Stories from the Sales Frontlines

stickguy

Hey, I am over 6 years now on my car, and am staring at adding to the fleet so I can stop carting my daughter all over the universe.

I should be next!

And hey, be glad you still have hair to get glue stuck in at this point.

driver100

No results back yet so I neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of a brain.

I am sure you have a brain. No one comes up with more ways to devise inheriting a car.....that takes a lot of thinking.

Good luck with the results.

venture

After reading all the gun talk last week, and being interested in getting a semi-automatic pistol, I started doing some research on the guns you guys recommended. I slowly eliminated ones for one reason or another.

I initially decided on a small frame and .40 caliber, but later in the process decided that 9 mm would be good for my needs.

I looked at the Glock 23, but after deciding on 9 mm, I looked at the Glock 19 Gen4. They are not easy to find in stock here in my neck o' the woods. I finally located one about 6 miles from my house.

I will be putting a few rounds through it tomorrow. I will be taking it to the range in my Buick.

mako1a

I looked at the Glock 19 Gen4. They are not easy to find in stock here in my neck o' the woods.

Try finding a Glock 18.

bolivar

I've got a Glock 19, a few years old. No idea what 'generation'.

It takes a lot of trigger pull to dis-engage all 'three' of its supposed safety interlocks.

Is there a large caliber (9mm at least) that has a trigger pull like my Hi-Standard .22 pistol? Smooth, short, crisp?

What did you have to pay for a 19? I think I paid something like $480 for mine.

venture

Try finding a Glock 18.

They don't even sell them here. Same as a Glock17; except for the fully-automatic.

venture

The Gen4 pull is 5 pounds. I think it can be adjusted, but I like it as it is - for right now anyway.

Almost all of them are 5 pounds according to the Glock web site.

The 19 Gen4 lists for $559 (the older 19 Gen3 is less). That's what I paid. It wasn't worth driving all over the state to save $30.

I'm now researching a light/laser sight. Not really sure I want one though. :confuse:

driver100

You guys (and Kirstie) have been very helpful with off topic help. Here's one you may be able to help me to find the answer.

I ordered two books from amazon.com for my kindle. Devil in the White City, and the Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly. I read them both and they were excellent.

Today, my wife went to read them and both were not available. Does that mean you can only read a book once? How does it know when I am finished....for example, if I read the last page then want to go back and check on something will the book still be there.

If this is the case, it is better in most cases to buy the book, then at least we both can read it and then pass it on to someone else.

houdini1

I have owned a kindle for 3 and 1/2 years, and once you buy a book you have it forever and can read it as many times as you want.

I can think of a few possibilities. One, you may have accidentally deleted the book, in which case Amazon will reload it for you for free.

Two, on my older model, books are stored in one of two places, home or archived. If it is archived, you need to move it to home before you can read it.

Keep in mind that there are now many different models of kindle, so yours may be slightly different...but they all let you keep the book forever.

One other possibility. Kindle now allows you to "borrow" some books for free. If you did this, you only have a few weeks time limit to read the book, so this is an exception to the forever rule.

driver100

once you buy a book you have it forever and can read it as many times as you want.

Thank you, what a great answer. My wife started another book on the Kindle, so I don't know if she will want to go out of it and lose her place, looking for the older books.

Once she finishes her book, which won't take long because she reads 3 a week, we will definitely give it another try....sounds like it must be there somewhere.

Much appreciated.

stickguy

those updates still allowed in here?

Stopped finally at a VW dealer about 45 minutes from home to see a 2005 BMW. Nice, other than the smoke under the hood and burning smell... Kind of turned me off, so I did not bother to talk numbers.

