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smk4565

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Everything posted by smk4565

  1. smk4565
    Any car, especially used car is a bit of a crap shoot when it comes to reliability. There are a thousand variables that could make one Chevy Malibu run for 200k miles with no problems, and another Chevy Malibu to have half the parts replaced at 100k miles. You have to look at overall averages, but buying a used car just because you assume it is the most reliable car is a bad idea, because you never know. So you have to buy the car that best suits your needs. Like in this case, if small, AWD crossover is what is needed, then you pick the best model in that segment that fits your needs.
  2. smk4565
    Well there is an example of an Odyssey with 246k miles and still running strong. I am not a Honda fan, but there are a lot of high milage Hondas out there, so they must do something right.
  3. smk4565
    What is the price limit here? Like OldsHurst says, there are ATS out there and gen 2 CTS AWD out there, but an ATS is probably expensive and Cadillac and Buick have an old person vibe. Insurance rates could be a factor too on some cars. Certain cars seem to get clobbered on insurance rates, like any 2 door, some turbos, probably Wranglers, etc, where as a Buick or MKZ might have low insurance rates.
  4. smk4565
    The transmission started slipping around 200k miles, I don't think he ever really had it fixed because at that point, why bother. He is a painter so he commonly carries 1,000 lbs of weight in his van, and does a lot of city driving too, so they are hard miles that he puts on. I don't think he ever had a ball joint problem, I did replace 2 ball joints on my Mercedes, but that was $480, not the end of the world for a 95,000 mile car, and that is the only suspension related repair as of yet. Yes it is one situation and anecdotal, but look at the used car market, and there are a lot of 200,000 mile Hondas and Toyotas selling with some value. I know 2 people that had an Acura CL, they got about 150-70k miles out of them before the transmission and mechanical issues really started to surface and then they dumped the car.
  5. smk4565
    Any FCA product will be unreliable, the Renegade is rather new if looking for a used car deal and they are made in Italy, with profits going to Italy. Jeep is one of the most unreliable cars brands out there along with Land Rover and Fiat, some years Jeep ranks worse than those 2 so I would pass on those. "CPO, small, efficient, AWD" fits Subaru to a T. A 2011-2012 Lincoln MKZ with under 50k miles can be had for under $15,000. Fusions are even less, I found a 2015 Fusion AWD Titanium with 48k miles for $14,793
  6. smk4565
    My dad had a 2001 Odyssey that he put 224,000 miles on, and had fewer repairs and less money spent on that than he did on his 07 Hyundai Entourage or his 2011 Dodge Caravan that he has now. The Caravan has by far been the least reliable and it only has 70,000 miles on it. The Odessy had less repairs over 7 years than he has spent in just the past 1 year on the Caravan actually. And a trip to auto trader or any car dealership shows Toyotas and Hondas with high resale value, and FCA products on deep discounts. Even if the Pacifica is a much better vehicle, it is style a Chrysler which in the minds of most people = unreliable.
  7. smk4565
    Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner. My first thought was Subaru and I was surprised I read all the comments until now before it came up. Used Subarus aren't too expensive, they run forever, get like 30 mpg, made in the USA, and aren't large either, have AWD and just enough power to not be slow, but not enough to be driving reckless. I think around 2013 or 24 the Eyesight system got added on some of the top trim cars so they have lane departure warning, emergency braking, etc. A used Legacy sedan would be the top of my list, or Impreza if the price point had to be lower, and no WRX or STi, those are just over boosted and will be unreliable, the 2.5 boxer 4 is tried and true.
  8. smk4565
    Looks like an Audi A3 almost, because Hyundai only has copy cat styling and nothing original. Which is a shame because I think they and Kia have some decent cars. I tend to like the interiors of Hyundai's and Kias, they have good room and simple straight forward layouts.
  9. smk4565
    Regardless of what reviews say, a 5 year old Odyssey or Sienna will still sell for $20k, because it says Honda or Toyota on the front, and people know it will be reliable. Maybe not 2 years, but give the Pacifica 3 years and they will be under $20k. Chrysler resale value is abysmal. There are currently 2015 Town and Country Touring's for $20k on auto trader, those both had a base of $32k.
  10. smk4565
    The electric range and fuel economy numbers are really impressive, but $47k for a Chrysler minivan is a lot, especially when after 2 years these will probably sell for $20k or less on the used market. Chrysler's depreciate like crazy.
  11. smk4565
    Auto making as an industry doesn't have good margins. Probably among the worst of all industries.
  12. smk4565
    Radio and Bluetooth should be there from the start. I don't like touch screen controls for routine functions like volume, temperature, windshield wipers, lights etc. The center speedometer alone would prevent me from buying the car.
