Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

28firefighter · August 2022

@qbrozen - so much room for activities!!

qbrozen · August 2022

@fintail said:
Van has the same steering wheel as MY 2019-20 E-class (and maybe C-class and others as well).

Yeah the wheel surprised me. Seems too small in this vehicle.

corvette · August 2022

28firefighter said:
For battery preservation we typically only charge to 80%...

I'm sure whomever may own it a year or so from now appreciates you preserving the battery for them!

28firefighter · August 2022

@corvette said:
I'm sure whomever may own it a year or so from now appreciates you preserving the battery for them!

For what it’s worth, I’m not feeling the usual tinge of “was this the right choice?” that I normally would have at this point. The last time that happened (the GTI) I held it for nearly 3 years.

corvette · August 2022

Somewhat off-topic but related to EV technology: for those with Mac laptops, there is a utility called "AlDente" which allows you to limit the charge level of the laptop's battery to 80% or whatever preset level you deem appropriate.

oldfarmer50 · August 2022

28firefighter said:
Quick update on the Model Y since we’re well over a month of ownership. Has just over 1200 miles on it and we’ve been using it as our primary family car. Lots of smaller summer-in-Seattle roadtrips for weekend adventures - Bellingham, Leavenworth, Olympic Peninsula, Snoqualmie Falls, and more.

I have been using autopilot more on the highway as a mechanism for saving myself from an inadvertent speeding ticket - it is very easy to hit 3 digit speeds and have it feel like you’re doing 60. Plus it is also way more efficient at managing the energy usage than I am. That power is intoxicating to have so easily available.

We have yet to need to supercharge it. Our longest trip so far was about 250 miles roundtrip and we still had around 15% when we returned home - we started that trip from a 90% charge and averaged 70mph. That performance bests the 303 mile full charge estimate for the performance. I wasn’t trying to be efficient, either. For battery preservation we typically only charge to 80% and have gone as high as 90% for the aforementioned road-trip.

Overall fit and finish and quality remains excellent with no surprises. No creaks, rattles, panel gaps, or quirky behavior. Very very pleased!

I think I was behind a model Y that was trying to hypermile on auto pilot the other day as he did a steady 45 in a 55 on two lane road to Burlington. Fortunately, I know a few shortcuts and I was able to pop out right in front of him and watch him fade farther and farther back. By that time he had a line of cars behind him half a mile long.

Seems a shame to have that kind of acceleration and not use it.

tifighter · August 2022

CCA drive to Whidbey Island today. Highlight for me was this 850i manual with 77k miles. The condition was <chef’s kiss>.

nyccarguy · August 2022

@qbrozen - so poster buddies can borrow this Sprinter for road trips as long as we leave you something to drive?

jmonroe1 · August 2022

nyccarguy said:
@qbrozen - so poster buddies can borrow this Sprinter for road trips as long as we leave you something to drive?

———————————————-
You live close enough to try it so why not? If you return without too many lumps others close by might want to brazen that idea too,

jmonroe

stickguy · August 2022

Q, I must have missed it, but what were you shopping today? I have been out of touch lately!

qbrozen · August 2022

@stickguy said:
Q, I must have missed it, but what were you shopping today? I have been out of touch lately!

Looking for a buyer for the Jeep. Was not a good day. Will try again when I return from my biz trip this week. Of course, then I only have 3 days before leaving for SC for 2 weeks.

tjc78 · August 2022

That sounds like a nice end of summer trip. Perfect timing for the Sprinter.

oldfarmer50 · August 2022

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

Q, I must have missed it, but what were you shopping today? I have been out of touch lately!

Looking for a buyer for the Jeep. Was not a good day. Will try again when I return from my biz trip this week. Of course, then I only have 3 days before leaving for SC for 2 weeks.

Do you think the bubble is finally coming down or are dealers just afraid of paying too much in case it does?

greg128 · August 2022

fintail said:

carnaught said:
I believe that Caddy has a “mild hybrid”. It will save some gas. It seems to in my son’s ‘22 Audi A3, FWIW.
He's happy with the efficiency of his MKZ, I suspect the CT6 will be a similar (more posh) experience).

