Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

tyguy said:

Speaking of car details, my work travel has been super heavy making it difficult to finish the Audi. This weekend I had some time to complete the paint. Wheels are next. Here's a quick look at how things are turning out:



Now, if Kanye West can call the garbage he inflicts on the public "art", then I hereby declare my detailing work art and name the following self portrait "reflections":



The black paint truly is beautiful when properly polished. So deep and reflective.

That's beautiful. You should put a patent on your "process".

Now the trick is to keep it looking so good.

abacomike

Well, I got here at the hospital at 7:00 AM. Had my blood tests and now I am waiting for X-Ray.  Then I guess a hospital gown and at 9:00 AM, la la land.

nyccarguy

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/22/baby-ejected-1-dead-possible-drugged-driving-crash/80780118/

Is this near any of you guys? @kyfdx, @roadburner, @imidazol97, @graphicguy ?

imidazol97

tyguy said:

Speaking of car details, my work travel has been super heavy making it difficult to finish the Audi. This weekend I had some time to complete the paint. Wheels are next. Here's a quick look at how things are turning out:
The black paint truly is beautiful when properly polished. So deep and reflective.

Beautiful. I'm motivated to get a good finish on my Cruze when I get it back from my son for service some day.

imidazol97

nyccarguy said:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/22/baby-ejected-1-dead-possible-drugged-driving-crash/80780118/

Is this near any of you guys? @kyfdx, @roadburner, @imidazol97, @graphicguy ?

I heard about that on my Cincy radio that I listen to most in the car. It's closest to Kyfdx. It was near the Ohio river SE of downtown which is the border between OH KY on 275. I-275 is the circle freeway around Cincy.

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2016/02/22/baby-ejected-1-dead-possible-drugged-driving-crash/80780118/

Is this near any of you guys? @kyfdx, @roadburner, @imidazol97, @graphicguy ?

No....not me. Heard about it on the news, though. Sadly, heroin seems to be prevalent in and around Cincinnati. Or, perhaps they're cracking down on it more. I remember being in high school and getting the lecture in health class about heroin being bad news. Who would have thought that all these years later, the same story is being played out.

A married couple I've known for a long time have two grown kids. The daughter, a school teacher, married to a civil engineer....the perfect all-American couple. The son, a heroin addict living on the street. Both brought up in the same loving home, by the same parents. The only time they hear from their son is when he needs money for more heroin, which now, they refuse to give. As they have told me many times..."his life will only go two ways....one it to rehab, the other to the grave...no in-between". They're say it's just a matter of months, maybe weeks, before they get a call from the morgue, or from a rehab facility.

explorer....I'm betting if Lincoln Corporate knew you were treated the way you were, they'd like to have a chat with your dealership. Unfortunately, some dealers just don't take enough pride in their vehicles to even spend time to present the product well, or to hire F&I people with just a minimum of professionalism.

TY....WOW! Great detail, especially on black, even more especially on the Audi.

OldFarmer...tell you what. I'll go halvsies on the GT350 if you decide to put it in my name and park it in my garage. Call me when you're in town, and if it's not busy, I'll block out 30 minutes or so for you to use it, after signing the requisite waivers, and return it with a full tank.

Driver...agree about the more expensive cars. Sometimes, it's not what you can see that makes them cost more, but what you can't see.

MIke....best of luck today.

Lastly, while not unexpected given the length of time that's gone by, but the wife has decided to stay in China for awhile longer (no time frame on returning). I have some decisions to make.

ab348

tyguy said:

LOL Mike and Ohio. This is my second black car, the first being my Jetta Wagon, and I have to say, the paint has changed tremendously since they sprayed the Jetta. The newer Audi paint is much, much harder to work than the Jetta, and I think it's a result of the new environmental paint blends they adopted. Wow. I just had to take it slow and deliberate this time around.

I'm just impressed you were able to apparently do it while wearing a suit and tie!

ab348

graphicguy said:

Lastly, while not unexpected given the length of time that's gone by, but the wife has decided to stay in China for awhile longer (no time frame on returning). I have some decisions to make.

None of my business. But I am thinking that is not a good thing.

graphicguy

ab348 said:

graphicguy said:

Lastly, while not unexpected given the length of time that's gone by, but the wife has decided to stay in China for awhile longer (no time frame on returning). I have some decisions to make.

None of my business. But I am thinking that is not a good thing.

Nope...not a good thing at all!

roadburner

graphicguy said:

Nope...not a good thing at all!

Sorry to hear that.

nyccarguy

"The wife has decided to stay in China?"

