Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

I imagine most of us have been through something similar to this.

A friend texted me yesterday to start discussing his next vehicle purchase. He’s looking for a three row SUV, and wants it to be certified, under 30,000 miles, and under $40,000. I start throwing out some suggestions, and he tells me he wants either an explorer or a Durango. He tells me he drove an explorer ST and really liked it.

I asked him if he is looking for a V8 Durango to compare it with. He says he doesn’t wanna deal with that gas mileage so the V6 would be OK. I explained that it won’t compare to the ST. He points out the ST had a four-cylinder. So now I am confused and I go to the website of the dealership he was at to find out it was actually an ST line, not a true ST so I explain that difference to him.

I then go on to find a certified grand Cherokee L and send that to him. He replies that he doesn’t trust Jeep… ummm… do you understand the Durango is the same thing? I’ll save you some time: if you don’t want the Jeep, then, by extension, you don’t want the Durango. So we are down to one choice.

I find him a couple of certified Explorers and send those along. Nope, he prefers the one he drove. So, that one is at a private dealer and therefore not certified. He asked me if certified is necessary. I point out that’s what he told me in the first message. so then he says, “well, This one still has some factory warranty so I think that’s OK.”

As you’ve guessed by now, in the end, after all of this back-and-forth, he simply wants to buy the one that he already drove and did not need Any input from me whatsoever. Sigh.

He wants your support not your advice.😊

kyfdx

Retail oil prices must be up..

Castrol synthetic for the GTI charged at $13.81 per quart. (six quarts)

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

Retail oil prices must be up..

Castrol synthetic for the GTI charged at $13.81 per quart. (six quarts)

————————————————
Man made chemicals must be up too. Just can seem to win no matter what.

jmonroe

andres3

qbrozen said:

I imagine most of us have been through something similar to this.

A friend texted me yesterday to start discussing his next vehicle purchase. He’s looking for a three row SUV, and wants it to be certified, under 30,000 miles, and under $40,000. I start throwing out some suggestions, and he tells me he wants either an explorer or a Durango. He tells me he drove an explorer ST and really liked it.

I asked him if he is looking for a V8 Durango to compare it with. He says he doesn’t wanna deal with that gas mileage so the V6 would be OK. I explained that it won’t compare to the ST. He points out the ST had a four-cylinder. So now I am confused and I go to the website of the dealership he was at to find out it was actually an ST line, not a true ST so I explain that difference to him.

I then go on to find a certified grand Cherokee L and send that to him. He replies that he doesn’t trust Jeep… ummm… do you understand the Durango is the same thing? I’ll save you some time: if you don’t want the Jeep, then, by extension, you don’t want the Durango. So we are down to one choice.

I find him a couple of certified Explorers and send those along. Nope, he prefers the one he drove. So, that one is at a private dealer and therefore not certified. He asked me if certified is necessary. I point out that’s what he told me in the first message. so then he says, “well, This one still has some factory warranty so I think that’s OK.”

As you’ve guessed by now, in the end, after all of this back-and-forth, he simply wants to buy the one that he already drove and did not need Any input from me whatsoever. Sigh.

To be fair, having 8 to 23 months of warranty left on the factory warranty is almost as good as a CPO. I shop a lot in the "just out of warranty" arena and it's a big question to ask when the first "in-service" month was so you know whether you have 1 month or 13 months of CPO /warranty left. In one case an M2 had negative months of CPO warranty as it was a few months beyond when a CPO should/could be sold. Not sure how that works. Perhaps the certification gets pulled, or perhaps they just extend you beyond for whatever amount of months they need to.

I feel comfy with 2 years 24K miles honestly.

andres3

breld said:

I've evolved over the years with my car purchase advice because of that situation happening over and over.

I'm happy to offer out advice and suggestions, but it tends to be more of a validation of what they are already looking at, 'cause that's what they really want. Even on pricing, if they're totally getting hosed, I may suggest they could do better, but more often than not, I'm more like, "if you like the car, that's the important thing."

Plus, I don't need to hear about someone being dissatisfied with a choice if it was my suggestion. That definitely applies to referring contractors and vendors to friends and family.

