Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Bah! A mere dusting...

Aren't you glad I talked you into getting that machine? You're no spring chicken any more, especially now that you're retired, sort of...

The worst thing about owning a big snow blower in a development like that is that there is always an expectation after a big snowfall that you will clear the driveways of those who do not have one. If you don't, then there is an undercurrent of resentment, especially if you do some and not others, god forbid.

not an issue here. of the houses on my block, every one has a blower of some kind. I saw the new people (just finished building that house in January) was running one on their gravel today (blacktop not going in until the spring so just has some rocks). Not sure about the other new house that closed in December (but they have a driveway). The rest of the people that have been around as long as me all have them. And when I take my neighborhood walks, just about every time I see a garage door open there is one in there. Plus the next (older) neighborhood we connect to has much longer driveways.

cdnpinhead

Either way, where you live you need the thing unless you have weeks of supplies and have no need to get out until it all melts.

They're kinda fun to use on level ground), especially in really cold powder - that heavy wet stuff, not so much.

explorerx4

You need to shovel the sidewalk regardless, otherwise you are subject to being fined.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

You need to shovel the sidewalk regardless, otherwise you are subject to being fined.

Shovel? Shovel what? You don't need to shovel sunshine, and we have a lot of that today. Clear skies, gentle breeze, 79 degrees, low humidity. It doesn't get much better than this!

Sandman6472

Seems like the best phone plans are for groups of four. We now have three so the deal we got from AT&T wasn't unlimited. And my wife & daughter don't want to go to MetroPC for some reason. I've seen their $25 plan for unlimited everything also but the girls won't budge. Hoping by the end of the year, I can get them to move to an unlimited plan with better rates. We still have a landline for the wife and a land line for her fax but since it's used exclusively for her business, she deducts a good part of it I think.
Wonder what would happen if I did go over to Cricket and get their 4-line plan for $100 but only activate three numbers? Wonder if they'd squash the deal? And part of me thinks that in time, all company's will only have unlimited plans for everyone as it ould make the most sense when 5G service is universal.

jmonroe1

isellhondas said:

Just checking in! Anything new that I should know about? Everyone staying healthy?

After never putting as much as a scratch on any car I have ever owned in all of my years of driving. Used to drive 35,000 miles a year on trecherous California freeways....never a scratch.

Until.....October 5th. Making a U-Turn. Stopped mid turn and looked for traffic...none. Got distracted by a pedestrian for a second....should have looked again.....didn't....WHAM! Totalled our 6000 mile Honda CRV EX! Side airbag replacement alone was.....9000.00! Car didn't look that bad BUT the crash actually twisted the firewall. The KIA that hit me was driving WAY too fast I think BUT the accident got blamed on me!

Neither of us was hurt. Two cars totalled! State Farm must not be happy with me but no rate increase and they didn't drop me. I guess 40 years of loyality must count for something!

They paid me more than I paid for the car 2 years ago. Car prices are through the roof as never before!

————————————————
That doesn’t sound like the OLD @isellhondas we know. From what you described (twisted firewall) that could have ended in tragedy. Glad to hear no one was hurt.

Do we have to wait for the next car you total to hear from you again? We hope not.

jmonroe

imidazol97

explorerx4 said:

You need to shovel the sidewalk regardless, otherwise you are subject to being fined.

Actually in Ohio homeowners do not have to shovel or otherwise clear their sidewalks.

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/verify/no-ohio-property-owners-are-not-liable-injuries-happen-snow-ice-covered-sidewalks/530-428be104-dc6a-4f2c-828c-b040b07690c8

Some cities (Columbus?) may have tried to mandale such with ordinances but as this and other articles state the Supreme Court has said NO.

Earlier interpretations I had heard were that if you did make some attempt at clearing then you are responsible for injuries. So many people do absolutely nothing and remain not responsible.

explorerx4

@henryn,
I'm not buying what you're shoveling. HA HA

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
I'm not buying what you're shoveling. HA HA

————————————————
A few years ago one of my grandsons asked me, “if people your age who go to Florida for the Winter are called Snow Birds what do they call the people your age who stay here for the Winter”? My reply was STUPID.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@jmonroe1,
A stupid reply from you? Well, it happens to everyone.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
A stupid reply from you? Well, it happens to everyone.

