Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[TimSJ]

Originally Posted by pylon

My dream car of all dream cars would be a Singer 911. Next would be a 993 Turbo. Then there's a whole list of other Stuttgart cars in there that could fill the gaps.

.

The Singer 911's are simply amazing. the one that Pfaff commissioned was for sale in Montreal earlier this year for over a million.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by FCAV

While there's some talk about wagons, what's everyone's thought on the Subaru Outback with the Turbo engine? 260ish HP, all-wheel drive, wagon. Something I've got pegged as the next vehicle, I think.

It's a Subaru. It's going to be like every other (non-STI) Subaru. Which isn't a bad thing, because for some people that's exactly what a car should be and you know what you're getting. But there's not a whole lot to say about it.

Personally if I were buying a wagon just for practical use, I'd get a 2 or 3 year old V90 for about 40k. Those suckers are very premium feeling and quiet inside. No dramatics involved.

[stampsx2]

Nm

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by FCAV

While there's some talk about wagons, what's everyone's thought on the Subaru Outback with the Turbo engine? 260ish HP, all-wheel drive, wagon. Something I've got pegged as the next vehicle, I think.

We normally upgrade vehicles once the warranty runs out but we decided to mile out my wife's 3.6R Outback because outside of the mileage the car has maintained pretty good shape inside and out. 160k km's in it's been pretty flawless outside of some oil consumption as I have to add 1-2L of oil between changes. It's an appliance-like wagon but it has good space, gets around great in the winter. Engines (Subaru just can't build a bulletproof engine) and CVT's are the weak spots with Subaru's but typically the rest of the car is pretty solid.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

The Singer 911's are simply amazing. the one that Pfaff commissioned was for sale in Montreal earlier this year for over a million.

The price had been lowered a few times and the car was recently sold to the US.

Sad for there to be one less Singer in Canada, even if it was one of the less tasteful specs to date.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

It's a Subaru. It's going to be like every other (non-STI) Subaru. Which isn't a bad thing, because for some people that's exactly what a car should be and you know what you're getting. But there's not a whole lot to say about it.

Personally if I were buying a wagon just for practical use, I'd get a 2 or 3 year old V90 for about 40k. Those suckers are very premium feeling and quiet inside. No dramatics involved.

We have an Outback. My wife is as much of a manual Nazi as me, so when wagon shopping it basically became the default for bit "wagon" that has a manual.

It's an awful manual, but it's still a manual lol.

Space is amazing. It beats most crossovers for usable space. Can put a full size hitch on, which is great for bikes or a utility trailer. Roof bars are handy.

It's a total Camry SUV. The only thing fun about it is taking it out in a huge dump of snow and doing donuts.

Resale is good. Parts are cheap. It's easy to work on. I made it from Calgary to Whistler on a single tank.

All around "fine".

If the V90 was an option at the time, I absolutely would have tried to go in that direction.

[edslunch]

We are looking at shedding several increasingly problematic older cars and consolidating on a new one. We’re in a transition period - getting ready for retirement, kids not quite gone, dog in her senior years so our needs will change over the next 3-5 years but too far out to continue with current vehicles. My wife would like to go EV but I’m not ready to do that for our only vehicle yet - I don’t think the technology, market and infrastructure is mature enough yet.

We’ve always taken a buy and hold approach to cars but are now talking about a 4 year car to buy time for our situation and the options to settle. We’re thinking something like a RAV4 hybrid or the new plug-in hybrid. We have low annual mileage. Should we look at lease or buy and sell?

[Fuzz]

Would the price premium make sense on a plug in hybrid if you have low mileage? You could probably do the math pretty quick to see.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Does anyone have a recommendation for rust spot repair and protection? I've got two vehicles (19 & 8 years old - German cars that have sentimental value to me) that I'd like to repair some small spots but also protect against future rust.

Is there a good shop that does this?

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by edslunch

We are looking at shedding several increasingly problematic older cars and consolidating on a new one. We’re in a transition period - getting ready for retirement, kids not quite gone, dog in her senior years so our needs will change over the next 3-5 years but too far out to continue with current vehicles. My wife would like to go EV but I’m not ready to do that for our only vehicle yet - I don’t think the technology, market and infrastructure is mature enough yet.

We’ve always taken a buy and hold approach to cars but are now talking about a 4 year car to buy time for our situation and the options to settle. We’re thinking something like a RAV4 hybrid or the new plug-in hybrid. We have low annual mileage. Should we look at lease or buy and sell?

