Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[faftorial]

Nice cow catcher.

[mac5155]

Hello all. Do you think the incoming tariffs are going to affect vehicle prices? My wife and I were going to buy a new car in the next 6 months. Should we just do it now? Is there any shot they actually get cheaper?

What are you looking at? We gotta live vicariously through your purchase.

We’re in the same boat as Pavel. Looking to get a hybrid F150 and a camper. Want to be more like you, mac

If you want to tow a camper don't get a hybrid lol. If you must get a Ford an Ecoboost is your best bet but I also own an ecoboost and never again.

What’s wrong with the hybrid F150? Our neighbor has one and he loves it. Uses it for pulling a camper as well

Didn't realize that Ford made a truck that also had a gasoline engine I thought the Lightning was the only option. Regardless, you'll want to size your camper appropriately. <25 feet and 6000 lbs is about all id want to have to town with a half ton.

[robbiestoupe]

What are you looking at? We gotta live vicariously through your purchase.

We’re in the same boat as Pavel. Looking to get a hybrid F150 and a camper. Want to be more like you, mac

If you want to tow a camper don't get a hybrid lol. If you must get a Ford an Ecoboost is your best bet but I also own an ecoboost and never again.

What’s wrong with the hybrid F150? Our neighbor has one and he loves it. Uses it for pulling a camper as well

Didn't realize that Ford made a truck that also had a gasoline engine I thought the Lightning was the only option. Regardless, you'll want to size your camper appropriately. <25 feet and 6000 lbs is about all id want to have to town with a half ton.

Oh yeah definitely not the Lightning. I wanted the ability to tow and not have to charge every 70 miles but also be a decent daily driver and not guzzle gas.

Pretty sure all the campers we’ve looked at fall under those categories. We could always get the tow package and bump the capacity up to ~12,000 lbs but that’s way more than what we’d need

[mac5155]

Yeah. My 33 footer weighs 7500 lbs though, and I couldn't imagine towing it with a half ton. Weight, payload and length are all factors.

[mac5155]

Is it the 3.5 eco with the hybrid?

[robbiestoupe]

Is it the 3.5 eco with the hybrid?

Either that or the power boost, don’t remember exactly.

[mac5155]

Looks like it's the 3.5 TT eco paired with a battery. That's what's also in my wife's Expedition. It's got a ton of giddy up and is very fun to drive, but the reliability is kinda trash. If you have a warranty, use it. And I'd even consider an extended warranty also. If anything on that truck breaks, you're looking at 4 figures. I mean I did wheel bearings and they were like $250 a piece. I installed myself. Transmission reliability is questionable with the 10R80 though 2022+ seems to have corrected the problems.

[DigitalGypsy66]

Today in outrageous new car prices: I saw an article about Stellantis was laying off 1100 employees at the plant that builds Jeep Gladiators. I vaguely remember discussion here or LGP where the Gladiator was seen as a reasonably priced truck. No longer: my local dealer has them from $48K to well over $50K. That's with all kinds of promotional pricing, most of which you can't stack.

So I looked at Wranglers, and base-ish models at this local dealers start at $40K. That's a two door, not an Unlimited 4 door. Saharas - which I guess are nearly top tier? - are upper $50K.

And what's interesting is this particular dealership has a few new 2022 Ram work trucks on the lot, plus a ton of 2023 model Cherokee/Compasses/Challengers/Chargers.

We may be seeing the end of some of these brands, although probably not the Wranglers.

[faftorial]

Today in outrageous new car prices: I saw an article about Stellantis was laying off 1100 employees at the plant that builds Jeep Gladiators. I vaguely remember discussion here or LGP where the Gladiator was seen as a reasonably priced truck. No longer: my local dealer has them from $48K to well over $50K. That's with all kinds of promotional pricing, most of which you can't stack.

So I looked at Wranglers, and base-ish models at this local dealers start at $40K. That's a two door, not an Unlimited 4 door. Saharas - which I guess are nearly top tier? - are upper $50K.

And what's interesting is this particular dealership has a few new 2022 Ram work trucks on the lot, plus a ton of 2023 model Cherokee/Compasses/Challengers/Chargers.

