Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

roadburner

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

Here's my post from just a few days ago - I must be a pathological liar or something:

"...By the way, you disbelievers out there. My BMW 740 just turned 11,000 miles and is 11 months old (new?). Every time I look at some of the cars out there, the more I know I will be staying with the 740i. I don't feel like taking the big depreciation hit like I am used to taking - and for what it's worth - there really isn't anything out there that is "better than" what I now have. It still rides like a new car and handles like a new car. It has all the creature comforts one would want in a car and its safety features are top-notch.

I'm driving up to my brother's for Thanksgiving and my BMW is a great road car. I don't think I've owned a car with 11,000+ miles on it for over 20 years. It's already had one oil and filter change and will be due for another in 6500 miles. My Michelin tires still have lots of tread on them, so tires won't be a problem for quite some time."

When I posted the above, I really had no intention of getting a new car. But when you are thrown an unbelievable deal and you sniff it out, one becomes helpless. I'm a sucker for new cars, what can I say.

Yeah, yeah, they held a gun to your head and you chickened out. You could have at least looked into what your poster buddy @oldfarmer50 would have offered for the 740i. Now tell us the dealership wanted it for themselves and would have pulled the trigger if you went to @oldfarmer50.

jmonroe

They gave me $2500 over book value for my trade and priced the new car at invoice less $1500 for USAA fleet discount.  So the numbers were $3000 better than any of the local dealers.

Congrats!

roadburner

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

Michaell

roadburner said:

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

Were they all white, black or shades of grey or silver?

iluvmysephia1

If I do get enough of a wild hair to drive west 200 miles (I've done it before to go buy a 2016 Scion iA...only Denver was 338 miles away from Dodge City, KS) I hope they'll give me $2,500 over book value for my 2011 Kia Soul. There's a good chance I'm going to go after this car because:

1) $9,999 is an incredible price for a car I
      absolutely love
2) I need ta head West of the Cascades to visit         my older sister in Bothell. I'll take her to Dick's       Drive-In for a Dick's Deluxe, fries and a         chocolate shake in my new-ta-me Scion iA. 

You can shod a 2016 Scion iA in Michelin X-Ice Ie3's just as easily as you can put them on a 2011 Kia Soul.

I'm hearing The Partridge Family singing 'I Think I Love You!'

qbrozen

Congrats, Mike. That is an insanely expensive itch to scratch.

abacomike

qbrozen said:

Congrats, Mike. That is an insanely expensive itch to scratch.

It’s not just the itch - it’s also where it itches! 

abacomike

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Here's my post from just a few days ago - I must be a pathological liar or something: "...By the way, you disbelievers out there. My BMW 740 just turned 11,000 miles and is 11 months old (new?). Every time I look at some of the cars out there, the more I know I will be staying with the 740i. I don't feel like taking the big depreciation hit like I am used to taking - and for what it's worth - there really isn't anything out there that is "better than" what I now have. It still rides like a new car and handles like a new car. It has all the creature comforts one would want in a car and its safety features are top-notch. I'm driving up to my brother's for Thanksgiving and my BMW is a great road car. I don't think I've owned a car with 11,000+ miles on it for over 20 years. It's already had one oil and filter change and will be due for another in 6500 miles. My Michelin tires still have lots of tread on them, so tires won't be a problem for quite some time." When I posted the above, I really had no intention of getting a new car. But when you are thrown an unbelievable deal and you sniff it out, one becomes helpless. I'm a sucker for new cars, what can I say.

Yeah, yeah, they held a gun to your head and you chickened out. You could have at least looked into what your poster buddy @oldfarmer50 would have offered for the 740i. Now tell us the dealership wanted it for themselves and would have pulled the trigger if you went to @oldfarmer50. jmonroe

They gave me $2500 over book value for my trade and priced the new car at invoice less $1500 for USAA fleet discount.  So the numbers were $3000 better than any of the local dealers.

Congrats!

Thanks roadrunner.

abacomike

qbrozen said:

Congrats, Mike. That is an insanely expensive itch to scratch.

