Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

explorerx4 said:

@jmonroe1,
I guess you are saying the lane keeping doesn't work all that well?

I guess none of the safety features helped;
Standard adaptive cruise control with semi-autonomous driving mode
Standard automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection
Standard lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assist

Interesting interior....guess it has a quality look to it.....

It could be that the non-detectable engine fires burnt up the controlling modules for those nanny systems.

jmonroe

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
Of course you know that none of those 'nannies' work unless you activate them, I'm not really blaming the vehicle.

they also can only do so much. And can't reverse the laws of physics.

stickguy

JM, I actually prefer something that isn't tile in the shower. Just ends up being a constant battle to keep the grout clean.

My BIL put in solid surface walls in the shower when they built their fancy house. Not 100% sure exactly what material it was, but nice impervious panels with no grout lines.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

JM, I actually prefer something that isn't tile in the shower. Just ends up being a constant battle to keep the grout clean.

My BIL put in solid surface walls in the shower when they built their fancy house. Not 100% sure exactly what material it was, but nice impervious panels with no grout lines.

Tile in our area is the preferred material and a few realtors have said that to us so we believe it especially with the comments we’ve received when folks have seen it. Everyone seems to especially like the accent tile band we do so we will continue to do that for sure. Like my Son says, “I want that to be our signature for how we do our bathrooms”. Our goal was to provide a few of the higher end touches to the starter homes we have done and that has paid off handsomely. It’s funny one of the realtors said, “if you guys keep doing what you’re doing your going to give flippers a good name”. Flip #3 is no starter type house (about 2300 sq. ft.) and will get much more of the finer touches. One in particular so far is that my Son is going to install a pot filler at the stove which may be a duel fuel 48 inch job. I can wait to hear more of his dreams.

As for problems with keeping the grout clean, when we expanded our master bath about 7 or 8 years ago I wondered about that myself but so far no problems. From what I’ve been told, the grout materials that have been around for the last 10 years or so is much better than the previously manufactured grout and given what I’ve seen so far I have to believe that.

jmonroe

stickguy

Good thing for me is that our next job, either built new or a remodel, will be the last place I expect to own before going into an urn in the closet. So I won't care about resale, since that won't be my problem. It will be what we want.

But I know what you mean about realtors wanting something that "blings" for the buyers. Maybe you are right about grout now. I just don't like it.

stickguy

If I get bored making lists of cars to look at, I should start a spreadsheet of everything we want in the next house. Most of which is likely to be at odds with the budget I plan to set.

3 car garage, that is going to be tough. But if not, I absolutely need an off street parking spot that doesn't a garage bay on the 2 car. Wife wants a big pantry and small appliance storage cabinet. Definitely need a nice mud rum with a laundry tub. walk in attic storage space. extra wide garage doors and deeper space than normal on the sides. His and hers closets in the master. Master on the first floor. Some fancy HVAC set-up to zone different rooms/floors. A generator or solar with a powerwall. Covered front porch, and rear screened porch.

All that should be easy to find for cheap, right?

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

If I get bored making lists of cars to look at, I should start a spreadsheet of everything we want in the next house. Most of which is likely to be at odds with the budget I plan to set.

3 car garage, that is going to be tough. But if not, I absolutely need an off street parking spot that doesn't a garage bay on the 2 car. Wife wants a big pantry and small appliance storage cabinet. Definitely need a nice mud rum with a laundry tub. walk in attic storage space. extra wide garage doors and deeper space than normal on the sides. His and hers closets in the master. Master on the first floor. Some fancy HVAC set-up to zone different rooms/floors. A generator or solar with a powerwall. Covered front porch, and rear screened porch.

All that should be easy to find for cheap, right?

I’m not sure about cheap but I’m pretty sure that’s a double lifetime of working before retirement.

jmonroe

driver100

explorerx4 said:

@driver100,
Of course you know that none of those 'nannies' work unless you activate them, I'm not really blaming the vehicle.

I thought the "nannies" would be the default position. Do you think The Tiger actually turns them off?
I wonder if he wasn't talking on his phone, shaving for his interview or something.

venture

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

JM, I actually prefer something that isn't tile in the shower. Just ends up being a constant battle to keep the grout clean.

My BIL put in solid surface walls in the shower when they built their fancy house. Not 100% sure exactly what material it was, but nice impervious panels with no grout lines.

