Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

snakeweasel · September 2019

driver100 said:
Some of my tennis guys were talking about memory yesterday. This was something I was amazed at, but didn't think anyone else thought about it. We decided really good car salesmen have terrific memories!

I last saw my sales rep about 2 years ago. I saw him working at his desk when I was there for service, and I thought I would say hello, and I started to explain who I was and he said he knew who I was and he asked me how Mrs D was (by name). I would be terrible at being able to do that.

Mike....do you have a good memory for people's names? Are there some tricks you can use to recall who someone is?

I stopped by the Hyundai dealer where I bought my Elantra many decades ago maybe 5 years after buying it. The salesman remembered me after all those years and referred to me by name.

The lady who owns the tax firm I work at has a fantastic memory for clients. Even clients she saw once and she remembers even the most mundane details about them. Yet she often forgets things like where she put her keys that morning.

snakeweasel · September 2019

imidazol97 said:
Can anyone recognize what it says in the bumper stickers on the trunk of this BMW?
I only see them while it's in the pool; no other pictures show the trunk.

It says

"If you can read this surface for air"

"My other boat is a Porsche"

"Dont honk I'm paddling as fast as I can"

"My fingerling is an honor student"

stickguy · September 2019

Not sure, but after the bath, car appears to be free

imidazol97 · September 2019

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:
Can anyone recognize what it says in the bumper stickers on the trunk of this BMW?
I only see them while it's in the pool; no other pictures show the trunk.
It says

"If you can read this surface for air"

"My other boat is a Porsche"

"Dont honk I'm paddling as fast as I can"

"My fingerling is an honor student"

Great humor!

I wondered if the rear signs were advertisements. A few folks put advertisements
on their rear windows for vitamins, lotions, pictures, etc.. A youngster in this
area used to have something to the effect of "For a good time contact Rich" and gave a website
on the windows or his Mercury equivalent of a Ford SUV.

driver100 · September 2019

stickguy said:
Driver, I’m lucky I remember names of my relatives. Their cars, those I remember.

When we walk Trixie I can remember the names of about 10 dogs....but, not their owners names.

driver100 · September 2019

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
Some of my tennis guys were talking about memory yesterday. This was something I was amazed at, but didn't think anyone else thought about it. We decided really good car salesmen have terrific memories!

I last saw my sales rep about 2 years ago. I saw him working at his desk when I was there for service, and I thought I would say hello, and I started to explain who I was and he said he knew who I was and he asked me how Mrs D was (by name). I would be terrible at being able to do that.

Mike....do you have a good memory for people's names? Are there some tricks you can use to recall who someone is?
I stopped by the Hyundai dealer where I bought my Elantra many decades ago maybe 5 years after buying it. The salesman remembered me after all those years and referred to me by name.

The lady who owns the tax firm I work at has a fantastic memory for clients. Even clients she saw once and she remembers even the most mundane details about them. Yet she often forgets things like where she put her keys that morning.

Sometimes the guys go to a restaurant for breakfast. 6 of us order different things, eggs over easy, well done bacon, rye toast etc., Jenna will remember everything, doesn't write it down, and never make a mistake.

I feel sorry for her husband, if he ever does something wrong she will never let him forget it!

driver100 · September 2019

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:
Can anyone recognize what it says in the bumper stickers on the trunk of this BMW?
I only see them while it's in the pool; no other pictures show the trunk.
It says

"If you can read this surface for air"

"My other boat is a Porsche"

"Dont honk I'm paddling as fast as I can"

"My fingerling is an honor student"

Don't they make these things waterproof?

PF_Flyer · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:
looked it up it's a vehicle carrier which means that the cars were secured but likely secured for normal to heavy seas. A capsizing or in this case a partial capsize I would suspect a good number of cars broke from their tiedowns and many are under water. I would suspect that many are toast.
Probably the fire that occurred when the ship capsized was from tumbling cars bursting into flames. Toast indeed.

Quote from the owner, "I'm underwater on this vehicle and need to get out"

abacomike · September 2019

driver100 said:
Some of my tennis guys were talking about memory yesterday. This was something I was amazed at, but didn't think anyone else thought about it. We decided really good car salesmen have terrific memories!

I last saw my sales rep about 2 years ago. I saw him working at his desk when I was there for service, and I thought I would say hello, and I started to explain who I was and he said he knew who I was and he asked me how Mrs D was (by name). I would be terrible at being able to do that.

Mike....do you have a good memory for people's names? Are there some tricks you can use to recall who someone is?

Yes, driver. I require all my friends to wear name tags on their shirts!🤪😜😝

imidazol97 · September 2019

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

imidazol97 said:
Can anyone recognize what it says in the bumper stickers on the trunk of this BMW?
I only see them while it's in the pool; no other pictures show the trunk.
It says

"If you can read this surface for air"

"My other boat is a Porsche"

"Dont honk I'm paddling as fast as I can"

"My fingerling is an honor student"
Don't they make these things waterproof?

