Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

boomchek said:

@bwia I would track the car via GM's onstar. Assuming subscription is active the car can be located through the service. If not, then pay to activate it and track it down. Like others said get possession of it first and then deal with disposing it in order to pay off the loan.

How did you find your way back....and become a new member again....when others who are here continuously can't do it? Nice to have you back. What are you doing? How is the baby....probably 9 or 10 by now?

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Hopefully the 2014 C250 will start right away. It hasn't been used for 7 months. It is on a trickle charger and has STAB-IL in the tank.
It is coming up to 24000 miles and will need the one year oil change.
The question is.......would you go to the dealership to have work done, OR, I can go to two highly rated European indie garages that are much closer, 30 minutes vs one hour?
What else do you think should be looked at at 24000 miles?

Maybe belts to make sure nothing has chewed on them.

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

More common than you'd think. Same with Corvettes---over 50% automatics.

I thought it was more like 80%.

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

A short version of a long story.

My 60-something handyman friend came to me depressed and in tears. His 41-year old girlfriend asked him to co-sign a loan on a 2016 CPO Cadillac XT5. Problem is, her credit was so bad that the loan was denied so she asked him to buy the car in his name and she will make the payments directly to him. She made a few payments and then stopped.

Don't know what happened but they stopped being intimate and she is no longer his girlfriend. He does not have the money to make the loan payments but he is continuing to make payments on the insurance. Meanwhile, the ex-girlfriend refuses to take his calls and the bank is calling incessantly. And as would be expected his credit is trashed and he does not know what to do?

Any suggestions for my handyman friend?

Go figure, a guy who thinks a relationship with a woman 19 years his juinior finds out she was using him for his money. Whodathunk?

If the car is in his name it's imperative that he get it back. Legally it's his since the debt is also.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, the point is that the tires are on a round surface, so no flat spotting. I bekueve they do work.

Stick, it is a real problem....I thought this was a freak thing. Apparently, the tires usually get back to normal after 25 miles of driving in most cases. One guys solution is to overfill tires by 5 pounds. It seems those ramps could work........I will think about it. Nice to get some used ones for about $20 bucks.....if I get them here I should probably get them for hme too. Flat spots can happen in a month or two...and better tires are often more prone to flat spots.

I hear that summer tires are more prone to developing flat spots. Particularly if ghey are high performance.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Pretty good Ford truck commercial, but it's missing one thing, the white pickup form Mr Majestyk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR_mGhT2iLM&index=3&list=PLCFM1h5Oz66h1hHSXoO5-6pziQfi4cOpu

That's a major faux pas.

As a youngster I remember those Ford commercials claiming that Ford F-150 was pretty much stock as it went flying off mountains.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50
I thought of you when I read the October Car and Driver; it contains a comparison test of the 2019 Aston Martin Vantage, the 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C, and the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3. Their prices ranged from $186,806 to $151,200. What I found interesting was their acceleration times. Stock, your GT and my 2 Series can both run from 0-60 in about 4.3 seconds and cover the quarter mile in the high twelves- but the three supercars were less than one second faster to 60 and only a little over a second faster in the quarter.
This is truly the golden era of cheap speed, and I plan to enjoy it for as long as possible...

Gee, having all that fun and saving $100k+ seems almost indecent!

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50
I thought of you when I read the October Car and Driver; it contains a comparison test of the 2019 Aston Martin Vantage, the 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C, and the 2018 Porsche 911 GT3. Their prices ranged from $186,806 to $151,200. What I found interesting was their acceleration times. Stock, your GT and my 2 Series can both run from 0-60 in about 4.3 seconds and cover the quarter mile in the high twelves- but the three supercars were less than one second faster to 60 and only a little over a second faster in the quarter.
This is truly the golden era of cheap speed, and I plan to enjoy it for as long as possible...

If you want cheap speed for $15k you can get a Suzuki Hayabusa which will get you to 60 in 2.7 seconds and do the quarter mile in the high nines. 

For $4,500 I bought a 1996 Speed Triple 900 with the Triumph/Sebring 3-into-1 exhaust; it runs the quarter in the mid-10s.

roadburner

xwesx said:

28firefighter said:

I have some thoughts here. Will share later. 