I wouldn't have sold my Neon to a friend or family member. I would have had no issue selling any of my Honda's or VW/Audi's to them. I know I offered my Accord to my BIL with a personal 1 year warranty just to try and move it.

qbrozen

Made a … semi punch? My kid’s friend’s dad sold me his Vespa. It is a ‘99 but only has 2700 miles. Needs the carb rebuilt so doesn’t fully run at the moment. Nice shape otherwise. It is a 200cc model so it can run highway speeds, not that I’d ever take it on the highway.

ab348

My neighbor up the street used to run the local Vespa store a few years back when they were the trendy thing to get. That faded, the place closed down, and he started fixing up the things in his garage. I think they have all vanished now as he isn’t doing any of that now, the street is not busy with them coming and going, and I never see them around town.

explorerx4

Battery powered 2 wheelers are all the rage now.

corvette

I would not have sold my 1999.5 Jetta VR6 to a friend or family member, despite having people ask me to let them know when I was ready to get rid of it. It called for oil changes every 10k miles, but not to worry about mechanic profitability, I was in the shop about every 3,000 miles to fix something that broke.

corvette

I thought I had posted this, but I got a letter today from Nissan that they received my funds and will send the title separately. Fingers crossed!

qbrozen

@explorerx4 said:
Battery powered 2 wheelers are all the rage now.

I kept an eye on those but, dang, good ones are quite pricey.

sda

corvette said:

I would not have sold my 1999.5 Jetta VR6 to a friend or family member, despite having people ask me to let them know when I was ready to get rid of it. It called for oil changes every 10k miles, but not to worry about mechanic profitability, I was in the shop about every 3,000 miles to fix something that broke.

corvette said:

I would not have sold my 1999.5 Jetta VR6 to a friend or family member, despite having people ask me to let them know when I was ready to get rid of it. It called for oil changes every 10k miles, but not to worry about mechanic profitability, I was in the shop about every 3,000 miles to fix something that broke.

corvette said:

I would not have sold my 1999.5 Jetta VR6 to a friend or family member, despite having people ask me to let them know when I was ready to get rid of it. It called for oil changes every 10k miles, but not to worry about mechanic profitability, I was in the shop about every 3,000 miles to fix something that broke.

I bought new a 2000 Jetta GLX VR-6 5sp. It was really nice, leather, real wood trim including the shift knob, memory seat, etc. I sold it to my SIL with about 10k on it. We were expecting our daughter and decided to downsize, including selling the house, so my wife could be an at home mom. That’s when we moved to our current house 21 years ago, which was meant to be for only 5 years or so. Ha. Anyhow, my SIL loved the Jetta. A few issues such as windows falling into the door because of defective regulators, but covered by VW. Around 80k it got the dreaded Emissions Workshop warning. She sold it to CarMax and bought a new 06 Acura TL which she later gave my daughter who drove it for over 5 years.

corvette

@sda - I had one window regulator failure before the extended warranty was announced. After that, they cut me a check for the cost of the repair, but they refused to replace the front window regulators (which were creaking and clicking) under warranty, since they hadn't yet "failed." The spark plug wires were not on the maintenance schedule, but wore out and needed to be replaced along with the spark plugs, which were due every 40k. They put two intake manifold changeover valves in mine under the powertrain warranty because it started to rattle like a pushrod engine. The automatic transmission had a bearing whine, and it also got replaced under the powertrain warranty. Lots of plastic trim parts which looked fancy turned out to be brittle and broke.

sda

The soft painted plastic trim did not hold up well. When new, it looked and felt upscale, but later, looked worn, tired and needed to be replaced. The steering wheel redundant buttons and radio buttons also didn’t wear well and prematurely aged the car.

corvette

@Sandman6472 - a couple of tips for the new MacBooks. Mine runs way longer than I need it to on a single charge, so I use a utility called AlDente to put a "hard stop" on charging at less than 100%. This is similar to the MacOS setting for "optimized battery charging," except the MacOS setting will eventually allow the battery to charge to 100%. In theory, this should preserve maximum battery capacity for a longer period of time.

