Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Michaell

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Nephew #1 - Finishing his double masters at Eastern Washington University, currently driving a 2015 Jetta with over 100,000 miles on it. While he has applied to a number of doctorate programs in the Western US, the thinking now is that he'll move back home and get a teaching position with one of the local school districts in or around San Diego. Will likely keep the VW for now - they've put some money into in this past year to address some niggling problems and make it more livable.

PhD program, huh? What is his area of interest? He should consider University of Alaska Fairbanks!

English Literature, of some sort. He's currently spending his spring break in London and Paris.

xwesx

Michaell said:

English Literature, of some sort. He's currently spending his spring break in London and Paris.

Oh, well, then I agree.... go get a teaching job!

We don't actually offer a PhD in Literature. Psychology and the sciences are fair game, though.

breld

roadburner said:

breld said:

ab348 said:

Curious situation regarding the C8 Corvette. Apparently GM and dealers are awash in unsold cars:

https://www.thedrive.com/news/time-to-lowball-your-chevy-dealer-for-one-of-the-5500-unsold-c8-corvettes

Makes me feel better about moving on from my C8 to the 911. Took enough of a loss on the C8 as it was, but at least the bleeding has stopped and depreciation on the Porsche should be much more tolerable.

You are also under 60, so you won't look as out-of-place in the 911 as you did in the C8.

The 911 is a better fit in so many ways.

stickguy

Just not in the wallet.

breld

No, but whenever I express to my wife a bit of remorse on spending so much on a car, she reminds me that we're saving on actual depreciation.

She's an accountant. She's enabling. She's a good woman.

stickguy

So the old it’s not what you gross it’s what you net theory.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Nephew #1 - Finishing his double masters at Eastern Washington University, currently driving a 2015 Jetta with over 100,000 miles on it. While he has applied to a number of doctorate programs in the Western US, the thinking now is that he'll move back home and get a teaching position with one of the local school districts in or around San Diego. Will likely keep the VW for now - they've put some money into in this past year to address some niggling problems and make it more livable.

PhD program, huh? What is his area of interest? He should consider University of Alaska Fairbanks!

————————————————
I don’t know him but I’m sure he’d prefer the remote southern California campus.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

breld said:

No, but whenever I express to my wife a bit of remorse on spending so much on a car, she reminds me that we're saving on actual depreciation.

She's an accountant. She's enabling. She's a good woman.

————————————————
Some guys have all the luck.

I have to pay cash for my cars so Mrs. j doesn’t get monthly reminders in the mail.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

!

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

I don’t know him but I’m sure he’d prefer the remote southern California campus.

jmonroe

Not. A. Chance.

corvette

Finally ordered myself a lithium ion jump pack. I had kept telling myself I’d be unlikely to ever use one, but very much could have used one Sunday when my friend’s car (brought to me to have the codes read) died in my driveway, blocking both my cars in. Got a Hulkman Alpha65 from Amazon. That brand seems to be well rated there and on YouTube. Hope I don’t need it for a long time, but it does charge and provide power via USB-C, so can also function as a portable charger.

Speaking of batteries, the battery life on the new MacBook Air is amazing compared to my five year old one.

explorerx4

I left my Explorer at the kid's house for about a week while I kept their Escape to clean it up.
Swapped them back today and noticed my stop/start did not kick in on my way home.
Taking the Explorer up to Madison WI area on Friday, so that should charge the battery back up.

roadburner

xwesx said:

Michaell said:

Nephew #1 - Finishing his double masters at Eastern Washington University, currently driving a 2015 Jetta with over 100,000 miles on it. While he has applied to a number of doctorate programs in the Western US, the thinking now is that he'll move back home and get a teaching position with one of the local school districts in or around San Diego. Will likely keep the VW for now - they've put some money into in this past year to address some niggling problems and make it more livable.

PhD program, huh? What is his area of interest? He should consider University of Alaska Fairbanks!

I always say to pick a major you love and you'll never work a day in your life.
Because no one in that field is hiring.

qbrozen

@corvette said:
Finally ordered myself a lithium ion jump pack. I had kept telling myself I’d be unlikely to ever use one, but very much could have used one Sunday when my friend’s car (brought to me to have the codes read) died in my driveway, blocking both my cars in. Got a Hulkman Alpha65 from Amazon. That brand seems to be well rated there and on YouTube. Hope I don’t need it for a long time, but it does charge and provide power via USB-C, so can also function as a portable charger.

Speaking of batteries, the battery life on the new MacBook Air is amazing compared to my five year old one.

I have 2 of the jump packs now. Wonderful devices. It is amazing how much power they put out. Why the heck can’t our cars use something so small and light? I get many starts off 1 charge of the pack.

sb55

I'm leaving for vacation from Vermont down to the Natchez Trace. My daughter asked me to help her with a car, so we're stopping in Albany on the way for a night. Their old Kia Soul was run without oil a few times and has finally conked out for good. Oh, and now they have 2 kids (2 years and 6 weeks), so needed something bigger anyway. We have an appointment today to look at a 2022 CPO Kia Telluride. I told her to be ready for the salesman/manager grind. Her husband can't come today and I'll let them do that dance later if she likes it.

stickguy

If you come down the northway from Queensbury wave when you go past 8A

Sandman6472

We have a few Miata's in the fleet, have no clue why, and it's a pretty tight fit. I hate tight spaces so almost had a problem last year driving down to Miami from West Palm Beach. Got into bumper to bumper in Ft. Lauderdale and was just awful. The A pillar was so close to my head so started to have a mild panic attach. Started to concentrate on my breathing and put the sound system on to some good music which helped me relax. Not a vehicle I'd ever want to drive again.

Still not a fan of Mazda's infotainment systems which is the #1 reason I won't consider one. Otherwise, it checks all the boxes and has low 0.9% financing right now. But since I've been holding off doing anything, have already put away $32K in my new car fund so think by the time I'm ready, will have close to $40K to work with. And who knows, might just be able to find some kid who would want an 11 year old VW Golf. Did see a nice 2024 GTI on the road yesterday in a light grayish color which I really liked. Still have no clue on when the 2025's will hit the dealer's lot yet. Luckily, time is on my side and don't need to hurry. Keep on saving my pay checks from work & will be just fine. And now seriously considering taking the Golf on our trip in May to let it stretch it's legs a bit. Tires are in great shape and think she'll be just fine as we'll only be gone for a week or so.

Sandman6472

Have 2019 MacBook Air which I love but was also thinking of getting the brand new model with the M4 chip. For what I do on my laptop, probably ain't worth getting one quite yet but, come June 1st, I'll have had it for 6 years now. Had a MacBook Pro before and felt it was too big & clumsy for my needs. The MacBook Air is the perfect size and have read the improvements are well worth getting one. Just need to start searching and see who will give me the better trade-in price as the current one is in great condition. Have always had a case on it so it looks & feels like it came right out of the box! Just need to stop thinking about it & just do it!!!

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

If you come down the northway from Queensbury wave when you go past 8A

————————————————
Is that the best you can do? Whatever happened to poster buddy hospitality?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

If you come down the northway from Queensbury wave when you go past 8A

————————————————
Is that the best you can do? Whatever happened to poster buddy hospitality?

jmonroe

He’s too busy pulling old washing machines out of his woods.😂

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

If you come down the northway from Queensbury wave when you go past 8A

————————————————
Is that the best you can do? Whatever happened to poster buddy hospitality?

jmonroe

He’s too busy pulling old washing machines out of his woods.😂

————————————————
I forgot about that.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

A local Chevy dealer is advertising $399/mo Silverado leases with nothing down. Also claiming you can buy one for under $37k with 1.9% financing. They must be stripper models or else they are extremely overstocked.

stickguy

Let me get my calculator out here…….

Which dealer?

au1994

oldfarmer50 said:

A local Chevy dealer is advertising $399/mo Silverado leases with nothing down. Also claiming you can buy one for under $37k with 1.9% financing. They must be stripper models or else they are extremely overstocked.

I saw that here sometime last year if it’s the same one I am thinking about…Turbo 4, 4wd crew cab. Decently equipped.

stickguy

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

Michaell

stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

As so many of our members learn the hard way, especially when leasing EVs and realize they owe sales tax on the ginormous incentives that are offered.

au1994

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

As so many of our members learn the hard way, especially when leasing EVs and realize they owe sales tax on the ginormous incentives that are offered.

Taxes? Meh…who pays those?

Michaell

au1994 said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

As so many of our members learn the hard way, especially when leasing EVs and realize they owe sales tax on the ginormous incentives that are offered.

Taxes? Meh…who pays those?

Certainly not @jmonroe

(oh, those are income taxes, not sales tax - he can't evade those)

nyccarguy

@stickguy said:
Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

+1 - so many “ZERO DOWN” ads mean zero cap cost reduction. Taxes and fees are due at signing as well as 1st month’s payment. In NY the are supposed to collect the tax upfront. You can opt to have it rolled into your payments.

CT & NJ as well as many other states just tax the payment.

stickguy

never say never, but odds are I have leased my last car already.

nyccarguy

And then there were three…

Dropped the Jeep off tonight. Yes I had them sign that they received 2 keys on the odometer disclosure statement.

Quickish and sort of easy process. Of course the guy who got my phone number and has been trying to get me to look at something else wasn’t there today. The dealership tried to tell me that since I didn’t buy it there they couldn’t take the lease return. Once I mentioned the guys name and that he told me I could drop it off there they said OK.

They made a valiant attempt to sway me to look at something else and said they’d give me a “smokin” deal. Little do they know that my definition of smokin’ is different from theirs. They asked some standard prodding questions.

“What are you going to get next?”
“I’m not sure yet. Nothing from the Stellantis portfolio though.”

“Why not?”
“I do a lot of driving and don’t trust these vehicles once they are out of warranty.”

“You know we offer high mileage leases and extended warranties?”
“Yes, but high mileage leases get very expensive. Plus that would mean I have to deal with your service department. They are terrible.”

“Well, just to let you know, we hired a new general manager a few months ago. He’s really cleaned house and got rid of some bad people, specifically in the service department.”
“That’s good to know, but every time I tried to make a service appointment there was a 3-4 week wait. No courtesy loaner cars available or cheap rentals. I have 2 Toyotas. I call up and am always given an appointment the next day. They don’t have loaners, but cheap rentals available.”

“Ok. Well, here’s my card. Let me introduce you to our new General Manager.”

We shake hands. I thank them for their time. And off I went.

stickguy

I assume in all your lease paperwork it says that you can return to any authorized Jeep dealer.

kyfdx

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

+1 - so many “ZERO DOWN” ads mean zero cap cost reduction. Taxes and fees are due at signing as well as 1st month’s payment. In NY the are supposed to collect the tax upfront. You can opt to have it rolled into your payments.

CT & NJ as well as many other states just tax the payment.

NJ collects upfront, as well.

Michaell

On my last few leases, I've only paid the first payment at contract signing - all dealer and bank fees are rolled into the lease payment, tax is assessed on the monthly payment (and, my tax rate is roughly 3% lower than neighboring towns due to my registration address), and registration costs are managed outside of the dealer, through the county DMV.

Speaking of which, the renewal notice for the Subaru showed up the other day. $70.37. When the registration costs for a new car are roughly 2% of MSRP, I think I'll continue to nurse the Outback along for a while longer.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

And then there were three…

Dropped the Jeep off tonight. Yes I had them sign that they received 2 keys on the odometer disclosure statement.

Quickish and sort of easy process. Of course the guy who got my phone number and has been trying to get me to look at something else wasn’t there today. The dealership tried to tell me that since I didn’t buy it there they couldn’t take the lease return. Once I mentioned the guys name and that he told me I could drop it off there they said OK.

They made a valiant attempt to sway me to look at something else and said they’d give me a “smokin” deal. Little do they know that my definition of smokin’ is different from theirs. They asked some standard prodding questions.

“What are you going to get next?”

“I’m not sure yet. Nothing from the Stellantis portfolio though.”

“Why not?”

“I do a lot of driving and don’t trust these vehicles once they are out of warranty.”

“You know we offer high mileage leases and extended warranties?”

“Yes, but high mileage leases get very expensive. Plus that would mean I have to deal with your service department. They are terrible.”

“Well, just to let you know, we hired a new general manager a few months ago. He’s really cleaned house and got rid of some bad people, specifically in the service department.”

“That’s good to know, but every time I tried to make a service appointment there was a 3-4 week wait. No courtesy loaner cars available or cheap rentals. I have 2 Toyotas. I call up and am always given an appointment the next day. They don’t have loaners, but cheap rentals available.”

“Ok. Well, here’s my card. Let me introduce you to our new General Manager.”

We shake hands. I thank them for their time. And off I went.

Time to update your signature line!

(hey @corvette, does this count as a negative punch for the year?)

corvette

au1994 said:

Taxes? Meh…who pays those?

"The little people," apparently.

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

au1994 said:

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

As so many of our members learn the hard way, especially when leasing EVs and realize they owe sales tax on the ginormous incentives that are offered.

Taxes? Meh…who pays those?

Certainly not @jmonroe

(oh, those are income taxes, not sales tax - he can't evade those)

————————————————
I don’t know why they have to make it so damn impossible to avoid paying them.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Let me get my calculator out here…….

Which dealer?

I think DePaula in Albany.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy said:

Nothing down unfortunately is not the same as nothing due at signing!

+1 - so many “ZERO DOWN” ads mean zero cap cost reduction. Taxes and fees are due at signing as well as 1st month’s payment. In NY the are supposed to collect the tax upfront. You can opt to have it rolled into your payments.

CT & NJ as well as many other states just tax the payment.

This particular ad implied ride off with zero money due at signing so I assume they are rolling everything into the payment. I’m not well versed in leasing pitfalls but I’m also not so naive to take car ads at face value.

stickguy

I’ll look into it! The local Kia dealer advertises drive off $. Only way to lease imo.

anonymousposts2025

We’ve been shopping all the inexpensive EV lease deals. $0 due at signing is rare, they usually all want at least first month’s payment. I don’t do cap cost reduction on leases, ever.

The Si is great, if a bit tiring to get into and out of. It’s my daily driver at the moment. My better half drives the RAV4 Hybrid daily and the van is for when we’re all together.

Our oldest son is finally ready to drive and we need a car we can put on his own insurance policy. We’ve been trying to find a Scion xB but the ones we have seen are in rough shape.

I really don’t like buying used cars anymore. But new doesn’t make sense for him.

stickguy

Just realized the last used car I bought on the open market (not counting from my sister) was in 2012. And that was from the Acura dealer . Unlikely I have the mental capacity for it now. Especially private sale.

kyfdx

I buy all my used cars from @breld

nyccarguy

anonymousposts2025 said:

We’ve been shopping all the inexpensive EV lease deals. $0 due at signing is rare, they usually all want at least first month’s payment. I don’t do cap cost reduction on leases, ever.

The Si is great, if a bit tiring to get into and out of. It’s my daily driver at the moment. My better half drives the RAV4 Hybrid daily and the van is for when we’re all together.

Our oldest son is finally ready to drive and we need a car we can put on his own insurance policy. We’ve been trying to find a Scion xB but the ones we have seen are in rough shape.

I really don’t like buying used cars anymore. But new doesn’t make sense for him.

Used car shopping isn't fun at all. If the cars aren't beat up and miled up, they have had the oil changed and been detailed so they look perfect. You don't know if the coolant, brake fluid, differential fluid, or transmission fluid has ever been changed. You don't know if there were any codes that were cleared and your check engine light is going to go on in 2 days after you've driven 50 - 100 miles.

nyccarguy

My signature line has been updated!

nyccarguy

Now things are starting to make sense. The city where I live changed the way they vaule motor vehicles for personal property tax purposes. This benefits the City of Stamford of course. The new state mandated depreciation schedule is based off the vehicle's original MSRP as of 10/1/2024. The old method was to calculate the tax based off of the car's current value. Starting with 85% up to year 1, then a 5% drop each year until year 15. So I'm paying personal property tax on the Wrangler based on 75% of it's original $60+K sticker price instead of it's current less than $30K value.

corvette

Ouch... what a ridiculous money grab! Do they even do that on used vehicles (if you bought a similar three year old Wrangler for $28k, would it still be assessed for 75% of $60k)?

nyccarguy

corvette said:

Ouch... what a ridiculous money grab! Do they even do that on used vehicles (if you bought a similar three year old Wrangler for $28k, would it still be assessed for 75% of $60k)?

Yes. That's what it looks like to me.

nyccarguy

kyfdx said:

I buy all my used cars from @breld

@breld 's exotic used car sales

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

Now things are starting to make sense. The city where I live changed the way they vaule motor vehicles for personal property tax purposes. This benefits the City of Stamford of course. The new state mandated depreciation schedule is based off the vehicle's original MSRP as of 10/1/2024. The old method was to calculate the tax based off of the car's current value. Starting with 85% up to year 1, then a 5% drop each year until year 15. So I'm paying personal property tax on the Wrangler based on 75% of it's original $60+K sticker price instead of it's current less than $30K value.

It's sort of the same where I live - the personal property tax is on a sliding scale, based on 85% of the base MSRP:

Vehicle Model Year Tax Assessment
First Year 2.10% of taxable value
Second Year 1.50% of taxable value
Third Year 1.20% of taxable value
Fourth Year .90% of taxable value
Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth years .45% of taxable value
Tenth and each later year $3.00