Stories from the Sales Frontlines

jmonroe

…but for whatever reason I still find myself manually turning the headlights on and off despite my Dodge Journey being able to do so automatically. Maybe it's a trust problem.

FWIW, I may have a bigger problem.

I have been driving with my low beam lights on for years now. I just think it’s safer to be more easily seen even though I have not had a problem without them for all the years I drove without them on during the day. However, because of this they burn out more often. I’ve replaced both low beams on the ‘05 XG350 once and one of them twice (2 weeks ago) because of this late habit I’ve acquired. The cost of those lights for that car is pretty small (about $7/8 each) but that won’t be the case when I lose one on the Genny. The last time I checked, one of those will cost me around $90 each minimum. Son #1 has asked me a couple times about whether I still think it’s a good idea, given the cost, and I do but I’ll admit that I won’t like it when I have to replace one, I’ll tell ya that. :sick:

I thought “daytime running lights” would have been standard equipment by now but they aren’t. I think GM started that feature in the mid ‘90s.

jmonroe

stickguy

the cost is one of the reasons I have never been that interested in HIDs for my cars.

But, one thing I am not sure of, is whether they actually last longer than regular bulbs?

I do have them on my 2000 Acura TL (156K on that now), and as far as I know (having only had it a little over 2 years) it never had a bulb replaced. I suppose I should ask my sister who was the original owner!

tjc78

I thought “daytime running lights” would have been standard equipment by now but they aren’t. I think GM started that feature in the mid ‘90s.


I was stunned that my Genesis didn't have DRLs. My 99 S10 has them and its fairly stripped down (crank windows, etc).

graphicguy

stickguy...I actually asked my Acura dealer what the life expectancy of HIDs are. Acording to the service manager, he's yet to see one burn out on an Acura. He's seen them fail because of an accident, but none have burned out. I don't know when Acura started using HIDs. Nor do I know the brand they use.

What I do know is that they perform loads better than standard headlamps.

crkyolfrt

due to the salts and oils on our skin. I'm sure many/most/all? of you know this, but some may not know why. Numerous confirming links if anyone is experiencing continued short bulb life after replacement. In some instances poor grounds can also cause early bulb failures. This, (and too generous voltage regulators, although more rare) was the primary cause for premature failures back in the days before halogens.

"Do not touch the surface of a quartz halogen bulb with
bare fingers, as the quartz surface will be exposed to
the salts and oils in the hand. This will cause a weak
area and lead to premature lamp failure. If you happen
to contact the bulb with your fingers, carefully clean
the quartz surface with a gentle solvent such as alchohol."
http://www.teklight.com/FAQ_s/faq_s.html

Other sites basically repeat this precaution, with even
less of an explanation as to the dynamics. These sites
can be found in the search results I've provided below.

These sites include:

USHIO.com

"Do not touch the Halogen bulb surface or inside reflectors
with your bare hands. Oils from skin can lead to breakage
or shorten the life of the lamp. Use clean gloves or lint
free cloth for installation and removal."
http://www.ushio.com/safety.htm

TopOneMall.com

"Bulb Care: Do not handle the glass part of a halogen bulb.
The oil from your hands or any other residue on the glass
can cause the bulb to burn out prematurely. If you
accidentally touch the glass clean it immediately with
isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth."
http://www.toponemall.com/94310wutonmlihgedba.html

Page 10 of this pdf file from Helios, Proteus & Apollo
Lighting Systems:

"Do not touch the new bulb with your fingers; using a
cloth to hold the bulb, gently push it into the socket.
If there is any doubt that the bulb may have been
contaminated by your touch, you should clean the bulb
before its first use. Take a clean cloth dipped in a
small amount of rubbing/isopropyl alcohol and gently
brush off the bulb surface."
http://www.halcyon.net/manuals/helios-proteus_webmanual03.pdf

And, finally, and directly to the point of your question,
from SandCastleDesigns:

"Touching a halogen bulb with your bare hands will ruin it."
http://www.sandcastledesigns.com/tipofmonth.htm

jipster

Please cancel my order for your book

Darn. Well, at least jmonroe and kirstie are still keeping the faith.

