Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
A couple parts to this diary: finish our trip to the coast and then busy at home with a new surprise.
We started Friday morning with breakfast in Pacific Grove at The Red House Cafe, a fave. We reviewed the last two days' family discussions and settled in with the "let Jack be Jack" idea, even if it locks in a barrier between him and the rest of us. Aging does not take away the right to be oneself, and we need to remember that. And we need to think again about how we wish our own twilight days to be spent. It's not easy.
The drive from Monterey up to Monte Sereno was pleasant, something that is not always true on Highway 17 through the coastal hills. I first drove this road 63 years ago as a novice pilot of mom's tiny Renault Dauphin. It was a little trickier then, with just paint separating the north- and south-bound traffic. Now, a solid concrete barrier welcomes any direction drifters. This is far safer, but the old twists and turns are no different.
Up north, we settled into the Rahimi home for a couple of days of "babysitting". Now that Ava and Sam are grown-up teenagers, there's not much for us to do, but we appreciate any time they can give us. Our duties were further limited because the kids' other grandmother, Zohreh, was there as well. She prepared tasty food to help us all celebrate Nowruz, the Persian New Year and it was enough for all the meals we needed in our two-day stay.
Our kid time was limited. Sam had golf lessons, golf practice, and golf rounds with his buddies, but I did get one picture to prove that we did see him. Meanwhile, Ava was flitting in and out, accompanied with a girl friend or two. Her time at home was so brief that I completely forgot to take a picture. Too bad, because they are all darling young women. Next time. (Sarbi stayed with us, so Marianne was able to get a cute dog picture.)
On Sunday, we left just after the household woke up. We had a three-hour cross-valley drive to make, including a charging stop at Hotel Mission De Oro. Again, our driving luck held and nothing unusual happened, not guaranteed on these highways.
Back home after six days away, our back yard had sprouted a whole new crop of roses. I think this means winter is over. Hiding in among the blossoms was also a new crop of bugs, meaning Marianne needed to get our her tweezers out to pick the little guys off and dump them in soapy water. It's a Spring tradition and not one she looks forward to.
Now for the surprise. We are selling Carla and getting a new replacement. We have known that she was not going to make it for the remainder of our driving careers and would need to be replaced sooner or later. We have thoroughly enjoyed the Tesla Model Y and, despite enmity toward Mr. Musk, decided to get a new version. We had placed an order before we left for Monterey and now we had to get busy.
The trickiest part of a car exchange is always dealing with the old car. It's easy to buy things, hard to sell. I am not interested in a sale to an unknown person, so we dealt with companies. First, was a Tesla trade-in. They offered $17,500, quite a bit less than I had hoped for, but this was just the beginning. Our next choice was CarMax. Their process for getting a guaranteed seven-day price is quite painless and boosted the available offer to $21,000. Closer.
Our next choice was via the Kelly Blue Book website, where I regularly check our cars' value estimates. They have an option whereby they offer a guaranteed price and send out to local car dealers for their own offers. KBB offered $21,800, a little better.
Three dealers reached out with requests for in-person visits. Vera from Lythia Hyundai, called within minutes of my KBB request and we set up a Tuesday morning appointment. That went well, and the company offered $23,000, closer yet.
The next day, I met with a different dealer from the Lythia chain, one that had offered $22,800 sight unseen. When I said I already had a price above that, Logan raised the offer to $23,500. With that, I called Vera back to see if she could match it. After a question or two and the inevitable I-need-to-talk-with-my-manager, she did, and we "shook hands".
Meanwhile, Marianne and I needed to go get our new Tesla. In order to allow transfer of "Full Self Driving" (FSD) software, we had to finish the purchase of the new car before the old one was sold. In the course of two or three hours, we did both.
Hector, the Tesla agent, finished up our paperwork and gave a quick tour of our shiny, red purchase. (We have named it "RedY" - pronounced "red-ie" - because Tesla software requires cars to be named.) The tour included short FSD orientation spins for both Marianne and me and I'll admit the self-driving thing is impressive - and spooky.
Now, after two hours owning two Teslas, we could finalize the deal with Vera. We delivered Carla, signed papers, and that was it. After five-and-a-half years, we left her behind. A bit sad.
We have had good service from our Tesla Model Y, Performance. It has been quick, comfortable, and reasonably reliable. There were some initial details that needed fixing, but maintenance was basically limited to new tires. No periodic oil change or anything else. Depreciation was significant, in part because we bought the most expensive version and paid for FSD when it cost $7,000. Unlike most things, the base price for a Tesla has gone down since that first purchase.
On Wednesday morning, we went to Coarsegold for breakfast and a RedY test drive. We drove up "manually" and tried FSD on the way back. As I have come to anticipate, FSD was not flawless, once veering onto the shoulder and once trying a sneaky lane-change that was illegal, if not unsafe.
Just before we got home, a (large) bird bombed our shiny new car. Sheesh. I suppose this was just a reminder that all new cars risk damage, but this time it just required a quick wash. Not so bad.
I believe we are realistic about "full self driving", recognizing that it is not yet perfect. Our idea, and need, is for a system that will allow us to drive safely l
ater in our years. The software will improve, but most importantly, we will need to get comfortable with what it can do, mostly good but potentially not-so-good. RedY could well be the last car we buy and we are looking forward to comfortable and safe road trips, short and long.
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne