Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

ab348 · December 2022

@driver100 said:
@ab348 It may be of help or it may not be. The instructions I got for our air exchanger were to clean the small filters with a vacuum cleaner once every quarter, and clean the core filter once a year. The instructions say to fill a bathtub, add dish soap, stick the core filter into the water, let it soak for hours. I turn it over so everything soaks at some point.

It looks like if it goes back together it doesn't matter which way you place the filters...but I do put them in the way they always were.

There are 4 places the 2 filters can go so it does make a difference if you don’t use the correct locations I would presume. My core explicitly says to not soak it in water. I do understand that other types call for doing that but they must not all be the same.

All they needed to do is add a bit of explanatory text to the engineering drawing in the manual, but nooooo… 🤨

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

ab348 said:
My provincial government pension has no indexing for a 5-year period that we are about halfway through. Even if things were unrealistically great in the financial world it is legislated in such a way that we would never receive full COLA. A government from about 10 years ago changed the legislation to really put the screws to U.S. pensioners. Shameful, really.

My state pension only got a COLA after 5 years. It wasn’t anywhere near the inflation rate.

But I’m hoping to win the lottery soon so it’s all good.

snakeweasel · December 2022

ab348 said:

snakeweasel said:

I am vested in a pension from a private company and I can start pulling from in next month as I turn 62. I don't think it will be a lot but it's a little extra money as I plan on working the next 5 to 6 years before retiring. When I retire I'll get a state pension and Social Security which will replace about 90% of my salary with savings and investments we should be ok. I still plan on doing taxes in my retirement but full time during the tax season and maybe get some type of easy peasy retirement gig.

Does the private company pension change the amount you receive if you delay taking it beyond 62? Also, is the benefit indexed for inflation once you start taking it?

According to the person I talked to at the company I used to work with the pension does not pay more if I delay receiving it, plus there is a buy out option. Nothing was said about adjustments for inflation. However in the next couple of weeks I should be getting a package from the pension administrator with all the information which will give me a clearer picture and if the information I was given is accurate. So I am just waiting for this information and will run numbers on before deciding how to proceed.

snakeweasel · December 2022

oldfarmer50 said:

snakeweasel said:
@Sandman6472

Unlike those in private industry, you were able to forego paying into SS during your time with the Post Office. It's fortunate you got your 40 quarters in, but regular employees have had payroll deductions for 160 quarters or more. It isn't just postal employees. Teachers, ministers, firefighters, police, and dozens of other civil service occupations have their SSA benefits reduced, due to them not paying into the system, while employed.
In my professional life I never had a pension and in my 20s I never even thought to start a retirement plan. Certainly the farm never generated enough income to put much away. Fortunately, I got the bus driver gig and that gave me a generous government pension plus social security. That takes care of all our modest needs leaving my car jockey money for whatever automotive flights of fancy I might have.

I am vested in a pension from a private company and I can start pulling from in next month as I turn 62. I don't think it will be a lot but it's a little extra money as I plan on working the next 5 to 6 years before retiring. When I retire I'll get a state pension and Social Security which will replace about 90% of my salary with savings and investments we should be ok. I still plan on doing taxes in my retirement but full time during the tax season and maybe get some type of easy peasy retirement gig.

How do you think this new $600/1099 rule will effect your tax preparation business? I’m not even sure who has to generate them but it looks like if I pay my mechanic $600 in cash I’m supposed to give him one. Is that how it works? Sounds like a nightmare.

As for an easy peasy retirement gig, Sandy and I can hook you up.😉

Unless you made the payment as part of a trade or business you really don't have to worry about the 1099.

I know someone that told me they can hit me up with an auto parts place running parts from the store to dealerships and mechanics. But I will keep my poster poster buddies in mind when the time comes.

stickguy · December 2022

parts runner sounds like a pretty cool job actually.

Michaell · December 2022

This showed up in my LinkedIn feed:

tjc78 · December 2022

So true. There just aren’t many colors today.

What I wonder is where does gold fall in, with the browns? Mid to late 90s it seemed gold cars were everywhere much more than 4%

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

stickguy said:
parts runner sounds like a pretty cool job actually.

Not as much as you might think. Lots of lifting, parts selecting and the worst part, collecting on delinquent accounts.

