Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

corvette

Similarly, I don't run on trails, but really like "trail running" shoes, because they're grippy for hiking, but also light, and you can wear them every day.

Michaell

Now my nephew has found another Accord Hybrid Sport, in his preferred color combo of white over black, for $26,444 from a Mazda dealership that is closer.

The only difference between this one and the first one is that the first one is CPO.

kyfdx

corvette said:

Similarly, I don't run on trails, but really like "trail running" shoes, because they're grippy for hiking, but also light, and you can wear them every day.

Big toe box on the trail runners, as well

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

laurasdada said:

I'm in a contest to win one of those (the BMW Corolla, per above). What to do with it when I win?

I've entered several raffles for new BMWs; should I win one it will be immediately sold or traded for something that I'd actually want.

You could also donate it to some less well off poster buddy so that he could get the feel of the road.😊

oldfarmer50

corvette said:

@oldfarmer50 - I've liked the Brooks shoes I've had (Uncle Warren encourages stockholders to spend money at the company store, and they own Brooks). Merrill are also really good.

Would I need to cash in my shares in Berkshire to afford them? (Assuming I could afford a share).

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Now my nephew has found another Accord Hybrid Sport, in his preferred color combo of white over black, for $26,444 from a Mazda dealership that is closer.

The only difference between this one and the first one is that the first one is CPO.

CPO is only as good as the dealer offering it IMO. I’ve heard horror stories about people buying CPOed cars only to find problems that would have been apparent if someone had bothered to even look at the cars which the dealer did not prior to sale.

Unless there are substantial warranty extensions involved I would spend the money on a good PPI instead.

Sandman6472

I also prefer the silver wheels, not a fan of black. I really wanted to swap out the alloys on the new GTI for the "S" GTI wheels as thought they looked nicer. But they had no "S" GTI's in stock, so didn't bother asking. On my '15 Golf, swapped out the stock wheels for the Jetta "SEL" ones but took a month to get the right ones. And as I recall, management was not very happy even though I was thrilled. But figured, if ya don't ask...ya don't get!
The current alloys on the GTI are nice enough with more black then silver, but enough silver that I'm living with them. One thing I will change when the time comes is the tire size. I'm sure there's enough room in the wheel well to go up to a 45" sidewall tire in the same 225 I've got now. Even though I have 18" wheels now, don't think that'll be an issue. Prefer the smoother ride of a 45" sidewall to the 40" I'm dealing with now.

Sandman6472

Well, as of Monday, have just over 600 miles on the new GTI. Had to take our son to Ft. Lauderdale airport for his flight home to Chicago, so took the turnpike down to FLL. Sure is a peppy thing and on the way home, I let it spread it's wings a bit. Got up to speed in no time and at one point, hit almost 90. But got spooked when I saw a cop on the southbound side so slowed it back down. The 2.0 liter engine has plenty of power which put a smile on my big face!
I'm still getting used to the pushbutton start and the super small console shifter. A few extra motions compared to turning a key. And turning on the a/c and sound system means using my fingers on the center iPad like info center. They made it larger & more intuitive for 2025, the reason I waited actually, but one must use one's finger to work things. No more buttons or knobs, things I prefer. But, just have to learn a different way to do things. The best thing is I can manually open/close the side view mirrors, a G-d send! I've only driven in the garage once without putting them in the upright position and was lucky no damage was done. Haven't done that once since and plan not to. Just so glad I have the option to do it manually. They close up once the vehicle is turned off.
But overall, am very pleased that I finally pulled the trigger after talking about it for so loonnngggg!!! It was a running joke at work & I know folks in here got tired of me talking about it. Was money well spent!

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

Gimme a 'vette or a Mustang any day of the week vs the JDL counterparts. Most 'vettes are or have been owned by "geez.....er....mature drivers". As such, they aren't ratted out and generally well cared for.

Exactly why pristine examples of the Supra, 300ZX, 3000GT, etc go for so much money... they were heavily modified by the owners at the time.

Admittedly, I don't live in CA or NY. But, I've yet to see a vintage Supra or Datsun Z that isn't ratted out or stupidly modded around here. Pristine Corvettes? They are everywhere....regardless of model or year. Maybe because I live so close to the Corvette plant (4 hour drive). But, I can't even remember the last time I saw a ratted Corvette around here. They are always well cared for.

That said, I really like the job "Sarah N Tuned" did on the Datsun Z she's giving away. And, I wish I had my copper and gold 280Z still. More of a cruiser than a sport car, but I had me some big fun in that car.

stickguy

Her z really is cool.

imidazol97

Sandman6472 said:

The best thing is I can manually open/close the side view mirrors, a G-d send! I've only driven in the garage once without putting them in the upright position and was lucky no damage was done. Haven't done that once since and plan not to. Just so glad I have the option to do it manually. They close up once the vehicle is turned off.

