Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

graphicguy

Sperate topic (but somewhat relatable)....all over the financial news that OPEC agreed to an output cut. While I expect pump prices will get a (very) temporary boost, OPEC is no longer relevant. They haven't been for some time.

They probably just cut off their nose to spite their face. Not politicizing here, but given the new administration's desire to open up U.S. protected lands for oil reserves and shale oil already a viable alternative (and the ever increasing CAFE efficiency standards as well as the growing electric car market), this may be the final blow to OPEC.

Limiting prodution will do nothing more than give impetus for more locally sourced energy sources.

driver100

sda said:

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

My wife would freak out not getting a basement. I would be quite happy to not have one. As long as there is a decent amount of storage (a walk in attic deal maybe) for dry stuff. and a workshop off the garage for the workbench and my stuff!

I loved the idea of having a basement until about 2 weeks ago. I just put down a deposit today to have a company dig a trench around the interior perimeter of my basement: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p73xUELvsBU

My plumber and my painter have both told me that once this goes in along with a heavy duty dehumidifier, that my basement will be home dry and I won't have to worry about it anymore. $8,700 is just the tip of the ice berg. I've got to have the oil tank moved, the baseboard radiators taken out & reinstalled, the walls treated for mold, then painted & insulated. Some custom shelving I had put up needs to be taken down & hopefully put back up again. I'm going to have to re-tile my bathroom in the basement. Demo the walls 30" up, install a special type of Sheetrock made of fiberglass that is mold & mildew resistant. Have it taped, spackled, painted, then have new flooring installed, and baseboard heat installed in the main area.

I was talking myself into sticking with my underpowered, noisy Subaru for a long time on the drive home tonight. I've been dreaming about cars for as long as I can remember. I'm never going to ever come close to being able to afford a 911. Even a 718 Cayman, Macan S, & ///M2 seem out of reach.

I feel for you having to go to that expense and the inconvenience of getting the basement right. After watching shows like 'Holmes Makes it Right', and though I like the idea of a basement, they would be a source of worry unless I knew they were built and waterproofed correctly. True basements around here are rare. Typically a basement is available if a house if built on a sloping lot.

I hate stuff like broken basement or a broken furnace, air conditioner. At least with a new car you have something to show for your $1000s of dollars.

driver100

stickguy said:

Hey. Anyone familiar with LED headlight option (this would be on an Audi)? Wonderful feature or useless gimmick?

Son is debating a car with them. Pricey option though, so wants to make sure they are truly useful

Only useful if you drive at night!!!!!

I got them for some reason on the old and new E400....had to it was part of a package that gave me keyless. I am sure it lights up more and if it is adoptive it turns with you etc., but, I think I could live without it. I'd take blind spot warning over LEDs

venture

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

My wife would freak out not getting a basement. I would be quite happy to not have one. As long as there is a decent amount of storage (a walk in attic deal maybe) for dry stuff. and a workshop off the garage for the workbench and my stuff!

I loved the idea of having a basement until about 2 weeks ago. I just put down a deposit today to have a company dig a trench around the interior perimeter of my basement: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p73xUELvsBU

My plumber and my painter have both told me that once this goes in along with a heavy duty dehumidifier, that my basement will be home dry and I won't have to worry about it anymore. $8,700 is just the tip of the ice berg. I've got to have the oil tank moved, the baseboard radiators taken out & reinstalled, the walls treated for mold, then painted & insulated. Some custom shelving I had put up needs to be taken down & hopefully put back up again. I'm going to have to re-tile my bathroom in the basement. Demo the walls 30" up, install a special type of Sheetrock made of fiberglass that is mold & mildew resistant. Have it taped, spackled, painted, then have new flooring installed, and baseboard heat installed in the main area.

I was talking myself into sticking with my underpowered, noisy Subaru for a long time on the drive home tonight. I've been dreaming about cars for as long as I can remember. I'm never going to ever come close to being able to afford a 911. Even a 718 Cayman, Macan S, & ///M2 seem out of reach.

Where is the water coming from?

If it's surface water, making sure the roof drains either go into a drainage system or away from the foundation helps immensely. The ground near the basement walls should be sloped away from the house. It's amazing how many houses have the ground sloping toward the walls; probably from settlement over the years.

