In my new neighborhhod to the Left of me is the Homeowner Association President. He has two new SUV's and his groceries are ordered on the Internet. The house are spaced closely and the arrangement is claustrophobic, its almost like living in a Townhouse.
When he saw my car jacked up, he came running over and tried to cite the HOA Clause about having a disabled vehicle. I said its not disabled, its under repair.
I noticed that most neighbors here live "inside their house" They all drive new cars for the most part and drive right into their garages at night and out in the morning. Inside comes the glow of 36" LCD TV's, the jangle of phones ringing and people on the Internet. Most people hire others to cut the Lawn.
I'm the only oddball who lives outside my house. To me the lawn, driveway and backyard are my living room, especially in the summer. I love the smell of cut wood or burnt steel.
The sight of me on a Saturday is not pretty. No Dockers, or Izods. Just grease from head to toe as I keep my 5 junkers running. I think most neighbors think I am either 1. DUMB 2. POOR 3. OWN NO GOOD CLOTHES 4. NUTTY 5. Cant wait until I move. 6. THINK I AM FROM THE 1950"s
The thing that makes me wonder, is how do these people survive financially? Contractors cut their Lawn, 8 year old Washing machines are discarded and TVs and Computers sit on the Curb with "Free" signs on them.
I may not be rich, but i have few debts. I shop on Craig's List and from Trading Times. The only guy I feel a kinship with is the Russian immigrant who is a blue collar guy of some sorts who lives nearby who speaks no English, and even he has a nice Lexus.
Well they have over 50 communities. Someday i wish they would have a community wher you could not live unless You could weld aluminum, owned a engine hoist and dessed sloopily on weekends.

Who's the President of that HOA?


Got to petition to get this guy Carrameow out of the neighborhood...........he clearly isn't one of "us"...........

I suspect it's just a symptom of the fact that many people have more money than time. They are basically just paying for their free time. If it's worth paying someone else $80/hour so you don't have to crawl around under your car, you get to spend a few extra hours hanging out with the family, watching the game, whatever.

Modern cars, TVs, and such are almost impossible for the average consumer to repair. They are designed to be as inexpensive as possible to build, since people in general and Americans in particular want to buy the least expensive products. Repairability adds cost so it's left out.

Electronic auto components are also non-repairable. Even the dealer's expert doesn't repair stuff like that. They run a test and replace the component that the test tells them to replace. Electronics used to be repairable down to the component level -- not any more. You can't even see the components.

Then there's the question of labor cost. Anyone who faces a big repair realizes that labor is often the biggest factor. That's one reason why the car dealer's service technician "replaces a module" rather than repairing it (even if that were possible).

Finally, and especially where electronics is involved, advances in technology make today's marvelous gadget obsolete tomorrow. The future replacement will be improved and possibly less expensive. Computers, celphones, etc. spring to mind. Why repair? Throw it away and buy a new one.

All of that means that Carrameow's neighbors and our neighbors stay inside and play their video games while we work on our 20-year-old repairable cars, our 40-year-old vacuum tube hi-fi equipment, and our other repairable toys.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Sounds like you're in the wrong neighborhood...there's got to be cooler people in Seattle.

__________________
1985 300TD-euro 352,000 mi
1974 240D (1?)52,000 mi - has a new home now

Definitely. With the desirable living conditions you listed I'd suggest avoiding HOAs at all costs! The main goal of HOAs is to create uniformity. If you don't fit into the mold, you're an outcast.

__________________
1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon

Sadly, these neighborhoods are too common.

__________________
1984 300TD

Sure there are! I'm one of them!

I've taken a car to the repair shop all of three times in my life, and only because the weather was so miserable that I simply couldn't see myself crawling under the car in anything like four feet of snow, or a three inches of standing water.

I've only purchased one new car in my life, and I only did that because I had less than a week to get a car capable of driving 300 miles a day. On top of that, my company was reimbursing me for it completely.

I recycle a lot of things others discard. I've picked up three cars off of CraigsList. I've bought computer parts at Value Village. Heck, I have clothing from value village.

Every three or four years, I build a new computer, frequently with slightly used components that I picked up from someone who only used them for a month before the next latest and greatest component is released. That alone means I spend half or less than what most people are paying for a computer, and I'm using stuff that's already been manufactured.

