Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

Often they have to shut down lines temporarily to make fixes elsewhere. Could be that. Just be glad it's mostly up.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Good citizen. Most people these days wouldn't get involved which is why that kind of stuff happens. You would think if your maneuvers caused one hit you wouldn't keep hitting the other car unless you thought you'd get away with it.

What went through my mind was how would I like it if I came out and found my car had been dinged in a few different places all along the side? I thought of the aggravation....trying to find out if anyone knew what happened, if anyone reported it, and then paying a deductible, having my car tied up, etc. while the guilty and incompetent driver is a free turkey.

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

ISS-ah-qwah. That's a native American word for "it's raining" (no, I just made that up). You can also say IS-eh-qwa and get away with it.

You beat me to the punch and did a good job too! How did you know?

venture

explorerx4 said:

Is the driver a Miami Hurricanes fan? The hair style suggests it. The 'U'.

Ha! I didn't notice that.

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

ISS-ah-qwah. That's a native American word for "it's raining" (no, I just made that up). You can also say IS-eh-qwa and get away with it.

You beat me to the punch and did a good job too! How did you know?

28firefighter said:

isellhondas said:

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

I should have moved to Seattle when I thought about it in the late 80s, when there were lots of good jobs popping up, but still cheap houses.

Definitely should have. Wife and I are house hunting right now for a bigger place in the suburbs (we live in Seattle proper right now) and the cost is astounding. That said, our current house has appreciated almost 40 percent in the 3.5 years we have owned it, so it isn't all bad...

We're in Issaquah and hardly does a day go by without a random call from some RE agent that says they have a cash buyer. A neighbor was told " Name your price" and he did! They were planning a move to Spokane in a few months but he picked a number that he thought was 200,000 more than it was worth! Two days later the house was sold for his price! NUTS!

When we were looking at suburbs to move to, Issaquah was pretty high up on the list. However, we've decided to look in the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park area because it is better for my wife's commute and it is much closer to our friends and family. It also happens to be a bit more affordable compared to Issaquah.

Our son bought a small affordable house in Marysville a couple of years ago. He really likes the area. You might want to check that out too.

venture

driver100 said:

It's deja vu all over again.

I'm staying away from that. I got beat up enough.

gmanusmc

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Great job - wish someone like you had been around last month when someone hit my wife's car and left the scene after causing nearly $4k in damage. To add insult to injury, because they consider it collision, we were on the hook for the deductible.

Kudos to you!

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1B2VFckuues

andres3

gmanusmc said:

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Great job - wish someone like you had been around last month when someone hit my wife's car and left the scene after causing nearly $4k in damage. To add insult to injury, because they consider it collision, we were on the hook for the deductible.

Kudos to you!

Sort of like how Insurance companies assume someone is insured unless you can PROVE they were uninsured.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Good citizen. Most people these days wouldn't get involved which is why that kind of stuff happens. You would think if your maneuvers caused one hit you wouldn't keep hitting the other car unless you thought you'd get away with it.

What went through my mind was how would I like it if I came out and found my car had been dinged in a few different places all along the side? I thought of the aggravation....trying to find out if anyone knew what happened, if anyone reported it, and then paying a deductible, having my car tied up, etc. while the guilty and incompetent driver is a free turkey.

You said you forgot to give a contact number. That would be a great scam for the hitter. Put a note on the windshield with someone else's plate number but no other info. The cops would be rousting some little old lady across town while any witnesses would assume the hitter was doing the right thing.

driver100

gmanusmc said:

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Great job - wish someone like you had been around last month when someone hit my wife's car and left the scene after causing nearly $4k in damage. To add insult to injury, because they consider it collision, we were on the hook for the deductible.

Kudos to you!

Sorry gmanusme (talk about needing pronounciation) about your car....and $4k damage! That must be a DUI accident, hard for a sane normal person to a) do that much damage and b) drive off. It is really unfortunate you had to pay the deductable....when it wasn't your fault.
I actually only knew he hit the other car because it was suspicious that he went back and forth so many times and he was caught on the curb, and I could see the car he hit bouncing and moving.

