Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

fintail · August 2019

I actually know him, Kent Bergsma. I used to live where he is located, back in the day he had an indy shop, and he worked on both cars I had at the time (fintail and a W126 - 80s S-class). In fact, when I lived in a condo and had only one dry parking space, I rented garage space from him for the old car. His videos are fun, he's an interesting guy and is very hands on, and completely honest as a mechanic. I remember I bought a window regulator for the fintail from him, and his mantra was the same then as now - "let us repair it yourself". I drove out there and he showed me how to install it, but the work was left to me. I did a few other jobs the same way - he sold me parts, and I went out to his shop and installed them with him there for guidance. I've been watching his series about the 300D named "Digby".

sda said:
fintail,
I am curious to get your observations about the instructional videos put together on MercedesSource from a mechanic named Kent. He is based in your home state.

laurasdada · August 2019

Labor day fillup at Costco tonight: $2.84/gal PUG.

abacomike · August 2019

We may have dodged a bullet according to the 5:00 AM hurricane update. It looks, as of now, that this storm is going to move north along the coast. That means tropical storm winds (up to 70 mph) instead of 145 mph winds. We will get some rain, but not the 18-20 inches previously forecasted. I am praying this forecast holds and that it doesn’t begin to move further west or southwest.

Whew, for the time being!

oldfarmer50 · August 2019

laurasdada said:
Labor day fillup at Costco tonight: $2.84/gal PUG.

I got PUG earlier this week for $2.39. It’s odd how that station was a full 40 cents cheaper than the next town over.

Since I started following the Gas Buddy web site I notice that the cheap price seems to rotate from one location to another. One week this locale will be the cheapest, next week it’s another. I wonder if that is planned or if it’s just reflective of the distribution system.

explorerx4 · August 2019

@oldfarmer50,
I think the prices change went they get a new delivery. That's why they don't all change at the same time.
PUG probably does less volume, so it takes longer for the prices to kind of sync up.

imidazol97 · August 2019

I think the prices change when the stations get a directive from the main office that the supplier wants the price increased. E.g., it seems the manager knows the price will increase at 1:00 that day to $2.99 from $2.59. Workers at the location can often be seen filling up their cars before the price increase.

Speaking from our area, there seem to be only 3 or more main suppliers. The others are all using the same bulk and adding their own additive package, if different from the generic.

The subsidiary of one main supplier in this area called this price raising, "restoration." He meant the prices were being restored to a good profitable level. I have seen prices rise from Ohio through most of Kentucky the day before I've left on a drive down I75 to Pigeon Forge TN. The whole map, everyone ends up at the same price. It's magic.

It appears to me that the price is required to be at the new higher level for a certain period of time, perhaps the rest of the calendar day or perhaps 24 hours. Then the stores may start reducing price by 1 cent or a few cents to attract customers to stop because of the new lower price or the price that is lower than the nearby competition.

The prices continue to drop a few cents at a time over a few days. Then the price may be "restored" again. Or the price continues to drop slowly. Often pricing in an area with new competition stations drops faster. Sometimes it's older established stations that drop the pricing. I watch the maps of pricing here and sometimes I stop if I am going into an area of lower pricing to pick up cheaper fuel.

Gasoline in the market around Nashville TN never seemed to move much at a time. Friends who lived there near the Nissan plant and I65 marveled how slowly the prices went up and down there after they had lived in Ohio forever.

Ohio seems dominated by Marathon/Speedway.

imidazol97 · August 2019

Great news that the more likely path is going to turn and not subject lower Florida to highest winds and surges.

I said early on in this that I was hoping for changes that made it turn and stay out over water where it could weaken over cooler water and maybe even miss the Carolinas!

