Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

laurasdada

After the local classic car show, I, of course, stopped by my friendly neighborhood Ferrari/Maserati dealership (wearing a Jag polo shirt, which was noticed by salesman who approached me). In front, was a tall, very slim, elderly gentleman (very) slowly lowering himself into a lovely Roma.
A bit later, a family came into the showroom and said what a nice Porsche Panamera Turbo you have out front to a saledude. To which he replied, "Yes, an 85 year old man just traded it in for a new $500k Roma."
Again, I have made epically bad career and investing choices.
The family looked to be serious shoppers too, it almost seemed like they were looking for a car for the HS age looking son, perhaps he's graduating next month...

laurasdada

The theme of the local classic car show might have been, "Big as a whale!"
Some pix:

laurasdada

The blue Dodge Polara was a stunner, push button tranny. And, an award winner!
But, I think I want the cream colored 'cuda convertible.
I think I need a classic in the fleet; I'm sure the wife would agree.

imidazol97

I'll take the 61 Pontiac Convertible in red. (I think it's a 61.)

oldfarmer50

laurasdada said:

The blue Dodge Polara was a stunner, push button tranny. And, an award winner!
But, I think I want the cream colored 'cuda convertible.
I think I need a classic in the fleet; I'm sure the wife would agree.

I like that Polara’s over the top styling. My dad had a 68’ Fury but unfortunately not a convertible. I had that same style Charger in 74’. That 440 Cuda would be fun.

That brings back memories of being a Mopar fan.

explorerx4

Whenever I see the front of that style Fury I think of the movie Coogan's Bluff.

Sandman6472

Loved the blue Polara, a lot but the blue Pontiac drop top does it for me. Yesterday, did see a 1965 Cadillac 4-door and fell in love. It was all one color as got tired of the padded vinyl roofs we all used to have. Our 1962 Cadillac de Ville was all white and was a real beauty all cleaned up. Our 1964 Sedan de Ville was a navy blue with a navy blue padded vinyl top with the last of the tail fins. Really was a GM fan for many many years.

roadburner

The only domestic cars of the '60s I like are the pony cars and muscle cars- as well as a few of the "personal luxury coupes" like the Grand Prix, Riviera, Thunderbird, and Toronado.

jmonroe1

venture said:

imidazol97 said:

AFter @stickguy got aggressive and replaced his carb, I went to work on my carb
on my edger--3.5 engine on the Sears product. Last I used it in 2022, the thing was seeping gasoline into the intake
and the air filter, smelling up the garage, along with running rich.

I took off the bowl, removed the pin for the float and the needle valve.
Used a q-tip soaked with acetone to rub on the seat for the metal-tipped
needle on this one to remove crude that I guessed was keeping the needle
from seating. I think it worked. I'll see if it still seeps overnight and empties
the bit of fuel I put in the tank.

Much easier than taking it "to the guy" to fix it. At least I know of a small motor
shop, but getting it there is a problem.

I fought with a gas edger for years before getting a plug-in edger - Craftsman I believe. It starts every spring by pulling the trigger. I use it at the Baseball field. Of course, I have 2, 100' extension cords to be able to reach the 95' infield/outfield arc.

————————————————
Isn’t it time to get a battery powered edger? From what I hear they’ve come a long way too. Maybe even more than mowers.

jmonroe

imidazol97

jmonroe1 said:

venture said:

imidazol97 said:

AFter @stickguy got aggressive and replaced his carb, I went to work on my carb
on my edger--3.5 engine on the Sears product. Last I used it in 2022, the thing was seeping gasoline into the intake
and the air filter, smelling up the garage, along with running rich.

I took off the bowl, removed the pin for the float and the needle valve.
Used a q-tip soaked with acetone to rub on the seat for the metal-tipped
needle on this one to remove crude that I guessed was keeping the needle
from seating. I think it worked. I'll see if it still seeps overnight and empties
the bit of fuel I put in the tank.

Much easier than taking it "to the guy" to fix it. At least I know of a small motor
shop, but getting it there is a problem.

I fought with a gas edger for years before getting a plug-in edger - Craftsman I believe. It starts every spring by pulling the trigger. I use it at the Baseball field. Of course, I have 2, 100' extension cords to be able to reach the 95' infield/outfield arc.

————————————————
Isn’t it time to get a battery powered edger? From what I hear they’ve come a long way too. Maybe even more than mowers.

jmonroe

Nope.

jmonroe1

venture said:

Sandman6472 said:

Thanks for all the help with getting my pics up. Think from what I've posted, y'all will see my space issue in the garage.

