Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

pensfan83

nyccarguy said:

My random thought for the day. I had some more seat time in the Pilot this weekend when we went to see my in laws on Long Island. Maybe when the lease is up on the Tacoma I’ll make that my daily driver and lease a sedan for my wife.

We like the overall package the Passport offers, just need to drive one.

Michaell

pensfan83 said:

nyccarguy said:

My random thought for the day. I had some more seat time in the Pilot this weekend when we went to see my in laws on Long Island. Maybe when the lease is up on the Tacoma I’ll make that my daily driver and lease a sedan for my wife.

We like the overall package the Passport offers, just need to drive one.

I teset drove the Passport - it was a nice sized package, if you don't need the 3rd row.

nyccarguy

Michaell said:

pensfan83 said:

nyccarguy said:

My random thought for the day. I had some more seat time in the Pilot this weekend when we went to see my in laws on Long Island. Maybe when the lease is up on the Tacoma I’ll make that my daily driver and lease a sedan for my wife.

We like the overall package the Passport offers, just need to drive one.

I teset drove the Passport - it was a nice sized package, if you don't need the 3rd row.

We need the 3rd row to keep the peace

nyccarguy

I think it was in here that @graphicguy was talking about replacing his A/C unit. I just got a quote from the place that services my a/c unit every year. My eyes are watering. New 4 ton unit (Lennox), new air handler, new duct work. $21K! I'm going to have to get a few more quotes.

carnaught

@nyccarguy, the A/C companies try to up sell the duct-work and air handler replacements. Do you really need them?

28firefighter

Agree. Why do you need new ductwork?

stickguy

At that price, I’m issuing everyone a hand fan and an ice cube tray.

omarman

I hope that offer includes a gift card.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
I got my heating, and a/c(Lennox) plus water heater replaced for less than half of that about 5 years ago.
Ask if there are any rebates, The state may have something.

au1994

We did 2 Trane 3.5 ton units for 14k back in 2016. That included adding 2 registers but other than that no new ductwork. May have added a return but can’t 100% remember.

nyccarguy

carnaught said:

@nyccarguy, the A/C companies try to up sell the duct-work and air handler replacements. Do you really need them?

I know relatively little about air conditioning. I was under the impression the air handler had to be replaced along with the unit. The guy that came said the air handler was old and facing the wrong way so it should be replaced. Again, I'll know more when I get another 2 - 3 quotes.

imidazol97

It may be the ductwork needs redone. A radio program on a Detroit station by two construction guys talked about the problem that some older ductwork isn't sized right for the units. The Inside Outside Guys. WJR radio 760.

My whole unit was less than 1/4 of that. I mean whole unit. The metal vertical box with the coil, blower, filters, and extra electrical heat coils for the heat pump along with the whole outside unit and the tubing connecting those units. The vertical metal unit goes up near the ceiling where the return air duct comes from the attic of the house

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Agree. Why do you need new ductwork?

When I moved into the house 10 years ago, I noticed that the house was cooling better on one side than the other. I paid a guy who I thought knew what he was doing to fix it. He built a box that he said would collect the cold air and force it further into the bedrooms and ran a lot of flex ducts. It improved slightly. My A/C works, but not well. On the hot, summer days it cannot keep up (and I leave it on all day).

corvette

Did outside unit and the inside coils for about $4,500 last year for a basic 2-ton system. Furnace / air handler is relatively new and they didn’t suggest doing anything with it. They said going to a dual fuel system where they installed a heat pump but I kept the gas furnace for backup and for when the heat pump defrosts would have run about $1,000 more plus would have needed a new thermostat.

kyfdx

New Lennox gas furnace and A/C unit/coil. (the whole system, no ductwork) for $6800 in 2017.
@nyccarguy
What do you use for heat?

nyccarguy

carnaught said:

@nyccarguy, the A/C companies try to up sell the duct-work and air handler replacements. Do you really need them?

