Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

au1994 · December 1

The X1 threw the "Engine temperature high. Drive moderately to cool engine" error message Saturday night. Apparently he has not had heat for some period of time either. Nursed it to the shop yesterday so I sit in wait and see mode. Hoping for a thermostat and not a water pump.

tjc78 · December 1

Uh oh...

tjc78 · December 1

And yes... my truck is dirty. I'm ashamed of how it looks right now.

au1994 · December 1

Did some reading and it may be that its best just to replace both water pump and thermostat regardless of what the culprit is. One of those 'while you are in there' jobs. It has 84k on it and if it wasn't a BMW I'd say that's premature for a water pump to fail.

jmonroe1 · December 1

@Michaell said:

@nyccarguy said:

@Michaell said:
OK, cool. I've been looking at used (non-CPO) BMWs as well, just for kicks.

Found a nice 2015 M235i with RWD and a stick shift - 51,000 miles for about $24K. Would work for all but about a month or so of the year, and I'd have the Outback to use on those days. Still can't convince myself that a 3rd car is necessary in our household.

I like that body style M235i/M240i. You know it’s got performance chops because @roadburner had one. How’s the CarFax look? Like it enough to have a PPI done on it? A RWD BMW with a stick coming up on 11 years old might be something to get a good deal done before 12/31!

Three owners, one bit of minor damage to the rear of the car.

320 HP. White over black.

——————————————————
With minor damage to the rear of the car, one of the previous owners must not have been going too fast in reverse.

jmonroe

nyccarguy · December 1

anonymousposts2025 said:
We may do a bit of shuffling in our driveway.

Present day, we have the 25 Equinox EV. It’s a lease, it’s going back, buying it won’t happen. We have about a year left. Then there’s the 25 Si. We don’t drive it a ton. It has 8,000 miles and we’ve had it a year. There’s the 2014 Odyssey. 150k. No issues. It’s safe.

Option 1: Sell the Civic, pay about $10k to change to a 25 RAV4 Hybrid before the change to the new 2026 design.

Option 2: Keep everything we have and lease a cheap Prius, Camry Hybrid, etc.

Option 3: Keep everything we have and find a used 2015-ish Prius or RAV4.

We have kid # 2 that will have his permit early next year. Goal is to get a car he can learn in that we can use too. I’m driving more for work and the Civic isn’t ideal, which means we are using the van more than we’d like.

Keep everything we have and lease a cheap ~~Prius~~, Camry Hybrid, etc

We are in very similar situations. My son is scheduled to take his road test tomorrow morning at 7:15. Over the summer, I was looking at a Camry AWD and a Prius AWD. I sat in the Prius and noticed the terrible blind spots. Made a right turn out of the exit to the dealership, then made the next right turn to turn back in. We ended up leasing a 2025 Camry SE AWD. We are very happy with the car. My wife, my 19 year old son, & my 16 year old son all seem to like it. It is a very comfortable car to drive. Acceleration isn't mind blowing, but it has zero trouble merging or passing. We have been averaging 38-42 mpg. Most fill ups take less than 10 gallons of gas and net us over 400 miles to a tank. An LE FWD (you are in SoCal, if I remember correctly) will net you better fuel economy due to the smaller wheel & tire combo as well as FWD. The cloth seats in the LE seem on the cheap side. I'd buy or lease another one in a heartbeat.

suydam · December 1

The Prius seems like a penalty box to me.
RAV4. Is nice but pricey compared to the Hyundai or Kia equivalents, and cheaper interior to boot. But they sell a ton of them!

stickguy · December 1

If I wanted the economy but not something as large as a Camry, I would go for a Corolla before a Prius.

corvette · December 1

The current Prius has really improved in terms of performance, the second gen up until the current used to be ten second 0-60 cars (but they'd get 40+ MPG even with regular full throttle starts). I've only sat in the current one and didn't notice the visibility issues, but the instrument cluster and tilt steering wheel positioning did not agree with my preferred seating position. I had the same issue in the bZ4X/Solterra, which appeared to use similar hardware.

Michaell · December 1

stickguy said:
If I wanted the economy but not something as large as a Camry, I would go for a Corolla before a Prius.

Corolla Cross would be a nice compromise, size wise.

jmonroe1 · December 1

Grandson #1 (23 years old), just bought a new 2026 Corolla FX Edition in bluish/purple over black suede with white rims. He’s going to have a good time keeping those rims clean. That would not have been my choice but he thinks they’re “cool”.

jmonroe

au1994 · 5:11AM

Michaell said:

stickguy said:
If I wanted the economy but not something as large as a Camry, I would go for a Corolla before a Prius.
Corolla Cross would be a nice compromise, size wise.

Not unless you have driven one. Had a rental and was awful.

oldfarmer50 · 5:15AM

“ The winter use issue came to mind since snow season started, and already hit salted roads. Worrying about that drives me nuts, and right now, I don't want to take either car out when the roads are brined. A lease truck instead of a winter beater car that my wife would hate covers multiple needs.”