Thanks much.

iluvmysephia1

Mike - you give me inspiration that I can do it, too. Only my car will cost about a tenth of yours. How much was your car?

jmonroe

iluvmysephia1 said:

Mike - you give me inspiration that I can do it, too. Only my car will cost about a tenth of yours. How much was your car?

You know what they say about asking?

jmonroe

breld

@abacomike - congrats! That's a beautiful car. And my wife's recently acquired GLC300 is that exact same color and we love it. Enjoy!

Michaell

@abacomike - congrats on the new S-klasse

Were you just trying to keep up with your brother?

I've seen the GLC that @breld owns - I do like the color.

May you have many months of happy ownership.

Be interesting to see if you get 35+ MPG on your drive to Jacksonville in a couple weeks.

28firefighter

Michaell said:

[...] May you have many months of happy ownership [...]

I see what you did there. 

Michaell

28firefighter said:

Michaell said:

[...] May you have many months of happy ownership [...]

I see what you did there. 

I wasn't trying to hide anything .... but, thanks for noticing anyway.

abacomike

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Here's my post from just a few days ago - I must be a pathological liar or something: "...By the way, you disbelievers out there. My BMW 740 just turned 11,000 miles and is 11 months old (new?). Every time I look at some of the cars out there, the more I know I will be staying with the 740i. I don't feel like taking the big depreciation hit like I am used to taking - and for what it's worth - there really isn't anything out there that is "better than" what I now have. It still rides like a new car and handles like a new car. It has all the creature comforts one would want in a car and its safety features are top-notch. I'm driving up to my brother's for Thanksgiving and my BMW is a great road car. I don't think I've owned a car with 11,000+ miles on it for over 20 years. It's already had one oil and filter change and will be due for another in 6500 miles. My Michelin tires still have lots of tread on them, so tires won't be a problem for quite some time." When I posted the above, I really had no intention of getting a new car. But when you are thrown an unbelievable deal and you sniff it out, one becomes helpless. I'm a sucker for new cars, what can I say.

Yeah, yeah, they held a gun to your head and you chickened out. You could have at least looked into what your poster buddy @oldfarmer50 would have offered for the 740i. Now tell us the dealership wanted it for themselves and would have pulled the trigger if you went to @oldfarmer50. jmonroe

They gave me $2500 over book value for my trade and priced the new car at invoice less $1500 for USAA fleet discount.  So the numbers were $3000 better than any of the local dealers.

Congrats!

Thanks roadrunner.

abacomike

Michaell said:

@abacomike - congrats on the new S-klasse Were you just trying to keep up with your brother? I've seen the GLC that @breld owns - I do like the color. May you have many months of happy ownership. Be interesting to see if you get 35+ MPG on your drive to Jacksonville in a couple weeks.

I don’t think my fuel economy on the S Class will be anywhere near what I got on the 740i.  My guess is closer to 30 mpg.

Thanks for the kind thought Michaell.

abacomike

breld said:

@abacomike - congrats! That's a beautiful car. And my wife's recently acquired GLC300 is that exact same color and we love it. Enjoy!

Thanks, breld.  Yes, the color is very rich looking.  My brother’s S Coupe is also Selinite Gray - but he has the light gray interior.  Enjoy your new GLC.

abacomike

iluvmysephia1 said:

Mike - you give me inspiration that I can do it, too. Only my car will cost about a tenth of yours. How much was your car?

$95,000 less the trade.  So they discounted it over $10,000, but $1500 was the fleet discount from USAA.

iluvmysephia1

I'm really out of my league here. $95,000? My latest huntee is a 2016 Scion iA with 13,339 miles on it selling for only $9,999. We are on opposite ends of the spectrum but united by our love of cars.

Enjoy it man!

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I woke up this morning with this horrible "itch"! I could not figure out what was causing it. I drove up to West Palm Beach to test drive the new S450. As soon as I got behind the wheel to drive the car, the "itch" disappeared! It drove beautifully and handled just like I remember Mercedes vehicles handle. I got out of the car to go into the dealership to sit down and talk about options, etc., and that "itch" came back as soon as I stepped out of the car.