Only if you register the waterproofing with BMW.

berri · September 2019

It is still not clear what all is on that ship. It is owned by the Korean Hyundai conglomerate, so obviously Hyunkia use it. But it also hauls other brands. The ship apparently stopped in Jacksonville before Savannah and was heading out for Baltimore. That part of the Southeast has BMW and MB among others. So there may have been some expensive vehicles included since the German's export from US factories. Wonder if we'll ever find out?

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

driver100 said:
Fascinating to see how they load the cars on to a ship. They are 4 inches apart....driver can only open the door of the last car parked. Drivers are taken by van back to get more cars. Now there is a fun job! Worth 2 minutes to see how they do it.
https://youtu.be/u_OSnioeFjY

That’s kind of like my job except they don’t get to sleep in the van.

On the other hand I’m sure they get longshoreman’s union wages.

Yesterday made up for my puny pay. We were sent to Plattsburgh to pick up cars which meant 2+ hours of napping and drinking coffee. We then spent the day cruising Lake Champlain on the ferry as we went back and forth to Burlington VT. It was like a paid vacation.

roadburner · September 2019

My two favorite moronic classified ads for flood cars:
“This car was in a flood but it was fresh water so there won’t be any issues with it”
“Car has a flood title but water only came up to the bottom of the dash so there’s no significant damage.”

ronsteve · September 2019

suydam said:

driver100 said:
Are there people who actually want CVTs?
My friend who has to be very careful of his spending bought a 2017 Camry. He chose it because he doesn't want a CVT.
I guess they get better mileage, and maybe are simpler to make, but, does anyone actually prefer them?
It depends on the CVT. The one in my Honda Accord was so unobtrusive I never even thought about it. And talk about great mileage! So yeah, I’d prefer that. The Subaru Outback CVT is also very quiet and works well. All the Nissan’s I’ve driven with CVTs are very noisy revving up, and then quiet once they get up to speed. I found that initial noise obnoxious, so no, I wouldn’t want one of those. So put me in the camp who doesn’t hate CVTs just on General Principles. I do like good mpg and if a good CVT helped achieve that, I’m all for it. I think the Chevy Volt has a CVT transmission — I’ve driven it for 3 years now and never even thought about it. I would prefer the Volt to almost any affordable alternative (Tesla being out of my price range).

I'm sure at some point I'll go to some sort of hybrid which will probably have a CVT, but for now I strongly prefer real gears. That said, some CVTs are better than others. Nissan CVTs aren't terrible in the Murano (must be something about having decent power) but in the Altima they're a crappy driving experience and the Rogue is much worse. A long weekend trip to Niagara Falls with a rented Rogue last year almost made me cross ANYthing with a CVT off my shopping list. Subaru's CVT in the Outback isn't bad, and I didn't actually dismiss it out of hand.

ronsteve · September 2019

ab348 said:
We had similar problems here with media posting on FB/Twitter (and presumably TV which I couldn’t watch w/o power) not just yesterday but in the days prior. This storm seemed to flummox even usually reliable meteorologists both in its approach and then with its behaviour once it arrived. They kept switching its strength from Cat 1 to 2, going back and forth several times, and then after it made landfall warned that the worst was yet to come (it wasn’t). While I suppose nothing could match the buildup it received beforehand it really was nowhere near what the media would have you believe. That was made even worse by non-weather media folks taking a weather statement and then adding their own spin to it to make it more dramatic and dire. The unnecessary anxiety I’m sure that generated was not good. A newsreader or reporter shouldn’t be speculating without a basis in fact or training.

Tropical systems are notoriously difficult once they get up your way. The forward speed is usually much quicker up there than it is before they get up to the Carolinas, so getting both confidence and lead time on the warnings is a challenge. Throw in the transition from tropical to post-tropical (think Nor'easter) and trying to predict just how much the wind field is going to fan out (vs how asymmetrical it will be because of movement) is a real trick.

Dorian along the SC coast was truly a strictly coastal storm. Once it got up to Myrtle Beach and then up along the NC coast, the spin-off tornadoes became a problem.

Hurricanes and tropical storms are a multi-faceted and complex beast, and people get too caught up in the category instead of what impacts are actually likely. And it doesn't help when people tweet outdated and misleading information and then throw a week-long tantrum when they're called out for it.

graphicguy · September 2019

This was a few hears ago, but when Cadillac bought my CTS back, I was in the market for a car quickly. Before I went to a new lot, I was looking for something I could buy quickly on CL. Guy was advertising a 1 year old G37-S that looked really good in the pics. He was in Columbus (about a 1.5-2 hour drive for me), so I called him to get info.

Drove to take a look at it, and it looked good from the outside. Took it for a test drive and realized I couldn’t adjust the seat. Owner said it was the seat motor, which he would replace for free if I bought it. Also noticed that “musty” smell in the car, mixed with the Lysol smell coming out of the HVAC vents. It ran fine. But, I quizzed him on the smell. He said it was from leaving one of the windows open when it rained.

By this time, I knew to look a little harder. Sure enough, there were damp areas in the back seat carpet, under the bottom of the front seat backs, and actually a little puddle of water under the driver’s seat (which explained the seat motor being inoperative). I also noticed one of the drain plugs was missing.

