Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

just leafed through the latest car and driver issue, the 2020 new car preview. Pretty much nothing listed in the new arrivals list that isn't already out but interests me at all.

Maybe 2021 will have some good stuff! 2020, Acura did nothing, so I am guessing that 2021 will have a new MDX, and some sort of replacement for the ILX.

xwesx

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

Old house problems... I now have a banging sound from my cold water pipes every 10 seconds or so. Did what I could to flush any possible air bubbles out of the lines, but it seems that's not the problem. Going to try to get a water pressure gauge tomorrow to check whether there's too much pressure. Dog isn't bothered by it. I think I can sleep through it, given an adequate amount of wine...

Did this just happen all of the sudden or has it been an ongoing problem. The "feed valve" most likely went bad. Pressure is constant, so most likely you have too much water (Volume) which is causing the constant banging. It looks like a camel hump. If it is a "single hump" valve, then it is your feed valve. A "double hump" valve is a feed valve with a pressure reducing valve.

Oh yes. I forget that most people have city water. LOL

corvette

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Old house problems... I now have a banging sound from my cold water pipes every 10 seconds or so. Did what I could to flush any possible air bubbles out of the lines, but it seems that's not the problem. Going to try to get a water pressure gauge tomorrow to check whether there's too much pressure. Dog isn't bothered by it. I think I can sleep through it, given an adequate amount of wine...

you need an arrestor on it. Your system probably has one (or more) already, but it may have failed. Find and replace, or just add another. Pretty easy fix.

I don’t think there is one. I’m not even sure there’s a pressure regulator. I don’t think an expansion tank is required (or needed) on the water heater - it looks like my municipality doesn’t use backflow preventers in residential applications. But, the problem is gone today. If it happens again while I’m sleeping, I’ll probably cut off the water supply until the next day.

nyccarguy

A few more “glad I got the pickup truck” moments coming up:

Wife: “Can you bring home toilet paper tomorrow?”

Me: “Gladly! I’ll bring home the entire case.”

I have toilet paper in a case with 96 rolls. The whole case didn’t fit in my Infiniti, so I would either have to bring home 1/2 a case or make arrangements to take the Pilot. Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Wife 0

This Saturday evening, my (now) 13 year old has an away game about an hour away. 2 parents asked if I could give their son a ride. 4 people, 3 hockey bags, & 5 or 6 hockey sticks (some kids have 2). Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Travel Hockey 0.

kyfdx

corvette said:

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Old house problems... I now have a banging sound from my cold water pipes every 10 seconds or so. Did what I could to flush any possible air bubbles out of the lines, but it seems that's not the problem. Going to try to get a water pressure gauge tomorrow to check whether there's too much pressure. Dog isn't bothered by it. I think I can sleep through it, given an adequate amount of wine...

you need an arrestor on it. Your system probably has one (or more) already, but it may have failed. Find and replace, or just add another. Pretty easy fix.

I don’t think there is one. I’m not even sure there’s a pressure regulator. I don’t think an expansion tank is required (or needed) on the water heater - it looks like my municipality doesn’t use backflow preventers in residential applications. But, the problem is gone today. If it happens again while I’m sleeping, I’ll probably cut off the water supply until the next day.

Most likely, your pressure reducing valve has failed. Which would explain the sudden change.

corvette

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Old house problems... I now have a banging sound from my cold water pipes every 10 seconds or so. Did what I could to flush any possible air bubbles out of the lines, but it seems that's not the problem. Going to try to get a water pressure gauge tomorrow to check whether there's too much pressure. Dog isn't bothered by it. I think I can sleep through it, given an adequate amount of wine...

you need an arrestor on it. Your system probably has one (or more) already, but it may have failed. Find and replace, or just add another. Pretty easy fix.

I don’t think there is one. I’m not even sure there’s a pressure regulator. I don’t think an expansion tank is required (or needed) on the water heater - it looks like my municipality doesn’t use backflow preventers in residential applications. But, the problem is gone today. If it happens again while I’m sleeping, I’ll probably cut off the water supply until the next day.

Most likely, your pressure reducing valve has failed. Which would explain the sudden change.

Thanks for your help... I'm assuming those are commonly located in the meter box? Because it's definitely not inside the house (water line enters the house in the crawlspace part of the half basement). Weirdly, the problem disappeared this morning, and came back again about 9:45 at night, so it would correspond with an outdoor temperature related issue. I closed off the shut off valve inside the house and purged off the line pressure, and I can still hear the banging sound near where the water line enters the house, although it's very faint. At least I'll be able to sleep tonight!

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

A few more “glad I got the pickup truck” moments coming up:

Wife: “Can you bring home toilet paper tomorrow?”

Me: “Gladly! I’ll bring home the entire case.”

