Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

stickguy

already swamped with stuff, and now I have to spend half the day trying to figure out how to cover a large, oddly shaped lawn with sprinklers. We got our yard hydro seeded today, and of course you are supposed to water somewhere between daily and constantly.

so you can thank me for the longest stretch of dry weather upstate in September in recorded history. not even a 1% chance for over a week, and probably not any real shot until the end of next week.

serves me right to wait until labor day to avoid the hot part of the summer when it might have all burned off. If I had it done at the beginning of August would have a nice lush lawn by now! though that means I would be mowing already, and after seeing how much lawn there ended up being once they cleared a bunch of the overgrowth out, I am not looking forward to doing this with my push it yourself 20" (maybe 21") Ego. I may be investing in a rider next spring after all.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

already swamped with stuff, and now I have to spend half the day trying to figure out how to cover a large, oddly shaped lawn with sprinklers. We got our yard hydro seeded today, and of course you are supposed to water somewhere between daily and constantly.

so you can thank me for the longest stretch of dry weather upstate in September in recorded history. not even a 1% chance for over a week, and probably not any real shot until the end of next week.

serves me right to wait until labor day to avoid the hot part of the summer when it might have all burned off. If I had it done at the beginning of August would have a nice lush lawn by now! though that means I would be mowing already, and after seeing how much lawn there ended up being once they cleared a bunch of the overgrowth out, I am not looking forward to doing this with my push it yourself 20" (maybe 21") Ego. I may be investing in a rider next spring after all.

————————————————
Three years ago I got tired of cutting my grass with a self propelled 22” gas mower. So, I flag downed the guy doing my next door neighbors lawn (he also did the yard next to him) to see if he could fit me into his schedule. No problem. The best 35 bucks I ever spent (a little more than 5000 sq. ft.) Don’t ask me why I didn’t do it sooner.

jmonroe

stickguy

in my little pocket neighborhood (5 houses including ours) everybody (well, the 4 ones with a lawn!) everyone does their own. 3 of them have riding mowers (big enough lawns to justify it). the other guy with the smallest lawn (about .5 acres I think) does it with a rechargeable push of some kind. but if there was somebody on the street already, it would be tempting!

graphicguy

corvette

@graphicguy - nice EV6! I assume it's a lease?

kyfdx

@graphicguy is a man of action!

stickguy

pretty sharp looking.

Michaell

And a GT-Line to boot.

Congrats!

stickguy

I need to swing by the dealer and check one of these out. Could be a fun test drive.

graphicguy

Thanks! Yes…GT-Line. I couldn’t get my old tired posterior comfortable in the GT seats.

Both are fast! GT is crazy fast! But, you sacrifice range to get that speed.

My Accord is state of the art regarding technology. The EV6 is a step past that!

It is….

-quiet

• really high quality build
• faaaaaasssst…faster than my previous Stinger, which wasn’t a slouch
• Meridian stereo is quite nice
• doesn’t feel anywhere nearly as heavy as it is
• smooooth
• bigger than my Accord, which surprised me
  -light, accurate steering

I have to get used to the way EVs drive. Not the same as ai ICE or Hybrid vehicle.

Doing 110 charging, which according to the car will net me slow recharge times. Will see how that works.

Kia gives some free charging hours at Electrify America. Using the fast chargers, supposed to charge to 80% takes 18 mins. We’ll see!

It goes somewhere between 275-280 miles of range. Not the best, certainly not the worst.

Deals, deals, deals….had to go to KY to get the deal, mainly because the Kia dealerships around me a) didn’t have any in stock and b) wanted to play the grind game. The dealership in KY was pretty straight forward. Hefty discounts + hefty Kia incentives + no crazy add ons made for a good deal.

Thanks to @Michaell amd @kyfdx for the MF, RV numbers and the incentive info. Helped me to make me “one offer”.

