Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

stickguy

never thought of one of those! Could just take both cars in and leave with the CX and a Miata, and call it a day!

benjaminh

stickguy said:

never thought of one of those! Could just take both cars in and leave with the CX and a Miata, and call it a day!

I thought you said you had a Miata once long ago and that it was too small? If so, are the current ones a little larger?

benjaminh

https://www.mazdaofmilford.com/new-Milford-2025-+-Mazda+MX+5+Miata-Sport-JM1NDAB71S0657743

Mazda Soul Red is from my pov a good color. These are all made in Japan, and so if they start putting the tariff into the msrp, which I'm guessing they'll do at some point, prices might go up 15% or so. So far, unlike with Subaru, Mazda hasn't raised prices. A lease on this Miata would probably be about $500 a month without a downpayment, incl. all taxes and fees. Mazda does also offer 3.9% financing on the Miata.

Sandman6472

Stick, your wife will not be happy in a GTI with the 40" series tires, trust me on this. I feel "everything" when driving which never happened in my 2015 Golf with the 45" tires. Even though the size of the rim has gone up from 17's to 18's, it's the sidewall length that seems to be the issue here. There's less of it there to cushion all the bumps, man hole covers and pot holes in the roads. Being she's already sketchy about VW products, the whole GTI idea will not bode well...especially for you. I'm dealing with it all and getting used to it and love the vehicle but listen to me on this, she won't!
I've learned to let my wife get what she wants when buying any vehicle. All I do is show her what's out there and then I back off. She always finds something she truly likes. I suggest you do the same and bet she'll surprise you next time. Take yourself and your wants out of the equation and see what happens. Think deep down you know this to be true to. So keep suggesting what you really think "she'll" want. From what you say, she don't drive much in the first place, so until the Acura starts acting up, hold off. She'll let you know when the time has come for a switch. Best way to handle this situation, trust me on this. Been married 44 years in a couple of weeks and it really is true, "happy wife, happy life"!

tjc78

I'm so lucky with vehicles... I essentially have full control of what we buy. My wife has input and I always try and get her something she likes but she does so little driving she doesn't get too hung up on it.

I joke around with her about it, but I don't think she has driven 500 miles this year. Here is another fun fact she hasn't driven to our shore house in the last two years.

stickguy

Last car I pushed her into without being fully decided was a quest in 1999. Though she did get used to it and it was bullet proof. I tho k she would have wanted an odyssey instead.

She drives very little recently but that will go up soon. She is going to baby sit every Friday at the kids house so that is about a 15 mile each way drive (mostly highway) and I probably won’t be going with her most weeks. Other than that and an occasional doctors appointment we are usually together and im driving.

stickguy

It would be easier if I didn’t care about having a truck any longer or wanted to go back to using the Acura for all the long trips but right now neither is the case.

benjaminh

So you'd like to let go of the Acura because it's out of warranty, it's not a hybrid, and you're ready for something new?

Are you ok with keeping the Maverick out of warranty, or is that a major worry?

Michaell

@oldfarmer50 said:
The son doesn’t know his credit history? How old is he? They’re lucky to have you as a consultant. So many people go into car buying like lambs to the slaughter.

He knows his score, but as I explained to his mom the number isn’t the whole picture. He’s had one or two credit cards that get used and paid off each month, but he needs to see the full report, and attempt to get prequalified, so the dealer doesn’t overcharge him on the rate. That will help determine his budget.

stickguy

@benjaminh said:
So you'd like to let go of the Acura because it's out of warranty, it's not a hybrid, and you're ready for something new?

Are you ok with keeping the Maverick out of warranty, or is that a major worry?

Warranty does not bother me on the Acura. Ford might. Mostly i want something new. And in general I really like hybrids now after having one.

benjaminh

The CX-50 hybrid sounds like a good choice from my pov. Toyota hybrid system without the Toyota price. And iirc your daughter got a loaded one for a couple of thousand off of msrp. Mazdas have nicer interiors than a RAV4.

