Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

fintail

Well, in the right situation you can minimize it. In my sole crash as an adult, I was rear-ended by an under the influence idiot while I was turning right on a 2 lane 30 mph urban arterial (in Milwaukee, which is apparently insane driver heaven). There wasn't much I could do in that situation other than try to not hit anything once I was hit (the offending driver hit a nearby house, he was moving that fast).

snakeweasel said:

When I mentioned luck as a function of the number of accidents one experiences I was talking total accidents, not just at fault accidents. No matter how good of a driver you are you cannot always avoid the other person causing an accident. However one can minimize the frequency and severity of them.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

cdnpinhead said:

". . . the same types who think they can shift faster than the newest breed of automatics, and think they had it worse and worked harder than anyone under 40"

That chip on your shoulder (which has been evident for years) will get heavier and heavier as time passes. Enjoy.

The advantage of a 3-pedal manual transmission has nothing to do with shift speed. It has to do with the ability to put the car in the gear you want, when you want, how you want. Going down long downgrades is an instance where I want to be able to put the transmission into a gear that allows the car to proceed with no need to use the brakes. I realize that I may as be speaking Swahili, but there are a few on here who may know what I'm talking about.

Then there's the maintenance/replacement cost. I realize that most people on here would rather be drawn and quartered instead of keeping a vehicle for a long time, but manual transmissions don't break, as a rule. A clutch is required from time to time (I'm 160K miles on my original), but replacing one is a much less onerous situation than dealing with automatic transmission repair/replacement.

Or, as I'm sure you're aware, I could talk to the hand.

Automatic transmissions do have the ability to put it into a lower gear going downhill, especially those that allow manual shifting.

As for maintenance costs I have taken multiple auto transmissions to 200k with no issues.

I think in MOST cases these days, they tell you to use the brakes going downhill, and not shifting into a lower gear. Brakes are much cheaper to repair or replace than a transmission.

Also, for the record, clutches aren't cheap to replace these days. The one in the 2013 A4 cost $2300 CDN about $1500 USD to repair.

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

graphicguy said:

@ab348 ....couldn’t agree with your post more.

I stuns me to see what people are doing when attempting to drive. I’ve seen them looking at their laps, on the highway, doing 65 and not watching the road. What are they looking at? I’ll assume it’s their phone. Don’t see to much of it in recent years, but there’s always the person who’s more focused on lighting their cigarette than driving. Then there’s everyone’s pet peeve.....the person who has their cell phone stuck in front of them or in their ear, oblivious to everything and everyone else around them.

It’s usually the people in junkers who are the worst offenders. Cause and effect?

I was terrified a decade or so back when I went on a road trip with 3 ladies from the Marketing division. One of them was driving and for the entire 2 hours I don't think the phone left her hand - mostly texting. Jeebus.

Either I would have taken over driving or that phone would have been tossed out the window. My phone stays in my pocket. If a text needs to be sent now I will be off on the side of the road or in a parking lot.

cdnpinhead

". . . this is regarding a summer trip. . ."

Once again I'll submit that you'll miss wonderful things if you don't see the water passage between AK and BC, and the "real" way to do it is via the Alaska State Ferries. They're how the locals get around. They have decent accommodations, including staterooms, though you probably need to book well in advance for the summer. No near-deads in huge numbers, no scheduled high-priced day trips (along with the other five ships in the port that day), no huge buffets (maybe this isn't a good thing) -- in short it's not the typical cruise ship deal.

Flying up, driving around AK in a rental and returning to Vancouver or Seattle on the AK state ferry (with stops along the way) sounds to me like the best combination. I've driven up there and back twice, sailed as far up as Wrangell, and rode one of the AK ferries from Skagway to Haines. It's a beautiful place, and the people are. . . unique -- my kind of folks

It's all good Enjoy.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

stickguy said:

rule of thumb, if you get honked at, cursed at, and bird flipped at, on a regular basis, you are not a good driver.

I'd add "if you get tailgated a lot" to that list. Many above average drivers report that tailgating is a non-issue when you maintain situational awareness (as you are supposed to) and observe proper lanes for your driving.

There are hours long You Tube clips with entire long trips being made with front and back dash cams showing tailgating to be nonexistant. A total non-issue.

I would love to see that reference. I've seen to many YouTube videos that shows the exact opposite.

