Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

laurasdada

jmonroe1 said:

@qbrozen, I just posted something related to this school subject in Cars and Conversations a while ago.

To quote a few wise men, “it’s not how you start but how you finish”. In the end I think I did alright but 5th grade was the worst 3 years of my life.

jmonroe

Well, we're all going to finish the same way... So, regardless of how you started or where you were invited to not return, the best revenge is living well. And you can't do that without the proper car, so I think vengeance is ours for all here!

I loved my college years; my biggest mistake and regret is graduating. I got my act together for my upper division, academically at least, but I'm still maturing as a person. The wife, of course, would tend to disagree with that.

corvette

@Michaell - my favorite teacher in high school had learned programming on punch cards at the University of Kentucky. I took two semesters of Computer Science in her class and passed the AP exam to get college credit for both. Not many people took the second semester. I think there might have only been one other person that year.

qbrozen

Honestly, I don’t get kids these days. IMHO, he picked a great and easy path to radiology. Coulda been done in 2 yrs and had an easy job with good pay. I’m tempted to do it myself. But, alas, he is just too damned lazy. After failing the same class twice, I told him to give it up. We’ve said time and again we support them in any path, but it has to be a path. You can’t just live here and do nothing. My youngest has said he wants to be a pilot. Ok, cool, we are happy to pay for that training in lieu of regular college, if that’s what you really want to do. I so wish I had the access to knowledge and opportunities they do now. No way I would have gone to college.

stickguy

coming out of HS I had no idea what exactly I wanted to do. So getting a job or into a training program was not really feasible. So I went to college and spent 4 years drinking beer and learning important things like how to work in a bar hall (college bar) and play backgammon. Then after 4 years I graduated and still didn't know what I wanted to do but had to find a job in something business related. And ended up spending my entire career in the industry that I fell into because that was the best job offer I got.

au1994

stickguy said:

coming out of HS I had no idea what exactly I wanted to do. So getting a job or into a training program was not really feasible. So I went to college and spent 4 years drinking beer and learning important things like how to work in a bar hall (college bar) and play backgammon. Then after 4 years I graduated and still didn't know what I wanted to do but had to find a job in something business related. And ended up spending my entire career in the industry that I fell into because that was the best job offer I got.

I can relate. Geography major here.

au1994

laurasdada said:

jmonroe1 said:

@qbrozen, I just posted something related to this school subject in Cars and Conversations a while ago.

To quote a few wise men, “it’s not how you start but how you finish”. In the end I think I did alright but 5th grade was the worst 3 years of my life.

jmonroe

Well, we're all going to finish the same way... So, regardless of how you started or where you were invited to not return, the best revenge is living well. And you can't do that without the proper car, so I think vengeance is ours for all here!

I loved my college years; my biggest mistake and regret is graduating. I got my act together for my upper division, academically at least, but I'm still maturing as a person. The wife, of course, would tend to disagree with that.

Far from grown. Just check me on a lake weekend

corvette

stickguy said:

Then after 4 years I graduated and still didn't know what I wanted to do but had to find a job in something business related.

After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

oldfarmer50

Pretty much the same here. I got a bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree in a field that I later grew to hate only to become a farmer and a driver.

stickguy

corvette said:

stickguy said:

Then after 4 years I graduated and still didn't know what I wanted to do but had to find a job in something business related.

After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

A few years in I thought about doing law school and took the LSATs on a flyer with no prep. Did not do great (no surprise there!) but applied to Rutgers (Camden) anyway and got accepted late. But had about 10 days to commit and was not willing to do it at night so would have had to quit my job. And we had just bought a townhouse so couldn't get myself to take the plunge. I do regret it sometimes.

corvette

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PwoCPZ0104

EX30 impressed Sarah -n- Tuned. It's a bit small for my tastes, but I'll probably consider it as an Ariya replacement,

suydam

Ah, the late bloomer. As a retired college professor, I would say very few of our students had any clue what they wanted to do in life. Those who do, it’s a special gift. All our children took meandering paths (as did we) but in the end , they all found meaningful careers. Hang in there!

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

@michaell,
Mainframe Assembly Language had a list of instructons on a green card for 360 Series and a yellow card for the 370 Series.
Here's a picture of my old green card.

