I'll fire this one back up again :)
Awhile back on the old auto's site I posted about a young couple I know that bought a loaded up Dodge Hornet. They paid close to $60k iirc, it was some outrageous amount. Been close to two years at least. Anyway, the Hornet actually treated them ok, they has a few niggles but nothing major and they really enjoyed it. About a month ago it got written off in a accident. Thank goodness they went all out on the dealership add on's in this case as one was gap insurance.
So with this amazing gift you'd think the next purchase would be a bit wiser? Nah, lets buy something even dumber! They bought a new Nissan Rouge Platinum. Yeah, the one with the self destructing 3 cyl variable compression turbo and the equally impressive CVT transmission. Since I've known them so long (yet they never ask for vehicle advice until after the ink dries) the husband revealed it was just under $50,000 before taxes. The wife loves it, he said its an absolute dog compared to the Hornet. Her vehicle anyway so happy wife....
The other vehicles they considered and drove were the Toyota Rav4 (said it felt cheap) the Ford Escape (too buzzy) and a Kia Sportage (salesman was a creepy dude that reeked of cigarettes) and a GMC terrain (felt too big). Never tried a Mazda CX5, or any Honda/Acura products because both those dealerships were really busy and no salesperson were available, imagine that. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the next 72 months, they live a ways out of town and her commute is quite far. The miles will add up quickly.
As the saying goes, you can't fix stupid.
I was playing around on Nissan's build and price today and discovered that a Rouge is actually more expensive than a Murano in some trims, and very close in others. I'd definitely take the Murano over the Rouge, but see WAY more Rouges on the roads. Strange.
I test drove a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which is based on the Rogue.
And I quite liked it!
Would be a nice replacement for my Prime (if it was similarly reliable)
Quote from: RRocket on Sep 27, 2025, 10:40 PMI test drove a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which is based on the Rogue.
And I quite liked it!
Would be a nice replacement for my Prime (if it was similarly reliable)
I really like the styling of the Outlanders in and out. I believe they have a n/a 2.5 which should be considerably more reliable than the VC 3 pot. I see high mileage Outlander PHEV's quite often on the market so they must be decent.
Oh man, this is great. So happy this thread is back.
Quote from: Revelations on Sep 27, 2025, 05:21 PMI was playing around on Nissan's build and price today and discovered that a Rouge is actually more expensive than a Murano in some trims, and very close in others. I'd definitely take the Murano over the Rouge, but see WAY more Rouges on the roads. Strange.
The Rogue starts at $13k less than the Murano so I wouldn't consider that to be strange. Even a Rogue Platinum with no options is cheaper than the cheapest Murano.
Late November I have the Rogue Rock Creek booked. While the CVT has improved and the turbo 3 is actually fun enough to drive, its longevity is already challenged. Weird bet they placed there, as their 2.0 and 2.5 four-bangers have had a good rep.
The Nissan 2.5 atmo is gone for the Outlander for 2026, replaced by the in-house Eclipse Cross' 1.5 turbo four.
We have one Hornet in stock at my Stellantis store - it's been sitting there since October of 2023, has no miles on it, it's a fully loaded R/T PHEV (~$60K) and we can't give it away for $40K. Oldest piece of inventory save for a 2-year old Grand Wagoneer...
Quote from: TheHire on Nov 02, 2025, 05:18 PMWe have one Hornet in stock at my Stellantis store - it's been sitting there since October of 2023, has no miles on it, it's a fully loaded R/T PHEV (~$60K) and we can't give it away for $40K. Oldest piece of inventory save for a 2-year old Grand Wagoneer...
Not a bad deal at $40k... I mostly liked this undercover Alfa when I drove it, but this is the type of vehicle where an extended warranty is a mandatory option.
Sad that a new design compact crossover would be celebrating its second birthday on a lot. Its the hottest new vehicle segment by far. If they still sold the pos Dodge Journey they would probably still be selling in decent numbers due to the bargain basement price. Nothing wrong with the Hornet a naturally aspirated 4, steel wheels, no big screens or fancy options, and a $29,995 Canada Value Package wouldn't fix.
