Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Michaell · September 2017

My folks bought a '73 Corona, brand new. Brown with brown vinyl, 3-speed automatic. Was the family car for many years, and was the car I learned to drive in.

Living in SoCal, by the water, I was surprised that it didn't rust away. I don't remember it having a great many problems mechanically, either.

Sadly, it was totaled in an accident while I was driving to school one morning. After a brief fling with a used diesel MB, my folks owned two more Toyotas ('84 Celica and a '91 Camry). My dad almost bought another Camry in 2003, but found that he could get a V6 Hyundai Sonata for the same price as a 4-cyl Camry, so he pulled the trigger on that. 14 years later, it's still my mom's DD - with only 40,000 miles or so on it.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Scammers tool?

At first i thought this was an ad for a code reader but it mentions the ability to turn off CEL. Potential for fraud? Is that a standard feature on scan tools?

It clears the CEL, not turn it off. They all do it. Will just come back on if the problem has not been fixed, however.

If it keeps the CEL off long enough to sell the hooptie then it's got fraud potential. I heard that the light stays off for about 75 miles...true? Would another scan tool be able to recover the reset codes? I've discovered many a defect after the fact but never a reset CEL.

Now I wonder if I should invest in a code reader.

qbrozen · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Scammers tool? At first i thought this was an ad for a code reader but it mentions the ability to turn off CEL. Potential for fraud? Is that a standard feature on scan tools?

It clears the CEL, not turn it off. They all do it. Will just come back on if the problem has not been fixed, however.
If it keeps the CEL off long enough to sell the hooptie then it's got fraud potential. I heard that the light stays off for about 75 miles...true? Would another scan tool be able to recover the reset codes? I've discovered many a defect after the fact but never a reset CEL. Now I wonder if I should invest in a code reader.

Not exactly true. Codes can be cleared and won't show again until the error occurs. Sometimes that can take some time, sometimes it is immediate. It is a risk with any car since CELs were invented.

I don't believe a tool can recover old CELs. Maybe dealer diagnostics. Not sure.

ab348 · September 2017

suydam said:
Medicare for everyone, basically. Would be a huge improvement for most people.

The tax revenue that would require would be shocking for most of my American friends. For example, we pay a 15% retail sales tax on most everything (so over $5K on a $35K new car) and your income tax rates would have to climb as well. There is a tempest in a teapot going on here right now as the Canadian Feds have said they want to close what they consider a loophole that allows doctors to incorporate and pay their family dividends, which are taxed at a far lower rate. Many are up in arms and threatening to leave, not wanting to be forced to pay a marginal tax rate of over 50% on income at their level.

sda · September 2017

Michaell said:
My folks bought a '73 Corona, brand new. Brown with brown vinyl, 3-speed automatic. Was the family car for many years, and was the car I learned to drive in.

Living in SoCal, by the water, I was surprised that it didn't rust away. I don't remember it having a great many problems mechanically, either.

Sadly, it was totaled in an accident while I was driving to school one morning. After a brief fling with a used diesel MB, my folks owned two more Toyotas ('84 Celica and a '91 Camry). My dad almost bought another Camry in 2003, but found that he could get a V6 Hyundai Sonata for the same price as a 4-cyl Camry, so he pulled the trigger on that. 14 years later, it's still my mom's DD - with only 40,000 miles or so on it.

Dad bought a '72 Corona Mark II as a secondary car from an office colleague. It was a 4sp with a/c..very weak a/c but better than nothing. It served the family well until my youngest sister totaled it. Luckily she was just bruised up a bit. However that put a kink in things as this meant my other sister now had to share her Grand Am she was driving.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Scammers tool?

At first i thought this was an ad for a code reader but it mentions the ability to turn off CEL. Potential for fraud? Is that a standard feature on scan tools?

It clears the CEL, not turn it off. They all do it. Will just come back on if the problem has not been fixed, however.

If it keeps the CEL off long enough to sell the hooptie then it's got fraud potential. I heard that the light stays off for about 75 miles...true? Would another scan tool be able to recover the reset codes? I've discovered many a defect after the fact but never a reset CEL.

