Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

xwesx

stickguy said:

so are you taking the F350 back? Replace some other trucks?

would then make it easy to retrieve the Pinto, since I bet that beast could tow an engineless pinto no problem!

I don't know. Maybe. They put a lot of miles on it. And, though they did so in short order (I think they put over 200K on it in less than two years, so a lot of highway miles), there is still a lot of wear that I would have to deal with. It has the 7.3 Powerstroke, which is a pretty good power plant.

The problem is that it won't really replace anything I have currently. 1., It isn't a 1969 Chevrolet C20, so it can't possibly replace that truck. 2., it is a 22' long behemoth, so it would be entirely impractical to try and use it for plowing, so it can't really replace *that* truck.

But, I could part with my '08 Forester and use it as a DD if I felt like spending 2x on fuel. Or, maybe, possibly, unlikely, could part with my Econoline, but then I have to wonder why I would even want to do so for a vehicle that wouldn't get much use either.

The one thing it does have going for it, though, is that this is my opportunity to get ahold of a truck that could finally retire my C20 from having to be a truck, which means I can actually start doing some restoration work on it (such as replacing the floor of the bed) and not have to worry about that impeding my desire to haul a load of gravel in it. Plus, it is an excuse to drive the highway again, and I'm always looking for those!

But, while it could haul the Pinto up, I don't want to do that. The Pinto doesn't run, and I refuse to have a (chronically) non-running vehicle on my property. So, since I'm not confident that I could get it running fairly quickly, I don't want to haul it all the way up here just to turn around and sell it in a limited market. From a selling perspective, its eastern Oregon location is far better: No time investment by me, my brother can handle the sale, and he can also keep the proceeds. I already sent him the title.

fintail

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief No doubt the same people also guard their "safe space".

xwesx

fintail said:

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief No doubt the same people also guard their "safe space".

Haha, yeah, if not having children causes anxiety, then no doubt the source of that is narcissism (e.g., not leaving behind a legacy, nobody to care for them when old, etc.). This means it is probably a good thing that they didn't have any children.

stever

Drive it up and then you'll have to find a place to stash the canopy, since you'll want the bed free for hauling gravel. More stuff to have to plow around.

I'm missing my standing offer Spring trip up the Alcan next week, as usual. One of these days I'm going to have to do one. Not good traveling conditions this year - my bud is going up via BC this time so he'll miss the awful mess in Fort Mac, but BC has over 50 fires too.

xwesx

stever said:

Drive it up and then you'll have to find a place to stash the canopy, since you'll want the bed free for hauling gravel. More stuff to have to plow around.

Perhaps surprisingly, storage of the canopy is one thing I'm not worried about! Having more than one truck means there is always a bed that can store it. Also, I'm likely to have the canopy on the F350 during the winter months.

If you do make it back up here, keep me posted, as it would be fun to meet up with you. I'm still disappointed about having that GI illness when we drove through the states in 2009 and having to skip visits with both you (in ID) and Brenda (in IL).

corvette

The service animal thing is way out of control. I could buy a certificate online for my dog (who wants to attack any dog within a 250 foot radius) stating she is a service animal. That would probably be enough to be able to rent housing that is otherwise "no pets allowed."

There are legitimate uses for service animals besides seeing eye dogs. Some dogs can be trained to alert a person before they have a seizure so they can get to a safe place. The phonys make it more difficult for those who have legitimate need for a service animal. 

tifighter

suydam said:

The couple might not have had the dog there by choice, but because they were going somewhere and staying too long to board the dog at home.

That's the thing, the guy sitting next to her was not travelling with her...

stickguy

Ditch the 350 too. If you really need a different truck, find one up there with fewer miles

thebean

After we had to change rooms on vacation due to a loud yapping dog a few doors down, we try to stay at "no pets allowed" hotels.  Nothing ruins your mood on vacation faster than being kept up by loud pets.  And this wasn't a Motel6 either.  It was a nice Drury Inn.  I like pets, but they should not be allowed in hotels unless they are legitimate service animals, who are trained to be unobtrusive.  

stever

xwesx said:

stever said:

Drive it up and then you'll have to find a place to stash the canopy, since you'll want the bed free for hauling gravel. More stuff to have to plow around.