Ugh; I had to deal with that in a Political Science class back in 1978.

roadburner

My M-B dealer took in an R129 SL 500; 28k miles and only $22k. Magma Red (I think). The only deal breaker was the interior- very light beige, including the carpet.

corvette

@roadburner - my 2007 A4 had a gorgeous light beige interior with light beige carpet mats. I bought a set of Weathertechs within a month or so, which didn't prevent dirt from lodging between the mat and the light beige carpet. The design of the Husky Liners I have in the Maverick would have prevented that issue.

tifighter

Found the listing for our old Model Y-

https://www.bmwtigard.com/inventory/used-2021-tesla-model-y-long-range-awd-4d-sport-utility-5yjygdee9mf139688/

Trade in was $21k and change, so they aren’t looking for a home run…

tifighter

@roadburner said:
My M-B dealer took in an R129 SL 500; 28k miles and only $22k. Magma Red (I think). The only deal breaker was the interior- very light beige, including the carpet.

Sounds nice, I like beige. Put some darker coco mats down and you’re good to go.

breld

Water heaters…I had to replace mine a few months ago as it was failing. It was the original…which meant it was about 4 years old. 🤷‍♂️

College kids…I feel super fortunate with my recent college grad. He was targeting a job in the sports industry but, shockingly, that dream job of working for a sports franchise right out of college isn’t just handed to you. Fortunately, he dual majored in sports management AND accounting. He missed the window for the recruiting season with the accounting firms, but I made an inquiry with the partner of my company’s audit team who said they happened to have an opening for the Fall class here in Denver. The partner got my son an interview and he apparently interviewed well enough to land a job at the same big-4 firm that I started my career at, as did his mom, stepfather and my brother.

My son is realizing how lucky he got for it all to work out as it did.

breld

I’ve been traveling all week in a couple cities and took several Uber rides. One was a ride in a new-ish (but previous gen I believe) Pathfinder. And the other was in an Infiniti QX80 (also previous gen). As far as Ubers go, they had very accommodating back seats but the ride was surprisingly harsh over anything but smooth roads.

Still better than the Kia Rio that picked me up for the ride to DFW. I went ahead and picked the “comfort” option after that. 😀

breld

Had dinner with my boss last night and he said he had a car question.

His daughter inherited their 2013 BMW X3 which now has 102k miles. It was in for service at a local BMW dealership and they came back with an estimate for various repairs, including a timing belt replacement, brakes, etc., to the tune of $15k.

I told him to check with an independent mechanic for an estimate, but even at half that cost (if required) it may not be worth it.

As for unloading it, I suggested taking it to Carmax. Any other suggestions?

roadburner

@breld said:
Had dinner with my boss last night and he said he had a car question.

His daughter inherited their 2013 BMW X3 which now has 102k miles. It was in for service at a local BMW dealership and they came back with an estimate for various repairs, including a timing belt replacement, brakes, etc., to the tune of $15k.

I told him to check with an independent mechanic for an estimate, but even at half that cost (if required) it may not be worth it.

As for unloading it, I suggested taking it to Carmax. Any other suggestions?

First off, he’s being lied to; no US BMW motor has had a timing belt since the early ’90s. I also suspect that the service advisor is on commission. I’d like to see the estimate.

kyfdx

breld said:

Had dinner with my boss last night and he said he had a car question.

His daughter inherited their 2013 BMW X3 which now has 102k miles. It was in for service at a local BMW dealership and they came back with an estimate for various repairs, including a timing belt replacement, brakes, etc., to the tune of $15k.

I told him to check with an independent mechanic for an estimate, but even at half that cost (if required) it may not be worth it.

As for unloading it, I suggested taking it to Carmax. Any other suggestions?

Most likely the serpentine belt, but still...

I'll guess he's done nothing but oil changes since the included service ran out in 2017.

I'd make sure it has a fresh oil change, and take it straight to Carmax. Not sure I'd want to put $4K-$5K in that vehicle (which it probably needs). I'll guess it's a $6500 car wholesale (or less)

breld

He showed me the estimate from the dealership, so I obviously have the description wrong, but yeah, doesn’t change the point about the inflated bottom line.

And yes, I’m pretty sure it’s been oil changes and nothing else up to this point.

KBB trade, even in good condition, is like $4k. So the suggestion of getting an oil change and driving over to the nearest carmax is a good one.

He still has his 2017 Q7 that he can pass on to his daughter, since he got his Cayenne Hybrid earlier this year. It’s rough, I know.

explorerx4

I would get online estimates for Carvana and Carmax and don't overstate the condition.
Saw my first Maverick on a used car lot when I took in my wife's Corsair for service.
One unpleasent surprise was that the Michelin tires are rated to 55K but will be lucky to make it 40K.

