I've already been processing and preparing orders for two hours this morning, so I figure that it's time to take a little break and I have so much on my mind after buying our new car. In this post, I'm just going to review our prior vehicle, the Chevrolet Traverse.
In 2009, we purchased a Chevrolet Traverse 2LT, which was the first year of the vehicle, which is on the LAMBDA platform of vehicles that included the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave. The original intention was to buy the then brand new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox as a V4 with 24/32 MPG. Unfortunately, that early in the cycle, GM was basically producing the V6 model and barely any V4 Equinox cars as an 1LT or 2LT. This foreshadowed what has continued with the company. So, Jennifer told me to test drive the Traverse as well, and the car was stunning. Well finished (or so we thought), loaded, amazing. The dealer had to drive to the shores of Alabama to get our car. The 2LT Traverse was a desert brown metallic with options including leather, navigation, 10 speaker BOSE sound system, dual moon roofs, three row seating, heated seats, you name it. We thought that a big car would be enjoyable for us and with the notion of having a baby to join the twins. The fuel economy was rated 17/24, which for a car of the weight and size was decent, but I was bothered by the (lack of) fuel economy to start with.
In the end, the Traverse was a disappointment. GM quality has a long way to go. In two and a half years and 46,000 miles, here's a list of the problems: Broken lumbar support, broken seat cover (due to the dealer, though), replacement of all the vehicle's timing chains, which resulted in not having the car for a week, broken power adapter cover in the second row, leaking rack, terrible driver side leather wear, unexplained over burn of engine coolant, the inability to perform a standard alignment and additional cost to revise factory settings, and error code errors including the Air Bag system, which amounted to nothing. Talk about a headache.
That's a hell of a list for a $40,000 car of that age. It took three tries to get the timing chain issue settled, which countless '09 owners have dealt with, as GM used a supplier with a lesser quality part. All said, the car had (some under warranty, some not) about $4,000 worth of problems, already. How would it pan out in quality after five years? Who knows, but the trajectory was awful.
The positives were the wonderful ride, silent cabin, space, comfortable seats, heated seats, and features including folding the seats down to create the cubic space of a truck bed. Besides the aforementioned problems, little things were bothersome like the lackluster navigation system's inaccuracy and the necessity to buy a replacement DVD yearly to update the system.
The Traverse of today is essentially the same as the '09 model. While in the Toyota showroom, the Venza, which we considered along with the Traverse, has improved a lot with a wonderful interior. Take a look at the Camaro. The exterior is beautiful, the interior is a colossal disappointment.
Is this the end of our GM buying? Very likely. We take pride in buying American, but when the quality doesn't measure up and the American manufacturers don't offer the technology like the Prius, there is no choice, but to go elsewhere.
Without question, I feel regret for buying the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse. It's a mixed bag of why, from the fact that we saw that the style of car didn't really fit us, having every option under the sun isn't a priority for us, and it's fuel economy among other issues. When the car gets 50% of the sticker price in a trade two and a half years later, that's not impressive, either. If it was a Toyota or Honda, we wouldn't of had that problem.
Stay clear of the Chevrolet Traverse and LAMBDA platform vehicles because odds are that your long-term cost is most likely going to be astronomical.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
How about a redux?
A couple of weeks have gone by since our visit to the local Ford dealer, which didn't work out. Well, after that, it was time to bring in the Traverse for some needed maintenance and repairs. Unfortunately, it's even worse than what we anticipated. First of all, it's terrific to bring your car to a local shop that does quality work, is fair in their pricing, and attempts to save you money. It's like taking the whole car shop business, turning it upside down, and doing the exact opposite of what the majority of car shops do, which is to run a quality, honest business. So, a big thank you to Midway Automotive Repair. We needed two more tires replaced, a very much needed alignment, rotors resurfaced, and then came the leak. Since Chevrolet did a replacement on the timing chains for what was only a two year old vehicle, a small leak has developed. Where's the leak? The rack. So, there will be another $1,000 repair on the Traverse in addition to another two tires at some point sooner rather than later.