Welcome to my world (or did I infect you with my paranoia?). I think leasing might be the perfect solution for you although more expensive in the long run. Vehicles last about 8 years up here before noticeable rust starts popping through. Eric O. has a great video on problems experienced on a “Chevy Silverusto” he had to work on.

ab348 · 5:20AM

Michaell said:

stickguy said:
If I wanted the economy but not something as large as a Camry, I would go for a Corolla before a Prius.
Corolla Cross would be a nice compromise, size wise.

Only if you can tolerate the typical Toyota plastic fantastic interior. Their interiors on lower-end cars make no attempt at style.

oldfarmer50 · 5:25AM

au1994 said:
The X1 threw the "Engine temperature high. Drive moderately to cool engine" error message Saturday night. Apparently he has not had heat for some period of time either. Nursed it to the shop yesterday so I sit in wait and see mode. Hoping for a thermostat and not a water pump.

What was the coolant level? None of the scenarios I can come up with are good.😫

stickguy · 5:28AM

How fast pickups rust is incredible. Would likely not be as bad here since I don’t drive in dirt and try to avoid heavy salt times. And if it does get coated I go to the car wash to at least make an attempt at keeping it clean underneath.

Would likely also get some kind of fluid film put on as a precaution.

Or lease and not care!

stickguy · 5:29AM

A winter beater car also makes sense but then I have to hassle with parking it someplace. And driving it too much in the winter.

nyccarguy · 8:17AM

Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.

Michaell · 8:22AM

nyccarguy said:
Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.

Congrats .... and, ouch.

I remember those times.

nyccarguy · 8:39AM

One of the things that’s off about my Integra is the backup camera. It absolutely has the worst resolution of any backup camera in any car I’ve ever owned dating back to 2010.

This is on a clear night. Zero precipitation.

laurasdada · 8:39AM

nyccarguy said:
Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.

Boy are you going to get a nice holiday card from your insurance broker!

oldfarmer50 · 8:45AM

nyccarguy said:
Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.

Yeah! Your insurance agent must love you.

sda · 8:46AM

@nyccarguy said:
Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.

Congratulations

oldfarmer50 · 8:49AM

nyccarguy said:
One of the things that’s off about my Integra is the backup camera. It absolutely has the worst resolution of any backup camera in any car I’ve ever owned dating back to 2010.

This is on a clear night. Zero precipitation.

My Kia was the first car I owned with a backup camera and I was disappointed that the picture was so fuzzy. I wiped it off, I cleaned it with windex and nothing helped. Then I examined it closely and discovered the little piece of plastic protector hadn’t been removed by the dealer. Peeled that off and now it’s crystal clear.

au1994 · 8:52AM

laurasdada said:

nyccarguy said:
Son #2 passed his road test this morning! I now have 4 cars and 4 drivers in the house.
Boy are you going to get a nice holiday card from your insurance broker!

Nah, the broker is too busy shopping for a new boat.

nyccarguy · 8:58AM

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:
One of the things that’s off about my Integra is the backup camera. It absolutely has the worst resolution of any backup camera in any car I’ve ever owned dating back to 2010.

This is on a clear night. Zero precipitation.

My Kia was the first car I owned with a backup camera and I was disappointed that the picture was so fuzzy. I wiped it off, I cleaned it with windex and nothing helped. Then I examined it closely and discovered the little piece of plastic protector hadn’t been removed by the dealer. Peeled that off and now it’s crystal clear.

Huh. Like it wasn't removed while being prepped? I'll check it out later. Thanks for the suggestion.

ab348 · 9:05AM

oldfarmer50 said:

nyccarguy said:
One of the things that’s off about my Integra is the backup camera. It absolutely has the worst resolution of any backup camera in any car I’ve ever owned dating back to 2010.

This is on a clear night. Zero precipitation.

My Kia was the first car I owned with a backup camera and I was disappointed that the picture was so fuzzy. I wiped it off, I cleaned it with windex and nothing helped. Then I examined it closely and discovered the little piece of plastic protector hadn’t been removed by the dealer. Peeled that off and now it’s crystal clear.

Wow! Not a bad tip coming from a fellow dinosaur.

au1994 · 10:33AM

oldfarmer50 said:

au1994 said:
The X1 threw the "Engine temperature high. Drive moderately to cool engine" error message Saturday night. Apparently he has not had heat for some period of time either. Nursed it to the shop yesterday so I sit in wait and see mode. Hoping for a thermostat and not a water pump.
What was the coolant level? None of the scenarios I can come up with are good.😫

Strangely, it was normal. No white smoke, no warnings on the 2 mile drive to the small shop we use. I have not heard anything yet. They looked to be backed up when I left it on Sunday.

jmonroe1 · 11:22AM

@laurasdada said:
Boy are you going to get a nice holiday card from your insurance broker!

——————————————————
The hell with a card, he should get a juicy Christmas ham. Oops, make that a kosher turkey and latkes for Hanukkah.

jmonroe

tjc78 · 12:06PM

@nyccarguy said:
Huh. Like it wasn't removed while being prepped? I'll check it out later. Thanks for the suggestion.

If it doesn’t have the plastic it has to be defective. That’s unacceptable.

corvette · 12:25PM

@nyccarguy - is it that bad during daylight hours? I've had a few that weren't great at night.

xwesx · 2:11PM

corvette said:
@nyccarguy - is it that bad during daylight hours? I've had a few that weren't great at night.

Even if it is only at night... totally unacceptable for a new car!

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