Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

kyfdx · January 2023

Similar day here, yesterday. Had a clogged sink, and called the plumber. 🤨

cdnpinhead · January 2023

roadburner said:
I am now convinced that BMW has lost the plot, as the British say. The 3er, 5er, 8er, X3/4, X5, and Z4 are the only cars in the lineup that aren’t awkward looking or simply flat-out ugly.

Well, they may be ugly, but at least they have more electronic (let's say stuff) than BMW drivers from the past considered acceptable, let alone necessary.

The BMW ship sailed for me about the time that the dipstick went away (in favor of an oil level sensor that didn't work much of the time) and "run-flat" tires became required so that a real spare (or even a little one) was no longer provided. This was before the computer revolution.

BMW could give a s*it less. The target demo these days has nothing to do with people like me, or most of the people who write for, or read, "Roundel."

Day late and a dollar short.

tjc78 · January 2023

@kyfdx said:
Similar day here, yesterday. Had a clogged sink, and called the plumber. 🤨

I had to dissemble the trap in the basement bath because my daughter dropped her new earring down it. Of course I said it’s not a big deal … then the wife sat “those were real”. Great

oldfarmer50 · January 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:
Funny thing; the Mach 1 I mentioned has now had a price cut to $1k over what I paid for the C43, and the 2022 M240i I test drove is now priced $1k under what the C43 cost.
Still no regrets or second-guessing.
All these dealerships must be monitoring your posts on here.

What was the actual asking price for that Mach 1 ? I was thinking about upgrading last year until I saw the $20k ADMs.
I’m guessing that this is the Mach 1

https://www.carfax.com/vehicle/1FA6P8R05M5553572

Ahhhh, it has the limited edition Ricardo seats😂

Only about $1500 more than original MSRP but it does have those rare Ricardo seats:

oldfarmer50 · January 2023

roadburner said:
@oldfarmer50 said:

All these dealerships must be monitoring your posts on here.

What was the actual asking price for that Mach 1 ? I was thinking about upgrading last year until I saw the $20k ADMs.

The 2021 Mach 1 was a CPO with 4,400 miles on it. Every option including automatic(I wasn't happy about that, but Randy Pobst thought it worked great on the track, so there's that). The dealer has had it for months. The original price was over $60k and it has since dropped to $53k. Earlier last year the same dealer had a nice 2019 CPO Bullitt. The price dropped to $48k at about the same time I caught Covid. Probably would have bought that car if it hadn't sold before I was able to check it out.

Here's the car:
https://www.castruccifordofalexandria.com/certified/Ford/2021-Ford-Mustang-dd146edf0a0e09a82f043eac68b73a6d.htm

That’s the color of the one I was interested in until I found out the sales manager was using it as his personal car. Most untouched one’s I saw were carrying heavy ADMs.

I know you don’t have any problem with used performance cars but a $50-60k car is too much for me to risk buying somebody else’s hand me down.

laurasdada · January 2023

benjaminh said:

laurasdada said:
Pumping gas for $2.50/hr at my local country store/gas station. Best job ever. Well, maybe not in February...
"Gold" from 1979, by John Stewart (with Stevie Nicks)

"....Well my buddy Jim Bass past he's a-workin' pumpin' gas
And he makes two fifty for an hour
He's got rhythm in his hands as he's tappin' on the cans
Sings rock and roll in the shower
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to his soul
There's people out there turning music into gold...."

"Kanan Road (usually pronounced "CAIN-un") is a street in California that connects Agoura Hills with Malibu."

Well, I did grow up near New Canaan...

ab348 · January 2023

explorerx4 said:
Fighter Jet Gray is the best color for that car.

Is that similar to Old Man Gray?

