Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

ruking1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

explorerx4 said:

Oldfarmer50,
What did you think of the number you got, mods or no?

Not too bad. $23k with mods, $24k without. $8k depreciation after 4 years? Not bad.

Will you put it on the market ?

Sure, in 2048 when it hits 100,000 miles.

tjc78

@explorerx4 @stickguy
Plan is to stay a Friday and Sat night. Going to let her decide what she wants to do. I’m thinking half day from work Fri, check in, light dinner, 8:00 PM show, drinks after.

Saturday, shopping ( wife’s favorite activity), dinner at Keen’s, then Empire State Building.

Sunday, brunch, home

Monday, cry looking CC statement.

I’ve actually been to quite a few shows on Broadway (Dreamgirls, Phantom, Starlight Express), always amazes me how good they are

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer50,
Wow, that's pretty good.

I thought so but Edmunds TMV says dealer trade at $22.6 so $23 isn’t too far off.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

ruking1 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

ruking1 said:

I would say yes, to all of the above. I plead total ignorance to FPPP2. When one sells any car as one of “stock”, that is really the baseline. So modifications: to engine computer timing power ? and exhaust systems etc., can effect the definition of “stock”, ergo $ value. Carvana probably wants to appeal to many demographics as possible.

FPPP2 is a cold air intake and bigger throttle body off the GT350 with a minor computer tune. All right from the Ford factory engineers which maintains warranty. No weird stuff like blowers or ninja tunes. Pretty mild actually but still technically a mod.

Not that this really matters, but if one is not using the stock specified Ford/equivalent filter, more dirt (silicon) is being allowed in the engine. The comparison can be verified in the A/B UOA. (used oil analysis, more/less silicon in oil)

Short story: 385 hp/# ft. TO 400 hp/# ft. Same oem air filter.

Longer story. It was accomplished by a greater opening to snow prophylactic plastic intake. Again, oem air filter. One could use merely a demel tool to modify. One could buy the inexpensive cap. Or one could spend upwards of $500 for a “pretty” so called cold air intake product. I went through the issue on the 2001 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

The Mazdaspeed intake used an AEM Dryflow filter- I never noticed any difference in UOA results after the installation. Mazda even stated that the installation would not affect the warranty.

I’m glad to hear that and yes my CAI is warranty compliant.

ab348

Interesting tidbit: I watch a lot of MLB games and right now the Houston Astros are playing the LA Angels on ESPN. The batting helmets for both teams have the “Ford” script on the side. Sponsorship apparently, which I didn’t know MLB permitted. The game is being played in Mexico so apparently it has something to do with that.

oldfarmer50

cdnpinhead said:

ruking1 said:

No, but getting out of the US military as an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran, dropped me from consideration for a LOAD of jobs.

Interesting -- where I used to work you got ten points extra for being a vet. Of course if you were a black female vet with some sort of disability, you got the full boatload of extra points.

I think he’s referring to vets returning home from Vietnam who were regularly vilified. Thankfully that’s changed to some degree.

ruking1

oldfarmer50 said:

cdnpinhead said:

ruking1 said:

No, but getting out of the US military as an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran, dropped me from consideration for a LOAD of jobs.

Interesting -- where I used to work you got ten points extra for being a vet. Of course if you were a black female vet with some sort of disability, you got the full boatload of extra points.

I think he’s referring to vets returning home from Vietnam who were regularly vilified. Thankfully that’s changed to some degree.

Yes, it was said straight UP, Vietnam ERA veterans !

There were app RIP 58,193 killed, only 8 female killed, over 150,000 wounded, 1,600 missing.

suydam

cdnpinhead said:

ruking1 said:

No, but getting out of the US military as an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran, dropped me from consideration for a LOAD of jobs.

Interesting -- where I used to work you got ten points extra for being a vet. Of course if you were a black female vet with some sort of disability, you got the full boatload of extra points.

