Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stever

I'm not sure if Debi found her way back to the forums yet or if she got our email. I have a "paper file" with all our passwords and login info stashed away and my wife and I have sat down and gone through the list, but it still gets confusing and stuff doesn't get updated like it should. Not sure what the best solution is but Debi's post is a good reminder to try to keep track of your digital life and let your loved ones know how to access it.

abacomike

stever said:

I'm not sure if Debi found her way back to the forums yet or if she got our email. I have a "paper file" with all our passwords and login info stashed away and my wife and I have sat down and gone through the list, but it still gets confusing and stuff doesn't get updated like it should. Not sure what the best solution is but Debi's post is a good reminder to try to keep track of your digital life and let your loved ones know how to access it.

I totally agree.  I sent my family the password to my computer and the 4-digit access code to my iPhone.  I also sent them my passwords to my credit card and bank apps.  Good point stever!

roadburner

mako1a said:

I would like to inform all my husbands friends here that my husband has passed away. He was in the hospital for over 10 weeks for a serious medical condition and he did not recover. I have had this computer to a computer guy twice now, so I could log on, so that I could let you all know what has happened to him. I'm not sure that this is the best way to let you all know this but it is the only way that I can, so sorry it couldn't have contacted you's much sooner. Debi

I am so sorry Debi; even though most of us in this group have never met face to face, there is a bond of friendship here that is quite strong. I am so sorry for your loss and I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

henryn

I dropped off the F150 at the dealership service department yesterday morning, got a ride home from them, then took the rental car (the T&C minivan) over to the body shop to pick up the Cadillac. The Cadillac looks good, everything is straight, no visible imperfections, the paint matches (best I can tell). and this time the headlight even works. Today, after work, I got a friend to give me a lift over to the Ford dealer to pick up the F150. Seems there was a TSB covering exactly what was wrong, so no problem finding the problem and getting it fixed.

And despite what was showing on their online paperwork, no charges, all warranty coverage. As indeed it should have been.

I enjoyed driving the minivan. Next I think I want an extended drive in a Kia Soul. Perhaps rent one of those on my own nickel for a week or so...

roadburner

Some of you know that I was actually banned from the Edmunds forums when it was known as "Town Hall." I had a personality conflict-to put it mildly- with a couple of hosts and after one of them removed yet another of my posts I gave it to that person with both barrels.
That said, I've mellowed in my declining years; I still don't suffer fools gladly, but I'm a bit more restrained with my responses.

verdugo

mako1a said:

I would like to inform all my husbands friends here that my husband has passed away. He was in the hospital for over 10 weeks for a serious medical condition and he did not recover. I have had this computer to a computer guy twice now, so I could log on, so that I could let you all know what has happened to him. I'm not sure that this is the best way to let you all know this but it is the only way that I can, so sorry it couldn't have contacted you's much sooner. Debi

I am very sorry for your loss. Thank you for letting us know. I always enjoyed his stories.

henryn

I did not really know mako, but I did read some of his posts here. I am reminded of this:

Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Some of you know that I was actually banned from the Edmunds forums when it was known as "Town Hall." I had a personality conflict-to put it mildly- with a couple of hosts and after one of them removed yet another of my posts I gave it to that person with both barrels.
That said, I've mellowed in my declining years; I still don't suffer fools gladly, but I'm a bit more restrained with my responses.

You should have just found them in contempt of court and thrown them in jail until they reinstated you.

tjc78

Debi,
Very sorry for your loss, thank you for letting us know.  Take care of yourself in this hard time.  

houdini1

roadburner said:

Some of you know that I was actually banned from the Edmunds forums when it was known as "Town Hall." I had a personality conflict-to put it mildly- with a couple of hosts and after one of them removed yet another of my posts I gave it to that person with both barrels.
That said, I've mellowed in my declining years; I still don't suffer fools gladly, but I'm a bit more restrained with my responses.

Lol, been there done that years ago. Never banned but threatened a few times ! Maybe that is where all my "abuses" came from.

roadburner

Just for giggles, here is the text of the email that finally got me banned. It was in response to a notification that-for the umpteenth time-one of my posts had been removed. In this case a particularly clueless participant was holding himself out as an expert on the BMW N54 and I called him on it.

