Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Columbus, New Mexico

Columbus, NM Car Consumer Discussions

The UAW is sticking to its guns!

by nippononly on Sat Nov 15 11:38:44 PST 2008

UAW leader says no more concessions COLUMBUS, Ohio – Even as Detroit's Big Three teeter on collapse, United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger said Saturday that workers will not make any more concessions and that getting the automakers back on their feet means figuring out a way to turn around the slumping economy. "The focus has to be on the economy as a whole as opposed to a UAW contract," Gettelfinger told reporters on a conference call, noting the labor costs now make up 8 percent to 10 percent of the cost of a vehicle. "We have made dramatic, dramatic changes and the UAW was applauded for that," he said. "We cannot afford to allow to see this industry collapse. There is a real concern that could happen." The extreme levels of both denial and arrogance in the senior management at this union are just incredible, especially given Gettelfinger's last statement there. They really will ignore reality until they have lost all their members their jobs..... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081115/ap_on_bi_ge/auto_bailout_gettelfinger

Re: My lease deal [lasers]

by 2iugrads on Fri Nov 14 09:36:55 PST 2008

I figured, and actually I got a much better quote from a Cleveland dealership. - 0 down - 41000ish Net cap cost - payment of $545/mo including tax This is about 5k off MSRP, would this be about right? I'm going to a dealership in Columbus tomorrow.

Re: $55 oil equals less than $2 gas [lemmer]

by andre1969 on Wed Nov 12 08:05:19 PST 2008

Based on that, I don't know how some people figure this is the worst recession since the Great Depression. Well personally, this time around has hit me harder than the recession in late 2001/early 2002 did. I probably saw my retirement/investments take a hit of about 1/3. Yet the value of my condo went up. I was also in no danger of losing my job. The one factor that probably hurt me the most financially was that on Columbus Day 2001, I officially decided that I would never, EVER deliver another pizza, for as long as I live! I didn't pick the best time to go down to one job, but I managed to survive. This time around? Well, at one point, October 17 I think it was, my retirement portfolio had lost almost half, compared to its peak barely a year before. I wouldn't be surprised if the value of my house has dropped by at least 25% off its peak. My house would probably also be a hard sell these days, because most of its value is in the land. A developer could buy it, raze the buildings, and divide it up, but developers are having a hard time doing that these days. I have no intention of selling anytime soon, and I still have plenty of equity in the place, but it still wouldn't be easy to unload if I had to. I'm still in no danger of losing my job, so I'm okay there. Also, groceries and gasoline are a lot more expensive than they were, say, 7 years ago. I remember gas prices getting back down to about $1.00 per gallon around this time in 2001. So even with today's relatively cheap gas, it's double what it was 7 years ago. I dunno how much groceries have gone up on average, but I remember milk being $2.25-2.50 per gallon not that long ago (probably longer ago than I think though), where nowadays I usually pay $4-4.50. Another thing that's roughly doubled in that time is electricity, at least around here. So far this year, I've been averaging about 16.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. Back then, it was around 9 cents. Now the recession before that, back in the early 90's, I was still in college, so relatively insulated from that one. And house prices did drop around here during that one. I paid $84K for my condo in 1994. In 1990 it would have easily fetched $100K. It wouldn't be until around 2001 that it would be back up to $100K. And I know some areas got hit hard that time around, especially California. I had a friend who lived in Garden Grove, who paid around $100K for a condo when prices were still high. Once he finally mailed the keys to the mortgage company, and was laid off, I think it was worth around $10K! :surprise: The crisis before that, 1979-83, I was just a little kid, so I was too young to know what was going on. I do remember Mom griping about paying $1.10 per gallon for gas though, and finally getting fed up and trading her '75 LeMans with its 350 V-8 for a relatively efficient 1980 Malibu with a 229-V-6. That recession was sort of funny though (not in a ha-ha sort of way). By the spring of 1982, Chevy was actually selling V-8 Caprices at sticker price, sometimes even with ADMU stickers. Meanwhile they were having to throw incentives at some of their more fuel-efficient cars, like the 4-cyl Celebrity, to get anyone to pay attention to it. Also, in that recession, house prices were still creeping upward. And in those days, more people had pensions, rather than relying on 401k's and personal savings and such. So I think there was a little more overall stability than there is today. So the reason that people are comparing this to the Great Depression is because it's more similar to that in the way that people are getting wiped out financially. In past recessions you might get laid off, and as a result have to burn through your savings, and then start missing mortgage payments so you'd lose your house. But this time around, many people are losing their savings, home, AND job, all at once. The GDP may not be hurting too much (yet), but many people certainly are!

Price Increase

by mtnman1 on Tue Nov 11 13:39:45 PST 2008

What's the deal with GM raising the base price of the Outlook FWD XR by $3000 on the 2009 vs. 2008? In these difficult economic times with people tightening their belts why would they raise the price so much? Am I missing something?

Cross Country driving on 2000 protege with ~99000 miles

by girishbala on Tue Nov 11 09:10:22 PST 2008

Hi! I am new to this forum. I noticed that people on this forum are really helpful and knowledgeable, so here we go...hope you can help me. I have a 2000 protege(had it for about 17 months now) with 98,990 miles on it. I plan to get my 100,000 miles service (esp. my timing belt changed) done soon. I live in Columbus, OH and will be moving to Los Angeles, CA in about 2 months. I am new to this and not sure if I should drive cross country especially because I plan to have this car at least for another 2 years(until I get done with grad school.) I want to know if its a smart idea to drive cross country. Along those lines, if there are any specifics that I need to plan, have etc. for the service and the trip (if I plan to do it) please let me know. Thanks for your help! G

Re: To expound on my prior post [laurasdada]

by rvator4 on Sat Nov 08 07:31:33 PST 2008

I know I am a little late, but your post on the WDC trip was great. I flew from Columbus, OH 99$ RT) with my grandson to Dulles and rode a cab ($16) to the museum. Back the same day and well worth the trip. We have a 2008 TL now, bought in August, but only 700 miles on it. We are driving to Dallas(2300 miles RT) for Thanksgiving and I like to drive 80 to 90 on the freeway. I was looking for advice about driving that long, that fast, with so few miles on it.