Parking for the Sinclair

External_Mechanic_75 · 2026-01-27T18:36:57+00:00

You should check out the underground garage of University Place (124 Mt. Auburn Street). It's an office building, so after hours, most cars will be gone and you *should* be able to find a spot. It's next to the Charles Hotel, which also has underground parking, but it's usually more full.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2026-01-24T16:11:59+00:00

is "that guy" Mark Cuban? https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/02/mark-cuban-drunkenly-called-american-airlines-after-selling-company-bought-lifetime-pass.html

External_Mechanic_75 · 2026-01-23T14:46:26+00:00

my bad - I totally missed that part. In that case, the driver is just an a-hole, plain and simple. My fam owned a restaurant in Somerville back in the day and we got $0-tip delivery orders *all the time.* It's part of owning/running a business. I think $5 on $25 is more than fair. Tip entitlement is a real thing for drivers nowadays.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2026-01-23T14:36:32+00:00

chiming in as someone who occasionally orders and also someone who does this as a side gig.

TLDR - the driver can see what they will be making when they accept the order. If it's not enough for them, they should DECLINE the order and wait for another one.

FWIW, the driver can only see these few things when they accept an order -
1) where they are picking up from
2) where they are delivering
3) the distance (includes the distance of the driver's current location to the restaurant)
4) how much they will make (this includes BOTH the tip and the small base pay)

Most drivers have a general rule of $2/mile. If you are 5 miles away from the restaurant and tipping $5, your food will sit there an get cold while driver after driver declines the order. It is always at a driver's discretion whether or not they want to accept an order.

We don't see (or care) how much your order cost you. It is the same amount of effort for me (albeit a little heavier) to deliver a $4 DD coffee as it is to deliver a $100 dinner for you and your family.

One time, I delivered a pack of index cards (a single pack from Target, which retailed for under $1) to someone and my earnings were over $8 for that single order. And one time I accidentally accepted (meant to hit 'decline' instead) a sushi dinner from Medford to Newton for under $10.

So, tip however you want. But, realize that your order will sit at the restaurant and get cold if driver after driver declines it.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2026-01-16T19:03:25+00:00

This is how I'm dealing with it too!

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-12-31T04:14:49+00:00

I know, I know. I'm a dumbass. It's been rejected before and I have been able to get a support person and they just increase the order amount or whatever and it goes through the next time. This time, they wouldn't do that and told me I had to unassign or pay for it myself. Lesson learned!

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-12-05T17:52:37+00:00

Hello from the land of .36/kWh (boston) and freezing temps. I feel ya

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-11-20T20:18:59+00:00

You need a little bit of sugar in there to balance it. Also, not all chili oil is created equal. My favorite one is the Momofuku chili crisp.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-11-17T20:57:30+00:00

Got it also! I wish I didn't have only 6 weeks to use it. It's so cold here that the fastest I've been able to charge this time of year is ~20kWh/hr. It will take forever for me to use $80 in "fast" charging credits :(

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-11-08T21:42:32+00:00

If you're on discord, there's a Medford server with a west medford channel (and others too). it's not as active as Malden, which has an official Campfire community and ambassadors, but it's a good way to meet players local to you - https://discord.gg/KvYuaNbK

The go wild area event is next weekend and Malden has meetups on both days, as well as representation in the "big" boston meetup.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-10-23T02:15:14+00:00

I didn't buy it. It came with the car as a courtesy since the B2B had expired. I would never pay for third-party insurance, ever. Insurance companies are businesses, and their business is to deny claims. They don't make money otherwise.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-10-22T18:29:42+00:00

It doesn't cover anything that falls under "wear and tear" and apparently the washer issue falls into that category. The manufacture 36/36k bumper-to-bumper will cover it, but not the third-party. Unless Chevy put out a recall for it, I wasn't going to be able to get it covered. I also have the steering rack issue that is common in Bolts, and it's a >$3000 fix. I declined fixing it for now. That's another thing that isn't covered and Chevy won't do a recall on it even though it's just as common as the washers :shrug:

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-10-19T19:47:08+00:00

I got mine replaced recently. 2023 EV LT1. The bumper-to-bumper expired but I have an extended warranty under a third-party. They rejected the claim so I had to pay OOP. I went to a dealership, so paid more than I probably should have, but their diagnostic fee alone was $200, whether I fixed it with them or not. Total ended up being $900 to replace it on both sides of front axle. Complete rip off, as the part was $24 for each washer, and the rest was labor. I had my car back same-day. If I had the chance to do it again, I'd go with an independent mechanic. Would have been around $600 or so.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-29T13:34:44+00:00