That's a feature I'd like on my next car.

Glad you're happy with your new GTI.

stickguy

Power folding mirrors is a nice feature. I’ve never had a car with them.

sda

The Q5 and Arteon have them. With our two single wide garage doors, that feature is a huge plus.

au1994

stickguy said:

Power folding mirrors is a nice feature. I’ve never had a car with them.

I've had just a few and it is really handy. Unfortunately the JGC isn't one of them and it would be handy in our garage. I think you have to go to the Overland trim to get that.

tjc78

I couldn’t imagine my truck without the power fold mirrors … have to retract them quite often especially down the shore

corvette

@oldfarmer50 said:
Would I need to cash in my shares in Berkshire to afford them? (Assuming I could afford a share).

They seem to be on par with Nikes, etc., in terms of pricing.

corvette

I appreciate Sarah -n- Tuned’s builds and her attention to detail, but I can’t bring myself to watch dozens of videos of a single build unless I’m really into the car. The Celica and the Z didn’t do it for me, but I’ll be watching all of the CRX videos because my dad also owned a black 1990 Si.

stickguy

the Si was something I really wanted back in the day. Though when these came out, a 2 seater was not an option. I did have an earlier gen (I think the one before this, but possibly this one) Civic S version (pre-FI, talk about an antique!)

suydam

Sandman6472 said:

Well, as of Monday, have just over 600 miles on the new GTI. Had to take our son to Ft. Lauderdale airport for his flight home to Chicago, so took the turnpike down to FLL. Sure is a peppy thing and on the way home, I let it spread it's wings a bit. Got up to speed in no time and at one point, hit almost 90. But got spooked when I saw a cop on the southbound side so slowed it back down. The 2.0 liter engine has plenty of power which put a smile on my big face!
I'm still getting used to the pushbutton start and the super small console shifter. A few extra motions compared to turning a key. And turning on the a/c and sound system means using my fingers on the center iPad like info center. They made it larger & more intuitive for 2025, the reason I waited actually, but one must use one's finger to work things. No more buttons or knobs, things I prefer. But, just have to learn a different way to do things. The best thing is I can manually open/close the side view mirrors, a G-d send! I've only driven in the garage once without putting them in the upright position and was lucky no damage was done. Haven't done that once since and plan not to. Just so glad I have the option to do it manually. They close up once the vehicle is turned off.
But overall, am very pleased that I finally pulled the trigger after talking about it for so loonnngggg!!! It was a running joke at work & I know folks in here got tired of me talking about it. Was money well spent!

The Blazer has a huge center screen with big buttons too, but I still like letting Google assistant turn the fan speed down or change the Sirius station. Never have to take my eyes off the road. Power folding mirrors are great too.

xwesx

Sandman6472 said:

Well, as of Monday, have just over 600 miles on the new GTI. Had to take our son to Ft. Lauderdale airport for his flight home to Chicago, so took the turnpike down to FLL. Sure is a peppy thing and on the way home, I let it spread it's wings a bit. Got up to speed in no time and at one point, hit almost 90. But got spooked when I saw a cop on the southbound side so slowed it back down.

Speaking of that, I was on I90 yesterday with my pickup, just strolling along at about 73... There was a semi on my left, slowly looking to pass me, and then two more come barreling down the on-ramp to my right. Well, I didn't change speed at all, but I guess the lead truck on the ramp decided that might is right, so he just started coming over into my vehicle while the second truck down the ramp was nosing the guy's trailer.

It was 'nope' time, so I goosed the throttle and scooted to the left lane ahead of the passing truck, around the "merging" truck, and out away from the whole mess. A second or two later, I glanced at my speedometer as I let off the accelerator. Well, the speedometer only reads to 100....

laurasdada

The A7 has automatically folding side mirrors, which you can also press a button to fold at will. The M340 is power folding, but egad, one must press a button to do so. Gauche.

corvette

The Ariya folds its mirrors when it's locked, and unfolds them when you power it up. You can press a button to fold them in the car wash or other tight areas. The ones on the Maverick are manual folding.

stickguy

I would like a power fold option but would never want them to do it every time I turned the car on or off. Same with the silliness of the seat powering back when you turn the car off. Hate that. The Acura does it but thankfully you can turn it off. Though I never did for my wife's key but it does not bother her.

roadburner

The C43 gives you the option of folding the mirrors in when you lock the car, otherwise you do it with a switch on the door.

xwesx

Yeah, my brother is pretty fanatical about the folding mirrors bit. I do it when it seems practical, but if I don't need them folded, they don't get folded. Of all of my vehicles, I feel like my pickup (F250) is the only one that both needs it somewhat regularly and has an easy power-fold option.

fintail

I think all USDM MBs have had power folding mirrors since the 2015 model year. Virtually all other markets had them earlier for some reason. I manually choose when I fold mine in, I figure that way the motors work less (no need to fold them in my garage).

corvette

The Kentucky folks will understand...

benjaminh

corvette: Thanks for letting us know. That's going to be a mess. Using that part of 65 is my usual route to work, but these days I often work remote. Anyway, I'll get by with surface streets. Here's from the story in the local paper...