Not quite ready to make 100% EV commitment, so 24 mos/10k miles lease. Should give me a good feel.

suydam

Congratulations! Looks like a very solid vehicle! Sharp looking too. It’s more of a sedan in terms of ride height, right? We looked at one when we were shopping the Sportage.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

already swamped with stuff, and now I have to spend half the day trying to figure out how to cover a large, oddly shaped lawn with sprinklers. We got our yard hydro seeded today, and of course you are supposed to water somewhere between daily and constantly.

so you can thank me for the longest stretch of dry weather upstate in September in recorded history. not even a 1% chance for over a week, and probably not any real shot until the end of next week.

serves me right to wait until labor day to avoid the hot part of the summer when it might have all burned off. If I had it done at the beginning of August would have a nice lush lawn by now! though that means I would be mowing already, and after seeing how much lawn there ended up being once they cleared a bunch of the overgrowth out, I am not looking forward to doing this with my push it yourself 20" (maybe 21") Ego. I may be investing in a rider next spring after all.

Don’t worry, you’re doing it right. Grass likes those cool mornings. If you’re worried about watering a large oddly shaped lawn look into a Rain Train sprinkler:



I used these to water large areas of nursery stock. They will travel in any pattern in which you can lay the hose (within reason).

tjc78

@graphicguy
Congrats!!

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Thanks! Yes…GT-Line. I couldn’t get my old tired posterior comfortable in the GT seats.

Both are fast! GT is crazy fast! But, you sacrifice range to get that speed.

My Accord is state of the art regarding technology. The EV6 is a step past that!

It is….

-quiet

• really high quality build
• faaaaaasssst…faster than my previous Stinger, which wasn’t a slouch
• Meridian stereo is quite nice
• doesn’t feel anywhere nearly as heavy as it is
• smooooth
• bigger than my Accord, which surprised me
  
  -light, accurate steering

I have to get used to the way EVs drive. Not the same as ai ICE or Hybrid vehicle.

Doing 110 charging, which according to the car will net me slow recharge times. Will see how that works.

Kia gives some free charging hours at Electrify America. Using the fast chargers, supposed to charge to 80% takes 18 mins. We’ll see!

It goes somewhere between 275-280 miles of range. Not the best, certainly not the worst.

Deals, deals, deals….had to go to KY to get the deal, mainly because the Kia dealerships around me a) didn’t have any in stock and b) wanted to play the grind game. The dealership in KY was pretty straight forward. Hefty discounts + hefty Kia incentives + no crazy add ons made for a good deal.

Thanks to @Michaell amd @kyfdx for the MF, RV numbers and the incentive info. Helped me to make me “one offer”.

Not quite ready to make 100% EV commitment, so 24 mos/10k miles lease. Should give me a good feel.

Kia certainly has learned how to make nice looking cars. $60k would give me the vapors but that’s positively cheap these days. I hope your experience with an EV is better than some of the nightmares you’ve had with ICE vehicles.

stickguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
Don’t worry, you’re doing it right. Grass likes those cool mornings. If you’re worried about watering a large oddly shaped lawn look into a Rain Train sprinkler:

I used these to water large areas of nursery stock. They will travel in any pattern in which you can lay the hose (within reason).

Interesting contraption.

I bought a couple of spigot splitters and more hose and have 2 oscillating (back and forth) sprinklers and 2 tower ones. Hopefully I can cover the bulk of it with those without having to move them around too much. Will know shortly when I go outside to hook it all up. I assembled the tower jobs yesterday.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Thanks! Yes…GT-Line. I couldn’t get my old tired posterior comfortable in the GT seats.

Both are fast! GT is crazy fast! But, you sacrifice range to get that speed.

My Accord is state of the art regarding technology. The EV6 is a step past that!

It is….

-quiet

• really high quality build
• faaaaaasssst…faster than my previous Stinger, which wasn’t a slouch
• Meridian stereo is quite nice
• doesn’t feel anywhere nearly as heavy as it is
• smooooth
• bigger than my Accord, which surprised me
  
  -light, accurate steering

I have to get used to the way EVs drive. Not the same as ai ICE or Hybrid vehicle.

Doing 110 charging, which according to the car will net me slow recharge times. Will see how that works.

Kia gives some free charging hours at Electrify America. Using the fast chargers, supposed to charge to 80% takes 18 mins. We’ll see!

It goes somewhere between 275-280 miles of range. Not the best, certainly not the worst.

