Burnt Out (Repost for the morning crowd)

"Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness" (long-voyager-2nd-edition) 04/08/2019 at 22:13 • Filed to: Life, Rant

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Welp the wife texted me Monday night while I was working on the van. The car was stuck at Family Dollar. She said it wouldn’t back up.

I go check it out, the passenger rear brake is hanging up in reverse. Great, add brakes on the list of shit the car currently needs. Right along with suspension work, fuel system revamp, and tires.

Add all that on top of trying to get my van back up to par. Meanwhile we’re racking miles on the new van.

I am honestly burnt out of working on things at this point. I would like to be spending time with the kids right now as the weather is great, but I can’t do that because I have to fix this shit!

I wish she would pull her head out of her ass and realize we need one decent vehicle in the driveway and the $150-200/month payment on that 2018 Charger would be worth it.

/rant

random001 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:43

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Well, go get one decent vehicle.  How many seats do you need?

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:45

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You know what to do...

https://www.russdarrowchryslerjeep.com/certified/Dodge/2018-Dodge-Charger-Madison+WI-777bb6360a0e0ae74d0e988430838f60.htm

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:45

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It’s very nice to have at least one go-to newish reliable car in the fleet. You should have bought the white charger last week.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > random001 04/09/2019 at 12:46

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ALL OF THEM!

I want to get a new/newer Charger. I would get rid of the car and one of the vans. The wife doesn’t want a payment.

benjrblant > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:46

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It’s hard to recognize the value of your time that’s being put into these. Perhaps documenting your time and assessing a hypothetical mechanic’s cost ($80/hr?) and kindly posing it to her after a week or month. Always better to see things when you have sufficient data, i.e. “I spent 20 hours last month on repairs, this would’ve cost us $1600 in labor alone” makes a $200/mo payment look quite reasonable, particularly if the trade is more family time.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 04/09/2019 at 12:46

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I’m still trying to push it.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > benjrblant 04/09/2019 at 12:47

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I’m currently compiling parts costs already this year. Adding time costs is a great idea.

bob and john > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:47

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“I love having old cars I can work on”

later:

“I’m sick and tired of working on old cars”

now you know why people buy new shit that works. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/09/2019 at 12:47

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I’m still trying to work her on that one. They still have it.

random001 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:48

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I didn’t want a payment, either.  Then I did the math.  The payment is just fine.  I added the cost of gas vs. electricity for commuting, parts estimate, and time not spent with the kids, and it came out to a wash.  Math does not lie.

vondon302 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:48

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Ugh. Sounds like charger time.

benjrblant > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:49

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Well, parts cost is sort of sunk. You’d be paying parts cost regardless of who is doing the labor. I think that documenting your time is going to be the most pertinent data for this situation as that’s personal and would allow you to indicate how much time you’re losing from family/personal time.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > bob and john 04/09/2019 at 12:49

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A big reason I’ve stayed away from new/newer:

The people around here with new cars spend almost as much time in the shop as my old vehicles. Difference is they have a car payment+repairs , I don’t.

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:49

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You need a vehicle that is made for ease of service.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:49

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Put a $ value on your time spent fixing shit and show the numbers. It’ s no 0% financing but even at the interest rates now, if your income  can afford it , do it. The charger should be more reliable than anything you have now, and more comfortable, and safer and better MPG(?)

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > benjrblant 04/09/2019 at 12:50

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Parts cost won’t matter if it has a bumper to bumper warranty ;).

But I totally agree.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > vondon302 04/09/2019 at 12:50

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I’ve been working on it.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/09/2019 at 12:50

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I have 3..........

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 04/09/2019 at 12:51

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Better mpgs than the vans. It’ll be hard pressed to meet the 35+ mpg hwy I manage from the car though. But it is quieter, more comfortable, safer, and under warranty!

benjrblant > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:55

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Touche!

bob and john > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:57

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notice how I said: new shit that works (see: anything Japanese usually)

people need to stop being shocked when a un-maint ained BMW off lease is in the shop.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 12:58

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It’s under warranty, 2018s are more reliable than the previous years, plus it’s certified which means 7 year/100K power train warranty. Not sure what more you could ask for.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > bob and john 04/09/2019 at 12:59

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Funny enough, the majority of them are brand new/almost new, dealer maintained, Honda/Toyota/Subaru.........

LOREM IPSUM > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 13:00

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“Sweetie, the work involved in keeping these vehicles on the road is killing me, never mind the cost . I barely get time out of work to spend with you and the kids because something else is constantly breaking. As much as I like working o n cars and maintaining them, at some point a daily driven vehicle just reaches the end of it’ s useful life cycle. A s much as I like them and would love to keep them around, ours are at that point.

