Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

I agree with GG - I spend a good chunk on a new carry on every 5-7 years and a new briefcase every couple years.

 I use a very durable Briggs and Riley bag for all of my travel. I never check, either, unless it's absolutely unavoidable. Generally, I can pack for 7 days of business travel into a carry on without much trouble. 

Firefighter....I like Briggs, too. Like you, I can do 7 days with a 22" Rollaboard that I don't have to check (fits in the overhead).

I'm to the point I don't carry my office with me in my briefcase anymore. Laptop, one of those little projectors for displaying PowerPoints and/or spreadsheets, pen, small note pad, phone and power cables, a few memory sticks with company info on them.

Tough to find Briggs on sale like I can with Tumi or TravelPro, though. That's the only reason. I had a Briggs briefcase awhile ago. Lasted probably 10 years. Good stuff.

I used to carry reams of paper, marketing material, etc. I reduced that to USB memory sticks, as they have become so cheap, I buy them 10 at a time for $45. Plus, laptops have become lighter and slimmer.

graphicguy

My son just informed me he found another GTI he likes. I told him to go for it as I like the car, in all of its GTI iterations. He said he needs me to help him make the deal.

Feeling like I have raised him right....coming to Dad for Master's advice (that last part is only 1/2 true....I did raise him right).

He's kind of anxious to go to the dealer today. However, just finished a 10K (96 minutes) and taking a breather.

js06gv

oldfarmer50 said:

jwm40517 said:

Hey Farmer, I was talking to a new Mustang owner at my local watering hole today and he mentioned a "line lock" feature to lock the front brakes for burnouts. It and launch control activated from a screen. I had not heard any guys on here mention these features. Apparently , if you want to leave at 3000 to 4500 rpm, you enter the number, put the gas to the floor, and a rev limiter holds the rpm at your chosen level until you let go of the clutch.

Yeah, even the auto tranny has that. It locks the front brakes but leaves the rears to spin like heck for up to 15 seconds. A little icon comes up that says "for track use only".

As to the maturity of doing burn outs I'm pretty immature but that's outweighed by my cheapness at not wanting to buy new tires so I haven't done too many.

I'm dying to try out line lock on my wife's GT but the responsible side of me kicks in when I think about the tires. So my current plan is to wait until the day before I replace this original set and just have at it!

PF_Flyer

Bad enough that the birds have started with their annual droppings dive-bombing of our cars, but now we have snow falling on May 15th. Typically we have a last frost in the first week of June. I'm hoping it's not bumped back later than that

roadburner

stickguy said:

sounds like cheating. They should require a clutch and stick at the drags, the way the good lord intended.

Automatics have always been a popular choice for drag racers(depending on the class, of course), and they are becoming even more prevalent.

oldfarmer50

js06gv said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jwm40517 said:

Hey Farmer, I was talking to a new Mustang owner at my local watering hole today and he mentioned a "line lock" feature to lock the front brakes for burnouts. It and launch control activated from a screen. I had not heard any guys on here mention these features. Apparently , if you want to leave at 3000 to 4500 rpm, you enter the number, put the gas to the floor, and a rev limiter holds the rpm at your chosen level until you let go of the clutch.

Yeah, even the auto tranny has that. It locks the front brakes but leaves the rears to spin like heck for up to 15 seconds. A little icon comes up that says "for track use only".

As to the maturity of doing burn outs I'm pretty immature but that's outweighed by my cheapness at not wanting to buy new tires so I haven't done too many.

I'm dying to try out line lock on my wife's GT but the responsible side of me kicks in when I think about the tires. So my current plan is to wait until the day before I replace this original set and just have at it!

