Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78

I’m sure I mentioned this before, but I’ll do it again. At my old job we bought a 2013 Tahoe LTZ for an office vehicle. It replaced a miled up Yukon. The Tahoe came from upstate NY from a VP’s brother who ran a dealership. It was maybe two years old with 25k miles. I had the pleasure of taking it for service and the service manager came out and said it was the most rusted vehicle he has seen for its age. Throughout the time we had it, something was always wrong underneath. Seized calipers, the harness for the air suspension was all corroded and exhaust issues.

venture

I stopped at Subaru on Thursday to show them my driver's seat on the Legacy. They just contacted me to make an appointment to get it replaced.

driver100

fintail said:

driver100 said:

Went to a small Classic Cars Meeting in Ellenton FL today. These are one of my favorites of all time. I like it a lot more than the Tesla next to it.

That Tesla has as much place in a classic car show as an accordion has in a demolition derby.

True, but it is a pretty small show, maybe 50 or 60 Classics and it looks like some of the organizers put their cars in the show just in case someone is interested. It was my first real look inside of a Tesla and I was underwhelmed. The seats look ultra thin and the backseat looks like it was added later...it isn't really built in. It is very plain inside, I'd expect more considering the cost.
Another car that I wasn't impressed with were older Mustangs that were completely monochrome black inside. Nit a touch of another color or even a piece of chrome or silver. They looked like a dark cave or something. Some of the Barracuda's or Challengers were similar.

Another car that impressed me was the AMC Javelin....I liked the contoured instrument panel and the shifter. The outside was pretty nice too, maybe the nicest looking muscle car of that time.

jmonroe1

@venture said:
I stopped at Subaru on Thursday to show them my driver's seat on the Legacy. They just contacted me to make an appointment to get it replaced.

————————————————
How much seat time did it take for that to happen? So far Mrs. j’s 2018 Legacy Limited (same color) with just a tick over 23K miles looks fine. I hope I didn’t jinx it but if I did it’s your fault.

jmonroe

Michaell

Well, this is interesting....

Now, some states are warning that the specialized paper used to print vehicle titles has gotten hard to find. Government agencies are rationing stashes and extending wait times for flummoxed dealers and car owners.

The problem isn’t with the states that issue the documents. It is with the companies that make the paper, which contains features such as watermarks and security threading to prevent counterfeiting. Consolidation in the industry has reduced the number of companies making it.

Dealers usually need titles to transfer ownership to buyers, and car owners need them to prove legal ownership when they register them, resell them or trade them in. Insurance companies typically require them to process claims. …

State officials in Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma have taken steps to conserve supplies, including giving priority to buyers who require a title to sell a vehicle, and asking dealers to hold off on applying for a title until after a purchase is final, the officials say.

Robin Shrake, a county treasurer in South Dakota, has been hearing by phone from angry and confused drivers, including some who have lost their titles, since the state’s department of revenue revealed in November that title paper would be in short supply until next year.

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

venture

jmonroe1 said:

@venture said:

I stopped at Subaru on Thursday to show them my driver's seat on the Legacy. They just contacted me to make an appointment to get it replaced.

————————————————

How much seat time did it take for that to happen? So far Mrs. j’s 2018 Legacy Limited (same color) with just a tick over 23K miles looks fine. I hope I didn’t jinx it but if I did it’s your fault.

jmonroe

Well...I am approaching 23,000 miles.

I usually slide across the seat before getting up. That's probably why, but that's the way I like to do it, I guess. Regardless, they are replacing it.

ronsteve

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I can't recall for sure, but I think you don't get hit with sales tax on the doc fee?

That’s a good question. I’ll have to look up some old car paperwork to see.

I don't think the doc fees have ever figured into the sales tax calculation in the 5 states where I have bought cars.

sda

Thankfully in SC there is a $600 cap on sales tax for cars.

jmonroe1

@sda said:
Thankfully in SC there is a $600 cap on sales tax for cars.

————————————————
I think I’ve mentioned this before. When I lived in SC from ‘92 to ‘97 I’m almost positive the maximum sales tax was $350.

jmonroe

stickguy

I am guessing that they have a VAT each year instead?

oldfarmer50

ronsteve said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I can't recall for sure, but I think you don't get hit with sales tax on the doc fee?

That’s a good question. I’ll have to look up some old car paperwork to see.

I don't think the doc fees have ever figured into the sales tax calculation in the 5 states where I have bought cars.

It has less significance in NY with it’s $75 limit but for a thousand dollar doc fee it might add up.

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

ronsteve said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

I can't recall for sure, but I think you don't get hit with sales tax on the doc fee?

That’s a good question. I’ll have to look up some old car paperwork to see.

I don't think the doc fees have ever figured into the sales tax calculation in the 5 states where I have bought cars.

It has less significance in NY with it’s $75 limit but for a thousand dollar doc fee it might add up.

Any non government fees should be subjected to sales tax.

kyfdx

In states that have restricted doc fees, they are sometimes not taxed. But, generally, doc fees are taxed, as are lease acquisition fees.

driver100

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Michaell

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

henryn

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

This comment makes me think of the way they used to notarize documents, with the paper imprinted and "crinkled" if you will. Texas stopped requiring that title transfers be notarized a number of years ago, and I haven't notarized anything in many years, but I assume they still do that?

kyfdx

henryn said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

This comment makes me think of the way they used to notarize documents, with the paper imprinted and "crinkled" if you will. Texas stopped requiring that title transfers be notarized a number of years ago, and I haven't notarized anything in many years, but I assume they still do that?

Back in 2015, or so... KY quit requiring a Notary to have the embossing stamp. Now, they just have to sign, and put the date their commission ends. Weird.

mjfloyd1

I stumbled upon another car auction site

Pcarmarket.com

explorerx4

The have some nice stuff on that site.

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

I stumbled upon another car auction site

Pcarmarket.com

Dammit

stickguy

From my recent home buying/selling/mortgaging, the notary seems to be going the way of the dodo. now, everything is done online via E-sign.

snakeweasel

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

Wrong, it's ink on cotton and linen.

Ok I picked my nit for the day.

henryn

I was reading further comments about notary's, and a memory surfaced. At some point during the VW diesel buyback, I had to have a paper notarized. I don't even remember now what that paper was, but I remember having a very hard time finding a notary, finally getting the job done at a UPS store (which seemed very strange, but whatever).

For the life of me, I can't remember if they "embossed" the paper, but I think they did.

stickguy

last time I did one (at the bank, they always have Notaries) they still had the embosser tool. and a stamper

henryn

And on gas prices, the Chevron station close to my house has fallen to $2.69 (credit) $2.59 (cash). Prices are definitely coming down.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

And on gas prices, the Chevron station close to my house has fallen to $2.69 (credit) $2.59 (cash). Prices are definitely coming down.

An aforementioned Citgo station is down to $2.87 for regular. Lowest in at least a year.

Now I know what to do with all the plastic bags I was saving:

https://youtu.be/XRjNdgAetQE

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

And on gas prices, the Chevron station close to my house has fallen to $2.69 (credit) $2.59 (cash). Prices are definitely coming down.

An aforementioned Citgo station is down to $2.87 for regular. Lowest in at least a year.

Now I know what to do with all the plastic bags I was saving:

https://youtu.be/XRjNdgAetQE

————————————————-
I’d say that’s a video made for the internet crowd. If not she’s probably first in line to vote before heading to the gas station for another fill-up.

jmonroe

tjc78

In my line of work we use notarized documents quite often, especially anything with real estate

Michaell

tjc78 said:

In my line of work we use notarized documents quite often, especially anything with real estate

A few years ago, my company was working with a partner in Panama, and there were documents that had to be apostilled - basically, a certification from the government that authenticates the document.

I had to go to the Secretary of State's office in Denver to get this done.

ab348

tjc78 said:

In my line of work we use notarized documents quite often, especially anything with real estate

In my last job, since I was an Exec for a government corporation and had responsibility for legal affairs, somebody decided that I needed to by the equivalent of a notary (called a “Commissioner of Oaths” here). I got both a stamp and an embossing seal to use depending on the situation and had to be able to write the legalese it required. The strangest part was going downtown to meet the Attorney-General and having him sign the documents appointing me. I also became popular among company staff who needed their personal legal documents notarized for signature. I did that gratis.

oldfarmer50

tjc78 said:

In my line of work we use notarized documents quite often, especially anything with real estate

You have me thinking, when I paid off my last car loan the bank sent me the payoff acknowledgment. The letter didn’t have the raised notary stamp. Previously, when I went to the DMV to get a new title without the lien listed they required that raised stamp.