I only give intelligent replies

venture

cdnpinhead said:

Either way, where you live you need the thing unless you have weeks of supplies and have no need to get out until it all melts.

They're kinda fun to use on level ground), especially in really cold powder - that heavy wet stuff, not so much.

With my snowblower the heavy wet stuff oozes out like a long ice cube. Not nice.

Sandman6472

Seems to have gotten pretty quiet in here today What's up???

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

Seems to have gotten pretty quiet in here today What's up???

I was at work. I don’t know about everybody else.

stickguy

maybe nobody was dishwasher shopping?

Michaell

I spent the day running errands. Took my wife to the urgent care - she's got an ear infection. Later I went to pickup her prescriptions at Target. Back home again, then left to pick up the business taxes and drop off the personal tax information with our CPA.

Lastly, ran to Cane's and Chipotle for some dinner.

Managed to apply to one job in between all that.

stickguy

The Acura got dirty yesterday on a drive out to Mass. Roads mostly dry already after our 10" of snow, but some spray and the driveway I had to park in was snow covered mud.

so, since it got into the 40s today, I hooked the hose up and dragged it across the snow and washed the car. Got an early spring cleaning in. washed it, got down on the driveway to spray underneath the best I could, pulled all the rubber mats out and scrubbed them, vacuumed everything, and cleaned the windshield in and out. Even dressed the tires. Hopefully it stays clean until the weekend when it likely gets filthy since we are supposed to get rain.

next big clean will be when we are finally out of any salt possibilities (so, maybe July?) when I take it to the car wash (touchless only) with underbody blast sprays. then a good clay and hand wax, and should be good to go for the summer.

venture

stickguy said:

The Acura got dirty yesterday on a drive out to Mass. Roads mostly dry already after our 10" of snow, but some spray and the driveway I had to park in was snow covered mud.

so, since it got into the 40s today, I hooked the hose up and dragged it across the snow and washed the car. Got an early spring cleaning in. washed it, got down on the driveway to spray underneath the best I could, pulled all the rubber mats out and scrubbed them, vacuumed everything, and cleaned the windshield in and out. Even dressed the tires. Hopefully it stays clean until the weekend when it likely gets filthy since we are supposed to get rain.

next big clean will be when we are finally out of any salt possibilities (so, maybe July?) when I take it to the car wash (touchless only) with underbody blast sprays. then a good clay and hand wax, and should be good to go for the summer.

I admire your initiative.

ab348

venture said:

stickguy said:

The Acura got dirty yesterday on a drive out to Mass. Roads mostly dry already after our 10" of snow, but some spray and the driveway I had to park in was snow covered mud.

so, since it got into the 40s today, I hooked the hose up and dragged it across the snow and washed the car. Got an early spring cleaning in. washed it, got down on the driveway to spray underneath the best I could, pulled all the rubber mats out and scrubbed them, vacuumed everything, and cleaned the windshield in and out. Even dressed the tires. Hopefully it stays clean until the weekend when it likely gets filthy since we are supposed to get rain.

next big clean will be when we are finally out of any salt possibilities (so, maybe July?) when I take it to the car wash (touchless only) with underbody blast sprays. then a good clay and hand wax, and should be good to go for the summer.

I admire your initiative.

Especially since he was posting about getting rid of it. Maybe this is a pre-sale cleaning.

stickguy

It’s my primary goal in life now. To keep the undercarriage of my car from being a corroded, rusted mess. It is going to be an epic battle.

And the swap the fleet idea was ixnayed by the actual owner of the Acura. So if I want to. Make any adjustments they will involve my car whenever it arrives.

kyfdx

We tied a record at high of 74, yesterday. Around 5:30, we were heading out for dinner, and I thought: Really should have mowed, today.

driver100

venture said:

cdnpinhead said:

Either way, where you live you need the thing unless you have weeks of supplies and have no need to get out until it all melts.

They're kinda fun to use on level ground), especially in really cold powder - that heavy wet stuff, not so much.

With my snowblower the heavy wet stuff oozes out like a long ice cube. Not nice.

