Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

kyfdx

If you live in the Western end of your time zone, then DST is a pain. We could do without it.

In Cincinnati, we are in the same time zone as Boston. It gets dark here nearly an hour later than Boston, already.

andres3

tjc78 said:

Seems like we all disagree a little on HOAs. Yes they can fine and enforce rules. That’s a fact. My point is for minor infractions, most don’t have the resources to drag you into courts (if the state will even hear the case) and/or place liens on your property. Some states don’t allow that either for breaking rules, only for missed dues.

If I owned a property I wouldn’t think twice of allowing it to be used for a short time. First off, you have to caught, second they would most likely have to warn you first before a fine and third you could fight the fine for any number of reasons. How could they dispute you were just sending someone down to check on your investment?

It's the "controlling" class vs. the Peace and Freedom lovers. Some people just have too much time on their hands, like the Officers that give tickets for speeding when it's not egregious.

andres3

dino001 said:

graphicguy said:

I would think the numbers on a lease could be put to paper just as easily. The reasons I don’t like leases are costs like inception fees, disposition fees, etc. No one is doing any more paperwork for a lease than they do a sale. Disposition fee? It’s going to a dealer’s lot for sale, just like a trade in. Why do I have to pay to “dispose” it?

Bottom line, the fees are there because they can charge them. But at least on the surface, some can be explained in legitimate terms, at least in principle (not necessarily in magnitude). "Disposition fee" - the bank needs to hire an agent (dealer) to inspect car's condition at the term end and verify that you fulfilled your lease contract, there is paperwork required for a transfer of the vehicle from the bank to the dealer or an auction house. Is that worth $500-$800? Of course not, but the cost is real nevertheless. Similar at inception - paperwork for the bank to assume ownership (unlike loan, where they only put a lien, in lease they actually lease the car). Somebody has to make sure it's all correct. Again - not necessarily legitimate amount. All of these costs could of course be rolled into general cost (money factor), but then you couldn't make an ad with $399/month payment anymore Just like you, I haven't seen a lease that I liked yet, at least not for vehicles I was buying (Subaru and my BMW's weren't covered by those killer lease deals at time I was getting mine). As you say, when you add all these fees to the cost, they would often kill the attraction. So far, I'm OK with loans, trying to go shorter and shorter terms. This time it was 4 years and I paid it off after a bit more than three. Next one I may not be able to do all cash yet, but I'm thinking 2 or 3 year loan. I hate paying interest....

What's the real cost of losing a customer for life over a $350 lost Key FOB because their hired "agent" can't verify the terms of the lease were met without losing parts and pieces along the way? Then there's finger pointing and "they are just an agent" talk.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

cdnpinhead said:

Teaching him to fish is way different to giving him a meal.

It’s interesting that you say that. I hope this doesn’t get too long but you guys know how to handle that.

My Son has learned quite a bit so far but like everything else you can always learn more and that goes for me too. Grandson #2 has really surprised me with his interest with the first 2 flips. I never thought he’d like that. He couldn’t wait for his Father to find another project after flip #2 was sold. Yesterday Grandson#1 had 5 of his friends come over because of the heavy demo work. Yes my Son paid these kids and they seemed to enjoy the work which is good because there was plenty to do. Gutted the kitchen and took down 2 walls in there and opened up another wall to get the all important open concept to the family room from the kitchen. Upstairs another gut job to the master bath. Took out a walk in closet from the adjoining #2 bedroom to make the master bath a very good size. Yes a closet will now be added to the #2 bedroom. All sounds pretty good so what could go wrong? I’ll tell ya. My Son let Grandson #2 in charge of the demo work upstairs (he had some experience, right?) while my Son was directing a couple kids in the basement.

After a few minutes I decided to go upstairs and the kids were having fun like they show on TV demo days. I yelled out for them to stop. Grandson #2 asks why. I told them they had to take down the drywall on bathroom side and the closet side using the demo saw so they could take large pieces of drywall down the steps rather than using the sledge hammer and kick method that broke up the drywall in very small pieces. My Grandson asks why since with the first two flips they did it via the sledge hammer and kick method. I had to remind him the first 2 flips were ranch style homes and the small pieces of drywall could be put into a wheel barrow and hauled out to the dumpster through the front door. His reply was, “so”? So I asked him if he planned on taking the wheel barrow down the steps. Got one of those deer in the head lights looks.

When I told my Son what the kids were doing on the second floor he said, “oh yeah, I should have told them that. Glad you caught them before it was too late”. Nobody knows it all but I at least knew that.