Wifes niece and her fiance bought a Chevy Blazer last year. Because they both have an issue with credit card spending, are both in uni, and live the party lifestyle, I think their combined credit score rounds up to 500. $65k, 8 year loan, ~19% interest so a little over $100k for this POS. The funniest part was the different parents reaction, her parents, my brother and sister in law, were fawning over how its a cute little car and its good they won't have to worry about fixing it. His parents, wanted to drown them both in a shallow puddle for being such idiots. I agree with the latter....
OOOF, how do you spend $65K on a Chevy Blazer, never mind $100K. That's wild.
Oh, its easy, you tick every option box, even the $4k for black rims because they are "sexy. I couldn't believe that they spent more money on that thing than what the GX cost us.
Quote from: Fobroader on Mar 27, 2026, 01:58 PMOh, its easy, you tick every option box, even the $4k for black rims because they are "sexy. I couldn't believe that they spent more money on that thing than what the GX cost us.
These are the same idiots who will cry that they can't afford to buy a house and it's soooooo unfair!
Quote from: RRocket on Mar 27, 2026, 03:11 PMQuote from: Fobroader on Mar 27, 2026, 01:58 PMOh, its easy, you tick every option box, even the $4k for black rims because they are "sexy. I couldn't believe that they spent more money on that thing than what the GX cost us.
These are the same idiots who will cry that they can't afford to buy a house and it's soooooo unfair!
Thats the funny part, they are having a $50-60K wedding this month and are in fact whining about how expensive the housing market in Regina is ::) ::)
Quote from: Fobroader on Mar 27, 2026, 03:22 PMQuote from: RRocket on Mar 27, 2026, 03:11 PMQuote from: Fobroader on Mar 27, 2026, 01:58 PMOh, its easy, you tick every option box, even the $4k for black rims because they are "sexy. I couldn't believe that they spent more money on that thing than what the GX cost us.
These are the same idiots who will cry that they can't afford to buy a house and it's soooooo unfair!
Thats the funny part, they are having a $50-60K wedding this month and are in fact whining about how expensive the housing market in Regina is ::) ::)
Please, just call me The Oracle.
LOL, those black rims cost them more than my DD for the last 10 years ;D
Quote from: Firm on Mar 27, 2026, 03:56 PMLOL, those black rims cost them more than my DD for the last 10 years ;D
Yeah, no shit. I paid a fraction of that for the first 4-5 cars I owned. Hell, I bought black TRD rims and KO2s for the Tundra for $1500 less. These must be very spectacular....
Just for clarity, they bought a Blazer or a Trailblazer? Quite a big difference between the two. One I can understand how you get to $65k but the other doesn't make sense as you could buy two Trailblazers for that price. Reason I ask is the comment from their folks about how cute it was, and makes me think it's the smaller trailblazer.
No, its definitely the Blazer. They wanted a "bigger vehicle" in case they get a dog ::) ::)
Also, it does not make sense that a rental fleet, 4 banger, domestic cuv is $65k. That should be real car money.
So it wasn't a Blazer EV at least? :o Imagine paying $1,000+ a month and having to buy gas on top of that.
Also reading back on Revelation's posts, I had no idea they stuck a 3 banger into the Rogue. Yeesh.
Quote from: dkazzed on Apr 01, 2026, 03:46 PMSo it wasn't a Blazer EV at least? :o Imagine paying $1,000+ a month and having to buy gas on top of that.
Also reading back on Revelation's posts, I had no idea they stuck a 3 banger into the Rogue. Yeesh.
It's so much worse than that. It's a turbo 3-cylinder with variable compression. Yikes!
Quote from: GreatBigAbyss on Apr 01, 2026, 04:41 PMQuote from: dkazzed on Apr 01, 2026, 03:46 PMSo it wasn't a Blazer EV at least? :o Imagine paying $1,000+ a month and having to buy gas on top of that.
Also reading back on Revelation's posts, I had no idea they stuck a 3 banger into the Rogue. Yeesh.
It's so much worse than that. It's a turbo 3-cylinder with variable compression. Yikes!
