Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

jmonroe1

imidazol97 said:

A very funny WKRP station episode in Cincinnati.
Maybe funnier than the current police video wanting help finding two men who stole a 20 x 8 ft.
banner from the Bengals stadium parking garage.

It's a bad life for a turkey.



https://youtu.be/BGFtV6-ALoQ

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And next week it will be even worse.

jmonroe

laurasdada

I have found, in my travels in search of free kilowatts, that when a charging station is broken, so it shall remain (I'm looking at you, Mohegan Sun). Possibly until it disappears, as happened at my local IKEA and small strip mall down the road.

imidazol97

At a McDonalds near WPAFB side of town. A Chrysler product on fire is not a common sight.

driver100

Wow! Talk about flame grilled!

tjc78

@driver100 said:
Wow! Talk about flame grilled!

That’s Burger King

Michaell

tjc78 said:

@driver100 said:

Wow! Talk about flame grilled!

That’s Burger King

Or Carls Jr / Hardees.

driver100

tjc78 said:

@driver100 said:

Wow! Talk about flame grilled!

That’s Burger King

Ok, then they were new McDonald's Hot Wings!

Hot Wings
There would be no Hot Lot without the new Hot Wings! Perfectly coated with a delicious bold, spicy batter, our Hot Wings are crunchy on the outside and juicy and steamy on the inside. Ready to be devoured, this 5-piece party can be enjoyed as McMenu or as a side.

sda

I read CR’s recent list of most reliable cars. No surprise Toyota ranked #1 and Lexus 2. Mercedes in last place. I find it interesting that Audi was #6 while VW was third from the bottom. Both brands use many of the same parts and have models made in Mexico. The Passat is VW’s most reliable model. Who knew, the Passat was the oldest model and discontinued.

tjc78

I didn’t realize the Passat was gone too. Wow the sedan choices are slim picking these days. I wonder how long the Sonata and Altima will last. They have to be the next casualty. I’d assume the Camry and Accord will be the last midsizers left standing aside from luxury makes.

carnaught

The Sonata has already been axed, at least for the US.

sda

The Sonata being axed is news to me but in this environment not surprising. I’ve been seeing more Kia K5s lately and few Sonatas. The 2022 Passat had a last run of 1973 Limited Editions and that’s all folks. There may be a few strays out there but they sold out fairly quickly.

sda

Home ownership can be trying. I just found our 6yr old water heater, just out of the 6yr warranty, leaking. Thankfully it is in the garage. The plumber who installed it is on vacation thru next week, lol. I do have another call in to set up an appointment for repair.

ab348

That looks like the pipe from the pressure relief valve of the HW heater. That could be two things I guess: either the valve itself is defective (a pain, but not a huge deal) or the heater itself is building up excess pressure, which is potentially very dangerous and very bad news. It usually means it is running way too hot IIRC.

sda

ab348 said:

That looks like the pipe from the pressure relief valve of the HW heater. That could be two things I guess: either the valve itself is defective (a pain, but not a huge deal) or the heater itself is building up excess pressure, which is potentially very dangerous and very bad news. It usually means it is running way too hot IIRC.

The platform that it is on is wet, it appears the bottom seam is leaking. The overflow tube is dry. I will turn down the thermostat as a precaution but it wasn’t set high. It is natural gas fired. Thanks for that suggestion.

jmonroe1

sda said:

Home ownership can be trying. I just found our 6yr old water heater, just out of the 6yr warranty, leaking. Thankfully it is in the garage. The plumber who installed it is on vacation thru next week, lol. I do have another call in to set up an appointment for repair.

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Since your water heater is just out of warranty, the manufacturer might make an adjustment of some kind. Like we say about car buying…”if you don’t ask you don’t get”. However, it may take a while to get an adjustment so they might try to wait you out. That’s an old ploy that manufacturers use.

Keeping this car related, just don’t let them tell you it can be buffed out.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

Home ownership can be trying. I just found our 6yr old water heater, just out of the 6yr warranty, leaking. Thankfully it is in the garage. The plumber who installed it is on vacation thru next week, lol. I do have another call in to set up an appointment for repair.