Good to know. Now I know what to look for.

nyccarguy

explorerx4 said:

@nyccarguy,
I got my heating, and a/c(Lennox) plus water heater replaced for less than half of that about 5 years ago.
Ask if there are any rebates, The state may have something.

Did you have it done by someone local or one of these bigger places?

tjc78

During our construction we did a 4 ton Coleman (York) AC, gas furnace, all new refrigerant lines, new exhaust lines, condensate pump, AND all the addition’s feed and return lines. The GC told us that part of the bill was around 11K.

This was a middle of the road system efficiency wise.

ab348

I have found around here at least that Lennox dealers were always among the most expensive. Maybe try a different brand/dealer?

stickguy

Agreed. You pay a big premium for that name. I made that mistake!

If the furnace is old it makes sense to do it all together. I had to. The furnace died, and the AC had already needed repair earlier and was looking ratty. Duct work in the House didn’t need to be touched though.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
It was a local business that did the install.

imidazol97

corvette said:

Did outside unit and the inside coils for about $4,500 last year for a basic 2-ton system. Furnace / air handler is relatively new and they didn’t suggest doing anything with it. They said going to a dual fuel system where they installed a heat pump but I kept the gas furnace for backup and for when the heat pump defrosts would have run about $1,000 more plus would have needed a new thermostat.

The gas/electric combination is what I've always dreamed of. But our street was built during the gas shortages of the 70s and the utility only installs gas if enough of the residents are willing to pay for the cost of installing gas lines.

A gas unit doing the heating when the break even point for the "low" cost of electricity here is reached compared to the cost of heating with the low cost gas. I'd guess at about 20 deg F. Although the heat pump is somewhat efficient down to 0 deg and below, it relies more an more on the occasional backup coils at a 1 to 1 heat output ratio to the electrical input cost.

kyfdx

I do not miss having a heat pump.

corvette

The mini-split in my upstairs bedroom is a heat pump. That room barely requires heating at all in the winter, since warm air from the main level rises.

I’ve had good luck with Trane products.

pensfan83

Trane is what our HVAC guy carries and our home is equipped with. No issues.

28firefighter

We have Trane as well. No complaints.

pensfan83

Well good news for the Prelude. The timing belt service fixed 2 of the leak points that were starting (valve cover gasket and cam shaft seals) and the oil cooler seal fixed another that was worsening. It was also starting to slowly leak oil around the VTEC solenoid so they are going to take care of that tomorrow when they get the part, which is all they are charging me for. When they're done with it all of the major mechanical failure/leak points will have been taken care of.

28firefighter

Almost a shame to get rid of it!

oldfarmer50

28firefighter said:

Almost a shame to get rid of it!

I was thinking the same thing. If you have a $1000 car and put $1000 of work into it, don’t you now have a $2000 car? Why then would you sell it for $1000.

nyccarguy

28firefighter said:

Almost a shame to get rid of it!

No. He’s going to find a good home for it. The shame is my Prelude sleeping under its blanket on these gorgeous, traffic free, spring mornings.

qbrozen

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

28firefighter

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

I believe we call that “maturity.” I have not discovered it yet.

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

Do you have any other symptoms? Nausea? Headache? Vomiting? Hallucinations?

breld

28firefighter said:

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

I believe we call that “maturity.” I have not discovered it yet.

It’s a temporary disorder.

explorerx4

@qbrozen,
Here's your therapist.

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

It’s obvious, alien pod people have taken over Q’s body. Release him immediately, I say! :@

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

Do you have any other symptoms? Nausea? Headache? Vomiting? Hallucinations?

I am on day 5 of a headache, so you could be on to something.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

I do not miss having a heat pump.

Especially around these parts. Had a heat pump in the house previous to the one I’m in now. NO THANKS!

I found wildly varying figures when I got quotes for my home recently. I had the furnace done about 5 years ago. The A/C was original to the house. It was a TEMPSTAR, which I’m not sure is even made any more.

