Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

corvette

First fill-up in the Maverick on this road trip netted an impressive 28.8 MPG (all highway, staying around 80 in 70 MPH zones). Also impressive, the trip computer's indicated MPG matched my manual confirmation down to the tenth. This essentially matches the EPA highway rating of 29 while driving at a higher average speed.

I headed into Omaha during evening rush hour. Well over an hour before getting there, Waze offered a detour to avoid traffic, and I took it. Ended up going straight on to I-880 east to Loveland, Iowa and then south to Omaha. There was almost NO traffic on I-880, it was kind of eerie.

Saw a scenic overlook and decided to stop. The cool part about it was that, from ground level, it seems like you're climbing a few flights of stairs to get a better view of the nearby cell towers...


...but once you get up there, you have a nice view of prairie and forest. I could also hear sheep in the distance. You can just see the Omaha skyline to the west. The signage indicated it closed at 4 PM, but I didn't see any gates, and there was one other lawbreaker who had also ignored the unreasonable closure time.





Weirdly, they built another paved circular loop to the northwest, which goes to nowhere, and they have signage and everything pointing you to the left for the overlook and to the right for "Circle Drive." Can't help but wonder whether they planned a second tower or other feature there, but not sure why it would be paved and left open.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

laurasdada said:

So far enjoying the Conti DWS06+ on the A7; quite, smooth and were rock-solid in the recent rain storm.
Still quite new, of course.

I’m quite disappointed in my Pilot Sport 4 AS. No matter how hard I take corners they refuse to squeal.😂👍

Mine are worn out..

————————————————
Does that mean you managed to get yours to squeal?

jmonroe

kyfdx

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

laurasdada said:

So far enjoying the Conti DWS06+ on the A7; quite, smooth and were rock-solid in the recent rain storm.
Still quite new, of course.

I’m quite disappointed in my Pilot Sport 4 AS. No matter how hard I take corners they refuse to squeal.😂👍

Mine are worn out..

————————————————
Does that mean you managed to get yours to squeal?

jmonroe

Nope.. no squealing. Just a lot of fast corners

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

laurasdada said:

So far enjoying the Conti DWS06+ on the A7; quite, smooth and were rock-solid in the recent rain storm.
Still quite new, of course.

I’m quite disappointed in my Pilot Sport 4 AS. No matter how hard I take corners they refuse to squeal.😂👍

Let me try.

nyccarguy

I took my son driving today for the 3rd time. He did much better starting off today and even mastered the 1-2 shift. After about 1/2 hour of parking lot speeds, the ATTS light came on so I decided to head home and let the car rest until tomorrow.

I got new Michelin wiper blades from Costco and replaced them;)

Next we took the Tacoma out to our empty office park and had him drive around for another 1/2 hour.

nyccarguy

I was at dinner with my sister, my nieces, my wife, and 2 kids last night. My oldest is a week away from finishing his freshman year of college. The “what car’s next?” topic came up. My sister’s lease on her GLC isn’t up until the end of June, not May as I originally thought. Does anyone know if MBFS allows 3rd party buyouts?

Since my son is coming home next week, my wife asked me what’s going on with the car search. I told her about some very cheap leases available for ‘24 Tacomas that my broker told me about. I’m hesitant because she doesn’t like the pickup and I think that it’s too big for our older son. I suggested maybe spending a little more and getting a car like a Civic or Camry that will be easy for our 18 year old to drive over the summer and then she could drive to work once they go back to school and I’ll start to use the Highlander. She seemed open to that.

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

I took my son driving today for the 3rd time. He did much better starting off today and even mastered the 1-2 shift. After about 1/2 hour of parking lot speeds, the ATTS light came on so I decided to head home and let the car rest until tomorrow.

I got new Michelin wiper blades from Costco and replaced them;)

Next we took the Tacoma out to our empty office park and had him drive around for another 1/2 hour.

————————————————
When are you going to take the gloves off?

