The cost to get a vehicle serviced nowadays, Wow!

[BC38]

All my friends went to a private drivers school and had their license in no time. My folks made me take the 10 week Drivers Ed my school offered. I swear I was the only one in my class the teacher never used his brake on. My girlfriends brother was in my class. He scared us to death.

I hear you! I took Driver's Ed as a high school sophomore. The Phys Ed teacher was also our Driver's Ed teacher.

At that point in my young life I had been driving anything and everything up to and including a 5 ton truck on my grandparents farm for 7 or 8 years.

I breezed the class, but some of my fellow students were of a much more "urban" persuasion - and their total lack of driving skills scared the hell out of me - and out of the teacher too!

 

[Rustyt1953]

I took driver's ed in high school. The car was a 1969 Buick LeSabre donated by Schott Buick (yep, Marge Schott) which was six blocks from the school.

Mr Maitland never had to tap the brakes for me.

 

[TX-Dennis]

As far as auto stop start and the like go . . .

My last three vehicles have had auto start / stop. I really don't mind it. The last four have also had auto headlights that turn on and off as needed. My new Bronco has auto dimming headlights as well as auto on and off. It also has a camera behind the rear view mirror that controls the automatic emergency braking. I guess it probably works, but I'm not willing to do what it would take to test it. I found when I first started driving the Bronco that I had grown too reliant on my previous ride's blind spot sensors. Had to retrain myself to check before changing lanes. I never realized I had grown to depend on the electronics, but it happened without really meaning for it to. It sort of became a crutch that enabled lazy driving habits.

The wife's Lincoln has auto wipers which she likes. I've never driven it during rain, so I can't say whether I'd like that or not. That vehicle also has the lane keeping which she likes, but I find somewhat annoying. If you try to change lanes without signalling it "fights" you briefly.

 

[LVSteve]

As far as auto stop start and the like go . . .That vehicle also has the lane keeping which she likes, but I find somewhat annoying. If you try to change lanes without signalling it "fights" you briefly.

And your excuse for not using your signal is....?



For another thread, perhaps.

 

[Frank46]

I once told my brother that it's a crying shame that as we got old, we have to pay for work which we had no qualms doing. I still (on good days) crawl under my '07 Sierra and do a grease job and oil change on my Kubota L-3800. Crawling under the truck takes some skill especially getting out from under either one does take some time and skill. especially with a bum back, bum knees and joints. Course I don't climb into my Kubota, it's sort of a calculated lunge. I'll be 77 come October..

 

[rwsmith]

I notice that whatever.....

...I take in to be repaired, the pricing starts at $400 and goes up from there.

 

[ladder13]

Took my RDX to the dealer yesterday for a state inspection. Walked out after paying $13 and change, no attempt to upcharge for wiper blades or other.
What's this world coming to?

 

[LVSteve]

Took my RDX to the dealer yesterday for a state inspection. Walked out after paying $13 and change, no attempt to upcharge for wiper blades or other.
What's this world coming to?

Somebody's gonna get fired.

 

[steelslaver]

And your excuse for not using your signal is....?



For another thread, perhaps.

I am driving in nowhere Montana at 70mph, on a 2 lane road, when I spot a deer, antelope, coyote, moose, badger, coon, bear, elk, skunk headed across the road. Time is important and I DO NOT need the steering wheel fighting me over my decision. Wouldn't be all that great when Joe drunk or farmer drifted into my lane either. But, then when I am passing a semi and the semi and I are the only 2 outfits in a 5 mile stretch, me using my turn signals is kind of a waste of effort don't ya think. In fact many people drive right down the middle of 2 lane roads at night around here, because the biggest hazard is critters, which might come from either side and you can see another cars headlights or tail lights a long way off. I have driven for miles and never met a soul. I kept track once going 210 miles, early one weekday morning, all 2 lane, to my home town. Met a total of 23 cars and passed 3 semis.

I can use my mirrors and back down a one lane mountain road for a mile just using mirrors, but, I do like back up cameras for some stuff. I have one mounted on the back of my 26' camp trailer. Around here you seldom set at a stop sign over a couple second, their are only 4 stop lights in town, so not much need for that auto shut off/start feature. Antilock brakes are OK, but I learned to actually work a brake petal long time ago and I bet money NASCAR and open wheel cars don't have it. I do like my auto shut off lights and intermittent wipers. I can control my own dim/brights thanks, but do wish the switch was back on the floor where it belongs.

I live in a whole different world than most people.

 

[venomballistics]

That is a very interesting and precise number. Please share the exact formula that you used to come up with such a precise "0.47 gallons saved" number.

Inquiring minds want to know...

BTW, with modern oil quality, that fractions-of-a-second long "no oil pressure" period isn't nearly the concern that it was decades go when oil technology was in its infancy (compared to today).

The quality of modern engine oils - which has increased the longevity of engines 2x-3x what it was 50 years ago - is more than enough to compensate for those extra startup cycles.

Will the extra restarts shorten the life of the engine? Maybe. As an engineer, I'd be more than willing to bet that the difference it will make in engine longevity will be FAR, FAR less than the increased level of wear you would see from shooting +P ammo in your 38spl 1960's era revolver.

Any additional wear will be MORE than compensated for by the fuel savings, especially when the cost of regular unleaded gas is in the $4-$5 per gallon range, as it currently is and will almost certainly continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Even at an average of $4.50 per gallon, that 17% fuel savings - going from 30 mpg to 35 mpg - adds up to roughly 7.5 cents per mile. Over a span of 200k miles driven (low end estimate of a modern vehicle's engine longevity), that is just under $15,000 saved in fuel costs.

So, unless you actually spend more than $15,000 in extra repair costs (very unlikely), you are still AHEAD of the game.

These kinds of things are always a trade-off. There is no free lunch. But if the savings are greater than the cost that it takes to achieve them, that is a WIN!

The numbers don't lie.

As always, this is just my perspective/analysis, and YMMV.

The car calculates this saved fuel figure based on it's known idle consumption rate. Subaru seems rather proud of this feature. enough so that that it's front and center on the dash upon activation.
if we just call the .47 gallon figure a nice round half gallon, simple multiplication brings up to saving a whole gallon every 5000 miles.
so about 20 gallons at the 100K mark or $100 assuming $5 per gallon. I'm not sure what you could fix on a car for that

 

[ladder13]

Somebody's gonna get fired.

Then they'll need a new service manager.

Service Thank You

 

[venomballistics]

And your excuse for not using your signal is....?



For another thread, perhaps.

A turn signal seems to have become a cue for the new breed of motorist to converge upon the space you just signaled your intentions to occupy.

 

[LVSteve]

A turn signal seems to have become a cue for the new breed of motorist to converge upon the space you just signaled your intentions to occupy.

That and the fact that everybody tailgates by the standards to which I was trained mean that I rarely enjoy driving if there are any other vehicles around.

 

[TX-Dennis]

And your excuse for not using your signal is....?



For another thread, perhaps.

Empty road with zero other traffic, of course.