If you don’t like the rental car thing you should go work for one of the luxury dealerships. They do home pick ups and you get to drop off loaners while driving the customer’s car back. My friend basically drives nothing but $100k cars all day.

driver100 · December 2022

carnaught said:
In my professional career I never got a COLA. For those who have, consider yourself lucky not be be in something involving lower reimbursements with increasing overhead .

My U.S. publishing employer didn't have much of a pension plan. It is the same company that paid Jerry Siegel $412 for the rights to Superman, and it left him almost penniless in old age. Thank goodness they canned me and I started my own business, or I'd be eating cat food about now.

driver100 · December 2022

ab348 said:

@driver100 said:
@ab348 It may be of help or it may not be. The instructions I got for our air exchanger were to clean the small filters with a vacuum cleaner once every quarter, and clean the core filter once a year. The instructions say to fill a bathtub, add dish soap, stick the core filter into the water, let it soak for hours. I turn it over so everything soaks at some point.

It looks like if it goes back together it doesn't matter which way you place the filters...but I do put them in the way they always were.

There are 4 places the 2 filters can go so it does make a difference if you don’t use the correct locations I would presume. My core explicitly says to not soak it in water. I do understand that other types call for doing that but they must not all be the same.

All they needed to do is add a bit of explanatory text to the engineering drawing in the manual, but nooooo… 🤨

.....a note and diagram on the unit or just inside would be ideal.

driver100 · December 2022

Michaell said:
This showed up in my LinkedIn feed:

What happened to green?
My red car is becoming extinct.
Maroon is extinct.
Interesting way to show it.
Black is really gained...big time.

stickguy · December 2022

Too bad I am not close to many dealers. only 2 really close are a Chevy dealer and a GMC dealer and I doubt they offer that service!

now, if I had moved close to the Porsche dealer, that could be fun!

ab348 · December 2022

The dealers here used to offer a service dept shuttle to drive people to/from the dealership if they weren’t getting a service loaner. With Covid all those shuttle drivers lost their jobs and they have not returned. Now, my dealer pays customers up to $15 for cab fare each way.

roadburner · December 2022

I was planning to go into Senior Judge Status in January 2009, but the program administrator encouraged me to go in on July 1 2008 because I'd receive a COLA and probably would not get one again. So far that's been true. I might get a COLA on my prosecutor's salary; it's tied to the CPI so it will be a decent bump if I get it.

Sandman6472 · December 2022

I'm just thankful to get it after putting in my 31 years in the post office. I had planned to work till I was 60, which would've been 2014, but didn't work out that way. But that was the original plan as it would've given me 35 years of service. Figured I'd probably get a part time gig after that as 60 is a bit young to just stop & do nothing. After a couple of years at home dealing with my chronic pain, my wife & pain doctor suggested I might want to find something part time and that's when I fell into the rental car business. I was an independent contractor my first year but I wanted a set schedule & they couldn't give me one. Hated having to call in the night before and see if I was working or not with the second company & with the first, just had to wait around for a all to come in. Both didn't work for me.
Hertz offered me a three day a week schedule and even though it was a longish drive to get there, I took it. Lasted 6 years until I couldn't take it anymore. Before I could quit, i found a ig with Enterprise closer to home, much closer, so I grabbed it, quit Hertz & never looked back. Has been a great place to work actually and think OF will agree. We get to participate in a 401K account plus get profit sharing, two things Hertz never gave us. Heck, they refused to give me a $25 gift card because I left on December 2nd of that year. First, my boss lied to my face telling me no one got one and then, a co-worker called to tell me they did in fact get them. I had planned to visit the old boss & tell him how petty it was to lie to my face but decided I didn't even want to waste the petrol driving down there.
Best part was I heard within a few months of my leaving, all but one of the remaining drivers left that branch. Guess I started a trend but was well worth the move.

driver100 · December 2022

ab348 said:
The dealers here used to offer a service dept shuttle to drive people to/from the dealership if they weren’t getting a service loaner. With Covid all those shuttle drivers lost their jobs and they have not returned. Now, my dealer pays customers up to $15 for cab fare each way.

