Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78

Everyone is different with their AC… also depends on the house and how the system is distributed.

At the shore at night if I don’t turn it down to 70 (from 73) it is too warm to sleep.

At home since the thermostat is in the bedroom and vents are on ceiling 73 is usually fine for sleeping.

I’ve actually considered a 5K BtU window unit for the shore for extra cold sleeping but the cost of that would take awhile to recoup in lieu of just turning the temperature down.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

Everyone is different with their AC… also depends on the house and how the system is distributed.

At the shore at night if I don’t turn it down to 70 (from 73) it is too warm to sleep.

At home since the thermostat is in the bedroom and vents are on ceiling 73 is usually fine for sleeping.

I’ve actually considered a 5K BtU window unit for the shore for extra cold sleeping but the cost of that would take awhile to recoup in lieu of just turning the temperature down.

————————————————
Plus the noise you have to put up with when you have a window box AC.

jmonroe

Michaell

I may have told this story before. When I was in college in Phoenix, I worked part time at a shoe store. The store was in a mall and the original space had been a big department store that was subdivided. The AC vents were probably 25' up, but we didn't control the thermostat - the store next to us did.

Turns out they had it set at 58 degrees. I had a wear a sweater, even during 100+ days in the summer.

tjc78

If I didn’t care about equipment longevity or utility bills I’d park mine on 65 and let it run its butt off.

stickguy

I do need to get into the downstairs thermostat and change all the programs up to 74. some of them are still 72. since that is in the front of the house it is warmer, and our bedroom in the back runs a few degrees colder.

I like it about 75 or so. that feels comfortable enough without being freezing.

explorerx4

I keep our AC at 75 during the day, 72 at night.
Heat is 68 during the day, 63 at night.

tjc78

A rare (very rare) boardwalk night for the kids. This Ferris wheel is visible all over the island.

stickguy

I have been on that. but not for a lot of years now. Probably stopped going to the boardwalk about 15 years ago when we were down on vacation. Used to take the kids one night during the week, until the adults started to boycott!

tjc78

We generally don’t go at night and never on a weekend (my wife can’t stand it!). Mom takes them during the day once in awhile so they get their fix.

We buy the season passes so like to get our money out of them.

stickguy

we used to go early (maybe 4?) and rode a bit, had pizza, then more rides. Now we stay on the beach late and drink instead. Including all the kids that used to be the ones going! Somehow, they have not yet decided to take their own kids (though they are all still too young for real rides).

qbrozen

Typical 12-hr jaunt down to Myrtle, even with the clown car in tow. It would be more like 10 hrs without kids and dogs. Diesel seemed to get cheaper as we went further south. $4.39 in NJ became $4.35 in VA and I saw as low as $4.09 advertised, but of course didn’t need any at that time. Last fillup was $4.29 in NC.

Clown car attracted a great deal of attention. I even had a couple of young ladies pull up to us in traffic and ask me to roll down my window so they could find out what it was and where it came from, and ended with a Hang 10 sign. I quipped it was probably good I didn’t get around to wrapping it or we might have caused accidents.

ronsteve

RUG here in Louisville is $4.099/gal this week with VERY little spread. Even Valero which I don't think is supplied by the Marathon/Ashland monopoly is at 4.079. When prices spike here almost everyone is at the same number, which makes me think there is some coercion coming from the wholesaler.

The spread between RUG/PUG has been 70-90 cents for most of this year, so PUG is $4.799-4.999 in most places, but I'm hoping to see a better number when I hit Costco in a day or three. Not sure how soon that will be as I'm driving the Jetta to work this week.

ab348

qbrozen said:

I imagine that cattle guard on the front must be useful if you cross paths with any stray livestock wandering on the Interstate.

qbrozen

is that what you call it? I call it a zombie plow. Pretty sure it was advertised that way, too.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Typical 12-hr jaunt down to Myrtle, even with the clown car in tow. It would be more like 10 hrs without kids and dogs. Diesel seemed to get cheaper as we went further south. $4.39 in NJ became $4.35 in VA and I saw as low as $4.09 advertised, but of course didn’t need any at that time. Last fillup was $4.29 in NC.

