Project? Nah... Prolly Not: Mk7 GTI

[D_Eclipse9916]

I think FB people know the work story - suffice to say it's complicated. Long story short, I've been on short term disability since mid-Aug. I've spent most of that traveling, going to doctor appts (usually take the bus), having the flu (unrelated to disability), and doing a lot of paperwork. I'm still employed by Google.

Being off work has made me seriously wonder, more than once, whether I could retire right now. If we didn't have a kid, definitely. If we wanted to spend the next 30 years in Smalltown USA, probably. Unfortunately, neither of those things work for us and we really like spending money on travel.

I have to admit I'm disappointed the general warranty is only three years. I know I got a bottom dollar price on the car, but I'm used to buying CPO that are 1-2 years old and having ~5 years left. Only getting three years on a brand new car is lame. I think my Legacy was five. Three years went by in a flash... maybe because we had a kid four months before I bought it.

Regarding the retirement thing; I just returned to work last week being off since July.  The first 2 months I thought the same thing (wondering if I could retire); but realized just too many unknowns in that long period and I have expensive hobbies and kids. You are past that first 2 months though.

Four months in tt has made me revisit what kind of work I want to do.  I thought I would rather have the money and stability from an office job; but maybe getting older and "not reporting to someone"  (even though I am very very left on my own) is leaning me to not care as much about making more?  Is that how you feel or you have just made so much money that you want no work whatsoever? I would go nuts with no work whatsoever since I dont have fuck you money to just travel the world racing for 40 years.

Ideally once the kids are 8-10 years old; my wife can go back full time for the benefits and I would like to try my hand at being a general contractor or property manager (of my own rentals).  But take it at my own pace vs a hungry 20-something year old going for every last dime.

[Senor_Taylor]

Trade it in on a CPO GTI

[Sijray21]

So complicated about the VWs thanks to dieselgate. The 2016s and 2017s had a 2/yr-24k b2b warranty whereas the 2018-2019 VWs all had a 6yr/72k b2b warranty. That's without any CPO addition, too. Just go get a 2018 GTI if you want some extra standard coverage. You probably won't need/use it.

[Apoc]

Regarding the retirement thing; I just returned to work last week being off since July.  The first 2 months I thought the same thing (wondering if I could retire); but realized just too many unknowns in that long period and I have expensive hobbies and kids.  You are past that first 2 months though.

Four months in tt has made me revisit what kind of work I want to do.  I thought I would rather have the money and stability from an office job; but maybe getting older and "not reporting to someone"  (even though I am very very left on my own) is leaning me to not care as much about making more?  Is that how you feel or you have just made so much money that you want no work whatsoever? I would go nuts with no work whatsoever since I dont have fuck you money to just travel the world racing for 40 years.

Ideally once the kids are 8-10 years old; my wife can go back full time for the benefits and I would like to try my hand at being a general contractor or property manager (of my own rentals).  But take it at my own pace vs a hungry 20-something year old going for every last dime.

Here's what I'm comfortable sharing publicly, having effectively acted like I'm a retired old person (travel and doctors) since August. Mine is probably more existential than yours.  Hopefully it helps someone ride a wave out at some point.

I miss work. I miss being a part of something. I miss working with other people and solving big problems with our brains. For most of my life, work has been where I felt most comfortable because I was judged based on my mind and value; not on anything physical or emotional. I was always awesome at what I did... albeit I was an asshole know-it-all for a long time. I lived life through work because I was really good at it. I don't want to stop doing it and I'd love to do it for something that actually makes a difference - like the crisis response stuff I was doing on Google Maps.

I've spent the last eight years at two top tier tech companies. They are hard jobs. They are very humbling; sometimes unfairly, IMO. Oh, and we decided to have a kid during that time. Also, most of my extended family life fell apart in spectacular fashion when my kid was six months old. Raising a kid with near-zero support structure is pretty turrible, if you ask me. Something had to give.

So now I'm like, what's more work and more money and more stress really gonna get me? Money does not buy health. We are a-okay in the finance department, but we most definitely cannot maintain the same standing of living in one of the most expensive American cities if I'm not working. My time off has been good for family time, but we need more time apart from each other. I am not a spring chicken, I'm now in the second half of my career, and I think it's time to find balance. Everything doesn't always have to be the next review, or promotion, or RSU award. It's great if they come, but so what if they don't? This is the problem when you tie self-worth up in your career.