Gios luck @graphicguy - as always, you'll be level headed and figure out the best coarse of action.

Good luck Mike!  You'll pull through.

berri

So Mark Fields continues spending bucks on high tech and self driving vehicles - But it sure seems to me based on my Ford products ownership that he should be putting more of that cash into drivetrains. I've yet to own or rent a Ford product that gets either great fuel economy or gives top notch performance (I'm sure a few muscle cars do, but that seems to be it). They just seem mediocre that way whether a car or an SUV, engine or transmission. GM seems ahead of them in this area. I think maybe he needs a new compass.

driver100

roadburner said:

graphicguy said:

Nope...not a good thing at all!

Sorry to hear that.

+3 or 4 (whatever we are at now)

Very sorry to hear...............hopefully things will get sorted out.......

js06gv

Who wants to go halfsies with me on this one? You pay for it and I'll drive it.




















Last week, I was at the Ford dealer where my salesman currently works. They had one of these on the floor, same blue as mine with white stripes. Beautiful car, list was 58 and change. He said this was the fourth one they have gotten in, they may get 5-6 total in 2016, and it will easily go for 20K over list. I told him I was ready to pay him 15K under today. He responded he'll call me when they get to that price, but don't bother waiting by the phone.

I hate this kind of gouging, but it's what the market will bear. Not excusing it, but IMHO the car is a bit underpriced to begin with.

dino001

js06gv said:

Last week, I was at the Ford dealer where my salesman currently works. They had one of these on the floor, same blue as mine with white stripes. Beautiful car, list was 58 and change. He said this was the fourth one they have gotten in, they may get 5-6 total in 2016, and it will easily go for 20K over list. I told him I was ready to pay him 15K under today. He responded he'll call me when they get to that price, but don't bother waiting by the phone.

I hate this kind of gouging, but it's what the market will bear. Not excusing it, but IMHO the car is a bit underpriced to begin with.

Really? I must live in a different world entirely. Who the heck would pay for that, not just one, but 5-6 people over the course of the year in just one location? One dealer getting 5-6 per year that's actually a lot for 58 grand Mustang, no matter what other letters follow the name - let along 20 grand additional markup. I think this car is going to stay in the showroom for looong time. If not this one, next one, or one after next, as there may be one or two people in their area devoid of reality check. Not 5-6. Unless I'm missing something here.

PF_Flyer

I dunno, there's a LOT of stuff that people pay a ridiculous premium for, and as best I can figure, it's just to show everyone that they can.

henryn

berri said:

So Mark Fields continues spending bucks on high tech and self driving vehicles - But it sure seems to me based on my Ford products ownership that he should be putting more of that cash into drivetrains. I've yet to own or rent a Ford product that gets either great fuel economy or gives top notch performance (I'm sure a few muscle cars do, but that seems to be it). They just seem mediocre that way whether a car or an SUV, engine or transmission. GM seems ahead of them in this area. I think maybe he needs a new compass.

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.

My 2015 F150 gives great fuel economy and top notch performance. The 2.7L twin turbo V6 is a superior engine, in every regard, to the 5.3L V8 available in the Chevy Silverado.

driver100

roadburner said:

graphicguy said:

Nope...not a good thing at all!

Sorry to hear that.

+3 or 4 (whatever we are at now)

Very sorry to hear...............hopefully things will get sorted out.......

driver100

dino001 said:

js06gv said:

Last week, I was at the Ford dealer where my salesman currently works. They had one of these on the floor, same blue as mine with white stripes. Beautiful car, list was 58 and change. He said this was the fourth one they have gotten in, they may get 5-6 total in 2016, and it will easily go for 20K over list. I told him I was ready to pay him 15K under today. He responded he'll call me when they get to that price, but don't bother waiting by the phone.

I hate this kind of gouging, but it's what the market will bear. Not excusing it, but IMHO the car is a bit underpriced to begin with.

Really? I must live in a different world entirely. Who the heck would pay for that, not just one, but 5-6 people over the course of the year in just one location? One dealer getting 5-6 per year that's actually a lot for 58 grand Mustang, no matter what other letters follow the name - let along 20 grand additional markup. I think this car is going to stay in the showroom for looong time. If not this one, next one, or one after next, as there may be one or two people in their area devoid of reality check. Not 5-6. Unless I'm missing something here.

I have to agree....time for a reality check!

carnaught

GG, so sorry about the implications of what you are saying with your wife, currently in China.

Mike, looking forward to today's update from you post-procedure.

imidazol97

We should be hearing from Mike in the next few hours.

