Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

I didn't mean 10 more years. I meant 10 more cars.

though I do think you should this time keep the CLS through the BtoB warranty period. Or at least until the 2nd oil change is due!

abacomike

stickguy said:

I didn't mean 10 more years. I meant 10 more cars. though I do think you should this time keep the CLS through the BtoB warranty period. Or at least until the 2nd oil change is due!

You are right.  No reason to rush into anything.  CLS has had no problems at all.  But when it's time to get into a new car, I doubt it will be an expensive one!

driver100

abacomike said:

One of the guys in my Condo Building just bought a BMW 535i in white with beige interior.  He showed it to me this evening and it seems well designed on the interior - comfortable driver's seat, peppy engine, and good looking with the 19" wheels.

It could be a bit of a bargain because the new model should be very different. The 535 is a little old in the tooth, and has fallen behind Audi and MB, but, nothing wrong with it....still a great car!

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

77? You would be good for what, another 10 at least from that age on.

!0 years from age 75 if you are a Caucasian. At age 85, probably the same as a 1st lieutenant on the Normandy beachhead

Actually just kidding. It's 5.8 years.

berri

Those much lower sample populations can lead to flakier statistics results. Of course, its the ladies that stretch out those years actuarially. We guys are beat by then

Mr_Shiftright

Yep, take the hold horse out back and....well, you know.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

77? You would be good for what, another 10 at least from that age on.

Florida living is supposed to add 7 years to the life of the average human.  So, life expectancy for him is approximately 84.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll make it to 84 - too many things wrong with me.  But I'm living one day at a time! 

7 years? I'll have to use that on my wife next time I try to get her to move down there.

stickguy

Gee people, I meant 10 cars. hopefully more years!

berri

Oh, got it stick - as you get old you smack 'em up frequently

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah, mostly by going backwards, or through the occasional laundromat.

abacomike

stickguy said:

Gee people, I meant 10 cars. hopefully more years!

Just pulling your leg, stick!!! 

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

stickguy said:

77? You would be good for what, another 10 at least from that age on.

Florida living is supposed to add 7 years to the life of the average human.  So, life expectancy for him is approximately 84.

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll make it to 84 - too many things wrong with me.  But I'm living one day at a time! 

7 years? I'll have to use that on my wife next time I try to get her to move down there.


Add 2 more years if you have stairs in your house and 2 more years if you have a pet. If you do enough things you may be a centurian!

carnaught

"The 535 is a little old in the tooth, and has fallen behind Audi and MB, but, nothing wrong with it....still a great car!"

Totally agree. The interior and dash are virtually the same as the 535 I had several years ago. Nice, but outdated and out-classed by current Mercedes models. The "problem" with Mike's CLS is that few other cars will measure up to it.

graphicguy

Q...V8 RSpec Genesis for $25K? 3 more years of bumper to bumper left on the warranty...I'd probably buy one as a 2nd car if I needed one, with little hesitation.

abacomike

carnaught said:

"The 535 is a little old in the tooth, and has fallen behind Audi and MB, but, nothing wrong with it....still a great car!"

Totally agree. The interior and dash are virtually the same as the 535 I had several years ago. Nice, but outdated and out-classed by current Mercedes models. The "problem" with Mike's CLS is that few other cars will measure up to it.

You made a good point, carnaught! I've driven just about everything there is to drive in and out of the class of the CLS or even the E, and I really haven't found much in the way of equivalency in terms of ride, handling and technology in the $60,000 - $85,000 MSRP price-range. But I have found some vehicles that are extremely well-built with a nice ride and handling quality along with power in the price range I would feel more comfortable with. But I am far from ready to buy anything right now.

abacomike

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

nyccarguy

I saw a White 5.0 Genesis on way way to work this AM.  Sharp.

driver100

carnaught said:

"The 535 is a little old in the tooth, and has fallen behind Audi and MB, but, nothing wrong with it....still a great car!"

Totally agree. The interior and dash are virtually the same as the 535 I had several years ago. Nice, but outdated and out-classed by current Mercedes models. The "problem" with Mike's CLS is that few other cars will measure up to it.

