Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

stickguy · October 26

Rats. This is looking like my 2nd year in a row without a punch. I might get booted.

I actually buy houses more frequently than cars lately!

oldfarmer50 · October 27

28firefighter said:
Alrighty, so for part 2.

For a relatively long time, I have been interested in a small pickup. Years ago I test drove the previous generation Tacoma Off Road and felt like the engine was a bit anemic and the ride would be too punishing for my daily commute. Friday afternoon I ran up to one of the million local dealers and drove a TRD Off Road with Premium Package. It was awesome - new 2.4L Turbo 4 is quite peppy, the truck handles dramatically better, the cabin is near silent, and enough gadgets with the Premium package to keep everyone happy.

I started looking to see if I could find one in the color I wanted - Bronze Oxide or Underground. I found both at two different stores, but the Bronze Oxide color was a non-starter for my better half. The store with "bad color" truck offered me a crazy price - like $3k below invoice making the lease sub-$500 with registration and first month at signing on a $56k truck (dang these have gotten expensive, by the way). The store with the Underground colored truck was super responsive, easy to deal with, and I told them if they could match the other store, I'd be there within the hour. They said OK, so I said OK.

2 hours later I drove off with this..

Yes, this is a complete 180. Yes I am crazy. Yes, parlaying cars like this has been profitable so far this year.

Congrats! Nice truck but quite a difference for you.

nyccarguy · October 27

@graphicguy - I do think Apple hardware is very high quality. Computers. Laptops. The iPhones are good too. Some of their stuff is garbage and just doesn’t last. AirPods that constantly cease to function or charge. Even my daughter’s AirPods Max had to have one side replaced under AppleCare.

nyccarguy · October 27

@corvette said:
@Michaell - I think so... we're at 26 for the year, so far.

How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

graphicguy · October 27

@nyccarguy said:
@graphicguy - I do think Apple hardware is very high quality. Computers. Laptops. The iPhones are good too. Some of their stuff is garbage and just doesn’t last. AirPods that constantly cease to function or charge. Even my daughter’s AirPods Max had to have one side replaced under AppleCare.

I understand!!

I’m not an “every day” user of Apple’s headphone products. I use them, but sparingly!

Apple Computer, TV and iPhone products I use daily. So, I’ve more experience with them. Given I spent a good amount of career time with AMD, I especially saw the difference between HP, DELL, etc products compared to Apple’s. Build, quality, durability of Apple products are unparalleled in comparison!

dbeck · October 27

Congrats @28firefighter, great choice, enjoy!

corvette · October 27

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.

au1994 · October 27

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.

Unless the lottery pays off, I won’t be contributing this year either.

Michaell · October 27

au1994 said:

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.
Unless the lottery pays off, I won’t be contributing this year either.

Ditto.

graphicguy · October 27

28firefighter said:
Alrighty, so for part 2.

For a relatively long time, I have been interested in a small pickup. Years ago I test drove the previous generation Tacoma Off Road and felt like the engine was a bit anemic and the ride would be too punishing for my daily commute. Friday afternoon I ran up to one of the million local dealers and drove a TRD Off Road with Premium Package. It was awesome - new 2.4L Turbo 4 is quite peppy, the truck handles dramatically better, the cabin is near silent, and enough gadgets with the Premium package to keep everyone happy.

I started looking to see if I could find one in the color I wanted - Bronze Oxide or Underground. I found both at two different stores, but the Bronze Oxide color was a non-starter for my better half. The store with "bad color" truck offered me a crazy price - like $3k below invoice making the lease sub-$500 with registration and first month at signing on a $56k truck (dang these have gotten expensive, by the way). The store with the Underground colored truck was super responsive, easy to deal with, and I told them if they could match the other store, I'd be there within the hour. They said OK, so I said OK.

2 hours later I drove off with this..

Yes, this is a complete 180. Yes I am crazy. Yes, parlaying cars like this has been profitable so far this year.

NIIIIIICE!!!!!!! Congrats on the punch!

nyccarguy · October 27

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.

