Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

roadburner · June 2021

My son is riding back with me after the Nashville Cup race; if all goes well he's picking up a 2018 Sunset Orange 330i xDrive. No pics yet.

tjc78 · June 2021

@28firefighter said:
I traveled 125k miles per year domestically at the peak of my consulting days. Meant no matter what I booked per company policy, I ended up in first class, premium rental cars, and suites at virtually any hotel. I generally was pretty frugal eating out though even though I was always billable.

I happily travel one step above cargo with no status anymore in return for having breakfast with my wife and son each morning and tucking my little one in each night. A worthy trade.

This sounds a lot like me! I used to rack up the upgrades and points. Once my wife was pregnant with our son I knew I had to come off the road.

ab348 · June 2021

au1994 said:
The golfers in the group will appreciate this. The one trip I was offered and had to decline was a trip on a private jet from Dallas to Brookline for the 99 Ryder Cup. The one that Justin Leonard won with that phenomenal 158 ft putt. Ok, maybe not that long.

It was just too much and the funny thing was, it was up to me to decline, nobody in leadership was telling me to decline. Another person took the trip. He was a Brit so he probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have.

Nothing on the same scale as that, but a funny story nonetheless:

There used to be an annual event at a golf resort about 3 hours from here, that ran for a couple of days, featuring some minor celebrities and media types playing with business folk. Nobody paid their own way as businesses bought slots to bestow upon their favored clients. It wasn't cheap and you were at their mercy while there since most companies taking part arranged vans or buses to take the clients there and back. Apparently it was all eating, drinking and low-grade debauchery while there. The golf was mostly a necessary excuse.

One year I was invited by Unisys but had the sense to turn it down. But a few Deputy Ministers did not. In the government structure here that is the equivalent to the CEO of a govt department, the highest-ranking non-political Civil Servant in a department. I knew one of them fairly well from being on committees and such with him, and he seemed like a good guy.

Back then the local newspaper had a small agate type entry in the sports section listing the names of golfers who scored holes-in-one scored on area courses. One morning I was reading it and saw the Deputy's name and the course. I immediately connected the dots and realized it was at the event in question where it occurred. I sent him a congratulatory email, not thinking it was anything untoward. A day later I get an absolutely panicked phone call from him, showing a side of him I had never seen before. He had tried to conceal his presence from the elected Minister of his department (not unusual, as they came and went with great regularity and were often not held in high esteem by the senior civil service who actually ran things, though technically they were the Big Boss) pleading with me to make like Sgt. Schultz if anyone asked me about his presence there, since the Minister apparently had been led to believe he was elsewhere. I agreed only because it was extremely unlikely anyone would even know enough to ask me if the question of his whereabouts came up. Some time later the storm had passed and he thanked me for keeping silent. I found it remarkable that someone in such a powerful position would act like a schoolboy playing hooky.

au1994 · June 2021

Since I’ve strayed off topic, here’s one on topic. I got a lease quote on a 4xe for giggles. $738 on a 36/12.

$56,500 msrp and the 7500 credit is still available. I used @nyccarguy’s line and asked if he knew I only wanted one.

oldfarmer50 · June 2021

roadburner said:
My son is riding back with me after the Nashville Cup race; if all goes well he's picking up a 2018 Sunset Orange 330i xDrive. No pics yet.

Very nice.

qbrozen · June 2021

@roadburner
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3Rn7zbpD/2020-bmw-m2-cs?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new

nyccarguy · June 2021

au1994 said:
Since I’ve strayed off topic, here’s one on topic. I got a lease quote on a 4xe for giggles. $738 on a 36/12.

$56,500 msrp and the 7500 credit is still available. I used @nyccarguy’s line and asked if he knew I only wanted one.

If you are serious about a 4Xe, you should head over to our other hang out. You won't get 2 for $738, but you'll come close.

tjc78 · June 2021

@qbrozen said:
@roadburner
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3Rn7zbpD/2020-bmw-m2-cs?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new

That’s a nice one. How do those steering wheels hold up? I could see that getting nasty in a short time

au1994 · June 2021

nyccarguy said:

au1994 said:
Since I’ve strayed off topic, here’s one on topic. I got a lease quote on a 4xe for giggles. $738 on a 36/12.

$56,500 msrp and the 7500 credit is still available. I used @nyccarguy’s line and asked if he knew I only wanted one.
If you are serious about a 4Xe, you should head over to our other hang out. You won't get 2 for $738, but you'll come close.

