Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

oldfarmer50 · March 10

stickguy said:
I started at my current company at 61, after the last place decided to excise me right before Christmas at 60.

was not actually expecting to get another "career" style position. Been a good 3 year run! and pays a lot better than the crappy place I worked before.

While not many companies recruit older people at your level I’ve noticed a lot of people over retirement age working in almost every business. My company hires almost exclusively retirees for drivers. I see this all over these days.

I recently saw a video talking about how frustrating it is to hire young people directly out of college because they don’t want to work or show up on time. Some think a job is more of a social activity than hard work. Old folks, on the other hand, show up early and are willing to work late with a minimum of drama.

kyfdx · March 10

tjc78 said:
I'll be 48 this year, I can't even think about retirement yet!

58 when I retired. You never know!

stickguy · March 10

You can think about it. Your portfolio just might not agree.

I think the real time to consider is when the kids are out of HS.

stickguy · March 10

Farmer, I think the “young people don’t want to work” is bogus. Especially with career jobs (not a PT gig at Burger King). I know my kids busted it to get ahead. And extended friends and family.

The bigger issue with hiring recent grads is they don’t tend to stay long before hopping elsewhere. But that is the system corporations have implemented since they still penalize suckers that just stay long term. Old people just want to be left alone to do their job and while they may someday retire they have no interest in Job hopping!

I figured I would get a gig like yours or work at Lowe’s. Typical semi retired guy work. Just not a full pressure ops gig again. Who wants to work that hard?

oldfarmer50 · March 10

stickguy said:
Farmer, I think the “young people don’t want to work” is bogus. Especially with career jobs (not a PT gig at Burger King). I know my kids busted it to get ahead. And extended friends and family.

The bigger issue with hiring recent grads is they don’t tend to stay long before hopping elsewhere. But that is the system corporations have implemented since they still penalize suckers that just stay long term. Old people just want to be left alone to do their job and while they may someday retire they have no interest in Job hopping!

I figured I would get a gig like yours or work at Lowe’s. Typical semi retired guy work. Just not a full pressure ops gig again. Who wants to work that hard?

It’s certainly not true for all young people but there is a subset of youngsters with an entitlement mindset. At my company they hire a lot of 20 something’s for the executive training program. As part of the process they are required to work the rental offices which can be long hours and tons of frustrations. I think it’s by design to weed out trainees who aren’t suited for the corporate world.

We can see the ones who probably won’t make it by their attitudes toward customers and the drivers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/c1hVOjFm0NI?si=erA0TzyNO3oLDghv

As to retirement jobs I don’t think I could work anywhere else than where I am now. Other gig type jobs require a lot of standing or lifting which depending on your physical condition can be really draining.

I recently got a job referral from Indeed for a hotel shuttle driver for min. wage. The requirement included carrying guests suitcase to their rooms, washing the shuttle van and be willing to lift 100 pounds, answer phones, clean the lobby, use hazmat equipment, restock supplies etc. etc.

sda · March 10

@oldfarmer50 said:
It’s certainly not true for all young people but there is a subset of youngsters with an entitlement mindset. At my company they hire a lot of 20 something’s for the executive training program. As part of the process they are required to work the rental offices which can be long hours and tons of frustrations. I think it’s by design to weed out trainees who aren’t suited for the corporate world.

We can see the ones who probably won’t make it by their attitudes toward customers and the drivers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/c1hVOjFm0NI?si=erA0TzyNO3oLDghv

As to retirement jobs I don’t think I could work anywhere else than where I am now. Other gig type jobs require a lot of standing or lifting which depending on your physical condition can be really draining.

I recently got a job referral from Indeed for a hotel shuttle driver for min. wage. The requirement included carrying guests suitcase to their rooms, washing the shuttle van and be willing to lift 100 pounds, answer phones, clean the lobby, use hazmat equipment, restock supplies etc. etc.

For minimum wage, nice

ab348 · March 10

I was lucky that I got to retire at 58 with a govt pension after 32 years because I couldn’t take much more of it given my health. It was a good choice for me. Not for everyone, obvs, but I live a quiet life, have a paid-off house and have Lucy the cat as my only dependant.

For the first time in a very long time, I am considering a vehicle change. I don’t need to, but the Caddy is coming up on its 9th birthday and despite having no miles to speak of, I discovered that I can get $11K or more off an Equinox AWD EV which gets pretty good reviews. My use case is perfect for an EV so it makes sense from that standpoint. Logically, probably not so much.

