I’ve already said everything I have to say about the Washington, D.C. Auto Show — it — stunk, but there were some nice cars there. It might be a little late, but here’s all of the pictures I took. Sorry if there are some repeats.
After reading a couple of my articles on how my love for Craigslist, I’m sure most of you have scoured the web looking for a used car. Unfortunately, the majority of people interested in purchasing a used car are interested in getting one with a warranty, which means Craigslist isn’t the place to go. On Craigslist, and other websites where people can sell cars, everyone lies. Let’s face it, they’re trying to sell something and if they didn’t lie, chances are no one would want their vehicle. So being a responsible adult, you head to the dealership, because they have laws and stuff to stop them from lying to. While that’s a different animal for a different time, I’m here to tell you a short-ish story about my experience with an expensive vehicle with an expensive warranty. As you know, I owned a 2009 Infiniti G37X Coupe for a year and absolutely loved it. It was a great car that had minimal problems, but it did cost me a pretty penny. I only had two problems with the car: an exhaust rattle and a terrible driver side window screech. When I purchased the car, I also purchased a four-year 45K mile warranty for an additional $2,500. Like a good enthusiast, and nervous first-time car buyer, I read through the whole warranty packet. Things like brakes, tires, spark plugs, belts and other ‘wear and tear’ items weren’t covered. But that didn’t surprise me since they usually aren’t covered under the majority of warranties. Other things that weren’t covered included: electrical problems, exhaust, modifications and similar items. In the year that I owned the vehicle, I only went into the dealership – Passport Infiniti of Alexandria – once. And that was for them to look at the car for the ear-piercing screech that molested my ear every time I put the window up. As usual, this trip to the dealership was a hassle. There were a lot of other people there with bigger problems, the service people weren’t very friendly and it wasn’t even remotely quick. When I went in, the service advisors didn’t talk to me for approximately five minutes and when they did, they said it would $150 just to look at the problem and an unknown amount to fix it. Upon hearing this, I calmly stated that I had an extended warranty that covered things that weren’t working properly, since the window would go up automatically and then come right down. The hangry (a precise amount of hungry and angry) looking service advisor stated that my warranty didn’t cover squeaks and rattles. I adamantly told him the screech wasn’t the major issue and that a screech isn’t really a squeak. Through his beady, little eyes I could see that he wasn’t amused. He shrugged me off and told me to go wait in the service department. I waited and waited and waited. Two hours later, I was told that my vehicle was finished. The service sheet stated that they had cleaned and lubed the window tracks, which was interesting because that wasn’t where the noise was coming from. Since it was a warm day, the window had automatically stopped making the awful sound. My guess is, they didn’t do anything and happily claimed that they had fixed the problem. I’m not an idiot, so I went along with it. I also played they’re little game because the checkup didn’t cost me a penny. But that got me thinking, what would I pay $150 to get checked out? The Infiniti’s a Japanese car, so it’ll go forever without missing a beat. Since things like brakes, tires, belts, oil changes, and other routine parts aren’t covered, there’s really no reason to have a warranty. I mean sure, the engine and transmission are covered under warranty, but when has one of those gone out before 100K miles? The two problems I had – window screech and exhaust rattle – weren’t covered under the expensive warranty and both weren’t fixed. So the warranty on my Infiniti was completely useless. And I would go even further and say that warranties are not necessary for the majority of vehicles. It’s the dealerships way to get back at you for getting a good deal and since you’re scared of doing your own work, you’ll pay any amount to feel safe. It’s a fake parachute ready to let you fall when you need it the most. If you really are that scared to turn a socket yourself, then by all means, buy a warranty. But be sure to read the fine and extra fine print. Because they may say ridiculous things like ‘squeaks and rattles aren’t covered.’ So when should you buy a warranty? · After doing an insane amount of research on your vehicle · If you’re uncomfortable with working on your car · If you’re buying a high-end-luxury car · When you’re worried something big will go wrong Doing thorough research before buying a car will and can save you thousands of dollars. I’ve been using Repairpal.com to see common repair costs, common problems, shops in my area and ask other vehicle owners questions. Check forums, ask Google, try to do everything you can to see how reliable your car is. If you have any doubts, get the warranty. If you’ve never worked on a car before or don’t feel comfortable doing so, get the warranty. It won’t cover minor components that need to be changed on a regular basis, but it’ll make you feel safer. And in this crazy unpredictable world, all of us want to feel a little safer. Last year, I wrote about how dissatisfied I was with the Washington, D.C. Auto Show. One would think that D.C., being the nation’s capital, would