Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

ronsteve · June 2020

roadburner said:

You are a much, MUCH more patient man than me; I despise automatic lane keeping- possibly more than any other Helen Keller “driving aid”- but that’s just me.
I also think FWD in anything larger than a Civic is pointless, but if you are going to take that route I’d recommend an Accord, Mazda6 or Optima.
If you simply must consider an Altima or Legacy-or even some Accords-I would recommend an extended test drive to determine if you can tolerate a CVT; something else I can’t abide.
What about a Stinger? Most Kia dealers offer significant discounts. I’d want the twin turbo V6, but the 2.0 liter I4 isn’t bad.

Not a big fan of automatic lane keeping, but if the car is big enough or the steering is otherwise light enough, it's not AS bad. Case in point, the Chrysler 300 that we had as a rental a couple years ago, which I thought I would hate on the ride from Spokane to Missoula, and then up to Glacier. It really wasn't that bad.

Then a couple months later came the Nissan Rogue that I got quite familiar with from Louisville to Niagara Falls and back. It really was that bad. And the CVT wasn't even the worst part of the driving experience... it was just noisy and not very powerful. I didn't let the CVT scare me off from shopping an Outback, which was definitely a much better car. The end result might have been different if a 3.6R had been in my range at the time.

mikepokercat · June 2020

roadburner said:

mikepokercat said:

You are a much, MUCH more patient man than me; I despise automatic lane keeping- possibly more than any other Helen Keller “driving aid”- but that’s just me.
I also think FWD in anything larger than a Civic is pointless, but if you are going to take that route I’d recommend an Accord, Mazda6 or Optima.
If you simply must consider an Altima or Legacy-or even some Accords-I would recommend an extended test drive to determine if you can tolerate a CVT; something else I can’t abide.
What about a Stinger? Most Kia dealers offer significant discounts. I’d want the twin turbo V6, but the 2.0 liter I4 isn’t bad.
And you are looking to get much much more joy and exhilaration out of driving than me! I'm just looking to safely drive between NYC, Chicago, Orlando, and Houston. I'm going to be driving 90% of the time at a constant 70-75mph on the boring superhighway, not on the leaf-strewn twisty backroads from the car commercials. So I don't think I should care about CVT annoyances or slick handling. But I'm open to any and all opinions.

corvette · June 2020

A car with a well-calibrated CVT is ideal for that type of travel--it should keep the engine RPMs at the absolute lowest level necessary to maintain the constant speed given the grade, rolling resistance, etc. of the road. The issue with some of them, especially the earlier ones, is that they sometimes hesitate to "kick down" to a lower ratio if you want to pass someone. I had the first generation Altima that had the CVT as well as the second generation Murano (which was the second gen with the CVT), and never found it that obtrusive.

roadburner · June 2020

mikepokercat said:

And you are looking to get much much more joy and exhilaration out of driving than me! I'm just looking to safely drive between NYC, Chicago, Orlando, and Houston. I'm going to be driving 90% of the time at a constant 70-75mph on the boring superhighway, not on the leaf-strewn twisty backroads from the car commercials. So I don't think I should care about CVT annoyances or slick handling. But I'm open to any and all opinions.

It’s clear that your vehicular preferences are light years removed from mine. Long interstate slogs in a few of the cars you mentioned would have me driving to an area where assisted suicide was legal. If you can actually tolerate that you have my sincere respect.

Michaell · June 2020

Member needs help pricing a used CR-V:

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/61836/honda/cr-v/good-price-for-2018-cr-v-ex-l-w-navigation#latest

roadburner · June 2020

I found a 2019 M2C at a Ford dealership about three hours away. In Hockenheim silver, one of my favorite ///M colors. Reasonably priced with a clean Carfax. Unfortunately it has a DCT AND a hole in the roof. And unlike every other M cars, the DCT is slower than the manual.
I may yet consider an Indigo Edition Stinger, as it allows the driver to send 100% of the torque to the rear wheels. It runs the quarter in 13 seconds flat so it’s just a tick slower than the 2er. No nannies to speak of either. If I could bag it for around $35k it might be a reasonable choice.

