Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

qbrozen · October 2016

My E39 with 150k never leaked a drop.

It just made me nervous waiting for the timing guides to let go at any moment. I also lucked out when the water pump failed and did not destroy the engine.

akangl · October 2016

Three weeks into Fusion ownership and so far nothing has been hit with it which is a miracle considering the last 2 commuters had bumps at 3 weeks.....so did the '15 Focus.

We are VERY impressed with the car, comfortable, quiet, almost luxury feel to it with great handling. Best part about it is its possible to comfortably fit 5 people in it with one being in a car seat. The car seat fits much better in the Fusion than my Explorer. We were able to take the Fusion on an hour long trip to go to dinner with 5 of us in the car. My oldest is tall and had plenty of leg room plus room on either side of the car seat was more than adequate. Can't pull that off in the Explorer, someone has to go in the 3rd row and that's whoever pulls the short straw since nobody wants to go back there.

No there won't be another punch this year and no I will not be trading my Explorer for a Fusion. I really do like my Explorer, its only had 2 issues in 60k miles, both fixed with no trouble. I don't see another punch in our future for a long time unless some critter or bad driver wipes out one of the fleet.....I really hope not, we like all of our cars!

akangl · October 2016

breld said:

Marcothecarguy1986 said:
Have an good upcumming week to all. Will try to keep up on all postings threw out the week!
@Marcothecarguy1986 - you have a nice week too! Always fun to see what this forum brings - just wait until the VW TDI buyback happens! @qbrozen's search will be fun (already is)!

The guy who bought our Focus was replacing his TDI Jetta that's part of the buyback this month. He was trying to squeak the tires through on the Jetta so he didn't have to put new ones on it just to turn it in. I wonder what will happen to all those VWs that are bought back. Shame about the whole thing.

tbirdmarco · October 2016

@breld Thankyou! Yes looking fored to what this foram will bring in the up cumming munths and weeks! and what cars everyone will be getting next lol. Yes qbrozens car sirtch is under way big time we are all following along daly. lol lol.

tbirdmarco · October 2016

@rayainsw That is an nice Charger you have.

xwesx · October 2016

akangl said:

The guy who bought our Focus was replacing his TDI Jetta that's part of the buyback this month. He was trying to squeak the tires through on the Jetta so he didn't have to put new ones on it just to turn it in. I wonder what will happen to all those VWs that are bought back. Shame about the whole thing.

Truly, it is a shame! I put some old MB wheels on my Passat, and they have a set of studded tires mounted. The tires are a little under-sized, but I figure I'm just turning the car in, so I'm not going to worry about being 6% off for a trip to Anchorage.

I feel quite bad about turning the thing in at all, given how nice, and beautiful, of a car it is. But, I bought it to do this, so I'm going to follow through with it!

What Focus did you sell? You husband's 2012, or the newer one that was hit with your children in it?

28firefighter · October 2016

Latest update on the GTI:

Dealer got the parts to replace the shifter base and are doing that now. However they won't rely on the codes the advisor pulled relating to the emissions system and are treating this as an unreproduced event. They've asked to put 100 city miles on the car to document the gas mileage.

In the interim I've started buyback or swap discussions with VW. Waiting to hear back on that.

kyfdx · October 2016

rayainsw said:
Moderators -
It looks to me like the Edmunds Long Term blog has not
been updated since 5 Oct. True ?
- Ray
Seems odd to be so long without any entries .....

Edmunds has a Long Term blog?

You mean there are pages on Edmunds, other than the Forums?

Sandman6472 · October 2016

Got into Golf at 6:45 this morning to go to work and turned the key. NOTHING happened!! Figure the battery is dead or cell or two down because it just wouldn't turn over. Jumped in the Accent and off I went. Very impressive vehicle this 8 year old Hyundai Accent. Only 1 issue in all these years, brake light switch, fixed under warranty.
Called my service advisor and told him what happened and that I'd have it towed in tomorrow morning since now, I'm taking the day off. Hoping it's something easy and fixed under warranty quickly. Since the vehicle sat from Friday night till this morning with no use, a bit surprised. Mentioned on Thursday to the indie guy that at the 2 year mark, I'd be back to replace the battery in December. Karma seems to have intervened here!

