rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

really, the only life

SamDoe1

Me too, I'm excited to try one out but I'm also worried that the wife, as excited as she is about the Tahoe, is going to make it seem like she's driving a school bus lol.

I showed her the video reviews of the GV80 and she didn't like it so that's off the table unfortunately. At the end of the day this is her car so she has to like it no matter what I think.

I'm already a bit of a small cuck with the veedub...?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

My lady complained about the Burban being too big to drive and park for the first few months and now she loves the damn thing

00TL-P3.2

#MomTank

SamDoe1

Went and looked at the Palisade last week, it's a no go. It's definitely a nice SUV but you can tell where the cheaped out on stuff. The seats are great and the stitching is cool but the dash is full of cheap plastics and stuff. It also drives like any other mid size SUV, not anywhere close to as nicely as the Audi. Also, they aren't willing to budge on price because of demand for them. Guessing the Telluride is going to be pretty much the same but I'll give it a go.

Was supposed to check out the Tahoe and X5 last weekend but there was a Covid case at my daughter's daycare so we're locked down until we can get tested on Wednesday.

Also, big update on the Golf!

It's getting its third oil change this weekend (provided no covid) and continues to soldier on.

00TL-P3.2

Looking forward to your impressions on the Telluride. Hopefully the fit/finish is a bit better than the Palisade.
Minor, but I usually felt that [in higher trims] some of the Kia cars felt a bit nicer inside. Girl in my office has a 2013 or so Optima SX & feels nicer inside than its contemporary Sonata.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I have to feel a connection to the brand...something...some cool history or some cool reputation...
I just can't see it with the Korean twins and yes I know they make some good stuff...
but like when I used to work on my girl's Routan...it was not rewarding and I begrudgingly fixed
and resented every dollar I spent on that chrylser motor.

Maybe I'm a snob...
Toyota, Honda, GM, obvi Audi and Volvo...
I don't know...can't do it.

SamDoe1

I agree. My big thing with the Hyundai is that it was obviously trying to be fake luxury. Just seemed like a poser mobile to me where as a similarly priced Highlander or Pilot isn't trying to fool anyone. You could certainly tell where your money was going with the Audi.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

being in love with the R
I would have leaned toward the Q7 so you stay in the Vag family.
Who doesn't love a VAG anyway. I mean I know a few guys but still.

SamDoe1

Yeah...the R might be shorter lived than planned just because it's quite small for use as baby transport. My plan is to replace it in the next 2ish years and move it on while it's still under factory warranty.

Either way, the Audis are nice. Wife is still partial to a Tahoe but we'll see what she says after driving one.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Literally talking to a coworker looking for advice about going Tahoe

SamDoe1

They are just so damn expensive...and the shitty part is that the new ones have enough tangibly better stuff to make it worthwhile to skip a used one.

00TL-P3.2

Even older ones seem a bit overpriced for the mileage.
$20k for a 10-14 LTZ 4WD with closing in on 200k miles That, and they're almost all black/tan.
I remember Chevrolet doing a really nice green on the 2010 or so Tahoe, but might not have been available on the LTZ.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

dude, they depreciate and they STOP and hold...
it's nuts.

I talked her into a Q7 LOL...

SamDoe1

Yep, it's nuts how good they hold value at that age. Even the ones that are from MY19/MY20 are still up in the 50's to 60's in price for the higher trim models, and those are the previous generation lol.

That's the other issue with Audi is we need a 2020+ model since that's when they refreshed the interior away from the stupid track pad and dial and back to a touch screen.

Ugh, whatever, we'll get there. Not in a huge hurry at this point.

00TL-P3.2

I had a brief thought of going with a 13 or 14 LTZ 4WD, but the pricing at 200k miles is a bit of a turnoff.
JGC still leading the 'flavor of the month'.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

We have a 2015 LTZ with 128K (bought at 111K) and it's been pretty much flawless...
I just disabled AFM on it yesterday...going to do intake valve clean and plugs in the near
future too.

SamDoe1

Got a chance to check out a few other options last weekend. Looked at the 2021 Tahoe and the BMW X5 and X7.

The Tahoe was nice...but it didn't seem like it was worth the $73k MSRP price tag. The front seats were nice and comfy but there was still that level of GM-ness in it that showed where the cost cutting was done. Also, the middle row seats were incredibly narrow even for me as a smaller guy and the materials in the second and third rows were not fitting of a truck with that price tag. That said it was plenty big, drove like a tank and handled everything solidly. Going to have to ding this thing for the quality aspects but otherwise was good. The size and space are huge plusses though so we'll see how that shakes out. Also, a big negative was no bench seat in the higher trim levels which might be a deal breaker for us.

Next up the X5 and X7. X5 is too small for us, it's out of contention. It looks huge on the outside but the inside is no bigger than our Outback. The X7 is amazing, the materials, quality, everything is out of this world. It's a little better than the Q7 but comes with a price tag to match lol. The dealership offered to let us take one for a few hours this weekend so we'll try that out provided we don't get a ton of snow as is forecast right now.

e30cabrio

iTrader: (6)

I love in warranty Audis! :P

csmeance

^Fixed your comment!


after my BMW it's really difficult to imagine another german car out of warranty that costs a bunch to fix. Over 50K in after warranty expenses after factory warranty ended, not including loaners.

The GM SUV's will last forever if you take care of them. There's a nurse at my local hospital who drives her 2000 suburban in to work and it's got over 300K miles from her and her family. She hasn't complained one bit about it.

Avoid any model (GMC Denali?) that uses the 8-spd transmission as they have huge class action lawsuits. GM is saying in court they designed it badly so it's not covered under warranty and customers are SOL currently. Pretty bad move on their part!