Happy holidays! It's nice to see that Edmund's "Protect the Moron" philosophy remains in full flower- at least in the 2007 3 Series Topic. Most of us are betting that you'll delete any critical posts - even if (name deleted ) claims the world is flat. Oh well, armed with that room temperature IQ I'm certain that he(it?) will make a positive contribution to every BMW topic he participates in. And if he develops opposable thumbs, who knows how far he may go?

graphicguy

Debi...if you're still reading, I am so sorry to hear of Mako's passing. My condolences.

I remember him being around here since I have...mid '90s or thereabouts. I always enjoyed him.

As others have said, there's a pretty strong "virtual" friendship with all of us here.

He will be missed.

graphicguy

I deleted my avatar picture of me and my wife. Mainly deleted it because, well, my wife isn't around any more.

I do have some sort of happy face as a replacement, that suits me just fine.

PF_Flyer

stever said:

I'm not sure if Debi found her way back to the forums yet or if she got our email. I have a "paper file" with all our passwords and login info stashed away and my wife and I have sat down and gone through the list, but it still gets confusing and stuff doesn't get updated like it should. Not sure what the best solution is but Debi's post is a good reminder to try to keep track of your digital life and let your loved ones know how to access it.

I'm still finding notes my Dad left on stuff and he passed in 1988. I find myself taping notes with important instructions onto lots of stuff.

PF_Flyer

To paraphrase from Magnum Force... a man with a Versa's GOT to know his limitations



8 yards wouldn't fit, but it might bury it

qbrozen

@mako1a

I'm very sorry to hear of your husband's passing. He will be missed.

PF_Flyer

graphicguy said:

Debi...if you're still reading, I am so sorry to hear of Mako's passing. My condolences.

I remember him being around here since I have...mid '90s or thereabouts. I always enjoyed him.

As others have said, there's a pretty strong "virtual" friendship with all of us here.

He will be missed.

It's that whole circle of life thing. Very sorry to hear Deb.

I've met a number of folks from our community here and the friendship is more than virtual. Common memories back to the days of Town Hall illustrates that WE are the community here, given the web site changes we've gone through together over the years. How did we get by when we couldn't post photos and videos??

Anyone remember when things looked like this?
https://web.archive.org/web/19961221090329/http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/twnhall/townhall.html

isellhondas

roadburner said:

Some of you know that I was actually banned from the Edmunds forums when it was known as "Town Hall." I had a personality conflict-to put it mildly- with a couple of hosts and after one of them removed yet another of my posts I gave it to that person with both barrels.
That said, I've mellowed in my declining years; I still don't suffer fools gladly, but I'm a bit more restrained with my responses.

I never got banned but I think I came close a couple of times. there was a HOST that just didn't like me. We also had some people who were just trouble. Of course, none of "us" would ever taunt those guys so they would
blow up and cross the line or use profanity to the point where they would get banned!

This is a very mellow place now!

isellhondas

PF_Flyer said:

To paraphrase from Magnum Force... a man with a Versa's GOT to know his limitations



8 yards wouldn't fit, but it might bury it

Looks like 8 yards of hard work are ahead of you!

Mr_Shiftright

Oh I thought it was the new Beetle.

ab348

I also had trouble with a host many years ago. I didn't get banned outright but they wouldn't let me post in one particular forum any more. This was in that unfortunate stage where TPTB tried to make zillions of "granular" forums and I caught them in a fib. They didn't like that.

fezo

roadburner said:

Some of you know that I was actually banned from the Edmunds forums when it was known as "Town Hall." I had a personality conflict-to put it mildly- with a couple of hosts and after one of them removed yet another of my posts I gave it to that person with both barrels.
That said, I've mellowed in my declining years; I still don't suffer fools gladly, but I'm a bit more restrained with my responses.

I can vouch for that one. Your former self was way entertaining back then. You're still just fine. I had a topic or two that I started get yanked mostly because that host was afraid we'd do things like, say, in here.

fezo

roadburner said:

Just for giggles, here is the text of the email that finally got me banned. It was in response to a notification that-for the umpteenth time-one of my posts had been removed. In this case a particularly clueless participant was holding himself out as an expert on the BMW N54 and I called him on it.

