Speaking of AI tools, I responded (nicely) on a Lucid forum where someone confidently stated that you only pay interest on the depreciation portion of a lease. I politely said that, to be clear, you are paying interest on the entire cost (or cap cost) of the car, to which he responded that I was incorrect and that would be insane.
He cited “sources” through his AI search that confirmed his opinion. I did go so far as to share an amortization schedule that I use to track my lease balances that clearly reflects how interest is effectively charged. Not that you have to be an accountant to understand a lease, but I do think my 30+ years of being a CPA trumps the online AI results.
To be fair, the lease payment calculation applies the money factor to an average of the Adjusted CAP cost and the residual
So, in effect, the interest amount goes down, as you pay the lease (just like a loan).
For anyone interested, getting a raise in my social security payment due to the spousal benefit clause. Since her benefit is so much bigger then mine, come September when hers starts, I'll be getting a decent bump in my monthly benefit. She waited till 70 to take s s, as she wanted the highest amount she could get. So, 2025 has seen my s s payment rise twice, once to that ridiculous Windfall Provision ending and now this. Just nice that after all these years working, finally seeing the benefits of all that hard work. It can be done with hard work folks and even with my non stop spinal issues, the "Eveready Bunny" in me keeps going...and going! Have been very lucky to have enjoyed my two major jobs though.
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
@Sandman6472 - my mom started receiving SS this year since they eliminated the GPO and she can now claim on my dad's earning record. Her teacher pension previously disqualified her. I understand the reasoning behind the old rule, but I always thought it was, effectively, a punishment for having taught, because she would have been able to claim SS on my dad's record if she had never worked or worked in the private sector.
no clue about years that are good/bad/run away fast on these, and at this miles and conditions it is somewhat of a rat, but dang, I love the colors and spec on this one. Maybe if I had the tools, time and knowledge to wrench on it! or way more money to burn paying to have it done.
I was also effected by the Windfall Provision which was totally unfair to folks like us as we paid in like everyone else but were denied our full benefit. Personally, think they owe us all the amount we never got once we signed into s s, but that will never happen. Stinks that those on one side of the aisle decided to basically steal what we were entitled to but hey, that ship has sailed. Just glad that I can get a bit more now since my wife has paid in so much over the years. It'll start with Septembers payment but I have to see it to believe it!!! Just pray that we both live awhile to enjoy our retirement. And this last month has been great with the new GTI. Have had it just a month now and only have like 330 miles on the clock. Took her out in it last night for dinner and she really liked it especially the seats. I'm still getting used to stuff like pairing my cell which I thought we'd done at the dealer but it ain't quite right. Did get the title from Tallahassee yesterday, took just 30 days.
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
no clue about years that are good/bad/run away fast on these, and at this miles and conditions it is somewhat of a rat, but dang, I love the colors and spec on this one. Maybe if I had the tools, time and knowledge to wrench on it! or way more money to burn paying to have it done.
———————————————— You can have the Porsche and all the wrenching that comes with it. But, I think this site is gonna give @oldfarmer50 a battle for the Rolls.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis Ultimate just like jmonroe's. '18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
AI hallucinates a lot. I am impressed at the ability of Google's search engine to use AI to think about a group of words phrased together for a smarter search, but the young folk 18-25 these days seem to think of Google and Google AI as the Bible of authority and can never be wrong.
Pretty sure AI had someone was talking about 1,000' braking distances from 70 MPH simply because the young man has no clue what a foot is, or what 70 MPH is. Part of learning math and having experience and general knowledge is being able to know when you have such an outlier that you KNOW the answer is wrong. I can't help but be condescending to someone posting such nonsense.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
no clue about years that are good/bad/run away fast on these, and at this miles and conditions it is somewhat of a rat, but dang, I love the colors and spec on this one. Maybe if I had the tools, time and knowledge to wrench on it! or way more money to burn paying to have it done.
no clue about years that are good/bad/run away fast on these, and at this miles and conditions it is somewhat of a rat, but dang, I love the colors and spec on this one. Maybe if I had the tools, time and knowledge to wrench on it! or way more money to burn paying to have it done.
the Porsche is the outlier "exotic" car where you are better off getting one that was used a lot, instead of sitting most of the time and having low low miles. They like to be driven.
@stickguy said:
the Porsche is the outlier "exotic" car where you are better off getting one that was used a lot, instead of sitting most of the time and having low low miles. They like to be driven.
