Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by bagofpucks

One other thing I’d consider is that cars can have a lot more rust from the salt they use in Ontario. Anecdotal, but I had a used vehicle that I think only spent one maybe two winters there and it had rust in super weird spots compared to what I’ve seen in western canadian vehicles. The underbody was actually in pretty rough shape for its age and mileage.

This car was in Ontario for three winters and 30,000km many years ago. I was then in Vancouver for almost 10 years and back in Ontario since late 2019. Superficially it looks good underneath in terms of no rust but there is a lot that can not be seen easily.

[bagofpucks]

Yah, the vehicle was a G35X that was completely babied and it still had some odd spots. It ended up getting written off when someone rear ended me, so I didn’t see how bad it would get. That model gets some rust on the trunk, but this one was super bubbly in and around the usual bad spot. And like I said, the underbody and frame was definitely in bad shape for its age.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by TSXCman

Any driven on the kgl ring road section in the SW, coming from hwy 8 onto Glenmore east?

Theres a 4inch or higher drop off and riser at 50km/h that basically bounced my head into the roof, bend a rim, and my car has a vibration now.

Submitted a company to kgl and wondering if I'll get any compensation.

Pretty rediculous to not pour a transition lip on a busy road

it's horrible. I have to drive that stretch every day and if you don't know it's there, you can hit it pretty hard. I know the first time I went, I was pretty worried about the impact.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I think I asked about this before or read previous questions and comments about purchasing vehicles from Ontario but I'm looking for some info again. I'm considering buying a used vehicle, private sale, next week. My plan would be to fly out to Toronto and drive back to Calgary through Canada.

I'm reading a lot of contradictory information online regarding HST. Insurance is not that big of an issue as that is easy to get set up. I obviously need an in-transit permit or what they call a Special Permit in Ontario. Does the Special Permit differ at all from an in-transit permit that could be obtained in Alberta. The Alberta permit says it is valid from point to point across Canada. I'm assuming a Special Permit obtained in Ontario wouldn't create any issues while driving across Manitoba and Sask, is that correct? Regarding HST, I understand it is collected at the registry/ministry in Ontario when the car is registered. If I'm only obtaining a special permit to drive the car out of province will they collect HST on the sale price? I saw that there is a form for obtaining a refund after registering out of province but obviously I'd rather not pay up front and have to wait for a refund from the government.

Is there anything else to know beforehand regarding purchasing and driving across the country? Obviously, I'm aware of the OOP inspection which shouldn't be a problem.

Anecdotally, a car salesman here told me once that I should never buy a vehicle from Quebec, as they can import flood/hurricane vehicles from the states. But that isn’t allowed in Ontario. Something to look out for, but no idea how valid it is.

Side note, enjoy the drive! Take the lake head obviously, it’s amazing. I’ve done it quite a few times and just love it. PM me for cool camping spots along the way if that’s your thing.

[Derek Sutton]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

I think I asked about this before or read previous questions and comments about purchasing vehicles from Ontario but I'm looking for some info again. I'm considering buying a used vehicle, private sale, next week. My plan would be to fly out to Toronto and drive back to Calgary through Canada.

I'm reading a lot of contradictory information online regarding HST. Insurance is not that big of an issue as that is easy to get set up. I obviously need an in-transit permit or what they call a Special Permit in Ontario. Does the Special Permit differ at all from an in-transit permit that could be obtained in Alberta. The Alberta permit says it is valid from point to point across Canada. I'm assuming a Special Permit obtained in Ontario wouldn't create any issues while driving across Manitoba and Sask, is that correct? Regarding HST, I understand it is collected at the registry/ministry in Ontario when the car is registered. If I'm only obtaining a special permit to drive the car out of province will they collect HST on the sale price? I saw that there is a form for obtaining a refund after registering out of province but obviously I'd rather not pay up front and have to wait for a refund from the government.

Is there anything else to know beforehand regarding purchasing and driving across the country? Obviously, I'm aware of the OOP inspection which shouldn't be a problem.

