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Comments
IMHO, it's just that most people just aren't used to them and thus dismiss them. I'm not a fan either but in order to improve fuel efficiency, CVT's will replace all autos eventually.
I haven't driven a car with a CVT yet, so I can't comment. However, this is gonna make me sound like a real throwback, but I'm not even that crazy about the 5- and 6-speed transmissions that I've driven. However, my experience is limited to my housemate's '06 Xterra, and my '12 Ram. They're fine when it comes to accelerating from a stop, but sometimes out on the highway when you want to pass, there seems to be a delayed reaction before they downshift. And they usually don't seem to have enough power to simply accelerate in the gear they're currently in, so you have to wait until they finally shift down.
It also seems like they don't go into gear as quickly when you first shift out of park. But, maybe that's a feature to prolong their life? When those old transmissions would slam into gear instantly, maybe that was rough on them?
There's no doubt that CVTs are the future. You can't beat them for mileage. We'll get used to them.
Once you get to enough gears, wouldn't simply going with a CVT make more sense, anyway? I think recent re-issue of the Jeep Cherokee has a NINE-speed automatic! At that point, it seems a little overkill.
As for additional gears, The Charger/300 V6 offer a 5-speed and an 8-speed. The 5-speed is rated 18/27 while the 8-speed is 19/31. If I was getting one, I admit I'd be tempted to go for the 8-speed, even though most of my driving is local, so I wouldn't benefit that much from it. Even the highway boost, from 27 to 31 mpg isn't that earth-shattering when it comes to saving the bank account. But there's just something psychological about the 30 mpg barrier, I think.
I'm not a fan of the shift feel in our six-speed, four-cylinder Malibu. I'd long for a four-speed if I could get one.
The six speed in the Grand Caravan I rented hunted like Roman Polanski at an all-girl middle school...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
The rental grade Altima is the 2.5 S model. It is a rental grade engine with a rental grade CVT transmission. I wasn't impressed at all. I'd pay much much more for an Accord than I would the Altima. They aren't even in the same ball park in my opinion, so no, the gap hasn't narrowed between domestic and Japanese, unless you consider the Accord a Domestic since it's mostly built here
By the way, I don't know if it's the extra weight of being a convertible, but the V6 Mustang doesn't impress me either. I think the extra weight is bogging down what would otherwise be a decent V6 engine. The rental grade tall sidewall skinny treadwidth tires don't help. At least the Camaro RS had good rubber, but I've seen a new Camaro on the road that has similar rental spec tires.
That doesn't surprise me, I had the same 03 Accord V6 Coupe. It was overall reliable the first 65K miles which is how long I kept it, but it was far from perfect (several little warranty issues plus the big one - Tranny at 42K). Honda did handle it like a reputable car maker should (Dodge/Chrysler would be disreputable here in comparison). That is one of the reasons I sold it at 50 months and 65K miles, I felt it had too many warranty visits for a Honda, and wasn't up to Built in Japan standards. The Japanese built Civic my significant other has is an '07, with low mileage (I think around 65K). It hasn't visited the dealer since its warranty was in effect, and even then only once. That's my experience with built in Japan Honda's; less warranty issues.
Losing count, but in the last 3 days I've driven a CX-5 (6 speed automatic), Escape (6 speed automatic), Equinox (6 speed shiftable automatic), Soul (6 speed automatic), Forester (CVT) and a Prius V (CVT). The Equinox was the worst but can't say that it was the transmission or the engine, or if it really takes a long time for Chevy's computer to learn the shift points. The Escape was the best with the CX-5 a close second (best overall handling though). Except for the disappointing 'Nox, all of the transmissions were certainly livable for us.
Also drove a manual 5 speed xB and didn't fall back in love with shifting.
Liking the Prius V again. Sigh....
Part of my problem might be that I held onto those old mastodon-class cars with their antiquated 3-speed automatics for too long. Often you could just stomp it from a dead stop and it would hold first until around 50-55 or so. My '67 Catalina will even chirp one of the rear tires on the 1-2 upshift. Then, let off the gas and it goes right into 3rd, and it's almost like they didn't really need second gear at all. Of course, those were older, torquier engines.
Also, what I consider a nice, crisp shift, most people probably consider harsh. And what I consider a sloppy shift, most people consider smooth...
The V6 Mustang is fine if you get manual. It's a turd with automatic, though. Just hideously slow and no fun at all. The Camaro and Challenger base models are also the same. Manual is the only way to go if you want any sort of fun.
An interesting tidbit about the Camaro and Mustang is that they have about the same power to weight ratio as an early 90s 911.(non-turbo) They are actually quite respectably fast once you get the slushbox out of the equation.
