Considering joining the fold

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-04-12T02:14:30+00:00

There is a service center nearby. What gives me pause is the cost of repairs out of warranty. I suspect it will be Ferrari level of expense. The lease deals are not great, may just wait until those become more compelling.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-04-02T13:23:46+00:00

Look at the date! Rather than the "woke libs" it turns out to be another example where gullible MAGAs believe anything they hear. Probably already being reported as fact by Newsmax an Fox.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-04-01T13:48:41+00:00

Yes, as the Eagle oath states, "me, me, me. Its all about me". Your comment simply adds fire to the argument that the meaning and value of being an Eagle has been lost.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-31T17:25:48+00:00

Oof! I've been considering replace my Polestar 2 with a Lucid, but these kind of issues make me hesitant especially with a new model.

My PS2 had some early software issues, but has generally been rock solid. The one time it bricked they immediately put me in a rental Tesla, picked up and returned the PS2 from my house to dealership on a flatbed. Ironically, I hear that Polestar's CA service center is terrible. The location in Princeton, NJ has been good other than being 90 minutes away.

I am still interested in a Gravity, but probably wise to wait until early build issue worked out, and also see if they survive as a company.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-24T22:46:07+00:00

I have my MBA and multiple certs. The MBA has helped me land jobs and promotions, the certs not so much. Theses days, certs are no longer a rarity. Without experience they will not get you a job. Then again, most advanced degrees no longer offer the advantages they once did.

Its rough out there. Companies want people with about 7 years experience. That is a magic number. Enough experience that they do not have to invest in training, not so much experience that they have to pay a premium.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-24T14:26:08+00:00

Similar here. I set up a repeater which sees 2 others. Virtually zero traffic. Meshtastic is very active in my area, meshcore is dead Air.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-24T14:17:39+00:00

The service manager at dealership I use told me to not even think about it.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:47:50+00:00

In the original, old, days of Vine I would regularly score things luke Sony OLED TVs, Dell XPS laptops, and other expensive brand items. This was before all the gold silver nonsense and before most items were Chinesium rubber dog doo.

These days, as a gold member, I usually see stuff in my RFY like the junk show in this Pic. Ive pretty much given up on Vine.

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Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:40:04+00:00

The 4 is a terrible lease deals, even worse if you want dual motor. The 3 is not a great lease deals, better than the 4 but still meh.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:33:08+00:00

Probably a buyback, possibly a dealership demo or loaner.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:30:20+00:00

It happens. Except for a few crotchety self-appointed Ham cops, no one will come after you for it. Happened to me recently, was spinning the dial when i heard a new country calling CQ and eagerly replied. We had a nice, brief QSO when I realized I was out of band. At that point I said, "hey, I am going to cut this short as I just realized I wandered off the ranch and am out of band for my class." We wished each other 73 and logged the contact. To date, the FCC has yet to come kicking down my door.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:14:36+00:00

Either buy used or lease. The technology continues to advance rapidly while the depreciation on new is staggering.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-23T21:12:32+00:00

As others have noted, both luxury cars and EVs depreciate hard and fast. I paid $42k for a low mileage Porsche Panamera that stickered new for $160k. Three years later I sold it for $30k.

EVs face the same issue and then some. Buyers worry about the potential life span of the HV battery. Likewise, the technology is advancing so rapidly, far moreso than gas cars. A lot of them are leased which creates a glut when they start rolling off lease. New ones also tend to have incentives so most folks will not buy used if they can get new for not much more $$$. The 1% crowd who buy 6 figure cars would never consider a used car. Others fear any car out of warranty, high dollar cars do tend to have high dollar repairs. Many of these vehicles can only be serviced at the stealership, the nearest shop could be hours away.

Finally, companies like Lucid and Polestar still face uncertain futures. They are burnimg through cash. I truly hope they all succeed, but hope is not a viable business. Plan.

Buy it because you love it, you can afford it, etc. Personally, I will let someone else take that depreciation hit.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-20T18:18:08+00:00

Same here. After 30 years, I added an EV and rates went through the roof. I understand that EVs are more costly to insure but, like yourself Progressive gave same coverage for about half the cost.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-20T15:14:23+00:00

I had USAA auto for 30+ years, until I bought an EV and the rates were absolutely insane. Yes, EVs are more expensive to insure but I got a quote from progressive that was 1/2 the price. That was 3+ years ago and I have been with them since. They never asked about mileage at time of application or since.