Every shuttle driver I had said they loved their job. They were retired guys who liked to drive, liked to talk to the customers, liked cars....and seem to be treated well by the dealership. For a long time the dealers stopped the shuttle service because of covid. But, they were back to providing it when I was there in the summer. I think it's back and it seems to be a nice little gig for a retired guy.

laurasdada · December 2022

In my area, I've found free (subsidized) charging stations well out number pay to play. Was on the cape today for dinner and a wonderful holiday show by the Cape Cod Symphony Orchestra. Two different parking locations, 4 free charging stations. Of course, we took the X3...
Or, perhaps, I've just discovered the free stations and those are the only ones that get my valuable business. As a PHEV, I don't need no stinkin' electricity.
The DC/Level 3 stations, now those cost.

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

driver100 said:

Michaell said:
This showed up in my LinkedIn feed:

What happened to green?
My red car is becoming extinct.
Maroon is extinct.
Interesting way to show it.
Black is really gained...big time.

I miss green too. I don’t know why you would want black unless you owned a car wash.

tjc78 · December 2022

@oldfarmer50 said:
I miss green too. I don’t know why you would want black unless you owned a car wash.

It just looks so nice when clean!

ab348 · December 2022

tjc78 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I miss green too. I don’t know why you would want black unless you owned a car wash.

It just looks so nice when clean!

Which is 1% of the time.

I do not understand the popularity of either black exteriors or black interiors.

qbrozen · December 2022

is that chart strictly Golf colors? They are missing MANY if not.

imidazol97 · December 2022

92 days until the larger car shows start up again in this part of Cold-in-Ohio country.
I don't do the shows indoors in arenas.

But I read happy news that some national shows are in planning to be held here in the
area again. Plymouth Barracuda, REO, Oldsmobile, and Monte Carlo shows are coming.

In the past I enjoyed the Crown Victoria show, along with Mercury, and one other I
can't recall right now. Have to look for photos of their conventions.

explorerx4 · December 2022

a sick jmonroe1.

https://youtu.be/1rCP4hj5-po

tjc78 · December 2022

@ab348 said:
Which is 1% of the time.

I do not understand the popularity of either black exteriors or black interiors.

I’ve had a few black and dark colored cars. They do take more work but in all reality aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be.

I love a white over beige car, but having black on black right now I don’t hate it. I’ll also say that I’ve never owned a jet black car. The ones I’ve had all had some shimmer or Pearl to them which maybe makes it easier to live with.

driver100 · December 2022

tjc78 said:

@ab348 said:

Which is 1% of the time.

I do not understand the popularity of either black exteriors or black interiors.

I love a white over beige car, but having black on black right now I don’t hate it. I’ll also say that I’ve never owned a jet black car. The ones I’ve had all had some shimmer or Pearl to them which maybe makes it easier to live with.

Maybe along with our signature we should add what color our cars are!

roadburner · December 2022

My E24 M6 was black; beggars can't be choosers when only 1,767 cars were imported to the US by BMW NA. I gravitate to blue, green, and red cars, although the Clubman is metallic brown and the Wrangler is a metallic tan.

Sandman6472 · December 2022

I like the pearl paint the best to be honest, it just looks so rich in color especially when clean. Unfortunately, my VW isn't pearlized but have been happy with it. It's blue on the exterior & ivory on the interior. Thought I'd have trouble keeping the inside clean but after almost 8 years of ownership, next week, looks pretty good. Prefer the lighter interior as I don't sweat in one. The A3 we also have is white over black and the back of my shirt is usually wet after spending some time inside it. We almost bought a black over black A3 but the closer dealer that had our current vehicle called while we were making a deal on a black over black unit at a farther away dealer. They finally agreed to my wife's offer, so we went back later that day and made the deal. Even though it was around December 1st, they gave her a deal a little under invoice so she was happy. Since it was so early in the model year, they had only black & white vehicles to choose from and what we ended up getting was her first choice.
On my next vehicle, not sure I'd do a blue exterior but will want a lighter shade for the interior. If it was to be the Bolt, it'll be either the light blue or the dark red. Haven't checked out the Kona colors yet & not sure if they have any EV's in our area. If the Corolla Cross, the Windchill pearl over the black & white interior is the only one I like well enough to pull the trigger. Did drive a regular Corolla the other day at work for about an hour and was pleasantly surprised at how well the 2.0 engine accelerated as there's no turbo which I'm used to. And going with the Corolla would mean synthetic oil changes wouldn't be necessary anymore. A slight savings there, part of where the "cheap to keep" factors in.

ab348 · December 2022

tjc78 said:
I love a white over beige car, but having black on black right now I don’t hate it. I’ll also say that I’ve never owned a jet black car. The ones I’ve had all had some shimmer or Pearl to them which maybe makes it easier to live with.

