| Author | Message | ||
     Rick_a |
In an unlikely turn of events, my beloved Honda Fit was totalled by a Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 just a week after my girlfriend's Nissan Rogue was totalled by a deer. To make things worse her new to her Juke had the transmission crap the bed just a few days in. It's been a stressful few weeks. Anyway...I've put a deposit on a used Mazda2 such as this.  | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Sorry to hear about your wrecks and automotive woes. It's a huge bummer when you loose your means of transportation! I am glad that you and your girlfriend appear to be alright with no serious injuries. That's the most important thing. That Mazda2 is a cute little car. You sure like your subcompacts lol! Me - I need a full size to haul my butt around! Zoom Zoom | ||
| Two_seasons |
Nissan CVT transmissions are junk. Our daughter's MORON O is a piece of crap!!! A new CVT transmission was installed by a company called ETE Transmissions here in Waukesha. When we delivered the MORON O to them, it had no fluid leaks and no exhaust leaks. Upon retrieval of same, i had almost $1200 out of pocket repairs ON TOP OF A $5200 transmission. Never again with ETE or Nissan!!!!! | ||
| Rick_a |
@Whisperstealth Thanks. Ultimately I was bummed at losing the car but was astonished at going fifty to zero in no seconds and coming out completely unscathed. I do love my subcompacts. I like a car that handles in a direct and lively manner, gets good fuel mileage, and isn't designed like it's made to house giants. One thing that bothered me about the Fit is how cavernous the interior is for such a small car. That should certainly be rectified. Zoom, zoom, indeed...though while the Mazda is lighter and more direct in steering and handling it is noticeably slower in acceleration. @Two_seasons I would never buy a turbo car with the intent to put a lot of miles on it. I would never buy a car with a CVT transmission for the same. She did both, unfortunately. She was proud of her choice until it fell apart on her. The transmission was overfilled with a gallon of fluid over the stated capacity in an apparent attempt to mask that it was wasted. Luckily she should be getting it covered under an extended warranty...however she'll likely be due for having a lifetime of calls concerning said warranty. 5k full synthetic oil changes, 30k transmission drain/fill, premium gas only. Turbo could crap out at any moment in high mileage cars. Ducting/hose issues. Some have timing chain/belt issues. It's otherwise a nice looking car that handles well. | ||
| Two_seasons |
I should have said this initially...glad to hear you and your girlfriend are still here with us  Rick_a said "5k full synthetic oil changes, 30k transmission drain/fill, premium gas only. Turbo could crap out at any moment in high mileage cars. Ducting/hose issues. Some have timing chain/belt issues." With the exception of 5k oil change intervals with full syn oil, i agree with you 100%. | ||
| Aesquire |
Glad you're both ok. And 100% behind you on 5k full synthetic oil changes. I can even explain Why. 1… The variable valve timing in nearly every car today uses engine oil as hydraulic fluid. The "phasor" or VVT, or VTEC, or whatever, have tiny passages that clog and disable the system. Both the solenoid valve and cam moving/changing mechanisms are very dependent on Very Clean Oil. 2. Lower tension in the rings allow more blow by and oil burning than just a few years ago. On my car the Factory considers losing a quart in 1600 miles acceptable. If you don't check the oil frequently you could hypothetically be down 6 quarts at your 10k oil change. And if you're math literate, that's more than you have... ( don't worry, if you're an idiot there's a warning light you need a new engine) 2b.. More blow by means dirty oil faster. 3. The glory days of "cool! Synthetic oil means a 10,000 mile oil change interval, and the Volvo fan websites show you can just change the filter and top off with Amzoil, what a great way to save money on expensive boutique oil while being environmentally smug!" are now as obsolete as rendering bear fat & Lye to make soap in your home. You can if You want, but why? Pity. It was nice to get the better protection and longer oil change interval for my 1984 V-8. Although I wasn't as fond of the bear fat soap, yes, I know a girl that made it. I have odd friends. You know who you are.  My 1984 318 didn't have variable valve timing. | ||
| Aesquire |