I put 2 and 2 together and it came up - "...I have an itch; it goes away when I'm behind the wheel of the S450; when I get out of the car, the itch returns with a vengeance. I need to do something about this!"

The rest is history!

Congrats!

Wait, do you like your coffee black?

tjc78

@abacomike Wow! Absolutely gorgeous.  I love it, that exterior color combined with those wheels is perfect.  

Enjoy it! 

@Michaell
LOL

All... I drink my coffee black ... uh oh

oldfarmer50

iluvmysephia1 said:

2016 Scion iA 6-speed stick

This is the exact car I'm focusing on. I love the color. You get a 7" screen for music and navigation  and a rear-view camera. 13,291 miles and only $9,999. What a deal!

The color is called charcoal. It is like Mike's new car color on his Mercedes-Benz. It really looks good on a Scion iA. I'm going to work Saturday through Monday nights and mine will probably sell. 

But maybe not.

You can't go wrong with a Toyota product. What did that list for new? Seems like a lot of depreciation for one year. (Although I guess officially it's two).

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

Here's my post from just a few days ago - I must be a pathological liar or something:

"...By the way, you disbelievers out there. My BMW 740 just turned 11,000 miles and is 11 months old (new?). Every time I look at some of the cars out there, the more I know I will be staying with the 740i. I don't feel like taking the big depreciation hit like I am used to taking - and for what it's worth - there really isn't anything out there that is "better than" what I now have. It still rides like a new car and handles like a new car. It has all the creature comforts one would want in a car and its safety features are top-notch.

I'm driving up to my brother's for Thanksgiving and my BMW is a great road car. I don't think I've owned a car with 11,000+ miles on it for over 20 years. It's already had one oil and filter change and will be due for another in 6500 miles. My Michelin tires still have lots of tread on them, so tires won't be a problem for quite some time."

When I posted the above, I really had no intention of getting a new car. But when you are thrown an unbelievable deal and you sniff it out, one becomes helpless. I'm a sucker for new cars, what can I say.

Yeah, yeah, they held a gun to your head and you chickened out. You could have at least looked into what your poster buddy @oldfarmer50 would have offered for the 740i. Now tell us the dealership wanted it for themselves and would have pulled the trigger if you went to @oldfarmer50.

jmonroe

Even used the only way I could afford that car is to sell my house. Do like the mileage though.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

And you wanted to be a boring old judge.

oldfarmer50

iluvmysephia1 said:

I'm really out of my league here. $95,000? My latest huntee is a 2016 Scion iA with 13,339 miles on it selling for only $9,999. We are on opposite ends of the spectrum but united by our love of cars.

Enjoy it man!

Don't discount the enjoyment of driving a bargain car. Every time I drive my old hoopties and nothing breaks i feel like a smart wheeler dealer. If i owned a Mike level car I'd be afraid to take it out of the garage lest it get a nick. When I have to drive in crazy traffic I take the $1800 van and dare the idiots to do their worst.

iluvmysephia1

You can't go wrong with a Toyota product. What did that list for new? Seems like a lot of depreciation for one year. (Although I guess officially it's two).

Yeah, these cars came out around the spring of 2016, so we're lookin' at a year and a half is all. This one's miles at 13,291 are so low and you're right, it's a Toyota product. I can have it serviced at Town Toyota in Wenatchee or a mechanic of my choice, nothing incredibly different about it that should make finding a shop difficult.

It's been checked by a Goodyear Auto Center -"All cars passed pre-purchase inspection at Goodyear Auto Center (We do have certified report)." And ya know, I have no reason to suspect that the car wasn't inspected.

The thing that has me excited is the fact that I know this particular Toyota product pretty well since I went nuts over it in about May of 2016 in Kansas and almost bought a new one. The new ones are around $16,000 - so I'd be getting a tad over $6,000 off it's original price in only a year. That's really fast depreciation in one and a half years! I am going to look up anything and everything I can get ahold of online and drive over there Thursday morning to test drive the little charcoal-colored buzz-bomb and see what I think. They are listing it for $10,999 on sale now for $9,999. I want to know if it's been in an accident or flooded out, etc.

