Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

oldfarmer50 · February 11

graphicguy said:

suydam said:

tjc78 said:
My Mom has a current gen CX-50. It’s one of the middle trims with the base engine.

I don’t get the hate. The infotainment works fine. She does note occasionally the wireless CarPlay acts up…. But it does in both my Ram and Mercedes too.

Power is decent, it’s comfortable even for a porker like me and it hasn’t had any issues.

Having said all that … my Mom has said she preferred her RAV’s and the Murano over it. Quite frankly with as many Yotas as she has had over the years nothing measures up even if it’s familiarity over anything else. I’m really hoping for a decent lease on a RAV for her when it goes back… if not I may suggest she buy a RAV instead of lease so she is 100% happy.

RAVs are selling now for way moor than the competition. She’ll get more bang for her buck with a Hyundai or Kia.
I'm not sure what's going on with Toyota these days. The stock levels of new cars reminds me of Pandemic days.

Anyway, CR-V can be had around these parts for a pretty nice discount ($2,500 off MSRP, at least)!

Test drove one. Nice piece for a mid sized CUV. Certainly more refined than the RAV4.

Could Toyota be reviving the strategy of the days of import restrictions and limiting supply so they don’t have to negotiate? Seems like Honda is going that way too. I suppose I could bite the bullet and pay sticker if I really wanted one but useless dealer options, ADMs and felonious doc fees would kill the deal for me.

oldfarmer50 · February 11

nyccarguy said:
So my best friend is also shockingly a Chronic Car Buyer. His current fleet consists of a '24 Genesis G70 with the 6cyl turbo, a 2017 Lexus LX 570 that he bought CPO in 2020ish, a 2017 JK Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock (6MT), a 2005 LJ Wrangler (5MT), & his son's 2021ish Toyota Tacoma SR Access Cab - 4cyl. He spends a lot of time looking. The other day he found a Jeep dealer near him with hundreds of Wranglers & Gladiators literally piling up. So he decided to take a ride. The one thing that caught his eye was that this dealer has a few brand new 2023 Gladiator Sport S with an MSRP of $50K+ being advertised for $29,999 plus TTL. He drove the gladiator and liked it. Then he started asking the salesman questions. Their policy is to only sell vehicles at MSRP + $7,500 worth of mandatory add on accessories and fees (Spray On Bedliner, $1,500 doc fee...). Now the 2023s were punched as sold a while ago and only have a little less than a year & a half left on their warranty.

Now interestingly enough they have brand new, 2025 Gladiators with lower MSRPs. Low $40Kish. Selling at sticker with 0% financing.

The manager agreed to take off the $7,500 worth of extra BS. Obviously I don't think a Gladiator is worth it at MSRP. I don't even think the heavily discounted 2023 is worth it.

Am I understanding this right, they advertise for $29,999 but then insist on sticker plus $7500? That not only doesn’t make sense but seems downright illegal.

explorerx4 · February 11

@nyccarguy,
Tell you friend to run away!
Heres a link to a dealer with Gladiator's local to me.
https://www.spitzerchryslerdodgejeepram.com/new-vehicles/gladiator/

stickguy · February 11

@graphicguy said:
I'm not sure what's going on with Toyota these days. The stock levels of new cars reminds me of Pandemic days.

Anyway, CR-V can be had around these parts for a pretty nice discount ($2,500 off MSRP, at least)!

Test drove one. Nice piece for a mid sized CUV. Certainly more refined than the RAV4.

My DIL bought a sport hybrid CRV last year. It’s very nice to ride in and she loves it.

stickguy · February 11

@oldfarmer50 said:
Am I understanding this right, they advertise for $29,999 but then insist on sticker plus $7500? That not only doesn’t make sense but seems downright illegal.

Sounds like the 23 is technically a used car so excluded from the new car policy. Said policy explaining all the stale inventory!

jmonroe1 · February 11

nyccarguy said:
So my best friend is also shockingly a Chronic Car Buyer. His current fleet consists of a '24 Genesis G70 with the 6cyl turbo, a 2017 Lexus LX 570 that he bought CPO in 2020ish, a 2017 JK Wrangler Rubicon Hard Rock (6MT), a 2005 LJ Wrangler (5MT), & his son's 2021ish Toyota Tacoma SR Access Cab - 4cyl. He spends a lot of time looking. The other day he found a Jeep dealer near him with hundreds of Wranglers & Gladiators literally piling up. So he decided to take a ride. The one thing that caught his eye was that this dealer has a few brand new 2023 Gladiator Sport S with an MSRP of $50K+ being advertised for $29,999 plus TTL. He drove the gladiator and liked it. Then he started asking the salesman questions. Their policy is to only sell vehicles at MSRP + $7,500 worth of mandatory add on accessories and fees (Spray On Bedliner, $1,500 doc fee...). Now the 2023s were punched as sold a while ago and only have a little less than a year & a half left on their warranty.