The car has been a real disappointment. Jennifer and I purchased a car that was basically twice the cost of any other car that we've ever purchased and in twice the cost, there has been way more than twice the amount of problems of the other cars. Between the warrantied timing chain mess, seat issues, and now the rack, this two and a half plus year old car has about $3500 worth of problems. That's absurd. You can't even get a standard alignment on it based on the factory settings, which adds to even more cost.
After ditching the Ford idea, we decided to do something at the end of the year with the Traverse. That timeline doesn't work now, rather now. It's time to part ways with the big tank. I know you have every gadget you can imagine from dual sunroofs, to automated everything, and the best sound system we've had in a car, hands down, but you're expensive, and you're only going to get more expensive over time.
There are two cars that I've had on the list of cars to buy for several years. They are the Cadillac CTS and Toyota Prius. They're at opposite ends of the car spectrum, but are both awesome vehicles in their own right. With the Traverse, I don't think we're all too high on GM right now, even though a certified CTS could be had. No, how about 50+ MPG, high tech, and environmentally right car? Yes, that sounds right. So, now it's off to visit the Toyota dealership and test drive the Prius. They have two 2011 models left that are the Prius Four trim and they're discounted $3,200 to get them cleared out of the inventory. We're coming for one of 'em!
The car has been a real disappointment. Jennifer and I purchased a car that was basically twice the cost of any other car that we've ever purchased and in twice the cost, there has been way more than twice the amount of problems of the other cars. Between the warrantied timing chain mess, seat issues, and now the rack, this two and a half plus year old car has about $3500 worth of problems. That's absurd. You can't even get a standard alignment on it based on the factory settings, which adds to even more cost.
After ditching the Ford idea, we decided to do something at the end of the year with the Traverse. That timeline doesn't work now, rather now. It's time to part ways with the big tank. I know you have every gadget you can imagine from dual sunroofs, to automated everything, and the best sound system we've had in a car, hands down, but you're expensive, and you're only going to get more expensive over time.
There are two cars that I've had on the list of cars to buy for several years. They are the Cadillac CTS and Toyota Prius. They're at opposite ends of the car spectrum, but are both awesome vehicles in their own right. With the Traverse, I don't think we're all too high on GM right now, even though a certified CTS could be had. No, how about 50+ MPG, high tech, and environmentally right car? Yes, that sounds right. So, now it's off to visit the Toyota dealership and test drive the Prius. They have two 2011 models left that are the Prius Four trim and they're discounted $3,200 to get them cleared out of the inventory. We're coming for one of 'em!
Monday, March 19, 2012
Blog Forgotten
It’s been two weeks since I last wrote. I just forgot! Maybe because I didn’t have much to blog about. We’ve had a good few weeks. We’ve figured out we have to be better parents and deal with a lot of issues that we didn’t know existed. All in all it has been quite all right. Work is work, I guess. It isn’t perfect but I’m taking a different approach where I am just letting everything roll off my back. The negatives will not take the energy away from me. I just won’t let it.
So now our days will be much more structured, not that it is a free for all now. Everything has to be regimented to make sure that everyone stays on task. And it all starts today! We are going to sit down with the kids today and make sure they understand our expectations and what will provide to them. It will be hard work and I hope it is worth it and I hope it works.
We have a great “single life” weekend with no kids! It is amazing how fast you can get in and out of places when you don’t have any kids to drag around. Or a screaming toddler who only wants to walk and pull you around.
So, happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! I had to share the wreath I made. Sadly it is down now. I’m pretty proud of this one!
Tired,
Jennifer
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Totally Different Tuesday
Now that I'm back to being a full-time 5 day a week worker, I'm really trying to be positive. And I will be, because I do see a few ok side-effects to my working from home day being taken away (mostly bs points). I shouldn't complain, I know. I have a good job. I have a job. But, when you have to spend 50 hours a week there, you want it to make you happy. I'm still in the process of making sure this job does make me happy. Or should I not look to a job to make me happy? Maybe that is the answer.
Jennifer
Jennifer
Monday, March 5, 2012
That Didn't Work Out
Sometimes things don't work out and that's just the way it is. So, today I went up to the car dealer meeting my father there, who was actually there having a car serviced, and we met with the salesman from last time. Last time, Jennifer and I thought he was terrific, this time, not so much. Not so much is actually kind, more like not at all. The idea of trading my car in was in the theme of blog of having less and saving more. I was excited about the replacement, even though the present car has virtually every bell and whistle you can imagine.
