Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:

Just when you think your car is cool. This guy show up:

With a car that valuable I’d be afraid to drive it.

I would never own a car I couldn't drive; some people were surprised that I tracked my M6- I told them that's what it's built for.

roadburner

stickguy said:

wife actually initiated discussion about replacing her car today while we were driving on the highway, off to the outlets to spend more money buying stuff we don't need.

pointed out a Mini Countryman because it was a nice color, and unprovoked she said that with my truck to haul anything bulky and take on trips, her car could be smaller and it would be fine. Just wondered how low the Mini rode. That led to a discussion about an EV, and how for our 2nd car that primarily stays local, it could make a lot of sense. Need to leverage this into a few casual dealership stops when we happen to be driving by!

The Clubman that I drove for six years rode just fine- but you might want to discount my opinion because I actually owned one.

kyfdx

Plus, the Countryman trim isn't exactly "mini", any more. Maybe, that's a good thing, though

carnaught

stickguy said:

Dogs love Grandma and Grandpas spa and daycamp.

And don’t forget baseball and apple pie.

stickguy

probably would not get a mini. They real issue is figuring out if there is actually something that would give me what I want that is worth making the switch to.

eventually I will just end up with a toy and a car cover so I can park the truck outside.

breld

I only drove the EV version, but this current Countryman is as large as any other compact SUV these days. That’s generally seen as a negative by enthusiasts, but as far as using one as a daily commuter, it’s very comfortable and compliant.

28firefighter

Isn’t the countryman a shared platform with the X1?

stickguy

at this point, even if we don't end up buying anything, I will be happy if I just get to do some looking!

the last year with building a new house, selling the old one and moving, 2 weddings and a grandchild has been crazy. I need something for the next year to keep us busy

explorerx4

@stickguy,
You can keep looking for the Oak Island treasure in your back yard.

stickguy

my neighbor has more woods than me. He has a whole swingset in his he needs to get rid of. And I'm sure he has not done nearly as much looking as I did, since he has not tried to clear them out.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Isn’t the countryman a shared platform with the X1?

Yes, it is.

Sandman6472

I was really thinking of a Mini myself, the smaller 2-door. The wife saw it and said it was too small and could be an issue in an accident. And if one can afford one of them, spending a little extra for hi-test petrol shouldn't be an issue.

Sandman6472

OF, what's the issue with the Dodge/Chrysler minivans? Someone said it was an airbag thing but they've taken them out of service down here it seems. Gave us a Hyundai Tucson for our weekend chase vehicle for the time being. Will see what we get for our Tuesday & Friday vans when I go back in a few days. Bad timing to pull out the minivans in the height of summer travel!! Lots of lost revenue.

Sandman6472

My 2015 Golf has already gone off to auction. Stopped by to try and get that cushion I left behind yesterday and used vehicle department said it had departed the building already. Went either Thursday or yesterday, Saturday. I honestly didn't think they were going to keep it as it wasn't in perfect condition. A good detail would've done wonders for it though.

Sandman6472

Need to stop by the VW parts department Monday to get some aftermarket things. It needs color matched door edge guards and those covers for the lower door sills. Not sure if a pin stripe is necessary either.

kyfdx

Sandman6472 said:

Need to stop by the VW parts department Monday to get some aftermarket things. It needs color matched door edge guards and those covers for the lower door sills. Not sure if a pin stripe is necessary either.

I'd pass on all of those things.

imidazol97

@ab348 said:
Minis apparently don’t ride very well and are kind of dorky-looking in Countryman trim. I suspect when the rubber meets the road she might start singing a different tune…

DIL describes her father's as like driving a gokart.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@stickguy,
You can keep looking for the Oak Island treasure in your back yard.

My money is him finding Jimmy Hoffa first.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

OF, what's the issue with the Dodge/Chrysler minivans? Someone said it was an airbag thing but they've taken them out of service down here it seems. Gave us a Hyundai Tucson for our weekend chase vehicle for the time being. Will see what we get for our Tuesday & Friday vans when I go back in a few days. Bad timing to pull out the minivans in the height of summer travel!! Lots of lost revenue.

They haven’t done that up here yet but who knows what we’ll find when we show up on Monday. Chrysler does have a recall for side curtain air bags on the 2022-2025 Pacificas. It seems that almost every day, part of our work is bringing cars to dealers for recall work. For a while we had to drive a bunch of Ford Expeditions to Elizabeth NJ because dealers were so backed up on a particular recall that our facility there decided to do the work themselves. Maybe they’ll end up doing that to the minivans.

