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Connected Cars Don't Necessarily Disconnect Previous Owners When Resold (thedrive.com)
A modern car should be treated like a personal computer. Before you sell it, you should make sure all connections are severed and personal information is wiped before handing the keys to the buyer. The Drive reports of a former Volkswagen owner who recently discovered that her connection to her car lingered even after her old car was sold to a new owner. In what may seem like a public service announcement, The Drive writes: "It's up to you to wipe out your data and connections, not the dealer or manufacturer." From the report: Ashley Sehatti sold her 2015 Jetta back to her local VW dealer back in December. Like most car owners, she figured that was the end of it. So she was baffled when she continued to get monthly reports about her car's health. After receiving April's report, she attempted to log into her account for Car-Net, Volkswagen's connected car service. Much to Sehatti's surprise, she found that not only was her account still active, she still had access to her old car. She could see its current mileage, the status of its locks and lights, and, most disturbingly, its current location on a map. Sehatti was not aware that she, not Volkswagen or her dealer, was responsible for disabling access to Car-Net when she sold the car. Its new owner likely didn't sign up for the Car-Net service, which meant that Sehatti's access remained available, even though she didn't even want it. "Our Car-Net Terms of Service explicitly outlines that as a subscriber, the customer has the responsibility to terminate the contract when selling their vehicle," writes Catharina Mette, the head of technology communications for Volkswagen Group's North Americas region. "This is a practice common in the industry." The takeaway here is to read the Terms of Service because most car owners don't do so in any great detail.
Scissors. Antenna cable. Problem solved. Even if only I have access to the app and web site, the servers themselves (run by the automaker) have access to my car. Why the hell would I let someone else's server have access to my car? The only way I'd allow that is if they allowed use of your own encryption keys. Load an encryption key into the car with a USB, push the same key to your phone and computer. Anyone without the key, including the automaker themselves, shouldn't be able to shut down your car, lock it, unlock it, or read its location. Minus they key, they should only be able to do firmware updates, but only with your permission, at a time scheduled by you.
Fuck. I can't get Microsoft to do that, much less Adobe.
This is no different to bluetooth pairing.
Next time you're in a dealership, go into a cars bluetooth settings and have a look at what is paired.
Microsoft or Adobe don't control 3000 lb hunks of steel moving at 70 mph, generally speaking.
Why would anyone think signing up for an account meant that account would somehow cease to exist once you no longer owned the car? Not only that, why would one sign up for an account which explicitly links you to your car?
Oh right. Forgot. Because you can have your "smart" phone linked to your car so you can fiddle with apps instead of concentrating on the road.
As has been said about Facebook, you deserve what you get. Stop treating cars like a computer and stick to driving.
Microsoft Sync is in HOW MANY CARS?
As I understand this, it is the responsibility of the seller to terminate the service before selling the car, but if the seller fails to to this, the seller has access to the car's information, including its location, after the sale. This sounds like it would impact the privacy of the new owner, not the seller. In other words party A is responsible for taking steps to protect the privacy of party B. This doesn't sound like a good system. Is there anything a new car owner can do to ensure that no private information (such as location) is leaked to the previous owner?
If I can be modded down for being a troll, can I be modded up for being an orc, or a balrog?
Isn't M$ Stink just an entertainment system?
Most of these OnStar like services have a per month charge so it is in the owners interest
to cancel it. You don't want to pay for the new owners use. So call or email
Six years ago I got a used Roku at Frys. I opened Netflix. I was perplexed because it showed mostly LGBT based movies. This was odd as I've never made a decision about watching a movie based solely on LGBT matters. Eventually I noticed the name wasn't mine and I realized that I just had access to use someone else's Netflix account.
I can see how this would apply to many other modern electronics, including cars.
Just check your ego, buy an older OBD2 car, about 2000 (in a rust free area if you live in car cancer country, yes you'll have to travel and likely drive an unfixed beater home), have any worn-out parts professionally rebuilt. Pay someone to install all new suspension bushings (rubber or neoprene, your call) and freshen any ball joints, racks, tie rod ends, brakes etc. The suspension, brakes and steering are non-negotiables. But together they will make it ride better than new (if you break a little bread, note if they want $1000 for a ball joint, installed, just run away. I don't mean 'get burned', I mean 'buy yellow Konis').
