OT: Trade-in or Keep and Service

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

I have friends who tow a horse trailer, camper or boat, so they have trucks. And with 4 doors, they serve as a useful family vehicle. I don't tow, so an SUV works fine for me.

But sedans are done. Can't sit in a seat that close to the floor. It's ergonomically unhealthy. Even my very green MPG conscious sister says she's ready to get a small CUV for the chair like seating to take stress off her knees and back. Look at the seats in tractor trailer trucks and buses.

As with all things we will cycle back to sedans but right now they’re toast. Ford has discontinued all sedans and coupes except the mustang.

 

[Watchdog]

On their list was $130 for a brake fluid swap out. Has anyone ever replaced their brake fluid? Even if some of their list was 100% necessary they lost me in the random .

My comments are based on you thinking you'll trade the car in the Summer. In general, if the car is running well and you're thinking of replacing it that soon, why do all this work? But if you do decide to do some or all I agree with all the others that you should ask around for a trusted independent shop to do it if you don't or can't do some of it yourself. Dealers' main source of profits is maintenance charged at the "book" rate no matter how much faster the mechanics do the work than the "book" claims it should take.

Are the pads so worn the brakes are squealing? Are the rotors so warped the car "shudders" when you apply the brakes? Is the brake fluid cloudy? Is the car running rough or lacking power or getting materially poorer gas mileage so the plugs (or coil packs) need replacing?

Brake fluid flush? For what? Open the cap and see if the fluid is clear or cloudy. If it's clear you don't need to flush and change it. Brake fluid is hygroscopic and can be damaged by the water it absorbs so if it's cloudy you should change it. Whether it's worth $130 for a dealer to do it is up to you. There must be some YouTube videos on how to do it on a Subaru but on most cars it only involves opening and closing the bleed screws in the proper sequence and draining the old fluid into a container (using a clear plastic hose) while you or your assistant keep adding new fluid to the reservoir.
.
Brakes are not hard to replace. Watch a few YouTube videos and go to it. All you do is jack up and remove one wheel at a time, loosen a few bolts to remove the caliper, and then the rotor, and then putting the new rotor on and replacing the pads. You may need a tool to compress the piston(s) in the calipers but for the money you'll save it's worth buying one.

The headlights on my Escalade fogged up inside because the butyl seal between the outer clear acrylic lens and the inner black plastic body failed. Within a few months there was an half inch of water in the bottom of one headlight and an inch in the bottom of the other one and on the way home from dinner one night the lights shut off a couple miles from home and stayed off. Exciting. Glad it wasn't on the Jersey TPKE near the Meadowlands.

I consulted the Cadillac forum and found it was happening a lot on one model and some on other models but GM wouldn't do a recall. All they would do for the the one model was reimburse those who had paid to have their lights replaced. So I went to my local dealer and was told the lights were about $1100 EACH and with tax and $400 labor it would cost nearly $2800 to replace them.

Eight YouTube videos later I decided to buy a PAIR for a little over $900 on eBay. Made in the Phillipines but look and fit like the originals. It took me 3 to 4 hours to do what the mechanics at GM would do in an hour but well worth the effort. Not hard, but had to remove 15 to 20 push pins and bolts that hold the whole front fascia on so I could move it forward about an inch, then remove 5 or 6 bolts and push pins to open up the fender liner on each side and then 2 bolts on each side to remove a bracket inside the front nose. All that to be able to get to the third bolt that holds the headlights in place. Seemed worth it to save about $1800.

 

[superjohn]

As with all things we will cycle back to sedans but right now they’re toast. Ford has discontinued all sedans and coupes except the mustang.

Love it, makes them way cheaper for me. Just hate having to see around all these ugly monstrosities on the roads.

 

[HuskyHawk]

As with all things we will cycle back to sedans but right now they’re toast. Ford has discontinued all sedans and coupes except the mustang.

I don't think they will be back. Small will be popular, but not low. As we move towards autonomous cars, handling and sporty driving (which have long been what attracted me to cars) won't matter anymore. It makes sense for cars to have an easy ingress and egress and more vertical space. Small electric boxes. Something like the Kia Niro.

