[aah78]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Thought I would provide a quick update on the Mustang

The only problem so far has been an issue with back up camera which sporadically stops working. Its not frequent but does happen. Since my car has backup sensors with cross traffic alert that provides additional safety if it happens at night.

Wow, looks really nice Techno! Glad you're enjoying the Mustang.

Check the contacts for the camera. Might be a little rusty, and try to put some dielectric grease over the contacts to seal them.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Cool. Next question then. How much did it cost?

If memory serves me right I paid about $250(includes material, labor & tip) to a guy whom I found on Instagram, he does this part time out of his garage.

Originally Posted by aah78

Wow, looks really nice Techno! Glad you're enjoying the Mustang.

Check the contacts for the camera. Might be a little rusty, and try to put some dielectric grease over the contacts to seal them.

Thanks Adi, yes I am enjoying it very much & now driving the MDX which has similar power feels somewhat unengaging to drive

As for camera, its one of those things which bothers you when its not working & decide to do something about but then ignore as it starts working again on its own

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Did a minor mod of wrapping the Mirros, roof & rear spoiler, here is the pic



Also did a 1200 + miles road trip when I moved few months back to Mid West from East coast. Here is a collage from that trip and also a pic that I really liked of the car at a rest stop.

Nice stuff. Looks like a good, albeit inexpensive item to add to your car.

Where have you moved to, in the midwest?

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

Nice stuff. Looks like a good, albeit inexpensive item to add to your car.
Where have you moved to, in the midwest?

Thanks, I have moved to Minneapolis

[mail4ajo]

Any trucks owners in here (F-150, Silverado, Tacoma, Tundra)? Looks for some tips.

[deltheking]

Originally Posted by mail4ajo

Any trucks owners in here (F-150, Silverado, Tacoma, Tundra)? Looks for some tips.

What info are you looking for ? I am from West Texas - the heartland of trucks in the US. Every 2nd vehicle here is a pick up truck !

If you are looking for reliability - Tundra is the best . Personally, myself have a Tundra. The latest kid on the block is F150 - aluminum body with more tech and engine and bed length options. Tundra looks dated compared to F150. Would avoid Silverado - horrible reliability issues and problems that cant be fixed. The smoothest riding/driving truck is the Ram - it has a coil leaf suspension - reliability is suspect though - true for any Chrysler/Dodge vehicles.

So - if you can provide more details as to what your needs are - can advise you more !

[Koenigsegg220]

What do you guys think of Jaguars ?

I expanded my search to Jaguar XF, because the car is very affordable in the CPO market, i mean, 1 year old BMW 3 series and 1 year old XF fall approximately in the similar price bracket, which kindled my childhood dream of owning a RWD V6. Also the tech on Jaguar has more options included like Blind Spot monitoring, Reverse Traffic Detection, Auto high beams etc.

Does Jaguars depreciate much faster than BMWs ?

The warranty on XF is too believable to be true, as well. For instance, the one i am looking at, is a CPO 2017 XF, 3.5t Premium, 3.0L V6, 4000 miles, with Vision and Cold weather package. Retail price is 40k (Actual Retail price: 57.6k) The car is registered to dealer and used as a loaner. Bumper to Bumper warranty is covered until July 2022, and the scheduled maintenance until July 2021. For a V6, the car returns decent 29 mpg on highways.

How does the reliability stand ?
I have been researching about current gen XF reliability (refreshed in 2016) on multiple forums and the Jaguar dedicated "jaguarforums.com" and there is dearth of information there. Even if i find something, the posts date back to earlier years of XF (2009-2010). Based on my research, Jaguar reliability is classified during periods of pre-2000s, 2000-2010, 2010-2015 (Tata Motors era begins which registered a huge bump in reliability) and 2016 to current (Aluminum chassis). By this standard, the information i found is at least one generation behind. Any inputs or first hand experience of current gen/2010-2015 is appreciated.


I am in Dallas now, but cannot rule out moving to snow states in the future. Should i be even looking at RWD as an option, even with Jaguar's winter mode and other safety features that come with it ?

[Jeroen]

Jaguars do depreciate faster then their contemporaries. These days I have found them very reliable and the dealers by an large very good. RWD on snow is just a pain. My wife's little FWD focus was much much better in the snow and ice in Kansas City then my Jaguar. Winter tires do help, but if you end up in a state with heavy snow best get yourself a second hand four wheel drive truck or pick up just in case. I got a Jeep Cherokee for a few thousand dollar and it powered through half a meter of snow without any problem.
Jeroen

[Koenigsegg220]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Jaguars do depreciate faster then their contemporaries. These days I have found them very reliable and the dealers by an large very good. RWD on snow is just a pain. My wife's little FWD focus was much much better in the snow and ice in Kansas City then my Jaguar. Winter tires do help, but if you end up in a state with heavy snow best get yourself a second hand four wheel drive truck or pick up just in case. I got a Jeep Cherokee for a few thousand dollar and it powered through half a meter of snow without any problem.
Jeroen

Well, that explains the prices. But if you are in the market for a CPO car, i think one will get more car per $ spent with Jaguars. I am glass half full kind of person

How reliable are we talking about ? Optimistic me, is it close to spending 1-2k$ per year during warranty and 3-4k$ per year out of warranty?

FWDs always fare better than RWDs, is it not a given ? For me, second car is not an option as i am still single and this would be the only car. Only option if i go with RWD is to buy snow tires. How much difference/confidence do they make/provide compared to all season tires ?

