Diy is getting expensive

[Script]

I am just look at $$$ and ways to shave a few off with diy builds.

I buy ALL generic parts (screws, terminators, gold-plated IC sockets etc etc etc) cheap from China, cutting the middlemen, and use recycled cases wherever I can (lots of them around where I live).

Also, I do all metalwork myself. It's cheaper but takes more time (so might not be feasible for everybody). I don't need nor want DIY units to have engraved etc front panels and rather spend a bit more on quality components (ICs, caps etc etc) for the actual circuitry.

P.S.
1k6 for iron is crazy expensive...

 

[pucho812]

I buy ALL generic parts (screws, terminators, gold-plated IC sockets etc etc etc) cheap from China, cutting the middlemen, and use recycled cases wherever I can (lots of them around where I live).

Also, I do all metalwork myself. It's cheaper but takes more time (so might not be feasible for everybody). I don't need nor want DIY units to have engraved etc front panels and rather spend a bit more on quality components (ICs, caps etc etc) for the actual circuitry.

P.S.
1k6 for iron is crazy expensive...

I would do my own metalwork but I don’t have the space where I currently reside for such things

 

[Script]

Neither do I really. I drill and file indoors, but dremel and spray outdoors (much to the delight of my neighbors)...

 

[pucho812]

Neither do I really. I drill and file indoors, but dremel and spray outdoors (much to the delight of my neighbors)...

Lucky you. If I do any of that inside or outside I would be out of a place. But I can solder and they don’t mind the Noise from testing

 

[Script]

That sucks. At least they don't mind the occasional tinnitus.

Not sure there's a local community workshop around where I live.

 

[Script]

I've been toying with the idea of using easy-to-work on thin PVC or other material for faceplates (with a layer or two of cheaper copper foil or layer of cheaper case metal cut to size) on the back and two sturdy rack ears. Question of time.

 

[scott2000]

there are established blue book prices

Doesn't matter or work like that anymore.. They use a report called ccc one... There is plenty of info on the web and unhappy stories about it. Even a class action suit was brought iirc. They basically find comps that have sold or are for sale they want to use even if there are ones more comparable to your car and either add or subtract value based on the comp's similarity to yours. But this can be very subjective where useful... bordering downright ridiculous. And they'll do stuff like use comps with lower miles so they can deduct their preferred number that mileage is worth... . The adjuster can and does miss options on your car in the report that you have to watch out for....

....but after the comparing is when they'll deduct even more from your car saying that it must be in worse condition than one on a lot because the lot puts time and money into making the cars sale ready. Even if you know your car is nicer. You can even see it if you do a little digging for the comps they use.

It's really not anything close to where you could get in a replacement vehicle that's out there unless you get really lucky and find one of those deals . They call it market value or something like that. Not replacement value....

And no I didn't total a car. In many cases the insurance does that if it's not financially in their best interests to repair your car. If you have your Cobra's back bumper dented a bit, chances are there that the body work cost will make them want to total your car if, as you say, it can be on the lower end of value for example.

I think I have the general idea down and ymmv. But yeah that CCC one report and it's company that works with the insurance companies isn't there for the insured.

 

[JohnRoberts]

i looked for a CCC one appraisal for my car and couldn't find one. But I did find somebody else complaining about them being sleazy scumbags. Their website claims that they have been an industry leader for 40 years, but I never heard of them.

Edmunds claims that my car's trade in value is $1300-$3495. Looking at used ones for sale I couldn't find one for <2-3x that and several more like 10x that.... Kelly blue book was a little more generous $9-$10k.

A month or so ago I filled out a questionnaire with lots of questions and they valued my car at $4600.... I certainly can't buy anything close to this for $5k. Maybe if I paid too much for a new car the dealer would give me a more generous trade in but I think the new cars have too much technology, while I wouldn't mind getting a 460HP several year old mustang.

My '93 SVT Cobra that I totaled was a limited edition so already pretty scarce. My current 97 SVT Cobra is not as scarce as the '93 was, but it is still not that common.

JR

 

[scott2000]

Edmunds claims that my car's trade in value is $1300-$3495

Iirc just above auction sale price and low retail is the spot people find themselves in. Without knowing the process, many probably just take it. And it takes a little work to find your own comps, check through the report for inconsistencies and go back and forth on other stuff hoping this helps. I hear it's tough getting any extra outside of finding inconsistencies with comparable options but even that can be worthwhile if your talking $700 even....

I read somewhere you can insure a certain amount on your vehicle. Putting a $2k rear end in a truck that's only worth a grand would bite if someone decides to drive silly and causes a situation where you need the insurance company to step in....

 

[JohnRoberts]

I'm still not clear on the exact transaction you are negotiating,,,

JR

 

[scott2000]

I'm still not clear on the exact transaction you are negotiating,,,

JR

I was just responding to your reply, or adding to my comment about how it would be nice if the insurance companies looked at used car price appreciations instead of cherry picking and finagling things to leave customers or other parties less than whole when the time comes to hold up their end. Or, maybe at least the general view of how it really works should be more understood.
Not getting in an accident is obviously good from a safety perspective but, getting in a fender bender could literally leave some without a car and without enough money to get a reasonably similar replacement. Or with a busted up car and zero money to fix it if you don't take the car being totalled deal.

 

[JohnRoberts]

I was just responding to your reply, or adding to my comment about how it would be nice if the insurance companies looked at used car price appreciations instead of cherry picking and finagling things to leave customers or other parties less than whole when the time comes to hold up their end. Or, maybe at least the general view of how it really works should be more understood.
Not getting in an accident is obviously good from a safety perspective but, getting in a fender bender could literally leave some without a car and without enough money to get a reasonably similar replacement. Or with a busted up car and zero money to fix it if you don't take the car being totalled deal.

I stopped buying collision insurance for my car probably over a decade ago... Since the totaled valuation would be $5k or less I probably already saved that much and more. I still buy liability insurance and uninsured driver(?).

Modern auto technology should reduce the number of accidents. My ABS brakes saved my front end years ago when some butt hole ran a red light crossing in my path. I didn't have enough time but to jam on the brakes and cut the steering wheel hard... ABS prevented my tires from skidding and I safely steered away from the sure collision. Without ABS I probably would have skidded straight into his path.

JR

 

[scott2000]

Glad you were able to avoid an accident. It would be nice to live in a more rural area if for no other reason than avoiding some traffic. It's getting to be like some kind of sci fi road warrior/ clown show. Not sure I'd ever own another motorcycle here.

 

[pucho812]

Glad you were able to avoid an accident. It would be nice to live in a more rural area if for no other reason than avoiding some traffic. It's getting to be like some kind of sci fi road warrior/ clown show. Not sure I'd ever own another motorcycle here.

Rural is not all fun and games. Less traffic from less people is good but the less traffic means those that are on the road drive way faster than they should. In turn the wreck just as much but often with way more damage. Rural means they sometimes collide with deer and other wildlife. Don’t get me wrong I grew up in rural texas and wouldn’t change a minute of my childhood but like anywhere else there are pros and cons.

 

[jasonallenh]

While I still prefer the classic definitions for what causes inflation (too much money supply chasing too few goods), but I did hear about a study that claims car dealers are contributing to inflation by increasing their profit margin (roughly doubled during study period). Customers could still find vehicles without the extra markup by shopping around, but most customers purchase from their local dealers. Higher new car prices also increase the prices for used cars too. This industry category is reportedly responsible for less than 1 point of inflation but high enough to be noticed by regulators/legislators desperately looking for someone to blame.

JR

The largest grocery distributer in the US reported a 12% increase in profits even amongst the highest point of inflation. If you're raising prices because you need to....then your profit shouldn't increase. If you're raising prices because people need food to survive and they'll find a way to pay so they don't starve, well...........that's another thing altogether.

 

[JohnRoberts]

The largest grocery distributer in the US reported a 12% increase in profits even amongst the highest point of inflation. If you're raising prices because you need to....then your profit shouldn't increase. If you're raising prices because people need food to survive and they'll find a way to pay so they don't starve, well...........that's another thing altogether.

grocery store profit margins sit between one and three percent, but you can make up for it in volume. Large grocery stores have small profit margins but huge sales volumes which still results in satisfactory net income dollars.

The grocery business is incredibly thin profit margin. That's why mass retailers like Walmart often sell them as a loss leader to generate the regular store traffic to sell them other stuff (not that Walmart is a charity). I just noticed that Tyson reported lousy profits (losses) for their sundry meat businesses (chicken, pork, beef).

In efficient free markets pricing outliers get discovered and lose sales. There is lots of discussion about pricing power (i.e. who can raise prices without losing customers). Not many obvious winners, and those who can get written up in the business news.

JR

 

[jasonallenh]

Rural is not all fun and games. Less traffic from less people is good but the less traffic means those that are on the road drive way faster than they should. In turn the wreck just as much but often with way more damage. Rural means they sometimes collide with deer and other wildlife. Don’t get me wrong I grew up in rural texas and wouldn’t change a minute of my childhood but like anywhere else there are pros and cons.

I'm from rural Florida and the speed limit on the road I grew up on is 40MPH, which is insane. An entire family was killed because their car hit a horse that had gotten loose.

 

[jasonallenh]

The grocery business is incredibly thin profit margin. That's why mass retailers like Walmart often sell them as a loss leader to generate the regular store traffic to sell them other stuff (not that Walmart is a charity). I just noticed that Tyson reported lousy profits (losses) for their sundry meat businesses (chicken, pork, beef).

In efficient free markets pricing outliers get discovered and lose sales. There is lots of discussion about pricing power (i.e. who can raise prices without losing customers). Not many obvious winners, and those who can get written up in the business news.

JR

From one year ago:

"In the supermarket sector, for the 5 weeks ending April 2, U.S. grocery sales grew 6.4% in dollars but declined 4.1% in units, as higher prices pushed downstream by retailers started to impact consumer demand. Albertsons, the nation’s fifth largest grocery chain, reported identical sales growth of 7.5% for the three months ending Feb. 26, up nearly 20% from two years ago. Quarterly profits rose to $455.1 million, compared with a $144.2 million loss a year ago. And Kroger, which accounts for over 10% of all grocery sales nationwide, reported identical sales and profits up as well.

Recent research illustrates these inflationary-profit trends, in particular busting the myth of a wage-price spiral driven by increased worker incomes. Over 53% of price increases in the last two years have been driven by profit margin gains, while wage increases were responsible for less than 8%. This is a big turnaround from the trends of the last 40 years, when profits contributed just 11% to price increases while labor contributed over 61%. And a Morgan Stanley analysis concluded likewise, even as news broke of declining worker productivity during the pandemic, that "real wages systematically undershot productivity growth for most of the last two decades, and the labor share of income fell notably as a consequence. Corporate profit margins were the prime beneficiaries of the falling labor share."

According to economist Isabella Weber , “Outsize price hikes are at least partially responsible for inflation. Companies have bragged about how they have managed to be ahead of the inflation curve, how they have managed to jack up prices more than their costs and as a result have delivered these record profits.”

 

[JohnRoberts]

"at least partially responsible for inflation" is not responsible for inflation... of course there are multiple factors contributing.

===
I think politicians need to demonstrate and awareness of economic theory... I keep seeing wrongheaded economic incentives that punish good behavior. One recent bit of crazy is charging people with high credit scores an extra fee on their mortgage. If you punish good behavior you will get less of it.

JR

 

[Dreams]

"at least partially responsible for inflation" is not responsible for inflation... of course there are multiple factors contributing.

Yes it is. It's right there in the quote. If you're going to be pedantic then do it better, it doesn't say "wholely responsible"

One recent bit of crazy is charging people with high credit scores an extra fee on their mortgage. If you punish good behavior you will get less of it.

Is the suggestion here that mortgage lenders have any sort of coherent ideology apart from "charge as much as we can when and wherever we can"? Are you saying that people with high credit scores are going to start taking out payday loans for fun or