Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

explorerx4

From the back, that gold car looks like a MerCivic.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@corvette,
NY Ezpass sends certain supplies for free. I just log in and request them.
In 92, the 5.0 in the Mustang was downgraded to 205 HP, probably the same for the Lincoln.

Aesthetics aside, I still prefer the Mark VIII LSC because of the 4 valve 4.6L engine (290hp).

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

More than original MSRP. Good luck!

https://www.carvana.com/vehicle/2893965

Wait, all the YT experts say used car prices are falling. That must be a typo, or maybe this dealer didn’t get the memo.

Sandman6472

Took Hyundai in and they couldn't duplicate the issues which seemed odd to me. A piece of trim is loose so why not just glue it back in? The lady service advisor was just awful. made us feel like we were bothering her. Never smiled once or looked me in the eye. Asked her for her business card and was told, "I don't have any". The appropriate response would've been to write it down for me but she said nothing. I finally had to ask her to write it on a piece of paper for me which was not rocket science. Why she's a service advisor is beyond me. Both my wife & I were shocked at her attitude and since my kid was there, I let it go. But, I will go speak to the head of the service department tomorrow if possible to point out the negative interaction we had. I never like to complain but this blatant negative treatment was totally uncalled for and it must be addressed. If she hates her job that much, best she leave I guess!
What I also found as crazy as soon, we'll be in the market for not one, but two new vehicles. These dealers need to treat all customers the right way because something like this could sour me on this particular dealership and send me down the road. Treat me right from the start and I'll be a good customer and if not...I'm gone. Strange thing is we've already purchased two vehicles from this dealership & might do it again so, they never know who might be back. Sorry, but her attitude & lack of caring just pissed me off, big time!

Sandman6472

Crickets from the Audi store so not sure we'll have the A3 back today or tomorrow. If not done today, will rent the girls a small CUV for their trip tomorrow. But my wife really would like her car to drive. And I get that. Figure by 4 or so, we'll call for a progress report. Luckily we live so close to the dealership that we can be there in under five minutes. Nice that we're so close to the three dealers we use, unlike when we owned the Honda and the Nissan which were a good twenty-five minutes away.
Just want both vehicles working already with no issues which is why I think the A3 will be gone before the Golf. Showed the wife the new 2024 Mazda CX-30 and she liked it well enough but the new Hyundai Kona really blew her socks off with all the new technology it has. It is impressive I must say and the new sheetmetal is a modern if not futuristic look, something she even commented on. And even with the six inches it grew in length, the new Kona is not a large vehicle by any stretch. It's now 172" which is a great size and it sits a couple of inches off the ground for easy ingress/egress. Perfect for both our needs.
As to owning two of the same vehicle, not sure that'll work but never say never. We both like that new cement color.

Michaell

@Sandman6472 - this is true in just about every industry, now. Finding competent help has gotten so much harder since the pandemic.

We pay HS kids $14/hr to work at the cooking studio. The hours are pretty easy, there's not a lot of responsibility, and no customer interaction. But, we struggle to staff all our shifts. So, the "help wanted" sign comes out, and we post on social media.

I think most car dealers aren't interested in developing long term relationships any more; it's more transactional, since a large percentage of dealers are owned by big corporations, and they care about the bottom line and the earnings they report to Wall Street.

xwesx

It's a little crazy how much people are getting paid in low skill/light labor work these days, and yet they STILL act like they're being inconvenienced when they're asked to actually do their job. Sad stuff.

kyfdx

xwesx said:

It's a little crazy how much people are getting paid in low skill/light labor work these days, and yet they STILL act like they're being inconvenienced when they're asked to actually do their job. Sad stuff.

Most people's attitudes aren't affected by their pay rate, I don't think.

Bad attitudes come with every pay level. I don't think workers with low skill jobs feel any more grateful to be working than anyone else.

stickguy

Usually attitudes come from the top and flow downhill. Like some other stuff. At the dealer the owner might care about some extra sales but unlikely it crosses the SAs mind. And she certainly won’t benefit from you buying a car there.