It’s not just time and effort either. The brakes fell off. Thank god it happened while backing out of a parking space and not while on the highway or going down that winding hill you always go down. Can you even imagnine? At this point the peace of mind of knowing that you and the kids are in something that’ s more safe is worth the $150 a month. In fact, I’d spend a thousand. I’d spend it all it it meant you guys would be safe.”

vondon302 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 13:11

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Well today proved your point hopefully.

Good luck and keep at it.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 13:23

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Pretend Subaru is German. 

promoted by the color red > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 13:24

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But the question is why? Are the cars broken because of poor design practices or because people think “it’s a Toyota/Honda/etc and I don’t need to do maintenance on time”?

StudyStudyStudy > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/09/2019 at 13:33

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I’ve spent half a day upside down with my feet in the air and my head under the dash in one of those. Really depends on how they did the electrics. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 13:47

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How about a 2018 Forte?

lol

razorbeamteam > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 14:17

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You gotta find the sweet spot. Too old and things are falling apart faster than you can keep up with them. Too new, and you pay hella $$$ for quality stuff that wont leave you in the shop every month. 

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > benjrblant 04/09/2019 at 14:28

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I always do this in my head when I make any repairs, but I have usually look at how much I paid myself by not going to a dealer/mechanic. Like, replacing this alternator would cost $500 at a dealer, I did it for $150 and 2 hours of time, therefore I paid myself $175/hr by doing this.

Looking at the overall time cost compared to a new vehicle though isn’t really how I’ve looked at things in the past. However, with a kid on the way now I’ve been thinking more about what my time is worth. Sure I like working on cars, but I want to work on cars I WANT to work on, not the daily drivers. So whenever my current daily starts costing me time and money I want to gets something that’s 3-5 years old that I won’t have to worry about much.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/09/2019 at 15:41

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This is how I ended up with a new truck. A the time, I was daily driving a very nice, but very old LT1/6 speed 93 Vette, had the 99 ye olde Escalade as an occasional towing/moving big things vehicle (that I only put about 3k/year on) , the dormant race car and a rusty ass old trailer to haul it on. When I decided to work towards playing with the racecar car again, I realized that there was just no way I could sustain that maintenance and repair effort to keep all of that going and the olde Escalade having to be a regular basis tow vehicle again. The answer ended up being selling the Vette, selling the Escalade, selling the rusty ass old trailer and buying a new trailer and a new aluminum b odied, twin turbo charged truck that asks for nothing more than occasional maintenance and returns 22-23 mpg on the highway and 19-20 in town.  My time spent on vehicle maintenance and upkeep has dropped to almost nothing.

66P1800inpieces > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 04/09/2019 at 17:27

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Don’t need to worry about any airbag recalls. 

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > 66P1800inpieces 04/09/2019 at 18:51

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Or door dings.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > promoted by the color red 04/10/2019 at 07:18

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Because Honda/Toyota are still living off the coattails of their 90s reputation?

No idea, they’re all dealer maintained on time, every time. They’re not minor issues either, engines, transmissions, major electrical failures, etc all at very low mileages.

Sure I’m working on my stuff a lot, but my 94 has around 250k on the body and the car has 170k, and they’re both 25 yrs old, so I expect shit to be worn out.

But brand new cars needing engines/transmissions under 50k miles when they’re only a year or two old? Cars burning 3-4 qts of oil between oil changes? This is the shit people consider reliable these days?

The little 2012 Corolla S that burned us so terribly 7 years ago is a big reason I have stayed away from new vehicles and the whole reason I won’t even consider another Toyota. It had 2 engines and 3 transmissions replaced under warranty for various reasons. Not to mention terrible build quality, terrible fuel economy, and just being a general ly hateful little shit box.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 04/10/2019 at 07:19

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Despite being roughly the same size as my Acclaim, I think I’d be hard pressed to fit the kids in the back comfortably ( if at all ).

Chuckles > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 07:38

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“But brand new cars needing engines/transmissions under 50k miles when they’re only a year or two old? Cars burning 3-4 qts of oil between oil changes? This is the shit people consider reliable these days?”

Those are pretty extreme examples. That is not the case for most new cars. I'm not sure why you think that's what happens when you buy a new car, but for the vast majority of people it isn't. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Chuckles 04/10/2019 at 07:41

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Plenty of friends/neighbors with these issues, plus personal experience.

