Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I just saw where Ford will be offering a Level 2 Performance Package for the Mustang GT- adaptive dampers, wider wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, stiffer suspension and tweaked aerodynamics. A GT Premium with Level 2 goodies will start at $48,695. I still think I'd rather have a new M240i, M2, or a CPO M3 ZCP.

Boy that's getting close to GT 350 territory.

One of the upgrades I'm saving for are summer performance tires. Pilot Sports are high on the list but I worry that some of the super sticky ones might crack if I drive in cold weather at the end of the season.

oldfarmer50

isellhondas said:

berri said:

Man, you can get sick on too much rum in a hurry and the hangover takes awhile to forget

Try a Southern Comfort hangover sometime!

Amen.

explorerx4

@oldfarmer,
I'm pretty sure with summer tires, in cold weather you are not worried about cracking, but traction.

oldfarmer50

houdini1 said:

Hey, thanks everyone for the info on the Zuma. That is about the same info I came up with pricewise. He recently sold a business he started and walked away with mucho dinero, but still doesn't explain why he priced it so low. I'll keep you posted.

Probably doesn't want to split the full value with the ex.

There was a teacher at our school that drove a late model Corvette all winter in the salt. A friend who knew her told me that it was her ex hubby's dream car and when she got it in the divorce she wanted to trash it.

driver100

Or the lady who had a fairly new Porsche for sale for $100. A guy called the number and asked why it was so cheap. She said her ex husband moved out with his new girlfriend....and the husband phoned his soon to be ex-wife and said sell my car and send me the money.

driver100

My ex VW dealer has a 1 cent sale on snow tires......
I guess they got me to read the ad....I was curious to find the scam.
Buy 3 tires, get 1 for a cent. Kind of the same as 25% off, but sounds better!

abacomike

driver100 said:

I just had a visit from my condo community's maintenance department. They claim that my toilets are slowly leaking and causing the ceiling drywall in the condo unit below me to get wet. He came in and checked the master bathroom toilet first - he said that the wax seal is corroded and needs to be replaced. He had some sort of gizmo he used to check the floor around the toilet base. He then checked the guest bathroom and found that when the toilet is flushed, there is some leakage, but very slight. He said both wax seals must be replaced as they are both leaking. So, I have to call my maintenance contractor who covers my plumbing, electrical, AC, and appliances. Hopefully they can come out ASAP to get this fixed before it does more damage, not just to the apartment below me, but also to my floors. Always something. But I guess I have to expect this sort of stuff in a 27 year old condo unit.

Mike of all the things that can go wrong and cause extensive damage plumbing wise, a leaking wax gasket is an easy and cheap fix. I sell them for $1.99 each. Make sure they use a "Deep" wax gasket with a plastic horn. Also, while they are resetting your toilet, make sure they use BRASS 5/16" Flange Bolts (or Johni Bolts), not the 1/4" BRASS PLATED Flange Bolts.

Thanks, Bradd. I'll mention it to them when they finally get here sometime this week, but I am at their mercy. They repair as they are trained to repair. So....I'll try, but....!

Plumbers will be here tomorrow afternoon to check out the toilets. They said they don't take the advice of my maintenance dept - they check out the toilets themselves to assure their assessment. I guess a wet ceiling in the apartment below me is not good enough for them. Good Grief!!!

Mike, finding the leak now is better than finding it later as you fall through the floor with your pants down around your ankles !!

He might meet his naked friend who lives in the same building!

That guy died 6 months ago.  And they lived right below me where the water is leaking.

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer,
I'm pretty sure with summer tires, in cold weather you are not worried about cracking, but traction.

Now it's both- from the care instructions for the Michelin Sport 4S:

Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Max Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. Compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.

Which is why I stuck with the Pilot Super Sports- they may lose grip below 40F, but at least you can drive the car without worrying that you are destroying the tires.

roadburner

driver100 said:

My ex VW dealer has a 1 cent sale on snow tires......
I guess they got me to read the ad....I was curious to find the scam.
Buy 3 tires, get 1 for a cent. Kind of the same as 25% off, but sounds better!

We are running the same deal for all tires through the end of the month.

berri

Would you pay 3x the price for your E-class if you were guaranteed not to die in an accident?
Uh Oh, now Michaell is getting into the actuarial sciences

pensfan83

Over the weekend our refrigerator died rather unexpectedly. It runs but I'm guessing the compressor is toast because there is no cooling whatsoever. We spent Saturday morning hastily moving as much from the upstairs unit to the downstairs unit that's mainly for soda, water, beer, extra food, etc before it was defrosted or warm. The fridge was here when we bought the house so it's at least 8.5 years old. On Sunday after we picked out a new unit (that won't be delivered until NEXT Friday we stopped in at fair & classic car show. Gorgeous weather and some great cars that I'll post in a bit since all pictures are on my phone. Good way to enjoy what is probably one of the last nice fall days.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

Hey, thanks everyone for the info on the Zuma. That is about the same info I came up with pricewise. He recently sold a business he started and walked away with mucho dinero, but still doesn't explain why he priced it so low. I'll keep you posted.