Be sure to turn the traction control off before you do. I don't do too many fast starts but with that nanny on it's tough to spin 'em. :@

oldfarmer50

PF_Flyer said:

Bad enough that the birds have started with their annual droppings dive-bombing of our cars, but now we have snow falling on May 15th. Typically we have a last frost in the first week of June. I'm hoping it's not bumped back later than that

Thank goodness those aren't bird droppings in that picture. I'd move.

explorerx4

My daughter in Ohio showed us a picture of her deck covered in ice.

js06gv

oldfarmer50 said:

js06gv said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jwm40517 said:

Hey Farmer, I was talking to a new Mustang owner at my local watering hole today and he mentioned a "line lock" feature to lock the front brakes for burnouts. It and launch control activated from a screen. I had not heard any guys on here mention these features. Apparently , if you want to leave at 3000 to 4500 rpm, you enter the number, put the gas to the floor, and a rev limiter holds the rpm at your chosen level until you let go of the clutch.

Yeah, even the auto tranny has that. It locks the front brakes but leaves the rears to spin like heck for up to 15 seconds. A little icon comes up that says "for track use only".

As to the maturity of doing burn outs I'm pretty immature but that's outweighed by my cheapness at not wanting to buy new tires so I haven't done too many.

I'm dying to try out line lock on my wife's GT but the responsible side of me kicks in when I think about the tires. So my current plan is to wait until the day before I replace this original set and just have at it!

Be sure to turn the traction control off before you do. I don't do too many fast starts but with that nanny on it's tough to spin 'em. :@

I'd have assumed that in track mode all the nanny nonsense would be turned off but I'll have to check that out.

PF_Flyer

oldfarmer50 said:

PF_Flyer said:

Bad enough that the birds have started with their annual droppings dive-bombing of our cars, but now we have snow falling on May 15th. Typically we have a last frost in the first week of June. I'm hoping it's not bumped back later than that

Thank goodness those aren't bird droppings in that picture. I'd move.

Honestly, sometimes it seems like the droppings are that intense. Definitely leave a "shadow" on the driveway when you move the cars.

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

My daughter in Ohio showed us a picture of her deck covered in ice.

In the Burgh area it wasn't quite that bad and it disappeared in about 2 minutes.

The sun has been in and out all day with temps in the low 50's...just gotta love the northern states.

Mike, you're in the right location. The older I get the more intolerant I have become of this miserable northern weather. :@

jmonroe

abacomike

jmonroe said:

My daughter in Ohio showed us a picture of her deck covered in ice.

In the Burgh area it wasn't quite that bad and it disappeared in about 2 minutes. The sun has been in and out all day with temps in the low 50's...just gotta love the northern states. Mike, you're in the right location. The older I get the more intolerant I have become of this miserable northern weather. :@ jmonroe

85 today, low humidity, clear sky.  Nope, not too many equivalent spots in the US - but wait - the summer is just around the corner and it does get sultry here!

stever

Yesterday we had a few drips of rain, of all things. After playing in the garage off and on all day, I decided to move the van into the garage since late afternoon hail was possible. Closing the door, I heard the telltale thunk.

Yep, lost one of the springs. It's a single 16' garage door that's insulated and weighs a ton. Between the one spring left and my wife helping, we managed to get the door up and the van out of the garage.

Today the humidity is 15%.



Still enough of a breeze during the day and it cools down at night, so we still haven't switched the AC on. Thick walls, cool tile floors and a white roof help a good bit.

jmonroe

Mike said:

85 today, low humidity, clear sky. Nope, not too many equivalent spots in the US - but wait - the summer is just around the corner and it does get sultry here!
____________________________________________________________________________

When we lived in SC for 5 years I got a real taste for hot and humid weather.

From the middle of June till the first week in September you could count on 95 degree days with humidity that almost matched the temps. Pure miserable for that period. Just cutting the grass wiped me out. After that chore I sat in the shower and let the cold water cover me for about 10 minutes. I say "cold" but the cold water ain't all that cold down there in the summer but that was better than trying to convince Mrs. j to clear out the fridge.

