Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations

tjc78

Yeah, I'm not painting the majority of our current home. Our ceilings on the first floor are over 9' and there are far too many windows, doors, etc to paint around. Our bedroom has a very large tray ceiling with moldings to cut around as well..... just not feeling that kind of commitment!

I am contemplating painting my theater room a darker color, but that is a more typical 8' ceiling and only has a double door to cut in. I could take all my time with it since it isn't a room that would disrupt our living space.

laurasdada

Spent half an hour shoveling yesterday. Surprisingly sore. It's as if I'm physically getting older exponentially. Luckily, on a maturity level, I'm told (almost daily) that I'm still a 16 year old.

stickguy

You had me until the it’s expensive part!

stickguy

Daughter is spending today replacing outlets. Old ones worked but looked dingy and some were off white to start with. She wants them all nice and fresh. Pretty much went smoothly I lot one outlet in a spare bedroom. When we painted and took the plate off they found so residue of bees of some sort which got vacuumed out. Well turns out when she pulled the outlet that much of the wiring including the wire nut is charred or melted. Lucky the place did not burn down before they got it. So she is putting the outlet back on to keep the wires where they belong and taping over that one to make sure it does not get used.

They were having the electrician out anyway to add a bathroom outlet and clean up wiring in the garage. And definitely fix that outlet. Good thing she decided to replace it or may never have know before something potentially fatal happened.

explorerx4

In December, as a member, I went to the end of year Holiday Party for my local Mustang/Ford club.
The keynote speaker was the Ford Club liaison for Ford Corporate, although not sure for how much longer.
One topic he was asked about was how to make the club younger.
He related a story where he gave a away some small diecast cars to kids at a Ford show.
Many years later, a young man walked up to him at the Hershey Ford Show this year and showed him a picture of him getting the diecast car as a kid.
Then he said "You want to take a look at my Mustang?"
That really resonated with me, so I've been buying Hot Wheels Mustangs for the club to give away.
My goal is to get 50 and I'm up over 40. Just waiting for my next credit card to close for the month before I order more.
I've been buying them off ebay and boy that can be a big rabbit hole to fall into.

ab348

It might have been cheaper just to buy a real Mustang for the kids.

nyccarguy

@explorerx4 said:
In December, as a member, I went to the end of year Holiday Party for my local Mustang/Ford club.
The keynote speaker was the Ford Club liaison for Ford Corporate, although not sure for how much longer.
One topic he was asked about was how to make the club younger.
He related a story where he gave a away some small diecast cars to kids at a Ford show.
Many years later, a young man walked up to him at the Hershey Ford Show this year and showed him a picture of him getting the diecast car as a kid.
Then he said "You want to take a look at my Mustang?"
That really resonated with me, so I've been buying Hot Wheels Mustangs for the club to give away.
My goal is to get 50 and I'm up over 40. Just waiting for my next credit card to close for the month before I order more.
I've been buying them off ebay and boy that can be a big rabbit hole to fall into.

I’m sure I’ve told some variant of this story, but I grew up in a GMish household. My Dad has a 1966 427 CI 390 HP Corvette Convertible. Yes it is a 4speed manual. I started reading car magazines when I was 11 or 12. By the time I turned 16, I wanted a Mustang with the 5.0 (LX hatch, GT, or notchback) with the 16” 5 spoke wheels more than anything. The gruesome reality of insurance costs set in and my dreams of a Mustang with the 5.0 were crushed. I loved the shape of the Mustang so much that I would have bought a 4cyl if the dealer would have just put a set of those iconic 16” 5 spoke wheels on it. Nope. Eventually I did buy a Ford as my 2nd vehicle after driving a Chevrolet Beretta GT for as long as it was engineered to last. It wasn’t a Mustang, it was an Explorer Sport (2 Door SUV, not the 1/2 pickup truck one). By the time the lease was up on my Explorer was up, my tastes moved towards European and Japanese cars. While every car today is vastly too expensive, look at how much a current body style mustang costs. Eco Boosts are in the $40K range & a GT with the awesome sounding Coyote V8 is $50-$60K.

explorerx4

@nyccarguy,
Do you mean these wheels? They still look pretty good after 35 years.
You can get them in aftermarket 17 and 18 inch versions now.

corvette

nyccarguy said:

...after driving a Chevrolet Beretta GT for as long as it was engineered to last.