He doesn't have the time or energy to put it on CL at this time. He just wants to get rid of it.......$250 is like found money to him instead of dumping it at this time.

I bought new tennis shoes for $120....they hurt so much after I wore them I didn't want to even look at them any more. I put them on CL and got $40 for them after about 10 days. If it took any longer I was just going to give them to someone who needed shoes at the club. But, the $40 paid for a dinner out.......at Denny's anyway.

C'mon man, 40 bucks for dinner...at Denny's ! That's twice you've told us you were screwed.

jmonroe

jmonroe

oldfarmer50 said:

houdini1 said:

Hey, thanks everyone for the info on the Zuma. That is about the same info I came up with pricewise. He recently sold a business he started and walked away with mucho dinero, but still doesn't explain why he priced it so low. I'll keep you posted.

Probably doesn't want to split the full value with the ex.

There was a teacher at our school that drive a late model Corvette all winter in the salt. A friend who knew her told me that it was her ex hubby's dream car and when she got it in the divorce she wanted to trash it.

Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. If I understand this it's her vette, so why destroy something that belongs to you? Logic says to sell it and keep the money.

It sounds like her husband lost an airhead that wasn't worth keeping. Probably a bargain for him in the end.

Just curious, is she a blonde?

jmonroe

explorerx4

@pensfan83, New fridge usually leads to new stove, dishwasher. micro....

abacomike

driver100 said:

My ex VW dealer has a 1 cent sale on snow tires...... I guess they got me to read the ad....I was curious to find the scam. Buy 3 tires, get 1 for a cent. Kind of the same as 25% off, but sounds better!

A one cent sale on snow tires?  What does one do with snow tires?  In fact, a more important question would be, “...WHAT THE HECK IS SNOW?”  I hear people talk about snow.  I see news videos showing snow.  My old TV with rabbit ears showed snow at times on some channels.  

Someone once told told me that snow was some form of precipitation - but I didn’t believe the guy.  After all, precipitation is rain, isn’t it?  

pensfan83

Oh I already heard that this would be a great opportunity to round out the rest of the kitchen appliances and upgrade the countertop, sink, lighting, and backsplash

stickguy

Mike, snow is something people in the north do for excitement instead of getting pounded by hurricanes.

oldfarmer50

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer,
I'm pretty sure with summer tires, in cold weather you are not worried about cracking, but traction.

Yeah, I'm aware of that and would take the necessary cautions but some of the ultra high performance compounds can't even be stored below a certain temp. without damage. I'd be willing to tolerate the traction loss for the few times I would drive in cold weather in return for the better handling when it's warm.

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

explorerx4 said:

@oldfarmer,
I'm pretty sure with summer tires, in cold weather you are not worried about cracking, but traction.

Now it's both- from the care instructions for the Michelin Sport 4S:

Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Flexing of the specialized rubber compounds used in Max Performance Summer tires during cold-weather use can result in irreversible compound cracking. Compound cracking is not a warrantable condition because it occurs as the result of improper use or storage, tires exhibiting compound cracking must be replaced.

Which is why I stuck with the Pilot Super Sports- they may lose grip below 40F, but at least you can drive the car without worrying that you are destroying the tires.

I knew you'd have the answer for us.

Michaell

Since we're talking about refrigerators, let me regale you with my story these past couple of weeks (this may be @jmonroe long, so feel free to skip if you aren't interested).

Still with me? Good, and away we go ...

When we bought our house a couple years ago, we inherited the refrigerator from the previous owner. It was a pretty nice French door style, with water and ice in the door. It was not counter depth, which annoyed my wife. During the remodel before we moved in, we replaced the stove, microwave and dishwasher, but not the fridge. It made a bit more noise than we were happy with when it made ice, but the food was cold - really, what more can you ask for?

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when the ice maker started to act up. It made ice, but wasn't dispensing it. Before I had a chance to take a look at it, my wife and daughter had picked out and ordered a new fridge on-line from Home Depot. Of course, after some fiddling, I was able to get the dispenser to work again, but it was too late.

The new fridge was a side-by-side model, with both cubed and crushed ice, along with water, available in the door. Plus, this one was counter depth.

The fridge was delivered Friday before last - old one out, new one in, easy-peasy. Until we spent the weekend at home. The new fridge emitted a high pitch whine - sort of like an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on a jetliner. It wasn't constant, but when you could hear it, it was quite annoying.

Cue gnashing of teeth, and a flurry of research on the internet. Was this endemic to our model specifically? Could we return it? Get a repairman out to see if they could make the whine go away? Was there a better make and model out there?

Remember, I was not consulted on the purchase in the first place, but of course it fell to me to sort out these problems. When it was delivered, the delivery guys told me we had 48 hours if we wanted to return it.

48 hours, consecutively? Or, 48 hours, counting business days?

I call our local store, and they tell me that since we ordered it on-line, we have to deal with them. I call the on-line number, navigate umpteen levels of voice activated menus, and finally get hold of a live person - who happens to work not for HD, but for the manufacturer. They proceed to tell me that, like cars, there has to be 3 service visits before we can even discuss the possibility of a return and replacement.

