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).