Tile in our area is the preferred material and a few realtors have said that to us so we believe it especially with the comments we’ve received when folks have seen it. Everyone seems to especially like the accent tile band we do so we will continue to do that for sure. Like my Son says, “I want that to be our signature for how we do our bathrooms”. Our goal was to provide a few of the higher end touches to the starter homes we have done and that has paid off handsomely. It’s funny one of the realtors said, “if you guys keep doing what you’re doing your going to give flippers a good name”. Flip #3 is no starter type house (about 2300 sq. ft.) and will get much more of the finer touches. One in particular so far is that my Son is going to install a pot filler at the stove which may be a duel fuel 48 inch job. I can wait to hear more of his dreams.

As for problems with keeping the grout clean, when we expanded our master bath about 7 or 8 years ago I wondered about that myself but so far no problems. From what I’ve been told, the grout materials that have been around for the last 10 years or so is much better than the previously manufactured grout and given what I’ve seen so far I have to believe that.

jmonroe

When I gutted and re-built our kitchen about 2 years ago, I asked Mrs. venture if she wanted a pot filler. She said something like, "Why? I will still have to carry the pot to the sink to empty it."

I know it's trendy, but I think it's probably high on the list of not necessary things.

driver100

One reason I do like to have a newer car is because some of the safety devices actually could make a difference. I don't know if they exaggerated or really know, but one report about Tiger's accident said that the airbags saved his life.
In our accident I think the airbags in the headrest saved us from serious whiplash....and the crumple zones etc probably saved us from more serious injuries.
I would want any new car I buy (new or used) to have a rear camera and blind spot monitors...
Lane change would be nice if feeling tired on a long drive, but I wouldn't want it on all the time. My little warning buzzer that I have been driving for 90 minutes and should stop for a coffee is a bit much, but I would rather have more safety devices than fewer...it can't hurt and might help.

driver100

@jmonroe1
Tile in the shower looks best and if you clean it on a regular basis it will probably stay looking good. I missed the part about $1000 cost but I don't know if you included that the guys installing it have to make a profit too....not just do it for the cost of materials (I am a busy man so I don't have time to go back and check what you were referring to...I leave for pickleball in 45 minutes).
One thing I am sorry we didn't do when we had a bathtub removed and a shower installed was put in a radio with speakers....I like to listen to the news and weather when having a shower.
I also like a shower that you walk into with no ledge, but you need a large bathroom to do that.

roadburner

WRT to Tiger Woods’ accident my guess is that he was looking down at his phone or possibly had a seizure as it looks like he took no evasive action prior to the crash. The EDR will tell the tale.
As usual, speed is brought up, as well as the fact that he was driving on a “bad” or “dangerous” road- which of course means the road wasn’t perfectly flat and/or straight as an arrow. Imbeciles who need the full suite of nannies to drive that road would be much better served by public transit.

imidazol97

imidazol97 said:

We've had this Whirlpool for 5 years. Higher quality rack coatings. I believe the higher model Whirlpool have
the 3 rack system and or you can get stainless steel housing. My opinion is the Whirlpool higher cost models are
likely the same soundproofing and motors as the KitchenAid but labeled differently.

I saw a model that had fewer buttons on the front of, not the top of the door. The door gets a lot of humidity going through the vent in the door to the outside world. This one had the choice of wash cycle types. It does not have a separate rinse cycle button, for instance. Basic cycle control for washing and drying in various ways along with a
Sani Cycle for drying.

Might take a good look at Lowes online for Whirlpool after checking Whirlpool's own site and comparing their models there with KitchenAid.

If a local store has comparable pricing, I buy there. But no one has come close to Lowes sales and 10% off if getting a new credit card with them or 5% off on regular Lowes card.

My 2 cents worth.

With Lowes and HomeDepot I've used their online page for an item and their shopping cart to locate a store that actually has that item in stock. On small items, a low number in stock means I call to verify it's in the store before I take a 20-30 minute drive and pick it up.

If you have a particular model of washer they offer, you might access it that way.

snakeweasel

fintail said:

If only money translated to ability and sense, then maybe we'd see BMWs making it up snowy hills as well

And sometimes it is hard to tell if a car is a neglected aging model on bald tires, etc. 4Matic wasn't really commonplace until early teens models, too.

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw another E class in a ditch today. Two inches of snow just like the other day. I’m not slamming MB but I’m curious as to what’s going on.

