What's a car brand you would NEVER buy

[Chiefsmom]

I have an Equinox.  2017.
I want to punch whoever designed it in the face.

Serious.  It takes 1/2 hour to for the heater to actually warm up.  In Michigan!!!
And put the windows down.  You will be treated to the worst "air pressure" thumping ever.  Hurts my ears.
And who puts the windows up so high, you can't rest your arm out the window?

Dumb, Dumb SUV

[l0st]

I have an Equinox.  2017.
I want to punch whoever designed it in the face.

Serious.  It takes 1/2 hour to for the heater to actually warm up.  In Michigan!!!
And put the windows down.  You will be treated to the worst "air pressure" thumping ever.  Hurts my ears.
And who puts the windows up so high, you can't rest your arm out the window?

Dumb, Dumb SUV

If its taking 1/2 hour to warm up, I would have the thermostat checked. It might be stuck open. I've had them fail that way before and lack of heat was really the only symptom.

A friend of mine bought an equinox and had a transmission failure before 90K. They replaced the transmission under warranty but totally screwed up the car doing it somehow. They had the steering wheel crooked and all of the interior electronics were no longer working. He had to fight with them to fix this. It was crazy. They literally tried to claim the car was like this when he brought it to them.

[Chiefsmom]

If its taking 1/2 hour to warm up, I would have the thermostat checked. It might be stuck open. I've had them fail that way before and lack of heat was really the only symptom.

A friend of mine bought an equinox and had a transmission failure before 90K. They replaced the transmission under warranty but totally screwed up the car doing it somehow. They had the steering wheel crooked and all of the interior electronics were no longer working. He had to fight with them to fix this. It was crazy. They literally tried to claim the car was like this when he brought it to them.

I will have to get that checked.  I bought it used, @ 30,000 miles, one owner and it did that from the get go.  I've learned at least that even though you are buying a car in June, Test the heater!!!

[l0st]

I will have to get that checked.  I bought it used, @ 30,000 miles, one owner and it did that from the get go.  I've learned at least that even though you are buying a car in June, Test the heater!!!

I once bought a used car at 50K and everything seemed fine, until winter hit. If you let it idle a while, the car would warm up. Then, the more you drove, the colder it got in the cabin. Hours long commutes with no heat on the feet are not fun. But yeah, was just the thermostat. On that car, the thermostat was like $50 because its one of those electronic hybrid deals but cars with a standard thermostat... I think they're less than $10 in most cases. There were no codes or any other apparent issues with the vehicle or driveability.

Gas mileage slightly improved after the new thermostat was installed as well.

Another thing to look at, if the car has electronic climate control, there is probably a heater valve somwhere that controls the flow of coolant to the heater core. Mine are open by default - meaning full heat - but when one side of the valve stopped responding, for whatever reason the computer commanded the valves full closed, and I had no heat on the driver's side of the cabin. I got them to go again for a bit by ... beating on them with a hammer... but ultimate the valve needed to be replaced. This didn't happen until the car had 150K mi on it, though.

[VulcanWerks]

I've driven a Corrado VR6 way back in the day and it was one of the most exciting cars I've ever had the pleasure of operating.

"Affordable Porsche" was a term I remember reading to describe it once.

I currently drive a GTI (2019 - Autobahn) and it can't begin to touch the fun-level the Corrado had

GTI is a good car!

The Corrado is fun. Very nimble. Not very fast my modern standards but you can smash that little VR6 around - great sounding engine too with straight pipes to a TT exhaust.

---

I once bought a used car at 50K and everything seemed fine, until winter hit. If you let it idle a while, the car would warm up. Then, the more you drove, the colder it got in the cabin. Hours long commutes with no heat on the feet are not fun. But yeah, was just the thermostat. On that car, the thermostat was like $50 because its one of those electronic hybrid deals but cars with a standard thermostat... I think they're less than $10 in most cases. There were no codes or any other apparent issues with the vehicle or driveability.

Gas mileage slightly improved after the new thermostat was installed as well.