The used car evaluator came back with a price that wasn't even in the same area code, zip code, or same region of the United States. This guy ends up skipping over all the vehicles like ours in metro Atlanta, which had a higher value here, pulls vehicles from the midwest, where they sell for less, all have 25k-30k more miles, and aren't even the same model! His trade-in value was 4,500 less than what we were looking for. We had to hear all the b.s. about book value, actual selling value, etc. So, while they were working on improving the trade, thanks to something called the internet, I magically find a few vehicles being sold within 20 miles of here that totally validated my trade-in value. They ended up at 1k less than we wanted, but that could have been workable if the new car price worked. It didn't.
The salesman, who was so good last time, kind of checked out. When I verbally smacked down the car evaluator, I guess he thought it was all over. This drama took over 2 hours and then the discounting on the new vehicle was 1,000 less than several other dealers around. It's amazing that they remarked how we've bought multiple cars there and want to keep us happy and have a sale.
It's was a terrible experience, but I have to be honest, when someone is full of garbage and you call them out on their nonsense, it feels quite good. When they throw out invoice pricing and all that nonsense, I swear you just want to tell them to drop. Instead of the good purchase last time, it was good ol' boy magic today. Our salesman checked out and was ready for the next customer.
So, we're not replacing my car, which isn't a problem. It's a terrific vehicle and I'll have to live with the crazy high-end Bose sound system. I could care less about all the other features it has, but the sound system, that's something else. Now we're on to having this paid off this year and removing the remaining bill.
The used car evaluator came back with a price that wasn't even in the same area code, zip code, or same region of the United States. This guy ends up skipping over all the vehicles like ours in metro Atlanta, which had a higher value here, pulls vehicles from the midwest, where they sell for less, all have 25k-30k more miles, and aren't even the same model! His trade-in value was 4,500 less than what we were looking for. We had to hear all the b.s. about book value, actual selling value, etc. So, while they were working on improving the trade, thanks to something called the internet, I magically find a few vehicles being sold within 20 miles of here that totally validated my trade-in value. They ended up at 1k less than we wanted, but that could have been workable if the new car price worked. It didn't.
The salesman, who was so good last time, kind of checked out. When I verbally smacked down the car evaluator, I guess he thought it was all over. This drama took over 2 hours and then the discounting on the new vehicle was 1,000 less than several other dealers around. It's amazing that they remarked how we've bought multiple cars there and want to keep us happy and have a sale.
It's was a terrible experience, but I have to be honest, when someone is full of garbage and you call them out on their nonsense, it feels quite good. When they throw out invoice pricing and all that nonsense, I swear you just want to tell them to drop. Instead of the good purchase last time, it was good ol' boy magic today. Our salesman checked out and was ready for the next customer.
So, we're not replacing my car, which isn't a problem. It's a terrific vehicle and I'll have to live with the crazy high-end Bose sound system. I could care less about all the other features it has, but the sound system, that's something else. Now we're on to having this paid off this year and removing the remaining bill.
Saturday, March 3, 2012
New Month, New Perspective
We've made it through the first two days of the month. That is awesome. And one of those days was a "no spend day." How stupidly awesome is that?? Little to no drama at work and I can say the same for home too!
We rearranged the furniture in the master bedroom, which allowed us to mount the TV on the wall and give the boys our dresser, so that was a nice savings. In two weeks E will be painting the bedroom a nice grey (we are such a grey family) and we will get a black and white comforter set and grey sheets. We'll also find some nice decorative wall pieces which is something our bedroom has always lacked.
A good start to turning this ship around!
Jennifer
We rearranged the furniture in the master bedroom, which allowed us to mount the TV on the wall and give the boys our dresser, so that was a nice savings. In two weeks E will be painting the bedroom a nice grey (we are such a grey family) and we will get a black and white comforter set and grey sheets. We'll also find some nice decorative wall pieces which is something our bedroom has always lacked.
A good start to turning this ship around!
Jennifer
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