Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

kyfdx

@pensfan83
That's very cool. We went up two years ago, when Cincinnati played them (and won!).
We had a great time. My first trip there.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@ab348 said:
One thing I didn’t know until recently thanks to Harry’s Garage YT channel - when you plug in you electric car at your home charger (and presumably public ones also), the $10 worth of electricity it costs you on your electric bill only delivers about $9 worth of juice to your battery pack, with the remainder lost in the AC to DC conversion process in the form of heat.

Losses vary depending on equipment, speed, and temperature. The car’s onboard systems are the biggest culprit, so there is nothing to be done about that. Using a good wall unit and heavy-duty charging cable, while charging at a lower speed, can help reduce the loss. Also, the car is using power to monitor the charge and, in some cases, heat or cool the battery, so not a loss but usage for something other than driving. Overall, losses have been measured from 5% up to 30%.

I could hear a cooling fan cycling on and off during charging. I’m sure that draws some power.

pensfan83

@kyfdx said:
@pensfan83
That's very cool. We went up two years ago, when Cincinnati played them (and won!).
We had a great time. My first trip there.

I was there once before but close to 20 years ago now. It's one of the most beautiful college campuses, right up there with UVA. The people were also wonderful, we sat next to a lovely family from Indianapolis and the boys loved having kids near their age to hang around.

explorerx4

@pensfan83,
We sat fairly close to where you were for the OSU game.

jmonroe1

I went to the Immaculate Reception Game, no proof though!

They didn’t have phone cameras back then but they did have ticket stubs, that I threw away.

jmonroe

pensfan83

I may/may not have mentioned this but I've been a project lead on a very large, impactful regulatory initiative that has taken 2+ years to get over the finish line and we are pencils down tomorrow. Earlier in the month we took a planned trip to Niagara Falls over the Columbus Day weekend and while I was there, I wasn't "present" as I had to often step out for calls, respond to emails, etc. My oldest son only half jokingly said he was going to throw my phone in the falls when we were on Maid of the Mist. Compounding everything work related was the sobering news some of my colleagues were getting shown the door....so it's been a very stressful 4-5 weeks and had me as mentally and physically taxed as I've ever been.

So last Thursday after dinner I did what I normally do and sign on for a bit....only when I went to get my laptop out of its case 4 Pitt/ND tickets were tucked in it with a note that pretty much made everything I was stressing about seem unimportant. All I had to do was take off Friday, which I did readily and with my boss's blessing...everything else was setup and planned (a Virgo's dream).

kyfdx

Our seats for the Cincinnati game in 2021

stickguy

That the next stadium over? 😁

kyfdx

Actually, better than they look from the picture. 🙂

qbrozen

Getting dark when it arrived, so maybe the daylight will say different but, so far, I am floored by how nice this is. I had very low expectations for the money but wow. Runs fantastic, it is quite comfortable, everything seems to work, and they even cleaned out the junk and it smells pleasant inside.

xwesx

I like that new garage! Looks nicely situated, and those big doors are fabulous!

Oh. The Xterra looks like a good score, too. I'm thinking you need to just set your signature up on the quick link so you have to go through it every time you visit the forum.

stickguy

shampoo the seats and put some of the black trim restore on the outside plastics and will take 10 years off it.

that garage is nice. I hope next year I have enough money left to actually start planning the one I want to put up. probably not until 2025 though, with everything else that has to get done. Thinking an oversized 1 car garage and shed combo. Maybe 14x26 with a 9' wide door. and a side door in the rear to serve as the shed portion. That might be more useful than a 20x22 2 car or something like that.

hitting lotto will help.

stickguy

on the new house front, still waiting for the kitchen designer to send over the initial concepts, with cost, to know how badly in a budget hole we are starting! But we did pick a front door that somehow came in under budget slightly. and nailed down the window package (we added 4 total). So slowly making progress.

tjc78

The Xterra looks great!

tjc78

Bye bye

explorerx4

@tjc78,
NJ has periodic vehicle inspections?

stickguy

you get 5 years on a new car. after that I think it is annual. But could be 2 years. I already forget!

they stopped safety inspection though, so just drive in and they plug into the OBD port and as long as that does not black flag anything, your death trap gets a new sticker and you are on your way.

mjfloyd1

@tjc78 said:
Bye bye

I’m sooooo relieved that you have a picture showing the two key fobs being returned. Those things are expensive and can ding your credit😳

tjc78

Yeah no safety inspections. I think it is still every two years.

