Automobile Thread

[Iwritecode]

Selling vs. trading it in is really all about how fast you want to sell it, how much hassle you are willing to deal with and how much you are willing to sell it for.

You'll definitely make more selling it privately, but you have to go through the trouble of listing it, dealing with people looking at it, test driving it and coming up with the cash to actually buy it. Trading it is much easier but you'll get a lot less out of it.

[iamshack]

Rabbit, just trade the damn thing in and be done with it. You don’t need the hassle. 

I think SS2K is right on about the Jetta, but there are a number of cars that are high mileage and very durable for a very reasonable price. Find one that is 1-2 years old, with less than 20k miles on it. 

[Balta1701]

If you're planning to be an uber driver make sure you check your state's rules. I believe some states have limits for how old those cars can be, Texas for example I think there's a 10 year limit. 

[Chi Town Sox]

Bought a super clean CX-5 last year with a clean Carfax that was a loaner to Christian Jones of the Bears.  Just traded it in for a CX9 at a different Mazda dealer, was expecting to get a few grand less than what we paid for it last year based off the numbers online but they came back with an extremely low offer and told us it was because it was in an accident (after we had told them it never was in one).  

Turns out, the car was in an accident exactly two years before we purchased it and the Carfax didn't begin reporting it until 4 months after we bought it, an almost 2.5 year delay on the report.  Carfax reporting can typically take up to 90 days so that's off the table with the 2.5 year delay, it is infuriating that dealers can get away with not reporting it for so long and hold out until it is purchased.  Of course the vehicle is a depreciating value but still cost us probably $2-3K in the swing of things.

Not much we could have done right after finding out, needed to get a bigger car, had an insane deal on the CX9 and it was afterhours so I couldn't call the old dealer.  This ever happen to anybody else?  I'd love to call the dealer and threaten going to the media because the Carfax shows plain as day that it was reported 2.5 years after it happened.

[raBBit]

37 minutes ago, Iwritecode said:

Selling vs. trading it in is really all about how fast you want to sell it, how much hassle you are willing to deal with and how much you are willing to sell it for.

You'll definitely make more selling it privately, but you have to go through the trouble of listing it, dealing with people looking at it, test driving it and coming up with the cash to actually buy it. Trading it is much easier but you'll get a lot less out of it.

That's what I figured, ugh. But thanks.

26 minutes ago, iamshack said:

Rabbit, just trade the damn thing in and be done with it. You don’t need the hassle. 

I think SS2K is right on about the Jetta, but there are a number of cars that are high mileage and very durable for a very reasonable price. Find one that is 1-2 years old, with less than 20k miles on it. 

Not sure I am trying to go that new for the car because I am just trying to get something durable that will last me 5 years or so. I think you're right on just ripping the bandaid off and trading my car in. 

19 minutes ago, Balta1701 said:

If you're planning to be an uber driver make sure you check your state's rules. I believe some states have limits for how old those cars can be, Texas for example I think there's a 10 year limit. 

Good call. Chicago has some of the most liberal laws for uber cars though so everything in my focus should make it. 

[Chisoxfn]

18 hours ago, Chi Town Sox said:

Bought a super clean CX-5 last year with a clean Carfax that was a loaner to Christian Jones of the Bears.  Just traded it in for a CX9 at a different Mazda dealer, was expecting to get a few grand less than what we paid for it last year based off the numbers online but they came back with an extremely low offer and told us it was because it was in an accident (after we had told them it never was in one).  

Turns out, the car was in an accident exactly two years before we purchased it and the Carfax didn't begin reporting it until 4 months after we bought it, an almost 2.5 year delay on the report.  Carfax reporting can typically take up to 90 days so that's off the table with the 2.5 year delay, it is infuriating that dealers can get away with not reporting it for so long and hold out until it is purchased.  Of course the vehicle is a depreciating value but still cost us probably $2-3K in the swing of things.

Not much we could have done right after finding out, needed to get a bigger car, had an insane deal on the CX9 and it was afterhours so I couldn't call the old dealer.  This ever happen to anybody else?  I'd love to call the dealer and threaten going to the media because the Carfax shows plain as day that it was reported 2.5 years after it happened.

Doesn't Carfax have like a guarantee? In this case, shouldn't carfax be somehow on the hook for the "lost" value due to their report being delayed? Or are they saying that is already disclosed that such delays exist and thus don't take blame?  

[Brian]

Carmax sucks. Had a bad experience with them like 10 years ago.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Model 3, a 5-star crash rating in every category, and when the full results come out, Musk says it could be considered the safest car ever made (Model S and Model X take those top 2 spots right now, IIRC).

[LittleHurt05]

5 hours ago, Tony said:

Oh Elon.....

Hes the Monorail guy from the Simpsons, hes Bernie Madoff, just a walking Ponzi scheme.  Watching the self destruction in real time is so great.

[iamshack]

25 minutes ago, LittleHurt05 said:

Hes the Monorail guy from the Simpsons, hes Bernie Madoff, just a walking Ponzi scheme.  Watching the self destruction in real time is so great.

This is beyond ridiculously offensive. Get a clue. 

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Fine him, sure, but to ban him from running Tesla seems wildly excessive.

[southsider2k5]

8 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

Fine him, sure, but to ban him from running Tesla seems wildly excessive.

Not for what he did. Being intimately familiar with the SEC and how they operate this might be one of the easiest prosecutions they ever have. On top of that this is a standard punishment for someone who engages in these types of crimes. 

[southsider2k5]

10 hours ago, LittleHurt05 said:

Hes the Monorail guy from the Simpsons, hes Bernie Madoff, just a walking Ponzi scheme.  Watching the self destruction in real time is so great.

It reminds me of Trump in the way that he seems to think that nothing he does has consequences, nor does he ever have a bad idea. I get the feeling that he hasn't surrounded himself with people who are able to tell him no. He seems genuinely surprised by all this.

[Panerista]

10 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Not for what he did. Being intimately familiar with the SEC and how they operate this might be one of the easiest prosecutions they ever have. On top of that this is a standard punishment for someone who engages in these types of crimes. 

Yeah, I'm no expert, but my lawyer friends note the government is so successful at prosecution because they're extremely selective.  They wouldn't prosecute if they knew they didn't have him. 

10 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

It reminds me of Trump in the way that he seems to think that nothing he does has consequences, nor does he ever have a bad idea. I get the feeling that he hasn't surrounded himself with people who are able to tell him no. He seems genuinely surprised by all this.

You're definitely onto something, but it's worse than that.  Elon Musk is distinctly anti-media.  Even Steve Jobs, a notoriously difficult CEO, held his company responsible when one of his products got a poor review (the MobileMe story, for example).  Elon trashes the media as fake when they criticize the poor build quality and obvious financial troubles of the company.

Is it any surprise that people adore a POS like Donald Trump when a different subset of liberals adore Elon Musk?

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

16 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Not for what he did. Being intimately familiar with the SEC and how they operate this might be one of the easiest prosecutions they ever have. On top of that this is a standard punishment for someone who engages in these types of crimes. 

Do you believe there was actual intend to defraud stockholders? Or that he was just being cocky and careless with his tweets?

[Panerista]

8 hours ago, ChiliIrishHammock24 said:

Do you believe there was actual intend to defraud stockholders? Or that he was just being cocky and careless with his tweets?

He clearly meant to drive up stock value and make headlines.  It's illegal regardless.  The Federal Government doesn't prosecute unless it knows it will win and in Civil Court they have to prove less.  Elon needs to go

[southsider2k5]

Just now, AustinIllini said:

He clearly meant to drive up stock value and make headlines.  It's illegal regardless.  The Federal Government doesn't prosecute unless it knows it will win and in Civil Court they have to prove less.  Elon needs to go

And Musk even engaged in plea talks, which means he knows it.

[Panerista]

Just now, southsider2k5 said:

And Musk even engaged in plea talks, which means he knows it.

I was talking to a lawyer friend.  Basically, if the federal government goes after you, you're hosed because their conviction rate is like 90%.

[iamshack]

42 minutes ago, AustinIllini said:

He clearly meant to drive up stock value and make headlines.  It's illegal regardless.  The Federal Government doesn't prosecute unless it knows it will win and in Civil Court they have to prove less.  Elon needs to go

This is absolutely laughable. 

[Panerista]

1 minute ago, iamshack said:

This is absolutely laughable. 

You laugh at a lot of funerals?  Elon Musk committed fraud.  People buy his stock and trust him and he openly violated their trust.  

Edited September 29, 2018 by AustinIllini

[iamshack]

40 minutes ago, AustinIllini said:

I was talking to a lawyer friend.  Basically, if the federal government goes after you, you're hosed because their conviction rate is like 90%.

A conviction rate of what? They offered him a wrist slap and he rejected it, so now they are suing him for fraud. Why did they offer him the easy plea deal if what he did was so egregious? 

[Panerista]

3 minutes ago, iamshack said:

A conviction rate of what? They offered him a wrist slap and he rejected it, so now they are suing him for fraud. Why did they offer him the easy plea deal if what he did was so egregious? 

Why does anyone offer a plea deal?  Particularly in civil court, it's to avoid the expense of trial while getting the result they want.  

But lying to the public and overstating your ability to take your publicly traded company private is fraud and it's unacceptable.

Anyway, you're being hypocritical.  Replace Musk with the owner of Monsanto.  You would be calling for the CEO's head in that situation.  Just because you've fallen for Elon Musk's poor man's Steve Jobs act and you buy into poorly built cars with giant batteries, you think Musk should get by. 

Edited September 29, 2018 by AustinIllini

[southsider2k5]

47 minutes ago, AustinIllini said:

I was talking to a lawyer friend.  Basically, if the federal government goes after you, you're hosed because their conviction rate is like 90%.

And they managed to put together the fastest case I have EVER seen. Typically the lead time in cases like this is years, not weeks. 

[iamshack]

1 minute ago, AustinIllini said:

You laugh at a lot of funerals?  Elon Musk committed fraud.  People buy his stock and trust him and he openly violated their trust.  

As a stock holder, I know that stock is incredibly volatile. It’s not uncommon for the stock to move 3-5% on a daily basis. What Elon did was short-sighted and stupid, and I don’t doubt that he will ultimately get fined, but to claim that what happened that day to TSLA doesn’t happen on almost a weekly basis is simply being unaware of the volatility of that stock. Was there opportunity to be lose money because of what he said? Yes? There is an equal opportunity to lose money on the stock every time Goldman and David Einhorn come out with downgrades (simply because they short the stock) to slow the momentum of the stock. 

Again, should Elon not say shit like that? Yes. Conceded. But for TSLA stockholders, the movement really wasn’t unlike any other week.

[Panerista]

1 minute ago, southsider2k5 said:

And they managed to put together the fastest case I have EVER seen. Typically the lead time in cases like this is years, not weeks. 

I think it's a fairly simple situation.  Twitter is a recorded forum, so they don't have to deal with recordings or reports or any of that . Musk posted something publicly.  On the other end, it must not have been difficult to figure out that Musk had no real intent to take the company public.  

It's a pretty cut and dry case.  There's no "well, I didn't say that" defense.  The intent was 100% clear.