Bogieblog

More Nissan Xterra Junkage

I have been considering getting a new vehicle for a while. Cash for Clunkers came and I looked at several vehicles, but under the clunkers program, my trade was only worth $3,500. There were two reasons this made me mad: I thought my truck was worth a bit more than that, but nobody wanted to talk trade; and, I believed I should have gotten the higher $4,500 amount in the CforC deal.

In Cash for Clunkers, if you turned in a truck and got another truck that got 2 mpg better, you got $4500. My SUV (which was rated at 16 mpg) was termed a passenger vehicle so I had to get 10 mpg better with the new vehicle. The vehicle I was looking at hardest "only" got 8 mpg better - so, my truck passenger vehicle was not worth as much to the government (never mind that I drive about 25,000 miles per year - which would result in a massive reduction in gas usage - one of the "goals" of the program).

Since then, I've been thinking about getting a lot of the problems that the NIssan had taken care of. In fact, I had an appointment to replace the timing belt (supposed to be replaced at 105,000 miles - I stretched it to 120,000). This is not small money, so to do so meant I was making a commitment to keep the truck for a while to come.

Last Thursday I went to Walmart in Concord. When I came out, I jumped in the truck passenger vehicle and turned the key.

NOTHING

Okay, I had lights, but the starter didn't even make that annoying whirring sound that comes about when a battery is low on charge. Well, that makes sense because if you recall from the previous post - I had to replace the battery last year.

I called WS, who works in Concord, and he came to take a look at it. He cleaned terminals and checked connections, but nothing helped. Finally, he pounded on the startedr, and we could at least get it to "click" when I turned the key. That was something and gave us hope that we could get it started and not have to have it towed.

WS went back to work to get a tow chain, then came and towed me around the parking lot until I could get it started (the massively good thing about standard transmissions is that if you can get the vehicle to roll, you can probably get it to start).

I got the truck passenger vehicle to Hillsboro VIP where I proceeded to learn that they didn't stock that starter and couldn't get one that day. I left it there in hopes that they would be able to find one on Saturday. As our luck would have it, nope, they couldn't find one, so they got the truck passenger vehicle started and I drove it home. I called the Nissan dealer and found out that a starter cost $450 - whew, they have gotten expensive!

Sunday, I took it to the Nissan dealer (where it had its Monday appointment for the timing belt) and told the saleskid there that I was looking at getting a new vehicle. I also said that my truck needed a starter and I had an appointment for it on Monday but if I had to pay for the starter, I wouldn't be getting a new vehicle from them. I drove another Xterra, that was really bare-bones (my Xterra wasn't anything fancy, but it had a couple of map lights). We could not come to terms on price, nor would they give me more than $3500 for my vehicle. I had thought that I could probably get the best trade in at Nissan, but apparently they know what pieces of crap they are and don't want them back!

So, Monday I called the service department and told them to diagnose the starting problem, but to forget the timing belt. They called back later with the news that it was the starter (duh), which I told them to fix. He then started to tell me that they had "found" a couple of other items, to which I interupted that I wasn't going to be fixing anything else.

When I picked up the vehicle later that day, they gave me a 3 page (front and back) description of problems they had found and the cost to correct them. They came up with $5,800 worth of stuff (the sad part is, the list pretty much mirrored everything I already knew was wrong). The best part was that they didn't even mention the airbag sensor or the check engine light. Oh, and I haven't even mentioned that I started having trouble with the 4 WD a couple of weeks ago. It's not evident until switching between 2WD and 4WD, so they wouldn't have known to include that (so between those 3 things, the total would have been at least $1200 more).

After reading thru the dissertation from the dealer, I came away with something that really Pissed me off - remember the air conditioning problem (last post)? Somehow without any testing or dye in the lines, they came up with an exact diagnoses of the problem - with just a very basic diagnostic equipment; there is a leak in the high pressure hose and FOUND CONDENSER ROTTED (in caps because that is how they presented it). I would think that that is pretty much a visual item - that they should have been able to figure that out last summer. But nooooo, they wanted $110 to charge the system with dye, then have me come back later.

