Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

lemko1968

bwia said:

lemko1968 said:

Been away a long time. Just bought this Lexus ES350 last month.

Nice parking job if it was done unassisted without automatic parking. At first the Lexus big grill was off putting to me but I have evolved in taste and perspective and now I'm liking it very much. Sounds like you had a "December to remember" moment. Very handsome car; enjoy the ride and congrats.

It sure was! They even delivered the car with the big red bow on it like the ads! I took delivery of it on December 1st.

jmonroe1

lemko1968 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

lemko1968 said:

Been away a long time. Just bought this Lexus ES350 last month.

Very nice. There seems to be a trend for members here to buy white cars.

It's a general trend....white is the #1 color.
29% white, 19% black, 17% gray, and 11% silver.

My wife’s car is white too! Hers is a 2016 Buick LaCrosse.

That one doesn’t look like it eats much.🤓

jmonroe

imidazol97

Aaaah. The beautiful pearl tricoat colors! Beautiful.

imidazol97

Did you get to keep the bow?

imidazol97

Before Christmas it was continual commercials for medicare supplement plans along with toyotathon and all the Christmas buy-a-car ads.

Now it's commercials for those who missed the medicare signup deadline and for healthclub plans along with various divices and pills that will burn away all that extra fat I've put on. And car commercials.

If I recall by end of January the tax preparer stores, some legitimate and others shady, start their heavy commercials to get people to use them.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

for no particular reason, I watched a video on Youtube about new electricity generating methods (geothermal) which led to a bunch on battery and storage technology. There is all kinds of neat stuff going on in that field. If some of the real exciting stuff works out, there will be good options to store from renewable (solar or wind) and batteries with way more capacity. Exciting stuff.

if batteries can get cheap while jacking up capacity, EVs really will take over (especially if the new tech allows for quicker recharging). And mass storage capacity certainly helps renewables.

our local commuter train operation (also run the bridges, and must be hemorrhaging money right now with ridership down) recently put huge solar arrays in the station parking lots (side benefit, covered parking!). Considering the trains are electric, I imagine their utility bill was quite high. If they can get most of their power from the solar, should really be cost effective.

That’s assuming that the solar panel energy is competitive with fossil. It’s getting better, up to 21% efficiency but I think natural gas is still cheaper for producing electricity.

I designed my house to accept solar panels but back then the ROI just wasn’t there. In a few more years, who knows.

omarman

venture said:

I don't know if the Steelers are ready for tomorrow night, but the rhino is:

For anybody not watching the Steelers game, it's already 28 to 0 in the 1st quarter. New NFL record for post season game score. Btw it's Cleveland 28.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

lemko1968 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

lemko1968 said:

Been away a long time. Just bought this Lexus ES350 last month.

Very nice. There seems to be a trend for members here to buy white cars.

It's a general trend....white is the #1 color.
29% white, 19% black, 17% gray, and 11% silver.

My wife’s car is white too! Hers is a 2016 Buick LaCrosse.

That one doesn’t look like it eats much.🤓

jmonroe

I'll fix it for you "That one doesn’t look like it eats AS much."

ab348

omarman said:

For anybody not watching the Steelers game, it's already 28 to 0 in the 1st quarter. New NFL record for post season game score. Btw it's Cleveland 28.

Yes, enjoyable game so far. Another half to go though.

driver100

I still say the front end of a Lexus looks really nice if seen from the right angle.....should be about grill level;

I saw a black one in my rear view mirror the other day and you could just see the chrome outline of the grill and that looked really nice.

lemko1968

This is the car the Lexus replaced. It’s a 2007 Toyota Avalon Limited. It’s currently on the Lexus dealers’s pre-owned lot. It will be an excellent choice for whomever buys it as I babied this car. I have all the service records going back to the beginning. I hope whomever buys it treats it as well as I did.

tjc78

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

graphicguy

@lemko ...so, the obvious (to me, anyway) question is how does the ES350 compare to your wife’s Buick? They sort of compete in the same space (or, they used to).

lemko1968

The Lexus has a lot of stuff my wife’s car doesn’t. Several years separate them, so that is to be expected. They took an hour to show me all the things the Lexus does, but I’ve got to figure them out on my own some time. They are roughly the same size and have similar engines: mine a 3.5 @ 302 hp hers a 3.6 @ 304 hp. My wife was joking that at a glance our cars now look alike.

