Beware the Finance Manager!

Excellent article on the Globe and Mail today in relation to dealing with the finance manager at the end of the car buying process, it can be found here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/how-a-fast-talking-finance-manager-almost-bamboozled-me-into-spending-way-more-on-my-new-car/article12633603/

Everyone that has ever bought a car has been there, you are all excited about your new purchase and in many cases have already agreed to a bunch of add ons whether you realize it or not.  BUT just in case you haven't they bring you too the normally above averagely attractive female or slick buttoned down fast talking finance guy to wring every last cent out of you.  My experience the past couple of times has been the former, which makes saying "no" even more difficult!

I probably mentioned it in a previous post but the finance lady at Kia told me 99% of customers buy the rim warranty because the rims are so expensive to replace.  I just told her I have not damaged a rim beyond repair in 20+ years of driving so I'd take my chances, not only that I don't know a single person that has, just think about it.

You have to be prepared to politely say no to everything they offer.  Some people like to go for the extended warranty up front but you have lots of time to buy that up until your regular warranty expires, there is a 50% chance you will get rid of your car before it even kicks in so it's just as well to at least wait before buying it.

Rustproofing..... theft deterrent..... scotch guarding..... yadda yadda.... all money makers for the dealership.  With lower car margins due to the high volume of information available to buyers the up-sell items get pushed harder than ever these days... want bacon and cheese on that $2 burger, your total is $4.50 thank you!

Rental Vehicle - Hyundai Elantra GL

On our recent trip to Myrtle Beach we had a Hyundai Elantra as our rental..... short side bar on car rental agencies....

So you go in with visions of $15 a day rental spinning in your head only to come out paying $300 for a week, how does that happen?  Well, here's how it happens..... Right up front you get charged airport fees, rental levi, sales tax and some mysterious miscellaneous fee to bring you up to about $180 for a $110 rental. (You can avoid some of this by renting away from the airport if you have some way to get from said airport to rental location, which we did not.)

So obviously I declined every other possible charge but here is where you get nailed:

#1 - Insurance - They will make it seem like the world will end if you don't get whatever super insurance they are peddling, save yourself the trouble and cost by getting a cheap rider on your own insurance if you are concerned about accidents, or just drive safely and save yourself all around.  The insurance can be more expensive than the car if you get the premium package.

#2 - Upgrades - No matter what you are renting, they will have something much better for just a little bit more .... per day..... $5 a day doesn't sound like much but for a week that's $40.  They wanted me to "upgrade" from an Elantra to a Corolla for $4 a day.  I would rather pay not to upgrade to a Corolla for $4 a day, obviously I passed on the opportunity!

#3 - Gas fill up whatever fee.... You can pay up front not to have to bring your car back full of gas, you also pay extra for the gas but the fee saves you the trouble of filling up.... getting gas is not that difficult.

#4 - Pre pay toll booth fee - You can pay to use the pass through toll booths rather than stopping to pay, it takes all of 20 seconds to stop and pay so just keep some change in the car and stop and pay.

#5 - Extra drivers - If you have someone with you as a second driver and you are not married, tell them you are married, then you don't have to pay for second driver.

So that's enough about the dollars and cents.... The car itself was fine for the two of us, never had the get up and go of the Optima but it was good for driving on well paved, flat roads, unlike those of Newfoundland.  Got about 30 MPG on average or 8 L per 100 KM.  It was good gas mileage, over the span of a week with constant moving including a 200 mile round trip to the race track we spent a whopping $35 on gas.  The seats were comfortable enough, the brakes and handling were fine for our tourist trips, AC worked well in the hot climate, overall no complaints.  I wouldn`t run out and buy one myself but I sure as heck would buy one over a Corolla if I was looking for a compact sedan,  and save myself $4 a day!

It seemed like a good solid compact sedan, currently going for $23,000 including taxes and fees on the Hyundai site.