Now interestingly enough they have brand new, 2025 Gladiators with lower MSRPs. Low $40Kish. Selling at sticker with 0% financing.

The manager agreed to take off the $7,500 worth of extra BS. Obviously I don't think a Gladiator is worth it at MSRP. I don't even think the heavily discounted 2023 is worth it.

————————————————
I believe the old line in car sales is- “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.

jmonroe

tjc78 · February 11

I’ve never paid sticker price nor accepted any ADM or tacked on BS. Don’t see that ever changing unless all dealers go to fixed pricing

oldfarmer50 · February 11

For qbrozen.

https://youtu.be/dOinSfy_0U8?si=iWnHPEHKJW8zcQMI

jmonroe1 · February 11

oldfarmer50 said:
For qbrozen.

https://youtu.be/dOinSfy_0U8?si=iWnHPEHKJW8zcQMI

————————————————
Easy peasy. Just the right amount of smoke and no grapes.

jmonroe

greg1288 · February 11

Apparently the Rav-4 has taken the best selling title from Ford F150 in 2024. The Toyota outsold it by approx 14,000 units with 475K sold.

sda · February 11

greg1288 said:
Apparently the Rav-4 has taken the best selling title from Ford F150 in 2024. The Toyota outsold it by approx 14,000 units with 475K sold.

Wow, earthquake

explorerx4 · February 11

There has been a shift. The F-150 got expensive so the sales shifted towards the HD models(F-250, F-350, etc...)

stickguy · February 11

For a comparable price the 250 makes sense. Stronger as a truck and the same footprint. So why not?

Wonder if some of the sales flowed down to the mid sized models. Still plenty of truck abilities for a lot of buyers.

qbrozen · February 11

@oldfarmer50 said:
For qbrozen.

https://youtu.be/dOinSfy_0U8?si=iWnHPEHKJW8zcQMI

Dang. Thought he was planning on “fixing” it with wood.

jmonroe1 · February 11

qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

For qbrozen.

https://youtu.be/dOinSfy_0U8?si=iWnHPEHKJW8zcQMI

Dang. Thought he was planning on “fixing” it with wood.

————————————————
Nah, just an interweb trick.

jmonroe

corvette · February 11

oldfarmer50 said:
Does anyone find it ironic that a story about obtrusive ads is on a page that is 50% covered by various advertisements?

Didn't notice... I run uBlock Origin.

corvette · February 11

@graphicguy - I've always felt that Honda's engines tended to feel more refined in NVH terms, compared to Toyota's.

corvette · February 11

stickguy said:
For a comparable price the 250 makes sense. Stronger as a truck and the same footprint. So why not?

The dimensions and maneuverability are a bit worse, IIRC. Many parking structures will barely accommodate a light duty model.

stickguy · February 11

last I saw (maybe the newest versions are different) was they used the same cab, so same width. Wheelbase I guess would be longer depending on cab and bed lengths. Height, that I could see being taller.

Sandman6472 · February 12

The Mini store near me has a $3995 dealer installed options on every vehicle and have not seen where it's optional and can be taken off at the buyers request. That's the way they all should be honestly as I know I'd not want any of them. Still like them & since they're priced almost identical with the GTI, might be a hard decision honestly. I know makes more sense to go with the GTI but at this juncture, no 2025's are on the lots in my area. Since we're into 2025 already, just curious as to when they will be arriving on dealers lots?

nyccarguy · February 12

This 2009 Honda Accord EX is interesting. Hit on the Carfax from 2017. Dealer took it in and looks like they changed the oil, trans fluid, & front brakes. 80K miles.

stickguy · February 12

Looks solid. Going to freak a teenager out not being able to plug their phone in. No carplay in that baby. NO backup camera or BLIS either of course. Taking them back to the dark ages.

oldfarmer50 · February 12

No details on the severity of that accident but from what I saw of the traffic down your way when I went to Long Island on Monday, I’m surprised at any car that doesn’t get banged up. Otherwise it looks like a solid car with low relative mileage.

stickguy · February 12

If the traffic doesn’t get you the potholes will.

stickguy · February 12

My daughter goes to pick up her new car tonight. Hopefully no surprises but I have been deemed to be “on call” just in case.

explorerx4 · February 12

I have seen on a carfax, "vehicle was disabled" or "damaged vehicle was towed" wording.

corvette · February 12

Accord looks great. It does have an AUX IN for the radio. When I had the Prius, I got a Bluetooth to 3.5mm adapter that also had play/pause and ff/rw buttons on it and kept it in the center console so I could skip tracks without taking my eyes off the road.

kyfdx · February 12

Just signed up for Sirius/XM in the GTI. $4.21 per month for 12 months.

