Trim strip is missing from Driver’s side front fender. Still might be the best one currently for sale. Definitely CP

Looks to me like the left front quarter panel has been replaced, between the bit of trim missing and the odd alignment/gap of the panels around it. That’s a collision that will affect all kids of things, mechanically and for safety. I’ll make a $20 bet that the alignment’s off, and it drifts to the right.

You are absolutely correct. Driver’s side door has been repainted. Also missing the short trim piece on the front fender that flows onto the driver’s side door.  I wonder what delightful event caused that... I’m sure everything underneath that one-step-above-a-rattle-can-job is totally hunky dory, for sure!

On second look I think you’re onto something about that paintwork.

I’ve shopped around and bought 2 new cars in the last 4 years. For the most part, every conversation I had with any dealership felt like turning the wheel of a kaleidoscope while playing a game of whack-a-mole.  Nothing was ever clear and when it was, that meant some other aspect of the deal had changed.

I’ll be honest, I don’t see it, then again, I’m not sure what makes Rovers so expensive either.

You’re trying to build a relationship with a customer, right? 

What makes these so special that people are willing to pay that much for them, They just look like another Meh SUV?!

all this makes me sad because I’m in the market for a new car (current car is 14 years old with 215K miles) and now because of chip shortage and crazy markups, I’ve made the decision to baby the old rattlebox until next year. Hopefully nothing happens to it.

If you pay a $10,000 markup on a $50,000 Kia, you so deserve your life.

By “unique” driving experience, you mean poor. We had 2 Type II’s for 18 or so years growing up, a 1964 bare bones bus, and a 1973 Westfalia. The 1973 sucked a lot less, but it still sucked. It’s what I learned to drive on.

I’m a poor Millennial dad with a non-automotive-enthusiast wife. So, most cars.

There are HEB stores in Nuevo Leon now too.

No one outside of Texas knows what HEB is, FYI.  

Why is this article so bitter?

Yeah the Rich Rebuild channel is always 2 minutes of contents stuff into a 30 minute video because monetization or something.

Yes, but you as consumers allow them to do it.  That would never fly in Australia - all they would get would be customers laughing as they walked out the door.  I understand our markets are different, but why don’t people push back on it?

Financial literacy/knowledge is pathetically low.

What's he got to do with it?

Automotive prices won't crash the way lumber is of late, but a return to normal and potentially even a subsequent dip is inevitable. 2023 could be a good year for car buying.