But, a couple hours later got a call from the GSM. Said that some mechanic type had stopped by, and thought it was something dripping on the exhaust manifold (from oil filter o ring, or the PS hose) and they would put it in the shop and fix tomorrow. Sales lady is supposed to let me know. So, may decide to offer on it.

old fashioned country dealer. Small building, looked like a tiny shop, out in farm country. But they had some nice cars. In addition to the 3 series, out front was a super nice looking Benz convertible (CLS? the big 4 seater), a red Z4 and a black Boxster.

houdini1

She won't lose her place. When she stops reading and turns the kindle off, or puts it in sleep mode, the next time she turns it on and clicks on the book she was reading, it opens to the page she was last on. I usually have 2 or 3 books going at once.

Here is another tip. Unless you are actually in the process of downloading a book from Amazon, turn the whispernet or wifi off. You only need it to download. This will make your battery last much longer between charges.

imidazol97

Our friend asked me to help her set up Kindle Touch 3g which her daughter bought for her. They only come with a cable for USB connection to the computer for charging and data transfer.

I notice the USB cable end for the Kindle is the same as the cable for my son's LG phone charger. The LG is a USB cable that plugs into a wall plug instead of the computer. Can the USB wall plug for my son's LG phone be used to charge the Kindle through the supplied USB cable.

The friend is leaving for a Florida visit on Tuesday. I'd like for her to have a way to charge the Kindle if it runs down. I have managed to load lots of Amazon books onto it by downloading through my computer.

She is a total non-technology person--a retired elementary teacher. And she loves reading. Her other daughter had bought her a netbook last Christmas. I fired it up to download Kindle books and it needs 64 updates with Microsoft updates because she does not use it for email. She's afraid of using these things.

houdini1

If it fits, it should work. The cell phone charger I have can also be used to charge my kindle via wall socket.

Also, the usb charger that came with my kindle Fire, came with a wall plug attachment that you can plug the usb cable into...and then plug it into the wall socket.

imidazol97

Thanks. I'll send my wall plug with her in case she needs to recharge. I'm not sure how many days she'll be gone; might not need to recharge with 3G and wireless turned off.

houdini1

She probably won't have to recharge. Mine lasts about 3 weeks, and I read quite a bit.

roadburner

Said that some mechanic type had stopped by, and thought it was something dripping on the exhaust manifold (from oil filter o ring, or the PS hose) and they would put it in the shop and fix tomorrow.

I'll bet its the valve cover gasket. The oil filter is mounted on the intake side of the engine, as is the P/S pump and P/S fluid reservoir. If they cut corners or use a generic gasket it will start leaking again.

driver100

Thanks, very helpful. I will let you know if we find the first 2 books. I don't know if I can do it while she is in the middle of one book though. Like you say, we should be able to find where she left off, but what happens to me if we don't.

I am not a risk averse person, so I may wait. But, I am glad those books are still in there, because she will really enjoy them.

driver100

She won't lose her place.

She finished the book she was reading so I looked up one of the books in the Kindle and I got it to page one. Not sure how she missed that......I think you hi-lite it in the index and then you press the arrow key to the right....you do have to watch for that.

Thanks again, now she can read the 2 "lost" books.

Thanks for the warning about the wi-fi too...first it asked if I wanted to do a review. I said yes for some reason and then it hooked me up to wi-fi. Once I realized this I went to the menu and turned it off. Better than wasting power.

driver100

Today I saw my 3rd really bad car ad.
What caught my eye was a Chevy Cruze for $12,999.
Then I saw a Malibu for $16,999.
Than a Camaro for $20,999

When I started imagining getting a Malibu as a 2nd car for well under $20,000, when used 2008s are priced at about the same price I decided to read the ad more carefully.

Can you guess?

They show MSRP, then on the next line less your $2500 deposit, and less manufacturers rebate, less dealer discount, less $500 GM loyalty discount.

The $2500 deposit seems very misleading to me. Just turned me off from this dealer.
There are a few dealers that advertise no dealer prep charges, save up to $699. One has a prep fee of $99.

I guess they feel they gain more customers than they lose, but they have lost me before we even got started.

