Category: Cars

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Okay, Enough!

The cold from hell is still hanging on.

It’s to the point now that if I’m on the mend, I feel like increasing my activity and then it comes back.

I’m in bed again coughing my fool head off, with a slight fever.

Whatever this bug is, it’s a stone bitch. It’s not like I’ve been doing a lot of stuff. It doesn’t take much at all to cause a set back.

If you’ve got this thing take it easy and give yourself time to heal.

I’m hoping that this weekend is the last weekend I have to put up with this crap. The other half is in worse shape than I am. I keep expecting to see a lung laying on the floor.

When I picked up my car the other day I saw a brand new 4 series that was honestly sex on wheels.

I went to the BMW site and built one for me. Uhh, WOW am I expensive! I noticed that automatic transmission was apparently the only option for the machine.

On a related note, when I returned the loaner car it was shifting much better. I think the transmission just needed to have more than 100 miles on it.

I’m still not a fan of automatic transmissions but I could break my rule for a new 4 series convertible. Maybe I should start a gofundme page?

Hope you have a great weekend.

Posted on

Not that I’m complaining…

I have a loaner BMW 328i.

It’s brand new, with an automatic transmission. I don’t like BMW automatics. The shifting is clunky, and somewhat unpredictable. The car itself is floaty, even in the super sport mode. My car on the other hand is low to the ground, and tight.

Most new BMWs are equipped with automatic transmissions. There is some speculation that from here on out if you prefer a manual transmission you’ll have to order it special, as opposed to having to specify an automatic. I personally think this sucks.

I expect a soft floaty ride from a Mercedes, unless you’re talking about a super high end AMG. I don’t expect that kind of ride from a Beemer.

BMW’s are supposed to be “drivers” cars. This 328 is nice, but it doesn’t feel like a BMW. In some ways it feels more like a Chevy Impala.

I can’t see spending the cash for a 3 series if this is representative of the new era Beemers.

If BMW wants to sell cars, they should give people like me ‘M’ versions of something, as loaners.

On the plus side, the car place called to tell me they think they’ve found the problem. They have to order parts and I probably wont see my car until Tuesday.

That will be a happy reunion. Maybe I’ll make a Palm Springs run.

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Sigh…

You know, lately every time I want to go somewhere it’s always a pain in the ass.

Of course it’s not actually just because I’m trying to go somewhere. It’s that I’m trying to go somewhere and that requires that I get in the car.

A couple of weeks ago I needed brakes. OK I knew it had been a long time… Like NEVER! Since the brakes had been done. 7 years and 100,000 miles later isn’t all that bad.

Unfortunately that’s where the mechanic stopped in his diagnostics. Instead of throughly checking out the whole braking system, including the ABS system, the mechanic thought, “Customer reports squealing / howl, brake pads are near end of life, we’re done.”

No doubt the computer(s) said, “Yup, everything is good, no errors posted,” and because of the pressure to turn vehicles over in his service bay, the mechanic disregarded the rest of the customer report.

The howl only happens in the morning.
It only happens once right after the car is pulled out of the driveway.
The sound is more a howl than a squeal.

Sigh…

This morning the howl started then stopped. I went to my first stop then I’m heading to my next stop and there’s the howl again along with the distinct smell of something burning.

Okaaaayyy! NOT GOOD!

Cancel the rest of my day! Get the car repair place on the phone and tell them I need to get my car back in, and they need to put me in a rental. Thankfully, the repair place is pretty accommodating.

One flatbed tow truck ride later, I’m at the repair place handing them the keys to my car. They’re handing me the keys to a brand new 328i and I’m on my way again. Now lets see if I can pick up the pieces of my day and get something productive done.

I’ve discovered that I don’t like BMW automatic transmissions, they have a very weird shifting pattern, especially if you’re heading up a hill. On the plus side, I’ve got a nice ride for a few days.

I have a bad feeling that this is going to be another expensive repair.