Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

wlbrown9

Interesting article on Saudi Arabia, oil prices, their budgets, etc. Seems Saudi Arabia looks at how the price of oil supports their budget instead of what it costs them to produce. Their foreign cash reserves have fallen 11% in the past year, but they claim to be okay for a few more. The lower prices hurt poorer OPEC nations who don't have the vast reserves of $$$$. Read more about this angle here

http://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-keep-watchful-eye-on-saudi-riyal-1445385483

Bill

dino001 said:

graphicguy said:

Someone would have some serious 'splainin' to do if the price of gas started approaching $3/gal again. The Economic fundamentals just won't support it at that price. And, oil companies are making money at lower prices. They'll only get better at it.

Some do, some don't - that's the point. It's cyclical, it changes. It will periodically go out of whack with fundamentals in either direction, as supplies and demand react to each other with a lag. You say there are no economic fundamentals for $3/gal, yet that price persisted for several years and was only brought down by increased supply that was growing over the years.

I think there is no "explaining" needed - they will charge as much as they can get away with it, as long as the sales match whatever they are able to pump. Just like Apple does, or Colgate, or Honda, or fill-the-blank. It's just that market reactions are not necessarily immediate and can be distorted for extended periods. There is an old adage - best cure for high prices is more high prices. We just saw it in last three years. Also the opposite is true - when prices persist too low to sustain marginal player, they'll go away and the supply will go down. I'm not shedding tears over those companies on the verge. Had some bad investments in the patch, but not too large and can only blame myself for the poor choice. However, if we don't feel sympathy for those bankrupt, or suddenly way poorer than before oil barons, we should not be too outraged, when they make "too much" money at times. The smartest of them (small percentage) know when to stop, the rest of them always overspends, overinvests and gets wiped out in the downturn. That's how those cycles work, that's also why this business is so tough overall. It can reward you well, but it can also wipe you out. There is some wiping happening right now. 2016 may be the real carnage. It's good, the capital will restructure to support those best, not just anybody. But the prices will go up some day, then they will overshoot again - then we will all be outraged, Congress will have hearings and the cycle will repeat itself.

PF_Flyer

As long as he has the punches on his Free Car card

[Deleted User]

oldfarmer50 said:

Need opinions.

BIL's Jeep Larado with, I believe the 3.7L 6cyl. Is having an overheating problem. Had a coolant leak repaired but is still overheating. Worried that his daughter, the princess, drove it hot too long and may have warped the heads.

Is this engine noted for head gasket problems? Could there be other causes for the continued overheating?

He doesn't need any more problems. His wife has advance MS and just got out of the hospital.

HG failure will show up in the form of mixed fluids or leakage around the block. I'm not aware of HG design issues with the 3.7, though. I'd start cheap with the thermostat and new coolant, then measure the radiator with a thermal gun to look for cold spots that would indicate a clog. If the radiator looks good and thermostat doesn't fix it, then I would suspect the water pump or fan. The fan is easy to check since it should turn when the engine is hot. Pressure from the water pump is a little harder to determine and it might be worth swapping if the preceding things all check out. If the fan isn't turning, then he would need to isolate the fan and provide power to it to determine if it's the fan that failed or the temp sensor that trips the fan.

driver100

stever said:

@driver100, check out the new Fiat. Miata underpinnings with Italian style. Should be nice.

2017 Fiat 124 Spider Coming to Fiat Dealerships Next Summer

Very nice........sounds like it will be a Miata with European flair......wonder if that means frequent trips to a mechanic?

driver100

Mike said: Good grief, and buying the new car didn't even make me happy for 5 minutes

Get better soon so you can enjoy the new car.

Besides, it will soon be time to go shopping for a newer model soon.

graphicguy

Carnaught...I think it was you who wanted to see these....

graphicguy

graphicguy

graphicguy

Interesting point about this photo is it shows the icon for Apple Car Play. Anything you can do on your iPhone can be done on the CUE screen either via touch or via voice command (Apple's voice recognition is recognized as one of the best in the world). I can even use the iPhone's NAV function via voice and displayed on the CUE screen.

graphicguy

Last one....

stever

driver100 said:

Very nice........sounds like it will be a Miata with European flair......wonder if that means frequent trips to a mechanic?