When I got my permit my Dad took me out all day Saturday more times that I care to remember. He was a kitchen cabinet salesman. Today he’d be called a kitchen designer. He purposely scheduled appointments with builders and owners on Saturday at the out stretches of the Burgh so I could get some diversified experience. I’m not exaggerating when I say most of those Saturday’s I drove 100/125 miles.

Several times he woke me up so I could go chauffeur him around and here I thought I’d go out those days with my friends. Nope, he needed chauffeuring.

I’ll say this though, when it was time for me to take my drivers test, I wasn’t the least bit nervous like most of my friends told me they were.

There is no such thing as too much driving experience on a permit. So get out on the road and out of parking lots. He won’t break.

jmonroe

nyccarguy

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————
When are you going to take the gloves off?

When I got my permit my Dad took me out all day Saturday more times that I care to remember. He was a kitchen cabinet salesman. Today he’d be called a kitchen designer. He purposely scheduled appointments with builders and owners on Saturday at the out stretches of the Burgh so I could get some diversified experience. I’m not exaggerating when I say most of those Saturday’s I drove 100/125 miles.

Several times he woke me up so I could go chauffeur him around and here I thought I’d go out those days with my friends. Nope, he needed chauffeuring.

I’ll say this though, when it was time for me to take my drivers test, I wasn’t the least bit nervous like most of my friends told me they were.

There is no such thing as too much driving experience on a permit. So get out on the road and out of parking lots. He won’t break.

jmonroe

It’s not him I’m worried about

nyccarguy

I had a real close call with the Prelude on Friday afternoon. Ultimately it would have been completely my fault. Turning left into a Dublin donuts parking lot where the entrance is always blocked. The gentleman in a white BMW in the left lane decides that he’ll stop before the entrance and waves me through. Now while I’m turning, I can’t see the right lane. A woman in a 2nd gen CRV comes up in the right lane. I stood up on the brake pedal, the car stalled, and I missed her by about a foot. Once I pulled into the parking lot, I stayed in the AC and took a few deep breaths before I got out to get my coffee.

stickguy

close calls are scary. but still better than getting into an accident. A good reminder to always be vigilant and not assume.

stickguy

I actually liked the rule in NJ that a kid had to spend 4 hours behind the wheel with a driving school instructor before they were allowed to go out with a parent. Got that initial "what's it like to drive?" learning curve out of the way on someone else's car, and nerves.

I agree though, once they prove competent enough, the more seat time the better.

nyccarguy

Colorado guys - tough loss last night!

nyccarguy

I saw what appeared to be a very clean Civic with a 4 Sale Sign in it in a prominent area right when you get off the parkway. Henry & I stopped to take a look. 2014 Civic EX - White with Tan guts. 66K miles. Honda badge missing from the front. The rear bumper had a large swath of damage covered by touch up paint. Asking $14K! The passenger seat had a huge coffee stain on it. In the cup holder was a ceramic mug half filled with coffee. Hard pass.

corvette

@nyccarguy - I'm always leery of someone waving me through when there are other lanes. I try to creep forward until I can get a good view of the other lanes. Glad you avoided an incident!

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

Colorado guys - tough loss last night!

I watched the Nuggets blow out the Clippers.

Avs have lots of questions in the off-season, for sure.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I actually liked the rule in NJ that a kid had to spend 4 hours behind the wheel with a driving school instructor before they were allowed to go out with a parent. Got that initial "what's it like to drive?" learning curve out of the way on someone else's car, and nerves.

I agree though, once they prove competent enough, the more seat time the better.

6 hours of instructor time in Colorado, plus 50 hours with the folks (10 of which have to be completed at night).

nyccarguy

@Michaell said:
I watched the Nuggets blow out the Clippers.

Avs have lots of questions in the off-season, for sure.

I was talking about the Avs and getting beat by Dallas and Rantanen scoring a hat trick after you traded him away.

nyccarguy

@corvette said:
@nyccarguy - I'm always leery of someone waving me through when there are other lanes. I try to creep forward until I can get a good view of the other lanes. Glad you avoided an incident!

I was creeping. I should have waited for the guy who let me go to pass.

