Official Austin Chat Thread (Fort Hood, Bastrop: water heater, best place, reputation)

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

Don't know how those coastal folks made it down there without AC.. ..the humidity alone is enough to suffocate a man.

In the '30s, my dad lived in a lean-to on the beach for ~year, although he was pretty young and doesn't remember much about it. I think they got an AC window unit in the 50s, but not sure I remember correctly. The real cost of leaving shoe-less (and often shirt-less) during his youth was his quarterly visits to the dermatologist when he got older.

[Trainwreck20]

Sold a car today. It was an 'estate' car (2014 Ford Escape, 110k miles) and I didn't want to go through the hassle of selling private, so took it to a few places to see what they would give me. All over the place - 6k, 7.6k, 8.3k, and 9k. The lowest was Carmax, the dealers were all much higher.

[Need4Camaro]

Interesting that Carmax was the lowest. Sometime this summer I’m going to let go of the Prius. I’m not sure if I’m going to replace it or not though. I would like a Camry Hybrid, but toy with the idea of an EV incase it becomes harder to buy fuel… but EV’s are so expensive that it would take several years to recoup the costs in gasoline even by todays prices.

I was looking at the Hyundai Kona but with the inflated car market, a decently optioned one is selling at nearly $50k which I personally can’t justify spending.

[Trainwreck20]

I took an Uber home from the car dealer I sold the car to. I picked the lowest tier (forget what it is called) but the guy that picked me up was in an Infinity QX60. It was a very sweet ride. Turns out the guy works as a chef up north and lives in Kyle, so every day after work he takes two or three fares and the last one is set to be close to his end of town. Otherwise, he said he targets the 'luxury' market - couples on dates and/or families going out for an evening. Something about getting double the rate for some fares. Super nice guy, cleanest (and freshest smelling) Uber I have ever been in .

[ashbeeigh]

I must just not scream “high end” when I request rides. They’re in weird places when I need them and usually only get rides when I’m getting my car serviced and need to get myself back to work. I was in a late model navigator, an Altima, and maybe an Elantra in that last few times. The drivers have all been very quiet gentlemen who were not chatty at all. I don’t know if I project “leave me alone I’m a single woman” vibe or what. I’d be happy to talk if they were friendly but usually it’s just “hello” and “ have a good day.” I will say I requested a ride one Friday afternoon downtown and couldn’t get the regular ride and had to upgrade, so I got a one of the Tesla sedans as a ride. Surprisingly, that driver was a woman and was very friendly.

When I started looking for a replacement for my Niro, I started to look at Hyundai hybrids and in November they were in the high 30s for the base hybrid. I’m shocked it’s gone up that much. I’m a big fan of my forester so far. I feel very safe and the little place I bought it from has serviced all the little quirks I bought it with. It’ll be interesting to see how much longer the guy lasts though, it’s a small lot next to the torchy’s on south Congress.


Also, moving sucks.

[Need4Camaro]

I chat with my riders pretty often but if they seem closed off I leave them alone and just haul em where they need to go.

Uber X is the lowest tier I believe. For a Infiniti GX60 he's probably better off doing Uber Comfort. Not sure if he can do XL though. I on the other hand can only do Uber X and Uber Green with my Prius and often times end up with those folks trying to be cheap wanting to cram 6 passengers into a car that barely seats 4... ...I'll let people sit up front (most drivers wont) if they're picking up 3 or more people but my carrying limit is 4 passengers.

Infiniti's are excellent vehicles, my mom had a G35 and a G37, super reliable and pretty sporty. They're not known to be fuel efficient though. I already got two gas guzzlers so I need a practical car for Ubers and around town trips.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I chat with my riders pretty often but if they seem closed off I leave them alone and just haul em where they need to go.

Uber X is the lowest tier I believe. For a Infiniti GX60 he's probably better off doing Uber Comfort. Not sure if he can do XL though. I on the other hand can only do Uber X and Uber Green with my Prius and often times end up with those folks trying to be cheap wanting to cram 6 passengers into a car that barely seats 4... ...I'll let people sit up front (most drivers wont) if they're picking up 3 or more people but my carrying limit is 4 passengers.

Infiniti's are excellent vehicles, my mom had a G35 and a G37, super reliable and pretty sporty. They're not known to be fuel efficient though. I already got two gas guzzlers so I need a practical car for Ubers and around town trips.

Yeah, I am not sure how y'all opt into tiers and all that, but he did get a good tip! I am guessing he was saying he did not do higher tiers because he needed to get some fares on the way home...?

[Need4Camaro]

I personally haven’t done the higher tiers. My guess is there’s less demand for them and he wanted to find quick fares to help foot the tolls. That’s what I used to do when I was commuting to work.

[ScoPro]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

I probably wouldn't get very far in TX in a car without A/C

When we bmwere stationed at Fort Sam Houston & Camp (now Fort) Hood 1946-49, we had no A/C in our car nor at home.
Photo taken at Camp Hood 1948.
Our 1941 Buick in front of our uninsulated quarters on the left. I’m the little shaver on the right in front of Dad.

[Need4Camaro]

I had my first Uber ride up to Killeen today. I took Hwy 195. I was expecting it to be a back road with stop lights and stop signs but that actually turned out to be a nice road. Mostly 75 MPH limit with overpasses here and there.