Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

sda

Regardless of your age jmonroe, you run with the best of them. Carry on.

laurasdada

My earliest memories of pricing include:

3 slices of pizza and a soda pop for $1
Gallon of gas: 0.36 (for the minibike)
Pinball: 2 games for a quarter, and 5 balls per game

cdnpinhead

The Cooper theater in Grand Junction charged 20 cents to get in on Saturday, plus another dime for popcorn, in the mid-'50s.

fintail

In the mid 50s you could buy houses for 10K in my zipcode that are 7 figures today.

I thought I was old when I could recall a new Accord costing 12K and 300SL roadsters being sub-200K.

Michaell

fintail said:

In the mid 50s you could buy houses for 10K in my zipcode that are 7 figures today.

I thought I was old when I could recall a new Accord costing 12K and 300SL roadsters being sub-200K.

We paid $16,500 for our 1992 Accord LX, with an aftermarket CD player and all taxes and fees.

jmonroe

Michaell said:

fintail said:

In the mid 50s you could buy houses for 10K in my zipcode that are 7 figures today.

I thought I was old when I could recall a new Accord costing 12K and 300SL roadsters being sub-200K.

We paid $16,500 for our 1992 Accord LX, with an aftermarket CD player and all taxes and fees.

For the longest time I refused to pay as much and surely not more for a car than I did for my first house, which BTW, we built for 22.5K in 1969. I got off that high horse years ago.

jmonroe

Michaell

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

fintail said:

In the mid 50s you could buy houses for 10K in my zipcode that are 7 figures today.

I thought I was old when I could recall a new Accord costing 12K and 300SL roadsters being sub-200K.

We paid $16,500 for our 1992 Accord LX, with an aftermarket CD player and all taxes and fees.

For the longest time I refused to pay as much and surely not more for a car than I did for my first house, which BTW, we built for 22.5K in 1969. I got off that high horse years ago.

jmonroe

In 2003, my mom hectored my dad into buying her one last new car (the last new car they had purchased was in 1973; dad bought mom used cars in between).

My dad was appalled at how expensive new cars got. I was certain he was going to get a Camry - mom had been driving a '91 Camry for the last 6-7 years. Pricing was around $18-19K, IIRC.

Then, dad found a 'wannabe' - 2003 Hyundai Sonata GLS. Roughly the same price as the Camry, but the Sonata had a V6, whereas the Camry came with a 4-cylinder.

Mom still has the Hyundai, after 17 years - with around 40,000 miles on it. It's sort of beat up on the outside, but it runs pretty well for its age.

When I was in CA last summer, I took it out for an Italian Tune Up. Got it up to 80-85 MPH on a couple of occasions. I think the car enjoyed it. I know I did.

fintail

I vividly recall a good friend's mom bought a new Accord LX in 92, kind of a silver green on beige. IIRC the sticker was around 15K on the nose, maybe just under. Funny how I remember this, but I can't recall things I did last week. It was an excellent car, too.

Oddly enough, I don't recall what my mom paid for her 93 Taurus, but it carried some kind of massive discount, as was already normal for fleet type domestic sedans. I am certain it was less than the Accord. My dad had a 93 Grand Caravan, stickered around 20K IIRC, he picked it up as a demo I think, so it too carried a discount.

Michaell said:

We paid $16,500 for our 1992 Accord LX, with an aftermarket CD player and all taxes and fees.

tjc78

Some numbers just stick in your head. My stepdad and I picked up a demo 96 Thunderbird for my mom (Pacific green over beige, moonroof and Ford’s awful 3.8). sticker was just over 19K. We got it for $14,700 with 5000 miles on it. That was actually a really reliable car other than the AC system needing just about every part replaced when it was about 4’years old.

houdini1

Market tanking again this morning. As bad as this is, my portfolio is still way up from where it was when President Trump took office. Check yours compared to 1-1-17. I bet yours is up too.

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

stickguy said:

IRS seems efficient this year. I E-filed my fed taxes last Saturday night, and the wife noticed on Friday that the money was already in our account. Only a few hundred $, but still nice little bonus!

I haven’t done mine yet because I know I’ll owe at least $1600 like last year so you got some of what I have to pay them. I have been doing my taxes with H&R block since 2012 and every year since I have to pay more than few buck I get a box that tells me I might have to pay a penalty because of this so I should consider doing quarterly returns to avoid penalty but so far that hasn’t happened with the Feds. That ain’t the case with the state (PA) last year. I had to pay the state just under $700. So, they sent me a notice and forms last May with instructions of how to do quarterly returns. I hate paperwork so I ignored that notice just like I did a few years ago when I owed the state money. I guess they don’t like being ignored so in August I got a notice that I owned them just shy of 20 bucks because I didn’t file quarterly returns like they wanted. If the state of PA thinks they are going to scare me into filing quarterly returns to save a measly 20 bucks they're nuts. That ain’t gonna happen, believe me. I just hope that being a repeat offender doesn't result in a greater penalty. If so, eventually they will get my attention.

The real down side of this is that since Mrs. j writes all the checks in our house (long story about this), when I gave the bill to her she wanted to know what it was for. I seem to remember saying something like, “just pay it’. She insisted on knowing why so I had to confess. Her reply was, “I sure hope this isn’t going to happen every year”, to which I said something like, “and what if it does” ? To this she said, “IT JUST BETTER NOT”. :@ That could be interpreted as a few laps around the dining room table every year in August just because of this; in addition to the random laps that always seem to pop up for no apparent reason.

jmonroe

They wanted you to actually file quarterly returns? Or did they want you to send in quarterly tax pre-payments for not withholding enough taxes?

OK, I guess I said that wrong. They wanted me to "send in quarterly tax pre-payments for not withholding enough taxes". I assume (if I wanted to read their instructions I would know how they want me to do it) that I could just divide by 4 the amount that I owed for the year that I just filed and pay that amount quarterly, but like I said, I'm not doing that until the penalty gets too high.

If the Feds can let me slide and I owe them more each year than the state, I don't know why the state is being so aggressive about this but they are the ones in control. So, I either pay or pay the price. Again, for 20 bucks a year, I don't want to play with paper.

jmonroe

Not being a good citizen for shorting the government $20 a year! You cause them more money in paperwork and stamps than the money you are holding back....should be ashamed

BTW, if we didn't have so many paper pushers we wouldn't know when to deport you guys back to Canada every year.

jmonroe

We are allowed up to 182 days total per year. Many senators etc want that extended...why not, more $$$$s going into the coffers. Every year I have to fill out a tax form to show I am going back to where my main home is....bank accounts, cars, retirement plans etc.
I am doing my part to try and keep your economy going....you should be grateful!

graphicguy

Taxes.....Over the years, TurboTax has made filing easier. I can tell almost immediately whether I’ll be in the red or in the black. But, I know this year, I’m going to have a sizable bill. So, waiting another month before I file.

Not sure why I do it this way, but I’m doing it in dries and drabs....5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. I’m just prolonging the inevitable.

tjc78

I think I am going to buy turbo tax next year and do it myself.

Our accountant has gotten a little pricey and charged over $350 for what I think is a simple return. We don't even itemize any longer with the standard deduction getting larger.

It probably doesn't help that the guy I use is located in the most expensive town in the county.

abacomike

My first new car was a 1964 Rambler American 2-door sedan with automatic transmission in Forest Green. Had to pay $89 for a dealer-installed AM radio and antenna - $1850 plus tax. Yes, I am VERY OLD!

abacomike

Dow is down $1350 points right now. OUCH!

stickguy

tjc78 said:

I think I am going to buy turbo tax next year and do it myself.

Our accountant has gotten a little pricey and charged over $350 for what I think is a simple return. We don't even itemize any longer with the standard deduction getting larger.

It probably doesn't help that the guy I use is located in the most expensive town in the county.

I do it with hr block software. Super easy. Especially if you don’t have fancy stuff like rentals, an S Corp, weird investments. And as noted now that no reason to itemize, even less to do!

stickguy

They just stopped trading.

28firefighter

Market was down 1800 when I woke up. Woofah.

In the meantime, Governor here is "discussing" the potential for "mandatory social distancing" measures.

laurasdada

I've also used Block sw for years, easy. I still get to itemize, lucky me!
Just filed Fed last night, very small refund. State I owe, so I'll go the Homer Simpson route next month...

Wow, some of my individual stocks have become a bargain...darn.

jmonroe

28firefighter said:

Market was down 1800 when I woke up. Woofah.

In the meantime, Governor here is "discussing" the potential for "mandatory social distancing" measures.

Like I keep telling Mrs. j, as long as you weren't counting on that money being there by the end of the year, don't worry. Past history says it will recover. Anyway, I have bigger fish to fry, Son #1 is back in the flip business. Closing will be within 2 weeks, yoi and double yoi.

ronsteve

houdini1 said:

Market tanking again this morning. As bad as this is, my portfolio is still way up from where it was when President Trump took office. Check yours compared to 1-1-17. I bet yours is up too.

Don't tell me you're the "genius" that managed to lose money during the Obama years.

houdini1

ronsteve said:

houdini1 said:

Market tanking again this morning. As bad as this is, my portfolio is still way up from where it was when President Trump took office. Check yours compared to 1-1-17. I bet yours is up too.

