Car Shopping Time!

[saevel25]

24 minutes ago, snapfade said:

You might know this already but current year demo/ loaners have to be sold as used but with full warranty. Back in 16 I bought a 16 Corolla loaner for about 4k less than a new one. When I bought my 2022 I bought it right after they took it off the truck so no deal, but at the time they had zero Corollas on the lot and I was there when the truck rolled in the lot and pointed and said Ill take it. I'm shopping now for a Tacoma but hoping the market will crash a bit.

My dad did that back in the 90's when he bought a "used" Branco because it was being used to shuttle people around during the football HOF week. 

 

[billchao]

21 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Revision on this. I made a mistake in my calcs. 

It still depends on the car, but yea a used car is cheaper in most instances. Especially in the first 5-7 years. 

 

This makes more sense to me. The markups on used cars has been crazy ever since the pandemic first hit which skews things a bit, but generally a new car’s value depreciates rapidly early in its life cycle.

[saevel25]

So, my thoughts have shifted to the following scenarios...

1) Trade-in / sell current car and get something in the 35K range (Elantra N is kind of my top choice) or a 1 or 2-yr used car in that range. 
2) Trade-in / sell current car and buy a used economy car (hybrid) and then a used sports car (with manual). 

Honestly, I would like a more economical daily driver to. So, kind of trying to work both options here. 
 

[iacas]

How is the insurance on a single owner/driver with two cars? Is it not much more than if you owned one car?

Because you can only drive one at a time, though you do have the extra overhead of two cars in your garage or whatever.

[saevel25]

3 hours ago, iacas said:

How is the insurance on a single owner/driver with two cars? Is it not much more than if you owned one car?

Because you can only drive one at a time, though you do have the extra overhead of two cars in your garage or whatever.

Yea, I was thinking that might be the case. I’ll have to email my insurance company. 

[billchao]

On 1/16/2024 at 4:18 PM, saevel25 said:

So, my thoughts have shifted to the following scenarios...

1) Trade-in / sell current car and get something in the 35K range (Elantra N is kind of my top choice) or a 1 or 2-yr used car in that range. 
2) Trade-in / sell current car and buy a used economy car (hybrid) and then a used sports car (with manual). 

Honestly, I would like a more economical daily driver to. So, kind of trying to work both options here. 
 

For most people I would suggest option 1. Just get a daily driver that’s also fun.

[saevel25]

41 minutes ago, billchao said:

For most people I would suggest option 1. Just get a daily driver that’s also fun.

Yea, I get that to. 

[saevel25]

New engine successfully installed in my car! 

In the review of cars, I went down the rabbit hole a bit. What I find shocking is how many people have bad issues with dealerships and the car manufacturers. Like, an engine blowing a rod at 35K, and being denied under warranty. I am like, WTF is going on. My cars burns a tad too much oil at 95K and I get no hassle no pushback engine replacement. 

Then I hear stories about dealerships putting the wrong oil in cars that require a specific oil. Luckily for me, my current car accepts everything under the sun because it is a generic engine. The Elantra N needs 0W-30. The manual says 0W-30. Dealerships may not even stock it because most cars do not use it and it's more expensive to buy. So, they can buy the cheapest oil and mark it up for more profit. It's like, if I get a car that is more of a performance car, I will have to take it to the dealership for certain things, but to a place I know will do an oil change with them proper oil. Just stuff I didn't know was going on. 

I am looking into the GR86 by Toyota. I hear issues with the sealant they use around the oil pan, that breaks off and ends up clogging the oil mesh strainer. In the end, it's mostly a non-issue since they over-designed the crap out of the strainer. The bigger issue is that they advertise this car as a track vehicle, but then don't add typical stuff like a baffled oil pan, oil temp gauge, and oil cooling. There has been cases of big oil pressure drops in the car, and a few (still a very small number of vehicles) that have their engines get destroyed due to oil starvation. Which is not actually uncommon for Subaru engines. Which this car has and shares with the Subaru BRZ. I just don't like that Toyota gives you a once year membership to a racing organization to track your car, but then has this known issue. Not that I am going to track the GR86, and if I did, I would definitely upgrade the car to make sure it can handle it better than what comes stock. 

 

 

[saevel25]

So, had to take my car into the shop today. I was out and about, and I got a loud beeping warning, and a red warning my dash LCD screen saying the engine has overheated. Apparently, the new engine has a coolant leak. Luckily, I was 4 minutes away from my dealership. So, I got a loaner car off them and will see what is going on this Monday. 

[saevel25]

It is done! 

I am the proud owner of the 2023 Hyundai Elantra N Automatic. Will get some pictures up later. I am looking forward to some fun drives in this car. 😉

[iacas]

5 hours ago, saevel25 said:

It is done! 

I am the proud owner of the 2023 Hyundai Elantra N Automatic. Will get some pictures up later. I am looking forward to some fun drives in this car. 😉

Just that one or both?

[saevel25]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

Just that one or both?

Just that one…

[dennyjones]

nice

[saevel25]

the only thing I noticed today is that there is a scratch on the trunk, behind the spoiler. So, no real way for that to happen during driving since it a scratch from left to right. There are hand prints that do not come of, so maybe some smudges under the top coat. My best guess is that the dealer scratched it during detailing/cleaning or that scratch was caused during installation of by Hyundai. I texted the guy at the dealership who sold me my car, with photo's and I will see what he can do. If not, maybe I can have my insurance cover it. I would really like that scratch not there. It’s just something I didn’t notice when I bought it apparently. They did take the car back for a final detailing as I was doing the financing and signing doc stuff. 
 

 

Edited February 11, 2024 by saevel25

[saevel25]

My favorite thing so far are. 

The different drive modes. Eco, Sport, Normal, N Mode. In N Mode you have a stupid amount of customization. You can turn on all the fun stuff an make it a stiff ride, best handling, best power, great transmission shifting optimized for track use. You can then create a custom N Mode and tweak all of those settings. So, right now I have engine at level 2, transmission at level 2, handling in track mode, and then suspension in normal mode for the street driving. It is a joy to drive. I think any car that has the ability to adjust stuff like this should let you do it to this level. It makes the car so much more agreeable to more people. 

The Hyundai infotainment system is fantastic. Very fast and intuitive to use. They didn't put all the comfort stuff in the infotainment system. So, you still have buttons and nobs for your heat and cooling. 

Edit...

I forgot about the noises it makes. You have 5 custom sound settings for the exhaust. So, you can just have. It just kid like fun with the car. I love it. It won't be that V8 loud engine at the stop light, but its got its own charm I think. 

Edited February 11, 2024 by saevel25

[klineka]

41 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

the only thing I noticed today is that there is a scratch on the trunk, behind the spoiler. So, no real way for that to happen during driving since it a scratch from left to right. There are hand prints that do not come of, so maybe some smudges under the top coat. My best guess is that the dealer scratched it during detailing/cleaning or that scratch was caused during installation of by Hyundai. I texted the guy at the dealership who sold me my car, with photo's and I will see what he can do. If not, maybe I can have my insurance cover it. I would really like that scratch not there. It’s just something I didn’t notice when I bought it apparently. They did take the car back for a final detailing as I was doing the financing and signing doc stuff. 
 

 

Bummer about the scratch. 

Can you feel it with your fingernail or does your nail glide over it?

If your nail glides over it then the scratch is just in the clearcoat and can likely be polished out but if your nail catches on the scratch then it probably will need some touch up paint and a bit more work.

[saevel25]

Just now, klineka said:

Bummer about the scratch. 

Can you feel it with your fingernail or does your nail glide over it?

If your nail glides over it then the scratch is just in the clearcoat and can likely be polished out but if your nail catches on the scratch then it probably will need some touch up paint and a bit more work.

Like, if I scratch my finger on it a bit, I can almost get it to go away in some spots. So, I think it is mostly a clear coat damage. It doesn't look like it gets into the paint. It could be damage to the paint in some areas of that scratch. It's very straight line from one end to another. I think it would be hard pressed for a person to do that with a knife, key or other implement. It spans like 90% of the hood length. 

The smudges, I thought were just hand prints on the clear coat, but they do not come off. I think someone messed up during the painting of that panel. I used some good quality spray on detailer with a paper towel to see if I can get the smudges to clean up, and they do not go away. 

[saevel25]

So, the scratch was able to be buffed out. Which is good. The smudge not so much.

Also another image 😊

 

Here is the level of customization on the infotainment system! That is not including customization of the exhaust sound type. 🤣

Now that winter tires are on, I’m ready for a very mild Ohio Winter. 🤣