You pay for what you want. We bought a toaster capable of doing bagels, for wifey, I have never used it. re technology, we have dish, and the sound on 2nd tv and first tv are out of sync. Go figure, as there is no fix I have found. She is liking the bluetooth phone auto connect in her car. still pulling over to talk when I get a call while on the road.
I don’t do bagels
I’m perfectly happy with my cheapo low-tech toaster
To put it in words you would approve of . . . I’m perfectly happy with my not nice toaster
I had a 2011 Honda CRV that had only two speed on the wipers. It was annoying given today’s technology esp since I knew the programming to have variable speed was there in the BCM. Honda was probably saving $10 per car on the cheaper stalk.
I rarely eat bagels nowadays. Mostly on low carb diet. But the $6 toaster does bagels as good as any other. I am not picky though. If it is half burnt, I like it even more.
Bunch of old geezers here talking about their toasters! Gee whiz, guys, it’s Car Talk. You want to talk about the old days and the technology, let’s talk about bumper jacks. They were in every car, and they were really dangerous things, in addition to being bulky and heavy. How about grease fittings? We all complained when they disappeared, but today suspension parts last much longer and do a better job, without grease fittings. Do you still wish oil filters had replacement elements inside steel cans? I don’t. Years ago everywhere there was a car parts store, and they sold lots and lots of carburetor rebuild kits, because people needed them. No more. We used to have to get valve jobs and ring jobs at 50,000 or 60,000 miles, and a car that went 100,000 was a miracle.
Variable wipers and entertainment systems that vary sound with speed and light sensing headlights, anti-lock brakes and electronic repair manuals are all OK with me. The only thing that never changes is the fact that everything changes all the time.
And I still want my 1963 GMC 4WD back. No P/S, No P/B, No A/C, manual trans, And a V-6. Would pull darn near anything you could hook up to it, but would barely get up to 70MPH, and took most of the day to get to that. Man I liked that old truck.
If you’re gonna talk toasters, make it a Scion xB or Kia Soul.
@jtsanders
A Nice Chrome Edition Scion xB or Kia Soul With A Couple Of Long Opening Sun Roof Slots In The Roof Would Be Fun.
CSA
over the years I’ve had several cars that lacked intermittent wipers
With many of them, I’ve either found the intermittent wiper switch on ebay or at the junkyard
People have been told to watch for mechanics that had boat payments due. Should we now watch for a mechanic that wants a fancy toaster?
@“common sense answer”, those accessories might be available at JC Whitney…
@VOLVO V70
"People have been told to watch for mechanics that had boat payments due. Should we now watch for a mechanic that wants a fancy toaster?"
That would be difficult to discern. However, (true story) I know that most mechanics drive older cars that usually need work (I guess that’s the last thing they want to do in their spare time.). Most can’t afford nice cars because their wives buy fancy toasters, granite counters, etcetera…
… So, watch out for mechanics whose wives arrive at the shop to talk to hubby on the way to the hair dresser or yoga class, the ones driving late model Jags and Cadillacs and sipping Starbucks.
CSA
On the other hand, I was appalled at the conditioner of the loaner car from the indie mechanic a couple years back. It had been the owner’s wifes car until she got a new one. The seat adjuster was broken, the steering loose and sloppy, the suspendion shot. Aiming it down the road was downright scary.
Of course, it’s been done:
Priceless!!!
I saw an xB on the highway with the license plate:
TOASTR
“People have been told to watch for mechanics that had boat payments due. Should we now watch for a mechanic that wants a fancy toaster?”
That would be difficult to discern. However, (true story) I know that most mechanics drive older cars that usually need work (I guess that’s the last thing they want to do in their spare time.). Most can’t afford nice cars because their wives buy fancy toasters, granite counters, etcetera…
It makes sense to me that mechanics have boats. Boats are cheap. Figure about $1000 per foot, you can get a pretty nice boat for not much money, far less than you’ll pay for the truck to tow it. What makes boats expensive is storage and maintenance. Mechanics often have big garages and driveways to store a boat, and can do all the maintenance and repairs on the boat and trailer themselves for very little money.
There’s no reason a mechanic shouldn’t be able to afford as nice a car as anyone else, the good ones anyway. But many of us choose to drive older cars because we can obtain and maintain them quite cheaply, leaving us more money for fancy toasters. But as the old adage about the shoemakers kids goes, after spending all day fixing cars, the last thing I want to do is come home and fix more things.
I could definitely afford a much newer and nicer car
But I’m perfectly happy with my older car, which is in good mechanical condition, fairly comfortable, and should provide many years of relatively trouble-free performance
I suppose my attitude is typical of many of my colleagues
Even many of us non-mechanics are content to drive older cars that are well maintained. First car went 16 years, second car 20 years, third car 7 years and I had planned to keep it at least 10 more but bailed due to too many major failures starting at a mere 17k miles. Current 2014 model I plan getting a good 15 or more years use.
I agree
If it’s still reliable, not rusty, fairly comfortable, serves your needs, etc., no reason to ditch old trusy
Its not the boat, its the motor. I was looking at a boat and the dealer said you buy the motor and the boat is thrown in free. Boats are a dime a dozen in Minnesota but motors are expensive.