reblog for easter
forget april fools day its almost time for the best video on this entire fuckin planet
sunglasses. no sun. it’s cloudy: overcast.
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
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DEAR READER

izzy's playlists!
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2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
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@terrestrialscuttlebug
reblog for easter
forget april fools day its almost time for the best video on this entire fuckin planet
sunglasses. no sun. it’s cloudy: overcast.
The Myth of Light
(youtube)
Possibly making an insane car buying decision tomorrow. Wish me luck.
Note: I love weird cars and hate car loans. Getting the car of your dreams is not worth the overhead of a car loan.
Take my hand. Look me in the eyes. You are better off buying a beater and learning to work on it than you are getting into a multi-hundred-dollar monthly payment and multi-hundred-dollar monthly full coverage insurance.
Insane car buying decisions should be of the "This would disappoint my parents" variety, not the "i have obtained debt" variety.
Get the electric teal 1991 XJ with 250k miles from craigslist for $2000. Do NOT get the 2023 wrangler with 18,000 miles from carmax for $32,000.
That said: i want this stupid car so fucking bad.
If I don't get my awful little dream mobile, the *less* bonkers option I'm considering is a 26-year-old RAV4 with 180k miles on it.
It has been like seven years since i was a car geek on main so if you met me after i had to sell my Jeep, prepare for me to be so SO annoying about cars.
(The Yaris was a great little car and I really liked it but it was not a car that I was ever excited about. I'm now looking at two vehicles that I've been lusting after since high school, both of which are good for desert offroading i am vibrating with anticipatory glee)
Since you're car posting, any tips for buying your first car?
Yes.
Do not buy a car you have not researched. You don't need to dig in to the complete maintenance history, but you should at the VERY least do a search for "Make/Model/Model year known issues" and if you find issues, make sure they're ones you're comfortable dealing with. I was comfortable dealing with the ABS issues on my 91 Jeep, but I would not be comfortable dealing with head gasket issues on a 2006 Subaru. I was comfortable dealing with electrical issues on my friend's 2012 Tacoma, I would not be comfortable dealing with electrical issues on a 2008 Hybrid Saturn Vue. If you are a first-time car buyer, you may not be comfortable working on ANY issues yourself, but you should know how much it costs to solve the kinds of problems that can come up with the car you're looking at. Electric cars can be a lot more expensive to fix than gas cars, for example. A car with known transmission and engine issues is going to be a lot more expensive to fix than a car with vacuum system issues. You can usually spot red flags with a quick internet search, but if you want to go more in-depth you should search "Make/Model Forum - Known Issue" and search for videos on resolving the issue on YouTube. Forums are one of my favorite things about car culture because you can learn SO MUCH both before and after buying a car.
If you are just starting your search and you don't know what to look for, as a first-time buyer the first thing you should care about is reliability. If you haven't been driving long or you don't drive much, you may not be able to recognize early signs of mechanical issues so it's a good idea to get a car that is known to be boring and reliable - in the US this would be the dullest ten-year-old Toyota Camry or Corolla you can imagine. You want to focus on extremely widely manufactured, popular cars that have a long history with that model line, something that has years and years of options to choose from. Don't buy a car from a defunct manufacturer (I love Saturns, I would not tell a first time buyer to get a Saturn because it is a PAIN IN THE ASS to get parts for one and they've been out of production for so long that it's hard to get reliable answers on what's normal from anyone other than people who own Saturns. It's way, way easier to find a mechanic who knows a Ford Focus inside and out than a mechanic who can help you with your Saturn Sky)
Look up "frequently stolen cars" and try to avoid those, also anything that turns up a ton in a search for "Stolen Catalytic Converter."
Consider your lifestyle, what the car will be used for, and where you live. My dad has been complaining to me that I need to get a bigger car than my Yaris (which was a tiny 2-door) because it was really hard to get more than 2 people in the car, especially if they had luggage. But I don't think I've ever needed to drive more than 2 passengers and my dad and sister are the only ones who get in my car with luggage, and that happens 2-3 times a year. What happens a lot more is that I need to park at a Trader Joe's in LA, so what's more important to my lifestyle is a car that can fit in a compact parking spot when surrounded by people with zero situational awareness. These two needs are not mutually exclusive, but both mean that it would be a bad idea for me to get a 1962 Ford F-250.
Consider maintenance and running costs. The model of car that I'm looking at has a Turbo option - I would not consider getting a turbo because that would mean buying high octane gas, which is not something I want to build into my car expenses budget. Check car forums for PDFs of maintenance manuals and look up what kinds of work needs to be done at what mileage with the vehicle you're considering. You're going to need regular oil changes, you're going to need fuel (or electricity costs, which will be less than fuel), you're going to have to think about the cost and lifespan of tires and when fan belts wear out and what the 50,000, 100,00, and 150,000 mile maintenance routines look like. If you're buying an older car, you SHOULD check and see if there's documentation of that kind of maintenance - there may not be, but if there is that's a good sign!
