Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

roadburner · August 2023

Back in 1979 I had a chance to buy a pristine Isetta 300- complete with a factory service manual (in German). For $1,000. I wish I had nabbed it.

ab348 · August 2023

@Sandman6472 , I take it you had Goodyear Eagles on the VW and replaced 3 of them yesterday? What brand & model of tire did you choose?

mjfloyd1 · August 2023

@ab348 said:
@Sandman6472 , I take it you had Goodyear Eagles on the VW and replaced 3 of them yesterday? What brand & model of tire did you choose?

Good question- up here tires plus sells Bridgestone and Firestone.

I would not be good to have 3 Bridgestone/ Firestone and one Goodyear.

laurasdada · August 2023

roadburner said:

@laurasdada said:

I think I'm past my multiple coats of Zaino days (and, in hindsight, I think the ex was truly upset in how well I took care of the cars vs the interior of the house), but just went out to clean the wheels of the M240 and the windshield/rear screen.

Gonna get the A7 washed tonight, it's old folks' day at the wash. Followed up with a trip to BJs and likely some unhealthy food.

At 66 I still want my cars to look nice. I spent a bit of time preparing the Club Sport for the Keeneland Concours- even pulling the wheels to clean them front and rear. My other priority is the C43. The rest of the fleet looks decent- especially my wife’s X1:

Lovely. I agree, I'm sad when my cars aren't shiny clean. But, I've gone from Zaino'ing quite frequently to 2x yearly Meguire's and/or NuFinish (which does seem to last and last). I do keep 'em clean, and use detailer (still have Z-6 and Meguire's dry wash/wax, e.g.)
But, given the tidy size of the 2'er, I'm thinking of maybe Zaino again. Unlike my last couple of residences, I can again hand wash my car (unlike last year, HOA didn't ban that this year). Poor design though, closest spigot is ~50 feet from driveway.

kyfdx · August 2023

mjfloyd1 said:

@ab348 said:
@Sandman6472 , I take it you had Goodyear Eagles on the VW and replaced 3 of them yesterday? What brand & model of tire did you choose?

Good question- up here tires plus sells Bridgestone and Firestone.

I would not be good to have 3 Bridgestone/ Firestone and one Goodyear.

Bridgestone owns Tires Plus (just like the Firestone store)

nyccarguy · August 2023

Oh yeah! I’m so happy with how this came out!

Michaell · August 2023

nyccarguy said:
Oh yeah! I’m so happy with how this came out!

Looks great!

Remind us again how you'll clear the snow off of it in the winter?

corvette · August 2023

Great looking driveway, @nyccarguy !

And, I still need to clay bar the Maverick and put a coat or two of Zaino on it. I don’t think it’s had a hand wash since I got it.

mjfloyd1 · August 2023

@kyfdx said:
Bridgestone owns Tires Plus (just like the Firestone store)

Awkward

Well that explains it😂

mjfloyd1 · August 2023

@nyccarguy said:
Oh yeah! I’m so happy with how this came out!

Looks good. How long till the advertising comes down?😂

28firefighter · August 2023

This looks great, @nyccarguy

akangl · August 2023

Put me down for 2 punches. We sold the 2019 Silverado and purchased a 2007 Honda Pilot. The Pilot was actually a decent deal, its 2wd and has a sizable dent in the driver's side door plus a few other lumps and bumps but with only 146k it runs amazing. We picked it up for $2800 from a small used car dealer that I know. Figured we will keep that in Alaska for when we visit or hubby is there for work, keeps us from needing a rental car.

Moved to Costa Rica for good this month and bought a 2018 Nissan Frontier crew cab diesel 2wd with 114k km on it. One owner, super nice truck, paid $26k usd for it which considering the market down here was pretty cheap.

Nice to own both vehicles and 1 house outright. Now if we could just get the kid in the other house renting it or better yet get her to buy it, life would be even better!

oldfarmer50 · August 2023

ab348 said:
@Sandman6472 , I take it you had Goodyear Eagles on the VW and replaced 3 of them yesterday? What brand & model of tire did you choose?

I heard an interesting tire story today from our guy who also works at the Mercedes store. He had to return a car to a customer after service. He said it was something like a 2020 GLC 63 AMG blackout edition (anybody ever hear of a model like that?). All the badging and especially the wheels were black.

Well, it seems that the owner’s kid was driving it and ran it into a hole and blew out the two passenger’s side low profile tires. He continued driving and ruined the wheels too. The owner wanted the car back right away and the two wheels and tires were special order so she told them to just put on what they had available because she was driving into Manhattan to sell it.