You may not have been here at the time but I was badly hit...a rear ender just over a year ago, and 3 witnesses came over to my wife and I and gave us their names and phone numbers if we needed them as witnesses. Some people offered their homes if we needed a phone, water or bathroom. One good thing about the accident was I was amazed at how nice some people can be....another thing was having full replacement value insurance!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Yesterday evening, as we were driving out of a restaurant parking lot, we saw a car that was trying to go forward into the end parking spot. He caught his wheels on the cement curb at the end of the parking spaces....he went forward and back a few times. He hit the car next to him a few times. I pulled over to watch what he would do next. He parked in another space, walked past the hit car, and entered the building.

We drove by the two cars, got the license number and the brand of cars. We left a note on the hit car, but a few blocks away I realized I didn't leave a phone number in case they needed me as a witness.

I called the restaurant and gave them the information, and I wrote to the city police department and gave them the information.

I wonder if he reported it.....it shows how easy it is for something to happen.

Good citizen. Most people these days wouldn't get involved which is why that kind of stuff happens. You would think if your maneuvers caused one hit you wouldn't keep hitting the other car unless you thought you'd get away with it.

What went through my mind was how would I like it if I came out and found my car had been dinged in a few different places all along the side? I thought of the aggravation....trying to find out if anyone knew what happened, if anyone reported it, and then paying a deductible, having my car tied up, etc. while the guilty and incompetent driver is a free turkey.

You said you forgot to give a contact number. That would be a great scam for the hitter. Put a note on the windshield with someone else's plate number but no other info. The cops would be rousting some little old lady across town while any witnesses would assume the hitter was doing the right thing.

People have actually left notes....with nothing on the note, or SORRY! One friend was hit and there was a note on the windshield, and nothing written on it. I had heard about that so even if I did see a note, I would have double checked it.....my level of trust is very high...until, someone gives me a reason not to trust. I didn't trust this guy one bit. 95% of people are pretty trustworthy, that is what makes civilization work, it is the 5% with no conscience who are the problem...and 5% of the population is a lot of people!

oldfarmer50

Wonder if this is the first flood car? Although it looks like a total from before the storm.



https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/cto/d/2005-mercury-grand-marquis/6286261021.html

oldfarmer50

Did not see this coming but I guess if there's a buck to be made...



https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/cto/d/no-flood-or-storm-damage2006/6304898051.html

fintail

Seattle to Marysville commute, good if you have a helicopter

But it can still be relatively affordable, as even Everett is getting a bit out there now.

isellhondas said:

Our son bought a small affordable house in Marysville a couple of years ago. He really likes the area. You might want to check that out too.

Mr_Shiftright

isellhondas said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

ISS-ah-qwah. That's a native American word for "it's raining" (no, I just made that up). You can also say IS-eh-qwa and get away with it.

You beat me to the punch and did a good job too! How did you know?

Oh we used to have an old ferryboat in Sausalito named Issaquah. I had an office in the old pilot house. Parts of the boat are still there.

fordfool

I learned to drive on a standard shift in the parking lot of DeLaval Separator. (@OldFarmer50 should recognize that name). The empty lot allowed me to concentrate on the pedals and less on the steering. If you took your driving test on an automatic back in the day (1959) your license would be stamped “restricted to automatic.”

Picked up my brother from Driver Education on a summer day. Asked him if he wanted to drive home. He sure did. Asked him if he was learning on a standard shift. “Yes,” he replied. I figured he could handle the “four-on-the-floor,” but he seemed confused by the extra floor pedal. So I asked him what kind of shift was he learning on. He replied, “Oh you know, Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Low.” End of lesson!

School Bus Driver Shortage
http://buffalonews.com/2017/09/02/help-wanted-school-bus-drivers-weekends-holidays-off/

berri

Dino do you live near Brandon? Have you tried the Chicago hot dog and Italian beef Portillo's there?

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Wonder if this is the first flood car? Although it looks like a total from before the storm.



https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/cto/d/2005-mercury-grand-marquis/6286261021.html

I wonder how he got that damage on the side........I can't imagine how that happened. What is with the white tape by the dent in one picture?

Mr_Shiftright

I've seen damage like that from a flatbed truck.

driver100

fordfool said:

I learned to drive on a standard shift in the parking lot

School Bus Driver Shortage
http://buffalonews.com/2017/09/02/help-wanted-school-bus-drivers-weekends-holidays-off/

I learned how to do the shifting pattern by using a toilet plunger. I sat in a hardback chair, I stuck the plunger down onto the floor, I moved my feet one down on the clutch, slowly up on the gas, then slowly let up clutch - down on the gas, and I shifted the gears (plunger). I invented the first car simulator ever built

ab348

Thanks to Edmunds for the $5 Amazon gift card after I took their survey.

