Saturday, March 4, 2017
Day 6 and 7: Have you driven a Ford lately?
Ford has been making the very attractive and more and more reliable focus and Fiesta models for some time now. While the focus Lacks a manual transmission for 2017, the used Market seems to have a lot of the five-door hatchbacks and both the focus and Fiesta in manual transmissions. That's good because the Dual clutch transmission automatics are a nightmare of imprecise shifting and weird acceleration. The space utilization in the focus is not the best, it is comfortable and quiet. I haven't driven the fiesta yet but it's compact size definitely leads me to believe it will be a fine handling car with a reasonable amount of interior volume for its size. Fords resale values seem to be holding pretty well except for the electric Focus, but I wasn't planning on buying an electric Focus anyway. One other slight possibility is the Ford C-Max Hybrid. It's just the tall Focus but with the Hybrid drivetrain. Unfortunately it also has a CVT transmission and that can't be gotten around. The C-Max can be had for relatively small amount of money, and it's fuel economy is excellent. As long as you don't get the energi model the interior volume is also pretty good.
Friday, March 3, 2017
Day 5: Nissan Leaf, used and cheap
The next car up for consideration is a used 2014 Nissan Leaf. 2014's have a chance of still being under the 36K bumper to bumper warranty, have low miles, and can be found under $8K with the quick charge package. The things I give up are the massive cargo space, and space in my garage. Also I'd have to rent a car for long trips. On the other hand, not having to go to a gas station any more is pretty alluring, as well as the more chill repair schedule. Another downer is the potential battery replacement down the road. So, does a modern car with low miles, that can easily travel 60-90 miles a day work as a Fit replacement? For it probably would. I rarely travel more than 90 miles a day--usually only on my trips from Seattle to Oakland, and again, that's what a rent a car is for. We generally drive our car 3 or 4 times a week, about 125 miles at most. For this, even a Leaf with a marginal battery would be fine.
Another big minus to the Leaf is the looks. They are not attractive. On the plus side, there are so many of them around, that they don't stick out quite a badly as they used to. I do feel bad for the people who paid full retail for these things back in the day. Even my friends who got favorable lease deals ultimately overpaid for them by putting down $$$ to fall into that low low monthly payment. The good news there is that when the lease was up, Nissan had to take back the car or eat a large piece of the residual value to encourage sales. Something clearly they're not good at as there are so dang many low $ low mile Leafs available.
Bottom line--the Leaf seems like a fancy electrified previous generation Versa to me, but they've held up a lot better than those old Versa. I'll add it to the spreadsheet.
Another big minus to the Leaf is the looks. They are not attractive. On the plus side, there are so many of them around, that they don't stick out quite a badly as they used to. I do feel bad for the people who paid full retail for these things back in the day. Even my friends who got favorable lease deals ultimately overpaid for them by putting down $$$ to fall into that low low monthly payment. The good news there is that when the lease was up, Nissan had to take back the car or eat a large piece of the residual value to encourage sales. Something clearly they're not good at as there are so dang many low $ low mile Leafs available.
Bottom line--the Leaf seems like a fancy electrified previous generation Versa to me, but they've held up a lot better than those old Versa. I'll add it to the spreadsheet.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Day 4: Nissan Versa Note
Last year when my driver side airbag got replaced, I got entirely too familiar with an Enterprise rental Nissan Versa Note. This car has the unfortunate CVT, as probably 99% of the Versa Notes came from the factory. Unfortunate also because for 2017, the CVT is the only transmission. To that end, I'm very interested in driving a Versa Note with the manual transmission. That means I'm in the used car market. Getting the manual while solving the tranny woes, would introduce some unintended side issues. I'd be buying a used car. An advantage pricewise, but who know if it was taken care of. There is a 2014 with same number of miles as my car near me. The dealer is asking $9900 for it, which is pretty high, but hey, it's a retail used car dealer, what do you expect. Also the manual comes with another interesting feature, manual roll down windows. It's got A/C, but no cruise control. If I thought my Fit was a penalty box on long trips, the Versa may be worse. Quieter, but no cruise, oy. A 2014 is showing on Fuelly.com with 24K miles tracked at 31.6 MPG. My Fuelly numbers are 32.5 MPG combined. It would be higher except I drive a majority of time in city.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Day 3: More of the Same, This Time by Phone
Not that I expected any different answer, but just for giggles I called American Honda's customer service line to see if I could get clarification on the issue of my passenger side airbag not being included in the current recall campaign.
