Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

au1994

Sorry to hear/see about the accident @qbrozen. It ain’t gonna be cheap! Here’s to hoping the insurance company doesn’t give you the runaround.

@breld - I had a Maxima for a rental about a year ago and was instantly smitten. The cockpit and drivers seat were amazing and the V-6 perfect for the car. I just think it is good looking too.

qbrozen

I have yet to talk to anyone. I entered the accident on the Geico app, it asked me a series of questions, I gave a writeup of what happened and uploaded pics (optional), and then it asked me if I wanted Geico to fix it and they’ll go after the other insurance company and try to get my deductible back. I said yes, so then it gave me choices if I wanted to use one of their approved places or choose my own. I opted for theirs because then it gives you to option of one-stop resolution. Tomorrow morn at 7:45, I meet with an adjuster at the shop, they assess, then keep the car for repair and I drive away in a rental. So, fingers crossed it really is that easy.

mb_enthusiast

qbrozen said:

mb_enthusiast said:

2000k miles on the odometer

2000k translates into 2,000,000 miles. Pretty sure you got your money's worth. ;b

So, really, do you mean 2k miles? 20k miles?

2k miles. I don't know why I wrote that.

mb_enthusiast

andres3 said:

nyccarguy said:

“The first available appointment at my dealer is over two weeks out.”

Welcome to Audi ownership. I see things haven’t changed much since my parents leased an ‘02 A6 3.0 Quattro back in the day.

That must be a regional thing. I've always able to schedule appointments 2 to 3 days out. Pretty sure it's a question on the survey if you felt the time required to wait for or schedule an appointment was acceptable(rated 1 to 10).

I'm in Chicagoland.

thebean

qbrozen said:

I have yet to talk to anyone. I entered the accident on the Geico app, it asked me a series of questions, I gave a writeup of what happened and uploaded pics (optional), and then it asked me if I wanted Geico to fix it and they’ll go after the other insurance company and try to get my deductible back. I said yes, so then it gave me choices if I wanted to use one of their approved places or choose my own. I opted for theirs because then it gives you to option of one-stop resolution. Tomorrow morn at 7:45, I meet with an adjuster at the shop, they assess, then keep the car for repair and I drive away in a rental. So, fingers crossed it really is that easy.

The only problem is that you will have to ferry around a gecko or a caveman for a few days.

corvette

I'm headed to Tampa in a few weeks and the rental options I looked into were something like $150 for the entire trip for a midsize car, or $200 for a full size SUV. I'll gladly pay the extra $50 to be guaranteed a Tahoe or Expedition.

qbrozen

corvette said:

I'm headed to Tampa in a few weeks and the rental options I looked into were something like $150 for the entire trip for a midsize car, or $200 for a full size SUV. I'll gladly pay the extra $50 to be guaranteed a Tahoe or Expedition.

Did it say Tahoe/Expedition? Or is this going to be like their cars where they call a Fusion a “premium full-size” or some such nonsense?

qbrozen

mb_enthusiast said:

qbrozen said:

mb_enthusiast said:

2000k miles on the odometer

2000k translates into 2,000,000 miles. Pretty sure you got your money's worth. ;b

So, really, do you mean 2k miles? 20k miles?

2k miles. I don't know why I wrote that.

Yikes, sorry to hear it.

fintail

Full size SUV = 2WD Equinox or something, I bet.

corvette

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

I'm headed to Tampa in a few weeks and the rental options I looked into were something like $150 for the entire trip for a midsize car, or $200 for a full size SUV. I'll gladly pay the extra $50 to be guaranteed a Tahoe or Expedition.

Did it say Tahoe/Expedition? Or is this going to be like their cars where they call a Fusion a “premium full-size” or some such nonsense?

Thrifty's confirmation says "GMC Yukon or similar." That one was $250, but Autoslash sent me an email telling me I can get the same thing for $200, although I need to make sure it's not trying to put me in a Dodge Journey before changing the reservation.

Edit: Never mind, the better rate is through Fox, who has a terrible reputation. Looks like an Explorer or similar, which would be fine, except for the fact that it's through Fox. So, yeah, $100 is still okay for an upgrade.

suydam

Q, glad to hear you’re ok. We just returned from our daughter’s huge Indian-Jewish wedding, which was an exhausting and unbelievably joyous occasion. Got together with our relatives and met a whole host of new ones. It was a very fun week and we are slowly getting bacK to our regular lives!

