Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

pensfan83

@henryn said:
I’ve been with USAA for insurance for more years than I care to remember. But I think that’s about to come to a screeching halt. They are raising my home insurance rates, again, which inspired me to do a little comparison shopping. Which is actually tougher than I expected. Insurance companies, for the most part, are acting more like it’s 1950 than 2022. They’re making it almost impossible to get an actual quote without spending an inordinate amount of time talking on the phone with some sleazoid commissioned sales person.

So far, I’ve managed to get one actual quote from Progressive. They came in at a little under $1,800 a year where USAA is a little over $3,100 for basically the same coverage. Now that is a big difference. And the USAA price is discounted for having two cars also covered, and the Progressive isn’t. I think I need to get another quote from Progressive including the two cars.

This may have something to do with it. If I was banking with USAA I'd be looking elsewhere.

https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-announces-140-million-civil-money-penalty-against-usaa-federal-savings

driver100

pensfan83 said:

@henryn said:

I’ve been with USAA for insurance for more years than I care to remember. But I think that’s about to come to a screeching halt. They are raising my home insurance rates, again, which inspired me to do a little comparison shopping. Which is actually tougher than I expected. Insurance companies, for the most part, are acting more like it’s 1950 than 2022. They’re making it almost impossible to get an actual quote without spending an inordinate amount of time talking on the phone with some sleazoid commissioned sales person.

So far, I’ve managed to get one actual quote from Progressive. They came in at a little under $1,800 a year where USAA is a little over $3,100 for basically the same coverage. Now that is a big difference. And the USAA price is discounted for having two cars also covered, and the Progressive isn’t. I think I need to get another quote from Progressive including the two cars.

This may have something to do with it. If I was banking with USAA I'd be looking elsewhere.

https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-announces-140-million-civil-money-penalty-against-usaa-federal-savings

lol.....I guess they have to make back that $140 mill.
In Florida we have Allstate. I decided to check AARP's insurance supplier, The Harford is it? I spent about an hour on the phone and after seeing their ad which was supposed to save me $hundred, theirs came to $35 more! I said why would I do that? He said you'd be supporting AARP. I thought, I don't care about AARP, the only reason I joined was to get a nice picnic bag and to save money if I stay in a hotel, plus 15% off at Denny's.
But, I think an agent is a good way to go, and I'd consider that. They can do the work of finding the lowest price. And, when you have a problem they try harder than the big conglomerates who have customer service people guarding the gates.

stickguy

stickguy

Car outside our hotel. Covered with ash from mount Etna.

stickguy

@qbrozen said:

@houdini1 said:
A guy in our neighborhood just posted that he went to Shawnee Mission Ford because they had 2 Mavericks for sale. He knew the msrp was around $27,000. They were both used (demos I imagine). The salesman told him the price for each one was $69,000. He posted this on our neighborhood forum. Salesman told him since they were used, they could charge any price they wanted.

Paging @stickguy . Call that dealer and tell them you’ve got an AMAZING deal for them on yours for the rock bottom, friends and family price of $50k!

Bring a bag with $45k in unmarked bills and drive home in a gently used Maverick lariat.

stickguy

Love Europe. All the cabs here are Mercedes’. Including a diesel stick minivan.

Actually our MB tour bus (big Diesel pusher) is also a 6 speed manual.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

Love Europe. All the cabs here are Mercedes’. Including a diesel stick minivan.

Actually our MB tour bus (big Diesel pusher) is also a 6 speed manual.

Hope you're having fun! Jealous!

graphicguy

henryn said:

graphicguy said:

Of all the stores I would think would warrant bait and switch or playing sales games, Ford would have to be the least justified in doing so….particularly after their Fiesta/Focus transmission debacle, as well as their Bronco leaky roof debacles. They aren’t doing themselves any favors in generating long term customers.

The problem here is that you are not dealing with Ford, you are dealing with the dealership. Ford has little to no control over what the dealership does. Indeed, Ford has wanted for many years to eliminate dealerships entirely.

Soaring car prices have set off a battle between automakers and independent dealers, with consumers routinely paying hundreds, often thousands, more than the listed price amid a protracted vehicle shortage.

