Posted on 06/24/2015 9:13:16 PM PDT by nickcarraway
So I’m on vacation the other day, and I get a text message from my dad saying that he’s returning to the Lexus dealership service department for the second time in a day.
This surprised me. My father would never willingly go to an automobile dealership twice in a single day. The man will sometimes go entire years without setting foot in a car dealer. He is, when it comes to cars, my polar opposite: he doesn’t care. He drives 6,000 miles a year and religiously maintains his vehicles at the dealership, documenting every service, every oil change, every fuel stop in a little notebook he keeps in the glovebox. When I was a kid, his car-buying strategy was to purchase a new Camry with cash every ten years. Once, he waited 11 years. That was a big deal.
It was an even bigger deal when I finally talked Dad into deviating from his Camry loyalty and buying a Lexus, just a few months shy of his 60th birthday. But I couldn’t convince him to buy a new one. Oh, no: that would just be crazy. Instead, he bought a certified pre-owned 2005 RX330 in March 2008, ten years to the minute after he had purchased his last Camry. He sold his Camry through an ad in the paper. This is the kind of person we’re dealing with, here.
So I was really surprised when Dad told me he was heading back to the Lexus dealer for the second time in a day. And I was even more surprised to find out the reason. The first time, for an oil change. The second time, because the check engine light went on five minutes after he left the service department.
Now, ordinarily a check engine light isn’t really that much to be alarmed about. For example: the check engine light is currently illuminated in my Range Rover, which means the CarMax warranty claims people are going to be getting a call in about a week asking them to replace the Something-Or-Other Spindle, and it’ll cost eleven hundred bucks. I used to have a 2001 Audi A4, and the check engine light was a way of life. It came on for everything. The oxygen sensors. The gas cap. If it was raining. To remind you about endangered animals. When you were singing. When you were driving on dirt. When you had forgotten your grocery list.
Once, as I was leaving a restaurant, I turned on the car and the check engine light started flashing, which – according to the owner’s manual – is a sign your vehicle is about to explode like the Hindenburg. My remedy was to turn the car off and right back on. Inexplicably, the light didn’t return for months.
But a check engine light when you’re on the way home from the dealer is a red flag. Especially in a Lexus. Especially in my dad’s insanely pampered, rarely-used, 6,000-mile-a-year Lexus. So I told him it would probably be traced to something minor and quick, like they’d forgotten to reset the battery or some stupid Japanese car crap, and he’d go back, and they’d do it in thirty seconds, and he’d be on his way.
Not so.
When he got back to the dealer, they gave him a loaner car and told him they’d call him with an update. And a few hours later, they called: the issue was traced to a failed oxygen sensor, and the total cost would be more than $400.
Understandably, my dad was a bit suspicious. The very first time the check engine light comes on in seven years just happens to be on the way home from the dealer after an oil change?
So I spent some time researching the issue online, and I discovered two things. Number one, it’s tremendously unlikely that a mechanic could accidentally damage an oxygen sensor while a car was in for a routine oil change. And number two, oxygen sensor failure is common on cars of this age. Almost expected. Even more common, in fact, on this generation of RX: during my research, I discovered many online RX forums full of people complaining that their sensors failed during the warranty period or just after. So I told Dad to suck it up, pay the $400 – his first penny of unscheduled repair work during the seven years he’s owned the car – and move on. Dad agreed. The next day was Father’s Day, and we spoke on the phone for about 45 minutes. The issue never even came up. Dad was resigned to pay the money, fix the problem, forget about it, and chalk it up to a funny coincidence.
And then came Monday.
On Monday, the dealer called and told him the problem was indeed the oxygen sensor, and it would indeed be more than $400 to fix. But he wouldn’t be paying for it. The service advisor had talked it over with his manager, and they decided the dealer would cover the entire repair, on the theory that the problem might have happened during the oil change, however slight a possibility that was. In other words: the dealer had decided to cover a pricey repair on an 11-year-old car that was four years out of warranty because there was some small chance a part had gotten nicked during an oil change.
And this brings me back to the title of today’s column. You see, my dad is looking for a new car to replace my mom’s aging Ford Escape, and I’ve been trying to convince him to get something a little hipper than a Toyota or Lexus. Maybe a Land Rover. A Mercedes. An Audi. A Volvo. And up until this week, he’s been somewhat receptive to the idea. He’s over 65 now, he’s never had a European luxury car, and I think he wouldn’t mind spoiling himself a little.
And then: a check engine light. A $400 part. A free service loaner on an unannounced visit to the service department. And a Lexus dealer proving the brand’s well-earned reputation for the best customer service in the industry.
The only question now is what color Dad’s next RX will be.
The only auto brands that aren’t all-in on the perv lifestyles are Hyundai/Kia. By contrast, GM is the most perv-friendly.
I am a 76 year old widow with a replacement car decision problem. We bought a 96 4-cylinder Caravan with 33,000 miles in 2000. It now has 108,000 miles, and for the past 5 years I have been driving about 3,000 miles a year. It is long since paid for and has not had any serious very expensive repair needs. I got my first license just before my husband died, and this is the only car I have ever driven. The year after he died I made a 3,000 mile adventure trip with the back seats down and a mattress in back and slept in cheap camps or overnight in Interstate parking lots. The van was getting 24 to 28 miles per gallon, and needed a quart of oil every 1,000 miles (slow oil drip, $600 repair estimate, why bother?) A few other minor problems I can live with. Four tires that still have about 20,000 miles life on them.
