Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

At the counter I saw a woman fighting with the staff over buying too many paper products. She claimed that since she had bought one of every brand each counted as only one. Nice trick but the staff wasn’t buying it. I heard her talking on the phone to her sister that she needed more in case they declared Martial Law.

I thought we were turning the corner.

This "country lawyering" thing must be contagious.

jmonroe

Huh?

Another Huh? Today I started getting a “service tire inflator system” message on the Ford. What does that mean, I have to change the can of fix-a-flat?

It means it's time to buy a new car

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Another Huh? Today I started getting a “service tire inflator system” message on the Ford. What does that mean, I have to change the can of fix-a-flat?

The emergency kit does have an expiration date, unfortunately.

jmonroe

kyfdx said:

imidazol97 said:

kyfdx said:

imidazol97 said:

stickguy said:

Imid, probably consolidating truck traffic to just going to amazon warehouses. Not as much to more local stores.

Jackpot.And I do see as many Prime trucks (semis) moving the freight. East-west on I70 and I75/I675. FedEx doubles aren't as frequent, at least in daytime, as they were on I70. We have a local drop for FedEx but most of them are traveling through. Columbus-Indianapolis.

FedEx Freight is a trucking company. Like Roadway or Yellow. That is who pulls mostly double trailers. They are the biggest LTL freight carrier in the country (I think).

FedEx Ground pulls some doubles, but not as many. There are big Ground hub/transfer facilities in a lot of locations. Grove City has a really big one.

FedEx Express. That is the overnight and 2-day guaranteed packages, along with some time definite heavy freight. That is the station you see by the DAY airport. FedEx Express flies directly in there from Memphis.

FedEx Express also has a giant air hub at IND airport. But, anything Dayton gets from IND would be trucked to and from that hub.

I checked and the one in Huber Heights is FedEx Freight. That's where a lot of doubles pull in and out onto I70. Very courteous drivers.

And I decided to look for a FedEx Ground location. I'll be surprised again: there is one across from the DAY international airport. I found it from maps.google. Can't see it from the Dixie Highway that borders the airport. It is mostly long trailers but there were some doubles parked around the lot (satellite image).

And of course the FedEx Express location at the airport where I've picked up and dropped off packages. They have a 767 or similar FedEx plane that parks there through the day. I assume it goes out at night and returns early for incoming express that arrives by air.

I learned long ago the different arms of FedEx have different colors for their logo "Ground", "Freight," and "Express" on the trailers.

Yeah, I'm not familiar with what they fly, now. Also, I think they are starting to give up the color scheme, though I'm sure there is some un-updated equipment/uniforms.

I've jump-seated quite a few times out of DAY (727s) In the '80s, Cincinnati freight came into DAY. They didn't have flights into Cincinnati until around 1989, I think. There is nothing quite like the view of landing from the cockpit.

I know what you mean about being in the cockpit during landings.

As I've mentioned before when I was in the Navy I was a member of a flight crew. Not a pilot just a lowly enlisted man on the crew. My main responsibility when flying was as a loader for the transport squadron I was in. However, my job when not flying was as an electrical and instrumentation person. As such I sat in the flight engineers seat so many times watching finicky instruments there were times I thought I really was a flight engineer. The first few times sitting in that seat during a landing it was really neat but after a while, like anything else that you do often enough, you get used to it. Then there are the times when you're going to land in a heavy cross wind. Then it ain't so ordinary anymore. Like seeing the wind sock starched in one direction then falling limp and being starched in a different direction. All the while watching the pilot trying to decide if he wants to start sitting the plane down either to the left or right of the center line of the runway or if he just wants to go around and try again or just land somewhere else altogether. Those are the times you just don't want to be there seeing all that. But l was never asked if I wanted to be there...I was told to be there. So being the good little sailor boy that I was, I took orders as they were given to me. Closing your eyes would not have made the situation any better.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

I just finished watching "Fox News Sunday" because Chris Wallace's guest for today was Bill Gates. 5 years ago, Bill Gates was on video warning the world that the one overriding danger to the existence of humans was existence of a virus that would be uncontrolled and would spread throughout the world killing millions upon millions of people. That the time was now (back in 2015) to prepare for that pandemic before it's too late, he stated/warned.

