Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

snakeweasel said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Yonge St lost it's lead as longest road in the world when sections were deemed to belong to the municipalities rather than as one combined Provincial Rd. When it held the record it was about 1100 miles long.


It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Kirstie_H

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Yonge St lost it's lead as longest road in the world when sections were deemed to belong to the municipalities rather than as one combined Provincial Rd. When it held the record it was about 1100 miles long.


It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below.

Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

houdini1

stever said:

@houdini, you may as well stick a Silverado in a Ford maven's driveway as try to change anyone's mind around here..

Back to cars, we drove crosstown to look at a house and did about a 12 mile loop. I counted two convertibles, tops up and saw around 12 sunroofs, including a panoramic one on a MINI. Three were popped open and two of those were "venting" in parking lots. More normal numbers I guess but the count still seems low.

ray80

Kirstie_H said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below.

Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

Have to learn to ignore the gooble-de-[non-permissible content removed] that precedes the english in the quote area also (at least on this browser)

abacomike

ray80 said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below. Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

Have to learn to ignore the gooble-de-[non-permissible content removed] that precedes the english in the quote area also (at least on this browser)

This is much easier.  No need for the @ symbol. Just have to get used to it.

driver100

Kirstie_H said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Yonge St lost it's lead as longest road in the world when sections were deemed to belong to the municipalities rather than as one combined Provincial Rd. When it held the record it was about 1100 miles long.


It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below.

Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

This is going to use up a lot more cyberspace though, and we are going to reach our page limit a lot sooner. It's too difficult removing stuff and not messing it up.

Too much environmental cyberspace being wasted.......

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

ray80 said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below. Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

Have to learn to ignore the gooble-de-[non-permissible content removed] that precedes the english in the quote area also (at least on this browser)

This is much easier.  No need for the @ symbol. Just have to get used to it.

Boy these quotes within quotes can get surreal, how far can we go before the original post is just one letter per line? After that would it dissappear? 

abacomike

snakeweasel:

This is not going to work.

snakeweasel

Abacomike:

You're right it's not. 

ab348

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

ray80 said:

Kirstie_H said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michael wrote:

>Isn't Yonge (pronounced "young" for those of us south of the border) the longest street in the world?

It is generally considered so, but that would depend upon your definition of "street". The true definition of "street" is a public thoroughfare through a built up area (urban/suburban area). I would think that most of Yonge is in rural areas and therefor not considered a street for the entire length. 

Testing the new quote feature - some changes were made this morning or yesterday afternoon. My understanding is that now, you shouldn't have to touch anything, and just start typing below.

Edit - yes, that's it. The whole "@" thing is not needed anymore. If you just start typing after the last backslash blockquote code, you should be good. You can delete anything in between the first blockquote and the backslash-blockquote if you want to trim the content.

Have to learn to ignore the gooble-de-[non-permissible content removed] that precedes the english in the quote area also (at least on this browser)

This is much easier.  No need for the @ symbol. Just have to get used to it.

Boy these quotes within quotes can get surreal, how far can we go before the original post is just one letter per line? After that would it dissappear? 

Let me weigh in. Holy cats, what a bunch of gobbledegook in the quote! I wouldn't have a clue how to trim any of it. Not sure this is an improvement.

Edited to add: I still managed to do something wrong it seems. The last person quoted looks like it is something I wrote. I didn't touch anything, just started typing after a line break. Wassup?

snakeweasel

ab348 said:

Let me weigh in. Holy cats, what a bunch of gobbledegook in the quote! I wouldn't have a clue how to trim any of it. Not sure this is an improvement.

Not sure how you are seeing it but I first saw these things on my cell phone and on that small screen did it look funky. Nice and long with only two or three words per line for the original post.

abacomike

ab348 

I just think it is better to just list the person you are responding to in the "Leave a Comment" section at the bottom of the page and respond as usual - at least until the "geniuses" who caused this mess figure out a way to solve this problem.

Note that I use the word "geniuses" loosely!!!

stickguy

abacomike said:

ab348 

I just think it is better to just list the person you are responding to in the "Leave a Comment" section at the bottom of the page and respond as usual - at least until the "geniuses" who caused this mess figure out a way to solve this problem.

Note that I use the word "geniuses" loosely!!!

Not really anything important to say to Mike. Just wanted to try a quote to see how it worked.

