The Automobile Thread

My lease is up on my business car in a few weeks and it's been eye-opening to see what's happened with prices and dealer mark-ups. If I were to purchase my 2018 truck today, it would probably be 75k. I've had plug-in and and electric vehicles, and want to stay in those camps due to gas prices (my truck gets terrible mileage) and I want to use the carpool lane. Since I have solar and generate much more energy than I use, I can charge at home. I'm seeing 4k mark-ups on Hondas! I never thought a Tesla would be a 'good deal', but with dropped prices on the Y, the 7500 tax credit, and no dealer bs, it's looking pretty good. I'm going to rent one for the next 24 hours and see how I like it.

If you're wondering whose buying all the 100k vehicles, just ride at Aliso on the weekend. On Sunday I saw 2 new Bronco Raptors, a Ford 150 Raptor, a Ram TRX and a few modified Land Rovers. Gotta love the OC!
 
Titus said:
My lease is up on my business car in a few weeks and it's been eye-opening to see what's happened with prices and dealer mark-ups. If I were to purchase my 2018 truck today, it would probably be 75k. I've had plug-in and and electric vehicles, and want to stay in those camps due to gas prices (my truck gets terrible mileage) and I want to use the carpool lane. Since I have solar and generate much more energy than I use, I can charge at home. I'm seeing 4k mark-ups on Hondas! I never thought a Tesla would be a 'good deal', but with dropped prices on the Y, the 7500 tax credit, and no dealer bs, it's looking pretty good. I'm going to rent one for the next 24 hours and see how I like it.

If you're wondering whose buying all the 100k vehicles, just ride at Aliso on the weekend. On Sunday I saw 2 new Bronco Raptors, a Ford 150 Raptor, a Ram TRX and a few modified Land Rovers. Gotta love the OC!
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Lots of folks have "money to burn". :eek:
 
Titus said:
My lease is up on my business car in a few weeks and it's been eye-opening to see what's happened with prices and dealer mark-ups. If I were to purchase my 2018 truck today, it would probably be 75k. I've had plug-in and and electric vehicles, and want to stay in those camps due to gas prices (my truck gets terrible mileage) and I want to use the carpool lane. Since I have solar and generate much more energy than I use, I can charge at home. I'm seeing 4k mark-ups on Hondas! I never thought a Tesla would be a 'good deal', but with dropped prices on the Y, the 7500 tax credit, and no dealer bs, it's looking pretty good. I'm going to rent one for the next 24 hours and see how I like it.

If you're wondering whose buying all the 100k vehicles, just ride at Aliso on the weekend. On Sunday I saw 2 new Bronco Raptors, a Ford 150 Raptor, a Ram TRX and a few modified Land Rovers. Gotta love the OC!
Click to expand...
If you are leasing, take a look at the Audi Q4 e-tron. Leases are quite reasonable right now, and there's an added discount if you're a Costco member.
 
Titus said:
I'm seeing 4k mark-ups on Hondas! I never thought a Tesla would be a 'good deal', but with dropped prices on the Y, the 7500 tax credit, and no dealer bs, it's looking pretty good. I'm going to rent one for the next 24 hours and see how I like it.
Click to expand...

You're likely much more informed than I but just in case...

If/when the time comes, make sure to order one from existing inventory which is usually discounted. Or use waitingfortesla.com. Inventory changes daily...

Make sure to get and order from a referral link for $500 discount from family/friends (they will get 10K referral points at this time which is good for 4000 supercharging miles). If not, once you order, you cannot claim any referral without cancelling (and forfeit $250 ordering fee) and start over.
 
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siata94 said:
You're likely much more informed than I but just in case...

If/when the time comes, make sure to order one from existing inventory which is usually discounted. Or use waitingfortesla.com. Inventory changes daily...

Make sure to get a referral link for $500 discount from family/friends (they will get 10K referral points at this time which is good for 4000 supercharging miles). If not, once you order, you cannot claim any referral without cancelling (and forfeit $250 ordering fee) and start over.
Click to expand...

Thanks--I started searching the existing inventory last week and found a few with hitches for less than ordering a new one through Tesla. My neighbor sent me his link so I have the discount as well.

I liked the Y. It took a little bit of driving to get used to it, but it's pretty user-friendly overall. And I really like the idea of not spending $ on gas when I drive to trailheads.
 
I've read that tesla used to have overnight demo. Contact tesla maybe they still do it but don't advertise it. Get demo drive referral link from your neighbor.

Have you driven the 3? Or do you prefer the Y form factor?
 
Picked up a 2023 RAM Rebel today. The crazy thing is I've never been a fan of Dodge/RAM vehicles but the trucks have grown on me since they changed the front grill areas a few years back. I've had a Ford truck since 2000. My father-in-law drives Dodge and I was impressed with his latest purchase and another buddy had the V-6 diesel that I have ridden in and drove to Oregon. We actually went to PHX to purchase a Toyota Tundra that a dealer had for a great deal and of course it was sold when we arrived. Another truck we were interested in already had a deposit placed on it so we went to Plan B and I we swung into the RAM dealer to educate myself as I had no idea what the difference was from a Big Horn and a Longhorn. We went inside to get some water and that's where they had the Rebel. I have to admit is was love at first sight as I love the Lunar Grey color on most vehicles.I couldn't really do a test drive as I had been drinking earlier and was too tired anyway so we told them we'd be back in the morning. I also had an appointment to test drive a different Tundra model, the higher end Platinum.

We drove the Rebel and I had zero complaints. The predicted mileage is less than impressive but I've never got great mileage with my 2013 Ford F150 with 295 tires either so whatever. We then drove a loaded, 2023 top of the line Limited that was $13,500 off but while the airbag suspension was supposed to be a huge bonus, I wasn't a fan of how it wallowed in the corners. It also lacked the acceleration of the Rebel. Off to Toyota we went while I told the guys at the RAM dealer and I though the Tundra drove better than the Limited but not as nice as the Rebel but the big turn-off was the cheesy everything on the interior. I've had 6-7 different Toyota's in the past and never had an issue with their quality but it was completely sub-par to the RAM. We went to lunch as I tried to decide if I wanted to go look at the new F150's but my hang-up was they stopped doing leather in the FX4 F150's and they made no attempt to do high end cloth (I though the Chevy Z71 had the best cloth seats but we wanted leather). Secondly, all the local dealers still play the "add on" game....on F150's of all things!!! $5000 market adjustment, $1399 for window tint and a couple other things bringing it to over $7K on every truck. I wasn't in the mood to play those games.

I called the RAM guy and said "give me some hard #'s or I'm headed back North to Prescott". They came down $5300 off sticker and gave me $3600 more than Carmax offered for my F150. The truck is set up with the white lettering facing out on the tires and I told them I wanted it switched so they gave me another $200 credit to get it done. I then got a slight "refund" on my registration because it doesn't expire for several months....who knew?
 
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siata94 said:
I've read that tesla used to have overnight demo. Contact tesla maybe they still do it but don't advertise it. Get demo drive referral link from your neighbor.

Have you driven the 3? Or do you prefer the Y form factor?
Click to expand...
I've had the chance to drive all the Tesla models (except Cybertruck) and the Y is the best option. I used Turo and rented a Y for around 70 bucks which is less than renting a mountain bike for a day!
 
mtbMike said:
Picked up a 2023 RAM Rebel today. The crazy thing is I've never been a fan of Dodge/RAM vehicles but the trucks have grown on me since they changed the front grill areas a few years back. I've had a Ford truck since 2000. My father-in-law drives Dodge and I was impressed with his latest purchase and another buddy had the V-6 diesel that I have ridden in and drove to Oregon. We actually went to PHX to purchase a Toyota Tundra that a dealer had for a great deal and of course it was sold when we arrived. Another truck we were interested in already had a deposit placed on it so we went to Plan B and I we swung into the RAM dealer to educate myself as I had no idea what the difference was from a Big Horn and a Longhorn. We went inside to get some water and that's where they had the Rebel. I have to admit is was love at first sight as I love the Lunar Grey color on most vehicles.I couldn't really do a test drive as I had been drinking earlier and was too tired anyway so we told them we'd be back in the morning. I also had an appointment to test drive a different Tundra model, the higher end Platinum.

We drove the Rebel and I had zero complaints. The predicted mileage is less than impressive but I've never got great mileage with my 2013 Ford F150 with 295 tires either so whatever. We then drove a loaded, 2023 top of the line Limited that was $13,500 off but while the airbag suspension was supposed to be a huge bonus, I wasn't a fan of how it wallowed in the corners. It also lacked the acceleration of the Rebel. Off to Toyota we went while I told the guys at the RAM dealer and I though the Tundra drove better than the Limited but not as nice as the Rebel but the big turn-off was the cheesy everything on the interior. I've had 6-7 different Toyota's in the past and never had an issue with their quality but it was completely sub-par to the RAM. We went to lunch as I tried to decide if I wanted to go look at the new F150's but my hang-up was they stopped doing leather in the FX4 F150's and they made no attempt to do high end cloth (I though the Chevy Z71 had the best cloth seats but we wanted leather). Secondly, all the local dealers still play the "add on" game....on F150's of all things!!! $5000 market adjustment, $1399 for window tint and a couple other things bringing it to over $7K on every truck. I wasn't in the mood to play those games.