I was skimming posts and missed the first 3 words and thought you were having some kind of episode, and I didn't know what I could say

abacomike

My Genesis G90 is just about 2 years old (end of March) - approximately 22 month ago I had a 3M Ceramic Coating put on all exterior paint - cost me about $1100. My car wash guy (always do hand car washes as required by 3M Ceramic Coating requirements) told me that the water is not beading on the hood as it used to bead. He suggested that I have a "renewal" or "booster" coating applied. So I called my Ceramic Coating dealer guy and he is going to add a full detail and at least one more coating of 3M Ceramic chemical to my car next Monday. He said he would charge me $250 for the application and full interior and exterior detail. He provides me with a loaner because it takes a full day to complete the job.

This booster coating maintains my warranty. I looked over the car carefully and the finish is still smooth to the touch which means that most of the car's finish is protected. It's just the hood - which sits right under an olive tree monstrosity. The sap from that tree in the spring is a brownish red and it obviously affects the ceramic coating on the front of the car which is under the tree's limbs.

I will say that the ceramic coating makes the car look like it came right off the showroom floor after it is hand washed. The surface feels like glass. I would definitely recommend a ceramic coating if your car is out in the elements 24/7 like mine is. It protects the finish from bird droppings (get dumped on almost every day), ultra violet rays from sun, tree sap, etc.). I'm still waiting for my first ding and/or scratch on the car. I am amazed that there isn't one blemish or scratch on the car after 2 years. I am sure that my handicapped permit is the reason for that because I am always parked away from opening doors, etc. But I am sure my time will come.

carnaught

@abacomike, it sounds like your ceramic coating dealer is up-selling you. Without the detail and the loaner car would they do the reapplication for free?

isellhondas

sda said:

Glad no injuries, certainly scary. What did you replace the CR-V with?

You guys are going to laugh....Well, after two years, the 2020 CRV had 6000 miles on it. Our 2016 EXL CRV just turned over 20,000 miles. Because of this I decided that we don't need two new cars that barely get driven SO I started looking for something older, cheaper and smaller with the goal of being able to park both cars in our now smaller garage. I looked and looked and ended up buying an immaculate 2014 Ford Focus with 52,000 miles from a lady I volunteer with at our local Food Bank. Do I like it? No, not at all but for now, it serves the purpose. So much crap out there! Most of the Craigslist and Marketplace cars are being sold by curbstoners or flakes. Half of them (or more) have Salvage or Rebuilt titles! We just sold our big house after 34 years and downsized to a 3 bd 3 bath Townhouse in a Private Community losing about 800 square feet in the process so we had to get rid of a lot of "stuff" with more to go! I suspect I will tire of this Focus before too long!

sda

Congratulations on the new place. It is always nice to have a second ‘back up’ car and the Focus is perfect for that duty.

driver100

sda said:

Congratulations on the new place. It is always nice to have a second ‘back up’ car and the Focus is perfect for that duty.

....as long as you don't actually have to ever drive it.

driver100

Unfortunately, not a great time to buy a new or used car. Hopefully one day things will get back to normal. The C250 is really a 2013, so it is 10 years old, but with just over 40000 miles it is like a new car. It would be perfect if it had a backup camera and blind spot warnings . Oh well, I am happy it runs well and it is actually fun to drive, actually kind of refreshing without all the devices on the E.

venture

driver100 said:

Unfortunately, not a great time to buy a new or used car. Hopefully one day things will get back to normal. The C250 is really a 2013, so it is 10 years old, but with just over 40000 miles it is like a new car. It would be perfect if it had a backup camera and blind spot warnings . Oh well, I am happy it runs well and it is actually fun to drive, actually kind of refreshing without all the devices on the E.

It's not nearly as bad buying a new one now. I was able to favorably negotiate my BMW down to a price I found to be reasonable. Not a great deal, but not bad either.

ab348

GM Canada is retrofitting items to vehicles that were sold without certain things due to the chip shortage.

https://www.autotrader.ca/editorial/20230120/gm-canada-is-retrofitting-features-that-were-cut-due-to-the-microchip-shortage/

stickguy

definitely seems like a much better idea to just get new at this point.

roadburner

@venture said:

It's not nearly as bad buying a new one now. I was able to favorably negotiate my BMW down to a price I found to be reasonable. Not a great deal, but not bad either.

