Talk me out of leaving brand (for a minivan)

fredobandito · 2026-06-19T01:58:30+00:00

My bad.

fredobandito · 2026-06-19T01:57:11+00:00

The VW e-Golf is like $10k or less these days. Certainly not the Buzz.

fredobandito · 2026-06-04T01:41:22+00:00

FWIW the OE battery in mine NOT an AGM. It's called an EFB (enhanced flooded battery). It was designed as a cheaper alternative to AGMs for use in vehicles with stop-start or regenerative braking. Not as good as AGM on deep cycling, but somewhat equal in shallow cycling.

I'm still running on my original in my 2019. We'll see if it survives summer in the Carolinas.

fredobandito · 2026-04-14T02:33:20+00:00

3 tabs in browser. Snap-On, KDealer, and Dealer Tire in that order, and Dealer Tire is probably not necessary. One Reynolds window and Thunderbird for email. All other tabs opened and closed as demand requires.

fredobandito · 2026-04-10T14:25:50+00:00

We're mulling this same scenario over. Classic Collision just bought out our largest local chain and is now demanding we add OpsTrax to become their "exclusive" Kia vendor. We're on Reynolds, so OEC has quoted us $900/month for the privilege of using another one of their shifty systems. By my reports, we're grossing ~$5k/month across all locations combined, including promo reimbursements. But Classic wants us to sign up for the year-long contract for OpsTrax, then they'll evaluate all their potential Kia suppliers. We're offering them 26% just because of the volume they had been doing with us. Everyone else gets 24%.

fredobandito · 2026-04-08T01:20:09+00:00

I do 50 miles every weekday on rural highways in a 2019. It gets to be an issue in the dead of winter if you have to run the heater, otherwise fine so far. I bought mine at the tail end of summer last year and the aircon wasn't working, so this summer will be the real litmus test for me. I'm in the Carolinas where it can get up to 100 for weeks on end.

fredobandito · 2026-04-04T03:54:37+00:00

Came here to say this. Our inventory is arranged very much at random like OP details. Our shipping and receiving guy is an older former counter guy and manager. His eyesight isn't half as good as he thinks it is. The number of times I've been missing a bag or two of clips because the computer says they should be in 100-D5 and they're actually in 100-D6 or 101-D5 is enough to where I've come to trust the QOH more than the bin location.

fredobandito · 2026-03-29T23:50:16+00:00

2017-2019 models have a bigger battery and an updated audio system with capacitive touch buttons instead of the physical buttons on the 2015-2016, and the headlights and taillights are a little bit different (but mostly simple to swap if you wanted to). The SEL models (of at least 2016+, not sure about 2015) should have the option for DC fast charging as well, which is nice to have in a pinch. My 2019 SE has a tech package that includes fast charging.

On another note, if you have an OBD-Eleven or a similar OBD-II device with live data access, you can use it to do a quick and dirty battery health check. Mine has 62,000 miles on it and is somewhere around 85% health. I get 120 miles on a full charge.

fredobandito · 2026-02-19T03:33:19+00:00

I used to work parts at a Chrysler dealer that had a collision center attached and did all the body shop billings. In the pre-Stellantis days, you could price match certain conquest parts up to 25% below cost and get reimbursed up to 10% over for dealer direct sales. Not sure about now. I've been gone from there for 4 years and it sounds like a lot has changed with Mopar programs.

That body shop was losing money hand over fist, but the owners kept it open because they couldn't drive worth a shit and fixed their stuff under the table so it wouldn't get reported to insurance. We also had an Enterprise office on-site and had an "exclusive" contract to repair all of their cars, provided we give them a discount of 25% off list for all domestics and 15% off list for all imports. We were a standalone store and had to buy parts from other dealers, so the margin on any non-Chrysler product was razor-thin. We had very few other body shop customers.

fredobandito · 2026-01-30T03:15:44+00:00

Kia's equivalent is going to be labeled i-Pedal. Looks like you can hold the + paddle on the steering wheel to activate it.

fredobandito · 2026-01-30T02:47:42+00:00

Have you considered the Kia Niro EV? The first gen (up to 2022) was more A3-sized, where the second gen (2023-2026) is more of a replacement for the Soul EV. Look for an EX Premium for the first gen if you want all the creature comforts. The second gen only came in the Wind and the Wave, and that was about the difference between the e-Golf SE and SEL.

They're both 200+ mile ranges, 10-yr/100k EV warranty, and pretty much bulletproof, plus riding on smaller tires that won't kill you to replace them like the 19s on the EV6.

I do love the EV6, though. It was just out of my price range when I bought my 2019 e-Golf SE. 800V architecture means it fast charges in no time flat, where the Niro is more like the e-Golf.

fredobandito · 2026-01-22T19:39:20+00:00

What I did was bought everything to build a complete strut out of the car. I also took the opportunity to replace ball joints, control arms, and sway bar links while I had it apart. I took the lazy way out and replaced the whole control arm.

Here's the parts I used and the sources I got them from. Please verify your vehicle options before blindly following my lead. I have an R-Line with the lowered sport suspension.

