Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

corvette said:

xwesx said:

It needs rotors more than pads, but I replaced pads three years ago... wait... FOUR years ago, and it's a pretty heavy rig.

On many European brands, the rotors will be at or below minimum spec at the time the pads wear out, so they are generally replaced at the same time. Good on you if you managed to get longer out of the rotors! The used 540i I bought had new-ish brake pads, but the front rotors cracked. Never got an exact measurement from the tire shop that found the problem and replaced the rotors, but I would bet money whoever serviced the brakes just replaced the pads without checking or replacing the rotors.

Yeah, the rotors on this thing are surprisingly scored. I have never had rotors that wore down under the pads as much as this one. In fact, with most of my cars, I never replaced rotors (and some have gone over 200,000 miles).

Nonetheless, when I replaced the pads at around 60,000 miles (they were DONE, too), just after I arrived home from Texas with it, there was a small lip on the outer edge of the rotors. Otherwise, they looked and felt fine. Last summer, when I replaced the struts, I noticed that they all had a pretty significant lip, maybe a millimeter or two; Big enough, anyway, that they made it a little troublesome to get the calipers to separate from the rotors. On the way home from Anchorage last week, I started feeling some pulsing in the front under strong braking, so I can tell the rotors are starting to warp. That, too, is a first for me.

We may get some snow over the next couple days, so I'm going to hold off on changing to my summer tires, but I do plan to put them on the car this weekend. I'll take a couple "old rotor" photos if I can remember to pause long enough.

qbrozen

breld said:

qbrozen said:

breld said:

Alrighty - I was resisting the urge to do this, but I'm an accountant and like reconciliations...

My car, at an MSRP of $63,900, 39 month lease, 12k miles/year, $0 down:






You'll have to take my word for it that if you click through to "continue with lease" the payment goes up by $26, as it appears the $995 acquisition fee is not included. Here's my "leasing" spreadsheet to prove out the payment, as I am always compelled to do that with lease quotes:



Bear with me...

"Standard" lease deal on their website = $726/month versus my $563/month.

$163/month x 39 payments = $6,357

Negative equity rolled in = 632

Sales tax on rebates = 704

All adds up to about $7,500 (not exactly due to the interest included in those payments, right?).

Now, Q, you didn't know about those last two items...I didn't go into them, not because I was trying to conceal anything, but I wasn't trying to get too much into the weeds on the deal, and they're irrelevant to the deal itself.

So yes, the $7,500 rebate is reflected (net of taxes on said rebate) in lower payments and covering a bit of negative equity.

Alright. Well, there ya go. Hey, I wasn't crazy, it wasn't adding up. lol.

What are you trading to them? The Leaf?

I don't think you are boasting. If you were telling us about your $3700/mo porsche, welll....

I’m actually trading the X3 - I like it plenty, but am fine hitting the reset button on the SUV and hopefully having the patience to wait the crazy market out before I replace it.

I don’t need the Leaf, but it’s cheaper to keep it or turn it in on an early term than trading it.

Did they meet or beat offers from carmax/carvana/vroom/algo?

sda

xwesx said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

It needs rotors more than pads, but I replaced pads three years ago... wait... FOUR years ago, and it's a pretty heavy rig.

On many European brands, the rotors will be at or below minimum spec at the time the pads wear out, so they are generally replaced at the same time. Good on you if you managed to get longer out of the rotors! The used 540i I bought had new-ish brake pads, but the front rotors cracked. Never got an exact measurement from the tire shop that found the problem and replaced the rotors, but I would bet money whoever serviced the brakes just replaced the pads without checking or replacing the rotors.

Yeah, the rotors on this thing are surprisingly scored. I have never had rotors that wore down under the pads as much as this one. In fact, with most of my cars, I never replaced rotors (and some have gone over 200,000 miles).

Nonetheless, when I replaced the pads at around 60,000 miles (they were DONE, too), just after I arrived home from Texas with it, there was a small lip on the outer edge of the rotors. Otherwise, they looked and felt fine. Last summer, when I replaced the struts, I noticed that they all had a pretty significant lip, maybe a millimeter or two; Big enough, anyway, that they made it a little troublesome to get the calipers to separate from the rotors. On the way home from Anchorage last week, I started feeling some pulsing in the front under strong braking, so I can tell the rotors are starting to warp. That, too, is a first for me.