————————————————
Since your water heater is just out of warranty, the manufacturer might make an adjustment of some kind. Like we say about car buying…”if you don’t ask you don’t get”. However, it may take a while to get an adjustment so they might try to wait you out. That’s an old ploy that manufacturers use.

Keeping this car related, just don’t let them tell you it can be buffed out.

jmonroe

Some guys will try anything......what is next getting down on your knees and pleading and crying on the phone? It sounds like someone has used this trick several times before (it may take a while to get an adjustment so they might try to wait you out. That’s an old ploy that manufacturers use.).
How about the old, we were out of town for a month and we always turn it off so really it hasn't reached the 6 year mark!

driver100

It would actually be interesting to hear what they say, I have never heard of one going after only 6 years. Why do you keep little snacks attached to the water heater?

stickguy

that is a short time to last. I would definitely ask. politely of course.

I happened to be at the LL Bean store today returning something I ordered online, and at the next register a guy was buying some shirts, and having a nice chat with the kid at the register. And he just asked if there were any discounts (there was nothing advertised now) but the cashier pulled out a gift card and said he could give him $10 off, just because he felt like it. did not have to, but the customer was nice and he had the authority to give it to him, but only if he asked.

roadburner

My son is home for a week or so and today we fired up the main HTS and put my new AC Infinity T-8 component cooler to the test- it passed with flying colors, keeping the Denon AVR temperature to under 90F.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

My son is home for a week or so and today we fired up the main HTS and put my new AC Infinity T-8 component cooler to the test- it passed with flying colors, keeping the Denon AVR temperature to under 90F.

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If you’re saying that you’ll have a problem when the temp reaches 90 F, that’s a pretty low temp to have a high power amp cut out.

I remember my first color TV (25 inch RCA console job) run so hot at the horizontal output cage you could literally fry an egg on the cage. After having it serviced twice under warranty because it ran so hot I took the back off the set. Problem solved.

jmonroe

henryn

I was down in Alvin this afternoon, a small town about 30 miles south of Houston. For some reason, they always seem to have cheaper prices for gasoline. I filled up the minivan at Walmart - Murphys for $2.74 a gallon, 87 octane. The 93 octane was $3.19. Those are the lowest prices that I have seen in quite a while.

Around my 'hood, the name brand stations are running $3.09 (credit), $2.99 cash, and the off brand stations get as low as $2.89.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

I was down in Alvin this afternoon, a small town about 30 miles south of Houston. For some reason, they always seem to have cheaper prices for gasoline. I filled up the minivan at Walmart - Murphys for $2.74 a gallon, 87 octane. The 93 octane was $3.19. Those are the lowest prices that I have seen in quite a while.

Around my 'hood, the name brand stations are running $3.09 (credit), $2.99 cash, and the off brand stations get as low as $2.89.

In NY we’re seeing a lot of $4 gas with the expectation of a big jump after New Year.

Michaell

Oil has slipped below $80/bbl lately.

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

Oil has slipped below $80/bbl lately.

————————————————
That’s bad news. Pretty soon we’ll be experiencing a claimed shortage and they’ll be telling us that they can’t afford to take it out of the ground, let alone refine it, at such low prices.

jmonroe

Michaell

jmonroe1 said:

Michaell said:

Oil has slipped below $80/bbl lately.

————————————————
That’s bad news. Pretty soon we’ll be experiencing a claimed shortage and they’ll be telling us that they can’t afford to take it out of the ground, let alone refine it, at such low prices.

jmonroe

At the very least, we will start to replentish what we've taken from the Strategic Reserve.

henryn

jmonroe1 said:

Michaell said:

Oil has slipped below $80/bbl lately.

————————————————
That’s bad news. Pretty soon we’ll be experiencing a claimed shortage and they’ll be telling us that they can’t afford to take it out of the ground, let alone refine it, at such low prices.

jmonroe

No, they don't actually say that. They can make a profit on their present reserves at a price well below $80 per barrel. But once you get below a certain point, they aren't going to be spending a lot on trying to find new reserves. Which may or may not be important, depending on how much we shift to alternate energy sources. It's all very much up-in-the-air at the present time, and the people who have to make those decisions at Exxon and Chevron and Shell and BP are pulling their hair out trying to decide just what the future will look like.

