Car shopping question
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On turbos - the physics of the technology demand more "stress" in the engine. Good engineering and bad engineering will still determine longevity of the system.
That said - engineering good reliability on a turbo engine is likely a harder problem than engineering it on a naturally aspirated one.
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In the old days, turbos would fry. That's always been an issue, in how to cool it enough. Red hot is very hot, and baked oil is not good. If you're not a lead foot, then there is no reason why a turbo should decrease the longevity of the engine, at least not much.
I agree with everyone's suggestions. I would add that I like to sit higher, and I like mirrors that are large enough to actually be useful. We had a Cougar where the outside mirrors were sleek, small and stylish. But, were useless as a driving aid. Trucks have large mirrors. Get a big truck (F-350), you'll be a hero in suburbia.
Speaking of mirrors, I like heated mirrors. We frequently get frost, so it's a good option. And when it's that cold, it's nice to have a heated steering wheel. Heated seats are inexpensive (technology is just a heating pad), cooling seats with a separate fan and ducts is expensive. Never had it, but would be cool.
I'd also give some weight to the exterior lights. Some vehicles have huge rear brake lights just for the style. There are some cars out there where the rear lights are tiny. Bigger is better, for the guy behind you not paying attention.
Visibility is important. Cameras can only do so much. It gets old running over kids in suburbia. See-through headrests for rear passengers increase visibility when you look over your shoulder. Another style thing is smaller windows. Check height by sitting in the car and pretending to rest your arm on the door sill with the window down. New cars are sometimes so high, you could not rest your arm like in your old 57 Chev. High sides are why you can't see the motorcycle next to you.
I TOLD you to buy the Vette. You wouldn't be going through all of this now. Suburbia. God. Next you'll want wood paneling on the exterior, and then. . . an electric lawn mower with a long cord. Then you'll start wearing sweaters with matching slippers.
Might as well be dead. -
Automatic transmission; but if it’s manual transmission, make sure you insist on getting at least three pedals.
If you expect to spend quite a bit of time in the car, I’d say good lumbar support, comfortable seat, the sort that can be adjusted every which way, including seat height and maybe even tilt, not just pushing it forward a bit or backward a bit.
Backup camera.
Adaptive cruise control.
Whatever they call the thing that automatically keep your car in its lane, and the thing that automatically applies breaking when the system thinks you’re getting too close or about to crash into whatever is in front.
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@jon-nyc said in Car shopping question:
that. I can imagine some features being very useful (backup camera, for example). Others I can imagine being really nice to have (heated seats).
Last rental had a really nice feature I plan on getting in my next car... When you turn on your turn signal, it activates a camera in your blindspot on that side...
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I drove a car that the headlights turned when the steering wheel turned.
It actually was quite helpful on dark, unfamiliar roads.
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@taiwan_girl said in Car shopping question:
I drove a car that the headlights turned when the steering wheel turned.
It actually was quite helpful on dark, unfamiliar roads.
My 1977 Thunderbird had a white light on each side that came on at night when you turned. It lit up the side where you were turning.
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For those unenthusiastic about a sunroof.
Seems to me they're cool to have even if you don't open them. Obviously not always, but in the winter and evenings its always cool to have the light coming in , no?
Also when we rent cars with sunroofs the boy is pretty good about not ignoring them. He opens them at every opportunity unless it's noon in Miami.
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This thread has been useful. Confirming in some respects (heated seats, backup camera) and informative in others. I wasn't sure what to think of all the 'driver assist' tech, but it seems like it is universally appreciated.
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@copper said in Car shopping question:
@taiwan_girl said in Car shopping question:
I drove a car that the headlights turned when the steering wheel turned.
It actually was quite helpful on dark, unfamiliar roads.
My 1977 Thunderbird had a white light on each side that came on at night when you turned. It lit up the side where you were turning.
So did my 84 Buick. Those were wired to the turn signal. I don't know why you don't see them anymore, because they worked great.
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@jon-nyc said in Car shopping question:
For those unenthusiastic about a sunroof.
Seems to me they're cool to have even if you don't open them. Obviously not always, but in the winter and evenings its always cool to have the light coming in , no?
