What should I buy? (Car edition)

[jsstevens]

If he let's you use it would he be a friend with benefits?

Next thread please.

 

[Mason]

Which is a shame. In the 90s, I tend to think they were the most fun to drive of the Japanese makes.

My 2017 Maxima SL is fun to drive and I have had zero problems in 55k miles including CVT.

 

[bradg33]

I think so, too. I also wasn't willing to cough up $70K for a used V3 CTS-V when I could get most of the performance for half the cost with the VSport, lol. The $95K+ for the current CT5-Blackwing is a tough pill to swallow, even if it is a Corvette Z06 sedan complete with 7-speed manual.

What's all this ATS-V, CT5-V talk? I'll just leave this here...

 

[bnt83]

My 2017 Maxima SL is fun to drive and I have had zero problems in 55k miles including CVT.

I hope you have good luck with it, my coworker blew $5500 on a Rouge CVT that was just out of warranty and had around 65K miles on it. Sadly the car was rear-ended and totaled after they put the new CVT in it.

 

[genna]

My 2017 Maxima SL is fun to drive and I have had zero problems in 55k miles including CVT.

Fun is a relative term. Come back when you have 100K miles. Seems that these CVTs tend to go before that mark.

 

[genna]

What's all this ATS-V, CT5-V talk? I'll just leave this here...

Please tell me it's an Auto so I don't have to hate you.

 

[bradg33]

Please tell me it's an Auto so I don't have to hate you.

Unfortunately it is an auto (wife insisted she be able to drive it, and she can't/won't drive a stick). But I do own a proper manual car, a 2008 Viper.

 

[Grum.Man]

Unfortunately it is an auto (wife insisted she be able to drive it, and she can't/won't drive a stick). But I do own a proper manual car, a 2008 Viper.

If she only knew how valuable the manual cars would become she might have learned to drive a stick shift.

 

[genna]

Unfortunately it is an auto (wife insisted she be able to drive it, and she can't/won't drive a stick). But I do own a proper manual car, a 2008 Viper.

My wife is on and off learning to drive stick shift. Or more accurately learning how to do it in the V. She's actually not bad at stick shift after a few lessons in a normal car, but the V is still difficult for her. Looks like you have the same trim as mine: Black Diamond. I really wanted the wagon. And it would have been a lot more practical now. Couldn't quite find one at the time for the money. My wife really doesn't like that wagon though. To her it looks like a hearse. Vipers are awesome, of course. I rented a first gen(05 I think) years ago in Vegas and took it out to the desert/mountains. What a hoot. Transmission was crap, heater didn't work, windows didn't zip, interior - what interior? But the smile never left my face.

 

[SoonerAviator]

What's all this ATS-V, CT5-V talk? I'll just leave this here...

Well, to be fair, the ATS-V crowd has guys running 9-second 1/4 miles on stock turbos/bolt-ons . . . so there is plenty of giddy-up in the smaller sports coupe/sedan. Since OP was talking about WRX and similar, the ATS-V is more of a class competitor at that level. This was a fun comparison on the new Blackwing vs Corvette: *spoiler* Blackwing wins, and does it with a manual transmission which probably made the race even closer.

 

[bradg33]

If she only knew how valuable the manual cars would become she might have learned to drive a stick shift.

I bought mine in 2020, and at the time the manual premium was about $10k. It's probably closer to $15k now. Auto makes it a really pleasant DD though.

 

[Sac Arrow]

Everything in engineering is a compromise. I hate to say that but it is a reality. We all want the muscle car that can do the quarter of a mile less than a top fuel dragster, and have the cornering ability of an F1 race car. And the efficiency of a Honda Trail 50.

But we can't have all of those. It comes down to what is your mission? That is why I love the Sentra so much. A race car it is not. But I don't take it to the track. I take it to the residential roads, highways and freeways. It has air conditioning, power everything, really comfortable seating position, handles like a pro (for a front wheel drive vehicle) and has a great stereo. Up to twenty MPH above legal highway speeds covers 99% of what I need to do, and even though it isn't necessarily an acceleration beast, in Sport mode it is better than the 2 liter class cars of 20 years ago. Actually, it isn't bad at all.

