Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

henryn

iluvmysephia1 said:

Iluv, I think if you actually drove that Datsun, you might change your mind somewhat. Certainly abandon any idea of making it a DD!

If I could get it for a song at the auction..that would work. For a very driveable 2nd car. I thought the Bluebird line ran well, good competent underpinnings, tossable. Same theory - lightweight so that the 1.3L 4-cyl. 86 hp engine can wind it out and pick it up and get it going.

0-60 in 14.2 seconds fast. I'm not addicted to speed - that oughta be pretty obvious!

Great jumping jehozaphats! A speed demon, to be sure. I seem to remember some diesel car, back in the day (Mercedes, I think?) that did a 19 second 0-60. Anyone remember what the old Volkswagen bug circa 1968 did?

Mr_Shiftright

I need to get a detail like that for my MINI. Underneath all the dirt, if I scrape it off with a putty knife, there's a pretty nice car. But you know, if you don't have a garage, it's an exercise in futility trying to keep a car's exterior nice and clean.

sda

qbrozen said:

Got the Rover back. It isn't perfect as far as I'm concerned, but I'm trying hard to not look at it with my critical eye, but it ain't easy. Guess I should have various people look at it during the next family gathering and see if they can figure out what was done to it.

I can relate to your frustration. Over the years I have had to use a body shop on three different occasions. I have yet to have a repair be 100%. Typically the paint didn't match completely or there was a panel fit issue or both. Most recently, about 3 years ago I had a minor bump up with our 09 Civic. Front fender had to replaced, bumper cover touched up, car was Taffeta white, a color Honda has used for years. The Honda body shop did the repair with OEM parts. Paint was blended into the front door, yet you could see the blending, Took it back and they gave me all kinds of excuses, faded paint, etc. Though the car drove fine and look good overall I know that was my prompt to buy another car, my 13 Accord.

stever

Mr_Shiftright said:

I need to get a detail like that for my MINI. Underneath all the dirt, if I scrape it off with a putty knife, there's a pretty nice car. But you know, if you don't have a garage, it's an exercise in futility trying to keep a car's exterior nice and clean.

I have a spotless garage, complete with a shiny epoxy floor.

But I live down a gravel road and have a dirt driveway.

Makes a great excuse since I'm not going to spend a lot of time washing a car anyway. Now, if I craigslist the van, I may get a quote - there's at least one mobile guy here who looks like he knows how to detail a car.

PF_Flyer

I have one of those open-air garages where it's hard to hang excess stuff on the walls since there ain't none

Mr_Shiftright

I was going to get one of those hillbilly carports but the property is so pretty, I just didn't have the heart. And car covers are a pain in the butt.

I actually thought about building a vine-covered carport with inner liner, but then I had another beer and dismissed that idea.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

I need to get a detail like that for my MINI. Underneath all the dirt, if I scrape it off with a putty knife, there's a pretty nice car. But you know, if you don't have a garage, it's an exercise in futility trying to keep a car's exterior nice and clean.

I've taken each car from the fleet for a wash this week ... been too long, and had too much bad weather, to get it done sooner. Hyundai and Subaru are done, MINI gets clean tomorrow.

PF_Flyer

My next door neighbor sets up a tent/canopy next to his house to put his one vehicle under during the winter. Couple of days ago we got a really heavy wet snow/freezing rain and the thing collapsed onto his pickup.

Whoopsies!

stickguy

Supposed to push 60 here on Saturday. So cars both getting washed. RDX in particular is coated in white nasty.

Taking priority over taxes and FAFSA too!

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

Boy that's nice for 184k. No rust, no dents, not even any scratches. Do you drive it encased in bubble wrap?

No, I just have a nearly terminal case of OCD...

roadburner

driver100 said:

One thing I forgot to mention....I love that color, Tomato Soup Red. I think that is what it is listed as in the BMW buying guide. (btw...not making fun, I really do like that color.)

