Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Dindak, I agree that $4200 rebate would offset resale loss vs. other w-bodies, but it is probably not enough to offset what you could do with another make, given that most manufacturers are also offering big discounts. Factor in reliability and availability of service and parts for the long term, and I think the smart money would be somewhere else. I just couldn't stomach paying someone to take it off our hands, then have to come up with a down payment on top of that.
Instead, I took some of that money and had the rotors replaced and some other minor maintenance done, then we took the Intrigue on a road trip north of the border last week, 450+ miles each way. The car ran great and got nearly 30 mpg. We were also glad for the bigger trunk with the 2-month-old baby and all his stuff. Overall, the trip reminded me that the Intrigue really is a nice car. Hopefully she has a few more good years in her.
I am glad that job is done. It runs like a charm now. I believe my battery had a crack in it near the + terminal - perhaps from overtorquing terminal?
Re-sale prices around here are the same for Regal / Intrigue and GP. Even the guy at the dealership showed me a while back that the Intrigues aren't really much different, maybe $300-500 at most.
Ya there are better cars on the market now, but with the discounts you won't find a better value. You can pick up a GX for thousands less than an Accord V6 or base Altima V6.
Teo recommended to bake the mold out.
With hot engine, put A/C on maximum heat and recirculation "ON" for 20 minutes. Than for 5-10 minutes on maximum heat / recirc "OFF" - to blow remains out.
No fun to drive in summer with A/C on heat, and not safe. Better to do this walking around a parked car. With windows open.
Repeat the procedure if does not remove all the smell, and repeat 2-3 times in summer just for prophylaxis.
Ketch... don't neglect that cabin air filter element. If it is way overdue for changing then air flow will be restricted to the evaporator. Yurakm.... good idea!
Domestic midsize resale is terrible no matter which way you go. Taurus/Sable and Intrepid are really no better than GM models. If you want resale, history says go Toyota/Honda. Resale is not all there is to car buying decision, though. Just one factor...... although an important one.
We all know that domestics drop 50%in 3 years and foreigns lose 50 % in 5 years. However, when you consider what you get in your foreign for a lot more money, The extra 2 years of deprecation ain't such a good deal.
Example: a 25,000 cdn camry four banger with little more than power windows, compared to an 25,000cdn intrigue gx with almost all but sunroof.
Then when you factor in the high cost of service and parts on foreigns after warranty, there is little comparison financially.
The problem is cars are not looked at financially , but rather very emotionally, and the manufacturers prey on this.
Foreigns tend to have better loyalty, fit, finnish and realibility, so the car rags constantly remind us. Yet, there is lots of service horror stories at the "other " companies that never get resolved.
The main reason i got stuck with my gx is the pompus, arrogant, cocky and downright rude foreign dealerships. Basically, "their is the car and that is the price (10 % on sale), if you don't like it then see ya cause there is someone else standing behind you that wants it."
I've worked on cars for 23 years and it scare the bejebbers out of me when i need to get parts which are only available at dealers and you better rob a bank before you go there.
Removing emotion from the equation, one needs to find (sometimes hard) a car that is 1yr older or so. You will get 30 % off, no extra fees, no service and no administration charges. One does not have to worry about parking lot door dings( probably already there) and you probally have some warranty left to find out if its a lemon. Insurance cost will be lower. If you have problems to be remidied, the 7 to 10k that you saved will go a long way. Also if you do not like it, you will be able to unload for close to what paid, less taxes of coarse. Ever try to sell a less than a year old new car. 30 % plus taxes POOF.
Why do people buy new, i don't know because i did.
I buy new because I like to know where the car has been and how it's been taken care of. It makes way more sense to buy a 1 year old Intrigue, but I'm picky. I figure GM points offset some of the pain for new.
You are right though, after 5-6 years it doesn't make much difference.
Ambient Air temp Humidity discharge temp
55-65 F 0-100% 53.6 F
66-75 Below 40% 53.6
66-75 Above 40% 59
76-85 F Below 35% 57.2 F
76-85 35-60% 60.8
76-85 Above 60% 64.4
86-95 F Below 30% 62.6 F
86-95 30-50% 66.2
86-95 Above 50% 69.8
96-105 F Below 20% 66.2 F
96-105 20-40% 69.8
96-105 Above 40% 73.4
106-115 F Below 20% 71.6 F
106-115 Above 20% 75.2
116-120 F 75.2 F
I would be curious to see these stats from an older car with an R-12 system and from a new car with a larger capacity system such as a truck or SUV. As you can see, the system does pretty good output until you get into the heat and humidity of a southern summer.
I just checked autonews.com and 0 intrigues were made after the 2 week vacation that ended Monday.
The Intrigue was the only W-Body that did not have production start back up.
Its the end of an era guys.
I also noticed that very few Auroras were produced this week which means that they are all Northstar cars now.
The supply of Shortstars has been used up.
Interestingly, that other GM orphan, the Camaro had 719 cars produced this week. I wonder when they will pull the plug on that car?.
b4z : Not surprised it's done. Sad but not the end of the world. I'm sure there is enough supply to last until August/September. I think the Camaros run until September. Plant closing will be big news here in auto land Canada, so I'm sure I will read about it before it happens.
Diddak, yesterday's paper again had the Toyota ad with $2000 off 4 cylinder Camrys, $3000 of V6 models, and $3500 off Avalons. There were also GM style discounts on 4Runners, Tacomas, and Echos. About 2 weeks ago there was a $299 a month lease deal on the Lexus IS300. Sounds good up front but when you read the fine print you see it is a 60 month lease and requires about $2500 at inception. Not such a good deal once you get the details.
I ran into a strange assembly problem. From the factory, two different speakers were installed in the rear deck. One was a cheapie dual-cone job, while the other was a 2-way speaker. I hope this isn't indicative of the assembly quality in general.
I clipped the wiring and crimped on new terminals. I may go back and solder them later, but I didn't feel like laying in the hot trunk any longer than I had to. Anyway, I am not sure which wire is positive and which is negative. I assumed that the darker wires were negative. Does anyone have a wiring diagram to verify this?
My wife and I are kind of going through the same thing now, with the Envoy vs. the Pilot. She likes the Envoy more, but I keep telling her how much we will lose in depreciation on it. She will have it for about 7 years, but I still think we will come out way ahead with the Pilot.
That being said, I can understand why resale would be important to you. If you get tired of the car, it gets stolen or totalled, you'd have enough positive equity to get something else.
However, my recommendation is what I have stated before: drive them both and see which one you like best (after all, driving is why one purchases a vehicle). If it's the Honda, not only do you get a machine you like, you'll get the resale advantage as well. Having driven the Envoy (haven't seen the Pilot except in commercials), I highly recommend it. It's very smooth and carlike and there's even room behind me when I'm driving :-)
Keep on driving.
I also took off the plastic around the console and shifter and put stuff on around there too. It will rattle a lot if you don't get the metal tabs back into place. If I leave an empty can in the pop out cupholder, it makes a rattle.
But when it is really hot or cold, I still get rattles over bumps that I can't track down.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Silver isn't bad, but I'd be tempted to go for the Bronzemist, especially for such a low price. Think of it this way, they couldn't find one that you really "wanted" and the leases were outrageous, but you can now have a very nice vehicle for a great price! I'd say go for it, but that's just me....!
It's a great car, BTW. I have almost 2000 miles on mine already, and have had it only a month. It's a spectacular car to use for road trips.
Just this weekend, I drove across Michigan and back, and used it as a taxi (for mother-in-law's surprise b-day party). The car ran nonstop for half a day with the A/C blasting, and even after I got back home I still had plenty of gas left! It was a 350 mile drive round trip, and plus the half day of taxi'ing people around. I filled up when I got back at the same gas station I used when I left. Amazing.
While doing taxi service, I got a lot of comments on how nice the car is, despite the fact it's a base GL w/o leather or 'roof (given the heat, maybe the cloth seats were better anyway!). As is typical for every GM product I've owned, it's been flawless. That Indigo Blue does show a LOT of dirt, though.
It's a fantastic car - whatever iteration you choose, I'm sure you'll be delighted with it.
I grew up in North Carolina and my first two cars didn't have A/C. So I don't mind a humid day with the windows rolled down. But if it's too wet or cold to open them, and you don't have A/C in your car, it gets foggy inside.
Right now I live in coastal California and there are a lot of cooler, humid days. If I try to use the economy mode in the morning, the heater fogs the windows. Better to just leave it on "AUTO" and let the compressor handle things.
The dual-zone climate is a "girlie" feature. I.e., for the girl in the passenger seat. 3 degrees isn't a big deal to a guy, but women are smaller and notice minor temperature changes. Think of it as a "shut up your wife so you can ride in comfort" feature! ;-)
On this note, I don't think we've ever had a woman post that she owns an Intrigue. It really seems to be a "guy's car."
I think fogs in regular driving conditions just annoy other drivers.
female owners, I've seen several women driving Intrigues. I have to agree that this forum is probably visited mostly by males. There is a woman who I see on the roads quite often who looks to be in her 30s driving a white Intrigue. It's either a GL or a GLS and has a spoiler. I parked opposite her at the supermarket one day. A little too old for me and she had a wedding ring on, but she was very attractive:)
Just got back from 8 days in cottage country with the Intrigue. Really had it loaded down with bikes and all. Car was wonderful all through the week but it filthy with bug juicy and tree droppings now. Needs a real good clean this week. Did get a scratch on the spoiler from the bike rack which sucks. Have to fix that up also! Uggg!
I'd get a GL just for the sole fact that it has a split folding rear seat. I had one in my old car and have sorely missed not having one in my Intrigue. All the other features of a GL are what I consider worthless gimmicks. From what I've heard, the dual ac in the Intrigue isn't that great. Traction control is a nice feature but without PCS, it's not all that. The foglights I think are really nice additions but the Intrigue ones from what I hear aren't that great. I've been thinking about adding some aftermarket ones to mine. But I'd still get a GL just for the folding rear seat.