Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

abacomike

Fezo, like I said, what's necessary in a car for you is very different from what I would want.

Mazda 5 or Mazda 6 are excellent choices.  It's a great automobile manufacturer that makes good, solid, reliable and stylish vehicles.  You can't go wrong since you've owned one for many years.

abacomike

The lowest price for PUG down here is at Costco - $2.92.9 a gallon.  That's up 53 cents a gallon from what it was 2 months ago.  The branded gasolines are running $3.09.9 a gallon.

It's amazing how slowly prices come down compared to how quickly they go up.  You can almost smell the price manipulation going on.

tommister2

abacomike said:

thebean said:

I just don't understand why someone would puncture two tires.  Probably some ne'er do well that hates people that can afford nice things when they can't.  I am more and more convinced that we are going down the toilet and will never recover.  We have seen the high water mark for American society.  Way too many takers and not enough makers.  I'm glad I'm way closer to the end of my life than the beginning.

With the state of the entire world at this point in human history, not to mention our own country, I agree wholeheartedly with that conclusion, Bean.  I have but one regret - that my children and grandsons will have to witness the decline of the world as we knew it.

We have a vacant piece of land about 15 minutes from our house. I go and mow the grass along the road every 2 weeks or so. A few times per year we have someone that drives onto our land and dumps something. My wife always tries to figure out " who would do that?" but none of us could really answer that question. Sometimes it's harmless like grass clippings or limbs. Sometimes it's worse stuff that I have to remove. As suggested above its just someone who's never had anything and has no respect.

Coming back to cars, the Wrangler I just bought was one of the best private party transactions ever. The seller was a nice young man who decided he wanted to buy a house instead of having a car payment. We communicated without issue, which is quite the feat since we met 4 times for test drives and getting paperwork done.

dino001

abacomike said:

The lowest price for PUG down here is at Costco - $2.92.9 a gallon.  That's up 53 cents a gallon from what it was 2 months ago.  The branded gasolines are running $3.09.9 a gallon.

It's amazing how slowly prices come down compared to how quickly they go up.  You can almost smell the price manipulation going on.

Not really, Mike. Oil went up from low of $40 to $60, or 50 percent in roughly the same time, so you can't be surprised at gas price following such a fast input cost climb. Now why oil price went up so quickly, that's a different subject. My point is that when something good happens, we tend to see it as a natural order of things, almost an entitlement, when it turs for worse, we immediately smell bad conspiracies and manipulation. When gas price went from four bucks to two, it's all great, we still complain it's too slow, but when it goes back, it suddenly is a manipulation by evil speculators.

mako1a

This response is after the fact, but why wouldn't Fezo just replace the cats? They're not terribly expensive and can be found used for less.

abacomike

Dino, I am talking about the speed the price went up.  2 months ago, a barrel of oil was selling for $42.95.  It's now $59.10 a barrel.  I can understand why prices have been rising - geopolitical variables coupled with costlier summer fuels.  But when gas jumps 15 cents a gallon in a week compared to dropping 2-3 cents a gallon a week, which it did for 1 year (2014), one has to wonder how that could happen and why?

dino001

Well, for once, nobody wants to lower the price voluntarily, they only do it when forced, whereas price raise is much easier decision. The oil plunge from $100 to $40 was equally quick, at least on parts of its stretches, as this recent rebound. Many drillers had contracted (hedged) price of oil, which means the lower input cost applied only to last barrell purchased, not the first one, if you know what I mean. Therefore many barrels were still processed at above spot process. When oil price goes up, those last cheap barrels disapear. Moreover, many hedge contracts for $70-$90 oil are still in force even today.

All I'm saying, while conspiracies do exist, not everything that is bad is result of them. There was as much manipulation attempt when prices were plunging, as when they are rising. Many companies and funds were caught by this plunge and lost milions on wrong bets. I don't weep for their loss, but I can't blame them when they sway markets their way, either. Perhaps limits on margin and leverage for purely speculative players would be a way to curb the volatility.

abacomike

Dino, let's face it - it can be very frustrating to be controlled by those who set the prices knowing you have no way of avoiding the result.  

As an example, when I was putting "MY" money into "MY" pension fund, I had to pay an additional 1/2% for annual increases in my pension when I retired.  I had no choice.  Then, The Illinois General Assembly passed a pension reform bill and the then Governor Quinn signed it into law.  It would have taken away more than half of my annual increases each year.