Talk about Prophets and prophesies, his words were almost totally ignored. Of course he understood why it was ignored - money - the scarcity of money.

I admire Bill Gates and his wife. First of all, Bill Gates is an intellectual in possession of tremendous intelligence. The mulit-billions of dollars the Gates's have earned have been put into a trust and foundation to treat diseases throughout the world - especially Aftica. Furthermore, their foundations also provide billions of dollars each year for the education of children and to provide them with the tools to learn.

I'm not saying they don't live well - but most of what they have and will earn during their lifetimes will go into their foundation. Buffet, Bloomberg and other multi-billionaires have done the same - pouring billions into the Bill and Linda Gates Foundation. Kudos to them, to be sure.

But Bill Gates warned us back in 2015 what would be the cause of death to millions and millions of humans - a VIRUS! We need to listen to this guy more often and more closely!

Sorry but Bill Gates wasn't the only one who said that. Think of it, viruses have wrecked havoc on the human race throughout recorded history. Many of them causing the deaths of millions. The black death killed half of Europe, the bubonic plague killed as much as 10% of the worlds population. Why would one think it would never happen again.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

At the counter I saw a woman fighting with the staff over buying too many paper products. She claimed that since she had bought one of every brand each counted as only one. Nice trick but the staff wasn’t buying it. I heard her talking on the phone to her sister that she needed more in case they declared Martial Law.

I thought we were turning the corner.

This "country lawyering" thing must be contagious.

jmonroe

Huh?

Another Huh? Today I started getting a “service tire inflator system” message on the Ford. What does that mean, I have to change the can of fix-a-flat?

It means it's time to buy a new car

Can’t I just take it to “the guy’?

stickguy

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, it is not about saving the owner money. It is saving the company money by making it possible to meet the cafe standards. though those seem to be going away soon. Plus most makers are more concerned about the short term (advertising better MPG) and not the down the road part when it costs the owner more to repair or replace.

They sell STOP/START as if it is going to save you money. The GLK has it all the time, on the E400 I turn it off as soon as I start the car. I mentioned it as a rip off because once again the government mandates CAFE standards for the car makers to meet, so they come up with this silly way to save a few drops of gas - but, overall, it costs the consumer more and it is probably a lot worse for the environment they are trying to save.

I have to agree with you here. I don’t think start/stop is a win for the consumer at all. Luckily my Volvo allows you to kill it once and it’s gone unless you re-enable it.

If it wasn’t that way I would be looking for a way to kill it altogether.

The little bit of gas you’ll save over the course of the system’s life won’t pay for any one of the extra hardware’s failures.

They should make it so once you buy the car you can remove the start/stop feature and toss it out. That way the car meets regulations, and we can get on with our normal lives.

On the BMW you can turn it off and it will stay off until you turn it back on or put the car into eco mode. Personally I dont like the start/stop feature.

snakeweasel

bwia said:

Top ten money losing cars.

cribbed this from Quora. Sorry a little long but a quick read

The average automobiles in the US lose more than 50% of their value only in the first five years of exploitation.

10. Chevrolet Impala

The Impala loses 66.2% of its value during the first five years of usage.
This vehicle is often used for car rental which leads to excessive offering five years after production.

9. Jaguar XJL

Like most of the other luxury brands, it loses a lot of its initial value only the first five years.

To be more specific - 66.4%.
Usually, luxury cars lose a lot of their value during the first 3 to 5 years because most of them are bought through leasing and the moment the leasing is over, most of them are flooding the markets.

8. Mercedes E - Class

Even with a huge drop in the initial price - 67.2%, this is not the worst contender in its category.
Further, the decreasing popularity of the diesel engines also helps the falling aftermarket prices.

7. BMW 5-Series

With slightly more - 67.3% is the depreciation of the 5-Series...


6. BMW 6-Series

The depreciation of this model is 68.3%.
It seems that this luxury car is not among the favorite of second-hand car buyers and that also puts the price down after the first five years.

5. Ford Fusion Energi

One of the few American models which are in the list. The depreciation is impressive - 69.4%


4. Mercedes Benz S-Class

The depreciation of this model is close to 70%, to be more precise 69.9%.

3. BMW 7-Series

The depreciation of the 7-Series is crossing the psychological boundary of 70% to reach 71.1%.