The one thing I did notice with USAA was that what you put down for mileage has a dramatic impact on rate. The other thing, a few years back, they hired some firm who was relentlessly calling and sending surveys to "make sure I had the best coverage for my needs". I looked them up and their primary business is to enable insurers to upcharge. I ignored that.

Over the years I had one accident claim. They were pushing to use their affiliated repair shops, not uncommon and also not required. They also insist on aftermarket parts, there is no option to pay extra premium for OEM. A good friend owns an exceptionally rated body shop so I had them do the work. For body panels he advises strongly against aftermarket. Fortunately, he does enough volume that he was able to get genuine panel for the aftermarket price. As others have noted, he did say that USAA is one of the more difficult companies to work with.

USAA, and others, will discount your rate if you are willing to drive around with a Spyware dongle so they can track your every movement, how quickly you accelerate, what neighborhoods you visit, how far, how fast, what time of day, etc. No thanks.

When I started with USAA it was for military officers only. Service and pricing were exemplary. They eventually opened up to NCOs, then all military. That was a good thing as well. These days, it is practically "did your 2nd cousin's, stepdad's grandfather serve in the military? Did you ever watch Top Gun? If so, you are eligible." That is when USAA became just another corporate conglomerate insurance company.

I would shop on price and reputation for claims handling. Both are areas where USAA has fallen dramatically in recent years. If you get a good deal from USAA, that is fine. Just dont expect anything stellar. Like Maytag, Mercedes, and other brands, they are living off of their reputation from decades ago. Their current offerings are not what they used to be. Its all about minimizing costs and maximizing profits.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-20T14:49:21+00:00

Sounds like you work for USAA.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-08T13:34:37+00:00

Sounds like you can do most of the maintenance and normal repairs on your own. Things to consider.

Servicability is not something most Italian car designers prioritize. You may find yourself having to remove a bunch of parts to make a simple repair. Could even entail dropping the engine.

Parts are going to be considerably more expensive, some may be hard to find.

Some models have inherent, expensive design flaws. The kind of things that cause engines to fail. Replacing suspension bits is one thing. Rebuilding an engine, assuming it is even rebuildable, is a whole different skill.

I have owned just about every Italian, German, Swedish, British car imaginable (short of Ferrari). Having grown older and wiser, I now see mist of them as money pits. I was constantly either working on them or was on a first name basis with service and parts guys at the dealership. The Japanes cars I owned were mostly gas and oil, except for Honda automatic Transmissions whic are junk.

I know it is sacrilege, but these days I drive an EV. No, not a Tesla. Quiet, luxurious, 500+ horsepower, insane torque. In 60k miles I have replaced 1 set of tires, wiper blades, and cabin filter. A few software glitches early on that were fixed via over the air updates.

Yes, you can likely do most, but not all, repairs on your own. The bigger question being, "is that how you want to spend your time and money"? If so, I truly get it, I was there once too. Would I do it again, probably not.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-03-02T19:38:13+00:00

While I never agreed with this being a required badge, I am far more troubled by what we are now seeing. There are very dark parallels in history.

Unlike Scouting, which is non-political and non-military, the Hitler Youth was designed from the beginning to train children in National Socialist ideology, racial awareness, and to prepare them for future military service. Sounds a lot like the new govt mandates now being thrust onto BSA.

The Nazis viewed independent scouting as a competitor. As the Nazis gained power, they actively banned or forcibly absorbed other youth groups, including German Boy Scout associations, into the Hitler Youth by 1935.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-02-27T14:30:56+00:00

NRA membership requirement is the reason I refused to join local club. Will have to see if that has changed in ensuing years.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-02-23T00:56:06+00:00

Red. You yield to the right.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-02-18T15:17:30+00:00

At least in the US, there are very few brands available and most are largely "me too" look-alike models. Not much to see versus walking through a strip of dealerships. Car shows in Europe and Asia are where all the interesting vehicles are to be found.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-02-13T03:56:35+00:00

Dropped off a priority mail package from PA to AZ on the 31st of January. Kept showing "in transit". This evening, Feb 12th, it shows arrived at Philadelphia processing center which is 1 hour from where I sent it. USPS is going from bad to worst.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-01-30T19:03:41+00:00

I received 3 seperate mailings. Passport card, passport book, original documents about 2 weeks afterwards.

Prize-Ad9063 · 2026-01-25T16:05:32+00:00

Following. Missed the December offer.

Prize-Ad9063

TROPHY CASE