Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

fintail · March 2021

When I left my prior role, COBRA was close to 1K/month. The marketplace options here don't appear to be as bad as that, but the coverage isn't as comprehensive. But hey, I am sure the money going to the middleman trickles down or something, so it all works out in the end, no crisis or anything, the world is envious.

kyfdx said:

My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

fintail · March 2021

Not everyone can be fortunate enough to be a Hoovie. I think there's a YT person for everything, the rabbit holes one can get into are endless.

I suspect minimum SS age will be around 70 by the time my generation gets there.

stickguy said:

it can be, if they get enough followers/views to generate ad revenue. Some of the financial guys I watch don't have really large followings, but seem to do a really good job explaining stuff. I am watching more conceptual videos, not anything trying to sell a specific investment (though I am sure they would be perfectly happy to have some 7 figure investors find them online and call up to transfer their money over!)

Lots of good videos on calculating $ needed to for annual payments, stuff like that. And techniques for withdrawals to minimize taxes. Pretty cool stuff.

oldfarmer50 · March 2021

cdnpinhead said:

oldfarmer50 said:

This is my phone:

I still have a nearly identical LG that still would work fine if Verizon hadn't put in a massive new cell tower that only talks to 4G and 5G. 3G got left out in the cold, so I bought a new flip phone that's 4G and cost well under $100. That and my laptop with a 14" screen meet all my needs, and it cost a little over $400. Oh, and I have an old reliable stand-alone digital camera for the three times a year when I need to take pictures.

Different strokes. . .

Funny thing about phones, we were up in the mountains of VT last week and the chase driver got a call from the boss but he lost the connection. He tried calling back and had no service. I tried with my cheap little Trac phone and got right through.

oldfarmer50 · March 2021

fintail said:
Not everyone can be fortunate enough to be a Hoovie. I think there's a YT person for everything, the rabbit holes one can get into are endless.

I suspect minimum SS age will be around 70 by the time my generation gets there.

stickguy said:

it can be, if they get enough followers/views to generate ad revenue. Some of the financial guys I watch don't have really large followings, but seem to do a really good job explaining stuff. I am watching more conceptual videos, not anything trying to sell a specific investment (though I am sure they would be perfectly happy to have some 7 figure investors find them online and call up to transfer their money over!)

Lots of good videos on calculating $ needed to for annual payments, stuff like that. And techniques for withdrawals to minimize taxes. Pretty cool stuff.

It’s over 67 now so I wouldn’t be surprised.

stickguy · March 2021

67 is FTA for me. Not sure if there is an age younger than late 50s where that goes up or not.

ab348 · March 2021

oldfarmer50 said:

Funny thing about phones, we were up in the mountains of VT last week and the chase driver got a call from the boss but he lost the connection. He tried calling back and had no service. I tried with my cheap little Trac phone and got right through.

I have noticed that as smartphones evolved to do more and more and became a PC that fits in your pocket, their telephone capabilities in terms of both signal strength and voice quality became worse.

kyfdx · March 2021

fintail said:
When I left my prior role, COBRA was close to 1K/month. The marketplace options here don't appear to be as bad as that, but the coverage isn't as comprehensive. But hey, I am sure the money going to the middleman trickles down or something, so it all works out in the end, no crisis or anything, the world is envious.

kyfdx said:

My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

COBRA is a steal, compared to most company retiree health plans. I did my 18 months on COBRA, first, before transitioning.

(noting that age makes a difference)

stickguy · March 2021

Cobra is usually still expensive, since it is 102% of the full cost of the medical plan (what the company pays, without any cost they cover for active employees).

explorerx4 · March 2021

I only used 1 month of Cobra this year before switching to Medicare.
The monthly premium went up $125 because the group was so much smaller after offshoring most of the technical staff.

kyfdx · March 2021

stickguy said:
Cobra is usually still expensive, since it is 102% of the full cost of the medical plan (what the company pays, without any cost they cover for active employees).

What makes it cheaper, is the COBRA rate is for ALL employees (age 18-65), while the retiree insurance is the rate for ages 55-65 (at my company) or 60-65 (in your case).

