My GK5 was hit last night while parked. Dodge SUV wiped out the driver's side rear quarter panel.

Driver claimed only going 15 mph. Force was enough to break the Dodge's front axle with the right front wheel perpendicular to the frame.

Tried peeling the sheet metal off the left rear wheel to get it driveable. Car was steering to the left. Frame damage for sure. Not salvageable in my book.

I'm not getting it repaired and not getting another GK5, too many problems. I'll be getting a different vehicle.

It's been fun. Thanks for the ride!

 

@bargainguy Sorry this happened to you. Good luck with the new car, whatever it is.

Off-Topic: I've been thinking a lot about moving to New Mexico, but almost everyone warns me about the crime. I realize that a situation like yours could have happened anywhere, but would you say that crime is a problem in your area?

 

Thanks for the kind wishes.

The driver was a young woman - it was her parents car. So not crashed in a getaway or anything like that.

We've been here over a year now. Crime isn't a problem here more than anywhere else. The larger cities in NM (ABQ, Santa Fe, Las Cruces) tend to be the highest crime areas.

We're in a city of 30K (Alamogordo). Of course there is crime here, but it's not to the level of the larger NM cities.

We researched a retirement city for a long time. We wanted little to no snow. Average here is 2 in. of snow per year and 12 in. of rain. The snow usually melts within a day unless it's a whopper.

Because we're on the west side of the Sacramento Mountains and at altitude (~4400 ft), weather here is quite mild. Never gets below 20 degrees. Our winter jackets are still packed away in case we have to travel.

Biggest issue here is the water. It's very hard with gypsum salts, and a result, we don't use it for drinking or cooking. For those, we use reverse osmosis water.

There are three grocery chains here (WalMart, Albertson's & Lowe's Signature), a Home Depot, and a Lowes home improvement.

For any other shopping, it's a drive of 80 mi. to either El Paso or Las Cruces.

We also wanted a climate where we could exercise outdoors year-round. Wind and dust storms can get in the way, but other than that, really sunny weather, even in winter.

There's not much nightlife here if you're into that.

If you're ever down this way, shoot me a msg and I'll give you the nickel tour.

 

Sorry to hear about your car

2015 Totaled

That looks like a nearly identical hit to my 2015 last September. Mine was totaled. Front passenger door didn't open and close properly. Front axles broken from getting thrown onto the sidewalk.

 

Yikes! Sorry to hear about your car. You're right, the hits are almost identical.

 

So what are you getting as a replacement?

 

Good question. Since we live in a small town, it would make sense to get a brand that has dealers here.

So Ford, Chevy, Honda or Toyota.

What did you get to replace?

 

Forget Ford and Chevy. Both are garbage.

Get a Honda HRV or CRV.

 

HRVs are nice . the new one is a real step up but i hear it's very under powered . they're all CVTs unless you can find an early, one which was actually available with a stick.

 

When the HRV's first came out the most common complaint was that it was under powered. As the years went by and redesigns came and went the most common complaint continued to be that it was under powered. I guess nothing has changed. Might be fine though for a lot of stop and go city driving.

 

Both are on the same chassis.

The Fit is underpowered. Still fun to drive.

I'm sure the same is true of the HRV.

 

@bargainguy Thank you very much for that detailed reply. I really appreciate it. I've been looking (online) at Rio Rancho . . . for no other reason than the houses are cheap (compared to California). I like Taos very much, but I think that might be a step or two up in price. I share your thinking on everything that you said. But you left out medical care. I have a friend who keeps telling me (part teasingly) that, at my age, wherever I go I need to be near a major hospital.

For a next car, I agree with @Chitown Fit . I would get a Honda. Since I'm a manual transmission guy, would see if there is anything in the new line of Hondas, maybe a base Civic, that has an MT.

One last thing: Thank you for your invitation. I was going to try to get to NM this month, but with all the cold, flu, COVID, and measles, I am afraid to get on a plane. We'll have to see how things go.