But let's look at my recent history. Yesterday on the way to work I am on a two lane road following someone at a respectable distance and keeping up with them and they were following someone else we were doing about 5 ove SL. Some impatient slob came up behind me and sat on my back. Yesterday on the way home I'm in the left lane of the tollway doing 40 to 45 MPH and someone was riding my rear end. Now to be honest I wanted to go faster but there was someone in front of me blocking me. But to be honest he likely wanted to go faster but there was someone blocking him and so on and so forth for the next 20 miles. so was I the bad driver or was it the jackalope that was tailgating?

Sorry I dont think someone else's bad driving habits reflect on my driving skills.

I think best practice is to move to the right no matter how many more people are guilty of "left lane camping" The "everyone else was doing it" defense doesn't work on speeding tickets, and it shouldn't work on left lane camping defenses either.

By moving right, he'll pass you, and perhaps tailgate the next car that fails to move over in time to not impede their progress. Is this really that hard? It's safer to have them in front of you than tailgating you.

Granted, I'm assuming everyone in the left lane was indeed camping (not actively passing traffic to the right). This happens a lot in CA.

Easier said than done during rush hour traffic, gridlock isn't fun.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

stickguy said:

I’ll get a stick again eventually. But likely on a toy at this point.

I think the whole class”ATs can shift a microsecond quicker” argument is a red herring. I, like I’ll bet darn near everyone else, am not racing my DD, nor am I reclining and power shifting on the way to target. It’s extremely rare that. Would ever be in a situation where that fraction would ever matter. More common to find the AT lugging along in way too high a gear.

The traffic and hills in gridlock, that’s legit. As is liking the control and engagement of having 3 pedals. But F1 going to automatics is not really relevant to any driving I do!

Shifting faster is not always about speed, it also increases gas mileage. Faster shifts means the engine is disengaged from the transmission for less time so less power loss. A DCT can shift up to ten times faster than someone shifting manually meaning practically no power loss.

Good point; I'm getting about the same fuel economy from an 8-speed slushbox with a 220 HP motor as I did with a 7-speed DSG with a 333-400 HP motor (tune for 400).

Your driving habits could vary the results; someone with a lead foot will probably experience similar.

A more apples to apples comparison would be my motorcycle, it was available with either a 6 speed manual or a 6 speed DCT with everything else being the same. The DCT model has a slightly higher mileage rating.

sda

fintail said:

I've had a few cars with paddles - only used them once or twice, just doesn't seem to have a point with how/where I drive. Mind you, in the fintail I shift the automatic for myself a bit, as the shift points seem weird to me, and the car sometimes runs better with a higher rpm than the transmission allows by itself.

I see sda mentioned an old Ford with a 3 on the tree, I suspect my dad's old Fairlane with that same configuration might have biased me against manuals - that car with its heavy brakes and steering, along with heavy clutch and 3 on the tree, was not fun for a young driver.

Michaell said:

I get it. When I met my wife, she only knew how to drive stick (she did have one of those semi-automatic VW Bugs way back when).

The first car she had with a true automatic transmission was the '99 Expedition we leased. Her commute at the time included a road that went down a canyon, which can be treacherous in the winter. We had to have a talk about how to use the transmission lever to 'downshift' the transmission to use engine braking.

Now, with flappy paddles, it's a bit easier to mimic the function of a true stick shift.

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

cdnpinhead said:

". . . the same types who think they can shift faster than the newest breed of automatics, and think they had it worse and worked harder than anyone under 40"

That chip on your shoulder (which has been evident for years) will get heavier and heavier as time passes. Enjoy.

The advantage of a 3-pedal manual transmission has nothing to do with shift speed. It has to do with the ability to put the car in the gear you want, when you want, how you want. Going down long downgrades is an instance where I want to be able to put the transmission into a gear that allows the car to proceed with no need to use the brakes. I realize that I may as be speaking Swahili, but there are a few on here who may know what I'm talking about.

Then there's the maintenance/replacement cost. I realize that most people on here would rather be drawn and quartered instead of keeping a vehicle for a long time, but manual transmissions don't break, as a rule. A clutch is required from time to time (I'm 160K miles on my original), but replacing one is a much less onerous situation than dealing with automatic transmission repair/replacement.

Or, as I'm sure you're aware, I could talk to the hand.

