Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

Where I live, both rust and sun damaged paint are rare, mostly seen on either cars over 30 years old, or transplanted cars (and as so many people here have moved from elsewhere and now moan and groan about this area, there are more transplanted cars than in the past).

Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.

Do people living near the ocean have salt damage from the airborne spray and from salt from that wind blown spray on the roads at times.

People say that but having bought 3 cars that started life in Florida you’d be hard to prove it by me. I was looking under my Sebring which spent the first 7 years in Florida and I was amazed how clean a 20 yo car could be. Now, I’m assuming that the subsequent owners in Maine and MA stored it in the winter but if sea salt rotted them out I would expect to see more damage. Certainly no comparison to the northern rust belt.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

“Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.”

Advertising experts will tell you that annoying commercials are the ones you remember. Maybe Scotty’s mania is serving the same purpose.

Here’s driver100’s friend Billy who uses the same technique.

If annoying works Billy wins hands down.
Mrs D met a lady at the gym, she got a free cruise with her KIA that she got at Billy's, it was in an accident, so she got another one with the insurance money, and another cruise.
I would rather not have a cruise than have to buy from him.....but, it works!

stickguy

the vast majority of Florida is not going to have salt spray anyway.

ab348

The humidity would contribute to more rust than you’d find on a desert car but nothing like what you get in areas that use road salt.

Sandman6472

None of my vehicles have ever rusted out and we're about 10 miles east of the ocean, give or take. We do garage them when at home and they do spend time outside at work but neither of us work full time anymore. The wife works more hours during tax season, Turbo Tax started last week, but most of it's from the house, so her A3 is in the cooler garage. Even when I'm at home, hardly ever leave mine outside even if I'm going out later. Just as easy to pull it inside and also since it rains at the drop of a hat here, why keep it on the driveway.

imidazol97

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp6EW-F3OSA

I noticed a commercial that cites JDP awards and gives numbers that 448,134 people talking on surveys with 410 questions in 8 categories.

I recall some here "questioning" a survey months ago done by a French firm, IIRC. So I thought I'd give another opportunity to tear apart the commercial.

qbrozen

Only thing I noticed about that commercial when I saw it last night is that I dig the red truck. I didn't even hear what they were saying.

stickguy

A neighbor has a dark gray Colorado short cab. Some heavy duty off road package. Big tires, gigantic shocks. I love it!

Edit. It’s a ZR2.

https://www.chevrolet.com/trucks/colorado/zr2

graphicguy

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago. Some interesting car dealer stories there.

Just one example.....

https://youtu.be/liL_pjWWIwo

abacomike

imidazol97 said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp6EW-F3OSA

I noticed a commercial that cites JDP awards and gives numbers that 448,134 people talking on surveys with 410 questions in 8 categories.

I recall some here "questioning" a survey months ago done by a French firm, IIRC. So I thought I'd give another opportunity to tear apart the commercial.

Mais Oui, mon ami. 😜🤪

qbrozen

stickguy said:

A neighbor has a dark gray Colorado short cab. Some heavy duty off road package. Big tires, gigantic shocks. I love it!

Edit. It’s a ZR2.

https://www.chevrolet.com/trucks/colorado/zr2

I dig it. Can't decide on best color. I'm thinking white because the overall style kind of reminds me of older toyota racing trucks.

fintail

I'll wait for Zebra Corner to pick apart that Chevy ad

tommister2

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

Where I live, both rust and sun damaged paint are rare, mostly seen on either cars over 30 years old, or transplanted cars (and as so many people here have moved from elsewhere and now moan and groan about this area, there are more transplanted cars than in the past).

Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.

Do people living near the ocean have salt damage from the airborne spray and from salt from that wind blown spray on the roads at times.

