Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Michaell

pensfan83 said:

Received the paperwork outlining the end of lease process for the Audi. I wasn't aware a 3rd party inspection was required.

Had that happen with our VW Beetle lease, back in the day.

And, I suspect I'll go through the same process when the Jetta lease is up.

pensfan83

oldfarmer50 said:

How else are they going to nick you for excessive wear?

This is my first lease and I assumed it was done by the dealer. With the exception of one wheel with a few scuffs on the rim I'm not concerned about excessive wear. The exterior imperfections I'm aware of all fit within the guidelines they detailed and the new tires installed earlier this year with ~3,000 miles on them.

@Michaell - The company is SGS, I would assume VW would use the same one as Audi.

graphicguy

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

Can't do the link, but here's my post from July 25 in CCBA.....

graphicguy said:

Q...I'm going to shop my Cobra a little. What's the number?

'98 Mustang Cobra Convertible-2 owner
-32K miles
-5-speed manual trans
-A/C, Cruise, Power Top, Leather, CD (Ford Mach Stereo), Cassette, AM/FM, dual airbags, PW/PL, power trunk
-Air blows cold, windows and top go up and down, no seat tears, top doesn't leak
-All original and all stock
-no runs, no rips, no errors
-Paint is shiny, a few chips but nothing that would even remotely require a respray

It's all there, and it all works!

Oh, so it wasn't us after all.

Don't know what your buddies over in CCBA told you about what you should get for your Cobra but if you asked that question in here the experts would have told you that if you took anything less than $16K for it you would have run into a pretty good grinder.

jmonroe

J....there isn't much in the way of book value. The big guys (black book, etc) didn't have a listing for it. I think one of them pegged retail at $12K. EBay had one at $15K, but it was modded. Talked to a couple of GMs (BMW and Acura) for them to give me a number. They were both at $13k-$13.5K ask on their lot. But, they have the means to offer financing, and they both have a policy of putting a warranty on their used cars. While I wouldn't have hesitated to drive the Cobra anywhere, I wouldn't want to offer a warranty on a 20 year old car....especially a muscle car.

If you want to buy it for $15K cash, I'll buy it back from the new owner for $13K, and sell it to you for $15K. Everybody wins.

driver100

fintail said:

Funny, the dent in my uncle's LeSabre was very similar, but on the driver's side.

oldfarmer50 said:

Son's LaSabre wasn't that rusted (for a NY car) but it had been banged up pretty good and was making expensive sounding noises.



Funny that your relative transitioned into a Taurus. My son went to a Sable (in the background).

Must be some kind of design flaw

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

pensfan83 said:

Received the paperwork outlining the end of lease process for the Audi. I wasn't aware a 3rd party inspection was required.

Had that happen with our VW Beetle lease, back in the day.

And, I suspect I'll go through the same process when the Jetta lease is up.

What do they actually inspect? Is it just cosmetic stuff like dent and scrapes or do they check if you ever changed the oil or used it as your track beater?

stickguy

My son had to do that process on his Jetta. Pretty simple. They come to you, do a basic cosmetic inspection, give you the report to take to dealer, and that is it. Still take it in to return.

driver100

fintail said:

I've heard horror stories about the Russian visa process, and that was before 45 came on board and brought along new drama. Maybe best to have one of the legwork companies do it for you, it'd be worth the $200 to save the time and ire. I was thinking of visiting there this year, but the visa hassles and current political situation had me change my mind.

driver100 said:

If you want to go to Russia you are allowed to be there for 72 hours, if you come on a cruise ship. Any other way you need a Visa, which will take hours to fill out....and lots of work.

Families may like a Caribbean Cruise.....just for fun...Disney or Carnaval ship.