Mazda guts would hopefully mean fewer trips to the shop. That's always been one of the big attractions about a Miata for cheapskates like me. Affordable fun and reliable.

dino001

wlbrown9 said:

Interesting article on Saudi Arabia, oil prices, their budgets, etc. Seems Saudi Arabia looks at how the price of oil supports their budget instead of what it costs them to produce. Their foreign cash reserves have fallen 11% in the past year, but they claim to be okay for a few more. The lower prices hurt poorer OPEC nations who don't have the vast reserves of $$$$. Read more about this angle here
http://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-keep-watchful-eye-on-saudi-riyal-1445385483
Bill

That's exactly the case. There are economics of the oil itself, but there are also economics of those countries, where oil companies are state owned and oil revenues are essentially the revenues of the government used for all purposes. It costs Saudis single digits to produce the oil, but they need much more to keep the country together and not to lose their heads in the next uprising. Same thing with essentially all OPEC countries (worst is Venezuela) and Russia (not OPEC). Then there is Brazil - a special case, where Petrobras is this market-government hybrid (actually more like hydra) with gazillions in debt, cause they spent it all. Lots of private investors on the hook and a cesspool of corruption to boot. Similar with Mexico, maybe slightly better.

Right now we have a three-way supply shootout between Saudis, Russians and Americans. Saudis are taking revenge on Russians for overproducing (and market share gains) after 2008/2009 crash and trying to bankrupt American frackers in the process. They have cash reserves, but I would not expect them to be honest how much depletion they're really experiencing. I think it can go on for a couple of years. Saudis are really hoping for 2016 to be a judgment year for US investors in the shale business. They'll likely get it, if nothing changes. Oil sand production is already down, ocean rig count is down, the shale oil is still holding, some of those guys are actually increasing production, but just until the banks cut their credit lines, or the best wells go dry. Then we will see, who is left.

stever

dino001 said:

Then we will see, who is left.

Alaska is broke too, and we're hurting in New Mexico from the oil glut. At least we have sunshine though.

wlbrown9

dino001 said:

wlbrown9 said:

Interesting article on Saudi Arabia, oil prices, their budgets, etc. Seems Saudi Arabia looks at how the price of oil supports their budget instead of what it costs them to produce. Their foreign cash reserves have fallen 11% in the past year, but they claim to be okay for a few more. The lower prices hurt poorer OPEC nations who don't have the vast reserves of $$$$. Read more about this angle here
http://www.wsj.com/articles/investors-keep-watchful-eye-on-saudi-riyal-1445385483
Bill

That's exactly the case. There are economics of the oil itself, but there are also economics of those countries, where oil companies are state owned and oil revenues are essentially the revenues of the government used for all purposes. It costs Saudis single digits to produce the oil, but they need much more to keep the country together and not to lose their heads in the next uprising. Same thing with essentially all OPEC countries (worst is Venezuela) and Russia (not OPEC). Then there is Brazil - a special case, where Petrobras is this market-government hybrid (actually more like hydra) with gazillions in debt, cause they spent it all. Lots of private investors on the hook and a cesspool of corruption to boot. Similar with Mexico, maybe slightly better.

Right now we have a three-way supply shootout between Saudis, Russians and Americans. Saudis are taking revenge on Russians for overproducing (and market share gains) after 2008/2009 crash and trying to bankrupt American frackers in the process. They have cash reserves, but I would not expect them to be honest how much depletion they're really experiencing. I think it can go on for a couple of years. Saudis are really hoping for 2016 to be a judgment year for US investors in the shale business. They'll likely get it, if nothing changes. Oil sand production is already down, ocean rig count is down, the shale oil is still holding, some of those guys are actually increasing production, but just until the banks cut their credit lines, or the best wells go dry. Then we will see, who is left.

I feel the less cash reserves Saudi has, the weaker those in power are. Short term the US may suffer from the low prices. But when OPEC blinks and prices go back up some, investors will put money back in fracking and production. Not like the shale is going away and we lose the knowledge to ramp back up. In fact, with some of the new methods that lower cost or increase production, break even will stay much lower than over the past couple of years.

Bill

andres3

verdugo said:

Congrats GG. I'm glad you got a new car. Like somebody else said (sorry, forgot who it was,) the odds of getting two lemons in a row are astronomical. I wonder if you'll consider keeping this one if you don't get good trade in values.