Just in case any of you guys are afraid I might sprain my pointing finger, stop worrying. Demo work takes some thought not like what they don’t show you on TV where it looks like a big grand party.

I don’t think this was too long. Sorry if I scared y’all.

jmonroe

You should have let them learn the lesson themselves and let them run up and down the stairs a bunch of times trying to get all the little pieces thrown away. The school of hard knocks will learn em’.

explorerx4

Learning is now done by mentoring, not trying to show how superior you are to someone.

oldfarmer50

abacomike said:

Can opener arrived via Amazon Saturday. It's a cheapie - but it does have a knife sharpener. I probably won't use it until I am ready for tuna fish - that's the only product I purchase in a can that does not have an easy-open lid. I used the manual can opener for years and never experienced a problem. But since this was a free-bee gift, I just plugged it in and it will sit there until needed.

As for daylight savings time, I went down to the car this morning to adjust the clock, but noticed that the clock and digital timers in the car were already set to daylight savings time. So I would imagine I had the system set to "auto" for time changes.

Our Senator, Marco Rubio, is a cosponsor of a bill to make Daylight Savings Time the standard time for the entire country year round - so there would not be a need to change clocks every 4 and 8 months. When I awakened this morning at 6:45 AM,, it was dark outside. Kids are going to school in the dark or waiting at bus stops for the school buses in the dark. That remains the only sticking point to making daylight savings time the official time year round in the United States. I guess that could be remedied by making starting times for schools a bit later, however there remains the problem of having enough school buses available at certain times to transport kids to schools.

When I was a school principal, the 9-12 schools started at 8:00 AM, Middle Schools started at 8:30 AM, and K-5 schools started at 9:00 AM (staggered) so there would be sufficient buses available to transport kids. School ended at 2:00 PM for 9-12, 2:30 for Middle Schools, and 3:00 for K-5.

It would be dark in the AM's for just a few weeks until we reached mid-April, when the sun would rise at about 7:00 AM. Same for October/November.

We bus drivers were glad for daylight savings time up here. In the fall when we were learning the new routes it was still bright in the morning so the kids were easier to locate. When it switched back it kept it brighter. Easier and safer.

At my school the high schoolers were dropped off around 7ish in a comatose state, the elementary at about 8:00 and the middle school at 8:40. In the afternoon we’d pick up elementary first at about 2:15, then HS at around 3 and middle school at about 3:40.

You had to stagger pick up and deliveries or you’d need a million buses all only working an hour. I drove everyone from pre-school to 12th grade. Compared to that I’ve got it easy now.

oldfarmer50

fintail said:

Getting reality from housing propaganda shows would be like getting news from Alternet or Infowars - these shows might be as bad as the worst "news" sources.

The home purchasing ones are best, I like the scenarios like having a pair of 28 year old buyers, one is an artisanal dog walker, the other a party consultant , they are looking for a starter home in the low 1.2s. Or Ashtyn, who is on sabbatical, and Aidyn, who writes self-published children's books, are looking for a vacation house in the 800K range.

jmonroe1 said:

Yep, doing demo work on kitchen cabinets with a sledgehammer is ridiculous. How could anyone with an once of sense not realize that isn’t the way to do it. The way TV shows it, it’s always better to carry out splinters than a solid cabinet. BUT, it’s TV and that biz is built on entertainment. Even the news today is sketchy.

jmonroe

My favorite was a show on buying homes on the sea in Tuscany and the buyers were two school teachers from Albany NY. Maybe we’re paying them too much.

oldfarmer50

isellhondas said:

fintail said:

Apparently the 72 hours is even to allow for a bidding war - crazy market. decent area. It was recommended we/my mom provide a pre-inspection to grease the wheels, so to speak (but the house is pristine, original owner, etc, one walkthrough will probably sell it). I'm too far away to really hover over the process, but my sister is going to keep an eye on it, as my mom hasn't dealt with anything housing related in 30 years.

I'm thinking of driving over around the time it is listed, and take one last look - I am sure the next owners will gut the original finishes and everything that has been unchanged since more than a decade before I was born.

tjc78 said:

It’s everywhere. Houses are flying. Mine was gone in a weekend.

Paying for an inspection is a good idea. That way a potential buyer may take one look at the report and be satisfied. Is this house in Bellevue?

Zillow says our house is worth a bit over a million. Time to downsize but we cant agree on where to go. Once we sell and move, the house is gone forever. We are well aware of that.

You’d have to move out of the northwest to realize any of that gain.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

fintail said:

As long as it is on a trickle charger, it'll probably be fine. - might need air, probably nothing else. These modern cars do eventually drain the battery when idle long enough. IIRC when the wagon sat idle for a couple weeks last spring, it eventually sent me a message telling me to run the engine to charge the battery.