I asked him if the car was a flood car. He said he had no idea. Digging a little deeper, he said he bought it because it needed “a little work” which he could do himself, and give it to his wife, but she didn’t want the car. You’re giving her a $45K car and she said “no”? Strange indeed!

Finally, I asked for the VIN, which he insisted he’d give me (he did, but it was one digit off). I finally got the VIN from the plate in the front window, and it ended up being a flood car from the east coast.

I asked him if the title was clean. He said the work he had to do caused the car to have a rebuilt title, but everything was fixed. I punted.

He was obviously trying to hide the truth from me. And, while it was priced under market, it wasn’t priced nearly to where it should have been with a rebuilt title.

He called me every day for a week lowering the price. I finally told him I knew he wasn’t being straight with me and I wouldn’t buy the car from him for $1. He cussed me out and hung up on me.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

graphicguy said:
This was a few hears ago, but when Cadillac bought my CTS back, I was in the market for a car quickly. Before I went to a new lot, I was looking for something I could buy quickly on CL. Guy was advertising a 1 year old G37-S that looked really good in the pics. He was in Columbus (about a 1.5-2 hour drive for me), so I called him to get info.

Drove to take a look at it, and it looked good from the outside. Took it for a test drive and realized I couldn’t adjust the seat. Owner said it was the seat motor, which he would replace for free if I bought it. Also noticed that “musty” smell in the car, mixed with the Lysol smell coming out of the HVAC vents. It ran fine. But, I quizzed him on the smell. He said it was from leaving one of the windows open when it rained.

By this time, I knew to look a little harder. Sure enough, there were damp areas in the back seat carpet, under the bottom of the front seat backs, and actually a little puddle of water under the driver’s seat (which explained the seat motor being inoperative). I also noticed one of the drain plugs was missing.

I asked him if the car was a flood car. He said he had no idea. Digging a little deeper, he said he bought it because it needed “a little work” which he could do himself, and give it to his wife, but she didn’t want the car. You’re giving her a $45K car and she said “no”? Strange indeed!

Finally, I asked for the VIN, which he insisted he’d give me (he did, but it was one digit off). I finally got the VIN from the plate in the front window, and it ended up being a flood car from the east coast.

I asked him if the title was clean. He said the work he had to do caused the car to have a rebuilt title, but everything was fixed. I punted.

He was obviously trying to hide the truth from me. And, while it was priced under market, it wasn’t priced nearly to where it should have been with a rebuilt title.

He called me every day for a week lowering the price. I finally told him I knew he wasn’t being straight with me and I wouldn’t buy the car from him for $1. He cussed me out and hung up on me.

Guys like that should be in jail for fraud. Did you look it up in the federal data base (NICB) to confirm that it was a total lost flood car? Did the seller list the rebuilt title in his CL ad? If he listed it as clean title he was a crook.

I bet the next buyer didn’t have your street smarts and got taken.

thebean · September 2019

I have been puzzling over a Mercedes situation. Anecdotal data says you really don’t want to own a Merc that is out of warranty, especially if it’s your daily driver (unlike driver100, who only uses each one of his for 6-7 months/year max), due to a lot of issues that could and do go wrong. My experience, albeit from 20 years ago, with my 1999 E-Class mirrors this. Even though I sold it before warranty ran out, there were quite a few smaller things (primarily electrical) that necessitated trips to the dealer. And I didn’t put a ton of miles on it during my ownership.

Now, here is the question. I have seen views of Germany and there are tons of Mercs serving as taxis. Taxicab companies use their vehicles at least 16 hours/day. They don’t want to have even moderate downtime with their vehicles. So, the Mercs they use must be pretty robust. What’s the difference between those cars and the Mercs we get here in the States? Are they “strippers” with none of the electronic “gee-gaws” on the US cars. Are they diesel cars and does that make a difference?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I hope this doesn’t qualify as a @jmonroe1 length post.

thebean · September 2019

Ouch. Bimmer 4 series concept. Where is Bangle when you need him?

Michaell · September 2019

thebean said:

Ouch. Bimmer 4 series concept. Where is Bangle when you need him?

Starting to rival Lexus in its level of hideousness...

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

thebean said:

Ouch. Bimmer 4 series concept. Where is Bangle when you need him?

Did they feel that Lexus was going to corner the market on ugly front ends?

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

Just heard that Ford’s credit rating was downgraded to junk status. Should I worry?

fintail · September 2019

A little of both. Less complex gadgetry, and sturdy diesels.

To be fair, MBs of the past decade or so are insanely less troublesome than those ~20 years ago. There are numerous turn of the century MBs I wouldn't take for free - that was likely the nadir of MB quality/reliability.

thebean said:
I have been puzzling over a Mercedes situation. Anecdotal data says you really don’t want to own a Merc that is out of warranty, especially if it’s your daily driver (unlike driver100, who only uses each one of his for 6-7 months/year max), due to a lot of issues that could and do go wrong. My experience, albeit from 20 years ago, with my 1999 E-Class mirrors this. Even though I sold it before warranty ran out, there were quite a few smaller things (primarily electrical) that necessitated trips to the dealer. And I didn’t put a ton of miles on it during my ownership.