Clown car attracted a great deal of attention. I even had a couple of young ladies pull up to us in traffic and ask me to roll down my window so they could find out what it was and where it came from, and ended with a Hang 10 sign. I quipped it was probably good I didn’t get around to wrapping it or we might have caused accidents.

Glad you made it safe! Enjoy your vacation. Hopefully you don’t have a honey-do list at the condo.

qbrozen

Oh, I do. Not so much from the honey, but I have to fix a neighbor's fence that a renter ran over and I need to get power over to our parking space to hook up the battery tender and a security camera.

explorerx4

https://youtu.be/KSMCa-Etzmc

tjc78

I’m not gonna lie … when I saw the Sprinter all loaded up “Holiday Road” came to mind!

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Oh, I do. Not so much from the honey, but I have to fix a neighbor's fence that a renter ran over and I need to get power over to our parking space to hook up the battery tender and a security camera.

I figured. Always something to do.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Had a long talk with my sister yesterday. They love their XC40, but my BIL is not thrilled with the $50/week they are spending in gas. They share the car, and each of them goes into the office 2 days a week, on alternate days. They moved farther away from their offices, so the commute is longer, and he's thinking about replacing the Volvo with an EV.

I suggested to her that having an EV as their only car isn't too practical (I can see @driver100 falling out of his chair with that statement, given how much we've sparred on EVs lately).

Recommended a PHEV or hybrid, if they wanted to save on gas costs, but still have the ability to take longer road trips if they so choose.

This isn't something they are going to do soon ... just exploring options.

Get a Prius. It’s a know quantity.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Out of curiosity....do you really save on maintenance with an EV. I guess all you should need are tires, brakes, wipers.....right? No oil change....what about lube?
Anything else?
My schedule A or B can cost $500 a year!

No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Just got my insurance renewals from State Farm for my car and my condo. Because I use their Drive Safe feature in my car, I received a $586 discount which more than covered the increase in rates - in fact my insurance went down $100+ because of the increased discount.

The condo insurance went up $100 from last year but they raised the insurance on the condo and everything else due to inflation. So, I broke even when merging the two policies. But let's face it, auto insurance rates are getting out of sight.

Gasoline is now $399.9 a gallon for PUG at Costco as well as two Chevron gas stations in my local area. That's an increase of 50 cents a gallon in the past 3 months. I wonder how can increased Fed Reserve Rates affect the price of gasoline or insurance?

RUG is $3.99 up here.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

Still have tire rotations and cabin filter. ;b

oldfarmer50

pensfan83 said:

Paying in cash is the only way to go, or so I've read.

That’s what I do and I own 4 cars. I have friends who use credit cards to buy a coffee.

pensfan83

We use credit cards for everything possible and either pay them in full or take advantage of the grace period to carry a balance month to month.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Out of curiosity....do you really save on maintenance with an EV. I guess all you should need are tires, brakes, wipers.....right? No oil change....what about lube?
Anything else?
My schedule A or B can cost $500 a year!

No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

See, don't say I am the only EV holdout!

28firefighter

pensfan83 said:

We use credit cards for everything possible and either pay them in full or take advantage of the grace period to carry a balance month to month.

Same here. Why would I pay for coffee with cash when I can get points? Just paid for a trip to mexico in February for my wife and I using them. ...

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

Just got my insurance renewals from State Farm for my car and my condo. Because I use their Drive Safe feature in my car, I received a $586 discount which more than covered the increase in rates - in fact my insurance went down $100+ because of the increased discount.

The condo insurance went up $100 from last year but they raised the insurance on the condo and everything else due to inflation. So, I broke even when merging the two policies. But let's face it, auto insurance rates are getting out of sight.

