Car thread

Post by **Kaizer** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:04 pm

my mother in law wont be convinced to buy a new car, even though she can afford anything she wants. she'd rather keep driving her 2004 hyundai santa fe that has 200k miles on it even though its falling apart one piece at a time. the latest problem? no brakes.

mac5155 · Post by **mac5155** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:05 pm

If there's nothing wrong with a vehicle I say drive it til it dies. If you want to keep putting 3-400 into it, fine.. but that money could be better suited elsewhere.

Post by **Kaizer** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:10 pm

the biggest problem is that she drives it around NYC like shes at rockingham, and doesnt deal well with being startled. is something goes wrong im worried shes going to flip the damn thing.

Post by **tifosi77** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:13 pm

mac5155 wrote:They say since it's an R type that they'd assume AWD. If it was FWD...I dont think you'd be able to successfully pull out without melting rubber.

Yeah, baby.....

But yeah, my first thought was that's A LOT of power for a FWD car!

Post by **PensFanInDC** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:21 pm

I have no AC in my Suburban. Suggestions for a recharge? What brand/type. Advice, ideas? I have no idea what to do and I don't have the scratch to bring it to a shop.

mac5155 · Post by **mac5155** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:38 pm

try just getting a bottle with a gauge on it. follow the instructions on it. Should be like $30 or so. if all that's needed is a recharge, you can DIY or a shop will do it for usually cost of freon + 20-30$

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Fri May 16, 2014 11:00 pm

Yup. I recharged our '04 BMW with a kit I bought from Autozone. It's dummy proof, and the connectors are standardized so you can't really go wrong.

Post by **columbia** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:43 am

Does anyone have a good link for life of your car type of maintenance?
For example, timing belt at ~ 90K, etc.

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:53 am

Not being glib, but if you have an owners manual it should be in there. And if you don't it might be online. Some manufacturers really go deep into that and others don't. If you don't have it post what kind of car you have (doesn't have to be make/model if that bothers you) but at least the motor type (I6/V8/4cyl, diesel, etc) and the drivetrain configuration (FF, FR, MR) I could probably dig up something pretty standard that would work.

This is probably more detail than you want, but hey, Germans. The service intervals for my '93 E36. The stuff there is mostly "Check" items, not when to actually change them though, as you'd change them as needed so it might not be what you're looking for.

Post by **columbia** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:57 am

Oh, yeah, I've looked at various Toyota schedules, but they tend to be put out by the dealers....who obviously have an incentive to upsell you on things that you don't necessarily need (at any given time).

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Mon May 19, 2014 10:08 am

Maybe check out a Chilton/Haynes/Bentley manual and see what they say? Not sure if it would parrot the factory stuff as a CYA or if they do their own schedules. The car above is 21 years old, it's not like I'm taking it to the dealer for oil changes.

DelPen · Post by **DelPen** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:36 pm

Did the math on my 10 year old Ford Freestyle, looking at what I spent per month this year so far and how much I would need to get fixed on it over the next 7 months (tires, allignment, AC, CVT transmaission servicing) and that it only gets 19 MPG it made more sense to trade it in to lease a smaller car that gets closer to 40 mpg and I'm really not paying much more per month.

It was nice to have no car payments for a few years.

Post by **Eismann** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:39 pm

Any Kia Optima owners in hyeah? Looking at one for Mrs. E.

mac5155 · Post by **mac5155** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:40 pm

THe optima hybrid seems to be a good option.

Post by **Shyster** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:57 pm

I'm looking at a Kia Forte5 hatchback for my next car. I'm miffed at Hyundai for switching the sunroof on the Elantra GT from the premium option package to the tech option package. That means if you want a sunroof you also have to max out the option sheet and also get navigation, which I don't want. The Forte is the sister car to the Elantra, but Kia didn't make that change to option packages. Plus the Kia comes with a more powerful turbo engine.

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:59 pm

I had a place in Murrysville install a sunroof in an Oldsmobile Alero. I get you'd be leery about cutting a hole in your brand new car, but the install was really well done. We had it built into the sale so it was pretty painless.

Post by **tifosi77** » Mon May 19, 2014 2:01 pm

Been reading about the new Mazda 3 5-door, and I am liking what I see.

DelPen wrote:Did the math on my 10 year old Ford Freestyle, looking at what I spent per month this year so far and how much I would need to get fixed on it over the next 7 months (tires, allignment, AC, CVT transmaission servicing) and that it only gets 19 MPG it made more sense to trade it in to lease a smaller car that gets closer to 40 mpg and I'm really not paying much more per month.

It was nice to have no car payments for a few years.

That's kinda where I am right now. I've owned my car outright for about four years now, and that's been sweet. But I'm also spending $200 a month on gas, so...... suck.

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Mon May 19, 2014 2:03 pm

I thought we agreed earlier you weren't getting a wagon?

Post by **tifosi77** » Mon May 19, 2014 2:05 pm

Dude, the whole conversation started when I said that I was essentially getting a station wagon!

Was looking at the Impreza 5-door, but the stuff I've read about the Mazda really has me reconsidering. The only downer is the Mazda only comes with flappy paddles on the higher-end trim level.

mac5155 · Post by **mac5155** » Mon May 19, 2014 2:27 pm

Are you spending $200 a month in gas cause your commute sucks or cause your car gets horrible MPGs? (or a combination of both)

dodint · Post by **dodint** » Mon May 19, 2014 3:02 pm

My buddy has a Mazda3 5-door. He likes it. Only complaint is that he's coming from an Altima and misses the space.

Post by **tifosi77** » Mon May 19, 2014 8:02 pm

mac5155 wrote:Are you spending $200 a month in gas cause your commute sucks or cause your car gets horrible MPGs? (or a combination of both)

Yes to both, and gas is also more expensive here than in PA. I think I paid ~$4.29 / gal when I topped up on Sunday.

Post by **shafnutz05** » Mon May 19, 2014 8:06 pm

When we visited Quebec a couple of weeks ago, I was struck again by just how fortunate we are.

It was around $1.40/liter....that roughly equates to $5.65/gal.

Not to mention the credit card machine wasn't working, so I had to go in and prepay for "35 liters of fuel" please. I know the metric system makes sense, but it's annoying to work with such large numbers.

Post by **columbia** » Mon May 19, 2014 8:06 pm

That's harsh; I paid $3.27 on Sunday.

mac5155 · Post by **mac5155** » Mon May 19, 2014 8:41 pm

tifosi77 wrote:
mac5155 wrote:Are you spending $200 a month in gas cause your commute sucks or cause your car gets horrible MPGs? (or a combination of both)
Yes to both, and gas is also more expensive here than in PA. I think I paid ~$4.29 / gal when I topped up on Sunday.

You should evaluate if a diesel is worth it. If it's not, a hybrid more than likely is.

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