I called the RAM guy and said "give me some hard #'s or I'm headed back North to Prescott". They came down $5300 off sticker and gave me $3600 more than Carmax offered for my F150. The truck is set up with the white lettering facing out on the tires and I told them I wanted it switched so they gave me another $200 credit to get it done. I then got a slight "refund" on my registration because it doesn't expire for several months....who knew?
Click to expand...

The new Ram Rebels are sweet! Have fun.
 
mtbMike said:
Picked up a 2023 RAM Rebel today. The crazy thing is I've never been a fan of Dodge/RAM vehicles but the trucks have grown on me since they changed the front grill areas a few years back. I've had a Ford truck since 2000. My father-in-law drives Dodge and I was impressed with his latest purchase and another buddy had the V-6 diesel that I have ridden in and drove to Oregon. We actually went to PHX to purchase a Toyota Tundra that a dealer had for a great deal and of course it was sold when we arrived. Another truck we were interested in already had a deposit placed on it so we went to Plan B and I we swung into the RAM dealer to educate myself as I had no idea what the difference was from a Big Horn and a Longhorn. We went inside to get some water and that's where they had the Rebel. I have to admit is was love at first sight as I love the Lunar Grey color on most vehicles.I couldn't really do a test drive as I had been drinking earlier and was too tired anyway so we told them we'd be back in the morning. I also had an appointment to test drive a different Tundra model, the higher end Platinum.

We drove the Rebel and I had zero complaints. The predicted mileage is less than impressive but I've never got great mileage with my 2013 Ford F150 with 295 tires either so whatever. We then drove a loaded, 2023 top of the line Limited that was $13,500 off but while the airbag suspension was supposed to be a huge bonus, I wasn't a fan of how it wallowed in the corners. It also lacked the acceleration of the Rebel. Off to Toyota we went while I told the guys at the RAM dealer and I though the Tundra drove better than the Limited but not as nice as the Rebel but the big turn-off was the cheesy everything on the interior. I've had 6-7 different Toyota's in the past and never had an issue with their quality but it was completely sub-par to the RAM. We went to lunch as I tried to decide if I wanted to go look at the new F150's but my hang-up was they stopped doing leather in the FX4 F150's and they made no attempt to do high end cloth (I though the Chevy Z71 had the best cloth seats but we wanted leather). Secondly, all the local dealers still play the "add on" game....on F150's of all things!!! $5000 market adjustment, $1399 for window tint and a couple other things bringing it to over $7K on every truck. I wasn't in the mood to play those games.

I called the RAM guy and said "give me some hard #'s or I'm headed back North to Prescott". They came down $5300 off sticker and gave me $3600 more than Carmax offered for my F150. The truck is set up with the white lettering facing out on the tires and I told them I wanted it switched so they gave me another $200 credit to get it done. I then got a slight "refund" on my registration because it doesn't expire for several months....who knew?
Click to expand...

All that and no pics???

What a tease
 
mtbMike said:
Picked up a 2023 RAM Rebel today. The crazy thing is I've never been a fan of Dodge/RAM vehicles but the trucks have grown on me since they changed the front grill areas a few years back. I've had a Ford truck since 2000. My father-in-law drives Dodge and I was impressed with his latest purchase and another buddy had the V-6 diesel that I have ridden in and drove to Oregon. We actually went to PHX to purchase a Toyota Tundra that a dealer had for a great deal and of course it was sold when we arrived. Another truck we were interested in already had a deposit placed on it so we went to Plan B and I we swung into the RAM dealer to educate myself as I had no idea what the difference was from a Big Horn and a Longhorn. We went inside to get some water and that's where they had the Rebel. I have to admit is was love at first sight as I love the Lunar Grey color on most vehicles.I couldn't really do a test drive as I had been drinking earlier and was too tired anyway so we told them we'd be back in the morning. I also had an appointment to test drive a different Tundra model, the higher end Platinum.

We drove the Rebel and I had zero complaints. The predicted mileage is less than impressive but I've never got great mileage with my 2013 Ford F150 with 295 tires either so whatever. We then drove a loaded, 2023 top of the line Limited that was $13,500 off but while the airbag suspension was supposed to be a huge bonus, I wasn't a fan of how it wallowed in the corners. It also lacked the acceleration of the Rebel. Off to Toyota we went while I told the guys at the RAM dealer and I though the Tundra drove better than the Limited but not as nice as the Rebel but the big turn-off was the cheesy everything on the interior. I've had 6-7 different Toyota's in the past and never had an issue with their quality but it was completely sub-par to the RAM. We went to lunch as I tried to decide if I wanted to go look at the new F150's but my hang-up was they stopped doing leather in the FX4 F150's and they made no attempt to do high end cloth (I though the Chevy Z71 had the best cloth seats but we wanted leather). Secondly, all the local dealers still play the "add on" game....on F150's of all things!!! $5000 market adjustment, $1399 for window tint and a couple other things bringing it to over $7K on every truck. I wasn't in the mood to play those games.