I will say this, November through May was great. Golfers loved that place during that period.

jmonroe

tjc78

@stever
90 degrees and no AC. You are a better man than me.  I turn the AC on if the house gets above 75.  I'm a wimp.  

stever

Our target is 76 inside the house (after much negotiation ) but my wife is adapting - it's 80 inside right now and she hasn't even turned the whole house fan on today. I like the heat, so I'll be living more in the garage as my wife cools the place down. The high desert cools down nicely in the evening and makes for good sleeping weather. As soon as the sun goes down, I grab my hoodie.

nyccarguy

The weather in Englishtown, NJ this AM was 50 degrees & overcast.  Perfect for me to rip around a racetrack in a 911 GT3

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

The weather in Englishtown, NJ this AM was 50 degrees & overcast.  Perfect for me to rip around a racetrack in a 911 GT3

Now that's living the dream!

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

stickguy said:

sounds like cheating. They should require a clutch and stick at the drags, the way the good lord intended.

Automatics have always been a popular choice for drag racers(depending on the class, of course), and they are becoming even more prevalent.

With faster shifts and less possibility to screw up a shift I can see why.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:

My daughter in Ohio showed us a picture of her deck covered in ice.

In the Burgh area it wasn't quite that bad and it disappeared in about 2 minutes.

The sun has been in and out all day with temps in the low 50's...just gotta love the northern states.

Mike, you're in the right location. The older I get the more intolerant I have become of this miserable northern weather. :@

jmonroe

85 today, low humidity, clear sky.  Nope, not too many equivalent spots in the US - but wait - the summer is just around the corner and it does get sultry here!

Somehow I would take sultry for a few months out of the year over freezing cold and having to shovel snow for several months out of the year.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

jmonroe said:

My daughter in Ohio showed us a picture of her deck covered in ice.

In the Burgh area it wasn't quite that bad and it disappeared in about 2 minutes. The sun has been in and out all day with temps in the low 50's...just gotta love the northern states. Mike, you're in the right location. The older I get the more intolerant I have become of this miserable northern weather. :@ jmonroe

85 today, low humidity, clear sky.  Nope, not too many equivalent spots in the US - but wait - the summer is just around the corner and it does get sultry here!

Somehow I would take sultry for a few months out of the year over freezing cold and having to shovel snow for several months out of the year.

That's why I live here - July through October are rough months but November through June make up for it.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

The weather in Englishtown, NJ this AM was 50 degrees & overcast.  Perfect for me to rip around a racetrack in a 911 GT3

How cool is that? Tres cool!!!!!!!!

Mr_Shiftright

I haven't been on the track....I mean seriously on the track (parade laps in an MGTC don't count) since Skip Barber Open Wheel course. That was 3 dayslong and what a hoot! Yep, the more you drive the better you get, unless you simultaneously get stupid.

stickguy

Got a loaner today while the Jetta sport is in for service. Just my luck, another white Jetta. Base car with hubcaps and mouse fur seats. Filthy too. They should be embarrassed, but hey, I'm not turning it down.

Sounds and drives just like the other one. Only 3 months old with 2,700 miles on it. Still a screaming value in the mid to high teens.

Pretty sure it is a 1.4t. Sounds and feels just like the 1.8 driving around suburbia.

oldfarmer50

The horsepower wars are getting insane.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/spied-camaro-z28-testing-ring/?_wcsid=803D36F0164E42D5126522EAB2C8C7A940BE150B6D5CC574

henryn

I got the Cadillac into the shop this morning, Caliber Collision Center. No problem with that. But no rental car. The Enterprise office on site had no rental cars available. There is also a Hertz office there, with no rental cars, but that wouldn’t have helped me anyway, my insurance company only does business with Enterprise.

There were two customers ahead of me with Enterprise. Very irate, I might add. The poor guy working for Enterprise kept calling his “main office”, and getting the run around. The best I could tell, the main office was waiting for cars to be turned in, so they could be sent out to all of the waiting customers at the “branch offices”.

I asked the poor guy how long the overall waiting line was, and he had no idea. He offered to drive the 3 of use over to the main office so we could wait there. But I had a better idea, I called a taxi and went to work.

