Bad automotive purchase 

"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury) 04/19/2018 at 23:28 • Filed to: None

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A friend of mine at work was recently promoted to management and decided to treat himself to a new(er) car to replace his 2011 Mitsubishi Galant or Diamante or whatever it was. Last year his wife gave birth to a baby daughter, their second child, so I guess they thought it was SUV time. His purchase?

2016 Jeep Compass with 35,000 miles. I can sense the collective groaning and facepalms of everyone reading this. Not surprisingly, it’s already left him stranded and late for work, with this week’s failure being the throttle body. He’s a very smart guy, but I question his logic when he makes purchases like this. It really makes you believe in the Peter Principle, which means he’s headed for top echelons of leadership. This is similar to a friend at my last job that was determined to avoid buying an FCA product when they wanted a minivan, so proceeded to buy a VW Routan - another facepalm moment.

shop-teacher > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/19/2018 at 23:49

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Oooffffff! The Routan is a particular gut punch.

facw > shop-teacher 04/19/2018 at 23:56

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But German Engineering (of the badge)

jasmits > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/19/2018 at 23:58

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Throttle body failure at 35k, what????

The current-gen Compass is such a huge improvement I must imagine that previous gen prices *tanked* and the guy probably thought he was getting a hell of a deal.

WilliamsSW > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/19/2018 at 23:58

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Wow. I thought the Compass was bad, but that Routan story is just... pathetic.

Tristan > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 00:00

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My wife used to daily a Jetta TDI, so she’s got a major soft spot for Volkswagens. I’ve mentioned getting a minivan when she quits her job for baby #2, and she loves to throw out the Routan for her first choice. Even when I put a picture of a Caravan right next to a Routan, she still can’t see that they’re exactly the same vehicle.

A few years back, my sister needed a new car and my dad was helping her out with the purchase. He wanted to go in on a Compass wit her because it was domestic and cheap. I steered him towards a Honda CR-V. She still thanks me every time I see her.

facw > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 00:01

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I’m fairly pleased that none of my friends have bought anything terrible. Granted they mostly do that by living in NYC and not having cars, but there are some out there. Worst is a CRV, which is a bit boring, but not really a bad car.

On the other hand, a friend’s cousin bought a 2005 Passat, without having it inspected because it had recently passed Texas emissions and safety. It, as you would expect, left him stranded on the side of the highway within a matter of days.

WilliamsSW > jasmits 04/20/2018 at 00:09

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Pretty sure last gen Compass prices would have tanked regardless of what the new one was like.

jasmits > WilliamsSW 04/20/2018 at 00:12

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Ok no argument there.

ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied. > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 00:23

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Some people drive these out of necessity; I do not fault them. It’s the ones who willfully choose it that I’m worried about.

46and2aheadofme > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 00:24

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Maybe... it’s time to try reverse psychology with the guy?

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > ThePlasticOne - no diggities expressed nor implied. 04/20/2018 at 00:27

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Exactly. But I grew up in the ‘80s and questioned why in the hell anyone would buy a new Yugo instead of a used Honda other than the better option for financing. A friend of mine bought a Kia Sephia, not out of choice but necessity, after his bankruptcy and his LeBaron crapped out. I think his ex wife got stuck with it in the divorce, and these days he’s driving an E39 M5, so a little torture can sometimes lead to good things if you have enough time and patience...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 00:30

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But it’s so rugged and will make him look really manly to the higher ups at work!

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > facw 04/20/2018 at 05:28

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Just adds that extra bit of unreliability.

Long-Voyager > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 07:14

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Trades a large sedan for a tiny CUV because he has a family????

shop-teacher > facw 04/20/2018 at 07:22

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They combined FCA’s poor quality control, with VW’s over priced PITA dealer network. What could go wrong!?!?

shop-teacher > jasmits 04/20/2018 at 07:24

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A coworker of mine had to rent a car for an entire week a couple years ago, when the throttle body failed on his Patriot, and the part was back ordered.

shop-teacher > Tristan 04/20/2018 at 07:26

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You’re a good brother.

shop-teacher > Long-Voyager 04/20/2018 at 07:27

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It’s amazing how many people don’t get this. It’s not magically bigger because it’s a few inches taller folks!

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Long-Voyager 04/20/2018 at 07:43

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Precisely. As one wise sage around here once said, “Parents, just buy the damn minivan already.” Truer words were never spoken (says the guy who is happily on his third...)

Arrivederci > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 08:00

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When my wife’s Rogue was totaled, her rental was that generation of Compass. Absolutely the worst vehicle I’ve ever driven, by far. I can’t comprehend how someone would be willing to give their hard-earned money for one of these, with so many better options available.

Party-vi > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 09:10

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My sister and BIL had two kids and needed a replacement for their: 2001 Diamante, 1996 Rodeo, and 2000 Sentra. They got a 2010 GMC Terrain. Ew.

Then, since one car wasn’t working for a family of four, she needed a car to drive herself around and got...a 2004 Jetta GL, complete with over 100,000 miles, ghost-operated windows and sunroof, and finicky door locks. How can someone from a car family (oodles of muscle and non-beige purchases) bumble-fuck their way down a slope of worse and worse car purchases???

Long-Voyager > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 10:09

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We looked at a bunch of different vehicles when our 3rd child was on the way. Modern CUVs are a joke for carting kids compared to a minivan.

I used to hate minivans, then I had kids. Now I will always have a minivan in my fleet, there simply is no better vehicle for hauling a family.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 04/20/2018 at 10:16

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I have twins. They fit in a mid-size sedan. When the sedan gives up the ghost, I’m getting a V60 or a V90. psht. minivans.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Future next gen S2000 owner 04/20/2018 at 11:37

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I love minivans - I’m on my third, and I don’t really need one. Until we got a Dasher wagon, our family car was a Fiat 124 Spyder. Better a convertible family car than an suv any day...

jasmits > shop-teacher 04/20/2018 at 11:46

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What piles of garbage.

If the new ones hold up even reasonably well it could honestly be the biggest improvement from one generation to another I’ve ever seen

shop-teacher > jasmits 04/20/2018 at 12:08

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Yep. He drives an Outback now.

jasmits > shop-teacher 04/20/2018 at 20:15

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That is an infinitely better pick