Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

tommister2

imidazol97 said:

tommister2 said:

(I know some folks here really enjoy the current GM products. I grew up in the back seat of Oldsmobiles which always seemed like nice cars. I just had several issues with my personal GM products throughout the 90's)

Folks like to use long past experiences to excuse their ignoring today's GM products or writing them off as soon as they can find one detail they don't like. I like having an open mind and looking at all/most vehicles when I'm considering a purchase. E.g., certainly can't just ignore HynKia products by their far past experiences people have had.

Nobody ever said human beings were rational

You own three Chevys and that works for you. I've got no problem with that. I learned a long time ago that these big companies don't care what I think. I go with whatever I think will cause me the least frustration or give me the biggest thrills.

Also, I mean no offense by my posts. Please don't read to much into them. Life's too short.

Michaell

breld said:

Yup - just got through shoveling the driveway (I do have a Honda snowblower, but it pooped out on me with the deep wet snow after awhile). I'd say 20" seems about right. Our neighborhood, and particularly my cul-de-sac, is buried. My neighbor's F-150 got stuck getting out (with some shoveling, he eventually got out).

Forecast is still in the 50's tomorrow, so it'll melt quickly, but we may still be stuck for a bit in the morning.

I enjoy driving in the snow too given a capable car with good winter tires. And I continue to love having a manual for those conditions too. I never felt out of control with the car itself, but the white out conditions definitely had be gripping the wheel at times.

I got half the driveway shoveled, so the girls can take the Outback to work in the morning. Got to do the half with the Hyundai parked on it, plus the sidewalk. That'll wait until morning.

No snowblower here; just little ol' me.

nyccarguy

30K service report - synthetic oil, filter, tire rotation, rear differential drain & fill with 75 w90 full synthetic gear oil, brake fluid, CVT fluid drain & fill - $509.65 including tax.

It's nice to be back in my own car. The Forester is nice. Very easy ingress/egress. Ride is stable and solid. "Feels" a bit quicker than my Legacy. I didn't care for the seats. They weren't power and lacked the front height adjustment power.

stickguy

good to go for another 30K now pretty much.

ab348

Is that normal for Subies? Seems like a lot of dough for 30K miles.

corvette

Are the CVT drain/fill and rear diff drain/fill part of the scheduled maintenance? If it's not required, I'd go longer on the diff and way longer on the CVT (those tend not to be hard on fluid).

imidazol97

tommister2 said:

I go with whatever I think will cause me the least frustration or give me the biggest thrills.
Also, I mean no offense by my posts. Please don't read to much into them. Life's too short.

Understood. I think people should check the newer products GM has, although some of the SUVs still carry over from the 2000's. But a lot of the problems with any car aren't the car itself, rather it's the dealership experience. If the dealership doesn't work for the customer, minor things become major.

nyccarguy

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.  

CVT Fluid is noted with an "I" which means "Inspect, correct or replace if necessary." Under normal driving conditions.  It is never "Required."  

Under severe driving conditions, CVT fluid should be changed every 24,855 miles.  So I drained & filled at 30,000 miles and will do it again at 60,000 miles.  Cheap insurance.

Front & Rear Differential Gear Oil also has an "I," but a poster @tyguy who is a lot smarter and more mechanically inclined than I am suggested that it be changed at 15K, then again at 30K due to high content of metal shavings due to break in.  It is required every 15K under severe driving conditions.  I'll do this service again at 60K miles.  Cheap insurance.

For the next 30K, I'll get out of there spending around $80 for a synthetic oil change & tire rotation.

au1994

Michaell said:

It was in the 70's yesterday, with my tennis team practicing yesterday evening.  

But woke up this morning to a blizzard, much worse than anticipated.  I made my way to the office to fetch the wife's and my computers so we could work from home which turned out to be pretty dumb. 

Made it to our office okay, but the ride home was more harrowing than any other drive I've made.  Total white out in some places, lots of cars off the road and a jack-knifed semi blocking all lanes of the tollway (going the other direction than me thankfully).  

