Stories from the Sales Frontlines

nyccarguy

@tjc78 - 295 is the best road & the best kept secret too. Instead of traveling all the way down the turnpike which has tolls & 2 lanes down in South Jersey, its 3 wide open lanes that run parallel to the Turnpike down to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
tjc78 - 295 is the best road & the best kept secret too. Instead of traveling all the way down the turnpike which has tolls & 2 lanes down in South Jersey, its 3 wide open lanes that run parallel to the Turnpike down to the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

Yes, you can jump off at 7a and then take 195 for a few miles to 295. The problem is its a commuter road and the stretch from Mt Laurel to RT 42 is very heavy traffic during rush hour. If you are ever heading south on a weekday between 4-7 better off staying on the NJTP.

Sandman6472

Last time I was up north, stayed with family in Westport so I could go into northern Westchester daily to see old friends and go to old places growing up. The traffic on 95 was amazing at even 10 in the morning. Driving down to Staten Island was tramatic, it being my first time and all...the lanes seemed so much narrower there and of course they gave me a brand new Impala LTZ from Hertz. Used the Sprain Brook Parkway and my car just knew where to go but a lot had changed since we left in the end of 1969. Guess I got used to the nicer roads down here in South Florida.
Driving down to Miami now ain't no picnic and seems like we're always going to Miami International airport on a daily basis. And no one there admits to speaking English so it can get very frustrating. So far these past few days have been very quiet as there are so many folks down here and rentals are at a premium. Come Friday, I hear we are going to get super busy again so it's nice to have a few days off to relax. But I am getting a bit anxious to drive again!

The Sandman

graphicguy

So, did some more car shopping yesterday. Test drove a Lexus ES and IS 350. Lexus'es (Lexi?) are really nice cars. The ES350 isn't remotely close to the driving experience I prefer. It's very isolated and distant. That said, the 3.5 V6 is a very good engine....lots of pep and it gives off expensive sounds. Lots of nice premium materials inside, too. Just not my cup of tea.

The IS350 makes up for all the ES350's shortcomings. It's very engaging to drive and feels even quicker. It's right up my alley......EXCEPT.....man does it feel small inside. Not that my former Audi was a big car, but the IS350 feels even smaller than just about anything I've remotely considered over the last 10 years. Is that a deal breaker? Not sure....everything else about the car I liked.

Acura RLX.....this car surprised me, in a good way. As small as the IS felt, the RLX was at the total oppostie end of that spectrum. Tons of room, even in the back. Plus, it drove much better than I expected. Has 4 wheels steering and feels almost "magical" in the way it handled a brief test drive when I pushed it. Premium feel throughout. Much quicker than I expected, very comfortable...all the tech you could want. I wouldn't consider the RLX if they were selling near their MSRP, however. At $10K off (from MSRP of mid-$50s), it's a steal.

TL SH AWD....seems Acura has made subtle changes to this car since I had mine 4 years ago. It's a better car. Still amazed how much performance, and how much luxury this car offers for the price. Seats are the best I've ever sat in. It's very quick, smooth and handles as well (maybe a smidgeon better) than my previous S4. The kicker here, it can be had a tad under $40K with incentives.

Very, very tempting.

Will drive the BMW X1 35ix again today. That's the vehicle that's still high on my list.

robr2

@graphicguy said:

Will drive the BMW X1 35ix again today. That's the vehicle that's still high on my list.

Have you looked at the ATS or CTS?

driver100

@graphicguy said:

Very, very tempting.
Will drive the BMW X1 35ix again today. That's the vehicle that's still high on my list.

Good review and insight into these cars. Sounds like it will be a hard choice, and there are some nice cars out there. Keep us up to date.

oldfarmer50

@abacomike

"IRA making 0.7%"

Wow, that's some conservative investing. Even my bond funds which got hammered this year are up 2% plus dividends.

My wife's IRA was making 0.1% when she let me fool with it. Now she gets a monthly check that's 10x what she use to make in a year.

And believe me, I'm no financial wizard.

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said:
And believe me, I'm no financial wizard.

And, isn't the Dow up like 30% on the year?

jmonroe

Well, I’m not getting an R-Spec and it isn’t because the dealer doesn’t want to deal. They are throwing out a great number but the 2014 still looks too much like the ’09 Genny I have now. If I’m going to get another car it has to look different and the 2014 Genny does not fit that criteria.