The BMW calls the color Flamenco Red. It changes a bit depending on the ambient light- here's another shot where it looks almost maroon:

PF_Flyer

stickguy said:

Supposed to push 60 here on Saturday. So cars both getting washed. RDX in particular is coated in white nasty.

Taking priority over taxes and FAFSA too!

Plan is for the 50's here. Might wash away the "salt gray" look.

I am SO glad to be done with FAFSA. There IS light at the end of that tunnel.

graphicguy

RB...what a great detail. Looks new. Nice!

This was a while ago, but I was watching some old reruns. Showing how low my taste can go, it was old black and white. 4:3 reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies. Didn't recognize many of the cars, but most were quite nice, and big land yachts (which I guess when the series was filmed, were quite in vogue).

Anyway, I noticed at the end of the show when the credits ran, there was a sizeable blurb stating that all vehicles were provided by the Chrysler Corporation. Talk about early product placement.

I started noticing with TV shows around the same era that many car companies would provide the cars for shows with presumably a mention in the credits that they were all provided by Ford, or GM or Chrysler.

Last Chase story from me. This was quite a while ago, but my then mortgage was sold to Chase. About a year later, I started receiving late notices regarding my mortgage payments. I was religious is sending in my martgage payment well before it was due. So, I was quite surprised.

Long and short of it, after digging in, it seems Chase thought I should be paying them more to put taxes and insurance into escrow. After showing them how I paid those bills seperately, showing the receipts for payments, even confronting the local Chase Branch Manager, they threatened to foreclose on my home.

I forget who I had to contact, but it was someone who was a VP. Even then, it took serveral days and phone calls to rectify the situation.

Chase....another of those inept companies sounds like most of us will not do busienss with again.

Car Detailing....I "know a guy" who will detail my car for $100 (I make it $120 because he's really good). That includes shampooing interior, wash, wax (I take him my own personal stash of Zaino), tire black...spotless. Takes him about a half day. For $35 he'll hand wash, dry and vacuum.

He also has an automated wash that the local dealers send their used cars to. Not sure what he charges them. But, he sends it through and has some of his guys dry and vacuum. Done in 15 minutes. He piles them up outside on a week like this week where we had a little bit of snow.

A couple times/year I'll do my own detail....wash, clay bar, wax (including wheels), tire black, windows (in and out), vacuum, leather cleaner/treatment. It takes 1/2 day for me, but no one does a better job.

stever

79.9 °F. We'll have a day to flip from the furnace to the AC.

Off to the Toyota dealer.

suydam

We'll be off to the car wash this weekend too. Along with everyone else in town.

cdnpinhead

stever said:

79.9 °F. We'll have a day to flip from the furnace to the AC.

Same situation here in the "Valley of the Sun," otherwise known (by me) as the hellhole. We went from 45-50 deg highs to 85 deg highs in about three days. I like the 70s; there are precious few of them in this place, and this year there appear to be none, at least so far -- time's wasting. Next month it has been known to hit 100.

Oh boy.

The weather in "the valley" is why I spend a lot of my time at 7500 ft. in our cabin. There's still almost a foot of snow up there.

Michaell

cdnpinhead said:

stever said:

79.9 °F. We'll have a day to flip from the furnace to the AC.

Same situation here in the "Valley of the Sun," otherwise known (by me) as the hellhole. We went from 45-50 deg highs to 85 deg highs in about three days. I like the 70s; there are precious few of them in this place, and this year there appear to be none, at least so far -- time's wasting. Next month it has been known to hit 100.

Oh boy.

The weather in "the valley" is why I spend a lot of my time at 7500 ft. in our cabin. There's still almost a foot of snow up there.

I spent almost 3 years in "the valley" attending college. With no A/C in my car.

Wife wants to move somewhere warmer, just not exactly sure where that would be.

stickguy

Tennessee or NC are my target zones. Maybe Virginia beach area. Good compromise for less cold but manageable summers, and still get 4 seasons.

