[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by torque!!

I know that I'll be able to rent a car using my Indian DL till I get a new US DL. However, I wanted to check if rental companies accept the booklet style (handwritten) India DL or do they only accept the Card style DL? I don't think I have enough time to get my Indian DL converted to the smartcard style DL. Inputs appreciated...

Originally Posted by gomzi

I had rented cars from hertz and avis from the international airports on my Indian DL + IDP without any problems.
My Indian DL is still the card type. They were ok with any format as long as its readable in English.

I think as long as it is in English, it is fine. However, it is still a good idea to have a smart card DL - makes it much easier.

That said, how about insurance on your rental? If you are using a corporate credit card, it should be covered, otherwise the insurance rates often trump the rental charges themselves.

[torque!!]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

I think as long as it is in English, it is fine. However, it is still a good idea to have a smart card DL - makes it much easier.

That said, how about insurance on your rental? If you are using a corporate credit card, it should be covered, otherwise the insurance rates often trump the rental charges themselves.

I too feel that a smart card DL will make it simpler, but I guess it is what it is. Rental will be a business rental with National/ Enterprise and Insurance will be included with the corporate rate. Comes out to 35+ tax for a mid size.Pretty good deal. But it lasts for only a week. Policies! Hopefully I’ll be able to buy a car within the week...

[balajird]

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

Hi,

On a closer inspection, the dealership found that they had drained the transmission oil in place of engine oil and had topped the engine oil without even draining it.

Hope this experience helps fellow bhpians.

Regards

Himanshu

This is one scary experience Himanshu, thanks for sharing, I wonder How could they miss it, isnt it transmission oil is twice more than the engine oil?

I just did an oil change with Mr.Lube here in Vancouver and they were very professional in carrying out the entire process, they checked the oil condition before and after the oil change, asked me to crank up the engine and do some soft revvs and checked the oil condition and quantity and gave a finally clearance to me to take the car out.

Looks like it is better to have a watch on what these guys are upto


I would also like to share my experience with the new Continental Pure Contact tires on my Camry, its been about 300 odd Kms with the new tires, under wet road condition, the grip is amazing, it bites in nice and sharp without any discomfort and drama (I had to hard brake from about 60Kmph because the car in front of me braked hard (when it was raining) and the car stopped just right there without any sweat)

Under dry condition, though the grip is good, it is not as smooth as it was on wet condition, having said that, it still does inspire confidence and provides sufficient bite in braking.

I am yet to experience snow conditions here and will add my comments after experiencing it.

I do feel that there is a marginal increase in fuel economy as indicated by the GPS, however, the overall economy is still the same due to my short trips (1 to 2 km drives) that drinks more gas.

Not much difference with road noise as most of the time I listen to the radio

One other good thing is that the tire has a built in indicator for "Dry", Wet" and "Snow" conditions, so, if the indicator wears off and you no longer see that symbol ("D", "W", "S"), the tire is no longer recommended for that condition and obviously, it would be "S" first, followed by "W" and "D".

I would like to thank Maddy42, Vineeth, Mohit, leodelg for their inputs and guidance. Thanks you very much.

Would I recommend this tire - Yes.

Originally Posted by v1kram

Picked up a used Honda Civic LX-G 2002 (single owner, 143000 kms) as a winter beater, it is equipped with winter tyres on steel rims and also comes with a set of all season tyres with original alloys.

Congrats on your new buy, does it have engine block heater and/or remote start?

Given that it is a decade old car and you are in Alberta (Edmonton???), do you plan to put on one?

[v1kram]

Originally Posted by balajird

Congrats on your new buy, does it have engine block heater and/or remote start?

Given that it is a decade old car and you are in Alberta (Edmonton???), do you plan to put on one?

Thanks. Previous owner installed engine block heater and also a set of Nokian winter tires on rims (all season on factory alloys).

Few weeks before we did have 30cm of snow in a day, didn't fell the necessity of remote start, hence no plans as of now.

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

Hi,

I have had a recent oil change experience here in Indiana for my Hyundai 1.6 AT. I brought a coupon off groupon and went to the dealer for a regular oil change. The car was given back to me in an hour and the delivery rep pointed out that the car was jerking unusually. I suspected that the dealership wanted to charge me for an additional paid expense, I said that a normal jerk in automatic with lower engine capacity is seen in comparison to bigger engines. This response was with the experience previously when I had been pestered for not needed wheel alignment whenever I went in for an oil change here in US. When I drove the car, it jerked violently before moving to the next gear and that was definitely not normal. I immediately went back and brought up that the jerk was much more than normal gear changes feel that I observed. The rep came out and he felt the same and said that he would look at it. On a closer inspection, the dealership found that they had drained the transmission oil in place of engine oil and had topped the engine oil without even draining it. Thankfully, I had not driven the car any distance. They were profusely sorry and promptly changed both the engine and transmission fluids. The good and the unexpected part was their voluntary free offer of two more oil changes valid for next one year.

Hope this experience helps fellow bhpians.

Regards

Himanshu

That's a scary experience! Can they certify that there is no lasting damage to the gearbox due to this?

[bhardwhu]

Originally Posted by gomzi

That's a scary experience! Can they certify that there is no lasting damage to the gearbox due to this?

I had driven around 50 yards before I realized that something was grossly wrong. The car was then taken back into garage and topped up. I hope that would have saved my engine from any damage. I have driven 500 miles since then and so far it looks okay. Any advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

Himanshu

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by bhardwhu

The rep came out and he felt the same and said that he would look at it. On a closer inspection, the dealership found that they had drained the transmission oil in place of engine oil and had topped the engine oil without even draining it.

Wow that was scary, glad that it got resolved.

The good and the unexpected part was their voluntary free offer of two more oil changes valid for next one year.