Report back to the wife - what to do, what to do? Repair, or continue to try to return?

Taking a chance, I call the store, and am given the voice mail of the delivery "expediter". I leave a detailed message explaining what the situation is, and what we would like (replace with a like model). Wife finally decides she wants to try having it repaired - there are no better models out there; seems like they all have a problem of one sort or another, and she really likes the side-by-side configuration.

Finally get a call back from the store - success! We'll be getting a replacement fridge delivered, but the first delivery date is the 25th. OK, fine, we can live with the noise for that long.

I'm expecting a call tomorrow to tell me the delivery window for Wednesday.

Apparently, I'm now a hero. But, we'll see if the replacement fridge has the same problem.

Shew - I'm tired from typing this out.

berri

Chinese parts. Last time we bought a refrigerator, the guy hooking it all up said it was a decent brand, but the compressor is Chinese and will probably have to be replaced in 7-8 years. Sold the house before that, so I don't know. But if Pennsfan got 8.5 he may have beat the odds (well, by a little at least).

explorerx4

@pensfan83,
Your post brought back some recent history for me.

stickguy

we bought our fridge a few years ago from a local appliance store (old fashioned downtown store front). They also service. Slightly more $ than the big box, but much nicer experience. Plus they deliver and service themselves, out of the store. I think it was a Maytag (or whirlpool?). Real nice, wife liked it, so got it. Should have done more research, since the one knock was noisy (but online reviews, based on them, you would not buy anything).

well. get it in, they plug it in, and I immediately know the wife would never go for it. Soon as she got home, had a small cow. whenever it kicked on, you really heard the motor running. And apparantly it was normal for that model. So we went back down, picked out the LG instead, and they brought one out and took the 1st one back. No cost (well, just the price differential of the 2 models), no questions, not hassle. New one was so quiet, you could barely tell when the compressor was going. Only issue is the ice maker ices up occasionally from water dripping, so have to open it up and bang the ice off it.

And at the prices now (less than a grand), if I get 10 reliable years out of if, fine by me. Though I hope to be out of the house before then, and really want the appliances to go with it!

driver100

Would you pay 3x the price for your E-class if you were guaranteed not to die in an accident?
Uh Oh, now Michaell is getting into the actuarial sciences

Actually, if I knew I would live if I paid 3X as much for a car.....I think, I would I would buy it!
The alternative isn't too good!

driver100

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

houdini1 said:

Hey, thanks everyone for the info on the Zuma. That is about the same info I came up with pricewise. He recently sold a business he started and walked away with mucho dinero, but still doesn't explain why he priced it so low. I'll keep you posted.

He doesn't have the time or energy to put it on CL at this time. He just wants to get rid of it.......$250 is like found money to him instead of dumping it at this time.

I bought new tennis shoes for $120....they hurt so much after I wore them I didn't want to even look at them any more. I put them on CL and got $40 for them after about 10 days. If it took any longer I was just going to give them to someone who needed shoes at the club. But, the $40 paid for a dinner out.......at Denny's anyway.

C'mon man, 40 bucks for dinner...at Denny's ! That's twice you've told us you were screwed.

jmonroe

With the extra amount, over and above my budget, we went all out and ordered dessert.

driver100

abacomike said:

driver100 said:

My ex VW dealer has a 1 cent sale on snow tires......
I guess they got me to read the ad....I was curious to find the scam.
Buy 3 tires, get 1 for a cent. Kind of the same as 25% off, but sounds better!

A one cent sale on snow tires?  What does one do with snow tires?  In fact, a more important question would be, “...WHAT THE HECK IS SNOW?”  I hear people talk about snow.  I see news videos showing snow.  My old TV with rabbit ears showed snow at times on some channels.  

Someone once told told me that snow was some form of precipitation - but I didn’t believe the guy.  After all, precipitation is rain, isn’t it?  

I didn't think of that until you mentioned it....this ad was from our ex VW dealer in St Petersburg....why would they sell snow tires?

Once we drove to Florida and I forgot to take my snowbrush and scraper. When we got to Florida I wanted to buy one for the journey back. I went to a Walmart and asked for a snowbrush-scraper and the guy looked at me like I was from Mars!

For Mike....this is a snowbrush with scraper in case you forgot;

jmonroe

Michaell said:

Since we're talking about refrigerators, let me regale you with my story these past couple of weeks (this may be @jmonroe long, so feel free to skip if you aren't interested).

Still with me? Good, and away we go ...

When we bought our house a couple years ago, we inherited the refrigerator from the previous owner. It was a pretty nice French door style, with water and ice in the door. It was not counter depth, which annoyed my wife. During the remodel before we moved in, we replaced the stove, microwave and dishwasher, but not the fridge. It made a bit more noise than we were happy with when it made ice, but the food was cold - really, what more can you ask for?

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when the ice maker started to act up. It made ice, but wasn't dispensing it. Before I had a chance to take a look at it, my wife and daughter had picked out and ordered a new fridge on-line from Home Depot. Of course, after some fiddling, I was able to get the dispenser to work again, but it was too late.