28firefighter

Off to Chicago this week for work. I haven’t had to commute on a Monday morning in sometime. Forgot just how fun that 35 minute wait for coffee at the airport was...

au1994

28firefighter said:

Off to Chicago this week for work. I haven’t had to commute on a Monday morning in sometime. Forgot just how fun that 35 minute wait for coffee at the airport was...

I used to travel a lot for work and had platinum status, access to lounges and rental car upgrades which spoiled me. I didn't mind so much in my younger and single days but now I travel very infrequently and have lost all my status. Its just not a lot of fun anymore!

28firefighter

Same here. I used to do 125k domestic a year. Business travel gets me some perks because of agreements my company has. Personal travel, I fly one step above cargo.

tjc78

Yes once you come off the road, and exhaust all your points, status, etc it makes travel a drag!

OTOH not traveling is still better than traveling with perks. I don’t miss my 100+ nightstand year away from home.

qbrozen

My chariot ... I mean oxcart ... for the next couple of weeks.


I don't get why people defend this vehicle so vehemently. It is pretty awful. It is like being a drum with as much noise as it makes over every little pavement imperfection. They took a page out of Subaru's book and added shift points to the CVT. I have no idea why. And, even at full tilt, the thing slurs to the next "gear" at just 6k rpms ... so why have a redline marked if you aren't going to approach it?? I thought maybe the turbo version would be a GLI competitor, but now having driven a lesser version, there is no way it can hold a candle to the VW except in straight-line acceleration. The only thing it has going for it is the tech.

au1994

tjc78 said:

Yes once you come off the road, and exhaust all your points, status, etc it makes travel a drag!

OTOH not traveling is still better than traveling with perks. I don’t miss my 100+ nightstand year away from home.

Completely agree with that.

nyccarguy

Got back from our trip north of the border on Saturday. From what we saw in the Province of Ontario, Canada is a beautiful country. The roads are in fantastic shape and the drivers are disciplined & courteous.

Niagra falls is just beautiful. We stayed in a falls view room at The Sheraton. I never pay extra to book a room with a view, because we don’t spend time hanging out at the hotel. This was completely worth it. Lots of Tourist Traps, but we used Trip Advisor and found some very good restaurants. We took the Hornblower boat (Canadian Maid of The Mist) which was fantastic.

We took an afternoon and drove out to Niagra on The Lake which. There are so many beautiful wineries. It is what I imagine Nappa is like. Since we drove & had the kiddos in tow, we didn’t take full advantage of what the town has to offer but still had fun. Looks like an amazing place to have a weekend with just my wife. We bought some delicious ice wine and incredible craft cider.

suydam

Not just the tech. I have friends who have driven them for 12+ years without a hitch. Reliability is key for a whole lotta people. For me I thought it was too noisy.

28firefighter

I agree, @tjc78. I get to take Sam to school each morning and pick him up each afternoon. It’s some of the best time we have together. Wouldn’t trade it for any amount of status or points.

graphicguy

Because of UBER and Lyft, I don't rent nearly as many cars as I used to. I think I had an Altima rental about 4 months ago. And, I 2nd everything you said @qbrozen.

Matter of fact, between the recent Altima and the Sentras I've rented, it's no wonder Nissan is dramatically losing ground. Even their premium sedan (Maxima) elicits yawns. The 370ZX hasn't been updated in so long, I almost forgot they still make them. Trucks? Do the still make one? SUVs? Pathfinder? When was the last time that thing was competitive?

Traveling....I'm still flying ~100K miles/year. Trying to frame an exit strategy in the next couple of years, though.

qbrozen

oh I think i goofed above. Its the Sentra you can get as a turbo now, right? well, I'm sure it isn't any improvement over the Altima.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

oh I think i goofed above. Its the Sentra you can get as a turbo now, right? well, I'm sure it isn't any improvement over the Altima.

Altima has a turbo version, as well

pensfan83

Most of my travel is short hops and usually on the east coast. It's dipped in the last year so I'll probably be a tier lower with AA. I can access Priority Pass lounges with one of my credit cards so as long as I have that benefit I'm happy.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

I agree, @tjc78. I get to take Sam to school each morning and pick him up each afternoon. It’s some of the best time we have together. Wouldn’t trade it for any amount of status or points.

My wife works in Philly now and takes the train. I take the kids to school. It is great one on one time. In Sept it will just be my daughter. My mom will be running my son to Kindergarten and home everyday.

cdnpinhead

"I fly one step above cargo."

