WTF should I buy (A consolidated list of bad decisions)

[Apoc]

Man, that car is atrocious looking. Like someone forgot to stop filling a 90s Taurus with air and over-inflated it.

[Deceus]

https://www.lindsayvolkswagen.com/invent...j3cm664443


seriously.  warranty, gas mileage, cheap.  call up there and ask for Stephen.  No affiliation other than he was the sales guy we used and he was no BS and everything was pretty easy.

That place does seem like a jackpot of deals but the biggest pain in owning the Ralliart by far has been not having a dealer remotely close to Harrisonburg. I don't want a repeat of that. Sterling is a hell of a hike to bring the car in since I doubt their warranty transfers.

[.RJ]

Its a factory CPO warranty, and the 4 years on engine/emissions stuff is mandated by the Fed. I'm not sure why you think it wouldnt transfer?

Looks like there's dealers in Staunton and Charlottesville. The TDI's got the DSG gearbox, which, if you're going to own an auto is pretty nice.

Sure, its not the most attractive thing to look at (one of the reasons I bought the 2015) but, once you've owned a ridgeline anything is better than that face.

[Senor_Taylor]

Love TDI. Interior isn't half bad either. No idea about ownership of a used VW though.

Ford is selling brand new Fusions for like 16k right now. I think someone posted a link to one in the Alumni chat.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Deceus]

Its a factory CPO warranty, and the 4 years on engine/emissions stuff is mandated by the Fed. I'm not sure why you think it wouldnt transfer?

Looks like there's dealers in Staunton and Charlottesville.  The TDI's got the DSG gearbox, which, if you're going to own an auto is pretty nice.

Sure, its not the most attractive thing to look at (one of the reasons I bought the 2015) but, once you've owned a ridgeline anything is better than that face.

I just realized we're talking about a turbocharged diesel here

[BLINGMW]

Another vote for the Fit. We have two for my business and they never need anything (unless we crash them). No fun allowed in the CVT one, check. The manual one at least makes me laugh. FWIW the base model stereo and controls are better IMHO than the upgraded one with horrible touchscreen, but I'm talking a 2016 and 2018, don't know what the "old" ones are like. They get 45mpg when *I* drive them. Two of my guys are pushing 300lbs and don't complain about them.
My only gripe is that the tank is like 9 gallons, so despite the excellent fuel economy, you're at the pump just as often.

[.RJ]

Its a factory CPO warranty, and the 4 years on engine/emissions stuff is mandated by the Fed. I'm not sure why you think it wouldnt transfer?

Looks like there's dealers in Staunton and Charlottesville.  The TDI's got the DSG gearbox, which, if you're going to own an auto is pretty nice.

Sure, its not the most attractive thing to look at (one of the reasons I bought the 2015) but, once you've owned a ridgeline anything is better than that face.

I just realized we're talking about a turbocharged diesel here

Pretty much all diesels are turbocharged....

edit: and, FWIW, my dad's Jetta TDI made it to 300k without any major maintenance

[WRXtranceformed]

Our Elantra was a great car for what it's worth. I don't know why you're considering Ford

[D_Eclipse9916]

A girlfriend had a manual fit in college. It was fun for what it was. Definitely pick it 10 times out of 10 over a diesel vw. Actually would be extremely high in my list for practical econoboxes.

[HAULN-SS]

VW diesels are well known to hit 300k regularly. Not sure why you have PTSD, but that's a hell of a deal. FWIW mine had 150k on it when I bought it with no warranty. Only thing I ever replaced on it was a glow plug and CV joint and turned it in with 200k

[Deceus]

Yeah Ford is out of the question. Like I said I was only considering it because it was going to be under bumper to bumper warranty the entire time I had it, the dealership was basically across the street and I figured they wanted them off their lot but my streak with idiot salesmen continues. Dude told me to "go down to Charlottesville and buy 2" if they're offering $2,000 off. As if $16,000 for a barebones Fiesta SE that's been on a lot for close to a year was some kind of screaming deal. Guess they wanna keep the cars around for another year, more power to them.