The Sandman

xwesx · October 2016

Surprising! Do you typically take short trips in the car? If so, this may contribute to a dead battery situation, but only if you really do take very short trips (like the car is only running for maybe 5-10 minutes at a time). My Passat sits now for two or three weeks at a time between starts, and it fires up perfectly when I start it. I haven't even sat in it for nearly six weeks now - I just use the remote start and let it run until the system shuts itself off (about twenty min IIRC).

One of my employees uses her car only for short trips most times, and she was having dead battery issues only a few months after buying it. I suggested it may be the short trips, and she thought that was silly since she never had issues with her prior car. I reminded her that her prior car was a 1990 4-Runner, and it didn't have all the electronics of a modern car (she has a 2011 Highlander now). I recommended that she talk to her dealership, but that the long-term solution was likely to install a trickle-charger so she could plug in the car from time to time.

They concurred with the recommendation, installed it for the price of the part only (IIRC), and she plugs it in every Friday night when she gets home (typically is plugged in for a day or so because she doesn't drive much on weekends); she hasn't had an issue since.

stickguy · October 2016

2 years on a battery would steam my clams something fierce. dealer would be getting an earful about that one.

Even when we do primarily real short hops, never had one die in less than 4-5 years, which still seems short.

andres3 · October 2016

stickguy said:
OK, I would have to see this thing in person (the color) but dang, I want this. Bad. Love the way it is configured. And think i might like the color too! though black interior, big turn off.

http://www.valentiaudi.com/used/Audi/2014-Audi-A4-a413f0d60a0e0ae854d002e51dfed9f4.htm

not the same car, but I like it in this picture!

Volcano Red is a nice color. So is Garnet Red.

Sandman6472 · October 2016

My commute is 30 or so minutes each way 3 days/week so that's plenty of time to warm the vehicle up. It does usually sit from Friday nights till Monday morning since we use the other vehicles and I'm usually too weak and in pain to do much on those days, work really takes the wind out of my sails and seriously, I should just quit now as my body ain't really up to it. Folks who don't have chronic pain don't and can't understand how debilitating it really is, that constant pain just wears one down even with medication.
So no, 22 months doesn't seem long enough for as OE battery to crap out and I hope VW steps up tomorrow and makes it right! I am not a happy camper right now!!!

The Unhappy Sandman :@

suydam · October 2016

I would be very unhappy if a battery lasted less than 2 years! More typical is 4-5 years, and I lived in the snow belt too.

henryn · October 2016

I have had batteries die at around the 2 year mark. That is not the norm, but I have seen it. I believe the heat here in Texas is harder on batteries than the cold up north. And the Sandman lives in south Florida, where it is even hotter than here.

Sandman6472 · October 2016

Called roadside about 10 minutes ago and they are on the way to jump me, hopefully that'll work and a tow won't be necessary. Had to miss work today but glad I do have the flexibility to take off when needed but hey, it's only part time. Still, nice to be able to do that at a moments notice. And if done early, can always go in for a few hours.
In North Palm Beach yesterday, saw a couple of guys from my old crew when I worked in West Palm. On the way back to our mother ship, my co-worker said I was crazy to commute 38 miles each way for that driver job. Explained to him at that time, it was the only job I had after leaving that first company. Obviously after getting in with Hertz, I eventually came to that same conclusion and a couple months later, I up and left as it was just too much driving and other nonsense. Am eligible to go back in March of 2017, tickets on my record are like not weighed too heavily after 3 years. that one speeding ticket kept me from going back a couple months back. They've moved their office closer to me now so figured I could give them a couple days per week.
Hear the guy outside now, gotta run. Wish me luck!!!

The Sandman

henryn · October 2016

If the battery is dead, and I'm fairly certain I didn't leave the headlights on, I just buy a new battery and stick it in there. With modern cars, it's pretty hard to leave the headlights on long enough to run down a battery, so...

About a year ago, I went out one morning and the battery was dead on my Cadillac. I took the truck to work, and that afternoon I went by O'Reillys and picked up a new battery. Problem solved.

