[kraft.wagen]

Any reviews on FJ Cruiser? One of my friend is looking to buy a SUV and likes the FJC. Is it good car for city/hwy?
Budget is around 25-30k

[NinadJoshi]

FJ Cruiser is good for anything, basically. In case of the FJC, wysiwyg. If one is a lone ranger with hobbies of a lone ranger then yes, this is it.

I had someone with a 2008 Cruiser in my circle but we've lost contact since a few years ago.

Although it can take you practically anywhere, it is not much of a people mover. Lack of interior space may not make it feasible as a family SUV. Also, be ready for extremely lousy mpg numbers...13 to 15 city and maybe 20 on a good day on the highway.

[mohit]

FJC also has very bad rear visibility. If you like that class of vehicles, a 4Runner will be a better bet. It will have similar abilities, MPG and reliability but is more spacious and has better sightlines all around.

[Fraz33r]

Question:

I just took delivery of my 328i. Staying in an apartment complex I don't have the luxury of garaging my car or Car ports. How do I wash my car? I don't want to drive it through an automatic car wash at all and do not know what they are using for soap.

For detailing : I have bought California Duster and Meguair's Quick detailer. But need to wash my car even before I use it. Has anyone used Seal protection on their Windshields?

[kraft.wagen]

Originally Posted by NinadJoshi

FJ Cruiser is good for anything, basically. In case of the FJC, wysiwyg. If one is a lone ranger with hobbies of a lone ranger then yes, this is it.

I had someone with a 2008 Cruiser in my circle but we've lost contact since a few years ago.

Although it can take you practically anywhere, it is not much of a people mover. Lack of interior space may not make it feasible as a family SUV. Also, be ready for extremely lousy mpg numbers...13 to 15 city and maybe 20 on a good day on the highway.

Yea its primarily a lone ranger. I'm wondering how would be the maintenance.

Originally Posted by mohit

FJC also has very bad rear visibility. If you like that class of vehicles, a 4Runner will be a better bet. It will have similar abilities, MPG and reliability but is more spacious and has better sightlines all around.

Yea, I suggested the 4runner too, but he felt it was over spacious(weird!) and the handling wasn't great.
For now he is going by the looks only of the FJC. We will TD this week and see how it goes.

I was also suggesting he look at Wrangler Sport with the hard top.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by mohit

FJC also has very bad rear visibility.

It seems to have bad front visibility too.

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Question:

I just took delivery of my 328i. Staying in an apartment complex I don't have the luxury of garaging my car or Car ports. How do I wash my car? I don't want to drive it through an automatic car wash at all and do not know what they are using for soap.

For detailing : I have bought California Duster and Meguair's Quick detailer. But need to wash my car even before I use it. Has anyone used Seal protection on their Windshields?

Use Optimum No Rinse to wash the car, using micro fiber cloth. And then put on a couple of layers of any good wax. Quick Detailer wont last long. For winters, take it to a car wash only after you've driven it on roads that have been salted. You need to get rid of the salt from the underbody. Best would be to just get the underbody washed and leave rest of the car as is.

[mohit]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

Yea, I suggested the 4runner too, but he felt it was over spacious(weird!) and the handling wasn't great.
For now he is going by the looks only of the FJC. We will TD this week and see how it goes.

I was also suggesting he look at Wrangler Sport with the hard top.

Nissan Xterra will also be a viable option. Its smaller than a 4Runner and quite capable.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

I just took delivery of my 328i. Staying in an apartment complex I don't have the luxury of garaging my car or Car ports. How do I wash my car? I don't want to drive it through an automatic car wash at all and do not know what they are using for soap.

For detailing : I have bought California Duster and Meguair's Quick detailer. But need to wash my car even before I use it. Has anyone used Seal protection on their Windshields?

Do you have a hose outlet? I know it's difficult as apartment complexes generally don't allow you to wash cars in the common areas.

There are touch-less self wash car washes scattered but you'll have to do a search. There you can bring your own cleaning materials and just use water from the car wash. There are a lot of them around the Baltimore area. Unfortunately, very few up north.
You will be sure to find a well reviewed hand wash garage around their area. They usually cost around $20-$30.

My cousin had one of his cars detailed somewhere around Waltham / Framingham. If you want I can find out details.

Look up the New England / Boston section of E90Post. You'll get better information on there.

[Fraz33r]

Could not find the Optimum no rinse in Advance Auto parts might as well order from Amazon.

Originally Posted by aah78

There are touch-less self wash car washes scattered but you'll have to do a search. There you can bring your own cleaning materials and just use water from the car wash.

I just googled and found out one close to my place. They are under maintenance for a couple of weeks but will be available afterwards. He said you can use water with hose for something like a dollar per 4 min. I will find out soon. Till then I will hold off the car wash and use the California Duster for now.

Thanks.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Could not find the Optimum no rinse in Advance Auto parts might as well order from Amazon.

Yeah its available online only. Sometimes they throw in a free goodie too. I got a small bottle of their new wax complimentary.

[rajushank84]

Fraz33r, I think you mentioned you're in California in some other thread, I'm not sure which area you are in. Not sure if this helps, but I do my car wash at the hand wash shop near Aapa Kadai / Bangalore Cafe on El camino real in Santa Clara. They are open sat and Sunday morning to noon, seem to do a good job and they charge 10 bucks.

Side note: if you are going there, don't miss the badam halwa from Bangalore cafe in that same plaza. Pricey but worth it

EDIT: never mind. I mistook you for someone else who had posted about driving on calaveras blvd. I looked in full web version and it shows your location correctly. Sorry about that.

[gatham.psb]

Originally Posted by rajushank84

Fraz33r, I think you mentioned you're in California in some other thread, I'm not sure which area you are in. Not sure if this helps, but I do my car wash at the hand wash shop near Aapa Kadai / Bangalore Cafe on El camino real in Santa Clara. They are open sat and Sunday morning to noon, seem to do a good job and they charge 10 bucks.

Side note: if you are going there, don't miss the badam halwa from Bangalore cafe in that same plaza. Pricey but worth it

EDIT: never mind. I mistook you for someone else who had posted about driving on calaveras blvd. I looked in full web version and it shows your location correctly. Sorry about that.

Hey Rajushank84, it was me talking about the calaveras blvd. Have been to Bangalore cafe and had the badam halwa.

Hows the car wash there? I normally get my car hand washed at premier car wash on Montague. These guys do a good job, but on few places they have left swirl marks. Have to live with it and the dark color.

[rajushank84]

Hey Gatham

I found their car wash quite good. Not sure what soap they use but the car didn't have any swirl marks on spots or anything. It's been sometime since I did the was though. I suggest give them a try.

[amitoj]

Yesterday my hunt for a family hauler started with a visit to a couple of dealers. Honda Pilot is ruled out because the last row is really not of much use and the boot space then becomes minimal. Odyssey didnt look too bad in comparison either.

I intend to check out the 2014 Traverse some time this week as well.

Another avenue that I am going to explore is the option of leasing a vehicle this time, now that I have built up some credit history and a decent credit score as well. The plus side of leasing would be that I would be able to keep my Charger for a bit longer due to (hopefully) lower upfront cost of leasing.

[Superleggera]

Did you check out Toyota Highlander? An all-new model will be coming soon, so 2013 models are going a bit cheap. 4Runner is a nice option too.