Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
Camaro's with the V8 are banned from sale in California due to emissions issues.
All Bronco Sports have a 1.5 3 Cyl ecoboost except the Badlands edition which has the 2.0 4 Cyl ecoboost.

snakeweasel

henryn said:

I always wanted to be a snow bird, spend the summers high in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado or somewhere like that. Then spend the winters in Arizona, or hell, as long as I'm dreaming, a tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific.

Tropical islands in the South Pacific can get awfully old awfully fast. In all but the largest islands you won't be able to get more than 20 miles or so away without getting on an airplane, and there are only so many things you can do.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
I love Myrtle beach. In a few years if we finally get relocated back to upstate NY, I might try to find a condo down there. Snowbird for 3 months and rent it out the rest of the time (only if it is in a managed building designed for that).

What can you tell me about it? Wife has been reading on the interwebs and many folks are indicating you’re looking at overpopulated areas and/or sketchy areas these days. And the only decent beach-front condos I have found thus far have absurd HOA fees (think $1k/mo range!).

Also perusing Hilton Head, per the suggestions of a couple friends of hers.

qbrozen

@mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:
So, latest thought ... rather than a condo in FL, maybe Myrtle Beach.

You need to be south of Tampa to have a reasonable possibility of having warm weather at spring break

I have a far far higher cold tolerance. To me, 50 degrees in winter is downright tropical.

stickguy

I have a friend that relocated down there. she loves it.

it really depends on what you are looking for. There are a lot of newer more residential areas outside of town. Different than Condos on the beach. But I think Myrtle is calmer than some of the other big name beach towns.

I think Hilton is more isolated being an island?

henryn

snakeweasel said:

henryn said:

I always wanted to be a snow bird, spend the summers high in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado or somewhere like that. Then spend the winters in Arizona, or hell, as long as I'm dreaming, a tropical island somewhere in the South Pacific.

Tropical islands in the South Pacific can get awfully old awfully fast. In all but the largest islands you won't be able to get more than 20 miles or so away without getting on an airplane, and there are only so many things you can do.

As long as this is just a daydream, then I can have a beautiful young native girl for a companion, right? In which case ....

henryn

qbrozen said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

So, latest thought ... rather than a condo in FL, maybe Myrtle Beach.

You need to be south of Tampa to have a reasonable possibility of having warm weather at spring break

I have a far far higher cold tolerance. To me, 50 degrees in winter is downright tropical.

--------------------end quoted material---------------------

I wouldn't go that far, but I definitely don't mind cool weather. I would much rather have 50 degree temperatures than 90 degrees.

Michaell

A former co-worker just moved from CO to outside of Myrtle Beach. Right on a golf course.

mjfloyd1

@qbrozen said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:
So, latest thought ... rather than a condo in FL, maybe Myrtle Beach.

You need to be south of Tampa to have a reasonable possibility of having warm weather at spring break

I have a far far higher cold tolerance. To me, 50 degrees in winter is downright tropical.

Hmmmm

tjc78

@Michaell said:
A former co-worker just moved from CO to outside of Myrtle Beach. Right on a golf course.

Lots of Golf in MB.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

So, latest thought ... rather than a condo in FL, maybe Myrtle Beach.

You need to be south of Tampa to have a reasonable possibility of having warm weather at spring break

Yeah, Myrtle Beach is definitely not a Winter getaway

kyfdx

P

stickguy said:

I have a friend that relocated down there. she loves it.

it really depends on what you are looking for. There are a lot of newer more residential areas outside of town. Different than Condos on the beach. But I think Myrtle is calmer than some of the other big name beach towns.

I think Hilton is more isolated being an island?

I wouldn't call Hilton Head isolated. Though, traffic is a major consideration on changeover Saturdays.

The place is packed in the Summer.

kyfdx

Political comments (and the replies) have been removed... sheesh

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:
I love Myrtle beach. In a few years if we finally get relocated back to upstate NY, I might try to find a condo down there. Snowbird for 3 months and rent it out the rest of the time (only if it is in a managed building designed for that).

What can you tell me about it? Wife has been reading on the interwebs and many folks are indicating you’re looking at overpopulated areas and/or sketchy areas these days. And the only decent beach-front condos I have found thus far have absurd HOA fees (think $1k/mo range!).

Also perusing Hilton Head, per the suggestions of a couple friends of hers.

1,000 a month is pretty steep. We’ve been casually looking and most are under $500 here except for something like Seapointe Village in Diamond Beach. They are over $700 for a small condo. For that you do get 5 pools and gorgeous grounds, but condos start over $500K there so we are out!

I wonder what that $1000 includes. If it’s all utilities, insurances and maintenance maybe it’s not too bad. Most HOAs here are just water, sewer, flood and maintenance. You are on your own for NG and Electric.

bwia

Car and Driver's 2021 EV of the Year is the Ford Mustang Mach-e. Here is C&D's testimony to support that assertion:

"It arrives in the familiar shape and size of the crossovers Americans love, at a price that competes with gas-powered alternatives, and with a design that gets noticed.

The Mach-E has the range and charging speed to wave off the most common EV criticisms, and thanks to Electrify America's recent work, there's a nationwide charging network that makes long interstate trips not just possible but tolerable."
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a36877450/2021-ford-mustang-mach-e-ev-of-the-year/?source=nl&utm_source=nl_cdb&utm_medium=email&date=070821&utm_campaign=nl24308578

kyfdx

@qbrozen Friends considered buying a place on Hilton Head, last year (house, not condo).

Basically, properties sold the same day, and you had to have an offer ready, sight unseen. They are going to try again this Fall, now that Covid restrictions have eased.

ronsteve

kyfdx said:

mjfloyd1 said:

@qbrozen said:

So, latest thought ... rather than a condo in FL, maybe Myrtle Beach.

You need to be south of Tampa to have a reasonable possibility of having warm weather at spring break

Yeah, Myrtle Beach is definitely not a Winter getaway

After 11 years in WIlmington, NC, I can vouch that winter in MB is more like fall or spring in more northern locations: transitional and unpredictable. By mid or late March it's usually getting pretty mild, but the water is still quite chilly, typically in the 50s and random cold shots are still in play.

Hilton Head, even though it is an island, is easily accessible from the mainland. It just seems more mellow/laid back than the "party" spots... and the development seems to be planned much better. And it's farther south, so milder during the "winter" months. If you want to golf, and stay in a less raucous environment, it's a great option.

There's a reasonable *possibility* of warm weather by spring break as long as you're south of Hatteras. But you do need to be on the Florida peninsula to actually count on warm weather before April.

"count on warm weather" = more likely to be 80 than 60.

driver100

Mustang....couldn't they have done something more with that instrument panel.
It looks like the media/GPS screen was an afterthought.
Hard to tell but vision forward and to the sides doesn't seem great.
I saw one of these this morning and it sure looks impressive:

stickguy

My wife would love 60ish temps year round .

And when you live in upstate NY where just breaking freezing is a heat wave, and is often in single or negative digits, 50 is definitely a winter getaway.

imidazol97

Isn't Hilton Head helped in climate by the Gulf Stream moving warm water north along the coast, but Myrtle Beach not helped as much by that warmer water plus its a big move farther north.

Long time friend was flipping houses on Folly Beach, a barrier island near Charleston in the 70s after leaving the Navy. Hot as heck in summer. Humid. After decades he moved back to upstate SC near Walhalla. Near Lake Keowee and Clemson. Has a little winter but tempered quickly when it happens. They had rented houses long term for short getaways for a couple of years to decide if they wanted to move there. They own a house on golf course.

bwia

Mustang Mach-e Specifications

PRICE: Base/As Tested: $56,400/$56,800

POWERTRAIN

• Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
  
• Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
  
• Combined Power: 346 hp
  
• Combined Torque: 428 lb-ft
  
• Transmissions: direct-drive
  
• Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 88.0 kWh
  
• Onboard Charger: 10.5 kW
  
• Charging time: from 10%-80% in just 45 minutes
  
• 
  
• Curb Weight: 4838 lb
  

C/D TEST RESULTS

• 60 mph: 4.9 sec
  
• 1/4-Mile: 13.6 sec @ 103 mph
  
• Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
  
• Top Speed (gov ltd): 114 mph
  
• Braking, 70–0 mph: 177 ft
  
• Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g
  
• 
  

EPA FUEL ECONOMY

• Combined: 90 MPGe
  
• Range: 270 mi
  

mjfloyd1

@ronsteve said:
After 11 years in WIlmington, NC, I can vouch that winter in MB is more like fall or spring in more northern locations: transitional and unpredictable. By mid or late March it's usually getting pretty mild, but the water is still quite chilly, typically in the 50s and random cold shots are still in play.

Hilton Head, even though it is an island, is easily accessible from the mainland. It just seems more mellow/laid back than the "party" spots... and the development seems to be planned much better. And it's farther south, so milder during the "winter" months. If you want to golf, and stay in a less raucous environment, it's a great option.