It looks like this:
(https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/nissan-vc-turbo-bottom-end.jpg)
(https://images-stag.jazelc.com/uploads/theautopian-m2en/nissan-vc-turbo-actuation.jpg)
If I'm counting right, you go from having two bearing surfaces in the conventional engine (wrist pin, and crankshaft), to now having 6 or 7 bearings, if you count the actuator motor as a bearing surface, or not.
Oil pump must be working triple duty!
Oh, and the most common cause of failure in these motors, as evidenced by recalls? Bearing failures.
Quote from: GreatBigAbyss on Apr 01, 2026, 11:00 PMIf I'm counting right, you go from having two bearing surfaces in the conventional engine (wrist pin, and crankshaft), to now having 6 or 7 bearings, if you count the actuator motor as a bearing surface, or not.
Oil pump must be working triple duty!
Oh, and the most common cause of failure in these motors, as evidenced by recalls? Bearing failures.
What could possibly go wrong, right? How about the extra failure modes you've just added! LOL 😆
They didn't seem to learn with the Sentra. Mind you, the CVT fiasco is almost 20 years old.
My 05 Altima was a 5spd manual with the VQ 3.5 V6, that was a fun car, had decent power for a crappy sedan run around and it sounded pretty good with the stillen mufflers I had on it. The build quality when it was 6 years old at 100k kms though, wow, it felt like it had 400k kms and was driven on rural Afghanistan roads. I haven't trusted Nissan for awhile, I don't know whey they would have thought that adding more complexity to the powertrain, which is not their strong suit, would be a good idea. That sounds like something that Porsche would have on one of their race cars, not some sad sack CUV.
Visiting a dealer only buying outlet today. They have a ton of repos right now, like more than they've ever had and the owner has been in business for 27 years. Showed a repo from ONE guy (of course they didn't name him)
2023 RAM 3500, 167k, all bro'd out with lift, tires, etc.
2023 Voltage 5th wheel, massive thing, like 45ft or so.
Pair of 2024 Ski-Doo snow machines.
This wild looking Can Am off road machine, don't want to even call it a side x side, its HUGE, 4 doors, turbo engine, navigation, thing is wild. Said it was over $68,000 new!!!
2021 Malibu Wake boat
2024 Cadillac Escalade V- Series, absolutely trashed inside. Cigarette butts everywhere, stupid brand logo stickers outside and in, a dog chewed half the seats up (dollars to doughnuts it was a Pitbull). Exterior was very rough. Tires showing belts. Just a mess. Bank needs $125,000
Some big fat Harley bike-
Like honestly, can't figure out why a lender would just allow this. He was supposedly a business owner that went bankrupt. I'm guessing he had no liquidity, thus having to finance everything to the moon. I'll bet the bank is going to take a pretty good bath here. The sheer volume of "toys" coming in is shocking. People obviously see no problem financing a monster travel trailer for six figures, then the truck to pull it for another 100k. For what? A few weekends a year? When a bank needs to lease a 10 acre holding yard for all this stuff you know its getting bad.
^^^ Insane.
The only thing I'm leveraged in right now is my house, and that's appreciated 50% since I bought it 12 years ago!
That's 700k+ in toys in a few years. Ouch. I mean, if you've got the cash, great. But this guy obviously didn't.
Man, that's wild....Can't understand how people can live like that and just think it's OK. Lender was just a stupid on that one too though, sounds like everyone got what they deserved, lol.
Quote from: Firm on Apr 24, 2026, 09:26 AMMan, that's wild....Can't understand how people can live like that and just think it's OK. Lender was just a stupid on that one too though, sounds like everyone got what they deserved, lol.
I guess if you're going to do stupid shit, it's better to do it with someone else's money?
My god, I couldn't imagine having that much in a car payment, let alone the "toys". Also, $70k for a freaking side x side?!?! WTF, those were supposed to be a cheap alternative to a Jeep/Samurai/Toyota, no they cost more than a decently built off roader than you can drive on a public road, insane.
Lol, yeah, my neighbor a couple lots down has a really fancy side X side...Comfortably seats 4, fully enclosed, power windows, heat/AC...Like wtf, at that point just buy a small 4x4 pickup truck.