What a history: predicted as small hurricane that likely would loose strength over Puerto Rico or the other island next to it because of mountains. Then it missed those negative impacts that would weaken it and changed path and started strengthening. Then was going to hit hard on mid or lower coast. Now it's going to brush the lower coast, hopefully.

roadburner · August 2019

I bought my first BMW at 26 and between my wife and I we've had 12 altogether. For me they meet my needs better than just about anything out there; I'll admit I could be tempted by a GT350 or a Cayman S- and maybe even a 370Z or Golf R. If you want a relatively small and light RWD coupe that can stick with 90% of the cars at the Stoplight Grand Prix, BMW is one of the few brands that offer one.

ab348 · August 2019

Re. gasoline price movements: here in Nova Scotia there was a bit of a sordid history on the subject, probably like many/most other areas. It became so ham-handed here that the government felt pressured to do something 10-12 years ago. What sparked it first were the actions by some local retailers the day news of the impact of Hurricane Katrina hit. Some (not all) stations virtually doubled their prices mid-day and others did the same overnight. As you can imagine, this was not well-received and after some bluster by the govt types, they eventually came down. But that seemed to cause people to question how prices came to be set in the first place, since all stations seemed to move in lockstep, regardless of brand or source. The pattern was always the same - overnight all stations would raise their prices by 6 or 8 cents per liter, then over the next week or so every few days they would drop a penny or two per liter before the next price hike happened.

Despite the claims by gasoline distributors that these were just the market at work, the orchestration of price changes was pretty obvious and people began demanding that the govt intervene. What seemed to push them over the edge were media reports that one company here (Petro-Canada, which ironically used to be owned by the federal govt) was the source of the price-management by the oil companies. One person in their local zone office would make the decision and the calls, not just to P-C stations, but to all other brand offices too, telling them what the price would be for the next while, and they would all fall into line by the next morning. So the govt announced they would regulate gas prices here, and set up a somewhat unpopular regime of setting minimum (not maximum, oddly) prices every week, with higher levels for rural areas, all based upon the New York Harbor wholesale price which is apparently a standard in the commodity trading world. There are interrupter clauses that can kick in if wholesale prices take a jump or a dive mid-week. While people grumbled, the bureaucracy involved is surprisingly small and seems to work OK. People expected prices to decrease significantly of course and that didn't happen, but the stability is welcomed.

sda · August 2019

fintail said:
I actually know him, Kent Bergsma. I used to live where he is located, back in the day he had an indy shop, and he worked on both cars I had at the time (fintail and a W126 - 80s S-class). In fact, when I lived in a condo and had only one dry parking space, I rented garage space from him for the old car. His videos are fun, he's an interesting guy and is very hands on, and completely honest as a mechanic. I remember I bought a window regulator for the fintail from him, and his mantra was the same then as now - "let us repair it yourself". I drove out there and he showed me how to install it, but the work was left to me. I did a few other jobs the same way - he sold me parts, and I went out to his shop and installed them with him there for guidance. I've been watching his series about the 300D named "Digby".

sda said:
fintail,
I am curious to get your observations about the instructional videos put together on MercedesSource from a mechanic named Kent. He is based in your home state.

That’s great. He seems like a good person and enjoys what he does. We should all be so fortunate. I’ve been watching Digby too and hopes he can save it, but no, not a ‘who shot JR mystery’, lol.

fintail · August 2019

He's a mellow guy, and I think he does enjoy it, especially solving mysteries like Digby (I suspect a cylinder problem with that car, but maybe not beyond redemption as it appears to be decent otherwise). He got in on the internet-based stuff early, and I think has made a very good living at his craft, he had the right idea and timing. I don't think he has done normal shop work for anyone but friends for years now, the Youtube and DIY stuff keeps him more than busy. I feel kind of honored to have knon him, and know that he has done work on my fintail.

sda said:

That’s great. He seems like a good person and enjoys what he does. We should all be so fortunate. I’ve been watching Digby too and hopes he can save it, but no, not a ‘who shot JR mystery’, lol.

berri · August 2019

Katrina brought on awful gas station behavior. A BP near us was so egregious that it ended up going out of business. Most people are lackadaisical about this stuff and quickly forget, so this one really stood out to end up with that boycott and ultimate business failure.

