Volkswagen Jetta vs. Toyota Corolla ??

[Timothy]

The one issue I’ve had with my feather hauler Ranger is the location of the oil filter.  I’ve changed it twice a year for fifteen years and finally figured out how to access the thing without having to have to break my wrist to re-install...  that was year fourteen...

A real PITA!

[Big Frank]

I think the Toyota may be the better purchase right now. 

I'm actually looking for a new truck since last week I gave my F250 to family member who needs it in their construction business.  So...what dealer want to do is sell the stuff on the lot that they think everyone wants...and most people do want that.  I'm trying to find a truck without a console...which is tough because it's only available in a lower model which only has packages that exclude some of the things I want...like leather seats.  Plus I test drive an F150 and it has more noise in it than an F250 with a diesel...but I don't want the honkin' big F250 I want something easier to drive but I also don't want to deal with the noisy F150 interior. 

And another thing...I understand the F250 has the big honkin' diesel in it...but did they really need to stiffen the "power steering" so the driver gets the feel of driving a big honkin' diesel.  Sheesshhh...I can turn our RV with a little finger but I need to hang off 250 lbs on the steering wheel to pull the wheel over to steer the F250.  I can't reach over the side and get to anything in the bed of the F250 it's so stinking high in the air...not a problem with my 2006.  So...F250 is out.  Dealer is checking on an aftermarket sound deadening package in the F150.

Timothy I'm driving the Excursion right now and it's solid but after nearly 400k miles it's a bit dated because the paint was ruined by taking it to car washes (I didn't do it).  I was kickin' at 80-85 doing fine on the way home.  That 7.3L diesel is a bulletproof dude but I need some interior work on it plus it's always been noisy and I'm wanting to ditch the noise to enjoy tunes while driving.

If you're having that much trouble looking for a new truck you like, why not order one with all the options you want, and none that you don't? I've ordered most of my vehicles instead of buying something off the lot. I looked at catalogs deciding what I did and did not want, then went to the dealer who entered it in the computer. We went though the list to double check first, then my vehicle was ready to be built. Of course it takes longer to get one from the factory than off the lot, but it's worth the wait to get what you really wanted, unless you need it right now.

[Rastus]

You are right Frank.  The first dealer would not do that.  They wanted to sell the packages...so they sell nothing instead.  The 2nd dealer will order but only the general manager can access individual orders like that and he was out.  I've got to get back with them.  When they call me back about aftermarket sound proofing kits I'll run in and talk with them.

I am also going to get it without a stereo...car stereos always are too much money for too little performance.  In the F250 I'm running, or was running Focal speakers and an Arc Audio amp and a JHL subwoofer.  Not the best system in the world but it ran rings around anything that Ford has ever offered.

[Timothy]

Auto dealers put vehicles on their lots with the packages they can sell to a given demographic for a given area.  Fifteen years ago I asked dealers to order me a stripped small pickup and they all refused.  Probably no money in the feather haulers.

I found mine in RI, a basic truck with torsion bar suspension, CD/MP3 stereo, fog lights and 3 liter motor.  Basic...  $14,500 out the door in a Presidents Day blizzard!

Prolly da onlyist truck the guy sold all day!

[Big Frank]

I ordered a van without a stereo because a guy I worked with used to work at a car stereo store and said he'd hook me up with a good system at a good price. He somehow got a discount as an ex-employee and passed on the savings to me (maybe). I'll never order or buy anything again without at least an AM radio. There was no hole in the dash for a stereo, and the part it slides into wasn't there either. He rigged something up with a hole in the dash and couple of metal brackets to keep the stereo from flopping around in there. He used a hole saw to drill through the metal by the corner the windshield to put an antenna in. He had to run an antenna cable through a hole that I think he drilled through the firewall. And he had to run cables throughout the vehicle that should have already been there. We had to cut holes in the front doors for speakers too. The hole he drilled for an antenna rusted all the way around and it didn't matter how much paint was on it.

[Sponsor]

[Rastus]

I've ordered cars without stereos before and didn't have any problems like that. 

[Big Frank]

I've ordered cars without stereos before and didn't have any problems like that.

They must have had a lot of things installed that my van didn't.

[billt]

So yesterday I bought a brand new 2018 Toyota Camry. One of the first things I noticed was the sticker under the hood that called out for 0W-16 Engine Oil. I never even heard of that weight. A quick on line search netted this from Toyota.

https://www.ebay.com/i/263247431319?chn=ps&dispItem=1

It seems expensive, and I don't know yet what other brands are acceptable. We didn't get home until late in the afternoon yesterday, and I was pretty tired after haggling with salesmen. So I didn't feel like digesting owners manuals and all that. (They gave me a total of 3 manuals with the vehicle, each the thickness of a phone book).

Anyway, I do my own oil changes, and I know this model takes a cartridge filter which translates into a mess, screwing with O-Rings, and all of that. You also have to remove an access panel to get to the plug and filter. But like anything else, after you do it a couple of times, it's no big deal. I'm just not a fan of cartridge filters.

The Corolla uses a spin on filter, and has no access panel. But we bought the Camry instead because it's a much nicer, more roomy vehicle. Along with a bigger, more powerful engine, and an 8-Speed, gear driven automatic, as opposed to the Corolla's belt driven CVT, that I just wasn't comfortable with.

The thing drives like a dream, and lopes along at 65 MPH at only 1,600 RPM in 8th gear. Which I thought was really low for a 4-cylinder. So now I have to research this oddball oil, and find somewhere that carries it. I don't know if Wal-Mart stocks it or not. I'm hoping so because buying oil anywhere else is usually around 25% more. Even at the chain auto parts stores. I'm not even sure how much it takes.

Anyway, this is the car. I don't know how long the link will stay active, seeing as the vehicle has been sold.

https://www.toyotaofsurprise.com/detail-2018-toyota-camry-se_automatic-new-17411259.html

Now all I have to do is wait 3 more weeks for my concrete to cure 100%, so I can park my truck out of the way of the garage. Until then I have to shuffle cars around.
 

[billt]

Another weird thing was this Camry was actually cheaper to insure than the Corolla would have been. In spite of being the more expensive vehicle. That surprised me.

[Timothy]

Larger vehicle, better survivability!  Compacts are always higher...

This new oil, from a quick search, is next generation oil that’s designed to maximize MPG and being driven by the mean, green energy groups.  They’ve been using it in Japan for more than a decade.

Probably rare and expensive.  Amazon had 1 liter bottle for 15 bucks from a company I’ve never heard of.

https://noln.net/2017/06/30/skinny-ow-16-oil/