That reminded me that every time I took the truck passenger vehicle in for service in 2008, I was told I needed brakes. In December, the dealer sent out a book of coupons, one of which was for brake work. I made an appointment specifically to have the brakes done, and they said that the brakes were fine. They refused to do the work, but were happy to charge me $90 to "diagnose" that I didn't need brakes. It didn't even phase them that I had previous paperwork that said I needed brakes.

Anyway, Never Ever will I do business with Team Nissan of Manchester NH again!

So, I have established that my Nissan Xterra is a piece of crap (in the previous post) and, I have established that Team Nissan is a Shifty Dealer!

So in essence, I have extablished that getting that Xterra at Team Nissan, was the biggest mistake I have ever made (vehicle wise).

Nissan Xterra is Junk

I wrote this late last summer, but never published it. Now I am doing so in order for the next posts to make sense to my readers.

So, the time has come to let people know what a load of crap vehicle, a 2004 Nissan Xterra, I bought 5 years ago. It was new when I bought it and I expected to have a lot of relatively trouble-free years ahead. That has not been the case.

The back windshield wiper arm has been replaced a couple of times – along with washer fluid motor once.

The CD player has never worked correctly. Unfortunately it is an intermittent problem that they say couldn’t be duplicated (or the CD were bad – despite being new, or any other excuse besides the CD player sucked)

The driver’s side window rolls up and down extremely slowly during cold weather (the other windows are fine). In fact, when zero or below, I atually have to pull it up to help the motor out but technically it works, so they won’t cover that (been that way for 4.5 years – since the 1st winter).

The back door had to be totally sanded down and repainted, after only 38,000 miles and 1.5 years (I had to get the area rep to agree to cover the work because it was past the 36k mark). That second paint job, fortunately, was quite good and I have had not problems with it since.

The power steering lines went after 80,000 miles (I top off the reservoir every 4-5 weeks – I’m not spending 700-800 that they want for parts and labor). The lines are considered a wear item, so not covered under any warranty

It had a spell of blowing headlights, until they fixed that (have no idea what was done – they claim nothing was done)

After 3 years, my back bumper was very rust riddled (no, no dents or dings) – it still is, but they won’t fix that. I've never had a new vehicle start rusting away like this.

After 4 years, I had to replace the battery (never have I replaced a battery in that short a time). Technically this is a wear item, but I firgured it should be good for at least 5 years.

After 4 years, the air conditioner had to be repaired (not under warranty) The gas tank, or a sensor in the gas tank, went at 98,000 – fortunately before my extended warrantee ran out. Nissan did replace that.

The airbag sensor went out at 102,000 (4.5 years) – right after the extended warrantee ran out. This is the exact sensor that has been placed on recall for other years, but not mine. The area rep decided that even thought the vehicle was only 4.5 years old (at the time), and the other recalled vehicle years are having their warrantee extended by 10 years, mine is not to be covered.

After 5 years, the air conditioner once again does not work at all (remember that repair I paid for after 4 years?). They wanted to charge me $110 to recharge it and put in some dye, then when it quit working again, bring it in and they would be able to see where it is leaking at – no deal, I don’t need it that bad.

After 5 years, another sensor (check engine light) is indicating that something else has gone out to lunch.

If not for the extended warrantee, I would have put out a several thousand dollars just to repair the stuff they covered (or were bullied into covering) – all while still making payments on it. It would cost a couple more thousand to take care of the bumper and power steering (not to mention the sensors and such) - oh, and the back wiper is junk again (doesn’t touch the glass).

There are only a couple of good things I can say about the vehicle: it has started every time (I had the battery replaced before it completely died); it has gotten me to and from every time; and the brakes lasted a long time (they need replaced now). The brake thing is probably more a testament to the fact that I rarely use them than anything (in the 40 miles to work, I have 6 stops).

I should have bought anything but this Nissan, even when I have bought used vehicles, I haven’t had as much (or as expensive) stuff go wrong. It is pretty sad that a vehicle that was supposed to last for 10 years, will probably have to be replaced before WS’s Toyota – one that is 4 years older than this heap of crap.