Now I wonder if I should invest in a code reader.

Not exactly true. Codes can be cleared and won't show again until the error occurs. Sometimes that can take some time, sometimes it is immediate. It is a risk with any car since CELs were invented.

I don't believe a tool can recover old CELs. Maybe dealer diagnostics. Not sure.

I started doing a little research and found this review of the Innova 31403.

"comes with all of the cables and connectors needed. Although it’s packed with a lot features you probably won’t use, it’s nice to know you could if you run into a specific situation.

Here’s an example, I was looking at a used car for a friend. There was no check engine light on, but when I connected the scanner it showed a pending code. It also displayed a history fault for the same code. This meant the seller cleared the light right before we got there."

That sounds exactly what I would like when looking at a used car. In the above example the very fact of a canceled code would be a deal breaker.

roadburner · September 2017

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
These early Coronas and Corollas were a revelation to a lot of people--they were really the first affordable, comfortable, competent, reliable, economical foreign car that an American family could embrace (along with the Datsun 510). Most of all they were a great value and very sophisticated for their price point.

Yes, they were tinny and they did rust---points taken!
Yes, they were tinny to be sure. Didn't see much rust in So. Calif even by the ocean.

The US manufactures were so caught off guard! They frantically tried to grab some of this market but with what? Pintos and Vegas?

Funny thing; I've been re-reading a collection of stories by the great automotive writer Ken Purdy. It contains a comparison test of several 1971 subcompacts. It was really a different and relatively dismal time to be an enthusiast.

isellhondas · September 2017

Michaell said:
My folks bought a '73 Corona, brand new. Brown with brown vinyl, 3-speed automatic. Was the family car for many years, and was the car I learned to drive in.

Living in SoCal, by the water, I was surprised that it didn't rust away. I don't remember it having a great many problems mechanically, either.

Sadly, it was totaled in an accident while I was driving to school one morning. After a brief fling with a used diesel MB, my folks owned two more Toyotas ('84 Celica and a '91 Camry). My dad almost bought another Camry in 2003, but found that he could get a V6 Hyundai Sonata for the same price as a 4-cyl Camry, so he pulled the trigger on that. 14 years later, it's still my mom's DD - with only 40,000 miles or so on it.

Where did you grow up? Maybe we were neighbors. San Pedro.

I bought a 1979 Celica GT Liftback brand new and in four years I put nearly 100,000 miles on it. It never caused me a lick of trouble and was like new the day I sold it for 3000.00 less than I paid for it. I replaced that with the same car only a new 1983, This was a good car but the quality had slipped quite a bit.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

roadburner said:

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
These early Coronas and Corollas were a revelation to a lot of people--they were really the first affordable, comfortable, competent, reliable, economical foreign car that an American family could embrace (along with the Datsun 510). Most of all they were a great value and very sophisticated for their price point.

Yes, they were tinny and they did rust---points taken!
Yes, they were tinny to be sure. Didn't see much rust in So. Calif even by the ocean.

The US manufactures were so caught off guard! They frantically tried to grab some of this market but with what? Pintos and Vegas?
Funny thing; I've been re-reading a collection of stories by the great automotive writer Ken Purdy. It contains a comparison test of several 1971 subcompacts. It was really a different and relatively dismal time to be an enthusiast.

I would think the low point for enthusiasts would be 1975-85. I think once again the Japanese started the ball rolling with more high performance (for then) cars in the late 80s.

berri · September 2017

The tax revenue that would require would be shocking for most of my American friends

Of course that has to be offset by how much we pay in insurance premiums, as well as how uninsured patients drive up medical overhead costs.

berri · September 2017

Early Toyota, Datsun and Honda changed expectations here. We found out a car could go beyond the warranty 50K or more without big repair costs and hassles.

cdnpinhead · September 2017

suydam said:
Medicare for everyone, basically. Would be a huge improvement for most people.

