Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

stickguy

Did our electrical walkthrough today. Can’t wait to see the up charges for all that. Might be making some revisions.

I did add a lot more outlets in the garage (since standard is way too skimpy). And having them out in a 220 just in case.

sda

sb55 said:

sda said:

Out with the old and in with the new. It was a good soldier for 19 years.

New furnace? Mine crapped out on Wednesday night. It is an NTI propane unit that hangs on the wall. The repair guy came yesterday and said that it needs a new board. And then casually mentioned that you can't get parts for this 14 year old model anymore. UGH. But the board is not from NTI, and they luckily found one that they can hopefully get it in today. We have 1 heat pump so that we can keep part of the house livable, but the worst part right now is that we don't have hot water. Fortunately it's been a mild year here in VT and the part of the house closed off isn't freezing.
My hot water storage tank had and internal coil leak last year so that needed replacement. That replacement was about $3K, so I'm dreading thinking of a new furnace too if it comes to that.

Yes, the heat exchanger developed a small crack allowing CO2 exhaust out. Not good. As the unit was around 19 years old, parts are not readily available. I can't complain. In the 19 years only the capacitor on the ac unit needed to be replaced a couple of times, otherwise, it was trouble-free. We replaced the entire HVAC system. The heater is fired by natural gas.

28firefighter

We completed our home renovation today. 8 weeks start to finish. House looks amazing.

driver100

For some light entertainment today...here is Dennis O'Sullivan;

QUESTION

My daughter attends school in Kitchener. I think that her car is around a 2004. The car brakes were acting up so her boyfriend told her that the brake fluid was very low. She was home the other day and told me that her boyfriend had put penetrating oil in the brake fluid. He told her that that was the same as brake fluid. Is this true and if not, what steps should she now take and is the car dangerous to drive?

Mother from Simcoe

ANSWER

Penetrating oil is definitely not the same as brake fluid and I suggest that she not drive the car until the brake fluid is changed. I am also worried at this time that the penetration oil has affected the rubber seals in the brake system which can lead to the swelling of the caliper seals causing sudden brake failure. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if in fact the penetrating oil has reached the rubber seals on the brake calipers then your daughter is in for a costly brake repair. I have no doubt that your daughter’s boyfriend was trying to help but it is never a good idea to have an unqualified person under the hood of your vehicle. When your daughter shows her boyfriend the repair bill then she will see if he is a true boyfriend that helps with the cost.

They walk among us.
The kid may have got mixed up, braking fluid could be used as penetrating oil apparently.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

driver100 said:

Sorry to break up the discussion about decorating, but.......

Yesterday I came out of our community and I was going to go left. The road was clear on the right, so I checked left....the speed limit is 35 mph but everyone goes 40 or 45. I can only see so far because of the bend in the road, I got out and across the road fine, but a guy in a red Camaro came around the bend going at least 60 mph.....I wasn't in his way but he had to lean on his horn to show he had the right of way I suppose. I guess he thinks that if he is going twice as fast as the speed limit he still has the right of way and I should be able to see around the bend in the road.
btw, it was an ugly red newer type Camaro.

I have the same situation by me. Due to a bend in the road you can't see to far to the left. SL is 30 and allows enough time to cross if someone is doing 30. The problem is that people do closer to 40 and that's going to fast for that intersection due to sight limitations.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And when I have to go left I allow for that, I make sure I am out as fast as possible and that there is a wide enough gap in the traffic on the side I am going into so that I can get out, get across, and fit into the traffic flow.

ab348

driver100 said:

They walk among us.
The kid may have got mixed up, braking fluid could be used as penetrating oil apparently.

Good thing he didn't put paint stripper in there. After all, it does the same job as brake fluid does in stripping paint.

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

jmonroe1 said:

stickguy said:

still not as bad as the high iron workers walking around on skyscraper beams with no safety gear.

————————————————-
That’s a whole different field.

I heard years ago the majority of those high iron workers were American Indians (and most of them Mohawks) were chosen because of their great balance and coordination.

I’m not afraid of heights but you can count me out of that profession.

jmonroe

It’s the first 20 feet you have to be afraid of. Falling from anywhere higher makes no difference.😥

Actually you can get killed falling under a foot, it just depends how you fall and what you hit. There are actually stories of people falling over 10,000 feet and surviving, just depends on how you fall and what you hit.

