Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Michaell · October 31

28firefighter said:
Treated the 911 to an oil change and manual transmission fluid change today. They said they went over it top to bottom and that it’s unbelievably clean. Like new. I’m not winterizing it yet in hopes I can get a bit more driving in.

The Tacoma is a winner so far - my wife took it from me today and declared it drives better than the Jeep (which seems more an indictment of the Jeep than the driving quality of the Tacoma). Also getting shockingly good fuel economy on it. Full thoughts coming soon.

Gotta update that signature line!

stickguy · October 31

Bradd, does the integra come with blind spot monitors?

jmonroe1 · October 31

28firefighter said:
Treated the 911 to an oil change and manual transmission fluid change today. They said they went over it top to bottom and that it’s unbelievably clean. Like new. I’m not winterizing it yet in hopes I can get a bit more driving in.

The Tacoma is a winner so far - my wife took it from me today and declared it drives better than the Jeep (which seems more an indictment of the Jeep than the driving quality of the Tacoma). Also getting shockingly good fuel economy on it. Full thoughts coming soon.

——————————————————-
@breld’s reasoning would be he isn’t sure he’ll still have the car come Winter.

jmonroe

Michaell · October 31

jmonroe1 said:

28firefighter said:
Treated the 911 to an oil change and manual transmission fluid change today. They said they went over it top to bottom and that it’s unbelievably clean. Like new. I’m not winterizing it yet in hopes I can get a bit more driving in.

The Tacoma is a winner so far - my wife took it from me today and declared it drives better than the Jeep (which seems more an indictment of the Jeep than the driving quality of the Tacoma). Also getting shockingly good fuel economy on it. Full thoughts coming soon.

——————————————————-
@breld’s reasoning would be he isn’t sure he’ll still have the car come Winter.

jmonroe

If I'm not mistaken, @breld is coming up on 1 year of ownership of his 911.

benjaminh · November 1

@nyccarguy Congrats! Welcome back to Acura.

nyccarguy · November 1

benjaminh said:
@nyccarguy Congrats! Welcome back to Acura.

Thanks!

nyccarguy · November 1

stickguy said:
Bradd, does the integra come with blind spot monitors?

Yes. It does. One of the reasons I stayed away from a Civic LX & Accord LX is because those models don't have blind spot monitors. You need to step up to the Sport model. The Integra's lease program, available discounts, & incentives were just that much better.

ab348 · November 1

My Caddy has blind spot monitors but I have to say I find them pretty useless because they only appear in the outside mirrors where you would see the other vehicle anyway if you were looking in those. AFAIK there is no audible or other warning beyond this:

benjaminh · November 1

The list price on a base Integra with red paint is slightly more than $35,000, and that means that a lease at $350 a month gets to that elusive 1% goal. I got to that way back in 2018 with my TLX.

@nyccarguy are you thinking you'll only keep the Integra for the 3 years of the lease, or is there a chance you might buy it for the residual at the end? My residual ended up being a good deal.

Any more impressions of the Integra in terms of driving dynamics or anything else you care to share?

sda · November 1

28firefighter said:
Treated the 911 to an oil change and manual transmission fluid change today. They said they went over it top to bottom and that it’s unbelievably clean. Like new. I’m not winterizing it yet in hopes I can get a bit more driving in.

The Tacoma is a winner so far - my wife took it from me today and declared it drives better than the Jeep (which seems more an indictment of the Jeep than the driving quality of the Tacoma). Also getting shockingly good fuel economy on it. Full thoughts coming soon.

Have you already handed off the BMW to someone else?

nyccarguy · November 1

benjaminh said:
The list price on a base Integra with red paint is slightly more than $35,000, and that means that a lease at $350 a month gets to that elusive 1% goal. I got to that way back in 2018 with my TLX.

@nyccarguy are you thinking you'll only keep the Integra for the 3 years of the lease, or is there a chance you might buy it for the residual at the end? My residual ended up being a good deal.

Any more impressions of the Integra in terms of driving dynamics or anything else you care to share?