28firefighter

Put over 100 miles on the Porsche driving out past Fall City into the foothills of the cascades. You know, purely scientific to make sure everything is up to par.

It is.

kyfdx

All of my driving is for research. Trying to find out a way to write it off.

stickguy

Form an LLC and become a YouTuber or blogger.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Form an LLC and become a YouTuber or blogger.

I'm already self-employed, so...

ab348

stickguy said:

Form an LLC and become a YouTuber or blogger.

I find that phenomenon remarkable. I've never been able to get a good handle on how much the monetizing process by YT for content creators works or how much it pays, nor what embedded sponsorship used by certain content creators can be worth. But the more successful ones are funding lots of travel, purchases of whatever or whatever it may be they need to create new content.

kyfdx

Sounds exhausting

28firefighter

@kyfdx said:
Sounds exhausting

That’s what I think. Being “on” all the time, having to film your life all the time, no off time for risk of becoming irrelevant in the algorithm? No thanks.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

@kyfdx said:

Sounds exhausting

That’s what I think. Being “on” all the time, having to film your life all the time, no off time for risk of becoming irrelevant in the algorithm? No thanks.

A lot of the automotive creators I follow have occasionally mentioned that - jrgo just had an episode where he had the epiphany that doing YT content is doing nothing for his retirement, so he's started to put money away.

Sandman6472

Yep, seems like we can't rent any newer Pacifica's right now and even our chase vehicle was taken away last Thursday and they've put us into a Hyundai Tucson for the forseeable future. Drives decent enough. I've got the keys with me now as our weekend lead went on a 3-week vacation so I've been entrusted with the keys as we're not sure who our lead will be to cover. Thought it would be me or a weekend co-worker but I've been entrusted with the keys. We meet at a different location on the weekends, a local branch, so we have a dedicated vehicle for the weekends. Like the weekends as it's supposed to be 6 hours on Saturday and 5 on Sunday, though we usually go over like this past weekend. No matter really for once we're there, what's another hour or two. And the extra $ is nice to have. This really is a decent part time gig for a retiree such as many in here. And the benefits are nice to, much better then Hertz ever was! Might go down to 3-days sooner then later depending on when my other half cuts back her hours. We're still kicking around moving to Northern Florida some time in 2027.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

Sounds exhausting

————————————————
I agree. I’ve found it easier to just cheat and see if they catch me. So far so good. And at my age I doubt they’d throw me in the slammer unless they know the extent of my cheating over the years. In that case I can always beg for forgiveness because I’m way past asking for permission.

jmonroe

sda

@Sandman6472 Happy with the GTI? Initial impressions? Have you posted pics?

xwesx

Sandman6472 said:

Went with the "SE" model as it had everything I wanted or needed. Those pics are exactly what I got. Haven't driven much having these last 3 days off but back to work tomorrow & Sunday. Will be lucky if I get to 3K miles in the coming year. Have a list of my mileage from 12/2/2019 when I started at Enterprise, starting at 63K and ending up at basically 80K on 7/2/25. So basically, 17K between those two dates. So, my yearly mileage went down dramatically once I got a part time gig closer to home.

Sandy, you have a GTI now. I think you need to find a day, once per week, to just drive your car. No destination, no appointment, no reason but one: You have a GTI now. Drive it!!!!

xwesx

mjfloyd1 said:

I voted with my wallet. I’ve had too many MDXs and it was time for a change.

I like the looks of the 4 Runner and don’t care about the space. Different strokes for different folks.

I hope you enjoy your new Passport.

I saw a new 4Runner yesterday on my way home... in the same color (exterior, anyway) as yours. Looked good! My daughter, who is closing quickly on 18, agreed that the color is sick, though she thought my take on it was "ridiculous." Overall, she thought the car itself was "boxy, like something Lego would make." LOL

And, then she added that she thinks she's been brainwashed a bit because she compares everything against the styling of the SH Forester (2009-2013), and pretty much everything comes up short. That's my kid!!!! (Full disclosure: We have had an SH Forester continuously since she was two years old, which is a little shocking to me!)