Michaell · January 2023

laurasdada said:

benjaminh said:

laurasdada said:
Pumping gas for $2.50/hr at my local country store/gas station. Best job ever. Well, maybe not in February...
"Gold" from 1979, by John Stewart (with Stevie Nicks)

"....Well my buddy Jim Bass past he's a-workin' pumpin' gas
And he makes two fifty for an hour
He's got rhythm in his hands as he's tappin' on the cans
Sings rock and roll in the shower
Drivin' over Kanan, singin' to his soul
There's people out there turning music into gold...."

"Kanan Road (usually pronounced "CAIN-un") is a street in California that connects Agoura Hills with Malibu."

Well, I did grow up near New Canaan...

Not quite. Kanan Rd turns into Kanan Dume Rd, which is what connects to the PCH just north of Malibu.

corvette · January 2023

The story so far…

Michaell · January 2023

corvette said:

The story so far…

Man, that looks like one of 100PercentJakes videos....

corvette · January 2023

Michaell said:
Man, that looks like one of 100PercentJakes videos....

Minus the cursing at Chrysler's engineering (or lack thereof) on the PT Cruiser GT.

corvette · January 2023

This YT channel has wasted a lot of my time over the past few days. This guy is like the Dominique Dunn of private parking enforcement. "Here today, gone CAMARO!"
https://www.youtube.com/@gtoger/videos

roadburner · January 2023

oldfarmer50 said:

I know you don’t have any problem with used performance cars but a $50-60k car is too much for me to risk buying somebody else’s hand me down.

If I didn't buy used my automotive history would have been infinitely more boring- no 535is, M6, or M235i. And they all ran fine- despite numerous track days and autocrosses.

jmonroe1 · January 2023

corvette said:

The story so far…

————————————————
Damn, that looks like you’re halfway there to parting it out.

jmonroe

henryn · January 2023

corvette said:

The story so far…

I have disassembled a few dashes in my time. Some were worse that what is pictured here, most weren't quite that bad. Not a lot of fun, but rather challenging, and you feel quite a sense of accomplishment when you get it all put back together again.

This picture made me think of my father. The first dash I ever tore apart to the extent pictured here was in my 67 Plymouth Barracuda, and I never would have been brave enough to tackle that job without the help of my father. He's been gone a very long time now, but I still miss him.

roadburner · January 2023

We went out for dinner tonight and we took the C43. When I fired it up in the garage the loud AMG performance exhaust was echoing off the walls. My wife's comment? "I'm so glad we got this instead of the M240i; it rides better and the seats are more comfortable."
It seems that I have corrupted my wife to the point that she likes a ride that the ~~wimps~~ writers at Car and Driver described as "needlessly stiff."

venture · January 2023

roadburner said:

@qbrozen said:

@roadburner said:

Funny thing; the Mach 1 I mentioned has now had a price cut to $1k over what I paid for the C43, and the 2022 M240i I test drove is now priced $1k under what the C43 cost.

Still no regrets or second-guessing.

You sure? You keep checking prices. Lol

I just want to be prepared for when the UCM at BMW asks me why I left the fold.

LOL. I'm trying to prepare when my Subaru dealer asks why I left. Their relationship with me is, I'm sure, stronger than my relationship with them.

They are still trying to help me get the title for my wife's Ascent after I paid it off in August so there's that.

venture · January 2023

roadburner said:
We went out for dinner tonight and we took the C43. When I fired it up in the garage the loud AMG performance exhaust was echoing off the walls. My wife's comment? "I'm so glad we got this instead of the M240i; it rides better and the seats are more comfortable."
It seems that I have corrupted my wife to the point that she likes a ride that the ~~wimps~~ writers at Car and Driver described as "needlessly stiff."

**********
Nice. Count your blessings. My wife is still freaking out over me buying this 330i. Same as she did when I bought my E46.

oldfarmer50 · January 2023

corvette said:
This YT channel has wasted a lot of my time over the past few days. This guy is like the Dominique Dunn of private parking enforcement. "Here today, gone CAMARO!"
https://www.youtube.com/@gtoger/videos

They revamped that parking lot so he doesn’t make any move videos but it’s addictive with the sound effects.

