Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

roadburner · April 2015

My wife has always liked the look of the Fiat 500(and I like the Abarth), so we decided to rent one to go see our son Easter weekend. It turned out he wanted to come to KY to visit his girlfriend and go to church with us, so we drove down to SC Thursday, spent the night, and drove home Friday.
I have to say that my wife and I were quite impressed with the car. It did not feel small or "tinny" at all. The car had 13,000 miles on it and there were no rattles or squeaks. The model we had was the "Pop," which is the absolute bottom of the 500 food chain. Base radio, seats, etc. It had an automatic but it was a good match for the engine; it was no rocket ship but it kept up with traffic on the interstates with ease. The 500's ride was comfortable and all three of us were not unduly cramped- although for longer trips a driver and one passenger is the practical maximum occupancy. The seats were actually more comfortable than the chairs in my wife's base 328i, and while I'm on the subject, the Fiat's audio sounded better than the so-called "Hi-Fi" system in the 3er. The HVAC worked great, and the interior didn't look bad at all. Our rental was a 2014, so the gauge cluster had an orange LCD display like most pre 2011 Bimmers. The 2015 cars have a much nicer TFT screen that doesn't resemble a 1980's VCR.
Handling was good as well; I didn't push it too hard, but it had plenty of grip in both wet and dry. The steering effort was good, but feel was lacking, much like the new 3 and 5 Series BMWs. Braking was fine, but again I didn't really push it.
So, would I buy an Abarth? I doubt it- I can't see buying a FWD car that is slower than what I already have. My wife, on the other hand, may well flip her 3er for a 1957 Edition 500 like this car.

stickguy · April 2015

Roadburner buying a car with 101 HP. what is the world coming to.

stickguy · April 2015

suydam said:
And that their #3 choice, the Mazda 6, was "probably not ideal for families" even though this was billed as the $27k Midsize Family Sedan Challenge". ?????

well, I did not take it that way. More that not every family sedan buyer is interested in sharp handling, or will accept a little more road noise to get it. It was still a very practical and functional sedan.

Think of it as the midsize family sedan geared for someone like RB.

suydam · April 2015

Except they also mentioned that it was rather cramped. Just amusing.

stickguy · April 2015

My son came down from Albany to visit for easter. So since it desperately needed it (after a harsh winter in upstate NY) we detailed up the car. wash, wax, interior. Huge improvement. Looks as good as new again.

of course, he is still talking about his next car (GTI, GLI, or his true obsession, an S3). Still a bit over 1.5 years to go on his lease before he would even be eligible for a VW pull-ahead.

anyone know if that plan applies to a buy, or just another lease? That and he hopes it could be used to upgrade to an Audi. Though if we came back to Jersey and got it where he got the Jetta, they would count it because they have VW, Audi and Porsche all together on the same lot.

ab348 · April 2015

suydam said:
And that their #3 choice, the Mazda 6, was "probably not ideal for families" even though this was billed as the $27k Midsize Family Sedan Challenge". ?????

The love by auto journos for the 6 knows no bounds, even at the expense of logic. And, perhaps, credibility.

nyccarguy · April 2015

My family (wife, 2 sons, daughter, Dad, sister, brother in law, & 2 nieces) continued our Easter Sunday traditional trip to the NY Auto Show. As you might expect, with 5 kids 8 & under my report won't be as detailed as my name (nyccarguy) suggests.

the "it" color of the auto show is definitely white. Audi & Lexus showed off their entire collection in white. Audi's S cars were all Red & very sexy.

I did get some seat time in an S3 which was snug, but I could definitely make it work. Well bolstered seats & a very well appointed cockpit. If you lay off the options list, it isn't a bad way to part ways with a low $40K loan payment;). Not that I'm in the market.

BMW had a gorgeous Marina Blue ///M3 open and on display. I gotta get my hands on one of these.

I'm always interested in listening to what my wife has to say & what she likes. I know she drives the family truckster (Pliot) out of necessity. She seemed to really take a liking to the Golf Wagon & the Beetle.