In hindsight, I believe I was very lucky to have made it home.  I did get stuck in my driveway, but was certainly happy to have made it there (and I was able to dig out enough to get into the garage).

The S4 and newly purchased winter setup was impressive!

Whoa! Nasty weather. Glad you're safe. Bet you can't wait to give the new car a thorough washing!

Are you kidding? The snow is clean, so when it melts the car doesn't get dirty.

Y'all don't hate me when I drive home with the top down today. Of course I'll be yellow tinted by the time I get home from all of the pollen

ab348

nyccarguy said:

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.  

CVT Fluid is noted with an "I" which means "Inspect, correct or replace if necessary." Under normal driving conditions.  It is never "Required."  

Under severe driving conditions, CVT fluid should be changed every 24,855 miles.  So I drained & filled at 30,000 miles and will do it again at 60,000 miles.  Cheap insurance.

Front & Rear Differential Gear Oil also has an "I," but a poster @tyguy who is a lot smarter and more mechanically inclined than I am suggested that it be changed at 15K, then again at 30K due to high content of metal shavings due to break in.  It is required every 15K under severe driving conditions.  I'll do this service again at 60K miles.  Cheap insurance.

For the next 30K, I'll get out of there spending around $80 for a synthetic oil change & tire rotation.

I think I'd have to look at the cost/benefit/risk equation of doing that every 30K vs the cost of an extended warranty.

henryn

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.  

CVT Fluid is noted with an "I" which means "Inspect, correct or replace if necessary." Under normal driving conditions.  It is never "Required."  

Under severe driving conditions, CVT fluid should be changed every 24,855 miles.  So I drained & filled at 30,000 miles and will do it again at 60,000 miles.  Cheap insurance.

Front & Rear Differential Gear Oil also has an "I," but a poster @tyguy who is a lot smarter and more mechanically inclined than I am suggested that it be changed at 15K, then again at 30K due to high content of metal shavings due to break in.  It is required every 15K under severe driving conditions.  I'll do this service again at 60K miles.  Cheap insurance.

For the next 30K, I'll get out of there spending around $80 for a synthetic oil change & tire rotation.

I think I'd have to look at the cost/benefit/risk equation of doing that every 30K vs the cost of an extended warranty.

I will admit to being a stickler for regular maintenance, some have even called me obsessive. But I would disagree with the "cheap insurance" statement, $500 is not cheap.

nyccarguy

@ab348 - the standard power train warranty covers me up to 60K miles.  Bumper to bumper is 3 years/36K miles.  I did purchase an extended warranty from Subaru that covers me for 5 years/100K which includes tire insurance.  

nyccarguy

@henryn - valid point.  $500 isn't cheap.  It is actually $100 more than the standard monthly payment on the loan.  Oil Change, Filter Change, Tire Rotation, & New Brake Fluid are Required.  That's a little over $200 right there.  If I didn't change the CVT Fluid now, I would change it at the 3 year mark which for me would be 60,000 miles.  

CVT fluid is only to be Inspected & Replaced if necessary under normal operating conditions.  It should be replaced under severe driving conditions at 24,855 miles per the owner's manual.  So this is something where I'm going to be precautionary and change it at 30K.  

With the differential fluid, it is required at 15K intervals under severe driving conditions.  I'm going to use my judgement here too.  At the advice of another very well respected poster, I had a drain & fill done at 15K and then at 30K.  I won't do that again until 60K. 

breld

New Impreza looks nice. Not as sharp, of course, as the concept car at recent car shows (including our Denver show), but interior looks to be a welcome upgrade. The rear taillights look much more "finished" than the current gen.

From my test drive experience, it's too bad they didn't find a way to boost the hp more in this new model, if not simply offer the 2.5l, at least as an option.

It's a little strange to me that the WRX model has such a lag from the "base" Impreza model intros. Hopefully they'll offer the wagon version again.

corvette

I was trying to figure out how they got 24,885 miles. Looks like that equates to 40,000 km. I guess whomever did the conversion didn't like rounding. 

