All things about Cars, Trucks & SUVs

[Edward64]

Walked around a mall today and saw a BYD dealership. Checked out the Dolphin and sat inside. Nice interior, steering wheel radius was smaller than expected. Googling says about $20k for base model

From the traffic, Toyotas dominate here. Haven’t paid much attention to gas stations but wouldn’t think the infrastructure was in place for EVs

Speaking of traffic, if you think you got it bad in the US … no comparison especially if you toss in all the motorcycles.

[Ksyrup]

Not sure if true, but you know where the benefit of the doubt should lie...

“Tesla Inc. employs an odometer system that utilizes predictive algorithms, energy consumption metrics, and driver behavior multipliers that manipulate and misrepresent the actual mileage travelled by Tesla vehicles,” reads the lawsuit. “In so doing, Defendants can, and do, accelerate the rate of depreciation of the value of Tesla vehicles and also the expiration of Tesla vehicle warranties to reduce or avoid responsibility for contractually required repairs as well as increase the purchase of its extended warranty policy.”

Tesla accused of using sneaky tactic to dodge car repairs

[sovereignstar v2]

Well done VW for breaking out Onyx’s Slam for their latest advert

[Edward64]

My 2007 Camry Hybrid is finally at the point where it's better to buy a new car vs fix.

Looking at a 2026 RAV4 or CRV but may not be able to wait that long. RAV4 has a new 2026 model coming out but I'd expect long wait list and no discounts. CRV has some nice tech upgrades.

I may have to end up with a 2025 RAV4 ...

[sovereignstar v2]

It’s generally not a good idea to get the 1st gen of a redesign. Reliability is up in the air

[GrantDawg]

My first generation Toccoma goes "vroom vroom".

Sent from my SM-S938U using Tapatalk

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

It’s generally not a good idea to get the 1st gen of a redesign. Reliability is up in the air

Yeah, wife said the same thing. All the kinks should have been worked out in the 2025 RAV4 model.

[Edward64]

Bought a RAV4 Hybrid yesterday. Delivery next Wed-Thu. Relatively painless and very happy with the deal.

• Got Truecar "average price" deal (told him I thought this was fair price)
• Got Kelley Blue Book "average trade-in" for my 2007 Camry Hybrid

I refused to buy all the dealer add-ons except for tint. Sales guy initially say it came from the factory that way. It may, but I told him I could wait 3-4 months for one without them and wasn't willing to pay for that "crap" (aka paint protection and couple other worthless addons). I gave on the $500 tint option because I could see value in that

They initially came up with a $500 trade-in value for Camry. I showed that KBB said $1,800 and they agreed. Honestly, I was willing to meet them halfway on that.

I also declined the mats as a $350'ish option. Plenty of options on Amazon for < $150 but, after further research, the one I want is about $250. So may just buy it from dealer for the convenience.

Gas mileage is 41 city, 38 hwy. My old Camry was around 32-35 mpg so happy with that also. And regular 87 unleaded.


Also, interesting tidbit. He said most RAV4's come from Canada but he said my particular car is from Japan because the VIN started with a "J".

[GrantDawg]

The mats are overpriced, but I really like the officially tagged mats. They also seem to fit better than most aftermarkets. It may be all in my mind, but I like them. Congrats on the car. I seriously considered one but the tow capacity was a bit light unless I went high end. My son did as well but it was just a little pricier than he wanted to spend.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

The mats are overpriced, but I really like the officially tagged mats. They also seem to fit better than most aftermarkets. It may be all in my mind, but I like them. Congrats on the car. I seriously considered one but the tow capacity was a bit light unless I went high end. My son did as well but it was just a little pricier than he wanted to spend.

Agreed

I got the factory mat for the trunk when I bought my Bronco and with 2 dogs and everything else that go back there it was a great decision. Cleaning the carpet material in trunks is awful. I ended up purchasing the factory floor mats shortly after getting it because I've grown to hate carpeted mats in general and the factory mats just look and fit better.

[Edward64]

Picked up the RAV4. I kinda expected it but was happy that the car had all the options that I refused to pay for ... including the mats!

Pics of the new 2026 RAV4 refresh are out and I wish we could have waited for it but it was time to let that 2007 Camry go. Fond memories, taught both kids how to drive in it at a mall parking lot.

[Atocep]

We finally got around to ordering a Maverick. Since we wanted the AWD Hybrid we did have to order ne since they're apparently incredibly difficult to find. Now we have a 4-6 month wait but we're able to still lock in a price while Ford was offering employee pricing. Went with the Lariat trim after pricing out a couple.

We went to the same dealership and worked with the same salesman from when we bought our Bronco in 2021. No BS, no attempts to upsell us or get us to buy something we didn't want. As we were picking options he was pointing out the ones that were overpriced and/or unnecessary. It was about as good of an experience as you could have at a dealership.

[Edward64]

https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/rel...ues-from-300zx

I was really hoping for a nice refresh of the Z. Instead, all I got was new color and unchanged fugly grill. It doesn't look bad at an angle but if you look at it straight on, it sucks.

Supposedly, a new Toyota Supra (non-BMW) by 2026-2027. My last hope of a throwback, affordable Japanese sports car.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Happy to be wrong!

Look like there will be a Model Q $30k a coming soon (assuming Trump keeps, and the Model Q is eligible, for the tax credit)

Unfortunately, did not hit the $30k target, especially since the tax credit is gone. Oh well, pretty darn happy with the RAV4 + unleaded. Wife said she got 42mpg in mixed driving the other day

Tesla reveals cheaper Model Y and Model 3 Standard versions

The two cars are now available for order on Tesla's US website. The Model Y Standard is rear-wheel drive, will start at $39,990, and has an estimated range of 321 miles with standard 18-inch wheels.

The Model 3 Standard comes in even cheaper, at $36,990, and has the same range. While the Model Y Standard is available for November/December delivery, the Model 3 Standard arrives a little later, with a December/January delivery range.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Unfortunately, did not hit the $30k target, especially since the tax credit is gone. Oh well, pretty darn happy with the RAV4 + unleaded. Wife said she got 42mpg in mixed driving the other day

Tesla reveals cheaper Model Y and Model 3 Standard versions

That you would even consider purchasing a new Tesla at this point says so much.

[Atocep]

Our Maverick hybrid was delivered last week and we picked it up. It's mostly the wife's vehicle and she's loving it. They made several upgrades to the 2025 model including a new infotainment system, AWD on the hybrid model, and a few other tweaks so I’m glad we held out. Since we ordered in June we were also able to lock in the Ford employee pricing before that offer expired.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Atocep

Our Maverick hybrid was delivered last week and we picked it up. It's mostly the wife's vehicle and she's loving it. They made several upgrades to the 2025 model including a new infotainment system, AWD on the hybrid model, and a few other tweaks so I’m glad we held out. Since we ordered in June we were also able to lock in the Ford employee pricing before that offer expired.

I need to know. What did it cost you?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I need to know. What did it cost you?

With tax, title, licensing, etc we walked out paying under 42k for the Lariat trim hybrid AWD.

[Ksyrup]

I've got what is probably a stupid question but I can't find a response on the internet that seems to fit with what I'm describing. I know nothing about cars, although this isn't really a technical question so much as a "is really a thing that happens?" type of question.

My wife has a 2019 Nissan Pathfinder. We each have a key fob. When either of us starts the car with our fob, the pre-programmed radio stations are on screen and the temperature is set as of the last time we started the car with our fob. It could be 90 degrees out, but if I start the car and the last time I drove it, it was 20 and I had the temp set at 85, that's what will come up. If I had Liquid Metal on and my wife was just driving and had Yacht Rock on, when I start the car with my fob, Liquid Metal will be on. When my fob battery starts to die, we've noticed that inputs on the touch screen start screwing up - I hit one button, it goes to a different screen, or a different station, etc. Replace the battery, it works. I never knew the fob could control such things, but it does.

OK, so here's what going on and my question...

A few weeks ago, We got into her car with me driving. It was cold, so we turned the heat up. Nothing. It blew cold air. All the way to the store and back. It never warmed up a degree, just ice cold air. We got home. Wife went out, started the car with her fob. Heat came on. It's worked fine since then.

Fast forward to today... I drove her car on Saturday, everything worked fine. Today, she heads to work and got nothing but cold air. Even with the defroster on, cold air blew out of the vents and not through the defroster. She actually had to pull over because she couldn't see out the windshield and ended up driving in 18 degree weather with the window down. Same thing on the drive home. When she got home, she tried my fob. Heat works fine.