I would say that this would solve 90% of wet basement problems.

If it's groundwater coming up then that's a different story. There should have been measures taken during construction to take care of that.

I could never understand why, if water was coming in, they just keep letting it come in and try to deal with it then.

suydam

driver100 said:

sda said:

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

My wife would freak out not getting a basement. I would be quite happy to not have one. As long as there is a decent amount of storage (a walk in attic deal maybe) for dry stuff. and a workshop off the garage for the workbench and my stuff!

I loved the idea of having a basement until about 2 weeks ago. I just put down a deposit today to have a company dig a trench around the interior perimeter of my basement: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p73xUELvsBU

My plumber and my painter have both told me that once this goes in along with a heavy duty dehumidifier, that my basement will be home dry and I won't have to worry about it anymore. $8,700 is just the tip of the ice berg. I've got to have the oil tank moved, the baseboard radiators taken out & reinstalled, the walls treated for mold, then painted & insulated. Some custom shelving I had put up needs to be taken down & hopefully put back up again. I'm going to have to re-tile my bathroom in the basement. Demo the walls 30" up, install a special type of Sheetrock made of fiberglass that is mold & mildew resistant. Have it taped, spackled, painted, then have new flooring installed, and baseboard heat installed in the main area.

I was talking myself into sticking with my underpowered, noisy Subaru for a long time on the drive home tonight. I've been dreaming about cars for as long as I can remember. I'm never going to ever come close to being able to afford a 911. Even a 718 Cayman, Macan S, & ///M2 seem out of reach.

I feel for you having to go to that expense and the inconvenience of getting the basement right. After watching shows like 'Holmes Makes it Right', and though I like the idea of a basement, they would be a source of worry unless I knew they were built and waterproofed correctly. True basements around here are rare. Typically a basement is available if a house if built on a sloping lot.

I hate stuff like broken basement or a broken furnace, air conditioner. At least with a new car you have something to show for your $1000s of dollars.

I am with you there. I hate spending money on something hidden in an attic (our furnace) that you only have to do so you don't die from carbon monoxide fumes or an explosion. Not nearly as rewarding as a new car!

suydam

driver100 said:

sda said:

nyccarguy said:

stickguy said:

My wife would freak out not getting a basement. I would be quite happy to not have one. As long as there is a decent amount of storage (a walk in attic deal maybe) for dry stuff. and a workshop off the garage for the workbench and my stuff!

I loved the idea of having a basement until about 2 weeks ago. I just put down a deposit today to have a company dig a trench around the interior perimeter of my basement: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p73xUELvsBU

My plumber and my painter have both told me that once this goes in along with a heavy duty dehumidifier, that my basement will be home dry and I won't have to worry about it anymore. $8,700 is just the tip of the ice berg. I've got to have the oil tank moved, the baseboard radiators taken out & reinstalled, the walls treated for mold, then painted & insulated. Some custom shelving I had put up needs to be taken down & hopefully put back up again. I'm going to have to re-tile my bathroom in the basement. Demo the walls 30" up, install a special type of Sheetrock made of fiberglass that is mold & mildew resistant. Have it taped, spackled, painted, then have new flooring installed, and baseboard heat installed in the main area.

I was talking myself into sticking with my underpowered, noisy Subaru for a long time on the drive home tonight. I've been dreaming about cars for as long as I can remember. I'm never going to ever come close to being able to afford a 911. Even a 718 Cayman, Macan S, & ///M2 seem out of reach.

I feel for you having to go to that expense and the inconvenience of getting the basement right. After watching shows like 'Holmes Makes it Right', and though I like the idea of a basement, they would be a source of worry unless I knew they were built and waterproofed correctly. True basements around here are rare. Typically a basement is available if a house if built on a sloping lot.

I hate stuff like broken basement or a broken furnace, air conditioner. At least with a new car you have something to show for your $1000s of dollars.

I am with you there. I hate spending money on something hidden in an attic (our furnace) that you only have to do so you don't die from carbon monoxide fumes or an explosion. Not nearly as rewarding as a new car!

fintail

My E has the full "intelligent" LED option. They are pretty cool - adaptive, auto high beam. Much better light output than on my recent Chrysler 300 rental. On top of that, the DRLs look cool - it was virtually a must have when I was looking for a car.

stickguy said:

Hey. Anyone familiar with LED headlight option (this would be on an Audi)? Wonderful feature or useless gimmick?

Son is debating a car with them. Pricey option though, so wants to make sure they are truly useful

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

Gotta say, that combo offers the best vehicle ilimination I've ever encountered.
The down side? I get "flashed" with oncoming car lights even though I have my low beams on.

And deservedly so. LOL. Those are bright at night. And they do seem to be too bright for low beams. I wonder if the state or federal departments that were in charge of limiting the brightness of headlamps actually looks at headlights any more. I remember the old days when brightness of headlamps was controlled. And then a few folks bought bulbs brighter than allowed and now we have old pick'em up trucks with excessively bright headlamps spreading light in all directions and a blue tint to mimic HIDs. Same for old fartcan Hondas.

I notice that an almost new CTS that parks next to me at my morning coffee stop (UDF) has headlamps that go upward when he turns them on getting back into the car, and then they seem to pick a certain "level." Is the excess brightness due to the headlamps being "autoleveled" slightly too high? It would be interesting to read how the leveling is handled? A long jump from when I heard how GM was engineering headlights that would stay on after the car was turned off and then turn off later as a step up from the auto-dimming headlamps GM had in its premium vehicles.

coldinohio

stickguy said:

Hey. Anyone familiar with LED headlight option (this would be on an Audi)? Wonderful feature or useless gimmick?

Son is debating a car with them. Pricey option though, so wants to make sure they are truly useful

I have them on my 14 A4; if he is doing a lot of 2 lane night or dawn/dusk driving, they really light up the road; not that big of a deal on interstate, etc IMHO .

cdnpinhead

Regarding useless knowledge (timing lights, brake adjustment tools, etc.), I can do coastal navigation (yeah, that's in a boat) with a hand bearing compass and/or an RDF, plus which I learned celestial navigation and have the volumes of reference tables.

Or, you can spend a hundred dollars, more or less, and figure out where you are, within 100 feet with a GPS or "smart phone" (though I'm not sure those work so well offshore). It doesn't matter if you can't otherwise read and didn't get beyond grade 8.

It's a different world, and yeah, I have a timing light and all that other stuff out in the garage. Fortunately (didn't seem like it at the time) my hand bearing compass and sextant were stolen many decades ago.

The beat goes on.

qbrozen

imidazol97 said:

graphicguy said:

Gotta say, that combo offers the best vehicle ilimination I've ever encountered.
The down side? I get "flashed" with oncoming car lights even though I have my low beams on.

And deservedly so. LOL. Those are bright at night. And they do seem to be too bright for low beams. I wonder if the state or federal departments that were in charge of limiting the brightness of headlamps actually looks at headlights any more. I remember the old days when brightness of headlamps was controlled. And then a few folks bought bulbs brighter than allowed and now we have old pick'em up trucks with excessively bright headlamps spreading light in all directions and a blue tint to mimic HIDs. Same for old fartcan Hondas.

I notice that an almost new CTS that parks next to me at my morning coffee stop (UDF) has headlamps that go upward when he turns them on getting back into the car, and then they seem to pick a certain "level." Is the excess brightness due to the headlamps being "autoleveled" slightly too high? It would be interesting to read how the leveling is handled? A long jump from when I interviewed at Guide and was told about the system designed to keep the headlamps on after the car was turned off back in the old days as a step up from the auto-dimming headlamps GM had in its premium vehicles.

I never dove into my CTS to see how they worked, but the autoleveling on my 1 series was controlled by plastic rods that attached to the front of the A arms. So it just keeps tabs on the distance of the A arm from a predetermined set point elsewhere on the car (can't remember exactly where; maybe the back of the headlight housing) and adjusts accordingly.

qbrozen

fintail said:

My E has the full "intelligent" LED option. They are pretty cool - adaptive, auto high beam. Much better light output than on my recent Chrysler 300 rental. On top of that, the DRLs look cool - it was virtually a must have when I was looking for a car.

