Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

ab348

jipster said:

Also, for whoever mentioned it, I don't think my saleslady is married. So I can try to set you up if I can get a good deal out of it.

Maybe it's just me, but I found her speaking voice a turn-off. So no thanks.

oldfarmer50

jipster said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

Oldfarmer- Lowball? How much lower you think they'd go? Looking at almost $10,000 off. The Sonata is out though. They only discount $1,200 off a $27,000 Sonata. Then got most of that $1,000 back with dealer fees and.something called "Pulse" ( flashes that. center brake light). But, yeah, I'll try to get a.little.more meat off the bone.

Explorer- I'll post more when I can, but residual on the non tech package with $1,000 down and 12,000 miles is $17,197. The residential WITH the tech package, same down and mileage....is $18,108

Benjamin- We test drove the TLX with tech package, 4 cylinder. Yes, we were interested in the base. But, with $1,600 more in incentive money for the TLX with tech.package, may be worth spending a little bit more ($1,400) and get the car with tech pack.

Suydum - On me pulling the trigger. Yes....the suspense is.killing me. I hope it lasts. ;-)

Imidazol7- Yes, the salesperson followed me in their company car. A bit odd as I thought she might lose me in traffic...think I stole it, and call the cops. I did put the pedal to the metal a couple of times. She kept up. th

To me the 4 cylinder had very good torque and power. I imagine the 6 cylinder must be a blast.

Sorry, I must have misread what you said. I thought you said the Acura was $10k more than the Sonata so I was suggesting you offer them the Sonata price (-$10k). Seems like that’s just what happened.

Of course you’ll have to go a ways to beat GG’s $17k discount.

How did GG get a $17k discount? Hopefully you guys threw him a party.

You don’t ask....you don’t get.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

fintail said:

I suspect MB Roadside Assistance will fix it for just the price of a (MB branded, dear) battery.

I know the stop/start only works if the car is warmed up and the battery is charged.

driver100 said:

So today, we took the trickle charger off the GLK and took it for a bit of a spin.
The Alternate Battery Malfunction warning came up.
What the heck does that mean?

GLK is over 5 years old...no MB Roadside Assistance.

My Mercedes dealership's service manager told me that roadside assistance is under a separate warranty for the life of the car with its original owner so long as the vehicle is serviced every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever occurs first, at an authorized MB dealership for all A and B services per the maintenance manual.

I don't know if that includes Canadian cars.

No Mike, Roadside Assistance is up until the warranty is over in Canada. You have the right idea, get a new car before it is out of warranty.

roadburner

benjaminh said:

Alex on Autos likes even the base model Kia Stinger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GChobzaNCE

0-60 in over six seconds?
Pass.

oldfarmer50

jipster said:

benjaminh said:

jipster said:

I'm suppose to get a numbers for a straight buy on the TLX today....

The big incentives on the TLX are only for a lease. Just buying the car will be a lot more expensive. Lease to buy is the way to go for this car.

True. But if I get a good number for buying the car, I can use that as a bargaining chip for a lower price on the lease? Minus the $750 in incentives I believe.

Also, for whoever mentioned it, I don't think my saleslady is married. So I can try to set you up if I can get a good deal out of it.

How does she look in a mask?

driver100

stickguy said:

Driver, it is not about saving the owner money. It is saving the company money by making it possible to meet the cafe standards. though those seem to be going away soon. Plus most makers are more concerned about the short term (advertising better MPG) and not the down the road part when it costs the owner more to repair or replace.

They sell STOP/START as if it is going to save you money. The GLK has it all the time, on the E400 I turn it off as soon as I start the car. I mentioned it as a rip off because once again the government mandates CAFE standards for the car makers to meet, so they come up with this silly way to save a few drops of gas - but, overall, it costs the consumer more and it is probably a lot worse for the environment they are trying to save.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

roadburner

cdnpinhead said:

qbrozen said:

Found these konis that are conveniently the same color as the car. LOL.

Hope the Konis work out for you. Back when cars required more of this sort of maintenance than they do now (and when I was gung-ho to do such things), I didn't have very good luck with Konis. Bilstein and KYB served me better on my Datsuns. Mind you, that was decades ago.