If you want similar monotonous mind killing fare try watching ‘Tow trucker’.

mjfloyd1 · January 2023

@oldfarmer50 said:
Only about $1500 more than original MSRP but it does have those rare Ricardo seats:

That looks like fine Corinthian leather

I see MSRP of that Mach 1 as $65,580 after adding the options

oldfarmer50 · January 2023

henryn said:

corvette said:

The story so far…

I have disassembled a few dashes in my time. Some were worse that what is pictured here, most weren't quite that bad. Not a lot of fun, but rather challenging, and you feel quite a sense of accomplishment when you get it all put back together again.

This picture made me think of my father. The first dash I ever tore apart to the extent pictured here was in my 67 Plymouth Barracuda, and I never would have been brave enough to tackle that job without the help of my father. He's been gone a very long time now, but I still miss him.

Did I miss what fix you’re trying to accomplish?

mjfloyd1 · January 2023

@oldfarmer50 said:
Did I miss what fix you’re trying to accomplish?

Repair of capacitor on Prius instrument cluster

explorerx4 · January 2023

I glossed over the parking enforcement comment yesterday but read it more carefully this morning as it came up on the screen.
Said the sounds like 'gtoger' which it is from the name in the link.
I love the tow truck music (as do many others).
He had a big following and people from around the world would stop there to get on camera.

Granger Ford has a number of Mach1's selling at a discount.
https://www.grangerford.com/searchnew.aspx?Model=Mustang&make=Ford&ModelAndTrim=Mustang:Mach 1

kyfdx · January 2023

@qbrozen
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-mitsubishi-pajero-evolution-3/

mlevine · January 2023

Needed another car as we had 3 cars for 4 drivers but one son leaving home in a few weeks. Picked up yesterday a 20202 MB E 350 off lease with 6100 miles. I looked around recently to lease as I have my car I bought about 1.5 years ago off lease, one son owns his car, and wife leases her car. Lease deals were ridiculous. Thought I would share experience. Thought and comments appreciated.

qbrozen · January 2023

@kyfdx said:
@qbrozen
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-mitsubishi-pajero-evolution-3/

The evo model is a crazy thing. I first saw one in the auction listings and had no idea what it was. It wasn’t until one showed on either bat or c&b that I got to read more about it.

stickguy · January 2023

that Pajero is cool. Would probably be a beast in the snow country. For the one winter it is likely to last because I bet by year 2 it is totally rotted out underneath!

roadburner · January 2023

mlevine said:
Needed another car as we had 3 cars for 4 drivers but one son leaving home in a few weeks. Picked up yesterday a 20202 MB E 350 off lease with 6100 miles. I looked around recently to lease as I have my car I bought about 1.5 years ago off lease, one son owns his car, and wife leases her car. Lease deals were ridiculous. Thought I would share experience. Thought and comments appreciated.

My C43 had been leased from my local dealer but was returned to a sister store 90 miles away. No big deal- and I have the full service history. The final purchase price was over $18k off of MSRP.

fintail · January 2023

henryn said:
My first regular paid job was working in a gas station. I worked 72 hours a week (6 p.m. to 6 a.m., 6 nights a week). Gross pay before taxes was $45, which works out to $0.625 per hour. But the work really wasn’t bad at all, I mostly just read books and sat around. I did have to clean out the restrooms and wash down the driveway early before everyone showed up in the morning.

This was in a small town in East Texas, population around 3,000 at that time. The other gas stations closed around 6 p.m., the only convenience store closed at 9 p.m. After that, the only things open were the station I ran and a truck stop / café about 5 miles south of town. This was the summer I was 14, starting high school that fall. It’s hard to imagine anyone putting a 14 year old into that position in this day and age, but no one thought anything of it at that time. It truly was a “different time”.