2020 RDX length: 187 inches, width 74.8

2025 CX-50 length: 186 inches, width 73

Since she seems happy with the size of the RDX this is a nice match up.

But the CX-90 plug in hybrid with the big lease incentive sounds like it might be a nice deal on a bigger and more powerful vehicle.

CX-90 length: 200, width 77.6

sda

I'm pondering what we will replace the Q5 with. It's been great so far and both of us really like it. It just turned 80k. Expensive maintenace is due, and the tires may need replacing in the next year. We are driving it to Hilton Head this Thursday. I look forward to relaxation, riding bikes, etc. assuming the weather cooperates.

xwesx

Michaell said:

Last night was the Honda dealer. Decided the Civic was too small, and took the Accord Hybrid out for a test drive. He really liked it, and decided that white over black is his preferred color scheme. Of course, when you are looking at gently used cars, wanting a specific color combo limits your choices.

Gave them a bunch of advice - including local credit unions where he can get pre approved for a decent rate - so we’ll see how this all goes.

My brother bought an Accord last year after his fiasco with the used Hyundai he bought for his son. I think he managed to pay under $30K for it, very nice car, and excellent fuel economy (even without hybrid).

xwesx

kyfdx said:

My B-I-L isn’t much of a photographer

Very nice! But, he needs to cut some holes in the top of that air cleaner cover. Noticeably adds about 20(+) horsepower.

xwesx

stickguy said:

I did have an idea (the seed of another grand plan.). I looked up in the garage and realized that I must have at least 12’ ceilings in there. They are really high. And an overly wide garage door. Other than needing to swap out to a high clearance door rail system I could easily fit a 4 post lift in there. Might drive me nuts having to work around it but if I really wanted to I could get 3 cars inside.

Might need to do some research !

If you put it on the far side of the garage from where you enter, and you are the one parking underneath it, I'm sure it would be very livable.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Lost 2’ of potential headroom. There is a drop down area on one side to clear plumbing from the master bath which doesn’t impact my side where I park but does limit the lift on the garage door. So might not work.

We looked into a 3rd bay but with the design of the house (and side entry garage) it would have required lot of extra work. Basically had to reengineer the whole end of the house to make the extra piece fit at a 90 degree angle. So quite expensive. I figured I could just build a stand alone at some point if I needed one but ended up with the building code (10’ from the house, etc) and the slope of the lot there was no easy way to make one of those fit.

Probably should have bit the bullet at the time. Or in retrospect should redid the design to be front entry since it’s always simpler to just take on. Bay to the side. Live and learn! Next house for sure.

Next house?! I thought you were planning to downsize with that one. You'll end up with a four-car garage and an apartment above it (with an elevator to access, of course).

Is your current garage next to your house or inside it? I mean, do you have living space behind the garage wall? If not, perhaps you could just extend the garage to the back and park the extra car two deep. Given the seasonality of it, not likely to be a burden. And, you could set up an extra bay door on the back end of it so it could be used for lawn equipment, etc., in the future.

nyccarguy

My 16 year old son who plays Forza on XBox and always asks me questions about the cars before he modifies the daylights out of them snapped a few pics of this MK4 Supra on our way home from one of his 4 hockey games this weekend.

xwesx

Four games in one weekend! That was a marathon!

I've never understood the attraction of that generation of Supra. Sure, the performance was modifiably great, but they sure weren't much to look at (IMO).

corvette

I remember C&D had one of those as a long term test car, and the rear wing got broken off at a car wash. Great looking cars!

benjaminh

"Qapla" (The Klingon word for "success"). A new Cosmic Blue Subaru has been purchased. (Close-up the paint does have a bit of sparkle in it, which isn't visible in this picture.)

I'll deliver it to the actual couple who will use the car tonight, who for years have been driving a worn out 2008 Accord LX.

Salesperson said in his seven years at that dealership he had never delivered a car at that much below invoice (1500), but they were price-matching that out-of-town offer on a pre-tariff car, and were hoping to make their sales numbers for Subaru for the end of the month bonus.