I sat in a Golf R which I really liked until I got out and looked at the 35 series low profile tires & thought to myself "they've got to be kidding." I'll post some pics.

nyccarguy · April 2015

stickguy · April 2015

The ultra low profile tire race has gotten out of hands. maybe in SoCal, or other parts of the country where the roads are glass smooth. In the NE, it is crazy. The more sidewall the better! The original GTI was quite the handler running 185/60's.

rayainsw · April 2015

Trip report.

First time I have had the opportunity to drive much more than my typical 50 miles commute plus lunch trip = daily drives.

I filled the tank [ Duluth, GA ] and drove past Helen, GA to Anna Ruby Falls. 71.2 miles, 23.0 MPG. This drive is about two thirds highway and the rest 2-lane. Elevation change approx. 500 to 550 feet. The Charger ran perfectly – and I was not making any attempt to maximize MPG. Some of the 2-lane is enjoyable [ when not stuck behind a dawdler ] with sweeping 45 – 65 MPH curves. I spent a couple of hours in the Falls area [ until others started to appear ] then drove back the exact same route – losing that elevation this leg. At home = 144.8 miles driven, 24.8 MPG. In both directions, generally pacing traffic.
Highway speeds 65 to 75 MPH. 2-lane = 45 to 65. The EPA estimate for the Charger V8 is 16 city and 25 highway.

I am still quite impressed with the ride and the handling of this rather large sedan. And the V8 TQ. Absolutely no complaints here. Comfortable cruiser, very secure handler, decent MPG.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/rayainsw/slideshow/0 2015 anna ruby falls april 5th?sort=3

- Ray
I like it . . .

tommister2 · April 2015

Thanks for sharing Ray. It's a good feeling to really connect with your ride. Beautiful pictures too!

graphicguy · April 2015

Ray....great pics. Liking your choice in cars, too!

xwesx · April 2015

graphicguy said:
Ray....great pics. Liking your choice in cars, too!

Agreed; fantastic photos! I could almost hear the sound of the water as it trickled along and then cascaded down those falls (or vice versa, if such was the case).

corvette · April 2015

The metal flake white paint was neat when it was only on Lexuses and Oldsmobile Auroras. Now that it's on everything down to a Honda Civic, it looks a lot less special. I think I'd prefer plain old white because it's rarer now!

Agreed the low profile tires are getting worse. If I get winter tires for the GLI next winter they will be 205/55/16s. Surprisingly, those will fit the brakes on the GLI and GTI.

Beautiful pictures, Ray!

Sandman6472 · April 2015

We both still love our Audi/VW vehicles with no issues at about 4.5k on the clock. No rattles, sqeaks...quiet as can be and both love to be tossed around. We definitely made the right choices here though am glad I got the CUV thing out of my system. Both hoping to keep our current rides for many years to come as we both absolutely love our vehicles!!

The Sandman

Sandman6472 · April 2015

Time to replace the sneakers on the Accent it seems, Tires Plus wouldn't rotate them because they said it wasn't safe to do. Even though the vehicle still has less than 20k on it, the tires are considered almost 7 years old now so it definitely is time for a new set, something I knew I'd have to take care of this year anyways. And since the kid's still on the payroll, dad has to pay the bill! Since the girls are taking a end of semester trip the end of April, I've been told it's time for me to "take care of things"! So time to start checking out tire places to see what's out there! Will probably end up back at Tires Plus for the usual "buy 3, get 1 free" deals like I did with the Versa and the Mazda3...they had the Firestone Affinity tires for a very good price and it is a highly rated tire also. Luckily I still have about 3.5 weeks to get 'er done so they can take off, again, no men allowed!

The Sandman

xwesx · April 2015

Sounds like you're being used and abused, Sandy! Those women-folk.

jeffb0101 · April 2015

I know a few of you have the current model (2013 and up) Accord. How is it with road noise/rattles? Did any of you have the previous (2008-2012) model and notice a difference?