What you don't want is for that to happen when you're far away from home, but ...

kyfdx · October 2016

This is near me, and looks reasonably priced.

https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/5832012759.html

stickguy · October 2016

I like it. Not the color though. Way skimpy on details there.

nyccarguy · October 2016

@henryn - what ever happened with your truck? Did you get it fixed? Did the insurance company replace the stolen parts with genuine Ford Aluminum parts or try and slide some cheapo Chinese steel knock off hood in on you?

kyfdx · October 2016

stickguy said:
I like it. Not the color though. Way skimpy on details there.

Black isn't too bad for a 911.

I'm asking for details.

iluvmysephia1 · October 2016

sandy - that's not good enough for a battery - two years. I remember when we were living in Couer d' Alene, ID, for 6 months in 2012, the '08 Lancer GTS just wouldn't start one cold crisp morning. Went and bought a new battery with 500 cold cranking amps - the battery cost me $100 but I needed one for that car that was a bit stronger. Put it in and vroom! The Japanese 4-banger fired right up.

But at that point the Lancer GTS had around 100,000 miles on it, though. I doubt you guys have 100,000 miles on that Accent, do you?

qbrozen · October 2016

The ad for that X5 is gone already.

xwesx · October 2016

henryn said:
I have had batteries die at around the 2 year mark. That is not the norm, but I have seen it. I believe the heat here in Texas is harder on batteries than the cold up north. And the Sandman lives in south Florida, where it is even hotter than here.

The heat must be harder on them. I tend to start considering battery replacement at around the nine-year mark.

henryn · October 2016

nyccarguy said:
@henryn - what ever happened with your truck? Did you get it fixed? Did the insurance company replace the stolen parts with genuine Ford Aluminum parts or try and slide some cheapo Chinese steel knock off hood in on you?

I took it to the Ford dealer where I purchased it new, slightly over a year ago. Genuine Ford aluminum parts, everything looks fine. Hopefully this will not show up on carfax and affect the trade in / resale value.

nyccarguy · October 2016

henryn said:

nyccarguy said:
@henryn - what ever happened with your truck? Did you get it fixed? Did the insurance company replace the stolen parts with genuine Ford Aluminum parts or try and slide some cheapo Chinese steel knock off hood in on you?
I took it to the Ford dealer where I purchased it new, slightly over a year ago. Genuine Ford aluminum parts, everything looks fine. Hopefully this will not show up on carfax and affect the trade in / resale value.

you went through insurance?

kyfdx · October 2016

Porsche ad posted on Sunday, removed today. Guy emailed me back and said it was gone.

I knew that was a good deal!

jpp75 · October 2016

28firefighter said:
Latest update on the GTI:

Dealer got the parts to replace the shifter base and are doing that now. However they won't rely on the codes the advisor pulled relating to the emissions system and are treating this as an unreproduced event. They've asked to put 100 city miles on the car to document the gas mileage.

In the interim I've started buyback or swap discussions with VW. Waiting to hear back on that.

Curious to see how your buyback/swap discussions go. They called me late Friday on the Touareg, they had checked a few things and then discovered it was 2 quarts low on transmission fluid.

They couldn't find any leaks and I haven't seen any in the garage so their assumption was that it came from the factory that way.

I mentioned that it hadn't done this since new and they said it was probably an air bubble in a line somewhere, blah blah blah. Anyway the tech had driven it after he topped off the fluid and said it was fine. They told me they had reset all the transmission software so it may feel a bit odd until it "relearns" how I drive.

Unfortunately the shudder is still there. It does seem a little better a slower speeds but it's very prominent around 30 - 45 mph, mostly in the 3-4 upshift. I have to go out of town for a few days so I'll call them when I get back and drop it off again.

Sandman6472 · October 2016

Got a new battery put in, on their dime, and they did the recall so all is well. It smells of gas in the interior but seems the recall was some kind of suction cup in the engine or gas tank. Just glad it's back home in the garage and ready to roll.
Accent going in tomorrow for the yearly oil change/rotation/re-alignment. Wife wants the brakes checked, again, but it seems fine to me and I drove about 90 miles yesterday and felt nothing irregular. Maybe the rear drums need an adjustment, not sure. Have to look but think those are the original brakes and pads all around but with just over 27K on the clock, should still be fine.