Yeah, because many people don't pay taxes. As has been said previously, "eventually you run out of other people's money." Not to say that 'Big Pharma" isn't a pile of excrement, but it goes farther than that.

berri · September 2017

Ironically, those making out on tax avoidance tend toward the top 2% of incomes. Lot of breaks for the wealthy in the tax codes.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

berri said:
The tax revenue that would require would be shocking for most of my American friends

Of course that has to be offset by how much we pay in insurance premiums, as well as how uninsured patients drive up medical overhead costs.

We were uninsured and didn't drive up costs. Handled the $50k hospital bill ourselves.

imidazol97 · September 2017

suydam said:
Medicare for everyone, basically. Would be a huge improvement for most people.

Only problem is someone has to pay for it and the middle class is where the money is in numbers.
Somehow many people have the idea that medical care is free.

cdnpinhead · September 2017

suydam said:
I wonder how many people's first "new" car was their worst?

This is an excellent question
My first car was among my best, at least in the top three. It was a '65 MGB I bought in the summer of '69, and I drove it for the next four years all over North America. It had the tightest steering and shifter of any vehicle I've ever owned. OTOH, it had Lucas electrics and lots of other old-school stuff that wasn't so helpful. All that said, it was a very positive experience.

imidazol97 · September 2017

I saw on HSN a $90 spinner with lights in it for generating "healthy" water. It's supposed to save your life by giving you hydrogen in your water. There is some gimmickry to the various buttons but essentially it's a magnesium interaction with the water you put in.

Has anyone looked into this or tried one of these? ON Amazon I see the machines that spin the water and purify it and then add the hydrogen, they say as well as just "sticks" containing magnesium that you put into a sealed bottle of water and wait a few hours for the H2O to interact with the Mg in the "stick."

qbrozen · September 2017

cdnpinhead said:
Not to say the 'BIG PHARMA" isn't a pile of excrement, but it goes farther than that.

Much farther. I think most people blame "big pharma" without understanding how much money those companies have to burn through just to get one product proven and approved by the FDA, EMA, etc. Also not saying totally innocent, but not operating alone. Pharma is a TOUGH business.

imidazol97 · September 2017

The same pills for which we pay a fortune are sold by the pharmceutical industry in other countries for a pittance. That's why the previous health insurance takeover plan did not get resistance from pharma because the admin put in rules to keep US citizens from buying drugs from out of the country.

Instead of trying to take over or control the insurance part of care, the actual cost of medical care itself needs to be looked at.

cdnpinhead · September 2017

The whole thing is tough. Too many people/groups sucking at the trough of something that everyone needs. I'm old, so I'll just stand back and watch, but the long-term situation is bound to be a mess.

Many people who need it can't pay for it, and many people who can pay for it are being vilified and don't care for that.

Imagine.

fintail · September 2017

And some of those being vilified are kind of villains. Somehow people have an idea that medical bankruptcy can be a thing in a truly developed nation.

I do have to wonder what the costs would be in taxes vs insurance premiums. I had a few ER visits this decade, and even with decent full insurance, I had thousands in out of pocket costs. At least the $35/50 copay (can't recall) for routine visits is reasonable.

Want to see a solution, find someone with the guts to force the public sector into private sector reality. As public sector unions are still worshiped while the rest are loudly castigated, this would be interesting. It'd probably see the end of the ridiculous mortgage interest tax deduction too, which exists nowhere else.

suydam · September 2017

What public sector unions are involved in health care?

fintail · September 2017

Public sector types generally receive such benefits in excess of the overall population. Force them into the system, which will create a lot of wrangling when the praetorians moan and congresscritters have to actually live like people, and it might force a change.

suydam · September 2017

Other than our congressmen I don't know any who receive lavish benefits. It would be good for them to manage like everyone else.

Michaell · September 2017

isellhondas said:

Michaell said:
My folks bought a '73 Corona, brand new. Brown with brown vinyl, 3-speed automatic. Was the family car for many years, and was the car I learned to drive in.

Living in SoCal, by the water, I was surprised that it didn't rust away. I don't remember it having a great many problems mechanically, either.

