car dealerships driving your car

[gus6464]

I just want to know what the dealer says about the joyride.

 

[slag]

UPDATE? Spider?

 

[exar333]

It's funny how clueless some people are about how aggressively they drive. They must think everyone drives around looking rear-end someone.

Don't move to Charlotte. A regular trip on any of the interstates around rush hour will exhibit 40-50mph to 0 stops on a regular basis, for no apparent reason. Stop slower, and you rear-end the car in front of you.

IMHO these monitors are dangerous. I don't want to drive and even have a thought about how my driving *might* be affected by an 'incident'. I want to drive and focus on DRIVING and not hitting another car. That's it.

Driving for enjoyment is another story, but commuting to work is simply getting there without getting in an accident. Often that means moving to avoid idiots on the road and so forth. This is from someone who has driven a lot of miles for almost 20 years with 0 accidents.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Don't move to Charlotte. A regular trip on any of the interstates around rush hour will exhibit 40-50mph to 0 stops on a regular basis, for no apparent reason. Stop slower, and you rear-end the car in front of you.

That's anecdotal and probably exaggerated. I've driven in Charlotte a few times during rush hour on work trips and never had this experience. People say the exact same thing all over the country in every big city. That doesn't mean it's true, though. I could make the exact same statement about DFW, which definitely has more traffic than Charlote, but it wouldn't be based on any facts.

IMHO these monitors are dangerous. I don't want to drive and even have a thought about how my driving *might* be affected by an 'incident'. I want to drive and focus on DRIVING and not hitting another car. That's it.

It's dangerous for people to drive without considering how to avoid an accident instead of simply being reactive, which is what you're espousing as a safer way to drive. I'm aware it's logging my activity and that makes me far less likely to do anything risky. I'm not going to mow over a kid to prevent a counter from advancing by one tick, but I will slow down in a crowded neighborhood a little more than I otherwise would have in case something happens - primarily to avoid hitting a kid, but also to maximize my discount. It's a win win. I also stay farther away from other cars now, which does seem to invite people to cut in, but then I create the same gap with that person. My average commute delta hasn't increased at all since I started driving that way and I'm definitely less stressed behind the wheel in rush hour traffic. I sometimes drive between 300 and 500 miles per week in my work car (the 1,200 miles I mentioned in this thread is only in my personal car) in DFW, so I hit more than my fair share of bumper to bumper traffic. I'd be interested to see the results in my work car now that I think about it.

Driving for enjoyment is another story, but commuting to work is simply getting there without getting in an accident. Often that means moving to avoid idiots on the road and so forth. This is from someone who has driven a lot of miles for almost 20 years with 0 accidents.

Your driving record - just like mine - is irrelevant because it's a sample size of 1. Some people go their whole lives without needing a seatbelt, but that does nothing to invalidate seatbelts. Similarly, never having been involved in an accident doesn't necessarily mean anything about your skills behind the wheel. What does matter, though, is looking at millions of cars stuck in traffic on a daily basis and categorizing behaviors based on objective, quantifiable measurements. You can argue until the cows come home, but data > anecdotal evidence every day of the week.

I'd hazard a guess that most people are worse drivers than they give themselves credit for. If you find yourself slamming on the brakes all the time, you might want to evaluate your habits and behaviors. I've certainly slowed down and become more aware of what I'm doing since using these types of devices. Not everything in the world is a boogeyman that's main purpose is to oppress you.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Pfft. Getting cut off? Try driving around red light cameras. Extra short yellows. You're presented with the choice of a hard stop or a ticket. If you live in an area with lots of 45-50mph roads and stop light you will have hard stop through no fault of your own and it has nothing to do with rush hour traffic. If you live in an area with light traffic, lowest speed limits and no automated enforcement I can see not tripping it often if you drive like you know its on there.

I live in one of the most prominent red light camera areas in the entire US and every speed limit is between 40 and 50. This is all manageable if you think about what you're doing instead of simply mashing on the gas and brake all the way from A to B.