Perhaps surprisingly, storage of the canopy is one thing I'm not worried about! Having more than one truck means there is always a bed that can store it. Also, I'm likely to have the canopy on the F350 during the winter months.

Better buy a forklift too. Those canopies are heavy and unwieldy.

Sandman6472

Though mine isn't a GTI, my Golf SE is a blast to drive and am loving my ownership. Though I did have that initial hiccup, VW took care of it correctly and got me back on the road in no time. I also have that "no first year model" rule but didn't listen with the 2006 Civic, the 2015 Golf and the wife's 2015 Audi A3. Hers has been flawless and a pleasure to drive though at this point, doubt I'll eventually take it over as I like the hatch versatility, a lot!
With just about 17.6K on the Golf, all is well and will do the next service somewhere after the 19K mark.

The Sandman

eriknorcal

sandman_6472 said:

Though mine isn't a GTI, my Golf SE is a blast to drive and am loving my ownership. Though I did have that initial hiccup, VW took care of it correctly and got me back on the road in no time. I also have that "no first year model" rule but didn't listen with the 2006 Civic, the 2015 Golf and the wife's 2015 Audi A3. Hers has been flawless and a pleasure to drive though at this point, doubt I'll eventually take it over as I like the hatch versatility, a lot!
With just about 17.6K on the Golf, all is well and will do the next service somewhere after the 19K mark.

The Sandman

Nice, you have the 1.8T in that one if i'm not mistaken? Get an APR stage 1 tune ASAP. You will not regret it! The new chassis(mk7) is amazing, I've driven a GTI and R mk7 and love love loved it. Once my budget allows again I'll pull the trigger on one. My local dealer is pretty desperate to swing deals since dieselgate.

xwesx

stickguy said:

Ditch the 350 too. If you really need a different truck, find one up there with fewer miles

LOL I don't "need" one that badly! Even an old truck like this, and maybe 100K fewer miles, is going to be north of 10K. I can do a lot of R&R for that much if I spend (relatively) nothing on the vehicle acquisition.

cdnpinhead

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief.

Now you're into the micro-agression zone. The PC police will be in touch.

breld

nyccarguy said:

@breld - you aren't parting ways with your S4 so fast.  The X5 is next on the chopping block then.

Yes, you're probably right. The X5 is the easier one to part with - from a functional perspective, the minivan fills the need quite well.

graphicguy

fintail said:

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief No doubt the same people also guard their "safe space".

My son caused untold anxiety when I paid Jesuit School and college tuition. Only wheel barrels filled with Benjamins would alleviate it. Alas, no one gave me any to calm me.

houdini1

graphicguy said:

fintail said:

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief No doubt the same people also guard their "safe space".

My son caused untold anxiety when I paid Jesuit School and college tuition. Only wheel barrels filled with Benjamins would alleviate it. Alas, no one gave me any to calm me.

GG, my poor son in St. Louis has one son graduating from an expensive Catholic High School this year (Des Met) and heading for Rockhurst College (Jesuit) here in Kansas City. His second son is just entering H.S next year (Christian Bros) in St. Louis. His third son, also in Catholic school is an 8th grader. Thankfully the oldest boy earned a $25,000. scholarship each year at Rockhurst. That covers about half of the cost each year.

Mr_Shiftright

I had to sit next to a dog once on a plane. It was a nice enough mutt, but really? What if it had fleas? What if it ate the airline food and threw up on me?

I wish I had the guts to bring a "service piglet" on board. But I don't want to be thrown to the ground by TSA.

laurasdada

Welcome, eriknorcal! Some competition for breld and qbrozen...

Feel your recent pain, going/gone through the same situation, just 30 years later than you. And, with kids. Also redefining my living situation. Unlikely any punches for me the next couple of years. Although, with home (condo) ownership comes the option of home equity loans. HEL/HELOC =, oh, I don't know...a NEW CAR!? Still 30 years away from retirement, only 5.5 more years of college tuition to pay for the kids. Oh, yeah, and the mortgage. So, I don't see what's stopping me...

stickguy

I have 4 more tuition payments to go. Not that I am counting.

The baby just finishing up her sophomore year now. I can taste the freedom once she graduates and gets off of my books!