The customer service reps are VERY deferential, while also sticking quite annoyingly on message. This means there are lots of Pleases and Thank yous and I appreciate your concerns, and much time devoted to dotting i's and crossing t's--process and documentation are everything here. That said, when asked directly why my car is not included in a recall that seems to span the model year, the rep repeated, in slightly different ways no fewer than 5 times, that my car is not currently subject to any open recalls. He did conjecture that perhaps it was due to the factory, but I may be reading too much into his response.
Bottom line, he said, over and over, that airbag inflators are tracked meticulously and mine was not among the recall candidates.
Do I trust him/American Honda customer service? Not for a second. I'm tempted to remove the front passenger seat to ensure that nobody can sit in it until my car ultimately is recalled, because I am fairly certain it will--it's just a matter of time.
On the list of life annoyances, this is pretty low. But like all annoyances, I know it's there and if I actively start banning passengers from the front seat, it will ultimately turn from annoyance to inconvenience to intolerable situation.
Coming up: thinking about the next car and what the candidates will be. And silly me thought that the 2012 Fit would be my last ICE (internal combustion engine) car.
The customer service reps are VERY deferential, while also sticking quite annoyingly on message. This means there are lots of Pleases and Thank yous and I appreciate your concerns, and much time devoted to dotting i's and crossing t's--process and documentation are everything here. That said, when asked directly why my car is not included in a recall that seems to span the model year, the rep repeated, in slightly different ways no fewer than 5 times, that my car is not currently subject to any open recalls. He did conjecture that perhaps it was due to the factory, but I may be reading too much into his response.
Bottom line, he said, over and over, that airbag inflators are tracked meticulously and mine was not among the recall candidates.
Do I trust him/American Honda customer service? Not for a second. I'm tempted to remove the front passenger seat to ensure that nobody can sit in it until my car ultimately is recalled, because I am fairly certain it will--it's just a matter of time.
On the list of life annoyances, this is pretty low. But like all annoyances, I know it's there and if I actively start banning passengers from the front seat, it will ultimately turn from annoyance to inconvenience to intolerable situation.
Coming up: thinking about the next car and what the candidates will be. And silly me thought that the 2012 Fit would be my last ICE (internal combustion engine) car.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Day 2: Tweet Tweet
I contacted Honda Customer Service via twitter this morning @HondaCustSvc and had the following conversation (VIN is redacted):
I'm sure the lawyers have some formula for this, and maybe they're just trying to not get their dealer's service centers overwhelmed like what happened last year, but to pass it off as "your car isn't listed so don't worry about it" is just plain wrong. I get it, the chances are infinitesimal that my passenger airbag is going to blow unexpectedly, but there is a chance, and being put in this limbo is not inspiring my confidence in the Honda brand or its management.
@HondaCustSvc JHMGE8 36,800 miles. Airbag site sez no recalls, but generic 2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall.
2h
2 hours ago
Sent
Hello and thank you for reaching out to us. Can you please provide the VIN so that we may verify any recalls associated with your vehicle? Thank you. ^RB
2h
2 hours ago
We apologize for the previous message. After review, we have found that the VIN provided (JHMGE8) does not have safety recalls at this time. Feel free to check your recalls at any time by visiting http://recalls.owners.honda.com/service-mainte …. We hope this helps. ^RB
2h
2 hours ago
2012 FIT YES passenger airbag recall. Are you saying my car will NOT be recalled for this issue?
45m
44 minutes ago
Sent
2012 FIT recalls: Passenger Airbag Inflator
Takata Driver Airbag Inflator
VSA NON-COMPLIANCE UPDATE
40m
39 minutes ago
Sent
We have confirmed that your passenger airbag has not been affected by the Takata Airbag recall. You may visit the previous link provided to confirm this information. ^RR
38m
37 minutes ago
Again, your previous link sez Passenger Airbag Inflator for 2012 FIT. I have a 2012 Fit.
