Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:

Fun trick - buy heavy duty contractor trash bags and you can throw away just about anything … so I’ve heard

I have some of those that I used recently for the massive job of cleaning out my basement. I still have a long way to go.

I was thinking of putting one of them to use for a nefarious purpose. In the process of sifting though the junk down there, I found 4 48" fluorescent tubes I didn't know were there. I hate those things anyway and have no use for these but I discovered that they are considered hazardous waste here and the collectors won't touch them.

I was thinking that I could put them in a garbage can and using a shovel or something break them into bits, then put the wreckage into a contractor bag. The only way the city will accept them intact is if I take them all the way across town on a Saturday, the only day the facility is open, to the main waste handling depot. I went there once, sat in a lineup of cars for an hour waiting to get to the people who do the thumbs up/down on what you brought. I'd like to avoid that.

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I guess if you don’t like the 4 foot jobs you’d hate the ones that are 8 feet like the 6 that I have in my garage. I get rid of those by standing them upright in a half filled plastic garbage bag that is in a garbage can. I put on safety glasses and gloves, turn my heard so I don’t breath in the dust, then whack them with a hammer. It sounds like a small explosion and with a few more whacks they’re almost the size of cornflakes. Works every time.

jmonroe

tjc78

@nyccarguy said:
@tjc78

You know what Richie Aprile said:

https://y.yarn.co/f7469f6b-8764-423d-ada4-acdda489f881.mp4

Double your garbage back if you're not satisfied

Best show ever!

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
@ab348 I like your plan

Foolproof !

nyccarguy

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:
@tjc78

You know what Richie Aprile said:

https://y.yarn.co/f7469f6b-8764-423d-ada4-acdda489f881.mp4

Double your garbage back if you're not satisfied

Best show ever!

And highly quotable in the right environment

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

They have that around us too. Seems odd to me. If the Pail gets smelly I just goes it out, spray some household with bleach cleaner on the interior sides, hose that done, and good to go.

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Probably works for another 1000 garbage bags. Ingenious.

jmonroe

stickguy

I’ll bite.

What show is that from?

tifighter

The craigslist Honda Pilot winter wheel set.

Michaell

tjc78 said:

@nyccarguy said:
@tjc78

You know what Richie Aprile said:

https://y.yarn.co/f7469f6b-8764-423d-ada4-acdda489f881.mp4

Double your garbage back if you're not satisfied

Best show ever!

The ending left a little bit (OK, a lot) to be desired.

xwesx

Sandman6472 said:

Yep, the 1.6t engine so it can move when needed. I was hoping she'd get either the Limited or N-Line model so very pleased for her. The new Kona, Seltos & Encore GX were all just too big for her and she was a bit scared to drive them during her test drive, smaller is definitely better for her. But really, one can't go wrong with any of these new CUV's, the current day station wagon, if you will.

Looks like a great size! I like the size of our Crosstrek, too, though I definitely like the more upright seating and larger hold of our Forester.

Those wheels look fantastic on your beautiful blue Golf.

xwesx

tifighter said:

The craigslist Honda Pilot winter wheel set.

Pretty fancy looking... for winter wheels!

tifighter

@xwesx said:
Pretty fancy looking... for winter wheels!

Well, @xwesx , let me put this delicately. I’m kind of a big deal.

stickguy

@xwesx said:
Looks like a great size! I like the size of our Crosstrek, too, though I definitely like the more upright seating and larger hold of our Forester.

Those wheels look fantastic on your beautiful blue Golf.

If I had to replace my wife’s RDX and she wanted another CUV if some sort I would try to steer here to a crosstrek. I always liked the looks of those and they seem to be highly regarded. CR loves them FWIW

stickguy

Had an odd warm day today (broke 50!) so I dragged out the hose and washed both cars. Garage is sparkling now. Of course supposed to get a few inches of rain Sunday into Monday, and maybe some snow Tuesday so unless we don’t go out it won’t last. But it makes me feel good to try.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
I’ll bite.

What show is that from?

You lived in Jersey for how long? 😀😀

The Sopranos!

To keep it car related

https://youtu.be/C3nBIqXWfaM?si=ihQRjm-X4mILsmyB

stickguy

I watched some but not all of the sopranos (pretty sure it was in a network I did not get). Just didn’t recognize that scene.

kyfdx

stickguy said:

I watched some but not all of the sopranos (pretty sure it was in a network I did not get). Just didn’t recognize that scene.