"Interstate 65 between downtown Louisville, I-264 to close for $150M bridge replacement work
Leo Bertucci
Louisville Courier Journal, August 27, 2025

...The I-65 closure from Jefferson Street to Interstate 264 is anticipated to begin in June 2026 "for accelerated construction that will save at least a year to construct these bridges," a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesperson said in a statement. Traffic from I-65 will be detoured onto westbound I-264 and westbound Interstate 64 through at least July 2026...

The bridges, officials said, are more than 60 years old and are rated in poor condition..."

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2025/08/27/louisville-interstate-65-closure-2026-150-million-bridge-replacements-expected/85849252007/


PS corvette: By the way, have you ever been on Shippingport Island? Since you like to take walks and hikes, you can actually walk on the sandy "beach" by the Ohio River there in an obscure park that not many know about. Nice views of Sand Island and tiny Lewis and Clark Island as well. Going over the Army Corps of Engineers' bridge to Shippingport is kinda fun. I don't think many know that bridge is even open for the public to drive over (and sometimes they do close it down for whatever reasons), and in any case it's a bit tricky to get to. Follow the sign to Lannan Memorial Park, but then go straight under the railroad overpass instead of taking the right turn that leads to Lannan Park. Also has good views of the hydroelectric dam/generating plant. If you look at maps of Louisville from the mid-19th century people used to live on Shippingport, but when the dam was built most of the streets and all the houses there were removed. What's weird is that the Shippingport Island Park isn't even on google maps. But it's there and has been for decades. At least it was still there about a year ago, which is the last time I went. There's a small parking lot, and then wooden steps leading down to the beach. In all of my explorations of Louisville it's the most obscure and difficult to find of all of the official parks, esp. bc it isn't even on maps. I discovered it by accident by just driving there, when I found out that the Army Corps bridge was open to the public most of the time.

andres3

xwesx said:

Sandman6472 said:

Well, as of Monday, have just over 600 miles on the new GTI. Had to take our son to Ft. Lauderdale airport for his flight home to Chicago, so took the turnpike down to FLL. Sure is a peppy thing and on the way home, I let it spread it's wings a bit. Got up to speed in no time and at one point, hit almost 90. But got spooked when I saw a cop on the southbound side so slowed it back down.

Speaking of that, I was on I90 yesterday with my pickup, just strolling along at about 73... There was a semi on my left, slowly looking to pass me, and then two more come barreling down the on-ramp to my right. Well, I didn't change speed at all, but I guess the lead truck on the ramp decided that might is right, so he just started coming over into my vehicle while the second truck down the ramp was nosing the guy's trailer.

It was 'nope' time, so I goosed the throttle and scooted to the left lane ahead of the passing truck, around the "merging" truck, and out away from the whole mess. A second or two later, I glanced at my speedometer as I let off the accelerator. Well, the speedometer only reads to 100....

But the Earth is Flat and Speed Kills! If you just drive the speed limit nothing bad can happen to you

corvette

@benjaminh - I'm fully remote, so it won't affect me as much as others. Will make getting to the Speed Museum[1] tricky (I'm a member and try to go when they open new exhibitions).

I've heard of Shippingport Island and it's been on my radar for a while, but I've heard conflicting accounts about whether it's open or closed, which parts you can go to, etc., so I never tried to go there, but I might now! Thanks for the info.

[1] For everyone else here, it's less topical than the name implies, it's our local art museum affiliated with UofL.

Michaell

Shopping update!

Nephew is still a bit undecided about the white or black accord. White is non-CPO but the priced dropped to $26k. Black is CPO and is priced at $27.1k

Family is split - his brothers like the white but his dad likes the black.

I think he’s going to the Mazda dealer first to look at the white one. Told him to threaten to go to the other dealer if he’s not getting what he thinks is fair.

explorerx4

Is the black Honda a Honda CPO or dealer CPO?

benjaminh

corvette said:

...I've heard of Shippingport Island and it's been on my radar for a while, but I've heard conflicting accounts about whether it's open or closed, which parts you can go to, etc., so I never tried to go there, but I might now! Thanks for the info.