Now, here is the question. I have seen views of Germany and there are tons of Mercs serving as taxis. Taxicab companies use their vehicles at least 16 hours/day. They don’t want to have even moderate downtime with their vehicles. So, the Mercs they use must be pretty robust. What’s the difference between those cars and the Mercs we get here in the States? Are they “strippers” with none of the electronic “gee-gaws” on the US cars. Are they diesel cars and does that make a difference?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I hope this doesn’t qualify as a @jmonroe1 length post.

houdini2 · September 2019

fintail said:
A little of both. Less complex gadgetry, and sturdy diesels.

To be fair, MBs of the past decade or so are insanely less troublesome than those ~20 years ago. There are numerous turn of the century MBs I wouldn't take for free - that was likely the nadir of MB quality/reliability.

thebean said:
I have been puzzling over a Mercedes situation. Anecdotal data says you really don’t want to own a Merc that is out of warranty, especially if it’s your daily driver (unlike driver100, who only uses each one of his for 6-7 months/year max), due to a lot of issues that could and do go wrong. My experience, albeit from 20 years ago, with my 1999 E-Class mirrors this. Even though I sold it before warranty ran out, there were quite a few smaller things (primarily electrical) that necessitated trips to the dealer. And I didn’t put a ton of miles on it during my ownership.

Now, here is the question. I have seen views of Germany and there are tons of Mercs serving as taxis. Taxicab companies use their vehicles at least 16 hours/day. They don’t want to have even moderate downtime with their vehicles. So, the Mercs they use must be pretty robust. What’s the difference between those cars and the Mercs we get here in the States? Are they “strippers” with none of the electronic “gee-gaws” on the US cars. Are they diesel cars and does that make a difference?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I hope this doesn’t qualify as a @jmonroe1 length post.

Those late '70s early 80s MB 240/300Ds would run forever. Really held their value too.

snakeweasel · September 2019

ronsteve said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:
Are there people who actually want CVTs?
My friend who has to be very careful of his spending bought a 2017 Camry. He chose it because he doesn't want a CVT.
I guess they get better mileage, and maybe are simpler to make, but, does anyone actually prefer them?
It depends on the CVT. The one in my Honda Accord was so unobtrusive I never even thought about it. And talk about great mileage! So yeah, I’d prefer that. The Subaru Outback CVT is also very quiet and works well. All the Nissan’s I’ve driven with CVTs are very noisy revving up, and then quiet once they get up to speed. I found that initial noise obnoxious, so no, I wouldn’t want one of those. So put me in the camp who doesn’t hate CVTs just on General Principles. I do like good mpg and if a good CVT helped achieve that, I’m all for it. I think the Chevy Volt has a CVT transmission — I’ve driven it for 3 years now and never even thought about it. I would prefer the Volt to almost any affordable alternative (Tesla being out of my price range).
I'm sure at some point I'll go to some sort of hybrid which will probably have a CVT, but for now I strongly prefer real gears. That said, some CVTs are better than others. Nissan CVTs aren't terrible in the Murano (must be something about having decent power) but in the Altima they're a crappy driving experience and the Rogue is much worse. A long weekend trip to Niagara Falls with a rented Rogue last year almost made me cross ANYthing with a CVT off my shopping list. Subaru's CVT in the Outback isn't bad, and I didn't actually dismiss it out of hand.

I do believe that Hyundai is using dual clutch transmissions in their hybrids.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

snakeweasel said:

ronsteve said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:
Are there people who actually want CVTs?
My friend who has to be very careful of his spending bought a 2017 Camry. He chose it because he doesn't want a CVT.
I guess they get better mileage, and maybe are simpler to make, but, does anyone actually prefer them?
It depends on the CVT. The one in my Honda Accord was so unobtrusive I never even thought about it. And talk about great mileage! So yeah, I’d prefer that. The Subaru Outback CVT is also very quiet and works well. All the Nissan’s I’ve driven with CVTs are very noisy revving up, and then quiet once they get up to speed. I found that initial noise obnoxious, so no, I wouldn’t want one of those. So put me in the camp who doesn’t hate CVTs just on General Principles. I do like good mpg and if a good CVT helped achieve that, I’m all for it. I think the Chevy Volt has a CVT transmission — I’ve driven it for 3 years now and never even thought about it. I would prefer the Volt to almost any affordable alternative (Tesla being out of my price range).
I'm sure at some point I'll go to some sort of hybrid which will probably have a CVT, but for now I strongly prefer real gears. That said, some CVTs are better than others. Nissan CVTs aren't terrible in the Murano (must be something about having decent power) but in the Altima they're a crappy driving experience and the Rogue is much worse. A long weekend trip to Niagara Falls with a rented Rogue last year almost made me cross ANYthing with a CVT off my shopping list. Subaru's CVT in the Outback isn't bad, and I didn't actually dismiss it out of hand.
I do believe that Hyundai is using dual clutch transmissions in their hybrids.

Those aren’t exactly trouble free either. Ford got in trouble with them. Chrysler, from what I hear, had so much trouble perfecting them they gave up.