Nu Finish Car Polish - Spring Cleaning

Ok, so it was time for spring cleaning, got a few scratches from the harsh winter and my baby needed good spruce up.  I decided to go with the wash, clay bar, polish and paint sealant routine.  The only problem was that I didn't have any car polish.  I was also trying to decide if I would by a DA polisher to apply the polish but in the end I cheaped out and decided to go with the hand application method.

I noticed from a prior washing that my car's paint was peppered with those annoying yellow spots from salt and other residue from our hard on paint winter.  I gave it a couple of shots of TRIX which was covered in a previous post but that stuff is just difficult to work with and smells horrible, although it does get rid of most yellow spots.  I thought I would try a different approach.

So I gave it a good washing, applied the clay bar and then started on the polishing using Nu Finish.  I was going over all the polish options at Crappy Tire but settled on Nu Finish for two reasons.... the price was actually on the high end so I thought it would be good and a customer there said he uses it all the time and it works great.  I applied it to one section and started rubbing to see if I could get out the yellow spots and sure enough they started vanishing.  The only thing I will say is that this took a LOT of elbow grease, two hours worth of rubbing in a circular motion, but the results were great.  I also got rid of several surface clear coat scratches with this product.

I followed up the polish with a good application of my Poor Boys Sealant and the car was looking as good as new (except for the bumper damage).  Although I used up the better part of a full afternoon I removed almost all the yellow spots, got rid of several surface scratches and shined up my Optima beautifully.  Next time I may buy a DA Polisher just to make it a bit easier for the polish application.  I also have to do my better half's car.

2013 Nascar Bojangles 500 LIVE!

So we were in Myrtle Beach on vacation last week and decided to take in the Nascar Bojangles 500 from Darlington Raceway.  We were staying on the beach and decided we would rent a room in Florenceville which was only 15 minutes from the raceway and about an hour and a half from Myrtle Beach so we wouldn't have to drive back in heavy traffic late at night.  The Bojangles 500 starts at 7 so I figured it wouldn't be over until close to 11.  

On a side note we stayed at Sandy beach resort in Myrtle Beach which was really nice and only about $100 a night this time of year with a full kitchen included.  Also, side note #2 beer is only $16 for a 24 at Walmart in South Carolina as opposed to $13 for a six pack here in Newfoundland.... life can be cruel at times.

So we left for Florenceville around noon, had a snack and got to the Comfort Inn around 2.  The place seemed ok from the outside but not great, the desk guy checked us in and spoke broken engish, I thought it was strange but moved on.  Unfortunately he forgot to check if our room was cleaned and as a result we walked into a small, hot, dirty, dingy, crappiest hotel room I have even seen (and ranked it accordingly on tripadvisor).  Seriously, the toilet looked like a public washroom at the end of a metallica concert.  I chased down the closest room cleaning lady and she said the guy shouldn't have checked us in but she would be right down to clean it, and she did come down right away.

At this point it was around 3 so I figured we would head down to the raceway to check on the parking situation and whatnot. I had been reading up and there is a large grassy field for parking but I hate crowds so that wasn't going to work for me.  We saw the local PTA were offering their school lot to park in for $10 and we took them up on it.  They said it was only about 1/2 mile to the track, as it turned out it was even less than that.  A good thing considering we had a cooler to drag packed with beer, water and snacks.  The locals showed us a short cut and in about 5 minutes we were in through the gates.  All along the way people were offering their driveways to park in for $20..... yes the USA is the land of opportunity.

So at about 4 we were at the raceway, went around to some of the booths, got a demo of the new Meguiars DA polisher that you use on the drill, got and freebies that were available (toy cars, bbq sauce, ponchos, shirts etc...) got some pictures signed by the Jeff Burton pit crew and made our way to our seats at about 5:30.  We were seated in Tyler Tower row 19, the seats seemed pretty good.

So a concert was followed by driver intros, multiple other niceties, anthem etc....  I have to tell you about the people sitting next to us.  There was a guy to our right who looked like an Italian mob guy.  At one point another guy got in his way trying to find his seat and he told him to sit the F%^$ down.  The other guy lipped back a bit and the italian like guy says "what the F%$# are you gonna do, we both know you ain't gonna do s&*^ so sit the F^&* down..... and he sat."  It was intense but fun none the less.  There also was a 12 year old in front of us who knew everything there was to know about Nascar, he was annoying but bothering other people so I didn't really care.