So on this detail map you see part of Shippingport Island, and part of Sand Island. As you've heard, most of Shippingport Island is closed to the public. On this detail Shippingport Dr. is behind a gate and a big fence, and that whole long strip of the Island (mostly not shown on this detail) is off limits to the public. But Northwest of Shippingport Dr., off of N 27th St., you see on this map a little curved road that's a dead end. That's where the parking lot for the park is located. Only has room for maybe a half a dozen cars or so? Not sure. When I've been there usually there have been only one or two cars, I think probably for people who fish in the Ohio there at this almost secret park. There's an old official Louisville Parks sign there though. The wooden steps are right off of the parking lot, and take you down to a pretty nice beach. It's the best public park beach in all of Louisville as far as I've been able to find, and maybe even better because almost no one knows about it. When I took one of our grown children there a year ago they found it kind of amazing, both because it's really nice, and bc it's so weird getting there. There is a gate at the Army Corps bridge, but it's almost always open, and usually there's no one in the tiny gatehouse. Maybe whether you can go on Shippingport Island is up to the Army Corps of Engineers? There's a sign there that states this is an Army Corp of Engineers bridge or something, but it doesn't say it is off limits to the public. There's a nearby mini-museum about the dam and history of the island, but I haven't been to it. Anyway, from what I've found the bridge seems to be open to drive across. If for some reason it's closed, nearby Lannan Park is also nice, and has access to the Louisville Loop paved bike and walking path, which is fun to ride or walk on from there. As I've mentioned, I keep my folding bike in my trunk, and I've gone riding there many times, even though part of the Louisville Loop near the river a mile or two away is completely overgrown and can't really safely be used in my opinion.


PS The bridge from my point of view is scenic and nicely designed. It also has a sidewalk on one side for pedestrians. Just a guess, but I wonder if because the city and/or state maybe fund the maintenance of some of the roads leading to or on Shippingport Island that there needs to be minimal public access? I don't know. But it seems like the Army Corps perhaps doesn't want to encourage public access, and maybe requested that Google remove that park from their map so that almost no one would know it exists? Just speculation on my part.

xwesx

andres3 said:

But the Earth is Flat and Speed Kills! If you just drive the speed limit nothing bad can happen to you

Haha! Well, I'm a big fan of "driving the speed limit" in most situations, as I generally find that number to be reasonable for the area. My "rule" is within 5 mph or 10%, whichever is less. However, I am also a fan of being attentive and adjusting speed to the situation as well as using all options for evading a potential conflict (brake, swerve, accelerate). So, whether I'm driving 40 or 80, there's probably a real good reason for it!

In that particular situation (with the F250 on Wednesday), I definitely popped north of 100 for a brief moment, but I just hit the cruise and settled back to 73 as soon as I was clear of the danger. I hadn't done a legitimate evasion in that truck before, and boy, oh boy, can it scoot! I surely added 50% to my cruising speed in only a couple seconds. My wife only had time to say, "whoa!," before I was already decelerating.

stickguy

the Accords are new enough to still be under at least powertrain portion of the warranty? If so, less of a worry to me about the CPO if there is a significant price differential. And I did not realize until now that there are different levels of Honda official CPO. The good one (True Certified) that has extra warranty years, and the cheap one (True Used) that is very short coverage. So really needs to be sure on what the dealer is offering (and that it is actual Honda manufacture coverage)

andres3

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

But the Earth is Flat and Speed Kills! If you just drive the speed limit nothing bad can happen to you

Haha! Well, I'm a big fan of "driving the speed limit" in most situations, as I generally find that number to be reasonable for the area. My "rule" is within 5 mph or 10%, whichever is less. However, I am also a fan of being attentive and adjusting speed to the situation as well as using all options for evading a potential conflict (brake, swerve, accelerate). So, whether I'm driving 40 or 80, there's probably a real good reason for it!

In that particular situation (with the F250 on Wednesday), I definitely popped north of 100 for a brief moment, but I just hit the cruise and settled back to 73 as soon as I was clear of the danger. I hadn't done a legitimate evasion in that truck before, and boy, oh boy, can it scoot! I surely added 50% to my cruising speed in only a couple seconds. My wife only had time to say, "whoa!," before I was already decelerating.

I could find you many speed limits that will challenge your notions and rules within 50 miles of me. At least one of which will have you making a bit of an effort to stay near the speed limit, let alone exceed it by 5 MPH or 10%, which in this case is almost the same 10% being 5.5 MPH. I often find vehicles like large pickups going 10 to 15 under on it.

And then there's several examples of 4 lane divided arterials with bike lanes making it really 6 lanes wide (3 each way) with sidewalks to boot with 35 MPH speed limits.

Michaell

The white has curb rash on every wheel and a tear in the back seat. They took a pass and are heading to look at the black one.

I think this is a Honda CPO