But Toyota products can go and go and go - this thing's got such low miles on it. The reason I'm dumping the Subaru Impreza idea is the Michelin X-Ice xi3 tires are beyond awesome in the snow - I'll buy some for the iA. I don't think Discount Tire would be OK with a straight-swap - I'd freak if they allowed that - but I could see if they're a fitment match for the iA or buy some more for the iA and sell these on ebay or Craigslist. I need better ghastly mileage from my one car and these iA's get 31 city 41 highway. Eastern War-shing-ton is so big and wide open - plus I plan on heading west to watch Sonic games once they start listening to all of us about needing the Sonic's back in Seattle.

Plus, you can stream music on this iA's head unit. I can pop in my thumb drive after I load up more albums than I already have on it (about 12 albums so far - more being added every month). Plus, with a hot cable for my Android I am going to tinker with connecting up to YouTube off my Motorola moto g4. I studied this last year and asked some of the guys on the scion ia forum and the opinion was "I don't know if you can do that or not." Here's their ad on the music part plus I didn't know this - the back seat folds down totally flat.

7" TOUCH-SCREEN, SIX-SPEAKER SOUND SYSTEM W/ MUSIC STREAMING, STEERING-WHEEL CONTROLS, VOICE RECOGNITION FOR AUDIO AND PHONE, BLUETOOTH, USB PORT, COMPATIBILITY W/ AHA, PANDORA, AND STITCHER, AND A 60/40 REAR SEAT THAT FOLD FLAT. DEEP TREAD ALL SEASON RADIALS & MUCH MORE










I love those alloy wheels - I could get my grubby little fingers in between there and just polish up a shine on 'em. Umm-huh. I hope the car doesn't sell over the weekend - I'm kind of impressed by the dealer, actually. They are super-ambitious, and I have never been one to get too incredibly *&&*-retentive with a car dealer. If it's a big thing, we're not gonna deal. But a scratch here and there. Nah. I'll deal wid it. Reviews from people give them about 3.8 out of 5. Reviews can teach you a lot about a place - and a lot about the people putting them in. People get pissed off when their ideas get rebuked - you know what I mean. So I take reviews with a grain of salt.

I'd be lookin' at $500 down and financing the car for 5 years not 6. I will probably be retired about then, and this thing will have about 125,000 miles on it then. And still be going strong.

venture

driver100 said:

My friend asked his mechanic about motor mounts going at 59000 miles on a Mercedes. The mechanic doesn't specialize in Mercedes, but what he said may be of interest.

According to my mechanic the Mercedes probably has electronic controlled Motor Mounts. They are filled with a special fluid and depending on the torque force on the Motor Mounts they are programmed to apply less opposition to the torque or more depending on the situation. This will translate into less vibration at the motor and less vibration in the cab. This is quite a sophisticated system and in my humble opinion $1600.00 for 2 sounds ok. and 59,000 miles according to the mechanic is about right for a Mercedes
I don't believe it's possible to have such high-tech super sophistication AND make it last forever. I don't think the weather has a bearing on it's longevity. It is a sealed system. Some people drive their vehicles harder than others and over worse road conditions.

http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/tech-feature-active-motor-and-trans-mounts/

Probably more than anyone wanted to know. I guess they have been around for quite some time though. One interesting comment, "These mounts are found on a number of late model vehicles including Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lexus Toyota and others."

venture

abacomike said:

This is a brand new edition to the S Class line from Mercedes Benz. MSRP was $105,750 and it is the exact same body and interior as the S560 is $10,000 more than mine. The S560 has a new 4.0 liter V8 biturbo engine. The S450 has a 3.0 liter V6 biturbo which delivers 362 hp and 369 lb ft of torque.

When I drove home from West Palm Beach on the Turnpike, that new 9 speed automatic transmission was great. It handles and accelerates like a V8, not a V6. They sure do get a lot of horsepower and torque out of a 3.0 L V6 with twin turbos.