Automatic transmissions do have the ability to put it into a lower gear going downhill, especially those that allow manual shifting.

As for maintenance costs I have taken multiple auto transmissions to 200k with no issues.

Me, too, Snake! Oops, I didn't see that 200K number - thought it said 20K which is what my S450 just hit. Still having problems seeing and reading. 🤪😜😛

All kidding aside, I have never owned a new vehicle where I actually put 20,000 miles on the odometer and have bought new tires and had 2 oil changes. Live and learn! Car is just now breaking in.

oldfarmer50

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that proclaimed "Manual Transmission - If I roll back into you, you are too close". No buddy, it means you can't drive a stick. It was on a WRX, probably with plenty of vape smoke film on the windows.

I'd wager if one thinks they are being tailgated a lot, they are the problem. Reminds me of the person who has been married 6 times complaining about how hard it is to find a good spouse - to find the issue, look in a mirror.

andres3 said:

I'd add "if you get tailgated a lot" to that list. Many above average drivers report that tailgating is a non-issue when you maintain situational awareness (as you are supposed to) and observe proper lanes for your driving.

There are hours long You Tube clips with entire long trips being made with front and back dash cams showing tailgating to be nonexistant. A total non-issue.

I ld her she backed into me. Funny thing was when she started rolling backwards I initially thought that I was moving forward, me practically standing on my brake told me she was the one moving.

I do think there should be a "personal" space around a vehicle of maybe 1 to 2' that should not be invaded. In this way, you can't do a 100-0 MPH standing on the ABS brakes full power stop from far away to stop 1" behind someones bumper "out of nowhere" and then blame them when they back up 1 inch!

Not saying this is what you did at all, but I think this would be a good liability rule. Parking lot situations coming up a lot lately.

When I took driver’s ed back in the day’s when standard shift was more common they told us to always leave space behind the car in front of you at the light in case someone’s foot slipped and the car rolled back.

driver100

sda said:

fintail said:

I've had a few cars with paddles - only used them once or twice, just doesn't seem to have a point with how/where I drive. Mind you, in the fintail I shift the automatic for myself a bit, as the shift points seem weird to me, and the car sometimes runs better with a higher rpm than the transmission allows by itself.

I see sda mentioned an old Ford with a 3 on the tree, I suspect my dad's old Fairlane with that same configuration might have biased me against manuals - that car with its heavy brakes and steering, along with heavy clutch and 3 on the tree, was not fun for a young driver.

Michaell said:

I get it. When I met my wife, she only knew how to drive stick (she did have one of those semi-automatic VW Bugs way back when).

The first car she had with a true automatic transmission was the '99 Expedition we leased. Her commute at the time included a road that went down a canyon, which can be treacherous in the winter. We had to have a talk about how to use the transmission lever to 'downshift' the transmission to use engine braking.

Now, with flappy paddles, it's a bit easier to mimic the function of a true stick shift.

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

I had a 62 Comet with 3 on the tree....and that car didn't have one tiny bit of fun in it. It also was pretty reliable, but didn't seem to be very tough for the long haul.

Didn't like that minimal dash, and really didn't like those thin huge steering wheels;

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

I saw a bumper sticker yesterday that proclaimed "Manual Transmission - If I roll back into you, you are too close". No buddy, it means you can't drive a stick. It was on a WRX, probably with plenty of vape smoke film on the windows.

I'd wager if one thinks they are being tailgated a lot, they are the problem. Reminds me of the person who has been married 6 times complaining about how hard it is to find a good spouse - to find the issue, look in a mirror.

andres3 said:

I'd add "if you get tailgated a lot" to that list. Many above average drivers report that tailgating is a non-issue when you maintain situational awareness (as you are supposed to) and observe proper lanes for your driving.

There are hours long You Tube clips with entire long trips being made with front and back dash cams showing tailgating to be nonexistant. A total non-issue.

I ld her she backed into me. Funny thing was when she started rolling backwards I initially thought that I was moving forward, me practically standing on my brake told me she was the one moving.

I do think there should be a "personal" space around a vehicle of maybe 1 to 2' that should not be invaded. In this way, you can't do a 100-0 MPH standing on the ABS brakes full power stop from far away to stop 1" behind someones bumper "out of nowhere" and then blame them when they back up 1 inch!

