Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

stickguy

sda said:

CarMax had a 23 Maverick Lariat with 36k for $30998. It looked to be lightly optioned and somewhat worn. A thorough detailing needed.

Carvana just offered me $29K for mine, but I have 9,000 miles and pretty well loaded (only missing the 2nd level co-pilot package). Detailing not needed.

tjc78

@28firefighter
I had a feeling it was gonna be a JGC 4xE. Great deal!

I really like those, but it may be a touch small for us. I know we used to max out the XC90 quite often.

anonymousposts2025

We went ahead and punched our ticket for the Equinox EV. MSRP was $56,800 before their add-ons. Our cap cost ended up at $48,000 with a residual of $41,000. We paid first month’s payment of $340 at signing. Instead of focusing on payment / price, we told them to increase the mileage to 15k, add a few accessories, and keep the payment the same.

nyccarguy

@anonymousposts2025 said:
We went ahead and punched our ticket for the Equinox EV. MSRP was $56,800 before their add-ons. Our cap cost ended up at $48,000 with a residual of $41,000. We paid first month’s payment of $340 at signing. Instead of focusing on payment / price, we told them to increase the mileage to 15k, add a few accessories, and keep the payment the same.

Way to go! Congrats!

suydam

Congrats! Pictures, please!

28firefighter

Tried my hand at ceramic coating the WRX today as part of its spring detail. This was Adam’s Graphene Spray coating. I put it on every surface - paint, trim, wheels, windows.

Turned out pretty decent. I’ll post a photo if I can get it working.

stickguy

getting busy around here! I am about 6 weeks from 2 years since my last punch. I assume I will be getting thrown out of the group soon for inactivity.

ab348

stickguy said:

getting busy around here! I am about 6 weeks from 2 years since my last punch. I assume I will be getting thrown out of the group soon for inactivity.

You’re exempt because of all the schemes you cook up to get something different despite rarely pulling the trigger. Endlessly entertaining.

nyccarguy

@anonymousposts2025 said:
We went ahead and punched our ticket for the Equinox EV. MSRP was $56,800 before their add-ons. Our cap cost ended up at $48,000 with a residual of $41,000. We paid first month’s payment of $340 at signing. Instead of focusing on payment / price, we told them to increase the mileage to 15k, add a few accessories, and keep the payment the same.

Way to go! Congrats!

Michaell

stickguy said:

getting busy around here! I am about 6 weeks from 2 years since my last punch. I assume I will be getting thrown out of the group soon for inactivity.

Nah. It’ll be 9 years in August since I leased the Jetta. The stepdaughters punch last year was a ancillary.

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

getting busy around here! I am about 6 weeks from 2 years since my last punch. I assume I will be getting thrown out of the group soon for inactivity.

Nah. It’ll be 9 years in August since I leased the Jetta. The stepdaughters punch last year was a ancillary.

————————————————
Yeah, but you probably know some one.

jmonroe

stickguy

I don't count my Daughter's Mazda that I consulted on since I have no skin in that game.

28firefighter

Anyone else having issues with uploading photos? Or is it a personal problem?

kyfdx

kyfdx

From iPhone, no issues

28firefighter

stickguy

shiny. I pointed out a dark blue WRX to the wife this weekend. She didn't say anything negative!

oldfarmer50

sda said:

I haven't done my Sunday car browsing in a while. This very clean 06 Cadillac with 42k was front and center.

CarMax was overflowing with vehicles.

What was the price on that one? The DeVille/DHS after 2005 when they more or less fixed the Northstar was always on my wish list.

nyccarguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
What was the price on that one? The DeVille/DHS after 2005 when they more or less fixed the Northstar was always on my wish list.

Is that the car the Vito Spatafore drove, but in Black?

nyccarguy

@28firefighter said:

Beautiful job @28firefighter ! How many miles are on it now? Do you still love it?

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:

@oldfarmer50 said:
What was the price on that one? The DeVille/DHS after 2005 when they more or less fixed the Northstar was always on my wish list.

Is that the car the Vito Spatafore drove, but in Black?

Vito’s was a bit earlier … but yes essentially the same thing.

