Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

Sandman6472 · June 2023

Many years ago, a motorcycle ran a red light and hit the front left side of my wife's Buick Skylark I was driving. He was totally at fault, me & the car to my right both waited a bit after the light turned green for us to proceed. He hit the Skylark and went flying over it and landed on the grand. He was pretty beat up & the cops ticketed him once things were all sorted out. Luckily, he wasn't hurt to badly but it was pretty scary to watch it all play out in front of me.
The Skylark was damaged on the left front but still drivable but did put a scare into me. Not sure what the allure of driving one is but see many down here doing crazy stuff.

roadburner · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

IMHO A tank is ancient crude technology....a tankless is a giant step ahead technologically.

And of course, you're such a high-tech kind of guy...

As the saying goes, "you pays your money and you makes your choice". Or "you can pay me now or you can pay me later". In the end I have to wonder if there is much difference. With the tankless, you pay a lot to get it installed and then when the tankless lets go, you get another big bill. With the tank type you pay more to operate it but the initial and replacement cost is less. Is it a wash? Not sure.
Our electric tankless can be serviced once a year....$100. The installers said once every 2 years would be fine....$50 a year.
A tankless should last for 20 years. All the crud doesn't mount up at the bottom of a tank where water is sitting for hours or days at a time.
Our tank water heater was 18 years old, it was fading for the last 2 or 3 years, not that hot, and we'd have to have the guy come and reset it 2 or 3 times a year....to me that is crude.
If water is below 120 degrees it can become contaminated with bacteria......I am sure the old tank wasn't heating to 120 degrees the last few years....I can adjust the tankless on a digital scale...125F.
————————————————
How do you “reset” a water heater?

jmonroe

By padding the wallet of the installer?

roadburner · June 2023

Sandman6472 said:
Not sure what the allure of driving one is

If you have to ask...

Sandman6472 · June 2023

I also got a new iPad a few months back as my iPad Air was slowing down & was already 7 years old. Very happy with the new one as I use it more than my laptop now. Best Buy gave me a few bucks for the old one and when it went on sale a week later, they even refunded me the $50 bucks plus tax. Got it for $399 I think and loving it. USB-C is something that Apple is putting on most of it's ew products and suspect the new iPhone 15 will have it to. If not, the iPhone 16 definitely will as in 2024, it'll be required in Europe from what I've read. Doubt that Apple will want one kind for the United States and another for the rest of the world. And from what I gather, most, if not all, Android devices already use USB-C to charge them. Have one on my MacBook Air and now my iPad so no big deal. Have an iPhone 12 right now and plan to keep it at least until the 16 comes out. Got a new battery before the prices went up last year so it's working like new and not willing to pay the price to upgrade every other year just to have a newer unit.

laurasdada · June 2023

I rode minibikes and friends motorcycles in my teens. I had decided to buy one myself, when I was probably 17. My parents said they'll miss me, as the day I come home with a bike is the day I find a new home. No bike.
And, unfortunately, every one of my rider friends has been hit (including one of my father's friends, broke his back. Ouch), one right in front of us as we were picnicing at the beach. A 16 yo girl with her one week old license decided that a Stop sign was a suggestion; she chose not to take. Luckily, my friend only separated his shoulder, landing on the grass. Bike wasn't too bad.
Yes, small sample set, but 100% none the less.

But you ride one you know, Sandy. Maybe my next life.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

laurasdada said:
I rode minibikes and friends motorcycles in my teens. I had decided to buy one myself, when I was probably 17. My parents said they'll miss me, as the day I come home with a bike is the day I find a new home. No bike.
And, unfortunately, every one of my rider friends has been hit (including one of my father's friends, broke his back. Ouch), one right in front of us as we were picnicing at the beach. A 16 yo girl with her one week old license decided that a Stop sign was a suggestion; she chose not to take. Luckily, my friend only separated his shoulder, landing on the grass. Bike wasn't too bad.
Yes, small sample set, but 100% none the less.

But you ride one you know, Sandy. Maybe my next life.

————————————————
Good idea. From what I’ve heard you feel no pain in your next life.

jmonroe

ab348 · June 2023

Two stories about bikes from me. The first is that a good friend through high school and college, who actually gave me my first job, lost his older brother in a motorcycle wreck. It was an awful thing of course and his parents (and my friend as well to an extent) were never the same after.

Second story is brand-new and also troubles me. My old-car friend (I believe age 68 now) who moved up-country has been spending money like water (pro tip: make sure you get two big inheritances shortly after you retire), and his latest flight of fancy is buying a trail bike to ride through paths in the woods up near where he now lives. I just learned this when we met for lunch this week.

We had never heard of him having a thing for bikes and sure enough, he never did. But he has a son in his 20s who is somewhat lost, it seems, and has bounced around doing different low-level jobs and partly living on an allowance from the parents. It's a shame as he was quite bright growing up, did well early on in school, was an excellent artist and a good kid. In his high school years he had a few stunning-looking girlfriends I would meet when I visited the house, which didn't really surprise me because he was both smart and handsome. But somewhere in late adolescence he went off the rails. Weed and other drugs played a role for sure though I don't know how much, but he seemed to completely fall apart when his parents sold the house he lived in with them and moved to the middle of nowhere. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise. He didn't come along; I'm not sure they ever made the offer. I felt really bad for him, even if some of his problems were of his own making. He always struck me as a good soul.

Anyway, for the last few years my buddy has been trying to rebuild their relationship. The latest is when the son bought a motorcycle and needed dad's help to fix something on it. That led to my buddy buying a trail bike of his own ($5K, so just pocket change) even though he had never ridden before. I forgot to ask how he got his motorcycle license though I presume has has one and must have taken a course somewhere. At least I hope so. But he did tell me that this new bike is not registered for the road. He says that he drives it on the secondary highway where his house is because the odds of getting caught there are slim, and only does it going to/from the trails through the woods. The son is supposedly going to join him in that, though I have my doubts since it is 2 hours to get there and 2 hours back. I saw a pic of his son's bike and it looks like something you would use in the Paris/Dakar rally. The new one my friend bought looks a bit more civilized.

I get the feeling this may not end well.

explorerx4 · June 2023

Been working on cleaning up the Mustang some more.
Trunk is turning out to be a lot of work to clean.
Right side is after stripper wash, clay bar and waterless car wash.
Left side is after doing the above then using bug and tar remover, followed up by waterless car wash.

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

driver100 said:

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

IMHO A tank is ancient crude technology....a tankless is a giant step ahead technologically.

And of course, you're such a high-tech kind of guy...

As the saying goes, "you pays your money and you makes your choice". Or "you can pay me now or you can pay me later". In the end I have to wonder if there is much difference. With the tankless, you pay a lot to get it installed and then when the tankless lets go, you get another big bill. With the tank type you pay more to operate it but the initial and replacement cost is less. Is it a wash? Not sure.
Our electric tankless can be serviced once a year....$100. The installers said once every 2 years would be fine....$50 a year.
A tankless should last for 20 years. All the crud doesn't mount up at the bottom of a tank where water is sitting for hours or days at a time.
Our tank water heater was 18 years old, it was fading for the last 2 or 3 years, not that hot, and we'd have to have the guy come and reset it 2 or 3 times a year....to me that is crude.
If water is below 120 degrees it can become contaminated with bacteria......I am sure the old tank wasn't heating to 120 degrees the last few years....I can adjust the tankless on a digital scale...125F.
————————————————
How do you “reset” a water heater?

jmonroe

Apparently, it is near the base....I'm not sure if he lifts a cover but there are some little buttons or something that he looks at and then presses a button...I think it is red. I never watch the guy who does work...I don't think they like being watched. After he pushes a button near the base he says he reset it...that is what it needed.

driver100 · June 2023

tjc78 said:

@28firefighter said:

We have natural gas. The quote for tankless for this house (the one I had done) was about $10k.

