Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100 · February 2022

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:
It usually isn’t the screw gone bad. It’s the threads in the knob.

Just buy new knobs. They come with new screws. Problem solved, assuming you can use a screwdriver.
Another good idea.......where do I look for wooden knobs and are they a standard size?
You’ve gotta get off the pickle ball courts and get out into the real world.

Go to any hardware store or big box store and you’ll find more knobs and screws than you’ll know what to do with. If you change the knobs it will give the furniture a different look for much, much less than buying new furniture. If Mrs. driver didn’t know better she’ll think you’re a genius.

jmonroe

I could buy new ones, but there are 24 counting 2 dressers and a night table. 23 of them are fine. I tried toothpicks but I think the hole got larger too...so it is kind of loose. Maybe the Dollar Store Crazy Glue can still work. I'll check Amazon too, maybe get screws....it's hard to know what size to get unless these things are standard size.

explorerx4 · February 2022

I hope this isn't going to be another one of those rear view camera saga's.

driver100 · February 2022

These aren't exactly the same but the measurements seem about right...and they are the right idea...Amazon, $7.85 for 6.

jmonroe1 · February 2022

driver100 said:
These aren't exactly the same but the measurements seem about right...and they are the right idea...Amazon, $7.85 for 6.

Those have the metal insert to accept machine screws. I thought yours was all wood that took a wood screw. If that is the case use a wood or sheet metal screw with a larger diameter that will grab the enlarged hole in the wooden knob.

I hope that works for you since we don’t want to hear you complaining about wearing the same skivvies for a week.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead · February 2022

See, I left that knob thing completely alone. .until now.

It was difficult, but strangely rewarding. Sometimes shots are just too cheap.

driver100 · February 2022

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:
These aren't exactly the same but the measurements seem about right...and they are the right idea...Amazon, $7.85 for 6.

Those have the metal insert to accept machine screws. I thought yours was all wood that took a wood screw. If that is the case use a wood or sheet metal screw with a larger diameter that will grab the enlarged hole in the wooden knob.

I hope that works for you since we don’t want to hear you complaining about wearing the same skivvies for a week.

jmonroe

Then I have to figure out the diameter, go to Home Depot, figure out what are wood or machine screws, then hope the wood doesn't rot or something. These are on Amazon and are closer to the right color, only one is broken but I can replace 3 on the night table so they match, it comes complete with screws, as you pointed out it has a metal sleeve.....I get 5 for $7.99.....I'll even have two spares. It will cost me more than that in time and money to go to Home Depot which is always packed.

This is fast, easy, inexpensive and almost foolproof.
If it doesn't work my BIL can do it when he comes over.
This way no fuss and muss at Home Depot...more time for tennis and Pickleball.

qbrozen · February 2022

All I see in here is a bunch of knobs.

mjfloyd1 · February 2022

Me too. They don’t match anything that I have

jmonroe1 · February 2022

mjfloyd1 said:
Me too. They don’t match anything that I have

I don’t have anything like that either.

We have just about settled this until he posts that he stripped the threads on a knob or two.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1 · February 2022

Must be twisting his knob too much?

carnaught · February 2022

mjfloyd1 said:
Must be twisting his knob too much?

I understand that is painful 🤨.

jmonroe1 · February 2022

carnaught said:

mjfloyd1 said:
Must be twisting his knob too much?

I understand that is painful 🤨.

I would think more like excruciating.

jmonroe

driver100 · February 2022

Enough with the knob jokes. If I get 5 for $7.99 that is like $1.30 each. I only need 3 so does anyone want to buy the other two for $2.60?
The furniture isn't really our taste, but, in order to get this unit which is the one we wanted we had to buy the furniture too.

mjfloyd1 · February 2022

I don’t have any knob issues. Thanks though

tjc78 · February 2022

After 4 hours of excruciating meetings with bad news… it’s great to jump on here and find out Driver is still playing with his knob.

stickguy · February 2022

Better call that recruiter back?

ab348 · February 2022

Pivoting from knobs to drips - I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I discovered I had a leak dripping at the very back of my kitchen sink cabinet for who knows how long, but quite a while for sure. It seemed to get worse just around New Years when I saw some damage on the floor for the first time and investigated. The back bottom of the cabinet had warped due to the water and some had gotten under it and got into the hardwood floor. Ugh.

