Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

My brother decided to file my tax return through Turbo Tax now because my return was a simple one and would not be affected by any changes between now and February 12th (first day IRS will accept returns). By simple, he means it was composed of 1099R's, 1099INT, and the 1099SSA, with no W2's and using the standard deduction.

One thing that stood out about the return was a credit of over $450 added to my refund based on the amount(s) I received from the Federal Stimulus (the $1200 and the $600, but I only received $900 and $300). Since the stimulus was determined using 2019 income per my 2019 tax return, and since I earned over $6000 less in 2020 than I did in 2019, I qualified for adjustments. That was truly a gift.

Another interesting tidbit has to do with the amount of the standard deduction for individuals - $12,000 was the original amount, but since we filed a 1040SR (taxpayers aged 65 or over), the standard deduction was over $14,000, which also was a gift.

I already received an email from Turbo Tax showing the date and time my IRS return was received by them with a date of February 12th as the date the return will be E-Filed with the IRS. It states that my return will be among the first returns received by the IRS and the refund should be in my checking account sooner. At least I'm done with the tax return and my brother was kind enough to do all the work on the FaceTime phone call we had. Of course it helps that he's a CPA!

What does being a CPA have to do with it? I have a couple of tax clients that are CPA's but they specialize in different areas of accounting and don't know much about taxes.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

bwia said:

Here is a short 3.5 minute video on the 2021 Buick Envision. Enjoy!

Sounds good until he got to the anemic engine. Why would you put all that work into making a car better than it was, and then put in a weaker motor? Maybe they think Buick buyers won't notice.

I don't think your typical Buick buyer isn't looking for high performance from the engine and wouldn't push it if it had more power. They tend to look at luxury but not power.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

bwia said:

Here is a short 3.5 minute video on the 2021 Buick Envision. Enjoy!

Sounds good until he got to the anemic engine. Why would you put all that work into making a car better than it was, and then put in a weaker motor? Maybe they think Buick buyers won't notice.

I don't think your typical Buick buyer isn't looking for high performance from the engine and wouldn't push it if it had more power. They tend to look at luxury but not power.

That's true, no one is going to buy a Buick for it's performance value. They will buy it because they are wowed by the ambiance and the feeling of luxury. Also, as noted before Buicks main buyers are in China, and maybe luxury is more important than power to the Chinese.

Michaell

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

bwia said:

Here is a short 3.5 minute video on the 2021 Buick Envision. Enjoy!

Sounds good until he got to the anemic engine. Why would you put all that work into making a car better than it was, and then put in a weaker motor? Maybe they think Buick buyers won't notice.

I don't think your typical Buick buyer isn't looking for high performance from the engine and wouldn't push it if it had more power. They tend to look at luxury but not power.

That's true, no one is going to buy a Buick for it's performance value. They will buy it because they are wowed by the ambiance and the feeling of luxury. Also, as noted before Buicks main buyers are in China, and maybe luxury is more important than power to the Chinese.

Given the amount of traffic and video surveillance, are you surprised?

roadburner

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

abacomike said:

fintail said:

I don't mind the sedan for those models, maybe because of the visual link to later TCs. Let me guess, a 302 putting out 120 hp.

imidazol97 said:

I owned a 1988 Lincoln Town Car in brown with brown leather seats. Truly a barge but smooth on the highway.

No more of a barge than my ‘80 Park Ave with light gray velour seats. Man, were they comfortable.

jmonroe

I think they called this "Bordello Red"


Actually, those seats were pretty comfortable....like sitting in a Lazy Boy in front of the TV.

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

roadburner said:

jmonroe1 said:

abacomike said:

fintail said:

I don't mind the sedan for those models, maybe because of the visual link to later TCs. Let me guess, a 302 putting out 120 hp.

imidazol97 said:

I owned a 1988 Lincoln Town Car in brown with brown leather seats. Truly a barge but smooth on the highway.

