2012-08-22

ANOTHER continual car for me?

mmmmaybe?

i rented a fiat 500C (by complete chance ... really!) in vancouver and loved it.  i need a new car like i need a bullet in my skull, BUT the fiat has the ability to be made continual and it has some modern updating (e.g. auxiliary in on the stereo) and it drives much smaller than the cruiser.

but the big big one is it gets 30mpg+, whereas the cruiser sits right in at 21.  50% extra would make a lot of difference in n years, especially as the price of gasoline goes through the roof.

hmm.

2012-08-21

90,600 mile service

visiting my mom in CO, so i stopped by PRO chrysler-jeep-dodge-ram.

super-good shop in that they were able to take me on a moment's notice (i don't know why this is so hard for the average dealership) and they honored my pre-paid oil changes.

the weird news is they have a windshield scam (of sorts) here.  an assigned person swarmed in, looked at my windshield and informed me that three pits needed to be fixed -- the deductible would be waived and paid directly by the insurance company.  all this is true, but really it's their chance to get extra money from the insurance company over a repair that is questionable at best (is a pit really a danger that could result in a windshield crack?  no.).  BUT, since it costs me no money, there's no reason for me to object.  i've never seen this trick used before ...

the service guy said it would take 45 minutes and that's precisely what it was.  their "world class 27 point inspection" showed two problems: decaying wiper blades (known) and tires out of camber (ditto).

and isn't it just SHOCKING that they showed none of the problems that lying, cheating, thieving Chapman did nearly 60,000 miles ago?

uh, no, it's not.

i'm supposed to change the plugs at 90K, but wanted to ensure that i could get my car ready for a vegas drive tomorrow so i held off.  i'll be doing that soon.