Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

cdnpinhead

Regarding the snow blower: Does the driveway slope at all? Does it have tire chains, or is it the track drive type? Unless you're planning on having someone clear your driveway and sidewalks, the first time it snows 18 inches or so you're going to wish you had a brute of a machine. Top tip: get on it right away; if you wait a day or two and the temperature rises at all, it'll compact and be much (much) harder to deal with.

Welcome to the land that has real winter. It's definitely an acquired taste.

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Ha ha, you guys coming from those balmy southern climates have no idea what you’re in for.

Bah, you ought to at least have shown him a picture of some heavy snowfall. That one is a mere dusting.

It didn't take long to find pics of actual Saratoga area snowfall.




Buy it buy it buy it.

stickguy

That is rare these days though. Worst case for the big stuff hire somebody!

I could always buy it and sell for a profit I December when the stores are sold out too. Hey it works for cars now

Driveway is pretty short and relatively flat. So it is an easy one to do. Maybe I could send my wife out to do neighbors for extra money?

I guess you guilted me in to at least negotiating.

stickguy

Here’s a picture of it. If we get more snow than this can handle I’m staying in and waiting for the national guard.

blob:null/51ad7a9a-48da-48f3-82af-3489201aa0e2

pensfan83

A few pics from our trip. If you stay away from the tourist traps, this is one nice area.

oldfarmer50

“ Worst case for the big stuff hire somebody!”

Good luck finding someone to plow AFTER a snow fall unless you want to stand in a drift out by the road begging itinerant plow trucks to come in and mow down your shrubs for an exorbitant price.

Around here you contract with “the guy” well ahead of time either by the plow or by the season.

I see I’m going to have to learn ya’ in the ways of northern life. Next lesson: buying milk and bread before the storm.

oldfarmer50

pensfan83 said:

A few pics from our trip. If you stay away from the tourist traps, this is one nice area.

Beautiful. Where is that?

pensfan83

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Those pictures were taken at Clingman's Dome, about an hour or so away from Gatlinburg. Elevation, ~6,600 feet. The drive up itself was also very picturesque. We've spent a lot of time in the park this week, lots to see and do there.

ab348

stickguy said:

That is rare these days though.

This is from 2 years ago:



They also had a similar snow event the year before. This is not ancient history.

Nobody has mentioned the most important job of a snowblower like that one: to clear the mountain of compressed snow and ice boulders that the municipal snowplow pushes into the end of your driveway a few hours after you had cleared it all out. If nothing else, that makes them worth their weight in gold.

henryn

Everyone has their cross to bear. I don't have to deal with snow, but it is going to be 100 degrees here today (official forecast).

At least I don't have to shovel the heat!

kyfdx

pensfan83 said:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Those pictures were taken at Clingman's Dome, about an hour or so away from Gatlinburg. Elevation, ~6,600 feet. The drive up itself was also very picturesque. We've spent a lot of time in the park this week, lots to see and do there.

The kids are going to want pancakes...

Michaell

henryn said:

At least I don't have to shovel the heat!

You are quoting my wife, to a T.

Of course, she doesn't shovel it, I do.

91 out right now, and I just finished mowing the front yard. I did the back yard yesterday, with similar temps.

Xeriscaping is looking mighty attractive, at the moment.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

Here’s a picture of it. If we get more snow than this can handle I’m staying in and waiting for the national guard.

blob:null/51ad7a9a-48da-48f3-82af-3489201aa0e2

————————————————
That’s a pretty one alright. Just make sure you can start it before you buy it.

jmonroe

stickguy

It has electric start so should be easy.

stickguy

@henryn said:
Everyone has their cross to bear. I don't have to deal with snow, but it is going to be 100 degrees here today (official forecast).

At least I don't have to shovel the heat!

I don’t mind heat at all. I would take that over snow. 100 is fine. Heck I’ll go mow the lawn when it’s 95. My wife can’t handle it though very well. I blame the kids for moving north where the rest of the family already is.

I forgot one key component to this blame to get me agree to go. If I hate the winter enough we will snowbird for Q1 every year. Go rent QBs place maybe. Someplace it doesn’t snow.

roadburner

ROUNDEL editor Yale Rachlin lived in Massachusetts nearly all his fife, but when he retired he had to endure one of those winters where the state was hit with over 100 inches of snow. Not long after that he and his wife moved to Celebration, Florida- and to the best of my knowledge they never traveled north of the Mason-Dixon line again.
As I've said before, if someone ever offers us an obscene amount of money for the farm, we are building a home in Seabrook Island, SC and there we shall remain.

roadburner

My salesperson told me that they are taking a 2018 M3 Competition in trade next week. A VIN lookup reveals it has every option but a hole in the roof, so I'm going to look it over. It only has 28.5 k miles, which is a plus. I also ran across a CPO 2020 X3 M Competition. Very attractive and very fast. It's a bit more expensive, but I can't say I'm not tempted; a 161 mph box that runs the quarter in 11.6 seconds would be a real hoot- especially as it has the handling and braking to match.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

It has electric start so should be easy.

