Ten Grand Tin Can
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra S manual: 5.3 L/100 km ... 53.2 mpg (Imp) ... 18.8 km/L ... 44.3 mpg (US) ...
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra S manual: 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.5 mpg (Imp) ... 20.0 km/L ... 47.0 mpg (US) ...
Well, it's pretty much the end of the road for the Grand Am GT. After 12 years and nearly 220,000km on the odometer, it still has great power, starts easy, all the power options (including the sunroof) still work, and the air conditioning still blows ice cold, but it has issues typical of a Southern Ontario car at this age that's been minimally maintained.
I had the low coolant light, so I topped up the coolant. I let the car warm up, and once it was warmed up, it promptly puked that coolant onto the driveway. That was the final straw.
There's a "Wub-wub-wub" noise from the front end when I let up off the accelerator. There's also a distinct click-clunk whenever I accelerate and turn. These sounds have been getting progressively worse over the past week. This was my car's way of telling me it needed to retire.
There's some rust around the fuel filler as well as along the leading edge of the hood. The front frame is also starting to look like it came from a five year old Hyundai.
The struts need to be replaced, the brakes need to be completely re-done, and the foam part around the back speakers has rotted. I can't just replace them with a set of aftermarket 6x9's; these are specialty Monsoon speakers with four wire connectors on each. The headlights are very hazy, the rubber seal around the driver's door doesn't quite seal properly anymore, and I have an intermittent failure on one of the ABS sensors. It's slowly seeping oil from many of the gaskets designed to keep the oil in.
That said, besides two bad ABS sensors, I've only done basic maintenance on it: Changed the oil when the oil change light came on, changed the air filter when it got dirty (it gets dirty a lot with the ram air intake), changed the brake pads and rotors and serviced the calipers when that was needed, changed the headlight bulbs whenever they burned out, replaced one thermostat two years ago, changed the serpentine belt once, changed the battery once, replaced the tires once, and changed the sparkplugs once. I've never flushed nor filled the coolant system; it was drained and filled when I had the lower intake manifold gasket replaced at around 55,000km (covered under warranty), and partially drained and refilled when I changed the thermostat. Transmission fluid has never been touched, still shifts great. The trim along the windshield started popping out, then a crack developed across the windshield; I had it replaced, turned out that the pillar rusted under that trim which caused the crack. Windshield shop performed repairs and glued the trim back down; when the other side started to lift a year later, I glued it down as well. Overall reliability was decent, though overall maintenance and operating costs were significantly greater than what my 1990 Micra was.
In all, if it was a Micra, I'd probably spend the money needed to fix it up and keep it running. Thing is, the 3.4L V6 is a thirsty engine, so it doesn't make sense. It also lacks modern features like USB connectivity, audio line in, bluetooth, and a mileage computer. Most importantly, it's a slushbox, and I really prefer driving stick. Besides, the Micra is more my style. I had my fun with it for 10 years, but now I have to stop driving it so it can make its final trip to either the junkyard or to someone who enjoys fixing these kinds of cars. I can't complain; it doesn't owe me anything, though we are keeping it around until the Micra arrives just in case someone needs to make a short "Emergency" trip.
We're essentially a one car family now. My wife and I have adjusted our schedules to work around that, but I certainly hope my Micra shows up this week, or else Midway Nissan might need to provide me with a loaner. No, I won't settle for one of the slushbox Micra's they have on the lot.
In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...
I explained my situation to my salesperson at Midway Nissan in Whitby.
Do you know what he did?
He arranged for me to be behind the wheel of an Altima until my Micra arrives.
All I need to do is return it with the full tank of gas I started with. Just like Dad's car when I first got my driver's license.
Now, that's a class act.
In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...
Very nice. That is customer service for you.
That's good to hear, Alpha.
I think it means they really do expect your car to be arriving soon... instead of messing with you and knowing it was going to take months.
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra S manual: 5.0 L/100 km ... 56.5 mpg (Imp) ... 20.0 km/L ... 47.0 mpg (US) ...
Ace! Great dealer you have!
The ice cream truck drove through our neighbourhood yesterday evening, it was playing La Cucaracha. Definitely a sign.
In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...
Finally found it, this thread can be closed.
In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!
__________________________________________
View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...
MetroMPG (05-30-2014)
Wooohoo, congrats!