Happy holidays! It's nice to see that Edmund's "Protect the Moron" philosophy remains in full flower- at least in the 2007 3 Series Topic. Most of us are betting that you'll delete any critical posts - even if (name deleted ) claims the world is flat. Oh well, armed with that room temperature IQ I'm certain that he(it?) will make a positive contribution to every BMW topic he participates in. And if he develops opposable thumbs, who knows how far he may go?

Love that. I remember it happening.

fezo

"mako1a said:
I would like to inform all my husbands friends here that my husband has passed away. He was in the hospital for over 10 weeks for a serious medical condition and he did not recover. I have had this computer to a computer guy twice now, so I could log on, so that I could let you all know what has happened to him. I'm not sure that this is the best way to let you all know this but it is the only way that I can, so sorry it couldn't have contacted you's much sooner. Debi"

Debi,

I hope you can read this. What a wonderful act of kindness to remember us in your time of grief. As you have no doubt noticed we're a tight group and even by our standards (people who aren't genuinely good hearted tend not to last in here) Mako was one of the really good ones. While we can't imagine what you are going through know that we will miss him terribly here.

PF_Flyer

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh I thought it was the new Beetle.

Now THAT was funny!

That pile would fill all the interior space of the car just over 2 times. Naturally, it started to rain like Noah shortly after I started moving it around so the pile could get heavier.

tjc78

This is a very civil community compared to many others on the net. I've had a few run-ins in years past in other discussions, but I don't think anything got really ugly. There are times you just have to agree to disagree!

jmonroe

PF_Flyer said:

To paraphrase from Magnum Force... a man with a Versa's GOT to know his limitations



8 yards wouldn't fit, but it might bury it

Well, it looks like you did a good job at cleaning the exterior but to get an "A", we gotta see a shot of the inside from the tail gate and a couple more with the doors and glove box opened.

I remember throwing around about that much mulch a few times but I had my 2 son's helping out. I just wanted to point out the drop locations but they wouldn't let me get away with doing that.

jmonroe

stickguy

I outsourced mulching a few years ago. Wonderful use of money.

Mr_Shiftright

"Money is what you throw at problems until they go away"..... N. Shiftright

PF_Flyer

jmonroe said:

PF_Flyer said:

To paraphrase from Magnum Force... a man with a Versa's GOT to know his limitations



8 yards wouldn't fit, but it might bury it

Well, it looks like you did a good job at cleaning the exterior but to get an "A", we gotta see a shot of the inside from the tail gate and a couple more with the doors and glove box opened.

I remember throwing around about that much mulch a few times but I had my 2 son's helping out. I just wanted to point out the drop locations but they wouldn't let me get away with doing that.

jmonroe

3 hours in the rain took care of moving half the pile, most of it to the farthest locations from the pile. Most of what's left to move doesn't have to move more than about 25 feet. NAP TIME

imidazol97

PF_Flyer said:

... NAP TIME

Everytime I see someone having mulch delivered or buying more than 3 bags at Lowes,
I want to tell them they're buying themselves a job. Wheel barrowing that stuff is work.

stever

I think it's the difference between people who like to garden vs those who just figure the landscaping work is just part of homeowner maintenance. I know that Sneakers enjoying gardening. Heck, he enjoys mowing an acre twice a week.

jmonroe

stever said:

I think it's the difference between people who like to garden vs those who just figure the landscaping work is just part of homeowner maintenance. I know that Sneakers enjoying gardening. Heck, he enjoys mowing an acre twice a week.

So, when are you Mods going to get him fixed?

jmonroe

PF_Flyer

Don't know that I like to garden THAT much, but I have a lot of space. I like my vegetable garden, not that keen on flowers and decorative stuff, that's the wife's thing. I like having a nice lawn, and the veggie garden does help reduce the lawn maintenance by about 1,200 sqft

I've been known to mow the yard with one of these too. Nice change of pace from the gym now and then!

jmonroe

I got to talking with Son #1 when he was at the house for the Memorial Day cookout on Monday. Since he is more of a car guy than me I decided to try to recruit him to this site. To the best of my knowledge we don't have a father son duo in here, but sadly, I wasn't successful.

