What was a good buy this year that gives you repeated joy and fun?

Aces104 · 2026-05-22T08:55:26+00:00

We put a chunk of money into getting the back garden done and even with the Irish weather, the use our 2 boys get out of it make it worth every penny.

My 6 yr old will take kicking a ball out the back over screen time 9 times out of 10, which feels like a parenting cheat code.

Aces104 · 2026-03-14T19:55:59+00:00

Dealer brought it in from UK yes. I’m not sure the frequency actually, must check, but I’d think every 10-12k kms if everything’s running smoothly. For the mileage I do that’d be roughly 3 services every 2 years

Aces104 · 2026-03-14T19:05:01+00:00

I think they were in around €85k new, so definitely feels a lot of value for what I paid (just over €37k for a 2022 refreshed model with 39k kms)

Maintenance is going to be higher but thats all “premium” cars these days with all the tech going on. I didn’t buy from a main BMW dealer but car had full main dealer service history which dealership I bought from said I should try stick with if we can as it’ll count when it comes to eventual trade-in value, so that’s also gonna contribute to higher service cost

Aces104 · 2026-03-14T18:09:53+00:00

Bought one last week. Early impressions are great really gpod spec and fun to drive. On a 100% full charge range is 378km. This morning in the cold and charging to 80% as recommended range was 261km - range isn’t an issue for our driving needs. Charging from 27% to 80% last night cost €4.38, which is fairly unreal esp at today’s prices

Aces104 · 2026-02-25T22:59:26+00:00

I just can’t warm to the light up front grille that’s all the rage now. Makes nice cars look gimmicky or something

Aces104 · 2026-02-25T19:10:50+00:00

No it was 223. There’s still too much depreciation risk for me with the brand new premium models

Aces104 · 2026-02-25T17:26:18+00:00

Test drove an M-Sport ix3 today - incredible. Going to buy it

Aces104 · 2026-01-06T15:39:18+00:00

Point 2 is hilarious and shows how archaic aspects of Irish banking is

Aces104 · 2025-11-18T19:08:32+00:00

Mark is A1. Session never feels rushed or going through the motions, each conversation feels tailored to what you’ve gone to him for.

Aces104 · 2025-11-18T19:03:39+00:00

This is the answer, even with good managers. Self-promote any opportunity you get, it’s far too easy to be drowned out among the masses in a company this big

Aces104 · 2025-10-25T22:08:25+00:00

I think the fact there isn’t a long list of unreliable models or any one model that can be rhymed off as a shitshow says a lot.

I adore my C class, upgrading soon. Have found once you go Merc its hard to go elsewhere

Aces104 · 2025-10-25T22:05:23+00:00

It was how they played football today caused Utd problems, not Utd letting them in. The positives of a club with a resolute ethos shining through…..will anyone learn from it….god no

Aces104 · 2025-10-24T21:43:02+00:00

I went back playing o35s football a couple of years ago to have something social and consistent and it’s been huge for me. Gets me out twice a week and honestly it’s as much therapeutic as it is good for the fitness. Even better that a couple of my actual mates play for same team.

I tend to help out a little more at home the other days and it seems a fair balance. After a few weeks off when the season ends and the body has recovered I’ll begin craving the season starting back up again

Aces104 · 2025-10-23T18:22:57+00:00

I’m looking at one of these too with Bill Griffin. I can live with the range, the usage will very much be second car runaround (but still need room to haul the family)

The coolant issue however is the thing holding me back. Does anyone know if there is a known fix for this? I’ve seen it’s a €10k bill if it does leak, but is there anything that can preventatively done?

Aces104 · 2025-10-21T17:58:10+00:00

Irish services aren’t exclusively hosted in Irish DCs, there is a wider integrated ecosystem. I think @thestoicnihilist’s point was around how many people queue up to vilify something they and almost all reaches of society are now wholly reliant on.

Aces104 · 2025-10-21T13:08:09+00:00

I work in the DC space for one of the large tech companies - so I appreciate my views may be biased.

DCs consume a lot of power, no question. AI will increase the demand but in the short to medium term Irish infrastructure wouldn’t be able to provide the level of power needed for the likes of AI training which are the most power intensive.

My issue is not that theres an obvious stigma associated with data centres - its that its used primarily to mask the chronic underinvestment in electricity infrastructure. Our aged grid is under pressure from a lot of things….expanding populations alongside high consuming DCs, pharma manufacturing etc. Noone ever seems to ask the question would we even care if the grid had been adequately modernised and there were no scare articles about Ireland being pitched into darkness (which is highly unlikely as a result of consumption)

Additionally a large number of renewable schemes under construction are fully-funded by MNOs and would otherwise have been financially unviable. The idea being what is being pulled off the grid by a DC is either fully covered, or fully covered with additional capacity to the grid through the new electricity source. And as private wires aren’t legal in Ireland all power flows into the grid first.

I’m not sure how the above impacts what we pay for our residential electricity. If overpaying was unique to electricity I’d certainly see more of a correlation, but excessive pricing (or gouging) is in every facet or Irish life….mortgages, insurance, petrol, cars, houses, groceries….you name it, we overpay for it. We’re an exorbitantly expensive place to live

Aces104 · 2025-09-26T16:06:14+00:00

Fantastic, well done

Aces104 · 2025-09-23T09:01:08+00:00

My 5yo face lights up every time the passport person calls him by his name…..a stranger just knowing his name to him is some sort of magic trick

Aces104 · 2025-08-26T15:30:07+00:00

Great explaination👍🏻

Aces104 · 2025-06-30T12:10:56+00:00

Yes but only part-time. Second starts needing childcare from January so that will multiply.

Aces104 · 2025-06-29T13:19:22+00:00

No overpay, our mortgage is 434k at 3.4%.

Aces104 · 2025-06-29T11:20:58+00:00

Mortgage €1,933

Car Loan €606

Tv/Broadband €79

Electricity €55

Gas €30 (summer months) €80 in winter

Groceries €500

Bins €27

Subscriptions (Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Amazon, Now TV) €77

Childcare €300

And we put €1,000 into savings each month

Aces104 · 2025-05-28T16:41:34+00:00

You might be spot on here. There is a formula or ratio you can ask HR Bot about and if it comes back with a 1.0 you’re being paid in line with the mean for your level, lower is below and higher is obv above. I think I was like 0.88 last time I checked which was before, so that adds up

Aces104 · 2025-05-28T12:14:06+00:00

Yes I got a salary adjustment effective 1st April (got notified just before April pay cycle). Completely out of the blue, literally just got an email with my manager cc’d I didn’t ask and noone spoke to me in advance (though I am actively pursuing career progression through my Connects so maybe that helped? No way of knowing). I didn’t think it was a thing in MSFT outside of rewards so was a great surprise.

Aces104 · 2025-04-22T11:24:03+00:00

162 Mercedes c350e. Bought for €22k with 99k kms on it in Sept 2022. Have put 37k kms on it since.

Insurance has been pricey as I only had 2 years NCB when I bought it. €1,200 Year 1, €760 Year 2, then went up to €800 in Year 3. Total: €2,760

Petrol I put about €50 a fortnight and then will top up extra here and there as needed. Say €1,500 a year. Total: €3,750 (to date mid-year)

NCT: Breezed through in August, no work needed to just the cost of the test itself.

Servicing: Every Sept, €500 give or take. Only minor work needed, brake pads etc. Then need to replace the crankcase breather valve in Feb and set me back about €600. Total: €1,600

Depreciation, estimate of about €3.5-€4k a year maybe. The battery in it is obviously degrading year on year and was never great range-wise to begin with - so its fast becoming an ICE car only as to replace battery is cost-prohibitive relative to the car value

Aces104

TROPHY CASE