By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Bob
Bob
Bob
We hit NYC first (talked to paisan on the way for some traffic advice, thanks bud). Highlight was seeing Mama-Mia on my mom's 70th birthday. We put her and all the grand kids in a limo ride around town, dropping her off like it was a red carpet "premiere". Then a nice Italian restaurant afterward.
Then brought the fam to DC for a few days. I drove, they flew.
Then part II was a drive South. We took a pit stop in Florence, SC, nothing much there.
Then we hit Orlando. Yes, it was WAY too hot. Some of the elderly folks in our party could not stand being outside at all and spent some days in the hotel, believe it or not.
Highlights? Besides all the theme parks, we saw a Tampa Rays baseball game (indoor dome, neat), an Orlando Predators arena football game (so fast paced you can't blink), and then a VIP suite for the Tampa Yankees minor league game, my gift to my mom. We had 21 people in a sky box, all inclusive with food and drinks, and they put her name up on the jumbo tron. Free hats for everyone, too. It was perhaps our best night.
Off the the Keys, we spent 3 nights in Key West. I liked that better. Still too hot, waaaaaaaaaaay too hot. The pool was warm, it's ridiculous. But we saw the sunset at Mallory Square, did Sloppy Joe's, rented jet skis to take the 10 kids around, and a cruise/snorkeling adventure. To be honest the snorkeling was weak, but I'm used to Brazilian beaches and have been snorkeling in Belize, so I guess my standards are high. The cruise was nice.
Then we hit Coconut Grove and Miami Beach for a day trip, and spent the night in Sawgrass Mills, where the gang shopped til they dropped the next day. They flew off, and I drove back, again with a pit stop in Florence. 11 hours driving on Saturday, rough. 8 on Sunday, not too bad.
Did 4000+ miles in the minivan, which handled it well. Gotta say, a Tribeca would not have had enough room, not nearly enough, for what we did. So I'm glad that Bob pushed me to get a big van. MPG ranged from a little under 18 to a little over 27 or so. Gas from $3.39 to $3.99.
Nice to see Pat again, I was wondering when he'd show up again.
And yes, 2 things to Colin - your door is indeed backwards and if you buy cheap alloys I'm going to remind you of the time you teased me for the doing the same thing a few years back. LOL
Glad to be back home, I was out for 4 weeks!
Bob
So no regrets. I'm sure it'll be an upgrade compared to the 15"s, especially tire selection.
The dollar is so weak, though, that the Brazilian crew was in heaven. To them everything seemed cheap. I saw at least 3 new iPads, supposedly they cost 4x as much down there, so no wonder.
There were 17 people from Brazil. 34 suitcases. All around the world the weight limit per bag is 50 lbs. Only Brazil and Japan allow 70 lbs. They had weight scales, seriously. Nearly every bag out of the 34 was near the 70 lb limit, they even had to shift things around from some bags to others.
So yes, they shopped til they dropped. I think the US economy will see a slight blip in the charts for July.
I did my share to help the economy. You can thank me if your stocks go up this week.
maybe you were looking for performance out of it. I don't see that being a feature of most increases in wheel size-- usually wheels weigh more, decreasing performance, while tire availability stays about the same.
I want 18" on Arika's Suzuki simply for the bling. I can get tires I need in 15" no problem at all.
The 15x6" steelies were about half a pound heavier than the 16x7" alloys I replaced them with (with tires). 44 lbs or so IIRC.
So even the cheap ones were lighter than steelies, in that case at least.
I think if I were to buy one, that's the way I'd get it equipped. Now, if it was my wife's car, it would be an automatic. She can drive a stick, but just prefers an automatic. I think she's driven my WRX maybe 3 or 4 times since I've owned it, mainly because it's a 5-speed. It scares her.
Bob
(Old school Subaru Crew demographic reference
Okay, so now I need to decide on all the extras, extended warranty, paint sealant, fabric sealant, etc. The only one I'm really considering is the paint sealant. Don't normally wash and/or wax more than a couple times a year.
Some owner's manuals don't even recommend waxing cars, much less putting a "sealant" on the paint.
You got silver right? You're done, no dirt will show.
I would also skip the paint protector. If you have cloth seats buy 2 cans of Scotchgard and apply a whole can in the evening and let dry overnight. Repeat the next evening and you will have perfect fabric for years.
If you have leather/leatherette seats then just buy 1 can and use half on the carpet & floor mats, and the other half the second night. Two applications are the key.
(Old school Subaru Crew demographic reference )
Names with a "K" was another criteria (as well as Mac ownership), so she's a shoe-in for the Crew.
My brother got Paprika Red Pearl, but basically the same car. It's a reddish-orange color that really pops.
Silver will be a good OCD color, doesn't ever look dirty.
Congrats KarenS!
Like Colin said get a couple of cans of fabric protection like Scotch guard and do your own. As for rust proof I get mine sprayed with one of the recommended ECO friendly oil treatments. Since I keep my cars an average 10 years, I would rather still have it rust free at the end of my ownership, it is easier to sell a clean car than a rust bucket even at ten years old.
I sold the Titan for way over black book retail to the first guy who looked at it.
Cheers Pat.
With a new E-class and a refreshed C-, that's not good...
Cheers Pat.
True story - instead of vaccuming, I open the sliding doors and the hatch, and use a leaf blower to clean out the inside.
Works even for spilled McDonald's french fries!
Cheers Pat.
I wash it every time it rains! Well, rinse at least.
I'm so ashamed!
