Actually there is a lot of anti diesel hot air they can run off of?
Berkeley the long time environmental hot bed sells all types of diesel! They have the bio diesel coop. The cities busses as I understand it run on clean diesel and there are even seminars to "home brew" . Life is good!
I did not say the premium was bad if you are the one selling the car. I think it is crazy, but I am willing to take a fools money. And yes many are buying them to use biodiesel which is environmentally superior to any gas vehicle including ALL the hybrids. Green Star Products cannot keep up with the demand for biodiesel in the Bay area. (disclaimer I am a GSPI stock holder) They are currently expanding their operation.
I wonder if there are statistics on how much bio diesel is sold yearly in the US. If so, it must be a pin drop compared to everything else. I can see 50% of all cars using bio diesel in 2125. I'll be pushing up daisies long before that!!!
I think I can flip one every 6 months. Problem is they will be flooding the market in CA by the beginning of 2007. This is a short lived business. I think if I find the right deal on a Gecko green 2006 Beetle TDI with DSG, that will be a keeper for running errands. The old 1990 Mazda 626 is starting to cost us money to maintain. It seems to be on lone to family members more than sitting in our driveway. Life is a challenge for sure...
"V.M. Motori makes the diesel in the CRD. They have been making diesels since 1947. Chrysler, before they merged with Daimler has been using their engines since the early 1990's if not longer with great success in the European market."
When I dropped my 530i off at E.H. Harms in Munich to be shipped back to the U.S.A., I took a taxi back to my hotel in central Munich. The taxi in question was none other than a Chrysler Caravan minivan, complete with the V.M. Motori diesel engine and some make of a 5-Speed manual transmission. At the time when I got that ride, that Caravan had over 600,000 km on the clock and was still running strong. Six hundred thousand kilometers? Hell that's over 375,000 miles! That's a long damn way, especially as it was being flogged as a taxi. Not too shabby. ;-)
I have been coming to these forums for the past several months gathering information for my next car purchase and this place is a gold mine of information. Some info needs to be sifted through more than others, but I learn along the way. Thanks to everyone. What have I decided on? Nothing yet, I’m in a wait and see mode. The 93 Explorer is running fine with 110796 miles on it and I have a kid in college so it’s like having a car payment. I’m in no hurry to part with all my money. What I’m looking for is a reliable, comfortable passenger car with a 40 to 50 mpg for taking road trips for $25000 or less. Ya, well, wish me luck. My extensive list include: VW Jetta TDI, :surprise: (I like the Jetta, but I would like other companies to get in the game)
And this brings us to the frustrating part of all this. IS ANYONE LISTING? I understand that a company does not want to show it’s hand and revealing intent. I realize that until ULSD in the norm in the US that most companies will not sell there diesels in the US. But, it would be nice to know that maybe some if not all of the major auto makers around the world are gather information from sites like this and getting a feel for what people want. Or is it just us few who babble amongst our selves? As stated in other post: Maybe the new model year will bring us more diesel choices, but I hate to wait 10 months to find no one was listening.
I think your D Chysler EURO minivan "taxi cab" example is all the more relevant as there are some folks who look down on diesels and/or manual transmissions on this board.
EVERY friend (I have) who has had the above minivan product in the USA (with gasser/automatic transmission) has had multiple automatic transmission failures. As a matter of fact if they only had 1 (ONE) failure that was counted as HIGHLY reliable!!!! All usually before 100,000 miles, so indeed 375,000 is like total reliability: the rock of Gibraltar!!!!
Maybe the new model year will bring us more diesel choices, but I hate to wait 10 months to find no one was listening.
That is a real challenge. First off it has nothing to do with people wanting the superior diesel technology that the Europeans are able to buy. Every recent diesel offered in the US has been a big sales success. The Jeep CRD & the Mercedes E320 CDI all sold more than projected. VW TDIs have done well all along. ULSD will be here next year and from what the oil companies say 90% of the stations will be switched by 6/1/06. Here is the fly in the ointment. The EPA has a new higher emissions standard for all cars starting in 2007. The diesel cars will have to pass those tests to be sold in any state. BMW, VW, Ford & MB all claim they can meet that standard. Honda says they are working on it. So it is anyone's guess.