No more of a barge than my ‘80 Park Ave with light gray velour seats. Man, were they comfortable. I know what you mean about the smooth ride. My sons still talk about that car. I swear you could turn the steering wheel about 30 degree before the car responded. @roadburner would have had the granddaddy of all conniptions if he was made to drive that beast.

jmonroe

My father in law was a great guy, but his taste in automobiles was abysmal- Park Avenues with cloth roofs and gold trim. We were visiting him once, and my wife took our car to go have lunch with some friends. I wound up having to borrow one of his sleds to go pick up some trim parts from a BMW dealer nearby. I parked it over a block away so I wouldn't be seen driving it onto the lot...

I’m surprised you didn’t drive to the nearest drug store and buy a box of razor blades.

jmonroe

Honestly, it was a close-run thing.

abacomike

Tom Brady is just unbelievable! He’s thrown several 40-50 yard passes that few 25 year old quarterbacks could throw,

driver100

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

bwia said:

Here is a short 3.5 minute video on the 2021 Buick Envision. Enjoy!

Sounds good until he got to the anemic engine. Why would you put all that work into making a car better than it was, and then put in a weaker motor? Maybe they think Buick buyers won't notice.

I don't think your typical Buick buyer isn't looking for high performance from the engine and wouldn't push it if it had more power. They tend to look at luxury but not power.

That's true, no one is going to buy a Buick for it's performance value. They will buy it because they are wowed by the ambiance and the feeling of luxury. Also, as noted before Buicks main buyers are in China, and maybe luxury is more important than power to the Chinese.

Given the amount of traffic and video surveillance, are you surprised?

On Quora one guy actually said:
"Anonymous
Answered April 4, 2015
Originally Answered: What does it feel like to drive in China?
In general, Chinese drivers drive slowly and without any regard for others.
Many people drive excruciatingly slowly, braking and stopping inexplicably, often taking up two lanes.
Yup, Buicks are the ideal car there!

jmonroe1

abacomike said:

Tom Brady is just unbelievable! He’s thrown several 40-50 yard passes that few 25 year old quarterbacks could throw,

It’s hard to stop someone that wants to win as badly as he does. It seems like everyone is waiting for him to slow down. Green Bay better wake up or they’re going to be watching the Super Bowl like the rest of us.

jmonroe

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

My brother decided to file my tax return through Turbo Tax now because my return was a simple one and would not be affected by any changes between now and February 12th (first day IRS will accept returns). By simple, he means it was composed of 1099R's, 1099INT, and the 1099SSA, with no W2's and using the standard deduction.

One thing that stood out about the return was a credit of over $450 added to my refund based on the amount(s) I received from the Federal Stimulus (the $1200 and the $600, but I only received $900 and $300). Since the stimulus was determined using 2019 income per my 2019 tax return, and since I earned over $6000 less in 2020 than I did in 2019, I qualified for adjustments. That was truly a gift.

Another interesting tidbit has to do with the amount of the standard deduction for individuals - $12,000 was the original amount, but since we filed a 1040SR (taxpayers aged 65 or over), the standard deduction was over $14,000, which also was a gift.

I already received an email from Turbo Tax showing the date and time my IRS return was received by them with a date of February 12th as the date the return will be E-Filed with the IRS. It states that my return will be among the first returns received by the IRS and the refund should be in my checking account sooner. At least I'm done with the tax return and my brother was kind enough to do all the work on the FaceTime phone call we had. Of course it helps that he's a CPA!

What does being a CPA have to do with it? I have a couple of tax clients that are CPA's but they specialize in different areas of accounting and don't know much about taxes.

Yes, I agree! But my brother is well versed in tax accounting even though he was a pioneer in forensic accounting and set the standard(s) in that specialty in the 1980’s and 1990’s. He was head of fraud, worldwide, with Deloitte and Touché and traveled extensively for the firm.

He was also a professor at the University of West Virginia and taught classes in forensic accounting.

He has been doing income tax returns for the family and friends (25-30) since he became a CPA.