Also when we rent cars with sunroofs the boy is pretty good about not ignoring them. He opens them at every opportunity unless it's noon in Miami.
Wait until you get a leak in one...
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I'll keep a car maybe 6-7 years and put maybe 50k miles on it.
I'm not too worried about reliability issues.
DON’T let them eat cake.
- RFK Jr -
@copper said in Car shopping question:
@taiwan_girl said in Car shopping question:
I drove a car that the headlights turned when the steering wheel turned.
It actually was quite helpful on dark, unfamiliar roads.
My 1977 Thunderbird had a white light on each side that came on at night when you turned. It lit up the side where you were turning.
Hey Copper, I had a 1980 T-Bird. I liked the car a lot, but it had too many issues meaning too much time in the shop. Handled great, was "sexy" as a 2-door with landau roof, big engine. And that huge tail light that said "T-Bird" from a mile away! Hidden headlights. Very elegant and distinctive. Kinda like the new Caddy's and a couple of others, as opposed to the cars that all look the same and you have to spot the logo to know what it is.
Sunroofs can be a royal pain. We had one that leaked into the trunk, and after three attempts by different mechanics, we gave up. Sold it. ZN Cougar: it was way cool, except for the pond in the trunk.
My nephew has a BMW 5 series. His sunroof leaked, it cost him $6,000 to have the damaged parts of the interior replaced. And I would also agree that a sunroof is used infrequently. Seems most cars have a sunroof now, for some reason. Must be that vitamin D thing.
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@rainman said in Car shopping question:
@copper said in Car shopping question:
@taiwan_girl said in Car shopping question:
I drove a car that the headlights turned when the steering wheel turned.
It actually was quite helpful on dark, unfamiliar roads.
My 1977 Thunderbird had a white light on each side that came on at night when you turned. It lit up the side where you were turning.
Hey Copper, I had a 1980 T-Bird. I liked the car a lot, but it had too many issues meaning too much time in the shop. Handled great, was "sexy" as a 2-door with landau roof, big engine. And that huge tail light that said "T-Bird" from a mile away! Hidden headlights. Very elegant and distinctive. Kinda like the new Caddy's and a couple of others, as opposed to the cars that all look the same and you have to spot the logo to know what it is.
Sunroofs can be a royal pain. We had one that leaked into the trunk, and after three attempts by different mechanics, we gave up. Sold it. ZN Cougar: it was way cool, except for the pond in the trunk.
My nephew has a BMW 5 series. His sunroof leaked, it cost him $6,000 to have the damaged parts of the interior replaced. And I would also agree that a sunroof is used infrequently. Seems most cars have a sunroof now, for some reason. Must be that vitamin D thing.
Ive had lots of cars with sunroofs in them, and luckily never had a single problem out of any of them. Of coyrse, i rarely opened them up, so that could explain my luck with them.
The side light connected to the turn signal was somethi g I really like about the lincolns. I really liked that feature a lot. It was very useful.
As for bells and whistles... my wife's Cadillac has so many I haven't found them all yet, but I don't drive it very often. There's a few features on it I hate. The most annoying feature on it is there are vibrating thingies inside the drivers seat that for instance, if there's a car coming up on my left in the blind spot and I drift to the left too far the left side of the seat starts vibrating and it scares the he'll out of me every time because it feels like a buzz saw has grabbed my left leg. Another one for the Right side. If I had to drive the thi g very often I'd take it to a dealership and have them rip it out. Another feature I absolutely hate is the tire pressure thing. There's one tire that the readout of the dash says has no air in it. Then it says it has 42 pounds in it. Then it says it has 34 pounds in it. Then it says it has no air in it. And every time the readout falls below 36 pounds, there's a (quite elegant sounding actually) dinging noise that starts, a yellow flat tire icons lights up in the dash, and I can't switch the readout to anything else while it's all lit up and flashing. I took it to the dealer and was told "it's probably the little battery inside the tire. We'll need to take the tire off and replace the whole thing. The part costs 75 bucks, plus 30 bucks to take the tire off and put it back on. And when one goes the rest are not far behind, so you should replace all of them...... I refuse to pay 300 to 400 bucks to replace batteries in the stupid thing....
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“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
