Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

that is one thing I like about XM. some of the stations really do play obscure stuff, and it is a good way to hear things you never knew of before.

fintail

Most stuff can be found on youtube or previewed elsewhere before you buy it

snakeweasel said:

But the thing is you won't know what songs you like until you listen to the whole album. If I just went by what o heard on the radio and what my friends liked I wouldn't have half the songs in my library.You gotta kiss those frogs.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I have half a mind not to tell you guys that I bought my convertible. It`s a 2000 Sebring, the last year with the Mitsu 6cyl engine. Sebrings were sludgemobiles for the next 6 years and were off my list. It`s a silver over black Limited trim level with leather and Infinity stereo. Even has a CD player which is cool for an 18 yo car. Paid about 8% of MSRP which is whereI like to be. Has 80,000 miles so I`m hoping it still has 50% of it`s life left for 8% of sticker. Appeals to my cheap nature.

We aren't ignoring you....just got surprised by the sudden appearance of Jmonroe.

The 2000 Sebring gets pretty good reviews on Edmunds...overall 4 out of 5 stars. This one would be a good omen:

Review
Ive kept my upkeep on it up to date. Bought with 98k miles 5 years ago. Now has over 265k and its still going strong. Comfortable, and appealing, its a dream to drive!

There are others that aren't nearly as good. With a new car, your chances of a lemon are probably less than .05%, with a used 18 year old car with 80k miles, it is probably more like 40%. But, you did your homework...it will either be the buy of the century, or you will be out a few dollars......Good luck!

EDMUNDS CONSUMER REVIEWS

I think that picture is of a 2008+ model. Who has one of those Daimler era cars? Stick or Snake?

Snake has one....I think I did 2008 instead of 2000...I can only go back 10 years. No, I think I got it;

That picture is spot on, right down tothe chrome wheels. Good job.

abacomike

I finally got back my blood test results back for detection of the Hepatitis C Virus.  No virus detected in the blood!  That’s 10 months post treatment which means I am finally cured after having this disease since 1980.

Unfortunately the disease caused liver cancer and has played havoc with my immune system - but at least the drug regimen for 24 weeks last year was successful.

stickguy

good news. too bad they did not have this treatment back then.

suydam

@abacomike that is awesome news! A couple of years ago I was with a friend when she got a letter giving her those test results. She broke down and cried with relief. It’s a very big deal and I’m very happy for you.

andres3

venture said:

roadburner said:

andres3 said:

Not to beat a dead horse, but I've learned in my middle ages here that learning about the motivations of humans can be beneficial in understanding their viewpoints and world-view.

As such, I wanted to ask the knowledgeable among us:

What do you think is the NHTSA's motivation for misleading the public about speed being a factor in the causation of collisions & fatalities? They resort to grouping drunk driving speeders with regular speeders instead of separating drunk driving from speeding statistically.

In my view, no one in their right mind would combine a drunk that speeds and crashes with a normal speeder. To do so suggests an evil plot in my worldview. I have no credibility given to the NHTSA due to this.

How about you? Is it a "shock and awe" campaign where the truth doesn't matter?

I'll only make one comment; the only thing that would surprise me is if NHTSA and the Safety [non-permissible content removed] DIDN'T use statistical trickery to get the numbers that they release- and which are then breathlessly repeated by media droneswho would never think of questioning their validity.
To quote David E. Davis Jr., I possess the "Kentuckian's healthy mistrust of government."

I told this story before so here's the condensed version:

When working on a particular stretch of road I would always pull the accident statistics. Many times there were an unordinary amount of "excess speed" causes. I asked a state trooper why and he said something about when they don't know what caused the accident they check the excess speed box. Makes sense since they have to check some box, but misleading.

Not to mention that with the US's penchant for under-posting speed limits, the majority will always be technically speeding a majority of their driving time. It doesn't take an Albert Einstein to figure out how that might skew the results when you define speeding as "excess speed."