Also, you can use a 70-ish watt (or greater) USB-C charger to charge the battery more quickly than the OE charger, which was 30 watts on mine. 70 watts didn't generate enough heat in the computer's body to cause me any concern for safety or battery longevity.

stickguy

I leave my laptop plugged in all the time. No clue what if anything it has done to the battery because it is almost never off the cord.

roadburner

corvette said:

Happens all the time. They've already made their mind up and just want validation.

My mother was the absolute worst about that. I finally came to the point where I flatly refused to give her advice about anything.

stickguy

I have had some "clients" that actually listened to what I recommended. But that is usually someone that really has no idea what the options really are and definitely no preconceived notions.

I figure everyone should buy what makes them happen (as long as they can afford it), but yeah, just don't waste a lot of my time pretending!

nyccarguy

@corvette & @sda

My sister had a 2000 Jetta GLS VR6 with the automatic transmission. Good lord the problems she had with that car. A faulty transmission that was needed to be replaced 3 weeks after she took delivery of the car. Limited parts availability and no loaners. She had coil packs that went bad, paid to replace them, then the replacements went bad. They wouldn’t warranty the replacement coil packs. Eventually after they recalled the parts, VW did reimburse her.

nyccarguy

Yes it is 12 years old and has over 140K miles on it, but looks like it has a full dealer service history and seems to be in fabulous condition. It also has BLIS and maybe a backup camera…

https://www.newcountrylexusofwestport.com/inventory/used-2013-lexus-rx-350-awd-4d-sport-utility-2t2bk1ba7dc208513/

stickguy

older with double the miles, but for the same price as the tC, a lot more substantial car. Lower MPG of course. but way more comfy. Maybe even with the finest Chinesium LingLong tires on it!

great carfax though. Always dealer serviced, and they did all the fluids at 100K 2 years ago. New tires and brakes all around. So assuming the underside is not all crusty (having lived in Mass and CT it's whole life) very good chance it is a good car. If you aren't planning to pile miles on it, go for it.

reminds me of the 3.2TL I got (other than being $10k more expensive!). Also had about 140K miles on it, but 1 owner, and always dealer serviced. On time and whatever they said it needed, it got. Kept it about 6 years and 30K miles and sold it for more than I paid for it. Only gave us any trouble the last year or so.

and yes it has BLIS and a BU camera.

corvette

I've not looked at a 3rd-gen Lexus RX up close. When I was nosing around for a cheap used car before my Maverick arrived, I was interested in a couple of 2nd-gens, but their interiors had held up about as well as a paper straw.

oldfarmer50

Too many miles for my tastes.

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

Made a … semi punch? My kid’s friend’s dad sold me his Vespa. It is a ‘99 but only has 2700 miles. Needs the carb rebuilt so doesn’t fully run at the moment. Nice shape otherwise. It is a 200cc model so it can run highway speeds, not that I’d ever take it on the highway.

I dig it. Nice little punch. I looked at those when I retired figuring I'd use it as a good weather run about. Bought an E Bike instead. Haven't used it recently given surgery recovery. But, once I'm "back in the saddle" I'll charge it up and jump on. Fun!

How many parts does that carb have? 3? Maybe 4?

stickguy

I “rebuilt” the carb in my Troy bilt push mower a few years ago. Which actually was replace it entirely because it was cheaper. But seemed to maybe have 1 replaceable part in it.

sda

@nyccarguy said:
@corvette & @sda

My sister had a 2000 Jetta GLS VR6 with the automatic transmission. Good lord the problems she had with that car. A faulty transmission that was needed to be replaced 3 weeks after she took delivery of the car. Limited parts availability and no loaners. She had coil packs that went bad, paid to replace them, then the replacements went bad. They wouldn’t warranty the replacement coil packs. Eventually after they recalled the parts, VW did reimburse her.

It's that type of negative experience that will sour one for a long time or permanently from a brand. My poor experience with my 06 Passat 2.0T did that to me. I stayed away from VW for over 10 years.

nyccarguy

sda said:

@nyccarguy said:
@corvette & @sda

My sister had a 2000 Jetta GLS VR6 with the automatic transmission. Good lord the problems she had with that car. A faulty transmission that was needed to be replaced 3 weeks after she took delivery of the car. Limited parts availability and no loaners. She had coil packs that went bad, paid to replace them, then the replacements went bad. They wouldn’t warranty the replacement coil packs. Eventually after they recalled the parts, VW did reimburse her.

