Cars We Drive!

[sugarbutch]

I may have slightly overestimated. Actual total might "only" be 42 bays.

At the time it was the largest VW service center in the country (probably still is?). 3 story parking garage across the street basically dedicated to housing vehicles being serviced.

And yeah...they were pretty much always full. I think each non-lube tech had their own lift (not sure if that's standard) so they wouldn't be in use on days off, but none of those lifts just sat idle for any period of time.

I had my own lift at both the independent and dealership, but if anyone was out on a given day, their lift would be used throughout the day by others.

 

[patrick_b]

Manual and RWD only.

BMW 3.0 CSL Coachbuilt Car Officially Confirmed In First Teaser

The rumors were true! BMW is providing a first official glimpse of the modern-day 3.0 CSL ahead of its reveal later this year.

www.bmwblog.com

 

[HRoi]

This was an entirely foreseen outcome once news of the Monza and Elva came out

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/some-80-ferrari-monzas-damaged-by-unexpected-rain-at-super-exclusive-event-192632.html

 

[HRoi]

dp

 

[sugarbutch]

This was an entirely foreseen outcome once news of the Monza and Elva came out

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/some-80-ferrari-monzas-damaged-by-unexpected-rain-at-super-exclusive-event-192632.html

A fool and his money are soon parted…

 

[double00]

ford trucks take two

 

[Omega Male]

Vigilante climate activist group deflates Bay Area SUV tires overnight

This is the first known instance of members from Tyre Extinguishers, a vigilante climate activist group, deflating tires in California.

www.sfgate.com

 

[brokencycle]

Vigilante climate activist group deflates Bay Area SUV tires overnight

This is the first known instance of members from Tyre Extinguishers, a vigilante climate activist group, deflating tires in California.

www.sfgate.com

Deflating their tires will help gas mileage. Plus the extra driving to fill up the tires. Big success.

 

[Jmm722]

Since I barely drive and know that electric is inevitable I’m ordering a V8 as my last hurrah before the inevitable. Not all V8s have bad fuel economy, my dad has a tuned Hellcat with 800+ whp and gets 25+ mpg on the highway when cruising because the cylinder shut off.

 

[UnFacconable]

Is there a “boats we captain” thread? Spending a lot of time in Tahoe and really enjoying the outdoor recreational opportunities afforded.

Have spent a few mornings on boats the last week and Mrs Unf and I are starting to get the itch for a water sports boat. We expect to just do the occasional rental for now and probably next year but seriously considering re-orienting our life at some point to spend much more time up here and having a boat.

There are a few things I can’t wrap my head around. First - how do people afford these crazy expensive boats? Second - why does it seem like the boat crowd is many multiples weirder about boats than car people are about cars? Third - how do I do the math to see how it pencils out in the medium term. I’ve pretty much decided that having a boat that we can’t keep on the water all summer and use at least 20x is a waste. Whether that means I have to first be able to afford a lake house or just a slip is still TBD. Unfortunately I’ve picked a very expensive place to do this stuff and it’s not exactly lake Powell or lake Austin in terms of ideal conditions but the heart wants what the heart wants.

Also I’ve determined that North Lake Tahoe is the best outdoor recreational spot in the world. Great skiing, mountain biking, hiking, alpine lakes (with beaches!) and the list goes on. Weather is great for the relevant sports pretty in each season. Only negative is fire risk. Fight me.

We took the kids mountain biking this morning and horseback riding this afternoon after spending most of the day on the lake yesterday wake surfing. The number one reason I’m motivated to continue my career right now is to accelerate the retirement timeline that affords me to be up here full time.

 

[Omega Male]

I have only folk wisdom to offer:

"The two happiest days of a boat owner's life are the day they buy their boat and the day they sell their boat."

"Boat -- a hole in the water that you pour money into."

"If it floats, flies or ***** -- rent, don't own."

 

[ValidusLA]

I have only folk wisdom to offer:

"The two happiest days of a boat owner's life are the day they buy their boat and the day they sell their boat."

"Boat -- a hole in the water that you pour money into."

"If it floats, flies or ***** -- rent, don't own."

110%. My dad bought a sweet boat when I was like 10. He loved it for a year or so. He was.....very happy to get rid of it after hanging on past when we really used it much.

I think the exception to this rule is sailboats. My grandfather loved his sailboat. Only sold it b/c the Parkinsons made it impossible for him to sail.

 

[UnFacconable]

I don’t think you guys are thinking about this the right way. A dad would say you missed … the boat.

Framing matters here. I think it makes sense to think about it in the context of sports cars. People buy cars they can’t use the performance of on the street and never take to the track. People who buy watersport boats are able to actually use them as intended, to the extent they use them at all of course. I am not proposing to buy a boat and not use it as intended.

The other reason I mention sports cars is because there is no other way to engage in the sorts of water sports I’m talking about without a boat. I can’t wakeboard or surf without one and those are activities I very much want to do. You won’t do track days in a Toyota Sienna. Usage is a relevant factor here.

The idea of owning a boat to **** around in and pretend I’m Jimmy Buffett (which is what my friend’s dad does … In Massachusetts) is thoroughly uninteresting. As is the idea that I am going to spend my weekends doing boat maintenance. But that’s not how water sports people do things. At least not how I want to do things.

