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There is still a gap between MB and every other premium brand. At virtually every segment, the MB entry has a noticeably nicer interior and better tech than its competitors. once you get to full size sedan it's not even a contest - the segment is basically Mercedes S Class with 80% market share, and the remaining 20% between the bizarre fish mouth car or the 130% scale A4.
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May 26, 2023 06:59
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Inner Light posted:If you're talking about the US market Volvo brand, your take is not quite correcto. Volvo has been strongly marketed as a luxury (snobbishly described as entry level near luxo) brand in USA for many years. It's the weird quirky Subaru of luxury brands. I am beginning to understand why idiots describe their Teslas as luxury cars Volvo will always be the brand of the 240 estate: incredibly boring, one step up from a Ford Sierra, can't afford a Merc
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May 26, 2023 07:10
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The S class doesn't even have full length arm rests. They just end at the door jamb. It's like, "where is my elbow supposed to go?" I wasn't really impressed with it, and the way the seats grab your kidneys going around corners is just creepy I'm fully convinced Mercedes is being entirely propped up by people whose parents who grew up in the 50s and 60s and would otherwise say "a BMW? But why not get a Mercedes? You deserve it" and don't want to have that conversation Hadlock fucked around with this message at 07:18 on May 26, 2023 |
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May 26, 2023 07:16
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I buy that an S is nicer than a 7, but a C is not nearly as nice as a well optioned 3.
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May 26, 2023 07:59
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Inner Light posted:If you're talking about the US market Volvo brand, your take is not quite correcto. Volvo has been strongly marketed as a luxury (snobbishly described as entry level near luxo) brand in USA for many years. It's the weird quirky Subaru of luxury brands. This happens with a LOT of imports to the US. Land Rover came in with only top trim model "luxury" vehicles. No diesels, no basic spec work vehicles one would find in the UK. Toyota, while they were still importing them, sold the Land Cruiser 200 series in the US with the following options: color. The. End. (seriously, the configurator tool was hilarious) They all came completely loaded from locking rear diffs to a refrigerator in the center console. Mercedes never brought in the more pedestrian models/trims that one would see as cabs, etc in europe until they decided to ruin their reputation in every other way.
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May 26, 2023 14:10
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Feel like it used to be somewhat rare to see mb, audi, bmw, volvo. Now it's still somewhat rare to see a volvo.
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May 26, 2023 14:55
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Volvo’s also trying to push into the luxury market in Europe, from what I heard while interviewing for a job there it’s mostly Geely’s doing. Even here in Sweden you don’t see a lot of newer Volvos; the entrenched luxury brands are holding on to their market segment well.
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May 26, 2023 14:58
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phosdex posted:Feel like it used to be somewhat rare to see mb, audi, bmw, volvo. Now it's still somewhat rare to see a volvo. I've noticed that too, and if my cross shopping was any indication it's because they're just not that good. It's like they're doing a bunch of checkboxes and not really evaluating the end product. The most glaring one was "screens everywhere" plus "pano roof". Nobody stopped to think about what that would be like, or bothered to look at one once done and go "poo poo, you can't read the center stack screens when the sun is out and even the dash gets washed out depending on the angle". Also, some weird spring loaded second row head rests where you can hit a button from the drivers seat and they spring FORWARD out of the way. Like, into where people would be sitting in those seats. WTF is that? Just a series of baffling decisions all around. And there were more than just those two.