Edit: works just fine for me. easier than having to make sure you didn't have one of those symbols on the line when you started typing!

ab348

stickguy said:

abacomike said:

ab348 

I just think it is better to just list the person you are responding to in the "Leave a Comment" section at the bottom of the page and respond as usual - at least until the "geniuses" who caused this mess figure out a way to solve this problem.

Note that I use the word "geniuses" loosely!!!

Not really anything important to say to Mike. Just wanted to try a quote to see how it worked.

Edit: works just fine for me. easier than having to make sure you didn't have one of those symbols on the line when you started typing!

Well, I never had a problem quoting an "original" post without anything else in it. It was when I tried to quote a post with a quote in it that it didn't work at all. In one sense this is an improvement but when you are posting a multiquote, the text is really messy and precludes anyone trimming it. WYSIWYG is not something these Vanilla Forums folks ever heard of I guess.

stever

I'm okay with it, just so long as we don't start the "person below me" game.

imidazol97

@‌
http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/15/ohio-state-fan-pulled-over-sticker-confused-for-marijuana/1923475/ It seems the police can pull you over for a small infraction, and then if you have a fairly large amount of cash on you or in the car, then the police can take the money.
They claim the money came from crime, and getting it back can be difficult and costly.



A decade or more ago 60 Minutes did a story about I-10 in Louisiana or thereabouts and the police had figured out many of the people driving premium automobiles were carrying large amounts of cash. They would allege the car had touched the line for the lane or was speeding and stopped the car. Confiscated the money found. Own had to work very hard to get the money back.

More recently, in Western Tennessee on I-40 IIRC a county had decided this was a good money maker because of the drug trade. Cars going west tended to be coming back with large amounts of cash. The Ohio State University has an "O" with the buckeye leaf

as its emblem. An Ohio driver was stopped with this sticker displayed on her SUV. County Mounties thought it was a marijuana leaf and she must be involved in the drug trade.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/gameon/2013/02/15/ohio-state-fan-pulled-over-sticker-confused-for-marijuana/1923475/

imidazol97

stever said:

I'm okay with it, just so long as we don't start the "person below me" game.

Driver100

You are right. There's something wrong with the quote setup. It's doing "blockquotes".
The "@" sign is gone and while in the box entering text with a quote present, it looks like
other forums I'm in where the quote ability is done different than ours used to be done.

imidazol97

.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

.

I don't think you left a message imidazol so your post was blank...maybe it was a test.......or maybe it was the smartest post posted today. At least it was brief and to the point.

But, what does the gate symbolize next to your name? Something like "Don't let the door hit you in the [non-permissible content removed] on your way out".

sb55

I just had an experience at a dealer that confirms that dealer's are sometimes "less than pleasant".
I wanted to trade my 2010 GMC PU truck with low miles on a 2014 new style. I got the trade price from RWTIV (thanks Q) and have seen newspaper ads with great incentives on the new ones. I actually made an appointment with internet salesman "a".
Wife and I got the dealership and asked for salesman "a". He came out and introduced himself and said that salesman "b" would help us. "b" was OK and showed us many vehicles and we finally found a color and equipment that we liked. Without even asking for my license we took a drive. It was nicer than mine and we said work up a price. After waiting 1/2 hour they came back with $16,500 plus my truck. Whoa, that's a lot more than I expected. Salesman "b" said let me see what I can do. He comes back 15 minutes later with $3K less. They "found" another $1500 rebate and will give $1500 more in trade. I said that my number would be more like $10,000 plus my truck (which is know is a little low). They were saying no way to that price, but let me get manager "c". Another 10 minutes went by and we really had to go. "c" finally comes out and said that he could maybe get me $1500 more on the trade. Keep in mind it's the same brand that they sell and that I bought it there. This trade price will be more in line with the price I got from Q. We seemed to still be $2000 apart so we said that we really had to go and we would get back to him. Manager "c" just got up and walked away. No goodbye, no thanks for stopping, no nothing. He just left! We had to find salesman "b" for our keys and when walking out told him how offensive manager "c" was. My wife was fuming and said that we would never step foot in there again.
Sooo, salesman "b" just called and apologized for manager "c" and offered to sell it for $9900. That's probably a really got price, but what to do. It works out to about $10,000 off a $43,000 truck. Keep shopping or jump on it? Give CCBA a punch? I feel in a quandary. Nice truck at crappy dealer, or find nicer dealer and waste more time?

ab348

If salesman "b" was OK I wouldn't let the manager guy screw up the deal. I have dealt with some of them and they can be really good, but sometimes can be egomaniacs and real jerks. This one sounds like the latter.

abacomike

sb55 said:

" It works out to about $10,000 off a $43,000 truck. Keep shopping or jump on it? Give CCBA a punch? I feel in a quandary. Nice truck at crappy dealer, or find nicer dealer and waste more time?"

