Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

roadburner · July 2017

andres3 said:

driver100 said:

roadburner said:

jmonroe said:

Sure would like to get in on the ground floor of a car that offered an Instantaneous HP Meter.

jmonroe
Very old news; my 2014 2er has it- and the F30 3er before that...

Thanks RB and Mike I had no idea there was a gauge that shows horsepower being used. That is information I would actually like to see. With all the electronics and digital stuff they can do these days, there should be a nice way to display that. Then again, maybe there is a reason they don't want to do that!.
More importantly, would the gauges still read accurate after a tune adding 50 HP? Would the limits of the gauge go up?

They do seem to prefer green leaf gauges and green pictures of a foot being light on an accelerator pedal don't they?

It depends on the car and the tune- piggyback or flash.

qbrozen · July 2017

andres3 said:

More importantly, would the gauges still read accurate after a tune adding 50 HP? Would the limits of the gauge go up?

They do seem to prefer green leaf gauges and green pictures of a foot being light on an accelerator pedal don't they?

I'd be surprised if it was reading reality. My uneducated guess is it simply shows you the result of a straightforward equation of how hard you are stepping on the go pedal and RPMs.

fintail · July 2017

I wouldn't honk for a lack of blinker unless cut off. But dawdle at a light or turn or cut me off, and I honk - for the public shaming, if anything. And for safety, it is good to test the horn to ensure it is in working order

If I honked at every errant act here, my horn would wear out in a day. With enforcement laser-focused on speed at the expense of everything else, things can suffer.

andres3 said:

I try to remember to honk at any hazardous violation & dangerous maneuver executed on the roadways. This includes failure to use a blinker. Funny that no one I've ever honked at has been ticketed by law enforcement. They deserve a ticket, but my honking will have to suffice as punishment to them.

I think if everyone honked at every dangerous driving behavior on the roadway people might actually start to get it, and it's hard to talk on the cell phone with honking in your ear.

fintail · July 2017

It might depend on circumstances. Randomly leaving the road and hitting a tree might deserve a ticket. Driving without insurance seems pretty worthy. Of course, in this system, a lawyer can get you out of a lot.

andres3 said:

Regarding ticketing someone that just got into an accident:

On the one-hand, you absolutely should probably ticket a violation that caused a wreck. There is nothing worse then causing a crash (other than maybe a crash involving a fatality), and for creating congestion with your accident (which should also carry environmental fines for excess gas wastage and pollution emissions). Seems like a tough ticket to fight when you caused an accident! Even for lawyers!

On the other hand, someone just wrecked a car (usually their own), and do you really need to pile-on? Perhaps a wrecked car not covered by insurance is punishment enough.... Now if they wrecked someone else's car, by all means drop the hammer of justice.

nyccarguy · July 2017

@fintail - dawdling at at light because someone is praying to their blue screen god drives me crazy.

fintail · July 2017

I got stuck at a light the other day because a dopey Evoque dawdled, likely for that very reason. I tested the horn then too

nyccarguy said:
@fintail - dawdling at at light because someone is praying to their blue screen god drives me crazy.

graphicguy · July 2017

Legitimate Horn use....
-someone is getting ready to back into me
-someone is going so slowly as to significantly impede my (and those behind me) progress
-being clueless that the traffic light right in front of them is green
-refusal to turn right on red
-cutting me off
-perplexity at a 4 way stop (accompnaied by me pointing to them if it's their turn to go
-(not always) lack of using a turn signal when turning
-refusing to yield where appropriate
-being too scared to merge on the interstate
-being too afraid to get up to speed on an entrance ramp to merge into traffic
-driving 10 MPH less than the posted speed limit....especially on two lane roads

dino001 · July 2017

graphicguy said:
Legitimate Horn use....
-someone is getting ready to back into me
-someone is going so slowly as to significantly impede my (and those behind me) progress
-being clueless that the traffic light right in front of them is green
-refusal to turn right on red
-cutting me off
-perplexity at a 4 way stop (accompnaied by me pointing to them if it's their turn to go
-(not always) lack of using a turn signal when turning
-refusing to yield where appropriate
-being too scared to merge on the interstate
-being too afraid to get up to speed on an entrance ramp to merge into traffic
-driving 10 MPH less than the posted speed limit....especially on two lane roads

- not letting me merge when I go at appropriate speed and the guy/lady just has to match it and go parallel with me (long horn) on that really short and obsolete ramp.
- drawing attention of that black/dark blue/dark brown vehicle that they don't have their lights turned on (their gauge cluster being lit is not evidence for having the lights on) and it's already half hour past the dusk (every 30 cars in Florida), i.e. it's already dark and the street lights don't count as daylight.

thebean · July 2017

jmonroe said:

thebean said:

andres3 said:

fintail said:
I can believe it. The things I see here make my head spin, and I have been here for ages. Diversity is great and fun and makes for interesting friends and food - but seems to create a bit of chaos on the road.