Below is some of our conversation:

Me: You know, when you finally sell that POS '08 T&C, you should come to a site at Edmunds and let the guys know how you did it. That would be a lot easier than me taking notes and trying to explain it.

Son #1: C'mon are you really going to do that? What makes you think anyone would care about that. In a way, I can almost understand telling them about me buying my new van but unloading my old one?

Me: I think that would be an even better story.

Son #1: Ok, you can tell them but I'm not going to a site to do that.

Me: You won't have to pay dues for the introductory 90 day period so how could that hurt you?

Son #1: WHAT? You guys pay to talk about cars?

Me: Don't worry, they'll probably waive the dues if you give them a good story.

Son #1: Count me out. You gotta be nuts if you think I'm falling for something like that.

After I scraped him from the ceiling, the conversation continued:

Me: I think you would have a good time on that site. There are a lot of car buffs in there.

Son #1: I'm sure there are but I don't really understand how you fit in with a crowd like that.

Me: I fake it a lot.

Son #1: You'd have to and they couldn't be all that bright if they can't see through you.

Now I have to defend you guys.

Me: There is a pretty diverse group of guys that hang out in there. We have all kinds really.

To name a few I say:

(1) We have a retired school administrator that used to sell cars after he retired from doing that and is now totally retired.

(2) We have a retired guy that sold books that nobody else wanted.

(3) We have a young guy that got his MBA from the same school that you got yours from.

(4) We have a guy that threatens to retire but is driving a school bus until he does.

(5) We have a guy that is a retired Honda salesman and has a handle to let you know what he sold.

I can go on and on but you get the idea. Oh, wait, here's one you'll really like.

(6) We even have a retired judge that likes BMW's and is an instructor at a race track.

Son #1: Hmm, that's interesting. I'll bet that guy never paid for a speeding ticket.

The conversation continued but like I said I wasn't successful in getting him to join so I guess I'll be the one to tell you guys about the selling of his old van. If and when he pulls that off.

FWIW, I still don't like my new mug shot. :@

jmonroe

stever

I keep inviting @PF_Flyer out to mow the rocks in my yard, but he keeps coming up with lame excuses.

jmonroe

PF_Flyer said:

Don't know that I like to garden THAT much, but I have a lot of space. I like my vegetable garden, not that keen on flowers and decorative stuff, that's the wife's thing. I like having a nice lawn, and the veggie garden does help reduce the lawn maintenance by about 1,200 sqft

I've been known to mow the yard with one of these too. Nice change of pace from the gym now and then!

I was right. You do need fixed.

jmonroe

28firefighter

@jmonroe Coffee came through my nose at the part where you started defending us.

jmonroe

28firefighter said:

@jmonroe Coffee came through my nose at the part where you started defending us.

Yeah, I've heard about the coffee drinking hazard on this site before.

jmonroe

imidazol97

jmonroe said:

(2) We have a retired guy that sold books that nobody else wanted.

(3) We have a young guy that got his MBA from the same school that you got yours from.

(4) We have a guy that threatens to retire but is driving a school bus until he does.

(5) We have a guy that is a retired Honda salesman and has a handle to let you know what he sold.

I can go on and on but you get the idea. Oh, wait, here's one you'll really like.

(6) We even have a retired judge that likes BMW's and is an instructor at a race track.

Son #1: Hmm, that's interesting. I'll bet that guy never paid for a speeding ticket.

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if and how I was described.

That was a good conversation you wrote up. BTW, I wonder how many
tickets roadburner has had to pay? In Ohio the FOP folks have little emblems
for their license plate and they have a get-out-of-jail card in their wallet. The
wife of an area officer kept getting stopped in our fair village--she was a friend
of my wife for a time and had stories to tell about using her GOOJ card.

jmonroe

'imid' said:

I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if and how I was described.
______________________________________________________________

I hope I didn't offend anybody by leaving them off my list. I had to draw the line somewhere.

I didn't want to bore everyone with the whole conversation.

I hope I don't get an "abuse" flag for my post.

jmonroe

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

That was a good conversation you wrote up. BTW, I wonder how many
tickets roadburner has had to pay? In Ohio the FOP folks have little emblems
for their license plate and they have a get-out-of-jail card in their wallet. The
wife of an area officer kept getting stopped in our fair village--she was a friend
of my wife for a time and had stories to tell about using her GOOJ card.