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May 26, 2023 15:13
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KillHour posted:I buy that an S is nicer than a 7, but a C is not nearly as nice as a well optioned 3. In my experience, higher-level Mercedes drive a lot smoother than BMW, which some people equate to "better" or "more luxurious"
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May 26, 2023 15:33
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Motronic posted:Also, some weird spring loaded second row head rests where you can hit a button from the drivers seat and they spring FORWARD out of the way. Like, into where people would be sitting in those seats. WTF is that? Just a series of baffling decisions all around. And there were more than just those two. that's been a volvo staple since forever. it's supposed to move the headrests out of the way so if you don't have rear seat passengers you can see better out the back / through the rear view mirror. it's very odd. I'm generally fond of Volvos and I think they're fairly competitive, they're just pretty specifically for people who actively don't want a 3 series or a Q5 or whatever. hard to not be a niche product with a sort of oppositional identity
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May 26, 2023 15:57
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:that's been a volvo staple since forever. it's supposed to move the headrests out of the way so if you don't have rear seat passengers you can see better out the back / through the rear view mirror. it's very odd. Considering one hasn't been able to meaningfully see out of the back of a vehicle since 2010 - to the point that backup cameras have been a mandated requirement - that's quite and odd feature to hold on to. In the thing I was looking at you have a whole 360 degree camera (if the sun isn't out and you could see the screen) and all three mirrors you would expect. From the looks of things their sedans seem interesting and I've enjoyed the few I've driven. But I was looking at an XC90 and it just wasn't competitive. I'm not even talking price, just period (but also price).
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May 26, 2023 16:08
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yeah it's super weird, I had it on a rental S60 T6. That was a pretty good car but I'm not sure I would have paid for it. Maybe the V60, RIP. I'm surprised on price. The XC90 was pretty good value (MSRP wise) for a long time.
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May 26, 2023 16:26
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My dad had a 2004 s40 for a bit. Was nice to drive I thought. He was livid when the ac cut out and found out it the hi-lo ports were either non existent or inaccessible or something. Now he mutters about Swedish engineering whenever he gets the opportunity Anyways modern day Volvo in the usa is definitely targeting Audi buyers. The days of the thrifty box wagons are gone ethanol fucked around with this message at 16:37 on May 26, 2023 |
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May 26, 2023 16:34
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ethanol posted:My dad had a 2004 s40 for a bit. Was nice to drive I thought. He was livid when the ac cut out and found out it the hi-lo ports were either non existent or inaccessible or something. Now he mutters about Swedish engineering whenever he gets the opportunity At one point in this thread or a different one, we found out like 5 goons had a horrible beater ~2004 S40, including me. It was a total shitbox, I mean it was a nice car when it was new but the early '00s were dark times for reliability and materials that didn't fall apart after a while, if the brand didn't know what it was doing. I think some important mounts had disintegrated fairly early, and the whole dashboard and front end rattled and vibrated when stopped at a stoplight, mechanics didn't even care or bother to fix it because many parts were falling apart.
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May 26, 2023 16:55
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I drove a Volvo wagon in the 90s. Back then they had a reputation for durability and quality of manufacture mostly. In practice this was counterbalanced by expensive repairs due to imported parts though. Prep luxury not Trump luxury. Everyone seemed to feel that died when Ford bought the company tho.
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May 26, 2023 17:07
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Motronic posted:Also, some weird spring loaded second row head rests where you can hit a button from the drivers seat and they spring FORWARD out of the way. Like, into where people would be sitting in those seats. WTF is that? Just a series of baffling decisions all around. And there were more than just those two. A guy I knew in college had a Volvo with this. He used to love to surprise passengers by smacking them with it.
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May 26, 2023 21:19
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can i get some recommendations on oil for my 2012 prius? when googling i see suggestions that are as high as $100. it shouldn't be THAT high right?
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May 29, 2023 19:52
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Mr Interweb posted:can i get some recommendations on oil for my 2012 prius? It takes 0W-20. Walmart has 5-gallon jugs for as little as $20. Take your pick: https://www.walmart.com/browse/auto-tires/0w-20-oil/91083_1104294_1072084_5802198 Anything that meets the recommendations in the owner's manual will be fine. Some people are extremely religious about specific brands. I am not.
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May 29, 2023 20:05
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Deteriorata posted:It takes 0W-20. Walmart has 5-gallon jugs for as little as $20. Take your pick: thanks!
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May 29, 2023 20:57
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Reposting from AI stupid questions My second to last car payment was the 18th, and I just received a letter from Ally yesterday that I need to pay the remainder of the balance by the 28th. Uh, do I? It won't bankrupt me or anything, but I'm not clear on why I wouldn't just pay it on June 18th, like every other payment on the loan. Is this a common thing? I would have called Ally about this, but holiday weekend.
