As my 2010 Wrangler goes under the knife to replace a shredded rear main seal today, I find myself wringing my hands like a nervous father, waiting for the operation to be over and my wallet to be lightened to the tune of a grand. If only I had had the presence of mind to grab a tranny jack all those months ago when I could afford it, but alas...

Anyhoo... Tell me about your heep 😁

Model 3 SR+ about to go out of warranty. Wondering what others have had to fix out-of-pocket since their warranties expired?

Under warranty, I’ve had service for:

• replace front passenger control arm
• replace both rear upper suspension links
• replace touchscreen
• replace metal tips that are on the charging port
• replace front passenger seat adjustment switch
• replace front passenger seat (yes the whole thing)
• replace the front driver lower camera (twice)
• resealed both front upper control arm ball joints with urethane
• replaced rear passenger door trim panel
• wipers made contact with the hood causing a small gouge in the hood
• replaced front passenger door handle

Mind you this was one of the first batch of 2019s so, yeah they had to remediate quite a bit.

Hi Tildes, as the title says I am in the market to purchase my first car (of my own) and am finding myself pretty ignorant about the types of considerations I should be making. I really do not know that much about cars, so I am finding it a bit difficult to compare different options as I don't really understand what is important in a car. I was hoping to ask for some advice here and recommendations of guides or other resources to help with my decision. Here is some information:

• I am looking to buy new, not used.
• I am interested in an SUV or station wagon as opposed to a sedan — I like driving them more, and would very much like the extra space for moving things.
• I am in a situation where I intend to pay in cash, with a budget of roughly $30k. I know that paying in cash is sometimes not actually beneficial, but due to my specific circumstances this is the route I am going.

I have started to look at some options but am finding myself unable to compare things like different engines, transmission, and other performance and reliability metrics. What features should I actually be focusing on, i.e. what is actually important? Are there any primers out there that people can recommend?

To give a sense of what I am considering, some of my current contenders are: 2023 Subaru Forester, Mazda CX-30, Toyota RAV4, and similar cars.