Car corners and rides beautifully. It delivers a smoother, more relaxed ride in the normal/comfort mode. In the Sport Mode, the shocks stiffen as does the entire suspension due to the "Airmatic" suspension. Steering also stiffens up in Sport Mode. In the Economy Mode, the ride and handling are exactly like Comfort Mode, but the gears change quickly and before you know it, you are in 8th or 9th gear.

I have to drive up there tomorrow morning to drop off the other two keys to my 740i. I won't have as much traffic so I will be able to use the adaptive cruise and self-steering functions.

It comes with run-flat tires again, but hese are a lower profile but provide a smoother ride than the 740i. The tires are 20" with the multi-spoked alloy wheels. They are Pirelli's. As I drive this car, I'll comment on general impressions once I have taught myself all the nanny gadgets and technology.

Wow. Very nice Mike. Great color and a super interior. That should keep you happy for quite some time.

tjc78

explorerx4 said:

@Marcothecarguy1986, My wife happens to be driving a 2017 Expedition as a rental. It has power rear side windows and she realized they were open and couldn't figure out how to close them. I did an internet search and told her where to look for the switch to close them. She said she had seen the switch, but thought it was for the sunroof. Ain't the internet great?

What do you mean?  The most rearward windows that pivot open slightly?  I wish our Enclave had those, I didn’t think they came on anything any longer. 

iluvmysephia1

Wow. Very nice Mike. Great color and a super interior. That should keep you happy for quite some time.

Remember who we're talking about here, though, venture.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

explorerx4 said:

@Marcothecarguy1986, My wife happens to be driving a 2017 Expedition as a rental. It has power rear side windows and she realized they were open and couldn't figure out how to close them. I did an internet search and told her where to look for the switch to close them. She said she had seen the switch, but thought it was for the sunroof. Ain't the internet great?

What do you mean?  The most rearward windows that pivot open slightly?  I wish our Enclave had those, I didn’t think they came on anything any longer. 

Our T&C has those. One of my wife's favorite features. I wonder if the new Pacifica has them.

suydam

@iluvmysephia1 — I still think trying to pay off your Soul and waiting a year to buy would be a better financial decision. Think about it this way — it won’t be a $10k car, it will be close to a $14k car because of your debt. And obviously this is a vehicle that depreciates more than other Toyota’s do.

abacomike

tjc78 said:

@abacomike Wow! Absolutely gorgeous.  I love it, that exterior color combined with those wheels is perfect.  

Enjoy it! 

@Michaell
LOL

All... I drink my coffee black ... uh oh

Thanks tjc.

abacomike

venture said:

This is a brand new edition to the S Class line from Mercedes Benz. MSRP was $105,750 and it is the exact same body and interior as the S560 is $10,000 more than mine. The S560 has a new 4.0 liter V8 biturbo engine. The S450 has a 3.0 liter V6 biturbo which delivers 362 hp and 369 lb ft of torque. When I drove home from West Palm Beach on the Turnpike, that new 9 speed automatic transmission was great. It handles and accelerates like a V8, not a V6. They sure do get a lot of horsepower and torque out of a 3.0 L V6 with twin turbos. Car corners and rides beautifully. It delivers a smoother, more relaxed ride in the normal/comfort mode. In the Sport Mode, the shocks stiffen as does the entire suspension due to the "Airmatic" suspension. Steering also stiffens up in Sport Mode. In the Economy Mode, the ride and handling are exactly like Comfort Mode, but the gears change quickly and before you know it, you are in 8th or 9th gear. I have to drive up there tomorrow morning to drop off the other two keys to my 740i. I won't have as much traffic so I will be able to use the adaptive cruise and self-steering functions. It comes with run-flat tires again, but hese are a lower profile but provide a smoother ride than the 740i. The tires are 20" with the multi-spoked alloy wheels. They are Pirelli's. As I drive this car, I'll comment on general impressions once I have taught myself all the nanny gadgets and technology.

Wow. Very nice Mike. Great color and a super interior. That should keep you happy for quite some time.