There's a reasonable possibility of warm weather by spring break as long as you're south of Hatteras. But you do need to be on the Florida peninsula to actually count on warm weather before April.

"count on warm weather" = more likely to be 80 than 60.

Truth.

mjfloyd1

I wish they didn’t call the Mach E a Mustang…

explorerx4

The Mach E has plenty of room for improvement, but that Jag is the poster child for an overpriced, overweight, underperforming EV.

kyfdx

Nowhere in South Carolina is reliably 50+ in the Winter.

HHI definitely better than Myrtle Beach, of course. Also, less of a "Gatlinburg" vibe.

andres3

qbrozen said:

@stickguy said:

I love Myrtle beach. In a few years if we finally get relocated back to upstate NY, I might try to find a condo down there. Snowbird for 3 months and rent it out the rest of the time (only if it is in a managed building designed for that).

What can you tell me about it? Wife has been reading on the interwebs and many folks are indicating you’re looking at overpopulated areas and/or sketchy areas these days. And the only decent beach-front condos I have found thus far have absurd HOA fees (think $1k/mo range!).

Also perusing Hilton Head, per the suggestions of a couple friends of hers.

Sounds like a lot of deferred maintenance and under-charged fees for years if not decades, and it has finally caught up with them. Have to replenish the reserves to do those big maintenance projects (such as reroofing), and/or issue a "special assessment."

Or you can defer maintenance until the building collapses, and see if you can get your property insurance to pay. That should be an interesting court case.

mjfloyd1

Way too early for that joke. Not funny

qbrozen

mjfloyd1 said:

Way too early for that joke. Not funny

I thought it was funny. But I wasn't looking at it as a cut on the FL property. Just seems like a general possibility, IMHO. I had actually thought of "what happens if ..." before that was posted, so it was already on my mind. Again, no relation to the FL incident.

qbrozen

Anybody else having an issue viewing their Bookmarks? I keep getting a web error. I had to come a long way around to get here.

Anyway, wife is definitely keen on HH now. Of course, we've never been there, so it seems kinda nuts.

snakeweasel

@tjc78 said:

@Michaell said:
A former co-worker just moved from CO to outside of Myrtle Beach. Right on a golf course.

Lots of Golf in MB.

Are you saying that Benz uses a lot of VW parts?

snakeweasel

@kyfdx said:
Yeah, Myrtle Beach is definitely not a Winter getaway

It is to us who spend evenings shoveling snow in 10 degree temps.

ab348

I don't think you want to be too picky when it comes to a warm-weather location. If it never gets below 60 in the middle of winter, odds are that it is 90+/90H in the summer, not so great either. I was in Myrtle Beach and coastal Carolina in October and it was beautiful, 70s and little humidity. So what if you get an occasional 40 degree day in February?

Besides, to me the bigger issue is getting targeted by a hurricane in one of those places.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

I have the new (to me) aluminum wheels on the 2013 F150 XL. It wound up costing more than I expected, but what doesn’t these days?

I bought the 17 inch aluminum wheels from a gentleman on Craigslist for $250, which was a very fair price. He threw in the original lug nuts, but unfortunately I was not able to use them. Ford changed from a coarse thread to a fine thread on the lug nuts / studs in 2015. A new set of Gorilla lug nuts cost me $85 off Ebay ($100 on Amazon). And I did buy new TPMS sensors, about $39 on Amazon. There were a number of different sellers, and different brands, on Amazon and Ebay. I went with the best reviews for a reasonable price, and they do work. Then $120 to Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. That was a little more than I expected, but I’m not complaining. Not many places of business will welcome you when you walk in with your own parts, and Discount Tire never blinked an eye.

The used tire shop just down the street would have probably done the job for half that, but I feel better with Discount Tire. I knew the tires would be balanced properly, and they wouldn’t scuff up the new rims. I could have purchased very similar looking lug nuts for less than half the price, but from what I’ve read online the chrome will not last on the cheap lug nuts, and the Gorilla brand is highly rated.

These lug nuts are not an exact match, they are really intended for the chrome clad Ford wheels. They fit the seats on the wheels perfectly, but they stick out a little too far. No one seems to make a lug nut for these aluminum wheels in the older coarse thread, so this is as close as I could get.

Altogether, I’m pleased, and feel that it’s worth the $494.

Man, that truck is everything I’d ever want. Functional, low mileage, rust free and purchased at a bargain price to boot. It even looks nice.

