With winter on its way, many people are asking: what are the benefits of winter tires vs. a set of all-seasons? The popularity of online, no-haggle car services like Carvana, CarMax, and CarSense has grown in recent months, but can you really get a good deal without visiting a car dealership and negotiating on price? We discuss using these services to buy a new or used car, as well as the high cost of replacement key fobs; the benefits of using premium fuel over regular in cars like the Volkswagen GTI and Mazda CX-9; the emergence of sometimes confusing electronic shifters from carmakers like BMW, Volvo, and Genesis; how CR awards points for standard advanced safety features, and if a Mazda6 is a good replacement for a dad who is losing his Acura TL to his teenage drivers.
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SHOW NOTES
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00:00 – Introduction
00:47 – Question #1: What are the benefits of winter tires vs. all-seasons?
05:45 – Question #2: Why key fobs are so expensive to replace?
10:08 – Question #3: Is it possible to get a good deal with no-haggle service like CarSense and CarMax?
13:57 – Question #4: What are the benefits of using premium fuel over regular?
16:26 – Question #5: Why car manufacturers are moving towards push-button shifters?
20:57 – Question #6: How does CR award points for safety features to various car models?
23:41 – Question #7: Is Mazda6 a good replacement for an Acura TL?
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Coronavirus Resource Hub
New All-Weather Tires Outperform Some Snow Tires
Consumer Reports 2016 Tire Top Picks
Getting your tires ready for winter
Winter Driving Tips
Essential Winter Driving Tips
Prep Your Car for Winter
How to Replace Your Car’s Key Fob
Does Car Buying Make Your Head Spin?
Regular Gas vs. Premium Gas
When It Comes to Gear Selectors, Drivers Prefer the Simplicity of Old-School Shifters
Best Car Safety Features
Two Advanced Safety Features Every Cr Should Have
2018 Mazda6 Quick Drive
2017 Audi A4 Quick Drive
2017 Honda Civic Si
2018 LA Auto Show: 2019 Mazda3
2015 Volkswagen GTI first drive
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Getting famous off of comments day 137, so I can live the dream, live your life to the fullest🤙🤙
Sears used to make an Ice and Snow radial, oh God those things were incredible. I had a different set of rims, I put the all-season radials on in the spring. When they stop making them I used the Bridgestone WS 51 Blizzak tires.
I did this on several vehicles it is so much easier just to buy an extra set of rims and throw the winter tires in the basement when you’re done with winter.
I do not like to haggle. I am not sure that someone negotiating a better price will lead to another paying a higher price, at least in most instances.
Jens such a sweetheart !
Depending on how tall John is Lexus IS or GS.. 2017 or up
Standardization of instrumentation is a good thing. When all cares had the PRNDL transmission selector, anyone could get into any car and know how to operate it. These weird gear selectors–rotary knobs, joy sticks, push/pull buttons, piano keys (as in Lincolns)–can cause confusion and potential accidents because we are not used to them. What is the reward for this risk? As far as I can tell, there is no reward. We should return to standardized PRNDL levers and quit while we are ahead.
I just have to chime in on the Mazda6. I’m now 4.5 years into my Mazda6 ownership (from new) and the car has been fault free. I have the European top spec AWD diesel station wagon. Can’t go wrong with Mazda6!
$400 for a car key, stealership.
10:28 I have looked into CarMax dealers, and I personally have always found them to be overpriced. Both on the selling end (I usually get an offer for around half what the car is actually worth), and on the buying end (usually priced just over what I would consider market value, KBB+1)
For shifters let’s go back to three on the tree. 😂
I hate haggling, though it’s something I’m forced to do. When we lived back East the local Honda dealership were haggle free and the pricing was reasonable. It took no time compared to all my other car purchases.
I💙 CR podcasts 🙂
I refuse to sell my 1986 chevy cavalier. key replacement costs only $2.00 at local hardware store.
I’ve found that good m/s studded works great but stopping becomes the driver & attention. Drive stupid & you go nowhere or crash
For people who live in areas that have only have their roads covered with snow a few days during the winter, I suggest something called ‘All-Weather’ tires. They give the long-lasting ability of all-season tires in areas that do not get too hot during the summers, and snow performance mid-way between all-seasons and winter tires for the winter periods. The nice thing about them is that you don’t have to do the seasonal switching of tires in the fall and spring.
Umm did you let an intern do the editing?? You better tell them that the TL they chose for the B roll footage wasn’t a 2008. That was at the least a 2009. Thanks
2:44 = Dear Consumer Reports, this is how you can improve your ‘ice-braking’ tests: When doing your tests on the indoor ice rink, please lay down a few sheets of 1/2″ plywood so that it is butted up against the walls of the rink, and accelerate from on top of the plywood, thus allowing you to accelerate more quickly up to 20 mph (instead of just 10), as well as giving you more distance on the rink to do the braking in. That would give you much more realistic braking results as most people are driving around at 20 to 30 mph on glare ice, not just 10 mph.
Great show guys, love it as always.
No mention of all weather tires for question 1…why?
The key fob question reminds me of when I bought a used Mustang years ago. It had keyless entry but no fob came with the car, so I went to the local Ford dealer to purchase one. They told me the price and there would be a labor charge to program it, but they didn’t have one in stock so they sent me to a dealer who did. I bought the fob and asked the parts guy about getting it programmed. He told me to hop in and pop the trunk, and then told me to push buttons on the fob while he pushed a button in the trunk. Said I was all set and didn’t charge me a dime.