Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

andres3

So the ancient 2015 Audi A4 quattro 2.0T was diagnosed at my favorite Audi dealer this morning:

• 1) Recommend new tires first and foremost. Current tires are dry-rotted; not passing CPO muster. Someone missed point 1 in the 300 point CPO inspection at Fletcher Jones Audi. I saw the cracking/weathering on the outside shoulder, but didn't look closely to see how bad it might be. Fletcher Jones needs to pay for new tires.
  
• 
  
• 2) Recommend a recharge and dye test on the AC system. If the dye test reveals a leak, that's covered by CPO warranty. However, Fletcher Jones needs to pay for the recharge.
  

Called the sales manager at Fletcher Jones Audi to let him know the problems, and he still stuck to his story that I'd be well taken care of, not a problem; no issue.

He just needs to communicate the promise to Audi Escondido as they'll want to be compensated directly!

In the meantime I have a loaner Q3, not my favorite Audi, not by a long shot.

Lastly, I'm starting to remember why I like hassle-free problem-free new cars. Used cars just have too many variables, and you can't catch them all. It seems only the factories can do good quality control; haven't seen that from any used car dealers in the USA yet.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

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.

We’ll see, but this place is literally a body shop, geico office, and enterprise office all under one roof. Quite an interesting operation. I’d imagine they’ve got this process dialed in.

qbrozen

Oh! You know what is funny, though? I asked about a little dime-sized parking lot ding on my driver’s door that has been bugging me. He said that would be $500-$600 to put right. WHA??!

marcogallo1986

Saw the review on the new 2020 outback, sad news everyone, they got rid of the six cylinder engine no more, just a turbo 2.4 with similar horsepower and torque, and better fuel economy supposedly, and a standard 2.5 engine also that I have.

marcogallo1986

@QB not bad on the amount to fix it a lot less than we all thought in here.

marcogallo1986

@ in your car guy, glad you had a nice vacation, time to dump the infinity soon ha ha, but would you lease to replace it? A lot to think about.

marcogallo1986

@28FF good thing you lease your power pack when you did you didn’t get the 2020 model year coming out soon.

au1994

Thats an incredible price to fix even after the inevitable add ons they will need.

corvette

That’s a lot cheaper than I expected, and I don’t know how the body shop can be profitable at that price.

A new bumper alone on my Infiniti was over $1,000.

nyccarguy

corvette said:

That’s a lot cheaper than I expected, and I don’t know how the body shop can be profitable at that price.

A new bumper alone on my Infiniti was over $1,000.

I paid $1,500 for a new OEM Infiniti Bumper, paint, & installation. That rogue sport I hit at less than 5mph cost over $3K to fix.

corvette

My neighbor just got a new RAV4 Hybrid (or maybe it’s a RAV2, as I didn’t see a pumpkin on the rear axle). The warning sound it makes in reverse when the engine isn’t running sounds like a squealing fan belt, lol.

Edit: looks like all RAV4 Hybrids have AWD.

28firefighter

We purposely jumped on the previous generation Outback (the 2019) because of how the discounts on them ahead of the 2020. I also wanted the H6 engine because I'd like to see another year or so of the 2.4 Turbo before I jump on it.

jmonroe1

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, that is an incredibly low price. Are you sure that isn't a typo; like there should be a 1 before the 3. Maybe even a zero after it. If that is truly the correct price, you should make sure they are spraying on factory spec paint and not lathering on water color with a brush.

Man, was I ever wrong.

jmonroe

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

We purposely jumped on the previous generation Outback (the 2019) because of how the discounts on them ahead of the 2020. I also wanted the H6 engine because I'd like to see another year or so of the 2.4 Turbo before I jump on it.

Smart move. Old “tech” is tried & true. Part of the reason I bought my Infiniti. It’s a 2015. The car has basically been in production as the G35/G37 since what 2006? 2007?

marcogallo1986

@28ff I know those discounts you couldn’t pass up they were awesome, it’s a lease if I’m remembering correctly right, so three years you turn it in and then see what’s what I don’t have to really fix anything which is the plus the leasing, just as long as you stay under or around the miles you’re supposed to put on it totally in the three years. I’m bored during Ha ha ha that a lot of you in here, if I like something I’d buy it even if it’s the first year take my chances ha ha I guess it’s good I don’t drive ha ha

marcogallo1986

@ New York car guy, yes that was around since 2007 Your Dr. train and car. When you get the chance to start doing some test drives give us some entertainment in here, and let us know eventually we are looking at replacing affinity with.

xwesx

andres3 said:

In the meantime I have a loaner Q3, not my favorite Audi, not by a long shot.

