Me while trying to talk cars with my mom...

"PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power" (petarvn)
03/07/2016 at 01:31 • Filed to: None

Rant about current car stuff after the jump...

So, for the past 4 months my mom has been looking at cars on and off. She’s planning to trade her current car (2011.5 VW Jetta 2.5 SE. 5-speed stick. 26K miles) on something new, and pay the difference. Now, the issue is that A) she despises test and never wants to go try the cars, and B) she has a very specific taste when it comes to cars, so finding one she likes is very hard. Here’s just a few parameters that I’ve had to deal with....

-She wants new. I’ve shown her some amazing used/CPO cars, and she refuses to even consider them!
-She doesn’t wanna pay for what she wants. $35,000 really isn’t enough to get her in the type of car she is after (entry-level sporty sedan/coupe)
-she has bias against many brands. BMW is completely off the table. same thing goes for all Audis (except the A3 sportback?) and she doesn’t like how any of the new benzes look. She wouldn’t drive a lexus because she doesn’t like an Japanese cars besides subarus, and she doesn’t want to drive a Cadillac because my stepdad test drove an ATS with her, and she didn’t like how it drove and looked. This has narrowed the field to just a few cars that meet her criteria of fun, cool, compact (relatively) cars.

Those are: VW Jetta GLI. Jaguar XE. and here’s where the 2nd round of issues comes!
-All manual GLI’s are currently stuck at dealers due to a cam tensioner recall that VW hasn’t fixed yet. she literally cannot buy one.
-The Jag isn’t even out yet! she loves the looks, but she can’t go drive one, so she’s just like “oh well, I’m not gonna look for something else...”

Personally, I think she should just get a fucking Mustang Ecoboost and be done with it all, but after driving a GT (I test drove one, and she decided to try it thank the lord) she said it was too much car for her, and refused to drive the version with 120 fewer horses.

And the funny thing? even though she has a bias, and can’t make up her mind, she is one of the best damn drivers I’ve ever seen, and even knows a thing or two about cars! go figure!

anyway, if you’ve read this, have a car. a great car. a car that’s for sale locally that my mom refuses to try because “someone else owned it”

DISCUSSION (34)

TheHondaBro > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 01:38

Tesla 3? I know it’ll be two years from now, but it doesn’t hurt to consider one.

Also, no Lexus? They’re more reliable than human hearts!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 01:39

Unless you’re being compensated for your time in helping her acquire said car, she has too many scattered thoughts and biases for you to be of significant assistance. Can’t she just figure it out on her own, or, you know, not buy a car ?

Have her test drive the XE when it’s available....until then, I wouldn’t do a thing.

m-b-w loves his SUBAROO > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 01:55

Just have her get an H6 legacy if she likes Subaru. It’s fun enough for her, and simple enough for her to be free of complaints.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 05:43

So WRX? Sounds like the answer to me.

pjhusa > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 07:23

Giulia?

CALUSA > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 07:31

What about Korean? KIA and Hyundai are good. XE seems fine tho.

Kinja'd!!!

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 07:48

She’s not putting enough miles on the car for it to make sense to get another one.

The best (and hardest) thing you can do is ignore this. I had to do that with my grandfather before he bought his Avalon. He wouldn’t test drive any of the cars. My dad and I just looked and asked “Then how do you know which one you are going to like?” Then we walked away.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 08:29

She has a $35k budget, wants a small sporty car and likes Subaru. The Subaru website tells me an STi is $35,490 with delivery but before you add any options.

Kinja'd!!!

If she wants a coupe, there is the BRZ. You can’t even get that to $30k if you get the manual. The automatic will come in at a little over $30k if you select ALL THE OPTIONS.

Kinja'd!!!

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 08:30

Moms.... Mine has a on again off again argument with my Fiat. Every time it breaks down, she goes into the same rant about how that’s what I get for keeping an old piece of crap around. Then I fix it, and she starts to soften up again, that she can’t believe that old car still looks and sounds so good, how well it rides, how comfortable it is, and how it’s pointless to buy a new car when the old one Works so well.

Then something else breaks...

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
03/07/2016 at 09:35

aha! you’d think that’s the logical option, but no! the Subaru WRX STI is (and I quote her) “too masculine for me. it's a guy's car!"