The new fridge was a side-by-side model, with both cubed and crushed ice, along with water, available in the door. Plus, this one was counter depth.

The fridge was delivered Friday before last - old one out, new one in, easy-peasy. Until we spent the weekend at home. The new fridge emitted a high pitch whine - sort of like an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on a jetliner. It wasn't constant, but when you could hear it, it was quite annoying.

Cue gnashing of teeth, and a flurry of research on the internet. Was this endemic to our model specifically? Could we return it? Get a repairman out to see if they could make the whine go away? Was there a better make and model out there?

Remember, I was not consulted on the purchase in the first place, but of course it fell to me to sort out these problems. When it was delivered, the delivery guys told me we had 48 hours if we wanted to return it.

48 hours, consecutively? Or, 48 hours, counting business days?

I call our local store, and they tell me that since we ordered it on-line, we have to deal with them. I call the on-line number, navigate umpteen levels of voice activated menus, and finally get hold of a live person - who happens to work not for HD, but for the manufacturer. They proceed to tell me that, like cars, there has to be 3 service visits before we can even discuss the possibility of a return and replacement.

Report back to the wife - what to do, what to do? Repair, or continue to try to return?

Taking a chance, I call the store, and am given the voice mail of the delivery "expediter". I leave a detailed message explaining what the situation is, and what we would like (replace with a like model). Wife finally decides she wants to try having it repaired - there are no better models out there; seems like they all have a problem of one sort or another, and she really likes the side-by-side configuration.

Finally get a call back from the store - success! We'll be getting a replacement fridge delivered, but the first delivery date is the 25th. OK, fine, we can live with the noise for that long.

I'm expecting a call tomorrow to tell me the delivery window for Wednesday.

Apparently, I'm now a hero. But, we'll see if the replacement fridge has the same problem.

Shew - I'm tired from typing this out.

Tired of typing it out? Hell, I could have added 3 more paragraphs of details and still not have told everything.

I have a fridge story too about when we built our house in SC in '92 when I decided to move a wall (yeah me, not the builder) to get the fridge to be counter top depth one Saturday morning, during construction, after the joint had just recently been dry walled. You shoulda otta heard my builder when he stopped by that morning for a routine progress inspection and saw all the drywall and 2x4's torn out. I'll torture you guys with the full details after I think it all through so I get it right.

Everybody wants to hear all about that, right?

jmonroe

suydam

CR has always found that icemakers and water dispensers are prone to problems. We had to replace all appliances when we moved. We are pretty happy with the Samsung French door model fridge we got. It’s counter depth because we have a small kitchen. I think you only have maybe 2 or 3choices of those. It has icemaker but no water dispenser. We did get an LG range and microwave, and a Bosch dishwasher that has been fantastic. Very quiet. So far so good. It’s a nightmare when you have problems with any of them. Good luck!

pensfan83

explorerx4 said:

@pensfan83,
Your post brought back some recent history for me.

I think I dodged a bullet for now but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets mentioned after the holidays, and admittedly it's probably not a bad idea since the only things we upgraded in the kitchen since we moved in was a new tile floor and new light fixtures. The rest of the kitchen is original to the house, which is around 26 years old.

@Michaell, we wanted a counter depth model but between Sears, Lowes, and Best Buy none had more than 2 models so we eschewed that for a regular size. Glad it worked out for you though in getting a replacement.

houdini1

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Careful? You sound like my wife. A 74 year old man with no experience and a $250. motorcycle. What could possibly go wrong.

Actually, because of the interest generated here by my poster buddies, I will probably just sell it as quickly as possible so that I don't violate one of my cardinal rules, which is: Never get in a situation where your butt becomes higher that your head normally is.

oldfarmer50

houdini1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Careful? You sound like my wife. A 74 year old man with no experience and a $250. motorcycle. What could possibly go wrong.

Actually, because of the interest generated here by my poster buddies, I will probably just sell it as quickly as possible so that I don't violate one of my cardinal rules, which is: Never get in a situation where your butt becomes higher that your head normally is.

Do you need a motorcycle license to drive one of those? Unless you have a specific low speed low traffic route you can drive it on I would think it might be dangerous.

As an investment you can probably quadruple your money.

driver100

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

Since we're talking about refrigerators, let me regale you with my story these past couple of weeks (this may be @jmonroe long, so feel free to skip if you aren't interested).

Still with me? Good, and away we go ...

When we bought our house a couple years ago, we inherited the refrigerator from the previous owner. It was a pretty nice French door style, with water and ice in the door. It was not counter depth, which annoyed my wife. During the remodel before we moved in, we replaced the stove, microwave and dishwasher, but not the fridge. It made a bit more noise than we were happy with when it made ice, but the food was cold - really, what more can you ask for?

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when the ice maker started to act up. It made ice, but wasn't dispensing it. Before I had a chance to take a look at it, my wife and daughter had picked out and ordered a new fridge on-line from Home Depot. Of course, after some fiddling, I was able to get the dispenser to work again, but it was too late.