28firefighter

Mike - Wishing you all the best and a speedy recovery.

GG - Very rough - sorry to hear that.

driver100

henryn said:

berri said:

So Mark Fields continues spending bucks on high tech and self driving vehicles - But it sure seems to me based on my Ford products ownership that he should be putting more of that cash into drivetrains. I've yet to own or rent a Ford product that gets either great fuel economy or gives top notch performance (I'm sure a few muscle cars do, but that seems to be it). They just seem mediocre that way whether a car or an SUV, engine or transmission. GM seems ahead of them in this area. I think maybe he needs a new compass.

I have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.

My 2015 F150 gives great fuel economy and top notch performance. The 2.7L twin turbo V6 is a superior engine, in every regard, to the 5.3L V8 available in the Chevy Silverado.

I would disagree to, the Fords I have rented have been excellent, every bit as good as the GMs. The fact the F-150 is the biggest seller speaks for itself, there is a reason for that.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

We should be hearing from Mike in the next few hours.

Yeh, Mike, please check in!

driver100

Some people feel that all cars are pretty much equal and paying a premium price for a car doesn't get you that much more car proportionately:

My Florida neighbors (Canadian neighbours are neighbours) traded in their Honda Odyssey for a brand new Honda CRV. I was a passenger in the back and I prefer sitting in the CRV. It has stadium seating so the rear seats are higher, it has larger windows, the doors are easier to use than the sliding doors. A bit of a harsh ride but pretty good.

The owner prefers his old Odyssey. He found that there was more room in it, it was more car-like (which it really is), felt better on the highway, and he said he won't be keeping the CRV very long.

So, even this close in price there are differences, not all vehicles are created equal.

Another thought, I usually find when you pay more you get more...I could make the argument you actually get proportionately more. If you take an inexpensive car and a luxury car.....they both have certain fixed costs, a factory, labor, materials. If you add to that even better parts, more electronics, better engineering you end up with a better car.....but, you started with fixed costs, so all the money over and above the fixed costs goes to make a better car.

It's called the Driver's Rule about Economics.

stever

Don't forget Steve's Body by Fisher corollary - if the same logo is on the sills, why buy the Caddy instead of the Chevy?

abacomike

Well, I just got home.  They did the catheterization, but the doctor determined stents were not needed.  He said the stress test results obviously showed a FALSE positive.  I am exhausted.  I had to leave my car at the hospital because I was not capable of driving home from the anesthetic.

My blood pressure went to 197/92, so they could not discharge me earlier - they had to give me IV blood pressure meds.  So that's the story - all this stress but at least no more stents.  He said my coronary arteries are open over 60% which is excellent for my age group.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

abacomike

Graphicguy, I feel terrible.  You are such a nice guy - you sure didn't deserve this!  One way or the other, I hope this comes to a conclusion quickly. 

imidazol97

abacomike said:

Well, I just got home.

Glad you're home. And without the complications of the last visit. Hope you have
a good night and are shipshape in the morning.

roadburner

abacomike said:

Well, I just got home.  They did the catheterization, but the doctor determined stents were not needed.  He said the stress test results obviously showed a FALSE positive.  I am exhausted.  I had to leave my car at the hospital because I was not capable of driving home from the anesthetic.

My blood pressure went to 197/92, so they could not discharge me earlier - they had to give me IV blood pressure meds.  So that's the story - all this stress but at least no more stents.  He said my coronary arteries are open over 60% which is excellent for my age group.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

I had a false positive on a nuclear treadmill stress test. On Thursday the doctor tells me I have a blockage and gives me Nitroglycerin pills. Couldn't see a cardiologist until the next Tuesday. The whole weekend I was like Fred Sanford- "This is the big one!" at every twinge. When I saw the cardiologist he knew that the lab I was sent to was notorious for false positives. Took an ultrasound stress test and was given a clean bill of health...

abacomike

Very scary business!  I still have a blood pressure problem and a myriad of other health issues.  This scared the living day lights out of me.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Well, I just got home.  They did the catheterization, but the doctor determined stents were not needed.  He said the stress test results obviously showed a FALSE positive.  I am exhausted.  I had to leave my car at the hospital because I was not capable of driving home from the anesthetic.

My blood pressure went to 197/92, so they could not discharge me earlier - they had to give me IV blood pressure meds.  So that's the story - all this stress but at least no more stents.  He said my coronary arteries are open over 60% which is excellent for my age group.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

I had a false positive on a nuclear treadmill stress test. On Thursday the doctor tells me I have a blockage and gives me Nitroglycerin pills. Couldn't see a cardiologist until the next Tuesday. The whole weekend I was like Fred Sanford- "This is the big one!" at every twinge. When I saw the cardiologist he knew that the lab I was sent to was notorious for false positives. Took an ultrasound stress test and was given a clean bill of health...