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

Found the listing for our old Model Y-

https://www.bmwtigard.com/inventory/used-2021-tesla-model-y-long-range-awd-4d-sport-utility-5yjygdee9mf139688/

Trade in was $21k and change, so they aren’t looking for a home run…

So they’re looking for an $8k profit on a car that they shouldn’t have to do any reconditioning in a declining market? That sounds like a home run to me.

nyccarguy

breld said:

He showed me the estimate from the dealership, so I obviously have the description wrong, but yeah, doesn’t change the point about the inflated bottom line.

And yes, I’m pretty sure it’s been oil changes and nothing else up to this point.

KBB trade, even in good condition, is like $4k. So the suggestion of getting an oil change and driving over to the nearest carmax is a good one.

He still has his 2017 Q7 that he can pass on to his daughter, since he got his Cayenne Hybrid earlier this year. It’s rough, I know.

Decisions, decisions. How do people survive in the current economic climate?

Maybe he should sell the X3 and the Q7 and use the proceeds to help his daughter make better automotive choices.

" His daughter inherited their 2013 BMW X3 which now has 102k miles. It was in for service at a local BMW dealership and they came back with an estimate for various repairs, including a timing belt replacement, brakes, etc., to the tune of $15k"

I understand the service advisor has to make a living and the service manager has to make his country club payments, but how do you look somebody in the eye with a straight face and tell them that their 12 year old car with over 100K miles needs $15K worth of work? I guess it is a win win for the dealership? He says go ahead and make the repairs, then they make money. He says, you know what, maybe i'll just trade it in? They sell him a car, make money, then wholesale his car and make money.

qbrozen

@tifighter said:
Found the listing for our old Model Y-

https://www.bmwtigard.com/inventory/used-2021-tesla-model-y-long-range-awd-4d-sport-utility-5yjygdee9mf139688/

Trade in was $21k and change, so they aren’t looking for a home run…

You are right, that’s not a home run. That’s a grand slam!

28firefighter

@corvette said:
After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

Couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve landed more than well and had a wild career ride to where I am now, but probably was not the right move.

jmonroe1

qbrozen said:

@tifighter said:

Found the listing for our old Model Y-

https://www.bmwtigard.com/inventory/used-2021-tesla-model-y-long-range-awd-4d-sport-utility-5yjygdee9mf139688/

Trade in was $21k and change, so they aren’t looking for a home run…

You are right, that’s not a home run. That’s a grand slam!

————————————————-
I agree but something tells me that might have been a typo/auto incorrect, like …are vs aren’t.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter said:

@corvette said:
After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

Couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve landed more than well and had a wild career ride to where I am now, but probably was not the right move.

Interesting. What would have been the right move?

28firefighter

@mjfloyd1 said:

@28firefighter said:

@corvette said:
After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

Couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve landed more than well and had a wild career ride to where I am now, but probably was not the right move.

Interesting. What would have been the right move?

Sticking with computer science rather than paying to have my soul sucked out for 3 years.

xwesx

qbrozen said:

Honestly, I don’t get kids these days. IMHO, he picked a great and easy path to radiology. Coulda been done in 2 yrs and had an easy job with good pay. I’m tempted to do it myself. But, alas, he is just too damned lazy. After failing the same class twice, I told him to give it up. We’ve said time and again we support them in any path, but it has to be a path. You can’t just live here and do nothing. My youngest has said he wants to be a pilot. Ok, cool, we are happy to pay for that training in lieu of regular college, if that’s what you really want to do. I so wish I had the access to knowledge and opportunities they do now. No way I would have gone to college.

If he wants to be a pilot, tell him to pick up the pace and get accepted the Air Force academy. Endless experience, and he'll have a dozen jobs waiting for him when he gets out. I have a cousin who took that path. He flew passenger for a couple of years, but then transitioned to flying cargo and never regretted it for an instant.

xwesx

Speaking of kids, college, and careers.... I have mentioned before that my genius son is 100% dead set against education. However the math processed in his head, the value proposition just doesn't add up for him. He is working at a local aircraft company that does remote fuel (and other things) deliveries. It's a pretty diverse place that really appreciates a hard worker who constantly comes up with ideas about how to improve pretty much every aspect of the operation. While I feel like he could easily go out and change the world, he seems content to just take it one day at a time. Fair enough.

My daughter, on the other hand, is much more on the "normal person" end of the spectrum. And, she's smart and talented, so I do hope that she does great things in her life. She has one more year of "high school" education, but she took the SAT a few months ago and scored a 1360 on it. Since then, there have been ample college communications coming her way (not the large book brochures of old, but just little post cards that encourage students to check out their websites and apply) including some of the household names.