[Deleted User]

I meant to do this last weekend but the weather didn't cooperate to wash and photograph the new Subie. This winter has been terribly dry around here, but literally the day we picked up the Impreza, storms finally started rolling in. What's strange is that we're mostly getting rain, when typically I'd have a couple of feet of settled snow in my yard. How bizarre that on the last weekend in January I was able to hand wash my cars in my driveway.

Here's a link to a photo album I created for the Subaru:

Subaru Impreza Pics

With the little driving we've done thus far we're totally thrilled with our Impreza. Twice last week my wife was caught hauling more kids than expected, with four children and our Golden Retriever, and everyone managed to fit in even with two booster seats included. The suspension on the little car amazes, especially considering the class and cost. I used to put the Mazda 3 and the Golf at the top of the compact car class, and now I can add the Impreza to that upper echelon for compacts with premium handling capabilities.

I got a little taste of the handling when entering an unoccupied roundabout a little too fast (okay, way too fast), that required a quick right, quick and sustained left, and then quick right to navigate through to the other side. In my Journey or van I'd slow way, way down, and even then expect heavy body roll, but decided to up the speed a bit with the Impreza. The result? A total non-event. The little car cornered so flat and confidently that I easily could have added more speed without getting into trouble. An impressive showing and I can't wait to get her into Utah's canyons. To use a common term around here, you can "feel the road" through the suspension and steering without getting beat up.

The drive train has been interesting with the CVT. It's still in break-in, so I'm taking it easy on the motor and transmission and can't report on its limits. But I can say that in ordinary driving it's extremely smooth and responsive, if not a bit noisy at 4,000 RPM (the limit during break-in). Using the available paddle shifters you would think it has an ordinary automatic, but in full auto mode the CVT shows through with sustained RPMs while accelerating.

The interior quality is what VW used to be with simple controls and high quality soft-touch surfaces. The seats are the most comfortable I've experienced in all the models we tested and the leather is of nice quality. The cargo area is huge for a hatchback, big enough for our 70-lb golden. The Focus, Mazda3, and Golf cargo areas were all too small for our Golden, so having something usable for her AND simultaneously transporting up to 5 people is a big win. We added a cargo mat, rubber floor mats, and rubber seat back protectors for the rear seat, which should make cleaning out dog fur much easier.

So far MPG has been decent. All of our driving has been city and the computer is showing 27 mpg, which is EPA for city. Based on our testing we should have no problem getting the 27/36 EPA estimates, making it the highest MPG for an AWD vehicle in the US.

I haven't had much chance to test the AWD system, just one occasion after a snow storm that left a couple of inches on the road. I intentionally took a corner a bit too fast and learned how good the Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) is at correcting such a situation. In a four-wheel slide I heard the computer activate a brake caliper, and the Impreza immediately corrected its line and gained traction. I slipped for one second, literally, before the computer brought the situation under control. That's far better than my Journey or Sonata. I'm looking forward to further testing in this area

Road noise is about expected. The Limited has more sound insulation so it's a little more quiet than the base model, but you can still hear some tire noise. The stock tires are lousy, so I'll be upgrading those to my favorite, the Continental Extreme DWS, which will be more quiet and provide better snow traction.

We LOVE the color. It's our first blue vehicle, and initially we wanted something in fire engine red, but the Marine Blue looks fantastic and we're happy with our choice. We'll see how the black leather interior does during the Utah summer, but if it's particularly hot, like peel-your-skin-from-your-legs-hot, we'll add window tint to compensate.

fezo

VERY nice!

Was at the Philly Auto Show yesterday and they had pretty much your car in the Subaru display. Sweet.

stickguy

hey, you should have called!

I am going next weekend. My daughter wants to go this year (the BMW princess!) and had to study for midterms this weekend. So I need to be patient.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Fezo! And many thanks to those like Richard and Fezo who have posted such supportive comments. I apologize for being a little slow to offer my gratitude. I just switched jobs and am now helping a new division of a large global company get started, and we've been as swamped as a startup trying to get off the ground. It's been fun but a whole lot of work.

driver100

Here's a link to a photo album I created for the Subaru:

Car looks great. I really like the interior, the steering wheel, instrument cluster and especially the seats with the stitching.