Re: 30k transmission fluid change. Depends on car. My Caravan with 209,000 miles seems to need it, so I'll call it reasonable if CDO advice. I've heard nothing good about Nissan transmissions lately. My Caravan is getting towed Monday, hopefully, to get diagnosed on what I fear is mouse related electrical malfunctions. Turn key, starter spins, no start, and starter keeps spinning until key turned to off. I had to wait to be sure I could cover potential costs. I'm well into sunk cost fallacy zone on the rust bucket with a new steering rack last year, and now the electro-willies. But replacement on the now discontinued Caravan is unreasonably? Priced, as are all used cars in the * Economy. | ||
| Tootal |
Nissan transmissions are made by Jatco. Real junk. I don't care for CVT's either, that's why I ended up with the Mazda CX-5. No turbo and an old fashioned 6 speed auto that they modified by going with a larger clutch and smaller torque converter so the mileage is better. Zoom Zoom. | ||
| Rick_a |
Turbo cars cook the oil. 5K I'd call the minimum if one cares for the longevity of their vehicle. Thanks. Her car was impressively damaged for having only hit a deer. My car had the front end completely demolished for having hit a truck. She was sore for days and bruised. I was sore for hours and wasn't so much as scratched. | ||
| Rick_a |
All of this is true. My ex has a Mazda3 GT and it's a solid car. Just too big and cushy for me.  | ||
| Rick_a |
Nissan specs a 50k transmission fluid change for a full flush and 30K intervals for a drain and fill. From what I've gleaned I've been reading all manner woes concerning Nissan CVT transmissions...with problems occurring in as low as 30K miles. | ||
| Rick_a |
Pretty similar for my Honda. I always had to add a quart between 7500-8k mile oil changes. The "maintenance minder" would usually be at 50% oil life. Ain't no way I'm doing 15,000 mile oil changes. | ||
| Rick_a |
My Fit just got towed off by an auction company. Supposedly a settlement offer is pending. Unfortunately the current market has me downgrading slightly. Best of luck with your troubles. The girlfriend's new to her car was running great, had ice cold AC, and only had a problem with the windshield defogger (the dial wouldn't even go in that position). Over the span of a few days the transmission started acting up, the AC quit, and an EGR engine code was thrown. It was also sold with completely bald front tires and the front brake rotors are pretty wasted. Needless to say, that used car dealer will not be getting a good review for that and other reasons. The scum bag was hitting on her throughout the sales process and came on to her at the end of their transaction. She didn't tell me until later. My prospective car is missing the windshield washer fluid reservoir cover, the mirror control switch is inoperative for one side, one of the rear windows is stuck, and one tire is mismatched. It's the right size, but a different brand. Cosmetically it looks really good, and the interior looks to be in great shape, otherwise. It's one second slower in 0-60 times compared to the Fit, and feels so. The Fit had a midrange oriented power delivery and this one feels more linear. I like the driving feel of the Mazda better already with zero mods. I plan on doing wheels, camber bolts, springs, a rear sway bar, and a sun strip over the windshield. Nothing too crazy. | ||
| Aesquire |
https://www.vintag.es/2022/10/corvette-c1-ads.html | ||
| Aesquire |
A buddy loves his Mazda. There's a Youtuber with laughable clickbait titles "Why Honda hates me" etc. But he's a mechanic, and other than misleading titles, generally gives the straight stuff. Although he is a Toyota guy. Certified if not tattoos. So a bit biased. However... YouTube search ... Scotty Kilmer Mazda I'd love your opinion on this blowhard. ( often opinion is influenced by whether or not they agree with you, or endorse your purchase ) Re: 30k transmission fluid change. If the manufacturer recommends, then yes. I figure 100k is pushing it, even for a Dodge, and should have been done 9000 miles ago just on principle. 50k seems sane. But while I never had the bad electronic transmission problem I have had yearly line leaks on one caravan that annoyed me no end. Especially annoying as the first time I asked the dealer to replace all the cooler lines with teflon braided stainless, and they refused. Should have told them to bite me and taken it to a speed shop. Would have saved a fortune. And the 2013 has a maddening shift system that unlocks/shifts/locks every shift in "Eco" mode so it sounds like it shifts, from engine noise change, 3 times as often as it does. I miss standards. | ||
| Tootal |
I've seen a lot of Scotty. He's a bit of a blow hard repeating himself several times but I've also found him to be pretty reliable. He used to hate Mazda but that was when they were rebadged Ford's. Mazda is now in bed with Toyota yet they are doing their own thing. I believe the new CX-50 is made in Alabama at the Toyota plant. Scotty also rides a Triumph so hey, he can't be all bad! | ||
| Rick_a |
