Bought the wife a new car.

[Patrick NC]

Every new vehicle we've bought since we've been married has been something I picked out. Kelly's Jeep cherokee was about to turn 100,000 miles so I sold it to my son and took her to the dealer. Told her to pick out something she liked. 

 
She chose a new Jeep Compass Trailhawk.  Got too many bells and whistles to list. I got a good deal because it was a leftover 2022 model. $5500 off sticker and a 6 year/60,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty.  I wasn't sure how the 4cyl motor would be, but it seems to have plenty of power.  Got it on Saturday so I told her it was an early Valentines day present.  Happy wife, happy life!🤣

[SawyerTed]

Congratulations on the new vehicle.  It looks great,


The new 4 cylinder engines are very impressive.  Emily had a 2009 Lincoln with a 6 cylinder that got totaled by a deer strike.  We went looking at cars, she wanted to look at the Ford and Lincoln dealer.  After looking at several, she saw a ruby red Lincoln MKZ.  It was the same color and almost exactly like the one that was totaled just 7 years newer.

I was skeptical about the 4 cylinders until I drove it.  Turns out a twin turbo 4 cylinder is very powerful in that car.  

[SwampDonkey]

Been driving a 4 cyl truck now 8 years, plan for another 12. :D

Got an 18 year old 6 cyl car, plan on driving that a while longer. ;) Have only replaced tires, a battery and brakes in all them years.

You guys barely break in a vehicle and your turning over more $$.

[farmfromkansas]

I have a buddy met at Fort Hays Kansas state university, was called a college in my day, he worked at Cessna in Wichita for years, got laid off and he bought into a used car lot, now he is struggling with all the stolen catalytic converters, but he buys me a car at the dealer auction, charges 200 over his cost and does the paper work, and I get a car. Have saved a ton of money with his help since his being in the car business.

[SawyerTed]

You guys barely break in a vehicle and you're turning over more $$.

We wouldn't if we didn't have to. 
We started buying certified pre-owned.  We bought the 2016 Lincoln in 2018.  It was $22k with 24,000 miles in it. It now has about 52,000. It is a great car.  I'm pretty sure we will keep it for several more years.  Mileage is very good for the comfort.  It will do 32 mpg on the highway and 26 in town.  
The last 3 cars Emily bought replaced 200,000 mile plus cars.  She commuted 72 miles round trip.  One was worn out,  one was too expensive to repair the headlights at $2,600, and the last one was totaled by a deer.  We traded the worn  out Venture van, gave the Jaguar away and took the insurance money on the totaled 2009 Lincoln in 2018.  

[chevytaHOE5674]

You guys barely break in a vehicle and your turning over more $$.

UP here in the salt belt if you drive in the winter vehicles tend to need replacing or else they break in half. Lol
If you can get 20 years of daily driver salt abuse your doing very well.
I have a 07 suv that is mechanically good but despite frequent steam cleanings the rust is taking its toll on all the nooks and crannies underneith that are nearly impossible to wash.

[Resonator]

Had to borrow a pretty new Jeep Grande Cherokee today (my rusty snow plow truck broke down, but that's another story). :D 
It had no ignition key, just a fob (that you must have in the vehicle), and a push button to start - starter.
Drove it a few hundred feet, and noticed the seat started gettin' toasty.  
Kept goin', and noticed the steering wheel was gettin' hot too! 
Wow, modern technology, what will they think of next? 

[Southside]

They have already installed ejection seats in that model. Had to move my employees Jeep, couldn't see out the mirrors and the backup camera gets strange when you turn the wheel so I opened the driver door to see behind me. 

BANG! Parking brake auto activates and pretty much ejects you out of the vehicle, all for your safety!  :

[Resonator]

Yeah, I went to back it up, and it wouldn't let me. It thought the snow bank behind it (or maybe the snow on the camera) was a collision about to happen. The dash read WARNING! and put the brakes on. :
The brakes are sensitive too, driving I was just pushing with my toe to get the same response as using my whole foot in my truck.

[Nebraska]

I thought maybe I was the only one to discover that ejection seat feature. :

[Southside]

I actually got out and walked all around the vehicle, then looked under it trying to figure out what I had run over that stopped it so hard. 

[Ianab]

Took Lil's new wheels on an overnight road trip up to Auckland. About 5 hours with all the road works currently in progress   >:( 

I will say it's a nice car to drive on a trip, and even with the V6 it's got plenty of grunt. The LS3 V8 powered model was a bit out of our budget. My Toyota has a bit more pickup, but the Commodore rides and corners better. Not a fan in Auckland traffic though, which is just a cluster at the best of times, and a parking lot at the worst. 

