Modern Vespa

My wife messaged me a few minutes ago. We took our dog, Isabelle, into the vet last week for a checkup. Years ago (like more than a dozen) the vet told us she had a heart murmur and would eventually have to be on medication. He listened with he stethoscope and we were scheduled an ultrasound for this morning because he was concerned. She's had many.

After the ultrasound he said no worries, no meds. Wife message was : Yes, she is amazing. I love my little dog. (yes, she needs a trim)

We moved house. Life is good!

I just had a realization today. I've told the story about how the Porsche exploding paid for itself and my FIAT. Extending that further, I have saved enough in gas driving the FIAT on electric to also cover the cost of the Volvo I drove for the previous 13 years. So, since 2008, for my personal daily driver (excluding the other car we purchased last year) I am effectively at net zero dollars for purchase cost of cars since 2008.

That makes me happy.

My recommendation is to buy a Porsche from new and drive it until you die

The last time I bought a new vehicle was in 2011. I don't imagine we'll ever buy new again. I'll let someone else take that massive first-second year depreciation hit.

Do you know why the vehicle takes such a hit once it gets driven off the forecourt ?

I'm not that spendy. Not that I wouldn't love to, mind you.
I was thrilled to find some 3/4 sleeve t-shirts this weekend for $1.99 each. I bought four. But that's my speed.

Perception... finance deals... people who feel a need for something new every couple of years. I really don't care. I'll save the money and drive something a couple years old. Our slightly used cars have been perfectly fine. I think I bought the last one for about $25K less than sticker (it's not a Porsche).

The assumption is that there's something wrong with it if the owner wants to sell it so soon.

I don't know how it works in the UK, but here a very substantial percentage of vehicles are delivered on short term (1-2 year) leases. On top of that, a lot of higher end brands are bought (or usually leased) by people who change vehicles like they change socks. There's a never-ending supply of 1-2-3 year old vehicles with absolutely nothing wrong with them.

Some people won't buy used cars -- great, don't. We've been through four vehicles since the last ones we bought new (those were 2010 and 2011 models) and have had no issues with any of them.

That 14 year old V12 twin turbo Mercedes, though... that was fun, if you're into S&M.

I'm with the Dog, I buy new and drive them forever. Years ago, I use to lease but realized you never gain any equity.

I am definitely not a high end buyer. All my vehicles have been Hondas and they last forever (if well maintained). My bride has a Honda CRV, I drive the Honda HRV, and my daughter gets the pass downs - she has a Honda FIT.

Honda has some sweet finance deals. The CRV (currently paid for) had 0% interest for five years. The HRV was 1.9% interest.

By the way, I do not play down those folks that want a new vehicle every other year. Whatever trips your trigger.

Bob Copeland

Absolutely. Someone wants to lease and drive new every couple of years, go for it. I'll pick up that 2 year old vehicle, manufacturer certified with a good warranty, and drive it for the next 10 years or so. The economics of leasing don't work for me, but whatever floats your Yukon Denali or Genesis G80 or whatever you're driving this month.

Assuming there's "something wrong" with a 2 year old used vehicle, though, seems a bit short sighted.

Ditto here. I'm fine with buying new, but I keep them for a minimum of 10 years, and generally much longer. My Nissan Frontier pickup is now 17 years old. My wife's Honda CR-V is 12 years old. My Fiat 500e is 9 and still going strong.

(And yes, I probably have one more car than I need, but these were chosen when I was still working).

This is cheering me up today as well. Always love to hear about a dog thriving.

That's how I do it with cars and bikes. You can always find a low mileage well maintained vehicle for a fraction of the new cost. In the garage right now:

1) 2020 Hyundai Kona Electric, purchased 18 months old with 11,000km on it, $30,000 Canadian dollars. It's got 120,000km on it now.
2) 2013 Suzuki VStrom 650, purchased 8 years old with 5,008km on it, and a host of extra equipment added, $5,000. It will pass 60,000km this week.
3) 2019 Kawasaki Versys X-300, purchased 3 years old with 1,900km, $4,900. It's approaching 10,000km.
4) 2007 Vespa LX 150, purchased this winter with 12,000km, $2,000. Haven't ridden it much yet, but what I've done I really enjoyed.