Years ago he had a Prius, hated it, but doesn't seem to have been turned off hybrids.

I wasn't aware of the hybrid CT-6. It is on the same chassis as the wifes 2018 Lacrosse which is very nice.
Road tests at the time show a 0-60 of 5.2 secs and 31MPG combined with the hybrid system and the ability to travel 37 miles on electric alone. One drawback is the premium required for the 2.0L turbo motor and some testers felt the engine was a bit thrashy for a Cadillac.

ab348 · August 2022

greg128 said:

fintail said:

carnaught said:
I believe that Caddy has a “mild hybrid”. It will save some gas. It seems to in my son’s ‘22 Audi A3, FWIW.
He's happy with the efficiency of his MKZ, I suspect the CT6 will be a similar (more posh) experience).

Years ago he had a Prius, hated it, but doesn't seem to have been turned off hybrids.
I wasn't aware of the hybrid CT-6. It is on the same chassis as the wifes 2018 Lacrosse which is very nice.
Road tests at the time show a 0-60 of 5.2 secs and 31MPG combined with the hybrid system and the ability to travel 37 miles on electric alone. One drawback is the premium required for the 2.0L turbo motor and some testers felt the engine was a bit thrashy for a Cadillac.

It isn't the same chassis as a Lacrosse, which has a transversely mounted engine. Reading this though it sounds like an impressive car. Hope it doesn't break anything though as I imagine they only sold a handful here.

https://www.caranddriver.com/photos/g15201984/2017-cadillac-ct6-plug-in-hybrid-instrumented-test-gallery/?slide=72

kyfdx · August 2022

@qbrozen 12 seater? How many kids do you have? How hard is it to remove seats for cargo?

tjc78 · August 2022

The XTS was based on the LaCrosse/Impala platform.

qbrozen · August 2022

@oldfarmer50 said:
Do you think the bubble is finally coming down or are dealers just afraid of paying too much in case it does?

I think the latter. MMR data is not supporting the lower prices these dealers are offering.

qbrozen · August 2022

@kyfdx said:
@qbrozen 12 seater? How many kids do you have? How hard is it to remove seats for cargo?

Not easy to remove seats. But no rule against cargo sitting on the seats.

2 adults, 2 teens, 2 labs, and a bird make the trip.

ab348 · August 2022

tjc78 said:
The XTS was based on the LaCrosse/Impala platform.

No, it is on the Omega platform. You can look it up.

The CT6 was the only vehicle to make production on that platform. Given that and the Blackwing V8 that they developed for it, the development costs they incurred must have been staggering, especially given the small numbers produced.

sda · August 2022

When we travel we take our two fairly large dogs with us. That necessitates us taking two cars. Luggage and food, wife and daughter in the Q5. The dogs ride in the back seat, dog food, their dog bed fill the trunk of the Passat. Thankfully the dogs are good travelers. We can drive to Hilton Head without needing to stop. When we had the Pilot we could all travel together.

fintail · August 2022

My friend has a thing for hybrids - hasn't gone EV yet as his condo has some quirk about installing chargers, and he's not in for the fight yet.

IIRC the hybrid CT6 was one of the upper trims, base price around 75K. I remember we test drove one at the time the model was launched, I forget the powertrain - I just recall the "virtual" rear view mirror. He could probably do a big part of his round trip commute on that electric range.

greg128 said:

fintail said:

carnaught said:
I believe that Caddy has a “mild hybrid”. It will save some gas. It seems to in my son’s ‘22 Audi A3, FWIW.
He's happy with the efficiency of his MKZ, I suspect the CT6 will be a similar (more posh) experience).