Ford and General Motors recently upbraided dealers for ignoring the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, a practice that was practically unheard of a year ago and GM calls “unethical.” They’ve threatened to withhold deliveries of their most popular offerings, including Ford’s buzz-generating F-150 Lightning pickup, and other forthcoming electric vehicle models.

But data shows such markups are pervasive across the industry: More than 80 percent of U.S. car buyers paid above MSRP in January, according to auto market research firm Edmunds.

Yeah…..saw a blurb in the WSJ a few weeks ago about with holding inventory from the dealerships who are trying to charge over MSRP for their vehicles. I reported CRONIN FORD (the offending dealership) to corporate. The Ford Customer Service rep said he sends the complaints to the Region, who handles the dealerships individually. Too late. Damage has already been done with us.

The Ford products right now aren’t compelling enough for us to even continue looking at them. They’ve got some trucks. They’ve got some SUVs. They’ve got an EV (Mach E). So do other manufacturers.

I’ve got a long memory.

stickguy

Ford can’t do anything really about selling from stock. They are cracking down on marking up customer orders.

abacomike

@kyfdx said:
In our area, only the truck stops have different prices for cash vs credit.
Also, almost all of the pumps have chip readers vs. swiping.

It’s rare to find gas stations charging different prices for gas (credit vs. cash) here in south Florida.

Most gas stations prefer not to take cash due to the problems associated with keeping large sums of cash on hand. On the other hand, they have to pay a percentage of each sale to the credit card company(s) which eats into their profits.

Interestingly enough, my barber charges an extra $2.00 for haircuts paid for using a credit card vs. cash. At least I understand why gas stations and “barbers” charge more for credit purchases. 🤪😜

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

@jipster said:

First estimate just came in:

$11,000 just for a new complete Amana a/c unit. Single stage. No furnace.

Additional $1,800 for the reme halo u.v light

$16,000 for single stage a/c and furnace.

$18,000 for 2 stage a/c and furnace. High efficiency.

$19,000 for even more efficiency.

Salesman says due to supply problems may be 6 weeks before they could get the higher efficiency system. If a basic system, may be able to get there hands on a system in a week or two.

Looks like to remain cool we may have to go live in a nearby cave, if other hvac companies have similar delays. Suppose to warm up here in a couple of days.

Holy moly. That’s eye popping.

Buy a few cheap window units to hold you over until the system you want becomes available. Live like us poor folks for awhile.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Car outside our hotel. Covered with ash from mount Etna.

Oh, I thought you’d been to upstate NY again.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

@kyfdx said:

In our area, only the truck stops have different prices for cash vs credit.

Also, almost all of the pumps have chip readers vs. swiping.

It’s rare to find gas stations charging different prices for gas (credit vs. cash) here in south Florida.

Most gas stations prefer not to take cash due to the problems associated with keeping large sums of cash on hand. On the other hand, they have to pay a percentage of each sale to the credit card company(s) which eats into their profits.

Interestingly enough, my barber charges an extra $2.00 for haircuts paid for using a credit card vs. cash. At least I understand why gas stations and “barbers” charge more for credit purchases. 🤪😜

My transmission guy gives a discount for cash equal to the fee he has to pay the credit card company.

henryn

It used to be fairly common, at least in this part of the world, for small businesses to give discounts for cash. Cash transactions can be "off the books", and thus not subject to taxation. Which would appeal to one of our poster buddies ...

henryn

I spent a little over an hour on the phone with USAA this afternoon. Which accomplished absolutely nothing, but I’m now sure I will be parting company with them after 30+ years. I spent most of today working on this problem, doing online searches for the most highly rated insurance companies, the lowest cost, etc. USAA usually ranks pretty high on both lists. But in my particular case, they are by far the most expensive.

I remember reading an article a few years ago, I think it was in the Wall Street Journal. They were talking about insurance companies arbitrarily assigning rates based on the zip code you live in. Same car, same driving record, same age, move to a different zip code in the same city and your car insurance rates can increase or decrease dramatically. I suspect USAA is highly prejudiced against my zip code.

I think I may just go with Progressive. Either that, or call an independent agent. Still not decided for sure. Progressive will save me $2,856 over the next year for combined car and homeowners insurance.

driver100

stickguy said:

Ford can’t do anything really about selling from stock. They are cracking down on marking up customer orders.

I saw an ad on a Detroit TV station....if you order a new Lincoln they'll give you $1000 off. That sounds like a bit of an incentive, of course you don't know when your car will actually be built.

Have fun on your trip! Did we know you were going? I thought it was in N.Y. State too!

roadburner

My son and I went to see a movie tonight and I drove the M235i; on the way home an F-150 and a C6 wanted to play. Both drivers were terrified of lateral G-forces, so it wasn't much of a contest.

snakeweasel

houdini1 said:

A guy in our neighborhood just posted that he went to Shawnee Mission Ford because they had 2 Mavericks for sale. He knew the msrp was around $27,000. They were both used (demos I imagine). The salesman told him the price for each one was $69,000. He posted this on our neighborhood forum. Salesman told him since they were used, they could charge any price they wanted.

Yes they can charge any price they want. The issue is finding someone who will pay that price.

snakeweasel

henryn said:

I’ve been with USAA for insurance for more years than I care to remember. But I think that’s about to come to a screeching halt. They are raising my home insurance rates, again, which inspired me to do a little comparison shopping. Which is actually tougher than I expected. Insurance companies, for the most part, are acting more like it’s 1950 than 2022. They’re making it almost impossible to get an actual quote without spending an inordinate amount of time talking on the phone with some sleazoid commissioned sales person.

So far, I’ve managed to get one actual quote from Progressive. They came in at a little under $1,800 a year where USAA is a little over $3,100 for basically the same coverage. Now that is a big difference. And the USAA price is discounted for having two cars also covered, and the Progressive isn’t. I think I need to get another quote from Progressive including the two cars.

I have found that USAA doesn't discount home insurance with a bundling package as much as other companies. That's why we are insured by three different insurance companies.

roadburner

I finally finished setting up the two home theater systems. I moved the Roku Streaming Stick to the downstairs HTS and installed a 4K Roku Streaming Stick in the main HTS. If you already have a Roku account you can automatically load all your apps to the new stick- and in many cases you don't need to sign the apps in once installed. The 4K Stick will also output Dolby Vision and HDR. My son and I are currently watching Picard and Slow Horses; I'm so glad I went with the 75" Sony X950H- while not as impressive as a projection system, it does the job in my family room.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

My son and I went to see a movie tonight and I drove the M235i; on the way home an F-150 and a C6 wanted to play. Both drivers were terrified of lateral G-forces, so it wasn't much of a contest.

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

kyfdx

@henryn State Farm isn't an option in your area?

Every so often, I try to beat my rate (w/SF), but can never seem to do it.
Amica is top-rated, but +$800 for me to go to them.

ab348

henryn said:

It used to be fairly common, at least in this part of the world, for small businesses to give discounts for cash. Cash transactions can be "off the books", and thus not subject to taxation. Which would appeal to one of our poster buddies ...

I always assume that is the real reason for offering a discount for cash, particularly in certain types of businesses where things are not easily tracked. There are different but significant costs and risks associated with taking and handling cash vs credit cards. When I was getting quotes for my roof last year one outfit suggested they could do it that way, but it made me wonder about how reputable they were and how any later warranty items might be handled.

roadburner

@graphicguy said:
Yeah…..saw a blurb in the WSJ a few weeks ago about with holding inventory from the dealerships who are trying to charge over MSRP for their vehicles. I reported CRONIN FORD (the offending dealership) to corporate. The Ford Customer Service rep said he sends the complaints to the Region, who handles the dealerships individually. Too late. Damage has already been done with us.

The Ford products right now aren’t compelling enough for us to even continue looking at them. They’ve got some trucks. They’ve got some SUVs. They’ve got an EV (Mach E). So do other manufacturers.

I’ve got a long memory.

Kings Ford is the ONLY Ford dealer I have encountered that hasn’t gone above and beyond to p*ss me off. In fact, I had decided to buy a Mustang GT at Kings but it sold the day before I decided to buy it. A few months later I tried to buy a similarly equipped Mustang GT from Andy Mohr Ford and that store pulled every slimy trick in the book. I took great pleasure in watching the car sit on their lot for another couple of months and see the price get cut below my offer.

roadburner

@oldfarmer50 said:
I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

@graphicguy said:

Yeah…..saw a blurb in the WSJ a few weeks ago about with holding inventory from the dealerships who are trying to charge over MSRP for their vehicles. I reported CRONIN FORD (the offending dealership) to corporate. The Ford Customer Service rep said he sends the complaints to the Region, who handles the dealerships individually. Too late. Damage has already been done with us.