Anyway as it turns out this was the most boring race in Nascar history, we watched 300 laps and there was only one yellow flag for debris on the track..... ONE YELLOW FLAG IN 300 LAPS!!!  It was like a parade with Kyle Bush leading the way the entire time.  So we had an important decision to make.....

1) Stay till the end of the race (360 laps) and fight traffic back to the roach motel or
2) leave this boring race and go back to our nice room at Myrtle Beach

Since my better half said she would drive back to Myrtle Beach we left..... we never spent one single minute at our crappy hotel in Florenceville and felt great in our decision, even through we got gouged on the rate for a room we never used.  We had some fun, watched 90% of a Nascar race and had a good nights sleep.....

Here is the video evidence....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQLckXgrm8Q&feature=youtu.be

The Damage....

SO here is a picture of the damage to my rear quarter panel / bumper area.  I got two price quotes on it, one came in at just over $1,000 (Collision Experts) and another at just over $700 (Rideout's).  It is becoming clear that Collision Experts are the most expensive body repair company in St. John's.

The guy at Rideout's says it looks like a sideswipe or my car was backed into something.   I'm sure the tow truck guy (R & D towing) had to back my car into something on the Kia lot but I'd be hard pressed to prove it.

Let this be a lesson, if at all possible have someone follow your car to wherever it is being towed.

Dead car update - And a new problem

It turns out that water somehow got under my door sill scuff plate and caused a short in some wires that live under it.  They had my car in all day before they figured out what was wrong with it.  They still have to order in a part (I am thinking something to keep the water out). Since they finished late Friday I picked it up Saturday morning.

The car is running fine but it's a nuisense to have foolish problems like this with a one year old car.

Anyway that's not the best of it.  The car was filthy with roadsalt and whatnot so I took it for a car wash yesterday (Sunday).  When I got home I noticed significant scratching and abrasions on the rear quarter panel bumper areas on the drivers side.  So once I stopped panicking I was trying to think how it could have happened and all roads led to one place TOW TRUCK.  I called Kia today and they say the car was parked precariously close to some hard snow banks and it was backed in so that would seem to indicate that's where the damage is from.  I am planning to take it for an estimate to fix tomorrow and then plead my case to both the tow truck company and Kia.  I am thinking 3 to 4 hundred to fix the paint, we'll see.  I'll update tomorrow or the next day with pics and more details.

My car is lifeless.....

I realize I haven't been posting in a while, I am spending all my spare time playing and practising guitar.  Also there hasn't been many notable car things to write about.

Until today....

My son went to take the car to work and it wouldn't start.  Then I tried my key fob and it wouldn't start.  Then I noticed the door locks weren't working and neither was the garage door opener.  I called roadside assistance and they were here in about 20 minutes.  They tried a boost with no luck and I noticed the brake lights and passenger auto seat buttons were working.  The tow truck guy couldn't figure out the problem so he dragged my Optima's lifeless carcass off to Kia..... It seems like it half works and half doesn't, with the starting part being one of the doesn't work parts.

This has been a miserable day, hopefully tomorrow I will get my baby back.....

Damage to my baby...... Repair Rip off (in my opinion)!

Can you see it???  One of the people who drive my car but is not me hit a chuck of ice and cracked my front bumper cover.  Its like a piece got totally cracked off but is still hanging on by the guard underneath.  As soon as I opened the garage it jumped out at me, it is painful but I didn't get upset with unnamed driver who damaged the vehicle.  In behind the bumped cover the guard was cracked also but it didn't seem to be bothering anything so I left it.  

And then we got LOTS of snow.  Some of said snow managed to build up under the crack n the guard and then an entire section broke and started hanging down.  This caused my car to start shaking wildly as the wind caught the guard under the bumper co-incidentally enough while unnamed driver was driving it.

