Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

stickguy · January 4

broke my heart today. Took a ride down to visit my father, and needed to get the truck out for some exercise (plus I washed the Acura yesterday). And we got more (unexpected) snow last night. So the first 100 miles on the Thruway were in the wet. I now look like a Shelby cobra (blue with white racing stripes on the hood) and the sides are coated in salt. Off to the car wash tomorrow again!

xwesx · January 4

clm8 said:
I also had a 2025 RDX Base CPO on April 3rd that I forgot to report.

At least it wasn't two days earlier! I would have called that bluff....

tjc78 · January 5

stickguy said:
And for the second year in a row stick guy did not make the list!

No, but if we tracked scheming and planning to buy you would be the @breld of that list!

stickguy · January 5

I should get into consulting!

ab348 · January 5

Just imagine how big a garage/driveway Stick would need if all those schemes magically happened! He’d need to find a house with a Costco-sized parking lot out back.

stickguy · January 5

Sounds good to me. But to be fair one scheme replaces the previous one. They don’t stack.

jmonroe1 · January 5

@stickguy said:
Sounds good to me. But to be fair one scheme replaces the previous one. They don’t stack.

——————————————————
You shouda chosen the @ab348 method but let me add with a gas/charging station and a hot dog stand. Now that would be tough to refuse.

jmonroe

roadburner · January 5

I called my Jeep dealer today to set up an appointment for the 68C recall. Things went smoothly but I can't help but wish that the dealer had the same phone system as my M-B dealer; it is keyed to your phone number so the receptionist immediately knows who is calling as well as the car.

oldfarmer50 · January 6

I hope it goes better than with my Kia dealer. Their poor reputation is deserved.

tjc78 · January 6

Don't we all just love low profile tires....

I'm getting a slight seat of the pants vibration - I hope the heck the wheel isn't bent.

Believe it or not the dealer was the easiest and cheapest (not by much) place to have this done. I was able to do it right online and set an appointment. Mavis, Tire Rack etc didn't even have the proper tires listed. Apparently there are several different versions of this tire.

tjc78 · January 6

Excuse the filth ... it is very salty here at the moment.

xwesx · January 6

Bummer! That must have been one heck of a hole in the road.

tjc78 · January 6

Happened before the holiday. It didn’t seem that bad. I looked at the rim and tire when I got home and didn’t see anything. Today when I got serious about having it looked at (because of the vibration) I noticed the split which made the large bubble stand out.

cdnpinhead · January 6

Rubber band tires -- once again form over function, otherwise known as "style."

nyccarguy · January 6

I’ve put a self imposed premium on looking at cars with smaller wheel diameter and larger tires when possible.

stickguy · January 6

overly skinny tires is one of my pet peeves. Especially on cars that are not high performance. A Camry really does not need 40 series 19" tires IMO. The couple I had gave me anxiety. My rule of thumb is no less than 4" of sidewall (225/45). But more is better. With the truck and CUV, it has been a long time since I worried about it!

at this point it seems unlikely we will be adding a rubber band tire car to the fleet. More likely a replacement CUV and a different PU, neither of which will be a concern in that area.

jmonroe1 · January 6

@stickguy said:
overly skinny tires is one of my pet peeves. Especially on cars that are not high performance. A Camry really does not need 40 series 19" tires IMO. The couple I had gave me anxiety. My rule of thumb is no less than 4" of sidewall (225/45). But more is better. With the truck and CUV, it has been a long time since I worried about it!

at this point it seems unlikely we will be adding a rubber band tire car to the fleet. More likely a replacement CUV and a different PU, neither of which will be a concern in that area.

——————————————————
You would have loved the cars of the 50s. Sidewall’s had to be around 5 inches and really stood out because whitewalls were in their heyday back then.

jmonroe

roadburner · January 6

The ti has its OEM 16" wheels.
The C43 has the optional 19" wheels, which was the only way to get the ROW 155 mph top speed.
The 20" wheels on my Wrangler will be replaced by the 17" Rubicon take offs my dealer gave me, which should eliminate the Mall Crawler vibe.

corvette · January 6

@roadburner - but, the taller sidewalls will make it harder to clip apexes in the Wrangler!

corvette · January 6

Looks like our final tally for 2025 was 35 punches. Congrats to our esteemed host @Michaell for hitting it right on the nose! I hope they waive your dues this year. I've put everyone's 2025 guesses below:

Punch guesses for 2025:
nyccarguy 1
tjc78 27
explorerx4 29
suydam 30
laurasdada 31
au1994 33
michaell 35
stickguy 36
roadburner 37
benjaminh 38
carnaught 38 (second to guess)

Michaell · January 6

corvette said:
Looks like our final tally for 2025 was 35 punches. Congrats to our esteemed host @Michaell for hitting it right on the nose! I hope they waive your dues this year. I've put everyone's 2025 guesses below:

Punch guesses for 2025:
nyccarguy 1
tjc78 27
explorerx4 29
suydam 30
laurasdada 31
au1994 33
michaell 35
stickguy 36
roadburner 37
benjaminh 38
carnaught 38 (second to guess)

🎉🎉🎉

stickguy · January 6

well nuts. If I had just gotten a chance to buy my wife a car for Christmas I would have nailed it!

tifighter · January 6

I’ll take the under for 2026.

corvette · January 6

I was doing a deep dive on Buick's EV offerings in China (not sold here). When I went to Buick USA's website and clicked on "future vehicles," which I think used to include an EV or two they were planning, it simply redirects to their 2025/2026 "current vehicles." Not a great sign for the brand, especially considering they only have four current models.

fintail · January 6

tjc78 said:
Don't we all just love low profile tires....

I'm getting a slight seat of the pants vibration - I hope the heck the wheel isn't bent.

Believe it or not the dealer was the easiest and cheapest (not by much) place to have this done. I was able to do it right online and set an appointment. Mavis, Tire Rack etc didn't even have the proper tires listed. Apparently there are several different versions of this tire.

That stinks as it won't be cheap! I've had the same experience re: price at the dealer for both all season replacements and winter tires. Their prices were at least as good as anyone else I found, and it was easy to book.

corvette · January 6

Ordered new tires for the Maverick... better safe than sorry, since there might be some snow on an upcoming road trip.

suydam · January 6

corvette said:
I was doing a deep dive on Buick's EV offerings in China (not sold here). When I went to Buick USA's website and clicked on "future vehicles," which I think used to include an EV or two they were planning, it simply redirects to their 2025/2026 "current vehicles." Not a great sign for the brand, especially considering they only have four current models.

Totally agree. I loved my Buick Encore and was hoping there would be little Buick EV when we were ready to replace it. So I’ve crossed Buick off my list.

stickguy · January 6

@corvette said:
Ordered new tires for the Maverick... better safe than sorry, since there might be some snow on an upcoming road trip.

What kind?

tjc78 · January 7

@fintail said:
That stinks as it won't be cheap! I've had the same experience re: price at the dealer for both all season replacements and winter tires. Their prices were at least as good as anyone else I found, and it was easy to book.

Most expensive tire I’ve had the pleasure of buying…. $535 all in.

benjaminh · January 7

corvette said:
Ordered new tires for the Maverick... better safe than sorry, since there might be some snow on an upcoming road trip.

How many miles are on your Maverick? What brand of tire came with it?

By the way, thanks Corvette for doing our car purchase count for 2025.

I realize you've already ordered your new tires, but Michelins are currently on sale at Costco. $829 for 4 CC2s, including installation and extended warranty, seems like a good price.

benjaminh · January 7

tjc78 said:

Most expensive tire I’ve had the pleasure of buying…. $535 all in.

What brand?

I tend to go higher end for my tires. I'm sure there are some good values in low cost tires, but Michelins seem to perform better and last longer, and so I feel like per mile and per year they also make sense.

tjc78 · January 7

benjaminh said:

tjc78 said:

Most expensive tire I’ve had the pleasure of buying…. $535 all in.

What brand?

I tend to go higher end for my tires. I'm sure there are some good values in low cost tires, but Michelins seem to perform better and last longer, and so I feel like per mile and per year they also make sense.

