25K is an awesome price for that much power.

regarding the extended warranty - $16.66 a month for piece of mind? Seems pretty cheap to me.

corvette

That seems like a reasonable price for the extended warranty. VW's factory extended warranty is a lot more expensive (probably because you're more likely to need it). I haven't purchased it yet, but it does get more expensive as the miles on the car accumulate. The nice thing about most of the factory extended warranties is that you can get a prorated refund if you sell the car before they expire.

jayrider

I would do one of 2 things re the extended warranty. First talk to your dealer about the price difference. He should refund you the difference because you can cancel the policy at this point with no penalty and buy it elsewhere. Second - you could ask for a $200 credit for oil changes or accessories. Remember, you have the all important satisfaction survey ahead and they know it.
As far as extended warranties, no clear answer. I've never used the ones I've had but should you decide to sell the car in 3-4 years, the warranty could be transferred which would mean all the posters drooling over your new ride would be making crazy money offers to take it off your hands.

tjc78

Full bumper-to-bumper for 6 years for $1200

Can't complain about the price, but you see yourself keeping it that long?

MPG is stellar, should get better once broken in too.

nyccarguy

Q - Mazel-Tov & congrats on the Mustang. I don't blame you for taking out the extended warranty. Even with the $1200 extended warranty, you still got a fabulous deal on an amazing car. I'm usually against extended warranties as well, but when my Dad bought his 1st Tahoe (after an '04 & '07 X5), we decided to go for it. If you do trade or sell the car, GM Major Guard will give you a pro rated refund. Even though the 1st Tahoe didn't have to go back to the dealer for anything in 2 yrs/50K miles, we got it again for his 2nd Tahoe.

breld

They offered a pretty good deal on an extended warranty on the Hyundai too - $1,200 to extend the bumper to bumper warranty through 10 year/100k miles (to line up with the powertrain). But with most things (other than radio/technology stuff) covered through 5 year/60k miles, I didn't feel the need to further extend the warranty.

25 mpg on the Mustang? Wow! I was kinda excited about the 32 mpg so far on the Veloster, but considering it has a third of the horsepower of the 'stang, it's really not that impressive!

stickguy

I was thinking the same thing. No way Q keeps the Mustang past the 3/36 BtoB that is comes with.

nyccarguy

The beauty of the Mustang GT is that say he keeps it 5 years, he'll still be able to sell it for $15K. $10K depreciation to drive a 420 hp V8 Mustang for 5 years? I'll take it;)