I am grateful to him for taking the time to help me out.

abacomike

Congrats to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They played a great game as did Aaron Rogers and the Green Bay Packers. Should be a great Super Bowl with either Buffalo or Kansas City.

tjc78

Can someone tell me why GB didn’t go for it on 4th down on the 8 yard line!! Ugh.

omarman

That sounds like a great resource to have in the family!. Your brother's resume would be impressive for any CPA. After all nobody wants a PhD when they ask, "Is there a doctor in the house?"

explorerx4

@tjc78,
Why didn't Rodgers run on 3rd down?
The coverage at the end of the 1st half on Tampa's 3rd TD was the same as the one called by the Jets DC against the Chargers, just before he got fired.

tjc78

@explorerx4
Yeah I think he may have gotten in.

IMO GB really shot themselves in the foot on several occasions. Tom did throw three interceptions and TB had very little to show for it.

explorerx4

Aikman pointed out that even if he didn't score, it would have been a short distance to cover on the 4th down play to score.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4
Yeah I think he may have gotten in.

IMO GB really shot themselves in the foot on several occasions. Tom did throw three interceptions and TB had very little to show for it.

I think you mean Green Bad had very little to show for those 3 interceptions. One of those interceptions was off the hands of Evans (I’m pretty sure he had at least one other drop too). That ball should have been caught and Evans makes those catches all the time but not that time. All those interceptions get charged to Brady, though. Proof that statistics aren’t always a true indicator as they are recorded in the game stats.

As for why Green Bay chose not to go for it on 4th down, the only thing I can come up with is that sometimes coaches out coach themselves. I have no idea why they decided not to try to get less than 10 yards but going 50 yards or more to score is a better idea. I never learned that kind of football philosophy. So now the coach can think about that while he watches the Super Bowl.

jmonroe

qbrozen

Very very disappointed. I wanted Brady to lose AND wanted a GB-KC superbowl. That would have been a good game.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Very very disappointed. I wanted Brady to lose AND wanted a GB-KC superbowl. That would have been a good game.

+1 on Brady to lose! Every time he doesn’t play Eli & The Giants gives him a chance at another ring.

jipster

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

jipster

I've got nearly 12,000 miles on my 2020 Accord now. Thus far it's been a great car. The more noticeable cons after driving for 11,000 miles is the seat height is a bit low to the ground. This is no problem for me, as like Driver, I have a finely tuned athletic body from a lifetime of playing tennis. My wife has occasional difficulty getting out from time to time. By that I mean and extra 2 or 3 seconds to balance herself properly. Nothing really to hold on to as you are exiting the car. So this car probably not a good choice for people with back or health problems The other con would be the ride isn't as quiet as some of its competitors, this is mainly on concrete.

The main pro is the way the car handles. It is fun to drive..Coming from Buicks and mid size SUV's, it is fun in the corners. It's great handling saved me from running over a almost fully intact semi truck retread that had blown off and was sitting in the middle of I-65. I come around a semi to pass, that big hunk of fire is just sitting in front of me. Either run over it, and more than likely severely damage my car, or take a hard left in the next lane over. The car takes the hard left without a glitch.

Gas mileage has been very good. I'm averaging 34 point something mpg, I probably average around 75mph on the interstate. The safety features are very nice. The blind spot detection MAY have saved me from a fender bender. I still look over my shoulder when backing up, instead of looking at the rear view camera. Some habits are hard to break. Good comfort. Spacious. Nice stero.Just had my second.oill change and tire rotation. Everything checked out good.

tjc78

jmonroe1 said:

tjc78 said:

@explorerx4
Yeah I think he may have gotten in.

IMO GB really shot themselves in the foot on several occasions. Tom did throw three interceptions and TB had very little to show for it.

I think you mean Green Bad had very little to show for those 3 interceptions. One of those interceptions was off the hands of Evans (I’m pretty sure he had at least one other drop too). That ball should have been caught and Evans makes those catches all the time but not that time. All those interceptions get charged to Brady, though. Proof that statistics aren’t always a true indicator as they are recorded in the game stats.