Now I’m trying to get in touch with my insurance company to see if they will reimburse me the $34 for the taxi ride. And before you ask, Uber is not operating in Houston right now, big controversy over fingerprint checks.

sda

henryn said:

I got the Cadillac into the shop this morning, Caliber Collision Center. No problem with that. But no rental car. The Enterprise office on site had no rental cars available. There is also a Hertz office there, with no rental cars, but that wouldn’t have helped me anyway, my insurance company only does business with Enterprise.

There were two customers ahead of me with Enterprise. Very irate, I might add. The poor guy working for Enterprise kept calling his “main office”, and getting the run around. The best I could tell, the main office was waiting for cars to be turned in, so they could be sent out to all of the waiting customers at the “branch offices”.

I asked the poor guy how long the overall waiting line was, and he had no idea. He offered to drive the 3 of use over to the main office so we could wait there. But I had a better idea, I called a taxi and went to work.

Now I’m trying to get in touch with my insurance company to see if they will reimburse me the $34 for the taxi ride. And before you ask, Uber is not operating in Houston right now, big controversy over fingerprint checks.

With all the recent flooding in your area I bet rental cars are in great demand. We've had some flooding in our area as well, but not nearly what you have experienced. One of my parent's friends that they've known since the late 1960s and met them when we lived in New Orleans lives in Houston. She says their house was up on a hill but she could look down her street and see flooded homes. I feel for those affected.

jmonroe

'henryn' said:

Now I’m trying to get in touch with my insurance company to see if they will reimburse me the $34 for the taxi ride. And before you ask, Uber is not operating in Houston right now, big controversy over fingerprint checks.
______________________________________________________________________________

As I have mentioned before, Mrs j had to have the right front fender replaced on her '12 Subie about a month ago by now.

I went to an indy shop for a quote before I got a quote from the dealer who eventually did the work. Both the indy shop and the dealer were preferred repair centers for my insurance company. I asked the indy shop what that really meant and he said in addition to being accepted after passing the insurance companies repair standards it entitled me to have a car provided by Enterprise at the repair shop doing the work. All I had to do was tell them when I wanted to drop off my car and the Enterprise car would be waiting for me at the time of drop off.

I asked the indy guy if I had to deal with Enterprise. He also had the same insurance company as I do and he said, "no you can deal with any company but why would you want to do that because with Enterprise all the work would be done for you with no hassle. Just drop off your car and bring it back here when your car is ready". I confirmed this with my agent and the indy guy was right. As it turned out I went to the dealer for the repair and there was an Enterprise desk right at the dealers repair center with cars around the back of the repair center.

I live in a locale that just happens to have a very large Enterprise store and they also sell their cars there too. I suspect that this is the place that would have supplied the car for me if I had gone to the indy shop. I doubt that they would have been out of cars but if they were I could have gone on my own to any of the other rental outfits in my area but that would have been a hassle of sorts.

I've always been told that my insurance company is one of the best if not thee best around here (they are not a national outfit). When I hear stories from people with other insurance companies I'm glad I have the one I'm with. I have gotten quotes from other insurance companies over the years just to do a sanity check and all have been a little less expensive but maybe my company does provide better service for what I'm paying for. I know this, they have never refused a payment.

About 10 years ago when I called for a quote from major national company, believe this or not, the agent actually said, "stay with them. I can't beat their rate or service". Don't ask me why he would volunteer that info but he did.

jmonroe

stever

I had a couple of national outfits tell me not to switch too when I was in the UP. The company I used up there was very local and they paid my towing claims fast.

Enterprise here was almost out of cars when we went to pick up our reservation back in December. Hail damage took out a lot of them.

andres3

verdugo said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

Actually the link that Andres linked to was a traffic engineer talking about traffic calming measures designed to reduce traffic speed when entering a more congested area which would require slower speeds. Totally different than what Andres was implying.

WRONG!