Consider insurance costs. If you're going to get a car loan - which I recognize that many people have to - in the US you would be required to carry full coverage insurance, which is fuck-off expensive. But even if you don't have a car loan, you may find that liability insurance is more expensive for SUVs than coupes, or more expensive for sports cars than trucks.
Take the car to a mechanic or have a mechanically competent friend come with you for the purchase to check out the vehicle before you sign anything (YMMV; your friend has to be VERY mechanically competent for you to trust a curbside inspection and a test drive). Find a mechanic who offers pre-purchase inspections first, then find a seller, then make sure that the seller knows that the inspection is going to have to be part of the deal. If someone is above-board, they should be fine with this. It will cost you something extra for the initial purchase and it may be an annoying filter for a lot of sellers, but if you don't know cars very well, this is non-negotiable.
Take a skeptical friend or family member with you to the point of purchase. You want a car. You are in need of a car. You have found something that seems like a good deal. Take someone who is less emotionally invested to be a cooler head because they feel less pressure to make the buy and more pressure to make sure their friend doesn't get fucked.
Know what kind of regional environmental damage you might be dealing with. I live in California. I will not buy a car from Minnesota. Cars from places where it snows have rust issues that are totally alien to me. If you're from a dry place and you're buying a car that has been in a humid place or a place with lots of cold wet weather, make sure to check for weather-specific wear and damage.
IF you are considering an auto loan, do NOT go to the dealership without a loan pre-approved. Look at cars that you are interested in and think will be trustworthy, look around in the local market to get an idea of pricing norms, take this information to the bank and ask THEM for a loan because your bank is going to give you a better rate than any dealership. Also a bank isn't invested in selling you a car. Some dealerships will approve anyone for anything; your bank (or, especially, your credit union), will not approve you for a loan that you're not going to be able to pay. A bank isn't going to give a college student a forty thousand dollar loan on an 84 month term at extortionate interest. Plenty of car dealerships WILL do that. And you don't want that. That's a terrible choice. Please, please, don't get screwed by the dealer finance department.
If you do have to get financing from the dealership, do not buy a car based on what you can afford each month, buy a car based on what you can afford as one lump sum. Your budget is not "your monthly budget for this bill" it is "this is as much as I am willing to pay for this car including taxes." Have an actual number in mind. Calculate the taxes first. Build in 5-10% for various kinds of dealership fuckery. The price of the car is going to be is sticker price, plus local taxes (look them up and do the math), plus interest, plus 10% - if your budget is $7000, you are probably looking for a car with a sticker price of no more than about $5000. If you are at a dealership and you say your budget is $7000 they are going to show you cars starting at $7000 and at an 8% dealership interest rate with no down payment because you're broke and 10% taxes you're going to end up paying $9500 for that car with interest. And if you say "oh, $7000 is too high, that's not in my budget" they're going to say "well we can adjust the loan term and bring down your monthly payment and at a five year instead of a three year loan your payment goes from $265 to $170, so you're saving $100 a month" but over the life of the loan you're paying like $800 more and your $7k car has become a $10k car because the dealership worked with you to "fit it in your monthly budget." So don't even fuck with that. Calculate your total budget ahead of time and tell them that the principle cost is your total budget. Here's a loan calculator that makes it easy.
Damage reporting and title requirements vary - I would not consider buying a car that had been in a serious accident as a first-time buyer but I wouldn't be put off by some minor cosmetic damage. If you are a first time buyer and you are looking at a salvage title or equivalent, I'd pass if you have ANY other options. If you're paying out of pocket, you may not have other options in which case you need to do what you can to find out what specific kind of damage totaled the car. DO NOT buy a car if the person selling it can't get you the title during the purchase. You don't own that car until you have the title in your hand.
Have fun and be yourself. But, like. Seriously. A car is a major purchase and you want to make sure that you get something that is reliable and will suit your needs, but if there's an option that has a stereo you like better, or has a paint color you find more fun, or a model year with styling you like better (as long as it doesn't have model year specific issues), try to get the car that you're going to like the most.
I think that's all for now. I know it's a lot. Good luck!
My general rule is "don't buy cars that can connect to the internet" but I recognize that that is an ever-smaller category of vehicle so if you have to buy a car that connects to the internet, yes absolutely check privacy information.
But genuinely, I think it's better to buy cars that don't have that "feature" or any variety of touch screen in the vehicle. This is largely going to put you into pre 2015 vehicles, low end pre-2020 vehicles, and work trucks.
