Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

explorerx4

Not the actual picture, but there were Miami Merger pictures taken today.
Graphicguy and Uplanderguy will get it.

Mr_Shiftright

You need the marine grade penetrating epoxy. That stuff makes rotten wood bullet-proof. Your method is cosmetically okay but has no structural ability, if you don't mind me poking you about that.

Of course a really rotten Viga is somewhat of a scary situation.

driver100

stever said:

All this waxing talk inspired me to get some Bondo last Friday.

Before everyone gets too excited, it's the "wood" stuff; got it from Lowes to rehab some rotten wood in one of my vigas.

You put wood bondo on your Vega!

Mr_Shiftright

I don't know what came over me today...some kind of pre-summer madness?

Anyway, I decided to completely detail the interior of my MINI---every nook and cranny. I tore that thing apart, even bought new rubber mats for it (great deal on Amazon---$42 bucks for weathertech, custom fit, even had the MINI logo on it). Take THAT Mini dealer!

I q-tipped the vents, I shampooed the rugs, I treated the leather. GEEZ I found some scary stuff down there.

Looks and smells great, now. Took about 4 hours, really wailing on it.

First cleaning in about 2 years.

And now, for the exterior---where's my putty knife?

explorerx4

Mr_Shiftright, What do you use to treat the leather?
Are you going to spring for the Union Jack roof wrap?

Mr_Shiftright

No, no, the MINI is German, not British--even if it's built there.

I use Meguire's Gold Class Leather Cleaner. I used to use a product called Hide Food but it was hard to get and required a good deal of buffing.

I've kept the leather supple but there are still scuff marks on the bolsters. I have no idea how to prevent that.

bwia

A stupid comment, but it can't hurt to ask. Is it possible to switch front bucket seats from the driver to the passenger side? I'm about to do some interior cleaning and the driver's seat looks drab. 

Come to think of it the controls are on the outside edge of the seat and  may not be reversible. If the controls were on the door a la Equus, then maybe. Any one care to weigh in on this? 

stickguy

maybe if no controls on the seat. Even then, the plugs, etc. may not support it.

oh, also the side airbags that are probably in the seat, and all those sensors. plus the passenger airbag sensors.

so, no. Clean them but you can't move them.

stever

Mr_Shiftright said:

You need the marine grade penetrating epoxy. Of course a really rotten Viga is somewhat of a scary situation.

My vigas are ornamental. Original adobe's are nice and historic and all, but the rooms typically are unheated, small, unwired and the windows are tiny. Wifi signals probably wouldn't penetrate the walls either. Living in one would be about as dispiriting as having to use a '57 Chevy as a daily driver. The Bondo got good reviews btw - didn't realize it was a 3M product till I found a can of it.

@bwia, I took the seats out of my old '82 Tercel once or twice but it didn't occur to me to rotate them and even out the wear.

graphicguy

explorerx4 said:

Not the actual picture, but there were Miami Merger pictures taken today.
Graphicguy and Uplanderguy will get it.

A good portion of my education spent walking through those arches. Thanks a bunch for the pic!

imidazol97

explorerx4 said:

Not the actual picture, but there were Miami Merger pictures taken today.
Graphicguy and Uplanderguy will get it.

Midnight? Light on?

You left me out. My wife and I get a valentine card each year from Miami Merger.

bwia

stickguy said:

maybe if no controls on the seat. Even then, the plugs, etc. may not support it.

oh, also the side airbags that are probably in the seat, and all those sensors. plus the passenger airbag sensors.

so, no. Clean them but you can't move them.

Yea, I didn't think of the side airbags issue. In that case, short of a (new) driver's seat replacement, the idea is a mute point.

What brought the car seat to that condition in the first place? It was due to a black leather jacket that my wife gave me as a birthday gift--bless her heart. It turns out either the tanning process was shabby or it was faux leather. Nonetheless, the jacket bled into the perforated heated driver's leather seat. Don't know if the heated seats made the situation worse but it will take a good leather cleaner and some special effort to make all seats match.

Happy Fathers' Day to all.

tjc78

Lexol will take out that discoloration. We wear dark jeans a lot and the seats of our car get blue (it's called crocing or something like that). Lexol always takes it right off, follow up with a good leather conditioner

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

explorerx4 said:

Not the actual picture, but there were Miami Merger pictures taken today.
Graphicguy and Uplanderguy will get it.

Midnight? Light on?

You left me out. My wife and I get a valentine card each year from Miami Merger.

Yep...did the kiss there (at midnight) but not with anyone who became my spouse.....LOL!

Miami keeps sending me declarations about how I should keep supporting them as an alum (with a cash donation). Loved my time there. Got a great education there. But, they took all the money I plan on giving them.

driver100

Parked next to a Kia Soul today...and I can see why youz guyz get attached to them. The one I saw didn't have a media screen, it had a cubby whole with two very real looking stufffed mice about half way out of the cubby hole.
The interior is pretty spacious, and the whole car for a small vehicle has a real presence, as it is quite tall and wide.

I saw one in white with a red roof the other day and I liked that color combo on it:

sda

Happy Father's Day to all. Hope it is a good one.

