Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

[Deleted User]

explorerx4 said:

Sad garage picture. Needs to be fixed.

Ohhhh. I like the treated concrete. Nice and shiny, and probably easier to keep clean. What's it treated with?

driver100

murphydog said:

So we put my dad's Ghia on The Samba (a VW site) for sale. While I did not expect hundreds of emails I was hoping for a few. So far crickets.
Any feedback on my ad from the group would be appreciated!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1918143

Ad is fine......price seems a bit high but I have no expertise about that.
Just a personal preference but I would like the wheels to be the same color as the car......
I wonder if it would help to have it listed on an international site....like in Germany?

graphicguy

explorerx4 said:

Sad garage picture. Needs to be fixed.

You need to call a shrink, stat! That's criminal.

houdini1

We have owned this house for 10 years, and after seeing your garage pic I had to go look to see if we had any posts in our 3 bay garage. No posts...but your garage looks to be much deeper than mine.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50, It's my wife's car, so I don't know how you get out. Open the door? The post is not as close as it looks in the picture.

OK from that angle it looks like you'd whack the door every time you opened it.

So that means you drive the mower? Is it turboed?

roadburner

My outside garage is loaded to the gunwales; 2er, Jeep, S3, two ZTR mowers, one push mower, one gas powered tiller, electric string trimmer, backpack blower, gas hedge trimmer, two chain saws, a shop vac, and two bycycles.

graphicguy

roadburner said:

My outside garage is loaded to the gunwales; 2er, Jeep, S3, two ZTR mowers, one push mower, one gas powered tiller, electric string trimmer, backpack blower, gas hedge trimmer, two chain saws, a shop vac, and two bycycles.

RB...you alone are responsible for global warming....LOL!

Mr_Shiftright

driver100 said:

murphydog said:

So we put my dad's Ghia on The Samba (a VW site) for sale. While I did not expect hundreds of emails I was hoping for a few. So far crickets.
Any feedback on my ad from the group would be appreciated!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1918143

Ad is fine......price seems a bit high but I have no expertise about that.
Just a personal preference but I would like the wheels to be the same color as the car......
I wonder if it would help to have it listed on an international site....like in Germany?

Good suggestion on the wheels. I dont' think, though, that the Germans would be interested. They are quite the purists when it comes to originality. You need to market to hotrod or custom people, not the fussy Samba crowd, IMHO.

driver100

graphicguy said:

roadburner said:

My outside garage is loaded to the gunwales; 2er, Jeep, S3, two ZTR mowers, one push mower, one gas powered tiller, electric string trimmer, backpack blower, gas hedge trimmer, two chain saws, a shop vac, and two bycycles.

RB...you alone are responsible for global warming....LOL!

Sounds like he has every device known to man

abacomike

fezo said:

Back when I bought that Celica I pulled the tax trick. It was around $5000. I had the seller sign a little note saying it was $500 and needed work. Sure enough the state sends me a "why so little" note. I never actually responded and since this was many years ago I'm not worried. Mike, how are the little men playing ninepins in the hills?

I don't know which Mike you were referring to fezo.

Mr_Shiftright

On the other hand, doing all those tasks manually pretty much guaranteed that our farmer ancestors died at age 40.

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

@sStever, Everything's bigger in Texas

Well, I arrived in Texas and it's still the same size!  I thought "everything" in Texas was bigger! 

Well, I'm going back to Florida - same size in both States! 

Mr_Shiftright

Just wait until the Golden State Warriors meet the Spurs. Clash of the Titans!

jmonroe

'houdini1' said:

We have owned this house for 10 years, and after seeing your garage pic I had to go look to see if we had any posts in our 3 bay garage. No posts...but your garage looks to be much deeper than mine.
________________________________________________________________________________

When we built our house in SC in '92 I made the 2 car garage larger than standard. If I had to do it all over again I would have added 6 more feet onto the width and made it a 3 car garage altogether but I allowed myself to be talked out of doing that by you know who. :@

IIRC the garage was 25 feet wide by 27 feet deep with an 18 foot single door and there were no posts. It was a side entry garage with a bonus room on top. When we were going over the plans with the builder Mrs. j said, "hey, it would be nice to have pool table up there when the kids come down to visit". When the builder heard that he said, "OK, that makes me put in a larger than normal lam beam to support all of that weight".

