Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

ab348

Sounds like trade-in time to me!

driver100

stickguy said:

Or of course, a new car!

Yeh, no fun to be free and clear.

pensfan83

oldfarmer50 said:

I just wrote the last payment check for my Mustang! I own it free and clear now.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with an extra $451 a month.

Maybe I should buy a dish washer....or a garbage disposal.

When we paid the Altima off we just reallocated the money to the HELOC. For the most part we try to stay revenue neutral when we pay off a loan, credit card, etc. The newfound money gets put on the aforementioned HELOC, college fund, or retirement accounts. Same when annual merit increases kick in.

stickguy

That’s where the RDX payment went when we paid that off, to the HELOC. Right now we are dumping everything extra into that. Should be done by around 4/1, so a couple grand per month cash flow frees up. A small option of which will go toward the RDX replacement.

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

I just wrote the last payment check for my Mustang! I own it free and clear now.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with an extra $451 a month.

Maybe I should buy a dish washer....or a garbage disposal.

Or a rearview camera for your cars.

fintail

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

qbrozen

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
A couple of suggestions.
https://www.mitchellseligford.com/used/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-242f5b910a0e0a6b6520e3dfa19c166c.htm?searchDepth=6:8

https://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-edf5355a0a0e0ae94ed8936c2b236ee9.htm?searchDepth=7:8

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I just wrote the last payment check for my Mustang! I own it free and clear now.

Now, I just have to figure out what to do with an extra $451 a month.

Maybe I should buy a dish washer....or a garbage disposal.

You can send it to me if you'd like

I thought you were a rich NYC industrial tycoon with a mansion in CT. But now that I think of it, you pay both NY and CT taxes. I’ll send out a check right away.

Sandman6472

OF, boss called me earlier and asked me to work Sunday. Had mentioned to him if they ever need an extra body on the weekend, give me a holler. Well, he did but still in Orlando and coming in on Sunday. Told him next Sunday most definitely but declined for this week as I'll be driving down the coast when they need me. He also said no work on Monday when he expressly asked me last Friday, or basically told me. So glad I didn't cancel my doctor appointment Monday at 2 since we're going in on Tuesday as scheduled. My check made it to my bank account. A co-worker texted me that my boss had my check so was a bit confused. Saw it was deposited into my checking so knew he meant to say my boss had my pay stub.
So glad I came over from Hertz. The time saved not driving is so worth it to be honest. And saving a good $100/month in no tolls and less petrol which makes up for making slightly less per hour. Starting to fit in with all the folks. So far, have seen 3 women drivers with the rest, mostly retired guys, all a bunch of characters really. Our team is up to 5 now with a couple more who just started this week. Most teams seem to be made up of five but ours is slated to have ten for some reason.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Or of course, a new car!

Yeh, no fun to be free and clear.

Sounds like a guy who has an oldie without a backup camera.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
A couple of suggestions.
https://www.mitchellseligford.com/used/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-242f5b910a0e0a6b6520e3dfa19c166c.htm?searchDepth=6:8

https://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-edf5355a0a0e0ae94ed8936c2b236ee9.htm?searchDepth=7:8

Interesting.

I deliver cars to the big auctions across the river on rt.5 in East Windsor so I’m familiar with the area.

That first one is a USED car with 46 miles? I’m wondering what the story is on that one. Were the 46 miles done 1/4 mile at a time?

I’m assuming the second one is new.

Those Bullitts sticker for over $50k but they are really one year old cars so 10% off is kind of a slim discount. Still very tempting.

oldfarmer50

This is disturbing.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-809-car-payment-a-660-income-how-dealers-make-the-math-work-11576924201

explorerx4

#oldfarmer40,
East Windsor, I went their a couple of times when my dad had a dealer license.
Drove my first Corvette there!

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
A couple of suggestions.
https://www.mitchellseligford.com/used/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-242f5b910a0e0a6b6520e3dfa19c166c.htm?searchDepth=6:8

https://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2019-Ford-Mustang-Windsor,+CT-edf5355a0a0e0ae94ed8936c2b236ee9.htm?searchDepth=7:8

Interesting.

I deliver cars to the big auctions across the river on rt.5 in East Windsor so I’m familiar with the area.

That first one is a USED car with 46 miles? I’m wondering what the story is on that one. Were the 46 miles done 1/4 mile at a time?

I’m assuming the second one is new.

Those Bullitts sticker for over $50k but they are really one year old cars so 10% off is kind of a slim discount. Still very tempting.