Sandman6472

Last year before I bought the Golf, went to see the new Imprezza but it wasn't due for another month or so. In that period, wife got her A3 and the rest is history. Always liked the Forrester also but it was a bit pricier than the Tucson I eventually bought, looking back, maybe should've spent the extra $ on one.
Got to drive another 2015Tucson at work and again, I just knew that i did the right thing selling when I did. Now, if it had been the 2016 model, not sure what I'd do because the interior is so much nicer as is the exterior. But, that size is just too big for our purposes now as usually it's just the two of us as the girls have their own rides and the son's fiance has her own. Smaller vehicles just fit our needs better.
Broke a fog light, cracked, but still working so am doing nothing right now. With the amount of highway driving I do each week, am surprised it took so long. Got a feeling it could be an expensive fix so until it quits completely, leaving things the way they are.

The Sandman

nyccarguy

corvette said:

I was trying to figure out how they got 24,885 miles. Looks like that equates to 40,000 km. I guess whomever did the conversion didn't like rounding. 

Yes @corvette.  Right next to the 24,855 miles it says 40,000 km

stever

Local dealer has some interesting inventory on Souls this week. Now I'm torn between another minivan or a convertible.

tifighter

Special order the Miniconvantible.

stever

tifighter said:

Special order the Miniconvantible.

Unfortunately they quit making the closest thing to that, although maybe if you watched your weight a MINI could work.

Mr_Shiftright

Plenty of room in a Mini. You'd have to be one big enchilada not to fit in one.

tifighter

One man leaves, another man enters-

stever

Looks pretty nice @tifighter. I was thinking of more in terms of hauling weight Shifty, but I'm keeping the truck and could probably manage fine. Maybe with a bike rack.

Light load this week.

Mr_Shiftright

Look at all that wasted space!

stevedebi

imidazol97 said:

tommister2 said:

(I know some folks here really enjoy the current GM products. I grew up in the back seat of Oldsmobiles which always seemed like nice cars. I just had several issues with my personal GM products throughout the 90's)

Folks like to use long past experiences to excuse their ignoring today's GM products or writing them off as soon as they can find one detail they don't like. I like having an open mind and looking at all/most vehicles when I'm considering a purchase. E.g., certainly can't just ignore HynKia products by their far past experiences people have had.

It is interesting how perceptions are established. Back in 1969, my dad bought a Dodge Coronet station wagon with the 383 engine. Worst piece of junk ever. He ended up getting rid of it after only a couple of years. I still remember that car, and still won't look at owning a Chrysler product. To be fair, I've rented some of their products, and I don't like their engineering. But I also learned never to buy a car that was colored "Lemon Yellow".

But heck, does it count that my 1973 Gremlin had a Chrysler starter?

EDIT: My aunt got a Dodge Coronet with the 318 engine at the exact same time. Best car for her ever, she kept it for 10 years.

andres3

imidazol97 said:

tommister2 said:

(I know some folks here really enjoy the current GM products. I grew up in the back seat of Oldsmobiles which always seemed like nice cars. I just had several issues with my personal GM products throughout the 90's)

Folks like to use long past experiences to excuse their ignoring today's GM products or writing them off as soon as they can find one detail they don't like. I like having an open mind and looking at all/most vehicles when I'm considering a purchase. E.g., certainly can't just ignore HynKia products by their far past experiences people have had.

It's one thing to forgive a company for the bad experiences of others, friends, or even family.

It is yet another ball game and ball park to forgive a company for bad experiences you have personally suffered from a company; now that's asking a lot.

And yet again it is asking a lot if that company dealt with the problems experienced in a poor manner making the troublesome product even less trustworthy as even its own maker wouldn't stand behind it. If that's the history of the case, then you are asking way too much for sure.

I think that's usually the case for people that have written-off a company/brand/product.

stever

Mr_Shiftright said:

Look at all that wasted space!

Yeah, ran out of steam and didn't get much. That load was barely enough to mulch one of our trees. The landfill doesn't offer free loading so you're pretty much stuck with shoveling it in.

ab348

nyccarguy said:

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.