The frustrating thing is that I had bought a new faucet for there a couple of years ago but never felt well enough to try installing it myself. This time it was painful to get a plumber to show up but finally got one here early this week. Glad I didn't try it myself. The old faucet seemed to have everything holding it to the deck frozen solid and some of the nuts and screws were impossible to remove. She ended up using an oscillating saw to cut parts of it away. The new one is now in place and I even managed to easily remove the flow restrictor so it has a nicely powerful stream.

This is here only temporarily as the sink cabinet needs to be replaced along with the flooring, which will undoubtedly spiral into a full kitchen refresh with new appliances and likely some modifications. The existing kitchen is having its 20th birthday this summer and doesn't really owe me much.

mjfloyd1 · February 2022

Well I’m glad we have gone from knob problems to now a nice powerful stream

Michaell · February 2022

driver100 said:
Enough with the knob jokes. If I get 5 for $7.99 that is like $1.30 each. I only need 3 so does anyone want to buy the other two for $2.60?
The furniture isn't really our taste, but, in order to get this unit which is the one we wanted we had to buy the furniture too.

Would we, as a group, buy new spark plugs when there is an issue? Heck no, we’d simply buy a new car!

You should simply consider new bedroom furniture and not sweat the small stuff.

driver100 · February 2022

ab348 said:
Pivoting from knobs to drips - She ended up using an oscillating saw to cut parts of it away. The new one is now in place and I even managed to easily remove the flow restrictor so it has a nicely powerful stream.

So you didn't call The Guy, You called The Gal.

driver100 · February 2022

Michaell said:

driver100 said:
Enough with the knob jokes. If I get 5 for $7.99 that is like $1.30 each. I only need 3 so does anyone want to buy the other two for $2.60?
The furniture isn't really our taste, but, in order to get this unit which is the one we wanted we had to buy the furniture too.
Would we, as a group, buy new spark plugs when there is an issue? Heck no, we’d simply buy a new car!

You should simply consider new bedroom furniture and not sweat the small stuff.

Mike gets a new car before any problems develop.
I have had crappy cars for most of my life, so I spent many hours hoping when I took the car in it would be an easy fix, and it wouldn't be too expensive. So now, that I can afford newer cars I don't want to waste time taking broken cars to a garage....I want to spend my time doing the things I enjoy doing. One or two things going once in a while I can tolerate, but constant breakdowns....no, time to get a new one...and that applies to other things too....not just cars.
I did think about a new bedroom set though....no knobs! Maybe this one in white or black.

driver100 · February 2022

One of the tennis guys drove up in one of these this morning. I think it looks better than most of the new cars on the road today. Anyone know the year and make....winner can have a brown wooden knob.

stickguy · February 2022

Beautiful color. That is a Porsche 928. Looks like a late run car. And the wing I think was a GTS. But I’m not an expert on these!

Not cheap to keep.

Michaell · February 2022

driver100 said:
One of the tennis guys drove up in one of these this morning. I think it looks better than most of the new cars on the road today. Anyone know the year and make....winner can have a brown wooden knob.

Porsche 928 - they were built from 1978 to 1995, so without a picture of the actual car, it will be tough to identify the model year.

british_rover · February 2022

@stickguy said:
Beautiful color. That is a Porsche 928. Looks like a late run car. And the wing I think was a GTS. But I’m not an expert on these!

Not cheap to keep.

@Mr_Shiftright had one of those. A GTS I think

jmonroe1 · February 2022

driver100 said:
Enough with the knob jokes. If I get 5 for $7.99 that is like $1.30 each. I only need 3 so does anyone want to buy the other two for $2.60?
The furniture isn't really our taste, but, in order to get this unit which is the one we wanted we had to buy the furniture too.

Don’t be so quick to get rid of them. Having extra knobs makes for a quick sale when selling used furniture.

jmonroe

tjc78 · February 2022

@stickguy said:
Better call that recruiter back?

Lol. Problems would just follow me anywhere I go. Things aren’t easy these day with all logistics issues, increased costs and lack of help.

