Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

pensfan83 · February 2023

mjfloyd1 · February 2023

@jmonroe1 said:
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WOW, all you need now is for the household to learn how to drive that beast.

jmonroe

Unfortunately it was raining and dark so the pothole wasn’t visible- it snuck up on me!

laurasdada · February 2023

Yes, as everybody knows, you don't hit a pothole. It lies in wait and at the last minute moves directly into the tire path.
That is my true belief.

andres3 · February 2023

laurasdada said:
Yes, as everybody knows, you don't hit a pothole. It lies in wait and at the last minute moves directly into the tire path.
That is my true belief.

Is there a speed where you are going so fast you just "fly" over the pothole unscathed?

laurasdada · February 2023

And, so glad I drive a PHEV; no pesky oil or spark plugs to worry about! And, with regenerative braking, no pads or rotors to wear out.
I are smartly.

stickguy · February 2023

so you have a gasoline engine with no oil or ignition system? Impressive!

explorerx4 · February 2023

The technology exists.

https://youtu.be/1cKSDwERViE

mjfloyd1 · February 2023

@andres3 said:
Is there a speed where you are going so fast you just "fly" over the pothole unscathed?

Yeah but then you just hit something up higher like a light pole or stop sign.

kyfdx · February 2023

@pensfan83 The staffing issues are real..

28firefighter · February 2023

@pensfan83 - no! pour one out for the gobblerito....

pensfan83 · February 2023

@kyfdx said:
@pensfan83 The staffing issues are real..

Fair, but that was posted 2 days ago and they are already closed so pretty crappy for the employees. And this restaurant is owned by one of the largest restaurant groups in the city so I'm sure they could have flexed some staff there for a bit longer of a windown.

In any event I spent many a night there in college and post college and like a handful of other places in the neighborhood am sad to see it go.

pensfan83 · February 2023

@28firefighter said:
@pensfan83 - no! pour one out for the gobblerito....

I know, so disappointed for South Oakland. There's others around to get the gobblerito fix but man, a ton of memories there.

oldfarmer50 · February 2023

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

kyfdx said:

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

kyfdx said:
I'm running my GTI back through Carvana, to see it's worth $50K, now..

EDIT: I'm down to $21,600. Not bad for a 5 year old car, I guess..
My 2013 F150 XL, which I purchased in May of 2021, is now all the way down to $10,962 according to Carvana. When I purchased it, Carvana offered $13,250. At some point it peaked at just over $15k, I don't remember exactly when.

Vroom says they will send me an offer via email.

I am not unhappy, I paid $10,500 and spent about $1,000 on maintenance and upgrades (stereo, backup camera).
I don’t get it, how does a 2013 F-150 go for 10k and a 2011 Ranger go for $20k on Carvana?
Makes no sense to me either. But like the man said, a used car is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

I just got the offer from Vroom. $8,000. Seriously low. A 10 year old F150, with 82k miles, was worth more than that before all of the craziness started.
Regular cab or SuperCab? I'm really surprised at how low the offers are. 2WD in Texas should sell well.
It's a regular ~~car~~ cab, 8 ft bed. Those are in high demand by people who actually use the truck for work. It has the V8, automatic, cold A/C, keyless entry, power mirrors, low miles (82k), and a few other niceties. I will have no trouble selling it when the time comes, it looks good and runs perfectly. I was just using the online car buying services to gauge the current used car market. This truck, on Carvana, started at $13.2 in May of 2021, peaked at a little over $15k, and is now down to $10.9.

Vroom is just an outlier, for some reason. No idea why.
All the 2013 Ford XL models near me with comparable milage are retailing for around $20k. How about I meet you halfway at roadburner’s house?
2WD regular cab in NY?
Nothing has less traction than the 2WD Chevy Express I’m driving now. Besides I’ve been driving RWD in the snow since the 60s. AWD is just one more thing to break.
————————————————
So you do believe in the sand bag thingy.

jmonroe

I always throw a few 80 pound bags of salt in the back of the van. I’m not sure it helps much.

28firefighter · February 2023

pensfan83 said:
I know, so disappointed for South Oakland. There's others around to get the gobblerito fix but man, a ton of memories there.

*hazy memories, in my case...

oldfarmer50 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
AWD does have advantages over 2WD but that doesn't mean you can't get there if you have 2WD.
Usually less drama with AWD.

Every winter I see countless people who thought AWD gave them magical powers and ended up on their roof. My van is actually pretty good in significant snow but on ice it sucks because it doesn’t have LSD. If you get one wheel on ice you just spin. My Lincoln had limited slip and was better in all conditions. I loved being able to pivot it in a circle with just a tap on the gas.

AWD on the other hand will get you moving better on ice but I think some drivers believe it makes you stop or corner faster.

stickguy · February 2023

I went to school up here, and drove around in an assortment of RWD cars and survived just fine. Including a Duster with bald bias ply snows, and a couple of light weight imports with 1970s vintage all season radials. None of which had any weight in the back.