Sadly, it was totaled in an accident while I was driving to school one morning. After a brief fling with a used diesel MB, my folks owned two more Toyotas ('84 Celica and a '91 Camry). My dad almost bought another Camry in 2003, but found that he could get a V6 Hyundai Sonata for the same price as a 4-cyl Camry, so he pulled the trigger on that. 14 years later, it's still my mom's DD - with only 40,000 miles or so on it.
Where did you grow up? Maybe we were neighbors. San Pedro.

I bought a 1979 Celica GT Liftback brand new and in four years I put nearly 100,000 miles on it. It never caused me a lick of trouble and was like new the day I sold it for 3000.00 less than I paid for it. I replaced that with the same car only a new 1983, This was a good car but the quality had slipped quite a bit.

I grew up in Oxnard, between LA and Santa Barbara.

fintail · September 2017

"Lavish" may be subjective. All branches are not likely the same, but virtually nobody receives the bennies in retirement, and I doubt any source will claim the benefits are worse for working people. I won't even get into other perks.

Definitely force congress (I refuse to capitalize it

) to deal with the same issues as actual people. I suspect there are a few tax related entitlements that could help.

suydam said:
Other than our congressmen I don't know any who receive lavish benefits. It would be good for them to manage like everyone else.

ab348 · September 2017

suydam said:
What public sector unions are involved in health care?

Probably few to none in the US but up here virtually all of the health care system aside from family practice doctors is run by govt using public sector unions. That is a mixture of good and bad. There is the usual huge and unproductive health bureaucracy that costs a great deal and adds little or nothing to patient care. But of course a bureaucracy is required to make rules and policies for everything and to dole out the scarce funding. There is a huge fear among many here that moving to a system where (for example) hospitals are run by the private sector and provide services to the public system via a fee schedule would result in calamity. I'm not so sure. Back at the start of my career I worked at the largest tertiary care hospital in the region, which back then in the early to mid '80s was an 800-bed facility. The food was awful and the facilities were nothing fancy but it was clean and safe and decently run. Today the largest portion of that facility has no safe drinking water, peeling paint on the walls, a balky heating system, frequent floods due to burst pipes, and is in such bad repair due to deferred maintenance because of govt budget cuts and bureaucratic mismanagement that they are making plans to demolish it all and eventually replace it with a $2 billion new hospital. Of course our govt does not have $2 billion. How they will do it is unknown. It annoys the hell out of me because there was nothing wrong with that place when I worked there if it had just been maintained, but they stopped doing that because they wanted to spend money on other things that the public demanded. It is criminal.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

imidazol97 said:
I saw on HSN a $90 spinner with lights in it for generating "healthy" water. It's supposed to save your life by giving you hydrogen in your water. There is some gimmickry to the various buttons but essentially it's a magnesium interaction with the water you put in.

Has anyone looked into this or tried one of these? ON Amazon I see the machines that spin the water and purify it and then add the hydrogen, they say as well as just "sticks" containing magnesium that you put into a sealed bottle of water and wait a few hours for the H2O to interact with the Mg in the "stick."

If you fall for that I would advise not to read Craigslist ads with a Gmail address. Pure Magnesium is flammable. As kids my father, a metallurgical engineer with GE would bring home fine shavings of the metal they used to make turbine blades. A match would light in up in a ball of bright light. If dropped in water while burning it would just about explode.

Probably what they're selling is magnesium sulfate (Epsom salts) which if mixed with water and consumed is a good prep for a colonoscopy. I don't know what you get if you add hydrogen to water which already is part hydrogen. Any chemists in the audience?

isellhondas · September 2017

berri said:
Early Toyota, Datsun and Honda changed expectations here. We found out a car could go beyond the warranty 50K or more without big repair costs and hassles.

Yes, they were tinny and primitive but they ran and ran at a time when at 75,000 miles your domestic or VW was ready for an engine overhaul!

fintail · September 2017

The asking price of a clean low-miles Daewoo

And of course it is in Whatcom County, the location of the dealer I mentioned earlier.