Actually no, I suggest you read your links, it does not state what you says it states.

For your own sanity snake, just let it go. Some posters just like to wind people up.

I was paraphrasing and interpreting, not quoting, so nothing I stated is misrepresented. Not sure what you and @snakeweasel take exception with as to my interpretation, because you are very unclear and vague.

Do I really have to quote word for word? All I hear is talk about an open area vs. a congested area. While that may be in there, I don't think that contradicts or changes the portions I pointed out. The fact remains bike lanes were added/widened for the purpose of slowing cars down, not for the purpose of serving greater quantities of bike riders.

Congestion isn't a fixed thing. What is congested at 8 AM or 5 PM might not be congested at 3 AM. Are you two really advocating setting speed limits to the absolute worst possible conceived condition. That would be the equivalent of designing a structure to withstand the 100 year storm, not once every 100 years, but the same storm every day, day after day for 100 years straight!

Ludicrous! Ridiculous!

andres3

stickguy said:

sounds like cheating. They should require a clutch and stick at the drags, the way the good lord intended.

Do you consider electric motors with 100% torque at 0 MPH cheating too?

What about the superiority of AWD for consistently blazing fast take-off; especially in less than ideal conditions?

stickguy

I'll concede wheelie bars so you don't go over backwards. Otherwise, just mashing the gas and trying to keep it straight. And with many cars now, driver doesn't even gave to be involved in the 2nd part.

cdnpinhead

The "issues" with rental/loaner cars, along with the other hassles of taking a vehicle back to the dealer, help highlight the importance of not having to do it at all. I could give a rip less that the manufacturer is willing to try to fix things, given that I need to take the sled in and deal with whatever system exists for the replacement vehicle, then turn it in at the end of the day (week, month?) when my daily driver is supposedly fixed.

You lot can make all the fun you like of "appliances," but a car that's fun to drive and doesn't break down is a much better fit in my life than one that's "funner" and needs 2-3 visits to the shop annually.

Yes, I drive Honda and Nissan products -- the TSX has 108K on it and the Pathfinder 170K. Go figure.

YMMV.

andres3

henryn said:

I got the Cadillac into the shop this morning, Caliber Collision Center. No problem with that. But no rental car. The Enterprise office on site had no rental cars available. There is also a Hertz office there, with no rental cars, but that wouldn’t have helped me anyway, my insurance company only does business with Enterprise.

There were two customers ahead of me with Enterprise. Very irate, I might add. The poor guy working for Enterprise kept calling his “main office”, and getting the run around. The best I could tell, the main office was waiting for cars to be turned in, so they could be sent out to all of the waiting customers at the “branch offices”.

I asked the poor guy how long the overall waiting line was, and he had no idea. He offered to drive the 3 of use over to the main office so we could wait there. But I had a better idea, I called a taxi and went to work.

Now I’m trying to get in touch with my insurance company to see if they will reimburse me the $34 for the taxi ride. And before you ask, Uber is not operating in Houston right now, big controversy over fingerprint checks.

Ahhh, Caliber Collision, to call them the McDonald's of body shops is a compliment to them, and a disservice to McDonalds.

I suppose with a 10 year old car it doesn't matter much. However, I'd rather drive my car into a lake without being caught on video than risk taking another car to Caliber Collision.

andres3

cdnpinhead said:

The "issues" with rental/loaner cars, along with the other hassles of taking a vehicle back to the dealer, help highlight the importance of not having to do it at all. I could give a rip less that the manufacturer is willing to try to fix things, given that I need to take the sled in and deal with whatever system exists for the replacement vehicle, then turn it in at the end of the day (week, month?) when my daily driver is supposedly fixed.

You lot can make all the fun you like of "appliances," but a car that's fun to drive and doesn't break down is a much better fit in my life than one that's "funner" and needs 2-3 visits to the shop annually.

Yes, I drive Honda and Nissan products -- the TSX has 108K on it and the Pathfinder 170K. Go figure.

YMMV.