The Ford products right now aren’t compelling enough for us to even continue looking at them. They’ve got some trucks. They’ve got some SUVs. They’ve got an EV (Mach E). So do other manufacturers.

I’ve got a long memory.

Kings Ford is the ONLY Ford dealer I have encountered that hasn’t gone above and beyond to p*ss me off. In fact, I had decided to buy a Mustang GT at Kings but it sold the day before I decided to buy it. A few months later I tried to buy a similarly equipped Mustang GT from Andy Mohr Ford and that store pulled every slimy trick in the book. I took great pleasure in watching the car sit on their lot for another couple of months and see the price get cut below my offer.

Kings is good. Haven’t made it there for a visit, yet. But, they serviced my Cobra and my ‘05 GT. Bought my son’s previous Focus there. They were actually quite helpful with that whole Ford transmission debacle.

Kerry said they have a flood of Broncos coming in that they’d sell for MSRP.

But, I’m past that. It would have been an impulse buy. I now know which dealership not to waste my time with for any possible Ford purchase. Cronin Ford made me feel like I had to take a shower after leaving their store, they were so scammy!

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

tjc78

@roadburner said:
I finally finished setting up the two home theater systems. I moved the Roku Streaming Stick to the downstairs HTS and installed a 4K Roku Streaming Stick in the main HTS. If you already have a Roku account you can automatically load all your apps to the new stick- and in many cases you don't need to sign the apps in once installed. The 4K Stick will also output Dolby Vision and HDR. My son and I are currently watching Picard and Slow Horses; I'm so glad I went with the 75" Sony X950H- while not as impressive as a projection system, it does the job in my family room.

We don’t have cable down the shore and have all Roku sticks. Very slick and glitch free. What’s great is I can sign into most apps for free with my Xfinity sign in that is linked to my home account.

andres3

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

A V90 R Wagon..... Volvo..... I saw it with my own eyes but I couldn't believe it. Even had the blue tag indicating their "performance" trim and model line right? What do they call that again?

So Volvo is making a big fast wagon? I thought they topped out at the V60 Cross Country thing.

Just an R Design, which has nothing to do with performance.

But the "blue" badge indicates PoleStar correct?

andres3

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

Sometimes it just requires trusting your car to do what it was meant to do. I've heard absurd remarks when cornering such as "what if it flips?" LOL.

andres3

kyfdx said:

@henryn State Farm isn't an option in your area?

Every so often, I try to beat my rate (w/SF), but can never seem to do it.
Amica is top-rated, but +$800 for me to go to them.

Amica won't insure homes in my zip code due to fire hazard in CA. Someone should tell their marketing arm sending my flyers by mail.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

Sometimes it just requires trusting your car to do what it was meant to do. I've heard absurd remarks when cornering such as "what if it flips?" LOL.

Yeah like that happens all the time. A Corvette is highly unlikely to flip over simply from cornering to hard. Pickups and SUV's are far more likely but still rare.

explorerx4

Taking a fast corner in a pickup truck is not like doing it in a sports car.
That guy was dumb but smartened up.

henryn

kyfdx said:

@henryn State Farm isn't an option in your area?

Every so often, I try to beat my rate (w/SF), but can never seem to do it.
Amica is top-rated, but +$800 for me to go to them.

I just reached out to State Farm for a quote. I couldn't do it online, which is a negative, but they didn't waste a lot of my time on the phone, only about 15 minutes. Their quotes just came back in email, the auto is actually about $50 less than Progressive, but about $600 more for homeowners.

qbrozen

@andres3 said:
But the "blue" badge indicates PoleStar correct?

I’m not completely sure it does. Only because I know the polestar tune can be added at any time, plus it can be had on any trim, so having special badges would need to go further than the R.

kyfdx

henryn said:

kyfdx said:

@henryn State Farm isn't an option in your area?

Every so often, I try to beat my rate (w/SF), but can never seem to do it.
Amica is top-rated, but +$800 for me to go to them.