People say that but having bought 3 cars that started life in Florida you’d be hard to prove it by me. I was looking under my Sebring which spent the first 7 years in Florida and I was amazed how clean a 20 yo car could be. Now, I’m assuming that the subsequent owners in Maine and MA stored it in the winter but if sea salt rotted them out I would expect to see more damage. Certainly no comparison to the northern rust belt.

I think if you live very close to the ocean you would be more vulnerable to damage from the salty sea air and water. For example, my Dad lived at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach for many years. His truck took a beating from mostly just sitting in the driveway. He had a few brake lines rust out, for example. I think this happens to people in the north east but it is not generally common in Virginia.

imidazol97

About rusting--
What I was remembering was my high school friend buddy's Honda rusting when he lived on the islands around Charleston in the late 80s or early 90s.

snakeweasel

tommister2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

Where I live, both rust and sun damaged paint are rare, mostly seen on either cars over 30 years old, or transplanted cars (and as so many people here have moved from elsewhere and now moan and groan about this area, there are more transplanted cars than in the past).

Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.

Do people living near the ocean have salt damage from the airborne spray and from salt from that wind blown spray on the roads at times.

People say that but having bought 3 cars that started life in Florida you’d be hard to prove it by me. I was looking under my Sebring which spent the first 7 years in Florida and I was amazed how clean a 20 yo car could be. Now, I’m assuming that the subsequent owners in Maine and MA stored it in the winter but if sea salt rotted them out I would expect to see more damage. Certainly no comparison to the northern rust belt.

I think if you live very close to the ocean you would be more vulnerable to damage from the salty sea air and water. For example, my Dad lived at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach for many years. His truck took a beating from mostly just sitting in the driveway. He had a few brake lines rust out, for example. I think this happens to people in the north east but it is not generally common in Virginia.

IIRC sea spray under the right conditions can reach as far as 15 miles inland. However going more than a few hundred feet inland the spray is very fine and wont amount to a much salt, essentially its zero. Salt does not dissolve into air. Rust occurs when iron or its alloys are exposed to oxygen, water and/or salt are not needed for rust to happen although they do speed up the reaction.

imidazol97

Salt does remain in the fine mist particles like fog particles that occur around ocean fronts, at least in the Charleston area. I just recall the Honda CVCC had corrosion.

Found a reference:
" the salty, humid ocean air causes metal to corrode 10 times faster than air with normal humidity."
https://sciencing.com/effects-saltwater-metals-8632636.html

FFEMT6

Why hasn't there been any long term test updates this month yet?

ab348

Up here the power utility continues to be mocked every time there is an outage of any size as people attribute it to "salty fog". The utility used that reason 10 or so years ago for an outage and nobody believed it could occur. But it does.

I recall in 2003 when Hurricane Juan hit here, the day after it was sunny and warm. I had to hose off the siding and the car in the driveway because it was covered with dried drops of salt water.

driver100

I ordered this dash cam/back up recorder on Amazon:
AKASO Mirror Dash Camera for Cars - 10'' Backup Camera 1080P Dual Dash Cam Front and Rear Stream Media Touch Screen DVR with Sony IMX307 G-Sensor Parking Monitor 32 GB SD Card (DL9)
by AKASO
4.5 out of 5 stars 283 ratings
When I went to order on my laptop it was $119 and I would get delivery next Tuesday. We ordered on the desktop using Prime, and it cost $89 and will arrive tomorrow. I added an installation package for $199.

A little confusing because it says they come to our house to install, but the guy at the installation place says you bring it to them. I'll find out when they confirm.

driver100

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago. Some interesting car dealer stories there.

Just one example.....

https://youtu.be/liL_pjWWIwo

I’ve watched a few of those and all the characters seems to be on the shady side of the law.

oldfarmer50

imidazol97 said:

About rusting--
What I was remembering was my high school friend buddy's Honda rusting when he lived on the islands around Charleston in the late 80s or early 90s.

I wish I had taken some photos of the rust on my 86’ Toyota pickup. Especially when my foot went through the bed floor or when the fenders would flap in the wind.

fintail

I know cars can get rusty in the SF Bay area too, the marine influence helps it along. Takes longer to get going and is less severe than in the rust belt, but it happens. "California car" is still a reason to beware (and I won't mention sun damage).

Up here, coastal cars can rust in the same way, but it often takes ~20 years to take hold, and that was in the past, modern cars might fare better. I remember back in the 90s, the rear hatches of 80s Celicas seemed especially vulnerable.

imidazol97 said:

About rusting--
What I was remembering was my high school friend buddy's Honda rusting when he lived on the islands around Charleston in the late 80s or early 90s.

stickguy

my BIL lives up near OF, and has a Tundra. 1st generation I think, not sure the year but he has had it quite a while, and it is his winter car (in the salt belt) while the nice ones hibernate. Every year he gets underneath it and scrapes/treats the frame (I assume lots of Rustoleum products of some sort) to stay ahead of the rot. Not sure how far ahead he is at this point though.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

my BIL lives up near OF, and has a Tundra. 1st generation I think, not sure the year but he has had it quite a while, and it is his winter car (in the salt belt) while the nice ones hibernate. Every year he gets underneath it and scrapes/treats the frame (I assume lots of Rustoleum products of some sort) to stay ahead of the rot. Not sure how far ahead he is at this point though.

The two types of rust proofing/treatment I’ve seen up here are various formulations of phosphoric acid (think super Coca Cola) and wax-like substances. The Ziebart tar of old has fallen out of favor. I’ve seen videos of that stuff actually increasing rust.

The phosphoric acid binds with rust forming a barrier against further rust. The waxes coat the metal but allow it to breath. Applying that stuff yearly seems like a lot of work.

I think the best rustproofing is still the leaking oil pan gasket.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

tommister2 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

Where I live, both rust and sun damaged paint are rare, mostly seen on either cars over 30 years old, or transplanted cars (and as so many people here have moved from elsewhere and now moan and groan about this area, there are more transplanted cars than in the past).

Scotty is funny, but not in a ha-ha way. Joke is on us though, as he no doubt pulls in 6 figures via his blather.

Do people living near the ocean have salt damage from the airborne spray and from salt from that wind blown spray on the roads at times.

People say that but having bought 3 cars that started life in Florida you’d be hard to prove it by me. I was looking under my Sebring which spent the first 7 years in Florida and I was amazed how clean a 20 yo car could be. Now, I’m assuming that the subsequent owners in Maine and MA stored it in the winter but if sea salt rotted them out I would expect to see more damage. Certainly no comparison to the northern rust belt.

I think if you live very close to the ocean you would be more vulnerable to damage from the salty sea air and water. For example, my Dad lived at the oceanfront in Virginia Beach for many years. His truck took a beating from mostly just sitting in the driveway. He had a few brake lines rust out, for example. I think this happens to people in the north east but it is not generally common in Virginia.

IIRC sea spray under the right conditions can reach as far as 15 miles inland. However going more than a few hundred feet inland the spray is very fine and wont amount to a much salt, essentially its zero. Salt does not dissolve into air. Rust occurs when iron or its alloys are exposed to oxygen, water and/or salt are not needed for rust to happen although they do speed up the reaction.

Most modern vehicles are constructed with aluminum alloys that do not rust. Chassis's are built with iron alloys and do rust under the right conditions as do brake discs. There are many older vehicles in my condo development that show no signs of rust. My best friend owns a 2008 Infiniti M35 that has 110,000 miles on the odometer that he bought from my dealership. No signs of rust anywhere on his car.