  13. smk4565
    Only way it could get built is if the electric architecture is really scalable and the battery and motor placement allow for just about any body shape imaginable to sit on top of it. But it could be 2025 before things get to that point, Mercedes wants to do an AMG hypercar that is electric around 2025, I suppose they could use the same powertrain on a big convertible. I still doubt they make anything like this or the coupe. Bu you never know, they made the Maybach Landaulet.
  14. smk4565
    It takes a car company with existing products about $1 billion to develop a new car, sometimes more. These guys want to go from scratch, that is multi-billion investment. I'll believe it when I see it.
  15. smk4565
    I have driven the 2010 Hyundai Genesis V8, it was my 2nd choice actually when I was car shopping 4-5 years ago. For a sort of full size car it had pretty good ride/handling, the V8 moved it pretty easily, not a sports car in any way, but a nice daily driver. No where near as good as an E-class though, which is why I bought an E-class. I have sat in the G90, there is a lot of low rent materials in that car, and the stuff they used to try to make it look expensive is just bling and chrome, that doesn't really make it luxurious, just flashy. I would say the G90 is about on par with a Continental or maybe CT6 at most. It falls short of any other full size luxury sedan. So if the interior isn't up to par, why even test drive it, especially when the specs show their V8 isn't up to par either. Their optional engine makes 383 lb-ft of torque, less than a base model 2007 S-class. Not good when your top engine is 10 years behind the competitor's base engine. Then Beirmann should not compare his car to an S-class. Compare to Lincoln or Acura, or Infiniti, go after them.
  16. smk4565
    This won't work. It takes a lot to build a car between wind tunnel, head on crash, off set crash, rear impact crash, side impact crash, roll over crash, and pedestrian impact. Right there is a ton of R&D just to get it to pass regulations. Before you ever get to motors, battery, design, interior, suspension settings, steering feel, etc. Then even if you make the car, you have to market and distribute it, service it, need a dealer network and so on. Automobile industry has huge barriers to entry. And even if they did pull it off, it would cost 3 times the competitors product.
  17. smk4565
    Yeah, S-class size, E-class size interior. Actually the E-class might have more interior room. Which is a problem with the XF, it is a big car too at over 195 inches long and it is like a C-class on the inside.
  18. smk4565
    Right, I thought the XJ was toast. XJ sales are terrible I don't see why they would want another product in that segment.
  19. smk4565
    Yes you can, the Model S just won't Motor Trend's World's greatest drag race.
  20. smk4565
    I forgot they made a 3 row hybrid Highlander. That has to be an exciting car. I did find this... 2013 GL550
  21. smk4565
    That is surprising that with so much torque the GL felt sluggish, I only drove a GL with the old 4.7 V8 and it felt quick for the size of it. The GL diesel and V6 Durango have the same 0-60 time. The turbo V6 or V8 would solve the power issue but cost at the fuel pump. What about Enclave/Traverse or Lincoln MKT or a used Tesla Model X? Although I would take an XC90 over all of those. And sort of surprising that no one really makes a hybrid 7 seat suv, the GLE, Cayenne, X5, RX hybrids all seat 5 and GM and Ford don't have one.
  22. smk4565
    If CA does it, then the rest of the country will follow shortly after or auto makers will just give up on gas engines. If California had 2 million car sales, that is 1/8th of all car sales in the USA. That is huge. They can't take away someone's gas car, but they can stop sale of new ones. So if they want to be emission free by 2050, they need to ban sales of ICE cars around 2035 to allow 15 years for existing cars to run their life cycle. I think EV's will get better and better and no one is going to want a gas car anyway in 2030.
  23. smk4565
    A G-wagon isn't pure luxury? If there is a gas guzzler tax to begin with it should be applied to MPG rating, not body styles. It is like saying we will tax cars but not trucks, so people buy more trucks thus cause more pollution do more road damage. Doesn't make sense.
  24. smk4565
    The GLE is a mid-size SUV, not a 3 row and that 3.5 is an old engine they need to drop. They do make a hybrid GLE that is 43 mpg-e and 21 combined after that, and it has 436 hp and 479 lb-ft (that is 9 more than a 6.4 liter SRT Durango). The GLS has a 9-speed and 3.0 turbo, although it gets 17/22 mpg, but it has as much horsepower and torque as a V8 Durango or Ecoboost Explorer. It is also fair game to compare the diesel to the gas. As a consumer, someone has the choice of what they want to buy. If Drew wants a 3 row SUV that can parents can fit in easily, tow and do highway driving, then a diesel engine makes a lot of sense. I don't think Drew's criteria was based on 0-60 time, so Hemi power with bad mileage probably isn't at the top of the list. A Pacifica Hybrid might make sense for his needs too, although those probably can't tow much at all.
  25. smk4565
    Sorry the attachment didn't post the right way. I will retry that. And the GL has 455 lb-ft of torque, the Explorer and Durango have 255 lb-ft and 260 lb-ft respectively. Hmmmm. sorry, reposted
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