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).

Meguire's Wash & Wax - Put to the test!!

As you can see my car was rotten from our messy Newfoundland winter.  I can't seem to get any satisfaction from an automated wash and our hose is frozen so I broke out the Meguire's Waterless Wash & Wax.  When I used it previously it was easy to apply and did  great job, of course that was on a much less grimy car.  I was ready with three microfibre cloths and one towel for drying and buffing.

After I had started the first quarter panel I could tell I was going to be in for a rough time.  I had already gone through one microfibre cloth and a good bit of cleaner and I was only about 1/4 done. On top of the it was freezing (literally) out and I was finding several contaminants in my paint that would need to be clay barred out in the spring.

You can see that the product does work well, it just takes a lot of cleaning, wiping, drying and buffing to get the car looking good with no streaks.  If you don't clean a section thoroughly and then go to dry it, any dirt picked up leaves mean streaks.  Due to the heavy dirt on the vehicle I had to use a lot of spray, and subsequently lots of microfibre cloths.  I ruined 4 cloths and used almost half a bottle of spray.  Once it was cleaned there was still a lot of work to get all the cleaner residue off and dry the vehicle thoroughly.

Then once I was done after about an hour cleaning the vehicle I had to clean the windows, because they were still very dirty, using my Invisible Glass from Costco.  That only took about 5 minutes.  Then of course I looked down and the wheels were covered in grime so I had to break out the No Touch All Wheel Care.  This worked very well after spraying and leaving for 2 minutes.  I just used some water and a sponge to get the rims and wheels squeaky clean.  So after about an hour and a half in total I had a beautiful looking car again as seen in the pics below.

Then the next day it looked like the pictures above again....... I give up.

NEW BLOG!

I decided to learn something new..... how to play guitar, you can check it all out on my new blog:

http://teachmyselfguitarat40.blogspot.ca/

Autos.ca - Compact Car Comparison

Autos.ca had another great comparison article today on compact cars, you can read it here: http://www.autos.ca/car-comparisons/comparison-test-compact-cars/

Unfortunately the Kia Forte wasn't included in the comparison but the winner was surprising for me, also surprising (but made me quite happy) was the fact that the Corolla came dead last.  I mean this has to be the most boring car ever created, I have no idea why anyone buys them??  Maybe 10 years ago they were more reliable than most but these days there really is no such thing as an unreliable car.... well maybe Mitsubishi.  Also notable was the second to last Honda Civic, also boring but has gotten quite the refreshening for 2013, they also totally ripped off the Kia honeycomb grill for 2013.  If you are interested in compacts you should give this article a read, it is well worth it.

Also, since I mentioned it, Autos.ca also had an in depth article on the 2013 civic today which can be found here: http://www.autos.ca/first-drives/first-drive-2013-honda-civic-sedan/

The new Civic looks to be a massive improvement..... could spell trouble (more so than usual) for the competition.

Autos.ca - Best cars of 2013

On autos.ca today there was an article on the best 2013 model year vehicles in their opinion.  You can read the article here:

http://www.autos.ca/auto-consumer-info/feature-autos-ca-2013-top-picks/

I agree with most of their picks but not when it comes to mid-sized sedans.  Why do they have to pick the Accord..... of all things the Accord.  It may be the best mid-sized sedan based on all the individual factors but I just don't think it is the best package when you factor in the intangibles.  It comes only in shades of grey, has a CVT transmission and is just plain boring.

Now the new Ford Fusion is a thing of beauty and comes with 4 engine choices along with all the Ford technology, looks to be a great vehicle.  I haven't seen one driving around yet but I bet there will be lots in the next couple of years.

One of the cars I would love to test out is the Scion FR-S, they are sold here at the local Toyota dealership.  It's an affordable rear wheel drive sports car that looks great.  They also have a very simple but effective website www.scion.ca.

In the compact luxury category you will find the new Cadillac ATS that is getting great reviews and the Mercedes C Series, but no BMW.  The BMW 5 series does get the nod in the luxury high end category but with the new 3 series coming out this year I'm sure they expected to dominate Cadillac and Mercedes in the compact luxury category as well.

Anyway check out the article, lots of great cars there!

Suzuki Kizashi - Final Update

I could have called this update #2, but this is probably the last time I will ever discuss a Suzuki Kizashi.  I emailed back to the salesguy thinking the the $210 / biweekly for 5 years was too good to be true and sure enough.... it was.  He told me the $210 was over six years at 5.99% interest, still not a horrible deal but not half the deal it was if it was over five years.

If you crunch the numbers 23,995 + tax @ 5.99% interest over 72 months works out to $208 biweekly.  I'm sure they add in a few hundred bucks admin fee which brings it up to a nice round $210.  You get to pay $5,300 in interest for the $6,500 cash discount...... so you actually save about $1,000 over the non-sale stated price at 0%.  Not so wonderful a deal any more, but car deals rarely are as they seem.

If I email back this time next year, I bet they still have those cars.

Suzuki Kizashi Update #1

I emailed the local Suzuki dealership and they have two Kizashi available.  One red S model and one white SX model.  When I was there a year ago coincidentally enough they had one red S and two white SX models, so I guess they managed to sell one of them.  I asked about pricing and they just emailed me back to say the S model is indeed $23,995 and it would be $210 bi-weekly after tax.

Lets check the numbers shall we:

If you were using a five year purchase with 0% the $23,995 + $3120 tax = 27,115 / 60 payments = $450 / mth or about $209 bi-weekly.  If the $210 is for five years then this is a very impressive deal, I am thinking there is a catch and I am gone back to get more details.  If you get $6,500 off and 0% then someone should go buy that vehicle.

Stay tuned for further updates!

Suzuki Kizashi - Great Deal?

Suzuki has a minor problem on it's hands...... they will no longer be sold in the US.  Actually that's a major problem for sales but they don't actually sell many vehicles in North America so it probably saves them money not to bother trying.

In any event mixed in with our weekly flyer batch was a glossy lime green one from Suzuki.  According to the ad you can save over $6,500 off a 2013 Kazashi S iAWD, which actually seems like a really good deal at 0% for 5 years.  On the bottom of the flyer it also says the price includes delivery, air tax and oil changes for three years.  When I was looking at these vehicles a year ago, the same one was $29,995 plus extras, this requires further investigation.... an email to Suzuki is in order.  If you go to the website and price one up with the automatic CVT transmission, the total comes to $29,645 with delivery so I am guessing it is $850 for the "free" oil changes, since the advertised price is $30,495.

As I dig into the small print, the $6,500 is off the cash purchase price, meaning if you go to your bank and pay about 6% interest or happen to have $25,000 hanging around you get $6,500 off otherwise you get nothing off but you do get 0% interest.  Obviously it is better to go with the $6,500 off on such a relatively low purchase price, you will end up saving about $50 a month or $3,000 over a 5 year purchase term as opposed to taking 0% at the full purchase price.

I am going to add an update to this once I get an email back from them.