My issue with tankless in our townhome was that it wasn’t a slightly longer dwell time for hot water - it was minutes from any faucet.

That seems a bit high even for your neck of the woods.

Yeh, ours was about $5500 in CDN$s. A tank would be about half.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
Apparently, it is near the base....I'm not sure if he lifts a cover but there are some little buttons or something that he looks at and then presses a button...I think it is red. I never watch the guy who does work...I don't think they like being watched. After he pushes a button near the base he says he reset it...that is what it needed.

————————————————
He might have said “reset” but if he did what you described, he relit the pilot. That’s why water heaters are said to have a standing pilot (because it’s always on). Some folks call it a pilot light but believe me it’s not providing light for anything. Its purpose is to ignite the burner when the water heater calls for heat via the built in thermostat.

FWIW, that red button is the built in igniter (like you have on a gas grill) to ignite the pilot. Also if that has to be done a couple times a year the thermocouple should be replaced. So your service guy is milking you for call backs by not replacing the thermocouple which will eventually die altogether and will need replaced. I’ve replaced countless thermocouples over the years. It’s a simple 20 minute job. Most thermocouples today cost less than 20 bucks. I remember when they cost $2.95. I always have a spare, just in case.

jmonroe

abacomike · June 2023

My brother accompanied his best friend to their nearest Genesis dealership yesterday to buy a new 2024 GV80 V6 with the Prestige package. His friend had driven the BMW X5, the Mercedes GLE 450 and the GV80 V6 and fell in love with the Genesis. So they went in armed with Edmunds data and info to do battle, and after 5+ hours of war, managed to get the Brunswick Green with beige leather.

MSRP WAS $78880. They had an addendum for $1500+ for tire and wheel warranty, tinting, etc., which they negotiated down to $500. After a disastrous go-round with an incompetent salesman, they spent the rest of their 5-hour insurrection with the sales manager. With the factory rebates ($1000 + $500) and the AMEX incentive, they finally got a price $76000+++. Genesis Financial offered 5.7% interest, if I remember correctly, for 60 months. My brother called me from the dealership to help them determine the “buy rate”, and I told him it’s usually 1% below, or 4.7%, but the dealer insisted there was no lower buy rate since it was a special interest rate discounted for high credit rating customers. I told them to walk out because the dealership always gets a 1% discount for profit. Since the only green GV 80 V6 with the Prestige Package with beige interior up there is at that dealership, my brother’s friend decided to accept the finance rate.

My bother commented to me once they got home that he was exhausted from the ordeal. At least they thought they got a good deal which is really all that matters- and the dealership made some nice money on top of that.

I have no patience or energy to spend over 5 hours at a dealership negotiating for a car. My brother and I deal from invoice and only with the manager - one price and we walk and tell them to call us when they meet our price! 🤪😜

ab348 · June 2023

abacomike said:

MSRP WAS $78880. They had an addendum for $1500+ for tire and wheel warranty, tinting, etc., which they negotiated down to $500. After a disastrous go-round with an incompetent salesman, they spent the rest of their 5-hour insurrection with the sales manager. With the factory rebates ($1000 + $500) and the AMEX incentive, they finally got a price $76000+++. Genesis Financial offered 5.7% interest, if I remember correctly, for 60 months. My brother called me from the dealership to help them determine the “buy rate”, and I told him it’s usually 1% below, or 4.7%, but the dealer insisted there was no lower buy rate since it was a special interest rate discounted for high credit rating customers. I told them to walk out because the dealership always gets a 1% discount for profit. Since the only green GV 80 V6 with the Prestige Package with beige interior up there is at that dealership, my brother’s friend decided to accept the finance rate.

My bother commented to me once they got home that he was exhausted from the ordeal. At least they thought they got a good deal which is really all that matters- and the dealership made some nice money on top of that.