I recently took the fintail out of hibernation - I did nothing to it beforehand, just parked it and covered it. Fired up on the first turn of the key (it has a huge battery, fintail clocks are usually on the "right twice a day" plan, so nothing to drain it).

driver100 said:

How are you maintaining that car over such a long period?

.

Trickle charger should be good unless there is an unusual power outage in Florida....which could happen. The tires usually lose a pound or two over the 7 month period....so being away for 18 months could present a problem. I do have my new air pump if needed though. The C250 is pretty basic, not a whole lot of electronics to drain it.

MrsD's GLK says don't leave the car uncharged for over 6 weeks......she accidentally spotted that in her manual when looking for something else. My friends Maserati, which he no longer owns, lost it's charge after 4 weeks, and it costs a lot to reset everything....though they did it for him as it was under warranty and I think they felt they should have warned him about that.

I start the Mustang once a month but I don’t use a trickle charger because the battery is under a cover which I don’t want to remove. Last time I started it up it gave the low battery groan which indicated low charge. The car automatically turns off some functions to preserve the battery but I’m afraid I’ll have to start it more often.

The convertible out in the unheated barn has a trickle charger and starts up even in the coldest weather.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

fintail said:

South of Bellevue, but still in a decent enough area (although it can get relatively sketchy a few miles from there in that Puget Sound way that isn't actually sketchy, the neighborhood is still fine, bordering newer and larger houses, and even has a couple original owners on the street). The house will bring dozens of times its original purchase price. Let the bidding war commence.

It passed inspection with flying colors, only recommendation was a crawlspace vapor barrier replacement, which is apparently being done this week or next. Only drawbacks to the house I see are the oil furnace (although it is newer) and maybe original windows, but they are all sound. It is expected to hit the market in early April, I am going over the first weekend of the month to see the place one last time. In the family nearly 60 years, almost unchanged.

isellhondas said:

Paying for an inspection is a good idea. That way a potential buyer may take one look at the report and be satisfied. Is this house in Bellevue?

Zillow says our house is worth a bit over a million. Time to downsize but we cant agree on where to go. Once we sell and move, the house is gone forever. We are well aware of that.

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

How about sending me down to keep the battery charged? The prospect of doing 140 on I-75 in an uninsured car sounds exhilarating.

I’ll wear those flats spots right off for you.

abacomike

Gasoline prices for PUG here have gone up 60 cents a gallon since January 31st. I paid $2.39 a gallon back on January 31st and now it’s $2.99 a gallon.

I paid $2.99 a gallon for whole milk at Walmart back in January - now it’s $3.79 a gallon.

Food prices are climbing as well. I would think inflation is beginning to affect our economy - I sure feel the increased costs for food and groceries. Housing costs are climbing at a fast rate as well. I expect interest rates to finally rise for bank deposits this year. Right now the best I can do locally for a CD is .25 percent for 9-12 months. Pathetic.

driver100

stickguy said:

driver100 said:

fintail said:

South of Bellevue, but still in a decent enough area (although it can get relatively sketchy a few miles from there in that Puget Sound way that isn't actually sketchy, the neighborhood is still fine, bordering newer and larger houses, and even has a couple original owners on the street). The house will bring dozens of times its original purchase price. Let the bidding war commence.

It passed inspection with flying colors, only recommendation was a crawlspace vapor barrier replacement, which is apparently being done this week or next. Only drawbacks to the house I see are the oil furnace (although it is newer) and maybe original windows, but they are all sound. It is expected to hit the market in early April, I am going over the first weekend of the month to see the place one last time. In the family nearly 60 years, almost unchanged.

isellhondas said:

Paying for an inspection is a good idea. That way a potential buyer may take one look at the report and be satisfied. Is this house in Bellevue?

Zillow says our house is worth a bit over a million. Time to downsize but we cant agree on where to go. Once we sell and move, the house is gone forever. We are well aware of that.

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

The problem isn’t your oil sitting in the car a little longer. As long as you change it Before you start using the car.

I agree but I can't change the oil before I drive it....might not be able to do it until it has a few hundred miles on it. Can driving it until I have time for an oil change do any harm?

driver100

fintail said:

I assume it uses synthetic - I wouldn't worry. Sludge shouldn't be an issue on an idle engine. If you are concerned, just take the car in for an oil change right when you get back, before using it much.

driver100 said:

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

Thanks Fin, that is helpful.......it would be hard to get an oil change right away. It does have synthetic.

fintail

I've seen housing in Italy really cheap, like Detroit cheap. Much of the country is pretty, but economically, I think swaths of it aren't booming.