28firefighter · June 2020

roadburner said:
I found a 2019 M2C at a Ford dealership about three hours away. In Hockenheim silver, one of my favorite ///M colors. Reasonably priced with a clean Carfax. Unfortunately it has a DCT AND a hole in the roof. And unlike every other M cars, the DCT is slower than the manual.
I may yet consider an Indigo Edition Stinger, as it allows the driver to send 100% of the torque to the rear wheels. It runs the quarter in 13 seconds flat so it’s just a tick slower than the 2er. No nannies to speak of either. If I could bag it for around $35k it might be a reasonable choice.

Walk in with a cooler full of ice cold Benjamins and see if they want to make a deal.

oldfarmer50 · June 2020

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).

So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.

stickguy · June 2020

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).
So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.

obviously get rid of it before it has enough miles to happen again! Though it is a non-transferable lease, so it might. In that case, complain to the dealer and make them fix it again.

oldfarmer50 · June 2020

mikepokercat said:
Hi, I'm seeking your car-buying advice. ** please point me to a better forum if this doesn't belong here. **

After driving a 2019 Genesis G80, I discovered and fell in love with it's automatic steering function (what some manufactures call driver assist or lane centering assist or lane keep assist or highway driving assist or smart cruise control or Pilot Assist, etc). When it sees the clear lane markers on both sides of the car, it takes care of keeping the car centered including around curves and even let me take both hands off the wheel for over 30 seconds. Note: this is not one of the many similar features where a car will bing or shake the steering wheel or nudge you back when you approach a lane marker. This feature truly keeps the car centered in its lane while driving. Some require you to have cruise control engaged, some do not.

The G80 is out of my price range - my price range being about $25,000 - and am looking for other cars that have slick driver assist systems to help alleviate fatigue during my many long-distance drives. Suggestions of either new models or used are both okay.

==============

As guidance, I've test-driven four candidates and am looking for more top candidates:

2020 Hyundai Sonata SEL (Grade:A+) In my short time with both, it appeared that the Sonata matched the Genesis G80's capabilities. Makes some sense since they are both Hyundai products. The Sonata had the easiest time recognizing lane markings and engaging the system, it stayed centered in the lane around curves, allowed me to go hands-free the longest (when safe) and had the least amount of intrusive beeps, and it had the most tolerable-sounding beeps when it did beep about something.

2020 Nissan Altima SV - (B+) The Altima had a harder time seeing the lane markings, it succeeded in staying centered including around curves, it did not like me taking even one hand off the wheel, and it's beeps were not too much of a nuisance.

2020 Honda Accord EX (B-) The Accord had the hardest time seeing the lane markings, when it finally did engage, it slowly ping-ponged between the left and right lane markings, and did not succeed in staying in the lane around a curve, it performed average with respect to going hands-free, and it's beeps were not too much of a nuisance.

2020 Subaru Legacy Premium (C) The Legacy performed average when it came to seeing the lane markings, it succeeded in staying centered including around curves, it let me take my hands off the wheel for about 10 seconds before complaining, but the quantity and volume of beeps were horrendous! It seemed to beep about every event, it was maddening. I could not figure out how to turn the alerts off in the settings, but maybe I overlooked something. The beeps were so distracting, I wouldn't use the system.

==============

So any others you recommend that I consider? Maybe a luxury brand from MY 2017 that I could find used for $25k? Bonus points for candidates that also have good fuel efficiency and Android Auto!

- Thanks, Mike

P.S. Yes, the Sonata meets my criteria, I just don't care for it's styling inside and out. But if I can't find anything better, that's what I'll go with!

I liked the lane keeper in the Ford Fusion. As you mentioned you could take your hands off the wheel for quite a while before the car said “hey stupid, put your hands back on the wheel”. Might be some bargains to be had since 2020 is the last year.

The similar system in the a Toyota RAV4 was horrible as it would let you drift and then jerk you back violently.

If you can stand the diversity of opinions, this is the perfect place to get them.

nyccarguy · June 2020

.

roadburner said:
I found a 2019 M2C at a Ford dealership about three hours away. In Hockenheim silver, one of my favorite ///M colors. Reasonably priced with a clean Carfax. Unfortunately it has a DCT AND a hole in the roof. And unlike every other M cars, the DCT is slower than the manual.
I may yet consider an Indigo Edition Stinger, as it allows the driver to send 100% of the torque to the rear wheels. It runs the quarter in 13 seconds flat so it’s just a tick slower than the 2er. No nannies to speak of either. If I could bag it for around $35k it might be a reasonable choice.