The company @kyfdx and I used for replacement carries Goodman (which used to be Janitrol). My personal opinion? You spend more to pay for all the ads you see for the big names like Lennox, Trane, Carrier, etc. Local company installed...good reputation around these parts. I think the quality of the install is more important than the brand.

I had one place that told me I had to redo my ductwork (I didn’t...I just needed a quality installer who knew how to fabricate). There’s also been a lot of consolidation around these parts of HVAC companies. What used to be local, is now a large conglomerates in some instances.

My 3.5 ton, 14 SEER unit I just had installed cost $3,400. No ductwork. Just a new compressor, outside casing, new line set, R14 charge, install and haul away old. The installer knew what he was doing. He started at 7:00 a.m. and was done by 1:00 p.m. He didn’t waste time and didn’t mess around. Very professional. He explained everything to me that he was doing and the maintenance and operation of the new system (pretty straight forward, except now I have a programmable thermostat with remote).

I’d get at least 3 bids and ask each of them why they are doing what they’re proposing.

kyfdx

@graphicguy Actually, I didn't use them.

graphicguy

kyfdx said:

@graphicguy Actually, I didn't use them.

Sorry about that. I misunderstood!

kyfdx

graphicguy said:

kyfdx said:

@graphicguy Actually, I didn't use them.

Sorry about that. I misunderstood!

We've bought appliances from them. We used to attend a church with one of the owners. I like the place, just went with the recommendation of a friend, that used a contractor about a mile away. We have Lennox. I've found that if you get competitive quotes, the price difference isn't much between brands. We have Lennox, because that is the brand this contractor likes to use.

ab348

Tempstar is still very much around, made by Carrier. I have a Tempstar hi-efficiency gas furnace, no problems in 14 years (knocks on wood).

ab348

Interesting article at Hagerty this morning which might be of interest to @qbrozen on modern-day Dodge Chargers.

https://www.hagerty.com/media/advice/ask-jack/ask-jack-forget-that-camry-you-could-have-a-v-8

corvette

nyccarguy said:

qbrozen said:

Not sure I have ever found myself in this position before. I feel like I am supposed to buy another vehicle, but I am holding back. I am actually telling myself it is silly, wasteful, and useless, mostly because I’m not driving anywhere. So I see something I like, numbers look good, etc, but when I consider pulling the trigger, I stop myself. Huh.

Do you have any other symptoms? Nausea? Headache? Vomiting? Hallucinations?

Somebody check his temperature and oxygen saturation!

28firefighter

My Moms 2015.5 V60 CC is sitting at the Volvo dealer. Was smoking and lost 2.5 quarts of oil in less than 1000 miles.

Car has a blown piston seal/ring. At 42k miles. Some quick googling shows this is a known issue on these cars. It is covered by warranty but would otherwise be north of $5000.

Can anyone more mechanically inclined tell me what the odds are of damage to the cylinder walls as a result?

corvette

Wow. I’m not sure of the technical answer to your question, but this does sounds like a case of “sell it the day the warranty expires.”

28firefighter

I’m dumbfounded, but some quick googling says this is a known issue. I can’t believe this is “normal” at such low mileage.

My Dad is ready to sell it now. Talking him back so he can take some time to find something my Mom really wants.

kyfdx

28firefighter said:

I’m dumbfounded, but some quick googling says this is a known issue.

My Dad is ready to sell it now. Talking him back so he can take some time to find something my Mom really wants.

I hear if your clutch goes out, you sell every VW you own.

fintail

Geez, my fintail didn't have a broken piston ring until it was in its mid 30s. They don't make em like they used to! It was weirdly amusing to experience mosquito fogger start ups, and occasional backfires. A few thousand dollars later, I was back on the road.

breld

kyfdx said:

28firefighter said:

I’m dumbfounded, but some quick googling says this is a known issue.

My Dad is ready to sell it now. Talking him back so he can take some time to find something my Mom really wants.

I hear if your clutch goes out, you sell every VW you own.

It's just prudent.