I have toilet paper in a case with 96 rolls. The whole case didn’t fit in my Infiniti, so I would either have to bring home 1/2 a case or make arrangements to take the Pilot. Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Wife 0

This Saturday evening, my (now) 13 year old has an away game about an hour away. 2 parents asked if I could give their son a ride. 4 people, 3 hockey bags, & 5 or 6 hockey sticks (some kids have 2). Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Travel Hockey 0.

You should offer up your story to Toyota marketing. Dune running, towing horse trailers, Having cinderblocks dumped into the bed from 10 feet up .... those aren’t what trucks are for. A case if TP and a few duffel bags. THAT’s what the engineers had in mind and what the consumers will get excited about. ;b

nyccarguy

Yesterday marked 1 week of ownership (leasorship?). I fill up for the 2nd time. They burned through about 3/4 tank driving from Haverhill, MA to the DMV in Norwalk, CT. Their highway run plus my couple days commuting got a solid 20 mpg. Yesterday I calculated 18.5 mpg on my 1st full tank.

pensfan83

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

A few more “glad I got the pickup truck” moments coming up:

Wife: “Can you bring home toilet paper tomorrow?”

Me: “Gladly! I’ll bring home the entire case.”

I have toilet paper in a case with 96 rolls. The whole case didn’t fit in my Infiniti, so I would either have to bring home 1/2 a case or make arrangements to take the Pilot. Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Wife 0

This Saturday evening, my (now) 13 year old has an away game about an hour away. 2 parents asked if I could give their son a ride. 4 people, 3 hockey bags, & 5 or 6 hockey sticks (some kids have 2). Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Travel Hockey 0.

You should offer up your story to Toyota marketing. Dune running, towing horse trailers, Having cinderblocks dumped into the bed from 10 feet up .... those aren’t what trucks are for. A case if TP and a few duffel bags. THAT’s what the engineers had in mind and what the consumers will get excited about. ;b

Hahahaha, so true. I'll echo what @nyccarguy is saying though, it's incredibly nice to just throw baseball bags, dirty cleats, bases, etc. in the bed. I don't have to play Tetris at Costco anymore or have a kid hold the TP in their lap either

kyfdx

corvette said:

kyfdx said:

corvette said:

xwesx said:

corvette said:

Old house problems... I now have a banging sound from my cold water pipes every 10 seconds or so. Did what I could to flush any possible air bubbles out of the lines, but it seems that's not the problem. Going to try to get a water pressure gauge tomorrow to check whether there's too much pressure. Dog isn't bothered by it. I think I can sleep through it, given an adequate amount of wine...

you need an arrestor on it. Your system probably has one (or more) already, but it may have failed. Find and replace, or just add another. Pretty easy fix.

I don’t think there is one. I’m not even sure there’s a pressure regulator. I don’t think an expansion tank is required (or needed) on the water heater - it looks like my municipality doesn’t use backflow preventers in residential applications. But, the problem is gone today. If it happens again while I’m sleeping, I’ll probably cut off the water supply until the next day.

Most likely, your pressure reducing valve has failed. Which would explain the sudden change.

Thanks for your help... I'm assuming those are commonly located in the meter box? Because it's definitely not inside the house (water line enters the house in the crawlspace part of the half basement). Weirdly, the problem disappeared this morning, and came back again about 9:45 at night, so it would correspond with an outdoor temperature related issue. I closed off the shut off valve inside the house and purged off the line pressure, and I can still hear the banging sound near where the water line enters the house, although it's very faint. At least I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Usually, on the water line, just inside the house.

ab348

corvette said:

I closed off the shut off valve inside the house and purged off the line pressure, and I can still hear the banging sound near where the water line enters the house, although it's very faint. At least I'll be able to sleep tonight!

That makes me believe even an addition of a valve might not make the noise go away. Sounds like the problem is with the water utility. I would talk to them first.

ab348

nyccarguy said:

A few more “glad I got the pickup truck” moments coming up:

Wife: “Can you bring home toilet paper tomorrow?”

Me: “Gladly! I’ll bring home the entire case.”

I have toilet paper in a case with 96 rolls. The whole case didn’t fit in my Infiniti, so I would either have to bring home 1/2 a case or make arrangements to take the Pilot. Problem solved. Tacoma 1 - Wife 0

My financial training immediately made me start to try to figure out the business case for the purchase of a new pickup in order to facilitate the purchase of a 96-roll case of TP. I couldn't make the savings from buying TP in bulk offset the payments.

stickguy

Might not pay for an extra truck, but if you gotta drive something anyway...

Bigger issue is stuff that can’t get wet, when it rains. I hope it has a really good cover, but usually with the tailgate no bed is really watertight

mjfloyd1

I’m a fan of the “free” shipping with Sams plus membership. TP and paper towels to your front door

ab348

stickguy said:

Might not pay for an extra truck, but if you gotta drive something anyway...