Not sure about that with GM cars. The odds of having early engine failure in the new Corvette seem to be pretty high, and I'd consider engine failure in the first 50,000 miles a lemon.

andres3

graphicguy said:

My little sister has a '13 Camaro SS Convertible. Fun, fun car. But, visibility is indeed pretty bad. And, the interior leaves a lot to be desired. Punishing ride on all but smooth pavement, too. Mustang is the better all around car, IMHO.

So, picked up the new CTS last night. Dealer had the check from GM as we agreed. Signed my title over to the dealer. Dealer signed the new title over to me. This was a deal done with the General Manager (GM) and F&I guy. GM asked what was wrong with my '14 to get Cadillac to do a buy back. Given management had changed at this dealership (last servicing dealer), he wasn't privy to all that happened before. I told him to drive it around the block.

I was the only customer in the dealership, so the GM took me up on my offer. He came back 10 minutes later and immediately said...."wow, how long have you been driving that car around like that?" "Since almost new".

GM-"no one could fix it?"
GG-"why do you think it's being bought back?"

I had forgot why I bought the original CTS to begin with. The steering on the '16 is such a huge difference over the '14. Feels a bit quicker, but not sure why, given the dealer said the '16 has a little less HP, but same amount of torque. I figure it's because of the 8-speed trans on the new one vs the 6 speed in the '14. Either way, the new trans is much smoother. It reminds me of the auto in my E92 335i. That is, very good.

All the safety stuff is still there...lane keep, front and rear collision alerts, etc.

CUE is MUCH better. Car Play is great. Practically my entire iPhone functionality is on the indash screen and the voice recognition is a quantum leap better.

The "on/off at stop" function will take some getting used to. Out of all the cars I've driven with that technology, I will say the Cadillac does it best. Very quick and smooth stopping and starting. It's also defeatable.

Probably shop it around a little this weekend to see what a '16 CTS with 17 miles on it is worth used.

I'll repeat my earlier advice, drop it like a bad habit for the highest bidder. The last thing you want to do is go into the dealership for warranty service again, right? Even if they can fix the problems this time around; who needs problems?

I need to take my S4 in for its first warranty service finally at 37,000 miles. The windshield washer fluid tank leaks over being half filled. Let's start the Audi bashing now.

andres3

ab348 said:

graphicguy said:

WE had to bail out GM. As a result, they got a clean slate to do things the right way, which they said they would do.

Not sure they've been all that successful. In many ways, it's the same old GM. In my case with Cadillac, it was the same old GM...not stepping up to support their product and in fact, trying to sidestep fixing a faulty product.

Yes, that makes me angry. I dropped $40K+ large on what is supposed to be one of the "top of the heap" products that Cadillac, GM's premium brand, makes. It drove worse than a 15 year old salvaged Accent with 150K miles.

My belief is, given my Mother's issues that I took care of with Cadillac, and now my own personal issues, yes....I'm allowed to bash.

Some asked about the original selling dealer. It's an inner city dealer. They're stand alone, and they aren't owned by any bigger conglomerate. They were shady 10 years ago when I was dealing with my Mother's Cadillac dealership. Given the dealership personnel (dealing with the family who owns the dealership) I was working with and the fact that every car my family bought from them seemed to have more than just delivery miles (usually a few hundred, up to a 1,000 miles), and was listed as "new" tells me there was something amiss. Couldn't quite put my finger on the problems.

A dissenting view...

To say "we bailed them out, but they haven't changed" is not correct. They are building much better vehicles, and are a very different company with totally different management. But having said that, they are a mega-billion dollar corporation. You're in business, so you know what that means. They are not a charity, in the business of giving things away. They have many, many layers of management, who are responsible for turning in financial returns. It's just the nature of the beast. I seriously doubt any auto manufacturer would be much different. I think you hit the nail on the head with the diagnosis of the problem largely being the selling dealer. They do sound very questionable and Cadillac would be well-advised, I think, to reconsider whether that is the kind of operation they have representing them in your market. But as we all know here, the dealer system is always the weak link in any reputation chain between the manufacturer and the consumer.

Another dissenting view:

Let's think what required the bailouts in the first place. It was cars like what GG got. Lemons. Lemons that were either very costly to repeatedly fix (driving their cash reserves downward with high warranty costs), or that they ignored the problems of and lost customers most likely forever. They got a charitable bail out to keep them afloat. Now the same thing happens to new customers of the "new" GM. It is the fact that they are still doing what got them into trouble in the first place, building lemons and burning those customers with horrible product backing.