I have always felt that pricing on a new vehicle was more important than where you buy that vehicle because you can always service that vehicle at another dealer.

In this case, you have a firm offer at about $10,000 plus your trade.  First thing tomorrow morning go to another dealer and once you select a new vehicle from their inventory, tell them you will buy the vehicle NOW at this price you received from dealer A.  Pull out your checkbook and title, etc., and sit down at a desk and ask the salesman, "...now who do I make out my check to?"

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

@oldfarmer50‌ said:

"Took the golf team to a tournament at a not too special club south of Albany."

I used to frequent Albany frequently when I was in my late teens and early 20's.  Had family friends who lived on Colonial Avenue - used to go on skiing outings with them.  The family owned a huge record distributorship there (1960's) and they often took me for dinner at their country club, I believe it was Shaker Ridge, near the airport.

I remember we were having dinner at the club and I was scheduled on a flight from Albany to LaGuardia - the service was slow and I was afraid I would miss my flight.  The father of that family called Mohawk Airlines and they held the flight for me for 15 minutes so I wouldn't miss the flight.  I remember that well because tgere are very few Wheeler Dealers who could pull something like that off.  He was very influential in the Albany area - an understatement!!!

My niece's father was pretty influential too. He had a big wedding planned for her at The Breakers in Palm Beach when a hurricane appeared off the coast causing an evacuation.

Within an hour he had arranged for hundreds of people attending the wedding to be bused to a private island off Key West. We all got private bungalows and a yacht. Magical.

abacomike

oldfarmer50 said:

@oldfarmer50‌ said:

"Took the golf team to a tournament at a not too special club south of Albany."

I used to frequent Albany frequently when I was in my late teens and early 20's.  Had family friends who lived on Colonial Avenue - used to go on skiing outings with them.  The family owned a huge record distributorship there (1960's) and they often took me for dinner at their country club, I believe it was Shaker Ridge, near the airport.

I remember we were having dinner at the club and I was scheduled on a flight from Albany to LaGuardia - the service was slow and I was afraid I would miss my flight.  The father of that family called Mohawk Airlines and they held the flight for me for 15 minutes so I wouldn't miss the flight.  I remember that well because tgere are very few Wheeler Dealers who could pull something like that off.  He was very influential in the Albany area - an understatement!!!

My niece's father was pretty influential too. He had a big wedding planned for her at The Breakers in Palm Beach when a hurricane appeared off the coast causing an evacuation. Within an hour he had arranged for hundreds of people attending the wedding to be bused to a private island off Key West. We all got private bungalows and a yacht. Magical.

Breakers is a phenomenal place - been there once and enjoyed every minute.  Key West is much more informal but, in my opinion, better and less "stuffed shirty" if you get my drift.  

oldfarmer50

sb55 said:

I just had an experience at a dealer that confirms that dealer's are sometimes "less than pleasant".
I wanted to trade my 2010 GMC PU truck with low miles on a 2014 new style. I got the trade price from RWTIV (thanks Q) and have seen newspaper ads with great incentives on the new ones. I actually made an appointment with internet salesman "a".
Wife and I got the dealership and asked for salesman "a". He came out and introduced himself and said that salesman "b" would help us. "b" was OK and showed us many vehicles and we finally found a color and equipment that we liked. Without even asking for my license we took a drive. It was nicer than mine and we said work up a price. After waiting 1/2 hour they came back with $16,500 plus my truck. Whoa, that's a lot more than I expected. Salesman "b" said let me see what I can do. He comes back 15 minutes later with $3K less. They "found" another $1500 rebate and will give $1500 more in trade. I said that my number would be more like $10,000 plus my truck (which is know is a little low). They were saying no way to that price, but let me get manager "c". Another 10 minutes went by and we really had to go. "c" finally comes out and said that he could maybe get me $1500 more on the trade. Keep in mind it's the same brand that they sell and that I bought it there. This trade price will be more in line with the price I got from Q. We seemed to still be $2000 apart so we said that we really had to go and we would get back to him. Manager "c" just got up and walked away. No goodbye, no thanks for stopping, no nothing. He just left! We had to find salesman "b" for our keys and when walking out told him how offensive manager "c" was. My wife was fuming and said that we would never step foot in there again.
Sooo, salesman "b" just called and apologized for manager "c" and offered to sell it for $9900. That's probably a really got price, but what to do. It works out to about $10,000 off a $43,000 truck. Keep shopping or jump on it? Give CCBA a punch? I feel in a quandary. Nice truck at crappy dealer, or find nicer dealer and waste more time?