Gasoline is now $399.9 a gallon for PUG at Costco as well as two Chevron gas stations in my local area. That's an increase of 50 cents a gallon in the past 3 months. I wonder how can increased Fed Reserve Rates affect the price of gasoline or insurance?

RUG is $3.99 up here.

Don't complain, I paid $1.86 a liter for PUG which is $7 CDN per Gallon. It cost me $98 to fill my tank 80%.
$7 CDN is about $5 U.S. I think a CDN Gallon is about 10% larger, so a CDN gallon would probably cost about $4.50. That's the best I can do.

roadburner

I put everything I buy on my BMW Rewards card(except for any merchants who charge a fee for using a card). I pay it off in full every month. So far this year I have earned over $2,000 worth of BMW gift cards.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

pensfan83 said:

Paying in cash is the only way to go, or so I've read.

That’s what I do and I own 4 cars. I have friends who use credit cards to buy a coffee.

————————————————
Oh, so now I’m your friend. Whatever happened to poster buddy?

jmonroe

laurasdada

I'm all credit cards all the time; take advantage of the float and cash back. Yes, always pay in full. Of course, I'm a kept man... Well, actually a sub-peon...

Coastal DE for the week, a possible retirement relocation (can't believe how low the taxes appear to be, or the price of housing vs MA. No sales tax!). Left MA with $4/gal BJs PUG in the X3, topped off at CT Costco for $4.40/gal and then filled in Newark, DE Costco for $4.06/gal.

Lovely time, mid-80s all week, pool, beach, OC, MD boardwalk. And, of course, girls tchotchke shopping (why would you buy a bag of shark teeth for $10?). A lot of developments going up, a lot of retirees. The wife spent 30 summers here with her family, so she's living nostalgia. More important, she's relaxed and happy. Have to figure out how to get her out of her high-stress job.

Heading home tomorrow, then two weeks of work followed by my first sabbatical, taking the month of September off!

oldfarmer50

pensfan83 said:

We use credit cards for everything possible and either pay them in full or take advantage of the grace period to carry a balance month to month.

That’s the only way to use them although you do lose some privacy. If I ever had to carry a balance I couldn’t sleep at night.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

pensfan83 said:

Paying in cash is the only way to go, or so I've read.

That’s what I do and I own 4 cars. I have friends who use credit cards to buy a coffee.

I know people who use their cards to buy just about anything. Most pay it off at the end of the month. I rather like paying cash under some circumstances.

imidazol97

am the only EV holdout!

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Out of curiosity....do you really save on maintenance with an EV. I guess all you should need are tires, brakes, wipers.....right? No oil change....what about lube?
Anything else?
My schedule A or B can cost $500 a year!

No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

See, don't say I am the only EV holdout!

Son needs to replace battery for the just over 3 years old EGO lawn mower: the thing has gone wacky on how much charge itholds. $379 at Amazon for a 7.5 Ah battery sans charger. I think the lawn mower was like $550 when he got it.
Plus the service center didn't want to handle the warranty claim when the mower quit self-propelling itself after a year of use. Sort of like Samsung refrigerators (hope that's the right brand...).

kyfdx

My son also has an EGO. He likes it, in theory.

tjc78

I’m mostly credit as well but lately many of the small businesses at the shore are offering discounts for cash so I comply. The 3% is probably not worth losing the points.

carnaught

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Out of curiosity....do you really save on maintenance with an EV. I guess all you should need are tires, brakes, wipers.....right? No oil change....what about lube?
Anything else?
My schedule A or B can cost $500 a year!

No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

Speaking of replacement, a colleague of mine changed his battery at over 80,000 miles. He kept the Prius rather than replace it.

roadburner

On the i3 you could replace individual battery cells. I would have one for a work beater if I was going to work for few more years.

driver100

kyfdx said:

My son also has an EGO. He likes it, in theory.

