Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

dino001

fintail said:

There was one in the series 'Breaking Bad', but it wasn't an idolized part of the plot.

Eventually, we will hit nostalgia for the turn of the century, just as 90s nostalgia is a thing now. Some 90s cars have definitely appreciated. Kind of a bleak time for interesting cars around 2001, which might help the Aztek at least stay solid, too.

oldfarmer50 said:

You'd have to be lucky too. If an Aztek appeared in a Mike Myers movie like the AMC Pacer or the Eclipse in Fast & Furious it might bump the value.

I mentioned that that Walter White owned Aztek. He was a smart guy, but sad one, especially before the terminal diagnosis - deadend job, no prospects. Aztek was use just to manifest the sadness of his life, I think

suydam

imidazol97 said:

abacomike said:

I figured I would stay in bed tomorrow to rest up but realized I had my new cleaning lady coming which means I have to "clean up" the condo enough so she didn't think I was a total pig -

There's an oxymoron in having to clean up before the cleaning lady comes to clean up. To heck with what the cleaning person thinks. They're being paid to clean.

Yes but you have to straighten things up in order for them to clean. It actually helps in having a neater house the rest of the time.

imidazol97

Just had a strange phone call flash on my phone's screen. It doesn't ring because the scammers can't get past the Sentry. But the phone screen said, "Illegal scam." The phone number traced to Wadsworth, Ohio.

thebean

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

What kind of rewards card is that and what are the usual rewards if you don't take this special deal? Never heard of such a thing before.

This is a fairly new (two years or so) Bank of America Preferred Rewards program for their checking customers. They have three tiers, 25K, 50K and 100K in qualifying assets (e.g. CDs, brokerage, including IRAs, etc.). Those tiers produce several type of benefits, one of them is the bonus on their cashback or travel reward Visa credit cards (25%, 50%, 75%, respectively) on top of those cards own bonuses (e.g. 2% supermarket, 3% gas up to $2500/quarter for the cash back card). There are other benefits, interest rate rebate on car loan, reduction in mortgage origination fees, no-fee ATM transactions, etc. What's more, it's bundled with generous Merrill Lynch free stock/etf brokerage transactions (more generours than I'd ever need). Essentially, my investments feed into the rewards and the rewards feed into lowering my investment costs. I don't want to sound like an advertisment, but it's quite good, if you have some savings or investments.

https://info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

Assuming the return on you investments with them are at least equal to what you could get with a low fee place like Vanguard. A net percent or two less on your investments could cancel out all your rewards.

To paraphrase Jethro Bodine I'd have to do some cipherin' before I'd commit.

You don't have to buy anything from "them". This is not "wealth management" account, just plain self directed brokerage accounts, taxable, or IRA, or Roth IRA. Same as Fidelity, Scottrade, TD Waterhouse, or others. The only difference - 100 stock/etf transactions per month are free (I need less than that per year). Can't speak about other transactions (mutual funds, or bonds) in terms of being free or with fee, as I don't own those. And yes, you can buy Vanguard mutual funds, if you wish.

I speak to nobody, nobody pushes any products on me, I have no "investment advisor", aka salesman. I simply have had a BoA (or their legal predecessors) account since 1998, then some time later, around 2005, I opened BoA brokerage accounts, both IRA and taxable. Then they merged with Merrill Lynch, so the brokerage was converted under new name. Then in 2015 or so, they announced this rewards program in their mailing. I already had their "premium account", as I had enough money stored on those brokerage accounts to qualify for zero maintenance fees, all I needed was a click on a website and I was enrolled. On occasion I may get an envelope inviting me to speak to an advisor, but I just ignore it. When I applied for a car loan, the guy hooked me up with one, who of course wanted me to move more money from my other account (Fidelity) in (with a bonus), but the bonus was too small, so I stayed pat. The conversation ended. Again - no product push whatsoever.

If I get poor returns, it's only because I chose wrong stocks, not because I bought something they sold me.

I would wager a hamburger and a pop that their expense ratio %'s on mutual funds are higher than Vanguard. That's where places like that get you - in the expenses which you never see standalone because they are embedded in the NAV of the mutual funds. Of course, if you only have individual stocks, this doesn't come into play if you have free trades.

dino001

thebean said:

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

What kind of rewards card is that and what are the usual rewards if you don't take this special deal? Never heard of such a thing before.

This is a fairly new (two years or so) Bank of America Preferred Rewards program for their checking customers. They have three tiers, 25K, 50K and 100K in qualifying assets (e.g. CDs, brokerage, including IRAs, etc.). Those tiers produce several type of benefits, one of them is the bonus on their cashback or travel reward Visa credit cards (25%, 50%, 75%, respectively) on top of those cards own bonuses (e.g. 2% supermarket, 3% gas up to $2500/quarter for the cash back card). There are other benefits, interest rate rebate on car loan, reduction in mortgage origination fees, no-fee ATM transactions, etc. What's more, it's bundled with generous Merrill Lynch free stock/etf brokerage transactions (more generours than I'd ever need). Essentially, my investments feed into the rewards and the rewards feed into lowering my investment costs. I don't want to sound like an advertisment, but it's quite good, if you have some savings or investments.

https://info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

Assuming the return on you investments with them are at least equal to what you could get with a low fee place like Vanguard. A net percent or two less on your investments could cancel out all your rewards.

To paraphrase Jethro Bodine I'd have to do some cipherin' before I'd commit.

You don't have to buy anything from "them". This is not "wealth management" account, just plain self directed brokerage accounts, taxable, or IRA, or Roth IRA. Same as Fidelity, Scottrade, TD Waterhouse, or others. The only difference - 100 stock/etf transactions per month are free (I need less than that per year). Can't speak about other transactions (mutual funds, or bonds) in terms of being free or with fee, as I don't own those. And yes, you can buy Vanguard mutual funds, if you wish.

