Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

28firefighter

driver100 said:

28firefighter said:

oldfarmer50 said:

28firefighter said:

stickguy said:

I should have moved to Seattle when I thought about it in the late 80s, when there were lots of good jobs popping up, but still cheap houses.

Definitely should have. Wife and I are house hunting right now for a bigger place in the suburbs (we live in Seattle proper right now) and the cost is astounding. That said, our current house has appreciated almost 40 percent in the 3.5 years we have owned it, so it isn't all bad...

I'd sell now and wait a few years for the bubble to burst. Look at the killing driver100 made in Florida. The condos in my BIL's development went from $80k in 2004 to $160k in 2008. By 2010 they were $60k and are now back up to $100k.

Timing is important when there's a tulip mania going on.

Most experts are saying this is not likely to change anytime soon.

Famous last words....and experts! Why are they consultants and experts and not multi-millionaires predicting the trends and buying up property when it was cheap.

As far as I am concerned the equity we have in our current home is monopoly money given the quick growth. Since we are here for the long-haul, we are going to liquidate the current home and use it to buy the house we want while keeping our monthly nut the same. That would put us into the school district we want, give us the space we want and the type of lot that we want.

If we had any intention of leaving Seattle, I would consider liquidating the house and renting (though renting here is astronomical as well), then leveraging that equity to buy wherever our future residence was located - potentially buying for cash.

28firefighter

I actually think Detroit would be an ideal place for Amazon to open up its second HQ. Tons of space to build and revitalize in a cost effective manner, a glut of available land and housing, and a robust (although aged) highway infrastructure. Not to mention, a major airport hub to connect them back to Seattle and the rest of the country.

stickguy

They also need millenials

qbrozen

Mr_Shiftright said:

I see that Amazon is shopping for a second home as well. Many bets are on Denver. What's ironic is that Amazon is also shopping for tax breaks and perks like free land---pretty nervy if you ask me.

2nd home? Don't they have MANY homes already? Or do their warehouses not count for some reason?

Michaell

28firefighter said:

I actually think Detroit would be an ideal place for Amazon to open up its second HQ. Tons of space to build and revitalize in a cost effective manner, a glut of available land and housing, and a robust (although aged) highway infrastructure. Not to mention, a major airport hub to connect them back to Seattle and the rest of the country.

I was thinking the same thing. Lots of folks - myself included - would like to see Detroit remake its image into something other than the center of the US automobile industry.

Every large and medium sized city in the US will be falling over themselves to provide Amazon with tax breaks and concessions to lure them to their fair town.

I've heard $5B for infrastructure and 50,000 permanent jobs bandied about.

There is a little company in Detroit that is trying to single-handedly restart a manufacturing renaissance - their website can be found here.

Mr_Shiftright

yeah, I wasn't kidding. Detroit would be an excellent choice---presuming of course that Amazon had any interest whatsoever in including "revitalization" as part of its corporate dream.

A Goliath like Amazon moving into your town could be good or it could impact you in negative ways. Corporations don't really have city or state or even national loyalties. If it doesn't work for them, you'll be abandoned. If it drives up your rents, or increases your traffic...well, too bad.

But Detroit! Once the Motor City, once the symbol of American "can-do"---now it only has isolated pockets of a promising future.

I've been reading where, in the suburbs of Detroit, bears.....as in REAL bears...are now taking up residence in abandoned buildings.

But gee, 50,000 Amazon jobs could change all that (sorry bears).

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

I see that Amazon is shopping for a second home as well. Many bets are on Denver. What's ironic is that Amazon is also shopping for tax breaks and perks like free land---pretty nervy if you ask me.

Our publicity-hound mayor here made a pronouncement that we are going all-in for the Amazon prize, despite the fact we meet few to none of the stated qualifications. You have to love politicians...

Mr_Shiftright

One of the qualifications was an excellent mass transit system---you would think that would eliminate most American cities right there except NY, Boston and Chicago. San Francisco's stinks, and Denver's is even worse.

stickguy

Philly can actually look good on the transit. Especially if the upgrades go toward that.

The other thing they need is a large tech savvy younger population to fill those jobs. Philly is doing ok there now too, and with so many universities, a robust pipeline.

berri

I'll take a few long shots. Pittsburgh - nice area with good tech market and tech schools or anywhere with Big 10 schools for same reasons. Boston stands out in tech, but it is expensive. Denver does have millennial appeal, but I think it may be too close to Seattle if Amazon really wants to diversify geographically. The whole thing will be interesting, especially from a managerial perspective down the road.

berri

Forgot the south - either Austin or Research Triangle (Raleigh Durham area) NC.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

One of the qualifications was an excellent mass transit system---you would think that would eliminate most American cities right there except NY, Boston and Chicago. San Francisco's stinks, and Denver's is even worse.

