Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

ab348

Looks great. Having the decking covered like that must make the stain last much better too.

Did you have much debate re. the positioning of the fire pit and furniture? I can see a case for having the seating facing outward towards the property.

kyfdx

@xwesx Wider shot


You can also see the AZEK landing to the right

[Deleted User]

@pensfan83, can I ask where you got that furniture? We're currently in the market

pensfan83

@ab348, on the upper deck yes it does keep it from getting less weathered. The back of the house also faces west so it gets the brunt of the mid-afternoon sun and the roof has helped keep the kitchen and family room much cooler by shielding them from the sun. The lower deck generally needs refinished annually. As for the layout the location where the TV is mounted played a role but we've contemplated getting a mount that will allow for some lateral movement that would probably open up things up as far as furniture layout.

carnaught

Nicely done, but do you need a neck massage after watching a movie?

kyfdx

Replace that cabinet with a kegerator, and I’ll be right over. 👍

graphicguy

@pensfan83 ....very nice!!!!

graphicguy

@abacomike.....taking an over/under bet on keeping the new E450...

fintail

My E55 had staggered wheels like that. no rotation. 20K miles, and they were racing slicks at rear. I didn't drive it *that* hard.

abacomike said:

The last three Mercedes I have owned (leased the last one) had different sized tires front and rear so they could not be rotated. On this last car (S450) I had to replace the front tires twice - every 9000 miles. Rear tires are still the originals.

breld

@pensfan83 - your back deck and yard look amazing!

carnaught

Those staggered summer tires wear like a pair of cheap shoes.

tifighter

Today's random craigslist post is where the new C8 got the idea from.

explorerx4

@pensfan83,
Where do you keep the tv remore?

fintail

Now that Fiero is a preservation piece. No harm done for that money.

I remember when my brother was a little kid, like 5 years old, he thought those were Ferraris. Small sporty looking car, starts with an "F", unique badge, there we go.

pensfan83

Thanks all, we're thankful to have that setup in these crazy times.

@dad23 we got the furniture at Lowe's.
@carnaught it's not too bad actually if you are on the couch but if you're closer you'll want
@explorerx4 we keep the remotes for the TV, box, and fan inside usually when they aren't in use
@kyfdx there is an outlet right behind that cabinet put there for that very purpose but we haven't bought one yet

tifighter

fintail said:

Now that Fiero is a preservation piece. No harm done for that money.

I remember when my brother was a little kid, like 5 years old, he thought those were Ferraris. Small sporty looking car, starts with an "F", unique badge, there we go.

Second owner, clearly looked after. And how many of the 4 cyl cars are left?

I hope the Top Gun hat on the center console comes with it.

oldfarmer50

tifighter said:

Today's random craigslist post is where the new C8 got the idea from.

Assuming it’s in good shape mechanically those are becoming more popular. A friend who was a former mechanic bought one with about 3X that milage for $1500. He spent years fixing everything that was wrong and it still didn’t run right.

nyccarguy

nyccarguy

28firefighter

@nyccarguy beautiful. How many sq feet is that?

stickguy

man, you people are making me feel bad. they look so nice, and mine looks shabby!

stickguy

nyccarguy said:

corvette said:

stickguy said:

Covered under Moen warranty, but they are on reduced hours and who knows how long it will take. Will call plumbing supply house I got it from in case they stock the part. Though of course will have to likely pay for that!

@nyccarguy , you don't happen to have a secret phone number or something that he can call to get VIP treatment?

No. But I just happen to know a major moen distributor in New York City. If you send me some info with pics, I can see what I can do.

props to the Moen customer service person. Must have taken pity on my (largely because the leak was flooding the base cabinet) so after explaining it was normally 7-10 days, but with Covid could be longer, she went "up the chain" to see if anything could be done. She came back to say they were going to expedite. Turns out, that was really expediting. Talked to her at 9:30 AM today, and got notified that Fed Ex has it and it should arrive by tomorrow evening. So Thursday at the latest should hopefully have it swapped out and back to normal. If I don't screw something else up of course!

qbrozen

So after letting her 2nd Jeep counteroffer expire, sis went a different direction and clicked Accept on a Taco offer. Nothing confirmed in writing yet, though. It is a 4-door SR5 with steps and tonneau. 24/10 for $256/mo with $256 at signing. MSRP is like $38.6k. 0.66% payment vs sticker. After all taken into account, I figured it is about $5-$6/mo less than the popular toyota broker on LH. Hopefully it goes through.

Best offer on the Wrangler Unlimited Sport was $296 for 39/10, FYI.

xwesx

tjc78 said:

I would literally have a heart attack if I had to replace tires in 9000 miles.

I've told it before but my 2006 Avalon was equipped with Bridgestone Turanza EL400 tires. They were garbage and had to be replaced at 27,000 miles. I was not happy.

I understand performance tires wear out faster and you have to pay to play so to speak, but seriously 9000 miles is a disgrace IMO. I'm sure you paid over $250 each too.

