Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

abacomike said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

Oh my.....

The 2020 BMW 7-series Sedan's Kidney Grille Is 40 Percent Bigger.....

There was supposed to be a picture with that, but it didn’t transfer. Sorry!

Now...why did they have to do that? Is it a contest to see how large you can get a grill that will fit on the front end?

Looks like the bottom panel was a last minute decision. It is another case of the earlier model looking better than the newer one.

Looks photoshopped.

I happen to like it!  Definitely worth a look see!

Ohhhhhhhh Noooooo!

fintail

I don't think the new 7er pic is photoshopped, it really looks like that. People are already making jokes:

28firefighter

The grill looks like the talking furnace from Home Alone.

pensfan83

Individuals operating an illegal exporting business are committing criminal acts, money laundering for one. That article opens up a number of questions from me on how that gentleman operated, particularly how the funds flowed from China to the US to him and how his transactional history at his bank seemed to go undetected, at least outwardly.

driver100

fintail said:

I don't think the new 7er pic is photoshopped, it really looks like that. People are already making jokes:

That can't be real....can it?
I see the 2020 3 Series gets a larger grill, but not gargantuan large. Liked the taillights on the last version more though;

oldfarmer50

I’d like opinions.

How often would you change brake fluid on a car that is only driven a few thousand miles a year and stored in the winter. Is the two year rule still valid?

Also, would you change the fluid on a car that is older (10+ years) and never had a fluid change. Or would you just leave it be?

stickguy

3 years on the new one. Yes on the old one.

Not driving much actually might mean should do it more often but that is really not much mileage.

dino001

The jokes are because of X7's unfortunate (IMHO) Cadillac-like grill. I mean huge chrome grill, not literally.

driver100

The two kidney shapes are becoming one big jelly bean look.

venture

Michaell said:

venture said:

graphicguy said:

pensfan83 said:

graphicguy said:

Re: Dealer Service

I had the differential fluid changed in my TLX on Friday. The price came in UNDER what their service sheet stated (by about $55). Pleasantly surprised, I asked the service manager why they lowered the price (or, was I such a great customer that they gave me a “deal”)?

He said the Honda store across the street (different owner) was sending out coupons to Acura owners to get some of the service business....offering “Honda Service Pricing”. I never got the mailer, but my Acura dealer wasn’t about to give away any service business. So, they beat Honda’s service pricing on my rear diff fluid change by............A DOLLAR.

I just love this country.

The dealer group I bought my Acura from has a Honda store in their fold and the Acura dealer does the same thing, or so they said 17 months ago. The first service I negotiated into the deal but the one coming up this August I'll have to cover so we'll see if they remember their pledge.

@pensfan83 ...same with my dealership group. They have a Honda store, too....only it’s not remotely close to their Acura dealership. I just got a piece of mail from Acura wanting to know if I want to update the maps on my NAV system, to the tune of $149. I think they’re fighting a losing battle now that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have their own map features that constantly update.....for no cost.

Holy cow. I just updated the maps on my Legacy myself last week. Subaru emailed me a link where I could go to download the files. No charge.

Care to share that link? I don't think we've touched the NAV content on the wife's 2015 Outback since we bought it almost 4 years ago.

The one I used was only for 2018s. I seem to remember seeing the one for earlier years. I'll nose around a little and see if I can find it again.

Later...I don't have the email any more. See if you can register here: https://subaru-maps.com/

stickguy

I have no clue how the Navi in the TLX updates. Most likely I would never bother, unless it was easy and free (or the dealer just did it when the car was in for normal service).

houdini2

fintail said:

I don't think the new 7er pic is photoshopped, it really looks like that. People are already making jokes:

Those remind me of some other real cars I could mention.

jmonroe1

cdnpinhead said:

berri said:

I may be wrong here, but didn't some people kind of stomp on him in the forums awhile ago about a vehicle he was considering?

It appeared to me and, apparently, others to be indecision and questionable reasoning raised to an art form over a number of what seemed like months, but could have been weeks.