We poor, working class people couldn't afford HBO.

pensfan83

@tifighter said:
The craigslist Honda Pilot winter wheel set.

Ooo I like those.

jmonroe1

xwesx said:

tifighter said:

The craigslist Honda Pilot winter wheel set.

Pretty fancy looking... for winter wheels!

————————————————
He chose that model rim because the snow won’t stick to them. Might even chase it off the roads too.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:

I watched some but not all of the sopranos (pretty sure it was in a network I did not get). Just didn’t recognize that scene.

We poor, working class people couldn't afford HBO.

————————————————
We had HBO years ago and didn’t like it so we dropped it.

We’re on the Verizon system now and every so often I get an email that HBO and some of the other premium channels are being provided free for a couple weeks. I forget about it and never turn it on. One time they left a phone message that they noticed I wasn’t taking advantage of their free offer. So, I guess it’s worth tracking their cheap customers.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Up here they have that service (but not the big truck to do it) where you can hire a mobile pressure wash rig to show up and clean out your green bin. Here you have to clean, press, and sort your garbage into various streams. Any food waste must go into the green bin along with yard waste like leaves and sticks. Over the summer the green bin gets pretty stinky, hence the cleaning service. General trash goes into clear bags. Paper and boxboard goes into a different bag for recycling. Corrugated cardboard gets flattened and bundled. Glass, metal and plastic containers need to be washed and put in transparent blue bags. Some stuff seems a mystery though. I recently discovered that microwave ovens are considered electronics like old computers and TV sets and go to a special recycling facility since the city won't touch them if you leave them at the curb. Except... it it is an over the range microwave it is not handled by the recycling operation and gets left at the curb for pickup by the garbage contractor... hopefully.

I wonder it your recycling is like my town. You are suppose to sort all your recyclables into a separate bin and dump them in a separate cargo container from the wet garbage. Then a big truck comes down from the landfill and dumps the recyclables right next to the garbage.

In other words, it’s a hoax.

I wouldn’t know this unless I went to the landfill myself.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:

Fun trick - buy heavy duty contractor trash bags and you can throw away just about anything … so I’ve heard

I have some of those that I used recently for the massive job of cleaning out my basement. I still have a long way to go.

I was thinking of putting one of them to use for a nefarious purpose. In the process of sifting though the junk down there, I found 4 48" fluorescent tubes I didn't know were there. I hate those things anyway and have no use for these but I discovered that they are considered hazardous waste here and the collectors won't touch them.

I was thinking that I could put them in a garbage can and using a shovel or something break them into bits, then put the wreckage into a contractor bag. The only way the city will accept them intact is if I take them all the way across town on a Saturday, the only day the facility is open, to the main waste handling depot. I went there once, sat in a lineup of cars for an hour waiting to get to the people who do the thumbs up/down on what you brought. I'd like to avoid that.

Be careful when you break them, they contain mercury so I’ve been told.

roadburner

Between my son and I we have most every streaming service except Netflix.

breld

@tifighter - that’s a perfect winter setup on the MDX!

Alright - the wife has now flipped her side of the garage. Started with a shopping trip a week ago, the X5 addition on Wednesday and the Tesla delivery yesterday. As usual, she’s still the one to add the pop of color.

She’s particularly happy she gets to use the Santa mode for a week (the car is depicted as a sleigh on the screen and surrounding cars are reindeer, and the turn signal jingles).

mjfloyd1

Looks good @breld. You guys never disappoint

tjc78

Nice end of year punches! Congrats Mrs Breld!!

laurasdada

A very merry Xmas indeed, Ms Breld!
I anticipate receiving socks.

explorerx4

Article on 2024 EV credit.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-hybrids/only-10-cars-will-get-the-7-500-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-in-2024/ar-AA1lBaIB?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=3aee16016a7341faa434b9264a1b57d9&ei=21

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

Article on 2024 EV credit.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-hybrids/only-10-cars-will-get-the-7-500-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-in-2024/ar-AA1lBaIB?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=3aee16016a7341faa434b9264a1b57d9&ei=21

Brother, what a mess.