All you are to the airlines is a piece of self-propelled self-sorting freight . . . and don't you forget it.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

oh I think i goofed above. Its the Sentra you can get as a turbo now, right? well, I'm sure it isn't any improvement over the Altima.

Both the Sentra and Altima are available with a Turbo.

tifighter

28firefighter said:

Same here. I used to do 125k domestic a year. Business travel gets me some perks because of agreements my company has. Personal travel, I fly one step above cargo.

125K/year domestic? Ouch. I do around 100k/year international and that is way more than enough. You, sir, must have glutes of steel.

28firefighter

Aside from the obvious torture, I didn’t want to miss things at home — enough to get me to make a radical change. There will be time to travel for work again later, if I want.

fintail

When I can sometimes find fares in the $500 range to Europe and Asia, I am fine with that. I don't need to be coddled, just get me there with my luggage, and I am fine.

cdnpinhead said:

"I fly one step above cargo."

All you are to the airlines is a piece of self-propelled self-sorting freight . . . and don't you forget it.

nyccarguy

@suydam - Mazel-Tov! It’s really wonderful when people from 2 different religions & cultures get together and can put aside their differences!

Davercee

“The first available appointment at my dealer is over two weeks out.”

Well, that's just the ad reality of it.

qbrozen

Oh, so visit to the shop this morning was very quick and painless. So far, I'm impressed with how this is being handled. Of course, I am skeptical it will continue as such.

Anyhoo, they have already disassembled, assessed the damage, and reported an estimate to Geico. First off, when I was there chatting with him, he said they would repair the quarter panel. I asked how that is even possible and he said they have these crazy machines these days that pretty much do it all. In his words, "body repairs are far easier these days." hmmm... He is also refurbing one wheel for a small scuff he noted, and then performing an alignment to make sure its all in spec. Replacing bumper, the bumper support, and all associated hardware.

SOOO... are y'all still sticking to the $10k guess?

pensfan83

I wonder if they are going to repair yours in the same way mine was. They kept "working" the metal gouge back into place. No Bondo or other fillers, they smoothed it out and you would never know there was a scrape. However mine was probably as wide as a straw and half as long as one....yours, not even close.

qbrozen

My metal is actually torn, so I don't get it, really. I mean, they'll have to weld it and smooth it. No way a machine could do it all.

laurasdada

I traveled the Northeast for business from'91-'96. 90% driving, in such fabulous cars as an Olds Delta 88, Mercury Sable and Dodge Intrepid. Best cars ever, as they were free to me (co. cars)! Marriott was primary choice, but with recession times, Holiday Inn and Ramada... Collected points for all, still have a few Marriott to spend!

Ended up buying the Dodge when I was suddenly (along with another sales rep) downsized, needed wheels quick and it was the enemy I knew. It was reliable, but poorly screwed together and a bit loud, yet nothing fell off or failed. But, once I was back on my feet, and as the miles built up, it was time to "upgrade." Because the Intrepid experience wasn't bad, I decided to purchase my first domestic car ever, a '99 Chrysler 300M. Similar to the Intrepid, handsome, reliable but not built to exact tolerances. And, large. As I approached 70k miles, I anticipated a tranny failure (as well as a strange noise coming from the front suspension) and traded for the '05 Acura TL. And continued my merry import way...

mjfloyd1

qbrozen said:

My chariot ... I mean oxcart ... for the next couple of weeks.


I don't get why people defend this vehicle so vehemently. It is pretty awful. It is like being a drum with as much noise as it makes over every little pavement imperfection. They took a page out of Subaru's book and added shift points to the CVT. I have no idea why. And, even at full tilt, the thing slurs to the next "gear" at just 6k rpms ... so why have a redline marked if you aren't going to approach it?? I thought maybe the turbo version would be a GLI competitor, but now having driven a lesser version, there is no way it can hold a candle to the VW except in straight-line acceleration. The only thing it has going for it is the tech.

It sounds like you like tha Altima, but you haven’t fully come to grips with it yet... ok, Maybe not.

Michaell

Yes, I'm sticking with the $10k repair estimate

roadburner

qbrozen said:

My chariot ... I mean oxcart ... for the next couple of weeks.


