Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

roadburner · January 2022

28firefighter said:
Reached out on an Elantra N. “MSRP + $1097 in accessories.”

What are the accessories on a car that hasn’t even hit the lot? pulse (that ridiculous 3rd brake light flash thing) and some all weather package.

Hyundai is gonna Hyundai…

What I particularly hate about Pulse is the fact that some low-level "technician" hacked into the wiring harness to install it, most likely using 3M Scotchlok connectors.

28firefighter · January 2022

Omg. Another dealer is asking $8000 over list. Holy moly.

28firefighter · January 2022

@roadburner said:
What I particularly hate about Pulse is the fact that some low-level "technician" hacked into the wiring harness to install it, most likely using 3M Scotchlok connectors.

This is exactly my issue.

roadburner · January 2022

I'd likely take an Elantra N with the manual over a 330i; three pedals and a slick top would be dispositive.

qbrozen · January 2022

@kyfdx said:
The 4XE, assuming no tax. If that one is taxed, then the Mach-E

Yeah only full EV is untaxed

qbrozen · January 2022

Driver is attempting to pick up and deliver my WRX tonight.

28firefighter · January 2022

Nice!

jpp75 · January 2022

I met up with @breld this morning for breakfast and got a chance to drive the X5. The Phytonic blue looks even better in person, the vehicle wears it well. The interior is incredibly luxurious and well done. We had a lot of discussions on what you get for the price, this is definitely an example of getting a lot for your money.

The powertrain is very smooth, no pure EV like acceleration but certainly more than adequate for around town in EV only mode. A very impressive vehicle, and I've already called dibs on it when he sells.

tjc78 · January 2022

@jpp75 said:
I met up with @breld this morning for breakfast and got a chance to drive the X5. The Phytonic blue looks even better in person, the vehicle wears it well. The interior is incredibly luxurious and well done. We had a lot of discussions on what you get for the price, this is definitely an example of getting a lot for your money.

The powertrain is very smooth, no pure EV like acceleration but certainly more than adequate for around town in EV only mode. A very impressive vehicle, and I've already called dibs on it when he sells.

You’ll be enjoying it by St Patty’s day

mjfloyd1 · January 2022

@venture said:
Train your dog.

Not gonna happen. I was offered a low trade in and meager discount or MSRP on new.

stickguy · January 2022

painful day today. My credit account paperwork came, and I had to sign up for auto debit. Good thing it is only 3 years.

explorerx4 · January 2022

@stickguy,
On Thursday I wired the rest our our house down payment, about the same as 4 nicely equipped Mavericks.

stickguy · January 2022

good luck. at least it is going toward something substantial!

conveniently I got the confirmation statement that my pension has been processed. So that arrives for the first time 1 day after FMC takes a chunk of our bank account. A net positive.

jpp75 · January 2022

tjc78 said:

You’ll be enjoying it by St Patty’s day

Therein lies the problem, I'm enjoying the Defender too much to get rid of it. So unless @breld holds onto this one for at least the better part of a year I may not be ready when it becomes available.

xwesx · January 2022

jpp75 said:

Therein lies the problem, I'm enjoying the Defender too much to get rid of it. So unless @breld holds onto this one for at least the better part of a year I may not be ready when it becomes available.

Well, if it does come up, just remind yourself the brand you now own and let the rational side of your brain take over.

tifighter · January 2022

Here's a take some of you might be interested in-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdwtR-wCa7M

stickguy · January 2022

Used car prices may crash. or they may go up. or stay flat.

I can guarantee that.

explorerx4 · January 2022

Our first 2.0 ecoboost was my wife's 2013 Escape. It never felt like it lacked power.
Still doesn't, actually.

stickguy · January 2022

unearthed the Maverick for the first time in a week (I was sick last weekend and early part of this week). Actually got up to 113 miles on it in only 15 days! And it had about 35 when I got home from the dealer.

anyway, continues to impress as we get used to it. I even had to maneuver it around a mall parking lot and get in and out of a tight spot. Not a big hassle, but I could definitely say I would not really want a truck from a bigger size class for doing that on a regular basis.

Truck loafs along on the highway. Barely notice you are moving at 70-75. and the heater seems like it could easily handle an Expedition.

qbrozen · January 2022

@stickguy said:
Used car prices may crash. or they may go up. or stay flat.

I can guarantee that.

