Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

oldfarmer50 · November 15

jmonroe1 said:

au1994 said:

fintail said:

corvette said:
@fintail - I think you are correct. The Si had body colored bumpers, and the S did not, per the brochure. Weirdly, the Si did not have power door locks, you had to step up to the 4WS to get those. "Memory recline" on manual seats in a coupe was pretty cutting edge at the time. I know my dad's 2003 New Beetle had that on both front seats, though.
That link brought back the memory of the wheelcovers on less fancy models too. I have to imagine FI makes a noticeable difference.

That brochure was a lot of fun to read.
——————————————————
The print was way too small for me to read on my phone but the pics were nice.

Got a question, I haven’t been in a new car dealers showroom for I don’t know how long, do they still have brochures that are free or do you have to commit to buying the car first.

jmonroe

Some still do but usually for the models that aren’t selling and they are trying to push. I think any sports car brochure gets pilfered by staff and sold on line.

greg1288 · November 15

jmonroe1 said:

au1994 said:

fintail said:

corvette said:
@fintail - I think you are correct. The Si had body colored bumpers, and the S did not, per the brochure. Weirdly, the Si did not have power door locks, you had to step up to the 4WS to get those. "Memory recline" on manual seats in a coupe was pretty cutting edge at the time. I know my dad's 2003 New Beetle had that on both front seats, though.
That link brought back the memory of the wheelcovers on less fancy models too. I have to imagine FI makes a noticeable difference.

That brochure was a lot of fun to read.
——————————————————
The print was way too small for me to read on my phone but the pics were nice.

Got a question, I haven’t been in a new car dealers showroom for I don’t know how long, do they still have brochures that are free or do you have to commit to buying the car first.

jmonroe

The Conn. Lexus dealer where I bought my used Toyota did have brochures and looked throught them while waiting . Years ago I I very much enjoyed taking them home and looking through them. Of course now you can get an online PDF.

I was interested in the Saturn Aura immediately before the GM bankruptcy which was not widely known to be coming. Looking at the brochure at the dealer I was struck by what they called the "Moroccan Brown" leather option on their top of the line XR model. Believe it or not it was only a $100 option. They did not have an Aura on the lot with it. I told the salesman if they get one in I'll take a look at it. I wound up with a fully loaded (for the time) 2008 XR , white with brown leather interior. MSRP was around $30K and with a pre-bankruptcy discount paid $24K. The wife drove it for 8 years and brought it up to 70K miles. The transmission was replaced after 7 years under extended recall. All in all it was a great car and I I really liked the interior:

tifighter · November 15

Jeep’s gritty adventures continue-

jmonroe1 · November 15

@tifighter said:
Jeep’s gritty adventures continue-

——————————————————
That’s the worst way to scrub away engine sludge.

Jeep isn’t the first manufacturer to have that problem. You’d think by now they’d spend a little more time flushing engines. It seems to me that would be the best way to stop that from happening. It’s got to cost a fortune having recalls like that because of a well know manufacturing flaw.

If I was better at chemistry I’d create a sand dissolver additive and retire again. I know the first industry I’d peddle that potion to.

jmonroe

28firefighter · November 15

@tifighter said:
Jeep’s gritty adventures continue-

Goes along nicely with the “don’t recharge your plug-in hybrid” recall and “park outside” notice we already have.

jmonroe1 · November 15

Hey, it looks like everyone sold all their cars. That’s a first.

jmonroe

28firefighter · November 15

By the way, my wife's office has put up signs that she can't park her Jeep in the garages. Apparently this is my fault.

au1994 · November 15

So it’s gone in how long???

benjaminh · November 15

In the unlikely event anyone is interested in one of the last of the 2025 Outbacks, which I think might be overall a better car than the new 2026, Subaru has 0% for 36 months or 0.9% for up to 72 months to get the last of those out the door.

https://www.subaru.com/shopping-tools/special-offers.html

28firefighter · November 15

@au1994 said:
So it’s gone in how long???

It’s mine to drive now during the week. I called Jeep to see what they’ll do, but trade value is $25k after 6 months. So I’ll ride it out as long as I need to.

28firefighter · November 15

Hit the Seattle Auto Show with @tifighter - great hanging out, as always. Smallish show, Toyota seemed to have 30% of the show floor alone. No BMW, Volvo, Porsche, Infiniti, or any exotics.

On the way back, crossed 500 miles on the Tacoma and figured I’d give a quick write up. Not really organized well - just some thoughts.