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

@qbrozen

I have a very good customer who is a complete MOPAR Encyclopedia. He recently placed "top 5" at MOPAR Nationals in Ohio. I told him about your overheating problem and what you have done to the Dodge so far. He came up with a few suggestions (which you may or may not have tried):

-Timing should be set to 35 degrees Top Dead Center
-Distributor should be pointing to the #1 Cylinder (it could fit on properly, but be off 180 degrees)
-A tooth on your distributor could be off
-Make sure the firing order is correct in the distributor cap
-Make sure the timing chain is lined up properly
-Aluminum radiators require special "Aluminum Compatible Coolant."
-Your distributor gear could be in wrong
-Thermostat could be bad, old, or incorrect
-The Heads/Valve Springs/Cam all have to match up (High lift cams require different valve springs)
-The Damper needs to be lined up
-The line on the harmonic balancer needs to match up with the timing chain
-Have you replaced the head gaskets? They need to be installed correctly (left & right). If they are installed upside down, they will fit, but maybe block a port.

He had a few questions that I couldn't answer regarding your over heating issue:

Does it run hot when you are idling or when you take it out on the road?

Does it run hot & bad (sputter, sound like it is choking...) or just hot?

When you bought it, did it run correctly? Was it overheating when you bought it? Has this over heating issue started when YOU changed something?

If you have any, specific questions, I'll be glad to call him and ask him for you and will show him pictures if you'd like to send me (he doesn't have a cell phone or email).

Please thank your friend for me.
As I put it back together, most of this will be checked. I also might as well replace my head gaskets, although I ran a test through the radiator and it checked out as having no exhaust gases leaking in.
I couldn't say if it always overheated because the temp gauge didn't work and it threw the fan belt on my first extended drive, at which point it really did overheat and need to be towed. After that, I installed aux gauges to monitor the temp among other things.
Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot.
Yes, 35 degrees BTDC at 3k rpms. we'll see what happens when its all done.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

that is one thing I like about XM. some of the stations really do play obscure stuff, and it is a good way to hear things you never knew of before.

There is a radio station here called METV FM that does play a lot of forgotten and obscure songs.

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

berri said:

I think the cd thing is a racket by the music industry. Make cd's obsolete and pretty much force you to pay subscription fees monthly whether streaming or satellite. Whenever money slows down, the industry comes up with a way to force you to buy the music again - 8 track to cassette to cd to today. The car industry needs room for bigger LED screens, but honestly, how much of a that stuff do you actually use very frequently? I suspect it is cheaper to dump the cd player and replace it with a slightly bigger screen, so more to do with cost savings than music changing on their part. You are going to buy the vehicle at some point regardless, right? I'm kind of surprised the car industry hasn't turned around and offered the cd player in an out of way place at a huge option price really.

Please don't give Audi/VW any ideas! While my '14 Audi had a center CD player, both the '16 Audi TTS and '17 VW Alltrack relegate the CD player to the glove box compartment hidden away and pretty much "discouraging" its use, but I use them anyway because both cars have great sound systems.

I have to ask, is the CD player single disk or multiple disks. If single disk I would agree being in the glove compartment does discourage use but not so much for multi disk players. The sebring has a six disk CD player and when I used to use it (now just play off the phone) I would only change disks only a few times a month.

They are single disk players. My last car to have a 6-CD changer was the Accord, 2003 model right on the center dash. I'd agree that a 6-disc changer would make the glove box a more appropriate location. I don't want a changer though, a single disc player is good enough, but it takes so little room, they should just make a skinny slot in the dash. On the bright side, the sound quality of the disc player is excellent. Really shows how Sirius is limited in bandwidth and bit rate.

