Current Events > I bought an Audi etron!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Traded in my leased SQ5 now that we have solar on our house. We are sharing one car and with the savings in gas as well as the $7500 rebate, its pretty much costing the same so it was worth the trade. Its fully in my name however and I qualified for the purchase alone.

Second time Ive bought a car in my life. Been leasing for years (we always planned to buy electric once we were ready). My first was a 2010 Mazda 3. I remember when I was in school around that time and guys in my class used to ask me why I even bothered to be in school. They used to tell me I was pretty enough that I should just marry a rich guy that will buy me fancy cars. I used to tell them to fuck off with that and that I planned to buy my own fancy cars. Here we are.

Pic of the car (not mine obv but same color and model)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/6/5/AAdXATAADhQp.jpg

Nice. You guys have the home charger stuff set up already?

Snazzy

What's your total price after rebate?

How long is your loan period?

How much are you paying over total price due to loan?

How expensive is the monthly loan payments?

Very impressive.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Yeah if Im going to drive a mom car I want to be riding in style lol. This one has a bunch of insane features like massage chairs and cooling front seats. Assisted parking and 360 camera as well but my old one also had those.

emblem-man posted...

Nice. You guys have the home charger stuff set up already?

Yup, it came with the house we bought. We got Tesla solar panels and a battery last June. So we are fully self sufficient with energy.

Kamen_Rider_Blade posted...

What's your total price after rebate?

How long is your loan period?

How much are you paying over total price due to loan?

How expensive is the monthly loan payments?

Around $81k total at 3.49% over 84 months. I think payment was around $1150 but we were paying $850 on our last one and now saving $300 in gas per month so its about even. But the rebate goes away next year on that model so we bought this year. The convenience of not having to drive to the gas station and time saving is also worth it. And of course better for the environment. Fuck gas corporations.

Yeah its a high payment but since its our only car we can afford it.

Awesome sauce. Congratulations

Cleo_II posted...

Yeah if Im going to drive a mom car I want to be riding in style lol. This one has a bunch of insane features like massage chairs and cooling front seats. Assisted parking and 360 camera as well but my old one also had those.

Yup, it came with the house we bought. We got Tesla solar panels and a battery last June. So we are fully self sufficient with energy.

Around $81k total at 3.49% over 84 months. I think payment was around $1150 but we were paying $850 on our last one and now saving $300 in gas per month so its about even. But the rebate goes away next year on that model so we bought this year. The convenience of not having to drive to the gas station and time saving is also worth it. And of course better for the environment. Fuck gas corporations.

Yeah its a high payment but since its our only car we can afford it.

I'm happy for you!

You got the car that you wanted.

Personally, I would've bought Solar Panels from SunPower.

I don't trust anything from Elon Musk & his companies.

But that's neither here or there.

https://www.greenconvergence.com/blog/2016/august/nasa-s-work-with-sunpower-solar-proves-durabilit/

SunPower has the most efficienct conversion factor out of many commercially available Solar Panels @ > 22% & is the most durable.

NASA uses SunPower Solar Panels for their space missions.

What I really want is the specs to the Sun Tracking rig that James Cameron made

https://theoffgridcabin.com/james-cameron-solar-sunflower/

Yes, James Cameron, the director of Titanic.

That Sun Tracking rig to mount the Solar Panels is pretty looking, and it provides maximum Solar Gathering efficiency since it tracks the Sun in real time.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/6/8/AAAFvAAADhSQ.jpg
The main difference is that I would've painted the framing around the Solar Panels to be "Yellow" to properly resemble a SunFlower.

blazer4lyfe posted...

Awesome sauce. Congratulations

Thanks!

Kamen_Rider_Blade posted...

I'm happy for you!

You got the car that you wanted.

Personally, I would've bought Solar Panels from SunPower.

I don't trust anything from Elon Musk & his companies.

But that's neither here or there.

https://www.greenconvergence.com/blog/2016/august/nasa-s-work-with-sunpower-solar-proves-durabilit/

SunPower has the most efficienct conversion factor out of many commercially available Solar Panels @ > 22% & is the most durable.

NASA uses SunPower Solar Panels for their space missions.

Thanks! I dont care for Tesla either but they were much cheaper than SunPower so its why we went with them. In SoCal we get so much sun and where our house is located we get sun in every direction all day most days. So it just worked better overall from a cost perspective.

Cleo_II posted...

Thanks!

Thanks! I dont care for Tesla either but they were much cheaper than SunPower so its why we went with them. In SoCal we get so much sun and where our house is located we get sun in every direction all day most days. So it just worked better overall from a cost perspective.

I care more about the long term durability and less drop in Solar Power gathering ability over time.

I would be willing to pay a bit more for proven / more durable tech + Sun Tracking Rig.

I'd like to get solar but I can't say for sure I'll be in my place for longer than the next 3-5 years, so it makes some of the ROI stuff with getting solar not feel worth it. I'd just be trading my electricity bill for a loan payment and end up moving before it's fully paid off.

Kamen_Rider_Blade posted...

I'm also in SoCal, but I care more about the long term durability and less drop in Solar Power gathering ability over time.

I would be willing to pay a bit more for proven / more durable tech + Sun Tracking Rig.

I want to Min/Max the amount of resources going into each Solar Panel & make it last as long as possible if I'm going to have to pay for it.

Same with Battery Tech, I want Maximum Durability / Recharge cycles.

That's why I want the batteries to be using (Lithium Iron Phosphate) instead of the (Nickel Cobalt Aluminium) that Tesla uses currently for it's batteries.
Most other Car Companies use NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) chemistry

Far higher Total Recharge Life Cycles for (Lithium Iron Phosphate)
~ 1,000 Total Recharges for the Nickel based chemistries.
~ 5,000 Total Recharges for the (Lithium Iron Phosphate) based chemistry. A 5x Fold increase in Recharge Cycle durability.

Most people don't stay in their houses for decades these days, so I'd think the standard solar cell warranties are fine for most people.

And from what I understand, it's not a simple task to just take the panels with you due to the stress on the roof. So you're going to get new ones when you go to your new place anyway.

This seems like one of those, don't let perfect be the enemy of the good situations.
Especially if the cost is significantly more or you know for sure you'll be in your place forever

Looks VERY nice! Congratz!

emblem-man posted...

Most people don't stay in their houses for decades these days, so I'd think the standard solar cell warranties are fine for most people.

And from what I understand, it's not a simple task to just take the panels with you due to the stress on the roof. So you're going to get new ones when you go to your new place anyway.

I have no intention of ever mounting Solar Panels on roofs, I want to install a metal pole into the ground, like the James Cameron SunFlower Solar Panel Sun Tracking Rig and have everything mounted to that.

This seems like one of those, don't let perfect be the enemy of the good situations.

On a mass scale, if you really want to help the environment, we need to minimize consumption.

That means making the most durable & reliable versions of tech and have everybody use it.

That means crushing all the other crappier / less durable Solar Panel technologies and having only the most durable / long lasting ones be the only option for Solar.

Even if we have to use regulation to mandate efficiency & durability levels that are acceptable, like we do with automobile fuel efficiency. We need to do the same with material usage for everything.

So if those in the Solar Power / Battery game are forced to ONLY manufacture the most durable of goods, then it's better for the environment overall on a big picture scale.

Especially if the cost is significantly more or you know for sure you'll be in your place forever

That's why we need to get the entire Solar Panel industry to either license SunPower designs or only manufacture their highest efficiency & most durable options only & keep pushing the levels up as tech moves on.

And some people know they'll be in a place forever, but even if they aren't; the value add of quality durable solar is super worth it IMO.

Especially for the environment.

Cleo that says audit

emblem-man posted...

I'd like to get solar but I can't say for sure I'll be in my place for longer than the next 3-5 years, so it makes some of the ROI stuff with getting solar not feel worth it. I'd just be trading my electricity bill for a loan payment and end up moving before it's fully paid off.

Yeah we were like that with our old house too. We lived there 5 years and were back and forth on it. My husband used to get tons of quotes wed look over. But at the end of the day I wasnt fully happy with the house and wanted an upgrade eventually so we waited. Not worth buying if you dont plan on staying long term. Payoff is around 7 years.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

Looks VERY nice! Congratz!

Thanks!

Audi's Nuts!!!