@NT2C You should wait on buying a new vehicle until the new vehicle crash happens.

All dealers are currently overstocked and can't sell their current stock. Google it.

Quote from: MacWa77ace on March 15, 2024, 04:38:49 PM@NT2C You should wait on buying a new vehicle until the new vehicle crash happens.

All dealers are currently overstocked and can't sell their current stock. Google it.

I know.  It's already started up here with the dealer we bought our Jeep from. 

If I had the money for a new vehicle, I'd be looking seriously at the Ford Maverick. 

You didn't mention towing capacity so I suggest the Subaru Crosstrek. It is one of the cheapest new cars in the US currently and fits all of your requirements. Dealer installed tow capacity is 1500lbs. You can easily get out the door for under $28K brand new with some nice options. I have owned at least five Subarus in my life and every one of them has been reliable as an atomic clock.

The only problem you might have is finding one. They became the best selling vehicle in their lineup due to the attractive price, reliability, low maintenance, AWD, good size, etc.

You can also get it equipped with Starlink, which give you web access world wide (for the subscription fee)

If you need more towing, the Forrester will tow 3000lbs, but it will cost you around $5k more. It is also a bit more roomy.

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on March 18, 2024, 12:51:23 PMYou didn't mention towing capacity so I suggest the Subaru Crosstrek. It is one of the cheapest new cars in the US currently and fits all of your requirements. Dealer installed tow capacity is 1500lbs. You can easily get out the door for under $28K brand new with some nice options. I have owned at least five Subarus in my life and every one of them has been reliable as an atomic clock.

The only problem you might have is finding one. They became the best selling vehicle in their lineup due to the attractive price, reliability, low maintenance, AWD, good size, etc.

You can also get it equipped with Starlink, which give you web access world wide (for the subscription fee)

If you need more towing, the Forrester will tow 3000lbs, but it will cost you around $5k more. It is also a bit more roomy.

Yes, I should have mentioned that our current trailer weighs in (loaded) at ~5,000 lbs. and we're looking at a larger one.  Our Jeep has a 6,500 lb. tow capacity.

Quote from: NT2C on March 18, 2024, 01:09:29 PM

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on March 18, 2024, 12:51:23 PMYou didn't mention towing capacity so I suggest the Subaru Crosstrek. It is one of the cheapest new cars in the US currently and fits all of your requirements. Dealer installed tow capacity is 1500lbs. You can easily get out the door for under $28K brand new with some nice options. I have owned at least five Subarus in my life and every one of them has been reliable as an atomic clock.

The only problem you might have is finding one. They became the best selling vehicle in their lineup due to the attractive price, reliability, low maintenance, AWD, good size, etc.

You can also get it equipped with Starlink, which give you web access world wide (for the subscription fee)

If you need more towing, the Forrester will tow 3000lbs, but it will cost you around $5k more. It is also a bit more roomy.

Yes, I should have mentioned that our current trailer weighs in (loaded) at ~5,000 lbs. and we're looking at a larger one.  Our Jeep has a 6,500 lb. tow capacity.

Then I suggest finding a virgin to lure that unicorn in or busting out your big boy wallet. You could get by with a gently used Nissan Frontier but a new one is going to run over $45k. There really aren't any economy vehicles that will tow heavy loads. Even a Ford Maverick, the cheapest truck out there at $28K, will only tow 4000lbs.

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on March 18, 2024, 01:14:49 PM

Quote from: NT2C on March 18, 2024, 01:09:29 PM

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on March 18, 2024, 12:51:23 PMYou didn't mention towing capacity so I suggest the Subaru Crosstrek. It is one of the cheapest new cars in the US currently and fits all of your requirements. Dealer installed tow capacity is 1500lbs. You can easily get out the door for under $28K brand new with some nice options. I have owned at least five Subarus in my life and every one of them has been reliable as an atomic clock.

The only problem you might have is finding one. They became the best selling vehicle in their lineup due to the attractive price, reliability, low maintenance, AWD, good size, etc.

You can also get it equipped with Starlink, which give you web access world wide (for the subscription fee)

If you need more towing, the Forrester will tow 3000lbs, but it will cost you around $5k more. It is also a bit more roomy.

Yes, I should have mentioned that our current trailer weighs in (loaded) at ~5,000 lbs. and we're looking at a larger one.  Our Jeep has a 6,500 lb. tow capacity.

Then I suggest finding a virgin to lure that unicorn in or busting out your big boy wallet. You could get by with a gently used Nissan Frontier but a new one is going to run over $45k. There really aren't any economy vehicles that will tow heavy loads. Even a Ford Maverick, the cheapest truck out there at $28K, will only tow 4000lbs.

I agree with you, but my wife is not easy to convince.