I have never owned a car that required brake fluid changes at 20K miles.

andres3

tommister2 said:

imidazol97 said:

tommister2 said:

(I know some folks here really enjoy the current GM products. I grew up in the back seat of Oldsmobiles which always seemed like nice cars. I just had several issues with my personal GM products throughout the 90's)

Folks like to use long past experiences to excuse their ignoring today's GM products or writing them off as soon as they can find one detail they don't like. I like having an open mind and looking at all/most vehicles when I'm considering a purchase. E.g., certainly can't just ignore HynKia products by their far past experiences people have had.

Nobody ever said human beings were rational

You own three Chevys and that works for you. I've got no problem with that. I learned a long time ago that these big companies don't care what I think. I go with whatever I think will cause me the least frustration or give me the biggest thrills.

Also, I mean no offense by my posts. Please don't read to much into them. Life's too short.

I bet there's hardly any former customers that wouldn't be willing to "erase" the bad memories for a check in the amount of the original purchase price of the former junk product. Now there is a bailout I could get behind!

andres3

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.

I have never owned a car that required brake fluid changes at 20K miles.

If you track your car I've seen recommendations that you should change your brake fluid annually.

nyccarguy

ab348 said:

Per the owner's manual, at 30K oil, filter, brake fluid, tire rotations are required.

I have never owned a car that required brake fluid changes at 20K miles.

You'd think with a whopping 175 horsepower, the brake fluid would last much longer than 30,000 miles.  I usually swap out brake fluid at the 2 year mark regardless.  But if the manual says to have it done at 30,000 miles (18 months for me), who am I to argue?

cdnpinhead

ab348 said:

I think I'd have to look at the cost/benefit/risk equation of doing that every 30K vs the cost of an extended warranty.

There isn't an extended warranty on the planet that suits the needs of people who drive their vehicles to 150 - 200K miles or more. Changing fluids, however, makes things last much longer.

The leasing cohort, "free" maintenance plans from the manufacturers, plus those who would rather be whipped with wet ropes than go without a warranty, tend to drive the notion that what used to be considered routine maintenance is, well, stupid.

This is why I only buy new cars.

stickguy

Honda requires it too, I think at 30k, or maybe 2/3 years but no miles? I think I had my Acura done last service. If not, will do at the next one.

tommister2

I think we are going to move this year. We've been talking about it for years but the time finally feels right. This will likely test my chronic car buying urges. If we "move up" too much that means a mortgage again. I think my debt avoidance gene outweighs my "gotta have a new car" gene, so no money for cars until the mortgage is paid again.

The price I pay for being a crazy person...

nyccarguy

cdnpinhead said:

I think I'd have to look at the cost/benefit/risk equation of doing that every 30K vs the cost of an extended warranty.

There isn't an extended warranty on the planet that suits the needs of people who drive their vehicles to 150 - 200K miles or more. Changing fluids, however, makes things last much longer. The leasing cohort, "free" maintenance plans from the manufacturers, plus those who would rather be whipped with wet ropes than go without a warranty, tend to drive the notion that what used to be considered routine maintenance is, well, stupid. This is why I only buy new cars.

That's my school of thought as well.  Yes my extended warranty will cover my Legacy up to 100K miles.  For me that will be at around the 5 year mark.  I'd like to keep the car as long as possible.  It will be a perfect car for my kids to learn on.  Slow & Steady.  

Once my warranty is up, I will start to bring my car to my independent mechanic for maintenance & repairs.  His labor rates are significantly less than what the dealer charges & he lets me bring my own fluids too.

Sandman6472

Think my '06 Civic was 3 years or 36K for the brake fluid to be changed. Not sure what VW calls for but will look eventually. Am currently doing about 1.5K/month with working 3 days a week, once I fully retire again, my driving will go down by 2/3's. Would like to coincide quitting with buying something new so I can have it for a long time, just makes sense since I'll be driving less. Just have to see how well the Golf holds up after it hits that 50K mark.