That's quite the mess you have going on there. No wonder you don't want to screw with it.

————————————————
If that were my garage I’d move that stuff to the other side and let the wife deal with it.

jmonroe

stickguy

i was happy to donate my gas powered weed eater to the people that bought my house. Hated that thing. A pain to start, liked to stall if you angled it wrong, would burn my arm, all kinds of evil.

I love the battery powered one I bought here. No issues. and no cord.

kyfdx

I have an electric edger, and it suits my needs. But, it can't handle the heavy jobs like a gas edger.

sda

Over the years I have bought multiple WORX products. They all have performed well for my generally light duty needs and share the same battery. I bought all of them on Ebay, either factory refurbished or returned. They all looked new when I received them and if they were a bit scratched I wasn’t concerned as they would get that way with use. What I didn’t know is they are shipped from the corporate office located in Charlotte, NC!

jmonroe1

sda said:

Over the years I have bought multiple WORX products. They all have performed well for my generally light duty needs and share the same battery. I bought all of them on Ebay, either factory refurbished or returned. They all looked new when I received them and if they were a bit scratched I wasn’t concerned as they would get that way with use. What I didn’t know is they are shipped from the corporate office located in Charlotte, NC!

————————————————
If you knew that you could have saved the shipping charge and picked those items up yourself.

I was told by a guy at Home Depot years ago that almost all of the gas powered items that are returned that the customer claims didn’t work are in fact good and were more than likely returned due to dissatisfaction or the customer found a better price on the internet and wanted to see how well that particular item worked before they bought it.

I was essentially told the same thing by a Best Buy salesman but he said that a lot of their returns are because the customer couldn’t figure out how to use the many electronic gizmos that their purchased product had. So, they just return the product and buy a less expensive item without a lot of those gizmos.

FWIW, I bought a returned gas powered heavy duty pressure washer at Home Depot many years ago for almost half price and it started up right away from day one.

jmonroe

driver100

Michaell said:

I do agree with @driver100 in one respect - it seems that most of the new EVs skew on the large side - trucks and larger SUVs. Sadly, the Bolt is being discontinued, but something that size (or CamCord sized) seems to make a lot of sense. IONIQ5, IONIQ6 and EV6 seem to fit that bill.

And I will concede if you use your EV to go short distances it could make sense and even I would consider it as a second car if MrsD100 wanted one which she says she would by if she needed a new car....though I think I'd be more inclined to buy a hybrid as a second to a gasser.

But, talk about EVs getting larger, the battery in Ford F-150 adds 1800 pounds to the truck. For comparison, the F-150's 5.0-liter V8 and 10-speed transmission weigh as much as 680 pounds together. A full tank of gas adds around 150 pounds.

Total weight of a Ford F-150 Lightning is 6590 pounds!

venture

kyfdx said:

I have an electric edger, and it suits my needs. But, it can't handle the heavy jobs like a gas edger.

It must depend on which one you have. Mine has handled everything I have thrown at it so far...and it's been some pretty heavy-duty stuff.

explorerx4

I have a Worx edger/trimmer that I use just for edging along the curb/driveway/sidewalk. It's very easy to use(had wheels), does a great job and doesn't beat up the sidewalk like one of those with a metal blade.
Still using the original battery after at least 7 or 8 years.

driver100

laurasdada said:

The blue Dodge Polara was a stunner, push button tranny. And, an award winner!
But, I think I want the cream colored 'cuda convertible.
I think I need a classic in the fleet; I'm sure the wife would agree.

Wow! Those were the days when cars were cars.
I like those fins on the Polara. I had a 58 Plymouth with fins, and I felt like a fighter pilot driving that car. Also push-buttons.

sda

I may not be very observant but I just noticed Diesel is in the same pricing as gasoline, actually a bit cheaper than premium.

jmonroe1

sda said:

I may not be very observant but I just noticed Diesel is in the same pricing as gasoline, actually a bit cheaper than premium.

————————————————
The price of gas in PA is more than that. Don’t ask me how much more. I’ve decided not to look anymore, I just pump and close my eyes when the pump shuts off. That’s the advantage of paying by CC…I no longer have to open my wallet. I’m still trying to convince myself it’s free.

jmonroe

imidazol97

Carburetor on the Sears edger still seeps some gasoline through, but at a much slwoer rate. I could just use it as is and drain the extra gas out when finished before storing.

I did some research and found the the needle seats are rubber. They crack with age and have a seep through that crack. I assume another failure point is the alcohol from the ethanol we use corn to make to add to gasoline as well. I see some of the replacement parts make a point they only tolerate up to 10% ethanol.