Seemed more like a lifetime.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

Mr_Shiftright said:

I think that's really how it's going to look. Yeah, I know. Shoot me now. Somebody needs to warn them.

I recall a great quote about car design---something like "It takes two people to design a car properly. One to sketch the design, and a second standing behind him with a baseball bat".

That's a pretty sexist "quote". Wouldn't be tolerated today.

jmonroe

ab348

fintail said:

I think that's the concept for the new Lexus BMW-beater.

explorerx4

That coupe could be in the next Cars movie. Bayrie?

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I think that's really how it's going to look. Yeah, I know. Shoot me now. Somebody needs to warn them.

I recall a great quote about car design---something like "It takes two people to design a car properly. One to sketch the design, and a second standing behind him with a baseball bat".

That's a pretty sexist "quote". Wouldn't be tolerated today.

jmonroe

Why sexist? It could be two men. It may not be the PC thing to say....but, not necessarily sexist IMHO.

abacomike

Today I left 3 messages for the Mercedes Service advisor to update me on the status of my car - no response and it is now 6:00 PM.  I have a feeling that they either broke the glass of the sunroof or the parts they ordered are on back order or something else even more serious.  I even called the service manager at 5:00 PM and was told they would get right back to me.  That was an hour ago.

What can I say - there is something going on and I am in the dark.

28firefighter

You know, I could understand (kind of) if this was a CLA or C-Class customer. But an S-class customer? Come on now.

explorerx4

@abacomike,
Did you ever get your car serviced at another dealer?

carnaught

explorerx4 said:

@abacomike,
Did you ever get your car serviced at another dealer?

Also, Mike, is this your Mercedes dealer of choice, until now at least?

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

I think that's really how it's going to look. Yeah, I know. Shoot me now. Somebody needs to warn them.

I recall a great quote about car design---something like "It takes two people to design a car properly. One to sketch the design, and a second standing behind him with a baseball bat".

That's a pretty sexist "quote". Wouldn't be tolerated today.

jmonroe

Sounded more like a sports metaphor.

abacomike

28firefighter said:

You know, I could understand (kind of) if this was a CLA or C-Class customer. But an S-class customer? Come on now.

I just got a call from the service manager at Mercedes.  They received the seal for the glass this morning and when they replaced the seal on the glass and tested the operation of the sunroof, it snapped due to a defective hidden seal they were unaware of.  So they have ordered a new set of seals and tracks and glass for overnight delivery tomorrow.  They are hoping to have the car finished tomorrow but it all depends on when they get the parts.

This has become a fiasco - each new day brings with it even more problems with the sunroof.  The service manager apologized for the poor communication but added that the service advisor was trying to avoid letting me know that there were more problems today considering the fact that the car has been in service for 4 working days with no solution to the problem at hand and now the need for even more days in service.

I can empathize with the service writer as I doubt I would look forward to informing a customer that my mechanic screwed up again delaying the “fix” even more days.  I have to look at it this way - do I have any control over getting my car repaired and back in my possession?  The answer is NO!  So why get all worked up over something I have no control over?  I sound like a psychiatrist, don’t I? 

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Today I left 3 messages for the Mercedes Service advisor to update me on the status of my car - no response and it is now 6:00 PM.  I have a feeling that they either broke the glass of the sunroof or the parts they ordered are on back order or something else even more serious.  I even called the service manager at 5:00 PM and was told they would get right back to me.  That was an hour ago.

What can I say - there is something going on and I am in the dark.

I would be doing donuts in that free loaner right now. Maybe see how many times I could bounce it off the rev limiter.

abacomike

carnaught said:

@abacomike, Did you ever get your car serviced at another dealer?

Also, Mike, is this your Mercedes dealer of choice, until now at least?

Yes, carnaught.

cdnpinhead

The key to all of this is to have a vehicle that needs no repairs of this sort, by whatever means. Could be a reliable unit, could be the "feature" isn't on the car -- whatever. It's interesting to watch (hear about), that's for sure. Good luck.

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

@abacomike, Did you ever get your car serviced at another dealer?