2. Chevrolet Volt

This model made a real revolution in the world of cars at the time.
But it seems the competition was faster in making more beautiful and functional all-electric cars with one exception which you'll see below!

The loss of value for the Volt in the first five years is 71.2%.

1. Nissan Leaf

The first place is taken by another all-electric vehicle which loses the impressive 71.7% during the first 5 years.

So the lesson learned is buy used.

snakeweasel

explorerx4 said:

Speaking of impressions, can't forget driver100 and the striped shirt.

Just keep drinking til you do.

snakeweasel

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

one downside to the low cars with "sporty" front air dams. My TLX has a faux splitter lip, and it will scrape on even modest parking blocks, stuff that either RDX does not even notice. Will also scrape at the bottom of my driveway if I don't hit it at the right spot/angle.

Yes, my ATS has the same affliction. A couple of times a year I need to lie down on my back in the driveway with the touch-up paint and fill in the gouges.

I'm probably gonna get hit with some flak for this but I'm kinda surprised to hear you admit to this. Wouldn't it just be a lot easier to learn how low your car sits? Once would have been enough for me.

jmonroe

Clearly, JM, I am just a dimbulb compared to your brilliant self.

OTOH, I don't have someone chasing me around the dining room table brandishing a frying pan, so there's that.

I knew it and I even called it. So maybe I am somewhat brilliant.

As for being chased around the dining room table. Never once did Mrs. j have to resort to brandishing a frying pan. I don't know where you got that. Maybe you were reading between the lines.

jmonroe

OK, so a rolling pin was enough. Good to hear.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

Amazon really does amaze me sometimes. On Sunday I decided to buy Lucy the cat a little harness vest thing to see if she could get used to it by the time we have deck weather. I think she might like being out there with me tied off on a lead that lets her wander around the deck. It came this morning. Guy in a Corolla with the back seat stuffed full of envelopes dropped it in my mailbox. New economy indeed.

Our cat scratches up the furniture until I let him out and he comes back whenever he feels like it. We suspect he has a few other families on his list because once he’s gone...he’s gone.

When I was just grass high to a kneehopper we had a cat that would hang around our house for three or four weeks then disappear for three or four weeks then repeat the cycle. We suspected that he had another family somewhere.

venture

stickguy said:

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

I agree. Finding someone to do almost anything is a pain. If you don't want something major done it seems nobody wants to do it. I'm like you. I don't go up on the roof any more and don't delve into electrical too deep any more. (I actually added a circuit to the house with the power still on one time - no more.)

I had a contractor look at a room in a house I was selling that I wanted drywalled about a year ago. Evidently it wasn't big enough (not enough profit). He never called back.

Trying to find someone to clean gutters is about impossible.

benjaminh

Tour of the vault of the famed Peterson Auto Museum in LA. It's on my bucket list to visit this place, but even if you go you won't see the vault anyway.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0IzyESwcTw

Sandman6472

I need to get a sprinkler guy to come out and fix a leaking problem we have. Think a piece of exposed pcv pipe is the reason. Also, a couple of the heads are hitting the wall a bit and leaving a stain, so the wife mentioned the other day. All ours have been buried underground many years ago, so need those checked also. We're still on informal watering restrictions down here which I think will go back into effect if our rainy season doesn't start on time.
Regardless, will need to get online tomorrow and find a sprinkler repair guy to come out and fix these couple of issues as I don't want the lawn to get too brown in certain areas. Last year, we were lucky and had sufficient rain most of the year that I never turned them on for almost 11 months. This year has been just the opposite, so I have them coming on my two allowed days. So, I will start the process later today. With the way things are, will probably have a few folks answer my request within a few hours.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Found this info:
First press setup, then cycle through till you see tire mobility kit. Should be 2nd to last option. Then using reset press to the year you want. I put mine at 4 so it wouldn't bother me.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, it is not about saving the owner money. It is saving the company money by making it possible to meet the cafe standards. though those seem to be going away soon. Plus most makers are more concerned about the short term (advertising better MPG) and not the down the road part when it costs the owner more to repair or replace.

They sell STOP/START as if it is going to save you money. The GLK has it all the time, on the E400 I turn it off as soon as I start the car. I mentioned it as a rip off because once again the government mandates CAFE standards for the car makers to meet, so they come up with this silly way to save a few drops of gas - but, overall, it costs the consumer more and it is probably a lot worse for the environment they are trying to save.