If your yellow lights truly are shorter than they should be, that would be hard to defend, but I'm highly skeptical that the timers are dangerously short without any evidence.

 

[slag]

I drove through Dallas on my way to KC in May and never again. We're cruising along at 55-60 mph and suddenly everyone has spiked their brakes because a truck and trailer are somewhat pulled over on the shallow shoulder ahead to fix a flat tire. Of course, all of Dallas decides that May is a great time to perform road work on every friggin highway they have there. This happened 4 times on the drive out of Dallas to get to I-35. Two times for people pulled over on shallow shoulders, one time for a wreck, and one time just for backed up traffic. This was in the early afternoon on a Saturday also. If you left even the slightest gap ahead of you, someone would pull into it.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I'm aware it's logging my activity and that makes me far less likely to do anything risky.

That is so beyond fucked up that I'd much rather pay the extra insurance. What's next - wearing a helmet, verified somehow by Bluetooth device?

 

[MrDudeMan]

UPDATE? Spider?

Sorry. This has been a busier week than I anticipated. I stopped by this morning to have a conversation with the clipboard guy.

I shot the breeze with him to make sure he knew I wasn't upset or pissed off. When the conversation hit the natural lull, I asked if he remembered my request when I handed him the keys. He remembered and then asked if there was a problem. I told him about the hard braking event and he apologized, but I didn't make a big deal out of it or press the issue. I felt in the moment that asking him about it and proving it happened was enough to raise awareness of the issue, at least with him.

Then things got a little more interesting. I asked why the car was driven 10 miles over the course of approximately 20 minutes instead of into the garage like he said when he got in the car. He was adamant that the car never left the parking lot, which prompted me to show him the graph. After explaining how it was impossible for me to have driven those miles based on timestamps on the receipt and graph, he relented and simply said he wasn't aware of what happened with the car after he left it in the garage.

He beckoned to a manager to come to his station. I quickly brought him up to speed without a lot of fluff and then showed him the graph. Before he had a chance to really say anything, I asked (calmly) if it was standard procedure for a car to be driven in this manner before an oil change. He indicated that his service technicians are only supposed to drive the car off of the dealership lot with written permission from the owner of the car and a manager.

To answer Welshbloke's question, I asked about the insurance implications of not receiving permission from both of the aforementioned parties. He said if an accident occurred, the dealership would ultimately pay for the damage, but the technician would probably be fired. At this point, I made it clear again that I wasn't here to demand anything or cause a problem. I wanted to know why it happened and if it was normal, to which the answers were it shouldn't have and no, respectively.

The manager apologized to me and asked if I wanted a free oil change. I declined because I didn't want this to seem like a cheap way to get something for free. I was genuinely curious and that's it. I told him everything else was great and that I was really happy with the price, service (except for the obvious issue), and the unexpected car wash/vacuum treatment. He closed with a promise that he would make sure his technicians knew not to drive cars without following the proper procedure. It's hard to tell if that's actually going to happen and I would think they all had been told that information already, but it's better than saying nothing I suppose.

I'll go back until they give me a good reason to go somewhere else because the price is right and both of the guys with which I spoke were professional the entire time.

 

[MrDudeMan]

That is so beyond fucked up that I'd much rather pay the extra insurance. What's next - wearing a helmet, verified somehow by Bluetooth device?

That's a pretty strong reaction for seemingly no reason. What's your angle? Having a reminder to drive safely is beyond fucked up?

Also, your argument makes zero sense considering the device is optional. I would agree with you if it was mandatory, but it's not. If they offered another 30% discount to wear a helmet, I'd gladly do it as would many other people.

 

[Carson Dyle]

That's a pretty strong reaction for seemingly no reason. What's your angle? Having a reminder to drive safely is beyond fucked up?

No. It's more a matter of being a sheep. If you like being bent over at the behest of your insurance company, by all means, bend over, drop your pants and enjoy it.

Also, your argument makes zero sense considering the device is optional.