Sandman6472

Middle child graduates pharmacy school on the 20th but she's keeping the apartment until end of July at this point. Then she comes home and looks for a job...our garage will become storage for her furniture until she lands work and finds a new place. It's all been on our dime, so can't wait till it's over! What we do as parents really is a lot but it is our choice. Other two on their own luckily. Just want everyone happy, healthy...and working!!!

The Sandman

graphicguy

houdini1 said:

graphicguy said:

fintail said:

Not being able to have kids causes anxiety? It should cause relief No doubt the same people also guard their "safe space".

My son caused untold anxiety when I paid Jesuit School and college tuition. Only wheel barrels filled with Benjamins would alleviate it. Alas, no one gave me any to calm me.

GG, my poor son in St. Louis has one son graduating from an expensive Catholic High School this year (Des Met) and heading for Rockhurst College (Jesuit) here in Kansas City. His second son is just entering H.S next year (Christian Bros) in St. Louis. His third son, also in Catholic school is an 8th grader. Thankfully the oldest boy earned a $25,000. scholarship each year at Rockhurst. That covers about half of the cost each year.

Houdini...my son wanted badly to go to the Jesuit HS. I didn't think he could get in, as it's filled with students with legacy parents, grandparents, etc who graduated there. But, he took the entrance exam and was accepted. Not sure what it costs now, but a decade ago tuition was somewhere in the neighborhood of $12K/year + another $6K/year for various mandatory fees, memberships, etc. You would think that paying that amount in high school tuition would be all inclusive. Wrongo-Bucko!

College tuition ran about $15K/year and he lived at home because at the time, the campus (University of Cincinnati) was going through major construction and the housing around campus were dumps. To get decent housing, he would have had to move further out and use a car, so had to have a car either way....home is where the heart is. He commuted. Add in the cost of a Hyundai Elantra, new, with hefty warranty, about $10K once I threw in my 2nd car (at the time, a well used Honda Civic).

Even at that, the cost probably ran closer to $20-$25K/year all in. I had saved enough for 4 years, thinking I was "fine" in that dept. I was about $20K short, or minus one 10 year old Mustang GT in my corral.

He said the average time it took to graduate from the Business/Computer Science Dept was 5 years. I told him I had the same degree and did it in 4 years (albeit a few decades earlier). Fifth year was on him.

My out of pocket tally for son's education? All total...probably somewhere north of $200K. Or, one new Corvette, plus one new Mustang GT convertible, plus one new Camaro convertible SS, and one new BMW 5 series as a daily driver. But, who's counting? Plus, I only have a 2 car garage.

No doubt, he got the best education I could have possibly hoped for. And, he's successful, at an early age (something I still have to figure out). Proud of him and have no regrets whatsoever regarding the amount his education cost.

corvette

I'm still working on that success thing, too. Had an academic scholarship for undergrad, so no out of pocket there, although I lived with my parents. 

At this point, I have no offspring (that I know of), so no college expenses on the horizon. 

houdini1

Then there is my neighbors son. He is a sophomore at Univ. of Nebraska. He interviewed with some tech related company and they hired him about a year ago. He still attends school full time and works part time for them. They are paying him $40,000. annual salary and paying all his college expenses.

kyfdx

My son is finishing up his last two undergraduate classes this summer, and hopes to pick up more shifts at the pizza parlor...

xwesx

stickguy said:

I have 4 more tuition payments to go. Not that I am counting.

The baby just finishing up her sophomore year now. I can taste the freedom once she graduates and gets off of my books!

You are so good to those pups, stick. I'm glad they seem to appreciate it!

stickguy

They do. No complaints about them holding up their end of the bargain.

breld

We'll have our first tuition and housing payment coming up this summer. That will certainly be a dose of reality.

stickguy

It does tend to put a squash on buying expensive cars.

fintail

With the insane costs and socio-economic realities of today, I guess it's tougher to tell a kid that they need to fund most of themselves, as I did mostly through grants/loans/scholarships. I went to a state school nearly 20 years ago, though, different world.

cdnpinhead

My son is finishing up his last two undergraduate classes this summer, and hopes to pick up more shifts at the pizza parlor...

You can't make this stuff up. When I graduated ('71) jobs were scarce, but at least we didn't have these huge loans to pay off back then. College tuition at ASU (Tempe) was $143 per semester for a full-time student.

The higher education cabal is just as bad as health care -- there's a way around not being able to afford it. If no one could afford to go to college, colleges would go broke. Well, they don't, thanks to the loan system, and as a result there are palaces built and tenured professors paid and who knows how much other waste. For health care, there is insurance, and here we are.

It's become even more apparent lately that an intelligent hard-working person (remember them?) is probably better off eschewing "higher education" and finding gainful employment after high school graduation. Mike Rove has discussed this at length. Many of the dot com people barely finished high school, let alone college. It doesn't help that many of these pampered people get degrees in art history or some other useless liberal "arts" endeavor.

It's a racket I say, a racket!!

Mr_Shiftright

Nothing useless about liberal arts. You don't see people traveling the world and asking locals "Where are your dot coms?"

henryn

cdnpinhead said:

My son is finishing up his last two undergraduate classes this summer, and hopes to pick up more shifts at the pizza parlor...

You can't make this stuff up. When I graduated ('71) jobs were scarce, but at least we didn't have these huge loans to pay off back then. College tuition at ASU (Tempe) was $143 per semester for a full-time student.

The higher education cabal is just as bad as health care -- there's a way around not being able to afford it. If no one could afford to go to college, colleges would go broke. Well, they don't, thanks to the loan system, and as a result there are palaces built and tenured professors paid and who knows how much other waste. For health care, there is insurance (and worse yet, Obamacare), and here we are.

^^^^ political statement, no place for that here.

cdnpinhead

Yeah, I should have probably left out that Obamacare thing. Guess I'll go back and edit it out. Then I can find out what else was a microagression.

stickguy

even state schools in NJ are up around 25K for in state. No way you are working your way through FT at those prices, and that is a crazy amount of loans.

for private schools, my theory is that you are fine if you are poor, or rich. just don't be middle class living in an expensive area, where you live poor but the gov't calculations think you are rich!

ab348

cdnpinhead said:

The higher education cabal is just as bad as health care -- there's a way around not being able to afford it. If no one could afford to go to college, colleges would go broke. Well, they don't, thanks to the loan system, and as a result there are palaces built and tenured professors paid and who knows how much other waste. For health care, there is insurance, and here we are.

It's become even more apparent lately that an intelligent hard-working person (remember them?) is probably better off eschewing "higher education" and finding gainful employment after high school graduation. Mike Rove has discussed this at length. Many of the dot com people barely finished high school, let alone college. It doesn't help that many of these pampered people get degrees in art history or some other useless liberal "arts" endeavor.

It's a racket I say, a racket!!

A good friend (now deceased sadly) and former boss of mine became a V-P at a university locally and through her I gained quite an education into the palatial system they have. It is truly mind-boggling. It is almost as if it is designed first of all to spend money, with student education being far down the list of priorities. More V-Ps and Executive V-Ps and Directors than you can shake a stick at, all making big bucks, then of course the faculty, only some of whom actually teach to any meaningful extent, also making the big bucks for very nominal duties. Fundraising and govt grants takes care of their capital infrastructure which is lavish. It is no wonder that a college education here is so expensive.

If I Were King I would blow the whole system up and start over with the students as the priority, not the administration as now seems the case.

stever

What did she drive before she passed?

stever

(yeah, that was a bit of a hint....)

ab348

stever said:

What did she drive before she passed?

A Subaru. Husband was a prof there, had a Mitsu Eclipse. They put their money into a million dollar home in one of the toniest parts of town.

stever

What, not a Volvo with tweed cloth and leather patches on the arm rests?

ab348

Subaru is the new Volvo.

corvette

stever said:

What, not a Volvo with tweed cloth and leather patches on the arm rests?

Or an old diesel Mercedes?

kyfdx

College costs are a pain. But, the idiots that take on $150K to go away to a private school for four years, then complain about their debt? No different than the people that buy expensive cars they can't afford with no money down, then complain about being stuck, because they are upside down.

My son has the fortune of having parents that were willing/able to send him away to a state school. But, if not? He could have worked a lot more, lived at home, and gone to the local state school for $8K/yr. (a lot less, if we actually qualified for tuition assistance.. a lot less).