It's that type of negative experience that will sour one for a long time or permanently from a brand. My poor experience with my 06 Passat 2.0T did that to me. I stayed away from VW for over 10 years.

You did circle back and have been happy with your Audi/VW vehicles over the past number of years. What made you take the leap of faith?

Sandman6472

Bought a new mouse yesterday and tried to install it today. A mid grade Logitech unit, not the lowest & not the best they had. Came to sync it but it only came with a usb-A doggle while my MacBook only has a couple of usb-c ones. Called up customer service and was told yes, the new one isn't compatible. Seems the old one was! Turned on the bluetooth and hit a small button on the bottom of the mouse and voila, it worked. No longer works on the old unit but think if needed, it could go back with bluetooth. Might see if I can find some cord to connect to the old one but really, no big deal. Probably just use it when we travel and leave the new one at home.
I hate tech because I'm just not good at it. Always need the kids help or customer service on things that turn out to be quite easy. But, I've always said, "Ya don't know what ya don't know"! Just glad we're up & running and simply amazed at how quick this M4 chip really is. It was a good time to purchase it and got it for a very good price in the dark color I really wanted.

Sandman6472

"utility called AlDente" where do I find this? Remember, I'm pretty tech "ignorant"!!! Using it now with no cord attached just to see how quickly it powers down. My old one was always plugged in until maybe the last year when I unplugged it more often to use it in other parts of the house.
Luckily I got the old mouse to work with the help of a Logitech employee in tech support. Saved a few bucks since Office Depot refunded the purchase price on the new unit I couldn't sync to the new Mac.

sda

@nyccarguy said:
You did circle back and have been happy with your Audi/VW vehicles over the past number of years. What made you take the leap of faith?

Our positive experience with the Q5. The 18 Passat has been solid as well and I am delighted with the Arteon. Unless things change I can see another Audi to eventually replace the Q5.

Sandman6472

With just under 1000 miles on the GTI, it's been a pleasure to drive. Sure, still not up on all the tech as I just keep things the way they are with the infotainment center. There are probably other screens I can see but hate to screw things up. Can't really talk about how good the mpg's are because it's driven on local roads 90% of the time. Finally got it on the highway a few times last month and it was a pleasure to drive. Still waiting to hear from the place that's supposed to put on door edge guards but so far, not an issue. Had it detailed last week and guy did a stellar job overall though he had to come right back to get a stain off, he said it was tree sap. Whatever, he got it off quickly and am glad as we've been having a mess load of rain lately.
No buyers remorse to speak of really so glad I finally pulled the trigger when I did. Since I hate any vehicular issues, was probably best to have done it when I did. Now we both have relatively new vehicles. Both have 18" Goodyear tires though mine are sport tires while hers are all season.

ab348

Sandman6472 said:

Bought a new mouse yesterday and tried to install it today. A mid grade Logitech unit, not the lowest & not the best they had. Came to sync it but it only came with a usb-A doggle while my MacBook only has a couple of usb-c ones. Called up customer service and was told yes, the new one isn't compatible. Seems the old one was! Turned on the bluetooth and hit a small button on the bottom of the mouse and voila, it worked. No longer works on the old unit but think if needed, it could go back with bluetooth. Might see if I can find some cord to connect to the old one but really, no big deal. Probably just use it when we travel and leave the new one at home.
I hate tech because I'm just not good at it. Always need the kids help or customer service on things that turn out to be quite easy. But, I've always said, "Ya don't know what ya don't know"! Just glad we're up & running and simply amazed at how quick this M4 chip really is. It was a good time to purchase it and got it for a very good price in the dark color I really wanted.

Possibly dumb question: if the old Mac has a USB-A port, wouldn’t the new mouse work with that? I’m kind of surprised Logitech is still selling USB A devices. I suppose you could also get an A to C adapter pretty cheaply.

