Even if I didn't save any money, I'd buy direct from the manufacturer. Hell, I would probably pay a bit extra to avoid a dealership... 

Considering that the people over there continue to insist on having a green grass lawn in a desert, 142 gal/day seems low to me. 14 gal/per day is very low for anyone, as a single load of laundry can use that much easily. Nevermind bathing, dishes, etc.

I’ve been around a lot of diesel-electric locomotives, and no, the vast majority do not store the energy from regenerative (called dynamic) braking for future use. The excess electricity is simply directed to a big bank of resistors, and released as heat. Only one or two of those big fans on top are for the engine…