Maybe bmw can pull it off but the 2017 E400 looks like it will be hard to match. Instruments are all electronic, and lots of features, car will stop if a car is coming from the side in an intersection, auto steering that will keep you in your lane, auto braking system and much more.

Looks like the flat bottom steering wheel will be heated too, my flat bottom was an extra and is wood...not heated





I might become a new car buyer addict too!

driver100

abacomike said:

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

Thanks Mike, just what I wanted to hear. It is going to be around 32F here until about Thursday. At night it will be 20F. Enjoy the warmth!

I do have a question for you. Now that the Homelink remote works in Florida the one at home doesn't work....probably because it got cleared. Can you clear just the buttons I use up here and not clear the Florida button?

oldfarmer50

Flicking channels I landed on an auto show just as the 2017 Genesis G90 was revealed. They said Hyundai doesn't want you to call it the Hyundai G90 because they want Genesis to be the brand name for all upscale cars they make.

Interesting how they have been able to change the public's perception of their cars from cheap junks to high quality luxury.

Oh just found out I'm watching the Detroit Auto Show.

Ford had a new introduction too. Forget the name but I was about $395,000 short of being able to afford it.

abacomike

driver100 said:

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

Thanks Mike, just what I wanted to hear. It is going to be around 32F here until about Thursday. At night it will be 20F. Enjoy the warmth! I do have a question for you. Now that the Homelink remote works in Florida the one at home doesn't work....probably because it got cleared. Can you clear just the buttons I use up here and not clear the Florida button?

I would think you can.  Give it a try.  If not, you will have to reprogram twice a year.  Not a big deal.

berri

Hyundai and Genesis - didn't Mazda try this same approach some years back (can't remember the lux name though anymore, something like Amati maybe)?

stickguy

Mazda was planning a stand alone brand called "Amati" but never implemented (likely a smart idea). The Millenia was supposed to be the first model for that.

Dirver, My experience is when you do the clearing, it wipes them all. But, see if you can just reprogram the one button you want to change, without clearing them first.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

Thanks Mike, just what I wanted to hear. It is going to be around 32F here until about Thursday. At night it will be 20F. Enjoy the warmth!

I do have a question for you. Now that the Homelink remote works in Florida the one at home doesn't work....probably because it got cleared. Can you clear just the buttons I use up here and not clear the Florida button?

I would think you can.  Give it a try.  If not, you will have to reprogram twice a year.  Not a big deal.

I tried......it can be done, just hold the buttons I want to clear.
Easy for you to say I can do it twice a year...it took me 2 hours to do it in Florida with help from Homelink. Took 2 layers of customer service...I think there is a flaw in my cars Homelink.

carnaught

Until shown otherwise, Homelink only programs 3 remotes at a time. I'm afraid this will be a twice per year seasonal thing for you driver, hopefully much easier for you next year .

abacomike

driver100 said:

driver100 said:

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

Thanks Mike, just what I wanted to hear. It is going to be around 32F here until about Thursday. At night it will be 20F. Enjoy the warmth! I do have a question for you. Now that the Homelink remote works in Florida the one at home doesn't work....probably because it got cleared. Can you clear just the buttons I use up here and not clear the Florida button?

I would think you can.  Give it a try.  If not, you will have to reprogram twice a year.  Not a big deal.

I tried......it can be done, just hold the buttons I want to clear. Easy for you to say I can do it twice a year...it took me 2 hours to do it in Florida with help from Homelink. Took 2 layers of customer service...I think there is a flaw in my cars Homelink.

Are you sure the flaw is in the technology?  What about the possibility that the owner is flawed? 

carnaught

http://www.thetorquereport.com/assets_c/2015/12/2017_Mercedes-AMG_S65_Cabriolet_00010-thumb-530xauto-43452.jpg

Very cool except hate those light carpets. They either need to be dark brown or black.

abacomike

carnaught said:

http://www.thetorquereport.com/assets_c/2015/12/2017_Mercedes-AMG_S65_Cabriolet_00010-thumb-530xauto-43452.jpg Very cool except hate those light carpets. They either need to be dark brown or black.

I agree - I have an off-white leather interior and side panels and console.  The carpeting and headliner is black as is the black wood trim.

