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My Husband Bought 2 Cars Without Telling Me
DerekJohnson
Administrator, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 63,465 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK6tth8_Xrg
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One day a few years back, I was asleep in the middle of the day (working night shifts), when I woke up to my phone ringing, saw that it was my wife, and got pissed off that she would wake me up when she knew I was sleeping. I didn't answer it in time, but I listened to the voicemail, and it sounded like a butt dial for quite a long time. As I listened, I went from pissed off to laughing about it, trying to catch any juicy secrets that I could make fun of her for, but then I noticed a strange agitated tone in her voice as she was talking to somebody without realizing the phone was still on. When I heard, "Well so much for the tee ball game!," I got curious, threw on a pair of pants, walked down the hallway to the dining room, and found myself looking out the window at a scene of firefighters blasting water into the open door of my burning detached shop. I couldn't even complete the thought "what the fu--" before a huge explosion (probably a gas bottle or something) blew out the shop's skylight and released a giant fireball.
Turns out my wife, in her panic, forgot that I was working night shifts and was actually home, sleeping. She thought she was calling me at work to tell me nearly everything I owned was on fire. (I still joke to this day that she left me to die.)
So I walk outside and around the shop far enough to see through the open door that the entire interior of the shop is engulfed in fire and I had indeed lost everything, found my wife to calm her down (she he forgotten to close the door of the van while moving it farther from the fire and distracted by the 911 call, caught the door on a tree, and nearly ripped it clean off while backing up), then went back to watch the firefighters finish doing their thing. I told my wife she should get the kids out of there and just go to the birthday party they were planning on going to so she/they could calm down, then I called my insurance agent.
Then I talked to the fire marshal for a bit (enough to learn that he has no idea how electricity works vis a vis its ability to start a fire in an extension cord not connected to a load). After he told me I wasn't on the hook for arson and he and the remaining firefighters packed up and left, I found myself in my driveway, possibly still shirtless and shoeless, staring at my smoldering shop. Considering that I still had a track day coming up in a few weeks...
Dialed up my dealership. "Cassandra, you still have that new R1 on the floor?"
Bought it on my way to work a couple of hours later. Rode it home the next morning.
My wife was NOT amused. That's probably the only time she's been seriously pissed off at me.
Everytim I read your shit I can only picture you as your avi. Very tough for me to picture a women being interested in you based upon my unshakable image of you though inaccurate.
I am a little envious about the only seriously pissed at you one time part. TOF and I almost kill each other on an every other day basis.
I've never so much as raised my voice at my wife. She's never done so at me. She was a raging bitch during postpartum depression, but in a more subtle way, not all out screaming and fighting. Instead of fighting about it, I told her she'd been treating me like shit and that she should go to her family's lake cabin to cool off for a weekend. It worked. Otherwise, we've gotten along quite well. She got REALLY pissed off at me when I bought that bike, but we hashed it out after the fact without a fight. I think she's been really pissed off at me one other time, but I can't remember what it was about, and it was settled in a similar way.
Pre-emptive TLDR: in the market to add another vehicle, SUV or truck type, to replace a newish Outback. Debating on whether to buy something used for ~$20k cash or whether to use that for a down payment and get something new.
It’s currently a very shitty market for used car buyers. The combo of low interest rates, people getting stimulus checks, saved up money from not being able to do shit, rental car industry not flooding the used car market with their fleets, etc has led to this.
It’s not an urgent need. We have two new to newish mid-range sedans that are paid off, early 70s Chevy truck with a rebuilt engine for hauling bodies and big items, and a previously mentioned on here 1980s Mercedes SL roadster that serves no practical purpose. The new car wouldn’t be a daily driver but would get 10k miles per year or so.
Someone may have oopsie poopsied a three year old 3.6R Outback and had the insurance company pay them out for totaling it. I would like the following to replace it:
* Enough space to transport more than a few bags of groceries.
* AWD or 4WD for snowy hills, mountain, etc.
* Reasonably fun to drive, or at least something that doesn’t drain your desire to live while driving it.
* I’m used to modern amenities but I don’t care too much and can put in aftermarket touch screen, etc.
* Clear title.
Acceptable options I’ve seen in the >$20k used range: 5-7 year old Forester XT with ~80-100k miles, same for CR-Vs, same for smaller engined Outbacks without the nice options, 2005-08 Tacoma 4WDs with some aftermarket upgrades and 150k+ miles, similar for 4-Runners, similar for FJ Cruisers, or a pristine 2005 Forester XT with 80k miles and a brand new turbo for $8k.
There’s also the fuck it option of buying something fast and/or cool that doesn’t meet any of the requirements. Or getting a brand new 4-Runner or Tacoma for like $50k and the Toyota salesman gets to punch me in the nuts, as an FYI nearly perfect credit. Or buying another low mileage 3 year old 3.6R Outback from a family member type for a below market $30k.
Advice? Suggestions? Something I’m missing? Any makes/models I’ve overlooked?
Massive issues with chips for new vehicles creating even worse inventory issues. I’ve heard multiple stories of people getting 5k+ more than KBB on used. Used is all the rave.
We have regional dealer groups and national auto groups sending in negative revisions left and right. Ie- they are pulling back hundreds of thousands of dollars that they had previously booked in TV advertising for Q2 and Q3.
Auto is fucking killing us right now. If it wasn’t for me being a digital geek we wouldn’t be hitting any budgets and I wouldn’t be getting any bonuses.