Also picked up the Subaru 10 year/100k 0 deductible gold warranty for $2500. Divided by the 7 years not covered in the standard warranty that's $357 a year. Seems almost like medical insurance for a car. I'm okay with the premium, since it covers almost everything not considered a wear item. It's true that I never used the extended warranties that I got on three different Hondas, but those warranties only went for the then-max of 7 years, not the 10 of this one.

The interest rate charges on the loan with Subaru's 0.9% were only about 1% of the total for the 3-year loan.

Right now feeling good about it. Getting a good deal on a good car is at this point is something that usually seems to be in my skill set (knock on wood).

stickguy

Nice color. And good idea on the warranty. They don’t sound like the best people to be self insuring for catastrophic events.

nyccarguy

xwesx said:

Four games in one weekend! That was a marathon!

I've never understood the attraction of that generation of Supra. Sure, the performance was modifiably great, but they sure weren't much to look at (IMO).

Definitely a little crazy for sure. It was a tournament at a rink in Bridgeport, CT which is a little less than 30 miles from my house.

Game 1 was Friday at 3:45 PM. It took us over an hour to get there, then about an hour on the way home. They lost 8-4 which isn't too bad considering only 8 skaters and the goalie (my son) showed up. We played competitive hockey, but were just no match for their full bench.

Game 2 was Saturday at 8:00 AM. The early wake up came with a very easy ride. 30 minutes each way. Our team lost 3-1. 9 skaters this time. We were actually the better team, but their goalie wasn't letting anything through.

Game 3 was Saturday at 3:00 PM. My son's team won the game 2-1. He came way out of the crease about 1/2 way to the blue line when he saw the puck cross the blue line with 3 guys from the other team and none of his teammates chugging behind it. He passed the puck to one of his team mates who passed to another one for a goal, so he got an assist on what turned out to be the game winning goal. He also played lights out in the net.

Game 4 was a tough one. Sunday at 8:00 AM. They played a team in the semi-finals with 3 full lines and 2 goalies. Our team lost 8-1. Getting up there was an easy 30 minutes. Getting home was close to an hour.

stickguy

Wes. Garage is embedded in the house. If I went through the end I would be in my wife’s office. Or about a foot or so below it.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

The son doesn’t know his credit history? How old is he? They’re lucky to have you as a consultant. So many people go into car buying like lambs to the slaughter.

He knows his score, but as I explained to his mom the number isn’t the whole picture. He’s had one or two credit cards that get used and paid off each month, but he needs to see the full report, and attempt to get prequalified, so the dealer doesn’t overcharge him on the rate. That will help determine his budget.

Very smart move. As I said, they are lucky to have you.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Last night was the Honda dealer. Decided the Civic was too small, and took the Accord Hybrid out for a test drive. He really liked it, and decided that white over black is his preferred color scheme. Of course, when you are looking at gently used cars, wanting a specific color combo limits your choices.

Gave them a bunch of advice - including local credit unions where he can get pre approved for a decent rate - so we’ll see how this all goes.

My brother bought an Accord last year after his fiasco with the used Hyundai he bought for his son. I think he managed to pay under $30K for it, very nice car, and excellent fuel economy (even without hybrid).

I have a poor memory, what happened to the used Hyundai?

nyccarguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
I have a poor memory, what happened to the used Hyundai?

He changed the oil religiously, even kept a very detailed maintenance log. Then he brought it to the dealership…. Oh wait. That’s someone else I’m thinking of.

fintail

nyccarguy said:

My 16 year old son who plays Forza on XBox and always asks me questions about the cars before he modifies the daylights out of them snapped a few pics of this MK4 Supra on our way home from one of his 4 hockey games this weekend.

I like those for the nostalgia and wacky styling - not pretty, but pretty wild at the time. I'd want it to look 100% stock, and IMO a LHD car has more cred as it has survived and is not a new private import. Maybe get a TT Targa with automatic just to upset the shift-yourselfers (probably also a car with a high theft rate).

nyccarguy

fintail said:

nyccarguy said:

My 16 year old son who plays Forza on XBox and always asks me questions about the cars before he modifies the daylights out of them snapped a few pics of this MK4 Supra on our way home from one of his 4 hockey games this weekend.

