Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

berri

Absolute irony to trade it across town and figure it went to the auction and instead to have it show up relatively close to home

I think its not uncommon that good condition and desirable older used cars are sold within the dealership to employees and their families without hitting the lot, let alone the auction house.

As for the old rwd v. fwd, I kind of like driving rwd, but in the Snowbelt I'd hands down buy a fwd. I think most of the driving issues people had driving fwd years back have pretty much been mitigated to a large extent. So I think a buyer should just choose whichever they prefer and not worry about it.

berri

Isell, good IT people are gold. Plus, sometimes you can get so frustrated with tech stuff that an outsider's perspective can better resolve it, and do it quicker. So now everyone will be waiting for your automotive words of wisdom buddy!

tjc78

jwm40517 said:

I became an official old geezer today. After considering for 6 months I bought a 2007 Mercury GM LS with 67K from the estate of a 92 year old one owner. A thick package with every oil change and service at his local Ford Mercury dealer from new. A careful old guy, not a single dent or other boo boo. After awhile I realized I had sort of become my father as he alternated Fords and Mercurys when I was a kid.He had Mercurys from 1949, 57, and 63. When I was in my 20s and 30s I had 5 Corvettes and a bunch of SS Chevy II"s and Chevelles and now I have an old guys car with a trunk big enough for several bodies if I need the room. Under the hood you can see the ground on each side of the engine and a large space between the engine and radiator.

Nice!  Enjoy it. I've had several Panthers including Town Cars.  They are very reliable and the later ones ride and handle well for such a large car.  

My recommendation is to have a shop install a nice Navigation and Bluetooth radio and the car will feel very modern. I did that in my 04 and love it.  

imidazol97

About 8 years ago there was a landslide in what I think is the same area. Only that time the downhill side below the interstate's southbound lanes had slumped, taking part of the paved roadbed with it. I tried looking at the satellite view and street view of the 141.5 mile marker area and saw the crossover that was built so they could use the northbound side to handle a lane of southbound traffic. We went through that on a spring break trip and had planned for backups on a Friday and there were NONE. We were stunned that year.

I believe the previous downhill slump is why they are so concerned about the southbound lane having a slump below it. I predict they'll have a working crossover within the week to keep traffic on I75.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/rockslide-forces-closure-of-i-75-section/57692675

graphicguy

Craig....glad you're back!

jpp75

Welcome back Craig!

driver100

jwm40517 said:

Thanks Driver & Mike, I had looked at some Florida condo cars with less miles but happened to find this one 25 miles away. I 75 is shut down in north TN for at least a few days, maybe more, and my real job of accounting makes it hard for a road trip this time of year.

What's this about I-75 being shut down? We go back that way on Thursday March 31st to go back up North. Is that temporary and how are you supposed to get through?

We were going to go back on Friday April 1st but that's the day a lot of people especially the RVs and 5th Wheels since it is the end of the month when rentals are over...so the roads are packed. We are trying to get out of Dodge a little ahead of the crowd.

Isell......welcome back! (There's always one..... )

Announcement: I got my "Ancient Badge" today....everyone will be impressed except Mike!

bwia

abacomike said:

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. 

I have been away from the board for over a week and trying to catch up with the 276 missed posts,

 @Mike, glad to hear that your arteries are relatively okay and as such do not require stents, I hope you are feeling better.

@GG, as others have said, none of my business but if you love her profoundly then perhaps you should be on a midnight train plane to China.

@explorer, don't let that finance guy kill your joy--Enjoy your MKC.

imidazol97

The northbound side has a posted detour _now_ to exit at Caryville on 25W. That takes you east of the interstate's route on 25W and connects back to the interstate at Jellico, the Kentucky border.

I'm hoping they'll go to a one-lane switchover like they did 8 or more years ago when the slump occured on the hill below the interstate. The northbound will share the southbound's 2 lanes. That might take a few days to build after the northbound lanes are found to be safe from the ground sliding out from under them. Hope for NO more rain.

That will cause backups with the narrowing at times when traffic is heavy--if that's what they get set up. I'd time it to go through there early in the morning if traveling in daytime.

