What Irked You Today?

[Joe Handley]

98 Octane?! Lucky buggers! The only way to get better than 93 here is to buy race gas (100 octane for $6.99/gallon by me) or E85 (up to 105 octane for $2.76/gallonat my preferred station)!

[High octane]

If your gonna spend big bucks for racing gas, you'll need to bump up your timing as well. And if you don't have a high compression engine, regular fuel will work just fine. I haven't heard anything good about E85 fuel either.

[Joe Handley]

Cheaper, cleaner, better power (the computer in my 200 bumps cam and ignition timing on it's own), prices aren't tied to what happens in the middle east.........

[1930fordpickup]

Cheaper, cleaner, better power (the computer in my 200 bumps cam and ignition timing on it's own), prices aren't tied to what happens in the middle east.........

How does it affect the milage? Former coworker said he lost 5 to 10 MPG while running it. He had a little mopar but do not remember the one he had. Your car is a lot newer , yes he car was E85 approved.

[Joe Handley]

I lose about 3-4 mpg, but tend to buy it when it's prices anywhere from $.80 a gallon less than premium (remember the octane thing) to $1.50 a gallon less than regular. $.80 a gallon less is the break even point for the Avenger/200, right now it's around $1.10 a gallon less at my preferred station. One big problem is that some stations or sellers to the station overcharge on the stuff, even when denatured (non-drinkable) ethanol is a good bit cheaper at the Chicago Board of Trade (which last I heard is also at a $1.10 less for e98 vs refined gasoline). I sometimes will by from Thorntons and Woodmans, but often they're running lousy spreads compared to Speedway.

[charlie8575]

E98?? They're making that now? Or is that the unblended base chemical?

Charlie Larkin

[Joe Handley]

E98?? They're making that now? Or is that the unblended base chemical?

Charlie Larkin

E98 is how they make denatured alcohol, basically they're adding some sort of denaturant to the pure ethanol so that it is unfit for human consumpsion. E98 is usually 2% gasoline to poison it enough to discourage people from breaking into tank cars, road transport tankers, storage tanks, ect and enjoying themselves a little corn liquor for free. I think it can be bought for automotive use too, but will require even more tuning and parts swapping (usually even bigger pump and injectors, maybe bigger fuel line to and from the tank) than E85 will due to the extra alcohol content if it's not a factory flex fuel car, and likely still need the bigger pump and injectors plus the additional tuning on a factory flex fueler.

[martinfan5]

My none working garage door openers, and spending more money at various LHS today then I wanted.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Two days after I replaced the distributor cap and wires on the old '89 GMC to cure a single-cylinder mis-fire, the engine-management system went into meltdown mode. Popping, spitting out both ends, as though the ignition module is hunting for the correct timing, fruitlessly.

This is an early computer-controlled fuel-injection and electronic-timing-advance system, and it's indicative of what ALL the current cars with complex electronics will be facing when they're old. And the completely useless OBD I system shows only codes 44 and 45...too rich and too lean. Duh...ya' think??

So rather than going through the lengthy diagnostic procedures with the trusty VOM, and replacing electronic components with iffy Chinese copies (GM no longer services most of the stuff) I MAY just put a carb and a mechanical-advance HEI distributor in it. Have to step the fuel-pressure down from what the FI pump delivers, but once converted, she should be good for another 100,000 miles, minimum.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Ace-Garageguy

[Harry P.]

Maybe you need to change your screen name to Retro-Garageguy... or at least Old Skool...

[LDO]

Craigslist transaction. I had a deal to sell two Mustangs to a guy for less than his wanted ad indicated. A day and a half after he was supposed to pick them up, he canceled. He did ask if I would sell my 4" cowl induction hood. NO,YOU STUPID CLOWN!

Gee, what is it with Craigslist and flakes???

[Old Buckaroo]

So rather than going through the lengthy diagnostic procedures with the trusty VOM, and replacing electronic components with iffy Chinese copies (GM no longer services most of the stuff) I MAY just put a carb and a mechanical-advance HEI distributor in it. Have to step the fuel-pressure down from what the FI pump delivers, but once converted, she should be good for another 100,000 miles, minimum.

I traded out the Distributor in my '84 F-250 with a Chineese Proform HEI - made it almost 24 hrs and it went into nuclear meltdown.

Pulled it back out - put the Fomoco back in until a Mallory HEI could arrive.

No issues with the Mallory runs like a champ.

The Proform price should of been my first clue $49.99 , heck you cant even buy a decent coil for that price let alone a complete HEI.

Lesson learned !

[Joe Handley]

Two days after I replaced the distributor cap and wires on the old '89 GMC to cure a single-cylinder mis-fire, the engine-management system went into meltdown mode. Popping, spitting out both ends, as though the ignition module is hunting for the correct timing, fruitlessly.

This is an early computer-controlled fuel-injection and electronic-timing-advance system, and it's indicative of what ALL the current cars with complex electronics will be facing when they're old. And the completely useless OBD I system shows only codes 44 and 45...too rich and too lean. Duh...ya' think??