I hate the auto highbeams on our minivan. I always turn them off. I can control them manually much better. Just as an example, I turn off highbeams when I see light coming over a hill in the distance, while the auto setting needs lights shining right at the car before it knows to turn them off. It makes perfect sense that is how it has to work, of course, but that is too late, IMHO. It also reacts to particularly bright driveway lights close to the street.

stickguy

Thanks for feedback. Also heard from my SIL that just got an RDX with them that she likes them.

So kid decided to go for it. Assuming dealer can swap for the unit my son found near them.

nyccarguy

Thanks guys. I know it is FAR from the worst thing in the world. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel like it is very difficult to keep my head above water (financially) no matter how hard I try. My car payment is $200.00 less than it was 2 years ago. We paid off my wife's Pilot (almost $700 per month). We refinanced last March and lowered our Mortgage payment close to $800.00 per month. How's your damage doing btw @qbrozen? The water is ground water. There are high water tables on my property and a creek runs through my back yard. I also live at the bottom of a hill.

It is just nuts how the insurance company works. My pump backup coverage is a standard $5K. If my house was worth over 1,000,000 (it isn't), then I would be covered for $10K in pump backup coverage. If a pipe had broken and there was the same damage, I'd be covered basically for a new basement.

I got the bill from ServPro today. $4,179 for the clean up.

I should have bought a TDI! LOL!

driver100

nyccarguy said:

Thanks guys. I know it is FAR from the worst thing in the world. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel like it is very difficult to keep my head above water (financially) no matter how hard I try.

I should have bought a TDI! LOL!

NYC, probably all us retired guys have been there. Hard to plan for these emergencies when you are raising a family, paying off a house, trying to keep your car going, paying taxes and other on going expenses. Somehow you muddle through it.....you are doing great, just stay the course, it usually works out in the end.

houdini1

driver100 said:

berri said:

If you move to Florida Stick, you'll be surprised how fast that garage becomes a basement - sunbelt living

I don't know how our place in Florida compares to the places you guys have, but here are some things to consider as you get closer to your golden years.

We live in a community of 76 homes, most are one story-some have lofts. Most have 1 1/2 car garages-half for the golf cart (we are not ready for that yet), some are 2 bdrm, some 3. Prices are up about 12% this year, probably up about 25 to 30% since the low point around 2010. Florida is booming, tourists are highest ever and construction everywhere. Traffic is growing by leaps and bounds...hard to get around.

Half the people in our community are here all year. As an example, our neighbors have a 3 bedroom home, they enclosed the lanai to have a family room with lots of glass, we have woods on one side, a golf course on the other. They could probably sell their home for about $175k. Taxes for them, homesteaders is about $1000 a year, for visitors like us, about $2100 a year. Electricity is about $60 a month. The grounds here are beautiful, lots of green including all kinds of palm trees. There is a clubhouse and a pool, kept at 86F.

It is beautiful and offers a fantastic way of life. It can get hot in July to September, but, people find a way to cope.

Not for everyone but many people start coming down for the winter, then they decide they may as well just live here.

Remember too, as you get older, you don't need as much room and as much stuff,

You may have to become a permanent resident. Many are moving to Canada post election and may force you out.

driver100

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

berri said:

If you move to Florida Stick, you'll be surprised how fast that garage becomes a basement - sunbelt living

I don't know how our place in Florida compares to the places you guys have, but here are some things to consider as you get closer to your golden years.

We live in a community of 76 homes, most are one story-some have lofts. Most have 1 1/2 car garages-half for the golf cart (we are not ready for that yet), some are 2 bdrm, some 3. Prices are up about 12% this year, probably up about 25 to 30% since the low point around 2010. Florida is booming, tourists are highest ever and construction everywhere. Traffic is growing by leaps and bounds...hard to get around.

Half the people in our community are here all year. As an example, our neighbors have a 3 bedroom home, they enclosed the lanai to have a family room with lots of glass, we have woods on one side, a golf course on the other. They could probably sell their home for about $175k. Taxes for them, homesteaders is about $1000 a year, for visitors like us, about $2100 a year. Electricity is about $60 a month. The grounds here are beautiful, lots of green including all kinds of palm trees. There is a clubhouse and a pool, kept at 86F.