Lastly, I'm starting to remember why I like hassle-free problem-free new cars. Used cars just have too many variables, and you can't catch them all. It seems only the factories can do good quality control; haven't seen that from any used car dealers in the USA yet.

Agreed on the Q3. I had one of those for a week (and 1,200 miles) when my Q7 was having its emissions modifications done. Worse fuel economy, a third the size, and about the same performance (from what I could tell). Part of that was probably the all-season tires in subarctic January, and the rest was just a meh vehicle.

As for used cars.... they always have some sorting to do up front. You went the right route on this, and you are likely to incur little cost in the sorting. Just bear with it and keep in mind the motivation for going this route.

Oh and thanks for the laugh.... Ancient. Hah!

xwesx

qbrozen said:

We’ll see, but this place is literally a body shop, geico office, and enterprise office all under one roof. Quite an interesting operation. I’d imagine they’ve got this process dialed in.

Possibly! I have yet to get out of a body shop for anything closely resembling the initial estimate. If they have it dialed in on first go, then I'm envious of your good fortune.

xwesx

marcogallo1986 said:

Saw the review on the new 2020 outback, sad news everyone, they got rid of the six cylinder engine no more, just a turbo 2.4 with similar horsepower and torque, and better fuel economy supposedly, and a standard 2.5 engine also that I have.

It's a smart move for them. The H6 is too low in volume to warrant a modernization that will eek out better fuel economy. The fact that they did not adopt it in the Ascent put the writing on the wall, for me; as soon as they announced the 2.4 turbo in that vehicle as the one and only engine, it was clear that this was their path forward. And, given the substantial update and warm welcome of that model, it only makes sense for them to move ahead with it.

Subaru has long been about efficiency and scalability in their manufacturing.

nyccarguy

I still cannot post pictures here from my iPhone.

corvette

@qbrozen I wonder whether their repair cost estimates cut out some of the profit margin that a non-affiliated shop would have. Regardless, they should have access to the latest repair technology.

marcogallo1986

@zwest agreed. I had a feeling they wouldn’t upgrade the 3.6 V6 with modern technology myself, and yes when I put that engine in the sent the 2.4 turbo, I figured that would be the way forward to as well with all other Subaru models in the future. The way of the future it is what it is.

andres3

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

In the meantime I have a loaner Q3, not my favorite Audi, not by a long shot.

Lastly, I'm starting to remember why I like hassle-free problem-free new cars. Used cars just have too many variables, and you can't catch them all. It seems only the factories can do good quality control; haven't seen that from any used car dealers in the USA yet.

Agreed on the Q3. I had one of those for a week (and 1,200 miles) when my Q7 was having its emissions modifications done. Worse fuel economy, a third the size, and about the same performance (from what I could tell). Part of that was probably the all-season tires in subarctic January, and the rest was just a meh vehicle.

As for used cars.... they always have some sorting to do up front. You went the right route on this, and you are likely to incur little cost in the sorting. Just bear with it and keep in mind the motivation for going this route.

Oh and thanks for the laugh.... Ancient. Hah!

When something takes a long time, my 5-year old daughter is known to use the term "ages." It's going to be ages until Christmas (when you tell her to ask Santa for something she wants on TV). What does she know about the ice and iron ages at 5?

As to the CPO Audi, I think your right, and this is exactly why I went CPO. Free loaners and have things taken care of (that should have already been taken care of). It sounds like the work was authorized and Fletcher Jones Audi from up North is doing right by me!

I told them don't buy the Pirelli P7's as a replacement tire. The fact they were dry rotted is just another bad review for an OEM tire known for bad reviews. I suggested Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+'s, like my Alltrack had (which by the way, those wheels and tires from the Alltrack in my garage should fit the A4... but I don't know about reducing handling by going from 245/40R18 to 225/50R17, but diameter wise, a very close match. Still, if the tires are "free" I can't complain too much I suppose.

rayainsw

Possibly of some interest to anyone interested in a VW
GTI, GLI, other.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/vw-cuts-2-years-off-warranty-adds-2-years-free-maintenance/
- Ray
Odd move...

nyccarguy

rayainsw said:

Possibly of some interest to anyone interested in a VW
GTI, GLI, other.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/vw-cuts-2-years-off-warranty-adds-2-years-free-maintenance/
- Ray
Odd move...

That was quick

corvette

VW has ditzed around with its warranty and maintenance for decades now. My 1999 Jetta had complimentary services at 5, 10, and 20k, bumper to bumper warranty for 24k, and a powertrain warranty for 100k.