When I retired in 2016, COBRA was approx $500/mo, while the subsidized Retiree health plan was $750/mo. One other thing to note: COBRA for vision/dental insurance tends to be really cheap compared to what companies charge for retiree programs (if offered)

Because of an FASB ruling in 1994, requiring companies to account for retiree health expense as it was earned, rather than when it was paid, my company capped their retiree health expense at 150% of the 1994 level. They hit that CAP in the '00s.

So, our retiree health premiums reflect the full amount of the actual cost increase, each year. Not a percentage of it. My current unsubsidized retiree health premiums are $1136/mo. (for one person).

About the time my COBRA was up, they decided to give us a premium reimbursement account, instead of subsidizing the retiree premiums. It was based on length of years to age 65. It covers roughly 35% of the premium, if you want it to last until Medicare eligibility.

Then multiply all that by 2, since my wife is a retiree of the same company.

The healthcare.gov monthly premiums for my age are substantially higher, for poorer coverage.

If you'd told me in 2005, that I'd have to budget $18K/yr just for healthcare premiums, if I wanted to retire before 65, I wouldn't have thought it possible, but here we are. It beats working.

Don't get me started on the pension program "improvements" they made in the '00s.

corvette · March 2021

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:
I decided that next Christmas would be the right time to treat myself to a nicer car. in about 13 months I hit the next big "milestone" birthday so I deserve something for that (assuming of course I make it that far!) Helps that my pension kicks in 1/1 next year, and since I have to keep working anyway, a car seems like a good thing to spend the extra money on.

Also spent a lot of time wasting on YoutTube watching videos from various money professionals ("how much do you need to retire", "tax strategies", "best places to retire", etc.). There might be more of those than dudes in Kansas working on hoopties! So based on all that, I can either retire tomorrow, or have to work until I am 80, depending on the lifestyle I want to live! Right now, we are trying to hold out for 65 to get Medicare at least. Subject to going earlier if one of us really has enough of corporate America. Maybe find an alternative source of income that is more enjoyable, like doing auto transports!

6 years either sounds like hardly any time at all, or an eternity. I just can't decide which...
I had had enough of my job at 65 so I retired as soon as I qualified for Medicare. If you don’t want to wait that long you could always give financial advice on YouTube, although if those guys were so smart, why would they need to make YouTube videos for a living?
My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

You just need to get your income down low enough to qualify for the federal subsidy. Subscribe to my channel for more financial tips!

kyfdx · March 2021

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:
I decided that next Christmas would be the right time to treat myself to a nicer car. in about 13 months I hit the next big "milestone" birthday so I deserve something for that (assuming of course I make it that far!) Helps that my pension kicks in 1/1 next year, and since I have to keep working anyway, a car seems like a good thing to spend the extra money on.

Also spent a lot of time wasting on YoutTube watching videos from various money professionals ("how much do you need to retire", "tax strategies", "best places to retire", etc.). There might be more of those than dudes in Kansas working on hoopties! So based on all that, I can either retire tomorrow, or have to work until I am 80, depending on the lifestyle I want to live! Right now, we are trying to hold out for 65 to get Medicare at least. Subject to going earlier if one of us really has enough of corporate America. Maybe find an alternative source of income that is more enjoyable, like doing auto transports!

6 years either sounds like hardly any time at all, or an eternity. I just can't decide which...
I had had enough of my job at 65 so I retired as soon as I qualified for Medicare. If you don’t want to wait that long you could always give financial advice on YouTube, although if those guys were so smart, why would they need to make YouTube videos for a living?
My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

You just need to get your income down low enough to qualify for the federal subsidy. Subscribe to my channel for more financial tips!

LOL

If you are eligible for a company sponsored retirement plan, then you are automatically ineligible for a federal subsidy. I checked.

corvette · March 2021

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:
I decided that next Christmas would be the right time to treat myself to a nicer car. in about 13 months I hit the next big "milestone" birthday so I deserve something for that (assuming of course I make it that far!) Helps that my pension kicks in 1/1 next year, and since I have to keep working anyway, a car seems like a good thing to spend the extra money on.

Also spent a lot of time wasting on YoutTube watching videos from various money professionals ("how much do you need to retire", "tax strategies", "best places to retire", etc.). There might be more of those than dudes in Kansas working on hoopties! So based on all that, I can either retire tomorrow, or have to work until I am 80, depending on the lifestyle I want to live! Right now, we are trying to hold out for 65 to get Medicare at least. Subject to going earlier if one of us really has enough of corporate America. Maybe find an alternative source of income that is more enjoyable, like doing auto transports!

6 years either sounds like hardly any time at all, or an eternity. I just can't decide which...
I had had enough of my job at 65 so I retired as soon as I qualified for Medicare. If you don’t want to wait that long you could always give financial advice on YouTube, although if those guys were so smart, why would they need to make YouTube videos for a living?
My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

You just need to get your income down low enough to qualify for the federal subsidy. Subscribe to my channel for more financial tips!
LOL

If you are eligible for a company sponsored retirement plan, then you are automatically ineligible for a federal subsidy. I checked.

Ah, that makes sense, and explains why my parents have never mentioned getting a subsidy.

Sandman6472 · March 2021

I never buy a current year iPhone, or haven't up to now. I've been lucky enough to get mu units in year two when they are cheaper. And just because I say I want a 12 right now, still haven't pulled the trigger yet. But, I won't be paying full price for one when I do get one. And if that means waiting till the new 13 comes out, so be it. For any large purchase, takes me awhile to finally do it. So, still looking and will definitely unlock my current XR first.
Good thing I had multiple devices today. Our internet went out but could still use it on my cell phone!

Sandman6472 · March 2021

Kid's Accent got hit today in the Target parking lot. Someone backed out but didn't look to see my daughter stopped waiting for a driver in front of her. The lady accepted blame right away and just after I arrived, the accident investigator showed up to take the report. We've already called their insurance and their handling it all. Will take it in to my body guy tomorrow to get the estimate. She'll be taking her vacation in mid May so it'll be here for part of that time it seems. Will just give her mine to use and I'll use the rental if we go that route.

fintail · March 2021

LOL what's a pension?

kyfdx said:

Don't get me started on the pension program "improvements" they made in the '00s.

stickguy · March 2021

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:
I decided that next Christmas would be the right time to treat myself to a nicer car. in about 13 months I hit the next big "milestone" birthday so I deserve something for that (assuming of course I make it that far!) Helps that my pension kicks in 1/1 next year, and since I have to keep working anyway, a car seems like a good thing to spend the extra money on.

Also spent a lot of time wasting on YoutTube watching videos from various money professionals ("how much do you need to retire", "tax strategies", "best places to retire", etc.). There might be more of those than dudes in Kansas working on hoopties! So based on all that, I can either retire tomorrow, or have to work until I am 80, depending on the lifestyle I want to live! Right now, we are trying to hold out for 65 to get Medicare at least. Subject to going earlier if one of us really has enough of corporate America. Maybe find an alternative source of income that is more enjoyable, like doing auto transports!

6 years either sounds like hardly any time at all, or an eternity. I just can't decide which...
I had had enough of my job at 65 so I retired as soon as I qualified for Medicare. If you don’t want to wait that long you could always give financial advice on YouTube, although if those guys were so smart, why would they need to make YouTube videos for a living?
My company sponsored retiree health insurance premiums are expensive. So, I checked out the public marketplace. Holy cow! I’m going to complain a little less about mine (just a little).

You just need to get your income down low enough to qualify for the federal subsidy. Subscribe to my channel for more financial tips!
LOL

If you are eligible for a company sponsored retirement plan, then you are automatically ineligible for a federal subsidy. I checked.

not sure it matters to the gubbermint, but one quirk for me is that all my retirement stuff (pension and ret medical) are from a prior employer. My current one, they give bumpkus.

oldfarmer50 · March 2021

stickguy said:
67 is FTA for me. Not sure if there is an age younger than late 50s where that goes up or not.

Anyone born 1960 or later is 67. Who know what the “or later” crowd will get hit with.

stickguy · March 2021

all the nonsense with trying to cover healthcare before 65 is one reason I plan to just work up to then and go cold turkey. They extra money, well, that will come in handy too. So unless a company decides to make it happen earlier, or we just really can't take it any more, will have to stay on the payroll until then. With plenty of rest time along the way!