Nitro headache all for nothing? Just imagine what you would do to a car repair shop told you your engine was shot..falsely.

GG sorry for your situation. I'm dying to ask you a million questions but it's none of my business. Hope it works out.

snakeweasel

venture said:

I got my "Ancient Membership" badge yesterday. "Nobody remembers a time when this person wasn't a member here".

I don't know whether to be happy or insulted.

Try being happily insulted.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

Stop the presses!

My dealer where I bought the wife's 2009 PT Cruiser just sent me a mailer offering $2176 for her car in trade. Wow. Lucky that she's only got 31k miles on it or it might have REALLY depreciated.

I wonder if anyone ever runs right over to the dealer after receiving one of these low balls? I realize that the PT isn't "in high demand" as the letter stated but I see 20 year old hulks with 150,000 miles on CL for more than $2100.

Not to long ago we were discussing getting a new car and I checked my 1 year older ragtop with more than 3 times as many miles and it came up to be more than what that letter stated.

stever

Taking the Caravan in tomorrow afternoon to get the trade-in number. I waited out the dealer for two days and I guess they either are slow or figured I'm very patient. Either way, they decided to email me some numbers.

Now, we're only $3,500 apart.

The Desert Protection Package is xylon and tint. (and yeah, for $1,500 you'd think they'd learn how to spell Xzilon)

driver100

stever said:

Don't forget Steve's Body by Fisher corollary - if the same logo is on the sills, why buy the Caddy instead of the Chevy?

lol...........but, the same name doesn't mean every car will be the same quality. One make may have all the headlights (or airbags or any part) all made by one supplier, but the cars could all be of very different quality.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

Well, I just got home.

Glad you're home. And without the complications of the last visit. Hope you have
a good night and are shipshape in the morning.

+1

snakeweasel

henryn said:

If you have a computer (who doesn't), and you have excel software installed (or just about any other spreadsheet program), here is the formula for a monthly payment:

=pmt(1.99%/12,48,10000)

@pmt will also work.

Three fields. The first field is the monthly interest rate. If your credit union is offering 1.99% annual rate, then you would enter that divided by 12 (in my example above). And do enter the actual percent sign, as shown.

The second field is the number of months, 48 in my example.

The third field is the amount financed, in my example $10,000.

=pmt(0%,60,1000) will return $16.67

but then, so will =(1000/60) (smile)

The correct formula would be =PMT(0.019/12,48,10000,0,0)

The two zeros at the end are for the future value of the loan (usually 0.00 unless there is a balloon payment) and if the payment is at the end of the period (0) or if it's at the beginning of the period (1).

driver100

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Well, I just got home.  They did the catheterization, but the doctor determined stents were not needed.  He said the stress test results obviously showed a FALSE positive.  I am exhausted.  I had to leave my car at the hospital because I was not capable of driving home from the anesthetic.

My blood pressure went to 197/92, so they could not discharge me earlier - they had to give me IV blood pressure meds.  So that's the story - all this stress but at least no more stents.  He said my coronary arteries are open over 60% which is excellent for my age group.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

I had a false positive on a nuclear treadmill stress test. On Thursday the doctor tells me I have a blockage and gives me Nitroglycerin pills. Couldn't see a cardiologist until the next Tuesday. The whole weekend I was like Fred Sanford- "This is the big one!" at every twinge. When I saw the cardiologist he knew that the lab I was sent to was notorious for false positives. Took an ultrasound stress test and was given a clean bill of health...

You'd think they would make sure before they tell you that....that news could have caused a heart attack.

driver100

stever said:

Taking the Caravan in tomorrow afternoon to get the trade-in number. I waited out the dealer for two days and I guess they either are slow or figured I'm very patient. Either way, they decided to email me some numbers.

Now, we're only $3,500 apart.

The Desert Protection Package is xylon and tint. (and yeah, for $1,500 you'd think they'd learn how to spell Xzilon)

I know what tint is....and probably costs them $300!

What is Xzilon or Xylon? Do you really need it in the desert?

ab348

driver100 said:

Another thought, I usually find when you pay more you get more...I could make the argument you actually get proportionately more. If you take an inexpensive car and a luxury car.....they both have certain fixed costs, a factory, labor, materials. If you add to that even better parts, more electronics, better engineering you end up with a better car.....but, you started with fixed costs, so all the money over and above the fixed costs goes to make a better car.

