Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

abacomike

explorerx4 said:

My wife's MKC ran over a large bolt yesterday. I took it in to the dealer to get it patched. She said the MyLincoln app on her phone posted an alert that a tire was low on pressure an hour or so after I dropped it off.

Lincoln is just making sure your wife's car does not emit "false positives!"  The service department probably initiated the alert - or your wife's smart phone isn't as smart as you thought it was! 

berri

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today.

Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member

I've had very poor luck with Hertz and Avis in Milwaukee. Some of the crappiest cars. Maybe I'll try Enterprise next. I've found several consumer ratings of those companies at MKE and many are not too favorable. I've generally had decent luck with Hertz elsewhere, so I wonder if it is the management at the MKE site?

abacomike

berri said:

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today. Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member I've had very poor luck with Hertz and Avis in Milwaukee. Some of the crappiest cars. Maybe I'll try Enterprise next. I've found several consumer ratings of those companies at MKE and many are not too favorable. I've generally had decent luck with Hertz elsewhere, so I wonder if it is the management at the MKE site?

When I lived in Chicago, I used to frequent General Billy Mitchell International Airport once a month for two years.  I'd fly up from Midway on a Sunday morning on a puddle-jumper and rent a car from Hertz.  I usually ended up with a K-car (Chrysler product) or a GM equivalent.  I did some volunteer work part-time for a religious organization supervising curriculum construction for schools.

I would then fly back to Midway that evening.  Winters were horrible and those K-cars were a blessing in snow.

stever

Free SiriusXM for the next couple of weeks.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

Will you now sell it to the guy who only had $7500?

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

That is good news for you since your Caddy looked pretty darn nice to me.

While I have you here, I think you are the guy that was looking at used vans, a Town and Country IIRC.

Son#1 has a 2008 T&C that he bought new in 2008. He allowed his wife to talk him into it because of all the goodies it had including 2 rear seat cameras to occupy his 3 sons. He has had more problems with that beast than I could post here. He even had to have the original engine replaced about 3 months after he got it and a transmission when it was about 2 years old. Both were covered under warranty so he didn't lose money because of that. But, like I said he has had way too many nuisance problems with it.

He is now in the market for another van since the T&C has around 180K miles on it and he thinks the transmission is acting up. He realizes that the newer T&C's are probably build better that his '08 but he is not even considering another one this time around. In fact, when someone asks him about his '08 they get an earful with no expletives deleted.

He is now looking at both new and used Honda, Toyota and Kia vans. His take so far is that the Toyota has the most powerful engine but not by much, however, he didn't like the interior. The Honda engine was probably like his '08 T&C but again he did not like the interior. That leaves the Kia, same power as the Honda but the interior was much nicer. Therefore, he is going with the Kia. The only decision is whether to get new or used. He says Kia is offering 0% financing on the new ones so that may tell him which way he will go.

He also said that Kia has some very aggressive pricing going on right now for the '15's in addition to the 0% financing so that is another favorable consideration for the Kia since he liked that van better anyway. He's been looking on the internet and more than likely he will be going out of state to get either new or used since the local dealers don't have the color and trim level that he wants. And get this, he will be giving Fairfax Kia a call. This is part of the dealer group where I got my '15 Genny.

Just thought you might want to hear an impartial review on other vans.

jmonroe

Woah! He got 180k miles out of it and he's badmouthing? If I got that many miles out of a car I'd be buying drinks down at the local bar.

berri

Aba - Milwaukee has become a pretty neat place to visit from its festivals to all kinds of good food and drink. The airport - it's still a little oddly laid out, sometimes it can be a bit confusing and seem to lack common sense, but beats the heck out of using ORD or MDW in Chicago. I think the rental cars are better at ORD though.

As for airlines, MKE is Delta and Southwest, ORD is United and American. Easy pick for me!

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today.

Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member), I dutifully headed out on my brief road trip in a Mitsubishi.

I'm trying to think of one redeeming quality. I can't....except to say, it didn't break down.

The floor pan transmitted road noise, on a highway run (no rought road or road debris kicking up under the car). That is a first for me. It could have been made of Pepsi cans for all I know. Closing the doors and the trunk made me realize there's a strange harmonic disorder with the sheet metal. It "thrums". Unnerving!

I have never felt disconnected from the road. Oversteer is an understatement. You sort of see where you want to go, and stab at the steering wheel in the hopes you'll get close to the line you were aiming for. Sometimes it took more than one steering wheels stab to get close.

