Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

andres3 · November 2020

28firefighter said:
I actually think he might be thinking of the CX-7 which did come with a 2.3L Turbo. IIRC, @Michaell had one. This turbo is totally different from that.

I keep coming back to picking up a 2019 GTI SE with Experience or Autobahn (to get the Fender audio and DCC) because they depreciated so heavily - if you shop right, can be found with sub 20k miles for the low 20s when the MSRP was the upper 30s. Seems like the perfect all around, all-weather daily driver....

It rains so much in Seattle, I'd really want the Golf R version for the daily driver to get the AWD. However, it appears Golf R's are holding their value pretty well.

28firefighter · November 2020

I don’t need AWD for rain. Decent tires are far more important.

andres3 · November 2020

corvette said:
Okay, got the punches for @isellhondas and @kyfdx recorded. @andres3 - did your deal go through? If so, year and mileage for the punch list? Thanks!

2015 S4 Prestige with 32,295 miles off the truck in front of my home. Now I have to let the CA DMV know about this car, as the dealership insisted it needed AZ paper plates from the AZ DOT.

andres3 · November 2020

28firefighter said:
I don’t need AWD for rain. Decent tires are far more important.

Oh, it's not about need, but about being able to use the full range of potential in any condition.

Certainly falls in the "want" category on my end.

stickguy · November 2020

a slightly used GTI is still high on my wish list for next year. Assuming I ever actually need a 2nd car again. So a toy or PU is also a viable option. something cheap.

xwesx · November 2020

andres3 said:
2015 S4 Prestige with 32,295 miles off the truck in front of my home. Now I have to let the CA DMV know about this car, as the dealership insisted it needed AZ paper plates from the AZ DOT.

Sometimes, it is amazing what the dealers will insist on being true just to ferret a few more dollars out of the buyer... whether they keep the extra or not! The dealer in Texas fed me the same BS.

tjc78 · November 2020

My XC90 bought in MD is sporting MD temp plates. Same thing when I got my Mom her RAV from PA.

28firefighter · November 2020

I’ve always gotten paper transit tags from out of state dealers. Usually $50-$100 for a 30 day non resident temp tag. Every state gets their pound of flesh somehow. YMMV.

stickguy · November 2020

I bought 2 cars in PA. Pretty sure both came with a PA out of state transport tag. The dealers ended up getting the NJ registration and tags though. So really no different than getting it in NJ, where I got a resident temp tag on it.

nyccarguy · November 2020

andres3 said:

corvette said:
Okay, got the punches for @isellhondas and @kyfdx recorded. @andres3 - did your deal go through? If so, year and mileage for the punch list? Thanks!
2015 S4 Prestige with 32,295 miles off the truck in front of my home. Now I have to let the CA DMV know about this car, as the dealership insisted it needed AZ paper plates from the AZ DOT.

Congrats on the S4! They really are sweet looking and performing cars. I can’t wait to see the pics once you clean it up!

corvette · November 2020

KY is tricky since the plates stay with the vehicle. When buying cars out of state, I've always either gotten a temp plate from the dealer, or had the seller give me an unused plate.

xwesx · November 2020

I usually skip that step. Once the paperwork is settled, I have the dealer send the title transfer paperwork to me, I register it in Alaska, and I bring my plates with me when I pick up the car. Sometimes it doesn't work out due to delays, etc., but usually it is easy enough. There are some states that do the "pound of flesh" thing by requiring a transfer fee, but not often. Mostly it is just the dealer saying, "Um, I haven't done it that way before," so I have to educate them on the process so they are comfortable enough to do it.

I think the only cars I took home without plates on them from the first moment I drove away were the two TDIs (Ohio and Texas). The Ohio car was due to timing issues (I just couldn't get to the DMV between when I received the papers and when I had to leave), but it was okay because Ohio required the transfer fee anyway. The Texas dealer was due to them being incompetent schmucks who can rot in hell forever.

Sandman6472 · November 2020

Drove some new 2021 Kia Souls at work and found them the shift with no issues at all. They were "S" models so not sure where they land in the pecking order. But I quite enjoyed the drive and they only had like 8 miles on them. Vision out of them was outstanding and wouldn't have any problem owning one when I do get around to replacing the Golf. Figure they'd be "cheap to keep" with little to no drama at all. And going forward, that's something I'm really looking forward to. This VW Golf has had just too much drama over the years and things that I had to replace were stuff that VW should've paid for or at least covered 75% of. I'm not sure I'm going to have the stomach to do it all over again with another VW product, much less a BMW or MB. "Cheap to keep" is starting to look so much better right now but for at least the time being, the Golf is behaving itself. Am hoping this will continue for the next 18 to 24 months if possible as I do like it that much.
And as much as I do like the Mini Cooper vehicles, I think they're not going to be so good with my spinal issues. But again, we'll just have to see how things go going forward and my perfect scenario would be to have no more issues for the next 2 years and by that time, the new 2023 models will be out for me to choose from. But, who knows if that will come true but with the low mileage I'm doing this year, a distinct possibility. Come December 3rd, it'll be a year that I started working 3.3 miles from the house and I've yet to break the 4K point for the year. So if I do end up working another couple of years, again a real possibility, that might be another 8K miles or so and as of today, I'm at around 65.5K miles on it. So, in a couple of years, I'll still be under 74K which works for me. And I'll have another couple of years to save my nickels and dimes.

andres3 · November 2020

mjfloyd1 said:

corvette said:
Okay, got the punches for @isellhondas and @kyfdx recorded. @andres3 - did your deal go through? If so, year and mileage for the punch list? Thanks!
For some strange reason, I am anticipating a pi$$ing match with the NV BMW dealer over the S4. No idea why I think that 😁

AZ.... and I haven't met a horrible BMW or Audi dealership that has stooped down to Kia of El Cajon's level yet. Not that they aren't out there or don't exist, but Kia dealerships have an "earned" reputation.

andres3 · November 2020

qbrozen said:
Guess that Fiat owner wants to keep it or is trying to hide something. Crickets since telling me he’d send the VIN and never answered my question about how long he has owned it.

Maybe someone came in and offered 20% over asking price and they are in Vegas celebrating???

Ok, I might be overly optimistic.

andres3 · November 2020

nyccarguy said:

andres3 said:

corvette said:
Okay, got the punches for @isellhondas and @kyfdx recorded. @andres3 - did your deal go through? If so, year and mileage for the punch list? Thanks!
2015 S4 Prestige with 32,295 miles off the truck in front of my home. Now I have to let the CA DMV know about this car, as the dealership insisted it needed AZ paper plates from the AZ DOT.
Congrats on the S4! They really are sweet looking and performing cars. I can’t wait to see the pics once you clean it up!

Thanks! It arrived pretty clean, fairly certain it was well detailed 1-2 weeks ago, and it just has been sitting outside for that time, and someone gave it a 5 minute wipe down right before going on the transport truck to clean and shine it up again (that was the lazy part on the part of the dealership).

I think Misano Red painted in Germany looks great in any lighting, from I-phone flash, to even a Home Depot parking lot, which was the duty for the S4 tonight. Was able to fit a 10'-2" long piece of base shoe trim, which is like quarter round, but slightly smaller. The TTS would have failed at this task to contain the long piece of wood trim.

Here it is - Merry Early Christmas to me:

dad23 · November 2020

Looks great @andres3, enjoy!!!

andres3 · November 2020

Early Bonuses from initial impressions of the new to me S4:

I thought I had spec'd my original 7 years ago to perfection as basically the obtainable dream car, but I have to admit the following:

The carbon fiber trimmings inside are 1st caliber grade from Audi, much better than 99% of the carbon fiber you see "out there" from people getting things on E-Bay and Amazon. The carbon fiber trim is gorgeous, but does increase the amount of "black color" inside as compared to the brushed aluminum look trim. It's very clear to me not all Carbon fiber is created equally.
I like the how the black optic package gets rid of the chrome and more importantly, you go from aluminum side mirror housings to the painted color. I thought I loved the aluminum side mirrors, but when you are driving, it's nice to see the Misano red looking right at you from the inside. You can't really see the paint from the inside, but with the painted mirror housings, you can!
The Nappa leather is a lot better than the standard A4 "leather" seating.
I do love the low down low RPM power of the bigger engine. 3.0L is the right sized engine for this car.
I think I've mentioned before, once you go rear-facing back-up cam you can't go back to none.

corvette · November 2020

@andres3 - if it was shipped on a non-enclosed transporter, I don't think it would matter how long ago it was detailed, it's going to look like a mess once it gets to its destination. Agree about the backup cam. I wish my Tundra had dynamic guide lines, which I'm sure they're waiting for the redesign to implement.

fintail · November 2020

Any idea about the rarity of that exact build? Have you ever seen a twin?

And I have to ask, what other direction would a backup camera face?

andres3 said:
Early Bonuses from initial impressions of the new to me S4:

I thought I had spec'd my original 7 years ago to perfection as basically the obtainable dream car, but I have to admit the following:

The carbon fiber trimmings inside are 1st caliber grade from Audi, much better than 99% of the carbon fiber you see "out there" from people getting things on E-Bay and Amazon. The carbon fiber trim is gorgeous, but does increase the amount of "black color" inside as compared to the brushed aluminum look trim. It's very clear to me not all Carbon fiber is created equally.
I like the how the black optic package gets rid of the chrome and more importantly, you go from aluminum side mirror housings to the painted color. I thought I loved the aluminum side mirrors, but when you are driving, it's nice to see the Misano red looking right at you from the inside. You can't really see the paint from the inside, but with the painted mirror housings, you can!
The Nappa leather is a lot better than the standard A4 "leather" seating.
I do love the low down low RPM power of the bigger engine. 3.0L is the right sized engine for this car.
I think I've mentioned before, once you go rear-facing back-up cam you can't go back to none.

28firefighter · November 2020

So I watched JRGo’s latest video and I think I’m done with his channel. It is great he’s invested in space for a shop. However, there is just entirely too much stupidity wrapped up into one video for me to support.

Top hits of stupidity...
(1) A large, unmasked gathering of people in a part of the country where COVID cases have exploded. In attendance were several folks who would be deemed high risk. On the next episode of WatchJRGo, “I’m a super spreader.”

(2) Doing massive donuts and burnouts in a confined space with many people standing around - including one person in a wheelchair who would have no ability to move out of the way if someone lost control.

(3) In case #1 wasn’t convincing, I’m sure standing in a building full of burnt rubber and diesel engine smoke without proper ventilation will really help keep their lungs in tip top shape.

I’m all for celebrating but come on...like one big cars and coffee ooopsie waiting to happen. There is a place to do crazy stuff - it’s called the track.

ab348 · November 2020

I've never visited that channel, but from your description of the video it sounds like one of the many, many meathead shows that seemingly make up about 99% of what I find on the Motor Trend TV online service.

sda · November 2020

I was surprised the Passat doesn’t have dynamic guidelines on the reverse camera especially since it is has the tech package with a really decent nav. The Accord did and they were very helpful. One other minor nit, the screen is located higher on the dash on the Accord and Q5 which made for a rather natural sightline of looking at the review mirrors, screen, backlight, windshield with a quick side to side rotation of the head. With the Passat I have to remember to look down to see the screen which isn’t as intuitive.

corvette · November 2020

28firefighter said:
So I watched JRGo’s latest video and I think I’m done with his channel. It is great he’s invested in space for a shop. However, there is just entirely too much stupidity wrapped up into one video for me to support.

Ugh... I haven't watched that one yet. I'm about a third of the way through the three hour live stream where he bought the stage lights. Someone asked him what the COVID situation in his area was, and his answer was a flippant "pretty much doesn't exist, no mask mandate." A quick Google search indicated the hospitals in Wichita are near capacity.

tommister2 · November 2020

Can we drop the mask talk please? Cars don’t wear masks

nyccarguy · November 2020

@andres3

Gorgeous car. I didn't know you could get painted mirrors on an S4. I always thought the "tell tale" of the Audi S models was the Aluminum Mirror Caps. So just some quick math, your former S4 (that was backed into by a Lexus, not repaired to factory spec, & you were paid a DV claim on) was a 2013? This 2015 is the same generation? This is like the White One that @breld had, right?

I have always liked the A4/S4 cars. I saw a Black "regular" A4 with the Black Optic Package that I had to walk around to see if it was a de-badged S4.

graphicguy · November 2020

@andres3 ....good looking car. Red interior....what could possibly be better? Big Congrats?

graphicguy · November 2020

roadburner said:
I know that I need to get professional help, but I’m going to look at this:
https://www.bluegrassauto.com/inventory/certified-used-2015-jaguar-f-type-s-rwd-2d-coupe-sajwa6bu9f8k19464

Get help? From someone here? We encourage that type of behavior. That’s a pretty car and I bet it goes like stink!!!!!!

corvette · November 2020

tommister2 said:
Can we drop the mask talk please? Cars don’t wear masks

Bras, maybe... Although the "clear bra" paint protection films seem to have done away with the vinyl bras that were so popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

nyccarguy · November 2020

corvette said:

tommister2 said:
Can we drop the mask talk please? Cars don’t wear masks
Bras, maybe... Although the "clear bra" paint protection films seem to have done away with the vinyl bras that were so popular in the 1980s and 1990s.

I had the oem vinyl bra for my Prelude. It was a pain to take on and off.

fintail · November 2020

tommister2 said:
Can we drop the mask talk please? Cars don’t wear masks

These are actually not uncommon in cold weather areas:

Nobody is offended.

breld · November 2020

@andres3 - beautiful S4!

I LOVE the black optic package (@nyccarguy - that’s what gets you body color mirrors in addition to the unique wheels, black grill and black window surrounds...and yes, this is very much like my white one other than the 3rd pedal).

breld · November 2020

The new Mazda3 with the turbo engine is entering the market, quietly it seems with little fanfare.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34734612/2021-mazda-3-25t-by-the-numbers/

As long as you don’t expect it to be a Mazdaspeed3, sounds like a really nice compact car.

28firefighter · November 2020

I was just watching a video review of the Mazda 3 Turbo hatch. Looks interesting!

xwesx · November 2020

@fintail I found your comment on the "rear-facing backup camera" far too hilarious. I thought the exact same thing when I was reading the original post ("well, there's some redundancy!"), but seeing your comment made me nearly spit water out my nose.

ab348 · November 2020

28firefighter said:
I was just watching a video review of the Mazda 3 Turbo hatch. Looks interesting!

I never knew "interesting" was a synonym for both "awkward" and "misshapen".

andres3 · November 2020

fintail said:
Any idea about the rarity of that exact build? Have you ever seen a twin?

And I have to ask, what other direction would a backup camera face?

andres3 said:
Early Bonuses from initial impressions of the new to me S4:

I thought I had spec'd my original 7 years ago to perfection as basically the obtainable dream car, but I have to admit the following:

The carbon fiber trimmings inside are 1st caliber grade from Audi, much better than 99% of the carbon fiber you see "out there" from people getting things on E-Bay and Amazon. The carbon fiber trim is gorgeous, but does increase the amount of "black color" inside as compared to the brushed aluminum look trim. It's very clear to me not all Carbon fiber is created equally.
I like the how the black optic package gets rid of the chrome and more importantly, you go from aluminum side mirror housings to the painted color. I thought I loved the aluminum side mirrors, but when you are driving, it's nice to see the Misano red looking right at you from the inside. You can't really see the paint from the inside, but with the painted mirror housings, you can!
The Nappa leather is a lot better than the standard A4 "leather" seating.
I do love the low down low RPM power of the bigger engine. 3.0L is the right sized engine for this car.
I think I've mentioned before, once you go rear-facing back-up cam you can't go back to none.

I've seen that people can ask Audi of America how rare the build is, and apparently, they answer. Maybe I'll give it a shot. It has to be pretty rare, specifying the Misano Red alone makes it rare; the magma red Nappa leather only more so, and the Prestige wasn't a super common top trim level either.

I let my wife drive it to her work with good parking spacing confirmed the first day, and she said more or less it was a "dude magnet."

What direction does a 360 Bird's eye view camera face?

Michaell · November 2020

andres3 said:

fintail said:
Any idea about the rarity of that exact build? Have you ever seen a twin?

And I have to ask, what other direction would a backup camera face?

andres3 said:
Early Bonuses from initial impressions of the new to me S4:

I thought I had spec'd my original 7 years ago to perfection as basically the obtainable dream car, but I have to admit the following:

The carbon fiber trimmings inside are 1st caliber grade from Audi, much better than 99% of the carbon fiber you see "out there" from people getting things on E-Bay and Amazon. The carbon fiber trim is gorgeous, but does increase the amount of "black color" inside as compared to the brushed aluminum look trim. It's very clear to me not all Carbon fiber is created equally.
I like the how the black optic package gets rid of the chrome and more importantly, you go from aluminum side mirror housings to the painted color. I thought I loved the aluminum side mirrors, but when you are driving, it's nice to see the Misano red looking right at you from the inside. You can't really see the paint from the inside, but with the painted mirror housings, you can!
The Nappa leather is a lot better than the standard A4 "leather" seating.
I do love the low down low RPM power of the bigger engine. 3.0L is the right sized engine for this car.
I think I've mentioned before, once you go rear-facing back-up cam you can't go back to none.

I've seen that people can ask Audi of America how rare the build is, and apparently, they answer. Maybe I'll give it a shot. It has to be pretty rare, specifying the Misano Red alone makes it rare; the magma red Nappa leather only more so, and the Prestige wasn't a super common top trim level either.

I let my wife drive it to her work with good parking spacing confirmed the first day, and she said more or less it was a "dude magnet."

What direction does a 360 Bird's eye view camera face?

Time to update your signature line!

28firefighter · November 2020

ab348 said:

28firefighter said:
I was just watching a video review of the Mazda 3 Turbo hatch. Looks interesting!
I never knew "interesting" was a synonym for both "awkward" and "misshapen".

You say potato, I say potatoe...

roadburner · November 2020

breld said:
The new Mazda3 with the turbo engine is entering the market, quietly it seems with little fanfare.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a34734612/2021-mazda-3-25t-by-the-numbers/

As long as you don’t expect it to be a Mazdaspeed3, sounds like a really nice compact car.

That's exactly the problem from my standpoint- it's NOT an MS3...

andres3 · November 2020

nyccarguy said:
@andres3

Gorgeous car. I didn't know you could get painted mirrors on an S4. I always thought the "tell tale" of the Audi S models was the Aluminum Mirror Caps. So just some quick math, your former S4 (that was backed into by a Lexus, not repaired to factory spec, & you were paid a DV claim on) was a 2013? This 2015 is the same generation? This is like the White One that @breld had, right?

I have always liked the A4/S4 cars. I saw a Black "regular" A4 with the Black Optic Package that I had to walk around to see if it was a de-badged S4.

As @breld said, it's the black optic package feature changing a tell-tale S4 feature.

The original S4 I had was a '14 that I sold with 48,xxx miles on it. Interestingly, this lower mile 1-year newer model with more options cost about the same, but of course, 4 years or so of inflation/depreciation went by.

If "factory spec" includes paint quality standards, then yes, it was never repaired quite right. The mechanics were repaired really well though. It also later got hit by a hit and run driver in a Costco parking lot that bashed in the rear bumper on the side of it.

andres3 · November 2020

corvette said:
@andres3 - if it was shipped on a non-enclosed transporter, I don't think it would matter how long ago it was detailed, it's going to look like a mess once it gets to its destination. Agree about the backup cam. I wish my Tundra had dynamic guide lines, which I'm sure they're waiting for the redesign to implement.

Remember, it was picked up and delivered the same day, and it's a 300 mile jaunt or so, not a long haul by most standards.

Either way, it was fine. On the one hand the prior "old geezer" owner makes @oldfarmer50 happy that the car was not hooned, but on the other, all the wheels have at least some scuffing from curb rash, and one of the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires is "gouged." A bit more than a scratch, it has a small flapping piece of rubber on the sidewall, but it's not quite deep enough to reach visible cord/wire, so I think I'm OK.... though if there's one "beef" with the dealership, it'll be this tire; and the shipper noted the tire damage to sidewall on their "pickup" report.

fintail · November 2020

I suspected it was something super-rare. I wonder if you have a one-off, for the USA anyway. Do you know if it was a custom order?

I wish MB had such data, but as far as I know, they don't share it. One must wade through classifieds and see if anything similar exists. I did the same when I got the wagon - I found some close builds, but nothing identical.