I don't know if it is still the case but the new RAV4 hybrid models are impossible to purchase right now. I don't know how true this is but someone on Redflagdeals said that the Prairie provinces are only getting 120 RAV4 Prime models in 2021.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I don't know if it is still the case but the new RAV4 hybrid models are impossible to purchase right now. I don't know how true this is but someone on Redflagdeals said that the Prairie provinces are only getting 120 RAV4 Prime models in 2021.

Correct. RAV4 Hybrid offerings are really slim currently, particularly in the Limited trim. As for the Prime, forget it. Allocations are sold out for at least 24+ months in our parts. Most of the initial Canadian Prime allocation went to Quebec....

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Does anyone have a recommendation for rust spot repair and protection? I've got two vehicles (19 & 8 years old - German cars that have sentimental value to me) that I'd like to repair some small spots but also protect against future rust.

Is there a good shop that does this?

I've seen a few advertisements on Kijiji about rust repairs, since I'm also needing about a dozen spots repaired/protected on each of our vehicles (2010/2015). Let me know please what you find out/learn as yeah Kijiji could be a real hit and miss proposition.

[Sliver]

Rust on a 2015? What has the Mazda dealership said about that?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by FLAME ENVY

Correct. RAV4 Hybrid offerings are really slim currently, particularly in the Limited trim. As for the Prime, forget it. Allocations are sold out for at least 24+ months in our parts. Most of the initial Canadian Prime allocation went to Quebec....

Damn. The Prime is one of the few that we are considering for a next vehicle. Are there any out in the wild yet or getting reviews?

[ricosuave]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

Does anyone have a recommendation for rust spot repair and protection? I've got two vehicles (19 & 8 years old - German cars that have sentimental value to me) that I'd like to repair some small spots but also protect against future rust.

Is there a good shop that does this?

My brother took his '71 Camaro to this guy and was quite pleased with the work and price...

T.C. Autobody - Tommy - 403-620-1288

[pylon]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Rust on a 2015? What has the Mazda dealership said about that?

LOL. "Welcome to Mazda ownership?"

Mazda designs the nicest Japanese car in my opinion. The fit, finish, feel of materials, drive, classiness..... but man, they just can't get a handle on the rust issue.

When someone brings me an appraisal sheet on any Mazda more than 5 years old, the first question is "How much rust?"

It's a shame, because they build such nicely designed cars.

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Rust on a 2015? What has the Mazda dealership said about that?

it's a 2015 Acura MDX. Likely caused by rock chips and/or poor repaint job on a couple of repaired panels.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by pylon

LOL. "Welcome to Mazda ownership?"

Mazda designs the nicest Japanese car in my opinion. The fit, finish, feel of materials, drive, classiness..... but man, they just can't get a handle on the rust issue.

When someone brings me an appraisal sheet on any Mazda more than 5 years old, the first question is "How much rust?"

It's a shame, because they build such nicely designed cars.

The Germans and Japanese really need to hold an exchange of minds. The Germans can teach about rustproofing (except the guy who worked on the Sprinter, that guy sucks), and in return, the Japanese can teach about electronics and light-bulbs.

Both of them also could use a refresher lesson in design restraint. Perhaps the British can send an envoy.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by edslunch

We are looking at shedding several increasingly problematic older cars and consolidating on a new one. We’re in a transition period - getting ready for retirement, kids not quite gone, dog in her senior years so our needs will change over the next 3-5 years but too far out to continue with current vehicles. My wife would like to go EV but I’m not ready to do that for our only vehicle yet - I don’t think the technology, market and infrastructure is mature enough yet.

We’ve always taken a buy and hold approach to cars but are now talking about a 4 year car to buy time for our situation and the options to settle. We’re thinking something like a RAV4 hybrid or the new plug-in hybrid. We have low annual mileage. Should we look at lease or buy and sell?

If you need something immediate but are only looking for a "stop gap", look really hard at a 2 or 3 year lease. You will see the benefits in 2 or 3 years when you go to get into your long time vehicle. A short term closed ended lease is normally the best option for a situation like yours. This would also provide a bridge to perhaps purchasing your EV in 3 years as the infrastructure will be upgraded, technology perfected and more availability (if the RAV 4 is a direction you go). A lease will provide a guaranteed value at the end of your term, eliminating any negative equity you would normally face in a
"quick flip" finance scenario.

[TimSJ]

I know there is some wagon love here on CP.

Just delivered this 2021 RS6 Avant to a client yesterday i would say it's one of the first few to land in the country. (Hopefully i did the pics right and they show up)