Mr_Shiftright

Sometimes I have to warn people at the do it yourself car wash not to put the high pressure nozzle about 1/8th of an inch away from their car's paint.

jpp75

stickguy said:

Tennessee or NC are my target zones. Maybe Virginia beach area. Good compromise for less cold but manageable summers, and still get 4 seasons.

@stickguy It depends on your definition of manageable summers. There's definitely less cold, but the summers aren't fun unless you love humidity.

driver100

roadburner said:

driver100 said:

One thing I forgot to mention....I love that color, Tomato Soup Red. I think that is what it is listed as in the BMW buying guide. (btw...not making fun, I really do like that color.)

The BMW calls the color Flamenco Red. It changes a bit depending on the ambient light- here's another shot where it looks almost maroon:

It will always be Campbell's Tomato Soup Red to me.

driver100

henryn said:

iluvmysephia1 said:

Iluv, I think if you actually drove that Datsun, you might change your mind somewhat. Certainly abandon any idea of making it a DD!

If I could get it for a song at the auction..that would work. For a very driveable 2nd car. I thought the Bluebird line ran well, good competent underpinnings, tossable. Same theory - lightweight so that the 1.3L 4-cyl. 86 hp engine can wind it out and pick it up and get it going.

0-60 in 14.2 seconds fast. I'm not addicted to speed - that oughta be pretty obvious!

Great jumping jehozaphats! A speed demon, to be sure. I seem to remember some diesel car, back in the day (Mercedes, I think?) that did a 19 second 0-60. Anyone remember what the old Volkswagen bug circa 1968 did?

Just for contrast.......2017 Jaguar F-Type SRV


3.5-second sprints to 60 mph in a lighter coupe and convertible duo

Jaguar knows it's hard to go wrong with a big, beefy V8 and a supercharger, mixing those two ingredients into the latest F-Type, then adding plenty of performance bits from its exclusive SVO division.

The result is an F-Type that produces 575 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque courtesy of the automaker's corporate 5.0-liter V8. The payoff is a 0 to 60 sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph

Price around $130k!

ab348

jpp5862 said:

stickguy said:

Tennessee or NC are my target zones. Maybe Virginia beach area. Good compromise for less cold but manageable summers, and still get 4 seasons.

@stickguy It depends on your definition of manageable summers. There's definitely less cold, but the summers aren't fun unless you love humidity.

Yeah, it's a chore to find a "perfect" climate. I have been haunting the web lately investigating potential locations to consider a move to. Started out with N. Arizona, then progressed north, nothing I found seemed quite what I wanted. Then over to the east coast and the humidity issue rears its ugly head. I always heard the San Diego area had the ideal climate but Cali is just out of sight price-wise. West coast in general troubles me when I read about the probability of The Big One. I did like the Seattle area...

abacomike

driver100 said:

Iluv, I think if you actually drove that Datsun, you might change your mind somewhat. Certainly abandon any idea of making it a DD! If I could get it for a song at the auction..that would work. For a very driveable 2nd car. I thought the Bluebird line ran well, good competent underpinnings, tossable. Same theory - lightweight so that the 1.3L 4-cyl. 86 hp engine can wind it out and pick it up and get it going. 0-60 in 14.2 seconds fast. I'm not addicted to speed - that oughta be pretty obvious!

Great jumping jehozaphats! A speed demon, to be sure. I seem to remember some diesel car, back in the day (Mercedes, I think?) that did a 19 second 0-60. Anyone remember what the old Volkswagen bug circa 1968 did?

Just for contrast.......2017 Jaguar F-Type SRV 3.5-second sprints to 60 mph in a lighter coupe and convertible duo Jaguar knows it's hard to go wrong with a big, beefy V8 and a supercharger, mixing those two ingredients into the latest F-Type, then adding plenty of performance bits from its exclusive SVO division. The result is an F-Type that produces 575 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque courtesy of the automaker's corporate 5.0-liter V8. The payoff is a 0 to 60 sprint time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 200 mph Price around $130k!