Deals, deals, deals….had to go to KY to get the deal, mainly because the Kia dealerships around me a) didn’t have any in stock and b) wanted to play the grind game. The dealership in KY was pretty straight forward. Hefty discounts + hefty Kia incentives + no crazy add ons made for a good deal.

Thanks to @Michaell amd @kyfdx for the MF, RV numbers and the incentive info. Helped me to make me “one offer”.

Not quite ready to make 100% EV commitment, so 24 mos/10k miles lease. Should give me a good feel.

Kia certainly has learned how to make nice looking cars. $60k would give me the vapors but that’s positively cheap these days. I hope your experience with an EV is better than some of the nightmares you’ve had with ICE vehicles.

Rebates, discounts, etc brought it to right around $40K. At $60K, a whole lot of other vehicles would have entered the ring.

The Equinox EV RS AWD (in other words, all loaded up) came in at about the same number after all discounts.

The Lexus RZ450, surprisingly came in around $43K on a $65K sticker. I actually liked it, quite a bit. But, seems Toyota's EV platform has been a series of "fixes" that are still ongoing to get the vehicle to where it was supposed to be.

Ionic 5 was priced similarly to the EV6. I just didn't like the way it looked, and the Meridian stereo in the EV6 is way better than the Bose in the Ionic 5.

graphicguy

@jmonroe1 ...have you ever looked at those "robot" lawnmowers? I've read some good reviews on some of them.

Since I've retired, I've become lazier, even though I have more time. I mow with my Deere rider about ¾'s
of the time. But, I've been known to not even want to do that and hiring one of my neighbor's lawn service to cut mine sporadically.

graphicguy

corvette said:

@graphicguy - nice EV6! I assume it's a lease?

Yes.

$0 out of pocket, sign and drive.

24 months/ 10K miles/year

graphicguy

suydam said:

Congratulations! Looks like a very solid vehicle! Sharp looking too. It’s more of a sedan in terms of ride height, right? We looked at one when we were shopping the Sportage.

It sits a little higher than my Accord. The interior isn't as big as the Chevy EVs. But, it's sizable. It rides and handles better than the Equinox I test drove. I think they weigh about the same, though.

If there is one disappointment, it's that Apple CarPlay is not wireless as it is in my Accord. Nit pic, for sure. But, you get used to things like that. 1st world problems...I have to plug in my iPhone to get CarPlay features.

Although, I can still bluetooth my music wirelessly from my iPhone.

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

corvette said:

@graphicguy - nice EV6! I assume it's a lease?

Yes.

$0 out of pocket, sign and drive.

24 months/ 10K miles/year

Florence, out on Burlington Pike?

When my D-I-L was shopping for a car, they were really nice, out there. No BS.

What's the payment?

graphicguy

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

graphicguy said:

corvette said:

@graphicguy - nice EV6! I assume it's a lease?

Yes.

$0 out of pocket, sign and drive.

24 months/ 10K miles/year

Florence, out on Burlington Pike?

When my D-I-L was shopping for a car, they were really nice, out there. No BS.

What's the payment?

That's the place.

$444/mo. No out of pocket. I think there's some trunk money we don't know about. I was aggressive in my offer. They ended up beating it.

They were nice. Wyler, as mentioned before, kept wanting to grind it out. Matter of fact, I told them I already signed papers and they kept texting wanted to know if I took delivery yet because they would like me to come back in. They texted me again. this a.m.

Just realized, it's end of quarter. So, the pressure is on for them.

I made them my one offer. Told them I was only making one offer. Didn't matter. They kept wanting to play the "if we can get you to XXXXXX, will you buy today?".

While I was at the selling dealer, I also test drove an EV9. THAT'S a BIG vehicle. If I had a family, I would have considered it. Just for grins, they said they could make a deal on the EV9 ($70-ish?) for $50-$75 more/mo.

For good or ill, they also have an Alfa Romeo store attached to them. They had this in their showroom...

Kirstie_H

tjc78 said:

All you guys with your fancy stuff. I’m rocking ancient Ryobi One Plus with the newer lithium batteries (they didn’t have those when I got them). Perfect for my needs!

