Since we're having this conversation, the lonely sports car driving roads in California are unbeaten in quantity and quality anywhere else in the world. So it at least has that going for it.
Since we're having this conversation, the lonely sports car driving roads in California are unbeaten in quantity and quality anywhere else in the world. So it at least has that going for it.
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Not another dime.
Yeah. Several years ago a buddy was airlifted out after going off one of those - a rather sedate pace by the time he left the roadway but still pretty bad. He healed up and rebuilt the motorcycle. Two years later a lady tuned left in front of him entering a McDonald's and he put it down, unfortunately breaking his femur. Apparently his wife gave him an ultimatum and he no longer rides even though we bought the bike at auction and rebuilt it for him while he was laid up.
When we go I usually take my KLR650. It's a PITA riding out and back (peer pressure keeps me from trailering) but I like to ride forest service roads/trails as well as the paved twisties so it's a good compromise. Problem is out and back as well as around for a few days there and you've pretty well used up a set of knobbies.
Do you ever go to Little Sahara?
When I was a wee lad of a co-op student and junior engineer in the 1960s and 1970s, my agency (TVA) bought stripper fleet cars and had its own garages to maintain them. How stripped? Well, they did have heaters but not radios, certainly not AC or automatic transmissions.
There was one field man who noticed that his car had the then common radio antenna imbedded in the windshield even though there was no radio. He looked under the dash and found radio wiring and even a speaker imbedded in the dashboard. So he bought a $10 radio at a junkyard and hooked it up with little trouble to have entertainment on long drives across his area in the plains states.
They would assign a car for highway use for 60,000 miles and then either sell it surplus (most of the taxicabs in the area were ex-TVA cars) or designate it for onsite use. My favorite was a 1964 Ford Fairlane station wagon. For some reason it had come in with a V8 to go with its three on the tree and it would get me around that 1250 acre reservation in a hurry.
Somebody in fleet management had a novel idea about maintenance. When they got in a new car, the garage would cut into an oil line and mount a huge oil filter on the fender well. They would periodically change the big filter and the manufacturer's filter and replace the oil dragged out with the filters and burned/leaked but would not change the oil. As one old timer said, they would get to where they changed their own oil.
By the time I retired, they had long since gone to leased vehicles and contract maintenance and the garage was just a distribution point.
Code Name: JET STREAM
This is another fun aspect... trying to find the features you want and ONLY the features you want.
For example, I’m interested in the new Durango. Specifically only with the Tow-n-go package and the technology package. I DONT want the second row captains chairs, associated center console, or sunroof.
When I “build-n-price” I come up with an msrp of $54k. When I look for inventory within 250 miles the least expensive option is almost $10k more than that, and includes things I not just don’t care about but don’t actually want.
I’ve never “ordered” a car before, and the Durango seems a stupid car to do that with, but I may be reduced to that...
Does the above offend? If you have paid to be here, you can click here to put it in context.
I've never done it either. I work with a couple of guys who only order new rigs to their specs, they say it's the only way to go.
I did use the services of an auto broker once and it was the most pleasant car buying experience I've ever had. Told her what I wanted and what I was prepared to pay. She found the vehicle in 2 days and had it delivered to my house with 3 miles on it. I test drove it and came inside to do 5 minutes of paperwork to finish the deal. When I asked her what I owed her she said the dealer paid her to find a buyer for the vehicle. The price I paid was $2500 cheaper than any dealer in the area would give me on a face to face transaction.
Sounds like using an agent and cutting out all of the games when you walk into a dealer might be a good idea. I don't necessarily think negotiating with a salesperson at a dealership is difficult, but a new vehicle shouldn't be that hard to buy. I've purchased about 7 new vehicles with FTF negotiations. I think a lot of people are finding that you can cut to the chase without all of the let-me-see-if-they-will-accept-that-offer BS. Every vehicle on the dealers lot has a minimum sales price. You just get that up front with an online offer. Lots of dealers these days are using people with internet skills to sell vehicles and most people know what they want and a price they're willing to pay. But some people don't and those folks get the 7 course dinner at the dealer whether they want it or not. Then they walk away thinking they had a good experience because the sales person was so personable. I won't let my wife buy a new vehicle without some guidance because she's very impressionable with smooth talking young guys. What a nice young man.
I have a single male friend (50ish) who bought a house in AZ. that he owned for 6 years and never lived in or rented because some good looker put the touch on him and bent over a few times. His GF told me about the entire transaction. WTF, he lives and works in WA. But that's another story.
Beam me up Scotty.
Last edited by Borderland; 12-27-2020 at 09:11 PM.
In the P-F basket of deplorables.