The sticker on my Integra is $34,195. I took a 39 month lease. Leasing with Acura gives some degree of flexibility. You can extend 6 months, If you lease another Acura they forgive up to 1/2 of the over miles (up to a certain point), or I can buy it out. The residual after 39 months is $19,149.20 + 6.35% sales tax. Let's see how the car holds up and what kind of condition it is in after 39 months. I've got time to think about it. Honestly I haven't driven the Integra since I picked it up on Thursday night. We had torrential rain and lots of wind on Thursday. The roads were just a mess with twigs and leaves all over the place on Friday. I'll try to drive it one day next week and post my thoughts.

Until then:

au1994 · November 1

I swear the Prelude is laughing at the others having to live out in the elements.

Michaell · November 1

Yeah, I'm trying to get the garage cleaned out after our basement project so I can get the Outback into it, before the snow starts.

(fun fact - the average date of the first snow in Denver is October 18. It's now the 1st of November and not one flake here in the city. Lots of snow up in the mountains, already.)

oldfarmer50 · November 1

Michaell said:
Yeah, I'm trying to get the garage cleaned out after our basement project so I can get the Outback into it, before the snow starts.

(fun fact - the average date of the first snow in Denver is October 18. It's now the 1st of November and not one flake here in the city. Lots of snow up in the mountains, already.)

Doesn’t CO snow come and go where you have a foot one day and then it’s 70 the next and it all melts?

Where I am once it starts snowing we usually have it until next spring.

andres3 · November 1

All that shiny new metal out there. I have some shiny new metal, but it's limited to my new rear brakes, rear vented rotors on, new ISweep 3000 pads, Motul 600 brake fluid flush, and I'm ready to drive unlimitedly pedal to the metal in a few weeks.

Michaell · November 1

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:
Yeah, I'm trying to get the garage cleaned out after our basement project so I can get the Outback into it, before the snow starts.

(fun fact - the average date of the first snow in Denver is October 18. It's now the 1st of November and not one flake here in the city. Lots of snow up in the mountains, already.)
Doesn’t CO snow come and go where you have a foot one day and then it’s 70 the next and it all melts?

Where I am once it starts snowing we usually have it until next spring.

Exactly. Makes living here somewhat bearable. I think some of it has to do with the altitude.

In the 30+ years I've lived here, we've had exactly one winter where the snow wouldn't stop, and didn't melt until spring.

jmonroe1 · November 1

Michaell said:

jmonroe1 said:

28firefighter said:
Treated the 911 to an oil change and manual transmission fluid change today. They said they went over it top to bottom and that it’s unbelievably clean. Like new. I’m not winterizing it yet in hopes I can get a bit more driving in.

The Tacoma is a winner so far - my wife took it from me today and declared it drives better than the Jeep (which seems more an indictment of the Jeep than the driving quality of the Tacoma). Also getting shockingly good fuel economy on it. Full thoughts coming soon.

——————————————————-
@breld’s reasoning would be he isn’t sure he’ll still have the car come Winter.

jmonroe
If I'm not mistaken, @breld is coming up on 1 year of ownership of his 911.

——————————————————
Then he’ll see, like the rest of us, what it’s like holding onto a car until it needs maintenance.

jmonroe

28firefighter · November 1

@sda just about. It’s 2/3 of the way through the transfer process. Will be gone this week I expect.

roadburner · November 1

One of the guys on the tour owns a lot of extremely nice classic BMWs. I've known him for decades and during a conversation I mentioned that I always liked the E12 M535i:

He tells me that he has one that needs some work- along with a new M interior and a 520i parts car- and he goes on to say that he'd like to see it go to someone who would appreciate it.
Now to figure out a way to get it into my garage without risking a divorce...

jmonroe1 · November 1

nyccarguy said:

benjaminh said:
The list price on a base Integra with red paint is slightly more than $35,000, and that means that a lease at $350 a month gets to that elusive 1% goal. I got to that way back in 2018 with my TLX.

@nyccarguy are you thinking you'll only keep the Integra for the 3 years of the lease, or is there a chance you might buy it for the residual at the end? My residual ended up being a good deal.