CSB, I know.
Barring a GOP sweep in 2024, the new and used car markets will feature tight supply and high prices. Does everyone forget “no new internal combustion engine cars by 2030?”
When we were first married my wife took Metro to work and I had my car. We got her a used Cherokee after a couple of years. In 1997 I came home and a brand new GMC Yukon was parked in front of the house. My wife's first new car and she bought it all on her own other than us cashing it out with an equity grab from the house.
She still drives and takes care of it like only someone who really appreciates something does
However I was taken aback somewhat at it showing up without even a heads up I'm going to drop 35K on a truck today honey
You're right about the car market in the heart of car culture in California
I think this is one of those things where a politician will put something out there not too far away but far away enough that no one will really care
I mean if you put it on a ballot alone I'm not sure the majority really want to see it happen.
1.) Should that matter? I'm asking seriously. If a majority of the people are misinformed and wrong, should elected officials enact policies that satisfy the majority's harmful desire or should they do what's "right"?
2.) Would the voters be right or wrong to vote down such a measure?
I honestly don't know the answer to either of those questions. I'm pretty sure I could make a sound, well supported argument both for and against for each. Driving pattern data suggests the majority of drivers--even in such an expansive country--would benefit from their next new car being BEV. The catch-22, though, is that selling it to that many consumers (who clearly aren't convinced) would require a fundamental shift in the market (better infrastructure, better choice/variety/cost of product, better enthusiasm to manufacture and sell from manufacturers), and since the status quo is the path of least resistance, this fundamental shift would probably not happen unless there is some kind of mandate in place. So what do you do?
In a way, it reminds me a lot of energy code for buildings. MOST people would skimp on things like insulation, efficient lights and appliances, etc. to save a buck on construction costs. They'd be idiots to do so, but they would. Regulators have stepped in to force them to do what's better for them and future owners, with the nice side effect of lower resource consumption as well. Is this wrong?
Personally, I don't think you can, as the U.S. gubmint or CARB or whoever, just rock up to the podium and say, "No gas by 2030," as it's not that simple. Such a deadline has to be accompanied by investment in infrastructure and incentives to make the deadline they're shooting for possible. They'd better figure out a way to get power in the streets in front of and parking garages under apartments. All of them. They'd better figure out a way to supply all of these millions of charging points with power at the same time. They'd better suggest how this is going to be achieved and funded at the same time as announcing some deadline for getting off the juice so there's time to have it all in place when the deadline arrives. I don't think I've heard/read any such plan.
We can disagree
If and when the technology is widely available and the car is as good or better than now go for it. If you have to mandate it without any kind of approval that raises a question IMO
It does appear that we agree that you can't just throw a date out there and expect the good fairy to make it happen. That's why I think it is more political than practical. Certainly it speaks to you and many fine people like you
Which is why I'm torn on this whole deadline. On the one hand, there are use cases where batteries currently don't make sense and are likely to still not make sense in a shy decade. Towing a boat or RV, for instance. Activities that are constantly energy intense and can't be made up for by just carrying a fuckton of fuel like a full size truck does. Then again, from what I've read, the ban would only apply to light vehicles and trucks may be exempt. (So, what, everyone just starts driving gigantic trucks to get around the ban? How is that better?)
On the other hand, for the VAST number of use cases, batteries are objectively better. You drive to work very cheaply, quietly, smoothly, (and with shitloads of torque on tap, so bonus), then you come home, plug your car in, and never have to stop at a gas station and waste five minutes of your day again. This would be most people 99% of the time. They would fucking love it within a couple of months, they just don't know it yet and refuse to believe it. "Oh, my car would be just like my phone? Huh, I love my phone!"
So what do you do? On the one hand, a hard mandate seems heavy handed and counterproductive to efficiency in certain use cases. On the other hand, there is little to no motivation for change if the mandate is in place. It's like with the vaccines: light a fire under an industry's ass, and it's amazing what can be accomplished in relatively short time.
This is a subject I'm fairly passionate about, so I'll just leave it there before rambling on for too long. I'll just sum up by saying I love gas engines. I love building them, modifying them, tuning them, riding things that are powered by them. I just love electric motors even more for certain things that I and most people do 99% of the time (hell, even the best dirt bike I've ever ridden was electric, but the company went out of business before economies of scale could bring the price down to a realistic point).
82 hour work weeks...
At least once a week I’m having to use the truck to move some large object and I do not enjoy driving it. 1972 C10 Cheyenne some old man saved from getting cubed or cannibalized, but he didn’t save it by much before he got cubed himself. It was supposed to live in storage, except for 3-5 times per year when needed to haul something huge. Big truck bed, could fit several 4-stars in there and their buddies. But, just like the 560SL with its specialty of sitting and depreciating, it has a very specific purpose.
Right now I’m leaning towards another new Outback, or maybe a 4-Runner. Got a date at the dealership. I think I was mostly trying to talk myself into the XT, as my old one was the absolute most fun car to drive. From 04-06 someone at Subaru decided that an AWD SUV that goes 0-60 in 5.1 was a great idea, and I agree. I got the nostalgia feels, hit up a buddy that is an enthusiast, he sent me pics of his latest project and I got jealous.
Then I looked closer, and after the flashbacks of motor oil subsided, I remembered why I got rid of mine in the first place.