Maybe they are administrator types, or just using the bank of mom and dad, which is also a common way to get things done.

oldfarmer50 said:

My favorite was a show on buying homes on the sea in Tuscany and the buyers were two school teachers from Albany NY. Maybe we’re paying them too much.

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

driver100 said:

fintail said:

South of Bellevue, but still in a decent enough area (although it can get relatively sketchy a few miles from there in that Puget Sound way that isn't actually sketchy, the neighborhood is still fine, bordering newer and larger houses, and even has a couple original owners on the street). The house will bring dozens of times its original purchase price. Let the bidding war commence.

It passed inspection with flying colors, only recommendation was a crawlspace vapor barrier replacement, which is apparently being done this week or next. Only drawbacks to the house I see are the oil furnace (although it is newer) and maybe original windows, but they are all sound. It is expected to hit the market in early April, I am going over the first weekend of the month to see the place one last time. In the family nearly 60 years, almost unchanged.

isellhondas said:

Paying for an inspection is a good idea. That way a potential buyer may take one look at the report and be satisfied. Is this house in Bellevue?

Zillow says our house is worth a bit over a million. Time to downsize but we cant agree on where to go. Once we sell and move, the house is gone forever. We are well aware of that.

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

How about sending me down to keep the battery charged? The prospect of doing 140 on I-75 in an uninsured car sounds exhilarating.

I’ll wear those flats spots right off for you.

Thanks O F, it's nice to know I can rely on my poster buddies.

fintail

I suspect you'll be fine. I've let the fintail set idle for a couple months, and started it without concern - it is nearly 60 years old, and certainly isn't using synthetic. Your modern car will probably be fine. If anything, if it sounds like a bunch of hammers when you start it, turn it off fast!

driver100 said:

Thanks Fin, that is helpful.......it would be hard to get an oil change right away. It does have synthetic.

fintail

That's true. Even here east of the mountains, it is pandemonium - 20% YOY gains for some time, people who bought in 2015 now have doubled their money, "affordable" new listings pending in a day being snatched up often by flipper opportunists and rental investors, as first time buyers are left without the "dream". Population here is expanding just like Puget Sound, and there was about 25 year housing pause in these parts, which means a dearth of housing stock. At least there's ample land here, but it probably costs 150% as much to build a house than 10 years ago.

oldfarmer50 said:

You’d have to move out of the northwest to realize any of that gain.

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

Gasoline prices for PUG here have gone up 60 cents a gallon since January 31st. I paid $2.39 a gallon back on January 31st and now it’s $2.99 a gallon.

I paid $2.99 a gallon for whole milk at Walmart back in January - now it’s $3.79 a gallon.

Food prices are climbing as well. I would think inflation is beginning to affect our economy - I sure feel the increased costs for food and groceries. Housing costs are climbing at a fast rate as well. I expect interest rates to finally rise for bank deposits this year. Right now the best I can do locally for a CD is .25 percent for 9-12 months. Pathetic.

$3.19 for RUG around here. Pub is floating around $4.00 a gallon.

imidazol97

fintail said:

I assume it uses synthetic - I wouldn't worry. Sludge shouldn't be an issue on an idle engine. If you are concerned, just take the car in for an oil change right when you get back, before using it much.

driver100 said:

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

Thanks Fin, that is helpful.......it would be hard to get an oil change right away. It does have synthetic.

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

If you have faith in the local MB store service department, I'd ask them about the gasoline and eventual oil change timing. I'm sure they've had cars that sat for long periods as their owners were unable to get back to Florida.

explorerx4

I would drive the cars a couple hundred miles or so, so the the soon to be changed oil can absorb the contaminants. That way you are not using the fresh oil to do that.

imidazol97

As I understand it the car has not been started during @driver100 's absence. So there have been
no new contaminants, byproducts water and other materials to stay in the crankcase since the car
wasn't driven long enough to thoroughly heat and purge the oil.

If the car has been started every 6 weeks and idled for 20 minutes and shut off, then I'd worry
about the synthetic oil.

Some BMW folks were driving their cars years on the synthetic oils and using oil life analysis
to determine when to change oil.

snakeweasel

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

I assume it uses synthetic - I wouldn't worry. Sludge shouldn't be an issue on an idle engine. If you are concerned, just take the car in for an oil change right when you get back, before using it much.

driver100 said:

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

Thanks Fin, that is helpful.......it would be hard to get an oil change right away. It does have synthetic.

