Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

qbrozen · June 2023

Here is a random question. Just looking for some opinions. In which color should I wrap the Alto Works?

As a reminder, this is what it looks like and this is the current color scheme (dark green over silver). And, if you'll recall, the paint is shot over about 50% of it. I could leave the 2-tone, but I'm thinking that will just be tougher to wrap and I should do the whole thing one solid color.

qbrozen · June 2023

This is the wrap I've been using so far and it seems to be good quality for the money.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V8FBRQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I'm thinking maybe that metallic copper. Would look Ok with the green door sills and maybe even I can keep the silver bottom.

tjc78 · June 2023

Personally I think the teal would fit this car really well… and would look good with the silver, but would look awful with the green sills.

So, I’d agree the copper is probably best

oldfarmer50 · June 2023

qbrozen said:
This is the wrap I've been using so far and it seems to be good quality for the money.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V8FBRQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I'm thinking maybe that metallic copper. Would look Ok with the green door sills and maybe even I can keep the silver bottom.

I think that would make it stand out. What vibe are you going for, fun toy, nostalgia icon etc.?

corvette · June 2023

Agree the teal would look good if it weren't for the sills. I don't think I'd have the patience to learn how to do a decent job applying vinyl wrap, so kudos to you.

explorerx4 · June 2023

@qbrozen,
How about Maaco?

nyccarguy · June 2023

I think it would look good wrapped in 1 color. The metallic copper, the teal, or even Smurf blue would look sharp

au1994 · June 2023

go with red.

I think it was Terry that called it ‘no sale green’?

xwesx · June 2023

qbrozen said:
This is the wrap I've been using so far and it seems to be good quality for the money.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083V8FBRQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

I'm thinking maybe that metallic copper. Would look Ok with the green door sills and maybe even I can keep the silver bottom.

Definitely the Gloss Muscular Magenta!

qbrozen · June 2023

y'all (except xwesx ;b ) are mentioning the same things I considered, so at least I know I'm on the right track: teal, smurf blue, and even red. I actually have a bunch of smurf blue sitting here awaiting application to the clownmobile (our Wagon R). But not sure about that with the green sills. Same with the red. I think the copper (or any kind of orange) is the best bet. Teal would work, but I'm a bit concerned about it looking too 1980s in the end. I also pondered metallic dark green. Just not sure I want to stick with green.

@explorerx4 , maaco does a pretty awful job, and it is quite a bit more expensive than wrapping yourself.

@oldfarmer50 , I asked myself the same question. I looked into factory colors and they are all surprisingly bland. You have this green, a dark metallic blue, white, red, and black. I've seen a couple others, like yellow and orange, but they aren't factory I don't think. I think I'm leaning towards fun toy without being terribly polarizing (so no viper lime).

stickguy · June 2023

Bright yellow.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

qbrozen said:
y'all (except xwesx ;b ) are mentioning the same things I considered, so at least I know I'm on the right track: teal, smurf blue, and even red. I actually have a bunch of smurf blue sitting here awaiting application to the clownmobile (our Wagon R). But not sure about that with the green sills. Same with the red. I think the copper (or any kind of orange) is the best bet. Teal would work, but I'm a bit concerned about it looking too 1980s in the end. I also pondered metallic dark green. Just not sure I want to stick with green.

@explorerx4 , maaco does a pretty awful job, and it is quite a bit more expensive than wrapping yourself.

@oldfarmer50 , I asked myself the same question. I looked into factory colors and they are all surprisingly bland. You have this green, a dark metallic blue, white, red, and black. I've seen a couple others, like yellow and orange, but they aren't factory I don't think. I think I'm leaning towards fun toy without being terribly polarizing (so no viper lime).

————————————————
So you’re afraid of Old Man’s Gray.

jmonroe

qbrozen · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

So you’re afraid of Old Man’s Gray.

jmonroe

Yes.
Although I did consider it for a second.

qbrozen · June 2023

Since these always seem to be a little bit of fun...

nyccarguy · June 2023

qbrozen said:
Since these always seem to be a little bit of fun...

You should have said $1,600, then he would have offered you the $1,450:)-

jmonroe1 · June 2023

qbrozen said:
Since these always seem to be a little bit of fun...

————————————————
This board is becoming more humorous than the comics section of a Sunday newspaper.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · June 2023

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:
Since these always seem to be a little bit of fun...

You should have said $1,600, then he would have offered you the $1,450:)-

————————————————
You’d think he’d know that by now, huh?

jmonroe

laurasdada · June 2023

Q, just wait till we get our first nor'easter (probably in November!), he'll be back throwing $ at you...

qbrozen · June 2023

I COULD do it for less, but I don't want to. That's a LONG day of driving. I calculated a little while back that, if anybody wants delivery, I'd have to charge $2.50/mi for it to make sense. (that's 2.50 one way, so actually 1.25/mi if you calculate by round-trip.) That's taking fuel, time, wear and tear, etc. Tolls would have to come out of that, too. This guy is 250 miles from me. So transport is damned near cost of the tractor. Obviously, I was discounting a little already to get to the 1450. It is not like I WANT to spend a day driving, so him turning it down was kind of my intention.

But then he comes back asking what engine it has. huh?

ronsteve · June 2023

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————
So you’re afraid of Old Man’s Gray.

jmonroe

I think I am more put off by Old Man White, but on a sunny day I could have a discussion on Toyota’s blizzard pearl metallic. The wife is definitely put off by Old Man’s White, and she picked Old Man’s Grey for her Jetta.

qbrozen · June 2023

forgot to mention another one. Someone texts me and says "$800." So I said "OK."
Then he comes back saying he'll need to come check it out this weekend. So... you didn't actually mean you were offering $800. I'll enjoy messing with him if he shows up. I fully expect "oh, well, would you take 700?" and then I'll get to say "$850." And he'll cry how I agreed to 800. Yes, yes, I did, but then you offered less, so we've squashed that original deal evidently.

corvette · June 2023

qbrozen said:
But then he comes back asking what engine it has. huh?

"Oops, I forgot, it's been LS swapped. The motor alone is worth over $3,000, but I'll let you have the whole thing for $2,750."

jmonroe1 · June 2023

ronsteve said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————

So you’re afraid of Old Man’s Gray.

jmonroe

I think I am more put off by Old Man White, but on a sunny day I could have a discussion on Toyota’s blizzard pearl metallic. The wife is definitely put off by Old Man’s White, and she picked Old Man’s Grey for her Jetta.

————————————————
I agree that plain white isn’t much better but in a pinch I could do a pearl white metallic. However, a real color is still my preference.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 · June 2023

qbrozen said:
forgot to mention another one. Someone texts me and says "$800." So I said "OK."
Then he comes back saying he'll need to come check it out this weekend. So... you didn't actually mean you were offering $800. I'll enjoy messing with him if he shows up. I fully expect "oh, well, would you take 700?" and then I'll get to say "$850." And he'll cry how I agreed to 800. Yes, yes, I did, but then you offered less, so we've squashed that original deal evidently.

————————————————
Now you’re learnin.

jmonroe

tifighter · June 2023

So, in the past month the following have adopted the NACS standard-
-Ford
-GM
-Rivian
-Volvo
-Polestar
And, ironically-

Which makes you wonder about VW.

Anyhow, Hyundai/Kia is rumored to be next. Things are moving fast.

laurasdada · June 2023

I'm not sure that I've yet found a functional EA charging station.

Michaell · June 2023

tifighter said:

So, in the past month the following have adopted the NACS standard-
-Ford
-GM
-Rivian
-Volvo
-Polestar
And, ironically-

Which makes you wonder about VW.

Anyhow, Hyundai/Kia is rumored to be next. Things are moving fast.

This is all well and good, but as I understand it, not every Tesla Supercharger will be made available to non-Tesla automobiles. I thought I saw something like only 2/3 of them will be available.

Will Tesla then get the lion's share of the federal money to expand the network? We have about 25% of the chargers we really need in this country.

nyccarguy · June 2023

My 16 year old had an interesting thought about the electrification of automobiles. He suggested they make more PHEV like my Jeep that can run on Battery or ICE. Over the next X number of years, increase the size (or capacity) of the battery as the technology allows and shrink the size of the gas tank.

andres3 · June 2023

I got my Insurance company to admit they were embarrassed and offered god-awful communication on my wife's Tiguan claim from being rear ended by an apparently uninsured "at the time of the loss." They paid me lip service apologizing on the phone, but stopped short of offering to pay for the rental car losses or DV stating that I don't have rental coverage on my policy and DV is excluded on my policy. Of course this was a 3rd party claim since the at fault driver is the other party. A little communication would have gone a long way.

andres3 · June 2023

nyccarguy said:
Good morning everyone. I have a completely non-car related question for the board. Has anybody switched from an iPhone to a Samsung and been happy with it? If you went to Samsung and then switched back, why? If the mods don't want us to clog up the board, please feel free to PM me. I've been dropping my iPhone XR without a case on a regular basis for at least the past year. Last night I sat on it while in my back pocket. There are 2 small black blotches on the screen now. It is time for a new phone. Thanks in advance.

Android phones like Samsung's shouldn't even be allowed to call themselves "Smart" phones. There is nothing smart about them. They should call themselves "Dumb" phones, and donate $5 to the Steve Jobs family for every single dumbphone they sell to some sucker out there like my former employer. Thank god my new employer dishes out Smartphones ala Iphones.