I ordered replacement seat and couple of seals for the bowl. I also ordered a seat remover tool rather than trying to make one: it includes a tool to force the seat into the proper position.

I did see an offbrand carburetor replacement for less than $20. Tempting. LOL. A Tecumseh replacement carb was over $100 and didn't include shipping and tax.

driver100

sda said:

I may not be very observant but I just noticed Diesel is in the same pricing as gasoline, actually a bit cheaper than premium.

Diesel, another idea that fell through the cracks......the Betamax of gas savings ideas.

jmonroe1

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

Over the years I have bought multiple WORX products. They all have performed well for my generally light duty needs and share the same battery. I bought all of them on Ebay, either factory refurbished or returned. They all looked new when I received them and if they were a bit scratched I wasn’t concerned as they would get that way with use. What I didn’t know is they are shipped from the corporate office located in Charlotte, NC!

————————————————
If you knew that you could have saved the shipping charge and picked those items up yourself.

I was told by a guy at Home Depot years ago that almost all of the gas powered items that are returned that the customer claims didn’t work are in fact good and were more than likely returned due to dissatisfaction or the customer found a better price on the internet and wanted to see how well that particular item worked before they bought it.

I was essentially told the same thing by a Best Buy salesman but he said that a lot of their returns are because the customer couldn’t figure out how to use the many electronic gizmos that their purchased product had. So, they just return the product and buy a less expensive item without a lot of those gizmos.

FWIW, I bought a returned gas powered heavy duty pressure washer at Home Depot many years ago for almost half price and it started up right away from day one.

jmonroe

————————————————
A little follow up to my pressure washer purchase:

My pressure washer may be gone for a good while. Not because it’s in the shop but because about a month ago grandsons #1 and #4 came over to get it. They purchased a gizmo online that connects to a pressure washer and you roll this thingy under the car to clean the under carriage. They said it works great then said, “you should have seen the junk that thing knocked loose and left in the driveway”.

I asked them when they were coming over to do their grandmothers Subie (they don’t have to do my Genny because that thing has never seen a single snow flake or grain of salt) and they said, “sure we can do that. Just give us a little time so we can do our friends cars”. That was a month ago and I’m still waiting. They’re nice kids but no one can have that many friends.

jmonroe

stickguy

what, you think you will come before paying customers?

stickguy

all the hand wringing last year about prices, and as expected, once things settled down and supply stabilized they would come back to earth.

bought eggs today at Aldis. a dozen for $2.19. All those doctors and lawyers that had to give up eggs in the morning last year can finally start eating them again!

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

what, you think you will come before paying customers?

————————————————
Yep, that otta bring me back to earth. Whatever happened to…”blood is thicker than water”? I guess the almighty buck trump’s everything.

jmonroe

explorerx4

All that means is that they hadn't taken their vehicles to the car wash.

Michaell

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

what, you think you will come before paying customers?

————————————————
Yep, that otta bring me back to earth. Whatever happened to…”blood is thicker than water”? I guess the almighty buck trump’s everything.

jmonroe

Would you rather have them hit you up for their college tuition?

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

All that means is that they hadn't taken their vehicles to the car wash.

————————————————
That’s the best part of this. To check the effectiveness of this thing they took their cars to the car wash about a week before they tried this gizmo. No snow fall after the car wash visit. That’s why they’re convinced this thing does a good job. But it should, they spent a good 20 minutes on each car and with the car wash they were through in less that 5 minutes.

I guess they could have paid for another go through at the car wash but they didn’t and with a car wash how do you see how much crud came off your car. And on top of that car washes reuse the salt water that came off other cars. Car washes say they filter their water but how do you know they do that or how effective the filters perform. You have to know, at best, there has to be some recycled salt water being used. Doing the job themselves they know they were using clean water the whole time. There father was paying for the water so I’m sure that thought never entered their heads.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

Michaell said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

what, you think you will come before paying customers?

————————————————
Yep, that otta bring me back to earth. Whatever happened to…”blood is thicker than water”? I guess the almighty buck trump’s everything.

jmonroe

Would you rather have them hit you up for their college tuition?

————————————————
Nope, that ain’t gonna happen.

I have 2 sons and I did that already. Son #1 has 3 sons and Son #2 has a son (senior in high school this year) and a 14 year old daughter. I’ll help a little but they’re on their own for the bulk of the costs.

jmonroe

stickguy

got a link to that gizmo? I think I need one.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

got a link to that gizmo? I think I need one.