We're working on it - light rail is up and running is some parts of town, with plans to connect the rest of the Metro area in the next 5-10 years (budget allowing).

But, it will never be as comprehensive as NYC or Boston.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh yeah, hadn't thought of Philly. Certainly qualifies on most points. And I agree, to complete Amazons quest for world domination, they'd need an east coast locale.

stickguy

Raleigh has zippo mass transit though, outside of some buses. Especially around the RTC area.

28firefighter

I think Philadelphia or Pittsburgh are likely to be finalists, but Amazon does love revitalization so it would not shock me if Detroit or Cleveland or similar made it there as well.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Philly can actually look good on the transit. Especially if the upgrades go toward that.

The other thing they need is a large tech savvy younger population to fill those jobs. Philly is doing ok there now too, and with so many universities, a robust pipeline.

Was thinking the same thing. I believe it hits all their criteria, and, like Shifty said, being on each coast would be ideal for their positioning.

stickguy

Since I can walk to the commuter train into CC from my house, it should also be good for my property values!

ab348

As I mentioned over in the CCBA thread, I took the new ATS for its first road trip yesterday, off to the boonies to visit my buddy and his wife who relocated about 100 miles from here. I went along with a mutual friend. The details on the drive were in the other post, but the visit itself was somewhat bizarre.

I had been there about a year ago before they made the decision to relocate and the old house seemed a work in process but livable. Now, with the all the things from their much bigger home that they didn't sell or otherwise dispose of jammed into every nook and cranny, it looks like a hoarders home. The dining room is gone as are most of two bedrooms, now full of "stuff" and things like table saws. Apparently the basement is full as well though we didn't dare go into that dark damp space. Reno work on the house has slowed while the garage project and his tinkering with his latest old car takes precedence. The house never did appeal to us much, and it still needs a lot of work.

The garage is just over the top. 2100 sq ft on the ground level plus gables giving a loft level and an attic. Super-insulated, in-floor heat plus heat pumps, 7 roll-up doors, plans to install a work lift plus a car storage lift, big compressor with hard lines through the place, all the shop things like a blast cabinet and a parts washer, it just goes on and on. The loft is probably going to be far more livable than the house once he installs a bathroom. This week he is pulling the trigger on $35,000 worth of paving that wraps around all sides of the building.

This is the far (long) side of the L-shaped structure, 60 feet long.



This is what you see as you drive up. There is another similar garage door on the back wall in line with the one on the far right so you could drive through for whatever reason plus 3 others for bays you cannot see here in behind on that leg of the "L".



The building on the left is a decrepit garage that was there when they bought the place, now also full of stuff, but due to be knocked down once this is finished and things can be relocated.He also had the landscapers clear and prep a large level area up behind that he joked could become his scrapyard. None of this makes any sense given the location being quite isolated but it seems to make him happy and it's their money after all. It doesn't matter if our friend and I don't understand it (and we were left scratching our heads).

fintail

When income to mortgage relationship is something like what exists in Vancouver, I suspect the latter is a key player. Preach justice and freedom, but allow real estate markets to be used as hiding grounds and casinos for people who'd be in prison if the money was made here.

driver100 said:

Vancouver and Toronto are very different markets. No more space to build in those cities, and lots of foreign money!

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

As I mentioned over in the CCBA thread, I took the new ATS for its first road trip yesterday, off to the boonies to visit my buddy and his wife who relocated about 100 miles from here. I went along with a mutual friend. The details on the drive were in the other post, but the visit itself was somewhat bizarre.

I had been there about a year ago before they made the decision to relocate and the old house seemed a work in process but livable. Now, with the all the things from their much bigger home that they didn't sell or otherwise dispose of jammed into every nook and cranny, it looks like a hoarders home. The dining room is gone as are most of two bedrooms, now full of "stuff" and things like table saws. Apparently the basement is full as well though we didn't dare go into that dark damp space. Reno work on the house has slowed while the garage project and his tinkering with his latest old car takes precedence. The house never did appeal to us much, and it still needs a lot of work.

The garage is just over the top. 2100 sq ft on the ground level plus gables giving a loft level and an attic. Super-insulated, in-floor heat plus heat pumps, 7 roll-up doors, plans to install a work lift plus a car storage lift, big compressor with hard lines through the place, all the shop things like a blast cabinet and a parts washer, it just goes on and on. The loft is probably going to be far more livable than the house once he installs a bathroom. This week he is pulling the trigger on $35,000 worth of paving that wraps around all sides of the building.