Just another car I can get into, but could never get out of.

The casino here is giving away a Jaguar F Type coupe on Feb. 26th - MSRP 87,000+.  It's bright red with black interior.  I think the top of the roof met my belly-button!  

abacomike

My cable TV/Internet provider company just called me to tell me that my cable TV and internet cable are "out" and they hope to restore service by 9:00 PM.  Fat chance of that happening - they always over-promise and under-deliver.  I just might go out to my car and turn on the stereo to kill some time. 

houdini1

roadburner said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Boy that's nice for 184k. No rust, no dents, not even any scratches. Do you drive it encased in bubble wrap?

No, I just have a nearly terminal case of OCD...

Most of us here are OCD----old, crabby, and decrepit.

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

jpp5862 said:

stickguy said:

Tennessee or NC are my target zones. Maybe Virginia beach area. Good compromise for less cold but manageable summers, and still get 4 seasons.

@stickguy It depends on your definition of manageable summers. There's definitely less cold, but the summers aren't fun unless you love humidity.

Yeah, it's a chore to find a "perfect" climate. I have been haunting the web lately investigating potential locations to consider a move to. Started out with N. Arizona, then progressed north, nothing I found seemed quite what I wanted. Then over to the east coast and the humidity issue rears its ugly head. I always heard the San Diego area had the ideal climate but Cali is just out of sight price-wise. West coast in general troubles me when I read about the probability of The Big One. I did like the Seattle area...

Northern California has the perfect climate. Goldilocks Zone---not too hot, not too cold, no snow unless you go up into the Sierras/Tahoe area, and not a lot of rain Nov-March compared to Oregon or Wash. And if you're willing to move north of the SF area into the boonies a bit, and away from the coast and away from the mountains, it's still pretty affordable. There's still some California Dreamin' available for the persistent looker.

oldfarmer50

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

It rained heavily two days ago so I was anticipating taking the Ford out on the salt free roads. Couldn't tell if they were clean yesterday because the roads were still wet. Well today they were dry and I found to my dismay that the town had snuck out like thieves in the night and re salted them! Today the streets are as white with salt as ever.

What's wrong with these municipalities

abacomike

Just got a call from my cardiologist's office about the placement of 2 stents in my coronary arteries. I am scheduled to go in early Tuesday morning (7:00 AM) with the procedure to take place about 8:00 AM. I will be in ICU for 24 hours and then a step down unit for 24 hours and then home, please GOD! I don't have to tell you guys how "shaken up" I am about this whole mess, but I am sure you would be shook as well if it happened to you. I have to stop taking some of my meds, like blood thinners, 2 days before the procedure, for obvious reasons. I just hope everything goes well and I feel better after the procedure.

I went walking today and shopping, but I got out of breath every so often, which is one of the symptoms of the problem(s).

abacomike

Now my electricity just shut off. Looks like this is going to be one of those nights!

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Now my electricity just shut off. Looks like this is going to be one of those nights!

I feel your pain. I went to the dentist today to get a cracked tooth capped and hated every minute. I can't imagine how you feel.

My blood pressure goes up 20 points the minute I walk into a doctor's office.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

Now my electricity just shut off. Looks like this is going to be one of those nights!

I feel your pain. I went to the dentist today to get a cracked tooth capped and hated every minute. I can't imagine how you feel. My blood pressure goes up 20 points the minute I walk into a doctor's office.

andres3

roadburner said:

Speaking of slow drivers, I think that Town Cars and full size Cadillacs must have a circuit that illuminates the brake lights any time the steering wheel is turned more than 10 degrees from straight ahead.

That is very common, and as someone else noted, Toyotas also do the same.

