Car lovers?

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Speaking of chips on cars. My current Impreza wagon has no significant noticeable damage to the hood, but multiple spots on the front of the roof. Has anyone else seen that previously? Also, is there an effective patch on spots that have long since began rusting? Any tutorials? I'm not looking to do tons as this is a 2006 and I just would like to not see rust, but am not super motivated (obviously since I've let it get like this).

Where bugs and rock chips hit I theorize has partially to do with the aerodynamics and shape of the front of the vehicle. Also, it may be that the urethane bumper might lessen the impact of rocks, and save you some chips.

There are lots of sites that will sell you touch up paint. I have never used them, but for basic stuff, I've heard that Dr. Colorchip is relatively easy for what it is. Don't expect miracles. There are youtube videos of the process.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Coming home with me Tuesday or Wednesday night. 22k miles, $27k, 2012 Cadillac CTS Coupe 3.6L Performance/Luxury package. One owner, was just a corporate car. So excited.

IMAGE(http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z144/Blind_Evil/mineminemine_zpsaqxfdkyy.jpg)

So this is me from 2015. The CTS Coupe is still my daily driver, now has 62k miles. However, life has changed quite a bit and I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts or suggestions upon hearing my situation:

I have an 11 month old daughter who is amazing and so much work. My coupe was doing fine with her in an infant car seat. However, she is an enormous kid (she’s taller than most kids twice her age, seriously) so she’s in convertible car seats now. In my coupe, this means that I can’t even get the passenger seat to lock in the upright position. If the wife and I want to go somewhere in my car one of us has to sit in the back with the baby.

Therefore we generally use the wife’s car (2017 BMW X3) for the weekend and mine is relegated to my 7 minute commute.

My wife works in education and is starting back next week. This means I will be on the hook again for getting the kiddo to daycare. Getting her into the car sucks - I have to tuck her under my arm, all 32 inches and 24 pounds, like a football, and get my ass into the back to buckle her in. Getting her out is easier, I can slide her upward. I think doing this 5 times a week will get old fast.

My car is nearly paid off, and if I traded it in I would probably stand to make a bit of money. However, I’ve been looking forward to not having a large car payment. I would also prefer to keep it, as I quite like it and have had zero non-maintenance issues in 4 years of ownership.

I have options.

1. I can make a little on a trade, keep the same payment or lower, and get myself a newer sporty sedan. The downside is I’m losing a car I like and would be restarting a new loan. The upside is we can use either car for family time on the weekends. Wife would probably prefer this option.

2. I can buy a cheaper, older, larger vehicle. Upside is I can either buy outright (under $5k) or secure low payments on a short loan (under $10k), and I get a second vehicle to choose! Downside is possible reliability issues that come with vehicles at or over 100k miles. Wife has expressed disdain for this option as she believes anything older than 2010 to be useless and/or wastes of money.

3. I can wait til next spring when my car will be paid off and buy something a bit more expensive. My wife’s payment is a bit high so I would probably limit myself to a $15k budget, $18k tops.

I’ve been spoiled by our two cars so I would want a luxury brand or an oddball manual (kinda miss driving stick). Obviously has to have room in the back for a carseat, which are huge now. If I go with the newer sedan it has to be as fast or faster than my CTS. I’ve kinda pined for a huge luxury SUV for some reason. Some examples I’m considering:

Option 1 (newer sedan) Audi S4, BMW 5 Series, CTS Sedan.

Option 2: (older SUV, hatch, or wagon): Escalade, Navigator, Aviator, pre-2010 Cadillac SRX, Infiniti FX35/45, Jeep Commander, Mazdaspeed 3, Toyota 4Runner.

Open to any thoughts, musings, mocking, or suggestions. Thanks for reading!

Edit: updated with third option I forgot to list.

Blind_Evil wrote:

Option 1 (newer sedan) Audi S4, BMW 5 Series, CTS Sedan.

I like my 2016 S4 (scroll up thread for pics and purchase store), but the back seat is not too roomy if you plan to hold on to it for growing kids. It would work for awhile, but I suspect the CTS would better serve there. I also would stick to the B8.5's instead of the B8 generations, due to several expensive possible failures with the B8's being reportedly much improved on the B8.5's (Mechatronic on the DSG transmission being the biggest). I think the B8.5's started in 2013.

If you can live with the smaller back seat, and ATS might be a good bet money wise for you. That Alpha platform that the ATS, CTS, and Camaro share is great for sporty handling.

The Q5 is basically an A4 turned into an SUV, and the SQ5 is the equivalent sporty model to the S4 if that's your thing. I cross shopped those, and as you'd expect, they're more money than the sedans due to market shifts in recent years favoring the SUV's.