As for why Green Bay chose not to go for it on 4th down, the only thing I can come up with is that sometimes coaches out coach themselves. I have no idea why they decided not to try to get less than 10 yards but going 50 yards or more to score is a better idea. I never learned that kind of football philosophy. So now the coach can think about that while he watches the Super Bowl.

jmonroe

Yes that’s what I meant. Agree with you.

stickguy

Jip, I think that is a big reason smaller CUVs are so popular. A lot of sedans now are really low (more "sporty" I guess) and less agile folks don't like having to clamber out of them. At this point, I don't think I could get my wife out of a Miata!

as to the accident, sorry to hear but thankfully it sounds like everyone will be OK. What exactly are you looking to get from the lawyer? If your insurance settled as no fault, are you looking for compensation beyond that for medical or pain and suffering? I could see the insurance company wanting to go after the guy.

abacomike

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

jipster

stickguy said:

Jip, I think that is a big reason smaller CUVs are so popular. A lot of sedans now are really low (more "sporty" I guess) and less agile folks don't like having to clamber out of them. At this point, I don't think I could get my wife out of a Miata!

as to the accident, sorry to hear but thankfully it sounds like everyone will be OK. What exactly are you looking to get from the lawyer? If your insurance settled as no fault, are you looking for compensation beyond that for medical or pain and suffering? I could see the insurance company wanting to go after the guy.

Yes... "agile". Some agility required for the Accord. LOL. My wife likes driving the Accord, but says she prefers the higher seat position and visibility her Hyundai Veracruz offers.

Yes again on the pain and suffering. I think the multiplier is around 1.5 times your medical bills.and damage to the vehicle. That's the minimum. I haven't heard anything from my insurance company, so guess I'll be giving them a call this week.

jipster

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Thanks.
The cops wouldn't even come to the accident site when my son called. They said since both cars had been able to pull off the expressway, and there was no serious injury, they would have to handle the matter themselves. My insurance company had said, on a previous call, that if the other party didn't have insurance they would try to use whatever leverage they could for the guy to reimburse them. So, I'm assuming contacting the police. Not sure how much the police not showing up to write up a report will hurt our case.

driver100

3 minutes if you have the time....a comedian talking about car names....guy is pretty funny!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShY-78zI5bk

driver100

@jipster nice to hear from you.
I thought about whether to get an SUV next time. So far getting in and out of a sedan has been fine, but I would consider an SUV if it was a problem for me or Mrs D. I prefer having a closed up storage area (trunk), the handling of a car, and the smaller interior to heat or cool. Generally, I think most cars look nicer than their equivalent SUV counterparts.....Porsche is one where SUVs look better than the car.

With no fault insurance your insurance company would cover any medical expenses. We had a similar rear ender except it was a big garbage truck. The only thing I would advise is your sons injuries may not show up for some time afterwards.....maybe a few years. There can be a limit on the time you can report an incident, usually about 2 years. If he has any pain at all it is best to get it looked at and take physio. If the pain appears 2 or 3 years down the road it is hard to pin it on the accident if he hasn't had treatments. Also, be careful not to sign off too early, insurance companies like to close the books as soon as possible.

Cops don't care about charging the other driver. The guy who hit us should have been charged with dangerous driving....he could kill someone one day....but, the cops didn't want him to lose his license even though he could hardly speak English....his son did all the talking.

Good luck, very unfair, the innocent party is never fairly compensated.

roadburner

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

When my wife’s 5er was rear-ended by the moron in the crappy Sunbird(but I repeat myself) he provided an insurance card, but it was his girlfriend’s car and her insurance had been canceled due to non-payment. I filed a criminal complaint against the girlfriends for no insurance, and I told the assistant county attorney I didn’t care how it was resolved as long as the defendant paid my deductible.