Not saying this is what you did at all, but I think this would be a good liability rule. Parking lot situations coming up a lot lately.

When I took driver’s ed back in the day’s when standard shift was more common they told us to always leave space behind the car in front of you at the light in case someone’s foot slipped and the car rolled back.

Good idea....it happened a lot. But, the new ones don't roll back.....what's the fun in that?

fintail

My dad's car was a 68 Fairlane sedan, base model. White on white, dog dish hubcaps. It had 2 primary options - the 289, and an AM radio (which worked). Manual steering, manual brakes. 60K mile car he bought from an estate around 1993 for $600 IIRC, it was immaculate, and it pushed his buttons - he disliked late 80s/early 90s cars - he disliked his 85 S-10 Blazer, and was only lukewarm about his ~92 Grand Caravan (but he loved the 97/98 T&C that replaced it). I recall we took a few road trips in the Fairlane, it never missed a beat, and people loved it, it had medium width whitewalls, and had some presence to it. In town, he'd leave it in second gear almost all the time

sda said:

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

abacomike

driver100 said:

sda said:

fintail said:

I've had a few cars with paddles - only used them once or twice, just doesn't seem to have a point with how/where I drive. Mind you, in the fintail I shift the automatic for myself a bit, as the shift points seem weird to me, and the car sometimes runs better with a higher rpm than the transmission allows by itself.

I see sda mentioned an old Ford with a 3 on the tree, I suspect my dad's old Fairlane with that same configuration might have biased me against manuals - that car with its heavy brakes and steering, along with heavy clutch and 3 on the tree, was not fun for a young driver.

Michaell said:

I get it. When I met my wife, she only knew how to drive stick (she did have one of those semi-automatic VW Bugs way back when).

The first car she had with a true automatic transmission was the '99 Expedition we leased. Her commute at the time included a road that went down a canyon, which can be treacherous in the winter. We had to have a talk about how to use the transmission lever to 'downshift' the transmission to use engine braking.

Now, with flappy paddles, it's a bit easier to mimic the function of a true stick shift.

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

I had a 62 Comet with 3 on the tree....and that car didn't have one tiny bit of fun in it. It also was pretty reliable, but didn't seem to be very tough for the long haul.

Didn't like that minimal dash, and really didn't like those thin huge steering wheels;

I learned how to drive in my grandmother's 1957 Chevrolet 2-door with 3 speed manual on the steering column. It had 120K on the odometer - she loved that car. I really like 3 on the stick.

stickguy

speaking of Uber, or in this case Lyft, my daughter told us today that she heard from one of her friends that they were out last night and took a lyft home. And for some reason, the driver came in hot, hit a parked car, then creamed her friends car. Saw a picture, and the thing was a mess. wiped out the front end. must have been moving pretty good based on the damage, and ended up careening up the driveway. No clue what happened, but apparently was not drunk.

kinda harsh to do the responsible thing and call for a ride, and still end up with your car totaled!

Michaell

driver100 said:

sda said:

fintail said:

I've had a few cars with paddles - only used them once or twice, just doesn't seem to have a point with how/where I drive. Mind you, in the fintail I shift the automatic for myself a bit, as the shift points seem weird to me, and the car sometimes runs better with a higher rpm than the transmission allows by itself.

I see sda mentioned an old Ford with a 3 on the tree, I suspect my dad's old Fairlane with that same configuration might have biased me against manuals - that car with its heavy brakes and steering, along with heavy clutch and 3 on the tree, was not fun for a young driver.

Michaell said:

I get it. When I met my wife, she only knew how to drive stick (she did have one of those semi-automatic VW Bugs way back when).

The first car she had with a true automatic transmission was the '99 Expedition we leased. Her commute at the time included a road that went down a canyon, which can be treacherous in the winter. We had to have a talk about how to use the transmission lever to 'downshift' the transmission to use engine braking.

Now, with flappy paddles, it's a bit easier to mimic the function of a true stick shift.

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

I had a 62 Comet with 3 on the tree....and that car didn't have one tiny bit of fun in it. It also was pretty reliable, but didn't seem to be very tough for the long haul.