So the 1000 miles I’ve put on mine in a month is a good thing!
2025 Jetta GLI Autobahn, 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xE
Ferrari Roma Spyder. About $275k. You can tell it’s track season at Saratoga when the big money shows up on the roads. We sometimes bring the big expensive SUVs to the Saratoga airport for when the high rollers fly in on their private jets.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Well, my EV replacement search has come to an end (although you never know until you take delivery).
Audi is already offering crazy incentives on its new A6 E tron, so I went to take a second look this past week with the idea I’d likely have this in my garage by the weekend…
It would serve as a good replacement for my Q8 E-tron, being very comfortable and with improved EV driving dynamics. But then I decided to take the SQ6 Etron out for comparison…
And it was pretty night and day, where the SQ6, partly due to a somewhat smaller size, but also the improved driving dynamics of the “S” version, was much more engaging to drive. So I asked the salesperson to provide a lease quote for that, already knowing it wouldn’t be as strong as the A6.
Knowing I was close to a decision, I had also taken a second drive of the Polestar 3 the day before. Polestar just hasn’t gained any traction in the US market, but the car is really impressive, combining a very comfortable ride with sporting intentions.
…this was all on Thursday around noon, and the salesperson promised a lease quote on the SQ6 within an hour or so (my wife and I went back to work). By around 5:00, I sent a quick text to ask if a quote was coming. I didn’t hear anything back until Friday morning when she apologized and said she got really busy, and that she would have it to me shortly. I finally had to text again hours later (I tried calling, but with no answer) stating I was serious about the SQ6 and was anxious for a quote. She finally had another salesperson get the quote, which had $0 discount and a lease offer that was borderline offensive.
Long story short, I already knew lease incentives on the SQ6 weren’t nearly as strong as the A6, but the dealer also claimed the blue example I liked was pretty hard to find, so they weren’t willing to discount it, blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile, the Polestar salesperson came back with an updated quote after receiving approval from his manager to apply an on-site incentive to an incoming vehicle that resulted in an amazing lease offer, so I just pulled the trigger on that. Should be here in a week or two.
Sharing some numbers, which I find interesting. All these are for 24 months (27 for Polestar), 10k miles/year with first payment only due at signing, taxes included:
I’ve been quiet lately because we just spent two weeks down in Myrtle Beach.
The sprinter developed a problem. Well, it developed it quite a while ago, but we just did not know it. When it was doing its occasional bucking last time my son and I took it on a long trip down to Myrtle Beach to retrieve the Suzuki, I honestly thought it was the rental trailer doing something weird. Turns out the sprinter started doing it without a trailer attached. My wife noted it a couple of times on the way down, and then on the way home, it really acted up. The first time, it bucked fast twice in a row and then died. The engine was still running, but it was slowly decreasing speed, and the go pedal had no effect. I pulled over and let it sit for a minute and restarted, and everything was fine again. A little later, it happened again. Pulled over restarted kept going. I tried various things, such as manually shifting it, keeping under a certain speed, going over a certain speed, but nothing changed the behavior. It would just decide once in a while to buck and die. Luckily, I was able to pull over every time and restart and keep going. I would estimate it did it 6-8 times over the 600 miles.
It was already due for a service, so I took it in when we got home. They claimed they believe this to be an EGR problem that they have seen before. When I got the paperwork, I see they did the EGR technical service bulletin, but then also found a code for the crank position sensor, so they replaced that as well. Still under warranty, of course. We only have 14,000 miles on it now. But it has been a few years, so the car was asking for a service B, whatever the heck that is. I looked it up and it is apparently the only service it gets after the initial service. So all future services are every 20,000 miles and a service B. This involves changing the brake fluid doing a bunch of stupid little stuff, changing the oil and filter of course, changing the fuel filter, changing the cabin filter, changing the roof, air conditioning filter filters, of which there are three, doing the whole full inspection bit and lubing various things.
$2200!! Yup. That’s crazy. I tried to talk the guy down but to no avail. That hurts. If it wasn’t for needing the repair, I would have just done this all myself. I haven’t looked it up, but I’d bet we’re talking less than $500 for parts. Even if labor is let’s say an insane $225/hr, that’s 7 hrs labor they charging. C’mon now.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
@breld Congrats on the deal. Curious, did you ever drive the Lucid?