I think with a rack in the receiver hitch I can make it work. Can you PM me the other hangout?

xwesx · June 2021

28firefighter said:
I traveled 125k miles per year domestically at the peak of my consulting days. Meant no matter what I booked per company policy, I ended up in first class, premium rental cars, and suites at virtually any hotel. I generally was pretty frugal eating out though even though I was always billable.

I happily travel one step above cargo with no status anymore in return for having breakfast with my wife and son each morning and tucking my little one in each night. A worthy trade.

You get to travel a step above cargo?! You lucky dog....

roadburner · June 2021

qbrozen said:
@roadburner
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3Rn7zbpD/2020-bmw-m2-cs?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new

That will go for over $100k, easy.

qbrozen · June 2021

just took the AMG for a test drive. So far, so good. Such a nice vehicle. Love that engine.

roadburner · June 2021

tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:
@roadburner
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3Rn7zbpD/2020-bmw-m2-cs?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new

That’s a nice one. How do those steering wheels hold up? I could see that getting nasty in a short time

I know that they didn't hold up to well on the E46 ZHPs. If you wear driving gloves all the time they reportedly will hold up fine.

Sandman6472 · June 2021

Have only driven a couple of Kona's at work but seem to be a pretty decent vehicle. If I got a Hyundai, not sure what model I'd get as they no longer make the Elantra GT hatch, one I really did like. To bad I didn't swap out of the Tucson the day I bought it for the new silver Elantra GT I found outside the front door. If I had done that, probably still be driving it now though it would have closer to 80K on it. I was putting on 13K/year back then. The new Elantra's are a bit too long for my needs of garage fitment unfortunately. Guess I'd have to get an Accent like my kid has.
Truly hoping this chip shortage ends as soon as possible so there will be more selection out there. Sure a lot of folks are real unhappy right now with the lack of vehicles.

xwesx · June 2021

qbrozen said:
just took the AMG for a test drive. So far, so good. Such a nice vehicle. Love that engine.

With all the frustration you have had to endure from that car, you deserve to enjoy it for a while now! Congrats!

roadburner · June 2021

Yesterday I talked a while with the NCM at my dealer. He’s having big issues with getting new inventory. BMW Manufacturing in SC is cranking out SAVs for China and Europe. Cars that have been ordered are being rolled from 112 status back to 105 because parts(primarily chips) aren’t available. Wireless charging and Wi-Fi hotspots are being deleted due to that as well. He told me he likely won’t be getting any used M2 Comps because they are bringing auction prices higher than the original MSRP.

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

Punch pending. I’m following the footsteps of @28firefighter and @qbrozen and have a 4xe build ordered

White with saddle interior
Black hard top (body colored is $1000 more)
Cold weather pkg
Safety
Advanced safety
Anti spin rear axle
Proximity key
All weather floor mats

laurasdada · June 2021

Baby may be doing a bad, bad thing; again...but dodged a bullet today...so far.

Earlier in the week, I told the lovely fiancé that I was thinking of a road trip on Saturday. Naturally, her first question was, "How many pairs of shoes should I bring?" Followed by, somewhat non-sensically, "Where are we going?" The always wrong answer to question #1 was, "One pair of comfortable shoes will be absolutely fine." But, much to my surprise and delight, only two pairs were brought. The answer to question #2, as always was, "I don't know, it's a surprise. Even to me." The LF does like a surprise, and I've done very well with them over the years, but her wont is to know in advance of said surprise, well, what the surprise is. And, how many pairs of shoes she should bring (the record is 5 pairs for a one night stay; 10 pairs for our 10 days in California earlier this month).

So, only an hour later than I had noted should be our departure time, we hopped in the A7 PHEV, waved to all the friends and relatives waving goodbye on the docks, with Gopher, Doc and Julie by our sides, and under the eerie Twilight Zone like sounds emitted, set off electrically. For the record, the Audi is a marvelous high speed cruise missle, quiet, smooth and accurate. As well as achieving ~50mpg for the 100+ mile voyage. I know that does not turn on most here, but hey, it's my party and I'll free-wheel if I want to...

An hour (late-ish) we arrived in the bucolic town of Topsfield, MA; home to a well known annual fair. I'll leave it to you to guess the name of the fair (hint: not Scarborough). Our final destination was the Topsfield Motor Car Company, a nice boutique used car dealer. Germans marques preferred, notably the products of Ferry Porsche.