The new fridge was a side-by-side model, with both cubed and crushed ice, along with water, available in the door. Plus, this one was counter depth.

The fridge was delivered Friday before last - old one out, new one in, easy-peasy. Until we spent the weekend at home. The new fridge emitted a high pitch whine - sort of like an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on a jetliner. It wasn't constant, but when you could hear it, it was quite annoying.

Cue gnashing of teeth, and a flurry of research on the internet. Was this endemic to our model specifically? Could we return it? Get a repairman out to see if they could make the whine go away? Was there a better make and model out there?

Remember, I was not consulted on the purchase in the first place, but of course it fell to me to sort out these problems. When it was delivered, the delivery guys told me we had 48 hours if we wanted to return it.

48 hours, consecutively? Or, 48 hours, counting business days?

I call our local store, and they tell me that since we ordered it on-line, we have to deal with them. I call the on-line number, navigate umpteen levels of voice activated menus, and finally get hold of a live person - who happens to work not for HD, but for the manufacturer. They proceed to tell me that, like cars, there has to be 3 service visits before we can even discuss the possibility of a return and replacement.

Report back to the wife - what to do, what to do? Repair, or continue to try to return?

Taking a chance, I call the store, and am given the voice mail of the delivery "expediter". I leave a detailed message explaining what the situation is, and what we would like (replace with a like model). Wife finally decides she wants to try having it repaired - there are no better models out there; seems like they all have a problem of one sort or another, and she really likes the side-by-side configuration.

Finally get a call back from the store - success! We'll be getting a replacement fridge delivered, but the first delivery date is the 25th. OK, fine, we can live with the noise for that long.

I'm expecting a call tomorrow to tell me the delivery window for Wednesday.

Apparently, I'm now a hero. But, we'll see if the replacement fridge has the same problem.

Shew - I'm tired from typing this out.

Tired of typing it out? Hell, I could have added 3 more paragraphs of details and still not have told everything.

I have a fridge story too about when we built our house in SC in '92 when I decided to move a wall (yeah me, not the builder) to get the fridge to be counter top depth one Saturday morning, during construction, after the joint had just recently been dry walled. You shoulda otta heard my builder when he stopped by that morning for a routine progress inspection and saw all the drywall and 2x4's torn out. I'll torture you guys with the full details after I think it all through so I get it right.

Everybody wants to hear all about that, right?

jmonroe

NO!

Life is too short

fintail

If that scooter can go over 30, you'd need an endorsement in my state. Of course, no endorsement is needed for a 42' motorhome, numerous box trucks, overcompensating lifted bro trucks, 1000hp supercars, towing gigantic objects, etc.

ab348

jmonroe said:

Tired of typing it out? Hell, I could have added 3 more paragraphs of details and still not have told everything.

I have a fridge story too about when we built our house in SC in '92 when I decided to move a wall (yeah me, not the builder) to get the fridge to be counter top depth one Saturday morning, during construction, after the joint had just recently been dry walled. You shoulda otta heard my builder when he stopped by that morning for a routine progress inspection and saw all the drywall and 2x4's torn out. I'll torture you guys with the full details after I think it all through so I get it right.

Everybody wants to hear all about that, right?

Bring it on, JM.

Refrigerators intrigue me in that when i was a kid it was commonplace to find someone with a 20+ year old fridge still working fine. Nowadays they seem to all have a lot of problems and do not last. Strange how a technology that perfected in the '30s and '40s regressed in modern times. Much like the voice quality on cell phone calls.

nyccarguy

driver100 said:

nyccarguy said:

abacomike said:

I just had a visit from my condo community's maintenance department. They claim that my toilets are slowly leaking and causing the ceiling drywall in the condo unit below me to get wet. He came in and checked the master bathroom toilet first - he said that the wax seal is corroded and needs to be replaced. He had some sort of gizmo he used to check the floor around the toilet base. He then checked the guest bathroom and found that when the toilet is flushed, there is some leakage, but very slight. He said both wax seals must be replaced as they are both leaking.

So, I have to call my maintenance contractor who covers my plumbing, electrical, AC, and appliances. Hopefully they can come out ASAP to get this fixed before it does more damage, not just to the apartment below me, but also to my floors. Always something. But I guess I have to expect this sort of stuff in a 27 year old condo unit.

Mike of all the things that can go wrong and cause extensive damage plumbing wise, a leaking wax gasket is an easy and cheap fix. I sell them for $1.99 each. Make sure they use a "Deep" wax gasket with a plastic horn. Also, while they are resetting your toilet, make sure they use BRASS 5/16" Flange Bolts (or Johni Bolts), not the 1/4" BRASS PLATED Flange Bolts.

And, as I wrote earlier, one bolt that is under the toilet tank rusted, water got on the floor, seeped into the wall board and vanity cabinets. This caused mold to start. Walls that got wet had to be cut out, vanity was removed. Condo insurance covered a lot of damage to walls, our insurance covered cost of vanity less $1000 deductible.