Since I always seem to buy out of state I need to take the new car for a Jersey sticker. Good thing is the station is less than 10 mins away.

qbrozen

Yep, every 2 years. Emissions only.

Xterra came with a fail sticker, but no CEL, so likely for safety, hence the cheap sale. Front end feels sloppy, so that’s my guess.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Yep, every 2 years. Emissions only.

Xterra came with a fail sticker, but no CEL, so likely for safety, hence the cheap sale. Front end feels sloppy, so that’s my guess.

You better check for electrical tape on the instrument cluster!

qbrozen

Going to scan it tomorrow, although part of this auction’s inspection process is to do that.

sb55

tjc78 said:

Yeah no safety inspections. I think it is still every two years.

<

Vermont has safety + OBD inspections every year. And rust is a big no-no. They even ding you for rust on brake discs. We traveled in upstate NY last week and saw rusted out fenders on cars that you won't see up here. I have a friend who live up here with an old Chevy Avalanche that's got rusted fenders. It's in his sons name so that he register it in NJ and it gets inspected down there.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Getting dark when it arrived, so maybe the daylight will say different but, so far, I am floored by how nice this is. I had very low expectations for the money but wow. Runs fantastic, it is quite comfortable, everything seems to work, and they even cleaned out the junk and it smells pleasant inside.

I still can’t believe you got it so cheap.

oldfarmer50

sb55 said:

tjc78 said:

Yeah no safety inspections. I think it is still every two years.

<

Vermont has safety + OBD inspections every year. And rust is a big no-no. They even ding you for rust on brake discs. We traveled in upstate NY last week and saw rusted out fenders on cars that you won't see up here. I have a friend who live up here with an old Chevy Avalanche that's got rusted fenders. It's in his sons name so that he register it in NJ and it gets inspected down there.

NY will only fail you for structural rust, otherwise I’d be a regular junkyard customer. I had two early 90s GM vehicles that rusted so badly that the subframes were coming off the body. They had passed the previous inspection but I knew they’d never make it through the next. My current rust bucket cargo van just passed inspection this month thanks to its truck frame construction so I’m good for at least a year. It would never pass in VT.

There’s a YouTuber called A Rural Vermonter who has several videos showing the lengths people go to patch up cosmetic rust before inspection.

stickguy

And south main auto has many showing frame rot that failed in NY. often on barely 10 YO GM trucks. But also a Subaru with rotted out front subframe.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

And south main auto has many showing frame rot that failed in NY. often on barely 10 YO GM trucks. But also a Subaru with rotted out front subframe.

Welcome to the rust belt.

nyccarguy

In CT, they exempt your new vehicle from emissions testing for 4 years. On the 5th year, you have to get it tested every 2 years. Now the state CHARGES you for the vehicle to be exempt from state emissions for 4 years. I finally got the registration & plates for the Tacoma. a few days ago.

$195 Registration Fee
$25 Title Fee
$5 Safety Plate Fee
$15 Greenhouse Gas Reduction fee
$10 Administrative Fee
$15 Clean Air Act Fee
$40 Emissions 4-Year Exempt Fee
$15 Passport to Parks Fee

$320 Total

That's before I get nailed for personal property taxes in July/August.

qbrozen

Is $320 for the full 4 years? Or are any of those charged annually?

Personal property taxes is so weird to me. I just got hit with a bill for Myrtle... apparently I have to pay each year for having furniture. WTH?

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Is $320 for the full 4 years? Or are any of those charged annually?

Personal property taxes is so weird to me. I just got hit with a bill for Myrtle... apparently I have to pay each year for having furniture. WTH?

The $320 is charged to get new plates/registration. I believe that is good for 2 years. I'll have to renew the registration without the $40 4 year exemption.

Personal property taxes are charged yearly by the city/town you live in. Each city/town has a different "mill rate" they charge based on the car's value. It is just like a property tax on your house (those went up too this year and are going up again next year).

roadburner

Interesting article on PHEV charging.

explorerx4

In July 2022, just before we moved from CT to OH, I paid $840 property tax on my 2020 Explorer XLT.

Michaell

I had to look up the personal property tax regulations for Colorado (italicized comments are mine):

Tax Class C – Every motor vehicle not included in Class A or Class B shall be Class C personal property. (C.R.S. 42-3-106(1)(c))

Taxable value
85% of MSRP (base MSRP, before options or destination fees)

Tax Class C
Vehicle Model Year Tax Assessment
First Year 2.10% of taxable value
Second Year 1.50% of taxable value
Third Year .90% of taxable value
Fourth Year .90% of taxable value
Fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth years .45% of taxable value
Tenth and each later year $3.00

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Is $320 for the full 4 years? Or are any of those charged annually?