Well, I’ll guarantee used cars stay used throughout 2022.

28firefighter · January 2022

The ghost of John Madden would be proud of all of you.

au1994 · January 2022

100% of the shots never taken always miss.

corvette · January 2022

Regarding heater performance, I observed that in the late 1990s-early 2000s, a lot of manufacturers set up their HVAC to receive only a trickle of warm coolant (or none at all) until the engine was almost fully warmed up, the thinking being that you wanted as much coolant as possible to recirculate in the engine to get it warmed up and improve MPGs. It also seems like they have figured out some sort of workaround on a lot of newer vehicles so that they provide cabin heat more quickly.

explorerx4 · January 2022

I think they added heated seats and steering wheels, which works for me.

jmonroe1 · January 2022

corvette said:
Regarding heater performance, I observed that in the late 1990s-early 2000s, a lot of manufacturers set up their HVAC to receive only a trickle of warm coolant (or none at all) until the engine was almost fully warmed up, the thinking being that you wanted as much coolant as possible to recirculate in the engine to get it warmed up and improve MPGs. It also seems like they have figured out some sort of workaround on a lot of newer vehicles so that they provide cabin heat more quickly.

I think that it could be that smaller engines (less mass) warm up faster. My 5.0 V8 Genny takes a good bit longer to heat up compared to Mrs. j’s 3.6 Legacy 6 cylinder.

jmonroe

roadburner · January 2022

corvette said:
Regarding heater performance, I observed that in the late 1990s-early 2000s, a lot of manufacturers set up their HVAC to receive only a trickle of warm coolant (or none at all) until the engine was almost fully warmed up, the thinking being that you wanted as much coolant as possible to recirculate in the engine to get it warmed up and improve MPGs. It also seems like they have figured out some sort of workaround on a lot of newer vehicles so that they provide cabin heat more quickly.

For some reason my E24 M6 would put out heat almost immediately, which I thought was unusual considering that the S38 was literally a detuned racing engine.

venture · January 2022

mjfloyd1 said:

@venture said:

Train your dog.

Not gonna happen. I was offered a low trade in and meager discount or MSRP on new.

* * *
Boo!

That happened to me one time at a dealer that I had bought multiple cars from. It may have been their first pencil, but it was the last pencil for me. I have never bought another car from them.

tjc78 · January 2022

The manufacturers want the engines to heat up as fast as possible since they run cleaner at operating temperature. The heater operating faster is just a benefit of that.

mjfloyd1 · January 2022

venture said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@venture said:

Train your dog.

Not gonna happen. I was offered a low trade in and meager discount or MSRP on new.

* * *
Boo!

That happened to me one time at a dealer that I had bought multiple cars from. It may have been their first pencil, but it was the last pencil for me. I have never bought another car from them.

Probably for the best. Every time I get a BMW, I piss and moan that the dealer is 45 minutes away and the service sucks. Once they returned a car with hail damage and just left hoping that I would not notice...

qbrozen · January 2022

nyccarguy · January 2022

@qbrozen - congrats! Looks great! Enjoy!

ab348 · January 2022

Where are the gold wheels?

mjfloyd1 · January 2022

@qbrozen - congratulations. Looks good.

This was a purchase at MSRP IIRC? Not much mark up on Subies IIRC

Michaell · January 2022

The only color to get for a WRX

Looks sharp! Congrats

dad23 · January 2022

Congrats @qbrozen

au1994 · January 2022

Looks great @qbrozen!

stickguy · January 2022

very sharp looking. love the color. I see the ML is home. Working like new after all the time and money invested?

28firefighter · January 2022

What’s your anticipated costs for this one, @qbrozen?

qbrozen · January 2022

Thank you.

The WR Blue looks better in person than the pics. Very happy with the choice.

Yes, straight MSRP plus a $799 doc fee, so it is a little “marked up” when accounting for that, and then the $375 shipping. So kind of like paying $775 over, but that’s still $2225 less than the 2nd best offer I had.

First time driving this generation. The clutch is very odd. It starts to grab early but there is a big transition from where it starts grabbing to where it finishes. So, for the first few attempts, and when trying to shift fast, you feel it engaging and then let off, at which point it bucks violently. Takes some work to keep the foot lifting slowly after that initial bite. It continues in this manner through the first 3 gears. The handling is FANTASTIC. My wife says the feel from the passenger side reminds her of the 135 I had.