I am sure the closer one lives to the Atlantic Ocean, the better chances are that the vehicle he/she owns will begin to show signs of rust.

ab348

Back in the late '70s a product/service called "Rust Check" made its debut locally. It is a thin liquid spray that is shot onto undercarriages and (if one goes for the full meal deal) into internal metal body cavities via a series of holes drilled to provide access to the spray wands.It needs to be repeated annually if their warranty is to remain valid. My old '78 Delta 88 that I bought in 1997 had been subjected to the treatment for the first half of its life and was remarkably rust free except for the areas around the front and rear windscreens where the vinyl roof trapped water. I once removed a front door panel to replace an outside mirror during my ownership and the bottom of the door cavity was full of the black plastic plugs used to seal the holes they drilled, as they just punched the old ones into the door when they were doing the annual respray and stuck a new one in.

Later a competitor called Krown seemed to take their market share away using a similar product that was a bit thicker and less drippy (you had to cope with the stuff dripping off the vehicle for a few days following its application). Other products rapidly followed including ones called Fluid Film and Corrosion Free which were the consistency of liquid hand soap and even less drippy. You can buy them in aerosol cans at automotive stores or in bulk to be used if you have an air compressor and spray gun.

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago. Some interesting car dealer stories there.

Just one example.....

https://youtu.be/liL_pjWWIwo

I’ve watched a few of those and all the characters seems to be on the shady side of the law.

No disagreement. Most seem like the white patent leather belt and shoe wearing side of used car sales. They even have a few that wear the pinky ring. There’s only one I’ve heard of (Hoovie). The rest, are stereo typical back alley car dealer types.

Still, their stories are somewhat entertaining.

oldfarmer50

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? Seems decidedly biased in favor of the Tesla with instant low end torque and four wheel drive. Then there’s the weight bias of only having traction on the light rear end of an unloaded pickup.

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

You should contact the Sandman and see if he can get you the friend’s and relatives discount.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

Back in the late '70s a product/service called "Rust Check" made its debut locally. It is a thin liquid spray that is shot onto undercarriages and (if one goes for the full meal deal) into internal metal body cavities via a series of holes drilled to provide access to the spray wands.It needs to be repeated annually if their warranty is to remain valid. My old '78 Delta 88 that I bought in 1997 had been subjected to the treatment for the first half of its life and was remarkably rust free except for the areas around the front and rear windscreens where the vinyl roof trapped water. I once removed a front door panel to replace an outside mirror during my ownership and the bottom of the door cavity was full of the black plastic plugs used to seal the holes they drilled, as they just punched the old ones into the door when they were doing the annual respray and stuck a new one in.

Later a competitor called Krown seemed to take their market share away using a similar product that was a bit thicker and less drippy (you had to cope with the stuff dripping off the vehicle for a few days following its application). Other products rapidly followed including ones called Fluid Film and Corrosion Free which were the consistency of liquid hand soap and even less drippy. You can buy them in aerosol cans at automotive stores or in bulk to be used if you have an air compressor and spray gun.

YouTube is full of videos on how to rust proof your car. I thought this one was an inventive DIY method.

https://youtu.be/uHMpJebGx_g

I think the move is away from the solid rubberized coatings toward various waxes and oils. I like this guy because he says you can use everything from hair gel to used motor oil. Appeals to my inner cheapskate.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago. Some interesting car dealer stories there.

Just one example.....

https://youtu.be/liL_pjWWIwo

I’ve watched a few of those and all the characters seems to be on the shady side of the law.

No disagreement. Most seem like the white patent leather belt and shoe wearing side of used car sales. They even have a few that wear the pinky ring. There’s only one I’ve heard of (Hoovie). The rest, are stereo typical back alley car dealer types.

Still, their stories are somewhat entertaining.

I think Hoovie is hilarious. He has his own car channel where he buys the most expensive junkers I’ve ever seen and then has his car guy tell him it will cost 3X what he paid to get them fixed. Even I could make better choices than he does.

qbrozen

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? Seems decidedly biased in favor of the Tesla with instant low end torque and four wheel drive. Then there’s the weight bias of only having traction on the light rear end of an unloaded pickup.