Other than being extremely reluctant to get her driving permit (major frustration for a dad like me!), she has a good head on her shoulders. I really hope that she'll make the most of it!

corvette

28firefighter said:

Sticking with computer science rather than paying to have my soul sucked out for 3 years.

Ditto.

mjfloyd1

@28firefighter said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

@28firefighter said:

@corvette said:
After four years, I also didn't know what I wanted to do, so I went to law school. In hindsight, probably a mistake, despite the fact that it's worked out pretty well.

Couldn’t agree more with this. I’ve landed more than well and had a wild career ride to where I am now, but probably was not the right move.

Interesting. What would have been the right move?

Sticking with computer science rather than paying to have my soul sucked out for 3 years.

You lucky devil. I had my soul sucked out for 8.5 years after college (I switched residencies but only “lost” 6 months). Pretty fulfilling after that with a few bumps in the road.

explorerx4

Fortunately, working in software for 41+ years, I only had 3 interviews and 3 jobs.
First was 2 1/2 years and got experience in multiple programming languages.
Second job was 14 1/2 years we had a lot of fun, especially in the 80's.
Third job was 25 years. Company went through a lot of people but I managed to ride the highs and survive the lows for a long time.
Dinner is ready, so to be continued.
All these jobs allowed me to buy more than a few vehicles.

roadburner

corvette said:

28firefighter said:

Sticking with computer science rather than paying to have my soul sucked out for 3 years.

Ditto.

I have to say that I had a great time at law school; after the first semester it was really a lot of fun.

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

Fortunately, working in software for 41+ years, I only had 3 interviews and 3 jobs.
First was 2 1/2 years and got experience in multiple programming languages.
Second job was 14 1/2 years we had a lot of fun, especially in the 80's.
Third job was 25 years. Company went through a lot of people but I managed to ride the highs and survive the lows for a long time.
Dinner is ready, so to be continued.
All these jobs allowed me to buy more than a few vehicles.

Six jobs here:
Private practice: 1982-1986 (lost my first election in 1985)
Elected Judge in 1986 served through 2008 (I only had opposition in 2002)
Senior Status Judge (AKA: Early Retirement): 2008-2014
BMW Product Genius: 2016-2017
City Attorney: 2018
Commonwealth's Attorney: 2019-2024
I loved being a prosecutor even though it was more stressful than being a judge.

qbrozen

@xwesx said:
If he wants to be a pilot, tell him to pick up the pace and get accepted the Air Force academy. Endless experience, and he'll have a dozen jobs waiting for him when he gets out. I have a cousin who took that path. He flew passenger for a couple of years, but then transitioned to flying cargo and never regretted it for an instant.

Cargo is what I told him. Also of course suggested USAF. He seems inclined to avoid military and pay for it instead. Go figure.

But at least that kid is really good at school. Straight As, honors classes, etc.

mjfloyd1

@roadburner said:
Six jobs here:
Private practice: 1982-1986 (lost my first election in 1985)
Elected Judge in 1986 served through 2008 (I only had opposition in 2002)
Senior Status Judge (AKA: Early Retirement): 2008-2014
BMW Product Genius: 2016-2017
City Attorney: 2018
Commonwealth's Attorney: 2019-2024
I loved being a prosecutor even though it was more stressful than being a judge.

If my math is correct, I’ve had one job for the last 30 yrs. One particular health care system is slowly sucking the life out of me though.

kyfdx

I worked for one company from 1986-2016. Ages 28-58

Fun fact. On September 1st, I'll have been doing this job for 20 years.

28firefighter

@kyfdx said:
I worked for one company from 1986-2016. Ages 28-58

Fun fact. On September 1st, I'll have been doing this job for 20 years.

What are they getting you to celebrate?

jmonroe1

28firefighter said:

@kyfdx said:

I worked for one company from 1986-2016. Ages 28-58

Fun fact. On September 1st, I'll have been doing this job for 20 years.

What are they getting you to celebrate?

————————————————
A car?

jmonroe

nyccarguy

@mjfloyd1 said:

@roadburner said:
Six jobs here:
Private practice: 1982-1986 (lost my first election in 1985)
Elected Judge in 1986 served through 2008 (I only had opposition in 2002)
Senior Status Judge (AKA: Early Retirement): 2008-2014
BMW Product Genius: 2016-2017
City Attorney: 2018
Commonwealth's Attorney: 2019-2024
I loved being a prosecutor even though it was more stressful than being a judge.

