[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Nammu

On my cell phone any call I received that’s not a text call gets blocked, after the fact. I never answer voice calls. As a result I get very few calls on my cell phone. But on the landline. Everyday there’s scam calls.

My scam calls don't ring through either, as they aren't in my list. Still, it's aggravating to see them on my screen as "missed call." It's a call I'm glad I missed. It will show as spam risk or telemarketer, the phone is smart enough to tell.

Texts show up in my unknown sender list but still show up. In general I get few calls on my cell but on my landline it's relentless. I won't give it up because it's durable and has ALWAYS been in order, even during storms. Cell phones can have weak signals or the battery drains too fast. No problem with a landline.

I do have a feature to block up to 10 numbers on it, but since they call from different numbers every time (which are probably spoofed), that list fills up fast. Then I have to clear them all and start over. The calls have suddenly stopped for some reason, but I was getting a lot around election time. And last year I got dozens of "car warranty expired" scam calls.

Those stopped too but did get a text about "verifying" my CarMax code. Never did business with them. I know that doesn't matter; scammers spoof legit companies all the time. "Your Netflix account has been suspended" and "You must re-activate your EDD Debit card within 4 hours." Yeah, right.

[Nammu]

Those car warranty people called mum, she doesn’t have a car any more. So she lead the people on that her car was so old,…and they fell for it. She finally said she’s 93 and doesn’t drive, doesn’t have a car. We’ve not gotten a call from them since! 😂

[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Those car warranty people called mum, she doesn’t have a car any more. So she lead the people on that her car was so old,…and they fell for it. She finally said she’s 93 and doesn’t drive, doesn’t have a car. We’ve not gotten a call from them since! 😂

My car IS old, long past warranty time though in good shape with not a lot of miles on it.

[Travelinglady]

My car is 11 years old. No one seems interested in it anymore. But I love it and it has relatively low mileage for its age. I don't drive much anyway, so it's a good deal.

[Nammu]

My car doesn’t get much of a work out. I don’t go anywhere. I go days without starting it. It’s unsexy but a good egg.

[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Nammu

My car doesn’t get much of a work out. I don’t go anywhere. I go days without starting it. It’s unsexy but a good egg.

Me either. Just like humans, cars need "exercise" or to be driven. I've noticed a drop in MPG since I don't drive and the garage said I need to drive more. I do start it every few days and let it idle 10 minutes to be sure it works. One time it didn't start and part of the reason was a dying battery (it lasted 8 years!) as well as sitting a lot.

My car is one of the few things that haven't let me down in life. It's a good car and has been more reliable than people. Hence, I love my car.

Since the new battery it starts easily even though it sits. I have no where to go, and I've gotten more anxious about driving anyway, even short trips. It's because people seem to be more reckless now, such as running lights, tailgating, or speeding.

[Travelinglady]

I know what you mean. My battery will run down, too, if I don't drive the car for awhile. My husband and I get out in it sometimes. But right now I'm not driving at all until I get new glasses after my recent cataract surgeries. When I do, it will be just a little to close by places. My doc tells me my insurance won't likely pay if I have a wreck when taking all the opiates I do.

[Nammu]

That’s strange I was on opiates years ago for my back and my insurance paid just fine, in fact my insurance rate went down after the accident! I had a very nice Buick. It was older but very well taken care of. I bought the oil that was specifically for older cars. The guy insurance guy who inspected my car was impressed with that oil. At the time I thought it rather odd that he’d checked the oil but I was paid the full replacement value of my Buick.

I was driving from Texas to Minnesota for Christmas and hit black ice patch and spun out. My car was totaled and at the time I was on fentanyl patches plus some strong pills. It was never an issue. Boy do I miss that car. It was a boat but a nice comfortable smooth riding boat. I went down a ravine and that Buick kept me safe.

[Skeezyks]

Our SUV is a 2008. It has less than 50,000 miles on it. We don't expect to ever buy another car, barring something unexpected. We keep it in good condition (except we do need new tires.) We also don't drive it much, mostly just short trips to the grocery store. But we're fortunate to have a nice garage for the car to rest in between trips.

[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Travelinglady

I know what you mean. My battery will run down, too, if I don't drive the car for awhile. My husband and I get out in it sometimes. But right now I'm not driving at all until I get new glasses after my recent cataract surgeries. When I do, it will be just a little to close by places. My doc tells me my insurance won't likely pay if I have a wreck when taking all the opiates I do.

I was told not to let the car sit unused more than 2 weeks, even with a good battery I guess. So I start it every few days, and while it idles I dust it off since a car that sits collects more dust than one that's driven. That's cause the breeze blows a lot of it off.

My next door neighbor goes away every year during Christmas to New Year's, he's gone at least 2 weeks then. I never see anyone start his car, maybe he disconnects the cables while he's gone. I heard something about disconnecting some kind of doodad to avoid having a dead battery when coming home.

If you leave your lights on, the battery will die. That happened to me as teenager. Now the car will beep if I open the door and the lights are still on.