I presume I can't fill it out multiple times for multiple cards?

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

I've seen damage like that from a flatbed truck.

How would it happen like that?
Actually it is kind of a nice line.......has a crease like a Prius.

If you could match it on the other side.

oldfarmer50

fordfool said:

I learned to drive on a standard shift in the parking lot of DeLaval Separator. (@OldFarmer50 should recognize that name). The empty lot allowed me to concentrate on the pedals and less on the steering. If you took your driving test on an automatic back in the day (1959) your license would be stamped “restricted to automatic.”

Picked up my brother from Driver Education on a summer day. Asked him if he wanted to drive home. He sure did. Asked him if he was learning on a standard shift. “Yes,” he replied. I figured he could handle the “four-on-the-floor,” but he seemed confused by the extra floor pedal. So I asked him what kind of shift was he learning on. He replied, “Oh you know, Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive, Low.” End of lesson!

School Bus Driver Shortage
http://buffalonews.com/2017/09/02/help-wanted-school-bus-drivers-weekends-holidays-off/

I never has much use for DeLaval products because I was never foolish enough to run a dairy farm.

As to the bus driver article, I almost had to laugh when they mentioned how the job was full of stress, responsibility and drug testing while paying less than McDonalds but they wern't quite sure why there was a shortage of drivers.

Our place also threw in that you could get sued personally and lose your home if you ever had an accident. Pretty much a lie but it showed how ready they were to toss you under the bus so to speak.

Not a bad part time job...but a lousey full time one.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Wonder if this is the first flood car? Although it looks like a total from before the storm.



https://fortmyers.craigslist.org/chl/cto/d/2005-mercury-grand-marquis/6286261021.html

I wonder how he got that damage on the side........I can't imagine how that happened. What is with the white tape by the dent in one picture?

I think that's a camo wrap over origonal white paint but at first I thought it was mud.

roadburner

Well, last weekend we got our son completely moved in to his apartment in Charlotte NC. He drove up to KY and we loaded up his car and a rental RAM 2500 cargo van and drove down late Friday. Saturday we unloaded things and then drove back home later that day. It would have been more of a fun drive in my ti or 2er but the RAM wasn't all that taxing to drive.
The kid he's sharing the apartment with bought a 4K LED TV so my son wanted to buy a soundbar. I steered him to a Klipsch RSB-11 and of course also had the honor of mounting it on the wall and setting it up.I felt kind of stupid because I had to get up to speed on how HDMI ARC worked but aside from that it was an easy install. He did call later and tell me that when streaming Netflix the soundbar didn't work, but luckily it just took a couple of changes in the settings to get things working.

abacomike

berri said:

Dino do you live near Brandon? Have you tried the Chicago hot dog and Italian beef Portillo's there?

I loved Portillo's when I lived in Chicago.  Great eats - Italian beef on Italian bread was my favorite. I can taste it now!!! 

stickguy

I had a small Ram UHaul a last year. It was OK. The Ford Transit I got last month, now that one drove really nice. Would not mind taking one of those on a long trip if needed.

Congrats RB on getting him through. Our daughter is a senior now, so almost there. She accepted a job coming out of her internship, so will be working in Delaware starting after graduation. She might stay home for a while, if we don't move first, but really was not fond of the hour commute so might go right into an apartment with some other girls she met this summer. At least that way, I will be able to clean out some of the extra stuff in the house, since we can easily outfit an apartment. if not two

berri

Aba - one of my buddies got me from the Portillo's Beef to the Combo (beef and Italian sausage) sandwich. Combine that with one of their malts -mmmm Good chocolate cake too if you really want to pig out!

berri

Stick - it is always a great feeling when they graduate from college, get a job and get off the payroll. Seriously though, it gives you some pride inside and makes their transition to full adulthood easier on the parents.

28firefighter

@isellhondas If we were both telecommuting, then somewhere further out could work. Unfortunately my wife needs to be in downtown Seattle every day for work. Her limit for a rush hour commute is 30-40 minutes which puts us looking at Shoreline or LFP. 

murphydog

28firefighter said:

@isellhondas If we were both telecommuting, then somewhere further out could work. Unfortunately my wife needs to be in downtown Seattle every day for work. Her limit for a rush hour commute is 30-40 minutes which puts us looking at Shoreline or LFP. 

