Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

andres3

roadburner said:

I'd lease a Quadrifoglio but I'm not brave enough to buy one. Depreciation, reliability, and the long-term prospects for FCA would keep me from putting a new Alfa in my name...

I'd have to have clauses in the contract that claw back payments as refunds for every day spent in the shop put into my lease contract as well. Never mind a purchase contract.

andres3

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

I liked the looks of the Alfa Romeo's in the Super Bowl ads...made me want to go out and buy one!
https://youtu.be/1uF81gmh9IQ

I'm anticipating 60% depreciation in 24 months and getting a good deal

Maybe 65-70%.

graphicguy

isellhondas said:

graphicguy said:

My first (and rare) forray into classic car ownership was a 1969 MGB GT that I bought in the early '80s with what amounted to my entire savings I had not even a full year out of college. It was my daily driver. Big mistake. My first clue should have been the owner gave me a whole set of tools with the car.

It was beautiful....one owner, red, real wire wheels, real wood dash. 4 speed w/electric overdrive. It was low mileage. I soon realized why. It was damned difficult to keep on the road.

Manual Choke. In the winter, you did have to really yank on it back and forth for 10 minutes until the engine heated up. But, that wasn't the real problem....that was reserved for the confounding Brittish electronics, and trying to keep the side draft carbs adjusted.

Given I didn't have any money, I learned very quickly how to fix it myself, with a little help from a local garage who specialized in TRs and MGs. I couldn't afford to pay them to fix it, but they were more than generous with their advice on how to fix it myself (plus, I was buying a lot of parts from them). In the brief time I had it, I redid the brakes, replaced all the wiring, replaced the batteries (x2), seemed like I was re-working the carbs at least every weekend. I'm sure there was much more I did, but I've forgotten over time.

I probably had it about 18 months, when I went to a mall near where I was living at the time. Came out to my MGB, and there was a note on the windshield that said......"love this car, if you ever want to sell it, I'd be interested in buying it". There was a name and a number on the note.

I couldn't call quick enough....went back into the mall to the nearest phone booth (remember those?). Called. The guy who answered had just arrived home from the mall and was surprised to hear from me. He asked if he could drive it. I told him if he wanted to drive it NOW to just come back to the mall. He seemed a bit taken aback at how quickly I was willing to contact him and then allow for a test drive. But, he came right to the mall.

Luckily for me, on that day, the MGB was running well. We did a little back and forth, but ended up at a price we both felt was fair. Was living with my girlfriend at the time. I called her and told her to meet me at the mall with the title. He went to the bank in the meantime. He gave me the cash, I signed the title over, and I promptly took the girlfriend out on the town.

Was never so happy to get rid of a car in all my life.

Having owned two MG's I know exactly how you feel!

Craig...I empathize. You gotta admit, when they ran, they were a real hoot to drive. Not fast by any means. But, they out handled almost anything on American roads at the time.

driver100

qbrozen said:

driver100 said:

I liked the looks of the Alfa Romeo's in the Super Bowl ads...made me want to go out and buy one!
https://youtu.be/1uF81gmh9IQ

I'm anticipating 60% depreciation in 24 months and getting a good deal

lol...but business news gives it an 8.8 and they cost $38k to $72k which seems competitive. No idea of reliability yet........but most cars of this quality are built to pretty high standards these days.

U.S. NEWS

I like it in white:

Interior, not too shabby:

Mr_Shiftright

roadburner said:

I'd lease a Quadrifoglio but I'm not brave enough to buy one. Depreciation, reliability, and the long-term prospects for FCA would keep me from putting a new Alfa in my name...

80K? No thanks. 550 HP is nice, and the car seems very nicely put together. Weird driver's seating position though. There's a big fat B pillar right smack in your field of vision if you look left.

Haven't driven one but I hear it's really nice. Should be fast as hell I'd imagine.

jmonroe

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

I just got gas for the Genny about an hour ago. I put in 93 octane, at $2.99.

PA gas tax is pretty high. It jumped again this January. Mrs. j's Subie takes 87 octane at $2.59.

