Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

jmonroe1 · December 13

@Sandman6472 said:
We had Drivewise with Allstate but I turned mine off as I make too many trips during the day. It worked for awhile but I had to go in there every couple of days and adjust some of the trips, always the work ones. It gave us one discount but after that, crickets. I called to complain saying I work for Enterprise moving rental cars around and for them to somehow denote that but no one there could understand how to deal with it, so just had them disconnect the whole thing. Am sure my situation is not that unusual but they had no idea how to deal with it!

————————————————
I’d say your “friendly” insurance company had no incentive to listen to you. Interesting how these wealthy companies can hire so many people who don’t understand basic logic.

jmonroe

anonymousposts2025 · December 13

Punch made …

We have our car situation sorted …. For now.

We went back and forth but made the punch Thursday with a RAV4 Hybrid. It made the most sense for us. We also have a good relationship with our Toyota dealer. It was as easy as a call to tell him what we we wanted for color and options. Called back the next day and found one with a price no other dealer would touch.

As for the Civic, it will be staying. It’s paid for and while it seemed like a nice idea to sell it, neither of us were ready to see it go. It’s such an endearing car. So we spent the day reshuffling the garage so we can get three cars in it. We know we aren’t keeping the Equinox, so we’ll be back at 3 cars in a year.

laurasdada · December 14

Four more 0% payments and the A7 is all mine. I just bought new Bosch wipers but am keeping the originals. In case I decide to move on in the near term, I can swap the new for the olds as perhaps the new ones will fit whatever I replace it with.
That's perfectly normal thinking, right?

But what would replace this most excellent vehicle? Should I try an E-class in honor of my mother? The oft-mentioned Porsche, but neither the Macan nor the Panamera seem "just right" for me. Roll the dice with a Lucid Air lease? But charging at home would be a bit of a Tetris game as the M240 will be the garage dweller and the wifey insists that her X3 owns the other garage space (Selfish of her, no?) and I'll need to install a 240v. Can I consolidate the A7 and M240 into one "practical" convertible, e.g. MB CLE? But my love for the M240 runs mountain high, river deep.

Time will tell. However, inertia is strong in me.

roadburner · December 14

@laurasdada I'll just add that I really liked my M235i, but I find the C43 to be a much more entertaining drive. As always, YMMV.

28firefighter · December 14

I got to drive the Subaru yesterday while running errands and shuttling the kiddo around. It certainly won't any drag races, but no surprise the Toyota designed/built hybrid system is very very good. My wife drove it home 180 miles from the dealer, mostly highway, with some traffic plus another 40-50 miles of local driving since and we still have well over half a tank left. Fuel economy is going up, not down, which is pretty entertaining to watch happen live.

Overall, she's thrilled and I like it a lot more than I expected to.

stickguy · December 14

maybe I should get my wife to look at one. I assume the top trim (that the touring?) has all the bells and whistles. We really liked the Mazda CX5 but have not seen the new interior (big screen) yet, and the hybrid I would want is not coming out until the 2nd model year.

But I can already hear my wife: "it's nice but not the BMW"!

stickguy · December 14

next purchase will probably be helping the princess finding a 2nd car for her hubby since they are moving the end of January (should be closing on the house our here the end of this month). But after the holidays work for me and the wife should slow down considerably (we are both swamped right now) so will definitely try to work in some test driving. If the weather ever cooperates)

au1994 · December 14

@28firefighter can you comment on the Jeep situation?

28firefighter · December 14

au1994 said:
@28firefighter can you comment on the Jeep situation?

For now, it remains a large paperweight at the dealer and is 23 days parked under an open repair order. Stellantis will not provide anything above $60/day for a rental, and will not cover taxes. Which up here will get me a sedan (not an SUV) and I'll be responsible for the $12-$20/day in taxes (on top of the Jeep's lease payments). I've escalated and will be starting next steps at the end of the week when we hit 30 days.

laurasdada · December 14

roadburner said:
@laurasdada I'll just add that I really liked my M235i, but I find the C43 to be a much more entertaining drive. As always, YMMV.

Perhaps I'll put the C43 on the list (heated steering wheel required!) to replace the A7.
I think I still need a drophead in the stable, though.

stickguy · December 14

I wanted a convertible for a while, but my wife hates having the top down unless it is perfect conditions (including no sun). At this point, I took one off the list. I also don't think she would enjoy driving one (ride height, visibility). For us now, a nice luxo small to medium CUV with some sporty ability makes the most sense.

ab348 · December 14

stickguy said:

But I can already hear my wife: "it's nice but not the BMW"!