I speak to nobody, nobody pushes any products on me, I have no "investment advisor", aka salesman. I simply have had a BoA (or their legal predecessors) account since 1998, then some time later, around 2005, I opened BoA brokerage accounts, both IRA and taxable. Then they merged with Merrill Lynch, so the brokerage was converted under new name. Then in 2015 or so, they announced this rewards program in their mailing. I already had their "premium account", as I had enough money stored on those brokerage accounts to qualify for zero maintenance fees, all I needed was a click on a website and I was enrolled. On occasion I may get an envelope inviting me to speak to an advisor, but I just ignore it. When I applied for a car loan, the guy hooked me up with one, who of course wanted me to move more money from my other account (Fidelity) in (with a bonus), but the bonus was too small, so I stayed pat. The conversation ended. Again - no product push whatsoever.

If I get poor returns, it's only because I chose wrong stocks, not because I bought something they sold me.

I would wager a hamburger and a pop that their expense ratio %'s on mutual funds are higher than Vanguard. That's where places like that get you - in the expenses which you never see standalone because they are embedded in the NAV of the mutual funds. Of course, if you only have individual stocks, this doesn't come into play if you have free trades.

I own stocks on my accounts, only stocks, plain and simple. I buy and sell them (not very often) for $0 (ZERO) trading fee. They don't charge me quarterly maintenance fee, either. I keep low cash in my checking account, just to cover the every day expenses. I keep other cash on external (other institution) savings account, cause their interest rate is a joke, but I have enough value of stocks, to cover the tier. So no, they don't "get me". They could "get me", if I owned their marked up funds, but I DON'T.

There is no catch. All you need to have is 25, 50, or 100 thousand dollars on accounts in any type of asset class to qualify for a given tier. It can be stocks, it can be bonds, ETFs, outside mutual funds, or their funds. All they get if those assets being held on their account, not Fidelity and opportunity to pitch me their advisory service (when they may try to stir me into their funds), which I can ignore (and I do). I don't even go to meet the guy. And I still get the cash back bonus, like a clockwork. Oh yeah, once a quarter some guy from their New York Merrill Lynch writes me an email to ask if there is anything on my mind regarding the account. Hardly an annoyance or trouble.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

Here's a couple pictures of the group of cars participating (not the complete group).

So it's not just Jeeps that have that club feeling going on. I've had a few Mustang owners wave at me but in the Corvette I mainly got stupid kids in C6s who didn't realize they were trying to race a 25 year older C4 with half the horsepower. Kind of like trying to prove their manhood by starting a fight with an old man.

Kinda reminds me of the young (lately, everyone seems to fall into this category to me  ) guy driving a mildly loud pickup truck a couple months ago that wanted to race my Genny. As I said, when I told this story right after it happened, I waved him off but he misread my wave-off and thought it was a go so he jumped to about a 2 truck lead at a light before I acted childishly and stomped on the peddle. At the next light, after being embarrassed, he wanted to know, "what do you have in that thing". My reply was, "more than what you have in that thing".   

I guess the guy didn't realize he was picking a fight with my car instead of me. I'm sure he could have dragged my [non-permissible content removed] all up and down that road if we were out of our vehicles but we weren't.

Oh well, he was young but he might have learned something that day.

jmonroe

dino001

imidazol97 said:

Just had a strange phone call flash on my phone's screen. It doesn't ring because the scammers can't get past the Sentry. But the phone screen said, "Illegal scam." The phone number traced to Wadsworth, Ohio.

I used to get some of those, but Nomorobo seems to have fixed it. It might have sent some legitimate calls to the voice mail, though.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

nyccarguy said:

My brother in law has a TJ that he "uses" as designed to:

Same here...

Better wash the frame where it bends up over rear axle if you're driving in winter. Half the overpriced Wranglers for sale around here list "needs a spot on the frame welded because of rust" as a badge of honor.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Today, Thursday, October 5th, 2017, is the day I made my biggest mistake in many, many years - I GOT OUT OF BED!

All I wanted to accomplish today was to go to Loews, buy a new toilet seat for my guest bathroom (the one I always use), install it, and then dream about the many, many years I will have to enjoy sitting on my new throne! Well, that certainly, definitely, most positively did not happen!

Everything was fine this morning - I got out of bed, made a pot of coffee, showered, shaved and got into my car and drove over to Loews. I picked a white, wooden toiled seat, and then went over to the cashier. She told me to put my credit card into the slot and wait. I did what she told me, but nothing happened. She asked me to put the card into the slot again, which I did. The terminal seemed to go into some sort of cyber-fit and for some reason, it would not process my credit card. So the cashier backed out the invoice and I went through this process once again. This time, it worked. I had my phone in my hand and it showed that my AMEX card was charged twice for the toilet seat. The cashier was unable to solve the problem, so off to customer service I went with the cashier. They were unable to issue a credit because their terminal did not show the extra charge. So, after waiting for the manager, they decided to give me back cash for the amount that was double-charged. Thus, I was at Loews for 65 minutes to buy one little old toilet seat.

It's been raining heavily all day with flooding so driving home was a difficult task. I opened the box, followed the instructions, and low and behold, when I tried to pick up the seat, both clips broke off. Back into the box, back into the car, back over to Loews. After waiting for 20 minutes at the customer service booth, they issued me a credit. I went back over to plumbing and picked out a different toilet seat - more metal than plastic, but still make out of wood and enamel. I paid for my new toilet seat with my credit card and drove home again. I got into my condo, opened the box and made sure all the pieces were there. NOPE! I was missing a nut and a bolt. I put the toilet seat back into the box, went down to my car, drove back to Loews, and the manager saw me come into the store with the box. He looked inside and said rather than issue another credit, he told me to just pick up another toilet seat and come back to him. I went back to plumbing, but no more toilet sets in stock like the one I was returning. Back to the manager - he issues me another credit (third credit to my AMEX for the same reason) and tells me to just pick out another toilet seat, come back to him and he would not charge me for all the inconveniences of 3 round trips to Loews. I picked out another toilet seat and got back into my car and drove home. I had no more energy left in my body to try to install yet another toilet seat. Since I had already taken off the old seat, I figured I would use the master bedroom toilet for anything requiring the throne.