Being retired now, we don't even put 5K miles on either car per year. In PA if you are below 5K miles per year you are "emissions exempt" but you still have to pay 12 bucks for the emissions exempt sticker. :@ I don't know what the emissions test costs but I think it is around 40 bucks.

jmonroe

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

Dammit I was wrong about Lidia's.

http://lidias-pittsburgh.com/about-us/

.

jmonroe

How come I am not surprised!

I must admit, Pittsburgh went from near the bottom of the scale to being ranked extremely high on the scale for nice restaurants since the rebuilding of the city......according to our guide that explained the restoration of the city on our visit last June.

*Sorry JM, I had to shorten your post to make room for my valuable thoughts.

You of all people should know that is plagiarizing. :@

Hey MODS, what's the dues increase for that kind of stuff?

jmonroe

jmonroe

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

Dammit I was wrong about Lidia's.

http://lidias-pittsburgh.com/about-us/

.

jmonroe

How come I am not surprised!

I must admit, Pittsburgh went from near the bottom of the scale to being ranked extremely high on the scale for nice restaurants since the rebuilding of the city......according to our guide that explained the restoration of the city on our visit last June.

I've seen her PBS show. Wasn't ever one of my favorites but with the decline of America's Test Kitchen this year I may give her another chance.

The reviews of her Pittsburgh place on Yelp are surprisingly meh. Those Burghers are a tough bunch.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/lidias-pittsburgh-2

Like I said, there are a lot of mom and pop Italian places around here and Lydia's is too far for me to go when they are more than 3 times the distance I go for the mom and pop joints.

jmonroe

explorerx4

I'm probably the biggest football fan here and live in the New England area.
We were at some friends last night to watch the game.
Originally, we had planned on leaving after halftime.
Despite the score, everyone decided to stay a bit longer.
I guess the show got us kind of jazzed, and we were well rewarded.
From an analytical perspective, although Atlanta led the league in scoring, their record was 11-5, so they gave up a lot of points.
New England scores plenty of points in the second half.
A few other things:
In Atlanta's last game, Green Bay scored lots of points in the second half.
Going for a pass instead of running the ball when in field goal range to put the game out of reach, was just stupid.
The clincher was when the owner left his skybox to go down on the field with around 6 minutes left.
You never do that. It's like talking to a pitcher throwing a no hitter, a definite jinx.
I think the owners poor wife aged 10 years in those few minutes.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

I just got gas for the Genny about an hour ago. I put in 93 octane, at $2.99.

PA gas tax is pretty high. It jumped again this January. Mrs. j's Subie takes 87 octane at $2.59.

Being retired now, we don't even put 5K miles on either car per year. In PA if you are below 5K miles per year you are "emissions exempt" but you still have to pay 12 bucks for the emissions exempt sticker. :@ I don't know what the emissions test costs but I think it is around 40 bucks.

jmonroe

Wow, hi-test in PA is more than in NY? I filled up with premium @$2.67 today. Of course that was the cheap no name brand.

Hey, here's a weird story. Last Wednesday while I was at work some guy slid and knocked my mailbox over. The cops dropped off a report and said the guy wanted to pay for it out of pocket to avoid insurance. Fair enough. So I wait, and wait and wait. No contact. Tried calling the guy...phone number no good. Oh oh.

So today I call his insurance company. At first they can't find a record of him. Double oh oh but eventually they ID him and say "oh Mr.X called last Wednesday, we were going to call you"

So why would a guy call his insurance over a $50 mailbox when he's bound to get hit paying a $500 deductible?

Mr_Shiftright

I'm sure the owner's wife can somehow rebuild her shattered life.

sda

Things happen, but own up to it. Someone drug their bumper against the left rear of the Pilot, and who knew, didn't leave a note. This picture does not capture the degree of the damage. It goes from the wheel arch to the edge of the bumper. I will get an estimate tomorrow and USAA will frown. Grrrrr

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

I just got gas for the Genny about an hour ago. I put in 93 octane, at $2.99.