Bigger issue is stuff that can’t get wet, when it rains. I hope it has a really good cover, but usually with the tailgate no bed is really watertight

That, and of course now that you're the neighbor with a pickup, you become the go-to guy for other neighbors to approach asking you for helpful favors such as picking up large bulky items.

tjc78

TP and paper towels to your front door

Or Amazon of course.

pensfan83

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Might not pay for an extra truck, but if you gotta drive something anyway...

Bigger issue is stuff that can’t get wet, when it rains. I hope it has a really good cover, but usually with the tailgate no bed is really watertight

That, and of course now that you're the neighbor with a pickup, you become the go-to guy for other neighbors to approach asking you for helpful favors such as picking up large bulky items.

Definitely not an issue with that here. Trucks and SUVs abound, I think we were one of the few households in the neighborhood that had 2 sedans as their primary vehicles.

nyccarguy

ab348 said:

stickguy said:

Might not pay for an extra truck, but if you gotta drive something anyway...

Bigger issue is stuff that can’t get wet, when it rains. I hope it has a really good cover, but usually with the tailgate no bed is really watertight

That, and of course now that you're the neighbor with a pickup, you become the go-to guy for other neighbors to approach asking you for helpful favors such as picking up large bulky items.

That's why I got the truck in black. Maybe they won't notice

28firefighter

For whatever reason I really enjoy the experience of going to Costco and walking out with 60 rolls of toilet paper. and 40 rolls of paper towels.

mjfloyd1

28firefighter said:

For whatever reason I really enjoy the experience of going to Costco and walking out with 60 rolls of toilet paper. and 40 rolls of paper towels.

IBS with diarrhea?

28firefighter

mjfloyd1 said:

28firefighter said:

For whatever reason I really enjoy the experience of going to Costco and walking out with 60 rolls of toilet paper. and 40 rolls of paper towels.

IBS with diarrhea?

Close! Crohn's disease. The throne is my second office.

28firefighter

My punch is official - paperwork is signed and returned. But I don't pick up until Saturday.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

My punch is official - paperwork is signed and returned. But I don't pick up until Saturday.

Voo Doo Blue Tacoma TRD Pro w/ a 6 speed stick?

28firefighter

If I was going to get a Tacoma it would be Cement or bust. I seriously considered it, but it won't fit in the garage.

stickguy

Ascent?

pensfan83

Cement was my second choice followed by Cavalry Blue.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

If I was going to get a Tacoma it would be Cement or bust. I seriously considered it, but it won't fit in the garage.

Mine doesn't fit in the garage either.

GLI 35th Anniversary with a 6-Speed Stick?

tjc78

GTI

28firefighter

Liking the guesses.

jmonroe1

What the hell is going on in here? I thought it was pretty funny that some of you guys got a new mug shot. Now it ain't so funny that I see I got one too. :@

Maybe @28firefighter got the newly introduced Genny station wagon.

jmonroe

andres3

28firefighter said:

Liking the guesses.

Lambo SUV?

corvette

Found the water meter dripping and spraying the underside of the meter box. Water company is going to come out and check that out along with the noisy line complaint today or tomorrow.

No sign of a pressure reducer anywhere, inside or out, so that’s likely my next step if the water company doesn’t fix it.

Michaell

RR Cullinan - he won the lottery and didn't share the information with his Edmunds poster buddies.

stickguy

Saw that the new genny CUV is going to be big, based on the G80. I’m interested in when they come out with a smaller model off the G70, or Santa Fe platform.

Michaell

stickguy said:

Saw that the new genny CUV is going to be big, based on the G80. I’m interested in when they come out with a smaller model off the G70, or Santa Fe platform.

Question is - will the G70 based SUV be RWD?

stickguy

Certainly AWD mostly. I guess they don’t bother with the RWD version.

28firefighter

andres3 said:

28firefighter said:

Liking the guesses.

Lambo SUV?

I'm sorry, how much do you think I make?

ab348

28firefighter said:

andres3 said:

28firefighter said:

Liking the guesses.

Lambo SUV?

I'm sorry, how much do you think I make?

Well, you do seem a man of mystery. At least at the moment.

ab348

jmonroe1 said:

What the hell is going on in here? I thought it was pretty funny that some of you guys got a new mug shot. Now it ain't so funny that I see I got one too. :@

jmonroe

Seems appropriate.

andres3

28firefighter said:

andres3 said:

28firefighter said:

Liking the guesses.

Lambo SUV?

I'm sorry, how much do you think I make?