The Commodore was previously sold in the US as a Pontiac G8, and this model as the Chevrolet SS (only came in the V8 version) 



 

[SwampDonkey]

UP here in the salt belt if you drive in the winter vehicles tend to need replacing or else they break in half. Lol
If you can get 20 years of daily driver salt abuse your doing very well.

You don't think there is salt here? It's also in the sand. :D :D
Dad bought a new Buick back around 1998 and by 2006 it was a rust bucket with the floor ready to fall out from under it, and never knew it before the inspection that year.  2005 Camry drove in same conditions still going strong. My truck I drive less winter miles, but in summer lots of rough dirt forestry roads, some not much better than wheeler trails. :D I have 12 year warranty on the frame and I have no body rust. I had a Dodge that fell apart in 8 years and rust. In the Dodge, the transmission went, wheel bearings went and bearing in AC clutch went. I don't know where they sourced their bearings for that truck, but they were junk for sure. They never did solve the transmission issue, even went to a transmission garage. Only 150,000 miles. Things started down hill after 30,000 miles and even had them try to refuse warranty until I called Montreal head office. A heap of junk for sure.

[Peter Drouin]

Up here in the salt, you really have to take of them.
Nice car Patrick.

[chevytaHOE5674]

Swamp I dont doubt they salt where you are. But simple math says that I live in the snowiest areas outside of the mountain west which means we typically get more salt on our roads than other places. 

For instance the first salt was put on the highway in front of the farm in the middle of September this year. 4 days ago it was 4° with 3" of snow and the road had so much salt that it looked like a swimming pool.

I literally steam clean my vehicles indoors up on the 2 post lift, and there are still nooks and crannies that you can't get clean. Thus rust takes hold. 

[SawyerTed]

The snow, ice, salt and brine I do not envy at all.  Nor do I envy frost heaves and spring thaw.  Thankfully salt on roads is infrequent here.  

We've only had the roads brined twice this year.  It rained both times.  Normally we get three or four snows a winter.  Most are 4" or less.  Over 6" is rare now.  It was 2000 when we last had snow linger more than two or three days - two weeks or so then. 

Emily and I try to avoid driving in the snow or ice.   There are too many crazies here who can't drive on a clear day much less on snow and ice. 

[Ianab]

I can see the road salt being a killer for cars. I can spot a used computer from a coastal location... 6 year old PC from a Coastal shop with a prevailing onshore wind, and the back of the case will have rust spots. Rotorua is worse as they have thermal vents releasing sulphur all the time. If you think road salt is bad, think about sulphuric acid oozing out of the ground.  :-\

[SwampDonkey]

Earliest we get salt here is October. September up here is still summer. I've shovelled here 3 to 4 days a week, but most storms have been 2-4" this year. It's snowed here every day this week, but nothing to it. Most of the shovelling this week has been the mouth of the driveway, where the snow plow shoves his snow from wind drifted snow on the road. And there has only just begun sap season here, where other places have tapped for weeks already. Last week was 10 to -10 in the mornings, not sap weather. I don't ever remember tapping before March in all the years I've been here.  Our falls are warmer here now and the spring warm up for gardens is near June 15th, still killing frost up 'til then. Even if we get a freak 2 days of 90F or something in May, the next week your tomatoes you stuck in because of the warm up will be stone dead. :D Frost burns the grapes here most every spring. I did manage to pick 34 lbs last fall off 12 feet of grape row. The rest the robins and blue jays got. ;D

[SawyerTed]

$!?@"(!#*{?!

I may have altered the weather by commenting on snow and ice  


 

[SwampDonkey]

It can go either way here from March to April, very little snow or all kinds of it. It snowed this morning again, but nothing to it. ;D

[ppine]

Good idea.  I bought my girlfriend of 25 years a Subaru Ascent, the 3 rows of seats model.
It has a 2.4 liter turbo engine and a CVT trans.  It goes like Hickory. 

[farmfromkansas]

Don't know why they have to use so much salt here in Kansas, but they do.  Guess for the idiots who can't drive when it rains or whatever.  The Toyotas I have had stood up well to salt, had a pickup that after 20 years still had a clean body. The later model Tacoma had a problem with the frame, Toyota replaced a lot of frames.  The 14 model I have now have not noticed any rust problems. Plan to keep driving it, might last me out.