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A nice pic from yesterday's Cleveland Cars and Coffee at Porsche of Beachwood.
Forecast called for rain. Was dry at my house. Started raining as I drove up I-271 to Beachwood. At the exit before my intended exit, we had nearly whiteout conditions all of a sudden and the road turned super-slushy. Of course, I was on summer rubber, PSS. Because I was so close, I made the executive decision to keep going, as I would have had to track back in all that snow anyway. It was slooooooow going but I didn't spin out.
Had a good time anyway, and as I was leaving, someone else snapped this pic of my wagon leaving and posted it on Facbook. It's now one of my favorite action pictures of my V and I'll have to ask the guy for a high-res picture.
I avoided the highway on the way home to keep things slow and steady. This happened so fast no salt trucks were out, so a plus is that I had no salt to wash off, yay!
I put a set of A/S 3's on my car a couple of years ago so I could drive it in the cold, and just in case I ran into a situation like you did.
I give you credit because I would have crapped myself if I had to drive in that on the summer tires... I'm glad you made it home with no issues..
I just found video of my wagon being pushed into Cars and Coffee last month, the same session that my picture from above is in. Was interesting for me to note. My wagon's at 0:55 or so.
I assume there was a little bit of puckering going on at some moments.
Yes, and not just from ducking Mustang drivers! It was a long, SLOW drive home in the snow on summer tires. Definitely a memorable meet given there was still a great turnout!
Five-year report in the 6MT V wagon. tl;dr=reliable and awesome.
I can't believe it's been two months since I posted on AZ. Feels like forever. Sorry for the absence, all, it's the longest I've been away in the 16 years I've been on the forum! Just have had other priorities in life. To keep up with me a little more easily, I have a pretty active Instagram account with mostly car stuff. https://www.instagram.com/neuronbob/
Anyway....to make up for my absence....here's my five-year 6MT V wagon report.
As you know, I have done periodic follow-ups on my '13 6MT V wagon and the '09 6AT V sedan I owned before it.
Can you believe I've had a CTS-V of some kind in my garage for NINE years as of March? I owned my '09 sedan from 3/09 (new) until I took delivery of my '13 6MT V wagon with Recaros and roof on 12/13/2012.
Primary message of this post is that these cars are RELIABLE. I've never been stranded at the side of the road, ever, in either of my Vs other than the one flat I had in my '09 eight years ago....and I've had a spare ever since, so that'll never happen again.
I've been driving it less and sharing the "fun" car duty with my 1999 NSX. As it sits today, the car has 40,519 miles on it. In the last year, I've driven it 2920 miles. I've occasionally thought of selling but always changed my mind after a spirited drive in the car. I love it, I have fun in it, and I occasionally carry stuff in it. Car still smells almost new.
Some statistics:
Oil changes: 7 (due for my yearly oil change now so it'll be 8 soon)
Diff oil changes: 3 (due for another now, I try to do it every 10k miles)
Rear diffs: 1 (yes, I am STILL on the original thanks to regular diff oil changes)
Superchargers: 2 (original replaced back in 2014)
Sets of summer tires: 2. 1st lasted around 18k miles. Now around 13k on PSS, will replace tires when it gets warm because of age and rears are at about 3 mm
Sets of winter tires: 1 (around 9k, still good, still have to put them on for the season)
Here's my Fuelly:
As of today, I have tracked every mile I've driven in this car on Fuelly.
I've done 182 fillups, with the last one on 12/3/2017, just before the five-year anniversary.
$9746.50 on fuel
$53.55 per fillup on average since I wait until I get the warning to fill up
24 cents per mile on fuel.
2737.77 gallons of gas pumped/burned by me in the lifetime of the car. (not including the tank it came from the factory with)
That works out to 65.2 barrels of oil consumed by me in five years.
I've been to the dealer three times in five years for unexpected service, and all of those came early in the car's life with me:
1 for supercharger fail, 1 for paint fail due to premature rust of the left rear body panel in 2014, and driver's door handle fail in 2015, all taken care of under warranty.
I had the rear shocks replaced about six months ago, out of warranty, and I plan to have the fronts done this year as they are going as well.
This car has been easy to take care of. The only issue I have now is that the passenger's side rear door has multiple paint chips where the wife's car door indiscriminatly hit my car. I have to have the door repainted as a result. I now keep the car covered at all times when I'm not driving it, and most of the time, the NSX (a small, short car) sits in the garage space next door so wife's huge Enclave is no longer an issue.
Car still is only modded with Airaid intake and Stainless Works exhaust, both have held up well.
Again, my wagon is pretty reliable, fun, and practical. If you want to buy a used V, buy in general (not mine, it's not for sale, LOL) with confidence provided you can prove the car was well cared for.
buy in general (not mine, it's not for sale, LOL) with confidence provided you can prove the car was well cared for.
That's awesome, Bob! I used to think I might be a little neurotic, tracking every fill-up and maintenance but see I'm in good company. I mean, you're perfectly normal, right?
The V is such a huge unreliable piece of scrap.
I had to change the battery last week..