So, through the factory warranty period?

nyccarguy

@explorerx4 said:
@nyccarguy,
Do you mean these wheels? They still look pretty good after 35 years.
You can get them in aftermarket 17 and 18 inch versions now.

You know it! Those wheels and your car is still awesome!

nyccarguy

@corvette said:
So, through the factory warranty period?

That wouldn’t have been any fun now would it? Besides, multiple dealers couldn’t fix what was broken while it was under warranty anyway.

roadburner

explorerx4 said:

In December, as a member, I went to the end of year Holiday Party for my local Mustang/Ford club.
The keynote speaker was the Ford Club liaison for Ford Corporate, although not sure for how much longer.
One topic he was asked about was how to make the club younger.
He related a story where he gave a away some small diecast cars to kids at a Ford show.
Many years later, a young man walked up to him at the Hershey Ford Show this year and showed him a picture of him getting the diecast car as a kid.
Then he said "You want to take a look at my Mustang?"
That really resonated with me, so I've been buying Hot Wheels Mustangs for the club to give away.
My goal is to get 50 and I'm up over 40. Just waiting for my next credit card to close for the month before I order more.
I've been buying them off ebay and boy that can be a big rabbit hole to fall into.

I've been buying Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars to give away when I display the Club Sport. The cars aren't all BMWs but are usually European sports cars or sports sedans with an occasional Japanese sports car. A competition car of any type can also be in the mix (GT 40, 787B, etc.).
I also bring my gray market Baby Racer; if kids want to ride on it so much the better.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

@explorerx4 said:

In December, as a member, I went to the end of year Holiday Party for my local Mustang/Ford club.

The keynote speaker was the Ford Club liaison for Ford Corporate, although not sure for how much longer.

One topic he was asked about was how to make the club younger.

He related a story where he gave a away some small diecast cars to kids at a Ford show.

Many years later, a young man walked up to him at the Hershey Ford Show this year and showed him a picture of him getting the diecast car as a kid.

Then he said "You want to take a look at my Mustang?"

That really resonated with me, so I've been buying Hot Wheels Mustangs for the club to give away.

My goal is to get 50 and I'm up over 40. Just waiting for my next credit card to close for the month before I order more.

I've been buying them off ebay and boy that can be a big rabbit hole to fall into.

I’m sure I’ve told some variant of this story, but I grew up in a GMish household. My Dad has a 1966 427 CI 390 HP Corvette Convertible. Yes it is a 4speed manual. I started reading car magazines when I was 11 or 12. By the time I turned 16, I wanted a Mustang with the 5.0 (LX hatch, GT, or notchback) with the 16” 5 spoke wheels more than anything. The gruesome reality of insurance costs set in and my dreams of a Mustang with the 5.0 were crushed. I loved the shape of the Mustang so much that I would have bought a 4cyl if the dealer would have just put a set of those iconic 16” 5 spoke wheels on it. Nope. Eventually I did buy a Ford as my 2nd vehicle after driving a Chevrolet Beretta GT for as long as it was engineered to last. It wasn’t a Mustang, it was an Explorer Sport (2 Door SUV, not the 1/2 pickup truck one). By the time the lease was up on my Explorer was up, my tastes moved towards European and Japanese cars. While every car today is vastly too expensive, look at how much a current body style mustang costs. Eco Boosts are in the $40K range & a GT with the awesome sounding Coyote V8 is $50-$60K.

I was a similar fan of Mustangs as a kid. There was one I passed every day on my paper route, a 67’ in a steel blue color that I just loved. Then I turned 16, got my license and an upgraded job as a dishwasher, and never saw that car again. It took 47 more years before I was in the financial position to finally get one. I paid about $31k after discounts in 2015 and I thought that was all the money in the world at the time.

I guess it was a good thing that I couldn’t afford one in my youth as I’m sure I would have killed myself with it.

fintail

explorerx4 said:

@nyccarguy,
Do you mean these wheels? They still look pretty good after 35 years.
You can get them in aftermarket 17 and 18 inch versions now.

Inflated new car prices make that style GT look even more attractive for a weekend toy, and depreciation likely won't be an issue - at least as much fun and arguably cooler looks for a fraction of the price.

roadburner

@oldfarmer50 said:
I was a similar fan of Mustangs as a kid. There was one I passed every day on my paper route, a 67’ in a steel blue color that I just loved. Then I turned 16, got my license and an upgraded job as a dishwasher, and never saw that car again. It took 47 more years before I was in the financial position to finally get one. I paid about $31k after discounts in 2015 and I thought that was all the money in the world at the time.