Another thing to look at, if the car has electronic climate control, there is probably a heater valve somwhere that controls the flow of coolant to the heater core. Mine are open by default - meaning full heat - but when one side of the valve stopped responding, for whatever reason the computer commanded the valves full closed, and I had no heat on the driver's side of the cabin. I got them to go again for a bit by ... beating on them with a hammer... but ultimate the valve needed to be replaced. This didn't happen until the car had 150K mi on it, though.

Heater core issues are the worst.

Not typically a super expensive part but a massive pain to get to.

Manufacturers also install them all sorts of different ways.

I had a 2002 Land Rover Disco 2 at one point. Super cool old British rig.

But, I was driving one day and heard what sounded like a waterfall when I accelerated. Turns out it’s a semi-common issue! As I can recall, the issue is most cars have coolant hose into the core is higher than the output hose (as in higher off the ground). This allows gravity to help “pull” the fluid down and thus reduces air bubbles in the system.

Land Rover did it backwards and pushes the fluid up through the heater core.

This makes them get air bubbles and the waterfall sound.

Solution?

Replace the core because even if you flush the system you will frequently still get bubbles.

Not the best design…

[l0st]

GTI is a good car!

The Corrado is fun. Very nimble. Not very fast my modern standards but you can smash that little VR6 around - great sounding engine too with straight pipes to a TT exhaust.

---

Heater core issues are the worst.

Not typically a super expensive part but a massive pain to get to.

Manufacturers also install them all sorts of different ways.

I had a 2002 Land Rover Disco 2 at one point. Super cool old British rig.

But, I was driving one day and heard what sounded like a waterfall when I accelerated. Turns out it’s a semi-common issue! As I can recall, the issue is most cars have coolant hose into the core is higher than the output hose (as in higher off the ground). This allows gravity to help “pull” the fluid down and thus reduces air bubbles in the system.

Land Rover did it backwards and pushes the fluid up through the heater core.

This makes them get air bubbles and the waterfall sound.

Solution?

Replace the core because even if you flush the system you will frequently still get bubbles.

Not the best design…

Older BMWs have similar issues with the cooling system. Need to be bled, bled, and bled again. Takes a couple weeks to get all the air bubbles out. Luckily, no heater core failures. Don't know about the new ones. It helps to put the front up on jack stands while filling.

[Raptured]

I'm sad that VW canned the VR6

[l0st]

I'm sad that VW canned the VR6

I guess I've never been a big fan of VWs. I did have an 8V Golf at one point many moons ago. Like a lego car parts wise - interchangable with most other VWs of the era. Parts were cheap and available. It was pretty slow. I think it only had something like 60 or 65 HP. And the brakes were terrible. Of all the cars I have owned, that VW had hands down the worst brakes of all of them. I did end up wrecking it when a lady in a Blazer slammed on her brakes in front of me in the rain... car just wasn't going to stop no matter what and there was nowhere to go.

It also had the k-jetronic mechanical fuel injection with the crappy air meter thing that broke on literally everybody's car. I had to carry around a set of metric hex keys in the car so I could adjust the secret set screw on the air meter when the mixture got too rich. The air meters themselves were unobtainium at the time and I had no money to replace it anyways.

[727Sky]

[rickymouse]

I could have bought a little Porsche 912 years back, It was in good shape, just needed a muffler.  Price was eight hundred bucks...I got in it to take it for a test drive, couldn't shift it into gear, the shifter hit my right leg when I tried to get it into gear.  I mentioned it to the guy who owned it and he said same problem with him...that is why he was selling it, he couldn't drive it.  I would have bought it for the daughter if he would drive it to my house...he said he can't because he can't shift either.  My workers were all my size or a little shorter, but strong construction worker bodies and strong legs....no way would any of them have been able to drive it either.

At the time in the condition it was in, it was only worth about 1600...The 912s were not real high priced Porsche models.  It was maybe a sixty seven, that was in around the year 2000.  Had that little four banger in it, the guy said it was kind of snappy for a little car.  Had the same engine as my uncle had in his Volkswagon camper van that he had next to his garage on the farm, so I had parts for the engine if I ever needed them.

I won't buy a car that I cannot fit into.  I wonder if the other Porsche cars are that tiny too.