Thankfully a few years ago the wife switched jobs (companies). Up until then we were at the same place, and that was not at all a comforting feeling. Especially there.

oldfarmer50 · March 2021

kyfdx said:

stickguy said:
Cobra is usually still expensive, since it is 102% of the full cost of the medical plan (what the company pays, without any cost they cover for active employees).
What makes it cheaper, is the COBRA rate is for ALL employees (age 18-65), while the retiree insurance is the rate for ages 55-65 (at my company) or 60-65 (in your case).

When I retired in 2016, COBRA was approx $500/mo, while the subsidized Retiree health plan was $750/mo. One other thing to note: COBRA for vision/dental insurance tends to be really cheap compared to what companies charge for retiree programs (if offered)

Because of an FASB ruling in 1994, requiring companies to account for retiree health expense as it was earned, rather than when it was paid, my company capped their retiree health expense at 150% of the 1994 level. They hit that CAP in the '00s.

So, our retiree health premiums reflect the full amount of the actual cost increase, each year. Not a percentage of it. My current unsubsidized retiree health premiums are $1136/mo. (for one person).

About the time my COBRA was up, they decided to give us a premium reimbursement account, instead of subsidizing the retiree premiums. It was based on length of years to age 65. It covers roughly 35% of the premium, if you want it to last until Medicare eligibility.

Then multiply all that by 2, since my wife is a retiree of the same company.

The healthcare.gov monthly premiums for my age are substantially higher, for poorer coverage.

If you'd told me in 2005, that I'd have to budget $18K/yr just for healthcare premiums, if I wanted to retire before 65, I wouldn't have thought it possible, but here we are. It beats working.

Don't get me started on the pension program "improvements" they made in the '00s.

The only solution on pensions is to work for the government and stick the cost to your tax paying neighbor. I get about half of my final year salary for life.

That makes up for my farmer’s retirement plan which is a hole in the ground behind the barn.

kyfdx · March 2021

It's funny, just before retirement, my share of the premiums was $200/mo. for medical, dental and vision for three people.

But, I'm not mad about retiring.

corvette · March 2021

We just went from "company pays 100% of your individual plan but nothing else" to "company pays for most of your individual plan, and a heavy subsidy if you want to cover your spouse and/or dependents," which may work out better for people who need spouse or dependent coverage, but is less advantageous for me. No retiree healthcare coverage, so I'll be in the marketplace when I leave.

qbrozen · March 2021

tjc78 said:
All the major cell phone players allow you to finance the whole phone at 0%. Frankly free money works for me and $30 extra month for something you use all day every day is worth it to me.

Oh, it isn’t free. They keep you roped in to their overpriced plans until you pay the phone off. I broke away from the At&t teet and am paying $20/mon for far better service than before.

corvette · March 2021

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:
All the major cell phone players allow you to finance the whole phone at 0%. Frankly free money works for me and $30 extra month for something you use all day every day is worth it to me.
Oh, it isn’t free. They keep you roped in to their overpriced plans until you pay the phone off. I broke away from the At&t teet and am paying $20/mon for far better service than before.

I’ve had Mint for a few years now and have been very happy with them. One of the issues with my old iPhone is that it doesn’t support some of the newer T-mobile bands (that’s the network used by Mint), but it’s only been an issue in rural areas.

roadburner · March 2021

nyccarguy said:
I picked up my prelude from it’s emissions test. No surprise, it passed with flying colors. The drive home was exhilarating. Once again just a drive across town, but I love the car so much.

I know the feeling. My ti is so different-in a good way-from more modern cars that it’s a revelation when you get behind the wheel.

qbrozen · March 2021

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:
All the major cell phone players allow you to finance the whole phone at 0%. Frankly free money works for me and $30 extra month for something you use all day every day is worth it to me.
Oh, it isn’t free. They keep you roped in to their overpriced plans until you pay the phone off. I broke away from the At&t teet and am paying $20/mon for far better service than before.
I’ve had Mint for a few years now and have been very happy with them. One of the issues with my old iPhone is that it doesn’t support some of the newer T-mobile bands (that’s the network used by Mint), but it’s only been an issue in rural areas.