Happy Holidays 2009

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Now get off the computer and spend some time with family and friends!

No Content of My Own

Because I have no content of my own, I bring you some of the content from LOLCats.

 

Seriously, I have no content of my own, go to LOLCats.
 

Fuzzzy's Horizons Expand

Remember back at the beginning of November when I said that Fuzzy never gets on the furniture? Well Thursday night that changed.

Previously his basic sphere in the house was the kitchen/dining room (all 10 x 14 of it), in front of the wood stove, an occasional foray into the bathroom and going downstairs just long enough to use the cat box. Since last weekend he had expanded that a bit by finding a favored spot on the living room rug between the TV and the woodrack.

Thursday, I was on the couch trying to catch up on some magazines, when out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw Tory going behind the couch. Since I was waiting for Tory to come in before closing the drapes to the slider for the night, I got up and checked behind the couch; it was Fuzzy. He looked up and saw me, and came around the front of the couch. I stroked his head a couple of times then put my hand down on the cushion. He stood up on his hind legs and rested his paws on the cushion - when I didn't object he took the plunge and jumped up on the couch.

The rest, as they say, is history. I pet him for a bit and he settled down quite nicely (and rewarded me with loud purring). Tory came up later to assert his authority and lay in my lap (which Fuzzy has never expressed an interest anyway), then he (Tory) jumped up onto the back of the couch.

Tory and I have this ritual every night called the "magic carpet ride". He lays on the blanket that is on the back of the couch until I go to bed. When I get up to go to bed, I pull the blanket down to protect the couch from Prince (who is not supposed to be on the furniture, but is when we are in bed). Tory rides the blanket down onto the cushion. Once I go downstairs, Tory follows and all is settled for the night.

When I did that Thursday night, Fuzzy didn't move and I had to get this picture:

   Fuzzy under the blanket and Tory on top. Aren't they just too cute?

When I went to bed, Tory followed and evidently Fuzzy decided to use the blanket for himself. WS took this picture:

  Looks like Fuzzy really hates it there doesn't it?

The next morning I got up, and Fuzzy was still on the couch. Never fear though because he evidently shared with Prince as there was a nice deep, round indentation on the right side of the blanket.

The couch is now one of his favorite places to be - a far cry from being out in the cat house, with just a cardboard box and a couple of towels for cushioning!

Hey, and speaking of taking care of stray cats, Cop Car has been feeding one or two herself - and has pictures.

Day at the Range

Ws and I went to the range yesterday to scare the heck out of some paper targets. We had 3 handguns with us; WS's XD(m), my Sig and a Glock 17 (which I have used before). I am getting used to the Glock as for competition, it will be better than my Sig for four reasons:

1. The Glock magazine can hold double the rounds than my Sig
2. The Glock is double action for every shot and the Sig is DA for the first shot and single action for the remainder. This is very important because in classes they make those with DA/SA de-cock at the end of shots, so every shot is DA. This takes time and is especially awkward if you are doing one-handed lefty drills.
3. The Glock 17 has a longer barrel than my Sig 239 - which tends to help with accuracy over longer shots.
4. Conversion kits to .22LR are available for Glocks that are fairly cheap. I can't get a conversion for the Sig model that I have (and even if I could, it costs an arm and a leg).

I set up two tagets side-by-side. Here are the pics.

   These are the first shots taken with the Sig (for those that care, the sillouettes are small targets not the large ones). I am very familiar with the Sig, so I figured my warm up shots should be on it first. All shots were taken at 5 yards and several went thru the big hole in the red area.

  Next I shot the Glock, which I have only used one other time. Obviously I'm not as comfortabel with that gun, most likely because it has a wider grip. The barrel is longer, which will help with accuracy in the long run.

  About an hour later (aren't you glad I'm not boring you with pics of all the distances and hand combos?), I picked up WS's XD(m) and threw a few rounds at a target. The ones in the red and a couple in the inner ring are from 5 yards under the same circumstances as the two targets above. The outer shots were from different distances or hand configurations. Since I shoot the XD(m) at every range outing, I am more familiar with this gun than the Glock. I shoot it well, I just don't like how it feels in my hand.