I was sitting on the steps in our garage putting on some yard shoes and this angle caught my eye.

sda

Is that Miami Univ? If so, what a gorgeous campus. The fraternity that I belong to was founded at Miami, so we made a weekend trip to visit. It was a great experience.

explorerx4

@imidazol97,
Sorry I didn't include you. Getting older and I don't remember as easily as I used to.
Happy Fathers Day. I didn't forget that!

oldfarmer50

bwia said:

stickguy said:

maybe if no controls on the seat. Even then, the plugs, etc. may not support it.

oh, also the side airbags that are probably in the seat, and all those sensors. plus the passenger airbag sensors.

so, no. Clean them but you can't move them.

Yea, I didn't think of the side airbags issue. In that case, short of a (new) driver's seat replacement, the idea is a mute point.

What brought the car seat to that condition in the first place? It was due to a black leather jacket that my wife gave me as a birthday gift--bless her heart. It turns out either the tanning process was shabby or it was faux leather. Nonetheless, the jacket bled into the perforated heated driver's leather seat. Don't know if the heated seats made the situation worse but it will take a good leather cleaner and some special effort to make all seats match.

Happy Fathers' Day to all.

I see that on my Lincoln's white leather from my blue jeans. I hope it can be cleaned off. Not too worried since it's just my beater. If i had leather on my new Ford and it got all messed up I'd be mad. As it is I've attatched a bath towel to the driver's seat to keep the dirt off the white cloth.

Is it possible to just replace the seat cover material? I've seen TV shows where they just pull the old stuff off and slid a new cover on. Made it look brand new.

oldfarmer50

I got an unwelcome Father's Day gift at the market this morning. When we came out we found three scratches on the driver's door of my wife's PT. Some one either banged a cart into in multiple times or opened their door into it as they were moving. Hoping it will buff out. Annoying. :@

ab348

oldfarmer50 said:

Is it possible to just replace the seat cover material? I've seen TV shows where they just pull the old stuff off and slid a new cover on. Made it look brand new.

Certainly that is possible with older cars where the seats are just a seat. I had it done with my Cutlass last year. You can buy premade seat upholstery kits in the exact pattern and style of material from specialty suppliers (mine was Legendary Interiors) and either hire a trim guy or do it yourself to put them on. I farmed it out to a really good trim shop here in the area and for a few hundred bucks in labor and supplies the seats are like absolutely brand new. Amazing.

With current cars having heated seats and seat airbags I suspect it is not so easy, but likely not impossible either.

Mr_Shiftright

Today we continued the MINI's spa treatment. Cleaned out the cabin filter--what a pain. Looks easy, but isn't unless you have fingers of steel. All I got was a cut thumb. But I vacuumed and washed it (I'm from the Stever School of Car Economics).

Checked the air filter--it looked a little grungy but my experience has been that even when I extract really filthy air cleaners, it makes no difference whatsoever in MPG or how it runs. Might let it go for a while longer.

Lubed the latches, brushed off the engine with Simple Green, set all the tires to 32.5 psi cold, hand wash, all the windows inside and out.

We're good. But you know, the paint really needs a pro buffing. Birds and tree droppings and bush branches take their toll. But from 3 feet if you squint---perfect!

stickguy

3 feet is good enough for me. I'm old enough that I can't tell any better! And my wife is always impressed by any cleaning I do (especially the windows)

roadburner

Looks like I'm back in the(non-legal) workforce. More details when I know for certain.

driver100

roadburner said:

Looks like I'm back in the(non-legal) workforce. More details when I know for certain.

Oh oh....non-legal!

But, I know what you mean, not having to do with legal matters like court!

roadburner

Exactly!

stickguy

I'm thinking of retiring and becoming a pet sitter. Might make more money.

was talking to my sister today, who lives in an townhouse style apartment complex, in an area with a lot of transplants/transient professionals. Who apparently all have pets,mostly dogs. But aren't from the area, and work, so need lots of care. so it is a booming area for quality, reliable pet sitters.

the funny part, she said that some of the sitters actually moved into the complex, since they were there so much. Makes it easier to be right there with their "clients"!

bwia

I feel joy in my heart for Cleveland. After 50+ years the city finally has a pro sports championship. The Warriors played valiantly but were poorly coached in the last three games of the series.

Michaell

bwia said:

I feel joy in my heart for Cleveland. After 50+ years the city finally has a pro sports championship. The Warriors played valiantly but were poorly coached in the last three games of the series.

While I'm not a big basketball fan, I had set up the DVR to record game 7. I ended up cancelling the recording, because, well, I didn't think I'd watch it.

Flipped over to the game with 1:30 left. Saw everything I needed to see in those few minutes of action.

Congrats to Cleveland!

28firefighter

My wife is from Cleveland and I spent a considerable amount of time there before we moved to Seattle.

She, her sister and her brother were crying when they won! Very excited for the the city!

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

Looks like I'm back in the(non-legal) workforce. More details when I know for certain.

And I thought you were born here!

snakeweasel

oldfarmer50 said:

roadburner said:

Looks like I'm back in the(non-legal) workforce. More details when I know for certain.

