Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

I knew JPP was the same. I never remember the numbers on user names though!

I have had the “BRAKE” warning flash up a few times but honestly can’t tell if the car ever did anything beyond yell at me.

This technology should really be called single guy watch, since it basically does the same thing as your wife.

28firefighter

My Stelvio only has Forward Collision avoidance, but it has saved my rear a few times now. It tends to be a bit overzealous, but that is usually when it doesn't like the amount of pressure I have applied to the brakes. The one time it really saved me was on I-5 S through the downtown Seattle corridor. I needed to move over to exit onto Union street, which happens to be in a lane where about 1/4 mile before, folks are merging onto I-5 from Denny Way. I had my blinker on and was waiting for a clearing when some guy flew up the on-ramp from Denny and cut in front of me with maybe 2 feet to spare and then jammed his brakes. I just couldn't react as quickly as the car - the whole thing was over before I could hit the brakes.

The only thing that really scares me about forward collision avoidance is the fact that I never know what's going to happen to the car behind me. I may avoid a forward collision but could end up rear-ended. Given that Sam is with me most of the time in the backseat, I'd strongly prefer not to be rear-ended.

jpp75

stickguy said:

@jpp75
Who were you before?

jpp5862 The 5862 is an old college/hometown thing that doesn't really mean much anymore.

jpp75

28firefighter said:

My Stelvio only has Forward Collision avoidance, but it has saved my rear a few times now. It tends to be a bit overzealous, but that is usually when it doesn't like the amount of pressure I have applied to the brakes. The one time it really saved me was on I-5 S through the downtown Seattle corridor. I needed to move over to exit onto Union street, which happens to be in a lane where about 1/4 mile before, folks are merging onto I-5 from Denny Way. I had my blinker on and was waiting for a clearing when some guy flew up the on-ramp from Denny and cut in front of me with maybe 2 feet to spare and then jammed his brakes. I just couldn't react as quickly as the car - the whole thing was over before I could hit the brakes.

The only thing that really scares me about forward collision avoidance is the fact that I never know what's going to happen to the car behind me. I may avoid a forward collision but could end up rear-ended. Given that Sam is with me most of the time in the backseat, I'd strongly prefer not to be rear-ended.

I completely agree. I know a lot of people feel like they don't need the nannies or can drive better than the car, which is generally true I guess but in my last several cars with the autonomous braking there have been a few incidents where the half second or so that they system braked before I could even get my foot off the gas saved me from situations like what you describe. There's always the risk that someone behind you can't stop but I figure that's always there regardless of who/what initiates the braking.

stickguy

I’m just leery of false alarms. Maybe tech has improved by now, but I recall reading reviews where it would activate for no reason at times. Slamming on the brakes on the highway with nothing in front of you is not good.

But if it is a real emergency, better to be rear ended instead of plowing into someone. At least you won’t be held liable.

jpp75

au1994 said:

jpp75 said:

Thanks guys, the C30 in a manual really is a fun car to drive and now that I have the Tacoma it's the perfect mix of vehicles. As @Mr_Shiftright knows finding these is hard enough and to find a low mileage one in good condition, one owner and locally serviced was something I couldn't pass up.

Great find! A nice truck and a sporty/fun car is a good combo in the fleet.

Thanks, it's definitely the perfect mix!

28firefighter

stickguy said:

But if it is a real emergency, better to be rear ended instead of plowing into someone. At least you won’t be held liable.

If it's just me in the car, sure. If Sam is in the car I'd rather be held legally liable and not have him take the hit. I suppose in that regard, my accident avoidance priorities have changed.

stickguy

There’s a lot of car behind the 2nd row to absorb a hit. Plus, odds are you are getting rear ended either way (even if you don’t plow in) if you are getting creamed if you come up short

fintail

Bluetec has all of those nannies save for adaptive cruise. The collision avoidance is sometimes a little aggressive (maybe as I sometimes close in too fast on slowing cars), but no issues otherwise.

xwesx

stickguy said:

This technology should really be called single guy watch, since it basically does the same thing as your wife.

Hahahahahahaha! Single best statement of the year. I suspect we will all have a tough time beating this one, even with 11.5 months to go.

andres3

jpp75 said:

28firefighter said:

My Stelvio only has Forward Collision avoidance, but it has saved my rear a few times now. It tends to be a bit overzealous, but that is usually when it doesn't like the amount of pressure I have applied to the brakes. The one time it really saved me was on I-5 S through the downtown Seattle corridor. I needed to move over to exit onto Union street, which happens to be in a lane where about 1/4 mile before, folks are merging onto I-5 from Denny Way. I had my blinker on and was waiting for a clearing when some guy flew up the on-ramp from Denny and cut in front of me with maybe 2 feet to spare and then jammed his brakes. I just couldn't react as quickly as the car - the whole thing was over before I could hit the brakes.

