Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

28firefighter · November 2020

stickguy said:
I have relatives in NoVa, so if they want to know that blue one down to $24,995 I might need to buy early! Not that far from me. I love the cloth seats, but will take the leather to get the other goodies.

Ha - if they let it go for $24,995, I'd buy it and ship it...

qbrozen · November 2020

xwesx said:
@qbrozen I meant "done" in terms of moving on to the next car as opposed to finished with the repairs!

funny to think I haven't even taken it out of town yet. Oh, wait, I did have to go to the next town for inspection.

I still haven't started it! Something weird is going on. Silly German engineering, I'm sure. I left it on the trickle charger overnight but it was stone cold dead again today. I think, likely, it keeps trying to wake up modules or something and draining faster than the trickle charger could put out. After work tonight, I disconnected the ground from the battery and put the charger to the battery directly. I'll check again tomorrow to see the state of charge. Might need a new battery to the tune of $180.

qbrozen · November 2020

Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

Michaell said:
At the moment, I’m only subscribed to watchjrgo and 100percentjake. Who else are you recommending I follow?

Try Weird Beard. I can relate to his using scrap iron and tree trunks laying around his yard to do repair work.

tjc78 · November 2020

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

Sounds plausible about some air in the system. I’m sure you’ll fix it yourself, but for what you paid for all that work I’d be a little ticked.

corvette · November 2020

@qbrozen - the coolant thing does sound like an air pocket in the system. Went through something similar when I replaced the cooling system on my E39 540i and was purging air from the system.

Good strategy on the ML63 battery. How much current does your trickle charger put out?

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

28firefighter said:
The only place the used car market could go is down after spending 6+ months on the upswing. Carvana and Vroom must be on the verge of taking an absolute bath on all of the cars they overpaid on.

I’m guessing they aren’t going to sell their inventory at a loss, at least not willingly. So I bet that prices will come down slowly.

There must be some smart (or at least lucky) planners at my company. They bought 200k units from Hertz at a discount when everybody thought the market was collapsing and then sold them in late summer and fall when prices were sky high. Most dealers did the opposite. They dumped inventory in the spring and then bought at inflated prices into a booming market. Now they’re stuck with all these high priced cars as demand shrinks.

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

“ (Some of my co-workers are older retirees with a bad attitude!). “

No. You don’t say. We have some characters too but the only one I have to fight to get cool cars are younger guys.

andres3 · November 2020

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:
OK, gave the S4 a wash n' wax with Costco's Meguiar's Wash n' Wax combo wash soap. Just used a tiny bit of elbow grease on the wheels, needs more work and less laziness.

Looking good if I do say so myself, but I'm a mediocre car detailer/washer. There's some luggage scuffing/scratching on the rear bumper, and a small very thin light "white" scratch on the left rear quarter panel, a couple small touched up with Misano Red paint chips on the hood, and the car is otherwise in great shape. Oh, and the engine bay was detailed by the dealership, which was a nice touch.
Looks very nice. Enjoy

I’ve had great results with 3M perfect it 3 stage polishing with their pads for a random orbital. Then top off with a ceramic coating.

Thanks; I plan to!

Might be past my pay grade to do that. Would need to call "the guy." How much do you charge to be "the guy?"

Someone in the Audi group generally mused about getting a test drive in the TTS to see what he could do with it on a canyon carving run we were on early Saturday morning. I finally replied back that if he could get me a test drive in a TTRS, I'd let him test drive my TTS to fulfill his wishes.

The Yokohama A052's are super sticky. They can make a decent driver seem very good n' fast.

oldfarmer50 · November 2020

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

I was going to suggest a stuck thermostat. Only other thing would be a blown head gasket but that doesn’t come and go.

qbrozen · November 2020

corvette said:
@qbrozen - the coolant thing does sound like an air pocket in the system. Went through something similar when I replaced the cooling system on my E39 540i and was purging air from the system.

Good strategy on the ML63 battery. How much current does your trickle charger put out?

2A

I just put a new one on my wishlist. Mine is a Craftsman 2A/10A/50A, probably 15 yrs old now and not very reliable.

andres3 · November 2020

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

The only time something similar has happened to me I was in a Dodge too, and it was from the coolant getting low, which was from the head gaskets going bad. I had a hard time believing the temp gauge could rocket up and down too.

qbrozen · November 2020

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.
Sounds plausible about some air in the system. I’m sure you’ll fix it yourself, but for what you paid for all that work I’d be a little ticked.

I am, but certainly not going to take it back there.

xwesx · November 2020

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

Hmm.... it could be a couple of things. Air bubble might be the worst option, as it could mean a head gasket concern. More likely is a failing water pump. If the impeller is spinning on the shaft, it will not circulate coolant for a moment or two and the temperature inside the engine can quickly spike, plus the internal heat would definitely blow cool as well. As soon as it regains circulation, everything will quickly return to expected with the influx of cooled liquid from the radiator.

xwesx · November 2020

Many years ago, I had a failing water pump that exhibited similar symptoms in terms of craziness on the temp gauge. In retrospect, I should have taken it more seriously because a couple weeks into the occasional flickerings, I was driving home at around 0100 on a Sunday morning, -30F, and it just quit and stayed quit. At that point, it was very clear that the engine WAS overheating, I had no heat in the cabin, and there was not a soul on the road anywhere.

I risked ruining the engine by driving a couple miles to a vague acquaintance's house to desperately knock on their door at around 0300. Thankfully, they were home and answered; otherwise, it is very likely I would have froze to death that night!

corvette · November 2020

qbrozen said:

corvette said:
@qbrozen - the coolant thing does sound like an air pocket in the system. Went through something similar when I replaced the cooling system on my E39 540i and was purging air from the system.

Good strategy on the ML63 battery. How much current does your trickle charger put out?
2A

I just put a new one on my wishlist. Mine is a Craftsman 2A/10A/50A, probably 15 yrs old now and not very reliable.

My Battery Tender is 1.5 amps, and it appears it can't keep up if you have the car's ignition in accessory mode or turned on without the engine running. So, if you have a decent sized drain, very possible it's not charging the battery. I also think it's possible that the car's electronics, once the battery reaches a certain level of discharge, enter some sort of "death spiral" wherein they drain a lot of current until battery voltage reaches a normal level, which will never happen, because they're draining a lot of current. QED.

stickguy · November 2020

these stories are not increasing my desire to get an old car as the spare when I finally get one. At least not one known to be needy. A not too old Civic, that I can handle even with my limited DIY resources!

breld · November 2020

mjfloyd1 said:
It is really not that bad with a random orbital. I did it on my wife’s old MB GL350 that had a lot of surface area

I’ve toyed with the idea of getting an orbital, but just continue on polishing and waxing by hand. I don’t even do that too often anymore - which makes sense since my vehicles don’t tend to get old enough to need that attention more than maybe once!

But the dark color on the new MINI could already use a really good polish and now I’m thinking of getting an orbital again.

So I take it you’d recommend it? What type do you have?

mjfloyd1 · December 2020

I’ve got a Griot’s garage random orbital. I’ve been happy with it.

Also good are TORQX and Rupes.

Also check Adam’s car care. They have their own brand.

@andres3 - I only do my own cars. It gets quite expensive to have someone paint correct and then ceramic coat especially if you get a coating with a multi year warranty.

nyccarguy · December 2020

mjfloyd1 said:
I’ve got a Griot’s garage random orbital. I’ve been happy with it.

Also good are TORQX and Rupes.

Also check Adam’s car care. They have their own brand.

@andres3 - I only do my own cars. It gets quite expensive to have someone paint correct and then ceramic coat especially if you get a coating with a multi year warranty.

+1 On the Griot's Garage Random Orbital.

corvette · December 2020

I have a Porter Cable. I think it may be the same as Griot’s, but I’m not sure.

tjc78 · December 2020

I have an orbital brand new in the box.... too scared to use it.

I just do a nice clay and one step product. Good enough for cars that are fairly new.

I am ashamed to admit, but I don’t think the 17 Enclave ever got a full wax except the hood a few times when it got a little swirled or buffing out a fine scratch.

S60 has been waxed once since I got it Aug 2019.

kyfdx · December 2020

I was thinking they were probably punched last Winter, when the lease deals ended.

Could be a good deal there, though.

oldfarmer50 · December 2020

stickguy said:
I clay occasionally. Probably should do it more. beyond that the most ambitious I get is using cleaner/wax. Wax on, wipe off. I think it makes the car come out looking good, shines nice, water beads off, and paint nice and smooth!

I started using Meguire’s Ultimate Fast Finish. Shines as well as the 3 step I used to use, lasts a long time and doesn’t require that I pass out from hard labor.

oldfarmer50 · December 2020

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.
Hmm.... it could be a couple of things. Air bubble might be the worst option, as it could mean a head gasket concern. More likely is a failing water pump. If the impeller is spinning on the shaft, it will not circulate coolant for a moment or two and the temperature inside the engine can quickly spike, plus the internal heat would definitely blow cool as well. As soon as it regains circulation, everything will quickly return to expected with the influx of cooled liquid from the radiator.

Might even be a quirky gauge. I had an old F-150 that ran hot according to the dash gauge but when we used a hand held infer red thermometer it was normal.

stickguy · December 2020

I started using Mcquires tech wax, and also have their all in one cleaner/wax. Both are easy to use. Can do the whole car putting it on before having to wipe off, and only one product needed. Does not take long to wash, do a quick clay, rinse then cleaner/wax. I try to do it 2x/year (early spring after any winter salt, and late summer after the trip to the beach for vacation and to prepare for winter abuse). The RDX still beads and shines like new, and did not get all salty, so that probably waits until the spring for first wax.

I do have Griots spray detailer. That works really well for a quick shine. Impressive stuff.

roadburner · December 2020

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.

I also think that the air hasn’t been bled out of the system. The M30 sixes I had in my Bavaria and 535is had a bleed screw on the top of the thermostat housing. Even with that it helped to raise the front end of the car to ensure no air pockets remained.
My next guess would be a flakey gauge.

stickguy · December 2020

JRgo has a fancy (well, looks fancy to me!) vacuum pump coolant tool he uses. I think it helps drain the system, but seems to make quick work of adding coolant back in to an empty system. I think it just mimics the sealed system and pulls the vacuum to suck the coolant in out of a container, and when it is at the full like, you are done. No air issues.

stickguy · December 2020

Also, do you have a scan tool? Seems that you can use those real time to watch actual readings (like coolant temp) instead of relying on the gauge. Will at least tell you if that is working correctly.

corvette · December 2020

Image upload still working for me in Chrome on a desktop. It hasn't worked for me on Chrome mobile in ages.

qbrozen · December 2020

xwesx said:

qbrozen said:
Oh, and the Dodge has a new thing. While running out for coffee today, the temp gauge pegged into the red. Huh. Pulled into a parking lot, but before I could get to a spot, the gauge very quickly dropped to normal. OK, must be a false reading because it makes no sense for it to drop that fast. Back on the road, about 2 miles later, I see it quickly climb, then go down, then climb, then go down. Sat at normal the rest of the way home. Out again this evening to pick up my kid and it was carrying on again. Stayed high at one point, which makes me nervous, even suspecting it is a false reading. I pulled over, shut it off, waited a min, then restarted and accelerated. It dropped again quickly after a min or so.

What I noticed this time is that the heater would blow cool when it was reading hot, then blow hot when reading proper temp. So MAYBE there is air in the system that found its way there when first running the heat for the season. When I had it into the shop, they changed the thermostat and coolant. Maybe they didn't bleed it properly. I'll try that tomorrow.
Hmm.... it could be a couple of things. Air bubble might be the worst option, as it could mean a head gasket concern. More likely is a failing water pump. If the impeller is spinning on the shaft, it will not circulate coolant for a moment or two and the temperature inside the engine can quickly spike, plus the internal heat would definitely blow cool as well. As soon as it regains circulation, everything will quickly return to expected with the influx of cooled liquid from the radiator.

Agreed. That also crossed my mind. Tough to diagnose without removing it, though. I did just replace the belt and tensioner this weekend. Could be coincidence.

breld · December 2020

Thanks for the advice on the orbital and other products.

I'm a total sucker for the Griot's stuff

...

fintail · December 2020

A friend has one of those, which replaced another - it conked out after several years, and Griot's replaced it for free. The Griot's HQ is in Tacoma, with a flagship store - detail geeks can max out their credit cards. I like their spray wax for the fintail, which seems more "natural" than others, and works better on old paint. I am into the spray detailers and waxes for the modern car too, but have mostly Meguiars, as sometimes it is a real deal on Amazon, in gallon sized containers. Modern car gets a bi-weekly or weekly wipe with it, fintail gets a quick wipe before every drive.

I have a Ryobi random orbital, which works with their interchangeable battery packs. It was much cheaper than other cordless models, as I also have a little Ryobi hand vacuum to use the same batteries.

At a MBCA event a few years ago, I won one of the Griot's wheeled car wash carts like in the pic above - I have no place to really wash a car, so I use it for car towel storage. It was filled with supplies, like a large car drying microfiber, supplies, etc. Nice prize.

nyccarguy said:

+1 On the Griot's Garage Random Orbital.

tjc78 · December 2020

20% off sale at Griots... Ending today!

breld · December 2020

tjc78 said:
20% off sale at Griots... Ending today!

I'm on their site right now! Unfortunately, the 20% off is just for their liquid products (which I will use to stock up on some items) - not sure if their orbital ever goes on sale.

graphicguy · December 2020

mjfloyd1 said:

andres3 said:
OK, gave the S4 a wash n' wax with Costco's Meguiar's Wash n' Wax combo wash soap. Just used a tiny bit of elbow grease on the wheels, needs more work and less laziness.

Looking good if I do say so myself, but I'm a mediocre car detailer/washer. There's some luggage scuffing/scratching on the rear bumper, and a small very thin light "white" scratch on the left rear quarter panel, a couple small touched up with Misano Red paint chips on the hood, and the car is otherwise in great shape. Oh, and the engine bay was detailed by the dealership, which was a nice touch.
Looks very nice. Enjoy

I’ve had great results with 3M perfect it 3 stage polishing with their pads for a random orbital. Then top off with a ceramic coating.

I like 3M Pefectit to clean up light to medium swirls. Also good for light scratches. Tried a ceramic once (can’t remember the brand). That was a whole lot of work for not much (if any) more durability over Zaino. Maybe there are different types of ceramics, some better than others.

corvette · December 2020

Supposedly, one of the other benefits of the ceramic coatings is that dirt does not adhere as well to the finish, compared to conventional sealants, so it stays looking clean longer.

breld · December 2020

Found that a local auto parts store carries the Griots Orbital and they have a 20% off online coupon that works.

Guess I’m getting an early Christmas gift.

mjfloyd1 · December 2020

corvette said:
I have a Porter Cable. I think it may be the same as Griot’s, but I’m not sure.

I too believe that the Griots is just a rebadged Porter cable random orbital

mjfloyd1 · December 2020

breld said:
Found that a local auto parts store carries the Griots Orbital and they have a 20% off online coupon that works.

Guess I’m getting an early Christmas gift.

Oh my, what have I started...

sda · December 2020

My wife bought me a cordless (18v) orbital buffer for Father’s Day some years ago. I used it once and found it unwieldy to use. It was returned to the box and hasn’t been used since. I was very appreciative of her thoughtfulness. Maybe I should give it another try. I still wax the manual way. Apply with a terry cloth wax applicator, buff off with one of my retired cotton tee shirts. If there is black plastic or something I really don’t want to get wax on I use masking tape to guard against sloppiness.

ab348 · December 2020

I noticed that Meguiars offers a random orbit buffing/polishing attachment meant to be used with a corded drill that has a speed range of 1200-2500rpm. At a little over $60Cdn it sounds like an intriguing option if it is any good.

kyfdx · December 2020

mjfloyd1 said:

breld said:
Found that a local auto parts store carries the Griots Orbital and they have a 20% off online coupon that works.

Guess I’m getting an early Christmas gift.
Oh my, what have I started...

Absolutely nothing here...

qbrozen · December 2020

stickguy said:
Also, do you have a scan tool? Seems that you can use those real time to watch actual readings (like coolant temp) instead of relying on the gauge. Will at least tell you if that is working correctly.

That was a rhetorical question for me, right? ;b

mjfloyd1 · December 2020

Who are you calling a tool? 😂

breld · December 2020

We were getting tinting done on the new MINI and the front windows of the Cayenne today.

Our "guy" had been doing some work on another client's car that he pointed out to us. I'm certainly no expert on Mustangs, but I'm sure some of you can weigh in on how special and/or rare this is? Also note that the owner apparently went to an event years ago and had Carroll Shelby personally sign the passenger side dash.

oldfarmer50 · December 2020

breld said:
We were getting tinting done on the new MINI and the front windows of the Cayenne today.

Our "guy" had been doing some work on another client's car that he pointed out to us. I'm certainly no expert on Mustangs, but I'm sure some of you can weigh in on how special and/or rare this is? Also note that the owner apparently went to an event years ago and had Carroll Shelby personally sign the passenger side dash.

Nice interior. The Shelby signature should be worth a few bucks. Some of those super snake editions had more than 700 hp.

breld · December 2020

The guy working on it said something about 700ish hp.

explorerx4 · December 2020

Better be wearing you big boy pants when you nail the gas on that Mustang.

breld · December 2020

A RWD manual convertible in Colorado in December. Boy that’s gonna sell fast.

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/830572609/overview/

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