We are planning to go back to Pigeon Forge, TN ourselves and return about the 29. Mar. So I was shocked to read this.

Southbound folk exit at Jellico but take a route on the west side of I75 and come back on at Pioneer just past the slide--that's the exit with the huge cross next to a closed adult entertainment store and lots of gas stations on the west side of the exit. Stinking Creek is the next exit north of there but on the other side of the slide.

For northbound, if you look at the Route 25W route on maps.google, the north end closer to Jellico is really twisty. I'd always said I wanted to drive the old 25W route one time, but not by being forced to do so.

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/traffic/2016/02/27/rock-slide-shuts-down--75-kytn-border/81034726/

There's a list of the routes at the end.

http://www.wbir.com/ is Knoxville and they'll have updates on the road status. There is also a Twitter topic, whatever that is. LOL

The old crossover is visible in this satellite view and the slide area is at the north end of the picture. The downhill side is light in color because of the rock dumped over to protect the hillside that slumped before.

oldfarmer50

jwm40517 said:

I became an official old geezer today. After considering for 6 months I bought a 2007 Mercury GM LS with 67K from the estate of a 92 year old one owner. A thick package with every oil change and service at his local Ford Mercury dealer from new. A careful old guy, not a single dent or other boo boo.

After awhile I realized I had sort of become my father as he alternated Fords and Mercurys when I was a kid.He had Mercurys from 1949, 57, and 63. When I was in my 20s and 30s I had 5 Corvettes and a bunch of SS Chevy II"s and Chevelles and now I have an old guys car with a trunk big enough for several bodies if I need the room. Under the hood you can see the ground on each side of the engine and a large space between the engine and radiator.

After you bang your head enough times getting into a Corvette you begin to appreciate a comfortable car.

If you still have a hot rod somewhere in your fleet you're never truly old.

PF_Flyer

isellhondas said:

Thanks to Stever and Karen, I am back in business here after several weeks of frustration. Hard drive failed on our old computer which caused a boatload of problems including the loss of my Edmunds password. For 20 years (literally) it auto filled so I had no idea what it was. I had about given up but I hollered for help one final time and Stever came running and so did Karen.

They must think I'm OK or they could have kept their mouths shut.

And I kept all of my seniority too along with my valuable badges and my 401K and 4 weeks of vacation time.

I used to scoff at "password writer downers", but with the number of PWs I have, and the fact that some are required to change periodically, there's not much choice. Now as long as I don't misplace my planner

stever

I can't read my own writing so I use KeePass.

tjc78

At work I must have 10 and many of them need to be changed every 45 days....  It's beyond brutal.

imidazol97

My favorite complaint is all the variations certain websites demand in the content of the password. I.E., at least 1 capital letter, 1 number, a symbol like #*$, etc.. The government healthcare funded portals for doctors' offices have been especially nasty. My wife won't even use them for her various doctors. Instead she still uses the telephone and leaves messages for the assistant because of the irritation of picking up messages from the portals.

Here's a good tech newsletter with discussion of password storage programs
http://www.techbyter.com/2016/0214.html

Mr_Shiftright

Someone could be extra cruel and demand that your password contain a "0", a "O", a "1" and an 'l"

imidazol97

Then there are the sites that won't let me keep my ID. They have to add a number to my ID
name, such as ImidAzol1353. As if there are all the people with the first name Imid and their
last name Azol. LOL
My name is somewhat unique unless I get into Sterling Dog's country.

tjc78

Mr_Shiftright said:

Someone could be extra cruel and demand that your password contain a "0", a "O", a "1" and an 'l"

We do....  

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

Then there are the sites that won't let me keep my ID. They have to add a number to my ID
name, such as ImidAzol1353. As if there are all the people with the first name Imid and their
last name Azol. LOL
My name is somewhat unique unless I get into Sterling Dog's country.

That's your actual name? Wow, and I thought it was the name of some special car polish you use.

isellhondas

I suppose I should go back and spend an entire day reading all of the posts I missed.