First and foremost he needs to get the car back. If he asks for it back (in writing) and she doesn’t return it, he would be in his rights to report the car stolen. At least then he is in control of what happens - selling, voluntary repo, involuntary repo etc. 

I agree, but would go a step farther: Report the car stolen now, and provide the police with all of the contact information he can. If she will not take his calls and has stopped paying, then she's already stolen it and deserves some time in jail.

I heard a theft case back in the '80s where a women who was divorcing her husband transferred the title of her car to her boyfriend in an attempt to keep it from being included in the divorce. The lady and her husband reconciled but the boyfriend wouldn't give the car back. She took out a felony theft complaint and I heard the preliminary hearing. I refused to waive the case to the grand jury and the lady and her husband were really ticked.
Idiots.

oldfarmer50

On my way home from work tonight I saw a guy driving a Mazda Miata MX-5 with the top down.it was 40 degrees. I put my convertible away a week ago after driving it for one last time when it was 60. I figured anything colder than that was dumb.

This guy was dedicated.

stickguy

when I had my Miata, I think I had a 42 degree rule. Over that, and not raining, top went down. If it was chilly, you put up the windows and cranked the heat out of the floor vents. nice and toasty.

42 was because one of the used ones I looked at (long term owner) told me that was the lowest temp you should fold the top at.

fintail

When I had the rental F-Type cabrio in Germany last year, I had the top down so long as it wasn't raining. Sometimes it was literally freezing, top still down. Gotta enjoy it while you can

fintail

Russian roulette for those of us in densely populated areas. Left turners in front of bikes seem to be prevalent lately.

roadburner said:

If you want cheap speed for $15k you can get a Suzuki Hayabusa which will get you to 60 in 2.7 seconds and do the quarter mile in the high nines. 

For $4,500 I bought a 1996 Speed Triple 900 with the Triumph/Sebring 3-into-1 exhaust; it runs the quarter in the mid-10s.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

More common than you'd think. Same with Corvettes---over 50% automatics.

I thought it was more like 80%.

It may have gone up. I think there was a 65% take rate for automatics in 2015. So yeah, by now with that by-golly-wing-ding 8 speed automatic, it probably is close to 80%.

This is too sad to contemplate.

boomchek

driver100 said:

boomchek said:

@bwia I would track the car via GM's onstar. Assuming subscription is active the car can be located through the service. If not, then pay to activate it and track it down. Like others said get possession of it first and then deal with disposing it in order to pay off the loan.

How did you find your way back....and become a new member again....when others who are here continuously can't do it? Nice to have you back. What are you doing? How is the baby....probably 9 or 10 by now?

Thanks @driver100 , nice to be back too.

I disappeared off the forums for a few years due to work schedule (working crazy hours plus saving to buy a bigger home). The hard work earned me a manager position at a used car lot (I was basically running the place on my own), which gave me enough experience to get a manger position at a Honda dealership, which I'm at now. I finally work semi normal hours now and have a bit more time, and we finally bought our place big enough for our family of 4 (went from 1 bedroom condo to 3 bedroom townhouse). Not easy with homes in Vancouver costing an arm and a leg.

We have 2 kids now, my baby son is now 9 years old, and turned into a real car guy, and we have a 3 year old daughter.

I used my old log in here and although at first it said there's no such user name, I went to create a new account and somehow it just logged me in and everything is still intact how I left it a few years ago.

Good to see a lot of familiar names still around.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

Russian roulette for those of us in densely populated areas. Left turners in front of bikes seem to be prevalent lately.

If you want cheap speed for $15k you can get a Suzuki Hayabusa which will get you to 60 in 2.7 seconds and do the quarter mile in the high nines. 

For $4,500 I bought a 1996 Speed Triple 900 with the Triumph/Sebring 3-into-1 exhaust; it runs the quarter in the mid-10s.

Those Triumph Triples are nice bikes, lots of power coming from it. Even a Street Triple  puts up some pretty impressive stats.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

when I had my Miata, I think I had a 42 degree rule. Over that, and not raining, top went down. If it was chilly, you put up the windows and cranked the heat out of the floor vents. nice and toasty. 42 was because one of the used ones I looked at (long term owner) told me that was the lowest temp you should fold the top at.