PA gas tax is pretty high. It jumped again this January. Mrs. j's Subie takes 87 octane at $2.59.

Being retired now, we don't even put 5K miles on either car per year. In PA if you are below 5K miles per year you are "emissions exempt" but you still have to pay 12 bucks for the emissions exempt sticker. :@ I don't know what the emissions test costs but I think it is around 40 bucks.

jmonroe

Wow, hi-test in PA is more than in NY? I filled up with premium @$2.67 today. Of course that was the cheap no name brand.

Hey, here's a weird story. Last Wednesday while I was at work some guy slid and knocked my mailbox over. The cops dropped off a report and said the guy wanted to pay for it out of pocket to avoid insurance. Fair enough. So I wait, and wait and wait. No contact. Tried calling the guy...phone number no good. Oh oh.

So today I call his insurance company. At first they can't find a record of him. Double oh oh but eventually they ID him and say "oh Mr.X called last Wednesday, we were going to call you"

So why would a guy call his insurance over a $50 mailbox when he's bound to get hit paying a $500 deductible?

Fresh off the Internet so it must be true:

The highest state gas tax is assessed in Pennsylvania, at 58.2 cents per gallon, with Washington State (49.4 cpg) and Hawaii (44.39 cpg) following closely behind. Alaska drivers pay the lowest rate in the country at 12.25 cents per gallon.Jan 27, 2017

In 2016 PA was still the highest at 50.4 cents tax per gallon.

They keep telling us it's due to our rotten bridges. Sounds more like rotten politicians that own stock in oil companies and road construction companies. One of these days a few of them are going to wake up dead.

That mail box whacker does seem a little weird.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

sda said:

Things happen, but own up to it. Someone drug their bumper against the left rear of the Pilot, and who knew, didn't leave a note. This picture does not capture the degree of the damage. It goes from the wheel arch to the edge of the bumper. I will get an estimate tomorrow and USAA will frown. Grrrrr

That stinks! More than the cost involved it's the sense of violation by someone who was so cheap and selfish as to not take responsibility.

jmonroe

sda said:

Things happen, but own up to it. Someone drug their bumper against the left rear of the Pilot, and who knew, didn't leave a note. This picture does not capture the degree of the damage. It goes from the wheel arch to the edge of the bumper. I will get an estimate tomorrow and USAA will frown. Grrrrr

That is aggravating. I know it first hand. I told this before, last Winter some jacked up pickup demolished the right front fender on Mrs. j's 2012 Subie Legacy in a parking lot and took off. Cost me 500 bucks for the deductible. Total cost was around $1,200 or $1,300.

Yours doesn't look all that bad and can probably be repaired without a full panel replacement. Still aggravating though. :@ :@

jmonroe

abacomike

sda said:

Things happen, but own up to it. Someone drug their bumper against the left rear of the Pilot, and who knew, didn't leave a note. This picture does not capture the degree of the damage. It goes from the wheel arch to the edge of the bumper. I will get an estimate tomorrow and USAA will frown. Grrrrr

I feel bad for you sda.  At one time or another, we've all been in the same situation.  Most of my frustration was caused by dings in my doors or a key scraping along my driver's side - someone was jealous I had a Lexus GS300 (2001).  I hope the individual who "hit and run" your car acquires a bad case of "SHINGLES" and suffers for at least a month.  Yep - Shingles would be a nice retribution, don't you think?  

driver100

Never heard of wishing SHINGLES on someone before but not a bad idea. I'll go along with it. It is totally ignorant not to take responsibility for your mistake, and to leave someone else to pay for it.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

Andre, $.16 spread is tiny. Around here, it keeps getting bigger. rare to find it as low as $.30 now, and quite often it is more like 50-60 cents. That starts to add up.

I just got gas for the Genny about an hour ago. I put in 93 octane, at $2.99.

PA gas tax is pretty high. It jumped again this January. Mrs. j's Subie takes 87 octane at $2.59.