sda · August 2019

When I wash the car I typically take a damp towel and wipe down the engine compartment. I will have owned the Accord 6 years on Sept 5, just under 91k.

sda · August 2019

I work 2 blocks from the NASCAR Hall of Fame. My wife picks me up in the evening at this corner.

imidazol97 · August 2019

ab348 said:
Re. gasoline price movements: here in Nova Scotia there was a bit of a sordid history on the subject, probably like many/most other areas. It became so ham-handed here that the government felt pressured to do something 10-12 years ago. What sparked it first were the actions by some local retailers the day news of the impact of Hurricane Katrina hit...

If I remember right Katrina closed down several refineries in the south And a Marathon pipeline that supplies our eastern upper midwest was shut down. I remember seeing diagrams of various pipelines and labels of the owners.

Supplies of crude were redirected in various ways IIRC to move supply into the areas along those affected pipelines and to the refineries that exist in the area. That shunted supply from other areas and the reaction everywhere is to charge more so people use less, including here in Ohio.

oldfarmer50 · August 2019

explorerx4 said:
@oldfarmer50,
I think the prices change went they get a new delivery. That's why they don't all change at the same time.
PUG probably does less volume, so it takes longer for the prices to kind of sync up.

First of all let me correct a mistake, it was $2.39 for RUG not PUG. If I could get premium for that price I’d buy a tanker full.

From what I’ve read they change price based on the cost of their NEXT delivery so they’re really getting ahead of the game.

driver100 · August 2019

My friend bought a 2017 Camry....still under warranty.
Once he turned off the car, but, when he came back the car wouldn't start - battery was out of power.
Found out the radiator fan kept going....believes it is because the relay switch is faulty.
Has taken it to Toyota twice, but, didn't act up when he took it in....they told him to buy a new relay $110.
He can find them online for $20.
For now, when he gets out of the car he removes the relay switch.....and then inserts it when he comes back.
He isn't too thrilled that Toyota doesn't really want to go out of their way to help him.

Before that he had one of those 2 door Blazers, the last ones that they sold off for $14000. Lots of problems including door hinges that would break - not strong enough.
Before that he had a Topaz...it was in the garage about every other week, that car should have been dumped about 2 years earlier.
Overall, he likes the Camry because it is solid and is well made...but, this relay switch thing is aggravating.

BTW...I tried to find out some info about this and one guy had a good idea....try removing the relay from the wipers or power windows, see if it works the fan with no problem.

abacomike · August 2019

I was just checking gas stations on Gas Buddy and in a 5 mile radius of where I live, 70% of the gas stations are out of fuel including the big one on the Turnpike just a mile or so south of me. I would have expected fewer out of gasoline because of the expected turn of the hurricane to the north. The Costco near me shows it is out of gasoline.

It’s terrible down here. The gas stations with gasoline have lines of cars 1/2 mile long.

I understand that there is another tropical wave just off the coast of Africa headed west across the Atlantic. Good grief.

abacomike · August 2019

Radar is showing that some outer bands of the hurricane will be bringing rains to us here in South Florida beginning late tonight and lasting through the next 72 hours. I am still praying for the storm to head north - it is still moving due east.

suydam · August 2019

abacomike said:
I was just checking gas stations on Gas Buddy and in a 5 mile radius of where I live, 70% of the gas stations are out of fuel including the big one on the Turnpike just a mile or so south of me. I would have expected fewer out of gasoline because of the expected turn of the hurricane to the north. The Costco near me shows it is out of gasoline.

It’s terrible down here. The gas stations with gasoline have lines of cars 1/2 mile long.

I understand that there is another tropical wave just off the coast of Africa headed west across the Atlantic. Good grief.