My 2012 has a lot of road noise, and rattles from the rear panels. Curious to see how the newer one stacks up.

graphicguy · April 2015

Wife has a new body style Accord. Solid as a stone. No rattles, but I don't drive it much.

suydam · April 2015

I have a '13 also. Wonderful car! Much quieter than previous versions. No rattles at all.

breld · April 2015

Went to the Denver Auto Show last night.

Nothing really too exciting to report, but here were my personal thoughts:

Only car that gave me a twinge that I should have waited was the VW Golf Sportwagen. They had the one that I think has been traveling the car show circuit - a loaded TDI with the 6-speed manual. Cool car. But, I'm more interested to see what they do with the 4motion version. Golf R was nice, though very understated in silver.
Mazda had nothing new to show (Miata, CX-3), other than the refreshed 2016 Mazda6, so that was a little disappointing. The new interior on the Mazda6 is indeed very nice and upscale.
New Maxima is very interesting to look at - almost looks like a concept car that they allowed into production. Whether or not it's too bold to be successful will be interesting to see.
Shelby GT350 is cool. I want one.
Nothing too exciting at the Honda/Acura section, though they did have an HR-V. For a new model, they could've tried presenting it with a more exciting color - this one was Grey, which made it pretty much fade into the background.
BMW didn't have much, other than showcasing the i8. No M cars, which was surprising, I thought. We spent more time over at Mercedes - I really like the new C-class. It has a lot of "presence" and a beautiful interior./ul>

jeffb0101 · April 2015

Thanks for the reply!

I really do like my 2012, but have just noticed lately that it seems to have a lot of noise.

Michaell · April 2015

breld said:
Went to the Denver Auto Show last night.

Nothing really too exciting to report, but here were my personal thoughts:
Only car that gave me a twinge that I should have waited was the VW Golf Sportwagen. They had the one that I think has been traveling the car show circuit - a loaded TDI with the 6-speed manual. Cool car. But, I'm more interested to see what they do with the 4motion version. Golf R was nice, though very understated in silver.
Mazda had nothing new to show (Miata, CX-3), other than the refreshed 2016 Mazda6, so that was a little disappointing. The new interior on the Mazda6 is indeed very nice and upscale.
New Maxima is very interesting to look at - almost looks like a concept car that they allowed into production. Whether or not it's too bold to be successful will be interesting to see.
Shelby GT350 is cool. I want one.
Nothing too exciting at the Honda/Acura section, though they did have an HR-V. For a new model, they could've tried presenting it with a more exciting color - this one was Grey, which made it pretty much fade into the background.
BMW didn't have much, other than showcasing the i8. No M cars, which was surprising, I thought. We spent more time over at Mercedes - I really like the new C-class. It has a lot of "presence" and a beautiful interior./ul>

breld - I'm hoping to get to the show this weekend ... tile guy is finishing up this morning, so the only thing left is to get the thermostat installed for the heated floors, put on a couple of coats of sealant and get my step-son and his best friend to put all the furniture back into the room.

Were you able to sit in the HR-V? How small is it?

breld · April 2015

@michaell - the HR-V was available to sit in, though I just peeked inside. From what I could tell, it seemed plenty roomy, much like the Fit (as you'd expect). I thought the dash looked a little plain, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It was nice - but I think the CR-V seems to offer a lot more, for what may be just a little more money.

suydam · April 2015

Unless you want to go smaller for urban maneuvering and don't need the extra space.

Michaell · April 2015

suydam said:

Unless you want to go smaller for urban maneuvering and don't need the extra space.

Which is exactly what I'm thinking. Got the outback for family and hauling duties.

As long as I can get the golf clubs in the back with the seat down, I'm good.

carnaught · April 2015

jeffb0101 said:
I know a few of you have the current model (2013 and up) Accord. How is it with road noise/rattles? Did any of you have the previous (2008-2012) model and notice a difference?

Wife's 2015 Accord very solid with no really intrusive road noise, no rattles.