I have a good story about someone who works in my office, a 20-something who I think is an intern, relatively new both to here and to driving, who recently went on a test drive. For now, I will just say that when the drive was over, the car wasn't driveable. She told the story without real shame, so I don't think it is bad to share, but I will wait for later

Honking here is seen as some kind of secret social faux pas, and is uncommon compared to virtually everywhere else. I do notice it seems to be a more frequent act, and I am helping it along

venture said:

Speaking of new to the western world - My son lives near Baltimore. He said he was next to such a person, they were drifting over into his lane, and he had nowhere to go. He said he gently sounded his horn and the guy panicked and ran up over the curb.

I try to remember to honk at any hazardous violation & dangerous maneuver executed on the roadways. This includes failure to use a blinker. Funny that no one I've ever honked at has been ticketed by law enforcement. They deserve a ticket, but my honking will have to suffice as punishment to them.

I think if everyone honked at every dangerous driving behavior on the roadway people might actually start to get it, and it's hard to talk on the cell phone with honking in your ear.
If you ever come to the Dallas area, you might want to curb that honking instinct. Lately, there have been several cases of shootings of people in road rage incidents. Lots of folks here are packing heat and you don't want to hack them off with your honking.
Hey @thebean, what's with all the changing of your icon thingy? It's gotten to the point I don't recognize you anymore.

As for the road rage thing, I agree completely. Like I said before, I rarely use my horn since I have almost never found it to be useful and I don't have enough time to teach all the bad drivers on the road like @andres3 likes to do and is now encouraging others to do.

So, if I didn't do it before, now with all the road rage going on in most places, it doesn't look like a healthy sport to start learning.

jmonroe

@jmonroe, I could say I'm trying to keep all you old guys' minds active. However, since I'm an old guy myself, it's probably just something to keep me from getting bored. I don't give any money to my alma mater (Austin College), the least I can do is give them a little pub. I'm impressed you noticed.

suydam · July 2017

We don't honk in SoCal unless someone is veering into your lane because they didn't see you. Maybe not even then. And in my part of Ohio, only to shoo deer out of the driveway. Midwestern nice.
A friend of mine from Philly had a hard time shaking the habit. She took to a fake honk rap on her steering wheel instead.

andres3 · July 2017

dino001 said:

abacomike said:
I have it on my new one, too.

I forgot what I was going to say.

I remember now, I think it won't be long before Hyundai/Kia copy the gauges shown above, only they'll make the range from 0 to 600, and put that in a 125 HP Excel.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

What do you make of the license plate on this car? Arabic?

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/6206747020.html

Usually a plate on a car is a good thing because it's on the road and test drivable but this?

stickguy · July 2017

I think it is just scribbled over maybe? One of the other pictures has it blacked out. But who knows.

good deal mot likely. I would buy it if it was a 5 speed!

driver100 · July 2017

andres3 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

andres3 said:

fintail said:
I can believe it. The things I see here make my head spin, and I have been here for ages. Diversity is great and fun and makes for interesting friends and food - but seems to create a bit of chaos on the road.

I have a good story about someone who works in my office, a 20-something who I think is an intern, relatively new both to here and to driving, who recently went on a test drive. For now, I will just say that when the drive was over, the car wasn't driveable. She told the story without real shame, so I don't think it is bad to share, but I will wait for later

Honking here is seen as some kind of secret social faux pas, and is uncommon compared to virtually everywhere else. I do notice it seems to be a more frequent act, and I am helping it along

venture said:

Speaking of new to the western world - My son lives near Baltimore. He said he was next to such a person, they were drifting over into his lane, and he had nowhere to go. He said he gently sounded his horn and the guy panicked and ran up over the curb.

I try to remember to honk at any hazardous violation & dangerous maneuver executed on the roadways. This includes failure to use a blinker. Funny that no one I've ever honked at has been ticketed by law enforcement. They deserve a ticket, but my honking will have to suffice as punishment to them.

I think if everyone honked at every dangerous driving behavior on the roadway people might actually start to get it, and it's hard to talk on the cell phone with honking in your ear.
And you wonder why there's all those road rage shootings in Cali.

I don't think many people ever rage at one simple short honk Even the easily offended probably don't get too upset unless it is a loud and long lasting honk at them.