We may get some snow over the next couple days, so I'm going to hold off on changing to my summer tires, but I do plan to put them on the car this weekend. I'll take a couple "old rotor" photos if I can remember to pause long enough.

Does Audi require a special tool to back the piston back into the caliper so you can fit the new pads.

au1994

qbrozen said:

Some people have been getting pretty high buy offers on their Camaros (supposedly). I sent my info again for offers. Talked to one person through chat and told him if he offered $39k, I’d take it. He said he’ll let me know. That would put about $2k in my pocket after all is said and done. Hard to turn down a flip like that.

See ya, Camaro! How’s the hunt going for the X2 replacement?

qbrozen

Camaro aint gone yet. Have not gotten that 39k offer.
No headway on the x2 replacement. She is pretty fixated on a volvo.
Actually kinda scary that I might reduce myself to 5 cars, 3 of which are running. Oh my.

stickguy

If I had 3 I’d need to put at least 2 on battery tenders!

stickguy

These look really nice. Finally a new sedan with classy styling that should age well. Too bad the hatch, Si and stick shifts not coming out to start.

Just about the perfect size, and great visibility.

Sad that sedans don’t sell though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6heZYZ4qXkY

sda

The new Civic looks really nice. I will be interested in how they price it and what features it will have.

au1994

qbrozen said:

Camaro aint gone yet. Have not gotten that 39k offer.
No headway on the x2 replacement. She is pretty fixated on a volvo.
Actually kinda scary that I might reduce myself to 5 cars, 3 of which are running. Oh my.

In this market you may get over 39.

Good Volvo incentives usually come around pretty regularly. I say usually because who knows if they will be impacted by the chip shortage. Costco membership might be worth it as they sometimes have an extra 1-1500 available.

I admire your patience on the ML!

breld

qbrozen said:

breld said:

qbrozen said:

breld said:

Alrighty - I was resisting the urge to do this, but I'm an accountant and like reconciliations...

My car, at an MSRP of $63,900, 39 month lease, 12k miles/year, $0 down:






You'll have to take my word for it that if you click through to "continue with lease" the payment goes up by $26, as it appears the $995 acquisition fee is not included. Here's my "leasing" spreadsheet to prove out the payment, as I am always compelled to do that with lease quotes:



Bear with me...

"Standard" lease deal on their website = $726/month versus my $563/month.

$163/month x 39 payments = $6,357

Negative equity rolled in = 632

Sales tax on rebates = 704

All adds up to about $7,500 (not exactly due to the interest included in those payments, right?).

Now, Q, you didn't know about those last two items...I didn't go into them, not because I was trying to conceal anything, but I wasn't trying to get too much into the weeds on the deal, and they're irrelevant to the deal itself.

So yes, the $7,500 rebate is reflected (net of taxes on said rebate) in lower payments and covering a bit of negative equity.

Alright. Well, there ya go. Hey, I wasn't crazy, it wasn't adding up. lol.

What are you trading to them? The Leaf?

I don't think you are boasting. If you were telling us about your $3700/mo porsche, welll....

I’m actually trading the X3 - I like it plenty, but am fine hitting the reset button on the SUV and hopefully having the patience to wait the crazy market out before I replace it.

I don’t need the Leaf, but it’s cheaper to keep it or turn it in on an early term than trading it.

Did they meet or beat offers from carmax/carvana/vroom/algo?

I gave them the offers from Vroom and Carvana, and they actually beat the highest one by a couple hundred.

And I mentioned it before, but Polestar is providing an additional rebate of $2k, tied to trading in an ICE vehicle. Without that, I probably would not have traded the X3.

breld

That Civic does look nice. Definitely a bit more grown up look, inside and out. I could be tempted by an Si - with the new Sport model having 188 hp, you’ve gotta think the Si will finally get something more competitive with the GTI.

breld

tjc78 said:

@breld

Thanks for the detailed information. For some reason I thought you were saying they somehow doubled the rebate which then would have resulted in a much lower lease.

I was playing with the calculations and the math is basically what I came up with not knowing about the neg equity and that the rebate was taxed.

I always enjoy a little bit of lease calculations , lol.

Well, to be fair, I would say that they did effectively double dip on the fed tax rebate. Hard to say exactly the amount they took into account with the inflated residual, but by having the 63% residual AND taking the $7,500 rebate off the top, they’ve “squeezed” the depreciation on the lease on both sides. That’s why I was holding my breath on whether the deal would go through, and truthfully did not expect it to.