I'm not really sure how good a deal the Vespa was, I just wanted it. But on all the rest, I'm certain I got better value for my money than the people who bought them new. I don't understand people who buy or lease expensive things then trade them in barely used, but I'm really glad they're out there, and I always make a point of congratulating them on their latest acquisition, in case I want to buy it from them a couple of years from now.

Saw Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway at the MIM. Hot Bluegrass is cheering me up tonight.

Upsized, downsized or just fancied a different place?

Without going into the detail, Neighbour issues was a big driver. We've wanted to move for a while but there were things preventing us selling our house.

We've both upsized and moved to a new area, further north than we were and about half an hour from Cadwell Park. And we now have parking out the front and a garage and garden. The dog still isnt quite sure about the garden but is getting used to it

Garage is big enough for the scooters and bikes and also room for a workbench etc. I have lots of organising to do.

Weve still got moving the bikes and stuff from our old rented garage and our van that we're converting to a camper but that should just be a weekend of trips backwards and forwards.

But yeah, a fresh start after a few years of stagnating. We cant wait!

I'm back at work after taking 3.5 days off (plus the holiday & weekend) to visit family in Wisconsin for my late uncle's memorial service.

Wife and cats and I drove to NW Arkansas to my MIL's on Wednesday afternoon. I headed out the next morning and drove up through Missouri and Iowa to Wisconsin, arriving at 8:30pm. My SIL took me to dinner, and we returned home for more beer and to chat. My brother was scheduled to work until 1am, but he arrived home arount 10:30pm.

Friday I drove up to the Dells and had lunch with my mom. It was raining on the drive up, but it let up while we were eating. We drove around town so she could show me some changes to the area, and she sent me back to Madison at 4pm to avoid the storms. I should have left sooner, because half-way there, the skies opened up and dumped gallons of water on the road. I made it back to my brother's house safely, and went to dinner (and more beer) with them.

Saturday we drove up to North Freedom to attend our uncle's memorial at the town park. It was a relaxed pot-luck type gathering. I got to see and chat with my uncle and aunts, and all but one cousin (who didn't go). I also chatted with some distant cousins. We headed back to Madison in the late afternoon, and went out for more food & beer.

Sunday I drove over to my dad's and hung out with him and my step-mom for a few hours than expected. We had a good talk about everything. They're happy for my weight loss (I still haven't acknowledged the letter he sent, and I didn't tell them I'm on Ozempic, because I know he'd get judgey). When they asked how I'm doing it, I explained that it's mainly through portion control (accurate), only eating when I'm hungry (accurate), and stopping when I'm full (accurate). So I didn't lie, I just didn't tell them that I'm receiving chemical assistance. I also gave him the custom box I made for him for the card game he made back in 1999. They were so touched by it that my step-mom looked like she was going to cry. I also stopped by my other brother's house and chatted with him and his wife for a bit. Then I had to rush over to BarleyPop before they closed to get a couple of growlers to take back to Texas. Again, my brother and SIL took me out for dinner and beer.

I had brought two 32-oz growlers of a coworker's homebrew with me to share with my brother & SIL. One was a Maple Apple Cider (about 7% abv), the other was a Chipotle Raspberry Stout (about 9.5% abv). My SIL said the cider was too sweet, my brother said it needed chicken & waffles to eat with it. It had a strong maple nose and initial flavor, followed by a tart apple middle, then a maple finish. They both liked the stout. The raspberry came across more as a berry/fruity flavor, and the chipotle came in as a subtle heat finish that creapt up the back of the throat, in a good way.

Headed back Monday morning, driving south through Illinois and west across Missouri, arriving in NW Arkansas around 9pm. The cats were happy to see me. Toby sat with me for a while, and Walter stopped pouting around 11pm and then wouldn't leave me alone.

The plan was we'd head back to Dallas Tuesday afternoon, so we could get settled in and I'd get a good night's rest before work today, but that didn't work out. We ended up leaving around 9:30pm, and arrived back at 2am. I only got 2.5 hours of sleep.

It was nice to be home last night, and to find that we got very little damage (if any) from the heavy storms that swept through the Dallas area on Tuesday morning.

Forgot to post a pic of the wood card box I made for my dad & step mom.

The game is available for purchase (without any box) from Drive Thru Cards.

I get nothing from any sale, other than the satisfaction that the game is being spread around the world.

I dunno, is it just me, or do I see a pattern here?

Good to see you helping our state's beer economy at any rate. Have you tried the cheese though? Pairs well with [checks notes]... beer.

Even as an unofficial non-drinker, it's hard to avoid beer around here. MBC does a pretty good job with their brew, but it's not easy to get if you're not on their limited distribution route. Have yet to try the 'la yet, so I'll keep my eyes open.

Awesome box!

From what I have heard from insiders, all / some of these are lost immediately:

GST or VAT on the sale
Salesman's commission on the deal
Dealer retail profit on the sale
1st year reduction in nett value of the vehicle.

A friend (with more money than sense) bought a Daimler-Chrysler Crossfire 2-door some years back and paid cash. His wife was not impressed with his choice and so within a month, he went back to the dealer to trade it in on a Chrysler minivan. He was offered only 60% of the cash sale price - 40% depreciation in one month and under 5 000kms on the odo. !

Yes, they couldn't give them away. Each dealership had to stock/buy 6 of them and they were like an anvil to shift.

Even if it was a Mercedes Benz underneath, no one wanted them.

Pretty much guaranteed 100% from the VA now. So there's that I spose.

Please explain to the Brit what VA is please.

I want to show that I care.

it's the government agency that tells you the injuries you got while in the military weren't related to military service, then gives you some money to compensate for the change in quality of life, then takes a large portion of the taxpayer money intended for veterans as a "bonus" to themselves for "saving the taxpayers money".


Veterans' Affairs is their official title.

I tend to drink lots of beer when I visit my family. I drank more from Thursday evening when I arrived through Sunday night than I have in the 22 months since I last visited. Yes, I had plenty of cheese. I had fried cheese curds at two different places, multiple cheese burgers, and cheese & venison sausage at my uncles memorial. I also had shredded wild turkey sandwiches at the memorial that my late uncle's twin shot earlier this year. He also shot the deer that the venison sausage came from. Almost all of the beer I had was brewed in Wisconsin. The only ones that weren't were the two homebrews I brought with me, a half of a bottle of Sam Adams that I shared with a cousin, and a stout that was brewed in Michigan. The access to a wide variety of beer is one of the facets of living in Wisconsin that I miss. Thanks!

So you'll be compensated financially.

Good news.

yep, between retirement at grade E-7 with 21 years and a bit, and a 100% rating from the VA, I'll only have to work if i *WANT* to.

SUPPOSED to be heading to CO over 4th of July weekend to explore some areas we're looking at moving to in order to see if there's serious drawbacks to living there.

Hopefully we can plan any procedures around that and a couple other trips (London later in July too).

Oh, Colorado my favourite State.

If you want to go off the grid move to Alamosa.

I gotta say that the VA has been fantastic to me. Dunno if being a 'Nam vet makes any difference, but from the get-go they've been nothing but great. I was expecting hassle after hassle at first, but nothing of the kind happened to me.

very glad to hear they're good to you. they should be to everyone. unfortunately policies aren't enforced and experiences vary. larger cities (i'm betwixt baltimore and DC) seem to be more about "just get rid of them" rather than "let's take care of them".

dad was nam as well, central iowa, and the des moines VA generally seemed to do right by him the overwhelming majority of the time, with the occasional issue with one or two specific docs. once he got away from them, smooth sailing.

though they did do their best to stall his presumptive agent orange case once his legs came off.

nope

I pulled up at work yesterday and my right foot automatically tried to find the brake pedal. Looks like my brain is shiftyfied.

nope

Over here the bicycle brakes are reversed, so front is the same as on a motorcycle.
Always fun when travelling.

Got up on a Vespa and rode through the neighborhood today for the first time in a lot of years. That cheered me right up.

omaha! grew up in Ames, Mrs. went to Millard North. First 5 years in the AF were at Offutt from 03-08.

You need to put a bunch of pics of your scoot up on the NSM topic - "Vespas that have left the house" photo thread. We live for that stuff.

Yeah… I need to wipe some of the grunge off of it. It sat in a hangar for years, then got brought home and sati in the garage and got torn apart and worked on for a while. It pretty nasty.

I really owe Omaha Airport Authority a debt of gratitude. That scooter was perfectly happy parked in a corner of the hangar, but they told me, "Get your crap out of the hangar or we're kicking you out". So home it came. "Ran when parked", I kid you not, except it was more "Ran great h til it inexplicably stopped, which is why it was parked". Turned out to be a broken wire from the condenser. But the last time this kind of thing happened it sat from the mid 1960s until 2004.


Outdoors.



Never again.