“Yeah, but it’s not in the shop every month, either!”

corvette · December 14

@stickguy - I found the perfect compromise that will make you both happy:

stickguy · December 14

I actually thought of that as I was typing my post. It could actually work functionally, but the view out the back of that thing must be atrocious. Minor detail too is that my wife probably would not be seen in it.

venture · December 14

28firefighter said:
I got to drive the Subaru yesterday while running errands and shuttling the kiddo around. It certainly won't any drag races, but no surprise the Toyota designed/built hybrid system is very very good. My wife drove it home 180 miles from the dealer, mostly highway, with some traffic plus another 40-50 miles of local driving since and we still have well over half a tank left. Fuel economy is going up, not down, which is pretty entertaining to watch happen live.

Overall, she's thrilled and I like it a lot more than I expected to.

Does it have a duck on the windshield at the top passenger side corner?

corvette · December 14

@stickguy - there's also the LR Evoque convertible, if you want to go upmarket.

kyfdx · December 15

corvette said:
@stickguy - there's also the LR Evoque convertible, if you want to go upmarket.

Amazingly, it looks a lot better than the Murano.

stickguy · December 15

I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those in person. Must be very rare. And not sure I’m brave enough for an aging Land Rover!

tjc78 · December 15

stickguy said:
I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those in person. Must be very rare. And not sure I’m brave enough for an aging Land Rover!

I'm not brave enough for a brand new one under warranty.

venture · December 15

venture said:

28firefighter said:
I got to drive the Subaru yesterday while running errands and shuttling the kiddo around. It certainly won't any drag races, but no surprise the Toyota designed/built hybrid system is very very good. My wife drove it home 180 miles from the dealer, mostly highway, with some traffic plus another 40-50 miles of local driving since and we still have well over half a tank left. Fuel economy is going up, not down, which is pretty entertaining to watch happen live.

Overall, she's thrilled and I like it a lot more than I expected to.
Does it have a duck on the windshield at the top passenger side corner?

Here's the one on the windshield. There are supposed to be others too, but I haven't looked for them.

andres3 · December 15

CA set me back $590 for registering/licensing the Macan another year. It's a 2018 Macan that will be 8 years old in less than a month. Saying it was "over $500" understated it; might as well say just under $600.

Michaell · December 15

andres3 said:
CA set me back $590 for registering/licensing the Macan another year. It's a 2018 Macan that will be 8 years old in less than a month. Saying it was "over $500" understated it; might as well say just under $600.

Do you know the formula CA uses to calculate the registration costs? I should ask my sister about her 2019 XC40 - if it's roughly the same, or not.

Just pinged her - her last registration bill was around $350. "California living at its finest!" was her comment.

suydam · December 15

In Ohio, where we were before, registration is a flat fee for everyone. Or was when we were there. California does it by value. If you can afford a more expensive car, you can afford to pay more. I’m actually okay with that. You might think you’d see a lot of old cars on the road, but that’s not the case.

stickguy · December 15

NJ and NY are both relatively small flat fees. Jersey did it by weight class and I think NY is similar. No personal property tax on cars though.

tjc78 · December 15

stickguy said:
NJ and NY are both relatively small flat fees. Jersey did it by weight class and I think NY is similar. No personal property tax on cars though.

NJ implemented new rates for EVs. It was over $300 for the year. I've never paid anywhere near that here in NJ for registration

Michaell · December 15

suydam said:
In Ohio, where we were before, registration is a flat fee for everyone. Or was when we were there. California does it by value. If you can afford a more expensive car, you can afford to pay more. I’m actually okay with that. You might think you’d see a lot of old cars on the road, but that’s not the case.

My sister also shared with me that the last time she registered the 2003 Sonata she inherited from my folks, it cost her somewhere between $150 and $200.

Compare that to the sub $100 I paid this year to register our 10 year old Subaru - and, CO does have a personal property tax assessed on all vehicles.

andres3 · December 15

Michaell said:

andres3 said:
CA set me back $590 for registering/licensing the Macan another year. It's a 2018 Macan that will be 8 years old in less than a month. Saying it was "over $500" understated it; might as well say just under $600.
Do you know the formula CA uses to calculate the registration costs? I should ask my sister about her 2019 XC40 - if it's roughly the same, or not.

Just pinged her - her last registration bill was around $350. "California living at its finest!" was her comment.