I really like this thing. It drives better than it has any business doing - the 4 cylinder turbo is VERY good and the transmission does a great job of keeping it in the power band at all times. Arguably quick. The premium package option (which is $9000!) adds all of the luxury amenities one could want - heated and cooled seats, 360+ cameras, full leather, heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise, front and rear park assist, extra bed lighting, power tailgate, bigger screen, and more. It’s a very pleasant place to spend time and my wife has commented that it is really even nicer than the Jeep. Hardly a penalty box for daily driving. Gas mileage has also been shockingly good. Upper 20s in mixed city/highway with lots of traffic and hills.

The infotainment is basic, but works super well, lots of buttons around the interior. Not much hard plastic anywhere. The crew cab backseat isn’t huge but plenty of room for the class.

Very pleased overall. More in another few weeks after I cross 1000.

stickguy · November 15

sounds like my wife. even though the Maverick is no luxury car, she actually seems to like it.

corvette · November 15

If I could get a well equipped used JGC 4xE in the $25k range, I might be tempted to swap the Maverick.

stickguy · November 15

not a car but got to do some house shopping today. Not for us. Our daughter and new hubby are looking to move out by us, and a couple of houses popped up this week they were interested in. They are in PA for a wedding, so the wife and I saw one with their agent and went to an open house at the other. Did facetime walk throughs on both.

agent house was pretty sad. Potential that would cost a ton to realize. and not priced appropriately. so they nixed that one on the spot.

the open house one, was actually really nice and they fell in love with it over video. after some discussion they talked to their agent and made an offer. Lot of pressure on us, since they are taking a lot of our word for it!

of course it is in a prime area (the housing market up here has not slowed down much, at least not in the hot towns) they already have a few offers in so put in a best and final deadline for tomorrow evening. So at least they should know by Monday. Curious to see where this one ends up.

stickguy · November 15

car related, one house had a MB E class wagon in the garage, and the other one advertised having an EV charger which made sense, since there was an EV in that garage (I think a newer Tesla CUV style).

tifighter · November 15

Photo of aforementioned show-

@stickguy ’s new Prelude. Zoom in for the price.

stickguy · November 15

Funny that the Albany NY show had more brands than the Seattle show. All depends on the local deal association, since it seems that all of the cars were from them. At least for the big shows like Philly, in the old days, most of it was from the manufacturers. These were all brought in from dealer lots. Downside, no fancy electric feeds that keep the car alive. Amazing how many cars are total bricks if the battery is dead.

One CUV, I hope had the battery in the engine compartment because you could not get into the hatch, and could not fold down the seats from the cabin. And a couple of the EVs with the silly electronic pop out door handles you could not get in even if unlocked.

28firefighter · November 15

I said that to @tifighter - dealers must not be seeing value. And none of the brands were staffed by manufacturer reps. All dealer reps.

Michaell · November 15

28firefighter said:
I said that to @tifighter - dealers must not be seeing value. And none of the brands were staffed by manufacturer reps. All dealer reps.

It's been that way for a few years in Denver.

laurasdada · November 16

I do so miss the days of the true auto show, The Colosseum with dad and solo later years at The Javits. While Boston (New England) was always disappointing compared to the NY show, it's really tailed off the past few years.
'26 show is in November, perhaps I'll go. No real car-folk around me.

nyccarguy · November 16

There was a point where my 19 year old son was maybe 12 and had been to 13 NY Auto Shows. We stopped going and went back 2 years ago and it was disappointing. I went last year with my now 16 1/2 year old son and it was just meh.

oldfarmer50 · November 16

nyccarguy said:
There was a point where my 19 year old son was maybe 12 and had been to 13 NY Auto Shows. We stopped going and went back 2 years ago and it was disappointing. I went last year with my now 16 1/2 year old son and it was just meh.

Interesting, I was at the NY show two years ago and I thought that the overwhelming focus on EVs made it less exciting. I thought that was just me.

fintail · November 16

I recall back in the day the Seattle show seemed kind of small compared to the size of the metro as well - even 20+ years ago the Vancouver show seemed like a world apart, a good excuse for a weekend trip (spring show) as it would have more brands on display, more concept cars etc. I don't think I have visited the Seattle show in 10+ years, looks like not much has changed.

nyccarguy · November 16

@oldfarmer50 said:
Interesting, I was at the NY show two years ago and I thought that the overwhelming focus on EVs made it less exciting. I thought that was just me.

No. The focus on EVs 2 years ago was awful. Not just you.

xwesx · November 16

28firefighter said:
I said that to @tifighter - dealers must not be seeing value. And none of the brands were staffed by manufacturer reps. All dealer reps.