Good time to have an electric car and a home charger, as long as you have power!

abacomike · August 2019

Yep. Yesterday I bought three 36 hour remote phone chargers. They are all fully charged now so I have a power sources for my smartphone. We are in the tropical storm watch area as of the 5:00 PM update. We can easily lose power under those circumstances as we did during Irma and Wilma.

cdnpinhead · August 2019

Gee -- weather continues to happen. Who knew?

imidazol97 · August 2019

abacomike said:
Yep. Yesterday I bought three 36 hour remote phone chargers. They are all fully charged now so I have a power sources for my smartphone. We are in the tropical storm watch area as of the 5:00 PM update. We can easily lose power under those circumstances as we did during Irma and Wilma.

Can you charge the phone from your car battery?

abacomike · August 2019

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:
Yep. Yesterday I bought three 36 hour remote phone chargers. They are all fully charged now so I have a power sources for my smartphone. We are in the tropical storm watch area as of the 5:00 PM update. We can easily lose power under those circumstances as we did during Irma and Wilma.
Can you charge the phone from your car battery?

Yes, I can - but I want to avoid going out during the thunderstorms and waiting for it to charge. The car is parked outdoors.

imidazol97 · August 2019

I guess that would be a factor if the winds are 60 mph and heavy rain...

ab348 · August 2019

abacomike said:

I understand that there is another tropical wave just off the coast of Africa headed west across the Atlantic. Good grief.

The key phrase there is "just off the coast of Africa". Don't buy into the weather fear-mongers tales.

ab348 · August 2019

imidazol97 said:
If I remember right Katrina closed down several refineries in the south And a Marathon pipeline that supplies our eastern upper midwest was shut down. I remember seeing diagrams of various pipelines and labels of the owners.

Supplies of crude were redirected in various ways IIRC to move supply into the areas along those affected pipelines and to the refineries that exist in the area. That shunted supply from other areas and the reaction everywhere is to charge more so people use less, including here in Ohio.

Up here there were two refineries locally - one about 5 miles away from me (which has since closed) and a much larger one in Saint John, NB. Both of those received their crude supplies via ocean tanker, typically from ports in Europe or South America. There was absolutely no supply problem here. It was pure profiteering.

berri · August 2019

Weather or not, it is always a good idea to keep your tank and 1/2 or greater.

andres3 · August 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

bwia said:
Expensive yes, but for a mere $55k you could be driving a 2019 Audi A6.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRJ9z1lC3nQ
I’ve driven a few A6s for the company and they are very nice but like most German cars overly complex for reasons unknown to a peon like me. I’d love to have one for more than a few hours so I could learn the full benefit of the technology

I just test drove a '16 S6. The amount of tech overwhelmed me, and I'm an Audi guy. It drove like a luxury car with a lot of power,unlike the S4, which drives more like a sport car sedan that happens to be luxurious. I'm not saying I wouldn't get one... but I'd have to test drive another example.

sda · August 2019

We have yet to set the presets for XM and the radio or figure out how to set a route in the nav, though we have set up homelink and my wife has her phone linked and uses it frequently. There is a learning curve and it takes a while before it becomes second nature.

imidazol97 · August 2019

@abacomike
I really mixed my question up. I was meaning to ask if the power packs could be recharged in your vehicle after being run down--if you were to go through all 3.

Also, some of the car starter power packs I saw had plug ins for 110v items like lights. An LED light bulb in a lamp could go a long time on one of the car starter type power packs. And a radio. TV might receive some over-the-air channels if the cable goes out. The cable box likely would have to be plugged in as well if the cable lines were working.

You could survive fairly well for several days under those circumstances. Just put the power pack in the car to charge. Run the car for 10 minutes to recharge its battery. Could work.

abacomike · August 2019

imidazol97 said:
@abacomike
I really mixed my question up. I was meaning to ask if the power packs could be recharged in your vehicle after being run down--if you were to go through all 3.

Also, some of the car starter power packs I saw had plug ins for 110v items like lights. An LED light bulb in a lamp could go a long time on one of the car starter type power packs. And a radio. TV might receive some over-the-air channels if the cable goes out. The cable box likely would have to be plugged in as well if the cable lines were working.