Any more impressions of the Integra in terms of driving dynamics or anything else you care to share?
The sticker on my Integra is $34,195. I took a 39 month lease. Leasing with Acura gives some degree of flexibility. You can extend 6 months, If you lease another Acura they forgive up to 1/2 of the over miles (up to a certain point), or I can buy it out. The residual after 39 months is $19,149.20 + 6.35% sales tax. Let's see how the car holds up and what kind of condition it is in after 39 months. I've got time to think about it. Honestly I haven't driven the Integra since I picked it up on Thursday night. We had torrential rain and lots of wind on Thursday. The roads were just a mess with twigs and leaves all over the place on Friday. I'll try to drive it one day next week and post my thoughts.

Until then:

——————————————————
That garage looks high enough that you can install a 4-post lift. That would give you another parking spot. It would be a shame to waste that space. Plus oil changes would be a snap.

jmonroe

Michaell · November 1

@roadburner said:
One of the guys on the tour owns a lot of extremely nice classic BMWs. I've known him for decades and during a conversation I mentioned that I always liked the E12 M535i:

He tells me that he has one that needs some work- along with a new M interior and a 520i parts car- and he goes on to say that he'd like to see it go to someone who would appreciate it.
Now to figure out a way to get it into my garage without risking a divorce...

This seems like a classic forgiveness vs permission scenario.

xwesx · November 1

roadburner said:
He tells me that he has one that needs some work- along with a new M interior and a 520i parts car- and he goes on to say that he'd like to see it go to someone who would appreciate it.
Now to figure out a way to get it into my garage without risking a divorce...

I'd spin the retirement aspect... a retired man needs projects to keep him busy.

stickguy · November 1

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:
Yeah, I'm trying to get the garage cleaned out after our basement project so I can get the Outback into it, before the snow starts.

(fun fact - the average date of the first snow in Denver is October 18. It's now the 1st of November and not one flake here in the city. Lots of snow up in the mountains, already.)
Doesn’t CO snow come and go where you have a foot one day and then it’s 70 the next and it all melts?

Where I am once it starts snowing we usually have it until next spring.

Don't remind me.

cdnpinhead · November 1

oldfarmer50 said:
Where I am once it starts snowing we usually have it until next spring.

Yeah, that's what it was like in Edmonton too. The November snow was still there in March, just at the bottom of the pile. No chemical or salt was going to melt it on the roads -- just sand. Snow had to be hauled off; it wasn't going to melt.

Michaell · November 1

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:
Where I am once it starts snowing we usually have it until next spring.
Yeah, that's what it was like in Edmonton too. The November snow was still there in March, just at the bottom of the pile. No chemical or salt was going to melt it on the roads -- just sand. Snow had to be hauled off; it wasn't going to melt.

I remember spending a week in Winnipeg one February, many years ago, and was astonished at how tall the snow piles were in the parking lots.

graphicguy · November 2

nyccarguy said:
And the epic conclusion. Without further ado. My 2025 Performance Red/Black Acura Integra:

More details to follow. I’m currently cleaning up from dinner while my son drove my wife to hockey practice.

Whoa....how did I miss this? LOVE IT! And, it's RED! Congrats on the punch. Interested in hearing how the CVT operates in this.

laurasdada · November 2

Congrats @nyccarguy from a 2x Acura owner (including '88 white Integra; yeah I'm old).
And that miserable Thursday weather? Did you see me wave as I drove through Stamford on the Merritt?
10 hour trip to Jersey City, wife said that was a record. Even in snow it never took that long. I'm honored to have been Rudolf to her Santa.

nyccarguy · November 2

So this morning I had a sort of dilemma that only someone on the Chronic Car Buyers board would have. It is a picture perfect fall day. Sunny. Temps in the low to mid 50s. My son wanted to visit a friend in West Hartford which is about 75 miles from home. Do I take the Prelude? There aren’t going to be too many more days like this and opportunities for it to stretch its legs before winter comes. Do I take the Highlander so my 16 year old son can drive us up there? Or do I take my brand new Integra that’s been sitting in my driveway since I picked it up on Thursday night?