"You're Welcome."
-COVID-19

nyccarguy · November 16

I know it has been said before, but I’m pretty happy with my current fleet. Gas mileage in the Camry has dipped into the high 30s from the low 40s. This afternoon I had to drive my daughter into the city (Manhattan) so she could spend some time with a friend from camp. Round trip was approximately 75 miles. I stopped at a car wash near work (in The Bronx) on my way home, so that added some time. I was in the car for a total of 3 hours & 2 minutes. It was comfortable and overall a great cruiser.

The Highlander seems to be a great choice for my 16 year old to drive as he gets closer and closer to taking his road test. He drove from here to Simsbury, CT (2 hours) yesterday for a hockey game. Since son # 1 is away at college, space really isn’t an issue anymore since at most there are 4 of us in it at once. Even that is a rare occasion.

I’ve driven the Integra sparingly. Maybe once or twice a week. The more I drive it, the more I like it. It drives like slightly more grown up version of my Prelude. I’m starting to see more of them on the road.

I take the Prelude out maybe once a week so it doesn’t sit too long.

laurasdada · November 16

I've got the same problem, @nyccarguy. I like my cars! They are both quite excellent at their intended missions.

stickguy · November 16

that makes it harder to justify (or work up the ambition to) get a new car, when there is really nothing wrong with the old ones, and you just feel like doing something.

stickguy · November 16

looks like I will have something else to deal with besides work the rest of the year. The princess and her ~~frog~~ hubby had their offer accepted on the house we looked at for them yesterday. Supposed to close by the end of the year. So going to be a mad scramble helping them get all that organized. They are first time buyers so basically clueless, and live 3 hours away so I am the local resource.

good thing is their lease is not up until IIRC 4/1 (though they are asking the landlord to try and re-lease it early, which is pretty likely) so they won't have to worry about moving out immediately. Not sure how that is going to work but I may be accumulating some more U Haul frequent driver miles. Winter from Boston to Albany. what could possibly go wrong?

They need to get a couple of estimates for having movers do the whole thing. Might be worthwhile for me to just pay it! Should be a fairly small job. I figure a 17' U Haul should do it if they hire pros to pack it.

Michaell · November 16

stickguy said:
looks like I will have something else to deal with besides work the rest of the year. The princess and her ~~frog~~ hubby had their offer accepted on the house we looked at for them yesterday. Supposed to close by the end of the year. So going to be a mad scramble helping them get all that organized. They are first time buyers so basically clueless, and live 3 hours away so I am the local resource.

good thing is their lease is not up until IIRC 4/1 (though they are asking the landlord to try and re-lease it early, which is pretty likely) so they won't have to worry about moving out immediately. Not sure how that is going to work but I may be accumulating some more U Haul frequent driver miles. Winter from Boston to Albany. what could possibly go wrong?

They need to get a couple of estimates for having movers do the whole thing. Might be worthwhile for me to just pay it! Should be a fairly small job. I figure a 17' U Haul should do it if they hire pros to pack it.

Congrats to the daughter and son-in-law! Exciting times, though it does put a bit of pressure on you to coordinate things on your end.

Should we consider starting a "Chronic U-Haul Renters Anonymous" thread?

stickguy · November 16

back in the days when I was the main equipment truck driver for the HS marching band I rented a lot from Ryder, and I did have a frequent renter account. Got a few good things from that. Along with 1,000+ miles behind the wheel of a Freightliner!

stickguy · November 16

mostly we are just guiding them (though the agent is doing the real detail stuff). I can answer the questions about how the process will go. But all the technical stuff comes from the agent, and the attorney when they get connected to him. Today's life lesson, having an actually old school checkbook is needed sometimes. I told her that when she should really order one of those ASAP because buying a house is still a bit of an old fashioned "analog" experience. And there are going to be things that come up requiring a check.

corvette · November 16

@stickguy - a lot of vendors are now onboard with Venmo and other mobile payment apps, or have an invoice/payment platform. My veterinarian prefers Venmo, and it avoids a credit card surcharge.

corvette · November 16

Great video of Hoovie's 300SL Gullwing, featuring Jay Leno:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkJTMZ4QUEI

ab348 · November 16

Hubby is French?

stickguy · November 16

corvette said:
@stickguy - a lot of vendors are now onboard with Venmo and other mobile payment apps, or have an invoice/payment platform. My veterinarian prefers Venmo, and it avoids a credit card surcharge.

all the people with a hand in your pocket around here when you buy a house still like checks.

stickguy · November 16

I watched that Hoovie video. the shots of driving through Leno's garage where amazing (what he has in there). And also noticed that Jay is looking really, really old now.