At least if your lawn mower battery goes you aren't stuck in the middle of nowhere and need to get your car put on a truck to bring it in for a new battery.

stickguy

unlike engines and transmissions, batteries don't normally fail like that.

stickguy

I bought an Ego trimmer last year, and an Ego mower this year. Love them both, especially the mower. so much better than the crappy troybilt mower that needed a carb after 3 years and never ran right after. always a question if it would start, stuff like that. The Ego? Pop the battery on, and it runs. Only winterizing is putting the battery in the basement.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

Just got my insurance renewals from State Farm for my car and my condo. Because I use their Drive Safe feature in my car, I received a $586 discount which more than covered the increase in rates - in fact my insurance went down $100+ because of the increased discount.

The condo insurance went up $100 from last year but they raised the insurance on the condo and everything else due to inflation. So, I broke even when merging the two policies. But let's face it, auto insurance rates are getting out of sight.

Gasoline is now $399.9 a gallon for PUG at Costco as well as two Chevron gas stations in my local area. That's an increase of 50 cents a gallon in the past 3 months. I wonder how can increased Fed Reserve Rates affect the price of gasoline or insurance?

RUG is $3.99 up here.

Don't complain, I paid $1.86 a liter for PUG which is $7 CDN per Gallon. It cost me $98 to fill my tank 80%.
$7 CDN is about $5 U.S. I think a CDN Gallon is about 10% larger, so a CDN gallon would probably cost about $4.50. That's the best I can do.

Well, those are imperial gallons so you have to consider King Charles’ cut.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

pensfan83 said:

Paying in cash is the only way to go, or so I've read.

That’s what I do and I own 4 cars. I have friends who use credit cards to buy a coffee.

————————————————
Oh, so now I’m your friend. Whatever happened to poster buddy?

jmonroe

You wouldn’t need your credit card with me, I’d buy you a coffee, buddy.😃

ab348

stickguy said:

unlike engines and transmissions, batteries don't normally fail like that.

Umm... OK.

stickguy

gas engine cars can catch on fire too! But assuming a battery does not spontaneously combust (in which case you will not be replacing it anyway), they usually degrade over time, not just suddenly stop working and strand you on the side of the road.

28firefighter

@stickguy said:
gas engine cars can catch on fire too! But assuming a battery does not spontaneously combust (in which case you will not be replacing it anyway), they usually degrade over time, not just suddenly stop working and strand you on the side of the road.

is that Hoovies Ferrari?

explorerx4

@28 firefighter,
Picture matches the YT video.

cdnpinhead

oldfarmer50 said:

Well, those are imperial gallons so you have to consider King Charles’ cut.

For what it's worth, five imperial gallons are equal to six U.S. gallons (within 0.08%). Many people know that there are 160 fluid ounces in an imperial gallon and 128 fluid ounces in a U.S. gallon. However, the U.S. fluid oz is about 4% larger than the imperial fluid oz (29.57 ml vs. 28.41 ml).

fintail

stickguy said:

I bought an Ego trimmer last year, and an Ego mower this year. Love them both, especially the mower. so much better than the crappy troybilt mower that needed a carb after 3 years and never ran right after. always a question if it would start, stuff like that. The Ego? Pop the battery on, and it runs. Only winterizing is putting the battery in the basement.

I have a Ryobi mower, weedeater, hedge trimmer, leaf blower, power brush, tire/air pump, hand vacuum, and orbital polisher/ Mower and weedeater are on one battery family, the rest on another. The latter I have had for several years and am on season two with the yard tools - everything still works fine, only quirk is the mower bag, which has a hole thanks to a rock.

snakeweasel

carnaught said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

Out of curiosity....do you really save on maintenance with an EV. I guess all you should need are tires, brakes, wipers.....right? No oil change....what about lube?
Anything else?
My schedule A or B can cost $500 a year!

No maintenance at all until the $30k battery replacement.😝

Speaking of replacement, a colleague of mine changed his battery at over 80,000 miles. He kept the Prius rather than replace it.

My sisters Prius needed a new battery and a replacement battery was more that the car was worth so we sold it as is.