host the greatest cars found in America today. Unfortunately, that has not been the case since I first started going in high school. And this year was easily the worst year. Why? Because: · There was a noticeable lack of exciting cars · Cars were placed in awkward locations · Some of the cars were “locked for your protection” · There were the same cars from last year · It’s still more of a ‘buyers’ auto show I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the D.C. Auto Show is not for car enthusiasts, but for people looking to buy a car. How do I know this? People weren’t flocking to the insane 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S. They were bantering about whether they wanted to – not if they could afford to – spend the extra cash on the Z51 package for the Chevrolet Corvette. Instead of being amazed by the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, people are flocking to a pretty spokeswoman for Toyota ranting about how their Mirai (hydrogen-powered car) is going to be on the road in California in 2016. Was she pretty? Absolutely. Was it worth listening to her speech for 10 minutes? Absolutely not. In fact, the way Dodge positioned the Charger Hellcat in the back of their display besides a Dodge Caravan is a perfect example of why I’m upset. And if Dodge was able to bring the Charger Hellcat, why was the Challenger Hellcat missing? Seems idiotic to bring one and not the other when they’re identical twins. I could rant for hours about the negative aspects of the auto show, but I didn’t think that would be helpful or beneficial. I’m seriously contemplating never going back to the D.C. Auto Show because getting there was more enjoyable than being there, so I’m going to give my thoughts on what would make it better. What would make the D.C. Auto Show better? ·More exotic cars, including concepts ·Not having dealerships trying to sell cars ·Don’t hire salesman to talk to people about the cars ·Tell people working at the auto show to actually have knowledge about the cars ·Position high-traffic cars in easily accessible areas I understand that some of these may be hard to complete, but it would revamp the entire auto show and how it’s run. It would definitely bring more people in while creating a better show for visitors. It would be a win-win for everyone and that’s all I want. First off, the lack of exotic vehicles really kills the entire vibe of the auto show. I hate to admit this, but I’ve seen nicer vehicles at Katie’s Cars and Coffee, which is pretty sad. I will say that there were a few Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Aston Martins and a McLaren, but they were on display from a local dealership. That’s kind of like a backhanded compliment, because it’s catering to the extremely rich individuals in the crowd that can actually afford one of these vehicles instead of the six year old inside everyone. More exotics would bring in a younger, brighter, more enthusiastic crowd, which is exactly what the automotive industry needs. I don’t think the Toyota Corolla ever inspired anyone to join the automotive scene, so why make it the star? The next thing is to keep local dealerships away from the auto show. I don’t understand why the people in charge of the auto show continue to bring actual dealerships in. How does this even make any sense? Dealerships proudly display obnoxious stickers on their vehicles for visitors that have the same eyesight as a bat to see exactly where the vehicle came from. If that’s not bad, when I worked the auto show last year, visitors were able to purchase some of the cars on the floor. I don’t know why that’s okay, because it obviously turns the auto show into a glorified dealership. Getting rid of the dealership would also rid the auto show of the salesmen that interact with the visitors. While I love talking to pretty much anyone, the individuals that work the auto show are just as bad as salesmen at dealerships, because they are salesman from dealerships. They’re like mindless zombies with preset conversations built in. Ask them a question about how this car relates to your car and they’ll lunge after your wallet faster than a rabid squirrel. Yes, they’ll answer your questions, but with the same sense of deception that everyone’s used to at a dealership. Ask somebody to pop the trunk on a Miata and you’ll get bombarded with a set of rehearsed facts straight off the company’s website. I mean, I just wanted to see the freaking trunk space. Lastly, and most importantly, there needs to be an overhaul of how the cars are placed. I’ve already complained about the location of the Charger Hellcat next to a minivan, but it was the same thing with the 2016 Ford Shelby GT350. The newest American muscle car was tucked away in a dark dingy corner surrounded by multiple electric vehicles, which I find very ironic. I almost missed it because Ford had nothing else that was new and decided to place their hottest vehicle besides one of their dullest. I really don’t get it. I used to look forward to the D.C. Auto Show when I was younger. It was a place where I could see exotic vehicles and argue with car enthusiasts about cars. I would spend hours taking pictures, sitting in each car and daydreaming about the day I would have enough money to buy one of the exotics on display. Next year, I’ll check out what cars are there before I go. I don’t see the point in going to take pictures of six cars that I will probably see at Katie’s Cars and Coffee during the warmer months. Maybe I’ll try to save some money and go the Detroit Auto Show next year, that’d be worth it. |