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I'm here to derail this chat with a question about my own bullshit dilemma: Brit goon needs car for day to day stuff and commuting  Essentially I want to move in with my girlfriend, who lives a 90 minute drive away from where I currently live and work. I work on the railway so currently enjoy travelling out there for free, but I would have to pay a taxi driver £5-8 every time I get a taxi to or from her local station, and some of my shifts start too early/finish too late to do it all on the train. A round trip from her house to my work comes in at about 140 miles, due to the fact I live in the world's largest cul de sac. Right now it's not cost effective to change locations for my job (the money I would lose would outweigh the commute and I would still need to drive to any alternative location). I can also stay over at my parents house some nights depending on shifts. I work a 4 day week shift pattern, so could be clocking 560 miles a week without considering any non work related mileage (although with the ability to stay over at my parents and some forgiving shifts I might be able to reduce that to a degree). So my dilemma is that I want a solid car that is good both on reliability and economy, but preferably a nice car that I won't hate being stuck in for potentially 3 hours or more a day. One other thing: I'm a 6'9" freak so I can't just jump in a supermini (and I really wouldn't want to unless there was no option). I've narrowed it down to the following, but am open to other suggestions: 2016 Skoda Octavia 1.2Tsi 110PS S Pros: Needs tiny deposit of £99 then 48 payments of £199 before either final payment of ££££s or new deal is struck, standard PCP agreement. Excellent reliability and economy. Some of the best reviews across the board for it's class. Full warranty and 3 years breakdown cover. Cons: Not exactly the drive of my life  This offer as far as I can tell is only available on a very select amount of Octavias, the base model. Also not sure on the transmission but assuming it's manual: I would favour an automatic (cruise control a bonus) for this level of commuting. Mileage restricted to 8000 a year, charged at 4.4p per mile exceeded. That would potentially mean £20ish extra a week once I'd burned through the mileage allowance, however I could probably increase the mileage allowance for higher monthly payments. I don't own the car. Next: BMW 1 Series 2.0 120d M Sport 2dr Pros: A real looker, the exterior alone does it for me but the interior trim is really something. Automatic transmission, low mileage, good official MPG figures (real world no doubt different). Would own the car, no mileage restrictions. Great drive. Cons: It's out of the manufacturers warranty (car is now 6 years old) It's a coupe, a long term finance deal I'd rather have a four door in case I have kids within the next 5 years (likely). BMW parts and servicing notoriously expensive. The most expensive option to insure by an extra £400 yearly. Can finance this independently for no deposit, £230 a month over 60 months. Finally: Mercedes C220 2.1 CDI BlueEfficiency AMG Sport 4dr Pros: newer than the BMW, with lower mileage. Official economy is good, automatic transmission, cruise control. Really premium feel with the spec. Personally I like the styling on this, looks more aggressive than your usual C class. Again no mileage restriction and would own the car. Cons: At the very limit of what I could afford, £290/£300 a month over 60 months. Mercedes parts and servicing notoriously expensive. Again no warranty due to age. You can probably tell that out of the three, my favoured car is the Merc. That would probably still be the case if could get a Skoda Octavia Vrs on a good deal, but it might make the Skoda easier to pick. I can afford the Merc if I cut back on my free spending to a degree, not upgrade my phone in a few months etc. It's £101 a month extra and I would own the car. What I need from you guys is to point out any flaws in my thinking and give me your expertise regarding these cars (and any others you know) regarding their reliability when clocking high mileage on commutes. Sorry if this is the wrong place but I didn't know if it merited a thread 
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Feb 25, 2016 10:30
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KozmoNaut posted:Because they collectively make the world shittier for everyone, including me and everyone I care about. You haven't answered my question. I asked you what you gain from being depressed. Believe it or not but baring some sort of mental illness, somewhere along the lines you've made a choice to be depressed. And I don't believe human beings make decisions, whether conscious or unconscious ones, without some sort of percieved benefit to themselves. So, what have you gained?
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Feb 25, 2016 10:35
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It's a real pity you're so freakishly tall as there's been an absolute fuckton of tiny Japanese cars up for sale for under £500 in superb condition recently. 85k Mazda 121, no rust, immaculate interior, will run for miles on pence of fuel... £375. Maybe hack your shins out and enjoy go kart handling for no money spent?