Michaell · March 10

ab348 said:
I was lucky that I got to retire at 58 with a govt pension after 32 years because I couldn’t take much more of it given my health. It was a good choice for me. Not for everyone, obvs, but I live a quiet life, have a paid-off house and have Lucy the cat as my only dependant.

For the first time in a very long time, I am considering a vehicle change. I don’t need to, but the Caddy is coming up on its 9th birthday and despite having no miles to speak of, I discovered that I can get $11K or more off an Equinox AWD EV which gets pretty good reviews. My use case is perfect for an EV so it makes sense from that standpoint. Logically, probably not so much.

You should at least take one for a test drive. How much is the ATS worth in trade? Might make a lot of sense...

stickguy · March 10

I should get my wife to drive aN EV. Just to see how much it freaks her out.

Michaell · March 10

stickguy said:
I should get my wife to drive aN EV. Just to see how much it freaks her out.

The i5 would be about the right size, but you want to stick with an SUV...

imidazol97 · March 10

@xwesx said:
Yeah, they typically do a number on passenger vehicles, in particular, since there is so much additional sound deadening (felt wheel liners, etc.) and so many fragile parts tucked into the nooks and crannies. My mother had a blowout on her '97 F350 a few months ago. It caused around $7K in damages.

I had no idea.

oldfarmer50 · March 10

sda said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

It’s certainly not true for all young people but there is a subset of youngsters with an entitlement mindset. At my company they hire a lot of 20 something’s for the executive training program. As part of the process they are required to work the rental offices which can be long hours and tons of frustrations. I think it’s by design to weed out trainees who aren’t suited for the corporate world.

We can see the ones who probably won’t make it by their attitudes toward customers and the drivers.

https://youtube.com/shorts/c1hVOjFm0NI?si=erA0TzyNO3oLDghv

As to retirement jobs I don’t think I could work anywhere else than where I am now. Other gig type jobs require a lot of standing or lifting which depending on your physical condition can be really draining.

I recently got a job referral from Indeed for a hotel shuttle driver for min. wage. The requirement included carrying guests suitcase to their rooms, washing the shuttle van and be willing to lift 100 pounds, answer phones, clean the lobby, use hazmat equipment, restock supplies etc. etc.

For minimum wage, nice

That’s not the worst of them. I also recently got a job notice that required a CDL for like $.50 over min. wage.

nyccarguy · March 10

ab348 said:
I was lucky that I got to retire at 58 with a govt pension after 32 years because I couldn’t take much more of it given my health. It was a good choice for me. Not for everyone, obvs, but I live a quiet life, have a paid-off house and have Lucy the cat as my only dependant.

For the first time in a very long time, I am considering a vehicle change. I don’t need to, but the Caddy is coming up on its 9th birthday and despite having no miles to speak of, I discovered that I can get $11K or more off an Equinox AWD EV which gets pretty good reviews. My use case is perfect for an EV so it makes sense from that standpoint. Logically, probably not so much.

I like the ATS!

oldfarmer50 · March 10

stickguy said:
I should get my wife to drive aN EV. Just to see how much it freaks her out.

Hertz might have a few left to rent.

stickguy · March 10

I could have rented one from them. I just booked a car from Albany to Boston in a few weeks (flying out of Logan for a trip overseas). We just rent one way instead of parking. But no chance I was doing it with potentially needing a charge stop along the way. Do they even supply the cord and instructions?

stickguy · March 10

I was thinking the Ford dealer to try out a Mach E. And the wife did sit in a few sedans and wants no part of them so we are sticking with a midsized CUV that sits higher.

Andres3333333 · March 10

What did I miss? I must have gotten 1 too many spam/flag Karen reactions.

Andres3333333 · March 10

Retirement - the math pens out better if you forgo a CCBA habit. Or a nice car habit. The new Sentra is enough car for everyone according to Doug D.

jmonroe1 · March 10

@tjc78 said:
I'll be 48 this year, I can't even think about retirement yet!

——————————————————
Nor should you. That’s way too young.

When I was 55 and working in SC, at the end of 1996 for a division of the company I started working for in 1965, I was offered a very good full retirement package with top notch medical until I was 65. But I had only 48 hours to let them know if I wanted it. I told them I’d save them time and took it on the spot. Best thing that ever happened to me.

Now all I had to do was decide what I was going to do. While I was figuring, I got a call from my employer back in the Burgh, wanting to know if I wanted to start working as a consultant. I told them when I moved back to the Burgh in August I’d let them know. They said they needed me right away. I repeated it would have to be in August. To make a long story short, they gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse, so I started in two weeks. I continued with consulting jobs for them on and off (mostly on) until I was almost 73. I was having the time of my life. Anytime I wanted time off I took it, no questions asked, so why stop? Finally, like I’ve said before, I decided to pull the plug before the cleaning crew found me slumped over my keyboard one night. So far so good, you won’t hear me complaining.

jmonroe

xwesx · March 10

Andres3333333 said:
Retirement - the math pens out better if you forgo a CCBA habit. Or a nice car habit. The new Sentra is enough car for everyone according to Doug D.

What the... Oh, I see! You went all in on the "3".

ab348 · March 10

stickguy said:
I was thinking the Ford dealer to try out a Mach E. And the wife did sit in a few sedans and wants no part of them so we are sticking with a midsized CUV that sits higher.

I haven't seen a Mach-E in a long time, but aren't they sort of semi-SUVish? Not as low-slung as a sedan?

ab348 · March 10

nyccarguy said:

I like the ATS!

I do too! As I said, logically it makes little sense, aside from the ATS being low enough that my bad leg makes it challenging to get in and out from these days. But it's been a great car up to now. There is a fear in the back of my mind that given the age it might start needing things, maybe expensive things, soon despite the low miles. And as I said, not having oil changes or buying gas has some appeal. As Michaell said, I should find an EV to drive as step #1.

stickguy · March 10

Mach E Reminds me of a Volvo cross country or an Outback.

I could also be persuaded with a part time continuation doing only stuff that did not annoy me.

snakeweasel · March 10

ab348 said:

stickguy said:
I was thinking the Ford dealer to try out a Mach E. And the wife did sit in a few sedans and wants no part of them so we are sticking with a midsized CUV that sits higher.

I haven't seen a Mach-E in a long time, but aren't they sort of semi-SUVish? Not as low-slung as a sedan?

I see several a week, just a sedan pretending to be a Mustang.

oldfarmer50 · March 10

stickguy said:
I could have rented one from them. I just booked a car from Albany to Boston in a few weeks (flying out of Logan for a trip overseas). We just rent one way instead of parking. But no chance I was doing it with potentially needing a charge stop along the way. Do they even supply the cord and instructions?

The Nissan Leaf we took to Vermont had a big charging thingy but it wasn’t compatible with the one charger we found. I think Hertz’s Teslas can charge at rest stops along the MA turnpike.

Just don’t take it to Vermont.😂

oldfarmer50 · March 10

stickguy said:
I was thinking the Ford dealer to try out a Mach E. And the wife did sit in a few sedans and wants no part of them so we are sticking with a midsized CUV that sits higher.

The Mach E I rode in at the NY Auto Show accelerated like a scalded cat.

oldfarmer50 · March 10

Andres3333333 said:
Retirement - the math pens out better if you forgo a CCBA habit. Or a nice car habit. The new Sentra is enough car for everyone according to Doug D.

The latest Sentra has a lot going for it (I don’t believe I said that). While no sports car it accelerates nicely and handles surprisingly well. If not for my aversion to CVTs I could see owing one.

tjc78 · March 10

If you are charging at a public charger - EVGO, Electrify America, Chargepoint, Blink, etc no connector or cable is needed. If you want to charge at a Tesla charger (with another make) you will most likely need an adapter. I know Mercedes offers one for our car, but we have no need so I never purchased it.

stickguy · March 10

good point. I guess you just stop at any of the charging stations, and hope you can pay with a CC at the "pump".

suydam · March 10

Most EV drivers have several charging apps on their phone. And some EVs have built in integration in the dash so no need to have a CC handy.

corvette · March 10

@suydam - but also, the fact that we need to have multiple charging apps on our phone is one of the issues with EV ownership.

tjc78 · March 11

@suydam said:
Most EV drivers have several charging apps on their phone. And some EVs have built in integration in the dash so no need to have a CC handy.

Hmm….

stickguy · March 11

That’s fine if it’s your car. Not so much if you have never used an EV (and charging infrastructure) before hertz hands you one!

tjc78 · March 11

stickguy said:
That’s fine if it’s your car. Not so much if you have never used an EV (and charging infrastructure) before hertz hands you one!

Agreed - from my experience the chargers have a spot to tap/insert your CC. Also - you don't really need these apps once you configure them. Your car identifies itself via the charging port. Plug in, and it authorizes your payment just like a gas pump.

To be honest, since I've gotten a home charger I've only charged once down the shore. I just wanted a little breathing room to come home since we had done a lot of driving down there that weekend. I think I charged for 10 mins... It helps that the nearest charger to me is walkable down there.

tjc78 · March 11

Speaking of first time EV drivers... my Mom's Mazda was at the body shop getting the mirror replaced and she drove the Mercedes for the first time. She couldn't get over the fact that you don't "start" it. She also said it felt weird there was no shifting or feeling the engine, otherwise she said she liked it.

oldfarmer50 · March 11

tjc78 said:

@suydam said:

Most EV drivers have several charging apps on their phone. And some EVs have built in integration in the dash so no need to have a CC handy.

Hmm….

I don’t have to worry about that high tech on my flip phone, thank goodness.😂

laurasdada · March 11

I've just got Chargepoint and Plugshare on my phone.

qbrozen · March 11

Here’s my car folder at the moment.

xwesx · March 11

Whoa. A few of those look familiar to me!

jmonroe1 · March 11

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:
That’s fine if it’s your car. Not so much if you have never used an EV (and charging infrastructure) before hertz hands you one!

Agreed - from my experience the chargers have a spot to tap/insert your CC. Also - you don't really need these apps once you configure them. Your car identifies itself via the charging port. Plug in, and it authorizes your payment just like a gas pump.

To be honest, since I've gotten a home charger I've only charged once down the shore. I just wanted a little breathing room to come home since we had done a lot of driving down there that weekend. I think I charged for 10 mins... It helps that the nearest charger to me is walkable down there.

——————————————————
So, you walked over there to charge yourself up for the walk home. I’d have charged the car and road home.

jmonroe

tjc78 · March 11

jmonroe1 said:

tjc78 said:

stickguy said:
That’s fine if it’s your car. Not so much if you have never used an EV (and charging infrastructure) before hertz hands you one!

Agreed - from my experience the chargers have a spot to tap/insert your CC. Also - you don't really need these apps once you configure them. Your car identifies itself via the charging port. Plug in, and it authorizes your payment just like a gas pump.

To be honest, since I've gotten a home charger I've only charged once down the shore. I just wanted a little breathing room to come home since we had done a lot of driving down there that weekend. I think I charged for 10 mins... It helps that the nearest charger to me is walkable down there.
——————————————————
So, you walked over there to charge yourself up for the walk home. I’d have charged the car and road home.

jmonroe

Everyone's a comedian.

ab348 · March 11

We had 3 reasonably mild days in a row here so a lot of the huge snow piles are gone or just hanging by an icicle. Had to meet an old work buddy for lunch so I left for the place early and used some reward points for a free super-deluxe touchless car wash for the ATS since the poor thing was absolutely filthy thanks to the lousy weather the last couple of months. Car looks stunning when it’s clean. We’re not out of the woods yet weather-wise but once things warm up I’ll give the interior a good cleaning. It’s not awful inside but the floor mats and rugs could use some help.

explorerx4 · March 11

I'll admit I've put less than 200 miles on the Explorer in the last 2 months because it was clean and I didn't want to get it dirty.

xwesx · March 11

-41 here this morning. It has warmed up a lot over the course of the day, but it definitely is not cracking zero (F) on this day!

Andres3333333 · March 11

xwesx said:
-41 here this morning. It has warmed up a lot over the course of the day, but it definitely is not cracking zero (F) on this day!

Feel free to install a heat exchanger with San Diego tomorrow.

jwm40517 · March 11

It is 78 here in central KY today, but tomorrow starts at 35

corvette · March 11

Mine’s a two pager. I think I can get rid of the Francis Energy app because from what I remember, they only have presence in a couple of states in the Midwest.

explorerx4 · March 11

I looked for all my gasoline apps. Came up with nothing.

Harry's Garage is an entertaining channel.
Here is his take on how the market has been evolving.
It's about 20 minutes long, so not a 'short'.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/why-car-makers-are-slowing-down-their-ev-plans/vi-AA1XPB2B?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=4c1c95286bf4460fddc3505bcb845e1a&ei=31

stickguy · March 11

guessing that EV sales could be taking a jump now.

ab348 · March 12

Harry's Garage is a very entertaining channel and quite a bit different from the flamboyant hype artists that tend to occupy the automotive content creator space. Harry plays the part of a proper English gentleman very well, and I like his videos because of his credibility. He also has a second channel called Harry's Farm which I tend to enjoy even more.

His most recent video over the weekend was about the latest Gordon Murray megabucks hypercar which was a bit silly, both regarding the car itself and Harry's presentation of it as a thing to drive. His videos normally are not so forgiving.

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