Years ago he had a Prius, hated it, but doesn't seem to have been turned off hybrids.
I wasn't aware of the hybrid CT-6. It is on the same chassis as the wifes 2018 Lacrosse which is very nice.
Road tests at the time show a 0-60 of 5.2 secs and 31MPG combined with the hybrid system and the ability to travel 37 miles on electric alone. One drawback is the premium required for the 2.0L turbo motor and some testers felt the engine was a bit thrashy for a Cadillac.

tjc78 · August 2022

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:
The XTS was based on the LaCrosse/Impala platform.

No, it is on the Omega platform. You can look it up.

The CT6 was the only vehicle to make production on that platform. Given that and the Blackwing V8 that they developed for it, the development costs they incurred must have been staggering, especially given the small numbers produced.

The 2013-2019 XTS was on the Epsilon II platform shared with the LaCrosse and Impala.

Correct, the Ct6 was a completely different vehicle and the only one made on Omega. I’m not 100% sure but I’d assume that the Omega has roots in the Alpha which is what your ATS rides on.

tjc78 · August 2022

qbrozen said:

@kyfdx said:
@qbrozen 12 seater? How many kids do you have? How hard is it to remove seats for cargo?

Not easy to remove seats. But no rule against cargo sitting on the seats.

2 adults, 2 teens, 2 labs, and a bird make the trip.

We have crammed three adults, two kids, small dog and two cats with all the gear in the XC. Of course it’s a much much shorter trip and you aren’t seeing out the back window at all.

28firefighter · August 2022

Wait - the seats aren’t easily removed or shuffled? Why?

corvette · August 2022

@oldfarmer50 said:
I think I was behind a model Y that was trying to hypermile on auto pilot the other day as he did a steady 45 in a 55 on two lane road to Burlington.

Maybe he was almost out of gas!

@28firefighter said:
Wait - the seats aren’t easily removed or shuffled? Why?

I’m guessing the answer is “because German engineering.”

henryn · August 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

I think I was behind a model Y that was trying to hypermile on auto pilot the other day as he did a steady 45 in a 55 on two lane road to Burlington. Fortunately, I know a few shortcuts and I was able to pop out right in front of him and watch him fade farther and farther back. By that time he had a line of cars behind him half a mile long.

Seems a shame to have that kind of acceleration and not use it.

I have been on the other end of that equation. I sometimes like to go for a drive in the country. And when I do, it is very leisurely, on 2 lane blacktops or gravel roads, moving slowly enough to enjoy the scenery. And occasionally pulling over just to have a better look at whatever.

But I do try to be polite about this. Whenever a car is behind me, I try to move over if possible, or if not pull off the road completely to let them by. Generally there's not much traffic on the roads where I go for these leisurely drives.

Life isn't always about being in a hurry. Sometimes, yes, it is, but not always.

ab348 · August 2022

corvette said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I think I was behind a model Y that was trying to hypermile on auto pilot the other day as he did a steady 45 in a 55 on two lane road to Burlington.

Maybe he was almost out of gas!

@28firefighter said:

Wait - the seats aren’t easily removed or shuffled? Why?

I’m guessing the answer is “because German engineering.”

"It is impossible!" (in a German accent), meaning, "that's how we designed it and we will not change".

qbrozen · August 2022

@tjc78 said:
We have crammed three adults, two kids, small dog and two cats with all the gear in the XC. Of course it’s a much much shorter trip and you aren’t seeing out the back window at all.

Last time down, we did 2 adults, 2 teens, and 2 labs with all luggage in the Wrangler. I was rather impressed but I’m told the passengers weren’t too thrilled. Haha.

As for the seats, I dunno. What do y’all consider easy? If you ever had an old body-on-frame van, you know how it works. They don’t fold, they come out in one big piece. If you want the rearmost bench out, you have to unbolt the seatbelts first, so that’s an added step.

oldfarmer50 · August 2022

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I think I was behind a model Y that was trying to hypermile on auto pilot the other day as he did a steady 45 in a 55 on two lane road to Burlington. Fortunately, I know a few shortcuts and I was able to pop out right in front of him and watch him fade farther and farther back. By that time he had a line of cars behind him half a mile long.

