Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Blue Gap, Arizona

Blue Gap, AZ Car Consumer Discussions

Should take Gap Insurance

by checkercab on Thu Dec 03 17:42:33 PST 2009

I'm going to lease a 2010 Base Rav4 4x4 first month and dmv down all taxes rolled into $279 a month payment for 36 months 0% financing Dealer says Gap Insurance is $20 a month. My state doesn't offer outside insurance companies for Gap Insurance. Given that everythng is rolled into the payment and the financing is 0% and that the resale Kelly Blue Book value of Rav4 4x4 is high... does is make sense get the GAP insurance or not? Obviously if I don't have to spend the extra money I'd rather not. Can't quite figure out how much I'd be at risk if any given the specifics listed above. Thanks for the advice in advance.

First week impressions - 1LT 4cyl FWD w/options

by blue_box on Tue Nov 17 13:16:03 PST 2009

First post on the forums! Long one, sorry, but I don't have time to post often. My wife wanted (and deserves) her first new car, but last year I made her wait after hearing about the 2010 redesign. Good thing I did. ;) Her 1LT 4cyl arrived last week. Cardinal red, titanium/black interior, with rearview camera, interface package, cargo management, and power sunroof as the only options. Considered the 2LT, but wanted to keep the total cost under $25K after all costs/credits; couldn't see paying $2K more for climate control, foglamps, and a "better" stereo, considering she already wanted the $1K sunroof option. MSRP: 25960 Paid: 24450 after $500 60-day waiver. No ad fees, markups, etc. I negotiated through emailing a dozen dealers, but honestly, the first one offered this price and no-one beat it. My old trade-in covered the taxes/tags/title cost. Ordered 8/28; Delivered 11/11. Highlights: - Ride; tight, but comfortable. Not as jerky front-to-back as RAV4 or CRV thanks to longer wheelbase. Choppyness on rough patches no worse than most cars, but seems better than the other crossovers I've tested. 3800lbs helps here. - Seating; Initially, I thought they were a bit stiff, but once you ride in it for a while your legs and back begin to appreciate it. Fabric looks quite durable, and the red stitching makes a nice touch. Rear seats have recline positioning; most comfortable rear seats I've ever been in. - Interior; NOT cheap looking/feeling to me (I don't know where people get the idea; it's a $25K+ crossover, not a $45K+ luxmobus). Light-years better design/feel/ergo than RAV4/CRV. We tested a Venza and thought there was just as much plasticky parts in that. (The Venza dash is football-field HUGE (and sunglare-y), and though there's a few less chrome-y bits, the base model has a weird matte pattern where the fake wood normally goes in the up-scale model.) Switchgear feel is quality-nice, and once you read the quick intro manual, the center console layout is user friendly. Almost missed where the dashlight dimmer is; just left of the steering column, kind of hidden. Took my wife a couple days to get used to having the door lock button on the center stack. - Again, There Is NOT Too Much Interior Chrome! Ok, dating myself. I'm a 50's cruiser / 60's musclecar fan. Chrome, chrome, chrome. Haven't had one instance of blindness-by-sun-reflecting-off-the-chrome yet. - Ride Height: My wife is only 5'3", and she feels like it has a "commanding view" of the road. Yes, it's up high enough. Not Tahoe-high, but higher than a Venza, and just as good as a RAV4/CRV. Me, I'm a sports-car type and like 'em low-slung, but even I feel comfortable in it, which brings me to... - Handling; the electric steering works quite well on the highway, with good on-center feel. Inspires confidence. Reviewers say it's mushy in the turns? Hey, this ain't no sports car! Much easier to handle at parking-lot speeds because of it. I have no complaints. Besides, GM is *finally* putting good rubber on their cars (Michelin, in this case)! Hoo-rah! Sorry, Goodyear. Too many years of noisy, bad-wearing tires. (I'm totally in agreement with the Pirelli's on the Camaro, too.) - Drivetrain; Engine revs willingly, only until the mid-upper rev range does engine noise make it into the supremely quiet cabin. Slushbox works smooth and well, taking only a little more time upshifting than I'm used to. There's no unusual amount of engine braking; downshifts are nearly undetectable. - Quiet; did I say the cabin is quiet? Cars going by in the opposite lane barely emit the slightest whish, and with the radio on, you can't even hear that. You can easily hear an ambulance siren from way off though, trust me. Wind noise/buffeting with the windows rolled down and sunroof open is minimal. - Stereo; Yes, the basic stereo is just fine. I was an audio nut many moons ago, and think most of today's basic OEM car stereos are so good it hardly pays to get the brand-name upsell. - Noise; The only thing I've noticed is an intermittent squeak when getting in/out of the driver's side. Probably that new suspension bushing rubber, once broken in it will go away. Otherwise, this thing is tight. Doors and trunklid close with a very nice quality thunk. - Room; Plenty. Might not spec out to Forester/CRV/RAV4 volumes, but what's there is more functional primarily because of that wonderful sliding back seat. With a rear-facing infant seat behind the passenger seat, there's more than enough legroom up front for me (I'm 6'2"), and there's still a two or three-inch gap between the seat-back and the car-seat. We also have a booster seat for the two-year-old behind the drivers seat, and he won't be kicking the seat back for a few years. Cargo space is quite useful; my wife is a high-school teacher and kept a 70qt. storage tote, blankets, books, coats, a stroller, and other stuff in her car trunk; there's room for all that and more. Center armrest storage fits her 15" MacBook with a cover on, but not in a laptop bag. Map pockets on the doors are a bit shallow, but there's one on the passenger side of the center console that works better. There are so many nice touches that I haven't pointed out, but the only thing on this car I could have wished for would be an HDRadio-capable stereo, XM be damned. Besides, we both have iPods. We're not paying the XM toll going forward, but we probably will keep the OnStar "safe & sound" subscription next year. After all, she's footing that bill. :) We'll see how it is a few months from now, but at the moment, we're very pleased. Welcome back, Chevy; welcome back, GM.