Thanks venture.

iluvmysephia1

@iluvmysephia1 — I still think trying to pay off your Soul and waiting a year to buy would be a better financial decision. Think about it this way — it won’t be a $10k car, it will be close to a $14k car because of your debt. And obviously this is a vehicle that depreciates more than other Toyota’s do.

I see your point, I need ta find out why this car's value is dropping like a rock when it's a Toyota product. Something doesn't add up. Inspector Clodumbo will get to work on it. Perhaps it's a salvage job - that'll kill the deal immediately. As for the amount - it will total $14,000 and probably a little more. But I paid just north of $14,000 for my first new car in the spring of 1994 - a 1994 Ford Escort wagon. We're talking little 2nd grader marbles here. No shark-tank bedazzling can get that debt cleared out before I trade the Soul in, it's there. But a financeable total of $14,500 is very do-able for me.

I am ready to enact the idea two finance managers have told me about: pay half your monthly payment every 2 weeks. Throw even as little as $25 more each time - or every other time, and your principal balance will whither ever faster. I'll deal wid it.

This one's not over - I may uncover some dirt on it on the net - and not even drive the 172 miles over the mountain pass.

mlevine

Nice color and car Mike. Enjoy the ride. It looks like you went to main dealership I use.

sb55

abacomike said:

All done!  Parked outside of my Condo. 

I need a psychiatrist!

What? I just got back from my 3 week vacation and have been catching up hundreds of posts. About 200 posts ago your BMW was your savior and your pride & joy.
Congrats!

suydam

The old saying about a leopard never changing its spots . . . 

houdini1

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

Mike, for the record...I think that gray is a great color for that car. Most S's are black. The gray looks formal but adds some life to the car. That car is special..............so nicely designed.

Thanks for the kind words, driver.

OK Mike, looks like you have made your way up the ladder and finally reached the pinnacle. I admire a man who will only settle for the best. That car is beautiful. Congratulations. I wish you had a garage to keep that gem in.

oldfarmer50

iluvmysephia1 said:

You can't go wrong with a Toyota product. What did that list for new? Seems like a lot of depreciation for one year. (Although I guess officially it's two).

Yeah, these cars came out around the spring of 2016, so we're lookin' at a year and a half is all. This one's miles at 13,291 are so low and you're right, it's a Toyota product. I can have it serviced at Town Toyota in Wenatchee or a mechanic of my choice, nothing incredibly different about it that should make finding a shop difficult.

It's been checked by a Goodyear Auto Center -"All cars passed pre-purchase inspection at Goodyear Auto Center (We do have certified report)." And ya know, I have no reason to suspect that the car wasn't inspected.

The thing that has me excited is the fact that I know this particular Toyota product pretty well since I went nuts over it in about May of 2016 in Kansas and almost bought a new one. The new ones are around $16,000 - so I'd be getting a tad over $6,000 off it's original price in only a year. That's really fast depreciation in one and a half years! I am going to look up anything and everything I can get ahold of online and drive over there Thursday morning to test drive the little charcoal-colored buzz-bomb and see what I think. They are listing it for $10,999 on sale now for $9,999. I want to know if it's been in an accident or flooded out, etc.

But Toyota products can go and go and go - this thing's got such low miles on it. The reason I'm dumping the Subaru Impreza idea is the Michelin X-Ice xi3 tires are beyond awesome in the snow - I'll buy some for the iA. I don't think Discount Tire would be OK with a straight-swap - I'd freak if they allowed that - but I could see if they're a fitment match for the iA or buy some more for the iA and sell these on ebay or Craigslist. I need better ghastly mileage from my one car and these iA's get 31 city 41 highway. Eastern War-shing-ton is so big and wide open - plus I plan on heading west to watch Sonic games once they start listening to all of us about needing the Sonic's back in Seattle.

Plus, you can stream music on this iA's head unit. I can pop in my thumb drive after I load up more albums than I already have on it (about 12 albums so far - more being added every month). Plus, with a hot cable for my Android I am going to tinker with connecting up to YouTube off my Motorola moto g4. I studied this last year and asked some of the guys on the scion ia forum and the opinion was "I don't know if you can do that or not." Here's their ad on the music part plus I didn't know this - the back seat folds down totally flat.