The Sebring is set not to lower the top at 32 degrees or lower nor to raise it at 0 or lower. I personally use 50 degrees although I have had it down at slightly lower temperatures.

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

More common than you'd think. Same with Corvettes---over 50% automatics.

I thought it was more like 80%.

It may have gone up. I think there was a 65% take rate for automatics in 2015. So yeah, by now with that by-golly-wing-ding 8 speed automatic, it probably is close to 80%. This is too sad to contemplate.

According to the Corvette blogger website 2017 saw 77.9% of Vetts having the 8 speed automatic. 

https://www.corvetteblogger.com/2017/06/09/production-statistics-for-the-2017-corvette-model-year/

Honda revamped their Goldwing for 2018 and now offers it with a DCT, making it 4 models that have it. Not sure how accurate it is but I read somewhere that the DCT is out selling the manual version by as much as 2 to 1. There are rumors that Honda may be introducing the DCT in a sport bike in a couple of years. I do believe that BMW has a CVT in one of their bikes. So it seems like the last bastion of the manual, motorcycles, is slowly changing. 

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

I would pay to have a two truck snatch it away and then take it to the dealer for a new key. That won't be cheap but it will protect the car from damage at least.

I wouldn't have it repossessed. He can advertise and sell it on his own and come out better. New owner pays off most of the loan (hopefully he's not too upside down) and he begs or borrows enough to pay off the rest.

Get it off his back and out of her hands.

Every bump, scratch and mile added is on his tab right now.

Not a good situation, no matter how you look at it.

I personally would spend 30 minutes or so with an attorney, tell him/her what’s going on, and then ask how to handle it.

Love is a many splendored thing.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

On my way home from work tonight I saw a guy driving a Mazda Miata MX-5 with the top down.it was 40 degrees. I put my convertible away a week ago after driving it for one last time when it was 60. I figured anything colder than that was dumb.

This guy was dedicated.

60ºF was about the limit to go topless in the Cobra when I had it. Even that was pretty chilly when I got up to speed. Not that big of a die hard when it comes to using any convertible. My comfort trumps fresh air motoring.

venture

abacomike said:

My S450 goes in to the dealership for it’s A SERVICE on November 7th.  When I made the appointment, I reminded them that I am a member of the Mercedes Benz Club of America.  Instead of $395, the cost to me is $250 for the 2-hour service.  I have to put wiper blades on for $50 which is $35 less than they usually charge.

I am going to wait in service for the 2 hours - they offered me an E300 as a loaner, but I preferred just waiting.

Wiper blades are not covered by the warranty for a MB? You should probably ask although I'm sure they would have no problem charging you for them.

My Subaru's are covered for 3 years or 36,000 miles for wear items> Brake pads, clutch linings, and wiper blades.

driver100

RainX suggests wiper blades should be changed at 6 months. Generic sites say 6 months to a year. I think I change them about every 2 years even before storing the car for half a year. Isn't 6 months a bit much?

driver100

Boomcheck. Congratulations on the promotions and getting your personal life on track. Most of us find a path to make it through life, you got experience and took the steps to get ahead......nicely done. I hope you stick around as I think you are the only actual car person around here who is actively working in the car business.

I think in Canada the federal government will be imposing a carbon tax (they avoid calling it a tax though - but, they can't fool us) which of course is a money grab....but, it will make the cost of almost everything go up, especially gasoline. That should help your Honda sales.

dino001

venture said:

abacomike said:

My S450 goes in to the dealership for it’s A SERVICE on November 7th.  When I made the appointment, I reminded them that I am a member of the Mercedes Benz Club of America.  Instead of $395, the cost to me is $250 for the 2-hour service.  I have to put wiper blades on for $50 which is $35 less than they usually charge.

I am going to wait in service for the 2 hours - they offered me an E300 as a loaner, but I preferred just waiting.

Wiper blades are not covered by the warranty for a MB? You should probably ask although I'm sure they would have no problem charging you for them.

My Subaru's are covered for 3 years or 36,000 miles for wear items> Brake pads, clutch linings, and wiper blades.

