Buying a new car (2 Viewers)

[schan1269]

Hence my "Buick" comment.

It should be Jinba ittai 人馬一体 .

Well...

Mine has power windows, AC and cruise...

And an "almost loud enough" stereo...

What I find most fun...

The Spridget club here and in Indy...everybody drives their Miata(few Boxter and the "GM pretender triplets") to "make sure" they make it on time.

Arcane is the best way to explain a Spridget. Dark ages isn't even appropriate. When you have to raise the hood to get heat...(and that is if your car had that afterthought installed...)


The funniest aspect to owning a Miata. If you are prone to driving it...a lot. Nobody asks you for rides anymore(unless you are at a picnic and..."oh, uhm...we need more, uhm....solo cups. Can I borrow your car?"). "Quick trips" for milk and bread take two hours...

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

And you have the "modernized" box Sprite too. My Bugeye was much more primitive. It didn't even have rollup windows or a trunk lid, much less a dual master cylinder brake system with discs up front.

 

[schan1269]

And you have the "modernized" box Sprite too. My Bugeye was much more primitive. It didn't even have rollup windows or a trunk lid, much less a dual master cylinder brake system with discs up front.

I drove a bugeye once. That was enough. I'd sooner drive a 3 on the tree 3/4 ton '55 Ford truck.

Best part of my Sprite. The exhaust...er lack of.

Header into a straight pipe.

I've been pulled over a few times for it though. I just say..."if they can't see me..."

The car is louder than my Ninja with open Kerker. Same excuse there...

No tickets with either.

One time leaving Lafayette headed back to Indy about 11pm...

Hop on I65 at SR26(for those that have been through...just north of Subaru...headed south). Run the car to 6500rpm(which 60mph in 4th is just above 4000 anyway. Top speed...95?). I hit the "speed trap bridge" doing 65* and two cops...one ready to chase...the other standing there with the radar.

They had confused looks...

*speed limit...70.

 

[Mark Booth]

I missed the "hardtop". To me that was "blasphemy"...

Is the ND out? I thought it wasn't coming till February...

The very first 4th generation Miatas (ND) were released to dealers on July 17, 2015. My wife and I were lucky enough to be the very first ones in the U.S. to drive one off a dealer's lot. The following day, Mazda visited the same dealership and shot video of multiple new ND owners (including me and my wife) getting their Launch Edition NDs. That video can be viewed here:




The Launch Edition ND is our 3rd Miata (we previously owned an 1992 NA for 145,000 miles and a 2001 NB for 130,00 miles). It is, far and away, the best Miata we've owned. More fun to drive, more fun to be seen in, more fun everything! This is my favorite photo of our car (so far):

Here's photos (and a short video) taken on July 17, 2015, the day we took delivery. Ours was the very first ND to roll off the car carrier (thanks to a friend at Mazda that arranged it for us as a surprise).


http://www.thephotobooth.net/Miata-Snapshots/Launch-Edition-Delivery/n-nDqzqB/


So far, the only upgrades I've added are paint protection film (XPEL), mud guards, and a Good-Win Racing RoadsterSport Super Street exhaust. You can hear the Super Street here:


http://www.thephotobooth.net/Miata-Snapshots/ND-Exhaust/n-ZtjZr7/i-MCJwcx4


It makes the ND sound like a proper sports car!


I LOVE this car!!


Mark


P.S. Our ND has TWO USB ports!

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

However the Fiat 124 version of the ND won't be out until late 2016 as a 2017 model.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

My Accord had a catastrophic transmission failure tonight. My car buying plans might be accelerated.

Getting back onto topic...


Any symptoms ahead of time? Fluid changes per schedule? My bias is that auto trannies fail at much fewer miles than manuals, and generally a new clutch is all that's required with the manual. It's sad that your tranny gave out at only 165K miles.

 

[Mark Booth]

However the Fiat 124 version of the ND won't be out until late 2016 as a 2017 model.

Actually, a friend was told he'll have a Fiat 124 in July. But he has a friend at Fiat North America.


Mark

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Hmm....

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/Accord/2004/transmission/

 

[DaveF]

Getting back onto topic...

Any symptoms ahead of time? Fluid changes per schedule? My bias is that auto trannies fail at much fewer miles than manuals, and generally a new clutch is all that's required with the manual. It's sad that your tranny gave out at only 165K miles.

No warning. Service regularly per schedule.

But after discussion at DriveAccord.net it is likely a broken drive axle. I'll have the service dept diagnosis later this week.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

RockAuto shows rebuilt drive axles for your car in the $50 range. This sounds like a $400 dealer job at max.