Brakes....well, the car has them. They take a while to connect, and once they do, they grab like a stubborn mule. No modulating these brakes. You'll get a lot of "headsnapping" with them.

Last (but certianly not least), not sure where the air conditioning compressor was. But, it "banged on" (literally banged) and "off", to the point I thought it would disintegrate.

The cheapness of the materials matched the driving feel of the car....dismal.

What happened to Mitsubishi? I know their current faux pas isn't helping matters. But, they used to design some interesting cars. The EVO, Eclipse, 3000GT, Galant VR4.

Engineering on the monstrosity I just drove is excuse enough for them to shutter their doors.

Maybe that's why they just sold a third of the company to Nissan.

abacomike

berri said:

Aba - Milwaukee has become a pretty neat place to visit from its festivals to all kinds of good food and drink. The airport - it's still a little oddly laid out, sometimes it can be a bit confusing and seem to lack common sense, but beats the heck out of using ORD or MDW in Chicago. I think the rental cars are better at ORD though. As for airlines, MKE is Delta and Southwest, ORD is United and American. Easy pick for me!

I hated flying into MKE.  The puddle jumpers were always restricted to runway 1R (very short runway to the right of the main runway, 1L).  Frequently we would land within a couple of hundred feet from the end of that runway.

I was always relieved when the winds were from the west or northwest when we could land on 25L or 31.  It's a very old airport and built in the 1940's IIRC. 

Mr_Shiftright

I must say I have a grudging respect for the American Airlines business model. First they devise the most devilishly clever ways to make flying a living Hell on earth---and then they charge you extra to get out of it.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

That is good news for you since your Caddy looked pretty darn nice to me.

While I have you here, I think you are the guy that was looking at used vans, a Town and Country IIRC.

Son#1 has a 2008 T&C that he bought new in 2008. He allowed his wife to talk him into it because of all the goodies it had including 2 rear seat cameras to occupy his 3 sons. He has had more problems with that beast than I could post here. He even had to have the original engine replaced about 3 months after he got it and a transmission when it was about 2 years old. Both were covered under warranty so he didn't lose money because of that. But, like I said he has had way too many nuisance problems with it.

He is now in the market for another van since the T&C has around 180K miles on it and he thinks the transmission is acting up. He realizes that the newer T&C's are probably build better that his '08 but he is not even considering another one this time around. In fact, when someone asks him about his '08 they get an earful with no expletives deleted.

He is now looking at both new and used Honda, Toyota and Kia vans. His take so far is that the Toyota has the most powerful engine but not by much, however, he didn't like the interior. The Honda engine was probably like his '08 T&C but again he did not like the interior. That leaves the Kia, same power as the Honda but the interior was much nicer. Therefore, he is going with the Kia. The only decision is whether to get new or used. He says Kia is offering 0% financing on the new ones so that may tell him which way he will go.

He also said that Kia has some very aggressive pricing going on right now for the '15's in addition to the 0% financing so that is another favorable consideration for the Kia since he liked that van better anyway. He's been looking on the internet and more than likely he will be going out of state to get either new or used since the local dealers don't have the color and trim level that he wants. And get this, he will be giving Fairfax Kia a call. This is part of the dealer group where I got my '15 Genny.

Just thought you might want to hear an impartial review on other vans.

jmonroe

Woah! He got 180k miles out of it and he's badmouthing? If I got that many miles out of a car I'd be buying drinks down at the local bar.

If he didn't have to hold the cars hand for most of those miles he might not have such a low opinion of it.

Remember it's not just the miles, it's the aggravation with those miles.

jmonroe

snakeweasel

nyccarguy said:

I have a big announcement to make guys.  Our 2011 Pilot is officially 5 years old today.  I just made the last payment!

Welcome to the world of having a car but no car payments. Take that serial lease's.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

Canadiens in the news:

A Canadian tourist was fined $135 for putting a Bison calf in his SUV (see, I kept it auto related) to keep it warm while visiting Yellowstone Park.

Such kind folks.

I wonder if driver100 takes gators home with him so they don't get wet feet.

Kind folks? Maybe but stupid as all h*ll as those things are not house broken (or in this case car broken).

Also the deer scene from "Tommy Boy" comes to mind.

murphydog

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it.

One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2.

That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler...

Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

abacomike

murphydog said:

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it. One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2. That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler... Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

You are officially in my prayers - to keep your job and not get laid off!  Every night!!!

stever

I think it's the lowering. I dunno, those of us with fond Bug memories may be more interested in a driver than a show car. It's too nice in a lot of ways, if you get my drift. And yeah, just need to find the right buyer.

murphydog

You are officially in my prayers - to keep your job and not get laid off!  Every night!!!

Thanks Mike - if I do get cut things are pretty good here locally, likely could find something pretty quickly. Should know for sure one way or another in the next 2 weeks or so.

murphydog

stever said:

I think it's the lowering. I dunno, those of us with fond Bug memories may be more interested in a driver than a show car. It's too nice in a lot of ways, if you get my drift. And yeah, just need to find the right buyer.

Stever - you may be right. I have a set of chrome wheels on the way to replace the red ones. Loved my dad, but we all agree that painting the wheels red was a bit...garish.

I will set the ride height to "normal" for the show, though if somebody asks I can drop it down for them to look at.

abacomike

Murphydog, it's still no fun being laid off.  I hope things work out for you!

stever

There's a great looking green Ghia locally that I've linked to before. But it's an EV conversion and the batteries aren't even all that fresh. It's so easy to get parts for old VWs, I don't know why some people try to reinvent the wheel like that and then expect to get their money back out of it. It's hard enough getting a third of your investment back out of something like your Dad's show car.

I'm probably just showing my age - patina is in right now.

[edit] Just looking back at Shifty's post about marketing the Ghia to the show/custom crowd. Maybe you should put it on the LA craigslist and see if you get any interest besides flakes. Guess that can wait until after the local show. More of my patina bias showing - Seattle has always been more of a Volvo kind of town to me. Maybe people don't trust those old brakes on your hills and that's why they are shying away from the VW.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

berri said:

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today.

Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member

I've had very poor luck with Hertz and Avis in Milwaukee. Some of the crappiest cars. Maybe I'll try Enterprise next. I've found several consumer ratings of those companies at MKE and many are not too favorable. I've generally had decent luck with Hertz elsewhere, so I wonder if it is the management at the MKE site?

When I lived in Chicago, I used to frequent General Billy Mitchell International Airport once a month for two years.  I'd fly up from Midway on a Sunday morning on a puddle-jumper and rent a car from Hertz.  I usually ended up with a K-car (Chrysler product) or a GM equivalent.  I did some volunteer work part-time for a religious organization supervising curriculum construction for schools.

I would then fly back to Midway that evening.  Winters were horrible and those K-cars were a blessing in snow.

Really? It's only 95 miles from downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee. You can drive it in normal traffic in an hour and a half. When you add the drive time to the airport, going through check in and security you really aren't saving any time.

snakeweasel

murphydog said:

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it.

One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2.

That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler...

Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

Unless you really need off road capability I would stay away from the Wrangler. Have you looked at the new Buick ragtop?

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

berri said:

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today. Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member I've had very poor luck with Hertz and Avis in Milwaukee. Some of the crappiest cars. Maybe I'll try Enterprise next. I've found several consumer ratings of those companies at MKE and many are not too favorable. I've generally had decent luck with Hertz elsewhere, so I wonder if it is the management at the MKE site?

When I lived in Chicago, I used to frequent General Billy Mitchell International Airport once a month for two years.  I'd fly up from Midway on a Sunday morning on a puddle-jumper and rent a car from Hertz.  I usually ended up with a K-car (Chrysler product) or a GM equivalent.  I did some volunteer work part-time for a religious organization supervising curriculum construction for schools.

I would then fly back to Midway that evening.  Winters were horrible and those K-cars were a blessing in snow.

Really? It's only 95 miles from downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee. You can drive it in normal traffic in an hour and a half. When you add the drive time to the airport, going through check in and security you really aren't saving any time.

I lived 20 minutes from Midway, far southwest side of the metro area.  135 miles one-way (270 round trip).  As long as they paid for it, I preferred flying to driving. I always left my car at Midway.  It was a 1 hour trip including wait time.  Much better than driving.

snakeweasel

Went looking today after work and happened to take a test ride (yes ride not drive). Took out a Honda CTX 700 bike out for a test drive. I decided to take out the Dual Clutch version since I am getting back into biking and shifting on a bike is a bit more complicated than in a car, plus I am having issues with my left foot.

