Featured Conversations at a Toyota dealership

DCT? There might be an extended warranty on it; 7yr/100k mile.

 

To be truthful, of the three, my good friends (married couple) who had bought their used Escape three months before the transmission stopped working had also purchased a dealer warranty, and surprisingly the warranty company honored it and they only had to pay $1,000 for it. I doubt that the others had some sort of extended warranty.

The guy I work with whose transmission went out at just past 60k was furious as he said it was just past the warranty and as such he couldn't get the dealer to help at all with the fix. He said that it was going to cost more than what the car was worth, so he traded it in for a brand new Dodge.

 

I wasn't clear. Ford had extended the warranty on some of the Powershift DCTs. The dry clutch ones, but I didn't see anything stating what the Escape had.

 

I'm pretty sure they are the ones with the CVT option.

 

yes, it's called; 'i'm buying a hybrid to save money' syndrome

 

The gen3 Escape was the one that dropped the hybrid. Had a DCT or standard automatic.
Ford Escape - Wikipedia

 

Ya, I'm not sure which transmission they had to be honest. All I know is that there was no mention of an extended warranty that I know of.

 

My first dad was very good at evaluating and buying used cars, but passed away when I was too young to learn it from him. Second dad had many very good attributes, but used car buying skill was not among them. Spouse came with a problem-ridden used car. When we suddenly had two older cars simultaneously out of service or seriously limping, and lack of sufficient public transit commute coverage causing severe household stress, I chose to buy new vehicles, keeping the best old one as a spare. We have maintained 3 on a somewhat rotating plan ever since, and have never had a repeat of that stressful period.

I kept one for 23 years, replacing it while still very serviceable and low cost primarily from a desire to upgrade to modern safety standards, e.g. airbags and ABS and side-impact beams. Kept another for 17 years, replaced when accumulated repair needs greatly exceeded its value. And the one bought specifically for the spouse is now 35 years old, and still her 'daily driver', despite my pleadings to upgrade to the airbag & ABS era. Though finally beginning to ease out of that role the past few months.

Against that history, my Prius ownership was an anomaly: just 3 years for the first, then upgraded to another for 'just' 12 years, then early this year upgraded to a plug-in, despite no mechanical need for replacement.

I was raised in an agricultural setting, where 'income' was very infrequent and erratic, with no 'paycheck' expected for months on end, so savings discipline was an essential life skill. Mother, having once been a widowed housewife with three small kids and no paying job, just a couple life insurance settlements, passed along the skills she learned.

Whereas most household budget articles focus on weekly or monthly budgeting, I consider only two budget periods: annual, and remaining lifetime.

 

Can you post a photo? I have a couple Camry/Avalon hybrid infotainment assemblies in the garage..at least I think they are....

 

That isn't a need for every EV. Depends on the use cycle of the car. If needed, it will result in cheaper fuel than gas for many. Which is a bigger deal those driving the average annual miles.

Other items have a higher cost because of scarcity or source. How many independent shops will service EVs? Items not shared with traditional cars will be harder to find, thus higher cost. That is being seen with tires for the gen5 Prius, same with the 0w8 oil Toyota is calling for in some new models. Some of these item costs for EVs will drop in time.

 

So you are driving only 7k miles per year. My PHEV replaces a hybrid and displaces a non-hybrid that were together averaging slightly over 20k per year, though that is probably dropping 15-20% since dad's passing ended my elder care duties. The non-hybrid is effectively being bumped to replace the spouse's much older daily driver.

So I was burning a lot more fuel than you. Adding in that gas prices here are more than $1/gallon more expensive than your state, your statement "See how fuel costs seem insignificant in comparison to the total" just doesn't apply to my situation, and to very many others here.

Between expensive gasoline in my region, and comparatively cheap electricity, EV "fuel" here pumped in the home garage can be half the cost of the equivalent gasoline, depending on location. Home rooftop solar can potentially make it cheaper still. EV "fuel" purchased on the road is more expensive than at home, I paid almost par the past four days while out supporting a cycling event. And when needing to make a choice, I willingly pay somewhat over par to drive on my region's mostly non-carbon electricity than on carbonaceous dead dinosaurs.

My EV 'garage fuel pump' cost only its parts, and an electric permit-inspection fee split with another home improvement. Labor was entirely DIY. And it wasn't really needed for the PHEV, meant more as future-proofing.

 

I'll try. I am getting the one from eBay tomorrow, so I'll try that first. But thank you!

 

I go by monthly and annual. I don't make the same every month so I have to save up for the months I make less, sometimes none.

I do need to start working on remaining lifetime. I do think I've waited too long for that, but saving something for retirement now at 52 is better than nothing.

 

It is never "too late" as long as you are drawing a paycheck. It just gets harder with lower likely return, each year or month the start is delayed.

Starting now is much better than the oldest member of my usual outdoor group, now early 80s, who was active with us during her 60s, then starting missing most of our hikes and other outings when she reached the 70s. With no retirement and little other savings, she had to start working the University's summer quarter too to make ends meet. Didn't 'retire' until forced by health at 79. Downsized and moved to less costly housing to withdraw some home equity, but now inconveniently distant (and a ferry ride) to join us with any frequency. With much of the group slowing with age (most now 70s, only a few of us still 60s), she is still healthy enough to keep up to the slowed pace, if she can join. Not often.

I learned long ago that her parents had never said anything about retirement savings or planning, and her non-conventional career path never put her in a place where workers were offered retirement planning encouragement or services, let alone 'expected' (and paid) to sit through retirement information sessions every year or so, as my places did. While 401(k) / 403(b) plans were available, they were not prominently promoted.

My primary workplace very loudly pushed its 401(k) and employee stock ownership plans, and outside IRAs too, possibly as part of an 'evil plan' to slash and then freeze its legacy pension plan. This helped shed it of retirement costs and pushed all responsibility onto individual employees, as most private industries have now done. I contributed heavily, with a result that the retirement savings-investment programs under my control hold much more value than the now-meager pension benefits earned (vested mostly from the 1980s and early 1990s) but haven't yet started taking.

If your employer offers any matching funds that you are not collecting, then at least start by contributing enough to collect the full match. That prevents the loss of useful earnings right now, and makes it easier to start adding more at some point in the future.

 

August 2023 (last year) at Palm Beach Toyota dealer:

• "Thank you Mr. Wilson, here is your key fob for the 2017 BMW i3-REx that we cut the price $2,000."
  • "Can we sucker you into an extended warranty?"
  • "Your temporary tags are good for 30 days to drive home to Alabama."
• "Thank you for letting me steal it for $15,000, $2,000 cheaper than the going price and half the price of my first 2014 BMW i3-REx and with 5,000 mi remaining battery warranty."
  • "Is I-95 the fastest way out of Florida to go home?"

A great deal that we each thought the other the fool.

First year, over 10,000 miles in my 'pocket rocket' that were not put on my 2019 Tesla Model 3. For last year, bought 5 gallons of gas which covers periodic engine maintenance runs and out of town, trips to test dual CCS-1/Tesla Superchargers, Magic Dock.

Two out of three Magic Docks sessions worked. At the failure, Tesla had not turned on the latest software. But while trying to charge my BMW, a punk kid stopped his yellow Corvette, rolled down the window and yelled "USA! USA! USA!" at me. That was when I decided to shop for an AR-15 (paid $510 out the door for a new S&W.)

The BMW i3-REx handles EV round trips to the rife range. Officially, I am practicing to hunt wild swine that weigh about 180 lbs, small than deer (I don't care for venison,) fast, and known to attack hunters. Never take a pistol to a gun fight so I brought up mental health with my family physician.

I have known two people who went nuts overnight. So I shared impression of the threat level: the plague of shootings including road rage and into homes; 2008 theft of Obama yard signs and second set draped with poison ivy strands; my purchase of four, Harris/Walz yard signs to coat with poison ivy extract (they are welcome to steal them); a former Marine 1971-75 qualified expert with a government issued M-16, and; my hate of the dam thing. She seemed OK with it.

The last straw was the punk kid 'road rage' yelling at me while I was trying to charge my parked BMW i3-REx.

Bob Wilson