"EVERY friend (I have) who has had the above minivan product in the USA (with gasser/automatic transmission) has had multiple automatic transmission failures. As a matter of fact if they only had 1 (ONE) failure that was counted as HIGHLY reliable!!!!"
Hmmm, I guess I'm not counted as one of your friends. ;-)
We have not one but two Dodge GCs, one with 100,996 on the clock (I happened to notice that this morning when I was getting out of the car) and the other ~54,000 miles. So far at least, there have only been four unscheduled maintenance/repair events combined on the two vans. Said unscheduled events has cost us just under a total of $300 (half of which was a new Sears DieHard for each van), so obviously that means that both vans are running around on their original transmission.
All of that having been said, if they had been offered with a manual transmission both would have been bought that way, and if a decently powerful diesel engine had been an option, it too would have been selected with joy.
Try and find a late 80's used Mercedes diesel. They're very reliable and when taken care of, go forever. The new Mercedes are nothing to talk about. I own one now and have had two others in the past few years. Nice to drive, but NOT reliable. As to VW.. same thing.. nice TDI engines but everything else eventually falls apart and fails. As Gary said... better take a wait and see attitude. If Honda brings a diesel here, I am sure it will be successful. Not sure if Toyota will do that since it will eat into their hybrid market that they so covet in the US (68% I think). I have no problem with buying a diesel is it is clean and reliable. I am actually considering the CRD because I think most of the early problems/issues have been solved. It's pretty amazing that at 65mph in a 4000lb brick that the Liberty can get close to 30mpg. Looking forward to my TD.
"Hmmm, I guess I'm not counted as one of your friends. ;-) "
I sort of knew that anyway I phrased this, it would spark some humor!
But yeah knock on wood! I really do not wish the hassles my buds have told me about on the DC mini vans!!!
Actually one of my business associates (recently) bought a USED DC mini van with 90 k something on the clock. I kind of looked at her sideways before she bought the thing and she asked; so I did tell and she did buy and less than 5k later....GEEZ!!! you guessed it: TRANNY went DOWN......... my lower lip is blood red from not mouthing the words ITYS!!!!
Folks have been telling me since we bought our first GC back in 1998 that I should dump it for fear of a tranny problem. Funny thing, all of the Honda Odysseys in my neighborhood have had at least one tranny replacement, however, none of the DC vans have. Go figure.
FWIW, I've been keeping an eye on the DC transmission issue, and it seems that the vast majority of failures that I've been able to review have been on vehicles that had the transmission serviced by someone other than the dealer, and filled with something other than the proper synthetic Mopar transmission fluid. These other servicing institutions always claim that they have an additive that makes Dextron fluid "compatible", however, given the number of failures that always seem to happen say 5,000 miles after they've been serviced, I don't believe it for a minute.
Hmmm, 5,000 miles, where have I seen that number just recently...
"...so I did tell and she did buy and less than 5k later....GEEZ!!! you guessed it: TRANNY went DOWN......... my lower lip is blood red from not mouthing the words ITYS!!!!"
Yup, that was it. The odds on bet is that the van your business associate bought had just had the transmission serviced with the wrong fluid. :-/
"My take is the service hadn't been done, nor did she do it."
Of the transmission failures that I've had a chance to review, very few were due to lack of maintenance (just wrong maintenance). That having been said, with a pan drop, a filter swap and top off of fluid (about a gallon) being recommended every 30K miles, if this 90K van hadn't ever had it done, then a failure wouldn't be too surprising.
While "never done" is one option, the truth is I dont know I didn't do the CSI crime scene investigation.
The other thing is some of it is truly the luck of the draw, or as some would say reliability of the product line. I have an across the street neighbor who is a FORD product kind of guy. USES even Motorcraft oil! Factory automatic tranny fluid. He just recently had HIS auto tranny go out. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!