Is everyone healthy? Anything monumental happen. Almost afraid to ask.

I have Toyota's version of that Mercury GM. A 2004 Avalon that I bought in July from my next door neighbor. Nice, quiet car that floats down the road like an old Buick. Every time I see another one the drivers are older than I am!

imidazol97

driver100 said:

What's this about I-75 being shut down? We go back that way on Thursday March 31st to go back up North. Is that temporary and how are you supposed to get through?

At least you have an alternative IF the area is backing up in the days you are leaving for the cold North.
At Chattanooga you can take I24 north to Nashville and I65 to Louisville followed by I71 to rejoin I75 south of Cincinnati.

I read through the I 75 twitter page and the estimate was to reopen March 21... That would be good news.
https://twitter.com/tninterstate75?lang=en

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

What's this about I-75 being shut down? We go back that way on Thursday March 31st to go back up North. Is that temporary and how are you supposed to get through?

At least you have an alternative IF the area is backing up in the days you are leaving for the cold North.
At Chattanooga you can take I24 north to Nashville and I65 to Louisville followed by I71 to rejoin I75 south of Cincinnati.

I read through the I 75 twitter page and the estimate was to reopen March 21... That would be good news.
https://twitter.com/tninterstate75?lang=en

Thanks for the info and the earlier post as well. I am going to print them out and check it out...hopefully it will be fixed before going back....that could cost hours of time. We have to leave Tampa early enough to get just past Atlanta the first day...so anything like this is a major problem....bad enough getting around the accidents and regular roadwork.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

I am going to print them out and check it out...hopefully it will be fixed before going back....t

I looked on TDot smartway phone app and computer app to see how the traffic speeds were on north and south detours today. Should be lots of returning traffic, but I didn't check until midafternoon.

Not too bad on the northbound, but lots of red on the southbound detour along the west side of I75...

https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

I am going to print them out and check it out...hopefully it will be fixed before going back....t

I looked on TDot smartway phone app and computer app to see how the traffic speeds were on north and south detours today. Should be lots of returning traffic, but I didn't check until midafternoon.

Not too bad on the northbound, but lots of red on the southbound detour along the west side of I75...

https://smartway.tn.gov/traffic

Southbound could be busy because people are coming South for March 1st maybe. Tuesday is a new month, and the beat goes on........

I like that map though...I am going to check before departure day and I have noted I should check this page before the heading back.

stickguy

Driver, just keep an eye on google maps on your phone (or your wife can do it since you will be driving!) That will be up to the second reports just like that (color coded).

when we travel, even though the car has Nav, my wife is puttering on her phone looking at the Maps app, since I don't have that function on my Nav. Real cool to to know exactly when you are going to hit traffic, and when you are about to get out of it!

sda

Enjoyed a beautiful Carolina afternoon and tidied up the Pilot.

nyccarguy

@sda - looks fantastic

driver100

stickguy said:

Driver, just keep an eye on google maps on your phone (or your wife can do it since you will be driving!) That will be up to the second reports just like that (color coded).

when we travel, even though the car has Nav, my wife is puttering on her phone looking at the Maps app, since I don't have that function on my Nav. Real cool to to know exactly when you are going to hit traffic, and when you are about to get out of it!

That would be great to have stick but we won't have that capability in the U.S. Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

driver100

sda said:

Enjoyed a beautiful Carolina afternoon and tidied up the Pilot.

Pilot looks great...like a new car. Actually better than the new Pilot...yours is nice and square, just like I like them.

abacomike

sda said:

Enjoyed a beautiful Carolina afternoon and tidied up the Pilot.

Very vibrant.  I'm usually not a fan of dark blue or black, but when they are polished, those dark blues and blacks are like looking at expensive diamonds or sapphires.  Nice job, sda! 

[Deleted User]

sda said:

Enjoyed a beautiful Carolina afternoon and tidied up the Pilot.

Green grass!? I haven't seen green grass in 4 months. Pilot looks great and so does the weather!

stickguy

That is why I want to move south!

abacomike

stickguy said:

That is why I want to move south!