Well on the bike you sit a little lower with the feet forward which I found comfortable. It has a low center of gravity which made it more maneuverable. The transmission has three modes, a normal driving mode, a sports mode and a manual mode. I tried them all and like the performance of the sport mode the best. While not quick for a bike it does have acceptable performance. Overall the bike was comfortable and handled well. This will be on my short list, next Triumph.

driver100

stever said:

Free SiriusXM for the next couple of weeks.

Just don't sign your life away when you get the FREE deal. Like automatic renewal at the full rate if you forget to tell them to cancel on time.

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

I must say I have a grudging respect for the American Airlines business model. First they devise the most devilishly clever ways to make flying a living Hell on earth---and then they charge you extra to get out of it.

Sounds like Air Canada. I asked a retired pilot why they go out of their way to make my life so miserable.

He said, they have a saying at Air Canada, "We are not happy unless we can make you unhappy". I can believe it.

driver100

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

That is good news for you since your Caddy looked pretty darn nice to me.

While I have you here, I think you are the guy that was looking at used vans, a Town and Country IIRC.

Son#1 has a 2008 T&C that he bought new in 2008. He allowed his wife to talk him into it because of all the goodies it had including 2 rear seat cameras to occupy his 3 sons. He has had more problems with that beast than I could post here. He even had to have the original engine replaced about 3 months after he got it and a transmission when it was about 2 years old. Both were covered under warranty so he didn't lose money because of that. But, like I said he has had way too many nuisance problems with it.

He is now in the market for another van since the T&C has around 180K miles on it and he thinks the transmission is acting up. He realizes that the newer T&C's are probably build better that his '08 but he is not even considering another one this time around. In fact, when someone asks him about his '08 they get an earful with no expletives deleted.

He is now looking at both new and used Honda, Toyota and Kia vans. His take so far is that the Toyota has the most powerful engine but not by much, however, he didn't like the interior. The Honda engine was probably like his '08 T&C but again he did not like the interior. That leaves the Kia, same power as the Honda but the interior was much nicer. Therefore, he is going with the Kia. The only decision is whether to get new or used. He says Kia is offering 0% financing on the new ones so that may tell him which way he will go.

He also said that Kia has some very aggressive pricing going on right now for the '15's in addition to the 0% financing so that is another favorable consideration for the Kia since he liked that van better anyway. He's been looking on the internet and more than likely he will be going out of state to get either new or used since the local dealers don't have the color and trim level that he wants. And get this, he will be giving Fairfax Kia a call. This is part of the dealer group where I got my '15 Genny.

Just thought you might want to hear an impartial review on other vans.

jmonroe

Woah! He got 180k miles out of it and he's badmouthing? If I got that many miles out of a car I'd be buying drinks down at the local bar.

If he didn't have to hold the cars hand for most of those miles he might not have such a low opinion of it.

Remember it's not just the miles, it's the aggravation with those miles.

jmonroe

I understand that too. The vehicle may have made it to 180k miles, but if you have to take it in for work all the time, wait for it, build your life around visits to the dealer, and it is just an extra pain who would want to do that again. Life is too short to put up with that.

driver100

murphydog said:

stever said:

I think it's the lowering. I dunno, those of us with fond Bug memories may be more interested in a driver than a show car. It's too nice in a lot of ways, if you get my drift. And yeah, just need to find the right buyer.

Stever - you may be right. I have a set of chrome wheels on the way to replace the red ones. Loved my dad, but we all agree that painting the wheels red was a bit...garish.

I will set the ride height to "normal" for the show, though if somebody asks I can drop it down for them to look at.

I think it is worth a try! Then it will appeal to a broader range of people. The way I see it, the only people who will really be interested are people who appreciate European cars - especially VWs, and they will be old enough to remember the Ghias. Those people won;t appreciate the red wheels or the lower car....they want to see the car as natural as possible....just my guess!

driver100

snakeweasel said:

murphydog said:

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it.

One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2.

That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler...

Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

Unless you really need off road capability I would stay away from the Wrangler. Have you looked at the new Buick ragtop?

Wants European. How about a VW Eos?

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

murphydog said:

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it.

One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2.

That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler...

Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

Unless you really need off road capability I would stay away from the Wrangler. Have you looked at the new Buick ragtop?

Wants European. How about a VW Eos?

Yeah but they mentioned Wrangler which is not European.

sda

I really like the Eos. The retractable top makes it a convertible and if you don't want the full open air experience, then open the sunroof. It doesn't hurt that it has the 2.0t engine. Too bad they will be discontinued.