I find that the 4 series does well in the snow as long as I don't push that long thin pedal to far. But there are not many big hills near me.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

snakeweasel said:

stickguy said:

dino001 said:

snakeweasel said:

stickguy said:

Michaell said:

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

sda said:

qbrozen said:

Working on my retirement plan today. lol.
Flipping Camaros and day trading options. If I can make this work, I'd be pretty damned ecstatic. Taking a class tonight and tomorrow night for the whole options thing.

Though dated now a saying in the industry was 'Pigs don't drive Cadillacs'.

The way I heard it was "Bulls make money, bears make money and pigs get slaughtered."
It is so true. Trading can work, I have a friend who lives off trading. One day he lost $30000 on a stock and I felt bad for him, but he says he made $50000 the day before so no big deal....I can't live that way.

Investing at that level is really just gambling.

You want to talk about gambling?

Been reading articles about the debacle in Texas - turns out the utilities are so deregulated that some companies were offering variable rate electricity. Folks who were able to keep their lights on are now seeing 4 and 5 figure bills for those few days. And, one company has it tied to the customer's debit or credit card, which then wiped out bank accounts and maxing credit cards.

That's gambling - but never in a million years did these customers expect this to happen to them. And, these are necessities, not like a Netflix subscription that can be cancelled with minimal inconvenience.

Lots of people love capitalism. Until it hits their wallet, then suddenly they are big fans of government intervention. I feel bad for them, but they really don’t have a right to it back. Know what you are signing before you do it.

Not sure that this is a issue with capitalism, capitalism is when if Kroger is charging to much I just move along to Piggly Wiggly or to Stickguy's vittles and oil change shack. A utility that you are locked into and usually don't have a choice of isn't really capitalism, it's actually the opposite end of the spectrum.

Especially if that kWh today is 100 times of that yesterday and nobody gave you even a peep of warning. All was needed an email or phone call, hey Mr. Customer, we have to charge you this much today cause were bringing power from these 1000 cyclists we had to hire and put on a saddle to keep you warm. Oh, we also noticed you're already owe us a double of what you owed us last month and it's only three days in the cycle. Have a nice day.

I used capitalism in the loose way, since most people in this country have no idea what capitalism or socialism actually are, and use the terms incorrectly. And seem to miss the point that not all government regulation or intervention is inherently evil.

And, you really can’t have it both ways.

In explaining capitalism vs socialism vs communism I use the mouse trap example. If you build a better mouse trap;

in communism the government takes your mouse trap and people stand in line to use it.
In socialism the government tells you how to make it, who to hire, what supplies to use and how much to sell it for.
In capitalism someone comes along and builds a better mouse.

So what is it called when the government tells taxpayers to subsidize really sucky mouse traps because a lot of people prefer buying the better mouse traps made elsewhere?

That would be socialism.

ab348

driver100 said:

@jmonroe1
One thing I am sorry we didn't do when we had a bathtub removed and a shower installed was put in a radio with speakers....I like to listen to the news and weather when having a shower.
I also like a shower that you walk into with no ledge, but you need a large bathroom to do that.

I can't tell you the last time I listened to radio. Besides, when I'm in the shower I can't hear anything but the sound of the shower itself.

I've seen TV ads recently for a showerhead speaker by one of the plumbing fixture manufacturers. It (and the popular look by many young trendies to walk around wearing earbuds or headphones constantly) tends to baffle me given how awful modern music is.

imidazol97

With all the media hyper about Tiger Woods, good and bad, fake and true, I recall his TV appearances
such as hitting balls in competition with Bob Hope

https://youtu.be/MLL541C9wBs



Lots of videos of Tiger's early media appearances down the page: a documentayr.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tiger-woods-childhood-golfing-videos-2018-9

I always liked Tiger's self image until he reached a certain point where the fake news
media was driving his image with the wife and divorce. It's appalling even today
how the news media propagates wrong stories about the jaws of life having been
used.

I always felt he is the kind of guy who would have been just as happy being a pickleball star, as long as he
was enjoying doing what he was doing and felt he was doing it really well for
himself rather than to impress all the simple-minds in the sports press.

abacomike

Just got my IRS refund deposited this morning into my checking account - $2672. I electronically filed 11 days ago. That was pretty quick.🤓

imidazol97

abacomike said:

Just got my IRS refund deposited this morning into my checking account - $2672. I electronically filed 11 days ago. That was pretty quick.🤓

Son got his deposited yesterday morning or overnight after he bought the new Toyota Venza.

imidazol97

@driver100
Still no problems with the Venza.

I'm not sure if he's mastered the remote start routine from the fob, but
I'll remind him over and over like a nag so he doesn't rely on his Andoid App.

tjc78

Lock button twice, press and hold a third time. Not as easy as GM. Lock once and then the circle button.