I have no patience or energy to spend over 5 hours at a dealership negotiating for a car. My brother and I deal from invoice and only with the manager - one price and we walk and tell them to call us when they meet our price! 🤪😜

I think their main mistake was not using the classic @jipster technique of arriving at the negotiating table with a large sack of sub sandwiches to show their intent to spend as much time as necessary to get the deal they wanted and to prove that time was not going to be an issue from their end. Sort of like the Navy firing a shot across the bow of another ship.

qbrozen · June 2023

No need to go into a dealership these days except to take delivery. Everything else by email.

tjc78 · June 2023

@qbrozen said:
No need to go into a dealership these days except to take delivery. Everything else by email.

Exactly.

oldfarmer50 · June 2023

explorerx4 said:
Been working on cleaning up the Mustang some more.
Trunk is turning out to be a lot of work to clean.
Right side is after stripper wash, clay bar and waterless car wash.
Left side is after doing the above then using bug and tar remover, followed up by waterless car wash.

Do you have a recondition on the bug & tar remover? I just noticed that after parking my car at work so sap dripped from the trees and has hardened all over the trunk lid. I need something gentle that won’t screw up the paint.

oldfarmer50 · June 2023

abacomike said:
My brother accompanied his best friend to their nearest Genesis dealership yesterday to buy a new 2024 GV80 V6 with the Prestige package. His friend had driven the BMW X5, the Mercedes GLE 450 and the GV80 V6 and fell in love with the Genesis. So they went in armed with Edmunds data and info to do battle, and after 5+ hours of war, managed to get the Brunswick Green with beige leather.

MSRP WAS $78880. They had an addendum for $1500+ for tire and wheel warranty, tinting, etc., which they negotiated down to $500. After a disastrous go-round with an incompetent salesman, they spent the rest of their 5-hour insurrection with the sales manager. With the factory rebates ($1000 + $500) and the AMEX incentive, they finally got a price $76000+++. Genesis Financial offered 5.7% interest, if I remember correctly, for 60 months. My brother called me from the dealership to help them determine the “buy rate”, and I told him it’s usually 1% below, or 4.7%, but the dealer insisted there was no lower buy rate since it was a special interest rate discounted for high credit rating customers. I told them to walk out because the dealership always gets a 1% discount for profit. Since the only green GV 80 V6 with the Prestige Package with beige interior up there is at that dealership, my brother’s friend decided to accept the finance rate.

My bother commented to me once they got home that he was exhausted from the ordeal. At least they thought they got a good deal which is really all that matters- and the dealership made some nice money on top of that.

I have no patience or energy to spend over 5 hours at a dealership negotiating for a car. My brother and I deal from invoice and only with the manager - one price and we walk and tell them to call us when they meet our price! 🤪😜

I’ve adopted that strategy as well. It’s worked with the last 3 cars I’ve bought. A lot less angst. Only once did I have to actually walk. I think the secret is to prepare yourself that the deal might not happen.

Michaell · June 2023

@abacomike - a little research on these forums would have helped.

For 60 months, there are two supported APRs - 3.49% with no cash incentives, or 5.49%, with $1000 cash incentive.

Doesn't seem like there was a markup to the rate, if they got the incentive with the deal.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@oldfarmer50 said:
Do you have a recondition on the bug & tar remover? I just noticed that after parking my car at work so sap dripped from the trees and has hardened all over the trunk lid. I need something gentle that won’t screw up the paint.

————————————————
I’ve always used paint thinner for sap and tar but you will have to wax the cleaned areas when you’re done.

Note: I said “paint thinner”. Paint thinner will not remove or harm paint but lacquer thinner and acetone will remove paint. Anytime you use anything new to clean the exterior of your car, it’s best to try the new product on the underside of the trunk to be sure it’s safe to use on paint.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · June 2023

My car was covered with some oily stuff. I used Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover. It's what I had in the cabinet.
Followed it up with washing the area.
WD40 can remove a lot of stuff including sap.

stickguy · June 2023

Started my travel odyssey of boondies to Dallas to spend a week in the heat sink. Albany to Detroit to Dallas. All the hot spots.