This is my closest dealership.  Remember, I don’t have much experience with Mercedes service departments since I never had a problem - I only kept them (my Mercedes cars) a year or less.  Never had a warranty claim or service before.  So I am a novice when it comes to Mercedes service departments.

driver100

abacomike said:

Today I left 3 messages for the Mercedes Service advisor to update me on the status of my car - no response and it is now 6:00 PM.  I have a feeling that they either broke the glass of the sunroof or the parts they ordered are on back order or something else even more serious.  I even called the service manager at 5:00 PM and was told they would get right back to me.  That was an hour ago.

What can I say - there is something going on and I am in the dark.

I think it is better NOT to tell them you are going to give them a bad review.......now they may not care, since they are going to get a bad review anyway.

I believe in the ultimatum. I am going to write a book one day on the power of the ultimatum. If my car isn't fixed by (a reasonable amount of time) then I will have to give you a bad review.

It is not right that they haven't got back to you. They must have problems getting it fixed. Either wrong parts or it is extremely complicated to fix.

abacomike

driver100 said:

Today I left 3 messages for the Mercedes Service advisor to update me on the status of my car - no response and it is now 6:00 PM.  I have a feeling that they either broke the glass of the sunroof or the parts they ordered are on back order or something else even more serious.  I even called the service manager at 5:00 PM and was told they would get right back to me.  That was an hour ago.

What can I say - there is something going on and I am in the dark.

I think it is better NOT to tell them you are going to give them a bad review.......now they may not care, since they are going to get a bad review anyway. I believe in the ultimatum. I am going to write a book one day on the power of the ultimatum. If my car isn't fixed by (a reasonable amount of time) then I will have to give you a bad review. It is not right that they haven't got back to you. They must have problems getting it fixed. Either wrong parts or it is extremely complicated to fix.

I have not said a thing to them about the service survey.  I’ve only filled out one service survey for this dealership and that was in November when I had the 1-year service performed.  I’ll calm things down with them once I pick up my car.  Remember they wash my car every week at no charge and I did not get the car from this dealership - I got it from Mercedes Benz of Palm Beach.

driver100

abacomike
I just got a call from the service manager at Mercedes. They received the seal for the glass this morning and when they replaced the seal on the glass and tested the operation of the sunroof,

Like you said Mike, these things happen and you just have to go with the flow. They are probably working their butts off trying to get this repaired.......it isn't something Mercedes would be proud of. The cost must be in the $1000s by now trying to get this repaired. The poor mechanic, he will probably only get a repair like this once in his lifetime.

I don't know why these things happen to you Mike....I hope you don't bother buying lottery tickets.

explorerx4

I was very happy all the ice melted off my truck today.
Faced it toward the sun on one side, then later other other side, so it would melt.
Mother Nature did some good work, although it never got above freezing today.

abacomike

driver100 said:

abacomike I just got a call from the service manager at Mercedes. They received the seal for the glass this morning and when they replaced the seal on the glass and tested the operation of the sunroof,

Like you said Mike, these things happen and you just have to go with the flow. They are probably working their butts off trying to get this repaired.......it isn't something Mercedes would be proud of. The cost must be in the $1000s by now trying to get this repaired. The poor mechanic, he will probably only get a repair like this once in his lifetime. I don't know why these things happen to you Mike....I hope you don't bother buying lottery tickets.

Never buy them!

roadburner

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a21777248/how-i-bought-millions-of-dollars-worth-of-luxury-cars-and-got-blacklisted-by-jaguar-land-rover-mercedes-and-porsche/


Entertaining about grey market.....

That’s interesting. About a year ago I posted a Craigslist ad for that same job and asked this group for input. General consensus was that it was a scam. I guess it was but not in the way we thought.

What would happen if the dealer came after this guy for the $8500 fine he agreed to pay for exporting?

OF....that’s the underbelly of a business, while not illegal, certainly operating outside the “traditional” car biz.

@roadburner ....did you see any of this during your BMW days?

