Which of these two used cars should we purchase?

[Klayfish]

stay away from the 4 cyl,they have timing chain and oil consumption issues. the 3.8l also has timing chain issues as well on earlier model years.

I could be mistaken, but I believe most of the timing chain issues the Ecotec had were resolved long before '16...they were the earlier year vehicles. Then again, this is GM, you can't expect top notch quality.

I think you mean the 3.6L. There is no 3.8L (that's an old engine, long gone from GM). The 3.6L has definitely not been stellar.

 

[Hikergirl]

Wow, where? I bought a new car a week ago, and the dealer was pushing some pre-paid maintenance plan for "only" $100 a month. No free maintenance. And figuring the car is under factory warranty for the next three years, and will only need 6 oil changes at $29 each, $100 a month seems a little steep. He got down to $15 a month before he gave up. Oh, and like the factory warranty, the pre-paid plan does not include brakes or tires. Although, if driven normally, I should need neither in just 3 years.

Where do you get your oil changed? I haven't seen a $30 oil change in 5 years.
When I bought my car I got 2 years of maintenance plus free annual State inspections for the life of my car, and dh got 3 years free (2 different dealers). I thought that stuff was the norm.

 

[Klayfish]

Where do you get your oil changed? I haven't seen a $30 oil change in 5 years.
When I bought my car I got 2 years of maintenance plus free annual State inspections for the life of my car, and dh got 3 years free (2 different dealers). I thought that stuff was the norm.

It's not the "norm", but at the same time it's not completely uncommon for dealers to offer that on new cars. It's an economic thing for them. The "free maintenance" they will give you is basically oil changes. Years ago, cars needed them every 3000 miles, so most dealers didn't want to give free maintenance. Now cars go 7500, 10,000 or even 15,000 miles between oil changes. So if the dealer is offering you 2 years free maintenance, that's maybe a small handful of oil changes which cost them next to nothing. But what it does for them is get you into the habit of coming to them, so that you'll continue to do so for the life of the car. That's why they offer free state inspection. They're looking for things that may be wrong on the car so that they can fix it for you at dealer labor rates. Just like any business, they want you coming back. They don't want you bringing your car to an independent mechanic for work, so it's worth it to them to do the free inspection. Many independent shops do "free vehicle inspections" for the very same reasons.

In my area, Atlanta, we can get oil changes for about $25 pretty much anywhere. It depends on your car, of course. If you've got a car that requires 7 qts of synthetic oil, then that's a $100 oil change. But if you have a basic car, like our minivan, it uses 5.5 qts of the old fashion dino based stuff...$25. I've always done my own changes, but am getting to the point now where I don't want to bother and would rather pay the couple of extra bucks for someone else to do it.

 

[tvguy]

Where do you get your oil changed? I haven't seen a $30 oil change in 5 years.
When I bought my car I got 2 years of maintenance plus free annual State inspections for the life of my car, and dh got 3 years free (2 different dealers). I thought that stuff was the norm.

Ford dealer keeps sending up coupons for $29 oil changes. My private mechanic charges $39. If I do it myself the synthetic blend oil is $18 and the filter is $3, so $21.

 

[Hikergirl]

It's not the "norm", but at the same time it's not completely uncommon for dealers to offer that on new cars. It's an economic thing for them. The "free maintenance" they will give you is basically oil changes. Years ago, cars needed them every 3000 miles, so most dealers didn't want to give free maintenance. Now cars go 7500, 10,000 or even 15,000 miles between oil changes. So if the dealer is offering you 2 years free maintenance, that's maybe a small handful of oil changes which cost them next to nothing. But what it does for them is get you into the habit of coming to them, so that you'll continue to do so for the life of the car. That's why they offer free state inspection. They're looking for things that may be wrong on the car so that they can fix it for you at dealer labor rates. Just like any business, they want you coming back. They don't want you bringing your car to an independent mechanic for work, so it's worth it to them to do the free inspection. Many independent shops do "free vehicle inspections" for the very same reasons.

In my area, Atlanta, we can get oil changes for about $25 pretty much anywhere. It depends on your car, of course. If you've got a car that requires 7 qts of synthetic oil, then that's a $100 oil change. But if you have a basic car, like our minivan, it uses 5.5 qts of the old fashion dino based stuff...$25. I've always done my own changes, but am getting to the point now where I don't want to bother and would rather pay the couple of extra bucks for someone else to do it.

My free maintenance did include other stuff besides oil changes but I can't remember exactly what it was other than tire rotation.
For awhile after I was still bringing it in for oil changes but when it came down to telling me I needed anything else done, or replaced, I'd just say "I know, my dh will do that, just do the oil change". I'd get a little bit of an attitude but whatever, now I don't bring it in there for anything general maintenance related.
I do bring it in for my free inspections because that is required by the State, if they find anything wrong (and it isn't something required to pass) I'll just tell them thanks for the info and take my keys and go LOL

@tvguy my dealer would send me coupons too, but strangely when I went in with them they told me they didn't apply to my car, even though they had all my vehicles info printed right on the coupon.
Dh normally does my oil changes but we went on a trip recently and he didn't have time to do it before we left so I just took it to Valvoline since it was due, $55 which compared to the dealer was a bargain.

 

[Hikergirl]

I forgot why I came to post on the thread.
OP, I have a V6 (SUV) and when I drive dh's car which is a 4 cyl, it is a big difference. I'm not sure what you are used too driving, but I can't imagine having an SUV and not having that V6. I usually have a car full of kids and/or stuff, if it was just me cruising around I could probably go without it.