It is beautiful and offers a fantastic way of life. It can get hot in July to September, but, people find a way to cope.

Not for everyone but many people start coming down for the winter, then they decide they may as well just live here.

Remember too, as you get older, you don't need as much room and as much stuff,

You may have to become a permanent resident. Many are moving to Canada post election and may force you out.

Some of my tennis friends in Florida asked if they can come to Canada. People think they want to go...but, few actually do it.

Living in the two countries is very similar, hard to tell the difference when you are in either one.

I am hoping the rules won't change for Canadians coming to Florida...hopefully, I am grandfathered in.

fordfool

oldfarmer50 said:

It's amazing how home builders cheap out on basement drainage.

Out of sight; out of mind. It's hard to sell what the buyer can't see!

ab348

driver100 said:

Some of my tennis friends in Florida asked if they can come to Canada. People think they want to go...but, few actually do it.

Living in the two countries is very similar, hard to tell the difference when you are in either one.

I am hoping the rules won't change for Canadians coming to Florida...hopefully, I am grandfathered in.

I know a bunch of American guys my age through the Olds community. I think living in Canada would really freak them out. The weather (cold), the taxes, the cost of things, the socialism/liberalism... I don't think they could stand it for long.

stever

On our first Newfoundland trip in '99, the cod fishery had crashed and there were some great old houses along the coast for under $30,000 USD. We played "what if" for a while, but I never really wanted a second home to maintain. Great summers even if it gets a bit cool there in the winter. Something like this. You'd have had to park a car there since flying up probably would have made more sense. Well, for that one, you'd need a boat too.

fintail

I doubt many will actually make good on their whiny threats to move abroad. This new mess will be too interesting to miss - real history, and immigration can be really difficult unless one is wealthy (where you can buy your way in anywhere, the US and Canada both).

Vancouver and Seattle are quite similar, I feel more in common with the lower mainland than with much of the US. But one can easily tell they are in Vancouver - houses cost twice as much, it is cleaner, and wages aren't any higher.

fintail

Mine are similar - they engage readily, but they don't always dip promptly, and I often do it myself to avoid annoying others (I'm not a total jerk). Still kind of fun to watch in action, I guess.

qbrozen said:

I hate the auto highbeams on our minivan. I always turn them off. I can control them manually much better. Just as an example, I turn off highbeams when I see light coming over a hill in the distance, while the auto setting needs lights shining right at the car before it knows to turn them off. It makes perfect sense that is how it has to work, of course, but that is too late, IMHO. It also reacts to particularly bright driveway lights close to the street.

stickguy

makes me realize, that I hardly ever use my highbeams. Heck, depending on which car I am driving, I have to think about how the lever works! My 2 cars are totally different.

houdini1

stever said:

On our first Newfoundland trip in '99, the cod fishery had crashed and there were some great old houses along the coast for under $30,000 USD. We played "what if" for a while, but I never really wanted a second home to maintain. Great summers even if it gets a bit cool there in the winter. Something like this. You'd have had to park a car there since flying up probably would have made more sense. Well, for that one, you'd need a boat too.

You could fix that place up and it would make a great get-a-way cabin for Summer or the Apocalypse. If you were a hermit it would be nice year round. Sounds good, but I would probably last about a week there. Price is right.

stickguy

very pretty. would be perfect for collecting a bunch of (Labrador) retrievers!

driver100

stever said:

On our first Newfoundland trip in '99, the cod fishery had crashed and there were some great old houses along the coast for under $30,000 USD. We played "what if" for a while, but I never really wanted a second home to maintain. Great summers even if it gets a bit cool there in the winter. Something like this. You'd have had to park a car there since flying up probably would have made more sense. Well, for that one, you'd need a boat too.

Newfoundland....Nice place to visit....I don't want to live there. That summer you refer to lasts about 6 days. Unless you go at just the right time you will be eaten alive by giant Black Flies. I would last about 4 days, hours I mean.

We did stop and see Salmon spawning and that was cool. And, the people are really friendly and nice.

Here is another typical house...you see lots of them that are similar;

Mr_Shiftright

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

Some of my tennis friends in Florida asked if they can come to Canada. People think they want to go...but, few actually do it.

Living in the two countries is very similar, hard to tell the difference when you are in either one.