Sandman6472

I know I took pride in doing my job at the post office and was always nice to my customers. I have more than a few letters sent to my postmaster telling him how much I did care about my customers. And even now at Enterprise, I always try to be happy, that half full kind of employee. Don't understand attitudes like that woman's this morning and I was sad for her, acting so miserable at your job. And complaining will probably do nothing but if people don't speak up about poor customer service, it'll just get worse. And feel change starts with one voice speaking out at times.
The whole situation is just sad...very sad!

stickguy

From the other perspective, maybe not you, but customer service people get abused royally by many customers.

ab348

xwesx said:

It's a little crazy how much people are getting paid in low skill/light labor work these days, and yet they STILL act like they're being inconvenienced when they're asked to actually do their job. Sad stuff.

Up here there is a “progressive” lobby group that annually publishes a supposed research paper on what a “living wage” should be which according to them should be the minimum to allow for housing, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.. This year it is $26 worthless Canadian dollars per hour. It gets lots of press and get lots of talk on places where younger folks hang out. Regardless of the political slant of the authors, the result is that the kid living at home who is working at McD’s part time thinks that sum is what they are worth. Crazy.

corvette

Oof…

https://electrek.co/2023/11/14/rivian-software-update-bricks-infotainment-system-fix-not-obvious/

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

xwesx said:

It's a little crazy how much people are getting paid in low skill/light labor work these days, and yet they STILL act like they're being inconvenienced when they're asked to actually do their job. Sad stuff.

Up here there is a “progressive” lobby group that annually publishes a supposed research paper on what a “living wage” should be which according to them should be the minimum to allow for housing, food, entertainment, transportation, etc.. This year it is $26 worthless Canadian dollars per hour. It gets lots of press and get lots of talk on places where younger folks hang out. Regardless of the political slant of the authors, the result is that the kid living at home who is working at McD’s part time thinks that sum is what they are worth. Crazy.

————————————————
It’s CRAZY until the politicians give it to them. Then the politicians will try to fix all the complaints they’ll get from folks that cry they can’t afford a burger where they used to work and food stores and clothing stores are thieves too.

Lather and repeat.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

It's a little crazy how much people are getting paid in low skill/light labor work these days, and yet they STILL act like they're being inconvenienced when they're asked to actually do their job. Sad stuff.

Hey, I resent that. It’s not an act.😡

Actually I think my company gets more work and dedication from us 70+ year olds than they do from other demographics. One 78 yo on my crew was telling us about his second job at an auto parts store where they called in a 20 yo employee on Saturday and after an hour he decided he didn’t want to work any more that day and left.

roadburner

https://electrek.co/2023/11/14/rivian-software-update-bricks-infotainment-system-fix-not-obvious/

That used to be an issue with the early Samsung BD players. I always waited until I heard an all-clear from other owners on the AVS forum.

roadburner

I think that the mass market dealers are simply less inclined to care about building long-term relationships with customers. When I worked at my center we referred to customers as clients and everyone went the extra mile to make sure their clients were well taken care of. I only had one person that I was glad to see leave- a lady who thought her lease turn-in would only take a couple of minutes, and on top of that she lied about the service history. Aside from that goofball, it was actually a very pleasant experience.

corvette

roadburner said:

That used to be an issue with the early Samsung BD players. I always waited until I heard an all-clear from other owners on the AVS forum.

A lot of my friends were late to adopt DVD players. I had one or two of the early models (Apex brand, I think) where you could disable Macrovision, you know, for "fair use" purposes and all.

Sandman6472

To me, "customer service" should be exactly what it says...service to the customer I'm dealing with. That's how I was brought up and told how to work at my first job way back when. Still remember that and try to do it every time I go into work.

On another note, the A3 is still at the dealer and won't be done till Friday at the earliest they said. Apparently, it's thrown a lot of codes, whatever that means, so figure this could be a costly repair! Depending on how much it is, that will determine how long it stays in our garage. Think she's finally ready to cut it from the herd if need be. She's driven a couple of replacements and is trying a Buick Encore GX on Saturday for some reason. I mentioned it in passing but it's nothing I think she'd ever consider. Seems to be old technology compared to what Hyundai/Kia are coming out with. I do think the price of a new Audi Q3 is a bit much, over $46K, and doubt she'd go that high on anything. So far, the 2024 Kona is at the top of her list which I think would work. Not sure I'd get one if she does but who knows at this point.
The Accent is pretty pack up right now and we'll have no problem bringing what's left next week. Just need to decide which car goes up with the Accent...either mine or hers?

qbrozen

Isn’t the GX the bigger one? Wouldn’t she want the standard Encore?

explorerx4

I looked up Audi EPC light and it could be just about anything.

ab348

qbrozen said:

Isn’t the GX the bigger one? Wouldn’t she want the standard Encore?

