Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[TorqueDog]

Two Hellcats or two SRT 392s?

[Captaincanada80]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Two Hellcats or two SRT 392s?

We have two 392's in stock currently.

[81MC]

Originally Posted by nik-

96 month financing on a car. ####ing RIP. Turning cars into another subscription is why these things are so damn expensive now.

At 6.99% no less. Isn’t that like $20k on top of an average priced Jeep? Jesus Christ.

[burn_this_city]

Snowplow negative equity forward forever.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by nik-

96 month financing on a car. ####ing RIP. Turning cars into another subscription is why these things are so damn expensive now.

Jesus Christ. Imagine buying a Dodge Journey today and to be still making payments in 2031. That has to be the saddest thing I've heard in a while.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Jesus Christ. Imagine buying a Dodge Journey today and to be still making payments in 2031. That has to be the saddest thing I've heard in a while.

That's all you needed to say.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

I don't see Hellcat on the Dodge Canada site anymore, I think you're stuck with a Durango SRT 392 now.

I mean, first of all, I absolutely am not and never would be, but I definitely can see google results for the Hellcat Durango so maybe it just isn't sold up here anymore? That seems dumb.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I mean, first of all, I absolutely am not and never would be, but I definitely can see google results for the Hellcat Durango so maybe it just isn't sold up here anymore? That seems dumb.

Originally the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat was to be a limited production run that ended its run in June 2021. But the automaker recently made a shocking revelation of bringing back this mad SUV for another run as a 2023 MY.

https://www.hotcars.com/dodge-durang...roken-hearted/

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Jesus Christ. Imagine buying a Dodge Journey today and to be still making payments in 2031. That has to be the saddest thing I've heard in a while.

I rented one and ended up getting upgraded AND comped the entire rental.

Maybe it was because of the vehicle. Maybe because of the #### left behind by a previous renter. Probably the former.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I mean, first of all, I absolutely am not and never would be, but I definitely can see google results for the Hellcat Durango so maybe it just isn't sold up here anymore? That seems dumb.

Ahh, you can't do a build & price of them yet for Canada.

US you can in the 2023 model year and Hellcat shows up.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Ahh, you can't do a build & price of them yet for Canada.

US you can in the 2023 model year and Hellcat shows up.

What are they worth, like $125k or something?

They're super cool, but man, it'd be tough to lay down that kind of money on a Dodge. With 'fata you' money and as many garages as that guy on Highway 22 I'd do it, though.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Sliver

What are they worth, like $125k or something?

They're super cool, but man, it'd be tough to lay down that kind of money on a Dodge. With 'fata you' money and as many garages as that guy on Highway 22 I'd do it, though.

What they 'cost' and what they are 'worth' are two very different things.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

What they 'cost' and what they are 'worth' are two very different things.

As a kid raised on American sports cars and muscle cars, I have tried very, very hard to get into North American performance vehicles but even though they go like hell, there's just something that makes me think "even this sort performance is not worth this much bloody money by itself". Maybe it's the fact that underneath, they're still $45,000 cars tarted up and optioned to $95,000. Perhaps my expectations are skewed.

Last time I sat in a Chrysler, the off-gassing of the interior materials gave me a headache and I had to roll the window down.

[Sliver]

OMG, I've been trying to resolve a dash rattle in my car for like a month. Had the dash apart three times and thought I had traced it each time, but to no avail. I was actually car shopping on Saturday because I can't handle a fataing rattle. But last night, I took one last crack at it and found some stupid torx screw way up in the middle of nowhere inside the dash that I had missed every other time, gave it a 1/2 turn, put the dash together and went to bed without even testing it. Figured I'd go to bed with hope and see the result in the morning.

Drove my car in today and not a peep. Problem solved. Felt like I had a brand-new car and somehow I think it was even a little faster. So stoked because I love the car and every new one I looked at was compromised in some way.

I checked out an E-450 wagon, but had to write it off. You'd think with such a big car it would have a lot of interior room. Well, with the seat all the way back where I need it nobody could sit behind me. That's ridiculous, but okay, I can live with it. The other problems were the seat bottom wouldn't slope enough to get comfortable. Finally - fataing Germans and their refusal to make adjustable pedals. If I could push the pedals deeper into the footwell I could move the seat forward and be a comfortable distance from the steering wheel. Instead, I'm a mile back to get my legs comfortable, but then I have to hunch forward to reach the wheel since it only telescopes about 1/3 the distance it needs to.

So I checked out the RS6 Avant. Like, fata it, you only go around once and that's a dream car right there. It was barely any better for comfort, although it was markedly better. The better part was the seat bottom could angle more sharply, which changes the angle of your legs to compensate for the lack of adjustability in the pedals. Still, for that price I want to be comfortable AF and it just wasn't. A big road trip would be uncomfortable and that would totally defeat the purpose of a car like that.