My Kia had a dual clutch performance version trim with a turbo 1.6L. I opted not to consider that because of horror stories I’d heard about other brands.

stickguy · September 2019

I had the DCT in my Elantra sport. It was fantastic.

driver100 · September 2019

fintail said:
A little of both. Less complex gadgetry, and sturdy diesels.

To be fair, MBs of the past decade or so are insanely less troublesome than those ~20 years ago. There are numerous turn of the century MBs I wouldn't take for free - that was likely the nadir of MB quality/reliability.

thebean said:
I have been puzzling over a Mercedes situation. Anecdotal data says you really don’t want to own a Merc that is out of warranty, especially if it’s your daily driver (unlike driver100, who only uses each one of his for 6-7 months/year max), due to a lot of issues that could and do go wrong. My experience, albeit from 20 years ago, with my 1999 E-Class mirrors this. Even though I sold it before warranty ran out, there were quite a few smaller things (primarily electrical) that necessitated trips to the dealer. And I didn’t put a ton of miles on it during my ownership.

Now, here is the question. I have seen views of Germany and there are tons of Mercs serving as taxis. Taxicab companies use their vehicles at least 16 hours/day. They don’t want to have even moderate downtime with their vehicles. So, the Mercs they use must be pretty robust. What’s the difference between those cars and the Mercs we get here in the States? Are they “strippers” with none of the electronic “gee-gaws” on the US cars. Are they diesel cars and does that make a difference?

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I hope this doesn’t qualify as a @jmonroe1 length post.

I would agree with what fintail said. I think the newer models, since about 2014 and maybe a bit earlier are pretty reliable. Taxi drivers usually have garages that do their repairs for a lot less...big volume for a guy that can repair MBs. Diesels are less troublesome, and the cars are usually taxi models with less equipment to go wrong.
I would trust a Mercedes to go as far as most cars with similar repair record, just if tricky electronics and 9 speed transmissions start to go....things could add up.

stickguy · September 2019

In the old days at least they were manual diesels.

driver100 · September 2019

I figured out how car salesmen remember who you are.
In each new car they add a chip that has your picture and background information. When you drive in to get service or look at new cars your image comes up right away with all the background information the salesman needs....picture, wife's name, dogs name, work you do....etc.
Mike didn't want to give away this secret information that he signed he would never divulge.

bwia · September 2019

It's a long while since I got a traffic ticket but I thought this is funny.

berri · September 2019

Just heard that Ford’s credit rating was downgraded to junk status. Should I worry?

Short term I don't think so. They have a positive cash position. The downgrade was based more on unclear future performance that could degrade their revenue and cash flow down the road. The big risk is that should the economy go into a moderate or worse recession, it could cost Ford as it's cash position may erode and they would then face a higher interest rate for any additional interim financing they may require in that event. That could put them at a competitive disadvantage to their competitors both financially, and because any dilution of cash may impact product development in a period where so much potential change is going on in their industry.

snakeweasel · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

ronsteve said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:
Are there people who actually want CVTs?
My friend who has to be very careful of his spending bought a 2017 Camry. He chose it because he doesn't want a CVT.
I guess they get better mileage, and maybe are simpler to make, but, does anyone actually prefer them?
It depends on the CVT. The one in my Honda Accord was so unobtrusive I never even thought about it. And talk about great mileage! So yeah, I’d prefer that. The Subaru Outback CVT is also very quiet and works well. All the Nissan’s I’ve driven with CVTs are very noisy revving up, and then quiet once they get up to speed. I found that initial noise obnoxious, so no, I wouldn’t want one of those. So put me in the camp who doesn’t hate CVTs just on General Principles. I do like good mpg and if a good CVT helped achieve that, I’m all for it. I think the Chevy Volt has a CVT transmission — I’ve driven it for 3 years now and never even thought about it. I would prefer the Volt to almost any affordable alternative (Tesla being out of my price range).
I'm sure at some point I'll go to some sort of hybrid which will probably have a CVT, but for now I strongly prefer real gears. That said, some CVTs are better than others. Nissan CVTs aren't terrible in the Murano (must be something about having decent power) but in the Altima they're a crappy driving experience and the Rogue is much worse. A long weekend trip to Niagara Falls with a rented Rogue last year almost made me cross ANYthing with a CVT off my shopping list. Subaru's CVT in the Outback isn't bad, and I didn't actually dismiss it out of hand.
I do believe that Hyundai is using dual clutch transmissions in their hybrids.
Those aren’t exactly trouble free either. Ford got in trouble with them. Chrysler, from what I hear, had so much trouble perfecting them they gave up.

My Kia had a dual clutch performance version trim with a turbo 1.6L. I opted not to consider that because of horror stories I’d heard about other brands.

My sister has a Hyundai SUV with the DCT and she hasn't complained. I have a DCT on my bike, admittedly made by Honda specifically for motorcycles, and I love it. So much better than having a standard transmission. Fasters shifts with perfect rev matching, it's almost like it doesn't even shift.

imidazol97 · September 2019

Michaell said:

thebean said:

Ouch. Bimmer 4 series concept. Where is Bangle when you need him?
Starting to rival Lexus in its level of hideousness...

