Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for April 29, 2022

Hasn’t anyone talked to Janis about her car’s warranty?

The previous cars both my wife and bought, were new in 1998. After our recent move, we decided to treat ourselves to new cars once again in 2021 & 2022. Where does 24 years go…..?

Something sporty or practical?

Time to visit the kids!

It is easier to find new homes for old used cars than old used pets.

Something easy to get in and out of.

Retirement?

Go for full electric if it can work for you.

Yep. Might as well enjoy the new car, or whatever, while you can, and stop delaying the things you hope to get to “someday.”

She needs a Transit Cargo Van.

You only have a few years left to get a real car and not have to settle for a glorified golf cart.

I don’t know how many orbits around the sun Arlo has but I know with my orbits, I often think the same things.

I put diesel in the van for the first time since Nov. 2021. Hard to justify buying a new car at this point.

Several years ago, I began thinking in terms of “Well, that’s the last one of those that I’ll ever buy.” Our next car will be our last, assuming that the two we have now will wear out before we do (a 2015 Camaro and a 2005 Vibe – both still going strong).

Geez, this is the THIRD strip to gripe about getting older. I come here to be entertained, not depressed!

We are at an age, r-e-e-e-a-l-y old, where we’re considering whether our two vehicles can last the remainder of our safe driving time. One car has 206k miles on it and is 19 years old. The newer car, a hybrid, is nine years old with 156k miles. Within five years we plan to cut back to a single vehicle. All that, just to say: Janis is young enough for a new car.

If a 10yo car is still working good, do not replace it now as all makes and models of cars are priced way high. Plus if you want a 2022 model, they are still only trickling in because microchips(FYI because Shanghai is now under another COVID lockdown, microchips along with everything else are now backed up at the port)

Arlo and Janis could probably get by on one car. Maybe a car and one golf cart, depending on where they live.

I have a 1999 Dodge Dakota Truck that was made specifically for me.

Happy not to be in the new car market, given microchip shortages, supply chain, etc. But if I were, I’d be looking for a hybrid plug-in, like the Prius. Keeps your fuel options open, allows for long range driving, and works during electrical outages. As it is, we have an Acura RDX, bought for highway comfort since we make annual road trips to Florida, but then covid got in our way, and now it’s even higher fuel prices for the necessary high octane gas in high tax Chicago. It’s the wrong car to have these days, but fortunately, our everyday needs for a car are slight. So wherever we go, we go in comfort. (Aside from that, though, I don’t recommend buying from Acura. They abandoned the G3 chip when those networks went down, and offered nothing by way of replacement, compensation or discount to those of us who bought their tech package in a pre-2018 car. No trusting them – falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.)When the economic illiterates who run our government decided to drive up gas mileage via regulation, the result was the SUV. Now that they are trying to make cars green, I wonder what the workaround will be? I’m hoping for political, myself. But whatever it is, it will probably be unforeseen.

Follow that thought and see who you replace each other with.

If they’re retired it’s possible their current cars will outlast them.

When you need a new car you get one. Does’t matter how old it is but when it no longer fits your needs or when the repairs are to much.

My 2001 went from dependable transportation to restoration project in the spring of 2020. We found an unloved used hybrid at the dealer priced for last chance before going back to the auction. It had been lost on the lot so long the battery was dead and the fob wouldn’t open the door. 3 months later the dealer was calling with offers to buy it back.

Since the pandemic, this old lady drives her 20yr old Camry to the grocery store and back: it will last 10 yrs if it doesn’t rust….or if I don’t rust!

It was more than 30 yrs between my new car purchases.

My 5 year old SUV just past the 7777 mile mark yesterday. No, I didn’t leave out a zero or two. I drive twice a week to the stores for groceries, etc. All within 5 miles of my home. Once every couple of months I have to drive up to an hour away for various doctor’s appointments.

And to think, 20 years ago I jumped into an very outdated Ford Explorer and drove 1200 miles to FL without even looking at the map. Several times in fact in the early 2000’s. Two day trip if by myself and not towing a uhaul, three days or more towing a trailer plus two dogs and two cats.

we bought my wife a bug convertable

MINI Cooper S Coupe

We keep our normally vehicles for decades. We had been buying mostly from the truck division of Chevy – my favorite car was a Blazer S10 (the small Blazer). But since both of our vehicles were over 15 years old and our driving had changed as we no longer needed to use one of them on trips (as we had bought our Class B RV) I suggested a new one and my Blazer was the one to go – as we needed the Astro for craft shows and reenactment events. We bought an Equinox. 2 days before we had it 6 months it was totaled – and since we walked away completely unharmed even though the rear end was in the back seat, we bought the same again. What a mistake! Our almost 30 year old Astro is in better condition as we have the bad engine version of the Equinox. Needs a quart of oil a month for at least 4 years (though in the many months we didn’t drive it, it needed the oil added less) and has started making the “bad” noises and will going any time now – and we can’t find a replacement car as there are none around that are in our price range, gas mileage range and will hold 3 people plus a wheelchair (for when we drive my mom).