This is the far (long) side of the L-shaped structure, 60 feet long.



This is what you see as you drive up. There is another similar garage door on the back wall in line with the one on the far right so you could drive through for whatever reason plus 3 others for bays you cannot see here in behind on that leg of the "L".



The building on the left is a decrepit garage that was there when they bought the place, now also full of stuff, but due to be knocked down once this is finished and things can be relocated.He also had the landscapers clear and prep a large level area up behind that he joked could become his scrapyard. None of this makes any sense given the location being quite isolated but it seems to make him happy and it's their money after all. It doesn't matter if our friend and I don't understand it (and we were left scratching our heads).

That place is bigger than my house. Nicer too.

Parts washer and blasting cabinet? Is he rebuilding engines and bodies?

Mr_Shiftright

Can I have your old garage?

fintail

As long as money (not all of it on the up and up) keeps flowing in, and the place is a magnet for young people (and still beloved by Californicators), indeed, things aren't going to change soon. The growth rate will likely slow, but there won't be a real crash, not even one like what bottomed out around 2010. Not a lot of land, traffic makes outlying areas undesirable, and everyone wants to live here.

28firefighter said:

Seattle experienced a similar housing bust in 2008 from the mortgage crisis. The difference now is that the housing market is supported by actual demand - there are too many people moving to the area looking for housing and not enough inventory. Most experts are saying this is not likely to change anytime soon.

suydam

We are hearing from various friends in different parts of Florida -- Miami, near Daytona Beach, West Palm, Clearwater. Most of them have no power. Widespread flooding of homes and basements. Trees down. It may not have been a Category 4 but the winds and heavy rain did a lot of damage.

pensfan83

I'm torn on whether Pittsburgh is a city trying to sell itself on what it portrays itself to be to the rest of the world and what it actually is to residents. The city's population, even with world class hospitals and an up and coming robotics/IT sector, is still shrinking even in the face of all those "Most Livable" accolades. Lack of available space in the city limits, mass transit nowhere near as good as it needs to be, and an airport with no direct flights to the Pacific Northwest. I also think a great deal of Pittsburghers think the city can sell itself on its current merits which isn't true, there's legitimate issues within city limits (schools, housing, infrastructure, basic needs) that need to be addressed before you can position yourself as a viable candidate. The labor pool is also not as robust as cities with a larger population though what labor pool is here is highly educated. That being said, housing is quite reasonable, education is top notch at all levels, and world class health care options abound.

All that being said it would be a boon for the city, its suburbs, and the state. I hope our mayor, who is quite comfortable in the spotlight, does what he can to stay competitive.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

That place is bigger than my house. Nicer too.

Parts washer and blasting cabinet? Is he rebuilding engines and bodies?

He's never rebuilt an engine, but has done transmissions and carbs along with suspension and brake work. Actually pretty much everything other than engine and body rebuilding. He is saying he now wants to learn how to weld so he can do metal repair on car bodies. Who the heck knows what's next.

The problem is that he's 63 and I can't see this energy and enthusiasm lasting very long. He seems almost obsessed with car restoration dreams right now. I dunno, maybe they are expecting a big inheritance from the wife's parents who are not well and unlikely to be around much longer.

He's always been a perfectionist and a bit obsessive on certain things. This is just the latest and biggest thing.

Mr_Shiftright

suydam said:

We are hearing from various friends in different parts of Florida -- Miami, near Daytona Beach, West Palm, Clearwater. Most of them have no power. Widespread flooding of homes and basements. Trees down. It may not have been a Category 4 but the winds and heavy rain did a lot of damage.

Yes there is a LOT of damage. BBC says 2/3rds of the state is without power! There will certainly be major disruption in peoples' lives for a few weeks. Not many reports from Key West but I don't think the news will be good.

Seems like infrastructure in the USA is not very well prepared to withstand a big blow.

fintail

There were people here who were without power for 10 days or so after the big storm in December 2006. Not a good time to be in the dark. The trees combined with so little infrastructure being underground doesn't help.

cdnpinhead

ab348 said:

Now, with the all the things from their much bigger home that they didn't sell or otherwise dispose of jammed into every nook and cranny, it looks like a hoarders home.

I feel their/your pain. I'm married to someone who can't get rid of anything, besides which she focuses on the least relevant thing to work on to "solve" the problem.

When in doubt, throw it out. Don't spend a year and a half trying to figure out who will give you 50 cents for it, THROW IT THE F*** OUT. That's my perfect world, but not the one I live in.