Like I said before....why don't they make the floors out of material that would hold water and go up the sides? And, if they can get a man to the moon why can't they make a gasket that won't breakdown - or warn you when it is broken?

They do. You just need to take the extra step to waterproof the floor. Put down a protective barrier like a vinyl shower pan liner or if you really want to support your local plumbing supply, a piece of sheet lead. Make sure you go 6" up the wall on all sides. Pour concrete. Tile. No more downstairs leaks.

They do make a rubber gasket to put in the floor to replace the traditional wax gasket.

suydam

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

Tired of typing it out? Hell, I could have added 3 more paragraphs of details and still not have told everything.

I have a fridge story too about when we built our house in SC in '92 when I decided to move a wall (yeah me, not the builder) to get the fridge to be counter top depth one Saturday morning, during construction, after the joint had just recently been dry walled. You shoulda otta heard my builder when he stopped by that morning for a routine progress inspection and saw all the drywall and 2x4's torn out. I'll torture you guys with the full details after I think it all through so I get it right.

Everybody wants to hear all about that, right?

Bring it on, JM.

Refrigerators intrigue me in that when i was a kid it was commonplace to find someone with a 20+ year old fridge still working fine. Nowadays they seem to all have a lot of problems and do not last. Strange how a technology that perfected in the '30s and '40s regressed in modern times. Much like the voice quality on cell phone calls.

They were very simple machines. If you are up for manually defrosting the freezer and making your own ice cubes, not to mention crispers that wilt your veggies, go for it!

Mr_Shiftright

houdini1 said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Mr_Shiftright said:

houdini1 said:

Anyone know anything about a motor scooter called a Zuma 125 ? It is a 2011, has 2,000 miles on it, looks to be practically new and runs great. A neighbor of mine is going thru a divorce and wants to sell it. He said he would sell it to me for $250. That seems like a really low price to me, but this guy is loaded and I think he just wants to get rid of it with no hassle. I have known him for about 10 years and he is a stand up guy.

That's a good deal! It's made by Yamaha in China, MSRP over $3,000 at one time. Not the top of the line in this sort of scooter, but not bad at all. Be careful though. Scooters don't have the handling and braking power of motorcycles.

Careful? You sound like my wife. A 74 year old man with no experience and a $250. motorcycle. What could possibly go wrong.

Actually, because of the interest generated here by my poster buddies, I will probably just sell it as quickly as possible so that I don't violate one of my cardinal rules, which is: Never get in a situation where your butt becomes higher that your head normally is.

Let me rephrase that. I have been riding motorcycles for over 20 years, and I'm afraid of scooters. The problem is twofold IMO: One, the steering rake on these things is steep, which makes for very fast response when you turn the handlebars; two, the wheels are tiny, so your actual tire patch that adheres to the road is about the size of two cigarette packs, if you're lucky. Add a bit of gravel, sand, or wet leaves, stir, and serve.

Mr_Shiftright

@Michaell: That was 573 words. Jmonroe is dethroned!

ab348

suydam said:

They were very simple machines. If you are up for manually defrosting the freezer and making your own ice cubes, not to mention crispers that wilt your veggies, go for it!

Heck, I've always made my own ice cubes.

fintail

My grandmother has a fridge in her garage that was bought new in I think 1965. It still works fine, I remember my grandpa used it for beer. I think the kitchen fridge in the house lasted from early 60s-2005 or so, a broken shelf pushed my grandma to replace it, as it couldn't be fixed and she couldn't stand the defect.

I remember my parents bought a new fridge around 1984, I recall helping choose it, as I wanted what was then a modern side by side type like I had seen on TV. I think it lasted until around 2000. The replacement fridge conked out last year, and was replaced rather than fixed. My dad was leery about ice cube and water dispensers, seeing them as something easily broken by kids, so we never had those.

I went to a yard sale last year and saw a pristine old GE monitor top fridge, from around 1935. It was the nicest one I have seen, with perfect enamel paint, as-new. The owner said it worked perfectly, quietly humming away the years. If I had space, I would have bought it. They don't make em like that anymore, and it looks cool, would be a good beer fridge too. The fridge in my place is from 2003 or so, and seems to be fine.

abacomike

driver100 said:

driver100 said:

My ex VW dealer has a 1 cent sale on snow tires...... I guess they got me to read the ad....I was curious to find the scam. Buy 3 tires, get 1 for a cent. Kind of the same as 25% off, but sounds better!

A one cent sale on snow tires?  What does one do with snow tires?  In fact, a more important question would be, “...WHAT THE HECK IS SNOW?”  I hear people talk about snow.  I see news videos showing snow.  My old TV with rabbit ears showed snow at times on some channels.  

Someone once told told me that snow was some form of precipitation - but I didn’t believe the guy.  After all, precipitation is rain, isn’t it?  

I didn't think of that until you mentioned it....this ad was from our ex VW dealer in St Petersburg....why would they sell snow tires? Once we drove to Florida and I forgot to take my snowbrush and scraper. When we got to Florida I wanted to buy one for the journey back. I went to a Walmart and asked for a snowbrush-scraper and the guy looked at me like I was from Mars! For Mike....this is a snowbrush with scraper in case you forgot;

Looks like a back scratcher with a nice brush for my bushes!!!