Volvo can only be done on the app. Wannabes..lol

driver100

imidazol97 said:

@driver100
Still no problems with the Venza.

I'm not sure if he's mastered the remote start routine from the fob, but
I'll remind him over and over like a nag so he doesn't rely on his Andoid App.

Imid, thanks for the update......keep us in the loop, if there is a problem inquiring minds want to know.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

If only money translated to ability and sense, then maybe we'd see BMWs making it up snowy hills as well

And sometimes it is hard to tell if a car is a neglected aging model on bald tires, etc. 4Matic wasn't really commonplace until early teens models, too.

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw another E class in a ditch today. Two inches of snow just like the other day. I’m not slamming MB but I’m curious as to what’s going on.

I find that the 4 series does well in the snow as long as I don't push that long thin pedal to far. But there are not many big hills near me.

My 2008 BMW 328 Cabriolet was hopeless in the snow. The facia under the front bumper was about 2 inches off the ground and it was like a snow shovel, and the wheel wells would fill up with snow. I had to get 4 snow tires for that car.....store them, try to fit 2 in the trunk and 2 in the back seat.....go to the dealer to change, then take the other pair home. I could store them for $250 a season = $500 a year at the dealers but I don't think so. They only charged a small amount to change them over....I think $35 but that was 12 years ago.

stickguy

I know I would never use that feature.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

Some mad driving skills from north of driver100.

https://youtu.be/V__PqcMt728

Well that's one way to make deliveries to the attic.

snakeweasel

jmonroe1 said:

explorerx4 said:

@bwia,
Insane power? What are you talking about?
It's about average for that engine.

I agree but the trick is to stay between the lines. Hopefully this bogey isn’t too bad for him. Obviously this rules out the Masters this year.

jmonroe

From what I heard of his injuries it might rule out any future tournament.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

If only money translated to ability and sense, then maybe we'd see BMWs making it up snowy hills as well

And sometimes it is hard to tell if a car is a neglected aging model on bald tires, etc. 4Matic wasn't really commonplace until early teens models, too.

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw another E class in a ditch today. Two inches of snow just like the other day. I’m not slamming MB but I’m curious as to what’s going on.

I find that the 4 series does well in the snow as long as I don't push that long thin pedal to far. But there are not many big hills near me.

My 2008 BMW 328 Cabriolet was hopeless in the snow. The facia under the front bumper was about 2 inches off the ground and it was like a snow shovel, and the wheel wells would fill up with snow. I had to get 4 snow tires for that car.....store them, try to fit 2 in the trunk and 2 in the back seat.....go to the dealer to change, then take the other pair home. I could store them for $250 a season = $500 a year at the dealers but I don't think so. They only charged a small amount to change them over....I think $35 but that was 12 years ago.

You’d pay $500 a year to store tires? Yikes!

abacomike

As regards Tiger Woods’s roll-over SUV accident yesterday, I personally feel so bad for this phenom who, IMO, has suffered enough for his indiscretions in life. It seems that every time he has been able to pick himself up out of the depths of pain and suffering, he is pulled back into that darkness.

I believe in mercy and forgiveness as well as a human being having second chances at life and happiness. I hurt for his son Charlie and his daughter, as well. I pray for his successful recuperation. As for his chances of ever playing golf at a level he used to play at (Masters, US Open, etc.), based upon the compound fracture in one leg and a broken ankle in another leg - are dismal at best.

I wish him God’s speed!🤓

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

snakeweasel said:

fintail said:

If only money translated to ability and sense, then maybe we'd see BMWs making it up snowy hills as well

And sometimes it is hard to tell if a car is a neglected aging model on bald tires, etc. 4Matic wasn't really commonplace until early teens models, too.

oldfarmer50 said:

I saw another E class in a ditch today. Two inches of snow just like the other day. I’m not slamming MB but I’m curious as to what’s going on.

I find that the 4 series does well in the snow as long as I don't push that long thin pedal to far. But there are not many big hills near me.

My 2008 BMW 328 Cabriolet was hopeless in the snow. The facia under the front bumper was about 2 inches off the ground and it was like a snow shovel, and the wheel wells would fill up with snow. I had to get 4 snow tires for that car.....store them, try to fit 2 in the trunk and 2 in the back seat.....go to the dealer to change, then take the other pair home. I could store them for $250 a season = $500 a year at the dealers but I don't think so. They only charged a small amount to change them over....I think $35 but that was 12 years ago.