I didn't see it personally, but we got more than a few memos from BMW NA warning dealers of sanctions for knowingly selling cars to export.

roadburner

I thought the X7 grille was the height of caricature, but the facelifted 7 Series tops it by a considerable margin...

suydam

abacomike said:

28firefighter said:

You know, I could understand (kind of) if this was a CLA or C-Class customer. But an S-class customer? Come on now.

I just got a call from the service manager at Mercedes.  They received the seal for the glass this morning and when they replaced the seal on the glass and tested the operation of the sunroof, it snapped due to a defective hidden seal they were unaware of.  So they have ordered a new set of seals and tracks and glass for overnight delivery tomorrow.  They are hoping to have the car finished tomorrow but it all depends on when they get the parts.

This has become a fiasco - each new day brings with it even more problems with the sunroof.  The service manager apologized for the poor communication but added that the service advisor was trying to avoid letting me know that there were more problems today considering the fact that the car has been in service for 4 working days with no solution to the problem at hand and now the need for even more days in service.

I can empathize with the service writer as I doubt I would look forward to informing a customer that my mechanic screwed up again delaying the “fix” even more days.  I have to look at it this way - do I have any control over getting my car repaired and back in my possession?  The answer is NO!  So why get all worked up over something I have no control over?  I sound like a psychiatrist, don’t I? 

Wow, if I had spent that much money on a car I would be furious. I have had sunroof on every car I’ve owned since the 90’s and never had a problem with any of them. And probably all of them together didn’t cost as much as your Mercedes!

imidazol97

abacomike said:

Today I left 3 messages for the Mercedes Service advisor to update me on the status of my car - no response and it is now 6:00 PM.  I have a feeling that they either broke the glass of the sunroof or the parts they ordered are on back order or something else even more serious.  I even called the service manager at 5:00 PM and was told they would get right back to me.  That was an hour ago.

What can I say - there is something going on and I am in the dark.

I understand your concern. There's nothing like showing up in person instead of calling. They can't put off calling back when you're in front of them. I think after a first message not returned even by a busy advisor, I would have driven there.

henryn

I feel for you, Mike. No way you should be dealing with that kind of trouble on a $100k car, no way at all.

And I'm beginning to wonder if they are going to be able to actually fix it. I mean REALLY fix it, make it like it never happened and works perfectly and continues to work perfectly.

Anyone giving odds?

stickguy

not sure, but if Mike finally gets it back closed correctly, might not want to open it again!

venture

My wife came out of school earlier this evening and her Forester wouldn't start. I drove down to have a look. After she managed to turn the headlights on, I could see they were dim. The engine would barely crank.

I had the battery replaced a year ago - January of 2018.

I called my dealer and asked if they could come and pick it up. The guy said to call a tow truck and gave me the name of the one they use.

This isn't a $100k car, but that is not the way to treat a customer; especially one who has bought 6 cars from you. At the very least they should have taken the obligation of calling the tow truck for me.

I'm not very happy right now either.

[Deleted User]

Speaking of bad dealer experiences, Audi has done it one more time. Tomorrow morning I was scheduled to have the aux coolant pump replaced, the one that can catch fire. I just received a call from the dealer telling me I'm not allowed to have a pump for at least a "couple of months" because there are people that didn't opt for the intermediate fix and those people get priority. Nice. So I still have a car that "probably" doesn't need the pump for cooling purposes. I've been holding off selling the car until the pump was replaced, but I can't wait another couple of months. Not a big fan of Audi right now.

venture

stickguy said:

not sure, but if Mike finally gets it back closed correctly, might not want to open it again!

I can't argue with that opinion, but I would open it every time I got in it after this.

sda

graphicguy said:

Re: Dealer Service

I had the differential fluid changed in my TLX on Friday. The price came in UNDER what their service sheet stated (by about $55). Pleasantly surprised, I asked the service manager why they lowered the price (or, was I such a great customer that they gave me a “deal”)?

He said the Honda store across the street (different owner) was sending out coupons to Acura owners to get some of the service business....offering “Honda Service Pricing”. I never got the mailer, but my Acura dealer wasn’t about to give away any service business. So, they beat Honda’s service pricing on my rear diff fluid change by............A DOLLAR.

