Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

jmonroe1 · March 31

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.

————————————————
A few years ago Son #1 bought a 3 year old GMC truck from Carvana. He couldn’t find what he wanted at local dealers after looking for weeks. They offer a guarantee (I think for 30 days) if you don’t like it so he figured he’d take a chance. We took it for an extensive test drive before he decided to go ahead and buy it. Everything seemed OK to us but he still wanted his indy shop to look at it. The indy guy told him he’d be crazy not to keep it. So far, not one problem.

FWIW, I sold Mrs. j’s 2012 Legacy Limited with something like 32K miles to Carvana in 2019 when I decided to buy her the 2018 Legacy Limited that she has now (got that from a local used car dealer). Whoever bought her old Subie from Carvana got a real gem. So, getting a car from Carvana shouldn’t scare you off if you can’t find what you want locally.

jmonroe

tifighter · March 31

Here’s a long shot but is there anyone near Somerville MA that could put eyes on a car?

jmonroe1 · March 31

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?

————————————————
On March 29th I posted a link how to do it. Just another minute getting your hands dirty.

jmonroe

stickguy · March 31

I was right next door in Cambridge on Saturday! I’m sure my wife would have loved making the side trip.

stickguy · March 31

I sold 3 cars to carvana so at least I can confirm they sometimes have good ones. Never bought though but I expect that is simple too.

breld · March 31

We've purchased two vehicles from Carvana. One is the GTI that @kyfdx still drives, and the other was a MINI JCW for the wife.

Spoiler alert...we don't have the MINI anymore.

tjc78 · March 31

@breld said:
We've purchased two vehicles from Carvana. One is the GTI that @kyfdx still drives, and the other was a MINI JCW for the wife.

Spoiler alert...we don't have the MINI anymore.

How many Minis did you have after that one?

28firefighter · March 31

It has arrived.

28firefighter · March 31

Was a thrilling 3 mile drive home, so I have absolutely nothing to report other than the engine operates the same was my wrangler did.

ab348 · March 31

stickguy said:
Did Arnie own that?

I think that dealership used to be known as Arnold Palmer Cadillac.

ab348 · March 31

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..."

That interior will show a lot less dust, lint, pet hair, etc than would a black interior.

tifighter · March 31

@stickguy said:
I was right next door in Cambridge on Saturday! I’m sure my wife would have loved making the side trip.

So close. Saw the listing on Sunday.

stickguy · March 31

What was it?

anonymousposts2025 · March 31

We’ve sold 6-7 cars to Carvana. They always come in higher, and without the hassle.

jmonroe1 · March 31

sda said:

@Michaell said:

I see pollen season has arrived in SC.

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

————————————————
I don’t miss those days. The first time I saw it, during the 5 years I lived in SC, I was more than a little bit surprised it could be so heavy.

Yankees get off easy with that stuff.

jmonroe

sda · March 31

ab348 said:

stickguy said:
Did Arnie own that?

I think that dealership used to be known as Arnold Palmer Cadillac.

Yep, and there was Arnold Palmer Oldsmobile. I purchased cars from both.

jmonroe1 · March 31

sda said:

ab348 said:

stickguy said:
Did Arnie own that?

I think that dealership used to be known as Arnold Palmer Cadillac.
Yep, and there was Arnold Palmer Oldsmobile. I purchased cars from both.

————————————————
Arnie had a Cadillac dealership in his hometown of Latrobe PA for many years. Not too far from the end of the regional airport runway there. Now called Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. The dealership is still there but has been under new management for quite a few years now.

jmonroe

28firefighter · March 31

Monday night update. Wife has threatened me with bodily harm if I try to get rid of the Jeep. Says it’s her favorite car yet.

That’s 50% of my available trading material!

stickguy · March 31

at least you only signed up for a 2 year hitch with it!

Michaell · March 31

28firefighter said:
Monday night update. Wife has threatened me with bodily harm if I try to get rid of the Jeep. Says it’s her favorite car yet.

That’s 50% of my available trading material!

Speaking of which, time to update the 'ol signature line.

ab348 · April 1

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:
Monday night update. Wife has threatened me with bodily harm if I try to get rid of the Jeep. Says it’s her favorite car yet.

That’s 50% of my available trading material!

Speaking of which, time to update the 'ol signature line.

I saw his post, said to myself "What Jeep?", and thought the same thing.

tjc78 · April 1

@28firefighter said:
Monday night update. Wife has threatened me with bodily harm if I try to get rid of the Jeep. Says it’s her favorite car yet.

That’s 50% of my available trading material!

That’s awesome. Better cash in on those dividends now while the stock is high

nyccarguy · April 1

28firefighter said:
Monday night update. Wife has threatened me with bodily harm if I try to get rid of the Jeep. Says it’s her favorite car yet.