Chuckles > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 07:47

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Sounds like an unlucky group, but pick a new car and do some research, and I think you’ll find that very few new cars need engine replacements, and hardly any need them within the first few years of ownership. I understand why you prefer older, simpler to maintain Chrysler products but I also think that you have some misconceptions about new cars and other car brands.

I don't think that the experiences of these people you know is an accurate portrayal of the larger population. 

cbell04 > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 08:39

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Went from a 10 year old 4.0 caravan to a new car and suddenly my weekends are free:) The old van never bro ke the bank but it was always something. Plus as I’ve conversed with you before safety became a priority. A ccidents happen everyone is on their phone in my state whole they drive   so I bought the safer box to haul the kids in. Good luck! Has she driven the new cars? I would think that would sell it alone. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > cbell04 04/10/2019 at 10:08

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She actually hates new/newer cars thanks to the “safety” severely reducing visibility, overly rounded styling making it hard to judge where the car is actually at, and overly bolstered seats in everything. She loves our old vehicles because they’re comfortable and extremely easy to see out of.

Regardless, I’m dead set on that Charger I drove and the post 2015 models are supposed to be very reliable. Plus it has a bumper to bumper warranty to 100k, so it will be paid off before the warranty is up.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Chuckles 04/10/2019 at 10:12

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To me a vehicle isn’t “reliable” unless it can make 150k+ without issue.

This seems to be something all manufacturers have issue with these days. Cars have become disposable items and are designed to last as such.

That being said, I’ve been researching Chargers heavily after driving that 2018, and I’m pretty set on that. I wish the economy was slightly better, but otherwise I love the car and they seem to be reliable.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 10:20

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She actually hates new/newer cars thanks to the “safety” severely reducing visibility, overly rounded styling making it hard to judge where the car is actually at, and overly bolstered seats in everything. She loves our old vehicles because they’re comfortable and extremely easy to see out of.

Sounds like a newer Subaru Forester would be the perfect new car then, at least based on those specific set of criteria/restrictions. It’s got fantastic visibility, it’s safe, comfortable and I think the seats are not too bolstered.

You get more features/$ from the Charger though. Still hope you get that. So any new updates? were you able to come up with convincing numbers?

wafflesnfalafel > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 10:23

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agree - having one relatively new vehicle you don’t have to worry about consistently working can definitely reduce stress if you can swing it financially ...

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time 04/10/2019 at 10:23

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Pretty much did a “mic drop” last night. Dropped the costs of everything to fix what we currently have, added in the time not spent with the kids, and said “well, we could be enjoying time with the kids right now, but someone doesn’t want a car payment”, then crawled back under the van and went back to work.

FYI, a crossover will never be on my list, especially a Subaru. Sorry, not sorry.

bob and john > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 10:34

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yea, somehow I get the feeling you are cherry picking your examples. that is most certianly not a regualr case for a new car. 

shop-teacher > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 11:01

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$200/month is nothing.  Some people pay that for freaking cable/satellite TV (not me of course).  Time to pull the trigger.

promoted by the color red > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 11:18

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No doubt about that, but that’s still a little odd . You sure these aren’t salvage title rebuilds/lemons?

Also, how are these people maintaining their cars? I knew an instructor who told us that servicing her car was a low priority that she kept putting off since “it was a Lexus”. Man, that my eye twitch hard... 

Genuinely curious since my friend and I beat on our cars in the Mojave Desert and his Civic and my Camry didn’t have any unexpected problems, other than the cruise control switch that broke.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > promoted by the color red 04/10/2019 at 12:16

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Bought brand new, dealer maintained by the book, and these aren’t people who abuse their vehicles. Most/all of them are under 50k miles to boot.

Mind you all the repairs have been covered by warranty, but it still leaves the owners out a vehicle while the repairs are handled.

They may not be the “majority”, but that many issues amongst neighbors, friends, family isn’t something that should be brushed off either.

That being said, I would still like to have one vehicle that “I” don’t have to fix when/if things fail, just take it back to the dealer and say here fix this POS.

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > shop-teacher 04/10/2019 at 12:18

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I’m ready, it’s the wife that needs convincing.

shop-teacher > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 14:30

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I know.  Good luck!

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/10/2019 at 17:09

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150+k without issue: Caaaaaammmmrryyyyyyyy

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > benjrblant 04/10/2019 at 17:25

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What’s the term of the $200/mo?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever 04/11/2019 at 07:12

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Ya, tried the whole Toyota thing back in 2012. That POS made my old Mopars look like pillars of reliability, don’t care to go down that road ever again.