As for a bad job, I did have one truly bad job a few years later. This was at a plant where they made chain link fence. They had this giant machine that made the Collie dogs that went on top of the fence posts. You poured melted aluminum into this contraption, and it closed up with a bang and when it opened back up you had 6 halves of the Collie dogs. But that machine spat out molten aluminum when it closed, small particles extremely hot moving at great speed. You pushed the button and jumped back as fast as you could, hoping to be missed by the flying particles. I lasted less than an hour on that job.

Man, how old are you? I mean, minimum wage in 1950 was 75 cents per hour.

oldfarmer50 said:

corvette said:
This YT channel has wasted a lot of my time over the past few days. This guy is like the Dominique Dunn of private parking enforcement. "Here today, gone CAMARO!"
https://www.youtube.com/@gtoger/videos
They revamped that parking lot so he doesn’t make any move videos but it’s addictive with the sound effects.

If you want similar monotonous mind killing fare try watching ‘Tow trucker’.

I like Towtrucker. The insane Atlanta gongshow makes me thankful for where I live.

[Deleted User] · January 2023

explorerx4 said:
I glossed over the parking enforcement comment yesterday but read it more carefully this morning as it came up on the screen.
Said the sounds like 'gtoger' which it is from the name in the link.
I love the tow truck music (as do many others).
He had a big following and people from around the world would stop there to get on camera.

Granger Ford has a number of Mach1's selling at a discount.
https://www.grangerford.com/searchnew.aspx?Model=Mustang&make=Ford&ModelAndTrim=Mustang:Mach 1

The tow truck music is great, but I LOVE the scooter sound effect!!!

explorerx4 · January 2023

Scooter sound effect is from the cartoon series The Jetsons.

breld · January 2023

explorerx4 said:

Granger Ford has a number of Mach1's selling at a discount.
https://www.grangerford.com/searchnew.aspx?Model=Mustang&make=Ford&ModelAndTrim=Mustang:Mach 1

@Michaell and I met for lunch yesterday and, among other things, discussed what the car market may look like this year. For all the enthusiasm over the last few years on these sports cars, those have to be the first to take the hit, don’t you all think?

I’m hoping so…I yearn for the days when I walked into the Toyota dealership and bought that Supra for several thousand dollars off. I much prefer that to the reverse.

breld · January 2023

By the way, it’s not a done deal until the car gets put on the truck, but the ZHP will be finding a new home soon. The individual who bought my wife’s E91 all those years ago will be the new owner. I’ve kept in touch with him over the years, and as soon as I showed him the ZHP last year he quickly said he’d like to be the next owner. Apparently he had an E46 M3 many years ago and always wanted to get into a ZHP. So it’s going to another great enthusiast owner.

This was his most recent vehicle, which he sold last year on BaT…

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2011-bmw-m3-sedan-2/

Sandman6472 · January 2023

While getting petrol at BJ's last night, Audi rolled over to 75K. Nice driving rig with zero turbo lag. Did find another oil leak on the garage floor after she pulled out yesterday afternoon though. That's been the big issue with this vehicle, it leaks oil. Not really a big deal as we live so close to the dealer, that they just top it off if & when the light comes on. It'd just annoying for me as I hate that. Mine doesn't leak at all, maybe a drop or two after an oil/filter change but besides that, doesn't leak. Guessing there's really nothing one can do except keep an eye on it & continue to do what we're doing. Am betting that in a couple of years from now, she'll be ready to look for a replacement. Eight to ten years seems to be the time frame for us replacing our vehicles, give or take. Trust me, I'd do it much sooner but most times, $ is the problem. usually don't have enough for what I want when I see it. And this time, the first time I might add, I have something I really really like, just not ready to move on to something else. But, just like my current Golf, I'll know it when I see it & then, within a week or two, it'll be parked in our garage. Once I know...I know & will make it happen if possible.