@michaell and @kyfdx, as intimate as they are with leases, could explain it better.

breld

Sandman6472 said:

Does anyone know if Tesla is coming out with a smaller electric vehicle in the next year or so? A co-worker said they were but haven't heard anything. After having driven one at work, really fell in love with the whole experience and would love to own one. I know Chevy is coming out with a couple new Bolt models sometime this year.
And is the government going to still give folks rebates for buying EV vehicles again? Think it would help defray some of the costs and make it easier for a lot of us to do so. I'd love at least a range of 300 miles but could live with at least 250. I no longer drive many miles per week so I'm a great candidate to own an EV vehicle going forward. Sure, the electric bill at home will go up some but think there would be an overall $ savings between the cost savings of not buying petrol and that of the extra electric costs. I for one, are willing to give it a try as long as we have one gas powered vehicle to use for those longer trips. From what I can tell, you guys seem to be very happy with an EV vehicle in the fleet.
Lastly, how hard is it to actually buy a new Tesla vehicle anyways?

Sandy, details and timing are all speculative at this point, but it seems safe to say that Tesla will be coming out with a smaller EV soon enough. The claim is that it will be a $25,000 EV, but I doubt it will be that low at introduction.

The new Bolt models are really attractive, and Chevy seems to have priced them well, effectively taking into account the loss of the fed tax incentive for Chevy’s. I like the Bolt better than the Leaf, but I only got the Leaf due to the incredible lease deal. Hyundai and Kia also have strong EV offerings, now and in the future. The Kona EV gets very strong reviews.

As for those federal tax incentives, it’s hard to say what will get approved, but there’s certainly a strong push to modify the manufacturer limits on them, which would presumably allow Tesla and Chevy EV buyers to take advantage of the $7,500 rebate again (that amount could change depending on what gets passed). One key component that is being considered is to make that incentive a “point-of-sale” rebate, so the consumer gets it at the purchase instead of having to wait until tax time.

Based on my Chargepoint app, charging my Leaf to go 1,355 miles in April cost about $37.

And finally, it’s quite easy to buy a Tesla. If there’s a Tesla shop nearby, it’s nice to go see the models and speak to the representatives, but it’s super simple to order one online as well. You place a $100 deposit for the order, and they contact you as soon as one is available so you can schedule pickup of the vehicle. They have cash, lease and financing options, and there is no negotiation on the pricing.

stickguy

Alex on autos made a good point on the civic. Tweak the front end and replace the badge, and it would pass for the new Acura ILX.

Sport model gets the small engine though for some reason. In that lineup, I would go for an EX. But would want to see the hatch version first.

Si I bet gets the 2.0t motor this time around.

breld

stickguy said:

Alex on autos made a good point on the civic. Tweak the front end and replace the badge, and it would pass for the new Acura ILX.

Sport model gets the small engine though for some reason. In that lineup, I would go for an EX. But would want to see the hatch version first.

Si I bet gets the 2.0t motor this time around.

Aren’t the rumors that Acura will have a new compact offering to replace the ILX soon? Given their style direction on the TLX and MDX, an “Acurified” version of this new Civic could be great. I won’t hold my breath for a manual though...or a return of an actual name, like Integra.

ab348

stickguy said:

These look really nice. Finally a new sedan with classy styling that should age well. Too bad the hatch, Si and stick shifts not coming out to start.

Just about the perfect size, and great visibility.

Sad that sedans don’t sell though.

The youngsters I'm seeing commenting on it elsewhere are decrying the "boring" styling. Personally I like that they are taking a step back from the overdone boy-racer overstyled look of the current model. The CVT and early lack of a manual transmission is also causing much hand-wringing.

stickguy

It’s rumored. I thought it might be a mini CUV like an X2. But the ILX, and integras before that, were always civic based. Maybe a smaller sedan, plus a crossover hatch version of it?

stickguy

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

These look really nice. Finally a new sedan with classy styling that should age well. Too bad the hatch, Si and stick shifts not coming out to start.

Just about the perfect size, and great visibility.

Sad that sedans don’t sell though.

The youngsters I'm seeing commenting on it elsewhere are decrying the "boring" styling. Personally I like that they are taking a step back from the overdone boy-racer overstyled look of the current model. The CVT and early lack of a manual transmission is also causing much hand-wringing.

People make noise online, but most wouldn’t buy it either way. Styling is fine, and the interior is great.