@oldfarmer50
I love those cars too .. but even the later Northstars are not to be taken lightly.

anonymousposts2025

This is the one we brought home. I’ll add real-life pictures once the sun comes back out.

https://www.hendrickbuford.com/inventory/new-2025-chevrolet-equinox-ev-rs-all-wheel-drive-suv-3gn7dsrr4ss143763/

nyccarguy

anonymousposts2025 said:

This is the one we brought home. I’ll add real-life pictures once the sun comes back out.

https://www.hendrickbuford.com/inventory/new-2025-chevrolet-equinox-ev-rs-all-wheel-drive-suv-3gn7dsrr4ss143763/

Sun? What's that? It was 81 degrees for a few hours and sunny on Saturday afternoon. By nightfall it was 50. 41 degrees when I woke up on Sunday AM.

graphicguy

anonymousposts2025 said:

We went ahead and punched our ticket for the Equinox EV. MSRP was $56,800 before their add-ons. Our cap cost ended up at $48,000 with a residual of $41,000. We paid first month’s payment of $340 at signing. Instead of focusing on payment / price, we told them to increase the mileage to 15k, add a few accessories, and keep the payment the same.

Congrats. Yes, another request for pics (in and out).

28firefighter

@nyccarguy said:

@28firefighter said:

Beautiful job @28firefighter ! How many miles are on it now? Do you still love it?

Just over 4000 miles. And yes, absolutely love it!

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

What was the price on that one? The DeVille/DHS after 2005 when they more or less fixed the Northstar was always on my wish list.

Is that the car the Vito Spatafore drove, but in Black?

Vito’s was a bit earlier … but yes essentially the same thing.

@oldfarmer50

I love those cars too .. but even the later Northstars are not to be taken lightly.

So Vito's had the Northstar that sucked?

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
So Vito's had the Northstar that sucked?

I’m dying over here! I’m declining to answer 🤣🤣🤣

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:

So Vito's had the Northstar that sucked?

I’m dying over here! I’m declining to answer 🤣🤣🤣

Maybe I should have said: "It wasn't one of the Northstars that blew up?"

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
Maybe I should have said: "It wasn't one of the Northstars that blew up?"

Yes!

Its not so much the Northstars blew up it was the head bolts weren’t the right spec and head gaskets were very common to go out. Also they tended to leak.

sda

https://nitra.wip.gmpsdealer.com/arnold-palmer/VehicleDetails/used-2006-Cadillac-Deville-w/1SC-PINEVILLE-NC/5991276410

stickguy

Did Arnie own that?

nyccarguy

sda said:

https://nitra.wip.gmpsdealer.com/arnold-palmer/VehicleDetails/used-2006-Cadillac-Deville-w/1SC-PINEVILLE-NC/5991276410

I'd have to pay @stickguy to follow me around and detail the interior of the car every time I got out of it. I'd need it to have a black interior. I really don't hate it for the mileage or the under $10K price.


What does @qbrozen think?

"It's a $5,500 car at auction..."

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

sda said:

https://nitra.wip.gmpsdealer.com/arnold-palmer/VehicleDetails/used-2006-Cadillac-Deville-w/1SC-PINEVILLE-NC/5991276410

I'd have to pay @stickguy to follow me around and detail the interior of the car every time I got out of it. I'd need it to have a black interior. I really don't hate it for the mileage or the under $10K price.


What does @qbrozen think?

"It's a $5,500 car at auction..."

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I’d prefer an interior with something other than black but I’d take black over that interior. I’d go broke buying SpicandSpan if I owned that beast.

jmonroe

xwesx

28firefighter said:

The TDI got a clean bill of health, but for the fact it needs both front and rear brakes. Wife wants to know if we could lease an SUV and avoid that expense.

Why, my specialty.

Front and rear brakes?! Simple job with a couple of hours to kill on a Saturday. Good experience/exposure for the tyke, too.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

For the record, you need an Audi computer to release the pistons. Not everyone has them and you can’t DIY

I don't think that applies until the 2017 model year when they went to the electronic parking brake. That is definitely true for the Q7, though the 5, while the same engine and transmission, has smaller running gear like the VAG sedans of the time. Does yours have the foot pedal next to the left kick panel for the parking brake?