As @stickguy said, I need to constantly be vigilant. Especially in my Prelude.

kyfdx

corvette said:

@nyccarguy - I'm always leery of someone waving me through when there are other lanes. I try to creep forward until I can get a good view of the other lanes. Glad you avoided an incident!

On the other side of this.. I'll stop to let someone through, but I NEVER wave them on. Never. Someone is always waiting to jump out line behind you.

pensfan83

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

kyfdx

Man.. sorry to hear about your pup.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

@Michaell said:

I watched the Nuggets blow out the Clippers.

Avs have lots of questions in the off-season, for sure.

I was talking about the Avs and getting beat by Dallas and Rantanen scoring a hat trick after you traded him away.

I know you were. And, we traded Rantanen to the Lightning - no way would we have traded him directly to a conference rival.

I chose not to watch that game.

Michaell

@pensfan83 - so sorry to hear about Teddy. Having just lost one of our dachshunds a month or so back, I know how hard it can be.

My other doggo is creeping up on 17 years old, and I’m not sure how much longer he will be with us.

stickguy

Very sad. So hard to let them go even when you know it is the right thing to do

graphicguy

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

Awwww...so sorry to hear of your loss of your beloved Teddy. They are indeed family.

pensfan83

stickguy said:

Very sad. So hard to let them go even when you know it is the right thing to do

The 2 e-vets we went to were at opposite ends of the city so before we went to the one took care of the euthanasia procedure my wife and oldest came to the first e-vet. We left a car there and drove together. Probably the most solemn car ride I've been part of.

After hearing the grim news our youngest asked the vet if we could take him home for one last night to "treat him like a king". She explained in the gentlest, clearest, but direct way why that wasn't a good idea and asked whether he would rather be able to spend time with him now when he's himself or having to carry him in later because he can't breathe.

au1994

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

I am so sorry for the loss of your dog. It just guts me every time this happens.

28firefighter

So sorry, @pensfan83. The worst.

breld

@pensfan83 - so sorry for the loss of your pup. It’s such a hard thing to go through.

@nyccarguy - yes, brutal loss for the Avalanche. I was out of town for my son’s college graduation, so he and I were able to watch the game at a sports bar. The rollercoaster of emotions was crazy - with a 2 goal lead well into the 3rd it was looking pretty good…then it turned so quickly. And @michaell, just to clarify, we traded Rantanan to Carolina before he was then traded to the Stars.

Michaell

breld said:

@pensfan83 - so sorry for the loss of your pup. It’s such a hard thing to go through.

@nyccarguy - yes, brutal loss for the Avalanche. I was out of town for my son’s college graduation, so he and I were able to watch the game at a sports bar. The rollercoaster of emotions was crazy - with a 2 goal lead well into the 3rd it was looking pretty good…then it turned so quickly. And @michaell, just to clarify, we traded Rantanan to Carolina before he was then traded to the Stars.

I knew it was to some team in the Southeast - took a guess.

nyccarguy

@pensfan83 - I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. May Teddy's memories be a blessing to you and your family!

pensfan83

Thanks all, as everyone noted it's just the absolute worst and makes you want to never ever go through it again that's for sure.

suydam

So sorry to hear about your loss. We lost our first dog in much the same way, and were so surprised and devastated that it went south so quickly. I know all of our thoughts are with you.

jmonroe1

@pensfan83, my condolences. I watched both of my Sons and their families go through that. Tough times for sure.

jmonroe

greg1288

graphicguy said:

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

Awwww...so sorry to hear of your loss of your beloved Teddy. They are indeed family.

Unfortunately we have a lot of experience losing many or our pups over the years. We have had up to 3 at once and now are down to only our 15 year old Cocoa who is having trouble getting up and down steps.
It is always heartbreaking losing them but you have to remember the old saying: "Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Sorry for your loss.

explorerx4

Went up to WI to visit one of the kids on Friday.
Looked at some vehicles on Saturday.
We decided not to buy any of these new, in stock units.

stickguy

I would take the truck for the right price. Dimples give it some extra style!

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

Went up to WI to visit one of the kids on Friday.
Looked at some vehicles on Saturday.
We decided not to buy any of these new, in stock units.