Seems a shame to have that kind of acceleration and not use it.
I have been on the other end of that equation. I sometimes like to go for a drive in the country. And when I do, it is very leisurely, on 2 lane blacktops or gravel roads, moving slowly enough to enjoy the scenery. And occasionally pulling over just to have a better look at whatever.

But I do try to be polite about this. Whenever a car is behind me, I try to move over if possible, or if not pull off the road completely to let them by. Generally there's not much traffic on the roads where I go for these leisurely drives.

Life isn't always about being in a hurry. Sometimes, yes, it is, but not always.

I agree but whatever you’re driving, going 10 miles under and lining up dozens of other people who are working on a road with limited passing isn’t very considerate.

tjc78 · August 2022

Far too much work to unbolt everything, sitting the stuff on the seats would be much easier. There must be a little cargo room behind the last row, right?

henryn · August 2022

In addition to the hassle of removing the seats, there's also the question of where do you store them? Those things aren't small, there're going to take up a lot of room somewhere....

On a slightly related topic, that's one of the key features on my Pacifica. The middle seats fold down into the floor and disappear. With the Toyota or Honda minivans, you have to find somewhere to store the seats after you remove them, and there is also the matter of the mounting rail still there in your way.

kyfdx · August 2022

henryn said:
In addition to the hassle of removing the seats, there's also the question of where do you store them? Those things aren't small, there're going to take up a lot of room somewhere....

On a slightly related topic, that's one of the key features on my Pacifica. The middle seats fold down into the floor and disappear. With the Toyota or Honda minivans, you have to find somewhere to store the seats after you remove them, and there is also the matter of the mounting rail still there in your way.

@qbrozen has room in his foyer to stack them..

qbrozen · August 2022

@tjc78 said:
Far too much work to unbolt everything, sitting the stuff on the seats would be much easier. There must be a little cargo room behind the last row, right?

Massive room behind it.
I think maybe 30-36” deep and of course 6’4” high and whatever the heck the width is. So figure 75’ish cubic feet behind the 4th row. Find that in another passenger vehicle. Ha

tjc78 · August 2022

@qbrozen said:

@tjc78 said:
Far too much work to unbolt everything, sitting the stuff on the seats would be much easier. There must be a little cargo room behind the last row, right?

Massive room behind it.
I think maybe 30-36” deep and of course 6’4” high and whatever the heck the width is. So figure 75’ish cubic feet behind the 4th row. Find that in another passenger vehicle. Ha

You’ll be super comfortable on your trip. You have the Escape down there for cruising around town, right?

henryn · August 2022

qbrozen said:

@tjc78 said:

Far too much work to unbolt everything, sitting the stuff on the seats would be much easier. There must be a little cargo room behind the last row, right?

Massive room behind it.

I think maybe 30-36” deep and of course 6’4” high and whatever the heck the width is. So figure 75’ish cubic feet behind the 4th row. Find that in another passenger vehicle. Ha

I think "passenger vehicle" might be a bit of a misnomer. "Bus" might be a more appropriate term.

jmonroe1 · August 2022

henryn said:
In addition to the hassle of removing the seats, there's also the question of where do you store them? Those things aren't small, there're going to take up a lot of room somewhere....

On a slightly related topic, that's one of the key features on my Pacifica. The middle seats fold down into the floor and disappear. With the Toyota or Honda minivans, you have to find somewhere to store the seats after you remove them, and there is also the matter of the mounting rail still there in your way.

————————————————-
The middle row seats that folded into the floor was the ONLY thing Son #1 liked about his troublesome ‘08 Town and Country. That feature was way better than the ‘16 Kia Van that replaced it that had the middle row captan’s chairs that just slid forward against the front seats. You couldn’t get a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in it doing that but the space you picked up doing that was OK, just not as usable as the Town and Country.

