Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: sifan
You do realize that the loaner price is built into the hourly rate right? That's why it was 20k at the dealer. Around here, you can get a rental car from Enterprise for around $20-$30 a day. That's part of the dealer's $80-$100+ an hour rate.
I know, but it is just more convenient to receive and return the rental car right on the spot where my Outback is. My wife has a very busy work schedule; it is kind of hard to find ride if I get the rental somewhere else. Besides, the length of stay of my car in a repair shop is unpredictable. However, I will look into this alternative.
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My strategy for a broken down car is to use CAA to get my car towed to my usual mechanic, with me riding along, they fix the car that day and I drive it home. A fwd common beater shouldn't take long to fix normally, and parts are always available locally.[/quote]
Being there, done that. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I tried to save money by driving old and high mileage cars, which were passed down by my parents or relatives. I had them fixed as paychecks came without worrying car payments. I drove a little, and fixed a little. Eventually my parents were just tired of rescuing me from being stranded by the roadside so many times; they bought me a brand new 2003 Echo. I proactively maintain it since then. A inline 4-cylinder engine is fairly easy to maintain with Toyota reliability. I install a pre-luber, two Frantz bypass filters (oil/transmission), engine block heater, heat pads for oil/transmission pans, battery relocated to the trunk, and gauges for oil/coolant/transmission temperatures and oil pressure by myself. Now it has 160k miles and only stranded me once when the cam shaft/crank shaft sensors went bad. I intend to keep it forever even though it is underpower.
2009 Subaru Outback was my father's dream car, which came with all the factory options. He gave it to me before passing away with 33k miles. I used to work on my 1973 VW Super Beetle in my college years and learned how difficult it was to change plugs on the flat 4 engine. It is the first car I own that has a sun roof and leather seats and becomes my wife's daily drive. She was so excited to open the sun roof the first time in her life, but tragically it refused to close. Apparently my father never opened it since new. I had to use duck tape and a trash bag to cover the roof, and took the car to a dealer the next day. This was how the long term relation with the dealer started. Initially I thought Subaru would be as reliable as Toyota, so, I always took it to dealer every 5k miles for synthetic oil change/tire rotation and routine maintenance thinking how bad could it be with proactive maintenance. Since it is my wife's car, I don't want her to be stranded due to breakdown. For the last 63k miles of ownership the cost of maintenance is beyond my comprehension. It performs admirably on mountainous I-68, but its parts are not as durable as Toyota's. My 1997 Toyota Previa Super Charge AWD minivan was donated away due to a blown head gasket which reached 199k miles and cost a lot less to maintain during its lifetime. My wife eventually will pass the Outback to my son in the future, but I am not sure if he can afford to maintain it properly. My replacement will most likely a Toyota vehicle.
Originally Posted By: sifan
You do realize that the loaner price is built into the hourly rate right? That's why it was 20k at the dealer. Around here, you can get a rental car from Enterprise for around $20-$30 a day. That's part of the dealer's $80-$100+ an hour rate.
I know, but it is just more convenient to receive and return the rental car right on the spot where my Outback is. My wife has a very busy work schedule; it is kind of hard to find ride if I get the rental somewhere else. Besides, the length of stay of my car in a repair shop is unpredictable. However, I will look into this alternative.
[/quote]
My strategy for a broken down car is to use CAA to get my car towed to my usual mechanic, with me riding along, they fix the car that day and I drive it home. A fwd common beater shouldn't take long to fix normally, and parts are always available locally.[/quote]
Being there, done that. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I tried to save money by driving old and high mileage cars, which were passed down by my parents or relatives. I had them fixed as paychecks came without worrying car payments. I drove a little, and fixed a little. Eventually my parents were just tired of rescuing me from being stranded by the roadside so many times; they bought me a brand new 2003 Echo. I proactively maintain it since then. A inline 4-cylinder engine is fairly easy to maintain with Toyota reliability. I install a pre-luber, two Frantz bypass filters (oil/transmission), engine block heater, heat pads for oil/transmission pans, battery relocated to the trunk, and gauges for oil/coolant/transmission temperatures and oil pressure by myself. Now it has 160k miles and only stranded me once when the cam shaft/crank shaft sensors went bad. I intend to keep it forever even though it is underpower.
2009 Subaru Outback was my father's dream car, which came with all the factory options. He gave it to me before passing away with 33k miles. I used to work on my 1973 VW Super Beetle in my college years and learned how difficult it was to change plugs on the flat 4 engine. It is the first car I own that has a sun roof and leather seats and becomes my wife's daily drive. She was so excited to open the sun roof the first time in her life, but tragically it refused to close. Apparently my father never opened it since new. I had to use duck tape and a trash bag to cover the roof, and took the car to a dealer the next day. This was how the long term relation with the dealer started. Initially I thought Subaru would be as reliable as Toyota, so, I always took it to dealer every 5k miles for synthetic oil change/tire rotation and routine maintenance thinking how bad could it be with proactive maintenance. Since it is my wife's car, I don't want her to be stranded due to breakdown. For the last 63k miles of ownership the cost of maintenance is beyond my comprehension. It performs admirably on mountainous I-68, but its parts are not as durable as Toyota's. My 1997 Toyota Previa Super Charge AWD minivan was donated away due to a blown head gasket which reached 199k miles and cost a lot less to maintain during its lifetime. My wife eventually will pass the Outback to my son in the future, but I am not sure if he can afford to maintain it properly. My replacement will most likely a Toyota vehicle.