When he looks across the street and sees me doing 15,000 mile OCI's up to 25,000 oci's with Mobil One oil I am sure he shakes his head. However he and I both help each other when it comes to these things so....hes seen mine up close and very personal. He has had a litnany of problems with his FORD products over the years and he is one of the most fastidious car maintenance types I have ever met.
Someone once told me that if you want your transmission to fail, just change the fluid. I doubt there is any truth to it. However, I think you are correct. If the transmissions was NOT serviced by DC, chances are they used the wrong fluid. This brings us back to an earlier discussion. It's always wise to have the dealer service the car. It may cost a few bucks more, but you have POM.
Too funny guys, I had differential seals leak (common Corvette problem) and brought it to the dealer who prompt serviced it under warranty. 5 total R/T's later and 4/6 seals later (loss track of how many) ; it currently does not leak!? knock on wood?) The good news is the synthetic differential fluid has been changed out 5 times in under 69,000 miles. The semi bad news is that it was probably changed out 4 times too many?
DC and even Chrysler prior to merging with Daimler was rather particular about what went into their automatic transmissions. There are after market fluids that claim to be ATF+ compatible, but even the trans shop or two I have spoken to have told me to stick to MOPAR fluid. They themselves have had the best luck using the stock MOPAR fluid.
After the merger, Daimler helped Chrysler solve the minivan trans issues and those built 2002 and after are doing quite well, so I have been told.
My wife has a 1998 Concorde. Trans has been perfect. Service every 15K. Had the dealer modify the trans controller to firm up the shifts a little bit. Real slick shifting.
"My wife has a 1998 Concorde. Trans has been perfect. Service every 15K. Had the dealer modify the trans controller to firm up the shifts a little bit. Real slick shifting. "
Way too much maintainance for me! And I understand cars probably better than 95% of folks.
I consider 30k fluid changes on my Toyota Landcruiser's far too much.
When I learned about cars as a teenager, I had an older mechanic teach me what I know. He felt that oil and filters were cheaper than a new engine or trans. I still feel that way and always service more frequently than what is called for. This has paid off in the long run with improved reliability and far fewer problems as the vehicle ages.
Considering that drive trains are not as stout as they use to be, I am talking 60's stout, the increased frequency in servicing is mandatory in my view. Transmissions are smaller now and do the work of what was once a larger unit. There is more heat stuffed into a smaller package. Trans cooling is only marginal at best in any vehicle made these days. The fluids are barely keeping up with the new designs they are suppose to protect. Once, trans fluids are fully synthetic, then I will extend the drain interval to the full 30K. As far as I know ATF+4 is semi-synthetic.
I have spent a short time around maintainance. Actually wish it shorter! If I had it to change, I would not have been around it at all! As a matter of fact, a small amount of your taxpayer's dollars have been spend training me. (app $2,000,000.00 thats 2M for folks looking at anything under 1B as a fraction.) Thank you! Thank you very much. (it is surprising to even me that one of the products I worked on will be flying when it is 100 years old!) However I think if anything, the only thing that has been constant is change.
However when it comes to (my) vehicles, the emphasis really has not changed much. GET THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK. To me, currently that is (given this thread)getting 500,000 to 1M miles from my VW TDI JETTA. SO imagine my delight when I can run my TDI with Mobil One Truck & Suv 5w40 at 25,000 mile OCI's!!!???.
Can we do that in a hybrid?
Not for me to say HELL NO!? But are there any takers out there willing to try? (I am braced for the deafening silence)
Why is this good for THE "system"? UPSHOT! Much less use of resources!!! So as an example, if I did 3k OCI's that is 8.3333x's .... ok 9 x's more product. So if I use 1 gal: the use is really 9 gals. So which is more/less over say 1M miles 334 gals or 40 gals???????
Again if I get 37% better(diesel) fuel mileage than a gasser, even if the gasser gets say 60 mpg, a similar purpose built diesel will get 82.2 mpg!! Diesel also takes less upstream resources to refine. It can also USE downstream WASTE resources (yes oxymoronic language) to burn!!!: unlike a gasser which CAN NOT!! So not only is it cheaper but the over all nexus is it really uses a whole lot less resources. So again if I get 44 mpg with a hybrid and 37% more with a diesel which is more/less 22,727 gals or 16,667 gals?