To be honest, those front seats look a little chlostrophobic - kind of tight looking.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

The weather yesterday and today is truly glorious down here. Temps in the mid to upper 70's, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes, very low humidity, etc. I think Eden must have been something like this. I had all the windows down and the moon-roof wide open today as I drove up to take my walk. When I got home, I just opened up every window in the Condo including the sliding glass door to the exterior terrace, and I am about to go in to the kitchen for a bite of lunch.

Thanks Mike, just what I wanted to hear. It is going to be around 32F here until about Thursday. At night it will be 20F. Enjoy the warmth!

I do have a question for you. Now that the Homelink remote works in Florida the one at home doesn't work....probably because it got cleared. Can you clear just the buttons I use up here and not clear the Florida button?

I would think you can.  Give it a try.  If not, you will have to reprogram twice a year.  Not a big deal.

I tried......it can be done, just hold the buttons I want to clear.
Easy for you to say I can do it twice a year...it took me 2 hours to do it in Florida with help from Homelink. Took 2 layers of customer service...I think there is a flaw in my cars Homelink.

Are you sure the flaw is in the technology?  What about the possibility that the owner is flawed? 

lol....but, I think the Homelink "could" have the flaw. The reason I say that is I spent an hour and a half on the phone with a tech support person while in Florida. In fact, I had to go to level 2 because level 1 was baffled. My fingers were sore from pressing the buttons, and no ordinary human being could have figured it out from the way they did it.

I did contact my sales assistant and he is going to come to the house on Monday morning to do it.

Is that service or what? I am thinking my BMW dealer from 2 bmw's ago tried to sell me a company car for more than the next dealer sold me a new one for. Then that dealer tried to shortchange me on my trade-in by $3000, and this Mercedes dealer has given me a 4% discount and a fair price for 2 trade-ins now....and he will come to the house to set the Homelink.

Which of those dealers am I going to want to buy my next car from? It's easy to have a successful business, just keep the customer satisfied....why would I go somewhere else?

driver100

carnaught said:

Until shown otherwise, Homelink only programs 3 remotes at a time. I'm afraid this will be a twice per year seasonal thing for you driver, hopefully much easier for you next year .

Carnaught, I just need 3 buttons. I have 2 garages at home and one in Florida. What I was hoping to do is to just clear the two home buttons but leave the Florida button still in service. I think that can be done, though, if it is a whole big deal again I will have to clear all the buttons and redo the Florida one which will take 90 minutes on the phone......or I could buy a 2017 this summer!

driver100

By the way, went to see the movie Eddie the Eagle since it is 32F today, unlike in Florida where it is in the high 70s according to someone.

We put off seeing this movie because it seemed pretty simple and not a big deal. This is a great movie for the whole family, very inspiring and really well done...it surpassed all expectations and rottentomatoes gives it an 84% so people must really like it.

stickguy

more daughter was by Orlando for a school function the since Thursday (went back to NC this morning). was complaining that it was 42 when they landed, but in the 60s back in Florida, and she wanted to go back!

I think she has become a true Southern Belle at this point.

berri

I've always found homelink kind of buggy and inconsistent. Just end up back with the garage door opener on the sun visor,

berri

I see the weather is windy at the masters. Maybe the south is going through odd stuff like this winter when El Nino missed SoCal and hit the PNW instead.

abacomike

When I was in the car business, the most frustrating pre-delivery and post-delivery aggravations was setting up the Homelink. Some were easy - clear the memory by holding down the two outside buttons until the lights flashed quickly and then press and hold the left Homelink button and with your left hand bring the original transmitter right up against the buttons making sure you were pressing and then releasing and pressing and releasing (10 times) the button on the original transmitter until the light on or near the left Homelink button flashed quickly.  That worked in 95% of the cases.