I called the RAM guy and said "give me some hard #'s or I'm headed back North to Prescott". They came down $5300 off sticker and gave me $3600 more than Carmax offered for my F150. The truck is set up with the white lettering facing out on the tires and I told them I wanted it switched so they gave me another $200 credit to get it done. I then got a slight "refund" on my registration because it doesn't expire for several months....who knew?
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My ‘22…….

IMG_1325.jpeg
 
Minor milestone on the new ride but happy to have the bike rack installed now. Big thanks to @sir crashalot for spending waaay too much time trying to help me get the Curt hitch receiver installed. I actually do owe you lunch or dinner even though you denied my offer previously. We (mostly he, my arm is still kinda recovering from skin cancer surgery two weeks back) got 3 of the 4 bolts in but that 4th one was fighting us so we gave up 2.5 hours in :bang:. Neither of us care for defeat like thiso_O. Took the car to Uhaul in lake forest to see if they could finish the job. One of the guys working there took a look at it for me and then proceeded to get it installed for the low cost of free fifty free:eek:. I was dumbfounded so I asked him his preference in adult sport sodas and proceeded to purchase a 12er for his generosity. Also think the rack looks nice on the CX5 as shown below:D.

IMG_1143.jpg
 
tbarnesarc said:
Minor milestone on the new ride but happy to have the bike rack installed now. Big thanks to @sir crashalot for spending waaay too much time trying to help me get the Curt hitch receiver installed. I actually do owe you lunch or dinner even though you denied my offer previously. We (mostly he, my arm is still kinda recovering from skin cancer surgery two weeks back) got 3 of the 4 bolts in but that 4th one was fighting us so we gave up 2.5 hours in :bang:. Neither of us care for defeat like thiso_O. Took the car to Uhaul in lake forest to see if they could finish the job. One of the guys working there took a look at it for me and then proceeded to get it installed for the low cost of free fifty free:eek:. I was dumbfounded so I asked him his preference in adult sport sodas and proceeded to purchase a 12er for his generosity. Also think the rack looks nice on the CX5 as shown below:D.

View attachment 90451
Click to expand...
My Thule rack continues to serve me well and it looks sexy on my CRV.
 
tbarnesarc said:
Minor milestone on the new ride but happy to have the bike rack installed now. Big thanks to @sir crashalot for spending waaay too much time trying to help me get the Curt hitch receiver installed. I actually do owe you lunch or dinner even though you denied my offer previously. We (mostly he, my arm is still kinda recovering from skin cancer surgery two weeks back) got 3 of the 4 bolts in but that 4th one was fighting us so we gave up 2.5 hours in :bang:. Neither of us care for defeat like thiso_O. Took the car to Uhaul in lake forest to see if they could finish the job. One of the guys working there took a look at it for me and then proceeded to get it installed for the low cost of free fifty free:eek:. I was dumbfounded so I asked him his preference in adult sport sodas and proceeded to purchase a 12er for his generosity. Also think the rack looks nice on the CX5 as shown below:D.

View attachment 90451
Click to expand...
YAY! Welcome to the new Millennium! We've been waiting for you.
 
DangerDirtyD said:
Southern California Association of Governments does take into account illegal immigration when projecting growth. Not all pundits count all the heads.
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So I should brush up on my Spanish?

At the rate that English speaking people are leaving here and moving to:
Texas
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
Montana
Wyoming
Colorado
New Mexico
Arkansas
Tennesee
Kentucky
S Carolina
N Carolina
Florida

... seems like Spanish could end up being the main language spoken here eventually?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
So I should brush up on my Spanish?

At the rate that English speaking people are leaving here and moving to:
Texas
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
Montana
Wyoming
Colorado
New Mexico
Arkansas
Tennesee
Kentucky
S Carolina
N Carolina
Florida

... seems like Spanish could end up being the main language spoken here eventually?
Click to expand...
Or Vietnamese, or Chinese, or Farsi, or Russian or Korean or Hindi or...

There are many who would gladly take your place. Many people from other lands have already bought up huge chunks of Cow-if-er-nia! Check the native language(s) spoken by those who own homes in the nation's most expensive zip codes.
 
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herzalot said:
Or Vietnamese, or Chinese, or Farsi, or Russian or Korean or Hindi or...

There are many who would gladly take your place. Many people from other lands have already bought up huge chunks of Cow-if-er-nia! Check the native language(s) spoken by those who own homes in the nation's most expensive zip codes.
Click to expand...
True! The Chinese have done so here in the richer zones. A client of mine was approached out of the blue several years ago. The offer was too good to pass up so they sold their beautiful mansion and now they rent another one in a neighboring slightly less, but still snooty, neighborhood. :laugh:
 
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