New toys, auto edition...

gweimer · January 28, 2013, 04:07:06 AM

I think Federal law gives you 72 hours, regardless of state law.

dadagoboi · January 28, 2013, 07:21:25 AM

From DMV.org
http://www.dmv.org/co-colorado/buy-sell/car-dealers/dealer-related-information.php

"On the dealer's side of things, some consumers are under the impression that there exists a 72-hour trial period on the car contract they signed. Many complaints are in regards to these consumers trying, and failing, to return the vehicle in this period. There is no law on the books allowing for this practice, thus the complaint will be moot."

That said, I'm sure they'll take it back. Everything has a price.

Highlander · January 28, 2013, 03:58:06 PM

Fingers crossed...

Red Ferrari next...?

Pilgrim · January 28, 2013, 07:04:04 PM

Well, things are shaping up. Drove a red 2006 Audi A3 (a car she has been curious about) and frankly was disappointed. The appointments felt more like her 1994 BMW 3-series than a 200's car. Maybe it was too basic a model, and the A3 is Audi's base model. The drivetrain and 6-speed were fine, but the overall feel of the vehicle was dated. It felt closer to a 1990's BMW than to a 2000's BMW. We drove a 2003 BMW 3-series a couple of weeks ago and it was light years ahead of this Audi's look/feel.

Then....we drove a 2009 BMW 328xi. Wow, simply wow...squared. It has only 27K miles, and was a BMW executive car for its first 9000 miles. It has been in the local area since then. It's a black metallic 2-door coupe with AWD and power hoo-hah (see 1960's MAD magazines for rough translation). It's an automatic but has the steering wheel paddle shifters you can tap with your thumbs. Even in drive mode, one tap instantly selects a gear manually, then allows shifting up and down with additional taps. Faaaaar freakin' out! And it has the second generation Idrive (improved over the semi-mystical and terminally confusing original Idrive) which makes perfect sense to me.

It means a big step up in cost, but it's still 20K less than the car cost new and with only 27K on the odometer, this may very well be a 10-year car for my wife.

The problem is - once you drive a car like this, settling for anything less isn't easy. And we JUST got the last daughter out of college, so we're not helping her with rent or tuition.

Looks like this one except the color is Black Sapphire Metallic, a color with a clear finish loaded with metallic that looks an inch deep:

More like this...

My wife is in meetings all day tomorrow but we'll drive it again and finish the deal when she gets out.

Then the next AM we're headed to Oklahoma via air, so we'll have to leave the new toy parked until we get back Saturday.

Dave W · January 28, 2013, 10:00:23 PM

That sounds like a much better solution for her.

Highlander · January 29, 2013, 04:45:37 PM

So the Smart car is out of contention...?

Pilgrim · January 29, 2013, 10:06:31 PM

Mission accomplished. This thing is loaded with accessories - like operating a speaceship!

Dave W · January 30, 2013, 09:44:37 AM

Nice!

4stringer77 · January 30, 2013, 10:18:33 AM

How's the stereo? You going to put some tricked out rims on there?

nofi · January 30, 2013, 11:22:22 AM

let me air a pet peave here. they are called wheels, not rims. the rim is the outer edge of the wheel. but i guess its in the lexicon for good.

4stringer77 · January 30, 2013, 01:08:14 PM

Wheels go on your grandpa's buick. Rims are for players, pimps and ballers, none of which Pilgrim probably wants to have associated to his wife's car. At least I didn't say shoes.

Pilgrim · January 30, 2013, 02:21:36 PM

I'm a big believer in keeping the wheel/tire set to stock, or going no more than 10MM wider than stock on the tires. Heck, the stock tire on this is a 225/45/17, so they're as low profile as I'd recommend that anyone use on the street. And I'm even a bigger believer in not blowing $800 or more on aftermarket rims that probably aren't as stout as the factory ones and are even harder to match if I bend one.

So the stock setup will stay, probably forever as far as "rims."

The run-flat tires on these don't have a great reputation, so when they wear out I'll probably put conventional tires on it and add a can of tire slime in the trunk. Tire failures are pretty rare, and failures that a can of slime won't patch long enough to get to a tire shop are even more rare.

nofi · January 30, 2013, 02:55:08 PM

you must be white, home boy.

the mojo hobo · January 30, 2013, 03:08:17 PM

Quote from: Pilgrim on January 30, 2013, 02:21:36 PM
the stock tire on this is a 225/45/17, so they're as low profile as I'd recommend that anyone use on the street.

That is the same size as on my Subaru. A few months ago when I had my tires rotated the guy says I have a bent wheel. Anticipating a new tires I went back and asked which wheel it was. Now there is only one that isn't bent.

Pilgrim · February 01, 2013, 10:17:04 AM

I hear you about the wheels. I have advised my wife that playing Baja with the BMW is discouraged.

Bummer to bring the car home, park it in the garage and then leave for 4 days. I suspect my wife will go joyriding when she gets home, and I don't blame her!

Daughter is now graduated from her internship - we'll sightsee in OK City today (yes, there are some things worth seeing) and head back tomorrow. JoAnn is flying back and will get to Denver about Noon, daughter Ali and I are driving back (730 miles) straight up I-35 to where I-70 crosses Kansas - we'll take a left and cruise into Colorado in her '91 Camaro convertible. Cruise control is a great thing.