Duct Tape Repair

I used duct tape to keep the guard in place and went to Kia to get a repair estimate.  Kia sent me on to Collision Experts who looks after body work for them, I took that to mean this would be the most expensive place they could send me and they would get a kick back.  But since I figured it might be good for some post material which I have been severely lacking lately so I gave it a shot.

When I showed up there were two other customers waiting which they told me was strange since usually there is no wait.  I figured it was just as well to wait and my wait time was only about 15 minutes.  The guy looked at the car and said I would need a new guard but wasn't sure if they could just fix the bumper or if it had to be replaced.  

He went back in and came out in 10 minutes with my estimate.... right away my eyes shot to the bottom line $1,593!  Did you see the picture at the top..... $1,600 for a once inch bumper crack.  After he saw the wild look in my eyes he immediately pointed out I could get a new guard for about $150 but the bumper guard needed to be replaced and would cost $1,450.  The freakin bumper guard piece costs almost $500, then there was $172 for paint and 7 hours labour.  7 hours labour to  replace a bumper cover and paint it...... 3 hours to replace and 4 hours to paint.  

I passed on the bumper cover.

See the gory details below.  Also to note I called around a couple other places and while expensive they were more in the $1,100 range to replace the bumper cover...... still too rich for my blood.  I am going to try to get someone to patch it up, there must be a way.

Detroit Auto Show 2013

The Detroit Auto Show is getting under way and here is one of the first new cars from the show.... a beautiful 2014 Corvette Stingray.  According to the article on autos.ca which can be found here: http://www.autos.ca/auto-shows/preview-2014-chevrolet-corvette/3/ , the new Vette only shares two parts from the outgoing model.  The interior has traditionally been a sore point on recent Corvettes but this model has gone a long way towards remedying that from the sounds of it.  Also has a tidy 0 to 60 mph time under 4 seconds.... now that sounds like fun.

Check out the article above and check out the internet for Detroit Auto Show updates.

UPDATE Here is an additional 2014 Vette article from the Globe and Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/new-cars/auto-news/world-premiere-2014-corvette-is-fast---and-fuel-efficient/article7312923/

Fuel Economy - 6.8!

We went to visit the inlaws over the holidays, they live about 300 km away, makes for a nice drive, not too far but far enough.  On the way down I wasn't paying too much attention to fuel economy but on the way back I stopped for gas before we left and reset the fuel economy gauge.  The first 150 km or so is on a highway with a 90 km/hr speed limit, I was on cruise control the entire way with only one car to pass at a steady 105 or so.  I figured I had made good mileage but when I checked at our stop as we joined the main Trans Canada route I was at 6.8 L / 100 km.  I was amazed it was so low and at that point I decided to try and make it under 7 for the entire trip.

I had three passengers (although two were kids), winter tires and a bit of baggage on board so I was especially impressed with my half way mileage..... it was pretty windy and the wind was behind us so that may have also helped a bit.  I figured in order to make it under 7 I would have to drive extra conservatively the rest of the way especially considering most of it is divided highway where most people drive 120-125.

I started the second half of our trip at 110, my passengers (most importantly my much better half) wasn't at all interested in going any slower than that.  So along we went on the second 150 km of our trip with people passing us left right and center but my average L / 100 km was holding steady at 6.8.  Normally I would never have stayed at 110, I even thought about cutting back to 105 just to make sure but I held steady at 110.  Everything was passing me, Mazda 5's, Dodge Caravans, Honda CRV's..... yes everything was passing me.... but I would not be dissuaded from my task.  It briefly crept up to 6.9 and I was getting worried but I figured the last part of our trip was mostly on the downgrade so I would be good, then sure enough it went back down to 6.8.

As I approached the end of our trip I was holding firm at 6.8, I stayed under 7 and never even had to drive excessively slow, if I went the actual speed limit I wonder how low it would have been?  Also I used cruise control the entire way which also saves quite a bit on fuel and is recommended for highway driving.  I would like to try going the speed limit just to see what the results would be, my baseline is now 6.8 (or 34.6 MPG).