I am hoping the rules won't change for Canadians coming to Florida...hopefully, I am grandfathered in.

I know a bunch of American guys my age through the Olds community. I think living in Canada would really freak them out. The weather (cold), the taxes, the cost of things, the socialism/liberalism... I don't think they could stand it for long.

Don't worry. Canada will someday soon be tropical and Florida will be a game preserve for dolphins.

venture

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

driver100 said:

berri said:

If you move to Florida Stick, you'll be surprised how fast that garage becomes a basement - sunbelt living

I don't know how our place in Florida compares to the places you guys have, but here are some things to consider as you get closer to your golden years.

We live in a community of 76 homes, most are one story-some have lofts. Most have 1 1/2 car garages-half for the golf cart (we are not ready for that yet), some are 2 bdrm, some 3. Prices are up about 12% this year, probably up about 25 to 30% since the low point around 2010. Florida is booming, tourists are highest ever and construction everywhere. Traffic is growing by leaps and bounds...hard to get around.

Half the people in our community are here all year. As an example, our neighbors have a 3 bedroom home, they enclosed the lanai to have a family room with lots of glass, we have woods on one side, a golf course on the other. They could probably sell their home for about $175k. Taxes for them, homesteaders is about $1000 a year, for visitors like us, about $2100 a year. Electricity is about $60 a month. The grounds here are beautiful, lots of green including all kinds of palm trees. There is a clubhouse and a pool, kept at 86F.

It is beautiful and offers a fantastic way of life. It can get hot in July to September, but, people find a way to cope.

Not for everyone but many people start coming down for the winter, then they decide they may as well just live here.

Remember too, as you get older, you don't need as much room and as much stuff,

You may have to become a permanent resident. Many are moving to Canada post election and may force you out.

Some of my tennis friends in Florida asked if they can come to Canada. People think they want to go...but, few actually do it.

Living in the two countries is very similar, hard to tell the difference when you are in either one.

I am hoping the rules won't change for Canadians coming to Florida...hopefully, I am grandfathered in.

I tried to apply for a job with the Canadian government a long, long time ago. They politely told me they hire their own citizens first. It was extremely polite - but got to the point.

berri

If you are buying with basement you need to be very careful about the grading of the lot and fill around the foundation. It is often a job done too quickly and sloppily.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Now there's a house with a basement water problem.

imidazol97

venture said:

I tried to apply for a job with the Canadian government a long, long time ago. They politely told me they hire their own citizens first.

What a novel idea.

berri

I've read that one of the conversations du joir on the west coast right now is seceding from the US and becoming part of Canada. If that comes to fruition you may want to move west

venture

There was a very violent crash on a 40 mph 4 lane road that runs through a shopping area here. My friends car is the one beneath the black Jeep. His wife was driving and their 15 year-old son was in the car with her. Fortunately they were only mildly injured.

Unfortunately the couple in the silver HHR were killed.

Supposedly the Jeep was traveling at a high rate of speed, ran up on the median, and flipped.

You can't be too careful.

stever

That may be one of the resettlement houses - something like 50 outports were abandoned and many people towed their homes to new locations. (youtube)

houdini1

berri said:

I've read that one of the conversations du joir on the west coast right now is seceding from the US and becoming part of Canada. If that comes to fruition you may want to move west

The new Canadian Boot Heel !

stever

Yikes @venture, that's a bad one.