Not by me, but one day I foresee a driver suing VW/Audi for a collision caused by trying to get a CD in the slot of the glove compartment while driving. Exhibit 1 for the defense will probably be a caution/danger box in the owner's manual saying to not do exactly that.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

@qbrozen

I have a very good customer who is a complete MOPAR Encyclopedia. He recently placed "top 5" at MOPAR Nationals in Ohio. I told him about your overheating problem and what you have done to the Dodge so far. He came up with a few suggestions (which you may or may not have tried):

-Timing should be set to 35 degrees Top Dead Center
-Distributor should be pointing to the #1 Cylinder (it could fit on properly, but be off 180 degrees)
-A tooth on your distributor could be off
-Make sure the firing order is correct in the distributor cap
-Make sure the timing chain is lined up properly
-Aluminum radiators require special "Aluminum Compatible Coolant."
-Your distributor gear could be in wrong
-Thermostat could be bad, old, or incorrect
-The Heads/Valve Springs/Cam all have to match up (High lift cams require different valve springs)
-The Damper needs to be lined up
-The line on the harmonic balancer needs to match up with the timing chain
-Have you replaced the head gaskets? They need to be installed correctly (left & right). If they are installed upside down, they will fit, but maybe block a port.

He had a few questions that I couldn't answer regarding your over heating issue:

Does it run hot when you are idling or when you take it out on the road?

Does it run hot & bad (sputter, sound like it is choking...) or just hot?

When you bought it, did it run correctly? Was it overheating when you bought it? Has this over heating issue started when YOU changed something?

If you have any, specific questions, I'll be glad to call him and ask him for you and will show him pictures if you'd like to send me (he doesn't have a cell phone or email).

Please thank your friend for me.
As I put it back together, most of this will be checked. I also might as well replace my head gaskets, although I ran a test through the radiator and it checked out as having no exhaust gases leaking in.
I couldn't say if it always overheated because the temp gauge didn't work and it threw the fan belt on my first extended drive, at which point it really did overheat and need to be towed. After that, I installed aux gauges to monitor the temp among other things.
Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot.
Yes, 35 degrees BTDC at 3k rpms. we'll see what happens when its all done.

He said the ONLY reason to replace the head gaskets is if there is anti-freeze in the oil when you check it. My Dad (& the guy who works for us who brought my Dad's '66 Corvette back to life a few years ago) think that you have an issue with the thermostat. They sell 180 degree thermostats that you should install.

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

I finally got back my blood test results back for detection of the Hepatitis C Virus.  No virus detected in the blood!  That’s 10 months post treatment which means I am finally cured after having this disease since 1980.

Unfortunately the disease caused liver cancer and has played havoc with my immune system - but at least the drug regimen for 24 weeks last year was successful.

@Mike, needless to say that all of us are over joyed to hear this good news but we told you we'd get you through this.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

@qbrozen

I have a very good customer who is a complete MOPAR Encyclopedia. He recently placed "top 5" at MOPAR Nationals in Ohio. I told him about your overheating problem and what you have done to the Dodge so far. He came up with a few suggestions (which you may or may not have tried):

-Timing should be set to 35 degrees Top Dead Center
-Distributor should be pointing to the #1 Cylinder (it could fit on properly, but be off 180 degrees)
-A tooth on your distributor could be off
-Make sure the firing order is correct in the distributor cap
-Make sure the timing chain is lined up properly
-Aluminum radiators require special "Aluminum Compatible Coolant."
-Your distributor gear could be in wrong
-Thermostat could be bad, old, or incorrect
-The Heads/Valve Springs/Cam all have to match up (High lift cams require different valve springs)
-The Damper needs to be lined up
-The line on the harmonic balancer needs to match up with the timing chain
-Have you replaced the head gaskets? They need to be installed correctly (left & right). If they are installed upside down, they will fit, but maybe block a port.

He had a few questions that I couldn't answer regarding your over heating issue:

Does it run hot when you are idling or when you take it out on the road?

Does it run hot & bad (sputter, sound like it is choking...) or just hot?

When you bought it, did it run correctly? Was it overheating when you bought it? Has this over heating issue started when YOU changed something?

If you have any, specific questions, I'll be glad to call him and ask him for you and will show him pictures if you'd like to send me (he doesn't have a cell phone or email).