Those road rage incidents you hear about are always a 2-way street of continued and varied escalation. It might start with a honk, but it usually has about 4 or 5 (maybe more) illegal maneuvers in the middle, before a gun is pulled out. There is plenty of time to ignore the road rager to deescalate the situation, or capture them on camera like @fintail

Unless they have a gun and are a good shot!

tjc78 · July 2017

andres3 said:

Everyone I've seen before has another uphill spike at around age 70 as people lose their skills.
Who loses what skills? :@ :@ :@ :@ LOL Bad generalization to make about folks of a certain age. Driving acuity is variable just as it is with the teens and early 20 folks. What is needed for the statistic to be really useful (figures never lie but liars always figure) is a chart of accidents per miles driven by age category along with a chart of FATAL accidents per miles driven. Does someone have those from a valid source on the internet? I looked the other day when this topic first came up and couldn't find anything other than some tables. My years of turning data into graphs are over.
Well, that chart is one used by insurance companies to determine rates.
Insurance companies are funny. I just renewed my insurance for 6 months with Geico; about $830. Liberty Mutual quoted $3,000 for a year. Yes, $3,000, not $2,000. I triple-checked my entries for errors, couldn't find any on my end. Therefore, either Geico is going to go broke, or Liberty Mutual is committing attempted robbery.

I had the exact same thing happen to me, except it was Geico who was MUCH higher despite never having a claim and being with them over 10 years. You just never know with these companies.

dino001 · July 2017

tjc78 said:

Insurance companies are funny.

I just renewed my insurance for 6 months with Geico; about $830.

Liberty Mutual quoted $3,000 for a year. Yes, $3,000, not $2,000. I triple-checked my entries for errors, couldn't find any on my end. Therefore, either Geico is going to go broke, or Liberty Mutual is committing attempted robbery.
I had the exact same thing happen to me, except it was Geico who was MUCH higher despite never having a claim and being with them over 10 years. You just never know with these companies.

I'm completely convinced that insurance quotes depend on the Moon phase, at which you were born, whether or not your aunt twice removed was a free mason, and whether or not you had a pet tortoise when you were five. The rates are completely arbitrary from company to company. Disparities, like the one you mentioned (Geico vs. Liberty) happen all the time. I have a list of companies, I received generally in-line quotes (Progressive, Ameriprise, Allstate, Travelers, State Farm), with differences here and there, from which some will give me a good first year and then start jacking the price up by 15 percent each six month renewal (Allstate). And there are those that hated me from the day I was born, or at least from the day I got my car in the US: Liberty, former GE Insurance, Geico (least hateful, but always higher). No rhyme or reason.

abacomike · July 2017

graphicguy said:

Legitimate Horn use....
-someone is getting ready to back into me
-someone is going so slowly as to significantly impede my (and those behind me) progress
-being clueless that the traffic light right in front of them is green
-refusal to turn right on red
-cutting me off
-perplexity at a 4 way stop (accompnaied by me pointing to them if it's their turn to go
-(not always) lack of using a turn signal when turning
-refusing to yield where appropriate
-being too scared to merge on the interstate
-being too afraid to get up to speed on an entrance ramp to merge into traffic
-driving 10 MPH less than the posted speed limit....especially on two lane roads

What about blowing one's horn to make sure it works?

Honk your horn at some good looking ladies (or guys if that is your preference)!

isellhondas · July 2017

andres3 said:

stickguy said:
Craig told a story a few times about his days selling Hondas. One where some lot guy screwed up, and put the wrong sales tag in an Accord, pricing it many $1,000s too low (something like the tag for a stipped LX into an EXL). And no one noticed. So, a buyer shows up, sees a crazy low price, and drives the car. Craig realizes then what happened, admits they screwed up, but says they will honor the price if they do the deal. Well, the idiot buyer still can't make themselves take the deal of the century, and walks to "think about it"

of course, they go shop, and realize how great a deal that car was, so come back later and want it. Only to find that as soon as they walked away, car got retagged. And no way were they getting that price again. Some people, just can't help screwing themselves over.
To be fair, in the days before smartphones, I'd of given zero credibility to that mistagged sales scheme. The only way would have been for the buyer to have memorized prices prior to coming in.

My original story got modified a bit and it seems you are missing "The Story" so I shall repeat it. It's been a few years since I first posted it and even today thinking about that day puts a smile on my face.

It was a very busy Saturday and my Sales Manager called me in to assist a newbee salesperson. We had a Red Tag sale in progress where we had cordoned off a large area and all of the new cars had red tags on the windshield with prices in bold letters. In some cases, the savings were substantial. Well, one of our Lot Attendants had mis priced a new Odyssey. He had put the wrong tag that had been intended for a much lesser
model. To have sold it for that price would have represented about a 2000.00 loss for the store as I recall.

