I always use the dealership and that’s not what I would have expected. I have had the same service advisor for a long time (2008 maybe, across 2 Volvo purchases). He does things like say “you’re having intermittent trouble with your XYZ lights - we will replace them for you” when I have no idea what he’s talking about. I just say thank you.
The most important part
“…the report added that the plans of most Americans also involved avoiding Jason Alexander at all costs”.
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I am depending on the former Nigerian Deputy Vice Minister of Petroleum Resources to come through for me.
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We use the dealership for things that can’t be done elsewhere. Tires and windshield replacement? Elsewhere. 12v battery replacement? My husband could have done it elsewhere or himself, but it was more convenient to order service. The dealership sent a technician to do that. My husband said he would have done it himself, but that would have required him to mess with the frunk. He left it to the pro and watched him do that. Have to take the old jalopy to the service center again because the tire shop doesn’t do alignment for X.
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My mil needed new brakes for her 2016 sedan
The dealer quoted $3000 for all 4 brakes. My husband was appalled. Decided to take the quote to our local car repair shop
He was quoted $1150. Decided it was worth the hassle of helping his parents and having the car repaired in our town where he has contacts.
The actual bill, $850. My husband remarked that they quoted him $1150. They told him the brake sensors came with the brake pads, so they sent the sensors they ordered back, saving us money.
Never use the dealer unless we absolutely have to
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How timely! I spent five unpleasant hours at the dealer this morning with my 2016 Corolla for its annual work/checkup. Apparently the heat shield for something rusted out and it also needed a tire, on top of the usual work. I used to like this dealership but they replaced the refreshments with an in-location nail salon, which is of less than zero interest to me. I told my sister it could be worse only if the mechanics actually did the manicures to delay them even more.
What I cannot stand is how they don’t even bring the car into the bay until you nag them at least twice. I was there before opening and I had an appointment for the opening time for six months. And it ended up costing over a thousand dollars.
Also, I specifically asked them not to go in the glove compartment and they didn’t even wait until I wasn’t RIGHT THERE before they did so. (I opened the passenger door and was like, “why?”)
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Once the cars are out of warranty we never use the dealership. We have a trusted mechanic who is much less expensive who we have used on numerous cars for many years. When I had my BMW I used an independent mechanic who specialized in European luxury cars. I eventually switched to our regular mechanic who was cheaper and did just as good a job.
I much prefer an independent mechanic, particularly for older cars.
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Cars are so complicated today and non dealers often can’t get the software tools of the OEMs although a few states are trying to pass laws so that they can.
I suggest looking for menu pricing for maintenance vs come in and we’ll give an estimate which higher priced dealers do.
I also suggest buying a pre paid plan and asking for the msrp up front. Finance managers mark these up but if you ask the msrp, they have to tell you. If they won’t, call the manufacturerer’s customer service line to ask.
And if you don’t like your dealer, find another.
I personally would not take a sophisticated machine to someone without the tools or training to repair.
But everyone is different.
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We have a wonderful mechanic that we have used for years. He probably won’t touch my Tesla and I probably wouldn’t ask him to, but as soon as my husband’s Prius is off warranty, he will likely take care of everything in his wheelhouse. He is responsible enough to tell us if he feels something is not in his wheelhouse and he won’t make recommendations if it’s not something he is familiar with. One time, when I had my Lexus, he told me I was severely overcharged for something that was done at the dealership. He gave me the documentation, he was right, and Lexus gave me back, not the money but “credit“ of course, that had to be used there so of course they got the money with whatever they charged for their service. But it was a lot of money. I don’t remember the exact dollar amount, but this was probably almost 20 years ago and it was well over $1000 back then.I used to call my routine maintenance that wasn’t under warranty at the dealership My $400 cup of coffee.
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While cars are under warranty, we go to the dealer. I have been mostly taking my 13 year old sonata to the dealership still for oil changes and inspections. It’s convenient and our old mechanic stopped doing them because we was too busy.
Any repairs we need go to the mechanic. Unfortunately ours retired last year and we aren’t happy with his replacement. We think we have another but he’s also super busy.
Tires - tire shop
Batteries/wipers - automotive store
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We avoid certain Toyota dealers here because their service department is staffed with goons. Took an independent mechanic $100 and some elbow grease to fix the thing the goons wrecked and claimed they could fix it for $1200 (that was 20 years ago). Tesla service is staffed with cyberpunks who leave wrappers from their food under pax seat while they lounge in said seat fully reclined waiting for the software fix to happen. 
But we don’t have to see them often because the maintenance has been minimal to date!
Our plan is to keep the jalopy for as long as it is drivable and then look for a replacement. The truck has been replaced a couple of months ago.
Deleted.
Timely pivot indeed. Ds2 just called to let us know that he’s having trouble with his truck again, which he bought from my mom when my dad died five years ago. He loved my dad and loves his truck, but he might have to get something new. 
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for sentimental reasons, I’d try to keep it going until the wheels fall off. (But its not my money!)
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Once out of warranty we generally go independent. Challenge is our 2014 Tesla. Can do tires by a tire place, and I can change wiper blades along with other DIY things. But other stuff back to Tesla. Not inexpensive! Oh well, not often needed and we are grandfathered in to free Tesla superchargers and Slacker Radio (now maybe LiveOne?)
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I sold to pursue tax lost harvesting. For example, I sold VTI (total US), then immediately bought equivalent amount of VOO (S&P 500) + VXF (everything else). My overall portfolio weighting is for the most part unchanged, which includes a combination of US, international, and fixed income.
A summary of how different indexes have changed since April low is below. I did not include the recent dividend payment for simplicity. A 30% increase in under 3 months is extraordinary. Selling and choosing to wait on the sidelines until the market looked more stable would have been costly for many.
- S&P 500 – 30% increase
- Total US (VTI) – 30% increase
- Total International (VXUS) – 25% increase
- Gold (GLD) – 5% increase
- Total Bond (BND) – 2% increase + 1% yield
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oh, I forgot that I did use teh April dip for Roth Conversions at a discount.
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We recently updated our wills and all of our other end of life documents. We were advised to review them every few years, just to make sure they were OK. Our estate lawyer was clear that we definitely should review at least every 10 years for potential changes. And she advised us that a trust was not needed for us.
Wondering how often folks review their documents.
And what triggered needing a trust (not just probate wait times).
And if you move states, should you update to your new state? ASAP?
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Please get beneficiaries on those stocks! It’s a hassle to get out of computershare even named as beneficiaries. Better yet divest and put the money in the bank account.
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