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

Will you now sell it to the guy who only had $7500?

LOL, no, it's still worth more than that to me. I don't really see it as having diminished value. There was no structural damage, just bent sheet metal and broken plastic. If the body shop repairs it so there is no sign of the repairs, then in my mind it is in no way diminished.

If we were talking about a brand new car, I would definitely think the value had been diminished. But not on a 10 year old car. If it looks every bit as good, and drives exactly the same, ...

henryn

driver100 said:

stever said:

Free SiriusXM for the next couple of weeks.

Just don't sign your life away when you get the FREE deal. Like automatic renewal at the full rate if you forget to tell them to cancel on time.

You do not have to sign up, or give a credit card, or anything. If your car has an XM tuner, it will always tune in the 2 "free preview channels". For the next 10 days or 2 weeks, ALL channels will work. Then, 2 weeks from now, you're back to only the 2 free preview channels. They do this about twice a year, trying to lure in new customers. There are a LOT of cars out there with un-activated XM tuners.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

murphydog said:

Ghia update - not a lot of interest in dad's car. I even went so far as to post on Craig's list and got nothing. Somewhat surprised that I did not even get a flake or two. There is a rather larger classic car show next month in North Seattle, and I am going to pony of the $25 to get a spot. I need that 45 year old + "dad" who loves old VWs to fall in love with it.

One thing it had done is make me realize that I would love my own convertible - mind you something new and reliable. Love the idea of a 2016 Mustang or Camaro drop top, but the wife has nixed the domestic cars. European drop tops are a bit rich for my blood and the Miata while a great value only seats 2.

That only leaves 1 4-seater left to look at....a Jeep Wrangler...

Anyway, have to get through this summer, pay a few bills and keep my job. We were told last week that "layoffs are coming"...and my 08 C350 only has 48,000 miles. No need for a new car...just want one...

Unless you really need off road capability I would stay away from the Wrangler. Have you looked at the new Buick ragtop?

Wants European. How about a VW Eos?

Yeah but they mentioned Wrangler which is not European.

Good point! Maybe they thought Jeep was still owned by Daimler.

henryn

abacomike said:

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

berri said:

I've driven some miserable cars, but I think I just found the king of the hill for miserable cars available today.

Just spen two hours driving from Pewaukee, WI to Chicago, IL.....in a Mitsu Lancer. Avis had this, and nothing else. So, being the sport that I am, I didn't raise a fuss (given I'm a President's Club Member

I've had very poor luck with Hertz and Avis in Milwaukee. Some of the crappiest cars. Maybe I'll try Enterprise next. I've found several consumer ratings of those companies at MKE and many are not too favorable. I've generally had decent luck with Hertz elsewhere, so I wonder if it is the management at the MKE site?

When I lived in Chicago, I used to frequent General Billy Mitchell International Airport once a month for two years.  I'd fly up from Midway on a Sunday morning on a puddle-jumper and rent a car from Hertz.  I usually ended up with a K-car (Chrysler product) or a GM equivalent.  I did some volunteer work part-time for a religious organization supervising curriculum construction for schools.

I would then fly back to Midway that evening.  Winters were horrible and those K-cars were a blessing in snow.

Really? It's only 95 miles from downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee. You can drive it in normal traffic in an hour and a half. When you add the drive time to the airport, going through check in and security you really aren't saving any time.

I lived 20 minutes from Midway, far southwest side of the metro area.  135 miles one-way (270 round trip).  As long as they paid for it, I preferred flying to driving. I always left my car at Midway.  It was a 1 hour trip including wait time.  Much better than driving.



The quoting seems to be broken again. End of quote from Mike-------------------------------------

Snakeweasel, I'm not sure how old you are, but I know Mike is a little older than me. I'm 65, and I can remember flying in the days before airline deregulation. It was an entirely different experience, and actually quite enjoyable. I never missed a chance to fly, it was something that I (and many others) looked forward to.

The airline deregulation act of 1978 changed everything. Yes, it became much less expensive, and many more people were able to fly. But before that, the experience (while expensive) was a real treat as long as someone else was paying for it.

We don’t even want to go into what it’s like to fly these days, post 9/11.

driver100

sda said:

I really like the Eos. The retractable top makes it a convertible and if you don't want the full open air experience, then open the sunroof. It doesn't hurt that it has the 2.0t engine. Too bad they will be discontinued.

