Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

That pilot isn’t getting a good year end review.

dino001

berri said:

Dino - here's the thing about airlines here - Years back American kept more legroom and charged around $10 more than the competitors. American saw its market share dumping. The marketplace spoke. Passengers complain, but continue to buy the cheapest tickets. btw - Europe has its share of Spirit's, Allegiant's and Frontier's too.

Unfortunately, you are right. People want to pay little and reserve right to complain. People say they'd be willing to pay more, but in front of the computer they go for lower price, because they either forgot, don't believe it will make a difference, or think they'll manage. I read somewhere it's a well-recognized psychological phenomenon - the longer time between the decision and the consequence, the more people go with the low cost. If they were shown seats just before boarding and given opportunity to bid for them, many would end up paying more than they refused to pay at time of reservation. But it's too late now - seats are taken, or priced way higher.

abacomike

berri said:

PHX also seems to lack customer services like restaurant choices last time I flew there. Not an issue really unless you have a long connection. Very high summer temps can sometimes affect aircraft departure weights and takeoff requirements, but not so much anymore with more modern aircraft. During those times you may want to avoid an MD-80 flight.

When I lived in Palm Desert, flying out of Palm Springs in the summer always rattled me.  Most medium sized jets departed before 11:00 AM due to the extreme heat (105-110 degrees every day for highs).  The DFW flight left at 6:00 AM.  As we would climb to about 3000 feet, the turbulence was scary due to the fast rising air from the desert floor.  As we would near the Banning Pass, I alway held onto my armrests tightly.

They extended the main runway (36L) 2000 feet which solved some of the take-off problems in summer.

berri

The original DC9-10 series had a wing design that skipped leading edge (forward) slats. That could be a bit of a concern in icing conditions. Slats were added to the DC9-30 to accommodate the larger payload capacity and maintain their excellent takeoff and landing abilities. As a passenger in Coach, I liked the 3-2 seating arrangement which has been picked up by the Airbus 220 (originally Bombardier CS-1000). Very durable airframe that obviously lasted a long time.

pensfan83

As much as people love to clamor for the good old days of flying and romanticize what a grand time it was if you compare flying today with that of the so called “Golden Era” flying is cheaper, more frequent, faster, safer, more comfortable (with exceptions of course), and, more accessible to the general public.

abacomike

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. I sat down and he said to me as he showed me the balance due, "...Mike, this is what you owe me - Merry Christmas!" The balance owed showed only zeros. I asked him why and he merely said that even though I didn't buy this Mercedes at his dealership, I have always been a great customer so he wanted to thank me for my many years of patronage. I thanked him and left the dealership owing nothing. That was so very generous of him. They already wash my car for me once a week at no charge even though the car was not purchased there. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

abacomike

The issue with my iPhone has been solved by T-Mobile. I can now call my best friend. They said it was an issue with the settings for my phone at their computers. So, no need to go to Apple Saturday. The reset of my phone actually freed up 4 gigs of memory because I had to reset the phone "as new" rather than from a backup. The phone's operations are faster and everything is working fine - for the time being that is!

I am still considering an iPhone X(r), but probably not until after the 1st of the year.

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. I sat down and he said to me as he showed me the balance due, "...Mike, this is what you owe me - Merry Christmas!" The balance owed showed only zeros. I asked him why and he merely said that even though I didn't buy this Mercedes at his dealership, I have always been a great customer so he wanted to thank me for my many years of patronage. I thanked him and left the dealership owing nothing. That was so very generous of him. They already wash my car for me once a week at no charge even though the car was not purchased there. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

He was trying to make you feel guilty enough to test drive a 2019.

jmonroe

abacomike

jmonroe1 said:

abacomike said:

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. I sat down and he said to me as he showed me the balance due, "...Mike, this is what you owe me - Merry Christmas!" The balance owed showed only zeros. I asked him why and he merely said that even though I didn't buy this Mercedes at his dealership, I have always been a great customer so he wanted to thank me for my many years of patronage. I thanked him and left the dealership owing nothing. That was so very generous of him. They already wash my car for me once a week at no charge even though the car was not purchased there. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

He was trying to make you feel guilty enough to test drive a 2019.

jmonroe

Funny thing is, I really did feel a bit guilty when he handed me the work order and bill - honestly. I was a bit sheepish at first. I realize the money did not come out of his own pocket, but the fact that he zeroed out the balance was a big-time gesture for a devout fan of Mercedes Benz vehicles.

oldfarmer50

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

abacomike

pensfan83 said:

As much as people love to clamor for the good old days of flying and romanticize what a grand time it was if you compare flying today with that of the so called “Golden Era” flying is cheaper, more frequent, faster, safer, more comfortable (with exceptions of course), and, more accessible to the general public.

Pensfan, I would disagree with you, if you don't mind, with some of what you posted above. Flying is not faster today than it was in the 80's and 90's. Flying is not more comfortable than back in the 80's and 90's - the seats are smaller and the leg room is awful. Flights tended to be more "on-time" back then. Couple all that with the long delays waiting in line to get through security today, flying is really not one of my favorite pass times.

But, in order to make flying more economical and more available to the average Joe, things had to change. Serving the meals they used to serve is just not very practical. Even in first class, the food is barely passable in terms of taste and quantity. But, c'est la vie!

cdnpinhead

Karma -- good vibes.

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

The issue with my iPhone has been solved by T-Mobile. I can now call my best friend. They said it was an issue with the settings for my phone at their computers. So, no need to go to Apple Saturday. The reset of my phone actually freed up 4 gigs of memory because I had to reset the phone "as new" rather than from a backup. The phone's operations are faster and everything is working fine - for the time being that is!

I am still considering an iPhone X(r), but probably not until after the 1st of the year.

You better get that phone NOW because when that guilt finally gets to you, you won't be able to afford it after you get that new Benz as a Christmas gift for yourself.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

Where's the hooptie or do we need a shot from you back porch for that?

jmonroe

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

WOW! Just beautiful!!!!!

graphicguy

Well.....as some pointed out, regional jets have taken over most of the flying within the continental U.S. Only exceptions are airlines trying to get some of their bigger jets (7x7s, Airbus, etc) to either coast to fly international from the interior of the U.S.

Even before I had elite status on some of the airlines, they would seemingly upgrade me almost all the time. Probably because I was flying 100K/year, every year. I still fly nearly 100K annually, but those upgrades are few and far between, which means someone is buying business and first class seats, vs them just providing them gratis.

In fairness, Delta does regularly upgrade me to "Comfort +". But, those were the regular seats just 10 years ago. Of course, they also provide alcohol gratis in those seats as compensation. I prefer not to drink on board, though.

That said, I took prop planes for flights less than 2 hours in duration. Those were always a treat (he says sarcastically). The Regional Jets have taken over that duty, and I'm glad they have.

First class food was never something I would prefer over any restaurant on land. But, that's just me. I've been flying since the '80s. Maybe it was better in the '70s.

Most of my major mileage was collected when I was telecommuting from Cincinnati to San Jose (2-3 weeks/mo). After that, I was spending a lot of time in Brazil, spending at least a week/month, there.

Now, I mostly go to Austin (company hub), Vegas (for conferences), San Francisco (where the Mothership is HQd) and Mississauga (another company HUB).

Only time I go to Europe is for pleasure. I do go to Hong Kong for work, but that's maybe only once or twice/year.

abacomike

jmonroe1 said:

The issue with my iPhone has been solved by T-Mobile. I can now call my best friend. They said it was an issue with the settings for my phone at their computers. So, no need to go to Apple Saturday. The reset of my phone actually freed up 4 gigs of memory because I had to reset the phone "as new" rather than from a backup. The phone's operations are faster and everything is working fine - for the time being that is! I am still considering an iPhone X(r), but probably not until after the 1st of the year.

You better get that phone NOW because when that guilt finally gets to you, you won't be able to afford it after you get that new Benz as a Christmas gift for yourself. jmonroe

No new car!  Nada, Nyet, No, Ain’t Gonna Happen!

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

That really is pretty, some beautiful colors there. Enjoy it before it all turns to white!

28firefighter

In my old job, I flew about 125k miles a year, domestic only - mostly Seattle to various east coast and midwest cities. Alaska was/is my go-to carrier and even with frequent upgrades to first class, it was still pretty miserable. I know today that some of the carriers have true business class seats on the transcon flights out of LA and SFO and I suspect that would have made a lot of this travel more palatable if I could have laid down and truly slept.

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

jmonroe1 said:

abacomike said:

The issue with my iPhone has been solved by T-Mobile. I can now call my best friend. They said it was an issue with the settings for my phone at their computers. So, no need to go to Apple Saturday. The reset of my phone actually freed up 4 gigs of memory because I had to reset the phone "as new" rather than from a backup. The phone's operations are faster and everything is working fine - for the time being that is!

