20 replies to this topic

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Last Wednesday my car made a noise that cars make when they die.  First it started clacking loudly and losing power, then a few moments later there was deafening BAM! and then the car started shuddering violently and making a noise like nuts and bolts being shaken in a coffee can.  Luckily it was right up the street from my house, and managed to limp home.
 
I had it towed to my mechanic, who called me back a little while later with the opening statement, "It's not good news."  Heh.  He wasn't kidding.  It turns out the car threw a connecting rod, which is the part that attaches the piston to the camshaft and makes it move up and down.  When they break it's usually bad, causing all kinds of damage to internal engine components.  Such was the case here.  When they took the oil pan off it was full of twisted, mangled chunks of metal.  The inside of the cylinder head is deeply scored, and the pistons and camshaft are destroyed.  In short, I was told, "It needs a new engine."
 
And so my adventure began...
 
My car is a 2007 Suzuki SX4.  It's engine is internally classified as the J20A, and is used by Suzuki for a number of vehicles, including the Aerio and Vitara, so it's relatively common.  But there's a caveat.  The engine was redesigned in 2010, becoming the J20B, with modifications that rendered it incompatible with earlier versions.  And of course all the ones I found were 2010 or later.  Oh, and the old engines are more expensive than the new ones.  Of course.

 

   
 

After some digging I finally turned up a used one (a new one is $2000+) for $750 with 10,000 fewer miles on it than my car.  It will be swapped out for my blown motor later this week.  They said 9.1 hours for labor, so all told I'm looking at about $1,500 or so.  

 

And then in a couple of weeks I have to drive it to Virginia for Sir Glen's wedding.  Thrash, if I have a breakdown somewhere in the Pennsylvania region, expect a phone call.  Heh.

[Imperator]

That's definitely pretty bad as far as car troubles go, I can't really think of a worse situation short of totalling it. :/ It's good you could find a replacement engine though.

[the rebel]

....or just sell it for scrap and buy another car.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

I can't afford to buy another car.  In fact, between school, upcoming commitments, and my ongoing roommate situation, I am all but  broke.  The engine swap will have to go on the credit card.

 

But it will be okay.  The new engine comes with a warranty, and the recycler from whom I got it has an excellent reputation.  In fact my father worked there for over fifteen years, right up until he died.  When he got sick and could no longer work, they kept paying his salary for over a year.  Not sick time; they just kept paying him.  When I told them who I was, they gave it to me for $750 when usually those motors (the complete long block with all the accessory components still attached) are around $1,000-1,300.

 

And I'm lucky to have a really good mechanic, a family-owned shop that's been in business for over 50 years.  The current owner's father used to race cars with my grandfather.  They're very good, they never fix anything that doesn't need to be fixed, and they try to get you the best price.  So I'm confident the job will be done properly.  Hopefully it buys me a few trouble-free years. 

[Infopowerbroker]

Take a look at Amtrak. Northeast Regional train is amazing. Depending on where the wedding is, RVR (Richmond, Staples Mill) or RVM (Richmond Main Street Station) would be you two stations (I'd say RVR is the better of the two, not in the shakey part of town).

See if it is an option. It is amazing how much you can do in the Quiet Car (Coach, no extra charge).

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

The train is usually not much cheaper than flying, and it would mean renting a car down there.  Better off driving.

[Redezra]

Self destructing car engines suck.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

While talking to IPB last night I figured it couldn't hurt to check ticket prices.  Round trip from Boston to Richmond, Virginia by train (Amtrak) is $400 and takes 11 hours.  Round trip from Boston to Richmond by plane is $200 and takes 1.5 hours.  So why would anyone take the train?

[Thrash]

Safer?

[*Anastasia]

Safer?

Probably not, actually. Air travel is really quite safe on the whole. It might be better environmentally, though, depending how the electricity powering them is generated.

That said, sometimes slower travel is nicer, and I certainly do like trains. There's something... peaceful about riding on a train. I'm really disappointed by the lack of passenger service in Canada, though, especially once you get out west. There's only two VIA (think Amtrak but with worse service) lines in Alberta, and they both only go east-west, not even connecting the two major cities. Hell, there's still only two stops.



If I could catch a train into Calgary, I'd certainly take it over other methods I have available (or had available, like Greyhound).

[Redezra]

Australia has a such crap interstate rail it may as well be nonexistant.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

In the US trains are more for short trips, like from Richmond to DC and back.  But yeah, other than the "romance" of taking the train (of which you're not likely to get much in coach; to really get the classic train experience you'd have to shell out for first class) there is no good reason to take it over a plane.  Even environmental concerns probably don't enter into it.  Yes, planes leave a big carbon footprint, but which is worse, a plane burning aviation fuel for 1.5 hours or a train burning diesel for 11?  I don't know, but neither sounds very good.

 

Just for shits and giggles I checked Greyhound.  Standard fare, Boston to Richmond round trip, is $270 ($184 if you purchase it online ahead of time) and takes 13 hours.

 

If economy is the primary goal, nothing beats driving.  Boston-Richmond round trip would be about $180 (assuming 25 mpg and $3.75 a gallon).  This is why America is still a car culture.  In Europe a similar trip would be closer to $400, at which point the train suddenly looks pretty good.

[*Anastasia]

In the US trains are more for short trips, like from Richmond to DC and back.  But yeah, other than the "romance" of taking the train (of which you're not likely to get much in coach; to really get the classic train experience you'd have to shell out for first class) there is no good reason to take it over a plane.  Even environmental concerns probably don't enter into it.  Yes, planes leave a big carbon footprint, but which is worse, a plane burning aviation fuel for 1.5 hours or a train burning diesel for 11?  I don't know, but neither sounds very good.
 
Just for shits and giggles I checked Greyhound.  Standard fare, Boston to Richmond round trip, is $270 ($184 if you purchase it online ahead of time) and takes 13 hours.
 
If economy is the primary goal, nothing beats driving.  Boston-Richmond round trip would be about $180 (assuming 25 mpg and $3.75 a gallon).  This is why America is still a car culture.  In Europe a similar trip would be closer to $400, at which point the train suddenly looks pretty good.

My thought process immediately jumped from, 'You seriously have diesel trains?' and almost immediately became, 'Jesus Christ your Greyhound tickets are cheap.' But I suppose fuel prices enter into that, too, because you still have significantly lower costs there than we do.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

What do your trains run on?  Aborigines?

[*Anastasia]

Electricity. Which in most areas is probably ultimately from hydro dams, though there's so much damned coal here that we feel compelled to use it.

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

Electricity for long distance trains?  Our subways and light rail run on electricity, but other than high-speed trains like the Acela I think most long-distance rail is still diesel.

[*Anastasia]

So, you got me thinking with that last one, because while I did have some idea in my head that VIA primarily used electric trains, I also knew they ran on CN-owned lines, which didn't make any bloody sense. So I did some research, and it seems you're right, they do run on diesel. Specifically, modern VIA trains are pulled by the General Electric-manufactured P42DC. So yeah, I dunno why I had it in my head they were electric.

Speaking of high-speed trains, Canada's the only G8 country without them. Go figure.

VIA boasts on its website that, 'A VIA Rail train being pulled by [the P42DC] operates at a cost of $0.16 per person, per kilometre, whereas a car operates at a cost of $0.23 per person, per kilometre.' I presume they assume single-occupancy in this calculation.

Out of curiosity, though, I decided to attempt a comparable route with VIA to your Amtrak one. Boston to Richmond is 470 miles, as the crow flies. I looked for a VIA route of similar length, and settled on Montréal to Sarnia, which was within 5 miles, and I figure there's not gonna be a hell of a lot of meandering in rail construction. They didn't seem to offer Business Class for the route, but the Economy Plus package was C$251 (~US$230) round trip. Did I actually find something that's cheaper here than there?

[ᗅᗺᗷᗅ]

No that's the same price. A little cheaper than the online price ($184).

[*Anastasia]

No that's the same price. A little cheaper than the online price ($184).

No, no. For VIA, which is a train, and I was comparing it to the price you posted for Amtrak of $400.

Edit: Tried to get a comparison for Greyhound, but between their terrible online selector and their abbreviating Québec to 'PQ' I ragequit their website. They're begging to be tracked down by separatists and smothered to death in a vat of poutine gravy.

[Thrash]

You also have CP Railway up there.