I just love this country.

graphicguy said:

Re: Dealer Service

I had the differential fluid changed in my TLX on Friday. The price came in UNDER what their service sheet stated (by about $55). Pleasantly surprised, I asked the service manager why they lowered the price (or, was I such a great customer that they gave me a “deal”)?

He said the Honda store across the street (different owner) was sending out coupons to Acura owners to get some of the service business....offering “Honda Service Pricing”. I never got the mailer, but my Acura dealer wasn’t about to give away any service business. So, they beat Honda’s service pricing on my rear diff fluid change by............A DOLLAR.

I just love this country.

I thought that service was done at 30k. Have you been piling on the miles?

I just read that it is required at 15k, scratch my question.

stickguy

the center diff is 30K interval, starting at 30k. The rear for some reason they call for at 15K, for the first change, then every 30K after that.

Which means I am almost due for a 2nd change on the rear on the RDX, since the MM is down to 30% and we recently went over 50,000 miles.

dino001

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike
I just got a call from the service manager at Mercedes. They received the seal for the glass this morning and when they replaced the seal on the glass and tested the operation of the sunroof,

Like you said Mike, these things happen and you just have to go with the flow. They are probably working their butts off trying to get this repaired.......it isn't something Mercedes would be proud of. The cost must be in the $1000s by now trying to get this repaired. The poor mechanic, he will probably only get a repair like this once in his lifetime.

I don't know why these things happen to you Mike....I hope you don't bother buying lottery tickets.

Never buy them!

I think you should. Perhaps Lady Luck is waiting to compensate you, but you win’t give her a chance.

dino001

sda said:

I thought that service was done at 30k. Have you been piling on the miles?

I just read that it is required at 15k, scratch my question.

Differ fluid at 15k? Wow, that’s really low. In some cars it’s “lifetime”, or no less than transmission.

stickguy

well, it is 30K intervals. I think the first one being short is due to break in clean out.

might be overkill, but cheap enough to make sure it lasts (and no warranty quibbles).

Honda is more agressive with calling for fluid changes. Trans I think is 60K (I do it at 30 intervals), and the diffs are 30k also.

but like you said, most other brands don't call for any fluid changes. I never bought into the whole lifetime fluid scam anyway!

dino001

venture said:

My wife came out of school earlier this evening and her Forester wouldn't start. I drove down to have a look. After she managed to turn the headlights on, I could see they were dim. The engine would barely crank.

I had the battery replaced a year ago - January of 2018.

I called my dealer and asked if they could come and pick it up. The guy said to call a tow truck and gave me the name of the one they use.

This isn't a $100k car, but that is not the way to treat a customer; especially one who has bought 6 cars from you. At the very least they should have taken the obligation of calling the tow truck for me.

I'm not very happy right now either.

Not sure how old your Forester is, but Subaru has roadside service in their warranty, 3/36. But if not covered, the dealer should still take charge of the situation and at least offer fo make arrangements, even if they’d roll them into your bill later. Like you said, seems like they don’t have a system that somehow could flash “take care of this guy”, even if they didn’t do it as their normal part of business. Maybe you talked to a newbie, or oerhaps not. Doesn’t matter. Not a big insult, just a mild neglect, disappointing.

cdnpinhead

henryn said:

I feel for you, Mike. No way you should be dealing with that kind of trouble on a $100k car, no way at all.

And yet he is.

cdnpinhead

abacomike said:

Remember, I don’t have much experience with Mercedes service departments since I never had a problem - I only kept them (my Mercedes cars) a year or less.  Never had a warranty claim or service before.  So I am a novice when it comes to Mercedes service departments.

Welcome to the world of actually keeping a car. Some are better than others.

stickguy

my guess is that whatever broke on the moonroof is a really rare occurrence (Mike beating the odds!) The problem with that is, the service people have no idea what to do to fix it (not having experience) and parts will never be in stock. So, they are figuring it out as they go, which can be rough sometimes. Sucks to be the Guinea pig of course.

at least they have him in a nice new loaner car. cheap brands don't always do that for you.