Continuing COVID changing your driving habits?

[gearheadgrrrl]

Been waiting for Ford to start production of the Transit Connect for a couple months now, they opened up orders this week but I looked at how few miles I'm putting on and it's getting hard to justify ordering a new vehicle now. Pre-pandemic I was putting about 15-20 thousand miles a year on the cars and 12-20 thousand a year on the motorcycles, in the last year I've only driven 10k in the car and 4k on the bikes. Was hoping to better that but now that COVID isn't going away looks like my usual winter trip to Florida and motorcycle rallies ain't gonna happen. My newest TDI, a 2015, has only 50k miles so I've got 112k miles and 7 years left of emissions warranty- That's 16k miles a year of warranty coverage to use up when I'm only doing 10K! So no point in buying a new vehicle when I'm not putting on enough miles on the current TDI...

Anyone else having the same "problem"?

 

[03TDICommuter]

I wish. We're all 'back to work', no more WFH (working from home). Back to driving 500 miles/week.

 

[Tdijarhead]

I haven’t worn a mask anywhere going on 3 months. Yes I’m vaccinated, I’m driving as much or more than pre covid. I kind of forget that it was even a thing. I was at Walmart a couple nights ago and maybe 10% of people had masks. As far as I’m concerned it’s over but I’m not in a big city either.

We’re planning on going to the race at Bristol next month, will I get covid, maybe, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, I’m not living my life based on what a bunch of half wit news people say about things they know nothing about. If you have health issues take precautions, if you’re healthy and vaccinated enjoy waking up in the morning.

 

[oilhammer]

I never stopped working, and we are now busier than we've ever been. Plus my wife is back to work after 15 years, so we're adding another ~80 miles a day to the fleet (mostly the 2004 Passat TDI she primarily drives).

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Being 71 and retired I don't have to go much of anywhere, other than a monthly or so Costco run to restock and a "bread and milk" run in between Costco trips. Been going to the small BMW and Guzzi motorcycle club rallies which are fairly safe, but decided to skip the Britt Hobo Convention last weekend because the area is a COVID hotspot. Might make it up to northern Minnesota to watch a pro rally end of the month, and maybe a motorcycle rally up in the U.P. on Labor Day weekend- All depends on what the local COVID situation is. Otherwise I get out and ride or drive by myself and do some photography, but nothing near the mileage I used to do. Thanks to low vaccination levels COVID will be a real threat for the rest of my lifetime, so like a lot of elders I'm going to have to self isolate and enjoy the rest of my life as best I can.

 

[jmodge]

Retired, come and go as I please, don’t know what day it is. Same as before, I tend not to get around big Cities anyway

 

[oilhammer]

I pretty much do everything the same as always, too. I'm not at all worried. Media circus more than anything.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Right now my daughter, niece, and IDParts Warehouse Manager all have COVID. All vaccinated. That aside, I'm driving about the same amount as ever, maybe a little more as I've been taking long Sunday drives to amuse myself. I drove up to the top of Vermont and back yesterday, about 700 miles. However, the lack of 2K+ road trips last year did mean the IBW's total mileage was down for the year. I don't drive my other cars that much anyway. I don't see many long road trips in my future as most of the friends I would visit are hesitant to have guests. I may drive out to CA this fall for my mother-in-law's 93rd birthday. I'm not super enthusiastic about getting on a plane right now and the drive would be an adventure.

 

[Poor King]

Trips during prime covid were a blast. The roads were all mine and I really don't like sharing it.

 

[gulfcoastguy]

Fully vaccinated with Moderna so I take a little risk. Got the car charging up right now and considering driving to the fringe areas of New Orleans. I plan to take a fairly long road trip to the Rockies in late September.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

You're not wrong about that. He's a pic of my Golf at a Mass Pike service center in April of last year.

Drove by there yesterday and that lot was full.

 

[jmodge]

I flew into Tampa last August. Charlotte was busy, Tampa, before sunset looked Deserted. I noticed the point of view from people in there seventies is more cautious

 

[joyjoy22]

Everything is going back to normal, a lot of people in the state where I live in doesn't wear a mask anymore.

 

[Mozambiquer]

The main thing that's different here is that everyone is a lot busier and things cost more. Lumber, land, houses, cars etc have all gone through the roof in price. I took a trip to north Carolina last year and to New York this year. Put more miles on my cars than ever before. I had covid, stayed home from work a few days, went back and kept at it.

