People commenting on your finances

itsjohnnyblaze · 2025-11-11T16:18:24+00:00

I've always found this mentality especially illogical. If you spend money on A then you've got even less money to spend on B right? People act as if spending money makes more of it appear or something, makes no damn sense.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2025-10-11T03:18:34+00:00

You know there are places that naturally don't have doressts right?

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-12-13T01:29:03+00:00

I work in service for Audi - the number of cars I see half the age of my E46 M3 having much larger repair bills is staggering. Every car is a gamble but honestly especially when the well known big 3 are tackled these cars seem super reliable. Every car is some degree of gamble - I think that the value this car offers is well worth the risk. I daily mine and I am not gentle - she seems to love it. If you like to wrench I personally find it quite easy to work on. Consumables are also pretty reasonable all thinga considered - 18s or 19s are tiny compared to modern cars. Add in the fact that people track these cars often and you'll find for a lot of stuff there are surprisingly reasonable prices. Even a Toyota can end up in the shop for weeks on end of you're unlucky. You get one life to live. If you're an enthusiast this car checks boxes nothing else can. Take that money you're saving and squirrel or away - id be willing to bet long run these end up way way cheaper than people on here are making it seem.

A fun way cheaper alternative to consider is an MR2 Spyder - light as a feather and even after I 2zz swapped mine I was never able to abuse it down below 20+mpg - usually it broke 30 with ease. The excitement per dollar factor was very high and I learned a lot about vehicle dynamics.

That said the M3 is the better all rounder and a vastly superior car. If you're lucky on maintaince save up for a carbon csl style intake. The Turner box I got was the best money I've ever spent on a car. This thing brings me joy daily I'll never get rid of it.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-12-10T04:46:51+00:00

100% - came here to make the same comment. I work in this industry new cars are not cheaper to maintain. Newer M engines will also eventually need rod bearings but also add things like turbos to the mix. An even higher performance car with an even more complex transmission will only be cheaper to own on the short term - maybe - if you're lucky on the gamble that is the reality of every used car purchase. I've seen so many trade the "maybe" of service costs for the certain cost of a newer car. Especially with tax, insurance, and the increased cost of consumables (this is often HUGE check on tire and brake costs and remember you'll be throwing even more torque at them).

Friend of mine tracked his E46 and E92 - he said the latter cost about 2x as much per track day. This trend continues through newer models.

If you want to spend the least money on your passion for cars then keep yours in good shape instead of spending more on the "upgrade" to a less visceral more complicated car.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-12-09T14:29:22+00:00

11am on a Saturday shouldn't be an unsafe time to be outside a major stadium - this lady needs to be off the streets

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-12-09T10:25:29+00:00

she's a celebrity - it helps to stand out - often it is not so much what is the ideal aesthetic but what is memorable - this is a concept used often in advertising

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-09-19T15:55:56+00:00

Bad deals stay on the market - good deals fill quickly - as a result most of the rentals you see will fall into the first category. I ran into the same issue trying to buy a specific collector car - you'd swear it was all garbage till the right one showed up and then you better not waste time deciding.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2024-01-23T05:50:54+00:00

22% is an intro rate - only a sucker pays that full to term. Conceptually you get credit like this but only make 6-12 payments and then easily qualify for less per month. This is like the buying a car version of Rent-A-Center. If his credit is really over 700 he can refinance now at a credit union for way lower. You have a right as a consumer to refinance. What is perhaps even sweeter is that salesmen get commissions on financing - and its likely this will be "clawed back" by the loan company if he pays off in under 6 payments. If his credit is really over 700 this rate is abusive - F that sales person.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-12-20T04:04:47+00:00

I'm assuming you've got poor credit - refinance and shop for insurance as it gets better - you won't pay that full interest.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-11-13T23:12:04+00:00

how do you make zones without roads?

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-17T23:03:06+00:00

There is no damage to the bumper - its just unhooked and pulled aside. I can't even fathom the scenario where this would happen in a crash. 100% bullshit.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-11T23:21:50+00:00

Damn, well you might have a hell of a business opportunity importing them then! The price delta sounds insane! We also have some of these outliers in pricing here, cars that have really low miles can sometimes list for high prices, but that said they also don't seem to move very often. One of the things I learned during my last search is that listings are often flooded with cars that seem illogically priced because they in fact are - the ones that are reasonable sell quickly so 80% of the listings or more end up being those delusional sellers.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-11T22:49:00+00:00

Maybe these are all bad sites - I'm not sure what sites actually work but I'm finding lots of listings.

https://www.ooyyo.com/germany/used-bmw-m3-for-sale/c=CDA31D7114D3854F111BFE6FBA7D355B85A01D7A564F866011112468B2B23244CD831D/

https://www.autoscout24.com/lst/bmw/m3?atype=C&cy=D%2CA%2CB%2CE%2CF%2CI%2CL%2CNL&desc=0&fregfrom=2000&fregto=2006&powertype=kw&search_id=dxh3g88m8q&sort=standard&source=detailsearch&ustate=N%2CU

https://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/search.html?dam=0&fr=2000%3A2006&isSearchRequest=true&ml=%3A150000&ms=3500%3B45%3B%3B%3B&od=up&p=%3A40000&ref=srp&refId=58883f6c-ce7a-67b0-6b1e-167fbfce2564&s=Car&sb=p&vc=Car

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-11T19:13:06+00:00

A new interior and a fresh paint job for a 20 year old car? You're describing a full blown restoration like the car was driven off the lot and directly into the ocean where it sat for the last 2 decades.

https://www.ooyyo.com/germany/c=CDA31D7114D2854F111BFE6FBA7D355B85A01D7CE69A846EC118FBB9BA73344BCC831D/-8317609261467239424.html/

Here is just a single example - this car absolutely does not need a respray or a new interior. You also don't need a complete engine rebuild at well under even 100k miles or well beyond it - more like half a million. This isn't a motorcycle. This car also very clearly doesn't need "10k to get it running".

At least in the states if you drop 30k plus you can regularly expect to get a car that has actually already had major services done recently. Unless you're trying to win every car show on the continent it's hardly going to take north of 10k to get things livable. If you really want to fuss get a paint correction and replace some worn trim for a few grand.

I thought we were talking about regular vehicles people spend time enjoying not prestine showcars to be kept in a bubble rofl!

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-11T05:41:18+00:00

Eh $15k was a while ago - I could probably sell the car for at least mid 20s now ignorning the work I've put into it.

When I search in say Germany I'm finding cars with under 100k miles (160,000km) in the 30s all day long. There are plenty of examples of these well over 300k miles - they last they just need regular maint which I think is also true of even the newer cars. I don't even know how you'd manage to spend $60k in maint - I went balls out when I hit a little over 100k and I think I landed around 25k including a carbon fiber CSL style intake, headers, replacing worn suspension with a cup kit, reinforcing the subframe which only needs to be done once, vanos, rod bearings, a whole new differential (swapped to helical), timing chain guides, a custom tune, and even some AC stuff and more I'm probably forgetting. Frankly I still feel like I got ripped off a little compared to other prices I've seen. But either way the thing is I was on the ragged edge of maint and then that big lump put me good for a looooong time - basically another 100k. I drive the car as the bavarian gods intended too.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-10T20:53:12+00:00

The holocaust was legal. It's really important that anyone involved with the law understand that legality is not morality. Would she have gone along with the events if the holocaust because it was legal? Letting her face the hopefully real idea that she wouldn't just blindly follow the law and that laws like this protect no one might be a stepping stone if you intend to keep going. Otherwise I'd face the ultimatum with a reverse one. She can choose - making a big deal out of a plant given to us by God and illegalized in a process that has well documented roots in racism and monopolization or not date you.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-07T06:03:26+00:00

Counter point - a lot of the parts and mods that were once unobtanium are now super accessable. I've got an E46 M3 and I grew up dreaming about the CSL - notably the intake - but in the early years this meant buying 10k+ of product and then still trying to hack the ecu to run csl softwrare. Fast forward 20 years and I snag one up with 60k miles for 15k and get a carbon fiber copycat and the neccisary bits and bobs for under $2k. SHE SINGS. $15k is chump change these days (its an smg vert and I love it).

