getting screwed by GM, on the back end

[CALL_911]

What's wrong with it?  Maybe a little too police vehicle looking.  Other than the wheels, it looks pretty cool to me. 

Probably because I just visited the Ford museum in Detroit, but the Lincoln's are looking pretty nice.  Yeah, they're gussied up Fords but so are a lot of other luxury nameplate vehicles (the Infiniti JX is a gussied up Nissan Pathfinder). Resale I'm assuming would majorly suck with any Lincoln and so I might go the MDX route.  It'll depend on the test drive. 

All of this ultimately depends on what GM says is wrong with car but my hunch is the transmission is f__ked.

Just screams "fat middle age guy who thinks he's the man when he talks about tits and beer"

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that Explorer is trying too hard to look cool imo

[GoCougs]

You could try to see if they'd be flexible with you being just out of warranty, especially if you're a loyal customer at the dealership.

Dealerships do it all the time - "good will" warranty claim or some such.

[veeman]

Of course the coolest looking of all these cats is a Land Rover LR4.  And it's comparable in cost to some of the other cars I'm considering. 

Servicing one of those is very costly and reliability is atrocious.  Can't justify it.

[veeman]

Just screams "fat middle age guy who thinks he's the man when he talks about tits and beer"

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that Explorer is trying too hard to look cool imo

I can see that. 

[CALL_911]

Used Touareg, anyone?

[68_427]

No third row.  I like the JX but I think a MDX is a smarter decision.

[SVT32V]

The new Explorer in all black looks kinda badass.

It looks like an ecoboost V6 sport model, which is just damn fast for its class. Hard to find another 7 seater (other than the ecoboost flex) that is faster under $50K.
0-60 in 5.9 sec, not bad for such a large vehicle and certainly justifies the swag in the way it is fitted.

[SVT666]

That is totally badass.  I like the tint too.  Not so sure about the aftermarket wheels.  The overall look of this car would be hilarious as my wife's car but she might go for it.

Those wheels are stock.

[veeman]

Those wheels are stock.

You're right.  Wasn't used to seeing a black stock wheel.  They actually don't look too bad.

[AutobahnSHO]

  A black sienna with tinted windows still doesn't look cool.  It's hard to define cool looking.   It may be undefinable.  The new Kia minivan coming out, at least in pictures, looks pretty cool.  The flex I like.  It has a certain retro airstream flair to it.  My wife hates it however so it's an absolute no go.

I saw a dark blue-grey Sienna this morning with dark (gunmetal?) OEM wheels, looked quite nice.

[AutobahnSHO]

It looks like an ecoboost V6 sport model, which is just damn fast for its class. Hard to find another 7 seater (other than the ecoboost flex) that is faster under $50K.
0-60 in 5.9 sec, not bad for such a large vehicle and certainly justifies the swag in the way it is fitted.

They look good in white and red too.

[Lebowski]

That Explorer does not look cool at all imo

+1

Nothing specifically "wrong" with it, it just looks like a generic Detroit product that they've guzzied up with "sporty" touches like the wheels.  I don't think it's bad looking, just not good looking.

But, it might be your best bet if you go new.

[hotrodalex]

They look good in white and red too.

If you get white with a roof rack you can look like a cop car!

[Lebowski]

I just got done paying off this car a few months ago and I was so looking forward to having it for two more years saving 800+ dollars a month. 

If it's been reliable other than this issue, IMO your best bet is to get it repaired and keep driving it. You like it, it's paid off, and it will be far cheaper overall than a new vehicle even with the occasional out of warranty repair.

On the warranty, I brought my C6 in for something like a couple weeks after my warranty expired, and they covered a repair under warranty anyway (can't remember what the repair was). So it does/can happen I guess, I wouldn't count on it but it's worth trying.

On the LR4, I agree it is a good looker for SUVs w/ that seating capacity. I looked at it when I got the 4runner and was surprised how much I liked it. In the end I couldn't justify the price difference, plus I felt it would have higher maintenance, worse reliability, and worse resale vs a Toyota. EPA gas mileage was abysmal too.

[thewizard16]

You're right.  Wasn't used to seeing a black stock wheel.  They actually don't look too bad.

The couple a few houses over from me has an Explorer that looks exactly like that one and it looks pretty entertaining for an SUV. They also have a red C6 Corvette and motorcycles though, so I assume they try to avoid things that let their pulse drop below 100 while driving.

[SJ_GTI]

If it's been reliable other than this issue, IMO your best bet is to get it repaired and keep driving it. You like it, it's paid off, and it will be far cheaper overall than a new vehicle even with the occasional out of warranty repair.

Certainly don't want to tell someone to keep a car they are worried about, but Lebowski's post describes my thoughts perfectly.

FWIW, I had my entire transmission placed (under warranty). Have no had a problem with it since and I do not expect any additional issues, so I am planning to keep it as long as possible. Even if it does break again...seems unlikely that it would be more expensive than buying an entirely new car anyway...so I would still probably keep it.