Please thank your friend for me.
As I put it back together, most of this will be checked. I also might as well replace my head gaskets, although I ran a test through the radiator and it checked out as having no exhaust gases leaking in.
I couldn't say if it always overheated because the temp gauge didn't work and it threw the fan belt on my first extended drive, at which point it really did overheat and need to be towed. After that, I installed aux gauges to monitor the temp among other things.
Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot.
Yes, 35 degrees BTDC at 3k rpms. we'll see what happens when its all done.

He said the ONLY reason to replace the head gaskets is if there is anti-freeze in the oil when you check it. My Dad (& the guy who works for us who brought my Dad's '66 Corvette back to life a few years ago) think that you have an issue with the thermostat. They sell 180 degree thermostats that you should install.

My suggestion to determine if the thermostat is suspect, is to remove it altogether and see what happens. This simulates a woking thermostat at full operating temps. If you still have the problem without the stat you have eliminated one possible problem. Again, just a suggestion.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

@qbrozen

I have a very good customer who is a complete MOPAR Encyclopedia. He recently placed "top 5" at MOPAR Nationals in Ohio. I told him about your overheating problem and what you have done to the Dodge so far. He came up with a few suggestions (which you may or may not have tried):

-Timing should be set to 35 degrees Top Dead Center
-Distributor should be pointing to the #1 Cylinder (it could fit on properly, but be off 180 degrees)
-A tooth on your distributor could be off
-Make sure the firing order is correct in the distributor cap
-Make sure the timing chain is lined up properly
-Aluminum radiators require special "Aluminum Compatible Coolant."
-Your distributor gear could be in wrong
-Thermostat could be bad, old, or incorrect
-The Heads/Valve Springs/Cam all have to match up (High lift cams require different valve springs)
-The Damper needs to be lined up
-The line on the harmonic balancer needs to match up with the timing chain
-Have you replaced the head gaskets? They need to be installed correctly (left & right). If they are installed upside down, they will fit, but maybe block a port.

He had a few questions that I couldn't answer regarding your over heating issue:

Does it run hot when you are idling or when you take it out on the road?

Does it run hot & bad (sputter, sound like it is choking...) or just hot?

When you bought it, did it run correctly? Was it overheating when you bought it? Has this over heating issue started when YOU changed something?

If you have any, specific questions, I'll be glad to call him and ask him for you and will show him pictures if you'd like to send me (he doesn't have a cell phone or email).

Please thank your friend for me.
As I put it back together, most of this will be checked. I also might as well replace my head gaskets, although I ran a test through the radiator and it checked out as having no exhaust gases leaking in.
I couldn't say if it always overheated because the temp gauge didn't work and it threw the fan belt on my first extended drive, at which point it really did overheat and need to be towed. After that, I installed aux gauges to monitor the temp among other things.
Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot.
Yes, 35 degrees BTDC at 3k rpms. we'll see what happens when its all done.

"Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot."

That's a pretty sure sign of a circulation problem, not a fan problem.

coldinohio

funny how cars and high end stereo equipment have similar owners...

finally sold my late 1980's baby magnaplanars, Linn turntable, and Rotel preamp/amp/tuner (denon CD died long time ago; new system sitting in boxes after recent move as my kids want them

on car front, still with '14 audi a4 with 6 sp manual-- will need new summer tires soon

Drivingfool

Right now, continue to enjoy my XM radio but also have my iTunes on my iPhone as a back up if needed. With almost 883 tunes at last count, have plenty to listen to on my morning and afternoon drive. But enjoy the XM for the variety of stations I listen to. Really enjoying the Aretha Franklin tribute station on #49 right now but was sorry to see the Beach Boys go on #4. It's funny, in any rental car I drive with Sirius/XM, I immediately pre-select my buttons with #6, #7, #8, #18, #26, #32 and #70 before I leave the parking lot if enough buttons. If only five or six, I make due. There's a few others on my VW Golf's buttons but the above are my favorite go to's at this point.
As long as the price stays reasonable/year, I'll keep it but always have my iPhone to fall back on.

