Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tjc78 · May 2019

Michaell said:

fintail said:
8 weeks and a day with the new car. Perfect so far, no faults, no issues, no real quirks.

I think the bottom has fallen out of the diesel car market. I notice Dieselgate VWs have depreciated strongly, and my E250 is still listed in inventory, along with another that has also been there for ages. 2 months is a long time for a used car to sit around.
Do you have a link for your E250?

@fintail... I was bored and feeling stalkerish lol

I bet this is it.

https://www.mercedesbenzofbellevue.com/certified/Mercedes-Benz/2016-Mercedes-Benz-E-Class-132599e60a0d0c1443738d541f46d013.htm

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Just drove in from Orlando, stayed in a Best Western Plus for 2 nights all with points so cost &0.00. The A3 had the oil icon come on right after we hit Ft. Pierce so after we got to the kid's place, we had to find an Audi dealer. One was somewhat close in South Orlando so stopped by. Was down a quart of oil so refilled that and gave it a good wash as the love bugs are out and the windshield was a mess. 40 minutes later, we're out the door after having some snacks and water. Nice new dealership with great service!
Nice to get away for a few days but roads were crowded with folks thinking the same thing! Orlando was super crowded but ate some great seafood both nights. Hotel was almost full but was nice. Room was a bit small but worked for us. Walls and ceiling a bit thin so heard noises through both. Beds were comfy, both queens, and the breakfast was pretty nice and included. Had to get up early though to not have a rush but we did it and had more than enough to eat.
Coming home was also a lot of traffic but we went on a few short cuts which helped. Nice to be home though...very nice! Hotels are nice but ain't "no place like home'!!!

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Ditto for our veterans who gave us our freedoms we enjoy every day. You guys rock!!

stickguy · May 2019

that E class was sharp looking. love the colors. asking $37,500. Fin, just curious, but what was your residual (that I know you found too high for it).

roadburner · May 2019

I went to our local Memorial Day Service this morning; I was one of only three elected officials who attended, which I find sad. My feeling was that if I could get up early to watch F1 then I should get up today to honor those who gave their all for the freedoms we enjoy.

corvette · May 2019

@nyccarguy any update on the potential Tacoma trade?

fintail · May 2019

Yep, that's the car. Not many out there like it.

I think residual at lease inception was something like 42.5K. They offered it to me for 36K, but by then I was wanting to try something different. Funny thing, in two months they've only lowered the price by a grand - I bet it has depreciated at least that much over the period of time. I am surprised, as they day I turned it in, a browser on the lot saw the car and was taken by it, saying he wanted first chance at it - maybe the price ended up being too high.

stickguy said:
that E class was sharp looking. love the colors. asking $37,500. Fin, just curious, but what was your residual (that I know you found too high for it).

qbrozen · May 2019

Not bad for CPO. Another $1k off at the negotiation table would be a fair-to-good deal for the buyer.

But, near $40k for a 3-yr-old mid-sized German is not everybody’s cup of stout.

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Just ordered a new MacBook Air from Best Buy, they had a Memorial Day sale and got it for a decent price. Will be at the store by Saturday the 1st, as I didn't want it to come to the house and sit outside all day. I won't be home and doubt my other half will be either. Better to pick it up from the store. The new Apple laptops are quite a bit smaller than my current 2013 MacBook Pro...much lighter to. No longer have/need a desk top so have a laptop and a tablet to do my computing on.
We shall see how things go.

fintail · May 2019

I was thinking of offering 35K all-in, but I knew they wouldn't take that.

3 year old now-obsolete model of the prior generation and an unloved alternative fuel, to boot.

qbrozen said:
Not bad for CPO. Another $1k off at the negotiation table would be a fair-to-good deal for the buyer.

But, near $40k for a 3-yr-old mid-sized German is not everybody’s cup of stout.

nyccarguy · May 2019

suydam said:

Never thought of Memorial Day as “happy”, but to each his/her own. On this day I remember the 3 members of my son’s graduating boot camp class who were killed 3 months later in the attack on the USS Cole.