Ugh. Yeah, I just ordered a new set of "summer" tires for the Q7. I was curious, so I added up the miles that I put on the old set, which are down to about 2/32" tread (I should have replaced them last summer, but was trying to defer the cost): Just under 19,000 miles! Yes, disgraceful. The cost to replace? $1,200, for just the tires! Ugh again!

I ordered a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde All-Season Plus II off TireRack last night, and I received notification today that they shipped. Supposed to be here by Friday. With an expected lifespan of 65,000 miles, they should last me about as long as I want to use them on the car.

xwesx

pensfan83 said:

Wood, wood, everywhere not a spot left unstained. Other than the powder coated pillars and rails of course.

You're getting breld-level fancy now!

Once you step outside my door, it is mostly just mud, mud everywhere at my place. LOL

xwesx

kyfdx said:

@xwesx Wider shot

You can also see the AZEK landing to the right

That's some well-groomed space! I now have a good reason to cry when I get home tonight.

And, my nicest tree, one I grew from seed about twenty years ago (oy! 21 now!!!), had a large branch break off it this winter, so I will need to cut the whole thing back once it senesces this autumn.

xwesx

tifighter said:

Today's random craigslist post is where the new C8 got the idea from.

As far as Fiero's go, that one looks like a darn nice example.

roadburner

I wouldn't mind an all-original V6 GT, in typical GM fashion of the era, they axed the car not long after they had worked all the bugs out of it.

fintail

I bet you could get the Fiero for no more than $3500 these days, cheap fun Radwood entrant.

Just expect a sheep in wolf's clothing, at least it's a stick.

corvette

Fiero - a distant cousin had one when I was a kid, all I can remember is my babysitter (his mom) having to pick him up after he spent the night at a friend’s house because it wouldn’t start.

stickguy

qbrozen said:

So after letting her 2nd Jeep counteroffer expire, sis went a different direction and clicked Accept on a Taco offer. Nothing confirmed in writing yet, though. It is a 4-door SR5 with steps and tonneau. 24/10 for $256/mo with $256 at signing. MSRP is like $38.6k. 0.66% payment vs sticker. After all taken into account, I figured it is about $5-$6/mo less than the popular toyota broker on LH. Hopefully it goes through.

Best offer on the Wrangler Unlimited Sport was $296 for 39/10, FYI.

if something like that is available when my lease is done, that might shift my focus at that price.

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

oldfarmer50 said:

stickguy said:

That could be a problem if they managed to get signed up for UI.

Both of them are current school bus drivers sitting home on full boat. In NY your UI is reduced by 25% for every day you work in a given week.

BTW, happy birthday. Just how old are you?

old but not as old as you!

@Stick, I owe you a belated Happy Birthday. My excuse is that I've been pretty busy helping Son #1 with flip house #2. Not nearly as bored the last few days as I have been for the last month. I think I'd like to be bored again. This flipping thingy is for young folks. Anyway, let me wish you what I wished for myself when Mrs. j threw me a surprise 40 th birthday party. I was told by several people I had to reveal my wish and not to worry that it would be bad luck doing it. So, I said I wanted to live a healthy and long life and to have so many candles on my cake that I couldn't blow them all out with one breath. For many years now I haven't been able to do it and I'm more than happy to admit it. So, the same to you friend.

jmonroe

stickguy

thanks JM. A wonderful sentiment. I am getting there. good thing my wife won't put that many candles on the cake now!

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

I wouldn't mind an all-original V6 GT, in typical GM fashion of the era, they axed the car not long after they had worked all the bugs out of it.

I think the bad publicity did that for them. It wouldn’t be the first time a car company only fix a major issue after it was too late.

Wasn’t the V6 more trouble prone than the 4?

nyccarguy

stickguy said:

man, you people are making me feel bad. they look so nice, and mine looks shabby!

Don’t feel bad. Mine is pretty much brand new. I had it put up 2 years ago (Azek Apron, Railings, & Spindles w/ Pressure Treated Decking).

stickguy

the financial crash probably takes it all off the table, but I am kinda in that limbo of either doing a surface spruce up and trying to unload this house, or commit to staying 5-7 more years and doing some more expensive updates.

we did the big stuff (kitchen/baths/hardwoods/roof/HVAC) recently, but stuff like the deck, shed, patio slider, front door package could all use doing at some point. Not stuff I want to do if we are bailing, but amortizing over longer time period to get some enjoyment out of it could make sense.

ST, staining deck and shed. LT, replace the rotting shed and redeck the deck. Paint vs. replace front door. Stuff like that.

just need money of course! Not thinking it is the best time to start doing big ticket items. But will get some estimates because there may be some deals to be had!

kyfdx

xwesx said:

kyfdx said:

@xwesx Wider shot

You can also see the AZEK landing to the right

That's some well-groomed space! I now have a good reason to cry when I get home tonight.

And, my nicest tree, one I grew from seed about twenty years ago (oy! 21 now!!!), had a large branch break off it this winter, so I will need to cut the whole thing back once it senesces this autumn.

It isn't that hard, when your whole lot is just 70' X 109'.

That's why you don't see an expansive deck on my house. The house itself maxes out the allowable footprint. Shoehorned that little 9' X 10' porch into the design.