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

@qbrozen I have a very good customer who is a complete MOPAR Encyclopedia. He recently placed "top 5" at MOPAR Nationals in Ohio. I told him about your overheating problem and what you have done to the Dodge so far. He came up with a few suggestions (which you may or may not have tried): -Timing should be set to 35 degrees Top Dead Center -Distributor should be pointing to the #1 Cylinder (it could fit on properly, but be off 180 degrees) -A tooth on your distributor could be off -Make sure the firing order is correct in the distributor cap -Make sure the timing chain is lined up properly -Aluminum radiators require special "Aluminum Compatible Coolant." -Your distributor gear could be in wrong -Thermostat could be bad, old, or incorrect -The Heads/Valve Springs/Cam all have to match up (High lift cams require different valve springs) -The Damper needs to be lined up -The line on the harmonic balancer needs to match up with the timing chain -Have you replaced the head gaskets? They need to be installed correctly (left & right). If they are installed upside down, they will fit, but maybe block a port. He had a few questions that I couldn't answer regarding your over heating issue: Does it run hot when you are idling or when you take it out on the road? Does it run hot & bad (sputter, sound like it is choking...) or just hot? When you bought it, did it run correctly? Was it overheating when you bought it? Has this over heating issue started when YOU changed something? If you have any, specific questions, I'll be glad to call him and ask him for you and will show him pictures if you'd like to send me (he doesn't have a cell phone or email).

Please thank your friend for me. As I put it back together, most of this will be checked. I also might as well replace my head gaskets, although I ran a test through the radiator and it checked out as having no exhaust gases leaking in. I couldn't say if it always overheated because the temp gauge didn't work and it threw the fan belt on my first extended drive, at which point it really did overheat and need to be towed. After that, I installed aux gauges to monitor the temp among other things. Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot. Yes, 35 degrees BTDC at 3k rpms. we'll see what happens when its all done.

"Runs fine, just hot. And only when driving. It will idle forever and not get too hot." That's a pretty sure sign of a circulation problem, not a fan problem.

Nope, not a fan problem. But can still be timing problem. The idle timing is correct, it is the all-in timing that I am unsure of. 

I already replaced the t-stat with a 160-degree unit. When watching the coolant with cap off and running, it is flowing very well. 

There is no coolant in the oil of course, but that does not rule out blocked passages with incorrectly installed gaskets, right?

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TfnyA_9ibEQ

carnaught

@abacomike, congrats! Fantastic news!

berri

I understand that given all the noises you can experience driving, mp3 or Ipod mp4 are probably sufficient for most listeners. However, what I don't get is equipping a vehicle with an expensive, often optional or upgraded sound system and not being able to really utilize its fidelity without a cd player or at least HD radio (if your area gets that). Satellite probably gives better fidelity than mp music, but is subject to interference or cutting out at times in my experience, and plays a lot of repetition if you listen to it a lot everyday. But I'm sure I'm going to have to convert my cd's to a stick at some point and I'm not looking forward to having to waste all that time. I'm definitely not going to spend thousands to replicate it all on an iPod.

berri

aba - that has to be one HUGE relief for you. You were due for a medical break buddy!

henryn

abacomike said:

I finally got back my blood test results back for detection of the Hepatitis C Virus.  No virus detected in the blood!  That’s 10 months post treatment which means I am finally cured after having this disease since 1980.

Unfortunately the disease caused liver cancer and has played havoc with my immune system - but at least the drug regimen for 24 weeks last year was successful.

Congratulations!!! Damn happy for ya, Mike!

qbrozen said:

Nope, not a fan problem. But can still be timing problem. The idle timing is correct, it is the all-in timing that I am unsure of. 

I already replaced the t-stat with a 160-degree unit. When watching the coolant with cap off and running, it is flowing very well. 

There is no coolant in the oil of course, but that does not rule out blocked passages with incorrectly installed gaskets, right?