Giving what amounts to a couple free oil changes and tire rotations is pretty skimpy in exchange for reducing the B2B warranty by two years.

benjaminh

According to the trip computer on my 2018 Acura TLX 2.4 it has a highway range of 600 miles....

roadburner

Found a Bullitt at a good price; too bad it was missing MagneRide.

thebean

VW hasn’t even had the 6 yr warranty in effect long enough to see what the year 5 & 6 costs were going to be. I think this is going to hurt their sales. The extended warranty was supposed to gain back some of the trust lost by the diesel fiasco. Short term thinking.

xwesx

corvette said:

VW has ditzed around with its warranty and maintenance for decades now. My 1999 Jetta had complimentary services at 5, 10, and 20k, bumper to bumper warranty for 24k, and a powertrain warranty for 100k.

Giving what amounts to a couple free oil changes and tire rotations is pretty skimpy in exchange for reducing the B2B warranty by two years.

True, but a B2B for six years?! There's a ton of wear-and-tear stuff (particularly internal components) that can break during that time-frame, at no fault of the manufacturing, that would be at the cost of the manufacturer, and it is just too much liability for them. I don't think it plays heavily with buyer decision (particularly given that most new-car buyers don't keep them beyond five years). Frankly, even at the revised numbers it is still a generous bumper-to-bumper warranty.

This change is more value to the (new car) consumer and less risk to the company.

corvette

They can extrapolate the historical 5 and 6 year costs from parts orders and other data. I agree that a lot of new car buyers aren’t going to see it as a selling point.

28firefighter

I spoke with my sales guy at VW about the warranty when I drove the GLI. He said it was absolutely killing dealer revenue on the backend because it was cannibalizing extended warranty sales.

Low conversion rate for sales combined with an annoyed channel is not a recipe for success.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

I spoke with my sales guy at VW about the warranty when I drove the GLI. He said it was absolutely killing dealer revenue on the backend because it was cannibalizing extended warranty sales.

Low conversion rate for sales combined with an annoyed channel is not a recipe for success.

That Virtual Cockpit will go kaput literally at 12:01 am when the warranty runs out or at 72,001 miles (whichever comes 1st).

A lot of dealers seem to be making money by tailoring extended warranties to leases. My best friend just leased his wife a Grand Cherokee High Atitude. 36 months/15K miles per year. Dealer offered him an extension of the Jeep 3 year/36K warranty to run to 45K miles for around $300. He took it.

cdnpinhead

Well, think about it. How many of you guys buy vehicles vs. leasing? One is an entirely different business model to the other.

Possessing a vehicle and treating it as an art object leads one in an entirely different direction from actually driving the thing to go places over a long period of time.

tjc78

“Dealer offered him an extension of the Jeep 3 year/36K warranty to run to 45K miles for around $300. He took it.”

For $300 I would have too.

stickguy

Maybe not BtoB, but plenty of makers offer powertrain out to 5-6 years, so most of the likely expensive stuff is covered anyway.

28firefighter

IIRC VW always had a 5/60 powertrain. Assuming that’s not changing I can see why folks didn’t really see this as a selling point alone.

ab348

I guess @Sandman6472 just missed out on this when he bought his Golf? Otherwise the $600 door lock repair would have been warranty.

ronsteve

breld said:

I made sure I had a better experience and secured a Maxima for this trip.

It’s pretty impressive. Nice materials on the inside and I almost forgot how great a naturally aspirated V6 can be. And I have to say, the CVT is not bad at all.

Nissan CVT wasn't bad in the Murano either. I just didn't consider it much further because the current generation is fugly.

My '15 RDX is a NA V6 and it's got nice acceleration but being a Honda sometimes I wish there was a little more grunt around 2000 rpm, for things like getting up long Interstate hills or trying to change lanes into a small gap. Finding myself a bit liberal with the paddles at times, and still judging it against the 2.5T in my old Volvo. I think the next move, whenever that happens, might be back to low-boost DI turbo for good. Though these automatics with too many gears might be even more shift-happy.

rrsafety

I've been driving a 1999 Lexus LS400 for about a decade now. It is getting on in miles (about 240,000) but I really hate to give it up. However, if I found the right used car that could give me the same feel as my LS400, I might switch. Any suggestions in the $20k range for a five year old car that will make me forget about my LS?

marcogallo1986

Man your best friend got a deal on the extended warranty that they gave him on the lease, they did that with us back in 2014 with one of the rugs we had forget how much they charge for the warrantee wasn’t that much either. But can’t hurt hurt to have it for the cheaper price if they charged over $1000 probably would say no when your dad know.

marcogallo1986

Glad you’re enjoying your Maxima rental, one of my mom had that she least I thought it drove good with the CBT, I think the six-cylinder and CBT pairing that Nissan does is always been good. Even in the first generation Marano to that my sister-in-law had. It’s the four-cylinder ones but they could do a better job, which I think they’re finally starting to do, the new Ultima my friend has drives well. My brother is 2013 isn’t bad either, I can’t stand the way it’s set up though in my moms 2018 rogue horrible under powered annoying. They put shift points to make it sort of like a regular automatic but could be sorted out better, Hunter seems to good job with their CBT‘s though in everything. I’ve only been in accord prior generation, and current well prior generation C RV seem to be OK.