BMW used to cover wear items for the same period as their standard warranty until 2016 then they said Eeee, we don't need to, 3 years of oil changes will do for "ultimate care". We can sell it you you "more ultimate" care for just 2 grand or so with a whopping extra year. I'm sure it was their dealers who saw it as an opportunity to make more money. The customer still comes for a free oil change, but they now can hit with all these "you need this" suggestions, as the maintenance coverage is no longer advertises "you only pay gas and tires", as it used to be. Even with that they still tried to upsell me on my first 15K service of my previous 2012 wagon. It really was an "art" to turn a first free service into a $600 "customer requests" service (so said the printout of "suggested" maintenance). I recall the salesman, errr "service advisor" couldn't even keep it straight out of the gate, as he printed that stuff and handed it to me, saying "you REALLY only need alignment", which was 200 bucks. If I really needed only this, why those two other things, 200 bucks each? Anyway, I refused of course and did alignment a bit later with an indy garage - still not exactly cheap, but about 2/3 of the dealer's price. He was muttering something about good will and other nonsense after my refusal, but I just ignored it and after they sent me a link I was "happy" to give them my thoughts. They changed their attitude since then, so my review seems to have worked. I get much more honest discussions with them, they still want to "sell", but at least not starting with those ridiculous printouts before we even can talk.

Benz never covered any wear, neither did Lexus, I believe. Volvo has basic 3-year maintenance included (no wear), but once a year they throw in full maintenance as and incentive for a month or two (so I've been told), usually around late Winter or early Spring. I think Jaguar now has full maintenance for 5 years. Audi has only something like first oil change, but you used to be able to buy up the care for quite a decent price (unlike others that charge ridiculous amounts). Not sure if it's still the case. It all comes and goes.

28firefighter

Great to hear from you, @boomchek! Don't envy the position of needing to buy a place in Vancouver these days, but what a beautiful place to be. I'm trying to get us up there a few times a year to get away since we have NEXUS now.

graphicguy

I know a little while back there was some talk in here about the Kia Stinger. I actually sat in one at the local Auto Show about 7 months ago. Seeing the sticker at $52K, I was underwhelmed, but I never test drove one.

This one, at $10K+ less, is much more interesting.

https://www.superiorkiaohio.com/new/Kia/2018-Kia-Stinger-2fd348190a0e0a172fe35b291ca4585f.htm

driver100

Dino, part of the problem is these days dealers make so little on selling the car, they have to make their profit on servicing the car. They will try whatever they can to get you to buy something, even when you are there for free maintenance. The manufacturer probably gives them a minimal amount for doing warranty work.

Like I say, may depend on the dealer, but, I found my BMW to be overly aggressive about selling extras.

driver100

graphicguy said:

I know a little while back there was some talk in here about the Kia Stinger. I actually sat in one at the local Auto Show about 7 months ago. Seeing the sticker at $52K, I was underwhelmed, but I never test drove one.

This one, at $10K+ less, is much more interesting.

https://www.superiorkiaohio.com/new/Kia/2018-Kia-Stinger-2fd348190a0e0a172fe35b291ca4585f.htm

GG, much more realistic price. But what is a Conditional Offer?

MSRP $52,300

Superior Discount* $5,836

Superior Price$46,464

Conditional Offers $5,400

Conditional Final Price $41,064


What does that possibly mean? If it is a discount, why not call it that? I am skeptical.

dino001

My first reaction was the same. There is explanation on the bottom of the site: 2 grand cash plus 2.9% financing, plus 3 grand "conquest" (BTW they also have 3 grand "loyalty", which basically means people without any car or cars that are outside of their list of brands are excluded). When you click, you see 400 military. So this is potentially 5 grand off for most people.

I knew there will be huge discounts on those. Kia cranked out so many of them in the highest trim that it had to end like this. So many of GT1 and GT2 trims were sitting on many dealers' lots. Rather than crancking out 2.0 trims and have some scarcity of the GT trims, they did the opposite. It just made no sense to me back then. I just hope they won't kill it altogether due to this mishandled supply, as I just can't see making any money selling top trims at low 40s.

It sometimes looks like Kia is turning into old GM, when it comes to sales, when volume goes over profitability.

28firefighter

Likely means there are rebates being included that not everyone will qualify for.

dino001

driver100 said:

Dino, part of the problem is these days dealers make so little on selling the car, they have to make their profit on servicing the car. They will try whatever they can to get you to buy something, even when you are there for free maintenance. The manufacturer probably gives them a minimal amount for doing warranty work.