But then the newer garage door openers needed to be "trained" to the transmitter in the car, so that required going to the customer's home to get it set.  That home visit could take from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on quirks and variables.  I hated that part of the job! 

carnaught

driver, just do it the easiest way....buy the 2017.

stever

If we were chatting on This Old House forums, the solution would be to get a new garage.

driver100

berri said:

I've always found homelink kind of buggy and inconsistent. Just end up back with the garage door opener on the sun visor,

I park in the garage 99% of the time, but those remotes are an easy way for thieves to break into a house. And, it is nice and neat being built into the mirror....easier to find too when I go to press it. But, I wish they would find a better more consistant way to get it to work.

driver100

abacomike said:

When I was in the car business, the most frustrating pre-delivery and post-delivery aggravations was setting up the Homelink. But then the newer garage door openers needed to be "trained" to the transmitter in the car, so that required going to the customer's home to get it set.  That home visit could take from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on quirks and variables.  I hated that part of the job! 

I was thinking a car salesman has to be exceptionally well trained and pretty intelligent these days. Has to know how to work GPS, Bluetooth, Media stuff etc and explain it all. Besides that he/she has to know so many mechanical and technical facts, and has to compete with the internet. It just doesn't sound like a lot of fun any more.

driver100

stever said:

If we were chatting on This Old House forums, the solution would be to get a new garage.

lol at that, but that would make a great idea. You buy a garage door opener and it comes with a shield that fits onto your mirror and has the buttons that will work that brand of opener.......then you buy the same brand for Florida. If you buy a new car you should be able to buy a new shield (or remove the old one) from your mirror.

Instead of Homelink each garage door opener company makes their own remote device...that will fit onto the mirror.

It would be like one of those skimmers the thieves use to get your credit card information only this would fit onto your mirror. If the thieves can do it why can't legitimate companies?

abacomike

@driver100:

Car salesmen today do not have to know as much as I did when I sold cars.  Many dealers use "New Car Delivery Specialists" to make sure the customer leaves knowing pretty much what he/she needs to know to operate the car.  Then, appointments are made by the delivery department to bring the customer back 1 week later to go over, in detail, the technology and settings.

This has changed because of CSI and surveys.  Manufacturers provide dealers with hundreds of thousands of dollars for sales and service customer satisfaction.  If a dealership has a low CSI score average, it can cause him to go out of business.

isellhondas

abacomike said:

When I was in the car business, the most frustrating pre-delivery and post-delivery aggravations was setting up the Homelink. Some were easy - clear the memory by holding down the two outside buttons until the lights flashed quickly and then press and hold the left Homelink button and with your left hand bring the original transmitter right up against the buttons making sure you were pressing and then releasing and pressing and releasing (10 times) the button on the original transmitter until the light on or near the left Homelink button flashed quickly.  That worked in 95% of the cases.

But then the newer garage door openers needed to be "trained" to the transmitter in the car, so that required going to the customer's home to get it set.  That home visit could take from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on quirks and variables.  I hated that part of the job! 

You actually went to their houses to set up Homelink? I never went to anyone's houses for anything. Of course, I was selling lowly Hondas and not the high end stuff.

Doing a proper delivery got more and more time consuming as the cars got more complicated. It got hard to sell three cars on busy days when deliveries were involved. Of course, there were always the customers who only wanted to get the hell out of there after spending several hours. I would hand them the keys, maybe explain a couple of things and go quickly through the owner's manuals and I would call them within a couple of days to see if they had any questions. With NAVI, Bluetooth, XM radios, Rear entertainment etc it could take a long time. It's even worse now. They are up to three different manuals on some models.

abacomike

@isellhondas:

Actually, in my car, the number of manuals has significantly "decreased" because 80% of the info is now on the hard-drive in the car.  If you need to check something or have a question, all you need are one or two "search words" that you enter manually and in a second or two, it brings up FAQ's as well as paragraphs and chapters where you can research your query or problem.  Amazing!

One small manual I have lists almost 1000 verbal commands I can use to control NAV, Phone, Audio, etc.  The large manual I have (inch thick) lists lots of technical info, but each paragraph ends with "see in-vehicle manual" for specific information.