Over the past 26 years I've been stopped four times. I only pulled the "judge card" once at the time I was stopped; I was late to court(really). One time I was stopped driving to my mother-in-law's who had just suffered a heart attack. A prosecutor called later and got it put on diversion. If I hadn't been preoccupied the trooper wouldn't have nailed me. I don't feel too guilty(no pun intended) about not having to pay. Most of my prosecutors and I would defer or dismiss most any speeding ticket as long as the driver wasn't a frequent flyer or doing something truly dangerous, such as speeding in an active school or construction zone- or going over 15 mph above the limit in an urban or residential area. The running joke was that speeding was no longer a crime once I took the bench.

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

PF_Flyer said:

... NAP TIME

Everytime I see someone having mulch delivered or buying more than 3 bags at Lowes,
I want to tell them they're buying themselves a job. Wheel barrowing that stuff is work.

Agreed. We mulch one small area of the landscaping that takes three bags; everything else is covered with slate chips.Landscaping and yard work is one of my textbook definitions of Hell.

ab348

PF_Flyer said:

I've been known to mow the yard with one of these too. Nice change of pace from the gym now and then!

The tree-hugger neighbors across the street got one of those this year after their battery-powered mower lost its ability to hold a charge, one of my main dislikes of battery-powered household tools. I see hm out there wrestling with that thing and I figure it should come with a free hair shirt. Looks like something you'd be court-ordered to do after a misdemeanor conviction.

ab348

imidazol97 said:

Everytime I see someone having mulch delivered or buying more than 3 bags at Lowes,
I want to tell them they're buying themselves a job. Wheel barrowing that stuff is work.

Geez, Tuesday afternoon I used up 2 bags of Scotts mulch on my flower beds, not a big deal. Have another yet to go under the hydrangeas. I bought 6 bags of it last year when it was on sale.

houdini1

PF_Flyer said:

Don't know that I like to garden THAT much, but I have a lot of space. I like my vegetable garden, not that keen on flowers and decorative stuff, that's the wife's thing. I like having a nice lawn, and the veggie garden does help reduce the lawn maintenance by about 1,200 sqft

I've been known to mow the yard with one of these too. Nice change of pace from the gym now and then!

I got my fill of that push reel mower when I was growing up.

isellhondas

Well, I've heard people call VW's a POS before so maybe it is!

graphicguy

PF_Flyer said:

graphicguy said:

Debi...if you're still reading, I am so sorry to hear of Mako's passing. My condolences.

I remember him being around here since I have...mid '90s or thereabouts. I always enjoyed him.

As others have said, there's a pretty strong "virtual" friendship with all of us here.

He will be missed.

It's that whole circle of life thing. Very sorry to hear Deb.

I've met a number of folks from our community here and the friendship is more than virtual. Common memories back to the days of Town Hall illustrates that WE are the community here, given the web site changes we've gone through together over the years. How did we get by when we couldn't post photos and videos??

Anyone remember when things looked like this?
https://web.archive.org/web/19961221090329/http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/twnhall/townhall.html

I do remember that......actually one of the longest forums I've been a part of. The other is an audio forum.

Not exactly sure what that says about me, though.

graphicguy

So, not sure what I did to endear me to Hertz (could be I rent one or two cars from them nearly every week), but they put me in a C300 earlier this week to tool around in while working in WI. I tried to get the Mustang GTH or the Jag next to it, but that was a "no go" unless I forked over A LOT more money. Company would not be happy about that.

Anyway, some observations....I was really keen on the C300 Sport version when I was ready to take Cadillac to the mat. The one they rented me was a base model. This one didn't have leather but did have MB Tex. Drive train is the same though. No fancy stereo. No sports seats. Nor spartan by any means, but not equipped the way I like them, or as you'd expect Benz dealers to have on their lot.

Love the torque 4 cyl, as I've mentioned before. For reasons I don't quite understand, this one sounded industrial. The car had 2,200 miles on it when I picked it up at Hertz, so it hasn't been driven much. It makes a racket that is quite unbecoming a Benz, though.

