Used 4CT Feedback Request -- Bellevue WA & Deerfield Beach FL

[Jonathan S.]

An unusually and exceptionally beautiful station wagon-y vehicle.

FTFY

Sorry to hear about the lack of vertical and the poor weather this year. I saw a picture of Palmer a day ago and was amazed at how it's basically just gone. I have so many great memories from ~25 years ago training all summer (into early August).
Glad to hear about the progress though! I'm in the air on the way to Seattle now, so I'll give a wave in the general direction of Bellevue when I get in haha.

The Palmer went super-fast this August once lift-served operations ended with 100+ temps in Portland!
Last year, by contrast, on the last two days of August, and the first day of September, we walked only ~100' vertical from the parking lot to the snow, then did laps of ~2,400' vertical.
My Beaverton friend though has endured far worse to maintain his monthly ski streak of almost two decades. In some years, the Palmer in Sep & Oct is so small that you wonder how it ever rebounds.

Might be too late to wave as the car was picked up at ~3pm Pacific time, wuhoo, here we go!

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[Jonathan S.]

A minor, though potentially pesky detail: How are you getting the car keys?

Car keys, you mean I can't just use my phone?
Actually, that feature has been pretty nifty with my wife's i4, since when I bike to meet up with her, I don't have to bring my fob.

Seriously though, the trucking company said I could just tell the driver where to leave the fobs.
BTW, funny that you referred to "keys" as my sister-in-law told me that her daughter was baffled by the old car they bought recently for her that has an actual key that you stick into a slot in the steering column and then turn the ignition, as she has never experienced that!

 

[whitex]

Car keys, you mean I can't just use my phone?
Actually, that feature has been pretty nifty with my wife's i4, since when I bike to meet up with her, I don't have to bring my fob.

Seriously though, the trucking company said I could just tell the driver where to leave the fobs.
BTW, funny that you referred to "keys" as my sister-in-law told me that her daughter was baffled by the old car they bought recently for her that has an actual key that you stick into a slot in the steering column and then turn the ignition, as she has never experienced that!

You can use the phone to open, not to drive, but only after you paired it up by either entering the code in the PCM, or scanning the PCM QR code. Oh, and of course, only when the app works, which is not 100% of the time (car needs to have LTE coverage, your subscription service needs to active, the servers need to be up, and the servers must not be in a confused state leading it to believe the car is in privacy mode - this happens to me when I travel, takes a few hours to clear). Short version, you can, when it works, which is most of the time, but I would never count on it.

In case you were thinking lock the fobs inside, not sure the car would even let you, and even if it did, I wouldn’t trust that it would not unlock by itself, as this would be an uncommon usecase, so likely untested by Porsche (they still have occasional glitches with simple locking or unlocking when leaving or returning to the car).


Hmm… keys… My daughter has a 2020 Toyota Corolla, it has an actual key you put into ignition to start and drive it, so it’s not such an ancient feature. Her driver’s ed car had a key too, so she was not baffled when she got the corolla.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Ah, okay, same functionality as on my Audi A6 Allroad. Although IIRC it's always worked. I've used it for giving access to my car for other people when loading up the course markings from the skimo races I organize, so that way I don't have to worry about getting my fob back from someone amidst all the gear exchanges. Plus when skinning or hiking up Mt Greylock and thinking, uh oh, did I remember to touch the handle and lock my car? So, nowhere near as nifty as the BMW system, which also has a card that can drive the car (thereby saving valuable ounces for outdoor aerobic pursuits ... although I still marvel at the people who place their fobs on a tire in a totally obvious way).

Interesting that a 2020 Toyota still had an actual physical key! Those days seem so long ago now...

 

[Jonathan S.]

Is it just me or are these texts not reassuring?
(This sales manager on the phone is even more condescending and demeaning.)

 

[whitex]

Earlier this year I submitted a title signed by lienholder plus written lien release plus $30 and they mailed me a clean title ~5 weeks later. I'm not sure what a Quick Title is, but when I asked about any faster ways to getting the clean title, I was told there wasn't any by the person working the counter. When I registered the Taycan bought in another state, it took about 4 weeks for the WA title to arrive in the mail.

Are trying to get the new, clean title or just get the original title signed by 1st Tech and their written release?

 

[Jonathan S.]