Being retired now, we don't even put 5K miles on either car per year. In PA if you are below 5K miles per year you are "emissions exempt" but you still have to pay 12 bucks for the emissions exempt sticker. :@ I don't know what the emissions test costs but I think it is around 40 bucks.

jmonroe

So why would a guy call his insurance over a $50 mailbox when he's bound to get hit paying a $500 deductible?

The good news is he did take responsibility for his actions.

The not so good news...the guy isn't the brightest bulb in on the Xmas tree.

jpp75

sda said:

dino001 said:

abacomike said:

Atlanta's defense used up their energies and stamina during the first half - they were relentless and fast - jumping on the Patriot's front offensive line quickly and purposefully.  By the time the second half started they were spent/exhausted IMO.  But the Patriots also used halftime to study the Atlanta defensive strategies and literally mauled that defense.

Brady is a true pro - never felt defeated or overwhelmed.  He is the best quarterback in NFL history - even surpassing Manning and Marino.  He really deserved the MVP award, but understandable why they gave it to the Atlanta QB.

Montana was the best QB before Brady, not Manning or especially Marino. That's just my humble opinion.

1. Brady
2. Montana
3. Pick whoever you like (possible candidates: Bradshaw, Elway, Manning) .

A lot of bias here, I graduated from Tennessee, Manning

Ditto for me, Tennessee grad and a Manning fan.

cdnpinhead

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco.

On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

abacomike

cdnpinhead said:

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco. On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

Glad you are happy - Subaru manufactures one of the very best vehicles in the world.  I wish you many, many years of driving pleasure in your new Subie - happy motoring pinhead.  

Michaell

cdnpinhead said:

On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

Glad to hear the deal went as expected. I knew you were worried when we met up yesterday.

Enjoy the rest of the drive home.

Michaell

Good article about a frustrating (non) piece of the Interstate Highway System:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/us/politics/a-pennsylvania-highway-town-at-the-junction-of-politics-and-policy.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

28firefighter

cdnpinhead said:

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco. On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

Glad it went well! Congrats!

iluvmysephia1

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco.

On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.


Congratulations, cdnpinhead! Good going. You are a car guy, I can tell. I like a nice little chunk of the cars you've owned and I have enjoyed talking to you about them in the past. One of them being the MG. That is Coolio topped off with an Iglasius about this Subie.

abacomike

Michaell said:

Good article about a frustrating (non) piece of the Interstate Highway System: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/us/politics/a-pennsylvania-highway-town-at-the-junction-of-politics-and-policy.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Been through Breezewood many, many times when I lived in Chicago I used to drive back home to New York City and from Florida to Chicago frequently on the PA Turnpike.  It is one monstrous traffic jam - which is why I made sure I drove through there between midnight and 4:00 AM.  It's the trucks that cause the huge mess - very slow moving.  I used to stop for gas and food.

We have something like Breezewood here in Florida - I-95 does not connect directly with the FL Turnpike.  So when I go up to see my brother, I get on the turnpike and exit at Fort Pierce.  It's a 5 block drive there to get on to I-95 with gas stations and every imaginable fast food restaurant.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead said:

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco.

On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

Congrats.

Just give us a quickie why you went out of state to buy. How many miles did you go? I've made a habit out of doing it since '09, 3 cars so far and I won't hesitate to do it again. Both of my Sons do it also.

May you have the same trouble-free experience with your Subie as we have had with Mrs. j's '12 Legacy.

jmonroe

jmonroe

abacomike said:

Michaell said:

Good article about a frustrating (non) piece of the Interstate Highway System:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/06/us/politics/a-pennsylvania-highway-town-at-the-junction-of-politics-and-policy.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

Been through Breezewood many, many times when I lived in Chicago I used to drive back home to New York City and from Florida to Chicago frequently on the PA Turnpike.  It is one monstrous traffic jam - which is why I made sure I drove through there between midnight and 4:00 AM.  It's the trucks that cause the huge mess - very slow moving.  I used to stop for gas and food.