The last 8 days down here have been what Shang-ra-la must be like.  No clouds, slight balmy breeze - highs in the mid to upper 70's and night temps in the upper 50's to mid 60's.  And lots of green grass and green trees, tyguy!  You'll be experiencing it shortly.  Stick, come on down!

stever

Grass is overrated.

graphicguy

SDA....Great job on the Pilot. Looks really good.

So, from the files of "I never thought I would ever see....."

A new Mercedes E with a big spoiler and gold lettering on the back. I was following him, so didn't get a picture. Got along side of him at one point. Clearly driven by someone with more money than taste (and a relatively young guy, to boot). Don't know who did the work for him, but if it were any of the local Mercedes dealers, they should have their franchise revoked.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

"For UPDATED DETOUR INFORMATION around the rock slide on I-75 @ MM-142. Call 5-1-1, say "TRAFFIC", then "I-75 between Knoxville & KY.""

In the TN area you can call 511 on regular cell and get up-to-date info.

If the closure has not been mitigated by the end of March with a crossover at least to use one side, I'd consider taking the I24-I65-I71 to Florence KY on I75 route. I had checked it long ago when I wanted to see the I65 on my way to Atlanta and it was about 45 miles further between the split at Chattanooga and Florence. Probably less stress.

I'm expecting TDot to get the traffic moving. The I75 Pioneer detours aren't showing backups this morning on google traffic. I recall the first time I ever drove south for a quick spring vacation in Charleston. Part of the road from KY border to Caryville was actually not finished. We were driving on a coarse underlay with no lines. But they had gotten the road usable for the heavy spring traffic.

imidazol97

stever said:

Grass is overrated.

You missed the TV commercials in the last election. LOL

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

A new Mercedes E with a big spoiler and gold lettering on the back. I was following him, so didn't get a picture.

A different note for MB, there was a mid-sized example, maybe a C class a few years old, in "traffic" in our town with chrome letters on the trunk that must have been the owner's name. It was black. I believe it had urban rims bigger than appropriate for the size of the vehicle and fairly thin rubber height.

Another example in town was a vehicle that was a Range Rover, older, with the website for what might have been the owner on the rear window. Rear window said something to the effect of "For a good time, ImidAzol@aol.com.

I guess we've come a long way from cruising through the Frisch's parking lot back in the 60s to meet up with that one-in-a-million girl.

Then




Now

carnaught

imid., very nostalgic. I miss those BB's.

stever

imidazol97 said:

stever said:

Grass is overrated.

You missed the TV commercials in the last election. LOL

Another benefit of killing my TV.

Instead of sweating over the Interstates, what's the big hurry? Enjoy some blue highways and real scenery and get away from the semis.

stickguy

Agreed. Seems like an advantage to being retired, and no screaming kids in the backseat!

Wife and I did this last time we visited the princess at college in NC. We were going from there to stay overnight with relative in Fredericksburg, va. Looked at Google traffic, and 95 was a mess. So, we took the scenic back roads. Most of the way, we saw more babtist churches and tobacco fields than cars. And some cute little towns. Fewer miles too. Longer time wise than when highways were flowing, but that day, probably a wash. And vastly more relaxing!

imidazol97

The first picture is mostly Big 3 products. In another topic here people identify the years and brands in old photos. But there is one interesting thing in that photo and that's the police car in the foreground. It looks like a Buick.

Here's another interesting photo. New Buick model? No. Imitation of Buick's portholes sincerest flattery.

Is there really a V6 under that hood with the 6 porthole outlets? They should have put only 2 on each side of the Civic.

berri

I like the old whip antenna on the cop car in the Big Boy diner parking lot

venture

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, just keep an eye on google maps on your phone (or your wife can do it since you will be driving!) That will be up to the second reports just like that (color coded).

when we travel, even though the car has Nav, my wife is puttering on her phone looking at the Maps app, since I don't have that function on my Nav. Real cool to to know exactly when you are going to hit traffic, and when you are about to get out of it!