The dealer and manufacturer experience can be dramatically improved even on a faulty product with good after-sale customer support and service.

If you can burn customers and still stay in business because your lemons are few and far between then good for them, that's the free market at work. However, if you require bailouts on the regular (like Chrysler), it is not acceptable to continue this MO over and over.

graphicguy

Andres...I'm in no hurry. Whatever value a '16 will lose, was lost as soon as I got on a public road with it.

I'll drive it a bit. We'll see what comes up on some of these EOY sales that are bound to happen.

robr2

stever said:

Mazda guts would hopefully mean fewer trips to the shop. That's always been one of the big attractions about a Miata for cheapskates like me. Affordable fun and reliable.

Mazda platform, Fiat mechanicals.

abacomike

graphicguy said:

Andres...I'm in no hurry. Whatever value a '16 will lose, was lost as soon as I got on a public road with it. I'll drive it a bit. We'll see what comes up on some of these EOY sales that are bound to happen.

GG, like I suggested to you yesterday - drive the car (and I mean really put it through its paces) for 1 month.  Why throw away a car that could potentially turn out to be the best car you've ever owned?  And then you dump this potentially great car for a "whatever" and it turns out to be a bomb.

Give this gorgeous white CTS a chance to prove to you it's worth every penny you didn't pay for it!  If it drives as good as it looks, you'll actually be way ahead of the game.  

andres3

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Not sure they've been all that successful. In many ways, it's the same old GM. In my case with Cadillac, it was the same old GM...not stepping up to support their product and in fact, trying to sidestep fixing a faulty product.

Yes, that makes me angry. I Cadillac for the last time.

GG, thanks for your impressions.
Generally, reviewers and buyers seem to really like their CTS's.
I thought if you liked it you would probably keep it. Usually it ends up in 1st place when compared to the competition.

Or, is it a matter of trust and ethics?

We loved driving the A4, and we got it repaired and could have kept driving it, but we just didn't trust the company or the car any more. It sounds like you might feel the same.....good car but when you lose the trust, how do you still enjoy your car?

For ab it is very different, his car is working well and he trusts the brand, and most of the people who buy Caddies are liking them. If you get burned it is hard to go back.

I hope for Caddies sake they do have vehicles that provide a good enough customer experience that they retain some resemblance of a customer base. Otherwise Obama will have to make a speech that the next President will have to deal with this mess too in addition to Afghanistan.

abacomike

Speaking of which - I had to run over to my doctor's office this morning.  This new CLS 400 is a car that makes the Mercedes-Benz nameplate a magnificent automobile.  That new HD screen along with the Mbrace Apps enables you to import movies.  This technology is awesome.  I am having to go through a new learning curve figuring out how things work.  Like day and night compared to my 2015 E 400 and my 2014 CLS 550!  

andres3

dino001 said:

The final resolution is favorable, indeed. However, the process was to get there was too adversarial, IMHO. Only thanks to GG's persistence to be their pain in you know it went there. I'm sure most people would have given up, I know I probably would, I don't have this much resolve to fight for my rights and I don't think I should.

The Audi fiasco is definitely nothing for them to write home about. However, remembering Mike's troubles with injectors couple of years ago, Benz's efforts to fix it would be something fo Cadillac to measure themselves against.

Can you really even compare a fight over clutch wear/failure? to unsafe non-functional steering, CUE, and more?

Also, Cadillac and GM strung @graphicguy / GG along for 7 months if this started in April, not 6 months.

andres3

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

A dissenting view...

To say "we bailed them out, but they haven't changed" is not correct. They are building much better vehicles, and are a very different company with totally different management. ...

... I seriously doubt any auto manufacturer would be much different. I think you hit the nail on the head with the diagnosis of the problem largely being the selling dealer. They do sound very questionable and Cadillac would be well-advised, I think, to reconsider whether that is the kind of operation they have representing them in your market. But as we all know here, the dealer system is always the weak link in any reputation chain between the manufacturer and the consumer.

Not surprisingly, I disagree. While pinning the blame on the dealer may have some covenient merit, the buck stops at GM. If they agreed to give their name to some shady or sloppy people, it's their fault for not vetting them, not enforcing the standards of care, or having such a bad relationship with them that they were not compelled to give an honest try to fix the car. If on the othe hand, it was the standard of care, that's even worse. If the relationsip with dealers is so bad that they can't touch the car without a "code", it is very much GM's fault. There is simply no scenario, under which GM can be excused here, even if the dealer (actually more than one) and various representatives were unable or unwilling to fix the car.