As for the Benz… well, it is not completely out of the woods. TPMS still not functioning and now yesterday the CEL came back on. Lean condition in bank 1. SIGH. I think there is a good chance his patching of the intake manifold is not as strong as he hoped. I texted him when it happened, but no answer yet. It runs great. Just those pesky warning lights.

oldfarmer50 · January 2022

tjc78 said:
The manufacturers want the engines to heat up as fast as possible since they run cleaner at operating temperature. The heater operating faster is just a benefit of that.

Can anyone remember when cars had that crude heat riser on the manifold to get warm air faster but would wear out and rattle?

imidazol97 · January 2022

I believe you're talking about the thermostatic units that were on the exhaust manifolds that closed partly when the car was cold and forced air through the intake manifold under the carburetor to warm up the air and improve the evaporation of the gasoline going into the warm manifold and the cylinders?

Or the thermostatic vanes that were on the air intake for the air going into the carburetor. They closed and much of the air being sucked in was from a space over the exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifolds heated up in a few seconds after the car started, so the carb got warmer air and better fuel evaporation quicker.

jmonroe1 · January 2022

qbrozen said:

Is that a paint run I see on the rear bumper? You won’t be able to flip it until you buff that out.

Still looks good. Good luck with it.

jmonroe

rayainsw · January 2022

qbrozen -
Congrats!
- Ray
Many blue cars here recently...

stickguy · January 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:
The manufacturers want the engines to heat up as fast as possible since they run cleaner at operating temperature. The heater operating faster is just a benefit of that.

Can anyone remember when cars had that crude heat riser on the manifold to get warm air faster but would wear out and rattle?

I'm old. but not that old.

stickguy · January 2022

just noticed on the WRX, that is the most hideous front plate mounting that I can recall seeing in a long time.

sda · January 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:
The manufacturers want the engines to heat up as fast as possible since they run cleaner at operating temperature. The heater operating faster is just a benefit of that.

Can anyone remember when cars had that crude heat riser on the manifold to get warm air faster but would wear out and rattle?

Yes! My 76 Sunbird V6 heat riser would rattle or make a ratcheting sound after every shift or on/off the throttle. A so- called mechanic I took it to disconnected it somehow and only made it worse. Cold weather drive-ability went from fair to poor. In temps above 50 it was fine. As a college student with limited funds I left it alone.

cdnpinhead · January 2022

jmonroe1 said:
Is that a paint run I see on the rear bumper? You won’t be able to flip it until you buff that out.

Well, I went back and looked, twice in fact. I don't see a rear view of the vehicle. I clearly need help.

jmonroe1 · January 2022

cdnpinhead said:

jmonroe1 said:
Is that a paint run I see on the rear bumper? You won’t be able to flip it until you buff that out.
Well, I went back and looked, twice in fact. I don't see a rear view of the vehicle. I clearly need help.

So what’s new?

jmonroe

xwesx · January 2022

qbrozen said:
Thank you.

The WR Blue looks better in person than the pics. Very happy with the choice.

Time to update the sig line again; I'm sure it's tough to keep up at the moment.

xwesx · January 2022

imidazol97 said:
I believe you're talking about the thermostatic units that were on the exhaust manifolds that closed partly when the car was cold and forced air through the intake manifold under the carburetor to warm up the air and improve the evaporation of the gasoline going into the warm manifold and the cylinders?

Or the thermostatic vanes that were on the air intake for the air going into the carburetor. They closed and much of the air being sucked in was from a space over the exhaust manifold. The exhaust manifolds heated up in a few seconds after the car started, so the carb got warmer air and better fuel evaporation quicker.

The intake on my van had the input line running from a bracket that mounted on the exhaust pipe, just where it connected to the manifold. While I'm sure the extra heat helped the fuel/air mix in the carburetor, the restrictive air flow didn't do the vehicle any favors any other time!

Perhaps sadly, I kept it in its original setup until two summers ago, when my son and I were doing some tune-up work on it while he was first learning to drive. I ended up pulling that whole air cleaner off the vehicle and putting a high-flow system on it that must have boosted the power of the engine by around 50%. I dare say that old beast even has a little spunk now. It might be grumpy if I tried to start it in sub-freezing temperatures, but that probably hasn't happened in two decades (or more) at this point, so I'm not too worried about it.

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