If you think it's a good deal take it and have the truck serviced somewhere else. That'll hit em' where it hurts.

explorerx4

@sb55, If you are getting the price you want, buy it. At that point, you will be done with the sales department. Service is a different group of people. If you don't like their service department, then go somewhere else for service.
You still have the sales survey as leverage if you need it.
Do you get you current truck serviced there?

imidazol97

driver100 said:

I don't think you left a message imidazol so your post was blank...maybe it was a test.......or maybe it was the smartest post posted today. At least it was brief and to the point.

It was a test message which I then abandoned. Indeed it was my smartest post of the day. Sometimes less is more, in bikinis and in concise posts.

driver100 said:

But, what does the gate symbolize next to your name? Something like "Don't let the door hit you in the [non-permissible content removed] on your way out".

The gate is just a picture. I liked it because I have a short picket fence to replace as a summer project. It's cold today and I'm looking for my long underwear. It only got up in 60s F today. I got the idea because if you're banned, your picture is covered by a similar jail like fence.

@STEVEr I think there is a problem with the new quote system.

But I was thinking while driving the last few days how seldom we've had shutdowns with the current platform for the forums. It's been really nice. We lost a few features with the change, gained a few features that are really nice. But we've been online most of the time.

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@sb55, If you are getting the price you want, buy it. At that point, you will be done with the sales department. Service is a different group of people. If you don't like their service department, then go somewhere else for service.
You still have the sales survey as leverage if you need it.
Do you get you current truck serviced there?

I agree 100% with Explorer. If you really like the truck, if $10000 off was your target price, then go with it. At this point they might think they are going to lose the sale unless they give you what you want.

The only thing I would add is:
1) Take the truck out for another spin, you were under a lot of pressure when you looked at it and negotiated,
2) Watch that they don't add any extras you weren't expecting, like rust protection, theft plan, upholestry protection, mop n glo, tinted windows, and I was just reading about a guy going to pick up his car and he found they installed an $800 alarm he didn't want...but, would take a few days to remove if he didn't take it.

I can't wait to see what happens....this is like a cliffhanger...like Prestorios trial!

stever

imidazol97 said:

But I was thinking while driving the last few days how seldom we've had shutdowns with the current platform for the forums.

Yeah, it's
been good
that way

Tabbing doesn't work
but some of the odd formatting
does

There's a Show Previous Quotes option sometimes - that may be new (and a fix to the long nested quotes).

fezo

I'm trying to catch up. Give me time...

I'm on the take the truck wagon. It's what you want for the price you wanted. Just because c is a (choose your expletive here) don't let him control your best interests.

Meanwhile, heading home on the Garden State Parkway I had one of my tires explode. I mean not just a blowout. There was little of the sidewall still attached to the rim. There's insurance on the tire which means I get a new one free but deciding what to do is tricky. If I want to have that dealer replace the other tires it's $220 a pop. At Costco they're $160 a pop with a $70 off if you buy four and all the freebies thrown in if you buy all four tires from them.

I'm also toying with upgrading to performance tires. A little more pricey and less treadwear but the idea there is to have fun. The dead tire is a Michelin Primacy - an all season tire and very nice. I'm thinking Pilots but don't know if they suck in snow. We don't get much here but it's not like we don't get any.