Just to get a reaction from him, the few times we had to take the seats out of the Kia altogether, I told him he should have bought another Chrysler van. He quickly jumped at that comment saying, “and I’ll let you take it to the shop every time you turn around”.

I could never understand why none of the other van builders ever had the middle row seats that folded into the floor. As much money that Chrysler needed over the years, it couldn’t be their refusal to sell the patent. Must be something else.

jmonroe

corvette · August 2022

Ran out to my coworker’s condo this morning because he had a flat. It was debeaded, so the air pump I brought was useless. I also brought my breaker bar and a set of sockets.

Me: do you have a spare tire?
Him: No.
Me: uses one of my free AAA tows to get him to a Goodyear that is open on Sundays. I didn’t stay for further festivities, but it apparently took the tow truck almost two hours to get there.

Then I picked up some grass seed and rinsed the mud out of the bed of the truck.

oldfarmer50 · August 2022

corvette said:
Ran out to my coworker’s condo this morning because he had a flat. It was debeaded, so the air pump I brought was useless. I also brought my breaker bar and a set of sockets.

Me: do you have a spare tire?

Him: No.

Me: uses one of my free AAA tows to get him to a Goodyear that is open on Sundays. I didn’t stay for further festivities, but it apparently took the tow truck almost two hours to get there.

Then I picked up some grass seed and rinsed the mud out of the bed of the truck.

He asked you to come out but didn’t mention he didn’t have a spare? What did he expect you to do? A AAA membership would be a good Christmas gift for someone like that.

nyccarguy · August 2022

This weekend we made a couple of trips that were about an hour each way. Took the Wrangler both times and nobody complained about sitting in the middle.

Yesterday we went to my parent’s house and I wanted to bring the bikes so my kids could ride around the neighborhood with my nieces. No hitch on the Highlander, so we took the Jeep. Plugs and ports in the back kept them busy. No complaints.

This AM, we drive to Long Island to go sneaker shopping. I was planning on taking the Highlander, but the kids walked into the garage and got right in the Jeep. Again, no arguing over who sat in the middle. When we take the Highlander anywhere, there is always an argument over who has to sit in the 3rd row.

Sandman6472 · August 2022

Just curious, aren't there any sneaker places in Connecticut or nearby Westchester? We're lucky that Sketchers has a discount store not that far from the house and a much better one down in Miami, can be there within 45 minutes. Only buy Sketchers now as they seem to work best with my spinal issues, there "memory foam" insoles are just amazing.

corvette · August 2022

oldfarmer50 said:
A AAA membership would be a good Christmas gift for someone like that.

I'll tell his mom to get him one.

corvette · August 2022

@nyccarguy - is the second row in the Wrangler wider than the Highlander? I'm sure the third row in the Highlander is tight, but perhaps they could sit three across in the Highlander, unless it has captain's chairs.

qbrozen · August 2022

@henryn said:
I think "passenger vehicle" might be a bit of a misnomer. "Bus" might be a more appropriate term.

Hell, a bus is a passenger vehicle. ;b

@tjc78 , no, I sold that to my brother when his Quest died and he was in need. It will be a bit troublesome for our trip to have to use the Sprinter for around town.

nyccarguy · August 2022

qbrozen said:

@henryn said:

I think "passenger vehicle" might be a bit of a misnomer. "Bus" might be a more appropriate term.

Hell, a bus is a passenger vehicle. ;b

@tjc78 , no, I sold that to my brother when his Quest died and he was in need. It will be a bit troublesome for our trip to have to use the Sprinter for around town.

Tow your Wrangler down with the Sprinter.

nyccarguy · August 2022

corvette said:
@nyccarguy - is the second row in the Wrangler wider than the Highlander? I'm sure the third row in the Highlander is tight, but perhaps they could sit three across in the Highlander, unless it has captain's chairs.

