Car thread

[Sigwolf]

Yes, advice on this please. According to the well-meaning employee of the national car service chain which may or may not have 'Jiffy' in its name, I did this once at 40k. It was due again at 70k, but I didn't do it. I am now at 126k. Should I, or should I not?

If it's a manual, I would do it without hesitation. If it's an auto, that's working properly without issue, I might be hesitant and opt to leave it alone. If it's an auto that's been giving you problems or not shifting smoothly, I'd probably go ahead and do it with the knowledge that it could potentially make it worse, but you would already be going down that road anyway.

[tifosi77]

Yeah, it's a manual. And I think the synchro on 3rd is going dodgy on me, too. Until the box warms up, shifts into 3rd have become a wee clunky.

[dodint]

My wife shot down my east coast RV trip from NC to Nova Scotia and back. Thinking of punishing her by doing the Vegas/Grand Canyon/Mt. Rushmore trip she wanted but renting a 911 or a Stingray from Hertz. Limiting her to one small suitcase would be the punishment as she's a fellow car nut.

[tifosi77]

In the past 24 hours I have seen two NSXs. Which is two more than I saw in the preceding seven or eight years combined.

[mac5155]

So we are trying to get rid of our truck since it's a pretty big expense and I could get by with something much cheaper. Go to AutoTrader, see they have this "trade in marketplace" thing where you get an instant offer for your car, then you bring it in to a dealer, they verify the stuff you entered, and "if it's accurate they cut you a check!". I took like 20 minutes to enter everything in accurately. It's a 2011 f-150 FX4, a similar one, same colors, options, and certified (what ours is too) just sold on ebay last month for $28,000. They tell me $24,750. Great, our payoff is below that, and that's all I was hoping for. Call Jim Shorkey who is the preferred dealer whether you trade in or just sell outright. They call me and say to bring it in, chances are they can even go higher than auto trader. I'm skeptical but figure I'll give it a shot. If it's lower, maybe it will be $1,000 lower. Go to Jim Shorkey, sit there for an hour and a half while I fill out all the same stuff I did on Auto Trader. Wait another half hour while they go over my truck. They come back and say the truck is in great shape other than a little ding on the front bumper. Say after they adjust that in auto trader they have an offer of $18,200. I about lost my **** on them for leading me along for 2 hours and then giving me a quote of 70% of the original offer. Dealerships wonder how they get a bad name, IMO this is how. Just left a sour taste in my mouth.

[CBear3]

So, new Miata. Yes or no?

[dodint]

My first experience selling (not trading, selling outright) to CarMax was similar. Came back and said the car was impeccable, but the offer was well below private party value. We walked away and sold it on eBay. I did sell them my last Intrepid a year or so later and it was easy knowing that the offer would be lower going in.

It's business, mac. Don't take it personal, though I wish you had a better time with it. Come to think of it we got lowballed with the Autotrader Certified Trade-In value widget they have when you want to trade in a car to a participating dealer. Maybe the issue is the site.

[mac5155]

I know.. I told the guy I know I don't have a leg to stand on. I was more pissed that they offered $25 sight unseen, told me it would be HIGHER, then came in that much lower. If AutoTrader told me $18 from the get-go, I'd be fine with it.

I would love to sell it on eBay, but the bank holds the title. I've looked at doing it via Escrow, but I feel like it would be a pain and sellers would back away.

A local car dealer offered to put it on consignment about a month ago if he had space, so I gave him a call again today

[dodint]

If it's a bank with a local branch, and the buyer is able to go with you, selling isn't that much more difficult. Buyer shows up with payment in excess of the balance and they do the paperwork paying off your loan and processing a new title in the mail for him. It's a few extra steps but not impossible. The problem is you might end up finding some bidder in Texas that wants your exact super awesome package and doesn't want to fuss with the extra hour.

If it were an F-250 I'd make you an offer myself.

[mac5155]

Was also reading into Escrow, think I'm going to give it a shot. Just sucks that so many scammers use Escrow so it gives the legit sellers a bad name. .89% fee plus they do lien payoff service for $60. If I find a willing buyer, I think it'd be fine.

[dodint]

Learned something new today. X1 xDrive28i is Deutsch for "compromise that satisfies in no way, shape, or form."

-X1 is too small to go off road, but it is AWD so that's something.
-It's like a station wagon, except the body is built like a bottle inside so can't actually haul anything due to the tiny rear opening.
-Cargo area behind rear seats is small and the rear window is hard to see out of.
-Driver area is smaller than the last gen (E46) three series sedan, which is saying a lot.
-Stops/Starts the motor when idling, like a golf cart. Except it still only gets 24mpg. So confused.
-Has 240hp and gets 24mpg. My 2000 Dodge Intrepid had 240hp, and got 27mpg. Wat?
-Has a really bad exhaust note, buzzcan sounding. Might just be my model, which only has 2,000 miles so it's kind of sad either way.

It has some good qualities. The black paint is very black. It's a nice car, in the sense that when you sit in it it takes you places. More comfortable than that Chevy Aveo I rented a few years ago.