 

MC, we lived in Sacramento for a few years. Wanted to stay forever but wildfire threat had us looking elsewhere, as the missus has asthma and it's not good for her health.

Rio Rancho is a bedroom community of ABQ located NW of the city. I've visited a few times.

It's close to metro ABQ with all the pluses: shopping (only Costcos in the state), high level medical care, nightlife, arts & culture, etc.

But since it's close to ABQ, it also has the cons. From what I understand, ABQ and Las Cruces are stops on a major drug smuggling & human trafficking corridor along I-25. All the stuff that goes with that.

RR is wide open to the west, and it suffers the same dust storms as the rest of this area. It can get bad enough to shut the freeways down.

As far as medical care where we live, I retired from the medical field, last 10 years in a level I trauma center. We've had one experience with the local hospital (Level III trauma center). I was impresssed with the level of care, and it takes a lot to impress me.

If you need specialist care, you'd be going to El Paso or Las Cruces. So I wouldn't necessarily live here if anyone in your family needs specialist care.

As far as transmissions for my next car, no MTs in my future. My GK5 was a CVT. The last seven cars including my GD3 were MT. I'm giving my left foot a rest in retirement.

 

Yeah, but that HRV chassis weighs something like 600 lb more** than the "same" Fit chassis.
Of course the HRV has a 158 HP engine compared to the Fit 130HP engine but I'd take the Fit 130 HP engine trying to pull a 2500 lb Fit over a 158 HP HRV pulling its 3100 lb,

**And yeah I don't know whether that 600 lb is in the chassis, the larger motor or the radio antenna, but it's still 600 lb more that has to be pulled.

 

I replaced it with a 2025 Honda Ridgeline Trailsport+. I no longer needed the great gas mileage the Fit provided since I had moved closer to work and I WFH 2X a week. Since COVID I've been driving less than 6k a year compared to 20k a year pre COVID.

I had looked at a Maverick but for a little bit more, I could get substantially more truck and stay a Honda. No regerts

 

I hate to break it to you but gone are the days of a base MT Civic. If you want stick, you’re gonna have to pony up for an MT.

 

sorry for your loss but it looks like you were looking for a change so out with the old, in with then new! Are you thinking of parting out the car? I myself am looking for the under engine plastic cover. Let me know and I hope you enjoy your next car.

 

Acceleration performance is all about power-to-weight ratio, especially when comparing two CVT vehicles where gear ratio differences can be ignored.
3100 lbs / 2500 lbs = 1.24, so the HRV weighs about 24% more than a Fit.
158 HP / 130 HP = 1.215, so the HRV has about 22% more power than a Fit.
So the HRV will accelerate marginally slower than a Fit. The extra weight will make it handle more sluggishly and hold corners worse than a Fit. It gets worse fuel economy than a Fit. It's close to 2 feet longer (harder to park) than a Fit.

The hybrid Civic wagon (a 4-door is not a hatchback - fight me) looks interesting, but again, it's a bigger heavier car. Being tall, I would rather have an additional 2" of head room than a power sunroof, but you can't get a Honda hybrid without a sunroof. You would think American Honda would take a hint from Acura's waning popularity, but they keep killing the cheap practical cars.

 

Tossed the splash guard after the dealer forgot to tighten the plastic bits after an oil change. Came loose at 70mph and started flapping wildly, tore itself up. Dealer said "sorry" but the splash guard was toast.

 

So for those who are curious about my next ride, tonight I test drove a 2022 Buick Encore GX AWD with 61K mi. at the Chevy/Buick/GMC dealer. In the proper white color for the New Mexico sun. Effectively a luxury cute-ute.

Vehicle pulled slightly to the left. Having them check alignment and get back to me. Not interested in buying into problems.

My GK5 is being towed to a salvage yard tomorrow as the adjusters concur that it's probably a total loss, but they have to check it anyway.

The missus has a '15 Trax, and this is basically an upscale version of that with AWD and some nice touches - heated/power seats, navi, pushbutton start.

It was a comfortable and compliant ride compared to the GK5. I think I could get used to that fairly easily. We'll see what happens.