Sounds like it handles really well too.

thanks for the update.

stickguy

Nice color. probably what i would have picked.

I sat in a sedan a few weeks ago, and was amazed at how much leg room there was in the back.

Perfect sized car for me at this point, if I was to buy a new one (which I am not...)

nyccarguy

Nice ride! Congrats on the new Subie! I'm so glad you are enjoying it. Best of luck to you.

fezo

You should have posted in the auto shows topic in the News and Views section. That's how lemko and I met up. Next Saturday is a possibility. There were sections I didn't get to of wed through - good ones at that.

Full of nice things coming forward and painless wasy to observe fr real that the 12 Ciivic is in penalty box country. The also have cars that you just wonder what they are thinking? Smart cars. There are cars in that size or slightly larger that get better gas mileage for the same money and you get a thunk out of the door instead of a clank.

I'm on a sleeping pill but woke up here. Tomorrow they test my bone marrow so if I'm grouchy you'll know why.

sterlingdog

You finally sent the pictures and it was worth the wait---very pretty car. The color is the same as my convertible. My previous one was red, but we really loved the blue when we saw it. I'm so glad that it is big enough for the big puppy. That's a real plus. It sounds as if it maneuvers really well. I know that you are enjoying the experience.

You mentioned cleaning out the dog fur from your new car. Have you heard of the Desheding process used by some pet salons? It works beautifully. Our 70 pound Lab used to shed like crazy. I used to fill several grocery bags at one time when I would comb him. A friend recommended Desheding. We found a good salon and gave it a try. They gently go to the skin with an instrument that removes the dead fur. It made a world of difference. We found that we only had to do it every three or four months. It made housekeeping and car cleaning much easier. Our housekeeper was amazed at the difference when she came to clean. Our dog seemed to enjoy the process as well. How I still miss him after two years. He was with us for 14 years, and was never a minute's trouble.

Hope you continue to enjoy the new drive.

Richard

sterlingdog

Good luck with the bone marrow test. I'm sure that your wonderful sense of humor will over shadow a grouchy mood. Keep us posted.

Richard

venture

There are a few dealers that advertise no dealer prep charges, save up to $699. One has a prep fee of $99.

I saw where you mentioned dealer prep before. That should be included in the price, not something that you have to pay extra for. For example - look at a sticker on a Ford. It will say, "Destination & Delivery".

The maunfacturer pays the dealer for Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI) for every car or truck they order. You should not have to pay for it again. It's all profit for the dealer.

Then again; you are in Florida so nothing should amaze you there.

tjc78

hey, you should have called!

I am going next weekend. My daughter wants to go this year (the BMW princess!) and had to study for midterms this weekend. So I need to be patient.

How is it on the weekends? Mob scene? I usually go one night during the week and do the whole show no problem. The crowds aren't bad.

driver100

For example - look at a sticker on a Ford. It will say, "Destination & Delivery".

I am not sure if they actually call it a prep fee, I'll check when I look through todays paper. Maybe "administration fee" would be more accurate.
Seems dealers charge if you want them to get the license and other paperwork in order.

I'll check and get back later.

stickguy

It certainly is crowded. Might be better this year since it is spread out wider on 1 floor, so less walking to different parts of the building.

I recommend getting there early (as in when it opens) on the weekend.

But, I have been there many times at prime time, and it still is not that bad. Might have to wait to get into a few cars, but usually not that long.

tjc78

I would like to go maybe Wednesday night, just hope my schedule cooperates, if not Sunday. Saturday isn't looking promising.

jmonroe

I meant to do this last weekend but the weather didn't cooperate to wash and photograph the new Subie. This winter has been terribly dry around here,…

Nice pics and glad you like it. Son #2 was in Ogden last week and while there was a little snow on the grass areas he was surprised that he didn’t see more snow. He said it was pretty mild. A lot like what we’ve been having here in the Burgh this winter, although we did get about an inch of snow yesterday afternoon. I had to shovel it away when I went to the grill last night. He noticed that the older cars out there did not seem to have the same amount of rust on them that the cars around here have when they are that age. You guys must have shut down your salt mines. :confuse:

Using the available paddle shifters you would think it has an ordinary automatic, but in full auto mode the CVT shows through with sustained RPMs while accelerating.