I remember a story of a WWII ball gunner who fell out of the plane with no parachute. He recalls passing out and waking up on the ground with very few injuries.

Found his name Alan E. Magee.

roadburner

@driver100 said:
For some light entertainment today...here is Dennis O'Sullivan;

QUESTION

My daughter attends school in Kitchener. I think that her car is around a 2004. The car brakes were acting up so her boyfriend told her that the brake fluid was very low. She was home the other day and told me that her boyfriend had put penetrating oil in the brake fluid. He told her that that was the same as brake fluid. Is this true and if not, what steps should she now take and is the car dangerous to drive?

Mother from Simcoe

ANSWER

Penetrating oil is definitely not the same as brake fluid and I suggest that she not drive the car until the brake fluid is changed. I am also worried at this time that the penetration oil has affected the rubber seals in the brake system which can lead to the swelling of the caliper seals causing sudden brake failure. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if in fact the penetrating oil has reached the rubber seals on the brake calipers then your daughter is in for a costly brake repair. I have no doubt that your daughter’s boyfriend was trying to help but it is never a good idea to have an unqualified person under the hood of your vehicle. When your daughter shows her boyfriend the repair bill then she will see if he is a true boyfriend that helps with the cost.

They walk among us.
The kid may have got mixed up, braking fluid could be used as penetrating oil apparently.

Just opening the hood was dangerous enough-something might have exploded!

roadburner

@snakeweasel said:
Actually you can get killed falling under a foot, it just depends how you fall and what you hit. There are actually stories of people falling over 10,000 feet and surviving, just depends on how you fall and what you hit.

I remember a story of a WWII ball gunner who fell out of the plane with no parachute. He recalls passing out and waking up on the ground with very few injuries.

Found his name Alan E. Magee.

A B-17 tail gunner survived a four mile fall because the tail section spun as it descended and slowed the fall.
https://www.wpr.org/books/i-cheated-death-world-war-ii-gunner-wisconsin-native-survived-4-mile-tailspin-new-book-says

cdnpinhead

Sometimes your number's up and some times it's not.

tjc78

@28firefighter said:
We completed our home renovation today. 8 weeks start to finish. House looks amazing.

Congrats!

Our counters go in Monday and backsplash to follow. Will be done way before summer which is what’s important.

Post some before and afters!

stickguy

doing the rough in walkthrough makes it seem more real, but still so far away. I still can't conceive of going from stud walls and rough in plumbing to a move in ready house in 3.5 months, but the builder seems too. In about 1-2 weeks (depending on the HVAC duct guys I think) we should be back for a final, electric is done, last chance to change anything visit. by the end of the month he should be doing insulation and drywall (and the siding goes up next week). So I guess by early April when we get back from our trip, it will really be looking like a house, and shifting into finishing work stuff. Should really notice week to week changes at that point.

stickguy

did make a major step in the moving process today. Took a full bag of old clothes and put them in the donation box. 50 more, and might make a dent in them!

jmonroe1

tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:

We completed our home renovation today. 8 weeks start to finish. House looks amazing.

Congrats!

Our counters go in Monday and backsplash to follow. Will be done way before summer which is what’s important.

Post some before and afters!

————————————————
If it means anything the granite countertops in the flip were installed on Wednesday. The most lineal feet of any flip so far. But as they say, kitchens and baths sell houses. The 3 baths (1 is a new addition altogether) are nice, tile everywhere except for the shower pans. But the kitchen will sell this flip, no question about it.

Appliances go in Tuesday and carpets for the 4 bedrooms next Saturday. Yes Saturday, Home Depot called and asked if it was OK for a Saturday install and my Son told them fine. Then the yard sign goes in and on to the next flip (I’ve lost track what number that is) to commence demo hopefully by the start of April. But, I have to get paid before I start another flip. I’ve let my Son slide on this last one but I’m going to put my foot down before showing up for work on the next one.

jmonroe

samf10

Hey everyone,
I am looking in the Denver area (or ship/drive one here) to buy a car for my young family (a toddler and another on the way) looking at the 3 row crossover segment. I really I am looking for help where i can find a good selection of cars being sold privately. I thought the dealer add on fees were just for new cars but these dealer sold cars add thousands on for their handling fees and add on packages i really do not want to pay on top of some all time used car prices. I feel like i have used all the search functions just don't know if there is such limited selection on the cars i am after (ideally a highlander hybrid, i know that in real high demand and waitlist on new ones, etc.). Where is the best place to search for used cars sold by owner, sold privately?