I remember that as well- but I think the situation has changed. I put Koni FSDs on the Mazdaspeed and they were a tremendous improvement. That said, I've gone with Bilsteins on everything else- including the Wrangler.

driver100

FYI: How long does Mercedes auxiliary battery last?
18 months to 3 years
Properly cared for and maintained, you can expect anywhere from 18 months to 3 years of life from an auxiliary 12-volt battery.
This one lasted 5 1/2 years.......but, I didn't know there was one there. I wonder how long the battery will last in the E400 since I always turn STOP/START off....I don't think there can be any good coming from starting and restarting a car over and over again. When I went to teachers college and drove taxis the ones that lasted the longest.....300,000 miles were the ones that never got turned off.

roadburner

oldfarmer50 said:

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

Once you have spotted the latest shiny object, any excuse will do.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

I wonder if the extra battery your car has was being charged by the tickle charger during the time away. For the Malibu, I couldn't understand from the two you tube videos someone made troubleshooting the extra battery, cables, and the dual battery control module on the GM how the alternator handled charging the rear battery.

SO, your rear or extra battery may just be dead. Or the module that controls charging it now is not doing the job because something confused it. Or you may have a failure of a module.

I think you are onto something imid. The GLK has a built in battery charger....that hooks up to the main battery that is under the hood. No one thinks to charge the alternate battery which is under the floor at the very back of the vehicle.

Think about it....the START/STOP feature is put in the car to save gasoline. The cost of a new battery every 3 to 5 years costs way more than the gas I have saved, and the impact on the environment is a lot greater......dumping an old battery!

Not knowing how the MB handles charging that extra battery, it may be that the battery can be revived: it's just suffering from not being charged...

Maybe MB will _help_ you on the cost of service for or replacement of that battery.

I think that the warning coming up after the car has sat this second period during the winter since your wife had trouble with the battery on the earlier visit home, there might be something short of replacement.

I'd expect my batteries on my MaliBu to last 7-8 years. The one under the hood is an AGM battery and the one in the trunk, I believe, is a normal lead acid battery. A few people have had trouble with needing trunk replacement. The Malibu is now 6 years old.

tjc78

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, it is not about saving the owner money. It is saving the company money by making it possible to meet the cafe standards. though those seem to be going away soon. Plus most makers are more concerned about the short term (advertising better MPG) and not the down the road part when it costs the owner more to repair or replace.

They sell STOP/START as if it is going to save you money. The GLK has it all the time, on the E400 I turn it off as soon as I start the car. I mentioned it as a rip off because once again the government mandates CAFE standards for the car makers to meet, so they come up with this silly way to save a few drops of gas - but, overall, it costs the consumer more and it is probably a lot worse for the environment they are trying to save.

I have to agree with you here. I don’t think start/stop is a win for the consumer at all. Luckily my Volvo allows you to kill it once and it’s gone unless you re-enable it.

If it wasn’t that way I would be looking for a way to kill it altogether.

The little bit of gas you’ll save over the course of the system’s life won’t pay for any one of the extra hardware’s failures.

benjaminh

jipster said:

True. But if I get a good number for buying the car, I can use that as a bargaining chip for a lower price on the lease? Minus the $750 in incentives I believe....

I don't think you can negotiate a price on a purchase and then use that as the lease price. Save time and trouble imho and just negotiate the lease discount.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

My theory is that it probably doesn't cost a huge amount more to drive a new car over many used cars. Sometimes you get lucky with a used car and it doesn't need many repairs. But, if you consider the cost of repairs, the disruption to your life getting a car fixed all the time, the lack of reliability so you are late for appointments or work, or say the big fix....a $5000 electrical or transmission repair, then yes, maybe it is worth $3000 more a year to trade in when the warranty is up.
When you get to a certain age....you probably live longer if you don't put up with a lot of frustration......getting a car repaired constantly.
The E400 has one more year on warranty.....but, I will probably keep it for a few more years, in one year it will have less than 24k miles on it.....doesn't make sense to trade it in for what I would get for it...it is like the C250....for what I will get better to gamble that it won't need a major repair. Kind of like the simplicity of the C250.....no stop/start...no alternate battery.

kyfdx

benjaminh said:

jipster said:

True. But if I get a good number for buying the car, I can use that as a bargaining chip for a lower price on the lease? Minus the $750 in incentives I believe....

