Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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What Would It Take for YOU to buy a diesel car?
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You could run a Yugo for 1 million miles if you were determined to do so but it wouldn't make any sense.
I also hate dodging all the potholes when I drive the Lexus.
But I think at the same time, the almost minimum miles a car can be run is between 100,000 to 120,000 miles. While I would conceptually agree with what you are saying that @ some point it gets too expensive to keep running, one really needs to define what that is.
I have used this example before but the 04 Civic needs so called "major" tune ups @ app the 110,000 to 120,000 mileage frame. To cut to the chase, and gloss over some maintenance details, it cost $935 to $955 dollars. A DIY would crash the labor costs and probably the parts costs would be (%) cheaper. So a good projection will be @ 240,000 (total) miles till the next major tune. @ that time it should cost app the same. So we know that @ 120,000 miles it should cost (baring unscheduled maintenance) 935 to 955 or .0079583 cents per mile scheduled maintenance cycle. Can I buy a new Honda Civic for close to $955?
I ran an edmunds.com cycle and the prices for a Civic VP are: invoice 16,763, TMV 17,273 MSRP 18,125. Most all will have to pay tax over and above these documented costs. In my case, that would be 9.25% or $1551. So I am guessing you have better access to the data, but how many people who actually chose this car pay cash? Use fianancing (and @ what real costs) etc (trades). So @ the very least a 2011 MY Civic would cost me 4,199 over what I paid for the 04. So given 955 per 110,000 to 120,000 miles per cycle, that is 4.396 cycles. When you add in the taxation add another 1.62 cycles.
Naturally the twin aspects of reliability AND durability come to the fore. So if all I am doing is replacing consumeables, ie., spark plugs, valve adjustments, timing belt and water pumps, brake pads, rotors, struts/shocks tires, batteries, fluids, etc. I would have to do that on any new vehicle (costing WAY more) on more late model NEW vehicles anyway.
I googled on TDICLUB.com and knew in the worst case, a local upcoming GTG (tdi club get together) the collective and guru group could as a minimum point me in the right direction, if not, fix it. In the mean time, I took my old radio shack multi meter ZERO'ED it out, and checked the (ohm's) glow plugs resistance readings. All four seemed to have (SAME READINGS) continuity ?
Conversations with an out of state guru led me to believe it was a simple case of rear brake lamps burn out? So I and my trusty assistant went out in the dead of night to SEE. Sure enough, no L/R brake lights on stepping of brake pedal. I took it to the local VW dealer to buy the bulbs. For whatever reason, they gave me the two brake bulbs free of charge and the service advisor R/R the bulbs. Indicator lamp went out immediately. Let's just hope this doesn't happen for another 168,000 miles or @ 336,000 miles
Glow plugs do wear out, though, and are considered expendable items.
Sure they work well and can be an almost startling value on the "cheap" ( not what MB is known for). As Shifty implied, MONSTER torque and even good fuel mileage for a 600 # ft+ plus Luxury Land Yacht. Almost all know they are trucking's mainstay. (80,000 to 100,000 #'s)
What's with the swoops on the doors? Reminds me a lot of the Mazda5, which is the last Mazda to follow that styling theme.
I liked the old B-class better. Same overall shape, just a little cleaner. The new one also has a tall hood, probably to meet euro pedestrian crash standards, but again the blunt nose isn't as clean as before.
Besides the styling issues, though, I think it's a great package, just the right size for a small family.
How does the price in Europe compare to the C-class? B-class should be cheaper, no?
I see that as their entry-level vehicle here. C starts at $34,800, so offer something like that at $29,995 or something, with the new forced induction 2 liter engine. The diesel would likely fall in the mid 30s for pricing.
PS
The C with diesel is about $8k more than the B in the UK.
It still is OK looking, it's just I didn't care for the updates.
PS They do not usually sell diesel models in Brazil because the fuel there is not the low-sulfur variety
I think that most of the automakers see a field if *diversification* in the powerplants for their future products. They are going to place multiple bets and diesel will be one of them, even in the highline cars.
In a way, once Americans see diesel Bentleys and Benzes more often, the stigma that hangs over the diesel passenger car in America (stinky, crude, for trucks only) will be finally banished.
And no, Toyota does not belong there (this coming from a Toyota owner).
This outfit has already gotten one and made it faster. 328 Ft Lbs of torque would be good in a Q5 sized vehicle.
http://www.egmcartech.com/2011/08/17/audi-q5-tdi-senner-tuning/
I'd like to see more mainstream (size and price) diesels. CR-V and Forester have diesels in Europe. Even a Cruze 5 door diesel would come in at a price below a Jetta TDI.
I'm just hoping for some affordable options.
PS Wiki Says:
2.2L Duratorq diesel engine (88kW & 285Nm; 92kW&330Nm or 110kW&375Nm) consumes as little as 7.6 L/100 km (37.2 mpg)* with choices of 6-speed manual or automatic transmission
That would be 30.95 MPG US combined.
Q5 can hold 57 cubic feet of cargo, that's only so-so. Even most compacts approach 70 or so.
It's nice inside, but a bit cozy. A co-worker has one; we do events together and I have to drive the minivan to fit out cart and all the boxes we usually take. Q5 is much too small. Even our Forester is a lot roomier.
Q5 is good for empty nesters, maybe if you have a single child and pack light.
Have you driven one lately?
My little brother and I test drove an Escape earlier this year, a loaded V6 model (they had no 4cyl/stick shifts in stock, but we wanted to sample something).
The engine was peppy, but that's the only thing I liked about it. The ride was rock hard, stiff, your head gets tossed side to side. Basically it drives like a truck, very unrefined. It was competitive...in 1990. They just have not kept up at all.
I'm not a big Honda fan but my big brother owns one in Brazil, and it's a whole lot better, even in Brazil-spec (2.0l engine, auto).
My little brother didn't consider the CR-V because it only comes with an automatic, and he wanted a stick shift. Among the small crossovers we did drive, we BOTH agreed the Escape was the worst.
He got a Forester with a manual, a Kia Sportage was a close 2nd. There just aren't too many choices with a manual trans any more.
Any how ... Subaru sells a diesel Forester in Europe and guess what the standard trans is? A SIX speed! Sweeeeet....
We see a bunch of those here in Potomac, too.
The latest craze is the X3 and Q5, I see tons of those. Plus the RX, MDX, etc.
They sell to the manicure set, as you can imagine.
The small luxury crossover segment is probably the fastest growing segment in the industry right now. 10 times faster than EVs. Maybe 100 times.
Edit: video says '76?
Fin? What year is that?
A buddy's uncle had one and the seat padding eroded before the engine blew.
I think the diesel outlasts the rest of the car. Gotta wonder if modern diesels, with all the emissions stuff, will last even half as long. I doubt it.
Time will do in modern electronics, I fear. I can't imagine huge numbers of 2011 cars left in 2051.
Also there's a new wrinkle in car mortality---people deciding to just junk otherwise perfectly good cars when one major component fails---too expensive.
If an old VW diesel blows up, are you really going to put a $5000 engine in a $3000 car. Doubtful.
Your wrinkle "junk an otherwise good car" to some are good to sterling opportunities to get good (albeit ) used cars inexpensively .
I am also thinking your last observation is ALSO being re-thought. If (for example) $5,000 can be put in a 3k car and get 100,000 more miles, why would you want to get a new car (@ for example 20-25k) to give you those very same miles? The increase taxes, insurance, will shave a load off that $5,000 repair vs a brand new car that really gives you nothing for the taxation and various additional FEES.
This might be too micro, but it would be an interesting statistic to know how many folks on 99 week unemployment benefits, and those who have fallen off and still not working (with normally dim prospects for getting a job that pays as good or better than their last job, are buying NEW cars.
If a person has enough money to buy a $5000 replacement engine (for which you don't get a bank loan--it's either cash up front or an 18% credit car loan), then they have enough to put a down on a used car, with a bank loan, and have reasonable monthlies.
I personally wouldn't advise anyone to put a new engine in say a 1999 VW Beetle diesel with 225,000 miles on it, with worn ties and a dent in the fender and tears in the upholstery. That's a $1200 car if it were *running*.