I am still considering an iPhone X(r), but probably not until after the 1st of the year.

You better get that phone NOW because when that guilt finally gets to you, you won't be able to afford it after you get that new Benz as a Christmas gift for yourself.

jmonroe

No new car!  Nada, Nyet, No, Ain’t Gonna Happen!

Are you trying to convince us or yourself ? Do you practice saying that in front of the mirror every morning ?

jmonroe

jmonroe1

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

That really is pretty, some beautiful colors there. Enjoy it before it all turns to white!

I agree. That white truck was a nice burgundy color a few days ago.

jmonroe

berri

It is not your imagination, planes fly slower today, but extra time is also packed into flight schedules. As for speed, a B727 cruised faster than a B737, a DC10 flew faster than a B767. a B747 faster than a B777, etc. But planes are also flying a bit slower to max out fuel economy.

berri

That fall tree colors pix is nice, just throw in a few red maples and you'd have perfection!

tifighter

28firefighter said:

In my old job, I flew about 125k miles a year, domestic only -

Ugh. That's a lot of segments. I fly about 100K/year, but that's mostly trans-Atlantic, with the occasional transpac thrown in, like next month to TPE. I used to fly AS more, but Delta has pretty much taken over SEA as you know, and for international segments, it would have been them anyhow. At least the DL lounge is nice.

berri

Aba - you know you're going for a new MB and the dealer smells it too

dino001

28firefighter said:

In my old job, I flew about 125k miles a year, domestic only - mostly Seattle to various east coast and midwest cities. Alaska was/is my go-to carrier and even with frequent upgrades to first class, it was still pretty miserable. I know today that some of the carriers have true business class seats on the transcon flights out of LA and SFO and I suspect that would have made a lot of this travel more palatable if I could have laid down and truly slept.

Part of the misery is use of narrow body planes for 4+ hour flights. Low sealing give you this sardine-like feel, even when you sit in a first class seat. Wide body planes, even smallest ones like 767, are much more friendly for long flights. But Boeing and Airbus figured out how to extend range of their 737 and A320/321, so the trends are the opposite. Add extended fuselage and you get long confined flight combined with prolonged deplaning (except if you fly first class, of course). As you mentioned, AA and UA have those few NYC-LA and SFO flights with a true business class, but they are also priced accordingly. I think planes to Hawaii are probably worst, as you fly almost as long as to/from Europe, yet the service setup (seats, meals, attention) is similar to a flight from NYC to say Chicago.

berri

Hopefully Delta doesn't end up doing to SEA like it did to Cincinnati (think high fares). I like Alaska Airlines. I often wonder if they will have to merge with Jet Blue for their mutual survival.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Yeah, AC flew DC-9s seemingly forever, especially into smaller airports like the one here (YHZ). In coach they had a 2-3 seat pattern. Someone told me once that a DC-9 had the fastest takeoff of the major aircraft in commercial service back then, dunno if it is true.

My first jet aircraft flight was in 1982 and it was on an AC DC-8, Halifax to Florida and return. I remember on the way back here it was virtually empty and the cabin service was tremendous as a result. One thing I remember about both the AC DC-8 and DC-9 was that the handles on the window shades still had "Douglas" embossed into them which I took to mean that they were pretty ancient.

Mike, the L-1011 was loved by everyone who rode on it except the airline bean-counters, apparently. A really handsome aircraft both inside and out. Most of my wide-body flying experience was as a passenger on DC-10s, which I did not like as much for their bad reputation as anything. They seemed comfortable enough but I did not like to get one.

I recall flying in the early-mid-80s as being a much different experience than it is now. Not only were seats roomier but the flight attendants would be very liberal with handing out miniatures of booze and they served actual food which was usually edible. Here in Canada we had Canadian Pacific Airlines back then which I always preferred. Not only was their food good but their drinks cart featured full-sized bottles of booze and the attendants would make you whatever cocktail you desired within reason.

We had a flight incident at YHZ early this morning. A SkyLease Cargo 747 overshot the runway upon landing, took out an array of antennas beyond the runway and came to a stop on a grassy embankment. 4 crew, minor injuries, but the aircraft is apparently a write-off.