I will say I was impressed with how the car handled under the conditions. I was going 70 - 75 fortunately in the right lane when all of a sudden the wheel felt wacky. Surprised at the lack of a bang, but I gingerly pulled over on the shoulder, called AAA (actually the Parkway service contract people but they don't charge AAA members). After waiting 40 minutes for a 25 minute estimate a good samaritan in a white Corolla popped out and when I mentioned I was diabetic and getting hungry gave me his bagel. He was 3/4 done when the guy who was supposed to do it showed up. The guy waved him off saying he had it under control. Wouldn't even accept payment for the bagel. Said "If I took any money it wouldn't be a good deed." Best piece of a tough day.

He did recommend Michelin gas savers. Said it added 3 or 4 mpg to his car. Says they just keep rolling. I'm betting if what I want is a fun tire that's not it but it does appeal to my inner cheapskate....

stickguy

glad nothing bad happened Fez. I assume the rest of the tires are are worn enough to need replacing too, vs. just getting a replacement (and you can have the tread shaved to match if needed).

did you get the suspension upgrades done on it? if so, def. go with a more performance oriented AS tire. I think the pilots, while expensive, test out quite well. Check tire rack and see what else they have and how owners rate them.

nyccarguy

Fezo

When I got a flat tire on my BMW which came with Continental Sportracks, instead of replacing 2 Continentals, I replaced all 4 tires with Michelin Primacy MXM ZP. I'm very happy with them.

driver100

fezo said:

I'm trying to catch up. Give me time...At Costco they're $160 a pop with a $70 off if you buy four and all the freebies thrown in if you buy all four tires from them


Lots of factors to consider. Funny that 4 new tires will cost a lot less at Costco even though the guaranty would give you a free tire.

Might want to consider the tread wear on the other tires (if all need replacing Costco is worth consideration).

How much difference will high performance tires really make and is it worth the extra cost?

I learned one lesson about tires early in life. I had a 1981 Cutlass and I needed 4 tires, didn't have much extra money. I bought 4 tires at Exxon (which I think was Esso then) and they ruined the whole car. False savings!

Only you can decide what makes sense to you....good luck. Lucky the guy in the white Corolla was there, did you look at his license, he sounds like he may have been a Canadian.

abacomike

Driver100

Personally, I'm thrilled that I was finally able to order a car that does not have performance/summer tires.  The car I ordered comes standard with all season radials and all four 18" tires are the same size.  I can finally rotate the tires.

The performance tires handle a little better but they wear out so quickly and are much more expensive.

I don't know what brand of tire the car will come in with, but they are usually Continentals.  I am hoping they will be Michelin's.

imidazol97

abacomike said:

Driver100

I can finally rotate the tires.

But you don't keep cars long enough to rotate them.

abacomike

Imidazol97

"But you don't keep cars long enough to rotate them. "

I don't keep cars long enough to learn what most of the optional technology can do, let alone rotate tires.  Actually I do keep them long enough for at least one tire rotation at 5000 miles.  The second rotation is doubtful!

You have me pegged, imid!

jayrider

Wouldn't even accept payment for the bagel. Said "If I took any money it wouldn't be a good deed." Best piece of a tough day.

He did recommend Michelin gas savers. Said it added 3 or 4 mpg to his car. Says they just keep rolling. I'm betting if what I want is a fun tire that's not it but it does appeal to my inner cheapskate....

That's a great story -- especially the bagel chapter. Glad it worked out.

qbrozen

sb55 - I would say go for it. The manager is just one of many employees and has no real vested interest if you buy or not. NOT buying is only hurting you and the salesperson, not the guy you truly want to get back at.

driver100

abacomike said:

Driver100

Personally, I'm thrilled that I was finally able to order a car that does not have performance/summer tires.  The car I ordered comes standard with all season radials and all four 18" tires are the same size.  I can finally rotate the tires.

The performance tires handle a little better but they wear out so quickly and are much more expensive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I chopped some of your message out Mike so we'll see what actually shows up. I am trying to do my bit to save the planet.

At this stage in life I want life to be as simple as possible, so I would definitely go with all season tires if given a choice. They are good enough for almost any situation, they last longer, cost is more reasonable. Probably grip a lot better even in wet conditions.

Unless all 4 tires need replacing if one tire goes, I don't belive in rotating tires. My tires got worse and wore out faster after a rotation. I preferred letting the front ones wear out first, and just replace tires in pairs. I was on a strict buget those days, but that way I could buy 2 tires at a time. I have a friend and I found out he did the same.