St Petersburg is well worth seeing though, and you can see quite a bit in 72 hours (no visa if you go on a cruise ship, which docks in some kind of toxic waste yard with 1000s of shipping containers). About 25% of the cars are high end luxury models...BMW, Mercedes, the rest are Ladas or similar. Sun shines about 5 days a year....food has to be brought in, nothing grows there. And those palaces are amazing. Most of the city looks like something out of the 50s....with old warehouses.

driver100

graphicguy said:

houdini1 said:

graphicguy said:

houdini1 said:

I've been toying with the idea of a battery assist bike. You could ride until you were pooped and the use the battery to cruise home. Anyone here have one?

I do!

I was on the "Kickstarter" campaign for one of these last year.

https://flx.bike/

Big fun! There are others out there. But, depending on your weight and terrain, I've gone 35 miles at about 15-20 MPH on mine without pedaling, at all! But, the real fun is pedaling and using electric assist. You can get a pretty good head of steam up.

In nice weather, I use it to go to the grocery to get small items. And, I take off the front wheel and load it in my car to really explore a lot of Cincinnati's Parks. You can see a lot more of them if you can go 20-30 miles at a time exploring them.

I looked at these pretty seriously, but they're just a bit clunky and heavy.

https://www.radpowerbikes.com

GG and FF, thanks guys for the info on the ebikes, etc. I like the looks of both of them. Compared to a regular bike, I just can't get my head around the cost of these things. Apparently most of the cost is due to the battery.

I am pretty sure that old farmer would invest his $2,000. in a hooptie instead of a 2 wheel bicycle !

Growing up, both our sons had what was called a Honda Express with a 50cc gas engine. Those darn things were great, and bullet proof. Wish they still made those things. The 50cc available today are more like scooters, with very small wheels, etc. That Express was more like a bicycle, with good sized tires and very stable. Half a gal of gas and you were good for all day, quiet too.

@houdini1....yeah, the electric bikes aren't cheap. That said, have you priced a good, regular bike recently? You can easily drop $1,500-$2,000 on one of those, too.

Money is in the battery (my battery is a Li On. Supposedly, it's made the same way and in the same place Tesla's batteries are. The motor is made to be light and small (mine fits in the hub). Gears are Shimano on mine. So, they're top notch. That said, for $1,500 you can get into a "hoopty". But, the bike will be more reliable (and might even go faster).

Realized I posted my toying with selling the Cobra in CCBA thread, and not here. Sorry about that.

Cruises....if you think of them as a resort, only one that goes to different places, you'd be pretty close.

Have all those ecologically responsible people read the latest:
Children as young as seven mining cobalt used in smartphones, says Amnesty

Children as young as seven are working in perilous conditions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to mine cobalt that ends up in smartphones, cars and computers sold to millions across the world, by household brands including Apple, Microsoft and Vodafone, according to a new investigation by Amnesty International.

The human rights group claims to have traced cobalt used in lithium batteries sold to 16 multinational brands to mines where young children and adults are being paid a dollar a day, working in life-threatening conditions and subjected to violence, extortion and intimidation.

FULL STORY

suydam

Children as young as 7 are working in . . . Pick a product. Almost anything you buy , including most of the clothes you wear, have horrendous labor conditions as part of the cheap prices we pay. It is very hard, I would say, impossible, to be an ecologically ethical consumer. There is very little transparency as to where products are even sourced.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

pensfan83 said:

Received the paperwork outlining the end of lease process for the Audi. I wasn't aware a 3rd party inspection was required.

Had that happen with our VW Beetle lease, back in the day.

And, I suspect I'll go through the same process when the Jetta lease is up.

What do they actually inspect? Is it just cosmetic stuff like dent and scrapes or do they check if you ever changed the oil or used it as your track beater?