Sandman6472 · April 2015

Hertz bought 50 new Civic's this last week and since we service the dealership, we had to bring them down from the parking garage. All LX models which is to say, rather dull. My '06 seemed to have a nicer interior with more upscale fabrics and such, even the wheels are now a puny 15" steelies. One needs to step up to the EX or EX-L to get the 16" alloys. I did see a row of new Fit's and was more impressed with those to be honest. Haven't seen any HR-V's at the dealer yet but have seen a few Chevy Trax's and like the Buick Encore, both are very nice vehicles. If I had not fallen in love with my Golf, I probably would've gone with one of these models as I just prefer a smaller vehicle like the Golf.

The Sandman

stever · April 2015

15" steelies? Sounds good to me.

Since steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, I could still say I was running alloys.

Sandman6472 · April 2015

With summer about here, needed a change at work so the boss agreed to a schedule change for the next few months. Our weeks start on a Friday so I work Friday, Wednesday, Thursday and rotating Saturdays. Decided that I wanted 3 days off in a row for a change as the other half wants to take a few small trips this summer and also, I just needed a change as I was in a rut. Think this will work for awhile and luckily, a co-worker that went out on sick leave last September will be coming back on the 20th so the timing to ask for a schedule change was perfect. Still love the job but felt like I needed a change to put that spring back in my step! I haven't been feeling very good lately to be honest, staying home on my days off just to rest my aching body. My chronic pain is just slowing me down a bit. I didn't take any time off during 2014 except those few days last April when I got the flu but since it's only a part time gig, I didn't feel the need to. This year, I do, so a schedule change was just the first step in my plan.

The Sandman

danbone111 · April 2015

Long time reader, very seldom poster-Hosts or whomever, assistance please, if possible.
Tomorrow morning, my wife wants to lease a 2015 Prius Three, 36months/36k miles. Looking for Money Factors and Residuals so I can try to determine lease payment....thank you.

Michaell · April 2015

danbone111 said:
Long time reader, very seldom poster-Hosts or whomever, assistance please, if possible.
Tomorrow morning, my wife wants to lease a 2015 Prius Three, 36months/36k miles. Looking for Money Factors and Residuals so I can try to determine lease payment....thank you.

Please post in the "Prius Lease Questions" discussion and I'll be happy to help....

danbone111 · April 2015

thank you, I made a post in that discussion, thank you.

http://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5083034/#Comment_5083034

henryn · April 2015

Another punch. Not new, but still a punch.

I found a 2006 Cadillac DTS. A woman bought it new at the Cadillac dealer in West Houston, kept it 9 years, 35k miles, and traded it in at the same dealership. It looks as though it's been in a garage all of it's life.

stever · April 2015

Wow, nice find.

nyccarguy · April 2015

Very nice! New or used doesn't matter. A punch is a punch! Congrats!

brian125 · April 2015

henryn

Nice pick up and very nice highway cruiser. . Make sure previous owner followed up on these important Recalls.

Recall ID # 86949 - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Recall Date JUN 04, 2010
Component ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Model Affected DTS
Potential Units Affected 1365070

Recall ID # 104501 - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
Recall Date JUN 23, 2014
Component ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
Model Affected DTS
Potential Units Affected 3141731

Recall ID # 37953 - STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:HOSE, PIPING, AND CONNECTIONS.
Recall Date APR 05, 2006

corvette · April 2015

Congrats, henryn! I like the color.

That makes 8 punches for the year. Some of you have some catching up to do! My latest "punch" is that I'm now under contract on an offer I made on a house up here. No cars in my future for a while, I think.

jpp75 · April 2015

Congrats henryn! I'm sure you got a great deal on it and at that mileage will get lots of good use out of it.

jpp75 · April 2015

So after a month and 500 miles with the S60 thought I would post a few more thoughts and observations. For those who missed it I leased an S60 T5 Platinum FWD last month for 39 months.

So far I'm really pleased with the car, this is my first turbo but so far I've been happy with the performance. It's economical around town, driving lightly I can easily get 26 - 27 around town and on the couple of short highway trips I've taken mid 30's is easy to achieve. However when you feel like more "spirited" driving the power is certainly there and comes up quickly without a lot of intrusive engine noise. The 8 speed transmission is smooth shifting and doesn't seem to do a lot of gear hunting, although when using Eco+ mode you can definitely feel it eager to upshift and keep the RPMs as low as possible, but all cars do that now in the name of MPG.