If I had access to friends with boats, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Both trips we took this week were with a similarly inclined family with (a lot more) disposable cash who very much encouraged us to buy a boat so they could use it lol. Maybe we will make a new friend with a boat and I can put this to bed but until then this is an itch I will want to scratch.

Omega hit the nail on the head with the consideration of whether to own or rent. I wish there were a netjets for sports boats because that might change the analysis. For now we are paying a pretty hefty rate to do half day rentals to get our fix.

I’ve known and talked to a bunch of people who have boats for this purpose and the only regrets I hear are from those who aren’t able to get enough time in the water, which is one of the things I mentioned I’m trying to work on

So, I think the question is less about the exorbitant expense and more about how to action all this stuff. Where do I store the boat in the winter? How do I get my boat on the water? Where do I do it? How do I think about new vs used and what features should I prioritize?

There are lots of threads here devoted to expensive toys. I like cars, watches and other stuff I probably shouldn’t buy. I may buy an exotic car in the future but let’s be honest - it won’t be half as much fun as a great water sports boat. Don't even get me started on high end art or watches. Wine is probably a better comparison. I like wine, but I ******* love action sports and outdoor recreation. If I’m going to blow money on something stupid and wasteful, I can’t think of a more fun way to do it then this sort of boat.

I’ve previously come to the same conclusion about some other hobbies and been able to action against them. I got nice mountain bikes and rode a bunch last year. This year we got a ski lease, put the kids on ski team and skiied 40+ days. It was an amazing time for the family and is something we will be doing again next year and hopefully thereafter. We will continue to do ski leases until we buy something up here. Same for summer leases.

Some materialistic people would say “you spent all this money and have nothing to show for it.” Those people don’t get me. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the nicest watch, car or clothing in the world. Well, maybe in the Montgomery Burns sense when he said “I would trade it all for just a little bit more”.

 

[Jmm722]

I have only folk wisdom to offer:

"The two happiest days of a boat owner's life are the day they buy their boat and the day they sell their boat."

"Boat -- a hole in the water that you pour money into."

"If it floats, flies or ***** -- rent, don't own."

We’ve had boats my whole childhood. Most were flawless, but they were companies like Cobalt or Formula. The first few we had were **** and we’d literally tie a 500’ rope to a tree before we took it into the pond our camper was on so when it died we could pull ourselves back in.

My dad has a pontoon boat that I haven’t seen, but it’s supercharged and goes 70mph for no reason.

 

[Jr Mouse]

I don’t think you guys are thinking about this the right way. A dad would say you missed … the boat.

Framing matters here. I think it makes sense to think about it in the context of sports cars. People buy cars they can’t use the performance of on the street and never take to the track. People who buy watersport boats are able to actually use them as intended, to the extent they use them at all of course. I am not proposing to buy a boat and not use it as intended.

The other reason I mention sports cars is because there is no other way to engage in the sorts of water sports I’m talking about without a boat. I can’t wakeboard or surf without one and those are activities I very much want to do. You won’t do track days in a Toyota Sienna. Usage is a relevant factor here.

The idea of owning a boat to **** around in and pretend I’m Jimmy Buffett (which is what my friend’s dad does … In Massachusetts) is thoroughly uninteresting. As is the idea that I am going to spend my weekends doing boat maintenance. But that’s not how water sports people do things. At least not how I want to do things.

If I had access to friends with boats, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Both trips we took this week were with a similarly inclined family with (a lot more) disposable cash who very much encouraged us to buy a boat so they could use it lol. Maybe we will make a new friend with a boat and I can put this to bed but until then this is an itch I will want to scratch.

Omega hit the nail on the head with the consideration of whether to own or rent. I wish there were a netjets for sports boats because that might change the analysis. For now we are paying a pretty hefty rate to do half day rentals to get our fix.

I’ve known and talked to a bunch of people who have boats for this purpose and the only regrets I hear are from those who aren’t able to get enough time in the water, which is one of the things I mentioned I’m trying to work on

So, I think the question is less about the exorbitant expense and more about how to action all this stuff. Where do I store the boat in the winter? How do I get my boat on the water? Where do I do it? How do I think about new vs used and what features should I prioritize?

There are lots of threads here devoted to expensive toys. I like cars, watches and other stuff I probably shouldn’t buy. I may buy an exotic car in the future but let’s be honest - it won’t be half as much fun as a great water sports boat. Don't even get me started on high end art or watches. Wine is probably a better comparison. I like wine, but I ******* love action sports and outdoor recreation. If I’m going to blow money on something stupid and wasteful, I can’t think of a more fun way to do it then this sort of boat.

I’ve previously come to the same conclusion about some other hobbies and been able to action against them. I got nice mountain bikes and rode a bunch last year. This year we got a ski lease, put the kids on ski team and skiied 40+ days. It was an amazing time for the family and is something we will be doing again next year and hopefully thereafter. We will continue to do ski leases until we buy something up here. Same for summer leases.

Some materialistic people would say “you spent all this money and have nothing to show for it.” Those people don’t get me. I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the nicest watch, car or clothing in the world. Well, maybe in the Montgomery Burns sense when he said “I would trade it all for just a little bit more”.

tl;dr but UnFacconable walls of text are usually good.