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
These early Coronas and Corollas were a revelation to a lot of people--they were really the first affordable, comfortable, competent, reliable, economical foreign car that an American family could embrace (along with the Datsun 510). Most of all they were a great value and very sophisticated for their price point.

Yes, they were tinny and they did rust---points taken!
Yes, they were tinny to be sure. Didn't see much rust in So. Calif even by the ocean.

The US manufactures were so caught off guard! They frantically tried to grab some of this market but with what? Pintos and Vegas?
Funny thing; I've been re-reading a collection of stories by the great automotive writer Ken Purdy. It contains a comparison test of several 1971 subcompacts. It was really a different and relatively dismal time to be an enthusiast.
I would think the low point for enthusiasts would be 1975-85. I think once again the Japanese started the ball rolling with more high performance (for then) cars in the late 80s.

Things started going downhill for the domestics right around 1975. The Japanese were beating them up in the compact car market and the Germans and Swedes were gaining on them in the mid-size sedan and luxury market. But it took a long time for Americans to come to appreciate cars that could actually steer and stop.

Sandman6472 · September 2017

Since I was a government worker for my career, I get access to decent healthcare in retirement now and I thank G-d for that. Was told I'd never get rich there but, I'd make a living, which is what I did. We both worked and now, working part time, am amazed at how much tax we do pay each year. Guess we are considered "middle class" but I realize that we must pay our taxes, but up to a point. Everyone needs to pay "their fair share"!
Healthcare needs to be fixed and there has to be a way. Figure that congress folks should have to get the same as the rest of us, anyone in government has to. And maybe, that's where things should start first! Then, go from there by taking the good parts of the ACA and filling in the blanks afterwards. We need to start somewhere!

murphydog · September 2017

I have to say I am impressed. The few other time political topics have come up it got pretty hot here, but so far on health care I see calm well reasoned posts. Great job all, however I suspect we should move back to cars before the tone changes?

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

fintail said:
The asking price of a clean low-miles Daewoo

And of course it is in Whatcom County, the location of the dealer I mentioned earlier.

About the same as a 99 Taurus goes for around here.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/1999-ford-taurus/6220391825.html

berri · September 2017

however I suspect we should move back to cars before the tone changes?

You are probably right. But there is another way to look at the issue. The move in the auto industry and many others is to shorten the supply chain for greater efficiency and lower costs. If we got rid of all these insurance companies with a single payer (whoever that might end up being) I've got to wonder if that would do the same thing - less overhead in the process and less paperwork as well because the medical business will not have to keep doing paperwork for many different providers and their individual mandates and formats. So many doctor offices have to have full time staff members just to do the insurance thing. Same for hospitals and stand alone clinics. Further, in a scenario like this the issue of delinquent payments having to be made up in overhead (and hence cost to paying customers) goes away. I won't even get started on the games and upward cost pressure on patients from the middleman pharmacy benefits providers. Oftentimes, most of the discounts they obtain end up shared with the pharmacy as rebates, not the patient.

We look at medical and insurance from our payout perspective since that is how Americans have to deal with it right now. But in a country like Canada (not saying it is the best answer necessarily) an automaker or other company doesn't have to mess with medical costs, insurance negotiations and policy procurement, or paperwork. It gives them a cost advantage vice US plants (all other factors being similar or equal). Cost advantages can lead to more sales/work and corresponding jobs.

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

It rained all yesterday and I was bored so I got a little obsessed looking for OBD 2 scanners that could retrieve old or erased codes. Found a lot in the $200 range which since I'm cheap sent me searching until I found one that claimed to have thst capability for about $22. Might get it just for kicks even though I'm not actively searching cars right now.

tjc78 · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

It rained all yesterday and I was bored so I got a little obsessed looking for OBD 2 scanners that could retrieve old or erased codes. Found a lot in the $200 range which since I'm cheap sent me searching until I found one that claimed to have thst capability for about $22. Might get it just for kicks even though I'm not actively searching cars right now.

