Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

corvette

@28firefighter - looks good. I leased a 2007 A4 Quattro sedan with the Tiptronic and felt like it was a little underpowered at times and I swear I felt it misfire, although it never threw a CEL. Meh color scheme, mine was dark blue with a tan interior and (fake?) aluminum trim, which looked really great. That said, I'm not sure I'd own a 15 year old one with 150k.

qbrozen

@28firefighter said:
Someone save me from myself. Only $6700 upfront and the balance due in the form of spousal support post divorce.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html

150k audi? No thanks.
5.2 Jeep with rebuilt trans is iffy, too, but I’d take a chance if it was a lot cheaper.

qbrozen

@Sandman6472 said:
"Medical editor", sounds impressive but, what does it really mean?

Exactly what it sounds like. I edit medical materials. Mostly physician-facing pharmaceutical education stuff. And, to be more specific, I am an editorial director. I used to be much higher up in a large advertising firm, but I decided I didn’t want to deal with the drama and stress, so I stepped back several years ago.

ab348

stickguy said:

other than being black over black, that is a nice looking Audi. And it needs nothing! Says so right in the ad!

In that case, it must be true. After all, what could possible go wrong on a 15 y-o Audi with 150K miles?

I actually have a really good indy Audi shop that is within walking distance too!

Good thing, you'd need something like that nearby.

sda

28firefighter said:

Look at those seats! I want to buy it and furnish my office with it.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/seattle-1994-jeep-grand-cherokee-limited/7453116997.html

"a/c might need recharging", hmmm. It looks pretty nice overall. Those were soft and comfortable seats.

au1994

28firefighter said:

Someone save me from myself. Only $6700 upfront and the balance due in the form of spousal support post divorce.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html

Is the current Jeep gone? I know you don’t have an ETA on the new one yet, but what do you think worse case is? 3 more months?

Its either take a fun risk on something like the Audi, drive the ZHP, or just get a basic and proven econobox that would cost you very little for the period you need it.

I completely get the appeal of the Audi. Nothing like a sexy long roof.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

Someone save me from myself.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html> @stickguy said:

other than being black over black, that is a nice looking Audi. And it needs nothing! Says so right in the ad!

I actually have a really good indy Audi shop that is within walking distance too!

Saves on the Uber rides back and forth.

I have a really good Audi/VW indy shop, too.

tjc78

It’s funny about professional titles, sometimes you really have no idea what a person does. When I say my title people look a little cross eyed… then I just say I make retail stores look pretty or “I run the remodel department”

tjc78

They JGC brings back a lot of memories. When I first started with my old company back in 2000 I did a ton of traveling. The owner would pass all his and his wife’s cars down to us for company use. They handed me the keys to a 96 Jeep just like that except it was a 6 cylinder. I put at least 40K on that thing. It was never my favorite drive and could be a little hairy above 75. However, it was comfortable and never let me down except one day stuck in traffic on I95 on a 100 degree day the AC went. IIRC when I stopped using it there was around 150K miles on it. After that the owner took it to his Vermont home for the exclusive use of hauling trash to the dump for the three times a year he went up there… yeah that’s money.

au1994

tjc78 said:

It’s funny about professional titles, sometimes you really have no idea what a person does. When I say my title people look a little cross eyed… then I just say I make retail stores look pretty or “I run the remodel department”

Yep. Titles are titles. I quit chasing them a while ago. Given my level of responsibility and spend managed, I’d be a director at other companies, I’m not and thats fine. A friend was a VP of HR and his company was acquired by a major EU automation company. He’s now called the Regional HR Lead. Same, if not more, responsibilities etc. Seems everyone in banking is a VP of some sort. Thats cool.

To me pay is important of course but culture almost more so. Having had a bad run of toxicity over a couple of employers taught me that!

tjc78

@au1994 said:
Yep. Titles are titles. I quit chasing them a while ago. Given my level of responsibility and spend managed, I’d be a director at other companies, I’m not and thats fine. A friend was a VP of HR and his company was acquired by a major EU automation company. He’s now called the Regional HR Lead. Same, if not more, responsibilities etc. Seems everyone in banking is a VP of some sort. Thats cool.

To me pay is important of course but culture almost more so. Having had a bad run of toxicity over a couple of employers taught me that!