Hope these people can work it out.

stickguy

Sounds like my wife (not you, your better half). I want to purge, and don't worry about the 1% chance that some year in the future, you might find a use for some item. We want to move soon, and a massive clean out has to happen first. Will either be cathartic, or lead to divorce! I guess either way, junk problem gets resolved.

Also need kids to sign off that they actually want none of what she saved for them.

tjc78

oldfarmer50 said:

bwia said:

Cross posted from CCBA, but a punch to report.  

Nice interior tjc, is this another Buick? Since I don't hang out at CCBA I'm not sure whether the brand and model was discussed there. Congrats and enjoy the ride.

Thank you!  Yes 2017 Enclave.  Broke all the rules and bought pretty much the exact same car twice in a row.   Wife and I are lukewarm on the redesign coming and since the Enclave fits the bill for us in almost every respect we rolled right into another 3 year lease.  

Deal was strong 5 remaining payments waived and exact same monthly with true zero (not even first month) out of pocket. 

I'm wondering, how close were you to the mileage limits of your lease? Would you have made it 5 more months or did the dealer get an extra low mile car? In many ways leases are a mystery to me since the numbers can be fuzzy and the terms are often fluid.

I was slightly under but not by much (3000 miles or so). I would have made it full term with no problem. 

driver100

After two years if you haven't used it get rid of it.....even if you needed it you wouldn't remember you had it or where it was.

driver100

About Amazon building an office in Detroit. Perfect start to them getting into the car selling business. Order your new Cadillac on amazon.com, get it for the lowest price possible, it will be shipped within two days from their gigantic warehouse, Free Shipping if you have Amazon Prime. Amazon, will be selling cars and they will take over the world one day.

driver100

I am told we were without electricity for a few hours last night, but TECO has our electricity up and going. What wasn't going were a lot of stoplights........and that causes a problem. When people don't see a red light, they assume they can go through.

driver100

Dealers love leasing cars. They get back a low mileage used car every 3 years that they can make a nice profit on. It is like a built in renewal for them, and odds are they will get to sell another new car too.

cdnpinhead

driver100 said:

Dealers love leasing cars. They get back a low mileage used car every 3 years that they can make a nice profit on. It is like a built in renewal for them, and odds are they will get to sell another new car too.

Gee, maybe that's why they continue to do it.

cdnpinhead

stickguy said:

We want to move soon, and a massive clean out has to happen first.

Yup -- that's where we are as well. I've pretty much given up, but one never knows.

driver100

cdnpinhead said:

driver100 said:

Dealers love leasing cars. They get back a low mileage used car every 3 years that they can make a nice profit on. It is like a built in renewal for them, and odds are they will get to sell another new car too.

Gee, maybe that's why they continue to do it.

Nah, they do it to contribute to the betterment of mankind, and for the sake of the little ones!

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RxrfFxxEFe8

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

That place is bigger than my house. Nicer too.

Parts washer and blasting cabinet? Is he rebuilding engines and bodies?

He's never rebuilt an engine, but has done transmissions and carbs along with suspension and brake work. Actually pretty much everything other than engine and body rebuilding. He is saying he now wants to learn how to weld so he can do metal repair on car bodies. Who the heck knows what's next.

The problem is that he's 63 and I can't see this energy and enthusiasm lasting very long. He seems almost obsessed with car restoration dreams right now. I dunno, maybe they are expecting a big inheritance from the wife's parents who are not well and unlikely to be around much longer.

He's always been a perfectionist and a bit obsessive on certain things. This is just the latest and biggest thing.

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

That place is bigger than my house. Nicer too.

Parts washer and blasting cabinet? Is he rebuilding engines and bodies?

He's never rebuilt an engine, but has done transmissions and carbs along with suspension and brake work. Actually pretty much everything other than engine and body rebuilding. He is saying he now wants to learn how to weld so he can do metal repair on car bodies. Who the heck knows what's next.

The problem is that he's 63 and I can't see this energy and enthusiasm lasting very long. He seems almost obsessed with car restoration dreams right now. I dunno, maybe they are expecting a big inheritance from the wife's parents who are not well and unlikely to be around much longer.

He's always been a perfectionist and a bit obsessive on certain things. This is just the latest and biggest thing.

IDK, I always had the dream of a shop like that and learning engine and tranny rebuilding. Body work too, and I'm older than him.

A mechanic at my old job has his own two bay professional garage with lift and everything. Too bad he has a wife who draws the line on buying $2000 machines to diagnose $200 problems. He does have a professional lift. He probably could rebuild an engine.

suydam

fintail said:

There were people here who were without power for 10 days or so after the big storm in December 2006. Not a good time to be in the dark. The trees combined with so little infrastructure being underground doesn't help.