Show me the regulation giving preference to black females. Not happening, unless they are veterans. Veterans do get extra points for many jobs such as police officer and firefighter. It is also illegal not to hire a reservist or fire them due to deployments. My son is both a full time police officer and a reservist. There has never been a problem doing both.

cdnpinhead

Where I worked we did a thing called "behavioral interviewing." There was a book of potential questions broken into categories (20, I think), and as a hiring manager, you were expected to pick five categories that applied to the specific position. My favorite was "tolerance of ambiguity," since even in those days a lot of what we were told to do didn't fit together very well -- it's gotten much, much worse, but I digress.

Anyway, there was a panel of people who administered the interview that always included the hiring manager and an HR person, then there was usually one or more people from departments related to the job. So, the panel members graded the interviewee on a scale for each of the five attributes, and as I recall the maximum was 10 points for each. I lost my faith (I used to have some, really) in the system when I looked at the HR manual on how the scoring was to be done. There were either four or five categories that were worth extra points, such that someone who did well on the interview itself could be overtaken by another candidate that fell into the blessed categories.

It wasn't long after that that I got out of management, voluntarily you'll all be surprised. to hear.

snakeweasel

ruking1 said:

snakeweasel said:

ruking1 said:

Anybody that thinks the car is an investment has either been lied to or doesn’t know what an investment is. 

An investment is property acquired in order to gain a future income or benefit.

An investment does not have to provide an income or greater monetary value, it can provide a benefit. A company buys a computer system  that computer system is an investment even though they will never be able to sell it for more money down the line. It is an investment because the company will benefit from it by being more efficient.

The same ca be said of car ownership. It is an investment simply because it provides you with a benefit. Investing in a car gives many people the benefit of having wider employment opportunities resulting in larger paychecks. It also reduces the costs, both in time and money, of acquiring lifes necessities such as food, clothing and health care as you would not have to rely on others like Uber and taxis to get around.

People who dont live in densely populated cities with good public transportation would have a seriously reduced standard of living if they didn't have a car. Think about how much you use your car and think about how much Uber would cost doing it.

Yes cars are investments for most people as the cost to be without one can be much higher than having a car. Just that some are better investments. 

I wish what you are saying were implemented as true. But no change to what I have written. But then, on the other hand, maybe I’ve been using the wrong CPA’s & tax & otherwise lawyers.👀

A (depreciating) asset like a CAR is booked as such, a depreciating asset. What % # (bought new) cars have CPA’s booked as APPRECIATING? In addition, the costs associated with cars are EXPENSES. So IF it is being said 100% to less % of a business income depends on cars, a business should get IRS tax credits for every car. They don’t. But we do know that.

As a non business, one would have a hell of a lot more monies to NOT having to buy & feed $$’s into a/any car. Indeed, a non business can’t normally even deduct auto expenses. The IRS would happily haul the CPA & the client into audit, if they tried to deduct car commuting to work expenses, buying food, etc., being as how it’s an salary investment expense?

Now I’ve received a specific (clean something or other IRS title) IRS tax credit (specifically) for a 2009 VW Jetta TDI. There were some interesting times, first sign of the apocalypse😱😜, financial crash, 10.5 M per yr auto sales when 17.5 M per yr were more normal. The car was bought & later, subsequently IRS 179 rules were used/followed. It was a BAD (good car buying) year!?😇

First off depreciation as booked for accounting purposes is a bit different than recording the loss of value, it is a way to apply the cost of an asset against the income it generates.

Now let me try to explain it this way. Say you buy an annuity for $5,000 that pays you $150 a month for 5 years, you would say that's a good investment. If so then wouldn't buying a machine that lasts for 5 years for $5,000 that would be worth noting when done but it cuts your expenses or increases your income by $150 a month as good of an investment?

As an example, if I go careless I have a few options. I could use public transportation but public transportation in these suburbs are pretty much a joke and would increase my commute time by at least two hours (I looked into that a few years ago) and would require a considerable amount of walking so that's pretty much out. Or I could bum rides from people, but how long can I do that? I could do a ride share like Uber but that would cost me over $650 a month and that's just for commuting to and from work. Or I could walk everywhere but that would mean I would have to find a job near me (it would be at least a 4 hour walk for me). But since the only jobs within walking distance of me are retail and restaurant work that means taking a big pay cut. So buying a car allows me to either earn more money or reduce my overall costs. So it is an investment.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

@abacomike,
We are going to visit one of the kids next weekend and will be checking out some houses while we are there.

