Finally buying a new car (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

I took the plunge yesterday- traded in a 2007 Trailblazer (still in pretty good shape-117,000
miles) for a 2017 Grand Cherokee Limited.
11,000 miles, 5.7L Hemi, fully loaded. Now I have 2 vehicles with low miles (2015 Charger 36,500
miles is my other vehicle), so I plan to never have to buy another vehicle (I put less than 5,000 miles per year on each car). I took the Cherokee for a 150 mile spin, and I really like it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

We replaced my wife's 2009 Saturn Vue with a new 2019 Buick Encore a couple of months ago. For such a small vehicle, it has a surprisingly roomy front cabin. Cargo space behind the back seat isn't great, but it is enough for my wife to store all her groceries. She wanted something smaller, and is quite happy with the car so far.

 

[benbess]

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Great looking car. What are your thoughts on it after a year or so of ownership? What kind of mpg are you getting? Were you able to make AndroidAuto/CarPlay retrofitted somehow?

 

[benbess]

I've enjoyed the reports on people's various new cars!++

In the 1980s and 90s I owned used cars, and they were often a lot of trouble. My first new car was a 2000 Ford Focus ZTS, but it turned out to be as much trouble as my used cars and had a lot of recalls. I'd always admired Hondas, and so in 2002 I decided to step up to a new Honda Accord LX to see if it was a better experience than owning a Ford. It was. After owning a two more new Accords, last year at the age of 53 I traded for a lease on an Acura TLX 2.4.

One of the amazing things about the Acura TLX for the last year or so is that because of Acura's lease incentives for some reason it is is less expensive to lease a TLX than a new Honda Accord EXL. Hard to believe, but true. Anyway, the Acura TLX is more than just a fancy Accord, because almost everything about it is different. The engine is more powerful, it has an 8-speed dual clutch transmission with torque converter and paddle shifters, excellent 4-wheel steering (something you otherwise only find on something like a Porsche that costs probably 100k or so), a very good stereo, LED headlights, really comfortable seats, quiet ride, good handling, adaptive cruise control, AndroidAuto/CarPlay, etc. Plus the TLX sometimes get as high as 39 mpg on the highway, like on a recent 103-mile drive I took from Cincinnati to Louisville on the Interstate with the AC on going c.60-75 mph (pic of trip computer below). I never thought I could afford a car as nice as this, but actually it was a really good deal. At the end of the 3-year lease I have an option to buy for c.$18k, which I think I'm going to try to do because this car is so fun to drive. I keep my folding bike in the trunk so that whenever the mood hits I can go on a bike ride in a park or wherever.

 

[benbess]

After 18 years and 400,000 miles, it’s time I finally retire my daily driver, a 2000 Toyota Celica GT-S. After spending the past few months doing online research of different cars and taking test drives, I ordered one of these yesterday....2018 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport in rallye red....

I imagine a Toyota executive and/or engineer gnashing their teeth if he or she could read this.

"You mean we sold him a Toyota that went 400,000 miles, and he turned around after all that and got a Honda! Noooooooooooooo!" lol!

Toyotas and Hondas are both really good cars, of course, as are Lexus and Acura.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I imagine a Toyota executive and/or engineer gnashing their teeth if he or she could read this.

"You mean we sold him a Toyota that went 400,000 miles, and he turned around after all that and got a Honda! Noooooooooooooo!" lol!

Toyotas and Hondas are both really good cars, of course, as are Lexus and Acura.

If Toyota had offered the Corolla hatchback a year ago, there’s a 50/50 chance I would have bought another Toyota.

 

[Clinton McClure]

Great looking car. What are your thoughts on it after a year or so of ownership? What kind of mpg are you getting? Were you able to make AndroidAuto/CarPlay retrofitted somehow?

I still love driving it every day. The majority of my 94 mile daily commute is interstate and I usually maintain 70 mph so that helps to boost my mpg. I don’t use eco mode and still average almost 39mpg overall. After a few months of ownership, I replaced the stock head unit with a Sony XAV-AX100 for wired CarPlay which is fantastic.

 

[benbess]

I still love driving it every day. The majority of my 94 mile daily commute is interstate and I usually maintain 70 mph so that helps to boost my mpg. I don’t use eco mode and still average almost 39mpg overall. After a few months of ownership, I replaced the stock head unit with a Sony XAV-AX100 for wired CarPlay which is fantastic.

Wow, that's a big commute. How many miles do you have on your Civic so far? Is that the same commute that brought you to 400k in your trusty old Toyota? Have you heard if that car is still alive?