I have to agree with you here. I don’t think start/stop is a win for the consumer at all. Luckily my Volvo allows you to kill it once and it’s gone unless you re-enable it.

If it wasn’t that way I would be looking for a way to kill it altogether.

The little bit of gas you’ll save over the course of the system’s life won’t pay for any one of the extra hardware’s failures.

They should make it so once you buy the car you can remove the start/stop feature and toss it out. That way the car meets regulations, and we can get on with our normal lives.

On the BMW you can turn it off and it will stay off until you turn it back on or put the car into eco mode. Personally I dont like the start/stop feature.

Both MBs do that too, but, it comes on automatically each time you start the car. Now it has become a routine, push button to start....then press OFF button for stop start. What I am saying is, they need those so the car gets enough MPG for cafe.......once you buy the car it doesn't matter, that is when you should be able to easily remove the device from the car and throw it away.

driver100

venture said:

stickguy said:

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

Trying to find someone to clean gutters is about impossible.

It is hard to make a business just cleaning gutters....too seasonal. Try The Guy who washes windows, it is a good add on profit maker for them, and they have the equipment.

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

graphicguy said:

pensfan83 said:

I ordered an immersion blender and a regular blender from Kohl's and they arrived in a day. Looking at the labels they have a distribution center in Middletown, OH. Good to know for future needs because we always went to the actual store for instant gratification to avoid waiting 4-5 days.

Hmmmmm...Middletown is the next town north of me. Didn't know they had a disti center there.

Salzmann Rd., north of rt 63. I've have guessed it's Monroe. I'll guess it's Middletown post office and inside city limits of a Monroe that has expanded greatly in area based on the maps.

https://google.com/maps/place/Monroe,+OH/@39.4583921,-84.406042,13.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x88405c1aa9731fe9:0xda2c99fae613ba40!8m2!3d39.440336!4d-84.3621634

Yeah...there’s a bunch of stuff going on in Monroe. Middletown? Not so much!

snakeweasel

I talked to a friend of mine who is a small business owner (dry cleaner) down state he said he is still open but his business has fallen off to practically nothing. He is afraid he wont survive this if it goes on much longer. This is not looking to great for a lot of businesses.

imidazol97

This morning I've been listening to a congressman talking about how food suppliers like meat packers have shut down. He says there's a lot of meat that is frozen. There was lots of other product from some types of suppliers in the major warehouses that has been delivered by the truckers. But we're going to run out of food in the future with no one being able to work because they might be in contact with someone who might have this virus from China.

Small business owners are being given grants, called loans, but they have to keep paying employees which means the grants won't last long. They have to be looking at how to liquidate or just walk away from their business which won't hurt themselves, the owners, too much.

I have felt sorry for the people who have the nerve to start a business usually with everything they have and make a go of it. I believe in the past only 1/3 of small business made it past 2 years or 3 years. My small business long ago was only an extra. I just quit when I didn't want to do it anymore. I had a choice, but many owners today don't have the other income the way I did.

Honda just shut down their Ohio plant for even longer than originally planned.

Time to plan getting some business types back to work. Ohio's data, not the ones they put front and center, shows that the diagnosed cases of this virus have been dropping for close to a week: were 254, now 3. But the media folks scream about total people infected (never subtracting those recovered) and ignore that most/many don't have symptoms. One radio station tells the number of new diagnosed cases vs the prediction from the "experts" and the model.

And the models have been changing drastically. https://coronavirus.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/covid-19/dashboard

roadburner

So a guy at work knows I play with cars and asked me what I thought of Mercedes(non-AMG). I told him that I thought that they were excellent cars, but that at age 63 I probably wouldn’t be seriously considering one for another twenty or so years.
Heck, looking at that GTS and that M Sport 5er already make me feel as if the bony hands of geezerhood are reaching for me.

venture

driver100 said:

venture said:

stickguy said:

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

Trying to find someone to clean gutters is about impossible.

It is hard to make a business just cleaning gutters....too seasonal. Try The Guy who washes windows, it is a good add on profit maker for them, and they have the equipment.

That's a good idea.