I don't think you can negotiate a price on a purchase and then use that as the lease price. Save time and trouble imho and just negotiate the lease discount.

This... ^^^

@jipster Post your TLX stuff over here:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/55639/acura/tlx/2020-acura-tlx-lease-deals-and-prices#latest

We'll run exact numbers, and give you some semi-knowledgeable advice.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

I wonder if the extra battery your car has was being charged by the tickle charger during the time away. For the Malibu, I couldn't understand from the two you tube videos someone made troubleshooting the extra battery, cables, and the dual battery control module on the GM how the alternator handled charging the rear battery.

SO, your rear or extra battery may just be dead. Or the module that controls charging it now is not doing the job because something confused it. Or you may have a failure of a module.

I think you are onto something imid. The GLK has a built in battery charger....that hooks up to the main battery that is under the hood. No one thinks to charge the alternate battery which is under the floor at the very back of the vehicle.

Think about it....the START/STOP feature is put in the car to save gasoline. The cost of a new battery every 3 to 5 years costs way more than the gas I have saved, and the impact on the environment is a lot greater......dumping an old battery!

Not knowing how the MB handles charging that extra battery, it may be that the battery can be revived: it's just suffering from not being charged...

Maybe MB will _help_ you on the cost of service for or replacement of that battery.

I think that the warning coming up after the car has sat this second period during the winter since your wife had trouble with the battery on the earlier visit home, there might be something short of replacement.

I'd expect my batteries on my MaliBu to last 7-8 years. The one under the hood is an AGM battery and the one in the trunk, I believe, is a normal lead acid battery. A few people have had trouble with needing trunk replacement. The Malibu is now 6 years old.

I believe the alternate battery is a lot smaller.....mostly just runs the auxiliary starter. But, the life expectancy is max of 3 years. I think the cold weather did it in a bit early. Might be able to revive it, but, it isn't going to last anyway.

If all it runs is the starter for start/stop then I wouldn't care whether it gets fixed....but, I can't seem to find that out.
I am sure the battery in the GLK could last at least another year, low miles, garaged....but, I don't want to take a chance of it going dead and losing information.....not worth the cost of replacing now rather than later.

driver100

tjc78 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:

Driver, it is not about saving the owner money. It is saving the company money by making it possible to meet the cafe standards. though those seem to be going away soon. Plus most makers are more concerned about the short term (advertising better MPG) and not the down the road part when it costs the owner more to repair or replace.

They sell STOP/START as if it is going to save you money. The GLK has it all the time, on the E400 I turn it off as soon as I start the car. I mentioned it as a rip off because once again the government mandates CAFE standards for the car makers to meet, so they come up with this silly way to save a few drops of gas - but, overall, it costs the consumer more and it is probably a lot worse for the environment they are trying to save.

I have to agree with you here. I don’t think start/stop is a win for the consumer at all. Luckily my Volvo allows you to kill it once and it’s gone unless you re-enable it.

If it wasn’t that way I would be looking for a way to kill it altogether.

The little bit of gas you’ll save over the course of the system’s life won’t pay for any one of the extra hardware’s failures.

They should make it so once you buy the car you can remove the start/stop feature and toss it out. That way the car meets regulations, and we can get on with our normal lives.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

The little bit of gas you’ll save over the course of the system’s life won’t pay for any one of the extra hardware’s failures.

They should make it so once you buy the car you can remove the start/stop feature and toss it out. That way the car meets regulations, and we can get on with our normal lives.

That's the good point. It's like an EV or hybrid, the cost of the electrification is more over the life of the car.

In this case, I don't know about MB, but my Malibu has a heavier, special starter type to handle the frequent and different environment for the restarts. There's an auxiliary electric pump for the coolant while engine is off as well as a fluid pump in the transmission to keep that circulating. There are some ancillary wiring costs for sensors AND the cost of the small, $70 extra battery in the trunk. Add the cost of the DBCM (dual battery control module).

The mileage costs of starting and moving the mass of that extra battery is likely meaningful over the life of the car. Probably as much weight as the donut spare many car lines have stopped using.

I'll bet most vehicle owners who have an OFF switch for stop/start, have turned it off. For my vehicle, the ALDC device is around $150. I can prevent the autostop by feathering the brake pedal for a lot of stops before it's worth $150 on a car that I've driver 40K miles in 6 years.

Welcome to the EPA and their ideas and rules.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

It is but I don't flaunt it like he does.

jmonroe

imidazol97

said:

You have the right idea, get a new car before it is out of warranty.

Does MB sell extended warranties. I can purchase a GM warranty extension from various authorized dealers via internet and telephone who discount from time of purchase of CPO or new vehicle until the B to B warranty is up.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

oldfarmer50 said:

jipster said:

Oldfarmer- Lowball? How much lower you think they'd go? Looking at almost $10,000 off. The Sonata is out though. They only discount $1,200 off a $27,000 Sonata. Then got most of that $1,000 back with dealer fees and.something called "Pulse" ( flashes that. center brake light). But, yeah, I'll try to get a.little.more meat off the bone.

Explorer- I'll post more when I can, but residual on the non tech package with $1,000 down and 12,000 miles is $17,197. The residential WITH the tech package, same down and mileage....is $18,108

Benjamin- We test drove the TLX with tech package, 4 cylinder. Yes, we were interested in the base. But, with $1,600 more in incentive money for the TLX with tech.package, may be worth spending a little bit more ($1,400) and get the car with tech pack.

Suydum - On me pulling the trigger. Yes....the suspense is.killing me. I hope it lasts. ;-)

Imidazol7- Yes, the salesperson followed me in their company car. A bit odd as I thought she might lose me in traffic...think I stole it, and call the cops. I did put the pedal to the metal a couple of times. She kept up. th

To me the 4 cylinder had very good torque and power. I imagine the 6 cylinder must be a blast.

Sorry, I must have misread what you said. I thought you said the Acura was $10k more than the Sonata so I was suggesting you offer them the Sonata price (-$10k). Seems like that’s just what happened.

Of course you’ll have to go a ways to beat GG’s $17k discount.

How did GG get a $17k discount? Hopefully you guys threw him a party.

You don’t ask....you don’t get.

Pretty much. @jipster ...it was last selling day of 2019 for Kia. I want to say it was January 4th, 5th, maybe 6th of 2020. I had some time off and was roaming around using restaurant gift certs that were taking up space in my wallet. Went to the local Kia store. They had one 2019 Stinger GT2 left.

The year before, doing almost the same thing, same dealer through a $14K off MSRP offer at me. I didn’t bite.

Fast forward 12 months, it was late on the dealer’s last sale day of the year. They told me to make an offer. It was around closing time, but their used car guy looked at my TLX as a trade. wasn’t really planning on buying the Stinger. But, I thought I would put what I considered a “show stopper” offer out there but enough of one I would pull the trigger on. $17K off MSRP. At that point, they low balled my TLX on a trade. I declined trading.

Sales Manager didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no, either. He couldn’t approve the deal, but asked if I would buy at my offer if he got it approved by the GM. I said I would. I had like $200 in my wallet. Gave him a Benjamin as a “holder”. Next day, sales person called and said GM approved the offer. They just wanted to back date the deal to the previous day, which I was OK with.

I’m guessing there was some trunk money we/I didn’t know about. And, it was one of those situations where selling one more car probably put them into a different bonus bracket for the end of the year. This is all speculation. But, I doubt they make the deal unless there was some sort of renumeration on the other end for them.

Only time I’ve done something like that. That being said, I had been looking at Stingers for over a year. So, it’s not like I wasn’t familiar with it. I had seen them, test driven them (probably 3-4 different times in the previous 12 months) and knew a lot about them.

Everyone in here knew I was smitten with it when I first saw it at one of the car shows. Test driving one didn’t temper my enthusiasm.

It was a quick hit.

driver100

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

It is but I don't flaunt it like he does.

jmonroe

If I cheated on my taxes I would have as much as you do

driver100

imidazol97 said:

said:

You have the right idea, get a new car before it is out of warranty.

Does MB sell extended warranties. I can purchase a GM warranty extension from various authorized dealers via internet and telephone who discount from time of purchase of CPO or new vehicle until the B to B warranty is up.

