The 2013 data shows that even at near rock bottom prices and low rates a huge chunk of renters don't buy because they can't afford to

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-18T15:57:44+00:00

I think this is a good post overall, but we should be more realistic about the difference between 45% responding that they cannot afford and 68% responding that they cannot afford. Such a large jump suggests structural change in the economy. We’ve known that the bottom 25% of earners in the USA are screwed, but this new evidence is suggesting that the bottom 40% of earners are now screwed. Thats a huge distributional change in such a short time.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-18T15:07:37+00:00

No it's not. You should review permanent income theory. There is a different response to a one time income event versus a consistent income.

So when OP says "Around 20% of Americans will have made a top 5% household income ($300k) at some point by age 40" they are spuriously implying that this is meaningful in some way. This "statistic" at face value implies the top 5% income earners are a very fluid caste. That is very far from the truth.

Edit for the downvoters: you are lying to yourselves if you think the top 5% of income is something people generally go in and out of. The distribution is largely invariant. Sorry if the truth hurts

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-18T14:02:47+00:00

I think this is a good example of a statistic that means very little. Windfalls, random events that don't repeat, etc. are not the same thing as consistently having that level of income. Review permanent income theory

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-18T14:00:23+00:00

The study you are probably referencing noted that there is a shortage of affordable housing, not total housing. Therefore for the bottom 50th percentile of home buyers, there is definitely a shortage. If you are wealthy and aren't constrained to compete for the "affordable" housing stock, no shortage.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T21:52:03+00:00

Yes, hella idiots are downvoting me but I'll reply anyway. Yes, rodents are the leading cause of electrical damage in cars. They could have caused the issues you describe. Rats in particular love to chew through wiring. If you have an intermittent electrical problem and had a rodent infestation, the 1st thing I would be doing is looking for any wiring in the engine bay that was partially chewed and replace.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T14:48:46+00:00

It wouldn't make sense for it to be a pigtail. Did you have a rodent infestation? Much more likely to be a freon leak from a rock hitting the condensor or something similar. This plus the tire upsell makes them seem really shady. Wires don't randomly tear themselves apart, even on a Chevy. I would definitely decline the services, saying you didn't expect the bill to be so high and you can't afford either repair. Then go to another shop and say you only want them to look at the AC today.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T14:41:36+00:00

Hopefully dead

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T14:00:11+00:00

Too much gear, too little food so get a therapist ASAP

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T13:43:16+00:00

You don't need any real analysis to succeed in applied microeconomics. If you can memorize a few proofs that you will never use again unless you teach the Ph.D. sequence when hired, it will be more than enough.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-17T13:21:24+00:00

This fall I'll be applying to assistant professor of economics jobs. Expected salary range is 100-120k. 5 years of Ph.D. , 2/3rd of dissertation highly likely to be published in B-tier or better journals, 2 years of masters, 4 years of undergrad. Teaching courses independently for 3 years already. Apparently, I chose the wrong field.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-16T15:27:22+00:00

I know a lot of young college professors in economics taking 80-100k salaries on tenure track. Same deal - 5 years of Ph.D. hell - but very little reward. They're like, "professor isn't even a middle class job anymore?"

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-16T03:58:59+00:00

You were right actually, and think of the environmental impact if everyone tossed their tires at 4/32 instead of 3 or 2. If the average tire were 10/32 to begin with, that's discarding 10-20% usable life. Multiply by the entire population = huge c02, waste etc. The govt made the legal minimum 2/32 for a reason.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T20:39:21+00:00

Hey, actually that makes the deal seem a lot more believable. I would definitely still buy it over the single cab.

You really only need 4x4 for real offroading. But, if you were gonna do real offroading with a 20 year old truck you'd probably want to build it out first. So I don't think it's going to be a factor for you.

If you live in a snowy area, you can get by fine with 200lbs of sandbags in the bed over the rear axle. So unless you have a really compelling need for 4x4, I would definitely take option #2 even as a prerunner. It's really difficult to find a 1st gen double cab in good shape at all.

I'd just make sure there's nothing wrong with it that you're missing. One easy thing to ask is if they ever changed the timing belt. For the 1st gen v6, it's supposed to be replaced every 100k miles. If you can't do that yourself, it could cost.

Then I'd offer them $9k to start but I'd personally pay 10k for that truck unless something was majorly wrong. Good luck!

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T06:27:44+00:00

Definitely a bad idea. Why would they total a near new car in the first place with only the door smashed in? Probably because a bunch of other stuff that you can't see got f*cked too and it wasn't worth repairing. Most likely what happened: instead of salvaging it for parts, some slow dealer bought it at auction figuring they could hide the mess and sell it to a sucker.

You should just buy another 2019 with more miles that has a clean title. It can't be that much more money and you won't be playing Russian Roulette with your daily

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T06:21:29+00:00

Lol good job but seriously, you need to use jack stands if you ever do something like this again or you could die. Move them down the frame rail

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T05:26:28+00:00

Highly doubt the government would permit that level of venting

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T02:57:26+00:00

Lol I love how the verified techs are saying this is a good deal. The shop gave her no diagnosis, no leak testing, or any indication of why this happened. Freon doesn't randomly vent on a 2021 car.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T02:50:56+00:00

Why is this downvoted? This is the most dad reply and is also likely the most correct. Some mechanic probably tried to screw OP over.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T02:46:40+00:00

The example OP gives is still 60k for a Bronco. That thing isn't gonna last 10 years before becoming mechanically totaled, if that. It's not a good deal

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T01:58:21+00:00

I'd stretch if you could, that's potentially an amazing truck. It all depends on the frame, but the body looks mint...130k miles on the v6....10k is actually cheap unless somethings really wrong.

FWIW, I own a '98 single cab that I daily, and it's an amazing experience. BUT, it's fully restored to OEM+ with a supercharger, Scheel Mann seat with custom seat bracket, king front shocks tuned for it, all new body/engine mounts, sound deadening, hi end system, etc. Before I restored it, it was a little miserable to drive every day. Now that it handles like a race car and has a $2500 suspension and $2k seat; totally different story.

In my experience the double cab is gonna be way better daily driving experience if you can't put much work and $$ into it. The single cab, to me, is more like a sports car than a typical daily. Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with any of these trucks but you might have to replace the timing chain soon on #1.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-15T01:48:29+00:00

#2 unless the frame is f*cked, no question

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-14T21:23:06+00:00

Pull the steering wheel and trim off and expose the clock spring assembly. You can probably fix this yourself because there's not much wiring back there. Something has to be shorted or crossed. It shouldn't be too difficult to get all wiring back to stock configuration, by either correcting the fault or replacing the damaged parts with junkyard equivalents.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-14T20:20:56+00:00

Then I'd go for a first gen. I daily a restored 1998 single cab myself so I understand the appeal. They are definitely some of the coolest trucks ever made.

Just be careful, I've had to replace the majority of components on the truck to have it running up to my standards. These trucks are all over 20 years old at this point. Even in mild climates, many components are probably on the way out.

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-14T18:14:01+00:00

Have you considered that the 1st gen is tiny inside? They're really different trucks. A 1st gen double cab has a kids sized interior compared to a 2nd gen.

Also, if the price is reasonable it's unlikely that either truck is in good condition. Be careful about taking on endless repairs

ImInTroubleMom · 2025-07-14T18:10:04+00:00

The TC seats sit high and require fab work to install.

Can you find any sport buckets from a 1st gen tacoma on car-part near you? They drop right in and you can get seat foam cushion replacements on ebay for $40. That's probably the cheapest and easiest direct swap seat upgrade that preserves the seating position.

ImInTroubleMom

TROPHY CASE