A funny aside, the defendant’s parents went to their private attorney(who used to be an assistant county attorney in my court).
He read the complaint and told them “PLEASE tell me she didn’t run into one of RB’s BMWs.”
He called me almost apologetic about the case and I told him I didn’t take it personally and all I wanted was deductible- and that is how it was resolved.

driver100

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Most places require insurance but there is a large percentage of people who drive without insurance, especially in Florida. They don't have much in assets so getting money off them is almost impossible. They get fined or whatever but since they are irresponsible individuals to begin with they end up doing it over and over again.

On Hot Bench the other day a young guy backed out of a parking space into another car that was already backed out. His credibility really sunk when he explained he didn't have insurance, then it sunk completely when he admitted he didn't have a drivers license........and they walk among us!!!!!!

fintail

Driving a Sunbird with unpaid insurance yet the family has a private attorney. I bet there's some other things going on with that group.

That incident makes me think of my incident in Milwaukee in late 2018, when my Hertz Grand Cherokee was smashed into by an idiot in a Hertz Ford Escape. It was rented by his girlfriend, and of course didn't have the optional insurance. She arrived at the scene, and I actually felt bad for her, I could tell she knew this was going to be a financial nightmare, and that she was regretting her choice in partners simply by the way she looked at the dolt (barely said a word, but looked like she would have strangled him if the cops weren't there). The Jeep was mangled, and the Escape was worse, more smashed, and it hit a house. I also suspect the driver and passenger were on something.

I had no liability in the incident (cops cited the other guy for "unsafe passing", which was odd as this was on a 30 mph one lane in each direction urban arterial) , but the paperwork alone has made me want to get third party insurance on rentals just to not deal with the mess - I did so on my last rental, through Allianz it is $9/day, peace of mind. Oddly, Hertz kept sending me updates about the car (it was later at a salvage auction and rebuilt), and that they eventually sent the other renter to collections - not sure if this is my business, but every couple months I'd receive something in the mail.

I suspect many in this part of the world lack insurance too, due to the cost of living, and more than a couple cars appear to be worth less than 6 months of coverage.

roadburner said:

A funny aside, the defendant’s parents went to their private attorney(who used to be an assistant county attorney in my court).
He read the complaint and told them “PLEASE tell me she didn’t run into one of RB’s BMWs.”
He called me almost apologetic about the case and I told him I didn’t take it personally and all I wanted was deductible- and that is how it was resolved.

bwia

I clicked on this video to watch the 2022 Infiniti QX55 SUV instead my visual senses were overtaken by my aural senses. Don't know if it is the poet Amanda Gorman effect but this guy's presentation sounds like high brow poetry. What a joy to listen to the marriage of form over function.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLGoW2vOevY

ab348

He's a very good actor who can deliver a script very well.

I think I'd have a hard time buying any Nissan these days.

(Odds are good he has no idea what a FX45 even is, and I'm not sure why the marketers would want to compare this to that turtle-back anyway)

roadburner

fintail said:

Driving a Sunbird with unpaid insurance yet the family has a private attorney. I bet there's some other things going on with that group.

It was pretty simple, actually. The parents were relatively well off. Their daughter was in her twenties and had shacked up with her dim witted boyfriend. She hadn’t paid her insurance bill- probably so she could buy more weed.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

jipster said:

Hey guys. Thought I'd chime in with an update. First of all, my fleet of 5 vehicles is down to 4. My 2008 Mercury Mariner, my son was driving, was rear ended by a pickup truck back in October. It sustained enough damage that my insurance company declared it totalled. My son was shooken up. Had some whiplash, so taken to the hospital for a cat scan. Had some soft tissue injury, seems to be o.k. But still keeping an eye on things. The 80 year old gentleman didn't have much to say, after my son called and I arrived in the scene...which was the dreaded Gene Synder Expressway for those familiar. Traffic had slowed down, and the guy didn't recognize the situation until he had slammed into the back of my car.
Kentucky is a no fault state, so I settled with my Insurance company for $3,950. Which seemed fair at the time.