Streaming TV services suck too, from what I've seen they are all lightyears behind even a "beta" test model program for software, and this includes Paramount+ and FireStick. Netflix has its own issues too, but likely the best of the best (sound cut out issues though; anyone else have that problem?) Sound will just randomly go out for 5 seconds or so. How can they sell services and software that is entirely non-functional? How many months of subscription should you pay for IT to resolve a technical problem?

Verizon's "CUBE" Internet service provider and router all in one device started off really shaky. Doing better lately. AT&T's DSL might be slow but at least it was reliable. Verizon better figure it out. I hate being a Beta tester at $50/mo.

ab348 · June 2023

Speaking of Android tech, today I had my cable TV setup here changed out by the cable co for their latest and greatest - an Android-powered TiVo box about the size of a cigarette pack, which gets its signal wirelessly from Amazon’s eero mesh routers scattered around the house. They are very clunky in operation and the interface is not well-designed. But my TV sort of works. I imagine they have a ton of capabilities if you can ever figure out how to use them.

nyccarguy · June 2023

@andres3 said:
I got my Insurance company to admit they were embarrassed and offered god-awful communication on my wife's Tiguan claim from being rear ended by an apparently uninsured "at the time of the loss." They paid me lip service apologizing on the phone, but stopped short of offering to pay for the rental car losses or DV stating that I don't have rental coverage on my policy and DV is excluded on my policy. Of course this was a 3rd party claim since the at fault driver is the other party. A little communication would have gone a long way.

I must have missed this. Was anybody hurt? What are you going to replace the Tiguan with?

xwesx · June 2023

Michaell said:

Will Tesla then get the lion's share of the federal money to expand the network? We have about 25% of the chargers we really need in this country.

I'd say we only have about 25% of the *infrastructure* we really need to support electric vehicle charging in this country, and it isn't the charger stations themselves that are the biggest bottleneck (of course, it would be great if the ones that are installed actually worked!). We need grid infrastructure that can actually support widespread charging. If we're having major issues with something like 5% of the vehicle fleet electric.... Well, there's a big problem if we're looking at ten-year horizon until all new vehicle sales are electric.

au1994 · June 2023

We’ve heard the stories about the minerals that go into the batteries for EV’s. Some of them might even be true.

What I am growing concerned about is the disposal of the batteries when these EV’s are wrecked or it just becomes time to scrap. The latter is happening quicker as these things are so sophisticated and expensive to repair.

Do we have the ability to properly dispose of these batteries before the carcass goes to Pete’s Pull Yer Own Part?

nyccarguy · June 2023

@au1994 said:
We’ve heard the stories about the minerals that go into the batteries for EV’s. Some of them might even be true.

What I am growing concerned about is the disposal of the batteries when these EV’s are wrecked or it just becomes time to scrap. The latter is happening quicker as these things are so sophisticated and expensive to repair.

Do we have the ability to properly dispose of these batteries before the carcass goes to Pete’s Pull Yer Own Part?

Look at what @corvette is going through with his Prius.

au1994 · June 2023

nyccarguy said:

@au1994 said:

We’ve heard the stories about the minerals that go into the batteries for EV’s. Some of them might even be true.

What I am growing concerned about is the disposal of the batteries when these EV’s are wrecked or it just becomes time to scrap. The latter is happening quicker as these things are so sophisticated and expensive to repair.

Do we have the ability to properly dispose of these batteries before the carcass goes to Pete’s Pull Yer Own Part?

Look at what @corvette is going through with his Prius.

I thought of him and his travails when I was typing the post. Good on you @corvette, otherwise your Prius would probably be scrapped by now.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

au1994 said:
We’ve heard the stories about the minerals that go into the batteries for EV’s. Some of them might even be true.

What I am growing concerned about is the disposal of the batteries when these EV’s are wrecked or it just becomes time to scrap. The latter is happening quicker as these things are so sophisticated and expensive to repair.

Do we have the ability to properly dispose of these batteries before the carcass goes to Pete’s Pull Yer Own Part?

————————————————
Short answer…NO. Why? I ain’t got enough time and neither does anyone else in here.

jmonroe

xwesx · June 2023

The nice thing about batteries is that they can be fully recycled into new batteries. The problem, I think, is that these massive car batteries are built into a huge matrix of extremely tough materials, usually molded into a plastic resin of some sort. The last thing the manufacturers want is for a crash to puncture a cell, as we have all seen the ramifications of that! Accessing and remanufacture of the batteries is, I'm sure, hugely expensive. It's not like recycling Duracells or even starting batteries from ICE vehicles.

I doubt such recycling operations will result in more cost-effective batteries, but at least we won't be filling up landfills with them.

andres3 · June 2023

nyccarguy said:

@andres3 said:

I got my Insurance company to admit they were embarrassed and offered god-awful communication on my wife's Tiguan claim from being rear ended by an apparently uninsured "at the time of the loss." They paid me lip service apologizing on the phone, but stopped short of offering to pay for the rental car losses or DV stating that I don't have rental coverage on my policy and DV is excluded on my policy. Of course this was a 3rd party claim since the at fault driver is the other party. A little communication would have gone a long way.