That’s 50% of my available trading material!

Good thing too since it is an electrified Stellantis product that you won't be getting out of unless you are prepared to fork over a bunch of money to cover the negative equity.

tjc78 · April 1

@nyccarguy said:
Good thing too since it is an electrified Stellantis product that you won't be getting out of unless you are prepared to fork over a bunch of money to cover the negative equity.

You ever hear of fire? 😆

nyccarguy · April 1

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:

Good thing too since it is an electrified Stellantis product that you won't be getting out of unless you are prepared to fork over a bunch of money to cover the negative equity.

You ever hear of fire? 😆

Or the snowy off ramp they are always talking about!

jmonroe1 · April 1

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:

Good thing too since it is an electrified Stellantis product that you won't be getting out of unless you are prepared to fork over a bunch of money to cover the negative equity.

You ever hear of fire? 😆

————————————————
As sneaky as Stellantis dealers are it wouldn’t surprise me that Stellantis has a clause in their contracts that customers are responsible for any battery fires. Yeah, if I was dealing on a Stellantis product I’d read the fine print before driving it over the curb.

jmonroe

qbrozen · April 2

@nyccarguy said:
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..."

I would have thought 3500 tops, but, shockingly, ONE sold at auction last week (in FL, of course) for $6500! It had 20k more miles but was showroom condition.

qbrozen · April 2

Got lost in the shuffle: am I seeing you took $12k for your Q5 TDI, @firefighter75 ? How many miles?

Re: Carvana. I’ve been looking lately and everything I find there is grossly overpriced, as I’ve seen in the past. They must be gearing up for the possible incoming shortage.

sda · April 2

qbrozen said:
Got lost in the shuffle: am I seeing you took $12k for your Q5 TDI, @firefighter75 ? How many miles?

Re: Carvana. I’ve been looking lately and everything I find there is grossly overpriced, as I’ve seen in the past. They must be gearing up for the possible incoming shortage.

That might be a positive if you are a seller to them. Higher offer?

tjc78 · April 2

Looking at this tonight -

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DEw9oSbpL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Also thinking about this one - trying to find out if timing belt was done. If not price is a little high

https://www.facebook.com/share/18AJ8zKfoU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

stickguy · April 2

Avalon looks nice enough. First link says listing no longer available

tjc78 · April 2

Well isn’t that interesting - he didn’t cancel my appointment.

Avalon is out - timing belt unknown and seller said mechanic told him it’s a chain. I’m out especially at top of market pricing.

The first one was a clean as a whistle 2002 Solara 4cyl blue over beige. 133k for $2300

corvette · April 2

28firefighter · April 2

@qbrozen said:
Got lost in the shuffle: am I seeing you took $12k for your Q5 TDI, @firefighter75 ? How many miles?

Re: Carvana. I’ve been looking lately and everything I find there is grossly overpriced, as I’ve seen in the past. They must be gearing up for the possible incoming shortage.

Yessir. Thats with needing brakes, a new windshield (since it cracked on the way to sell it), and apparently needing tires.

nyccarguy · April 2

28firefighter said:

@qbrozen said:

Got lost in the shuffle: am I seeing you took $12k for your Q5 TDI, @firefighter75 ? How many miles?

Re: Carvana. I’ve been looking lately and everything I find there is grossly overpriced, as I’ve seen in the past. They must be gearing up for the possible incoming shortage.

Yessir. Thats with needing brakes, a new windshield (since it cracked on the way to sell it), and apparently needing tires.

Someone I know once had an '01 or an '03 GTI. She kept it for a number of years (over 10) until the repair bills started adding up. She got an issue fixed and I finally convinced her to get a new car. I think it was a Tiguan at the time. On her way to the dealership, the car threw a check engine light. She was so upset because now they were going to offer her so much less for her trade. It ended up being a few hundred, but she was still upset. She was very emotionally attached to the GTI.

roadburner · April 2

corvette said:

On another board a guy was extolling the virtues of driving the same car for 400k miles.

I replied, "If I was faced with the prospect of driving the same car for 300k or 400k miles I would cut to the chase, find the nearest 20-30 story building and take a swan dive off of the roof."

His response? "Wow, I guess some people value really different things."

au1994 · April 2

roadburner said:

corvette said:

On another board a guy was extolling the virtues of driving the same car for 400k miles.

I replied, "If I was faced with the prospect of driving the same car for 300k or 400k miles I would cut to the chase, find the nearest 20-30 story building and take a swan dive off of the roof."

His response? "Wow, I guess some people value really different things."

Different strokes etc…I get it, maybe riding in the lease train isn't for everyone, flipping purchased vehicles as quickly as many of us do isn’t for everyone, BUT…

I build my car craziness into my financial plan. Having a nice car is important to me and nice is a relative term. That has meant everything from an Accord to a 335i and everything in between.