Sandman6472 · January 2023

Have been thinking a lot about that Corolla Cross I drove last week and don't think I'd be really happy with one at this point. It does everything right except, well, almost everything except put that sh-t eating grin on my face! Y'all get what I mean here, when ya know...ya just know. Maybe it's the drive train but it just seems so meh to me. I did notice it got pretty loud when accelerating to get onto I-95. I had turned off the audio system so I could listen to the racket going on under the hood. It was a bit loud & just didn't sound right, maybe I'm comparing it too much to my current 4 cylinder turbo set up I'm used to. Hard to explain really but bottom line, it didn't put that grin on my face. And got a feeling I'll have that same buyers remorse like I did with the Tucson. After that initial new car feeling wore off, I started to really see the mistake I had made. I also remembered when I walked out of the Hyundai store after buying it, saw a gray Hyundai Elantra GT sitting there which caught my eye. I even took a pic of it because that's was more my style & probably what I should've bought instead. Funny, think I'd still have that Elantra GT hatch if I had turned around & undid the Tucson deal.
But, as nice as the C C is, it might just not be the one. I still want to try the 2023 C C hybrid I read that'll be coming to market sometime this year. The hybrid could do it for me. But, not going to settle so if it means waiting a bit longer, I'll wait.

sda · January 2023

breld said:
By the way, it’s not a done deal until the car gets put on the truck, but the ZHP will be finding a new home soon. The individual who bought my wife’s E91 all those years ago will be the new owner. I’ve kept in touch with him over the years, and as soon as I showed him the ZHP last year he quickly said he’d like to be the next owner. Apparently he had an E46 M3 many years ago and always wanted to get into a ZHP. So it’s going to another great enthusiast owner.

This was his most recent vehicle, which he sold last year on BaT…

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2011-bmw-m3-sedan-2/

Congratulations on the sale of the ZHP. Wow, rod bearings replaced on the 11 M3 with only 36k? What is the story there?

mlevine · January 2023

The past few years I have stayed away from leasing. I use local repair place for the C250 and GLE 350. Roadburner do you use dealer or independent shop for maintenance?

stickguy · January 2023

went food shopping today and ended up parked next to a new BMW which turned out to be a new i4 (edrive40) EV. If I had not noticed the i4 badge on the trunk lid would have thought it was just any other 3/4 series.

28firefighter · January 2023

I would not turn away an i4 M50 if one magically appeared in my driveway.

roadburner · January 2023

@mlevine said:
The past few years I have stayed away from leasing. I use local repair place for the C250 and GLE 350. Roadburner do you use dealer or independent shop for maintenance?

I use the local M-B dealer; it’s excellent and I think that it’s a good idea- at least until it is out of warranty.

oldfarmer50 · January 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Only about $1500 more than original MSRP but it does have those rare Ricardo seats:

That looks like fine Corinthian leather

I see MSRP of that Mach 1 as $65,580 after adding the options

Yeah, those “options” push the price up quite a bit. The one I was looking at was only about $60k so I wonder what other things were put on that one.

tjc78 · January 2023

@sda said:
Congratulations on the sale of the ZHP. Wow, rod bearings replaced on the 11 M3 with only 36k? What is the story there?

henryn · January 2023

fintail said:

henryn said:
My first regular paid job was working in a gas station. I worked 72 hours a week (6 p.m. to 6 a.m., 6 nights a week). Gross pay before taxes was $45, which works out to $0.625 per hour. But the work really wasn’t bad at all, I mostly just read books and sat around. I did have to clean out the restrooms and wash down the driveway early before everyone showed up in the morning.

Man, how old are you? I mean, minimum wage in 1950 was 75 cents per hour.

I was born in 1950, in East Texas, and it was indeed a different time and place. Grown men were working for that $45 a week in 1965, not just teenage kids. In 1966, the Corps of Engineers started work on the Lake Livingston dam just down the road from me, and Brown and Root (the principal contractors) started hiring. They were paying $1.50 an hour for labor, which was the federal minimum wage at that time. The Chamber of Commerce sent a delegation to talk to Brown and Root, and claimed they would ruin the local economy by paying those kind of wages. Brown and Root just laughed at them.