The Sandman

xwesx

tommister2 said:

I think we are going to move this year. We've been talking about it for years but the time finally feels right. This will likely test my chronic car buying urges. If we "move up" too much that means a mortgage again. I think my debt avoidance gene outweighs my "gotta have a new car" gene, so no money for cars until the mortgage is paid again.

The price I pay for being a crazy person...

Good on ya, Tom! That there is the right kind of crazy!

corvette

sandman_6472 said:

Not sure what VW calls for but will look eventually.

I think it's after three years, then every two years thereafter.

stickguy

Tom, I am trying to move in the near future too. But that for sure will open up the car budget, because I am doing it to spend less, not more! Once the princess is out of college (2 more years of payments) next goal is to get everything paid off (related to the house). Target for that is 7 years from now. Hope it works out!

stever

Got some returnees coming next week to look at our house again. They saw it right before Christmas.

And you guys think we are slow to buy a car....

Can't say I was surprised to hear from the realtor though - my wife and I both noticed a car slowly cruising by yesterday. On our street, the only cars that do that are house shoppers and the Vette owner at the end of the block.

stickguy

I had less trouble picking a house than I do deciding on a car. Hey, a car is important!

Yeah, I think I have issues.

tjc78

Maybe because I don't keep my cars long, but I've never changed brake fluid on anything I've ever owned.   My 89  Town Car needed new calipers and hoses at some point so I guess a good bit got changed just by bleeding.  
My 04 is just about to cross 100k and has the original fluid (no way Pop had it changed) and the brakes have never been opened up (one set of front pads).  Brakes feel strong and pedal is responsive.  

tjc78

stickguy said:

I had less trouble picking a house than I do deciding on a car. Hey, a car is important! Yeah, I think I have issues.

I obsessed over the LaCrosse when I bought it because I was still skiddish because of the giant mistake I made with the Genesis.  The Enclave was the easiest ever.  Wife wanted it based on looks, room and one time sitting in it.  Went to one dealer they matched the price I wanted and I was on my way in an in stock unit.  

House, I looked at 10 and drove past 25+ when I bought 10 years ago. I only had to please myself, I suspect that would be much harder to do when married.  

Michaell

 On our recent house purchase, I think we looked at exactly 2 homes.

qbrozen

My local BMW club requires brake fluid be less than a year old for track days.

in other news, Alfa intro'd the base and Ti models of the Giulia at the NY show. Sadly, both models come with 276hp. So you can get a rather pedestrian 276 or 505 in the top spec. Nothing in between. 

nyccarguy

Before we bought our house in July 2010, we looked at well over 100 houses.

corvette

Michaell said:

 On our recent house purchase, I think we looked at exactly 2 homes.

Between open houses, going to recently listed places with my agent, and asking my agent for detailed MLS printouts/disclosures, I probably considered close to 50. Many turned out to have issues which precluded their consideration entirely (overpriced considering the repairs which were obviously needed, shoddy DIY improvements, bad floor plan, smelled like a bar that allows smoking, etc.). Missed several opportunities because the house was under contract before I could even view it. Finally was able to get a good house at a fair price, which is far preferable to getting a fair house at a good price.

roadburner

ab348 said:

I have never owned a car that required brake fluid changes at 20K miles.

The BMWs get a brake fluid change every six months to two years- depending on whether they see the track or not.

ab348

Re. brake fluid changes, I think track cars are obviously different situations. But 99.9% of the cars on the road never see a track. I've never had a mechanic tell me to change brake fluid in any car I've owned.

roadburner

You need to start patronizing competent mechanics. Seriously. Even a car that is driven strictly on the street should have the brake fluid changed at least every two years. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and as the moisture level increases the boiling point of the brake fluid decreases.



The reduced boiling point may not be a big deal on a sedately driven older car, but excessively "wet" fluid can also do a number on a modern vehicle's the ABS modules/pumps. I'm not surprised US automakers are not as concerned about the issue; I once heard a European engineer say that the difference between European drivers and American drivers is:

European drivers don't care if the brakes squeal- just as long as they stop the car.

American drivers don't care if the brakes stop the car- just as long as they don't squeal.