Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[Wormius]

I think we’ll skip on the dealership’s window warranty and keep it in our current insurance policy. I can’t see replacing a windshield 4 times in a 7 year period.

Had to check the fine print of our policy though,and see that we need to keep on top of fixing rock chips, or they won’t replace the windshield. That’s probably okay, I think TD fixes chips for free at their shop. I saw a guy on reddit had his come out to $1750 before tax for a windshield replacement. It seems like a lot. Hopefully insurance would cover all of that.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by chedder

We just did our first windshield for the bronco. Worst vehicle ever for rock chips. We managed 2 1/2 years on the original but it was really cracked up for the last year.

Repair place told me all of the camera realignment stuff is just bs meant to get more money out of customers. He said they've been doing this since cameras came out and have never had an issue where they get out of alignment.

Truth or was he just lying because he doesn't have the equipment to align them?

Definitely some truth to it. Any shop with an Autel, Launch X431, or hell, even my ThinkDiag can run the special service function to calibrate the cameras. Sometimes the cameras are only used for basic stuff like rain sensing, other times they assist with more advanced features like lane departure warning / lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition, but the process to calibrate them usually is a mix of aligning the camera to be perfectly level within a tolerance +/- 0.5° or so, occasionally followed by an on-road calibration which you only need an intermediate grade diagnostic tool to invoke the learning mode. The vehicle itself contains the necessary maintenance routine to calibrate itself once it has been put into that mode.

But such a diagnostic tool is cheap enough for backyard mechanics and hobbyists to buy, unlikely any repair shop wouldn’t have the right tool to do it.

For the purposes of chip repair, I use those Deco tents… fun fact, if you happen to go to one in a province other than Alberta, you can get their unlimited annual package for your AB-plated car, which apparently they won’t sell here due to the sheer number of chips we amass.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by chedder

We just did our first windshield for the bronco. Worst vehicle ever for rock chips. We managed 2 1/2 years on the original but it was really cracked up for the last year.

Repair place told me all of the camera realignment stuff is just bs meant to get more money out of customers. He said they've been doing this since cameras came out and have never had an issue where they get out of alignment.

Truth or was he just lying because he doesn't have the equipment to align them?

Late 90's Jeep TJ's say hi...LOL

Good thing they were cheap. 4 in 3 years...saved the last for right before the lease return.

[Geraldsh]

If you’re a little bit handy you can buy diy chip repair kits from napa or autozone . Saves the hassle of finding a chip tent and saves a couple bucks.

[speede5]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Late 90's Jeep TJ's say hi...LOL

Good thing they were cheap. 4 in 3 years...saved the last for right before the lease return.

Hummer H2, same issue, thankfully pretty cheap as well.

[calgarygeologist]

I saw something that I haven't seen in a long time this morning which was a new pickup truck with lowering springs instead of an all too typical lift kit. I was a big fan of lowered trucks, in particular the mini trucks, in the 90's and this truck looked pretty damn cool.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Nufy

Late 90's Jeep TJ's say hi...LOL

Good thing they were cheap. 4 in 3 years...saved the last for right before the lease return.

My first vehicle I bought here was a brand new 2007 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara loaded, plus a manual transmission. First day I drove it to work, I got smoked by a rock on Stoney Trail heading to 16 Ave and got a spiral crack the size of a golf ball that sprayed me with small glass shards and looked like a Windows Media Player visualization. First. F-cking. Day.

I traded it after a year having (stupidly) never replaced the windshield.

[Fuzz]

That was just the universe judging you for having put another one of those death wobblers on the road.

[PepsiFree]

There’s no more authentic Calgary experience than getting a rock chip within 48 hours of getting a new vehicle (or, the lite version, just getting a new windshield).

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

That was just the universe judging you for having put another one of those death wobblers on the road.

The JK was actually a pretty well-planted SUV, particularly with the road-friendly ATs they fitted from the factory. Other than driving it to Lethbridge and the awful crosswinds, it was solid.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

The JK was actually a pretty well-planted SUV, particularly with the road-friendly ATs they fitted from the factory. Other than driving it to Lethbridge and the awful crosswinds, it was solid.