I am off the soap box now.
So while there is some educational utility to talk about this, the upshot is while the hybrid or anti diesel folks croon on about using less resources, I am very unceremoniously actually USING LESS... a min of 37% to 9 x LESS. As is often the case the folks that are actually walking the walk are the ones being vilified by those that only talk the talk.
I am willing to wager a significant amount of money that your car will not reach the 500,000 mile milestone. As much as we all like our cars to achieve such lofty goals, the odds are certainly against us. I don't doubt for a minute that your engine can go that distance. It's just all the other stuff that will eventually go. If you like, accept my wager and I will arrange for it to be put in escrow. How's $5,000 sound. I'll have my lawyers draw up the papers on all the particulars once you are in agreement.
In my 2004 HCH, I have spent $901.28 on fuel to go 20,577 miles in a little over 16 months.
That's 4.38 cents per mile.
Have you spent less per mile on fuel in the last 16 months?
Oh, and along the way, I have put far less pollution into the air than anyone driving a Jetta TDI for the last 16 months.
Oh, and also along the way, I have changed the oil 4 times myself, and spent $78 for a 15K maint check at the dealer. Figure $25 for each oil change, and that puts me at
5.2 cents per mile, fuel and maintenance, in 16 months.
Oil change .00064 cents per mile (thats three zero's, I notice you have 2 zeros). It should be .0005333 again three zeros) but I am a belt and suspenders kind of guy!!! I am afraid you beat me.
No bi annual smog check is due after the initial 4 year old period, nor 10 year smog only smog check.
You also got me beat in the premium dept (7K or so)
At a similar mileage (of 20,767), I am once again afraid you beat me. .0337506 cents. But I should be more competitive after the thing actually breaks in at 60,000 miles, where mpg will be way better! But then again they have already divered those refineries making inexpensive diesel, so they can keep unleaded gas cheaper for the whiney gasser side. life is terrible when the oil companies are against you.
So you are playing the odds that I will be in a crash vs having to pay me off? With friends like that why would I need enemies?
One of the dumbest things I have ever done was to sell a TLC with app 250,000 miles (at the 14 year mark) that easily had 25 years left of structural intergrity, The nexus here is it does not have the galvanized metal such as the VW HAS!! I got the car for 16k and sold it for 9k. So the cost to own was 7000/14=500 per year/12=41.67 per mo. If they had let in the diesel version, I'd probably still be driving it around. Oh well.
I would not wish an accident to my worst enemy!! I am hedging that the car fails BEFORE the engine does. Unless you want to put mega bucks into it, that's up to you. How long will it take you to drive 500,000 miles? If you drive 15k per year it will take you 33+ years!!! So... unless you are a cross country truck driver, don't accept my wager. I am not that old, but in 30 years I may even forget ruking1. Now that would be sad.
"Not so great....but I do love the fact that the low maintenance and low fuel requirements are helping in a big way reduce it as much as possible.... "
You know I am glad you said this, for really we agree. I also think your quote is what it is all about. But then I have been saying this all along.
I say this half way tongue in check. You and I have been around the block enough to know that good maintenance is really what it is all about. Of course lack of abuse REALLY is key too.
Not to hammer home the diesel point, but it is absolutely ROUTINE for diesel trucks to have 1M plus miles !!! A lot of Long DEE trucks do like 500 per day 11,000 per mo or 132,000 miles per year. I am not a LONG D trucker, so I am SWAG ging here.
If I were to go the diesel route I'd go for the Honda IF they ever get here. I just am too afraid of VWs. Mercedes are WAY overpriced. Decisions decisions.
From what I have read the Honda diesel is indeed a "killer" app. I would look to see if Honda can over come some issues that for example VW has dealt with.
Now if VW can overcome their reliability issues, they do have the quality in spades. On the Mercedes, I would agree with your characterization of over priced. While I do like the handling etc of the MB E320, 52k for a commute car makes no sense even if it is a diesel. Or a /gasser/diesel hybrid for that matter. Compared to the Honda Civic, that is over 4x's the price.
larsb: ...5.2 cents per mile, fuel and maintenance, in 16 months.
me: well I guess your frugality is saving gas for the many of us who like to have fun cars, regardless of the mpg. Thank you. My financial goal in life is to increase my earnings and not worry about the cost of gas or driving. Bentley Continental GT is the way to go! Style and profile !