————————————————-
I’ve been at the flip all day and just saw this when we came home from dinner.

Just because it has electric start doesn’t mean it’s going to start. If that were the case, cars would always start. It could be something more than a bad battery too just like cars that can’t be started with good batteries. If it were me I’d want to see it running and put though the motions that you’d expect from a snow blower/ thrower.

jmonroe

tjc78

@jmonroe1 said:
————————————————-
I’ve been at the flip all day and just saw this when we came home from dinner.

Just because it has electric start doesn’t mean it’s going to start. If that were the case, cars would always start. It could be something more than a bad battery too just like cars that can’t be started with good batteries. If it were me I’d want to see it running and put though the motions that you’d expect from a snow blower/ thrower.

jmonroe

That thing looks brand new. I wouldn’t be too worried.

jmonroe1

roadburner said:

My salesperson told me that they are taking a 2018 M3 Competition in trade next week. A VIN lookup reveals it has every option but a hole in the roof, so I'm going to look it over. It only has 28.5 k miles, which is a plus. I also ran across a CPO 2020 X3 M Competition. Very attractive and very fast. It's a bit more expensive, but I can't say I'm not tempted; a 161 mph box that runs the quarter in 11.6 seconds would be a real hoot- especially as it has the handling and braking to match.

————————————————-
Not to be too nosey but how much over what you feel is a reasonable price are you willing to pay? Do you think your dealer will cut you a break since you worked there? I’m sure all of us in here would like to see you get it.

Good luck.

jmonroe

stickguy

tjc78 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————-

I’ve been at the flip all day and just saw this when we came home from dinner.

Just because it has electric start doesn’t mean it’s going to start. If that were the case, cars would always start. It could be something more than a bad battery too just like cars that can’t be started with good batteries. If it were me I’d want to see it running and put though the motions that you’d expect from a snow blower/ thrower.

jmonroe

That thing looks brand new. I wouldn’t be too worried.

that was my theory. I could also ask to see it run during the walk through! Though I assume it is sitting without gas? Is that how you store a snow blower, just drain the gas and let it sit?

nyccarguy

Saw my 1st new GTI in the wild today. Stick. Plaid seats. Dark grey. Sharp.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
that was my theory. I could also ask to see it run during the walk through! Though I assume it is sitting without gas? Is that how you store a snow blower, just drain the gas and let it sit?

My Stepdad had one. Yes we would siphon the gas out and then run the carburetor dry. Worked well. One year we didn’t drain the gas and had to replace the carb.

stickguy

the horror stories of the AV interface really turned me off. the capacitive buttons might drive me insane (or more than this trying to get a house ready to move is).

Man, my wife has stuff stashed all over. at least I think we are close to having it all pulled out into the opening. Getting rid of it, that is another story!

we definitely are running out of time before it is all cleaned out and packed. at some point we are going to have to have the pros come in to pack whatever is left, and hope it all fits on the trucks!

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

tjc78 said:

@jmonroe1 said:

————————————————-

I’ve been at the flip all day and just saw this when we came home from dinner.

Just because it has electric start doesn’t mean it’s going to start. If that were the case, cars would always start. It could be something more than a bad battery too just like cars that can’t be started with good batteries. If it were me I’d want to see it running and put though the motions that you’d expect from a snow blower/ thrower.

jmonroe

That thing looks brand new. I wouldn’t be too worried.

that was my theory. I could also ask to see it run during the walk through! Though I assume it is sitting without gas? Is that how you store a snow blower, just drain the gas and let it sit?
————————————————-
I do the same thing with my baby 21 inch snow blower that I do with my lawn mower at that end of their seasons…I start them up and let them run until there is no more gas. That has never let me down yet. Until maybe I just opened my big mouth.

jmonroe

stickguy

a reference point for QB? How the heck many of these are in the US anyway?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/Kd67p7w1/1996-nissan-gloria-gran-turismo

roadburner

jmonroe1 said:

roadburner said:

My salesperson told me that they are taking a 2018 M3 Competition in trade next week. A VIN lookup reveals it has every option but a hole in the roof, so I'm going to look it over. It only has 28.5 k miles, which is a plus. I also ran across a CPO 2020 X3 M Competition. Very attractive and very fast. It's a bit more expensive, but I can't say I'm not tempted; a 161 mph box that runs the quarter in 11.6 seconds would be a real hoot- especially as it has the handling and braking to match.