I’m not sure what I will get, even if I get another car. I’m starting to think that I’m forcing myself to buy another car and there is really no need for me to do that.

Believe it or not I got a good internet price for a 2014 CTS Luxury and a Performance but it looks like they want to steal the Genny (offering $13/14 K). My research says I should get around $17K (that was Edmunds, KBB said I should get around $1500 more). Of course neither Edmunds nor KBB is the one buying it and I know that offer will come up but like I said I’m on the fence and will probably fall off into my own garage starring at the ole Genny for a while.

When I got in the Genny this morning I almost heard a sigh of relief…like it knows nobody is going to take better care of it than me.

jmonroe

stickguy

Jmonroe, I bet you are seeing "RWD in snow country in winter" syndrome. I think it is silly, but plenty of people it seems (especially luxury/high end buyers) have been conditioned to think they must have AWD in the north east.

jmonroe

@stickguy said:
Jmonroe, I bet you are seeing "RWD in snow country in winter" syndrome. I think it is silly, but plenty of people it seems (especially luxury/high end buyers) have been conditioned to think they must have AWD in the north east.

To be honest, I don't know what I am seeing other than seeing myself in a new car that I really don't need. Now, having said that, if I do buy another car it will probably have AWD although living in the Burgh area it is not needed except for a day or two a year, if that. Now, having said that, I still haven't had a chance to put Mrs. j's 2012 Subie Legacy to the test yet and we got it in November 2011.

Go figure.

jmonroe

driver100

@jmonroe said:

criteria.

I’m not sure what I will get, even if I get another car.

You da man! This is the best time to start looking for a car for lots of reasons. You aren't in a panic to unload the Gennie. You have had good use from it...calculate the depreciation per year.
Take your time and look at a few cars that appeal to you....ATS sounds like a good possibility. Remember, the Genniw will be worth a few $1000 less a year from now and whatever you are looking for will probably cost more. Using the driver method of calculating payments, a new car could cost less than you think. Besides, buy it now before that money gets used on new furniture.

oldfarmer50

@driver100 said:

"Dow up 30%"

Yes, about 28-29% YTD. My S&P index fund is up about that much and my small cap fund is up about 35%.

I got lucky and rode the government induced bull market this year but I have no idea what to do for 2014.

As I said I'm no financial wizard.

The rich get richer in times like this because they have the capital to risk. Most people don't so they miss out. When you bought your place in Florida you were able to make a killing in a depressed market. Imagine if you had to sell at that time.

oldfarmer50

:> @stickguy said:

Jmonroe, I bet you are seeing "RWD in snow country in winter" syndrome. I think it is silly, but plenty of people it seems (especially luxury/high end buyers) have been conditioned to think they must have AWD in the north east.

All Lexus models in my area come with AWD. You have to special order a RWD.

There is a tremendous difference between my RWD Lincoln and the wife's PT Cruiser as far as traction. Even with studded snows the RWD is tougher to move. Had to relearn my old driving methods.

On the plus side RWD can be more fun. The other day at work my car was facing the wrong way to get out the gate so I just turned the wheel and gunned it a little. That big boat rotated around on it's own axis and off I went.

jmonroe

*** The other day at work my car was facing the wrong way to get out the gate so I just turned the wheel and gunned it a little. That big boat rotated around on it's own axis and off I went. ***

'farmer', many years ago Son #1 was with me when we were dropped off in a packing lot by my brother coming home from a Steelers game. We usually left one of our cars there and this week it was his turn to drive to the game, so we were the ones that were dropped off. Well, the lot had quite a bit of snow in it and there were a lot of other people who did what we did and they were returning to their cars also. Between all of the people and some not knowing how to navigate in the snow, the lot was getting very screwed up and I didn't want to wait for them to figure out what they wanted to do so I headed up the small grade toward the line up but I did what you did, I stomped on it and turned the wheel hard to the left. I was now headed in the other direction so that I could exit the lot at the other end where there were almost no cars lined up. You should have seen the look on that kids face. He wanted to know how I did that so I explained it to him (I'd say he was about 8 when this happened). When we got home he had to tell his mother and she said, "great, you had to go and show him something like that didn't you? :@ I remember when we were dating and you did that, I thought the dinner I just had was going to be all over the windshield".