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Feb 25, 2016 10:36
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corn in the fridge posted:You haven't answered my question. I asked you what you gain from being depressed. Believe it or not but baring some sort of mental illness, somewhere along the lines you've made a choice to be depressed. And I don't believe human beings make decisions, whether conscious or unconscious ones, without some sort of percieved benefit to themselves. So, what have you gained? So what you're proposing is that I become willfully ignorant, in order to be happy? I'm depressed because it's real and because I'm not interested in deluding myself. But I guess it's working out pretty well for you?
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Feb 25, 2016 10:51
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Bacon Terrorist posted:I'm here to derail this chat with a question about my own bullshit dilemma: Ignore manufacturer warranties, you lose more in depreciation on a new enough car to have one than these are generally worth. If the Octavia is okay look at a used diesel VRS. They're solid cars and there's loads to choose from. Don't buy a car now for what you might be doing in 5 years. The car will be 5 years older and maybe better to replace then.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:03
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KozmoNaut posted:So what you're proposing is that I become willfully ignorant, in order to be happy? Anything that you are powerless to change is outside your responsibilities. Acknowledging something isn't the same as investing a gently caress in it. There is no practical real-world "it's got knobs and poo poo that I can twist" difference between someone you don't like getting elected to government office and the sun going out. Both are a lovely event that you can do gently caress-all about, and neither one is entitled to a rent-free apartment inside your head.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:09
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KozmoNaut posted:So what you're proposing is that I become willfully ignorant, in order to be happy? Im not proposing anything. Personally, I recognise and worry about the same things you do, however I have nothing to gain from being depressed about it, so I'm not. I recognise that I am powerless to affect the greater issues but I also recognise that it is unrealistic to expect otherwise. I am not under any delusion about the state of the world and my role in it nor am I willfully ignorant. I suspect that in your efforts to remain undeluded you have in fact succumbed to it.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:12
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If a politician you don't like is elected you can either follow the procedures and methods in place to do something about it or go all John Wilkes-Booth. They're human and they have a massive measurable effect on your life. Saying you can do nothing about it allows it to keep happening.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:12
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We have a thread for car recommendations, bruh - it's in ask/tell: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3213538 corn in the fridge posted:You haven't answered my question. I asked you what you gain from being depressed. Believe it or not but baring some sort of mental illness, somewhere along the lines you've made a choice to be depressed. And I don't believe human beings make decisions, whether conscious or unconscious ones, without some sort of percieved benefit to themselves. So, what have you gained? Nobody chooses to be depressed. Just like homosexuality, it's not a choice. Just like most mental illness, it's a chemical imbalance in the brain, an actual physical problem that can be measured and detected and treated. Also, holy poo poo, "i don't believe human beings make decisions without some perceived benefit to themselves"? Dude, what the gently caress? Literally millions of people make loving stupid choices despite KNOWING they are the wrong choice every single day. My god. Shut the gently caress up. I have a pretty simple outlook on this stuff. The world is falling apart, everything is poo poo, the political landscape in the US especially, life has no real purpose beyond making more life, nobody is here for a reason, everybody dies, and nothing whatsofuckingever that you do or say matters. This is goddamn brilliant because it means that you get to decide what matters, and what is important to you. Same thing, really. It's not up to anyone else, it's not an innate part of the world or universe, it's just you. If nothing matters, the only things that matter are the things that matter to you. Do you want know what matters to me? Well, tough luck, sweet cheeks. I'm gonna make you read it anyway. The things that matter to me are my mates, cars, you crazy fuckers (  ), having places to work on cars, turbochargers, nitrous oxide, family, V8s, superchargers, RIDING ETERNAL SHINY AND CHROME, having somewhere comfortable to sleep. As long as I have these things (or for some of them, as long as they exist in the world), I'm good.You get to decide what you care about. You don't get to decide what the sad little voice in the back of your mind is going to keep whining on and on about, but you do get to decide if you want that bastard to shut the gently caress up and go do something about it. The world's whatever you want it to be. Yeah, it's a pretty lovely earth right now, but it's the only one you've got, and at least you landed up in a developed part of it. You don't get a do-over, m8, you just gotta keep on dancing. Buy a $500 camaro and ghost ride it off a bridge.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:16
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AI needs religion.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:23
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iwentdoodie posted:I don't get how someone can be such a oval office 90% of the time but yet post something that god drat awesome. meatpimp is a complicated man.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:27
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literally a fish posted:We have a thread for car recommendations, bruh - it's in ask/tell: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3213538 I was going to reply along similar lines but saw you had posted. And yet again, smashed it for six. I dont exactly agree about the no purpose thing so I might have different things that I see as important. The rest stands however. Basically the best rule for life as I see it is Dont Be An rear end in a top hat. Yes I get angry at the world's injustice - if it gets too much I go trail running. Or ride bikes. Or collect cats.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:27
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CharlesM posted:AI needs religion. Cars are our religion. Right?
