I enjoyed watching the trains, albeit a bit at a distance, in April.
I was back at the dealership today for my 2-year/20k mile service.
This time I was prepared. Though we had had some snow earlier, the weather cooperated. I walked way down (like 2-miles) to the top of the yard itself.
Well you can see the pictures. Not much actions. LOTS of engines — over a dozen. But, they were not doing anything productive! I see that a LOT up here. SMILE.
Click to ENLARGE. First part of service record.Click to ENLARGE. 2nd part.Click to image to access my April 15, 2023 post.
NOT FUNNY. NOT HAPPY.
But, that was the CASE, alas.
At least the dealership (which will remain nameless for now) was honest enough to immediately, upfront admit that it was all due to an inexperienced, rookie technician.
I guess they thought that a simple software update should be within his training. Well, it appears not.
So, a week Friday they had to give me a LOANER (which to be fair was pretty nice (& a tad better featured than mine)) so I could go to ‘Lake George‘, New York as planned. That trip was a success & the loaner did OK.
I called the dealership Thursday once I got home. They told me the facts & that my car was ready. But, they had also promised to clean a bit before giving it back.
I couldn’t get up there till late Friday afternoon. My car was ready & it was cleaner than it has been in a very long time. That at least was a consolation.
Drove it back. Seems OK. Much to my relief & DELIGHT none of the SETTINGS had been lost. The Sirius XM favorites, the garage door opener etc. etc. all worked. So, that was good. Not sure about any of the stuff they did … like VGM Reload, ECM Reload, TCAM battery recharge etc. Just hope they knew what they were doing.
Click to ENLARGE. E-mail I got from Volvo March 6, 2023.Click to ENLARGE & read here. Link to ‘Volvo Support’.
So, so, so frigging GLAD that this was NOT ‘OTA’ (Over the Air). I would have been totally dead in the frigging water.
This was a DEALER — a very big & super-good DEALER at that — doing it.
Totally KILLED the car. Couldn’t even open the tailgate! I had my hiking gear bag in the back (as always, packed & ready for action). LUCKILY we were able to pull it out by folding the backseat.
This is BEYOND STUPID. Car totally dead. They don’t know what is wrong with it!
They, at the dealership, can do OTA. Appears they tried doing it OTA 3 times. Failed each time. So, they plugged the car into the computer. That is when they FRIED the car!
I took the car (i.e., XC60) in at 12:30 (as agreed). They said about two hours. That is fair enough. It was 80F. I went ambling. {See the pictures}
At 3:30pm they sheepishly broke the news. WE HAD A PROBLEM. I am going ambling in upstate New York on Monday. I told them, forget the update, just get the car to the state it was when I brought it in. They admitted they couldn’t. Told me that they can’t even open the tailgate. I was NOT amused.
They, of course, immediately offered me a loaner. They had to.
My XC60 is my HIKING car. The Mazda CX-30 is my local car. The XC60 is PRECISELY packed with all my hiking gear. Spare boots, sticks, clothing, straps, picnic stuff, hotel/motel stuff (e.g., extension cords, nighlights {SMILE}), maps.
I had to transfer 90% of the stuff from my DEAD car to the loaner — which was a XC60. I was nearly done when I remembered SIRIUS XM. I can’t drive without Sirius {& I am NOT kidding} & there was no way I was going on a hiking trip WITHOUT Sirius. I need to listen to CNBC. SMILE. That loaner didn’t have Sirius. I am so RELIEVED that I had asked.
They scrambled around & got me another loaner that had Sirius. This was FANCY. Fancier than mine! It was a 2023 whereas mine is a 2022. It also has Premium Sound & is a B6 (whereas mine is a B5 with POLESTAR). So, at least, I don’t have to slum it. It is pretty nice car — with only 3,000 on the clock (whereas mine (after 16 months) has 12,900 miles). Plus, I will save myself around 800 miles on the lease. SMILE. They still owe me.
Click to ENLARGE. The CSX yard relative to where I took these pictures.
It would appear that railroad cargo activity in Southern Maine has increased quite a bit of late. I did a quick Google & found that this is indeed the case & that ‘CSX’, who are now the operators of ‘Central Maine Railroad‘, has kicked operations up quite a bit.
I often bemoan that living in New Hampshire I don’t get to see too many trains. That is a fact. But yesterday, in Southern Maine, south of Portland, I, to my surprise & DELIGHT, got to see some REAL, long & heavy, freight trains. Wow. Unexpected.
The ‘Volvo’ dealership that I take my (accursed) XC60 is pretty close to the yard.