I did drive the Lucid and was really impressed. It was my top choice for a while, but lease deals weakened considerably from June to July (and into August).
The HR-V is no more. A few random pics of the new dd, FWIW:
Nice Camry! White is my favorite color. I wish I had an option for an interior other than black on my Crown. I like the red . I actually saw another Crown today...only the second one I've seen around here since I bought mine in Feb. Both were white and probably the same one and looked good. So far in 2025 Toyota has sold 160,000 Camrys (Camries?) and under 4,000 Crowns.
2024 Toyota Crown Platinum, 2006 Chevy Silverado work truck Wife: 2020 Cadillac XT5 Premium Luxury
Not that I’m in the market right now, but my curiosity got these best of me today after hearing countless YT car channels saying what a great deal the Equinox EV is, so I decided to look at them on the Chevy Canada website. I don’t think there is any govt cash towards the purchase of EVs any longer up here. The cheapest one I could find was $48K in worthless Canadian dollars, with optioned-up ones pushing towards $70K. Yoicks! There is a bright blue paint available, and you can get an orange color if you spring for the RS model, but aside from that it is black, white, red, and two shades of grey. You can get a white of black roof at extra cost with certain colors.
Perhaps not a surprise, but according to the GM Canada site dealers around here are awash in inventory of them. GM is offering only a $1000 incentive on them right now, though you can get 0% for 72 months.
Comments
So, in effect, the interest amount goes down, as you pay the lease (just like a loan).
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Out with the old, in with the new.
Montero is off with its new owner.
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Buyer flew up from California to drive it home.
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/rNYa6ZwP/2005-porsche-boxster-s
This is actually local. Pretty sure OldFarmer is digging up coffee cans right now to snag this up.
https://carsandbids.com/auctions/3yYRwXME/2016-rolls-royce-dawn
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Just glad that I can get a bit more now since my wife has paid in so much over the years. It'll start with Septembers payment but I have to see it to believe it!!! Just pray that we both live awhile to enjoy our retirement. And this last month has been great with the new GTI. Have had it just a month now and only have like 330 miles on the clock. Took her out in it last night for dinner and she really liked it especially the seats. I'm still getting used to stuff like pairing my cell which I thought we'd done at the dealer but it ain't quite right. Did get the title from Tallahassee yesterday, took just 30 days.
2023 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD (wife) / 2025 VW GTI (me) / 2019 Chevrolet Cruze Premier RS (daughter #1) / 2020 Hyundai Accent SE (daughter #2) / 2023 Subaru Impreza Base (son)
Maybe I should stop and see if my wife likes it! Actually a car that could work with the DSG. Still fun, but she should be comfortable driving.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
You can have the Porsche and all the wrenching that comes with it. But, I think this site is gonna give @oldfarmer50 a battle for the Rolls.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Pretty sure AI had someone was talking about 1,000' braking distances from 70 MPH simply because the young man has no clue what a foot is, or what 70 MPH is. Part of learning math and having experience and general knowledge is being able to know when you have such an outlier that you KNOW the answer is wrong. I can't help but be condescending to someone posting such nonsense.
I like the mileage on the Rolls and I have been looking for a nicer convertible but I don’t think they make coffee cans that big.😳
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
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Yeah they do. I have a few but I lost my map as to where they are.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I keep looking for coffee cans growing in our little gardens. Nothing.
What kind of seeds do I plant?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Oh yeah those IMS bearings go forever 😜
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
So the 1000 miles I’ve put on mine in a month is a good thing!
The ones I use are called Benjamin’s.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Ferrari Roma Spyder. About $275k. You can tell it’s track season at Saratoga when the big money shows up on the roads. We sometimes bring the big expensive SUVs to the Saratoga airport for when the high rollers fly in on their private jets.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Audi is already offering crazy incentives on its new A6 E tron, so I went to take a second look this past week with the idea I’d likely have this in my garage by the weekend…
It would serve as a good replacement for my Q8 E-tron, being very comfortable and with improved EV driving dynamics. But then I decided to take the SQ6 Etron out for comparison…
And it was pretty night and day, where the SQ6, partly due to a somewhat smaller size, but also the improved driving dynamics of the “S” version, was much more engaging to drive. So I asked the salesperson to provide a lease quote for that, already knowing it wouldn’t be as strong as the A6.
Knowing I was close to a decision, I had also taken a second drive of the Polestar 3 the day before. Polestar just hasn’t gained any traction in the US market, but the car is really impressive, combining a very comfortable ride with sporting intentions.