It's a loaner car, as the 5-series is in the shop with a whistling sunroof seal and some seeping oil seals. It kind of takes everything I hate about modern BMW and stuffed it into one vehicle.

[Sigwolf]

My wife loves hers, and gets 28+ mpg. I think the visibility is great, better than her previous Rogue. Start/stop can be disabled with a simple button push, never to be dealt with again. If more cargo space is needed, that's why they make the X3. Since it still has hydraulic steering, unlike most current models with the slushy electric steering, it handles almost as well as the e90 3 series, with more storage space and utility than a sedan. I think it sounds fine, and it drives great, which is the best part.

[dodint]

I knew if I posted it someone would have one. 'Law of Averages' I guess. I'm happy your wife enjoys hers. I drive a '93 3-series without an interior so there is a car for everyone's taste. For what it's worth the neighbor lady that lives across the street stopped doing yard work and came over to congratulate us on buying such a nice new car.

Stop/Start doesn't bother me, but for the size of this vehicle the fuel efficiency really ought to out perform a fifteen year old Dodge full size sedan. The 24mph is really puzzling, I can't see how it's doing that bad. Since the 1-series sedan isn't out yet you have me on the sedan utility.

It's telling there isn't a single rear view of this model on http://www.bmwusa.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but I found this on a blog:



The back window is very small to me as it doesn't fill the mirror, and that's ignoring the rear defrost/radio antenna that is printed in circles rather than the traditional parallel lines.

I see this car as being for someone that wants an SUV but lives in an urban area and just can't let go of that SUV desire. The cockpit has a more trucklike posture than that of a car, but it doesn't offer much more utility than a sedan. I had the same complaint about the X3 when it came out as the 325xi Touring had more space and offroad capability but people wanted an SUV/SAV anyway so they now have the X line.

My criticism isn't with the car in a vacuum, or it's owners, but with BMW losing their brand image and trying to be all things to all people. Even the badge is convoluted: BMW X1 xDrive28i is a lot to swallow. Like the 4-series. They branched the 3-series off and made the two-door 4-series platform only to introduce the 4-series Gran Coupe four door. There is even a four door 6-series, which in my day was called a 5-series.

They're lost and as an enthusiast it bums me out.

[Sigwolf]

I agree that they are diluting the brand, and I think the acquisition of Mini has been a major black mark in the direction they have chosen. I'm not a fan of the "gran coupes", especially when there is an equivalent 4 door model of every 2 door platform they have decided to make a "gran coupe". They're oversaturating their own market. The biggest reason we made the move this year to get her the X1 is that it is the last year before they destroy the 1/2/x1 series lines by moving them to a front-drive Mini-based platform with the 2016 models. The '15 X1 is about the only thing in the BMW lineup that you can still get with the traditional hydraulic steering rack. That, combined with the upgraded suspension with the M-Sport package, make it a heck of a good handling car. As I mentioned, we also get over 28 mpg on average, and that's with me keeping it in 'sport' mode whenever I drive it. It's also not necessarily fair to compare it to a 15 year old vehicle considering the considerable added weight from all the government-mandated "safety" features required in current vehicles. It also checks all the boxes my wife needed, and works well as a "dog transport". If you like the handling on the last gen BMW's, this is about the last one you can still get. She prefers the higher seating, so it was win-win.

I am with you on being discouraged with BMW as an enthusiast (and I plan on keeping my e92 for a long time), but it is perfect for my wife's needs, and still keeps me happy when I take over the driver's seat.

[dodint]

When we got in it I looked at my wife and said "this would be perfect for transporting the dog" as the space lends itself well for that.

[Firebird]

Got out of my car today and walked up the sidewalk instead of jaywalking.

I double-taked my car, because it looked like my wheel was curbed and I knew I hadn't run into any curbs.

Looked in close and this was going on:



Tires have about 1,000 miles on them, no idea what happened, haven't run over anything. Nevertheless, pain in the ass because I've been out of way out of town for over a week and still will be for another week. Hopefully, I won't have any issues with Michelins warranty claim at some shop here.

[dodint]

hehe

A Ferrari and a Bentley on a hockey rink. Love Top Gear.

[mac5155]

Got out of my car today and walked up the sidewalk instead of jaywalking.

I double-taked my car, because it looked like my wheel was curbed and I knew I hadn't run into any curbs.

Looked in close and this was going on:



Tires have about 1,000 miles on them, no idea what happened, haven't run over anything. Nevertheless, pain in the ass because I've been out of way out of town for over a week and still will be for another week. Hopefully, I won't have any issues with Michelins warranty claim at some shop here.

Wow, I would not be driving on those... and I'd trade em in for a set of "anything that ends in 'stone" :pop:

[PensFanInDC]

Goodstone?

[ulf]

Flintstone?

[dodint]

I'm a Pirelli man myself.

Are those run flats?

[PensFanInDC]

Pirellistone?

[Firebird]

I'm a Pirelli man myself.

Are those run flats?

No, Pilot Super Sports

[mac5155]

Firestone wide oval indy, firehawk, or Bridgestone potenza all the way

[Factorial]

Firestone wide oval indy, firehawk, or Bridgestone potenza all the way

What do those run you for a set of 4?