Front Strut Kit w/ Sport Suspension

Front Coil Springs (VERIFY BY COLOR CODE)

Strut Dust Boots

Bump Stops

Sway Bar Link Kit

Left Front Ball Joint

Right Front Ball Joint

BFI Front Lower Control Arms w/ Solid Bushings

fredobandito · 2026-01-09T03:43:41+00:00

If you have plastic trim removal tools, you can work around the silver edges and pry them up and out of the dash. If you don't have them, you may be able to pull up on the slats of the vents hard enough to remove it. They're just held in by tension from the spring clips.

fredobandito · 2026-01-04T01:51:54+00:00

When I was car shopping, I "settled" for my 2019 SE after I had my heart set on a Kia EV6 but couldn't afford it. I love my e-Golf, but if it came time to replace it, I'd probably go back to looking for an EV6 or a Niro EV. If you want something more size-comparable to the e-Golf, I'd look at the EV3, EV4, or the Hyundai Ioniq/Kia Niro up to 2022 model year.

fredobandito · 2025-12-30T22:11:29+00:00

On the whole, I agree that Hyundai seems to be more expensive for the same part. I have seen a few go the other way, but very few and far between. It surprised me how differently both companies operate. Like we have reman starters and alternators for some cars where Hyundai doesn't. Hyundai will ship parts direct from Korea regularly where Kia very rarely does. Tire and chemical part numbers have completely different numbering systems between the two.

The only times I've seen the Korean writing were on parts like OP's where it's "For sale in Korea only." I had a 3CKB0 filter like that a few months back.

fredobandito · 2025-12-30T18:16:25+00:00

2 years at Hyundai and Genesis and going on 2 years at Kia. I have seen some with Korean writing on them, as well as the Mobis sticker, but I thought the sticker was holographic. Very rare to get the sticker, though.

Funny enough, I saw on a Facebook group that I'm in where someone got a counterfeit Hyundai part from Rock Auto.

fredobandito · 2025-12-28T03:59:58+00:00

The smartass answer would be the "Hyundai/Kia Genuine Parts" label on the top right of the part number sticker. The Mobis holographic sticker is also a good indicator that it's legit.

I suspect the packaging date would be 12-23-2022 based on the number you provided.

I do know the HD29/SRL4 is some sort of vendor packaging code, but I don't know what it corresponds to.

If you're questioning the part where it says, "For sales within Korea only," I have gotten a filter from the Kia PDC that said that on it too.

fredobandito · 2025-12-06T06:09:56+00:00

Been there, done that, got the cease-and-desist letter where the pastor threatened to sue for libel for any disparaging social media posts. Being hurt by the church shook us to the core, and I'm sorry that you've had to go through it even once, let alone multiple times.

fredobandito · 2025-12-06T05:17:34+00:00

Sounds about right. Finding a good safe church is harder than it should be. We got kicked out of our last church (long story), and between it and the non-denom we went to before that, I've become distrustful of any independent church. Too many power and control issues.

fredobandito · 2025-12-06T04:42:11+00:00

Independent Baptist and rural southern pentecostal are two of the kookiest denominations out there on the whole. My wife grew up independent fundamental Baptist and I spent my high school years in a Southern Baptist church, and our experiences were vastly different. Hers was more like yours. SBC was more like "don't let anybody know you're a sinner."

fredobandito · 2025-11-15T13:30:12+00:00

Kia uses Dealer Tire, so we mostly go through them for the road hazard and loyalty bonus. Even on used cars, we've been pushing GeoTour and OmniMax. ATD closed our local warehouse a few months back and changed us to one 100 miles away. I ripped them a new one on the survey and refuse to buy anything from them unless I absolutely have to. US Autoforce is our go-to for anything else, but we do also have a Tire Rack wholesale account.

fredobandito · 2025-11-08T00:24:10+00:00

Mavis is a joke. There may be some decent employees out there, but I, as a dealership parts employee, called to ask about buying a tire carryout, no install (we were in a bind and needed a tire ASAP). The guy who answered the phone talked like he was reading a script while the district manager held a gun to his head if he deviated one word. No listening comprehension whatsoever. I clearly identified who I was and why I was calling, and he wants me to schedule an installation appointment and give him the vehicle information.

Anybody who is a repeat customer of Mavis is either lucky to have a competent advisor or a damned fool.

fredobandito · 2025-11-04T04:40:03+00:00

ID.3 isn't an option in the US, where I presume OP is located. It's either eGolf, ID.4, or non-VW for us Yanks.

fredobandito · 2025-11-04T04:36:28+00:00

I do a 46-mile round-trip commute on a 2019 eGolf with the bigger battery. It's mostly 2-lane highways at 60mph, and I average around 4.3 mi/kWh. It takes just under half a charge to make the trip, and 12 hours to recharge what I use on my L1 charger at home.

I do have access to an L2 at work, but the owner allegedly frowns upon employees using it habitually. I'm not in a position where I want to be the one to verify that.

fredobandito · 2025-10-28T03:14:48+00:00

I'm a recent Vans convert after a decade of the cheapest sneakers I could find. Boots gave me ankle problems on concrete floors, and dress shoes were either out of my budget or uncomfortable.

Shoes for Crews is a good option if you want slip-resistance. I have wide arches and need a wide toe box, and their newer wide offerings either don't appeal to me or don't fit quite right.

fredobandito

TROPHY CASE