I did want to nominate the Volkswagen (now on topic) mini Darth Vader commercial as my Super Bowl favorite. Very cute. Though I thought it odd/dangerous they'd start a car with a small child in front of it.

The Kim Kardashian commercial got the sleaziest ad award. Can't believe they'd put something like that on t.v during family programming hours. :sick:

robr2

IMHO, the best ad was Chrysler/Detroit/Eminem. I got goosebumps.

Sleaziest was the Serta ad - "it's better on springs".

verdugo

I did want to nominate the Volkswagen (now on topic) mini Darth Vader commercial as my Super Bowl favorite.

The full commercial is 1 minute long and it's even better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0 That little kid is a good actor.

The Kim Kardashian commercial got the sleaziest ad award.

The Mini "Put it in the boot" was pretty sleazy as well. I'm surprised they got away with some of the content.

roadburner

That part doesn’t hurt my thinking either. From everything I’ve heard about the German cars, unless they are under warranty most people don’t want them.

I guess that means my 73,000 mile 2007 Mazdaspeed must be German and my 108,000 mile 2004 X3 and 124,000 mile 1995 3 Series are Japanese- seeing as how the Mazda has cost more to repair and maintain than the two BMWs combined...
:P

fezo

My Super Bowl post mortem.... They screwed up everything but the game. They sold tickets they didn't have seats for, couldn't find someone who knew the words to the national anthem, had a terrible halftime show and lousy commercials some of which were in hideous taste given that this was family television.

The game itself was great. Once again a good game - a relatively recent phenomenon which has made the whole Super Bowl thing work loads better.

I was rooting for Green Bay mostly because Ben Roethlisberger does not play for them.

roadburner

"Touching a halogen bulb with your bare hands will ruin it."

Yep, I learned all about that back in the '70s and early '80s- on every car I bought I would replace the crap sealed beams with Cibie or Hella E-Code lamps- for off-road use only of course...
As a matter of fact, I even slapped a set of Hella E-Codes on my Wrangler; I absolutely HATE poor headlamps...

fezo

Hey, roadburner! Congratulations on nailing post #65000!

roadburner

WOO-HOO!!! :shades:

explorerx4

I pretty much agree, the object of the event, other than the actual game, seemed to be suck the maximum amount money out of the most people as possible.
I wonder if there were any good 'Super Bowl' car deals to be had in Dallas?

snakeweasel

The complaint about that is that dollar coins are too heavy to get back as change

Yeah but those where the old Ike dollars that were also used for small manhole covers. Todays dollar coins aren't much bigger than a quarter.

explorerx4

You are from NJ and never heard about those early Acura HID's?
You could just rip them out by hand.
Another nasty NYC area trick (not exclusive I am sure) was for mechanics to remove your airbags and disable the warning light. Most people just wouldn't notice the light didn't activate when you start the car.

stickguy

that was acuras? I thought it was on the maximas.

I do remember now it being an (expensive) issue.

explorerx4

You don't want to find out the hard way. :sick:

jmonroe

I guess that means my 73,000 mile 2007 Mazdaspeed must be German and my 108,000 mile 2004 X3 and 124,000 mile 1995 3 Series are Japanese- seeing as how the Mazda has cost more to repair and maintain than the two BMWs combined...

Well...I did say there are exceptions and you seem to have found one. Me, I go with the percentages.

Given how I seem to baby a car when it comes to maintenance, I might even be able to live with a German car but I'd rather not take the chance.

jmonroe

[Deleted User]

I was concerned about bulb life when I first heard about DRLs, which I have on both my '03 Grand Caravan and '10 Journey. I just recently replaced the Grand Caravan's halogen bulbs for the first time, though, choosing to replace both when one went out. That equates to roughly 8 years life (December '02 in-service date), a pretty good run in my book. I'll be curious to see if newer technologies survive as long, which would certainly be nice in the case of your Genesis.