That says it perfectly.

roadburner · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:

ronsteve said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:
Are there people who actually want CVTs?
My friend who has to be very careful of his spending bought a 2017 Camry. He chose it because he doesn't want a CVT.
I guess they get better mileage, and maybe are simpler to make, but, does anyone actually prefer them?
It depends on the CVT. The one in my Honda Accord was so unobtrusive I never even thought about it. And talk about great mileage! So yeah, I’d prefer that. The Subaru Outback CVT is also very quiet and works well. All the Nissan’s I’ve driven with CVTs are very noisy revving up, and then quiet once they get up to speed. I found that initial noise obnoxious, so no, I wouldn’t want one of those. So put me in the camp who doesn’t hate CVTs just on General Principles. I do like good mpg and if a good CVT helped achieve that, I’m all for it. I think the Chevy Volt has a CVT transmission — I’ve driven it for 3 years now and never even thought about it. I would prefer the Volt to almost any affordable alternative (Tesla being out of my price range).
I'm sure at some point I'll go to some sort of hybrid which will probably have a CVT, but for now I strongly prefer real gears. That said, some CVTs are better than others. Nissan CVTs aren't terrible in the Murano (must be something about having decent power) but in the Altima they're a crappy driving experience and the Rogue is much worse. A long weekend trip to Niagara Falls with a rented Rogue last year almost made me cross ANYthing with a CVT off my shopping list. Subaru's CVT in the Outback isn't bad, and I didn't actually dismiss it out of hand.
I do believe that Hyundai is using dual clutch transmissions in their hybrids.
Those aren’t exactly trouble free either. Ford got in trouble with them. Chrysler, from what I hear, had so much trouble perfecting them they gave up.

My Kia had a dual clutch performance version trim with a turbo 1.6L. I opted not to consider that because of horror stories I’d heard about other brands.

The Ford DCTs were under-engineered from the get-go; dry clutches aren't ideally suited to that application, but Ford used them anyway. The German DCTs seem to be quite robust if you service them every 40k miles or so. I believe the Asian DCTs aren't bad either.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

I hear Asian makes good trannys across the board.

As for Ford, while I’m not familiar with the advantages of the wet clutch over the dry clutch system I have a feeling that the bean counters were behind that fiasco. I wonder if any of them had to pay the price for saving a few pennies upfront and costing the company millions later.

ab348 · September 2019

The Ford DCT was designed and built by Getrag, a German company now owned by Magna.

Japanese CVTs are mostly made by Jatco. I had an Aisin conventional 6-speed autobox in my 2011 Regal and it's programming was wonky in that it took forever to grab the right gear when you slowed to a near but not full stop and then wanted to accelerate again. Otherwise it was fine.

driver100 · September 2019

Let's get the experts opinion on CVTs

https://youtu.be/nqZseFMPooA

One weak point of a CVT (there are more):

The mechanical structure of CVT is yet not perfect and sophisticated because it’s a relatively new technology. It has a steel chain about an inch wide that is the main route for transferring power from the engine to the rest of the car. If this chain breaks down for some reasons, the transmission will stop functioning. When the chain fails, it shatters into pieces with shrapnel everywhere.

More info:
The Honda models with the CVT are the most reliable among all the lineups and CVT transmission life expectancy is the longest. However, the automakers have been working relentlessly to improve the technology. Almost all the newer models of the brands are better than their predecessors.

*This is from some guys website

driver100 · September 2019

I was checking my Florida dealer and came across this bargoon:
2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 3.0L Sport
Stock # 9F230943, 3.0L V6 CYL, A, 14578 mi., 18/26 MPG
Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota
Selling Price $9,897
Red exterior and almond interior....like ours!

ab348 · September 2019

driver100 said:
Let's get the experts opinion on CVTs

You must copied the wrong link since you expert opinion actually linked to Scotty. 🤣

fintail · September 2019

The 80s especially were probably the pinnacle of MB quality, and probably tops for brand cachet as well. They managed supply and demand better, and resale values were exceptional.

An immaculate low mileage example of one of those old diesels, especially in wagon form, has good value today, too.

houdini2 said:

Those late '70s early 80s MB 240/300Ds would run forever. Really held their value too.

fintail · September 2019

From my anecdotal observations on MB forums and from people I know, C-class are much improved from W204 (2008) onward, E-class from W212 (2010) onward, and S-class from W221 (2007) onward. Maintenance can still be painful, but less "Achilles Heel" issues than turn of the century era models.

Those German taxis are also all 4cyl cars, we only had a 4cyl diesel for MY 2014-16, it's the one to get.

driver100 said:

I would agree with what fintail said. I think the newer models, since about 2014 and maybe a bit earlier are pretty reliable. Taxi drivers usually have garages that do their repairs for a lot less...big volume for a guy that can repair MBs. Diesels are less troublesome, and the cars are usually taxi models with less equipment to go wrong.
I would trust a Mercedes to go as far as most cars with similar repair record, just if tricky electronics and 9 speed transmissions start to go....things could add up.

Michaell · September 2019

Da Vinci conceptualized the CVT in the late 15th century.