I dumped close to a grand on a semi-pro digital camera 7 years ago that takes photos just as well as the newer cameras, even if it's four times the size, and I still use it several times a week. Before she met me, my wife went through several $300 - $400 cameras within two years. I know a lot of other people that do the same thing. It's a huge waste of money, and most of that stuff ends up in landfills, instead of being properly recycled. I buy things with the intention of using them for a long time, not replacing them every six months.

Sure, Seattle is full of people that buy a phone, car, computer, clothes, and appliances every year, but we're not all like that. The vast numbers of old diesel Mercedes roaming the streets is proof of that.

*Note: I'm more in to saving money than hugging trees. Don't get the wrong idea. I do believe conservation is something we should all take part in, but you won't see me skipping my daily showers in order to conserve water any time soon.*

Carrameow, you let me know when, and we can go hit the local salvage yards for parts, then scare the patrons of the nearest StarBuck's in a fancy neighbourhood with our dusty clothes and grease-smeared faces. We're likely to have the pleasure of knowing that we're the only folks there that aren't in debt up to our eyeballs.

__________________
- K.C.Adams

'77 300D Euro Delivery
OM617 turbo / 4-speed swap
404 Milanbraun Metallic / 134 Dattel MB-Tex

Current status:
* Undergoing body work

My '77 300D progress thread

I know it isn't feasible, but that clearly is not the place for you! You need to live next door to me, or Mustang Man298, or WhiskeyDan, etc........
Ah, the joys that would bring......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

There's this recent credit commercial starring some guy on a big yard tractor, cutting the grass of his 'mini-mansion' while he's lamenting about his wealthy lifestyle, and whining "I can barely afford my finance charges! Won't somebody help me?"

As for repairing things, aside from the 'newer is better' mentality, many things just aren't built to be fixed anymore. And even when you'd prefer to repair, if you're mechanically unskilled, there's the fear of getting a repair person who's incompetent or a crook.

I have friends that think nothing about charging 3 or 4 grand on all new appliances, as soon as the first one breaks, or the color goes out of style.
Fortunately, my mechanical talents can usually keep mine going until they're at least a couple decades old. Then I shop for newer replacements at local thift-stores, yard sales, the Habitat store, or curbside.

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

There are people, right on Mercedes-Shop, who think nothing of dropping $5K on a stove. Now, seriously, does anybody really need a $5K stove?

$3.5K would get you three very good appliances.....but, certainly not extravagant.

For $5K, it needs to be airconditioned, have a nice audio system, and be capable of driving comfortably on the interstate!

As it happens, over the past two years I've had to install a washer, dryer, dishwasher, microwwve and kitchen faucet. Total cost around $250 (And a sore shoulder!)

Happy Motoring, Mark

__________________
DrDKW

Dont worry much about them. They are funding the rest of us......

MAN OH MAN... what a bunch of nasty neighbors!

It is GOOD to live in the country! Heck, I have had two neighbors come over to see if they could help me! One has a couple of MBs as projects as well. We are now planning a wrench day (hopefully soon!) so that all of the local Benz owners can come over and we wrench together.

It helps that I have a nice big garage with an air conditioned rec room above with a Brunswick pool table and a Tiki bar...... My wife calls it the "Man Shed".

__________________
NC Benz
Fuquay-Varina, NC
1979 300D
1983 300D Turbo 260,000 Miles
1984 300D Turbo 345,000 Miles (sons car)
OBK #31
1998 Ford Expedition 5.4l (fer Haulin'!) 145,000
1973 19' SeaRay with 115 Mercury TOWER OF POWER!
Club Car Golf Cart 36V
Ex toys:
1967 Mustang 289 (First Car)
Fiat 124TC
1975 Honda CVCC
1980 Audi 5000 Turbo

I lived in a neighborhood with stiff HOA rules and a ten foot gap in between houses. I would fire up the welder on a Saturday and a group of wife dressed men, drinking wine coolers, would come over and hang out. They would never help. They would yap about how one or the other took shop in school or mess with the welder.

When I was building my wooden fence it was the same. They would ask "Why build instead of buy?" I would sip my roke and wink at their wives.

I moved to the country and haven't looked back. 3 acres and I'm pretty sure my closest neighbor is in a different timezone.

__________________
Satan creates nothing: he only ruins everything. He does not invent: he tampers. And his followers are no different ~ Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò