The USPS

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
08/17/2020 at 11:00 • Filed to: None

I hadn’t been following the whole “President Trump is destroying the USPS” thing too closely, but here’s an anecdotal experience.

I frequently order parts from a VW specific company (Parts Place Inc). They get my money despite their markups on standard parts because of their amazing customer service and because they generally get whatever part I need shipped from their warehouse in Warren, MI to my doorstep in Ohio within two business days. One time I ordered a set of lifters and they were there next day, on USPS priority shipping as always . Love that company. Last Tuesday, I ordered a few gaskets, seals, bearings, and such for my Rabbit motor (still need to get that together...) but they did not arrive until Saturday. From the USPS tracking, it was received at the Warren location on Tuesday the 11th, but was not marked “accepted” until Friday the 14th. It was delivered the next day. Perhaps it’s added Covid precautions, perhaps USPS administrative fuckery, who knows. All I can say for sure is it took twice as long to get parts as usual, and if time were an issue, it would have been quicker for once to get them from Advance Auto or another chain.

I don’t look forward to November.

DISCUSSION (41)

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 11:16

I shipped bicycle parts to a friend in California and it took about 2 weeks to get there. The same day I shipped parts to Colorado and New Mexico, took about 4 days to get to Colorado and New Mexico. It’s certainly slower than it used to be. Just make sure to get your mortgage and credit card bills in the mail well before they are due.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/17/2020 at 11:22

I’ve never paid any bill by mail. Either over the phone or online. I rarely if ever send letters. If I send packages, they go by USPS 100% of the time- usually same price if not cheaper than UPS or FedEx, and almost always quicker. I’ve sent paper mail maybe twice in the last year- I just buy a stamp at the post office if I send mail. I got a custom sheet of stamps from stamps.com with the graphic Archduke Maxyenko made of my Golf a while back, but I never intend to actually use those.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 11:29

I’d assume about 75 % of the US population still pays some bills by mail. I’m about 50/50 depending on the dollar value of the bills. I typically don’t like automatic payments being withdrawn from my account if they are in the >$ 1,000 range.

Just Jeepin' > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/17/2020 at 11:32

Switching to paying online helped rescue my credit score and my sanity. I’m terrible with money, and would let bills pile up unpaid.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/17/2020 at 11:34

I don’t set up anything for automatic withdrawal, it’s just more convenient to do everything online. But I’ll never be able to email car parts.

Tripper > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 11:41

Never say never!

Kinja'd!!!

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 11:56

Curious to see how this plays out, what a disaster. Pretty messed up how the USPS is being used as a punching bag, given the already ridiculous funding requirements/limitations placed on them.

As a regular person it’s perfectly reasonable to not be satisfied with the level of service provided by the USPS. It is also perfectly reasonable to be concerned about wide-scale vote by mail at a scale not seen before . Thankfully here in Oregon it’s been the standard for 20+ years and it’s fabulous.

But as THE PRESIDENT of the country, if you see these two problems your response MUST be - how do I *improve* these two things to make sure our election goes smoothly this year? Not how do I use these two elements to bolster my own political future, and how can I screw things up even more?

Good faith government matters. Where are all the ethical conservatives? I haven’t heard any solutions from them.

RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire > Just Jeepin'
08/17/2020 at 12:00

Plus nowadays most billing services will send you an email when the bill is sent, and your bank can send email or app alerts for withdrawals so you’re doubly aware of what’s happening even if the scheduling is automatic.

hillrat > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
08/17/2020 at 12:05

That’s crazy high IMHO. There are plenty of nutters out there (like my Mom) who refuse to do any payments online automated or otherwise , but I’d estimate them at 25-30% of the US population at the most.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:07

I wouldn’t stress too much, I’ve had crazy issues with every delivery company since COVID started...all the down to showing “Out for delivery” and then a couple days later it magically disappears from the system. FWIW, these are almost all Amazon orders, but we’ve had issues with Zulily and a couple others, too.

On a side note, we just did our school district’s “drive by meet-the-teacher” and I saw a lowered Mk IV Jetta wagon. I think that’s the only modded Mk IV wagon I’ve ever seen in the wild, no kidding (excluding car shows/races). It reminded me of Torch’s recent piece about how the MkIV is like the archetypal modern car design .

hillrat > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
08/17/2020 at 12:11

USPS is struggling financially because UPS and FedEx have had their snouts in the trough for the most financially lucrative part of USPS’s work (package delivery) with no requirement that they service every address for the last 40-50 years. UPS/FedEx also passes off the stuff that goes to addresses they don’t service to the USPS, which subsidizes UPS/FedEx’s cost of doing business.

Mid Engine > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:18

Most of the stuff I order is delivered by USPS, when you live in a rural area the other delivery companies often offload to the USPS rather than take the trouble to come to my house. USPS is pretty reliable until the virus hit and the volum e grew exponentially. Stuff that was Amazon Prime was taking two weeks to show up, so I cancelled my Prime account. Third party vendors and oth er online vendors are far more responsive . There’s no doubt that Trump putting his boy in charge and refusing to help fund the post office is to blame for much of this recently , keep that in mind when you vote.

I pay all my bill s online.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/17/2020 at 12:22

Yeah, I mostly saw it as a harbinger of continued decrease in service. Hopefully it’s just a symptom of Covid, although I hadn’t had a single issue in the past. Maybe this was just a slight hiccup in the system.

I’m a fan of those wagons (mostly because it’s the first A-platform wagon the US got). I know of a guy in my town who has (had?) a 1.8t wagon that was dropped pretty far with tune/bolt ons for like 250 whp and an open downpipe. Sounded nice and it moved.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Mid Engine
08/17/2020 at 12:25

Yeah, USPS is the default last mile carrier for the entire country where not profitable for other carriers. It’s mind boggling that people can ask why it’s not profitable- do we build highways to make money directly from the highway? No, but we still have them.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:27

It was shockingly pretty easy to get 230-250whp out of those engines.

When I met the APR founders in college, I remember them telling me that they couldn’t believe there weren’t more tuners out there since the engine was pretty easy to tweak . They had just bought their first dyno and installed it in a bay behind an old strip mall where they had a small storefront ...this was probably 1999 or 2000.

user314 > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:31

Here’s the thing: this whole stupid nontroversy was kicked off over 4 (FOUR!) boxes being removed in Portland and Eugene because they weren’t being used , what with the Coronapocalypse and all.

I don’t know where this idea of the USPS being a monument to speed and efficiency came from, but it sure ain’ t reality. The post office has been for my entire life (and I’m turning 43 this year) , a joke, a punchline. The mail has always been slow, though paradoxically it had been getting better in the last couple decades , since fewer people using it . Were it not for eBay and Amazon for pumping millions of boxes into the system, the USPS would have gone the way of the Pony Express by now.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > hillrat
08/17/2020 at 12:32

The demographics here really is intriguing to me. The party that is most adamant on dismantling the USPS also happens to have the most constituents living in remote areas that rely on the USPS as their only package/mail service provider.

Of course if USPS could be run like UPS/Fedex where they could pick and choose who they serve they could be run much better - but is that the point? I mail packages internationally to family a couple of times a year - even for that USPS is substantially cheaper (although still expensive).

Also there’s the whole garbage with the “postal accountability and enhancement act” of 2006.

DipodomysDeserti > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
08/17/2020 at 12:37

They only want to dismantle it so they can privatize it. Jeff Bezos is loving this shit.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/17/2020 at 12:37

Wow, that’s a cool story!

I think the recipe for 250 whp is just bolt ons- downpipe, intake, tune, injectors, and a K04 swap. Turbo upgrade is a bolt on, right?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > user314
08/17/2020 at 12:42

My experience has not been yours. For me, the USPS has always been as fast and cheaper. I’ve only lost boxes with FedEx.

The controversy might have been kicked off with removing four boxes, but now we have a President who’s actively and publicly trying to dismantle the USPS.

None of the private carriers have an obligation to deliver parcels to locations where it is not profitable to do so. That is why the USPS is important. It occupies a niche that our blended economy would leave without service. It’s an example of the Government actually serving the people. It’s not efficient or profitable, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s not a private company.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:45

Yep, for a lot of turbos it was. Parts bin for the win. The turbo and tune were 90% of that, the rest was just gravy.

Just Jeepin' > user314
08/17/2020 at 12:47

It’s a bit more than a few boxes being removed.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/16/usps-mail-delays-postmaster-general-changes-workers

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > DipodomysDeserti
08/17/2020 at 12:53

Pretty hilarious all the crap USPS gets from POTUS about helping Amazon. If USPS were to be dismantled, THAT would be a pretty amazing gift for them. Are you going to trust ANY mail you receive that is delivered by the Fake Washington Post?

Monkey B > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 12:54

I had court on the 8th, showed up and it got pushed to October...no letter. That afternoon I received a letter post dated 7/23 from the court...it’s about 10 miles from here . I also use USPS informed delivery (sign up, it’s free) and it showed me mail I’d receive a day later . In the last month my route has been skipped 4 times. A check from one of my accounts less th an 10 miles away took 4 days...typically that’s one day in transit.

You can’t even discuss shit like this with trumpers...they just repeat his bullshit over and over . They care not for one single fact. Disgusting.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > user314
08/17/2020 at 12:57

Did you just wake up? The mailboxes being removed was just a tiny piece of all this - and that they’ve thankfully walked back at this point.

It’s more around acknowledging that mail by vote is going to be a major factor in this year’s election (POTUS himself is acknowledging this), but not giving the USPS any additional tools or funding to facilitate this, the new Postmaster General firing the ranks of USPS veterans, forbidding mail workers from working overtime, putting hiring freezes in place, and trying to force early retirement on workers, to name a few, as laid out in the article shared by JJ.

Are any of these actions things that will help mail by vote work better or worse for this election cycle?

nerd_racing > Mid Engine
08/17/2020 at 13:10

The only reason I kept Prime was for streaming services.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 13:24

Every delivery service is slow right now. I used to get shit within a day or sometimes same day around here from Amazon. Now it’s often a week or more because nothing seems to get anywhere in a timely fashion. Still not worth canceling Prime, but it’s less of a deal than it used to be.

The USPS has always been a joke in my lifetime. T hough their insolvency is heavily hyped, the cause was some legislation that forced them to fully fund their pensions, which no other government agency is required to do (this dates to either the Obama or Bush administration) . That caused the huge spike in stamp prices and further cost cutting measures that have made the service even slower.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/17/2020 at 13:30

VW parts bin motors are so cool. There’s a guy out there who took an ABA (2.slow 8 valve, what my car has) and an AEB big port 1.8t head, ITBs, high (13.5:1) compression, made like 180 at the wheels all motor, I think on 93 octane too.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 13:52

The 2.slow was my very first car...brand new 1995 Golf Sport (basically it was the GTI for a couple years, but slow...and complete with plaid buckets). After months of sketchy luck in the used market, we just bit the bullet and bought new. At least it was light and nimble and perfect for jetting around college towns.

I drove it all through HS and college, then inherited my dad’s old Passat 2.8 (5MT, GLX trim) which was like a luxury rocket in comparison. I’m still driving a 2.8 Passat today — but it’s a 4mo wagon from 2001 and nearing the end of its life. I’m still debating my next car and I’m leaning toward an off-lease Kia Stinger GT, which is like the more rational alternative to the Audi S5 sportback. But the German siren song is just so loud...and it’s hard to find good combinations of practical and fun, PLUS affordable and semi-reliable.

Mid Engine > nerd_racing
08/17/2020 at 13:53

Wife has T-Mobil so we get Netflix for $2/month. Really, there’s nothing that Amazon offers that you can’t get elsewhere. Fuck Bezos’ bullshit about being “customer obsessed ”, nothing could be further from the truth

user314 > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
08/17/2020 at 13:56

No, as I said, I’ve been aware of the USPS’ issues since the 90's. Sacks of undelivered mail are nothing new , nor is the refrain, similar to that from the Department of Education, of “We need more money, then things will work!”, followed by the shock, shock!, that buckets of money don’t actually fix the problem (see also, Shelby’s Lunch System ) .

This meek acceptance of inefficiency mystifies me. It’s OUR money being frittered away; why shouldn’t we want government to spend money more wisely? Waste, fraud and abuse in the government is a problem, and I’m happy to see something being done about it, even with the usual Trumpian hamfistedness.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/17/2020 at 13:57

Oh yeah, I think I remember you told me that. I just got a set of those Sport seats a few months ago. Have yet to put them in anything, but they’re quite comfy.

Have you looked at a fwd Mk5 or Mk6 wagon? I’ve thought about it, but I’m not enough of an adult to want to spend that type of money on a car yet. My Golf is still the most expensive car purchase I’ve yet made at $1400.

Ash78, voting early and often > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 14:01

To be honest, I’m kind of sick of FWD, even though it works pretty well in smaller cars like the A platform. I’m getting to this YOLO point in life where I’m looking for something I’ll enjoy for 10+ years, or just hand down to my son in 5 years when he starts driving. And I’m not looking for much DIY at the moment, but if I had the garage space I’d probably have several little projects going...

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Ash78, voting early and often
08/17/2020 at 14:11

That’s fair. Those Stingers are cheap for what they are. Then again, so is the V8 Hyundai Genesis/Genesis G80.

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 14:36

I’m not US but I oppose mass mail- in voting:

There was a story run as a non-citizen went to the news about getting a voting package in our last election. I don’t know how he got put in our countries electoral system, but he was. I’m surprised the story actually didn’t get bigger as I have serious doubts it’s isolated.

E ven going over the list of acceptable documents for voting, there’s easy ways for non-citizens (even non-residents) to vote here. Looking it over, I’d support a serious reform on it and I would demand it if mass mail voting was being floated.

And while it’s possible to fraud in person, it takes more effort and I think the risk is greater.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com
08/17/2020 at 14:42

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/docs/pacei-voterfraudcases.pdf

Up to this point it’s extremely uncommon in the US. The biggest hurdle of voting by mail in the US is the logistical nightmare that is collecting as many as 153 million ballots via the USPS.

Then again, maybe not, since other countries do a fine job of it without significant issue.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > user314
08/17/2020 at 14:49

That’s mighty generous of you to call it “hamfistedness” to suggest that telling postal workers they can’t work overtime anymore in the middle of a pandemic right before an election. That word suggests that the consequences on the election would be unintended. But it’s exactly the intention, and he’s said so himself.

The military gets COVID funding, schools get COVID funding, but the USPS - again, not just for giggles, but given increased expectation of mail-in voting in a presidential election year - that’s a no go? Why? Do you really believe that if the tables were turned, where Trump believed that a better funded USPS would help his chances, he wouldn’t be singing the opposite tune?

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
08/17/2020 at 14:53

Bush Jr. And it’s actually pre-funding post-retirement medical benefits, not pension payments themselves. It was part of the “Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act” of 2006.

Funny how the jokers who get in to government with the promise that they can make it smaller and better really mean that they will do everything in their power to hurt it - which sure, might make it smaller...but better? They have zero interest in making that happen.

hillrat > ZHP Sparky, the 5th
08/17/2020 at 15:18

This is an amazing point, but I bet the GOP has already determined that that particular rural constituency a.) reliably votes to “Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare” and b.) isn’t big enough to move the needle anyway.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
08/17/2020 at 16:05

USPS currently delivers my mail twice a week. Got a notice they are dropping it to once a week due to “volume” of mail that gets delivered to my address, truthfully, its not much . I’ve requested paperless from everyone I owe money too and have set up automatic withdrawal as the late fees were piling up surprisingly fast.

Dr_Watson > hillrat
08/17/2020 at 18:50

They also got smashed by Congress a few years back with an obscenely bullshit pension payment requirement .