We have something like Breezewood here in Florida - I-95 does not connect directly with the FL Turnpike.  So when I go up to see my brother, I get on the turnpike and exit at Fort Pierce.  It's a 5 block drive there to get on to I-95 with gas stations and every imaginable fast food restaurant.

I could not tell you how many times I got on and off the PA Pike at Breezewood when I was in the Navy stationed at Pax River MD (about 60 miles south of DC) when I went home on weekends but I was never once in the bumper to bumper traffic as shown in the link. They must have waited long and hard for an accident to get that kind of traffic but it does make for good Internet hype.

I remember the toll was $1.05 for the 105 mile trip from old Pittsburgh Exit 6 (now Exit 57) to old Breezewood Exit 12 (now exit 161) . Yes, one penny a mile. Not like that anymore but I'm talking '61 to '63.

jmonroe

28firefighter

All this talk of the Pa Turnpike is making me nostalgic for my cross-state treks when I was in college. I used to make the Pittsburgh (Exit 57) - Valley Forge (Exit 326) roundtrip at least 7-8 times a year when I was at Pitt.

I miss a lot about Pittsburgh, but one thing I do not miss is the relentless efforts to catch speeders by the Pa State Police. Moving to Seattle was a revelation - rarely do I see Washington State Patrol staked out the way they are along the Pa Turnpike. 

I never remember what tolls cost because I used EZPass. Even though it was connected to my credit card it still felt like Monopoly money, so I never looked at my invoices. I want to say it was about $20 each way.  

graphicguy

explorerx4 said:

I'm probably the biggest football fan here and live in the New England area.
We were at some friends last night to watch the game.
Originally, we had planned on leaving after halftime.
Despite the score, everyone decided to stay a bit longer.
I guess the show got us kind of jazzed, and we were well rewarded.
From an analytical perspective, although Atlanta led the league in scoring, their record was 11-5, so they gave up a lot of points.
New England scores plenty of points in the second half.
A few other things:
In Atlanta's last game, Green Bay scored lots of points in the second half.
Going for a pass instead of running the ball when in field goal range to put the game out of reach, was just stupid.
The clincher was when the owner left his skybox to go down on the field with around 6 minutes left.
You never do that. It's like talking to a pitcher throwing a no hitter, a definite jinx.
I think the owners poor wife aged 10 years in those few minutes.

Agree with everything you state. That said, I haven't seen EVERY SuperBowl, but that one was certainly the best I'd ever seen. Lesson learned.....never quit.

driver100

Congratulations, cdnpinhead! Suburu must have the loyalist customers around. Just copy your story and post it here for us. How come out of state and how did you wind up buying there?

graphicguy

cdnpinhead....big congrats on the Subie. Nice car!

graphicguy

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

driver100

Used car dealer in Largo (oldfarmer's stomping grounds) is getting lots of business because of their honesty in advertising;

WSER) – Car buyers who fear getting fooled into purchasing a lemon, take solace: There is at least one honest car salesman out there and he is in Largo.

An ad posted on Facebook Wednesday for a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero has gone viral, and the first line gives a taste as to why: "Nothing special or pretty about this car."

The car, available for sale at Journee Autos in Largo has racked up 200,000 miles and is being offered for $900, and "You're getting 900 dollars worth of car," reads the post by Shelmar Pierre Roseman.

The side is rusted, and the photos zoom in on that, so "don't bring your a-- down here saying it looks different in the pics or you didn't know it had that much rust. I'm telling you right now. This b-tch rusty."

And should you bring your butt to the dealer, no haggling. "No I do not have any wiggle room. You can wiggle yo a-- down to another dealership."

Bottom line, the car runs, the air conditioning works, and it has a CD player. "This will get you from A to B. Just don't try to make it to C. ... This car will last you at least ALL SPRING '17."