And I thought you were born here!

I thought he meant that he was joining the mob.

driver100

stickguy said:

I'm thinking of retiring and becoming a pet sitter. Might make more money.

There was a lady in our last neighborhood who did this. Started with our dog....$40 a day. Now she charges $50 a day, and usually has 6 to 8 dogs in her house. Probably non-taxable income! She was good though, got down on the floor and actually played with the dogs......not a bad way to make a living.

tjc78

$50 a day! That's child daycare prices! Ouch!

PF_Flyer

Whoops! The parking lot at my post office is pretty small and you can't whip into it very fast. The 77 year old had to be pulling into the parking spot when they stepped on the gas instead of brake. Building is temporarily condemned. Stuck it in nice and square though.

imidazol97

PF_Flyer said:

What kind of car is that? Kia?

ab348

imidazol97 said:

What kind of car is that? Kia?

Exact same question I was going to ask. It looks like a "GenericCar" as used in auto insurance ads.

PF_Flyer

Article doesn't mention make/model. It IS kinda generic looking. Here's a view to the steering wheel/dash area to help with the ID

28firefighter

Looks like a 2012-2013 Passat.

stever

It's a Heinz. If you go to our Car Finder and search for all 2016 sedans, you'll get the magic number 157.

Funny how there's not much variety though.

Mr_Shiftright

Uh oh. I hope it didn't wake the postal clerks.

stickguy

It's a Passat.

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

Uh oh. I hope it didn't wake the postal clerks.

Gotta say....my local post office has become a lot friendlier and a lot more service oriented over the last 12-18 months. I think they finally got the message that their jobs aren't as secure as they once thought they were.

PF_Flyer

Mr_Shiftright said:

Uh oh. I hope it didn't wake the postal clerks.

Teeny post office, usually very quiet, so there's a good chance

Also pretty sure I gave someone a bad day today. Had to go to the Comcast office downtown to get a replacement remote this morning, so I took along the camera, figuring to see what I could see. Heading back toward the parking garage and I hear CRUNCH.


A contractor's pickup takes the mirror off the RAV4. He pulls off into some empty parking spaces ahead, sits for a minute or so looking back in his mirror, then decides to drive on his way. I took a shot of his vehicle/plate and had just decided to leave my card on the car with a note saying I have the perp pic if they want it, when the woman shows up to her car. As I start to give her the card in case she wants the info, a police SUV stops and asks if what's going on.

Got me a nice thanks from the car owner and the cops, who exchanged cards with me and asked me to hold onto the photos for a couple of weeks.

Good deed for the day. Check!

stever

Heh, Comcast is still working on improving their reputation I see. Especially egregious that it happened in Comcast's parking lot, even though the poor slob is probably an underpaid contractor..

graphicguy

So, last week my oil indicator light showed I should change my oil (15% oil life left). Interesting thing.....Caddy pays for scheduled maintenance. But, I only had 6,300 miles on the odo. It's running sythetic, too.

I know my BMW didn't throw an oil change light until I hit over 12K miles, who also covered scheduled maintenance.

Both had turbo motors.

I asked the CAddy service advisor if that was abnormal. He asked if I did a lot of city driving. It's actually close to 50-50 city/highway. He then asked me if I was an "agressive driver". Well yeah! I'll run it up in the rev range fairly regularly. He said that was probably the reason.

Although, he said it isn't unusual for the oil minder to come on anywhere between 5K and 10K miles.

PF_Flyer

stever said:

Heh, Comcast is still working on improving their reputation I see. Especially egregious that it happened in Comcast's parking lot, even though the poor slob is probably an underpaid contractor..

Nope, not in a parking lot, just on College Ave, the main drag through town

stever

Ah, saw that you went to the Comcast office downtown and, you know, assumed...

You guys have a college in your town too eh?

PF_Flyer

stever said:

Heh, Comcast is still working on improving their reputation I see. Especially egregious that it happened in Comcast's parking lot, even though the poor slob is probably an underpaid contractor..

Nope, not in a parking lot, just on College Ave, the main drag through town

bwia

graphicguy said:

So, last week my oil indicator light showed I should change my oil (15% oil life left). Interesting thing.....Caddy pays for scheduled maintenance. But, I only had 6,300 miles on the odo. It's running sythetic, too.

I know my BMW didn't throw an oil change light until I hit over 12K miles, who also covered scheduled maintenance.

Both had turbo motors.

I asked the CAddy service advisor if that was abnormal. He asked if I did a lot of city driving. It's actually close to 50-50 city/highway. He then asked me if I was an "agressive driver". Well yeah! I'll run it up in the rev range fairly regularly. He said that was probably the reason.

Although, he said it isn't unusual for the oil minder to come on anywhere between 5K and 10K miles.

I had a similar but different problem. I inadvertently reset the oil life gauge and voila the DIC showed 100% oil life. Not sure what to do, I called OnStar and they said to drive the car a another couple months then take it to the dealer for a discounted premature oil change. Lesson learned. Change your oil based upon recommended time or mileage, not the oil life reading.