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

If you have faith in the local MB store service department, I'd ask them about the gasoline and eventual oil change timing. I'm sure they've had cars that sat for long periods as their owners were unable to get back to Florida.

I do believe that products like Stabil extend the life of gasoline by 12 - 18 months.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

If you live in the Western end of your time zone, then DST is a pain. We could do without it.

In Cincinnati, we are in the same time zone as Boston. It gets dark here nearly an hour later than Boston, already.

Yep. Do one, or the other. Switching twice/year is crazy. Personally, I think make Daylight Savings the standard across the country.

Got fuel at Costco yesterday.....$2.30/gal RUG....$2.80/gal PUG (what the Stinger takes). It’s been fluctuating up and down a lot over the last year or so. The economy is starting to open up a bit given more are being vaccinated for COVID.

But, even with demand starting to climb, and I posted this before, the major oil/gas producers all agree, there is going to be a ~2%/ decline per year in demand looking forward over the next several years.

They use the old playbook they’ve always used. Use unrelated excuses to prop up prices. They’re just shooting theirselves in the foot as those price rises never last and eventually succumb to basic economic fundamentals......soft demand=soft prices.

roadburner

imidazol97 said:

As I understand it the car has not been started during @driver100 's absence. So there have been
no new contaminants, byproducts water and other materials to stay in the crankcase since the car
wasn't driven long enough to thoroughly heat and purge the oil.

If the car has been started every 6 weeks and idled for 20 minutes and shut off, then I'd worry
about the synthetic oil.

Some BMW folks were driving their cars years on the synthetic oils and using oil life analysis
to determine when to change oil.

BMW used to call for an oil change every two years, but several years ago that was changed to an oil change every 12 months. A UOA is useful for determining a proper oil change interval as it will reveal wear rates as well as give you the Total Base Number(the condition of the additive package).

ab348

After the govt website for booking failed to work correctly upon launch this morning thanks to deficient or non-existent software testing, and their phone lines were completely overwhelmed so as to not even give a busy signal, a miracle must have happened and I was able to make an appointment for a COVID vaccine shot for this coming Sunday. Will wonders never cease!

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

If you live in the Western end of your time zone, then DST is a pain. We could do without it.

In Cincinnati, we are in the same time zone as Boston. It gets dark here nearly an hour later than Boston, already.

Yep. Do one, or the other. Switching twice/year is crazy. Personally, I think make Daylight Savings the standard across the country.

Got fuel at Costco yesterday.....$2.30/gal RUG....$2.80/gal PUG (what the Stinger takes). It’s been fluctuating up and down a lot over the last year or so. The economy is starting to open up a bit given more are being vaccinated for COVID.

But, even with demand starting to climb, and I posted this before, the major oil/gas producers all agree, there is going to be a ~2%/ decline per year in demand looking forward over the next several years.

They use the old playbook they’ve always used. Use unrelated excuses to prop up prices. They’re just shooting theirselves in the foot as those price rises never last and eventually succumb to basic economic fundamentals......soft demand=soft prices.

The rational for Daylight Saving Time was that with standard time in the summer you would get real early sunrises (like before 4:30 AM in places) so there was a lot of daylight being used when most people were asleep in the morning. Daylight Saving Time shifts an hour of daylight to the evening where people could make better use of it while keeping a reasonable sunrise time. Keeping daylight Saving Time year round would create very late sunrises in the winter time.

graphicguy

If you need daylight to work, what difference does it make if that daylight is in the a.m. or the p.m.? I suppose some could say they prefer to go to work earlier than working later, but it’s just that.....a preference. You’ll find just as many who prefer to work in later in the evening.

I dunno? Maybe it’s because I’m not that far removed from getting up at 4:00 a.m. to catch a 5:30 a.m. flight to get a full days work in once I reached my destination. Plus, I always worked until 7:00 p.m. or later every day because of working with different countries and different time zones.

Personally, I feel it was an answer to a question no one asked.

pensfan83

ab348 said:

After the govt website for booking failed to work correctly upon launch this morning thanks to deficient or non-existent software testing, and their phone lines were completely overwhelmed so as to not even give a busy signal, a miracle must have happened and I was able to make an appointment for a COVID vaccine shot for this coming Sunday. Will wonders never cease!

My parents have been trying for weeks to get vaccine appointments through the county or other providers with no luck. Their pharmacy called yesterday and told them they had appointments available this morning. First dose done, back in 4 weeks for dose two. Now just need to focus on getting my in-laws appointments.

stickguy

Our fancy new front door package arrived today with the installers. Door and 2 sidelights, quite large. Guy had us come out to inspect and approve before they started demo. Soon as he unwrapped the cardboard from the bottom edge (shipping protection) he was very unhappy, and immediately pointed out a manufacturing defect he wouldn’t accept. Nice of him to not just hope we didn’t notice and install anyway to make his life easier.