I used to do my own - before I stopped getting on the roof. I can get most of them from a ladder, but there are two runs I can't reach without a LOT of ladder moving and pretending I'm a contortionist, and they need done from the roof.

roadburner

The University of Washington COVID-19 projections move around a substantial amount. The peak death rate and peak resource use dates for Kentucky have been moving forward and back over a range of 10 days.

stickguy

Venture, why not bite the bullet and just pay to get them covered? Do it right and it’s a 1 time $ hit.

stickguy

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

suydam

venture said:

driver100 said:

venture said:

stickguy said:

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

Trying to find someone to clean gutters is about impossible.

It is hard to make a business just cleaning gutters....too seasonal. Try The Guy who washes windows, it is a good add on profit maker for them, and they have the equipment.

That's a good idea.

I used to do my own - before I stopped getting on the roof. I can get most of them from a ladder, but there are two runs I can't reach without a LOT of ladder moving and pretending I'm a contortionist, and they need done from the roof.

Call a roofer. Often the guys on the team will do side jobs like gutter cleaning. That’s what we did when we lived in Ohio.

driver100

stickguy said:

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

Countries that do lockdowns do much better. Countries where people comply do the best.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

Countries that do lockdowns do much better. Countries where people comply do the best.

I dont know about that, Sweden isn't in a lockdown and their numbers are very low.

Also it is hard to compare country to country as customs, behaviors and demographics can change drastically between them, such factors can have a significant impact on covid 19 statistics.

graphicguy

I'm not really an XM fan. But, I don't like TV news, and mostly read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for my news. There are a couple of XM stations I like for news that I found on my Stinger's trial XM. Trial period is over. Any deals you guys found for XM?

XM has to be begging for business now that car sales have fallen off a cliff.

Michaell

graphicguy said:

I'm not really an XM fan. But, I don't like TV news, and mostly read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for my news. There are a couple of XM stations I like for news that I found on my Stinger's trial XM. Trial period is over. Any deals you guys found for XM?

XM has to be begging for business now that car sales have fallen off a cliff.

In addition, XM is offering free streaming through 15 May.

pensfan83

I locked in one year of XM last year that coincides with turning the Acura in. Got the promo of $100 for 12 months, or not quite half the regular monthly fee. I can also stream XM through my phone so after the truck's 3 month trial was over I just stream it through the BT negating the need for multiple vehicle accounts.

snakeweasel

Michaell said:

graphicguy said:

I'm not really an XM fan. But, I don't like TV news, and mostly read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for my news. There are a couple of XM stations I like for news that I found on my Stinger's trial XM. Trial period is over. Any deals you guys found for XM?

XM has to be begging for business now that car sales have fallen off a cliff.

In addition, XM is offering free streaming through 15 May.

We have free streaming with our subscription which we recently re-upped for a year at $60.

venture

stickguy said:

Venture, why not bite the bullet and just pay to get them covered? Do it right and it’s a 1 time $ hit.

I will probably do that. The roof is supposed to be replaced next month, but who knows if it will be delayed. I want to do it after the roof is done.

We have a lot of evergreen trees. I don't know if the needles would get through or not. Also some maple trees. They shed those little buds for about a month before the leaves show up.

venture

suydam said:

venture said:

driver100 said:

venture said:

stickguy said:

it is true that it is really helpful if you have a couple of guys (or gals, to be gender equal) for stuff you can't or won't do. cars, house stuff (I am not going up on my roof, and limit how deep I will go into the wiring!) and often finding someone is a royal pain.

Trying to find someone to clean gutters is about impossible.

It is hard to make a business just cleaning gutters....too seasonal. Try The Guy who washes windows, it is a good add on profit maker for them, and they have the equipment.

That's a good idea.

I used to do my own - before I stopped getting on the roof. I can get most of them from a ladder, but there are two runs I can't reach without a LOT of ladder moving and pretending I'm a contortionist, and they need done from the roof.

Call a roofer. Often the guys on the team will do side jobs like gutter cleaning. That’s what we did when we lived in Ohio.

I will ask them when they show up to replace the shingles, etc.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

Countries that do lockdowns do much better. Countries where people comply do the best.

I dont know about that, Sweden isn't in a lockdown and their numbers are very low.

