24K Retirement "budgets"

[Jay_Gatsby]

Hooey.. gonna have to respectfully disagree. *The G35 looks homely in IMO. *Although their M series looks pretty sweet.

Agreed, the G35 sedan is nothing special, while the G35 coupe is ugly. I prefer the lines of the 350Z (same engine as the G35 coupe), but it's too small.

[ShokWaveRider]

How about the new Passat Diesel, and the Mercedes e320 Diesel. I like them. Can't afford the new Merc. Anyone like these diesels?

SWR

[Hyperborea]

How about the new Passat Diesel, and the Mercedes e320 Diesel. I like them. Can't afford the new Merc. Anyone like these diesels?

If you are interested in diesels then I would wait a year or two. The US and Canada are finally going to be bringing in low sulfur diesel and that will mean that European manufacturers will be able to bring in more of their diesel vehicles to this market. Just about every vehicle made in Europe has a diesel version (i.e. diesel BMWs) but few of them make it to North America because the diesel fuel here is so bad that it will clog the emission control systems. The ones that we do get are specially modified/designed for the poor diesel fuel here.

[ESRBob]

I drove one of these Euro-diesels this summer for a week, and really loved it. 50-60 mpg and lots of torque/pickup. (These are not technical specs but impressions and rough calcs as a driver). Can't wait to have these available in the U.S. -- it will be a credible alternative to the hybrids, imho.

Also, has anyone else heard about the bio-diesel project that took a powerboat around the world on diesel fuel made from either soy beans or old cooking oil? It was pretty interesting: apparently you can process pretty much any oil into diesel (not sure how energy-intensive either creating the oil is or turning it into diesel is, but the concept of making fuel not from petroleum is quite intriguing to me).

http://www.cytoculture.com/Biodiesel%20Handbook.htm

ESRBob

[Martha]

I have a jetta diesel and absolutely love it. It is kind of small but I am a small person. The mileage is regularly up over 50 miles per gallon. It even starts at 30 below zero. I like the little rumbly sound you get witht the diesel engine.

It is much more reliable than the old 1885 diesel vw westfalia van I had some years ago.

They must have realized that 1885 model had some problems as yet went back to the horse and buggy
for a while there

John Galt

[yakers]

Martha_M talked about her Jetta diesel thusly:

It is much more reliable than the old 1885 diesel vw westfalia van I had some years ago.


I currently have a 1985 VW Westy, when it started giving me mechanical pain I had the VW engine replaced with a Subaru unit. Meets CA smog requirements and works flawlessly. Just took a 800 mile trip on it and ran like a top. I would like to have another diesel, I had a 1966 Mercedes 200 D once. But they are pretty much out for California right now. I am thinking of a hybred or maybe a CNG car to replace my main car which was recently in an accident.

[haha]

I currently have a 1985 VW Westy, when it started giving me mechanical pain I had the VW engine replaced with a Subaru unit. Meets CA smog requirements and works flawlessly. Just took a 800 mile trip on it and ran like a top.

Yakers, is this the typical 4 cyl opposed gasoline Subaru you installed? What size? What did the job cost you? And the engine? Was it a junkyard pullout?

Thanks, Mikey

[yakers]

Yakers, is this the typical 4 cyl opposed gasoline Subaru you installed? What size? What did the job cost you? And the engine? Was it a junkyard pullout?

Thanks, Mikey

It was a standard Subaru Legacy 2.2 engine, a low miles Japanese market motor. I paid to have the conversion, about $5.5k. It sounds like a lot but a rebuilt VW installation is about $4K and the improvement over the VW engine is significant. The motor fits in, looks natural except for not leaking oil, coolant and the like.

5.5K Why, we don't even own a vehicle worth
that much. I would recover whatever I could
and just move on, but that's just me. I'm sorry, I just
don't get it.

John Galt

[yakers]

5.5K Why, we don't even own a vehicle worth
that much. I would recover whatever I could
and just move on, but that's just me. I'm sorry, I just
don't get it.

John Galt

Actually "get it" is a good choice of words. Some people get VW Westfalia campers and most do not. The VW camper has been somewhat LBOM for us. We traded down fron a Class C RV. The VW is used as a van for carting things from the hard ware store, as a spare room for visitors (1000 SQ FT house) and as an emergency backup in the event of an earthquake (real possibility in Southern California). But most of all I can load my wife, younger boy & I and all our stuff and three kayaks and go camping and kayaking. Our annual family vacation is a camping trip which saves a few bucks over other kinds of vacations. And the end all of the arguments in its favor is that my wife likes it and directed me to have our old one fixed rather than buying a new one, again saving us some money. Its the fixing with a reliable engine that has made this useful from a vehicle transportation basis, I did not want to continue to have mechanical adventures tacked onto our family trips. There is something nice but not subject to financial analysis about having confidence in a vehicle. But I do not expect or take offense at anyone not getting a VW camper but anyone who has had one will tell you stories about as interesting as you will hear from sailors and their boats.

[haha]

But I do not expect or take offense at anyone not getting a VW camper but anyone who has had one will tell you stories about as interesting as you will hear from sailors and their boats.

Yakers, plenty people feel like you do. I still see lots of 60s era VW vans around, even some with psychedelic paint jobs. They bring back happy memories

Thanks for answering my question about costs of the conversion, etc. I thought your reply might draw some wonder.

Mikey

[Hyperborea]

Yakers, plenty people feel like you do. I still see lots of 60s era VW vans around, even some with psychedelic paint jobs. They bring back happy memories

You have memories of those times? I thought the saying was that "if you can remember it then you weren't really there"?

Yakers, do you have a "Steal Your Face" on the van somewhere?
http://tinyurl.com/63flp

[JWV]

Yakkers,

Your post really got me thinking. I've always been fascinated by those VW campers but haven't looked inside one in years. We've always been campers and now have a SMALL tent camper which is really old but keeps you off the cold, hard ground and as the bones age, that's important. I'd love to have something that could be the hauling vehicle but also do double duty for weekends and vacations. I hadn't even thought about the guest room part. Do you use it as a second vehicle? Do they have a fold-down bed? How old is the son you take with you. Can 4 ride comfortably? (We could throw in the sm tent and sleeping bags for the boys).

Things that make you go Hmmmmm. :-/

Judy

I'm planning on 3K a month in retirement, starting now.
1K my SS
1K wifes SS
1K from savings
36k a year
need 300k saved with a SWRof 4%=12k a year.
Thoughts:::live in wisconsin with lower cost of living.

I'm planning on 3K a month in retirement, starting now.
1K my SS
1K wifes SS
1K from savings
36k a year
need 300k saved with a SWRof 4%=12k a year.
Thoughts:::live in wisconsin with lower cost of living.

A reasonable plan. If it is invested properly. What does your investment portfolio look like?