Going on 8 years and 103k miles and the battery goes out. -Majofo
Since the computer got a refresh
I got to see what my mileage really is (minus the eco-driving the wife does)
I think the OG battery still has legs
I haven't exchanged it for a core return yet
I'm usually one to squeeze the life out of everything
But I didn't want to mess around since the wife drives the V quite often.
I got a Autocraft AGM (Johnson Controls) for super low.
It fired up real strong. Hopefully it lives as long or longer than the OE battery.
The V is such a huge unreliable piece of scrap. I had to change the battery last week..
Going on 8 years and 103k miles and the battery goes out. -Majofo
Since the computer got a refresh
I got to see what my mileage really is (minus the eco-driving the wife does)
Totally unacceptable, I hope you wrote GM a letter.....LOL
Incredible to think you got 8 years out of the original battery. By comparison, over the years in two different Acuras I had two OEM Acura batteries die on me (without warning) right around the magical 3 to 3.5 year mark in which they're known to fail. (1) 3.5 years @ approx 35K miles (2) Almost 3 yrs @ approx 18K.. If I remember correctly.
Yeah, pretty standard battery replacement interval. I had two batteries die within a week of the 36 month warranty. One a week before and another a week after (dead cell on both). The one after warranty was at least prorated.
^ Coincidentally I just purchased a new battery for my Charger this morning right before clicking on this thread. Original battery, too. Having it in the trunk really does help.
Congrats on 5 years (9 total!) with the V, Bob! Great write up. Love hearing its been reliable for you. And oh man how I can totally relate to the door dings from the wifey (but mostly my 6 y/o son for me) ha ha!
I lit my tires up repeatedly this morning.
That's how 2018 will be...
Great post, Bob...love the update, thank you.
My wagon's been covered in the garage during this cold snap. Gotta protect the rest of the paint from Wifey, after all! As soon as we get the January thaw, it's coming out again and I'll light up what's left of my rear tires, too.
Glad to hear it is staying in your garage and not going anywhere. Thanks for the update.
If you ever did sell I would really have to consider it as I love that color combo you have and since my gf refuses to drive the car cause she says she can't see out of the back I should have gotten a manual anyways.
Glad to hear it is staying in your garage and not going anywhere. Thanks for the update.
If you ever did sell I would really have to consider it as I love that color combo you have and since my gf refuses to drive the car cause she says she can't see out of the back I should have gotten a manual anyways.
The only reason I don't take it out when it's actively snowing is because I don't want the passenger side rear fender panel to rust prematurely like the driver's side did.....though at the same time, I almost wish it would so I can get it fixed under the rust warranty.
Originally Posted by CCColtsicehockey
Glad to hear it is staying in your garage and not going anywhere. Thanks for the update.
If you ever did sell I would really have to consider it as I love that color combo you have and since my gf refuses to drive the car cause she says she can't see out of the back I should have gotten a manual anyways.
Originally Posted by rockstar143
Everyone wants Bob's Milkshake, FYI.
Everyone likes the crazy blue. Cadillac got it just right.
A blueberry milkshake? I could go for that.
Originally Posted by rockstar143
sub'd for 5 year update on the RLX hybrid
I ended the lease on my RLX Sport Hybrid a few months early. I had electrical issues with the car and Acura let me out of the lease ahead of its usual three-month pull-ahead. I have been leasing a Still Night Blue (that color is fire! ) TLX A-Spec SH-AWD for the last seven months. The only flaw with that car is that it doesn't come in a manual. It would be PERFECT with a manual. Still surprisingly fun to drive, though.
Originally Posted by KaMLuNg
Bob's line for cars...
Vagon:
1.) Colts
NSX:
1.) Kam
The itch for NSX 2.0 has cooled somewhat, so it ain't happening for a while. If I sell my 1999 NSX, though, you definitely get first pick....but you gots ta pay!
blueberry milkshake it is...
let the V do the mixing too...
V in the snow must be a fucking joke when you WANT to lose the ass end...it's so easy on new pavement in a light drizzle, I can only imagine.
I know it, I was busting your chops about the RLX. My mother in law has a red aspec and I absolutely love how it looks...a manual would make that car a contender for me!
Celebrating ten years of CTS-V ownership in the next few days. That's one fifth of my entire life! Go back to the beginning of this thread to share in my celebration of my first V, then later in the thread the excitement over the über-rare 6MT CTS-V wagon. The wagon is still stock other than intake and exhaust. It's now got 43,122 well-loved miles on it. Other than my S2000, which I kept for eight years, the V wagon has been the car I've kept the longest in my personal fleet at 6 1/4 years. It's even survived my occasional temptation to trade it for a NC1 NSX.
05-18-2016, 04:51 PM
It was a long, SLOW drive home in the snow on summer tires. Definitely a memorable meet given there was still a great turnout!
I owned my '09 sedan from 3/09 (new) until I took delivery of my '13 6MT V wagon with Recaros and roof on 12/13/2012.
I now keep the car covered at all times when I'm not driving it, and most of the time, the NSX (a small, short car) sits in the garage space next door so wife's huge Enclave is no longer an issue.
-Majofo
) TLX A-Spec SH-AWD for the last seven months. The only flaw with that car is that it doesn't come in a manual. It would be PERFECT with a manual. Still surprisingly fun to drive, though.