lemko1968

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

lemko1968

I wanted to get a Toyota Avalon Limited that matched my old car, but at that point, I was looking at $46K. Might as well go ahead and instead get a Lexus. We test drove an Avalon Limited with the 2.5 four and even my wife said it didn’t have the pep of my 2007 with the 3.5; that it seemed to struggle going uphill.

lemko1968

This was a certified pre-owned 2017 LS460 we looked at. We both LOVED this car but I was ambivalent about spending $43K on a car four model years old and had 38K miles on it. We also looked at a GS350, but I didn’t like the way it drove. Seemed harsh and uncomfortable compared to my Avalon. At the last minute, the salesman showed us an ES350. I always thought of the ES as a glorified Camry, so I was skeptical, but politely tried it out. It just seemed right the second I sat behind the wheel as it felt just like my Avalon. I found out Lexus moved the ES to the Avalon platform in 2019. I even parked my old car next to it to compare and they are roughly the same size.

lemko1968

Early in our car shopping adventure, we considered a Chrysler 300.

lemko1968

The one that got away: a low-mileage certified 2018 Cadillac CT6. It was sold right before we got there.

qbrozen

You likely would have found the CT6 too rough and sporty for you.

tjc78

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

Yeah they were late to the party with that and Bluetooth connectivity. They didn’t get that until the 08 refresh.

My Avalon was an XLS with a few packages, essentially a base Limited without Smart Key. In hindsight wish I had sprung for the Limited.

mjfloyd1

Second COVID-19 vaccination is in the books!

nyccarguy

mjfloyd1 said:

Second COVID-19 vaccination is in the books!

AWESOME NEWS!

My wife got her 1st this AM!

stickguy

I got my name on the NJ list! I just don't want to know how far down on it I am.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I got my name on the NJ list! I just don't want to know how far down on it I am.

I'm in 1-C designation for KY. (over 60, no health issues).

I'm thinking June.. maybe, May with all the dilweeds declining.

snakeweasel

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

qbrozen

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

ours are active as long as its free.

explorerx4

I have 4 SIRIUS subscriptions, was 5 until I sold my truck.

tjc78

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

ours are active as long as its free.

Same here. I can’t justify the expense for how often we drive. I know it can be had cheap if you call and haggle, but with all the other alternatives it’s not worth it.

I just realized that with our AT&T plan we get a choice of service for free. Many of the offerings we already have so I think I’ll take Pandora Premium.

qbrozen

tjc78 said:

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

ours are active as long as its free.

Same here. I can’t justify the expense for how often we drive. I know it can be had cheap if you call and haggle, but with all the other alternatives it’s not worth it.

I just realized that with our AT&T plan we get a choice of service for free. Many of the offerings we already have so I think I’ll take Pandora Premium.

yeah, we use Amazon Music Unlimited. Far far better than satellite, and we don't seem to pay for it, so far far cheaper, too. (don't tell anybody, but I have not seen us get billed for Prime in many years. maybe wife just hides it from me. and we joined up for music, which was supposed to go to [i think] $3-$4/mo after trial period, but that never happened as far as I know, either.) Only downside to our amazon music account is that it won't let us stream on multiple devices at once, but we very rarely run into a conflict, at which point I just switch to Pandora free account. The best part is streaming over all Alexa devices in the house at once, since it treats those as one.

Michaell

We’ve allowed both satellite subscriptions to expire. Just don’t drive enough to justify it. Wife had been listening to HD radio when she drives the Outback.

I put 300 miles on the Subaru in December.

lemko1968

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

My Cadillac DTS and my wife’s Buick has satellite radio active as well as my Lexus.

explorerx4

Among other things, I like listening to a person(DJ) which you don't get with other services.
We also like that you can listen to particular games while driving long distance.
It's less than $6 a month, so not at all expensive.

ab348

The business practices of Sirius XM ensure that I will never pay them even a dime ever again.

tjc78

lemko1968 said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

My Cadillac DTS and my wife’s Buick has satellite radio active as well as my Lexus.

Do you still have the Brougham?

lemko1968

tjc78 said:

lemko1968 said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

My Cadillac DTS and my wife’s Buick has satellite radio active as well as my Lexus.

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes!

driver100

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes

How is that tank to drive? I like the styling and it looks beautiful, tank just refers to how big it looks. I am wondering about handling, cornering, steering etc.

tjc78

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

lemko1968 said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

My Cadillac DTS and my wife’s Buick has satellite radio active as well as my Lexus.

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes!

