Any indication high gas price is bringing the GX values down? (1 Viewer)

[re_guderian]

Then it means work more hours or take on a second job. I went through all this stuff when training for various positions when I was younger. Unfortunately there is no free lunch. When I was in my 20's I had a dead end job that paid almost 16.00 per hour. I took a 50% pay cut knowing that once my new employer saw what I could bring to the table I would move up quick. In just a few short years and 16+ hour days I made close to 20.00 per hour.

I switched careers once again (now I'm in my 40's) starting at the bottom and working my butt off to climb back up. I stayed with this industry for almost 20 years knowing that it pays really well and is impervious to age discrimination, inflation and recession.

Working hard in a job that you don't like to get ahead sucks. That's why it's called work. The problem is only a few want to sacrifice to get ahead. Recessions and inflation have been going on since the beginning of man kind.

The last 10 years (and some previous ones) of me working were brutal and horrible. The last 5 or so were the worst years of working in my life!! Un-damn-bearable!! Yet I got up every afternoon and worked my night shift never being late, showing up ready to work and did beyond what was required.

Now that I'm retired it's all about budgeting and still enjoying my golden years. The gas prices are going to continue to climb as long as the demand is greater than what is made available.

I love your postive outlook on life, and you're not technically "wrong" about any of it. I am old enough, and have seen enough of other people's lives now (I'm mid-50's) to understand that "excuses", "choices", "circumstances", and "abilities" all have a millions shades of gray, and are not simply black and white. Life is nothing, if not messy. I'm glad you've found financial peace. Just understand that there a many, many others - some through their own path, and some through no fault of their own - that are not as fortunate as you or I, especially those who have others that depend on them for life's essentials.

 

[jiggletits]

It’s funny listening to people give life advice who have no clue what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. That “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” BS may have worked in the 70’s when we still had a middle class, but today? Get real.

I also can’t stand the ‘well this guy I know makes $150k a year doing X Y or Z blue collar bozo job…’ what they leave out is that those people work 60-80 hours a week to make all that money, they’re unhealthy as f*, and have no life outside work and paying bills for all the stupid s*** they buy.

I make a lot of money, and most of it is passive income, so take that with a grain of salt. …Take everything on this site with a grain of salt. No one in this thread has experience being a single mom.

 

[r2m]

It’s funny listening to people give life advice who have no clue what it’s like to be in another person’s shoes. That “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” BS may have worked in the 70’s when we still had a middle class, but today? Get real.

I also can’t stand the ‘well this guy I know makes $150k a year doing X Y or Z blue collar bozo job…’ what they leave out is that those people work 60-80 hours a week to make all that money, they’re unhealthy as f*, and have no life outside work and paying bills for all the stupid s*** they buy.

I make a lot of money, and most of it is passive income, so take that with a grain of salt. …Take everything on this site with a grain of salt. No one in this thread has experience being a single mom.

Wait!!!.... You're a single MOM!!!


(ha-ha!!)

 

[MrTorgue]

Wait!!!.... You're a single MOM!!!


(ha-ha!!)

Duh. The users name IS jiggletits after all.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Duh. The users name IS jiggletits after all.

That pretty much says it all!! LOL!! I take anything said by fake usernames with a grain of salt.

 

[jiggletits]

Pretty sure it’s a real username, Captain Grammar.

 

[mudwagon]

Everyone has their own situations to overcome, fact is it's mostly a mental hurdle to take back your own life however you can; low income areas have a higher hurdle than high income areas but you can't discount either situation. I spent 7 years dealing with mental issues in college and spent $80k in student loans. It took me 6 months to find a decent paying job with 10% interest rate on private loans. Once I got a job I promptly paid that back in 4 years. Most every colleague I know pays minimum payments or nothing since fed loans are 0% right now; I paid $1500 a month till I was done. There's a lot of folks that feel entitled to things they haven't worked for and working in a corporate environment the last 6 years it's pretty pathetic how soft and obedient people working white collar jobs are. Blue collar jobs might demand more hard labor, but often times it is easier to get higher wages once you are licensed and dictate your own schedule; not to mention an accreditation is vastly cheaper. I watch people work 60 hours a week on salary and don't get compensated for the extra work at the end of the year and then feel butthurt when they get achieves/achieves for their yearly bonus. Meanwhile I work 40 hours a week and get achieves/achieves every year; gotta know how to use your time. Being unhealthy is a choice, not a byproduct; you can eat/be healthy, work out any day you want just requires some discipline. The people complaining about physical issues should've done more strength and conditioning and ate better; there's plenty of folks that are 60+ years old running ultramarathons and putting to shame folks in their 30's.

I bought my GX to get out of a vehicle payment and now we have no vehicle payments between the wife and I. Personally if gas goes to $10 a gallon I'm still paying and not selling to get an EV or anything more fuel efficient; car payments for any new vehicle these days are well over $500 a month with no down payments. A couple years of high gas prices isn't going to end my life. If the gas prices are pricing you out of your vehicle you made a bad financial choice and you should re-evaluate your priorities. I don't see GX values going down when the maintenance cost is less than $1000 a year at most for most DIYers. If you think 08 was bad wait for this bubble to burst, there's going to be a lot of folks blaming everyone for their own issues stuck with car payments, student loan payments and whatever else they financed but can't afford. My prediction is a lot of the "sponsored overlanders" will be selling or repossessed once that hammer comes end of year; I would stay weary of any businesses with pay now, fab later as they're going to go the way of pelfrey sooner or later. Hope these vehicle builds stay feisty, I like to live vicariously .