Part 2... Where i am at with what cars, any advice is much appreciated.
Currently at a point consider a very strong lease at $475, no money down for CX-90 preferred PHEV or a used Highlander XLE around mid 30's, with under 50k miles, Hybrid is much preferred. Walked away from a Grand Highlander for MSRP on Thursday that became available, might have been dumb but just couldn't pay 53k with tax i liked but didn't love with no memory seats, no moonroof, no parking sensors, just ok accelaration. Looking at CX-9 grand touring too. Open to some other 3 row crossovers, or really just functional midsize cars. Looking for only bench seats, heated seats, would be nice to have memory seats and a sunroof, panoramic ideal but gotta be flexible in this market. So far i test drove 24' Highlander, Grand Highlander, Grand Highlander Hybrid, CX-90 PHEV, Palisade and Telluride. All great cars, can't go wrong with any, i am remaining flexible for the best deal. Prefer less maintence of Japanese offerings i have always good look having. I am tempted by these used luxury cars at the same time for very close in price and miles to the above mentioned cars. Seeing XC90s, Lexus GX, Q7's, etc just a few thousand more than say a used honda pilot with similar miles. Worried about the long term realiability and maintence cost of these luxury vehicles. Plan to keep it for 8-10 years if I can. This was long i know. Thanks for any input

mjfloyd1

Any guesses where I am this morning? Muncie IN - a spring destination 😂

2024 IHSAA State Gymnastics Finals

🤞

kyfdx

mjfloyd1 said:

Any guesses where I am this morning? Muncie IN - a spring destination 😂

2024 IHSAA State Gymnastics Finals

🤞

At Ball State?

oldfarmer50

samf10 said:

Hey everyone,
I am looking in the Denver area (or ship/drive one here) to buy a car for my young family (a toddler and another on the way) looking at the 3 row crossover segment. I really I am looking for help where i can find a good selection of cars being sold privately. I thought the dealer add on fees were just for new cars but these dealer sold cars add thousands on for their handling fees and add on packages i really do not want to pay on top of some all time used car prices. I feel like i have used all the search functions just don't know if there is such limited selection on the cars i am after (ideally a highlander hybrid, i know that in real high demand and waitlist on new ones, etc.). Where is the best place to search for used cars sold by owner, sold privately?

Part 2... Where i am at with what cars, any advice is much appreciated.
Currently at a point consider a very strong lease at $475, no money down for CX-90 preferred PHEV or a used Highlander XLE around mid 30's, with under 50k miles, Hybrid is much preferred. Walked away from a Grand Highlander for MSRP on Thursday that became available, might have been dumb but just couldn't pay 53k with tax i liked but didn't love with no memory seats, no moonroof, no parking sensors, just ok accelaration. Looking at CX-9 grand touring too. Open to some other 3 row crossovers, or really just functional midsize cars. Looking for only bench seats, heated seats, would be nice to have memory seats and a sunroof, panoramic ideal but gotta be flexible in this market. So far i test drove 24' Highlander, Grand Highlander, Grand Highlander Hybrid, CX-90 PHEV, Palisade and Telluride. All great cars, can't go wrong with any, i am remaining flexible for the best deal. Prefer less maintence of Japanese offerings i have always good look having. I am tempted by these used luxury cars at the same time for very close in price and miles to the above mentioned cars. Seeing XC90s, Lexus GX, Q7's, etc just a few thousand more than say a used honda pilot with similar miles. Worried about the long term realiability and maintence cost of these luxury vehicles. Plan to keep it for 8-10 years if I can. This was long i know. Thanks for any input

One way of avoiding those dealer add-ons is to make an out the door offer based on your research. That pandemic pricing nonsense is no longer valid in an environment where dealer’s lots are overflowing with cars they can’t sell. If a dealer insists on putting market adjustments, “mandatory” dealer installed options or unreasonable prep or reconditioning fees you have to ask if this is someone you want to do business with. Don’t be afraid to walk. I recently bought a truck and told them any fees or options would have to be included in my OTD price.