I lived through that storm. Temperatures were well below freezing. We were without power for 5 days. I found one of the last hotel rooms in our little area for my elderly father and I stayed with him. A friend took our dogs. Spouse and 2 kids slept in a campus lobby that had power. It was crazy. But not nearly as many people affected as this Florida storm.

sda

abacomike said:

We lost electricity at 10:15 PM last night.  Still no power and no timeframe as to when it will come back on.  Very dark in the house because the hurricane shutters are in place so I am using a candle right now.  At least I have access to data from T-Mobile, but battery power is getting low on my iPhone.  I will have to venture outdoors to get into my car so I can charge the phone.

My brother and his SO have no access to data from Verizon and MetroPC for their phones.

No flooding here and, as far as I can tell, no damage to the house or roof.  I will try to return to South Florida tomorrow or early Wednesday.  I have a full tank of gas but with the horrendous traffic I am expecting from those returning south, I hope it will be enough.

Glad you are safe and damage minimal. I realize your post was from this morning. Does your app show that power is up at your condo?

sda

I like the white Intrigue parked in front of the garage. It was an unappreciated car that was really very nice.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=04yFL9vFd4w

ab348

sda said:

I like the white Intrigue parked in front of the garage. It was an unappreciated car that was really very nice.

I bought my 2002 Intrigue in the summer of 2003 as a GM Certified used car, around 12000 miles on it, for $16K Cdn. Good car, I quite liked it. A few days after I got it I remember taking my buddy and the friend who was with me yesterday out for a drive in it. We pulled into the GM dealer where I've gotten my last few cars (not the one where I got the Intrigue) and that white one was front and center on their podium. It was a 2002 demo, a loaded top of the line model they had for a while and they wanted $35K for it. He haunted them for a few months until they finally gave him a deal on it, not sure of the exact price but probably high 20s. It now has a little over 100K miles on it. They used it as a winter car the last few years while the Regal GS he drives in the summer is put away in winter. They have pretty much disappeared around here now, uncommon to still see one.

oldfarmer50

sda said:

I like the white Intrigue parked in front of the garage. It was an unappreciated car that was really very nice.

Did the 3.5L Shortstar in that car have the same problems as the Northstar v8?

houdini1

cdnpinhead said:

stickguy said:

We want to move soon, and a massive clean out has to happen first.

Yup -- that's where we are as well. I've pretty much given up, but one never knows.

We went thru that about 10 years ago. Gave away tons of stuff. Wife and I feel the same about getting rid of what we don't need. Now 10 years later, we need to do it all over again !!

stickguy

random thoughts (too lazy to go back and quote it all!).

moving at least forces you to touch all the stuff stashed around. If that happens, we will sell some and donate some. With a bit finally trashed. And if nothing else, the rest gets compacted down, boxed and labelled, making it easier to deal with later!

I am way under miles on mine. I could extend the maximum of 6 months if I wanted to, and still not be close. But at least, won't have to buy new tires! And yeah, dealers like the built in returning customers. Plus, lots of people could never come up with the money to buy new, so leasing is the only way to clear the lots out.

explorerx4

I remember going to a local farm to buy some Horseradish for my FIL from Farmer Griswold.
Couldn't find him for a while until we went into the barn.
He was underneath a John Deere tractor wrenching on something.
He was 93 years old at the time.

abacomike

sda said:

We lost electricity at 10:15 PM last night.  Still no power and no timeframe as to when it will come back on.  Very dark in the house because the hurricane shutters are in place so I am using a candle right now.  At least I have access to data from T-Mobile, but battery power is getting low on my iPhone.  I will have to venture outdoors to get into my car so I can charge the phone.

My brother and his SO have no access to data from Verizon and MetroPC for their phones.

No flooding here and, as far as I can tell, no damage to the house or roof.  I will try to return to South Florida tomorrow or early Wednesday.  I have a full tank of gas but with the horrendous traffic I am expecting from those returning south, I hope it will be enough.

Glad you are safe and damage minimal. I realize your post was from this morning. Does your app show that power is up at your condo?

I just arrived home.  6-1/2 hour drive - I must have passed 500+ bucket trucks and the same number of tree

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

I remember going to a local farm to buy some Horseradish for my FIL from Farmer Griswold.
Couldn't find him for a while until we went into the barn.
He was underneath a John Deere tractor wrenching on something.
He was 93 years old at the time.

If he was doing it with permission I say more power to him. If not I'd say senility.