The Daily Dot says it "has to be the most honest ... ad in the history of automobile selling," and many of the 22,000 commenters on the Facebook post apparently agree. "Finally an honest car dealer!!" wrote one.

driver100

graphicguy said:

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

GG, BBB is next to useless. Might be worthwhile calling attorney-generals office and explaining the difficulties you are having. Losing your file for 2 weeks is total incompetence..

iluvmysephia1

firefighter28 - do ya miss the Pittsburgh Steelers from Pittsburgh? Also, $20 fares on one of those East coast turnpike's, automatically coming out of your bank account for each way you're traveling... gulp...each day? Ouch!

sda

graphicguy said:

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

This makes me mad just reading about it! Holy Cow! Is there a way to speak with a manager at the BBB or have they shielded them so no one can reach them? I hope you've gone through the worst of it and things turn for the better. Yes, a refund is in order.

driver100

Any suggestions!
My wife is very intelligent...phd and that, but way too trusting.
So she is trying to get tickets for a tennis match in Halle Germany. When I do this I go on the site of the stadium or the venue itself.
She went on a ticket sellers site. She is told they will hold tickets for 3 days while she decides what to do. The tickets cost about 3X the normal rate. She agrees and gives them her email address only, thank goodness not a credit card number.
She does it my way and phones the stadium in Germany and orders tickets......1/3 the cost.
She emails the ticket scam gus and tells them to cancel the tickets.
She gets an email back that she owes 15% of the cost of the tickets 85 Euros which has to be paid or she will be charged the full amount.
She was going to write back and tell them she wouldn't be paying their fee.
I said don't write back, that just acknowledges you believe them.

Any thoughts?

driver100

sda said:

graphicguy said:

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

This makes me mad just reading about it! Holy Cow! Is there a way to speak with a manager at the BBB or have they shielded them so no one can reach them? I hope you've gone through the worst of it and things turn for the better. Yes, a refund is in order.

That is another one worth calling........a higher up at the BBB. But, I think the AG's office should know about this incompetence too. Might as well try everything possible and come out swinging.

uplanderguy

Sorry to see the body damage in the pic in this thread recently.

Why, oh why, do people always do that to my cars but I don't ever do it to anybody else's? A real mystery of life.

Probably not actually--I use my headlights when I need to, and don't spend inordinate amounts of time on the cell phone while driving, and NEVER text while driving.

We can call it an "accident", but it's ALWAYS because somebody wasn't paying attention.

I am still absolutely stupefied at the number of cars I see driving in the dark with no headlights. I mean, I see it EVERY time I go out at night.

roadburner

sda said:

Things happen, but own up to it. Someone drug their bumper against the left rear of the Pilot, and who knew, didn't leave a note. This picture does not capture the degree of the damage. It goes from the wheel arch to the edge of the bumper. I will get an estimate tomorrow and USAA will frown. Grrrrr

The death penalty is too good for those cretins...

roadburner

cdnpinhead said:

I drove my '65 MGB ~103K miles in a little over 3.5 years between August of '69 and April of '73, and loved the car -- it was my first. It took me to Nova Scotia, BC, and 44 states -- never stranded me, partly because I carried lots of tools and knew what needed to be done. I traded it in on my even more beloved 240-Z. There has never been tighter steering or shifting than with the MG. I'm a fan for life of MGBs made prior to the bumper fiasco.

On another subject, today I took delivery of a Subaru Forester in Aurora, CO, at Shortline Subaru. I'll go through the details on the CCBA board later, but the short version is that in my 48 years of buying cars, I've never had a more pleasant experience. I'm driving it home from CO, currently in Las Vegas, NM, and the car is excellent as well. It's rare for me to be absolutely blown away in a positive way with anything, but today did it for both the car and the dealership. I love my TSX, but the Acura dealership I bought it from could learn a lot from Shortline.