I had no control when I put the money in and no control when they took it away.  But there is JUSTICE (at least some) left in this world.  The Illinois Supreme Court found the change in the pensions unconstitutional - in a unanimous verdict just this week.  The Justices blamed the the 100+ billion dollar shortfall for all Illinois pensions square on the shoulders of past governors and the legislature for not adequately funding the various pensions (in my case their share - I put in 8.5% of my earnings and they were supposed to match it).  The legislature for years deliberately cut funding for pensions and used that money for other projects rather than raise taxes to pay for those other projects.

I used this example to help me explain the utter frustration one experiences when you have no control of your destiny when it comes to the prices people charge for things that are "needs" rather than wants.

fezo

As far as the cats they are very pricey and there's four of them.

thebean

Never mind.

dino001

I hear and share your frustration, I'm just trying to be realistic in trying to understand reasons for all that happens. I think it's an individual and societal stupidity, greed and self-importance. From greed of a hedge fund manager trying to trick others into a fake story, to incompetence of a politician agreeing to unrealistic return assumptions on your pension fund, allowing him to divert funds for other more popular causes, to Joe taxpayer, believing he can receive great schools, healthcare, defence, cheap gas, and everything under the Sun without him paying for anything in taxes or fees. We all are guilty of self-delusion to some extent, especially as voting constituance.

mako1a

We don't have pollution checks here so removing cats for straight pipes is what would happen locally. Maybe that's why used ones are readily available. Some come already shot out with a shotgun.

fezo

The sales guy suggested bypassing the cats. Would have bought me the better part of two years....

fezo

Hey, stick! Why don't you take day off this week and get me to Pennsylvania to buy that 5? My wife is caught up in things all week, and my brother who lives out that way was going to come pick me up but fell off a loaner motorcycle while they worked on his. It was too tall, he miscalculated at a stop, fell and broke his collarbone. They may be talking pins.

I'm planning on calling in a deposit Monday morning. If they call with the Fusion then who knows?

stickguy

which one is that? I'm all confused about the links. Repost whatever it is you are still working on.

what about the 2013 CX5 I found for you? I need to look for that link again! Found the 2014 touring in Hamilton:
http://www.hamiltonmazda.net/auto/used-2014-mazda-cx5-touring-hamilton-08690-nj/3076602/

Found the other one at Faulkner in Trevose. 2013. Even more interesting, they have a couple of 2015 tourings with 27K miles. Nicely equipped. bet you can get a nice deal on those! Reflex blue is a great color.

http://faulknermazda.com/used/mazda/?&geo=0&make=Mazda&model=CX-5&sortblock=1

This 5 is pretty cheap. Is a sport too basic? Too silver? In Turnersville. That is local to me. No problem running down there!

http://www.msmazda.com/vehicle-details/2013-mazda-mazda5-sport-turnersville-nj-id-7460364

actually, amazing amount of room.. I could use one of these. real dog friendly too!

fezo

This is our winner - http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?featureCodes=1132&zip=08050&endYear=2016&showcaseOwnerId=7338345&startYear=2010&makeCode1=MAZDA&listingType=certified&listingTypes=certified&maxMileage=30000&searchRadius=75&maxPrice=20000&showcaseListingId=381909543&mmt=[MAZDA[][]]&listingId=397014880&Log=0

The CX5s, even if FWD just plain price themselves out of the market next to the 5. Yes, they have things the 5 doesn't and even,for some odd reason, get better gas mileage and they have 8.7" of ground clearance but driving the 5 is a very fun experience - more so that the CX5 which is still entertaining - and this particular 5 hits all the buttons other than a stick, and a backup camera and such which until we got the Prius I didn't know I liked. That I can always add on if it's that big a deal.

I'll give the guy a deposit to hold it. If in between I fall in love with something else that's fine. I don't usually go into "I MUST have THIS car" mode. I did with the late, lamented 6.