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

Article on 2024 EV credit.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/autos-hybrids/only-10-cars-will-get-the-7-500-electric-vehicle-tax-credit-in-2024/ar-AA1lBaIB?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=3aee16016a7341faa434b9264a1b57d9&ei=21

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If I didn’t know better I’d say the government is trying to kill the EV market. Sounds like there is still hope for ICE cars. Who knew?

jmonroe

roadburner

Typical bureaucratic idiocy.

28firefighter

Oh boy. That is going to hurt, especially the Hyundai/Kia EVs which are some of the best IMO

breld

I wonder if the leasing loophole will continue (where the lessor as a commercial owner is subject to much less stringent requirements).

tjc78

If they can’t subsidize the leases EVs are in trouble especially on the east coast.

28firefighter

The battery thing I think still applies commercially, it’s the income limitations that do not.

Sandman6472

This pic shows the alloys better. They came off a Jetta SEL a month after I bought the car. Hated the OEM alloys, so they agreed to swap them out. But they swapped out the wrong wheels, put on 16" ones instead of 17" ones. Took a few trips back to the dealer for their guy to notice their mistake. They weren't very happy but gave me a choice of two sets of 17" wheels and gave me five minutes to decide. Still like the looks of them!

Sandman6472

Poured all day today so stuck in the house. Started going through somethings with the wife & again, the subject of what we might want to do about moving. We still like the size of our current place, a smaller 4/2 with just under 1900 square feet. We each have an office in the back so we have one kids/guest room that's not really used. I've taken over the kids bathroom and we use our dining room as a place to store things. Point is, it isn't too big for the two of us so maybe staying put until she decides to retire might just be the best thing to do. I still want to keep on working my part time gig and not sure I'd want to continue if we moved to a new area. Been here over 54 years now so know how to get most places, not sure I'd want to learn a whole new city.

Bottom line is staying put is now an option I never thought would be one. Maybe just purging a bunch of the clutter and fixing the list of things we want to fix might just be the best move. Not sure we really both want to downsize that much to be honest. Don't think we'd be happy in a 55 and older community like the kids are pushing for. Just don't quite know what our best option is right now.

oldfarmer50

I got an interesting letter from my Kia dealer today. They wanted to buy my leased Kia Seltos because they wanted to fill out their inventory. The only trouble is I don’t own a Seltos. You’d think they would do a little research before they started making offers.

They were advertising their leases. The cheapest was on a $0 down 36 month 10,000 miles a year lease on a Forte LSX. $348/mo. That doesn’t sound like a bargain to me especially with over a thousand in acquisition and disposition fees.

They were also offering 0.9% on leftover 2023 Sorrentos for 48 months.

nyccarguy

@Sandman6472 - your golf is still in great shape! You’ve kept it up nicely. I like that blue.

fintail

In non-chronic car buyer news, the E450 wagon turns 5 years old today - it wasn't mine until late March of 2019, but it was built on December 17 2018. Car continues to be sublime pleasure on every drive. I don't take a ton of pics of it, but here's a random not on winter wheels:



Currently on these winter wheels, but with El Nino the Blizzaks haven't had to work much yet this season:

imidazol97

@Sandman6472 said:
This pic shows the alloys better.

Beautiful blue.
Wheels are great looking on it.
It's a keeper.

Sandman6472

And that side wasn't the side where the guy hit me. The only difference is a different door edge guard as they couldn't find the one he destroyed but they did a fantastic repair job...I was real pleased! It does everything right & it's the perfect size so think that's why I hate to give it up. And keeping it in our garage every night helps also...figure why have one if I'm not going to use it for it's intended purpose. I know I keep thinking I'm going to replace it sooner then later, but nothing has compelled me to trade it in! And besides a new set of tires and the auto tranny cable snapping this year, it's behaved itself nicely. And tires are a wear & tear item and just wear out over time. But for now, at just over nine years of ownership, she's staying put in our stable.

Sandman6472

Rained literally all night with lightning & thunder commencing around 3 am for over an hour and quite windy. Power went out a couple of times but came back on right away...areas north & south of us weren't so lucky. Turned into sunny & windy day with the temps in the low 70's. Turning a bit cooler tonight, down to around 56 and down to 49 tomorrow night with cooler nights & moderate days for the next seven days. The kind of weather we live for as the humidity is around 10% and no need for the a/c to be running all day. Wish it was like this 24/7 to be honest!

tifighter

@fintail said:
In non-chronic car buyer news, the E450 wagon turns 5 years old today - it wasn't mine until late March of 2019, but it was built on December 17 2018. Car continues to be sublime pleasure on every drive. I don't take a ton of pics of it, but here's a random not on winter wheels:

Currently on these winter wheels, but with El Nino the Blizzaks haven't had to work much yet this season:

I just like seeing one without the sport grille. Nice.

roadburner

I drove the C43 to a Christmas party last night; on Wednesday I will have had the C43 for a year and I'm still extremely happy with it.
Today we took the Wrangler up to northern KY and it stayed at 75 mph most of the trip. It seems my wife loves it even more than I do. It ran on IC most of the time so a fill-up before we headed home revealed its gas guzzler roots- 31 mpg.

tifighter

It’s funny, I drove the Comp today for the first time in awhile, since we had a nice day. I’m still quite happy with it. Sixteen months and counting. It would take something pretty special to replace it.

fintail

tifighter said:

@fintail said:

In non-chronic car buyer news, the E450 wagon turns 5 years old today - it wasn't mine until late March of 2019, but it was built on December 17 2018. Car continues to be sublime pleasure on every drive. I don't take a ton of pics of it, but here's a random not on winter wheels:

Currently on these winter wheels, but with El Nino the Blizzaks haven't had to work much yet this season:

I just like seeing one without the sport grille. Nice.

That was one thing that attracted me to it, non-"sport" trim. The hood ornament is always nice too.

qbrozen

@roadburner said:
I drove the C43 to a Christmas party last night; on Wednesday I will have had the C43 for a year and I'm still extremely happy with it.
Today we took the Wrangler up to northern KY and it stayed at 75 mph most of the trip. It seems my wife loves it even more than I do. It ran on IC most of the time so a fill-up before we headed home revealed its gas guzzler roots- 31 mpg.

What?? It has already been a year? Yikes! That went fast!

nyccarguy

My son is off from school for 2 weeks. I made an appointment to have the Wrangler's leaky top checked out as well as the USB port in the center console that seems to only work intermittently. While the time I needed to wait for an appointment (3 Weeks) and not offered a loaner on a $60K + vehicle is still disappointing, it couldn't have come at a better time. It has been pouring rain all night. Whomever gets into the Jeep this AM will definitely see where the top leaks from.

benjaminh

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/18/business/ev-startups-trevor-milton-nikola.html

"Investors have grown skeptical even of companies that have managed to produce thousands of cars. Shares of Fisker, which delivered about 3,000 vehicles through the beginning of November, have fallen 95 percent from a high set in 2021. Shares of Lucid, which has said it will produce at least 8,000 luxury electric sedans this year, are down 93 percent. Shares of Rivian, a maker of electric pickups and sport-utility vehicles that many analysts consider the start-up most likely to survive, are down 80 percent."

Aside from Tesla, all of the other new EV companies seem to be crashing and burning. And since Ford has already cut its EV production plans in half, it seems like EVs are going to struggle to get to even 25% of the market by 2030, compared to the c. 7% EV market share now. As recently as April of 2023 the feds were hoping that about half of all vehicles sales in the US would be EVs by 2030

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/04/17/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-new-private-and-public-sector-investments-for-affordable-electric-vehicles/#:~:text=As part of President Biden's,under the EV Acceleration Challenge.

"As part of President Biden’s goal of having 50 percent of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030, the White House is announcing public and private commitments to support America’s historic transition to electric vehicles (EV) under the EV Acceleration Challenge."

The 7.5k federal credit is being restricted in 2024 because too many components are still being made in China. Given that the requirements for North American content go up by 10% each year, it seems like it's going to be a challenge for many to get those rebates.

But does the loophole for EV leases with the $7.5k credit still exist?

The good news is that the much slower ramp-up of EV sales gives time for the EV charging infrastructure to be built out.

benjaminh

One thing I don't understand is GM's pricing strategy for its new Ultium EVs. According to the current website, the lowest price for a Chevy Blazer EV is $57,700, while the lowest price for a Cadillac Lyriq is $58,590. So a less than 1k spread between Chevy and Cadillac. I'd probably go with the Caddy with that small of a difference. I feel like Alfred Sloan might be disturbed by this?