We checked out the Q5 when looking for my wife’s car - wasn’t for me. If I get an SUV it has to be large (and therefore old). She’s got the household covered for compact ones.

My daughter’s height would have to be a consideration if I went with a newer vehicle that I would be keeping a while. I know kids tend to level out in terms of the growth charts but she’s been off the charts since her 1 month checkup. My wife is 5’10 so I expect the daughter will always be on the taller end of the spectrum.

If I was in your shoes I know what my second car would be.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...

I miss mine a lot. I consider this one of the best looking sedans ever made.

I might misunderstand - you are considering getting a third car so you have a bigger one to drive daily to day care, because you don't want to give up your current car because you like it. But if you are driving the new third car daily, when are you going to drive your current car that you like? Think of it this way - would you buy that Cadillac today as a third car to keep it as an occasional driver? I would bet no you wouldn't, it wouldn't be worth the money. I say nix the third car idea. Not to mention having old, less reliable transportation is not a good thing when you are responsible for kid commuting. Having been in a similar market two years ago, there is nothing good under $10k. And you'll have insurance costs, registration, parking headaches, etc. It is not just the cost of the third car.

Speaking from experience with my 3.5 year old, your small backseat problem will only get worse. My wife is 5'10" also and our kid was in the 90s percentile-wise her first year too. As her legs get longer they'll stick out more and more from her car seat until they get long enough to start dangling down around 3 years old. We made a mistake and bought a small SUV when she was one (a BMW X1) and as she grew it was just too small for her legs sticking out to not be against the front seat. We got rid of it even though we were $5k underwater.

Just recently she started getting in and out of her car seat herself, although we still buckle / unbuckle her. I agree it would be a huge hassle to have a coupe and I think if you keep it you will regret it. My suggestion is to trade it in for a sedan. Only you guys can decide your budget comfort. If your primary concerns are a 'fast' sedan with lots of rear leg room, don't sleep on the BMW 340GT. They have more back seat space than a 5 series, are cheaper, fun to drive, and 0-60 in less than 5 seconds. We were very close to buying one but decided we really wanted at least one SUV in the family (this was two years ago). The main downside is the current year is based on the previous 3 series model, not the newest revision, but this could mean they will sell them cheaper.

I can identify with this. I loved my Infiniti G35 coupe, but when my daughter arrived, it just didn't work. I traded in to a G37 sedan.

A few years later, I was driving two kids around every weekend, and I started to feel like I wanted more steel around them. I ended up taking over my wife's JX35 because she wanted a minivan, which I traded my sedan in on.

We lost both those in Harvey, and I got a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which I'm happy with, and my wife replaced her minivan (but just this week she said she'd rather go back to an SUV like her old Infiniti).

I will add one general car shopping note, which I've shared before: Android Auto is a game changer, and I won't buy another car without it. I assume Apple Carplay is similarly magical.

LeapingGnome wrote:

I might misunderstand - you are considering getting a third car so you have a bigger one to drive daily to day care, because you don't want to give up your current car because you like it. But if you are driving the new third car daily, when are you going to drive your current car that you like? Think of it this way - would you buy that Cadillac today as a third car to keep it as an occasional driver? I would bet no you wouldn't, it wouldn't be worth the money. I say nix the third car idea. Not to mention having old, less reliable transportation is not a good thing when you are responsible for kid commuting. Having been in a similar market two years ago, there is nothing good under $10k. And you'll have insurance costs, registration, parking headaches, etc. It is not just the cost of the third car.

Point well taken. To clarify, my house, daycare, and work are situated in a manner where I would drop her off in the hypothetical third car, return home and switch to my caddy, and only add a minute to my commute. They’re basically three points on a straight line where my house is in the middle. I also work 4 days per week, so on Fridays I would get to drive my car on whatever hijinks I get into.

To answer the hypothetical, if I owned a well running, boring SUV or sedan and didn’t have my CTS, I would be shopping for a roadster to drive for fun. The CTS basically fills that role now.

My car’s backseat actually isn’t the type of small that’s generally associated with a coupe. I can fit back there in terms of legroom, though headspace is tight. The issue is the rearfacing length of the car seat I got is ridiculously long.

I definitely checked out the BMW GTs while looking at her X3. My (admittedly shallow) issue would be that it’s too similar to hers. I’m not in love with the BMW interior and basically all their cars have the same layout.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

I assume Apple Carplay is similarly magical.

Look, I'm an Android guy, always have been. Have a Pixel 2 XL as my personal phone, and an iPhone XS for work though I barely use it.

...Apple Carplay makes Android Auto look like a smoldering pile of diseased carcass. It's embarrassing, honestly.

r013nt0 wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

I assume Apple Carplay is similarly magical.