7" TOUCH-SCREEN, SIX-SPEAKER SOUND SYSTEM W/ MUSIC STREAMING, STEERING-WHEEL CONTROLS, VOICE RECOGNITION FOR AUDIO AND PHONE, BLUETOOTH, USB PORT, COMPATIBILITY W/ AHA, PANDORA, AND STITCHER, AND A 60/40 REAR SEAT THAT FOLD FLAT. DEEP TREAD ALL SEASON RADIALS & MUCH MORE










I love those alloy wheels - I could get my grubby little fingers in between there and just polish up a shine on 'em. Umm-huh. I hope the car doesn't sell over the weekend - I'm kind of impressed by the dealer, actually. They are super-ambitious, and I have never been one to get too incredibly *&&*-retentive with a car dealer. If it's a big thing, we're not gonna deal. But a scratch here and there. Nah. I'll deal wid it. Reviews from people give them about 3.8 out of 5. Reviews can teach you a lot about a place - and a lot about the people putting them in. People get pissed off when their ideas get rebuked - you know what I mean. So I take reviews with a grain of salt.

I'd be lookin' at $500 down and financing the car for 5 years not 6. I will probably be retired about then, and this thing will have about 125,000 miles on it then. And still be going strong.

You're probably looking at a low $200s payment without a trade. I can't see the dealer giving you much for the Kia on a deal like that so I'd reccommend you sell it privately or keep it as a spare. Of course you'll run a CarFax or better yet make the dealer provide one.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

Mike, for the record...I think that gray is a great color for that car. Most S's are black. The gray looks formal but adds some life to the car. That car is special..............so nicely designed.

I'm going to try to convince myself that, "The gray looks formal but adds some life to the car". Once I'm convinced, I'll try it on Mrs. j and see if her imagination can play tricks on her too.

jmonroe

The Mercedes can pull it off....the wannabe, not so much.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

jmonroe said:

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

roadburner said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Just came back from the Credit Union which had offered me a lower rate on my car loan. The monthly figures the hey quoted indicated a savings of about $12 a month. I was half way through signing the papers when I noticed the term was for 36 months not the 33 months I had left on the old loan. When i had her recalculate the figures it turned out they were saving me 64 cents a month. She had almost pulled the old F & I trick of lowering the monthly by extending the term.

You can't trust anyone any more.

We had a dimwit come in with a pre-approved CU loan; the CU loan had a prepayment penalty AND charged a $199 "origination fee." We offered her a loan with no fees or penalties with a lower APR than the CU and she still insisted on using he CU.
You can't fix stupid.

In a way, I'm surprised a BMW Genius couldn't get through to her but even a Genius can't fix real stupid.

jmonroe

She wasn't my client; I heard about it later.

That should have been the time they called in their Genius.

Maybe the F&I guy ain't all that bright either.

jmonroe

I think I have mentioned before that my wife insists that we only pay cash when we buy a car. A few years ago as we were closing a transaction, the salesman said we could get 36 months financing at 0% interest. I said great, I can make a little interest for 3 years. Wife says nope, I don't want any payments and I don't want a lien on the car. We'll pay cash. I put my foot down and countered with, "Yes dear".

So how do you bring the money, in a shopping bag or a suitcase. I only pay cash under $5,000

That reminds me, the guy I bought the Mustang Cobra from wanted cash....not a cashier’s check....CASH. I told him to meet me at my bank, but for some reason, he said he couldn’t. So, here I go with a stack of Benjamins, tucked in a brown paper bag, from my bank to his house. Weird carrying that amount of money on me. I kept thinking...”what happens if I have an accident and have to go to the hospital and have my car towed? Will I remember having that money?”

How about “someone saw me come out of the bank with a brown paper bag and assume I have cash it in and they try to Rob me?”.

Strange thoughts.

