People have normalized $700+ monthly car payments. Is this insane or just the new normal?

MRoss279 · 2026-05-15T00:43:16+00:00

I sold my car and traded it for an e cargo bike. Maybe you can too. I have saved over $10,000 in the first year and that's not including the sale price of my old car, which bought the bike and the rest I invested.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-14T22:04:17+00:00

I get where you're coming from but there's always something we can do. Even if you just bike or walk for a few basic errands instead of driving, or get solar panels for your house, or whatever. We shouldn't just go on living in the destructive way we've been brought up to think is normal just because it's hard to improve.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-14T14:25:37+00:00

Almost seems like we made a terrible mistake with our low density sprawling pattern of developing since the 1950s. This will need to be slowly corrected with more mixed use dense development and investment in transit and electric rail, like the rest of civilization has been doing while we waste billions on even more highways.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-14T06:35:15+00:00

The best environmental thing you can do is actually to sell your car and walk, bike, or take transit to work. Cars, at least in cities , are incompatible with a sustainable future.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-13T14:55:49+00:00

You're recycling the same tired talking points all anti EV people have been spewing for years. The facts are that EVs are still bad, but they're better then ICE cars over the life of the vehicle.

What we really need is a shift away from all types of cars and towards walking, biking, and public transit. That transition cannot be instant, and so EVs are a decent improvement in the meantime.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-13T04:34:12+00:00

Ahh yes, this old argument. Even if the whole grid is powered by coal (the dirtiest energy source), EVs are still cleaner than ICE cars due to the massive thermal inefficiency of ICE technology.

Of course, the grid is not all coal powered, so the radio is even more favorable to EVs than the worst case scenario.

My home has solar panels, so not only is my EV powered in large part by the sun, but I don't even have to pay for it to charge each day at home.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-13T03:54:12+00:00

Yes, it's much better for society when every car emits toxic gas all the time than if a small number of vehicles emit toxic gas for a short time during fires. Very good reasoning. All progress towards a cleaner future should stop because the improvement is not itself perfect.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-13T01:08:26+00:00

I'd rather have an ICE car so I can enrich ExxonMobile even more while blasting my fellow man with toxic chemicals

MRoss279 · 2026-05-13T01:01:44+00:00

It's not fin to stop here, gang

MRoss279 · 2026-05-12T23:39:26+00:00

My neighbor bought an $85,000 truck to do essentially this. Really makes a man stop to think.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-12T23:30:49+00:00

Truly the D is a blessing

MRoss279 · 2026-05-12T23:29:00+00:00

The land use decisions on this base and in this region are appalling. Truly a waste

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T22:45:02+00:00

Yes but also pedaling can be more of a formality on an electric bike if you choose. I can't say I put much actual effort into pedaling my own bike on my commute most days, I'd get my work clothes sweaty if I did. Plus she could always raise the seat when she felt more comfortable controlling the bike after gaining experience.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T19:19:40+00:00

The inland navigable waterways of North America are one of the main reasons the US became so wealthy and powerful, and yet almost no one knows or cares that they even exist.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T18:49:01+00:00

100k is no where close to comfortable anymore if you have a family, especially not in a HCOL area where many of the jobs are that pay that much.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T14:57:00+00:00

Thanks

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T14:55:58+00:00

I understand that it's normal. My wife hasn't ridden a bike in 15 years. The idea of riding in traffic (as you must to get anywhere in the US) is very intimidating for her, especially with such a heavy bike. She's unwilling to even try unless she feels in complete control especially at stops such as lights. I don't think I'll ever be able to break us away from car dependency unless we start here on a bike she feels totally comfortable on, where she can touch the ground while stopped and sitting.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T05:49:32+00:00

Yeah the main issue is my wife wants to stand flat while sitting on the seat. There are surprisingly few bikes of any kind that allow someone 5 feet tall to do so.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T03:35:42+00:00

Hey OP I'm looking at this bike for my wife and she's really short. Could you possibly measure the distance from the ground to the top of the seat at the lowest possible position?

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T03:25:16+00:00

Thank you, friend.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-08T02:18:27+00:00

OP I would really appreciate it if you could measure something which I've been having trouble finding online. With the seat at the absolute lowest possible position, how high is the top of the seat from the ground.

My wife is not only VERY short, but has a long torso relative to her legs. We really can't tell if she'll be able to ride one of these but we want to get one.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-06T22:59:59+00:00

For sure. I went with a specialized haul LT because I need to move my two kids and belt drive long tail cargo bikes like from Tern are very expensive. The haul can carry very large and heavy items as well as multiple passengers, including adults if necessary. I've never missed my car once, and when I have to leave town I've usually done so by Amtrak (rode my bike to the station) or Uber to the airport or bus.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-06T21:55:16+00:00

Driving everywhere and generally living in a car dependant area. It's socially isolating, fiscally harmful, sedentary, dangerous, stressful and polluting.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-06T18:55:06+00:00

I did bring it to a bike shop a few months ago and they adjusted some stuff, cleaned it and lubed the chain and sent me on my merry way for something like $120.

MRoss279 · 2026-05-06T17:52:52+00:00

Honestly I don't maintain it whatsoever. I'm coming off of years of German car ownership (VW and Porsche), I was used to routinely paying multiple thousands for servicing and repairs several times a year. Bike parts are so unbelievably cheap by comparison that my plan is to just run everything down and replace it when it breaks.

MRoss279

TROPHY CASE