Had to write-off Volvo entirely because they're just slow. Why no good power options in the wagons? I don't get it.

But get the car that did fit well - the friggin' Audi S3. I think what really helped is the telescoping wheel is manual, which allowed it a waaay broader range of movement than the power ones in the RS6 and the E-450. So in the S3, I could put the seat way back and bring the wheel with me. How does that make sense? I'm only 6'4", so it's not like I'm NBA sized or anything. And get this, the length of the RS6 is 197.6" and the length of the S3 is 171.3". That's a huge difference, yet a tall guy has more room in the S3. Unreal. It's less than half the price, too. It would also give me so much more space in my garage.

The thing with the S3 is it needs to be faster. It's basically a MK8 Golf R in sedan form with a nicer interior - that's important to me because I just don't like the interiors of the MK8 Golfs to the point where I wouldn't even consider one for two seconds. I've been trying to find if there is a tune available for the S3, but I can't figure out if there is one for this generation. I'll keep hunting, but it is sort of moot now, anyway, since I fixed the rattle in my car. Still, I do like to have my next car queued up in case something happens to the current one.

I still have to try the M340i. I'm not sure about the all-digital interface, but that's getting harder to escape with new cars at this price point. I also don't like the underbite situation on the front end, although it's miles better than the beaver tooth, which writes off most of the brand for me.

[Table 5]

Volvo definitely makes the most comfortable seats in the industry...but yeah, not crazy about the 4-cylinder based engines. They need a performance wagon.

Maybe give the Lexus IS 500 a shot. It's a little more old-school compared to the Germans, but should be fairly comfortable (although its not necessarily big either). Best of all, it has naturally aspirated 5.0L V8, so while it may not be as fast, it will sound better than all of them. And being Lexus, it will be well built and rattle free.

And hey, if you're in that general price range, maybe give a used Panamera a look.

[DFO]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I checked out an E-450 wagon, but had to write it off. You'd think with such a big car it would have a lot of interior room. Well, with the seat all the way back where I need it nobody could sit behind me. That's ridiculous, but okay, I can live with it. The other problems were the seat bottom wouldn't slope enough to get comfortable. Finally - fataing Germans and their refusal to make adjustable pedals. If I could push the pedals deeper into the footwell I could move the seat forward and be a comfortable distance from the steering wheel. Instead, I'm a mile back to get my legs comfortable, but then I have to hunch forward to reach the wheel since it only telescopes about 1/3 the distance it needs to.

Interesting. I'm a little over 6'5" and I find the seating position in my E63 wagon to be quite good. Maybe different arm and leg lengths?

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by DFO

Interesting. I'm a little over 6'5" and I find the seating position in my E63 wagon to be quite good. Maybe different arm and leg lengths?

Yeah, I must be leggier or something. I was 98% sure that was the car I was going to buy, so it was a real downer that it didn't fit. And it pissed me off enough to up my budget to the Avant, but it just wasn't comfortable enough, either.

My current car is a CLS550 (second gen and based off the E-class). It's not perfectly comfortable TBH and nobody can sit behind me, but the new gen E-class is even less comfortable for me.

Glad it works for you. Sick car.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Volvo definitely makes the most comfortable seats in the industry...but yeah, not crazy about the 4-cylinder based engines. They need a performance wagon.

Maybe give the Lexus IS 500 a shot. It's a little more old-school compared to the Germans, but should be fairly comfortable (although its not necessarily big either). Best of all, it has naturally aspirated 5.0L V8, so while it may not be as fast, it will sound better than all of them. And being Lexus, it will be well built and rattle free.

And hey, if you're in that general price range, maybe give a used Panamera a look.

I waffle a bit on the Panamera. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. I think, in general, I'm just not a fan of the front end on so many Porsches aside from the 911. I find the Cayanne, Macan, and Panamera all to look a little off from that front view. Not sure if it's the headlights, bumper, or just the whole package.

I've never driven a Panamera, though, so who knows. The Sport Turismo is definitely kind of cool as a wagonesque car.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I waffle a bit on the Panamera. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't.

Yeah, I get it. The first-gen was definitely pretty ungainly (especially from the back), but I think the second gen is much better looking...especially in Turismo format. They are big, but still great drivers. If I had ~$100K to spend on a family car, that's the one I would chose.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Car prices are insane. Just saw an ad on my instagram of a dealership in Abbotsford listing the new Civic Type R (130kms driven) for $81K plus tax.

Used car prices are insane. There's no inventory anywhere....although it meant the insurance company gave us $13,500 write off value for a 2010 Toyota Matrix, which I found nuts. The car was worth half that pre-pandemic.

A lot of dealers are having a tough time stocking popular models of new cars still, as many sell out before they even hit the lot. Makes negotiations quite a bit more difficult.