The suspension, regardless of the mode I dialed up (comfort, sport, sport+, eco) just wasn't up for the job. Smooth roads? No problems. Hit a bump, it will jar your teeth. It more or less crashed over bumps, feeling like it had very little wheel travel. I caught the rear end stepping out over bumps a few times. Hadn't felt that in a while.

No nav, but the screen you use to set phone connections, stereo stations, etc, was slow to respond. You make your pick, and wait a second or so before it reacts. Not liking that. I didn't play around too much with the interface when I was test driving, but that would have annoyed me.

Steering kind of switched between being quick and agile to way imprecise. I wondered if something was actually wrong in the steering box. When it was good, it was very good. When it was bad, it was very bad.

Interior, despite missing leather, sport seats, etc, really was done quite nice by Benz. Ergonomically, it's spot on. Screen on the dash seemed "lower res". I don't remember that during the test drive.

It had no problems at all doing some cut and thrust routines. Matter of fact, it makes it quite fun. Trans gets to the highest gear as quickly as possible, but is quite willing to kick down a gear or two with little provocation. I liked that.

I'm thinking you have to step up to Driver's or Mike's versions of a Benz to get everything I'd like.

BUt, if you have to be in a Benz, and you can't buy an E, get the CLA. Looks sharp and really drives about the same as the C Class. Save yourself some $$$$ in the process.

abacomike

graphicguy said:

So, not sure what I did to endear me to Hertz (could be I rent one or two cars from them nearly every week), but they put me in a C300 earlier this week to tool around in while working in WI. I tried to get the Mustang GTH or the Jag next to it, but that was a "no go" unless I forked over A LOT more money. Company would not be happy about that. Anyway, some observations....I was really keen on the C300 Sport version when I was ready to take Cadillac to the mat. The one they rented me was a base model. This one didn't have leather but did have MB Tex. Drive train is the same though. No fancy stereo. No sports seats. Nor spartan by any means, but not equipped the way I like them, or as you'd expect Benz dealers to have on their lot. Love the torque 4 cyl, as I've mentioned before. For reasons I don't quite understand, this one sounded industrial. The car had 2,200 miles on it when I picked it up at Hertz, so it hasn't been driven much. It makes a racket that is quite unbecoming a Benz, though. The suspension, regardless of the mode I dialed up (comfort, sport, sport+, eco) just wasn't up for the job. Smooth roads? No problems. Hit a bump, it will jar your teeth. It more or less crashed over bumps, feeling like it had very little wheel travel. I caught the rear end stepping out over bumps a few times. Hadn't felt that in a while. No nav, but the screen you use to set phone connections, stereo stations, etc, was slow to respond. You make your pick, and wait a second or so before it reacts. Not liking that. I didn't play around too much with the interface when I was test driving, but that would have annoyed me. Steering kind of switched between being quick and agile to way imprecise. I wondered if something was actually wrong in the steering box. When it was good, it was very good. When it was bad, it was very bad. Interior, despite missing leather, sport seats, etc, really was done quite nice by Benz. Ergonomically, it's spot on. Screen on the dash seemed "lower res". I don't remember that during the test drive. It had no problems at all doing some cut and thrust routines. Matter of fact, it makes it quite fun. Trans gets to the highest gear as quickly as possible, but is quite willing to kick down a gear or two with little provocation. I liked that. I'm thinking you have to step up to Driver's or Mike's versions of a Benz to get everything I'd like. BUt, if you have to be in a Benz, and you can't buy an E, get the CLA. Looks sharp and really drives about the same as the C Class. Save yourself some $$$$ in the process.

You might remember back a month or so I posted my impressions of the C300 that I had as a loaner when they replaced the bumper on my CLS.  Not much different than what you posted here. Very noisy engine; technology slow to respond; ride and handling imprecise; torque-y nut not impressive, etc.

Even though it sports the Mercedes-Benz Star, it sure wasn't what I felt a Mercedes-Benz should be.

Perhaps adding about $8,000 in options would result in a more acceptable driver, but I too had a base model that just did not impress me.  I guess I'm a spoiled, rotten brat (my Mom's description of me when I was a little boy and was behaving badly!).