Nothing wrong at all increasing ones earnings etc. Or to my way of thinking nothing at all wrong with the "Bentley Continental GT". However if the recent factors affecting effecting pre/post Katrina fuel pricing any indication, there has been a broad swatch of pain to spread around.
larsb, do you have data so that you can add in insurance & depreciation & moving-violation-cost per mile just to put the fuel cost in perspective with 'total cost of ownership'?
Actually the one with the killer day is the IRS. I am sure that if you do a search you will find the going rate. (40.5 cents first 8 mo's and 48 cents for the last 4 mo's of 2005. So even those tasked with collecting YOUR revenue acknowledge an app 20% jump in expenses in just one year.
I am sure you also are familar with Edmunds.com's information offering of TCO "total cost of ownership tables "for each vehicle?
I really NEVER use their TCO for anything. To me it is meaningless for every car they have listed. Insurance is one number that you have to plug yourself. Depreciation is just a big guess. If your intentions are to keep the car until it dies, then it really is just a subjective number.
I do use it, but approach it like reading the daily horoscope and/or fortune cookies. For me it is pretty rare that this data even comes close to my specific data. However, it is NOT designed to do that.
Both the IRS data and the TCO data do really indicate that per mile, driving a car is HORRIDLY expensive. So for planning purposes it is VERY useful.
We just set an all time low temp for the 19th of November minus 42 degrees F. Previous low was -35 set in 1939. We need more Hummers these hybrids are not getting the job done very well. It has warmed up this morning to -36 F. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Diesels all started this morning after sitting out all night. How would a hybrid handle this temp? Toyota needs to send one up for us to test. BMW, Mazda & Saab were all here last winter for cold weather testing.
The environmentalist are up here in droves during the summer. They are trying to figure out why the wildlife is flourishing with all the oil production going on. You see a few in the winter. Most stick to CA, AZ & FL when the temperature drops below 60 degrees. With the cost of heating our homes going up, I would think Global Warming would be welcomed.
Lord knows we have plenty of them. One big positive for the Caribou up here. They like to get on the man made gravel pads & roads. It gives them some relief from the zillions of mosquitoes on the tundra.
I think the hybrid type people would have more sense than to live in that type of climate. I'm sure they'd do fine! Would be interesting to see! John from MN claims that his Prius starts well at -20F. One thing is that you do not have to rely on a 12v battery to start the car. The car engine turns over by using the pack which had lots of volts/amps.
Insurance was included in my 52 cents per mile, moving violation cost is ZERO, and depreciation is too hard a number to put a finger on, but you can bet it's low since used Hybrids are bringing such good prices right now.
thanks larsb. i think i misquoted and read a 52 as 5.2 in there somewhere. and nice job on the zero moving violation cost! i told my wife yesterday that we save about 15 cents per mile when she drives our TDI instead of our xc90. but of course, we're spending about 47 cents to save each 15 cents!
A safety issue with the Prius came to mind over the holiday weekend. The issue is not the car as it is with people, visually handicapped people. When sitting at a light or stop sign, the Prius goes into stealth mode, in other words silent. Visually handicapped/blind people rely heavily on hearing and touch to get around. This same blind person will assume that it is safe to cross when in reality it may not be. Just a thought, not a slam.
The other tidbit is rather neat. While in the supper market with the wife, I happened across the 2006 CR magazine that talks about 260 models on the front cover. While looking at certain specs about the Prius and my Jeep Liberty CRD, I ended up doing several double takes. In a post either here or elsewhere, there had been a small discussion about braking distances. Looks like the 4300+ pound CRD beats the 2800 pound Prius 140 ft versus 143 feet from 60 - 0 mph. It is in print. CR also complained about the Prius having numb steering and issues with the MFD, but did not go into detail about either.