The only thing that really scares me about forward collision avoidance is the fact that I never know what's going to happen to the car behind me. I may avoid a forward collision but could end up rear-ended. Given that Sam is with me most of the time in the backseat, I'd strongly prefer not to be rear-ended.

I completely agree. I know a lot of people feel like they don't need the nannies or can drive better than the car, which is generally true I guess but in my last several cars with the autonomous braking there have been a few incidents where the half second or so that they system braked before I could even get my foot off the gas saved me from situations like what you describe. There's always the risk that someone behind you can't stop but I figure that's always there regardless of who/what initiates the braking.

Where I disagree here is in situations where you will either crash or be rear-ended, obviously it's better to not be at fault and get rear-ended; however, often the correct move would be to steer out of the way so that you don't hit what is in front of you, nor get rear-ended. Having brakes slammed when you simply could have steered around the hazard would be diminished safety for me. A trade-off I'm not willing to live with given I haven't rear ended anyone.

andres3

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

But if it is a real emergency, better to be rear ended instead of plowing into someone. At least you won’t be held liable.

If it's just me in the car, sure. If Sam is in the car I'd rather be held legally liable and not have him take the hit. I suppose in that regard, my accident avoidance priorities have changed.

I get where you are coming from, and all the more reason to consider going "front-facing" sooner than the recommendations. That way what is good for Sam coincides with your liability, rather than contradict it.

The data I found on why CA mandates rear-facing 2 years was full of holes and leaks when it comes to the safety of the little ones. For the average or lesser driver, perhaps, but I remain unconvinced on the data for a competent driver.

xwesx

Regardless of competency, the risk level in all scenarios is still quite small. Putting them in a five-point belt and strapping the system into the vehicle properly (either by way of seatbelt or tether points) mitigates nearly all of the controllable risk. There's no sense in jumping through additional hoops or losing sleep over it.

stickguy

well, with ABS you can still steer around if that is the best move. Not always possible though in a panic stop situation on a highway without making it worse.

xwesx

stickguy said:

well, with ABS you can still steer around if that is the best move. Not always possible though in a panic stop situation on a highway without making it worse.

In a scenario like that, the likelihood of the driver doing anything other than dealing with their own surprise (at the car acting on its own) is very low. It's like skydiving or bungie-jumping, etc.: Once you know what to expect, you act and react differently than when you're green. It doesn't matter how much someone tells you what will happen, the body only learns through experience for these types of reactions.

As seasoned drivers, we can adapt either way. It's the drivers coming up now that are going to suffer with this shift to automation. They will be worse drivers than those that preceded them (independently of nanny tech), but they will likely work very well with the automation (e.g., they won't fight it like we tend to). However, get them in a vehicle without such nannies, and they'll have no clue how to deal with the situations that arise because, subconsciously, they will expect the vehicle to do all the heavy lifting should something occur.

qbrozen

On this subject, I DESPISE all of the commercials lately showing how people are just awful drivers without nannies. The Ford Edge is the latest of such atrocities. How about a public service commercial saying “if you can’t drive, stay off the damned road!”

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

On this subject, I DESPISE all of the commercials lately showing how people are just awful drivers without nannies. The Ford Edge is the latest of such atrocities. How about a public service commercial saying “if you can’t drive, stay off the damned road!”

And get off my lawn!

Michaell

My fear is that, in a generation or two, we'll all end up like the humans in the movie "WALL-E" - glued to our couches or chairs, unable to do anything for ourselves.

stickguy

isn't that already mostly happening?

Sandman6472

Xwesx, looking back over the past few days, it does sound kind of comical really. Luckily the first problem was solved with a client of my wife and they came on Saturday to check the switch and electrical circuits. Just said to replace the light fixture and use a dimmer switch and LED bulbs. Sounded o k to me.
Decided to do the springs in pairs and vetoed the wife's saying to just replace one only. Knowing my luck, the other one would go in a few weeks at the wrong time and didn't want to play that game, so just did them both. Now, might just change out the coach lights in front of the house also. We had one in our front door area blow a few years ago and got a new unit that I can load bulbs from the bottom. The two out front need a large ladder and someone to hold it for me. And since my cataract surgery, I can't see where to put the 3 ridiculously small screws needed to take the top off. One has been out for over a year and the other blew out on Sunday night. So, if I'm already going to replace the kitchen table fixture, I might as well replace the two out front and get the kind where I can put a bulb in from the bottom and hopefully have it match the third on by the front door. Have one guy come and install them all and be done with it! I like coming home on nights when we do go out with all the lights on as we drive up. Don't like the dark. And of course, getting an argument about why replace the front ones and should just do without! I tell ya, nothing is easy here for me!!