Pirelli P Zero (non-run flat) but some sort of special version with a heavy load rating and low rolling resistance for EVs. Completely ridiculous.

corvette · January 7

Sumitomo HTR A/S P03 (rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?)... I had the previous version (P02) on my Murano and really liked them, and they are rated higher than the OE Continentals. I'm at 28,000 miles.

I've noticed that most car YouTubers put really cheap tires on their cars that aren't frequently driven, which I suppose makes sense since some of those cars only see a few hundred miles a year.

stickguy · January 7

Those were on my list for possible replacements for our Acura if we still have it next winter.

nyccarguy · January 7

corvette said:
Ordered new tires for the Maverick... better safe than sorry, since there might be some snow on an upcoming road trip.

Ordered a new Maverick... better safe than sorry, since there might be some snow on an upcoming road trip.

Fixed that for you.

sda · January 7

@tjc78 said:

@fintail said:
That stinks as it won't be cheap! I've had the same experience re: price at the dealer for both all season replacements and winter tires. Their prices were at least as good as anyone else I found, and it was easy to book.

Most expensive tire I’ve had the pleasure of buying…. $535 all in.

Whoa!

benjaminh · January 7

corvette said:
Sumitomo HTR A/S P03 (rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?)... I had the previous version (P02) on my Murano and really liked them, and they are rated higher than the OE Continentals. I'm at 28,000 miles...

If you feel like saying, how much did you pay for the new tires?

And what were the original tires?

jmonroe1 · January 7

@tjc78 said:
Pirelli P Zero (non-run flat) but some sort of special version with a heavy load rating and low rolling resistance for EVs. Completely ridiculous.

——————————————————
Is that for 1 tire or 2? Did it at least include a road hazard warranty?

EDIT: I’m beginning to think that was for 1 tire. Road hazard question still applies.

jmonroe

nyccarguy · January 7

sda said:

@tjc78 said:

@fintail said:

That stinks as it won't be cheap! I've had the same experience re: price at the dealer for both all season replacements and winter tires. Their prices were at least as good as anyone else I found, and it was easy to book.

Most expensive tire I’ve had the pleasure of buying…. $535 all in.

Whoa!

+1

tjc78 · January 7

One tire mounted with NJ tax

qbrozen · January 7

Pretty sure this is my first year in a VERY long time without a car purchase. But I think I’ll be good for 2 or 3 this year. Son 1 wants to downgrade from the Opel and son 2 will be turning 17 in 363 days. Plus I will likely swap out the Sierra for something less cumbersome.

jmonroe1 · January 7

@tjc78 said:
One tire mounted with NJ tax

——————————————————-
Remind me not to get a car with those tires. I can’t remember exactly what 4 Michelin’s for my Genny at Tire Rack cost a year ago but I seem to remember something like just under 1100 bucks.

jmonroe C4

28firefighter · January 7

I really hope this year is focused on thinning the herd. Jeep and Tacoma are definitely redundant.

And the CTR is just so good to drive.

sda · January 7

@28firefighter said:
I really hope this year is focused on thinning the herd. Jeep and Tacoma are definitely redundant.

And the CTR is just so good to drive.

Hey, that's selling not buying!

corvette · January 7

@benjaminh - $790.76 all in with installation, disposal, tax, etc... I probably could have gotten CrossClimates from Costco for a bit more, but I don't have a membership, and I really like Discount Tire's service. The OEs are Continental ProContact TX. I'd have considered replacing them with the same type, but the Sumitomos are rated higher and are less expensive.

roadburner · January 7

I bought some raffle tickets for a G-Wagon; if I win it I can guarantee that my wife will insist on keeping it.

carnaught · January 7

First of all: a shout-out to @corvette for a fine job, as usual, for his punch record-keeping skills!

I’ll say 37 punches for 2026.

explorerx4 · January 7

I would have been closer to my predicted number if I hadn't bought a vehicle last year.

28firefighter · January 7

I’m going 32.

jmonroe1 · January 7

@roadburner said:
I bought some raffle tickets for a G-Wagon; if I win it I can guarantee that my wife will insist on keeping it.

——————————————————
And don’t even think about selling it and trying to keep that as a secret from her. That would result in this site losing a member. Could be another one of those Jimmy Hoffa thingies.

jmonroe

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