I sympathize on the not being good at tech point. I used to be but it seems those days are gone forever. I don’t think I’m solely to blame though. Yesterday I was tinkering with my secondary laptop, a 2019 Dell that started with Windows 10 and got upgraded to 11 a year or so ago. I never liked that machine much for various reasons. I wanted something small to be a secondary PC I could use outside of my office area, but I find the screen too small and the keyboard and touchpad seems difficult sometimes too. Now I have the inscrutable Win11 layered on top of that. Whatever.

Because of the smaller screen, things like the mouse pointer and what MS calls the “text cursor” (the pair of side by side vertical lines you see when you’re trying to copy a block of text) were difficult to see clearly. I remembered that Windows allowed you to resize them but forgot how. Windows itself was no help but Google was. I get into the settings and start trying to change the size of that text cursor (I had been semi-successful with the mouse pointer). Every time I tried it took me to an Explorer downloads window with nothing showing. Who knows why, and that time Google offered nothing relevant. So it wasn’t getting changed. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t me doing anything wrong, just Windows being a PITA as it often is. Sometimes I’m amazed this stuff works at all.

nyccarguy

Sandman6472 said:

With just under 1000 miles on the GTI, it's been a pleasure to drive. Sure, still not up on all the tech as I just keep things the way they are with the infotainment center. There are probably other screens I can see but hate to screw things up. Can't really talk about how good the mpg's are because it's driven on local roads 90% of the time. Finally got it on the highway a few times last month and it was a pleasure to drive. Still waiting to hear from the place that's supposed to put on door edge guards but so far, not an issue. Had it detailed last week and guy did a stellar job overall though he had to come right back to get a stain off, he said it was tree sap. Whatever, he got it off quickly and am glad as we've been having a mess load of rain lately.
No buyers remorse to speak of really so glad I finally pulled the trigger when I did. Since I hate any vehicular issues, was probably best to have done it when I did. Now we both have relatively new vehicles. Both have 18" Goodyear tires though mine are sport tires while hers are all season.

I'm so glad you are happy with your GTI Sandy! Very cool car!

corvette

Sandy, here's a link to the utility I use:
https://apphousekitchen.com/

benjaminh

Well, heck. No one hurt, thank goodness. Other driver at fault. They went around a corner in their 2007 4Runner too fast on a two lane road, spun around and went out of control into our car's lane. The back of their 4100 pound truck-based Toyota SUV collided with the front of our Outback at around 25-30 mph or so (just a guess). Speed was the main factor, but I wonder about their tires.

My wife and I weren't actually in the car. For those who have understandably lost track of our story, we recently helped our next generation, who really liked our red Outback and sometimes borrowed it, to get a blue Outback. But our grown child gets migraines that were triggered by the new car smell, and so we had switched cars (telling insurance) for the next month or so.

Anyway, the other people were insured by Nationwide, which seems pretty good, but we've still taken a hit. Damage was about 19k, but to my surprise the car was totaled out today with a payout of $31,100. We paid $34k + TTL in June of 2024, and so that's more than we could have expected. But with tax and so on it was more like 37.5k out the door, and so we paid about $6500 to use the car for 1 year and 3 months.

Thought it was a car we might keep for ten years, but now it's already gone.

Currently we have a Jeep Cherokee rental provided by the insurance company.

Paperwork is detailed and is in process. We go get things notarized tomorrow, and then supposedly our bank loan gets paid off, and then we get a check for the remainder.

Sigh. So, I'm back in the chronic car buying line. But since my wife loved that Outback we'll almost certainly get another one, esp. considering the 0.9% financing.

andres3

sda said:

@nyccarguy said:

You did circle back and have been happy with your Audi/VW vehicles over the past number of years. What made you take the leap of faith?

Our positive experience with the Q5. The 18 Passat has been solid as well and I am delighted with the Arteon. Unless things change I can see another Audi to eventually replace the Q5.