That’ll buff right out.

stickguy

Nice picture farmer. But I mostly see 2 weeks from now piles of leaves to rake, and 2 months from now piles of dirty gray snow!

dino001

Longer flight times are sometimes due to slower cruising speeds, but more often are due to longer airport time (taxi to/from gate) and to minimize late departures/arrivals. Seems like airlines wised up when it comes to setting overly ambitious times for the total trip length.

Mr_Shiftright

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

Guy today who has an older Honda Civic said he had to pay $300 to have a new front headlight put it. These days of course it isn't just screwing in a bulb, it means replacing the whole light fixture. He said you had to take most of the front end off the car to get at it. I don't see that information online, online it says it will cost $90 to $170.
I looked up a C Class Mercedes and this is what I got;
The average cost for a Mercedes-Benz C350 headlight bulb replacement is between $605 and $818. Labor costs are estimated between $220 and $278 while parts are priced between $385 and $540. Estimate does not include taxes and fees

What happened to the days when you bought a bulb for a few $1s and just screwed them in?

As you noted, the light bulb no longer gets screwed in. It's the owner that gets the screwing now.

jmonroe



====>IT COULD BE WORSE

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

That’ll buff right out.

I suspect the pilot's ego is pretty well bruised.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

That pilot isn’t getting a good year end review.

In Alaska, we considered that a good landing.

imidazol97

My first flight was a Convair 880 with 4 engines like a DC8. Follow by a short hop Atlanta to Charleston on a two-prop Convair 440, with oil and water running out of the engine cowling area. At low altitude above the trees all the way to Charleston. Followed by return flight on DC9 in a weather front that had had tornadoes in it during the previous night back to ATL. You know it's rough when the stewardesses never leave their jump seats during the flight from Charleston to Columbia. I was really glad to get back to Cincy to my car after those flights.

But I can always say I flew in a propeller plane. A tail dragger with about 20 seats.

So now I had looked into flying from Dayton or Cincy to Charlotte/Spartenburg SC and then driving an hour to get to our friend's home in upstate SC. It would take as long to get there with the airport waits as it would to drive through to TN and around the Smokies to get to their home.

Maybe if I chartered a small plane to use a closer airport, but then I'd miss out on the smoked caviar and champaign you all are talking about on the flights...

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

Where's the hooptie or do we need a shot from you back porch for that?

jmonroe

Which of the hoopties are you interested? One (convertible) is in the barn for the winter, one (the good one) is in the garage but I’m still driving it until snow, the other two are in the driveway waiting to be sacrificed to the salt gods in a few weeks.

oldfarmer50

Had a fun time recently driving back to back a brand new (3 miles) 2019 Lincoln MKZ 2.0t and an equally new 2019 Fusion se. I’m assuming from the power difference the Ford had the 1.5L.

The Lincoln rode very smooth by comparison, had a nicer leather interior but had substantially more power. No noticeable turbo lag. The Ford had adequate power but coming right out of the Lincoln it felt like it was working hard. I’m sure the Lincoln had a much fancier audio system but I didn’t have the opportunity to fiddle with either one.

The Fusion is perfectly fine daily transportation but I can see why someone would spring for the luxury.

stickguy

What exactly is your hooptie collection now, farmer?

driver100

pensfan83 said:

As much as people love to clamor for the good old days of flying and romanticize what a grand time it was if you compare flying today with that of the so called “Golden Era” flying is cheaper, more frequent, faster, safer, more comfortable (with exceptions of course), and, more accessible to the general public.

and today there are movies aboard!

abacomike

berri said:

Aba - you know you're going for a new MB and the dealer smells it too

The only smelling going on is the aroma from my new air freshener in the Benz!

driver100

abacomike said:

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

But, aren't the oil and filters all covered under warranty. Air filters shouldn't have to be changed yet. Blades I can see a charge for, but you don't do that many miles to need blades even...or did you not get the warranty program?

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Sometimes living in the Northeast is nice. View from my front porch.

Beautiful....is that one of your hoopties off in the distance OF?

jmonroe1

Mr_Shiftright said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

Guy today who has an older Honda Civic said he had to pay $300 to have a new front headlight put it. These days of course it isn't just screwing in a bulb, it means replacing the whole light fixture. He said you had to take most of the front end off the car to get at it. I don't see that information online, online it says it will cost $90 to $170.
I looked up a C Class Mercedes and this is what I got;
The average cost for a Mercedes-Benz C350 headlight bulb replacement is between $605 and $818. Labor costs are estimated between $220 and $278 while parts are priced between $385 and $540. Estimate does not include taxes and fees

What happened to the days when you bought a bulb for a few $1s and just screwed them in?