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > m-b-w loves his SUBAROO
03/07/2016 at 09:36

honestly, if she got an H6 legacy/outback that would be awesome!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > pjhusa
03/07/2016 at 09:37

if it goes on sale before the end of 2016, sure!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
03/07/2016 at 09:37

“too masculine for me" is what she said when I showed her the WRX. still confused by that...

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs
03/07/2016 at 09:38

I really should just drop it.... or drag her to the dealer kicking and screaming... that works too :P

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
03/07/2016 at 09:39

hah! exactly! my mom’s like “don’t tune your car”
*after the tune* “It drives so much better!”
“Don’t get an exhaust”
*after exhaust* "It sounds so much better!"

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > CALUSA
03/07/2016 at 09:41

my stepdad loves Hyundai. we have 2 elantras for my stepbrothers. issue is, my mom sees them as a poverty brand for kids, so nope! and kia? ever seen a beat to crap 2006 spectra? that's what my mom bases all her kia knowledge off of!

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 09:50

I think she should keep what she has until a Jaguar XE or Jetta GLI (manual) becomes available to test-drive and purchase.

CALUSA > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 10:01

:( :( :(

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 10:35

Sigh. Your mother sounds like my mother.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 10:43

That was me the other day trying to explain to my mother how to (in Safari on an iPad) sign out of Google, remove the previously signed in username (a student she tutors accidentally signed in), and sign in under her account.

How quickly does she need/want it? Model 3?

No Prius Needed > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 11:21

Evo?

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 12:48

Haha, yeah, it’s just like that. “Why don’t you leave the exhaust alone, you’re gonna break your car and have to send it to a pro to look at”

“I’m glad you don’t spend Money on new cars, yours has so much more character than the quiet blobs everyone else has.”

Rico > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 12:59

Why not the normal WRX?

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 14:27

Yeah... people who have arbitrary reasons for not considering a given car and are excessively picky can be really annoying.

And it gets even more annoying when they want a new car, but only have a used car budget.

My approach with people like that when they ask for my advice is, give them my suggestions... if they shoot them down without even wanting to look at what I suggest, I just walk away.

It’s not worth the stress or aggrivation.

And are there any *real* reasons why she’s looking at getting rid of the Jetta? Is it unreliable?

I mean really... she’s “picky”... but the car she currently has is a 2.5L Jetta... hardly the ultimate driver’s car. Not bad mind you, but it ain’t a GLI.

If she wants a car that’s fun to drive and she’s open to Subarus, suggest a BRZ to her. Or failing that, a Subaru Impreza WRX.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
03/07/2016 at 14:28

Sounds like she as at least a mild case of ADHD... LOL

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
03/07/2016 at 14:29

Nah, she’s just your typical Italian mom hahahah... The kind who’ll speak her mind and won’t take a no for an answer. I gotta hand it to her though, she’s right about 99% of the time.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 14:29

Too masculine? AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRGGGGGGHHHH

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind
03/07/2016 at 16:36

yep. pisses me off

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion
03/07/2016 at 16:36

lol yep! exactly my mom

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
03/07/2016 at 16:37

yep

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Rico
03/07/2016 at 16:37

same reason as STI

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 17:16

I think some revenge is in order... take her out to take at a “new Jetta GLI a dealer got in”... but you’re actually taking her to look at something like this:

Kinja'd!!!

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ram/3500/Ott…

Then steal/hide the car keys and say that she’s not leaving until she test drives it.

And yeah... it’s a manual-transmission 20111 Ram 3500 with the Cummins turbodiesel... only costs CAD$29,995.

And the hilarious thing will be if she ends up enjoying it.

NJAnon > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
03/07/2016 at 19:27

So then she should get a Subaru I guess?

Also some people don’t like used. Understandable. Some people don’t want to have to get used to someone else’s car interior smell that has set in. Or sit in a drivers seat someone has passed gas in for months or years (I told a coworker to get new seats when he got his used car).

Also just for hygiene’s sake, clean the steering wheel when you get your used car. Like 4 times in a row with some strong stuff.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
03/07/2016 at 22:10

oh god I’d die if that happened, I’d be the happiest kid ever!