If you need more style and speed, the Si is coming. And most likely, the hatch will get more “dramatic”.

But I’m old, what do I know!

kyfdx

Spotted this in front of my local coffee shop, on my walk.

stickguy

Oh, the manual. Seems they reserved that for the actual sporty models, hopefully including the non-Si hatch. Nobody bought the current generation normal sedans with a stick anyway when it was offered.

I seem to recall the CVT in that car drove fine. And will bet they have refined it even more.

au1994

Call me crazy with what gas prices are about to do, but I am really drawn to the new Tahoe/Yukon.

Probably way bigger than I need and zero improvement on gas but they are good looking and I think the interior is really nice.

The LT trim in Tahoe seems to be well equipped. Edmunds say the should pay is $57k whereas stickers in my area are $63-65. Low inventory and in high demand now so it will inevitably come down.

I’m sure a test drive would cure me of this so it’s probably just random musing.

[Deleted User]

kyfdx said:

Spotted this in front of my local coffee shop, on my walk.

Oh man, I'm gonna need a cigarette...

28firefighter

I'm not a Corvette guy, but I do like the new ones.

henryn

qbrozen said:

Alright. Well, there ya go. Hey, I wasn't crazy, it wasn't adding up. lol.

Who says you're not crazy?

Don't worry though, sanity is overrated. And if you were sane, you wouldn't fit in here.

henryn

au1994 said:

Call me crazy with what gas prices are about to do, but I am really drawn to the new Tahoe/Yukon.

Probably way bigger than I need and zero improvement on gas but they are good looking and I think the interior is really nice.

The LT trim in Tahoe seems to be well equipped. Edmunds say the should pay is $57k whereas stickers in my area are $63-65. Low inventory and in high demand now so it will inevitably come down.

I’m sure a test drive would cure me of this so it’s probably just random musing.

See what I mean? Everyone in here is crazy, which is why we all fit together.

I owned one Tahoe, a 2014 model if I recall correctly. I was amazed at how big it was outside, and how small inside.

28firefighter

In unrelated news, wife and I booked our first vacation sans child in nearly 3 years. We're off to Los Cabos in June to an all-inclusive for 5 nights.

And yes, that's two vacations in two months for her.

breld

dad23 said:

kyfdx said:

Spotted this in front of my local coffee shop, on my walk.

Oh man, I'm gonna need a cigarette...

That reminds me that I hadn’t posted this picture I took while at Starbucks a couple weeks ago.

sda

28firefighter said:

In unrelated news, wife and I booked our first vacation sans child in nearly 3 years. We're off to Los Cabos in June to an all-inclusive for 5 nights.

And yes, that's two vacations in two months for her.

Very nice. The question is, does she owe you one?

stickguy

I like the C8. And that blue. But not that blue on a C8.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

I like the C8. And that blue. But not that blue on a C8.

seems to be spot on the Mustang's Grabber Blue I had on my 2014.

qbrozen

Camaro: highest bid is 37750. I said no thanks.

ML: thanks, hopefully I can get it going. New part arrived yesterday but I'm so damned busy I don't know when I can throw it in.

Volvo: we've been with costco for decades, so no worries there. Not sure why we keep the membership since the wife only goes to BJs. I guess she likes having the option?

ronsteve

corvette said:

xwesx said:

It needs rotors more than pads, but I replaced pads three years ago... wait... FOUR years ago, and it's a pretty heavy rig.

On many European brands, the rotors will be at or below minimum spec at the time the pads wear out, so they are generally replaced at the same time. Good on you if you managed to get longer out of the rotors! The used 540i I bought had new-ish brake pads, but the front rotors cracked. Never got an exact measurement from the tire shop that found the problem and replaced the rotors, but I would bet money whoever serviced the brakes just replaced the pads without checking or replacing the rotors.

The first time I had front brakes done on the V70, about 75K on the originals, they told me I still had some pad left but the rotors were below spec. The replacements (yes, pads and rotors) went 87K, after which I still had enough rotor to machine, and the rears at 96K were also OK to turn.

28firefighter

sda said:

28firefighter said:

In unrelated news, wife and I booked our first vacation sans child in nearly 3 years. We're off to Los Cabos in June to an all-inclusive for 5 nights.

And yes, that's two vacations in two months for her.

Very nice. The question is, does she owe you one?