I know why they do it, doesn't make it right anyway.

ab348

driver100 said:

RainX suggests wiper blades should be changed at 6 months. Generic sites say 6 months to a year. I think I change them about every 2 years even before storing the car for half a year. Isn't 6 months a bit much?

Most aftermarket blades don't last 6 days on my cars before I get rid of them. Every set I've tried has been a disappointment and don't last very long, always go back to OEM.

fintail

I am surprised it wasn't a combination of military, college grad, conquest, farm use, Kia owners club, etc. I recall a local Ford dealer used to stack incentives in that impossible manner.

I wonder what resale will be on these, if they are 20% off right off the bat. Maybe a good deal when leases are returned.

I think Hyunkia and Nissan both are playing old GM games when it comes to volumes, and fleet sales. Toyota does it too, but they could rebadge a Yugo and people would buy it for the rep.

dino001 said:

My first reaction was the same. There is explanation on the bottom of the site: 2 grand cash plus 2.9% financing, plus 3 grand "conquest" (BTW they also have 3 grand "loyalty", which basically means people without any car or cars that are outside of their list of brands are excluded). When you click, you see 400 military. So this is potentially 5 grand off for most people.

I knew there will be huge discounts on those. Kia cranked out so many of them in the highest trim that it had to end like this. So many of GT1 and GT2 trims were sitting on many dealers' lots. Rather than crancking out 2.0 trims and have some scarcity of the GT trims, they did the opposite. It just made no sense to me back then. I just hope they won't kill it altogether due to this mishandled supply, as I just can't see making any money selling top trims at low 40s.

It sometimes looks like Kia is turning into old GM, when it comes to sales, when volume goes over profitability.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

RainX suggests wiper blades should be changed at 6 months. Generic sites say 6 months to a year. I think I change them about every 2 years even before storing the car for half a year. Isn't 6 months a bit much?

Most aftermarket blades don't last 6 days on my cars before I get rid of them. Every set I've tried has been a disappointment and don't last very long, always go back to OEM.

I bought GM replacement beam type for all our cars. They are lasting.

stickguy

Acura doesn’t (well, didn’t when I bought) include maintence. But first 3 years, they need very little. One oil change a year, usually under $50 with a coupon, is certainly manageable!

dino001

stickguy said:

Acura doesn’t (well, didn’t when I bought) include maintence. But first 3 years, they need very little. One oil change a year, usually under $50 with a coupon, is certainly manageable!

You need air filters (cabin 1yr, engine 2 yrs) and some inspections to make sure nothing broke or tore, but that's probably it, indeed.

dino001

fintail said:

I am surprised it wasn't a combination of military, college grad, conquest, farm use, Kia owners club, etc. .

This was my first thought, too. But it seems real 10 grand off and you even get 2.9% financing to boot, which is below market rate right now.

stickguy

The inspections are included with every service. I get a nice color coded chart with everything checked off, and measurements for tires and brakes noted.

Almost positive air filter is no sooner than 3 years. And cabin, 2 or 3 maybe. But those items are cheap.

bwia

Delete

dino001

stickguy said:

The inspections are included with every service. I get a nice color coded chart with everything checked off, and measurements for tires and brakes noted.

Almost positive air filter is no sooner than 3 years. And cabin, 2 or 3 maybe. But those items are cheap.

Obviously if you drive in a dusty area it would be more often, but it's quite possible air filters last 3 years in normal conditions. This differs from brand to brand. As you mentioned, cabin filters are usually cheap, but their replacement can be sometimes a royal PITA. Depends on a particular design.

Mr_Shiftright

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

Russian roulette for those of us in densely populated areas. Left turners in front of bikes seem to be prevalent lately.

roadburner said:

If you want cheap speed for $15k you can get a Suzuki Hayabusa which will get you to 60 in 2.7 seconds and do the quarter mile in the high nines. 

For $4,500 I bought a 1996 Speed Triple 900 with the Triumph/Sebring 3-into-1 exhaust; it runs the quarter in the mid-10s.

Those Triumph Triples are nice bikes, lots of power coming from it. Even a Street Triple  puts up some pretty impressive stats.