If it was easy they wouldn’t need me!

tjc78 · February 2022

@ab348 said:
Pivoting from knobs to drips - I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I discovered I had a leak dripping at the very back of my kitchen sink cabinet for who knows how long, but quite a while for sure. It seemed to get worse just around New Years when I saw some damage on the floor for the first time and investigated. The back bottom of the cabinet had warped due to the water and some had gotten under it and got into the hardwood floor. Ugh.

The frustrating thing is that I had bought a new faucet for there a couple of years ago but never felt well enough to try installing it myself. This time it was painful to get a plumber to show up but finally got one here early this week. Glad I didn't try it myself. The old faucet seemed to have everything holding it to the deck frozen solid and some of the nuts and screws were impossible to remove. She ended up using an oscillating saw to cut parts of it away. The new one is now in place and I even managed to easily remove the flow restrictor so it has a nicely powerful stream.

This is here only temporarily as the sink cabinet needs to be replaced along with the flooring, which will undoubtedly spiral into a full kitchen refresh with new appliances and likely some modifications. The existing kitchen is having its 20th birthday this summer and doesn't really owe me much.

At my Mom’s old house I resorted to taking the sink out to replace the faucet. It was so rusted on and I didn’t have the proper saw to cut it off. I did still end up cutting off with a hacksaw once I had access.

If that was today I would have replaced the sink too.

ab348 · February 2022

tjc78 said:

If that was today I would have replaced the sink too.

I considered that seriously but decided it would be money poorly spent as I am likely to want a larger sink when the renos happen, and this existing cabinet cannot accept one that size.

snakeweasel · February 2022

qbrozen said:
All I see in here is a bunch of knobs.

I bet you would love this knob.

tjc78 · February 2022

@snakeweasel said:
I bet you would love this knob.

Yum

roadburner · February 2022

Everybody knows that's a 928...

explorerx4 · February 2022

With ab348's kitchen issues, I think we are going to circle back to dishwashers shortly.
Hopefully his washer and dryer aren't also in the kitchen.

driver100 · February 2022

Michaell said:

driver100 said:
One of the tennis guys drove up in one of these this morning. I think it looks better than most of the new cars on the road today. Anyone know the year and make....winner can have a brown wooden knob.

Porsche 928 - they were built from 1978 to 1995, so without a picture of the actual car, it will be tough to identify the model year.

Yes, his didn't have the spoiler on it. His is a 1988 with about 65000 miles on it. He loves driving it. When you get up close you can see how smooth the lines on it are. He says the vision to the outside is excellent, and that is something I find important in a car. Stick is right, not cheap to keep it going and parts are very hard to find.

imidazol97 · February 2022

explorerx4 said:
With ab348's kitchen issues, I think we are going to circle back to dishwashers shortly.
Hopefully his washer and dryer aren't also in the kitchen.

The real concern is does he have knobs on his cabinets?

imidazol97 · February 2022

We had a couple inches of sleet fall at the beginning of this snow storm followed by
3-4 inches of snow this afternoon.

My neighbor has shoveled my driveway! The sleet on the bottom was difficult to move
because my shovel rode up on top of the grains of ice. The sleet tends to self pack
and then harden. I had tried to clear a few feet away
from the door but not much success.

Great neighbor. I was just going to wait until morning when most of the snow
was done and then work on it, at least moving the snow above the sleet particles.

As long as I can get my car to the street to go get coffee in the morning even
if my drive isn't clear, I can crash my way in and get stuck in the drive. I can
clear snow to get back in the garage from there.

Now I can keep clearing it through the night and stay ahead of this snow that's
supposed to continue adding snow through tomorrow morning.

oldfarmer50 · February 2022

driver100 said:

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

stickguy said:
It usually isn’t the screw gone bad. It’s the threads in the knob.

Just buy new knobs. They come with new screws. Problem solved, assuming you can use a screwdriver.
Another good idea.......where do I look for wooden knobs and are they a standard size?
You’ve gotta get off the pickle ball courts and get out into the real world.

Go to any hardware store or big box store and you’ll find more knobs and screws than you’ll know what to do with. If you change the knobs it will give the furniture a different look for much, much less than buying new furniture. If Mrs. driver didn’t know better she’ll think you’re a genius.

jmonroe
I could buy new ones, but there are 24 counting 2 dressers and a night table. 23 of them are fine. I tried toothpicks but I think the hole got larger too...so it is kind of loose. Maybe the Dollar Store Crazy Glue can still work. I'll check Amazon too, maybe get screws....it's hard to know what size to get unless these things are standard size.