What chaps my hide the most though, is when a BMW with sport suspension gets passed on a 2-lane merge freeway transition by the Toyota driver for a contest of who can turn onto and merge into a freeway the slowest.

explorerx4

My wife didn't like the interior color of the MKC she drove, so the salesguy said they would locate one.
They gave me a printout of the vehicle that they wanted to trade for.
When I got home, I put the VIN in a search engine and found out where it was.
It was listed as dealer ordered, so it may not be on the ground there.
Last night the saelsguy called me and said they found one, but not the one they originally tried to get.
Most of the dealers in our area have between 6 and 15 in stock.
I went on the Lincoln website and found a dealer in Staten Island that has over 70!
4 matched what my wife is looking for, so I'm guessing that is where they are getting it from.
Supposed to be in tomorrow, so we may look at it tomorrow or Saturday, if they get it late.

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

My wife didn't like the interior color of the MKC she drove, so the salesguy said they would locate one. They gave me a printout of the vehicle that they wanted to trade for. When I got home, I put the VIN in a search engine and found out where it was. It was listed as dealer ordered, so it may not be on the ground there. Last night the saelsguy called me and said they found one, but not the one they originally tried to get. Most of the dealers in our area have between 6 and 15 in stock. I went on the Lincoln website and found a dealer in Staten Island that has over 70! 4 matched what my wife is looking for, so I'm guessing that is where they are getting it from. Supposed to be in tomorrow, so we may look at it tomorrow or Saturday, if they get it late.

When I used to dealer trade with a local dealer (20 or less miles away), it would cost me $350-$500 for transporting the car to my dealership and sending a replacement vehicle back to the sending dealer.

If I had to go further than 20 miles, it could cost me $500-$1000 for transportation both ways.  That is why dealerships hate to dealer trade - it comes right off the bottom line.  What I was usually able to do is sell a car I had in stock and take off whatever it would cost me to dealer trade.

I remember one such example I had to deal with.  This customer wanted a black M45 loaded with flaxen colored leather interior.  MSRP was about $60,000.  The closest dealer that had what he wanted was a small dealership in an Atlanta suburb.  That dealer wanted an M45 in white with black interior.  It would have cost me $1750 to send him the white car and for me to pick up the black car.

I had a black M45 with black leather incoming from the port of Jacksonville with the same MSRP.  I said to the customer that if he would take the black leather interior, I would drop the price another $2000.  He jumped at the deal and even though I only made $300 net profit on the deal, I was able to sell one of my cars instead of paying freight to grab one from Atlanta.

Dealer trading is also problematic - whenever you transport a vehicle on a truck, there is always the possibility of damage - not just to the paint or bumpers, but also to the car's suspension.

Explorer, do a very close inspection of the vehicle before you make a decision.  You'd be amazed at what can happen to a car that was transported from one dealer to another. 

stickguy

obviously you were trucking them. Around here, they just send a driver out to deliver the trade and pick up the replacement. Puts a few miles on the car, but certainly much cheaper. And a job I could do when I semi-retire!

stever

I floated the idea of a dealer trade at the Kia dealer this afternoon and kind of got the vacant stare. (And I know, me hitting two dealers in one day, what's the world coming to).

PF_Flyer

You seem to have the ITCH

explorerx4

@abacomike,
Yes we will inspect it very closely. I figure they are going to send a driver to pick it up.
Traffic is a big variable in when it arrives, if I have guessed correctly where they are getting it from.

ab348

My ATS was a dealer trade from about 350 km away. They sent a driver with the car they were trading and the paperwork, and he drove my car back. There was another one I liked but it was in Montreal, and they told me that was an extra $1000 if I wanted that one.

stever

PF_Flyer said:

You seem to have the ITCH

I was ready to buy the '15 Soul today. My wife liked it but kept reminding me it didn't have every last bell and whistle I want (only the 16s do), and she drug me out of there. She also keeps reminding me that we don't want to settle (the two Kia's we tested were silver, just like our last two vans).