People say: 'there will always be another thing breaking.' They are remembering having an old car and being broke, having an old car and having money is an entirely different thing. If you pick the right car, it's systems are very finite. Just a few months worth of car payments will have it all straightened out. Best to just do it right up front. Don't be afraid to spend twice what you paid for it, fixing it. Bottom line will still be next to nothing, pay cash.
Expect at least one thing to be a huge bitch/expensive, it's always something. Broken bolts etc. (Many mechanics will run, they're scared of breaking a bolt and getting stuck fixing it. Honest ones will tell you upfront, e.g. Ford V8: 'I'm not responsible for broken water pump bolts.')
Hell, the whole deal is so cheap these days, you can keep two. Insurance on extra vehicles is cheap! Like ten bucks a month each. An old 4x4 pickup is insanely useful and fun, if you don't have to daily drive it, and can afford 35s or better.
_Don't_ do the paint on at least one, 'city car'. The nicer the car, the faster it gets out of the way of my Civic. Thing just looks uninsured and glued together. Actually mechanically great, interior is clean, just ugly outside. Do gotta watch the cops, that's the downside of projecting dirtbag on the roads, I'm watching anyhow (lead foot).
Many new cars run on 20 weight oil. They won't make 250k miles on an engine. Cars are clearly worse than they used to be. (Now get off my lawn.)
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Sounds like more of an issue for the new owner, not the old one.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
Agreed on the advice of an older car that still has OBD2 for easy diagnosis. No need to "check your ego" -- if a glass and steel cage on wheels defines you, you have other problems. Like the need to get a life and some hobbies.
Not sure if modern cars are that bad compared to older cars, though. I remember 80s cars where the engine often lasted 80,000 miles before it started leaking all sorts of fluids, burning oil, and the head gasket blew. Not to mention rusting after 3-4 years.
I bought a nice 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee from a Jeep dealer (not a private party sale). This was the last model year it was not an "always-connected" car. The previous owner left his home address in the GPS navigation system and the HomeLink garage door opener programmed. The dealer cleaned the car but not the data. I could just program the car to take me to the last owner's house and open the door. This is a and old problem for people who left their keys in cars that were stolen (the registration listed a home address). Now with new "always-connected" cars it's a new owner problem. If the new owner leaves the car connected to the previous owner's account then they can track the car, lock/unlock the car, start the car, and lots of other stuff on new cars. Dealers should be required to clear personal data but they won't because this falls under "the used-car loophole" where they don't even have to complete open recalls before selling a car. I make sure I clear my data from rental and loaner cars. It's amazing how much stuff the last people left in the car...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I'm currently in the market for a new vehicle (my '95 sedan getting to the point of concerning reliability) and I've thought about doing this, but I'm not sure what to look for. Do you (or anyone else) have some suggestions about decent sedans from that timeframe? I'd appreciate any ideas, or anything to especially avoid.
"What do you despise? By this are you truly known." --Princess Irulan, Manual of Muad'Dib
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I don't want to be tracked. I know I will be tracked. But the less information I voluntarily provide the better. I don't believe in drivers licenses and licenses plates. You shouldn't need to beg the government for permission to do something that you have every right to do. We have a right to travel and the argument that you can walk or take a bus ring hollow given that the vast majority of this country is inaccessible without a vehicle and drivers license. The government never had the right to sever access to the vast majority of this country over "safety". Nothing stops a police officer from pulling over a car which does not have a license plate and cops do it all the time. They can also make arrests of people they stop whom don't have a drivers license. There is no genuine safety argument for either drivers licenses nor license plates and for those who know the history of drivers licenses they exist for reasons other than safety. They exist because of bigotry against *automobiles* that existed back before cars were common on our roads. In fact until the late 1960s there were states that had *NO* written test nor driving test to get the license. It is not a safety issue and if you look at the reasons people are losing licenses today the vast majority have nothing to do with safety. The government is utilizing it as a means of controlling the population. It might sound like I'm crazy- but I can point to numerous examples of how this works. They particularly like to utilize it against fathers in child support cases (even where the father isn't informed that they have a kid and the mother has said someone else was the father- ie judges regularly rule $20k debts to the state must be paid immediately else the license is lost). This isn't the only thing. They also use it against kids who have been caught and convicted of graffiti related crimes. You might think but they have damaged someone else's property! The problem is kids are rarely properly represented and more often than not bullied into confessing. This is actually a problem not just with kids- but many kids are particularly vulnerable as the government makes working a crime and thus most particularly younger kids can't afford a proper attorney. The state effectively denies due process by other means. And before someone says kids don't drive- or thinks I'm referring to 16-21 year olds- the way this works is that kids who do not yet drive are denied there right (what has been rephrased by propaganda to be "privilege" to act as if we have no right) to obtain a drivers license.