We only check cosmetics, mileage, tires(OEM equivalent- right size, speed rating, tread depth), and if all services have been performed. I couldn't care less if the car was tracked.

roadburner

The Sales Manager and I are pushing for our center to turn lease inspections over to a third party. When people come in with a lease return and it is over mileage and/or the tires are the wrong type/worn out the lessee tries to get us to pay the penalties as a part of a new lease or purchase. Or else they blame us when all we are doing is complying with BMW's leasing contract. Using a third party would take us out of the line of fire to a significant degree.

jmonroe

graphicguy said:

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

Can't do the link, but here's my post from July 25 in CCBA.....

graphicguy said:

Q...I'm going to shop my Cobra a little. What's the number?

'98 Mustang Cobra Convertible-2 owner
-32K miles
-5-speed manual trans
-A/C, Cruise, Power Top, Leather, CD (Ford Mach Stereo), Cassette, AM/FM, dual airbags, PW/PL, power trunk
-Air blows cold, windows and top go up and down, no seat tears, top doesn't leak
-All original and all stock
-no runs, no rips, no errors
-Paint is shiny, a few chips but nothing that would even remotely require a respray

It's all there, and it all works!

Oh, so it wasn't us after all.

Don't know what your buddies over in CCBA told you about what you should get for your Cobra but if you asked that question in here the experts would have told you that if you took anything less than $16K for it you would have run into a pretty good grinder.

jmonroe

J....there isn't much in the way of book value. The big guys (black book, etc) didn't have a listing for it. I think one of them pegged retail at $12K. EBay had one at $15K, but it was modded. Talked to a couple of GMs (BMW and Acura) for them to give me a number. They were both at $13k-$13.5K ask on their lot. But, they have the means to offer financing, and they both have a policy of putting a warranty on their used cars. While I wouldn't have hesitated to drive the Cobra anywhere, I wouldn't want to offer a warranty on a 20 year old car....especially a muscle car.

If you want to buy it for $15K cash, I'll buy it back from the new owner for $13K, and sell it to you for $15K. Everybody wins.;)

You shouldn't have told me that but now that I know what is going on I'll give you $9,500 for it but only if you flat bed it to the Burgh. Ok, maybe not all the way, I'll meet you at the border.

jmonroe

dino001

roadburner said:

The Sales Manager and I are pushing for our center to turn lease inspections over to a third party. When people come in with a lease return and it is over mileage and/or the tires are the wrong type/worn out the lessee tries to get us to pay the penalties as a part of a new lease or purchase. Or else they blame us when all we are doing is complying with BMW's leasing contract. Using a third party would take us out of the line of fire to a significant degree.

Hey, what is general BMW's stance (guidelines) on lease return wear and tear, i.e. how much does it take to trigger the penalties (beyond obvious overage in the mileage and tires out of spec) and how much discretion vs. documentation is involved in judging some of that damage? As you mentioned, probably too many people imagine that if they buy another BMW, their murder attempt on the old one should be completely forgiven.

Do you arrange preliminary inspection for people to alert them what would actually be considered penalty damage, so they can fix it if they chose to? Never done lease, so I'm just curious, how it works. Return uncertainty is probably one of the reasons of me avoiding the lease (besides lack of lease pricing support on models I usually like).

roadburner

We have a clear plastic sheet with concentric circles on it, damage inside the smallest circle(2") is no charge; between 2" and 4" is a "small ding", over 4" is a "large ding." Curbed wheels are okay as long as they aren't obviously bent or missing chunks of metal. If I think that there might be hidden damage I send it to a third party to get us off any potential hooks. For whatever reason all of our i3 lease returns are automatically sent to a third party.
We offer a pre-inspection so people can see what charges may be assessed and correct the issues prior to final turn in.
Sometimes-for whatever reason-service is due and the lessee hasn't had the work performed(even though it is free). In those cases I run the car through service and get the maintenance record up to date before "grounding" the car. That saves the lessee $750.

dino001

I like the consistency of these criteria, makes it predictable. What about paint scratches?

roadburner

dino001 said:

I like the consistency of these criteria, makes it predictable. What about paint scratches?