Right. The autobox just ruins them...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Suddenly, my view of Nissan isn't so rosy anymore. My housemate took his '06 Xterra to the dealer to get some brake work done, and they're telling him it's going to need a new timing chain soon! He's always been pretty good about taking it back for regular oil changes, not letting it run low, etc. It has about 124,000 miles on it.
Now, it could just be the dealer telling him that, so I'm trying to get him to take it to my mechanic for a second opinion. Oh, as for pricing, both the dealer, and the mechanic said about $1800. Ouch! A far cry from the ~$250 it cost to do the timing belt on my ex-wife's old '88 LeBaron. Although that was 18 years ago...
I wonder if the timing chain is a weak spot on the Nissan 4.0? It just seems odd to me that it would need it so soon.
My '99 Quest's original timing belt lasted to 182,000 miles. 124k sounds awfully young for a chain. Another opinion would be good.
We really aren't shopping Nissan this time around. Only the Rogue is in the style of cars we're mostly looking at, and the CVT isn't getting good reviews.
I found this.
http://repairpal.com/noise-from-the-front-of-the-engine-139
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Good find and ouch - $1,800. My timing belt was bad enough at $525.
RE: $1800---welcome to the Brave New World of auto repair. This is why a lot of decent used cars are going to be scrapped in the future. Recyclers are now becoming used car lots, offering 'broken" cars that are otherwise intact, and often very nice looking.
Should have dumped my van a year ago when the belt broke.
Thanks for that link, Imidazol97! I passed the info along to my housemate by text and unfortunately got back simply, "what?". Had to call him and explain to him what it was, and the first thing out of his mouth was "will you do it for me?"
What's that old saying about leading a horse to water, but not getting it to drink? Anyway, thanks again for the info, and I'll let you know if it does any good. I wonder if a dealer will do a TSB for free with it being out of warranty? My housemate did buy an extended warranty on the thing, but it was up at 8 years/100K miles. 8 years came up sometime in April, I think, very early May at the latest. And, well, it's around 123K or so now.
Nope, TSBs are only advisory and not a warranty item, unless of course the car is already under warranty. The dealer is under no obligation to perform them but of course would do so at owner's expense, if the car is out of warranty.
Just a personal opinion, but I think your housemate may want to get out of that Nissan if possible. The Xterra, and even more so for Pathfinder, of that era seems to have a lot of issues, including potential major computer and electrical problems that can be very difficult and expensive to resolve. I know several people that had them. One Pathfinder ('06 I think) was so screwed up that even the dealers couldn't get it going for any length of time with a lot less mileage than your housemate's vehicle. They don't look too pretty in CU either.
Thanks guys, good to know. Shifty, I was able to have the Dodge dealer to a TSB on my 2000 Intrepid which was out of factory warranty, but it was still under the extended warranty, so maybe that's why it was still covered? That car had a 3/36k bumper to bumper warranty, but I had purchased an extended warranty that took it to 5/100K. Around 4 years/88K, the oil pressure light started coming on. It was a minor fix, thankfully...a sensor getting overheated, rather than a true loss in oil pressure. So, I guess my buddy will probably just have to suck it up and pay the full cost on this Xterra repair.
Berri, thanks for the heads-up on the potential computer/electrical issues. So far, this Xterra has actually been pretty reliable. I think it had two tire pressure monitors fail, had to go in twice for HVAC issues, and that was it. The front rotors are a little warped, but most cars do that these days. Heck, my Intrepid had started warping its rotors around the 40,000 mile mark! Maybe I should tell him to ditch the thing, and see if I can find a nice, relatively low-mileage Park Avenue for him, or something like that!
I guess at the end of the day, it's still been fairly reliable overall. Even the timing chain issue is more of a maintenance thing than something that broke, I guess. And even though we tend to think of a timing chain that should last the "life of the car", we tend to keep cars a lot longer these days. And, being DOHC, I guess that chain has to stretch a lot further than the chain in a pushrod car. Not to mention the secondary chains in each head, and various tensioners, pulleys, guides, etc.
yes, probably the extended warranty picked it up. Also, the dealer probably won't do the TSB if the vehicle isn't manifesting the problem.
Anyway, thanks again for the info, and I'll let you know if it does any good. I wonder if a dealer will do a TSB for free with it being out of warranty? My housemate did buy an extended warranty on the thing, but it was up at 8 years/100K miles. 8 years came up sometime in April, I think, very early May at the latest. And, well, it's around 123K or so now.
Can you hear any noise like the purring sound mentioned, cold, hot, or both?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'll listen to it tonight when he brings it home. He's just having the brakes done today. I rode in it yesterday, and didn't notice any strange noises. But he also had the radio cranked up, and I wasn't listening for anything.
I feel kinda bad suggesting to him that he might want to think about trading it before it gets too troublesome. He likes it alot, and said a few times that if it got totaled, he'd go out and get another, rather than look for something else. However, this latest adventure might be changing his viewpoint on that...
Just out of curiosity, I looked at them online, and it doesn't seem like prices have risen much. 2014 Xterra S models seem to be MSRP'ing for around $28-29K. I think his MSRP'ed for around $26-27K eight years ago, but he got it for around $24K. Of course, add on tax, the extended warranty he got, etc, and that price went up fast.
He may find that that era Nissan's have the wide variation between each vehicle that plagued Detroit years back, One good one won't mean the same for another and vice versa. I think only the 4 banger Nissan's back then had the Catalytic converter problems and his Xterra is likely a V6?
yeah, his Xterra is the 4.0 V-6. By that time they were all V-6. I think the previous version offered a 4-cyl or a 3.3.
This has also got me thinking about my Mom's '08 Altima, which is from that same era more or less. It's a 4-cyl, and only has about 61,000 miles on it. She's thinking about trading on a 2014, because they're offering some pretty good deals. So I guess she'll end up getting out of it before it gets a chance to be troublesome.
I have heard that Nissans from the mid '00's had slipped some in quality and durability, compared to earlier models. And, I know this is only a sample of one, but they had a '99 Altima that made it to around 325-330,000 miles, and was pretty reliable. It did eat a transmission at 30,000 miles, but was pretty trouble-free after that.
And, considering how expensive cars can be out of warranty, it's starting to make me think about trading my Ram just before the 5 year mark, when the powertrain warranty is up. I'm not trying to be paranoid, but I just don't want the aggravation. I'll probably only have around 30-40,000 miles on it too, so it might have a fairly decent trade in value.
I'm a fairly low mileage driver, but I tend to trade in every 6 years or so because they just start getting loose. More wind and road noise, car just starts looking and smelling old inside. Although I may hold on longer this time if things like turbo's, stop-start and more touch panels keep proliferating. I don't look at a vehicle as a toy or electronic techno device. Just doesn't really appeal to me. I want a cockpit, not a bunch of less user focused gimmicks that divert attention and eat up time.
Our newest car(my wife's 2009 328i) has been in the family for two years. The rest?
1995 318ti Club Sport- 19 years(still smells, looks, and performs as new)
1999 Wrangler Sahara- 12 years
2004 X3 2.5- 9 years
2007 Mazdaspeed 3- 7 years
1975 2002A- 6 years
And FWIW, I've had my 1996 Speed Triple 900 for 9 years...
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I saw a 318ti abandoned on the side of the road near Olympia, WA yesterday - hard to tell what happened, could have been anything from a drunk to a perished consumable like an alternator, to full on engine destruction.
For my cars - Bluetec is about 15 months old now, I've had the fintail for over 19 years.
At this point most of the tis I see are either immaculate or ready for the crusher. Every now and then you run across a decent one for a bargain price; the key is being able to perform a lot of the minor work yourself as well as knowing where to get quality parts at a good price.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
My fleet is getting up there I guess...
2012 Ram: 20 months
2000 Park Ave: 4 years
1979 New Yorker: 7 years
1976 LeMans: 9 years
1985 Silverado: 11 years for me, but it's been in the family for about 29
1979 NY'er 5th Ave Edition: 12 years
1967 Catalina: 20 years
1957 DeSoto Firedome: 23 years
My fleet:
'11 Malibu 1LT--43K miles; 3 years old June 1--paid $19-oddK new;
'08 Cobalt LS--78K miles, was six years old in May--paid $9,900 new;
'09 Cobalt LT--61K miles, we've had about seven months--paid $5,501;
'08 PT Cruiser--74K miles, we've had not quite four years--paid $6,930
For used, eBay has been my friend.
I have never bought an extended warranty in 33 years of buying cars--13 new,, 2 used (not counting three Studebakers, of course!)
I'm pleased to report, also, that the last vehicle I had a car payment on was our 2002 van, and have been able to go through sophomore year with a kid in college with no college loans, although I don't know how much longer that'll happen.
Wow, that's quite the fleet. I haven't seen a Speed3 or 6 in years. Yours holding up well?
Still got the same fleet here that I've had for 6 years now:
2007 Impreza hatch (Base) - about 147k and so far has only needed a battery, tires, brakes and OC's. There was a PCV valve cleaning done at about 60k.
2008 Outback LLB - about 120k, just brakes, tires, OC's, a battery and a reflash for a transmission flutter. The Navi is acting a bit wonky and the seats are creaking in cold weather but the leather is still good.
2004 S2000 - summer toy, only done a battery and tires along with OC's, rear diff and gearbox fluid changes.
Haven't had a car payment since 2011 when we paid off the Outback...
About no car payments...my wife has a pension; I have none; we both have attempted to contribute 20% of our annual incomes ourselves, yearly to our 401-K's. We're down to 10% for my wife this year because of college costs, but that kind of thing is a large reason why I don't buy cars more expensive than I do, when other people in our similar boat think nothing of it....I hate debt.
That, and I'm proud to have simple tastes....LOL
No car payment since 1982 - it really spoils you (and helps explain why we are shopping used Caravans this week).
Indeed it does spoil one!
The only time I had a real car payment was when I had my 2000 Intrepid. It was $347.66 per month for 60 months, at 0.9%. I had taken out secured loans back in the 1990's when I bought my '67 Catalina and '89 Gran Fury...back when savings accounts were still paying 3-4%, so they'd just make the loan for 3% above that. But in both cases, I ended up paying the loans off after a couple months.
With my Ram, I financed it, but then paid it off with my HELOC, which had a lower interest rate. And then I got lucky when the stock market went up last year, cashed in some, and paid the HELOC back down. Unfortunately, I did get hammered a bit by taxes on the capital gains.
I can deal with a car payment - being single with no 40K/year education to buy for kids
I can even still put a little away in case later comes - although without a pension or born lucky real estate holding, I think I might increase it.
A used Caravan, especially a later CPO model, might be a good deal, Steve. With so many sent to fleets, initial depreciation has to be steep, and I suspect they are reliable enough.
This is probably not the place for it, but I have a tire rant.
My Cobalt's owner's manual says to rotate tires, front-to-back, rears crossed to front.
I was at the dealer yesterday for that and an oil change, on my daughter's '09 Cobalt. It has one tire that is a different brand than the other three. It was on the LR. When the car was done, it was on the LF. I complained, and in fifteen or so mins. it was corrected--they switched the fronts. Service writer said, "I told him to do it the way you wanted". Why the hell would the dealer do it any differently when that's what the manufacturer says to do? I've had a local tire store screw that up on my other daughter's car, too...that time, I had marked the tire.
Is this what I have to go through every freaking time I have a tire rotation? Sure seems lazy to me. And no, I'm not going to rotate them myself.
Did they torque to 100 lb-ft? The stores love to use those "torque sticks." I find my wheels still unevenly torqued after some placed use those. I think they require some skill in the tightening steps to get the lug nuts evenly tightened.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It's funny, imidazol, I'm in the habit of asking them to use a torque stick, as I always thought that gave more-even tightening, than those guns they used to use. If you can't see them do it, I doubt they do what I ask anyway! LOL
The torque sticks help control the overzealous speed gun user.
But my tire store finishes the tightening with a torque wrench, the old-fashioned kind. They run them
up close with the torque stick on a gun, but then use the wrench.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Ironically, a longtime wrench friend of mine told me that I shouldn't have two different tires on the drive axle, so I'll probably have one moved to the back anyway, but I think going forward, I'll mark the LR tire to see where it ends up. As I said, I'd done that on my older daughter's car once--and the tire shop screwed up.
Seems dealerships/tire joints always use the newest guy on the job for tire tasks. I sometimes think that folks with the least experience/knowledge get preferential hiring treatment.
If you don't actually SEE the tech use a torque wrench, it's always best to assume one wasn't used.
@fintail, today's leading candidate is an '03 Grand Caravan with 65k miles for $5,250. No stow and go seats though. The history is a bit odd (ex-rental, then went to a dealer for 35k miles, then it sat for 15 months). The '06 we drove had the folding seats, 123k miles, dog hair and a cigarette burn. Er, pass.
We could do the $5,000 van and sell the old Subaru for maybe $3,500 and get all our stuff out West in one trip. But driving two cars isn't much fun. Need to recruit some friends to go along with us I guess.
Those "stow and go" seats were more of a gimmick than anything useful.
I was working the Seattle Auto Show when they first came out. They had two Caravans there with those seats and they were BOTH broken! The guys working the booth were so embarrassed they wanted to just leave.
In order to make those seats work they are so thin and poorly padded they are uncomfortable as heck.
Sounds good though...do they still make those?
And, yeah, resale is poor on those and they CAN be pretty decent if you find a good one.
I was thinking maybe a 2010+ model, Steve. You can probably find a nice one with low miles and maybe even warranty for not much more than 10K. I think the bugs have long been worked out.