I take an amble while they do whatever needs to be done to the (bloody) Volvo. I used to amble down Rte 1 but on my last visit & discovered this golf driving range on a pond. It is a RIOT. They drive the golf balls into water. I like that. Gives me a kick. So, yesterday I made a point of ambling to the pond. On the way I heard the UNMISTAKABLE sound of diesel train engines in action. I clamoured down the embankment. It was worth it.
Busy. I was surprised. I have to go back next week. Bloody Volvo. But, they gave me a real fancy LOANER. Even fancier than my XC60 & mine is pretty fancy. So, when I am there next week I am going to go to the yard itself. Wow.
Here are some pictures of the driving range. Check the pictures out. You can see the balls bobbing in the water in one of them. Enjoy.
Click to ENLARGE. Today, 139 days after I leased it I finally clocked 1,000 miles.
Click to access this post from the day I leased it last year.
Click to ENLARGE. Yep, 7 days of not getting into a vehicle though I spent at least 3 hours, each of those days, outside, in the cold. That is my life.
Yes, it is true that this is my 2nd ‘car’ (or to be precise SUV). But, I don’t drive the other, i.e., my accursed 2021 ‘Volvo XC60‘ that much either. The Volvo is my long-distance car — for 600 — 900 mile trips. In a normal week I will use it probably once. 15 months after I leased that I have 10,000 miles on that — & that was mainly from long trips to the ‘Bold Coast‘.
Bottom line is that I just do not drive that much. People just don’t get that. No, I am NOT housebound. I go out AMBLING everyday even in the bitter cold. SMILE. Just don’t drive very much NOW. I think I am compensating for all the driving I have done in my lifetime. There was a time in my life, in the UK, when I was driving 1,000 a week, every week. So, I don’t miss driving.
I have a 10,000 mile/year lease on the Mazda. I doubt whether I will exceed the 30,000 miles at the end of the 3-year lease. I might end up buying the lease & then selling it.
Have a 15,000 mile/year lease on the Volvo. I doubt whether I will go over. But, depending on the trips I make I will certainly get past 30,000 miles.
Click to ENLARGE. Yep, 7 days of not getting into a vehicle though I spent at least 3 hours, each of those days, outside, in the cold. That is my life.
Click to ENLARGE.
NO, I wasn’t ill, nor was I housebound.
I was out & about everyday. Just didn’t have a need to DRIVE. That is fine by I. Yes, I lead a charmed & interesting life.
I do NOT miss driving.
I like to walk. I like to AMBLE. I like to hike. Driving is just to run errands OR to go to INTERESTING places.
I tell people that I can go for days without getting in a car. They don’t get it.
This is why my cars need to be TRICKLED CHARGED in the winter. They don’t get driven enough.
I drive the Volvo once a week — typically when I go to Rotary.
The new Mazda CX-30 is my car for local errands. That too typically gets used once a week. It is averaging less than 250 miles a month. At this rate, when my 3 year lease in done, it might have 12,000 miles. SMILE.
Got an e-mail from ‘Volvo‘ saying that these updates are now available. Since I (alas) have a ‘B5’ I will NOT get it ‘OTA’ (Over the Air).
As luck would have it I have an upcoming service appointment, for my 1-year service, this coming Monday. I called them today & asked them to kindly add this update. While none of the listed fixes seem applicable, I have learnt from the past updates that each version is more STABLE. That is what I am looking for. Some stable software.
I have been on Version 2.2 since August 2022. Suffice to say that is the best software I have had on this accursed car since I leased it 13-months ago.
I will let you know, of course, what I discover when they install Version 2.5.
Click to ENLARGE. Story on left is from ‘CNBC.com‘. For my May 2022 post re. my accursed Volvo XC60.
The Google software on 2022 Volvos, e.g., the XC60, has been an unmitigated disaster. It has been painfully chronicled on the Internet. The entire automotive industry knows about what happened. Google had no idea how to make RELIABLE, RESILIENT software. Their software is OK on a PC or phone where you can afford to have some hiccups. But, that is NOT the case with a car. Software problems on cars can KILL. I am sure Google’s software on Volvos must have, by now, contributed to multiple accidents. Of course, Volvo nor Google, is going to make it easy for us to find out.
It is true that Renault is totally irrelevant in the U.S. It fled the U.S. in 1987 — its tail between its legs. No great loss now — & they will be even worse after this ill-fated relationship with Google. My adoptive parents lived in France for over 17-years in the late 1970s. I was living in the U.K. Between us we owned a number of Renaults, I a Renault 17 & my parents a couple of 25s. They were good cars. But this was over 35 years ago. Renault is now a non-entity. A no-op.
So, maybe they were really, really desperate. You would have to be to partner with Google knowing that Google essentially sabotaged Volvo.
Mazda CX-30 Premium with ‘Jay Meyer’ the salesman.
Alas & alack, this was NOT to replace my accursed 2022 ‘Volvo XC60 B5 AWD (Polestar)’. I am still stuck with that though I will, soon, make another attempt to divest myself of that car that I hate so much.
No, this 2022 Mazda CX-30 Premium is to replace my beloved 2002 Jaguar XJ8 that I reluctantly got rid of last month & the 2012 Ford Taurus that I will be taking to a junkyard by month end. So, yes, it is to replace 2 cars. Basically my spare car though its main purpose will be to be my ‘dog car‘ & ‘trips to the dump car‘. I, however, will NOT be putting any trash for the dump in this new car. I got a hitch mounted carrier so I can keep the trash away from the car. Just need ‘U-Haul’ to install a hitch mount.
All things considered this CX-30 wasn’t a bad deal. They, i.e., Seacoast Mazda, did NOT cut me any slack. But, I didn’t have the time or patience to argue or shop around. The car was within my budget, it was available & it was an acceptable color. I only talked to a couple of other dealers and Seacoast Mazda was the most civil! They are NOT a bad bunch — though they have the MOST ATROCIOUS phone system ever! Talk about BAD. They don’t even have voice-mail. That is my only real gripe about them. As some of you know I hate using the phone to begin with because it is such a waste of my time. And then I have to deal with this 1950s phone system with people yelling across the trailer. I was NOT amused; not impressed. They keep on saying that they will get a new phone system & a receptionist BUT that is but promises. OK. But, that was really the only negative.
Image from ‘Wikipedia Commons’
AFTER I bought the car & was sitting on it, WE discovered that the car, THOUGH A PREMIUM, had no Sirius XM. Jesus wept. Well, NOT really the deal breaker since I will not be using this car for my long trips. But, talk about clowns. When I got the Volvo having Sirius XM was a MUST. That is all I listen to. But, I do not plan to spend much time in this CX-30. So, I think I can manage.
I am mildly impressed with the CX-30. It is cute in someways. It has some pep, but every once in awhile I miss the power I get with my Polestar boost in the XC60. Kind of like the paddle shifters BUT never realized what a pain they can be when you are taking corners — which is when you need to shift down/up. Hhhmmmm.
Small fuel tank. Max range around 240 miles! That won’t even get me to Acadia! Also I need to keep an eye on the miles-per-gallon. Even with my NOTORIUS heavy foot I can get around 30 mpg on the Volvo. Right now I appear to be getting around 18 mpg on the CX 30! Wow.
But, unlike my Volvo I don’t hate it — as yet. SMILE. That can change.
Click to ENLARGE. Just an example.Click to ENLARGE. An actual lease proposal, albeit for a ‘Subaru’.
There was a time, 12-years ago (or so), when Hyundai & Kia (which are sister companies) did NOT offer leases. There was a good reason for that. Hyundai & Kia knew that the leases wouldn’t make economic sense. WHY? Because their cars depreciate more than other cars. Yes, it has all to do with depreciation. To put it another way a 3-year old Hyundai or Kia would be worth less than say a Toyota, Nissan or Subaru. I think most people know this. Hyundai & Kia do NOT hold their value.
That is why leasing a Hyundai & Kia does NOT make sense.
When you are leasing there are TWO (& only two) key numbers. The total purchase price (inc. handling, paperwork etc.) & THE RESIDUAL VALUE. The residual price is what the car is worth after x-years, say 3-years. It is the car’s value on the used car market.
With a lease you are PAYING for the difference between these two numbers, i.e., total purchase price less residual value. You are paying for the DIFFERENCE. So, with a lease you have to worry about BOTH numbers.
Here is an example. Let’s say a Toyota costs $27,000. After 3-years (with 36K miles) its value as a used car (i.e., RESIDUAL value) is calculated to be $17,000. So, the difference is $10,000. That is what you are leasing, $10,000. You are paying for $10,000 + INTEREST over 3-years.
Now, let’s say a similar (e.g., compact SUV) Kia costs $25,000. That sounds like a better deal, already, than the Toyota. And it could be IF you do NOT LEASE! But, let’s say the Kia’s residual value after 3-years (& 36K miles) is going to be $13,000. Now the difference is $12,000. Your leasing $12,000 rather than $10,000 in the case of the Toyota. So, the lease will cost you $2,000 more than the Toyota DESPITE the Kia being cheaper!
Hyundai or Kia dealers are UNLIKELY to tell you the residual values. But, when you look at their lease prices you can work them out. Their residual prices are LOWER. Hence, the problem. Hope this helps.
Yes, I am in the process of trying to lease another SUV — in addition to my 2022 Volvo XC60. It is while doing the sums I worked out this Hyundai/Kia drawback. I wanted to share that with YOU.
