Snowmagedden

[Bawanna]

Love the string letting you know the door clears. I get the price of a house thing, why I'm driving a 24 year old van. She's still going strong. Hope she keeps going, don't need to buy a rolling house.

That thing ain't lectric is it? Tell me it ain't lectric.

[wyntrout]

Nice car... and color... heat reflective. All of our vehicles are white. We don't get new cars often, either.



Our 5 1/2 year old Subaru Forester may be my wife's last car and this new Ford Transit will be mine. They're supposed to last a long time. I got her car for about $26K... a 2018 and the 2019's were on the lot, but they were full of the new electronics and cameras that we don't want.

This new Ford Transit has ALL of the electronics and cameras. I wanted a lot because I only wanted the front windows. That thing was really expensive with an MSRP of $69K+, with no discount, so we're back in debt for a while. I thought about putting most of our savings on it to save interest... 5.99%!! But we need the money for home renovations, new generator, and getting the new van ready for overnighting on the road. I have way too many projects!

My GMC Savana was 19 years old in September and I'll be selling it and wish that I had a garage for the tall new van. I may get a carport if I can squeeze one in. I keep seeing all of those reports of large hail and other hazards... fires, especially. We've traveled I-40 a lot and I-10 along the coast and only once hit REALLY bad weather approaching Mobile from the East. That system was full of tornadoes and really scary. We've been lucky.

I like to keep our vehicles in the garage... along with a LOT of other stuff. Your garage looks neat and spacious. We have a string with the orange popup from a Spectracide Terminate stake that I use around the house. I don't need that with the GMC van since it takes up all of the space up to the step up in front at the back of the garage, I have a 2x4 block stop there that positions the van perfectly so the door closes.

[tokuno]

Love the string letting you know the door clears. I get the price of a house thing, why I'm driving a 24 year old van. She's still going strong. Hope she keeps going, don't need to buy a rolling house.

That thing ain't lectric is it? Tell me it ain't lectric.

Yep, my wife suspended whiffle balls for our cars. Bit of a minor nuisance to tie them back with slip knots when I wash the windshields, but more than worth it to simplify the parking spacing.
Don't get me started on car costs. I've always been a used car 'value' guy, but she insisted on new for her 2024 Sienna XLS . . .

[wyntrout]

I like new, but keep them a long time. My wife's last was a 2001 Volvo that we bought new off the lot. We were just looking and she got excited over it. I was looking for something with ABS and all of the safety features possible and there just wasn't much available in 2001. I kept it going for over 17 years, and was lucky they gave us $1,000 in trade on top of a good deal. The headliner(a known defect) was held up by that screen holding trim for doors and porches! I keep them in good shape and service them with the best lubricants and making sure everything keeps working.

It took a long time to get to the point that we had no mortgage or other debt and now we'll have the van payment... and the soaring insurance costs.

I need to get to work on our taxes. I don't think we'll owe anything, but need to git'r done!

[berettabone]

I do the same. Purchased a new Accord in 2000. Traded it for a new 2008 Accord. Purchased a new Legacy in 2014. The Subaru has 42,000 mi. and the Honda is approaching 200,000 mi. I'm not sure what we're going to do. We'll have to replace the Accord eventually, but I refuse to go into debt. So, I'm slowly looking for a decent used truck which is like finding a needle in a haystack around here. Don't drive enough to justify a new vehicle. I remember it took me a while to find the Subaru. Wanted the large engine and no electronics. I managed to find 2 within a 250 mi. radius at the time.

[Armybrat]

Love the string letting you know the door clears. I get the price of a house thing, why I'm driving a 24 year old van. She's still going strong. Hope she keeps going, don't need to buy a rolling house.
I
That thing ain't lectric is it? Tell me it ain't lectric.

It does have a 12 volt battery to start the tiny 1.5 liter turbo 4 banger ICE that cranks out 180hp. It moves out pdq at 7.5 seconds 0-60.
I remember when my Dad’s new 1954 Buick Super V8 boasted 182hp to haul around the 4,400 lb sedan - about 1,200 lbs more than the little Honda. Supposedly those did 0-60 in 13 seconds.

We usually run a car 6-10 years from new, depending on if we like it. And we pay cash, no financing.
I drove my 2000 Jeep Cherokee 20 years before giving it to one of my sons 4 years ago. It is still going strong with about 200,000 on it.
My wife’s 2017 Accord has 47,000 on it. That one will be around for a few more years.
The main fault with these newest Hondas, IMO, is the vast amount of computerized gadgetry that requires an IT nerd to program.
The owners manual has 40 pages devoted to just setting the frickin’ cruise control. lol
During my 30 years as a classroom teacher, my school car was mostly old heaps…a 1958 Olds 88, a 1960 Nash Rambler, followed by a ‘64 Rambler. All of them were so decrepit-looking, the vandals wouldn’t bother them. But I kept them all running reliably until a major breakdown dictated a replacement.
I even commuted on a little Honda CT110 Street & Trail motorbike for a couple of years until an old geezer dang near killed me on it.

My brother (age 86) is still driving our late Dad’s 1997 Saturn sedan with 370,000 miles on the clock, although he just had a new engine installed last month. He likes it for his daily driver even though he owns two beautiful vintage Mercedes sedans from the 1980s and a 2002 Jeep Wrangler.
All three of those are very low mileage vehicles (each one under 60,000 miles) and they all are in mint condition, including the Saturn.
He likes to play the eccentric oldfart.

[getsome]

My youngest son who still lives with us bought a slightly used 2023 Subaru Crosstrek and got a great buy on it but last weekend he went off with friends and I noticed the left rear tire was down, I checked it and it was at 15 lbs so I figured I would drive it up to the tire store to get it patched so I took the spare key without the fob and unlocked the door setting off the alarm so I got in and stuck the key in the ignition and started it up which shut off the damn alarm but more lights and info screens came on than in a F-18 Hornet jet fighter and the wipers were on and no matter what I did they wouldn’t turn off so I said screw it I’ll just take the tire off and drive my truck to the tire store so I tried to turn the motor off but the key wouldn’t turn…….Long story short, 20 minutes later after calling my son I found out you have to push in on the key to get it to turn………Life is complicated enough without all that crap……I’m a Luddite and proud of it!

[jeepster09]

This is my kind of car....

[dao]

I see what you did there, jeep

[dustnchips]

I hung a length of 3/4" PVC 4" from the front wall of the garage. No matter what car you are driving when it moves you are all the way in.