Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

stickguy · December 9

What town is the new office in? I have some guesses!

3 days is the camels nose you need. Then a short hop to 4 days before it becomes let me know if you really need me for something special.

tjc78 · December 9

nyccarguy said:

tjc78 said:
All this car talk has me very curious what will replace the Mercedes in October next year.

I haven't been following EV leases but without the $7500 I'd assume a deal like I got on the Mercedes isn't going to happen again.

Wife really has no input for me --- I mean she probably has only driven 2000 miles since we got the EQE with me putting on the rest.

Then there is the whole commute thing for me. They just announced the moving of our corp office to a new facility 11 miles further which equates to 30-40 mins longer for me. This means 90 mins minimum in and 120 mins home. I had a meeting with the Pres today and said that isn't sustainable. He said he already expected this and most likely I'll go to a very flexible schedule where I'll WFH 3 days a week with some weeks being 2 days depending on what is going on. "They want to keep me"

This means a little less overall mileage which would at least keep me in a 7500 or 10K / mile lease for her car. I'd like to stay EV, but will not pay more for it on a lease than a regular powertrain. Too early to really dig in, but the one thing I think my wife and I will both agree on is it will be a sedan.
90 mins minimum in and 120 mins home.

That sucks. Big time. AWD Camry fits the bill. Not that I'm one to recommend, but you might find an attractive lease price on a Model Y.

Yes it sucks... but if I can go from 4 days in office to 2 it works out. Less miles driven overall, and less tolls per day.

If I brought a Tesla home I'd be divorced!!

jmonroe1 · December 9

@corvette said:
@tjc78 - even two days a week, I would find that commute unacceptable. But, I lived a mile away from my old office for ten years, and I'm fully remote at the new gig.

——————————————————
I know what you mean.

For my whole working career in the Burgh area I drove less than 2 miles to get to work. When I went to SC that changed to about 25 miles round trip but there was virtually no traffic.

When I retired and moved back to the Burgh I was asked by my old employer to start working as a consultant. That distance varied upon which site they located to, they moved several times over the years, but my last 8 year stint was the furthest, which was 40 miles round trip via the PA Turnpike. Since they knew I was spoiled by short commutes they made up for it in my pay and it was very easy on the car. Just set the cruise and enjoy the scenery.

jmonroe

tifighter · December 9

Sounds like I have until Friday until one of the CCBA big hitters makes their next move.

Punch.

Our new unicorn, the TX 550 plug in. They don’t make very many of these for whatever reason. YTD sales in the entire US market for this thing is 689 units. When I asked my dealer about one last summer, they said they got around 4 per year, and expected one in Q2 2026, about a year from then. I put my name on a list.

Why? Well, it’s a NA V6 hybrid that puts out 404hp, goes 35 miles on electric and gets around 30mpg combined when the battery runs out. And it’s not the new 3.4 motor that Toyota has had problems with, but the faithful 2GR that the world knows and loves. They only use this hybrid powertrain in this TX, and in the Century SUV in Japan. Which is probably a contributing factor to why they make so few.

In our usage, it’s effectively an EV as a daily, but without the depreciation of an EV. Our NX goes over 3000 miles per tank with my wife’s commute, which is longer than mine. This TX is just the embiggened version.

So I was surprised when the dealer reached out in November to say Lexus was building my car that week. No one on the dealer side could say why. It’s made in the US like the normal TX but the powertrain comes from Japan. Maybe they found some more batteries. Anyhow fast forward to yesterday and it’s home. This replaces the Sienna, which was very good. Slow, but very good. The TX effectively becomes the plug in minivan that Toyota doesn’t make. Similar size.

So far, so good.

sda · December 9

@tjc78 said:
All this car talk has me very curious what will replace the Mercedes in October next year.

I haven't been following EV leases but without the $7500 I'd assume a deal like I got on the Mercedes isn't going to happen again.

Wife really has no input for me --- I mean she probably has only driven 2000 miles since we got the EQE with me putting on the rest.

Then there is the whole commute thing for me. They just announced the moving of our corp office to a new facility 11 miles further which equates to 30-40 mins longer for me. This means 90 mins minimum in and 120 mins home. I had a meeting with the Pres today and said that isn't sustainable. He said he already expected this and most likely I'll go to a very flexible schedule where I'll WFH 3 days a week with some weeks being 2 days depending on what is going on. "They want to keep me"

This means a little less overall mileage which would at least keep me in a 7500 or 10K / mile lease for her car. I'd like to stay EV, but will not pay more for it on a lease than a regular powertrain. Too early to really dig in, but the one thing I think my wife and I will both agree on is it will be a sedan.