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Feb 25, 2016 11:31
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literally a fish posted:I have a pretty simple outlook on this stuff. The world is falling apart, everything is poo poo, the political landscape in the US especially, life has no real purpose beyond making more life, nobody is here for a reason, everybody dies, and nothing whatsofuckingever that you do or say matters. See now, this makes a lot more sense than mystical bullshit and "i don't believe human beings make decisions without some perceived benefit to themselves". But you have to be careful, lest you end up in some sort of spiral of hedonism, where you only care about self-gratification. I like cars, I like motorcycles, I like things that make noise. But I also like nature and the environment, and would like to preserve the world as much as possible for future generations. It's not like that will even matter in my lifetime, so you've still got to have some amount of empathy or altruism beyond yourself. I wish I could quit my job and just go to concerts and hang out with friends forever and turn off the "worry about everything" button. But I can't  CAT INTERCEPTOR posted:I was going to reply along similar lines but saw you had posted. And yet again, smashed it for six. I dont exactly agree about the no purpose thing so I might have different things that I see as important. The rest stands however. Don't Be An rear end in a top hat is a pretty good philosophy. I wish more people would follow it. On the other hand, cats are assholes, and we still love them for whatever reason. Maybe it's because they don't give a poo poo about your problems, they just want food or cuddles or mice to chase around.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:42
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KozmoNaut posted:See now, this makes a lot more sense than mystical bullshit and "i don't believe human beings make decisions without some perceived benefit to themselves". Oh yeah I didn't mean to imply that the things that matter to you are all that you should do. I love cars and friends and whatnot, so I have to have a source of income and do some things I'd rather not do in order to enable doing the things I do want to do. I, too, like nature and the environment, so I donate money to things and all that sort of stuff, because one of the things that matters to me is whether my overall influence on the world is positive or negative. I'd like it to be positive. That's why I try to help people buried under piles of sadbrains, too. Do what you have to, so you can do what you want to. Do what you want to, because you can. Do what you can to help, because you want to help, for example, even if what you can do sucks major rear end. And yeah, Don't Be An rear end in a top hat. That's the most important one, really. My grandad's last words to my grandma when he died were "be good." - I do my best to do so.
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Feb 25, 2016 11:47
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literally a fish posted:
Knowing that a certain choice might be "the wrong one" doesn't preclude the fact that there are benefits to making such a choice despite how real or imagined they may be. There is always a logic, however misguided, to people's bad decisions
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Feb 25, 2016 12:48
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Literally a fish for World President.
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Feb 25, 2016 13:41
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literally a fish posted:We have a thread for car recommendations, bruh - it's in ask/tell: Thanks! 
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Feb 25, 2016 13:41
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KozmoNaut posted:Because they collectively make the world shittier for everyone, including me and everyone I care about. If you're powerless to control it, gently caress it. Also, check out Hanlon's Razor and apply it to those crazy-wealthy fuckers. No one ever thinks themselves the bad guy, and everyone has a rational reasoning behind their actions (in their own head, at least). Attributing your misery as "out of my control" and "because of some homogenous shady evil" is a form of excusing yourself from happiness. Also check out the Hedonic Treadmill. Those greedy fuckers are probably at the same level of happiness, on average, as the average person in your socioeconomic situation. corn in the fridge posted:You haven't answered my question. I asked you what you gain from being depressed. Believe it or not but baring some sort of mental illness, somewhere along the lines you've made a choice to be depressed. And I don't believe human beings make decisions, whether conscious or unconscious ones, without some sort of percieved benefit to themselves. So, what have you gained? Totally agree with you on this. KozmoNaut posted:So what you're proposing is that I become willfully ignorant, in order to be happy? Your "real" filter is very real. It's not all of it though. You chose to look at the world like that. Our version is just as real, you just can't or won't see it from our perspective. corn in the fridge posted:Im not proposing anything. Personally, I recognise and worry about the same things you do, however I have nothing to gain from being depressed about it, so I'm not. Again, totally in agreement. citf isn't trying to be a troll here. Again, that's your perfectly viable outlook at the world. Just understand it isn't the big picture and someone can have a completely different version while both being completely "correct". It's like saying one person saying "America is a country of the world!" and another saying "No, Australia is a country of the world!". They're both correct as long as they both don't make the mistake of thinking it's the only one. Adiabatic fucked around with this message at 14:11 on Feb 25, 2016 |
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Feb 25, 2016 14:04
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Happiness is scrambled eggs anytime when its not breakfast. With just a hint of cheese.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:08
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Cage posted:Happiness is scrambled eggs anytime when its not breakfast. 