I never realized how bad the culture was at my old company until being forced to start a new job. I had been there so long that I was just used to it. Looking back I should have left long before the end.

Biggest perk of moving to Director in many companies is a higher bonus level and better stock options/awards. During Covid my wife was awarded stock for her performance. Her boss pulled strings since that was reserved for Directors and above.

qbrozen

I have always hated titles. Never understood what the big deal was. At the big firm, I was up to Sr VP. I didn’t care what they called me but the rules of the mothership dictated that any significant raise must be a title increase. I was into having more control back then so I could make sure things were done right. I got over it. Not worth the extra baggage it comes with. I tried to make a switch to teaching, but the pharma agency world sucked me back in with a bigger paycheck (vs teaching) to work from home.

stickguy

tjc78 said:

It’s funny about professional titles, sometimes you really have no idea what a person does. When I say my title people look a little cross eyed… then I just say I make retail stores look pretty or “I run the remodel department”

Growing up, my kids would tell you my job was “send emails and talk on the phone”. Sadly it was entirely accurate.

breld

@28firefighter -

Wouldn’t hurt to just take a peek at that A4 Avant, since it’s local anyway.

qbrozen

This struck me as very funny, so wanted to share. I wonder if the driver was aware before being struck.

28firefighter

To be clear, I’m definitely not buying the Jeep or the Audi. But the Audi is very tempting.

qbrozen

Wife is really loving this. Seems like a lot of dough for a used FWD volvo, though. I know she'd be happier with AWD and a cargo area, but this is the dream color combo.

28firefighter

That is a nice color combo. Had to have been special ordered.

stickguy

Love that interior.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

@28firefighter said:

Someone save me from myself. Only $6700 upfront and the balance due in the form of spousal support post divorce.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html

150k audi? No thanks.

5.2 Jeep with rebuilt trans is iffy, too, but I’d take a chance if it was a lot cheaper.

That tranny was rebuilt at 148K miles and he’s selling it with 148K miles. HUH? I’d be willing to bet that the tranny warranty is NOT transferable. If the car is so great why is he selling it? Oh yeah, the tax man cometh.

I don’t think I could trust a guy selling a 20 something year old car that only needs an AC charge who isn’t current with his taxes.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

Someone save me from myself.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html> @stickguy said:

other than being black over black, that is a nice looking Audi. And it needs nothing! Says so right in the ad!

I actually have a really good indy Audi shop that is within walking distance too!

Saves on the Uber rides back and forth.

I have a really good Audi/VW indy shop, too.

I don’t know this first hand but I’ve heard that owning a German car out of warranty requires that the owner has a good indie shop and the closer the better.

jmonroe

carnaught

If I was getting a “$150k Audi”, I’d get something like this, the Etron, basically a Taycan but prettier.

tifighter

Well, in the ongoing Rivian chronicles, the CEO sent out an email this morning that roughly says, "whoops, we misjudged that one."

Now reservations are to be locked in at their original reservation price. Apparently those that cancelled can contact Rivian to have it restored at the original price. I bet the cancellations were massive. The mess continues.

28firefighter

tifighter said:

Well, in the ongoing Rivian chronicles, the CEO sent out an email this morning that roughly says, "whoops, we misjudged that one."

Ya think?

au1994

tifighter said:

Well, in the ongoing Rivian chronicles, the CEO sent out an email this morning that roughly says, "whoops, we misjudged that one."

Now reservations are to be locked in at their original reservation price. Apparently those that cancelled can contact Rivian to have it restored at the original price. I bet the cancellations were massive. The mess continues.

Captain Understatement

qbrozen

tifighter said:

Well, in the ongoing Rivian chronicles, the CEO sent out an email this morning that roughly says, "whoops, we misjudged that one."

Now reservations are to be locked in at their original reservation price. Apparently those that cancelled can contact Rivian to have it restored at the original price. I bet the cancellations were massive. The mess continues.

20% haircut on the stock these past 2 days. Ouch.

qbrozen

Found this one for the wife. She is intrigued.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=630495758

But is also pretty keen on an S90, if we're talking big sedans. Those are not very cheap, though.

ab348

Get her into a Jaaaaaaag and she might tell you to cancel the order for the shuttle bus.

stickguy

Jag reminds me of my TLX.

xwesx

Michaell said:

Bronze seems all the rage, at the moment.

Bronze works really well on some colors! Anything darker than a mid-tone wears them really well. Brighter than that, and it tends to subdue to rich brown tone of the wheel.

I saw a Yukon, which itself was black (bleh), wearing smaller diameter bronze wheels, similar to mine, that also had dark blue highlights on them. These wheels really jazzed up an otherwise boring paint scheme on the car in an elegant way (i.e., without being obnoxious).

I saw it at a rest area somewhere in the fly-over states on my way to Ohio last summer, and also happened to cross paths with the owner (I was eating my lunchtime PBJ, so I had some time to lurk) as his family came out to the car, and I commented on the wheels. He immediately lit up and talked at length about them, and how his wife was iffy about the change (they went from something like 20" or 21" chrome rims, and part of his reasoning on getting these was the substantial cost savings on the new tires they needed), and also how he had received several positive remarks in the year he'd had them. His wife was loading up younglings, so I commented to her that while husbands being right about something was a rare occurrence, I thought he'd got this one spot on.

xwesx

andres3 said:

Don't try and fool the Germans!!!

Anyways, they sent the oil off to a lab to make sure it wasn't a bad batch of oil or if it tells anything else.

I have to pay the delta between the junk oil housing part and the OEM oil housing (that's fair). But there better be zero labor on this bill. Car's ready to pick up.

That's kinda nuts. BUT, not surprised at all. Hell, I have a constant "glow plug" light on my car that disables the cruise system (that's just intentional spiteful by the manufacturers - seriously!) all because I have a relay stubbed into the brake pedal wire. Yep, a relay, that uses maybe a tenth of an amp of voltage, and it triggers a warning light. Why did I do this? Oh, well, because even though Audi includes the wiring for a trailer brake on all their Q7s, they don't let you use it unless you buy some $1,000 module to connect to the BCM (and they discontinued availability on it). So, yeah. Jackwagons. LOL

andres3

corvette said:

@28firefighter - looks good. I leased a 2007 A4 Quattro sedan with the Tiptronic and felt like it was a little underpowered at times and I swear I felt it misfire, although it never threw a CEL. Meh color scheme, mine was dark blue with a tan interior and (fake?) aluminum trim, which looked really great. That said, I'm not sure I'd own a 15 year old one with 150k.

Tiptronic was a clever marketing name for slush box automatic.

xwesx

corvette said:

Read a couple of articles on TTAC today... GM deleting the rear entertainment system from their full size SUVs... nothing of value lost there, IMO. Kids these days generally have numerous handheld devices which get replaced/upgraded/updated on a more frequent basis than their parents' vehicles.

And one on the "worst" cars you can buy with a tax refund. I don't know any of these people who get these alleged $9,000-15,000 tax refunds, but I'm guessing it must be a somewhat common occurrence?

I dunno, but if they're getting tax refunds that large, they're doing something wrong on the withholding side! Why let the government hold onto your money for a year when you could be putting it to use yourself?

stickguy

Some people need enforced savings. Like a Christmas club account.

xwesx

explorerx4 said:

Price of gas just went way up, cough cough.

Hilarious quip.... but you're not even kidding.

I filled up the Q7 this morning (promised I would within a few days!), and diesel was $4.20/gal.... up from $3.95/gal two days ago. /facepalm

andres3

jmonroe1 said:

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

Someone save me from myself.

https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/d/mountlake-terrace-2007-audi-a4-avant-6mt/7453090454.html> @stickguy said:

other than being black over black, that is a nice looking Audi. And it needs nothing! Says so right in the ad!

I actually have a really good indy Audi shop that is within walking distance too!

Saves on the Uber rides back and forth.

I have a really good Audi/VW indy shop, too.

I don’t know this first hand but I’ve heard that owning a German car out of warranty requires that the owner has a good indie shop and the closer the better.

jmonroe

I think this is true with any car from any manufacturer out of warranty. Now, Honda and Toyota might get away with the local Midas outfit, but other then that, you are asking for trouble if you don't have a good indie shop.

xwesx

Just for the sake of posterity, the photo below likely represents the maximum depth of the snowpack this year. The middle area is the walk up to my office, and the areas to each side are snow accumulated on the lawn. During the summer, the walk is at an even height with the ground on either side. Total depth? Probably about 36-39"; it comes up to just over my hips.




Even though temperatures will likely remain (mostly) below freezing for a few weeks yet, the increase in sunlight and sun warmth will result in significant compaction of the snow during that time.

au1994

xwesx said:

explorerx4 said:

Price of gas just went way up, cough cough.

Hilarious quip.... but you're not even kidding.

I filled up the Q7 this morning (promised I would within a few days!), and diesel was $4.20/gal.... up from $3.95/gal two days ago. /facepalm

Regular is up to 3.59 here and I’m still holding on to 1/8 of a tank that I bought on 2/1. There’s talk of bringing us back to the office on a hybrid schedule beginning in April so the timing for that couldn’t be worse. I personally don’t see the need especially if all I am going to do is sit on Teams or Zoom calls from my office. April would be 25 months at home for us and thats just too long of a time period to bring people back. Lots of stuff has changed. Spouses have taken different shifts/jobs, people have let go of child care etc. Plus I don’t expect a 7% raise to account for inflation to offset the additional costs of returning to the office like gas, dry cleaning etc.

xwesx

@au1994 If a distributed workforce works with the jobs you do, I agree! For many of the jobs here, WFH resulted in many compromises and/or certain jobs not getting done (or well, or often...). So, bringing those people back to the office was necessary. However, we have some folks who have jobs that are a good fit for the distributed model, and they, too, work well in that role (many people are terrible at it), so I see no need to force them back into the office.

Instead, I just cut their pay by 10% and told them to say home.

Haha! No, I didn't do the first part (though, it wouldn't be unreasonable to do so given the cost and time savings for the employee).

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

Just for the sake of posterity, the photo below likely represents the maximum depth of the snowpack this year. The middle area is the walk up to my office, and the areas to each side are snow accumulated on the lawn. During the summer, the walk is at an even height with the ground on either side. Total depth? Probably about 36-39"; it comes up to just over my hips.




Even though temperatures will likely remain (mostly) below freezing for a few weeks yet, the increase in sunlight and sun warmth will result in significant compaction of the snow during that time.

There was a time when that would have never bothered me but the last 5 or 6 years changed all that. Whipyness sets in when you’re around 75, at least for me it has.

jmonroe

ab348

Big jump in fuel prices here today. 10 cents a liter for gas, 17 cents for diesel after it went up 6 cents on Monday.

sda

@au1994 We're on schedule to return to the office 3/14. It will be a hybrid model, 3 days in. My role is easily done remotely. I am not looking forward to all the additional expense as you mention as well as losing 3 hours a day to commute. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues but that's about it.

au1994

sda said:

@au1994 We're on schedule to return to the office 3/14. It will be a hybrid model, 3 days in. My role is easily done remotely. I am not looking forward to all the additional expense as you mention as well as losing 3 hours a day to commute. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues but that's about it.

Completely agree. Its not decided if ours will be 2 or 3 days in, I’d prefer 1! I’ll lose a little over an hour a day commuting but they will actually lose more than that. On days I have to go in I won’t be hitting the computer at 6:15. I’ll have to wait my turn in the shower, dress and drive so they won’t get productivity out of me till about 8. Same on the back end. I may step away from the computer at 5 ish but I still check it from time to time till about 7 and respond as necessary. I don’t see me logging in at 5:30 when I get home.

Some jackwagon has suggested that Mondays and Fridays be the mandatory office days. He’s not real popular right now.

28firefighter

au1994 said:

sda said:

@au1994 We're on schedule to return to the office 3/14. It will be a hybrid model, 3 days in. My role is easily done remotely. I am not looking forward to all the additional expense as you mention as well as losing 3 hours a day to commute. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues but that's about it.

Completely agree. Its not decided if ours will be 2 or 3 days in, I’d prefer 1! I’ll lose a little over an hour a day commuting but they will actually lose more than that. On days I have to go in I won’t be hitting the computer at 6:15. I’ll have to wait my turn in the shower, dress and drive so they won’t get productivity out of me till about 8. Same on the back end. I may step away from the computer at 5 ish but I still check it from time to time till about 7 and respond as necessary. I don’t see me logging in at 5:30 when I get home.

Some jackwagon has suggested that Mondays and Fridays be the mandatory office days. He’s not real popular right now.