The only thing I know for certain (I think?) is that the WA DOL Quick Title is instantaneous if you apply in-person, i.e., you get the title on the spot.
Otherwise, obtaining a new title takes weeks. Which is no big deal for anyone who lives in a state that allow temp tags. Which is any state other than MA.

As for what the dealer is trying to do, the main goal appears to be do nothing, aside from delivering condescending and demeaning statements via both phone and text in an attempt to continue doing nothing without having to address any further inquiries from me.

But what the dealer is ostensibly planning to do involves the WA DOL ELT program:
https://www.dditechnology.com/premier-solutions/premier-etitlelien/washington/

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Indeed, not reassuring. And just to temper your expectations: the only title issuing authority in WA is the DoL 'HQ' (the agency in Olympia); the local DoL offices are usually contractors or affiliated offices, and have no issuing authority. So this wasn't going to be anywhere near instantaneous.

Having said that, the dealer seems to be behind on the title work. As a dealer, they don't transfer the car to their identity upon taking possession of a trade-in - they only need to be satisfied with the seller's legal ability to sell/transfer the title (is there a lien, what's the balance etc.) The hard work begins when the next buyer (ie you) acquires the car, as a title has to be issued and that means the legal owner (the bank/CU) must officially/formally release their interest in the vehicle.

Since you're not financing, you now get exposed to this delay (otherwise it'd be between banks to drive the process), which usually doesn't mean you can't drive the car - except, of course, that you happen to live in the one state where 'usually' doesn't apply. FWIW, in my case it took about 3 weeks after purchase to receive the paperwork for my DoL office, and another ~2 months before I received my WA title. (And this was a new purchase/no previous owners, no financing etc.)

I'd say let the dealer do their work - as it's out of their hands anyway - and focus on how you can temporarily (and legally) drive your car in MA.

(edit: apologies for repeating most of what was said above; when i began typing this, your post with screenshots was the most recent)

 

[whitex]

As for what the dealer is trying to do, the main goal appears to be do nothing, aside from delivering condescending and demeaning statements via both phone and text in an attempt to continue doing nothing without having to address any further inquiries from me.

Yea, I agree the messages don't sound promising. I would have pressed for detailed status along the lines of "ok you called, thank you, did you leave a voicemail, did they call back, did they commit to sending the release by some date, when will you provide me the next update, etc, etc.". Sometimes it works as it outlines next steps for the guy, but it doesn't always work, as it exposes lazy workers who believe things like waiting for a callback is considered actual work (e.g. if all the guy did is leave a voicemail 24hrs earlier), so it may piss off the guy which may cause him to bury your tasks even more.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Whew, big relief, all is good now!
Or at least will soon be good.
I think. (Hope?)

After talking with three people at the bank, and then two people at DOL, and then finally the dealer (who was his usual condescending and demeaning self), I learned that …

1. The bank sent the Affidavit in Lieu of Title on August 25, by regular mail, coming from Rocklin CA, so should be arriving in Bellevue WA this week. (So, in other words, that “electronic release” is actually not issued electronically by the bank but instead via paper.)
2. Once the dealer has that, a runner can obtain a Quick Title in-person at a DOL office immediately. (Apparently the dealer can get a Quick Title for a car the dealer no longer owns because DOL has no idea that the dealer no longer owns the car.)
3. Then the dealer will overnight to me the new title, signed over to me, along with the MA RMV RTA form.

****

And for a bonus round – how can MA special EV plates be obtained?

Granted, from my prior research for the i4, I learned that MA EV plates confer exactly zero benefits in MA. But, I love the idea of having EV plates on the Taycan, since when people say, “You bought a Porsche?” then I can point to the plates and proudly proclaim, “Yes, I am SAVING THE PLANET!”

I did not though obtain EV plates for the i4 since regular plates could be issued from the stack at the dealer, whereas EV plates would have required them to have a runner go over the nearby adjacent RMV, and the day was getting late (since I’d already biked almost 50 miles to get there, with lots o’ hilz), plus it was another $60 for zero benefits (other than letting everyone know that this not just yet another random 4 series that also looks almost like a 3 series but instead is an i4 that is SAVING THE PLANET).

So, for a new registration, how are EV plates obtained?

Read the MA RMV special plates manual. Nope, no explanation.

Website directed me to the page with downloads for special applications. Nope, no such listing for EV plates.

Used the contact form. (MA RMV communicates only via the on-line contact form, whereas WA DOL communicates only via phone.) RMV responder did not know. But told me to call its Special Plates Department.

Call said dept. Oh, it’s easy: when you hand over all your paperwork at the RMV, you say, hey, I’d like those special EV plates! And then – here’s the best part – if they don’t have a set of EV plates immediately available on-site, then you have the rare honor of being a MA resident who gets to use temp tags, in this case while awaiting the EV plates to be mailed.

Now back to simple matters like financial economic analysis on a case involving violations of the Clean Water Act. (And if my client inquiries as to my progress, I can reply with, "Please allow me to do my job, I'm on top of it." Actually, no, that would be the end of my relationship with any client!)

 

[whitex]

Ah, okay, same functionality as on my Audi A6 Allroad. Although IIRC it's always worked. I've used it for giving access to my car for other people when loading up the course markings from the skimo races I organize, so that way I don't have to worry about getting my fob back from someone amidst all the gear exchanges. Plus when skinning or hiking up Mt Greylock and thinking, uh oh, did I remember to touch the handle and lock my car?

I would not count on the app working when hiking. This is usually when my Taycan appears in privacy mode in the app (not in the car). My theory is that driving through spotty LTE coverage screws up the server state machine so even when back in good coverage the app won’t let you do or see anything.

At lease you are not spoiled with a Tesla app. Once connected, it will show you real time car info, location, speed, destination, time to destination, current cabin temperature, HVAC settings and controls, battery and charging info and controls. It also lets you lock/unlock, open close trunk, and yes, even start the car via the app to drive it. That’s all via internet. If internet is out, you can also use the app to open/start the car via bluetooth.

 

[violuma]

if my client inquiries as to my progress, I can reply with, "Please allow me to do my job, I'm on top of it."

If the whole economist thing doesn't work out, I think you've got a future in screenwriting.

 

[Jonathan S.]

If the whole economist thing doesn't work out, I think you've got a future in screenwriting.

I think economists are legally prohibited in most states from screenwriting or any other creative writing pursuits. Or at least most of us should be!

As for the app, yes, Tesla really has that dialed in. By contrast, the Audi app is mainly useful for sending nav destinations to the car ahead of time.

BMW app is useful for that plus seeing charge status. And since my Garmin sports watch is synced to my phone, the first time I charged the i4 in public, as I was starting to ascend the mountain a notification popped up on my watch with info, nifty!
Plus via the app I can take pictures of where my wife is parked then text them to her. Which she of course finds kind of freaky, which in turns increases the appeal of the app for me.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Good progress on all fronts:

• All sorts of deliveries yesterday and today, e.g., Tesla L2 adapter, puncture plug kit, battery jumper, RFID cards for every semi-dysfunctional CCS1 DCFC network in New England.
• The bank's snail-mailed paperwork arrived at the Bellevue Infiniti dealer today, wuhoo!
• The runner obtained a quick title from DOL.
• The dealer though missed the FedEx deadline for today, but whatever, Friday delivery here is fine.
• Looks like great weather Friday for a casual ~24-mile roundtrip entirely on various bike paths to the RMV (as oddly enough, both my house and the RMV are located adjacent to connecting bike paths).
• RMV after previously requiring appointments for registration/plates, no longer even allows such appointments, so might be a looong wait while I nervously hope the clerk doesn't somehow reject my application.

Update to be posted Friday, hopefully w/ plates pic!

 

[Jonathan S.]

Such a good family dinner today:

• Although our 13 yr daughter complained about the food my wife made for dinner, I thought it was just fine.
• At the beginning of dinner, FedEx texted me to confirm Friday delivery from the Bellevue Infiniti dealer between 9:30am-1:30pm.

• But then, almost immediately after that, FedEx texted me that the Friday 9:30-1:30 delivery had been delayed to … the very same Friday 9:30-1:30?

• At the end of dinner, my wife informed me that she is buying more plants and trees. My records (for tax purposes, since I get to deduct exactly 8.85% based on the square footage taken up by my home office) show that she already spent her usual ten grand this year, a habit that started during the pandemic, and – I have to admit – really has transformed our yard (for the better!), despite how I think it’s somewhat coals to Newcastle given that we border a forest. Plus she puts a huge amount of work into it.
• I put on my usual perplexed “you’re spending how much?” but the timing of what sounds like another five grand is absolutely perfect, since I can just cite this latest expenditure when the 4CT arrives on Labor Day!

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