 

[DaveF]

I got the report from Honda:

Broken axle
Transmission ok
Replace axle; need aftermarket part
$490 for parts and labor on axle replacement.

Additionally, they recommend:
$100 for alignment
$155 for Transmission service. They say it's looking really dirty. Which I need to followup with since, as noted, I had transmission fluid replaced six months ago.
$400 to replace end sway bar and links, which are separating

I'm inclined to get the axle replacement done immediately and delay everything else. With a question on why my transmission is in such bad shape since they've serviced it this year?

I'm actively shopping for a new car, so I'll take my chances with the alignment and sway bar for the short term. Or try a local service shop that might be cheaper (Virginia Tire and Auto).

 

[schan1269]

Is that $490 at the dealer?

That is excessive.

 

[DaveF]

Yes. Honda Service Shop, aftermarket part and labor

 

[DaveF]

Getting axle replaced. I'm out town this week and also next week. I don't have time to find a new mechanic for this repair. I'll check with a nearby mechanic in a couple weeks for the other, non-essential repairs.

 

[schan1269]

If you can wrench, at all, I recommend doing your own sway bar links. Those are easier than an oil change.

$400 for that is criminal.

However...I'm not totally sure what you meant.

The sway bar itself should "never" need replacement. End links...sure. But "how you typed it" doesn't make sense. $400 would include the bar(it would have to) as end links should be $20-$30 each(there is one on each side) and they take about 5 minutes each to change.

Even if they say you need the entire bar, that adds about 20 minutes labor.

I've also changed end links on the F250 and the 06 and 10 Foresters. Even the F250 end links take less than ten minutes. I swapped the front and rear sway bars on the 06 to Legacy GT parts. The entire job took under an hour.

(just checked. End links at AutoZone are $23 each. Even if they charged "typical markup" to $60 each. There is no way in hell it is a $280 labor job.)

 

[DaveF]

I'll have to look into. I haven't pressed for details on the phone and I'm out of town. When I get my car back I will ask for more details.

Keep in mind Honda follows their corporate manual for service costs. I replaced an o-ring, a 20 min task knowing nothing about the steering pump. Honda cost would have been over $100, with at least an hour of labor charged.

 

[DaveF]

I believe it's my sway bar links that need replacement. Aftermarket, I see those are $35/pair. Checking YouTube gives a feel for replacement process.

That's where it gets questionable for me. It's trivial if you have a lift and impact hammer.

This would be an afternoon and hundred dollars or more. A trip to the store for pneumatic Jack, Jack stands, impact hammer, and of course the sway bar links. It looks like I need to remove the wheels as well. And then the two hours it will take me to watch YouTube videos, understand the process, and execute it on my car.

But I think I want to do a thorough flush of transmission fluid, which also needs jacks or ramps. So together, this might get me to buy the garage gear and tackle these tasks.

 

[schan1269]

You don't already have a floor jack?

Impact hammer? The bolts are about as tight as lug nuts. An 18" 1/2 breaker bar($16.95, Amazon Prime) is overkill.

Even if you go to AutoZone and buy "the cheap tools"...

1/2 breaker (whatever length they got) $25-$30.
1/2 socket wrench $20.
1/2 sockets(metric) short set and deep set $20 each.

1/2 is overkill. 3/8 is probably enough. (keep in mind I wrench on an F250. I use the same tools on the Miata...and it looks ridiculous. A 3.5 ton floor jack with a 24" lift...on a Miata...)

You don't need to remove the wheels for end links. They only do that in the video to get the camera in there.

Matter of fact, leaving the wheels on makes this easier. If jacked up and wheels off...you have to set the end link by hand. If you just turn the wheel(of course you have to do this twice) and remove the broken link first(assuming already broken) then you use the weight of the car itself to align the bar with the mount. Set link in....tighten bolts. The tire never comes off the ground.

Side note. I went to get oil and filters for the Miata and F250 at the same time. The oil filter of a Powerstroke holds more oil than the crankcase of the Miata...

Oil change on a 7.3 Powerstroke is 4.5* gallons of oil. Yep...gallons.

*That is, if you wait long enough for all of it to come out. You can do the oil change on the Miata...while the oil is draining out of the Powerstroke...

 

[DaveF]

I had ramps and chocks at my previous home. But I gave them to a neighbor because I didn't want to move them cross country (storage space limited in interim apartment). I hadn't gotten to needing a garage jack or impact hammer. So I'll have to buy some new tools.

 

[DaveF]

Car axle being repaired. Hope to have my car back this weekend.


Ordered the Sears Craftsman 2 1/4 jack & jack stands that was on Black-Friday sale for $45. Should have that in a week.