Unless the DMV has changed the requirements I wonder if I’ll have problems this time.

imidazol97

https://ourgoldguy.com/2022/12/14/63000-hybrid-jeep-wranglers-recalled-in-yet-another-major-blow-to-hybrid-vehicles/

stickguy

@imidazol97 said:
https://ourgoldguy.com/2022/12/14/63000-hybrid-jeep-wranglers-recalled-in-yet-another-major-blow-to-hybrid-vehicles/

That’s sounds like a Chrysler thing, it a hybrid thing.

stickguy

@oldfarmer50 said:
You have me thinking, when I paid off my last car loan the bank sent me the payoff acknowledgment. The letter didn’t have the raised notary stamp. Previously, when I went to the DMV to get a new title without the lien listed they required that raised stamp.

Unless the DMV has changed the requirements I wonder if I’ll have problems this time.

I just reregistered sand retitled 2. I can’t recall if both had raised seals but dmv took whatever the finance companies sent.

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

https://ourgoldguy.com/2022/12/14/63000-hybrid-jeep-wranglers-recalled-in-yet-another-major-blow-to-hybrid-vehicles/

As I've said before; I'm just going to hang on to my prehistoric TJ Sahara; it's relatively simple and inexpensive to repair- and anyway, I've owned it for over 20 years, so now it's really part of the family...

driver100

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

I went to get my license renewed in Ontario. They take a picture and make up a plastic license card, but it takes about 3 seeks before you receive it in the mail. In the meantime they give me regular paper forms that I can carry in the car.
If I am stopped I can show them the temporary papers, and I am sure they will check with the big computer to make sure the papers are legit. If I forged them they will know as soon as they check. Who would carry phony papers thinking they are going to work if you are actually stopped?

Michaell

Good explanation why Colorado's utiity bills went up so much in December

driver100

mjfloyd1 said:

I stumbled upon another car auction site

Pcarmarket.com

What does the "P" stand for?

explorerx4

The 'P' could be Porsche, they have a lot of them on there.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

Wrong, it's ink on cotton and linen.

Ok I picked my nit for the day.

Well to really nit Canadian dollar bills are Polymer and last at least 2.5 times longer than cotton-paper notes, saving money in processing and replacement costs. These notes combine transparency and holography to make for one-of-a-kind currency. That is a hologram along the right side.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

And on gas prices, the Chevron station close to my house has fallen to $2.69 (credit) $2.59 (cash). Prices are definitely coming down.

An aforementioned Citgo station is down to $2.87 for regular. Lowest in at least a year.

Now I know what to do with all the plastic bags I was saving:

https://youtu.be/XRjNdgAetQE

I wish MrsD100 would try to save money like that woman was doing!

MrsD100 went back home for 2 weeks, and some of my neighbors down here feel sorry for me so they invite me to dinners. They asked if I wanted to go to East Coast Pizza so I said yes, and one insisted on driving. When we were close she insisted on getting gas at Sams Club, so we drove all over the back alleys to get to the pumps, risking our lives to get through the crazy parking lot to get to the pumps. They were lined up about 6 rows 6 cars in each row. We waited about 10 minutes, weren't moving, so we decided to go to the restaurant and come back after. After there were 3 cars ahead of us. We finally get to the pump, but it is on the wrong side, the driver says the hose stretches. Well the car wasn't really close enough so I had to pull on the hose and hold it upside down for it to reach. Then she says to stop when it gets to $15! I couldn't believe it! I risked my life, wasted 30 minutes of my valuable life, we could have been clipped or in a major accident in those zoo like conditions....to save $1.50! And since she didn't fill up she will have to go through all of that again....sooner!

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

henryn said:

And on gas prices, the Chevron station close to my house has fallen to $2.69 (credit) $2.59 (cash). Prices are definitely coming down.

An aforementioned Citgo station is down to $2.87 for regular. Lowest in at least a year.

Now I know what to do with all the plastic bags I was saving:

https://youtu.be/XRjNdgAetQE

I just would have loved to be there when she got home and opened the trunk.

Gas here is getting close to $3/gallon for RUG. Now I can pretend to be rich seeing that I have 3.17 gallons of the expensive stuff sitting in my garage for the winter.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Good explanation why Colorado's utiity bills went up so much in December

I always get a kick out of those suggestions on how to lower your bills like you didn’t think to turn the thermostat down. How about some practical advice like installing a wood stove and burning your furniture like in Germany? Maybe you can sleep with your dogs or bring in a few neighbors to share body heat too.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

Wrong, it's ink on cotton and linen.

Ok I picked my nit for the day.

Well to really nit Canadian dollar bills are Polymer and last at least 2.5 times longer than cotton-paper notes, saving money in processing and replacement costs. These notes combine transparency and holography to make for one-of-a-kind currency. That is a hologram along the right side.

————————————————
Where do you guys get those folks that pose for your currency? I’m willing to bet that @roadburner has seen better looking mug shots of the folks that have come before his bench.

jmonroe

Michaell

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

Good explanation why Colorado's utiity bills went up so much in December

I always get a kick out of those suggestions on how to lower your bills like you didn’t think to turn the thermostat down. How about some practical advice like installing a wood stove and burning your furniture like in Germany? Maybe you can sleep with your dogs or bring in a few neighbors to share body heat too.

My dogs are under 15 pounds so while they don’t take up a lot of room in the bed, neither do they provide a lot of warmth.

explorerx4

I'm glad I was able to lock in my NG rate for 2 years. Saving close to 30% over the current base rate.

driver100

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

Michaell said:

driver100 said:

Michaell said:

“This is so out of our hands,” says Ms. Shrake. “We cannot do anything about it without paper. This is like making a cake without eggs.”

So the government can't make a temporary document that can be converted over once they have the paper back in stock? The world has to stop until they get the right paper. To be extra safe they could stamp it or use some kind of seal........just have a good system to verify they are legit.

Think about how easy it would be to forge this "temporary" document. Why do you think governments spend millions of dollars on technology to make paper money hard to counterfeit? It's just ink on paper, right?

Wrong, it's ink on cotton and linen.

Ok I picked my nit for the day.

Well to really nit Canadian dollar bills are Polymer and last at least 2.5 times longer than cotton-paper notes, saving money in processing and replacement costs. These notes combine transparency and holography to make for one-of-a-kind currency. That is a hologram along the right side.

————————————————
Where do you guys get those folks that pose for your currency? I’m willing to bet that @roadburner has seen better looking mug shots of the folks that have come before his bench.

jmonroe

Did you notice the different denominations are different colors. It helps prevent giving someone a $20 bill instead of a $1 bill.

henryn

Michaell said:

oldfarmer50 said:

Michaell said:

Good explanation why Colorado's utiity bills went up so much in December

I always get a kick out of those suggestions on how to lower your bills like you didn’t think to turn the thermostat down. How about some practical advice like installing a wood stove and burning your furniture like in Germany? Maybe you can sleep with your dogs or bring in a few neighbors to share body heat too.

My dogs are under 15 pounds so while they don’t take up a lot of room in the bed, neither do they provide a lot of warmth.

I've got an 80 pound white lab, and she is very warm.

Speaking of burning your furniture, while I haven't done that (yet), I have come close a couple of times when the power was out and it was very cold. February 2021, the great Texas freeze, a number of people did freeze to death. Luckily for me, my power was only out for 18 hours. Many people were without power in below freezing temperatures for several days. Nothing like what some of the posters here experience, but definitely something we're not used to, and as I mentioned, a number of people did die.

tjc78

@explorerx4 said:
I'm glad I was able to lock in my NG rate for 2 years. Saving close to 30% over the current base rate.

I’m December of 2020 our natural gas rate was .229 / therm.

Then last year they raised it to .502 and now it is .786. That is wild and over a 200% increase in two years

snakeweasel

@driver100 said:
Did you notice the different denominations are different colors. It helps prevent giving someone a $20 bill instead of a $1 bill.

I don't know about you but the big $20 on the bill would give it away.

That Being said I did notice that the different denominations in Europe were different sizes.