Don't tell me you're the "genius" that managed to lose money during the Obama years.

Just making more now. I only invest in U.S. stocks, and Trump out performed Obama on U.S. stocks during the first 3 years of their terms. This despite Obama taking over when stocks very low.

qbrozen

my 401k is supposedly up 7.66% over past 12 months, but down 8.11% YTD.

dino001

Just a few more percentage points and I'm buying. This drop is not corona, it's the Saudis vs. Russians vs. American shale "Mexican" standoff.

Michaell

qbrozen said:

my 401k is supposedly up 7.66% over past 12 months, but down 8.11% YTD.

I'm up 6.24% over 12 months, but down 5.55% YTD.

suydam

Please keep your politics out of this.

houdini1

Since widespread testing in the U.S. is really only starting this week, expect known cases of the infection to go up substantially soon. This won't help the stock market in the short term.

dino001

houdini1 said:

ronsteve said:

houdini1 said:

Market tanking again this morning. As bad as this is, my portfolio is still way up from where it was when President Trump took office. Check yours compared to 1-1-17. I bet yours is up too.

Don't tell me you're the "genius" that managed to lose money during the Obama years.

Just making more now. I only invest in U.S. stocks, and Trump out performed Obama on U.S. stocks during the first 3 years of their terms. This despite Obama taking over when stocks very low.

Using arbitrary convenient metrics to fit your own politics is great for political punditry, but terrible for investment. The market almost wiped out its 2019 gains in last month or so and I'm convinced it will wipe them out by the time it's done. Perhaps it will bite a portion of 2017-18, too, who knows. That fact alone doesn't make Trump any worse or better president, so now he will likely take the take blame for the crash, unfairly just like others did. The only difference I can see he was very quick to take all the credit, so the blame will be really hard, proportionate to the credit he wanted.

stickguy

houdini1 said:

Since widespread testing in the U.S. is really only starting this week, expect known cases of the infection to go up substantially soon. This won't help the stock market in the short term.

But it will help the death rate dive.

fintail

houdini1 said:

Market tanking again this morning. As bad as this is, my portfolio is still way up from where it was when President Trump took office. Check yours compared to 1-1-17. I bet yours is up too.

Mine was way up from 1-1-09 to 1-1-17 as well

fintail

My mom's first new car was a Beetle in 1970. I think she was out the door for under 2K.

abacomike said:

My first new car was a 1964 Rambler American 2-door sedan with automatic transmission in Forest Green. Had to pay $89 for a dealer-installed AM radio and antenna - $1850 plus tax. Yes, I am VERY OLD!

fintail

I was planning to attend the Vancouver Auto Show - now I am not going to book a hotel until a couple days before, just in case.

Rates on hotwire/priceline have plunged, too.

28firefighter said:

Market was down 1800 when I woke up. Woofah.

In the meantime, Governor here is "discussing" the potential for "mandatory social distancing" measures.

roadburner

stickguy said:

was out walking after dinner and in a parking lot there was a distinctive Orange Stinger. I guess that is the GT3 that RB was threatening to look at for a while but never did.

Probably a GTS; the color is Federation Orange- it’s now available on some 2020 Stingers. Between work, the flu, and other obligations I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the dealer, primarily because it involves a round trip of over three hours.

driver100

I like it!

driver100

If this is true, let's keep things in perspective;

....and don't forget the 40000 who died in the U.S. from the seasonal flu.
Tennis match in Indian Wells canceled

dino001

I bit much for me, but I see the appeal (the organge Stinger).

jmonroe

abacomike said:

My first new car was a 1964 Rambler American 2-door sedan with automatic transmission in Forest Green. Had to pay $89 for a dealer-installed AM radio and antenna - $1850 plus tax. Yes, I am VERY OLD!

My first new car was a '66 Bonneville 2 door hardtop with power windows and the 389 V8 engine. Bought it in November of 1965 (still single), window sticker was $4,009.00. Next new car was a '68 Olds Delta 88 Custom. Also a 2 door hardtop with a vinyl top but no power windows but it had the 455 V8. Bought in November of 1967 (married now). Cost was $4,560 something. I thought that was pretty steep but I deserved it. That was my last new car untill 2005. To many mouths to feed, cloth and educate for all those years in between.

jmonroe

qbrozen

driver100 said:

I like it!

that would look good next to my Hemi Orange Daytona. ;b

tjc78

Be a fun race too.

jmonroe

tjc78 said:

Be a fun race too.

Probably, but you wouldn't even notice when they swapped paint.

jmonroe

ronsteve

The large-cap stock fund that's in my 401k tracks the S&P 500, which I think is a fair reflection, and here's what I found...

S&P 500
11/4/2008 was 1005.75
1/20/2009 was 805.22
3/9/2012 was 1369.63 (up either 36% or 70% depending on where you start)

S&P 500
11/8/2016 was 2139.56
1/20/2017 was 2271.31
3/9/2020 was 2746.56 (up 28% or 21% depending on start date)

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

I vividly recall a good friend's mom bought a new Accord LX in 92, kind of a silver green on beige. IIRC the sticker was around 15K on the nose, maybe just under. Funny how I remember this, but I can't recall things I did last week. It was an excellent car, too.

Oddly enough, I don't recall what my mom paid for her 93 Taurus, but it carried some kind of massive discount, as was already normal for fleet type domestic sedans. I am certain it was less than the Accord. My dad had a 93 Grand Caravan, stickered around 20K IIRC, he picked it up as a demo I think, so it too carried a discount.

Michaell said:

We paid $16,500 for our 1992 Accord LX, with an aftermarket CD player and all taxes and fees.

Our ‘74 Charger stickered for about $3600 or about a dollar a pound. That was a thing back then, getting your car for under a dollar a pound.

oldfarmer50

“ they really soaked you rich New York kids for pop corn and a Coke.”

Yeah but in the Pittsburgh back then the coke they sold you was out of a blast furnace.

oldfarmer50

dino001 said:

Just a few more percentage points and I'm buying. This drop is not corona, it's the Saudis vs. Russians vs. American shale "Mexican" standoff.

Smart. It sounds like capitulation today.

ab348

dino001 said:

Just a few more percentage points and I'm buying. This drop is not corona, it's the Saudis vs. Russians vs. American shale "Mexican" standoff.

Well, depending on which pundit you believe, the Russian vs Saudi oil battle is due to Covid19 causing oil consumption in China to drop dramatically in response to the virus, so they respond by trying to maintain their positions.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

“ they really soaked you rich New York kids for pop corn and a Coke.”

Yeah but in the Pittsburgh back then the coke they sold you was out of a blast furnace.

Just a flavor enhancer. Made us tuff too.

jmonroe.

roadburner

I think my wife prefers the Ceramic Gray Stinger GT1 I found at another dealer. I do prefer its red leather interior. If it was RWD I'd be sorely tempted, but non-defeatable AWD kills the deal for me.

dino001

ab348 said:

dino001 said:

Just a few more percentage points and I'm buying. This drop is not corona, it's the Saudis vs. Russians vs. American shale "Mexican" standoff.

Well, depending on which pundit you believe, the Russian vs Saudi oil battle is due to Covid19 causing oil consumption in China to drop dramatically in response to the virus, so they respond by trying to maintain their positions.

You’re right, I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t related at all, just that the standoff was the trigger, not some corona progression news.

imidazol97

dino001 said:

ab348 said:

dino001 said:

Just a few more percentage points and I'm buying. This drop is not corona, it's the Saudis vs. Russians vs. American shale "Mexican" standoff.

Well, depending on which pundit you believe, the Russian vs Saudi oil battle is due to Covid19 causing oil consumption in China to drop dramatically in response to the virus, so they respond by trying to maintain their positions.

You’re right, I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t related at all, just that the standoff was the trigger, not some corona progression news.

The standoff on production cuts for Russia also hurts the US fracking which has helped us become independent in the last few years along with retaliation for restrictions we have on Russia.

The media was more interested in making it all about the virus through the day for the most part. I heard the CEO of Shell late this afternoon on a business channel and he was very clear.

My oil company stock has taken a beating. I think we're at 20% drop now. Some backing and filling if it can occur against a backdrop of less uncertainty about the Saudi/Russia conflict, and we'll see things settle for some of us who may be buyers.

fintail

Logic and reason have no place in this world. COVID is new, and that's the key. New things are scary.

With Amazon, MS, and Facebook having a work from home policy, 405 traffic seems half of normal volumes. I was out earlier, almost none of the usual congestion. Express toll lanes were at their minimum weekday values.
Went to a late morning/early afternoon hockey practice, maybe half the usual attendees, no kids. A few kids were showing up for the afternoon public skate (local school district is closed in fear), so some parents aren't freaking out anyway. Stopped at Costco to fill up (I am one of those who feels iffy at below 1/2 tank), barely any lines, store parking lot didn't look busy either, maybe the peak frenzy has passed.

driver100 said:

If this is true, let's keep things in perspective;

....and don't forget the 40000 who died in the U.S. from the seasonal flu.
Tennis match in Indian Wells canceled