I saw the admiral of The Cole speak a few years ago. Riveting. The guy recounted the events of the entire day & admitted the whole thing was his fault.

corvette · May 2019

Sandman6472 said:
Just ordered a new MacBook Air from Best Buy, they had a Memorial Day sale and got it for a decent price.

You'll love it! I use a 2011 MacBook Air every day and it's held up really well. I had to replace the power adapter after a few years when the cord frayed.

My mom got one of the new ones and it has a smaller footprint. Mine will stop receiving security updates in about a year, so I plan to replace it before then. The Touch ID on the new models is really convenient.

nyccarguy · May 2019

corvette said:

@nyccarguy any update on the potential Tacoma trade?

Thanks for asking. I tried, but couldn’t make it work. If I could have pulled it off, it would have been one of the best deals and easiest transactions ever in my automotive purchasing/leasing lifetime.

After my initial test Drive, the local dealer offered to
lease me the truck for $496/month 24/12K with $500 DAS. Dealing with a broker would have been about $200 per month cheaper on an apples to apples comparison.

The broker deals with 2 dealers. One will overnight paperwork to people who aren’t local, the other wants you to sign in person. He was able to negotiate the deal with dealer #2 who wants customers to sign in person. I just can’t make it happen to drive 6 hours round trip and loose a day of work. Plus I have to work next weekend.

stickguy · May 2019

bummer. But, sometimes it is for the best. Either a better deal on one drops in your lap, or a deal on something else you like even more. Not like you are penalized driving the infiniti!

happens with houses too. My daughter and her BF are buying a house (well, technically he is buying it, she is renting a room) and a couple months ago he found one he liked. first one looked at of course. i was not enthoused. Not sure how much my daughter was either. But, got an OK offer accepted. both side signed the papers. tail end of the 3 day attorney review period, they asked for final papers/closing date, and seller's agent comes back to say they negotiated another offer so unless they up theirs, they were pulling the deal off the table.

technically legal I guess, but very scummy. Heck, it was their attorney that did the papers, and our side that was reviewing them! but, they declined to match, so house went away.

fast forward to a couple weeks ago, and I was looking at listings and found one in our town. Much better schools, vastly nicer neighborhood. And he made a low offer that they took (old lady going into a home, needed to unload quick, so right place right time). No issues with attorney review so officially under contract. Paying either the same, or slightly less, than what the other place would have been, and getting the cheapest house in a nice neighborhood instead of a fully priced one in a lower end Hood.

everyone pretty much agrees that at this point, unless the inspection turns up something horrible, they got lucky that the other agent was a slimeball and cost them the house.

corvette · May 2019

"Old person house" usually means it needs a complete renovation, in my book. Paint and flooring are cheap, but redoing the bathroom(s) and kitchen are not. Even still, I think they will come out ahead buying the cheapest house on the block.

@nyccarguy sorry it didn't work out, but there are always other fish in the sea. In the meantime, the Q40 is a great car to commute in.

The payment on my G37 is relatively low, but part of my plan is to pay the loan off well ahead of schedule. I had an unexpected surplus this month and put it all towards the loan. Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen again for a few months, as I have to use over two weeks of vacation time between now and the end of September (and I'm not going to take time off to sit at home). My employer also allows you to have excess vacation time paid out as additional salary, which is not something I'm interested in--I want the time off, even if I have to plan a random vacation to Timbuktu.

suydam · May 2019

@nyccarguy : I’m really sorry to hear the commander of the Cole thought it was his fault. In those days — remember this was BEFORE 9/11 — no one kept such a tight perimeter on US Ships, even docking in foreign waters as they were. They also had express orders against firing on vessels — these were fishing ships, remember. “No shooting unless we are shot at”. And the investigation faulted the government of Sudan. The rules of engagement changed after the Cole attack, but I don’t see how they could have acted differently under the rules of engagement then in place.

And on a happier note, @corvette — we are on our second MacBook Air and we love it!

stickguy · May 2019

Vette, understood. But, the house looks maintained. HVAC is newer, and the kitchen has been replaced I think based on the pictures. May just paint the cabinets, and a new countertop. bathroom, is original. Looks in good enough shape, but they will want to do something. Probably cosmetic at first, down the line might gut it.

after looking at a bunch of houses, I think I would rather get one in this condition cheaper and do it myself, rather than the same house after a flipper got done putting lipstick on the pig, and charged top dollar for it.

nyccarguy · May 2019

suydam said:

@nyccarguy : I’m really sorry to hear the commander of the Cole thought it was his fault. In those days — remember this was BEFORE 9/11 — no one kept such a tight perimeter on US Ships, even docking in foreign waters as they were. They also had express orders against firing on vessels — these were fishing ships, remember. “No shooting unless we are shot at”. And the investigation faulted the government of Sudan. The rules of engagement changed after the Cole attack, but I don’t see how they could have acted differently under the rules of engagement then in place. And on a happier note, @corvette — we are on our second MacBook Air and we love it!

He was the admiral of the ship. The reason the ships were able to get so close is because he authorized is because someone under his command found a cheaper waste disposal vessel. The boat that attacked the Cole came from behind a garbage boat.

nyccarguy · May 2019

corvette said:

"Old person house" usually means it needs a complete renovation, in my book. Paint and flooring are cheap, but redoing the bathroom(s) and kitchen are not. Even still, I think they will come out ahead buying the cheapest house on the block. @nyccarguy sorry it didn't work out, but there are always other fish in the sea. In the meantime, the Q40 is a great car to commute in. The payment on my G37 is relatively low, but part of my plan is to pay the loan off well ahead of schedule. I had an unexpected surplus this month and put it all towards the loan. Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen again for a few months, as I have to use over two weeks of vacation time between now and the end of September (and I'm not going to take time off to sit at home). My employer also allows you to have excess vacation time paid out as additional salary, which is not something I'm interested in--I want the time off, even if I have to plan a random vacation to Timbuktu.

I still LOVE my Q40.

Michaell · May 2019

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

"Old person house" usually means it needs a complete renovation, in my book. Paint and flooring are cheap, but redoing the bathroom(s) and kitchen are not. Even still, I think they will come out ahead buying the cheapest house on the block.

@nyccarguy sorry it didn't work out, but there are always other fish in the sea. In the meantime, the Q40 is a great car to commute in.

The payment on my G37 is relatively low, but part of my plan is to pay the loan off well ahead of schedule. I had an unexpected surplus this month and put it all towards the loan. Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen again for a few months, as I have to use over two weeks of vacation time between now and the end of September (and I'm not going to take time off to sit at home). My employer also allows you to have excess vacation time paid out as additional salary, which is not something I'm interested in--I want the time off, even if I have to plan a random vacation to Timbuktu.

I still LOVE my Q40.

And that's all that matters.

suydam · May 2019

nyccarguy said:

suydam said:

@nyccarguy : I’m really sorry to hear the commander of the Cole thought it was his fault. In those days — remember this was BEFORE 9/11 — no one kept such a tight perimeter on US Ships, even docking in foreign waters as they were. They also had express orders against firing on vessels — these were fishing ships, remember. “No shooting unless we are shot at”. And the investigation faulted the government of Sudan. The rules of engagement changed after the Cole attack, but I don’t see how they could have acted differently under the rules of engagement then in place.

And on a happier note, @corvette — we are on our second MacBook Air and we love it!

He was the admiral of the ship. The reason the ships were able to get so close is because he authorized is because someone under his command found a cheaper waste disposal vessel. The boat that attacked the Cole came from behind a garbage boat.

Hmm, we must be speaking of different people. The Captain of the Cole was Kirk Lippold, and he testified that they used the Aden port for refueling because it was thought to be safer. He was cleared of all wrongdoing, but never promoted and retired as a Commander. Perhaps you mean the Admiral in charge of regional forces there at the time.

28firefighter · May 2019

We're back from our weekend away out on Orcas Island. It was our third time going out and if you ever come to Seattle during the late spring/summer, you should absolutely make the San Juan Islands a part of your itinerary. We rented a home with another family overlooking the Rosario Strait. Even with bad weather on Saturday, it was still incredibly relaxing - each of our boys played with the other and kept themselves occupied. Lots of puzzles, games, a few movies, and a trek into town for some baked goods. On Sunday we trekked up to Mount Constitution for a beautiful 360 degree view of the San Juan Islands. The kids played outside in a big yard, hiked with us, etc. Several of us had fitbits with us and they recorded some of the lowest resting heart rates we each had ever seen. It was lovely.

The Pacifica handled the trip effortlessly. It swallowed up 4 adults, 2 kids, 2 car seats, and 4 days worth of stuff without even the slightest bit of tetris required. We ended up putting about 400 miles on it between the driving to the ferry and sightseeing while we were there. It was extremely comfortable for me and even the Mom's sitting in the third row had no trouble getting and staying comfortable. The pano roof was an especially big hit with the two boys in the back - we drove back to Seattle late at night and they loved looking at the stars as they fell asleep. It is no race car, but it does not drive the way it looks, either, if that makes sense. Once you're inside and driving, you kinda forget that it is this big lumbering thing.

If I had to make one complaint, it is that the 9 speed auto trans was really really eager to upshift, even when I was asking for it to downshift. Hard for me to know how much of that behavior was "learned" from the rental car situation, how much of it was because of how full we were, and how much was personality of the transmission. As I mentioned, the fit and finish was outstanding and even holding up to rental car abuse, it was in great shape - no rattles. The UConnect system was also wonderful - no hiccups with that either.

Now, back to reality...

tjc78 · May 2019

Sometimes it really is nice to have room. We had three adults and 4 kids in our Enclave for a road trip on Saturday and it was perfect.

nyccarguy · May 2019

@qbrozen

I got a “performance guarantee” refund check from Tesla for $296.51 because my system produced “less than their estimate.” I’ll take it!

stickguy · May 2019

that a 1 time check, or something they do monthly?

qbrozen · May 2019

I get it once a year from my other house. That one always underproduces. My current house exceeds expectations.

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Glad you like your MacBook Air so much, hoping I will like it also. It's much smaller than my current MacBook Pro and just hoping I'm happy with it. Could've gone with the MacBook Pro but it was a bit more $ that I just didn't want to spend. All I really do is surf on my computer and check up on my investments and bank accounts, maybe pay a bill or two. Not really that much so my oldest really thinks the Air is all I need. I usually defer to the kids when it comes to tech stuff as they all seem to know a lot about this stuff and they taught me all I know about it all. I get by and mainly play on my computer. So, we'll have to see how things go but am quite optimistic. Luckily, Best Buy had a nice discount on many of their laptops this past weekend and since my Pro has been freezing a bit too much lately, figured at about 6 years old, a change was definitely due.
And looks like the Golf will be staying in the fleet for the time being. Plan is to take it in next Tuesday if the problem persists but going to get an oil change/tire rotation on Thursday and have them check the brakes while there but thinking those could also wait a bit if any repairs are needed. But as I'm really close to the 10K mark for this last batch of synthetic, definitely time to have a change done. Got my times a bit messed up after having my Clarifix procedure last month, was supposed to go before I had it done but had a senior moment. When I checked my paperwork last week, noticed I was about 400 miles shy of the 10K interval the vehicle calls for. Usually do it between 8k and 10K miles but am on the high side this time. Luckily 90% of all my trips are over a half hour so the engine does get up to speed and heat up in the engine and not all small trips under 30 minutes. Unlike the Audi which seems to need a quart thrown in between changes, mine has been quite normal in this respect. But won't go past the 10K point no matter what, no matter how good the synthetic oil they use is. It's cheap insurance in keeping the vehicle running properly as I hate any vehicular drama of any kind! It either gets fixed or it gets traded! I need my vehicle to start every time as I hate ever being late to anything...I'm just not if I can help it, end of story.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

I agree with your above comments send man and others.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

Glad you made rice vacation you and the family 28 firefighter.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

New York car guy who is another truck to look at other things that will interest you. Keep on looking and it’s good you love what you have in the meantime.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

Glad you and the wife had an good vacation. Sand man!

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Was surprised at how much traffic there was getting out of Orlando yesterday around noon. I know there's always traffic around the parks no matter what time of year but just getting around the suburbs was ridiculous. The model I really liked will just be out of reach for us. Apparently it has like 90% of the available upgrades and there's already a bidding situation where the price is well above $300K right now, much more than we wanted to spend on a smaller residence and turns out it's bigger than what we've got now. So looks like we're still going to look around the Ft. Myers area after all, which was Plan A. But now the time period, in her mind, has changed till sometime in 2021 if not later. But trust me, it'll be before that as I plan on retiring sometime before the end of 2020, way before the end. As much as I do like the gig, most days getting up that early is a real struggle and am just tired of doing it. But it's just something I've got to decide when as it's my life here and no one else gets a vote!

stickguy · May 2019

can still go to Orlando if you want, just find an appropriately sized unit and buy it new, and pick just the options you want.

Sandman6472 · May 2019

I still have plenty of time actually as they're building lots of new places in both the Orlando area and the Ft. Myers area. I'd like to be within a couple hours drive of the kids so with those variables in place, think we'll be just fine. I know she'll want new construction again, but this will be our last home that we do buy...our forever home. I always knew where we are now was not to be our last home and actually thought we'd be gone after the 30 year point. But she's still working and so am I, so until I stop, we'll just stay the course. But after that, who knows?

corvette · May 2019

Sandman6472 said:
It's much smaller than my current MacBook Pro and just hoping I'm happy with it. Could've gone with the MacBook Pro but it was a bit more $ that I just didn't want to spend. All I really do is surf on my computer and check up on my investments and bank accounts, maybe pay a bill or two.

The Air will be perfect for that! I also watch videos on mine frequently. I even sometimes use Chromecast to stream a browser tab that is playing video. Keep in mind, it's eight years old, and it does struggle a little with that. The newer Airs have a noticeably smaller footprint compared to the ones sold through 2017. Screen size is the same, but the bezel around it is a lot smaller. It's almost frameless now!

I'm a complete nerd about having plenty of charging sources for my devices. If need be, the newer USB-C MacBooks, MacBook Airs, and MacBook Pros will charge from a regular USB charger (like you use for your phone), if you have a USB-A to USB-C cable ($11 from Amazon for a 10 footer). They won't charge nearly as quickly as they do with the included power adapter, and will probably not charge the battery if you're using them while plugged in, but it's a really great way to have an additional method of charging, or to avoid carrying a second charger while traveling.

qbrozen · May 2019

After having a macbook at work for several years, and then going to a new company that works on PC, I just had to get myself a macbook last year. No way in heck did I want to pay new prices, though. Scored a 15.4" Pro i7 on ebay with 8gb ram, a fresh battery, 120gb SSD, and a 2 TB hard drive installed in place of the optical drive. It is heavy, and it runs quite hot, but has worked perfectly for over a year and shows no signs of slowing down. IIRC, it is a 2013 model and I paid about $500 for it in March 2018.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

Good luck send a man with your new Mac book air that you bought, eventually when my computer dies but I’ve had since 2013 I think, since I don’t use it much being our use the phone for almost everything now. I’m gonna probably get a Mac book has the speech and everything built-in which is awesome.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

And I hope you’re able to move next to your children sooner than later you and your wife.

marcogallo1986 · May 2019

Sand man, clamp the golf be staying the course for now, that’s all right song as you get the oil changed before the 10K you’ll be good, but I’m with you I probably would do half of what they recommend every 5000 just because, but hey whatever works for everybody do what you have to do. And ice on the places you looked at while you were away in Florida this past weekend. I mean Orlando, Ha ha ha you live in Florida damn voice dictation.

rayainsw · May 2019

Back from a visit to see my daughter, son-in-law and grandson, in Maine.
Odd rental upgrade - to a Chrysler 300 - with AWD...
Hope all is well here -
and if I missed any punches, - sorry, and congrats !
- Ray
Unable to read through all the interim posts...

rayainsw · May 2019

Had a short but interesting conversation with my daughter's neighbor.
He has a pristine BMW 2002tii -
one of the cars I really wanted in the early 70s.
- Ray
Took me 40 years from then to buy my first BMW...

laurasdada · May 2019

rayainsw said:
Back from a visit to see my daughter, son-in-law and grandson, in Maine.
Odd rental upgrade - to a Chrysler 300 - with AWD...
Hope all is well here -
and if I missed any punches, - sorry, and congrats !
- Ray
Unable to read through all the interim posts...

Maine, eh? Did you get to saddle up and ride a black fly?

rayainsw · May 2019

No flying bugs large enough to saddle.
- Ray
Spent most of my time along the coast...

sda · May 2019

How did the Chrysler 300 compare to your Charger?

rayainsw · May 2019

Well, it was a V6 [ no V8 AWD currently being produced ] so it was
certainly not as quick. The handling was OK - again, not equipped
with the suspension or tires of my Charger R/T.
Certainly similar feel in the sense of size.
Comfortable interior, seats, etc.
If you need a truly large AWD sedan, there is nothing I am aware of that
I'd term comparable...
- Ray
Glad to be back in my 340i.

Sandman6472 · May 2019

Got a USB-C to USB cord at Best Buy and saw the same one, an Apple product, in Amazon.com just now. Amazon also has their own which is cheaper which I might get. Don't quite get it all but am sure my kid will explain it all to me. She just got a new MacBook Pro at Best Buy but got an open box unit, it was discounted and don't think it had the original box. Asked the sales guy about getting one also but he said the Memorial Day sales price was a better price to begin with so just said sure. I was in and out of B B within 25 minutes as after physically touching the unit, all I had to do was pick which color I wanted and he wrote it up. It's funny, on some things, like buying a computer, I can make a decision within a few minutes but when buying a new vehicle, it can take me weeks and weeks to come to a decision. Just have no clue as to why this is?
I'll just pack the old MacBook away and decide what to do with it down the road. Glad I've pared down to just a laptop and a tablet as a desktop is just overkill for me. I can't sit at any desk very long as it hurts my spine, best if I sit in my recliner or on the bed and surf. Funny how my spinal issues come into play with my everyday life so much. Wish I had a healthy spine to be honest as it keeps me from enjoying life like I should. The pain is brutal sometimes and many days just getting up and walking to the kitchen is sheer agony. I've really had enough already. It's also effected the lives of my family as I've had to give up many things because I'm just in too much pain a lot of the time.

sb55 · May 2019

rayainsw said:

No flying bugs large enough to saddle. - Ray Spent most of my time along the coast...

I’m in Maine now in Bar Harbor/Acadia NP. What are black flies? We don’t have them in my part of Vermont and I don’t think that they’re here now. But it’s quite chilly. At what temperature do they come out?

carnaught · May 2019

@Sandman6472, two things for you to consider. For another Florida location within an earshot of Orlando, check out Vero Beach. It’s small, relatively inexpensive and coastal. Secondly, for your MacBook, you may want to buy a flatscreen monitor to connect to. They are various sizes, not expensive and will give the experience of a desktop if you find you miss it.

ab348 · May 2019

Up here in the Northeast the last 6 weeks have been more like the end of March than springtime. It has been raining every other day even when it hasn’t been wet, most days the temps haven’t gotten beyond 50 degrees. Everything is weeks behind where it typically is, including the blackflies.

suydam · May 2019

I don’t think you’ll need a monitor; for most folks the laptop is just fine and you can work on it wherever and whenever you like. We haven’t had a desktop since the early 2000s. As for the old one, why not trade it in to Apple? They make it very easy.

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