No, it most definitely does not rule that out. Kinda makes me wonder, too. Cooling system problems (clogged up radiator for instance) would tend to show up during extended idling.

berri said:

Satellite probably gives better fidelity than mp music, but is subject to interference or cutting out at times in my experience, and plays a lot of repetition if you listen to it a lot everyday. But I'm sure I'm going to have to convert my cd's to a stick at some point and I'm not looking forward to having to waste all that time. I'm definitely not going to spend thousands to replicate it all on an iPod.

I have seen or read a number of complaints, people claiming that satellite radio was compressed more and sounded worse than MP3 music. To my ears, it sounds fine. The Wikipedia page for XM satellite radio states they store their music library in aac format at 384 kbit/s, which is indeed very high quality. However, they apparently dynamically allocate bandwidth on the fly so the signal you actually get will be less.

To the technically uninitiated, aac is newer and better than mp3, giving better results in a smaller size / lower bitrate.

stickguy

Q, you got enough parts already off the top end, might as well pop the heads and see what is going on. Parts on that at least are cheap!

abacomike

Thanks all for you kind words and for sharing in my joy.  There are millions of Americans who have this awful disease and most don’t know they have it.  Mostly baby boomers suffer from Hep C because they did not discover this virus until 1988-1990.  It is transmitted by sexual contact, blood transfusions, sharing drug needles, etc.  I didn’t know I had it until 1995 in California.  The only way I could have gotten it was when I had a blood transfusion in 1980.

imidazol97

abacomike said:

I finally got back my blood test results back for detection of the Hepatitis C Virus.  No virus detected in the blood!

Good. Glad it has worked! I remember the treatments were rough.

imidazol97

I have another question to ask the deep well of knowledge in this group.

We're renting a larger vehicle to take things to Dublin for the rehearsal dinner for decorating for our son's wedding this fall. My wife thinks a Tahoe looks like it has room to haul balloons, Hobby Lobby table decorations, some luggage for 2 or 3 and 2 or 3 passengers. May even bring back a large puppy on Sunday.

Is there one of the car rentals that will definitely deliver the vehicle type you ask for? Tahoe or GMC equivalent, I forget the name right now? Or do they tell you when you show up on the date that we have this or that which is sort of like it.

Are there other vehicles with similar hauling capacity I should accept or ask about when trying to make reservations?

I have access to Hertz and Enterprise off site and access to all the biggies on site at the local airport, Dayton International.

To summarize, if I want a Tahoe or GMC equivalent, who's most likely to deliver. And what are other options?

Pricing I've seen online is all over the map.

imidazol97

henryn said:

I have seen or read a number of complaints, people claiming that satellite radio was compressed more and sounded worse than MP3 music.

I compared the same songs on SirusXM on our Malibu 250 W Pioneer with mp4 on CD and mp4 on USB. The USB sounded better. I was curious if the playback on the CD degrades the sound a little bit compared to the direct reading of 0's and 1's on the USB?

tjc78

I know that Hertz has Tahoe’s and in the higher class Escalades.  The only other equivalent IMO would be an Expedition/Navigator which are basically the same size 

explorerx4

@imadazol97,
Best option, rent a Chrysler minivan. Tons of space.
How about asking your local Chevy dealer if you can test drive a Tahoe overnight?

stickguy

I would suggest a minivan also. lots more height in the cargo area for balloons, and definitely better for a dog.

prices on large SUVs and vans are always high though. like double a FS car.

stickguy

actually, from my experience, Tahoes are really not interior space efficient. So if they gave you an Explorer instead, would probably have more room. ditto for a Traverse.

roadburner

I turned the i3 in today; no surprises and I didn't get dinged for tire wear. I really enjoyed driving it, and I would consider another electric in the future(RWD of course). There were absolutely no problems and no unscheduled trips to the dealer. In fact, the car only saw the dealer service bay twice- for the 10k mile/annual oil changes and inspections, for which I paid nothing.

tjc78

stickguy said:

actually, from my experience, Tahoes are really not interior space efficient. So if they gave you an Explorer instead, would probably have more room. ditto for a Traverse.

Our Tahoe at work feels much larger inside than my Enclave.  It’s definitely wider.   