Yes, it is probably the only hardtop convertible car with a sunroof. It would seem to be an ideal car for some people.

stickguy

An Eos conceptually is perfect for me.

stever

henryn said:

driver100 said:

stever said:

Free SiriusXM for the next couple of weeks.

Just don't sign your life away when you get the FREE deal. Like automatic renewal at the full rate if you forget to tell them to cancel on time.

You do not have to sign up, or give a credit card, or anything. If your car has an XM tuner, it will always tune in the 2 "free preview channels". For the next 10 days or 2 weeks, ALL channels will work. Then, 2 weeks from now, you're back to only the 2 free preview channels. They do this about twice a year, trying to lure in new customers. There are a LOT of cars out there with un-activated XM tuners.

Occasionally I'll punch the Sat button on my radio to see if I'm missing a free week. Just happened to read about the current free trial. The preview station always seems lame, but I guess if it was better, cheapskates like me would just listen to it all the time.

roadburner

abacomike said:

Murphydog, it's still no fun being laid off.  I hope things work out for you!

Ditto!

roadburner

snakeweasel said:

Went looking today after work and happened to take a test ride (yes ride not drive). Took out a Honda CTX 700 bike out for a test drive. I decided to take out the Dual Clutch version since I am getting back into biking and shifting on a bike is a bit more complicated than in a car, plus I am having issues with my left foot.

Well on the bike you sit a little lower with the feet forward which I found comfortable. It has a low center of gravity which made it more maneuverable. The transmission has three modes, a normal driving mode, a sports mode and a manual mode. I tried them all and like the performance of the sport mode the best. While not quick for a bike it does have acceptable performance. Overall the bike was comfortable and handled well. This will be on my short list, next Triumph.

If I had the extra disposable income I'd sell my Speed Triple and get a new Street Twin- it's a wonderful bike!

graphicguy

driver100 said:

GG, Good review on the Mitsu. The only one I had as a rental was an Outlander about 6 years ago and I actually liked it...nice size, comfortable, solid, good ride, fair bit of power.

I suppose the Lancer is made to sell at the lowest price possible.......in that market people probably don't care about all the things you noticed....they buy based on price and especially monthly payment.

Too bad, for a bit more money there are much better cars out there....and how do they stay in business?

Thanks, Driver. I remember those turbo AWD Eclipses has being pretty darned fun to drive (never owned one, but test drove plenty). I think the Montero was relatively well respected in its day as an SUV. Then the 3000GT actually competed well with Porche's.

The Lancer? It was like they didn't even make an effort. IF I were an engineer that worked on it, I'd be ashamed.

Mr_Shiftright

I like the new Triumphs---clean, light and classic-looking. Most street bikes today are way over the top for me--although you might coax me onto a Ducati.

I've always liked light, stripped-down road bikes. It's a motorcycle, not mom's sofa!

roadburner

Well, the wife's X3 is closing in on 187,000 miles; it's already over 12 years old as it was assembled at the Magna Steyr plant in Graz, Austria on 3/17/04. She still loves it. It's tight and rattle free; there have been no major issues over the 18 months- just a battery and some minor gliches that I had fixed when it was in for its scheduled services. It was paid off in 2007 so it would have to rack up a huge amount of repair costs to offset the lack of a car payment over the subsequent 9 years. Once our son is out of school it will probably get flipped for a CX-5 or X1; she'd love a Mini Clubman, but the recent long term tests by Automobile and Car and Driver have given her pause. Throw in the local dealer's issues and the Mini is off the table.

qbrozen

jmonroe said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

That is good news for you since your Caddy looked pretty darn nice to me.

While I have you here, I think you are the guy that was looking at used vans, a Town and Country IIRC.

Son#1 has a 2008 T&C that he bought new in 2008. He allowed his wife to talk him into it because of all the goodies it had including 2 rear seat cameras to occupy his 3 sons. He has had more problems with that beast than I could post here. He even had to have the original engine replaced about 3 months after he got it and a transmission when it was about 2 years old. Both were covered under warranty so he didn't lose money because of that. But, like I said he has had way too many nuisance problems with it.

He is now in the market for another van since the T&C has around 180K miles on it and he thinks the transmission is acting up. He realizes that the newer T&C's are probably build better that his '08 but he is not even considering another one this time around. In fact, when someone asks him about his '08 they get an earful with no expletives deleted.