So my question is... WHAT. THE. FUCK? Is this actually a thing that happens by fob? In this case, it has happened with both of our fobs alternately. Both batteries are reasonably new. But even if it is the battery, can a dying fob battery really fuck up the air controls like that? We'll probably have it checked out, but it's odd that it happened to both of us separately with our fobs, only to immediately work when the other fob was used.

Any thoughts?

[GrantDawg]

That happens in my work trucks all the time. They have keys, so it is not a key fob thing. There is just something weird in the new AC systems that sometimes it won't switch on to the right temp. Usually when I crank it again it is fixed.

[GrantDawg]

Funny enough bumping this, we are looking at a new car. Leaning toward replacing the 2016 Sentra with a 2025 Sentra because they are great deals. We have an offer in hand from Carmax for our car that is about $2k above KBB which is surprising. I guess they are really clamoring for a low mileage 10 year old car.

[HerRealName]

I'm tall and my wife is short. There are times she gets in my car in the passenger seat and her key fob activates and starts adjusting the driver seat to her setting. She cackles in glee as I slowly get crushed into the dashboard. Marriage is great.

[flere-imsaho]

"cackles in glee"

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Funny enough bumping this, we are looking at a new car. Leaning toward replacing the 2016 Sentra with a 2025 Sentra because they are great deals. We have an offer in hand from Carmax for our car that is about $2k above KBB which is surprising. I guess they are really clamoring for a low mileage 10 year old car.

Did the Carmax deal today. In and put for the qouted amount in less than 45 minutes. I still can't get over them basically paying the private sale price for our car. We went around to let my wife look at various cars before going to Nissan to test drive a 2025 and a 2026 Sentra. That was a mistake. My wife needed to get a feel for the cars to know what she wanted, but then we fell in love with both and got sort of sucked into the car dealership vortex for a minute. After the second ridiculous offer, I told them exactly what it would take for us to buy and left. Got the call 30 minutes ago, and we go back tomorrow to get exactly the deal I wanted. Little messier than I hoped (was going to do the whole thing online) but got to where I wanted.
2025 Sentra SR with Premium Package btw. 4800 under MSRP.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Did the Carmax deal today. In and put for the qouted amount in less than 45 minutes. I still can't get over them basically paying the private sale price for our car. We went around to let my wife look at various cars before going to Nissan to test drive a 2025 and a 2026 Sentra. That was a mistake. My wife needed to get a feel for the cars to know what she wanted, but then we fell in love with both and got sort of sucked into the car dealership vortex for a minute. After the second ridiculous offer, I told them exactly what it would take for us to buy and left. Got the call 30 minutes ago, and we go back tomorrow to get exactly the deal I wanted. Little messier than I hoped (was going to do the whole thing online) but got to where I wanted.
2025 Sentra SR with Premium Package btw. 4800 under MSRP.

Interesting tid bit. We were looking over the old paper work from our 2016 Sentra. The MSRP on it was around 3.5k less than the new one, which for a ten year space isn't as big a gap as you will see on most cars. It is especially interesting because our new car has leather seats and a moon roof where the old one didn't. After negotiating the discount and then getting the rebate we are actually paying less for the new one.

[Ksyrup]

The last few days, I have been getting peppered by our local Audi with emails and texts asking to bring my 2019 A4 in to make me an offer. I'm not sure if it's because they are looking to boost their pre-owned inventory or desperate to sell me a new car from their 2026 inventory.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The last few days, I have been getting peppered by our local Audi with emails and texts asking to bring my 2019 A4 in to make me an offer. I'm not sure if it's because they are looking to boost their pre-owned inventory or desperate to sell me a new car from their 2026 inventory.

To sell you a new car. Audi is getting killed right now.

[Ksyrup]

Tariffs? I thought luxury spending was actually going well. It is in travel, at least.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Tariffs? I thought luxury spending was actually going well. It is in travel, at least.

Tariffs and price increases have put Audi in direct competition with some higher level luxury brands. Why buy Audi when you can buy BMW and Mercedes at near the same price, and both of those brands have improved their reliability and tech and Audi hasn't. Audi currently rates last in reliability among luxury cars. Same problems that VW in general is running into. Low reliability and high prices, there are much better options at the price point.

[Ksyrup]

Huh. I haven't had any issues at all, and I haven't been in the market for a car since 2020 so I haven't had the need to keep up with car values/reliability. I bought a pre-owned 2019 in November 2019 that came off a 6-month lease so practically brand new. But yeah I paid probably $20K+ less than a comparable new 2026 is going for (well, an A5 since they discontinued the A4).