I'm so far in over cars, she'll never be in a position to owe me one. lol.

xwesx

sda said:

Does Audi require a special tool to back the piston back into the caliper so you can fit the new pads.

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

xwesx

breld said:

Sandy, details and timing are all speculative at this point, but it seems safe to say that Tesla will be coming out with a smaller EV soon enough. The claim is that it will be a $25,000 EV, but I doubt it will be that low at introduction.

Well, it depends. If no tax rebates are available, it will be a $25,000 EV. If there's a $4K tax rebate, then it will be $29,000.

tjc78

28firefighter said:

In unrelated news, wife and I booked our first vacation sans child in nearly 3 years. We're off to Los Cabos in June to an all-inclusive for 5 nights.

And yes, that's two vacations in two months for her.

Awesome. Wife and I are heading to Antigua in November without kids for our anniversary. First long vacation ever without kids. Most we’ve done is two nights. Can’t wait!

xwesx

28firefighter said:

In unrelated news, wife and I booked our first vacation sans child in nearly 3 years. We're off to Los Cabos in June to an all-inclusive for 5 nights.

And yes, that's two vacations in two months for her.

Well, you *have* been in car-hunting mode. A short vacation a month for her sounds about right!

EDIT: Darn my timing! You said essentially the same thing a few posts previous.

qbrozen

xwesx said:

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

Lots of cussing and throwing things?

corvette

qbrozen said:

xwesx said:

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

Lots of cussing and throwing things?

That's why I can't be a famous YouTuber!

fintail

At what point do these products become mainstream enough to not get tax breaks?

xwesx said:

breld said:

Sandy, details and timing are all speculative at this point, but it seems safe to say that Tesla will be coming out with a smaller EV soon enough. The claim is that it will be a $25,000 EV, but I doubt it will be that low at introduction.

Well, it depends. If no tax rebates are available, it will be a $25,000 EV. If there's a $4K tax rebate, then it will be $29,000.

kyfdx

fintail said:

At what point do these products become mainstream enough to not get tax breaks?

xwesx said:

breld said:

Sandy, details and timing are all speculative at this point, but it seems safe to say that Tesla will be coming out with a smaller EV soon enough. The claim is that it will be a $25,000 EV, but I doubt it will be that low at introduction.

Well, it depends. If no tax rebates are available, it will be a $25,000 EV. If there's a $4K tax rebate, then it will be $29,000.

Once the manufacturer uses up their allotment. Already happened for Tesla, right?

fintail

I thought so, but I haven't looked into it.

These are just every cars now, for me anyway - a Tesla or any other big brand EV is as normcore as a Camcord or CUV equivalent in my eyes, in 2021.

kyfdx said:

Once the manufacturer uses up their allotment. Already happened for Tesla, right?

xwesx

qbrozen said:

xwesx said:

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

Lots of cussing and throwing things?

Hahaha! Not with brakes. Other projects, yes.... (looking for some wood on which to knock)

xwesx

kyfdx said:

fintail said:

At what point do these products become mainstream enough to not get tax breaks?

xwesx said:

breld said:

Sandy, details and timing are all speculative at this point, but it seems safe to say that Tesla will be coming out with a smaller EV soon enough. The claim is that it will be a $25,000 EV, but I doubt it will be that low at introduction.

Well, it depends. If no tax rebates are available, it will be a $25,000 EV. If there's a $4K tax rebate, then it will be $29,000.

Once the manufacturer uses up their allotment. Already happened for Tesla, right?

Yes, under the old/current code. I am pretty sure there is new legislation in process that, if passed, will bring Tesla back into the fray.

xwesx

fintail said:

I thought so, but I haven't looked into it.

These are just every cars now, for me anyway - a Tesla or any other big brand EV is as normcore as a Camcord or CUV equivalent in my eyes, in 2021.

kyfdx said:

Once the manufacturer uses up their allotment. Already happened for Tesla, right?

Not here, quite yet. My son and I saw our very first Model Y, just outside my office, yesterday. It was a neat sight. Very sleek looking machine, if not rather noisy.

henryn

ronsteve said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

It needs rotors more than pads, but I replaced pads three years ago... wait... FOUR years ago, and it's a pretty heavy rig.

On many European brands, the rotors will be at or below minimum spec at the time the pads wear out, so they are generally replaced at the same time. Good on you if you managed to get longer out of the rotors! The used 540i I bought had new-ish brake pads, but the front rotors cracked. Never got an exact measurement from the tire shop that found the problem and replaced the rotors, but I would bet money whoever serviced the brakes just replaced the pads without checking or replacing the rotors.

The first time I had front brakes done on the V70, about 75K on the originals, they told me I still had some pad left but the rotors were below spec. The replacements (yes, pads and rotors) went 87K, after which I still had enough rotor to machine, and the rears at 96K were also OK to turn.

ronsteve said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

It needs rotors more than pads, but I replaced pads three years ago... wait... FOUR years ago, and it's a pretty heavy rig.

On many European brands, the rotors will be at or below minimum spec at the time the pads wear out, so they are generally replaced at the same time. Good on you if you managed to get longer out of the rotors! The used 540i I bought had new-ish brake pads, but the front rotors cracked. Never got an exact measurement from the tire shop that found the problem and replaced the rotors, but I would bet money whoever serviced the brakes just replaced the pads without checking or replacing the rotors.

The first time I had front brakes done on the V70, about 75K on the originals, they told me I still had some pad left but the rotors were below spec. The replacements (yes, pads and rotors) went 87K, after which I still had enough rotor to machine, and the rears at 96K were also OK to turn.

When I'm paying someone I trust to do a brake job, I follow their advice. If I didn't trust them, they would not be working on my brakes, so ... When I'm doing a brake job myself, I usually just do the rotors at the same time as the pads. Rotors are not expensive, and as long as I'm in there working, and have the old rotors off, why not? Saves me a trip to get the rotors turned, as I already have the new rotors sitting there waiting when I start the job.

With that said, I haven't done a brake job in about 4 or 5 years. I've been driving new or nearly new low mileage cars, and no brake jobs have been necessary.

henryn

xwesx said:

sda said:

Does Audi require a special tool to back the piston back into the caliper so you can fit the new pads.

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

Back when I had the 2008 Passat, you had to have a computer control device to turn off the electronic parking brake before you could work on the rear brakes. Which sounded like a good excuse to buy the device (a cable to interface to your notebook computer, with software), but I never did. I do have the tools (actually a set with different attachments for different makes and models) to screw / rotate the piston back into the caliper.

breld

Tesla was the first to get to 200,000 sold EV units (in 2019 I believe) and Chevy soon followed.

They are the only two manufacturers to have "used up" their allocation of fed tax incentives. Nissan looks to be the next to follow suit, possibly by the end of the year. I think most other manufacturers are far behind.

New legislation may extend that limit to 600,000 units, not counting what has been sold since a manufacturer met the 200,000. So Chevy and Tesla purchases would again be eligible for another 400,000 units if and when the legislation passes.

Note that Tesla adjusted their prices downward once they were not eligible for the incentive and Chevy's pricing for the new Bolt models are much lower than the original Bolt. And...Tesla has raised pricing on their models in small increments the past few months. My "on hold" order for the Model Y is $2k lower than the current price.

xwesx

henryn said:

xwesx said:

sda said:

Does Audi require a special tool to back the piston back into the caliper so you can fit the new pads.

No, I'm able to work with them the same way as any other car I've ever had with disc brakes.

Back when I had the 2008 Passat, you had to have a computer control device to turn off the electronic parking brake before you could work on the rear brakes. Which sounded like a good excuse to buy the device (a cable to interface to your notebook computer, with software), but I never did. I do have the tools (actually a set with different attachments for different makes and models) to screw / rotate the piston back into the caliper.

That's interesting. You're right; a lot of modern vehicles automatically set the parking brake when you turn it off and/or place the vehicle in 'park.' I actually do have the computer interface tool for the Q7 (RossTech VAG-COM), but that's another story.

Amazingly, the Q7 has a mechanical parking brake - the same foot-operated unit that pickups have used for decades.

As for tools to move the pistons back.... that's a thing? I just use a C-clamp: Set it over the piston or atop the brake pad itself (which is still in position), then slowly screw it down against the back of the caliper. Once the pad seats against the caliper body, pull off the clamp and the pad, and you're ready to go!

xwesx

breld said:

Note that Tesla adjusted their prices downward once they were not eligible for the incentive and Chevy's pricing for the new Bolt models are much lower than the original Bolt. And...Tesla has raised pricing on their models in small increments the past few months. My "on hold" order for the Model Y is $2k lower than the current price.

Yep... they're no dummies! They know that rebate is intended for them and not the consumer!