SamDoe1

Your BMW was from the era of shit quality and high service costs, the newer ones are a lot better, same with Audis and MB's. The difference is that in the past the luxury cars had so many "exotic" features like screens and turbo engines that made them unreliable POS's after the warranty was up. These days, every car has essentially the same feature set and most parts are procured from the exact same suppliers regardless of what brand you buy. The upside to the luxury models is how they drive and the quality of the interior. I'm not worried about any of the bits inside anymore.

I think the new GM trucks and SUVs have a 10spd auto. Didn't know about all the troubles with the 8spd though...thanks for the heads up! Do you know what model years that applies to?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

GM is GM...no doubt...
cross shopping German higher end will definitely be polarizing.
I actually feel like our LTZ feels pretty luxurious for what it is.

The newer BMW are gorgeous, for sure.

SamDoe1

Definitely. And yeah, it is still luxurious but I just couldn't get past the price tag for what you get... We checked out the Premier trim which I think is the equivalent to the LTZ for the newer ones? Might try and check out a Denali since the price isn't that different and see what that looks like inside.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Yes sir, LTZ is Premier now...
I think that GM is GM is GM from Chevy to GMC to Caddy...
maybe a little more deadening but you'll be disappointed if you go there
after going to an Audi dealership but maybe not if it's right after a Ford dealership

SamDoe1

Ultimately it's the wife's decision since this is to be her car so we'll see what she decides. She's still definitely a badge person though...just not in the way most people are. She's more apt to drive something with a Chevy/GMC badge over a BMW or Audi badge even though they are the exact same price lol.

00TL-P3.2

Did the Telluride get nixed after the Palisade, or you haven't gotten to it yet?

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

I get it, man...
trust me, mine did the same.
I was pushing to try and find an escalade and she was adamant that it was too flashy and she wanted the burban

SamDoe1

Haven't gotten to it yet. They are sold out damn near everywhere.

00TL-P3.2

Slim pickin's even here in Houston.
By the time we're in the market, the JGC-L should be out for a bit. Will have to get my neighbor to demo one home.

csmeance

Well said, but even with the V8's still having issues and all the electronics waiting to break is still a hard pass. One side-camera goes and there's a 1K bill easily.

I think it was 2015-2019 model year GM cars but no clue on the exact models impacted. It's a shiftshow just like ford's Powershift Dual Clutch fiasco.

IMO a newer Suburban/Tahoe carries quite a bit a class/value in wealthy areas. Not flashy yet you get everything you need vs BMW/Audi/Benz.

^ I'm waiting to see how they will hold value vs the burban/tahoe and ford explorer. Seems like a pretty nice vehicle!


EDIT: I drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (2016 year) and it was an excellent vehicle. My only complaints were the amount of bass from the sound system (overbearing at times), clunky infotainment (since improved I hear) and the very soft ride (used to MDX style SUV's). I drove it over 3K miles and was very happy on my daily commute and road trips. Even though FCA has a bad reputation, I'd totally cross-shop a JCG-L with the MDX and other similar vehicles without hesitation.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

maybe specific ones but the Suburban got the 6 speed
we bought at 111 and have 129k now and aside from 2 banged
up magnetic ride shocks for the rear and a buggy ac vent selector
it's been trouble free

SamDoe1

Yep. The real question is how expensive will the new Jeep be and how much does the wife want to roll the dice on one again. I'm fine with the Wrangler, it's frankly too dumb to have issues, but the newer non-Wranglers always seem to end up on the bottom of the reliability pile and I can testify to that after my Cherokee experience.

We were going to go with the I6 motor for the X7 and the V6 for the Q7. The wife has zero desire for more performance, just has to be able to get out of its own way and that's about it. To be honest, the 2.0T in the Q7 was actually more than fine to get around town. The only downside is the tow capacity is limited with the small engine otherwise she'd want that one.

I think you'd see similar repair bills regardless of brand was my point. A camera is a camera and, while the luxury brands may mark up a little, it's still going to cost a ton to fix. Shit, it costs $400 to do an alignment on a VW Golf because they have to realign the driver safety sensors at the same time.

I'd say the Telluride will hold its value about as much as the exploder in the long run. In the short term, they're worth their weight in gold. Neither will do as well as a Tahoe/Suburban or a Denali.

SamDoe1

le sigh...supposed to get 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow so no car shopping this week. Will try and resume next week.

Glad I'm not really in a hurry lol.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Cost of living may be higher but ... us Californian's can look at cars year round!

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

look at it...
LOOK AT IT year round!

SamDoe1

I'm too poor to both live in Cali AND look at cars.

TylerT

iTrader: (1)

Same

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

the hourly rate for Audi is HIGH...
I think higher than Porsche

SamDoe1

Says guy with two owdis an Acura and an elite sports car.

I just have a simple people's car, a Subaru, and what amounts to a covered wagon with a modest engine.

SamDoe1

Quick update. Had the X7 for a few hours last weekend and it's astounding. Super nice, comfy, drives well, high quality, etc all the things. Unfortunately it's rather expensive at MSRP and the dealers aren't willing to move on price right now since there's apparently a shortage of cars due to the computer chip thing. They were only offering 2% off MSRP so I just declined. That's way more than I want to spend. Wife wants to look at the Subaru Ascent next weekend as it's half the price of the other options and wants to see what we'd be missing out on by going cheaper which is totally fair.

In other news, I picked up an OEM Mopar steel front bumper for the Jeep that will look really nice compared to the crappy plastic one that's on there now. Comes with the bumper ends that are removable and LED fog lights along with a steel skid plate for the sway bar disconnect module. Excited to get that thing installed once it's decent outside again.