Sandman6472

Like the GTI, a lot, especially all the safety nannies. Stopped by dealer today to get some help with the infotainment system as it's a bit more complicated to what I'm used to. Also getting used to feeling more of the undulations in the road with the 40 series tires, the jury is still out on these though. Think I prefer a larger sidewall to be honest so might have to see how to fix this once new rubber is needed. The Moonstone Grey color is really sick, and have gotten a couple compliments already! Seats are comfy and like the one piece design, cool that they're also cooled & heated as necessary. Another cool feature is the VW logo light's up when the headlights are turned on! Something cool!! But very pleased so far!
Went into the parts department to see about door edge guards like I bought ten years ago but no longer carry them. Shame as I like having those. Plus, would like to get covers for the four door sills and a cover for the top of the back fender so luggage won't scratch it up. Tint guy is coming next Sunday after work as the heat is over the top right now and some tint will be necessary before the hottest months set in.

xwesx

Sandy, when you talk with your guy about the tint, ask him about paint protection film. He can likely add that over the sills and rear bumper, or wherever you want it, really. Not the protective covers in appearance, but it should have a similar effect. And, if it gets worn (such as the driver side sill), you can easily have it replaced.

stickguy

you can probably do a minus 1 down to a 17" tire. that would be a 225/45-17 instead of the 220/40-18 you have now. that gives you a 4" sidewall instead of 3.5". My rule of thumb is to have at least 4" sidewall. Not an issue with an SUV or pickup of course!

qbrozen

@kyfdx said:
I'm already self-employed, so...

It’s ok. You are allowed to have multiple LLCs.

Sandman6472

My 2015 Golf had 225/45/17's and the ride was much smoother. I know that year's "SEL" model had the 225/40/18's like I have now so figured I could do the "-1" to get back to a 45 sidewall.
Paint protection film might just work nicely to be honest. At least on the door sills where it won't be seen. On the rear bumper...not to sure. Remember years ago, some vehicles had door sill covers that light up!

benjaminh

I haven't found many articles written about it yet, but it seems like the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulations, which have been around for fifty years, have probably come to an end. Although CAFE hasn't yet been officially repealed, the fines that are supposed to get compliance have been reduced to zero by recent legislation.

When I was a kid reading Motor Trend in the mid to late 1970s I remember reading articles about how car companies were redesigning cars to meet CAFE. CAFE regulations helped bring us downsized front-wheel drive cars with lower weight and more space efficient designs. Of course many of those cars, engineered in a rush, also had quality problems for their first few years.

In the last 15 years or so iirc, the regulations were modified in a way that reduced the number of smaller cars on the market. It's complicated, but rather than having a small car offset the bad mpg of a big vehicle, CAFE was instead made so that each class of vehicle had its own standards.

But anyway, those CAFE standards were supposed to go up quickly in the next five years, and now they've been zeroed out.

I feel mixed about the apparent end of CAFE. The regulations were kind of a mess, and brought unintended consequences.

For instance, our former 2018 CR-V with the 1.5 turbo, which we've passed on to our daughter, has oil dilution issues and is rather noisy. Plus I really doubt that the turbo will last as long as the Honda engine it replaced, which was their famously overbuilt 2.4 liter naturally-aspirated engine. The 1.5 turbo in the real world I think only gets maybe 1 mpg more than the 2.4 it replaced, and yet the 1.5 is noisier, more complex, more expensive to repair, and almost certainly won't last nearly as long. So it seems like we lost a legendary engine to get a rather flawed one because of CAFE regulations.

The bottom line now is that however you feel about CAFE it seems to have been nullified.

As we know, it takes 3-5 years for what's decided at car companies now to reach the streets in terms of new vehicles. Now that CAFE is not something that needs to be worried about nearly as much, I wonder what we'll see in the new car market in a few years as a result.

kyfdx

@Sandman6472 Give it some time. Your new tires will last at least 20K miles. By the time they are worn out, you'll have forgotten about it. The last thing you want to do is degrade the handling on a GTI. You might lose what attracted you to it.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Yep, seems like we can't rent any newer Pacifica's right now and even our chase vehicle was taken away last Thursday and they've put us into a Hyundai Tucson for the forseeable future. Drives decent enough. I've got the keys with me now as our weekend lead went on a 3-week vacation so I've been entrusted with the keys as we're not sure who our lead will be to cover. Thought it would be me or a weekend co-worker but I've been entrusted with the keys. We meet at a different location on the weekends, a local branch, so we have a dedicated vehicle for the weekends. Like the weekends as it's supposed to be 6 hours on Saturday and 5 on Sunday, though we usually go over like this past weekend. No matter really for once we're there, what's another hour or two. And the extra $ is nice to have. This really is a decent part time gig for a retiree such as many in here. And the benefits are nice to, much better then Hertz ever was! Might go down to 3-days sooner then later depending on when my other half cuts back her hours. We're still kicking around moving to Northern Florida some time in 2027.