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Feb 25, 2016 14:10
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Adiabatic posted:If you're powerless to control it, gently caress it. But being powerless to change things I want to change is precisely the problem. I just don't understand why some people can live in their own little bubble with their own little petty problems, as if they're the most important thing in the world, when there are so many much bigger issues out there. Who cares that you can't get the exact brand of sandwich spread you like, when the company that makes it literally causes people to starve or get sick in other parts of the world? And honestly, I'd much rather apply Guillotine's razor to the crazy-wealthy fuckers. quote:Your "real" filter is very real. It's not all of it though. You chose to look at the world like that. Our version is just as real, you just can't or won't see it from our perspective. I can't just "choose" to look away from it all, that's just willful ignorance. And there are few things I hate more than willfully ignorant people. I know ignorance is bliss, but it doesn't work if it's a conscious choice. Maybe it would be better to just completely glass the Earth, wipe us all out. The universe will probably be better off without us.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:22
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KozmoNaut posted:But being powerless to change things I want to change is precisely the problem. I just don't understand why humans can live in their own little bubble with petty political problems, as if they're the most important thing in the universe, when there are so many much bigger issues out there. Who cares if Trump gets elected, when the earth he's going to destroy would get hit by a mega-asteroid or fried by the eventual death of the sun? See what I did there? You're taking your view of the world as a dead-to-rights, I'm the only correct motherfucker out there, truth. It's not the full truth. quote:I can't just "choose" to look away from it all, that's just willful ignorance. And there are few things I hate more than willfully ignorant people. I know ignorance is bliss, but it doesn't work if it's a conscious choice. You can and should choose to look away from worldviews that don't mesh with your success and contentment. You're being willfully ignorant of the choice you have.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:29
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Adiabatic posted:I just don't understand why humans can live in their own little bubble with petty political problems, as if they're the most important thing in the universe, when there are so many much bigger issues out there. Who cares if Trump gets elected, when the earth he's going to destroy would get hit by a mega-asteroid or fried by the eventual death of the sun? I know you're trying to exaggerate, but that is pretty close to what I think. Why do we (as humanity) persist with our petty little bullshit scrabbles over particular corners of an insignificant little planet? If we could actually work together for once in our history, we could accomplish so much more. quote:You can and should choose to look away from worldviews that don't mesh with your success and contentment. You're being willfully ignorant of the choice you have. But that would be willful ignorance of what is happening in the world, akin to putting on blinders, holding my ears and going "LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU". Maybe things would be different if I became a hermit and completely isolated myself from the world. But I'm not really interested in doing that, I'm not interested in looking away from the real world and toward a bullshit make-believe fantasy. poo poo is still hosed up, even if I ignore it, and thus I cannot ignore it. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 14:36 on Feb 25, 2016 |
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Feb 25, 2016 14:33
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Feb 25, 2016 14:36
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KozmoNaut posted:I know you're trying to exaggerate, but that is pretty close to what I think. Then take out the nouns and change the "Why care about _____ if we have _____" way of thinking. That's your filter. It doesn't matter what you put in the blanks. Your way of thinking is that sentence. There's other sentences. quote:But that would be willful ignorance of what is happening in the world, akin to putting on blinders, holding my ears and going "LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU". Again, if your version were the only true version, I would completely agree with you that it would. I'm trying to give you different perspectives in hopes that you'll see that there's something that binds them all together. That's the totality. You have a filter you accept as the whole thing.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:40
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Lmao this owns thank you for this
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Feb 25, 2016 14:42
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No, I think the problem is that I have no filter. E: It was a huge step for me to remove all my general news site RSS feeds and cut back to only tech sites and music news. That cut down on the noise a little bit, but it's pretty drat hard to avoid news updates altogether. KozmoNaut fucked around with this message at 14:44 on Feb 25, 2016 |
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Feb 25, 2016 14:42
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If you think you have no filter, you'll never discover it. Coming from a person who used to have the same idea of the world as you.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:47
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KozmoNaut posted:No, I think the problem is that I have no filter. You still haven't answered my original question 
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Feb 25, 2016 14:47
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Adiabatic posted:If you think you have no filter, you'll never discover it. Coming from a person who used to have the same idea of the world as you. So what did you do? Pills, drugs, booze, music, rosy-cheeked women? I can't just look away and shut it out. I don't work that way. corn in the fridge posted:You still haven't answered my original question And which question would that be? I think I've answered all of them. I don't gain anything as such by being depressed or misanthropic. I just am.