Congrats on the Soob!!!

iluvmysephia1

On accidents - I am scanning my brain ta come up with mine, with either the '65 Mustang, '66 VW Fastback or the '99 Kia Sephia...all 3 were the other person's fault and the only one that is sketchy as far as a cop being involved was the one leaving the Boeing freeway in Everett, merging onto Highway 99 going north. It is a yield sign....this guy in a Ford pickup just comes running up behind me and BAM! Slams in to my '65 Stang from behind. He admitted fault and we exchanged info., but I do not remember an Everett cop in the picture. Everything worked out fine and I got my approx. $2,000 check from his insurance company. This is late 1982 sometime. Used it over in Forks, WA, ta fix the RE damage and get it painted fire-engine red. The only accident ever my fault was in the '66 VW Fastback. I was 16 and acting a fool in the snow - in a furniture store parking lot. Never again would I act a fool in the snow, or, really driving at all. Maybe that's why Dad never scolded me whatsoever. He remembered some Hillman in Europe that he and his buddies bought that he wrecked. Thanks, Dad. RIP Dad

stickguy

PA has another gap on the other side of the state. 76 crosses 95 in Bucks county. 2 huge, major interstates. And they just cross in an X pattern with no interchange. Makes no sens at all they did not put one in when the 2nd road was built. Most likely (knowing the state) some pol did not get his grease. So instead, you have to go about 2 miles down a local, overly crowded, 4 lane road.

The talk about resolving it a lot. Never want to pony up money, and keeps getting harder with more development.

graphicguy

sda said:

graphicguy said:

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

This makes me mad just reading about it! Holy Cow! Is there a way to speak with a manager at the BBB or have they shielded them so no one can reach them? I hope you've gone through the worst of it and things turn for the better. Yes, a refund is in order.

Tired of fighting with these fools, quite honestly...Cadillac, GM, BBB, none of them are helpful, let alone customer focused. Clearly, THEY JUST DON'T CARE! As before, they deny and delay. That's their SOP. I know the legal route is glacier slow, but not sure it's any worse than doing the BBB thing.

Rant over!

stickguy

So weird. Still driving the loaner though? If so, let them drag it out. Send your paperwork a 4th time and see what happens.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

graphicguy said:

As folly moves to ingnorance to total ineptitude, the BBB sent me an email stating they couldn't file any paperwork with Cadillac because they didn't have the VIN# (sent it to them weeks ago.....TWICE!). Called the BBB rep (my so called case manager) yesterday wondering what went wrong. I was pleasant, just to the point. She took offense when I asked her which paperwork I filed went, and became surly with me. She also took umbrage with me after I asked her why it took so long to let me know they lost my paperwork.

So, end result, weeks have been wasted. I have a surly, inept, unresponsive case worker with the BBB. And, I'm supposed to overlook all of this ineptitude by both Cadillac and the BBB.

Don't know what Cadillac is paying the BBB. But, the BBB is just as bad as Cadillac and a refund should be issued.

GG, BBB is next to useless. Might be worthwhile calling attorney-generals office and explaining the difficulties you are having. Losing your file for 2 weeks is total incompetence..

When you don't have to pay someone to do something for you, why would you expect competent results. I've never dealt with them but I have talked to some over the years who have. NEVER heard one of them get anything close to results and all just went another route.

Perfect example of taking inept people off the street, giving them a job and having to deal with it. I'm sure everyone with a working brain knows how they work and for Cadillac to force you to go through them is just ridiculous. It's nothing more than more and more stall tactics trying to wear you out and I'm sure Cadillac knows that.

Talk about "there should be a law", a good place to start is with the BBB.

@graphicguy, you are being screwed by everyone along this journey.

jmonroe

qbrozen

GG - this really sucks. Sorry to hear it. Seems like you have nobody working for you. Sigh.

stickguy

Oddest part, is the facts are so clear. Car had fatal issue, and could not be driven. Been apart and unfixable for well over the time threshold, at a dealer. Basically as cut and dried as you can get.

Not like last time, with "debate" about if the car is actually defective.

suydam

I've driven the length of the PA Turnpike many a time. When we lived in Ohio our daughter was working in Philadelphia. I've also been caught in snowstorms around Breezewood. I swear the weather is worse there than anywhere else. I still have my EZ Pass. Once they installed Starbucks in all the stations it became much more bearable! Before that the food choices were just awful.