Upon pulling in to the establishment, the LF immediately shot me the, "You man-child! You just bought a new car! You are not having another mid-life crisis as long as I'm in charge! Now, turn this barge right around and let's go shoe shopping!" Ok, not quite true... Actually, upon entering, the first sight was a Vette convertible; she thought that we were going to rent that and continue the cruise day.

But, the real reason was inside the showroom, among the assorted 911, 944 and BMW 2002, all more the cups of tea for the landed gentry here. But, as the LF turns a "special" age in November, and she has been talking about wanting a "luxury" car for a bit (preferably topless, feel free to run with that), it is my intent to buy her one, what she wants, not what I'd prefer (he says gritting his teeth...).

So, in the back of the showroom, ready to be driven out the door, was:

Beautiful One Owner! 2018 Mercedes-Benz SL450 with 36161 miles. Finished in Black over Saddle Brown & Black leather with Black Ash Wood Trim...

I pointed to it, and said, "LF, that is yours for the next hour, and if you truly desire, I will buy it for you; happy birthday!" It took her a minute to comprehend, she was speechless, and tears welled up (mine, as I knew the price!). We talked to sales-dude, low pressure and nice. We drove through the lovely countryside, thin, somewhat twisty lanes. It handled better than I expected, rode well, had a great, throaty exhaust, perhaps artificial. All with the top down on a spectacular New England afternoon. "Do I get to take it home today?" Well, my dear, I was hoping that we could go to lunch and discuss, it would be a third car, insurance, not drivable in winter (run-flat summer sneakers), etc. But, as always, whatever Lola wants...
One caveat, towards full lock, left or right, there was a groaning sound, sales dude said it was probably the tires. I think not, asked for inspection and further explanation.

So, it is being contemplated. She's not sure she wants the three car deal (she is obviously in no way related to anyone on this board!) as she's also just so darn practical. But, we'll continue to review, we may be going to look at an '18 BMW M640xi tomorrow. Soft top, but four seats and AWD, so a better year rounder, which means she could trade in her '19 CX-5. As well as 4 series verts, E Class verts and whatever else catches her fancy. Unfortunately, like everywhere, tough time to be used car shopping. Darn supply/demand imbalance!

I'll keep y'all in the loop, of course. And, as always, donations gladly accepted. She's worth it, trust me.

henryn · June 2021

mjfloyd1 said:
Punch pending. I’m following the footsteps of @28firefighter and @qbrozen and have a 4xe build ordered

White with saddle interior

Black hard top (body colored is $1000 more)

Cold weather pkg

Safety

Advanced safety

Anti spin rear axle

Proximity key

All weather floor mats

Congrats! Sounds really nice! Are you planning to keep or flip?

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

Planning to keep. Trading my daughter’s 2017 Accord. Got $500 less than Vroom but get the sales tax savings.

roadburner · June 2021

@laurasdada said:
Baby may be doing a bad, bad thing; again...but dodged a bullet today...so far.

Earlier in the week, I told the lovely fiancé that I was thinking of a road trip on Saturday. Naturally, her first question was, "How many pairs of shoes should I bring?" Followed by, somewhat non-sensically, "Where are we going?" The always wrong answer to question #1 was, "One pair of comfortable shoes will be absolutely fine." But, much to my surprise and delight, only two pairs were brought. The answer to question #2, as always was, "I don't know, it's a surprise. Even to me." The LF does like a surprise, and I've done very well with them over the years, but her wont is to know in advance of said surprise, well, what the surprise is. And, how many pairs of shoes she should bring (the record is 5 pairs for a one night stay; 10 pairs for our 10 days in California earlier this month).

So, only an hour later than I had noted should be our departure time, we hopped in the A7 PHEV, waved to all the friends and relatives waving goodbye on the docks, with Gopher, Doc and Julie by our sides, and under the eerie Twilight Zone like sounds emitted, set off electrically. For the record, the Audi is a marvelous high speed cruise missle, quiet, smooth and accurate. As well as achieving ~50mpg for the 100+ mile voyage. I know that does not turn on most here, but hey, it's my party and I'll free-wheel if I want to...