The Sandman

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

kyfdx said:
Porsche ad posted on Sunday, removed today. Guy emailed me back and said it was gone.

I knew that was a good deal!

What was it? Didn't see the ad...

henryn · October 2016

nyccarguy said:

henryn said:

nyccarguy said:
@henryn - what ever happened with your truck? Did you get it fixed? Did the insurance company replace the stolen parts with genuine Ford Aluminum parts or try and slide some cheapo Chinese steel knock off hood in on you?
I took it to the Ford dealer where I purchased it new, slightly over a year ago. Genuine Ford aluminum parts, everything looks fine. Hopefully this will not show up on carfax and affect the trade in / resale value.
you went through insurance?

You better believe it. The total bill was a little over $2,300. The parts were less than 50%, the major part of the cost was "paint labor", matching the paint and painting the new parts.

kyfdx · October 2016

Mr_Shiftright said:

kyfdx said:
Porsche ad posted on Sunday, removed today. Guy emailed me back and said it was gone.

I knew that was a good deal!
What was it? Didn't see the ad...

'86 911 Coupe. Black on black. 101K miles. $20K asking

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

kyfdx said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

kyfdx said:
Porsche ad posted on Sunday, removed today. Guy emailed me back and said it was gone.

I knew that was a good deal!
What was it? Didn't see the ad...
'86 911 Coupe. Black on black. 101K miles. $20K asking

Ah, too bad it's not a 1987...much improved car, especially the shifting and the clutch. The 84s-86s are kind of a pain to drive in city traffic. Also '87 is the first year of the G50 transmission, which was a big leap in reliability and ease of use.

With Porsches, you gotta do your homework, otherwise it might puzzle a buyer as to why one year model has higher asking prices than the year before. I personally would probably pass on an '86.

Mr_Shiftright · October 2016

Very low miles, supercharged, lotsa goodies ($15K worth) on a Mustang GT...but the price?

https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/ford/mustang/1872767.html

stickguy · October 2016

QB, I stopped at the jag dealer today and looked at the burgandy EX37 (color looks real nice in the sun!). Sat in it and started up, but did not drive it. Seemed pretty nice. Some scratches and nicks, particularly on the drivers door, that would need some detailing out, but nothing excessive. from what I could tell, looked pretty straight and clean. Interior was OK too. Pretty sure it had original tires on it, but had some life left. AC blew cold!

Did seem to be short on rear seat leg room, but I had plenty of room, including headroom, in the drivers's seat.

pretty nice package.......

stickguy · October 2016

...While I was out, also looked at the new QX50 (a 2017) at Infiniti dealer. That was nice. even same color. had some upgrades, the biggest of which was they stretched it about 4 inches, and added that to real leg room. huge difference. now quite roomy! This was for my SIL who is looking to replace her 2008 MDX, and was leaning toward an RDX, but asked if there was anything else comparable, and I had forgotten about the 50. Seems about as roomy inside now, and nicer interior I think. Worse MPG, but can't have everything!

stickguy · October 2016

Got a question for you Nutmeg staters (that is Connecticut, right?) How do the dealer doc fees run? My son is still obsessed with getting an A3 now, and found the exact car (of the moment) at a Ct. dealer. I assume they can do the deal (tax and registration) from a dealer in Waterbury? How bad will the fees be vs. just buying in NY?

nyccarguy · October 2016

@stickguy - (say it in a snooty voice) first of all, we are very fancy here in Connecticut. Dealer doc fees are for commoners. Our doc fees are called Conveyance Fees. Lol!

Conveyance fees here run anywhere in the neoghborhood of $199 to $499 or $599. It's just like NJ or FL where the dealers have them pre-printed on the bills of sale. You know the drill, they HAVE to charge everyone the same fee. Your son being a smart negotiator will no doubt ask the selling dealer for their conveyance fee and deduct that from whatever price he's willing to pay for this magical A3 that he's found.

