WTF? This is why I don't think I could work in auto service

[CALL_911]

So what is on your replacement list?

[AutobahnSHO]

Very expensive to replace. 

Just like ALL them other newfangled electrodoohickeys...

[MX793]

So what is on your replacement list?

Camaro LT, '10 Mustang GT, Genesis Coupe V6, WRX, 128i.  Might also consider a CPO late-model 3 series or A4 Quattro if I can find one equipped how I'd want it (manual gearbox is hard to find in the used market around here).

There's also a chance that things won't pan out as planned and I keep my car for another year.

[TBR]

Does the state safety inspection require that there not be any error lights related to the TPMS?

[Madman]

One thing I make people aware of, if you buy a used car and the TPMS light is on, check tire pressures BEFORE you buy the car.  If the light will not reset, it has a bad sensor or a missing sensor.

I've had two cars that had custom wheels installed and when it was sold, the originals were put back on with sensors missing.  Very expensive to replace.   I've also had several that tire jockeys have broken the bands when installing new tires.

A perfect example of why I don't want a newer car!

Cheers,
Madman of the People

[Onslaught]

All the newer ones use sensors.  FWIW I think Ford uses a band around the wheel, rather than one that bolts in to the stem hole.

They do. And it looks cheap a shit and I can't believe that it holds.

[S204STi]

They do. And it looks cheap a shit and I can't believe that it holds.

lol Ford ingenuity for teh win.

[Raza]

See, that's another thing that bugs me.  I am very reluctant to just replace things based on the fact that the customer is complaining about something.  Yet if I don't throw a part at the problem they piss and moan about it.  I've been bit often enough to know better, so I deal with the complaining.

Ha!  My dealership is really obliging when you complain about something.  My trunk struts froze up, so they put new ones in without me even getting a chance to ask what went wrong with the old ones.  The new ones?  They don't seem any better.  I think it's temperature related, actually.  My trunk opened up fully on a few warmer days. 

My heated mirror stopped working, they put a new one on.  I'm not sure it's working now, or if it just doesn't get as hot as my Passat did (when you heated the mirror, if you touched it, you could readily feel the heat), but since then I haven't had icing problems, so no harm, no foul.  10 minutes in the shop, I wasn't even at the dealer for half an hour before my car was done. 

And rust on a car after 4 years?  I thought my brother's car was bad.

[Onslaught]

lol Ford ingenuity for teh win.

You know how it is. Everyone make something one way and it works well. So they have to make something different just to be different.

Kind of like the old twin I-beam

[MX793]

And rust on a car after 4 years?  I thought my brother's car was bad.

I attribute part of it to the number of miles I drive on the NY thruway system.  They don't use regular rock salt in the winter, from what I understand.  I can't remember if they're using Calcium Chloride or Magnesium Chloride these days, but both are more corrosive than regular rock salt.  I remember a couple of years ago, whatever they were spraying on the roads would not come off of your windshield using just the sprayers and wipers, you had to scrub it off.  I think they've switched what they're using because the film seems to come off a little easier this year.

However, I'd also say that there are corrosion issues with these cars.  There was no stone chip where the rust started, it started from the inside of the fender.  I try to wash my car fairly regularly (although I won't wash it when temperatures are well below freezing because the doors and windows end up freezing shut).  There are some Canadian owners that had their cars start rusting worse than mine (same parts of the car) after two or years, and one of them claims they washed it weekly and applied rust-proofing annually.

[Secret Chimp]

Doesn't Mazda offer a good-sized rust-through warranty? I know Honda does.

[MX793]

Doesn't Mazda offer a good-sized rust-through warranty? I know Honda does.

5 year, unlimited miles.  Unfortunately, I don't think there's a hole in the sheetmetal yet (and probably won't be before the 5 year mark, which is coming up in another couple of months).  Canadian owners with rust similar to my own have apparently been told "tough luck" because the warranty is for perforation, not simply corrosion.  I'm going to take it into the dealer and see if they'd be willing to cover fixing it, but I'm not holding my breath.

[S204STi]

Ah yes, they throw in that "perforation" qualifier, as if that makes it any better.  Dicks.

[Secret Chimp]

5 year, unlimited miles.  Unfortunately, I don't think there's a hole in the sheetmetal yet (and probably won't be before the 5 year mark, which is coming up in another couple of months).  Canadian owners with rust similar to my own have apparently been told "tough luck" because the warranty is for perforation, not simply corrosion.  I'm going to take it into the dealer and see if they'd be willing to cover fixing it, but I'm not holding my breath.

Find some acid or some nasty crap to make believable oxidation perforations :P

[Onslaught]

I've never seen any rust on a new Mazda like that. But then again I don't live up north.
I can't believe they wouldn't fix that. I know if we had a car come in with it they would
down here.

I can plasma cut it some if you need holes. 

[AutobahnSHO]

I can plasma cut it some if you need holes. 

That's what I was thinking, just do it early enough the cut rusts up..   :)

[Soup DeVille]

Ha!  My dealership is really obliging when you complain about something.  My trunk struts froze up, so they put new ones in without me even getting a chance to ask what went wrong with the old ones.  The new ones?  They don't seem any better.  I think it's temperature related, actually.  My trunk opened up fully on a few warmer days. 

My heated mirror stopped working, they put a new one on.  I'm not sure it's working now, or if it just doesn't get as hot as my Passat did (when you heated the mirror, if you touched it, you could readily feel the heat), but since then I haven't had icing problems, so no harm, no foul.  10 minutes in the shop, I wasn't even at the dealer for half an hour before my car was done. 

And rust on a car after 4 years?  I thought my brother's car was bad.

My friend's mom bought a Neon new in '98, and there was rust on it when she brought it home from the dealership.

[Eye of the Tiger]

My friend's mom bought a Neon new in '98, and there was rust on it when she brought it home from the dealership.

What, on the exhaust manifold? 

[Soup DeVille]

What, on the exhaust manifold? 

No, on the lip of the rear wheel well.