[Lebowski]

Certainly don't want to tell someone to keep a car they are worried about, but Lebowski's post describes my thoughts perfectly.

FWIW, I had my entire transmission placed (under warranty). Have no had a problem with it since and I do not expect any additional issues, so I am planning to keep it as long as possible. Even if it does break again...seems unlikely that it would be more expensive than buying an entirely new car anyway...so I would still probably keep it.

Jeeze ... Did they tell you how much that would have been out of warranty?

[Raza]

Just screams "fat middle age guy who thinks he's the man when he talks about tits and beer"

I guess what I'm trying to say is, that Explorer is trying too hard to look cool imo

Explorer definitely looks like it's trying too hard.

[Lebowski]

On the explorer, I'd add that usually when Detroit takes a generic looking product and tries to make it look cool, it ages terribly.

[SVT32V]

If I was to buy a new seven seater it would be between the Ecoboost Flex. Something likable about the supersized mini cooper design that can do the 1/4 in triple digits.


Or the good handling (for the size) durango hemi limited.

[CALL_911]

On the explorer, I'd add that usually when Detroit takes a generic looking product and tries to make it look cool, it ages terribly.

[SVT32V]

Nah, the explorer looks fine. I don't even want to like it but it is a good clean design that should have some extra styling associated with the performance of the TT ecoboost. Much better looking than the lowlander or pathloser.


An old SHO was also just a little flashy (and aged quite well) but could also back it up in the performance column (like the explorer) unlike the chevy crap in your picture.

[veeman]

Woo-Hoo!!  Chevy Celebrity...   I have a special fondness for the crappyness of the Chevy  Celebrity as my parents owned one from '84 - '94 (though not the "Eurosport" version).  I drove that thing during my teenage years.  It was actually reliable...just shitty.  90 horsepower 2.5 L iron duke engine.

My Dad would drive cars from this era until the last ounce of life was squeezed from them.  The Celebrity had over 200 thousand miles on it when finally the engine caught fire killing the car.  He saved money doing that but it was a pain in the ass dealing with mechanics, logistics of not having a car because it's in the shop, and being stranded which happened to me at least once every few months.  I don't need to or want to do that so I'm weary of getting the transmission fixed only to deal with some other pain in the ass issue a few weeks later.

Psychologically all of this is coming to mind now because I currently most probably have a transmission problem with this car.  If the car was running fine, I wouldn't be thinking of any of this stuff.  The getting screwed part is the poor resale.  I knew this going in but I was thinking to be driving worry free this car for 7 or so years; not 5, particularly because I just finished paying the car off.

It all depends on what the dealer says this Monday.  Transmissions done: I'm not paying 1000 - 4000 dollars to get it fixed, then pay another 1000 dollars to get the major 100,000 mile service where they change all the fluids and spark plugs, only to have one of the HID headlights go out 2 weeks later because the car is getting old and spend a few hundred to get that replaced, and then a few weeks later something else happens to it.  These things would happen anyway with or without the transmission issue...  Yeah I know.

Very difficult for me to fix the transmission and then convince myself the car is long trip road worthy anymore. 

[SJ_GTI]

Jeeze ... Did they tell you how much that would have been out of warranty?

I never asked.

The transmission was working mostly OK. There was just a little "click" I could feel when going in to 3rd gear. I figured it was a bad synchro or something along those lines.

The dealer figured it would be an easy fix and gave me a loaner (rental), expecting it to be fixed in a couple days. But once they got in to it they couldn't figure out what was wrong. Eventually Audi told them to just replace the entire transmission, so they gave me a Q7 for a week or so (it was cheaper to give me a used Q7 for a while instead of letting me keep the rental indefinitely) while they flew in the new transmission and installed it.

I am sure it was expensive, but its not like the car would have left me stranded. It was a barely noticeable defect.

[sparkplug]

Replacing tranny is cheaper than car but if you do decide to replace vehicle, edmonds the web site  like their ford flex so much they extended the test to 100,000 miles. They loved the car. Despite the fact it resembles a hearse.

[Soup DeVille]

Replacing tranny is cheaper than car but if you do decide to replace vehicle, edmonds the web site  like their ford flex so much they extended the test to 100,000 miles. They loved the car. Despite the fact it resembles a hearse.

You're implying that's a bad thing?


The only reason I don't own a hearse now is that I don't have an indoor parking spot for it, and the wife doesn't want one parked in the driveway.

[SVT32V]

You're implying that's a bad thing?


The only reason I don't own a hearse now is that I don't have an indoor parking spot for it, and the wife doesn't want one parked in the driveway.

I assume you are a fan of the movie "Harold and Maude" and the E-type hearse.

[ifcar]

^Which, in fact, came about because a lady nixed the idea of a traditional hearse in her driveway.

[sparkplug]

did they just cut of the legs of the dead to get them to fit. Or is that a hearse for children.

[hotrodalex]

Hearse for ants