We didn't put a pool table up there. I don't know why she said that because she doesn't know the first thing about playing pool and I wasn't going to go up there just for practice just so that I could show off my skills when our sons came for a visit but that room was supported well enough to hold a pool table, probably a tank. I measured the lam beam and it was 15 inches high by 10 inches wide by 25 feet long and the builder told me that if I changed my mind and wanted a 3 car garage without posts, he would up-size the beam to 18 inches high and maybe even 12 inches wide.

I still miss that garage because when we moved back to the Burgh the house we are in now has a standard size 2 car garage without a post with a single 16 foot door. Talk about down-sizing.

jmonroe

stever

I had to clean out the garage last night to get the van in. That happens most every day though.

roadburner

graphicguy said:

roadburner said:

My outside garage is loaded to the gunwales; 2er, Jeep, S3, two ZTR mowers, one push mower, one gas powered tiller, electric string trimmer, backpack blower, gas hedge trimmer, two chain saws, a shop vac, and two bycycles.

RB...you alone are responsible for global warming....LOL!

I inherited the push mower, the tiller, and one of the chain saws- but I take full responsibility for everything else...

roadburner

Mr_Shiftright said:

On the other hand, doing all those tasks manually pretty much guaranteed that our farmer ancestors died at age 40.

Exactly. My main philosophy regarding buying tools and lawn and garden equipment is to buy the professional version- then you usually won't have to buy another one.

stickguy

I have a shed for the yard equipment and tools. That stuff should not be in a garage!

At this point, hiring someone and getting out of yard work business entirely is my next goal. Just hate to pay for it. Maybe when it finally gets hot out I'll retire from mowing.

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

On the other hand, doing all those tasks manually pretty much guaranteed that our farmer ancestors died at age 40.

That isn't the reason they died at 40. It is because they didn't have the meds and medical equipment back then, and the age of dying was younger because more died in infancy. Also, farming is one of the most dangerous occupations you can have.....usually tractor roll overs.

But, tell your wife you need a riding mower so you can live longer....sounds good. Or get the lawn guys to cut it, so you can live to a ripe old age.

Mr_Shiftright

Perhaps you're right, but years of strenuous physical labor takes its toll, though. The world of today would starve without modern machinery.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

Perhaps you're right, but years of strenuous physical labor takes its toll, though. The world of today would starve without modern machinery.

But we have the younger generation today abusing their bodies in different ways in the name of fitness - crossfit, triathalons, all sorts of extreme training things. None of that makes any sense to me.

explorerx4

@tyguy,
The floor looks that way from years of applying tire dressing to the cars in the garage. That's the truth!

[Deleted User]

explorerx4 said:

@tyguy,
The floor looks that way from years of applying tire dressing to the cars in the garage. That's the truth!

Ha! Never would have considered that option.

abacomike

I finally opened that 25 year old bottle of Macallan Scotch with a friend who stopped by last night.  I have never liked scotch because of the bite (Cutty Sark, JB, etc.) but that scotch was like drinking "silk"!  My friend spent the night in the master bedroom - we finished the bottle and we both were looped.  Great headache this morning, that's for sure.

I guess I am in love with only very expensive Scotch and Bourbon - wouldn't you know!!! 

oldfarmer50

What am I missing?

You all know my fondness for low mile cars. Many times these beauties fetch a higher price but with this one I'm trying to figure the logic.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5564487936.html



Seller wants $5200+ but KBB says $3200 and Edmunds a little over $3700.