First: Get and learn to interpret a vacuum gauge. Goes for ANY used car purchaser, triple for old cars or when involving a stealership. Old or new, vacuum at idle tells the whole internal engine story, it will save your ass.
Honda, OBD2 pre 2005, 4 banger. Civic, Integra or Accord, matter of taste. I like lite and simple, so Civic (Si or Ex, there were a couple of years of Sis to avoid like plague, early 2000s IIRC, Honda engine and trans were swapping places, Si was out of step, ugly kludges were involved.). No sixs, Honda sixs suck. Absolutely nothing with an active engine mount! 4 door civics are practically pickups. With the back seat down, they haul 2x4s and pretty much any straight stock you have the nerve to tie down and red flag. A 2005 Honda is going to have a lot of life left in it, you'll be able to put off messing with the engine, if auto, transmission hasn't got much left in it.
Look for a straight body, no salvage titles or major wrecks (even if apparently nicely repaired), runner so you can test drive it. Everything is getting fixed anyhow, but you want to be able to drive it/take it to your mechanic.
Depending on the car, consider keeping the 95, get the issues addressed. Cover another 'car role'* with the next one. Keep the 95 to drive into the city, make it look not worth stealing, 3 colors of primer. If you have two cars, you can tolerate a little/lot (YMMV) less reliable ones.
* 'car role': city car, commuter, street racer, 4x4, classic, track day, exotic, silly, demo derby, 24 hours of lemons etc. You do have a six car garage?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
I called OnStar when my car was wrecked and told them I no longer owned it.
I still receive monthly updates on the fixed version someone else is driving.
Sort of.
It also controls the AC, the language settings for ALL the displays, the Bluetooth links, the WiFi, the GPS including the "phone home" vehicle health reports, the key permissions, and some other misc. stuff.
It's tied into quite a bit.
That said, the car will run if it's disconnected or crashed.
Late 80s were OK, particularly for Japanese cars. Even their computer controlled carbs worked, in stark contrast to GMs.
If your in 'cancer country', everything is different. Cars still rust fast, just not quite as fast, paint is better. 80/90s paint SUCKED, great for city car look in CA, clear coat leprosy.
IMHO a fifth gen (or 6th, the first OBD2 one) Civic with a B engine was the high point for simple, easy, clean, cheap transportation. Too bad they're all riced to the ground.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Every time I rent a vehicle or get a courtesy car I always make sure to perform a factory reset of the on board entertainment system before returning it to the dealer. It comes down to educating the public and even then the functions are often hard to find!
I intentionally DON'T read the terms of service on anything.
That way if there's a "gotcha" there, I can claim ignorance of it in court if I have to, it gives me a better chance of voiding a bad contract.
It might be reasonable, it might not, but I have absolutely no idea what it says, I just pushed the button to make stuff work. If I read it, I might have to decline it. If I don't, I can say "I know that clicking 'agree' makes stuff work, so I said 'I do not' and clicked it, without ever reading any of it. I might have seen an 'and' or a 'the' in there, but it didn't look like it had anything to do with what I wanted to do, making the thing I bought work."
The dealer is totally trying to dodge responsibility for their own failure. This wasn't a private sale. She sold it back to the dealer, and then they sold it to someone else. Without making any effort to disable her access or check that she had disabled it. So they sold someone a car, knowing perfectly well the previous owner might have the ability to track its every movement. Do you think they warned the new owner about that? That they got his permission? That they told him how to prevent it? I'd bet quite a bit they didn't. They just sold a product that illegally infringed the buyer's privacy, and now they're trying to wiggle out of getting blamed.
"I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
A car I rented last year still had the bluetooth connection info for at least two previous renters. Including parts of their phone contact list, and text messages (car had a feature which would read your texts out loud to you while you were driving).