There’s an M2 Competition (2019) up for auction on carsandbids.com Its got a hole in the roof, but’s it’s a stick with the executive package.

stickguy · June 2020

Farmer, as to your rotor question, from my understanding the 2 biggest reasons are cheap/flimsy parts, and putting the lugs on too tight (ramming them home with an impact wrench). So make sure that anyone that touches your wheels puts the lugs on with a torque wrench. And consider investing in higher quality aftermarket parts.

I assume some cars are just more prone, due to design, but not sure how to tell. As TJC noted with his Enclave, heavy cars with a lot of around town use will really beat them up too.

Oh, I think getting them really hot then hitting with cold water can cause problems too.

andres3 · June 2020

tjc78 said:
I have warped rotors on several cars. Heavy traffic combined with a heavy foot I guess. The 2015 and 2017 Enclaves have warped the fastest.

Can you recall if they only warp on their 2nd set of pads? As someone else mentioned about German cars, my Audi's have recommended new rotors with each pad change (at the front at least) Said to be a weight savings engineering to keep them thinner and always in tip top shape. Having said that, never had warped rotors.

andres3 · June 2020

tjc78 said:
I have warped rotors on several cars. Heavy traffic combined with a heavy foot I guess. The 2015 and 2017 Enclaves have warped the fastest.

Can you recall if they only warp on their 2nd set of pads? As someone else mentioned about German cars, my Audi's have recommended new rotors with each pad change (at the front at least) Said to be a weight savings engineering to keep them thinner and always in tip top shape. Having said that, never had warped rotors.

roadburner · June 2020

nyccarguy said:

There’s an M2 Competition (2019) up for auction on carsandbids.com Its got a hole in the roof, but’s it’s a stick with the executive package.

Nice- but already approaching the limit of my budget. I really think I want either Hockenheim Silver or Sunset Orange- manual, Exec Pkg, and that is it.

tjc78 · June 2020

andres3 said:

tjc78 said:
I have warped rotors on several cars. Heavy traffic combined with a heavy foot I guess. The 2015 and 2017 Enclaves have warped the fastest.

Can you recall if they only warp on their 2nd set of pads? As someone else mentioned about German cars, my Audi's have recommended new rotors with each pad change (at the front at least) Said to be a weight savings engineering to keep them thinner and always in tip top shape. Having said that, never had warped rotors.

No they were on the factory install pads at around 20k miles.

stickguy · June 2020

this is so cool. I love it. Great colors. All the classic mid-80s touches too!

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9QDeeXme/1984-datsun-300zx

love this too. especially with new clutch and IMS.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9ldEgPAE/2002-porsche-911-carrera-coupe

qbrozen · June 2020

Our ‘08 T&C had issues warping the rotors. It was a commonly reported problem. So I went with aftermarket Centric rotors all around and never had an issue again. So when my Charger started exhibiting the same symptoms, I knew what I’d do (and did).

breld · June 2020

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).
So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.

The Volvo was only in the 6k mile range when this started happening. My anxiety level with the issue is greatly minimized with the fact it’s a 2 year lease. If it were to happen during that term, I’m confident they would fix it again.

graphicguy · June 2020

stickguy said:
this is so cool. I love it. Great colors. All the classic mid-80s touches too!

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9QDeeXme/1984-datsun-300zx

love this too. especially with new clutch and IMS.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9ldEgPAE/2002-porsche-911-carrera-coupe

Boy....I like that Z. Not the best year for them, but as you say, it has that ‘80s cachet going for it.

Not in love with the color, but could live with it. It bothers me a little that someone who owned it for 29 years let the wheels get as bad as they appear to be. Plus, the scrapes on the bumper tells me whoever owned it had a hard time getting it into whatever garage they had. Drilling into the driveshaft tunnel? To put some sort of holder (CB?) in? Wonder how wet and rusty that looks underneath.

I dunno...looks like it has more than 95K miles on it. Someone bought it, didn’t take care of it, and is now trying to flip it.