As are the execs in the auto industry. They would all sell their souls for a crystal ball to tell them what the future is going to look like, and when, and for how long.

jmonroe1

henryn said:

jmonroe1 said:

Michaell said:

Oil has slipped below $80/bbl lately.

————————————————
That’s bad news. Pretty soon we’ll be experiencing a claimed shortage and they’ll be telling us that they can’t afford to take it out of the ground, let alone refine it, at such low prices.

jmonroe

No, they don't actually say that. They can make a profit on their present reserves at a price well below $80 per barrel. But once you get below a certain point, they aren't going to be spending a lot on trying to find new reserves. Which may or may not be important, depending on how much we shift to alternate energy sources. It's all very much up-in-the-air at the present time, and the people who have to make those decisions at Exxon and Chevron and Shell and BP are pulling their hair out trying to decide just what the future will look like.

As are the execs in the auto industry. They would all sell their souls for a crystal ball to tell them what the future is going to look like, and when, and for how long.

————————————————-
I agree that the oil companies will live off their oil reserves but they will charge the going rate for what they already dug up and refined regardless of how much or how long those reserves last. It’s as if they are starting the ball rolling right now. Oil companies ALWAYS win this battle. Otherwise they’d be like an old time mom and pop grocery store. And we know how many of those are still around.

jmonroe

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

roadburner said:

My son is home for a week or so and today we fired up the main HTS and put my new AC Infinity T-8 component cooler to the test- it passed with flying colors, keeping the Denon AVR temperature to under 90F.

————————————————
If you’re saying that you’ll have a problem when the temp reaches 90 F, that’s a pretty low temp to have a high power amp cut out.

I remember my first color TV (25 inch RCA console job) run so hot at the horizontal output cage you could literally fry an egg on the cage. After having it serviced twice under warranty because it ran so hot I took the back off the set. Problem solved.

jmonroe

No, it has to get considerably hotter to throw the thermal breaker, I just checked a couple of Home Theater forums and the consensus was to set the thermostat on the T8 at 89F

tjc78

90 is good. Glad it worked out. We watched a good action movie the other night and I’m very happy I hooked up the second sub. The bass seems more even and positively rocks. I have some upgrades to do but still enjoying it the way it is.

Friends of ours just bought a home with a theater and I’ve already been asked to work on it. The room is absolutely stunning (much nicer than mine) but the equipment not as robust. They settle soon and I’ll see what I’m dealing with.

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

90 is good. Glad it worked out. We watched a good action movie the other night and I’m very happy I hooked up the second sub. The bass seems more even and positively rocks. I have some upgrades to do but still enjoying it the way it is.

Friends of ours just bought a home with a theater and I’ve already been asked to work on it. The room is absolutely stunning (much nicer than mine) but the equipment not as robust. They settle soon and I’ll see what I’m dealing with.

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Once you get it gong I’d say they owe you many hours in the best seat in the house. Don’t settle for anything less.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

Well, I bought a refrigerator this morning.

I had thought things weren’t as cold lately so I put a thermometer inside and yep, the refrigerator portion was too warm even though the freezer was still mostly ok. I cleaned the coils and set the thermostat to maximum to no avail. So off to the store I went.

Interesting experience.

First I went to Lowe’s. They seemed to have a good selection but there was no one there. I went up to customer service and a guy who looked bored to be there said: “There was supposed to be somebody working today but he never showed up”. No offer for further help. I asked if they could find someone to help because I was ready to buy. He said: “Yeah, I’ll send someone over”. 10 minutes later, still no help. The store looked like a ghost town. I left.

Next stop Home Depot. I hadn’t even reached the refrigerators yet and a guy came up asking if he could help me. I mentioned what I wanted and he escorted me over to a very pleasant women who answered all my questions, showed me their selection and arranged delivery all within a few minutes. Sold!