It's called the Driver's Rule about Economics.

I think you have summed this up quite well. My personal experience is moving from the Regal Turbo to the ATS. I liked the Regal a lot. Thought it was the nicest car I ever owned, and in many ways it was. Lots of features, great on the highway, nice-looking, I was happy enough with it that I was willing to buy it out when the lease was up.

When I drove the ATS though, I could feel that there was something different about it. I decided to go with it. At first I wasn't sure I made the right move. It is a different car than the Regal for sure, not as much room inside, a lot smaller and lighter, much more nimble. In some ways it is less practical. But the more I drive it, the more I get why it costs more. The engine performance is simply outstanding. It handles like it is on rails. I love driving it like no other car I've owned. Everything inside feel like quality. And it looks absolutely incredible.

I get it.

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

I think it was an MKC that Lincoln gave me a $100 giftcard to keep over the weekend.

Gee were you allowed to spend any of that $100 before you had to give the gift card back?

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

Just heard an ad on TV...new Toyota dealer. We don't get a car for you based on monthly payments...we get you the car you want and will make your payments fit the car. We can get you into the car you want if you have a credit score of 398!

Not sure what that means but assume it isn't great!

It means that they will get you payments that will fit your budget and get you the car you want.

As long as you put the proper down payment which could be hefty.

Sure you can have that $30K car for $99/month, just put $27K down and sign this 84 month 25% APR loan.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

You'd think they would make sure before they tell you that....that news could have caused a heart attack.

Worse is the old tale about folks who were told their heart was in top shape by the doctor at a checkup and they died of a heart attack shortly after that.

js06gv

dino001 said:

js06gv said:

Last week, I was at the Ford dealer where my salesman currently works. They had one of these on the floor, same blue as mine with white stripes. Beautiful car, list was 58 and change. He said this was the fourth one they have gotten in, they may get 5-6 total in 2016, and it will easily go for 20K over list. I told him I was ready to pay him 15K under today. He responded he'll call me when they get to that price, but don't bother waiting by the phone.

I hate this kind of gouging, but it's what the market will bear. Not excusing it, but IMHO the car is a bit underpriced to begin with.

Really? I must live in a different world entirely. Who the heck would pay for that, not just one, but 5-6 people over the course of the year in just one location? One dealer getting 5-6 per year that's actually a lot for 58 grand Mustang, no matter what other letters follow the name - let along 20 grand additional markup. I think this car is going to stay in the showroom for looong time. If not this one, next one, or one after next, as there may be one or two people in their area devoid of reality check. Not 5-6. Unless I'm missing something here.

Trust me, I'm not one of these people. But the situation is not as uncommon as you may think. Hot car, long awaited by Mustang fans, all the magazines love it, and limited production. Add to that a few people who have to be among the first to own one and suddenly you have several buyers at 20 bills over list. If the dealer can get it, you know he will.

oldfarmer50

Anyone ever check this site out? Found lots of low mileage GM luxo barges like this one:


http://www.listingallcars.com/details/2008-Mercury-Grand-Marquis-Used/7878887600014030072


Seems to be mainly dealers. Wonder what else they have.

stever

driver100 said:

What is Xzilon or Xylon? Do you really need it in the desert

It's wax. New car and all, I'll probably wax it a few times myself until the newness wears off. Get some clay and some Collinite 845 and I bet it'd be almost as shiny as @tyguy's Audi.

Hm, I still have a tie somewhere, but I'd have to go buy a suit if I follow tyguy's lead.

explorerx4

My wife's MKC didn't have the VIN etching when she looked at it, but did when we went to pick it up.
The $249 was preprinted on the contract. I told the finance guy I didn't ask for it, but since it was done, I'd split it with them. He said just forget about it and took it off the contract.

carnaught

Mike, glad the stress of the procedure, and the procedure itself are over. Now, feel better and enjoy that lovely Florida weather and great car of yours.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Anyone ever check this site out? Found lots of low mileage GM luxo barges like this one:


http://www.listingallcars.com/details/2008-Mercury-Grand-Marquis-Used/7878887600014030072


Seems to be mainly dealers. Wonder what else they have.

Looks immaculate, in fact almost too perfect. $12k for a car with 24k miles....sounds like a good deal in theory. I don't know though....could even be a flood car. They must have gone over those tires about 10X with black stuff.

I tried to post a picture but the pictures are secured...which they don't seem to do on the better sites.