to buy new or used car?

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CROCKD
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by CROCKD »

Teslsa Autopilot crash.
Here is the report
US investigates fatal Tesla Autopilot crash
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

ISTM the frontal warning needs to be active radar or ultrasonic, not passive.

How to Update Any Car with Forward-Collision and Lane-Departure Warnings - Consumer Reports News
Safe Drive Systems says using radar for forward-collision warning is more reliable than a camera-based system, because the signal is not affected by fog or bad weather. It also claims that the system can detect an obstacle as small as a bicycle, in any weather or lighting condition, up to 460 feet ahead, and that the information updates 20 times per second
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

You think *you* have all-wheel drive?

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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Flaccidsteele »

If you google "Honda" or "Acura" these days, all you get in the news is this stuff.

If you own one of these Honda or Acura models, stop driving now, Feds say
The high-risk models include: The 2001-2002 Honda Accord and Civic, 2002 Honda CR-V and Odyssey, 2003 Honda Pilot and Acura CL, and 2002-2003 Acura TL. Eight of the 10 confirmed U.S. fatalities from Takata airbag ruptures occurred in this group of vehicles, the NHTSA said. All were recalled between 2008 and 2011, and Honda says 70 percent were repaired. That still leaves 313,000 vehicles in need of recall repairs.
The NHTSA has more than doubled the Takata airbag recall
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced an additional 35-40 million Takata airbag inflators are being recalled. This is in addition to the 28.8 million recalled in 2015 and earlier this year. If you own a vehicle in the U.S. built in 2002 or later, there’s a good chance it’s on the list.

The problem is with the airbag inflator, not the airbag itself. According to NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind, the ammonium nitrate explosive propellant in the inflators can degrade over time. As a result, when the airbag inflates, it can burn too quickly, explode with too much force, and send shrapnel through the airbag and into passengers.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Flaccidsteele »

Was just recently curious about this Takata airbag recall. Here's a nice timeline of information including all the cars affected:

Takata Airbag Recall - Everything You Need to Know
Vehicles made by 14 different automakers have been recalled to replace frontal airbags on the driver’s side or passenger’s side, or both in what NHTSA has called "the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history." The airbags, made by major parts supplier Takata, were mostly installed in cars from model year 2002 through 2015. Some of those airbags could deploy explosively, injuring or even killing car occupants.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by newguy »

Shakespeare wrote:You think *you* have all-wheel drive?
Since the radii of a specific circle of rubber changes, it has to be pretty stretchy. I don't see how highway speeds are possible. There are some forklifts (and toys) that do this already with really weird roller wheels.

I've always though spheical wheels would be better.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a1 ... cal-tires/

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Shakespeare
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

Since the radii of a specific circle of rubber changes, it has to be pretty stretchy. I don't see how highway speeds are possible.
I seriously doubt it will ever be produced. The first lawsuit would kill it.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by AltaRed »

More fodder to fuel the heated personal arguments on brand loyalty.

http://247wallst.com/autos/2016/08/14/f ... lling-car/

Heaven help those buying from Fiat Chrysler. The dead partnering with the dead. :P :twisted:
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by flywaysuzy »

But the little Fiats are cute to look at! :D
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by brucecohen »

flywaysuzy wrote:But the little Fiats are cute to look at! :D
Very cute but for decades FIAT has stood for Fix It Again Tony.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by AltaRed »

:lol: Love it. The only ones I remember from my youth was Fix Or Repair Daily.... and Found On Road Dead.... but before any Ford owners take offense, I owned Fords in my youth too.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Insomniac »

Ford:
Four Old Rusty Doors
Flip Over Read Directions
Fastest on Race Day (for Ford fans, if any)

Chrysler/Dodge/Mopar: My Old Pig Ain't Running
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by AltaRed »

Insomniac wrote:Ford:
Four Old Rusty Doors
Many of us experienced this (with most makes I think) in the '70s. I had a '74 Ford LTD that rusted through on all 4 doors and rear quarter panels in just over 3 years. By the time I sold the death trap, the trunk was unusable as things would fall out on the road through the holes. Never mind problems with accessories and "dieselling" in its old age (would sometimes take upwards of a whole minute to shut down after the ignition was turned off). Those were the days!
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Shakespeare
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

But the little Fiats are cute to look at
Ya gotta try road racing those little cars.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B27dcec ... e_we%c2%a0
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by like_to_retire »

AltaRed wrote:Many of us experienced this (with most makes I think) in the '70s. I had a '74 Ford LTD that rusted through on all 4 doors and rear quarter panels in just over 3 years.
I think most North American cars were the same in those days. I got a brand new 1976 Chevrolet NOVA and rust was showing through the paint on the doors in one year. After 5 years it was a complete rust bucket. I'm sure there was rust in the metal when it was manufactured. Even my rear leaf springs all rusted through and broke. I think the North American car manufacturers had the market sewn up so nicely that they got arrogant and didn't much care what they produced. It was junk.

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Re: to buy new or used car?

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BMW - Bring My Wallet (when in for service)
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by AltaRed »

Jaunty wrote:BMW - Bring My Wallet (when in for service)
which also applies to More Bucks (or Mega Bucks if you prefer) - Mercedes Benz

Where is Springbok when it is time to razz someone? :wink:
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shurville »

Read an interesting stat recently ...........

According to a study by the car comparison and research site Edmunds, American consumers are trading in their electric cars for gas-powered ones again in huge numbers. In all, 75 percent of electric car owners swapping rides trade in their e-vehicle for a gas-powered car. That doesn’t mean that all electric car owners are giving up their Teslas and Leafs, but the ones that go for a trade-in aren’t getting a new electric vehicle back.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

For the next heavy snowfall:

http://www.chonday.com/Videos/trugotakl4
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by IdOp »

I recently became the point-person in the quest to replace a 24-year-old vehicle. This is a challenge, since I generally have little interest in cars; if a car goes from A to B safely, reliably
and at reasonable cost, that works for me. So I was starting from close to scratch, and turning to this FWF thread seemed as good a place as any to start. At 47 pages, though, it was a daunting task to read. It took about 2 weeks of reading 5 pages/day, even with skimming through various side-tracks.

While reading I made notes of useful items along the way. This post summarizes them. Hopefully it can help others who'd like to get at some of the most basic ideas without having to read 47 pages. OTOH, if you want to know what posters X, Y and Z think about the 2003 Jaguar, the forum search feature is at your disposal. ;)

What follows is a summary of what others have posted previously, mostly put into my own words. The first part consists of comments/opinions/factoids. The second part is a collection of
helpful links.

The Thread So Far ...
  • Part 1. Comments etc.
  • Buying a car that is about 1 year old coming off lease can be a good strategy.
  • Lots of repairs and maintenance start to become necessary or scheduled in years 5-8.
  • Toyota along with Honda and Subaru are good Japanese makes. Nissan is Datsun renamed.
  • Consumer Reports 2012: Honda and Toyota have fewer problems.
  • Slightly used Toyota/Honda are not much cheaper than new.
  • European cars tend to have higher repair costs.
  • Ontario used car info package.
  • Dealer repair costs are "outrageous" on newer cars; makes case for lease, or selling after warranty expires.
  • Brand-new car has add-on costs: freight, enviro tax, admin, documentation, "pre-inspection", etc.
  • Before you buy a used car investigate:
    • terms of new car warranty;
    • whether the service required to maintain warranty has been done;
    • terms of transfer to subsequent owner (some may require payment of a transfer fee and/or vehicle inspection);
    • whether the original owner purchased an extended warranty and if so, can it be transferred?
  • Extended warranty is very expensive insurance, with a significant markup of expected costs.
  • Month-end can be a good time to buy car, if the dealer is eager to get a bonus for meeting quota.
  • "Highway mileage is mainly determined by height off the ground, city mileage by weight."
  • Type of fuel required (premium or just regular)? Turbo 4-cyl's usually require premium fuel, and may have lag. (These are replacing 6-cyl engines due to gas mileage requirements.)
  • Turbo(-charging) uses exhaust gas to drive a pump that drives more air into the engine air intake. This can increase power (after a LAG required to get the turbo pump spinning fast), BUT it leads to a variety of problems, which can to some extent be overcome by adding considerable complexity --- all in all inconsistent with KISS principle. Highly expensive to replace turbo if it dies.
  • Code: Select all

     Power  = Energy / Time
            = Force * Distance / Time
            = Force * 2 pi Radius / Period
            = Torque * 2 pi Frequency
    
            1 hp = 746 Watts
    
            1 m = 3.28 ft
    
            0.454 kg = 1 lb / ( 9.8 m/s^2 )
    
            ==> Power in hp = (Torque in ft.lb) * RPM / 5252
    
  • Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide: highly recommended to study.
  • During warranty, certain service has to be done at the dealer.
  • Find out what kind of spare tire is included: none, emergency-only or full service.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Shakespeare
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Shakespeare »

Also: not all eco systems are created equal

Ford's supposedly doesn't work in real-life conditions.
Mazda's does.

CVTs give much better mileage but not everybody likes them (I do).
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by IdOp »

Thank you for the addition. I recall reading some posts about Continuously Variable Transmission but for some reason failed to make a note of it. Probably just a case of being mentally "threaded out" at that point.
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by SkaSka »

Thanks IdOp for the summary!

We have a 2003 Toyota Corolla that is still going strong at around 190,000 km but will probably be looking to replace it in a few years time.

The summary will help when it comes time to start doing heavy research!
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by IdOp »

You're welcome SkaSka. Hopefully in three years' time most of it will still apply. Of course by then there will probably be 30+ more pages to read. :)
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Re: to buy new or used car?

Post by Quebec »

IdOp wrote: [*] Consumer Reports 2012: Honda and Toyota have fewer problems.
[*] Slightly used Toyota/Honda are not much cheaper than new.
This is why I like to buy 5 year old Corollas, which I pay cash. Certainly goes from A to B reliably if this is what you are looking for. My last 5 year old Corolla (a 2010 model) was $8k from the dealership (plus tax), with A/C, automatic transmission, and less than 100 000 km on the counter. I keep them ten years, meaning less than $1k per year in depreciation, and maybe $3k total repairs over the 10 years (battery, exhaust system, brake line, maybe a fit of rust above the wheels...), plus the usual brakes, tires, oil changes, etc. that you get on all cars, old and new. For me, it's a no-brainer. Would be even better of they had station wagon Toyotas/Hondas like in Japan, Australia and Europe.
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