Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

some something interesting yesterday. Not sure where to post (not new or a classic!) so putting it here.

stopped at the local HS for a flu shot, and nearby was a car converted to handicap (wheelchair)accessible, with the ramp that folded out from underneath out the back. That in itself is not uncommon, but usually it is some sort of Minivan, or the purpose built models that look like a tall wagon.

but this car, of all odd things, was a Fiat 500XL. If I had not seen it in action, would not have believed it was big enough to handle the chair in the back. Or strong enough to handle all that extra weight hanging off the rear.

why anyone would think of using a FIAT for that duty is beyond me.

stickguy

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

On vehicle dispositions, I haven't actually had all that many either. I will say, though, that I have never traded in a car.

I have lost two through crashes, one buyback, rest either private party or give away. I don't much feel like taking the time to count them all out. My guess is maybe ten.

TEN, aren't you afraid to admit to something like that in here? Don't be surprised when you're asked to relinquish your card for admittance to this site !!!

jmonroe

well, he still has a couple that he bought 30 or so years ago, so definitely not a flipper.

xwesx

corvette said:

xwesx said:

Sound like you may be having issues with cracked solder, if indeed the cluster is the problem. All of the issues you note could originate with a problem there.

Well, I'm vindicated. (Keep in mind that sometimes it's expensive, irritating, and inconvenient to be vindicated...) Picked up keys and paid shop for diagnosis and an oil change. Took the Infiniti home, walked the dog, then walked back to the repair shop to get the Tahoe. As soon as I took off down the road, I got a "Stabilitrak off" error (which immediately went away, then an SRS error, which also went away. Pulled in my driveway and everything electrical went completely dead as soon as I turned the engine off.

Got out the multimeter and I'm showing zero volts once you get past the "mega fuse" behind the battery, which explains why nothing works. Apparently the fuse failing, or the terminals around it corroding, are common failures. I couldn't pry the cover off, so no way to be sure.

Well, replacing the cable and corroded wiring is a cheap fix, and if it isn't the fix, it's cheap insurance against time!

I replaced just the negative cable and last couple inches of wire on my Econoline this summer, and that cleared up a whole host of problems! My son and I agreed that we are going to replace all of the vehicle's wiring next year. Good news: All of the wiring in that vehicle equals about the same as (maybe) the headlight circuit in your Tahoe.

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

On vehicle dispositions, I haven't actually had all that many either. I will say, though, that I have never traded in a car.

I have lost two through crashes, one buyback, rest either private party or give away. I don't much feel like taking the time to count them all out. My guess is maybe ten.

TEN, aren't you afraid to admit to something like that in here? Don't be surprised when you're asked to relinquish your card for admittance to this site !!!

jmonroe

Hahah; only a little. These guys are welcoming enough to cut a frugal guy like me (and I'm not alone here.... *looks around*....) some slack. I have done my part to add to the numbers a few times! Just because I have those cars several years later...

kyfdx

stickguy said:

some something interesting yesterday. Not sure where to post (not new or a classic!) so putting it here.

stopped at the local HS for a flu shot, and nearby was a car converted to handicap (wheelchair)accessible, with the ramp that folded out from underneath out the back. That in itself is not uncommon, but usually it is some sort of Minivan, or the purpose built models that look like a tall wagon.

but this car, of all odd things, was a Fiat 500XL. If I had not seen it in action, would not have believed it was big enough to handle the chair in the back. Or strong enough to handle all that extra weight hanging off the rear.

why anyone would think of using a FIAT for that duty is beyond me.

On a similar note, guy at my gym (in a wheelchair) has a CTS Coupe, with a customized Lambo driver's door. Small wheelchair. He gets in, then reaches out, folds the wheelchair, and stashes it behind the front seat.
Needless to say, he is very fit, other than the inability to walk.

stickguy

2 doors were always the way to go for wheelchairs though.

mjfloyd1

Picking up Q7 on Wednesday

stickguy

good job. Enjoy!

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

pensfan83

stickguy said:

You are the only person I know of that had a V6 Altima. I wonder how much a difference that made?

Having driven 4 cylinder Altima rentals, a lot.

stickguy

I test drove a 4 banger Altima a few years back. Short local drive, but I recall being a lot more impressed than I expected to be. Quite possible after a longer tour, or different types of roads, that could have changed.

28firefighter

By some miracle, the license plates for the i3 showed up faster than if I had bought from a dealer in-state. Crazy.