Sure, you can buy an extended warranty, but, is it worth a few $1000 for a car that goes less than 5000 miles a year? I would rather take my chances, and lots of things aren't covered....such as batteries.

driver100

Special shopping cart available for hoarders;

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

Idle question. How much do you think it would cost to fix this:



Dent by the wheel, scrape on the door trim. Not sure if the door itself is dented but I’m guessing it is.

That dent by the wheel will be a bear to fix. Maybe spot weld those dongles and pull it out....MAYBE. If there’s a way to get behind the dent on the panel, a really good metal guy might be able to slowly hammer most of it out. Still, even then there will be a lot of filler to smooth it out.

The door, not so much. I think a good metal guy would be able to get most of that dent out with a couple of good hammer whacks on the inside of the door.

Paint and bondo is going to be involved if you’re lucky. If not, I’m guessing that front panel will need to be replaced, repainted and blended with the rest of the car.

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

Today's task: suspension and brakes on the Charger. Found these konis that are conveniently the same color as the car. LOL. The brakes are massive on this thing. Wish I had thought ahead of time to get new swaybar endlinks. I'll have to buy and install those some other day.

Kudos, Q. It’s been a long time since I did work like that. I think I got too lazy.

benjaminh

I tend to like my classic cars as original as possible, and yet I'm sometimes amused by this lightweight reality show on Netflix called "Car Masters: Rust to Riches." This is a Canadian crew that takes junky cars and mods them to the max to create frankenwagens. Here's a 1-minute trailer. Anyone else watching this as a guilty pleasure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNrk53FZcxY

qbrozen

its definitely getting harder. Mostly due to my weak knee.

This was a tougher job than it should have been, honestly. If I had done my homework beforehand, I would have had new swaybar endlinks on hand. I have to replace those now because one boot ripped while trying to get them off, and it is already clunking because I just couldn't get it to fully tighten.

I also lost part of my spring compressor while doing the 2nd strut. That sucked. They were past their life expectancy anyway, but to get the job done, I wound up using a ratchet strap for one side. LOL. Don't try that at home, kids!

Oh, and I snapped off my air gun hose fitting at one point. So just all these delays and annoyances that kept adding up. Wound up being about a 6-hr job.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

It is but I don't flaunt it like he does.

jmonroe

If I cheated on my taxes I would have as much as you do

Finally...you've caught on.

jmonroe

qbrozen

benjaminh said:

I tend to like my classic cars as original as possible, and yet I'm sometimes amused by this lightweight reality show on Netflix called "Car Masters: Rust to Riches." This is a Canadian crew that takes junky cars and mods them to the max to create frankenwagens. Here's a 1-minute trailer. Anyone else watching this as a guilty pleasure?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNrk53FZcxY

ummm... so did they intentionally get both a main character and garage that look like Counting Cars? That guy does look really familiar, even putting aside the Danny Coker copy. Was he on something else?

jmonroe

qbrozen said:

its definitely getting harder. Mostly due to my weak knee.

This was a tougher job than it should have been, honestly. If I had done my homework beforehand, I would have had new swaybar endlinks on hand. I have to replace those now because one boot ripped while trying to get them off, and it is already clunking because I just couldn't get it to fully tighten.

I also lost part of my spring compressor while doing the 2nd strut. That sucked. They were past their life expectancy anyway, but to get the job done, I wound up using a ratchet strap for one side. LOL. Don't try that at home, kids!

Oh, and I snapped off my air gun hose fitting at one point. So just all these delays and annoyances that kept adding up. Wound up being about a 6-hr job.

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

roadburner

jmonroe said:

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

Nah, he should have bought a new car- it's always less expensive to do that.

jmonroe

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

Nah, he should have bought a new car- it's always less expensive to do that.

I think you're right. I lost my head for a bit there. I also forgot about that amortization thingy, especially when you work it down to the second. Figures don't lie, but...or something like that.

jmonroe

driver100

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

Nah, he should have bought a new car- it's always less expensive to do that.