 

[OllieChristopher]

A couple years of high gas prices isn't going to end my life. If the gas prices are pricing you out of your vehicle you made a bad financial choice and you should re-evaluate your priorities. My prediction is a lot of the "sponsored overlanders" will be selling or repossessed once that hammer comes end of year

Well said. It really is no big deal for those of us that budget wisely.

The people complaining about physical issues should've done more strength and conditioning and ate better; there's plenty of folks that are 60+ years old running ultramarathons and putting to shame folks in their 30's.

I will say that it's an oddity and not that common to see 60+ year olds that are a pinnacle of fitness. As we age our body wear out regardless of fitness level. Plenty of my buddies who were power lifters and runners are paying the price now with osteoarthritis and joints that can no longer take the pounding.


Back to the topic of this thread. I do not see gas prices having anything to do with sales figures on any of these big SUV's. As long as manufactures continue to produce them then there will be buyers. One only needs to look around and see how the average motoring public drives. Pedal to the metal, hard acceleration, hard stops, burning the fuel/ vehicle wear and tear at alarming rates.

And then you have the easy to spot "green environmental drivers" in a Prius doing under the speed limit on freeway car pool lanes and squeezing every last drop of fuel out of the tank.

Recently my wife and I rented a Lexus 250NX hybrid. I experimented with what normal driving vs fuel sipping MPG can be. Aprox 100 miles in each mode. In normal and sport mode, driving like I would everyday, we got a little over 30mpg. In Eco mode I did everything I could to squeeze the tank. I did soft acceleration/braking and kept to the speed limit everywhere. I got 55mpg but we were miserable. The road rage that ensued from angry drivers of me going slow is not worth the hassle.

I also learned that the CVT transmission is not for me. I just cannot get used it's functionality. Even the new twin turbo V6's hybrids going into the GX's are not all that economical. I will say the start/stop feature and ability to go up in elevation with negligible power loss is an attractive feature.

 

[VentoGT]

I also learned that the CVT transmission is not for me.

The CVT is the bane of automotive existence. I will die on this hill

 

[re_guderian]

The CVT is the bane of automotive existence. I will die on this hill

Why? I've had 2 that I didn't mind? Highlander Hybrid with a V6, and Ford C-Max Energi. Both would do anything I asked of them.

 

[OllieChristopher]

Why? I've had 2 that I didn't mind? Highlander Hybrid with a V6, and Ford C-Max Energi. Both would do anything I asked of them.

I can't get used to how it puts power to the wheels. It actually feels like my old KFX700 quad. When climbing mountains in auto mode the rpm goes up and down by 1500rpm or more when slowing into or accelerating out of curves and corners. I had to put it in manual just to stabilize the RPM to an acceptable level. My other issue is they are not rebuildable as is a traditional automatic with torque converter. And the very annoying drone and whine drove me nuts. I really tried to like it but it was a no go on my 300+ mile rental.

It's a very personal thing for me. I can adapt to just about any power plant/transmission combination. CVT equipped cars are just not one of them. But man the fuel economy is amazing. If you can get past the road raging motoring public that wants to kill you for doing the speed limit or accelerating slow from a stop.

 

[MrTorgue]

I can't get used to how it puts power to the wheels. It actually feels like my old KFX700 quad. When climbing mountains in auto mode the rpm goes up and down by 1500rpm or more when slowing into or accelerating out of curves and corners. I had to put it in manual just to stabilize the RPM to an acceptable level. My other issue is they are not rebuildable as is a traditional automatic with torque converter. And the very annoying drone and whine drove me nuts. I really tried to like it but it was a no go on my 300+ mile rental.

It's a very personal thing for me. I can adapt to just about any power plant/transmission combination. CVT equipped cars are just not one of them. But man the fuel economy is amazing. If you can get past the road raging motoring public that wants to kill you for doing the speed limit or accelerating slow from a stop.

I said the same s*** when they first came out. (Hint Nissans are dog s***) I had that opinion until I owned my RAV4 Prime. Having a CVT actually allows this powertrain to shine. It goes like a stabbed rat when you want it to and is butter smooth when you want to just puddle around comfortably. As I grow older the more smooth and relaxing an experience I want and modern Toyota CVTs they put in their hybrids and such are pretty good.

 

[jiggletits]

On like for like motors and vehicles, a CVT will stomp the piss out of an automatic or manual if set up properly. They keep you at peak power constantly, no shifting, no brainer... There is a reason they were banned from formula 1.

 

[re_guderian]

I can't get used to how it puts power to the wheels. It actually feels like my old KFX700 quad. When climbing mountains in auto mode the rpm goes up and down by 1500rpm or more when slowing into or accelerating out of curves and corners. I had to put it in manual just to stabilize the RPM to an acceptable level. My other issue is they are not rebuildable as is a traditional automatic with torque converter. And the very annoying drone and whine drove me nuts. I really tried to like it but it was a no go on my 300+ mile rental.