To this day his mother blames me for his interest in cars, and tracking them, because of that one tincy wincy little innocent event.

jmonroe

roadburner

@stickguy said:
Jmonroe, I bet you are seeing "RWD in snow country in winter" syndrome. I think it is silly, but plenty of people it seems (especially luxury/high end buyers) have been conditioned to think they must have AWD in the north east.

Some poor imbeciles think you need FWD or AWD to be able to drive in the rain...

driver100

@oldfarmer50 said:
The rich get richer in times like this because they have the capital to risk. Most people don't so they miss out. When you bought your place in Florida you were able to make a killing in a depressed market. Imagine if you had to sell at that time.

I don't think you were lucky at all.....you used your judgement and made a gutsy move. You bought when others were afraid to jump in.

No one likes to risk their hard earned money. You have to take a risk to come out ahead. You try to read the market and the economy as well as possible...make your move, and hope it works.

We didn't make a killing in Florida. When we bought about 10% of the units were for sale, we did buy at the bottom though. Now just 3% are for sale, and prices are up about 10%. It would be nice to see the value go up but, I don't think it matters too much....we bought it to live in it for part of the year - the Florida house is only worth something if we sell it. It may be a good financial move if prices continue to climb.

You did well with those gains. Hard to say what 2014 will bring....latest I read is that the economy should continue to climb.

graphicguy

robr...had a bad experience with my late Mother's Cadillac serveral years ago. Left such a bad taste that I vowed I'd never buy a Cadillac. Still remember that experience. Still remember that vow.

@robr2 said:
Have you looked at the ATS or CTS?

graphicguy

Drove the BMW X1 35ix. You know, there's a lot to like about it. Since it's just me driving it, it seems like the perfect size. It's got some good straightline performance and reminds me an awful lot of my old E92. I don't know if it's me, or what. But, the seats seem to be much less comfortable than what I remember in my E92.

Maybe I'm mis-remembering.

Dealers' phone calls are hot and heavy today. Seems like a good day to buy a car.

Going out this a.m. and early this afternoon. Not sure where I'll end up. Benz store is close to me, probably give them another cursory look.

Maybe head to infiniti. But, over the years, and as many times as I've been to the local Infiniti store and have not bought anything, I'm not optimisitc. But, the Lexus dealer is near there, too. Maybe see if there are any "deals" to be had on a GS.

oldfarmer50

@graphicguy said:
robr...had a bad experience with my late Mother's Cadillac serveral years ago. Left such a bad taste that I vowed I'd never buy a Cadillac. Still remember that experience. Still remember that vow.

Didn't Richard say the same thing? From your test drive reports I think you really want that TL. Get whatever options you wished you had on your previous Acura and you'll be happy.

imidazol97

@oldfarmer50 said:
Left such a bad taste that I vowed I'd never buy a Cadillac. Still remember that experience. Still remember that vow.

Didn't Richard say the same thing?

And Richard bought his SRX and has been very happy. Things change. I am amazed with the animus some will keep toward GM, but will give all kinds of passes to other car companies over sludge, bad transmissions, failing frames, etc.. I've had great service out of my GM's. I probably should have gotten it together for a purchase at end of December, but just didn't get things arranged for shopping in a serious way. Son's home from college, trip to Michigan (Looperland as Steve would say), and more distracted me.

houdini1

@graphicguy said:
Drove the BMW X1 35ix.

If you like the X1, you should drive the new Forrester. It beat out a lot of more expensive SUVS for Motor Trend
SUV of the year, for what that is worth. They loved the interior, visibility, and just the way it drove. It would be great to have your opinion.

ab348

@imidazol97 said:
I am amazed with the animus some will keep toward GM, but will give all kinds of passes to other car companies over sludge, bad transmissions, failing frames, etc..

Yes, there certainly does seem to be a double standard. Probably related to the govt money now, but even before that they had a lot of people who slagged them. Ah well, such is the way of the world I guess. I feel the same way about Hyundai.

Personally if I was in the market right now a new CTS would be tempting.

jmonroe

@ab348 said:
...I feel the same way about Hyundai.

Oh yeah. What did they do to you?

jmonroe

abacomike

To all my SFTSF poster-pals, HAPPY NEW YEAR! If you are going out tonight, please drive safely - there will be a lot of idiots out there who didn't know when they had enough to drink.