This large family had spotted this Odyssey and had taken it on a demo drive. As low as that price was, it wasn't enough for them and they actually wanted to negotiate it much lower. The salesperson wrote it up and took it to our Sales Manager who instantly realized that a MAJOR mistake had been made. He called me in and showed me what had happened! He also told me that because of our store being the store it is that we would honor that price and suck up the loss. I entered the scene as a manager and sat down with this family.

I explained what had happened and let them know I would honor that price. After a short conversation between them in their native tongue, they told me NO! I told them that I would only honor that price NOW and if they left I would change the tag to reflect what it should have been tagged at. I even told them " We hope that you leave!" Well, they stood outside in a huddle for a few minutes and finally got in their car and left.

I knew EXACTLY what they were going to do. They took my number to every Honda dealer in the area trying to do even better! Of course no store would have come close to even matching the number they had.

About four hours later, they returned! They walked in the door at a fast past, spotted me and said " We take the car!" I told them GREAT! Let's go see the car again! My revised tag was in the window and it was about 3000.00 more than the number they walked on. They were in shock! I wish I could have understood what they
were saying to one another when a huge argument erupted between several of them.

I couldn't resist telling them " You didn't believe me, did you?"

It was, indeed, a glorious day!

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"

dino001 · July 2017

isellhondas said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"

It's a great story. This was a classic situation, when uninformed buyer had a streak of luck, but they wouldn't know it. Their lifetime experience told them salespeople never say what they mean and always create that false urgency, so it just can't the one time it is real. They of course didn't understand the actual pricing components, what would be a typical expected discount. All the "know" is "dealers make a lot of money", so who knows, maybe this one they got for free from Honda, or who knows, right?

On the hindsight all they needed to do is look around for similar Odysseys on your lot and make a few quick comparison calculations, like this one sticker is 25K, red tag is 22K, this one has a sticked 30K, but the red tag is 25K. But this would require a quick decision. People get paralyzed by greed, especially when things are different from what they were prepared to face. Like a mistake on a tag.

isellhondas · July 2017

I knew a guy who mounted a Model A horn under the hood of his Chevy Pickup.

Of course the horn was 6 volt and the truck was 12 volt!

Anyone ever hear an oooga horn get a jolt of 12 volt power? LOUD doesn't describe it!

He made a lot of people jump! I just don't know how long the horn lasted under those conditions?

tbirdmarco · July 2017

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OYcZUAUbdM8

tbirdmarco · July 2017

@explorerx4 looking at my notafacations now sorry responding now don't look much at all lol lol good you did stay behind that charger!

tjc78 · July 2017

@isellhondas

I have a story like yours, except it worked out. My Stepdad had been eyeing up the Highlander when they first came out. He kept waiting for the right deal on a 3 year lease.

After a few months Toyota had a screamer lease deal on a stripper 4 cyl 2WD. Dad goes over one night (near closing of course) and attempts to make a deal. They had no 4cyls in stock, but had a 6 cyl 4wd in the color he wanted. They offered it to him for the same price. He calls me and asks if it was a good deal, of course I said buy it right now. He did. While he was in finance the dealer coughed up the truth and said they were one unit away from something or other and this was the only car they sold that day. IIRC it was about 5k more than the one advertised.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

isellhondas said:

andres3 said:

stickguy said:
Craig told a story a few times about his days selling Hondas. One where some lot guy screwed up, and put the wrong sales tag in an Accord, pricing it many $1,000s too low (something like the tag for a stipped LX into an EXL). And no one noticed. So, a buyer shows up, sees a crazy low price, and drives the car. Craig realizes then what happened, admits they screwed up, but says they will honor the price if they do the deal. Well, the idiot buyer still can't make themselves take the deal of the century, and walks to "think about it"

of course, they go shop, and realize how great a deal that car was, so come back later and want it. Only to find that as soon as they walked away, car got retagged. And no way were they getting that price again. Some people, just can't help screwing themselves over.
To be fair, in the days before smartphones, I'd of given zero credibility to that mistagged sales scheme. The only way would have been for the buyer to have memorized prices prior to coming in.
My original story got modified a bit and it seems you are missing "The Story" so I shall repeat it. It's been a few years since I first posted it and even today thinking about that day puts a smile on my face.

It was a very busy Saturday and my Sales Manager called me in to assist a newbee salesperson. We had a Red Tag sale in progress where we had cordoned off a large area and all of the new cars had red tags on the windshield with prices in bold letters. In some cases, the savings were substantial. Well, one of our Lot Attendants had mis priced a new Odyssey. He had put the wrong tag that had been intended for a much lesser
model. To have sold it for that price would have represented about a 2000.00 loss for the store as I recall.