We have a pear tree that was probably 3 years old, when planted. That makes it about 25 yrs old now, and it is huge. But, the ground sucks here, and the last few years, the roots are starting to push up out of the ground. Pear trees don't have a large central trunk. At about 8 feet, they start spreading. I'm waiting for a big storm or wind to break mine down, at some point. It is nearing the end of normal life for that type of tree.

28firefighter

kyfdx said:

xwesx said:

kyfdx said:

@xwesx Wider shot

You can also see the AZEK landing to the right

That's some well-groomed space! I now have a good reason to cry when I get home tonight.

And, my nicest tree, one I grew from seed about twenty years ago (oy! 21 now!!!), had a large branch break off it this winter, so I will need to cut the whole thing back once it senesces this autumn.

It isn't that hard, when your whole lot is just 70' X 109'.

That's why you don't see an expansive deck on my house. The house itself maxes out the allowable footprint. Shoehorned that little 9' X 10' porch into the design.

We have a pear tree that was probably 3 years old, when planted. That makes it about 25 yrs old now, and it is huge. But, the ground sucks here, and the last few years, the roots are starting to push up out of the ground. Pear trees don't have a large central trunk. At about 8 feet, they start spreading. I'm waiting for a big storm or wind to break mine down, at some point. It is nearing the end of normal life for that type of tree.

Our lot is a similar size in total. Entire backyard is only 50ft x 15ft.

suydam

I was going to put off a partial kitchen re-do, but recent events canceled a big trip we were planning to take, so with the refund I might reverse order and go ahead with the kitchen, and see about whether a trip is even feasible next year.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

@nyccarguy beautiful. How many sq feet is that?

I’ll measure tomorrow.

28firefighter

No need. Was just curious if you knew off the top of your head.

tifighter

xwesx said:

tifighter said:

Today's random craigslist post is where the new C8 got the idea from.

As far as Fiero's go, that one looks like a darn nice example.

I mean, yeah, it's $3800. How much can one really complain? My last mountain bike was way more...

xwesx

kyfdx said:

It isn't that hard, when your whole lot is just 70' X 109'.

That's why you don't see an expansive deck on my house. The house itself maxes out the allowable footprint. Shoehorned that little 9' X 10' porch into the design.

We have a pear tree that was probably 3 years old, when planted. That makes it about 25 yrs old now, and it is huge. But, the ground sucks here, and the last few years, the roots are starting to push up out of the ground. Pear trees don't have a large central trunk. At about 8 feet, they start spreading. I'm waiting for a big storm or wind to break mine down, at some point. It is nearing the end of normal life for that type of tree.

Well, as long as it gives you fruit, it's worth the space it takes up. Maybe when it is time to move on, you can put a peach in there.

Our lot is about 1.2 acres, which seemed big enough when we bought the land, but now that all the other spaces around us have people on them, it seems very, very small. Tonight I swapped the tires out on my wife's Forester, and the whole time I was listening to the neighbors talk about something or another as they sat around a campfire maybe 100' down the hill from me. I miss the days when it was just us and the forest. It didn't last long, but it was mighty peaceful.

Speaking of the tires, she put nearly 7,000 miles on it over the winter (7 months), and the tires are at 12/32" tread depth (started at 13/32"). Not too shabby! Yokohama IceGuard 51v.

oldfarmer50

xwesx said:

tjc78 said:

I would literally have a heart attack if I had to replace tires in 9000 miles.

I've told it before but my 2006 Avalon was equipped with Bridgestone Turanza EL400 tires. They were garbage and had to be replaced at 27,000 miles. I was not happy.

I understand performance tires wear out faster and you have to pay to play so to speak, but seriously 9000 miles is a disgrace IMO. I'm sure you paid over $250 each too.

Ugh. Yeah, I just ordered a new set of "summer" tires for the Q7. I was curious, so I added up the miles that I put on the old set, which are down to about 2/32" tread (I should have replaced them last summer, but was trying to defer the cost): Just under 19,000 miles! Yes, disgraceful. The cost to replace? $1,200, for just the tires! Ugh again!

I ordered a set of Pirelli Scorpion Verde All-Season Plus II off TireRack last night, and I received notification today that they shipped. Supposed to be here by Friday. With an expected lifespan of 65,000 miles, they should last me about as long as I want to use them on the car.

Other than wearing out fast did you have any other complaints with the Pirellis? Mine developed a whine at 10k.

sb55

My deck. (More like a porch).
It’s still too cold to put out the cushions.

graphicguy

@sb55 beautiful!

nyccarguy

graphicguy said:

@sb55 beautiful!

+1 very pretty @sb55

explorerx4

@sb55,
Path leads to the lake?

sb55

A

explorerx4 said:

@sb55,
Path leads to the lake?

Yes. I can’t seem to attach another photo, but we’re on a point so I have Lake Champlain wrap around our property. We own 920’ feet of lake frontage, 7.5 acres and 4 rental cottages. Due to projects, stay at home hasn’t been so terrible for us.

sb55

Here's a drone video that a friend took. https://youtu.be/b-NQCIRMmQQ