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

On this subject, I DESPISE all of the commercials lately showing how people are just awful drivers without nannies. The Ford Edge is the latest of such atrocities. How about a public service commercial saying “if you can’t drive, stay off the damned road!”

And get off my lawn!

Thanks for the laugh!

28firefighter

Speaking of people that shouldn’t be allowed to drive...someone made a u-turn tonight at the bottom of an I-5 offramp and tried to drive back up to get on the highway. Apparently missed that they could have driven straight to get back on...

I didn’t stay around to find out what happened. 

28firefighter

This is a rare bird. Shocked to see it at carmax. 

https://www.carmax.com/car/16810875

venture

28firefighter said:

Speaking of people that shouldn’t be allowed to drive...someone made a u-turn tonight at the bottom of an I-5 offramp and tried to drive back up to get on the highway. Apparently missed that they could have driven straight to get back on...

I didn’t stay around to find out what happened. 

Watch the news.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

This is a rare bird. Shocked to see it at carmax. 

https://www.carmax.com/car/16810875

Because no normal dealer wanted anything to do with that color AND manual trans. Yikes. And at that price, that may be bolted to their pavement for quite some time. 

roadburner

In 1995 I had a friend pick up a BMW child seat for me while he was in Germany. It was modular and could be used up though age 5 or 6 depending on how it was configured.

stickguy

I like thevSS though that is a weird color for it. Usually see that on a sonic. Pricey!

When I was at my local carmax getting a quote, they had a G8 (the Pontiac 4 door) there. But now I can’t recall if a stick.

corvette

That is a weird color, had no idea they ever offered it on the SS. 

graphicguy

28firefighter said:

This is a rare bird. Shocked to see it at carmax. 

https://www.carmax.com/car/16810875

Always liked those (the few years it was around). As others said, probably couldn’t get past that color, though.


I’ve been following those Holdens since Bob Lutz brought them over from Australia to be, first, a revived GTO (actually came close to buying one after a testy drive), then the Chevy SS. Always liked them.

But, they’re dead as roadkill!

fintail

I think Oz-built Holden operations are now gone.

Carmax used to have a smattering of AMGs/M cars/Range Rovers and other maintenance adventures, now they don't, likely due to their warranty.

Michaell

fintail said:

I think Oz-built Holden operations are now gone.

Carmax used to have a smattering of AMGs/M cars/Range Rovers and other maintenance adventures, now they don't, likely due to their warranty.

I think Doug DeMuro singlehandedly caused that. First a Land Rover, then an Aston Martin, from CarMax with a full warranty. Recouped the cost of both within 6 months, IIRC.

corvette

CarMax was pretty quick to ban Saab from their lots once they ceased operations. I never heard anything official, they just no longer had them for sale, even when other dealers of late model used cars still had them. 

fintail

Most of the MBs on the local Carmax site appear to be low spec lease returns or ex-fleet vehicles. I just expanded the search area, and see a few AMGs and S-class, but not many. No G-Wagens.

Michaell

fintail said:

Most of the MBs on the local Carmax site appear to be low spec lease returns or ex-fleet vehicles. I just expanded the search area, and see a few AMGs and S-class, but not many. No G-Wagens.

Here in Colorado, CarMax will offer up RWD MB, BMW or Infiniti models. Gotta pay attention to the specs, for sure.

This past week, I've had a fascination about the Cherokee Trailhawk. Because on my searches, I'm now seeing ads for a lease - $274/mo with $274 due at signing, 42 months.

Tempting, so long as it has, at a minimum, the cold weather package.

au1994

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Most of the MBs on the local Carmax site appear to be low spec lease returns or ex-fleet vehicles. I just expanded the search area, and see a few AMGs and S-class, but not many. No G-Wagens.

Here in Colorado, CarMax will offer up RWD MB, BMW or Infiniti models. Gotta pay attention to the specs, for sure.

This past week, I've had a fascination about the Cherokee Trailhawk. Because on my searches, I'm now seeing ads for a lease - $274/mo with $274 due at signing, 42 months.

Tempting, so long as it has, at a minimum, the cold weather package.

Very temping. I like the Trailhawk model as well as the Limited. Dealers here are advertising over 5k in incentives on the Trailhawk model.

42 months is a long time to lease though.

Michaell

au1994 said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

Most of the MBs on the local Carmax site appear to be low spec lease returns or ex-fleet vehicles. I just expanded the search area, and see a few AMGs and S-class, but not many. No G-Wagens.

Here in Colorado, CarMax will offer up RWD MB, BMW or Infiniti models. Gotta pay attention to the specs, for sure.

This past week, I've had a fascination about the Cherokee Trailhawk. Because on my searches, I'm now seeing ads for a lease - $274/mo with $274 due at signing, 42 months.

Tempting, so long as it has, at a minimum, the cold weather package.

Very temping. I like the Trailhawk model as well as the Limited. Dealers here are advertising over 5k in incentives on the Trailhawk model.

42 months is a long time to lease though.

Especially in this thread.

I took a quick look at the Trailhawk on Sunday with @breld (dealers are closed, so everything was locked). $36K for a base model with just the cold weather package. $274/mo is a good lease deal, relative to MSRP.

And, given that I'm driving maybe 6000 miles a year, I'm sure the lease allowance will be more than adequate. It would be fun to have something similar to the Tacoma @jpp75 just picked up, to go off road in the mountains.

Hmmm - I have a dermatologists appointment on Thurday, just down the road from the Jeep dealer. Perhaps a test drive is in order...

stickguy

I showed my wife one the other day in a parking lot (she actually commented that it was a nice color). Told her it was almost on the list, but next car would be something like that.

28firefighter

Which engine at $274/month?

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

This is a rare bird. Shocked to see it at carmax. 

https://www.carmax.com/car/16810875

Because no normal dealer wanted anything to do with that color AND manual trans. Yikes. And at that price, that may be bolted to their pavement for quite some time. 

Good god. That car will remain epoxied to Carmax's floor unless they price it very aggressively. The SS was too expensive new, so nobody bought it, and it's too expensive used, and nobody's going to buy it. How hard is this to understand?

Now if it were all black and $25K, I'd wag my tail.

28firefighter

Mr_Shiftright said:

Good god. That car will remain epoxied to Carmax's floor unless they price it very aggressively. The SS was too expensive new, so nobody bought it, and it's too expensive used, and nobody's going to buy it. How hard is this to understand?

Now if it were all black and $25K, I'd wag my tail.

At 25k I'd have already bought it - ridiculous color and everything. Fast is fast.

Mr_Shiftright

Gee I don't know about that paint color--sometimes a bargain turns out not to be a bargain. I suppose you could paint the hood a different color, since that's the only part of the car you'll see when you're driving it.

Oh, I know, you could wrap the car--that would last for maybe 3-5 years.

qbrozen

With ultra-low miles, they are at the auctions for mid to high 30s, so 25k ain't gonna happen on any color. But that one indeed needs to be aggressive. I'd say $34k to entice someone enough. But, hey, no haggle dealer, ya know? LOL

28firefighter

I'm a bit surprised they're holding their value this well...

I'd probably paint the wheels black and tint the windows. Then it wouldn't be nearly as obnoxious...from the inside.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Which engine at $274/month?

The base engine on the Cherokee is the 3.2L V6 with 271HP

For an extra $500, you can upgrade to the 2.0T that is shared with your Stelvio.

kyfdx

@qbrozen @28firefighter

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/54008/alfa-romeo/stelvio/harmon-kardon-sound-system-vs-stock/p1?new=1

qbrozen

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

Which engine at $274/month?

The base engine on the Cherokee is the 3.2L V6 with 271HP

For an extra $500, you can upgrade to the 2.0T that is shared with your Stelvio.

Except they paired it with their awful 9-spd that manages to add about a full second to the 0-60.

28firefighter

kyfdx said:

@qbrozen @28firefighter

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/54008/alfa-romeo/stelvio/harmon-kardon-sound-system-vs-stock/p1?new=1

Responded. HK stereo is garbage in the Stelvio. My Dad has it.

28firefighter

I'd probably take the 6 cylinder in that application.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

Michaell said:

28firefighter said:

Which engine at $274/month?

The base engine on the Cherokee is the 3.2L V6 with 271HP

For an extra $500, you can upgrade to the 2.0T that is shared with your Stelvio.

Except they paired it with their awful 9-spd that manages to add about a full second to the 0-60.

9-speed is standard for both engines. I wasn't thrilled with it in the Compass with the 2.4L 4-banger. Perhaps it would be better with the V6.

Sandman6472

In a new Jeep, give the Compass a shot. It's a new model for 2019 and takes the place of the old Compass and the Patriot, one of the most dismal vehicles ever built! We have a bunch of the 2019 models in the fleet now and they drive nicely and I even like the interior. Feels like a more upscale vehicle and something I wouldn't mind having in my garage, I think it's that good! But think it's just too big for my needs to be honest. Hit 49K this morning, so the miles are piling up. Probably be right around 60K or so come years end which might just be the perfect time to retire and get myself a new vehicle. But that would mean nixing the 2018 ILX and to be honest, prefer the looks of the 2018 model better than the brand new 2019 for some reason. Stick was right, the interior is basically the same and the Tech package is the model to get..
One day when I get off early, should go next door and drive one just to see if I even like it. Many times we see something but when in it and then driving it, we wonder what the hell we were thinking!