Do you think maybe a flood destroyed the odometer in the one with 46 miles.

jmonroe

driver100

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

This is disturbing.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-809-car-payment-a-660-income-how-dealers-make-the-math-work-11576924201

It is only disturbing if you are a WSJ subscriber. I only have to be subjected to the first 2 lines of text, so I'm perfectly undisturbed.

well... at least in THIS particular instance.

qbrozen

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

You're welcome. If you'd like to talk about the Ryan Reynolds remake of Amityville Horror, just let me know.

explorerx4

To me, the best scifi movie I ever saw was the original Alien.
That was truly scary.
Personally, I like Cold War movies, Fail Safe is my favorite.

jmonroe

explorerx4 said:

To me, the best scifi movie I ever saw was the original Alien.
That was truly scary.
Personally, I like Cold War movies, Fail Safe is my favorite.

Back in my day The Thing was pretty big and so was the character that played him. I found out much later that was Matt Dillon (alias James Arness).

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe
'The Thing' was also pretty great. The remake with Kurt Russel was even scarier.

fintail

If you're a fan of the original, don't be tempted unless you have low expectations. Regarding Vacation, I saw it as Rusty remaking the original Even Chevy Chase's brief role was lacking. The big star of the show was the car, which was good for a few laughs.

What will they remake next? I guess the 80s are so long ago now, they are doing 90s stuff.

qbrozen said:

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

houdini1

explorerx4 said:

@carnaught,
Sooo, how do you know about vibrating beds in cheap motels?

Magic Fingers !!

laurasdada

Agree about Vacation, Fintail. Terrible, with brief moments of humor related to the new Family Truckster (exploding windows, why!).
Ford v Ferrari and Knives Out, excellent. Cats, even if you LOVE cats, absolutely no reason to see this movie. Went with/for GFs young nieces. They seemed to like it, best part for me was the nap I took. Not Jennifer Hudson's finest hour.

roadburner

So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

OF, boss called me earlier and asked me to work Sunday. Had mentioned to him if they ever need an extra body on the weekend, give me a holler. Well, he did but still in Orlando and coming in on Sunday. Told him next Sunday most definitely but declined for this week as I'll be driving down the coast when they need me. He also said no work on Monday when he expressly asked me last Friday, or basically told me. So glad I didn't cancel my doctor appointment Monday at 2 since we're going in on Tuesday as scheduled. My check made it to my bank account. A co-worker texted me that my boss had my check so was a bit confused. Saw it was deposited into my checking so knew he meant to say my boss had my pay stub.
So glad I came over from Hertz. The time saved not driving is so worth it to be honest. And saving a good $100/month in no tolls and less petrol which makes up for making slightly less per hour. Starting to fit in with all the folks. So far, have seen 3 women drivers with the rest, mostly retired guys, all a bunch of characters really. Our team is up to 5 now with a couple more who just started this week. Most teams seem to be made up of five but ours is slated to have ten for some reason.

We have a few drivers who travel as much as an hour to work. I don’t get that for a minimum wage job. Maybe they get bored at home. I wouldn’t take a job like this if I had large travel costs. Takes me ten minutes and two stop lights.

Did you look into the 401k the company offers?

driver100

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

You're welcome. If you'd like to talk about the Ryan Reynolds remake of Amityville Horror, just let me know.

I don't know if there is any remake that was better than the original.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

oldfarmer50 said:

This is disturbing.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-809-car-payment-a-660-income-how-dealers-make-the-math-work-11576924201

It is only disturbing if you are a WSJ subscriber. I only have to be subjected to the first 2 lines of text, so I'm perfectly undisturbed.

well... at least in THIS particular instance.

Yeah, I got that come on too but I clicked the X and the article came through fine. Does any newspaper think they will get you to subscribe by ticking you off?

Oh wait, I see what you mean, the link doesn’t load. Funny, when I google it I can read it.



“

qbrozen

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

You're welcome. If you'd like to talk about the Ryan Reynolds remake of Amityville Horror, just let me know.

I don't know if there is any remake that was better than the original.

I’m sure I am in the minority, but I vote Gone in 60 Seconds, as well as The Italian Job.

Sandman6472

Someone mentioned it but no. Who should I speak to? But really, how much could I get in a match, only work part time. Just let me know who I need to speak with and I will.
Thanks.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Someone mentioned it but no. Who should I speak to? But really, how much could I get in a match, only work part time. Just let me know who I need to speak with and I will.
Thanks.

I think anyone in HR. Your boss should know. You’re eligible after 60 days. You get a 3% match from the company but you can put your whole check into it if you want. Some of my coworkers who don’t need the money to live on put big portions of their check into it.