Someone suggested, in a hybrid 3 day week model, that you go in on Mondays and Fridays as mandatory? ....What possible reasoning could they have for that?

We're going back hybrid but unclear when, how, and how enforced it'll be. Calling it hybrid just means I'll be allowed to have a dedicated desk vs. hotel space.

au1994

28firefighter said:

au1994 said:

sda said:

@au1994 We're on schedule to return to the office 3/14. It will be a hybrid model, 3 days in. My role is easily done remotely. I am not looking forward to all the additional expense as you mention as well as losing 3 hours a day to commute. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues but that's about it.

Completely agree. Its not decided if ours will be 2 or 3 days in, I’d prefer 1! I’ll lose a little over an hour a day commuting but they will actually lose more than that. On days I have to go in I won’t be hitting the computer at 6:15. I’ll have to wait my turn in the shower, dress and drive so they won’t get productivity out of me till about 8. Same on the back end. I may step away from the computer at 5 ish but I still check it from time to time till about 7 and respond as necessary. I don’t see me logging in at 5:30 when I get home.

Some jackwagon has suggested that Mondays and Fridays be the mandatory office days. He’s not real popular right now.

Someone suggested, in a hybrid 3 day week model, that you go in on Mondays and Fridays as mandatory? ....What possible reasoning could they have for that?

We're going back hybrid but unclear when, how, and how enforced it'll be. Calling it hybrid just means I'll be allowed to have a dedicated desk vs. hotel space.

One if these old school types that think people are extending their weekends so he’s making it penal.

But yes, since all I need is internet, I usually spend Thur-Sun at the lake. Sometimes Wed too.

28firefighter

au1994 said:

28firefighter said:

au1994 said:

sda said:

@au1994 We're on schedule to return to the office 3/14. It will be a hybrid model, 3 days in. My role is easily done remotely. I am not looking forward to all the additional expense as you mention as well as losing 3 hours a day to commute. It will be nice to see some of my colleagues but that's about it.

Completely agree. Its not decided if ours will be 2 or 3 days in, I’d prefer 1! I’ll lose a little over an hour a day commuting but they will actually lose more than that. On days I have to go in I won’t be hitting the computer at 6:15. I’ll have to wait my turn in the shower, dress and drive so they won’t get productivity out of me till about 8. Same on the back end. I may step away from the computer at 5 ish but I still check it from time to time till about 7 and respond as necessary. I don’t see me logging in at 5:30 when I get home.

Some jackwagon has suggested that Mondays and Fridays be the mandatory office days. He’s not real popular right now.

Someone suggested, in a hybrid 3 day week model, that you go in on Mondays and Fridays as mandatory? ....What possible reasoning could they have for that?

We're going back hybrid but unclear when, how, and how enforced it'll be. Calling it hybrid just means I'll be allowed to have a dedicated desk vs. hotel space.

One if these old school types that think people are extending their weekends so he’s making it penal.

But yes, since all I need is internet, I usually spend Thur-Sun at the lake. Sometimes Wed too.

And I bet your output has suffered dramatically /sarcasm.

sda

From what I've heard so far, everyone will be in the office on Wednesdays. They haven't said what other days we will be required to come in. Tues, Weds, Thurs works for me but I won't hold my breath.

breld

We've been doing a hybrid approach with 3 days in the office for quite awhile now. We never went 100% WFH except for a few weeks here and there when it was actually mandated by the county/state, and while I thought it was overly aggressive back then, I think it's paying dividends now where employees never got used to 100% WFH.

breld

On the Rivian front, I think I'll just keep my order out there. Given the recent backtracking on the price adjustment, there could potentially be a decent amount of instant equity.

I would prefer to switch over to the truck, but if I can't maintain the early adopter pricing, then it certainly makes no sense.

EDIT: I just got off the phone with Rivian and sounds like I'll be able to switch the model and maintain the preorder pricing.

corvette

I was 100% WFH from March, 2020 through June, 2021. I am far more productive working from home full time. Our midsize corporate overlords have also enacted a bunch of restrictions, including no Monday or Friday WFH, max of two days per week, they need to be the same days each week, and any WFH permission is intended to be temporary and not permanent. They are likely to lose employees if they don’t loosen the screws, but don’t seem to be listening.