Hardly new technology.

sb55 · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:
Fascinating to see how they load the cars on to a ship. They are 4 inches apart....driver can only open the door of the last car parked. Drivers are taken by van back to get more cars. Now there is a fun job! Worth 2 minutes to see how they do it.
https://youtu.be/u_OSnioeFjY
That’s kind of like my job except they don’t get to sleep in the van. On the other hand I’m sure they get longshoreman’s union wages.

Yesterday made up for my puny pay. We were sent to Plattsburgh to pick up cars which meant 2+ hours of napping and drinking coffee. We then spent the day cruising Lake Champlain on the ferry as we went back and forth to Burlington VT. It was like a paid vacation.

You drove right past me in South Hero. I would've bought you lunch!

graphicguy · September 2019

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:
This was a few hears ago, but when Cadillac bought my CTS back, I was in the market for a car quickly. Before I went to a new lot, I was looking for something I could buy quickly on CL. Guy was advertising a 1 year old G37-S that looked really good in the pics. He was in Columbus (about a 1.5-2 hour drive for me), so I called him to get info.

Drove to take a look at it, and it looked good from the outside. Took it for a test drive and realized I couldn’t adjust the seat. Owner said it was the seat motor, which he would replace for free if I bought it. Also noticed that “musty” smell in the car, mixed with the Lysol smell coming out of the HVAC vents. It ran fine. But, I quizzed him on the smell. He said it was from leaving one of the windows open when it rained.

By this time, I knew to look a little harder. Sure enough, there were damp areas in the back seat carpet, under the bottom of the front seat backs, and actually a little puddle of water under the driver’s seat (which explained the seat motor being inoperative). I also noticed one of the drain plugs was missing.

I asked him if the car was a flood car. He said he had no idea. Digging a little deeper, he said he bought it because it needed “a little work” which he could do himself, and give it to his wife, but she didn’t want the car. You’re giving her a $45K car and she said “no”? Strange indeed!

Finally, I asked for the VIN, which he insisted he’d give me (he did, but it was one digit off). I finally got the VIN from the plate in the front window, and it ended up being a flood car from the east coast.

I asked him if the title was clean. He said the work he had to do caused the car to have a rebuilt title, but everything was fixed. I punted.

He was obviously trying to hide the truth from me. And, while it was priced under market, it wasn’t priced nearly to where it should have been with a rebuilt title.

He called me every day for a week lowering the price. I finally told him I knew he wasn’t being straight with me and I wouldn’t buy the car from him for $1. He cussed me out and hung up on me.
Guys like that should be in jail for fraud. Did you look it up in the federal data base (NICB) to confirm that it was a total lost flood car? Did the seller list the rebuilt title in his CL ad? If he listed it as clean title he was a crook.

I bet the next buyer didn’t have your street smarts and got taken.

Not sure about street smarts. I just know when something doesn’t smell right (literally).

I did look up the (correct) VIN. It was a flood car from the East Coast. IIRC it was a car that was caught in a flooded area on the Eastern Seaboard.

Never saw the title, but the seller did his level best to hide the fact that it was a salvage title that had to be rebuilt. Not exactly what he (or someone else) had to do to it to get the Rebuilt Title. But, I wanted nothing to do with it.

It was black with tan leather interior. If it had black interior, I may not have noticed some of the tell-tale signs. The smell made me leary, though.

houdini2 · September 2019

imidazol97 said:

Michaell said:

thebean said:

Ouch. Bimmer 4 series concept. Where is Bangle when you need him?
Starting to rival Lexus in its level of hideousness...
That says it perfectly.

Surely that BMW was a photoshop.

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

sb55 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:
Fascinating to see how they load the cars on to a ship. They are 4 inches apart....driver can only open the door of the last car parked. Drivers are taken by van back to get more cars. Now there is a fun job! Worth 2 minutes to see how they do it.
https://youtu.be/u_OSnioeFjY
That’s kind of like my job except they don’t get to sleep in the van. On the other hand I’m sure they get longshoreman’s union wages.

Yesterday made up for my puny pay. We were sent to Plattsburgh to pick up cars which meant 2+ hours of napping and drinking coffee. We then spent the day cruising Lake Champlain on the ferry as we went back and forth to Burlington VT. It was like a paid vacation.

You drove right past me in South Hero. I would've bought you lunch!

Counting me you’d have to treat 6 grumpy old men. What’s better, Wally’s or the Blue Paddle?

oldfarmer50 · September 2019

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:
This was a few hears ago, but when Cadillac bought my CTS back, I was in the market for a car quickly. Before I went to a new lot, I was looking for something I could buy quickly on CL. Guy was advertising a 1 year old G37-S that looked really good in the pics. He was in Columbus (about a 1.5-2 hour drive for me), so I called him to get info.

Drove to take a look at it, and it looked good from the outside. Took it for a test drive and realized I couldn’t adjust the seat. Owner said it was the seat motor, which he would replace for free if I bought it. Also noticed that “musty” smell in the car, mixed with the Lysol smell coming out of the HVAC vents. It ran fine. But, I quizzed him on the smell. He said it was from leaving one of the windows open when it rained.

By this time, I knew to look a little harder. Sure enough, there were damp areas in the back seat carpet, under the bottom of the front seat backs, and actually a little puddle of water under the driver’s seat (which explained the seat motor being inoperative). I also noticed one of the drain plugs was missing.

