Next car?

[Out-Of-Phase]

Wow. All these really nice cars you people have been mentioning and I feel like such a cheapskate. I've been driving the same vehicle now for 26 years. 92 Toyota pickup, 22RE 4-cyl engine, 5-speed manual.

Excuse me while I go hide in embarrassment.

 

[Montucky]

Wow. All these really nice cars you people have been mentioning and I feel like such a cheapskate. I've been driving the same vehicle now for 26 years. 92 Toyota pickup, 22RE 4-cyl engine, 5-speed manual.

Excuse me while I go hide in embarrassment.

Hey, nothing wrong with that! Probably means you have more money for nicer audio gear! That said, since I've had some missteps in life along with starting a family, my days of fast, nice cars have been on a long term hiatus.

 

[j_garcia]

Mine is in the shop right now. Been driving rental since last week after mine got hit while it was parked. Relatively minor, but damage is over $5k. The FWD slow, boat-like rental car is no fun.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

Hey, nothing wrong with that! Probably means you have more money for nicer audio gear! That said, since I've had some missteps in life along with starting a family, my days of fast, nice cars have been on a long term hiatus.

Thank you for the nice comment, but as a former audiophile, I don't spend much money on expensive audio equipment anymore either. Frugal is my favorite word.

However, speaking of cars, I sure would like a new 3 Series BMW parked out in the driveway.

 

[panteragstk]

Wow. All these really nice cars you people have been mentioning and I feel like such a cheapskate. I've been driving the same vehicle now for 26 years. 92 Toyota pickup, 22RE 4-cyl engine, 5-speed manual.

Excuse me while I go hide in embarrassment.

At least you know it's impossible to kill your truck.

 

[Montucky]

The FWD slow, boat-like rental car is no fun.

Oh, it CAN be. Hope you got the insurance!
Time to practice your evasive maneuvers, J-turns, power slides, etc. I've had some lousy (and great) rental cars over the years. You'd be amazed at what a Dodge Neon can do with a bit of imagination.

Pro tip for car shoppers: Don't ever buy former rental vehicles.

 

[panteragstk]

I've had a total of 5 vehicles in my life. First was an 89 ford ranger with a POS 2.8l v6 that my mechanic said is "one of the worst motors ever built" and the motor crapped out twice. I wanted to put a 5.0l in it, but my parents didn't want the hassle...oh well.

They then decided a 95' white Buick Regal (couch on wheels) was a good high school kid car...it was not. A/C compressor died in college and transmission went after it. Didn't even have 130k on the OD. That was the last used vehicle I bought...for a while.

I then got my 2004 Dodge Ram brand new for an excellent price (roommate at the time was a car salesman and went with me). Drove that truck for 12 years. Never had a single issue with it (including the horrible transmission). Loved that truck, but a vehicle that heavy with a v6 with ONLY 200hp was horrible to drive on the highway. In town was fine.

Sold that cause a single cab truck with 3 kids isn't useful.

Got my 2015 Durango new and love it. V6 in that thing is fantastic. That is wifey's current car.

Wifey has had three cars. 1997 saturn SC1 that refused to die even with 260k miles on the OD. Only issues were minor stuff that is normal wear and tear. Water pump (dirt cheap to fix) died, but that was easy to fix.

We then got her a small SUV. 2013 Jeep Compass (pos) that had issues, but were all fixed under warranty. We waited a year to get one since they added the option for a 6spd vs the CVT. I won't own a CVT vehicle.

Traded that jeep in on my 2007 diesel Ram quad cab 4x4. Probably the last used vehicle I'll buy. New diesels are too expensive and have too much EPA crap on them. Love my truck.

So right now I've got a 2015 Durango (love it) and a 2007 Ram (love it). I think the only thing I'd change is upgrade the durango to an SRT model, but those are somewhere around $70k. Not happening unless someone decides to gift me some money...damn kids...

My car history is boring. I am going to get to drive some fun stuff this weekend though...if you can't afford a c7 Z06, have a fried with one.

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

At least you know it's impossible to kill your truck.

Interesting. I've never seen those videos before. Thanks for the links.

 

[Sheep]

You make an interesting point, and one that automakers are failing to realize as they keep pushing "sporty" on previously boring lines.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE sports cars and prefer a tight suspension, gobs of power, and a manual transmission. But for the open road? Give me a good old fashioned land yacht.