Scotty Kilmer I find to be a grating personality with some definite preferences. As much as his presentation style is unnecessarily bombastic, he's generally not wrong, from what I've seen. One would expect a quality transmission to have 100k mile fluid change intervals...but these CVT's are a whole different thing. Turns out my girlfriend is paying $600 out of pocket for a remanufactured transmission. It would've been a $2800 difference for a new one...under warranty. | ||
| Aesquire |
Oh, yeah, CVTs... I have no idea what you use to lubricate the hundreds of shrapnel parts, gears, and still have the proper friction to not melt down and explode. Absolutely go with manufacturer's instructions. Not a fan of belt type CVTs. Loathing, actually. The planetary power split "eCVT" in my Toyota does not, I think, have any use in a not-hybrid vehicle without electric motors. Heck I don't even have a starter. Or 2, huge ones. A bit different "shiftless" feel, too, than a belt type. Otoh, I LOVED my dual clutch in my VW. Not a good choice for off road where you are slowly applying power at the edge of traction! Great on the highway. See also newer Gold Wings. New stuff, New requirements. | ||
| Aesquire |
A retired mechanic friend says, often, "friends don't let friends buy German cars" There's an entire generation of premium German cars with great luxury and power. Even smooth, awesome V-12s! But 1980-90s German car Computer systems? Unobtanium. Insane. Separate systems each with a different, proprietary, obsolete, computer with self recycling wiring. Try finding a BMW windshield wiper computer, or door lock social engineering network interface module! | ||
| Tootal |
The early 90's started the demise of BMW autos. The quality has been slipping ever since. They also have tried to increase the luxury but that always increases weight, the enemy of a sports car! Out of the box they are amazing but plastic engine parts and other bean counter changes have made them unreliable past the warranty. BTW, the German's just don't do rubber and plastic very well. I have a close friend that just retired from BMW as a regional rep. He fixed the things the dealer mechanics needed help with. Since he retired he bought a Subaru! He also told me he'd never keep a BMW past the warranty. I used to be President of the St. Louis BMW Club back in the 90's so I was truly a believer but great things seem to always come to an end. | ||
| Rick_a |
Suburu is also a car company plagued with long term problems. I watch some YouTubers that have turned some old beemers into track cars. They joke that the Germans haven't figured out how to make a proper gasket. Literally every gasket in their engine can and will leak. With my (ex) father in law I learned how unreliable all that luxury gizmo tech is in ultra luxury cars. What a hassle. I just learned that the insurance company (USAA) has lowballed my car and hasn't added my aftermarket parts ($2700) into their settlement. What a hassle! My girlfriend's car is back and in working order. She still needs her AC fixed and the EGR system looked at. | ||
| Rick_a |
The saga continues. Nearly one month in the insurance company's subsidiary (an auction house) is trying to get me to release my title before I've been compensated for my aftermarket parts value. After calling the insurance company AGAIN they want invoices for every part. Fair enough. I got ALL of them. A canned email is returned describing the claims process in great detail...without an updated amount. This has been tiresome. | ||
| Tootal |
Suburu is also a car company plagued with long term problems This is mainly due to head gaskets blowing but they have redesigned them and I understand it has cured the problem. I hope so, I mean VW's never had head gasket problems for eons and it was a flat four! Of course VW used tapers with a paper gasket but hey, it worked! We just won't talk about leaking push rod tubes! | ||
| Court |
Good to know. I was wondering how they always get to the #1 spot on the Most Reliable Cars.  We've purchased 3 new 2022 cars and, of the 3, I spend quite a bit of time in the new Subaru. I've owned a 2017 . . .traded on a Porsche . . . then a 2022. The car is perhaps, replete with all the Subaru quirks, one of the best engineered cars I have ever driven. I comes standard with options that would add $8,000 to the Porsche, such as Torque Vectoring and Acoustically insulated glass. Subaru makes some claim like" 98% of all the Subarus sold the last 10 years are still on the road" I mostly like the fact that it is made in America, by American labor. https://www.subaru-sia.com | ||
| Rick_a |
They are not #1 in any resource I've seen. As of 2022 Suburu is ranked #7 in reliability by Consumer Reports. The usual players, Toyota, Lexus, BMW (surprisingly), Mazda, and Honda have the top spots. https://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-ow ner-satisfaction/who-makes-the-most-reliable-cars- a7824554938/ | ||
