Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

snakeweasel

mjfloyd1 said:

It is starting to look like no one gives two forks about spoons

Or contranyms.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@roadburner said:

It’s nothing new, back in the early ‘80s my future wife and I were driving south on I-71 a bit north of Cincinnati when two 280Zs flew past. They were cutting in and out of traffic when one of the idiots suddenly encountered TTO and slid into the guardrail.

Please everyone tell me I wasn’t the only one who had to Google TTO ….

no, I have no clue what it means either.

snakeweasel

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Who do you think would be doing the prep work at the ceramic coating shop?

Depends on the detail shop. I’d pick a shop that required all employees to have opposable thumbs.

Monkeys have opposable thumbs and we all know what they like to throw,

mjfloyd1

Poo flingers

roadburner

There used to be a so-called "engineer" on the Lincoln LS board who was convince a V6 was superior to an I6. I wasn't surprised, he didn't know brake fluid was hygroscopic either. Too bad that this article wasn't around back then.

abacomike

I try to walk a bit every day to exercise, usually at the Boca Raton mall. I need a walker because I am still having pain, but I find that when I walk, I don’t feel the back pain. But when I stand or sit in one place for more than 5 minutes, the pain becomes pronounced.

Driving the car is not a problem - I have driven one full hour so far with little discomfort - probably because the driver’s seat is comfortable and well padded.

Today, I met my friends at about 11:30 AM and we started walking. There are always people who walk with canes and walkers as I do. As I headed toward Nordstrom’s, rounding a corner near Gucci, this elderly man who had a 4-wheel walker rammed right into me - he looked up at me and yelled at me for not trying to avoid our collision. I would guess he was in his mid to late 80’s and was not very stable physically which is why his daughter walked behind him.

His daughter apologized to me for not trying to help him avoid the “bump” and for her father’s vulgar language directed at me. I accepted her apology, apologized to the man, and was about to continue walking with my friends when the man pushed me and said he isn’t going to apologize for the collision because it was my fault. He continued his ranting which resulted in my walking as fast as I could to get away from him - I did not want to aggravate the situation any more than it already was.

When I got home, I went online at Amazon and ordered a bicycle horn to attach to my walker. Once attached, I will honk my horn when rounding Gucci, Tiffany’s and Louis Vuitton to avoid any more collisions at the mall! Definitely worth the $9.99 with free shipping!!! 🤪😜

roadburner

I'd go with a taser...

cdnpinhead

abacomike said:

. . . this elderly man who had a 4-wheel walker rammed right into me - he looked up at me and yelled at me for not trying to avoid our collision.

How do you attract so many of these kinds of encounters? Either all the rest of us are keeping quiet about such things, or ? Anyway, it sounds like it wasn't anything that left lasting damage.

abacomike

@cdnpinhead said:
How do you attract so many of these kinds of encounters? Either all the rest of us are keeping quiet about such things, or ? Anyway, it sounds like it wasn't anything that left lasting damage.

No, no one was injured - the old man was probably suffering from the onset of dementia.

As for your “?”, no, I don’t lie or exaggerate! Satisfied?

stickguy

Mike, if you are bored, you should write a book about your life. You tell the stories well, and have plenty of material!

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

@kyfdx said:

Florida taxes:

Start drawing SSA, and taking RMDs, and no state income tax becomes a bigger issue.

If we had a State income tax here in Florida, say 4% or 5% net after possible deductions, it would mean about an additional expense of $300 a month, which is manageable given current conditions. But if inflation and cost of living continue to increase at 7-8 percent per year, it would put a dent in the way I budget.

If you’re worried about RMD you should go with a Roth. I’m so glad I did.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Who do you think would be doing the prep work at the ceramic coating shop?

Depends on the detail shop. I’d pick a shop that required all employees to have opposable thumbs.

Good luck finding one of those.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

I try to walk a bit every day to exercise, usually at the Boca Raton mall. I need a walker because I am still having pain, but I find that when I walk, I don’t feel the back pain. But when I stand or sit in one place for more than 5 minutes, the pain becomes pronounced.