The biggest thing that happened with the CX5, other than the abusive sales manager, was that while I really liked it I didn't like it $8K more than the 5.

abacomike

Fezo - great color and clean looking.  You made a stupendous choice.  The only thing that surprised me was the lack of a back-up camera in a van-type vehicle.  Those features should be standard in a vehicle like that.  Otherwise, outstanding!

fezo

My navigator can be hooked up to a backup camera so that's not a big deal.

fezo

Q - I flirted with a Fit for a little. Just decided that when I could get something that can haul a bunch of things while not driving at all like a hauler but more like a Mazda is the right combo for this time.

driver100

fezo said:

Q - This is our winner - http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?featureCodes=1132&zip=08050&endYear=2016&showcaseOwnerId=7338345&startYear=2010&makeCode1=MAZDA&listingType=certified&listingTypes=certified&maxMileage=30000&searchRadius=75&maxPrice=20000&showcaseListingId=381909543&mmt=[MAZDA[][]]&listingId=397014880&Log=0

I guess it is 98.568% certain you are going to go with the 5er - unless someone comes up with a deal you can't refuse.

It looks really nice and clean and the color combo is great.

Looks like you got a winner.....congratulations and best wishes!

stickguy

it might be a van, but it is short, and visibility is great. so probably not something that must have the camera. You do have parking sensors at least.

man, that is sharp. I could easily live with that. Darn.

murphydog

Took the X3 up to Red Top fire look out. While not a jeep, it did just fine on the forest service roads

fezo

Yeah, this works well on a number of fronts. I can't play race car like my 6 but that's not the end of the world at all. It's a really nice for the current situation and I'm happy with the choice. Next car will be more of a plaything. That's fine. More than fine.

fezo

Good news, stick. My wife traded on call nights with another nurse so we can do the car on Tuesday. If I leave early enough I could stop by Hamilton and check the 6 with a stick..... I don't think so..

driver100

murphydog said:

Took the X3 up to Red Top fire look out. While not a jeep, it did just fine on the forest service roads

Looks like you did some off roading....or did you just drive it through mud puddles to make it look more rugged?

driver100

fezo said:

Yeah, this works well on a number of fronts. I can't play race car like my 6 but that's not the end of the world at all. It's a really nice for the current situation and I'm happy with the choice. Next car will be more of a plaything. That's fine. More than fine.

Fezo, I think you are mellowing out in middle age........don't need a stick, don't need HP, don't need speed, don't need a boombox, ........ congrats again....you must be getting older, or at least more mature

suydam

Keep in mind the Mazda 6 was the wagon, so not exactly a racer either.. I used to have one myself.

stickguy

the 6 wagon with stick and V6, with the suspension upgrades, was a pretty darned quick and sporty wagon. don't sell it short.

stickguy

Fezo, do it right. stop and look at the 6 on the way home! And yes, I have done something along those lines.

fezo

My 6 wagon was 6 cyl and a stick. It could fly. Nice rocket in a brown paper wrapper.

driver - would that I were going into middle age, I'm coming out of it. Mature decision was a little tough but the fact that you can't get a 6 like that wagon - or even with a 6 cyl anymore - made life easier.

stickguy

you should enjoy the 5. All the nice creature comfort. Little higher hip point for getting in/out. The 2.5 is reasonably peppy. And tons of carrying space. Very useful.

driver100

fezo said:

My 6 wagon was 6 cyl and a stick. It could fly. Nice rocket in a brown paper wrapper.

driver - would that I were going into middle age, I'm coming out of it. Mature decision was a little tough

Yeh, but you act immature , so that makes you seem younger.

That's my secret too!

abacomike

When I first read driver's post where he responded to FEZO's post by saying, "Yeh, but you act immature   , so that makes you seem younger..." I decided to not mention how insulting that could be, with or without a smiley face.  I waited 1 hour and 20 minutes before posting how proud I felt for not responding.  I don't need another flag for abuse.  Don't you agree?

murphydog

driver100 said:

murphydog said:

Took the X3 up to Red Top fire look out. While not a jeep, it did just fine on the forest service roads

Looks like you did some off roading....or did you just drive it through mud puddles to make it look more rugged?

Driver - truthfully I did go down the wrong forest service road to start - narrow and very rutted. Was worried about bottoming out more than a few times. Gotta say I took it nice and slow and had no issues.

I will say this, turning around on a narrow bush and tree lined road caused the parking sensors to go berserk!

fezo

Well, there is a saying that you're only young once but you can be immature as long as you'd like So I'll leave it at that.

Of course they also say of you haven't grown up by the time you're 50 you don't have to....

abacomike

fezo said:

Well, there is a saying that you're only young once but you can be immature as long as you'd like So I'll leave it at that. Of course they also say of you haven't grown up by the time you're 50 you don't have to....