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May 30, 2023 00:59
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Slugworth posted:Reposting from AI stupid questions Just pay on the 18th next month. Your worst case scenario is that you owe a little extra interest.
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May 30, 2023 15:50
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By today it's probably worth a call to bitch out customer service depending on the post date on the envelope. If not to bitch then talk to someone who can give you a verbal close out amount and date. There's sometimes various small print that allows the lender to make closing the loan as annoying as possible especially if you asked for (or the fish tank accountant 'helpfully' made) your payment date something other than month end. I've never heard of it coming up outside of them trying to delay early closeouts one more month for
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May 30, 2023 17:11
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Cool, thanks. It caught me by surprise, but all that info is good for when I call them tomorrow.
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May 31, 2023 02:17
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The new Grand Highlander and existing Sequoia are basically minivans with regular hinged doors, right
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May 31, 2023 04:47
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More people want the utility of a minivan without driving something that's called "the minivan". I think it's just that simple.
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May 31, 2023 12:56
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The sequoia is a tundra with a permanent cap. The big motor version of the grand Highlander puts out like 375hp and gets 33mpg. That's really good for a car with a real third row. I'm sure it will also be like 90k after ADM so who cares really.
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May 31, 2023 14:06
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Please help me figure out some car options I should look at. I haven't owned one in almost 10 years, and I don't like cars aside from the convenience they present so trying to research this makes my eyes glaze over. Proposed Budget: around $30K, I can go over if there's a really good reason to. New or Used: New. Body Style: Small sedan, preferably hybrid. How will you be using the car?: Mostly just doing life stuff around a city/suburban area. Occasional ~250 mile drives on the highway. What aspects are most important to you? Reliable, easy and cheap to maintain, good interfacing with my phone's navigation. I'm in the US. Also, what's the process for buying a car now? I won't need financing. I assume I call ahead to see if they have what I'm looking for, then go in for a test drive, and if I like it say no to all the add-ons they try to include and buy the car then and there? Anything I should get sorted out ahead of time? No point in trying to negotiate a better price for a new car, just walk away if it seems too far beyond MSRP, right? Is it still best to buy near the end of the month?
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May 31, 2023 17:08
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Enjoy your Toyota Prius.
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May 31, 2023 17:17
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I mean yeah that does seem like the obvious choice but idk if there are some better options that I might just not know about 
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May 31, 2023 17:26
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Esme posted:I mean yeah that does seem like the obvious choice but idk if there are some better options that I might just not know about Corolla Hybrid is probably going to have a lower total cost of ownership than a Prius, and has a $22k MSRP vs the Prius's $28k. I guess this might be a wash cost-wise because of the Corolla's dramatically higher insurance costs.
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May 31, 2023 17:29
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Why do corollas have higher insurance costs?
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May 31, 2023 17:42
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:Why do corollas have higher insurance costs? Obviously insurance rates can vary significantly based on your own market and situation, but the Corolla is a car that's owned by lower-income, younger, and diverse owners in basically every way. Insurers like old, white, suburban Americans, so the further a car's market varies from that target, the more expensive it is to insure in general. I've run insurance numbers myself while looking at cars, and for me a $22k corolla would cost noticeably more to insure than a whole host of $40k-$60k minivans and SUVs. Corollas are the most-preferred car of recent immigrants to the US, and a huge hit with hispanic buyers. Toyota themselves have said that the reason they even introduced the Corolla Hybrid at all is that only white people will buy Priuses: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121443_toyota-corolla-hybrid-rated-52-mpg-why-toyota-says-it-wont-cannibalize-prius-sales quote:“You’re talking about two very significantly different buyers,” said Hollis, who went on to explain that Corolla happens to have one of the most multicultural buyer bases. “There’s a heritage, there’s a legacy, and there’s loyalty, and in many cases the Hispanic buyers do not buy the Prius...they talk about wanting and desiring a hybrid, but not in the Prius.” Edit: If you ever want to do a double-take about insurance costs, run the numbers on replacing one of your cars with a Tesla Model 3. For us, it would more than triple the cost of insurance. Twerk from Home fucked around with this message at 17:57 on May 31, 2023 |
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May 31, 2023 17:52
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Twerk from Home posted:Obviously insurance rates can vary significantly based on your own market and situation, but the Corolla is a car that's owned by lower-income, younger, and diverse owners in basically every way. Insurers like old, white, suburban Americans, so the further a car's market varies from that target, the more expensive it is to insure in general. Do you actually believe that carts belong in front of horses? The causal relationship is exactly the opposite of what you're suggesting here. In no way do insurers use age, race, gender or immigration status of typical buyers in running their actuarial magic on a model of vehicle. Another example: Subaru WRXes are not more expensive to insure because many young male idiotic wanna be rally drivers who run out of driving skill buy them. They are more expensive to insure because insurance companies are always paying out a lot of money on Subaru WRXes.
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May 31, 2023 18:18
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On paper the Prius is great based on MSRP but I think Toyota is having some kind of production issue with hybrids right now and it's very hard to actually get one, and you're expected to pay more on top of MSRP if you do. If you don't drive a huge number of miles every year the fuel economy savings of a hybrid are probably fairly nominal, such that a regular gas car will probably get you to the same place expenditure wise. Probably the hybrid still makes more sense but Toyota's supply issues don't seem to extend to the gas powered lineup, just hybrids.
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May 31, 2023 18:38
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Motronic posted:Do you actually believe that carts belong in front of horses? The causal relationship is exactly the opposite of what you're suggesting here. In no way do insurers use age, race, gender or immigration status of typical buyers in running their actuarial magic on a model of vehicle. You're right, and I should have just said "Corollas are owned by people who crash more, and Priuses are owned by people who crash less." My own car insurance rates got cut in half when I got married with no other changes, which I found pretty hilarious and makes me think the models are pretty capricious.
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May 31, 2023 18:48
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Throatwarbler posted:On paper the Prius is great based on MSRP but I think Toyota is having some kind of production issue with hybrids right now and it's very hard to actually get one, and you're expected to pay more on top of MSRP if you do. If you don't drive a huge number of miles every year the fuel economy savings of a hybrid are probably fairly nominal, such that a regular gas car will probably get you to the same place expenditure wise. Probably the hybrid still makes more sense but Toyota's supply issues don't seem to extend to the gas powered lineup, just hybrids. I’ve gone back and forth on whether I really need a hybrid. Right now I work from home with no plans to change that, but it’s not impossible that I’ll have to commute at some point. A hybrid feels more future proof in that way. And since I don’t urgently need a car I can probably reserve one for whenever they’re available. Twerk from Home posted:Insurance stuff Details aside this is the kind of stuff I might not have immediately thought to compare, thanks.
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May 31, 2023 19:25
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Don’t buy a hybrid if you aren’t putting substantial miles on it
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May 31, 2023 19:28
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So I have a question about buying v leasing: My sister lives in NYC and gets around using public transport, does not currently have a car. She's doing her psych PhD and for her 1 year internship was assigned to a hospital on Long Island that she will have to drive to, and therefore will need a car. However she has no idea where she's going to end up after that year and would prefer to live car free in general. The car itself will most likely be a prius or comparable driving appliance. Would this be a good case for a 1 year lease or is it better to buy and then resell after a year?
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May 31, 2023 22:37
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:Don’t buy a hybrid if you aren’t putting substantial miles on it Because of the up-front cost premium, which seems pretty low these days? A Corolla Hybrid is $1k more than non-hybrid, id lean towards paying the $1000. Or because of hybrid system perceived unreliability? The Kia Sportage Hybrid is $1200 more to get, but you also get a much better 1.6T with he hybrid vs the non-hybrids mediocre 2.5, I'd lean towards getting the hybrid every time. Edit: I guess I'd also bet on 42 MPG city paying for itself over 25MPG even with moderate driving. Twerk from Home fucked around with this message at 22:45 on May 31, 2023 |
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May 31, 2023 22:42
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thekeeshman posted:So I have a question about buying v leasing: I don't have an answer for you but if it's Stony Brook I pray for her sanity because the commute is gonna be brutal. If it's LIJ then I think there's still buses that go there.
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May 31, 2023 22:53
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