I bought the Highlander with Captain's chairs. The 3rd row of the Highlander does seem to be less roomy than our 2017 Pilot. The 2nd row however travels more. Problem is that they get in the 3rd row, someone gets in the 2nd row and makes the seat go all the way back crushing the toes of whomever sits in the 3rd row. There is no need to push the 2nd row all the way back.

nyccarguy · August 2022

Sandman6472 said:
Just curious, aren't there any sneaker places in Connecticut or nearby Westchester? We're lucky that Sketchers has a discount store not that far from the house and a much better one down in Miami, can be there within 45 minutes. Only buy Sketchers now as they seem to work best with my spinal issues, there "memory foam" insoles are just amazing.

There are, but god bless the internet. Service at Foot Locker and other indoor mall stores has been terrible as of late. It is a pain to go to the mall, park, find someone to wait on you, only to find they don't have the size you need in stock. I also can't stand the "buy off the internet and return what doesn't fit" way of shopping. I decided to make a day of it and go for the sure thing. My 10 year old daughter wanted these old school basic Nike High Tops. White with a Black Swoosh. She searched Nike stores in a radius around our zip code and only this one store in Manhasset had them in her size. The store was "only" 15 miles from our house, but that's if you go straight across Long Island Sound. Manhasset is a very wealthy area. There was a LUCID store 3 doors down from this Nike store. I saw (2) C8 Corvettes in Orange, at least 3 McLarens, and multiple 911s (including a Turbo S Coupe and 2 GT3s. We had some incredible Pizza at a place called Umberto's, then went back to the Nike store because my 13 year old son was eyeing these "new" Jordan I (not the retro ones that go for crazy money). He has the Nike App and had an "in store" coupon for 15% off. So my daughter and 1 son got new sneakers yesterday. We stopped at a DSW and found new sneakers for my (almost) 16 year old. I consider it a win for the day.

kyfdx · August 2022

@nyccarguy The kids won't wear Skechers?

kyfdx · August 2022

@qbrozen If you decide to keep this, I'd want to take out the back row, and see if there was some sort of custom cargo storage system for the rear of the vehicle. Seems that would be more useful than having an extra four seats, back there. You'd still have an 8-passenger vehicle.

au1994 · August 2022

nyccarguy said:

Sandman6472 said:
Just curious, aren't there any sneaker places in Connecticut or nearby Westchester? We're lucky that Sketchers has a discount store not that far from the house and a much better one down in Miami, can be there within 45 minutes. Only buy Sketchers now as they seem to work best with my spinal issues, there "memory foam" insoles are just amazing.
There are, but god bless the internet. Service at Foot Locker and other indoor mall stores has been terrible as of late. It is a pain to go to the mall, park, find someone to wait on you, only to find they don't have the size you need in stock. I also can't stand the "buy off the internet and return what doesn't fit" way of shopping. I decided to make a day of it and go for the sure thing. My 10 year old daughter wanted these old school basic Nike High Tops. White with a Black Swoosh. She searched Nike stores in a radius around our zip code and only this one store in Manhasset had them in her size. The store was "only" 15 miles from our house, but that's if you go straight across Long Island Sound. Manhasset is a very wealthy area. There was a LUCID store 3 doors down from this Nike store. I saw (2) C8 Corvettes in Orange, at least 3 McLarens, and multiple 911s (including a Turbo S Coupe and 2 GT3s. We had some incredible Pizza at a place called Umberto's, then went back to the Nike store because my 13 year old son was eyeing these "new" Jordan I (not the retro ones that go for crazy money). He has the Nike App and had an "in store" coupon for 15% off. So my daughter and 1 son got new sneakers yesterday. We stopped at a DSW and found new sneakers for my (almost) 16 year old. I consider it a win for the day.

I hate the ‘buy off the internet and return what doesn’t fit”. Since I am still primarily WFH I get the pleasure of handling the return. Yes they make it easy, especially Amazon but its still a trip to the UPS store.

The kiddo has a very wide foot so only a couple of brands fit well, Adidas and New Balance. That, however, did not stop him from talking mom into $300 worth of Nike’s ordered on line this weekend.

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