Funny. My '06 A3 2.0T DSG experience is what made me an Audi enthusiast. It wasn't a perfect car, and it had a couple issues here and there, but Audi stepped up on an important one (AC compressor), took care of many of the small things (good dealer and came with "free" maintenance for 50K miles so no extra trips required). Main thing is it was a lot of car for the money! Quality was great. Fit and finish fantastic. Tech/engineering well ahead of its time (direct-injection, dual clutch). And to think I was considering a same year Rav 4 V6.

andres3

benjaminh said:

Well, heck. No one hurt, thank goodness. Other driver at fault. They went around a corner in their 2007 4Runner too fast on a two lane road, spun around and went out of control into our cars's lane. The back of their 4100 pound truck-based Toyota SUV collided with the front of our Outback at around 25-30 mph or so (just a guess). Speed was the main factor, but I wonder about their tires.

My wife and I weren't actually in the car. For those who have understandably lost track of our story, we recently helped our next generation, who really liked our red Outback and sometimes borrowed it, to get a blue Outback. But our grown child has migraines that were triggered by the new car smell, and so we had switched cars (telling insurance) for the next month or so.

Anyway, the other people were insured by Nationwide, which seems pretty good, but we've still taken a hit. Damage was about 19k, but to my surprise the car was totaled out today with a payout of $31,100. We paid $34k + TTL in June of 2024, and so that's more than we could have expected. But with tax and so on it was more like 37.5k out the door, and so we paid about $6500 to use the car for 1 year and 3 months.

Thought it was a car we might keep for ten years, but now it's already gone.

Currently we have a Jeep Cherokee rental provided by the insurance company.

Paperwork is detailed and is in process. We go get things notarized tomorrow, and then supposedly our bank loan gets paid off, and then we get a check for the remainder.

Sigh. So, I'm back in the chronic car buying line. But since my wife loved that Outback we'll almost certainly get another one, esp. considering the 0.9% financing.

Glad everyone is OK. Speed isn't really the factor, it's going too fast for conditions, or unsafe excessive speed, which has zero to do with speed/speeding as normally defined by most people and institutions. This is called a driver error (mental/physical) shortcomings.

explorerx4

@benjaninh,
Glad nobody was hurt, especially your daughter.
Maybe you should into a DV claim, 31K seems a bit light if it includes taxes.
Don't know the trim and miles on the car.

breld

@benjaminh - wow…that’s quite a scary experience. Glad everyone was okay and secondarily, that the insurance company has responded reasonably.

benjaminh

The MySubaru link system worked well. Several seconds after the airbags went off, an employee of Subaru was heard from the speaker in the car saying something like, "We've been alerted that your car's airbags have deployed, and we are calling emergency services to your location. Are you okay?" Our grown child replied something along the lines of, yeah I seem to be ok, but it's smoky in here (from the airbag propellant) and so I'm getting out of the car.

Then Subaru called me, since I'm officially the owner of the car and they had my number. My wife and I were in bed enjoying our morning cup of coffee. The Subaru person said something like, "The airbags have deployed on your 2024 Subaru. We are calling emergency services to that location." I said oh, no just as my wife showed me on the phone the photo seen above, which was quickly taken and quickly sent.

benjaminh

Side airbags were helpful. Person in the passenger seat would have been thrown against the window or B-pillar by the way the impact went, but the side airbag cushioned the blow. Wasn't a high speed accident, but both walked away. Although, it's also true the the driver of the 4Runner walked away. But it was the back of her car that collided with the front of ours. Anyway...

suydam

benjaminh said:

Well, heck. No one hurt, thank goodness. Other driver at fault. They went around a corner in their 2007 4Runner too fast on a two lane road, spun around and went out of control into our car's lane. The back of their 4100 pound truck-based Toyota SUV collided with the front of our Outback at around 25-30 mph or so (just a guess). Speed was the main factor, but I wonder about their tires.

My wife and I weren't actually in the car. For those who have understandably lost track of our story, we recently helped our next generation, who really liked our red Outback and sometimes borrowed it, to get a blue Outback. But our grown child has migraines that were triggered by the new car smell, and so we had switched cars (telling insurance) for the next month or so.

Anyway, the other people were insured by Nationwide, which seems pretty good, but we've still taken a hit. Damage was about 19k, but to my surprise the car was totaled out today with a payout of $31,100. We paid $34k + TTL in June of 2024, and so that's more than we could have expected. But with tax and so on it was more like 37.5k out the door, and so we paid about $6500 to use the car for 1 year and 3 months.