Michaell

A little expert help needed, please; poster wants to purchase a used German luxury sedan, and has found a couple of candidates.

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/57284/bmw/x/need-help-with-choices#latest

xwesx

stickguy said:

Maybe not BtoB, but plenty of makers offer powertrain out to 5-6 years, so most of the likely expensive stuff is covered anyway.

True, which is why I'm saying that the revised VW B2B is still generous. The point of B2B is to deal with manufacturing defects (and give buyers peace of mind). At 4, 5, 6 years out... are you really likely to deal with manufacturing defects at that point? Perhaps in the drivetrain, but other stuff is far more likely to be a result of use.

xwesx

ab348 said:

I guess @Sandman6472 just missed out on this when he bought his Golf? Otherwise the $600 door lock repair would have been warranty.

Yeah, they didn't bump that warranty up until MY17, if I recall correctly. It may have even been MY18. It was during/after the diesel scandal and settlement, which didn't even break until September of 2015.

ronsteve

xwesx said:

ab348 said:

I guess @Sandman6472 just missed out on this when he bought his Golf? Otherwise the $600 door lock repair would have been warranty.

Yeah, they didn't bump that warranty up until MY17, if I recall correctly. It may have even been MY18. It was during/after the diesel scandal and settlement, which didn't even break until September of 2015.

xwesx said:

ab348 said:

I guess @Sandman6472 just missed out on this when he bought his Golf? Otherwise the $600 door lock repair would have been warranty.

Yeah, they didn't bump that warranty up until MY17, if I recall correctly. It may have even been MY18. It was during/after the diesel scandal and settlement, which didn't even break until September of 2015.

Pretty sure it started with the SUVs in 17 and expanded to the rest of the line in 18.

benjaminh

rrsafety said:

I've been driving a 1999 Lexus LS400 for about a decade now. It is getting on in miles (about 240,000) but I really hate to give it up. However, if I found the right used car that could give me the same feel as my LS400, I might switch. Any suggestions in the $20k range for a five year old car that will make me forget about my LS?

Imho nothing is going to give you the feel of a Lexus LS400 but another LS. Maybe you could find a somewhat newer one with lower miles? Here's a 2004 LS430 with only 40k miles for c.$15k:

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/779020856/overview/

But if you love your current car and there's nothing significant wrong with it why not keep it? A Lexus is built to last, and maybe it has 300k miles in it? Another used car to consider might be a used Acura RLX, which is about the same size as an LS400.

If you'd consider leasing or buying a new car, the Avalon is like the Lexus of Toyotas. The front styling is weird, but there are big incentives on the Avalon that make buying or leasing it pretty attractive. I test drove an Avalon before getting my Acura and I liked it. And, although it's smaller than the LS 400, the Acura TLX V-6 has some great lease incentives and has performance and handling that might be somewhat similar to an LS400.

qbrozen

I still hate the Altima. The tranny is incredibly annoying. And, wow! is it ever gutless off the line! Painfully so. I don't totally get it since it feels kind of peppy when its moving. I can only think that the rubber bands in the transmission aren't wound tight enough from a standstill.

Sandman6472

Yes, the longer warranty wouldn’t cover my 2015 Golf since that program started after I already owned it. Shame but such is life I guess. At 56.5K on the clock now, all is well and hopefully will stay that way. Setting my sights on either a 2020 or 2021 vehicle going forward. Doubt I’ll stay in Germany next time around as my patience for any vehicular issues is about done. Just want something cheap to keep going forward.

andres3

thebean said:

VW hasn’t even had the 6 yr warranty in effect long enough to see what the year 5 & 6 costs were going to be. I think this is going to hurt their sales. The extended warranty was supposed to gain back some of the trust lost by the diesel fiasco. Short term thinking.

A lot of the "long" warranties have been gimmicks in the auto industry, and short-lived, outside of Kia/Hyundai.

And before you mention GM, remember that Obama and the Government explicitly "backed" that unbacked warranty.