Comments
If that's right, that's a "diesel premium" my man.
Diesel Premium is OK but Hybrid Premium is idiotic? Say Whut?
Berkeley the long time environmental hot bed sells all types of diesel! They have the bio diesel coop. The cities busses as I understand it run on clean diesel and there are even seminars to "home brew" . Life is good!
http://www.greenstarusa.com/products/biodiesel.html
Just think Gary... if you flip 8 more TDIs by the time your 76 or so you can have a fully paid for Mercedes diesel.
I think I can flip one every 6 months. Problem is they will be flooding the market in CA by the beginning of 2007. This is a short lived business. I think if I find the right deal on a Gecko green 2006 Beetle TDI with DSG, that will be a keeper for running errands. The old 1990 Mazda 626 is starting to cost us money to maintain. It seems to be on lone to family members more than sitting in our driveway. Life is a challenge for sure...
When I dropped my 530i off at E.H. Harms in Munich to be shipped back to the U.S.A., I took a taxi back to my hotel in central Munich. The taxi in question was none other than a Chrysler Caravan minivan, complete with the V.M. Motori diesel engine and some make of a 5-Speed manual transmission. At the time when I got that ride, that Caravan had over 600,000 km on the clock and was still running strong. Six hundred thousand kilometers? Hell that's over 375,000 miles! That's a long damn way, especially as it was being flogged as a taxi. Not too shabby. ;-)
Best Regards,
Shipo
What have I decided on? Nothing yet, I’m in a wait and see mode. The 93 Explorer is running fine with 110796 miles on it and I have a kid in college so it’s like having a car payment. I’m in no hurry to part with all my money.
What I’m looking for is a reliable, comfortable passenger car with a 40 to 50 mpg for taking road trips for $25000 or less. Ya, well, wish me luck.
My extensive list include: VW Jetta TDI, :surprise:
(I like the Jetta, but I would like other companies to get in the game)
And this brings us to the frustrating part of all this. IS ANYONE LISTING?
I understand that a company does not want to show it’s hand and revealing intent. I realize that until ULSD in the norm in the US that most companies will not sell there diesels in the US. But, it would be nice to know that maybe some if not all of the major auto makers around the world are gather information from sites like this and getting a feel for what people want. Or is it just us few who babble amongst our selves?
As stated in other post: Maybe the new model year will bring us more diesel choices, but I hate to wait 10 months to find no one was listening.
Forgive my rant, I just had to get it out.
John K
EVERY friend (I have) who has had the above minivan product in the USA (with gasser/automatic transmission) has had multiple automatic transmission failures. As a matter of fact if they only had 1 (ONE) failure that was counted as HIGHLY reliable!!!! All usually before 100,000 miles, so indeed 375,000 is like total reliability: the rock of Gibraltar!!!!
That is a real challenge. First off it has nothing to do with people wanting the superior diesel technology that the Europeans are able to buy. Every recent diesel offered in the US has been a big sales success. The Jeep CRD & the Mercedes E320 CDI all sold more than projected. VW TDIs have done well all along. ULSD will be here next year and from what the oil companies say 90% of the stations will be switched by 6/1/06. Here is the fly in the ointment. The EPA has a new higher emissions standard for all cars starting in 2007. The diesel cars will have to pass those tests to be sold in any state. BMW, VW, Ford & MB all claim they can meet that standard. Honda says they are working on it. So it is anyone's guess.
Hmmm, I guess I'm not counted as one of your friends. ;-)
We have not one but two Dodge GCs, one with 100,996 on the clock (I happened to notice that this morning when I was getting out of the car) and the other ~54,000 miles. So far at least, there have only been four unscheduled maintenance/repair events combined on the two vans. Said unscheduled events has cost us just under a total of $300 (half of which was a new Sears DieHard for each van), so obviously that means that both vans are running around on their original transmission.
All of that having been said, if they had been offered with a manual transmission both would have been bought that way, and if a decently powerful diesel engine had been an option, it too would have been selected with joy.
Best Regards,
Shipo
I sort of knew that anyway I phrased this, it would spark some humor!
But yeah knock on wood! I really do not wish the hassles my buds have told me about on the DC mini vans!!!
Actually one of my business associates (recently) bought a USED DC mini van with 90 k something on the clock. I kind of looked at her sideways before she bought the thing and she asked; so I did tell and she did buy and less than 5k later....GEEZ!!! you guessed it: TRANNY went DOWN......... my lower lip is blood red from not mouthing the words ITYS!!!!
FWIW, I've been keeping an eye on the DC transmission issue, and it seems that the vast majority of failures that I've been able to review have been on vehicles that had the transmission serviced by someone other than the dealer, and filled with something other than the proper synthetic Mopar transmission fluid. These other servicing institutions always claim that they have an additive that makes Dextron fluid "compatible", however, given the number of failures that always seem to happen say 5,000 miles after they've been serviced, I don't believe it for a minute.
Hmmm, 5,000 miles, where have I seen that number just recently...
"...so I did tell and she did buy and less than 5k later....GEEZ!!! you guessed it: TRANNY went DOWN......... my lower lip is blood red from not mouthing the words ITYS!!!!"
Yup, that was it. The odds on bet is that the van your business associate bought had just had the transmission serviced with the wrong fluid. :-/
Best Regards,
Shipo
Got me there! I didn't do a CSI.
Of the transmission failures that I've had a chance to review, very few were due to lack of maintenance (just wrong maintenance). That having been said, with a pan drop, a filter swap and top off of fluid (about a gallon) being recommended every 30K miles, if this 90K van hadn't ever had it done, then a failure wouldn't be too surprising.
Best Regards,
Shipo
The other thing is some of it is truly the luck of the draw, or as some would say reliability of the product line. I have an across the street neighbor who is a FORD product kind of guy. USES even Motorcraft oil! Factory automatic tranny fluid. He just recently had HIS auto tranny go out. WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!
When he looks across the street and sees me doing 15,000 mile OCI's up to 25,000 oci's with Mobil One oil I am sure he shakes his head. However he and I both help each other when it comes to these things so....hes seen mine up close and very personal. He has had a litnany of problems with his FORD products over the years and he is one of the most fastidious car maintenance types I have ever met.
After the merger, Daimler helped Chrysler solve the minivan trans issues and those built 2002 and after are doing quite well, so I have been told.
My wife has a 1998 Concorde. Trans has been perfect. Service every 15K. Had the dealer modify the trans controller to firm up the shifts a little bit. Real slick shifting.
Way too much maintainance for me! And I understand cars probably better than 95% of folks.
I consider 30k fluid changes on my Toyota Landcruiser's far too much.
Considering that drive trains are not as stout as they use to be, I am talking 60's stout, the increased frequency in servicing is mandatory in my view. Transmissions are smaller now and do the work of what was once a larger unit. There is more heat stuffed into a smaller package. Trans cooling is only marginal at best in any vehicle made these days. The fluids are barely keeping up with the new designs they are suppose to protect. Once, trans fluids are fully synthetic, then I will extend the drain interval to the full 30K. As far as I know ATF+4 is semi-synthetic.
However when it comes to (my) vehicles, the emphasis really has not changed much. GET THE MOST BANG FOR THE BUCK. To me, currently that is (given this thread)getting 500,000 to 1M miles from my VW TDI JETTA. SO imagine my delight when I can run my TDI with Mobil One Truck & Suv 5w40 at 25,000 mile OCI's!!!???.
Can we do that in a hybrid?
Not for me to say HELL NO!?
Why is this good for THE "system"? UPSHOT! Much less use of resources!!! So as an example, if I did 3k OCI's that is 8.3333x's .... ok 9 x's more product. So if I use 1 gal: the use is really 9 gals. So which is more/less over say 1M miles 334 gals or 40 gals???????
Again if I get 37% better(diesel) fuel mileage than a gasser, even if the gasser gets say 60 mpg, a similar purpose built diesel will get 82.2 mpg!! Diesel also takes less upstream resources to refine. It can also USE downstream WASTE resources (yes oxymoronic language) to burn!!!: unlike a gasser which CAN NOT!! So not only is it cheaper but the over all nexus is it really uses a whole lot less resources. So again if I get 44 mpg with a hybrid and 37% more with a diesel which is more/less 22,727 gals or 16,667 gals?