————————————————-
Not to be too nosey but how much over what you feel is a reasonable price are you willing to pay? Do you think your dealer will cut you a break since you worked there? I’m sure all of us in here would like to see you get it.

Good luck.

jmonroe

I won't know until I look at the car. If it has a full service history and a clean Carfax the price seems fair based on what other M3s are going for. The X3 is $14k off of MSRP, which sounds pretty decent- especially since it has only 11k miles on it.

qbrozen

@stickguy said:
a reference point for QB? How the heck many of these are in the US anyway?

https://carsandbids.com/auctions/Kd67p7w1/1996-nissan-gloria-gran-turismo

No idea. But I think with the VG30, like mine, probably very very few.

Sandman6472

When the time comes & I finally decide to jump into an EV like the Chevy Bolt, do I actually need to go to the local Chevy place & order one? Or can I just do it online like other companies? Leaning towards the Bolt as it's the size I need & Chevy store is right outside our development so super close. I know I want the smaller Bolt with the Bose audio system, used to be called a Premier and before that an LTZ as I recall. I can do without the moon roof if need be.
Am I on the right track here? With all the petrol price issues lately, thinking that EV is the future for our country, & the world basically, for our basic transportation needs. And having one EV and one gasser in the garage is probably the way to go.
But, if it's going to take months to get one, might as well get an order in sooner than later. Just need some help getting this done.

Sandman6472

Opened my MacBook Air last night & heard a crack but found nothing wrong. Opened it after I got home from work today and the clear plastic case I had on it came off...guessing that cracking noise I heard yesterday was me breaking the protective outer cover I had on it since new. The outside still looks & feels brand new so thinking I might as well replace it since I no longer have a desktop and use this laptop almost 100% of the time while I'm on the web. Found a nice black one on Amazon.com that fits the bill. Was thinking about getting another desktop but since I've lasted these past few years without needing one, might as well forget buying one & just replace the laptop's cover and be done with it. Since I basically play on the computer & only do some basic banking on it, the expense of a new desktop is very foolish. Better to spend around $25 or so for a cheapish cover for the MacBook Air.

henryn

Sandman6472 said:

When the time comes & I finally decide to jump into an EV like the Chevy Bolt, do I actually need to go to the local Chevy place & order one? Or can I just do it online like other companies? Leaning towards the Bolt as it's the size I need & Chevy store is right outside our development so super close. I know I want the smaller Bolt with the Bose audio system, used to be called a Premier and before that an LTZ as I recall. I can do without the moon roof if need be.
Am I on the right track here? With all the petrol price issues lately, thinking that EV is the future for our country, & the world basically, for our basic transportation needs. And having one EV and one gasser in the garage is probably the way to go.
But, if it's going to take months to get one, might as well get an order in sooner than later. Just need some help getting this done.

I haven't done this with the Chevrolet site, but I know that with Ford you cannot "finalize" the order on their web site, you have to go to the dealership to actually "place the order". I would rather expect Chevrolet to work the same way, but I don't actually know.

About a year ago, I tried to order a Maverick online, and it wouldn't let me. I had to go to the dealership to finish, and I never got around to doing that.

tjc78

I haven’t had a desktop for years work or personal. I just hook the laptop up to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse at my desk.

Sandman6472

Was thinking of doing that as I'd really like a bigger monitor to be honest. I know my wife just got another one and will be replacing one of the one's she uses now so maybe I could get that one. But, on the other hand, love the versatility of my laptop as I can be on the bed or in my recliner & surf the web. So, will just need to see what happens here in the next few weeks and go from there.

henryn

I think that's pretty much the corporate standard these days, a notebook with a docking station and big monitor(s), keyboard, mouse, etc. I still run a couple of big desktops with many terabytes of storage here at the house.

qbrozen

I sit on the couch with my work laptop and plug an HDMI into my 65" TV. Works well for a 2nd monitor.

stickguy

i just keep my work laptop closed on my desk and have a full sized monitor plugged into it. effectively just like having a desktop.

Sandman6472

So you must have a keyboard and a mouse that you must use, assuming here. But where do they get plugged in if your laptop is closed? I've never been that tech savy to be honest, the kids taught me everything when they were younger, I gave them a sheet of paper with #1 being, TURN ON and at the bottom, TURN OFF with no number. Had them put in the steps I'd need & over time, I kinda leaned how while also taking a computer class at the local high school. I've always been late into tech, waited super long to even get cell phone back in the early 2000's.
But now that I've taken over our son's room as my office, I've got a bigger desk now which could fit a large monitor instead of getting a regular desktop. Already have the wireless mouse but would just have to get a wireless keyboard. Just an idea really as I'd like a bigger viewing area while at my desk while keeping the versatility of taking my laptop if I go into the other room.

henryn

Keyboards and mice are all either USB connected, or wireless these days. With a docking station, you plug the keyboard, the mouse, the monitor, your speakers, and your ethernet cable (if you use one) into the docking station. You just connect the notebook to the docking station, and everything is connected and working immediately. Including the charger for the notebook.