They sell bluetooth models that will interface right with an app on your phone. I think Torque is one of the apps

oldfarmer50 · September 2017

tjc78 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

It rained all yesterday and I was bored so I got a little obsessed looking for OBD 2 scanners that could retrieve old or erased codes. Found a lot in the $200 range which since I'm cheap sent me searching until I found one that claimed to have thst capability for about $22. Might get it just for kicks even though I'm not actively searching cars right now.

They sell bluetooth models that will interface right with an app on your phone. I think Torque is one of the apps

Ha ha you forget who you're talking to. Bluetooth? Is that a dental condition? Cell phone? Don't own one.

Some of the more expensive models have their own power source or transmit through a laptop or phone. Some I looked at were over $500 and could graph engine performance in real time. All sorts of high tech stuff that would probably be beyond my understanding.

The brain itch that I'm trying to scratch is to use a device that could detect skulduggery by a seller erasing CEL codes to conceal expensive repairs.

ab348 · September 2017

berri said:

We look at medical and insurance from our payout perspective since that is how Americans have to deal with it right now. But in a country like Canada (not saying it is the best answer necessarily) an automaker or other company doesn't have to mess with medical costs, insurance negotiations and policy procurement, or paperwork. It gives them a cost advantage vice US plants (all other factors being similar or equal). Cost advantages can lead to more sales/work and corresponding jobs.

Well, yes and no. The govt covers the bulk of it, but with limits and exclusions. So most employers offer medical benefits for things like semi-private hospital rooms, vision and dental care, pharmacy co-pay, private physiotherapy, etc. They still need to negotiate with Blue Cross or whatever benefit provider they chose and deal with the employee interactions with that. In most cases the cost of the plan is split 50/50 between employer and employee though in my last job it was all on the employer's tab, which was nice.

abacomike · September 2017

Well, the latest tracking of Irma puts it right over us by this weekend. By Wednesday or Thursday, if the tracking continues to put that hurricane in a line with south Florida, I am going to drive up to Ponte Vedra (just south of Jacksonville) and ride out the storm(s) up there at my brother's place.

I really should not be alone with a category 4 or 5 hurricane headed right at me.

I have the staples from the surgery being removed on Wednesday and some follow up blood tests on Thursday morning - then I'll leave for northern Florida.

imidazol97 · September 2017

abacomike said:
Well, the latest tracking of Irma puts it right over us by this weekend. By Wednesday or Thursday, if the tracking continues to put that hurricane in a line with south Florida, I am going to drive up to Ponte Vedra (just south of Jacksonville) and ride out the storm(s) up there at my brother's place.

I really should not be alone with a category 4 or 5 hurricane headed right at me.

I have the staples from the surgery being removed on Wednesday and some follow up blood tests on Thursday morning - then I'll leave for northern Florida.

Never a dull moment!

sda · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

fintail said:
The asking price of a clean low-miles Daewoo

And of course it is in Whatcom County, the location of the dealer I mentioned earlier.
About the same as a 99 Taurus goes for around here.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/1999-ford-taurus/6220391825.html

Assuming it is mechanically sound and not too rusted not a bad car. Interior looks surprisingly clean.

graphicguy · September 2017

driver100 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:
I remember driving one of the first Toyota Corollas that came over back around 1970. Very plain simple car but I was really impressed with that first drive, especially compared it to my then current '68 Beetle.
Wasn't that a little fastback then? Great little cars! Year, compared to a Beetle it had certain small amenities, such as heat, acceleration and visibility.
First Toyotas sold in US...Corona 1965-66

The big sellers started in 68 with Corollas. Quickly became #3 selling car in US. There was a fastback and sedan models.....good memory.

My oldest sister bought a '69 Corona (same aqua color as the one above). Drove it 10 years, ~100K miles and sold it to me for $500. I drove it through high school and partially through college. Put another 75K miles on it until the fly wheel cracked. Never had a bit of trouble with it up until that point....just oil changes (which were rare), tires, batteries, brakes.

The paint was faded and flaking off the hood. Had some rust on the bottom of the rocker panels, but the interior was sturdy (heavy plastics and vinyl). It got great mileage, considering it spent most of its life jockeying for position against Ford Grenadas and Chrysler Cordobas.

graphicguy · September 2017

Had a conversation with my son last night. I was asking him about his GTI. It's been stellar for him.