It gives you access to about 20 different investment choices. I just put in the 3% of my pay that the company will match. I’ve been here less than 2 years and I already have $1600 in the account.

It won’t make you rich but it’s a nice little perk to a part time job.

Sandman6472

Come February 3rd will be my 60th day and they match 3%. Sounds good to me, free money is something I can not pass up so guess I'll be doing it to! Have basically turned the clock off on when I'm going to retire again so we'll just have to see where this leads. Even if we move north, I can always see about transferring to where we end up.
Looks like they've filled another couple of spots in our team, so now, we're up to five. I'll meet them both come Tuesday. My boss told me he wants me back so that was nice to hear. Guess I'm doing an o k job so I'm pleased. We start at 7 am as of Tuesday which I prefer honestly. I'm up early on my work days anyhow so get up, shower, make my lunch, eat some breakfast and on to work. And if we work till 6 pm, all the better as I'd like to do at least 30 hours/week if possible, a few more in those three days. Might as well make as much as I can now when I am still working so we'll have it for when I stop.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

You're welcome. If you'd like to talk about the Ryan Reynolds remake of Amityville Horror, just let me know.

I don't know if there is any remake that was better than the original.

I’m sure I am in the minority, but I vote Gone in 60 Seconds, as well as The Italian Job.

Titanic, Ocean’s 11 to name a few more.

driver100

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

qbrozen said:

fintail said:

If you want to be insulted by remakes, catch the "Vacation" and "Poltergeist" remakes from a few years back. I vowed to not see them in theaters (I am a huge fan of both originals), but caught them both on in-flight movie selections. Soul-crushingly bad, infinitely worse than even I expected. That someone greenlights this stuff and spends millions to produce it is mindblowing. I don't go to movies anymore either. I can get all my oldies at home, and for the once in a blue moon modern release that is worth catching, I can wait. I guess I am an old grumbler in training - for me, movies peaked in the 80s, had a few goodies in the 90s, very slim pickings since.

dino001 said:

You mean Jumanji? It's another junk remake, as is pretty much anything coming out to the large screen these days. Plus, it was directed to a 10 year old kid, how did you end up watching it? I don't go to movies anymore. If there is anything worth watching, I'll buy it on demand a because majority of people like zombies accept anything that comes off the assembly line, conditioned by advertising and "focus group" research, or worse, what seems to be tastes of an entertainment executive or his/her spouse.

Poltergeist? Didn’t know about that one.

I have to point out, though, that, like Jumanji, Vacation was not a remake. It was a sequel about Rusty continuing his dad’s nonsense.

I am glad we clarified that.

You're welcome. If you'd like to talk about the Ryan Reynolds remake of Amityville Horror, just let me know.

I don't know if there is any remake that was better than the original.

I’m sure I am in the minority, but I vote Gone in 60 Seconds, as well as The Italian Job.

OK, about 10 to 20% may be better the 2nd time around!

abacomike

jmonroe said:

explorerx4 said:

To me, the best scifi movie I ever saw was the original Alien.
That was truly scary.
Personally, I like Cold War movies, Fail Safe is my favorite.

Back in my day The Thing was pretty big and so was the character that played him. I found out much later that was Matt Dillon (alias James Arness).

jmonroe

"Men In Black 2" IMO, was better than the original. It is rare that sequels are better than the original. "Men In Black 3" was OK but the new "Men In Black International" is a loser. "Harry Potter" sequels were excellent with the exception of "Deathly Hallows 1" which was long and drawn out. I know the producers thought that "Deathly Hallows" would be too long to produce as one movie.

bwia

roadburner said:

So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

I read somewhere that the Giulia has the worst deprecation in the industry at more than 70% in three years. Surely this must be a misprint.

If true, how can they justify the high $50k+ MSRP for car with no exceptional features or performance. Oh, I forgot. It's a Maserati of course.

imidazol97

I just spent a terrible 10 minutes watching the counter person R & R the battery in my Cobalt. He was not skilled or logical in how he went about it. He didn't know about vent tubes on some batteries that go through the floor to vent the battery to the outside air. He split the tubing next to the end on the 90 degree plastic tube that pushes into the battery by not removing the angle piece by rotating slightly and pulling outward as he wiggled back and forth.

Then he had already removed the battery connections before starting that foray. He didn't remove the clamp on the hold down strap first. I had warned him tactfully that I had changed the battery in the parking lot in Columbus and had the terminals off too long and the tire pressure monitor lost its connections and it kept complaining until I figured out how to have the dealer reset the tire sensors in it.

