Probably selling, ugh

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DJCoopster

DJCoopster

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I got my '23 BRG in Sept the quality check fiasco that hit a group of us whose cars were built in mid-May.

This is my 3rd EV, best car I've owned in my 35+ years of driving.

However...I'm shifting to a work from home role in the next 2 months so won't be driving 10 miles to work for 100miles/week. We're also buying a travel trailer and need a tow vehicle.

Current situation: my Mini SE and wife has 2022 Tucson hybrid. Her Tucson is excellent, the tech and self-driving blew me away after we got it just over a year ago. I paid cash for the Mini and the Tucson is on a 0% 4-year.

Needs: tow vehicle and long trip vehicle - the SE is neither.

We're going with a Grand Cherokee for the tow vehicle which will be a V-8 and keeping the Tucson since it gets much better mpg than the GC will around town and on long trips (without towing)

So, the Mini has to go. I can't justify having a 3rd vehicle for the little I'd be driving by myself. It's going to kill me not having an EV.

Any other options? I wouldn't mind a PHEV to replace the Tucson, but there is no way we'd get 0% interest this year and I paid less than MSRP on it, though had to drive 2 hours to pick it up for that.
 
DJCoopster said:
I got my '23 BRG in Sept the quality check fiasco that hit a group of us whose cars were built in mid-May.

This is my 3rd EV, best car I've owned in my 35+ years of driving.

However...I'm shifting to a work from home role in the next 2 months so won't be driving 10 miles to work for 100miles/week. We're also buying a travel trailer and need a tow vehicle.

Current situation: my Mini SE and wife has 2022 Tucson hybrid. Her Tucson is excellent, the tech and self-driving blew me away after we got it just over a year ago. I paid cash for the Mini and the Tucson is on a 0% 4-year.

Needs: tow vehicle and long trip vehicle - the SE is neither.

We're going with a Grand Cherokee for the tow vehicle which will be a V-8 and keeping the Tucson since it gets much better mpg than the GC will around town and on long trips (without towing)

So, the Mini has to go. I can't justify having a 3rd vehicle for the little I'd be driving by myself. It's going to kill me not having an EV.

Any other options? I wouldn't mind a PHEV to replace the Tucson, but there is no way we'd get 0% interest this year and I paid less than MSRP on it, though had to drive 2 hours to pick it up for that.
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You don't necessarily need a V8 monster to tow.
I used to tow small trailers with a classic Mini amongst other small euro vehicles. I once towed another Mini with a DIY drawbar with it. :) The SE would be a way tow vehicle. It all depends on what you want to tow and how far. I'd go up to 2000lb behind an SE. When my S10 dies, my SE will get a towhitch and I'll find a small utility trailer.
 
What's your budget? Maybe a Camp 365 pop out trailer and put a tow hook on the Tuscon? It's only 1800lbs.

 
DJCoopster said:
We're going with a Grand Cherokee...
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Ewwwwww :confused:

CAm1p5R.png
 
Thanks for the opinion there. Most people would say I'm dumb for buying a Mini with the nearest dealer beyond the range of the car too.

I'm in management in automotive manufacturing and can go on and on about this manufacturer, that one, etc etc and how crappy each of their engineering is, etc.

For example, one we supply missed their engine compartment baseline cooling and airflow needs. Solution? Have the AGS (automatic grill shutter) supplier remove 25% of the shutters. That was their permanent fix. It dropped the MPG rating for the entire model.

Another example: on a pretty expensive 3/4 ton and up truck the tow connector design is horrible and doesn't lock into the bumper correctly. Solution? Have us hit it with a deadblow hammer, ONCE only. No specified force, no redesign, just hit it with a hammer so it mashes the spring clips and makes sure it doesn't come out.

The previous model GC is pretty reliable toward the end of the model run - the current model is turning out to not be as reliable so far, but it will get there as the program matures, just like all do. Hint: never buy the first year of a new generation.

fishbert said:
Ewwwwww :confused:

CAm1p5R.png
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DJCoopster said:
That's the travel trailer. Dinette and couch so I can work remotely on the table and still have somewhere for my wife to read, etc.
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Fair enough! I'm still saving for an all-electric Class C RV..would also accept hydrogen fuel cell. I'd also like to ditch the black tank for an electric incinerating toilet.
 
Consumer reports is well known to be unreliable in their vehicle reports. Flawed analysis based on flawed reports.. don't get me going. I don't have a lot of respect for those referring to them as competent, just don't know what they don't know and are unwilling to take the time to discover that. It is marketing.

I've had a GC Overland for years. Many of my peers own one, The new PHEV has been awesome. They do and so does any other manufacture make a lemon now and then. Excellent vehicle for towing and driving cross country. Lots of parks discourage pop ups and they are not all that convenient. Those that camp a lot will suggest a trailer like you selected. ... just saying you are making good choices, but you already know that.

You won't find a V8 new, they are hard to find used and bring a premium price. A 26 foot 6000 pound trailer is within the capability, given a WDH with sway control, but the GC shorter wheelbase is not as good as a longer wheelbase frame on frame tow vehicle driving through cross winds.
 
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ColdCase said:
You won't find a V8 new, they are hard to find used and bring a premium price. A 26 foot 6000 pound trailer is within the capability, given a WDH with sway control, but the GC shorter wheelbase is not as good as a longer wheelbase frame on frame tow vehicle driving through cross winds.
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Yeah, the 6000 max is within the limits of the V-6 GC and I've chatted with some people that do tow with the V-6. Long steep climbs it will struggle with but otherwise it's fine and actually gives a little extra cargo capacity for the vehicle since it's a little lighter.