My only complaint about DRLs is the inability to temporarily shut them down when we tour some of the Christmas light displays each December. Until this year we've always had at least one vehicle without DRLs, but now we're stuck with both cars having them. Maybe some painters tape will do the trick....

sterlingdog

Well, let's look at GAP insurance this way. You purchase a $35k car with $10K down. You make enough payments to pay off another $5K. Suddenly, you total your car which has a remaining loan of $20K. The value was only $15K. You're now upside down by $5K. With GAP insurance, you'll only be out the $600---a savings of $4,400. Makes sense to me.

Richard

sterlingdog

I still say that the Steelers should have won. They beat the Chicago Bears which kept Obama from spending taxpayers money attending the Super Bowl. They are forever in my debt.

To stay on topic: It gets expensive to operate all of those Tahoe's and Escalade's carrying the security guys.

Richard

sterlingdog

Love those HIDs on the SRX. It makes night driving so much safer for us.

Richard

snakeweasel

Look at GAP insurance this way, same example but how likely will it be to have a total loss? 5%, 10% what? Lets say on average its 10%, then the average loss would be $500 a savings of $100 over GAP insurance.

I have saved thousands of dollars not buying GAP insurance and with over 30 years of driving never lost a cent due to insurance not paying off a total loss.

driver100

I have saved thousands of dollars not buying GAP insurance and with over 30 years of driving never lost a cent due to insurance not paying off a total loss.

Hope that when you get the new Sonata you don't total it on your first day!

It probably loses 25% of it's value when you drive it off the lot! :sick:

driver100

Until this year we've always had at least one vehicle without DRLs,

I thought DRLs were supposed to be a great safety feature, and prevented lots of accidents.

I have noticed driving in Florida a lot of old codgers drift over the line into oncoming traffic....and this happens on narrow bridges - at least in one case. I will say, one guy that did it was a young guy with his baseball cap on backwards.

Also see lots of people driving while talking on their cell phones in Florida (don't know what the law is down here)....and they aren't driving very well. On the highway one lady took the right lanes at the split in the road, realized she should go left, flew across 2 lanes of traffic and a grass median, drove along the gravel, and came up on the road just ahead of me...while she continued to talk on her cell phone. The Fusion has good brakes thank goodness!

driver100

Richard, i don't know if you read 64802 and what Fezo said when we thought you might be missing!

Richard said -Me: (In a somber tone) Mr. Richard died last week. Could you please remove him from your mailing list?

Fezo said - When are they reading the will

I think he was looking forward to getting an SRX.

jmonroe

I think he was looking forward to getting an SRX.

I’m not so sure about that. I think he had his hand out for anything that fell free from the Will and I do mean “free”.

jmonroe

robr2

Yeah but those where the old Ike dollars that were also used for small manhole covers. Todays dollar coins aren't much bigger than a quarter.

The complaints are that having to carry 4 new dollars returned as change is too much. People have to b*&^% about everything nowadays.

driver100

The complaints are that having to carry 4 new dollars returned as change is too much

$1 and $2 coins aren't much of a problem. Getting 4 $1 bills in change is worse in some ways. Your wallet gets so thick it is uncomfortable to sit down....and it sticks out in the rear.

The looneys and toonies are slightly larger than a quarter and are light.
Think of it this way, instead of carrying nickels, dimes and quarters around one looney covers a lot of change. I keep a bag of change in the car for meters, car washes etc.

I am using American money in Florida and I think having $1 and $2 coins is just easier. Also, different colored bills is better, I have probably handed out a few $20s instead of $1s on the toll bridge.

fezo

I still say that the Steelers should have won. They beat the Chicago Bears which kept Obama from spending taxpayers money attending the Super Bowl.

Um, no. The Packers beat the Bears. And hey, there were plenty of Secret Service guys anyway. W was there.

driver100

I think he had his hand out for anything that fell free from the Will and I do mean “free

True, but I really think he was hoping for the SRX.

I on the other hand will never be disappointed when it comes to inheritance
money. I don't know where it will ever come from and I don't expect any to come my way.

If someone wants to leave me an SRX or other fine car, that would be alright with me, but it will be a bonus, and would be a very nice surprise.

fezo

That's a good attitude to have towards inheritance money and why I managed OK after dad's nest egg self-destructed.