I like those for the nostalgia and wacky styling - not pretty, but pretty wild at the time. I'd want it to look 100% stock, and IMO a LHD car has more cred as it has survived and is not a new private import. Maybe get a TT Targa with automatic just to upset the shift-yourselfers (probably also a car with a high theft rate).

It is the Bullitt Mustang for late gen X/millennials. The Autos get a lot of hate for sure. Check out the comments on THIS 1995 Toyota Supra Turbo There is a company in TX (I think) that buys Supras, does all the deferred maintenance, fixes and restores broken interior bits & seats, then resells. They will also manual swap the car for a price as well.

The funny thing about all these halo Japanese sports cars from the early - mid 90's (Supra, RX7, 300ZX, 3000 GT) is that for the most part they were driven hard, crashed, modified within an inch of their life. People changed the wheels, lowered the suspensions, installed giant spoilers, gaudy body kits, bigger turbos, and freer flowing exhausts. The ones that have been barely driven and kept in relatively stock form are worth a lot of money.

Guess which cars from that era were maybe not as sexy from a technology standpoint, but were lightweight, RWD, V8 powered, laughed at by the press and most import enthusiasts? Parts are easily available, the cars have been generally well cared and have low miles for because their owners only drove them on Sundays and used diapers to polish them. Late model C4s and C5 Corvettes are reasonably priced in today's market given their condition a miles as well as availability of the 6 Speed Manual Transmission. I dig the C5 Z06!

Here is a 2004 Corvette Z06 that is 9 years newer, has a 6-Speed Stick, less miles, and ends in 2 days just like the Supra I linked above.

stickguy

I always thought the blue grand sport version looked slick

tifighter

The only one of the cars from that era that appeals to me is the original NSX. They’re not cheap, but still look like okay value next to a 993 from the same time.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

fintail said:

nyccarguy said:

My 16 year old son who plays Forza on XBox and always asks me questions about the cars before he modifies the daylights out of them snapped a few pics of this MK4 Supra on our way home from one of his 4 hockey games this weekend.

I like those for the nostalgia and wacky styling - not pretty, but pretty wild at the time. I'd want it to look 100% stock, and IMO a LHD car has more cred as it has survived and is not a new private import. Maybe get a TT Targa with automatic just to upset the shift-yourselfers (probably also a car with a high theft rate).

It is the Bullitt Mustang for late gen X/millennials. The Autos get a lot of hate for sure. Check out the comments on THIS 1995 Toyota Supra Turbo There is a company in TX (I think) that buys Supras, does all the deferred maintenance, fixes and restores broken interior bits & seats, then resells. They will also manual swap the car for a price as well.

The funny thing about all these halo Japanese sports cars from the early - mid 90's (Supra, RX7, 300ZX, 3000 GT) is that for the most part they were driven hard, crashed, modified within an inch of their life. People changed the wheels, lowered the suspensions, installed giant spoilers, gaudy body kits, bigger turbos, and freer flowing exhausts. The ones that have been barely driven and kept in relatively stock form are worth a lot of money.

Guess which cars from that era were maybe not as sexy from a technology standpoint, but were lightweight, RWD, V8 powered, laughed at by the press and most import enthusiasts? Parts are easily available, the cars have been generally well cared and have low miles for because their owners only drove them on Sundays and used diapers to polish them. Late model C4s and C5 Corvettes are reasonably priced in today's market given their condition a miles as well as availability of the 6 Speed Manual Transmission. I dig the C5 Z06!

Here is a 2004 Corvette Z06 that is 9 years newer, has a 6-Speed Stick, less miles, and ends in 2 days just like the Supra I linked above.

The C5 Corvette is the best style wise IMO. Clean lines and understated.

nyccarguy

tifighter said:

The only one of the cars from that era that appeals to me is the original NSX. They’re not cheap, but still look like okay value next to a 993 from the same time.