This large family had spotted this Odyssey and had taken it on a demo drive. As low as that price was, it wasn't enough for them and they actually wanted to negotiate it much lower. The salesperson wrote it up and took it to our Sales Manager who instantly realized that a MAJOR mistake had been made. He called me in and showed me what had happened! He also told me that because of our store being the store it is that we would honor that price and suck up the loss. I entered the scene as a manager and sat down with this family.

I explained what had happened and let them know I would honor that price. After a short conversation between them in their native tongue, they told me NO! I told them that I would only honor that price NOW and if they left I would change the tag to reflect what it should have been tagged at. I even told them " We hope that you leave!" Well, they stood outside in a huddle for a few minutes and finally got in their car and left.

I knew EXACTLY what they were going to do. They took my number to every Honda dealer in the area trying to do even better! Of course no store would have come close to even matching the number they had.

About four hours later, they returned! They walked in the door at a fast past, spotted me and said " We take the car!" I told them GREAT! Let's go see the car again! My revised tag was in the window and it was about 3000.00 more than the number they walked on. They were in shock! I wish I could have understood what they
were saying to one another when a huge argument erupted between several of them.

I couldn't resist telling them " You didn't believe me, did you?"

It was, indeed, a glorious day!

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"

I think my son ran into those folks at the farmer's market Saturday. We sell a very popular item and because we have found a way to produce it cheaply we price it very low. So low in fact that people virtually fight to get it before we sell out.

This couple saw the price and asked "how much if we buy three?". The answer: three times the price of one. They tried to haggle every which way but gave up when I refused to budge. Finally they bought one and left.

They returned an hour later after someone must have told them what a bargain our product was only to find that we were sold out.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

Marcothecarguy1986 said:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OYcZUAUbdM8

OK I like the style of the 18' A8 better than the 17' even though the grill seems an expanded Fusion. Did I hear an EV version only has a 30 mile range or is that a hybrid running on electric only?

Never heard of a company called Lucid but 235 mph is impressive. Wonder how long you have to recharge between sprints.

tjc78 · July 2017

Man I'm unlucky with tires this month. First the Enclave now the Elantra with all its 4000 miles.

Mr_Shiftright · July 2017

construction in your neighborhood?

stickguy · July 2017

at least that one should be an easy fix.

qbrozen · July 2017

isellhondas said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"

Surprisingly to me, out of the 44 vehicles I have purchased, I have paid asking price a whopping 7 times. I think I asked every time if they'd go lower, but knew it was a good deal as is and followed through even though they said no.

abacomike · July 2017

Just got some great news - my son and grandson are flying in Aug 2nd and my son's SO is flying in Aug 4th. I'm really excited about their visit - haven't seen them in 2 years.

When my son's SO flies in, they'll rent a car so they can have some alone time and do some sightseeing while my grandson an I do some bonding. He turns 17 in September - 6'3" tall already and weighs 220 and he's still growing.

While they are here, my son wants to visit some colleges and universities that have baseball teams for possible scholarships. I suggested Lynn and Barry Colleges in Boca Raton.

Will be an exciting and busy week - just what the doctor ordered!

stickguy · July 2017

are you near Stetson? They have a good team. At least, have had a few guys drafted and made the majors.

fintail · July 2017

I think I have been stuck behind isell's Odyssey family, either stopping for an invisible red light, or too timid to take a free or blinking turn.

On my jog this afternoon. I saw a few situations that justified horn use (distracted drivers at lights, and a box-blocking Corolla (of course)). No horns. People here just don't honk. At least one of them deserved a few dozen slaps across the face or kicks to the butt.

abacomike · July 2017

stickguy said:

are you near Stetson? They have a good team. At least, have had a few guys drafted and made the majors.

No I'm not, stick. That's up in central FL.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

Mr_Shiftright said:
construction in your neighborhood?

I was thinking the same thing. That or a drywall hanger with a grudge.

tjc78 · July 2017

Mr_Shiftright said:

construction in your neighborhood?

Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ugh. The first one I picked up in a shore town about 80 mikes south. Luckily the first one and this one are easy cheap fixes.

roadburner · July 2017

dino001 said:

isellhondas said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"
It's a great story. This was a classic situation, when uninformed buyer had a streak of luck, but they wouldn't know it. Their lifetime experience told them salespeople never say what they mean and always create that false urgency, so it just can't the one time it is real. They of course didn't understand the actual pricing components, what would be a typical expected discount. All the "know" is "dealers make a lot of money", so who knows, maybe this one they got for free from Honda, or who knows, right?

On the hindsight all they needed to do is look around for similar Odysseys on your lot and make a few quick comparison calculations, like this one sticker is 25K, red tag is 22K, this one has a sticked 30K, but the red tag is 25K. But this would require a quick decision. People get paralyzed by greed, especially when things are different from what they were prepared to face. Like a mistake on a tag.