At first you can’t wait until the kids move out on their own - but there comes a time when you want them back - close to you.  Having her close - 20-25 minute drive away would be great! 

I hope it all works out for you Mike even though that will just about kill any chance of you sending me airfare money to come visit you. Then again, you could still send the airfare money and put me up in a nice swanky hotel. Yeah, give that some thought.

jmonroe

I just paid for my daughter’s airfare to come down for her job interview - she couldn’t afford it on her salary.  After all, what are Dads for?

As for jmonroe, not a chance.  

Dads of daughters are for making every teenage boy in the neighborhood afraid of them.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

I think lately, HR types and "hiring managers" like to add extra steps maybe as a way to make themselves look busy. My employer has a seemingly 25 step process for direct hires, too. Apparently, contractors have a more streamlined process, so there are quite a few KPMG and PWC emails in my lists.

Good luck to your better half, 28ff - we are fortunate to have this market.

Hiring managers are adding all these steps to avoid discrimination lawsuits.

snakeweasel

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

28firefighter

snakeweasel said:

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

I legitimately thought this was the story of the demise of a vacuum cleaner. I’m glad to see I wasn’t far off.  

snakeweasel

28firefighter said:

snakeweasel said:

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

I legitimately thought this was the story of the demise of a vacuum cleaner. I’m glad to see I wasn’t far off.  

Our vacuum cleaner is a Kirby that we paid a decent price for. But its 20 years old and still going well, you cant kill that thing.

Now that I've said that watch it give up the ghost.

jmonroe1

snakeweasel said:

28firefighter said:

snakeweasel said:

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

I legitimately thought this was the story of the demise of a vacuum cleaner. I’m glad to see I wasn’t far off.  

Our vacuum cleaner is a Kirby that we paid a decent price for. But its 20 years old and still going well, you cant kill that thing.

Now that I've said that watch it give up the ghost.

You're right, you did it now. You might as well start researching sweepers now too. This time get one with a lifetime warranty.

jmonroe

roadburner

We have an ‘80s vintage Kirby and an older Miele canister vacuum. Hopefully we are set for life. 

qbrozen

We have a vacuum collection. An old Kirby I got off ebay many moons ago, a dyson canister vac, and 2 Oreck uprights (somehow wife forgot we already owned one). 

Kirby has great power but so unwieldy and is terribly on hard surfaces without going through great lengths to put on the attachment hose. The brushes on the dyson are useless. I prefer the Oreck overall for ease of use and decent cleaning ability. 

tjc78

My wife makes fun of out early 90s Electrolux upright... but it will probably never die. I have taken it fully apart once and cleaned it, but otherwise it just keeps on going.

It was given to me in 2005 when I bought my home by my parent's neighbor essentially brand new. She didn't like it, saying it was too heavy so it sat in a closet for years.

imidazol97

snakeweasel said:

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

Does it have oil in it?

snakeweasel

qbrozen said:

We have a vacuum collection. An old Kirby I got off ebay many moons ago, a dyson canister vac, and 2 Oreck uprights (somehow wife forgot we already owned one). 

Kirby has great power but so unwieldy and is terribly on hard surfaces without going through great lengths to put on the attachment hose. The brushes on the dyson are useless. I prefer the Oreck overall for ease of use and decent cleaning ability. 

I dont find the Kirby unwielding, but that could just be personal preference. As for hard floors that is a legitimate issue, but we keep it upstairs as the first floor is all hardwood and we use a broom for that. 

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

Well it started up yesterday with some difficulty, today it started up with more difficulty. Once I got it started it went 15 feet before the engine started to make a strange noise then seized up. Then I couldn't get the engine to restart, it just wouldn't even attempt to turn over. Well after over ten years of service its finished. Now I am doing some online research and later this week I will be buying a new lawn mower.

Does it have oil in it?

Yes it has oil and the spark plug is good. It just died of old age, I guess I could take it to a shop and get it repaired but it's a good excuse to get a new mower.

fintail

My grandma has a Kirby from the 60s I think, still going strong. She doesn't use it so much anymore , as she finds it too heavy, so she uses a modern style unit for normal cleaning - still insists on doing it all herself well into her 90s. The relatively inexpensive Hoover I bought over 10 years ago still works fine too, and my mom got over 20 years out of an 80s era Panasonic. Maybe vacuums are the last appliance that can last for eons.

tjc78

I remember my grandmother having a vacuum that you had to put water in the bottom and all the dirt got sucked into that leaving you nasty water to drain 

Anyone remember those?  I want to say it said “Rainbow” on it 

imidazol97

I still have a 1950s or so Electrolux that we used from as early as I can remember.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-vt4IF3Bzo

graphicguy

Going off the reservation given the recent topics with this post, but I just received a recall notice on my long, dearly departed Cadillac CTS. Seems the heated seats might be prone to catch on fire.

I had a vision of me driving it along, and adding literal meaning to the old cry.....”liar, liar, pants on fire”!

tjc78

You know that really burns my buns!

ruking1

fintail said:

My grandma has a Kirby from the 60s I think, still going strong. She doesn't use it so much anymore , as she finds it too heavy, so she uses a modern style unit for normal cleaning - still insists on doing it all herself well into her 90s. The relatively inexpensive Hoover I bought over 10 years ago still works fine too, and my mom got over 20 years out of an 80s era Panasonic. Maybe vacuums are the last appliance that can last for eons.

Maybe a coincidence, but two Panasonic’s here. A relative brought in one Panasonic to the vacuum cleaner service shop for inspection & chord winder replacement, circa 29 years old +Plus & was offered a Miele (on sale already) minus- $325 for the “used” Panasonic.

Who knows what the latest and greatest ones are? The ones to ask are people who do vacuuming for chain hotels.

ab348

graphicguy said:

Going off the reservation given the recent topics with this post, but I just received a recall notice on my long, dearly departed Cadillac CTS. Seems the heated seats might be prone to catch on fire.

I had a vision of me driving it along, and adding literal meaning to the old cry.....”liar, liar, pants on fire”!

That happened to a former co-worker with his '08 Elantra. Literally did set his pants on fire. He brought the singed slacks into the office one day to show us before taking them to the dealer to supply evidence for his claim.

jmonroe1

FWIW, we have two identical model Kenmore sweepers about 20 years old (made by Panasonic). After Mrs. j saw how well the first one worked, she wanted another one for the upstairs. I'll admit they have great suction and in her younger day she didn't have a problem with them. Now, they are too heavy for her. So, just this past Christmas, I got her one of those robot thingies. She is totally in love with that thing. A push of the botton and off it goes. Is it as good as her uprights, no, but it is surprisingly good.

FWIW, I don't how a Kirby could be that much better than the Kenmore's we have. I'd have to do a side by side test myself before I'd believe that. But there ain't no way I'm going to be pushing a sweeper around. That's why I have Mrs. j.

jmonroe

henryn

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Troy-Bilt-21-in-160-cc-Honda-Gas-Walk-Behind-Push-Mower-with-High-Rear-Wheels-and-3-in-1-cutting-TriAction-Cutting-System-TB160/306935884

This is the mower I'm using. Walk behind, high rear wheels, push (not propelled), Honda engine. Starts on first pull, every time, no choke to fool with. I've had this one for 3 years, and I just changed the oil and sharpened the blade for the first time. Spark plug still looks good, air filter was fine (after blowing it out with air pressure).

qbrozen

snakeweasel said:

I dont find the Kirby unwielding, but that could just be personal preference. As for hard floors that is a legitimate issue, but we keep it upstairs as the first floor is all hardwood and we use a broom for that. 

Not sure if they are all similar, but this is ours. Weighs more than 20 lbs, and the massive head doesn't go under any of our furniture. Using it is kinda like mowing. Use the big and powerful one for the bulk of the work, but then you gotta get out the small one to get around the edges.

henryn

I sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door-to-door for a while, back when I was a starving college student, around 1971 as I recall. And I seem to remember that they came with a lifetime warranty.

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

Here’s an interesting thing.

I just saw a Carvana commercial where they offered a free car valuation. I thought why not? So I started with my Mustang. Among the questions on mileage, condition etc. they asked if there were any modifications done to the car.

I’ve got a Borla exhaust and a Ford Performance Power Pack 2 installed. Fairly minor mods. When I got the results Carvana valued $1000 less with the modifications. Curious.

Do minor mods really devalue a car that much or do dealers figure if you do any enhancements you are probably racing the heck out of the car?

I think that would depend on whether the mods are easily reversible and if you have the old parts.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

I dont find the Kirby unwielding, but that could just be personal preference. As for hard floors that is a legitimate issue, but we keep it upstairs as the first floor is all hardwood and we use a broom for that. 

Not sure if they are all similar, but this is ours. Weighs more than 20 lbs, and the massive head doesn't go under any of our furniture. Using it is kinda like mowing. Use the big and powerful one for the bulk of the work, but then you gotta get out the small one to get around the edges.

That thing is a BEAST. No way Mrs. j would have one of those. What were you thinking when you bought it ? That thing looks like it should be used for crowd control.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

oldfarmer50 said:

cdnpinhead said:

ruking1 said:

No, but getting out of the US military as an honorably discharged Vietnam era veteran, dropped me from consideration for a LOAD of jobs.

Interesting -- where I used to work you got ten points extra for being a vet. Of course if you were a black female vet with some sort of disability, you got the full boatload of extra points.

I think he’s referring to vets returning home from Vietnam who were regularly vilified. Thankfully that’s changed to some degree.

Being vilified was quite rare--being ignored was far more common.

pensfan83

We have a Kirby that was inherited from my paternal grandparents, it's 30+ years old and it's a bulky, heavy thing. It was our primary vacuum until about 3-4 years ago when we then bought a Shark vacuum. The Kirby was then relegated to the basement so we didn't have to lug it up and down the stairs. It does the job but not nearly as well as the Shark. I can re-run that over areas the Kirby did and I still get gobs of pet hair sucked into the canister.

PF_Flyer

Putting in my central vac was one of the smarter things I did.

One outlet on each floor and the hose with power head reaches every corner or every room. If I want to be lazy, I can even do the upstairs hallway/bath and just poke into the other two rooms upstairs from the main floor outlet.

houdini2

I remember some comedian doing a story about vacuuming. He said his wife always looked for the tracks the wheels made, and he finally realized he didn't even have to plug the thing in.

tjc78

PF_Flyer said:

Putting in my central vac was one of the smarter things I did.

One outlet on each floor and the hose with power head reaches every corner or every room. If I want to be lazy, I can even do the upstairs hallway/bath and just poke into the other two rooms upstairs from the main floor outlet.

Did you put an outlet outside to do the car? My uncle's house had that and I thought it was so cool.

henryn

pensfan83 said:

We have a Kirby that was inherited from my paternal grandparents, it's 30+ years old and it's a bulky, heavy thing. It was our primary vacuum until about 3-4 years ago when we then bought a Shark vacuum. The Kirby was then relegated to the basement so we didn't have to lug it up and down the stairs. It does the job but not nearly as well as the Shark. I can re-run that over areas the Kirby did and I still get gobs of pet hair sucked into the canister.

Carpets are filthy things. No vacuum is going to clean a carpet, period. When I was selling Kirby's, one of the sales gimmicks they taught us to do was the "re vacuum". We would have the homeowner vacuum an area with their existing vac. We would then put an attachment on the Kirby which used a white paper towel as the filtering element. We would make one quick pass with the Kirby over the area she had just vacuumed, and that white paper towel would turn filthy.

Now some of the smarter homeowners would ask us to repeat the run with the Kirby. And the paper towel would turn filthy yet again. Again and again, ad infinitum, and the paper towel would turn filthy every time. No vacuum cleaner is going to actually clean a carpet. It will just clean the surface, and make it look a little better. Underneath, that carpet is filthy.

tjc78

Carpet is "dirty" but all in all can be easier to deal with.

We have dark colored bamboo floors in our living/dining/hallway areas and I feel it gets swept a couple of times a day. Every spec shows.

ruking1

henryn said:

pensfan83 said:

We have a Kirby that was inherited from my paternal grandparents, it's 30+ years old and it's a bulky, heavy thing. It was our primary vacuum until about 3-4 years ago when we then bought a Shark vacuum. The Kirby was then relegated to the basement so we didn't have to lug it up and down the stairs. It does the job but not nearly as well as the Shark. I can re-run that over areas the Kirby did and I still get gobs of pet hair sucked into the canister.

Carpets are filthy things. No vacuum is going to clean a carpet, period. When I was selling Kirby's, one of the sales gimmicks they taught us to do was the "re vacuum". We would have the homeowner vacuum an area with their existing vac. We would then put an attachment on the Kirby which used a white paper towel as the filtering element. We would make one quick pass with the Kirby over the area she had just vacuumed, and that white paper towel would turn filthy.

Now some of the smarter homeowners would ask us to repeat the run with the Kirby. And the paper towel would turn filthy yet again. Again and again, ad infinitum, and the paper towel would turn filthy every time. No vacuum cleaner is going to actually clean a carpet. It will just clean the surface, and make it look a little better. Underneath, that carpet is filthy.

Indeed! We’ve since replaced the house floors with wood & tile. We’ve area rugs for style design. The stairs are rugged to lessen chances of falling

qbrozen

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

I dont find the Kirby unwielding, but that could just be personal preference. As for hard floors that is a legitimate issue, but we keep it upstairs as the first floor is all hardwood and we use a broom for that. 

Not sure if they are all similar, but this is ours. Weighs more than 20 lbs, and the massive head doesn't go under any of our furniture. Using it is kinda like mowing. Use the big and powerful one for the bulk of the work, but then you gotta get out the small one to get around the edges.

That thing is a BEAST. No way Mrs. j would have one of those. What were you thinking when you bought it ? That thing looks like it should be used for crowd control.

jmonroe

Because my wife is nuts. We have been through more vacuums than I can even recall. The only one she really liked was a Rainbow (also a used ebay buy). That died, though, and we subsequently went through another batch of various makes/models before she went back to the ebay route and came upon the kirby. Her thinking by that time was that old and heavy is a superior machine. As long as she stops complaining, I'm all in. And there ya have it.

explorerx4

@snakeweasel,
Could be bad gas or clogged fuel delivery.

I have a central vac outlet in my garage. Never used it, since I keep a shop vac in the garage.
Maybe next owner will find it useful.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

ruking1 said:

snakeweasel said:

ruking1 said:

Anybody that thinks the car is an investment has either been lied to or doesn’t know what an investment is. 

An investment is property acquired in order to gain a future income or benefit.

An investment does not have to provide an income or greater monetary value, it can provide a benefit. A company buys a computer system  that computer system is an investment even though they will never be able to sell it for more money down the line. It is an investment because the company will benefit from it by being more efficient.

The same ca be said of car ownership. It is an investment simply because it provides you with a benefit. Investing in a car gives many people the benefit of having wider employment opportunities resulting in larger paychecks. It also reduces the costs, both in time and money, of acquiring lifes necessities such as food, clothing and health care as you would not have to rely on others like Uber and taxis to get around.

People who dont live in densely populated cities with good public transportation would have a seriously reduced standard of living if they didn't have a car. Think about how much you use your car and think about how much Uber would cost doing it.

Yes cars are investments for most people as the cost to be without one can be much higher than having a car. Just that some are better investments. 

I wish what you are saying were implemented as true. But no change to what I have written. But then, on the other hand, maybe I’ve been using the wrong CPA’s & tax & otherwise lawyers.👀

A (depreciating) asset like a CAR is booked as such, a depreciating asset. What % # (bought new) cars have CPA’s booked as APPRECIATING? In addition, the costs associated with cars are EXPENSES. So IF it is being said 100% to less % of a business income depends on cars, a business should get IRS tax credits for every car. They don’t. But we do know that.

As a non business, one would have a hell of a lot more monies to NOT having to buy & feed $$’s into a/any car. Indeed, a non business can’t normally even deduct auto expenses. The IRS would happily haul the CPA & the client into audit, if they tried to deduct car commuting to work expenses, buying food, etc., being as how it’s an salary investment expense?

Now I’ve received a specific (clean something or other IRS title) IRS tax credit (specifically) for a 2009 VW Jetta TDI. There were some interesting times, first sign of the apocalypse😱😜, financial crash, 10.5 M per yr auto sales when 17.5 M per yr were more normal. The car was bought & later, subsequently IRS 179 rules were used/followed. It was a BAD (good car buying) year!?😇

First off depreciation as booked for accounting purposes is a bit different than recording the loss of value, it is a way to apply the cost of an asset against the income it generates.

Now let me try to explain it this way. Say you buy an annuity for $5,000 that pays you $150 a month for 5 years, you would say that's a good investment. If so then wouldn't buying a machine that lasts for 5 years for $5,000 that would be worth noting when done but it cuts your expenses or increases your income by $150 a month as good of an investment?

As an example, if I go careless I have a few options. I could use public transportation but public transportation in these suburbs are pretty much a joke and would increase my commute time by at least two hours (I looked into that a few years ago) and would require a considerable amount of walking so that's pretty much out. Or I could bum rides from people, but how long can I do that? I could do a ride share like Uber but that would cost me over $650 a month and that's just for commuting to and from work. Or I could walk everywhere but that would mean I would have to find a job near me (it would be at least a 4 hour walk for me). But since the only jobs within walking distance of me are retail and restaurant work that means taking a big pay cut. So buying a car allows me to either earn more money or reduce my overall costs. So it is an investment.

If you'd rather take the bus because a car doesn't make economic sense.....maybe you’re on the wrong board.

oldfarmer50

Mr_Shiftright said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Here’s an interesting thing.

I just saw a Carvana commercial where they offered a free car valuation. I thought why not? So I started with my Mustang. Among the questions on mileage, condition etc. they asked if there were any modifications done to the car.

I’ve got a Borla exhaust and a Ford Performance Power Pack 2 installed. Fairly minor mods. When I got the results Carvana valued $1000 less with the modifications. Curious.

Do minor mods really devalue a car that much or do dealers figure if you do any enhancements you are probably racing the heck out of the car?

I think that would depend on whether the mods are easily reversible and if you have the old parts.

Yes on both counts. Probably in an afternoon if you aren’t an old codger.

snakeweasel

qbrozen said:

jmonroe1 said:

qbrozen said:

snakeweasel said:

I dont find the Kirby unwielding, but that could just be personal preference. As for hard floors that is a legitimate issue, but we keep it upstairs as the first floor is all hardwood and we use a broom for that. 

Not sure if they are all similar, but this is ours. Weighs more than 20 lbs, and the massive head doesn't go under any of our furniture. Using it is kinda like mowing. Use the big and powerful one for the bulk of the work, but then you gotta get out the small one to get around the edges.

That thing is a BEAST. No way Mrs. j would have one of those. What were you thinking when you bought it ? That thing looks like it should be used for crowd control.

jmonroe

Because my wife is nuts.

Join the club, it's pretty exclusive, it's called every married man.

berri

Personally, if looked at as purely a financial decision, I'd think the only time leasing a car on that basis is when you are in a position to expense it and write it off. Most of us aren't. But I can certainly understand the appeal of leasing to reduce monthly payment costs (or upgrade to a nicer ride) and change out cars every few years.

I like cars, but if I was driving in Chicago or LA rush hour and could take a commuter train, I'd probably go that way instead of driving in the constant stop and go rush traffic. However, I do know some people who just take the rush hour drive in stride using it to escape while listening to books on tape, news/sports talk radio, or music.

snakeweasel

explorerx4 said:

@snakeweasel,
Could be bad gas or clogged fuel delivery.

I have a central vac outlet in my garage. Never used it, since I keep a shop vac in the garage.
Maybe next owner will find it useful.

Nope it is seized, can't pull the cord and can't move the blade.