I can't do a truck where we live - our off street parking in front just fits the Tucson at a slight angle and the alley parking is too tight for the turning radius. The GC fits the bill for tow capacity and able to fit our current life.

A good WDH is going to be the first purchase.
 
Yeah, consistent with what I've read over the years. I often cross country tow a 18 foot long and tall MC trailer that likes to act as a sail. My daughter lived in Lexington Ky for several years. MC trailers are not set up for sway control, but I had to beaf up the frame and hack one in.

The V6 is adequate, make sure you get factory tow as that comes with the extra cooling. It will run a little warm up long grades at speed, but slowing down a little will bring the coolant temps back down. Passing won't be much of an option, however.

Lots of them out there.
 
ColdCase said:
Consumer reports is well known to be unreliable in their vehicle reports. Flawed analysis based on flawed reports.. don't get me going.
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I'll try not to? :)

My experience (albeit with only a few vehicles) is that the Consumer Reports compilation of owner's reports were quite accurate. That is, if a certain problem was common with a particular make/model/year of car, it tended to show up on mine as well.

The one exception might be the clutch on my 2010 Mazda 3, which seems to still be going strong after 150k miles. My wife has recently been teaching our daughter how to drive a manual with it, though, so we'll see how that goes...
 
CuriousGeorge said:
compilation of owner's reports were quite accurate...
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Yeah, it important to note that these are reports by customers by subscribers of Consumer Reports and reflect the attitudes of people that subscribe to CR. That is a relatively small cross section of customers that limits and skews the data quite a bit, especially those that are subjective. Which in turn skews ratings to the point of being irrelevant.

There are certainly more professional survey companies that better capture the general public consumer data. I mean CR subscribers are real, just different ;)

Statistically, there are no relatively bad cars sold in the US now days. The advice is to buy what you like. You will be happier with your purchase.

Identifying problem areas to look out for in the vehicle you chose may have some merit, but comparisons across brands have been proven to be worthless. But it does sell subscriptions.
 
ColdCase said:
Yeah, it important to note that these are reports by customers by subscribers of Consumer Reports and reflect the attitudes of people that subscribe to CR. That is a relatively small cross section of customers that limits and skews the data quite a bit, especially those that are subjective. Which in turn skews ratings to the point of being irrelevant.

There are certainly more professional survey companies that better capture the general public consumer data. I mean CR subscribers are real, just different ;)

Statistically, there are no relatively bad cars sold in the US now days. The advice is to buy what you like. You will be happier with your purchase.

Identifying problem areas to look out for in the vehicle you chose may have some merit, but comparisons across brands have been proven to be worthless. But it does sell subscriptions.
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We seem to be talking past one another. I was referring only to the compilation of owners' experiences across time.

I suppose it is possible that CR subscribers take better (or worse) care of their cars than average, but that should only make problems appear later (or sooner), not make an underlying weakness disappear.

(I wonder what CR subscribers have reported re. MINIs... for example, do established issues such as with the N14 engine, or clogged sunroof drains leading to water damage of the electrical system, show up, or not?)
 
ColdCase said:
Yeah, it important to note that these are reports by customers by subscribers of Consumer Reports and reflect the attitudes of people that subscribe to CR. That is a relatively small cross section of customers that limits and skews the data quite a bit...

There are certainly more professional survey companies that better capture the general public consumer data.
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It is a selected set, but they do get a large number of responses... ~300,000 vehicles each year. I don't know of anyone else out there collecting a larger reliability dataset from owners. And at least for models I'm familiar with, they seem to identify problem areas fairly accurately.

ColdCase said:
Statistically, there are no relatively bad cars sold in the US now days.
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You couldn't pay me to buy another 2nd-gen Cooper S, with it's legendary carbon build-up issues. I don't know how happy Kia & Hyundai owners are with how easy it is to steal them. And Chevy telling Bolt owners to park outside to make sure their house doesn't burn down... not great, Bob.

Overall, are cars more reliable than ever? Sure.
But there are still models in the modern era that a savvy consumer may wish to avoid.
 
Regarding a PHEV SUV to replace the Tucson, I test drove the RAV4 prime and loved it. Getting one is another story, though.

My wife had the PHEV Kia Niro. It was one of the worst cars we've ever owned, including the customer service.
 
ghost said:
Regarding a PHEV SUV to replace the Tucson, I test drove the RAV4 prime and loved it. Getting one is another story, though.
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We looked at RAV4s before settling on the Tucson. Early 2022, dealers around here were marking up RAV4s (all flavors) $5000-10000 over MSRP and almost all were spoken for before arriving at the dealer.

I got $500 off MSRP on the Tucson hybrid with 0% interest, plus it was slightly lower cost overall. MPG isn't quite as good, but we're talking about maybe $150 extra per year on fuel for 10,000 miles of driving. The Tucson's tech is much better too.
 
fishbert said:
You couldn't pay me to buy another 2nd-gen Cooper S, with it's legendary carbon build-up issues.
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Ha! I suffered through that with my Clubmans (Clubmen?), but got into the habit of adding injector cleaner into the gas tank every couple of months and the problem went away. I've also had the infamous timing chain problems, but other than expense of replacing them not such a big issue. Driving a MINI has been worth it.
 
I may be right behind you. There is an occasional noise coming from the driver side B pillar. It is one of those the dealer "wont replicate". I will find it, or get rid of the car. Its driving me nuts.
 
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