Same criteria as dings. If I think it can be buffed out I usually let it slide- as long as the car isn't totally covered with them.
Today I learned Mercedes has gone to third part inspections at all their US dealers and my GM expects BMW NA to follow suit sooner than later.

graphicguy

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

Can't do the link, but here's my post from July 25 in CCBA.....

graphicguy said:

Q...I'm going to shop my Cobra a little. What's the number?

'98 Mustang Cobra Convertible-2 owner
-32K miles
-5-speed manual trans
-A/C, Cruise, Power Top, Leather, CD (Ford Mach Stereo), Cassette, AM/FM, dual airbags, PW/PL, power trunk
-Air blows cold, windows and top go up and down, no seat tears, top doesn't leak
-All original and all stock
-no runs, no rips, no errors
-Paint is shiny, a few chips but nothing that would even remotely require a respray

It's all there, and it all works!

Oh, so it wasn't us after all.

Don't know what your buddies over in CCBA told you about what you should get for your Cobra but if you asked that question in here the experts would have told you that if you took anything less than $16K for it you would have run into a pretty good grinder.

jmonroe

J....there isn't much in the way of book value. The big guys (black book, etc) didn't have a listing for it. I think one of them pegged retail at $12K. EBay had one at $15K, but it was modded. Talked to a couple of GMs (BMW and Acura) for them to give me a number. They were both at $13k-$13.5K ask on their lot. But, they have the means to offer financing, and they both have a policy of putting a warranty on their used cars. While I wouldn't have hesitated to drive the Cobra anywhere, I wouldn't want to offer a warranty on a 20 year old car....especially a muscle car.

If you want to buy it for $15K cash, I'll buy it back from the new owner for $13K, and sell it to you for $15K. Everybody wins.;)

You shouldn't have told me that but now that I know what is going on I'll give you $9,500 for it but only if you flat bed it to the Burgh. Ok, maybe not all the way, I'll meet you at the border.

jmonroe

J....in all honesty, I wouldn't have sold the Cobra to you for $15K. I think that would have taken advantage of our long term friendship. That's worth more than a few bucks to me.

Could I have shopped it more? Advertised it some? Expanded the market area (like putting it on eBay Motors?. Yeah....maybe I would have eeked a few more bucks out of it. I made a deal I was happy with. The $12.5K I got was probably all the money. As I told the buyer, "it won't go down in value if you keep the mileage reasonable." So, he got a reasonable deal on it, too. He won't have to put a nickel into it...even the oil looked new.

fintail

The MB salespeople here have told me they use a "credit card rule" (a scratch that fits under a credit card, etc) about damage, although I don't know how many credit cards can be used in total. I've leased 2 MBs prior to my current car, and being as meticulous as I am about my cars, they didn't even bother mentioning an inspection when I turned the cars in. I think they forgive small damage for repeat customers, too. My first one had a cracked (but operational) LED DRL from a rock on a negligently maintained road (where I also got a paint chip that I repaired), maybe a $500 repair, never even mentioned.

roadburner said:

dino001 said:

I like the consistency of these criteria, makes it predictable. What about paint scratches?

Same criteria as dings. If I think it can be buffed out I usually let it slide- as long as the car isn't totally covered with them.
Today I learned Mercedes has gone to third part inspections at all their US dealers and my GM expects BMW NA to follow suit sooner than later.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

fintail said:

Funny, the dent in my uncle's LeSabre was very similar, but on the driver's side.

oldfarmer50 said:

Son's LaSabre wasn't that rusted (for a NY car) but it had been banged up pretty good and was making expensive sounding noises.



Funny that your relative transitioned into a Taurus. My son went to a Sable (in the background).

Must be some kind of design flaw

In my son's case he loaned the car to a friend who rear ended someone. So I guess you could say it was from a loose nut behind the wheel.

houdini1

pensfan83 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

How else are they going to nick you for excessive wear?