So rather than going through the lengthy diagnostic procedures with the trusty VOM, and replacing electronic components with iffy Chinese copies (GM no longer services most of the stuff) I MAY just put a carb and a mechanical-advance HEI distributor in it. Have to step the fuel-pressure down from what the FI pump delivers, but once converted, she should be good for another 100,000 miles, minimum.

And that is why my 200 and my Sister's Challenger had the lifetime extended warranties purchased for them when we got them from the dealer.

[High octane]

Anytime you buy a warranty(extended, lifetime, etc.), you are making a money bet that your vehicle that you picked out will break down. And if it's gonna breakdown like you believe because you paid money for a warranty, what'd you buy it for???

[Harry P.]

Most experts will tell you that extended warranties aren't worth it. The advantage is to the seller of the warranty, not the car owner.

From Consumer Reports:

The sale of the (extended) warranty is a profit item, with the dealership serving as the middle man. The premise is that the customer will not need repairs in excess of the warranty cost, minus profit to the dealership and the warranty plan provider. Since extended service contract pricing is not regulated, dealers charge whatever the market will bear, and a 50-percent cut for sales commissions is not unusual. In other words, an extended warranty is usually not in the customer's interest.

A few years ago, Consumer Reports proved the dubiousness of this pitch by surveying 8,000 owners of five- and six-year-old vehicles that had been covered by extended service plans. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they spent significantly more for the contract than they got back in repair-cost savings. Respondents said their extended warranty cost them $1,000 on average while providing an average benefit of $700. That means the average loss was $300. A big reason: 42 percent of extended warranties in our survey were never used, in most cases because the vehicle didn't need repairs or the standard manufacturer's warranty sufficed.

Another reason people were dissatisfied was because the repair was not covered. Clichés about reading the fine print are especially appropriate when talking about extended warranties. The brochure may present the service plan as "comprehensive," but the contract will likely have numerous limitations, such as requiring documented service at in-network shops and covering only certain parts, rather than whole systems.

But, if you're heart is set on a model known to be unreliable, an extended warranty can provide some protection. Just approach with caution, negotiate the price, and be aware that if you roll the cost into your financing, you'll be paying interest on it for years to come.

According to many experts, a better idea is to take the money you would spend on an extended warranty and put it into a savings account. That way, if your car needs major repairs years from now after the factory warranty has expired, you will have money available to pay for the repairs. And if your car winds up not needing major repairs, that money is still in your bank account... not the dealer's.

[Joe Handley]

My Dad bought an extended warranty for his '06 Town and Country when he bought it, it was a couple thousand extra dollars, but he also ended up saving a few thousand over the cost of the warranty by the time all of the warranties ran out after 7 years, same as when my Sister bought her '06 Charger by the time her extended warranty ran out. Granted we don't know if the Fiat era Mopars are going to be as bad quality wise as those Daimler-Benz era cars had/have been (with any luck, the pretty much trouble free 26k miles in my 200 should be a good omen), but it would be some decent insurance to have a lifetime warranty (as in, foras long as we own the cars, and we keep cars for a long, long time) if the Italians are just as bad at making Mopars as the Germans were.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Joe Handley

[Ace-Garageguy]

...and extended "lifetime" warranties aren't going to do anyone any good when these now-new vehicles are 25 years old and on their 5th owner, like my old GMC. Without factory support for aging electronic systems (remember Microsoft and XP ??), it's going to be next to impossible to keep old cars running. Time was, any COMPETENT mechanic could keep a carburetor and a distributor functioning forever, even machining new parts as necessary. But just try getting a new chip or ECM module for an old vehicle that has no factory or good aftermarket support...and I don't mean Chinese fake parts (see post #1861 above).

There was a time when the concept of "planned-obsolescence" was a dirty phrase in the car biz, but in the marketing-driven quest for idiot-over-complicated-bells-and-whistles, planned-obsolescence has become the shiny-bright business model, and nobody seems to resent the long-term screwing of the car-buying public.

[Harry P.]

My Dad bought an extended warranty for his '06 Town and Country when he bought it, it was a couple thousand extra dollars, but he also ended up saving a few thousand over the cost of the warranty by the time all of the warranties ran out after 7 years. same as when my Sister bought her '06 Charger by the time her extended warranty ran out. Granted we don't know if the Fiat era Mopars are going to be as bad quality wise as those Daimler-Benz era cars had/have been (with any luck, the pretty much trouble free 26k miles in my 200 should be a good omen), but it would be some decent insurance if the Italians are just as bad at making Mopars as the Germans were.

Every individual case varies, but in the overall scheme of things the odds are heavily in the dealership's favor. That's why they offer extended warranties in the first place! They're money makers for the dealership. Sure, someone here and there will actually save money overall with one, but it's like in Las Vegas... sure, people here and there win and win big, but overall the odds are in the house's favor. If they weren't, the "house" would go out of business.