No problem here. We were in our Pacifica as usual on Monday. I don’t know about renting them but we were in Brattleboro VT. and they had a bunch of them in their lot. Maybe they were storing them until they could get them fixed.

kyfdx

I noticed my nearby CDJR dealer has about a dozen or more Pacificas all lined up in the back lot. All of them white.

nyccarguy

For instance, our former 2018 CR-V with the 1.5 turbo, which we've passed on to our daughter, has oil dilution issues and is rather noisy. Plus I really doubt that the turbo will last as long as the Honda engine it replaced, which was their famously overbuilt 2.4 liter naturally-aspirated engine. The 1.5 turbo in the real world I think only gets maybe 1 mpg more than the 2.4 it replaced, and yet the 1.5 is noisier, more complex, more expensive to repair, and almost certainly won't last nearly as long. So it seems like we lost a legendary engine to get a rather flawed one because of CAFE regulations.

I think the 1.5L Turbo "L15" engine also suffers from head gasket issues if not properly maintained. Engines cannot remain in production forever. They all get replaced or redesigned eventually. When the K series engines came out (like in your TLX), there was backlash too. "There's nothing wrong with the H-series..."

benjaminh

https://www.fromtheroad.ford.com/us/en/articles/2025/ford-for-america-sales-campaign

"So, beginning July 8, we’re evolving. The employee pricing for all campaign transitions to the 0-0-0 summer sales event1. It features zero down payment, zero percent interest for 48 months2, and zero payments for the first 90 days on most of our Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

It’s the same transparent, easy-to-shop approach for our customers. And for those interested in an electric vehicle, we are extending the Ford Power Promise through Sept. 30."

xwesx

Wow. Zero percent interest. Nice. With a catch, I'm sure, but in the current rate environment, that will cover a lot of dollars. Consider, for example, a $40K loan at 6% interest. That's about $5,100 in savings.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Wow. Zero percent interest. Nice. With a catch, I'm sure, but in the current rate environment, that will cover a lot of dollars. Consider, for example, a $40K loan at 6% interest. That's about $5,100 in savings.

————————————————
That is a nice savings and I’m sure a lot of buyers like 0% interest.

Now my question, can you finance the full MSRP? I realize most folks have a car to trade but what if you don’t?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

Wow. Zero percent interest. Nice. With a catch, I'm sure, but in the current rate environment, that will cover a lot of dollars. Consider, for example, a $40K loan at 6% interest. That's about $5,100 in savings.

I just looked it up and in 2008 when I bought a new Mitsubishi, interest rates were about 7% and I got 0% for 60 months. I financed everything including the sales tax.

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

xwesx said:

Wow. Zero percent interest. Nice. With a catch, I'm sure, but in the current rate environment, that will cover a lot of dollars. Consider, for example, a $40K loan at 6% interest. That's about $5,100 in savings.

I just looked it up and in 2008 when I bought a new Mitsubishi, interest rates were about 7% and I got 0% for 60 months. I financed everything including the sales tax.

Nice! If I just spitball that you spent around $25,000 on that car, at that time, that's also close to $5K in savings (back when $5K was worth a lot more than today!). Calculated.... $4,700 over that 60-month term.

kyfdx

We financed $37K when we bought my wife's 2017 X3. 72 months, 0% APR.

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

We financed $37K when we bought my wife's 2017 X3. 72 months, 0% APR.

My Dad's '18 Yukon was 0% for 60 months. $66K ish sticker, $60K+TTL selling price. His '23 Tahoe is financed at 5.99% for 60 months at a $72K MSRP.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

kyfdx said:

We financed $37K when we bought my wife's 2017 X3. 72 months, 0% APR.

My Dad's '18 Yukon was 0% for 60 months. $66K ish sticker, $60K+TTL selling price. His '23 Tahoe is financed at 5.99% for 60 months at a $72K MSRP.

A lot of times, there is a hidden rebate to collect, if you don't take the 0%. But, in our case, it was a service loaner program and you had to take the 0%, or you lost a $1000 rebate. Twist my arm