Not necessarily less expensive.....but, probably a lot less hassle....especially if your current car doesn't have a major breakdown.
btw.....I also think buying a car sooner is like forced savings, then when you need a new car your current car is worth more....so the difference is insurmountable.
Just a different way of looking at things....you do what suits you and your pocketbook, one isn't smarter than the other.

driver100

jmonroe said:

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

Nah, he should have bought a new car- it's always less expensive to do that.

I think you're right. I lost my head for a bit there. I also forgot about that amortization thingy, especially when you work it down to the second. Figures don't lie, but...or something like that.

jmonroe

You are learning. At least you learned to call the guy if you have to.

ab348

benjaminh said:

I tend to like my classic cars as original as possible, and yet I'm sometimes amused by this lightweight reality show on Netflix called "Car Masters: Rust to Riches." This is a Canadian crew that takes junky cars and mods them to the max to create frankenwagens. Here's a 1-minute trailer. Anyone else watching this as a guilty pleasure?

That looks like about 90% of the shows that are on Motor Trend (formerly Velocity) which I subscribe to but am ready to dump. They all appear to follow a similar script - fake drama, bad humor, ridiculous deadlines, and attitude. The producers and viewers seem not to care that these people are not actors since they still seem to garner an audience. But I no longer will watch any of them. Unfortunately that means there is very little left on there that I can stand. Aside from Steve Magnante touring junkyards there is very little on there for me.

Since production of most shows is now in limbo they are scrambling to find any new content. Last week they released a pair of 1-hour pieces done by Ant Anstead, the mechanic who replaced Edd China on Wheeler Dealers, called "Ant Anstead Working From Home". It seemed to be done just by him using his phone to record video (though who knows for certain). It was fairly mundane, showing him in his house and home garage with the 3 special-interest cars that live in there, a Porsche 356, a '65 Mustang, and the Alfa Romeo 158 racer tribute he built last year. It included such vital segments as him cleaning the floor of his garage, organizing his toolbox, and running to the store for milk. I watched it though so I guess these are indeed trying times.

One thing that I did find interesting was a monologue he delivered while driving to the store about the typical car customization/restoration shows. He called out all of those things that I mentioned above as reasons why he no longer watches them and was critical of the producers who still follow that formula. Hopefully the brass at MT will take notice.

tjc78

“ Aside from Steve Magnante touring junkyards there is very little on there for me”

Lots of that type of content on You Tube.

fintail

In light of recent unpleasantness:

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Special shopping cart available for hoarders;

I stopped in at Kroger yesterday morning, Sunday, at 8:30, an hour and half after opening. They had most of their TP area still filled. I did see a lady with a Cottonelle 96 or 72 equivalent pack in her cart that was not in stock when I got there.

I think many people will now enter the no purchase of TP for 6 months while they use up the hoard they've accumulated.

stickguy

Update on painting project. Pretty much all done. Came out nice. All that is left is redoing the semi gloss trim paint. Usually the wife’s project but I expect I’ll be doing that too this afternoon. Worst part of job was probably taking apart the 2 wall light fixtures and cleaning them. Way overdue!

Now the girls can put up their new decorations that they already bought.

Not sure what I will do to fill the rest of the lockdown time, but it isn’t going to be painting!

ab348

On Saturday I had to go to the post office. When I returned home I checked my email after a while and there was new mail from Onstar advising me that "advanced diagnostics" had detected an issue with my "engine and transmission system" that I should address within 7 days by taking it to back to the dealer. I went back outside, started the car and sure enough, there was the check engine light. Aside from the gas cap (which I checked and found fine) I was at a loss, so this morning I called the service dept. It is likely a symptom of how little business they are getting that they told me I could bring it in any time and get a loaner, so it is going in tomorrow.

It seemed to run fine on Saturday, so who knows what it is.

imidazol97

@qbrozen
Thanks for the pictures. Reminds me I have two rebuilt calipers to put on my Cobalt. But don't think I'll ever take on changing struts and transferring springs again like I did on leSabre. That's work.