I like that feature because, as you read the information on the car's NAV screen, you can follow the instructions and access settings, etc.

abacomike

The Mercedes Benz Mbrace, which is their tele-metrics system like On-Star, has a special new feature.  There are three buttons above and to my right (behind the mirror) that connect me to Mbrace - a button with a picture of a wrench (road service), a button with a red light on it (emergency) and a button with an "i" on it for Information.  If I press the "i" button, I can be connected to a technician who can answer any question I have about my car and it's operation.  I have used that feature a few times with great success.

driver100

isellhondas said:

abacomike said:

When I was in the car business, the most frustrating pre-delivery and post-delivery aggravations was setting up the Homelink. Some were easy - clear the memory by holding down the two outside buttons until the lights flashed quickly and then press and hold the left Homelink button and with your left hand bring the original transmitter right up against the buttons making sure you were pressing and then releasing and pressing and releasing (10 times) the button on the original transmitter until the light on or near the left Homelink button flashed quickly.  That worked in 95% of the cases.

But then the newer garage door openers needed to be "trained" to the transmitter in the car, so that required going to the customer's home to get it set.  That home visit could take from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on quirks and variables.  I hated that part of the job! 

You actually went to their houses to set up Homelink? I never went to anyone's houses for anything. Of course, I was selling lowly Hondas and not the high end stuff.

Doing a proper delivery got more and more time consuming as the cars got more complicated. It got hard to sell three cars on busy days when deliveries were involved. Of course, there were always the customers who only wanted to get the hell out of there after spending several hours. I would hand them the keys, maybe explain a couple of things and go quickly through the owner's manuals and I would call them within a couple of days to see if they had any questions. With NAVI, Bluetooth, XM radios, Rear entertainment etc it could take a long time. It's even worse now. They are up to three different manuals on some models.

The salespeople at MB don't do the final delivery. In fact there is a section of the showroom that can hold about 10 cars that are ready for customers. Like Mike explained, the salesperson's assistant shows you what to do - including the self parking feature which is another new technology I forgot to mention before.

It seems to me in the old days, probably about 12 years ago, slaespeople if they showed you anything it took about 15 or 20 minutes to show you how to work the wipers and lights.

My assistant is coming Monday to show me how to set up Homelink. I am surprised they are doing that, but, what a great way to build loyalty to the brand...and salesperson.

berri

I park in the garage 99% of the time, but those remotes are an easy way for thieves to break into a house.

That is a big problem in many places these days. If my vehicle is outside the house, I bring the opener into the house. If I'm parked somewhere else I generally make sure nothing with the address is in the car like receipts, registrations, etc. That's where my wife's purse is handy!

verdugo

graphicguy said:

Just saw that Chrysler announced they will be out of the small and mid-size car business by 2018, resulting in 1,200-1,500 wokers in Detroit losing their jobs.

Got a question for Chrysler MANAGEMENT. How about developing products that are dynamic, desireable, and saleable, inatead of displacing workers?

They are focusing on SUV's because that's where the money is at. Those 1,200 ~ 1,500 jobs is one shift at that plant. They will hire them back when they start building a SUV in that plant.

They'll "buy" a mid-size and small-size car from another company and rebadge them as Chrysler.

In Mexico, for a long time they sold a Hyundai car rebadged as Chrysler. Tiny little thing. It was called Atos. I think they now sell rebadged Fiat's as Chryslers, but I'm not 100% sure.

As long as SUV's keep selling like hot cakes, they'll continue looking like geniuses. But if the SUVs ever fall out of favor, watch out!

abacomike

Just finished watching a documentary on HBO about the intertwined lives of Gloria Vanderbilt (Railroad Heiress and Designer) and her son Anderson Cooper.

I had no idea Anderson Cooper (CNN and 60 Minutes investigative reporter) was a Vanderbilt, son of one of the wealthiest women in the world and a member of the  truly infamous Vanderbilt and Whitney families.

If you didn't watch it, do so as I think it will be nominated for an Emmy - I really recommend this moving and somewhat sad documentary.

BTW, I did some additional research and found that the actor, Timothy Olyphant is also a Vanderbilt.  Amazing what you can find on the Internet.

roadburner

driver100 said:

The 535 is a little old in the tooth, and has fallen behind Audi and MB, but, nothing wrong with it....still a great car!

Maybe if you are 80 years old...

roadburner

We took the M235i on a three day trip to SC to visit our son. I am SO glad I didn't buy a bigger car. The 2er is a perfect size two people to take on a road trip. We averaged 32 mpg on the interstate and 28 mpg with some urban driving mixed in- considering the available performance I'm sure not complaining.