 

[8893]

Ford has discontinued all sedans and coupes except the mustang.

Including the Taurus and SHO?

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Why? One of my best friend's bought one and he works in a hospital, never lugs around stuff. I asked him why he got it and he didn't really have an answer other than he likes it knowing it's totally impractical.

Honestly, it was just fun to drive something the size of a tank for a couple days. I wouldn't really buy one to cruise around the streets of Los Angeles.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Including the Taurus and SHO?

Yes. Including the Fusion and Mondeo (eventually). The Taurus, Fiesta and Focus are already gone. But what replaces them are just raised hatchbacks mostly. The Ecosport and new Escape aren't really SUVs.

I like the Mustang Mach E. Some don't.

 

[superjohn]

I don't think they will be back. Small will be popular, but not low. As we move towards autonomous cars, handling and sporty driving (which have long been what attracted me to cars) won't matter anymore. It makes sense for cars to have an easy ingress and egress and more vertical space. Small electric boxes. Something like the Kia Niro.

The closer to the road the better for me. They are making cars faster but they don't seem to be making cars for people who love to drive.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Including the Taurus and SHO?

Yup

 

[Petero]

I have an older Sprinter Diesel Van (2010) which has been great but it developed a DEF fluid problem. This a notorious issue with these vans. The Mercedes dealer quoted me $7500 to fix. I didn't think the value of the Van justified anywhere this type of investment. The solution...I found a local shop that could do the repairs (it wasn't easy tracking one down) for $2500. To hell with Mercedes!!!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

The closer to the road the better for me. They are making cars faster but they don't seem to be making cars for people who love to drive.

Yep. I was a "car guy" probably before you were born, but the trend is that they are appliances. There is more focus on the infotainment system than driving dynamics. Many teens don't even want to get licenses.

I'd love to have a fun to drive car, but not as a daily driver. I tried again in fall of 2019, buying a BMW 340, but it literally caused me extreme pain, so it had to go. You'll get old too eventually.

 

[JMick]

Yep. I was a "car guy" probably before you were born, but the trend is that they are appliances. There is more focus on the infotainment system than driving dynamics. Many teens don't even want to get licenses.

I'd love to have a fun to drive car, but not as a daily driver. I tried again in fall of 2019, buying a BMW 340, but it literally caused me extreme pain, so it had to go. You'll get old too eventually.

yeah regular sedans are dead. but I think there will always be sport coupes and sport hatches/sedans. It's already happening. VW got rid of the regular Golf but kept the GTI and R because the demand is still strong.

I bet Honda always makes the Si. There may not be a regular civic, but they could always share the platform with a smaller CUV.

 

[Chin Diesel]

yeah regular sedans are dead. but I think there will always be sport coupes and sport hatches/sedans. It's already happening. VW got rid of the regular Golf but kept the GTI and R because the demand is still strong.

I bet Honda always makes the Si. There may not be a regular civic, but they could always share the platform with a smaller CUV.

Go over to Europe and there are some great sports wagons. Mercedes, Audi, Jaguar, etc. all make 'em.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

I had no idea that sedans were on their way out. I am not a "car guy" by any stretch of the imagination but I bought a Tesla model S at the end of 2018 and I drive it every day and still get a kick out of it.

 

[gtcam]

Okay Boneyarders,
Normally this would be an off-season post, not coming off a great game the night before but here we go. Brought my car, a 2014 Subaru Legacy with about 67,000 miles for an oil change to the Subaru dealership in Vernon. I needed front brakes too and I checked off to do the 65,000 service.

I was expecting about 250 for the brakes, 75 for the oil, maybe 300 for the routine maintenance. The brakes came to $500?!??(front only remember) And they wanted $800 to do a long list of things that were totally overpriced as well including $400 spark plugs.

Some of the stuff I’d have to do to keep the car going (differential fluid, CVT flush) but I was thrown for a loop cost wise.

Here’s the issue, I was planning to trade this car in over the summer after a pay bump but this has me thinking I should do this sooner rather later. If I do get the work done I’ll go to a smaller place and hopefully pay more like $500.
Do I pay to fix the car and keep it for years to come, trade it now? Or pay to fix and still trade over the summer?

Suburban Subaru SUCKS
I placed 2 complaints against them
The neck of my 2011 Legacy radiator rotted out and forced my car to be towed to them. They diagnosed it as a seized engine and quoted me a $4000 price. I said I saw you drive the car from the flatbed into the service area - how can it be seized. The Service Mgr said sometimes it just happens. I know a bit about cars so I knew he was full of BS.
I called a client of mine who felt that all he needed to do was replace the radiator.
He called Suburban and they told him that they may have missed diagnosed and it is a the head gasket that is the problem - he called BS and said just replace the radiator and then run the car and see if there is a head gasket issue - they stood by their assessment
I had the car towed to my client, he replaced the radiator and fluids charged me $400 and everything was fine.
I called Suburban and spoke to the DB owner told him I wanted him to pay for the tow to West Hartford - he argued with me that the guy who fixed my car is full of it and he assured me it wouldn't last 1000 miles. I am now nearly 18,000 mile later (217,000 miles total) and zero issues. He refused to pay the tow BUT offered me $30 in rebate on future repairs there!!!!!!
Subaru is a great car but finding a dealer with a good service department is hard

 

[the Q]

Suburban Subaru SUCKS
I placed 2 complaints against them
The neck of my 2011 Legacy radiator rotted out and forced my car to be towed to them. They diagnosed it as a seized engine and quoted me a $4000 price. I said I saw you drive the car from the flatbed into the service area - how can it be seized. The Service Mgr said sometimes it just happens. I know a bit about cars so I knew he was full of BS.
I called a client of mine who felt that all he needed to do was replace the radiator.
He called Suburban and they told him that they may have missed diagnosed and it is a the head gasket that is the problem - he called BS and said just replace the radiator and then run the car and see if there is a head gasket issue - they stood by their assessment
I had the car towed to my client, he replaced the radiator and fluids charged me $400 and everything was fine.
I called Suburban and spoke to the DB owner told him I wanted him to pay for the tow to West Hartford - he argued with me that the guy who fixed my car is full of it and he assured me it wouldn't last 1000 miles. I am now nearly 18,000 mile later (217,000 miles total) and zero issues. He refused to pay the tow BUT offered me $30 in rebate on future repairs there!!!!!!
Subaru is a great car but finding a dealer with a good service department is hard

I’ve had a pretty good experience with Bertera Subaru minus they were a rough experience with their tires for life program

 

[Dogdeacon]

Because when they get in an accident with one of them sedans, they walk away with a scratch on their fender. As others have said it is somewhat dependent on rural/urban. If I lived in a major east coast or midwest city, I'm not buying a truck.

I can't think of legitimate reason why anyone would buy any BMW. Not my cup of tea and I think there's better performance/cost vehicles for everything BMW makes. The fact that they are still in business tells me plenty of others feel differently.

That's definitely the conventional thinking and certainly IF there is a sedan - SUV crash the truck wins. But I think you are more likely to avoid a crash in a sedan AND more likely to have a potentially harmful crash in an SUV (rollover risk). Add the fact that SUV drivers go faster b/c they have less feel for the road and it definitely becomes the more dangerous vehicle.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Suburban Subaru SUCKS
I placed 2 complaints against them
The neck of my 2011 Legacy radiator rotted out and forced my car to be towed to them. They diagnosed it as a seized engine and quoted me a $4000 price. I said I saw you drive the car from the flatbed into the service area - how can it be seized. The Service Mgr said sometimes it just happens. I know a bit about cars so I knew he was full of BS.
I called a client of mine who felt that all he needed to do was replace the radiator.
He called Suburban and they told him that they may have missed diagnosed and it is a the head gasket that is the problem - he called BS and said just replace the radiator and then run the car and see if there is a head gasket issue - they stood by their assessment
I had the car towed to my client, he replaced the radiator and fluids charged me $400 and everything was fine.
I called Suburban and spoke to the DB owner told him I wanted him to pay for the tow to West Hartford - he argued with me that the guy who fixed my car is full of it and he assured me it wouldn't last 1000 miles. I am now nearly 18,000 mile later (217,000 miles total) and zero issues. He refused to pay the tow BUT offered me $30 in rebate on future repairs there!!!!!!
Subaru is a great car but finding a dealer with a good service department is hard