So you volunteer to be bent over. That's very commendable.

 

[MrDudeMan]

No. It's more a matter of being a sheep. If you like being bent over at the behest of your insurance company, by all means, bend over, drop your pants and enjoy it.

So you volunteer to be bent over. That's very commendable.

I'm sacrificing absolutely nothing by participating in an optional service that can be canceled at any time. If you feel more comfortable in a tin foil hat, that's great for you. I'll wear stick with my bluetooth helmet.

 

[WelshBloke]

No. It's more a matter of being a sheep. If you like being bent over at the behest of your insurance company, by all means, bend over, drop your pants and enjoy it.



So you volunteer to be bent over. That's very commendable.

How's he being a sheep?

He's taking advantage of a deal to save him money that had no downsides to him.

You think he should go along with your preferences rather than his to avoid being a sheep? That would be like owning 10000 spoons and no knife.

 

[Carson Dyle]

How's he being a sheep?

He's taking advantage of a deal to save him money that had no downsides to him.

You think he should go along with your preferences rather than his to avoid being a sheep? That would be like owning 10000 spoons and no knife.

No, that would be like volunteering to own no knife because someone else feels like it would be dangerous for you and you could get a free set of place mats for your cooperation.

 

[WelshBloke]

No, that would be like volunteering to own no knife because someone else feels like it would be dangerous for you and you could get a free set of place mats for your cooperation.

Or someone who doesn't own a knife being paid for carrying on not owning a knife but who is free to go and get a knife at any time?

Why not get paid for doing what you usually do?

Where did the "he's not doing what I want him to do therefore he's a sheep" thing come from, and more importantly how can you not see the logical fail in it?

 

[Squeetard]

Oh for god sake Carson. Get over it.

If my insurance company offered me a discount to record my driving habits I would jump all over it. Safe drivers pay less. Bad drivers pay more.

Edit: BTW Dudeman, you are too nice. I would have walked in there and shit on the showroom floor.

My Camaro forum had a post from a guy who left his phone in the door pocket on record and subsequently recorded the mechanics taking it on a 20 minute joyride. Endless smoking the tires and bouncing off the rev limiter can be heard as well as the mechanics woohooing and fuck this guying.
Dealership told the guy oops sorry, won't happen again. It went viral and the dealership got flooded from around the world. Facebook page got shit on etc. They ended up buying the guys car from him, hehe.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I certainly don't mean to imply that there aren't a huge number of sheep in today's society, so if you feel like being monitored by your insurance company you don't have to feel bad about it. I'd sooner be dead, personally, but you can do whatever you like.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

"Please enjoy this coupon for 15% off your next service. Have a nice day!"

The manager apologized to me and asked if I wanted a free oil change. .

Humpy called it. Wow. All that time and effort results in the typical canned response. I nominate for self-ownage.

 

[Squeetard]

I certainly don't mean to imply that there aren't a huge number of sheep in today's society, so if you feel like being monitored by your insurance company you don't have to feel bad about it. I'd sooner be dead, personally, but you can do whatever you like.

You'd sooner be dead than receive a discount for proving you are a safe driver? Who is the one getting bent over in this scenario again?

 

[ViviTheMage]

I kind of want this device just for when I take it to the dealer, now if only it would record GPS location, audio, and rev #'s.

Screw the insurance discount, it's probably some lame 5-10% which is like 5-10$ on my already cheap as hell insurance. Paying $105 a month for full coverage on 2 newer vehicles, two drivers. I too am in the boat of, I would rather have to not worry about my 4 max aggressive stops and use as many as I want.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Humpy called it. Wow. All that time and effort results in the typical canned response. I nominate for self-ownage.

I spent approximately 15 minutes at the dealership, which is on my way to work. I also basically agreed with Humpy. Self-ownage would require something backfiring that I didn't also agree with. Wow, indeed! You got me!

I kind of want this device just for when I take it to the dealer, now if only it would record GPS location, audio, and rev #'s.

You can do some of this type of stuff with bluetooth/wifi OBD2 devices. I got one on amazon for $20 that supports logging. You can use your phone for GPS and audio and an OBD2 device can query RPMs among other things.

Screw the insurance discount, it's probably some lame 5-10% which is like 5-10$ on my already cheap as hell insurance. Paying $105 a month for full coverage on 2 newer vehicles, two drivers. I too am in the boat of, I would rather have to not worry about my 4 max aggressive stops and use as many as I want.

It can be as high as 30%, which comes out to be $600/year in my situation. I have four cars on my insurance policy, two of which are 2012 or newer.

I mentioned the hard braking event because my record was otherwise clean (keep in mind that the point of this thread was more about the 10 miles than the hard braking event). However, I also stated it isn't hugely significant because you get an allowance. If you make a ton of hard stops and you also drive fast, that's more significant than simply making hard stops. After the pitch forks came out in this thread, I asked how much hard braking events matter and here was the answer:

Thank you for contacting SmartRide! The device registers a hard braking or fast acceleration when the vehicle speeds up or slows down more than 7.7 mph/s (miles per hour per second). It receives this information from the vehicle's computer and reports it to the website. These events are included in how we determine the amount of your discount, but we know that not all hard braking events are "bad". In fact, some may be unavoidable, which is why we look at your overall driving information to identify trends that can lead to accidents, not single incidences. We want to find driving trends that indicate tendencies that lead to accidents, so an occasional, random event will not impact your discount significantly. Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Translation from my insurance agent: if you stay at or below the allowance, you're considered low risk unless you get dinged for several other types of things (frequent speeding, frequent fast accelerations, etc.). It's really the overall picture of your driving behaviors as stated in the email response.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Oh for god sake Carson. Get over it.

If my insurance company offered me a discount to record my driving habits I would jump all over it. Safe drivers pay less. Bad drivers pay more.

Edit: BTW Dudeman, you are too nice. I would have walked in there and shit on the showroom floor.

My Camaro forum had a post from a guy who left his phone in the door pocket on record and subsequently recorded the mechanics taking it on a 20 minute joyride. Endless smoking the tires and bouncing off the rev limiter can be heard as well as the mechanics woohooing and fuck this guying.
Dealership told the guy oops sorry, won't happen again. It went viral and the dealership got flooded from around the world. Facebook page got shit on etc. They ended up buying the guys car from him, hehe.

lol. Is this the thread?

 

[PieIsAwesome]

I was waiting for the green arrow to come up on a left hand turn. There were about 3 cars in front of me. When it turned green the driver at the very front started forward and dragged ass to get moving. He was so slow that the light turned red before I got my chance.

@$%!$!!!!

Made me think of the OP.

 

[Midwayman]

If your yellow lights truly are shorter than they should be, that would be hard to defend, but I'm highly skeptical that the timers are dangerously short without any evidence.

Local
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-red-light-camera-yellow-light-1012-20141012-story.html#page=1

But google it. Red light cameras come hand in hand with shortened yellows. It increases revenues. That's what red light cameras are about after all.

 

[dguy6789]

I was waiting for the green arrow to come up on a left hand turn. There were about 3 cars in front of me. When it turned green the driver at the very front started forward and dragged ass to get moving. He was so slow that the light turned red before I got my chance.

@$%!$!!!!

Made me think of the OP.

XD

Every person who accelerates quickly when a light turns green is a hero

 

[MrDudeMan]

I was waiting for the green arrow to come up on a left hand turn. There were about 3 cars in front of me. When it turned green the driver at the very front started forward and dragged ass to get moving. He was so slow that the light turned red before I got my chance.

@$%!$!!!!

Made me think of the OP.

haha

Every person who accelerates quickly when a light turns green is a hero

Everyone in line has the opportunity to be awesome if they would simply accelerate in unison. I don't get hot and bothered if people go quickly, but it's nice when everyone in line understands that they don't need to wait until the car in front of them is 50 ft. away before they can go. /sigh