Yes, a car turning in front of a bike is, I believe, the most common type of motorycle/car accident. The common excuse is the usual "I didn't see it".

Mr_Shiftright

28firefighter said:

Likely means there are rebates being included that not everyone will qualify for.

Hey, stop using plain English! You'll frighten the dealers!

jmonroe1

boomchek said:

driver100 said:

boomchek said:

@bwia I would track the car via GM's onstar. Assuming subscription is active the car can be located through the service. If not, then pay to activate it and track it down. Like others said get possession of it first and then deal with disposing it in order to pay off the loan.

How did you find your way back....and become a new member again....when others who are here continuously can't do it? Nice to have you back. What are you doing? How is the baby....probably 9 or 10 by now?

Thanks @driver100 , nice to be back too.

I disappeared off the forums for a few years due to work schedule (working crazy hours plus saving to buy a bigger home). The hard work earned me a manager position at a used car lot (I was basically running the place on my own), which gave me enough experience to get a manger position at a Honda dealership, which I'm at now. I finally work semi normal hours now and have a bit more time, and we finally bought our place big enough for our family of 4 (went from 1 bedroom condo to 3 bedroom townhouse). Not easy with homes in Vancouver costing an arm and a leg.

We have 2 kids now, my baby son is now 9 years old, and turned into a real car guy, and we have a 3 year old daughter.

I used my old log in here and although at first it said there's no such user name, I went to create a new account and somehow it just logged me in and everything is still intact how I left it a few years ago.

Good to see a lot of familiar names still around.

@boomchek, let me also join in with welcoming you back. I'm sure you know that my welcome-back wishes far out-weigh those of the others but we let everyone in here say their piece. Nice to hear that your hard work has paid off. I know I could never have put up with life in the car biz. I have also noticed that your writing has improved too. Not quite to my level but there ain't too many that can claim they are in my category.

Good luck in the biz and with your family. Stick around. With you and me in here this place could become even more special than it is now (think about it).

jmonroe

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

RainX suggests wiper blades should be changed at 6 months. Generic sites say 6 months to a year. I think I change them about every 2 years even before storing the car for half a year. Isn't 6 months a bit much?

If I sold wiper blades I'd say 3 months. You have to consider the source that provides replacement intervals of most everything.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

Mr_Shiftright said:

fintail said:

Russian roulette for those of us in densely populated areas. Left turners in front of bikes seem to be prevalent lately.

If you want cheap speed for $15k you can get a Suzuki Hayabusa which will get you to 60 in 2.7 seconds and do the quarter mile in the high nines. 

For $4,500 I bought a 1996 Speed Triple 900 with the Triumph/Sebring 3-into-1 exhaust; it runs the quarter in the mid-10s.

Those Triumph Triples are nice bikes, lots of power coming from it. Even a Street Triple  puts up some pretty impressive stats.

Yes, a car turning in front of a bike is, I believe, the most common type of motorycle/car accident. The common excuse is the usual "I didn't see it".

Why are we bringing this up? People get into accidents with cars but you don't see people bringing it up out of the blue.

Anyway oncoming traffic turning left is rarely an issue with me. It's people on side streets, parking lots and making right turns on red that pull out into my lane that's the issue.

henryn

I have wondered myself, more than once, why it is that you can’t buy high quality long lasting wiper blades. The ones coming on new cars do seem to work very well, and last. It seems to me there would be a market for such quality in the after-market category. The wiper blades on my 2016 T&C are (I believe) the originals. I certainly haven’t changed them in the 20 months I have owned the minivan. And they still work better than anything I could purchase at the auto parts store.

On the subject of cheap speed and motorcycles, you are not mentioning the level of skill needed from the rider to achieve those numbers. With a fast car, especially if it has an automatic transmission, the average driver with very little practice can achieve those numbers. Or at least come very close. On the fast motorcycle, most definitely not so.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

RainX suggests wiper blades should be changed at 6 months. Generic sites say 6 months to a year. I think I change them about every 2 years even before storing the car for half a year. Isn't 6 months a bit much?

Most aftermarket blades don't last 6 days on my cars before I get rid of them. Every set I've tried has been a disappointment and don't last very long, always go back to OEM.