corvette · January 2023

GToger - I think I’ve seen most of the tow videos. Really like the sound effects, but some of the overlay text is a bit much, like he’s trying to make the videos longer. In the candid videos, he doesn’t have the stage presence of the Wichita car guys, though. I wasn’t aware they reconfigured the parking lot, but the most recent Google Street View looks like there is no longer a generator there, so I assumed they moved most of their operations to their other location. The cameras and signs look like they are still there. Also, their neighbor has very good taste in vehicles:

mjfloyd1 · January 2023

oldfarmer50 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Only about $1500 more than original MSRP but it does have those rare Ricardo seats:

That looks like fine Corinthian leather

I see MSRP of that Mach 1 as $65,580 after adding the options

Yeah, those “options” push the price up quite a bit. The one I was looking at was only about $60k so I wonder what other things were put on that one.

ab348 · January 2023

@28firefighter said:
I would not turn away an i4 M50 if one magically appeared in my driveway.

That is the winner of Harry Metcalfe’s/Harry’s Garage “Most Disappointing Car of the Year” award of those he has reviewed in 2022. Here’s a link to his driving impressions: https://youtu.be/ezmeX8c672U

mjfloyd1 · January 2023

Hopefully the handling and range will get better as technology improves. I assume battery weight will decrease which will help both of those.

But you have to start somewhere

Sandman6472 · January 2023

Drove a GMC Terrain I think the other day with the HUD display. Had like a plastic clear cover coming out of the dash covering the display. Touched the edge and it was on there pretty tightly. Enhanced the look of the speedo and actually liked it...a lot! My son-in-law has an HUD speedo on his windshield and he likes it. Have driven vehicles with a few but this one was the nicest take on them all. Doesn't interfere with one driving forward one bit...like it should be there. Not sure I'd order one on my vehicle if offered but was nice to have.
That's the best part of my job at Enterprise, except for one lead who insists on choosing who drives what for some reason, we usually drive what we want as long as it's able to go there. All the other leads let us take what we like. Makes for a good day. Also, best way for me to test drive what's out there now. Have my own test drives whenever I go to work!

henryn · January 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Only about $1500 more than original MSRP but it does have those rare Ricardo seats:

That looks like fine Corinthian leather

I see MSRP of that Mach 1 as $65,580 after adding the options

Yeah, those “options” push the price up quite a bit. The one I was looking at was only about $60k so I wonder what other things were put on that one.

I think I could live without the Ricardo seats for $1,650. And I would have to look hard at the “MACH 1 HANDLING PACKAGE” for $3,750. That’s a lot of money for a “handling package”. And then there’s the $495 for the “red painted brake calipers”. Nice to have, but $495?

sda · January 2023

henryn said:

fintail said:

henryn said:
My first regular paid job was working in a gas station. I worked 72 hours a week (6 p.m. to 6 a.m., 6 nights a week). Gross pay before taxes was $45, which works out to $0.625 per hour. But the work really wasn’t bad at all, I mostly just read books and sat around. I did have to clean out the restrooms and wash down the driveway early before everyone showed up in the morning.

Man, how old are you? I mean, minimum wage in 1950 was 75 cents per hour.
I was born in 1950, in East Texas, and it was indeed a different time and place. Grown men were working for that $45 a week in 1965, not just teenage kids. In 1966, the Corps of Engineers started work on the Lake Livingston dam just down the road from me, and Brown and Root (the principal contractors) started hiring. They were paying $1.50 an hour for labor, which was the federal minimum wage at that time. The Chamber of Commerce sent a delegation to talk to Brown and Root, and claimed they would ruin the local economy by paying those kind of wages. Brown and Root just laughed at them.

Dad worked with Brown and Root from around 1972-76. He managed building an oil platform near Scotland in the North Sea. His project involved working with BP and Elf. Brown and Root had another project they wanted him to manage in Iran. After London and Paris, dad said pound sand and we moved back to the states. He knew of others that lived in Iran at the time and they hired drivers trained in evasive maneuvers as it was so risky for foreigners.

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