My two prime private sale sources would be Craigslist or FB Marketplace. Be diligent in inspecting these vehicles since there’s no warranty and scammers abound. Have a pre purchase inspection done and purchase a CarFax report.

Can’t help you on leases but some of the others here are experts.

On choice of cars you can’t go wrong with a Mazda. Toyotas are pricey and those dealers don’t like to bargain in my experience.

roadburner

I second negotiating an out the door price. Deal breakers for me are shoddy aftermarket accessories and in particular those beyond moronic brake light flashers.

mjfloyd1

@kyfdx said:
At Ball State?

Yes. Only university in IN with division 1 gymnastics.

She did well. 9.0 vault. 9.25 beam and 9.4 floor.

4th in the state on floor

stickguy

sadly these days, private party sales are a snakepit. A lot of scams and junk out on CL and marketplace. So have to be very careful, and get a pre purchase inspection. Also can run into issues with newer, more expensive units that the owner owes money on it so need to get it paid off to get a title.

You might pay more, but try Carmax for a straight forward experience. or ask around to find some dealers that are not scammers. A lease is not a bad idea if the terms work for you. The offer on the Mazda sounds strong.

And take a look at a Honda Pilot too.

stickguy

had a successful morning. return trip to the tile store, and after much discussion, have final design for the bathrooms. and 1/2 of the backsplash. Just need to pick accent tile for the design feature behind the range, and around the fireplace. Almost done with design decisions thankfully!

mjfloyd1

Well, let me give you the good and the ridiculous from the gymnastics state meet.

The good:
4th on floor for daughter
10th on beam for daughter
Team total 108.6 which SHOULD have been 4th place - the highest our team has ever placed and team medals.

The ridiculously bad:
Girl on team wore Apple Watch and voice texted her mom during floor warm ups right in front of the head judge (you are not supposed to have any devices on that can contact any outside person because they could give you gymnastics advice).so there was a one full point deduction leading to a score of 107.6 and 5th place for team - tied for our previous high score and no team medals.

Ugh but at least it wasn’t my daughter

samf10

@oldfarmer50 said:
One way of avoiding those dealer add-ons is to make an out the door offer based on your research. That pandemic pricing nonsense is no longer valid in an environment where dealer’s lots are overflowing with cars they can’t sell. If a dealer insists on putting market adjustments, “mandatory” dealer installed options or unreasonable prep or reconditioning fees you have to ask if this is someone you want to do business with. Don’t be afraid to walk. I recently bought a truck and told them any fees or options would have to be included in my OTD price.

My two prime private sale sources would be Craigslist or FB Marketplace. Be diligent in inspecting these vehicles since there’s no warranty and scammers abound. Have a pre purchase inspection done and purchase a CarFax report.

Can’t help you on leases but some of the others here are experts.

On choice of cars you can’t go wrong with a Mazda. Toyotas are pricey and those dealers don’t like to bargain in my experience.

Thank you, this is a great advice. Today i went to a dealership my friend of a friend is the gm and he had some used cars were interested in. He was going to takeoff add on’s and make a deal, just didn’t love the cars. A couple of used highlanders. Certainly not afraid to walk, i did that thursday with the grand highlander hybrid.

Leaning towards the Mazda lease, love that car and deal is hard to pass up. My buddy works at a honda dealership is seeing if can get me a deal on a pilot but they dont have many. Great car too.

Such a shame so many scammers ruining the private transaction sites, it is overrun

samf10

@stickguy said:
sadly these days, private party sales are a snakepit. A lot of scams and junk out on CL and marketplace. So have to be very careful, and get a pre purchase inspection. Also can run into issues with newer, more expensive units that the owner owes money on it so need to get it paid off to get a title.

You might pay more, but try Carmax for a straight forward experience. or ask around to find some dealers that are not scammers. A lease is not a bad idea if the terms work for you. The offer on the Mazda sounds strong.

And take a look at a Honda Pilot too.