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
Long story short, I already knew lease incentives on the SQ6 weren’t nearly as strong as the A6, but the dealer also claimed the blue example I liked was pretty hard to find, so they weren’t willing to discount it, blah, blah, blah.
Meanwhile, the Polestar salesperson came back with an updated quote after receiving approval from his manager to apply an on-site incentive to an incoming vehicle that resulted in an amazing lease offer, so I just pulled the trigger on that. Should be here in a week or two.
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
Audi A6 E-tron - $75k MSRP, $620/month
Audi SQ6 E-tron - $80k MSRP, $1,100/month
Polestar 3 - $81k MSRP, $625/month
One of these things is not like the other.
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
I’ve been quiet lately because we just spent two weeks down in Myrtle Beach.
The sprinter developed a problem. Well, it developed it quite a while ago, but we just did not know it. When it was doing its occasional bucking last time my son and I took it on a long trip down to Myrtle Beach to retrieve the Suzuki, I honestly thought it was the rental trailer doing something weird. Turns out the sprinter started doing it without a trailer attached. My wife noted it a couple of times on the way down, and then on the way home, it really acted up. The first time, it bucked fast twice in a row and then died. The engine was still running, but it was slowly decreasing speed, and the go pedal had no effect. I pulled over and let it sit for a minute and restarted, and everything was fine again. A little later, it happened again. Pulled over restarted kept going. I tried various things, such as manually shifting it, keeping under a certain speed, going over a certain speed, but nothing changed the behavior. It would just decide once in a while to buck and die. Luckily, I was able to pull over every time and restart and keep going. I would estimate it did it 6-8 times over the 600 miles.
It was already due for a service, so I took it in when we got home. They claimed they believe this to be an EGR problem that they have seen before. When I got the paperwork, I see they did the EGR technical service bulletin, but then also found a code for the crank position sensor, so they replaced that as well. Still under warranty, of course. We only have 14,000 miles on it now. But it has been a few years, so the car was asking for a service B, whatever the heck that is. I looked it up and it is apparently the only service it gets after the initial service. So all future services are every 20,000 miles and a service B. This involves changing the brake fluid doing a bunch of stupid little stuff, changing the oil and filter of course, changing the fuel filter, changing the cabin filter, changing the roof, air conditioning filter filters, of which there are three, doing the whole full inspection bit and lubing various things.
$2200!! Yup. That’s crazy. I tried to talk the guy down but to no avail. That hurts. If it wasn’t for needing the repair, I would have just done this all myself. I haven’t looked it up, but I’d bet we’re talking less than $500 for parts. Even if labor is let’s say an insane $225/hr, that’s 7 hrs labor they charging. C’mon now.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Not enthusiast’s car…
Not a stop-light drag race derby winner…
Not a “exciting” brand…
Not a track car…
No more “clown horn”…
but ?
Burma shave ?
…please, let it not be an Altima.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts, @breld! I love the Audi EVs I just think they’re overpriced right now. But, the Polestar is super nice.
@breld Congrats on the deal. Curious, did you ever drive the Lucid?
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Florida BAE here in Kentucky…
Also, parked next to a Ferrari this morning.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
The Ferrari FF came out 5 years before the Miata RF…
25 NX 450h+ / 24 Sienna Plat AWD / 23 Civic Type-R / 21 Boxster GTS 4.0
2024 Audi Q8 e-tron - 2017 911 C4S - 2025 BRZ - 2023 A6 Allroad - 2024 Genesis GV60 - 2019 Cayman
2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Velvet Red over Wicker Beige
2024 Audi Q5 Premium Plus Daytona Gray over Beige
2017 BMW X1 Jet Black over Mocha
The HR-V is no more. A few random pics of the new dd, FWIW:
I like the interior but my wife would never go for a bright red. Looks good with the white exterior though.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
@carnaught - congrats and welcome to the Camry Club. Love the white over red! That’s an XSE?
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Good luck with it.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Wife: 2020 Cadillac XT5 Premium Luxury
Perhaps not a surprise, but according to the GM Canada site dealers around here are awash in inventory of them. GM is offering only a $1000 incentive on them right now, though you can get 0% for 72 months.
2017 Cadillac ATS Performance Premium 3.6
Sarah-n-Tuned released a review of the SQ6 today: