Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Michaell · October 2019

Long day, as @breld noted. My head hurt when it was all said and done, and I'm not even doing the shopping.

We decided that the interior by Playskool nixed the Blazer. In addition to the BMW and Honda stores- next to each other, how convenient - we also stopped at a CarMax and saw the V90 CC that was posted a week or so back. Beautiful car, marred by an odd exterior color. Wandered the lot, then I think we all hit a wall.

Michaell · October 2019

I was fortunate enough to drive the A5 home from CarMax - I got picked up this morning. That is one nice car, but I sort of understand why the exchange may happen - it's like a bigger, slightly softer, automatic version of the GTI.

More diversity in the fleet is a good thing.

corvette · October 2019

breld said:

And dealerships are closed on Sundays here, so no can do. And then we leave on our TCM (Turner Classic Movies) cruise on Monday, so I'll at least be put off for another week!

Where there's a breld, there's a way! I can't imagine a small inconvenience like a vacation or a dealership being closed would stand in the way of you making a deal.

corvette · October 2019

stickguy said:
New XC60 is very nice. But a lot more expensive then the prior generation since they are a big upgrade, and don't go very far back.

My mom is not really a car enthusiast. Her comment on the previous generation XC60, before they bought their Q5, was "if we can buy a brand new one for half of MSRP, I'd be willing to take it."

breld · October 2019

As evidenced by some recent purchases here on the board, Audi did really well with the Q5. I wasn't shocked, but a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed the drive of the previous gen model yesterday. The new one naturally has some nice updates on the interior and tech options, but the overall driving experience is not noticeably better (which simply speaks well of the old version, which has been around for quite awhile).

The 2.0T had enough power, but my target could be the not as ubiquitous 3.0T version - the engine from my Q7 in the more compact package could be very engaging.

stickguy · October 2019

I might swing the wife by the Audi dealer to scope one out. I doubt she would ever go with it. Not a big VW or Audi fan to start with, and I am not sure I want to commit to one for 8-10 years. Cost is the other issue. Pricey to buy new, and not a cheap lease either. So that leaves buying CPO, which seem to still be on the expensive side, and she really would prefer brand new.

fintail · October 2019

Around here anyway, for routine servicing, the dealer and a good indy might indeed be similarly priced, and the dealer might even be a better deal as it will be faster (I seldom wait more than 2 hours at the dealer, while the indy is "we'll do it when we do it"). But for any real repairs, I think the labor rate at the indy is significantly less, it adds up. My local dealer is Autonation, who has had immense employee turnover since it changed hands from a family business, where I've been going to the indy for nearly 15 years, all that matters too.

ab348 said:

I asked him that, since we have a good M-B indy shop here. His response was they were just about as expensive as the dealer, but I think that was a rationalization on his part. He tends to be overly trusting and loyal and probably had undue faith that the dealer would treat him right.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

@breld- have fun on your cruise!

You are a car buying machine - the epitome of CCBA!

I can only imagine what I would be like if I lived where there were so many car dealerships with nice cars but alas I live in a town of 60,000 plus 40,000 college students so I have my choice of Audi, VW, Subadoo, Honda, Hyundai, Chevy, GMC, Cadillac, KIA, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota, Mazda, or Volvo.

So only high end is Audi. They still have 9 2019 Q7 on the lot with over $9000 discount so I’m assuming that the 2020 vehicles are on the way. Is it just me or are the new model year cars showing up later?

qbrozen · October 2019

Michaell said:
Long day, as @breld noted. My head hurt when it was all said and done, and I'm not even doing the shopping.

We decided that the interior by Playskool nixed the Blazer. In addition to the BMW and Honda stores- next to each other, how convenient - we also stopped at a CarMax and saw the V90 CC that was posted a week or so back. Beautiful car, marred by an odd exterior color. Wandered the lot, then I think we all hit a wall.

So you did look at a Blazer? Any other opinions? I haven’t seen the inside of one yet.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:
Long day, as @breld noted. My head hurt when it was all said and done, and I'm not even doing the shopping.

We decided that the interior by Playskool nixed the Blazer. In addition to the BMW and Honda stores- next to each other, how convenient - we also stopped at a CarMax and saw the V90 CC that was posted a week or so back. Beautiful car, marred by an odd exterior color. Wandered the lot, then I think we all hit a wall.
So you did look at a Blazer? Any other opinions? I haven’t seen the inside of one yet.

I wondered the same. I saw one on the road and it looked pretty nice.

The description of “playskool” interior gives me pause

nyccarguy · October 2019

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:
Long day, as @breld noted. My head hurt when it was all said and done, and I'm not even doing the shopping.

We decided that the interior by Playskool nixed the Blazer. In addition to the BMW and Honda stores- next to each other, how convenient - we also stopped at a CarMax and saw the V90 CC that was posted a week or so back. Beautiful car, marred by an odd exterior color. Wandered the lot, then I think we all hit a wall.
So you did look at a Blazer? Any other opinions? I haven’t seen the inside of one yet.

Which platform is the Blazer built on? Is it an Equinox? Malibu?

qbrozen · October 2019

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:
Long day, as @breld noted. My head hurt when it was all said and done, and I'm not even doing the shopping.

We decided that the interior by Playskool nixed the Blazer. In addition to the BMW and Honda stores- next to each other, how convenient - we also stopped at a CarMax and saw the V90 CC that was posted a week or so back. Beautiful car, marred by an odd exterior color. Wandered the lot, then I think we all hit a wall.
So you did look at a Blazer? Any other opinions? I haven’t seen the inside of one yet.
Which platform is the Blazer built on? Is it an Equinox? Malibu?

C1 platform that debuted in 2017 on the XT5 and is under the Acadia as well.

stickguy · October 2019

I think the Blazer is on the Equinox platform. But don't make me swear to it. Pretty sure though it is just a butched up soft roader (like the Passport off the Pilot).

I thought that the Blazer kinda stole the Camaro interior look? But in any case, not something you are buying because you want the look and feel of an Audi or Volvo.

Floyd, you broke Lincoln and Cadillac's heart not counting them as high end!

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

@stickguy- I’m good with that!

breld · October 2019

We didn't look at or drive the Blazer. It's not something on my radar, but @jpp75 and @michaell took a close look at it at the car show earlier this year and were (obviously) unimpressed.

breld · October 2019

mjfloyd1 said:
@breld- have fun on your cruise!

You are a car buying machine - the epitome of CCBA!

I can only imagine what I would be like if I lived where there were so many car dealerships with nice cars but alas I live in a town of 60,000 plus 40,000 college students so I have my choice of Audi, VW, Subadoo, Honda, Hyundai, Chevy, GMC, Cadillac, KIA, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota, Mazda, or Volvo.

So only high end is Audi. They still have 9 2019 Q7 on the lot with over $9000 discount so I’m assuming that the 2020 vehicles are on the way. Is it just me or are the new model year cars showing up later?

Thanks (regarding the cruise)!

Not so much a buying machine this year, but I take that as a good sign that I may be getting a little less crazy and impulsive. Unfortunately, it probably has more to do with my consumer instincts being consumed for most of the year with the home buying and moving process.

breld · October 2019

@mjfloyd1 - so how is the experience thus far with the Q7? Despite choosing to trade mine in, I still think it's about the best SUV out there.

It'd be easy to make the argument that I should have kept the Q7 and traded the A5 for the wife's Alltrack. But I think I'd still be in the same place - with the change in my driving routine and virtually no need for the 3rd row anymore, I'd be looking to reduce our car debt with a less expensive SUV anyway.

But man, that Q7 was a dream.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

The Q7 was great driving back home. It is for my wife and she is happy so now I have a chance at happiness

stickguy · October 2019

so if the Q7 was too much car/money, doesn't make much sense to be looking at an X5. The Q5 seems to be where this is headed (though a nice X3 for some variety sounds good too!)

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

As a proud dad moment, my oldest got a 1350 SAT which is good but looking at merit scholarships, the cutoff for another approx $5K per year was 1360 so she took it again and scored a 1360. They allow you to group your best math and best English scores and her new “super score” is 1420.

Also found out that she is a finalist for the Eli Lilly endowment scholarship for our county in IN so she has a 20% chance at a full tuition paid for four years to any public or private college / university in IN. That would be great but I’m not counting on it as there are 9 other great candidates. She has an interview next week!

corvette · October 2019

stickguy said:

Floyd, you broke Lincoln and Cadillac's heart not counting them as high end!

And Volvo!

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

My wife did think the XC90 was nice, but thought the Q7 was “sportier”. I don’t get that at all, but the Q7 was what she wanted so that’s what I got.

stickguy · October 2019

a full scholarship to a school you want to go to anyway would be amazing. Even a bit extra like $5k is a nice bonus.

kyfdx · October 2019

mjfloyd1 said:
As a proud dad moment, my oldest got a 1350 SAT which is good but looking at merit scholarships, the cutoff for another approx $5K per year was 1360 so she took it again and scored a 1360. They allow you to group your best math and best English scores and her new “super score” is 1420.

Also found out that she is a finalist for the Eli Lilly endowment scholarship for our county in IN so she has a 20% chance at a full tuition paid for four years to any public or private college / university in IN. That would be great but I’m not counting on it as there are 9 other great candidates. She has an interview next week!

Congrats on the SAT score!

Unfortunately, they have to perform, once they get there. Our scholarship joy only lasted one year.

breld · October 2019

mjfloyd1 said:
As a proud dad moment, my oldest got a 1350 SAT which is good but looking at merit scholarships, the cutoff for another approx $5K per year was 1360 so she took it again and scored a 1360. They allow you to group your best math and best English scores and her new “super score” is 1420.

Also found out that she is a finalist for the Eli Lilly endowment scholarship for our county in IN so she has a 20% chance at a full tuition paid for four years to any public or private college / university in IN. That would be great but I’m not counting on it as there are 9 other great candidates. She has an interview next week!

That's great! Congrats!

breld · October 2019

stickguy said:
so if the Q7 was too much car/money, doesn't make much sense to be looking at an X5. The Q5 seems to be where this is headed (though a nice X3 for some variety sounds good too!)

Maybe. Cost-wise, these CPO X5's off lease return are up to $10k less than what my Q7 was worth on trade, so a reasonable step down in that way.

Then I'm thinking...hey, if a Q5 is too similar to the GTI in driving dynamics, maybe the answer is to get the Q5 and change up the fun car...like maybe an M235i or something!

Oh, the wheels never stop spinning.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:
As a proud dad moment, my oldest got a 1350 SAT which is good but looking at merit scholarships, the cutoff for another approx $5K per year was 1360 so she took it again and scored a 1360. They allow you to group your best math and best English scores and her new “super score” is 1420.

Also found out that she is a finalist for the Eli Lilly endowment scholarship for our county in IN so she has a 20% chance at a full tuition paid for four years to any public or private college / university in IN. That would be great but I’m not counting on it as there are 9 other great candidates. She has an interview next week!
Congrats on the SAT score!

Unfortunately, they have to perform, once they get there. Our scholarship joy only lasted one year.

Ugh

It looks like she needs to keep a 3.5 to keep the merit scholarship at the schools. I honestly wasn’t expecting the Lilly to be in play so I have not even checked into that.

She takes AP and honors courses and has a 4.2 on a 4 point scale while being the #1 golfer and is on the cheer and competitive cheer teams. She already has some college credit from taking the exams for her AP courses. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and knows that she wants to go to a smallish school near home so it looks like DePauw in Greencastle IN (although I think she would be bored out of her head there) or Butler in Indy. My wife is taking her to a cheer clinic at Butler today.

Time will tell what she chooses. It appears that DePauw is better with merit scholarships and she has many friends there, but Butler has a PA school so...

stickguy · October 2019

breld said:

stickguy said:
so if the Q7 was too much car/money, doesn't make much sense to be looking at an X5. The Q5 seems to be where this is headed (though a nice X3 for some variety sounds good too!)

Maybe. Cost-wise, these CPO X5's off lease return are up to $10k less than what my Q7 was worth on trade, so a reasonable step down in that way.

Then I'm thinking...hey, if a Q5 is too similar to the GTI in driving dynamics, maybe the answer is to get the Q5 and change up the fun car...like maybe an M235i or something!

Oh, the wheels never stop spinning.

Well, to me, a better plan is to keep the GTI and go with a hot rod X3 if the 2.0t isn't enough for you.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

breld said:

stickguy said:
so if the Q7 was too much car/money, doesn't make much sense to be looking at an X5. The Q5 seems to be where this is headed (though a nice X3 for some variety sounds good too!)

Maybe. Cost-wise, these CPO X5's off lease return are up to $10k less than what my Q7 was worth on trade, so a reasonable step down in that way.

Then I'm thinking...hey, if a Q5 is too similar to the GTI in driving dynamics, maybe the answer is to get the Q5 and change up the fun car...like maybe an M235i or something!

Oh, the wheels never stop spinning.

I am slowly learning to buy what I like and keep it. I used to read car magazines all the time and get “car envy”, but I’m older and hopefully wiser. But I still do stupid things well just because I can, I guess

Here is a link to where I bought the Q7. They seem to be pretty high volume. The sales lady said they get lots of lease returns and recently got some really low mileage vehicles from customers who could not afford the notes. That’s sad.

https://www.nalleybmw.com/certified-inventory/index.htm?compositeType=certified&year=&model=&bodyStyle=&odometer=&internetPrice=&start=0&sort=&facetbrowse=true&searchLinkText=SEARCH&showInvTotals=false&showRadius=false&showReset=false&showSubmit=true&facetbrowseGridUnit=BLANK&showSelections=true&dependencies=model:make,city:province,city:state&suppressAllConditions=true&newListingAlias=/new-inventory/index.htm&usedListingAlias=/used-inventory/index.htm&certifiedListingAlias=/certified-inventory/index.htm

stickguy · October 2019

I want to do stupid things. Just can't afford it! Keeping long term does have some benefits. Usually financial of course. But also less stress with searching and buying! the wife in particular likes that, since she gets stressed having to learn all new controls and tech. And the new stuff in particular might be too much for her. She hasn't figured out much of what the TLX does, and that is pretty straight forward for a loaded car these days. So she just drives it without touching anything!

key is, make sure you are getting something really nice and not compromising, so you don't get tired of it right away. And buy something that will last.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

@breld. - I can tell you that taking a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to Chicago vs driving the Q7 from Atlanta was a night and day comparison. They wanted the GL to have less than 95K miles for some odd reason...

carnaught · October 2019

”You are a car buying machine - the epitome of CCBA!”

Yes,@mjfloyd1, he is the Grand Poobah of the CCBA, but has been on sabbatical this year

.

breld · October 2019

stickguy said:

breld said:

stickguy said:
so if the Q7 was too much car/money, doesn't make much sense to be looking at an X5. The Q5 seems to be where this is headed (though a nice X3 for some variety sounds good too!)

Maybe. Cost-wise, these CPO X5's off lease return are up to $10k less than what my Q7 was worth on trade, so a reasonable step down in that way.

Then I'm thinking...hey, if a Q5 is too similar to the GTI in driving dynamics, maybe the answer is to get the Q5 and change up the fun car...like maybe an M235i or something!

Oh, the wheels never stop spinning.
Well, to me, a better plan is to keep the GTI and go with a hot rod X3 if the 2.0t isn't enough for you.

Oh well, now that you mention it, this doesn't seem to be priced all that badly.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/783871098/overview/

stickguy · October 2019

no pictures, but they have a fairly basic white one for not too bad a price. Odd thing is that it is an S drive. You would never see that up here in the NE

https://www.nalleybmw.com/certified/BMW/2019-BMW-X3-in+Atlanta-f54e57120a0d0c1407a31ced03392168.htm

suydam · October 2019

@breld — “I’m getting less impulsive.” 😂😂😂😂😂 The year still has 2 months to go!
Regarding “not that many dealerships”. Where I lived in rural Ohio, there were 3 — count em — THREE. GM, Jeep, and Ford. And that was in a town that was the county seat! Fortunately the capital city was just an hour’s drive away.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

I must agree. We have lots of dealers, just not dealers for cars that I am looking for.

Local Audi dealer has great pricing on new Audis generally but their used car prices are typically $3000 high.

They tend to not play fair with the Chinese students price wise and take advantage of them when they want to sell their nicer cars before returning home.

marcogallo1986 · October 2019

@breld nice nice! Cant. Wate. For the punch. Like always!

stickguy · October 2019

got bored so browsing around.

this looks like something QB would like. A luxury upgrade big hot rod sedan, in case want to upgrade the kids to 1st class in the second row!

https://www.royaleasing.com/details-2014-jaguar-xj-4dr_sedan_xjl_portfolio_awd-used-sajwj2gd8e8v70463.html

this looks like a good kids car for HS/college. Cheap, lots of life left, and not very fast but great gas mileage. Could easily get it for your 17 YO HS senior, and run it right through college graduation.

https://www.royaleasing.com/details-2016-scion-im-5dr_hatchback_cvt-used-jtnkarje2gj514534.html

28firefighter · October 2019

This popped up locally. Seems a bit much especially given how bad the driver seat is worn. Also no mention of the angle gear.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/seattle-2005-volvo-v70r-6mt-manual/7002911207.html

stickguy · October 2019

I have no clue what the market on these is now, but I do like that one. Just never cared for the beige interior with gray paint. Should be Nordkap (that's the dark blue, right?) and I think it is pretty common for the leather to do this, especially if not maintained regularly. Would be surprising if the angle gear made it this long. Maybe that was an earlier repair. If not, something to budget for!

Love the huge cargo area. A box is still the best shape for a utility vehicle. And that 3rd row seat gives me a laugh.

28firefighter · October 2019

I love it for $8-$9k. Not $13.5.

stickguy · October 2019

that what these go for now? I would have a tough time saying no at $8k if it passed a PPI. Though I know that they all have needs, no matter how perfect. And I am not really enough of a DIYer to make that affordable.

kyfdx · October 2019

mjfloyd1 said:

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:
As a proud dad moment, my oldest got a 1350 SAT which is good but looking at merit scholarships, the cutoff for another approx $5K per year was 1360 so she took it again and scored a 1360. They allow you to group your best math and best English scores and her new “super score” is 1420.

Also found out that she is a finalist for the Eli Lilly endowment scholarship for our county in IN so she has a 20% chance at a full tuition paid for four years to any public or private college / university in IN. That would be great but I’m not counting on it as there are 9 other great candidates. She has an interview next week!
Congrats on the SAT score!

Unfortunately, they have to perform, once they get there. Our scholarship joy only lasted one year.
Ugh

It looks like she needs to keep a 3.5 to keep the merit scholarship at the schools. I honestly wasn’t expecting the Lilly to be in play so I have not even checked into that.

She takes AP and honors courses and has a 4.2 on a 4 point scale while being the #1 golfer and is on the cheer and competitive cheer teams. She already has some college credit from taking the exams for her AP courses. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and knows that she wants to go to a smallish school near home so it looks like DePauw in Greencastle IN (although I think she would be bored out of her head there) or Butler in Indy. My wife is taking her to a cheer clinic at Butler today.

Time will tell what she chooses. It appears that DePauw is better with merit scholarships and she has many friends there, but Butler has a PA school so...

My son didn't have all of that good stuff... just monster test scores and 34 hours of AP credit.

I can't think of a less diverse place to go to school than Depauw. Going away to college already puts you in the top 10%, but Depauw is off the charts for rich kids. No commentary on the quality of education there, however. (or, your ability to send her there) Just my $0.02.

My son learned a lot by going to school on an urban campus. At least with Butler, you get the benefit of living in the city. (if I was picking.. lol) I went to Hanover for a short time, back when the earth was still warm. Going to Madison was big entertainment..

corvette · October 2019

Undergrad was a cake walk - kept my academic scholarship (full ride) all four years. Only kept my law school scholarship the first year (it would’ve been reduced to half after the first year anyway, UK is stingy with their scholarships like that).

nyccarguy · October 2019

@mjfloyd1 - congrats! Thanks for sharing! You must be extremely proud!

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

529 is well funded so I’d like her to be able to pay for grad school with what is left.

I really just need her to find a place that she will be happy honestly

I went to the University of Evansville undergrad and kind of hoped that she would go there because they have direct admit to PA school or IU school of medicine if you keep your gpa up - assuming MCAT or Grad school testing scores are up to snuff.

But the facilities don’t compare to DePauw or Butler...

I understand what you are saying about diversity but her high school is quite diverse so this will be a rare time that I just shut up.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

nyccarguy said:
@mjfloyd1 - congrats! Thanks for sharing! You must be extremely proud!

Thanks.

The best part is that she is really a great kid!

explorerx4 · October 2019

@mjfloyd1,
Making an assumption that PA is Physicians Assistant?
One of my kids wanted to be a doctor, so we sent her to a kind of 'Space Camp' for future doctors.
As soon as she saw blood, she fainted, so change of career.

mjfloyd1 · October 2019

Yes. Physicians Assistant.

I passed out when a patient had his dialysis graft stuck in my second year of medical school so all is not lost. I got a donut and orange juice out of the deal. I ended up an anesthesiologist so there is hope.

explorerx4 · October 2019

A PA is a pretty recent career track(?), but can be a pretty good one.
Whatever school your child gets into, the most important thing is what they do when they get there.

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