Minivan trumps them all. 

stickguy

my SIL had a SWB Tahoe. back really seemed tight. Very high floor and seats took up a lot of space. Probably was wide though. No comparison at all to a minivan though.

tjc78

Yes high floor in the rear.  Enclave wins on third row accommodations.  

Michaell

roadburner said:

I turned the i3 in today; no surprises and I didn't get dinged for tire wear. I really enjoyed driving it, and I would consider another electric in the future(RWD of course). There were absolutely no problems and no unscheduled trips to the dealer. In fact, the car only saw the dealer service bay twice- for the 10k mile/annual oil changes and inspections, for which I paid nothing.

Uh, exactly what oil got changed?

suydam

explorerx4 said:

@imadazol97,
Best option, rent a Chrysler minivan. Tons of space.
How about asking your local Chevy dealer if you can test drive a Tahoe overnight?

+1
And minivan is it’s own category so you’ll get one. They are expensive to rent, but hey, it’s a wedding.

xwesx

Yep, minivan wins on space! I have a Sienna right now, and it just swallows everything whole.

xwesx

Q, as soon as NYC's buddy mentioned the head gasket alignment, it definitely perked my ears regarding the issue you're having. Don't do all the work you're doing now without taking those heads off and just replacing the gaskets as a matter of course.

cdnpinhead

jmonroe said:

I explained this before but for some of the other slow ones in here like you, I'll do it again.jmonroe

Well, thank you for the ever so helpful (and quite comprehensive) response and, yes, I guess I was asleep at the switch when you did it the first time.

I p@ss people off on a regular basis, but generally don't set out to do so. Everything is relative, and it's good to know that I'm not the biggest @sshole on here.

28firefighter

The i3 REX has a gas engine for the range extender. 

roadburner

Yep.

Michaell

28firefighter said:

The i3 REX has a gas engine for the range extender. 

Oh yeah, that's right. The i3 that @breld owned for what seemed like 10 days had one, as well.

driver100

suydam said:

explorerx4 said:

@imadazol97,
Best option, rent a Chrysler minivan. Tons of space.
How about asking your local Chevy dealer if you can test drive a Tahoe overnight?

+1
And minivan is it’s own category so you’ll get one. They are expensive to rent, but hey, it’s a wedding.

Agreed...minivan has way more space....will cost more than it should to rent. But, this is a wedding, and for some people, an SUV is way more pleasant to drive than a minivan (Odeyssey being one of the best if not the bestMV). And it is a one time wedding....how about a limo?

iluvmysephia1

While driving back home to New Mexico from southern Arizona last night I mentioned to Mrs. iluvmysephia1 and our son that Fo-Mo-Co has announced that the 2018 model year will be the last year they build and sell passenger cars. 

Son replies "Does that include the Ford Mustang?"

Me: "Uhh...yeah. Wait. Good point!"

I could see Ford stopping the Taurus, Focus (including the Focus ST I've fallen for), Fusion and Fiesta, but are they REALLY stopping Mustang production? Hell must have frozen over! And Don Henley's still around, too! 

Herein begins Ford's exemption to the rules list:

1) Ford Mustang
2) Ford Focus ST

The above two Ford cars will be continued in the US, I hereby predict. They're too popular and too good for Ford to just leave forever behind. Eh? 

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

I finally got back my blood test results back for detection of the Hepatitis C Virus.  No virus detected in the blood!  That’s 10 months post treatment which means I am finally cured after having this disease since 1980.

Unfortunately the disease caused liver cancer and has played havoc with my immune system - but at least the drug regimen for 24 weeks last year was successful.

Congrats on the good news.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

I would suggest a minivan also. lots more height in the cargo area for balloons, and definitely better for a dog. prices on large SUVs and vans are always high though. like double a FS car.

I would also as a minivan typically has more space than an SUV.

snakeweasel

iluvmysephia1 said:

While driving back home to New Mexico from southern Arizona last night I mentioned to Mrs. iluvmysephia1 and our son that Fo-Mo-Co has announced that the 2018 model year will be the last year they build and sell passenger cars. 