That's a horrible commute regardless. I hope they provide a hybrid schedule. My schedule is 5 days in, 5 days wfh. 40 mile commute each way. Typically between 60 minutes in the morning and 60-90 minutes in the evening. If they call us back full time I put up the white flag and cry uncle.

carnaught · December 9

28firefighter said:
We’re picking up on Friday. But having to take a roadtrip for it. I thought going to Kirkland was annoying…

My new suggestion for a nickname for you should be, BRELD-LITE. Congrats!

ab348 · December 9

@tjc78 - Was, or will there be, any talk about you doing the commute one day, spending the night in a hotel nearby and returning home after work the following day? Especially if they pick up the hotel cost?

corvette · December 9

@ab348 - that's a good idea. I'd consider it strongly, even if the company didn't assist with the cost. Picking a chain with a good rewards program would bring down the cost.

In a similar vein, I've also considered stretching my vacation time by working on Tuesday and Thursday during a week off so I'm only taking three days. But, I don't think that will be necessary next year. I'll have a total of 27 days between vacation time and floating holidays.

28firefighter · December 9

@ab348 said:
@tjc78 - Was, or will there be, any talk about you doing the commute one day, spending the night in a hotel nearby and returning home after work the following day? Especially if they pick up the hotel cost?

Hard no in my house. Not with kid(s).

nyccarguy · December 9

@tifighter - congrats on the punch! I really think the TX is a sweet rig! I love the styling too. I’m sure the interior is gorgeous! Looks great in silver. I didn’t realize they paired the V6 with the plug in power train. One of less than 700 units? You could have Doug review it and sell it on Cars & Bids when you are ready to part ways with it! Can’t wait to hear your initial thoughts and ownership experience.

28firefighter · December 9

@carnaught said:
My new suggestion for a nickname for you should be, BRELD-LITE. Congrats!

We should all be so lucky to have @breld as our namesake!

tjc78 · December 9

@ab348 said:
@tjc78 - Was, or will there be, any talk about you doing the commute one day, spending the night in a hotel nearby and returning home after work the following day? Especially if they pick up the hotel cost?

I think the end game will be a 3 home / 2 in-office per week. Like @28firefighter mentioned being away from the kids is a lot. My wife is fully WFH but also has a very demanding job and it just wouldn’t be fair.

Sandman6472 · December 9

That notice was nonsense from an extended warranty company. Glad it was nothing.

Wife canceled appointment with Hyundai as oil leak is no longer. She drove me to pick up pizza for dinner tonight as I'm really not driving much yet, and she was remarking how much she really likes her 2023 Kona...it's the perfect vehicle for her. So I'm happy & now we each have newer vehicles under warranty. She departs for St. Augustine in the morning as my kids paperwork signing is on Thursday. Still some last minute things to finish up but she's going back up on the 20th for a week to help her get things done. I'm not ready for any long distance driving quite yet and will probably stay out to right before New Years at this point. Not sure if I'll have an additional week of P T so don't want to rush things.

stickguy · December 9

one thing I don't have to worry about is being asked to start going back into the office. for one reason they grew so much, they keep running out of space and send more people home. Plus of course the office is 2,000 miles away.

even if it was nearby, I could not go back now to working in an office. Even if I was not ready to not work at all.

corvette · December 9

Similar. I can envision a future for a lot of companies where their "office" location is basically just a mail room. We've seen a preview of that already with coworking spaces and UPS store addresses, etc.

fintail · December 9

roadburner said:

fintail said:
HUD would be fun, heated steering wheel and surround view seem frivolous until you get used to them.
The only options that I wish my C43 had are a HUD and a heated steering wheel.
I wasn't looking for a car with surround view and/or Distronic Plus but now that I've lived with them for a few years I would definitely want them on a newer car.

I've heard newer versions of distronic perform better (my version follows too far behind the car in front, creating the "pylon effect" as I call it on multi lane roads with traffic).

roadburner · December 9

fintail said:

roadburner said:

fintail said:
HUD would be fun, heated steering wheel and surround view seem frivolous until you get used to them.
The only options that I wish my C43 had are a HUD and a heated steering wheel.
I wasn't looking for a car with surround view and/or Distronic Plus but now that I've lived with them for a few years I would definitely want them on a newer car.
I've heard newer versions of distronic perform better (my version follows too far behind the car in front, creating the "pylon effect" as I call it on multi lane roads with traffic).

I wish the C43 followed a bit closer as well.

Michaell · December 9

I can set the distance for the ACC in the Outback, but even the "closest" setting leaves almost too much distance.

tjc78 · 3:07AM

I also felt bad for my stance on the whole thing because the President (my boss) is over the moon at the new facility. It’s a much more modern space with more room, etc.

At one point I said, I’m sure it’s wonderful but at the end of the day all I need to do my job is a good computer and fast WiFi.

I’m completely jaded on office space as I watched a now bankrupt company move into the Taj Mahal of offices and spend millions to only have such pushback to RTO that even the C-Suite began to turn a blind eye to who WFH.

Then they realized it was too big and I spent six months (along with one of my colleagues) with architects, brokers and GC’s to put an elaborate sub-lease plan in. Of course due to private equity shutting it all down I never got to execute such plan…. But if I say so myself it was a good one!

Sandman6472 · 4:27AM

My wife works from home 3 days/week for TurboTax and loves it. The other couple of days, she works for a CPA 6 of those days while having a couple to herself. But, she's at the end of her career and I give her maybe another couple of years, if that. I could quit tomorrow as I'm ready to but think I'll give it maybe another year once I'm feeling better. Gonna take us awhile to pack up this place and move.

stickguy · 5:04AM

My wife quickly went from working to 65 (at least) to not wanting to work next Monday (any Monday) a year and a half short of that. It can go quick.

stickguy · 5:06AM

Sandy, you would be surprised how fast you can pack up when you have a hard deadline. I k ow from experience. And purging before if you can is a great idea.

I also highly recommend a modest investment in hiring people to pack you up. Especially heavy rooms like the kitchen. Will save you an immense amount of time and pain.

tjc78 · 5:27AM

We basically purged our home in a weekend. 40 YD dumpster delivered on a Friday and picked up on a Monday. That was a full attic, basement and shed. 15 years living there, all the baby stuff, and crap from my Mom's and Grandparent's house. It felt so good to get rid of all it.

I plan to do it again at the new place while the Christmas decorations are up. I'd wager at least 20 of the 50 totes of unused decorations, old clothes etc could go.

au1994 · 5:40AM

They are trying to push us to 4 days in office in the spirit of 'collaboration'. I astutely pointed out that that is not a hybrid schedule and that most of my stakeholders are out in the plants and anyone Sr level that I need to collaborate with is often OoO and I run into them as much on the road as I do in the office.

But hey, the parking lot looks full so it must mean people are working, right?

nyccarguy · 5:49AM

Michaell said:
I can set the distance for the ACC in the Outback, but even the "closest" setting leaves almost too much distance.

Since having ACC starting on my 2017 Pilot, the technology has definitely gotten better. The following distances on the closest settings on my Camry & Integra are just about perfect. It is a smidge too far on our Highlander. The Highlander also has a "curve detection feature" on the ACC that brakes way too hard and slows the car down too much on a curve. The Camry and Integra both have the ACC that will follow to a stop. Just tap the gas and it will resume following. Very helpful feature while crawling in traffic.

tjc78 · 6:04AM

I love using the ACC in traffic. On the Mercedes it just starts going again on its own. The truck you have to push the gas or I found you can press the "resume" button on the steering wheel.

I keep the distance on the middle setting in both cars. Seems to work for me.

One thing the Mercedes will do is when a speed limit changes lower it will lower the set point. I assume there is a setting to defeat that, but I haven't played around to find it.

tjc78 · 6:07AM

tifighter said:
Sounds like I have until Friday until one of the CCBA big hitters makes their next move.

Punch.

Our new unicorn, the TX 550 plug in. They don’t make very many of these for whatever reason. YTD sales in the entire US market for this thing is 689 units. When I asked my dealer about one last summer, they said they got around 4 per year, and expected one in Q2 2026, about a year from then. I put my name on a list.

Why? Well, it’s a NA V6 hybrid that puts out 404hp, goes 35 miles on electric and gets around 30mpg combined when the battery runs out. And it’s not the new 3.4 motor that Toyota has had problems with, but the faithful 2GR that the world knows and loves. They only use this hybrid powertrain in this TX, and in the Century SUV in Japan. Which is probably a contributing factor to why they make so few.

In our usage, it’s effectively an EV as a daily, but without the depreciation of an EV. Our NX goes over 3000 miles per tank with my wife’s commute, which is longer than mine. This TX is just the embiggened version.

So I was surprised when the dealer reached out in November to say Lexus was building my car that week. No one on the dealer side could say why. It’s made in the US like the normal TX but the powertrain comes from Japan. Maybe they found some more batteries. Anyhow fast forward to yesterday and it’s home. This replaces the Sienna, which was very good. Slow, but very good. The TX effectively becomes the plug in minivan that Toyota doesn’t make. Similar size.

So far, so good.

Congrats! That is one nice ride. The 2GR is such a sweet engine, loves to rev and just smooth as butter. I had it very early on in my 2006 Avalon. I used to surprise a lot of much sportier cars in that thing.

nyccarguy · 6:42AM

@tjc78 - Does my '22 Highlander have the 2GR?

Michaell · 6:54AM

WFH and RTO - For most of my career, I commuted into an office when I wasn't traveling (probably spent 1 or 2 weeks a month on the road from 1989 to 2003). From 2003 to 2008 I stopped travelling and went into the office 5 days a week (thankfully, by this point, we had moved into an office that was closer to where I lived).

The GM of our group at the time decreed that everyone in Denver had to be in the office 5 days a week, for "collaboration" - she actually lived up in the foothills, so her commute was about as long as anyones, which set a good example.

In 2008, I switched roles and moved outside of my local group - my new team was spread all over North America (with one person in Europe), and I quickly realized I didn't have a reason to go into the office and started WFH. This lasted until 2016, when I was laid off for the first time.

When I found employment with a new company, I was able to continue to WFH, even though there was an office about 20 minutes from me. I'd go in occasionally to touch base with folks there, but it wasn't mandatory. That office was planned to be a sort of "HQ2" for my company (home office was in the Bay Area), so the footprint expanded from part of one floor, to the entire floor, to space on a second floor of the building. Grandiose plans were drawn up to reconfigure the space (which would have impacted my team by creating a much bigger training space that could be divided up if needed).

Then COVID hit.

Of course, all in office work was suspended, and everybody had to WFH. Not everybody appreciated the decision, especially those younger employees who lived in a 1 bedroom apartment and really didn't have a dedicated space to work from. Some employees got permission to come back to the office (with masks, of course), and the number of people allowed in the office was severly restricted.

Then I got laid off for a second time at the beginning of 2023, and now I'm patching together jobs in retail, along with dipping into my retirement, to make ends meet. All is good, we're comfortable, and I commute every day I work, which I don't mind.

It's funny - when I was with IBM, there was a push to get more folks to WFH, so as to cut back on the real estate expenses. Now, IBM is mandating that folks work from a location of their choosing, based on your role, which for a lot of people meant relocating, or leaving the company.

On a car related note, my current plan is to replace the Outback sometime in 2027 - it will be 12+ years old and closing in on 100K miles, so it would seem like the right time to make a switch.

#1 on my list of replacements would be a clean used or CPO BMW 530e (PHEV) xDrive with a non-black interior. That, as is well known here, is subject to change.

tjc78 · 7:20AM

nyccarguy said:
@tjc78 - Does my '22 Highlander have the 2GR?

If it isn't a hybrid, yes it does. In 2023 or 24 they moved away from the V6 and went 4cyl turbo.

nyccarguy · 7:43AM

tjc78 said:

nyccarguy said:
@tjc78 - Does my '22 Highlander have the 2GR?
If it isn't a hybrid, yes it does. In 2023 or 24 they moved away from the V6 and went 4cyl turbo.

No. It isn't a Hybrid. My '22 was the last year of the V6 I believe. Then they switched to the 2.4L Turbo 4. The V6 in our Highlander is a great engine!

au1994 · 7:59AM

I think its the strong pivot on RTO that is bothering people. There was no set policy for several years post COVID and during COVID emails were sent out asking people to only come to the office for short periods and only for tasks that could not be completed remotely. Other businesses did the same and some, albeit foolishly, made significant lifestyle changes...moving far away from the office, going down to one car, spouse changing jobs to the point where child care is now an issue.

Like everything else there is a middle ground and the employment market will help dictated some of this.

Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous

Comments

Helpful Tools

Most popular vehicles

Your Privacy