It's a very personal thing for me. I can adapt to just about any power plant/transmission combination. CVT equipped cars are just not one of them. But man the fuel economy is amazing. If you can get past the road raging motoring public that wants to kill you for doing the speed limit or accelerating slow from a stop.

Both mine would squeal the front tires from a stop and out-accelerate my GX any day of the week and twice on Sunday. Guess it depends on the application...

 

[Seanzky]

The only CVT experience I had were with Nissans (Versa, Sentra, Rogue). Like MrTorgue said, it was a total piece of s***. All of them constantly whined as if I were redlining the whole entire drive. I can't speak for other makes and models, but as for Nissa, I don't care what they put out (even if it doesn't have CVT), I'm never going back. Haha.

 

[Banandalorian]

I said the same s*** when they first came out. (Hint Nissans are dog s***) I had that opinion until I owned my RAV4 Prime. Having a CVT actually allows this powertrain to shine. It goes like a stabbed rat when you want it to and is butter smooth when you want to just puddle around comfortably. As I grow older the more smooth and relaxing an experience I want and modern Toyota CVTs they put in their hybrids and such are pretty good.

Low end torque helps a lot with making CVTs a non-miserable experience. Whether that comes from a turbo, a hybrid, or both doesn't really matter but there are few driving experiences less pleasant than a buzzy, economy tuned N/A 4 cyclinder pinned to 5500 rpm for 30 seconds every time you need to accelerate.

 

[re_guderian]

I guess it also helps if you're old, and hard of hearing...

 

[K Dub]

Low end torque helps a lot with making CVTs a non-miserable experience. Whether that comes from a turbo, a hybrid, or both doesn't really matter but there are few driving experiences less pleasant than a buzzy, economy tuned N/A 4 cyclinder pinned to 5500 rpm for 30 seconds every time you need to accelerate.

I spent 3 years with a Nissan CVT and it was a mixed bag. Getting on the freeway by pegging the tach just below redline for 5 sec was actually the best part IMO. The turbo spooled up and it just kept pulling until you let off the gas. Reliability was the worst part, that's probably why you hardly see any Nissan Jukes on the road any more and they're only a decade old at the most.

That's a fun game I like to play in traffic; spot the 20 year old car. Lots of old Hondas/Toyotas still running around, almost no Nissans/Mazdas. I think that's telling.

Back on topic, transportation is expensive. I know that's a shock to some people, but it's always been the case. I've driven a lot of old jalopies that conked out in a year or two, and have had a couple of pricier cars like the GX that were reliable and held their value. Over the years, I've pretty much broken even on both in terms of annual expense. When I was recently car shopping I considered the Kia EV6. I just couldn't figure out spending $60k to save $200/month on gas. My little Honda hit the sweet spot of lower purchase price and moderate gas mileage. I got the SI because there are more important things in life than frugality and I spend too much time in my car to not enjoy it.

 

[re_guderian]

... I've driven a lot of old jalopies that conked out in a year or two, and have had a couple of pricier cars like the GX that were reliable and held their value. Over the years, I've pretty much broken even on both in terms of annual expense...

In our own l ittle echo-chamber of MUD, we like to pat ourselves on the back a lot. After a miserable experience with a Chyrsler, I swore off domestics for almost 20 years. Then realized how cheap F250 parts were, and started doing some math. It seems you either "pre-pay" for reliability and buy a Toyota/Honda, or "pay-as-you-go" with a less reliable, but cheaper, model. As you suggest, in the end, it's not ALL that much different in terms of TCO. I do, however, personally prefer the lower hassle/worry rate of the up-front costs of purchasing a more expensive, but reliable, car.

 

[OllieChristopher]

In our own l ittle echo-chamber of MUD, we like to pat ourselves on the back a lot. After a miserable experience with a Chyrsler, I swore off domestics for almost 20 years. Then realized how cheap F250 parts were, and started doing some math. It seems you either "pre-pay" for reliability and buy a Toyota/Honda, or "pay-as-you-go" with a less reliable, but cheaper, model. As you suggest, in the end, it's not ALL that much different in terms of TCO. I do, however, personally prefer the lower hassle/worry rate of the up-front costs of purchasing a more expensive, but reliable, car.

Well said and I agree. Heck man, I really wanted a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. My best friend whom passed away a few years ago was a Jeep guy. Unfortunately I don't have the bankroll required not only for up front cost but major repairs along the way.

My 94 Silverado was pretty reliable and my current Sierra the same. But not even comparable to our Lexus's. I am really put off on the current selection of domestic choices.

As it is right now I can only wish that the GX, Sequoia, and 4Runner will come down in price as the gas prices get up to the 10.00 per gallon mark. Kind of off topic but how about that 4Runner? Not only hard to find but the pricing is outrageous for what you get compared to a GX. The DM's on those blow my mind. But the motoring public likes them and are willing to pay 10K or more over MSRP and what the bank values them. The GX is looking a lot more attractive when you compare the two.