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Feb 25, 2016 14:53
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KozmoNaut posted:So what did you do? Pills, drugs, booze, music, rosy-cheeked women? Mindfulness meditation. quote:I don't gain anything as such by being depressed or misanthropic. I just am. I don't mean to attack you so please don't take it this way, but that sentence is 
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Feb 25, 2016 14:57
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Tried mindfulness, tried meditation. Neither worked. I can shut out the bullshit while I'm actively thinking intently about something else, but it comes back as soon as I stop. The only thing that kinda sort maybe works a little bit is physical exercise, because it's not really possibly to think about anything else if the workout is tough enough. But it's only temporary. I tried seeing a psychologist for years, I've tried a lot of different things. The only thing that really works is to get myself so blasted I forget about everything else, and that's not really a sustainable solution.
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Feb 25, 2016 15:01
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An important part of living mindfully is being able to make the distinction between thoughts and feelings. You have little control over your thoughts, whereas you have total control over your feelings. If the thought "the whole world is poo poo" enters your head and makes you feel bad, you need to be able to ask yourself why does this thought make me feel bad and is feeling bad an appropriate and measured response to this thought? Only then will you be able to take right action.
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Feb 25, 2016 15:03
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Exercise totally works, and I consider it a form of meditation. The point, in the beginning, is to quit thinking. If you're frustrated that you can't quit thinking, focus on the fact that your thinking is creating the frustration We all need some sort of drama and hardship to go through before we go "wait why am I even doing this lmao" Edit: drat, citf on point up above me!
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Feb 25, 2016 15:04
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Guys, can we just hug it out? 
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Feb 25, 2016 15:38
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corn in the fridge posted:An important part of living mindfully is being able to make the distinction between thoughts and feelings. \ I was going through something a few years back and this dirty hippy chick said something that stuck with me -- If you're upset about a problem, you have two problems -- a) the upset and b) the problem. It sounded like hippy bullshit to me, but by god, it's true.
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Feb 25, 2016 15:43
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KozmoNaut posted:So what did you do? Pills, drugs, booze, music, rosy-cheeked women? Should have done when I was younger, tried nice distraction, never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, line them up please.
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Feb 25, 2016 15:47
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I'm a luddite. Can someone explain to me why I have to have a credit card with a microchip in it? Chase disabled my credit card without telling me, now I have some automatic payments that have probably been declined and they say I have no choice but to activate the chipped cards they sent me a few months back. Aren't the risk factors greater with a chipped card, since you don't even need to touch the card to get the data from it?
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Feb 25, 2016 15:54
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CornHolio posted:I'm a luddite. Can someone explain to me why I have to have a credit card with a microchip in it? Chase disabled my credit card without telling me, now I have some automatic payments that have probably been declined and they say I have no choice but to activate the chipped cards they sent me a few months back. Chipped is not necessarily RFID. New credit cards have a sim-like set of contacts where instead of sliding the card through the card reader for the magnetic stripe data to transfer, you plug the card into the bottom of card readers. It's slow, cumbersome and an unnecessary pain in the rear end, but they have probably already sent you a replacement with the chip.
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Feb 25, 2016 15:58
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