I also think that if at all possible you should buy a car that has a physical key that is a piece of metal you stick into an ignition and turn because you can use "key+ignition" to tell what's going on with your car WAY more than you can use a start button to do the same.
Where I buy cars and my thoughts on where and how to buy cars (this is more US-specific than the earlier parts of the post):
Private sales - I use marketplaces like Craigslist and Auto Trader to find private sales and negotiate with individuals. This is the highest risk form of car buying, but is also the lowest cost. If you are an inexperienced car buyer, I would only recommend private sales if you have a friend or family member who has experience with private auto sales and mechanical assessment who will go with you to meet the buyer and inspect the vehicle. Private sales are almost always cash only with no returns.
Small, privately owned used car dealerships - with used car dealers you may have to field more scammy bullshit, but you also likely have a little bit of protection in sales contract if the car explodes as soon as you drive it off the lot, and there is a better chance that the car is going to be in decent shape mechanically. You COULD get the same car cheaper through a private sale, but you're paying (and trusting) the dealer for making sure that the car is sound, legally owned, and available for you to look at and test drive. Buying a car from a dealership is much easier than doing private sales because you don't have to put as much effort into communication, scheduling, and inspection. Before you go to any dealer, look up reviews online and see if there are any red flags (taking a long time on paper transfers, a lot of people walking away with lemons, pricing that is really high or low for the area, abusive loan terms). This is the kind of dealership that is most likely to fuck you with a high interest loan. The small dealerships I'm looking at right now have interest rates between 9.75% and 23.99% on their auto loans. That is TOO FUCKING MUCH to pay for an auto loan. That interest is TOO GODDAMNED HIGH. If you are going to a small dealership they will try to get you to finance, but you should not go to a small dealership to look at cars unless you are pre-approved for a loan through your personal banking institution or you have cash in hand.
Carmax - Carmax is a US-based used car dealership conglomerate? Corporation? Monopoly? Chain? IDK. I have not personally bought a car through Carmax because their low end starts at around $10k and I have never paid that much for a car, but many of my friends have. This is going to be very low risk in terms of scaminess and very safe in terms of car quality. If you aren't confident in your ability to negotiate a sale or make a good decision at a small independent used car dealership or in a personal sale, something like Carmax might be a good option for you. Because of the relatively high prices of the vehicles, many people who shop at dealerships like this end up financing and I would recommend finding out what your budget is and getting approved through your personal banking institution and not financing through Carmax. Carmax is extremely convenient to shop at, and is staffed by very good salespeople so your biggest concern here is getting oversold. Check inventory online before you go to the dealership, know what you want, and refer to the points made in the earlier post for determining your budget so that their sales department doesn't talk you into a more expensive car at a lower monthly payment.
Manufacturer dealerships or new car dealerships. You can find good used/preowned cars at your local Toyota/Ford/Penske/Whatever dealership but they are going to want to push you toward new cars and higher price tags. If you want something that you can almost certainly trust mechanically, a dealership "certified pre-owned" car is at least theoretically guaranteed by the dealer to be a safe bet. This is likely going to be expensive, and may require some flavor of warranty, and might be difficult to get a preapproved loan for depending on the price tag. I would be very cautious and make sure you know that you can afford the costs of the loan and the vehicle before considering this as an option. The best way to buy from dealerships like this is when they are having lot clearance sales or holiday sales where they mark down the price of the car, not change the financing terms, and to come in with a preapproved loan.
Don't buy a new car. If you buy a new car, the new car loses value equivalent to the cost of a pretty good used car as soon as you drive off the lot.
Your car is not an investment, you should not be buying with the thought of resale in mind, you should be buying with the thought of using the car until the wheels won't stay on or the cost of repairs in a year would outpace the cost of replacing the car. If you want a new-ish car, get a used car that's a couple years old and save yourself thousands.
what you learn from hobbies:
consistent practice opens up whole worlds of skill that you couldn't imagine
making mistakes in the process of learning is not only natural, it is also essential
activities that you enjoy can give you more energy back than you spent on them
wow everything is so expensive
my hands hurt
every morning I wake up and think of these words from philosopher cher
corm
1.🐟
2.🐟
3.🐟
#froggy
1.🐟
2.🐟
3.🐟
#froggy
Strange haunted photo where Winifred looks like she's a painting
I have placed her in a more fitting setting
Stolen from reddit where it wasn't being properly appreciated
"Indigo dyeing silk thread"
In case anyone wonders what the Japanese is saying
Sound on. How dogs navigate stairs.
Baba Yaga Fury Road
@elodieunderglass does this count? It is quite horrible.
It tracks!
Cabin off the roads
Porcelain art by Nguyễn Duy Mạnh, 2021-22.
good morning gay people!!
happy pride everyone