I just reached out to State Farm for a quote. I couldn't do it online, which is a negative, but they didn't waste a lot of my time on the phone, only about 15 minutes. Their quotes just came back in email, the auto is actually about $50 less than Progressive, but about $600 more for homeowners.

In my experience, SF has better homeowners coverage. Higher limits for personal property, etc. But, not $600/yr better.

snakeweasel

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

But the "blue" badge indicates PoleStar correct?

I’m not completely sure it does. Only because I know the polestar tune can be added at any time, plus it can be had on any trim, so having special badges would need to go further than the R.

Wait, isn't Polestar a Swedish electric car company?

qbrozen

@snakeweasel said:
Wait, isn't Polestar a Swedish electric car company?

Identity crisis in action

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

Taking a fast corner in a pickup truck is not like doing it in a sports car.
That guy was dumb but smartened up.

Most don't, which makes things much more fun...

driver100

snakeweasel said:

qbrozen said:

@andres3 said:

But the "blue" badge indicates PoleStar correct?

I’m not completely sure it does. Only because I know the polestar tune can be added at any time, plus it can be had on any trim, so having special badges would need to go further than the R.

Wait, isn't Polestar a Swedish electric car company?
Yes, started by Volvo.

jmonroe1

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

Sometimes it just requires trusting your car to do what it was meant to do. I've heard absurd remarks when cornering such as "what if it flips?" LOL.

The come back to that should be, “what if it doesn’t?”

jmonroe

houdini1

abacomike said:

@kyfdx said:

In our area, only the truck stops have different prices for cash vs credit.

Also, almost all of the pumps have chip readers vs. swiping.

It’s rare to find gas stations charging different prices for gas (credit vs. cash) here in south Florida.

Most gas stations prefer not to take cash due to the problems associated with keeping large sums of cash on hand. On the other hand, they have to pay a percentage of each sale to the credit card company(s) which eats into their profits.

Interestingly enough, my barber charges an extra $2.00 for haircuts paid for using a credit card vs. cash. At least I understand why gas stations and “barbers” charge more for credit purchases. 🤪😜

Plus small business owners can stick the cash in their pocket tax free. It's called the Monroe method.

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

Sometimes it just requires trusting your car to do what it was meant to do. I've heard absurd remarks when cornering such as "what if it flips?" LOL.

Yeah like that happens all the time. A Corvette is highly unlikely to flip over simply from cornering to hard. Pickups and SUV's are far more likely but still rare.

Another moronic question I've heard is, "If you step on the brakes too hard won't the airbags go off?"

laurasdada

Went to a new pizza place last night, price is + 3% if you pay by card. Since I had little cash, I used my card. But, 3% cash back at restaurants, so near zero sum game for me.

oldfarmer50

“ Another moronic question I've heard is, "If you step on the brakes too hard won't the airbags go off?"”

Only if you don’t stop in time.

driver100

laurasdada said:

Went to a new pizza place last night, price is + 3% if you pay by card. Since I had little cash, I used my card. But, 3% cash back at restaurants, so near zero sum game for me.

Does 3% either way mean much when buying a pizza?

driver100

roadburner said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I can see the truck being scared but a Corvette?

I didn’t get it either, but he backed way off on a gentle downhill sweeper and he never tried to catch up after that.

A lot of the people that buy high powered cars, or any car for that matter, know how to hold the steering wheel study and floor the gas peddle. Pretty much go fast straight. Little skill there. Those that truly know how to take a curve are in the minority.

Sometimes it just requires trusting your car to do what it was meant to do. I've heard absurd remarks when cornering such as "what if it flips?" LOL.

Yeah like that happens all the time. A Corvette is highly unlikely to flip over simply from cornering to hard. Pickups and SUV's are far more likely but still rare.

Another moronic question I've heard is, "If you step on the brakes too hard won't the airbags go off?"

You mean I don't have to worry about the airbags going off if I stomp on the brakes?

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
You mean I don't have to worry about the airbags going off if I stomp on the brakes?

Well, you do but not the rest of us.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

You mean I don't have to worry about the airbags going off if I stomp on the brakes?

Well, you do but not the rest of us.

jmonroe

There are other posters here that I think would be more worried about that.

driver100

Can the airbags go off if you hit a big pothole?