28firefighter

Our current home (which we are in the process of selling) has a KitchenAid fancy looking refrigerator. Looks nice, built like garbage. Has a pull-out deli tray which snapped its hinge no less than once a year since we've owned the home. My parents, on the other hand, have had the fridge in their garage since before I was born.

abacomike

Well, my plumbing contractor showed up, examined both toilets, and agreed that the wax seals needed to be replaced on both toilets. He then called his main office and they made another appointment to have the work done tomorrow between 12:00 and 4:00 PM. I asked the guy why aren't you going to fix the toilets NOW - why are you waiting until tomorrow while more water damage is done to the apartment below me? He said that's the way ECM works - we examine the plumbing issue(s) and then report to the main office so they can send out a master plumber. I said, "...are you ...ing kidding me?" He said no.

Now this guy that showed up today happens to be a nice guy - he installed my new AC/Heating unit and he remembered me. He told me if there was anything he could do about it, he would - but his hands are tied. They require a master plumber to do that kind of work.

Oh well, what can I say. It is what it is. I guess I will have to "defecate" and "relieve my bladder" very, very gently and only flush when the need is great! What a mess!!!

abacomike

Just spoke with my brother. He said he got a call this morning from the Mercedes Dealer in the Orlando area - his car is expected to be delivered to Orlando either tomorrow or Thursday. I asked him why he didn't buy his car in one of the two Mercedes dealerships in the Jacksonville area. He said they wouldn't give him the deal he wanted - only the one in Orlando would give him the new car for what he wanted to pay. So he has to drive one of his cars to Orlando on Thursday, assuming his new car is at the dealership, and then drive the new car home with one of the transporters and have the transporter drive the other trade back down to Orlando.

I asked him what the difference in pricing was to force him to go all the way to Orlando for the new S Coupe. He said about $8000. I guess if I was looking for a new car and one of the 8 Mercedes Dealerships down here would not deal, I would drive up to Orlando for $8000. I believe most of the difference was in his two trades. They wouldn't give him decent trade values for the 430i and the 740i.

Since I am not in the market for a new car (nor do I expect to be in the market for quite some time), I am not going to have to drive all the way up to Orlando anytime soon.

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

Michaell said:

Since we're talking about refrigerators, let me regale you with my story these past couple of weeks (this may be @jmonroe long, so feel free to skip if you aren't interested).

Still with me? Good, and away we go ...

When we bought our house a couple years ago, we inherited the refrigerator from the previous owner. It was a pretty nice French door style, with water and ice in the door. It was not counter depth, which annoyed my wife. During the remodel before we moved in, we replaced the stove, microwave and dishwasher, but not the fridge. It made a bit more noise than we were happy with when it made ice, but the food was cold - really, what more can you ask for?

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, when the ice maker started to act up. It made ice, but wasn't dispensing it. Before I had a chance to take a look at it, my wife and daughter had picked out and ordered a new fridge on-line from Home Depot. Of course, after some fiddling, I was able to get the dispenser to work again, but it was too late.

The new fridge was a side-by-side model, with both cubed and crushed ice, along with water, available in the door. Plus, this one was counter depth.

The fridge was delivered Friday before last - old one out, new one in, easy-peasy. Until we spent the weekend at home. The new fridge emitted a high pitch whine - sort of like an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) on a jetliner. It wasn't constant, but when you could hear it, it was quite annoying.

Cue gnashing of teeth, and a flurry of research on the internet. Was this endemic to our model specifically? Could we return it? Get a repairman out to see if they could make the whine go away? Was there a better make and model out there?

Remember, I was not consulted on the purchase in the first place, but of course it fell to me to sort out these problems. When it was delivered, the delivery guys told me we had 48 hours if we wanted to return it.

48 hours, consecutively? Or, 48 hours, counting business days?

I call our local store, and they tell me that since we ordered it on-line, we have to deal with them. I call the on-line number, navigate umpteen levels of voice activated menus, and finally get hold of a live person - who happens to work not for HD, but for the manufacturer. They proceed to tell me that, like cars, there has to be 3 service visits before we can even discuss the possibility of a return and replacement.

Report back to the wife - what to do, what to do? Repair, or continue to try to return?

Taking a chance, I call the store, and am given the voice mail of the delivery "expediter". I leave a detailed message explaining what the situation is, and what we would like (replace with a like model). Wife finally decides she wants to try having it repaired - there are no better models out there; seems like they all have a problem of one sort or another, and she really likes the side-by-side configuration.

Finally get a call back from the store - success! We'll be getting a replacement fridge delivered, but the first delivery date is the 25th. OK, fine, we can live with the noise for that long.

I'm expecting a call tomorrow to tell me the delivery window for Wednesday.

Apparently, I'm now a hero. But, we'll see if the replacement fridge has the same problem.

Shew - I'm tired from typing this out.

Tired of typing it out? Hell, I could have added 3 more paragraphs of details and still not have told everything.

I have a fridge story too about when we built our house in SC in '92 when I decided to move a wall (yeah me, not the builder) to get the fridge to be counter top depth one Saturday morning, during construction, after the joint had just recently been dry walled. You shoulda otta heard my builder when he stopped by that morning for a routine progress inspection and saw all the drywall and 2x4's torn out. I'll torture you guys with the full details after I think it all through so I get it right.

Everybody wants to hear all about that, right?

jmonroe

NO!

Life is too short

And because "life is too short" I should make the post. Your inner body senses would not allow itself to conk out while reading one of my posts.

I'm just trying to keep my poster buddies around a little longer. I can't be responsible for the time when I don't have your attention.

jmonroe

jmonroe

fintail said:

My grandmother has a fridge in her garage that was bought new in I think 1965. It still works fine, I remember my grandpa used it for beer. I think the kitchen fridge in the house lasted from early 60s-2005 or so, a broken shelf pushed my grandma to replace it, as it couldn't be fixed and she couldn't stand the defect.

I remember my parents bought a new fridge around 1984, I recall helping choose it, as I wanted what was then a modern side by side type like I had seen on TV. I think it lasted until around 2000. The replacement fridge conked out last year, and was replaced rather than fixed. My dad was leery about ice cube and water dispensers, seeing them as something easily broken by kids, so we never had those.

I went to a yard sale last year and saw a pristine old GE monitor top fridge, from around 1935. It was the nicest one I have seen, with perfect enamel paint, as-new. The owner said it worked perfectly, quietly humming away the years. If I had space, I would have bought it. They don't make em like that anymore, and it looks cool, would be a good beer fridge too. The fridge in my place is from 2003 or so, and seems to be fine.

I guess you know that you just doomed that fridge.

jmonroe

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright said:

@Michaell: That was 573 words. Jmonroe is dethroned!

That sounds like a challenge to regain the throne. You know I'm up to it, right? :@

jmonroe

pensfan83

ab348 said:

Heck, I've always made my own ice cubes.

It's mildly amusing to see the kids thrown for a loop having to get water out of the faucet and ice cubes from trays from the freezer downstairs instead of a dispenser.

driver100

nyccarguy said:

driver100 said:

nyccarguy said:

abacomike said:

I just had a visit from my condo community's maintenance department. They claim that my toilets are slowly leaking and causing the ceiling drywall in the condo unit below me to get wet. He came in and checked the master bathroom toilet first - he said that the wax seal is corroded and needs to be replaced. He had some sort of gizmo he used to check the floor around the toilet base. He then checked the guest bathroom and found that when the toilet is flushed, there is some leakage, but very slight. He said both wax seals must be replaced as they are both leaking.

So, I have to call my maintenance contractor who covers my plumbing, electrical, AC, and appliances. Hopefully they can come out ASAP to get this fixed before it does more damage, not just to the apartment below me, but also to my floors. Always something. But I guess I have to expect this sort of stuff in a 27 year old condo unit.

Mike of all the things that can go wrong and cause extensive damage plumbing wise, a leaking wax gasket is an easy and cheap fix. I sell them for $1.99 each. Make sure they use a "Deep" wax gasket with a plastic horn. Also, while they are resetting your toilet, make sure they use BRASS 5/16" Flange Bolts (or Johni Bolts), not the 1/4" BRASS PLATED Flange Bolts.

And, as I wrote earlier, one bolt that is under the toilet tank rusted, water got on the floor, seeped into the wall board and vanity cabinets. This caused mold to start. Walls that got wet had to be cut out, vanity was removed. Condo insurance covered a lot of damage to walls, our insurance covered cost of vanity less $1000 deductible.

Like I said before....why don't they make the floors out of material that would hold water and go up the sides? And, if they can get a man to the moon why can't they make a gasket that won't breakdown - or warn you when it is broken?

They do. You just need to take the extra step to waterproof the floor. Put down a protective barrier like a vinyl shower pan liner or if you really want to support your local plumbing supply, a piece of sheet lead. Make sure you go 6" up the wall on all sides. Pour concrete. Tile. No more downstairs leaks.

They do make a rubber gasket to put in the floor to replace the traditional wax gasket.

That is all good....but, they should make the house like that in the beginning. Of course you would pay more, but, it would cost less than having a flood later on and then having to do it anyway.

One hotel we were in in Germany had a beautiful walk in shower....one of the best inventions ever. The floor had a small stylish grill across the front, where the water ran down. Not even an ugly drain....looked beautiful. Just make the rest of the room tilt toward the drain too. Some things don't change for decades.

We got two new toilets for our North home. One was the Feister super modern looking model. I like the pumps they use now...no more chains and flappers....that took a few decades to modernize the common toilet.

Kind of just being funny nyc....but, there is some truth to it.

driver100

Mr_Shiftright said:

@Michaell: That was 573 words. Jmonroe is dethroned!

Oh, please don't get into a "number of words used" match with JMonroe. I'll have to give up tennis!