So he strapped it back down, and took it back to Lowe’s. Now just waiting for them to call to figure out next steps.

Annoying, but at least it’s not really a rush to us.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Our fancy new front door package arrived today with the installers. Door and 2 sidelights, quite large. Guy had us come out to inspect and approve before they started demo. Soon as he unwrapped the cardboard from the bottom edge (shipping protection) he was very unhappy, and immediately pointed out a manufacturing defect he wouldn’t accept. Nice of him to not just hope we didn’t notice and install anyway to make his life easier.

So he strapped it back down, and took it back to Lowe’s. Now just waiting for them to call to figure out next steps.

Annoying, but at least it’s not really a rush to us.

Yeah, checking this after the demo was complete would have been no bueno.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

fintail said:

I assume it uses synthetic - I wouldn't worry. Sludge shouldn't be an issue on an idle engine. If you are concerned, just take the car in for an oil change right when you get back, before using it much.

driver100 said:

The thing that could affect the C250 is the oil will be in the car for about 20 months. Normally, oil gets changed at the 10k mile mark, or once a year. Oil itself doesn't go bad, but the problem could be contaminates, moisture, or sludge build up I suppose. It is hard to find a real answer.

Maybe I could send someone like JMonroe over to do an oil change.....oh, wait, on second thought........

Thanks Fin, that is helpful.......it would be hard to get an oil change right away. It does have synthetic.

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

Good comments Fin. I looked it up and it said gas stabilizer should hold up for 1 to 3 years. Gasoline could go bad in as little as 6 months without stabilizer.
Our neighbors check the charger, if it goes off they would probably tell me though there isn't much I can do and they aren't knowledgeable about resetting it.
I think the battery is the original so is probably 6 or 7 years old...I planned on replacing it this season, hopefully it will hold up until we get back.
The car had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it with that oil synthetic and should go 10K between changes.
I'll check out Sea Foam.

fintail

PUG now $3.05 at the nearest Costco. I read yesterday that local demand is at 99% of pre-pandemic levels, but there are claimed supply issues. I recall prices quite a bit higher not too long ago in the before times, so this doesn't shock me.

I am more leery of stagflation than simple inflation, there are some real economic/socio-economic issues out there that might become loud pain points if some current cost of living factors continue on their ballooning path. So much of the economy is now beholden to the housing juggernaut that I can't imagine rates seeing much of a hike in the near term.

abacomike said:

Gasoline prices for PUG here have gone up 60 cents a gallon since January 31st. I paid $2.39 a gallon back on January 31st and now it’s $2.99 a gallon.

I paid $2.99 a gallon for whole milk at Walmart back in January - now it’s $3.79 a gallon.

Food prices are climbing as well. I would think inflation is beginning to affect our economy - I sure feel the increased costs for food and groceries. Housing costs are climbing at a fast rate as well. I expect interest rates to finally rise for bank deposits this year. Right now the best I can do locally for a CD is .25 percent for 9-12 months. Pathetic.

stickguy

Michaell said:

stickguy said:

Our fancy new front door package arrived today with the installers. Door and 2 sidelights, quite large. Guy had us come out to inspect and approve before they started demo. Soon as he unwrapped the cardboard from the bottom edge (shipping protection) he was very unhappy, and immediately pointed out a manufacturing defect he wouldn’t accept. Nice of him to not just hope we didn’t notice and install anyway to make his life easier.

So he strapped it back down, and took it back to Lowe’s. Now just waiting for them to call to figure out next steps.

Annoying, but at least it’s not really a rush to us.

Yeah, checking this after the demo was complete would have been no bueno.

A while back we had windows replaced. A couple guys went around ripping the old ones out, and 2 others followed behind putting the new ones in. Until they got to a back bedroom (2nd floor) opening, and discovered that the window was the wrong size (for some reason, we have 3 windows across the back that are different sizes). So we had a big hole in the wall (and it was only window in the room). Thankfully they could pick through he large scrap pile and piece together enough frame to put the old one back in. Looked like hell and probably didn’t open, but at least was weather tight until they sourced a replacement!

snakeweasel

graphicguy said:

If you need daylight to work, what difference does it make if that daylight is in the a.m. or the p.m.? I suppose some could say they prefer to go to work earlier than working later, but it’s just that.....a preference. You’ll find just as many who prefer to work in later in the evening.