Driving the car is not a problem - I have driven one full hour so far with little discomfort - probably because the driver’s seat is comfortable and well padded.

Today, I met my friends at about 11:30 AM and we started walking. There are always people who walk with canes and walkers as I do. As I headed toward Nordstrom’s, rounding a corner near Gucci, this elderly man who had a 4-wheel walker rammed right into me - he looked up at me and yelled at me for not trying to avoid our collision. I would guess he was in his mid to late 80’s and was not very stable physically which is why his daughter walked behind him.

His daughter apologized to me for not trying to help him avoid the “bump” and for her father’s vulgar language directed at me. I accepted her apology, apologized to the man, and was about to continue walking with my friends when the man pushed me and said he isn’t going to apologize for the collision because it was my fault. He continued his ranting which resulted in my walking as fast as I could to get away from him - I did not want to aggravate the situation any more than it already was.

When I got home, I went online at Amazon and ordered a bicycle horn to attach to my walker. Once attached, I will honk my horn when rounding Gucci, Tiffany’s and Louis Vuitton to avoid any more collisions at the mall! Definitely worth the $9.99 with free shipping!!! 🤪😜

With the number of aggressive nut jobs you run into down there I would have ordered boxing gloves.

qbrozen

@oldfarmer50 said:
With the number of aggressive nut jobs you run into down there I would have ordered boxing gloves.

Not a bad idea. If I ran into such craziness all the time, I think I’d wind up doing something totally off the wall. For example, carry a leather glove at all times and when someone gets irate, slap them across the face with it, exclaim they have insulted your honor, and challenge them to a duel.

driver100

abacomike said:

when the man pushed me and said he isn’t going to apologize for the collision because it was my fault. He continued his ranting which resulted in my walking as fast as I could to get away from him - I did not want to aggravate the situation any more than it already was.

Now it's not just road rage in Florida......now there is Walker Rage!

Glad you are OK, walking and getting exercise are supposed to be good healthy things to do.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:
With the number of aggressive nut jobs you run into down there I would have ordered boxing gloves.

Not a bad idea. If I ran into such craziness all the time, I think I’d wind up doing something totally off the wall. For example, carry a leather glove at all times and when someone gets irate, slap them across the face with it, exclaim they have insulted your honor, and challenge them to a duel.

All of Mike’s stories make me realize there is no way I could ever live in FL.

abacomike

tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

With the number of aggressive nut jobs you run into down there I would have ordered boxing gloves.

Not a bad idea. If I ran into such craziness all the time, I think I’d wind up doing something totally off the wall. For example, carry a leather glove at all times and when someone gets irate, slap them across the face with it, exclaim they have insulted your honor, and challenge them to a duel.

All of Mike’s stories make me realize there is no way I could ever live in FL.

Actually, it's been quite some time since a crazy ran into me or I ran into the crazy - over a year IIRC. I think it's because I don't shop at the Publix a few blocks from me any more - I shop at one just off the Sawgrass Expressway about 2 miles north of where I live. The store is in a nice quiet neighborhood with few, if any, elderly people. The problem I had yesterday is the first time I've had a problem at the mall. They have good security and the people there are very helpful. Also remember I live in an area where there are many, many retired folks in their 70's and 80's. That's one of the disadvantages of living in the southeastern part of the state. Up where my brother lives in Ponte Vedra, the community is sedate, quiet and very inviting. Most of Florida is like that - it's just the southeastern section that is heavily populated with the elderly.

Speaking about the Boca Raton Mall, I've been trying to get a new iPhone from the Apple Store there in the mall, but the wait, even with an appointment, is too long for me to sit. As for ordering one online and having it shipped to me, I prefer dealing with a technically savvy Apple employee who can show me how to use these new phones - they are worlds apart from the 8+ I am currently using. Additionally, the trade-in allowance is done immediately, but if you order one online, it can take weeks before Apple receives the trade-in and sends me a refund.

graphicguy

I’ve probably “Zaino’d” all of my cars at one point or another over the last 30 years. If you go the whole route, wash with Dawn, clay, Dawn wash again (to remover any clay remnants), apply the Zaino formulation you like (some you have to mix yourself), remove, apply final shine….you’re 3-4 hours of an afternoon into it. Results are spectacular, but it’s a time investment. You can layer it (additional coats) to add to durability and/or shine (hard to discern a better shine if you add to the original application). Does it last? Yeah. If I do the routine at the beginning of Spring, it will last until mid-late Fall….if it doesn’t snow and there’s no salt on the roads. Cut that in half if it does snow and salt ends up on the finish.