Re: Thank you to ateixeira and xwesx [ateixeira]

by bpraxis on Fri Oct 23 12:07:52 PDT 2009

Happy to know ateixeira that the body panels are straight on your ride. Even though the copper red is dark for some reason it does not show scratches. It is one of the finest colors out there and I have recieved many compliments. Your blue is a very attractive color and you made a good choice sans the maintainence part. I am going to meet with a factory rep regarding fitment and may attempt to have them buy it back. One panet has a gap of approxmately 7 mm, both doors do not fit properly, and the truck is misaligned. Sorry to go off topic regarding the Forrester.

Re: Need thoughts on a Lease on 2010 ML350 Blue Tec [arunnair]

by storm10 on Mon Oct 12 23:49:36 PDT 2009

Do not put $8k down. When you lease through MBF you automatically have gap insuranse, which covers the difference between what you owe to the bank and what it worth (inequity) in case if your car gets stolen or totalled. So you are protected against paying anything. However if something happend to your car, the gap will cover the difference - the gap, but will not cover anything you already spent - like $8k.

1993 Metro LSI update-3 cylinder convertible

by annielulu on Sat Jun 20 15:56:00 PDT 2009

Zaken1: Been working on the car. Replaced new plugs as you recommended and gapped them as you said. Replaced distributor cap & rotor, replaced plug and coil wires, replaced coil. It has a new timing belt. Took off the timing cover and checked timing marks-all line up good. Have a new battery. Getting good fuel flow-not the fuel pump or a clogged filter. The spark being generated is not blue/white- it's yellowish, but it's getting to the plugs. Checked the fuel injector for gas. It is working, but If I am correct-the injector is supposed to generate a "conical mist" of fuel flow into the throttle body. Mine squirts out fuel-it's not a mist, and I pulled one of the plugs and cranked the engine...well, fuel just squirted right out of the cylinder-pushed out by the compression. I've never seen this before. Well, could it be spark or fuel. Based upon this new info....what do you think. Thank you very much for any help you can provide.

The Ultimate LLC today...

by the_big_al on Mon Jul 06 23:43:29 PDT 2009

So I haven't seen this in awhile but I came upon the ULLC today. (ultimate LLC). The freeway I was on is the typical 2 lanes each direction and huge median separating the two. I am in a line of about 4 cars headed up by a blue early-mid 90's Taurus. At first it wasn't too bad as we were all going about 70ish which was fine for me. The SL is 65 so 70 was a good speed. But then as I start paying attention to this Taurus is would bob over the line into the right lane a little and then bob back. Then it would slow to about 60, and then speed back up to 75. Then bob again into the other lane slightly. Then he would bob over to the shoulder and hit the "wake up" bumps. I almost thought he was drunk. Traffic was such in the right lane that there was always someone there. A truck or a motorhome or a pickup pulling a camper. Plus traffic was heavier probably due to everyone traveling home from the holiday. So there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity to get past, even in the right lane. Now if this car had been sensible, there were several times it could have moved over and let others go by, but it seemed that every time he got a clear shot he would speed up to 75 or so while still bobbing from lane edge to lane edge. Finally however, I ended up being only 2 cars back and noticed a gap in the right lane coming up. (this seems familiar to me somehow???) and prepare to take it. The right lane clears up and I give the Taurus about 5 seconds to take the opportunity to move over, although I knew he wouldn't. I was also giving the car in front of me an opportunity to pass as well, but he didn't so I gunned it, moved over to the right lane and passed. ANd what do you know. Its some dude hunched forward leaning towards the right, (I think he had an elbow on his knee) texting away. Also as I was passing, I kept to the far right of the right lane because I knew he would bob my way and he did. Put the passenger side tires over the line as I was passing him. I sped up and got as far away from him as I could get.