Another salesperson told a similar story from a Mazda dealership. IIRC, they sold all their inventory for essentially invoice, except for the new(at that time) Mazdaspeed Protege- which they sold at MSRP. Again, a green pea wrote up a deal for a Mazdaspeed Protege at invoice. The sales manager went ahead and honored it. The car hadn't been through PDI yet so the customer was going to pick it up the following day. Lo and behold, the next day the customer calls the sales manager; "I talked with my friends and they think you all are screwing me over, so if you won't take off another $500 just tear up the deal." The manager gladly ripped up the deal.
Of course you know the rest of the story- the customer shops around and comes back with his tail between his legs asking the store to honor the original deal.
Fat chance, moron.

Michaell · July 2017

tjc78 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

construction in your neighborhood?

Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ugh. The first one I picked up in a shore town about 80 mikes south. Luckily the first one and this one are easy cheap fixes.

Since I'm only 6' tall, that's about 500' from your house.

jmonroe · July 2017

tjc78 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

construction in your neighborhood?

Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ugh. The first one I picked up in a shore town about 80 mikes south. Luckily the first one and this one are easy cheap fixes.

'Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ", That explains it. Your contractor is laying the ground work of what you can expect once the real job begins.

jmonroe

jmonroe · July 2017

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

construction in your neighborhood?

Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ugh. The first one I picked up in a shore town about 80 mikes south. Luckily the first one and this one are easy cheap fixes.

Since I'm only 6' tall, that's about 500' from your house.

I don't know about the rest of the guys in here but I had to read that 3 times before I got it.

If this was on a test when I was in school, I'd have had to pass after the second read so I had enough time to finish the test.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

roadburner said:

dino001 said:

isellhondas said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"
It's a great story. This was a classic situation, when uninformed buyer had a streak of luck, but they wouldn't know it. Their lifetime experience told them salespeople never say what they mean and always create that false urgency, so it just can't the one time it is real. They of course didn't understand the actual pricing components, what would be a typical expected discount. All the "know" is "dealers make a lot of money", so who knows, maybe this one they got for free from Honda, or who knows, right?

On the hindsight all they needed to do is look around for similar Odysseys on your lot and make a few quick comparison calculations, like this one sticker is 25K, red tag is 22K, this one has a sticked 30K, but the red tag is 25K. But this would require a quick decision. People get paralyzed by greed, especially when things are different from what they were prepared to face. Like a mistake on a tag.

Another salesperson told a similar story from a Mazda dealership. IIRC, they sold all their inventory for essentially invoice, except for the new(at that time) Mazdaspeed Protege- which they sold at MSRP. Again, a green pea wrote up a deal for a Mazdaspeed Protege at invoice. The sales manager went ahead and honored it. The car hadn't been through PDI yet so the customer was going to pick it up the following day. Lo and behold, the next day the customer calls the sales manager; "I talked with my friends and they think you all are screwing me over, so if you won't take off another $500 just tear up the deal." The manager gladly ripped up the deal.
Of course you know the rest of the story- the customer shops around and comes back with his tail between his legs asking the store to honor the original deal.
Fat chance, moron.

Oh oh RB you're starting to sound like a car salesman.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

Somebody asked me what would happen if I took that 15 mph turn at 40 in my hoopties.

Found out this morning on the local news:

Same spot.

driver100 · July 2017

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

tjc78 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

construction in your neighborhood?

Only construction is starting at my house in a month or so... ugh. The first one I picked up in a shore town about 80 mikes south. Luckily the first one and this one are easy cheap fixes.
Since I'm only 6' tall, that's about 500' from your house.

I don't know about the rest of the guys in here but I had to read that 3 times before I got it.

If this was on a test when I was in school, I'd have had to pass after the second read so I had enough time to finish the test.

jmonroe

I had to read it 12 times to figure it out. I knew there was a joke there somewhere, but that should be on an IQ test.
Michaell has cost me about 10 minutes out of my life!

I hadn't had a flat in decades. Then all the houses in the neighborhood were 20 years old and all the roofs were being re-shingled. That year we had 3 flats all from our street. All those flat top roofing nails, they are the worst. As you drive over them the point goes up and right into the tire. Of course the roof guys take no responsibility.

driver100 · July 2017

RB and ISell, I had a buying experience that was the opposite.
I wanted to lease a car in 1984. Tested an 84 Mustang.
Then tried an 84 Camaro. Camaro much better, and the lease rate was way less and buyout was way less.
I went with the lease on the Camaro and at the end management called me in for a meeting.
They told me someone new at the dealership gave me the wrong numbers for leasing and the dealership made nothing on my lease, would I do the right thing and pay them to $1600 they were out?
I thought about it for about 10 seconds, and being the nice, decent, honest person I am, I said..................................................NO, if it had been in reverse and if I overpaid by $1600 would you guys call me in to give me a refund?