This is my first lease and I assumed it was done by the dealer. With the exception of one wheel with a few scuffs on the rim I'm not concerned about excessive wear. The exterior imperfections I'm aware of all fit within the guidelines they detailed and the new tires installed earlier this year with ~3,000 miles on them.

@Michaell - The company is SGS, I would assume VW would use the same one as Audi.

Get ready to bend over ! About 20 years ago we had a lease thru a bank because it was cheaper. They got us back on the turn in inspection. Guy comes out with a camera that could take such closeups it looked like pics made thru a microscope. The tiniest blemish looked like a canyon in the pics. Got an extra $400. out of me.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

The Sales Manager and I are pushing for our center to turn lease inspections over to a third party. When people come in with a lease return and it is over mileage and/or the tires are the wrong type/worn out the lessee tries to get us to pay the penalties as a part of a new lease or purchase. Or else they blame us when all we are doing is complying with BMW's leasing contract. Using a third party would take us out of the line of fire to a significant degree.

I'm sure that's why most stores do it.

Your store doesn't care if the car was tracked? How about driven to work on railroad tracks. Or beaten like a rental car? At some point you must care about how hard use will impact the next owner. Or do you just send everythg to to the auction?

driver100

graphicguy said:

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

jmonroe said:

graphicguy said:

Can't do the link, but here's my post from July 25 in CCBA.....

graphicguy said:

Q...I'm going to shop my Cobra a little. What's the number?

'98 Mustang Cobra Convertible-2 owner
-32K miles
-5-speed manual trans
-A/C, Cruise, Power Top, Leather, CD (Ford Mach Stereo), Cassette, AM/FM, dual airbags, PW/PL, power trunk
-Air blows cold, windows and top go up and down, no seat tears, top doesn't leak
-All original and all stock
-no runs, no rips, no errors
-Paint is shiny, a few chips but nothing that would even remotely require a respray

It's all there, and it all works!

Oh, so it wasn't us after all.

Don't know what your buddies over in CCBA told you about what you should get for your Cobra but if you asked that question in here the experts would have told you that if you took anything less than $16K for it you would have run into a pretty good grinder.

jmonroe

J....there isn't much in the way of book value. The big guys (black book, etc) didn't have a listing for it. I think one of them pegged retail at $12K. EBay had one at $15K, but it was modded. Talked to a couple of GMs (BMW and Acura) for them to give me a number. They were both at $13k-$13.5K ask on their lot. But, they have the means to offer financing, and they both have a policy of putting a warranty on their used cars. While I wouldn't have hesitated to drive the Cobra anywhere, I wouldn't want to offer a warranty on a 20 year old car....especially a muscle car.

If you want to buy it for $15K cash, I'll buy it back from the new owner for $13K, and sell it to you for $15K. Everybody wins.;)

You shouldn't have told me that but now that I know what is going on I'll give you $9,500 for it but only if you flat bed it to the Burgh. Ok, maybe not all the way, I'll meet you at the border.

jmonroe

J....in all honesty, I wouldn't have sold the Cobra to you for $15K. I think that would have taken advantage of our long term friendship. That's worth more than a few bucks to me.

Yeh JMonroe, for you only $14990!

driver100

Hard to believe it is worth doing a 3rd party lease inspection. Somebody is paying for that, and I doubt it is the dealer. So now we have, DOC fees, etching, pinstriping, mop n glo and lease inspection charges. These charges will be hidden, but, if a dealer was really honest they should be doable by dealer employees - for no charge. Maybe the dealer believes by using a 3rd party, even though it will cost more, they will more than make up for it as now the 3rd party can get nasty and tack on extra charges - and the dealer is an innocent party.

oldfarmer50

Ok, just out of left field, when did the respective car companies fix the following problems on otherwise good engines. I include my impression but feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.

GM Northstar head gasket ----last half of 2004 but for sure in 2005.

Chrysler 2.7L sludgeing ------2006

Ford 4.6L timing chain/tensioner rattle------2004

Honda 3.0L sludgeing--------2005?