Evey black metallic or similarly-painted car I've ever seen always looks dusty even when it is clean. The metallic flakes seem to cause that effect.

jmonroe1 · December 2022

explorerx4 said:
a sick jmonroe1.
https://youtu.be/1rCP4hj5-po

————————————————-
Those Pittsburgh Dad clips are usually pretty good and for those that have never been to the Burgh lots of folks talk like that. It’s just a basic “yinzer” thing.

jmonroe

stickguy · December 2022

got gas at Valero today. RUG down to $3.19. The 2's are in sight!

but they have not budged in months on higher grades. Mid grade was $4.89, and PUG was $5.29. $2.10 extra for premium, is just nuts. If you are running low that is an easy $30 extra for a sedan with a tank with capacity in the teens.

place is moving fuel though. large station, at least 12 pump spots, and usually they are all full.

Michaell · December 2022

stickguy said:
got gas at Valero today. RUG down to $3.19. The 2's are in sight!

but they have not budged in months on higher grades. Mid grade was $4.89, and PUG was $5.29. $2.10 extra for premium, is just nuts. If you are running low that is an easy $30 extra for a sedan with a tank with capacity in the teens.

place is moving fuel though. large station, at least 12 pump spots, and usually they are all full.

I paid $3.25/gal today for midgrade (87 here in CO). RUG (85) was, I think, $2.85/gal.

ronsteve · December 2022

stickguy said:
got gas at Valero today. RUG down to $3.19. The 2's are in sight!

but they have not budged in months on higher grades. Mid grade was $4.89, and PUG was $5.29. $2.10 extra for premium, is just nuts. If you are running low that is an easy $30 extra for a sedan with a tank with capacity in the teens.

place is moving fuel though. large station, at least 12 pump spots, and usually they are all full.

Around here Valero is crazy and unpredictable in their RUG vs PUG spreads. Sometimes over $1/gallon, more recently (i.e. last June at the peak of gas prices) 50-60 cents. I haven't seen how they are since most of the stations around here increased the spread from 60 cents to 70-90 cents a few weeks ago.

tjc78 · December 2022

I paid $5.69 and $5.99 for RUG in CA last week.

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

ab348 said:

tjc78 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

I miss green too. I don’t know why you would want black unless you owned a car wash.

It just looks so nice when clean!

Which is 1% of the time.

I do not understand the popularity of either black exteriors or black interiors.

My company must own a good portion of black car production (or maybe they get a better deal because nobody buys them from dealers). One thing I do know is that it’s difficult to keep them clean. Even right out of the car wash the water spots make them look dirty.

While I don’t personally like black interiors I find that at least for rental cars, that color hides stains. We have a few cars with light interiors and sometimes I’m reluctant to even sit in them.

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

stickguy said:
Too bad I am not close to many dealers. only 2 really close are a Chevy dealer and a GMC dealer and I doubt they offer that service!

now, if I had moved close to the Porsche dealer, that could be fun!

Try Keeler in Latham. Multi line luxury dealer.

stickguy · December 2022

About 20 miles from me. So a bit of a hike.

I did find another house, just too late, that was about 3 miles from there. That would have been an easy commute!

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

stickguy said:
got gas at Valero today. RUG down to $3.19. The 2's are in sight!

but they have not budged in months on higher grades. Mid grade was $4.89, and PUG was $5.29. $2.10 extra for premium, is just nuts. If you are running low that is an easy $30 extra for a sedan with a tank with capacity in the teens.

place is moving fuel though. large station, at least 12 pump spots, and usually they are all full.

I got gas at a Citgo Sunday for $3.19 and I just noticed the price is down to $3.11 today.

Do you think I can go back and exchange it for the cheaper gas?