 

[Jeffrey D]

Someone backed into my Charger a couple of days ago. The right rear quarter panel and wrap around bumper needs to be replaced. Not sure how it’s going to work through the other guy’s insurance, but I have a feeling I’ll have to pay a few bucks out of my own pocket to make sure it gets fixed properly.

 

[benbess]

Someone backed into my Charger a couple of days ago. The right rear quarter panel and wrap around bumper needs to be replaced. Not sure how it’s going to work through the other guy’s insurance, but I have a feeling I’ll have to pay a few bucks out of my own pocket to make sure it gets fixed properly.

What a bummer. Hang in there!

 

[Jeffrey D]

An update on my damaged Charger- his insurance company is on the case, and it looks like I won’t have to pay anything. The owner of the body shop (the Chrysler dealership recommended this guy) said he could fill in the puncture hole in the bumper, and straighten out the kinks in the quarter panel without hanging new metal, or using body putty. I should be getting the car back sometime this coming week.

The Grand Cherokee- last weekend was the first time I put my foot in it (to pass a slow poke). That 5.7L Hemi has power- from 55 to 86 in just a couple of seconds

 

[Scott Merryfield]

An update on my damaged Charger- his insurance company is on the case, and it looks like I won’t have to pay anything. The owner of the body shop (the Chrysler dealership recommended this guy) said he could fill in the puncture hole in the bumper, and straighten out the kinks in the quarter panel without hanging new metal, or using body putty. I should be getting the car back sometime this coming week.

Glad to hear your car repair will not be too painful or costly, Jeffrey.

I had some minor damage to my 2018 GMC Acadia a couple of months ago. I was driving on I-75 through a construction zone in northern Michigan on the way to my parents when the pickup truck in front of me ran over some old tire tread from a semi-truck. The tread took flight and hit the front of my vehicle. Fortunately the only damage was to the front grill, so no body work was required. Since this fell under comprehensive and not collision, my insurance paid the entire $640 tab for the grill replacement.

 

[Jeffrey D]

I got my Charger back from the body shop this morning. They fixed it to my satisfaction, and it didn’t end up costing me money. A surprisingly simple procedure.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Recently I had a little trouble with both of the
keyless fobs for my Grand Cherokee (sometimes the vehicle wouldn’t read the fob). I took the car in to the Jeep dealership where I bought it, and they checked the frequency readings. They said nothing was wrong, but they said sometimes, in cold weather, the fobs won’t transmit the right frequency. They told me to hold the fob in my hands a little while to warm it up. Has anybody else experienced this?

 

[JohnRice]

Recently I had a little trouble with both of the
keyless fobs for my Grand Cherokee (sometimes the vehicle wouldn’t read the fob). I took the car in to the Jeep dealership where I bought it, and they checked the frequency readings. They said nothing was wrong, but they said sometimes, in cold weather, the fobs won’t transmit the right frequency. They told me to hold the fob in my hands a little while to warm it up. Has anybody else experienced this?

Have you replaced the battery? I change them for my 2014 GC every two years. I’ve never used it with the fob cold, but the car has been -20F or lower.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Have you replaced the battery? I change them for my 2014 GC every two years. I’ve never used it with the fob cold, but the car has been -20F or lower.

I was told by my salesman that if the fob’s battery is low, the message board in the instrument cluster would indicate that. Cool!

 

[JohnRice]

I was told by my salesman that if the fob’s battery is low, the message board in the instrument cluster would indicate that. Cool!

They’re so cheap, I just replace them.

 

[Jeffrey D]

They’re so cheap, I just replace them.

Not sure how to get the fob apart- I’m sure there’s a trick to it that just takes a little time to figure out.

 

[JohnRice]

Not sure how to get the fob apart- I’m sure there’s a trick to it that just takes a little time to figure out.

Easy. Easy. Remove the key and there’s a notch for a coin, to separate the two sides of the fob. Mine takes a CR2032, as I recall.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Recently I had a little trouble with both of the
keyless fobs for my Grand Cherokee (sometimes the vehicle wouldn’t read the fob). I took the car in to the Jeep dealership where I bought it, and they checked the frequency readings. They said nothing was wrong, but they said sometimes, in cold weather, the fobs won’t transmit the right frequency. They told me to hold the fob in my hands a little while to warm it up. Has anybody else experienced this?

I have never heard of this, nor have I ever experienced it with any of our vehicles. Seems illogical, as I doubt you are keeping your fob outside where it's cold.