35m
34 minutes ago
Sent
31m
30 minutes ago
Sent
Recalls are VIN specific and do not apply to every vehicle within that year and model. The link we provided you will show if your specific vehicle has been affected. ^RR
25m
24 minutes ago
until mine shows up on the list cuz every car of the model year eventually does. In the meantime, you're saying if I have a passenger and the airbag unexpectedly deploys, oops, our bad. Sorry. NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
8m
7 minutes ago
Sent
Please contact our Recalls Department at 1-800-999-1009 option #4 if you have any other questions. ^RR
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm sure the lawyers have some formula for this, and maybe they're just trying to not get their dealer's service centers overwhelmed like what happened last year, but to pass it off as "your car isn't listed so don't worry about it" is just plain wrong. I get it, the chances are infinitesimal that my passenger airbag is going to blow unexpectedly, but there is a chance, and being put in this limbo is not inspiring my confidence in the Honda brand or its management.
Monday, February 27, 2017
Day 1: Deja Vu all over again, or Here we go again--aw crap!
February 27, 2017
Seeing as how the 2009 and 2010 have had their passenger front airbags recalled, I figured it was only a matter of time before my 2012 Fit would also get in on that action. And here it is:
The super crappy (and by super crappy I mean massively messed up) part of this oh-so-fun bag of hurt handed to me by Honda is that when I enter my car's VIN, it doesn't come up yet, so I'm not sure if that means they won't deal with the car cuz it's VIN isn't listed, making me drive around a car that in one place says is unsafe, and in another, says that I'm all good, nothing to see here folks.
Interestingly (or not) is that the 2013 Fit's passenger airbag is not up for recall yet. Oh, just you wait.
I'm trying to make an appointment now even though officially my VIN isn't up yet. Grrrrrrrr. That Chevy Bolt is looking mighty attractive about now.
And then for my own entertainment I had a conversation with a Honda ChatBot, Dave. Yes, I understand Dave said recalls are VIN specific, but this is just ridiculous.
Last thought: because one does not NEED to have a passenger in the front seat in order to drive the car, there's no loaner's for this recall. Looks like I get extra elbow room til this is resolved, and the internet gets to see my scribblings again. Hooray.
Seeing as how the 2009 and 2010 have had their passenger front airbags recalled, I figured it was only a matter of time before my 2012 Fit would also get in on that action. And here it is:
Recall Result
2012
Honda
Fit
Feb 27, 2017
3
Passenger Airbag Inflator
The super crappy (and by super crappy I mean massively messed up) part of this oh-so-fun bag of hurt handed to me by Honda is that when I enter my car's VIN, it doesn't come up yet, so I'm not sure if that means they won't deal with the car cuz it's VIN isn't listed, making me drive around a car that in one place says is unsafe, and in another, says that I'm all good, nothing to see here folks.
Interestingly (or not) is that the 2013 Fit's passenger airbag is not up for recall yet. Oh, just you wait.
I'm trying to make an appointment now even though officially my VIN isn't up yet. Grrrrrrrr. That Chevy Bolt is looking mighty attractive about now.
And then for my own entertainment I had a conversation with a Honda ChatBot, Dave. Yes, I understand Dave said recalls are VIN specific, but this is just ridiculous.
Last thought: because one does not NEED to have a passenger in the front seat in order to drive the car, there's no loaner's for this recall. Looks like I get extra elbow room til this is resolved, and the internet gets to see my scribblings again. Hooray.
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