Quote from: Firm on May 11, 2026, 02:06 PMLol, yeah, my neighbor a couple lots down has a really fancy side X side...Comfortably seats 4, fully enclosed, power windows, heat/AC...Like wtf, at that point just buy a small 4x4 pickup truck.
I've got a buddy thats really into cheap side x sides and he showed me one of those, besides the fact he could get a 6 pack of his cheap, rebuilt, ones he had, we were both confused as to why one wouldn't buy a 4 door Taco or Wrangler.
Side by sides are typically far more capable off road than almost any licensed vehicle.
At 60 to 70k, you can build a really killer off roader that still has a licence plate. Its not even a thing that you could fit the SxS in the box of your truck for transport, you still need a trailer for these massive new ones.
They are still smaller and lighter than a truck that's built for off roading. 60-70k price tag aside, side x sides are far more capable off road. You can get into one for less than 30k that a 30k truck will never compete with off road. They aren't my thing, but that's one of the reasons people buy them. For that and utility.
A good friend bought an acreage a couple years ago. He was looking at older vehicles to use around the acreage, such as one of those mini trucks or an older samurai/tracker/jeep. In the end he bought a side by side. More maneuverable, more capable off road, and can still haul/tow enough for what he needs.
Don't get me wrong, Side X Side definitely have their purpose....In fact, I wouldn't mind a cheap one for my property. My little JD lawn tractor struggles to pull dead cars around, so last time I had to use the Escalade to pull those Mercedes parts cars into the tree line, which is far from ideal. A SxS would've been perfect....but I definitely don't need power windows and AC.
^ Ya for sure. Honestly my buddy ending up getting a CFMoto, under 20k for a 1000cc. Still seems ridiculous pricing for what it is, but he loves it and uses it a ton. Not sure if you can find a decent used one for under 10k, I haven't looked in a while.
Being in Alberta, it is not hard to find a SxS that some oil patch yahoo full sent into a tree and you can get some decent deals on ones that require a bit of repair. They do have their place, I just can't wrap my head around air con, power seats and $70k.
See I can sort of understand buying one of those SxS that are turbo charged and crazy fast and capable, those can get really pricy. But I can't understand the draw of a fully enclosed 4 seater version with AC, Nav, heat, and a bunch of other things.
At that point I would do what Fob said and get an older jeep from the 90's for under $10k and throw another $10k into it with off-road performance goodies and it would do 90% of what a $50k SxS could do.
Yeah, a crazy, turbo, two seater SxS that can take a 10 foot jump off a sand dune and spits mud in your eye, absolutely!!!
Quote from: Fobroader on May 11, 2026, 04:50 PMYeah, a crazy, turbo, two seater SxS that can take a 10 foot jump off a sand dune and spits mud in your eye, absolutely!!!
Yup, kind of like a jet ski of the woods. How could you not have a blast driving that.
Quote from: Firm on May 11, 2026, 03:58 PMDon't get me wrong, Side X Side definitely have their purpose....In fact, I wouldn't mind a cheap one for my property. My little JD lawn tractor struggles to pull dead cars around, so last time I had to use the Escalade to pull those Mercedes parts cars into the tree line, which is far from ideal. A SxS would've been perfect....but I definitely don't need power windows and AC.
When we moved to the acreage I bought a cheapo Polaris Ranger with a little tilt bed. Used it a bit the first year, then less and less. Kids ended up completely roasting the transmission somehow and I sold it for $500 less than I paid. I think its something you think you will use and just don't. My Dad in law has a John Deer Gator thing with about 10 hours on it....he bought it about 25 years ago. It's kinda like a early side x side with a hydraulic dump box. He figured it would be the ultimate acreage device, used his tractor way more.
I just learned one of the reasons people buy the side-by-sides off roaders...it's because the trucks and jeeps are not allowed on the ATV trails, but they are. Here they recently widened all the ATV trails so that they can pass and meet other machines, trails are now 20-feet wide in places.
Quote from: blur911 on May 12, 2026, 12:27 PMI just learned one of the reasons people buy the side-by-sides off roaders...it's because the trucks and jeeps are not allowed on the ATV trails, but they are. Here they recently widened all the ATV trails so that they can pass and meet other machines, trails are now 20-feet wide in places.
I guess that makes sense. I mean I'm not overly sure how much smaller a 4 seater UTV would be compared to a Suzuki Samurai or a 80's/90's Jeep Wrangler. I get that a modern Jeep would be hard to fit in a lot of places where UTV's are better suited.
Purely anecdotally, the benefit of a side by side seems to be manuverability and ease of use. My aunt and uncle have a country house on about 12 acres of land in upstate Vermont, about half flat and half sloped downward towards the lake. There's a lot of trees and a fair amount of landscaping, which means they spend a decent amount of their time doing yard work whenever they're there. My uncle's first purchase was a John Deere compact tractor, which he used a lot for yard tasks and moving things around. Problem was that it's not user-friendly and easy to operate for the average person, so my aunt never drove it and my uncle always had to drive plants and garden materials around for her ;D Maybe 10 years later they added a JD Gator, just a simple 2-seat one with no special features. This one operates more like a car so my aunt is more comfortable driving it and uses it a bunch herself for chores around the property. Now they use the Gator maybe 90% of the time, with the tractor reserved only for certain tasks. It's even doubles as transportation occasionnally... they typically take only 1 car to Vermont so the Gator has been used to drive to town about 10 km away, if the other person was using the car.
Is a Gator allowed to travel on a highway ? There seems to be more and more of this happening in my neck of the woods. Off highway vehicles on the highway. >:(
I know in a few states there are kits to make your SxS road legal with lights, signals and mirrors, so yes, in some jurisdictions. In Canada, I don't think so
Quote from: Fobroader on May 22, 2026, 12:30 PMI know in a few states there are kits to make your SxS road legal with lights, signals and mirrors, so yes, in some jurisdictions. In Canada, I don't think so
You can't really call it street legal, but you can drive them with restrictions on some backroads in some townships near our cottage and other places in Ontario. https://lennox-addington.on.ca/resident-services/roads/off-road-vehicles/
I am not sure on the legality of it, but here in rural west Tennessee, people use them like regular vehicles...I don't see them much on the Interstates or main highways, but backroads, or town roads, tons of them. School drop off line, Wal-Mart parking lot, etc. No plates, so I don't imagine it's legal, probably just no enforcement.
$120,000 for a TRUCK CAMPER!??! Add the $120,000 1 Ton and you have a quarter million in a pickup truck with a slide in camper. It's not only stuff getting more expensive, its our money itself is worth less.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1447499353242416
That's why my parents paid ten years ago for their Class C on a Sprinter Chassis. They had more space, more features (onboard generator, more storage etc) and less steps to go up to get into it. Oh, and they didn't have to load/unload the thing when they didn't want to use it. Just park it in the driveway. Also, unhooking a toad is far easier than either taking the camper out of the truck bed, or packing up camp when you want to go into town for a visit.
The best part is that they came from the truck-bed camper world. They had a nice big camper on a crew cab 3/4 ton Ram, and swapped it out for the Class C after a few years, because the Class C was just better for a retired couple travelling across the continent.
Been down a rabbit hole. looking at bonkers off road campers. These are pretty cool, make that $120K camper look like a Kia beside a Rolls Royce.
https://earthroamer.com/sx-explore/
Hehe, starting at $1,090,000, before any options are added. I'm assuming that's US?
Call me crazy, but for that kind of money, I'm buying something like this:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2016-jeanneau-64-10185319/
Or, this absolute beauty:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2007-brooklin-boat-yard-sparkman-$-stephens-56-sloop-9324895/ (https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2007-brooklin-boat-yard-sparkman-$-stephens-56-sloop-9324895/)
Quote from: GreatBigAbyss on Jun 01, 2026, 09:51 AMHehe, starting at $1,090,000, before any options are added. I'm assuming that's US?
Call me crazy, but for that kind of money, I'm buying something like this:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2016-jeanneau-64-10185319/
Or, this absolute beauty:
https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2007-brooklin-boat-yard-sparkman-$-stephens-56-sloop-9324895/ (https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2007-brooklin-boat-yard-sparkman-$-stephens-56-sloop-9324895/)
If sailing is your thing for sure that's probably a better long term investment and could probably sail practically anywhere.
Personally, I'd probably be the type that would spend $1M on a couple of vacation properties in places that I love. Maybe one down in Mexico, villa off the beach, surrounded by jungle and only a short distance from the beach. The other likely a cottage on a lake somewhere in the Maritimes that is big enough to have some family and friends visit.
Quote from: Revelations on May 29, 2026, 11:38 PM$120,000 for a TRUCK CAMPER!??! Add the $120,000 1 Ton and you have a quarter million in a pickup truck with a slide in camper. It's not only stuff getting more expensive, its our money itself is worth less.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1447499353242416
Forgive my ignorance, but what's the benefit of this type of camper vs. a trailer or a Sprinter van type camper? With a trailer you can leave it behind at your campsite or at home and use your vehicle by myself, and a Sprinter conversion is built better, drives better, and is way more durable. This truck bed camper offers neither, and it seems tiny. You'd be better off with a pop-up and like $100k in your pocket, no?
Quote from: Blizzard on Jun 02, 2026, 08:46 PMQuote from: Revelations on May 29, 2026, 11:38 PM$120,000 for a TRUCK CAMPER!??! Add the $120,000 1 Ton and you have a quarter million in a pickup truck with a slide in camper. It's not only stuff getting more expensive, its our money itself is worth less.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1447499353242416
Forgive my ignorance, but what's the benefit of this type of camper vs. a trailer or a Sprinter van type camper? With a trailer you can leave it behind at your campsite or at home and use your vehicle by myself, and a Sprinter conversion is built better, drives better, and is way more durable. This truck bed camper offers neither, and it seems tiny. You'd be better off with a pop-up and like $100k in your pocket, no?
From what I have heard, the main reasons why a person would pick this over those is they want to be able to use the pickup as a pickup (so that takes out the Van conversion) and they plan on going off road to camp sites and typically tow a boat or other toys behind them (can't do that when you are towing say a big 5th wheel trailer).
Pretty specific I know, but I guess there are at least a few fisher/hunter people who view this as the perfect compromise.
Quote from: Johnnymac on Jun 03, 2026, 06:56 AMthey plan on going off road to camp sites and typically tow a boat or other toys behind them (can't do that when you are towing say a big 5th wheel trailer).
Pretty specific I know, but I guess there are at least a few fisher/hunter people who view this as the perfect compromise.
Dunno if you can tow like this in NB, but a friend in Ontario tows his 5th wheel and it tows his boat.
Quote from: blur911 on Jun 06, 2026, 10:48 AMQuote from: Johnnymac on Jun 03, 2026, 06:56 AMthey plan on going off road to camp sites and typically tow a boat or other toys behind them (can't do that when you are towing say a big 5th wheel trailer).
Pretty specific I know, but I guess there are at least a few fisher/hunter people who view this as the perfect compromise.
Dunno if you can tow like this in NB, but a friend in Ontario tows his 5th wheel and it tows his boat.
That's wild. I've heard of that but have never seen it. Thinking of how long that combination can be behind a pickup is frightening. I know BC does not allow it (for good reason)
Quote from: Revelations on Jun 06, 2026, 01:19 PMQuote from: blur911 on Jun 06, 2026, 10:48 AMQuote from: Johnnymac on Jun 03, 2026, 06:56 AMthey plan on going off road to camp sites and typically tow a boat or other toys behind them (can't do that when you are towing say a big 5th wheel trailer).
Pretty specific I know, but I guess there are at least a few fisher/hunter people who view this as the perfect compromise.
Dunno if you can tow like this in NB, but a friend in Ontario tows his 5th wheel and it tows his boat.
That's wild. I've heard of that but have never seen it. Thinking of how long that combination can be behind a pickup is frightening. I know BC does not allow it (for good reason)
IIRC there is a maximum length and his assembly is just under it.