Fezo, you've been through enough in the last few years - thus you have my permission to do or say anything that gives you enjoyment or pleasure - you've earned it!

fezo

Thanks. Other than folks like the obnoxious Mazda sales manager it takes a lot to rattle me.

The sad thing is he's part of a big group on dealerships that seem to have no idea about selling in the age of Internet. They obviously get a lot of lay downs (lie downs) that just pay whatever the sticker says. Not this boy.

Looks like Tuesday night on the 5.

stickguy

I showed my wife the pictures. she thought it was nice (but too red for her!) was surprised that it counts as a minivan and has sliding doors.

driver100

murphydog said:

driver100 said:

murphydog said:

Took the X3 up to Red Top fire look out. While not a jeep, it did just fine on the forest service roads

Looks like you did some off roading....or did you just drive it through mud puddles to make it look more rugged?

Driver - truthfully I did go down the wrong forest service road to start - narrow and very rutted. Was worried about bottoming out more than a few times. Gotta say I took it nice and slow and had no issues.

I will say this, turning around on a narrow bush and tree lined road caused the parking sensors to go berserk!

I had a 2004 X3 and I really didn't think it could handle a trail road.....my Jeep Cherokee could handle it easily.
I am impressed, I guess AWD on the X3 is hardier than I thought.

I know what you mean about those parking sensors going crazy, mine go off when I back into the garage and the front fender gets close to the side, but it has to for me to fit in. I am not really headed into the side, but it still warns me. I can turn off the sensors and I do that in the automatic car wash, or they go constantly.

roadburner

murphydog said:

Took the X3 up to Red Top fire look out. While not a jeep, it did just fine on the forest service roads

I've driven the 2004 X3 into over a foot of mud; it powered right on through. I spent more than a few dollars cleaning of the undercarriage at a local self-service car wash.

driver100

abacomike said:

When I first read driver's post where he responded to FEZO's post by saying, "Yeh, but you act immature   , so that makes you seem younger..." I decided to not mention how insulting that could be, with or without a smiley face.  I waited 1 hour and 20 minutes before posting how proud I felt for not responding.  I don't need another flag for abuse.  Don't you agree?

I hope you aren't serious Mike. Have we become that sensitive? I have no idea how old Fezo is or how mature or immature he is.

If people say I don't seem to be as old as I am I just tell them I act immature and that makes me seem younger.

I consider fezo a friend - hopefully, who would not take that comment seriously.

abacomike

driver100 said:

When I first read driver's post where he responded to FEZO's post by saying, "Yeh, but you act immature   , so that makes you seem younger..." I decided to not mention how insulting that could be, with or without a smiley face.  I waited 1 hour and 20 minutes before posting how proud I felt for not responding.  I don't need another flag for abuse.  Don't you agree?

I hope you aren't serious Mike. Have we become that sensitive? I have no idea how old Fezo is or how mature or immature he is. If people say I don't seem to be as old as I am I just tell them I act immature and that makes me seem younger. I consider fezo a friend - hopefully, who would not take that comment seriously.

That makes better sense.  I thought you were being serious.  I'm glad you were not.  Thanks for explaining your comments.  

fezo

Good to see this going. You don't know how old I am? It's come up a few times. I am in my early sixties - 64 to be exact. In January I'll turn 65 and be in my mid- 60s where I'll stay until I'm 69 when I'll be in my late sixties.

Maybe this is the sort of math that confused the Mazda salesman.

rubbington

ab348 said:

The last 2 cars I sold myself, I wasn't actually actively selling.

In 2003 my fleet consisted of a '78 Olds Delta 88 4-door, a '79 Buick Electra 225 Park Avenue, and my '68 Cutlass. Yes, in 2003.

I'll leave the Cutlass out of this as it is a hobby car. For years when I lived and worked downtown, it was the only car I had. I walked most everywhere I needed to go. When I bought a house away from downtown in 1997, I needed a beater, and wanted a rear-drive car, preferably an Olds since I was familiar with the engine. The '78 Delta I found had a Rocket 350, was in reasonable shape, and was cheap - $2000. After I got it I found, of course, that it wasn't as good as I thought, and I went on a project for a few years upgrading it inside and out, though mechanically it was really pretty good. By the time 2002 came along, it was more than presentable and not bad at all for a car approaching 25 years of age. It was a good runner too, as these cars tended to be.