Do you drive XF as well ? If yes, how expensive are the brake pads ? I heard they cost a bomb and with the uniqueness of Jaguar brakes, rotors also need to replaced for alternate brake pad changes ?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Koenigsegg220

Well, that explains the prices. But if you are in the market for a CPO car, i think one will get more car per $ spent with Jaguars. I am glass half full kind of person

How reliable are we talking about ? Optimistic me, is it close to spending 1-2k$ per year during warranty and 3-4k$ per year out of warranty?

FWDs always fare better than RWDs, is it not a given ? For me, second car is not an option as i am still single and this would be the only car. Only option if i go with RWD is to buy snow tires. How much difference/confidence do they make/provide compared to all season tires ?

Do you drive XF as well ? If yes, how expensive are the brake pads ? I heard they cost a bomb and with the uniqueness of Jaguar brakes, rotors also need to replaced for alternate brake pad changes ?

I drove my XJR in the US at just a couple of hundred dollars a year. Just regular maintenance. I have never spend that sort of money you mention in or out of warranty on any car.

Tires are always expensive, around $200 a tire. So that can add up.

I have an XJR, not XF. I have heard about the need for changing the rotors with the brake pad. some people claim that for the XJR as well. Never understood that, never did that. I put ceramic brake pads on mine. Can’t remember exactly, but I think it was around $100 for a set. A set of front rotors, regular steel ones was something similar. So very reasonable (at least in the USA)

The XF isn’t perfect but I think it’s a very nice car. Every version of it. And in the US you still get a lot of people coming to talk to you when you are getting petrol, in the parking lot of the mall. They are still considered quite rare and special. Which compared to say BMW and Mercedes they are.

The snow tires do make a noticeable difference. How much is difficult to say. I left my Jaguar in the garage when we had snow on the roads. It just wasn’t worth the hassle.

Number of cars when you are single is not necessarily one! You can buy as many as you want/afford. You are in the land of the cars, make the most of it. Maybe buy something 3-5 years old. Drive it for a year and try something else again for a year. Or buy several.

Enjoy
Jeroen

[DexterMorgan]

While waiting for my Passat TDI buyback, picked up a pre-owned 2014 Fiesta ST. Bought it from a guy in Ottawa. Immaculate condition with 34k km. Also came with roof rack and winter tires. I carry my road bike on roof racks via a Yakima bike without any problems.

This car is a hoot to drive, the best I have owned so far.
Induction noise is addictive. Excellent 6 speed manual gearbox. Recaros are amazing and fit me well. Suspension is little on the firm side and got some time to get used to after Passat' pillowy ride. But not too bad.
My only gripe is interior quality is not very nice, hard plastics everywhere.

The only upgrades I will be doing are exhaust and tints.

[theMAG]

Can anyone point me to any update about Chrysler ever fixing the infamous transmission issues in their 2014/15 Jeeps? Those two were the years with the most problems reported with the ZF 9-speed autobox, resulting in a class-action lawsuit filed against Chrysler.

Google lists the problem statement itself and how the issue was said to be "unfixable", and other than some conflicting stray reports about a partial recall and the associated software update not known to have fixed the issues, I am unable to locate anything concrete about any fix.

Not sure if I should interpret that as giving the 2014/15 Grand Cherokees a complete miss, since I was looking at one.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Not sure if I should interpret that as giving the 2014/15 Grand Cherokees a complete miss, since I was looking at one.

Didnt ZF fix it with a few software updates?

Btw, is it wrong for me to desire the 2018 Wrangler just because it is likely to come with an easily folding windshield? Even though I have no desire to take it offroading?

EDIT: Seems there was a recall issued:
http://www.allpar.com/news/2016/08/m...y-recall-32276

Should be easy to check whether the vehicle you are looking at has had that recall or not.

[theMAG]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Didnt ZF fix it with a few software updates?

The (inconclusive) search results indicate that the software update- to address what is believed to be a hardware glitch (insufficient crimps in the transmission wiring harness) - it is as improbable as it sounds, may have not proven effective.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Btw, is it wrong for me to desire the 2018 Wrangler just because it is likely to come with an easily folding windshield? Even though I have no desire to take it offroading?

No. It is not wrong for you to crave any automobile, regardless of its utility. The van you have answers for the "sane" transporting requirement and absolves you of all guilt.

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Can anyone point me to any update about Chrysler ever fixing the infamous transmission issues in their 2014/15 Jeeps? Those two were the years with the most problems reported with the ZF 9-speed autobox, resulting in a class-action lawsuit filed against Chrysler.

Google lists the problem statement itself and how the issue was said to be "unfixable", and other than some conflicting stray reports about a partial recall and the associated software update not known to have fixed the issues, I am unable to locate anything concrete about any fix.

Not sure if I should interpret that as giving the 2014/15 Grand Cherokees a complete miss, since I was looking at one.

The Jeep GC's have the ZF8 speed. The ZF9 speed was on the Cherokee, not the Grand Cherokee. The ZF8 had a transmission shifter issue - i.e., poor indication of whether you are on neutral or park etc. and people seeing their cars roll off after they turned it off because the car was in neutral. The ZF9 speed issue was probably a mix of shifting into Neutral accidentally and the really jerky and weird transmission behavior on kickdowns etc. Hope the links below help.

Here is a story about the FCA 9 speed - Forbes - FCA 9 speed recall.

Here is something on the 8 Speed - 8 Speed Recall.