Didn't like that minimal dash, and really didn't like those thin huge steering wheels;

I think my grandmother had a '62 Comet, but I don't know what engine or transmission it had.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

speaking of Uber, or in this case Lyft, my daughter told us today that she heard from one of her friends that they were out last night and took a lyft home. And for some reason, the driver came in hot, hit a parked car, then creamed her friends car. Saw a picture, and the thing was a mess. wiped out the front end. must have been moving pretty good based on the damage, and ended up careening up the driveway. No clue what happened, but apparently was not drunk.

kinda harsh to do the responsible thing and call for a ride, and still end up with your car totaled!

As long as nobody was hurt I guess it’s all in the hands of the insurance. Those ride share companies usually provide liability for the drivers so the cars he hit would be covered but unless he had collision on his car this is going to be a money losing year. That’s why I don’t know why anyone would buy or lease a new car to do that.

Some people who do those jobs are desperate and just making ends meet.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Since you brought up neutral drops...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yWgn8UCrVM

sb55

WOW. $310,000.00 for a 1971 240Z sold on BAT. Seems like crazy money to me.

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/1971-datsun-240z-310000-sale-auction-classic-cars/?wc_mid=4035:18386&wc_rid=4035:529176&_wcsid=9B8784BBC1F505BA87D50AAB9F2A35C5C299882A372817D3

explorerx4

Interesting start to today.
About 4am the coyotes woke me up and got something pretty close, but it was all over in few minutes.
Later, when I got up, I noticed the thermostat panel was lit up.
Had an error message and no heat.
I had to reset the system a couple of times, but seems to be working now.
Saw a deer munching on some grass in the back yard, hope the coyotes didn't get her fawn.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
Since you brought up neutral drops...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yWgn8UCrVM

Wow, maybe I should have bought a Dodge van instead of a Chevy. I wonder if they were still using the Torqueflite for those. Certainly the tranny in the Grand Caravan wouldn’t take that.

oldfarmer50

sb55 said:

WOW. $310,000.00 for a 1971 240Z sold on BAT. Seems like crazy money to me.

https://www.automobilemag.com/news/1971-datsun-240z-310000-sale-auction-classic-cars/?wc_mid=4035:18386&wc_rid=4035:529176&_wcsid=9B8784BBC1F505BA87D50AAB9F2A35C5C299882A372817D3

In 1975 I could have bought a 1970 240z from a coworker. I’m kicking myself now.

qbrozen

cdnpinhead said:

". . . this is regarding a summer trip. . ."

Once again I'll submit that you'll miss wonderful things if you don't see the water passage between AK and BC, and the "real" way to do it is via the Alaska State Ferries. They're how the locals get around. They have decent accommodations, including staterooms, though you probably need to book well in advance for the summer. No near-deads in huge numbers, no scheduled high-priced day trips (along with the other five ships in the port that day), no huge buffets (maybe this isn't a good thing) -- in short it's not the typical cruise ship deal.

Flying up, driving around AK in a rental and returning to Vancouver or Seattle on the AK state ferry (with stops along the way) sounds to me like the best combination. I've driven up there and back twice, sailed as far up as Wrangell, and rode one of the AK ferries from Skagway to Haines. It's a beautiful place, and the people are. . . unique -- my kind of folks

It's all good Enjoy.

Thank you for the tips. So far, all the research is making my head spin.

driver100

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

sda said:

fintail said:

I've had a few cars with paddles - only used them once or twice, just doesn't seem to have a point with how/where I drive. Mind you, in the fintail I shift the automatic for myself a bit, as the shift points seem weird to me, and the car sometimes runs better with a higher rpm than the transmission allows by itself.

I see sda mentioned an old Ford with a 3 on the tree, I suspect my dad's old Fairlane with that same configuration might have biased me against manuals - that car with its heavy brakes and steering, along with heavy clutch and 3 on the tree, was not fun for a young driver.

Michaell said:

I get it. When I met my wife, she only knew how to drive stick (she did have one of those semi-automatic VW Bugs way back when).

The first car she had with a true automatic transmission was the '99 Expedition we leased. Her commute at the time included a road that went down a canyon, which can be treacherous in the winter. We had to have a talk about how to use the transmission lever to 'downshift' the transmission to use engine braking.

Now, with flappy paddles, it's a bit easier to mimic the function of a true stick shift.

Correct. It actually shifted pretty well, almost snick, snick. Otherwise the car wasn’t much fun to drive with marginal manual drum brakes, manual steering and skinny 14” tires. Handling chops, none. It was a 62 Galaxie Town Sedan plain Jane. It was reliable, never broke down. I drove it harder than I ever should have. For the $100 I paid for it in 77 it couldn’t be beat.