Be interested to see what it sells for.

But, brings back memories of one of the cars I lusted after in my youth.

tjc78 · June 2020

breld said:

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).
So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.
The Volvo was only in the 6k mile range when this started happening. My anxiety level with the issue is greatly minimized with the fact it’s a 2 year lease. If it were to happen during that term, I’m confident they would fix it again.

The Buick Service advisor was very defensive about the issue (twice) and said I’d have to pay out of pocket. I explained that is not the case and make sure he runs it through warranty. He did on both Enclaves and no charge.

There are several instances of S60s and premature brake problems. Like I said mine at a tick over 5000 miles may have the beginning of a warped rotor. It’s going in soon for I guess at this point a yearly service. I’m going to have it checked. I know I have a tire slightly out of balance so may as well cover all bases.

benjaminh · June 2020

I'm still toying with the thought of getting a Tesla someday. It seems there might be a small hatchback Tesla out in a year or two that might cost c. $30k or so for the base model. I'm still surprised that no one else seems to be able to get close to Telsa for cost, range, performance, etc. Where is the c.$40k Acura electric?

The Tesla million-mile battery is going to be primarily for commercial use (trucks and maybe robo-taxis), and according to this recent video these new batteries will last about 16 years/1 million miles. The current batteries last c. 10-12 years/300+k. Given that, long term ownership of a gas car with high mpg might still pay off. Most Toyotas, Hyundais, Hondas, Acuras, etc. will probably go 15 years/200k before needing major repairs, while a new Tesla is going to need a c.4k+ battery redo during that time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MnoCGcZVlg

oldfarmer50 · June 2020

stickguy said:
this is so cool. I love it. Great colors. All the classic mid-80s touches too!

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9QDeeXme/1984-datsun-300zx

love this too. especially with new clutch and IMS.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9ldEgPAE/2002-porsche-911-carrera-coupe

That Datsun looks like a Bricklin. That 170hp V6 wasn’t too bad considering a same year Corvette V8 only put out around 200.

xwesx · June 2020

mikepokercat said:
And you are looking to get much much more joy and exhilaration out of driving than me! I'm just looking to safely drive between NYC, Chicago, Orlando, and Houston. I'm going to be driving 90% of the time at a constant 70-75mph on the boring superhighway, not on the leaf-strewn twisty backroads from the car commercials. So I don't think I should care about CVT annoyances or slick handling. But I'm open to any and all opinions.

Mike, if you are spending 90% of you time on the interstate and racking up a pile of miles, I think an Optima or Sonata is really your best bet! It was your best-scored vehicle, plus it is quite likely going to be the lowest-cost to maintain.

I mean, given your love of the lane keeping, you could consider a Tesla (charging would be no problem at all on those corridors), but you'll need to go used to get into that price range with a Model 3, and Tesla recently cut off non-original owners from access to Superchargers. So, not really a viable option at this point.

xwesx · June 2020

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).
So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.

For the next occurrence, I would go for aftermarket rotors and pads to see if it makes an appreciable difference.

Also, if you improve the air routing such that there is more airflow over the rotors, that can sometimes help. Options include different wheels and creating or modifying air dams under the car that will scoop and route air directly to the rotors. There are quite a few vehicles now (typically high performance models) that have such air dams engineered directly into the suspension to do just that.

On the Forester, I installed standard rotors from NAPA (their "premium" ones, but still only around $50/each). We are at what, around 40,000 miles later, and no issues at all (not that we tend to warp rotors!).

xwesx · June 2020

benjaminh said:
The Tesla million-mile battery is going to be primarily for commercial use (trucks and maybe robo-taxis), and according to this recent video these new batteries will last about 16 years/1 million miles. The current batteries last c. 10-12 years/300+k. Given that, long term ownership of a gas car with high mpg might still pay off. Most Toyotas, Hyundais, Hondas, Acuras, etc. will probably go 15 years/200k before needing major repairs, while a new Tesla is going to need a c.4k+ battery redo during that time.