Same, for simplicity's sake. I'm not building a house or an addition or anything... just basic home maintenance and minor upgrades.

Kirstie_H

graphicguy said:

Yes.

$0 out of pocket, sign and drive.

24 months/ 10K miles/year

Congrats! That's a sharp-looking vehicle.

suydam

Seems like $40k is where most mainstream new PHEV or EV vehicles land these days if you want all the technology, infotainment, and comfort features (and I do).

graphicguy

suydam said:

Seems like $40k is where most mainstream new PHEV or EV vehicles land these days if you want all the technology, infotainment, and comfort features (and I do).

I agree. I think that's the tipping dollar amount that makes it worthwhile.

I believe that once Chevy comes out with the new Bolt and the FWD LT Equinox, that allegedly will dip into the $30K range with gov't rebates, it will really put the jolt into EVs (pun intended).

For $40K, it's hard (if not impossible) to get the kind of performance an EV offers.

I also want all the "gee-gaws". For good or ill, when you have all the "stuff" they offer, it's hard to go back to crank windows, manual A/C, manual seat adjustment, etc. Oh, the humanity!

graphicguy

Kirstie_H said:

graphicguy said:

Yes.

$0 out of pocket, sign and drive.

24 months/ 10K miles/year

Congrats! That's a sharp-looking vehicle.

Thanks, Kirstie!

I was cleaning my office desk the other day and found this in one of the drawers. It was a long time ago, but I think it was you who sent this "swag" my way.

Thanks, again!

Kirstie_H

graphicguy said:

Thanks, Kirstie!

I was cleaning my office desk the other day and found this in one of the drawers. It was a long time ago, but I think it was you who sent this "swag" my way.

Thanks, again!

Possibly! Wow, that's a relic. We haven't used that logo for at least 6 years. I'm still digging through boxes hoping to find my CarSpace shirt.

qbrozen

@graphicguy said:

For good or ill, they also have an Alfa Romeo store attached to them. They had this in their showroom...

I so much want one of these

qbrozen

My brother has been bugging me for assistance acquiring a new SUV for his bride. They seem to like Mazdas, and he has indicated desire to lease. Looks like the CX5 and CX50 are at least tolerable, although not bargains, at about $399 with first month at signing for a Select model, whatever that means. The Tucson PHEV SEL is looking like a good deal at roughly the same monthly but far higher MSRP. Anything else I should point them to? They aren’t capable of full EV driving, she wants at least a step up from compact (think X3 size or larger), and I think they need to stay under that $400 ceiling, all in.

stickguy

Try a CRV?

suydam

My neighbor has the Hyundai Tucson PHEV. It’s a really nice vehicle all the way around. Peppier than a CRV, it will allow them that step up even though it is classified as a compact SUV. My neighbor is in a band and it easily carries all his gear. Plus it never needs to use gas in around town driving, which is great for the budget.
The Kia Sportage PHEV is very similar and may have a cheaper lease. I say “may” because PHEVs are in demand right now.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
My brother has been bugging me for assistance acquiring a new SUV for his bride. They seem to like Mazdas, and he has indicated desire to lease. Looks like the CX5 and CX50 are at least tolerable, although not bargains, at about $399 with first month at signing for a Select model, whatever that means. The Tucson PHEV SEL is looking like a good deal at roughly the same monthly but far higher MSRP. Anything else I should point them to? They aren’t capable of full EV driving, she wants at least a step up from compact (think X3 size or larger), and I think they need to stay under that $400 ceiling, all in.

I really like my Mom’s CX-50. It was right at $400 with just first OOP and is the middle trim (Preferred ? )

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

My brother has been bugging me for assistance acquiring a new SUV for his bride. They seem to like Mazdas, and he has indicated desire to lease. Looks like the CX5 and CX50 are at least tolerable, although not bargains, at about $399 with first month at signing for a Select model, whatever that means. The Tucson PHEV SEL is looking like a good deal at roughly the same monthly but far higher MSRP. Anything else I should point them to? They aren’t capable of full EV driving, she wants at least a step up from compact (think X3 size or larger), and I think they need to stay under that $400 ceiling, all in.