You could survive fairly well for several days under those circumstances. Just put the power pack in the car to charge. Run the car for 10 minutes to recharge its battery. Could work.

If I need to recharge the power packs, I will try it. Thanks Imid.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

Boy, I’m getting tired of these weather ghouls. Now that the hurricane is turning north they can’t scare people as much. So now they’re speculating what might happen if the storm wobbles a little bit inland...almost like they’re rooting for it.

Disgusting.

abacomike · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:
Boy, I’m getting tired of these weather ghouls. Now that the hurricane is turning north they can’t scare people as much. So now they’re speculating what might happen if the storm wobbles a little bit inland...almost like they’re rooting for it.

Disgusting.

I agree, OF! I think that a prerequisite to being hired as a meteorologist on the Weather Channel you must have completed several “drama” courses at an accredited university and be capable of “emoting”!

The local meteorologists down here (including our own National Hurricane Center in Miami) are straight-forward and monotone professionals who tell it like it is without all the hooplas found on the Weather Channel.

I don’t trust them - all I see is a 175+ mph hurricane moving east directly at me. We are under a Tropical Storm warning with damaging winds and flooding. If this storm doesn’t start moving north pretty quickly, we’re in big trouble!

imidazol97 · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:
Boy, I’m getting tired of these weather ghouls. Now that the hurricane is turning north they can’t scare people as much. So now they’re speculating what might happen if the storm wobbles a little bit inland...almost like they’re rooting for it.

Disgusting.

At least they're not relating it to some global theory like before. The weather channel has been more data driven showing the various highs and how they would affect the storm's movement. Their graphics have been superbly done. Before I turned the weather channel off and just checked accuweather.com for straight info on the storms.

Now the high off to the west is predicted to change and to leave an opening between it and the high in the Atlantic and the hurricane will move through.

I have to emphasize with all the people in FL and their uncertainty. I see why so many people in hurricane rich areas took a calm, mild attitude about earlier hurricanes. They were just boarding up and planning to ride it out, while the story writers interviewing them were trying to get them to react with schizophrenic alarm. So many predicted storms didn't hit these people like expected. And then came Katrina with the storm surge.

I had found data weeks ago that said 1.5 hurricanes of cat 3 (IIRC) hit the US each year.

abacomike · September 2019

This is now a category 5 hurricane - 175+ mph winds around the eye wall. They don’t get much more dangerous than that.

We are now once again in the cone of uncertainty here in North Broward and South Palm Beach Counties. I am, to be honest, shaking in my boots!

berri · September 2019

Wow, that's big tornado speed winds, plus the hurricane rain.

abacomike · September 2019

berri said:
Wow, that's big tornado speed winds, plus the hurricane rain.

Up to 180 mph as of 11:00 AM

berri · September 2019

I also heard gusts up to 200 mph. Huge ferocity right now. Hopefully it will tame down a bit after hitting some land around the Bahama's.

houdini2 · September 2019

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.

driver100 · September 2019

houdini2 said:

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.

Something else I was thinking about. Lets say a Genesis did look to be a better buy financially and physically for me, so I buy it. Then, I don't like it, or people find problems, or it doesn't measure up to an MB? Then I have to dump it and I imagine a used Genesis isn't going to be an easy trade in, unless I get a newer one. Why would I take that risk? I am pretty sure there will be a market for a used MB or BMW, and I can trade it in for any car, and get a fairly good trade in price for it. The Gennie could be a white elephant.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

abacomike said:
This is now a category 5 hurricane - 175+ mph winds around the eye wall. They don’t get much more dangerous than that.

We are now once again in the cone of uncertainty here in North Broward and South Palm Beach Counties. I am, to be honest, shaking in my boots!

Maybe jmonroe can send you some airfare so you can go visit him until it’s over.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.
Something else I was thinking about. Lets say a Genesis did look to be a better buy financially and physically for me, so I buy it. Then, I don't like it, or people find problems, or it doesn't measure up to an MB? Then I have to dump it and I imagine a used Genesis isn't going to be an easy trade in, unless I get a newer one. Why would I take that risk? I am pretty sure there will be a market for a used MB or BMW, and I can trade it in for any car, and get a fairly good trade in price for it. The Gennie could be a white elephant.