In the end it's a gamble... basically you're betting that your car will break down and would cost you more to fix than the warranty costs you. If an extended warranty makes you sleep better at night, more power to you. But overall, extended warranties benefit the dealer, not the car owner.

[Ace-Garageguy]

My Dad bought an extended warranty for his '06 Town and Country when he bought it, it was a couple thousand extra dollars, but he also ended up saving a few thousand over the cost of the warranty by the time all of the warranties ran out after 7 years, same as when my Sister bought her '06 Charger by the time her extended warranty ran out. Granted we don't know if the Fiat era Mopars are going to be as bad quality wise as those Daimler-Benz era cars had/have been (with any luck, the pretty much trouble free 26k miles in my 200 should be a good omen), but it would be some decent insurance to have a lifetime warranty (as in, foras long as we own the cars, and we keep cars for a long, long time) if the Italians are just as bad at making Mopars as the Germans were.

I must live on a different planet. The Daimler-era Mopars I know are good vehicles. The '99 Dodge truck one friend has is on 165,000 miles with no major problems, still runs perfectly and feels like a 2-year old piece. Another friend has a 2002 Dodge truck with over 200k on the clock. Had to replace worn out front suspension components that most likely WOULDN'T have been warranty-covered anyway. Same deal with another friend's 2001 PT cruiser. Only issues are from poor repairs after a collision, and poor repairs after she let the timing belt go WAY past the point of safety. Again, issues probably NOT covered by a warranty.

No extended warranties were purchased OR NEEDED on any of these vehicles.

[Joe Handley]

The '06 models we had/have were somewhat problematic, multiple A/C problems on the van, requiring that even the water pump be replaced a couple times, door lock issues on the right side power sliding door, surprisingly, the trans in that has been pretty solid, but I'm not sure if the van has hit 100k yet. The Charger har multiple suspension issues that it sounds like it inherited from it's Mercedes lineage that had been repaired once under the extened warranty and had returned prior to being traded for the Challenger and the 5 speed has acted up for a while now when cold to the point it concerned me when she took it into Chicago during the winter, plus she babysits her friend's 3 year old son from time to time and if this continued to be a problem, she didn't feel comfortable hauling him around in it. Atleast if these problems crop up on the Challenger, she has a severly reduced repair cost. Something else too is that the current Hemi and the Pentastar are both Variable Valve motors, with 4 adjuster on the cam pulleys for the Pentastar in the 200's pretty tight engine compartment and one buried under the timing cover on the Hemi, both of which will likely require a good bit of dissasembly to replace. Then when you get into.tje costs of such components as well as other stuff that can go wrong (like the power sunroof or power driver seat on the Challenger), a $100 copay for the repair would be cheaper that to pay a dealer for the fix, as well as possibly just the parts and doing some of it myself.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Joe Handley

[Harry P.]

a $100 copay for the repair would be cheaper that to pay a dealer for the fix, as well as possibly just the parts and doing some of it myself.

Whether an extended warranty is a smart idea all depends on what they charged you for the warranty, what it specifically covers (and doesn't cover... watch out for the fine print that works in the dealer's favor), and whether you added the cost of the warranty into the purchase price (and loan amount). If you did that, you're not only going to pay for that warranty, but also pay interest on the warranty for the life of the loan.

[mikemodeler]

Extended warranties are a huge profit maker for dealers and that is why they push them. I always question why one would buy a warranty if they thought the car wasn't built with quality?

I can see (somewhat) buying one on a used car that you may not know the service history of, but many times they only cover large items like engine and transmission and not the nagging little things like A/C, electrical or fuel systems, all of which can run into the hundreds or more to repair!

First car I bought for my wife was Ford Tempo that had been a Budget rental car. Good friend worked at the dealer and suggested I buy the Ford backed warranty for $600, reminding me how rental cars could be driven! That actually paid for itself as we had three repairs done under warranty that would have cost us $1,000+. Haven't bought one since, feel it is cheaper to research the vehicle and stay away from those vehicles with perceived quality issues.

[Rob Hall]

It depends on how long I would plan on keeping a car, I guess...I've had my Jeep 14 years, probably should have bought the extended warranty, given all the issues it's had once it passed 100k. But if you plan to keep a car for only a few years, I wouldn't get it. I didn't get it on my Cadillac, because I'll probably trade sooner than later (no more keeping a car past 100k, I'd rather get something new at 50k for the daily driver).

[Tom Geiger]

Granted we don't know if the Fiat era Mopars are going to be as bad quality wise as those Daimler-Benz era cars had/have been (with any luck, the pretty much trouble free 26k miles in my 200 should be a good omen), but it would be some decent insurance to have a lifetime warranty (as in, foras long as we own the cars, and we keep cars for a long, long time) if the Italians are just as bad at making Mopars as the Germans were.

My daughter has had her Fiat 500 for two years now and the car has never been back to the dealer. Something about Americans building Italian cars in Mexico must have gone right!

[Craig Irwin]

First the salesman tells you how great and trouble free the car is, than the finance man tells you how you better buy the extended warranty on that piece of junk before it bankrupts you.