Awesome! Still looks great.

tjc78

driver100 said:

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes

How is that tank to drive? I like the styling and it looks beautiful, tank just refers to how big it looks. I am wondering about handling, cornering, steering etc.

If you have to ask those questions of that car ... you don’t get it.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

driver100 said:

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes

How is that tank to drive? I like the styling and it looks beautiful, tank just refers to how big it looks. I am wondering about handling, cornering, steering etc.

If you have to ask those questions of that car ... you don’t get it.

Handling? Compared to a mattress, it's pretty good.
Cornering? Only if you sweet talk it first
Steering? Maybe, maybe not...

lemko1968

Actually it’s really nice and smooth to drive and delivers surprisingly good fuel economy but is hardly a hot rod as the 307 Olds V-8 only has 140hp. Kind of strange holding the skinny rim of the wheel compared to the fat steering wheel rims of today’s cars. I like looking out over that long hood using the wreath and crest to aim the car.

qbrozen

driver100 said:

How is that tank to drive? I like the styling and it looks beautiful, tank just refers to how big it looks. I am wondering about handling, cornering, steering etc.

Do you ask those questions of a yacht captain?

stickguy

we still have XM active. I think about cancelling but never do, since get a pretty cheap deal each time. And now that only have one car, not really very expensive. I have Prime and Pandora (free) and likely something else I am forgetting. But, I find it easier to use the radio. Just starts up, can skip through preset stations, get MLB (when they play). I never usually take out my phone to start up carplay, and don't want to have to deal with starting a playlist over BT and having to use the phone to change it. I do like to scroll genres!

and the wife would never figure all that, and just complain to me that "I" screwed up her music.

we do stream sometimes on a trip (since she, or the kid, can run the controls) but around town, not worth the hassle. To me at least.

Reminds me, later this month my plan expires. And I have a credit for the unused portion of the TLX. so I will be calling, looking for another 12 month cheapie plan.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

How is that tank to drive? I like the styling and it looks beautiful, tank just refers to how big it looks. I am wondering about handling, cornering, steering etc.

Do you ask those questions of a yacht captain?

Or the Titanic?

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

I’ve owned two cars with satellite radio capability, three if you count my son’s. None of them activated beyond the trial period.

oldfarmer50

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

lemko1968 said:

snakeweasel said:

lemko1968 said:

tjc78 said:

That Avalon is similar to the 06 I had. Loved that car!

Yours looked really nice, rare laser cruise option too.

That Avalon had everything except satellite radio. At the time, Toyota didn’t think satellite radio would catch on. I liked to call it “the poor man’s Lexus.”

I've always wondered what percentage of cars with satellite radios have them activated. The BMW is the first car we had with the satellite radio activated, we've had other cars with it but never had them activated.

My Cadillac DTS and my wife’s Buick has satellite radio active as well as my Lexus.

Do you still have the Brougham?

Yes!

That’s a beauty. What year is that? I bought a 93’ Deville for my son but it was a beater and the sub frame eventually rotted off.

stickguy

good think XM came up. Made me login and check my account. Turns out I screwed up my renewal dates (the TLX was March). The RDX special expired mid-December, and I did not catch it, so paid a month at full rate. But, now back on the $60/year select plan special, and have reminder in my phone to call back the first week of January 2022. usually I catch it when I get notified about a charge to the CC, but since there was an account credit that did not happen. Sneaky, but now good for another year!

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

good think XM came up. Made me login and check my account. Turns out I screwed up my renewal dates (the TLX was March). The RDX special expired mid-December, and I did not catch it, so paid a month at full rate. But, now back on the $60/year select plan special, and have reminder in my phone to call back the first week of January 2022. usually I catch it when I get notified about a charge to the CC, but since there was an account credit that did not happen. Sneaky, but now good for another year!

C’mon man, I thought we taught you not to EVER give them your CC number.😳

jmonroe

stickguy

I am not dealing with paying for invoices and mailing checks. Normally not an issue, because even if I miss the date, I get the notice from the CC company that a charge was made, so I call and complain and they reverse it and switch to the promo plan. Did not happen this time because I had a credit on the account, so it took the payment against that.

but, I have a reminder in my phone and on my work calendar for next January. I actually got the reminder in December but ignored it, because I thought it was the old plan that I closed out (and just forgot to take reminder out of my phone).

explorerx4

@jmonroe1,
If you have good credit, it's not a problem.
If you can't talk to someone on a phone, it's a problem.