Grumbly Things Go Here

[BottledViolence]

My car just died, right before Christmas.

It served me well for near 10 years. But now it has a catalogue of engine management and transmission faults, and I've been advised it could cost a lot to get the gearbox sorted, just so they can work out how much the rest will cost to fix. Considering the car isn't worth more than a couple of thousand now in working order, I've decided to cut my losses and say goodbye to the old A8.

That's the thing with luxury cars. When they go, they GO.

Hopefully you'll find another suitable steed without too much hassle.

I don't think that will be limited to luxury cars much longer. With so many drivers aids, emissions controls, and just plain feature creep, I feel like we are getting to the point where instead of cars lasting a little longer each model year, they start to get junked sooner. Many components are linked via CAN bus and you can't work around them without massive reengineering of the systems. This used to only be an issue with luxury brands and models, but now it's creeping into average vehicles too. I'm hearing about Mercedes active suspension sized repair bills for much less expensive vehicles. On the bright side that's still just a $25k depreciation hit compared to the $125k hit the merc owner took.

[BottledViolence]

My car just died, right before Christmas.

It served me well for near 10 years. But now it has a catalogue of engine management and transmission faults, and I've been advised it could cost a lot to get the gearbox sorted, just so they can work out how much the rest will cost to fix. Considering the car isn't worth more than a couple of thousand now in working order, I've decided to cut my losses and say goodbye to the old A8.

That sucks, those are nice cars too.
I'm just starting to incur maintenance costs on my Jeep. 85,000 miles and I've had to do rear brakes (@80k), replace the tires, and now tie rod ends and drag link. I plan on keeping it long term, but I'm pretty competent and enjoy working on vehicles, plus my plan is to but it as things go bad. I'm taking out the ABS, traction control, stability control, etc once the ABS takes a shit. I'm converting the CAN bus controlled away at disconnects to directly controlled by a switch. I've sourced a standalone engine and transmission management computer... With any luck, I can turn my 2016 Jeep into one with all the features of my 2001 Jeep at only twice the cost!

[Lord Foul]

My car just died, right before Christmas.

It served me well for near 10 years. But now it has a catalogue of engine management and transmission faults, and I've been advised it could cost a lot to get the gearbox sorted, just so they can work out how much the rest will cost to fix. Considering the car isn't worth more than a couple of thousand now in working order, I've decided to cut my losses and say goodbye to the old A8.

That sucks, those are nice cars too.
I'm just starting to incur maintenance costs on my Jeep. 85,000 miles and I've had to do rear brakes (@80k), replace the tires, and now tie rod ends and drag link. I plan on keeping it long term, but I'm pretty competent and enjoy working on vehicles, plus my plan is to but it as things go bad. I'm taking out the ABS, traction control, stability control, etc once the ABS takes a shit. I'm converting the CAN bus controlled away at disconnects to directly controlled by a switch. I've sourced a standalone engine and transmission management computer... With any luck, I can turn my 2016 Jeep into one with all the features of my 2001 Jeep at only twice the cost!

I sometimes envy you the knowledge and skill you possess to be able to do these things yourself. But then I remember that I'm also rather lazy when it comes to practical stuff like that, so I wouldn't do it even if I knew how.

Meanwhile, I've found a quite nice Skoda Superb that may fill the gap in my life...

[tombombodil]

My car just died, right before Christmas.

It served me well for near 10 years. But now it has a catalogue of engine management and transmission faults, and I've been advised it could cost a lot to get the gearbox sorted, just so they can work out how much the rest will cost to fix. Considering the car isn't worth more than a couple of thousand now in working order, I've decided to cut my losses and say goodbye to the old A8.

That sucks, those are nice cars too.
I'm just starting to incur maintenance costs on my Jeep. 85,000 miles and I've had to do rear brakes (@80k), replace the tires, and now tie rod ends and drag link. I plan on keeping it long term, but I'm pretty competent and enjoy working on vehicles, plus my plan is to but it as things go bad. I'm taking out the ABS, traction control, stability control, etc once the ABS takes a shit. I'm converting the CAN bus controlled away at disconnects to directly controlled by a switch. I've sourced a standalone engine and transmission management computer... With any luck, I can turn my 2016 Jeep into one with all the features of my 2001 Jeep at only twice the cost!

I sometimes envy you the knowledge and skill you possess to be able to do these things yourself. But then I remember that I'm also rather lazy when it comes to practical stuff like that, so I wouldn't do it even if I knew how.

Meanwhile, I've found a quite nice Skoda Superb that may fill the gap in my life...

This is why I haven't spent much time learning plumping or woodworking. I can sink hours into getting certain types of DiY stuff done, but if it involves carrying around heavy things, crawling under cupboards, or generally putting meaningful strain on my knees, elbows, and hands, I'm just not going to do it unless I have absolutely no other choice.

[BottledViolence]

I sometimes envy you the knowledge and skill you possess to be able to do these things yourself. But then I remember that I'm also rather lazy when it comes to practical stuff like that, so I wouldn't do it even if I knew how.

Meanwhile, I've found a quite nice Skoda Superb that may fill the gap in my life...

Not going to lie, it is hard work.

It's one of those things I picked up over the years and at work. I like problem solving, so troubleshooting and repairing stuff is fun. Plus I hate working out, so I working on cars, building stuff, bushcrafting, hiking, home improvement, etc keeps me active instead of parking my ass on the couch all the time.

That's a neat car, never saw one here in the states. I've only recently been learning about a lot of the brands outside the US and Japanese markets due to my employer's "mergers".

[Lord Foul]

Pics of the new car





I'm a bit surprised they don't market this one in the US. It's a big lazy cruiser, based on a VW Passat, and with more room inside than my old Audi A8. I guess maybe it's a bit too American to compete with the home-grown models.

[BottledViolence]

I'm a bit surprised they don't market this one in the US. It's a big lazy cruiser, based on a VW Passat, and with more room inside than my old Audi A8. I guess maybe it's a bit too American to compete with the home-grown models.

Safety, emissions, dealership networks, cannibalizing sales...

Probably most likely? The fact Americans don't buy cars anymore!

[McNutcase]

I'm a bit surprised they don't market this one in the US. It's a big lazy cruiser, based on a VW Passat, and with more room inside than my old Audi A8. I guess maybe it's a bit too American to compete with the home-grown models.

Safety, emissions, dealership networks, cannibalizing sales...

Probably most likely? The fact Americans don't buy cars anymore!

Most likely a complete lack of brand recognition, along with the fact that Volkswagen is the VAG "economy" make over here. We're basically paying Skoda prices for VWs already, it's not worth trying to bring the badge over.

Skoda have definitely come a long way since the days of being a punchline to the sorts of jokes Americans attach to the Yugo ("Why do Skodas have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm while you're pushing it!").

[Lord Foul]

Skoda have definitely come a long way since the days of being a punchline to the sorts of jokes Americans attach to the Yugo ("Why do Skodas have heated rear windows? To keep your hands warm while you're pushing it!").

Yes, it's a totally different sort of car now to the crap they were making when they were state-owned by the Czech government. They've really pulled off an amazing feat of turning it into one of the best 'stealth' brands on the European market. Nice to see them back to former glory, considering it's the fifth oldest car maker in the world (Laurin and Klement, 1895)!

[Ikoma]

Every time I hear Skoda, I think tanks...