I guess it was a good thing that I couldn’t afford one in my youth as I’m sure I would have killed myself with it.

Back in 1992 I was looking for a new(er) car to replace my E28 5er. I thought that I might have opposition in the 1993 election so I was seriously considering a Mustang 5.0 notchback (I preferred a vanilla 5.0 since the GT was not available as a notchback). I drove a 1992 5.0 convertible with an automatic and I was beyond appalled by how slow it was. I then spent several weeks searching for a newer 5.0 manual and soon discovered that it was virtually impossible to find one that was not a GT. A couple of weeks later my wife and I were visiting friends in Memphis and I encountered a one owner 1988 M6- the rest is history…

corvette

My parents have an upright freezer in their garage which is at least 30 years old. They keep talking about replacing it as a preventative, but I told them that, although it is likely to fail in the next ten years, so is a brand new freezer that they get from the appliance store.

imidazol97

@corvette said:
My parents have an upright freezer in their garage which is at least 30 years old. They keep talking about replacing it as a preventative, but I told them that, although it is likely to fail in the next ten years, so is a brand new freezer that they get from the appliance store.

The old appliance repair guy on his Detroit radio show said the older fridges were better for garages where the temps might go cold and hot. The newer models were engineered with tighter specs on their environment.

jmonroe1

@corvette said:
My parents have an upright freezer in their garage which is at least 30 years old. They keep talking about replacing it as a preventative, but I told them that, although it is likely to fail in the next ten years, so is a brand new freezer that they get from the appliance store.

——————————————————
Sad, but very true.

My parents bought a 1940 Frigidaire refrigerator built by General Motors not too long after they were married. That thing outlived my Dad who died in 1983 but my Mom outlived that beast. I’m pretty sure it croaked in the late 80s.

jmonroe

xwesx

sda said:

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it is a good year for all. We are off to a minor step in the wrong direction, but manageable. Our washer decided to leak on the floor. What is it with appliances not lasting 10 years?? A conversation of washer/ dryer may be front and center if it is determined the washer can’t be repaired. The washer and dryer must be replaced as a matching set said…you know who. They are the first thing you see when entering from the garage.

Unless you do this regularly already, double check the washer's strainer. If that gets backed up, it will cause leakage. There should be a small trap on the lower left of the front of the washer. Just pop that open (can be a pain on some models!); behind it, there is a twist lock mechanism. Twist that to the left, unscrew it, then pull it out and clean. Reinsert.... should be good to go!

stickguy

I remember doing that on no washer I think.

tjc78

@stickguy said:
I remember doing that on no washer I think.

Front loaders only

ab348

xwesx said:

sda said:

Happy New Year everyone. I hope it is a good year for all. We are off to a minor step in the wrong direction, but manageable. Our washer decided to leak on the floor. What is it with appliances not lasting 10 years?? A conversation of washer/ dryer may be front and center if it is determined the washer can’t be repaired. The washer and dryer must be replaced as a matching set said…you know who. They are the first thing you see when entering from the garage.

Unless you do this regularly already, double check the washer's strainer. If that gets backed up, it will cause leakage. There should be a small trap on the lower left of the front of the washer. Just pop that open (can be a pain on some models!); behind it, there is a twist lock mechanism. Twist that to the left, unscrew it, then pull it out and clean. Reinsert.... should be good to go!

Put a towel on the floor before doing this as on mine water always comes out when you unscrew the strainer.

nyccarguy

Patience and measuring have paid off. To refresh everyone’s memory, some of the elements on my 15 year old GE 30” slide in range stopped working. Getting the elements replaced was cost prohibitive given the age of the range. I have a space of exactly 29 3/4” between 2 pieces of granite to fit a new 30” range that are anywhere from 29 3/4” to 30” wide. Out with the GE. In with the Whirlpool which now matches the microwave. Lowe’s made things easy. Walked into the store at about 5:30 pm on Friday, physically measured with the appliance guy there, walked out of the store at 5:55 pm, & they showed up with it here at 8:30 this morning.

oldfarmer50

Hey that’s my stove!😊 only difference is I have black dials.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Hey that’s my stove!😊 only difference is I have black dials.

——————————————————
Silver dials have more precise temperature adjustment.

jmonroe

corvette

@nyccarguy - that looks nice, congrats!

nyccarguy

@corvette said:
@nyccarguy - that looks nice, congrats!

Thanks!

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

Hey that’s my stove!😊 only difference is I have black dials.

——————————————————

Silver dials have more precise temperature adjustment.

jmonroe

Darn, I knew I should have gone with the premium trim.😂 I bet he even has blind Pot monitors.

jmonroe1

@oldfarmer50 said:
Darn, I knew I should have gone with the premium trim.😂 I bet he even has blind Pot monitors.

——————————————————
Not those but he does have pot rust proximity sensors.

jmonroe

tjc78

@nyccarguy
Glad it worked out!

Lowe’s did our washer/dryer down the shore. Very easy process.

corvette

I think Lowe’s now charges for delivery and haul away. My local appliance store doesn’t, so that’s my first choice.

nyccarguy

@tjc78 said:
@nyccarguy
Glad it worked out!

Lowe’s did our washer/dryer down the shore. Very easy process.

First official meal cooked to perfection in the new oven:

For those of you who don’t have a MEATer or Chef IQ, they are awesome!

corvette

@nyccarguy - In the background, we can see all the tubes of Super Glue you had to use to make the herbs stick that perfectly!

jmonroe1

@nyccarguy said:

@tjc78 said:
@nyccarguy
Glad it worked out!

Lowe’s did our washer/dryer down the shore. Very easy process.

First official meal cooked to perfection in the new oven:

For those of you who don’t have a MEATer or Chef IQ, they are awesome!

——————————————————
That must be a new recipe…cooking the chicken with the straw still on it from the chicken coop.

jmonroe

suydam

In the replacing appliances category it looks like we will be getting a new microwave. It looks fine, but it will only start after 3 or 4 instances of opening and shutting the door, turning around 3 times and invoking an Irish blessing along with a few Yiddish curses. The manual says it’s because the microwave “thinks” (?) the door isn’t shut right. It’s 10 years old and I’m reaching maximum frustration. Life is too short.

corvette

@suydam - engineering wise, there is absolutely zero tolerance for any possibility of leakage in a microwave. If the latch gets wonky, it's not going to run.

nyccarguy

@suydam said:
In the replacing appliances category it looks like we will be getting a new microwave. It looks fine, but it will only start after 3 or 4 instances of opening and shutting the door, turning around 3 times and invoking an Irish blessing along with a few Yiddish curses. The manual says it’s because the microwave “thinks” (?) the door isn’t shut right. It’s 10 years old and I’m reaching maximum frustration. Life is too short.

I’d probably junk it, but I was having a similar issue, watched a YouTube video, and was able to make the repair.

ab348

jmonroe1 said:

/>
That must be a new recipe…cooking the chicken with the straw still on it from the chicken coop.

I’m glad you clarified that. I figured it was some oven insulation from the new range that got dislodged during shipping.

kyfdx

Rough.. @nyccarguy : I will come to dinner. Looks great!

tjc78

@nyccarguy
Looks good! I can appreciate the crafts going on in the background. Our island is very much the heart of our home. Cooking, homework, crafts, makeup for the girls, you name it .... that is where it happens.

I love the wireless meat thermometers. I've had several of the older type with the wired probe that goes to a transmitter and then a wireless display. My last one died and I got an Amazon knockoff similar to what you have there and used it for the first time on my prime rib at Christmas. Worked great.

Wife and I were having a discussion and before the summer season we are getting a new range and dishwasher at the shore.

andres3

Averaged a peak high of 21.7 MPG in the Macan Turbo on the way up the central valley the day after Christmas. Lots of traffic due to rain in some spots keeping speeds lower; which actually seems to help mileage.

For the other legs of my trip, with speeds around 130 KPH-140 KPH unimpeded (which is legal in some parts of Europe) mileage dropped to 18-19 MPG despite all highway miles. The computer said I was able to get my average speed up in the high 70's. The loss of gas mileage is totally worth the reduced drive time and less exposure to hazards.

I honestly thought it would do a bit better on the highway. Perhaps the high ride height of the SUV contributes to poor mileage despite the aerodynamics of the Porsche.