Trees don't belong on the roof. Yup - that was my Mustang. July 2nd marked 1 year in the body shop. It is now completely repaired and fully painted, it just needs to be put back together. Dealing with little parts and finishing touches. Sorry to hear about your incident, Steve.
Good luck with the new Forester, Karen.
Hi Pat. Mikey always asks about you.
Bike Tires. I have been running kevlar tires on my Specialized Rockhopper for years. Haven't popped one since!
TPMS/Runflats. I always thought the TPMS on the new Outback was a PITA - especially in the cold weather. I had to run the tires at 35psi (per the service department) to keep the indicator off in the winter months. However, that little indicator may have saved my life one night. I was driving on the highway (yes, exceeding the speed limit) when the little yellow light popped on. I changed lanes and backed off the gas. Seconds later, I felt the car wiggle from under me. Because I was in a heavy construction area on I-93 outside of Boston, it took a while to get into a breakdown lane. By that time, I had completely ruined the right rear tire. I'm guessing I would have appreciated run-flat tires. The nicest MA State Trooper protected me with his car and flashing lights while holding a flashlight as I put on the spare. BTW, the OEM Bridgestone tires are very, very expensive. And, I was fortunate I did not ruin the TPMS indicator, that would have added another $125 to the bill.
As to why was I in Boston ... Mikey woke up early one Friday morning in extreme pain and after taking him into the local ER at 3am, he was transferred into Boston via ambulance for emergency surgery for a blocked and infected kidney. Karen went with him while I ran home, grabbed some things then dashed into Boston. He ended up being there for 5 days. Karen stayed in the hosptial room the entire time while I attempted to run back and forth late night/early morning getting important things such as her blood pressure medication and clothes. I ended up staying over Sunday night as he was supposed to be released on Monday morning. We finally got home Tuesday afternoon. Back to Boston for the day a week ago Friday for a Nuclear Scan, and back in on this upcoming Wednesday for another 2-3 days for reconstructive surgery to his kidney. There were never any signs and symptoms prior to this, and his prognosis is excellent. Other than the intial distress, Mikey actually feels fine.
Once this is over ... vacation! The three of us are so looking forward to a nice, relaxing week at the beach.
Cheers Pat.
Bob
It brings up an interesting issue - when to run to the ER, and when to wait. How do you know? Several times recently I've taken the kids in and fortunately we've been sent home with an aspirin. But twice with my wife it has been real life threatening issues, and once for me they wrongly sent me home only to need hospitalization days later. You feel foolish when you overreact, yet you don't want to ignore a growing crisis.
Pro? Loved all the hidden car guy stuff. Besides the same mountain ranges shaped like classic Caddys, they added hills that were shaped like the front fenders and hood of classic cars. The elevators were pistons, neat. And the F1 car has Pasta Potenza tires, which cracked me up.
Con? I felt the movie had pro-Ethanol and biofuel subliminal messages, and almost had a hidden political agenda to promote those. Big Oil is always the bad guy, I suppose.
Still a worthy movie and I say catch it while it's still on the big screen.
Sorry about Mikey- did they figure out why he had the blockage? Good thing is kids bounce back much faster than adults!
A nice relaxing week sounds great! Sign me up too!!!!
tom
I'm not sure I would make the right choice if something like that happened with my son. That kid is constantly crying wolf - he doesn't have degrees, he just has crisis. So, if there really was an emergency, I might just end up letting the bugger die! Well, no, probably not, but I might be tempted!
It's too bad that all parents can't go through some sort of class to help them through the emergency/non-emergency decision tree. My best advice to anyone - when in doubt, call. As I have told countless parents over the years, we'd much rather be called and not be needed, than be needed and not get called.
Turns out she doesn't know, either... and, now I figured my mother was just faking it for all those years...
It's a wonder that I'm still alive, not to mention my teenage boy...
Edmunds Price Checker
Edmunds Lease Calculator
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator
As for the trip to the ER ... the second I saw him in that type of pain, I just knew what to do. Yeah, I was thinking that he would be looked at and sent home. Thankfully, an extremely astute Pediatric Hospitalist interpreted the CT scan and immediately connected with the head of Pediatric Urology at the best Children's Hospital in Boston, and with a lot of really fast action, got him there and now, all is well.
The hospital, with an absolutely amazing staff (kudos to all that work there), allows one parent to stay, so Karen is with Mikey while I commute back and forth. We expect him to be released on Saturday, and his prognosis is excellent. Thanks for your thoughts - it means a lot! Rob M.
Bob
Very pleased to hear that the surgery has gone off well. Poor kid will be feeling very rough for a while; I sympathize with him.
Our daughter Tamsin has a finely graduated sense of severity of illness. She is also the possessor of a large menagerie of soft toys, largely teddy bears. The bears were constant companions when she was small and remain in her bedroom despite her now being eighteen
When smaller, she would assess the severity of a parent's illness and loan a teddy bear appropriate to the severity of the incident. Nausea and vomiting would produce a moderately senior bear; a cold someone less important
The gradations were fine and her mother's imminent death when giving birth to our second child only rated a second tier bear. However, I had some urinary tract problems which had me moaning in agony and fetched up in Gloucester Royal Hospital.
Judy knew that things were really bad when Tamsin passed over her most senior bear, Max, to care for me. I recovered, probably more through caring reassurance from the bear than any medical intervention. I still regard him very warmly.
Cheers
Graham
...and my allergies are really getting the better of me this morning, watering eyes and all.
Bob
BTW, which ER did you take him to? IIRC, you live out on 495 between 3 and 93.