Thought it was a car we might keep for ten years, but now it's already gone.

Currently we have a Jeep Cherokee rental provided by the insurance company.

Paperwork is detailed and is in process. We go get things notarized tomorrow, and then supposedly our bank loan gets paid off, and then we get a check for the remainder.

Sigh. So, I'm back in the chronic car buying line. But since my wife loved that Outback we'll almost certainly get another one, esp. considering the 0.9% financing.

Ouch. That must have been a terrifying few minutes for everyone. I can’t imagine being the parent who got that call! So glad everyone’s okay.

benjaminh

Here's what the back of a 2007 4Runner looks like. Imagine this coming at you at 30 mph....

andres3

I reviewed the Golf GTI vs. the R at the SoCal Euro show in San Diego last weekend. The R has a lot of interior flair that makes it a better interior, but of course, that comes with a larger price tag.

The Tiguan was a standout, I like the color and the interior design (even more so as compared to the Taos and Atlas that seem to spend less time on interior design and cost).

nyccarguy

@benjaminh - your outback took some hit! That must have been terrifying for you and your wife. I’m glad your daughter is ok.

Michaell

@benjaminh - glad that everyone is ok, and that the Subaru did exactly what it was engineered to do in an accident.

Good luck with the search for a new one ... had this happened 6 months from now, there may not have been any new stock to choose from, just the ungainly 2026 model.

@andres3 - haven't seen any of the new Tiguans on the road, but that does look sharp. Same engine/transmission combo as before? Drove an Atlas a year or so back and was thoroughly unimpressed with the interior materials.

xwesx

Very sorry about your Outback, @benjaminh ! But... gives you a great reason to get back out there and hunt another one! I mean, if any of us need an excuse.

I am not sure if these work as well on smells like "new car" as they do for other interior odors, but you might try giving the new Outback a few days with an ozone machine running in there with it all closed up. Air it out well afterward to disburse the ozone and see what she thinks!

corvette

@benjaminh - glad everyone is okay! I think it's a secondary blessing that they totaled the Outback.

If it were still functioning, I think a 2007 4Runner would have had factory ESP... I've never managed to spin out a car with ESP enabled, despite doing some very questionable things, so that driver may be extra-special, and not in the good way.

roadburner

benjaminh said:

Well, heck. No one hurt, thank goodness. Other driver at fault. They went around a corner in their 2007 4Runner too fast on a two lane road, spun around and went out of control into our car's lane. The back of their 4100 pound truck-based Toyota SUV collided with the front of our Outback at around 25-30 mph or so (just a guess). Speed was the main factor, but I wonder about their tires.

My wife and I weren't actually in the car. For those who have understandably lost track of our story, we recently helped our next generation, who really liked our red Outback and sometimes borrowed it, to get a blue Outback. But our grown child gets migraines that were triggered by the new car smell, and so we had switched cars (telling insurance) for the next month or so.

Anyway, the other people were insured by Nationwide, which seems pretty good, but we've still taken a hit. Damage was about 19k, but to my surprise the car was totaled out today with a payout of $31,100. We paid $34k + TTL in June of 2024, and so that's more than we could have expected. But with tax and so on it was more like 37.5k out the door, and so we paid about $6500 to use the car for 1 year and 3 months.

Thought it was a car we might keep for ten years, but now it's already gone.

Currently we have a Jeep Cherokee rental provided by the insurance company.

Paperwork is detailed and is in process. We go get things notarized tomorrow, and then supposedly our bank loan gets paid off, and then we get a check for the remainder.

Sigh. So, I'm back in the chronic car buying line. But since my wife loved that Outback we'll almost certainly get another one, esp. considering the 0.9% financing.

I hate idiots.

benjaminh

Since there are at least a couple of people from Louisville here, just in case you're curious here's where the accident happened, at this curve on Lexington Rd. So that red brick wall in the photo of the wrecked Outback is for Cave Hill.

They saw it happening. 4Runner started skidding, then driver seemed to overcorrect, and suddenly the car was spinning 360s right toward them. I think posted speed there is maybe 35? It's not that sharp a curve, and so to start skidding a car might need to be going 50+? Idk. Road was a little bit damp.