Nothing suprising, its still cheaper than having a dissatisfied customer go & post bad reviews online which will result in a much bigger financial loss. But yeah compared to India where they dont care at all, this feels nice

[VLOCT]

Finally put up an 'initial ownership report' on the V-rod.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/superb...ml#post3610430

Hope you guys enjoy it.

Thanks.

[ariendj]

Got a quote of $20,990 for a pre-certified 2011 Subaru Forester Limited(with remote starter and 24,500 miles on odo).
how does it sound? I did take a test drive and it felt comfortable.

Is it worthwhile to pay an extra $8500 and get the 2015 Forester Limited?
I need the heated seats since its really helpful in the North East.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by ariendj

Got a quote of $20,990 for a pre-certified 2011 Subaru Forester Limited(with remote starter and 24,500 miles on odo).
how does it sound? I did take a test drive and it felt comfortable.

Is it worthwhile to pay an extra $8500 and get the 2015 Forester Limited?
I need the heated seats since its really helpful in the North East.

I bought a 2009 Forester Limited in 2012 (it is not with me anymore - was totaled in an accident) - I paid 19900 for it. It had more miles than this car you are looking at. However, a complete redesigned Forester was also introduced as a 2014 model year car. So the price seems about right, you may have some more leeway and negotiation room.

If you are cool with it, 2014 Foresters (if any available unsold) maybe selling for prices that maybe called as a steal. Are there any good discounts on the 2015s?

[maddy42]

Am this predicament which i hope someone can help resolve. Financial question so feel free to post any positive or negative comments.

Bought a new car and 3 yrs in with monthly payments with another 3 remaining. Currently the car value is less than the amount owed to the bank. At the end of the remaining 3 years i will have the car which would be worth probably less than 10k.

In all over the life time of the car i would be loosing out about 20-25k for the benefit of using it.

My query is what is the right age/price/ mileage to buy a car which would offer less headaches, a safe vehicle which can do road trips and is reliable.

My guess would be a sedan which is 4-6 years old and would have about 50k miles which could come in the 10-15k budget range. Increase the age and the cost would drop below 10k.

Any opinions?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Am this predicament which i hope someone can help resolve. Financial question so feel free to post any positive or negative comments.

Bought a new car and 3 yrs in with monthly payments with another 3 remaining. Currently the car value is less than the amount owed to the bank. At the end of the remaining 3 years i will have the car which would be worth probably less than 10k.

In all over the life time of the car i would be loosing out about 20-25k for the benefit of using it.

My query is what is the right age/price/ mileage to buy a car which would offer less headaches, a safe vehicle which can do road trips and is reliable.

My guess would be a sedan which is 4-6 years old and would have about 50k miles which could come in the 10-15k budget range. Increase the age and the cost would drop below 10k.

Any opinions?

I would very happily buy any car with 100k miles on the clock as long as I have a reasonable understanding of its maintenance history. I lived in the USA for several years and all four cars were around or below 10k $ with at least 100K miles on the clock. You do need to be able to make a reasonable assesment of the car or pay somebody to do it for you. Most reputable dealers will offer a purchase check or assesment for $60-75. You can do a lot of research online as well.
Jeroen

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by maddy42

In all over the life time of the car i would be loosing out about 20-25k for the benefit of using it.

My query is what is the right age/price/ mileage to buy a car which would offer less headaches, a safe vehicle which can do road trips and is reliable.

My guess would be a sedan which is 4-6 years old and would have about 50k miles which could come in the 10-15k budget range. Increase the age and the cost would drop below 10k.

Any opinions?

I won't call it "losing 20-25K"
The only amount you would have truly lost is the interest you paid for the loan. Actually that also isn't a loss because it is the cost of financing.

But your question is quite valid and thought provoking. Like all good questions, it doesn't have a single correct answer

For people like Jeroen, who probably can build a car on their own, it is better and easier to find a well maintained used car that wont even need financing. For others, they should go find a friend like Jeroen
And for those who dont have any of the above two options, they need to rely on things like warranties, which means buying a car that is relatively new.
Or take a risk and just go for it.

[mohit]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Am this predicament which i hope someone can help resolve. Financial question so feel free to post any positive or negative comments.

Bought a new car and 3 yrs in with monthly payments with another 3 remaining. Currently the car value is less than the amount owed to the bank. At the end of the remaining 3 years i will have the car which would be worth probably less than 10k.

In all over the life time of the car i would be loosing out about 20-25k for the benefit of using it.

My query is what is the right age/price/ mileage to buy a car which would offer less headaches, a safe vehicle which can do road trips and is reliable.

My guess would be a sedan which is 4-6 years old and would have about 50k miles which could come in the 10-15k budget range. Increase the age and the cost would drop below 10k.

Any opinions?

Best bet is finding a not very popular but still decent car e.g. the Hyundai Azera or Genesis. You can get 2-3 year old models for sub 20K and its a lot of car for the money. Come with a killer warranty to boot so maintenance is not an issue. Funny thing is that similar vintage Genesis and Sonata go for almost the same price.

[maddy42]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I would very happily buy any car with 100k miles on the clock

True, but most of us fear the unknown or worst case scenario. In india my family has a bunch of vehicles with more than 2lac kms on it, but maintenance is cheap. Here its otherwise if your not a handson person.

Originally Posted by amitoj

I won't call it "losing 20-25K"

I agree with you but meant its like pouring the cash down the drain while your friends end up using the same amount to put for downpayment of a house :P

Originally Posted by mohit

Best bet is finding a not very popular but still decent car e.g. the Hyundai Azera or Genesis.

Thats very true. Next time i will look at this suggestion. These vehicles are really good on bang for the buck.

Could call mine the mid loan crisis.

Maddy