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BIG ROCCO

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Everything posted by BIG ROCCO

  1. Dealer...well they were already on the car, and that car was the only CM in AZ in colors and equipped the way we wanted it - not sure if we could have ordered a car without it, but that was obviously not an option. This is a shorter list than some other dealers in the Phoenix area - $484 total, so really not too bad...plus the $499 doc fee
  2. Mmm - I didn't get into this, because it was not the point of my post, but the real lesson is don't use even a handsfree cell phone in traffic, or at least don't look away even for the second it takes to press OK to hang up the call, because you might find yourself up someone butt. Again the point of my post is that even 2+ years later, we didn't think there was anything better for OUR needs out there, and in fact, we still wanted exactly the same color exterior, interior, and options. I thought that was actually pretty surprising
  3. I hope this helps: List, $30,785. Out the door $29,700 Sell price $29,157 including required window tint, paint and fabric protection, glass VIN etch. - $2,500 rebates +Sales tax $2,065 +Doc fee $499 +Registration/tax/title $479
  4. Yeah - I think you understood that I was trying to convey that after 2 1/2 years we still thought the C-Max was the best thing out there!
  5. Someone stopped short, for no known reason - I was driving the 3rd car in a 3 car pileup - rear-ended a Mini Clubman. ~25-30 MPH. Both front seat belt pre-tensioners and both front and drivers knee airbags deployed. The wife got a bruise on here left chest/boob from the seat belt - I got a minor burn on my left thigh/knee. They said the car had $12K+ in damage and it was totaled. Needed a new hood, front bumper, both headlights, grill, hood, three airbags and upper dash cover and both seat belts. The car actually drove away fine, no rattles or noises or pulling, no coolant leaks and the AC worked great - the hood even opened and re-latched. Windshield was perfect and all the doors opened and closed and fit like new. So, 2 1/2 years after we bought our 2013 C-Max SEL, we considered what we wanted to buy to replace it. Long story short, we bought a new 2015 C-Max, same White Platimum exterior, same Stone interior, same 302A option package - a virtual twin to our 2013. The car actually cost a little less than we paid in '13. After my 1,000 collision deductible, I only got around $17K for the '13, so it cost me about $13K for the '15, ($29,700 out the door after all taxes and fees)
  6. I have a Nokia Windows phone, so obviously not Android. Anyone know if this would work on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 WiFi version?
  7. No, and I have to believe it is covered
  8. What if the vehicle is not stationary and in Park? I bet you would hear some sounds then... Or would you? I can tell you from experience that you can shift from Drive to Neutral to Reverse while the car is in forward motion with no ill effects - the car just keeps going ahead, but the the backup camera does turn on.
  9. We must drive in dust free air in AZ or something! I just checked the cabin filter after 23K miles - PITA to get to and even more of a PITA to wriggle out of it's hiding place. My filter was clean enough to merely blow off with an air gun and re-install. I will plan to have a new filter on hand and replace it at ~ 50K miles. We live in the suburbs of Phoenix, so maybe the air here is a little cleaner than in the city? Also, we drive up and back to the AZ White Mountains on weekends for ~ 1/2 the year; the air up there has to be cleaner, plus we don't need to use AC up there, since it is 30 degrees cooler than Phoenix. BTW, I checked the filter on my '12 Lacrosse - a little dirtier than the C-Max, but still more than clean enough to blow off and re-install at 44K miles. The Lacrosse filter is a little easier to get at, and MUCH easier to remove - I had to drop the glove box a-la-C-max, but then I just moved the filter cover down and pulled the filter straight back towards the trunk...no double helix maneuvers on the Buick! Also, I noticed the Lacrosse has a carbon filter - either carbon/particulate or particulate (only) filters are available for replacement. The C-Max had a particulate filter, and that seems to be all that is available. Maybe the required twisting to remove/install eliminates the possibility of a carbon filter. That's too bad, because I have noticed that the Buick filters out even smelly diesel exhaust fumes from a car or truck ahead of me.
  10. Thank you jdbob, fbov and Plus3 Golfer - I will investigate this further - I would be interested in monitoring actual tire pressure and oil life remaining. Gotta say that it kinda sucks to have to do this, when these were/are automatically displayed on all GM cars I have had since the late 90s
  11. I did almost the exact same thing a few weeks ago:also got a Rheem 50 gallon water heater from Home Depot and brought it home in the C-Max, except ours was an electric model and it was the tall version, so it did not appear to be so large around as yours. Ours was also just a couple inches too large to fit with the hatch closed when in the box, but the old heater fit fine with the hatch closed while taking it to be recycled (tried to do the right thing and actually got $3 for it, which was a bonus!)
  12. OK thanks - I have not checked that yet - I guess I better put that on the list. Thank you again.
  13. I took the air filter housing out recently to check the filter - kind of a PITA for an air filter, but not THAT bad - 2 bolts and 2 hose clamps as I remember to remove the assembly (I just cut the tie wrap for the small pipe - doesn't seem really necessary, but I can replace it if needed), then 4 more bolts to get to the actual filter. BTW, the air filter was pristine after ~22K miles...absolutely indistinguishable from a new, never installed part. Even allowing for the fact that the engine only runs ~55% of the miles traveled, it still seems like it should should some dirt by now. That said, the air filter on my Buick Lacrosse mild hybrid (that engine runs anytime the car is in motion) also appeared almost like new after 30K miles. We live in the AZ desert, so I would have thought the dust would show up on the filters, but so far, both cars would seem to have almost "lifetime" air filter elements from the factory. Oh, also, the filter for the C-Max is very small - like a cabin filter, and it has a large cut out in it to boot: http://www.rockauto.com/info/39/WA10036__ra_p.jpg
  14. We looked at a C-Max with the base radio - then ended up with one with the Sony system - it does sound a little better, but still not great, when listening to the Sirius radio. I think I have read that when playing CDs or MP3s through the USB port, the sound is much better, but I can't recall if that meant that, when playing CDs, the Sony system sounds a lot better than the base system playing CDs, or if CDs on the Sony system sound a lot better than the Sirius radio...or maybe CDs sound better than Sirius on both systems?
  15. Do you also reset the "my view" mileage? I typically leave that one alone for several tanks, to get a more long term average. That gives me 3 averages, all usually different - lifetime (currently 45.6 MPG BTW), trip 1, and my view
  16. I have had 4 Cadillacs (1994-2008) and a 2005 Lincoln and currently drive a Buick Lacrosse. The C-Max is my wife's car and she loves it and so do I, for what it is and what it cost and considering the gas mileage...BUT...I think in terms of features and interior and exterior build quality the C-Max is definitely a 1+ notches down from a Buick or Lincoln, and maybe 2+ notches down from a Cadillac. I actually wish they made a Lincoln version, like they do of the Fusion
  17. I agree with most of what Plus 2 had to say - especially: Since there are electrical related losses associated with regeneration, IMO it's more efficient to coast in N. I have been coasting down long, moderately steep hills in Neutral (for example, Davelo, back in the day when I lived in the Boston area, down Rte 2 Belmont Hill toward Fresh Pond) since the 70's, and I still do it with the C-Max and my Buick Lacrosse (mild hybrid). If I can coast, instead of feathering the throttle to maintain speed. that has to be a gas saver. If the hill is too steep and I will pick up too much speed, then of course I use D or even hill descent mode I do not coast in Neutral up to stop signs or red lights.
  18. Personally, I prefer balsamic vinegar...on my salad :)
  19. LOL thanks for the post - I had nearly forgotten about salt and rust and undercoating - I'm originally from the Northeast, but I guess I've been on Phoenix long enough now to not worry about that stuff! After a few years, we do develop a light coating of dust on the chassis/floorpan/undercarriage, but that's about it!
  20. :) You just made me realize I don't know that we have ever used heat either
  21. I think you are correct...there may be some small difference between acceleration and deceleration (or I suppose more properly, negative acceleration), but even just spinning the engine at high speed does still subject all the parts to the same or similar forces as when when it is actually running. I will admit that the Ford engineers probably decided that 4,000 or 4,500 RPM is not an unsafe speed, or they would not have programmed the car to permit that, but I like to keep my cars for >10 years/100K miles, so I try not to always push the car to the limit...sometimes, you can't help it, but I try to avoid beating on the car on a daily basis.
  22. We go up and down a lot of long steep grades going to our cabin in the AZ White Mountains and so I have had a lot of practice and have tried a lot of things. I don't like how high the engine revs in downhill assist mode...4,000+ RPM. I try to keep the revs to no more than 3,000 RPM going uphill (or sometimes 3,500 RM at the most, if necessary), so 4.000+ seems, and sounds, really high to me. OK, maybe I'm wrong to be concerned about that, but one thing I noticed is that if I am going downhill and I put the hill descent mode on and the engine revs up higher than I would like, turning the hill descent mode off does not actually disengage the hill descent mode. The ICE is still engaged and revs, but not quite as high as when the hill descent mode light is on. It's kind of like shifting to a higher gear when engine braking/decelerating...maybe like going from 3rd gear to 4th gear or 4th gear to 5th gear in a conventional car with a 6 speed automatic. So it's like hill descent "light". The only way to actually turn the hill descent off and disengage the ICE is to accelerate slightly by pressing on the gas pedal
  23. We drive up and down mountains in the desert in the Summertime and all year round, so we could never consider grill or wheel covers. I do turn off the AC on long uphill climbs in the Summer (reduces heat load and indirectly gives me a little more power) - turn it back on going downhill or on level ground or modest rises. We just try to drive what I would call conservatively, and so far, we are thrilled with the MPG. Most of the miles have been highway, 65-70MPH, and Lifetime Average MPG continues to rise - at 20K miles it is now 45.4 MPG. I have read of fuel mileage increasing as mileage accumulates, and while I don't know if it's us or the car that is "breaking in", I do think there is something to the idea that the MPG will go up a little after awhile.
  24. We had our White Platinum C-Max front bumper and hood replaced and repainted - it is a 100% perfect match when done and it has stayed that way so far. ps: I have had body work on 2 prior White Diamond GM cars, with equally good results. I think you just need to find someone who knows what they're doing.
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