I tried to lease my next car from them but the lease price was way too high....I think they wanted to make a profit on two cars by then.

abacomike · July 2017

oldfarmer50 said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"
It's a great story. This was a classic situation, when uninformed buyer had a streak of luck, but they wouldn't know it. Their lifetime experience told them salespeople never say what they mean and always create that false urgency, so it just can't the one time it is real. They of course didn't understand the actual pricing components, what would be a typical expected discount. All the "know" is "dealers make a lot of money", so who knows, maybe this one they got for free from Honda, or who knows, right? On the hindsight all they needed to do is look around for similar Odysseys on your lot and make a few quick comparison calculations, like this one sticker is 25K, red tag is 22K, this one has a sticked 30K, but the red tag is 25K. But this would require a quick decision. People get paralyzed by greed, especially when things are different from what they were prepared to face. Like a mistake on a tag.
Another salesperson told a similar story from a Mazda dealership. IIRC, they sold all their inventory for essentially invoice, except for the new(at that time) Mazdaspeed Protege- which they sold at MSRP. Again, a green pea wrote up a deal for a Mazdaspeed Protege at invoice. The sales manager went ahead and honored it. The car hadn't been through PDI yet so the customer was going to pick it up the following day. Lo and behold, the next day the customer calls the sales manager; "I talked with my friends and they think you all are screwing me over, so if you won't take off another $500 just tear up the deal." The manager gladly ripped up the deal. Of course you know the rest of the story- the customer shops around and comes back with his tail between his legs asking the store to honor the original deal. Fat chance, moron.
Oh oh RB you're starting to sound like a car salesman.

Definitely! @roadburner, the more you talk and act like a car salesman, the more Craig will like you. Come to think of it, I'm liking you more each day - who would have guessed!,

driver100 · July 2017

I get this survey to take from Mercedes Benz. Sounds like if you did all 3 parts it would take about 2 hours to complete. They allow you to do one part if you prefer. Some of it sounds like a cognitive skills test....do you need an IQ of 140 to own an MB.

Here are the preliminary instructions;

There are a few components that will be involved as part of the Study, all of which are being conducted by X Group. Please read the descriptions below to understand all expectations.

Part One: One thirty minute telephone interview or a 10-15 minute online survey where you will be asked:

A series of questions on how you purchase parts and accessories for your vehicle (if at all);
1. Your level of knowledge regarding the mechanics of your vehicle; and,
Ways in which you gain knowledge about parts and repairs and how you engage in servicing of your vehicle.
Part Two: One digital card sorting exercise for approximately thirty minutes:

2. You will be sent a link and asked to arrange cards (with various parts and accessories on them) into categories that are intuitive to you.
Part Three: One or two website usability testing exercises approximately thirty minutes each:

3. You will be asked to complete a series of 3-5 tasks, such as locating specific information on the website.

I'll do it if they pay me $60 an hour for my time and expertise!

driver100 · July 2017

Then I got this one. I could have a new career.....answering surveys;

Dear Mercedes-Benz E-Class owner,

J.D. Power is a worldwide leader in customer satisfaction research. Keeping our clients up to date on rapidly changing consumer trends would not be possible without your help.

We would appreciate your feedback on the shopping and purchase experience regarding your new Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Your input will have a significant influence on the development of Canada’s automotive industry going forward.

The survey will take approximately 35 minutes to complete.

bwia · July 2017

I got an email and telephone call from Michelin (from Canada) saying that I was selected to participate in a 30-minute telephone survey. Don't remember how long the survey took but it was more than 30 minutes. And for my troubles they sent me a $200 check.

dino001 · July 2017

roadburner said:

dino001 said:

isellhondas said:

My point at the time was the fact that no matter how low we priced a car, people still wanted more. Very seldom did we hear " Wow, that's a great price, write it up!"
It's a great story. This was a classic situation, when uninformed buyer had a streak of luck, but they wouldn't know it. Their lifetime experience told them salespeople never say what they mean and always create that false urgency, so it just can't the one time it is real. They of course didn't understand the actual pricing components, what would be a typical expected discount. All the "know" is "dealers make a lot of money", so who knows, maybe this one they got for free from Honda, or who knows, right?

On the hindsight all they needed to do is look around for similar Odysseys on your lot and make a few quick comparison calculations, like this one sticker is 25K, red tag is 22K, this one has a sticked 30K, but the red tag is 25K. But this would require a quick decision. People get paralyzed by greed, especially when things are different from what they were prepared to face. Like a mistake on a tag.