$500 a year just to store two tires? You can put them in my garage for the low low price of $499. and save some bucks. There is one of those self storage places just down the street that has small units for $25 a month.

graphicguy

Thanks for everyone’s advice. @tjc78 ...good to hear you’re pleased with yours.

This is what happens when you’re retired. I spent the day, driving around looking at dishwashers. Had fun. It was a sunny day here and almost got to 60º. Also good to let the Stinger stretch her legs on some roads.

@kyfdx ....called Hagedorn 3 times yesterday to see if they had stock before driving across the river. Each time the receptionist tried to put me through to a sales person to get my answers. Each time I was put in the loop of “we’re busy helping other customers, so please hold on” for an interminable amount of time. Each time I hung up.

Checked out Best Buy. Typically, good luck in finding someone who has even a passing knowledge of their appliances. Their stock levels were low or non-existent on the units I was interested in, too.

It seems the brands manufactured in North America are all in short supply, (Bosch, Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, GE, etc). The ones made overseas (Korea, Turkey, EU) are relatively plentiful. The ones I was mainly interested in were really in short supply (priced between $600-$800). The really cheap ones were availaable ($300-$450) and the expensive ones were available ($1,000+).

I buy “Made in the U.S.A or Canada” given the opportunity. Found some Kenmore brands out there, but it was clear those were made by LG. Some of the others like Asko, Miele, Termador, etc were available, but Holy-Moly.....for units that basically just wash dishes just like the rest, they want you to spend mega-bucks. Didn’t see the value in those, and they’re mostly less reliable than the more mainstream ones. Uniquely, they had some “dishwashers in a drawer” which had doors that pulled out horizontally vs vertically. Couldn’t quite see the benefits of that feature though.

Based on the peanut gallery here, I ended up buying the KitchenAid from Lowes. Lady who I talked to on the phone was every bit as helpful in person. Spent a couple hundred more than I wanted, but it seems to be a quality unit. You all seem to agree.

Thank, again!

roadburner

graphicguy said:

Thanks for everyone’s advice. @tjc78 ...good to hear you’re pleased with yours.

This is what happens when you’re retired. I spent the day, driving around looking at dishwashers. Had fun. It was a sunny day here and almost got to 60º. Also good to let the Stinger stretch her legs on some roads.

@kyfdx ....called Hagedorn 3 times yesterday to see if they had stock before driving across the river. Each time the receptionist tried to put me through to a sales person to get my answers. Each time I was put in the loop of “we’re busy helping other customers, so please hold on” for an interminable amount of time. Each time I hung up.

Checked out Best Buy. Typically, good luck in finding someone who has even a passing knowledge of their appliances. Their stock levels were low or non-existent on the units I was interested in, too.

It seems the brands manufactured in North America are all in short supply, (Bosch, Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, GE, etc). The ones made overseas (Korea, Turkey, EU) are relatively plentiful. The ones I was mainly interested in were really in short supply (priced between $600-$800). The really cheap ones were availaable ($300-$450) and the expensive ones were available ($1,000+).

I buy “Made in the U.S.A or Canada” given the opportunity. Found some Kenmore brands out there, but it was clear those were made by LG. Some of the others like Asko, Miele, Termador, etc were available, but Holy-Moly.....for units that basically just wash dishes just like the rest, they want you to spend mega-bucks. Didn’t see the value in those, and they’re mostly less reliable than the more mainstream ones. Uniquely, they had some “dishwashers in a drawer” which had doors that pulled out horizontally vs vertically. Couldn’t quite see the benefits of that feature though.

Based on the peanut gallery here, I ended up buying the KitchenAid from Lowes. Lady who I talked to on the phone was every bit as helpful in person. Spent a couple hundred more than I wanted, but it seems to be a quality unit. You all seem to agree.

Thank, again!

Like you, my wife and I try to buy American whenever possible- except for cars and motorcycles . When our Bosch dishwasher started acting up several years ago we bought a KitchenAid from a local appliance store in Louisville. Absolutely no complaints- I think you will be very happy with it.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

Thanks for everyone’s advice. @tjc78 ...good to hear you’re pleased with yours.

I buy “Made in the U.S.A or Canada” given the opportunity. Found some Kenmore brands out there, but it was clear those were made by LG. Some of the others like Asko, Miele, Termador, etc were available, but Holy-Moly.....for units that basically just wash dishes just like the rest, they want you to spend mega-bucks.