Funny thing; I had been watching the C43 I ended up buying ever since it popped up on the local dealer's site; my wife wanted to go see it immediately. I was prepared to buy it if I could get it for around $2,000 under the asking price. As it turned out, the very next Saturday the dealer reduced the price by $2,500; at that point I was not about to let the car get away- Monday I called my salesperson and put down a deposit. I spent a bit more than I intended, but the price was still thousands less than the other two finalists- a 2021 Mach 1 and a 2022 M240i xDrive. I'm sure that I would have been happy with any of the three, but I think the C43 was the best fit for me.

driver100

stickguy said:

definitely seems like a much better idea to just get new at this point.

If you can get one close to the way you want it. I see one KIA dealer in the area advertises you can order your car now, and they'll get one as soon as possible for you because new ones are starting to come in.

But, there are other reasons it isn't a great time to buy a new or used car;
As of January 2023, the average new loan rate was 8.41% and the average used rate was 12.88%, according to Kelley Blue Book. (A year ago, those numbers were 5.3% and 9.4%, respectively.) When you consider that the average price of a new car is nearly $50,000 and the average used car is still nearly $30,000.

I am trying to drive extra carefully, I don't want to have to shop for a car in this market.

stickguy

new cars are pretty easy now if you are OK with just paying MSRP. Outside of a few rarities (like hybrid Mavericks) of course, but that is always the case.

don't look at averages. compare new vs. the same car a couple of years old. they can end up costing almost as much, if not more.

ronsteve

jmonroe1 said:

@ronsteve said:

This new service is the first time they have truly rubbed me the wrong way, given that they tried to sell it to me for my 15 RDX, and it's billed as a DI fuel system service... BUT I don't have DI.

You’re a really nice guy to have paid for work on someone else’s car.

jmonroe

Ha! I declined it. A little surprised with myself, that I wasn't more vocal about it.

ronsteve

sb55 said:

This is mostly for @oldfarmer50. Friends flew up from Atlanta on Tuesday night and wanted to experience winter, which just showed up after too many warm days. They reserved a car from Enterprise and were expecting a small SUV. They ended up with an Audi A5 with the Sportline trim. Not exactly an SUV even though it has AWD. Is that an upgrade from a small SUV?

For most of my purposes the A5 would be an upgrade. Assuming it was a Sportback.

henryn

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

definitely seems like a much better idea to just get new at this point.

If you can get one close to the way you want it. I see one KIA dealer in the area advertises you can order your car now, and they'll get one as soon as possible for you because new ones are starting to come in.

But, there are other reasons it isn't a great time to buy a new or used car;
As of January 2023, the average new loan rate was 8.41% and the average used rate was 12.88%, according to Kelley Blue Book. (A year ago, those numbers were 5.3% and 9.4%, respectively.) When you consider that the average price of a new car is nearly $50,000 and the average used car is still nearly $30,000.

I am trying to drive extra carefully, I don't want to have to shop for a car in this market.

Anyone paying those kinds of interest rates must have bad credit, or else they never heard of a credit union.

explorerx4

My wife got 1.9% for 4 years when she bought her Lincoln last month.
Could have also gotten 0% for 3 years or 2.9% for 5 years.

kyfdx

ronsteve said:

sb55 said:

This is mostly for @oldfarmer50. Friends flew up from Atlanta on Tuesday night and wanted to experience winter, which just showed up after too many warm days. They reserved a car from Enterprise and were expecting a small SUV. They ended up with an Audi A5 with the Sportline trim. Not exactly an SUV even though it has AWD. Is that an upgrade from a small SUV?

For most of my purposes the A5 would be an upgrade. Assuming it was a Sportback.

I've never seen an A5 on the Emerald Aisle, that's for sure.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

My wife got 1.9% for 4 years when she bought her Lincoln last month.
Could have also gotten 0% for 3 years or 2.9% for 5 years.