I know they are doing screaming deals on the Honda Prologue EV. But, you get back into the whole "new GM (based) model" and all the possible "gotchas" that entails. I thought long and hard about it. It drove better than the Blazer EV I test drove, and it had Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screens were simpler as was the UI. I thought that was a good thing.

My thought process was "well, Honda co-developed it, and that should count for something". But, you look around it and see GM's finger prints all over it.

CR-V is a safe bet. Lots of reviewers say it's the best compact SUV on the market.

BTW....you'd look good in that Alfa!

Michaell

graphicguy said:

BTW....you'd look good in that Alfa!

Q is 6'5", IIRC. Would he even fit?

ab348

qbrozen said:

My brother has been bugging me for assistance acquiring a new SUV for his bride. They seem to like Mazdas, and he has indicated desire to lease. Looks like the CX5 and CX50 are at least tolerable, although not bargains, at about $399 with first month at signing for a Select model, whatever that means. The Tucson PHEV SEL is looking like a good deal at roughly the same monthly but far higher MSRP. Anything else I should point them to? They aren’t capable of full EV driving, she wants at least a step up from compact (think X3 size or larger), and I think they need to stay under that $400 ceiling, all in.

The CX-5 has a loyal legion of fans. But it is an old design and is scheduled to be replaced in a year or so. It is also a bit small, not as bad as the CX-30, but a bit narrow and tight in spots. The -50 is the newer design, a bit lower, longer and wider, but only slightly roomier (mostly in the rear seat). Powertrains are identical right down to the ancient 6-speed auto transmission. I like the look of the 50 much more and if they already like Mazda this won’t be an issue, but Mazda’s materials and build quality has never impressed me. There is also the much bigger and heavier CX-90 which has had lots of woes after being rolled out badly underdeveloped. Most of the issues seem to have been addressed now but I would remain wary of it for a while.

graphicguy

@Michaell said:
Q is 6'5", IIRC. Would he even fit?

Does it matter?

LOL!

I had to duck getting into it and I’m only 5’10”

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

already swamped with stuff, and now I have to spend half the day trying to figure out how to cover a large, oddly shaped lawn with sprinklers. We got our yard hydro seeded today, and of course you are supposed to water somewhere between daily and constantly.

so you can thank me for the longest stretch of dry weather upstate in September in recorded history. not even a 1% chance for over a week, and probably not any real shot until the end of next week.

serves me right to wait until labor day to avoid the hot part of the summer when it might have all burned off. If I had it done at the beginning of August would have a nice lush lawn by now! though that means I would be mowing already, and after seeing how much lawn there ended up being once they cleared a bunch of the overgrowth out, I am not looking forward to doing this with my push it yourself 20" (maybe 21") Ego. I may be investing in a rider next spring after all.

Don’t worry, you’re doing it right. Grass likes those cool mornings. If you’re worried about watering a large oddly shaped lawn look into a Rain Train sprinkler:



I used these to water large areas of nursery stock. They will travel in any pattern in which you can lay the hose (within reason).

————————————————
In keeping with this forums present topic, how long does the battery last and what’s the recharge time?

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

“They were nice. Wyler, as mentioned before, kept wanting to grind it out. Matter of fact, I told them I already signed papers and they kept texting wanted to know if I took delivery yet because they would like me to come back in. They texted me again. this a.m.”

Did you consider texting them back and letting them know that their high pressure, old school tactics were what cost them the sale?

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

I have to post here so that when I come back I'll know where I left off.

Are you leaving for Florida already. Is that where you're going?

No, we flew from Toronto to Victoria B.C. to see family....kids and grandchildren.
I fly to Florida on November 4th.
You have a good memory @imidazol97

graphicguy

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————
In keeping with this forums present topic, how long does the battery last and what’s the recharge time?

jmonroe

Like ICE cars, weather and how I drive seems to make a difference. My current range computer estimate says 282 miles.

Kirstie_H

driver100 said:

No, we flew from Toronto to Victoria B.C. to see family....kids and grandchildren.
I fly to Florida on November 4th.
You have a good memory @imidazol97

I'm in FL full time, just north of you... Hernando Beach.