Also it is hard to compare country to country as customs, behaviors and demographics can change drastically between them, such factors can have a significant impact on covid 19 statistics.

Not true...Sweden is not doing well!
Sweden took the unusual step of not implementing a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The country urged people to practice social distancing but left places like shops and restaurants open, breaking the model followed by countries across Europe and the world.
Sweden has 477 deaths from the virus so far, but Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is now saying thousands will die from COVID-19 and that the country's parliament may bring in more restrictive measures.
Some experts have questioned the country's strategy, but Löfven appeared to reject criticism of it. Sweden's chief epidemiologist said the best strategy was simply asking people to stay apart
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-sweden-no-lockdown-test-thousands-deaths-expected-2020-4

Countries that do well, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Places that monitor and have strict rules.

driver100

These are truisms by Stephen Wright - I like #5
1 - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.*
2 - Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back.
3 - Half the people you know are below average.
4 - 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
5 - 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

roadburner

My

graphicguy said:

I'm not really an XM fan. But, I don't like TV news, and mostly read the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times for my news. There are a couple of XM stations I like for news that I found on my Stinger's trial XM. Trial period is over. Any deals you guys found for XM?

XM has to be begging for business now that car sales have fallen off a cliff.

Monday I renewed the subscription on my wife’s X1 for $76.58 all in. I just said I wanted to cancel and they gave me that offer.

graphicguy

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

Countries that do lockdowns do much better. Countries where people comply do the best.

I dont know about that, Sweden isn't in a lockdown and their numbers are very low.

Also it is hard to compare country to country as customs, behaviors and demographics can change drastically between them, such factors can have a significant impact on covid 19 statistics.

Not true...Sweden is not doing well!
Sweden took the unusual step of not implementing a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The country urged people to practice social distancing but left places like shops and restaurants open, breaking the model followed by countries across Europe and the world.
Sweden has 477 deaths from the virus so far, but Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is now saying thousands will die from COVID-19 and that the country's parliament may bring in more restrictive measures.
Some experts have questioned the country's strategy, but Löfven appeared to reject criticism of it. Sweden's chief epidemiologist said the best strategy was simply asking people to stay apart
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-sweden-no-lockdown-test-thousands-deaths-expected-2020-4

Countries that do well, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Places that monitor and have strict rules.

Sweden is doing a lot better than most other European countries.

And you cannot compare them to South Korea, Sinapore and Taiwan as the customs and culture differ greatly. It does make a difference.

tjc78

graphicguy said:

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

Unfortunately in my experience you have to call them.

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

graphicguy said:

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

Unfortunately in my experience you have to call them.

When I called them I was only talking to them for less than 5 minutes. I found it easy and a bit of a pleasant experience, all i did was ask and didn't have to argue or threaten to cancel.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

The problem with a lockdown to combat a pandemic is not being able to quantify the impact.you see the end result of people getting it, but can’t tell how much worse it would have been without the restrictions, since those cases were prevented!

Countries that do lockdowns do much better. Countries where people comply do the best.

I dont know about that, Sweden isn't in a lockdown and their numbers are very low.

Also it is hard to compare country to country as customs, behaviors and demographics can change drastically between them, such factors can have a significant impact on covid 19 statistics.

Not true...Sweden is not doing well!
Sweden took the unusual step of not implementing a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The country urged people to practice social distancing but left places like shops and restaurants open, breaking the model followed by countries across Europe and the world.
Sweden has 477 deaths from the virus so far, but Prime Minister Stefan Löfven is now saying thousands will die from COVID-19 and that the country's parliament may bring in more restrictive measures.
Some experts have questioned the country's strategy, but Löfven appeared to reject criticism of it. Sweden's chief epidemiologist said the best strategy was simply asking people to stay apart
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-sweden-no-lockdown-test-thousands-deaths-expected-2020-4

Countries that do well, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Places that monitor and have strict rules.

Sweden is doing a lot better than most other European countries.

And you cannot compare them to South Korea, Sinapore and Taiwan as the customs and culture differ greatly. It does make a difference.

Yeh but, most European countries are not doing well at all...some of the highest rates in the world. Sweden is rethinking its stance on "No distancing"....no rules don't work. The main customs and culture that are different in S Korea etc are that people obey and do as they are told to do. The virus spreads because people are in close proximity to a carrier, either breath in droplets or touch something contaminated. If you are isolated, you probably won't get it.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

I get promos from them all the time by email. I had registered the Cruze's XM when we bought it for Imid Jr.