Look, I'm an Android guy, always have been. Have a Pixel 2 XL as my personal phone, and an iPhone XS for work though I barely use it.

...Apple Carplay makes Android Auto look like a smoldering pile of diseased carcass. It's embarrassing, honestly.

In my (admittedly limited) experience, the Apple Carplay was buggy slow sh*t in my friend's BMW compared to the Android Auto in my Honda Fit. I think like most smart phones, your experience depends on the manufacturer and whatever bloat they add to the experience (or don't).

CarPlay in my 2018 BMW was very good, and BMW is one of the few (or only?) manufacturers that offers wireless CarPlay. Most others you have to plug your phone in. I think it does depend on the make / model / year though.

I have to plug my Samsung Galaxy s8+ into my 2018 Grand Cherokee for Android Auto, but I don't mind a bit. I like charging as I drive.

Yeah as a guy I don't mind as much, I just keep my phone in my pocket and take it out when I sit down in the car anyway so it is not a big deal to plug it in too. For my wife though she keeps her phone in her purse almost always so it is more of a hassle for her to get it out. She has an Apple watch for common stuff like checking texts or weather or calls, so sometimes her phone gets buried a bit. It is just one of those nice things to have that gives bigger satisfaction than it seems it should.

Can I have one of these when they're 3 or 4 years old and selling for a lot less than new and I can almost afford one?

Audi's brining the 600 hp RS6 Avant to the US.

IMAGE(https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2019/08/2020-Audi-RS-6-Avant-front-three-quarter-in-motion.jpg)

My wife currently drives a 2017 BMW X1. I thought it would be plenty of room for the future baby back then. Had our first child 4 days ago. Wow, the back seat is super tight with the child seat. I can't drive comfortably with the the child seat behind the drivers. Very tight. Thinking of maybe getting rid of this and getting one of those new Honda Passport or a BMW X3 or X5. The X3 doesn't look that much bigger than the X1. Anyways, my wife could care less what kind of car she drives, so maybe I'll stick with a non-luxury brand. Anyone have experience with the Honda Passport or BMW X3 or X5?

Baby fits great in my Range Rover Sport.

On the Apple Carplay thing with BMW with wireless, I feel like it is sluggish with wireless and loses connection. It's quick with my Range Rover Sport while plug in.

I thought the X3 had a lot bigger back seat than the X1 when I was shopping the used ones a year or so ago, and the new ones are bigger than the last gens. But my memory might be wrong.

As for BMW and Carplay, I'd just be ticked that they're making you pay to use it like a subscription once the initial free period goes away. And the fact that they don't even bother with Android Audio pretty much removed them from my consideration for a next vehicle. And I almost bought an M235i last time.

It could be worse, you could be in my situation.

Paid the Four Hundred (f*cking) dollars to get the AA/ACP update to my 2017 MX-5 RF. It works more or less, though they make really bizarre decisions regarding the screen and touch. Anyway, a serious problem I have always had with this car is that the USB ports are in the center stack as usual. But there's no room there for a phone. The tiny cubby between the seats basically fits my sunglasses and nothing else.

Now, I know what you're saying. "It's a Miata, idiot. You knew space was at a premium when you bought it." And yes, you are right!

But check it out. There's the center-rear glove box. Put the ports in there like so many other auto makers do. Then I could plug my phone in and toss it in there. I commute alone, so most days I can just toss the phone on the passenger seat. But that's obviously less of an option when I have a passenger.

It's really, really stupid.

Still glad I paid the $400, though.

r013nt0 wrote:

Now, I know what you're saying. "It's a Miata, idiot. You knew space was at a premium when you bought it." And yes, you are right!

No, I'm saying: "Just get a mount and stick it to the dash!"

Look, I've got room for either a very small air freshener for those days when I need to keep it closed up, OR a phone mount...

@Blind Evil, Why don't you look into a 4 door CTS? That body style is getting cheap, and you could probably still find lower mile examples of them.

Option 2: (older SUV, hatch, or wagon): Escalade, Navigator, Aviator, pre-2010 Cadillac SRX, Infiniti FX35/45, Jeep Commander, Mazdaspeed 3, Toyota 4Runner.

As an ex GM tech and current Mazda tech I would skip the SRX (time wasn't friendly to the pre-2010 body style, I haven't seen one that didn't need a laundry list of things) and the Mazdaspeed 3 (Despite me loving this car, it's near impossible to find one that hasn't been beat to oblivion or a total money pit)

Balthezor wrote:

My wife currently drives a 2017 BMW X1. I thought it would be plenty of room for the future baby back then. Had our first child 4 days ago. Wow, the back seat is super tight with the child seat. I can't drive comfortably with the the child seat behind the drivers. Very tight. Thinking of maybe getting rid of this and getting one of those new Honda Passport or a BMW X3 or X5. The X3 doesn't look that much bigger than the X1. Anyways, my wife could care less what kind of car she drives, so maybe I'll stick with a non-luxury brand. Anyone have experience with the Honda Passport or BMW X3 or X5?

