Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Cars and Bids is really neat, a shame that it isn't open to Canadians yet.

I think it is open to Canadians there have been a couple of Canadian cars on there. The C4S cab the other day was a Vancouver car.

As for buying it shouldn't matter where you are just a matter of how to pay and arranging transport.

[chummer]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Cars and Bids is really neat, a shame that it isn't open to Canadians yet.

Love that site, so many cool cars.

60 to 100 pics per car, now that's how you sell your vehicle.
Not like Kijiji or Autotrader where you can post 10-15 pics max, so bad.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

I think it is open to Canadians there have been a couple of Canadian cars on there. The C4S cab the other day was a Vancouver car.

As for buying it shouldn't matter where you are just a matter of how to pay and arranging transport.

My bad, I'm thinking of a different site. C&B allows US and Canada.

Here's a question for everyone in the thread: Let's say you wanted to buy one of those cars, what method of financing the purchase would you use? Straight cash, bank loan? How does one finance a 10 year old car worth $50k?

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

My bad, I'm thinking of a different site. C&B allows US and Canada.

Here's a question for everyone in the thread: Let's say you wanted to buy one of those cars, what method of financing the purchase would you use? Straight cash, bank loan? How does one finance a 10 year old car worth $50k?

you would have to have the cash or LOC most banks won't finance anything older than a 2013 today.

This essentially is a private sale so you have to bring the money and or the financing to the table.

[you&me]

There are some specialized lenders that will look at older cars (in fact, a new one will be starting up shortly), but even then, no one is financing a car that isn't imported into Canada.

If a LOC / cash isn't an option, your best bet would be to either find a reputable car dealer/broker to buy the car and handle the importation (for a fee, obviously) and then arrange traditional financing once the car is in Canada.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

you would have to have the cash or LOC most banks won't finance anything older than a 2013 today.

Well, that or a personal loan I would imagine, but the interest rates are probably worse than a standard auto loan.

[Regular_John]

This seems like the right thread for this.

So CP, what’s your take on panoramic sunroofs in Calgary?
Surefire recipe for disaster, or about the same risk level any other glass surface on a car?

Came across a really nice Elantra GT that fits our budget, but given that we park outside 100% of the time I'm having doubts about buying a car with a glass roof given our semi-annual hail storms in this city.

For referencing I'm specifically looking at something like this, where the roof is effectively 80% glass.

[TorqueDog]

I absolutely adore having a panoramic sunroof and it is going to force me to think long and hard about whether to switch to a hardtop (no sunroof option) or roadster when swapping out for another AM.

One thing to keep in mind is that most people opt for a glass waiver on their insurance to save a chunk of money considering how often we tend to go through windshields in this city and how affordable new windshields tend to be on many cars. If you have a panoramic sunroof, you absolutely do not want to waive glass coverage as that waives effectively 'roof' coverage in such a vehicle.

[Ashasx]

I think any concerns of pano sunroofs are overrated.

Outside of the heaviest hail, it will hold up better than metal and paint. It won't scratch, it won't dent. They are easy to maintain.

The benefits far outweigh any risks.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by Ashasx

I think any concerns of pano sunroofs are overrated.

Outside of the heaviest hail, it will hold up better than metal and paint. It won't scratch, it won't dent. They are easy to maintain.

The benefits far outweigh any risks.

Except if said car is a sports (or sporty) car, and you care about handling.; then you have all that weight in precisely the wrong spot.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Except if said car is a sports (or sporty) car, and you care about handling.; then you have all that weight in precisely the wrong spot.

They are much more prominent in SUV's than cars and extremely rare in sports/sporty cars. Besides who's driving their cars in Calgary to the limits where a sunroof would impede their handling in any way?

[GGG]

My problem with sun roofs is they usually cost you a few inches of headroom for the opening and closing mechanisms. Not sure if newer ones are better but for me that loss of headroom makes it a non starter.

[Fuzz]

I wonder if replacing a broken glass roof is actually cheaper than hail dent repair...

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I wonder if replacing a broken glass roof is actually cheaper than hail dent repair...

They are very pricey. Like posted above you want full glass/windshield coverage if you have one.

As an added level of protection we had our pano glass roof 3m’d.

[calgarygeologist]

I tried the new Turtle Wax Hybrid Ceramic Coating on our daily driver family hauler this weekend and wow is that stuff impressive. The finish looks so nice. It is amazingly slick and extremely glossly. Application was pretty easy as well although I think I used a little too much as I did have some streaking. Previously I was using some of the higher priced products like Cquartz and Optimum Gloss Coat but the Hybrid Ceramic Coating is so much easier ND cheaper that it will be my go to sealant now.

[zamler]

I assume you mean this stuff. Yes it's fantastic, the only way you get better is a "true" ceramic or graphene coating which is course costs 10x more.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by zamler

I assume you mean this stuff. Yes it's fantastic, the only way you get better is a "true" ceramic or graphene coating which is course costs 10x more.

Yeah that is the stuff. It is fantastic based on my initial impression but obviously it will be a while until I can comment on the durability. For the every day car guy this looks like a great product and probably should top the list of sealants and waxes on the market right now.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by GGG

My problem with sun roofs is they usually cost you a few inches of headroom for the opening and closing mechanisms. Not sure if newer ones are better but for me that loss of headroom makes it a non starter.

Depends on the type of sunroof.

The panoramic sunroofs are generally spoiler-type sunroofs:

Spoiler-type sunroofs do not impinge the cabin's headroom.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Depends on the type of sunroof.

The panoramic sunroofs are generally spoiler-type sunroofs:

Spoiler-type sunroofs do not impinge the cabin's headroom.

But the track and mechanism will still take up at least an inch, if not more, of room inside the roof.

[speede5]

Noticeably less than a traditional sunroof.

My only worry is the amount of these that I have heard shattering for no known reason, and if you assume its impact from a rock or something of the like, the 3M sounds like a good bit of added insurance.

Personally I would never spend extra for a sunroof, if a used car has one fine, if it comes in a package I won't complain but it is not a selling feature for me. which is funny cause you give me a targa and I'm smiling, and I miss the days of t-tops.