I had a 62 Comet with 3 on the tree....and that car didn't have one tiny bit of fun in it. It also was pretty reliable, but didn't seem to be very tough for the long haul.

Didn't like that minimal dash, and really didn't like those thin huge steering wheels;

I think my grandmother had a '62 Comet, but I don't know what engine or transmission it had.

The 144-cid six was still the base engine for all Comets. However, at a rate of about 3-to-1, most customers seemed willing to pay the $45 extra it took to get the 170-cube engine. Nearly 65 percent of 1962 Comets came equipped with the two-speed automatic transmission. Motor Trend reported that an S-22 with the larger six and automatic could go from zero to 60 mph in a leisurely 22.2 seconds, while averaging 16.2 mpg in a 1,000-mile test.

I am sure I had a 144 engine...it couldn't be much slower or weaker. $45 back thn is probably like $450 today. Zero to 60 in 22 seconds....could go to sleep by the time you get to 60. And, so little power for 16 mpg....we have come a long way!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

speaking of Uber, or in this case Lyft, my daughter told us today that she heard from one of her friends that they were out last night and took a lyft home. And for some reason, the driver came in hot, hit a parked car, then creamed her friends car. Saw a picture, and the thing was a mess. wiped out the front end. must have been moving pretty good based on the damage, and ended up careening up the driveway. No clue what happened, but apparently was not drunk.

kinda harsh to do the responsible thing and call for a ride, and still end up with your car totaled!

As long as nobody was hurt I guess it’s all in the hands of the insurance. Those ride share companies usually provide liability for the drivers so the cars he hit would be covered but unless he had collision on his car this is going to be a money losing year. That’s why I don’t know why anyone would buy or lease a new car to do that.

Some people who do those jobs are desperate and just making ends meet.

I thought your car had to be of a certain standard to drive for those companies....not older than a certain year, certified, below mileage, be 4 doors, be kept clean, etc.

In this case, a guy went to the bar, took a ride-share car home so he wouldn't be DUI. Got hit by a guy DUI going really fast the wrong way near Tampa International airport. Ride-Share driver and passenger killed, of course the idiot DUI driver survives.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A driver faces two charges of DUI manslaughter after a wrong-way crash killed a ride-share driver and the passenger at the entrance of the Tampa International Airport Sunday, Tampa Police Department officials said.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
Since you brought up neutral drops...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yWgn8UCrVM

I think I lost my faith in humanity!
There is no hope.

explorerx4

@driver100,
That video upset you?
You're going to need a therapist after you see what they do to this Mercedes S430. HAHA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pulckF3Ec

fintail

Pre-facelift W220 is probably worth 1/50th of the monetization for that video.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
That video upset you?
You're going to need a therapist after you see what they do to this Mercedes S430. HAHA!

More worried about you watching these guys.

Tell you one thing....they couldn't kill that Mercedes.

ab348

That video is made on the mean streets of Queens, NYC, just a block or so away from Citi Field, home of the Mets. There are big plans to gentrify the area with shops, hotels, restaurants and attractions but as you can see there is a lot needed to get there.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

speaking of Uber, or in this case Lyft, my daughter told us today that she heard from one of her friends that they were out last night and took a lyft home. And for some reason, the driver came in hot, hit a parked car, then creamed her friends car. Saw a picture, and the thing was a mess. wiped out the front end. must have been moving pretty good based on the damage, and ended up careening up the driveway. No clue what happened, but apparently was not drunk.

kinda harsh to do the responsible thing and call for a ride, and still end up with your car totaled!

As long as nobody was hurt I guess it’s all in the hands of the insurance. Those ride share companies usually provide liability for the drivers so the cars he hit would be covered but unless he had collision on his car this is going to be a money losing year. That’s why I don’t know why anyone would buy or lease a new car to do that.

Some people who do those jobs are desperate and just making ends meet.

I thought your car had to be of a certain standard to drive for those companies....not older than a certain year, certified, below mileage, be 4 doors, be kept clean, etc.