Try the goop.

jmonroe1 · February 2022

imidazol97 said:
We had a couple inches of sleet fall at the beginning of this snow storm followed by
3-4 inches of snow this afternoon.

My neighbor has shoveled my driveway! The sleet on the bottom was difficult to move
because my shovel rode up on top of the grains of ice. The sleet tends to self pack
and then harden. I had tried to clear a few feet away
from the door but not much success.

Great neighbor. I was just going to wait until morning when most of the snow
was done and then work on it, at least moving the snow above the sleet particles.

As long as I can get my car to the street to go get coffee in the morning even
if my drive isn't clear, I can crash my way in and get stuck in the drive. I can
clear snow to get back in the garage from there.

Now I can keep clearing it through the night and stay ahead of this snow by
morning.

Forgo the coffee so you can get a head start on clearing the driveway. If you do a good job maybe Mrs. imid will make you hot chocolate.

jmonroe

british_rover · February 2022

@driver100 said:
What are the good and the bad things about being a car salesperson? A lot of us got our start here with "Sales Frontlines" I believe was the topic. Many of us, including me thought selling cars would be a fun job. It is just a guess but I think there was a sweet spot for being a car salesperson, maybe the 50s until the early 2000s. Let me make this the question, "What would you say to someone who said they wanted to make a career out of selling cars?"

I started selling cars in early 2005 which feels like just about to he time the internet was starting to have an impact on car sales.

Yes of course dealerships had cars online for years prior but they weren't very good at it. Inventory wasn't updated regularly and prices were not transparent. Searching for similar used cars wasn't as easy.

By the time I stopped selling cars as a manager the internet has compressed prices to the point that at least in my are the used car margins were very tight.

I know all the shortages and supply chain problems have changed that for now but that is only temporary. I figure another 18 to 24 months max and that ends. The prices for regular mass market commodity type cars will fall back to earth and margins will collapse.

That was some of the reasons I went to fixed operations/service because the money was better and more steady. The hours were better too initially. I was averaging about 55 hours a week as a sales manager but it was tough to take off a Saturday. I got one day off during the week and was supposed to get one day I left early at 5 versus 7:30 but that never worked out.

On paper service manager hours were better especially after I ended all Saturday hours.

In reality I could never finish everything I had to do by closing time. Staying a half hour or so after was fine but it didn't take long til it was an hour or more. Pretty soon I was doing 60 plus and they wanted to reopen Saturdays which would have pissed me to almost 70 hours on the Saturdays I needed to cover.

The new sales manager they hired after me was also making all salespeople come in the last Sunday of every month. Than he starting making the salespeople come in on there day off if there was a regular holiday during the week. So July 4th was a Monday and your day off was Tuesday? Too bad better come in Tuesday.

I had to hear all of that and nothing I could do about it. He didn't work for me even though he seemed to think I worked for him.

When I started looking for new jobs I decided if I was going to go back to a dealership it was only going to be for a large corporate owned store. I would only look at premium to highline makes and large volume stores.

Yeah you can make money as a regular sales person but it is easier as a younger single guy. You can pound out hours without sacrificing your family life. Productive hours at the dealership are sales and some of that you can do remotely now with technology but not all of it.

I ended up not going back to car sales because I wanted better hours and steady pay. Yeah the pay isn't as much as the last couple of years at the dealership but its close and 40 hours stop plus non-managment. It's more money than I ever made as a salesperson even counting inflation.

My health insurance is half the cost of what I paid at the dealership because big companies get economies of scale. I just finished all of my 401k roll over stuff as I never did it for the temp job I too last year. The expense ratios are a quarter what my old 401k. I get a six percent company match. My old company match was maxed at one percent and I had to contribute four percent to get that one percent.

That combined with my annual bonus puts me well above what I was ever making in car sales.

explorerx4 · February 2022

3 minute video. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, forward to about 2:50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vd7f5zjBS1I

abacomike · February 2022

@british_rover said:

@driver100 said:
What are the good and the bad things about being a car salesperson? A lot of us got our start here with "Sales Frontlines" I believe was the topic. Many of us, including me thought selling cars would be a fun job. It is just a guess but I think there was a sweet spot for being a car salesperson, maybe the 50s until the early 2000s. Let me make this the question, "What would you say to someone who said they wanted to make a career out of selling cars?"

I started selling cars in early 2005 which feels like just about to he time the internet was starting to have an impact on car sales.

Yes of course dealerships had cars online for years prior but they weren't very good at it. Inventory wasn't updated regularly and prices were not transparent. Searching for similar used cars wasn't as easy.

By the time I stopped selling cars as a manager the internet has compressed prices to the point that at least in my are the used car margins were very tight.

I know all the shortages and supply chain problems have changed that for now but that is only temporary. I figure another 18 to 24 months max and that ends. The prices for regular mass market commodity type cars will fall back to earth and margins will collapse.

That was some of the reasons I went to fixed operations/service because the money was better and more steady. The hours were better too initially. I was averaging about 55 hours a week as a sales manager but it was tough to take off a Saturday. I got one day off during the week and was supposed to get one day I left early at 5 versus 7:30 but that never worked out.

On paper service manager hours were better especially after I ended all Saturday hours.

In reality I could never finish everything I had to do by closing time. Staying a half hour or so after was fine but it didn't take long til it was an hour or more. Pretty soon I was doing 60 plus and they wanted to reopen Saturdays which would have pissed me to almost 70 hours on the Saturdays I needed to cover.

The new sales manager they hired after me was also making all salespeople come in the last Sunday of every month. Than he starting making the salespeople come in on there day off if there was a regular holiday during the week. So July 4th was a Monday and your day off was Tuesday? Too bad better come in Tuesday.

I had to hear all of that and nothing I could do about it. He didn't work for me even though he seemed to think I worked for him.

When I started looking for new jobs I decided if I was going to go back to a dealership it was only going to be for a large corporate owned store. I would only look at premium to highline makes and large volume stores.

Yeah you can make money as a regular sales person but it is easier as a younger single guy. You can pound out hours without sacrificing your family life. Productive hours at the dealership are sales and some of that you can do remotely now with technology but not all of it.

I ended up not going back to car sales because I wanted better hours and steady pay. Yeah the pay isn't as much as the last couple of years at the dealership but its close and 40 hours stop plus non-managment. It's more money than I ever made as a salesperson even counting inflation.

My health insurance is half the cost of what I paid at the dealership because big companies get economies of scale. I just finished all of my 401k roll over stuff as I never did it for the temp job I too last year. The expense ratios are a quarter what my old 401k. I get a six percent company match. My old company match was maxed at one percent and I had to contribute four percent to get that one percent.

That combined with my annual bonus puts me well above what I was ever making in car sales.

Your historic perspective regarding your experiences in sales and management in the new/used car dealership business is almost an exact history of my experiences as the guys here on Edmunds can attest to. I too started in sales at a Lexus dealership in 2000. By 2004, after putting in 60 hour work weeks for the last 2 years of my tenure there, I called it quits.

In late 2004, I went across the street, bought a brand new Infiniti G35 sedan, met the owner, and he offered me a job as sales manager. After 3-1/2 years putting in longer hours with more stress (I opened the showroom with my key every Sunday and closed 5 nights a week) - I was making great money and my sales personnel were doing very well. I just called it quits there and retired.

Both dealerships I worked at have almost no new car inventory at the present time. Many thousands of cars are sitting in Brunswick and Jacksonville awaiting radio headers (which controls almost all electronics in the vehicle) - the microprocessors that control nanny features and all safety features as well as the audio system and front screens in dashboards.

No time to be buying or selling new cars.

mjfloyd1 · February 2022

@imidazol97 said:
The real concern is does he have knobs on his cabinets?

And do the knobs match?

roadburner · February 2022

british_rover said:

@driver100 said:

What are the good and the bad things about being a car salesperson? A lot of us got our start here with "Sales Frontlines" I believe was the topic. Many of us, including me thought selling cars would be a fun job. It is just a guess but I think there was a sweet spot for being a car salesperson, maybe the 50s until the early 2000s. Let me make this the question, "What would you say to someone who said they wanted to make a career out of selling cars?"