If my math is correct, I’ve had one job for the last 30 yrs. One particular health care system is slowly sucking the life out of me though.

I’m sure between the health systems, the insurance companies, and mal practice insurance it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice medicine and focus on patients.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

@roadburner said:

Six jobs here:

Private practice: 1982-1986 (lost my first election in 1985)

Elected Judge in 1986 served through 2008 (I only had opposition in 2002)

Senior Status Judge (AKA: Early Retirement): 2008-2014

BMW Product Genius: 2016-2017

City Attorney: 2018

Commonwealth's Attorney: 2019-2024

I loved being a prosecutor even though it was more stressful than being a judge.

If my math is correct, I’ve had one job for the last 30 yrs. One particular health care system is slowly sucking the life out of me though.

I’m sure between the health systems, the insurance companies, and mal practice insurance it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice medicine and focus on patients.

My former PCP can attest to that. My wife and I followed him around most of the county we lived in for 20+ years, as he bounced around from one practice to another. He moved to AZ for a while, then came back because he didn't like the weather. He left again on a sabbatical for the better part of a year, but he told us before leaving that he would be starting his own practice when he got back.

He did, and we resumed seeing him again in his new location. It grew to the point where he had two sides - one a traditional appointment only clinic, the other more of a walk in urgent care.

As we are about the same age, it was natural for us to become friendly - I've even advised him on a couple of car purchases over the years. He started complaining about the paperwork he was responsible for, and the bureaucracy he had to fight with.

He ultimately sold the practice to a larger organization, and the last I heard he was working part time at a practice up in Denver - too far away to see him. We're still friends on FB.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

@kyfdx said:

I worked for one company from 1986-2016. Ages 28-58

Fun fact. On September 1st, I'll have been doing this job for 20 years.

What are they getting you to celebrate?

The boot?

nyccarguy

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

@mjfloyd1 said:

@roadburner said:

Six jobs here:

Private practice: 1982-1986 (lost my first election in 1985)

Elected Judge in 1986 served through 2008 (I only had opposition in 2002)

Senior Status Judge (AKA: Early Retirement): 2008-2014

BMW Product Genius: 2016-2017

City Attorney: 2018

Commonwealth's Attorney: 2019-2024

I loved being a prosecutor even though it was more stressful than being a judge.

If my math is correct, I’ve had one job for the last 30 yrs. One particular health care system is slowly sucking the life out of me though.

I’m sure between the health systems, the insurance companies, and mal practice insurance it is becoming increasingly difficult to practice medicine and focus on patients.

My former PCP can attest to that. My wife and I followed him around most of the county we lived in for 20+ years, as he bounced around from one practice to another. He moved to AZ for a while, then came back because he didn't like the weather. He left again on a sabbatical for the better part of a year, but he told us before leaving that he would be starting his own practice when he got back.

He did, and we resumed seeing him again in his new location. It grew to the point where he had two sides - one a traditional appointment only clinic, the other more of a walk in urgent care.

As we are about the same age, it was natural for us to become friendly - I've even advised him on a couple of car purchases over the years. He started complaining about the paperwork he was responsible for, and the bureaucracy he had to fight with.

He ultimately sold the practice to a larger organization, and the last I heard he was working part time at a practice up in Denver - too far away to see him. We're still friends on FB.

My wife and I are very fortunate to have an extremely bright, kind, and caring physician as our PCP. While my wife and I were awaiting a test result last year she actually called us from her vacation in Israel to explain the results and deliver the good news that the test was negative.

tjc78

I’ve mentioned before that a good friend of mine is a doctor. He has finally had enough of working for big medical outfits and is opening his own.

It’s been a long process for him, between the software, insurance companies, etc etc.

sda

I saw this at CarMax. IIRC it is a 21 with 14k, 2.9 turbo six. I like the dark green and brown interior with Alcantara headliner. No panoramic roof. $62k

Sandman6472

Well, guess we were lucky then. Just had it fixed when it needed something over the years, and that was it. Just glad it all worked out.

jmonroe1

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

@kyfdx said:

I worked for one company from 1986-2016. Ages 28-58

Fun fact. On September 1st, I'll have been doing this job for 20 years.

What are they getting you to celebrate?

The boot?
______________________________________
I’m sure you like my idea better.

Get them to the negotiating table and we’ll take care of you. By the time we’re done with them you’ll have your pick of anything on the local Carmax lot. We have our ways.

jmonroe