First I tried Altice, who claimed to be running on AT&T’s network. That turned out to be false. Well, I can only assume false because the service in my town was awful, and we never had an issue with the signal while with ATT. So then I decided to try Visible, who is a Verizon subbrand. It has been working great.

stickguy · March 2021

Xfinity wifi is pretty cheap. I think 2 lines, 3 gigs shared data (which we don't exceed normally) is something like $30/month. We pay the 2 phones also in the payment, and the whole thing including the payments is about $75/month.

Sandman6472 · March 2021

We have three of us on our grandfathered in AT&T plan and are very happy with it. I use the most gigs of data as I surf when sitting in the chase van at work. Foolish I know, but it helps pass the time. Plus, my postal years have given us a discount on our plan, so that little bit helps a bit. And since the two other kids went off on their own, decided that I'd ask the other kid to pay her share and each December, she hands me a check for the coming year which I feel is fair.

Michaell · March 2021

stickguy said:
Xfinity wifi is pretty cheap. I think 2 lines, 3 gigs shared data (which we don't exceed normally) is something like $30/month. We pay the 2 phones also in the payment, and the whole thing including the payments is about $75/month.

The business mobile phone is through Xfinity. Wife and I use Sprint (now T-Mobile). Daughter has Verizon.

Sandman6472 · March 2021

My folks were so angry that I went with the postal service as my career but hey, it's still paying me monthly! So I'm not a lawyer like my sister was or in the entertainment business like my older brother was. I made a decent living, raised & educated three good kids and now, they pay me 56% of my salary every month, ain't too shabby I'd say. Sure, I was a blue collar worker and never made close to what the others made, it's the basis of our retirement income and we still have savings from it each month. We still end up living under our means now but we're really not trying to. Just seems to happen I guess.
And still loving my part time gig at Enterprise. Hard to believe that back in January of 2013, I decided after my wife mentioned it, to go back to work part time. Hated being an independent contractor so joined up with Hertz a year later. And the end of 2019, Enterprise and I started our current relationship. Unfortunately, I missed the profit sharing date for 2020 by just 2 days...2 days, but am now eligible for 2021 and how ever long I continue. And at this point, will work until I decide not to. And after talking with the wife & daughter yesterday, we've set our sites on making a move sometime in 2025, which will probably mean moving up to the Orlando area of Florida to be with our daughter and son-in-law who live just outside there now. We're just not ready to pick up and move right now. But, at least we're in an agreement as to when we'd all like to.

corvette · March 2021

qbrozen said:

corvette said:

qbrozen said:

tjc78 said:
All the major cell phone players allow you to finance the whole phone at 0%. Frankly free money works for me and $30 extra month for something you use all day every day is worth it to me.
Oh, it isn’t free. They keep you roped in to their overpriced plans until you pay the phone off. I broke away from the At&t teet and am paying $20/mon for far better service than before.
I’ve had Mint for a few years now and have been very happy with them. One of the issues with my old iPhone is that it doesn’t support some of the newer T-mobile bands (that’s the network used by Mint), but it’s only been an issue in rural areas.
First I tried Altice, who claimed to be running on AT&T’s network. That turned out to be false. Well, I can only assume false because the service in my town was awful, and we never had an issue with the signal while with ATT. So then I decided to try Visible, who is a Verizon subbrand. It has been working great.

Altice could have been running on AT&T. The difference with the MVNOs vs. the brand names like AT&T and Verizon is that the brand names will roam onto each other’s networks and the MVNOs will not unless it’s a 911 call. With the MVNO, your regular calls and data are limited to whatever their carrier’s native network can provide. Works fine for me, but maybe not for everyone.

stickguy · March 2021

I think I posted this for TJC a few weeks ago, but now they have pictures. Looks pretty clean. Interesting color. Not sure I ever saw a TC in a color like this before.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2006-lincoln-town_car-4dr_sedan_signature_limited-used-1lnhm82w66y642638.html

And this modern version looks pretty nice. Miles a bit steep, but price took quite a haircut.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2017-cadillac-xts-4dr_sedan_luxury_fwd-used-2g61m5s30h9147405.html

cdnpinhead · March 2021

fintail said:
My mom, in her 70s now, has a phone like that, with similar costs. It's all she needs, but she does get aggravated when trying to text with it . . .

This is most certainly true. It's interesting to me how often that the letters needed are the second or third choices. Remember that? Or are all of you so up-to-date that you never had to deal with such drivel.

fintail · March 2021

I suspect everyone here is old enough to have experienced a traditional flip/bar phone. My first was a Nokia 5190, then had a couple Motorolas, then got into early smartphones, including the first Android on the US market. Once I had a keyboard (either on a Blackberry or Sidekick), I never looked back.

cdnpinhead said:
This is most certainly true. It's interesting to me how often that the letters needed are the second or third choices. Remember that? Or are all of you so up-to-date that you never had to deal with such drivel.

cdnpinhead · March 2021

Well, your priorities are different if you generate a text monthly or quarterly.

corvette · March 2021

stickguy said:
I think I posted this for TJC a few weeks ago, but now they have pictures. Looks pretty clean. Interesting color. Not sure I ever saw a TC in a color like this before.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2006-lincoln-town_car-4dr_sedan_signature_limited-used-1lnhm82w66y642638.html

Weirdly, the color is actually similar to the 540i M-sport I had... Looks like it's missing the rear parking sensors, but if I were in the market for a high-end Panther, the price doesn't seem out of line.

fintail · March 2021

Definitely nothing wrong with not laying down hundreds (if not a grand or more) on something if you won't use its features.

cdnpinhead said:
Well, your priorities are different if you generate a text monthly or
quarterly.

corvette · March 2021

fintail said:
I suspect everyone here is old enough to have experienced a traditional flip/bar phone. My first was a Nokia 5190, then had a couple Motorolas, then got into early smartphones, including the first Android on the US market. Once I had a keyboard (either on a Blackberry or Sidekick), I never looked back.

My first phone was a Nokia 6120. It could receive texts (at $0.10 each charged by the carrier), but couldn't send them. It was otherwise an outstanding phone, and very physically durable. I kept it through 2004. Ended up with a Motorola V400, which was a crummy full-featured flip phone. Replaced that with a Razr, then the original iPhone, and an iPhone 4. Briefly switched to Android with an LG Nexus because they offered a larger display, but went back to Apple with the iPhone 6s. Have been through several carriers during that time. Like the Apple integration, smoothness, and ecosystem, and will replace it with another iPhone unless I can get an equivalent Android for substantially less.

fintail · March 2021

After the Nokia, I got a Motorola P280 - I actually won it, one of the first GPRS phones (basic data, like sports scores and weather). I had that for a bit, then got a Motorola V600, which was top of the line then. Then I went through a bunch of early smartphones - Windows phones, Blackberries, Sidekicks (I worked for a telco and often got them for free or very little). I was pretty won over by the first Android, and have stayed with those since the first (I believe it was HTC Dream). I've had Samsung Galaxy and Note since the first series, now on a Note20 Ultra, which is excellent save for a very flawed camera, which if Samsung doesn't fix in later models (won't upgrade for a bit yet), I will find another brand.

corvette said:

My first phone was a Nokia 6120. It could receive texts (at $0.10 each charged by the carrier), but couldn't send them. It was otherwise an outstanding phone, and very physically durable. I kept it through 2004. Ended up with a Motorola V400, which was a crummy full-featured flip phone. Replaced that with a Razr, then the original iPhone, and an iPhone 4. Briefly switched to Android with an LG Nexus because they offered a larger display, but went back to Apple with the iPhone 6s. Have been through several carriers during that time. Like the Apple integration, smoothness, and ecosystem, and will replace it with another iPhone unless I can get an equivalent Android for substantially less.

xwesx · March 2021

cdnpinhead said:

fintail said:
My mom, in her 70s now, has a phone like that, with similar costs. It's all she needs, but she does get aggravated when trying to text with it . . .
This is most certainly true. It's interesting to me how often that the letters needed are the second or third choices. Remember that? Or are all of you so up-to-date that you never had to deal with such drivel.

I know what you're talking about, but I've never experienced it for texting. The only texting I've ever done is via my iPod using the iMessage app, and even that isn't all that frequent. My kids laugh at me because I use my index finger to peck out the messages, grammar and all. They think I should use my thumbs, of all things, but I have a hard enough time getting the correct letters to post without an even larger digit trying to do the typing!

Actually, now that I think about it, I did use a little throw-away phone for a few texts in 2009 when we were driving the 1998 DGC home from PA. In some ways, that was easier than the screens now because at least the button I pressed was the one registered on the device (even if I didn't get the number of pushes for the correct letter). Now, the devices are too smart for their own good and constantly try to second-guess what I'm trying to type. It's absolutely infuriating sometimes.

cdnpinhead · March 2021

Think of me as your view into the past.

Not that anyone wants to.

tjc78 · March 2021

I’ve had so many phones. From the Zack Morris tall skinny thing with the giant antenna. Motorola Piper, several Nokia’s, Razr, early Androids (Moto, HTC, Samsung) How far we have come! Have to say the Iphones have been my favorite.

tjc78 · March 2021

Forgot LG flips too and an early LG touchscreen..Dare I think was the name.

tjc78 · March 2021

stickguy said:
I think I posted this for TJC a few weeks ago, but now they have pictures. Looks pretty clean. Interesting color. Not sure I ever saw a TC in a color like this before.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2006-lincoln-town_car-4dr_sedan_signature_limited-used-1lnhm82w66y642638.html

And this modern version looks pretty nice. Miles a bit steep, but price took quite a haircut.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2017-cadillac-xts-4dr_sedan_luxury_fwd-used-2g61m5s30h9147405.html

That’s a rare TC color and not one of my favorites! Clean car.. it will be gone quickly.

qbrozen · March 2021

stickguy said:
I think I posted this for TJC a few weeks ago, but now they have pictures. Looks pretty clean. Interesting color. Not sure I ever saw a TC in a color like this before.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2006-lincoln-town_car-4dr_sedan_signature_limited-used-1lnhm82w66y642638.html

And this modern version looks pretty nice. Miles a bit steep, but price took quite a haircut.

https://www.royalmotorsnj.com/details-2017-cadillac-xts-4dr_sedan_luxury_fwd-used-2g61m5s30h9147405.html

The T&C color looks a helluva lot like my ‘98 mazda 626 in “meadow green.” Really a very pretty and unique color.

ab348 · March 2021

I resisted getting a cell phone at work for the longest time because back then I did not want to get calls at all hours. But in 2001 I finally gave in, and work bought me a Motorola StarTac flip phone:

I hated it from the start and found it almost incomprehensible to use. I remember the manual that came with it was around 400 pages long and all of the functions it described seemed to require about 20 different steps. I could barely make/receive calls with it as it was. I was thankful when it began acting flaky and would not always ring on incoming calls, so I had an excuse to get rid of it. Unfortunately it got replaced with the Blackberry Storm or Torch (can't recall exactly), the all-touchscreen version, which I found equally inscrutable.

pensfan83 · March 2021

cdnpinhead said:
Well, your priorities are different if you generate a text monthly or quarterly.

This made me LOL. I'm old enough that I remember having to send texts via T9. That ended in 2010 or 2011 when we got our first smartphones.

graphicguy · March 2021

I really like this guy...he works on anything with a motor....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcSeeATlWJJbXpOZRYOfaDg

graphicguy · March 2021

First mobile phone was a Motorola StarTAC and then a Razr. Before I retired, my company phone was an Android. Went through a litany of those, LG, Samsung, some others I can’t remember.

My personal mobile phone, once the iOS and Android operating systems became ubiquitous, has been iPhones. I skip a couple of generations, usually. This is the longest I’ve had an iPhone...4 generations old.

kyfdx · March 2021

cdnpinhead said:

fintail said:
My mom, in her 70s now, has a phone like that, with similar costs. It's all she needs, but she does get aggravated when trying to text with it . . .
This is most certainly true. It's interesting to me how often that the letters needed are the second or third choices. Remember that? Or are all of you so up-to-date that you never had to deal with such drivel.

When I had a Nokia, the predictive texting was really good. A later Motorola was terrible, in comparison.

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