For the TLX, I took the check I got from Cadillac on the buy back, and signed it over to the dealership. They gave me another check back for the rest of the refunded amount.

You're lucky you didn't end up as part of his basement floor.

Meeting some one with cash is a standard CL robbery scenario. I've brought cash to some car transactions but leave it hidden in the car just in case. I've always met at the sellers home or workplace.

OF....you’re right. I thought about that...AFTER THE FACT!

There were plenty of ways that the deal could have gone sideways, and none of them good. Fortunately, it was a safe and smooth transaction.

I don’t know why, but having met the previous Mustang owner a few times previously, I didn’t get any sense of foreboding.

But, that’s what they say about most serial killers....”He was so nice. I never suspected he was a murderer.”

driver100

venture said:

driver100 said:

My friend asked his mechanic about motor mounts going at 59000 miles on a Mercedes. The mechanic doesn't specialize in Mercedes, but what he said may be of interest.

According to my mechanic the Mercedes probably has electronic controlled Motor Mounts. They are filled with a special fluid and depending on the torque force on the Motor Mounts they are programmed to apply less opposition to the torque or more depending on the situation. This will translate into less vibration at the motor and less vibration in the cab. This is quite a sophisticated system and in my humble opinion $1600.00 for 2 sounds ok. and 59,000 miles according to the mechanic is about right for a Mercedes
I don't believe it's possible to have such high-tech super sophistication AND make it last forever. I don't think the weather has a bearing on it's longevity. It is a sealed system. Some people drive their vehicles harder than others and over worse road conditions.

http://www.brakeandfrontend.com/tech-feature-active-motor-and-trans-mounts/

Probably more than anyone wanted to know. I guess they have been around for quite some time though. One interesting comment, "These mounts are found on a number of late model vehicles including Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lexus Toyota and others."

Thanks for the info....I found it very interesting - until it kept going on. Once again, I don't understand why if they can get a man to the moon, they can't make a motor mount that you slide out and slide a new one in.

ab348

abacomike said:

Thanks, breld.  Yes, the color is very rich looking.  My brother’s S Coupe is also Selinite Gray - but he has the light gray interior.  Enjoy your new GLC.

Mike, have you had a car with a black interior since you've been living in Florida? That would be my only concern.

graphicguy

Wait....what? I checked out of Edmunds less than 24 hours ago.

Check in this a.m. and Mike has turned his 740i in for an S class.

Beautiful car, Mike. Big congrats!

graphicguy

RB...congrats on the promotion. Sounds like loads of fun!

stickguy

roadburner said:

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

well, he is going to be really ticked off in a couple months when he has a lot full of RWD, manual trans, track package, moonroof delete, manual seat cars that he can't sell.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

well, he is going to be really ticked off in a couple months when he has a lot full of RWD, manual trans, track package, moonroof delete, manual seat cars that he can't sell.

I was thinking the exact same thing...

roadburner

stickguy said:

roadburner said:

Well, the NCM gave me a new responsibility- ordering cars and modifying existing orders if necessary(and still possible). So today, in between a lease return, two deliveries, and a demonstration of the new X3 I modified the builds of 40 cars. Lots of fun, actually.

well, he is going to be really ticked off in a couple months when he has a lot full of RWD, manual trans, track package, moonroof delete, manual seat cars that he can't sell.

I build cars that we can sell, I realize how inept/dumbed-down the driving populace has become, so at least 75% of our cars are xDrive(RWD is lethal in the rain as we all know). I took the M Sport package off a couple of cars and added it to a few others. I built only two 3er manuals. I did build a pretty cool 530e- Dark Graphite over Cognac leather, RWD, M Sport, H-K, and a few other goodies...

carnaught

@abacomike, Mike, after a busy several days in catching up on posts I was freaked to see the punch (posted on the CCBA board earlier), yet not surprised, after you rationalized keeping your 740i. After all, this is what we car lovers do!

Anyways, let me extend my congrats for your enjoyment and safe miles with that new beauty! Thinking about where you were in your life a year ago, I say you deserve it, and I am delighted for you. Keep us informed with your experience with it.