 

[AGTDI]

Trips during prime covid were a blast. The roads were all mine and I really don't like sharing it.

July 2020 my family took a road trip: Palm Springs - Joshua Tree - Grand Canyon - Horseshoe Bend - Zion - Vegas....we had the roads and the parks all to ourselves.

Wanted to do something similar this summer but we saw that all parks were setting attendance records....hard pass.

To the point of this thread: I went from 20K/yr on my TDI wagon to less than 5K last year. Probably going to continue working from home 2-3 days a week.

To those worried about Covid.....take it from an engineer with strong statistical analysis background: get off social media and mainstream news. Go live your life, you only have one and your risks of dying across all risks factors are nearly exactly the same as they were 3 years ago. Your risks of experiencing depression and anxiety are up huge.

Then again...I am just some guy on the internet and one of the reasons I come to this forums (other than I like TDIs) is the minimal politics.

 

[gearheadgrrrl]

Live your life fully, but don't be stupid. Excerprt from an article I wrote today:

"Friend of mine had no symptoms but tested positive for COVID-19 last fall. He worked two jobs and at age 64 was in great shape other than being a smoker. No family history of heart or circulatory disease and he isn’t diabetic and seemed like he’d shrugged off COVID. But couple months later he can’t work, had a heart attack, and after trying every treatment to improve his circulation, last week they had to amputate his foot. His wife has a mobility impairment, after COVID she has to speak hesitatingly to catch her breath. They raised two autistic kids through high school and into adulthood, both graduated with their class and the older one works and drives.

Life expectancy after amputation due to poor circulation is a bit over 5 years, my friend may make it to 70 and about all he’ll enjoy of retirement is Social Security and Medicare. Similar prognosis for his wife, she might make it to 60. Their kids will have to grow up even faster, rapidly becoming independent adults as well as caretakers. Across America and around the world their loss is multiplied- 37 million Americans have officially been infected by COVID, and several studies suggest that around 30% of them are still suffering from COVID symptoms, and 10% will be permanently disabled. Just that 10% of COVID survivors is 2% of America’s workforce, which explains the current labor shortage a lot better than increased unemployment benefits. In a nation that disables workers wholesale to the point that 20% of 61 year olds had been forced to retire on Social Security Disability Insurance benefits before COVID changed everything, the loss of just a couple percent of workers to disability will hobble our economy for decades.

Last fall a couple renowned Harvard economists predicted that COVID will cost America $14T if we can stop it in a year, and that’s “T” as in “Trillion” and eclipses any COVID emergency spending ever proposed. Almost a year later we’re in the second biggest COVID outbreak yet and it’s still growing. We’ve vaccinated half of Americans, but COVID has mutated to be twice as infectious. World vaccine production capacity was around 2 billion shots a year before COVID, and even after doubling that our world is maybe 25% vaccinated, and now we need boosters…"

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Some of you may be on the thread where a few folks have been attempting to put together a TDIFest like event in conjunction with the Detroit Auto Show. I last attended the Detroit show in 2017. Didn't go in '18, and they canceled the '19 show to move it from January to June. Of course there was no show in June of '20, then they were going to try for October of this year. Which isn't happening, either. At this point I wonder if it's gone forever. And plans to get TDIClub members together have faded, at least for now. Just one small example of how our world has changed.

I don't love trade shows, but we at IDParts usually attend SEMA/AAPEX in Las Vegas every year, and Automechanika in Shanghai and the Automechanika in Frankfurt every other year. SEMA is happening in some form this year, but AAPEX isn't because of the limits on international travel. And we haven't been to an Automechanika since '18. I will reluctantly admit that these are important shows for our business: we've located some of our best suppliers at these events. Again, I'm not sure what we'll see in the future, if anything.

 

[oilhammer]

Yep, it is a mess. Made worse by media and people who do not understand simple statistics. I'm no more worried about this virus than I am being attacked by a shark in Missouri, but that won't matter to what has already changed.

Good news is, my work is busier than ever, we are actually turning away a lot of work... I just turned two away this week, two last week. Cars that are basket case time sponges that will cost thousands to put back into service and are not worth my effort (typically stuff that is crashed or cosmetically a mess, but in some cases someone else's epic pile of Fail that I just don't have the time for).

People that actually want to work are doing well. My one sister is a dog groomer, has been for years, and she hasn't been able to take any new clients since 2019. That is kind of what we are like now. Existing customers get priority, and new customers get screened for "worthiness", which I think sucks personally, but there is only so much time in the day, and I will not ever work weekends again.