GM 3.8L intake manifold gaskets------around 2005-06 with the series III

Looking for some wisdom of the crowd.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ffxNYJl34Ss

tbirdmarco

https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2017/08/09/five-alarm-fire-causes-extensive-damage-at-country-classic-cars/?refer=news

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

Ok, just out of left field, when did the respective car companies fix the following problems on otherwise good engines. I include my impression but feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.
GM 3.8L intake manifold gaskets------around 2005-06 with the series III

These were fixed by 2000--that is the upper intake problems with seals. These were the seals around the coolant tubes that went to the intake area to warm the incoming air which flowed around the EGR gas tube sticking up out of the metal lower intake manifold. They actually were just routine maintenance items as some of the foreign brands would have claimed. LOL

The Lower intake manifold gaskets sometimes would seep and lose coolant at around 125K mi. where they were mated to the heads.
But the fix was relatively inexpensive--routine maintenance--IF it occurred helped.
Changing antifreeze, DexCool, about every 2 years was the key AND not contaminating it with any of the old style green coolants which might cause coagulation.

The Series III had an aluminum upper intake manifold instead of the ABS plastic/nylon manifold used from Series I through Series II.

The 2003 had a sturdier transmission in re the 4th gear connection drum IIRC. Most normal drivers would never abuse the trannie to know the difference. But some Bonneville owners found they could abuse one to where it lost its ability to lockup to 4th gear.

qbrozen

C&D has a somewhat interesting collection of data this month. They calculated how many recalls per vehicle on average for each manufacturer. A few cherrypicked data points by me: Honda 5:1, FCA 3.8:1, Tesla 0.8:1, Mazda is over 6:1. I don't have it in front of me, but GM was even better than FCA. Sure, it could be interpreted in many ways, as can all such data. But if I were FCA, I'd be touting how we have 25% fewer recalls than Honda.

stickguy

They charge you $350-400 turn in charge. That should cover a lot of normal detailing of wear and tear.

Michaell

stickguy said:

They charge you $350-400 turn in charge. That should cover a lot of normal detailing of wear and tear.

If you don't enter into a lease or purchase agreement with the same make, that's true.

stickguy

yeah, it would be a lot cheaper for me to re-up with another Hyundai before the end of the year. But I really don't think there is one that I want to get in bed with for another 3 years. so will likely just eat the fee and move on.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Your store doesn't care if the car was tracked? How about driven to work on railroad tracks. Or beaten like a rental car? At some point you must care about how hard use will impact the next owner. Or do you just send everythg to to the auction?

I use an iPad linked to BMWFS; it has a checklist that I go by. I'd suspect constant use for short trips where the oil never reaches operating temperature does far more harm to a BMW than track use. In 29 years of tracking BMWs-ranging from an E3 Bavaria to an E24 M6 to my E36/5 Club Sport-I have never had a track related mechanical failure. Just another reason I'm a bit reluctant to leave the BMW fold. Their cars can take it.

roadburner

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

They charge you $350-400 turn in charge. That should cover a lot of normal detailing of wear and tear.

If you don't enter into a lease or purchase agreement with the same make, that's true.

BMW has a $350 disposition fee that is waived/refunded if you buy or lease another BMW within six months from the lease turn in date. What no one seems to realize is that the BMW Center sees none of the money assessed in the inspection- including the dispo fee. It is all collected by BMWFS.
Third party inspections prevent the "Yes, I am a compete and total dumb*ss who paid $1,200 to buy the wrong tires for my car so I want another $1,200 off the price." situation.