suydam

Soooo -- test drive today of a 2016 Mazda3 I Touring hatch. Like you, Stever, not feeling good vibes from this one. I made an appointment at 1 pm with one of the long-time salesmen. There is only 1 vehicle on the entire lot which fits the bill -- mainly because 99.9% of them have black interiors. He promises to pull it out and have it ready to go when we get ther.
We arrive at 1 pm, and are promptly handed off to a junior sales rep because our guy "is busy with a customer". Hmm, I thought we had an appointment. The car is still out on the back of the lot and needs gas. So we sit for half an hour while they get the car ready and we show them that we are unlikely to steal or crash it.
Thing is, they finally bring it around -- and it is GORGEOUS. A deep blue metallic paint with upgraded light grey cloth seats. Beautiful combo. Great looking car. I'm assured it has moonroof and upgraded stereo. The first I can see but no evidence on the window sticker of the latter. Nav is a$200 SIM card addition. They are prepared to throw that in it seems.
We ask to drive it ourselves and off we go. Long story short, it's a great vehicle and I'm sure we would very much enjoy having it. Plenty of power for us (it's the 2.0 liter engine). Smooth merging onto the freeway, crisp handling, good visibility. It has BLIS and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Rain sensing wipers. It doesn't have a power driver seat, a negative, but is push button start. The Encore is the reverse. I guess we'd get 1 out of 2 with each vehicle. Fits into our small half of the condo garage easily. I take it to the mall to check turning and backing up in crowded situations. Beautiful. We drive it around one of the few streets with potholes. Seems to handle them well.
Okay. We like. We drive back to the dealership and meet up with the junior sales rep which now is clear that's our guy. I ask him to email me some figures to include both the possibility of buying and leasing. I am careful to specify that I would like to see MF and residuals on any lease deal. We get home.
In a decent amount of time arrive the emails. The MSRP is listed at 23,985 and they're offering 21, 985 as selling price. There is a $1000 rebate, and on the website they list the car for 22,985. Leasing they are offering another $1200 off, so 21!765. With taxes and such it comes to 22, 256. Monthly payments are listed but no figures. I ask for them. They send them, listing MF of .00064 and residual of 51%, based on 36 mo. and 10,000 mi. Limit. Monthly payment with 2k down is $297. Thing is, on their website for this same car lease payment is listed as $232 for 12,000 miles! We are leaning towards leasing.
In short they are kinda PITAs, but I don't think the lease deal is too bad -- the $232 for 36 mo listed on the website, that is. Don't like the thought of $2k down though.
We are going to take a day off, then on Saturday hit up the Chevy dealer to check out the Volt and the new Cruze hatchback. Thoughts?

fintail

That talk has existed here from ages, ideas like "Cascadia" - as many people here have more in common economically and ideologically with western Canadians than eastern Americans. I don't know what they imbibe in to make them think it will happen. In that parallel universe, I wonder if we'd get BC's 15% tax on foreign real estate investments/money cleaning ventures.

That HHR looks like it was it on the driver's side at very high speed. Horrible.

berri said:

I've read that one of the conversations du joir on the west coast right now is seceding from the US and becoming part of Canada. If that comes to fruition you may want to move west

berri

Well the Yoopers (Upper Peninsula of MI) are always debating Canada or Wisconsin - I guess anything but Michigan

Michaell

berri said:

Well the Yoopers (Upper Peninsula of MI) are always debating Canada or Wisconsin - I guess anything but Michigan

If they were to join Canada, wouldn't they then become "Loopers"? (lower peninsula)

roadburner

stickguy said:

Hey. Anyone familiar with LED headlight option (this would be on an Audi)? Wonderful feature or useless gimmick?

Son is debating a car with them. Pricey option though, so wants to make sure they are truly useful

The LED lights in the i3 are outstanding. I've also heard the 3 Series LEDs are also exceptional. I'd expect Audi LED lights to be equally as good.
I want effective headlights;back when those awful sealed beams were mandatory I fitted Cibie halogens to every car in my garage. Cibie lights are now harder to get so I went with Hella E Codes for the Wrangler. I installed Osram Night Breaker bulbs in the headlamps and fog lamps and the result is amazing.

roadburner

nyccarguy said:

Thanks guys. I know it is FAR from the worst thing in the world. Thanks for letting me vent. I feel like it is very difficult to keep my head above water (financially) no matter how hard I try. My car payment is $200.00 less than it was 2 years ago. We paid off my wife's Pilot (almost $700 per month). We refinanced last March and lowered our Mortgage payment close to $800.00 per month. How's your damage doing btw @qbrozen? The water is ground water. There are high water tables on my property and a creek runs through my back yard. I also live at the bottom of a hill.

It is just nuts how the insurance company works. My pump backup coverage is a standard $5K. If my house was worth over 1,000,000 (it isn't), then I would be covered for $10K in pump backup coverage. If a pipe had broken and there was the same damage, I'd be covered basically for a new basement.

I got the bill from ServPro today. $4,179 for the clean up.