For the most part I was satisfied with my shooting yesterday. I was dismayed over one issue; the Glock had a hard time with some of the ammo. With ammo scarcity and prices, we bought a bunch of factory reloads, which we were using for the first time. The Glock could not get more than two shots in a row without a fail to feed or a fail to eject issue. Fortunately I had taken some other ammo in case of problems so after going thru less than 50 shots, I gave up and changed the Glock over to Blazer Brass, which it didn't have any problems with. Between them, the Sig and XD(m) pretty much ate up 500 round of the reloads with just 6 FF or FE (total).

So that was the day at the range - and a good time was had by all!

Torturing Sigs

Lissa pointed me to this article. Nice to know Sig's motto "To Hell and Back" isn't just a motto, but a reality. However, I don't plan on putting mine thru such a torture test, just pitting it against a bunch of paper targets this afternoon.

12" of Glue

We ended up with 12" of very, very wet and heavy snow. Then it started raining. It took me 2 hours to get 2/3 of my shoveling done. Two hours of shoveling was all that my shoulder (which I injured back in September) would allow me to do. The stuff was so heavy that for one shovel full of snow, it took several steps to move:

1. Load the shovel
2. Pick up the shovel
3. Throw the snow (but hold on to the shovel really hard)
4. Carefully lower the shovel because it still has 1/2 to a full load on it.
5. Bang shovel on ground so that snow falls off (has to be cleared ground, otherwise the snow doesn't go anywhere)
6. Scoop up the previously shoveled snow
7. Throw the snow (but hold on to the shovel really hard)
8. Carefully lower the shovel because it still has 1/2 to a full load on it.
9. Bang shovel on ground so that snow falls off (has to be cleared ground, otherwise the snow doesn't go anywhere).
10. Etc.

After 2-4 attempts, I could usually get to another patch of snow. The deck was fairly easy because I could bang the shovel against the railing to force the snow to let go of the shovel.

The rest of the snow is still waiting for me (and is probably all one ice brick) since I didn't get home until really late last night, so couldn't shovel then.

WS managed to break the snowblower trying to get rid of this stuff, so he had to make do with the 4-wheeler (which is okay for fluffy stuff, or level ground, but tends to tear up the driveway with heavy stuff - and we are on a hill).

The good thing is that we have enough snow cover and the air is cold enough that I can put out the bird feeders - the bears should be starting their winter's nap, so I shouldn't have to worry about them until spring.

Thank an Engineer

Chan, over at Weekend Pundit, featured this video.

I must say that, although this clip is quite funny, I live quite well without a wireless handset - we don''t have any at work (and work cell phones are banned from meetings and personal cells have to be turned of at work). I do have a cell phone that sits in the truck and most months has exactly zero minutes use. But, I must say it was nice to have the two times I needed to call 911 and I wasn't at home.

Okay, the wireless handsets at home are really nice, but just so I can hand the phone off to WS when he is outside and someone has called. Me, I don't spend much time on the phone (besides answering, and the handset is always in the cradle). In fact many months my time on those would be zero, if counting the calls that I actually participate in.

Yes, there is a theme in my life - I don't really like phones and am not much of a social person.

That being said - there are so many things in life to thank Engineers for, that to list them all would take years.

A Couple of Shorts

After no meltage from the last snow (except for stuff on the roof), we are expecting 8-12" of the white stuff today. I should beat out the storm on the way to work - those that start their day later than I do won't be so lucky. More snow expected later this week too. Looks like the making for a white Christmas!

* * * * * *

An dpeople thought I was crazy when I got WS an LP (yes, an actual vinyl record) of a new band earlier this year - seems the sales of LP's are soaring - relatively speaking.

And, by the way, J&R Music, featured in the article, has been one of my mainstay shopping stops on the Internet, for anything electronic for over 7 years.

Now for full disclosure: This was a non-reimbursed advertisement.

That is the end of this short update - have a good week!