I dunno? Maybe it’s because I’m not that far removed from getting up at 4:00 a.m. to catch a 5:30 a.m. flight to get a full days work in once I reached my destination. Plus, I always worked until 7:00 p.m. or later every day because of working with different countries and different time zones.

Personally, I feel it was an answer to a question no one asked.

Do you think that people will start waking up an hour early during summer than in winter? Well then what's the difference?

abacomike

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

driver100

We don't need no time changes.
For one thing there are more accidents right after the clocks get changed.
For another we go crazy trying to remember where all the clocks are
And we forget how to do the car clock every 6 months
And it is always hard sychronizing the microwave and stove clocks
For another, it throws Trixie off of her walk and wakeup schedules.

tjc78

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Expect very little. Mix it with some Ginger Ale or Coke. Maybe make a whiskey sour with it... but IMO don’t drink it straight.

ab348

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Its a much lighter flavored whisky than a single malt, or even a blended scotch. But it is pleasant enough over ice.

fintail

So long as the battery was maintained, I bet it will fire right up - maybe let it warm up a couple minutes, and it should run like nothing happened. Flat spotted tires would be my biggest worry assuming the battery is OK.

Portable jump starters are pretty cheap now, and can be used as power banks for other devices - I've kept one around for years, just in case.

driver100 said:

Good comments Fin. I looked it up and it said gas stabilizer should hold up for 1 to 3 years. Gasoline could go bad in as little as 6 months without stabilizer.
Our neighbors check the charger, if it goes off they would probably tell me though there isn't much I can do and they aren't knowledgeable about resetting it.
I think the battery is the original so is probably 6 or 7 years old...I planned on replacing it this season, hopefully it will hold up until we get back.
The car had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it with that oil synthetic and should go 10K between changes.
I'll check out Sea Foam.

abacomike

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Expect very little. Mix it with some Ginger Ale or Coke. Maybe make a whiskey sour with it... but IMO don’t drink it straight.

That bad, eh? Maybe I will regift it! 🤪😜🤓

abacomike

ab348 said:

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Its a much lighter flavored whisky than a single malt, or even a blended scotch. But it is pleasant enough over ice.

If I get brave enough, I’ll heed your advice about the ice. Thanks.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

The car had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it with that oil synthetic and should go 10K between changes.
I'll check out Sea Foam.

imidazol97 said:

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

If you have faith in the local MB store service department, I'd ask them about the gasoline and eventual oil change timing. I'm sure they've had cars that sat for long periods as their owners were unable to get back to Florida.

Since the oil has 5-6K already, I'd get it changed after sitting that long in a reasonably quick time after you're permitted to return. I had missed that piece of data when I made the above suggestions.

As to the gas, I'd use it quickly to get some fresh added, and I'd still put in half a can of Sea Foam at first.

oldfarmer50

“ - what should I expect when I open the bottle?”

To get drunk.

sda

Everybody is a comedian these days...

snakeweasel

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Expect very little. Mix it with some Ginger Ale or Coke. Maybe make a whiskey sour with it... but IMO don’t drink it straight.

That bad, eh? Maybe I will regift it! 🤪😜🤓

Well yes and no. Whisky like everything else has different reactions to different people. What someone may like you may not like it and visa versa. Everyone has different palates and different preferences so what's good for one person may not be good for another. I personally like Jameson and would recommend it if you like whisky's, or at least trying it. Try it straight and open it up with a few drops of water and see how that is.

If you like it then it's good, if not offer it to guests.

Or you could order it as an after dinner drink when you go out to eat to try it out therefor keeping the bottle unopened in case you don't like it and want to regift it.

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

The car had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it with that oil synthetic and should go 10K between changes.
I'll check out Sea Foam.

imidazol97 said:

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

If you have faith in the local MB store service department, I'd ask them about the gasoline and eventual oil change timing. I'm sure they've had cars that sat for long periods as their owners were unable to get back to Florida.

Since the oil has 5-6K already, I'd get it changed after sitting that long in a reasonably quick time after you're permitted to return. I had missed that piece of data when I made the above suggestions.

As to the gas, I'd use it quickly to get some fresh added, and I'd still put in half a can of Sea Foam at first.

That would be the plan, change the oil as soon as possible, and try to use up the gas and add some new stuff too....or maybe if it is running well might be better to use up most of the current gas and get all new gas inside her asap.
It was left completely full of gas, and I always use more STABIL than suggested....about 20 - 25% more.

stickguy

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Expect very little. Mix it with some Ginger Ale or Coke. Maybe make a whiskey sour with it... but IMO don’t drink it straight.