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

By some miracle, the license plates for the i3 showed up faster than if I had bought from a dealer in-state. Crazy.

Probably counterfeit. The legal ones always take longer.

jmonroe

xwesx

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

$500. An excellent kit, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045H9UJQ/

breld

mjfloyd1 said:

Picking up Q7 on Wednesday

Congrats!

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

$500. An excellent kit, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045H9UJQ/

Gee-man-eze, that kit ain't cheap but if it saves you money in the end it's worth it. I'd do it too if I had to but now I won't have to since I have a poster buddy that has one. If I ever need it all you have to do is ship it to me, free of course, and I'll owe you one.

jmonroe

28firefighter

Deal pending for the Saab. Closing the deal on Sunday.

tjc78

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

$500. An excellent kit, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045H9UJQ/

That wasn’t available for rental at Autozone, etc?

corvette

Tahoe drove home without incident. But, you never really know with these intermittent electrical gremlins... For the next month or so, every time I get in, I'm going to be asking it "PROVE to me that you're not a witch!"

mjfloyd1

tjc78 said:

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

$500. An excellent kit, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045H9UJQ/

That wasn’t available for rental at Autozone, etc?

I wondered the same. You pay a deposit that gets refunded when you return the tool set.

28firefighter

corvette said:

Tahoe drove home without incident. But, you never really know with these intermittent electrical gremlins... For the next month or so, every time I get in, I'm going to be asking it "PROVE to me that you're not a witch!"

“The power of Christ compels you”

mb_enthusiast

Posted questions in the CR-V lease and Q8 lease threads. Not playing games. Helping an aunt and a friend. Thanks.

Dad's been back in the ICU for a couple of weeks now but made some progress this week.

jmonroe1

corvette said:

Tahoe drove home without incident. But, you never really know with these intermittent electrical gremlins... For the next month or so, every time I get in, I'm going to be asking it "PROVE to me that you're not a witch!"

I'd say your gremlin is solved, at least for a good while. Corroded terminals are a classic for the problem/s you had. I'd be more convinced about it not reoccurring if the points of contact had a light coating of non-corrosive paste applied after thoroughly cleaning the mating surfaces before the bolts were tightened. If this wasn't done you could have the problem again but probably not for a long time. Ask your dealer if they applied this goop then you'll know if it's really fixed.

jmonroe

stickguy

at least if it acts up again, you can take a shot at it yourself.

corvette

@mb_enthusiast hope you get some good news about your dad soon.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

jmonroe1 said:

xwesx said:

Q7. I have a front wheel bearing failing on mine. 88,000 miles! Ridiculous. I received the new bearing yesterday (HUGE!!), and my new amazing tool kit for replacing the bearing came in today. I'm stoked. Hard to stay at work instead of just running home to play with it.

But, $600 in, and shop wants $1,400. Plus, I would be out that for a one-time deal. Now, if I *ever* have another wheel bearing failure on any car, I'm set.... just the cost of the bearing and a fun hour or so of my life.

Just curious and I hope you don't take this as being too nebby, but how much did your new toy, the wheel bearing tool kit, cost you? Like they say, "if you don't have the right tools you can't do a professional job". Years ago I convinced Mrs. j that you can't do everything around the house just because you have a hammer, screw driver and a pair of vice grips.

Let us know how long it takes to do the job. I know it will be worth your time if only because of learning something and the self satisfaction you'll get.

jmonroe

$500. An excellent kit, though. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045H9UJQ/

Oh boy, I missed something. What is it that kit is supposed to do exactly?

qbrozen

Ok, found this vid. Different tool kit but shows the process. Leave it to the Germans. This is why I much prefer the hub and bearing to be a single replaceable unit.

Fingers crossed the manual kit from Amazon can handle enough torque from your arm to do the job.

https://youtu.be/qXjYZetyrKY

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

Ok, found this vid. Different tool kit but shows the process. Leave it to the Germans. This is why I much prefer the hub and bearing to be a single replaceable unit.

Fingers crossed the manual kit from Amazon can handle enough torque from your arm to do the job.

https://youtu.be/qXjYZetyrKY

Yeah, but that's cheatin.

jmonroe

ab348

qbrozen said:

Fingers crossed the manual kit from Amazon can handle enough torque from your arm to do the job.