I get that others don’t see things like I do and can respect and see the value in keeping cars longer than I do.

But driving a car with 400k miles on it just doesn’t appeal to me. Things are just worn out by then and I don’t think any amount of care and maintenance is going to change that.

xwesx · April 2

I enjoy both sides of it. And, the trick to managing that is simply to OWN MORE CARS!

oldfarmer50 · April 2

tjc78 said:
Looking at this tonight -

https://www.facebook.com/share/1DEw9oSbpL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Also thinking about this one - trying to find out if timing belt was done. If not price is a little high

https://www.facebook.com/share/18AJ8zKfoU/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Couldn’t view the first one without an account but that Avalon looked nice. Not a bad price if everything checks out. Those are very comfortable cars and the owner demographic usually means it wasn’t street raced.😂

breld · April 2

I saw a new Charger Daytona (EV) yesterday morning on the way into work which sparked my curiosity to do some research. Given that was the first one I've seen, I was shocked to learn that they were released for the 2024 model year. They obviously missed the window a couple years ago where virtually any EV demanded a waiting list and premium pricing.

One review I watched basically concluded it was a fine EV, but more at a $40-50k price point, instead of the $60-$70's MSRP. Having said that, it looks like you could lease one in the $300-400 range.

qbrozen · April 2

Saved by the BaT madness. Was aiming for no more than $5500 on this (including buyer's fee).
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-isuzu-trooper-4/

tjc78 · April 2

@oldfarmer50 said:
Couldn’t view the first one without an account but that Avalon looked nice. Not a bad price if everything checks out. Those are very comfortable cars and the owner demographic usually means it wasn’t street raced.😂

The first one I had an accepted viewing tonight at 5:30 but then he pulled the listing down and is now radio silent. It was a 2002 Solara 4cyl with 130K for $2300. It looked very clean. Almost too clean for the money.

The Avalon I pulled away from since I don’t think the owner knew too much about the car and tried to lie about the timing belt. I asked if it was done and he said it didn’t have a belt but a chain. I know the 3.0 V6 has a belt. I also felt it was priced a bit high for that unknown.

I’ve owned both a Solara and Avalon of that vintage. They are solid cars.

xwesx · April 2

qbrozen said:
Saved by the BaT madness. Was aiming for no more than $5500 on this (including buyer's fee).
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-isuzu-trooper-4/

You lucked out! Dodged a bullet....

28firefighter · April 2

I'm seeing on LH some folks are getting the EV Chargers for < 200/m.

au1994 · April 2

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:
Saved by the BaT madness. Was aiming for no more than $5500 on this (including buyer's fee).
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-isuzu-trooper-4/
You lucked out! Dodged a bullet....

Albeit a slow bullet.

kyfdx · April 2

breld said:
I saw a new Charger Daytona (EV) yesterday morning on the way into work which sparked my curiosity to do some research. Given that was the first one I've seen, I was shocked to learn that they were released for the 2024 model year. They obviously missed the window a couple years ago where virtually any EV demanded a waiting list and premium pricing.

One review I watched basically concluded it was a fine EV, but more at a $40-50k price point, instead of the $60-$70's MSRP. Having said that, it looks like you could lease one in the $300-400 range.

I think the 2024 model was coupe only. Maybe, a Challenger body?

nyccarguy · April 2

au1994 said:

roadburner said:

corvette said:

On another board a guy was extolling the virtues of driving the same car for 400k miles.

I replied, "If I was faced with the prospect of driving the same car for 300k or 400k miles I would cut to the chase, find the nearest 20-30 story building and take a swan dive off of the roof."

His response? "Wow, I guess some people value really different things."

Different strokes etc…I get it, maybe riding in the lease train isn't for everyone, flipping purchased vehicles as quickly as many of us do isn’t for everyone, BUT…

I build my car craziness into my financial plan. Having a nice car is important to me and nice is a relative term. That has meant everything from an Accord to a 335i and everything in between.

I get that others don’t see things like I do and can respect and see the value in keeping cars longer than I do.

But driving a car with 400k miles on it just doesn’t appeal to me. Things are just worn out by then and I don’t think any amount of care and maintenance is going to change that.

Well said.

roadburner · April 2

On the same forum where the 400k mile car acolytes reside I found this recently posted topic:
"Mid life crisis car; Pacifica."
And yes, the guy was serious.

qbrozen · April 2

@28firefighter said:
I'm seeing on LH some folks are getting the EV Chargers for < 200/m.

I might be down for that. Can it tow? Do you think they’d throw a fit if I cut the wires to the external vroom vroom speaker on a lease?

tifighter · April 2

Well, car shopping to about to get more...interesting. Or become non-existent.

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles