I'm moving away from reading and posting in automotive forums. I do thank all that have given me their help and guidance in choosing and fixing my vehicles, but I just can't spend any more time at this anymore. To me the automotive scene is depressing. It's a lot of things, not just one. Cars are more boring now than they ever have been. Politics have also heavily worked their way into car buying and ownership. I feel like what car I own makes others automatically assume I pertain to one political party or the other. Car prices are higher than they ever have been, and I have other financial goals much more important than owning a car. I can't seem to be able to fix my cars myself anymore, and it's an arm and a leg to take a car to a mechanic. Add to that the several times a mechanic messed up my car instead of fixed the problem. I'd rather not think about cars until I absolutely have to. It just depresses me. I'll probably still own some sort of car for the rest of my life. But I don't want to think about what brand it is or what it can do. It just needs to be a tool that gets me from point A to point B. If it does that, that's all I care about. I don't want to get onto a forum and find out I could have got this other better car, or this safety feature is where it's at, or this is tariffed and that's not, or anything else of the sort. I just don't care anymore. Cars are just big wheelchairs to get us around. To me, they are about like taking chemo therapy, you do it because you have to survive. Sure, if my current car gets totaled or something stolen or something similar I'll look for an economic, safe, environmentally friendly replacement, to the best of my ability. But I don't want to discuss it with anyone anymore, not with family, not with friends and definitely not with forums. I wish the best to all of you, and thanks again for your support over the past several years. Sincerely, Isaac
FYI, posting from the Tesla Service waiting room. A ‘super bottle’ that routes coolant went bad, $1,050. It probably failed a couple of years ago but I had to find the obscure error massage to have it diagnosed and soon repaired. Its failure may have aged the traction battery and repair won’t fix the wear. But it will slow the battery aging. The battery still meets my requirements. Learned that if I want to replace the battery, $13,000. Much cheaper than even a used Tesla and I keep my $1,000 light weight rims and tires, the $1,200 anti-rock windshield film, pizza pan rim covers $100, and $8,000 Full Self Driving that I paid $6,000 six years ago. So go with my blessing. There were years when my primary ride was a quality bicycle and the VW MicroBus was for going out of town. Bob Wilson ps. I had to turn up the squelch on some non-technicals too.
we'll miss you isaac! i hope things improve for you down the road, i have enjoyed our discussions over the years.
Aye -- We have the Watch: For awhile after the Coast Guard, I was at loose ends, sort of depressed and then actually thought about re-enlisting with the Puddle Pirates. EEK! (actually, I enjoyed my time -- sort of -- in the Guard). So, I just wandered, Had enough to buy a car, but did not. Just became one of the many 20-somethings in the '70s with my thumb out and a pack on my back traveling the highways and hoping to avoid some of the many serial killers we kept hearing about. I may still be doing just that, except I sort of tripped across a 20-year-old blonde with a broken down Datsun 1600 Roadster on Highway 111 near Coachella, Calif. Coachella in those days is not the Coachella of today (their big music fest just ended this past weekend) Anyway, I told her I could fix her car and she offered me a free ride -- a few years later we were married and so much for my thumbing rides. So, that is a long way around to say, I have a love/hate relationship with cars. Working on them is a form of therapy for me. I usually enjoy it. I grew up helping my dad and uncles work on their cars. When my son was at home, we did the same. Now,it's just me and I find it tough to keep up with the electronics, but so far, mostly, an oil change is an oil change. For the youngsters: Datsun Roadster.
Her long blonde hair, tousled in the breeze, sparkling blue eyes as she upshifted along the desert highway, just a touch of the Danish heritage still evident in her voice. Whatever I've paid, it was worth it.
"hoping to avoid some of the many serial killers we kept hearing about" Avoid them all - don't be choosy.
I still swear I was offered a ride by William Bonin - Wikipedia AKA The Freeway Killer When I was passing through the Los Angeles area, but no one believes me. I declined the lift.
I've been Prius-less for over 2 years now. And not likely to buy Prius again. Without Prius, car talk here does not interest me any more. Nor can I offer any help for Prius specific questions. But I hang around here to chat. Just for fun as a former Prius owner. Kind of rare to find a car forum where non-car chat is allowed. I enjoy this aspect of PC and folks here.
Prius ownership or experience has filtered our community into today’s enlightenment. I have many fine Prius memories that led to what I ride today. Bob Wilson
If the forum would expand to more than just the Prius, it could be more popular. The Prius was just Toyota's starting point got HEVs & PHEVs. It is not spreading across their line. I am very grateful to @Tideland Prius and any other moderators for not being too heavy handed, unlike some other forum boards..
Isaac: My best wishes. Try to stay upbeat. I know it can be difficult. Some of you long-term members may recall a brush I had with destiny awhile ago. Took a bit for me not to plunge down a hole and never return. But the effort to struggle back was worth it. Now, I have a new challenge, maybe someday I will feel like kicking it into the sunlight here, but not quite yet...anyway, I usually find this forum to be a quite wonderful and slighty goofy place to come to when I need to escape. But, I think I need a project vehicle. Anyone have a Datsun 1600? I like that rig. My background is Swedish so no Danish lilt, but I like that roadster. kris
Never had a project car finding me... but you are correct about rescue animals. We have 9 rescued cats (had 13 at one point)... We weren't looking for them. They found us.