I am off the soap box now.
So while there is some educational utility to talk about this, the upshot is while the hybrid or anti diesel folks croon on about using less resources, I am very unceremoniously actually USING LESS... a min of 37% to 9 x LESS. As is often the case the folks that are actually walking the walk are the ones being vilified by those that only talk the talk.
That's 4.38 cents per mile.
Have you spent less per mile on fuel in the last 16 months?
Oh, and along the way, I have put far less pollution into the air than anyone driving a Jetta TDI for the last 16 months.
Oh, and also along the way, I have changed the oil 4 times myself, and spent $78 for a 15K maint check at the dealer. Figure $25 for each oil change, and that puts me at
5.2 cents per mile, fuel and maintenance, in 16 months.
No bi annual smog check is due after the initial 4 year old period, nor 10 year smog only smog check.
You also got me beat in the premium dept (7K or so)
At a similar mileage (of 20,767), I am once again afraid you beat me. .0337506 cents. But I should be more competitive after the thing actually breaks in at 60,000 miles, where mpg will be way better!
One of the dumbest things I have ever done was to sell a TLC with app 250,000 miles (at the 14 year mark) that easily had 25 years left of structural intergrity, The nexus here is it does not have the galvanized metal such as the VW HAS!! I got the car for 16k and sold it for 9k. So the cost to own was 7000/14=500 per year/12=41.67 per mo. If they had let in the diesel version, I'd probably still be driving it around. Oh well.
Not so great....but I do love the fact that the low maintenance and low fuel requirements are helping in a big way reduce it as much as possible....
You know I am glad you said this, for really we agree. I also think your quote is what it is all about. But then I have been saying this all along.
Not to hammer home the diesel point, but it is absolutely ROUTINE for diesel trucks to have 1M plus miles !!! A lot of Long DEE trucks do like 500 per day 11,000 per mo or 132,000 miles per year. I am not a LONG D trucker, so I am SWAG ging here.
Now if VW can overcome their reliability issues, they do have the quality in spades. On the Mercedes, I would agree with your characterization of over priced. While I do like the handling etc of the MB E320, 52k for a commute car makes no sense even if it is a diesel. Or a /gasser/diesel hybrid for that matter. Compared to the Honda Civic, that is over 4x's the price.
me: well I guess your frugality is saving gas for the many of us who like to have fun cars, regardless of the mpg. Thank you.
I am sure you also are familar with Edmunds.com's information offering of TCO "total cost of ownership tables "for each vehicle?
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2005/toyota/prius/100454051/cto.html?tid=edmunds.n.researchland- ing.leftsidenav..4.Toyota*
Both the IRS data and the TCO data do really indicate that per mile, driving a car is HORRIDLY expensive. So for planning purposes it is VERY useful.
Arctic weather
So I take it blaming the oil company's isnt working anymore eh?
Lord knows we have plenty of them. One big positive for the Caribou up here. They like to get on the man made gravel pads & roads. It gives them some relief from the zillions of mosquitoes on the tundra.
i told my wife yesterday that we save about 15 cents per mile when she drives our TDI instead of our xc90. but of course, we're spending about 47 cents to save each 15 cents!
5.2 cents per mile for TOTAL FUEL AND MAINTENANCE COSTS ONLY
52 cents per mile with Maint, Insurance, and car payments included.
Sorry for the decimal confusion.... :shades:
http://tinyurl.com/9bc3m
The other tidbit is rather neat. While in the supper market with the wife, I happened across the 2006 CR magazine that talks about 260 models on the front cover. While looking at certain specs about the Prius and my Jeep Liberty CRD, I ended up doing several double takes. In a post either here or elsewhere, there had been a small discussion about braking distances. Looks like the 4300+ pound CRD beats the 2800 pound Prius 140 ft versus 143 feet from 60 - 0 mph. It is in print. CR also complained about the Prius having numb steering and issues with the MFD, but did not go into detail about either.