As you noted, the light bulb no longer gets screwed in. It's the owner that gets the screwing now.

jmonroe

====>IT COULD BE WORSE

Yes it could. Like not using any lube.

jmonroe

abacomike

driver100 said:

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

But, aren't the oil and filters all covered under warranty. Air filters shouldn't have to be changed yet. Blades I can see a charge for, but you don't do that many miles to need blades even...or did you not get the warranty program?

No, oil and filters and air filters are not under warranty - they are maintenance items.

driver100

berri said:

Aba - you know you're going for a new MB and the dealer smells it too

Yeh, they are planning on ordering him a 2020...that he only has to take if he really really wants it.

driver100

stickguy said:

Nice picture farmer. But I mostly see 2 weeks from now piles of leaves to rake, and 2 months from now piles of dirty gray snow!

By then he will be looking for a place to stay in Florida.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Had a fun time recently driving back to back a brand new (3 miles) 2019 Lincoln MKZ 2.0t and an equally new 2019 Fusion se. I’m assuming from the power difference the Ford had the 1.5L.

The Lincoln rode very smooth by comparison, had a nicer leather interior but had substantially more power. No noticeable turbo lag. The Ford had adequate power but coming right out of the Lincoln it felt like it was working hard. I’m sure the Lincoln had a much fancier audio system but I didn’t have the opportunity to fiddle with either one.

The Fusion is perfectly fine daily transportation but I can see why someone would spring for the luxury.

Put them on your list oldfarmer....one day they too will become hoopties.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

Guy today who has an older Honda Civic said he had to pay $300 to have a new front headlight put it. These days of course it isn't just screwing in a bulb, it means replacing the whole light fixture. He said you had to take most of the front end off the car to get at it. I don't see that information online, online it says it will cost $90 to $170.
I looked up a C Class Mercedes and this is what I got;
The average cost for a Mercedes-Benz C350 headlight bulb replacement is between $605 and $818. Labor costs are estimated between $220 and $278 while parts are priced between $385 and $540. Estimate does not include taxes and fees

What happened to the days when you bought a bulb for a few $1s and just screwed them in?

As you noted, the light bulb no longer gets screwed in. It's the owner that gets the screwing now.

jmonroe

====>IT COULD BE WORSE

Yes it could. Like not using any lube.

jmonroe

I tell you, this jmonroe1 has a much better sense of humor than his brother. Too bad he wasn't the one who joined the first time.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

Well, I finally had my A Service completed on my S450 this morning. They put on new wiper blades, changed the oil and filter, replaced scent in the HVAC mister (it is a jar filled with liquid fragrance - like an atomizer - to "enhance" the smells in the car), replaced all filters, and a bunch of other stuff. The service manager called me into his office to go over the bill which was originally estimated at $565 plus tax. What a nice dealership and what a great staff they have their. Nice early Christmas gift, that's for sure.

But, aren't the oil and filters all covered under warranty. Air filters shouldn't have to be changed yet. Blades I can see a charge for, but you don't do that many miles to need blades even...or did you not get the warranty program?

No, oil and filters and air filters are not under warranty - they are maintenance items.

I paid for a package, 3 years and they cover all maintenance except parts that wear out like wiper blades and brakes. Oil change and oil filter are under the MB extended warranty. I didn't pay for those on the Certified 2014 model.......those were covered for a total of 5 years from original date of purchase.

Though, if the dealer is going to pay for it then I wouldn't buy a warranty package either.

ab348

berri said:

Hopefully Delta doesn't end up doing to SEA like it did to Cincinnati (think high fares). I like Alaska Airlines. I often wonder if they will have to merge with Jet Blue for their mutual survival.

Apparently Alaska took over Virgin Airlines? I have a friend in NYC who flies to the west coast a few times a year and she was a big fan of Virgin, but has been singing the blues ever since she had to fly Alaska.

imidazol97

abacomike said:

They said it was an issue with the settings for my phone at their computers. So, no need to go to Apple Saturday.

My wife's doctor's office would not ring in when she called from our landline. She kept telling them there was problem. They wouldn't believe her because they could call in just fine. My wife ended up called in on her cell phone.

We called Frontier, our landline company, who called back saying there was a problem with the computer setting for the line for that doctor group (a large satellite hospital group). They had left Frontier and went with a VOIP carrier and the redirect on the calling wasn't switched over properly to transfer the calls to the VOIP.