@henryn Don't sell your truck.......for one thing, it looks like new....beautiful and the wheels really add to it.
I heard a program on the radio today and they said don't sell your car these days unless you know you can replace it....the chip shortage is going to take until the end of the year to straighten out.

Rental companies sold their cars at the start of covid, they needed the cash to carry them through. People are working from home so the chip companies made smaller chips for computers. Then, people started to buy cars again and rental companies need cars....and they can't switch making car chips for computer chips very quickly. Used cars are bringing in big bucks....finding a new car could be very difficult, and the average price of a new car is over $40,000 U.S.

And the guy on the radio said when they do start making car chips which cars will get them first....the $20k car or the $60k car?

That a heck of a dilemma. If he sells it now he’ll get a premium price but if he tries to replace it he’ll have to pay a premium price for the new one. On the other hand, if he waits a year he won’t get the high price for his current truck.

The only way to win this game is to sell but not buy.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

The only way to win this game is to sell but not buy.

And of course that's what @stickguy did and now he's singing the blues...

andres3

qbrozen said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Way too early for that joke. Not funny

I thought it was funny. But I wasn't looking at it as a cut on the FL property. Just seems like a general possibility, IMHO. I had actually thought of "what happens if ..." before that was posted, so it was already on my mind. Again, no relation to the FL incident.

Yes, I see it similar to having a car with leaky head gaskets, a slipping transmission, a check engine light, and various other ailments from deferred maintenance, and then someone does you a favor by crashing into you and totaling it.

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

Anybody else having an issue viewing their Bookmarks? I keep getting a web error. I had to come a long way around to get here.

Anyway, wife is definitely keen on HH now. Of course, we've never been there, so it seems kinda nuts.

No problem with bookmarks for me.

We've been to HHI for summer vacation a dozen times, over about 15 years from 1995-2010.
It's a great family vacation with plenty to do, as long as you aren't into amusement park type stuff.

But, I'd certainly rent there for a week, before looking into a purchase.
We always stayed in the Sea Pines area at the South end of the island.

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

Mustang Mach-e Specifications

PRICE: Base/As Tested: $56,400/$56,800

POWERTRAIN

• Front Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
  
• Rear Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous AC
  
• Combined Power: 346 hp
  
• Combined Torque: 428 lb-ft
  
• Transmissions: direct-drive
  
• Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 88.0 kWh
  
• Onboard Charger: 10.5 kW
  
• Charging time: from 10%-80% in just 45 minutes
  
• 
  
• Curb Weight: 4838 lb
  

C/D TEST RESULTS

• 60 mph: 4.9 sec
  
• 1/4-Mile: 13.6 sec @ 103 mph
  
• Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
  
• Top Speed (gov ltd): 114 mph
  
• Braking, 70–0 mph: 177 ft
  
• Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad: 0.82 g
  
• 
  

EPA FUEL ECONOMY

• Combined: 90 MPGe
  
• Range: 270 mi
  

I think when the GT performance trim comes out I might be tempted to lease.

oldfarmer50

mjfloyd1 said:

I wish they didn’t call the Mach E a Mustang…

Agree. It’s as bad as calling a four door car a Charger.

snakeweasel

@kyfdx said:
Political comments (and the replies) have been removed... sheesh

Why? I need to know what Otho knew and when he knew it.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

mjfloyd1 said:

Way too early for that joke. Not funny

I thought it was funny. But I wasn't looking at it as a cut on the FL property. Just seems like a general possibility, IMHO. I had actually thought of "what happens if ..." before that was posted, so it was already on my mind. Again, no relation to the FL incident.

Back around the housing bust of 2008 I was looking at Florida listings. One condo development had two units for sale one for $40k, one for $20k. The $20k was cheaper because half the owners had defaulted on their mortgages and there was no association money available to fix the hole in the roof.

stickguy

A good plan to me is to take a vacation, pack the brood in the car (if you have a running one!) and make the coastal run. Pick the furthest north you would consider (I think Wilmington NC kind of starts the options), and just spend a day, then keep heading south. Myrtle beach is next, Charleston (different animal of course, but there are nice areas close to that) and end at Savannah. All different vibes (and types of housing), but hard to tell what you like until you try them out.

Of course, if Hurricanes bother you, pass on the whole idea!

mjfloyd1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Back around the housing bust of 2008 I was looking at Florida listings. One condo development had two units for sale one for $40k, one for $20k. The $20k was cheaper because half the owners had defaulted on their mortgages and there was no association money available to fix the hole in the roof.