I noticed that too when I test drove the 4 cylinder. When you use the paddle shifters in the 6, it automatically goes back into the normal automatic mode after a few seconds of not playing with them when you push down on the accelerator again. It then displays “D” on the gauge cluster again. When Mrs. j saw those paddles for the first time, when we were doing some test driving in November, she wanted to know what they were so Son #1 and I explained it to her.

Just last week Son #1 ask her how she liked her new car now that she’s driven it for a few months (just turned 1K miles last week). The conversation went something like this:

Mrs. j: I’m still trying to figure it out.

Son #1: Oh, so how do you like the paddles?

Mrs. j: What are those? :sick:

He proceeds to tell her with an involved explanation of how to use them.

Mrs. j: Didn’t you guys tell me not to worry about those things and to just drive it like I’ve driven all the others cars I’ve had”?

Son #1: Yeah, but by now I would have thought that you’d have played with them at least once.

Mrs. j: No, I haven’t played with them at all but your father has.

Son #1: Gee, here you have a 6 cylinder car with a few fun things and you drive it like an old person would. You gotta…

She cuts him off and says.

Mrs. j: Who are you calling OLD? :mad:

Son #1: You know what I mean. Have some fun with it. It’s a 6 cylinder put it to good use. How do you like the NAV, back-up camera, hill holder, stuff like that?

Mrs. j: What’s a hill holder? I like the back-up camera. I haven’t used the NAV and I still don’t know why we had to get a 6 cylinder and to drive to Columbus, on top of it, just to get it. I just don’t understand that, yet it’s supposed to be my car. :confuse:

Son #1: Well, you’ll sure like the AWD when it snows. Give me a call when we get a few inches after you’re done trying it out. I’d sure like to see how it does for myself.

Mrs. j: You know darn well I’m not going to play with it in the snow. You’ll have to get in line behind your father to do that. He can’t wait either for a good snow fall.

At least she’s not married to an old coot.

jmonroe

dino001

LOL ...
Just make sure you've got right tires when it snows.

Kirstie_H

well, bummer! I stop paying attention for a day or two, and y'all finally get on a topic that I can understand AND help with.

As others have said, books you purchase are never "gone" - they just may be in the archives. If you can't see them, you may need to turn on wi-fi to access them. In fact, you can share your library with up to 5 kindle readers. Most of our family shares a single library.

I will say this - if you ever have a problem, just call or email Amazon customer service and they'll help you troubleshoot it, or if it's a hardware problem, they'll send a replacement ASAP.

driver100

In fact, you can share your library with up to 5 kindle readers.

Welcome back. I'll keep in mind about calling customer service.....sounds like a customer service that can actually help you!

When you say you can share your library with up to 5 kindle readers, does that mean they can read a book on my kindle 5 times, or I can send the book to 5 different people from my kindle? May sound like a dumb question, but I try to keep up with new technology in a limited way, but it doesn't come naturally as it does to some people.

Kirstie_H

You can read it on your own kindle as many times as you like - there's no limit.

You can't send the books to anyone. However, there's a place on Amazon to register kindles to your Amazon account. You can register up to 5 on one account. If a Kindle is registered on your account, that Kindle can access your library, just as if it were your own Kindle. If, in the future, you wanted to de-register a Kindle from your account, you can do that, but the previously-registered Kindle would lose access to your books at that time.

That would only be beneficial if the person were, say, a child/student at the time the Kindle was purchased and was sharing a parent's account, then decided to de-register (after they'd read what they wanted) and register under their own account (like if they got married and wanted to share with a spouse instead of mom & dad). The de-register option is also there in case you have 5 Kindles on the account, and you upgrade one of them - you'd want to de-register the old Kindle so you could register the new one.