Having never bought a vehicle from Out of Province but sold many I have a bit to offer. First off, but very Leary about brining in a vehicle from Ontario, rust should be a huge concern. As well if you ever go to sell it, rust will be a concern going forward as well.

You will have to check at a resistry office about the In Tranist being valid from Ontario to Alberta as I know an AB in tranist is not valid in BC, but that may be an ICBC thing.

Unless you have some connections, don’t take the OOP for granted. These inspections are easy money for shops. And marking anything as non compliant is even easier money. Unless it’s a vehicle still under factory warranty, count on spending some money somewhere. Even then; had a customer buy a two years van with 26,000km on it. Shop in Fernie made them put in a new rear window and change the wiper as “the old wiper caused the rear window scratching compromising the integrity of the window”. Total BS but there’s nothing that could be done as they’re the only shop in the area licensed to do the inspection.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

Having never bought a vehicle from Out of Province but sold many I have a bit to offer. First off, but very Leary about brining in a vehicle from Ontario, rust should be a huge concern. As well if you ever go to sell it, rust will be a concern going forward as well.

You will have to check at a resistry office about the In Tranist being valid from Ontario to Alberta as I know an AB in tranist is not valid in BC, but that may be an ICBC thing.

Unless you have some connections, don’t take the OOP for granted. These inspections are easy money for shops. And marking anything as non compliant is even easier money. Unless it’s a vehicle still under factory warranty, count on spending some money somewhere. Even then; had a customer buy a two years van with 26,000km on it. Shop in Fernie made them put in a new rear window and change the wiper as “the old wiper caused the rear window scratching compromising the integrity of the window”. Total BS but there’s nothing that could be done as they’re the only shop in the area licensed to do the inspection.

I have a good shop that can do the OOP for me. I trust that they wouldn't pull any stupid #### with me. They have been very fair with me recently on all the work that I needed done

[edslunch]

Originally Posted by 81MC

I see it two ways:
If I’m looking for a vintage project car, rust and the scope of it factor into the overall plan, and is expected.

If I’m buying a car to actually drive (particularly if it’s clearly not a ####box), rust is a major deal breaker. Doesn’t matter how nice the car is, if it’s rusting it only gets worse. And what’s tackier than a AMG 55 that presents worse than a Civic?

Some people probably don’t mind, or think rust is an easy fix. But most car guys know that quarter panel/wheel well rust is way more work than meets the eye.

Well that sucks. It’s an Audi S4 with a V8 - awesome car to drive but not vintage or collectible, and not so posh with rust.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Looks like rust on the door as well. You could widebody that but given it's a sedan might as well get an RS4 instead.

[BsFaninCGY]

Hoping someone here can give me a bit of quick advice before I lose my mind.

Attempting to change the brake pads and rotors on a 2012 Yukon SLT today - first time attempting this myself. Watched a bunch of videos; bought the Hynes manual - feeling pretty good.

Front seemed to go fine as did the driver side rear. Now on the passenger side rear and after finally getting the rotor off, park of the e-brake just fell off (see picture below).

Now, I know it's an emergency brake, and you never know when you're gonna have an emergency - so this will be fixed tomorrow. But, because I'll likely need to drive to get parts, I was hoping I could continue the install and risk no e-brake for my next drive to the part store.

Thing is - now the new rotor just doesn't seem to want to sit properly. I slide it on, throw on a couple lug nuts to keep it in place, go to but the calliper bracket back on, but I just can't get the bracket to seat properly without it rubbing on the rotor. Could this be the now missing piece from the ebrake giving me grief? I tried once to lay it back into place but it just moved around as soon as I slid the calliper back on. Do I need to get this remedied to properly get the rotor in place so the calliper bracket won't rub? Or is it more likely the bracket is the problem?

I guess what I'm asking is - will the missing ebrake part throw everything out of alignment? Does it need to be fixed before continuing? And if not, and suggestions why the rotor may be rubbing on the calliper bracket?

Thanks from a frustrated DIYer.

https://imgur.com/a73Y8N5

[timun]

Looks like the brake shoe material delaminated and fell off.