When he went in to get the socket he didn't have for the hold down bolt, I put the terminals back on and told him when he came back out. I helped hold the strap up out of the battery position and held the positive terminal for him. The battery strap was what caused me problems when doing it myself for the first time 5 years ago.

I was wishing I'd just brought the battery home, done it myself, and then dragged the old battery back for the core charge. Am I being too old and grumpy?

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

roadburner said:

So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

I read somewhere that the Giulia has the worst deprecation in the industry at more than 70% in three years. Surely this must be a misprint.

If true, how can they justify the high $50k+ MSRP for car with no exceptional features or performance. Oh, I forgot. It's a Maserati of course.

Isn’t the Giulia an Alfa Romeo? $80k+.

A guy at work has a lease on one. He is as Italian as they come and even he wouldn’t buy it.

I think RB might be watching too many episodes of Hoovie’s Garage.

stickguy

I was behind a Guilla QF recently. White over red. That looked nice. And might qualify as only borderline too dangerous to drive on the RB scale of acceleration.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

bwia said:

roadburner said:

So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

I read somewhere that the Giulia has the worst deprecation in the industry at more than 70% in three years. Surely this must be a misprint.

If true, how can they justify the high $50k+ MSRP for car with no exceptional features or performance. Oh, I forgot. It's a Maserati of course.

Isn’t the Giulia an Alfa Romeo? $80k+.

A guy at work has a lease on one. He is as Italian as they come and even he wouldn’t buy it.

I think RB might be watching too many episodes of Hoovie’s Garage.

The Q4 Is over $80k but the regular one starts south of $50k.

I say it does offer exceptional performance. BTW.

roadburner

Here's my battery install horror story from 2013; I had to undo the "professional installation" a knucklehead had inflicted on a friend's X3:

Thursday afternoon my older friend called me; the battery in his 2005 X3 had died in his driveway and he had a "mechanic" come over and "fix" it. Now the 4X4(DSC) warning light was on- and the "mechanic" had left him with a printout from the store where he bought the battery that said that the battery might not function properly.

This time the situation was an easy fix. When the battery is removed the DSC defaults to "Off" and the DSC/xDrive warning light illuminates. The fix? Push the DSC button.

As for the battery function issue, the "mechanic" failed to read-or possibly understand-the entire printout. The warning concerned newer BMWs(basically from the E90-on) that have an Intelligent Battery Sensor(IBS) that adjusts the charging system to the age of the battery. BMW's with an IBS have to have the new battery registered-and in some cases the IBS has to be reprogrammed. The dealer and some Indie BMW shops are able to do this. The thing is, a 2005 X3 doesn't have an IBS.

At this point I suspected that the R&R of the battery may not have been performed properly either- and I was right. The "mechanic" pulled the old battery out without disconnecting the vent tube, breaking the plastic vent elbow that plugged into the battery. So the battery was sitting under the load floor without being vented to the exterior- and the plastic plug provided to close off the redundant vent port on the other end of the battery was just laying in the battery storage compartment(along with the unopened instructions that detailed how to connect the vent tube). Friday I stopped by the dealer and picked up a new vent elbow(it cost less than fifty cents, but my friend at the parts counter provided it at no charge) and I'll install it tomorrow.

Anyway, it turns out my intervention also saved the "mechanic" a few dollars; he was sure that he had damaged the 4X4[sic] system and was preparing to have it flatbedded to the dealer.

And I have told my friend to CALL ME FIRST the next time the X3 has a problem....

oldfarmer50

Boy, the monthly payment on those Mercedes must be tough. Some guy near me robbed a bank while driving one. Then again maybe it was the cost of out of warranty repairs. Is that a GLE?

roadburner

qbrozen said:

The Q4 Is over $80k but the regular one starts south of $50k.

I say it does offer exceptional performance. BTW.

The TI Sport was a really engaging car to drive- even with AWD. The only sedan I like a bit better is the M340i. Aside from those two I can't think of a single sedan-foreign or domestic-that I would seriously consider owning.
Well, MAYBE my friend's 700hp Lingenfelter CTS-V or a new M5 Competition...

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Boy, the monthly payment on those Mercedes must be tough. Some guy near me robbed a bank while driving one. Then again maybe it was the cost of out of warranty repairs. Is that a GLE?