BTW, don’t expect prices to go much lower since they will get a 25 cent bump when they reinstate all the taxes as of the first of the year.

stickguy · December 2022

Maybe it’s like target, and they price match themselves for 30 days?

laurasdada · December 2022

$3.94/PUG at BJs today.
(Rehashed) electric charge rant: Was going to plugin during errands lunch. Four spots for charging:
1. Tesla 3 plugged in
2. A Louisiana plated sedan, non-electric
3 & 4 A minivan taking parts of both spaces, non-electric

I didn't stop to really look close, the optimist in me thinks that the two non-shockers were perhaps using them as handicapped spaces as they were closest to the front door.
The realist in me probably knows that many people just suck.

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

laurasdada said:
$3.94/PUG at BJs today.
(Rehashed) electric charge rant: Was going to plugin during errands lunch. Four spots for charging:
1. Tesla 3 plugged in
2. A Louisiana plated sedan, non-electric
3 & 4 A minivan taking parts of both spaces, non-electric

I didn't stop to really look close, the optimist in me thinks that the two non-shockers were perhaps using them as handicapped spaces as they were closest to the front door.
The realist in me probably knows that many people just suck.

Is there any penalty for using a charging spot for regular parking (other than the risk of getting your car keyed)?

laurasdada · December 2022

None that I'm aware. And, not a crime akin to parking in a handicapped space, of course. Just another example of some thoughtless folks non-belief in goodwill towards man.
A couple of times, I've left polite reminder notes on windshields. But, didn't remain to see the owner's return, read the notes and apologize to the sky, vowing to rethink their place on this small orb.

driver100 · December 2022

I think we have seen it before but that question reminded me;

snakeweasel · December 2022

driver100 said:
I think we have seen it before but that question reminded me;

I might have told this one here before so if I did he we go again.

I was on the motorcycle and got the last spot in the parking lot just ahead of a Prius. The driver of the Prius was a bit mad at me for taking the spot and told me it was for fuel efficient vehicles only. Sure enough that's what the sign said "Fuel Efficient Vehicles Only". My response was "I get 64 MPG city and over 70 on the highway, what does that gas guzzler get?". Man she was not happy about my response.

driver100 · December 2022

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:
I think we have seen it before but that question reminded me;

I might have told this one here before so if I did he we go again.

I was on the motorcycle and got the last spot in the parking lot just ahead of a Prius. The driver of the Prius was a bit mad at me for taking the spot and told me it was for fuel efficient vehicles only. Sure enough that's what the sign said "Fuel Efficient Vehicles Only". My response was "I get 64 MPG city and over 70 on the highway, what does that gas guzzler get?". Man she was not happy about my response.

Was the lady's name Karen? Did she seem to be a very virtuous person?

oldfarmer50 · December 2022

Interesting news, Hertz just settled the lawsuit over having customers arrested for $168 million.

henryn · December 2022

oldfarmer50 said:
Interesting news, Hertz just settled the lawsuit over having customers arrested for $168 million.

And I would assume the lawyers will get the great majority of that $168 million, as per usual.

jmonroe1 · December 2022

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:
Interesting news, Hertz just settled the lawsuit over having customers arrested for $168 million.
And I would assume the lawyers will get the great majority of that $168 million, as per usual.

————————————————-
There otta be a law preventing that. Oh wait, a lot of the law makers were/are lawyers.

jmonroe

laurasdada · December 2022

Were to leave for SF tomorrow. Then Maui on Saturday for a week. Wife tested positive for Covid (PCR Test) after a few days of a heavy cold. Aloha, Hawaii.
Her kids will still go and enjoy the non-refundable VRBO that was our Xmas gift to all.
Stay healthy.

driver100 · December 2022

laurasdada said:
Were to leave for SF tomorrow. Then Maui on Saturday for a week. Wife tested positive for Covid (PCR Test) after a few days of a heavy cold. Aloha, Hawaii.
Her kids will still go and enjoy the non-refundable VRBO that was our Xmas gift to all.
Stay healthy.

We have more friends with covid than we have ever had at one time. It is out there....be careful.

carnaught · December 2022

Sorry you missed your vacation @laurasdada. The Mrs and I just got over Covid. I took paxlovid and can still taste the metallic taste from it.

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