Punch pending! Picking up on Thursday!

stickguy · October 27

Bradd helping out! Can’t let 28 and Breld carry all the load.

tjc78 · October 27

Congrats @28firefighter ... once you get a truck it is tough to go back!

Michaell · October 27

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.
Punch pending! Picking up on Thursday!

Hmm, what did you end up with? I know you've been posting a lot of lease questions lately.

28firefighter · October 27

@tjc78 said:
Congrats @28firefighter ... once you get a truck it is tough to go back!

I’m super happy so far!

kyfdx · October 27

28firefighter said:

@tjc78 said:

Congrats @28firefighter ... once you get a truck it is tough to go back!

I’m super happy so far!

Is that four punches for you, this year?

nyccarguy · October 27

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.
Punch pending! Picking up on Thursday!
Hmm, what did you end up with? I know you've been posting a lot of lease questions lately.

let's just say 2 of the cars I've been asking questions about are very similar. One has a higher sticker price with more generous rebates, as well money factor that's significantly less than the other. I was also able to negotiate a healthy discount off the MSRP while I believe the other similar car sells very close to MSRP. I'll post back in the "lease questions" forum once I take delivery.

Guesses anybody?

Michaell · October 27

nyccarguy said:

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

nyccarguy said:
How does that compare to this point last year? We need to forecast for the annual stockholder’s meeting;)-

Down significantly... looks like we were at 34 this time last year.
Punch pending! Picking up on Thursday!
Hmm, what did you end up with? I know you've been posting a lot of lease questions lately.
let's just say 2 of the cars I've been asking questions about are very similar. One has a higher sticker price with more generous rebates, as well money factor that's significantly less than the other. I was also able to negotiate a healthy discount off the MSRP while I believe the other similar car sells very close to MSRP. I'll post back in the "lease questions" forum once I take delivery.

Guesses anybody?

I will recuse myself since I know where he's been asking questions.

28firefighter · October 27

My powers of deduction say…

No just kidding. I looked at your post history. I’ll recuse, too.

stickguy · October 27

Guessing it is not one of the scores of well used Lexi and Hondas you posted links to.

jmonroe1 · October 27

stickguy said:
I mostly want a new phone to get longer battery life. Other than that mine is perfectly fine. I don't need a fancier camera and I doubt I will notice the difference in processors.

————————————————
You can always do what I did last December and I’m glad I did it.

I have an old phone (think at least a 7 year old iPhone SE). So, decided to have a battery installed. I think I payed $88 plus tax. The guy said he only installs top notch batteries. He also said he’s gotten a few complaints about his price being 15 to 20 bucks more than the guy down the street. He got tired of folks complaining that the battery he installed 6 months prior was bad so he wised up and started buying the good ones. No more returning bad batteries and fighting with the suppliers and to say nothing about having to install a replacement again. He said it’s not worth the work and aggravation. He now has a rep of supplying top notch batteries.

I guess you get what you pay for.

jmonroe

tifighter · October 27

@stickguy said:
Bradd helping out! Can’t let 28 and Breld carry all the load.

I’ve had two punches this year and feel inadequate.

xwesx · October 27

28firefighter said:

It’s an easy decision to make and I love the underground color.

The color is fine.... bronze is so much better, though! Darn spouses and their poor tastes. But, hey, if it weren't for that, we probably wouldn't have snagged them in the first place!

laurasdada · October 27

I'm unlikely to buy this year, nothing is floating my boat currently as much as I enjoy my A7 and M240. I did stop by the Aston Martin dealer a couple of weeks ago (after a Cars & Coffee at the exotics dealership... did I already review that? In a nutshell, I was dazzled and felt wholly inadequate and poor), was approached by the rather attractive blond, female sales manager who offered assistance. I'm so proud of my newfound level of maturity as I didn't immediately hand her my wallet and bank account information.

