Well That Was Quick

[Apoc]

Subaru's what are great?

It's weird to say it's not America's fault but then say the brand, which is American, is know for being shit.

I've never done a PPI... but everything except one had a CPO warranty.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Quite a few people in MM do the same things or certain brands...

So? That doesn't mean it's a good idea or that they won't break. You're just on the winning end of the dice so far.

I think you missed my point. Like... 180 degrees...

[Kaan]

Tundra is the answer.

Hard to swallow for new-truck money though.

all brandy new trucks are hard to swallow for the money... but the tundra will do it with no headaches 

also tundra in beast mode is fun.

[Jake]

all brandy new trucks are hard to swallow for the money... but the tundra will do it with no headaches 

also tundra in beast mode is fun.

They're all expensive, but the Tundra loses out big time once you go past a certain level of trim/options. It's only worth buying new if you stick to Basic Bitch mode (or maybe a Limited like Erica bought). Otherwise, Ford and Ram (and kind of, GM) outclass it by a long shot.

Tundra will be competitive again in 2021 with the all-new model. Until then, it's a solid and kind of overpriced truck that most people buy based on brand name.

[Kaan]

all brandy new trucks are hard to swallow for the money... but the tundra will do it with no headaches 

also tundra in beast mode is fun.

They're all expensive, but the Tundra loses out big time once you go past a certain level of trim/options. It's only worth buying new if you stick to Basic Bitch mode (or maybe a Limited like Erica bought). Otherwise, Ford and Ram (and kind of, GM) outclass it by a long shot.

Tundra will be competitive again in 2021 with the all-new model. Until then, it's a solid and kind of overpriced truck that most people buy based on brand name.

you are talking price to trim level .... and i'm talking price to pain free ownership

[GTBrandon]

As a follow up to what's been going on for the past month now:

So I dropped the car off at the dealership on May the 20th and put in a call to the selling dealer. They put me in a rental car which I charged to the corporate dealer account (Selling dealer, not Harrisonburg dealer where the car is currently). This has been my ride for over a month now while the car sat at the dealer. I was in a minivan for about two weeks before the registration and inspection expired (Good job Enterprise renting out a car that had everything expire within a week of having), and now I'm in an F150 which I'm actually quite enjoying, we'll get to that later.

This has been a huge back and forth process between Lithia Motors corporate, who is the parent company of the selling dealership in Iowa, and Fiat Chrysler Corporate. This is because once I dropped the car off, after about a week of waiting for space on the schedule, a tech took a quick look at the Jeep and said, "The oil is burnt and therefore nothing will be covered under its factory powertrain warranty". I claimed BS, saying, of course the oil is burnt, and they directed me to contact FCA corporate in order to get an approval from them because the dealer would not cover any warranty work without a go-ahead from corporate. So I called corporate and was informed that the selling dealer never contacted FCA to change ownership of the vehicle, so first I had to notify FCA that I was now the new owner of the vehicle before I could submit any warranty claim. The kicker is, that process takes about two weeks to go through..awesome. 

So at this point, I contact Lithia to say that they should cover this repair, and can work out reimbursement with FCA after the fact. I said this because it would take at least two weeks for the dealer in Harrisonburg to order the engine, have it shipped, and have it installed. So I can wait two weeks for ownership to go through, then another week for the actual warranty claim with FCA, and then another two weeks to actually get the work performed. Or I can have Lithia give a go ahead, get the 2-week repair going, and in that time also work with FCA so we can actually be efficient. This idea was of course vetoed by Lithia, "Anything covered under the factory warranty is not covered by us", "Yeah but they're not covering it under the warranty", "Your problem, not ours". 

Long story short, I had to go back to FCA and avoid Lithia entirely for the past few weeks. I gave the go-ahead to the Harrisonburg dealer to do a complete engine teardown (10+ hours of labor that I was on the line for if it wasn't covered under warranty), and submit pictures of the engine's internal to FCA in order to get a warranty claim either approved or denied. This, of course, lined up with when the head SA and Shop Lead were out of town, so it added another two weeks to even getting these things submitted. Well after being told initially this engine would not be covered by the dealership, I finally got a call yesterday from the SA saying she was able to get a brand new long block from FCA covered under warranty. This also means I don't have to pay the $1,000+ in diagnostics, and that I don't have to deal with Lithia in any more regards (Side note: they were one of the worst experiences I have ever had with getting a warranty covered, and just goes to show that just because you have a warranty, doesn't mean some fine print can't ruin your entire day, or for me your entire month). 

So here we are, more than a month after dropping this vehicle off at the dealership. I owned and drove the Jeep for 10 days, and it will have been at a dealership for almost 50 days out of service. For these 50 days, I will have been making payments on the new car I don't have, and instead be driving around rental cars. This brings me back to the beginning, where I said I really liked the F150 I have as a rental. It is a base, cloth interior, bone stock 18' F150, and I kind of love it. I started thinking maybe I should have just bought one of these, and gotten a lower model than what I was pricing out in order to stay within my budget, but have something that would be more reliable, have been retainment of value, and be a better vehicle overall. 


It's really hard for me to say whether or not I like the Jeep enough to keep compared to an F150 or otherwise, because I had it for so short, and it's been so long since I've even sat in it. But I do remember little things like the infotainment being quirky, the engine being luggy at low speeds (as if it needs to drop a gear but won't, and instead vibrates the car), or the sound system cutting out at the drops of a song (maybe protecting the speakers from blowing out, or maybe a bad quality surround sound system that can't handle the wattage). 

This is combined with me realizing that after I graduate next year and get a job, I will have a ton of expenses to cover. I made a budget and realized I'm really not in the place financially that I thought I was in before. I started thinking about living situations, and the possibility of also buying property out of college rather than spending more on rent than I would on a mortgage (Maybe you all with ownership experience can shed some light on this, possibly in a different thread). I can absolutely afford the loan payments, so it is not necessary, but I just wonder if getting rid of this $15k loan, and instead buying a cheap car and keeping a big cash reserve for a downpayment is a better idea. I do really like this car, but just floating around ideas. One of the catalysts of this thought was that I never even got a chance to go to the DMV after buying this car. I literally haven't even registered or titled it yet. This means that I haven't paid the $1,000+ in taxes that will be required when I get the plates and titling taken care of (Never paid these because I bought the car out of state and they didn't want to do VA taxes).

Honestly not sure about how I could sell this vehicle, and if I would have to inevitably pay those taxes before having to sell it, but it might be a good reason to get out of the car sooner rather than later. On the other side, it will be a nearly new car, with a powertrain warranty, and a brand new engine. 

Wanted to get my thoughts out there and see what y'all thought. Do you think I should just keep this car since it now has a brand new engine and warranty? Should I sell it and buy something cheaper, yet older. Does it make sense to save money for a downpayment on property right after college? Should I just sell everything and go travel the world? Maybe just pick up an Amish lifestyle and get rid of all this stress?

[.RJ]

If you flip it and sell it (or trade it in) now you'll probably take a big hit, losing sales tax/reg/etc fees at minimum. Have to decide if its worth it to you.

As far as buying property, there are lots of first time buyer programs that get you into a house for 3% down so you dont need huge cash reserves.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Drop your shit and go travel, don't come back.

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Also you better bring that service advisor breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert

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[Apoc]

Lemon law requires multiple visits for the same issue, correct? Unless there's some part that applies to buying a used car that immediately blows up. I'm pretty sure used cars are always "as-is"

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A car can also be considered a lemon if it's out of service X days within Y timeframe of purchase.

Lemon laws can apply to used cars if there is a written warranty included with purchase... which there is in this case.

edit: Looks like Iowa's out of service condition is 30 days.

[JPolen01]

Do not buy a house right out of school. Renting can seem like throwing money away, but it gives you the ability to drop everything and move somewhere else if you want to. We rented for about a year and then bought our house. Every once in a while both me and the wife kick ourselves for buying so quickly. The equity we have built is great, but we could have lived in a few places before settling down somewhere permanent.

Per the lemon law, the situation seems to have worked out better than any lemon law outcome would. Lemon law cases take a lot of time and they are not obligated to buy the car back. Most of the time companies settle out of court and send you a check leaving you with the car.

My father in law just settled with Volvo for 11 thousand fucking dollars because his XC90 has gone through 3 sets of rotors in 3 years, numerous wiper blade arms (how does this even break?) and some issues with the radar system. It took over a month for this and they still have the car. In his case all the rotors have been covered under warranty and the warranty still stands so it worked out for the better.

[Deceus]

Something I rarely see mentioned regarding buying property: you're still potentially throwing away an assload of money. I think of the $1800 I spend on my house a month, ~$425 goes to principal. When I first decided to buy, I imagined that number would be a lot higher. Interest is a bulk of the difference, then there's insurance and taxes to factor in. The bank just takes your money instead of a landlord or apartment complex.

Also my water bill is absurd at $120+ for less than 3,000 gallons so that's money I'm pissing away every single month along with my HOA fees. Not to mention repairs. If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

My advice: focusing on your career is best thing for ROI in your 20s. The only way to get a decent raise these days is to move jobs. That's a lot easier without a mortgage anchoring you down.

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[Senor_Taylor]

Something I rarely see mentioned regarding buying property: you're still potentially throwing away an assload of money. I think of the $1800 I spend on my house a month, ~$425 goes to principal. When I first decided to buy, I imagined that number would be a lot higher. Interest is a bulk of the difference, then there's insurance and taxes to factor in. The bank just takes your money instead of a landlord or apartment complex.

Also my water bill is absurd at $120+ for less than 3,000 gallons so that's money I'm pissing away every single month along with my HOA fees. Not to mention repairs. If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

My advice: focusing on your career is best thing for ROI in your 20s. The only way to get a decent raise these days is to move jobs. That's a lot easier without a mortgage anchoring you down.

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You have a water bill out there?

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[Apoc]

IMO, the only reason to buy a house is to ensure you have a consistent cost of living, avoid moving on someone else's schedule, and to ride the real estate market (either to build equity or to prevent being priced out of the market). That tipping point for most people is when they start planning on kids, but many people buy before then. We had two houses we purchased in our 20s - it was highly overrated.

[WRXtranceformed]

I agree, homeownership is definitely overrated until you start building a family

I'd dump the Jeep no matter what. It's just not a good company and they make poorly built vehicles

[ScottyB]

renting at your age is great. you don't want to be tied down when career opportunities come calling in another town. we didn't buy a house until i was 32 because we needed to move every 4 years (wife's schooling), and it was the right choice for us to wait it out. i don't regret it and don't think we really missed anything.

If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

or water heaters, or HVAC systems, or appliances, or garage doors, or water damage....man, adulting sucks.

put the jeep for sale at a decent price for you and see what the summer gets you since that's the most active buying season. buy something simple and reliable. cars can suck the fun out of life real fast when you don't have the budget/garage/time to fix them when you're busy trying to build a career and meet people. ask a lot of us how we know.

[.RJ]

If you think the Jeep was rough, look up the cost to replace a roof.

or water heaters, or HVAC systems, or appliances, or garage doors, or water damage....man, adulting sucks.

This has been my life for the past 8 months and it blows goats and doesnt get you a 911.

[Jake]

I'm with everyone else who says to NOT buy a house. You are young both in age and career, you want the flexibility to move around with ease. If you buy a home and don't stay in it for 5ish years, you'll be likely to lose your ass on it when you sell.

As far as the Jeep. You have a brand new longblock going in and the loan is only $15k? What else can you buy for $15k that will have a zero-miles engine and be a nice place to spend time? UConnect has proven reliable (check to see if yours needs a software update, yes that is a thing now) and the transmission is just a ZF box like everything else these days.

I spent my first few years out of college driving beaters that didn't have AC or heat and occasionally provided concern that I wouldn't get to work that day. Buying my Focus ST was a bit of a stretch but the benefits were worth it. You are in a pretty good spot right now and if you can afford the monthly payment, I think it's best to keep the Grand Cherokee for a bit and have newish reliableish transportation to get to your new job and out for fun on the weekends. The allure of a cheap beater-y car goes away when you can't network, see friends, or travel because you have to work on your daily.

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

[.RJ]

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

And now you have an X5 with... limp mode?  Look how far you've come 

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's. I might argue that any extra income is probably better served in aggressive index funds, though, for future value/retirement. I wish I'd bought a house earlier than in my 30's, FWIW.

[Jake]

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

And now you have an X5 with... limp mode?  Look how far you've come 

Monique has all her gears and revs thank you very much. She's just unsure about her traction controlling abilities at the moment.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Granted, I graduated college and drove a $2,000 535i with no heat so you could totally go down that route if you want.

And now you have an X5 with... limp mode?  Look how far you've come 

If you buy a house you're not tethered to it, you can always rent it out, so its up to you if thats a commitment that you want to make in your 20's.  I might argue that any extra income is probably better served in aggressive index funds, though, for future value/retirement.  I wish I'd bought a house earlier than in my 30's, FWIW.

With the change in tax law; its also made renting out your primary home (that you are still living in) less of an investment as well.  If this was 2009/10/11 when housing prices were depressed; I would say it was worth it.  We may not be at peak, but we are certainly not at the bottom.  It's not worth the risk.  You can't hang onto a car more than 2 years and you want a house? 

So is the Jeep registered or under Temp plates?  If it's not registered/titled; I think you can get away with not paying that sales tax (due at titling) if you dump it now.  Of course; if they already signed the title its a lot trickier.  I wouldn't keep the car; but that's me.