I called the handyman service we have here at my condo complex and they charge $12.00 per half hour for light handyman services. They said they would send over a worker this afternoon to install my toilet seat.

I figured I would stay in bed tomorrow to rest up but realized I had my new cleaning lady coming which means I have to "clean up" the condo enough so she didn't think I was a total pig - which requires cleaning the mirrors in the bathrooms, cleaning up the sink in my bathroom and the vanity top, dusting off my dresser in my bedroom, straightening up the linens enough so when she takes them off to put on the new linens she will think I am immaculate. I also have to spot clean the kitchen table, countertops, etc.

The handyman came and put the toilet seat on the toilet in less than 2 minutes. I gave him he $12.00 and he left. After thinking about my trials and tribulations today, I have decided that I will chalk up the day as a painful learning experience. For some reason, nothing comes easy in my life - but these experiences make the day go by faster.

At least you're not bored. Just think of all the healthful exersize you got running around and how much fun it was punching the accelerator in anger as you raced back to the store.

You could have had to make those trips in a Prius.

oldfarmer50

thebean said:

abacomike said:

Today, Thursday, October 5th, 2017, is the day I made my biggest mistake in many, many years - I GOT OUT OF BED!

All I wanted to accomplish today was to go to Loews, buy a new toilet seat for my guest bathroom (the one I always use), install it, and then dream about the many, many years I will have to enjoy sitting on my new throne! Well, that certainly, definitely, most positively did not happen!

Everything was fine this morning - I got out of bed, made a pot of coffee, showered, shaved and got into my car and drove over to Loews. I picked a white, wooden toiled seat, and then went over to the cashier. She told me to put my credit card into the slot and wait. I did what she told me, but nothing happened. She asked me to put the card into the slot again, which I did. The terminal seemed to go into some sort of cyber-fit and for some reason, it would not process my credit card. So the cashier backed out the invoice and I went through this process once again. This time, it worked. I had my phone in my hand and it showed that my AMEX card was charged twice for the toilet seat. The cashier was unable to solve the problem, so off to customer service I went with the cashier. They were unable to issue a credit because their terminal did not show the extra charge. So, after waiting for the manager, they decided to give me back cash for the amount that was double-charged. Thus, I was at Loews for 65 minutes to buy one little old toilet seat.

It's been raining heavily all day with flooding so driving home was a difficult task. I opened the box, followed the instructions, and low and behold, when I tried to pick up the seat, both clips broke off. Back into the box, back into the car, back over to Loews. After waiting for 20 minutes at the customer service booth, they issued me a credit. I went back over to plumbing and picked out a different toilet seat - more metal than plastic, but still make out of wood and enamel. I paid for my new toilet seat with my credit card and drove home again. I got into my condo, opened the box and made sure all the pieces were there. NOPE! I was missing a nut and a bolt. I put the toilet seat back into the box, went down to my car, drove back to Loews, and the manager saw me come into the store with the box. He looked inside and said rather than issue another credit, he told me to just pick up another toilet seat and come back to him. I went back to plumbing, but no more toilet sets in stock like the one I was returning. Back to the manager - he issues me another credit (third credit to my AMEX for the same reason) and tells me to just pick out another toilet seat, come back to him and he would not charge me for all the inconveniences of 3 round trips to Loews. I picked out another toilet seat and got back into my car and drove home. I had no more energy left in my body to try to install yet another toilet seat. Since I had already taken off the old seat, I figured I would use the master bedroom toilet for anything requiring the throne.

I called the handyman service we have here at my condo complex and they charge $12.00 per half hour for light handyman services. They said they would send over a worker this afternoon to install my toilet seat.

I figured I would stay in bed tomorrow to rest up but realized I had my new cleaning lady coming which means I have to "clean up" the condo enough so she didn't think I was a total pig - which requires cleaning the mirrors in the bathrooms, cleaning up the sink in my bathroom and the vanity top, dusting off my dresser in my bedroom, straightening up the linens enough so when she takes them off to put on the new linens she will think I am immaculate. I also have to spot clean the kitchen table, countertops, etc.

The handyman came and put the toilet seat on the toilet in less than 2 minutes. I gave him he $12.00 and he left. After thinking about my trials and tribulations today, I have decided that I will chalk up the day as a painful learning experience. For some reason, nothing comes easy in my life - but these experiences make the day go by faster.

I think the first problem is that you went to "Loews" (theaters) rather than going to "Lowe's" (home improvement). I've found that the toilet seats at most theaters leave much to be desired.

Oh that's funny! The thought of Mike ripping toilet seats out of the men's room as the manager stands by is hilarious.

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

I have to comment on this picture because this youngster is having the time of his life!

jmonroe

thebean said:

abacomike said:

Today, Thursday, October 5th, 2017, is the day I made my biggest mistake in many, many years - I GOT OUT OF BED!

All I wanted to accomplish today was to go to Loews, buy a new toilet seat for my guest bathroom (the one I always use), install it, and then dream about the many, many years I will have to enjoy sitting on my new throne! Well, that certainly, definitely, most positively did not happen!