I found to go online they demand I put in the radio code number as an ID. I suspect if you put in your radio code and go fishing around their offers and give them you email address/ phone number whatever you want, they'll start sending you offers.

I keep renewing a promotion they used to have which was 5 months for $25 or $30 and added in was a few more dollars for a 5 month promo for Travel Link, which I like because I can see the gas station prices on my Malibu's home page as I go by exits when we're traveling. It also lets you location repair shops, movie theaters by what they're showing, and other things I believe. I think the last time I'm paying around $40. The guy signed me up for something for a year and then gave me a credit and then used part of that to pay for the 5 months.

I keep getting emails for $5 per month for the select plan which is what I have. In my promo I was clear when they asked and I don't want to be able to stream to a computer or phone. I think the $5 mo for year includes streaming...

Good luck.

Last call was easy by far compared to earlier calls. They always try to upsell and offer a different time period and price than what I said I wanted. But I just say "No."

They really try to set me up with what I want rather than my disconnecting. I tell them I'll just cancel and use my phone for music, I don't drive the car much in terms of hours I listen per month, but I like some of the stations.

roadburner

graphicguy said:

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

I was having trouble trying to do it online. I finally called. The only issue was I had like a 15 minute wait to talk to someone. I don’t think it took more than 5 minutes once I was connected to a customer service person.

jmonroe

graphicguy said:

Thanks all. Do you have to call them to get those XM rates? I loath doing that. Or, can I do it on line and get those rates?

I'm pretty sure you have to talk to them so they can hear you say something like, "never mind, thanks anyway but that price is too high". I just renewed both cars about 2 weeks ago for $94 and something each. The bill they sent me to renew was $256.xx for one car and $265.xx for the other car. Don't know why there was a price difference because I thought both subscriptions were the same but there was no way I was going for either one of those deals. Yes, I do the dance every year so I'm used to it but this year I wanted everything thrown in even the 2 dollar mailed billing fee that I was always charged until I balked at that this time. I have a notch above the standard plan. Not sure what that really gives me but I have it. Should have dropped that but didn't. Maybe next year.

Just be prepared for the rep to go off to get approval from a higher authority. Shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes at the most. No, I don't like the game playing but I like XM enough to put up with it once a year.

Good luck.

jmonroe

fintail

Funny, as one of the MB models that says "entitled crotchety retiree" to me is an SL63 AMG. Many sporty image models are for geezers, as they have all the money I think the average new 911 driver around here is around 70.

roadburner said:

So a guy at work knows I play with cars and asked me what I thought of Mercedes(non-AMG). I told him that I thought that they were excellent cars, but that at age 63 I probably wouldn’t be seriously considering one for another twenty or so years.
Heck, looking at that GTS and that M Sport 5er already make me feel as if the bony hands of geezerhood are reaching for me.

fintail

And at the same time, Germany went into lockdown early, and has some of the best results in the world. A robust public health system/safety net, less of a wingnut population wanting to claim it is some kind of hoax, and a more cooperative community in general can do that.

Waiting for the moron lt. governor of TX or psycho Falwell to open his yap again, all of these types saying they are willing to sacrifice themselves need to make good and go through with it, for the betterment of humanity,

driver100 said:

Yeh but, most European countries are not doing well at all...some of the highest rates in the world. Sweden is rethinking its stance on "No distancing"....no rules don't work. The main customs and culture that are different in S Korea etc are that people obey and do as they are told to do. The virus spreads because people are in close proximity to a carrier, either breath in droplets or touch something contaminated. If you are isolated, you probably won't get it.

ab348

You guys are forcing me to do one of my periodic "Sirius/XM is a scummy company with terrible business practices and nobody should ever give them a dime" posts. :@

jmonroe

ab348 said:

You guys are forcing me to do one of my periodic "Sirius/XM is a scummy company with terrible business practices and nobody should ever give them a dime" posts. :@

You just have to overcome that crotchety old geezer attitude before it's too late.

jmonroe

roadburner

As I said, when I called SXM the individual I spoke with didn’t play any games. Right off the bat he offered the $76.58 deal.