OT: Talking Cars Tuesday - Car Advice

Submitted by JeepinBen on

I thought we had a real good thread last week on brands. There was (mostly) well informed discussion on the global-ness of the Auto Industry, as well as lots people explaining why they like the cars they like. I find it interesting too that not one person said "I like Brand X because they make the best cars." There was lots of "I had one, it was reliable, I got another" or "My family's worked for Brand X" etc.... but no one claimed "Best".

Anyway, on to this week. What's the best piece of car advice you've ever gotten? Maybe you ignored it and have a good story to tell. Maybe your parents told you something specific about the family ride and it never treated you wrong. Did someone recommend buying a car you never would have thought of? Maybe you got horrible advice like "oil doesn't need changing". Maybe you want the MGoBoard's advice on something?  Let's hear about that friend/parent/significant other who gave you great advice or steered (sorry) you wrong.

turtleboy

May 24th, 2016 at 10:31 AM ^

Not to buy a launch model vehicle, because they have any number of faults to still prove out. Wait a year when a new vehicle comes out to hear feedback. Some turn out to be great, some turn out to be discontinued.

The Mad Hatter

May 24th, 2016 at 10:41 AM ^

had a minivan.  A Chevy Astro IIRC.  That thing was like a mobile hotel room.  Why her parents didn't think of that when they bought it is beyond me, but I thank them for it.

I've thought of buying a minivan as an extra car just for roadhead purposes.

JFW

May 24th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^

a Chevy Asstro? 

 

The original Chrysler minivans had a convert-a-bed option. Some young engineer was looking out for his bros.

 

http://www.allpar.com/model/m/original-minivans.html

"Seating configurations for the minivans allowed for anywhere from five to eight seats by 1986. The Convert-a-Bed option was available, though it is rare to find one; coded CYL, it converted the three-passenger bench seat into a bed “with the flick of a wrist,” with a quick release assembly for easier removal. It was only available on short wheelbase, five passenger models."

JFW

May 24th, 2016 at 10:38 AM ^

"Never trust the military industrial complex,

and always buy a slanted six'. 

 

(He had family that worked for Chrysler). 

The Mad Hatter

May 24th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^

But I've had several cars with straight 6 engines and I'm a big fan.  Jeep Cherokee, BMW, and a Volvo S80 TT.  

That S80 was awesome.  The engine was smooth as butter and once those turbo's kicked in holy fuck was it fast.  It wasn't very reliable though.  I bought a 99, which was the first model year for the S80.  This thread would have come in handy before I got that car.

MGoBat

May 24th, 2016 at 10:40 AM ^

For those of us in northern states, an occasional underbody wash is a must if you do not want your car to die an early death due to corrosion.

LSAClassOf2000

May 24th, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^

I did not do this in the Prizm that I had for almost 12 years and it came at the price of a lot of replacement parts at the end of that car's life, so yeah, definitely do this if you live in a state that has salt slathered on its roads a few months out of each year. I take my current vehicle to the car wash once or twice a month now and pay for the full deal, as a matter of fact, and usually I will bitch until my wife promises to do the same thing. Once burned and all that. 

Hail-Storm

May 24th, 2016 at 10:43 AM ^

Advice from my dad. As he stated, you are spending a lot of money on a car (a lot is a different dollar amount to different people and different times in your life), so you might as well spend it on something you like.

So far, all of my purchases have been cars I've enjoyed driving and enjoyed how they look and feel, and it makes me happy when I go out and get in them. 

This probably applies more to people who are into cars, but even though my wife isn't really into cars, I know she enjoys the cars she has owned, and made sure to get the cars she wanted and not settle. 

teldar

May 24th, 2016 at 10:53 AM ^

My wife decided she was looking to spend 25-30k and decided a couple year old infiniti was the way to go. One of her friends had a g35 at the time and she really liked it. I told her to look at the Kia Optima which topped out at around $35k. She ended up getting a top of the line Optima with everything but the threshold decals and really likes it. She said she still likes it 3 years and 45k miles later. 

 

I drive a sportage which i wanted because the rear window opens independently of the hatch. It doesn't do that anymore. I think it was the last small SUV which the window opened. Bastards. It's great for carrying a small amount of lumber since it couldn't do that if the window did not open... My next vehicle might be the 2018 ranger. We'll see.

 

Rabbit21

May 24th, 2016 at 10:47 AM ^

If you're riding in the bed of the truck make sure you sit up near the cab so you don't get bounced around too much.

I think they arrest you if you ride in the back of the truck now.

Hail-Storm

May 24th, 2016 at 3:36 PM ^

and I have to admit that I'm looking at turning it to snow mode and going through some deaper snow. My mazdaspeed 3 has done fine in the winters, especially when I had blizzaks, but there was definitely some times I really had to plan ahead to ensure I had enough momentum to get where I was going. 

I'll have to be careful now, though, as my new vehicle is around 1,400 lbs more than what I'm used to.  Stopping will be a concern. 

BlueMan80

May 24th, 2016 at 10:52 AM ^

Buy some snow tires so you can stop and turn on the snow.

I had some major close calls with my '89 Taurus SHO that made me a convert. If you keep a car for 4 or more years, you'll probably need to buy some new tires anyway, so you might as well make the second set work to your advantage now.

JFW

May 24th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^

From my big brother, just as I was learning to drive: "I know you're going to want to go tear assing around. I get it. But remember, if you ever hit anyone you'd never forgive yourself" and "When the rain first starts to hit, the asphalt roads can get really slippery. More so than if they've been raining a long time. 

 

To stretch things a bit, I've given some advice I consider good:

A) Don't skimp on your tires. It doesn't matter how many electronic do-dads you have, if your tires are bald or nearly so, your car won't stop, accelerate, or turn as well (in response to a relative who thought they could save money on tires by running them forever). 

 

B) Get a new car, one day when conditions are snowy, take it to an empty parking lot and see what its driving dynamics are. Do donuts. Skids. Emergency stops. Learn how your car handles when its relatively safe. 

JeepinBen

May 24th, 2016 at 11:22 AM ^

Especially the tires part. I took a grad-level vehicle dynamics class at Michigan and the professor was obsessed with tires. On our final there was a fill in the blank.

The _______ stop the ________. The ________ stop the car.

(The Brakes stop the tires. The tires stop the car).

I've never bought from them, but tirerack.com has wonderful reviews of tires - http://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/MenuServlet?search=surveyComments

You can put your car in and see what tires other people have gotten and what they think.

Brian Griese

May 24th, 2016 at 11:01 AM ^

often, and make sure someone that knows what the hell they're doing does it.  I hate people that leave their car go wayyyy over schedule for an oil change.  Obviously, the oil change helps your car, but if your car gets checked over properly at regular times, problems should be kept in check on your vehicle.  I've mentioned before I worked for a car dealership for 3 years out of college, and I'll never forget the dude that destroyed his 2 year old Durango in under 30,000 miles because HE NEVER CHANGED THE OIL ONCE.  Bravo, idiot.