I've decided in spite of all the buying advice I've dished out here over the years, when it comes to my own money, I'm a terrible negotiator.

stickguy

just get a 16 with what you want. Use the edmunds price promise app (it really works!) and buy the damned thing. You will keep it forever, so using the patented driver amortization method, it will practically be free.

abacomike

stever said:

You seem to have the ITCH

I was ready to buy the '15 Soul today. My wife liked it but kept reminding me it didn't have every last bell and whistle I want (only the 16s do), and she drug me out of there. I've decided in spite of all the buying advice I've dished out here over the years, when it comes to my own money, I'm a terrible negotiator.

Knowing this flaw in yourself is half the battle.  We all know many people who think they are bountifully skilled in negotiating but fall for a scam at the drop of a hat and let their emotions dictate what they do. 

stickguy

for some people, something like Truecar (or edmunds price promise) is perfect. No, might not be every last $ you can squeeze out of the turnip, but you are going to get a pretty good deal without having to negotiate. Takes the pressure off.

stever

The salesguy was good - he got that I was okay with paying more since I do amortize them over a decade.

abacomike

stickguy said:

for some people, something like Truecar (or edmunds price promise) is perfect. No, might not be every last $ you can squeeze out of the turnip, but you are going to get a pretty good deal without having to negotiate. Takes the pressure off.

Before I buy a car, I look up invoice on Edmunds knowing full well that the number listed is off 1% - 2%.  Next, I look at TrueCar and get a feel for their numbers.  Next, I check on my Fleet Discounts for the model I selected.

I always build my car on Edmunds to make sure, as I compile and massage the numbers, that I have the ammunition to make my offer.  I next check out Manheim auction numbers on trades similar to mine.  I then add $2000 to the auction value because my trades are pristine and have very low miles.

I subtract my fleet discounts from invoice.  I subtract my trade's value.  I add sales tax, fees, registration and tags.  I then go into my chosen dealer, test drive the car I want, make any adjustments to pricing based on the car I selected from inventory, and make one offer, out the door,  I refuse to negotiate that number.  99% of the time, I go home with a new car. 

explorerx4

@stever,
You may have mentioned it before, but what does the 16 have that the 15 doesn't?

stever

Just forward collision and lane-departure warning systems afaik.

What's missing is blind spot monitoring. Drove a '16 Prius with that today and that feature would be a lot nicer than land-departure (assuming that the '16 Kia will only warn me that I'm heading for the shoulder, not cutting in front of a car in my blind spot - that's how the lane departure worked in the Honda we tested a while back).

My driving isn't getting any better as I age and I almost cut someone off a week ago (easy to do in the big honking minivan). And yes, I do the "lean way over and adjust your side mirrors" routine in my cars.

But everything is a compromise. To get the ventilated seats, you have to get leather. If you get the primo leather in the Soul, the leather is thinner than the "base" leather, and thus the venting is cooler. Or so it seemed and so the salesperson said. Naturally you get stuck with the harsher riding 18" wheels going with the forward collision and lane-departure warning system package. Grrr.

driver100

stickguy said:

just get a 16 with what you want. Use the edmunds price promise app (it really works!) and buy the damned thing. You will keep it forever, so using the patented driver amortization method, it will practically be free.

Also, there is the Patented Driver Justification App. The 2016 will cost a bit more but it is worth 15% more as soon as you drive it onto the road.

The Patented Driver Amortization Method says lets say the 16 costs $2000 more than a 15. Over 10 years that is $200 a year, or $4 a week, the cost of a Starbucks Coffee. Now go out and buy the 2016 and in 5 years you will say why did I even have to think about it!

driver100

stever said:

The salesguy was good - he got that I was okay with paying more since I do amortize them over a decade.

It is like a real estate salesman told me these people really wanted this house, and the asking price was $202000. The agent told the people, this is a hot market, just offer what they are asking. The guy says I can't do that, put in an offer for $195k. The agent did that and it sold the next day for $202000.

Now the guy will probably end up paying more than $202k for something he doesn't like as much.

I have bought several cars and houses over the last 50+ years, I may have paid more than I could have for most of them, but, I am not one bit sorry, they were the right car/or house at the time and I am glad I bought them and I have no regrets.