I wonder what happens with a collection like this when the owner passes (especially something as interactive as his operation). Guessing it would be one heck of an estate auction, since seems unlikely his wife at that point would want to keep it up, and no clue if he has kids that could take it on.

stickguy · November 16

ab348 said:
Hubby is French?

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=2d55ab226c10d1001446af44513044507a239e599e6f57e285633886200b34b7JmltdHM9MTc2MzI1MTIwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=0a656389-af4b-69e1-037d-76b0ae936809&psq=princess+that+kisses+frog&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueW91dHViZS5jb20vd2F0Y2g_dj0yVkt5MElVcExhMA

ab348 · November 16

stickguy said:
I watched that Hoovie video. the shots of driving through Leno's garage where amazing (what he has in there). And also noticed that Jay is looking really, really old now.

I wonder what happens with a collection like this when the owner passes (especially something as interactive as his operation). Guessing it would be one heck of an estate auction, since seems unlikely his wife at that point would want to keep it up, and no clue if he has kids that could take it on.

I’m disappointed he engaged with Hoovie.

His wife has pretty advanced Alzheimer’s so she won’t be making any decisions on that. I vaguely remember him answering a question on that and saying there were arrangements made but I can’t recall the specifics. There are no kids.

explorerx4 · 4:59AM

@stickguy,
Don't forget to tell them to hire Preston to inspect the house.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvbTVu2A8vw

Sandman6472 · 8:26AM

Dropped my wife off at the train in Deerfield earlier for her trip to St. Augustine to help our daughter look for a new house. She's ready to purchase something and really wants us to re-locate there. So, plan is for her to buy something, either a 3/2 or a 4/2 and we'd stay with her after we sell our place down here. Plenty of new construction around her area and into South Jacksonville. Prices seem to be in the high $300's to the low $400's which is pretty good for now. So we'll bunk with her & Stan the dog at first till we find a place close by. She'd rather us move in with them & that still could work depending on the house she finds. If not, we'd like to be very close by as we'll be seeing them a whole lot. She'd like to get rid of her Rover dog walkers since we'd be there to help out with Stan and keeping him busy. I don't plan to work once we do move so it'll work as he will come between both places.
So, Janet went up till Saturday to help her look & possibly put in an offer. We'd all like new construction so we can pick out all fixtures and make things the way we want. Very exciting really since we've done this twice before. Best part is that if we do buy, we can bank a bunch of cash since prices are lower then what they are here in South Florida. A lot of work surely, but think we're up for it if we find the right property. Am finally mentally ready to move and have started purging stuff already. So, 2026 could be a big years for us...just hope my health holds up!!!

nyccarguy · 8:56AM

Sandman6472 said:
Dropped my wife off at the train in Deerfield earlier for her trip to St. Augustine to help our daughter look for a new house. She's ready to purchase something and really wants us to re-locate there. So, plan is for her to buy something, either a 3/2 or a 4/2 and we'd stay with her after we sell our place down here. Plenty of new construction around her area and into South Jacksonville. Prices seem to be in the high $300's to the low $400's which is pretty good for now. So we'll bunk with her & Stan the dog at first till we find a place close by. She'd rather us move in with them & that still could work depending on the house she finds. If not, we'd like to be very close by as we'll be seeing them a whole lot. She'd like to get rid of her Rover dog walkers since we'd be there to help out with Stan and keeping him busy. I don't plan to work once we do move so it'll work as he will come between both places.
So, Janet went up till Saturday to help her look & possibly put in an offer. We'd all like new construction so we can pick out all fixtures and make things the way we want. Very exciting really since we've done this twice before. Best part is that if we do buy, we can bank a bunch of cash since prices are lower then what they are here in South Florida. A lot of work surely, but think we're up for it if we find the right property. Am finally mentally ready to move and have started purging stuff already. So, 2026 could be a big years for us...just hope my health holds up!!!

Just make sure YOU mark your territory on what side of the garage YOU want this time!

oldfarmer50 · 9:30AM

nyccarguy said:
I know it has been said before, but I’m pretty happy with my current fleet. Gas mileage in the Camry has dipped into the high 30s from the low 40s. This afternoon I had to drive my daughter into the city (Manhattan) so she could spend some time with a friend from camp. Round trip was approximately 75 miles. I stopped at a car wash near work (in The Bronx) on my way home, so that added some time. I was in the car for a total of 3 hours & 2 minutes. It was comfortable and overall a great cruiser.