Kirstie_H

Happy new year to you, Mike, and everyone else! I have a fairly good track record of not making it til midnight, so best that I dole out wishes while I'm still (mostly) alert.

oldfarmer50

Happy new year all!

Tell me if anything interesting happens because I'll be out by 9.

jmonroe

@abacomike said:
To all my SFTSF poster-pals, HAPPY NEW YEAR! If you are going out tonight, please drive safely - there will be a lot of idiots out there who didn't know when they had enough to drink.

Same to you Mike and all of my poster buddies.

We are going out for Chinese with 3 other couples then to the Walter Middy movie. We'll probably be at the movie when the bell rings. I hope Mrs. j doesn't wake me up like she has been known to do. I just hope my ribs can take it. I'm not good at movies anymore...the lights go out and I follow.

See ya'll next year.

jmonroe

abacomike

@kirstie said:
Happy new year to you, Mike, and everyone else! I have a fairly good track record of not making it til midnight,

I never make it past 10 or 11 PM. Our ritual here is that Dad and I open a bottle of Cook's Champagne (for the money, best domestic on the market) and toast each other. I put the bottle in the freezer 20 minutes before we drink it - nothing better than ice cold champagne.

abacomike

@oldfarmer said:
Tell me if anything interesting happens because I'll be out by 9.

I used to be able to stay up to watch Times Square as the lighted ball drops. Unfortunately, I drop well before the ball does.

Happy New Year

jayrider

@abacomike said:
oldfarmer said:
Tell me if anything interesting happens because I'll be out by 9.

I used to be able to stay up to watch Times Square as the lighted ball drops. Unfortunately, I drop well before the ball does.

Happy New Year

Have our 8 year granddaughter for the night. We celebrate at 11 on NBC.

mako1a

nyccarguy

Happy & Healthy New Year to all of my friends here on SFTSF! All good things to you all in 2014!

roadburner

No one says it better than Grumpy Cat!

snakeweasel

@sandman_6472 said:
Well, so far, this winter has been super warm with temps in the 80's on a daily basis. We could use some cooler temps right about now!!!

Great lets switch, the high today is supposed to be 22 and it's supposed to get colder, on Tuesday Accuweather is forecasting a scalding high of -4 (yes negative four for the high.) So happy freezing New Year to all.

imidazol97

@snakeweasel said:
Great let's switch, the high today is supposed to be 22 and it's supposed to get colder, on Tuesday Accuweather is forecasting a scalding high of -4 (yes negative four for the high.) So happy freezing New Year to all.

Doesn't sound like you're enjoying this global warming that's going to melt all the ice
and flood the coastlines. :grin

Happy New Year Everybody!

tjc78

@imidazol97
I vowed never to buy GM again back in 1999 after my horrible experience with an Olds 88. Things do change and I ended up with a Buick in 2012. Aside from a crankshaft seal it's, been trouble free.

Happy New Year to all!

snakeweasel

@imidazol97 said:
trip to Michigan (Looperland as Steve would say),

I think the correct term in Yooperland, plus it only applies to the Upper Peninsular of Michigan.

Kirstie_H

@abacomike said:
I never make it past 10 or 11 PM. Our ritual here is that Dad and I open a bottle of Cook's Champagne (for the money, best domestic on the market) and toast each other. I put the bottle in the freezer 20 minutes before we drink it - nothing better than ice cold champagne.

I usually get Freixenet and add a splash of Chambourd. Made it past midnight last night (2am) as we had relatives over to keep us awake. 6:30 sure came early, and while I hate to predict the future, I see a strong possibility of a nap.

@jmonroe - let us know how the Thurber movie was, if you stayed awake. If not, ask Mrs. jmonroe.

snakeweasel

@ab348 said:
Personally if I was in the market right now a new CTS would be tempting.

The CTS is a nice car, If I were looking the CTS would be on my radar as well as the ATS and the MB CLA (except that I don't like that little screen sticking up there.) and C class.

Depending on the situation we might look this summer (if it ever comes) for a date car.

snakeweasel

@jmonroe said:
We are going out for Chinese with 3 other couples then to the Walter Middy movie.

We went to a local casino where one of the restaurants had a big band (well a small big band) playing swing music from the 40's and 50's. How was Walter Mitty? I am sort of worried about seeing it because I really liked the Danny Kaye version and I am afraid that the new one won't stack up to the old.

imidazol97

@snakeweasel said:
the correct term in Yooperland, plus it only applies to the Upper Peninsular of Michigan.

You're right. I inferred that "U" "P", for Upper Peninsula, when pronouncing the letters sounds like You Pea, then add "er" to be YouP'er. And that and smears into "Yooper." Since I was only in the Lower Peninsula of Pure Michigan, that is "L" "P" which smears into "Looper" when pronounced serially. I was aiming that at Steve thinking he'd pick up on it. BTW, Yooper is also a dialect in the Upper Peninsula. I don't think Steve ever read it because he didn't comment. :smile

This all makes sense since I was a Hoosier. The origin of "Hoosier" is pioneer people calling out from their log cabins to someone approaching, "Who'shhh There." Which smears into "Hoosh-there" and Hoosier. Learned that in Indiana history in high school.

snakeweasel

@abacomike said:
I used to be able to stay up to watch Times Square as the lighted ball drops. Unfortunately, I drop well before the ball does.

Happy New Year

As kids me and my sisters would beg our parents to let us stay up til midnight to see in the new year. We would sit and watch the ball drop at Times Square and then my parents would say happy new year to us and have us go to bed. It was much later in life that I realized that New York was an hour ahead of Chicago and our parents were putting us to bed at 11:00.

snakeweasel

@imidazol97 said:
Doesn't sound like you're enjoying this global warming that's going to melt all the ice and flood the coastlines

I think we had a cooler than normal 2013 here, December was defiantly colder with an average daily high of 4.5 degrees under the historical average. And it looks like at least the first two weeks of January will be well below normal.

Anyway I did get a box set of General James Stewart Westerns that I can stay home and watch in front of a fire when its below zero.

snakeweasel

@imidazol97 said:
Since I was only in the Lower Peninsula of Pure Michigan, that is "L" "P" which smears into "Looper" when pronounced serially.

I get to Michigan often as it is only a few hours away, just a quick drive across Indiana and while I have heard "lower peninsula" often I can recall anyone calling it "looper" even in the UP. People in the UP use UP often a lot of people in the LP just use Michigan and refer to the UP as the UP.

At least that is my experience. But I spend most of my time in Michigan along the coast of Lake Michigan.

jmonroe

@Kirstie@Edmunds said:
jmonroe - let us know how the Thurber movie was, if you stayed awake. If not, ask Mrs. jmonroe.

'snake', you can listen in on this too.

Like I said I'm not a movie person, so I'm not a good judge. At times I thought the movie was just bad enough that it actually kept me awake. Even Mrs. j agreed with me on this. I think the only person who actually liked it was the guy who suggested it. There were 8 of us that watched it (me only sometimes).

jmonroe

ab348

@jmonroe said: Like I said I'm not a movie person, so I'm not a good judge.

I think I haven't set foot in a movie theater since the mid to late 1990s. Many reasons, but primary among them is that there are few movies today that tell a story with words and acting and instead rely on CGI effects and comic book storylines.

abacomike

@snakeweasel said:
It was much later in life that I realized that New York was an hour ahead of Chicago and our parents were putting us to bed at 11:00

What was your age when you finally discovered that your parents were "deceiving" you and your sibs? The older you were when you first discovered this, the "funnier" the story is!!

Happy New Year!!!

abacomike

@ab348 said:I think I haven't set foot in a movie theater since the mid to late 1990s.

I would add one or two more reasons I rarely go to the movie theater - DVD players attached to HDTV's and Cable Movie Channels and/or Pay Per View Movies the same day as it is released in Theaters.

This way, I can pause the movie, hit the john and/or go get a snack, then return to the privacy of my own room and resume the movie. Better than sitting in a movie theater - paying $20.00+ on popcorn, soda, etc., not to mention the $20.00 or so bucks it costs for the ticket. And what about gas for the car to get to the theater. Much better sitting at home and watching movies than in a theater, IMHO

driver100

@jmonroe said:
jmonroe

I think the only person who actually liked it was the guy who suggested it.

I like movies but I find there are only about 6 a year that are really worth seeing. I always read movie reviews just to get an idea of whether the movie sounds suitable to me. I find rottentomatoes.com is the best way to check out a movie.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_secret_life_of_walter_mitty_2013/
Walter Mitty just got a 48% from the critics, but a 79% from the audience. Probably because it appeals to people who like a happy fantasy movie....a light feel good movie.