Everything was fine this morning - I got out of bed, made a pot of coffee, showered, shaved and got into my car and drove over to Loews. I picked a white, wooden toiled seat, and then went over to the cashier. She told me to put my credit card into the slot and wait. I did what she told me, but nothing happened. She asked me to put the card into the slot again, which I did. The terminal seemed to go into some sort of cyber-fit and for some reason, it would not process my credit card. So the cashier backed out the invoice and I went through this process once again. This time, it worked. I had my phone in my hand and it showed that my AMEX card was charged twice for the toilet seat. The cashier was unable to solve the problem, so off to customer service I went with the cashier. They were unable to issue a credit because their terminal did not show the extra charge. So, after waiting for the manager, they decided to give me back cash for the amount that was double-charged. Thus, I was at Loews for 65 minutes to buy one little old toilet seat.

It's been raining heavily all day with flooding so driving home was a difficult task. I opened the box, followed the instructions, and low and behold, when I tried to pick up the seat, both clips broke off. Back into the box, back into the car, back over to Loews. After waiting for 20 minutes at the customer service booth, they issued me a credit. I went back over to plumbing and picked out a different toilet seat - more metal than plastic, but still make out of wood and enamel. I paid for my new toilet seat with my credit card and drove home again. I got into my condo, opened the box and made sure all the pieces were there. NOPE! I was missing a nut and a bolt. I put the toilet seat back into the box, went down to my car, drove back to Loews, and the manager saw me come into the store with the box. He looked inside and said rather than issue another credit, he told me to just pick up another toilet seat and come back to him. I went back to plumbing, but no more toilet sets in stock like the one I was returning. Back to the manager - he issues me another credit (third credit to my AMEX for the same reason) and tells me to just pick out another toilet seat, come back to him and he would not charge me for all the inconveniences of 3 round trips to Loews. I picked out another toilet seat and got back into my car and drove home. I had no more energy left in my body to try to install yet another toilet seat. Since I had already taken off the old seat, I figured I would use the master bedroom toilet for anything requiring the throne.

I called the handyman service we have here at my condo complex and they charge $12.00 per half hour for light handyman services. They said they would send over a worker this afternoon to install my toilet seat.

I figured I would stay in bed tomorrow to rest up but realized I had my new cleaning lady coming which means I have to "clean up" the condo enough so she didn't think I was a total pig - which requires cleaning the mirrors in the bathrooms, cleaning up the sink in my bathroom and the vanity top, dusting off my dresser in my bedroom, straightening up the linens enough so when she takes them off to put on the new linens she will think I am immaculate. I also have to spot clean the kitchen table, countertops, etc.

The handyman came and put the toilet seat on the toilet in less than 2 minutes. I gave him he $12.00 and he left. After thinking about my trials and tribulations today, I have decided that I will chalk up the day as a painful learning experience. For some reason, nothing comes easy in my life - but these experiences make the day go by faster.

I think the first problem is that you went to "Loews" (theaters) rather than going to "Lowe's" (home improvement). I've found that the toilet seats at most theaters leave much to be desired.

I try not to use the sit downs when I'm out of the house. But, it takes control; you might say mind over matter which has never been a problem for me.

Maybe @abacomike could confiscate one of those the next time he's at the theater version store. It would surely save back and forth trips to the home improvement version. After all, you're not supposed to live on that thing anyway but it's nice to know they will last.

Me, I'd go with a little less comfort for a lot more durability.

jmonroe

imidazol97

oldfarmer50 said:

Oh that's funny! The thought of Mike ripping toilet seats out of the men's room as the manager stands by is hilarious.

I wish I had Mikes $12 / half handyman. I need to recess the electric range receptacle into the wall so the double over range can go back flush into its spot. And replace the 40 A. breaker while I'm at it. Not looking forward to crawling into narrow opening to saw into drywall after trimming heavy gauge wires to allow the huge socket to be recessed with the new range.

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zgIxrVQEK7Q

tbirdmarco

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=305s&v=5fKCAKTHJ_M

nyccarguy

imidazol97 said:

I have to comment on this picture because this youngster is having the time of his life!

Thanks!  That's my nephew!  I just caught him at the "right" moment.  They were leaving my house in this pic!

driver100

<="jmonroe">

Me, I'd go with a little less comfort for a lot more durability.

jmonroe

In your choice of toilet seats and cars

driver100

Marcothecarguy1986 said:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zgIxrVQEK7Q

I like the part about the Toyota Century at about the 3 minute 25 second mark. It was supposed to be like a Rolls Royce luxury car. Only the third change since 1967, and changes are minor. Supposed to be coming to America....cost $120,000. Has a hybrid V8. Very classic looking!

ab348

It reminds me of a 1969 Buick.

stickguy

looks like the old Toyota home market formal car, the Crown (late 70's version)

fintail

I like the Century, it's such an anachronism. A V12 was introduced in the 90s, that could be interesting. Those will soon be importable under the idiotic 25 year rule (already able to get into Canadia).

The US and Canada actually got the Crown for a short run around 1970. Here's a NA-spec version:

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

imidazol97 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I have to comment on this picture because this youngster is having the time of his life!

Thanks!  That's my nephew!  I just caught him at the "right" moment.  They were leaving my house in this pic!

Jeep should use that picture in their advertising.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

It reminds me of a 1969 Buick.

Nah, 2005 Caddy DeVille.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

ab348 said:

It reminds me of a 1969 Buick.

Nah, 2005 Caddy DeVille.

Nah, 1974 Volvo.

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

thebean said:

dino001 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

What kind of rewards card is that and what are the usual rewards if you don't take this special deal? Never heard of such a thing before.

