Well, at least in the case of a battery, mileage will be very indicative of how many cycles the battery has been through.

But otherwise, yes, mileage alone is a terrible indicator of wear. Rubber seals wear out just sitting in a parking lot - in fact, it can wear out faster with lack of use (tires are a prime example…

Well, at least in the case of a battery, mileage will be very indicative of how many cycles the battery has been through.

But otherwise, yes, mileage alone is a terrible indicator of wear. Rubber seals wear out just sitting in a parking lot - in fact, it can wear out faster with lack of use (tires are a prime example…

2nd:  Why is there even a need for the credit?  Just stop selling the trucks with the feature listed as standard, and just label the vehicles with it.

1st:

Never buy a used Nissan Leaf. Battery life is a real problem with these from the lack of a proper cooling system.

That said, there’s a problem when I can buy a refurbished phone from Amazon for $150 and get a battery life guarantee but I can’t get one on a 5 figure purchase of a used auto.

$19,995 starting MSRP.

With a damn near $1,500 delivery charge.  So much to like with what I’m seeing, but that delivery charge is absurd.

In addition to the Taurus, I also had a 98 Camry. Not one bit more reliable than the Taurus - actually in some respects worse. Struts were horrible on that Camry, needing frequent replacement - bad enough that Advance Auto was advertising improved parts for them in their front window.

Had a 97 Taurus myself.  With the right equipment, those were VERY reliable - get the 3.0L 12V, combine that with the AX4N transmission (not the S), and change the fluid regularly, and the danged things were near bulletproof.  Potholes were the only problems I had...

Lumber prices have also been heavily inflated because of the ridiculous trade war we started with Canada.

But realistically, it is a highly competitive industry, and for prices to stay up beyond the effects of governmental policies like tariffs, it would take almost cartel-like behavior from producers, which we don’t…

It’s not great comparison to use petroleum liquids used in electric generation for your basis of comparison. There are relatively few petroleum liquid plants around, and they tend to be very inefficient compared to your standard baseload plants. Even among natural gas plants, there is an enormous variation in between…

I mean, my eyes still work ok, though not as well as they did when I was younger.

But you can’t tell me I wouldn’t be even better at navigating the world if I could use my eyes and echolocate at the same time...

How they monitor the driver is important.

How the car companies sell the features is even more important, though.  I don’t see anyone else claiming theirs is anything like “autopilot” or “self-driving”....

Replacing the K-frame on this car isn’t really that awful of an operation. The challenge generally is finding the part - I doubt FoMoCo even sells them anymore, so you’re stuck scrounging junk yards. But the listing says it comes with a replacement frame ready for swap. Getting the subframe out is only disconnecting…

Replacing the K-frame on this car isn’t really that awful of an operation.  The challenge is finding the part - I doubt FoMoCo even sells them anymore, so you’re stuck scrounging junk yards.  Probably better off if you can find a skilled welder to repair what you have.

“At one point, one of the drivers of the CR-V stumbled out, disoriented into traffic and the middle of police with guns drawn.”

Can we stop and talk for a minute about how there were multiple people driving the CR-V?

Not saying it is easy to find an undervalued small company - but if you are a firm with $1 million a year in revenue, finding some firm with $1 million in revenue that is undervalued that you can buy and double your size (and hopefully profits), obtaining an oversized return, is, relatively, much easier than doing the…

Options aren’t necessarily such a bad thing. They can help keep market values in check and reduce volatility. Derivatives in general (and options are a form of derivative) can be huge problems when not properly regulated, though - and the 2008 meltdown was a prime example of that. We had options before we deregulated…

It’s relatively easy to play Buffet’s strategy and pick some companies that are undervalued and can give you higher returns when you’re small... But once you’re a $600 billion company, finding an undervalued firm that you can buy that will give your firm 10% annual returns is near impossible.  The bigger you are, the…

4th gear:

You already can claim the tax credit well in advance of filing your tax return. You can even claim it *BEFORE* buying the car. All you have to do is adjust your withholding downwards, save the money, buy the car, then adjust your withholding back up.

A few years back when we installed a Solar PV system, I…

Pfft... My 2006 Ford Fusion has a blue book value about $500 higher today than it had 5.5 years ago when I bought it.

Of course, I’m still counting on it depreciating eventually. But damn, I’ve never had a car gain value over 5 years like that. :)

But if you’re going longer daily distances now, generally hotels are significantly cheaper than campers - so a short range isn’t necessarily bad.