A very classy bank robber....when only the best will do.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

I just spent a terrible 10 minutes watching the counter person R & R the battery in my Cobalt. He was not skilled or logical in how he went about it. . He didn't remove the clamp on the hold down strap first. I had warned him tactfully that I had changed the battery in the parking lot in Columbus and had the terminals off too long and the tire pressure monitor lost its connections and it kept complaining until I figured out how to have the dealer reset the tire sensors in it.
I was wishing I'd just brought the battery home, done it myself, and then dragged the old battery back for the core charge. Am I being too old and grumpy?

Was this at a GM dealership? I had no idea installing a new battery was that complicated? I don't think you are being old and grumpy at all.

houdini1

oldfarmer50 said:

Boy, the monthly payment on those Mercedes must be tough. Some guy near me robbed a bank while driving one. Then again maybe it was the cost of out of warranty repairs. Is that a GLE?

Looks like an ML.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

bwia said:

roadburner said:

So, I drove a new Giulia TI Sport. This one.

Aside from AWD, I really liked it. It only runs the quarter in the low thirteens, but I might be able to live with it. Great steering, responsive handling, and a comfortable cockpit. The brake by wire system has a weird feel, but I became used to it. Maybe in a couple of years I'll pick up a used RWD TI Sport for over 50% off MSRP.

I read somewhere that the Giulia has the worst deprecation in the industry at more than 70% in three years. Surely this must be a misprint.

If true, how can they justify the high $50k+ MSRP for car with no exceptional features or performance. Oh, I forgot. It's a Maserati of course.

Isn’t the Giulia an Alfa Romeo? $80k+.

A guy at work has a lease on one. He is as Italian as they come and even he wouldn’t buy it.

I think RB might be watching too many episodes of Hoovie’s Garage.

Under $50k for a more basic 4 cylinder model. Reviews are good though. Depreciation is high, so getting a used one could be a bonus, or that could become a money pit. Kind of a gamble!

jmonroe

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Boy, the monthly payment on those Mercedes must be tough. Some guy near me robbed a bank while driving one. Then again maybe it was the cost of out of warranty repairs. Is that a GLE?

A very classy bank robber....when only the best will do.

Probably. What are the odds that one doesn't have a backup camera? Don't leave home without one.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Here's my battery install horror story from 2013; I had to undo the "professional installation" a knucklehead had inflicted on a friend's X3:

Thursday afternoon my older friend called me; the battery in his 2005 X3 had died in his driveway and he had a "mechanic" come over and "fix" it. Now the 4X4(DSC) warning light was on- and the "mechanic" had left him with a printout from the store where he bought the battery that said that the battery might not function properly.

This time the situation was an easy fix. When the battery is removed the DSC defaults to "Off" and the DSC/xDrive warning light illuminates. The fix? Push the DSC button.

As for the battery function issue, the "mechanic" failed to read-or possibly understand-the entire printout. The warning concerned newer BMWs(basically from the E90-on) that have an Intelligent Battery Sensor(IBS) that adjusts the charging system to the age of the battery. BMW's with an IBS have to have the new battery registered-and in some cases the IBS has to be reprogrammed. The dealer and some Indie BMW shops are able to do this. The thing is, a 2005 X3 doesn't have an IBS.

At this point I suspected that the R&R of the battery may not have been performed properly either- and I was right. The "mechanic" pulled the old battery out without disconnecting the vent tube, breaking the plastic vent elbow that plugged into the battery. So the battery was sitting under the load floor without being vented to the exterior- and the plastic plug provided to close off the redundant vent port on the other end of the battery was just laying in the battery storage compartment(along with the unopened instructions that detailed how to connect the vent tube). Friday I stopped by the dealer and picked up a new vent elbow(it cost less than fifty cents, but my friend at the parts counter provided it at no charge) and I'll install it tomorrow.

Anyway, it turns out my intervention also saved the "mechanic" a few dollars; he was sure that he had damaged the 4X4[sic] system and was preparing to have it flatbedded to the dealer.

And I have told my friend to CALL ME FIRST the next time the X3 has a problem....



Yikes! Too much technology. Thanks for explaining why a BMW battery needs to be registered but I’ve driven old junkers that had the battery held in by a bungee cord and it worked just fine. That system sounds like it was designed to increase dealer profit as much as make the car better.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Yikes! Too much technology. Thanks for explaining why a BMW battery needs to be registered but I’ve driven old junkers that had the battery held in by a bungee cord and it worked just fine. That system sounds like it was designed to increase dealer profit as much as make the car better.

It has a lot to do with how a newer BMW charges the battery. If everything is good it only charges when coasting on a closed throttle. Registration is no big deal; I have an iPhone app as well as a scan tool that can register BMW., Mini, or RR battery- it takes less than 5 minutes.