This is a fairly new (two years or so) Bank of America Preferred Rewards program for their checking customers. They have three tiers, 25K, 50K and 100K in qualifying assets (e.g. CDs, brokerage, including IRAs, etc.). Those tiers produce several type of benefits, one of them is the bonus on their cashback or travel reward Visa credit cards (25%, 50%, 75%, respectively) on top of those cards own bonuses (e.g. 2% supermarket, 3% gas up to $2500/quarter for the cash back card). There are other benefits, interest rate rebate on car loan, reduction in mortgage origination fees, no-fee ATM transactions, etc. What's more, it's bundled with generous Merrill Lynch free stock/etf brokerage transactions (more generours than I'd ever need). Essentially, my investments feed into the rewards and the rewards feed into lowering my investment costs. I don't want to sound like an advertisment, but it's quite good, if you have some savings or investments.

https://info.bankofamerica.com/preferred-rewards/

Assuming the return on you investments with them are at least equal to what you could get with a low fee place like Vanguard. A net percent or two less on your investments could cancel out all your rewards.

To paraphrase Jethro Bodine I'd have to do some cipherin' before I'd commit.

You don't have to buy anything from "them". This is not "wealth management" account, just plain self directed brokerage accounts, taxable, or IRA, or Roth IRA. Same as Fidelity, Scottrade, TD Waterhouse, or others. The only difference - 100 stock/etf transactions per month are free (I need less than that per year). Can't speak about other transactions (mutual funds, or bonds) in terms of being free or with fee, as I don't own those. And yes, you can buy Vanguard mutual funds, if you wish.

I speak to nobody, nobody pushes any products on me, I have no "investment advisor", aka salesman. I simply have had a BoA (or their legal predecessors) account since 1998, then some time later, around 2005, I opened BoA brokerage accounts, both IRA and taxable. Then they merged with Merrill Lynch, so the brokerage was converted under new name. Then in 2015 or so, they announced this rewards program in their mailing. I already had their "premium account", as I had enough money stored on those brokerage accounts to qualify for zero maintenance fees, all I needed was a click on a website and I was enrolled. On occasion I may get an envelope inviting me to speak to an advisor, but I just ignore it. When I applied for a car loan, the guy hooked me up with one, who of course wanted me to move more money from my other account (Fidelity) in (with a bonus), but the bonus was too small, so I stayed pat. The conversation ended. Again - no product push whatsoever.

If I get poor returns, it's only because I chose wrong stocks, not because I bought something they sold me.

I would wager a hamburger and a pop that their expense ratio %'s on mutual funds are higher than Vanguard. That's where places like that get you - in the expenses which you never see standalone because they are embedded in the NAV of the mutual funds. Of course, if you only have individual stocks, this doesn't come into play if you have free trades.

I own stocks on my accounts, only stocks, plain and simple. I buy and sell them (not very often) for $0 (ZERO) trading fee. They don't charge me quarterly maintenance fee, either. I keep low cash in my checking account, just to cover the every day expenses. I keep other cash on external (other institution) savings account, cause their interest rate is a joke, but I have enough value of stocks, to cover the tier. So no, they don't "get me". They could "get me", if I owned their marked up funds, but I DON'T.

There is no catch. All you need to have is 25, 50, or 100 thousand dollars on accounts in any type of asset class to qualify for a given tier. It can be stocks, it can be bonds, ETFs, outside mutual funds, or their funds. All they get if those assets being held on their account, not Fidelity and opportunity to pitch me their advisory service (when they may try to stir me into their funds), which I can ignore (and I do). I don't even go to meet the guy. And I still get the cash back bonus, like a clockwork. Oh yeah, once a quarter some guy from their New York Merrill Lynch writes me an email to ask if there is anything on my mind regarding the account. Hardly an annoyance or trouble.

My hat's off to you if you can successfully pick individual stocks. From my experience a broker is worse than useless. My personal selections did well but those my broker reccommended were like lead. I've played it safe with mutual funds ever since.

graphicguy

This was probably be before Toyota started Lexus, but I remember one of my parents’ neighbors had a Toyota Cressida that looked a lot like that Crown.

Of course, my father being a staunch “Buy America” supporter, poo-pooed the Cressida. I remember riding in it thinking it was pretty posh.

OF course, a pre-driving age GG would have been impressed with anything that had A/C and power windows in those years.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

It reminds me of a 1969 Buick.

That's an insult--to the Buick. That dash is, well, not appealing.

graphicguy

Saw the new version of Wheeler Dealer. Ummmm.....don’t like it as much. I’m sure the new mechanic is fine. I liked Ed much better.

I’m really crossing off shows from Velocity I don’t want to watch, and the watch list is dwindling.

However, I have been watching Garage Squad....where someone buys what appears to be a classic car, is in the middle of a restoration (or just getting the car running) and gets stumped. They come in and get the junk heap up, running and back on the road, all in the owner’s own garage.

For the most part, they don’t do much in the way of body work. Although, I did see them do a respray on an old Jeep the other night.

Their chief mechanic, Joe Zolper, is along the same lines as Ed China....really knows his stuff. And, he owns his own shop in IL. So, he’s not just an actor.

They’ve done some nice rehabs.....one rebuild made me think of @isellhondas. It was a Buick Grand National. Very cool rebuild.

dino001

oldfarmer50 said:

My hat's off to you if you can successfully pick individual stocks. From my experience a broker is worse than useless. My personal selections did well but those my broker reccommended were like lead. I've played it safe with mutual funds ever since.

It's not all success, of course. I had some truly bad picks over the years. There can be frustrating times, when you think you did everything right, but the market just turns on you. The worst ones are when you give up after long excruciating downward move (I mean couple of years, at least), and the market decides almost right this instant that you were right at the first place and the stock moves up without you. I've been learning, one thing I learned is have more patience and watch for debt on their balance sheets. My worst picks are raw material stocks laden with debt that they can't get from when the boom ends. My best picks are solid industrial companies with hardened managements and sustainable business, run rather conservatively (manageable debt), but still benefiting from upward cycles in the economy.

I also have mutual fund on my 401k account (no choice), so it's a mix. Sometimes I wish I stayed with the mututal funds or ETFs, but I find stock investing quite fun and it is also allowing me to learn about how the world works much more than any news could. I like reading about companies business, fiancials, initiatives, there is some human drama and comedy as well, some of it as ridiculous, as our politics.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Saw the new version of Wheeler Dealer. Ummmm.....don’t like it as much. I’m sure the new mechanic is fine. I liked Ed much better.

I’m really crossing off shows from Velocity I don’t want to watch, and the watch list is dwindling.

However, I have been watching Garage Squad....where someone buys what appears to be a classic car, is in the middle of a restoration (or just getting the car running) and gets stumped. They come in and get the junk heap up, running and back on the road, all in the owner’s own garage.

For the most part, they don’t do much in the way of body work. Although, I did see them do a respray on an old Jeep the other night.

Their chief mechanic, Joe Zolper, is along the same lines as Ed China....really knows his stuff. And, he owns his own shop in IL. So, he’s not just an actor.

They’ve done some nice rehabs.....one rebuild made me think of @isellhondas. It was a Buick Grand National. Very cool rebuild.

Just saw an ad for the new season of Fast N Loud. Wonder if Aaron is coming back.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Saw the new version of Wheeler Dealer. Ummmm.....don’t like it as much. I’m sure the new mechanic is fine. I liked Ed much better.

I’m really crossing off shows from Velocity I don’t want to watch, and the watch list is dwindling.

However, I have been watching Garage Squad....where someone buys what appears to be a classic car, is in the middle of a restoration (or just getting the car running) and gets stumped. They come in and get the junk heap up, running and back on the road, all in the owner’s own garage.

For the most part, they don’t do much in the way of body work. Although, I did see them do a respray on an old Jeep the other night.

Their chief mechanic, Joe Zolper, is along the same lines as Ed China....really knows his stuff. And, he owns his own shop in IL. So, he’s not just an actor.

They’ve done some nice rehabs.....one rebuild made me think of @isellhondas. It was a Buick Grand National. Very cool rebuild.

Just saw an ad for the new season of Fast N Loud. Wonder if Aaron is coming back.

That would be good. Rawling's garage rehab show is terrible.

driver100

Is that jaredpeters post for real or is that a link that could lead to trouble?

driver100

imidazol97 said:

ab348 said:

It reminds me of a 1969 Buick.

That's an insult--to the Buick. That dash is, well, not appealing.

Personally, I think it is much smarter than a 69 Buick dash,

fintail

I think the first model year for Cressida here was 1978. The early ones had round headlights:



There was a wagon, too:



These early models are somehow very interesting to me, maybe as they are a deluxe model with an I6, they push some buttons. I also have some interest in the early Datsun 810s. Round light Cressidas are pretty rare anymore. I remember the people across the street from my grandmother had one, original owners apparently, they kept it until well into the 2000s. It was in good shape. They replaced it with a Corolla - ugh. I should have tried to buy it. A lot of Cressidas have been ruined by the stance and drift crowds.

graphicguy said:

This was probably be before Toyota started Lexus, but I remember one of my parents’ neighbors had a Toyota Cressida that looked a lot like that Crown.

Of course, my father being a staunch “Buy America” supporter, poo-pooed the Cressida. I remember riding in it thinking it was pretty posh.

OF course, a pre-driving age GG would have been impressed with anything that had A/C and power windows in those years.

driver100

Stocks. I hear 1/3 of your picks will go down, 1/3 will stay about the same. 1/3 will go up. You have to hope the 1/3 that go up go up, significantly more than the 1/3 that went down.

I don't do my own medical work or dental work...or car repairs, so I don't do my own stock picks. I did have a fun fund that I did well with, but don't want to spend the time. I would buy things like BP Oil after the disaster and it got hit....then it came up again. Same with Mars dog food when dogs were dying, then it came back again. But, you have to be emotionally detached to do well, I don't want the drama.

I had a school friend who moved to California and was an investment guy. I said you must be doing well. He says he manages the $million portfolios for clients...but, he goes to work on a bus....makes you think!

driver100

fintail said:

I think the first model year for Cressida here was 1978. The early ones had round headlights:

There was a wagon, too:



These early models are somehow very interesting to me, maybe as they are a deluxe model with an I6, they push some buttons. I also have some interest in the early Datsun 810s. Round light Cressidas are pretty rare anymore. I remember the people across the street from my grandmother had one, original owners apparently, they kept it until well into the 2000s. It was in good shape. They replaced it with a Corolla - ugh. I should have tried to buy it. A lot of Cressidas have been ruined by the stance and drift crowds.

graphicguy said:

This was probably be before Toyota started Lexus, but I remember one of my parents’ neighbors had a Toyota Cressida that looked a lot like that Crown.

Of course, my father being a staunch “Buy America” supporter, poo-pooed the Cressida. I remember riding in it thinking it was pretty posh.

OF course, a pre-driving age GG would have been impressed with anything that had A/C and power windows in those years.

I really like that design. If you didn't mention what make that wagon was I would have thought it was one of these.....guess what make and model?

fintail

Looks like a Dodge Aspen (I can see the emblem ), maybe sitting a little low. Not a bad looking design, but I think QC was really sketchy on earlier ones. When I was a little kid, I remember an uncle had one, I remember the nameplate font.

driver100 said:

I really like that design. If you didn't mention what make that wagon was I would have thought it was one of these.....guess what make and model?

abacomike

fintail said:

I think the first model year for Cressida here was 1978. The early ones had round headlights:



There was a wagon, too:



These early models are somehow very interesting to me, maybe as they are a deluxe model with an I6, they push some buttons. I also have some interest in the early Datsun 810s. Round light Cressidas are pretty rare anymore. I remember the people across the street from my grandmother had one, original owners apparently, they kept it until well into the 2000s. It was in good shape. They replaced it with a Corolla - ugh. I should have tried to buy it. A lot of Cressidas have been ruined by the stance and drift crowds.

graphicguy said:

This was probably be before Toyota started Lexus, but I remember one of my parents’ neighbors had a Toyota Cressida that looked a lot like that Crown.

Of course, my father being a staunch “Buy America” supporter, poo-pooed the Cressida. I remember riding in it thinking it was pretty posh.

OF course, a pre-driving age GG would have been impressed with anything that had A/C and power windows in those years.

My Dad owned a Toyota Cressida - I believe it was a 1988, IIRC. Great automobile - luxurious, great handling and smooth ride. He sold it after two years for only $1000 less than he actually paid for it.

driver100

You got it! A Dodge Aspen.

Remember about the SIL making an AWD 2004 BMW X3 into a 2WD car. I wrote an email to the local expert mechanic who has a column in our local paper. I was expecting an email back but instead I was reading today's newspaper and there is my letter and his reply! It was the first letter and was the leading headline! Here is his reply - a bit jumbled for some reason because of the service the newspaper uses;

ANSWER
I would not do it unless it was my own car because I am aware of not having the benefits of a for wheel drive vehicle. To bring a repair job from eight thousand dollars down to a few hundred dollars suggests to me that the shafts to either the front wheels or the rear wheels have been removed. There isn’t anything that I am aware of that says that a technician cannot do this for a customer but altering a driver's benefit could come back to haunt the technician if his or her action caused a mishap related to the removal of the four wheel drive vehicle. Disconnecting the front wheel drive. Your son-in-law says that his daughter will not drive the car in the winter or on the highway but that obviously is not going to happen since going anywhere, you need to drive on some type of highway and a teenager can very quickly forget a promise. To ease you mind however, converting to a two wheel drive vehicle, by removing power from the rear wheels, is not going to affect the standard operation of a normal front wheel drive vehicle. As long as your granddaughter is aware of the fact that in the winter, she is driving a two wheel drive vehicle and not a four-wheel drive vehicle.

I think we all came to the same or similar conclusion, questionable but could be done.
Myself, I just don't think it is worth the risk.

Michaell

driver100 said:

Is that jaredpeters post for real or is that a link that could lead to trouble?

Survey Monkey is a legitimate site that allows people to create and distribute their own surveys. There is, I believe, a free version but also a version that you can subscribe to that gets you more features.

My wife uses it through her work.

driver100

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Is that jaredpeters post for real or is that a link that could lead to trouble?

Survey Monkey is a legitimate site that allows people to create and distribute their own surveys. There is, I believe, a free version but also a version that you can subscribe to that gets you more features.

My wife uses it through her work.

Thanks!

Sometimes I get a bit paranoid about what you should reply to or not....but, I am not taking a survey unless I get paid for it.

Mr_Shiftright

driver100 said:

Is that jaredpeters post for real or is that a link that could lead to trouble?

Thanks. We'll check that out! So, no, don't take any survey unless we tell you it's approved, or you see it up for a few days.

andres3

ab348 said:

andres3 said:

Here's a couple pictures of the group of cars participating (not the complete group).

Nice shot, all it needs is a few CHP cruisers blocking the line in place as they hand out "reckless endangerment" and speeding tickets en masse.

Up here the police have a new favorite toy: the "stunting" ticket. Stunting is an awful name for a new category in the motor vehicle laws that I think was originally intended for yahoo-ish driving (weaving in and out of traffic at high speed, racing, etc) but also contains a provision for traveling 50+ km/hr over the posted limit (or just over 30 mph). Now a day seldom goes by where the press doesn't report on a news release from the local police saying that a (usually young) driver has been charged with stunting related to speed. The fine is $2400 and the car is seized immediately for some period of time, and there is an instant 7-day license suspension too. Not sure what happens after that.

Hmmm... if you take the default speed limit of 55 (or my often argued default of 65 since that's when the absolute maximum speed law starts to take effect), then 30 over the speed limit would be 95. We'd be safe from that offense other than on the straights. Even 85 probably isn't reached in the twisties.

Racing is kind of silly, and better suited for long empty straights or stoplight to stoplight in the city, LOL! We had a passing protocol in the last drive, but men sometimes get their adrenaline and egos pumping, and don't want to let a faster car go by (maybe for fear of ending up in the back with the slower cars). Truth is they don't have to stop at the turnout, if they just let up off the accelerator, easy safe passes (though illegal) could be made. Instead, they show off their exhaust sound and HP in the straights, making the quicker turning cars frustrated.

The leader of the group says he is good friends with several CHP officers. Something tells me he has the pull to let them know what mornings we'll be hooning around, and the word gets out in the department for all patrol cars to avoid that section of the State. At least the last two cruises, I can't remember seeing a single CHP car. Did see a Sheriff on the last one.

andres3

graphicguy said:

Saw the new version of Wheeler Dealer. Ummmm.....don’t like it as much. I’m sure the new mechanic is fine. I liked Ed much better.

I’m really crossing off shows from Velocity I don’t want to watch, and the watch list is dwindling.

However, I have been watching Garage Squad....where someone buys what appears to be a classic car, is in the middle of a restoration (or just getting the car running) and gets stumped. They come in and get the junk heap up, running and back on the road, all in the owner’s own garage.

For the most part, they don’t do much in the way of body work. Although, I did see them do a respray on an old Jeep the other night.

Their chief mechanic, Joe Zolper, is along the same lines as Ed China....really knows his stuff. And, he owns his own shop in IL. So, he’s not just an actor.

