Clutch is Fixed

Well, $1250 later and my clutch is fixed. It seems a bit outrageous of a price, but the mechanic claims that replacing a clutch on a 4-wheel drive vehicle is more complicated. Whatever! I don't think I believe him, so I doubt I will return there again.

Car Problems

So when I bought my Mini Cooper (which I have yet to take a picture of), I decided to keep my Montero Sport around for road trips. Well, in November, I took my car in to get the shifter and brakes replaced. Then in December, my battery died and I replaced that. And then in early January, I somehow got a nail in my tire, and I replaced all 4 tires since they were due in 6 months anyway. So, in the last 3 months, I've laid out $1700 on a car I drive only on weekends.

After dinner on Wednesday, we returned to the car and were unable to shift into any gears. Uh oh! I believe my clutch is out. I do have 133K miles on my SUV. However, I conveniently blame @ss for my clutch problems. He isn't that great of a stick driver (no pun intended) and drove it on Monday and Tuesday while his Kia was being worked on. Am I glad that this happened 1 mile from home! This past weekend, we used my SUV to drive to Lynchburg. It would have sucked @ss if I had to drive 200 miles home with a top speed of 35 mph (cause I can get my car going in 3rd gear, but can't shift once the engine starts).

Anyway, I called my mechanic and he'll be inspecting my car today. I wonder what the damage will be?

SUV update

So, $868 later and my SUV is fixed. Didn’t know I was having car trouble? Well, it all started when….

My good mechanic friend helped me pick up my new Mini Cooper from the dealer. I drove my SUV out to Annapolis and he drove my SUV back while I drove the Mini. After dropping my SUV at my house, he tells me my shifter has much more play since the last time he drove it. Hmmm….I can’t say I’m surprised because when others are driving my SUV, they have trouble finding some of the gears.

And…

Laa-Laa informs me at the Blue Hen Analversary weekend that 2 of my 3 back brake lights are burned out. Jeez! It’s a wonder I haven’t been rear-ended or pulled over for that.

So, last Thursday I drop my SUV at the mechanic with 4 complaints:

1. Inspect shifter
2. Brake lights
3. Engine noise – drive belt perhaps?
4. Burning oil smell – oil change perhaps? Its been about 4K miles since the last one.
   

Later that day I get the synopsis:

1. Shifters been worn out to the point that not only are bushings worn out, but all the widgets up to the shift lever are ground to dust.
2. Brake lights will take 10 minutes to replace.
3. The engine noise I’ve been hearing for 3 weeks are the oil pressure flaps. I’ve burnt my oil to a crisp. They’re going to perform an oil change and also include an additive to decrease the viscosity of the oil for the next oil change.
4. And that smell I just decided to check out on the way to the mechanic? Oh, that was just my brakes. My front left caliper locked up and scraped my brake pads down until there was nothing left.
   

Lord almighty! It’s a wonder that I haven’t been the cause of 6-car pileup with these sorts of car problems! All I can say is that driving back and forth to VA Beach has been hellish on my poor SUV. I’ve practically run it into the ground.

Well, no more of that from now on. Whether or not I drive 3K miles or not, I’m changing/adding fluids every 6 months (especially since the Mini doesn’t require servicing until 15K miles). I want my SUV to last a long, long time.

I’ve Made My Decision!

It’s taken me long enough, but today I finally have some free time to make the short jaunt over to Annapolis to test drive a Mini Cooper. This car is an absolute pleasure to drive! I take a few windy roads and play with shifting in and out of gears while going through turns – what fun! So, I custom-order the car as soon as I return to the dealer. Why? Apparently, 60% of cars purchased from Mini are custom builds. The dealership usually only stocks about 30 cars on the lot and many of those are custom-builds that a customer changed his mind about.

So what exactly did I get? A Mini Cooper S with the double-paned sunroof in dark blue with an interior to match. I threw in the upgraded sound system, a center armrest, mudflaps, and a boot box (otherwise known as trunk compartments). I’m told my car will arrive in 6 weeks. The countdown begins!

Test Driving: 1st Round

So I’ve narrowed down my choices to the following list:

1. Audi A3
2. Mini Cooper
3. Nissan Altima
4. Saab 9-3
5. Toyota Camry Solara
6. VW Jetta TDI

I’ve chosen an undoubtedly Euro-centric list, and in fact, none of these vehicles could be considered domestic vehicles (unless you consider Saab domestic due to its ownership by GM). Sorry, Dad! But if American companies made upscale cars with manual transmissions (outside of sport cars) maybe I would buy one.

Regardless, I now need to physically try these cars out. Unfortunately, the Audi and Saab dealers close a bit earlier than the larger brands, so although I visit these dealers to take a peek, all the sales people have left for the day. Bummer! Fortunately, Volkswagen and Nissan are both open until 9pm and I get to test drive the most economical of the cars on the list.

Nissan Altima

I’ve always loved the look of this car. I especially like the headlights that have been changed for the 2007 model year (the same as the 350Z!). I test drive a silver 2.5 S in a 6-speed manual, which is pretty much the base model for the Altima. This particular car (which is the only manual transmission Altima on the lot) has no options to speak of and especially does not have the sunroof which I am requiring this go-round. However, the controls and set-up of the car are almost identical to my Montero Sport, so the car is a dream to drive. I have to shift at shorter intervals than I’ve been accustomed to, but that’s due to the difference in driving a 5-speed vs. a 6-speed. I like this model a lot, but tell the dealer that they need to find one that has all the bells and whistles before I’ll buy.

Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Now I’m not especially a VW lover. I HATE Beetles – Sorry, Fizzy! However, before I bought my Montero Sport back in 1998, I test drove a Passat and loved it. However, I can’t deny that the concept of owning a diesel engine intrigues me. They require less maintenance, fewer oil changes and tune-ups, and regularly can go 500-600 miles on a single tank. Besides that, diesels have greater torque efficiency which translates into greater towing capacity and better climbing performance on mountains (not that there are any mountains in DC). So from a performance/reliability standpoint, a diesel engine is worth checking out – I’m just unsure if the Jetta is the car to carry that diesel engine.

We get to the dealearship (I brought my mechanic along again – I’m so lucky that he shops for cars with me!) and test drive the ONLY manual transmission Jetta TDI on the lot (why does this seem to be a recurring phenomenon?). Fortunately, this one comes equipped with every option that VW can possibly think of – which I like.

Unfortunately, as soon as I get in the car, I stall it. Now I was expecting that, since I’ve heard that diesels require a bit more gas in lower gears. What I didn’t expect was that I had to turn the ignition back to the OFF position and back ON before I could re-start the car. Huh? I’m not gonna have time for that b.s. at a red light. Is this normal? My Montero Sport starts right back up without a return to the OFF position. The sales guy says all cars require this. Well, mine doesn’t. However, I am going to stall out all the cars I drive from now on to see whether this is true.

Moving along to the actual test drive – everything proceeds along smoothly and I’m even surprised at the acceleration when I jump onto I-270. However, when I’m downshifting from 4^th to 3^rd gear to exit onto an off-ramp, a strange thing happens. The battery light indicator goes on and it FEELS like the car has stalled. How is that possible? The clutch is all the way in. When I dis-engage the clutch, though, the car goes into gear as normal. Confusing.

So, of course, as things stand, I’m not quite comfortable driving this car. Now the salesman attributes this to the difference in driving a diesel vs. a gasoline engine, but I need more exposure than a short 15-minute drive. Fortunately, since my mechanic owns one (a 2005 Jetta TDI), he offers to let me drive it on our next test driving excursion.

Conclusion

In any case, so concludes my first round of test driving.

Score:

2007 Nissan Altima 2.5 S – Positive

2006 (this IS a new car – VW did not manufacture any 2007 TDIs) Volkswagen Jetta TDI – Iffy

Car Buying Update

Well, my first outing to walk car lots was a bit disappointing. Although I started with a laundry list of cars to choose from, there were very few cars that I was still interested in after viewing their size. Or it could be that the combined factor that I hadn't eaten and there was oppressive humidity made me b*tchy.


Regardless, the cars I'm still considering are now the Audi A3 and the Nissan Altima. I'm still interested in the Mini Cooper but need to get my butt out to Annapolis since there aren't any dealerships in the immediate DC area. The mechanical expert who accompanied me put the kibosh on the Mazda 3 and steered me towards a diesel-powered Jetta. Also, I'd like to see a greater variety of Audis - there weren't many at the dealership we went to. The challenge I am facing is that the 2007 inventory is running low and the 2008 inventory is starting to come in. If I don't make a decision soon, my selection of manual transmission vehicles will be very thin.

Car Buying Research

I’m thinking about buying a new car. I’m not quite sure if I will trade in my Montero Sport yet, but don’t relish making 2 car insurance payments annually. Unfortunately, I tend to be extremely picky when choosing vehicles, which is why I haven’t purchased a vehicle yet in the 9 years since I originally bought my Montero Sport.

My base requirements? Manual transmission. Total price after taxes and accessories: Under $27K. Sunroof. 25 mpg in the city; anything above that highway. Cruise control (you’d be surprised how many cars don’t have this feature even today).

Which leaves me with a very small crop of cars to choose from where I actually like the styling. Only two cars are on my must-test drive list: the Mini Cooper and the Dodge Caliber. The Mazda 3 was high on my list until I discovered that one of my base requirements wasn’t available. I’ve been told to investigate other hatchbacks like the Subarus and Toyotas, but they’re too OLD for me. And other cars like the Scion xA just look cheap. Even after you soup the car up and put every after-market bell-and-whistle you can find, the cars are still bland.

Which takes me back to my two selections:

The Mini Cooper is BMW-made, which probably means that parts are going to be expensive down the road. In addition, the car is TINY – a HUGE departure from my roomy Montero Sport. Even if I have passengers in the back seat, there is not much likelihood that they will be comfortable. If I treat the Mini Cooper like a 2-seater and keep the back seats down permanently, I still will only have the trunk space available of a standard sedan.

The Dodge Caliber is Chrysler-made, which looking back on last week’s news that Daimler-Benz has sold off its Chrysler division, leaves a car-shopper wondering if parts WILL be available down the road. On top of that, Dodge cars have never been well known for their maintenance records. That may have changed in recent years, but American cars still lag their Japanese counterparts for reliability.

Which gets me to my next point: my mechanic is my dad. My dad is partial to GM products. Just this past weekend, he replaced my brakes and was complaining that the brake assembly consisted of 10 components instead of one unit like his Suburban or his Corvette.

Now, I don’t care if my dad will be a die-hard GM fan until his dying day (God forbid!), but how many 60s-bred mechanics are out there that still live and breathe that motto? The answer: tons. It is easier to fix a pre-90s vehicle without all the electronic gadgetry than it is to fix any vehicle made in the US today. Why do you think they only sell 70s-era vehicles (not vehicles from the 70s, but the vehicle design from the 70s) in Africa where state-of-the-art mechanic shops are impractical and impossible to establish? Exactly my point – cause any vehicle-owner can fix their own vehicle out in the desert with a few simple tools.

But forget about my rambling…..I’m picky and trying to find a car that has the amenities I want and will not cost more than half my mortgage will be my challenge for the next couple months.