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For all cars... Posted by Snowmobile [Email] (#686) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Snowmobile) on Fri, 13 Jan 2017 06:27:50 In Reply to: Both choices have very thin support & parts..., MI-Roger [Profile/Gallery] , Fri, 13 Jan 2017 03:18:34 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
for long distance and trouble free cruising... I would encourage a high level of maintenance, planning, and awareness of how/where to get parts en route. Carry a toolbox and any common things you might need.
We did a trip this summer in an og9-5, which is generally well maintained, but the TB went out suddenly and unexpected on the highway on a holiday weekend in a rural area. Nothing was open - couldn't even get TB cleaner, and had nothing useful for that in my trunk. I did have an ODB tool and knew it was the TB from the codes, and did all I could at the side of the road with what I had, but was pretty limited... I was able to get the car towed to a euro-friendly shop's lot to look at the next day, but was then reliant on their staff to solve the problem. They were pretty good but it's always a roll of the dice... We were in a rush and had to rent to complete our trip. Their diagnosis was a bad TB which was going to take many days and cost a fortune for them to source. Luckily they were willing to let me source parts so I got one quicker, but still more costly than I would have at home if I had had a bit more time (eg through eeuro)... I ended up having to travel back to retrieve the car...
Moral of the story, if you drive an obscure car (in many parts of the country, even og9-5/ng9-3 are obscure) and need reliability, ensure you have parts on the shelf! If you drive a Ford, you can get whatever you need locally the same day, so parts are effectively on the shelf wherever you need them... You need to either have parts or at least be aware of the risks... I was guilty of insufficient planning!
9-4x may be more common in the US, but in Canada, it effectively does not exist. NG9-5 is only slightly more common (in that I have actually seen one on the road!)... at this point, I would not own either for that reason, though there are many parts in common with other GM vehicles, so with a thorough understanding of what things go and where to get them fast, it may be doable... obviously body panels are going to be harder to source.. but honestly, that is not what is going to delay your trip... It is all the normal mechanical stuff that is required for operation that needs to be available when you need it...
->Posting last edited on Fri, 13 Jan 2017 06:35:13.
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