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

RWD and smallest engine in the F150. Sad to stack the deck that way. I'd expect, if all is true of the cybertruck, it should have no problem dispatching a correctly optioned F150, so why cheat?

graphicguy

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago. Some interesting car dealer stories there.

Just one example.....

https://youtu.be/liL_pjWWIwo

I’ve watched a few of those and all the characters seems to be on the shady side of the law.

No disagreement. Most seem like the white patent leather belt and shoe wearing side of used car sales. They even have a few that wear the pinky ring. There’s only one I’ve heard of (Hoovie). The rest, are stereo typical back alley car dealer types.

Still, their stories are somewhat entertaining.

I think Hoovie is hilarious. He has his own car channel where he buys the most expensive junkers I’ve ever seen and then has his car guy tell him it will cost 3X what he paid to get them fixed. Even I could make better choices than he does.

I do like Hoovie. In one of the Vinwiki videos, he said he makes his money with the views he gets on YouTube by making the worst car deals he can. He said the ones where he breaks even or doesn’t lose much get the least amount of views.

He’s done well for himself. When I first started watching him, he was filming at his nice, but middle class home with a 2 car garage. He now has a home in what looks to be a much nicer neighborhood with a garage that looks to hold at least 6-8 cars, and has a lift in it. I know he has/had a Rolls, a Bentley, a McClaren, a Lamborghini, a Chrysler Imperial, and an old Benz his grandmother gave him. Not a bad way to make a living if you’re a car enthusiast.

For those who are interested in what OF and I are alluding to, here’s a link.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEczn3MVkx_4PnMZ10MVFA

qbrozen

interestingly, he appeared on Jay Leno's garage recently

graphicguy

qbrozen said:

interestingly, he appeared on Jay Leno's garage recently

@qbrozen ...I think Jay Leno is the one who recommended he buy the Chrysler Imperial.

stickguy

Looks like fun!

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? .

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

Only because you asked...my opinion is the Tesla looks like it belongs in outer space.

driver100

For those who are interested in what OF and I are alluding to, here’s a link.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEczn3MVkx_4PnMZ10MVFA

Thanks for the link GG.....Hoovie is pretty good. Makes me realize though how many things can go wrong in an older car.

I have a friend with a 2014 Caddie XTS - 60k miles....the media screen went blank. Dealer said it would cost $4000 to repair it. He complained to GM, said he has only bought Cadillacs over the years....they said they would repair it for $400.

stickguy

Seems useless as a truck. And would love to see how fast the batteries die pulling a trailer up the grapevine!

graphicguy

driver100 said:

For those who are interested in what OF and I are alluding to, here’s a link.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEczn3MVkx_4PnMZ10MVFA

Thanks for the link GG.....Hoovie is pretty good. Makes me realize though how many things can go wrong in an older car.

I have a friend with a 2014 Caddie XTS - 60k miles....the media screen went blank. Dealer said it would cost $4000 to repair it. He complained to GM, said he has only bought Cadillacs over the years....they said they would repair it for $400.

@driver100 ...not sure what Cadillac was using as a media screen 5 years ago. I know the CUE system in the CTS(s) I had were a big issue for many of the owners I knew. Personally, I never had any issues with mine......a little slow at times, but still easy to use.

Those systems control the HVAC, suspension control (mine had the magneride....sophisticated, but would have been a nightmare to fix if it went bad), the radio/CD/XM etc. Those things go bad and I think it would cost quite a bit to fix.

Your friend fell outside of the warranty period. I believe $400 is a good price to get it fixed. The service dept has to remove the dash and reprogram everything. I'm sure it's got to be a 2 day job, and the parts probably cost more than $400.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

qbrozen said:

interestingly, he appeared on Jay Leno's garage recently

@qbrozen ...I think Jay Leno is the one who recommended he buy the Chrysler Imperial.

That’s probably the only one of his cars I would buy.

driver100

graphicguy said:

driver100 said:

For those who are interested in what OF and I are alluding to, here’s a link.....