My son did a good job of getting the other drivers information. Photos of his truck, licence plate, insurance card and drivers license. But, for some reason my insurance company had a hard time tracking the guy's insurance company down. Finally find out a couple weeks ago that the other drivers insurance company (Dairyland) is saying he does not have insurance with them. So at this point I'm looking at getting an attorney. Any advice?

I miss that 2008 Mariner. It was a nice car, drove well had been in the family since new. Was planning on using it in bad weather, so I could keep the Accord in the garage, and as a back-up to my other vehicles should they need repair.

Glad no serious injuries.

Shouldn’t the police or State Troopers be advised that the guy that rear ended your son had no insurance? I thought insurance is required by law in most States, if not all States.

Most places require insurance but there is a large percentage of people who drive without insurance, especially in Florida. They don't have much in assets so getting money off them is almost impossible. They get fined or whatever but since they are irresponsible individuals to begin with they end up doing it over and over again.

On Hot Bench the other day a young guy backed out of a parking space into another car that was already backed out. His credibility really sunk when he explained he didn't have insurance, then it sunk completely when he admitted he didn't have a drivers license........and they walk among us!!!!!!

Did he say he wasn't driving, he was traveling?

explorerx4

Called today to get my medication refill, expecting to have a pretty high copay. 30 days work of pills is over 13k.
Person says let me put you on hold while I verify your insurance.
Waited quite a while, started thinking maybe there's a problem.
Person comes back on and says Your copay is going to $2,9xx, so we are going to look into getting some of that covered for you and will call you back.
A few hours later, they call back and say We're setting up delivery and your copay is going to be $5. !!!
I'm going on Medicare next month, so I wonder how that would have worked out?
Lucky for me, in more ways than one, it's my last refill, treatment done after that.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

Called today to get my medication refill, expecting to have a pretty high copay. 30 days work of pills is over 13k.
Person says let me put you on hold while I verify your insurance.
Waited quite a while, started thinking maybe there's a problem.
Person comes back on and says Your copay is going to $2,9xx, so we are going to look into getting some of that covered for you and will call you back.
A few hours later, they call back and say We're setting up delivery and your copay is going to be $5. !!!
I'm going on Medicare next month, so I wonder how that would have worked out?
Lucky for me, in more ways than one, it's my last refill, treatment done after that.

$5 is better than $2900...

28firefighter

The copay assist programs from most of the major pharma companies is very helpful on these expensive drugs and my experience is that most pharmacies and providers will direct submit invoices to them after insurance decides what they will cover, so you never see the bill. One of my medications is $25k/injection ($150k a year) billed to insurance and without copay assistance, I'd have to cover the first $2k/year up (my out of pocket max) - wouldn't be the end of the world, but why do it when the pharma company will cover it?

qbrozen

bwia said:

I clicked on this video to watch the 2022 Infiniti QX55 SUV instead my visual senses were overtaken by my aural senses. Don't know if it is the poet Amanda Gorman effect but this guy's presentation sounds like high brow poetry. What a joy to listen to the marriage of form over function.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLGoW2vOevY

Still a CVT, so ZERO interest from me.
How often does a manufacturer DOWNGRADE a model? I would take an EX37 any day of the week rather than any other CUV from Nissan/Infiniti in the past 9 years. Crazy.

fintail

Makes me pine for the original (2003) FX, which has aged amazingly well and can probably be counted as a modern landmark design. The catfish facelift wasn't so hot, but the first one still looks relevant, to me anyway. Nissan had a relevance high point in the early 00s.

