tl;dr: It lives!
It's been a while. Let's catch up.
I continued to drive the car very sparingly - about 10 min away to Target. Honestly, while I felt like the car was shifting
differently in terms of shift timing on occasion, the car had not stalled again.
In October, after a super lengthy process due to the economy, I got the job I wanted that I applied for in June. Felt so good to get back to work and I'm making way more than even my previous role. So, naturally, after building my savings, my thoughts went toward my car replacement options.
I narrowed things down to a Golf Alltrack but used prices are absolutely insane for these cars. Like 30k for a example from Carmax, Carvana, etc. I wanted one with the pano roof so I wanted a no hassle extended warranty - if i'm spending this much money on a car, I refuse to settle on features.
Not just the price soured me, but also the maintenance requirements for the Haldex AWD - apparently there's a few more places with fluid that should be changed periodically but VW tends to focus on just the main Haldex unit. That and there's a filter that gets clogged but VW pretends it doesn't exist ...it's a mess. Finally, VWoA's options packaging annoyed me - good luck finding a Alltrack with the lighting pack so you'd actually be able to see at night, for example. Ditto Fender premium sound so it didn't sound like you were listening to music coming out of a tin can connected to the radio via string. I'd be waiting a long while for the right config.
So then I took a look at the Mazda CX-5 - Looks great, by many standard's it's the benchmark for driving dynamics in the class, Bose audio is widely available on many trims and got a lot better with the infotainment update for 2021...perfect. Used prices are still nuts so I looked at new, only to be smacked in the face with the Chip Shortage - Both Bose and Power Liftgate were being deleted from nearly all trim levels for both 2022 and 2023 - some 2022's managed to have one or the other or both but by the time I was looking all the 2022's left were missing those features.
I waffled - A CX-5 Premium Plus, the lowest trim which now had Bose and PL, starts at a lofty $35,500. I could afford this, but with the tech economy continuing to implode. despite the good spot my new org was in with finances I was unsure. The interest rate hikes were a final nail in the coffin...I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not right now, and again, if I'm buying a new car, I'm not settling.
So, i made an appointment to get my trusty steed Kia looked over on Friday. I got the results back:
* They didn't find anything of note with the transmission - no stored codes, the test drive went well.... they did note the fluid was very dark and suggested a drain and fill.
* They did note that the engine was running rough and recommended a tune up, including new spark plugs and cleaning the throttle body
* They also spotted a leaking valve cover gasket after noting that the plugs were covered in oil and the holes they go in were filled.
* Coolant needed a bit of a top up, nothing of note, no apparent leaks in the system
I went ahead and approved it all, I knew the valve cover likely needed replacing just by looking at the engine, for instance. The MPG's I was getting had me wondering if it was tune up time as well. It was cheaper than a new car and I can hopefully focus my money elsewhere, namely, restarting the process of moving again. I picked up the car today and it definitely sounds a lot smoother and shifting seemed fine. I feel like things like turning around a corner from a stop light then immediately accelerating up hill is definitely better...before I'd feel like i'd be catching the car flat footed while negotiating the corner.
A proper shake down drive is in order, probably tomorrow evening - i'll get it onto the highway and see how it performs out there as I feel like this was a part of the drive that I felt it was struggling at as well.
What's next? I"ll probably try to find a cheap Spotify "Car Thing" to setup to make music tasks easier, especially since I'll be driving the car down to Florida and back in late December. If things go well after that I'll probably re-visit getting another keyless entry fob as mine died an painful death a long time ago. The last time I called about this, i got a exorbitant number, supposedly locksmiths can do it though.