Thank you for this advice, very good to know. Funny as you wrote this was test driving the pilot. Seeing if a friend at a honda dealership an hr away can make something happen for one. Fingers crossed. The Pilot really impressed me today.

Cx90 phev lease in colorado is crazy strong and will be hard to pass up. My wife been driving our 17’ acura rdx but i have always really liked Mazda. Just seems to be enjoyable driving experience vs a sluggish, boring one with some.

jmonroe1

mjfloyd1 said:

Well, let me give you the good and the ridiculous from the gymnastics state meet.

The good:

4th on floor for daughter

10th on beam for daughter

Team total 108.6 which SHOULD have been 4th place - the highest our team has ever placed and team medals.

The ridiculously bad:

Girl on team wore Apple Watch and voice texted her mom during floor warm ups right in front of the head judge (you are not supposed to have any devices on that can contact any outside person because they could give you gymnastics advice).so there was a one full point deduction leading to a score of 107.6 and 5th place for team - tied for our previous high score and no team medals.

Ugh but at least it wasn’t my daughter

——————————————————From what I’ve head about floor and swimming competition, judges are very unforgiving about the breaking of rules. Given that type of authority your daughter’s team should consider themselves lucky they weren’t disqualified. That could have been an example of one bad apple spoiling the whole barrel.

Nice to hear that some judge/judges didn’t let their authority go to their head’s.

jmonroe

oldfarmer50

“ Such a shame so many scammers ruining the private transaction sites, it is overrun”

I don’t think it’s ever been any different. The cheaters will always be with us. That’s why you get an inspection on any used car; dealer or private party.

mjfloyd1

Another positive is that my daughter flipped her vault for the first time in three years after breaking her wrist as a freshman.

The girl that voice texted her micro managing mom wasn’t individually assessed any point loss and got two individual 5th place medals. Only the team paid the price for her actions. That’s really frustrating.

It seemed like a very severe punishment but rules are rules.

kyfdx

Are you really gymnastics parents if you weren't on the floor after the judging, asking to speak to a manager?

snakeweasel

Having issues posting a picture will post my thoughts later

ab348

kyfdx said:

Are you really gymnastics parents if you weren't on the floor after the judging, asking to speak to a manager?

Sounds like what a mom named Karen would do, but what would be the proper name for the father? Kyle? Josh?

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

Having issues posting a picture will post my thoughts later

I had that problem a few days ago but it seems to have resolved for me.

explorerx4

I can't post pictures either as of yesterday. My dues are paid current as far as I know.

ab348

Let me test the picture posting function with this fine shot of a local garage in the late 1950s.
==
Nope, doesn't work.

kyfdx

Didn’t work for me on Friday, either. I’ll report it.

imidazol97

I wonder if that's why I couldn't upload a new profile picture a day or two ago?

imidazol97

mjfloyd1 said:

@kyfdx said:

At Ball State?

Yes. Only university in IN with division 1 gymnastics.

Brightened my day to read about your daughter's success. And
I'm proud to know BSU is strong on gymnastics.

I knew BSU was into gymnastics when I lived in the corner dormatory
across from what used to be their gymnastics building (Noyer Complex).
Guy across the hall from me was on a gymastics scholarship. Now the Worthen Building
is a newer arena style building immediatly north of the one I knew from the
1965-6 era.

I have visiting my old dorm on my list of things to do. I want to see my first
room there. Dorm was new the year I started. Coed dorm with men's and women's rooms
in separate buildings sharing a cafeteria/recreation pod between, locked at night.

My son went to OSU and lived in a coed dorm with men and women in apartments
on the same floor!

oldfarmer50

Nope, got the picture, saw the loading bar scroll, but nothing.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

I wonder if that's why I couldn't upload a new profile picture a day or two ago?

You mean that's not you in the upper left corner?

imidazol97

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

I wonder if that's why I couldn't upload a new profile picture a day or two ago?

You mean that's not you in the upper left corner?

This is actually my previous picture. I think I look better in it, don't you?
Well, I guess the jpg uploads aren't working yet...