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Trade it in on a CPO GTI

I had this thought. Two things preventing me. 1) I'm way too frugal to waste 10.1% on sales tax. 2) That just seems like blatant consumerism, which I'm not a fan of.

[Sijray21]

10.1% sales tax, wut? on vehicles? Washington VAT?

[Apoc]

10.1% sales tax, wut? on vehicles? Washington VAT?

Basically. 6.5% for WA. 3.6% for Seattle. Sales tax applies to all items.

Remember, we have no state income tax and local income tax is prohibited by the state constitution. As a Libertarian, I'll take a consumption tax over an income tax, so I don't mind until I mind.

[Sijray21]

still seems better than the income tax and annual owership tax of vehicles in VA. at least you can opt out by choosing not to buy.

[Apoc]

We have a massive, controversial, annual car ownership tax to fund public transit. The vote to repeal it was approved, but is now caught up in high level state courts. That's why the expired registration ticket wans't surprising - there are probably quite a few people trying to avoid the tax. It's also why having a more expensive car I drive 2200 miles/year has less of an appeal to me. In that sense, the consumption and ownership taxes work to lower demand... which is cool with me.

ST3’s $53.8 billion in investments would be enabled by: (1) a sales tax of 0.5 percent ($.50 on a $100 purchase) in addition to the 0.9 percent currently collected; (2) a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) of 0.8 percent ($80 annually per $10,000 of vehicle value) in addition to the 0.3 percent MVET Sound Transit is collecting through 2028; and (3) a property tax of 25 cents for each $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Note the tax valuation is based off an archane MSRP depreciation calculation, not actual market value. It ends up being somewhat regressive, based on the age of car. I think congestion tolling of the downtown core is next. I don't mind taking transit everywhere - problem is Seattle does NOT have world class transit. Catch 22.

Our city council is waaaaay left, which also has me wondering if a tech boom city is still right for us. I'm thinking a Google job in Boulder could be chill. 

[Apoc]

Hey look, about another year has passed.

Just hit 7500 miles, which puts me at 2000 miles/year. It has needed nothing of consequence since I bought it, which might have something to do with the fact it rarely goes anywhere. The battery is fine in summer, but I don't think it's going to make it through this winter. Lows are in the 40-50s here at night and it's weak to start when cold. I might try and put it back on a charger to see if that lasts me another winter... but that's pretty much the only decision I have to make at this point.

I keep thinking I want something like an S3 or M3, but there's zero way for me to justify things when I drive 2k/year. GTI meets every need we have as a second car and it's paid off, so it'll probably be with us until we (hopefully) move in a few years.

[Apoc]

Reminded by JRay's post. Hit four years of ownership - not much to report except the rear view camera does still get stuck out on occasion. I think I notice it like once a year, but who knows how many times it actually happens. The car is out of warranty, so I'll deal with it when it becomes an actual problem. At this point, the car probably costs me more than makes sense with insurance and registration, but I can't see being a one car house with a kid and downgrading means taxes, etc. I'll just hold it and sell it in a few years with really low miles. 

edit: the image sizing doesn't work

[Sijray21]

With it being paid off I don't really see a reason to sell it unless you just need the space or the admin costs are high. If/when you sell the car you should be able to get a decent amount with how little miles it has and since it's likely in great condition.

Do you just drive the wagon more for everything?

[Apoc]

Do you just drive the wagon more for everything?

It was only used for commuting, but I have not been to an office for over 18 months because of medical leave and then COVID. Beyond that, everything here is still closed. No school, no in-person restaurants, no sports, no movies, no aquarium - not much of anything except retail. The only time it gets driven is if I go grab some carry out lunch during the week or go to the weed store. We ended up taking the second car seat out of it and install in the nanny's car, so she can take him outside in the rain. :-D

Everywhere the kid goes it's in the wagon, but there really isn't a lot of places to go. Most everything for "life" is within a 5 miles drive, so even this car is averaging <25 miles/week. City living, I guess.

[Senor_Taylor]

Are you really a "one car" house if you still have a Porsche in the garage?

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[Apoc]

Are you really a "one car" house if you still have a Porsche in the garage?

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According to Haggerty, no... but 1) the wife doesn't drive it and the kid can't ride in it, and 2) it's wrecked.