Before I retired, my setup at work included two 24 inch monitors, and later on an additional 32 inch monitor. The notebook was plugged into the docking station, closed, and out of the way. The only time I ever unplugged the notebook was when I wanted to take it home. A lot of people brought their notebooks with them to meetings, but I strived to avoid meetings and (almost) never brought my notebook with me. I would have sessions going on several remote computers, and when I "undocked" I would lose those connections and have to re-establish all of them.

roadburner

The local Alfa dealer has a CPO Stelvio Quadrifoglio on the lot. I just know that if I test drove it I'd hear Harry Callahan talking to me- "You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?”

corvette

@roadburner - IIRC, a couple of members here got cheap leases on Alfas and ditched them well before lease end. Granted, we are in the chronic car buyer topic, but still...

stickguy

my company is too cheap to supply a docking station (heck, last time I got a laptop (only because the 10 YO one died) I discovered, when I was supposed to be on camera on a zoom call, they were too cheap to include a camera!)

I just plug the monitor into a USB, the wireless mouse dongle into another USB, and my headset into the 3rd one. Or maybe the monitor goes into a video input terminal. But I just leave them all plugged in. rare times I go to an office, I just unplug the monitor and good to go.

corvette

@stickguy - we are now on Citrix virtual desktops and I don't even bring my corporate laptop home anymore to WFH since I can just pull up the VDI on my personal hardware which is already set up in my home office.

corvette

Good-ish news on the Prius traction battery. I haven't run a complete test, but the initial readings I've gotten suggest that only one block (out of 14 blocks of two battery packs each) is way out of whack, and one other appears a little suspect. The bad news is it's a 3-4 hour job to disassemble the traction battery and replace the affected packs.

xwesx

corvette said:

Good-ish news on the Prius traction battery. I haven't run a complete test, but the initial readings I've gotten suggest that only one block (out of 14 blocks of two battery packs each) is way out of whack, and one other appears a little suspect. The bad news is it's a 3-4 hour job to disassemble the traction battery and replace the affected packs.

After spending much of the day crawling around in my attic, 3-4 hours working on a battery pack in an open and well-lit area seems like a nice way to pass the time.

stickguy

good news on the Prius. Be careful if you do it yourself so you don't electrocute yourself!

Thankfully I don't have to use our crappy Citrix desktop (just a VPN). since I always work from home it is easier to just leave my work machine hooked up. Plus I have documents and programs on that which aren't on any cloud I can get to from my own machine.

28firefighter

@corvette said:
@roadburner - IIRC, a couple of members here got cheap leases on Alfas and ditched them well before lease end. Granted, we are in the chronic car buyer topic, but still...

Ah yes. The Stelvio. The only car I’ve ever owned where I popped open the gas door and the door straight up fell off.

corvette

28firefighter said:

Ah yes. The Stelvio. The only car I’ve ever owned where I popped open the gas door and the door straight up fell off.

So why did you dump it, again?

henryn

stickguy said:

good news on the Prius. Be careful if you do it yourself so you don't electrocute yourself!

Thankfully I don't have to use our crappy Citrix desktop (just a VPN). since I always work from home it is easier to just leave my work machine hooked up. Plus I have documents and programs on that which aren't on any cloud I can get to from my own machine.

The company I was working for would not allow any computers other than the company notebooks to connect to their network. Either in the office or remotely. You couldn't even connect to the Exchange server to get email except from the company notebook or the company cellphone.

Back before the pandemic I was always amused by the people who called in and said, "My kid's sick so I'm working from home today." Then you looked in their office, and they had not even taken their notebook home with them.

mlevine

When one gets a new laptop can not go on the cheap side. My thoughts are go with intel I7 chip at least, as much memory as possible, minimal hard drive of 1T SSD, and separate graphic card. This will allow one to adapt to any upgrades in the future. You can run an extra monitor off this laptop, but not the cheap ones.

tjc78

@mlevine said:
When one gets a new laptop can not go on the cheap side. My thoughts are go with intel I7 chip at least, as much memory as possible, minimal hard drive of 1T SSD, and separate graphic card. This will allow one to adapt to any upgrades in the future. You can run an extra monitor off this laptop, but not the cheap ones.

I run a 32” monitor off of the built in (motherboard) graphics card on my corporate laptop with no issues.