The Old Gal and the Magnificent Motonerds
My 265K mile Infiniti QX4 is old enough to drink. In fact, in two more years it will actually qualify as a classic car. On the freeway, it really hated going over 60MPH, which in Vegas in the summer is a pathologically dangerous state of being. Time to replace it, I thought. However, car prices ain't what they used to be as the lowest price rattlebox you can find is effectively 20K, when it's all said and done. Getting a car you actually want means mid-20's minimum.
Enter John and the gang at JCA. My first evolution with them was a couple of years or so ago when they came to my house and replaced the starter on this very truck. Fast and fairly priced, they were a success. This time we'd be more ambitious. The goal is/was to give the dear old gal a life makeover of sorts to get another 100 - 200 thousand miles out of her.
Phase I: Shocks, struts, tires, alignment, brake rotors and pads, tie rods, sway bar links and bushings, front control arms, rear control arms, oil pan gasket, and cv axles. For good measure, I also tinted the windows and put in a new windshield.
Phase II: Cooling and electrical systems, HVAC, chassis parts, bearings, mounts of all kinds, and any gasket elsewhere that is seeping.
The engine is really strong, so there is no need to do anything to it yet.
I write this after Phase I and can say that the truck is a completely different vehicle - it is now a treat to drive. John had the car turned around in about a day and a half and brought it to me at the car rental agency. Bravo.
Many of you out there might be put off by new car prices. There is another way. John's way :)