That would be great to have stick but we won't have that capability in the U.S. Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

Maybe I'm missing something here (which wouldn't be unusual), but why not just set your route on your navigation? It should let you know if there is a traffic back-up and suggest an alternate route.

stickguy

Only if you also pay for real time traffic.

abacomike

venture said:

Driver, just keep an eye on google maps on your phone (or your wife can do it since you will be driving!) That will be up to the second reports just like that (color coded). when we travel, even though the car has Nav, my wife is puttering on her phone looking at the Maps app, since I don't have that function on my Nav. Real cool to to know exactly when you are going to hit traffic, and when you are about to get out of it!

That would be great to have stick but we won't have that capability in the U.S. Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

Maybe I'm missing something here (which wouldn't be unusual), but why not just set your route on your navigation? It should let you know if there is a traffic back-up and suggest an alternate route.

You are correct.  Sirius provides the traffic data to the GPS system in the car - along with weather.  My GPS has the voice detail where the traffic jam is, average speed of traffic, and it provides a alternate route if you tell it to change route.

tjc78

I found the "real time" traffic to be too late to matter, so I didn't renew it in our Enclave. I have a Pioneer in dash navigation unit in the Merc and that has some sort of lifetime traffic service that seems to actually work better.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

"For UPDATED DETOUR INFORMATION around the rock slide on I-75 @ MM-142. Call 5-1-1, say "TRAFFIC", then "I-75 between Knoxville & KY.""

In the TN area you can call 511 on regular cell and get up-to-date info.

If the closure has not been mitigated by the end of March with a crossover at least to use one side, I'd consider taking the I24-I65-I71 to Florence KY on I75 route. I had checked it long ago when I wanted to see the I65 on my way to Atlanta and it was about 45 miles further between the split at Chattanooga and Florence. Probably less stress.

I'm expecting TDot to get the traffic moving. The I75 Pioneer detours aren't showing backups this morning on google traffic. I recall the first time I ever drove south for a quick spring vacation in Charleston. Part of the road from KY border to Caryville was actually not finished. We were driving on a coarse underlay with no lines. But they had gotten the road usable for the heavy spring traffic.

Great info imid, much appreciated. Hopefully it will be fixed before the 31st, but if it isn't I am well armed. Calling we can do. We have had problems other years around that area too!

driver100

stever said:

imidazol97 said:

stever said:

Grass is overrated.

You missed the TV commercials in the last election. LOL

Another benefit of killing my TV.

Instead of sweating over the Interstates, what's the big hurry? Enjoy some blue highways and real scenery and get away from the semis.

Sometimes you just want to get to where you are going.

driver100

venture said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, just keep an eye on google maps on your phone (or your wife can do it since you will be driving!) That will be up to the second reports just like that (color coded).

when we travel, even though the car has Nav, my wife is puttering on her phone looking at the Maps app, since I don't have that function on my Nav. Real cool to to know exactly when you are going to hit traffic, and when you are about to get out of it!

That would be great to have stick but we won't have that capability in the U.S. Since we are only here for 5 months we just have one cell phone...a pay as you go phone with no wireless capability. I think the best plan is for me to check on google the day before, and then plan a different route if that stretch of I-75 is still under construction. Or I will have to get a report from imid or you!

Maybe I'm missing something here (which wouldn't be unusual), but why not just set your route on your navigation? It should let you know if there is a traffic back-up and suggest an alternate route.

I am not sure that happens. I think the GPS does give road conditions in certain areas, but not sure if it does everywhere...like around Knoxville. I think you may pay extra for traffic jams..maybe to Sirius. I don't know how that works...maybe Mike knows.

I see Mike and stick answered this...and that clears it up for me. I will say, occassionally the GPS announces something like this...say we have a destination in Sarasota that is on Oakdale Rd. The nice lady will say traffic is moving at 24 mph between King St and Main Ave,,,,,,which is helpfull, but doesn't happen all the time.

abacomike

@driver100

Do you subscribe to Sirius?  In the US, Sirius Traffic and weather is free for 5 years on 2016's, 3 years on 2015's.  Check with Sirius or refer to the new car sticker that was on your window when you bought the car.