One of the Worst Parts of Car Shopping

"CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever" (carsoffortlangley)
08/13/2019 at 08:45 • Filed to: None

The absolutely idiotic mistakes made on autotrader by dealers listing their stock. Way to guarantee I’ll never come in. Whether it is wrong trim, wrong drivetrain, wrong transmission or just wrong everything.

DISCUSSION (24)

pip bip - choose Corrour > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 08:52

Kinja'd!!!

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 08:58

I automatically rule out any dealers who list a shift- able automatic as a manual.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 08:58

Pretend you are on a Journey...in a Caravan. And the ad on the radio is for an X1...

Ash78, voting early and often > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 09:10

I’m just tired of shopping and filtering by “wagon” and then 80% of the results are for a Kia Soul.

No offense to the Soul, but holy cow it’s dominating the wagon market these days.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Ash78, voting early and often
08/13/2019 at 09:17

I wish I could filter for a body style but EXCLUDE certain makes.

I don't want any GM, Nissan or Mitsubishi shit in my search results!

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > Ash78, voting early and often
08/13/2019 at 09:30

I just did this the other day and it was just pages of KIA Souls...with a few Outbacks and TourXs spattered throughout.

E90M3 > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 09:31

I remember looking for the M3 and always having to look at the pictures because more than half of the “manual” listings were actually DCT cars. The only place that seems to get it constantly correct is carmax.

facw > Ash78, voting early and often
08/13/2019 at 09:36

Oh, it’s worse than that. I was looking on cars.com and a significant portion of their “ wagons” are Chevy Bolts...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/13/2019 at 09:36

NO CLUTCH? NOT A MANUAL!

Ash78, voting early and often > facw
08/13/2019 at 09:40

Slight tangent here, but isn’t it crazy that in the era of big data and massive internet usage that we’re still defining cars by a singular class? It’s doing everyone a disservice, especially since we’ve gone from 10 car classes to like, 300, in the past decade.

For example, if I’m shopping wagons I actually wouldn’t mind seeing some small crossovers in there as well — many of them occupy the same functional market space. It gives me food for thought. Or if I’m shopping for a Kia Soul (this is THEORETICAL) then maybe show me some hatchbacks and a few EVs, too. Everything is so pigeonholed.

I know I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth here, but the common point is that car searching is a PITA because it’s too limiting.

facw > Ash78, voting early and often
08/13/2019 at 09:45

Definitely. There are definitely cars at the margin that could fit in multiple categories and definitely appeal across them. Trying to stick them in neat little boxes feels like a bit of a relic of the time when you could get the same car in 5 different body styles, so it was clear which each was, and you probably didn’t want to cross shop, because why not get the style you were actually looking for.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/13/2019 at 09:49

DCTs have 2 clutches

facw > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/13/2019 at 09:53

This is a dumb take. What makes a manual is the ability to manually select gears, not a clutch pedal. Saab’s S ensonic for example was certainly a manual.

Granted, I don’t think cars should be listed as manuals just because you can suggest which gear you want to be in, but a manual is a manual because of gear selection, not clutch operation.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 09:55

So it's not a manual since it has clutchES and not just clutch. :P

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > facw
08/13/2019 at 09:57

I disagree in that Saabs sensitronic removed your ability to connect/disconnect the drivetrain at will. You have to wait for when the system decides you get to be in neutral and it then slips/modulates the clutch as it seems fit, right or wrong. There’s a loss of control you don’t have with an actual manual transmission and gear select. To me, that *is* what makes it a manual - having full control over drivetrain connection as well as gear selection.

Ash78, voting early and often > facw
08/13/2019 at 10:01

I used to do some data aggregation for a bank’s car lending portfolio around the beginning of the Great Recession. That’s when this concept first hit me...it was a “blank slate” project so I proposed that every car needed a primary class and a secondary one.

For example, a Jeep Wranger would be “SUV” and then “Sports car” — for most intents and purposes, it was purchased for the same mental reasons as a sports car. This was for default tracking, not customer searching, but the idea is similar.

Similarly, a Chevy Tahoe would be “SUV” and “Wagon”

I think if the industry adopted a multi-tiered classification system, everything from comparison tests to online searches would be a lot better. And all the AI systems would have a head start on ruling the world.

facw > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/13/2019 at 10:02

That strikes me as a pretty silly distinction, and if we are talking about manual/automatic as a binary choice, it’s definitely a manual, as it is definitely not an automatic.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 10:21

I see a minivan pictured for a minivan listing, what’s the problem?

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 10:27

Car shopping sites really need a new transmission option. Manual to be reserved for anything with a clutch pedal and semi-manual for things like DCTs

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/13/2019 at 10:36

Te general public has no idea what any of that means. I feel like we should have our own secret site

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > facw
08/13/2019 at 11:13

Wh y would that be silly? I see clutch operation as part of the reason to drive stick shift. It cert ai nly makes a big difference on motorcycles. Using the friction zone of the clutch is essential to maneuvering a manual motorcycle (haven’t ridden an automatic or DCT bike yet)

And how is the sensitronic different from an automatic that will hold a gear you select? Honest question - how would you describe the sensitronic as different than something like a push button automatic?

facw > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
08/13/2019 at 11:21

The Sensonic is incapable of automatic operation. If you show me an “ automatic” that can’t select it’s own gears, I’ll happily call that a manual , because obviously it is not an automatic.

Longtime Lurker > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever
08/13/2019 at 14:47

Have you tried searching for body style then in the search bar type -Chevrolet -Nissan -Mitsubishi

gettingoldercarguy > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
08/13/2019 at 20:24

Yep, if it doesn't have a third pedal (not talking about old parking brakes) it isn't a manual.