I forgot about the NSX as it still is awesome! It was always more expensive than the others.

xwesx

oldfarmer50 said:

I have a poor memory, what happened to the used Hyundai?

Oh, he went up to Spokane and bought a Hyundai... whatever the model is up from the Elantra... with about 120,000 miles on it. They brought it home (about 200 miles), and then the next morning his son was going to take it to drive about an hour down the road. He got about thirty miles from home when the engine grenaded. $6K flushed straight down the toilet.

Apparently was related to some class action / recall on those engines, but his was just outside of the coverage age/miles/etc.

corvette

I didn't even post the other drama from last weekend. The Kia Boyz stole my best friend's car Friday night. She parks on the street and didn't realize it was gone until middle of the day Saturday. A neighbor's Ring caught two youths breaking into it close to 11:00 Friday night.



The police recovered it and she was able to pick it up Sunday. The towing yard charged her $250 for the privilege, despite the police department's website stating they don't charge storage fees if the car is picked up within 21 days of recovery.

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

I didn't even post the other drama from last weekend. The Kia Boyz stole my best friend's car Friday night. She parks on the street and didn't realize it was gone until middle of the day Saturday. A neighbor's Ring caught two youths breaking into it close to 11:00 Friday night.



The police recovered it and she was able to pick it up Sunday. The towing yard charged her $250 for the privilege, despite the police department's website stating they don't charge storage fees if the car is picked up within 21 days of recovery.

Didn’t she have the theft proofing done under recall from Kia? Or doesn’t that stop them either. I had the theft update done last year followed by an engine knock sensor upgrade and this year I have to go back because of some brake line rust issue.

At least they are trying to step up for customers.

Sounds like the tow yard is pulling a fast one. She should mention that to the cops.

corvette

No idea on whether the recall has been done.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

I didn't even post the other drama from last weekend. The Kia Boyz stole my best friend's car Friday night. She parks on the street and didn't realize it was gone until middle of the day Saturday. A neighbor's Ring caught two youths breaking into it close to 11:00 Friday night.



The police recovered it and she was able to pick it up Sunday. The towing yard charged her $250 for the privilege, despite the police department's website stating they don't charge storage fees if the car is picked up within 21 days of recovery.

What is a Yute?

explorerx4

It was 2 of them.

corvette

[in Southern drawl]: "The, uh, two what? ...what was that word?"

explorerx4

Silver wheels just won't work.

tjc78

I'm in the minority for sure.. but I like the silver wheels.

Is that the spare? Surprised it isn't black like the others.

explorerx4

@tjc78,
Yes, that's the spare. The silver wheel is $335 cheaper than the the black ones.
The wheel that is normally on there is getting repaired.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
The C5 Corvette is the best style wise IMO. Clean lines and understated.

I prefer the C6. I was never a fan of popup headlights.

qbrozen

As for 90s muscle, I always find myself drawn to the 300z TT. I know it is a porker but it commands a far far lower premium than the RX7 or Supra. Granted, if money was no object, I’d get an RX7.

xwesx

tjc78 said:

I'm in the minority for sure.. but I like the silver wheels.

Is that the spare? Surprised it isn't black like the others.

I also like the silver, but black is fine, too. I would take bronze over either of them.

tifighter

@qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:
The C5 Corvette is the best style wise IMO. Clean lines and understated.

I prefer the C6. I was never a fan of popup headlights.

+1

explorerx4

The NSX had popup headlights.
I always felt it was the Barbie version of a supercar.
We all have our own preferences.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

As for 90s muscle, I always find myself drawn to the 300z TT. I know it is a porker but it commands a far far lower premium than the RX7 or Supra. Granted, if money was no object, I’d get an RX7.

can you even fit in a last gen RX7? I seem to recall that they were very cramped for tall people.

corvette

I wanted to paint the steelies on my Maverick bronze, but I know the paint wouldn’t look as good as the factory finish.

explorerx4

My next door neightbor has gray wheels on his Tremor which I like.