I have not laid a wrench personally on anything that is not a Volkswagen or Audi in weeks aside from some Sprinters and I got roped into replacing an alternator on a Cadillac SRX yesterday. We have a tech out sick... not covid... just his biannual cancer stick addiction backlash... seriously, if the almighty 'we-know-what-is-best-for-you' US gov't really wanted to "save lives", they'd stop with this mask/vaccine/quarantine/social distancing circus and shut down the tobacco industry TODAY. All of it. Outlaw it all. You'd start saving more lives instantly, LOL. But whatever...

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

We're busy, too, but I spend my days fighting to get product amid a supply chain mess that will take months and months to straighten out. Aftermarket auto parts supply has always been erratic, but now it's catastrophic. Some parts, like HPFP pumps, are simply not available. Some turbos have 12 week lead times. And nothing is delivered on time. Because we had good supplier relationships and have a team dedicated to chasing product, business is good. And people continue to keep older TDIs alive, against all odds. Same with Liberty CRDs, and Mercedes diesels. And those vehicles aren't inexpensive to keep up with.

 

[jmodge]

If they could develop a parasitic monetary gain, tobacco would be gone today . I retired at the point to where this hadn’t had much of a troublesome effect on me. Biggest negative effect I have seen in my circle are from those associated with the food industry or the worry it has caused. Those concerns elevate with every decade of life that goes by. At 52, I doubt the pandemic would give me much if any cause for concern. Now, at 62 and still relatively strong and healthy, it does have a place in my mind because I know now with each passing decade health and strength become a much stronger battle to maintain. I like to keep in mind my 99 year old Aunts words. “It’s a lot harder to hit a moving target “. Be well people.

 

[oilhammer]

We struggle with parts, too. Often things we took for granted. FCA is going through yet ANOTHER period of turmoil with the whole Stellantis thing. I swear, for anyone reading this, DO NOT BUY ANY Chrysler or Fiat or Jeep or Dodge right now. It will be a trainwreck of an issue in the coming years. These things are getting to be like Saabs.

 

[jmodge]

Those in the building industry have had to pass inflated prices down to the consumer due to the industries lack of ability to secure raw goods. If a person looks around it has definitely touched humanity, but people through the ages have adapted to everything that comes their way. For the sake of the long term of this planet it wouldn’t hurt industry to slow down though

 

[jmodge]

We're busy, too, but I spend my days fighting to get product amid a supply chain mess that will take months and months to straighten out. Aftermarket auto parts supply has always been erratic, but now it's catastrophic. Some parts, like HPFP pumps, are simply not available. Some turbos have 12 week lead times. And nothing is delivered on time. Because we had good supplier relationships and have a team dedicated to chasing product, business is good. And people continue to keep older TDIs alive, against all odds. Same with Liberty CRDs, and Mercedes diesels. And those vehicles aren't inexpensive to keep up with.

Your efforts are appreciated, having toys is fun

 

[Mozambiquer]

Cummins is one that is extremely hard to get parts for right now, specifically heavy duty. The shop I work at is mostly heavy duty diesels. Recently we were going to do an in frame on an isx15 which is one of the most common Cummins truck engines out there. Cummins is back ordered on rebuild kits, though thankfully the local Peterbilt dealer had one in stock. Then we couldn't get head bolts for it, Cummins would only allow two bolts per day, and when the engine has 32 head bolts, that's a lot of days. Nox sensors and anything emissions related is also a huge pain to get right now.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Two bolts a day. I love that. Makes me think of when VW was having trouble with coil packs and they'd only give a dealer one pack per vin per service visit, regardless of how many were bad.

 

[jmodge]

Stroke of luck, but I retired at the right time

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

Stroke of luck, but I retired at the right time

Is there a wrong time?

 

[oilhammer]

Some of us won't ever get that luxury. I just hope my body holds up, I am already having some issues in my joints, and my eyesight is awful up close unless I take my contacts out, and then I cannot see well enough to walk across a room!

 

[jmodge]

Joints, oh boy, don’t smoke em, soak em!

 

[Tdijarhead]

Getting old sucks, joints, eyesight, soon probably memory I remember thinking that would never happen to me, even just a few years ago. Gone are the sunday afternoons where I would go out and run for 3-4 hours or get some friends together to rock climb. I joke with my kids you know your'e getting old when parts start to fall off and whats still attached doesn't work right.