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Comments
I think shipping is about $6 per tire?
The downside is you don't get free rotation and other perks that some places give to customers.
I think the longest i have waited is about 3 days for the tires to arrive at my door.
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QUESTION
Anyone out there replace their headlights with the xenon type bulbs. If so, how did they look and what brand did you use.
Very close in buying an intrigue...
The Firehawk SH-30 tires, size 215-60/R15, were about $20 less expensive from Tirertack than at my local Firestone. $65 vs. $84(?).
The last price is at 15% discount to the full list one, but the Firestone shop provides it to everybody who ask, and even to most who does not bother to ask.
The Firestone price included installation and balancing. The Tirerack one is for tires only. Tirerack recommends several shops in my area, with installation cost about $12. After adding shipping and installation, the difference practiaclly reduces to the sale tax aviodance.
By the way, I could save more if buying the tires at other local shop, named the Tire Warehose or something of this kind. I prefer Firestone, because I am doing most of car service / repair at the shop, because it is at walking distance from my home, and because the place is simply more nice. Also, it would be easier to complaint if something goes wrong, when buing Firestone tire at Firestone, not from a third-party shop.
When installing tires, did alignment and bought a road hazard insurance. Used it recently, when got a nail in the tire.
Unexpected bonus: about a month after buying tires, I received a lot of valuable coupons from the Firestone, and a "preferred customer" card. The card provides a free towing, a year of free tire rotation for all cars in my family, and other benefits - do not remember what. With AAA membership, I do not need the road-side service. However, the free tire rotation already more than paid for the difference in price.
And the last: if you are not at hurry, research what tires you want to buy, and watch for big sale. Usually it happens at/around big holidays. The same Firestone offered tires at 25% discount at Labor Day ("Two days only: Buy any 3 tires, get the 4-th free"), with road hazard insurance at 1/4 of usual price. The next sale probably will be at Thanksgiving, if not earlier.
one2one : That's a good deal but you are right, they will tell you something needs doing every time. No Sears Auto at the local mall here so I don't have the option anyway.
yurakm : Wouldn't touch Firestones again. Both my mom and I have had bad experiences and the whole Ford Exploder fiasco sealed their fate with me. I'll stick with Goodyear, BF Goodrich, or Michelins.
Firestone dealers are probably hurting right now, so I imagine they are making pretty good deals. The Aquatread III's are listed at $79 each on tirerack.com. Add $32 for shipping and $60 for m & b, and you're at $408. I paid $505 for the Aquatread III's I put on my Intrigue (before the $50 Goodyear Credit rebate) from a local Goodyear store that is probably cheaper than most (friend of a friend owns the store). For what it's worth, the Michelin Pilot XGT H4's are listed at $104 each in tirerack's October Car&Driver ad. That works out to exactly $100 more per set than the Goodyear's.
Re. tires: bought a set for my Park Avenue today to replace the worn-out Daytons (Firestones) that were on it when I bought it. Was going to go for Michelins after some disappointing experiences with Uniroyals, but stopped in at Canadian Tire and they were having a sale on ther house brands. Was a little unsure about who made them and certainly didn't want Kumhos or similar off-brands. Asked, and when I found out that their Touring LXR was made by Michelin, I sprung for them. So far so good. Saved about $40 per tire over the Michelin brandname and got the same treadwear rating (130,000 km).
My real reason for posting is to ask a paint question. I have seen a couple of Bonnevilles around here in what looks like Bronze Mist and it is very attractive. Yet Intrigues I see in that color always look dull, sort of like metallic mud. Is it the same paint or is the Bonneville bronze a different shade? I can't understand why they look so different.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
I noticed that when i turned it in, it looked kind of bland. The interior too. I took pictures of it that day and will post them in the owner's section when i get the time.
:-(
Then I put the car up on ramps and couldn't seem to find anything that resembled an oil filter as I've come to know one. I did see a large hunk of unusual hard black plastic recessed into the bottom on the oil pan located fairly close to the drain plug. Is this the oil filter? And if not, what the hell is it and where IS the actual filter?
If so, where can you buy the tool that removes it?
Also, does any discount retailer carry replacement oil filters for the 3.5 or do I have to go to the dealer (if so, what a scam)? None of the application catalogs (and one was a Delco catalog!) I saw even have a replacement part listed for the 3.5 V6.
My God, I swear it's easier to build a rocket and fly to the moon than it is to change the oil in this car...
Finally, just a tidbit for those of you curious about the fuel economy...my parents claim the car AVERAGED 33mpg while they were on vacation (they drove it from Minneapolis to Georgia, nearly all Interstate miles). Since the car only had 2000 miles on it when they left (it's not even broken in yet) and it's only rated at 28 on the highway, I have trouble believing the veracity of this claim. I, playing the role of the good son, told them they must've made a math error (there goes the inheritance). And they replied that the low 30's figure was the average of three tankfuls and not some strange fluke.
So are my parents lying or what? 33mpg sounds pretty unbelievable to me.
I think you're stuck going to the dealer for the filter. There's just not enough 3.5 engines out there for the retailers to bother carrying it. I had to go to 3 different places before I found an air filter too.
I haven't changed the oil myself but the filter is internal, inside the filter shaped cover in the oil pan.
This must be the seventh sign.
Or I can take that $10K and tool up a filter for a car that sells 300,000 or more each year.
How are you going to spend that $10,000?
BTW, most Accords are assembled in Ohio so they are domestically produced also.
I'm kind of in the same boat. When I upgrade my car, I want to do several things at once, to really make it feel new again.
I agree with you on the economies of scale thing, but I'm trying to get across a different point. Oldsmobile COULD'VE spent a little extra time designing the 3.5 to carry a conventional filter if it really wanted to.
It's easier to get replacement filters for a number of cars MUCH rarer than the Intrigue - because they take the same filter size as more common engines produced by other manufacturers. So the volume of an engine alone has little to do with aftermarket filter availability. The fact that you can easily get a replacement oil filter for your Maserati at Walmart is proof positive of this.
I guess my point is that one of the last strong reasons to buy "American" is starting to fade - namely the ease of finding parts and servicing.
Oh well...
Gotta say I was very unimpressed: slow and heavy steering, mushy brakes
(hard to modulate), very pnderous and unsporty.
...and awful sounding engine. It even had rod knock on startup (and blue smoke
out the exaust for visual drama) until the oil pressure came up. It was an ES so am unsure if it was the 2.7 or 3.2 engine. It has only 26k miles, so there is no excuse for the terrible driving
experience here. To think this car stays around and the Intrigue goe away.
Getting back in my car, driving home, it showed me again just how deeply good the car is, and how sad GM doesn't realize it.
buoyant : The 3.5L is the exception and not the rule. Any other GM vehicle would have parts galore. That said, I wouldn't trade a common engine for the 3.5L.
The unavailability of replacement parts is nit-picky, I'll give you that. But it's still a valid criticism. Hey, nothing is ever perfect.
STYLE
Both cars look nice, each in their own way, still can't touch our beatiful Slate Pearl 300M.
ENGINE & TRANSMISSION
The 3.8 is a great engine with power to move, a sharp refined feel (and it's a pushrod motor), and is quiet. It also has a crisp transmission that makes the most of the engine's power. Our 300M's 3.5 liter 253 horsepower engine is also nice but not the best. First of all, after a year we're still wondering where even 200 horses are let alone 253, for such a high rating, there isn't very much there. Second, it is a pleasantly smooth and torquey feeling motor, but it isn't the quiestest and can sound rather gruff and growly sometimes. This does make the car sound meaner and more powerful and I do like it, just not all the time. We do have the tapping lifters almost every time it's started, not too happy about it but the magnificent (yeah right) 5* came up with some BS and said it was normal. Then comes the transmission--boy does it suck! I think this is one of the car's main problems as it seems to strangle some of the power that is there, has no idea when it's supposed to shift or to which gear, slips all the time, and is trouble prone (mainly failed speed sensors I think, among other things). It does have autostick, I've used it once, and it doesn't do much of anything really.
INSIDE & OUTSIDE
Style is of course, won hands down by the 300M. It's still fresh and gorgeous in its fourth year. Outside fit & finish in better on the Intrigue with higher quality paint and tighter panel fit. 300M is fine, but the doors are slightly out of line, the panel gaps are larger, and the paint could be better but it is black. As for the Inside, they both have their strong points. The Intrigue looks nice inside and it's all put together solidly except for the crappy, paper-thin sunvisors. The materials are a bit hard and shiny though and the passenger airbag is roughly cut and put in place but nothing makes a creak nor does it rattle after 24,000 miles. There is also more headroom and front legroom in the Intrigue. As for the 300M, just about everything is better. Flowing shapes, soft materials, white & chrome guages & clock, chrome accents, and yes, a few strips of fake wood. It just all feels and looks plusher and is very luxurious. However, these softer materials flex more and therefore tend to be creaky, and we have had problems with rattles. There is more rear seat space and the seats are comfortable and have heat even though I tend to like cloth more.
MISC.
Both ride well and handle sharply and have the same horrible, dreaded Crapyear Eagle LS's. In this aspect, I think the Intrigue must have more insulation because it has less road roar than our M, this is a particularly bad issue with our car. As for solidity, both feel tight but the Intrigue seems a bit more rigid and flexes less than the Chrysler than tends to be creaky or rattle.
Okay, I've pretty much summed up what I think, so take it as you please. Both cars are very nice, and my opinion is based on a 300M, a more upscale, slightly different feeling car than the Intrepid. Both have had their problems, none really all that serious. Well, enough of that...
RE : Intrepid : I've never driven one, but sitting in one was enough for me. It's too big and cavern like inside. I also don't like the rear end styling. I think the only Chrysler I would consider is the PT Cruiser, but my wife hates it so it will never happen. The new Cirrus is nice, but I will have to see what the reliability is like.
;^)I still check out the videos, not to hear what they have to say, but rather to look at the cars from more angles than it's possible in photos and to hear the horses under the hood.
Having test-driven some and rented one, with both the 2.7 and with the 3.2, I can say that it corners very well for a full-size, but the only competent engine is the 3.2. COMPETENT, not brilliant! Its lack of torque in the low-end forces you to rev it up, when it becomes noisy and unrefined. Actually, that's when another trace of the car is evident: its sound insulation is not among the best.
Internally, there's plenty of room for everybody, its greatest virtue. The materials are OK, but there are too few standard accessories for its price range. For example, it's only possible to have cup holders at the rear seat with leather.
I've seriously considered getting one, but I think that there are better values out there.
GM Canada has an all new site with all 2002 pricing and information.
to a Intrepid. While the 300M share platform with the Dodge, its a much better car. having not driven a 300M, cannot say for sure.
evandro: Ok, and agreed I still like the Intrepid's look, even the interior was ok, but overall the driving experience fell way behind the Intrigue, no question about it.
;^)After (before, really) my Intrigue was totalled, I wanted hard to like the 300M. The only major turn-off was the front leg room. For the money, I didn't want to have to keep positioning myself to be comfortable. Since I do a lot of driving and many times long trips, that wasn't going to cut it.
Personally, I like the sound of the M. It's a little more pronounced than the Intrigue but pleasing if you don't like that whine that many imports make. I was put off a bit by the road noise as well. I don't know if it's a factor, but the 300M is riding on 17" Badyears vs. 16" on the Intrigue. Perhaps that's contributing to the noise. Try some Michilen Pilots (you'd think I work for them :-) If nothing else, the handling will be even crisper.
The Intrepid's headliner is too close for me too. The angle of the windshield is to blame. I also test drove an R/T. Funny, although power is rated lower than the 300M, it felt more powerful, if only slightly. Perhaps it weighs less. I thought it had plenty of kick and enjoyed "driving" it more than the M. But interior space removed that one from my list as well.
Overall, I say if one goes with the higher output engines (read: R/T or 300M) one would be pleased. Of course, I'm partial to the Intrigue so I put that at the top of the list ;-)
it handles/feels compared to "our" car. Almost bought one 2 years ago when they came out, but my bro who is in the auto biz knew engineers on that program who said little good about it, as it was based on the Opel Vectra (mediocre itself) and was 'thrown together" Anyone have any experience with these? just curious.
one2one, having driven an R/T, how was it compared to an Intrigue? I assume it is much better than the ES I drove (and will be driving from time to time, starting this weekend when I take it from my step-mom to be detailed by myself).
p.s. the autostik itself while ok, proved to be a novelty within miles, but would prefer sterring wheel paddles anyways, as these are becoming more common.
focus, I too would love to hear how intrigueguy likes the "plus zero" sized tires as time goes on, esp. in bad weather. . Doing some early research (17 k miles , so expect I will need new donuts in 10 k- anyone know typical used up mileage for the eagle LS's by the way?) on this size- the 235/55 16's, likely in V rated design, so getting wider tread on same wheels (without getting that thread going again, i am one who loves the current wheel design).
A very unusual size, in fact Discount Tire said I would have to preorder them, whatever brand.
I could not find intrigueguy's Yokohama 320's, at all. The Michelin Pilots do not come in this size unfortunately, but would still like the nearly 1 inch wider tread (std. 225/60-r16's are 26.6 dia by 7.8 wide, while the 235-55-16's are 26.1 dia. by 8.6 wide
Wanting more dry weather handling grip, need also to be able to go through snow (Chicago burbs).
So....intrigueguy...inquiring minds will want to know how it goes! Keep us updated.
The intrepid cornered flatter than the intrigue and rode better but it handled big bumps badly, whereas the intrigue is the opposite.
The intrigue was the right choice for me at the time.
Frankly the 3.5L has a feel that none of the domestics or the 3.0L Asian cars can match.
It was always a joy to rev the intrigue up.
The Dodge was just painful.