Mr_Shiftright

roadburner said:

We have a clear plastic sheet with concentric circles on it, damage inside the smallest circle(2") is no charge; between 2" and 4" is a "small ding", over 4" is a "large ding." Curbed wheels are okay as long as they aren't obviously bent or missing chunks of metal. If I think that there might be hidden damage I send it to a third party to get us off any potential hooks. For whatever reason all of our i3 lease returns are automatically sent to a third party.
We offer a pre-inspection so people can see what charges may be assessed and correct the issues prior to final turn in.
Sometimes-for whatever reason-service is due and the lessee hasn't had the work performed(even though it is free). In those cases I run the car through service and get the maintenance record up to date before "grounding" the car. That saves the lessee $750.

The disk is called a "Ding-o-Meter". I think BMWFS will give you one.

stickguy

I got a lease end kit in the mail recently for my car. It included a little gizmo like that, and a chart explaining in detail what is covered, and how much they will charge for specific items. I can also stop at the dealer in advance for a once over if I want to. Nothing I would fix anyway, but could sway the decision about whether to get a replacement from them.

Michaell

stickguy said:

I got a lease end kit in the mail recently for my car. It included a little gizmo like that, and a chart explaining in detail what is covered, and how much they will charge for specific items. I can also stop at the dealer in advance for a once over if I want to. Nothing I would fix anyway, but could sway the decision about whether to get a replacement from them.

I got a similar kit from HMF last year, just before I traded out the E-GT for the Jetta.

oldfarmer50

I saw a MB yesterday that looked very similar to this:



Is this a custom paint job or can you get it from the factory? It was drawing some attention on the street (it was parked).

pensfan83

Ye

stickguy said:

I got a lease end kit in the mail recently for my car. It included a little gizmo like that, and a chart explaining in detail what is covered, and how much they will charge for specific items. I can also stop at the dealer in advance for a once over if I want to. Nothing I would fix anyway, but could sway the decision about whether to get a replacement from them.

Audi did the same thing. EDIT: Please excuse the dog hair that is literally everywhere lately. The vacuum cleaner may as well double as a coat rack.

oldfarmer50

pensfan83 said:

Ye

stickguy said:

I got a lease end kit in the mail recently for my car. It included a little gizmo like that, and a chart explaining in detail what is covered, and how much they will charge for specific items. I can also stop at the dealer in advance for a once over if I want to. Nothing I would fix anyway, but could sway the decision about whether to get a replacement from them.

Audi did the same thing. EDIT: Please excuse the dog hair that is literally everywhere lately. The vacuum cleaner may as well double as a coat rack.

I wonder, would they ding you for excessive dog hair?

stickguy

I assume that MB is wearing a vinyl wrap job.

fintail

Yep gotta be a wrap - definitely not factory, and I assume an actual paint job like that would cost a fortune if done to even modest quality.

graphicguy

fintail said:

Yep gotta be a wrap - definitely not factory, and I assume an actual paint job like that would cost a fortune if done to even modest quality.

Agree....!

One more thing, why do something so ugly to a nice car?

28firefighter

graphicguy said:

Yep gotta be a wrap - definitely not factory, and I assume an actual paint job like that would cost a fortune if done to even modest quality.

Agree....! One more thing, why do something so ugly to a nice car?

Business write-off?

stickguy

Bad taste is not confined to poor people.

qbrozen

When invading Canada in the winter, why not do it in style?

fintail

Bad taste seems just as prevalent among affluent people, maybe even more so, as they have the funds to indulge their impulses. Many expensive cars can be kind of tacky, even without a wrap.

Some cars attract an element, how should I say it..."dbags". I could throw in a long list of stereotypical traits, but I will refrain - for now

roadburner

Some of you might recall how I learned that the drones at the IRS can't read a 1099Q from my 2015 return:

It looks like I'm going to have to fight with the IRS- and it's their mistake. I received a letter stating that the 1099-Q form from my financial institution showed that it had disbursed $wxyz more dollars than I had reported. I pulled the 1099-Q and it had a column for the cost basis, a column for earnings(which were $wxyz), and a column for the gross distribution(which is simply the basis plus the earnings). I had reported the gross distribution, but some drone at the IRS apparently thinks I should have reported the earnings as well- even though they are clearly included in the gross distribution. GRRRRR....