The Highlander seems to be a great choice for my 16 year old to drive as he gets closer and closer to taking his road test. He drove from here to Simsbury, CT (2 hours) yesterday for a hockey game. Since son # 1 is away at college, space really isn’t an issue anymore since at most there are 4 of us in it at once. Even that is a rare occasion.

I’ve driven the Integra sparingly. Maybe once or twice a week. The more I drive it, the more I like it. It drives like slightly more grown up version of my Prelude. I’m starting to see more of them on the road.

I take the Prelude out maybe once a week so it doesn’t sit too long.

I don’t know how you drive down there. Last Thursday I had to go to Uniondale out on LI and that was the day my old Garmin gps decided to stop working entirely. I had the boss print me off some MapQuest directions which were the worst things I’ve ever seen (telling you to proceed on a road without telling you right or left). How I managed to get down and back in that constant gridlock baffles me. I think I would lose my mind if I had to drive that every day.

oldfarmer50 · 9:34AM

stickguy said:
looks like I will have something else to deal with besides work the rest of the year. The princess and her ~~frog~~ hubby had their offer accepted on the house we looked at for them yesterday. Supposed to close by the end of the year. So going to be a mad scramble helping them get all that organized. They are first time buyers so basically clueless, and live 3 hours away so I am the local resource.

good thing is their lease is not up until IIRC 4/1 (though they are asking the landlord to try and re-lease it early, which is pretty likely) so they won't have to worry about moving out immediately. Not sure how that is going to work but I may be accumulating some more U Haul frequent driver miles. Winter from Boston to Albany. what could possibly go wrong?

They need to get a couple of estimates for having movers do the whole thing. Might be worthwhile for me to just pay it! Should be a fairly small job. I figure a 17' U Haul should do it if they hire pros to pack it.

Ryder (or Enterprise) have much better equipment than U Haul.

Sandman6472 · 10:14AM

Yes, I'll make sure we find a place with a full 2-car garage but suspect she'll always want the left side pulling in. I'd also like a side entrance garage if possible with possibly a circular driveway out front so we'd have more available parking, and no more asphalt surfaces. Pavers would be nice if not concrete. But we'll have to see what's available once we actively look. Also a kitchen with 2 ovens would be nice.

Sandman6472 · 10:21AM

Getting the driveway seal coated again on Friday. It's looking a bit tired and since it's been a couple of years since we did it last, this week is a perfect week to do it. I'm alone till Saturday night and since they'll be in our town this Friday, set an appointment till then. As long as we let the driveway cure for 24 hours, things should be cool. I'll just leave the GTI outside in front of the house Friday night and we won't be home from the train station till almost 7 on Saturday, so we should be just fine. I don't use the Kona anyways, so it'll sit in the garage till Saturday.

Did notice a small oil leak in the garage under where the Kona parks. I've cleaned it up about 5 times but it always comes back so assuming there's a small leak in the engine. An oil/filter change is scheduled for a week from Friday so we'll have them address the issue then as she's still under her 5 year bumper to bumper warranty. This will be our first issue since she bought it back in December of 2023 so not worried about it. But need to have it addressed regardless.

explorerx4 · 10:22AM

A man door from the garage saves a lot of wear and tear on the garage door opener(s).

andres3 · 10:23AM

My current fleet is doing its job very well. Really have had a group of great cars the last 10 years and the only reason to sell any of them was to get money out of them (to buy something else) and to be rid of them before they cost me more money in repairs, but more importantly to lessen the amount of expenditure on metal sitting on the property and have more cash reserves at least earning 4-5% in an online money market/savings account.

Just drove the TTS this morning and love it. Life is good when I drive that car. HPDE this weekend. I've been finding since the Macan is great I am driving the TTS less than once a week like I used to like clockwork. The clockwork is less consistent these days, but remembered to drive the Audi today at least.

We got our first rain storm of the fall/Winter over the weekend. It's easy to drive the Macan fast in any weather; maybe too fast. It does a good job of isolating you in "soft/comfort" mode.

stickguy · 10:27AM

Long Island roads stink. But at least you missed the worst one hopefully (the belt parkway)

stickguy · 10:28AM

@oldfarmer50 said:
Ryder (or Enterprise) have much better equipment than U Haul.

Becomes a cost issue for a one way rental. And convenience for nearby places to pick up or drop off. But I will check both of it ends up being needed.

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