In this case, a guy went to the bar, took a ride-share car home so he wouldn't be DUI. Got hit by a guy DUI going really fast the wrong way near Tampa International airport. Ride-Share driver and passenger killed, of course the idiot DUI driver survives.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A driver faces two charges of DUI manslaughter after a wrong-way crash killed a ride-share driver and the passenger at the entrance of the Tampa International Airport Sunday, Tampa Police Department officials said.

For my son here in NY the car had to be less than 15 years old although Lyft initially said 12. They changed their standards later to I think 15 as well. Since NY has annual inspections they accept that as proof of mechanical suitability. Probably in states where there is no inspection you’d probably have to get an independent certification. No milage restrictions that I’m aware of. He had to send pictures of a current registration so they could run the VIN I presume to rule out flood, salvage, stolen etc.

They do a criminal check on drivers and I’m certain they pull the driver’s abstract to rule out drunks or tickets. No physical requirements though. One guy who was too disabled to work for us any more still drives ride share.

Most of these folks are just burning up their daily drivers. Unlike my son they don’t have a car nut father who is constantly looking to buy replacements.🤪

houdini1

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
That video upset you?
You're going to need a therapist after you see what they do to this Mercedes S430. HAHA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pulckF3Ec

Bastards!!

jmonroe

houdini1 said:

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
That video upset you?
You're going to need a therapist after you see what they do to this Mercedes S430. HAHA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pulckF3Ec

Bastards!!

I agree. Those guys could never pass a criminal background or sanity check. I wonder if they put a new shroud on that beauty, removed the spilled bb's and wiped up some of the foamy stuff, this could become @oldfarmer50's next hooptie?

jmonroe

explorerx4

Lighten up you guys, it was a junkyard car.
It was there for a reason.
At least it went out with style.

qbrozen

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

fintail

Many who have owned those cars probably cackled with delight at the way that one was treated. Those were nice cars in their day, but not MBs finest hour - early owners were doing a lot of beta testing, and resale values support that.

explorerx4 said:

Lighten up you guys, it was a junkyard car.
It was there for a reason.
At least it went out with style.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

houdini1 said:

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
That video upset you?
You're going to need a therapist after you see what they do to this Mercedes S430. HAHA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_pulckF3Ec

Bastards!!

I agree. Those guys could never pass a criminal background or sanity check. I wonder if they put a new shroud on that beauty, removed the spilled bb's and wiped up some of the foamy stuff, this could become @oldfarmer50's next hooptie?

jmonroe

Nah, I gravitate toward domestics.

imidazol97

For anyone who's still an NFL fan, here's a fact I never thought about pointing out until tonight.

The first NFL game was played..... wait for it...... in DAYTON.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Awesome! That’s an older smaller ship with less passengers than the mega ships. I think you’ll love it.

I keep telling the wife I want to do Alaska and get a resounding ... NO

Once I’m back to work, I want to book our first family cruise. We have been, but not since we had kids.

I think I may have her convinced for either Thanksgiving week or mid March before spring break break (2021). All depends how long I’m out for.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Awesome! That’s an older smaller ship with less passengers than the mega ships. I think you’ll love it.

I keep telling the wife I want to do Alaska and get a resounding ... NO

Once I’m back to work, I want to book our first family cruise. We have been, but not since we had kids.

I think I may have her convinced for either Thanksgiving week or mid March before spring break break (2021). All depends how long I’m out for.

Fingers crossed it treats me better than our first cruise.

I had found cheaper voyages from Carnival and Holland, but they had nothing for the kids to do. This one haz the sports court, mini golf, rock wall, and some other things. Not to mention only 1 day with no stops, so hopefully they’ll be well entertained.

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Very cool! Royal Caribbean does a good job. I’ve been on a couple of their ships.

My team at work had a good year last year. We were awarded some extra vacation time (just found this out last week). So, I booked a last minute cruise out of Galveston for the end of February on the Carnival Vista combined with some accumulated PTO for a vacation.

stickguy

I’ve never been, but a number of my family members have done Alaska cruises and all raved about the experience.

tjc78

graphicguy said:

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Very cool! Royal Caribbean does a good job. I’ve been on a couple of their ships.

My team at work had a good year last year. We were awarded some extra vacation time (just found this out last week). So, I booked a last minute cruise out of Galveston for the end of February on the Carnival Vista combined with some accumulated PTO for a vacation.