————————————————
Yikes, those things are a mess. I wouldn’t want any of them unless they’re pretty much giving them away.

Just curious but are any of them candidates for one of those “paintless dent repair” outfits? And if so is the dealer obligated to inform the buyer?

jmonroe

carnaught

pensfan83 said:

Thanks all, as everyone noted it's just the absolute worst and makes you want to never ever go through it again that's for sure.

My sympathies to you as well @pensfan83 . You did the right thing by sparing him the suffering.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
I would take the truck for the right price. Dimples give it some extra style!

Like dimples on a golf ball, they make the truck cut through the air easier.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

Went up to WI to visit one of the kids on Friday.
Looked at some vehicles on Saturday.
We decided not to buy any of these new, in stock units.

Ah, yes... the rare Fuel Sipper option! Definitely a bargain.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

I had a real close call with the Prelude on Friday afternoon. Ultimately it would have been completely my fault. Turning left into a Dublin donuts parking lot where the entrance is always blocked. The gentleman in a white BMW in the left lane decides that he’ll stop before the entrance and waves me through. Now while I’m turning, I can’t see the right lane. A woman in a 2nd gen CRV comes up in the right lane. I stood up on the brake pedal, the car stalled, and I missed her by about a foot. Once I pulled into the parking lot, I stayed in the AC and took a few deep breaths before I got out to get my coffee.

Something similar happened to my father years ago. Someone in the first lane waved him out and a woman in the second lane t-boned him. She tried to sue him for a million dollars over a claimed chipped tooth.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I would take the truck for the right price. Dimples give it some extra style!

Assuming you’re going to drive it into the ground and never sell it. I’ve seen some old videos where they pop the metal back in shape using a torch.

roadburner

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

So sorry. It's terrible to lose a friend like that.

stickguy

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I would take the truck for the right price. Dimples give it some extra style!

Assuming you’re going to drive it into the ground and never sell it. I’ve seen some old videos where they pop the metal back in shape using a torch.

well, if I got one like that I would not worry about parking it outside under the trees. Or throwing brush in the back.

sb55

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep. He lost most of his appetite save for some treats in the middle of the week and not even a generous helping of shredded cheese could entice him to eat more than the cheese. He's always been a free feeding dog but to go 3 days without food is unusual, even though his water intake was fine, so we took him to two emergency vets on Saturday where they told us he had fluid build up in his chest cavity and masses on his spleen and bladder. We were stunned to say the least because he was otherwise acting his normal self. Even though we were prepared to drop whatever money we needed to, at 10 years old and with multiple masses the prognosis wasn't great so we made the decision to let him go. We're all pretty gutted but the 12 year old is taking it the hardest. He wasn't quite 4 when we adopted Teddy.

So sorry to hear. We lost ours less than 2 months ago. She ate but vomited all up. A mass in her stomach blocked digestion. Emergency vets are no fun (or cheap!)

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I would take the truck for the right price. Dimples give it some extra style!

Assuming you’re going to drive it into the ground and never sell it. I’ve seen some old videos where they pop the metal back in shape using a torch.

well, if I got one like that I would not worry about parking it outside under the trees. Or throwing brush in the back.

I see a lot of hail damaged cars showcased by YouTubers in Oklahoma and Kansas. Usually at CoPart type auctions.

imidazol97

pensfan83 said:

A pretty rough weekend for us as we had to put our beloved Teddy to sleep.

So sad about Teddy.

mjfloyd1

@pensfan83 - sorry to hear about Teddy. We had a sheltie with oral melanoma and have not had another pet since. He slept behind my wife’s knees after IVF and slept by the crib after our first was born. You get so attached to them.

explorerx4

My daughter did end up trading in her 2013 Escape and getting a 2024 Bronco Sport.
It's an Outer Banks trim which has the nicest interior and it has a couple of option packages.
Options are tech pkg(B&O sound, wireless charging, Sat radio) and CoPilot 360+(adaptive cruise with stop and go, speed limit sign display, evasive steering).