In between, I’ve tried different “magic” paint wax/polishes/treatments, including ceramics. None of them lasted as long as 6 months under the same conditions. You always have to reapply. But, none of them had all the steps Zaino recommends for their products, either.

Some say carnuba waxes (and they are “wax”, and not a coating like the ceramics or Zaino), give a warmer shine. And, that the synthetics offer a “brighter” shine. I think that really depends on the color you’re polishing. And, I don’t subscribe to identifying a shine as “warm” or “bright”. Shine is either bright, or it’s not shine, if you must have a distinction.

The synthetics (including Zaino and ceramics) do not offer any polishing to remove light swirls and scratches. Some will cover those swirls and scratches by allegedly filling in those areas, but those claims are dubious, at best.

The bottom line, the more time you spend prepping (i.e. clay barring), the better the results. Having a “wax job” last more than a year, as some claim, is BS….regardless of its formulation. Only way to remove swirls and scratches is to use “cut or specific polishes” which come in varying degrees of abrasives. Further, if you don’t know how to use compounds or “cuts”, don’t do it. When I first started out doing “paint correction”, I burned many a spot on the paint by thinking the more pressure applied the better/quicker the job was.

Throw a high school kid $100 to detail your car. Tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do. Give them your preferred wax/synthetic. Tell them there’s a $25 bonus if they do a really good job. Rinse and repeat whenever you feel your car needs it.

kyfdx

oldfarmer50 said:

abacomike said:

@kyfdx said:

Florida taxes:

Start drawing SSA, and taking RMDs, and no state income tax becomes a bigger issue.

If we had a State income tax here in Florida, say 4% or 5% net after possible deductions, it would mean about an additional expense of $300 a month, which is manageable given current conditions. But if inflation and cost of living continue to increase at 7-8 percent per year, it would put a dent in the way I budget.

If you’re worried about RMD you should go with a Roth. I’m so glad I did.

You still have issues with 401Ks. Roth 401Ks are a recent addition, and not offered at many companies.
Given the higher contribution limits, there is much more money tucked away in 401Ks, than IRAs.

I started putting money in IRAs in the '80s. No Roth then, either. I've been doing conversions, but it's hard to put a dent in it.

stickguy

At least they have bumped the RMD age back a few years. I have the same issue with old Money built up and largely missed the window to convert.

But not a bad problem if your worst one is having to figure out what to do with a big RMD. can always buy a Porsche.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

At least they have bumped the RMD age back a few years. I have the same issue with old Money built up and largely missed the window to convert.

But not a bad problem if your worst one is having to figure out what to do with a big RMD. can always buy a Porsche.

If you retire, and put off taking SSA, you'll have a pretty good window before RMDs.
I've been converting $30K+ to Roth, each year.

explorerx4

If you have an inherited IRA, RMD's can still apply.

cdnpinhead

abacomike said:

As for your “?”, no, I don’t lie or exaggerate! Satisfied?

I meant no offense with the question mark. I truly don't understand it, but the overall weirdness of FL may play a part.

kyfdx

explorerx4 said:

If you have an inherited IRA, RMD's can still apply.

But, for those inheriting since the SECURE act, those rules have changed. No RMDs, but all funds have to be disbursed within ten years.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
With the number of aggressive nut jobs you run into down there I would have ordered boxing gloves.

For all the years that @Mike has lived in south Florida you’d think he’d have learned by now how to pick his spots.

jmonroe

explorerx4

Mine is prior to SECURE Act, so no RMD in 2020, but had to take one in 2021 and I think 10 year rule still applies. I'm not keeping that long, will cash out and reinvest the net proceeds probably in 2023.
This year is going to be a split residency year which is complicated enough.

abacomike

I am still learning jmonroe! 🤪😜🤓

jmonroe1

@graphicguy said:
I’ve probably “Zaino’d” all of my cars at one point or another over the last 30 years. If you go the whole route, wash with Dawn, clay, Dawn wash again (to remover any clay remnants), apply the Zaino formulation you like (some you have to mix yourself), remove, apply final shine….you’re 3-4 hours of an afternoon into it. Results are spectacular, but it’s a time investment. You can layer it (additional coats) to add to durability and/or shine (hard to discern a better shine if you add to the original application). Does it last? Yeah. If I do the routine at the beginning of Spring, it will last until mid-late Fall….if it doesn’t snow and there’s no salt on the roads. Cut that in half if it does snow and salt ends up on the finish.

In between, I’ve tried different “magic” paint wax/polishes/treatments, including ceramics. None of them lasted as long as 6 months under the same conditions. You always have to reapply. But, none of them had all the steps Zaino recommends for their products, either.

Some say carnuba waxes (and they are “wax”, and not a coating like the ceramics or Zaino), give a warmer shine. And, that the synthetics offer a “brighter” shine. I think that really depends on the color you’re polishing. And, I don’t subscribe to identifying a shine as “warm” or “bright”. Shine is either bright, or it’s not shine, if you must have a distinction.

The synthetics (including Zaino and ceramics) do not offer any polishing to remove light swirls and scratches. Some will cover those swirls and scratches by allegedly filling in those areas, but those claims are dubious, at best.

The bottom line, the more time you spend prepping (i.e. clay barring), the better the results. Having a “wax job” last more than a year, as some claim, is BS….regardless of its formulation. Only way to remove swirls and scratches is to use “cut or specific polishes” which come in varying degrees of abrasives. Further, if you don’t know how to use compounds or “cuts”, don’t do it. When I first started out doing “paint correction”, I burned many a spot on the paint by thinking the more pressure applied the better/quicker the job was.

Throw a high school kid $100 to detail your car. Tell them EXACTLY what you want them to do. Give them your preferred wax/synthetic. Tell them there’s a $25 bonus if they do a really good job. Rinse and repeat whenever you feel your car needs it.

I’ve been using Collinite 845 for years. I found it by accident when shopping in a local mom and pop discount store not too long after I got my ‘09 Genny. I saw this plain jane bottle of wax on the shelf and it was a little more than the name brand wax products they had. I asked the guy if it was any good and he said they can’t get it very often but when they did it flew off the shelf. He then yells over to his buddy stocking shelves in the next aisle and said, “hey Dave, did you know we got Collinite in again? Dave yells back, “no, get me a bottle before it’s gone”. I figured oh well, one more waxing experiment coming up.

I would not say it shines any better than any of the other waxes I’ve ever used but it lasts a good bit longer. I’ve never used Zaino but I don’t want to go through all the steps required by Zaino. Washing, claying, using Meguiars polishing/wax then finishing with Collinite has given me very good results. There is probably a better way to do it but I’m tired of experimenting with wax products.

jmonroe

sda

I've tried many products over the years. This product was rated a best buy by CR. I've used both the paste and liquid. It seems to last longer than most, but not a year as it boasts. Be careful not get the product on flat plastic, flat paint, etc. or you'll curse.

carnaught

I too have used a myriad of waxes and have had good results with NuFinish, Griot’s products and Meguairs. The latter always seemed to fog up more for me, requiring my going over and over it again following it’s application.

qbrozen

sda said:

I've tried many products over the years. This product was rated a best buy by CR. I've used both the paste and liquid. It seems to last longer than most, but not a year as it boasts. Be careful not get the product on flat plastic, flat paint, etc. or you'll curse.

That's the stuff I discovered back in high school because it was on the shelf at the Walgreens I worked at. Thought it was fantastic at the time. Never could find it again. Thanks for the flashback! lol.

henryn

This is the first year I will have to take an RMD, and it's definitely going to bump my tax bracket. Can't be helped, so must be endured.

henryn

@abacomike, is that mall you walk in very busy? I ask because malls in this part of the country are dying, and from what I’ve read that appears to be the case in most of the country.

The biggest, busiest, fanciest, and most expensive mall in Houston was the Galleria. I was in the Galleria last summer, first time in over 10 years. The place was a ghost town. Around 7 p.m. on a week night, there were maybe 50 to 100 people in the whole place (and it’s very big). Around half of the store fronts were closed, as in out of business. By 8 p.m. around half of the remaining stores had closed.

Kind of sad in a way, the end of an era.

stickguy

the world evolves. When the first malls were built there was a lot of concern about hurting the local department stores. Which of course put the local mom and pop shops out of business. Amazon is just doing to them what they did to local downtowns.

I hardly ever went to the mall anyway. They had next to nothing for me.

qbrozen

Taxes? Oh, man. I was just plugging away at that this weekend. I went through the full range of emotions. Lol. So many limitations. So I pay damned near $20k in property taxes but can only deduct HALF? WTH?! That's some crazy BS. OTOH, evidently my previous years of disallowed losses on the rental property can all now be written off in one lump sum since selling it. So weird. Kind of scary to see this massive return. Makes me think of Sam Malone when he was too scared to mail in the tax return Norm prepared for him because it was a big refund.

tjc78

@qbrozen
Yeah I hate that 10K rule for taxes. Between the two homes I’m over 20K. I was just talking about this with my wife because she said with the second home we should have more deductions. I said not for the taxes…

stickguy

one good thing about having refinanced (so much lower interest rate) and finally getting a big chunk paid off. It is less annoying since my overall itemized deductions are a lot lower now so not as close to the standardized even if I could deduct all the property taxes. I think, though I guess I need to check my state taxes again!

Q, good news if you finally were able to sell the old house. I could not do that landlord business.

driver100

sda said:

I've tried many products over the years. This product was rated a best buy by CR. I've used both the paste and liquid. It seems to last longer than most, but not a year as it boasts. Be careful not get the product on flat plastic, flat paint, etc. or you'll curse.

My neighbor worked at the car wash as a detailer for years. He did the C250 a few weeks ago and that is the only time it has been waxed.....and people say it looks like a brand new car - it's a 2014.
He says Nu Finish is the only thing he would ever use.

kyfdx

@qbrozen
Real estate: Those losses weren't disallowed, just deferred.

What a lot of people don't realize about real estate: In the end, you pay tax on every dollar you make. The only way to keep deferring the gains, is to either keep the real estate, or keep buying other real estate, to defer the gains on the old property.

Also, another caveat for the "short-term" real estate investor (less than 10 years). Depreciation recapture may be at a higher rate, than you would otherwise pay. Want to skip depreciation, and pay tax as you go? Sorry, not allowed.

jmonroe1

@sda said:
I've tried many products over the years. This product was rated a best buy by CR. I've used both the paste and liquid. It seems to last longer than most, but not a year as it boasts. Be careful not get the product on flat plastic, flat paint, etc. or you'll curse.

Way back that was one of my waxing experiments. Didn’t seem to be any better than the Turtle wax I used at the time. I remember doing a side by side test of it on the looong hood of my ‘75 Grand Prix.

Man, doing the hood and doors on that car could wear you out. Wish I had my 10 inch random orbit buffer back then.

jmonroe

qbrozen

kyfdx said:

@qbrozen
Real estate: Those losses weren't disallowed, just deferred.

Right. That. lol.

Kind of funny ... if not for that and the Mach E, we would have been the closest to dead even as we have ever been.

Wife's comment on the windfall? "Oh, good, that pays for me to keep the Benz."

Sigh.

stickguy

here's something for Mike to watch since he is looking at Ceramics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCS74Axcb6c

abacomike

@stickguy said:
here's something for Mike to watch since he is looking at Ceramics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCS74Axcb6c

After watching her do all the prep work and then the ceramic application, I know why it costs $1000+ to do the job properly - especially since my car is huge compared to the Ford she worked on. Additionally, it takes 2 coats of ceramic so it will last 2-5 years with annual tune-ups.