So are the on line valuations wrong or is the seller shooting for the moon?

explorerx4

@oldfrmer50,
Are they shooting for the moon on that house?

explorerx4

Considering this to replace the push mower in the garage.
http://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2016-Ford-Fiesta-fe7a082e0a0e0a1704ec476abbc200ca.htm?searchDepth=9:99

Also this:
http://lombardford.com/Hartford-Ct/For-Sale/Used/Ford/Mustang/2015-EcoBoost-Premium-Gray-Car/43491371/

[Deleted User]

The mustang looks nice. Amazing that a service vehicle had a manual transmission considering how few people know how to drive them these days.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Considering this to replace the push mower in the garage.
http://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2016-Ford-Fiesta-fe7a082e0a0e0a1704ec476abbc200ca.htm?searchDepth=9:99

Also this:
http://lombardford.com/Hartford-Ct/For-Sale/Used/Ford/Mustang/2015-EcoBoost-Premium-Gray-Car/43491371/

You know where I'm going...the Mustang. Have you driven it yet? They say the turbo is pretty impressive with that instant torque. Price seems high. Hard to believe the MSRP was over $30k. (Wait, I see it's a convertible. That explains it.) Funny that they would have a car like that as a service loaner. How many people could drive a manual shift.

Guess it comes down to the practical vs. the exciting. If you can get that Stang down to $25k it might be worth while.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfrmer50,
Are they shooting for the moon on that house?

Well Delmar is one of the more classy suburbs but maybe that explains the price of the car.

stickguy

I like the mustang. Just not the 19" wheels.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

What am I missing?

You all know my fondness for low mile cars. Many times these beauties fetch a higher price but with this one I'm trying to figure the logic.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5564487936.html



Seller wants $5200+ but KBB says $3200 and Edmunds a little over $3700.

So are the on line valuations wrong or is the seller shooting for the moon?

They're just exercising their First Amendment Rights.

But generally Price Guides do not list genuinely pristine, #1 cars, if in fact that's what this is.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer50,
I think that Mustang was some kind of factory car, not a loaner.
My wife's MKC has the 2.3. It seems pretty peppy.
I liked my Mom's Fiesta, except the DCT transmission.
Not opposed to a small car.

stickguy

my assumption is the Mustang was an exec car of some sort. Definitely not a service loaner, especially since AFAIK you don't get those at a Ford dealer.

Farmer, looking at the ad, it is an estate sale. so that car needs to go. Put $3,500 in 50's in your overalls, and show up and fan them out. They may bite, especially if it has to be made gone quickly.

ab348

explorerx4 said:

Considering this to replace the push mower in the garage.
Also this:
http://lombardford.com/Hartford-Ct/For-Sale/Used/Ford/Mustang/2015-EcoBoost-Premium-Gray-Car/43491371/

I like that Mustang. Too bad about a black interior in a convertible but a set of sheepskins isn't that much.

fezo

Mike - the little men playing ninepins was in response to your thunder and lightning post.

The price of gas actually went down two cents at Costco. I sure hope this is a sign of things turning around. It's gone up 60 cents from where it was a couple of months ago.

Still, RUG topped out under $2 a gallon which I can't complain about.

Roadburner probably considers being personally responsible for global warming a badge of honor.

abacomike

fezo said:

Mike - the little men playing ninepins was in response to your thunder and lightning post. The price of gas actually went down two cents at Costco. I sure hope this is a sign of things turning around. It's gone up 60 cents from where it was a couple of months ago. Still, RUG topped out under $2 a gallon which I can't complain about. Roadburner probably considers being personally responsible for global warming a badge of honor.

Gotcha!  

Gas down here is still going up.  2 months ago I was paying $2.19.9 for PUG at Costco.  This afternoon it's $2.57.9 s gallon at Costco.  Still better than $4.22.9 like it was 2-3 years ago.

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
I think that Mustang was some kind of factory car, not a loaner.
My wife's MKC has the 2.3. It seems pretty peppy.
I liked my Mom's Fiesta, except the DCT transmission.
Not opposed to a small car.