I'm sure I could handle it in a modern car with electronic traction help and modern tires!

explorerx4 · February 2023

Bad drivers end up in the ditch for various reasons.

laurasdada · February 2023

In my many years of driving north to ski, I also saw drivers who thought AWD was a miracle cure for the laws of physics...
A bunch of young yahoos (and I was one, too; but wiser in the ways of snow) passed me on 103 heading into Ludlow, VT after flashing their lights for me to move it for a while... my thought was for them to learn a mild lesson, no one gets hurt, no major damage to the Subie... and, lo and behold and unsurprisingly, a nice left hand sweep to get into downtown Ludlow with a small village green on the right, there was said Subie sideswiped into the large snowbank created by plowing. No one appeared hurt, not sure about the right side of Subie, but I'll hope a lesson was learned.
I arrived, as usual (and luck?), unscathed and ready to do young yahoo-y things on the slopes.

laurasdada · February 2023

stickguy said:
so you have a gasoline engine with no oil or ignition system? Impressive!

Gas engine? I thought I just had to plug it in every 20 miles or so.
And, of course, feed the hamster and oil his wheel regularly.

jmonroe1 · February 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————

WOW, all you need now is for the household to learn how to drive that beast.

jmonroe

Unfortunately it was raining and dark so the pothole wasn’t visible- it snuck up on me!

———————————————
Boy, don’t I know what that’s like and I told that story above. Those are the type of pot holes that could result in chipped teeth.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · February 2023

andres3 said:

laurasdada said:
Yes, as everybody knows, you don't hit a pothole. It lies in wait and at the last minute moves directly into the tire path.
That is my true belief.
Is there a speed where you are going so fast you just "fly" over the pothole unscathed?

————————————————
I have yet to find that speed but I’m sure if there is such a thing, you and @roadburner have found it.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
The technology exists.
https://youtu.be/1cKSDwERViE</blockquote
———————————————
Somehow I can’t bring myself to believe that. I’m suspicious of internet stuff like that. But I’d like it to be true.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · February 2023

@jmonroe1,
My Lincoln had that suspension.

jmonroe1 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
@jmonroe1,
My Lincoln had that suspension.

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I can understand an adjustable suspension but I’m talking about a “pot hole detector”. Did you try your suspension on pot holes and noticed a difference compared to other cars you owned? If so that system would be a tire and rim saver worth paying for.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · February 2023

@jmonroe1,
Why would I intentionally run over a pothole?
It's taken me a long time to trust things like stop and go cruise control and auto hold on hills.

au1994 · February 2023

Stay warm NE friends!

stickguy · February 2023

it was a balmy -13 when i woke up this morning. thankfully warming up pretty quickly. Should be in the teens when we have to go out to the city after lunch, and since will be outside a bit, will be nice to not get frostbite immediately.

odder, by tomorrow afternoon, I could be out in the driveway washing my car. and most of next week highs in the mid-40's.

jmonroe1 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
@jmonroe1,
Why would I intentionally run over a pothole?
It's taken me a long time to trust things like stop and go cruise control and auto hold on hills.

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The best way I know of to verify if something works as advertised is to test it. When you buy a car you try the brakes and the accelerator pedal to see if the car performs those functions. Hell, you even make a call with your cell phone to see if it works before leaving the store. So, until you test something you’re just taking someone’s word for it. See what I mean?

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · February 2023

stickguy said:
it was a balmy -13 when i woke up this morning. thankfully warming up pretty quickly. Should be in the teens when we have to go out to the city after lunch, and since will be outside a bit, will be nice to not get frostbite immediately.

odder, by tomorrow afternoon, I could be out in the driveway washing my car. and most of next week highs in the mid-40's.

————————————————
The weather in the Burgh area is supposed to be pretty similar. I don’t know what the famous PA rodent said about the coming of Spring but next week is going to be pretty good for these parts of the woods.

jmonroe

xwesx · February 2023

I'm strongly suspecting six more weeks of winter. Perhaps even ten.

oldfarmer50 · February 2023

stickguy said:
it was a balmy -13 when i woke up this morning. thankfully warming up pretty quickly. Should be in the teens when we have to go out to the city after lunch, and since will be outside a bit, will be nice to not get frostbite immediately.

odder, by tomorrow afternoon, I could be out in the driveway washing my car. and most of next week highs in the mid-40's.

You got lucky to move here for one of the warmer less snowy winters for some time. Mother Nature is easing you in gradually before she slams you with snow up to your frozen shut eyeballs.

explorerx4 · February 2023

@jmonroe1,
Did you ever run into something to make sure your 5 mph bumpers would work?

qbrozen · February 2023

@explorerx4 said:

Why would I intentionally run over a pothole?

Oh oh, i got this one!
Because you have a vehicle to your immediate left and a pedestrian on the shoulder so you have no choice but to grit your teeth and take the hit.

ab348 · February 2023

stickguy said:
it was a balmy -13 when i woke up this morning. thankfully warming up pretty quickly. Should be in the teens when we have to go out to the city after lunch, and since will be outside a bit, will be nice to not get frostbite immediately.