I think GM has discontinued the old Encore. The new GX is similar to the Chevy Trax recently introduced which is getting good reviews. The Buick version lets you option it up to make it a bit more high-zoot. At least some models have a glass IP and leather seats.

corvette

I will say that GM did a good job with the infotainment screen in the Volt. Although the angle is a little odd, whatever coating they put on it does a very good job of hiding fingerprints. Much better than the Maverick.

au1994

explorerx4 said:

I looked up Audi EPC light and it could be just about anything.

yeah, I remember looking that up before.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

qbrozen said:

Isn’t the GX the bigger one? Wouldn’t she want the standard Encore?

I think GM has discontinued the old Encore. The new GX is similar to the Chevy Trax recently introduced which is getting good reviews. The Buick version lets you option it up to make it a bit more high-zoot. At least some models have a glass IP and leather seats.

I'm a little confused. But the Encore GX and Trailblazer both are VSS-F platform. I believe the 2nd Gen Trax is related to VSS-F as well as the Envista from buick.

3-cylinder engine turbo got no approval from me when my son was shopping couple years back and mentioned the Encore GX. He bought a Venza. Very happy. Only 2 problems on minor recalls.

I believe the Encore has been dropped and has been replaced by Envista?

imidazol97

Sandman6472 said:

To me, "customer service" should be exactly what it says...service to the customer I'm dealing with. That's how I was brought up and told how to work at my first job way back when. Still remember that and try to do it every time I go into work.

You're much more mellow on poor customer service, especially when they refuse to identify with a card or anything. I like to find the owner or store manager. My logic is the department manager may be complicit of buffaloed by her behavior.

In dealerships in this area, store managers or owners are around usually and are available. In fact, I was joking with the owner of the Chev store when I had Malibu in for wheel balancing. She was in showroom and sat in the 74 Nova "before it's gone." I offered to take a picture of her in it. She graduated from OSU a year before our son did.

qbrozen

ab348 said:

qbrozen said:

Isn’t the GX the bigger one? Wouldn’t she want the standard Encore?

I think GM has discontinued the old Encore. The new GX is similar to the Chevy Trax recently introduced which is getting good reviews. The Buick version lets you option it up to make it a bit more high-zoot. At least some models have a glass IP and leather seats.

Ah, I see. It would appear the Trax has grown, too. Now 10" longer than the old one and even 6" longer than the Encore GX.

roadburner

@explorerx4 said:
I looked up Audi EPC light and it could be just about anything.

A weak battery can cause a lot of fault codes to pop up.

jmonroe1

corvette said:

I will say that GM did a good job with the infotainment screen in the Volt. Although the angle is a little odd, whatever coating they put on it does a very good job of hiding fingerprints. Much better than the Maverick.

————————————————
Suggestion: When you get some time before the holidays, hack the Volt infotainment system into the Maverick. Then after the holidays when you’ve had a chance to catch your breath, hack the Maverick system into the Volt.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

I looked up Audi EPC light and it could be just about anything.

————————————————
That being the case, why not have the light say, “You’ve Got a Problem”.

jmonroe

imidazol97

qbrozen said:

ab348 said:

qbrozen said:

Isn’t the GX the bigger one? Wouldn’t she want the standard Encore?

I think GM has discontinued the old Encore. The new GX is similar to the Chevy Trax recently introduced which is getting good reviews. The Buick version lets you option it up to make it a bit more high-zoot. At least some models have a glass IP and leather seats.

Ah, I see. It would appear the Trax has grown, too. Now 10" longer than the old one and even 6" longer than the Encore GX.