You didn't say new did you? Figured the depreciation on those might be pretty steep!

marcogallo1986

@28ff hmm BMWX5

breld

@28firefighter - CPO A4

ab348

After the GM bankruptcy we are down to 2 GM dealers in town (used to be 4). The place I got my last 3 cars from is owned by one of the 2 large dealer groups here, while the other one owns the other GM store. While I am not particularly in love with my dealer, the other group has an absolutely terrible reputation - the whole gamut of sleazy high pressure sales tactics, poor service departments, and just generally taking advantage of people. There was a recent string of tweets from a former salesguy at their Hyundai store outlining some of the things they did with people upside-down on their car that just made their situation worse, which didn't surprise me much.

I only ever dealt with them once, years ago, in 2011 when I had my '09 Lacrosse. When the selling dealer closed, I took it there for service a couple of times because it was close by. They had just purchased the dealership then and all of the former owner's staff were still there, including the veteran sales guy I bought my Intrigue from in '03 when he was at the other GM dealer here that also eventually closed. Now those people are virtually all gone.

Imagine my surprise this week when I start getting emails from them. An unknown-to-me saleslady first sends me an email saying:

"Good morning, I was talking with xxxx yyyyy, our General Sales Manager, while looking at your file, and it seems like we could potentially save you some money…"

Well, they don't have a file. I am currently on my 3rd vehicle after the one that I had there for service years ago. So this set off the BS meter.

It goes on:

"I had Jenny record a personal video for you:
www.SteeleGMCanadaWideClearance.com/we-want-your-vehicle

It’s only a minute and will explain everything…

You will also get instant access to up to $15,500 in
bonus offers if you let us make you an offer for your
current vehicle. Call me if you have any questions.

Call me if you have any questions."

(Yes, that line was there twice)

A personal video - yeah, sure. But it explained much. First, they pivot from having a vehicle for me on file, to not knowing what it is, then back to having buyers interested in my mystery vehicle. Quite the trick. None of this is making me want to trust them very much. I also was not really surprised to find that "Jenny" is not on their staff at all according to their website. Really quite sleazy.

Today I got another one:

"Good afternoon, I’m writing this email with a bit of urgency because for the first time EVER, we have 25% OFF the MSRP on some of our models…

…that’s 1/4 OFF the price (CRAZY!!!)

Watch this now so you can be the first to act:
www.SteeleGMCanadaWideClearance.com/up-to-25-off-msrp

…I thought you might appreciate the extra cash!!!"

Guess what? Melinda and Mike don't work there either.

I was going to hit the unsubscribe button, but I think I will stick around for a while to see what else they hit me with. It is a bit discouraging because I now know for sure they are not a place I ever want to deal with, but good to know I suppose.

xwesx

corvette said:

I don’t think there is one. I’m not even sure there’s a pressure regulator. I don’t think an expansion tank is required (or needed) on the water heater - it looks like my municipality doesn’t use backflow preventers in residential applications. But, the problem is gone today. If it happens again while I’m sleeping, I’ll probably cut off the water supply until the next day.

I doubt there is neither on a municipal system, but maybe. Maybe something just worked lose (a tie down for a pipe somewhere) due to the torque of the water hammer effect over the years.

Whether an arrester is there now or not, you can certainly add them as needed. For a retrofit, I would use "SharkBite" type fittings just for the ease and speed of installation:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cu9LUx79w4

xwesx

corvette said:

Thanks for your help... I'm assuming those are commonly located in the meter box? Because it's definitely not inside the house (water line enters the house in the crawlspace part of the half basement). Weirdly, the problem disappeared this morning, and came back again about 9:45 at night, so it would correspond with an outdoor temperature related issue. I closed off the shut off valve inside the house and purged off the line pressure, and I can still hear the banging sound near where the water line enters the house, although it's very faint. At least I'll be able to sleep tonight!

Sounds like you're narrowing it down. Did you notice any change in pressure? Such as stronger flow from shower, etc.? If it is a pressure problem, you don't want to let it fester. Things may seem okay now, but it may be straining weak points in the system.

fintail

The braintrust behind that nonsense - I see similar from dealers out here, I think many of them employ these marketing firms, giving a similar sleazy vibe from coast to coast.

corvette

Yes, even with the old decrepit gate valve supposedly turning “off” water supply to the entire house, it was still letting some water through. Water company is supposed to come take a look at the meter and the water I found dripping from it plus the noise issue.

qbrozen

28firefighter said:

Close! Crohn's disease. The throne is my second office.

I laugh because I am in a similar situation. Been on a strict diet for 22 years now.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

28firefighter said:

Close! Crohn's disease. The throne is my second office.

I laugh because I am in a similar situation. Been on a strict diet for 22 years now.

Diet + Remicade + Methotrexate for me!

stickguy

that dude waited 23 years to do that?