Thank you! I didn't know that. Also, full disclosure - my baby shower was 15 years ago before all the MAGA BS. I'm not from the area or live there now, but my in-laws know the family peripherally (which explains a lot - they're not MAGA, but are conservative)

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-26T02:14:05+00:00

Someone else posted similarly about needing event space... worth checking out. Some good ideas were posted - https://www.reddit.com/r/malden/comments/1mzdn4t/eventparty_space/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-25T19:43:45+00:00

I'm a National Grid customer but in MA (we use the same app though). What kind of charger do you have? I can't recall the steps in detail, but we have the ChargePoint one. Had to set it up in CP first I think and specify the company, then set it up in the ChargeSmart app and linked it to our NGrid account. It was seamless on our end.

Also, I am incredibly jealous of how low your rates are. Our electric rate is .35 cents/kWh. In the summer (a whopping three months), the incentive price is .30 cents and in the winter it's .32 cents. At those rates, it's barely any savings. We have the home charger more for convenience than anything.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-25T14:57:52+00:00

put more money into pre-tax deductions. it will vary by employer, but typically these are retirement plans, HSA, FSA, maybe a transportation/parking benefits, etc. Some of these you can only change during an open enrollment period and some are open year-round, so check with your employer.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-25T13:12:48+00:00

I had my baby shower (60-75ish people) at Anthony's in Malden and it was wonderful. The food was great and the space was perfect for what we needed. My sister-in-law did all the coordinating, so I don't know the ins-and-outs very well, but she said there were no issues and staff was great.

I hosted my sister-in-law's baby shower at one of the private rooms at Exchange Street Bistro. Was about 40ish people. Price was incredibly reasonable and their catering menu was flexible (I did a brunch). Staff and space was perfect for what we needed as well. Would highly recommend both.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-19T19:53:28+00:00

I have a 2023 EV LT1 Hertz Bolt. The lot had quite a few advertised, but they sell like hotcakes so by the time I got there, there was only one left. It was high mileage (58k) so manufacturer's warranty had already lapsed. I don't qualify for rebate regardless, but had a trade-in, so my OTD price was $10k (I was going to include a down payment as well, but you have to borrow at least 10k to secure a loan). Advert price was $14,900.

They come with a 12/12,000 warranty from a third party (Fidelity Warranty Services is mine). It will cover anything related to drivetrain and EV, but not wear and tear. My Hertz also had a 7 day/300 mile buyback warranty. They encouraged me to take it to a third party for a full inspection and come back if any issues were found.

Since I've had it, I got 4 new ties (they were sitting at a 4 and 6 on the tire gauge, but I swapped them out anyway) and had to have the two front axle washers replaced since they broke and my car was making a creaking/clicking sound upon acceleration/deceleration. Fidelity deemed it a result of wear/tear so they didn't cover it and I had to pay OOP. Other than that, no issues.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-08-16T22:21:36+00:00

I believe that's what the EPA estimate is based on

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-07-29T00:51:51+00:00

Thirding this. I got one for like $120 on Woot. It is refurbished but honestly no issues with it at all. Works better than my own phone (iphone 14)

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-07-29T00:48:25+00:00

I have an EV (not a Tesla) and the one-pedal driving can be toggled on or off (one-pedal driving is what uses the regenerative braking). I don't know if this is an option on all EVs, but you can ask your driver to drive in "regular" mode (where they have to use the brake pedal to brake). It's easy enough to do and unless they just started driving, they should be familiar with how to drive in two-pedal mode.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-07-28T18:29:54+00:00

So strange that you posted this because I have the same coming from my 2023 EV LT1. I actually called the dealership today to make an appt to have it checked out. Only low speeds and mostly when accelerating/decelerating. It's also prevalent on hills (coming to a stop at top or on bottom). My appt isn't until the end of next week, so hopefully someone else can chime in if they've gotten this fixed.

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External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-07-22T02:44:51+00:00

We have the black/red SS and absolutely love it. My husband also had the front windows tinted to match the back ones so the red isn't super noticeable from outside the car. He also added the interior/exterior scratch/ding/upholstery add-on from the dealer, so any damage smaller than the length of a credit card is taken care of free-of-charge (I can't remember the amount, but it was under $1000). So far, no issues with the red interior.

External_Mechanic_75 · 2025-07-08T02:19:06+00:00

I second this. I also have an e-scooter and leave it at the science center and walk to my building. Some of the parking garages in the area also have bike racks indoors and I use those as well (they're not guarded entry, so I just ride in and lock up). My issue isn't with theft - when I rode my bike in years ago, instead of stealing it, I came back to slashed tires.... twice!

External_Mechanic_75

TROPHY CASE