Speaking of glasses, I would never drive at night. I feel I have poor night vision, and it wouldn't be safe anyway. Night seems more ominous than daytime....And late model cars have such BRIGHT, blinding lights esp. SUV's since they are up higher. Hate those things, they also block my view when backing out, turning left, or parking. (Sorry Skeezyks)

I'm very near-sighted and people like me usually have poor night vision. I do have these clip-ons in the car for some emergency of having to drive at night, but I can't think of any reason why I'd have to. I hunker down at night. It's too scary even during the day, as this area is deteriorating.

Why didn't they think of how blinding they are to ONCOMING cars? The driver can see just fine but they blind ME. And what's this about driving with lights on sunny days? I don't see the point of that.

[nonightowl]

Today at the grocery store a customer ahead of me had trouble with the digital coupons. The cashier said it's a stupid idea that's hard for both them and the customers, as people don't know how to use it. I've never tried it as it's too much technology for me, plus I don't want/need another username/password.

Sadly it's way more complicated than that she said, and also she wishes they'd get rid of it. Even though I have a smartphone now, it looks like too much hassle. I doubt if I'm saving THAT much, and they don't have many "digital" sales anyway.

I know I miss the old rewards program where I got points for things I buy ANYWAY, but then they replaced it with stupid gas points. I hardly ever fill up my tank, the discount is measly, and I have to go to specific gas stations.

[Nammu]

I haven’t had a problem with the digital coupons. My sister has though. But she just took her recite in showed it to them and got a refund. I use the gas points all the time but a minor problem is that they are only good for a month and like owl I don’t drive much. A bigger problem for me is that when gas went way up you now have to pay first, unless you have the full sized store card. So I never get all the gas, I have to guess how much to get.

[Skeezyks]

We have the gas thingy at the grocery store too and it's for the gas station we frequent. But we never use the points. I don't even know if there's an expiration date on the points. Now the grocery store we shop at most frequently has a thing where you collect stamps of some sort and they're good on dishes the store carries. (We don't collect the stamps.) If you get in a check-out line where someone is cashing in their stamps, prepare to wait a l-o-n-g time!

We still don't have a smart phone... just an old dumb phone. Smart phones are too much technology for us. That's another reason I doubt we'll ever buy another car. Too much technology. Even our 2008 SUV has stuff on it we've never used. Is it even possible to buy just a normal vehicle anymore? I don't know. But I doubt it...

[Nammu]

Oh I know. I have just a basic car but it a 2016 so it has stuff I’ll never use. Like the radio. It’s a radio that you pay for monthly. But I didn’t respond to any of the stuff they sent me after I bought the car. …and still they are sending me stuff to sign up. It would be lovely to have the commercial free radio where I could listen to jazz and rock only but I’m not in the car long enough to justify paying extra for it. I googled local rock and jazz radio stations but I have to change it by hand. I can’t figure out how to reset the programmed stations. But that’s fine. I’m never in the car for that long.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Oh I know. I have just a basic car but it a 2016 so it has stuff I’ll never use. Like the radio. It’s a radio that you pay for monthly. But I didn’t respond to any of the stuff they sent me after I bought the car. …and still they are sending me stuff to sign up. It would be lovely to have the commercial free radio where I could listen to jazz and rock only but I’m not in the car long enough to justify paying extra for it. I googled local rock and jazz radio stations but I have to change it by hand. I can’t figure out how to reset the programmed stations. But that’s fine. I’m never in the car for that long.

Are you taking about XM (Sirius) radio? You know you can now stream it on other devices like your phone or computer (not a second car). I don’t do it. But I know that there is an option for it. I do pay for xm because I commute two hours a day so I can justify it. I pay for a year, then i don’t think about it. My husband doesn’t have it because he only drives 15 minutes to work. Not worth it.

[divine1966]

I used to drive cars until they die natural death so to speak. I was in constant stress about it. Plus it’s costly with constant repairs. I’ve been leasing for the past few years. It’s mostly stress free. Sadly the one I drive now will be discontinued by my next exchange. So l’ll have to think of something else.

[divine1966]

Originally Posted by nonightowl

I was told not to let the car sit unused more than 2 weeks, even with a good battery I guess. So I start it every few days, and while it idles I dust it off since a car that sits collects more dust than one that's driven. That's cause the breeze blows a lot of it off.

My next door neighbor goes away every year during Christmas to New Year's, he's gone at least 2 weeks then. I never see anyone start his car, maybe he disconnects the cables while he's gone. I heard something about disconnecting some kind of doodad to avoid having a dead battery when coming home.

If you leave your lights on, the battery will die. That happened to me as teenager. Now the car will beep if I open the door and the lights are still on.

Speaking of glasses, I would never drive at night. I feel I have poor night vision, and it wouldn't be safe anyway. Night seems more ominous than daytime....And late model cars have such BRIGHT, blinding lights esp. SUV's since they are up higher. Hate those things, they also block my view when backing out, turning left, or parking. (Sorry Skeezyks)

I'm very near-sighted and people like me usually have poor night vision. I do have these clip-ons in the car for some emergency of having to drive at night, but I can't think of any reason why I'd have to. I hunker down at night. It's too scary even during the day, as this area is deteriorating.

Why didn't they think of how blinding they are to ONCOMING cars? The driver can see just fine but they blind ME. And what's this about driving with lights on sunny days? I don't see the point of that.

I think the new cars they make now do not need to be started every few days to make sure they run. They make better batteries now I think. We’ve been gone for weeks many times and our cars ran just fine when we were back. I’ve read somewhere that newer cars could sit 4-8 weeks and nothing happens. Well I wouldn’t want it to sit that long but a few weeks seems to be fine

[Nammu]

Originally Posted by divine1966

Are you taking about XM (Sirius) radio? You know you can now stream it on other devices like your phone or computer (not a second car). I don’t do it. But I know that there is an option for it. I do pay for xm because I commute two hours a day so I can justify it. I pay for a year, then i don’t think about it. My husband doesn’t have it because he only drives 15 minutes to work. Not worth it.

Yes! That’s it. Yeah they sent me that info too, but I don’t listen to a radio at other times. Only in a car. So yeah, I can’t justify it. If I was commuting 2 hours a day I’d do it. But at most I spend ten. Minutes in the car.

[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Skeezyks

We have the gas thingy at the grocery store too and it's for the gas station we frequent. But we never use the points. I don't even know if there's an expiration date on the points. Now the grocery store we shop at most frequently has a thing where you collect stamps of some sort and they're good on dishes the store carries. (We don't collect the stamps.) If you get in a check-out line where someone is cashing in their stamps, prepare to wait a l-o-n-g time!

We still don't have a smart phone... just an old dumb phone. Smart phones are too much technology for us. That's another reason I doubt we'll ever buy another car. Too much technology. Even our 2008 SUV has stuff on it we've never used. Is it even possible to buy just a normal vehicle anymore? I don't know. But I doubt it...

I like your word, "thingy". My gas points do have expiration dates and the highest number is redeemed at the pump. I think each month is stand alone, they don't roll over. This time the details didn't print on my receipt for some reason but last I recall, it was 10 cents a gallon off. If you get 10 gallons you just save $1. Not worth going to a certain gas station which is out of my way.

I was reluctant to get a smartphone and am still intimidated at times. But after the trauma of being cut off from the world in 2020 (they closed all the libraries where I used to go to get online), I got one in 2021. I decided it was more practical to get a phone which fits in my purse or pocket. I don't have much to do online but at least I can GET online. 2020 was BRUTAL. I couldn't do email, couldn't book a COVID test appointment since it was only done ONLINE, couldn't get on here and talk to you guys.

I even tried to go to FedEx Office where they have public Internet. Even with gloves and a mask they wouldn't let me in. Only people shipping packages were allowed in and just a few at a time. Before the library finally opened and when they started letting people in for other things, I used part of my stimulus money to get on their computer. It's expensive but I HAD to do it. And if it wasn't for an acquaintance who let me use her computer, I wouldn't have GOTTEN the stimulus since you had to go eff-ing ONLINE.

So I had to eat crow and get one. People just expect me to have one, which I think is presumptuous but that's our culture. I was never going to trust the government again, not with just Internet access but anything. They are SO out of touch. If they expect everyone to have computers or smartphones, WHY have computers at the libraries at all?? Why not save all that precious money? Why have printers or copiers if we all have this at home? (Or even HAVE a home vs. a tent) STUPID goverment. One of my libraries got all new computers after reopening in 2021. Geez, if we have them at home why do that? (Sarcasm)

Recently I had to get a new hairdryer which was still under warranty. The rep told me to "just take a picture of the receipt and dryer with the cord cut and email it to us." See how she assumed I have one?!! I take bad pictures but I guess it was enough since I got a new dryer in a few days. If I couldn't do that, I'd have to pack the cord/dryer into a box, make a copy of the receipt someplace, and go stand in line at the post office to ship it. Time and postage money.

Tech in cars is too much for me. I saw on the news how they have these SCREENS on the dashboard now which some car safety groups say is too distracting. People look at their phones, NOW they can look at their dashboard too! I think the backup camera is a good thing, as if anyone or anything is below the height of your trunk, you CAN'T see it! But I have an old car which has none of that stuff.

That would include toddlers, dogs, someone in a wheelchair.....SUV's are especially high and have a real blind spot, more than cars.

And speaking of tech in cars, I'd never trust a self-driving car. These things are going to take jobs from people who drive for a living: Truck drivers, limo drivers, taxis, Uber/Lfyt. It's like from some science fiction movie.

[nonightowl]

Originally Posted by Nammu

Yes! That’s it. Yeah they sent me that info too, but I don’t listen to a radio at other times. Only in a car. So yeah, I can’t justify it. If I was commuting 2 hours a day I’d do it. But at most I spend ten. Minutes in the car.

I have the radio on at home most of the time, and I listen in the car too. But like you it's mostly short trips.