I used to have 3 cars at once. I had my Mazda 3 hatch for bopping around town with ease (5-speed MT made it fun), I had my Cadillac CTS-V for when I felt the need for speed, and I had an old 90s Cadillac Deville for my commutes when work would take me hundreds of miles out of town. Something to be said for those plush leather seats, air suspension, and that silky smooth V-8. It was like cruising down the highway on a big comfy counch that's floating on a cloud. Awful city car. Amazing cruiser. I miss that car. Was 100% reliable until rats chewed up the wiring and caused a fire, totaling it out.

While those big luxo barges aren't always the car for me, it did teach me that there is certainly an excellent case to be made for them. It's a shame that everybody seems to be wanting to make cars for the Nurbergring in lieue of cars made for the wide open American Interstate Highways. Why not both?!

After driving some new cars through work and then picking up my new Prius Prime, the best way to relax and have a great long haul car is one with the driving aids. Like Jared, everything is better with aids. Radar cruise? Stress free highway driving. Lane Keep assist? Don't worry about miss handling that long, sweeping corner, car has it under control. Collision braking? Don't need to be hyper aware of any brodosers slamming on their brakes randomly. All those things made driving the highway so much nicer, and while it's no auto pilot, the mental load reduction is so nice. I'm really looking forward to longer road trips this summer knowing how much less fatigue I'll experience on the road.

SheepStar

 

[panteragstk]

After driving some new cars through work and then picking up my new Prius Prime, the best way to relax and have a great long haul car is one with the driving aids. Like Jared, everything is better with aids. Radar cruise? Stress free highway driving. Lane Keep assist? Don't worry about miss handling that long, sweeping corner, car has it under control. Collision braking? Don't need to be hyper aware of any brodosers slamming on their brakes randomly. All those things made driving the highway so much nicer, and while it's no auto pilot, the mental load reduction is so nice. I'm really looking forward to longer road trips this summer knowing how much less fatigue I'll experience on the road.

SheepStar

All those things are awesome, but I just wonder what happens when the sensors malfunction? Suddenly stop? Car trying to put you in a lane that happens to be the shoulder? Not that I think any of this will happen, but I can't help but wonder...

 

[Sheep]

All those things are awesome, but I just wonder what happens when the sensors malfunction? Suddenly stop? Car trying to put you in a lane that happens to be the shoulder? Not that I think any of this will happen, but I can't help but wonder...

If you think features like these would come to market without a ass load of fail safes, you'd be wrong. If the system doesn't work it beeps like mad at you and makes you fully aware you're back at the helm.

SheepStar

 

[panteragstk]

If you think features like these would come to market without a ass load of fail safes, you'd be wrong. If the system doesn't work it beeps like mad at you and makes you fully aware you're back at the helm.

SheepStar

Of course. That's why I said "Not that I think any of this will happen". I will say that at least the blind spot indicators should be mandatory just like back up cameras. Those things are a life saver when you drive something with terrible blind spots.

 

[Sheep]

Of course. That's why I said "Not that I think any of this will happen". I will say that at least the blind spot indicators should be mandatory just like back up cameras. Those things are a life saver when you drive something with terrible blind spots.

Totally agree. I wish we splurged for the loaded prime, but it was another 5 grand over the mid model. I just didn't want that stupid auto parking feature, could have shaved 2 grand off the car alone without it.

SheepStar

 

[panteragstk]

Totally agree. I wish we splurged for the loaded prime, but it was another 5 grand over the mid model. I just didn't want that stupid auto parking feature, could have shaved 2 grand off the car alone without it.

SheepStar

That stuff irritates me. I want a specific option, but I have to upgrade to package B with all sorts of other crap I don't want. That's how it was with my durango. I wanted leather and the rear seat entertainment, but it would have cost something like $9k to get it. Nope. Not a chance.

 

[Sheep]

That stuff irritates me. I want a specific option, but I have to upgrade to package B with all sorts of other crap I don't want. That's how it was with my durango. I wanted leather and the rear seat entertainment, but it would have cost something like $9k to get it. Nope. Not a chance.