Thus this expensive car had black on one side and chrome on the other with two different types of tire on each side. The total bill was $5700.

Also when he got into the car to deliver it he found that it had not been inspected since 2021.

oldfarmer50 · August 2023

corvette said:
Great looking driveway, @nyccarguy !

And, I still need to clay bar the Maverick and put a coat or two of Zaino on it. I don’t think it’s had a hand wash since I got it.

Yeah, I have to scrub the tree sap and mold off my cargo van. Now that I got rid of the CEL and gained AC I might even go to work putting Bondo on some of the rust holes.😜

oldfarmer50 · August 2023

nyccarguy said:
Oh yeah! I’m so happy with how this came out!

Nice job and nice house.

roadburner · August 2023

If it was a GLC 63 it was probably had the Night Package. It's sad that so many really nice cars end up with people who bought them to wear. Back in 2007 I reviewed the new 3er convertible and I wrote that it would sell like hotcakes even if it had the driving dynamics of a Cobalt. I think that little has changed.

jmonroe1 · August 2023

nyccarguy said:
Oh yeah! I’m so happy with how this came out!

————————————————
Looks very nice.

When will it be road worthy so you can break it in with some tire scorch marks?

jmonroe

stickguy · August 2023

we were scheduled to go tomorrow morning early to contract on one of the new houses we saw. So decided to throw the granddog in the car and go look at the area again (the wife wanted a better feel for it, which is smart, since she never seems to know where she is up here still!)

anyway, good thing we did, because for a few reasons we were not nearly as enthused about the lot/neighborhood. Would have been OK but we really thought through the nitty gritty and decided it may not be right for us.

Then on the way back we drove past the other new build we were considering and almost pulled the trigger on but got cold feet. And realized it was going to come out very nice once the street was done. And regretted letting the lot hold go.

then we came home and realized the 2nd house (nice lot) had more things we really wanted (both of us compromised on our dreams for the one we were signing for tomorrow). And she admitted that at least one item would bug her from day 1 (we have it now and she hates it).

so instead of compromising or feeling pressured we backed out of the meeting tomorrow. And if the original place is still available (better be or my wife will kill me!) we will go ahead and lock it up. If not, will just keep looking!

but houses, like cars, better to take extra time really thinking it through instead of rushing in. And definitely don't talk yourself into giving up something important!

breld · August 2023

Definitely good to think through a house purchase. Cars? I don’t know…much easier to get out of a poor choice there.

By the way, here is what is consuming all our time these days. We decided not to wait to fill that void in our house and hearts from our dearly departed pup. My wife found a breeder and puppy she loved up in Washington, so flew up to Sea-Tac a couple Saturdays ago and flew back with this little beauty…

stickguy · August 2023

oh my she (he?) is adorable. What breed is that?

we are baby sitting our grand puppy this week. he is a small 1.5 YO golden doodle. cute and sweet, but nuts (to anyone walking by and does not like meeting other dogs on leash, making walking him often an adventure!)

corvette · August 2023

Aww, is that a Corgi?

@stickguy - that seems a little young to dislike other dogs, and uncommon for that breed, I think? My mixed-breed rescue doggo is 13 and supposedly started fighting with other dogs in her former household at about two years of age. I got her when she was three or four, after she was surrendered due to that behavior.

roadburner · August 2023

My dog is a border collie/shepherd mix. He hates other dogs that intrude on "his" homestead.

breld · August 2023

Thank you! Yes, she is a Corgi. She’s just over 3 months old and we will have had her 2 weeks this Saturday.

corvette · August 2023

roadburner said:
My dog is a border collie/shepherd mix. He hates other dogs that intrude on "his" homestead.

If the other dogs act friendly, she takes it as a sign of dominance or aggression, and responds with aggression. If they are extremely submissive, she thinks they are her best friend (even if they are showing no interest). She has tolerated a couple of friendly neighbor dogs because she's seen them from a distance many times, and believes they are trustworthy.

The male Golden Doodle next door was really enamored with her, and jumped out of a moving Jeep to try to get better acquainted. She whined a bit, but overall handled the greeting OK, but then looked up at me like "what is that dumb Chicken Nugget looking dog doing?"

stickguy · August 2023

He actually gets along great with other dogs. If he knows them, or meets off leash. and once introduced (even on leash) will be fine. He just loses his marbles if a dog (or some people) walk by the house, or especially if we are walking and a dog comes by. Sounds scarier than he really is (not aggressive really, just loud).

Basically he has a screw loose.

jmonroe1 · August 2023

stickguy said:
He actually gets along great with other dogs. If he knows them, or meets off leash. and once introduced (even on leash) will be fine. He just loses his marbles if a dog (or some people) walk by the house, or especially if we are walking and a dog comes by. Sounds scarier than he really is (not aggressive really, just loud).

Basically he has a screw loose.

___________________________________________________________________________

I wonder where he got that?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · September 2023

breld said:
Definitely good to think through a house purchase. Cars? I don’t know…much easier to get out of a poor choice there.

By the way, here is what is consuming all our time these days. We decided not to wait to fill that void in our house and hearts from our dearly departed pup. My wife found a breeder and puppy she loved up in Washington, so flew up to Sea-Tac a couple Saturdays ago and flew back with this little beauty…

Cute.

oldfarmer50 · September 2023

roadburner said:
My dog is a border collie/shepherd mix. He hates other dogs that intrude on "his" homestead.

I had a visit from a couple of Verizon salesmen unannounced yesterday. They left after I told them no thanks and my cat followed them almost out to the street to make sure they kept moving. He must have sensed my distain for door to door solicitors.

ab348 · September 2023

My neighbor/buddy across the street finally got a new-to-him vehicle after his old Acura that he inherited from his late mother finally bit the dust. A golf buddy sold him their 2020 M-B GLS300 that his wife had been driving once she decided she needed something bigger to haul around the kids and their friends and their stuff (sounds familiar). As he tells it, the husband said that he had learned that when she starts to demand something like that, he needs to respond quickly or life becomes very unhappy (also familiar). He wasn't sure what the replacement is but from how he described it, it sounds like a GLS.

Anyway, he brought it home yesterday and was showing it off. It is very handsome, dark gray metallic, black inside (unfortunate but spotlessly clean), new tires and brakes, plus a set of winter wheels and snows. Not sure of the exact mileage but I believe it is just under 60K. Looks almost brand new.

nyccarguy · September 2023

Question for the group. When I brought the Highlander in for service last week, they said the fronts had the better tread depth and don’t need to be rotated. The following is the tread depth they measured:

LF - 6/32nds
RF - 4/32nds
LR - 4/32nds
RR - 4/32nds

At that tread depth, I feel like the tires aren’t shot yet, but they do have 35,000 miles on them. Most likely I’m going to have to replace them before the winter. Costco has an excellent price on Michelin Cross Climate 2s that includes installation plus Michelin offers an additional mail in (email in) rebate if you buy their tires from an authorized Michelin Dealer, which Costco is. I think I should take the plunge. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

My parents have these Cross Climate 2s on my Mom’s Lexus RX. They are quiet, have a severe snow rating (even though they are all season) and a 60K treadlife warranty from Michelin. Plus Costco includes road hazard protection.

stickguy · September 2023

I think you should trade it in and get a new car!

Hey, it’s only (your, not mine) money.

But actually have heard nothing but great things about those tires sand if I ever need new ones would likely get them since I actually live in snow country now.

stickguy · September 2023

Oh, that is in the range where I too would change preemptively before winter, but if this was say April I would run them through the summer. So unless the deal was great I would probably wait until about turkey day to do it.

tjc78 · September 2023

I’ve said it before, out of all the different makes of tires I’ve had Michelin have always been the best.

explorerx4 · September 2023

@nyccarguy,
Driveway looks great. No Taco in sig yet?
Yesterday I saw 5 objects in the sky.
Four were close to each other(at first i thought it was one object) and another trailing, all at a constant distance.
Then I remembered the pattern of the paint scheme. It was a Thunderbirds practicing for the Cleveland Air Show.

oldfarmer50 · September 2023

Another question for the group.

What would a fair private party price be on a 2023 Camary SE with less than 10k miles? Dealer maintained under a service contract. Perfect condition.

corvette · September 2023

@nyccarguy - I'd replace them ASAP. That's about the same tread depth as the old tires on the Prius, and they felt fine on wet roads, until they weren't.

I'm a big fan of the non-winter tires with the three peak mountain snowflake. I had a set of those on the Tahoe and never needed to turn on 4WD in the snow.

Michaell · September 2023

@nyccarguy - I've got the CrossClimate2's on the Outback. Only 6-7K on them in the past year but I love them.

tjc78 · September 2023

@oldfarmer50 said:
Another question for the group.

What would a fair private party price be on a 2023 Camary SE with less than 10k miles? Dealer maintained under a service contract. Perfect condition.

I’d run it through one of the online sites (Carvana, etc) and then gauge from there.

I’d be willing to think not much less than original MSRP.

I had one of those as a rental earlier in the year and liked it.

nyccarguy · September 2023

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,
Driveway looks great. No Taco in sig yet?
Yesterday I saw 5 objects in the sky.
Four were close to each other(at first i thought it was one object) and another trailing, all at a constant distance.
Then I remembered the pattern of the paint scheme. It was a Thunderbirds practicing for the Cleveland Air Show.

Yikes - it has been a few weeks already and I haven’t updated my signature line.

nyccarguy · September 2023

Thanks all for the kind compliments about my driveway.

nyccarguy · September 2023

@stickguy said:
I think you should trade it in and get a new car!

Hey, it’s only (your, not mine) money.

But actually have heard nothing but great things about those tires sand if I ever need new ones would likely get them since I actually live in snow country now.

No silly @stickguy - I’m supposed to have the new tires put on, drive it for a month or two, then stumble upon a fantastic deal on something bigger AND get a great price for the Highlander.

oldfarmer50 · September 2023

tjc78 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Another question for the group.

What would a fair private party price be on a 2023 Camary SE with less than 10k miles? Dealer maintained under a service contract. Perfect condition.

I’d run it through one of the online sites (Carvana, etc) and then gauge from there.

I’d be willing to think not much less than original MSRP.

I had one of those as a rental earlier in the year and liked it.

Carvana would offer a trade-in price. Comparable retail prices on Autotempest are in the $29-30k range. The person who owns one says he still owes $28k on the loan so it sounds like a private party purchase at that price wouldn’t be any great bargain compared to a dealer.

I would much rather buy it from him 2-3 years down the road when the value is in the low $20k range.

explorerx4 · September 2023

I did a search on KBB, 500 mile radius from me, and found only 5 PP 2023 Camry's for sale.
Some other sites also list private party sales.
Lowest price was 29,500.
Not many available.

pensfan83 · September 2023

@stickguy said:
I think you should trade it in and get a new car!

Hey, it’s only (your, not mine) money.

But actually have heard nothing but great things about those tires sand if I ever need new ones would likely get them since I actually live in snow country now.

There's a clean RDX available in the DC area he can buy.

https://www.radleyacura.com/auto/used-2020-acura-rdx-aspec-package-falls-church-va/80862872/

EDIT: I did not turn in the car with cleaning solution all over the place.

pensfan83 · September 2023

@nyccarguy said:
Thanks all for the kind compliments about my driveway.

It looks great!

fintail · September 2023

ab348 said:
My neighbor/buddy across the street finally got a new-to-him vehicle after his old Acura that he inherited from his late mother finally bit the dust. A golf buddy sold him their 2020 M-B GLS300 that his wife had been driving once she decided she needed something bigger to haul around the kids and their friends and their stuff (sounds familiar). As he tells it, the husband said that he had learned that when she starts to demand something like that, he needs to respond quickly or life becomes very unhappy (also familiar). He wasn't sure what the replacement is but from how he described it, it sounds like a GLS.

Anyway, he brought it home yesterday and was showing it off. It is very handsome, dark gray metallic, black inside (unfortunate but spotlessly clean), new tires and brakes, plus a set of winter wheels and snows. Not sure of the exact mileage but I believe it is just under 60K. Looks almost brand new.

GLC300 maybe? I think the lowest number GLS is a 450 - too much mass for a 4cyl to move around with any urgency.

sda · September 2023

@ab348 What is the highest speed limit in your country, 110 kmh?

tifighter · September 2023

When you realize Mom’s car doesn’t have massage seats -

Michaell · September 2023

Member needs help with a Lemon Law situation

roadburner · September 2023

nyccarguy said:
Question for the group. When I brought the Highlander in for service last week, they said the fronts had the better tread depth and don’t need to be rotated. The following is the tread depth they measured:

LF - 6/32nds

RF - 4/32nds

LR - 4/32nds

RR - 4/32nds

At that tread depth, I feel like the tires aren’t shot yet, but they do have 35,000 miles on them. Most likely I’m going to have to replace them before the winter. Costco has an excellent price on Michelin Cross Climate 2s that includes installation plus Michelin offers an additional mail in (email in) rebate if you buy their tires from an authorized Michelin Dealer, which Costco is. I think I should take the plunge. Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?

My parents have these Cross Climate 2s on my Mom’s Lexus RX. They are quiet, have a severe snow rating (even though they are all season) and a 60K treadlife warranty from Michelin. Plus Costco includes road hazard protection.

Go with the Michelin CC2s.

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

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