I think you all know the answer. I decided to take the Integra. I’m glad I did. I got to know the car a little more and I’m impressed. The CVT is perfectly matched to the 1.5L VTEC TURBO 4cyl engine. No droning, no whining, just hit the gas and it goes. Acceleration is very linear. Passing power is impressive. The Integra has really captured the spirit of an “old school Honda.” Ride quality is excellent. The seats are well bolstered, supportive, & comfortable.

In addition to “D,” slip the shifter down one more notch to “S” and things start to liven up a little. There is also a drive mode selector. The 3 settings are comfort, normal, & sport. There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between comfort & normal, but sport definitely holds the lower gear ratio longer.

The suspension seems to be tuned perfectly. The ride is very compliant.

The interior is very well crafted and the car seems screwed together nicely.

I like the car. A lot! I’m quite happy with my punch!

stickguy · November 2

sounds like a winner. maybe I should get my wife down to drive one. She does like Acuras, so could be an easy sell! One thing I don't like is to get the tech package, you need to get the a Spec which has some things I don't necessarily want or need. The base car is pretty well equipped, but would be nice to have a few of the extra goodies from the tech package.

28firefighter · November 2

It’s Tacoma week in my house. Helped my neighbor pick up a 2025 TRD Pro. 1k under invoice.

roadburner · November 2

Some final thoughts on the BMW CCCA Tour:
It was an extremely well run event. Aside from lodging everything else was included in the event fee; and every meal and event was first class. The swag bags included Yeti tumblers and cast 20th Anniversary grille badges.
Somehow every tour car survived the persistent rain- in spite of the fact that all of the cars were RWD and totally nanny free.
Since I added the BT/FM adapter there is nothing else that I would change on the Club Sport aside from adding heated seats. Three pedals, manual seat adjustments and communicative hydraulic steering give the car a superlative analog BMW driving experience. It harkens back to a time when all BMWs focused on the driving experience while still providing comfortable long distance cruising capability- even when engine speeds usually exceeded 3800 rpm on the interstate.

corvette · November 2

Sounds like fun... we should start a CCBA Tour!

kyfdx · 3:22AM

We had two white Acuras, as well. My wife had a new '94 Vigor, and a '92 Legend that were both given to my uncle, twice. Once by me, then again to my son's first vehicle.

stickguy · 3:49AM

I’ve had 4 acuras. To only 3 Hondas.

kyfdx · 3:54AM

stickguy said:
I’ve had 4 acuras. To only 3 Hondas.

Hondas: 7 of them, I think

nyccarguy · 5:03AM

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:
I’ve had 4 acuras. To only 3 Hondas.

Hondas: 7 of them, I think

2 Acuras. 3 Hondas.

stickguy · 5:28AM

I need to review my spreadsheet if I can find it but off the top of my head Acura might be the most I have owned if any one brand. Though tied with ford if you count mercury!

au1994 · 5:51AM

One Accord and one TSX for me. Wife was driving an MDX when we met.

Michaell · 6:06AM

Three Accords ('85, '92, '93), no Acuras, though the second wife and I did look at an Integra back in the late 90's.

Sandman6472 · 6:57AM

A 2006 Honda Civic LX. It had some issues which surprised me as I always heard how bullet proof they were. Truthfully, our 4 Toyota products were much better in that respect. We've had pretty good luck with our Hyundai products also. My daughters first Accent lasted 11 years until some guy hit her as she was driving into her apartment complex after work one night. Only had 40K miles on it and only issue was a brake light switch replaced under warranty in year 4. So far, our 2023 Kona has been a delight to own. Can't really count my 2014 Tucson as I only had it for 375 days before I let it go. Not a bad vehicle, just the wrong one for me!

sda · 8:47AM

6 Hondas, 2 Acuras.

xwesx · 9:35AM

corvette said:
Sounds like fun... we should start a CCBA Tour!

Yes! Except, it might be delayed by the need for someone to swap out their ride if the gathering is more than just a single day.

andres3 · 10:35AM

My significant other got a '92 Civic DX hatch at the end of 2002, then a brand new 2005 Civic EX I believe, that got totaled by someone that likes rear-ending vehicles, so a 2007 next generation at the time Civic EX was purchased. That was our last Honda; it performed flawlessly as did the 2005 Civic both built in Japan.

Probably undersold that last Civic to CarMax for the convenience of it and not sure Carvana/Vroom existed yet (or I didn't learn about them yet); was not high miles or anything, a 2015 Golf SportWagen TDI replaced it.

My US built 2003 Accord LX V6 coupe is my only Honda personally directly. That makes for 3 new Hondas, 1 used one, 4 total. Zero Acura's.

A 2017 All Track SE replaced the diesel gate Golf. That car was a "gem." Should have kept it. The '19 Tiguan has been good enough but my wife says her next car won't be a VW. I don't think she wants to go back to Honda. She said someone at her work she doesn't like has an Acura so she doesn't want to copy them.

andres3 · 10:50AM

My brother recently got a new Highlander. Toyota is still earning business in 2025 from having made flawlessly durable reliable cars 40, 30, and even 20 years ago. My brothers purchase inspired my parents to want another newer vehicle with the nannies that help the elderly drive longer safely, but they didn't need the size of the Highlander so they got that Rav 4 Hybrid (Prime?)? More sales from having provided quality control and assurance on prior ownership experiences.

They have a low mileage 2013 Camry they would like to get rid of; anyone interested? (Sacramento area).

jmonroe1 · 12:45PM

andres3 said:
My brother recently got a new Highlander. Toyota is still earning business in 2025 from having made flawlessly durable reliable cars 40, 30, and even 20 years ago. My brothers purchase inspired my parents to want another newer vehicle with the nannies that help the elderly drive longer safely, but they didn't need the size of the Highlander so they got that Rav 4 Hybrid (Prime?)? More sales from having provided quality control and assurance on prior ownership experiences.

They have a low mileage 2013 Camry they would like to get rid of; anyone interested? (Sacramento area).

——————————————————
Interesting. An admitted curbstoner in our midst.

jmonroe

stickguy · 12:53PM

I might sneak a punch in after all. We spent time with our princess and her frog (husband) this weekend and cars came up, and my wife starting talking about her new one. So I think she is onboard now. Just need to go look at some stuff! Make it a Christmas present to each other.

The bigger problem is finding time to do it. Might be impossible in Q4 but should have lots of free time in January between snow storms.

corvette · 1:43PM

On Hondas... Today, I saw what I can only assume was a Del Sol S (IIRC, they offered S, Si, and VTEC trim levels). I must not have ever seen a base model. This one stuck out because it had black door handles, and I think I've only ever seen them with body colored ones, although the contemporary Civic had DX and (I think) LX trims with black door handles, so you saw those a lot.

Anyway, probably shouldn't have kept the Ariya, the "key fob battery low" error popped up today.

Luckily, it's a CR2032, which I keep in stock. Got it replaced with no issue. Also got a TPMS warning. All four tires were at 30-31 PSI and are supposed to be 41, so I corrected that before starting the day's journeys. Need to chck the pressure in the Maverick, as well, since it's getting colder.

tjc78 · 1:58PM

I've never been much of a Honda guy. I've only ever driven one - my Stepbrother's 1987 Accord LXi back in the late 90s. I've ridden in several and also a few different generation TL/TLX.

I don't have anything against them, just never really had the right vehicle choices for me.

Michaell · 2:03PM

tjc78 said:
I've never been much of a Honda guy. I've only ever driven one - my Stepbrother's 1987 Accord LXi back in the late 90s. I've ridden in several and also a few different generation TL/TLX.

I don't have anything against them, just never really had the right vehicle choices for me.

Back in the day when we had our Isuzu P'up, a co-worker wanted to borrow it for some truck duties, so she swapped me with her LX-i (the "-i" designation meant it was fuel injected). That was a seriously nice car for its time - plush seats, fully loaded, drove nice. And, it was a 5-speed to boot.

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