Son replies "Does that include the Ford Mustang?"

Me: "Uhh...yeah. Wait. Good point!"

I could see Ford stopping the Taurus, Focus (including the Focus ST I've fallen for), Fusion and Fiesta, but are they REALLY stopping Mustang production? Hell must have frozen over! And Don Henley's still around, too! 

Herein begins Ford's exemption to the rules list:

1) Ford Mustang
2) Ford Focus ST

The above two Ford cars will be continued in the US, I hereby predict. They're too popular and too good for Ford to just leave forever behind. Eh? 

I do believe Ford announced that they will still make the Mustang and the Focus Active which is supposively a crossover version of the Focus. So say good bye to the Focus ST.

graphicguy

My first CD player was a Magnavox (remember them?), which was actually made by Phillips, the co-developer (with Sony) of audio CDs. I had it modified with different D/A converters, which is why it cost so much. Sounded great. Wish I still had it.

MAgnepans needed a lot of power. Plus, they were monoliths sitting in my “stereo” room, that were picky with speaker placement. But, when fed that power, and set up correctly, they truly enveloped you in sound....you could actually play each instrument in an orchestral piece listening to them. They’re still around by the way. They have their own Home Theater speakers today. I’d be anxious to hear what a rig like that sounds like. Unfortunately, unless you can go to their HQ in MN, you probably won’t find such a set up. I still keep track of them. I love their slogan....”Made in America.....Sold in China”!

Those Thorens turntables are beasts. And yes, with the re-birth of vinyl, can be worth a nice chunk of change.

That said, my Pioneer Elite AVR has more power, more processing, more compute power than anything I would have ever dreamed of back in my 2-channel audio days.

abacomike

Yesterday, I went over to the mortuary that handled my Dad’s cremation and internment at the South Florida National Cemetary in order to ascertain the approximate cost of prearranging what happens to my remains, etc.  Let’s face it, it’s better to take care of this before rather than after because I don’t want my kids to have to deal with it.

I walked in the main entrance and immediately got nauseated by the heavily “perfumed” odor of the entire place.  Luckily I was met by a funeral director who saw I was struggling with the “aroma” and immediately led me to his office where he closed the door and handed me a packet of smelling salts.  After a few minutes I was able to recover mainly because his office didn’t smell of perfume and the fact that the smelling salts enabled me to get my wits about me.  This is not a great place to visit if you are alive and “breathing”!

I explained that I wanted to prepay my final arrangements so my children wouldn’t have to.  I explained that there was an empty grave next to my mom and it was free and clear.  I also explained that I didn’t want a fancy or expensive memorial service or funeral.  So he showed me “economical” final arrangement options which, for the most part, amounted to over $8000 for everything including the hearse, a cheap pine casket stained to look like oak, the visitation, the 50+ mile trip to the gravesite and police escort.  There was even a charge for digging the grave.

I asked if there was a “less expensive way to leave behind my loved ones” and he said he could eliminate floral arrangements as well as the evening before memorial service.  I said fine.  He said that brought the cost down to $7300.  

I finally asked if it would be less expensive to have me cremated and my ashes put in a cardboard box and placed a couple of feet below the surface of my grave with no funeral, no hearse, no memorial service, etc.  He said the cemetary requires the standard opening of the grave, casket or ashes - as well as a foot stone marker - so it didn’t matter.  The cost would be $2900, but he urged that I get an urn for my children’s sake and eliminate burying the ashes at the cemetery.  I could immediately envision them both fighting over who would be lucky enough “to not have to” accept my remains.

I told the funeral director thanks and that I wanted to think this over.

He gave me another packet of smelling salts in order to get to my car without heaving or passing out and I walked to the front entrance holding my breath all the way.  When I got home, I called the Neptune Society and signed up for a bargain basement cremation with my ashes spread on the Atlantic Ocean.  At least I could end it all by feeding the fish!