I asked him if the car was a flood car. He said he had no idea. Digging a little deeper, he said he bought it because it needed “a little work” which he could do himself, and give it to his wife, but she didn’t want the car. You’re giving her a $45K car and she said “no”? Strange indeed!

Finally, I asked for the VIN, which he insisted he’d give me (he did, but it was one digit off). I finally got the VIN from the plate in the front window, and it ended up being a flood car from the east coast.

I asked him if the title was clean. He said the work he had to do caused the car to have a rebuilt title, but everything was fixed. I punted.

He was obviously trying to hide the truth from me. And, while it was priced under market, it wasn’t priced nearly to where it should have been with a rebuilt title.

He called me every day for a week lowering the price. I finally told him I knew he wasn’t being straight with me and I wouldn’t buy the car from him for $1. He cussed me out and hung up on me.
Guys like that should be in jail for fraud. Did you look it up in the federal data base (NICB) to confirm that it was a total lost flood car? Did the seller list the rebuilt title in his CL ad? If he listed it as clean title he was a crook.

I bet the next buyer didn’t have your street smarts and got taken.
Not sure about street smarts. I just know when something doesn’t smell right (literally).

I did look up the (correct) VIN. It was a flood car from the East Coast. IIRC it was a car that was caught in a flooded area on the Eastern Seaboard.

Never saw the title, but the seller did his level best to hide the fact that it was a salvage title that had to be rebuilt. Not exactly what he (or someone else) had to do to it to get the Rebuilt Title. But, I wanted nothing to do with it.

It was black with tan leather interior. If it had black interior, I may not have noticed some of the tell-tale signs. The smell made me leary, though.

Hey, when someone lies about the VIN and conceals a rebuilt title, that’s a crook pure and simple.

graphicguy · September 2019

I follow a young lady singer in the local area. She has a couple of bands, one a pop band, the other a Big Band. Either way, she’s quite talented.

That’s a prelude into what I did last night. I was watching her performance this past weekend and saw someone who does a lot of Hyundai commercials in the audience (small venue...we were sitting at tables next to each other). He is the GM of one of the local Hyundai/Genesis/Acura dealerships in the area and come to find out, he’s the singer’s brother. The venue was a fairly nice restaurant, and the singer was performing with her jazz trio outside on their patio. You can see the parking lot from this patio.

So, when I pulled up, people can see you approach. I sat down with my friends next to this signer’s brother’s group. He saw me pull up my TLX with his competitor’s license frame on the car.

When I sat down, the singer was performing but waived at me. During her break, she introduced me to her brother. Making small talk he asked how I liked my car. I recognized him, but couldn’t place him until he told me he was the GM of the competing dealership.

Cut to the chase, I asked him about the Genesis and why there were no dealerships in the area. He corrected me and said his Hyundai Dealership did indeed sell Genesis. Matter of fact, he said his store was the highest volume Genesis store in the country (maybe they didn’t have to sell many of them to make that claim). We went on for a while talking about how the whole Genesis brand and having separate dealerships really didn’t seem to be working. He agreed. He said Hyundai wasn’t offering much in the way of incentives for the dealerships to build new facilities like Acura did when they first offered dealerships.

Plus, he said Genesis has been caught in another sales trend moving more towards SUVs. His number one seller is now the RDX followed closely by the MDX in all the stores he manages.

We talked about the upcoming TLX Type-S and said I should give him a call when they’re released and he’d get me one of the first test drives (yay!). I also mentioned I thought the Kia Stinger was quite a car. He laughed and said he agreed except for one problem.....they’re being sold by Kia dealerships. He invited me to take a test drive in a G70, which I did last night.

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but it feels like a much different car than the Stinger. It feels lighter and more balanced. It certainly is much nicer, inside and out. The two Stingers I’ve driven all had some squeaks. The G70 was as solid as could be. Plus, the MSRP is the same as a Stinger only with a better warranty and a nicer car all the way around.

Told him I wasn’t in the market, yet. But, he did say he’d offer me any G70 at invoice and that he’d a apply a $3,500 conquest cash credit too since Genesis considers Acura a competitor. Pretty compelling!

While I was in the area, I test drove an ES350 and a Camry XSE V6 back to back. In all honesty, I thought the Camry drove better and was more fun, by a pretty big margin. Plus, there was about a $17K delta between the price of the ES350 and the Camry. I’d choose the Camry. Toyota always made high quality cars, but they’ve really upped their game with the new Camry.....very refined....good steering heft (understeers a bit, though)...quiet and felt about as quick as my TLX.

REally a good time to compare the segment leaders in the Accord and Camry. Both, extremely nice cars for the money.

Before I knew it, what started out as casual tire kicking at 6:00 p.m. lasted until it was dark, and me taking myself out to dinner after test driving. Fun night.

stickguy · September 2019

Good job! I can verify that the 3.3t G70 is a serious rocket. Floor it at 50 and you get jammed back into the seat. My son really likes his.

Hopefully genesis comes out with a compact CUV soon to compare to the RDX.

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