I was a bit concerned about road noise during the test drive, but after a month it's not that bad. The first road I drove was really bad in terms of needing a repave, smoother roads are much quieter and I don't notice any wind noise.

The infotainment system is fine, much more "stable" than the one in the Q50 but nothing out of this world either. Easy to read screen and the controls are fairly intuitive once you learn the center stack. I still think the numeric keypad looks dated, but I can live with it.

The Harman Kardon sound system is simply amazing, one of my favorite aspects of the car by far and I'm not really an audiophile but the sound is truly great. Much, much better than the Bose system in the Infiniti.

Seats are supremely comfortable, I think @stickguy has mentioned before the comfort of Volvo seats, no let down here.

All the nannies seems to work fine, the adaptive cruise is great and I've used it to come to a full stop and start back up again at red lights, the Infiniti won't do that. I've yet to see the auto braking come into play, a couple of times I thought it should, but not something you really want to "test"

This car has the Climate Package, which we don't really need here (heated seats, steering wheel and windshield). The only thing I don't like is the heated windshield, sometimes at night you can see the lines of the heating elements, nothing major but not something I need/would get on my own.

As @laurasdada has mentioned on his Jag, this only has rear fog lights, no front fog lights. Odd but I never use fog lights really so not a big deal.

I probably could have leased a similarly equipped ILX for a bit less (my payments are $463 for 15k/yr) but I like the looks of the Volvo better and also just like having something a little "different" All in all happy with the punch, great little car for what we use it for, mostly around town and the occasional trip. If I had it to do over I'd lease it again and think it will serve me well for 39 months and hopefully then I'll be able to afford the Touareg I really want.

roadburner · April 2015

Congrats henryn!

graphicguy · April 2015

Henry...great find. I like it...color in and out. Beautiful car. Congratz.

henryn · April 2015

Thanks, everyone. So far I'm really enjoying the car.

The carpets and floor mats are an off white color, and they are really clean. I don't know whether the original owner managed to keep it that clean, or if the dealer cleaned it up. It is such a light color, and so perfectly clean, it is making me a bit paranoid. I need to get some good floor mats.

houdini1 · April 2015

henryn said:
Another punch. Not new, but still a punch.

I found a 2006 Cadillac DTS. A woman bought it new at the Cadillac dealer in West Houston, kept it 9 years, 35k miles, and traded it in at the same dealership. It looks as though it's been in a garage all of it's life.

Very nice car. Dark brown or black floormats would look great in that car.

fezo · April 2015

That's a great punch. Love the colors.

carnaught · April 2015

Henryn, actually I had almost the same DTS, just a few years older than yours, and bought it new. It was the same red with the wood steering wheel and shifter, and console, but with a beige not gray interior. Actually, when the car wasn't in the dealer's service dept. (every 6 wks. without fail), I loved how it drove and rode. For a big car, it was a looker. Got rid of it after one year after getting it when I had it in for service extending into the weekend, then spotted it on the other side of town from me in someone's driveway on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm sure that as the years went on the car was better mechanically in every way than mine, so happy motoring.

henryn · April 2015

carnaught said:
Henryn, actually I had almost the same DTS, just a few years older than yours, and bought it new. It was the same red with the wood steering wheel and shifter, and console, but with a beige not gray interior. Actually, when the car wasn't in the dealer's service dept. (every 6 wks. without fail), I loved how it drove and rode. For a big car, it was a looker. Got rid of it after one year after getting it when I had it in for service extending into the weekend, then spotted it on the other side of town from me in someone's driveway on a Saturday afternoon.

I'm sure that as the years went on the car was better mechanically in every way than mine, so happy motoring.

My first Cadillac was a 1992, and I have owned 3 more since then. And I have been a member of the Cadillac forums (not here on Edmunds), for a great many years. So I am quite well aware of all the things that can go wrong with a Cadillac. But I still love them.

My right knee is titanium steel and space age plastic. I cannot drive any car / truck with a console for more than about 30 minutes, so my automotive choices are rather limited. One of the reasons I almost bought a CR-V, room for my right knee to lean over and flex a bit. But that base 4 cylinder engine is just a little too weak. I had the Tahoe for a while (about 8 months), and it was fine for short trips. But after an hour, my knee was killing me. So Adios, Tahoe, hello Cadillac!

stever · April 2015

Interesting, consoles tend to cramp me, probably because I'm used to the roomy front seats in my minivans. Even then, it depends on the van.

Michaell · April 2015

Auto show update ... I finally made it to the Denver Auto Show last night. Spent the morning putting my family room back together after having heated ceramic tile installed all last week, and the afternoon watching round 3 of the Masters.

Anyway, once I got there (traffic was a killer as the Rockies and the Avalanche both had games last night), I found I had picked a pretty good time to attend. The show was open until 10 last night, but there were more people leaving than going in when I got there around 5:30-6. Gave me ample time and space to wander around at leisure without having to deal with large crowds.

So ... my mission last night was to look at potential replacements for my Elantra GT lease, which is due 11/2016. I don't have a specific car in mind, but this new crop of baby CUV's has me intrigued. In addition to those, a couple of other candidates revealed themselves, which I'll get to at the end of the post.

In no particular order:

Mazda CX-3 - Mazda didn't have one to show, but I talked with a "product specialist" and they added my name to an email list so hopefully I'll get information on it sometime soon. I think it's meant to be released later this summer and will be available initially with only the 2.0 engine with 155HP.

Jeep Renegade - Disclosure - I stopped by my local Jeep dealership last week and had a pretty close look at one of these in Altitude trim; the one at the show was the full-zoot Trailhawk edition. Very square, both inside and out, but reasonably well equipped.

Fiat 500X - Cousin to the Jeep; the only one at the show was not available to climb into. More rounded than the Jeep (duh!), but I expect equipment and pricing to be similar.

Buick Encore - The two at the show were fully loaded with sticker prices around $33K - wowza. But, really well equipped and pretty comfortable behind the wheel.

Chevrolet Trax - Cousin to the Buick, but more moderately priced. LTZ with a sticker of $28K and an LT for under $25K. Materials weren't as nice as the Buick (duh - again), but for the around town driving I'd do, I could maybe live with it.

Honda HR-V - This I really liked. Based off the Fit platform, the seats do all sorts of crazy machinations I'll probably never use. Good materials in the cockpit, and a good selection of features and creature comforts. Salesman said they were getting product training tomorrow (4/13), so he didn't know much about it either. Thought the EX-L AWD trim would sticker around $25K.

Subaru Impreza - I'm not thrilled with the looks of these in hatchback form; the proportions seem off and more clunky than my Elantra GT. However, pretty decent equipment levels (Premium trim) for a low $20's price tag.

Now, for a few I wouldn't have thought of:

Jeep Patriot - Chrysler finally wised up and ditched the miserable CVT; the Patriot I saw had the 2.4L "Tigershark" engine coupled to a traditional 6-speed automatic. I'd have to take a closer look at the options, but I suspect I could price one out in the mid-20's as well.

Ford Fiesta ST - I know, not AWD, but man, I'll bet it's a hoot to drive. The price tag on the one on display was $23K, and that included a few options I could live without - the garish green paint and stripes. And, without the Recaro package, I actually fit pretty well behind the wheel. The only downside is that it comes equipped from the factory with summer rubber; I'd have to replace that with either all-seasons or winter tires to make it liveable here in Colorado.

Kia Soul - at @stever request, I took another look at this. Fully optioned "!" with all the goodies rang the register at just over $27K. Again, no AWD, but I've lived in CO now for over 20 years driving FWD cars, so AWD is a want, not necessarily a need.

I saw the Golf Sport Wagen - no AWD available just yet, and is probably out of my price range. Same with the Golf R - while I like me some hatchback, I think the proportions of the S3 are just nicer.

rayainsw · April 2015

Nice DTS Henryn!
Very nice condition - enjoy!

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