I bought a CPO BMW about 6years ago. All of the previous owners mp3s, uploaded music, contact names/phone numbers were still in the system.
BMW might do a "100 point inspection" but they don't bother to clear the previous owner's information from the system.
If they can switch out the software, they pretty much already have whatever keys to the kingdom they need anyway - think you created a fubar right there.
OBD2 was introduced in the US in 1996, but many pre-1996 vehicles had useful manufacturer specific diagnostic codes for engine stuff.
I plan on spending about $1000-1500 a year on maintenance on older vehicles. Cheaper than depreciation on a new car.
No need to replace ball joints if they aren't malfunctioning. And it's not THAT big a job on many cars although it may require a $100 Harbor Freight ball joint press (basically a HUUGE C-Clamp) that most of us don't have in our garage.
About the only things you get on a newer car that you might not get on an old one are ABS, mp3 playing, a rear view camera, GPS, Hands free Cell phone pairing, and (possibly) collision avoidance. Much of that can be handled by a radio upgrade and installing a camera on the rear. In my experience, ABS isn't needed by careful drivers and works horribly on unpaved roads, ice or snow (now you have two problems sort of thing). Some other modern "improvements" (e.g. TPMS) can be added cheaply if you really want them. That leaves electronic traction control which doesn't seem to work in snow, and collision avoidance which is probably a good idea on balance and can not currently be added aftermarket at a reasonable price.
I'm honestly not sure about the oil weight thing. I'm told that modern oils are very light weight with viscosity extenders for hot weather/highway driving.and that the old SAE viscosity values are no longer very descriptive. Could be. ... Or not. And I'm not sure how long the viscosity extenders last.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
You mean like that time I got in an enterprise rental car and there were like 40 iphones still connected?
Scissors. Antenna cable. Problem solved.
Or just .. make a phone call. There's no need to go destroying data for what ultimately as the article describes is a procedural error.
Good for you if you know what to look for. I have no idea and it is not something I learn from watching a few videos.
That would mean I would need to look into the repairs and have to figure out if arepair is expensive, but good or cheap but bad or anything in between. And no way of knowing after I spend the money.
That on top of my time that has a value as well.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
If you are buying a city car, you could get basic models that have only a normal radio/cd player or even only a hole to put an aftermarket car radio, like the Fiat Panda, Fiat Punto, Dacia Duster and so on.
I suppose that it doesn't work if one wants to buy an hybrid or a luxury car. Anyway if you like to be a bit ecologic some of these base model are equipped with dual fuel injection, so they could run on CNG or LPG.
Most of us have a sledge hammer. Which'll knock a ball joint out faster (3 or so swings) than anything else will.
So you pay a premium to have a connected car and then destroy it.. right. You do realize that those are optional features?
I bought a Kia.
I asked the dealer about ONSTAR and whatnot. He said it didn't support anything like that. I said "SOLD"!
I used to do the same. Main thing is to get something with a galvanized chassis (anything post 2000s is fine) because once you have rust it is just a real pain to deal with. For the mechanicals I just bought a wrecked low km vehicle and stripped out all the parts I would need. All the useful bits can be stuffed into a few boxes in the garage, and a bonus is you gets bits of trim and switches that you probably wouldn't bother replacing due to the hassle. A huge number of little things would break on the car but most of these became less than an hour of finding the part in the boxes and swapping it out.
However the only real downside was the fuel costs. New cars are significantly more fuel efficient compared to older ones, and that is the main reason I would think twice about doing it again.
To be honest, if you're buying a used car, you have no idea what the previous owner did or didn't do. They could have just bolted on a tracker and then sold you the car, no? I doubt that a dealership would ALWAYS be able to pick that up. Do they trace every wiring loom?
If you're buying a car, reset it before you start using it. You don't want their details on the car, and if the model has trackers etc. then surely you'll want to check that's off before you start. Don't rely on the previous owner having done it for you (you may have no idea who they are if you've gone through a dealership, etc.)
Maybe it comes under "things you might not have considered", it's certainly not "things that are entirely unexpected". There's not much you can do about it, and not really the previous owner's fault (they shouldn't be advertising their data any more than anyone else).
What will end up happening is that cars will end up getting "accounts" which you have to sign-into, just like PC's. Not signed into the account, then you can't track it. Signed in as someone else, then it'll be obvious and you'll need to sign them out and sign in as yourself, wiping their settings in the process.
I can't wait for the first "find my ipad" style activation lock on a car, in that instance.
I have a 2016 model car, I've had it from new, it has a full connected infotainment touchscreen thing, with emergency dialling, Internet connection,etc. But there's nothing stored on it that's that important at all - even the phone messages are just picked up from the phone itself and not stored locally, and anything it does can be reset from the menu and would clear it in seconds.
About the only thing you'd be able to get would be sat-nav favourites (cleared on reset), my phone's Bluetooth MAC address (cleared on reset) and a background image (cleared on reset). It certainly wouldn't let you into anything.
The problem is far too much "independence" of the owner's devices, rather than actually being integrated.
The bigger question I really have is why would either buyer want a car with a factory-installed tracking system if neither of them care enough to check it works / remove it once they sell the car?
(P.S. There's a reason I installed my own GPS tracker, because I guarantee that there'll be compromises against any factory trackers that are well-known in the industry and thus can be turned off by any garage with the right software - precisely because of this kind of problem. A pittance on Amazon, half-hour's work, and you'll be hard pushed to even know that there's even a tracker installed, let alone what brand or potential compromises there are of it.
I estimate it would take you a determined hour to find my tracker, even if you were looking for it knowing specifically that it had one, and that would be by tracing the power - the cutting of which would make it send out a specific "power lost at this location" signal and it'd keep tracking for several days after from its internal battery.)
Quite.
A warning on the screen that says "GPS Tracker Enabled to Jane's Phone" would be quite sufficient to provide enough information to any driver of the car (Jane, her friend who borrows it, a thief, the driver she sold it to) that it's active.
My car tells me when I turn it on that it's "Connected to Ledow's Phone". It also tells me that the emergency contact feature is enabled when it does so (so if the airbag goes off, it uses my phone to call emergency services).
This kind of stuff is fixed by the user interface, not hoping-and-wishing. Even if that was, under "Settings... Connected Devices...", it told you that Jane's Phone was connected for GPS tracking.
Still doesn't stop stupid users leaving it on / buying it like that, but it makes it far more obvious what's happening rather than some silent-but-still-operational scenario.
(P.S. No reason you can't remove the tracking from the car, but it texts Jane's Phone to do so... if she doesn't get the hint, the new owner could pull Jane's Phone number from the car and ring her and explain. Or the dealership could override and reset - which begs the question, if every dealership can clear your GPS tracking, how many thieves have a way to do so too?)
"Most of us have a sledge hammer. Which'll knock a ball joint out faster (3 or so swings) than anything else will."
First thing I tried of course. But unless you take the control arm out of the vehicle -- not all that easy -- it's hard to get much of a swing. And you're aiming at the top of a metal rod that moves between swings. Might work on some vehicles. Didn't on mine.
You can't see ANYTHING from a car, You've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk...Edward Abbey
No need to replace ball joints if they aren't malfunctioning. And it's not THAT big a job on many cars although it may require a $100 Harbor Freight ball joint press (basically a HUUGE C-Clamp) that most of us don't have in our garage.
If you are dealing with a cute little pass car, then sure. If you need to do ball joints on a real vehicle like say a Sprinter, then that $100 press isn't going to do the job. I know this because I've done it. I actually got one of them out, but the press was bending before it went. I had to take the arm to my local shop and get them to press out the other one because it just wouldn't do it. I had to make a tool to hold the arm while I pressed it out, too.
The oil weight thing is bullshit, though. Synthetics cling to expose surfaces better, so that takes care of startup wear. And oil thickness is based on tolerances. They're using more durable alloys. Just keep your oil changed, and use a quality filter.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
The oil weight thing is bullshit, though.
Tell it to Subaru, that rebuilt engine on my car under warranty, because it was burning engine oil. Few years later, it is AGAIN starting burning some oil. They had to extend engine warranty to 8 years and unlimited mileage due to lawsuits. So my car is a keeper, as it will get YET ANOTHER engine rebuild at 8 year mark compliments of Subaru. All of that because they switched to 0w20 oil, the car would have been fine as 5w30.
This is great advice, however my approach is a bit different. I buy used ultra luxury cars. Surprisingly, some of them are very reliable, but you have to do A LOT of research prior to buying, as if you select wrong you will have to deal with hassles AND expensive parts that only available from the dealer.
My current ride is 2000 era Mercedes with a silky-smooth naturally aspirated V8. Purchased this garage queen with ultra low miles for under 10K from an estate sale. Sorted out all known flaws (e.g. transmission harness plug leak), replaced few dry rotted bushings, put new performance tires, and now driving what was 150K car that is still essentially new. Plus, these cars still look 150K when in good shape.
Again, this method requires you to KNOW your cars. As you could easily end up with a disaster car. For example, the same model Mercedes, 2002 and newer has active hydraulic suspension that was a rare optional feature in prior years. That system is notoriously unreliable and once your suspension starts puking Pentosin you are stuck towing it. Thankfully, automotive forums are a great source of information. With some research you can find out in advance about all frequent issues.
It is inevitable that all cars will become connected in the first place, that leaves you with two options. first option is to never sign up in the first place and the second option is to use a throwaway account and pass it on when you sell the car (use the VIN as a username for gmail)
Personally i dont think that anything that these connected cars offer are worth the price of connecting my personal data through it. Maybe its because i have an accurate grasp of what my personal data is worth or maybe its because i see through the marketing BS behind most of these advances features. There is never a need to unlock or turn on your car from your phone (or atleast not one great enough to hand over personal data for) and the 4g data connections are really only good for streaming radio at best.
Just another example of car manufacturers overstepping property rights of I guess we'll call them drivers.
Fuck you VW. Youre such little bitches.
That is the rub. I used to drive a Toyota beater pickup truck, because it was ludicrously cheap to maintain, trivial to park, secure (nobody wanted to break into it), and the A/C system could literally not be run on max for long because it would freeze you out, even in 110 degree South temperatures.
The problem is that vehicle was a target for cops. Nothing like tickets for a 56 in a 55, failing to stop at a stop line (at an intersection with no stop lines), driving on the breakdown lane (on a road with no shoulder). Yes, all those tickets were appealed, but it meant going to court with pictures and documentation.
I moved to a different vehicle. Never got a bogus ticket or stop after that.
One needs to remember that in a city, a BMW or Mercedes will not be pulled over by the popo if it is a choice between that versus a Honda or Chevy, just because the cop knows he will be dragged into court and given the third degree by an attorney, while someone else likely will just sign the ticket.
In the country, it is different. The police will not mess with the pickup trucks because they know those are locals, and who likely have plenty of time, versus someone from the city who will just pay the fine, as they don't want to see that Podunk area again.
I understand the sentiment about an old car, but I recommend finding something that matches the other vehicles in the region. A Ford F-150 with Texas plates in the sea of Subarus in Colorado will be pulled over in a heartbeat and searched every few miles. Similar with a Prius with "FTP" stickers in rural Arkansas. Having the wrong car can cost you a lot of money and time fighting charges and tickets.
Please, shut up. Used cars will go from expensive to affordable if the hipsters start buying them.
My girlfriend bought a new car and discovered the previous owner's Irish Folk Music CD in the CD player.
The takeaway here is to read the Terms of Service because most car owners don't do so in any great detail.
The takeaway here is that ToS should be standard as fuck so everyone only has to read it once. With every company having different terms, how can anyone be expected to read these morose [hardly] legal documents? How about either your ToS and privacy policy is limited to tweet size or everyone uses the same? How about some consumer-centric rhetoric? I personally view the ToS and other customer facing "contracts" as garbage, hostile to the viewer. They might as well just say "we're going to fuck you, either now or later," because that's the current message.
Word to the wise: Terminate the transceiver end of that cable with a 50-ohm dummy load, preferably one that's shielded, otherwise it may be able to connect anyway if you're in a strong signal area. Also you won't burn up the transmitter that way (which for all I know would make the 'check engine' light come on).
All these wirelessly connected vehicle systems should, for safety/security purposes, have a government mandated hardwired 'off' switch that completely disables any radio transceivers so it's not possible for it to 'connect' to anything.
For fuck's sake people, when you sell your old car, reset the built-in garage door opener that you programmed the first day you got the car.
It always blows my mind that people think that, magically, their old car will automatically lose the ability to open their garage door when they sell it to someone else.
Is it "breaking and entering" if you didn't force a door opened to help yourself to the previous owner's garage content?
Entertainment systems have been compromised (poc) to affect more critical systems.
How "optional" is it when youre vuying a used car that has it equipped and enabled?
Your wrong about the oil and engine life. Ask any professional mechanic, it's been long enough there is no denying it.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
No different from a new car.
If you want a good one, you have to do the work. There are no trustworthy sources in this field, CR is a bad joke.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The most fuel efficient cars were the late 90s lean burns. But EPA made them illegal.
You can burn a lot of fuel for the price of a $400 car payment and $200 full coverage insurance.
Rust is not an issue where I live, I grew up driving and hating old rusty cars. To my eyes, any rust free car is a good one.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Think at least twice before buying any expensive car for cheap. They _won't_ be cheap to keep. Too much to break, like you say. load leveling suspension sucks balls.
Old Mercedes are _very_ cheap to buy (you overpaid), because the parts are so insanely expensive and everybody knows it. I somewhat regularly consider then dismiss an old SL convertible.
Also old leather _sucks_. What is it with new car people? Spend a fortune on a car, then don't bother with $5 worth of Mink Oil/year to maintain the leather. There is 1000 year old leather in the British museum that's still pliable, yet car seats are almost all ruined at 10 years.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
If your reworking an old car, you are taking apart the suspension. The Rubber bushings at the pivots are toast at about 10 years. Which is why old cars steering is sloppy.
It's a bitch of a job, pay someone. You'll need a hydraulic press to remove the old bushings. Don't skip this step. Consider just buying new/remaned arms if you're putting stock rubber bushings in, much less work. Polyurethane is a good upgrade.
Also search the web, Chinesium tubular steel arms with polyurethane bushings can be had (for popular models) for less then the price of energy suspension bushings.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Late 80s. duh.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Decades, no tickets, no accidents.
Driving: Trans Am, Turbo AWD Eclipse, Mustangs, Civics. All tuned, at least a little.
In CA you see them pull in behind you, run your tags, see that you are insured, then leave you alone. About 10% of cars on CA roads are driven by illegals and are uninsured.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
You lost me at 'Fiat'. Why would anybody not living in Italy even consider them?
What's your next suggestion? Peugeot? Lada? Yugo?
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
Have a 2001 VW Lupo. Most of these were not so great, but I have it serviced at an official dealer every year (at great expense) and it has never failed.
Still cheaper than the deprecation of a new car - and I bought it new, so I know who drove it (and how) ;-)
The only downside is that any new car I get will be much worse than this one. This thing only has: a simple air-condition, powered steering, central locks and powered windows. It's still naturally aspirated.
Any new car will have a dozen extras that can and will break, sometimes dozens of different firmwares that might need updates (and where neither the vendor nor the dealer knows, which revision of which firmware actually works together with the rest of the car).
Windows 2000 - from the guys who brought us edlin
I somewhat regularly consider then dismiss an old SL convertible.
I have one and absolutely love it. Best years are 98 to 2002, 500SL with modern M113 V8 that shared across many platforms and gets decent highway mileage, and all modern safety features including traction control and side air bags. Avoid 93 to 96 as they have bad bio degradable wiring harnesses. Make sure there is no optional self-leveling suspension package on the car. Only two known issues - transmission harness plug leaks (common issue with an easy fix) and top hydraulic cylinders leak (there is a shop that R&R them and ships ahead).
You're not destroying it. You're enhancing your privacy by removing a misfeature that mainly benefits the manufacturer :)
You can always re-connect the thing if you feel you really need it.
Your wrong about the oil and engine life. Ask any professional mechanic, it's been long enough there is no denying it.
My wrong? Look, engines with tighter tolerances are more sensitive to oil quality. That means using the right oil, and changing it often enough. Most people don't do oil changes often enough already. It becomes more important with these fancy new engines. But you put 0W30 or 0W40 in a diesel sprinter. I've been driving one around lately that has over 200k on it and it's full of 0W30.
Zero weight oil is NOT a problem. Lames who don't maintain their cars are the problem.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
In this thread: Hardcore republitard, who's always screaming patriotic bullshit, is here extolling the virtues of a god damned honda. Conservative==Hypocrite
Skoda, now fuck off!