The ST is a hoot, and you can have the dealer install the Mountune MP215 performance kit which chops nearly 3/4 second off of the in-gear acceleration times while maintaining the OEM warranty. I'd take it over a four banger Mustang.

nyccarguy

@explorerx4 - I like the Mustang.  There is a link to the car's original sticker price.  A tick over $39K.  $10K off sticker for 7500 miles looks like a good starting point.  Test driving is half the fun.  I'd love to hear what you think about the Fiesta ST & the Turbo Mustang Drop Top

stickguy

I like that mustang. If I was out buying, if it drives as nice as I think, would be quite tempting.

wonder if it would be possible to trade down the wheels to 17 or 18 and gain some sidewall?

andres3

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

andres3 said:

qbrozen said:

andres3 said:

Yes, but the big difference is murder isn't a totally arbitrary rule of law that only began 10 years ago. Murder is considered wrong and unethical in addition to a law that hasn't changed in centuries. When cars of 10 or 20, or 30 years ago are treated differently for no reason other than being "grandfathered" it creates a general feeling of ridiculousness.

Sort of like 55 MPH speed limits.

So because you don't personally agree with a law or rule, you think it can be ignored? Good luck with that.

Yes, it's cost me several tickets over the years but a wise person once said it is immoral to obey and follow unjust laws.

At least with the 55 MPH speed limits, the vast majority of Americans have voted with their left foots, and I'm not alone. Now if we could just get politicians to follow the will of the people.

But the law is unjust based on what standards?

Traffic engineers agree the 85th percentile is the safest standard to set speed limits at, and 55 is not supported in most locations.

Also, if the majority of people ignore the law, maybe there's something wrong with the law?

A lot of traffic engineers will tell you that the 85th percentile is arbitrary and the true number can vary due to many influences.

The number of people following a law or not has no bearing on the justfullness of a law. We must be very careful about saying it is immoral to follow an unjust law to justify disobeying laws we don't like.

No, what is arbitrary is picking a number lower than the 85th percentile due to some obscure outside influences (OK; lets be honest; corrupted made-up reasons to generate revenue). Other than school zones, there really isn't a legitimate public interest in breaking from accepted convention for the safest way to set limits.

andres3

henryn said:

qbrozen said:

you are leaving out the interest on that down payment if you roll it into the payment, plus the fees they gloss over (acquisition, title, doc), which I am estimating to be about $1200 (actually probably even higher than that).

So I'm adding $3500 to the top line, which is about $105/mo on a 36-mo lease.

And this is all before tax, mind you.

I usually don't pay much attention to leases, as I don't think they make sense in my state (Texas). You have to pay 6.25% sales tax (around $1,500 right there), and you don't even own it. At the end of the lease, if you wanted to buy it, you would have to pay sales tax (again). Crazy, and I'm not going there.

Although there are some who would say I'm already there, but you should discount those stories. After all, I'm hanging out here with all of you perfectly fine, sane people, right?

At least your sales tax is reasonable. In CA there isn't a spot under 8%, and many cities tack-on to that base rate. I'm glad I moved out of a City just like that, where an extra .75% was added-on. I'm now in a location where I'm at the 8% and happy to be there for the recent punch.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

I like the mustang. Just not the 19" wheels.

I have to agree. There's a black Mustang down the road with those wheels and they look like tin.

js06gv

oldfarmer50 said:

Considering this to replace the push mower in the garage. http://www.mitchellseligford.com/new/Ford/2016-Ford-Fiesta-fe7a082e0a0e0a1704ec476abbc200ca.htm?searchDepth=9:99 Also this: http://lombardford.com/Hartford-Ct/For-Sale/Used/Ford/Mustang/2015-EcoBoost-Premium-Gray-Car/43491371/

You know where I'm going...the Mustang. Have you driven it yet? They say the turbo is pretty impressive with that instant torque. Price seems high. Hard to believe the MSRP was over $30k. (Wait, I see it's a convertible. That explains it.) Funny that they would have a car like that as a service loaner. How many people could drive a manual shift. Guess it comes down to the practical vs. the exciting. If you can get that Stang down to $25k it might be worth while.