All with a 1.2 L Turbo engine, 3-cylinder. LOL

sda

It will be interesting to learn the real-world lifespan of these small heavily stressed turbo engines, especially if they aren't maintained properly.

qbrozen

they really haven't gone up much in terms of relative output. I mean, my '98 Volvo 2.3 turbo came with 237hp. So a shade over 100hp/ltr. That 1.2 has 139hp. A shade over 100hp/ltr ... 25 years later.

28firefighter

I miss those 2.3 Turbo engines.

breld

Well, I did it. I just let the Acura salesperson know that I’m going to pass on the Integra. I came to the realization that I was trying a bit too hard to make myself like it more than I really did, particularly compared to other options like the Mustang (or maybe a Z?).

I also felt some compulsion to go through with the purchase almost out of obligation to the salesperson who has been great in making sure I was first on the list and giving me the right of first refusal on the demo unit and then the red one that came in prior to this white one. And then I realized that was silly.

stickguy

congratulations. A big step for you! Salesman will get over it, but gotta figure he assumed it was a guaranteed commission here!

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

I miss those 2.3 Turbo engines.

Get a 4 banger Mustang.

oldfarmer50

breld said:

Well, I did it. I just let the Acura salesperson know that I’m going to pass on the Integra. I came to the realization that I was trying a bit too hard to make myself like it more than I really did, particularly compared to other options like the Mustang (or maybe a Z?).

I also felt some compulsion to go through with the purchase almost out of obligation to the salesperson who has been great in making sure I was first on the list and giving me the right of first refusal on the demo unit and then the red one that came in prior to this white one. And then I realized that was silly.

I drove past my local Ford dealer and he had two 2024s sitting next to a last generation model. I have to admit the new style made the old one look dated.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
they really haven't gone up much in terms of relative output. I mean, my '98 Volvo 2.3 turbo came with 237hp. So a shade over 100hp/ltr. That 1.2 has 139hp. A shade over 100hp/ltr ... 25 years later.

The most impressive one to me is the T6 - 316 HP out of a 2.0. They had to add a supercharger too, but a decent amount of output from a small 4

stickguy

it's supposed to work that way!

qbrozen

breld said:

(or maybe a Z?).

No. Just... no.
As much as I love previous Zs, the performance/dollar equation on the 400z is pitiful.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

The most impressive one to me is the T6 - 316 HP out of a 2.0. They had to add a supercharger too, but a decent amount of output from a small 4

I think that, in itself, isn't a huge feat when people have been getting that out of 2 liter Subarus and Mitsus for decades now, BUT Volvo did it different with the SC to TC combo, giving it a very smooth output. Much more like an inline 6 feel.

corvette

Volvo's inline 6 on the RWD platforms was amazing. BMW-like with a softer ride and vaguer steering, but a nicer interior on the final-gen 960/S90.

nyccarguy

Not sure if I updated everyone on my washing machine. So I researched and figured out from the code that the control board was bad. The you tube appliance mechanic went to work and ordered a new control board for about $300. I took everything apart. I didn’t break any plastic tabs or lose any screws. I unhooked the old control board and plugged in the new one. Same error code. So I chatted up with a local appliance store who said the problem might be the part where you select the cycle is not communicating with the control board. That would have been $200ish, so I gave up.

I found an LG top loader that was the highest rated from consumer reports. I spoke to an appliance guy I deal with and a different local appliance place that confirmed LGs are excellent washers & dryers. Now where to buy it from. I could order from my guy at a significant discount and not have to pay tax, it I’d have to bring it home, unload it from the Tacoma, and schlep it into my basement. Everyone has it at the same price. Home Depot offered to knock $100 off, but then wanted $50 to haul it away, and wanted me to buy their Stainless Steel washing machine hoses for $40 (the same ones I buy for $8 each). So I decided to order from Costco. 2 year manufacturer warranty and a 3rd year for $90. It’s being delivered and installed next Saturday.

stickguy

I hope you were able to return the $300 control board at least.

my theory on these is that given what brand new costs, and how much repairs are, usually better to just replace it because once stuff starts to go, more stuff will follow it!

thanks for the recommendation. Will be WD shopping next summer since we aren't (hopefully) taking the old ones to the new house.

corvette

@nyccarguy - this whole thing reminds me of my fridge saga. My dad convinced me that a rather expensive counter-depth fridge would fit better in my kitchen when I bought my present house in 2015. Shortly after the warranty ended, some of the LEDs on the display started failing, and then the spring on the ice chute broke. Spent about $250 on a new ice chute and a new LED display. The new LED display started failing a couple of years later. Despite experimenting with the adjustment for the size of the cubes, the ice sometimes clogs the chute and causes it to stick open and throw an error code.