It all depends how much they want to sell that particular unit. Maybe that will push the salesman or the dealer over the top for the month. Even @abacomike who at one point was buying an MB every year, kept paying his dealer's $699 doc fee.

Waterbury is far enough into CT that they most likely won't particularly care whether or not your son can buy in NY for the same price & a $75 doc fee.

When I bought my Legacy, the dealer in Stamford, CT where I live had a cheaper selling price, but a $349 conveyance fee than the dealer in Rye, NY which only had a $75 doc fee. The dealer in NY's net price was $100 cheaper.

tbirdmarco · October 2016

@ akangl Those are all nice cars you have in your fleat ford guy big time hear lol. Trying to convince my dad to look and drive an ford edge or ascape. He has had only an few Hyundais and Nissans over the years since I was small. Now he has an 2009 sanata that has near 14000 miles on it drives long distance to work everyday so that is y his cars last for quite sum time. and the batories to. short trips kill cars a lot quicker and batories to.

tbirdmarco · October 2016

@ 28firefighter Keep us all updated on what does happen with your car. hope the do an exchange since you love that car so much

nyccarguy · October 2016

@Marcothecarguy1986 - my father in law has a 2014 Escape. He's got close to 55K miles on it and loves it. I've driven it & ridden it it recently. It's still tight as a drum. Very nicely finished. Well screwed together. No mechanical problems.

stickguy · October 2016

Thanks Bradd. I wonder if it is different if you are buying out of state? Probably not if they can do the NY tax and DMV for you.

I'm trying to convince him to just wait until the lease is about done. But, he has the bug. so we shall see.

tbirdmarco · October 2016

@sandman_6472 Glad the car is fixed and up and running. thing happen. did hear of bataries on rair instences lasting one year it is what it is.

qbrozen · October 2016

stickguy said:

QB, I stopped at the jag dealer today and looked at the burgandy EX37 (color looks real nice in the sun!). Sat in it and started up, but did not drive it. Seemed pretty nice. Some scratches and nicks, particularly on the drivers door, that would need some detailing out, but nothing excessive. from what I could tell, looked pretty straight and clean. Interior was OK too. Pretty sure it had original tires on it, but had some life left. AC blew cold! Did seem to be short on rear seat leg room, but I had plenty of room, including headroom, in the drivers's seat. pretty nice package.......

Thanks for the report, stick. I hope it sticks around till I can make a move, but I doubt it will.

corvette · October 2016

Heat kills batteries. For those in warmer climates, the underhood engine heat plus the environmental heat is especially brutal. Here in KY, I usually figure on 3-4 years out of a battery for a daily driver.

stickguy · October 2016

well, it has been there for a bit I think. but you never know.

Or, just double the budget and get an F pace. That was seriously nice. They asked if I wanted to take a ride in one, but I decided it would not be a good idea.

qbrozen · October 2016

Has been there for like 8 mos I think but they are damned near auction value on their asking price so it will either get snatched up or they are getting ready to send it to the block.

nyccarguy · October 2016

stickguy said:
Thanks Bradd. I wonder if it is different if you are buying out of state? Probably not if they can do the NY tax and DMV for you.

I'm trying to convince him to just wait until the lease is about done. But, he has the bug. so we shall see.

It's no different. He'll register the car in NY & pay taxes on the car in the county where it will be registered.

stickguy · October 2016

my BIL just bought his new Jaguar from a dealer in Ct (not sure where). They did all the DMV work. collected the taxes and got the registration (and I assume plates) and mailed them to him.

IMO, whether dealers do that is related to how close they are to the other state. I got my car in PA, but very close to Jersey so they did all the legal work. just like if I bought it in Jersey.

N. Jersey dealers do it all the time too.

stickguy · October 2016

so, in my daily browsing, I found this. I always liked this model for some reason, and even like this green (I think, need to see in person). 1 owner, records from dealer, looks super clean. Can do a whole lot worse for the money I bet.

http://www.royaleasing.com/detail-2000-lexus-gs_300-4dr_sedan-used-15566383.html

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