New England B.S. Thread

They say it's slow but my boss just bought a new Jeep Wrangler to tow behind his motorhome and he had one to choose from. They got 14 of them in and sold them all in 3 days. I am really having a hard time understanding this "pandemic economic disaster". They say they are coming up with another stimulus package for both business and personal.. to me it looks like the economy has never been stronger. People are buying with reckless abandon! Boat dealers have no boats, they are selling 3 times as much as a normal year. Houses are selling for $40k over the asking price with zero contingencies and no inspections according to my realtor friend. Motorcycles and 4 wheelers/sxs's you can't even get because they are all sold out. You can't get a pool installed until 2022, and that's only if you can find one to buy. And construction, my field? I'm onto another banner year, I'm installing on average 1800 sheets PER WEEK. Unfortunately I can't get enough men to frame and hang because they make more on unemployment. Anyway... end rant.

 

I’ve had my business forcibly closed for months and it is potentially not ever allowed to open again according to baker.
There are millions of people like me, we know dozens of vendors who won’t make it and plenty who have already closed their doors.

if we were allowed to be open we’d have had our best year yet. Right now we’ve lost over 40k and more to come. I don’t want a penny, I want to run my business.

 

I guess it's all what your gig is. Weddings and hospitality is trashed. Food service too I assume. But other stuff is just out of control. I assume my field is going to feel it next year. I can't see how it can't but right now if I could find another 150 carpenters I could keep them busy until at least 2021.

 

auction prices are through the roof right now, supply is low for used cars

 

They gave me more than the KBB "Excellent" trade value without hesitation, so I was happy. I was just shocked to see it go up for what I paid for it brand new two years ago.

 

But, things are running out cause manufacturers are not running up to par. Many many many businesses will not make it. Many businesses laid off people and look to be busy, but not when compared to before. Yes, unemployed folks making good money right now, but I think that’s about to dry up. Maine economy will hurt bad, lost months of tourism, and I think it’s still down.
We will see the effects down the road, with towns and states cutting spending, school budgets shrinking.

 

There was an opinion piece in BDN from someone from Pennsylvania who was upset they lost their Maine vacation and as such "have lost faith in the governor". It just reeked of entitled bitching. I am not even still in maine but that article pissed me off.

 

Yea I've been noticing price hikes on the used market. Need to get tires put on the wife's rogue and dump that thing soon but we were hoping to find a decent Yukon or Tahoe with max tow package for 25k......can't find a decent one for under 32k now. Had told my cousin at Tasca to be on the lookout but I'm starting to think he's not going to find anything.

 

People can't even find the cheapo inflatable pools, much less the good ones.

Bicycle shops are killing it, can't keep stuff in stock and the guy at my LBS said they're 4 weeks out for most service.

Yup, my day job is still going but I've been cross trained to help elsewhere. Other hand, my part time job is inactive because pubs and restaurants aren't open, therefore no events. Cancelled both our big weekend tournaments this year too because hotels aren't running

 

Not sure about the smaller purchases, but it's the 0% on all of the large stuff that has people buying. Cars, boats, tractors, etc. And housing is at super low rates right now also, but those are selling because people want to get out of the cities. A guy on our camp road just sold his place, a year-round 'camp'
It was on the market for less than 24 hours, and it sold for $45k MORE than what he was asking for it. People from CT, who want out.

 

It was quite quiet at camp this past weekend

 

0% is what pushed me over the edge on this truck. I started looking more seriously because of Ford's $3k PCO, said let's order one when the trade number he gave me was higher than expected, and when we couldn't order I looked at a more expensive one on a lot because of the 0%. Granted, I have great job security--if I didn't, there's no way I would have bought this truck.

On another note, I got my Husky Weatherbeaters in:

 

I miss the flat floor on my F150. The Ram has fold-out platforms to flatten it, but it's not the same.

Edit- on the other hand, the 'beer cubbies' in the floor are a really convenient spot to store straps, tie-downs, etc.

 

Framing??? Hanging??? Sounds like your statue needs to be torn down!!!

 

@jethro

 

DESK POP!!! Love that scene!!!

 

Morning all. Happy Thirsty Thursday!

@jethro- I don't suppose you want to bring that giant-ass sled trailer to Lewiston tonight, do you?

We're making a last trip up to Milbridge to finish moving everything out of the Grandparent's house on Friday night. We were going to use the dump trailer but now the forecast is for rain so I'm looking at renting an enclosed unit.

 

Oh man, it would take an act of congress to empty my sled trailer. All my ice fishing gear is in there and it becomes a storage shed for the summer.

 

I'm basically a painter/ landscaper now. Picked up a free used swingset about a month ago. Replaced a few boards, replaced the deck framing and re-decked with composite, then stripped and stained the whole thing. Wife found some cheap used turf from a soccer facility that was replacing it during the 'Rona. After moving 2000# of commercial grade turf ( pro tip reciprocating saw with metal blade cuts through the thick rubber like butter...) the kids play area is no longer a mud pit anytime it rains. Now the wife wants to do the whole yard in turf...