If that @#$% thing gives me one more problem, I can get by with a medium sized dorm room fridge or two, which would free up a lot of additional storage space. And if you have two and one of them dies, you have redundancy and can remove your soft drinks, water, condiments, etc. and use the one that's working to keep the more perishable items cold.

Glad you're getting a new one, though, that's often the path of least resistance.

stickguy

We are getting a brand new one when we move. But bringing the 3 YO one that came with this house in the basement, a basic top freezer. Probably about 20 CF. Plenty big enough for most 2 people households! so we should be plenty covered since we still have the dorm fridge ( a taller one with separate freezer, not a cube) and are getting a beverage bar fridge designed into the kitchen.

So some quick math, that is 2 fridges for each of us. I think we can survive on that.

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

Not sure if I updated everyone on my washing machine. So I researched and figured out from the code that the control board was bad. The you tube appliance mechanic went to work and ordered a new control board for about $300. I took everything apart. I didn’t break any plastic tabs or lose any screws. I unhooked the old control board and plugged in the new one. Same error code. So I chatted up with a local appliance store who said the problem might be the part where you select the cycle is not communicating with the control board. That would have been $200ish, so I gave up.

I found an LG top loader that was the highest rated from consumer reports. I spoke to an appliance guy I deal with and a different local appliance place that confirmed LGs are excellent washers & dryers. Now where to buy it from. I could order from my guy at a significant discount and not have to pay tax, it I’d have to bring it home, unload it from the Tacoma, and schlep it into my basement. Everyone has it at the same price. Home Depot offered to knock $100 off, but then wanted $50 to haul it away, and wanted me to buy their Stainless Steel washing machine hoses for $40 (the same ones I buy for $8 each). So I decided to order from Costco. 2 year manufacturer warranty and a 3rd year for $90. It’s being delivered and installed next Saturday.

————————————————
Parts places have the advantage of putting in parts until the appliance works. If they are honest you’ll only be charged for the part that fixed the problem.

Back in 2002 our Kenmore dishwasher quit working. Sears eventually gave me full credit for it since it was only 3 months out of warranty. But before they did I called a local mom and pop appliance and repair store and I talked to one of their repair guys and he confirmed what I thought. The bad part was either the soft touch control panel or the main board but it would be a guess as to which one but if I bought the wrong part they couldn’t take it back so I’d have to buy the other part. If I guessed wrong I would have spent upwards of 300 bucks. He admitted that he had the advantage of swapping parts until he found the fix whereas I’d be paying to do that.

The repair guy said if he had to guess he’d guess it was the control panel based on his experience. He then said to use a hair dryer to pass over the control panel for a few minutes to drive out any moisture that might have been in there. He said he’d had success doing that a few times. That sounded good to me but then, like a dope, I said, “how is the moisture going to get out of there”? His reply was, “the same way it got in there”. Dah.

The funny part about this is it worked and when Mrs. j got home from work I told her she had a choice. Keep the dishwasher we had or get the refund that Sears was going to give us towards another dishwasher of our choosing. Of course she decided to get the new one which I’d be installing vs. the simple 2 minute fix of using a hair dryer every so often.

jmonroe

tifighter

Seen in Zurich-
I was afraid to look inside.

ab348

I forgot to update youse guys that I ordered my new range, fridge and over the range microwave the other day and they are being delivered next week. The fridge was the one thing that needed replacing urgently and I had hoped to have it hold out until my kitchen reno could be done but no such luck. That meant I had to get one that was the same 28" size as the existing since the space is 29.5" wide so no luck with even a 30" fridge. I got essentially the same one over again but in stainless. If it is just a stopgap for a year or so that's OK. I also got a SS slide-in electric range and over-the-range microwave also in stainless, all Frigidaire. I held off on the dishwasher for now but that would not have been a Frigidaire. Got a really good deal via Best Buy, plus free delivery and haulaway.