Michaell

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

For the record, you need an Audi computer to release the pistons. Not everyone has them and you can’t DIY

I don't think that applies until the 2017 model year when they went to the electronic parking brake. That is definitely true for the Q7, though the 5, while the same engine and transmission, has smaller running gear like the VAG sedans of the time. Does yours have the foot pedal next to the left kick panel for the parking brake?

We'll never know now, as the Q5 is history.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Carvana must be getting ready for higher prices. They just upped the offer on my maverick by $200. No I did not ask. They just email it occasionally.

Oh, speaking of Carvana... I have a coworker who actually *bought* a vehicle from them! According to her, they made it easier than any other dealer, had a competitive price, and she saved about $7,500 versus buying locally for the same vehicle (after travel and shipping costs). I couldn't believe it when I saw the "Carvana" plate inserts in the parking lot.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

@kyfdx,
It was about 70 degrees and sunny that day. It completely turned after that.

It really was a warm fall down there! I can't really tell on my cameras, but I have a feeling that our grass is going to be an utter mess this year. We are making a trip down there at the end of April, so we're planning on doing the 2025 inaugural mowing ourselves, but I'm not entirely looking forward to it....

Here in Fairbanks, we had an inch of snow (on top of whatever has yet to melt... about 18" standing depth) this morning, with another 6+ in the forecast.

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Audi is likely gone tomorrow. Someone made me a stupid buy offer on it close to what I paid.

I was almost sad that I didn't have a PM from you in my box, but if you got a sucker on the line, then no sense in letting him get loose!

Edit: $12K! That was a good sale. Nicely done.

Michaell

xwesx said:

stickguy said:

Carvana must be getting ready for higher prices. They just upped the offer on my maverick by $200. No I did not ask. They just email it occasionally.

Oh, speaking of Carvana... I have a coworker who actually *bought* a vehicle from them! According to her, they made it easier than any other dealer, had a competitive price, and she saved about $7,500 versus buying locally for the same vehicle (after travel and shipping costs). I couldn't believe it when I saw the "Carvana" plate inserts in the parking lot.

I think I've mentioned that I've taken a part time job as a driving instructor. A couple of cars in our fleet were purchased through Carvana.

The business has two locations; there are 4 cars at one, and 3 at the other. Either a Chevy Cruze or Ford Focus, with one Kia Forte as the outlier. All but one Cruze have in excess of 100K on them (one of the Foci has 250K on it, but is on it's third transmission), and they run and drive quite well given the miles. The owner is fastidious about both maintenance and preventative service, and contracts with a mobile mechanic for most of the work.

I prefer to use the Cruze, as I'm more comfortable in the passenger seat. Our student drives are 2 hours in length, and we'll put on 30-50 miles per drive, depending on the route.

xwesx

Michaell said:

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

For the record, you need an Audi computer to release the pistons. Not everyone has them and you can’t DIY

I don't think that applies until the 2017 model year when they went to the electronic parking brake. That is definitely true for the Q7, though the 5, while the same engine and transmission, has smaller running gear like the VAG sedans of the time. Does yours have the foot pedal next to the left kick panel for the parking brake?

We'll never know now, as the Q5 is history.

Right, but it took me nearly an hour to get through all the posts..... It was *only* three days!

28firefighter

Yeah - I got a good buy price on it so it didn't make sense to keep - was going to need a good bit and didn't have some features my wife wanted to justify making that investment of time and/or money. Combined with the deal on the Jeep - was an easy choice.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

The TDI got a clean bill of health, but for the fact it needs both front and rear brakes. Wife wants to know if we could lease an SUV and avoid that expense.

Why, my specialty.

Front and rear brakes?! Simple job with a couple of hours to kill on a Saturday. Good experience/exposure for the tyke, too.

————————————————
I get shot down every time I suggest that. Welcome to the club.

It seems like no one wants to teach their kids how to get their hands dirty anymore.

jmonroe

sda

Some cool pics as I wait having the Q5 serviced.

sda

sda

Michaell

sda said:

I see pollen season has arrived in SC.

corvette

Wheels on the Q6 look a bit small. I really dig the color on the Q4.

sda

@Michaell said:
I see pollen season has arrived in SC.

It has with a vengeance. Its the heaviest I've seen it in years.

Michaell

corvette said:

Wheels on the Q6 look a bit small. I really dig the color on the Q4.

Probably a Premium trim level.