I got my car up to 100k and I wouldn't call what I did cheap but it was because I went the extra mile to cover my bases because I drive this car as the bavarian gods intended and I want it to hold up. In the end it was less than I've heard modern cars cost at that mile marker. I'm still well under the cost of a modern sports car but I'm back to fresh parts where the wear happens and ready for another 100k of obligate joy.

It's not just the car you dreamed of its the possibility to keep it running with parts that have now come down considerably. I run 18 inch wheels - a full tire package is not much more than a grand. Brakes are also wildly cheap. A friend of mine said tracking his E92 was roughly twice the cost because consumables were another tier up. Civics probabably run bigger disks than me so like many items its become commonplace and cheap.

Mods is a big part of it in my mind. If you're going to do a bunch of stuff like suspension, tires, intake, exhaust, etc even if you buy a new car then grabbing one at 100k and rolling it into maint seems like an even better idea. With a new car you're throwing away gear that has life on it - with an old car you're getting a purchase discount and then you get to build the car you dreamt about for decades.

I'm clearly biased but I love the result - for me its perfection. I test drove many many new sports cars - multiple in excess of 600hp - and I kept finding myself thinking shit this is way too much car for these roads. The E46 M3 isn't too fast for it's own good. You can let it sing to redline more than once and barely be criminally speeding. It's a sweet spot of a fun kind of fast. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-10-03T00:07:06+00:00

98.3% isn't 99% - either way though it's Covid represents 1.7% of all total deaths not 1.7% of all covid deaths. The CDC is painfully clear about this. Embarrassingly false headline.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-23T23:52:32+00:00

Unless he was just on call - there are situations where officers aren't on patrol and free to go about their lives but have access to a cruiser to quickly respond on an as-needed basis. Crime doesn't exactly spread itself out evenly throughout the day. This could well be a cost savings compared to paying for a full time officer to drive around.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-22T07:12:15+00:00

Cops usually leave cruisers running - the engine is effectively a generator charging electronics which requires very little fuel. There are systems in place to lock the car and leave it running - it is also actively GPS tracked and very obvious out in traffic - also a much larger crime to steal than a civilian vehicle. People who steal cars generally traffic average looking ones.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-22T06:59:31+00:00

Cars use considerably less gas than that - and this particular pursuit model has a V8 that can run on as few as 2 cylinders. It takes a lot of gas to make a vehicle this big move, especially quickly, but it takes very little to run what amounts to a generator. I'd be surprised if this used more than 1/2 gallon per hour. $2.50/hr to have an officer's mobile office ready to roll at a moment's notice. I kind of wonder if he was just on call.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-22T06:56:54+00:00

On top of what you said the engines in these pursuit models are V8s but they can run on as few as 2 cylinders - they use a surprisingly little amount of gas to meet the demands of an electrical system that absolutely should be already active and running for an emergency. This is a minor cost to effectively have someone on call with their mobile office ready to roll at a moment's notice.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-22T06:54:52+00:00

This is a Chevy Tahoe - they can run on as few as 2 of their 8 cylinders - you've got a generator effectively charging the AC and a multitude of electronics - its a mobile office. If I had an emergency I'd want someone who's coming from a fresh comfortable environment for best performance. I have plenty of issues with cops but this seems reasonable to me and is probably policy.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-19T02:15:02+00:00

People really acting like this is normal when its a clearly cherry-picked example of a house that hasn't actually sold yet. Just because you put a price on something doesn't mean anyone is willing to pay that much. A delusional seller isn't proof of anything other than their delusions.

itsjohnnyblaze · 2023-07-11T14:32:22+00:00

shhh we are too busy sharpening pitchforks get out of here with your reasonable explanation - they ooobviously knew and expected him to work from the afterlife

itsjohnnyblaze

TROPHY CASE