I'm not arguing that a VW could be pretty reliable, I'm just saying if it's not then I highly doubt we're talking cheap repairs. Throw a DSG into the mix and that's definitely a no from me. Not looking to drop another $3-4k to replace a fucking valvebody no matter how low the chance of that actually happening is. Guess I'm kind of stuck on the Fit now. It'll be short enough to park in front of the Ralliart without blocking the driveway so that's a huge plus. Found a low mileage Fit Sport in Alexandria for 7k but it sold this morning just as I was leaving to go get it. That's what I get for waiting til Saturday.

update: went to go check out the one in Front Royal today and put a deposit on it since my bank and their local finance office was closed for a funeral. $7k and 89k miles seems like a good enough deal to put this search behind me. It's a base but it's very easy and relatively cheap to swap out the front bumper and grille if I really feel like it. Hitting the bank Monday morning and picking it up after work. Overall it was pretty good. I knew it was roomier than it looked after riding in Matt's at hyperfest but it still blew me away behind the wheel. Had a good hearty laugh when I floored it at 70 to pass someone on 66 just to see if it could. I mean it did but the passing gear only seemed to make the car just a little louder.

[JPolen01]

Does anybody have experience with the 2nd gen GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse? The wife is itching for a new car. She thinks we have outgrown the CRV (with one kid, I know), but I can always use an excuse to change out a vehicle. 20-30k mile CPO examples can be had for $28-30k and with our trade-in our payment would remain almost the same. Obviously the clock starts over and the payoff date moves out, but we are okay with that.

The CPO warranty covers 6 years/100k miles powertrain and 12 months/12k miles bumper to bumper. I have no experience with GM. How much will I love or hate this?

[JustinG]

Don't, you'll be down grading, unless you go Denali. Buy a Pilot or a CX9.

[ScottyB]

Does anybody have experience with the 2nd gen GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse? The wife is itching for a new car. She thinks we have outgrown the CRV (with one kid, I know), but I can always use an excuse to change out a vehicle. 20-30k mile CPO examples can be had for $28-30k and with our trade-in our payment would remain almost the same. Obviously the clock starts over and the payoff date moves out, but we are okay with that.

The CPO warranty covers 6 years/100k miles powertrain and 12 months/12k miles bumper to bumper. I have no experience with GM. How much will I love or hate this?

i think they use the GM 3.6 V6?  that engine eats timing chains, or at least the early ones did.  shame bc otherwise it looks like a strong engine.

[WRXtranceformed]

Powertrain wise at this point you will probably be fine, although the 3.6DI motors have a lot of oil in the intake issues (I had a catch can on both of mine, you can see how much oil I caught in my Canyon thread). The big issue I had in both of my GM vehicles (one of them brand new) was electrical issues. It will drive you crazy. I can probably remember at least 5 times I've seen a brand new Yukon Denali or Escalade with tail light LEDs already burnt out. That's one of the big reasons why I didn't keep my Canyon, the head unit self destructed before a long trip to the Outer Banks which not only left us without nav, backup camera or music but also with a loud HISSING sound because I couldn't turn off the speakers. I had to pull over and pull the plug for the entire entertainment unit.

[JPolen01]

Don't, you'll be down grading, unless you go Denali. Buy a Pilot or a CX9.

Can't tell if this is a troll or not. The SLT-1 is fully loaded. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detai.../overview/

Pilot doesn't really interest me and wife is no-go on Mazda after our CX-5 debacle.

Lee - GM electrical problems worry me. But on the other hand, DJ had his truck forever and loved it.

[WRXtranceformed]

Why not MDX? I'm looking at them right now and they are surprisingly cheap with low mileage.

[JPolen01]

Why not MDX?  I'm looking at them right now and they are surprisingly cheap with low mileage.

On the table, but they seem a little outdated interior-wise. Last time I checked the new ones were not getting stellar reviews. CPO examples are priced well though.

[WRXtranceformed]

Weird, I've never read a bad review on the MDX other than some complaints about the new 9 speed transmission not being any faster or more fuel efficient. I test drove another one a few months ago (2015 or 2016?) and test drove an older second gen back when we ended up getting an RDX for the wife. Both were excellent.

I will give you that Honda / Acura are always outdated on entertainment tech and interior, but it's a nice place to be for a family hauler and definitely safe and reliable. I'm kind of trying to wait until the 2017s drop in price a little more because the refreshed front looks EXPONENTIALLY better than the older models with the beak

[JustinG]

Not a troll.

Despise these things, parents have a Gen1 Enclave. Giant pile. 2nd gen appears to be more of the same

I give it 6 months before the paint is chipping off the buttons they've used since 2004 and the suspension is squeaking like a covered wagon.

Interior on the one you linked is the same as a rental cruze I had, but add leather seats.

Lip stick on a pile of shit.

I get the hate toward Mazda. But the 9 is the answer, have her drive a gt or a signature.