Had used them for the life of this car and this was the first bad experience for me.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

If I get a Jeep Gladiator will the “real truck guys” beat me up and take my lunch money?

 

[superjohn]

Because when they get in an accident with one of them sedans, they walk away with a scratch on their fender. As others have said it is somewhat dependent on rural/urban. If I lived in a major east coast or midwest city, I'm not buying a truck.

I can't think of legitimate reason why anyone would buy any BMW. Not my cup of tea and I think there's better performance/cost vehicles for everything BMW makes. The fact that they are still in business tells me plenty of others feel differently.

People who love to drive buy BMW's.

 

[Chin Diesel]

If I get a Jeep Gladiator will the “real truck guys” beat me up and take my lunch money?

That's a good one and a real question to ask.

I've had similar thoughts. A gladiator will definitely go a lot of places off road where "real truck guys" would never dare dirty up their truck or maybe get a scratch or a dent.

It is ugly and is more function over form. As a bonus not only will "real truck guys" mock you, "real Jeep Wranger Guy/Gal" will mock you too.

All that being said, I've looked and considered buying one because it's legit 4WD, can tow up to 7k and you can drive it with the roof off. Where I'm at in Florida it gets me to the beaches and allows me to tow a boat no problem and get it on/off the boat ramp no problem. Seen plenty of "real truck guys" spinning their rear wheels on slippery boat ramps or in sand on road side parking when they only have a 2WD/RWD truck.

 

[NJHusky]

Yep. I was a "car guy" probably before you were born, but the trend is that they are appliances. There is more focus on the infotainment system than driving dynamics. Many teens don't even want to get licenses.

I'd love to have a fun to drive car, but not as a daily driver. I tried again in fall of 2019, buying a BMW 340, but it literally caused me extreme pain, so it had to go. You'll get old too eventually.

That's why I bought a Saab convertible...no great driving roads in FL like Rt 100 in Vt, but it's great top down cruising weather this time of year

 

[AtlHusky]

...no great driving roads in FL like Rt 100 in Vt, but it's great top down cruising weather this time of year

handle ≠ post

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

That's a good one and a real question to ask.

I've had similar thoughts. A gladiator will definitely go a lot of places off road where "real truck guys" would never dare dirty up their truck or maybe get a scratch or a dent.

It is ugly and is more function over form. As a bonus not only will "real truck guys" mock you, "real Jeep Wranger Guy/Gal" will mock you too.

All that being said, I've looked and considered buying one because it's legit 4WD, can tow up to 7k and you can drive it with the roof off. Where I'm at in Florida it gets me to the beaches and allows me to tow a boat no problem and get it on/off the boat ramp no problem. Seen plenty of "real truck guys" spinning their rear wheels on slippery boat ramps or in sand on road side parking when they only have a 2WD/RWD truck.

I’ve only seen a handful in central CT since they launched. I really like the aesthetic actually. How many people with Wranglers have said “man if this had a 5 foot bed on it it’d be PERFECT” Probably a couple! As inconsequential as it may sound I think they are hurt by the name Gladiator. What a dumb stupid name. Every time I see it it reminds me of the “Canyonero” episode of the simpsons.

 

[NJHusky]

handle ≠ post

with age comes wisdom....gladly left NJ since I work remotely...I only wished I had convinced the Mrs a few years earlier...would have purchased the same type of house for 1/2 of what we actually paid and would have saved 4 years of NJ income taxes