On a related, more general subject, Cadillac's dealer network is two or three times too big for the current volume they sell. It may be good for people to find better prices and improve access in smaller cities, but it also weakens and dilutes the premium brand experience. In current volumes, the dealers are bound to struggle financially and be compelled to foces on survival and gaming the system rather than satisfying the customer, souring what happens after the sale, which GG was a victim. His experience would be unacceptable at a Kia store, let alone at a store of a brand with such a legacy (even if somewhat faded) and aspirations.

Excellent well-written post. I concur 100%.

stever

robr2 said:

stever said:

Mazda guts would hopefully mean fewer trips to the shop. That's always been one of the big attractions about a Miata for cheapskates like me. Affordable fun and reliable.

Mazda platform, Fiat mechanicals.

That'll fade the bloom on the rose pretty fast...

andres3

28firefighter said:

For whatever it's worth, I'll likely never buy a Cadillac as a result of your ordeals.  Too much risk. 

Ditto! Though that general feeling of distrust made my test drive of 2 different ATS' unfavorable and I considered them exorbitantly overpriced.

driver100

Now I am seeing double!

carnaught

Graphic, thanks for the interior pics. The car is gorgeous! Hope you really enjoy it for as long as you decide to keep it.

oldfarmer50

tyguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Need opinions.

BIL's Jeep Larado with, I believe the 3.7L 6cyl. Is having an overheating problem. Had a coolant leak repaired but is still overheating. Worried that his daughter, the princess, drove it hot too long and may have warped the heads.

Is this engine noted for head gasket problems? Could there be other causes for the continued overheating?

He doesn't need any more problems. His wife has advance MS and just got out of the hospital.

HG failure will show up in the form of mixed fluids or leakage around the block. I'm not aware of HG design issues with the 3.7, though. I'd start cheap with the thermostat and new coolant, then measure the radiator with a thermal gun to look for cold spots that would indicate a clog. If the radiator looks good and thermostat doesn't fix it, then I would suspect the water pump or fan. The fan is easy to check since it should turn when the engine is hot. Pressure from the water pump is a little harder to determine and it might be worth swapping if the preceding things all check out. If the fan isn't turning, then he would need to isolate the fan and provide power to it to determine if it's the fan that failed or the temp sensor that trips the fan.

Bummer. Just got a call from SIL telling me that as I suspected it was head gaskets. Toasted engine. I suggested a junkyard motor (maybe $2000 or so installed if lucky) she said they couldn't afford it. My only other suggestion is try to sell it on Craigslist to a mechanic who could do the swap himself for a flip. It's a 2005 with about 100k miles in otherwise good condition.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Last one....

GG that's a nice car. I'd have a hard time getting rid of it.

isellhondas

Anyone have a lot of time on their hands?

Can you imagine what it took to compile THIS?

http://www.tvraaca.org/oldmovies.htm#movie

andres3

oldfarmer50 said:

tyguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Need opinions.

BIL's Jeep Larado with, I believe the 3.7L 6cyl. Is having an overheating problem. Had a coolant leak repaired but is still overheating. Worried that his daughter, the princess, drove it hot too long and may have warped the heads.

Is this engine noted for head gasket problems? Could there be other causes for the continued overheating?

He doesn't need any more problems. His wife has advance MS and just got out of the hospital.

HG failure will show up in the form of mixed fluids or leakage around the block. I'm not aware of HG design issues with the 3.7, though. I'd start cheap with the thermostat and new coolant, then measure the radiator with a thermal gun to look for cold spots that would indicate a clog. If the radiator looks good and thermostat doesn't fix it, then I would suspect the water pump or fan. The fan is easy to check since it should turn when the engine is hot. Pressure from the water pump is a little harder to determine and it might be worth swapping if the preceding things all check out. If the fan isn't turning, then he would need to isolate the fan and provide power to it to determine if it's the fan that failed or the temp sensor that trips the fan.

Bummer. Just got a call from SIL telling me that as I suspected it was head gaskets. Toasted engine. I suggested a junkyard motor (maybe $2000 or so installed if lucky) she said they couldn't afford it. My only other suggestion is try to sell it on Craigslist to a mechanic who could do the swap himself for a flip. It's a 2005 with about 100k miles in otherwise good condition.