He is now looking at both new and used Honda, Toyota and Kia vans. His take so far is that the Toyota has the most powerful engine but not by much, however, he didn't like the interior. The Honda engine was probably like his '08 T&C but again he did not like the interior. That leaves the Kia, same power as the Honda but the interior was much nicer. Therefore, he is going with the Kia. The only decision is whether to get new or used. He says Kia is offering 0% financing on the new ones so that may tell him which way he will go.

He also said that Kia has some very aggressive pricing going on right now for the '15's in addition to the 0% financing so that is another favorable consideration for the Kia since he liked that van better anyway. He's been looking on the internet and more than likely he will be going out of state to get either new or used since the local dealers don't have the color and trim level that he wants. And get this, he will be giving Fairfax Kia a call. This is part of the dealer group where I got my '15 Genny.

Just thought you might want to hear an impartial review on other vans.

jmonroe

Curious which setup he had. In 2008, you could get the ancient 3.3/4-speed or ancient 3.8 with new 6-speed, or the 4.0/6-speed.

We never had any powertrain problems with our 4.0/6-spd. I also didn't follow the BS about lifetime fill on the tranny, though, and changed out the fluid twice while we had it. The problems I had with ours were all accessory related. Traded out of it with... I think 90k miles? Into a new 2014.

nyccarguy

@qbrozen - they fix the V-Sport yet?

jmonroe

'qbrozen' said:

Curious which setup he had. In 2008, you could get the ancient 3.3/4-speed or ancient 3.8 with new 6-speed, or the 4.0/6-speed.
________________________________________________________________________________

q,

I just called my Son to see what engine/tranny combo he has in his '08 T&C.

I wanted to get back to you as quick as I could but his line has been busy for a while and I'm sure that is because he is working a deal on a Kia as I'm posting since he phoned me this morning to give me an update on what is going on.

When he gets back to me I'll have an answer for you and maybe even a sales tale. After all, someone, somewhere has to provide one of those given this is a car site, right?

jmonroe

dino001

So if you are part of the elite or flying on somebody else's dime, you'd say those were "good times". Rest of us would say we should be glad we can fly at all, even if in much crappier environment. BTW, even for the elites, the experience today may actually be better. I bet $20K+ first class ticket on A380 on Emirates gives you much better experience than its equivalent from 70s on first generation 747. From lounge to private suite on the plane, to concierge service at the destination. So those guys aren't hurting. I do believe "gold times" for American traveller were 90s - cheap fuel, lots of carriers, cut throat competition, low ticket prices, treating economy passenger like humans. 2001 changed all of it.

The whole notion of "old times were better" (by which I mean 30, 40, 50 years ago) comes from our selective memories and idealized view of our own youth. A dispassionate analysis would often debunk it easily.

Was it really better, when a man's suit cost month of salary rather than small fraction? The suit might have been better quality there and the department store salesman/woman provided much better service during the sale, but people affording one good suit was better than multiple suits of somewhat lesser quality? Not sure.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

henryn said:

Update on the repairs to my 2006 DTS. The body shop called me, their estimate is about $2.4k, and the car should be ready next Wednesday, so good news on that front.

That is good news for you since your Caddy looked pretty darn nice to me.

While I have you here, I think you are the guy that was looking at used vans, a Town and Country IIRC.

Son#1 has a 2008 T&C that he bought new in 2008. He allowed his wife to talk him into it because of all the goodies it had including 2 rear seat cameras to occupy his 3 sons. He has had more problems with that beast than I could post here. He even had to have the original engine replaced about 3 months after he got it and a transmission when it was about 2 years old. Both were covered under warranty so he didn't lose money because of that. But, like I said he has had way too many nuisance problems with it.

He is now in the market for another van since the T&C has around 180K miles on it and he thinks the transmission is acting up. He realizes that the newer T&C's are probably build better that his '08 but he is not even considering another one this time around. In fact, when someone asks him about his '08 they get an earful with no expletives deleted.

He is now looking at both new and used Honda, Toyota and Kia vans. His take so far is that the Toyota has the most powerful engine but not by much, however, he didn't like the interior. The Honda engine was probably like his '08 T&C but again he did not like the interior. That leaves the Kia, same power as the Honda but the interior was much nicer. Therefore, he is going with the Kia. The only decision is whether to get new or used. He says Kia is offering 0% financing on the new ones so that may tell him which way he will go.

He also said that Kia has some very aggressive pricing going on right now for the '15's in addition to the 0% financing so that is another favorable consideration for the Kia since he liked that van better anyway. He's been looking on the internet and more than likely he will be going out of state to get either new or used since the local dealers don't have the color and trim level that he wants. And get this, he will be giving Fairfax Kia a call. This is part of the dealer group where I got my '15 Genny.

Just thought you might want to hear an impartial review on other vans.

jmonroe

Woah! He got 180k miles out of it and he's badmouthing? If I got that many miles out of a car I'd be buying drinks down at the local bar.

If he didn't have to hold the cars hand for most of those miles he might not have such a low opinion of it.

Remember it's not just the miles, it's the aggravation with those miles.

jmonroe

I understand that too. The vehicle may have made it to 180k miles, but if you have to take it in for work all the time, wait for it, build your life around visits to the dealer, and it is just an extra pain who would want to do that again. Life is too short to put up with that.

OK, that brings my next question. If the car was so troublesome why keep it for all those miles? I've driven hoopties all my life but only because I couldn't afford better. If I could I'd trade into something better.

abacomike

dino001 said:

So if you are part of the elite or flying on somebody else's dime, you'd say those were "good times". Rest of us would say we should be glad we can fly at all, even if in much crappier environment. BTW, even for the elites, the experience today may actually be better. I bet $20K+ first class ticket on A380 on Emirates gives you much better experience than its equivalent from 70s on first generation 747. From lounge to private suite on the plane, to concierge service at the destination. So those guys aren't hurting. I do believe "gold times" for American traveller were 90s - cheap fuel, lots of carriers, cut throat competition, low ticket prices, treating economy passenger like humans. 2001 changed all of it. The whole notion of "old times were better" (by which I mean 30, 40, 50 years ago) comes from our selective memories and idealized view of our own youth. A dispassionate analysis would often debunk it easily. Was it really better, when a man's suit cost month of salary rather than small fraction? The suit might have been better quality there and the department store salesman/woman provided much better service during the sale, but people affording one good suit was better than multiple suits of somewhat lesser quality? Not sure.

When I was 10-11 years old, I vividly remember getting on an Eastern Airlines Super G Lockheed Constellation in Miami for my return trip to New York's Idlewild airport.  It was Christmas Day and there were only 15 passengers on the 88 passenger plane.

No security, no hassle, no stress.  I presented my ticket (they were always completed in writing - no computers) at the gate and walked onto the Tarmac over to the stairway and climbed aboard the plane.  The tail section had a 10 seat horseshoe shaped lounge for smoking and cocktails.  The seats were 2 across on each side of the fuselage and they were heavily padded and when you pushed yourself back, a foot extender would come out where you placed your legs - like a recliner.

Turkey dinner was served in 4 courses with linens and real silverware.  There were 4 stewardesses on board all dressed in light blue suits with blue caps.

During the flight, the pilot came back to me and my brother and asked if we'd like to go up to the cockpit with him.  So we sat on the pilots lap and helped fly the plane.  I remember there were two round magnified Windows on each side of the cockpit where the pilots could visually check on all four radial engines.

The environment on the plain was relaxed and people always dressed formally (men wore business suits and women wore dresses/skirts etc).  It was an experience to fly in those days.  The comfort of the passenger was foremost on the minds of the stewardesses.

The food was delicious and hot with large portions.  Yes, flying in the 50's and 60's was a great experience.

In 1991, I flew from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta and got on an Eastern Airlines L-1011 and was in first class.  It was a 5 hour flight to Los Angeles.  Two meals were served - breakfast and Lunch.  I felt like I was a King and the champagne and cocktails were unending.  The food was served a la carte off traveling trays - you selected what you wanted.

Today, I would only travel by plane if it was an emergency - no way do I want to travel on a plane out of any major airport here in the US.

berri

The whole notion of "old times were better" (by which I mean 30, 40, 50 years ago) comes from our selective memories and idealized view of our own youth. A dispassionate analysis would often debunk it easily.


I think the times were different. Some things today are better like automobile reliability, medicine, technology. But in the older period you refer to I feel there was more job and pay equality, more community and personal interaction, less violent crime, and just plain better manners and respect. I believe Americans were more positive and happy by and large than today. But that's just my take and experience on it all.

As for aviation; my take is that it is safer today, but more like riding a Greyhound and also loaded with hidden fees and borderline misrepresentations.