An hour (late-ish) we arrived in the bucolic town of Topsfield, MA; home to a well known annual fair. I'll leave it to you to guess the name of the fair (hint: not Scarborough). Our final destination was the Topsfield Motor Car Company, a nice boutique used car dealer. Germans marques preferred, notably the products of Ferry Porsche.

Upon pulling in to the establishment, the LF immediately shot me the, "You man-child! You just bought a new car! You are not having another mid-life crisis as long as I'm in charge! Now, turn this barge right around and let's go shoe shopping!" Ok, not quite true... Actually, upon entering, the first sight was a Vette convertible; she thought that we were going to rent that and continue the cruise day.

But, the real reason was inside the showroom, among the assorted 911, 944 and BMW 2002, all more the cups of tea for the landed gentry here. But, as the LF turns a "special" age in November, and she has been talking about wanting a "luxury" car for a bit (preferably topless, feel free to run with that), it is my intent to buy her one, what she wants, not what I'd prefer (he says gritting his teeth...).

So, in the back of the showroom, ready to be driven out the door, was:

Beautiful One Owner! 2018 Mercedes-Benz SL450 with 36161 miles. Finished in Black over Saddle Brown & Black leather with Black Ash Wood Trim...

I pointed to it, and said, "LF, that is yours for the next hour, and if you truly desire, I will buy it for you; happy birthday!" It took her a minute to comprehend, she was speechless, and tears welled up (mine, as I knew the price!). We talked to sales-dude, low pressure and nice. We drove through the lovely countryside, thin, somewhat twisty lanes. It handled better than I expected, rode well, had a great, throaty exhaust, perhaps artificial. All with the top down on a spectacular New England afternoon. "Do I get to take it home today?" Well, my dear, I was hoping that we could go to lunch and discuss, it would be a third car, insurance, not drivable in winter (run-flat summer sneakers), etc. But, as always, whatever Lola wants...
One caveat, towards full lock, left or right, there was a groaning sound, sales dude said it was probably the tires. I think not, asked for inspection and further explanation.

So, it is being contemplated. She's not sure she wants the three car deal (she is obviously in no way related to anyone on this board!) as she's also just so darn practical. But, we'll continue to review, we may be going to look at an '18 BMW M640xi tomorrow. Soft top, but four seats and AWD, so a better year rounder, which means she could trade in her '19 CX-5. As well as 4 series verts, E Class verts and whatever else catches her fancy. Unfortunately, like everywhere, tough time to be used car shopping. Darn supply/demand imbalance!

I'll keep y'all in the loop, of course. And, as always, donations gladly accepted. She's worth it, trust me.

I don’t think there are any bad choices among the cars you have named. There’s an M6 drop top at my dealer but my TJ is the only non- classic car I’ll tolerate with a cloth top. Tell your better half that 3 cars is nothing- that you know people with 5 or more. I always tell my wife that Rob Siegel(AKA: The Hack Mechanic) always has 9-12 cars in his collection, so she usually relents.

Michaell · June 2021

roadburner said:

@laurasdada said:

Baby may be doing a bad, bad thing; again...but dodged a bullet today...so far.

Earlier in the week, I told the lovely fiancé that I was thinking of a road trip on Saturday. Naturally, her first question was, "How many pairs of shoes should I bring?" Followed by, somewhat non-sensically, "Where are we going?" The always wrong answer to question #1 was, "One pair of comfortable shoes will be absolutely fine." But, much to my surprise and delight, only two pairs were brought. The answer to question #2, as always was, "I don't know, it's a surprise. Even to me." The LF does like a surprise, and I've done very well with them over the years, but her wont is to know in advance of said surprise, well, what the surprise is. And, how many pairs of shoes she should bring (the record is 5 pairs for a one night stay; 10 pairs for our 10 days in California earlier this month).

So, only an hour later than I had noted should be our departure time, we hopped in the A7 PHEV, waved to all the friends and relatives waving goodbye on the docks, with Gopher, Doc and Julie by our sides, and under the eerie Twilight Zone like sounds emitted, set off electrically. For the record, the Audi is a marvelous high speed cruise missle, quiet, smooth and accurate. As well as achieving ~50mpg for the 100+ mile voyage. I know that does not turn on most here, but hey, it's my party and I'll free-wheel if I want to...

An hour (late-ish) we arrived in the bucolic town of Topsfield, MA; home to a well known annual fair. I'll leave it to you to guess the name of the fair (hint: not Scarborough). Our final destination was the Topsfield Motor Car Company, a nice boutique used car dealer. Germans marques preferred, notably the products of Ferry Porsche.

Upon pulling in to the establishment, the LF immediately shot me the, "You man-child! You just bought a new car! You are not having another mid-life crisis as long as I'm in charge! Now, turn this barge right around and let's go shoe shopping!" Ok, not quite true... Actually, upon entering, the first sight was a Vette convertible; she thought that we were going to rent that and continue the cruise day.

But, the real reason was inside the showroom, among the assorted 911, 944 and BMW 2002, all more the cups of tea for the landed gentry here. But, as the LF turns a "special" age in November, and she has been talking about wanting a "luxury" car for a bit (preferably topless, feel free to run with that), it is my intent to buy her one, what she wants, not what I'd prefer (he says gritting his teeth...).

So, in the back of the showroom, ready to be driven out the door, was:

Beautiful One Owner! 2018 Mercedes-Benz SL450 with 36161 miles. Finished in Black over Saddle Brown & Black leather with Black Ash Wood Trim...

I pointed to it, and said, "LF, that is yours for the next hour, and if you truly desire, I will buy it for you; happy birthday!" It took her a minute to comprehend, she was speechless, and tears welled up (mine, as I knew the price!). We talked to sales-dude, low pressure and nice. We drove through the lovely countryside, thin, somewhat twisty lanes. It handled better than I expected, rode well, had a great, throaty exhaust, perhaps artificial. All with the top down on a spectacular New England afternoon. "Do I get to take it home today?" Well, my dear, I was hoping that we could go to lunch and discuss, it would be a third car, insurance, not drivable in winter (run-flat summer sneakers), etc. But, as always, whatever Lola wants...

One caveat, towards full lock, left or right, there was a groaning sound, sales dude said it was probably the tires. I think not, asked for inspection and further explanation.

So, it is being contemplated. She's not sure she wants the three car deal (she is obviously in no way related to anyone on this board!) as she's also just so darn practical. But, we'll continue to review, we may be going to look at an '18 BMW M640xi tomorrow. Soft top, but four seats and AWD, so a better year rounder, which means she could trade in her '19 CX-5. As well as 4 series verts, E Class verts and whatever else catches her fancy. Unfortunately, like everywhere, tough time to be used car shopping. Darn supply/demand imbalance!

I'll keep y'all in the loop, of course. And, as always, donations gladly accepted. She's worth it, trust me.

I don’t think there are any bad choices among the cars you have named. There’s an M6 drop top at my dealer but my TJ is the only car I’ll tolerate with a cloth top. Tell your better half that 3 cars is nothing- that you know people with 5 or more. I always tell my wife that Rob Siegel(AKA: The Hack Mechanic) always has 9-12 cars in his collection, so she usually relents.

Yeah, and if Rob jumped off a tall building, you would too, right?

tjc78 · June 2021

@mjfloyd1
Congrats! Nice build.

ronsteve · June 2021

xwesx said:
If I recall correctly, the average price of a new car for 2021 is over $35,000. That seems insane to me; inflation is real!

I paid just over $23,000 for my last new car (our 2010 Forester) in September of 2009.

Average new car price in 2019 was already $36K... vs 29K when you bought your Forester. Of course, 36K today probably gets you tech goodies that couldn't be had even if you spent 36K then.

ronsteve · June 2021

stickguy said:
I really tried to buy a prior generation Civic when I was shopping for one car (maybe when I got the Sonata?_ But the manual seats were a deal breaker. And I think there may have been a model at some point with power seat which was a bit better, but there was some reason it got cut from the list.

I really don't like cars with small seats, especially short cushions or ones that don't tilt up enough in the front.

This!! A lot of cars have cushions that are too short for my sensibilities, but power seats can save some of those. Definitely one of those must-have items, even tho our Jetta does OK without.

roadburner · June 2021

@Michaell said:
Yeah, and if Rob jumped off a tall building, you would too, right?

He almost bought a Jensen Interceptor with the agreement that I’d buy it from him once he was sick of it.

stickguy · June 2021

MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

Michaell · June 2021

roadburner said:

@Michaell said:

Yeah, and if Rob jumped off a tall building, you would too, right?

He almost bought a Jensen Interceptor with the agreement that I’d buy it from him once he was sick of it.