Your Charger is a great color. Reminds me that the last two Sundays we've driven to Cincy. The light traffic means a few folks are really moving along in the 3 and 4th lanes. I'd guess about 1/3 of those are Chargers. This Sunday a Charger went by fast (I was at 70) and it was followed by a Challenger. Don't know if they were together or both are just cars that NEED to be driven fast to enjoy the feel, and the Challenger had tagged onto the fast-moving Charger or not.

tjc78

stickguy said:

Update on painting project. Pretty much all done. Came out nice. All that is left is redoing the semi gloss trim paint. Usually the wife’s project but I expect I’ll be doing that too this afternoon. Worst part of job was probably taking apart the 2 wall light fixtures and cleaning them. Way overdue!

Now the girls can put up their new decorations that they already bought.

Not sure what I will do to fill the rest of the lockdown time, but it isn’t going to be painting!

I’m with you on painting. Not a fun chore at all, but when you are done and all the things you took down are squeaky clean it’s very rewarding.

I took on a huge front yard project tearing out all the hedges which covered the entire front of the house. I have it all ripped out (stumps and all) along with all the old edging that formed the beds. Looks like they tested a missle right now. Next task is to figure out how to make it look nice.

stickguy

Call the guy. Actually multiple guys, with a dump truck and big wheelbarrows.

ab348

I have a large old juniper bush out front that I want gone. Not looking forward to that.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Sounds like you should have taken it to "The Guy".

jmonroe

Nah, he should have bought a new car- it's always less expensive to do that.

Not necessarily less expensive.....but, probably a lot less hassle....especially if your current car doesn't have a major breakdown.
btw.....I also think buying a car sooner is like forced savings, then when you need a new car your current car is worth more....so the difference is insurmountable.
Just a different way of looking at things....you do what suits you and your pocketbook, one isn't smarter than the other.

@roadburner, told ya.

jmonroe

tjc78

We are thinking about it. We could really use new front steps and walkway so wondering if we should just turn it into a nice front porch and use pots with annuals to add color.

Biggest problem is we are in the beginning stages of discussing dumping this house. It’s over improved for the neighborhood and will never be what we want it. So... once I’m settled in a new
job for a little while we may think about moving.

In other words, we don’t want to put more money into it we won’t get out. I can probably clean up the mess I made with some landscaping stones, a few cheap bushes and mulch for not much money.

We should have never put the addition on and did all the new HVAC, etc. We should have moved then.

Michaell

ab348 said:

I have a large old juniper bush out front that I want gone. Not looking forward to that.

Ugh. I hate juniper bushes.

My folks bought a new house in 1968, and they had to landscape the front yard. Dad decided to plant juniper bushes on either side of the driveway, and along the front of the house.

I cannot tell you how many items got lost in those bushes - baseballs, wiffle balls, etc. Nobody wanted to dive into to those scratchy bushes to retrieve anything.

Was so happy after 20+ years, he finally decided to have them removed. Made the front of the house so much better looking.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

tjc78 said:

Looked it up.. yep two batteries.

I have to wonder. With all the extra things that have to be engineered/built to make a car with start/stop technology "work" is it really worth it in an "Eco" sense?

Not really, pay extra few dollars a year for gas, or pay $100s for a new battery, plus the impact of the battery when it is tossed out!

Surprise, surprise. Now you know the car biz is directly related to the replacement parts biz. Gee, I wonder when that started?

jmonroe

That's why I prefer a new car with a warranty.....I don't get surprises like an extra battery I didn't even know I had. :@

You’d buy a new car rather than change the battery? Must to be nice to be rich.

My theory is that it probably doesn't cost a huge amount more to drive a new car over many used cars. Sometimes you get lucky with a used car and it doesn't need many repairs. But, if you consider the cost of repairs, the disruption to your life getting a car fixed all the time, the lack of reliability so you are late for appointments or work, or say the big fix....a $5000 electrical or transmission repair, then yes, maybe it is worth $3000 more a year to trade in when the warranty is up.
When you get to a certain age....you probably live longer if you don't put up with a lot of frustration......getting a car repaired constantly.
The E400 has one more year on warranty.....but, I will probably keep it for a few more years, in one year it will have less than 24k miles on it.....doesn't make sense to trade it in for what I would get for it...it is like the C250....for what I will get better to gamble that it won't need a major repair. Kind of like the simplicity of the C250.....no stop/start...no alternate battery.

My 16 yo van cost $45 in repairs last year. My 20 yo car cost $0.