That’s when we bought our FL house. Looked at condos and houses but shyed away from condos since so many defaults and I was worried that the fees would skyrocket since they would need to get the same amount of $ from a smaller number of condo owners. Same thing could happen with HOA but it wasn’t happening as much with houses in the area that we bought.

ronsteve

stickguy said:

A good plan to me is to take a vacation, pack the brood in the car (if you have a running one!) and make the coastal run. Pick the furthest north you would consider (I think Wilmington NC kind of starts the options), and just spend a day, then keep heading south. Myrtle beach is next, Charleston (different animal of course, but there are nice areas close to that) and end at Savannah. All different vibes (and types of housing), but hard to tell what you like until you try them out.

Of course, if Hurricanes bother you, pass on the whole idea!

This!!

There are different flavors of coastal living to suit a lot of different preferences. The one common thread is beaches and plenty of golf courses.

Wilmington, Charleston, and Savannah are coastal cities but not really beach towns. They do have easy access to beach towns, most of which are fairly laid back in the off-season but can get crowded when the tourists show up. Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head are pretty self-contained beach communities, i.e. they are their own city as opposed to a Wrightsville Beach/Wilmington or Folly Beach/Charleston relationship.

At the end of the day, the best location depends on what is most important to you. Check it out, spend some tourist dollars, especially around Wilmington and coastal NC.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

That a heck of a dilemma. If he sells it now he’ll get a premium price but if he tries to replace it he’ll have to pay a premium price for the new one. On the other hand, if he waits a year he won’t get the high price for his current truck.

The only way to win this game is to sell but not buy.

I look at it like this. My 2018 F150 gained $10k or more in value between the fall of 2020 and summer of 2021. In September of last year it was worth maybe $27k (maybe less), and I sold it this year for $37.5k. Then I turned around and bought this 2013 F150 for $10.5k. The entire cost of this truck was “free money”. If it loses 2 or 3 thousand over the next year, I can live with that.

The one that would get me is that Mustang belonging to @oldfarmer50. If he sits on that, he’s losing, what, tens of thousands? I understand his reasoning, at least a little. But I wouldn’t be able to sit on that.

And I definitely agree with the advice given by @oldfarmer50 to @stickguy. Buy an older car, not necessarily a hooptie, but old enough and cheap enough that it can’t lost much value. And if your wife doesn’t like it, tell her she doesn’t have to drive it.

henryn

The condo in Florida that collapsed and killed all of those people is very sad, and I do not mean to belittle that. But if you read the news stories, they knew about the problems for several years. They tried to pass an assessment of $88k per unit to fix the problems, and the tenants refused. And apparently there are many condos out there with similar problems, perhaps not as serious, but still bad. And the maintenance fees will not begin to fix the problems, and no one is willing to pay more, so …

From everything I’ve read recently, I would be very careful about any condo. Do your homework, not just casually, but seriously investigate.

sda

kyfdx said:

qbrozen said:

Anybody else having an issue viewing their Bookmarks? I keep getting a web error. I had to come a long way around to get here.

Anyway, wife is definitely keen on HH now. Of course, we've never been there, so it seems kinda nuts.

No problem with bookmarks for me.

We've been to HHI for summer vacation a dozen times, over about 15 years from 1995-2010.
It's a great family vacation with plenty to do, as long as you aren't into amusement park type stuff.

But, I'd certainly rent there for a week, before looking into a purchase.
We always stayed in the Sea Pines area at the South end of the island.

Sea Pines is great and where we always stay. Looking forward to our week there in early Sept.

oldfarmer50

“ The one that would get me is that Mustang belonging to @oldfarmer50. If he sits on that, he’s losing, what, tens of thousands? I understand his reasoning, at least a little. But I wouldn’t be able to sit on that.”

It’s easy for me since my natural inclination is to keep my vehicles until they just plain wear out.

I was tempted though.

stickguy

I would buy a cheap car if I stumble upon something that interests me. An old PU (but those are pricey) or some sort of odd toy. Even a “vintage” car like a 1990s Mazda, as long as it is a stick.

So far I really haven’t looked, but sometimes you spit a for sale sign in a driveway!

bwia

@snakeweasel said:
Tropical islands in the South Pacific can get awfully old awfully fast. In all but the largest islands you won't be able to get more than 20 miles or so away without getting on an airplane, and there are only so many things you can do.

Not to mention that because of climate change they are slowly disappearing under the sea. Oh well.

fintail

Someone didn't move to Spokane? No way!

Michaell said:

A former co-worker just moved from CO to outside of Myrtle Beach. Right on a golf course.