I hear you on that! We live in Ravenna - maybe 1 mile north of the UW. My wife works down near Century Link - less than 6 miles each way. With all the increased traffic in and around South Lake Union (Amazon) her drive home is 35-45 minutes, heck just getting to and on I-5 north can take 15 minutes.

I van pool to work, 12 miles each way across 520. As long as the carpool lanes are clear it is 25-30 minutes. Driving solo adds another 20 minutes. Worst ever was a drive home that took over 2 hours....

That said I don't think I could afford to buy my home today, it would be pretty tight.

28firefighter

murphydog said:

@isellhondas If we were both telecommuting, then somewhere further out could work. Unfortunately my wife needs to be in downtown Seattle every day for work. Her limit for a rush hour commute is 30-40 minutes which puts us looking at Shoreline or LFP. 

I hear you on that! We live in Ravenna - maybe 1 mile north of the UW. My wife works down near Century Link - less than 6 miles each way. With all the increased traffic in and around South Lake Union (Amazon) her drive home is 35-45 minutes, heck just getting to and on I-5 north can take 15 minutes. I van pool to work, 12 miles each way across 520. As long as the carpool lanes are clear it is 25-30 minutes. Driving solo adds another 20 minutes. Worst ever was a drive home that took over 2 hours.... That said I don't think I could afford to buy my home today, it would be pretty tight.

We would love to buy in Ravenna/Wedgewood/Maple Leaf but even fixers are selling north of $800k now and that would require another $100k-$200k to get it in livable shape - assuming you can even get a contractor to do the work. 

Shoreline and LFP seem offer the right balance of price, space and commute for us. Though I do keep a close watch on NE Seattle. 

tjc78

What are the property taxes there on an 800k house? 

driver100

You could buy a pretty nice home for about $300k in the Tampa area....just an occasional hurricane once in awhile.

ab348

driver100 said:

You could buy a pretty nice home for about $300k in the Tampa area....just an occasional hurricane once in awhile.

Have to balance that against the PNW volcano eruptions and the risk of an earthquake causing the entire coastline to tumble into the sea.

stickguy

All these natural disaster issues make moving back up to Saratoga area look notcso bad. Just some NYS tax and government nonsense to deal with, and some snow, but not excessive amounts of that or cold. But no hurricanes, floods, tornados or earthquakes to worry about!

dino001

berri said:

Dino do you live near Brandon? Have you tried the Chicago hot dog and Italian beef Portillo's there?

Yes, I do. I don't go eat out much near my house, so no I didn't try those.

fintail

Back in 1999, my great-grandmother, at the age of 99, decided it was time to move out of her English bungalow style house near the north end of Green Lake, as the stairs were getting to be risky for her (the houses on her street were raised a little, one had to go up several steps to the front door, and it had a basement). My great-grandparents had bought the house around 1950, as their empty-nest house with my grandpa having his own young family. I don't think they paid more than 10K or so for it. A small house, but on a decent lot with a detached Model T garage. It sold for shy of 300K, which we thought was pretty good given that it had barely been touched in ~50 years, and needed some heavy updates, including plumbing - but it had lots of charm with tile work, french doors, built-ins, etc. Today the zestimate is well over 3x the sales price 18 years ago - and the market was considered hot then too, at the end of the 90s tech bubble.

I was 22 in 1999, still a student, and couldn't have came close to that mortgage even if I did it like so many I know, and had the bank of mommy and daddy to put up some funds. My sister and cousin had a then-crazy idea that the house should stay in the family, and they would rent it. I kind of wish they had. I don't know how people fresh to the market here do it, some of them must be stretched insanely thin by the costs, and if the market ever lost the wacky tax deduction subsidy, I don't know how people would react.

28firefighter said:

We would love to buy in Ravenna/Wedgewood/Maple Leaf but even fixers are selling north of $800k now and that would require another $100k-$200k to get it in livable shape - assuming you can even get a contractor to do the work. 

Shoreline and LFP seem offer the right balance of price, space and commute for us. Though I do keep a close watch on NE Seattle. 

fintail

Property tax rates are relatively low here, but offset by huge prices (and myriad other taxes):

https://smartasset.com/taxes/washington-property-tax-calculator#PS7EKDYEGN

tjc78 said:

What are the property taxes there on an 800k house? 

stickguy

I happened to look at my mortgage statement yesterday. My escrow payment is about $300 more per month than P&I. Even if I paid the loan off tomorrow, I would hardly notice.