############
I don't get any error message trying to upload a jpg to the thread here. But
when I try to change my profile pic, I get an "invalid handle provided" message.

stickguy

Not working for me either with my usual copy and paste. I could see the paste (a blue bar) start but instead of plugging in the code it just went away.

explorerx4

A couple of days ago I found a nut on the garage floor next to the Explorer.
Got on my back and looked up but it didn't seem like anything was missing, so I just put the nut aside.
Yesterday, my garage door banged down very hard when I closed it. Usually, it soft closes at the end.
I opened it a bit and closed it and it seemed fine.
Last night when the kids picked up the grandkids, my wife was standing near the door between the cars when I went to close it. I told her that it had closed with a bang earlier in the day.
As it was closing, I noticed the bars connecting the door and the track was moving somewhat independently as it closed.
One of the bolts was missing and I told my wife that I found a nut on the floor the day before.
She looked down and said 'Here's a bolt', so mystery solved.
The bolt and nut still connected, although loose, had a lock washer, but I didn't find one for the bolt that fell out.
Dug around and found a lock washer that would fit and reattached the nut and bolt.
Also, tightened up the other one and everything is back to normal.
Checked the other door too, but everything was tight on that one. Each nut and bolt had a lock washer.

abacomike

cdnpinhead said:

Sometimes your number's up and some times it's not.

Now that sounds like something Yogi Berra might say - kind of like a "Yogi-ism"!

jmonroe1

explorerx4 said:

A couple of days ago I found a nut on the garage floor next to the Explorer.
Got on my back and looked up but it didn't seem like anything was missing, so I just put the nut aside.
Yesterday, my garage door banged down very hard when I closed it. Usually, it soft closes at the end.
I opened it a bit and closed it and it seemed fine.
Last night when the kids picked up the grandkids, my wife was standing near the door between the cars when I went to close it. I told her that it had closed with a bang earlier in the day.
As it was closing, I noticed the bars connecting the door and the track was moving somewhat independently as it closed.
One of the bolts was missing and I told my wife that I found a nut on the floor the day before.
She looked down and said 'Here's a bolt', so mystery solved.
The bolt and nut still connected, although loose, had a lock washer, but I didn't find one for the bolt that fell out.
Dug around and found a lock washer that would fit and reattached the nut and bolt.
Also, tightened up the other one and everything is back to normal.
Checked the other door too, but everything was tight on that one. Each nut and bolt had a lock washer.

————————————————-
It sounds like Mrs. @explorerx4 knows the difference between a nut and a bolt. Mrs. j would probably say, “there’s a thing on the foor over here. Do you want it?” Although I have to give her credit because she never throws anything away until she shows it to me first. Most of the time I can identify what the object is but on the rare occasion I can’t, she’ll say something like, “I thought you were a know-it-all. Maybe you aren’t…after all.”

jmonroe

snakeweasel

OK the other day I heard my wife scream in the kitchen. I ran in to see what was wrong and I saw this. Oh and did I mention that I hate squirrels?

stickguy

at least he seems to be on the outside. Probably doing a number on the screen though.

ab348

Here in Nova Scotia we do not have those large gray squirrels for reasons known only to Mother Nature although I know they are prevalent in other parts of Canada. Here we only have the little red squirrels which some people think are cute, until they get into your house or garage.

mjfloyd1

Olney IL has white squirrels (albino)

https://www.enjoyillinois.com/illinois-200/olneys-white-squirrels/#:~:text=Olney, IL has an unusual,squirrels that are totally white.

oldfarmer50

I got my insurance bill today and it wasn’t as bad as I feared. Increase of about $400 from approx. $2700 to $3100. Interestingly, about $200 of the increase was due to NY requiring “spousal liability” coverage. I couldn’t figure out what that was so I called up the carrier and was told it covers you in case your spouse sues you for negligence.

Huh?

Luckily, I can opt out and save $200 but I have to wonder what kind of relationship must you have if your spouse is suing you?

venture

oldfarmer50 said:

I got my insurance bill today and it wasn’t as bad as I feared. Increase of about $400 from approx. $2700 to $3100. Interestingly, about $200 of the increase was due to NY requiring “spousal liability” coverage. I couldn’t figure out what that was so I called up the carrier and was told it covers you in case your spouse sues you for negligence.

Huh?

Luckily, I can opt out and save $200 but I have to wonder what kind of relationship must you have if your spouse is suing you?

That's also one of the things you should have to opt in to, not opt out of. Insurance lobby.