I get it when it's like leather, betters seats, and all that, but the top prime gets the JBL audio, blind spot monitors, fog lights, auto dimming mirror, parking sensors, rolling tonneau cover (instead of the flimsy fabric one), heads up display, and rain sensing wipers. It's a lot of features, but some of those should be on the mid model and have a slightly more balanced price jump between base, upgrade, and technology. I priced out the hard tonneau cover, it's $730 bucks! Dimming mirror, fog lights, tonneau cover, blind spot, and the stereo should be on the mid trim, save the heads up, rain sensing, and parking crap for the top model. Maybe I'll trade it in on the insight in a year or 2.

SheepStar

 

[DIY Junky]

The Honda CVT is the best on the market, and they really only have 1 wearable part. It's not a cheap fix, but it's not crazy either. They also provide a fairly substantial fuel economy boost, so the offset there should cover any repair costs that you could incur. From every review i've read, the CRV is toe to toe with the Mazda, and the Mazda is rolling on much lower profile tires, which you aren't factoring in.

SheepStar

B/S on the CRV they went to Turbo and CVT … You can have CRV …. Mazda way better in build quality and long term use now . Open the hoods and look in and compare the two ...Any one who turns a wrench for a living will tell you the same .. I look at cars for long term cost and ones that I wont be fixing all the time. Turbo's don't last
..

 

[Sheep]

B/S on the CRV they went to Turbo and CVT … You can have CRV …. Mazda way better in build quality and long term use now . Open the hoods and look in and compare the two ...Any one who turns a wrench for a living will tell you the same .. I look at cars for long term cost and ones that I wont be fixing all the time. Turbo's don't last
..

Well I'm sold. What a well written, informative post with clear points backed up with real world experience and evidence. I'm so glad you didn't take a skin deep approach to your research either, I would hate it if you just looked at something and determined it's value.

SheepStar

 

[Irvrobinson]

That stuff irritates me. I want a specific option, but I have to upgrade to package B with all sorts of other crap I don't want. That's how it was with my durango. I wanted leather and the rear seat entertainment, but it would have cost something like $9k to get it. Nope. Not a chance.

With the exception of Porsche, every manufacturer does it that way. The reason is to optimize manufacturing costs. Having a zillion individual options is very expensive to implement in a high volume production line, which is why there are these annoying packages that group a bunch of seemingly unrelated features together. Given their druthers, the manufacturers would rather let you pick and choose anything you want, because in the end you'll probably spend more than on a package with stuff you don't want. If you want to see how bad the individual option strategy can get, go to the Porsche web site and build a vehicle with the configurator tool. It is so easy to add $30K in options to a $60K base car. You can even get paint color to sample and leather color to sample.

 

[j_garcia]

Oh, it CAN be. Hope you got the insurance!
Time to practice your evasive maneuvers, J-turns, power slides, etc. I've had some lousy (and great) rental cars over the years. You'd be amazed at what a Dodge Neon can do with a bit of imagination.

Pro tip for car shoppers: Don't ever buy former rental vehicles.

For sure. The last time it was at the dealer for a recall I had a rental for almost 2 months. "Fast" alone doesn't mean fun Not having to worry about a little abuse because it isn't mine is always fun lol.

Most of the CVTs aren't that different. None of them are bullet proof, none of them are really bad. Nissan has had it the longest and I was under the impression theirs was the best on the road. I drove a few Subarus with the CVT recently and it is pretty decent. No replacement for a manual, but a LOT smoother than an old hydraulic one. Would I own one? For a commuter car, it seems fine to me.

Turbos don't last? I sold my 2004 WRX with 160K on the original motor and turbo on it. My Forester had 150K, original motor/turbo. 80s turbos didn't last because they weren't really taking into account the additional heat, lubrication (no common consumer available synthetic oils back then),and cooling needed. That hasn't been an issue for a long time. Nearly all cars run on full synth these days and turbocharging is extremely well understood at this point.

I don't like driving aids. While it may reduce the information load on the driver, it should not even be necessary for anyone behind the wheel because your entire job is to pay attention to what you're doing. It will make bad drivers even lazier.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I don't like driving aids. While it may reduce the information load on the driver, it should not even be necessary for anyone behind the wheel because your entire job is to pay attention to what you're doing.

Totally agree. I like sensors and warnings, like the lane change assist and cameras, but stop talking, texting, eating, drinking, fiddling with the audio system, or fiddling with some body part, pay attention and drive the damned car!