Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

jmonroe1 · December 23

@roadburner said:
The British magazine CAR use to have a section in the back of the magazine called Good, Bad and Ugly (GBU). GBU would give the pros and cons of each car as well as recommendations for other cars in that market segment (Also Consider). That Kia reminds me of a GBU entry on a bottom feeder Mitsubishi; under Also Consider the suggestion was "Walking."
Also, I'm also extremely wary of any seller that doesn't know the difference between "breaks" and "brakes."

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Me too. Maybe because it’s always broken it didn’t need brakes.

jmonroe

roadburner · December 23

@jmonroe1 said:

@roadburner said:
The British magazine CAR use to have a section in the back of the magazine called Good, Bad and Ugly (GBU). GBU would give the pros and cons of each car as well as recommendations for other cars in that market segment (Also Consider). That Kia reminds me of a GBU entry on a bottom feeder Mitsubishi; under Also Consider the suggestion was "Walking."
Also, I'm also extremely wary of any seller that doesn't know the difference between "breaks" and "brakes."

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Me too. Maybe because it’s always broken it didn’t need brakes.

jmonroe

Still, the worst are the clueless dimwits who know nothing about the car that they are selling- such as a BMW with a V6 motor…

au1994 · December 23

Breaks, Camero, Terbo, V6 when clearly an I6 are some of the favorites I’ve seen.

tjc78 · December 23

@au1994 said:
Breaks, Camero, Terbo, V6 when clearly an I6 are some of the favorites I’ve seen.

Not a typo but “A/C just needs a charge” has to be in the hall of fame

roadburner · December 23

There was a dipstick on a Mazda forum who was asking about a “raddle” in his dash. I helpfully suggested that the cause might well be a raddlesnake.

jmonroe1 · December 23

@roadburner said:
There was a dipstick on a Mazda forum who was asking about a “raddle” in his dash. I helpfully suggested that the cause might well be a raddlesnake.

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You need help.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · December 23

roadburner said:
There was a dipstick on a Mazda forum who was asking about a “raddle” in his dash. I helpfully suggested that the cause might well be a raddlesnake.

Maybe that’s the Canadian spelling.

greg128 · December 23

au1994 said:
Breaks, Camero, Terbo, V6 when clearly an I6 are some of the favorites I’ve seen.

and a nice "quite ride"

corvette · December 23

Reviewing an auto body estimate on a 2019 Infiniti QX80... both headlights are busted. The cost for new ones is $4,293.78 each, which is nearly enough to total the car by itself. It doesn't matter for my purposes, but the estimator that inspected it put that all four tires had 5 or 6/32" of tread, despite including photos of at least one visibly bald tire, and another photo where it looks like he's using a tread depth gauge incorrectly.

jmonroe1 · December 23

@corvette said:
Reviewing an auto body estimate on a 2019 Infiniti QX80... both headlights are busted. The cost for new ones is $4,293.78 each, which is nearly enough to total the car by itself. It doesn't matter for my purposes, but the estimator that inspected it put that all four tires had 5 or 6/32" of tread, despite including photos of at least one visibly bald tire, and another photo where it looks like he's using a tread depth gauge incorrectly.

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That’s what happens when an “expert” has been hired. And you’ll play hell trying to get anything corrected.

It’s not just repair shops that have cornered the market with stuff like this.

jmonroe

anonymousposts2025 · December 23

No matter how cheap, I wouldn’t buy another GM EV. The Equinox EV is OK. Power is decent, battery is decent, seats are comfortable. The interface and the mechanics of the car aren’t there yet. Our Equinox has 10k miles. There is a mysterious clunk when going over bumps, the door handles and rear hatch have a mind of their own, the telematics module went out, if parked on an incline in the rain it leaks, and the app is light years behind Tesla in functionality.

Our first experience was with a 2022 Bolt EUV. The dealer had to buy it back.

corvette · December 23

I had a good experience with my Volt. It did leave me stranded once, but that turned out to be my own fault due to trying to use up a container of old fuel and not topping off the tank to dilute it with fresh.

au1994 · December 23

greg128 said:

au1994 said:
Breaks, Camero, Terbo, V6 when clearly an I6 are some of the favorites I’ve seen.
and a nice "quite ride"

yes!

breld · December 23

Friend/co-worker of mine texted me a couple days ago asking about a quoted lease deal on a Rivian R1S.

He and his wife each has a Lexus (he has an RX and she has a GX). They tend to keep their cars for 10+ years, but he has been intrigued with EVs for a while.

The deal was in the $500’s/month and they offered him $18k for his RX. I figured that payment included the huge money down from his trade, which he confirmed, so I kindly pointed out what the effective payment is with that $18k down, which changed his perspective quite a bit (rightfully so).

Told him it wasn’t horrible considering the MSRP of the vehicle (something like $98k), and that if he loved the car then he should go for it.

Instead, he texts me today saying he was on his way to pick up a Tesla Model Y for $366/month and $0 down. Carmax is giving him that $18k for his RX. Smart choice.

corvette · December 23

Holy seam sealer, Batman! I'm surprised this didn't get caught by Honda, especially on a "ringer" destined for the press fleet. (Approximately 1:48 through 1:56 in the video.)

explorerx4 · December 23

I'm kind of "shocked" that orange power cord is directly above the exhaust pipe.

nyccarguy · December 23

They tend to keep their cars for 10+ years,

Your honor, I object and I want this blasphemous statement stricken from the record immediately!

stickguy · December 23

I can’t believe we are 3 months short of 6 years on my wife’s car. Or how much changed with us in those years!

Michaell · December 23

stickguy said:
I can’t believe we are 3 months short of 6 years on my wife’s car. Or how much changed with us in those years!

Almost 11 years with the Outback; still haven't cracked 80K on the odometer, though that will happen within the next month.

tifighter · December 23

I’ve cracked 16 days on the TX. So far so good.

stickguy · December 24

We are still a few hundred miles under 30k

benjaminh · December 24

corvette said:
Holy seam sealer, Batman! I'm surprised this didn't get caught by Honda, especially on a "ringer" destined for the press fleet. (Approximately 1:48 through 1:56 in the video.)

I appreciated how at around 14 minutes the Subaru is able to make it up a dirt hill while the Honda and Toyota aren't able to make it.

kyfdx · December 24

February will be six years for my daily driver (GTI). Only 45K miles. The last two weeks, drove 112 miles.

ab348 · December 24

au1994 said:
Breaks, Camero, Terbo, V6 when clearly an I6 are some of the favorites I’ve seen.

My favorite in the local classifieds always used to be "in good shape for year".

tjc78 · December 24

So a few weeks back I commented on my drive to work getting much longer due to an office move. I thought I was going to be back on the market, but looks like we came to an agreement on 2 days in the office and three home.

That is better than my 4/1 currently and while the two days in office are going to be a bit rough with the evening commute being almost two hours the overall miles, driving and tolls will be less

Current - 64 miles round trip x 4 = 256 miles/week, $24 in tolls, 10 hours in the car
New - 84 miles round trip x 2 = 168 miles/week, $12 in tolls, 7 hours in the car

Could be worse I guess.

To everyone celebrating the holiday, have a wonderful few days and enjoy time off with the family. I just wrapped the last present and getting some last minute work stuff out. Dinner is at a restaurant tonight, and tomorrow I'll be cooking for the holiday and my wife's birthday.

Tom

dbeck · December 24

The Tacoma will be five in January, 18,795 miles so far...

andres3 · December 24

I did a 500 mile radius search on CarGurus and it only found 2 Neons, both in the $4K range, both lower miles (they don't make it to higher miles typically), and both look like they should just say "take me" rather than the asking price.

benjaminh · December 24

I don't need a new car, but somehow I'm looking at possibilities as if I did.

jmonroe1 · December 24

@tjc78 said:
So a few weeks back I commented on my drive to work getting much longer due to an office move. I thought I was going to be back on the market, but looks like we came to an agreement on 2 days in the office and three home.

That is better than my 4/1 currently and while the two days in office are going to be a bit rough with the evening commute being almost two hours the overall miles, driving and tolls will be less

Current - 64 miles round trip x 4 = 256 miles/week, $24 in tolls, 10 hours in the car
New - 84 miles round trip x 2 = 168 miles/week, $12 in tolls, 7 hours in the car

Could be worse I guess.

To everyone celebrating the holiday, have a wonderful few days and enjoy time off with the family. I just wrapped the last present and getting some last minute work stuff out. Dinner is at a restaurant tonight, and tomorrow I'll be cooking for the holiday and my wife's birthday.

Tom

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So, you wrapped my present last this year too. I guess that means it’ll be late getting here again this year also, huh? Maybe you otta just hold it and send it out on time next year.

Happy holidays everyone.

jmonroe

xwesx · December 24

benjaminh said:
I don't need a new car, but somehow I'm looking at possibilities as if I did.

You, sir, are definitely in the right place!

stickguy · December 24

@benjaminh said:
I don't need a new car, but somehow I'm looking at possibilities as if I did.

Same here. I could probably go another decade. I just don’t want to.

Michaell · December 24

stickguy said:

@benjaminh said:

I don't need a new car, but somehow I'm looking at possibilities as if I did.

Same here. I could probably go another decade. I just don’t want to.

At your rate, it'll take you that long to get to 100K.

I've got probably 2 years before the Outback gets to that milestone. I'm thinking I'd like to trade out before that happens.

28firefighter · December 24

Merry Christmas to all of you celebrating!

I’m in the Bay Area for a few days visiting family. Have a Camry LE Hybrid - I don’t like how stripped it is, but I LOVE the hybrid. On our drive from the airport to east bay, we averaged 44mpg. I can see why @nyccarguy loves it.

stickguy · December 25

Now that I have long term experience with a hybrid I love it. Even without the much better mileage the driving experience is better especially in around town or stop and go driving.

Michaell · December 25

stickguy said:
Now that I have long term experience with a hybrid I love it. Even without the much better mileage the driving experience is better especially in around town or stop and go driving.

I think hybrids have come a long way. The transition from EV to gas is almost unnoticeable in my daughters Sportage - something she worried about after her one experience with a hybrid, as a rental in NC. The wife and daughter went their for their franchise training back in 2019, and picked up a Fusion hybrid rental. I don't think either of them liked it very much, because of the jerkiness between drive modes.

And before that, I had a Sonata Hybrid rental on one of my trips to CA. While my mileage was better than in a fully ICE powered car, I wasn't thrilled with the driveability, either.

Should I ever jump back into the market for something new (or newer), a Hybrid or PHEV is certainly on the list. The Camry @nyccarguy has is a nice product - I test drove an XSE AWD version, and was pretty impressed.

qbrozen · December 25

I’ve really been considering trading up but I think I’ve decided to continue waiting.

What peaked my interest are some new utility vehicle deals I found. For example, $23k Maverick and $29k Colorado or Gladiator (all 2025). No idea if those are BS prices. Fine print didn’t give any crazy selective rebates, just standard customer cash and EOY inventory support.

But that still puts me in payments, even if low payments after my Sierra as trade or private sale.

But we’ll see what the new year brings. I’m supposed to be getting a “promotion” but I never believe it till I see it.

roadburner · December 25

I'm still happy with my current fleet although the Triumph will likely be swapped for a dual sport sooner than later.

oldfarmer50 · December 25

Does it still count as a punch if no money is involved? Traded my 2019 Kia for a 2010 Ford in a swap with my son. Personally, I think I got the better of the deal.

qbrozen · December 25

@roadburner said:
I'm still happy with my current fleet although the Triumph will likely be swapped for a dual sport sooner than later.

You sure about that? I very much disliked my dual sport. It felt so unstable on the road.

jmonroe1 · December 25

@oldfarmer50 said:
Does it still count as a punch if no money is involved? Traded my 2019 Kia for a 2010 Ford in a swap with my son. Personally, I think I got the better of the deal.

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Don’t tell us you’re proud of yourself for taking advantage of your son like that. You’re the grinch of Christmas in your household this year. How do you live with yourself? As for a punch, your son owes you one.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · December 25

jmonroe1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Does it still count as a punch if no money is involved? Traded my 2019 Kia for a 2010 Ford in a swap with my son. Personally, I think I got the better of the deal.

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Don’t tell us you’re proud of yourself for taking advantage of your son like that. You’re the grinch of Christmas in your household this year. How do you live with yourself? As for a punch, your son owes you one.

jmonroe

Well I don’t mean monetarily. A 19’ Kia Soul with 29k miles is worth more than a 2010 Fusion with 80k ($7k vs.$14k retail). I mean, the Fusion is a bit more luxurious which suits me. He needed a car that was within the LYFT age limits and it has better tech than the Ford. I never need back up cameras, CarPlay or any of the other app driven features.

My son owes me his livelihood because he’s in no position to buy a replacement car. I don’t know what provokes fisticuffs in your family but a gift of $7,000 doesn’t do it in mine.

qbrozen · December 25

@oldfarmer50 said:
Well I don’t mean monetarily. A 19’ Kia Soul with 29k miles is worth more than a 2010 Fusion with 80k ($7k vs.$14k retail). I mean, the Fusion is a bit more luxurious which suits me. He needed a car that was within the LYFT age limits and it has better tech than the Ford. I never need back up cameras, CarPlay or any of the other app driven features.

My son owes me his livelihood because he’s in no position to buy a replacement car. I don’t know what provokes fisticuffs in your family but a gift of $7,000 doesn’t do it in mine.

I’ll fight you for $70.
;b

jmonroe1 · December 25

@qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:
Well I don’t mean monetarily. A 19’ Kia Soul with 29k miles is worth more than a 2010 Fusion with 80k ($7k vs.$14k retail). I mean, the Fusion is a bit more luxurious which suits me. He needed a car that was within the LYFT age limits and it has better tech than the Ford. I never need back up cameras, CarPlay or any of the other app driven features.

My son owes me his livelihood because he’s in no position to buy a replacement car. I don’t know what provokes fisticuffs in your family but a gift of $7,000 doesn’t do it in mine.

I’ll fight you for $70.
;b

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This Christmas must have been a rough year for discretionary spending in your household.

jmonroe

tifighter · December 25

Get in, losers. We’re going skiing.

corvette · December 25

@tifighter - don't forget your extension cord so you won't run out of electricity!

jmonroe1 · December 26

@corvette said:
@tifighter - don't forget your extension cord so you won't run out of electricity!

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I don’t think he’s worried because he got the wireless charging option.

jmonroe

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