In the fall of 2001 the Buick presented itself, a total creampuff owned by an elderly gent who had given up the little driving he did, and it was a steal. I had to buy it. So now I owned 2 boats. I had the old fellow store the Buick in his condo garage over the winter because I didn't want to drive it in the slop. In March, two things happened. He started bugging me to get it out of his garage, so I reluctantly parked it in my driveway and the Olds went to the curb outside my house. About a week later, we had a big ice storm. I remember hearing a big noise outside that Saturday morning, looked out the window, and saw a massive section of a maple tree that was next to the street, laying in the street, next to the Olds.

I got dressed and went out to look at it. The fallen section was big enough that it was blocking the entire street. When it gave way, it raked the drivers side of the Olds pretty good, mashing the front fender, ripping off the door mirror, and doing some other assorted damage. It was a city tree, and after some wrangling with them, their insurance company agreed to go good for the repair. I found a similar car in a junkyard, got the necessary repair parts for short money, and came out about $1000 ahead on the insurance claim. So after it was repaired, it looked better than ever, with fresh paint on the drivers side of the car, but it wasn't getting much use since I was driving the Buick. One day a knock comes at my door and there is a guy there wanting to know if that was my Delta 88 and was I interested in selling it. He wanted it and I sold it for more than I paid originally.

About a year later a similar thing happened. I was outside and a car pulls up. The guy gets out, wants to see the Buick and after looking it over asks if I wanted to sell it. I did, and flipped it to him for a grand more than I had paid. He then went and had it professionally repainted, did some other small cosmetic things (it needed very little) and drove it for a while. I still see it occasionally around town, though he has sold it subsequently. It was nice to not have to work to sell two old tuna boats!

Cool story dude, you should consider blog writing?

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

When I first read driver's post where he responded to FEZO's post by saying, "Yeh, but you act immature   , so that makes you seem younger..." I decided to not mention how insulting that could be, with or without a smiley face.  I waited 1 hour and 20 minutes before posting how proud I felt for not responding.  I don't need another flag for abuse.  Don't you agree?

I hope you aren't serious Mike. Have we become that sensitive? I have no idea how old Fezo is or how mature or immature he is.

If people say I don't seem to be as old as I am I just tell them I act immature and that makes me seem younger.

I consider fezo a friend - hopefully, who would not take that comment seriously.

That makes better sense.  I thought you were being serious.  I'm glad you were not.  Thanks for explaining your comments.  

No problem! Nice to get a chance to explain before we get derailed.

driver100

Daughter update:

Our daughter checked out a bmw 328 diesel. Remember, her two most important points are "safety" and "gas mileage" (uses $400 worth of gas a month). She was very impressed, especially because of the 5 star safety rating.....Dino gave interesting information about how almost all cars get 5 stars because it is a very old rating system. The sales lady really built up the 5 star rating as being a really big deal....also did well in offset test but sales lady made it sound like this was unusual

But what really impressed ourdaughter was when the saleslady took the car out on the road and while going 50 mph , took the steering wheel in two fingers and put the two right wheels on the gravel, drove toward a telephone pole, and put the car back onto the road. We saw this same demonstration about 8 years ago....and it impressed us too. In fact, that was a big reason for buying our 2008 bmws.

But, most cars that have traction control and especially with awd can do that these days. She was really leaning toward a bmw because of that demo, someone came up with a clever advertising gimmick.

When I look at the insurance bureaus really top picks bmw isn't mentioned, not many are, she would have to go with a Volvo.

cdnpinhead

In my experience Volvo drivers are noticeably less aggressive in traffic than the typical BMW driver. Then there's the theft factor, but these days with chipped keys it's pretty hard to steal anything.

qbrozen

Fezo, that's an excellent price on the 5.

The Fit doesn't really compare to it. The 5 is a far nicer vehicle, as you'd expect.

fezo

Good to hear that from you. Don't suppose you want to take a trip a little short of Doylestown, PA today?......

Put a credit card deposit down on it. If I can't find a way today my wife and I will have to head out Tuesday evening.

abacomike

fezo said:

Good to hear that from you. Don't suppose you want to take a trip a little short of Doylestown, PA today?...... Put a credit card deposit down on it. If I can't find a way today my wife and I will have to head out Tuesday evening.

I've been to Doylestown when I was working in a private school in the Poconos.  We had a basketball game against the local high school there - about an hour and a half bus ride from where I was.  It's between Allentown and Philly, right?