I didn’t think either MB or BMW had particularly good resale value once out of warranty. How do they compare with say, the average domestic?

I found this.

Top 10 Best Bargains on Almost-New Cars

Rank

Car

Avg. 3-Year-Old Used Price

% Depreciation

1

BMW 5 Series

$ 30,846

52.6%

2

Volkswagen Passat

$14,906

50.7%

3

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

$34,010

49.9%

4

BMW 3 Series

$24,024

49.8%

5

Ford Taurus

$18,098

49.7%

6

Chrysler 200

$14,011

48.4%

7

Volkswagen Jetta

$13,157

48.1%

8

Audi A3

$21,120

47.9%

9

Cadillac SRX

$ 26,291

47.2%

10

Buick Enclave

$26,620

46.8%

snakeweasel · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

laurasdada said:
Labor day fillup at Costco tonight: $2.84/gal PUG.
I got PUG earlier this week for $2.39. It’s odd how that station was a full 40 cents cheaper than the next town over.

Since I started following the Gas Buddy web site I notice that the cheap price seems to rotate from one location to another. One week this locale will be the cheapest, next week it’s another. I wonder if that is planned or if it’s just reflective of the distribution system.

Around here the locales that have the lowest price are pretty static. I have noticed that the price seems to get higher the further away the nearest gas station is.

snakeweasel · September 2019

imidazol97 said:
@abacomike
I really mixed my question up. I was meaning to ask if the power packs could be recharged in your vehicle after being run down--if you were to go through all 3.

Also, some of the car starter power packs I saw had plug ins for 110v items like lights. An LED light bulb in a lamp could go a long time on one of the car starter type power packs. And a radio. TV might receive some over-the-air channels if the cable goes out. The cable box likely would have to be plugged in as well if the cable lines were working.

You could survive fairly well for several days under those circumstances. Just put the power pack in the car to charge. Run the car for 10 minutes to recharge its battery. Could work.

They have those power packs that recharge themselves using solar cells. Not sure how fast they recharge but even on a cloudy day it should give more life to cell phone.

houdini2 · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.
Something else I was thinking about. Lets say a Genesis did look to be a better buy financially and physically for me, so I buy it. Then, I don't like it, or people find problems, or it doesn't measure up to an MB? Then I have to dump it and I imagine a used Genesis isn't going to be an easy trade in, unless I get a newer one. Why would I take that risk? I am pretty sure there will be a market for a used MB or BMW, and I can trade it in for any car, and get a fairly good trade in price for it. The Gennie could be a white elephant.

I didn’t think either MB or BMW had particularly good resale value once out of warranty. How do they compare with say, the average domestic?

I found this.

Top 10 Best Bargains on Almost-New Cars

Rank

Car

Avg. 3-Year-Old Used Price

% Depreciation

1

BMW 5 Series

$ 30,846

52.6%

2

Volkswagen Passat

$14,906

50.7%

3

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

$34,010

49.9%

4

BMW 3 Series

$24,024

49.8%

5

Ford Taurus

$18,098

49.7%

6

Chrysler 200

$14,011

48.4%

7

Volkswagen Jetta

$13,157

48.1%

8

Audi A3

$21,120

47.9%

9

Cadillac SRX

$ 26,291

47.2%

10

Buick Enclave

$26,620

46.8%

In other words, the original buyer loses half the value on these in 3 years.

28firefighter · September 2019

Kind of. Most of these cars with some exceptions sell with sizable (sometimes 10-15% off) discounts at the dealer level plus massive rebates from the manufacturer.