Re your comment about hard to believe over 30K, I built an Ecoboost Mustang Premium on Fords site, fairly loaded but still not with everything, and it was 38K. This was a coupe too, not a convertible. Basically it had the same options as my '15 GT Premium, which listed for $42,600. 

I remember seeing pics of your ceramic interior (which I love) and thought it was leather too, which would indicate a GT Premium, and I know yours is also an automatic so even without a lot of other options your GT must have been pushing 40K list?

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

roadburner said:

My outside garage is loaded to the gunwales; 2er, Jeep, S3, two ZTR mowers, one push mower, one gas powered tiller, electric string trimmer, backpack blower, gas hedge trimmer, two chain saws, a shop vac, and two bycycles.

RB...you alone are responsible for global warming....LOL!

Oh come on, he did say he had two bicycles.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

I finally opened that 25 year old bottle of Macallan Scotch with a friend who stopped by last night.  I have never liked scotch because of the bite (Cutty Sark, JB, etc.) but that scotch was like drinking "silk"!  My friend spent the night in the master bedroom - we finished the bottle and we both were looped.  Great headache this morning, that's for sure.

I guess I am in love with only very expensive Scotch and Bourbon - wouldn't you know!!! 

If your only experience with scotch before this was Cutty Sark and JB then you are in for a treat. Those two are pretty poor choices and there are some wonderful scotches out there that you can get for under $35-40/bottle.

driver100

ab348 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Perhaps you're right, but years of strenuous physical labor takes its toll, though. The world of today would starve without modern machinery.

But we have the younger generation today abusing their bodies in different ways in the name of fitness - crossfit, triathalons, all sorts of extreme training things. None of that makes any sense to me.

They may be over doing it but still better than sitting in front of a computer or TV screen all day. I see guys in their 70s who play tennis and/or pickleball several times a week, and/or go to a gym, and they are in pretty good shape compared to people I remember who were in their 70s when I was a kid.

70's can be the new 40s these days.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

What am I missing?

You all know my fondness for low mile cars. Many times these beauties fetch a higher price but with this one I'm trying to figure the logic.

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/5564487936.html



Seller wants $5200+ but KBB says $3200 and Edmunds a little over $3700.

So are the on line valuations wrong or is the seller shooting for the moon?

This happens a lot with estate sales. No one really knows the value of the car, so they just make up a price that sounds good to them. When they don't get offers they will lower the price. They probably don't know how to look up the real value.

graphicguy

fezo said:

Mike - the little men playing ninepins was in response to your thunder and lightning post.

The price of gas actually went down two cents at Costco. I sure hope this is a sign of things turning around. It's gone up 60 cents from where it was a couple of months ago.

Still, RUG topped out under $2 a gallon which I can't complain about.

Roadburner probably considers being personally responsible for global warming a badge of honor.

Demand on oil is still soft, with little sign of recovery. Shell, Exxon, et al decided to let supplies dwindle. This pricing is, at best, temporary and an attempt to artificially prop up prices. Production hasn't been curbed, so that oil has to go somewhere. It will eventually end up in the storage tanks, regardless of the attempts to draw down inventories.

And this is all before the more stringent CAFE restrictions hit, which will drive demand down. If I were big oil, I'd be building charging stations at all of their gas stations to raise profits instead of this sort of cat and mouse game with oil supply.

Like that Mustang that's being sold as a used car. I don't know....something about a muscle car having a 4 cyl just doesn't sit right with me. I know it's 300+HP. And, I do love me some 4 cyl turbo performance. A proper muscle car needs a V8.

My son has decided to trade his Fiesta. It's been a good car (aside from the rough shifting DSG trans that has been mentioned many times before). But, he's jonesing for a GTI. He's asked me to help with the deal. Any time my son says he wants me to help him, I beam. Should be a fun afternoon.

stickguy

the estate sale started at 8 this morning. Farmer probably already has that boat in his driveway.