Old Car New Car

[OkamiKodomo]

So I finished paying off my Saturn Ion in February. Great fantastic dollie money! Well as they say, the second you pay off the car, it starts to go. So true. Wheel bearings. Shocks and struts. Funny "hot car" smell after trips of varying durations and speeds. Dash chimes not working (worrisome when you have a bad habit of locking keys in cars and leaving headlights on), and Check Engine light coming on every time the temperature dropped below freezing. Not to mention rear windshield defrosters got scraped off when I had to have the window tint removed to pass inspection, the CD player needing a good smack in order to play a CD when it's first installed, cracked front windshield and the radio antenna coming loose repeatedly... All told, at least two grand to fix everything, and the car isn't even worth half that... So with a heavy heart, I took my beloved little Badger to the dealership to see what could be done.

I am still sad about it. I love that car. But it had to be done. I commute 70 miles a day, minimum, usually more. I do about 3000 miles in a month. I need a car that is in good shape. And I'm still working on rebuilding my credit, so I knew I wouldn't get prime rates. Still, I lucked out.

Say hello to Luna.



Lookit that butt! So cute. I love the tail lights on Dodge cars. They remind me of RoboCop or something.

My dream car is a 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat. But that was WAY out of my budget. Like four times what I could afford per month outside my budget. So I got the Dart. It's a 2013 with less than 14k miles on it, dark silver metallic paint with all black interior. Bluetooth built in, and audio controls on the steering wheel which is neat. MP3 and CD players. Alarm system. It's an automatic, which I'm a little disappointed in, but I don't know that I would feel safe buying a pre-owned standard, because it's so easy to fuck up a transmission. My old car didn't even have power windows, let alone power locks or side view mirrors. I used to joke that I was lucky I had power steering. But this one has power everything. Mirrors, locks, doors, even a polarization filter for the rear view. Has something called a "smart shift" too, where I can sorta drive it like a manual, but there are limits to it.

And check out this key!~

They handed me the fob and I looked at it, turned it over, peered at it and went "where's the rest?" My sales guy got a giggle out of it, and said that is the whole thing. It's a microchip. Cars of the future!

[K2!]

Congrats on the new wheels! Getting a new car can be fun and scary all at the same time. Read the manual so you understand how the new systems work. Some things like the keyless ignition and your "smart shift" have their oddities. Have fun. Be safe!

[Jobee]

How exciting! Congratulations. :3 My Hubby and I had a Dodge for a few years too. It was a good car.

[OkamiKodomo]

What manual? I didn't get one of those lol. The last owner may have kept it. The keyless ignition is no big deal, it's not a push to start, still have to shove the key fob into the starter and turn. I'm scared to try the shift thing, because while I can drive a manual, it's not quite the same, because there's no clutch and you're not actually moving the shifter, just nudging it up or down to change gears.

Thanks, Jobee!~ I'm still bummed about my Saturn; I really loved him. But if I lost my car, I'd be on the streets in no time, and that can't happen. If I had the money, I would have loved to keep him on the road.

[K2!]

What manual? I didn't get one of those lol. The last owner may have kept it.

http://www.dodge.com.eg/docs/dart-om/fi ... cation.pdf

[OkamiKodomo]

Ooo that is quite useful. I discovered what the little arrow buttons on my steering wheel are for! I have a tripometer! And something tk tell me what my average mpg are, how my mpg are doing as I drive, and how many miles til empty.

Am I alone in thinking K2 is just the most awesome dollie person evar? Chock full of resources.

[Czanne]

Congrats on the new car!

One thing on those microchip keys -- if yours has a proximity unlock (i.e. you get close to the car with the key in your pocket and it unlocks), that's just been hacked with a very cheap amplifier, which makes stealing the car very, very easy. There is no fix for it yet, but there is a behavioral fix to keep your key signal safe. When your keys are not in use, keep them in a metal can or tin -- Altoids tin, tea tin, whatever. That keeps the signal from being captured and rebroadcast. We're dealing with that right now on Spouse's car, which is also a 2013. The recent but not new cars are the ones most vulnerable because the vulnerability is going to require either a firmware or hardware update, and it's not going to be a simple one.

[K2!]

One thing on those microchip keys -- if yours has a proximity unlock....

There's a humorous demonstration of the "proximity" phenomenon in Top Gear, Series 19, Episode 2 where they boys are in a diner and Jeremy sneaks out, starts and drives Richard's car (a Dodge Viper) without the key, from the diner parking lot to the middle of the busy street and parks it there, all accomplished because of the proximity of the starting key.

[OkamiKodomo]

Fortunately there is no proximity unlock, I do need to press the button in order to send the signal to the car to unlock though Myrretah"s mom has one of those, so I shall pass the info on to her.