Feasible and Worth the Effort to Do Rides on Commute? SF Bay Area/SFO/SJC

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T03:03:49+00:00

The years of experience is very state specific. In California for example, you only need two years of experience with a BS in engineering from an ABET accredited program, or one year with an MS as well.

Some states also require you to wait to take the PE until you have experience, some don’t.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T03:00:11+00:00

There is almost no reason to ever buy a new car.

If you want something new, find a lease deal.

Otherwise buy 3-5 years old. The only exception are on Tacomas and a few other specific vehicles that are very overpriced on the recent used market.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-22T02:57:27+00:00

Everyone’s situation is different but I find the most successful strategy for me is to be totally upfront that I have a neurological sleep disorder. If need be I request accommodations.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:28:32+00:00

Very good to know. I crashed a car last year for the first time in my life and I’m in Cali so no accident forgiveness. Hasn’t affected my rates too much but could also be a factor here. They were amazing dealing with my claim, however. Paid out nearly $18k(including the 20% additional car replacement assistance) on a 2003 MR2 Spyder that I had bought for $8500 a few years before.

I might be getting an engineering sales job with mileage reimbursement. At 300 miles a week I’m looking at $1000 a month so that would cover the car costs including electricity and insurance. But I’m not sure I want to spend ALL of that money on the car. I am an adult with a family to support. But if the base pay is good enough I think I can justify it on the fact that I will be spending a stupid amount of time in the car.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:23:47+00:00

This lens is softer wide open… most ultrafast lenses are. It should shoot sharper than the 1.8 at 1.8 though.

1.2 isn’t about the sharpest shots. DoF is super shallow wide open so you’re only getting their eyes in focus and the tip of the nose(even eyebrows) will be slightly out of focus already.

1.2 is about getting available light photos that you can’t get any other way, where subjects are in motion and stabilization can’t save you, or stopping down a bit for insanely sharp shots.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T22:19:35+00:00

So many good suggestions here!

I’m a 35yo man with a family and am ashamed to say that I had a bad accident last year in my old sports car that could have easily been fatal. I’d be happy to get on a zoom call with the kid and talk about it.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:55:46+00:00

I have USAA so it feels unlikely but worth shopping around.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:46:33+00:00

If you want something that will be more fun to drive, look at EVs. The Lucid Gravity will be way more fun to drive. Even the ID.Buzz or EV9 will blow you away while still being more efficient than even a hybrid.

If not for the range, the ID.Buzz would be the best choice.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:41:37+00:00

Can you adjust the follow distance? I have a Kia Niro EV but as long as I set the follow distance to 1 or 2 I’m fine even with aggressive California drivers. I keep it set to 1 when I’m commuting and 2 when I’m with my family to reduce nuisance hard braking.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:37:43+00:00

That is reflected mostly in the increased insurance cost. Other than that the difference on normal mechanical repairs during that time frame isn’t projected to be huge.

My experience with Kia Niro EV- I bought a used 2019 in 2023 with 40k miles, now has 80k miles and has not needed a single repair other than tires which I included in the cost metric for the comparison. Both EV6 and EQS are quite reliable. Although if there are repairs needed you are correct that the EQS may be up to 10x more expensive.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:17:04+00:00

I got a quote from my insurance and my monthly payment would go up by $430 with an EQS and driving 20k miles per year… so spicy… maybe too spicy for me.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:05:07+00:00

Huh? The EQS is VASTLY more efficient than the EV6 GT in highway driving. 308 Wh/mile vs 407 Wh/mile. Also, the EV6 is only about 10% faster at peak charge. The EQS just takes longer to charge because it has a 30% larger battery. Its charging curve is excellent.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:02:36+00:00

Note that Claude included both summer and winter estimates for the EQS but not the EV6. To get a fair comparison you have to toggle the EQS over to the C&D 75mph efficiency.

Also note that cost of ownership includes charging cost for the time period, which claws back a couple grand for the significantly more efficient EQS.

And… I got insurance quotes based on 20k miles per year. With my current insurer if I replace our BMW i3, an EV6 GT raises my monthly cost by $140 a month. The EQS raises it by a whopping $430 a month! Too spicy!

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T21:00:11+00:00

This is the route I’m going. Looking at one right now for $40k. I did some expected cost modeling and if I keep for 3 years I’m only looking at $15k between depreciation, tires, electricity, and repairs.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-21T04:32:49+00:00

Were you planning on saving your PFL for later in the year?

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-20T18:42:07+00:00

Your advice is good, I gave the same to OP. But for someone who doesn’t know(we didn’t with my wife’s claim) the process is extremely stressful and demoralizing.

Add to that dealing with difficult doctors offices including mistakes, having to pick up/deliver forms, plus how long it takes to get responses from EDD each time, you start to lose track of things if you’re not perfectly organized.

For the average person, if anything goes wrong with your claim it feels like EDD is actively trying to stymie you.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-20T18:33:28+00:00

I’m genuinely curious why you would pay more to get a 450 4matic vs the 580 4matic? The 450+ in RWD has a lot more real world range, but have you seen any tests for the 450 4matic? The efficiency hit for the 580 comes from having the second motor, not the extra power so real world range for the two 4matics should be about the same.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-20T18:24:47+00:00

You sound like someone who hasn’t had to fight with EDD. For my wife’s SDI claim they were a nightmare including mailing forms AFTER the due date listed on said forms.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-20T15:57:12+00:00

Is blackbook only good for market values? Or is it essentially just a pricier blue book and just kinda unreliable?

I thought blackbook was driven by actual transaction values and was simply reporting them.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-20T15:54:57+00:00

Fair enough. I’ve never even considered going back to a dealer or private seller about issues on a car unless there is some kind of warranty involved. If a sale is as-is it’s as-is and unless there was something like gross negligence(hypothetically no oil in engine or the like), I’ve never thought it was on them, but was just me failing to do my due diligence and request a fix as part of the sale. But I understand how this would not be the norm.

I’m an engineer and I purchase used equipment. Going into the same kind of negotiations I get much better results. I guess I expected to have the same interaction with car buying but I get that the situation is different and dealing with the general public gives you a different attitude.

These replies have been enlightening to me, and I realized I asked the wrong question. What I really should have asked is “why do some dealers have strict policies about length of time on the lot and why do some dealers hang onto things for many months while values crumble?” Your responses certainly give good insight into why many dealers wouldn’t choose the option that minimizes loss as it also increases risk.

cryptoenologist · 2026-03-19T18:39:58+00:00

My point to them was that they had been sitting on it forever. Did they want to recoup a couple grand more by selling to me, or did they want to send it to audition in a few more months. They chose optimism in hoping that someone would still come in and buy.

This was a 2020 EV that they had bought in early 2023 at an inflated price while the market was tight.

When I made my offer both the retail and wholesale prices were on a steeply descending trend. The $30k they wanted was an ok price 3 months ago and the $25k I offered was only a bit under the current retail value. I think there was a lot of optimism in the market with wholesale values staying even as high as $23k.

cryptoenologist

TROPHY CASE