That started me thinking about cars like Fiats. Given their well known lack of reliability here, what do people think of them where they sell a ton of them, like Europe? Do Europeans have a different set of expectations than we do? Do they bemoan the lack of reliability? Are their cars more reliable than ours?

sda · September 2017

Where rust is an issue in some areas, harsh heat and sun does it damage in the south. Our neighbor had the same blue '69 Corona that their teenage son drove. It, too, was a good car but the interior was shot, plastics and vinyl dried out and cracking around '73. I don't know how much longer they kept it as we moved to another area.

imidazol97 · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

The brain itch that I'm trying to scratch is to use a device that could detect skulduggery by a seller erasing CEL codes to conceal expensive repairs.

I bought a scanner that does the things you listed, however, once codes are erased, they're gone. When they talk about historical codes, those are codes where something corrected itself or the code was erroneous. The indicator light turned off, but the presence of the code is still in the computer. However, erasing clears the whole history with my scanner.

If you're looking for a scanner, I'd watch the sales on ones at Harbor Freight. There's no updating from the company, but they're cheap enough. And the email add they sent me has a 25% off coupon good today only. Other emails have 20% off coupons for one item.

My suggestion is to get one with its own battery. Ones powered by the car when connected can't be used to review anything they captured without being connected to the ALDC.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore,f,EAFeatured+Weight,f,Sale+Rank,f&q=automobile+scanner

Mr_Shiftright · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

tjc78 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

It rained all yesterday and I was bored so I got a little obsessed looking for OBD 2 scanners that could retrieve old or erased codes. Found a lot in the $200 range which since I'm cheap sent me searching until I found one that claimed to have thst capability for about $22. Might get it just for kicks even though I'm not actively searching cars right now.

They sell bluetooth models that will interface right with an app on your phone. I think Torque is one of the apps

Ha ha you forget who you're talking to. Bluetooth? Is that a dental condition? Cell phone? Don't own one.

Some of the more expensive models have their own power source or transmit through a laptop or phone. Some I looked at were over $500 and could graph engine performance in real time. All sorts of high tech stuff that would probably be beyond my understanding.

The brain itch that I'm trying to scratch is to use a device that could detect skulduggery by a seller erasing CEL codes to conceal expensive repairs.

You need a scan too that can read I/M Monitor Readiness Status.

Here's a tool that can do it for a very resonable price, but I don't own it, so I'm not recommending it per se:

Autel Autolink AL319

imidazol97 · September 2017

The one I bought, for lots more money, was an Autel 619 several years ago. It's supposed to diagnose ABS as well as the usual functions. It's hard to figure out how to use even with the instruction book. It's like lots of Asian instruction manuals from many years ago in how it is written. They said it had free updates for 1 year, but it didn't. At least I could never figure out. My 619 has the identical cover and operation description to some sold at Harbor Freight under different name at that time.

houdini1 · September 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:
These early Coronas and Corollas were a revelation to a lot of people--they were really the first affordable, comfortable, competent, reliable, economical foreign car that an American family could embrace (along with the Datsun 510). Most of all they were a great value and very sophisticated for their price point.

Yes, they were tinny and they did rust---points taken!
Yes, they were tinny to be sure. Didn't see much rust in So. Calif even by the ocean.

The US manufactures were so caught off guard! They frantically tried to grab some of this market but with what? Pintos and Vegas?
Funny thing; I've been re-reading a collection of stories by the great automotive writer Ken Purdy. It contains a comparison test of several 1971 subcompacts. It was really a different and relatively dismal time to be an enthusiast.
I would think the low point for enthusiasts would be 1975-85. I think once again the Japanese started the ball rolling with more high performance (for then) cars in the late 80s.

Only for American cars. That's the period that the Japanese made some big inroads in U.S. market.

ab348 · September 2017

Those early Toyota Coronas were very similar in design to the mid-60s Isuzu Bellett, which was assembled here in Nova Scotia for a time. They had a very good reputation here.

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