They’ve done some nice rehabs.....one rebuild made me think of @isellhondas. It was a Buick Grand National. Very cool rebuild.

Anyone see a show with a young guy called Car Matchmaker which i believe was on NBC Sports.

It seemed to be showing episodes that were probably 3 to 4 years old, but I liked it. Only watched 2 episodes, might get old fast.

qbrozen

andres3 said:

graphicguy said:

Saw the new version of Wheeler Dealer. Ummmm.....don’t like it as much. I’m sure the new mechanic is fine. I liked Ed much better.

I’m really crossing off shows from Velocity I don’t want to watch, and the watch list is dwindling.

However, I have been watching Garage Squad....where someone buys what appears to be a classic car, is in the middle of a restoration (or just getting the car running) and gets stumped. They come in and get the junk heap up, running and back on the road, all in the owner’s own garage.

For the most part, they don’t do much in the way of body work. Although, I did see them do a respray on an old Jeep the other night.

Their chief mechanic, Joe Zolper, is along the same lines as Ed China....really knows his stuff. And, he owns his own shop in IL. So, he’s not just an actor.

They’ve done some nice rehabs.....one rebuild made me think of @isellhondas. It was a Buick Grand National. Very cool rebuild.

Anyone see a show with a young guy called Car Matchmaker which i believe was on NBC Sports.

It seemed to be showing episodes that were probably 3 to 4 years old, but I liked it. Only watched 2 episodes, might get old fast.

I have. Its a ripoff of another Mike Brewer show that preceded Wheeler Dealers (or coincided with it at some point). I can't recall the name off the top of my head, but I found it somewhat interesting. He'd show the buyer 3 vehicles and go through the pros/cons and test drives. What I really liked about it was that he always told buyers trouble areas of each vehicle.

EDIT: Ah, it was called Auto Trader. Also sometimes had a segment with Ed where he'd fix up and help sell on someone's car.

Mr_Shiftright

I do a fair number of classic car inspections and I find it very interesting how one's impression of a car can change as one examines it. You can go from disappointing to mildly pleased and vice-versa. Sometimes the car starts out all right, and as you start to open things up, crawl under, etc, it goes rapidly downhill. Other times, it's just a long series of little things that accumulate during the inspection---no one thing is a deal breaker but after a few hours, you have a list 3 pages long.

Now and then you meet a car that's just a winner all the way through.

The old saying "god is in the details" is never more true than with a car restoration.

andres3

driver100 said:

Stocks. I hear 1/3 of your picks will go down, 1/3 will stay about the same. 1/3 will go up. You have to hope the 1/3 that go up go up, significantly more than the 1/3 that went down.

I don't do my own medical work or dental work...or car repairs, so I don't do my own stock picks. I did have a fun fund that I did well with, but don't want to spend the time. I would buy things like BP Oil after the disaster and it got hit....then it came up again. Same with Mars dog food when dogs were dying, then it came back again. But, you have to be emotionally detached to do well, I don't want the drama.

I had a school friend who moved to California and was an investment guy. I said you must be doing well. He says he manages the $million portfolios for clients...but, he goes to work on a bus....makes you think!

Emotionally detached is a good way to be a great poker player. I had a hard time pretending money didn't matter, but I had an even harder time controlling my emotions on bad beats. That was my eventual downfall, along with the Democrats and religious right Republicans that felt Poker was either plain gambling (it isn't, it's a skill game to some degree), or an evil sin.

I could handle one or two bad beats in a row, but when it became a consecutive string of 3 or more, I'd blow up and tilt. Too much frustration when the cards rewarded bad play.

tjc78

Hey all... so I figured I'd share how a remodel project can spiral out of control

Our initial job was to add a bedroom and bath for my mom. This ended up being a 400+ Sq ft addition, and reconfigure of our home which basically included two brand new baths (our old bath is now a hall/laundry room)

We've added in "while we are there"....
400 sq ft patio with fire pit area
Entire new bamboo flooring in the living/dining room
New carpet in our kid's playroom
All new interior doors
Ripped out our old wood stairs landing/new white PVC railings to our side door
Entire new HVAC and bringing in ducts to old addition
Paint our master bed and new bed/bedding window treatments

I'm hoping it stops soon!! We are down to the finish line with trim/flooring and paint to go! Good thing we aren't going anywhere because we are so over-improved!!

In the middle of all this I managed to buy a car too...

Michaell

tjc78 said:

Hey all... so I figured I'd share how a remodel project can spiral out of control

Our initial job was to add a bedroom and bath for my mom. This ended up being a 400+ Sq ft addition, and reconfigure of our home which basically included two brand new baths (our old bath is now a hall/laundry room)

We've added in "while we are there"....
400 sq ft patio with fire pit area
Entire new bamboo flooring in the living/dining room
New carpet in our kid's playroom
All new interior doors
Ripped out our old wood stairs landing/new white PVC railings to our side door
Entire new HVAC and bringing in ducts to old addition
Paint our master bed and new bed/bedding window treatments

I'm hoping it stops soon!! We are down to the finish line with trim/flooring and paint to go! Good thing we aren't going anywhere because we are so over-improved!!

In the middle of all this I managed to buy a car too...

Yeah, that's the problem with work like this ... the new stuff makes the existing stuff look, well, old. So, you figure, let's just update the old stuff as well. And there is no end in sight ...

Glad you are almost done ... how long has all of this taken?

28firefighter

In case any of you sports fans were following, my wife and I are now official under contract to buy our new home. It is a contingent sale (which in this market is unheard of), so our current home will go on the market mid-next week.

It is a newer construction home, which was intentional, so we could purchase Earthquake insurance which is only available on newer construction or homes that have had about $90k-$100k of retrofitting to the structure.

It will double our available living space and quadruple our outdoor space. Plus, and this is the best part, an oversize two car garage!