The Nissan Extera would probably have been your best option but they quit making them in 2015. You might be able to get a 5-6 year old Tahoe that would fit the bill at $18-25k but condition and mileage are everything. If you don't have cash, financing a used vehicle in this market is going to be rough. Even Super Prime credit will be at least 7.5%. Prime you are looking at 10%

Quote from: Uomo Senza Nome on March 18, 2024, 02:10:07 PMThe Nissan Extera would probably have been your best option but they quit making them in 2015. You might be able to get a 5-6 year old Tahoe that would fit the bill at $18-25k but condition and mileage are everything. If you don't have cash, financing a used vehicle in this market is going to be rough. Even Super Prime credit will be at least 7.5%. Prime you are looking at 10%

My bank already quoted us 6.19% for 35k

After that situation last week where I wasn't able to help out with the kid who had a flat tire who didn't have the right socket for the job, I went ahead and bought some additional tire-related stuff and put it into my truck.  This included a lug nut socket set, an 18-inch breaker bar, and a valve stem core tool with 4 replacement valve cores.  The core tool/cores and some spare valve stem caps all went into my air compressor bag.  The breaker bar and lug nut sockets went into the tool bag.  I tested the sockets on both of my vehicles and they fit just fine (21mm on the car and 22mm on the truck).  

I've also discovered that Blaster makes 4 oz mini-cans of penetrating oil and will be picking some of those up for each vehicle the next time I'm at Home Depot.  Given how most tire shops have their impact wrenches set to Superman levels of torque, penetrating oil can be very helpful to get lug nuts off by hand! 

4 new wheel bearings.  Once the first one is figured out, the rest go a bit faster.

Quote from: wolf_from_wv on March 29, 2024, 10:12:59 PM4 new wheel bearings.  Once the first one is figured out, the rest go a bit faster.

Which two wheels?

Wheel bearing hub assemblies.

I hit a pothole and lost a hubcap.  Then, that wheel started making a loud whining sound going down the road.

At least it wasn't like the car where they had to be pressed in, since I don't have a hydraulic press.

Quote from: majorhavoc on March 15, 2024, 05:49:31 PMIf I had the money for a new vehicle, I'd be looking seriously at the Ford Maverick.

My first car was a Maverick.  Big four-door green one.  It blew a piston when I didn't put oil in it that one day (it had just been filled up the day before!).

Several years later, I had a Ford Taurus.  I was turning left into a grocery store parking lot and the front passenger wheel took off to the right.

If I ever decide to get a Ford again, it'll be a Toyota.

I do have the super cool emblem from my Maverick around here somewhere.  I do love that thing.

Vacuumed out all the dirt that's been accumulating all winter. Consolidated my map and documentation binders to one. I used to keep vehicle documentation on one and maps in another so I could take the maps in another vehicle if needed, but after driving the wife's car on a couple trips its just not comfortable to drive so I take mine anywhere long trips so I don't need to worry about transferring any gear anymore.

I got in a newer Rand McNally road atlas. 

I may need a new windshield.  There seems to be some kind of etching like somebody poured a chemical on it or something and I can't get it to wash off inside or out.  I assume it was deliberate because there is also a smiley face smeared in that won't wash off and it's only on the driver's side.  

I didn't drive the van for so long that I don't know when it happened and I'm not seeing anything on the current camera footage, so it may have been overwritten by now.  

Any idea what this could be and if there's some way to fix it?  I don't really notice it on overcast days, but when the sun's shining, it catches the light and makes driving near impossible.

I messed up a windshield using windex on it. the ammonia in windex softens the anti glare coating on automotive windows.

Quote from: eugenenine on March 31, 2024, 05:54:42 PMI messed up a windshield using windex on it. the ammonia in windex softens the anti glare coating on automotive windows.

Were you able to remedy that or did you have to replace the windshield?

To this day, I have a faint "4" scratched into the glass on my car.  It's from a carwash that used a bar of soap to indicate which package you purchased.  Unfortunately, there was some grit embedded in the soap, so when the employee wrote the number on my car, it left scratches which are still there 15 years later.

On my previous car, I'd treated the windshield with some rain repellent.  When I had a chip repaired, the torch the guy used in the process burned the repellent away on that part of the windshield.  Unfortunately, the treatment was no longer available (STP VisionBlade), so I wasn't able to re-treat the windshield.  For the rest of the time I had that car, I just had to live with a big spot right in the middle where the rain / snow acted differently.

You might try cleaning your windshield with something like Invisible Glass cleaner.  Use either microfiber cloth, or newspaper and see if that combo will remove it.  If that doesn't work, maybe check with a glass repair place to see if they have any suggestions.  They might be able to recommend a product, or clean / polish it out without needing to replace the glass.

Quote from: Anianna on March 31, 2024, 06:08:41 PM

Quote from: eugenenine on March 31, 2024, 05:54:42 PMI messed up a windshield using windex on it. the ammonia in windex softens the anti glare coating on automotive windows.

Were you able to remedy that or did you have to replace the windshield?

It was a Dodgelemon so we didn't have it too much longer.