As usual it's complicated so that most people don't check the State's math:

Key Components of the Calculation:
Vehicle License Fee (VLF):
Calculated as 0.65% (or 0.0065) of the vehicle's current market value (purchase price minus depreciation).
Couldn't find how they calculate depreciation in a quick search.
Weight Fees:
For commercial vehicles, based on Unladen Weight or Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW).
For passenger vehicles under 10,001 lbs, based on unladen weight and number of axles.
Interestingly, I couldn't find in a quick search what the $/lb is.
Transportation Improvement Fee (TIF):
A tiered fee based on the vehicle's value (e.g., higher value vehicles pay more). As implied, this is a table of fees where a $35,000 purchase gets punished and hammered the same as a $59,999 purchase; moral of the story, negotiate to keep it $1 under the next "tier".
Base & Other Fees:
A standard Registration Fee (around $74)
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Fee (around $32).
Motorcycle Safety Fee (if applicable).
Smog Abatement Fee (if applicable). Is usually applicable.
Local Fees:
County and district fees that vary by location.

The tiered fee for Transportation/Road Improvement is strange; it grossly favors the 1% as at 60,000 you pay the same as Mr. Moneybags at 600,000 or even 6,000,000 dollars. And this is CA.

Also I thought my gas taxes were paying for the roads.........

They do have a separate Road Improvement fee for zero emission vehicles; it's a relatively low flat rate of $118 that's less than the tier for cars valued at $25,000-$34,999 which is a pretty good deal.

jmonroe1 · December 15

@Michaell said:
My sister also shared with me that the last time she registered the 2003 Sonata she inherited from my folks, it cost her somewhere between $150 and $200.

Compare that to the sub $100 I paid this year to register our 10 year old Subaru - and, CO does have a personal property tax assessed on all vehicles.

————————————————
Registration cost in PA is just under 50 bucks IIRC for all cars. No pay as you go or personal property tax. But the weather right now is frightful. About 12 degrees F on my deck. You can’t have everything.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · December 15

andres3 said:
CA set me back $590 for registering/licensing the Macan another year. It's a 2018 Macan that will be 8 years old in less than a month. Saying it was "over $500" understated it; might as well say just under $600.

Just title swapped with my son and it cost me $65 for registration. Maybe NY isn’t that bad after all.

stickguy · December 15

I can really appreciate this.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ujWBaW2bXl4?si=KIm8N-ZPz4UZ8ZYk

oldfarmer50 · December 16

stickguy said:
I can really appreciate this.

https://youtube.com/shorts/ujWBaW2bXl4?si=KIm8N-ZPz4UZ8ZYk

Remind me not to sit next to you on a park bench.🤣

oldfarmer50 · December 16

My credit union is having its regular car promotion and I found this in their listings.

https://vehicles.broadviewfcu.com/inventory/2007-toyota-4runner-sr5-mxb-4100864.html

Now that’s the kind of vehicle I would be interested in but not at that mileage or price. Are these particularly desirable/reliable that a 19 rear old version with those miles should go for over $10k?

tjc78 · December 16

Are these particularly desirable/reliable that a 19 rear old version with those miles should go for over $10k?

The 4 Runner has consistently brought stupid money on the used market.

It is a very reliable vehicle. A lot of people consider it the Panther of SUVs

Michaell · December 16

tjc78 said:
Are these particularly desirable/reliable that a 19 rear old version with those miles should go for over $10k?

The 4 Runner has consistently brought stupid money on the used market.

It is a very reliable vehicle. A lot of people consider it the Panther of SUVs

My middle nephew sold his '96 (or '97) 4Runner 2WD with over 200K on it for $5K - which he bought 4 years ago with 160K on it for $6k.

Stupid money is correct.

jmonroe1 · December 16

@oldfarmer50 said:
My credit union is having its regular car promotion and I found this in their listings.

https://vehicles.broadviewfcu.com/inventory/2007-toyota-4runner-sr5-mxb-4100864.html

Now that’s the kind of vehicle I would be interested in but not at that mileage or price. Are these particularly desirable/reliable that a 19 rear old version with those miles should go for over $10k?

————————————————
Call me old school but I come from the era when 50K miles was at the half life of cars. Therefore, I held to that philosophy for the longest time. My sons and grandsons have convinced me that I have to live in the new millennium, so I’ve accepted the possibility that I’d buy a 5 year old car that had around 65K miles on it but I doubt I’ll live long enough to accept buying a 19 year old car with close to 170K miles on it regardless of who made it or apparent condition.

jmonroe

Sandman6472 · December 16

Daughter bought a 3/2/den last Thursday. It's all done and just some last minute touch up things need to get done. Told her to keep a pad in the kitchen to start a "punch list" of things that need to be fixed. She has a year to get things done. Saw pics and it's a really nice place, just under 1800 square feet. She just needs to furnish it now but will take it slowly. Wants beds for the other two rooms plus needs a couch. A few lamps and we'll bring her t v up eventually. There's an island and she has a couple of stools already. Our furniture will go into storage until we decide what to do. Should be interesting!!

au1994 · December 16

What is a 3/2/den? Does that mean there is a separate living/office area? I have not seen that terminology in my area.

ab348 · December 16

Sounds to me like a 4th bedroom but without a closet, so you have to call it something else.

au1994 · December 16

That makes sense. Differences in market I guess. That is typically referred to as a 'study' on the listing in my area.

Edit - if it has a closet and an egress window, its (typically) listed as a BR in my market, no matter the size.

Sandman6472 · December 16

It's basically a 4th bedroom with a closet, though a bit smaller. Probably can put the dog crate in there if she wants. She's getting a new king bed for her master and will put her current queen into a second bedroom. She'll get a full size bed for the 3rd bedroom and be done with it since we don't know when we'll be moving. We have her old king in our guest room so that'll be coming with us I suspect. And she'll need a couch since she gave us her old one, very nice actually! We'll bring her 55" t v up eventually and that's it.

stickguy · December 16

I don’t really need the 6, but this is a gorgeous color combo and nicely equipped.

https://www.bmwoflatham.com/used/BMW/2024-BMW-X3--ea58f7ccac180759d81d4769e257bd61.htm

Michaell · December 16

stickguy said:
I don’t really need the 6, but this is a gorgeous color combo and nicely equipped.

https://www.bmwoflatham.com/used/BMW/2024-BMW-X3--ea58f7ccac180759d81d4769e257bd61.htm

That’s nice. Perhaps you should put the keys under the tree as a Christmas gift!

xwesx · December 16

I saw a Subaru Ascent in that color combo this morning when I dropped my Crosstrek for some recall work.

Michaell · December 16

xwesx said:
I saw a Subaru Ascent in that color combo this morning when I dropped my Crosstrek for some recall work.

I think Subaru calls it Mahogany

nyccarguy · December 17

stickguy said:
I don’t really need the 6, but this is a gorgeous color combo and nicely equipped.

https://www.bmwoflatham.com/used/BMW/2024-BMW-X3--ea58f7ccac180759d81d4769e257bd61.htm

@stickguy - that's a really sharp looking rig. You'll NEVER regret getting the six, especially a BMW inline 6. The exterior color is very pretty. Most of these I see are either Black, White, Grey, or Blue. That interior is drop dead gorgeous! It is in Ridgefield, not too far away from me. There is a phenomenal BBQ joint not too far up the road (Hoo Doo Brown BBQ).

roadburner · December 17

stickguy said:
I don’t really need the 6, but this is a gorgeous color combo and nicely equipped.

https://www.bmwoflatham.com/used/BMW/2024-BMW-X3--ea58f7ccac180759d81d4769e257bd61.htm

The M40i was a nice SUV; the new M50 is a train wreck inside and out.

tjc78 · December 17

That X3 is the same color combo I had on the 2017 Enclave. I always got compliments on that one.

Michaell · December 17

Not sure what I ate last night, but I had a weird dream that I purchased a VW Taos. For some reason, I had a Honda as a trade with only 2 or 3 payments left until it was paid off.

At the end of the dream, I was still at the dealer and I asked them to unwind the deal.

stickguy · December 17

@nyccarguy said:
@stickguy - that's a really sharp looking rig. You'll NEVER regret getting the six, especially a BMW inline 6. The exterior color is very pretty. Most of these I see are either Black, White, Grey, or Blue. That interior is drop dead gorgeous! It is in Ridgefield, not too far away from me. There is a phenomenal BBQ joint not too far up the road (Hoo Doo Brown BBQ).

I would regret it when I had to hand the dealer an extra $10,000 check then feed it extra premium (though at our usage level that isn’t really a big deal)

Michaell · December 17

stickguy said:

@nyccarguy said:
@stickguy - that's a really sharp looking rig. You'll NEVER regret getting the six, especially a BMW inline 6. The exterior color is very pretty. Most of these I see are either Black, White, Grey, or Blue. That interior is drop dead gorgeous! It is in Ridgefield, not too far away from me. There is a phenomenal BBQ joint not too far up the road (Hoo Doo Brown BBQ).

I would regret it when I had to hand the dealer an extra $10,000 check then feed it extra premium (though at our usage level that isn’t really a big deal)

C'mon, don't you deserve some nice things after working all these years? You think your kids will miss that extra $10K?

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

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