Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Round Rock, Arizona

My friend was in the market for a new compact car. So we took all the top selling compacts on a back to back test loop. First Chrysler 200 then a Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus 2012, Ford Fiesta, Mazda i3, Toyota Corolla 2012, and Hyundai Elantra 2011. Every car was an automatic with mid level specifications for around $20,000 in most cases except the less expensive Elantra and Fiesta models. The most expensive models were the Focus, Cruze and 200. Wow surprise, surprise the big Detroit three were over priced and undervalue, except for the Focus which a class above in everything! However, the Hyundai Elantra was the best bang for buck hands down after we reviewed every detail that included a quite detailed testing loop including several spirited driving tests over the same roads with mixed country and city sections. Elantra wasn't the best driver that was won hands down by the Mazda 3 with the Focus a close second. But the Elantra's creature comforts, standard feature list, fluid styling, warranty, stated fuel economy and lowest overall price is too hard to beat. When my friend had everything in order finance wise to buy an Elantra the Honda 2012 was released. So since our local Hyundai and Honda dealers were side by side he went to the Hyundai dealer and picked up a 2011 Elantra GLS and I went next door and picked up a Honda Civic EX 2012 sedan. Not to the amusement of both dealers as we disappeared for nearly 3 hours and 100 miles later returned both the cars only after one dealer called worried we weren't coming back, while the other when we returned was about the call the police thinking we'd run off with the car! First we took the cars along a high speed section of highway, switching between cars after section of road to run the same section in the other car. First thing we noticed was that the Honda Civic was sure footed and felt like we were driving a mid size car and not a compact. It was that comfortable and stable. Like it was a longer wheelbase and wider car than it actually was. It was a real relaxed driver even at high speeds well in excess of double the speed limit. It was quieter and much easier to drive. The Hyundai was good but liked to wander and felt vague at both low and high speeds. The Civic was not as direct as the 2011 model we had driven. It actually feels like an Accord to drive. The Elantra felt course and unrefned in comparison. We next drove both cars over a 20 mile loop of country back roads with a 30 mph posted speed limit. Now I must admit we ran at speeds up to 90mph and took corners at 3 x the posted limits. The Honda cruised through the loop without breaking a sweat, the Hyundai in comparison was left breathless. It's engine roared, it's tires squealed, it was all over the road trying to keep up with the civic that just cruised effortlessly along the same section of road. If there were mid corner bumps and undulations mid corner the Hyundai Elantra tried it's best to lose its line and composure while the Civic just remained planted in it's lane and held it's line while doing it in a relaxed manor. We couldn't believe the Elantra was this bad when pressed. So we drove it sedately at 30 mph over the same loop back to back and the Elantra jostled us around, punched us in the kidneys with every small imperfection and generally was uncomfortable on anything but a smooth blacktop. The Civic never lost it composure or it's comfort. Suddenly the extra $2000 for the Civic seemed a bargain. The Civic is so refined to drive over any road surface nothing ruffles it. Since both car had fuel economy trip computers we tested the fuel economy overall on trip B and trip A we kept resetting and testing over each test loop. The Civic was supposed to average 32 with the Elantra 33. What we found was our overall average with the Elantra was 18 mpg while the Civic returned 27 mpg. The best we saw on the highway section was 42 mpg with the Elantra and 45 mpg with the Civic. Both cars at all times were following each other within a few hundred yards over the same section of road and each was driven equally by both drivers. So drive the Elantra hard and gas mileage will suffer much more than in the Civic. The Elantra was just found wanting trying to keep pace with the Civic. After each high speed run we'd both emerge from the Elantra White knuckled from gripping the steering wheel so hard to try and keep it in line. While the Civic was fun and hard to give up each time after each run. We actually went into this test with high hopes for the Elantra. Near the limit the Hyundai is actually dangerous wanting to head for the trees while the Civic gently lets the driver know its time to back off. Thinking we were testing our luck with the locals, we parked both cars on a dead end road side by side for 30 minutes and pulled everything apart to look over both cars feature for feature. Tested each and every dash and seat setting and played with all the settings and controls. Here is the results we we found: Seat comfort--Civic, display/controls--Civic (easier to adjust controls while on the move on the civic), front seat room--Elantra, rear seat room--Civic, quality of materials--Elantra, quality of paint--civic, trunk space--Elantra, panel fit and finish--Civic, slam a door hard on the Elantra and the whole car vibrates and rattles, slam the door on a Civic and nothing but a solid thud, tires--civic, rims--Elantra, brakes--civic, stereo/speaker quality--CIVIC! The multi-information display hands down Civic. Spare tire/jack--Civic (Elantra has neither) Engine bay--Civic, Styling--Elantra. The list goes on and on but as you can see the Civic is just a better all round drivers car. Sure it is $2000 more to buy a Civic EX over a Elantra GLS, but it is worth every penny for a much better built and more refined over all car. Sure the Civic LX is not as good, actually not worth the look at, (We drove one of those too), but skip that and buy the Civic 2012 EX. The Civic is no longer the no brainer sure bet choice like it once was. You really need to get each side by side and drive them back to back over the same roads to see the differences. But compared the Elantra, the Civic still is the best choice for a small car. Just pay the extra $33/ month over five years for the Civic and you will thank yourself at every monthly payment that you made the right choice. (Especially when you come to sell it and get the higher resale value for the Civic.) So the Civic was bought, end of story.

Most likely tires. Even Michelin had a big problem with this a few years back. I road in a FWD GM that sounded for all the world like a rear wheel bearing going out. Sound completely disappeared with a tire swap. Don't know exactly what causes this. My Khumo are doing the same thing after 18K of very even wear. I do know that unibody (no separate frame) vehicles of all makes are more prone to this.

Yeah I dont know what gives with the pricing.. maybe I'll be able to benefit from it eventually. Could it be because sports cars tend to be pretty popular down here and can be driven year round? Florida includes the lease tax in the monthly payment from what I've found. Thanks for all of the info!

My 2008 335xi was beginning to take a long time to start when cold - cranking for 10 to 20 seconds before firing. I took it in to the dealer who replaced the fuel pump under the recall, and also replaced some of the fuel injectors, which are also on recall. There was a third recall that escapes me as well. It did take 3 days for the repairs, and the dealer, as usual, did not have a loaner even though I was promised one and booked two weeks in advance. BMW deals are like Hyundai dealers except they have fancier coffee machines.. Car runs fine now, we just made a 1200 mile round trip to Canada with no problems. Seems to have more power and fuel economy seems unchanged.

Costco - after 90 days the local store manager still has some wiggle room on accepting the set back. The reason they changed the bring it back anytime on electronics (it's still good on most other items in the store) was that people were upgrading on Costco's dime all the time. They'd return computers every six months. Costco still double the manufacturer's warranty on everything. In my case that saved a bundle when the TV actually needed service. I don't do anything where I have to transport a large object anymore. My TV weighs 126 pounds and I suspect moving that in is probably what set off my herniated cervical discs. Thanks to two long rounds with a physical therapist that is at least way better. Have to look for one of those "white glove" delivery services next time. There are enough of them.