Wife's old car (2008 Cadillac SRX)

[kevm14]

I ordered the Cooper SRX tires. Tire Pros couldn't come close to the price. $706 shipped and it also comes with a $70 prepaid VISA card. Hell of a deal.

[kevm14]

So let's look how I did compared to the pricing they gave me.

Tie Rod: $50 vs $350.
Tires: $706 + $100 mount/balance - $70 prepaid VISA = $736
Alignment: $60

Total: $846. Original quote: $1260. So as predicted, I saved a little over $400 by doing this all myself. Of course it isn't done yet...and I am not charging myself for labor, because I will do this on a weekend.

[kevm14]

Just got a text from Discount Tire Direct. They "have a problem finalizing my order." And I need to call at my earliest convenience.

Unless this is a credit card issue, I think they are going to upsell me on like "TPMS rebuild kit" or maybe a tire replacement certificate (kind of their own replacement warranty). If it is upsell I am going to be pissed. When I was checking out, they automatically added those things to my cart and I had to manually remove them. That's why I think this is an upsell. I've been on hold for like 20 minutes. This might be my last order with these guys.

[kevm14]

They just wanted to confirm a different billing and shipping address. The guy was very nice it just took forever on hold to get to him. We spoke for a while about various things. They are AZ based and the closest store is in Ohio, but they are working on doing a PA store next. He said they are the largest independent tire chain in the US with 900 something stores.

I asked about the tire warranty (70,000 on these) and he didn't have anything particularly specific but that they'd try to help if it came up. They said for the shop to document the installed mileage and since I do my own rotations to just keep some kind of record of it. I said that these warranties can be kind of picky with regard to treadwear (i.e. anything other than perfectly even is grounds for not being covered) and he didn't have anything too helpful to say about how Cooper handles these.

Anyway, false alarm - I was sure I was going to get an upsell.

FWIW, Tire Rack doesn't even sell Cooper tires, but I have always been pleased with their customer service. Plus their website is awesome. Discount Tire Direct's website is...very basic, with hardly any info on the tire. I had to go to Cooper's website myself to get info!

[kevm14]

Based on the activity in the other thread...

I will try to add up all of my non-fuel, non-insurance costs and see what this really costs to run - I guess we would call it the repair bill, which could theoretically offset the lower initial purchase price. We can factor fuel back in after I look at some car payment options for different suitable vehicles, because if something newer gets better fuel economy, I should consider that an advantage.

The hypothesis is, can I just get something new or otherwise under warranty for less money than it costs to run the SRX with "equivalent" utility, performance and luxury? I am thinking not a chance in hell. It will certainly look good next to late model luxury stuff (purchase price) but I think it will look good even compared to like a late model Pilot. Or possibly even a well optioned RAV4, which doesn't really even meet requirements at all. If you want something under warranty, the $14,500 we spent on the SRX buys very little utility, performance or luxury. That's the point.

[bill25]

The hypothesis is, can I just get something new or otherwise under warranty for less money than it costs to run the SRX with "equivalent" utility, performance and luxury?

That wasn't the point at all... I was saying for less "Luxury" you could get something with the same utility that was more reliable, meaning less time fixing things that should take 10 minutes. It wasn't really a money thing, it was more of a simpler to repair/repair less with the same utility. I never mentioned getting something newer or with a warranty. What you are looking to do makes sense, but has nothing to do with my actual statement... I was basically arguing that the Cadillac has almost German over complication for no reason. Sure it is cheaper to fix than the German counterparts, but with all that luxury, there is more to break, and when it does it is more complicated to fix.

The argument was: Why not get something simple like a Tahoe with leather seats and have practically the same "luxury" with much simpler engineering to repair.

[kevm14]

For requirements, let me try to list them so it's not totally ambiguous what the bogey is.