I must have missed this. Was anybody hurt? What are you going to replace the Tiguan with?

fintail · June 2023

tifighter said:

So, in the past month the following have adopted the NACS standard-
-Ford
-GM
-Rivian
-Volvo
-Polestar
And, ironically-

Which makes you wonder about VW.

Anyhow, Hyundai/Kia is rumored to be next. Things are moving fast.

I wonder if MB will jump on board, given the use of MB switchgear in some Teslas, there must be at least a superficial relationship.

nyccarguy · July 2023

This 2007 Acura TSX caught my eye. What also caught my eye is the fine print. $999 Doc Fee, $228 Electronic Titling Fee, & (here's the best one) Vehicle must be financed through the dealership financing institutions or a $2,995 market adjustment cost will be applied.

sda · July 2023

nyccarguy said:
This 2007 Acura TSX caught my eye. What also caught my eye is the fine print. $999 Doc Fee, $228 Electronic Titling Fee, & (here's the best one) Vehicle must be financed through the dealership financing institutions or a $2,995 market adjustment cost will be applied.

Incredible. Hard to swallow the extremely over priced market and obscene dealer requirements/add ons.

Michaell · July 2023

My wife and I were talking about the car market yesterday - I told her I don't know what we'd do if we had to buy/lease another car, given how expensive everything is at the moment.

No way would I be able to get an Elantra/Jetta lease for $225/mo like I did in the past - those are probably $300-350/mo these days. And the used market is just as crazy.

Very happy to have a paid off Outback with only 57,000 miles on it - and only adding 6-7K per year.

laurasdada · July 2023

Straightforward deal on the M240, no geegaws or additional fees. $499 doc fee, that was it. Offered "Protection Pkg," declined.
Decent price, for these times.
Oh, going back to dealer, wheel bearings/hub fixed, but now right rear blinker flaking out. It's a long drive, but a beautiful day and a 2er convertible!

laurasdada · July 2023

And, a dealer in Queens:

"Special advertised price is for financing ONLY and does not include the minimum 10% down payment... All other and cash buyers must add 10% to the advertised price to get the total sale price!!!!

jmonroe1 · July 2023

@nyccarguy said:
This 2007 Acura TSX caught my eye. What also caught my eye is the fine print. $999 Doc Fee, $228 Electronic Titling Fee, & (here's the best one) Vehicle must be financed through the dealership financing institutions or a $2,995 market adjustment cost will be applied.

————————————————
And even being a Honda it’s still half used up with 90K plus miles. Easy pass for me with half the add ons.

jmonroe

corvette · July 2023

Girlfriend got her windshield replaced yesterday, at the shop that has put in at least five windshields for me over the years. Had to drop it off so they could recalibrate the ADAS--I guess mobile windshield replacements are becoming a thing of the past. She wasn't happy because there was a whistling noise afterwards. I found loose trim pieces on both sides and pressed them in, so we'll see whether that fixes it, but one of them is bulging slightly, like the windshield adhesive is globbed up underneath (I didn't try to pull it off to check).

To top it all off, there was tree sap at the top of the A-pillar, which we removed with some rubbing alcohol.

oldfarmer50 · July 2023

nyccarguy said:
This 2007 Acura TSX caught my eye. What also caught my eye is the fine print. $999 Doc Fee, $228 Electronic Titling Fee, & (here's the best one) Vehicle must be financed through the dealership financing institutions or a $2,995 market adjustment cost will be applied.

OK, I thought the doc fee was for the time and effort to do the paperwork and registration? Why a separate electronic titling fee? I can imagine what the finance rate is if they slap a $3k market adjustment on there if you don’t take their financing. Sounds like a BHPH operation.

xwesx · July 2023

laurasdada said:
Straightforward deal on the M240, no geegaws or additional fees. $499 doc fee, that was it. Offered "Protection Pkg," declined.
Decent price, for these times.
Oh, going back to dealer, wheel bearings/hub fixed, but now right rear blinker flaking out. It's a long drive, but a beautiful day and a 2er convertible!

BMWs are notorious for running out of blinker fluid.

28firefighter · July 2023

@laurasdada said:
Straightforward deal on the M240, no geegaws or additional fees. $499 doc fee, that was it. Offered "Protection Pkg," declined.
Decent price, for these times.
Oh, going back to dealer, wheel bearings/hub fixed, but now right rear blinker flaking out. It's a long drive, but a beautiful day and a 2er convertible!

Are you getting the occasional “right rear turn signal malfunction” warning? Read that it’s a fairly common thing - I haven’t seen it on mine yet, but I assume I will.

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

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