Don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed.

canadiantoyota

Canada made it mandatory for daytime running lights for every vehicle a few years ago. I can honestly state that I have only replaced one bulb in the past 12 years. They do provide a measure of safety especially on two lane roads when you want to pass. The other benefit, though unintentional, is that the police can turn theirs off and for the most part, they drive with no daytime running lights. This makes it very easy to spot them as they travel towards you. When I spot a car with no lights on, I slow down (should the situation call for it) and 9 out of 10 times, it is a cruiser. The other result is that most manufacturers have made the headlights automatic and they turn on the full lighting system in low level light conditions.

canadiantoyota

"The cousin never carried money. He just signed for what he wanted. His live-in secretary just wrote checks each month for the charges. If he was out and wanted a hamburger or a pack of gum, his driver paid for it. Such a life style is hard for me to comprehend. Still, there are some who live that way."

That describes my wife to a tee!!!!!

mako1a

most manufacturers have made the headlights automatic

I worked on the Naval Base, Norfolk, VA and I remember being asked to dim to parking lights for a decal check back in 2000 while driving a 2000 Z71 pickup. I asked the guard to look and see if he could find a way to cut the lights off. He couldn't.

While the engine is running, the only way to turn off the headlights was to apply the parking brake. Strange, eh?

tallman1

My only complaint about DRLs is the inability to temporarily shut them down when we tour some of the Christmas light displays each December.

There is a commercial Christmas display located in a park in my region. They charge you by the car. They have small squares of cloth with magnets sewn into the top edge that they put over DRL's before you drive through. They remove them on the way out. Works pretty slick.

jmonroe

They remove them on the way out. Works pretty slick.

Not always. If I didn’t know better I’d say I saw (BARELY) that guy in my Burgh last night. How people can drive without their lights on at night is beyond me and I’ve seen this too often lately. The worst was seeing this twice in December cruising at 70 MPH on the PA Turnpike at 5:30 PM. :mad:

jmonroe

nyccarguy

My wife's Acura TSX has HID headlamps and I love them. They are far superior to the Halogens on my Prelude. Xenons are awesome too. I will never buy another car wiothout them.

houdini1

My wife would tell you that it describes me to a "T".

verdugo

They are far superior to the Halogens on my Prelude. Xenons are awesome too. I will never buy another car wiothout them.

The lights in the Jeep Wrangler are crap. A few people have put in HID kits and the difference is amazing. However, one guy recently installed LED lights. WOW! They are so much better than HID's. Of course, they are over $1000.

(This is from another Jeep forum. As per Edmund's rules, I cannot post the link to it)

houdini1

You could buy a lot of those $2. l.e.d. flashlights and duct tape them together for that kind of money !

verdugo

LOL

:P

[Deleted User]

Great solution! I wish the parks and golf courses around here did the same thing.

snakeweasel

Hope that when you get the new Sonata you don't total it on your first day!

The odds are against it.

Plus if I go that route I have some leads of some used 2011's.

driver100

You could buy a lot of those $2. l.e.d. flashlights and duct tape them together for that kind of money
That's easy to fix.

sterlingdog

Yes, I saw the post from that crazy lug nut. He has this thing about my Will. I think that I will leave him a small token. That way, the court will notify him that he is a beneficiary. He will get excited and drive all of the way to North Carolina. I can just see him sitting in the attorney's office listening to the reading of the Will. Finally, they get to his bequest: "I leave my good friend Fezo of Edmunds my cherished plastic floor mats from my SRX." At that moment there will be a thump. Fezo will be joining me at that point.

Richard

explorerx4

are you sure will be going to the same place? :surprise:

jmonroe

"I leave my good friend Fezo of Edmunds my cherished plastic floor mats from my SRX." At that moment there will be a thump.

Imagine the sounds that would come from him if you left him your old computer? We couldn’t print those words here nor is there an Emotorcon for them. :sick:

jmonroe

driver100

"I leave my good friend Fezo of Edmunds my cherished plastic floor mats from my SRX."

Perfect! I can just see Fezo arriving in a new rented suit, with his entire family, thinking he is going to be driving home in his new SRX. Be sure to leave him a $5 off coupon for the nearest Steak and Shake too!