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdEczn3MVkx_4PnMZ10MVFA

Thanks for the link GG.....Hoovie is pretty good. Makes me realize though how many things can go wrong in an older car.

I have a friend with a 2014 Caddie XTS - 60k miles....the media screen went blank. Dealer said it would cost $4000 to repair it. He complained to GM, said he has only bought Cadillacs over the years....they said they would repair it for $400.

Your friend fell outside of the warranty period. I believe $400 is a good price to get it fixed. The service dept has to remove the dash and reprogram everything. I'm sure it's got to be a 2 day job, and the parts probably cost more than $400.

GG, agreed $400 is a great price to get it fixed. I think they offered him that because there aren't too many really loyal Cadillac buyers left.....and they are hoping he will buy a few more.

houdini2

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

driver100

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

stickguy

Just Uber home.

qbrozen

driver100 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

What’s your opinion of the Tesla truck/F-150 tow challenge? .

https://youtu.be/GQ-Cba4m89o

Only because you asked...my opinion is the Tesla looks like it belongs in outer space.

Or just in a B-flik



similar, no?

imidazol97

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

I'll bet the same installers sell the backup cameras. If you buy the backup camera through them, they make money from the camera sale along with any installation charge. Did you ask if they sold the same or equivalent camera and what their total cost would be so you could compare with the online cost plus the local installation cost?

I've considered buying tires from tirerack.com, but I can't imagine my local tire store, who is an installing location for tirerack, being happy that I bought the tires elsewhere. But I also realize that tires are not a high margin item for the tire stores because of competition from wholesale houses like Sams, CostCo. They match prices to those stores when I bought my last set of Michelins.

stickguy

I had a tire store do that. I think they actually just ordered the tires themselves, so I still had to wait for them to arrive.

I would rather just deal with one entity if possible. At least if there is a defect, I have a place to go. The installer is just going to tell me to get the car out of his lot and call tire rack.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

houdini2 said:

driver100 said:

It might take most of a day to install the camera, so I was thinking of renting a car......Hertz is in the same plaza. I can get a Mazda 3 online for $61, by using AAA I get a discount that makes it come out to $63! How does that work?

Just take one of your other cars to the dealer and get a free loaner for the day.

We only have one car in Florida. Amazon gave me the choice of 3 places to go for installation. Place A charges $199 and is the closest. He said he needs the car all day, from 9 a.m. and might not finish until 6, depending on complications. Hertz is in the same plaza. Installer B is about 12 miles further and charges $225.
That made me think, maybe these dealers don't make too much on these installations, so maybe A will take all day and work on other cars as they come in. I talked to B and he seemed more honest...he wants me to email him the make and model of the dash cam/back up camera, and tell him what kind of car I have. He'll give me an estimate of the time involved tomorrow...he is really busy today.
$225 and waiting for the car for 4 to 6 hours would be less stress and money than $199 + $60 for a car rental.

Maybe he only needs 5 minutes for the install but then takes your car over to Hertz and they rent it out for the day. New twist on the lot boy joy ride story. You never know what goes on with your car when you’re not around.

That reminds me of an experience I had the other day. I was tasked with bringing a car to a local dealer. As soon as I got in I knew something wasn’t right. There was garbage everywhere. Soda bottles, snack bags and balled up tissues all over the seats and floor. Pretty disgusting. But it gets worse.

As I drove, an empty whiskey bottle rolled out from under the seat.

When I got to the dealer I figured I better clean up the junk and as I tried to pick up the tissues I realized they were stuck to the seats. Ugh!😑 I looked in the second row and it was worse. More bottles, half eaten food, many more tissues, toilet paper, empty condom wrappers and a feminine napkin! The filth continued into the third row and it was then I noticed footprints on the ceiling. I almost gagged at the implications as I filled three bags of nastiness. I made the chase driver wait while I went into the dealership and scrubbed my hands.