- 14.9 @ 94 or thereabouts. 15.0 @ 93 is fine. Absolutely no slower. Faster would be better but no need to pay extra for this if it costs extra.
- I'd really like to say a car-based and RWD-based chassis, with AWD. That narrows the playing field in a big way. If it isn't RWD based, it had better drive damn good. I know the MDX was praised for dynamics so I'd consider that from a chassis standpoint.
- Three row. This is also a big differentiator though we use it very occasionally. Still, it is there and nice to have when we do use it.
- Total interior volume approx TBD (will research and return with number)
- I'd really like to say 41" of rear legroom to help define passenger comfort and having space for a big rear facing seat. I don't know if the legroom spec is a one for one indicator of this kind of space. Let's assume it is. I already know that 41" is quite good.

Let me try to break down the luxury aspects into chunks that can be digested.

- Heated seats, steering wheel, mirrors, factory remote start (sorry no aftermarket junk)
- Dual zone auto climate
- Rear A/C is really nice to have so I'll throw that in here
- A premium stereo that sounds good
- Rear seat entertainment
- Premium large sunroof
- Power leather seats with memory and power pedals
- Navigation - we actually use this
- ABS, T/C, stability control, TPMS with readout for actual pressure - I think this is far more common than it was in the mid-2000s
- Just for kicks let's add HID headlights

I'd say a "premium appearance" but that is subjective and honestly a vehicle that meets these requirements will have something going on for it in that department anyway. I think the SRX is a really nice looking vehicle, especially the back 3/4 view, and especially with the sport package.

[kevm14]

The hypothesis is, can I just get something new or otherwise under warranty for less money than it costs to run the SRX with "equivalent" utility, performance and luxury?

That wasn't the point at all... I was saying for less "Luxury" you could get something with the same utility that was more reliable, meaning less time fixing things that should take 10 minutes. It wasn't really a money thing, it was more of a simpler to repair/repair less with the same utility. I never mentioned getting something newer or with a warranty. What you are looking to do makes sense, but has nothing to do with my actual statement... I was basically arguing that the Cadillac has almost German over complication for no reason. Sure it is cheaper to fix than the German counterparts, but with all that luxury, there is more to break, and when it does it is more complicated to fix.

The argument was: Why not get something simple like a Tahoe with leather seats and have practically the same "luxury" with much simpler engineering to repair.

I hear what you're saying but the SRX runs circles around the Tahoe for driving manners. I don't know about the luxury crap.

My point was, for repair COSTS (not labor), I wouldn't assume another vehicle is actually going to be cheaper unless it is actually under warranty. Anything else is complete guesswork.

[bill25]

My point was, for repair COSTS (not labor), I wouldn't assume another vehicle is actually going to be cheaper unless it is actually under warranty. Anything else is complete guesswork.

That is a fair point. I wasn't talking to the cost, more your time. For what it is worth, I don't think you have paid a lot in repairs, just a lot in time.

[kevm14]

I was basically arguing that the Cadillac has almost German over complication for no reason. Sure it is cheaper to fix than the German counterparts, but with all that luxury, there is more to break, and when it does it is more complicated to fix.

That is correct, I don't disagree in principle. However, nothing associated with any of the luxury stuff has broken! Notionally, we are looking at:
Broken things that had some kind of cost:
- HID low beam
- License plate bulb
- Rear wheel bearing
- Power steering pump

Maintenance or wear/tear items (all vehicles need these at some point):
- Spark plugs? Hardly a repair but I did do the job.
- Brakes? Maintenance, but I did all 4 rotors and pads.
- Tires?

Stuff that cost me zero dollars that I did:
- When I got it, I lubricated the ultraview roof and tightened a loose bolt
- Dried out the driver's side HID ballast and restored operation

So for true repairs, where are we at here?
- HID low beam - $70?
- License plate bulb - this was almost free at like $1.50 for the bulb
- Rear wheel bearing - Around $146 from memory
- Power steering pump - Around $155

Total: $372.50. Had it for almost exactly 2 years now. That is $186.25 per year or $15/mo. Even at 10x the repair costs over 5 years, I would still be far, FAR ahead of a brand new vehicle with warranty which has no repair costs for 5 years. I would need to take into account the resale on a 5 year old car though. Let me do that in a bit - have to put Ian to bed.