And it gets great mileage and it is super reliable. I have heard the CVT is a ticking time bomb, and that worries me a little bit... and the last time I took it to the mountains, the transmission was hunting uncomfortably. Since then it has been fine. 60+K miles so far.

What do you really want? Something that on a technical spec sheet is great, but might not be the most fun and relaxing thing to drive? Get over it man. How many times does your Ferrari get your eggs cooked more than your GTI, or your Corolla? Not in the places I drive, and I drive in places where you can cook some eggs with your Ferrari.

That is why I don't even own a motorcycle anymore. I've been pushing sport bikes all my adult life. They are like riding F16's. But they don't get you to your destination very comfortably, and then you have to deal with parking, and all that stuff. I would love to fly an F16. But not to go to work or to the pub. We are talking cars here bro. Not the equivalent of $3K a night escorts that you might do once every couple years.

Bad analogy. But is it? What do you want from your car? Me, I want to get from here to there in comfort and economy and want to be able to park it in places otherwise reserved for semis. I like to go fast, but my little econobox goes faster than the lawman would like me to go.

I like to have adrenaline rush. That is what airplanes are for. You fly airplanes. You don't need a car to replicate that because it never will.

 

[genna]

....I like to have adrenaline rush. That is what airplanes are for. You fly airplanes. You don't need a car to replicate that because it never will.

Counter point. I don't really like having an adrenaline rush in an airplane in the type of flying I do. It happens now and again, but I don't go out searching for it.

As far as cars, Sentra(CVT issues notwithstanding) is fine. Pretty much any car these days is fine to take you from A to B. Safer, more reliably, and with more comfort than even 10 years ago. But GTi it is not. It's evident as soon as you drive both. Let alone more capable cars. Many people enjoy those extra capabilities. Without even breaking the speed limit by much.

 

[Velocity173]

2022 BRZ or GR86 in my opinion. I think the BRZ looks a little nicer (silver).

 

[Whitney]

I would vote for a Honda, largely because of reliability.

My 2012 Accord has been flawless.

 

[RyanB]

After much advice from folks on a VW forum and a local mechanic, I decided to replace my PCV unit, as they’re supposed to be exchanged every 30,000 miles (I didn’t know this). Went to the dealer, bought the part and installed it last night. Took about an hour, as for some reason the #4 coil pack didn’t want to come loose. Anyway, I got it replaced, so my fingers are crossed, figured it was worth a shot as many told me a failing unit will contribute to poor oil consumption and reduced power. Now I wait and see…

 

[RyanB]

Well, I traded the GTI in for a 2022 Corolla Hatchback. I’m very happy with the purchase and equally as happy to have discarded the Volkswagen.

 

[RyanB]

After much advice from folks on a VW forum and a local mechanic, I decided to replace my PCV unit, as they’re supposed to be exchanged every 30,000 miles (I didn’t know this). Went to the dealer, bought the part and installed it last night. Took about an hour, as for some reason the #4 coil pack didn’t want to come loose. Anyway, I got it replaced, so my fingers are crossed, figured it was worth a shot as many told me a failing unit will contribute to poor oil consumption and reduced power. Now I wait and see…

This ended up not solving the problem. It was diagnosed with worn rings and glazed cylinders at only 93k miles.

 

[Bill]

Congrats, should be good for 200-300kmi!

 

[asicer]

Well, I traded the GTI in for a 2022 Corolla Hatchback. I’m very happy with the purchase and equally as happy to have discarded the Volkswagen.

I suppose VW's are like boats? (the first and the last are the happiest days of ownership)

 

[Velocity173]

Good looking car Ryan! Didn't even know the Corolla had a hatchback version.

 

[RyanB]

Good looking car Ryan! Didn't even know the Corolla had a hatchback version.

Thanks! I didn’t either actually, I was interested when I came across it at North Georgia Toyota.

 

[Velocity173]

Thanks! I didn’t either actually, I was interested when I came across it at North Georgia Toyota.

Oh, Dalton. That’s a popular area to buy cars. Good deals there. Almost bought a Hyundai Tucson on that strip years ago.

 

[RyanB]

Oh, Dalton. That’s a popular area to buy cars. Good deals there. Almost bought a Hyundai Tucson on that strip years ago.

Yeah. They were very fair with me on the trade. Of the places I looked (Chattanooga and Cleveland) Dalton had the best deals.

 

[rtk11]

Well, I traded the GTI in for a 2022 Corolla Hatchback. I’m very happy with the purchase and equally as happy to have discarded the Volkswagen.

Congrats on the Corolla Hatchback! It will serve you well and reliably!

I was going to recommend the Hyundai Elantra N, Kia K5 or the Honda Civic Si since they were roughly in the same genre as the GTI.

Pity about the GTI. The VW/Audi 2.0 has an oil scraper ring on the piston issue (even with the redesigned ring) and oil consumption can be terrible, especially with VW/Audi's prescribed long duration oil changes. My Audi Q5 was consuming a quart every 300 miles and the common resolution was to pull the pistons out and install new pistons and rings. (I am using Valvoline's Restore Blue oil, which is really hard to get, which was formulated to fix the oil control ring sludging problems on Cummins diesel engines. This seems to have slowed the oil consumption quite a bit.)

VW does make really good engines... but sadly the best engine was the TDI (in my opinion) which got really bad press for the emissions cheating. I have had zero issues with my previous Jetta TDI and my current Jetta Sportwagen TDI, and it's still a bunch of fun to drive.

 

[cessna182b]

Break My Wallet
Big Money...Why?

Bring More Wrenches is more like it!

Dave

 

[hindsight2020]

apropos of nothing, my exwife's 2000 turbo beetle blowded-up the timing chain (and all valves plink plink plink with it) in Tulsa OK during Xmas break back in UPT circa 2006. That engine was a POS, and so was the paintjob. Of course I should have left her alongside the POS on the side of that road, alas my username checks.

 

[Bill]

I’ve owned two VWs, I guess that makes me twice as stupid as the average VW owner.

 

[Ted]

I’ve owned two VWs, I guess that makes me twice as stupid as the average VW owner.

Don't worry, I know people who've kept on buying them. You're still doing fine.

 

[RyanB]

My Audi Q5 was consuming a quart every 300 miles and the common resolution was to pull the pistons out and install new pistons and rings.

Mine was going through a quart every 80-100 miles! On top of that, the transmission was slipping. I’ll never own another VW, and I’ll definitely never own another vehicle with the DSG transmission. Some like it, others are iffy about it. Based on my experience, I fall into the latter category. It was good the first couple years for the most part, but it has some odd quirks that I don’t care for.

What you’ve described, sounds exactly like what I was experiencing. The remedy for mine was also to remove the pistons and rings and replace with new. It was roughly ~$3,000, which I wasn’t about to do, because then I’d still have a slipping transmission. It was a pretty fun car while everything worked as designed, which quite frankly didn’t last that long!

 

[Ted]

Regarding the DSG, it seems like when race oriented transmission tech is put into street cars it doesn’t usually fare as well. In other areas (brakes and suspension, for example) you see benefits. But on the whole attempts to replace the normal slushbox automatic have generally not fared well on the street.

 

[RyanB]

Regarding the DSG, it seems like when race oriented transmission tech is put into street cars it doesn’t usually fare as well. In other areas (brakes and suspension, for example) you see benefits. But on the whole attempts to replace the normal slushbox automatic have generally not fared well on the street.

Yeah, I’d suspect that to be the case. There’s a guy here who works exclusively on these kinds of VW’s and he stated that they essentially like to be rode hard and put away wet, which I found to be quite odd for what’s generally regarded as an everyday driver type of car. His opinion was that this car was driven around town, under general driving habits, which contributed to the problems that I experienced. I told him that I acquired it at 32,000 miles as it came off a lease. I put a bit over 60,000 miles on it in the five years that I owned it.

 

[asicer]

they essentially like to be rode hard and put away wet

The infamous "Italian Tune-up"?