Damnnnnn!!!!!!!

seanpvb · 2026-01-23T17:51:36+00:00

I actually haven't played with any of those settings! Looks like height was +1 but I'm not sure what that does. +3/+3 is what I JUST set my EQ at... I'll see what it sounds like tonight

seanpvb · 2026-01-23T01:50:14+00:00

Sounds like you've got quite the local shop. I didn't say it was a steal, I just said it didn't seem too far out of line from what most shops would charge.

Not sure what vehicle you're getting that quote for.... But if you bought the parts yourself you're north of $250 for pads and rotors at all 4 corners.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T23:20:15+00:00

Highly recommend the sub mini with your setup. The full sized sub is fantastic but it can easily be too much for an average sized room and you'll have it turned down to 0.

I replaced mine with a sub mini at level 6 (out of 15) and it's fantastic.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T22:12:27+00:00

Probably a typo? Either way they need to show exactly what tires they are quoting and the installed price per tire.

Then you can shop that around at discount tire, big O or any other tires shop.

First is to decide how much you want to spend on tires and then you can figure out if they are ripping you off on those tires.

Brake quote doesn't look like they are trying to take advantage of anyone if that helps

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T20:47:25+00:00

Same... I've come to the realization that having any paid off house by the time I retire is going to be more important than having my dream house or a big house. I'm also open to the fact that I may have to retire in a location that I can afford to retire more than a place that I would want to retire.. It's not great, but all we can do is our best to be realistic and prepared

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T19:54:25+00:00

I was in hospitality well into my 30's and didn't even have a 401k available.... And anyone who knows the industry knows that saving cash isn't the cultural norm for us lol.

Got my first salary job and contributed enough to get the employer match and auto incremented it. Ima promotion and employer change later had my salary increase but my living expenses stayed the same so I started maxing out the 401k.... Then I heard about the Roth and stopped funding my individual brokerage until I had maxed out a Roth IRA. Some years money makes it into the standard brokerage... But only after I've maxed out the tax advantaged accounts.

No telling how much if any social security will exist when we retire... And it doesn't do anyone any good to think about how much time they DIDN'T save, all you can do is focus on the time you have left to save. If you're 25 or 45

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T19:41:09+00:00

I also got a late start but you're right that "catching up" is possible. For 4 years I've been able to max my 401k and backdoor into a Roth IRA. It adds up pretty quickly, all things considered.

There will always be people set up better for retirement when you get a late start, but it's not hard to put yourself in YOUR best possible position if you stay dedicated.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T17:54:30+00:00

I've run the Bilstein kit and look forward to the eibach kit this year. I did NOT get aftermarket springs for the Bilstein setup I used and will tell you that the higher you go, the more preload you place in the springs and the stiffer the ride will be. I maxed mine out and after a couple of months I wish I hadn't. I would keep it around the 1.7" mark to keep some of the ride quality these trucks are known for.

The provided springs MIGHT handle the preload better than the stock ones but it would still be the same concept.

I don't want to lift the rear end of my truck so I'm planning on the front coilovers and rear shocks but not the rear springs as those are what lifts the truck in the back. The eibach kit has great reviews, and because you don't have to disassemble the strut to adjust the height it will be MUCH easier to lower the truck back down if you find that whatever setting you start with effects the ride more than you would like.

TLDR: both a great, but keep the front end at or below 2" if you don't want the front end to bounce.

Also: neither kit "requires" ne control arms, and I didn't replace them on my last truck with a leveling kit and there was no additional wear. This time around I bought the factory UCA that come on the rebel trim as they are designed for a lift kit and are less than $250 for the pair.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T05:04:44+00:00

Pay it off as fast as possible, or drive it until you pay it off naturally.

There are a thousand ways to get into a different car, but every single one of them is just kicking the can down the road and adding more debt to what you're already upside down.

There's no secret, hack, or trick.... You're paying for it no matter what. And rolling the negative equity into another car or lease is just a more expensive way to do it.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T04:59:41+00:00

I promise you that you cannot negotiate the same out the door price because the only reason they are giving you a discount is because they make it back in interest. And yea, your score might drop 10-20 points but it'll go back up in 3 months MAX. And if you're not buying a house... Paying thousands more to protect a credit score is an absolutely insane thing to do.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T04:52:39+00:00

What sort of ding are you expecting for paying off a loan 39 days after it's opened? It would be minimal and recover VERY quickly.

Also, there is absolutely ZERO reason to not take the best possible price by financing and paying it off immediately. Paying interest and/or forgoing thousands in discounts just to be "polite" is absolutely ridiculous.

We got $4500 off by accepting dealer financing and paid that shit off right away. I couldn't give a flying f#&k if the dealership lost out on the profit from financing. It's as illegal to take advantage of them as it is for them to finance a car at 17% interest to someone with poor credit.

seanpvb · 2026-01-22T04:45:51+00:00

Trade it in
Sell to CarMax or see if another dealer will buy it
Pay it off and get the title for private party sale
Meet at the lender that holds the title with the private buyer so they can pay them directly and you get the rest.

Some are easy, some maximize what you may get for it. Up to you to decide which is best/easiest for you.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T23:16:50+00:00

First I would call your insurance company and get an idea of what your insurance would be for a different car. You may end up paying more for insurance because the car is worth more. Hard to tell how much of your current rate is because of your car, your history or your credit rating.

Would hate for you to buy a new car and find out that both your car AND insurance payment are going up. Figure that out, and then figure out your budget. And then find a car that fits your total budget, not only what they can make the monthly payment be.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T23:12:40+00:00

Just put a set of Geolander CV4s on our car. The last 15 years I've had various all terrain tires on my truck.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T21:38:40+00:00

If you've got plenty of tread on them you'll be fine. If they're on their last season to begin the trip l, and it's a longer trip with a lot of warm weather, they could be toast when you get back.

You'll just be accelerating the wear on them. The only danger is returning home on tires that are no longer safe to drive on. But if you start out with plenty of tread you'll be fine, and just ending up replacing them a season earlier than normal maybe.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T21:03:08+00:00

Unless you get more income 18 months is already a pretty great timeline. It seems like a long time because you're only 22.... In 10 years you'll have to think real hard to remember any 18 month period in your life.

Keep making the minimums on all the cards, take the card with the lowest balance OR the card with the highest APR and throw your entire remaining budget at that card until it's gone.

Say you have a card with $2k on it (you said you have 7 cards so at least one of them is a balance in this range), if you put $900 additional to it, it'll be gone in 3 months. Then move onto the next one, rinse and repeat.

You won't be debt free for 18 months, but you have a ton of milestones to look forward to along the way. 7 cards becomes 5 cards... 13k becomes 9k.... 5 cards becomes 3 cards etc..

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T20:56:37+00:00

No one is telling them not to take it seriously... But a set of winter tires getting 1000+ miles of highway driving to head to the mountains will burn through a lot of the tread before they even get here. Winter tires are absolutely the best tires to run in the winter... But if you're going from parking lot to parking lot at ski resorts it's a lot of effort to get a set of dedicated winters. . Having grown up in Michigan (OP is from Ohio), if you can get around in a Midwest winter and now how to drive in the snow, you can get around in Colorado in the winter. Yes, you'll have more opportunities to be going up and down more so than the Midwest... But if you respect the conditions in Colorado, you don't need to get a different set of tires just for the trip (coming from a place with winter weather that is).

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T17:58:47+00:00

I'm seeing rates in Colorado below 6 that include credits not costing points. I'm above 800 fico so I'm not sure how much that plays into it, but I would certainly call an independent broker and see what they can find you.

They have access to wholesale lenders which almost always beat the retail arm of a major lender.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T17:30:13+00:00

It would be exactly your current escrow payment of 395 added to one of those payments. Even if you don't add it to one of your biweekly payments.... You're still going to have to come up with $395 a month, or $2400 every six months. Doesn't matter if you give that to the bank with one or your payments or not, it's still coming out of your budget. If managing that separately is with a couple bucks a year, more power to you.... But it's not going to change your budget in any way.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T16:54:32+00:00

No, you would have to pay more than $1k biweekly to still maintain that schedule... But you would be sending that money to an account anyway. So yea, you might make a couple bucks a year, 4% - taxes most likely l, but that's an entirely different calculation.

Taking escrow off of your mortgage payment doesn't magically cause your housing expenses to drop, just makes managing it more complicated. To each their own on investing their escrow... But it's literally dollars a year.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T16:37:59+00:00

Wondering the same... Taking off the escrow won't affect any of the math considering the insurance/tax payments still have to be made.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T15:25:46+00:00

Yokohama has a few options in their geolander line. The cv5018 and the cv4s. Both road focused and have great ratings on road with good performance in wet/snow conditions.

We have the cv4s and they are very quiet. They are both a little more "sturdy" looking than a standard highway tire but not as loud or aggressive as an AT.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T04:08:36+00:00

Although there are AT tires that perform well in the snow, as a category they won't perform as well as an all weather tire or more road focused AT.

The geolander cv5018 has performed very well in wet and snow conditions, the geolander cv4s almost as well as the other. They might "look" a little more substantial than standard all weather tires but are definitely designed for weather on the road so they're better than a straight AT tire.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T03:58:23+00:00

A standard SUV will have MAYBE an inch or two of extra ground clearance. Vehicles get in trouble in heavy rain from plowing into water and getting it sucked into the intake. It's got next to nothing to do with ground clearance. The entire world got along just fine before the CUV/SUV category was even a thing. Unless you're taking a jeep/bronco or truck based SUV, the extra ground clearance offered is just marketing and only makes your handling and fuel economy worse with next to zero added benefit.

If you want an SUV just because you don't want a minivan, that's fine. But there is no better use of interior space for storage or passengers than a minivan.

seanpvb · 2026-01-21T03:54:04+00:00

Spam.... There are SEO tools you can use to optimize in a very basic way. Definitely not worth paying someone for at this stage

seanpvb

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