Need New Car Buying Help - VW Settlement Offer In

[Holeshot]

Who is dumb enough to buy American crap anymore?

No I'm sure the Dodge product is much better.

Hahahaha! Our assisant Controller's MDX is getting the engine fully rebuilt under warranty at 80K miles. Awesome. Our CFO's 2015 MDX has spent about 45 days in the shop this year, with 20K miles. Awesome.

I told our assistant controller to not buy the extended warranty ("it's a honda, they never break, etc"). She did. She was smart. 2/3 in our company so far on Acura.

Never have I seen a man so willing, nay desirous, to trade in his nut sack.

Hahahaha!

$5k for a Yukon with 50k miles is a steal. Is it a Denali?

I say get what fits you now, no need to upscale for stuff that's way off in the future.

Dubbs, do this to start. You can have another car for when you're not saddled with the battalion, too. And,you can ALWAYS get $5K for that Denali.

 

[CABilly]

Hahahaha! Our assisant Controller's MDX is getting the engine fully rebuilt under warranty at 80K miles. Awesome. Our CFO's 2015 MDX has spent about 45 days in the shop this year, with 20K miles. Awesome.

I told our assistant controller to not buy the extended warranty ("it's a honda, they never break, etc"). She did. She was smart. 2/3 in our company so far on Acura.



Hahahaha!



Dubbs, do this to start. You can have another car for when you're not saddled with the battalion, too. And,you can ALWAYS get $5K for that Denali.

I just saw that it IS a Denali. So there's your snow/adventure rig. Spend the other $10k on a nice commuter and be done with it.

You could put another 100k on that GMC and still get $5k for it in the end.

 

[Sharky]

Minivan. Might as well get ready for when kids come.

Getting a minivan is no way to get into the baby making business.

 

[madsen203]

Honda Odyssey? Remote power sliding doors and trunk. Perfect for getting dogs in/out. Folding seats so you get ample room. Comes with a cooler box/mini fridge for those camping trips. You could sleep in the back of it if needed. Pretty reliable. But it's...a Honda.

If you ever have kids...it's perfect/easy to get into/out of. Chains on the front wheels and it handles the snow adequately.

The toyota Sienna counterpart may be also a better bargain used as resale values aren't as strong as Honda's.

There was a thread on here a while back SUV vs. Minivan. Once everyone put their nuts/ego aside, they all suggested minivan would reign supreme.

 

[Dubbington]

I just saw that it IS a Denali. So there's your snow/adventure rig. Spend the other $10k on a nice commuter and be done with it.

You could put another 100k on that GMC and still get $5k for it in the end.

Not not not a Denali.

Just a standard 1500 2wd Yukon Xl. Does have leather and sunroof and newer tires.

Rides good now that my dad put it back to stock ride height. We lowered soon as we got it with a DJM kit.

It's lacking technology compared to what my '13 TDI wagon has. Maybe I drive it for a year until the diesel Durango comes out.

 

[B-mtrd]

What about finding a used in good condition FJ Cruiser?

Do you need AWD?

Unless you have kids stay away from minivans.

 

[TheRobSJ]

We got a Honda Pilot a while back. The thing is Yuuuge. Seats 8 and gets really good gas mileage (18 city and 25 highway).

Who is dumb enough to buy American crap anymore?

Hahahaha! Our assisant Controller's MDX is getting the engine fully rebuilt under warranty at 80K miles. Awesome. Our CFO's 2015 MDX has spent about 45 days in the shop this year, with 20K miles. Awesome.

I told our assistant controller to not buy the extended warranty ("it's a honda, they never break, etc"). She did. She was smart. 2/3 in our company so far on Acura.

Honda Pilot and Acura MDX are totally American made. Transmissions (6 speeds) made in Georgia and engines along with final assembly in Alabama. I've been to both plants. They're a far cry from Japanese plant standards.

Hey Berto, is your CFO's 2015 all good now or are they're still issues?

 

[TheRobSJ]

What about finding a used in good condition FJ Cruiser?

Gas mileage on those things is pretty awful. Cool looking rig, but you'll singlehandedly damn near pay for some new extravagant building or whatever in Dubai with all the gas you'll be using to daily drive one.

 

[Mike95060]

Honda Pilot and Acura MDX are totally American made. Transmissions (6 speeds) made in Georgia and engines along with final assembly in Alabama. I've been to both plants. They're a far cry from Japanese plant standards.

Hey Berto, is your CFO's 2015 all good now or are they're still issues?

I'm curious about how you asses plant standards. Number of rejected assemblies? Worker training? Cleanliness? I'm not disagreeing with you, just curious about your metrics.

 

[Climber]

That's the best part! If you're in the market for a used car, anyway.

Make sure you can fix it yourself, taking a Volvo into the dealership is $1k-$1.5k each visit and once it's over 100k miles that is a pretty frequent thing. There is a good reason that these sweet driving cars are so cheap in the used car market. Not only are they a pain-in-the-ass to replace some basic items like oxygen sensors, water pumps, belts, etc., but OEM parts are 3 times the cost of aftermarket items.

OP, look up reliability and repair costs for the brands you're checking if you're planning on keeping any of them over 100k.

 

[afm199]

No I'm sure the Dodge product is much better.

 

[TheRobSJ]

I'm curious about how you asses plant standards. Number of rejected assemblies? Worker training? Cleanliness? I'm not disagreeing with you, just curious about your metrics.

So. At HMA, there are giant "scoreboards" hanging all over the place typically in passageways. There's a bunch of numbers on them. Target production for the shift versus actual of course. But another one was a quality target. And their goal was 90%. A goal that they rarely hit...it's usually more like 80-85%. This number reflects the amount of production that was good enough to even leave the factory without getting quarantined off into a rather large amount of space where gross assembly/paint/panel fit issues are corrected. I dunno about you but I think 15 out of every 100 vehicles produced being so fucked up they can't even say "good enough" to so they can ship it is pretty bad.

Speaking of "good enough" I have another bit for you. So we were walking by some export Odysseys and I immediately noticed that the door gap on the sliding door looked pretty big. So I pointed that out to the guy giving us the tour of that area. Who was not a typical PR person that usually leads tours...he was one of the plant's upper management.. He says I've got a good eye and that "plant standard for that gap is no more than 8mm" and pulls out a steel ruler. Measures 8.5mm...and says "that's good enough, we'll let that one go."

I could go on and on about it, but most of the senior Honda/Acura dealer techs out there can pretty much tell you the same thing. That Alabama plant is not up to the standards that Honda is known for. Meanwhile, at the Ohio plants, things are much better. But still American made. An Acura RLX which is 100% made in Japan has much much better fit and finish (which is mostly a direct result of assembly at the plant) than the Acura NSX, which costs three times as much and is made in Marysville, OH.

 

[mototireguy]

My next dream car is the Chevy Colorado crew cab long box.

Kind of a Toyota Tacoma size truck with a smaller price tag and with a full size long bed.

 

[Mike95060]

So. At HMA, there are giant "scoreboards" hanging all over the place typically in passageways. There's a bunch of numbers on them. Target production for the shift versus actual of course. But another one was a quality target. And their goal was 90%. A goal that they rarely hit...it's usually more like 80-85%. This number reflects the amount of production that was good enough to even leave the factory without getting quarantined off into a rather large amount of space where gross assembly/paint/panel fit issues are corrected. I dunno about you but I think 15 out of every 100 vehicles produced being so fucked up they can't even say "good enough" to so they can ship it is pretty bad.

Speaking of "good enough" I have another bit for you. So we were walking by some export Odysseys and I immediately noticed that the door gap on the sliding door looked pretty big. So I pointed that out to the guy giving us the tour of that area. Who was not a typical PR person that usually leads tours...he was one of the plant's upper management.. He says I've got a good eye and that "plant standard for that gap is no more than 8mm" and pulls out a steel ruler. Measures 8.5mm...and says "that's good enough, we'll let that one go."

I could go on and on about it, but most of the senior Honda/Acura dealer techs out there can pretty much tell you the same thing. That Alabama plant is not up to the standards that Honda is known for. Meanwhile, at the Ohio plants, things are much better. But still American made. An Acura RLX which is 100% made in Japan has much much better fit and finish (which is mostly a direct result of assembly at the plant) than the Acura NSX, which costs three times as much and is made in Marysville, OH.

Thanks Rob. Our target reject rate is 3%. We are usually under it.

 

[SFSV650]

Make sure you can fix it yourself, taking a Volvo into the dealership is $1k-$1.5k each visit and once it's over 100k miles that is a pretty frequent thing. There is a good reason that these sweet driving cars are so cheap in the used car market.

Yeah, I'm still struggling to figure out who comes out ahead - someone paying $500/mo for a shiny new car with a warranty, someone paying $300/mo for a 4 year old car that's 'new enough to be reliable' but has a tendency to eat complex electronic parts (like my co-workers $2,400 headlight motor) or someone who paid $3k (or half that) for an ancient wagon and spends $2k+/yr at the shop.

 

[Yakoo752]

My next dream car is the Chevy Colorado crew cab long box.

Kind of a Toyota Tacoma size truck with a smaller price tag and with a full size long bed.

mine too, only I'll take the extended and 5' bed

or someone who paid $3k (or half that) for an ancient wagon and spends $2k+/yr at the shop.

what are you spending 2k annum on? None of my vehicles are newer then 2001 and I've probably spent a whooping $300 a year outside of normal maintenance on all 3 of them.

 

[Nucking Futs]

Hahahaha! Our assisant Controller's MDX is getting the engine fully rebuilt under warranty at 80K miles. Awesome. Our CFO's 2015 MDX has spent about 45 days in the shop this year, with 20K miles. Awesome.

I told our assistant controller to not buy the extended warranty ("it's a honda, they never break, etc"). She did. She was smart. 2/3 in our company so far on Acura.



Hahahaha!



Dubbs, do this to start. You can have another car for when you're not saddled with the battalion, too. And,you can ALWAYS get $5K for that Denali.

We've had 3 MDX's in a row and never had any problems at all with any of them

My next dream car is the Chevy Colorado crew cab long box.

Kind of a Toyota Tacoma size truck with a smaller price tag and with a full size long bed.

I really wish this truck came with a six speed manual

 

[Entoptic]

What about another VW?

 

[Nucking Futs]

Dubbs-

My sister was in the same situation as you - got paid around $15k for her VW settlement. She's got a 10 month baby and a huge dog and they live in SLT. They bought a Subaru Outback.

 

[Blankpage]

My next dream car is the Chevy Colorado crew cab long box.

Kind of a Toyota Tacoma size truck with a smaller price tag and with a full size long bed.

Nice truck. Too bad about the crappy rear passenger headroom.