| Rick_a |
Court, maybe you should adjust your spectacles, but your chart is overall ranking, not reliability. Don't be ridiculous. | ||
| Court |
Oooops . . Sorry . . they are NOT the most reliable . . they are the BEST OVERALL. My fault . . . specs adjusted. Wait till you hit 70. :-) I've also purchased a couple Audi's this year and . . other than the weird control schemes, they have been rock solid. Carry on . . . | ||
| Rick_a |
As someone who rides or drives the wheels off of everything...long term reliability is one of my top concerns. I like simplicity, natural aspiration, and manual transmissions for this reason. #2 is it has to be fun and engaging to drive. #3 is fuel mileage. My ex almost bought a Subaru Impreza...but a Mazda 3 GT just offered a lot more car for the money. I did prefer the interior, layout, and instrumentation of the Impreza (it was also a pretty car), but the 3 had better fuel mileage, performance, and more options at a lower price point. The Mazda also had a traditional geared auto vs the CVT of the Subaru. Those CVT's aren't nearly as durable long term as an old school transmission with actual gears. The geared transmissions can also be rebuilt relatively inexpensively where the CVT's are generally replaced as a unit at great expense. | ||
| Aesquire |
I did a multi year survey of BMW & AUDI drivers. Seriously, every time I had the chance I'd ask them one extra question. ( beyond, how do you like it? Etc. ) How many cams do you have? I was trying to quantify the "gear head" aspect. Both are German performance cars with a reputation for aggressive drivers. ( see years of BMW turn signal jokes ) Yet there seemed to be a difference in personality. The "cam question" seemed to me to be a decent car IQ test. You often have to think about it. Say you have a Chevy with a V8, you'd pretty much automatically know the displacement, but you'd have to have in your memory bank that a small block Chevy has 1. If you're interested in the mechanics. If you aren't... why would you know such an thing? Sure, there's a big 350 or other number on the fender, but # of cams wouldn't be anything you've read or thought about. For years, every BMW, except One, driver not only knew how many cams he had, they knew the number of valves, displacement, hp, etc. ( although many had to recite that litany internally to recall the answer ) One Audi driver knew. Pretty cut & dried. Eh? But. Then I moved to a new route at a huge apartment complex that caters primarily to foreign college students, doctors at the nearby University Medical Center, other students & younger tech workers, retired folk... And among ALL the foreign drivers, the Gear head survey was Reversed. The Audi drivers knew their tech, and the Beemer guys were only into status. Most were Chinese, Indian, and a mix of European, middle East, Japanese etc. I have no explanation for the results, but the "study" covered almost a decade and hundreds of samples. It's bizarre to get 99%+ results from any kind of survey. I stand by the results though. Why the personality types are different in America between 'Muricans, & foreigners is funny. ( from foreign car videos I suspect it's similar? Different? in Europe? ) I will say the Audi & Beemer folk both liked luxury and performance, with the Audi folk more info value than Status and vice versa, no matter the nationality. | ||
| Aesquire |
Matt Farah, "The Smoking Tire" & "Tuned" etc. channels of "The Drive" channel, test drove a race car instructor's VW Sportwagen TDI briefly... everything hopped up except the brakes, ( which got commented on at the first corner ) and enjoyed it for the budget critter it was. ( basically a GTI chassis with a foot and a half added to the hatch area. ) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x3HwWn55MJY Mine had the dual clutch auto and was stockish. Thumbs up on the Panzer skid plate! I give VW full credit for starting the Hot Hatch trend, & used to joke mine was a Warm Wagen. Great torque, great economy, and whenever traffic permitted, an extra lap of the traffic circle. Really a great handling car. German car made in Mexico... And the smog cheat thing. But even in cheat mode it made less pollution than anything in the 20th century. The CARB standards were just stupidly tough. In "not cheat" mode ( using an OBD2 reader to trigger ) it was a bit slower and got worse mileage. I miss that car But wouldn't buy one again. A Mazda though? QC has improved a lot recently and reviews are positive. I have Mazda AND Subaru loyalist friends. Both love them for different reasons, the Subaru guy has a hundred pounds of Ham radio gear and a roof rack that looks like an NSA outpost, & 2 big dogs. The Mazda guy does high speed commute runs across the state for contract nursing gigs. |