Personal property taxes is so weird to me. I just got hit with a bill for Myrtle... apparently I have to pay each year for having furniture. WTH?

Just different ways of collecting revenue. What is your property tax bill on the condo.. I’m sure a fraction of what it would be in NJ

stickguy

Yup. They always get you somehow.

kyfdx

Also, max sales tax on auto purchases is $500 in SC

I think our three cars add up to about $1000/yr in personal property tax. Of course, it was more, when they were newer.

qbrozen

@tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:
Is $320 for the full 4 years? Or are any of those charged annually?

Personal property taxes is so weird to me. I just got hit with a bill for Myrtle... apparently I have to pay each year for having furniture. WTH?

Just different ways of collecting revenue. What is your property tax bill on the condo.. I’m sure a fraction of what it would be in NJ

Property tax is… I forget exactly but around $3300/yr. Then the $300 or so for personal property on top of that. So not cheap for a 900 sq ft condo. It would be less if I was an SC resident.

Just saw my property tax bill in NJ. Nearly $19k.

qbrozen

Wasting no time on the Xterra.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:

@tjc78 said:

@qbrozen said:
Is $320 for the full 4 years? Or are any of those charged annually?

Personal property taxes is so weird to me. I just got hit with a bill for Myrtle... apparently I have to pay each year for having furniture. WTH?

Just different ways of collecting revenue. What is your property tax bill on the condo.. I’m sure a fraction of what it would be in NJ

Property tax is… I forget exactly but around $3300/yr. Then the $300 or so for personal property on top of that. So not cheap for a 900 sq ft condo. It would be less if I was an SC resident.

Just saw my property tax bill in NJ. Nearly $19k.

A little more than I thought. We are just shy of 6K for the Wildwood condo (1400 sq ft) and 15k or so for the primary.

But I didn’t pay tax on my EV!

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Wasting no time on the Xterra.

Awesome. I’m sure it will look great with the big bar you are putting on

jmonroe1

nyccarguy said:

In CT, they exempt your new vehicle from emissions testing for 4 years. On the 5th year, you have to get it tested every 2 years. Now the state CHARGES you for the vehicle to be exempt from state emissions for 4 years. I finally got the registration & plates for the Tacoma. a few days ago.

$195 Registration Fee
$25 Title Fee
$5 Safety Plate Fee
$15 Greenhouse Gas Reduction fee
$10 Administrative Fee
$15 Clean Air Act Fee
$40 Emissions 4-Year Exempt Fee
$15 Passport to Parks Fee

$320 Total

That's before I get nailed for personal property taxes in July/August.

————————————————
That’s highway robbery. Maybe that phrase should be changed to, “That’s Connecticut Robbery”, damn.

jmonroe

Michaell

Here is the breakdown of our most recent registration renewal for the 2015 Outback

$145.71 Specific Owership Tax (personal property tax)
$7.00 Age of vehicle add on
$18.00 Bridge Safety surcharge
$4.00 Clerk hire fee
$.94 County Road and Bridge
$2.00 Emergency Medical Services
$1.50 Emission - Area Air Account
$.70 - Emissions - Program Area County
$.50 - Emissions - Statewide air account
$.22 - Material Fee (Year Tab)
$.10 - Motorist Insurance Database Fee
$1.00 - Peace Officer Standardized Training Fee
$9.80 - Registration Base Fee County
$11.90 - Road Safety Surcharge

$203.87 - Total Fees

The renewal fee on the MINI (which is one year older) was less than $60 - the big difference being the Specific Ownership Tax was only $3.

tjc78

I love it. Tax rate goes down then you get an “age of vehicle fee”

au1994

qbrozen said:

Wasting no time on the Xterra.

What did the scan tool say?

kyfdx

Other than the property tax, our annual registration is $25.

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

qbrozen said:

Wasting no time on the Xterra.

What did the scan tool say?

————————————————
I lost my lips.

jmonroe

stickguy

@au1994 said:
What did the scan tool say?

Apparently to take off the front bumper.

qbrozen

@au1994 said:
What did the scan tool say?

Totally slipped my mind to check. I walked out this morn and was appalled at the sight of the bumper/grille/guard and just had to do something about it.

au1994

Buncha comedians in here…

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

@au1994 said:

What did the scan tool say?

Totally slipped my mind to check. I walked out this morn and was appalled at the sight of the bumper/grille/guard and just had to do something about it.

————————————————
When do we get to see the after pic?

jmonroe