28firefighter · February 12

I'm not one to renew SiriusXM but my trial expires in a couple days and they offered me $99 total for 3 years (including taxes and fees). That seems like a solid deal.

28firefighter · February 12

(Insert joke about a 3 year commitment here)

pensfan83 · February 12

Our subscription expires in a month so I appreciate what they're offering these days.

stickguy · February 12

prices seem to have come way down. I should make a shopping trip. I think right now I am on a discounted month to month plan. Hard to keep up!

corvette · February 12

I'd consider resubscribing to SiriusXM at a discounted rate if I ever run out of podcasts to listen to. Doesn't look like that will ever happen, at the current rate!

stickguy · February 12

I like music in the car, not talking. Especially on shorter drives.

stickguy · February 12

watching price is right at night. Because yes, my life is that exciting.

prize in play right now is a 718 Cayman. $83,xxx sticker.

And some slightly dingy lady just won it.

28firefighter · February 12

We do audiobooks for long haul drives. Otherwise I haven’t done talk radio since Stern was at his peak.

stickguy · February 12

I made the wife look at the Porsche. she agreed that it was sharp looking. But expressed concern that she would not have a lot of fun with 2 bad knees getting in and out. I told her we could stop and see, then get shown into a nice Macan instead (which I assume is a common thing to happen.

stickguy · February 12

2nd half car was a Volvo S60. That was only $45k. Also was won.

Michaell · February 12

Just found an annoying feature (or lack thereof) in the Sportage. No warning when the washer fluid is low. Girls were coming home from an event tonight and ... nothing.

Took a 1/2 gallon to fill it.

stickguy · February 12

sounds like someone is not checking her fluids. Hope you pulled the dipstick while you were under the hood.

Michaell · February 12

stickguy said:
sounds like someone is not checking her fluids. Hope you pulled the dipstick while you were under the hood.

I didn't ... current temp is like single digits at the moment.

corvette · February 12

1/2 gallon sounds stingy for a washer reservoir--I thought most were a little over a gallon.

Michaell · February 12

corvette said:
1/2 gallon sounds stingy for a washer reservoir--I thought most were a little over a gallon.

I was thinking the same thing. The gas engine is a little 1.6L turbo, so there’s plenty of room under the hood.

oldfarmer50 · February 13

explorerx4 said:
I have seen on a carfax, "vehicle was disabled" or "damaged vehicle was towed" wording.

When I see that on a CarFax I assume it means it was a one car accident or hit a fixed object. The CarFax on my son’s car just said “damage reported”. My inspection indicated that the right front fender had been replaced. It matched cosmetically and drove fine so it didn’t worry me much since it was 10 years old when we bought it. Grandma probably scraped the carport before she gave up driving.

tjc78 · February 13

@stickguy said:
2nd half car was a Volvo S60. That was only $45k. Also was won.

I miss my S60

nyccarguy · February 13

Michaell said:
Just found an annoying feature (or lack thereof) in the Sportage. No warning when the washer fluid is low. Girls were coming home from an event tonight and ... nothing.

Took a 1/2 gallon to fill it.

Speaking of cold weather and dashboard lights, my wife called me on her way to work. The low pressure light on her front left tire was low AND her washer fluid level was low. I know, I know time to trade it in. I took it to the gas station and put air in all 4 of her tires. When I brought it home, I filled up the washer fluid reservoir. I was surprised that it took the entire gallon of washer fluid and there is still a decent amount of room for some more. The only car I've ever owned/leased that took more than a gallon of washer fluid was the 2000 Saab 9-3.

laurasdada · February 13

stickguy said:
watching price is right at night. Because yes, my life is that exciting.

prize in play right now is a 718 Cayman. $83,xxx sticker.

And some slightly dingy lady just won it.

I saw, and thought, the same. I didn't think she was going to beat the clock. I would have won the Cayman, too. It's a Porsche, so you simply choose the highest number!

stickguy · February 13

It’s the 10s digit they leave missing. So pretty much a wild guess!

Michaell · February 13

@Sandman6472 - just saw this on pricing for the 2025 Golf GTI and Golf R:

Volkswagen of America, Inc. has announced the official pricing for one of Peter's all-time favorite cars, the refreshed 2025 Golf GTI and Golf R. The 2025 Golf GTI starts at $32,445 for the S trim, while the SE trim is priced at $37,420, with an optional Leather Seats Package available for an additional $1,300. The Autobahn trim sits at the top of the lineup with a price of $40,880. For the 2025 Golf R, the standard model is priced at $47,100, while the Black Edition comes in at $48,415. Destination for all models is $1,225.

jmonroe1 · February 13

tjc78 said:

@stickguy said:

2nd half car was a Volvo S60. That was only $45k. Also was won.

I miss my S60

————————————————
You’re in luck-they still make them.

jmonroe

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

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