I should have bought a TDI! LOL!

Ugh. I had a burst pipe 25 years ago. A mess.

roadburner

Well, I may have some sales stories; the GM comes up to me and says, "This ois your month- you are going to sell at least five cars!" I thought that he was joking, but we had a couple of salespeople retire and we are selling an average of 2 cars per day- so the GM and NCM want me to cover the floor when the other salespeople are with customers.
I guess this is a case of no good deed goes unpunished- since I have taken several ups, performed what BMW calls the "Needs Assessment," taken the customer(s) on a test drive, and then turned them over to a salesperson.
At least work isn't boring.

stever

We would have preferred Wisconsin but our Yooper visitors moved from Green Bay to the UP because the taxes were cheaper.

@suydam, the Volt is pretty interesting. Have not seen the Chevy Cruze hatch yet, my wife isn't much interested in it.

Oh, the Encore we tested the other day had keyless entry.

stickguy

thanks for all the feedback. What would I do without all of you, and your opinions!

Kid did cave, and emailed the salesguy back, telling him to go for it. so assuming in the morning they can nail down the dealer trade (conveniently, it is only about 20 minutes away in the next town. No idea why Ct. needs so many Audi dealers). Same car he was planning to get, but in Mythos Black instead of dark blue, and with the LED lights. Really sharp looking, and yes, he knows all about taking care of a black car!

would look just like this one, but with sport seats.



http://www.audichantilly.com/new/Audi/2017-Audi-A3-fa26afed0a0e0a1733aaeffa4febbe4f.htm

qbrozen

roadburner said:

Well, I may have some sales stories; the GM comes up to me and says, "This ois your month- you are going to sell at least five cars!" I thought that he was joking, but we had a couple of salespeople retire and we are selling an average of 2 cars per day- so the GM and NCM want me to cover the floor when the other salespeople are with customers. I guess this is a case of no good deed goes unpunished- since I have taken several ups, performed what BMW calls the "Needs Assessment," taken the customer(s) on a test drive, and then turned them over to a salesperson. At least work isn't boring.

Oh boy! Good luck!

sda

stickguy said:

thanks for all the feedback. What would I do without all of you, and your opinions!

Kid did cave, and emailed the salesguy back, telling him to go for it. so assuming in the morning they can nail down the dealer trade (conveniently, it is only about 20 minutes away in the next town. No idea why Ct. needs so many Audi dealers). Same car he was planning to get, but in Mythos Black instead of dark blue, and with the LED lights. Really sharp looking, and yes, he knows all about taking care of a black car!

would look just like this one, but with sport seats.



http://www.audichantilly.com/new/Audi/2017-Audi-A3-fa26afed0a0e0a1733aaeffa4febbe4f.htm

Sounds nice! Is he also getting the Bang & Olufsen Sound System? I would love to know how that sounds. I do miss having a nice sound system in our current cars. I learned long ago not to waste money on upgrading the factory set up, not because it won't sound better, but you don't get it back at resale and/or it might cause a deduction at resale. Not worth it to me anymore.

sda

roadburner said:

Well, I may have some sales stories; the GM comes up to me and says, "This ois your month- you are going to sell at least five cars!" I thought that he was joking, but we had a couple of salespeople retire and we are selling an average of 2 cars per day- so the GM and NCM want me to cover the floor when the other salespeople are with customers.
I guess this is a case of no good deed goes unpunished- since I have taken several ups, performed what BMW calls the "Needs Assessment," taken the customer(s) on a test drive, and then turned them over to a salesperson.
At least work isn't boring.

For the sales that you make are you paid a commission? That would perk me up!

Mr_Shiftright

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Now there's a house with a basement water problem.

Low budget Titantic re-enactment?

driver100

Suydam, It sounds like it is a great car and for a pretty good price. The lease deal may actually be better than buying, you need someone better than me who can crunch numbers. Only you know whether you want to take a chance and take time to decide.

The Mercedes dealer who sold us the C250 said we could have the car saved for us while we thought about it for a day or two...with a holding fee. I didn't want to do that...kind of locks you into to their price and shows you aren't going to walk...plus, who knows what you have to go through to get your money back.

The Mazda sounds like a real gem.