Yep, that is what we found with our X1 too and traded it in. We ended up with a Lexus RX after cross shopping almost everything. This was last year, and the X3 was not much bigger than the X1 in the backseat. My wife did not like driving the X5, she said it was obviously made to be a man's car. The Honda Pilot was too big, and the Passport wasn't out yet, and she did not like the CRV. We also looked at the usual other stuff (MDX too big, RDX not great, Mercedes too small, Macan too small and expensive, Audi too despicable, Jaguar too small, Infiniti too unsafe, BMW GT but we we wanted an SUV). One that we didn't look at but should have is Volvo.

I would take a serious look at the Passport, Honda is killing it lately with a lot of their cars and it is loaded for less than $40k. If you want to stick with an SUV and a luxury brand, the best combination of value and space is the RX and your wife will probably like it. The 2020s were just updated and have CarPlay too.

Also, just wondering why did you put the baby seat behind the driver's seat instead of the passenger's? We always kept ours on the passenger side so we can reach back there if needed.

Wait, you have to pay a subscription fee for Apple Carplay? What the hell?

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Wait, you have to pay a subscription fee for Apple Carplay? What the hell?

Only at BMW. Everybody else, it's free.

It isn't really 'free' from other manufacturers since it is/was pretty common from a lot of manufacturers to have to pay something like $300 on a new car to have CarPlay enabled, or have it bundled with upgraded navigation or something.

BMW moved to an $80 annual fee with the first year free. It isn't as bad as it sounds but it bites used-car buyers. On a new car it is basically break even or even saving money for the first five years (1 free + 4 for $80 = $320 over 5 years).

Most new BMWs are leased, so lease customers actually come out ahead. For the actual buyers, most don't keep their cars for five years so it is a good deal for them too. It is the used car buyers that get shafted since they don't get the free year and tend to keep cars for longer. I would not be surprised in a couple of years if they discontinue the annual fee.

MannishBoy wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Wait, you have to pay a subscription fee for Apple Carplay? What the hell?

Only at BMW. Everybody else, it's free.

Man, that would absolutely turn me off from buying. I guess they figure it isn't costing them sales, and maybe they're right, but it makes a difference to some of us. Not the money, really, but the ick factor.

Fastmav347 wrote:

@Blind Evil, Why don't you look into a 4 door CTS? That body style is getting cheap, and you could probably still find lower mile examples of them.

I mentioned the CTS under option one, and my eye has been caught by the 2014 Vsport. Not as expensive as a straight CTS-V, not quite as quick, but still pretty damn fast. There’s a 2014 model with 29k miles an hour from my house on sale for $26500 that I might go see. My concern here is that I’m just not fond of the look.

Another option that has my attention is a 2015 or 2016 Mercedes GLA 45 AMG. They’re kind of uncommon, only one near me is a bit more than I would want to spend ($32500, 30k miles), and it’s missing an option I would want. My concern here is that the ride is harsh for a luxury brand, being that it’s essentially a hot-hatch, and that I’ve been spoiled in that regard by my caddy and the wife’s X3. But yo that acceleration!

LeapingGnome wrote:

It isn't really 'free' from other manufacturers since it is/was pretty common from a lot of manufacturers to have to pay something like $300 on a new car to have CarPlay enabled, or have it bundled with upgraded navigation or something.

Are you sure? That article says just the opposite. It also acknowledges that there is some cost to the manufacturer to install the software and test it with their hardware, to be fair - but they do that all day long with tons of features.

The GLAs are small inside, I think you would regret the minimal backseat space.

MannishBoy wrote:

Can I have one of these when they're 3 or 4 years old and selling for a lot less than new and I can almost afford one?

Audi's brining the 600 hp RS6 Avant to the US.

Nice car... but what is going on with this upholstery?

IMAGE(https://www.motortrend.com/uploads/sites/5/2019/08/2020-Audi-RS-6-Avant-rear-interior-seats.jpg?fit=around%7C875:492)

LeapingGnome wrote:

The GLAs are small inside, I think you would regret the minimal backseat space.

I need to sit in one. Some reviews say it has legroom, some say it doesn’t. I remember as a kid I didn’t mind climbing in the back of a small two door car because I thought it was super cool to be in a convertible, maybe she’ll feel that way XD