Ya, death wobble usually shows up a bit later once the suspension is
"broken in." You took the good year out of it.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

There’s no more authentic Calgary experience than getting a rock chip within 48 hours of getting a new vehicle (or, the lite version, just getting a new windshield).

You shut up...

I'm picking up my new truck tomorrow...

No bad mojo please.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Get a glass shop to quote you a replacement on your windshield and see what it would cost.

Some cars still have the option of cheap windshields, but things like heated front screens, solar-attenuated glass, and integrated camera systems increase the cost of the windshield considerably. Considering my windshields will cost between $2,000-$3,000 out-of-pocket not including the installation cost, I’ve personally stopped waiving glass coverage as the savings aren’t justifying the risk. I don’t know about your RAV4, but anyone with a sunroof or panoramic glass roof (as is becoming quite common) should not be waiving glass coverage, as that also means your glass roof will not be covered, and replacing one of those will hurt the pocketbook BADLY. I’ve heard of them shattering without warning in seemingly innocuous circumstances.

I had a side window in the Odyssey get innocuously hit by gravel around Canmore and it shattered, but stayed in place. This was early Covid and a completely brand new vehicle so supply was messed up. No one had one in stock and it was apparently going to cost me like $1100-1300 plus a month wait because it was apparently the back window with the radio antenna built inside it.

Prices and availability is a lot better now, but yeah, certain side windows and glass roofs can easily cost 1G+ if something happens. Basically any glass that has tech in it and not all of the tech in the glass is in the windshield now.

Originally Posted by Sliver

Tell them you're paying with cAsH and watch them fall all over themselves to serve you.

Cash hasn't been king for auto sales for a while. Financing is king because the lending companies (usually banks) occasionally pay the finance department about a $500-1500 commission for sending them these types of loan applications that exceed a certain amount of days. You pay a few hundred bucks in interest or something, but receive something of value a bit higher than that. Usually the discussion is around splitting the value close to 50:50.

I and several friends have had conversations with with dealerships about whether they have arrangements like that and if they'd be interested in "splitting the commission". Sometimes they approach you with the idea, other times when it's at a stalemate, you ask if they'd do that as a compromise. Arrangement is usually something like if they're successful in getting the commission, you'd get some kind of value they have in inventory/stock "for free".

Usually it's like basic 3M, a paint pen/swag or tire studding (if you bought tires from them), extended warranty bump up, maintenance credit, all weather mats at near cost, free monthly car washes for next 12 months (if they own their own cash wash), Sirius XM promo codes, swag and random stuff like that. Nothing exciting, but it's still occasionally a net of up to a few hundred bucks of extra value you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Dealership agrees so they can basically convert idle inventory into cash/having something their employees can do when things are slower. Dealerships in the smaller towns are more likely than in city dealerships to discuss this arrangement, but I've had the discussion in the city before as well.

[Acey]

Had a last minute change of heart in my German car quest... picking up a B9 S5 tomorrow instead of a G42 230i.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Cash hasn't been king for auto sales for a while. Financing is king because the lending companies (usually banks) occasionally pay the finance department about a $500-1500 commission for sending them these types of loan applications that exceed a certain amount of days. You pay a few hundred bucks in interest or something, but receive something of value a bit higher than that. Usually the discussion is around splitting the value close to 50:50.

Hah, yeah, I know. That was an attempt at a joke. Just wasn't funny is all.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Hah, yeah, I know. That was an attempt at a joke. Just wasn't funny is all.

Words with fewer than five letters don't work well with alternating case.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Hah, yeah, I know. That was an attempt at a joke. Just wasn't funny is all.

Whoosh.

[Wormius]

So the pedestrian warning sound generation when driving in EV mode. Is it louder than it has to be? I don’t think it’s adjustable besides doing some DIY hacks, and I don’t necessarily want to bypass the safety feature it provides to pedestrians, but it seems a little loud compared to similar ICE vehicles driving at low speeds.

[Ferarri]

Got to bite the bullet and get a new vehicle. Leaning towards a new Explorer. If my memory serves me correctly, wasn't there somebody on the forum who worked for Ford?

[Acey]

Quattro + winter tires is something all of humanity should experience once.