My wife has 7 months left on her 72 month, 0% loan from BMW. Never thought she'd keep it, this long.

ab348

I'm still riding out the 0% financing from GM on the ATS. No sense to pay it off. It is completely mine in September.

explorerx4

I have almost 4 years left on my 0% loan for my Explorer.

stickguy

I had 0% on the maverick. Won’t be getting that again I don’t think!

Riding out 2 more years off .9% on the RDX. That started as 60 months.

Will likely pay it off early just to be done with it

driver100

henryn said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

definitely seems like a much better idea to just get new at this point.

If you can get one close to the way you want it. I see one KIA dealer in the area advertises you can order your car now, and they'll get one as soon as possible for you because new ones are starting to come in.

But, there are other reasons it isn't a great time to buy a new or used car;
As of January 2023, the average new loan rate was 8.41% and the average used rate was 12.88%, according to Kelley Blue Book. (A year ago, those numbers were 5.3% and 9.4%, respectively.) When you consider that the average price of a new car is nearly $50,000 and the average used car is still nearly $30,000.

I am trying to drive extra carefully, I don't want to have to shop for a car in this market.

Anyone paying those kinds of interest rates must have bad credit, or else they never heard of a credit union.

Good point. Credit Unions, banks are much lower, but car dealers tend to have the highest rates - high dealer rates bring the average up;
The current average car loan interest rate for new cars is 4.07% and 8.67% for used cars according to Experian. In 2022, new car loan rates range from 2.40% to 14.76% while used car loan rates range from 3.71% to 20.99%.

Some of youz guys have really good interest loan rates.....drive carefully, you don't want to get into an accident, and have to look for a new car if you don't have full replacement value insurance.

oldfarmer50

Delete

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

definitely seems like a much better idea to just get new at this point.

If you can get one close to the way you want it. I see one KIA dealer in the area advertises you can order your car now, and they'll get one as soon as possible for you because new ones are starting to come in.

But, there are other reasons it isn't a great time to buy a new or used car;
As of January 2023, the average new loan rate was 8.41% and the average used rate was 12.88%, according to Kelley Blue Book. (A year ago, those numbers were 5.3% and 9.4%, respectively.) When you consider that the average price of a new car is nearly $50,000 and the average used car is still nearly $30,000.

I am trying to drive extra carefully, I don't want to have to shop for a car in this market.

Anyone paying those kinds of interest rates must have bad credit, or else they never heard of a credit union.

I was thinking the same thing. My CU offers loan as low as 4.5%. That would still be too much for me. I’d pay cash.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

ronsteve said:

sb55 said:

This is mostly for @oldfarmer50. Friends flew up from Atlanta on Tuesday night and wanted to experience winter, which just showed up after too many warm days. They reserved a car from Enterprise and were expecting a small SUV. They ended up with an Audi A5 with the Sportline trim. Not exactly an SUV even though it has AWD. Is that an upgrade from a small SUV?

For most of my purposes the A5 would be an upgrade. Assuming it was a Sportback.

I've never seen an A5 on the Emerald Aisle, that's for sure.

By Emerald Isle do you mean the rental agency? At the airport where I work we have a ton of Audis including A5s. Some days it looks like an Audi dealership at the National line.

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

kyfdx said:

ronsteve said:

sb55 said:

This is mostly for @oldfarmer50. Friends flew up from Atlanta on Tuesday night and wanted to experience winter, which just showed up after too many warm days. They reserved a car from Enterprise and were expecting a small SUV. They ended up with an Audi A5 with the Sportline trim. Not exactly an SUV even though it has AWD. Is that an upgrade from a small SUV?

For most of my purposes the A5 would be an upgrade. Assuming it was a Sportback.

I've never seen an A5 on the Emerald Aisle, that's for sure.

By Emerald Isle do you mean the rental agency? At the airport where I work we have a ton of Audis including A5s. Some days it looks like an Audi dealership at the National line.

Yes, at National. At the airports I go to, none of the Audis are in the Emerald Aisle. They are all in the Executive or Premium class.

tjc78

Hyundai Tech on a social media platform. Number of engines he has replaced this year.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

Hyundai Tech on a social media platform. Number of engines he has replaced this year.

I wonder which engines and which years?