Based on the peanut gallery here, I ended up buying the KitchenAid from Lowes. Lady who I talked to on the phone was every bit as helpful in person. Spent a couple hundred more than I wanted, but it seems to be a quality unit. You all seem to agree.

Thank, again!

The various Sears brands seem to have been sold off. You can buy Diehard batteries, I believe I've seen auto batteries, and there are household batteries with DieHard brand. Now Kenmore is being used as a cover for
Chinese or other manufacturers to fool some buyers into thinking they're buying a US brand.

#######################




"Based on the peanut gallery here,"

You're getting the best advice from a group of experts.

Michaell

abacomike said:

As regards Tiger Woods’s roll-over SUV accident yesterday, I personally feel so bad for this phenom who, IMO, has suffered enough for his indiscretions in life. It seems that every time he has been able to pick himself up out of the depths of pain and suffering, he is pulled back into that darkness.

I believe in mercy and forgiveness as well as a human being having second chances at life and happiness. I hurt for his son Charlie and his daughter, as well. I pray for his successful recuperation. As for his chances of ever playing golf at a level he used to play at (Masters, US Open, etc.), based upon the compound fracture in one leg and a broken ankle in another leg - are dismal at best.

I wish him God’s speed!🤓

I refer you to the remarkable comeback story of Alex Smith.

Don't rule Tiger out - if he wants to play professional golf again, I wouldn't bet against him.

imidazol97

I held my breath when my wife was looking at Imid Junior's new Venza. I was waiting for her
to say we should get one.

I've got a Cobalt now that I need to figure out how to get rid of it other than sending it
to Goodwill. It needs someone with mechanical ability to work on brakes and a fretted
connection, both of which I don't want to do.

Gonna call a friend to see what he says, a shade tree mechanic that used to live couple
houses up the road.

Gonna ask the service advisor at the local GM store if he knows anyone who might
buy it and repair it to keep it going for someone looking for transportation.

This all came about 3 weeks faster than I thought.

imidazol97

I was laughing to myself how Junior was listening to my advice on brands after he asked.

He was stunned when I told him "No" when suggested the almost dead Malibu. I told him it's been decontented
and will die after 2022 if I remember what I read. GM has put all their eggs in the government
basket after the bailout by going electric. He mentioned Ford , so I nixed that real fast.

He drove past a Chevy and Cadillac store to cross the highway to the Toyota store. The Honda store is a few hundred feet left and on the service road he drive past the Kia store and Hyundai store.
Smart kid.

And a nearby Ford and Nissan store.

For trivia folks, I see there's a Yellow Brick Road at bottom of the map. I think I took that going to his house
one time.

tjc78

@graphicguy
You’ll like the new unit. Well worth the extra expense. One nice thing about KA is they constantly heat the water up in case it’s not hot enough. That feature was much needed with our tankless hot water heater.

imidazol97

Has @graphicguy done any deliveries for dealer swaps to any of the stores in this cluster?

stickguy

imidazol97 said:

I held my breath when my wife was looking at Imid Junior's new Venza. I was waiting for her
to say we should get one.

I've got a Cobalt now that I need to figure out how to get rid of it other than sending it
to Goodwill. It needs someone with mechanical ability to work on brakes and a fretted
connection, both of which I don't want to do.

Gonna call a friend to see what he says, a shade tree mechanic that used to live couple
houses up the road.

Gonna ask the service advisor at the local GM store if he knows anyone who might
buy it and repair it to keep it going for someone looking for transportation.

This all came about 3 weeks faster than I thought.

Email watch JRgo. He’s always looking for cheap flips like that. You might even get yourself famous on YouTube! Though I have no clue how close to witchita you are.

Can always make it a donation contingent on giving it to someone in need.

jmonroe1

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

JM, I actually prefer something that isn't tile in the shower. Just ends up being a constant battle to keep the grout clean.

My BIL put in solid surface walls in the shower when they built their fancy house. Not 100% sure exactly what material it was, but nice impervious panels with no grout lines.

Tile in our area is the preferred material and a few realtors have said that to us so we believe it especially with the comments we’ve received when folks have seen it. Everyone seems to especially like the accent tile band we do so we will continue to do that for sure. Like my Son says, “I want that to be our signature for how we do our bathrooms”. Our goal was to provide a few of the higher end touches to the starter homes we have done and that has paid off handsomely. It’s funny one of the realtors said, “if you guys keep doing what you’re doing your going to give flippers a good name”. Flip #3 is no starter type house (about 2300 sq. ft.) and will get much more of the finer touches. One in particular so far is that my Son is going to install a pot filler at the stove which may be a duel fuel 48 inch job. I can wait to hear more of his dreams.

As for problems with keeping the grout clean, when we expanded our master bath about 7 or 8 years ago I wondered about that myself but so far no problems. From what I’ve been told, the grout materials that have been around for the last 10 years or so is much better than the previously manufactured grout and given what I’ve seen so far I have to believe that.

jmonroe

When I gutted and re-built our kitchen about 2 years ago, I asked Mrs. venture if she wanted a pot filler. She said something like, "Why? I will still have to carry the pot to the sink to empty it."

I know it's trendy, but I think it's probably high on the list of not necessary things.

I agree with your wife and I said the same thing to him when I first heard about his plan to install one. His response was, “this isn’t going to be my house. I’m doing it to convey that this is upscale and no corners were cut doing this kitchen remodel”. That decision was further enforced when he mentioned this to the realtor lady that sold him flip #1, listed flip #2 and is the selling agent for flip #3 when he did a walk though 2 weeks ago to get some dimensions so he could start to do a layout of the kitchen before closing. Her response was, “OH YEAH, that’s the kind of “bling” buyers like. You won’t be sorry you’re doing that”.

I doubt he’s going to let me talk him out of that now.

jmonroe

explorerx4

@imidazol97,
Take it to Carmax for a quote.

fintail

That tire storage is insane. Are you serious?

I got my snow tire/wheel package at the MB dealer, as their prices are almost identical to other tire shops. They store the unused wheels/tires for free.

driver100 said:

I find that the 4 series does well in the snow as long as I don't push that long thin pedal to far. But there are not many big hills near me.

My 2008 BMW 328 Cabriolet was hopeless in the snow. The facia under the front bumper was about 2 inches off the ground and it was like a snow shovel, and the wheel wells would fill up with snow. I had to get 4 snow tires for that car.....store them, try to fit 2 in the trunk and 2 in the back seat.....go to the dealer to change, then take the other pair home. I could store them for $250 a season = $500 a year at the dealers but I don't think so. They only charged a small amount to change them over....I think $35 but that was 12 years ago.

fintail

Is there such a thing as a "no corners cut" flip? I'm not exactly a structural engineer, but some of the stuff I see offered up by the flipper brigade on the local market makes me shake my head. Becoming a hated industry in this area of a legitimate affordable housing shortage/crisis. I am sure realtors like that pretense though.

jmonroe1 said:

I agree with your wife and I said the same thing to him when I first heard about his plan to install one. His response was, “this isn’t going to be my house. I’m doing it to convey that this is upscale and no corners were cut doing this kitchen remodel”. That decision was further enforced when he mentioned this to the realtor lady that sold him flip #1, listed flip #2 and is the selling agent for flip #3 when he did a walk though 2 weeks ago to get some dimensions so he could start to do a layout of the kitchen before closing. Her response was, “OH YEAH, that’s the kind of “bling” buyers like. You won’t be sorry you’re doing that”.
I doubt he’s going to let me talk him out of that now.

jmonroe

fintail

Sounds like our wonderful scheme of privatizing profits and socializing losses, indirectly or directly aiding well-connected industries (FIRE cabal, oil, praetorian sector, pharma etc), pressing on with trickle down economic policies that have been a virtual failure on every attempt but are still embraced, etc. Oh wait, that's reverse socialism.

snakeweasel said:

That would be socialism.

jmonroe1

driver100 said:

@jmonroe1
Tile in the shower looks best and if you clean it on a regular basis it will probably stay looking good. I missed the part about $1000 cost but I don't know if you included that the guys installing it have to make a profit too....not just do it for the cost of materials (I am a busy man so I don't have time to go back and check what you were referring to...I leave for pickleball in 45 minutes).
One thing I am sorry we didn't do when we had a bathtub removed and a shower installed was put in a radio with speakers....I like to listen to the news and weather when having a shower.
I also like a shower that you walk into with no ledge, but you need a large bathroom to do that.

It sounds like you missed the part when I said, “we get back every penny and then some”, in my earlier post. Of course we take into our account what our labor is worth, we’re not philanthropists. But like we have said to each other a few times, “if we only get back what we have into doing any particular job with just a small profit but it makes our house more attractive to buyers and the house sells quickly, we still win”. But we don’t want to make minimum wage on everything. When flipping smaller houses you want yours to stand out more. So far, that’s been a good philosophy. So, until that approach fails we ain’t fixing what ain’t broke.

jmonroe

venture

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

JM, I actually prefer something that isn't tile in the shower. Just ends up being a constant battle to keep the grout clean.

My BIL put in solid surface walls in the shower when they built their fancy house. Not 100% sure exactly what material it was, but nice impervious panels with no grout lines.

Tile in our area is the preferred material and a few realtors have said that to us so we believe it especially with the comments we’ve received when folks have seen it. Everyone seems to especially like the accent tile band we do so we will continue to do that for sure. Like my Son says, “I want that to be our signature for how we do our bathrooms”. Our goal was to provide a few of the higher end touches to the starter homes we have done and that has paid off handsomely. It’s funny one of the realtors said, “if you guys keep doing what you’re doing your going to give flippers a good name”. Flip #3 is no starter type house (about 2300 sq. ft.) and will get much more of the finer touches. One in particular so far is that my Son is going to install a pot filler at the stove which may be a duel fuel 48 inch job. I can wait to hear more of his dreams.

As for problems with keeping the grout clean, when we expanded our master bath about 7 or 8 years ago I wondered about that myself but so far no problems. From what I’ve been told, the grout materials that have been around for the last 10 years or so is much better than the previously manufactured grout and given what I’ve seen so far I have to believe that.

jmonroe

When I gutted and re-built our kitchen about 2 years ago, I asked Mrs. venture if she wanted a pot filler. She said something like, "Why? I will still have to carry the pot to the sink to empty it."

I know it's trendy, but I think it's probably high on the list of not necessary things.

I agree with your wife and I said the same thing to him when I first heard about his plan to install one. His response was, “this isn’t going to be my house. I’m doing it to convey that this is upscale and no corners were cut doing this kitchen remodel”. That decision was further enforced when he mentioned this to the realtor lady that sold him flip #1, listed flip #2 and is the selling agent for flip #3 when he did a walk though 2 weeks ago to get some dimensions so he could start to do a layout of the kitchen before closing. Her response was, “OH YEAH, that’s the kind of “bling” buyers like. You won’t be sorry you’re doing that”.

I doubt he’s going to let me talk him out of that now.

jmonroe

Agree on the bling thing. That's just one of many things people insist on having from watching the old home improvement shows. I could go on...

imidazol97

Does anyone have the URL for the link that searches for who got PPP payments by zip code?
I think this was the forum where it was posted...

snakeweasel

fintail said:

Sounds like our wonderful scheme of privatizing profits and socializing losses, indirectly or directly aiding well-connected industries (FIRE cabal, oil, praetorian sector, pharma etc), pressing on with trickle down economic policies that have been a virtual failure on every attempt but are still embraced, etc. Oh wait, that's reverse socialism.

snakeweasel said:

That would be socialism.

Actually that would be corporate welfare.

In reality the main difference between socialism and capitalism is who controls the means of production. The more the government controls the means of production the more socialist you are.

snakeweasel

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

@jmonroe1
Tile in the shower looks best and if you clean it on a regular basis it will probably stay looking good. I missed the part about $1000 cost but I don't know if you included that the guys installing it have to make a profit too....not just do it for the cost of materials (I am a busy man so I don't have time to go back and check what you were referring to...I leave for pickleball in 45 minutes).
One thing I am sorry we didn't do when we had a bathtub removed and a shower installed was put in a radio with speakers....I like to listen to the news and weather when having a shower.
I also like a shower that you walk into with no ledge, but you need a large bathroom to do that.

It sounds like you missed the part when I said, “we get back every penny and then some”, in my earlier post. Of course we take into our account what our labor is worth, we’re not philanthropists. But like we have said to each other a few times, “if we only get back what we have into doing any particular job with just a small profit but it makes our house more attractive to buyers and the house sells quickly, we still win”. But we don’t want to make minimum wage on everything. When flipping smaller houses you want yours to stand out more. So far, that’s been a good philosophy. So, until that approach fails we ain’t fixing what ain’t broke.

jmonroe

Shouldn't that read "We hope to get back every penny and then some"

[Deleted User]

abacomike said:

Just got my IRS refund deposited this morning into my checking account - $2672. I electronically filed 11 days ago. That was pretty quick.🤓

We owe :@ so I'll be filing April 14th...

venture

imidazol97 said:

Does anyone have the URL for the link that searches for who got PPP payments by zip code?
I think this was the forum where it was posted...

https://www.federalpay.org/paycheck-protection-program