I hope his arm has enough torque to do the job. :laughing:

pensfan83

Well Acura wastes no time...

fintail

11 months? Wow. MB has never started hounding me until maybe 7 months out.

marcogallo1986

@lorastada. Thank you for the discription. On the coler. On your sons. New ride!

marcogallo1986

@ New York. Car guy nice on the new tires. For the Pilot. You did good! I am shore that the OEM tires are a lot Mor and not as good isn’t that usually the case

marcogallo1986

@corvette glad they figured out what the issue was on the Tahoe. Sorry to hear of the issues of cut up again with the water pipes yeah try those things and hopefully it will resolve the problem.

marcogallo1986

@gfloid1 Nice on the punch of the new Q7 of

marcogallo1986

@gfloid1 sure you save a lot of money buying used. How did all go?

mjfloyd1

@marcogallo1986 -I pick it up Wednesday. Hopefully smooth but you never know. I’ll keep you posted

corvette

Paging @qbrozen or anyone else who might have one - can anyone recommend an OBD scanner device? I should probably have one anyway, but my OnStar is now showing a red light and isn't working.

Edit: Ordered a BlueDriver from Amazon. There is a popular scanner called FIXD that is less expensive, but doesn't include the repair database BlueDriver does (FIXD charges a subscription fee for the database).

suydam

Still deciding whether to buy out the Volt next month when the lease ends. I drove a Nissan Leaf Plus SL today just to check out what’s new. Really like it. It has a titch more rear seat room than the Encore, still a small vehicle which I like. Acceleration and handling are great and the SL trim is very nice. The one I drove had dark grey exterior, not my fave, but the light grey interior with black trim is very nice.
Overall I see it as a great replacement for the Encore, but not for the Volt. So maybe a few years down the road when we pay off the Volt. Did really enjoy being in a new car though. And it has all the goodies lacking in the Encore. Sigh.

marcogallo1986

@jfloid1. Sounds good nice that you’re getting it Wednesday yes please keep us updated.

marcogallo1986

@MB glad that dad is cumming along!

marcogallo1986

marcogallo1986

@28ff nice on the vijen. Beeing sold! And glad the lease retirne on the X1 when whell!

stickguy

you ready to move to a pure electric, with no back-up engine?

Michaell

Subaru must have a fair amount of 2019 outback still in inventory. I continually get emails from them, asking for me to trade in my current car and reduce my payment.

Some months back, I think the new monthly payment was somewhere around $450-$475 a month. Today's email offer told me I can get into a new outback 3.6R for the meager sum of $385 per month.

Of course they are assuming that I still have roughly 18 months worth of payments left to make. They don't know that I own the car free and clear, and it's probably still worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $20,000.

suydam

We’d still have the Volt. But we could take longer trips on electric only than currently possible. We do take under a hundred mile trips to visit friends or do shopping, and we are using gas after the first 40 miles, and often the return if we can’t find a handy charging station. I’ve come to prefer the driving dynamics of the EV. And the Volt is not as smooth a driver on gas as in EV mode. Seats in the Leaf Plus are really comfortable too.

sda

suydam said:

Still deciding whether to buy out the Volt next month when the lease ends. I drove a Nissan Leaf Plus SL today just to check out what’s new. Really like it. It has a titch more rear seat room than the Encore, still a small vehicle which I like. Acceleration and handling are great and the SL trim is very nice. The one I drove had dark grey exterior, not my fave, but the light grey interior with black trim is very nice.
Overall I see it as a great replacement for the Encore, but not for the Volt. So maybe a few years down the road when we pay off the Volt. Did really enjoy being in a new car though. And it has all the goodies lacking in the Encore. Sigh.

I am very disappointed that GM cancelled the Volt. It is the the ideal combination of electric and practicality, range anxiety pound sand.

stickguy

I saw one parked at Lowes today. Looked sharp.

suydam

I’m pretty sure we’ll keep it, pay off early, and at that point sell the Encore and get a Leaf Plus. Price may have come down by then too. Too bad I can’t trade in the Encore to enable buying the Volt with cash. Although the Encore is the Better Half’s preferred vehicle.

stickguy

Subaru is advertising some sort of "day of the dog" on 10/22. I told the wife we have to get one that day since we have the yellow lab. She did not buy it.

probably going to be something to revisit in Q1 next year. Being held to the commitment to finish paying down all of the HELOC. Which would officially have us done with paying for college finally! That has been taking a lot of extra each month, so once that drops off, a new car loan payment is going to seem like nothing!

Will also make the Philly auto show (usually the last week of January) really important, because it could be the time to nail down the final short list (other than BMW of course, unless they decide to come back next year!)