I have Googled for information about the expected useful life of a ‘96 Dodge Caravan. The impression I get is that some people get a lemon and are constantly having expensive trouble while others have minor issues and easily get to 200,000. I think my car fits in the latter category. I use it a lot for work I do renovating houses. Trips for lumber, etc. to Home Depot. Trips to dump with debris and old stuff. Will need to do that for another 2 or 3 years.
My problem is that my new guy (probably long term) wants me to buy a new car. I don’t want to go back into debt, having just gotten ahead a bit, and even if I did get a newer car, would probably want one with 20,000 to 30,000 on it to avoid the depreciation of a new one. Also, I want a car with good mileage that I can go camping in like my 3000 mile adventure, and can use for renovating and dumping. On the other hand I don’t want to make my guy mad or loose respect for my decisions. So I have two major questions. 1) Is my Caravan likely to hold up OK for another 10 or 20,000 miles. 2) What might be a good used car that meets my current and future needs. I am in good health and my parents lived to 90, and grandfather and his siblings to 93, 96, 98, and 103. Thank you for any advice and information you can give me.
According to the worst 2015 car models to avoid the BMW 7 series has the worst resale value...
And I befriended a certified BMW mechanic in the last few months. He tells me never to buy BMW’s. This straight from a certified Beemer dude. His words, not mine.
You changed your O2 sensor at 30K? My codes went up at 90K for my Jeep. One of my first cars was an Xterra but it was back in Canada. That sucker saved my life from a snowbank in a winter storm once.
Check the Enterprise rent-a-car website, see where their nearest used car lot is; they were recommended to me by my credit union, and I’ve been very happy with the car I purchased there. They sell the cars before the manu warranty runs out, and the buyer gets the balance (and there are extended warranty options). Their used vehicles are (or were then) recommended by, I dunno, Consumer Reports. Some of their locations have more diverse selections, others are Chevy-heavy etc.
drive the caravan until it don’t drive no more. If you are thrifty and can keep 10,000 bucks in the bank ready for an emergency I would not bother with a new vehicle until mine is completely dead. For 10k you can get a nice little care to get you another 100,000 miles OR spend a few nights in a town and have your caravan repaired. I am not a “car guy.” To me a car is a tool to get from point A to point B. A 96 caravan isn’t worth much but it’s worth a lot to you if it still works and does what you need. If there’s no problems now there aren’t likely to be any in the future. And those problems will either be typical maintenance or mechanical issues that happen on a car of that ‘vintage.’ I drive my cars until they physically can not be driven any more. Just be prepared with some common sense items in the caravan (water, food, money, phone, blankets) and you’ll be fine. If the caravan ever does break down consider your delay an unplanned vacation while you shop for a new car or have your caravan repaired.
In other words. I think you’re just fine and you’re new guy will just have to deal with it.
“What’s the best used car to buy? “
In price versus bang for buck an older used Lincoln or Cadillac. You can get one ten years old with under 20k miles for not much. They’re usually well maintained and garaged. Shop around.
I’m with Organic Panic... great advice!
*
Dealerships, no matter what the brand, don’t waste their best mechanics on oil changes.
They also know after a while which ones are the screw-ups.
Just sayin’...
We used to say you buy Yugos by the six pack.
He likes to start paragraphs with “so.”
First off, the oxygen sensor in no way costs anywhere near $400.
I’ve had three vehicles develop that “check engine” syndrome and it always turned out to be the O2 sensor for the catalytic converter. Two new Hondas and a new F150.
I spent days on the internet and talking to a couple of mechanical engineers about it. It is ethanol in the gas. It is very effective in disabling wideband 02 sensors. Ethanol eats hoses, gaskets, sensors and a host of other problems. I’ve had to be come a carburetor rebuild expert on all my 2 cycle engines because of it.
I finally broke down and bought a CAN/OBD II reader and when the light pops, I read the 02 sensor code and then reset it. It has saved me its cost several times over. BTW, the F150 runs just fine even at 105K miles now.
I’ve owned three of them (still have one) and I agree. One of the most costly and difficult repairable lines on the market. Anything a mechanic has to do to a BMW costs a lot of money. On one model you literally have to remove the entire headlight assembly to change a bulb. And that required repositioning the radiator a little to get at the screws holding it in. Just terrible.
I have a close friend who worked at a dealership, repairing those caravans when they first came out...and it was exactly as you say - some were lemons some lasted forever. I would hang onto it - it doesn’t owe you a thing.
fyi Im driving a 99 Tahoe with 160k....
That price is parts plus labor.
Understood, but you can buy them online pretty cheap. Even then, they are charging an inflated “manufacturer’s” calculated labor rate for that task.
“He likes to start paragraphs with “so.”
You noticed that too. I am hearing a lot of people starting what they say with a “so”. Doesn’t really fit.
There's also a reason it might agree to cover a failure that happens a couple of miles after the car left the dealership: the service technician caused the problem.
I have four cars that I drive regularly, each over ten years old (17, 17, 16, and 11 years), each with well over 100K miles (180K, 140K, 130K, and 105K miles). That means 16 oxygen sensors. I've had only one of the 16 fail, ever. These are, obviously, unlikely to fail as often as implied. I suspect the dealership caused the problem.
Why does a Yugo have a rear window defroster?
To keep your hands warm as you push.
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