Car shopping question
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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.
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
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Sunroofs often leak when the seals become porose or the sewer lines clogged after years of weather exposure. Happened to me once on a 12yo car. It was an expensive repair, and there was water damage inside. I would have paid more for my current car if it wouldn't have had a sunroof. It's good for entertaining the kids once a year, but that's it.
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My car beeps at me when there is a person or car - either directly behind me or about to be directly behind me. So, if I were distracted or looking the wrong way - the car still is protecting me. Lane merges are also protected by a blinking light. If I were distracted and the car in front of me stops or slows, the car automatically signals that and will initiate automatic braking. All of those things are great - and they're getting better every year.
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I’m not sure how much I like the self braking cars... I definitely see the appeal, but I don’t like giving up control and don’t trust the automatics, plusI worry about relying on them and making me a worse driver... I’ve seen a lot of drivers become to reliant on their backup cameras and not actually look as well... meaning they miss the vehicle that is traveling through but is not yet in camera range...
All for the alerts though, and the more cameras the better.
Cruise control? I’m sorry, I thought you guys liked driving...
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Whenever a discussion of moon or sunroofs comes up, I'm reminded of my own experience a few decades ago. I was just about to buy a new car. I was trying to save every penny - but had my girlfriend at the time with me. I picked out a Camry. They're going over potential option packages with me - and they mention that for $900 more I get better wheels and a moonroof. I tell the guy "don't need those." The girlfriend says "you'll regret it if you don't get the moonroof." So, against my better judgment I pay the $900. A few months later, girlfriend mentions that when she and her then husband were getting a new car, she talked him out of moonroof and she heard about his disappointment the rest of their marriage. "So, the reason I spent $900 on a moonroof isn't because I wanted a moonroof - or even because you wanted a moonroof, but because your ex-husband wanted a moonroof?"
Yup...gotta love 'em.
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I'm on the fence regarding automatic braking. We shall see how that works out. The backup camera sometimes just confuses me - I'm old enough that my natural reaction is to look for myself. Sometimes I go back and forth between craning my neck, looking at the camera and checking the side mirrors that I wonder if I will miss something.
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@kluurs said in Car shopping question:
Whenever a discussion of moon or sunroofs comes up, I'm reminded of my own experience a few decades ago. I was just about to buy a new car. I was trying to save every penny - but had my girlfriend at the time with me. I picked out a Camry. They're going over potential option packages with me - and they mention that for $900 more I get better wheels and a moonroof. I tell the guy "don't need those." The girlfriend says "you'll regret it if you don't get the moonroof." So, against my better judgment I pay the $900. A few months later, girlfriend mentions that when she and her then husband were getting a new car, she talked him out of moonroof and she heard about his disappointment the rest of their marriage. "So, the reason I spent $900 on a moonroof isn't because I wanted a moonroof - or even because you wanted a moonroof, but because your ex-husband wanted a moonroof?"
Yup...gotta love 'em.
The problem is not the moonroof.
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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.
Yup, I had the Town Landau roof, it looked like this
It was beautiful
You can see the white turn-light in this picture
image url) -
Oh, one final note, Jon. Whatever you do, do NOT allow a screen in the back seat. Car talk is a wealth of information you would otherwise not get. An entertainment unit just allows them to check out. In fact, I recommend taking him on long drives with a rather made-up purpose just to get that time.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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@mik said in Car shopping question:
Oh, one final note, Jon. Whatever you do, do NOT allow a screen in the back seat. Car talk is a wealth of information you would otherwise not get. An entertainment unit just allows them to check out. In fact, I recommend taking him on long drives with a rather made-up purpose just to get that time.
I've got those things in the truck and both cars, and haven't turned a one of them on even once.
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@jon-nyc said in Car shopping question:
So I'm likely to buy a car in the coming months.
My question isn't about specific cars, its about features.
Last purchase (2013) I intentionally looked for a basic car with few features you wouldn't also find on a car from the late 90s. In other words, I had no interest in heated seats, keyless entry, infotainment, navigation systems, etc. etc. etc.
Part of that was I was still a city boy, cars were something I used infrequently and cared about not at all.
Fast forward 7 years, I've become more set in suburban life with cars being part of that. I can imagine some features being very useful (backup camera, for example). Others I can imagine being really nice to have (heated seats).
So here's my specific question:
What features or options do your more recent cars have that you really like and would ensure your next car had?
Also, what features does your car have that you wouldn't insist on (and pay extra for) in the next one?
Ensure it has auto gearbox, heating and aircon, front and rear parking sensors (rather than cameras), electric mirrors, comfortable seats with good visabilty side & rear.
It is nice to have a good music/satnav system. -
Ah, no bites on the Range Rover.
IIRC, they are owned by TaTa, an Indian company. Nice, maybe unreliable and $$.
But back to Jon's subject...For his size, and what he would like to do with the vehicle, an AWD SUV of some kind seems to be the best fit. The only question is which one?
I know he doesn't tend to keep one a long time, but a nice Toyota could be his boy's college car...
Sequoias are nice, but big. Based on the Tundra chassis, they get poor mileage, but tow a lot (7000 pound) and will be around forever. Not fun to park at times. A 4Runner gets a hair better mileage, still rides decently and will tow 5000 pounds. A Highlander gets much better mileage, is probably a better daily driver and is still rated at 5000 pounds towing (although I think that's stretching it). A Rav4 gets very good mileage for a SUV, is too small and rides like a buckboard. Great car when you're 25. At Jon's age, not so much.
Or, if you don't mind used and want a vehicle that holds its value extremely well, with an almost cult-like following...