My accountant wrote the idjits a letter and they relented. Well, yesterday I get another letter from the IRS. Same issue- this time for my 2015 return. Morons. The 1099Q is from American Funds and it could not be more simple to understand.
And then the imbeciles plead for more IRS funding. How about first teaching your current employees to read?

jmonroe

imidazol97 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Ok, just out of left field, when did the respective car companies fix the following problems on otherwise good engines. I include my impression but feel free to tell me why I'm wrong.
GM 3.8L intake manifold gaskets------around 2005-06 with the series III

These were fixed by 2000--that is the upper intake problems with seals. These were the seals around the coolant tubes that went to the intake area to warm the incoming air which flowed around the EGR gas tube sticking up out of the metal lower intake manifold. They actually were just routine maintenance items as some of the foreign brands would have claimed. LOL

The Lower intake manifold gaskets sometimes would seep and lose coolant at around 125K mi. where they were mated to the heads.
But the fix was relatively inexpensive--routine maintenance--IF it occurred helped.
Changing antifreeze, DexCool, about every 2 years was the key AND not contaminating it with any of the old style green coolants which might cause coagulation.

The Series III had an aluminum upper intake manifold instead of the ABS plastic/nylon manifold used from Series I through Series II.

The 2003 had a sturdier transmission in re the 4th gear connection drum IIRC. Most normal drivers would never abuse the trannie to know the difference. But some Bonneville owners found they could abuse one to where it lost its ability to lockup to 4th gear.

My '95 Bonneville had the plastic intake manifold problem with less than 50K miles on it. That and the paint shedding problem on that beast soon after that in addition to my '95 Monte Carlo intake manifold problem with less than 60K miles on it, turned off a lifelong GM customer.

The good part of the Bonneville repair is that it cost me only $400 dollars in 2002 with an indy shop.

In 2005 when the Monte Carlo had it's intake manifold problem the repair was going to cost me at least $1100 (same indy shop so I don't know why the price jumped like that), so I donated that car to Goodwill, who in turn sold it for $750. I know that because they sent me a statement so that I could claim $750 as a donation.

jmonroe

jmonroe

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

They charge you $350-400 turn in charge. That should cover a lot of normal detailing of wear and tear.

If you don't enter into a lease or purchase agreement with the same make, that's true.

I'm not a leaser, just never saw where it would benefit me but I'm not knocking it either.

The way I look at the "turn in fee" or what ever a dealer calls it, that fee has to be calculated into the overall lease cost, so that if you decide to lease from another brand you know what the real lease cost is. If you do this on a per monthly cost, the fee is not that much. From what I see here, it is less than $12 a month for a 3 year lease but it should be accounted for when leasing.

This "lease fee waiver" thing sounds like a tire tread wear warranty. Most owners never get the stated tread wear but if you buy replacement tires from that shop they are prorated. That seems to suck in a lot of people, me included, but I'm not so sure I will bite on the prorated thing again.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

One more thing, why do something so ugly to a nice car?

graphicguy said:

fintail said:

Yep gotta be a wrap - definitely not factory, and I assume an actual paint job like that would cost a fortune if done to even modest quality.

Agree....!

One more thing, why do something so ugly to a nice car?

Well it was an AMG so.....

Speaking of ugly things. I noticed a small paint bubble on the leading edge of my Mustang the other day and in researching this I find that it's been a known defect in Aluminium hoods for years. Disappointing to see that on a car with 9700 miles.

Talked to the dealer and his body guy was familiar with the issue and said they've repainted a ton of hoods. Shouldn't be a problem as it's under warranty. Taking it in on Monday.

I didn't even know my car had Aluminium hood and fenders.

Any other Ford owners experience this and is it likely to reoccur? I always thought Aluminium was tough to properly paint. Is this a big deal?

Here's a picture. The blemish is those sparkly dots just above the light reflection.