Which is why I can't wait to move out of NJ. I could buy the same price house, take out same mortgage, and payment would drop $500-$750/month depending on which area I end up in. IOW, I could get a really nice car instead.

28firefighter

Seattle taxes are about 0.8% of assessed value. Suburbs anywhere from 1.1-1.4% of assessed value. 

driver100

Saw an ad on TV for one of these, Range Rover Velar. What a great improvement...and the door handles slide in and out like DVD drawers;

berri

One of the strongest potential earthquakes is actually the New Madrid Fault located somewhere between Memphis and St. Louis. Every place has something. You can't control it all.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

All these natural disaster issues make moving back up to Saratoga area look notcso bad. Just some NYS tax and government nonsense to deal with, and some snow, but not excessive amounts of that or cold. But no hurricanes, floods, tornados or earthquakes to worry about!

Sorry to inform you but the Saratoga area has had all those in the last decade. And it's not the snow, it's the salt that comes with it that will make a car owner cry.

andres3

roadburner said:

Well, last weekend we got our son completely moved in to his apartment in Charlotte NC. He drove up to KY and we loaded up his car and a rental RAM 2500 cargo van and drove down late Friday. Saturday we unloaded things and then drove back home later that day. It would have been more of a fun drive in my ti or 2er but the RAM wasn't all that taxing to drive.
The kid he's sharing the apartment with bought a 4K LED TV so my son wanted to buy a soundbar. I steered him to a Klipsch RSB-11 and of course also had the honor of mounting it on the wall and setting it up.I felt kind of stupid because I had to get up to speed on how HDMI ARC worked but aside from that it was an easy install. He did call later and tell me that when streaming Netflix the soundbar didn't work, but luckily it just took a couple of changes in the settings to get things working.

HDMI ARC??? What does the ARC stand for, and more importantly, what does it do?

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Seattle taxes are about 0.8% of assessed value. Suburbs anywhere from 1.1-1.4% of assessed value. 

You have it easy. In my low taxed suburbs I'm taxed at about 2 and a half percent of assessed value or about 1.25% of actual value. In the nearby crumbling cities the tax rate is up to 7% of actual value.

andres3

fintail said:

Back in 1999, my great-grandmother, at the age of 99, decided it was time to move out of her English bungalow style house near the north end of Green Lake, as the stairs were getting to be risky for her (the houses on her street were raised a little, one had to go up several steps to the front door, and it had a basement). My great-grandparents had bought the house around 1950, as their empty-nest house with my grandpa having his own young family. I don't think they paid more than 10K or so for it. A small house, but on a decent lot with a detached Model T garage. It sold for shy of 300K, which we thought was pretty good given that it had barely been touched in ~50 years, and needed some heavy updates, including plumbing - but it had lots of charm with tile work, french doors, built-ins, etc. Today the zestimate is well over 3x the sales price 18 years ago - and the market was considered hot then too, at the end of the 90s tech bubble.

I was 22 in 1999, still a student, and couldn't have came close to that mortgage even if I did it like so many I know, and had the bank of mommy and daddy to put up some funds. My sister and cousin had a then-crazy idea that the house should stay in the family, and they would rent it. I kind of wish they had. I don't know how people fresh to the market here do it, some of them must be stretched insanely thin by the costs, and if the market ever lost the wacky tax deduction subsidy, I don't know how people would react.

28firefighter said:

We would love to buy in Ravenna/Wedgewood/Maple Leaf but even fixers are selling north of $800k now and that would require another $100k-$200k to get it in livable shape - assuming you can even get a contractor to do the work. 

Shoreline and LFP seem offer the right balance of price, space and commute for us. Though I do keep a close watch on NE Seattle. 

If interest rates go up, or tax deductions are reduced prepare for a housing free-fall.

andres3

Yes, in CA property taxes end up being in the 1.1-1.4% range. Hits you hard, and you definitely notice it when you buy a much more expensive piece of property.

Best thing to do is inherit property that was bought decades ago and just have it put in your name. If you don't have that good fortune, you are out of luck.

ab348

andres3 said:

HDMI ARC??? What does the ARC stand for, and more importantly, what does it do?

Audio Return Channel. It lets things like soundbars connect to the TV with only a HDMI cable. Supposed to simplify situations with multiple sources and remotes.