Consider, though, that with the savings associated with not needing to do all the other maintenance that is engine-related (e.g., oil and all other fluid and filter changes, belts, hoses, etc), even a $4K+ action within 200,000 miles is not really that big of a deal. Yeah, it is a lot of money all at once, but it is not a cost-of-ownership disadvantage.

tifighter · June 2020

xwesx said:

mikepokercat said:
And you are looking to get much much more joy and exhilaration out of driving than me! I'm just looking to safely drive between NYC, Chicago, Orlando, and Houston. I'm going to be driving 90% of the time at a constant 70-75mph on the boring superhighway, not on the leaf-strewn twisty backroads from the car commercials. So I don't think I should care about CVT annoyances or slick handling. But I'm open to any and all opinions.

I mean, given your love of the lane keeping, you could consider a Tesla (charging would be no problem at all on those corridors), but you'll need to go used to get into that price range with a Model 3, and Tesla recently cut off non-original owners from access to Superchargers. So, not really a viable option at this point.

I think I know what you are trying to say here, but it is worded confusingly. If an original owner bought a Tesla that came with free supercharging, then it does not transfer to the second owner. But that doesn't mean that they have no access to superchargers, it just means that they pay for a supercharging session. So, still a viable option in my mind.

fintail · June 2020

Acura has less EV experience, is likely expected to generate profits under GAAP standards, and has a fanbase probably much less tolerant of build quality and usability quirks than those who worship the mighty T. Being seen as edgy/hip among monied suburbanites probably helps, too (IMO both brands are normcore to the max, but the T is able to exist in its own realm).

benjaminh said:
I'm still toying with the thought of getting a Tesla someday. It seems there might be a small hatchback Tesla out in a year or two that might cost c. $30k or so for the base model. I'm still surprised that no one else seems to be able to get close to Telsa for cost, range, performance, etc. Where is the c.$40k Acura electric?

stickguy · June 2020

Man, a 996 on the original IMS is really cheap. Indicating how scary it must be.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/9e6O71eN/2000-porsche-911-carrera-cabriolet

Another cheap way to go fast with the top down. I do like this. Fin of course can rat out the engines fatal flaw (head bolts?)

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KVNWmQdL/2007-mercedes-benz-slk55-amg

This is cool. One of these I actually like. Must be a dog with that engine.

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rGyZRvzg/1991-mercedes-benz-230g-cabriolet

Or a Japanese version. Not very useful if you never go off-road, but definitely unique.

fintail · June 2020

Nope, that engine doesn't have head bolt issues. The M113 in that SLK is a very solid engine. That's a fairly rare car in that color, too.

I am always leery of older private import G-Wagens, as they are not immune rust - inspect closely. Black wheels are not so awesome, too - those with that color are trying kind of hard. Not the same as Doug's rare G cabrio which kind of reminds me of a Barbie car, but is seen as something fairly special among the cult.

Another cheap way to go fast with the top down. I do like this. Fin of course can rat out the engines fatal flaw (head bolts?)

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/KVNWmQdL/2007-mercedes-benz-slk55-amg

28firefighter · June 2020

Hoovie bought his wife a red SLK55 a year or two ago. Really inexpensive for the performance you get out of it.

benjaminh · June 2020

xwesx said:

benjaminh said:
The Tesla million-mile battery is going to be primarily for commercial use (trucks and maybe robo-taxis), and according to this recent video these new batteries will last about 16 years/1 million miles. The current batteries last c. 10-12 years/300+k. Given that, long term ownership of a gas car with high mpg might still pay off. Most Toyotas, Hyundais, Hondas, Acuras, etc. will probably go 15 years/200k before needing major repairs, while a new Tesla is going to need a c.4k+ battery redo during that time.
Consider, though, that with the savings associated with not needing to do all the other maintenance that is engine-related (e.g., oil and all other fluid and filter changes, belts, hoses, etc), even a $4K+ action within 200,000 miles is not really that big of a deal. Yeah, it is a lot of money all at once, but it is not a cost-of-ownership disadvantage.

Turns out my memory on what Musk said about battery redo was a bit off, and probably closer to c.$7k....

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1117099861273219073?lang=en

corvette · June 2020

xwesx said:
...Tesla recently cut off non-original owners from access to Superchargers.

Never mind, I now see @tifighter answered my question.

corvette · June 2020

Ford dropped the embargo on the 2021 F-150 last night. Same powertrains as 2020, plus an optional hybrid available on all trim levels. Fancy 120V and 240V power outlets available so you can use it as a generator. Wireless CarPlay, larger infotainment screens, fancy lighting, locking under-seat storage, etc. available.

https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/2021/

greg128 · June 2020

I did my annual analysis of cars for sale on cars.com with over 300,000 miles recently. You would think that the manufacturer with the most cars in the category would be the most durable or are the vehicles people would be most likely to invest in their repair as opposed to junking them. There were a total of 825 listed in the entire country. I would like to note that the majority of them were trucks. The results on a percentage basis by manufacturer:

All GM 26.5%
All Ford 25.5%
Toyota-Lexus 15.4%
Chrysler-Dodge-Ram 12.5%
Honda-Acura 6%
Nissan-Infiniti 3%
MB 1.7%
Hyundai-Kia 1.3%
BMW - VW-Audi Mazda Subaru all under 1%

explorerx4 · June 2020

For long distance driving, a mid size gas powered sedan is a good choice.
Comfortable and probably 550/600 miles of fuel range.

xwesx · June 2020

tifighter said:
I think I know what you are trying to say here, but it is worded confusingly. If an original owner bought a Tesla that came with free supercharging, then it does not transfer to the second owner. But that doesn't mean that they have no access to superchargers, it just means that they pay for a supercharging session. So, still a viable option in my mind.

Oh, really? Thanks for clarifying, then. I understood that Tesla actually reprogrammed the car to disable the Supercharge capability. There are three types of charging: Standard wall-outlet slow charge (e.g., 120V), 240V fast charging, and Supercharger.

explorerx4 · June 2020

I could be wrong but i don't think the Model 3 has 'free' Supercharging included.

xwesx · June 2020

corvette said:
Ford dropped the embargo on the 2021 F-150 last night. Same powertrains as 2020, plus an optional hybrid available on all trim levels. Fancy 120V and 240V power outlets available so you can use it as a generator. Wireless CarPlay, larger infotainment screens, fancy lighting, locking under-seat storage, etc. available.

https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/2021/

Nice hood lines. I love that the Chevy 69-72 style hood just won't go away; it's a darn nice design!

xwesx · June 2020

explorerx4 said:
For long distance driving, a mid size gas powered sedan is a good choice.
Comfortable and probably 550/600 miles of fuel range.

For what is on the market today, agreed.

A last-generation TDI Passat is better. Mine will live fondly in my memory forever! 700+ miles per tank at ~48 mpg, smooth, quiet, powerful. No driving assistance, and yet such a wonderful drive.

xwesx · June 2020

explorerx4 said:
I could be wrong but i don't think the Model 3 has 'free' Supercharging included.

No, I didn't say anything about free... just access to use them at all.

explorerx4 · June 2020

Was a bit confused why the approximately 700 mile hybrid range was highlighted.
My 2017 3.5 twin turbo is rated @23 mpg highway and has a 36 gallon tank, so 828 miles.
Regular size tank is 23 gallons, so maybe hybrid has 30+ highway rating?

qbrozen · June 2020

corvette said:
Ford dropped the embargo on the 2021 F-150 last night. Same powertrains as 2020, plus an optional hybrid available on all trim levels. Fancy 120V and 240V power outlets available so you can use it as a generator. Wireless CarPlay, larger infotainment screens, fancy lighting, locking under-seat storage, etc. available.

https://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/2021/

My dad had 120/240 outlets in his 1994 work truck. Installed himself though. It was to run an arc welder on the go

tifighter · June 2020

xwesx said:

tifighter said:
I think I know what you are trying to say here, but it is worded confusingly. If an original owner bought a Tesla that came with free supercharging, then it does not transfer to the second owner. But that doesn't mean that they have no access to superchargers, it just means that they pay for a supercharging session. So, still a viable option in my mind.
Oh, really? Thanks for clarifying, then. I understood that Tesla actually reprogrammed the car to disable the Supercharge capability. There are three types of charging: Standard wall-outlet slow charge (e.g., 120V), 240V fast charging, and Supercharger.

Yeah, we call that Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 charging in EV world. Tesla calls their L3 charging 'supercharging'. With the new 250kW chargers Tesla is bringing online, it's practically L4 charging...

tifighter · June 2020

explorerx4 said:
I could be wrong but i don't think the Model 3 has 'free' Supercharging included.

No they do not. Although the Model 3 Performance did when it first came out

corvette · June 2020

I think I've posted here before - Toyota dropped E85 support on the Tundra for 2020. I was curious as to whether this was a marketing change vs. a hardware / software change, so I ran the Tundra down to its reserve and filled up with E85. The drive home was uneventful, other than noticeably lower MPG.

I plugged in my BlueDriver to see whether there were any pending codes, and all hell broke loose. Trailer brake error, pre-collision error, visit dealer, etc. was popping up on the instrument cluster. It appears the scan tool is not yet compatible with 2020 models. I didn't try to clear the codes with the BlueDriver, just pulled the negative battery cable for 30 seconds or so, and all seems to be fine. It was also showing pending codes for Bank 1 / Bank 2 too lean, so I'm going to assume I will get a check engine light soon.

I believe the incentives given to manufacturers for building flex fuel vehicles changed from year to year, and it's probably no longer attractive for most. With that, it seems like the flex-fuel experiment in the US is coming to an end, although most newer vehicles (including the Tundra) do appear to support E15. It looks like GM and Ford are the only makes still selling flex-fuel vehicles which support E85.

oldfarmer50 · June 2020

xwesx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:
Quick update on the Volvo brakes. They confirmed the rotors were warped and replaced the front ones with no questions. And they completed the first service (a bit early). So that was nice and drama free (not that I expected it to be anything but).
So what are you going to do if it happens again? I had it reoccur on the Chrysler every 10-15k miles, usually during an instance of heavy braking. How many miles did you have on it when this happened?

I’m only so nosy because I never had a car that persistently had rotor troubles.
For the next occurrence, I would go for aftermarket rotors and pads to see if it makes an appreciable difference.

Also, if you improve the air routing such that there is more airflow over the rotors, that can sometimes help. Options include different wheels and creating or modifying air dams under the car that will scoop and route air directly to the rotors. There are quite a few vehicles now (typically high performance models) that have such air dams engineered directly into the suspension to do just that.

On the Forester, I installed standard rotors from NAPA (their "premium" ones, but still only around $50/each). We are at what, around 40,000 miles later, and no issues at all (not that we tend to warp rotors!).

My “guy” is a NAPA shop so all the parts come from them. Even he started muttering about Chinese junk after the third set of rotors.

oldfarmer50 · June 2020

corvette said:
I think I've posted here before - Toyota dropped E85 support on the Tundra for 2020. I was curious as to whether this was a marketing change vs. a hardware / software change, so I ran the Tundra down to its reserve and filled up with E85. The drive home was uneventful, other than noticeably lower MPG.

I plugged in my BlueDriver to see whether there were any pending codes, and all hell broke loose. Trailer brake error, pre-collision error, visit dealer, etc. was popping up on the instrument cluster. It appears the scan tool is not yet compatible with 2020 models. I didn't try to clear the codes with the BlueDriver, just pulled the negative battery cable for 30 seconds or so, and all seems to be fine. It was also showing pending codes for Bank 1 / Bank 2 too lean, so I'm going to assume I will get a check engine light soon.

I believe the incentives given to manufacturers for building flex fuel vehicles changed from year to year, and it's probably no longer attractive for most. With that, it seems like the flex-fuel experiment in the US is coming to an end, although most newer vehicles (including the Tundra) do appear to support E15. It looks like GM and Ford are the only makes still selling flex-fuel vehicles which support E85.

The kid’s 2010 Fusion is flex fuel. If it’s going to cause that kind of havoc I’ll tell him never to use it.

sda · June 2020

The placard inside the fuel door of the Q5 says its E85 compatible, yet premium 93 octane is recommended. Top tier 93 is only what we use, I am very hesitant to use anything else.

corvette · June 2020

oldfarmer50 said:

The kid’s 2010 Fusion is flex fuel. If it’s going to cause that kind of havoc I’ll tell him never to use it.

LOL. My Tundra is not, officially, I was just curious as to whether it was, unofficially. And most scan tools should work fine on a 2010, mine works fine on the G37.

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