Dodged that bullet, did you?

roadburner · June 2021

A recent issue of Thoroughbred and Classic Cars had an article on affordable classics that are relatively reliable and/or easy and inexpensive to maintain and repair. The 1965-1970 Mustang and MGB were unsurprising picks, but one that stuck out to me was the 1990-up Alfa Spider. Apparently the rustproofing was markedly improved and Bosch L-Jectronic fuel injection was fitted. Lo and behold, a 1994 with 9k miles popped up on BaT. My wife saw it and loved it. It’s at $17,500 with 3 days left. I’d be very tempted if I could nab it for under $20,000, but I fully expect it to bring over $25,000.

fintail · June 2021

BaT is like the PNW housing market, but for old cars

I love it, but this is getting wacky

xwesx · June 2021

laurasdada said:
Baby may be doing a bad, bad thing; again...but dodged a bullet today...so far.

I'll keep y'all in the loop, of course. And, as always, donations gladly accepted. She's worth it, trust me.

You, sir, are a fine storyteller! Thanks for the entertaining read.

xwesx · June 2021

Michaell said:

Yeah, and if Rob jumped off a tall building, you would too, right?

Why not?! It's called "BASE jumping."

Michaell · June 2021

fintail said:
BaT is like the PNW housing market, but for old cars

I love it, but this is getting wacky

I suspect that a lot of this is the money folks saved in the past year needing to find an outlet.

fintail · June 2021

Must be all of those unused vacation budgets, spurious PPP money, etc. I wish I had 30K begging to be spent

Michaell said:

fintail said:
BaT is like the PNW housing market, but for old cars

I love it, but this is getting wacky
I suspect that a lot of this is the money folks saved in the past year needing to find an outlet.

oldfarmer50 · June 2021

fintail said:
BaT is like the PNW housing market, but for old cars

I love it, but this is getting wacky

Yikes! How much did that sell for new?

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

@stickguy said:
MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

Buying

qbrozen · June 2021

@stickguy said:
MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

You still get the tax credit but only up to the tax owed of course.

cdnpinhead · June 2021

Michaell said:
Yeah, and if Rob jumped off a tall building, you would too, right

Trump didn't win, so there's no danger of that.

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:
MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

You still get the tax credit but only up to the tax owed of course.

Yep the federal tax credit due to it being a hybrid is only deductible up to your federal tax burden/ liability.

With the state sales tax, here we pay tax on the difference so I “save” 7% on the dollar amount of the trade in.

Also the local-ish place has $200 doc fees vs $500 where I was considering earlier (and 2.5 hours closer)

roadburner · June 2021

There’s a 1994 E500 on BaT that is located about 30 minutes from my house. I was interested until I saw the miles- 225k.

kyfdx · June 2021

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

You still get the tax credit but only up to the tax owed of course.

Yep the federal tax credit due to it being a hybrid is only deductible up to your federal tax burden/ liability.

With the state sales tax, here we pay tax on the difference so I “save” 7% on the dollar amount of the trade in.

Also the local-ish place has $200 doc fees vs $500 where I was considering earlier (and 2.5 hours closer)

When I bought the diesel in Indiana in 2016, doc fees were capped at $150.

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

I think current doc fee cap is $200 - they are charging $199.99

sda · June 2021

mjfloyd1 said:
I think current doc fee cap is $200 - they are charging $199.99

Not sure if there is a doc cap in NC or SC. Typical doc fees are $699-$899 on top of the general dealer addendum add ons.

stickguy · June 2021

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

MJ, are you buying or leasing? You mentioned a sales tax credit. I know in NJ that works differently on a lease.

You still get the tax credit but only up to the tax owed of course.

There was something odd about that. At least based on what the Acura told me when I went to lease they TLX and had the Elantra I wanted to trade in. IIRC it might have been capped at a lower amount? But something made it so that I would get a much lower tax credit offset than if I was buying it. I think less that even applying it to the total payments (I have $400 in my head vs. about $1,200 if I was buying). Of course they could have been wrong, or I just interpreted differently.

kyfdx · June 2021

sda said:

mjfloyd1 said:
I think current doc fee cap is $200 - they are charging $199.99

Not sure if there is a doc cap in NC or SC. Typical doc fees are $699-$899 on top of the general dealer addendum add ons.

No cap there. But, SC maxes sales tax at $500 on vehicles

henryn · June 2021

Here in Texas we pay 6.25% sales tax on cars, no maximum amount. These days they have a lookup table called “the standard presumptive value”, and you have to pay sales tax on at least that amount. For most of my life they did not have that standard presumptive value, and everyone lied like a dog about how much they paid for that used car.

I remember a case where I sold a Firebird Trans Am to a 16 year old girl, her first car. She had worked in a fast food place, and earned the money to buy the car. She showed up to buy the car with only her slightly older sister along to help her. Neither of them had ever purchased a car in their life, and knew absolutely nothing about cars, or sales tax, or pretty much anything. I remember trying to explain to her and her sister why I was putting down a sales price that was less than half of what she was actually paying. I don’t think they even knew that they had to pay sales tax, and they were very concerned that I was trying to cheat them in some fashion or another.

I eventually gave up and filled out the paperwork again with the correct price entered, and let them go their way. I don’t think the girl had the necessary funds to pay the sales tax and transfer the title, but not really my problem. I did feel bad for her that she had no one in her family to step up and help her with a major undertaking like buying her first car.

qbrozen · June 2021

@stickguy said:
There was something odd about that. At least based on what the Acura told me when I went to lease they TLX and had the Elantra I wanted to trade in. IIRC it might have been capped at a lower amount? But something made it so that I would get a much lower tax credit offset than if I was buying it. I think less that even applying it to the total payments (I have $400 in my head vs. about $1,200 if I was buying). Of course they could have been wrong, or I just interpreted differently.

We get taxed on depreciation plus non-taxed fees plus interest plus taxable incentives. So if total tax on the lease comes to $1k, then you can benefit up to $1k from a trade, provided it is worth enough. If worth too much, then, yes, you lose out on some vs buying. So if said trade is worth $30k, that is a a hair under $2k potential tax savings, but applying to example above, you realize only $1k of that and throw the rest away.

henryn · June 2021

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

There was something odd about that. At least based on what the Acura told me when I went to lease they TLX and had the Elantra I wanted to trade in. IIRC it might have been capped at a lower amount? But something made it so that I would get a much lower tax credit offset than if I was buying it. I think less that even applying it to the total payments (I have $400 in my head vs. about $1,200 if I was buying). Of course they could have been wrong, or I just interpreted differently.

We get taxed on depreciation plus non-taxed fees plus interest plus taxable incentives. So if total tax on the lease comes to $1k, then you can benefit up to $1k from a trade, provided it is worth enough. If worth too much, then, yes, you lose out on some vs buying. So if said trade is worth $30k, that is a a hair under $2k potential tax savings, but applying to example above, you realize only $1k of that and throw the rest away.

You get taxed on "non taxed fees"? This makes my head hurt.

tjc78 · June 2021

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:
There was something odd about that. At least based on what the Acura told me when I went to lease they TLX and had the Elantra I wanted to trade in. IIRC it might have been capped at a lower amount? But something made it so that I would get a much lower tax credit offset than if I was buying it. I think less that even applying it to the total payments (I have $400 in my head vs. about $1,200 if I was buying). Of course they could have been wrong, or I just interpreted differently.

We get taxed on depreciation plus non-taxed fees plus interest plus taxable incentives. So if total tax on the lease comes to $1k, then you can benefit up to $1k from a trade, provided it is worth enough. If worth too much, then, yes, you lose out on some vs buying. So if said trade is worth $30k, that is a a hair under $2k potential tax savings, but applying to example above, you realize only $1k of that and throw the rest away.

Shame that overage couldn’t be a CCR.

mjfloyd1 · June 2021

@tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:
There was something odd about that. At least based on what the Acura told me when I went to lease they TLX and had the Elantra I wanted to trade in. IIRC it might have been capped at a lower amount? But something made it so that I would get a much lower tax credit offset than if I was buying it. I think less that even applying it to the total payments (I have $400 in my head vs. about $1,200 if I was buying). Of course they could have been wrong, or I just interpreted differently.

We get taxed on depreciation plus non-taxed fees plus interest plus taxable incentives. So if total tax on the lease comes to $1k, then you can benefit up to $1k from a trade, provided it is worth enough. If worth too much, then, yes, you lose out on some vs buying. So if said trade is worth $30k, that is a a hair under $2k potential tax savings, but applying to example above, you realize only $1k of that and throw the rest away.

Shame that overage couldn’t be a CCR.

What does Credence Clearwater Revival have to do with this? Never mind. That would be CCRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

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