I don't get why people defend this vehicle so vehemently. It is pretty awful. It is like being a drum with as much noise as it makes over every little pavement imperfection. They took a page out of Subaru's book and added shift points to the CVT. I have no idea why. And, even at full tilt, the thing slurs to the next "gear" at just 6k rpms ... so why have a redline marked if you aren't going to approach it?? I thought maybe the turbo version would be a GLI competitor, but now having driven a lesser version, there is no way it can hold a candle to the VW except in straight-line acceleration. The only thing it has going for it is the tech.

I had one for a couple of days after the i3 was rear-ended; thoroughly miserable. As I've said the 370Z and Frontier PRO-4X are the only Nissans I'd own.

marcogallo1986

@SDA glad it went a lot better than originally thought it possibly could go, how do they go about checking the oil level is there a way you could do it at home I know there’s no dipstick.

marcogallo1986

Grate on motran. Boty. Truck!

qbrozen

Michaell said:

Yes, I'm sticking with the $10k repair estimate

corvette

kyfdx said:

qbrozen said:

oh I think i goofed above. Its the Sentra you can get as a turbo now, right? well, I'm sure it isn't any improvement over the Altima.

Altima has a turbo version, as well

And they don’t offer it with AWD. *facepalm*

nyccarguy

$7500

nyccarguy

We got home late Saturday night. After unpacking the car, my wife realized she left her purse at the diner we ate at in Roscoe, NY for dinner (about 2 hours from our house). I called the diner and they had her purse. I got up Sunday and left at about 5:45 am to go get it. I got used to driving the Pilot over the last 1100 miles or so. I thought Maybe I should take it and set the adaptive cruise just to have an easy ride. What if my wife wanted to go somewhere with the kids before I got back? I hopped in the Infiniti and fired it up. I did the round trip to Roscoe in 3 hrs 45 minutes. I really got to spend some time thinking about cars (what else).

While it’s not perfect, I really do enjoy driving the Q40. I shouldn’t go and lease a Tacoma just because it’s cheap. An Accord 2.0 would be nice, but wouldn’t give me the “kick in the pants” acceleration that I love so much about the Q40. A Q50 Signature seems like it would be a “cheap” lease, but even that (at say $400 per month) would still end up costing somewhere around $15K over the next 39 months.

I took the car in to the dealer for service. With 52,500 miles (going on my 7,500 mile synthetic OCI) it got fresh synthetic oil and a tire rotation. $84 all in. I dropped it off as we had errands to run in the area where the dealer is located.

They gave me the rundown after their “complimentary multi point inspection.” Most of it confirmed what I already knew.

Rear pads down to 3 mm. Need to be replaced & rotors need to be resurfaced: $410.95 plus tax

Front pads still holding steady at 5 mm.

Front tires (now on the back I think) down to 5/32”. Rear tires (now on the front I think) down to 4/32”. $682.95 plus tax for (4) of the Hankook Ventus Noble S1 tires mounted & balanced. They said the tires should be ok until my next service. At that point, I’ll probably be ready to have the snow shoes mounted.

Getting close to “the point” where I decide to keep the car for the long haul or dump it for a lease and cash out with the equity I have in it.

I only owe about $5400 on it. My payments are $612.27/month. The rear pads/rotor resurfacing and the tires equate to about 2 months worth of payments.

qbrozen

Well, I waited long enough...

Here goes...

$3016.

Yup, believe it or not. Less than $1k in parts, and 40.5 hrs labor at $49/hr.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

Well, I waited long enough...

Here goes...

$3016.

Yup, believe it or not. Less than $1k in parts, and 40.5 hrs labor at $49/hr.

Wow, so much less than I thought

sda

qbrozen said:

Well, I waited long enough...

Here goes...

$3016.

Yup, believe it or not. Less than $1k in parts, and 40.5 hrs labor at $49/hr.

Incredible. I had a light scrape down the side of the Pilot that could have been ignored and it cost close to that amount to repair. It was a parking lot hit and run. The only part replaced was the tail light that wasn’t cracked only scratched and not badly.

andres3

I blasted an Altima rental a few years ago and stand by my negative review of it. Poor acceleration, and poor fuel economy trying to avoid poor acceleration unsuccessfully I might add.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Well, I waited long enough...

Here goes...

$3016.

Yup, believe it or not. Less than $1k in parts, and 40.5 hrs labor at $49/hr.

Shocking. I think optimistic, too, if they are truly putting it right. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the smoothness of this experience will give way to a little turbulence, and you'll come in closer to $6K than $3K.