I feel like I'm having my cake and eating it too with Audi. My experience with all of my cars always mirrors what Consumer Reports says, which is Audi is #1 overall.

My A3 probably over performed compared to how it did average at best in CR, but it did have a few problems over the years. Nothing as significant as my US built/assembled Accord's transmission issue that eventually earned black dots though.

thebean

andres3 said:

I feel like I'm having my cake and eating it too with Audi. My experience with all of my cars always mirrors what Consumer Reports says, which is Audi is #1 overall. My A3 probably over performed compared to how it did average at best in CR, but it did have a few problems over the years. Nothing as significant as my US built/assembled Accord's transmission issue that eventually earned black dots though.

Yeah, enjoy those $80 oil changes and other maintenance items.  

Sandman6472

Why piss on the guys parade Bean? He buys what he likes and doesn't care what it'll cost down the road. As long as he can pay for it, no problem. We ended up in a similar situation back in December of 2014 and also ended up owning an Audi and a VW. After having domestics, Japanese and Korean in the stables at one time or another, we both decided to check out German ownership this time around. But again, we both knew going in that it would be a bit more costly and the potential for issues would be far greater. But that was our choice and we're enjoying it.
Always take the high road with folks, especially those you don't know, and be positive. Most folks don't like negativity of any sort and to be sarcastic just makes things worse. Usually saying something positive is the best course, something that has always worked for me! Just something to think about going forward!

The Sandman

jmonroe

hey 'sandy', where have you been hiding out? Haven't seen you around for quite sometime.

As for ALWAYS taking the high road, I'm not one to do that but I try my best when the situation presents itself.

You will always get in the last word with me because I'm not about to argue with a fence post for very long.

jmonroe

PF_Flyer

Pretty easy to guess what I happened to see on the tube today. Actually saw a Nash Metropolitan in Dec out in LA

thebean

sandman_6472 said:

Why piss on the guys parade Bean? He buys what he likes and doesn't care what it'll cost down the road. As long as he can pay for it, no problem. We ended up in a similar situation back in December of 2014 and also ended up owning an Audi and a VW. After having domestics, Japanese and Korean in the stables at one time or another, we both decided to check out German ownership this time around. But again, we both knew going in that it would be a bit more costly and the potential for issues would be far greater. But that was our choice and we're enjoying it. Always take the high road with folks, especially those you don't know, and be positive. Most folks don't like negativity of any sort and to be sarcastic just makes things worse. Usually saying something positive is the best course, something that has always worked for me! Just something to think about going forward! The Sandman

Sandy, would you have mentioned this had I not been talking about Audi?  He threw Honda under the bus on the transmission issue, which was not that widespread.  I was just pointing out that Audi has some issues also.  You seem to be a little sensitive when someone says something a little critical about VW or Audi.  Chill out, my man.  You shouldn't care what my thoughts are about the brand of car you love.

graphicguy

PF_Flyer said:

Pretty easy to guess what I happened to see on the tube today. Actually saw a Nash Metropolitan in Dec out in LA

"WAX ON-WAX OFF"

andres3

thebean said:

andres3 said:

I feel like I'm having my cake and eating it too with Audi. My experience with all of my cars always mirrors what Consumer Reports says, which is Audi is #1 overall.

My A3 probably over performed compared to how it did average at best in CR, but it did have a few problems over the years. Nothing as significant as my US built/assembled Accord's transmission issue that eventually earned black dots though.

Yeah, enjoy those $80 oil changes and other maintenance items.  

Fair statement. Synthetic oil changes and premium fuel and rigorous German maintenance are far costlier than your typical cost to run a Honda or Toyota. If your main goal is low cost per mile driving, you can't go wrong with those 2 companies.

I didn't mean to throw Honda under the bus. I like Honda. That car, despite its faulty transmission, was a very reliable car overall. It ran like brand new at 50 months and 65K miles old. It was a good car with good engineering and good (but not great) assembly. And most important, Honda stood behind the product, replaced my transmission with a new one at 42K miles, didn't ask me for a dime, gave me a free rental car, and got me my car back on Wednesday afternoon after taking it in on Monday morning. Now that's good service. I also got an extended warranty on the replaced transmission free of charge.

Since Honda covered that, and a couple other minor issues under warranty, I don't think I came out of pocket for anything on that car (outside of routine maintenance) and I had it for 50 months and 65,000 miles. In that sense, it was a very cheap car to run. It also had pretty darn good resale value which allowed me to afford and splurge on the '06 A3. Never tracked the V6 Accord Coupe though it was pretty fast in a straight line.

andres3

thebean said:

sandman_6472 said:

Why piss on the guys parade Bean? He buys what he likes and doesn't care what it'll cost down the road. As long as he can pay for it, no problem. We ended up in a similar situation back in December of 2014 and also ended up owning an Audi and a VW. After having domestics, Japanese and Korean in the stables at one time or another, we both decided to check out German ownership this time around. But again, we both knew going in that it would be a bit more costly and the potential for issues would be far greater. But that was our choice and we're enjoying it.
Always take the high road with folks, especially those you don't know, and be positive. Most folks don't like negativity of any sort and to be sarcastic just makes things worse. Usually saying something positive is the best course, something that has always worked for me! Just something to think about going forward!

The Sandman

Sandy, would you have mentioned this had I not been talking about Audi?  He threw Honda under the bus on the transmission issue, which was not that widespread.  I was just pointing out that Audi has some issues also.  You seem to be a little sensitive when someone says something a little critical about VW or Audi.  Chill out, my man.  You shouldn't care what my thoughts are about the brand of car you love.

For more balance, we've owned 3 Civics built and assembled in Japan totaling over 11 years of use and they've all been pretty much flawless. The '92 we bought for 3.5K with 167,000 miles in '02. Kept it just over 2 years and took it to 200K miles and sold it for $2.7K. Now those are some cheap miles!

thebean

@andres3, I think my comment was a little harsh.  I paid those higher maintenance charges for the two Mercedes I had in the late 90's.  I enjoyed those cars, but after a while, I came to value quality over most everything in a car.  But, I realize everyone is different, which is why they sell a lot of different brands.  I'm sorry if I sounded snarky.  

nyccarguy

I think a synthetic oil change at my Subaru dealer is $80

stickguy

Geez, I started all this? I just took it in for the 1st annual service (in 10,5 months, first visit to the dealer). Oil change, inspection, fluid top up, tire rotation. All for the grand sum of nothing. So can't beat the price! They also had a minor recall (software update) that got done at the same time.

so hopefully, will just do it again, same time next year! For the same cost (the dealer I got it at extended the free service deal through 3 years as an enticement to take the car). Talk about having fixed costs.

[Deleted User]

nyccarguy said:

I think a synthetic oil change at my Subaru dealer is $80

Given most vehicles have switched over to full synthetic, the cost differential in oil changes between the premium makes and main stream makes is nearing $0. My Subie and Audi cost me the same to change the oil. Oil filters are roughly the same price as is the oil. In fact, given that Audi recommends longer change intervals than Subaru, it could be argued that Audi costs me less in oil changes.

Even the other fluids and filters are pretty similar. It's all those expensive repair parts that cost you big time

abacomike

There is a major difference in costs associated with maintaining a luxury German, British and Italian car (and other luxury brands) when compared to other makes.  BMW has solved that differential by providing free maintenance for their initial warranty period (4 years or 50,000 miles).  

Mercedes charges $350 for the 12-month or 10,000 mile service (called an A Service) and over $500 for their 20,000 mile or 24 month service (called a B Service).  The A and B services alternate.  But that's the least expensive maintenance on MB's.  What about a full brake job or other wear and tear items?  That's where the costs for maintenance hits hard!

suydam

Honda doesn't use synthetic oil.

stever

Isn't most of it semi-synthetic these days too?