My guess is real world depreciation is closer to 30-35% or less.

driver100 · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.
Something else I was thinking about. Lets say a Genesis did look to be a better buy financially and physically for me, so I buy it. Then, I don't like it, or people find problems, or it doesn't measure up to an MB? Then I have to dump it and I imagine a used Genesis isn't going to be an easy trade in, unless I get a newer one. Why would I take that risk? I am pretty sure there will be a market for a used MB or BMW, and I can trade it in for any car, and get a fairly good trade in price for it. The Gennie could be a white elephant.

I didn’t think either MB or BMW had particularly good resale value once out of warranty. How do they compare with say, the average domestic?

Generally speaking....there are some oddball cars with extremely high depreciation...Nissan Leaf is an example. Fiats are high. BMWs and MBs get hit hard especially the more expensive models....most luxury cars take a hit - not Lexus. One of the largest depreciators is a Lincoln MKZ. Average value of a car after 5 years is about 50%. Luxury cruisers like an S Class can lose 70% of their original cost. The more popular models like an MB A or C Class are just over the 50% average.

The big problem is though the Genesis may be the best luxury car....it isn't selling very well. They wanted their own brand dealerships, but that idea is in limbo as they are being sold by Hyundai dealers.

So, my problem is, you buy it, decide you don't want another one...how do you get rid of it and how much of a hit will you take?

Don't forget VW tried to make a luxury car...Phaeton. Similar problem....who wants a luxury VW?
That is a real hard sell!

imidazol97 · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

driver100 said:

I have enjoyed owning 5 BMWs and MBs since my first one, in 2004. I want my last car, or my last few cars to be ones I like....I am going to stick with what I know I like.

fintail said:
I've been driving MBs since I was 18. They've ranged from vintage to just old to used car age to new. To paraphrase something I read: I like how they feel when I drive, and I like how I feel when I drive them. There are countless fine cars on the market, but I will stick with what I like, too.

Yep, the old "seat of the pants" reason is the best reason of all.
Something else I was thinking about. Lets say a Genesis did look to be a better buy financially and physically for me, so I buy it. Then, I don't like it, or people find problems, or it doesn't measure up to an MB? Then I have to dump it and I imagine a used Genesis isn't going to be an easy trade in, unless I get a newer one. Why would I take that risk? I am pretty sure there will be a market for a used MB or BMW, and I can trade it in for any car, and get a fairly good trade in price for it. The Gennie could be a white elephant.

I didn’t think either MB or BMW had particularly good resale value once out of warranty. How do they compare with say, the average domestic?

I found this.

Top 10 Best Bargains on Almost-New Cars

Rank

Car

Avg. 3-Year-Old Used Price

% Depreciation

1

BMW 5 Series

$ 30,846

52.6%

2

Volkswagen Passat

$14,906

50.7%

3

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

$34,010

49.9%

4

BMW 3 Series

$24,024

49.8%

5

Ford Taurus

$18,098

49.7%

6

Chrysler 200

$14,011

48.4%

7

Volkswagen Jetta

$13,157

48.1%

8

Audi A3

$21,120

47.9%

9

Cadillac SRX

$ 26,291

47.2%

10

Buick Enclave

$26,620

46.8%

That pretty much says it all.

imidazol97 · September 2019

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:
@abacomike
I really mixed my question up. I was meaning to ask if the power packs could be recharged in your vehicle after being run down--if you were to go through all 3.

Also, some of the car starter power packs I saw had plug ins for 110v items like lights. An LED light bulb in a lamp could go a long time on one of the car starter type power packs. And a radio. TV might receive some over-the-air channels if the cable goes out. The cable box likely would have to be plugged in as well if the cable lines were working.

You could survive fairly well for several days under those circumstances. Just put the power pack in the car to charge. Run the car for 10 minutes to recharge its battery. Could work.
They have those power packs that recharge themselves using solar cells. Not sure how fast they recharge but even on a cloudy day it should give more life to cell phone.

But that won't work well during a hurricane? After the clouds have cleared a day or so later... yeah.

Do the solar cells actually charge up efficiently in terms of the high cost?

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