It will be interesting to see what tires we get....the bmw came with Goodyear run flats, I think Goodyear was the only or one of the few making them, but I hope I get something a lot better than that. My replacements were Michelins, much better!

danfromm

driver100 said:

It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Sanity check time. 30k miles is more than once around the world. Are you sure the IAH is 30k miles from end to end?

abacomike

@driver100‌

"It will be interesting to see what tires we get....the bmw came with Goodyear run flats, I think Goodyear was the only or one of the few making them, but I hope I get something a lot better than that. My replacements were Michelins, much better!"

I've never gotten Goodyears on a New Mercedes.  I've gotten Michelin's, Pirelli's, Continentals and Dunlops.  But 80% of the time they've been Continentals.

BTW, when I spoke with MBUSA, they said that the 2015 E400's are not scheduled for release to the dealerships here in the USA until late October or early November.  But according to my dealership, cars on order for identified customers (like you and me) are usually released ahead of the release date.  I remember my 2014 E350 was released about 2 weeks before inventory cars (April, 2013, instead of May, 2013).  So I guess if the dealership has placed a customer's name on the order, it is released much more quickly.

My car already has a VIN# and has already been built.  It shows that it is awaiting ground transport to the port.

Mr_Shiftright

it's not really a "road" as much as an idea, and it includes "networks" of roads that supposedly total 30,000 miles. It's not even a complete road---you can't drive the Darien Gap.

danfromm said:

driver100 said:

It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Sanity check time. 30k miles is more than once around the world. Are you sure the IAH is 30k miles from end to end?

driver100

danfromm said:

driver100 said:

It wasn’t until 1999 that Yonge St. was officially stripped of its title from the Guinness Book of World Records as the World’s longest road[iii]. The Pan American highway has been given this title as it starts in Argentina and travels a mere 48,000 km (30000 miles) all the way up to rural Alaska.

And yes, Michaell, Yonge is pronounced as Young...but both spellings are names of people..

Sanity check time. 30k miles is more than once around the world. Are you sure the IAH is 30k miles from end to end?

Thanks Dan....at first what you said makes sense, but I checked again. Here is what I found:
The Pan-American Highway route in North America is the portion of a network of roads nearly 48,000 km in length which travels through the mainland nations of the Americas.

No definitive length of the Pan American Highway exists because the Canadian government has never officially defined any specific route as being part of the Pan-American Highway, while in the U.S., the Federal Highway Administration(FHA) has designated the entire Interstate Highway System part of the Pan-American Highway System, although this has not yet been reinforced by any official highway signage.[1][2] Mexico officially has many branches connecting to various interstate highways at the U.S. border. However, the total length of the North American portion of the highway following the most direct route is roughly 26,000 km (16,000 mi)



I think the contest should be the one longest continuous road.

driver100

abacomike said:

@driver100‌

"It will be interesting to see what tires we get....the bmw came with Goodyear run flats, I think Goodyear was the only or one of the few making them, but I hope I get something a lot better than that. My replacements were Michelins, much better!"

I've never gotten Goodyears on a New Mercedes.  I've gotten Michelin's, Pirelli's, Continentals and Dunlops.  But 80% of the time they've been Continentals.

BTW, when I spoke with MBUSA, they said that the 2015 E400's are not scheduled for release to the dealerships here in the USA until late October or early November.  But according to my dealership, cars on order for identified customers (like you and me) are usually released ahead of the release date.  I remember my 2014 E350 was released about 2 weeks before inventory cars (April, 2013, instead of May, 2013).  So I guess if the dealership has placed a customer's name on the order, it is released much more quickly.

My car already has a VIN# and has already been built.  It shows that it is awaiting ground transport to the port.

I was going to say...if the car is built this week it should be made within a day or two. A few days to get to port. About 5 days at sea. A few days by rail to get to dealer. Dealer prep 3 days max.

The car should be here in about 2 to 3 weeks.

fezo

Well, sometimes what's available trumps what you actually were planning. I was all set to go with the Pilots but they'd have to be ordered. No earlier than Tuesday and I've got to be in Philadelphia Tuesday morning. Not planning on trying that with that purgatory of driving on a donut spare.

So the guy with the tire insurance says it's prorated and earns me $50 off the tire which bring it to $170. Costco has it at $159. Well, if they had that size in stock they would. They did have a set of Michelin Premiers which are slowly replacing the Primacys in the lineup. $70 rebate from Michelin for buying four tires. The Mazda, being an S, has 17" wheels which kicks up the price a bit but I'm quite happy with the tires if a fair bit lighter in the wallet.

By the time I'm replacing these the car will be up near 180K. When it gets to 170K maybe I'll order the Pilots. I'm planning on keeping the car until it dies or I do.

driver100

My friend with OCD told me to order the upholestry protection for the new E400. He told me his wife spilled coffee in his car and it just beaded up and he could clean it.

I was thinking I would consider this, probably not get it from the dealer who will charge double, but would possibly get it applied at a detail shop.

So, I looked up some information and from what I can find out, if you buy cans of 3M upholetry protectant, cost about $10 a can, it does the same thing as the dealers, who will charge $100+. Apparently, you should test it first to see it won't discolor the seats etc. And leave windows open a bit for a few days because the stuff is hard on the lungs.

Do you really need that stuff with leather seats? Should I put it on the carpets maybe, just in case?

driver100

Fezo said: They did have a set of Michelin Premiers which are slowly replacing the Primacys in the lineup. $70 rebate from Michelin for buying four tires. The Mazda, being an S, has 17" wheels which kicks up the price a bit but I'm quite happy with the tires if a fair bit lighter in the wallet.

So, you are going with the newer Michelin Premiers with $70 off on 4 tires, and they will cost a little more than $159 each because you have larger wheel size than the advertised price.

I think you did the right thing. So, when will they be put on the car? How much was the all in price?

driver100

"Mr_Shiftright"it's not really a "road" as much as an idea, and it includes "networks" of roads that supposedly total 30,000 miles. It's not even a complete road---you can't drive the Darien Gap.

I am having trouble finding the longest single road in the world. I did find this out about Hwy 401 that goes across Toronto.

Busiest highway
Highway 401 – the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway has volumes surpassing an average of 500,000 vehicles per day in some sections of Toronto as of 2006, giving Highway 401 the distinction of being North America’s busiest highway.
This surpasses the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles, and several Interstate freeways in Houston, Texas.
King’s Highway 401 is the primary through route across Southern, Central and Eastern Ontario. Since the highway’s completion in the late 1960s, Highway 401 has evolved from being a convenient bypass to a vital economic corridor.
Today the stretch of Highway 401 that passes through the Greater Toronto Area ranges from 6 to 18 lanes, and the stretch between Highway 403 and Brock Road in Pickering is thought to be the world’s longest continuous stretch of highway having 10 or more lanes

That's the highway I commuted on for 10 months before getting canned....2 hours each way:

(on a very quiet day)



(busier day)

ab348

driver100 said:

My friend with OCD told me to order the upholestry protection for the new E400. He told me his wife spilled coffee in his car and it just beaded up and he could clean it.

I was thinking I would consider this, probably not get it from the dealer who will charge double, but would possibly get it applied at a detail shop.

So, I looked up some information and from what I can find out, if you buy cans of 3M upholetry protectant, cost about $10 a can, it does the same thing as the dealers, who will charge $100+. Apparently, you should test it first to see it won't discolor the seats etc. And leave windows open a bit for a few days because the stuff is hard on the lungs.

Do you really need that stuff with leather seats? Should I put it on the carpets maybe, just in case?

Did you order the perforated leather? If so any liquid spill would seep thru the perforations into the padding. Might not be pleasant. Not sure there is any solution to that issue.

I dunno if protectant on leather makes any sense. Carpet, perhaps, if it works on carpet.

fezo

The tires are on the car. That was the point. Because of the size they were $179 each plus $15 each for installation and 7% sales tax to add up a bit over $700. The local guy couldn't do even the basic tire before tax and installation for much under $900. He then sells a warranty that Costco just includes on the deal. I wouldn't walk out if there for less than a grand. This guy already lost my mechanical work from just charging too much and chronic upselling. He's got three BMWs. At one point I told him I'm making the payments on two of them.

Of course he had the tire that came in for my car but hadn't put it on yet. Thank goodness. That did give me another chance to take a picture of it but I missed again.

Nice enough guys to talk to but I'm lots happier with my single mechanic shop and Costco for tires.