When you don't have $150K to spend on school, don't spend it. You don't need a college degree to learn that lesson.

Sandman6472

We put 3 kids through college with the girls going on to grad school and the boy doing a couple of years at Phillips Exeter, his junior and senior years of high school. With the help of scholarships for good grades and such, it still cost us a pretty penny to do all this. Pharmacy school for my one girl was on her with loans because we just couldn't afford it to be honest without going broke. I just have no clue how much out of pocket it cost us though it'll be over by October when we give up the kids apartment that we've been paying for. Middle class folks like us who want their kids to get a good education have it a bit rough and we're glad to be almost done with it all.
There has to be a better way though...there has to be a more affordable way for kids to get a decent education so they'll be able to find good jobs that pay them enough to live a nice middle class life. I went to college and did some grad school but fell into my job as a letter carrier, never thought all those years that I'd become a blue collar worker. Someone told me that I'd never get rich but I'd make a living...and that's exactly what happened. And luckily after 31 years in, I get a decent pension. I am very thankful to Uncle Sam for all he has given me!

The Sandman

Sandman6472

Came home tonight to find the Audi has a bubble in the right front tire. Getting an oil change there tomorrow and will see about what to do. I know we'll have to replace it but thinking maybe I should just go to my local tire store and get 2 new ones since I doubt that having two different treads on the same axle is a good idea. Car only has about 14.5K miles on it.
Thoughts anyone???

The Sandman

abacomike

sandman_6472 said:

Came home tonight to find the Audi has a bubble in the right front tire. Getting an oil change there tomorrow and will see about what to do. I know we'll have to replace it but thinking maybe I should just go to my local tire store and get 2 new ones since I doubt that having two different treads on the same axle is a good idea. Car only has about 14.5K miles on it. Thoughts anyone??? The Sandman

Get prices from several sources, installed and show those prices to your Audi service department.  I have found that dealerships usually will meet the lowest prices around so long as they are "real" prices.  Car dealerships pay the same wholesale prices as tire dealers.  If they won't meet the pricing, Tire Rack, Tire Kingdom, etc., will.

As for two different treads on the same car - I don't recommend it.  

corvette

Went to Discount Tire today to get the tires balanced and rotated, since they are new and I've put about 3,000 miles on the SUV. They were completely covered up on account of people being off work due to the Oaks, but got in pretty quickly since I had an appointment. Will probably go with a 6,000 mile rotation schedule from here forward, but wanted to do the first one early, as some people recommend that for new tires.

Honestly, I didn't expect much from the Sumitomos Carmax installed on the SUV, especially given that they appear to be the cheapest tires available in that size (like $100 each for 18" tires), but I drove through a lot of rain on the interstate in North and South Dakota, and they handled it well. They are really quiet--time will tell whether that will get worse with age.

Sandy, if the tires still have a decent amount of tread on them, you may be able to have a performance shop take a new tire (same make/model) and shave it down to the same depth as the others. I've never done it before, but have just replaced one tire on a FWD car and left the one new tire on the rear axle.

xwesx

I received by Forester back from the body shop today! It looks pretty good; I daresay better than before the crash that sent it there (especially considering that the fender/bumper shell are not painted, so they're both flat black). I still need to do some work myself to finish things up, such as reattaching one of the rad supports that was severed and painting the exterior. They were spot-on with the work we agreed to do, and they came in ~$400 under budget. How often does *that* happen?

thebean

Interesting about the huge increases in college tuition.  In 1975-76, I went to a private college and tuition was $2,300/yr.  I only went two years because I did the first two years at a Juco, which I recommend.  My family was middle class, but I did qualify for some grants and got loans for the rest.  I lived at home, so tuition + fees + books was all I had to pay.  I remember my school loan payment was $120/qtr and it was a struggle for a few years while I was working at Sears.  But once I got a real job at a semiconductor manufacturer, it got easier.  I can't imagine the payments on $50-100K of loans. 

@ab348 has a great point.  No way the tuition should be as high as it is.  

xwesx

I mentioned to my wife that I needed to get the paint done on the car very soon, and she immediately says, "You mean *after* you finish the bookcases, right?"

"Er, um.... of course, dear!"

I'm getting closer on that note, though....