Make sense?

stickguy

the sharing is a nice feature. My wife and I are both interested in getting one (so that certainly means getting 2!), and if we only need 1 Amazon account (which we must already have, having bought from there in the past) more the better.

oldfarmer50

"...I'll bet its the valve cover gasket..."

A little late commenting but I agree. When the Vette came out of the barn this spring I was horrified to see all this smoke coming out from under the hood. New valve cover gaskets took care of the problem pretty cheaply.

But gaskets leaking on a car as new as a 2005? That's strange.

stickguy

It has been a while since I last had direct experience, but the smell/smoke type did not seem like an oil leak to me. more like rubber buring, or chemical smell. Almost like undercoating burning off?

I have noticed that dealers seem to be fond of dressing up (armor all?) the plastic under the hood, so it is possible it was something like that burning off?

in any case, i have nto heard from the sales person yet today, and I am curious to know what they come up with.

I think I might visit a local operation that does leasing and sales/leases on used cars (they also have a repair shop). They have been there a long time, and I have a friend that recommends them. They offer to find whatever you want, and will purchase it and do a full inspection/servicing to make it good to go 9and if it turns out to be a dog, back to the auction it will go).

Hey, easier to have someone bring the car to me, then it is to run all over the state trying to see things that I stil have to have looked at!

roadburner

But gaskets leaking on a car as new as a 2005? That's strange.

The inline six in my wife's 1997 528i started to seep oil at @8 years/130,000 miles. I've found that that engine family(M5x) likes to cook the valve cover gasket in the right rear corner.

imidazol97

>Most of our family shares a single library.

Library question, but not the same use of the word library...

I downloaded a book to my PC Kindle app from the public library. The download process took me to Amazon's Kindle site to download the book, which is tagged as a library copy.

Can that copy be shared with a friend who has a Kindle by dragging it through the USB cable?

Kirstie_H

I'm sorry, but you have just posed a question that exceeds my knowledge base. We haven't tried taking a book out on loan yet. I don't think it works quite that simply, though.

driver100

so you could register the new one.
Make sense?

I think I got it, thanks for the clarification.

P.S. I couldn't do a reply, I got a roadblock sign, so I posted here......

driver100

In fact, you can share your library with up to 5 kindle readers.

Welcome back. I'll keep in mind about calling customer service.....sounds like a customer service that can actually help you!

When you say you can share your library with up to 5 kindle readers, does that mean they can read a book on my kindle 5 times, or I can send the book to 5 different people from my kindle? May sound like a dumb question, but I try to keep up with new technology in a limited way, but it doesn't come naturally as it does to some people.

fezo

But gaskets leaking on a car as new as a 2005? That's strange.

You obviously never owned a Windstall.

Well, folks, we have an approximate date - mid-March. ANyone can feel free to send me Barnes and Nobel or iTunes cards.... I'll be laid up for around 100 days.

Today's dumb fact. Now they keep me in NYC for 100 days while my immune system builds. OK so far. After the first 30 days or so I'm out of the hospital and off to a place called Hope Lodge so I can be an outpatient. So far so good. Hope Lodge is on 33rd St. on the West Side. Sloan Kettering in on the East Side at 68th. Do they have a shuttle? No!! They say most people take a cab! No place for a new immune system like an NYC cab! Not to mention needing round trip cab fare most days..... Don't think ly insurance covers that one!

Ah, but I should be back for the 4th of July and will indeed be able to drive with the top down but no yard work, house plant work and, damn, no ocean this summer.

sterlingdog

"They say most people take a cab!"

Good grief. You may as well take city transit. It couldn't be any worse than a cab, and it would be much cheaper.

We put in an offer on a house today. The Offer to Purchase was 32 pages long! The current law regarding RIP (Reduction In Paper) needs some refining!

Richard