Sat in a '21 DB11 convertible and made vroom vroom noises. Just wasn't overly impressed with the interior, nice materials but seemed a bit spartan. The seats in the BMW are rather more comfortable. And, of course, the AM wouldn't be a four-season car, the xDrive M240 at least offers that option (as I live in an area called The Ridge).

Maybe in '26; the A7 will be paid off (end of my 0% financing) and I can reconcile going electric (Lucid Air, Taycan?). Or the siren call of stylish (exterior) British GTs will become irresistible. Or, finally, a 911?

Stay tuned. In the meantime, I'll enjoy the spur of the moment, seat of their pants exploits of the fine folks here.

Sandman6472 · October 27

Joined Consumer Cellular this afternoon. Senior plan which ended up being $15/month cheaper then AT&T. C C uses AT&T towers so things should stay the same. We've been with AT&T for years, when it was Cingular years ago. But convinced the wife a change was needed and we're saving money on a senior plan to boot. A win/win for us all!

stickguy · October 27

If I really wanted to I could buy something a lot more expensive than I usually shop (without impacting the future, other than a small haircut to the kid's inheritance). Not going Ferrari level, but a used AM or upper scale German. I just don't think I could feel comfortable driving around in one! Plus it would be hard to break that cheap gene syndrome...

plus there really does seem to be a significant law of diminishing returns these days. even at MSRP, you can still get a heck of a nice car for say 65K or 70K. Is there really that much more value add spending 120K on one instead? Especially if you don't drive like Ken Miles at Sebring around town!

stickguy · October 27

when we moved up to NY we got a new cable provider (Spectrum) and needed phones anyway, so we got them through Spectrum mobile for the bundle discount. I think it was $60 for 2 lines, all unlimited. When we moved we dropped cable and went to Fios (Verizon) so the price skyrocketed to $80 all-in a month for the 2 of us.

If we decide to get new phones will take advantage of one of the many promos VZ keeps sending us and sign back up with them (were on VZ for a long time in NJ, until Comcast enticed us away!)

roadburner · October 27

I've been at the BMW Performance Center the last two days. Sunday was the Classic and Motorsport Festival. I displayed the Club Sport and later ran exhibition laps. I never thought I'd sit in a driver's meeting with Bill Auberlen and Connor De Phillippi, so that was fun. Today I drove an M240i, and M340i, an M4 Comp and an X5 M50i. The M240i would probably be the most fun for a DD. In the afternoon we were allowed to take our personal cars out on the track, the cold steady rain convinced me to take a pass. Tonight was a dinner at the BMW CCA Foundation Museum, which is currently featuring an exhibit of classic Alpinas. Tomorrow I join the BMW Classic Car Club on a short tour (including the Tail of the Dragon). It's a diverse bunch, ranging from a 1938 328 to a lot of cars from the 1960-1988 eras. I think my car is the only one owner in the bunch.
Pics to follow.

roadburner · 4:13AM

The Classic and Motorsport Festival:

sda · 4:45AM

Is the meet in SC? Yes, cold rain all day yesterday and probably today. This is the first significant rain in weeks. Go figure.

laurasdada · 7:05AM

stickguy said:
If I really wanted to I could buy something a lot more expensive than I usually shop (without impacting the future, other than a small haircut to the kid's inheritance). Not going Ferrari level, but a used AM or upper scale German. I just don't think I could feel comfortable driving around in one! Plus it would be hard to break that cheap gene syndrome...

plus there really does seem to be a significant law of diminishing returns these days. even at MSRP, you can still get a heck of a nice car for say 65K or 70K. Is there really that much more value add spending 120K on one instead? Especially if you don't drive like Ken Miles at Sebring around town!

I'm quite similar. The British thing is just emotional, a connection to a long ago, simpler time.
Not to mention my Fido adviser telling me to stop saving and start spending... He let me know explicitly that he was not talking about cars, though. Luckily, I understand nothing about personal finance!

laurasdada · 7:13AM

When I retired, had to turn in my company phone (they let me keep the number, thankfully) and I bought an iPhone 16 (heavily subsidized by cashing in award points I had accumulated at work). I signed up for Visible service, owned by Verizon and on their network. Quite inexpensive monthly (I believe I'm at $30/month for Visible+ service) including unlimited talk/text/5g data and more goodies. So far so good.

Just looked, even better deals now. Of course.

jmonroe1 · 9:01AM

stickguy said:
If I really wanted to I could buy something a lot more expensive than I usually shop (without impacting the future, other than a small haircut to the kid's inheritance). Not going Ferrari level, but a used AM or upper scale German. I just don't think I could feel comfortable driving around in one! Plus it would be hard to break that cheap gene syndrome...

plus there really does seem to be a significant law of diminishing returns these days. even at MSRP, you can still get a heck of a nice car for say 65K or 70K. Is there really that much more value add spending 120K on one instead? Especially if you don't drive like Ken Miles at Sebring around town!

————————————————
That all depends on how much value you think there is in a badge. But if the luxo machines have heated and cool seats that respond faster along with a heated steering wheel that responds faster (especially in your area) that could be a must. Then again, how many coffee cans are you willing to dig up and that depends on whether you can you break ground to get them at this time of the year where you live.

jmonroe

stickguy · 9:43AM

One thing my ford does well is heat up. Steering wheel and seats roast you quick.

jmonroe1 · 9:56AM

stickguy said:
One thing my ford does well is heat up. Steering wheel and seats roast you quick.

————————————————
OK, but what about quick-cooling seats? I doubt you have that.

jmonroe

andres3 · 10:23AM

stickguy said:
If I really wanted to I could buy something a lot more expensive than I usually shop (without impacting the future, other than a small haircut to the kid's inheritance). Not going Ferrari level, but a used AM or upper scale German. I just don't think I could feel comfortable driving around in one! Plus it would be hard to break that cheap gene syndrome...

plus there really does seem to be a significant law of diminishing returns these days. even at MSRP, you can still get a heck of a nice car for say 65K or 70K. Is there really that much more value add spending 120K on one instead? Especially if you don't drive like Ken Miles at Sebring around town!

Champagne taste on a beer budget? I am getting spoiled by cars that sticker north of $70K but I would never spend that much (at this point on my budget at this time at least). I get them by getting for example a 7 year old model that originally stickered for around $80-85K I think. It is really nice. I'm glad someone else took the bigger depreciation hit though. For about half that I was able to get one with less than 20K miles and throw in 3 year 36 K platinum no deductible warranty from Lexus Financial.

I look at the Macan as an alternative to say a new S5 which is getting up there in price and has some flaws that likely come from hiring too many bean counters at Audi.

roadburner · 10:41AM

@sda said:
Is the meet in SC? Yes, cold rain all day yesterday and probably today. This is the first significant rain in weeks. Go figure.

Yes; Sunday was nice but it’s been raining ever since. We just completed the plant tour. This is about half of the group:

roadburner · 10:44AM

Lunch break:

ab348 · 12:08PM

stickguy said:
If I really wanted to I could buy something a lot more expensive than I usually shop (without impacting the future, other than a small haircut to the kid's inheritance). Not going Ferrari level, but a used AM or upper scale German. I just don't think I could feel comfortable driving around in one! Plus it would be hard to break that cheap gene syndrome...

plus there really does seem to be a significant law of diminishing returns these days. even at MSRP, you can still get a heck of a nice car for say 65K or 70K. Is there really that much more value add spending 120K on one instead? Especially if you don't drive like Ken Miles at Sebring around town!

Speaking only for myself, as I’ve gotten into my ‘60s I have far less desire to be burning up the roads, to coin a phrase, or canyon carving. When I was younger that was what I wanted but now I’ve grown up. Same with headaches related to exotic/expensive maintenance and repair costs. I can justify something nice with decent performance, but not the ne plus ultra. Money isn’t the issue, just not wanting the pain of having a vehicle too nice or delicate to take out in our winters or being unsuitable for our road and weather conditions. Practicality over prestige or performance is what it comes down to I guess.

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

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