360 camera faces down

- that's a piece of what many will call useless tech that I like. Much less worry about curbing a wheel. Also, in these days of thicker pillars, a backup camera is a necessity on a new car anyway, at least for those of us who are mindful parkers.

andres3 said:

I've seen that people can ask Audi of America how rare the build is, and apparently, they answer. Maybe I'll give it a shot. It has to be pretty rare, specifying the Misano Red alone makes it rare; the magma red Nappa leather only more so, and the Prestige wasn't a super common top trim level either.

I let my wife drive it to her work with good parking spacing confirmed the first day, and she said more or less it was a "dude magnet."

What direction does a 360 Bird's eye view camera face?

fintail · November 2020

That C-pillar, woof. Massive blind spot, too.

ab348 said:

I never knew "interesting" was a synonym for both "awkward" and "misshapen".

fintail · November 2020

Somehow it made me think of the mirrors on this beauty:

xwesx said:
@fintail I found your comment on the "rear-facing backup camera" far too hilarious. I thought the exact same thing when I was reading the original post ("well, there's some redundancy!"), but seeing your comment made me nearly spit water out my nose.

mjfloyd1 · November 2020

andres3 said:

corvette said:
@andres3 - if it was shipped on a non-enclosed transporter, I don't think it would matter how long ago it was detailed, it's going to look like a mess once it gets to its destination. Agree about the backup cam. I wish my Tundra had dynamic guide lines, which I'm sure they're waiting for the redesign to implement.
Remember, it was picked up and delivered the same day, and it's a 300 mile jaunt or so, not a long haul by most standards.

Either way, it was fine. On the one hand the prior "old geezer" owner makes @oldfarmer50 happy that the car was not hooned, but on the other, all the wheels have at least some scuffing from curb rash, and one of the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires is "gouged." A bit more than a scratch, it has a small flapping piece of rubber on the sidewall, but it's not quite deep enough to reach visible cord/wire, so I think I'm OK.... though if there's one "beef" with the dealership, it'll be this tire; and the shipper noted the tire damage to sidewall on their "pickup" report.

This is exactly why you pay for a pre purchase inspection.

I’ve never driven 300 miles and arrived with a car that looks like it was just detailed.

breld · November 2020

fintail said:
That C-pillar, woof. Massive blind spot, too.

ab348 said:

I never knew "interesting" was a synonym for both "awkward" and "misshapen".

This is the first Mazda3 that I prefer in sedan form over the hatch.

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

stickguy said:
son is visiting and I had to run out to the store with him, and he wanted to drive the RDX since he never had. I now know what sport+ is like. Revs a whole lot higher, and (per him) the steering firms up. Plus on the dash get extra gauges for boost and acceleration Gs (I think). Basically nothing I really need to use!

The G meter may be more related to lateral cornering forces than acceleration.

corvette · November 2020

Renewed the XM on the Tundra this morning via the chat box on their website. I currently have SiriusXM Select, which is all I need. First they offered me all-access for $90 or $99 a year plus tax (can't remember which). I asked if there was a cheaper option, and got a year renewal of SiriusXM Select for $60 plus tax. So, 12 months of service for the retail price of 3.5 months.

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

xwesx said:
I usually skip that step. Once the paperwork is settled, I have the dealer send the title transfer paperwork to me, I register it in Alaska, and I bring my plates with me when I pick up the car. Sometimes it doesn't work out due to delays, etc., but usually it is easy enough. There are some states that do the "pound of flesh" thing by requiring a transfer fee, but not often. Mostly it is just the dealer saying, "Um, I haven't done it that way before," so I have to educate them on the process so they are comfortable enough to do it.

I think the only cars I took home without plates on them from the first moment I drove away were the two TDIs (Ohio and Texas). The Ohio car was due to timing issues (I just couldn't get to the DMV between when I received the papers and when I had to leave), but it was okay because Ohio required the transfer fee anyway. The Texas dealer was due to them being incompetent schmucks who can rot in hell forever.

Whenever I’ve bought a used car private party I ask the seller to drive it to my home if it’s close enough or in one case where it’s out of state I arrange to leave it with the seller until I can get it registered and go back with plates. On the odd occasion when I considered buying far away, say Florida, I’d get temp plates locally and drive it home.

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