100K miles out of a Chrysler engine. Consider themselves lucky and move on. That's gotta be like 3 or 4 standard deviations beyond the norm

[Deleted User]

oldfarmer50 said:

Bummer. Just got a call from SIL telling me that as I suspected it was head gaskets. Toasted engine. I suggested a junkyard motor (maybe $2000 or so installed if lucky) she said they couldn't afford it. My only other suggestion is try to sell it on Craigslist to a mechanic who could do the swap himself for a flip. It's a 2005 with about 100k miles in otherwise good condition.

Oh, no! Really sorry to learn that awful news. If the head gasket failed enough to dilute the oil with antifreeze, the damage could be quite severe. My company had quite a few of those 3.7L motors in our fleet and we only had one with a major defect that required a new head. Seems like your advice is the best option available. I hope it works out for them as best as possible given the circumstances.

kyfdx

isellhondas said:

If you do the math getting 2 MPG better mileage isn't going to save anyone a lot of money.

Hey... I saw you quoted in Businessweek!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Last one....

GG that's a nice car. I'd have a hard time getting rid of it.

Yeh GG, I saw the pictures on the last page and forgot to say that is one beautiful car. Those front headlights are magnificent.......whole interior is exceptional. Really like the light interior too!

Since the car will lose 15% of it's value in year one, and 10% in year two, it would probably make sense to keep it for almost a year at least. Enjoy it while it is new and then decide what to do...it probably won't be worth much less 10 months from now.

driver100

oldfarmer50">Bummer. Just got a call from SIL telling me that as I suspected it was head gaskets. Toasted engine. I suggested a junkyard motor (maybe $2000 or so installed if lucky) she said they couldn't afford it. My only other suggestion is try to sell it on Craigslist to a mechanic who could do the swap himself for a flip. It's a 2005 with about 100k miles in otherwise good condition.

Not placing blame but I don't think you hear of that happening at 100K miles.
It is really sad when something goes so wrong and people can't afford to repair it. No easy answer. Your suggestion sounds like the best possibility.

I wrote a while ago about our dog groomer lady. She works so hard and is so pleasant, has had so many problems in life, and she bought a used car and the engine was pretty well useless after one month. It had a warranty for one month but they just fixed it enough so it would get through the warranty period.

I gave her the name and email address for a mechanic who writes a Q&A column in the local newspaper.

The columnist has some clout and he (he can name the garage if they don't comply) got the garage to agree to get her car completely repaired to her satisfaction.

It was so nice to see a nice person get a break!

imidazol97

driver100 said:

The columnist has some clout and he (he can name the garage if they don't comply) got the garage to agree to get her car completely repaired to her satisfaction.

It was so nice to see a nice person get a break!

That's a good story.

stickguy

That Jeep, might as well put an engine in it if it is otherwise in good shape. It is not going to fetch much as is, and they are going to have to replace it. Say they can sell it for $500. Put that with the $2K for a replacement motor, and you are all-in for $2,500. You can't buy much for that money. So now you are going to be into a loan to get something.

now, if they can qualify (decent credit score) a super cheap lease on a base Sonata SE could be the most cost effective move!

stickguy

I have really become enthusiastic about CarPlay. Really want that on the next car. No need to pay through the nose to get Navi any more!

fezo

OK, here I am 40 pages later. Rotator cuff seems to be coming along. If (and we're not sure on that, even with the MRI) it's not a complete tear it can indeed heal with time and PT. If it doesn't the off to surgery we go. That would suck since whether it's 3 or 4 months that's a lot of time to be missing an arm. Someone will think I killed Richard Kimball's wife (apologies to those of you too young).

So two things I caught (I'm never going to get all caught up) is that GG somehow settled (I need to hear this one) and Mike has bought his semi-annual car.

I caught a bit on gas prices. In the nearly a month I've been missing gas has fluctuated but pretty much within 10 cent range. Current is $1.83 RUG $2.35 PUG.

Insurance company still diddling on the Miata. On December 21 the body shop will pull the front bumper cover to look for damage behind it. If none, no problem. If enough to push it into totalled category it looks like they'll make a fair offer, given where the number is now and they're ok with that. If that happens, well, it was a nice summer. I got my fun and it would be one less car to insure. That said, I'm pulling for a full repair.

stickguy

gas is cheaper in my end of Jersey. Just filled up today at the 76 station (they seem to be moving into the area big time). Top Tier. 175,9 RUG, 218.9 PUG.

tjc78

Wow that's .10 cheaper than the Wawa I frequent. 

stickguy

The WHP in Somerdale/Lindenwald seems to be the hotbed of the gas wars now. 76 and Citgo that cheap.

28firefighter

stickguy said:

I have really become enthusiastic about CarPlay. Really want that on the next car. No need to pay through the nose to get Navi any more!

Definitely one of the coolest aspects of the GTI. I took this picture for a friend who was curious. 

berri

Anyone have a lot of time on their hands?


Speaking of which Isell, I was catching up on reading this past weekend and in either Time or Business Week, can't remember which, there was an article about Takata air bags, In it a guy from Issaquah, WA said Honda fixed them in his CRV relatively quickly, but he was still having problems getting the Avalon done. Sounded like you ironically

fezo

You would bring up the GTI. Despite am VW grublings I want be. Bad. Performance package and (sorry rb) hole in the roof. Any lighting package as I'm getting old. Four doors, Stick.

BTW - saw an item on 10 good cars that just don't sell. We've got at least 3 of them - gg's CTS, ab's ATS and my 5. Why the 5 doesn't sell I'll never understand. I'm thinking of putting Pilots on it in another 15K. It will break 30k on Thanksgiving. A weirdly high curb knocked of a rocker panel off (I retrieved it), but it one nice car. Other than the plywood test I can't see why anyone with just two kids (the older two are in "their own cars," so I can take the fours of us and everything we could possibly want in it and it drives like a big 3. Why do people buy Caravans?

stickguy

well, now the 5 doesn't sell because they don't make it any more. I always liked it (at least once they put the 2.5l in it!). But suffered from minivan stigma, without being cavernous. Truly definition of a niche car.

Wonder what the other 7 were?

I too like the GTI. Got a short drive in the Jetta Sport. Nice alternative (baby GLI).

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

Need opinions. BIL's Jeep Larado with, I believe the 3.7L 6cyl. Is having an overheating problem. Had a coolant leak repaired but is still overheating. Worried that his daughter, the princess, drove it hot too long and may have warped the heads. Is this engine noted for head gasket problems? Could there be other causes for the continued overheating? He doesn't need any more problems. His wife has advance MS and just got out of the hospital.

HG failure will show up in the form of mixed fluids or leakage around the block. I'm not aware of HG design issues with the 3.7, though. I'd start cheap with the thermostat and new coolant, then measure the radiator with a thermal gun to look for cold spots that would indicate a clog. If the radiator looks good and thermostat doesn't fix it, then I would suspect the water pump or fan. The fan is easy to check since it should turn when the engine is hot. Pressure from the water pump is a little harder to determine and it might be worth swapping if the preceding things all check out. If the fan isn't turning, then he would need to isolate the fan and provide power to it to determine if it's the fan that failed or the temp sensor that trips the fan.

Bummer. Just got a call from SIL telling me that as I suspected it was head gaskets. Toasted engine. I suggested a junkyard motor (maybe $2000 or so installed if lucky) she said they couldn't afford it. My only other suggestion is try to sell it on Craigslist to a mechanic who could do the swap himself for a flip. It's a 2005 with about 100k miles in otherwise good condition.

I'm confused. It is just the gaskets? An engine swap would be more expensive than replacing head gaskets. Hell, do it themselves! Or did you mean to say it is the actual heads? 

roadburner

@oldfarmer50: Still looking for a set of wheel/tires for your GT? I was bored and thumbing through a Mustang magazine(that I had bought back when I was laboring under the misconception that I could afford a decently equipped GT) and I noticed an ad for a company that sells Mustang take-off tire/wheel sets for $899 and up: www.newtakeoff.com
Might be worth a shot....

nyccarguy

@oldfarmer50 - twice in the last week ive seen some nice looking mustang GTs.  Now I'll admit that the 5.0 badge on the 1/4 panel cranks the stang 's sexiness up a few notches.  Parked next to me at the Subaru dealer service dept (also a Ford store) was a Silver GT Coupe.  I liked it a lot.  Then on one of the Turnpike's rest areas, I parked next to a black GT coupe with a stick & some gorgeous split 5 spoke wheels.  Mamma Mia!