Half of my friends are snowbirds, so unlike many Floridians, I look forward to the influx!

graphicguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
“They were nice. Wyler, as mentioned before, kept wanting to grind it out. Matter of fact, I told them I already signed papers and they kept texting wanted to know if I took delivery yet because they would like me to come back in. They texted me again. this a.m.”

Did you consider texting them back and letting them know that their high pressure, old school tactics were what cost them the sale?

I told one of the store’s (Wyler has 3 KiA stores in the area) managers who kept wanting me to come back in and negotiate more that if he had accepted my first and only offer I would have signed on the dotted line.

I did text him my deal details. He said my selling dealer wouldn’t honor that deal. I sent him the pics of the car in my garage.

Haven’t heard a peep from him since then! Same dealer, the sales person told me during the test drive he was looking for another job. Probably the thing that gives me the least amount of confidence in a dealership!

driver100

@graphicguy Nice looking car.....I particularly like the inside.
At that price and on a 24 month lease you can't go wrong.....I don't think!
I have a friend who got a 2023 Toyota Sienna Hybrid and he can go over 600 miles on a tank of gas. He needs a van for certain reasons.....but the Pacifica he had before had a lot more features.
600 miles is compelling, fewer stops to refuel, but I guess you still might need a bathroom break driving for 10 hours at a time....maybe even a coffee.
Keep us posted on how the EV experience is going...the good, the bad and the ugly

qbrozen

graphicguy said:

@Michaell said:

Q is 6'5", IIRC. Would he even fit?

Does it matter?

LOL!

I had to duck getting into it and I’m only 5’10”

It matters if I can't drive it.
I found someone on youtube 6'5" trying one on. His knees were on either side of the steering wheel. I'm sad.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Don’t worry, you’re doing it right. Grass likes those cool mornings. If you’re worried about watering a large oddly shaped lawn look into a Rain Train sprinkler:

I used these to water large areas of nursery stock. They will travel in any pattern in which you can lay the hose (within reason).

Interesting contraption.

I bought a couple of spigot splitters and more hose and have 2 oscillating (back and forth) sprinklers and 2 tower ones. Hopefully I can cover the bulk of it with those without having to move them around too much. Will know shortly when I go outside to hook it all up. I assembled the tower jobs yesterday.

————————————————
My experience with getting a lawn to grow from seed is, you can water, water and water for week and barely see any growth. Then you’ll get an overnight rain and wham, you’ll see the lawn you were looking for.

That’s why when we built our house in SC in 1992 I had sod put in. I got more than a couple handfuls of comments from nearby neighbors and folks walking by. In my case it cost about 20% more to get a better grade of sod compared to seeding which I thought was a real bargain. I was never sorry I did that.

Pray for rain.

jmonroe

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Try a CRV?

I have never known CRVs to lease well. With a quick search, I see a broker has an LX in the $450 neighborhood. They'd have to go all the way down to an HRV Sport to even be in the neighborhood of their goal monthly.

corvette

graphicguy said:

I did text him my deal details. He said my selling dealer wouldn’t honor that deal.

I guess the gaslighting comes at no extra cost when you visit that dealer.

jmonroe1

graphicguy said:

@jmonroe1 ...have you ever looked at those "robot" lawnmowers? I've read some good reviews on some of them.

Since I've retired, I've become lazier, even though I have more time. I mow with my Deere rider about ¾'s
of the time. But, I've been known to not even want to do that and hiring one of my neighbor's lawn service to cut mine sporadically.

————————————————
No, I never looked into getting a robot to cut my grass. Once I decided not to cut grass anymore, I went whole hog into having someone else do it. That way I don’t even have store a mower or get off the couch to put it in place and push a button to get it going then put it away again. Just writing a check is the way to go. Yep, I’m really retired from grass cutting and trimming.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

graphicguy said:

————————————————
And to think, this all happened because you started out to help your sister buy a car. She bails and you end up buying a car. It must be true that no good deed goes unpunished.

Enjoy and give us some reports as you rack up the miles.

jmonroe