Agree 100%!

 

Yeah painted huh...gotta look into that. Probably gotta prep the flaps, prime it, then a couple coats of glossy black and a couple coats of clear.
don't want them to turn out like this after a few months.



Need to do some research on how to get it to adhere properly AND look good.

Man it is raining cats and dogs today...cant wait for the traffic heading home...hooray!

 

Hiya Ash!

That center console would be a good look for your mudflaps :P

 

I'm not a paint expert by any means, but use a flex agent in the paint. If you don't they could end up looking like that sweet center console.

 

I'm a big fan of Plasti-dip. With the clear that's available now it's really hard to beat.

The stuff I did 3 years ago still looks great and, if it ever starts to look bad, all I have to do is peal it off and start over.

For mudflaps, I wouldn't consider anything else. Just clean well with a degreaser, use a pre-paint cleaner, and spray away! Clear if you want it shiny.

No flex agent needed since it's a rubberized coating to begin with.

 

Ooooo thats a good idea with the plastidip. That stuff worked great on the GE for the front and rear difusers =)

Pretty sure I have a can of black and gloss in the garage for when I was thinking of dipping the Miata's windshield surround.

Happy Friday everyone!

 

Happy hump day y'all. Unrelated to the Fit, but the battery on my wife's MDX is hidden underneath the plastic trim and airbox inlet. Had to change it out last night, which required removal of said pieces. It makes me appreciate the Fit's simple engine bay.

 

Changing out batteries is so much more difficult on most new cars than it has to be, I feel your pain.

Starting a carpool with a few coworkers tomorrow. Rather than driving in five days a week in three separate cars, we'll be switching off every third week, I'm big excited about the cost/mileage savings. One coworker has a new 5 series, the heated rear seats in that thing are going to be a truly excellent development for me.

 

I feel for you on the battery!

Nice Mike! I bet it will also be nice for parking reasons. How far is the commute?

That battery change reminds me of changing the headlight bulbs on our Golf. It's about a 2 hour job that requires multiple tools and nearly removal of the entire front end of the car. The bulbs on my Lincoln, Mustang, or Fit take minutes in comparison.

 

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Man that battery sounds like a chore. Battery placement reminds me of my buddy's GF who got a newer BMW 3-series. Bud had to leave work to give her a jump. He opened the hood and was like 'Where the heck is the battery?'. They ended up calling AAA. When he told me and a coworker this story the next day we both replied with 'its in the trunk'. Lol.

Nice on the carpool. Coworker and I considered it, but we have such random schedules it wouldn't really work unfortunately. Good on you though Mike.

Been eyeing Porsche's lately...not that I'm gonna get one right now...but lets say....5-year plan haha.

 

Buy one so I can live vicariously through you I've wanted a Porsche since I was old enough to read car magazines. Every year it seems the likelihood gets less and less. Somehow I could have afforded a nice 911 in the late 90's and early '00's, but can't now. Something about my income not keeping up with Porsche pricing it seems.

 

Commute is only 15 miles each way, but it generally takes 35-60 minutes (we all live in a four block neighborhood in the city and work out in the burbs). We're all modifying the hours we work slightly, but it just seemed crazy to not consolidate trips when our general schedules are so similar. Even if we drive separate once a week it is still a big win.

Do it

Or just get an ND Miata and get 99% of the experience :P

 

Yeah i hear that on the Porsche pricing. Like the new Cayman, obviously the 911, hell...we like the whole line up. Would have to be a pre-owned.

Cayman/911 for me...Panamera/macan for the GF...If we suddenly are rollin' in $$$, that new Taycan EV.

 

Carpooling is always a win. I had a carpool going with four other guys. The extra hour or so of sleep was fantastic. Are they car-aficionados like you?

Frustrating! I could see that a headlight is not a typical maintenance issue so it does not need to have easy access, but things are unnecessarily complicated in the interest of creating a visually appealing engine bay (plastic shrouds everywhere!).

I went through the battery-hide-and-seek when I had a BMW as well. My jumping posts were in the engine bay. The manual even states not to directly connect jumpers to the battery. Oh German-engineering. At least the fahrvergnügen was strong with that car.

Any specific Porsche? I have always been partial to the Boxter (Boxster) and Cayman since their inception, but I hear you never own a Porsche. It is merely rented from the service department.

 

Whoops. Guess you answered my question while I was (slowly) gathering my thoughts, shinjari.

 

Haha yeah we must've been typing at the same time.

Yeah I know that the Boxsters gets some bad press...'Oh you got the CHEAP one'. Um ok...yeah $60k base price is 'cheap'. That new Cayman 718 is nice. I like the look. The Boxster looks great with the top down...but not a huge fan of the top up. Kinda how I felt about my NB Miata and the Ap1/Ap2 S2K's. Top down please haha.

Funny you mention the 'rent from the service department'...JD Powers names them #2 in reliability tied with Toyota and behind Lexus. Also seem to retain their value the best out of the German brands. Granted you gotta take those surveys with a grain of salt. Figure if I can afford the car...I better be able to afford the maintenance.

 

I keep seeing that and just scratching my head. Audi is also supposed to be near the top.

My very limited experience is from a friend that did short term ownership or leases on high end cars. He went from a Mustang Cobra (zero problems), to a Corvette (multiple problems, but all covered under warranty), to a CTS-V (trouble free until it blew apart the rear differential, covered under warranty), to a Boxter S (most expensive car he's ever had to maintain and own. Including oil leaks, clutch, alternator, water pump...) to an Audi S4 (maintenance was high and it lunched the clutch) to a Mercedes E63 (zero problems). He has since gone back to domestics and had a string of trouble free motoring. Currently in a Chrysler 300Sport Hemi which everyone says is junk, but he's had zero problems and maintenance is cheap).

Another friend is a BMW snob. He's owned a TON of late model BMW's and is addicted to them. He currently has a 335M convertible and an X5, but has had 1, 2, 3, and 5 series of different types. His key has been to find a good shop that specialized in BMW's. He has found that almost every model has some flaw that, once fixed, seems to be solved. Most common problems have been oil leaks and electronic issues. He feels they are worth the trouble. His cost of ownership has certainly been less than my other friend, but still higher than those of us that own less enticing vehicles.

I simply maintain that the maintenance and repair costs are proportional to the window sticker. You want the most reliable, cheapest to operate vehicle, buy a base Honda, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai, etc. The exceptions are probably Acura, Lexus, and in my opinion Lincoln. They get serviced like a Honda, Toyota, or Ford.

 

This is very true. I purchased a used M5 for less than $15k at one time - nothing wrong with the car, minus high mileage. Maintenance, parts, and service are proportional to the car's MSRP, not the price I paid for it. But, for the short time I had it, the car brought me more extreme highs and lows than any other car I have owned.

This reinforces the notion that, regardless of how well a brand is rated for reliability, there is always the possibility you may end up with a lemon car. FWIW, my Hondas/Acuras have been 100% reliable, but a friend of mine has had nothing but bad luck with his H cars. Conversely, I have had bad experiences with Toyotas/Lexuses (Lexi??), and this same friend has had zero issues with his Toyotas. Obviously these are small samples and quite likely viewed as outliers in the grand picture, but they are only unreliable cars if you were the one reliant upon them.

 

Not even a little. One coworker (with the 5 series) really likes his car so he takes good care of it. The other couldn't care less and has a terrible habit of letting go of door handles in such a thing that they really thwack back, ditto for seat belts. Thankfully he is only riding in the Fit.

I like convertibles with the top up, I'm a weirdo lol

Pretty much.

 

Yeah it seems very hit or miss...as well as die hards/snobs when it comes to German cars.

I go a friend who is that 'I'll only drive BMW, they are the ultimate driving machine'. He's had some basic issues, nothing crazy. 'If you cant afford to fix it, you shouldn't be driving one' also comes to mind. Yeah I agree accounting for maintenance is part of car ownership, but it shouldn't be directly proportional to the cost of the car. My dad had a Late 80's 535is sedan. One of the BEST car he and I have ever driven. Handled great, good power, 250k uneventful miles. He had a used 2000 5-series. Little boring (less raw) in comparison to the 535is, but it had no issues for the 100k miles he put on it. Then I had a friend whose 2013 3-series turbo that was in the shop 5 out of the 6 months he "owned" it. BMW took the car back and he now drives a EV Kia Soul lol. Also had a coworker with a CPO 4-series coupe who had a similar turbo issue. 1 month of repairs and $8k+ (covered by warranty) later, it runs great. SO its hit or miss. My aunt has a2010 328i convertible and 0 issues.

Another coworker had a Audi S6...nothing but problems...now he drives a BMW 5-series and stresses about WHEN something will fail.

I'll admit, the germans made a comfy, well handling car...but not sure why the reliability is either AMAZING...or shit. I also saw the Audi A4 Allroad on a list of 'Cars that will hit 250k miles easily'.

As much as I want one, I'll likely never convince myself to get a Porsche etc, just because I know I can't get 150k+ uneventful miles out of it and any big repairs can be the cost of a used car. But i'd love to drive one...damned if you do damned if you don't.