I think I agree with getting some OEM parts. When I was doing oil changes on the '15 Genny I could not find filters at any of the auto parts stores unless they special ordered them and if I agreed to that I never heard of the company. So I went to the dealer and got them. I was very surprised that they cost less than 8 bucks at the dealer for an OEM filter. I couldn't find wiper blades either for the '15 Genny at the auto parts. Dealer price was $35 for both and like with a lot of cars today they were different sizes.

My experience with the GM cars I used to own was that OEM belts, hoses and batteries were always better than the aftermarket jobs. I'm convinced they were made to better specifications. Last month Son #1 put the jinx on me when he had to replace the battery in his 2016 Kia van. Two weeks later I had to replace the battery in Mrs. j's 2012 Legacy but it was more than 2 years old. Some things are worth the extra cost, if there even is one, but I don't go cart blanche with that thought.

jmonroe

graphicguy

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

I know a little while back there was some talk in here about the Kia Stinger. I actually sat in one at the local Auto Show about 7 months ago. Seeing the sticker at $52K, I was underwhelmed, but I never test drove one.

This one, at $10K+ less, is much more interesting.

https://www.superiorkiaohio.com/new/Kia/2018-Kia-Stinger-2fd348190a0e0a172fe35b291ca4585f.htm

GG, much more realistic price. But what is a Conditional Offer?

MSRP $52,300

Superior Discount* $5,836

Superior Price$46,464

Conditional Offers $5,400

Conditional Final Price $41,064


What does that possibly mean? If it is a discount, why not call it that? I am skeptical.

Good question. I saw the “conquest rebates” (which was $3K, I believe) and if you take their financing at 2.9% plus $2K rebate, that totals to $5K. That leaves $400 that you probably would NOT qualify for (unless that’s a recent college grad rebate or active military rebate). I didn’t read anywhere that none of that was combinable.

So, let’s say they are combineable (note, this is for a 2018 GT2, not a 2019). You’re in line for ~$41.5K. That’s not shabby at all for a car that can do what it can do.

Yeah....I’m sure resale would be garbage. I can’t imagine getting free cappuccinos or loaner cars while waiting for service. But, if I were in the market right now, I’d head over to their dealership to check it out.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

boomchek said:

driver100 said:

boomchek said:

@bwia I would track the car via GM's onstar. Assuming subscription is active the car can be located through the service. If not, then pay to activate it and track it down. Like others said get possession of it first and then deal with disposing it in order to pay off the loan.

How did you find your way back....and become a new member again....when others who are here continuously can't do it? Nice to have you back. What are you doing? How is the baby....probably 9 or 10 by now?

Thanks @driver100 , nice to be back too.

I disappeared off the forums for a few years due to work schedule (working crazy hours plus saving to buy a bigger home). The hard work earned me a manager position at a used car lot (I was basically running the place on my own), which gave me enough experience to get a manger position at a Honda dealership, which I'm at now. I finally work semi normal hours now and have a bit more time, and we finally bought our place big enough for our family of 4 (went from 1 bedroom condo to 3 bedroom townhouse). Not easy with homes in Vancouver costing an arm and a leg.

We have 2 kids now, my baby son is now 9 years old, and turned into a real car guy, and we have a 3 year old daughter.

I used my old log in here and although at first it said there's no such user name, I went to create a new account and somehow it just logged me in and everything is still intact how I left it a few years ago.

Good to see a lot of familiar names still around.

@boomchek, let me also join in with welcoming you back. I'm sure you know that my welcome-back wishes far out-weigh those of the others but we let everyone in here say their piece. Nice to hear that your hard work has paid off. I know I could never have put up with life in the car biz. I have also noticed that your writing has improved too. Not quite to my level but there ain't too many that can claim they are in my category.

Good luck in the biz and with your family. Stick around. With you and me in here this place could become even more special than it is now (think about it).

jmonroe

Notice too, Boomcheck has been away for about 5 years but was able to sign in with his same account, other regulars can't use their original name and have to add a 1.

28firefighter

graphicguy said:

Yeah....I’m sure resale would be garbage. I can’t imagine getting free cappuccinos or loaner cars while waiting for service. But, if I were in the market right now, I’d head over to their dealership to check it out.

And probably need a shower after you left.