My car is outdoors 24/7 and with the Florida sun and heat and the sap from the tree above my car, it is important to have ceramic protection. They also apply it to the wheels and the glass.

I am going to continue investigating this to make sure I select the right outfit and the right ceramic coating before spending that kind of money.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

the world evolves. When the first malls were built there was a lot of concern about hurting the local department stores. Which of course put the local mom and pop shops out of business. Amazon is just doing to them what they did to local downtowns.

I hardly ever went to the mall anyway. They had next to nothing for me.

The mall my wife likes was a ghost town maybe 30 years ago. Currently it's rather busy. I will avoid any online shopping if I can. I want to actually see what I am getting before paying for it, I have seen to many mail order horror stories.

snakeweasel

qbrozen said:

Taxes? Oh, man. I was just plugging away at that this weekend. I went through the full range of emotions. Lol. So many limitations. So I pay damned near $20k in property taxes but can only deduct HALF? WTH?! That's some crazy BS. OTOH, evidently my previous years of disallowed losses on the rental property can all now be written off in one lump sum since selling it. So weird. Kind of scary to see this massive return. Makes me think of Sam Malone when he was too scared to mail in the tax return Norm prepared for him because it was a big refund.

The biggest return I ever got for someone was well north of $20K, the guy was mad because he thought it would be more. The most a client of mine owed was just over $30K and they were very happy because it wasn't as much as they thought. Gotta love taxes.

roadburner

The March issue of Thoroughbred and Classic Cars had an interesting focus on the E9 CSL coupes. My wife and I drove a friend's U.S. spec 3.0CS, to Columbus for the BMW CCA Oktoberfest in 1990, and it was a lot of fun. A CSL is now a sis figure car, and as usual I cheaped out and didn't buy one while they were south of $50k. Oh well, the article on the early homologation street car stated that it was the first in a line of BMW driver's cars that extends to the current M2.
So there's that...

abacomike

@snakeweasel said:
The mall my wife likes was a ghost town maybe 30 years ago. Currently it's rather busy. I will avoid any online shopping if I can. I want to actually see what I am getting before paying for it, I have seen to many mail order horror stories.

I am of the same opinion regarding, “…I want to actually see what I am getting…”, however I have been buying a lot of products from Amazon lately - especially since I am partially handicapped and need a walker to walk any more than 100 feet. What I order online are products I already use - Charmin bathroom tissue rolls, Lysol antibacterial spray cleaner, Kleenex tissues, Sweet’n’Low artificial sweetener, Crystal Lite Concord Grape Drink, etc. I am a Prime member so I don’t pay for shipping and the pricing is much lower than Publix or even Walmart for most items.

I don’t have to drive there and back (gasoline prices are atrocious) and I don’t have to worry about how I am going to get the products up to my apartment or having to be wary about Covid infection. So there are many advantages of buying online. I even bought my new walking shoes online because I have worn this brand for many, many years.

tjc78

Believe it or not we signed up for Walmart +. Free grocery delivery on orders over $35 (just add tip) and free two day shipping on anything else. Works out to around the same as Shop Rite’s $5.00 charge to pickup each order. Between this and Amazon Prime, not much reason to go to the stores for day to day items.

We have been doing a Monday afternoon delivery order and a Friday morning order for specific things to take to the shore or for the weekend.

We don’t love all their products and still will hit Trader Joe’s, etc from time to time for specialty items but the convenience/price is unmatched IMO.

One of my favorite features of the delivery service is you have time to add to order after it is placed. Perfect for when you realize you are out of something.

andres3

greg128 said:

From a dashcam on a New Jersey parkway last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kkCeyRiUeA

Only mistake is he didn't involve the left lane camper/impeder and phantom brake guy's pickup truck in the utter non-sense.

stickguy

just because you have one doesn't mean it was running at any particular time.