Little things that make you happy

[Blueprint]

I didn't know you review cars that aren't Mazda CX-90/70 variants 

Here's some reading material for your French class  https://www.autohebdo.net/editorial/search?author=daniel-beaulieu

[Firm]

Happy about this news....for a city with lots of Automotive/ Hot Rod / Racing history there hasn't been a local track at all for the last 5 years or so since this place closed down and has sat abandoned. This location had both a 1/4 mile drag strip and a road course, not clear if IHRA has any interest in re-opening the road course, but even if it's only the drag strip, it'll likely make for some fun local events to take the kids too.

 https://ihra.com/millington-tennessee-track-acquisition

[Johnnymac]

That'll be nice for sure and I bet the first year will be a busy one with a lot of pent up enthusiasm.

Have you ever considered having your kids in motorsports?  Maybe there is some junior class for drag racing, I think I've seen that be a thing in some places.

[Firm]

Mrs. Firm wouldn't have it, lol. My son, while he loves cars....knows all the names/models, spends hours playing hotwheels and helping me in the garage, doesn't have much interest (yet) in actually driving or going fast. I offered to get him one of those off-road dune buggy type go-karts (because they have a cage for protection) for Christmas, and he really wasn't much into it. My daughter has a much more aggressive/competitive personality, she'd realistically probably be a better racer, but at 3 years old it's probably a touch early for her.

Like most kids activities though, I suspect it would take a ton of time and dedication to get to a point where they could be even competitive. Stuff like that, you've gotta all be all-in, or not.

There was one of those Junior Dragsters for sale near me recently, looked really well built and it was like $2K for a turn-key car, I thought it was awesome. Mrs.Firm did not share my enthusiasm.

[Johnnymac]

Totally get the hesitation for your wife.  I have seen these videos of young kids in those electric ride in cars that get a bigger battery and motor to do drag races against each other.

For sure if your kid had ambitions of being a race car driver it's a lot of time, money, and effort, but so is pretty much any sport.  With go cart racing at least kids learn advanced driver skills early in life that translates to being a better driver throughout life.

That being said, just having them interested in cars and being around for the maintenance and repairs of them is excellent exposure to build a life long interest in cars.

[Firm]

Agreed! We do have a few of those electric ride in cars, and one of them I've upgraded with a bigger battery, but not to the point where it's dangerous. They use them to run laps around the house, mostly on grass which keeps the speed down.

[Bubba]

On a lesser note, I just gave notice.  What a terrible feeling that is. 

I'm a little late to the party. Congrats on the new gig, GBA.

[Blueprint]

Little birdie No1 leaving the nest soon - she just bought her first home, a nice condo that is walkable from us. She saved enough for her 25% cash down and buys alone. Proud parent here 

[Johnnymac]

Earlier in February me and my sister took my nephew birthday gift shopping.  He's big into hotwheels right now and while browsing I came across these Mattel Brick Shop building blocks sets.  They looked pretty rad so I decided to get one.  The Acura NSX is one of my dream cars and the EF Civic hatchback is the grandfather to my current car (Acura Integra Type S).  Have them on display at work with my McLaren F1 car set.

I find that the prices for these are not too crazy, the NSX was $70 and the Civic was $30.  The NSX has more features like the steering wheel that actually turns the tires, the engine bay details, etc, it took around 4 hours to build.  The Civic is nice with the little details like the red interior, and it only took just over an hour to complete.

Sort of a cheap "man puzzle" activity to do and enjoy either on your own or with your kids and then they look cool in a mancave or office.

[Blueprint]

^ Nice!

I'm itching to get back into building model kits and discovered all sorts of techniques reading and watching vids. The girls even bought me an airbruh for XMas, so once I start I will be all in with the scale paint booth and compressor. Acrylics have improved so much that you can now buy factory-like colours in ready-to-airbrush bottles, so no fumes and no mess cleaning.





Not mine, but this shows what you can achieve:

[Blizzard]

Not sure where else to put this, I guess it's half rant, half something that makes me happy.

It's always shocked me how much people spend on their car relative to their income. The average car payment whether it's a lease or finance has ballooned since the pandemic, and I always thought people who earn an average income signing onto one of these payments was ignorance or financial illiteracy, but I'm realizing now it's more common than not.

At the office, we hire a lot of people straight out of university, and since the nature of the industry requires client site visits outside of the city or in areas not easily serviced by public transportation, most people end up getting a car within a year of starting. Otherwise you can spend 2-3 hours of your day on the bus.

Our starting salary for new grads is now around $65K, which is a solid salary for a 22-23 year old out of school but by no means lavish in 2026. But 80% of people seem to lease a brand-new car with payments ranging from $600-900/month. With today's prices, that payment doesn't get you anything crazy fancy, but $600-900/month when you're taking home maybe $1,800 every 2 weeks seems suffocating. Some of the cars I've seen (all new of course) are the Honda Civic Touring Hybrid, Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Mazda CX-30, a Model 3, and even a BMW M240i. To someone who drove a 2012 Kia Rio for the first 3 years, all of these options seem crazy fancy. But I just can't wrap my head around how these car payments consume so much of your income and cash flow right off the bat, for nothing really. Now probably 2/3 of them still live with their parents at home so have few expenses, but still, that's no excuse to have an expensive car since nobody should want to live at home with their parents forever...

I guess I've become known as the resident car guy, so around 1.5 years ago one colleague approached me when she was shopping for a car, and decided she didn't want to have a large car payment so early in her career when she has other financial goals. Happy that at least one person had some common sense, I recommended she find a clean, well-maintained Corolla, Civic, Mazda3, or maybe something like an HR-V or CH-R if she wanted more of a CUV format. The budget she set herself was $15,000 plus tax, so there should be plenty of options there. What does she end up buying? A 2-year-old Mitsubishi Mirage  She said she was able to get a newer, lower-mileage car still under warranty for the same price as the Japanese options. I give her credit for not wanting a car payment, but she couldn't possibly have chosen a worse car out there.

Fast forward about a year, I asked her about her car, and she clearly wasn't loving it... She said it felt super flimsy, not very powerful when accelerating, and felt generally very cheap. Not sure if she was regretting her choice, but I didn't push further since why make her feel bad about her choice.

Now, a few weeks ago, she tells me that her dad took her car out one day when she was working from home, and totalled it  Someone lost traction on the highway and slammed into him from behind. She looked way less disappointed than she should have, seeing as her was totalled, but I guess understandable now that she was driving her dad's car, which I understand to be some kind of recent Volvo, and can shop for a new car. Again I suggested a Civic, Corolla, or Mazda3, but she said she didn't want a gas car anymore so I suggested a Prius Prime, Bolt or Leaf, all of which are good used deals if the EV lifestyle works for you.

On Monday, she told me she just leased a new car... which was surprising considering she had said she didn't want a car payment. What did she get? a Fiat 500e for $29/week! Convinced she told me the price from a advertisement she had seen somewhere, I went online and it's not a gimmick, you can legitimately lease a brand-new Fiat 500e for $145/month all-in with $0 down for 24 months. Apparently with the government subsidies and manufacturer rebates, combined with high residuals, many dealers are in fact leasing these cars for that price, and the $29/week is not just a price to get you in the door.

Now I'm no fan of car payments, but these seems like a CRAZY good deal if you have a way to charge the car and don't mind the size. $145/month for a brand-new car and no gas required? I just don't see how you can go wrong. Seems like a cheaper way to get around than almost any other method including public transit, which costs over $100/month here. I wouldn't touch one of these with a 10 foot pole if I were looking to buy, but for a lease that's fully under warranty, why not? From what I've read online, the new 500s seem to be decently reliable with none of the sketchy issues the old gas ones had. Seems like it's a great option for a young person, a secondary car, or just to commute with.

Apparently, first impressions are that it's faster, more solid, and way more comfortable than a Mirage  And insurance is only $800 too.

[GreatBigAbyss]

$145/mo over 2 years is $3480.  That's crazy cheap.  She'd be stupid not to do that deal.

I guess the only downside is in two years when that deal doesn't exist anymore, she'll be in for a rude awakening. 

Also, I hear you about your rant.  I was looking at financing a brand new Civic Hybrid for $700-$800/mo, but then came to my senses and bought a used car that I could pay for with cash.  The fact that I ended up with something as advanced as a Prius Prime is just the icing on the cake.  I would have been happy with a ten year old Civic or Corolla. 

[Fobroader]

As someone that isn't in the car market very often, $7-800/month for a Civic seem ludicrous. We weren't paying that much more for our GX460. Yeah, all our friends with kids have this discussion with them on a regular basis, that no, you shouldn't be paying 1/2 your wage on a car. Saying that, $145/month is ridiculously cheap, even on a horrid mobility scooter like a Fiat 500E, but coming from a Mirage, thats a big step up.

[Blizzard]

I definitely don't have anything against car payments... but I think they only make sense at a certain point in your life - mortgage paid down a bunch, retirement savings in good shape, a slush fund. I have a much harder time grappling with the thought of one when someone is in their mid 20s and just starting out, with likely none of those things.

[Johnnymac]

When someone seeks out my opinion on vehicles and I put some real effort into it, giving them pros and cons, sending them used car ads, telling how much payments should be and they decide to buy something else...I assume they don't value my opinion and that's the last time I offer them assistance.

I tend to think younger people choose new vehicles for a lot of reasons, but one that I think is more prevalent now but less when we all were young is they feel like a used car will be a headache in both reliability and cost of maintenance, while that might be logical for some used vehicles, majority don't fall into that category.