————————————————
I’ll have to get back to you on this. I just called grandson #1 and woke him up (10:44 PM here). So I’ll try him tomorrow after he’s finished with classes (almost finished with college sophomore year).

jmonroe

Michaell

stickguy said:

got a link to that gizmo? I think I need one.

Look up the Detail Geek on YouTube; he uses one in every video, and posts links in the description

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

sda said:

Over the years I have bought multiple WORX products. They all have performed well for my generally light duty needs and share the same battery. I bought all of them on Ebay, either factory refurbished or returned. They all looked new when I received them and if they were a bit scratched I wasn’t concerned as they would get that way with use. What I didn’t know is they are shipped from the corporate office located in Charlotte, NC!

————————————————
If you knew that you could have saved the shipping charge and picked those items up yourself.

I was told by a guy at Home Depot years ago that almost all of the gas powered items that are returned that the customer claims didn’t work are in fact good and were more than likely returned due to dissatisfaction or the customer found a better price on the internet and wanted to see how well that particular item worked before they bought it.

I was essentially told the same thing by a Best Buy salesman but he said that a lot of their returns are because the customer couldn’t figure out how to use the many electronic gizmos that their purchased product had. So, they just return the product and buy a less expensive item without a lot of those gizmos.

FWIW, I bought a returned gas powered heavy duty pressure washer at Home Depot many years ago for almost half price and it started up right away from day one.

jmonroe

Years ago (maybe 5 or 6) I went to Home Depot to get a lawn tractor and they had a return on sale for $800. The kid told me that sometimes real estate agents buy them to neaten up yard for a showing and then return them. It sounded good so I bought it. Despite the beating I give it, it still runs.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

all the hand wringing last year about prices, and as expected, once things settled down and supply stabilized they would come back to earth.

bought eggs today at Aldis. a dozen for $2.19. All those doctors and lawyers that had to give up eggs in the morning last year can finally start eating them again!

I wish the used car market was the same. This morning I saw an ad for a local Kia store that was touting a 2020 Kia Soul LX with 34k miles for $17900. MSRP for that car back then was $19,000. So this store says it only depreciated $1,100 in 3 years.

That’s better than a Corvette.

sda

Yeah, Ive been seeing 2020 Honda Accord and Civics listed at the Honda dealer for more than they sold for new 3 years ago. Unreal.

stickguy

That isn’t new. It’s happened for a long time.

Michaell

My youngest nephew recently bought a 2021 Kia Forte GT-Line. He paid $19,xxx for it, and it had an original sticker price of just over $21K.

stickguy

Sending up the JMonroe signal. Since he is the only contractor I know!

we want to put up french doors to close off the office at the front of the house. I have not gone out looking yet, but I assume they would come pre hung (like a normal interior door)? So the frame gets attached then the doors just popped back on the hinges? I can post a picture of the opening but the way it was framed it looks to me like it was built to have them put on if desired. If they attach like I think should be a very simple job.

stickguy

kyfdx

@stickguy geez, I'm glad my wife isn't on Edmunds.

stickguy

why? Does she want french doors too?

kyfdx

And, we’re starting a major kitchen remodel, which has morphed into 2/3 of the first floor.

explorerx4

@stickguy,
Here's a double opening door example with several pictures.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MMI-Door-60-in-x-80-in-Both-Active-Primed-Composite-Glass-15-Lite-Clear-True-Divided-Prehung-Interior-French-Door-Z009321BA/206622092

stickguy

you got the fancy trim. that would be a lot more work!

and I know the feeling about one project snowballing into practically a full gut to the studs.

kyfdx

I was all excited about saving $8K on a cabinet quote from a different vendor. Like that's going to make much of a dent, once we're all done.

stickguy

explorerx4 said:

@stickguy,
Here's a double opening door example with several pictures.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/MMI-Door-60-in-x-80-in-Both-Active-Primed-Composite-Glass-15-Lite-Clear-True-Divided-Prehung-Interior-French-Door-Z009321BA/206622092

thanks. pretty much what I figured. I need to stop at the supply house nearby (a nice lumberyard and home center, not HD) and talk to someone there. I am not sure if it would work with the finished opening we have or if that needs to come out and get redone. I would prefer to keep it and install inside but I need to find the depth dimensions on the frame.

one thing I do know from experience. any time I think something should be simple, it isn't.

kyfdx

I have 9 ft ceilings, and the opening is 1 foot higher, as well. Then, the opening is about 9 feet wide. So, major construction. Probably, French door with built-in transom. Maybe, 1 foot sidelights on either side of a 60” French door? This is making my head hurt.

stickguy

Gonna make your wallet hurt worse.