Another salesperson told a similar story from a Mazda dealership. IIRC, they sold all their inventory for essentially invoice, except for the new(at that time) Mazdaspeed Protege- which they sold at MSRP. Again, a green pea wrote up a deal for a Mazdaspeed Protege at invoice. The sales manager went ahead and honored it. The car hadn't been through PDI yet so the customer was going to pick it up the following day. Lo and behold, the next day the customer calls the sales manager; "I talked with my friends and they think you all are screwing me over, so if you won't take off another $500 just tear up the deal." The manager gladly ripped up the deal.
Of course you know the rest of the story- the customer shops around and comes back with his tail between his legs asking the store to honor the original deal.
Fat chance, moron.

Ahhh, "I talked to my friends..." classic. There will always be a guy around you who would tell you he got his car at better price than you. You got three grand off, he got four. You got zero percent APR, he found a stack of $100 bills stashed in the seat cushions. He knows a guy who knows everything about buying a car, he can get you to those secret auctions and rooms, nobody knows about. Juts don't try to take him on that offer. You have to love that guy.

dino001 · July 2017

driver100 said:
RB and ISell, I had a buying experience that was the opposite.
I wanted to lease a car in 1984. Tested an 84 Mustang.
Then tried an 84 Camaro. Camaro much better, and the lease rate was way less and buyout was way less.
I went with the lease on the Camaro and at the end management called me in for a meeting.
They told me someone new at the dealership gave me the wrong numbers for leasing and the dealership made nothing on my lease, would I do the right thing and pay them to $1600 they were out?
I thought about it for about 10 seconds, and being the nice, decent, honest person I am, I said..................................................NO, if it had been in reverse and if I overpaid by $1600 would you guys call me in to give me a refund?

I tried to lease my next car from them but the lease price was way too high....I think they wanted to make a profit on two cars by then.

I find it amazing they'd so brazen to actually call you into a meeting and demand more money after the contract is signed and (presumably) car was delivered. It sounds dangerously close to infamous (fortunately long-time gone) Bill Heard Chevrolet, then self-proclaimed largest Chevy dealer on the Planet, when people were (allegedly) routinely cheated with switched paperwork and other shenanigans. I suspect these were much different times in 1984, car dealers had a culture of (almost) anything goes back then.

I think in comparison we live in very honest times, as far as new car buying goes (used, perhaps a bit less, but much better, too). We obviously don't see everything (which we probably shouldn't, anyway) and the whole "invoice-retail" spread published on the Internet (including this website) is really a charade with quite a bit more money moved to the back room and exchanged way past the transaction (just compare those spreads from 20 years ago and today and you'll see there is no possible way anybody could run a store on 5 percent gross markup). But it's OK with me, those things don't bother me - retail markup, or profit is a necessary part of business and if it was all left to the customers, in whole honesty, we would have dealers bankrupt in a few months. But other parts of the business, from paperwork, to financing, are much more transparent and honest that they have ever been. Those horror stories of people finding out that their dealer whited-out and increased interest rate on their loan, or the terms of the contract or similar, are really the thing of a past. There is still some "slick-sleaze" factor going on, usually in the first contact, or some salespeople/managers/owners refusing to acknowledge new times, but I see it dying down and present mostly in the downmarket brands. Usually goes away, if you stand your ground. However, my experience with F&I is now, as long as you resist the upsell, it's usually smooth sailing and you don't have to read contracts line-by-line, as it used to be. Some of that was self-induced, some was probably forced by the government. In other words, it's so much easier to buy a car today, not knowing much about the business of selling cars, than it used to be in the past.

oldfarmer50 · July 2017

driver100 said:
I get this survey to take from Mercedes Benz. Sounds like if you did all 3 parts it would take about 2 hours to complete. They allow you to do one part if you prefer. Some of it sounds like a cognitive skills test....do you need an IQ of 140 to own an MB.

Here are the preliminary instructions;

There are a few components that will be involved as part of the Study, all of which are being conducted by X Group. Please read the descriptions below to understand all expectations.

Part One: One thirty minute telephone interview or a 10-15 minute online survey where you will be asked:

A series of questions on how you purchase parts and accessories for your vehicle (if at all);
1. Your level of knowledge regarding the mechanics of your vehicle; and,
Ways in which you gain knowledge about parts and repairs and how you engage in servicing of your vehicle.
Part Two: One digital card sorting exercise for approximately thirty minutes:

2. You will be sent a link and asked to arrange cards (with various parts and accessories on them) into categories that are intuitive to you.
Part Three: One or two website usability testing exercises approximately thirty minutes each:

3. You will be asked to complete a series of 3-5 tasks, such as locating specific information on the website.

I'll do it if they pay me $60 an hour for my time and expertise!

Get the cash upfront.

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