Same thing here, -26C overnight which is about -13 in US terms. Now it is up to -14C which is a balmy 7F.

stickguy · February 2023

Got parked downtown and walked to a bar before our they’re show and it was up to 7. Didn’t bother to zip my coat.

sda · February 2023

I would imagine homes are much better insulated in the north compared to the south east. Code is R-30, attic, R-13 walls, R-11 crawl space. When it gets below 30 you can really feel the cold as it bleeds through the exterior walls and windows. brrr

ab348 · February 2023

sda said:
I would imagine homes are much better insulated in the north compared to the south east. Code is R-30, attic, R-13 walls, R-11 crawl space. When it gets below 30 you can really feel the cold as it bleeds through the exterior walls and windows. brrr

Insulation wasn't really a thing here until the '70s. My brother has a 1963-built bungalow and it had no insulation in the walls at all and 4" of fiberglass in the attic. He upgraded it years ago with blown-in cellulose in the walls and added 8" of it in the attic. My house was built in 1955 and had the same 4" or so in the attic which I upgraded the same way he did, but I have a different problem with the walls. They have a locally-made product that looks a bit like fiberglass kraft paper-backed insulation, but without the fiberglass. Instead it has seaweed insulation, believe it or not. Shredded, dried seaweed was glued to the paper backing but it had 2 problems: the seaweed offered next to no insulation value, and the seaweed detaches from the backing over time and settles into the bottom of a stud bay. I spoke to an insulation contractor some years back and he said there was no way to retrofit blown in cellulose or foam. You would need to take down the interior walls to get it out.

explorerx4 · February 2023

@gbrozen,
Jm referenced 'trying out' the functionality, not being forced to.

breld · February 2023

My pothole incident looks to be about a $700 incident, between a new tire, wheel repair and an alignment.

jmonroe1 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
@jmonroe1,
Did you ever run into something to make sure your 5 mph bumpers would work?

————————————————
I did better than that. Not too long after I got Mrs. j her 2018 Subie Legacy Limited (that she didn’t want), I tested the automatic braking feature by placing a large cardboard box in the driveway. I then pulled into the driveway faster than I ever did and yeah the brakes stopped the car before it hit the box. Of course my foot was ready to pounce on the brakes but I didn’t have to do that. No, Mrs. j was not in the car. I ain’t that crazy.

jmonroe

28firefighter · February 2023

I took my kiddo for ski lessons this morning in the Tesla. Came home and was so disgusted by how dirty it was that, despite the rain, I washed both cars. Was not a full detail, just enough to get the crud off and see the original colors of the cars.

explorerx4 · February 2023

@jmonroe1,
I neve thought of testing with a cardboard pothole. HA HA

jmonroe1 · February 2023

explorerx4 said:
@jmonroe1,
I neve thought of testing with a cardboard pothole. HA HA

————————————————-
If you still have the car it’s not too late.

Jmonroe

mjfloyd1 · February 2023

@breld said:
My pothole incident looks to be about a $700 incident, between a new tire, wheel repair and an alignment.

That’s not too bad bit is it too late to trade it?😂

mlevine · February 2023

Dilemma on what to do. Replace MB C250 2014 with MB C300 2020 CPO, BMW 330 2020 CPO, Grand Cherokee lease or Jeep Gladiator lease. Other option is to keep MB C250 2014 for another 4 months.

Michaell · February 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

@breld said:

My pothole incident looks to be about a $700 incident, between a new tire, wheel repair and an alignment.

That’s not too bad bit is it too late to trade it?😂

He can't trade out of the Polestar, unless it's back to the Volvo/Polestar dealer.

oldfarmer50 · February 2023

mlevine said:
Dilemma on what to do. Replace MB C250 2014 with MB C300 2020 CPO, BMW 330 2020 CPO, Grand Cherokee lease or Jeep Gladiator lease. Other option is to keep MB C250 2014 for another 4 months.

Waiting 4 months can only get you a better deal as used prices are reported to be dropping 4% a month. Hard to compare a BMW 330 with a Jeep Grand Cherokee but I like them both for different reasons. The 330 is a sporty car but kind of cramped for me. The GC is super comfortable but the handling dynamics are nowhere near a MB or BMW.

I like the Gladiator least of any of them. It is cramped inside, rides like a truck and has a small bed. I think any small pickup like a Tacoma or Ranger would be better and cheaper.

sda · February 2023

mlevine said:
Dilemma on what to do. Replace MB C250 2014 with MB C300 2020 CPO, BMW 330 2020 CPO, Grand Cherokee lease or Jeep Gladiator lease. Other option is to keep MB C250 2014 for another 4 months.

Why 4 months longer for the C250?

kyfdx · February 2023

The wheelbase on a Gladiator would be tiresome, before long.

mjfloyd1 · February 2023

@oldfarmer50 said:
Waiting 4 months can only get you a better deal as used prices are reported to be dropping 4% a month. Hard to compare a BMW 330 with a Jeep Grand Cherokee but I like them both for different reasons. The 330 is a sporty car but kind of cramped for me. The GC is super comfortable but the handling dynamics are nowhere near a MB or BMW.

I like the Gladiator least of any of them. It is cramped inside, rides like a truck and has a small bed. I think any small pickup like a Tacoma or Ranger would be better and cheaper.

I think I know why the Gladiator rides like a truck…😂

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