I don't know who the narrator is, but I laughed at the "driver-centric" dash, "tilted towards me" - just like on the 1969 big Fords. I wonder who wrote the script, and the level of the pay scale.

qbrozen said:

Still a CVT, so ZERO interest from me.
How often does a manufacturer DOWNGRADE a model? I would take an EX37 any day of the week rather than any other CUV from Nissan/Infiniti in the past 9 years. Crazy.

fintail

Was the Sunbird a forced downgrade? Those haven't been made for over 25 years now. Sounds like a parenting fail, and probably the kind of driver who blindly pulls into traffic or randomly changes lanes and gets mad when honked at.

roadburner said:

It was pretty simple, actually. The parents were relatively well off. Their daughter was in her twenties and had shacked up with her dim witted boyfriend. She hadn’t paid her insurance bill- probably so she could buy more weed.

houdini1

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

GG, you just have terrible luck with cars. But at least you are an expert on lemon law at this point. Might want to start leasing so when they turn to junk you can just give it back.

Would leasing really help. The car is less than a year old with at least 2 years left to go on a lease. It would be easier to hand it back at the end of the lease, but during the lease the leaser probably has to pay for repairs not covered under warranty.

Another thing, odd the car has a problem.....that just happens to be something not covered by the warranty, and who ever heard of a liquid getting into the console on a fairly new car, especially if there are no signs the person eats and drinks in their car. What good is a warranty if the car maker tries everything possible to not honor the warranty?

. I hope you’re not saying “if this was a Mercedes, they’d cover it” because in situations like this everyone claims innocence.

jmonroe

As you stated, I would not say it could never happen with a Mercedes or that they would cover it, BUT and this is only my guessing - Mercedes technicians go to MB University for 3 years before working on Mercedes in Germany.....I am not sure what they do in North America but I think they take additional courses and would be taught not to have any food or drinks in the car when they are working on it......I do believe their dealerships, technicians and mechanics are held to a higher standard of care.....which by the way you pay for.
My MB dealer has been very honest about repairs so far.....the work has always been done professionally and often it has cost less than they estimated.
In GGs case the car is one their technicians probably don't normally work on, probably never got special training for that unique model.
I have dealt with management and salespeople at my brothers Hyundai dealer when we traded in his car and I would never use the word "professional" to describe them (more like need a shower after talking to them).....and I would imagine the technicians would be similar.
All my dealings with MB personnel have been on a very professional level, so I don't think this particular problem would even happen at MB, just MHO.

Yeah but what special training does the Mercedes lot boy go through before he takes your car out to McDonalds to buy lunch for the crew?

Also, could you point me towards the chapter in mechanic’s training dealing with slurping soda while working on a car?

Mercedes dealer lot boy take a car to McDonalds to pick up lunch for the dealership crew.....probably against the rules and regulations and would lead to immediate dismissal. They have a cafe inside the dealership, fancy sandwiches and free coffee, in paper or fine china cups

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

houdini1

fintail said:

I don't mind the sedan for those models, maybe because of the visual link to later TCs. Let me guess, a 302 putting out 120 hp.

imidazol97 said:

A couple of guys and I rented one of those back in the early 80's for a golf trip to the Mississippi coast. It literally drove like a boat and wandered all over the road. Had just a few hundred miles on it.

fintail

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

driver100

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

GG, you just have terrible luck with cars. But at least you are an expert on lemon law at this point. Might want to start leasing so when they turn to junk you can just give it back.

Would leasing really help. The car is less than a year old with at least 2 years left to go on a lease. It would be easier to hand it back at the end of the lease, but during the lease the leaser probably has to pay for repairs not covered under warranty.

Another thing, odd the car has a problem.....that just happens to be something not covered by the warranty, and who ever heard of a liquid getting into the console on a fairly new car, especially if there are no signs the person eats and drinks in their car. What good is a warranty if the car maker tries everything possible to not honor the warranty?

