$100k is by no means “normal for any regular consumer vehicle.” This buyer is looking at two high-trim vehicles (AMG) from a luxury brand. Average new car price in the US is just below $48k.

Glad they’re getting it fixed, but I really hope this doesn’t impede the continued rollout of bus lane parking enforcement in NYC. One inconsiderate ahole can materially slow down the commute for an entire bus full of passengers, if the bus has to merge out of the bus lane and then back in again. We should let people…

Noticed the same thing. There’s no way you can take the same vehicle price and get to those payments with those combinations of % down, rate, and term. $3840 for 60 months with 15% down and a 9.79% APR backs into a ~$294k price, while $3840 for 240 months with 40% down and a 10.85% APR backs into a $625k price. Given…

One of the things Trump loves about tariffs is that they can be structured to give him discretion around exceptions. Huge tariff on Mexican imports would hurt Tesla? Well, then, there’s an exception for “electric vehicles made by companies with five letter names starting with T” - unless Elon annoys Trump, in which…

Plus, a ban on backup cameras, and mandatory spikes on the front grille, to make sure that you finish off those pesky pedestrians

Social Security is, and has always been, a pay-as-you-go program. The taxes you pay go to support today’s retirees, just as their taxes paid for the prior generation.  Remember, when the program was launched, people started getting benefits, even though they never paid into the system. 

“Petabit/second speeds between Mars and Earth are impossible until we develop faster-than-light travel”

“you need around 100 mbps for reliable video streaming”

There’s also a very interesting tax angle for Musk. There’s a provision in the law that says that if you take a government job, and have to sell stock to avoid a conflict of interest, then the capital gains taxes are waived. Overall, this provision makes sense - we don’t want excellent people to say “I would take that…

With these, it isn’t so much mechanical breakdown, but rather the probability of wrapping them around a tree. 

That depends very heavily on the interest rate. 

Those Mazda6es really do seem to be holding their value very well.  Looks like you paid around $29-30k, so for them still to be worth 60%+ of new after four years is pretty impressive.

I get the argument that says “if you can get a really low rate financing a car, take it, rather than pay in cash, because you can probably get a better return on the money,” but that clearly doesn’t apply to paying 10% on a loan. 

Ironically, if the thief had an iPhone, that iPhone might have reported the location of the Airtag. Or, could have been another phone at the gas station, etc. I have an Airtag in my car, not so much for security, but because I street park, and occasionally I’ve forgotten where I parked since I don’t use the car that…

Well, look on the bright side: better to be worrying about speed cameras than sitting in traffic that makes their presence moot. 

When I saw “almost three hundred miles” I thought “ah, not that bad, probably out West, so 4-5 hours.” Then I saw “Austin Maestro,” and now I’m realizing, are those UK miles? If so, that’s a LONG trip!

So sorry to read this. Asshole with too much time on their hands is a lousy combination. 

Hell, I’ve stopped using adaptive cruise because it’s stupid.

If your financial manager (a) didn’t tell you to refinance your mortgage when 30 year rates were under 3%, and (b) is telling you to pay down principal faster than you need to, you need a new financial manager. 

That's only if your alternative is keeping the cash under a loose floorboard.