This shouldn't affect getting the rotor back on: the inside 'drum' on the back of the rotor shouldn't catch on the parking brake shoes, and should seat on the hub. The caliper bracket shouldn't come into any contact with anything related to the parking brake.

Make sure the rotor in fully seated against the hub. Use your lug nuts to keep it in place temporarily.

[BsFaninCGY]

Originally Posted by timun

Looks like the brake shoe material delaminated and fell off.

This shouldn't affect getting the rotor back on: the inside 'drum' on the back of the rotor shouldn't catch on the parking brake shoes, and should seat on the hub. The caliper bracket shouldn't come into any contact with anything related to the parking brake.

Make sure the rotor in fully seated against the hub. Use your lug nuts to keep it in place temporarily.

This is exactly what it was. I had only hand tightened the lug nuts and apparently it wasn’t enough. A quick hit with the impact driver lined it all up and aside from a bunk e-brake, everything seems to be working fine now. Thanks - super frustrating when you don’t know how to fix something that shouldn’t be so hard.

[bagofpucks]

Can’t compete with the beautiful Aston Martin on the last page, but will be picking my new truck up this week:

[RichieRich]

Have a student driver at home... looking for either either a magnet or sticker for EXTERNAL application to the vehicle. Rear window is tinted so internal sign (like that provided by AMA) doesn't show through. Anyone have ideas where to pick up locally? (NW Calgary). I'd rather not mail order, nor use a sharpie to write on my vehicle.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Didn't notice the pictures until now, and...

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

Car is a 2012 Vantage S, Stratus White (metallic and pearl), with Obsidian Black leather and silver stitching. It is a SportShift II which is the auto-shift manual 7-speed Graziano transmission

lol nope. Nope nope nope. Thanks retracted.

I mean, nice enough car, very beautiful, no doubt sounds amazing, great grand tourer, but that is not a manual no matter what they want to try to call it.

[Bill Bumface]

TorqueDog, you had one job!

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I mean, nice enough car, very beautiful, no doubt sounds amazing, great grand tourer, but that is not a manual no matter what they want to try to call it.

LOL well, it's an Auto-shift Manual (ASM), so they're only calling it what it is.

I like the SportShift. I had it in my last one, and the SS2 is improved beyond that. At WOT, it upshifts like a rifle going off. I should also mention I’ve driven these cars with a manual and preferred the SportShift. The clutch engagement on the manual is a bit weird, I wasn’t a fan.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Well, that's all well and good, but your subjective opinion is, in this case objectively wrong.

... I've never driven a 2012 manual but I have driven an '08 and it wasn't my favourite manual ever but it was still pretty great. I can't imagine preferring any two-pedal transmission over that.

[TorqueDog]

Your opinion isn't worth the powder to blow it to hell if you haven't driven both.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

LOL well, it's an Auto-shift Manual (ASM), so they're only calling it what it is.

I like the SportShift. I had it in my last one, and the SS2 is improved beyond that. At WOT, it upshifts like a rifle going off. I should also mention I’ve driven these cars with a manual and preferred the SportShift. The clutch engagement on the manual is a bit weird, I wasn’t a fan.

I'm sure I've said this before, but IMO, the majority of negative remarks made online with regard to how bad the early single clutch transmission are is WAY overblown and perpetuated mostly by people with limited or even no experience at all with them.

I've owned or at least had significant seat time (friends cars, etc) in a good chunk of these cars... SMG, early F1, E-gear, RTronic and Sportshift... the gears can be a little slow to engage when shifting from R to D, etc, but I've found that the gear changes when you're actually on the move to be fine. I mean, they're obviously not imperceptible like a full auto or the latest dual-clutch boxes, but in some ways I actually prefer the kick-in-the-pants feel

I'm glad TorqueDog got the car he wanted and it's nice that he knew better than to listen the general negativity online regarding these cars & transmissions... He might have ended up with a worse car for it.

[Manhattanboy]

Anyone owned a Jeep Wrangler? Thinking of buying one to replace an aging X5 for the winter months. Can you get away without snow tires on Wranglers?