. I hope you’re not saying “if this was a Mercedes, they’d cover it” because in situations like this everyone claims innocence.

jmonroe

As you stated, I would not say it could never happen with a Mercedes or that they would cover it, BUT and this is only my guessing - Mercedes technicians go to MB University for 3 years before working on Mercedes in Germany.....I am not sure what they do in North America but I think they take additional courses and would be taught not to have any food or drinks in the car when they are working on it......I do believe their dealerships, technicians and mechanics are held to a higher standard of care.....which by the way you pay for.
My MB dealer has been very honest about repairs so far.....the work has always been done professionally and often it has cost less than they estimated.
In GGs case the car is one their technicians probably don't normally work on, probably never got special training for that unique model.
I have dealt with management and salespeople at my brothers Hyundai dealer when we traded in his car and I would never use the word "professional" to describe them (more like need a shower after talking to them).....and I would imagine the technicians would be similar.
All my dealings with MB personnel have been on a very professional level, so I don't think this particular problem would even happen at MB, just MHO.

Yeah but what special training does the Mercedes lot boy go through before he takes your car out to McDonalds to buy lunch for the crew?

Also, could you point me towards the chapter in mechanic’s training dealing with slurping soda while working on a car?

Mercedes dealer lot boy take a car to McDonalds to pick up lunch for the dealership crew.....probably against the rules and regulations and would lead to immediate dismissal. They have a cafe inside the dealership, fancy sandwiches and free coffee, in paper or fine china cups

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

They make it up with repeat business.....they spoil you so you want to come back.

venture

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When my Subaru dealer remodeled their entire building, one of the things they did was install a coffee machine where you could request the blend and additives you wanted (or tea or hot chocolate) and watch it grind the beans and make the coffee.

They also had a small refrigerator that had single servings of fruit cocktail, yogurt, and other stuff I don't remember. Of course there were pastries, but usually only in the mornings.

That was about 2 years ago.

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

driver100

venture said:

fintail said:

$180/hr shop rates and cars where the option load is 35% of base MSRP.

I recall the Lexus dealer where I used to live had an amazing spread of sandwiches and pastries - I'd stop by to "look at cars", which meant get a free light lunch. Eventually they cut it back to fruits and drinks, I think. MB dealer usually had some fruit, muffins or cookies, and drinks.

houdini1 said:

I wonder where they get the money to pay for the free coffee and fine china cups. Maybe they have a sideline business somewhere?

When I was in for an oil change a month ago there was a coffee maker like you would have at home sitting on the counter and machines that sell you typical peanut butter-stuffed cheese crackers, etc. The refrigerator was full of trash.

Did they find Suburu owners didn't like the better quality food? Or are they economizing? My MB dealer has way less traffic these days since people aren't driving very much, so it might be pointless to keep better food that could spoil around.....best to leave some things with lots of preservatives so it will last longer.

When you take your MB in now you aren't allowed into the showroom where the coffee bar was....now you sign a release with the service rep and then you leave, the coffee bar is closed.

ab348

One of the GM dealers here used to do a free-for-all BBQ every Saturday lunchtime and was noted for always having pizza, giant boxes of donuts, etc in the showroom most of the time. So you would wander in to look at a car on the showroom floor and the salesperson's lead after greeting you would be "Feel like some pizza?"

They got sold to a large dealership group a few years ago and now it is no-fun city.

dino001

ab348 said:

One of the GM dealers here used to do a free-for-all BBQ every Saturday lunchtime and was noted for always having pizza, giant boxes of donuts, etc in the showroom most of the time. So you would wander in to look at a car on the showroom floor and the salesperson's lead after greeting you would be "Feel like some pizza?"

They got sold to a large dealership group a few years ago and now it is no-fun city.

Pizza and donuts obviously bankrupted them

Michaell

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

One of the GM dealers here used to do a free-for-all BBQ every Saturday lunchtime and was noted for always having pizza, giant boxes of donuts, etc in the showroom most of the time. So you would wander in to look at a car on the showroom floor and the salesperson's lead after greeting you would be "Feel like some pizza?"

They got sold to a large dealership group a few years ago and now it is no-fun city.

Pizza and donuts obviously bankrupted them

Given the current conditions, not sure I’d want anything to do with food that could be touched by others...