We may be seeing the end of some of these brands, although probably not the Wranglers.

Chrysler would be the easiest to axe. I think they only have one model (Pacifica) in 2024.

[Shyster]

If you go for a high trim and load up on options, a Ram 1500 can run over $90k.

[mac5155]

And I don't even believe they offer a V8 in it anymore either, do they?

[faftorial]

And I don't even believe they offer a V8 in it anymore either, do they?

I think that's Chevy.

[Shyster]

And I don't even believe they offer a V8 in it anymore either, do they?

I believe you are correct. I believe the hemi has now been retired across almost all Stellantis's lineup in favor of their new twin-turbo "Hurricane" inline six. I want to say the hemi is only still available on the HD 2500/3500/4500/5500 models, but those are being redesigned for 2025, and the rumors are that the Cummins diesel will be the exclusive engine for the HD versions going forward.

[robbiestoupe]

My Traverse’s alternator seems to be shot. Luckily made it to a point where I didn’t strand my family before the battery died.

Going to give a shot at replacing it. $150 for an alternator plus a couple tools I don’t have and maybe 3-4 hours of work. I may regret this

[NTP66]

I’ve only replaced one once, and only because it was in a convenient location. Modern cars? Chances are that’s not the case, so I’d pass.

[DigitalGypsy66]

We had our first "flat tire on the side of the road" in many years earlier this week, and the last time that happened it was in our small town where it happened 4 minutes from my work and 2 minutes from home. I was out of town, and my wife was out in the middle of nowhere. HondaCare had just expired, but they actually called AAA for her and they came out and changed the tire for $90. $500 later in new tires, she was good to go.

That got me thinking - should we have roadside assistance with a service like AAA or our insurance company? What do yinz do? We're doing a lot more driving than we've ever done, and of course with four drivers and soon to be four cars spread out all over the state.

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

I may regret this

I’d say one of the most underrated joys in life is starting what appears to be a hopeless task and actually surprising yourself and getting it right.

[dodint]

Roadside Assistance is nice, but I was a AAA Premier member and they left me stranded overnight in Monroeville. They pay the tow companies very little and each time one was dispatched they would cancel. I cancelled AAA and added towing to my insurance policy the next morning.

[NTP66]

Two people on my team at work had massive issues with AAA in the last year, and their stories were awful enough to convince me to never consider it. I get free roadside assistance with my insurance policy, but even when I was paying for it at Farmer's, it was only a few bucks per month.

Edit: I take it back, I pay $22/year at Travelers now for 'Premiere Roadside Assistance':

Premier Roadside Assistance will provide towing service up to 100 miles, as well as jump start, fuel delivery,† flat tire change and lockout assistance.

This package also provides trip interruption coverage, which means you may be eligible for reimbursement of $200 a day (to a maximum of $600) for meals and lodging if your car breaks down at least 100 miles from home and your vehicle is out of commission for more than 24 hours.

Premier Roadside Assistance also includes personal property coverage with a $500 limit, which provides coverage to replace stolen or damaged personal property as a result of a covered, paid comprehensive or collision loss.

[robbiestoupe]

I’ve only replaced one once, and only because it was in a convenient location. Modern cars? Chances are that’s not the case, so I’d pass.

It’s not that convenient, but I have some family in town that’s willing to help. Worth a shot

[robbiestoupe]

I’ve only replaced one once, and only because it was in a convenient location. Modern cars? Chances are that’s not the case, so I’d pass.

It’s not that convenient, but I have some family in town that’s willing to help. Worth a shot

Took about 3 hours but we got the job done. Biggest headache was maneuvering the old alternator out of the car. I still don’t know how we did it. New one went in relatively easy. Battery now charges and drove 45 minutes home no problem.

[robbiestoupe]

I may regret this

I’d say one of the most underrated joys in life is starting what appears to be a hopeless task and actually surprising yourself and getting it right.

Completing this after the Pitt loss was a nice pick me up

[dodint]

Nice work!

[MrKennethTKangaroo]

So does that mean toupe is going to make the road trip to see Pitt play Louisville next week

[robbiestoupe]

So does that mean toupe is going to make the road trip to see Pitt play Louisville next week

My heart can take only so many attacks