Want to choose discrete options, not packages

Nomen Nescio · 2006-05-18T22:10:03+00:00

When I special order a new car, I want to choose only the items I want andpay only for those items I want.Say, I want sports suspension. Why should I be forced to get those 21 inchwheels with 1 inch greaser tires when all I want is heavy duty shocks andsprings? Suppose I want the racing stripes; why do I have to pay for thesuper deluxe leather upolstery too? It makes no sense to force a customerto buy thousand dollar options to get a heavy duty battery that would addall of $20 to the car. In the old days, customers could do just that: order every optiona-la-carte and just pay for those things only. My daddy did it and Iexpect to get the same treatment from GM, Ford, and Chrysler (GM if they'restill around next year). Customers are revolting against ripoffs. We allknow the companies price they basic model cheap for advertising a bargain.But, when you go to build a realistic car, every extra item you want is ina different high cost package. I, for one, rebel against this unChristian,unJewish, proMoslem attitude by the car makers.Car makers govern the assembly of cars by computer. Its easier than everto build a car a-la-carte, so there's no excuse for them not doing it myway. Its my way or the highway, bub.

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Edwin Pawlowski 20 years ago

Big expense was the transmission at $2600. The spark plugs ($48 plus labor,

for a wire that broke in the process) is a normal wear item. I don't mind that. A front wheel bearing was shot. No, you don't replace the bearing, but a 1 hub assembly that includes two casting, bearing ABS sensor, spline, all of which are still good. Front rotors that were warped in less than 50k miles and cannot be turned, and an oxygen sensor for 1.

Rotors are made cheaply to save weight but do not last like older ones. After replacing the O2 sensor and plugs, fuel mileage is still the same so I see not real benefit. The air pump is making some noise when cold. That will be about $50 if it does go too.

NOT done are the rear window lift (I have it propped closed with wood) and the heated seat. Instead of replacing the $15 heating element, they want $570 for a new seat bottom.

Just adds up to a lot of stuff over the past couple of years. Maybe other cars are crap too, but this does not seem to be as well made as it could be and parts are now very expensive assemblies to be replaced. . I have more repairs in this than my last three cars combined, and less miles than they had. Now 113k in five years.

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Mike Marlow 20 years ago

Man - I hate to say it Edwin but they gouged you on the bearing job. OEM price is under $200 (can't remember exact price because it's been a while since I bought an OEM hub) and aftermarket hovers right around $110-$120. They should not have hit you more than one hour for labor. Seems quite high on that particular repair. The tranny seems high to me given that an independent tranny specialist around here will do a complete rebuild on a tranny like yours for between $1500 and $1800 on average. But - location is everything. You're in CT right? That might account for some of the price difference.

Yeah - I've found plugs to perform well up to 100,000 miles or so in an otherwise well running motor these days. The difference in performance that I've seen by changing the plugs at 100,000 has not been very significant. As much of a pain as it can be to reach those rear three plugs, I count that as a good thing.

Both of these would really "pee" mee right off as well. Rear window lifts in particular. Enough cars have had problems with these over the years that there is just no excuse now for engineering one that does not work 100% of the time for 10 years or more.

I've learned to accept that front wheel bearings go fast in front wheel drive cars. It's just the way it is with almost all of them. But... the amount of flat out broken things you've described would not set well with me either. Heated seats are not rocket science. There is no excuse today for them to fail like they do and to see replacement costs like we see.

By the way - what color did you paint that piece of cherry that is propping the rear window?

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Bill Putney 20 years ago

Ain't that the truth!

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

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Edwin Pawlowski 20 years ago

I've seen aftermarket for $100 to $200. Not so easy to shop around when the car is up on the lift though. Labor was hard to say because I had other work done. Changed the rotors at the same time.

My Regal windows still work after 15 years. What got me was the fact that it is a rear window. It has probably been down a total of 6 times since I've had the car. If they were solid, it would not bother me because we don't have passengers often and the climate control is on most all the time. I accidently hit the button while driving and the window went part way down. Hit the button to bring it back up and it snapped the cable.

Stained it to look like pine ;)

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The Office Jet 20 years ago

I actually think the cooler glovebox is a pretty cool idea. I would definitely use it if I had one. It's not always convenient to keep a chilled cooler in the car.

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