That bad, eh? Maybe I will regift it! 🤪😜🤓

Well yes and no. Whisky like everything else has different reactions to different people. What someone may like you may not like it and visa versa. Everyone has different palates and different preferences so what's good for one person may not be good for another. I personally like Jameson and would recommend it if you like whisky's, or at least trying it. Try it straight and open it up with a few drops of water and see how that is.

If you like it then it's good, if not offer it to guests.

Or you could order it as an after dinner drink when you go out to eat to try it out therefor keeping the bottle unopened in case you don't like it and want to regift it.

Or if it’s lousy, go dump it in Drivers gas tank to clean out his fuel system.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

Our fancy new front door package arrived today with the installers. Door and 2 sidelights, quite large. Guy had us come out to inspect and approve before they started demo. Soon as he unwrapped the cardboard from the bottom edge (shipping protection) he was very unhappy, and immediately pointed out a manufacturing defect he wouldn’t accept. Nice of him to not just hope we didn’t notice and install anyway to make his life easier.

So he strapped it back down, and took it back to Lowe’s. Now just waiting for them to call to figure out next steps.

Annoying, but at least it’s not really a rush to us.

I just emailed the seller/installer about our front door. It has been 22 weeks now, and the original estimate was 16-20, with of course the "covid" caveat. They looked into it and it would seem it is not due in to the port until 4/20. So quite a ways to go still. Hopefully no defects on ours!!

snakeweasel

driver100 said:

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

The car had between 5000 and 6000 miles on it with that oil synthetic and should go 10K between changes.
I'll check out Sea Foam.

imidazol97 said:

How many thousands of miles did the synthetic oil in the engine have on it when you left the car sitting?
The oil, in my opinion, will be fine to drive on especially if it was nearly new. The aging process of adding contaminants with short trips didn't occur in a garage that probably never went below 60 deg F during your absence.

I'd focus on the gasoline. You added Stabil before you left. That was great. I don't know if Stabil has a lifetime cutoff and would quit protecting the gasoline from deterioration.

And I believe you said you filled the tank to leave less room for water vapour to condense.
But what I'd do is add half a can of Sea Foam as soon as you get there and put in even a half gallon of gasoline
that's fresh from the pump as soon as you start driving it. I'd keep adding gasoline that's fresh to the old fuel as you use it, a half or gallon at a time. After a few gallons I'd add the rest of the 12 oz can of Sea Foam. The Sea Foam cleans the fuel system removing any materials that deposited with age, in this case as the gasoline deteriorated if it did.

I'd worry that the battery maintainer may have failed during your absence. Or the battery may have deteriorated due to the maintainer.

If you have faith in the local MB store service department, I'd ask them about the gasoline and eventual oil change timing. I'm sure they've had cars that sat for long periods as their owners were unable to get back to Florida.

Since the oil has 5-6K already, I'd get it changed after sitting that long in a reasonably quick time after you're permitted to return. I had missed that piece of data when I made the above suggestions.

As to the gas, I'd use it quickly to get some fresh added, and I'd still put in half a can of Sea Foam at first.

That would be the plan, change the oil as soon as possible, and try to use up the gas and add some new stuff too....or maybe if it is running well might be better to use up most of the current gas and get all new gas inside her asap.
It was left completely full of gas, and I always use more STABIL than suggested....about 20 - 25% more.

I would use up most of the current gas before filling it up with fresh gas. If you go down to 3/4 of a tank of bad gas and fill it up with fresh gas they you will then have a full tank of bad gas, just not as bad. If it is causing major issues in the operation of the engine then just flush the tank.

snakeweasel

stickguy said:

snakeweasel said:

abacomike said:

tjc78 said:

abacomike said:

A friend gave me a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey last night. I’ve never tasted this brand before - what should I expect when I open the bottle? Anyone familiar with this?

Expect very little. Mix it with some Ginger Ale or Coke. Maybe make a whiskey sour with it... but IMO don’t drink it straight.

That bad, eh? Maybe I will regift it! 🤪😜🤓

Well yes and no. Whisky like everything else has different reactions to different people. What someone may like you may not like it and visa versa. Everyone has different palates and different preferences so what's good for one person may not be good for another. I personally like Jameson and would recommend it if you like whisky's, or at least trying it. Try it straight and open it up with a few drops of water and see how that is.

If you like it then it's good, if not offer it to guests.

Or you could order it as an after dinner drink when you go out to eat to try it out therefor keeping the bottle unopened in case you don't like it and want to regift it.

Or if it’s lousy, go dump it in Drivers gas tank to clean out his fuel system.

Oh now we have a problem. if you put a whole bottle of whisky in the tank would that make the car legally drunk?