What a contrast in customer service.

kyfdx

That’s my experience, as well, generally. Though, I’ve still purchased appliances at Lowe’s.

carnaught

@oldfarmer50, so we’re waiting for details and pictures…

ab348

Interestingly, Lowe's just sold their Canadian operations (some Lowe's-branded stores along with the Rona and Reno-Depot chains which they bought a few years ago) to Sycamore Partners, a private-equity firm, for $400 million plus some undetermined future payment. They bought Rona 6 years ago for $2.6 billion USD.

Makes you wonder...

I was online-shopping refrigerators yesterday myself. Found it interesting that all retailers carrying a given model all price it online within a few dollars of each other.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

Well, I bought a refrigerator this morning.

I had thought things weren’t as cold lately so I put a thermometer inside and yep, the refrigerator portion was too warm even though the freezer was still mostly ok. I cleaned the coils and set the thermostat to maximum to no avail. So off to the store I went.

Interesting experience.

First I went to Lowe’s. They seemed to have a good selection but there was no one there. I went up to customer service and a guy who looked bored to be there said: “There was supposed to be somebody working today but he never showed up”. No offer for further help. I asked if they could find someone to help because I was ready to buy. He said: “Yeah, I’ll send someone over”. 10 minutes later, still no help. The store looked like a ghost town. I left.

Next stop Home Depot. I hadn’t even reached the refrigerators yet and a guy came up asking if he could help me. I mentioned what I wanted and he escorted me over to a very pleasant women who answered all my questions, showed me their selection and arranged delivery all within a few minutes. Sold!

What a contrast in customer service.

————————————————
Son #1 prefers Home Depot over Lowe’s. He says Home Depot is geared more for contractors where Lowe’s seems to be leaning toward the everyday home owner who thinks a hammer, screwdriver and a pair of vice grips can fix everything.

When I tell him about your experience I don’t think he’ll be very surprised.

FWIW, I wish you guys stop talking about appliances. Only something bad can happen when y’all do that.

jmonroe

stickguy

exciting morning here. our son finally officially proposed and his GF said yes. so now on to planning a wedding. should be fun! looks like not a rush since targeting June 2024.

roadburner

Congratulations! Just don't get snookered into helping pay for the wedding.

snakeweasel

tjc78 said:

I didn’t realize the Passat was gone too. Wow the sedan choices are slim picking these days. I wonder how long the Sonata and Altima will last. They have to be the next casualty. I’d assume the Camry and Accord will be the last midsizers left standing aside from luxury makes.

If they are smart Hyundai will keep making the Sonata and Nissan will keep making the Altima. There are way too many people who don't want a truck or an SUV and don't want to be in a compact.

snakeweasel

carnaught said:

The Sonata has already been axed, at least for the US.

Do you have a source for this? I did read a news article earlier this year about it but Hyundai responded that they have made no such decision.

If they do discontinue it I will go out and buy the last year of the model. I really like mine.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

Home ownership can be trying. I just found our 6yr old water heater, just out of the 6yr warranty, leaking. Thankfully it is in the garage. The plumber who installed it is on vacation thru next week, lol. I do have another call in to set up an appointment for repair.

————————————————
Since your water heater is just out of warranty, the manufacturer might make an adjustment of some kind. Like we say about car buying…”if you don’t ask you don’t get”. However, it may take a while to get an adjustment so they might try to wait you out. That’s an old ploy that manufacturers use.

Keeping this car related, just don’t let them tell you it can be buffed out.

jmonroe

Some guys will try anything......what is next getting down on your knees and pleading and crying on the phone? It sounds like someone has used this trick several times before (it may take a while to get an adjustment so they might try to wait you out. That’s an old ploy that manufacturers use.).
How about the old, we were out of town for a month and we always turn it off so really it hasn't reached the 6 year mark!

Well if it's outside the 6 year warranty window it's outside the 6 year warranty period and your out of luck. You could plead your case and the company may work with you on this and make things right.

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

It would actually be interesting to hear what they say, I have never heard of one going after only 6 years. Why do you keep little snacks attached to the water heater?

Squirrels?

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

I was down in Alvin this afternoon, a small town about 30 miles south of Houston. For some reason, they always seem to have cheaper prices for gasoline. I filled up the minivan at Walmart - Murphys for $2.74 a gallon, 87 octane. The 93 octane was $3.19. Those are the lowest prices that I have seen in quite a while.

Around my 'hood, the name brand stations are running $3.09 (credit), $2.99 cash, and the off brand stations get as low as $2.89.

In NY we’re seeing a lot of $4 gas with the expectation of a big jump after New Year.

Here I am seeing $3.75 for RUG. A bargain seeing that the 3.17 gallons I have sitting in by bike cost be close to $4.20 when I put in in for its long winters nap.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

Well, I bought a refrigerator this morning.

I had thought things weren’t as cold lately so I put a thermometer inside and yep, the refrigerator portion was too warm even though the freezer was still mostly ok. I cleaned the coils and set the thermostat to maximum to no avail. So off to the store I went.

Interesting experience.

First I went to Lowe’s. They seemed to have a good selection but there was no one there. I went up to customer service and a guy who looked bored to be there said: “There was supposed to be somebody working today but he never showed up”. No offer for further help. I asked if they could find someone to help because I was ready to buy. He said: “Yeah, I’ll send someone over”. 10 minutes later, still no help. The store looked like a ghost town. I left.

Next stop Home Depot. I hadn’t even reached the refrigerators yet and a guy came up asking if he could help me. I mentioned what I wanted and he escorted me over to a very pleasant women who answered all my questions, showed me their selection and arranged delivery all within a few minutes. Sold!

What a contrast in customer service.

I am not surprised, there is a Home Depot and a Lowes about a mile from me and they are less than 300 yards apart. Seems like the Home Depot is always busy but I have never seen many cars in front of the Lowes. And I would say that their respective customer service is exactly how you explained it.

tjc78

@jmonroe1 said:
—————> @snakeweasel said:
If they are smart Hyundai will keep making the Sonata and Nissan will keep making the Altima. There are way too many people who don't want a truck or an SUV and don't want to be in a compact.

I wonder what the demand really is taking out fleet sales. It just seems that every parking lot is filled with mid size SUVs.

sda

snakeweasel said:

tjc78 said:

I didn’t realize the Passat was gone too. Wow the sedan choices are slim picking these days. I wonder how long the Sonata and Altima will last. They have to be the next casualty. I’d assume the Camry and Accord will be the last midsizers left standing aside from luxury makes.

If they are smart Hyundai will keep making the Sonata and Nissan will keep making the Altima. There are way too many people who don't want a truck or an SUV and don't want to be in a compact.

I am definitely one. Mid size sedan please. Once prices settledown(?) a CPO VW Arteon SEL has my interest. Looks like a sporty sedan with the versatility of a hatchback. It drives nicely too and has the luxury aura that the Passat doesn’t.

carnaught

snakeweasel said:

carnaught said:

The Sonata has already been axed, at least for the US.

Do you have a source for this? I did read a news article earlier this year about it but Hyundai responded that they have made no such decision.

If they do discontinue it I will go out and buy the last year of the model. I really like mine.

I believe it was a car magazine on my Apple News, maybe CarBuzz.

mjfloyd1

https://www.autonews.com/cars-concepts/hyundai-motor-group-trim-sonata-k5-stinger-us-car-roster

https://www.motortrend.com/news/hyundai-sonata-kia-k5-stinger-ending-production/amp/

roadburner

The Stinger was doomed from the start. It was a very nice sport sedan, but you can't sell a car designed to compete with Audi/BMW/M-B out of a Kia dealership. My interest in the Stinger GT2 was totally extinguished by the dealer horror storied I was constantly reading about on a couple of Stinger forums and FB pages.

oldfarmer50

kyfdx said:

That’s my experience, as well, generally. Though, I’ve still purchased appliances at Lowe’s.

When I bought my lawn tractor last spring it was the exact opposite. Lowe’s came through and HD sucked.

oldfarmer50

carnaught said:

@oldfarmer50, so we’re waiting for details and pictures…

It was an LG 24cu ft top freezer in stainless. Pretty typical big box stuff.

This one did have the twin turbos and a 6 speed though.🤣