If you do a review on CC let me know to look for it. I’ve been looking at some Carnival ships.

graphicguy

tjc78 said:

graphicguy said:

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Very cool! Royal Caribbean does a good job. I’ve been on a couple of their ships.

My team at work had a good year last year. We were awarded some extra vacation time (just found this out last week). So, I booked a last minute cruise out of Galveston for the end of February on the Carnival Vista combined with some accumulated PTO for a vacation.

If you do a review on CC let me know to look for it. I’ve been looking at some Carnival ships.

I have already started a thread over there. Been a long while since I’ve sailed Carnival. Last time I was on one, I was still married. And, that was a long time ago.

Price was right and it’s in a really good cabin (Havana). Even my Travel Agent couldn’t come close to the price I got from Carnival’s WEB site. I think it might have been a mistake. But, it’s booked and I have my ticket.

Will let you know when I leave!

driver100

tjc78 said:

graphicguy said:

qbrozen said:

The search is over. Booked a room on Royal Caribbean’s Radiance of the Seas for the last week of August.

Very cool! Royal Caribbean does a good job. I’ve been on a couple of their ships.

My team at work had a good year last year. We were awarded some extra vacation time (just found this out last week). So, I booked a last minute cruise out of Galveston for the end of February on the Carnival Vista combined with some accumulated PTO for a vacation.

If you do a review on CC let me know to look for it. I’ve been looking at some Carnival ships.

Now you want to buy a ship?

qbrozen

I reached out to a couple of agents to whom I was referred by friends/relatives. One replied that he'd start working on it, then I never heard from him again. The second was hitting me with numbers higher than I was seeing online. Last night, I gave her my final reply that I happened upon a room that is supposedly not usually available for willy-nilly booking (you have to call the cruiseline or whatever, but this is based on message boards, so who knows), and I jumped on it. She wrote back saying something to the effect "once I realized you were looking online, I bowed out." I paraphrase that as "when I realized I couldn't get away with overcharging you, I moved on to someone dumber." I thought agents were supposed to be useful. Oh well. Lesson learned.

28firefighter

We used CruiseCompete to send our sailing out for bidding - ended up saving $2k across 3 cabins.

qbrozen

bidding? oh man, I missed out. Sounds like fun.

I spent SO MANY hours comparing cruises/prices/websites. It is so inconsistent out there. While the best deal on a particular date for a particular cabin on a particular boat might be at Priceline, that doesn't mean they have the best deals across the board. And the room I wound up with wasn't even available at the several other sites I was scouring. Finally booked through AmericanDiscountCruises.com

28firefighter

Yep - CruiseCompete is basically a site that lets you put out a request with the sailing, cabin(s), and cabin classes you want with the number of passengers and travel agencies can bid.

I'd say on average I received 4-5 per bid that I sent out. The pricing varies because travel agencies can buy blocks of rooms on a particular sailing in bulk and then sell them at a group rate. That group rate may get you the same price but more perks, cheaper price and more perks, etc.

For instance on our sailing, we booked a balcony room with sofa bed and triple occupancy (2 adults, 1 child). Cheapest advertised internet rate with all available perks (the special running was gratuities, premium beverage package, internet, and $300 onboard credit) was $800 more than we paid for the exact same stateroom class and location on the ship.

You ended up doing the same thing - you just found it yourself. And the reason you didn't find it anywhere else is because the agency you booked with had the room blocked as part of a bulk group rate they bought.

It also means that, in terms of bargain hunting, about 60-75 days before sailing (the final payment date for the cruise) all of those bulk room buys expire and tons of rooms get released if they weren't paid. Depending on how full the ship is, you may be able to get a pretty seriously good deal. I don't have the stomach for doing that and we plan way ahead because of PTO, but for someone like @graphicguy, booking last minute can mean serious savings.

graphicguy

I’ve used the same Travel Agent for years. She’s really good. Always gives me her best fare and always throws in some On Board Credit for me to use once I’m on the ship.

I’ve looked at Cruise Compete before. Not a bad place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed (easy enough to do given all the fares, cabin types, perks, etc).

driver100

I see great offers on travelzoo.com. Every week they send 20 of their top deals, and there is no pressure. They offer Alaskan cruises quite a bit. Unfortunately, not a good time to go to China, but they have had 10 day tours, including flight, tour and meals for $600 to $800. You can't stay in a decent hotel here for that amount!