Wife getting a lesson in house issues. This morning the toilet seat cracked so she is now at Lowe’s showing for a new one and might get ambitious and try to install. I left some tools out for her. Wish I could see it!

Not sure why she is bothering since it is the powder room and she can just use the master bath right down the hall. But I guess it will give her something to do

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@stickguy said:
Started my travel odyssey of boondies to Dallas to spend a week in the heat sink. Albany to Detroit to Dallas. All the hot spots.

Wife getting a lesson in house issues. This morning the toilet seat cracked so she is now at Lowe’s showing for a new one and might get ambitious and try to install. I left some tools out for her. Wish I could see it!

Not sure why she is bothering since it is the powder room and she can just use the master bath right down the hall. But I guess it will give her something to do

————————————————
Blame that on me. Just this past week the toilet seat in the master bath cracked. I picked one up in Lowe’s but haven’t installed it yet. The one I bought cost 40 bucks but I saw some for over $100. Before I spend that, I’ll have to give training lessons on how to stand up rather than sit down. Sign of the times I guess.

jmonroe

abacomike · June 2023

@Michaell said:
@abacomike - a little research on these forums would have helped.

For 60 months, there are two supported APRs - 3.49% with no cash incentives, or 5.49%, with $1000 cash incentive.

Doesn't seem like there was a markup to the rate, if they got the incentive with the deal.

They did get the incentive - thanks Michaell

Sandman6472 · June 2023

Once, while trying to swap out the toilet seat with my son, he accidentally hit the porcelain on the toilet & broke it. Water started coming out...it was a mess. Needless to say, we had to replace the toilet but got one with the higher seating height. When I redid their bathroom a couple of years later, kept the same toilet & almost 13 years later, still working great. As I recall, did the kids bathroom in 2009 as the wife was too busy with work & told me "to just do it"!
It's my main bathroom now since all the kids have moved out which has made life much easier!

Sandman6472 · June 2023

Had a nail in my front left tire and luckily, the local Firestone guy on 441 in Coconut Creek was able to get it fixed in just over an hour. Tire icon came on coming home from dinner last night, naturally on a weekend! Took a gamble that this local Firestone dealer wouldn't be that crowded, which it wasn't, so just glad to have it fixed. Don't want to replace anymore tires on the Golf if I can help it before I replace it with something else.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@explorerx4 said:
My car was covered with some oily stuff. I used Turtle Wax Bug & Tar remover. It's what I had in the cabinet.
Followed it up with washing the area.
WD40 can remove a lot of stuff including sap.

————————————————
Not sure what’s done today but years ago those fancy packaged tar removing products were nothing more than perfumed paint thinner. If you read the label the main ingredient was “petroleum distillates”. Another way of saying paint thinner. They didn’t want to come right out and say it. You had to work for it but it was doable.

jmonroe

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

@stickguy said:

Started my travel odyssey of boondies to Dallas to spend a week in the heat sink. Albany to Detroit to Dallas. All the hot spots.

Wife getting a lesson in house issues. This morning the toilet seat cracked so she is now at Lowe’s showing for a new one and might get ambitious and try to install. I left some tools out for her. Wish I could see it!

Not sure why she is bothering since it is the powder room and she can just use the master bath right down the hall. But I guess it will give her something to do

————————————————

Blame that on me. Just this past week the toilet seat in the master bath cracked.

jmonroe

Did you gain extra poundage over the Father's Day weekend?

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

Apparently, it is near the base....I'm not sure if he lifts a cover but there are some little buttons or something that he looks at and then presses a button...I think it is red. I never watch the guy who does work...I don't think they like being watched. After he pushes a button near the base he says he reset it...that is what it needed.

————————————————

FWIW, that red button is the built in igniter (like you have on a gas grill) to ignite the pilot. Also if that has to be done a couple times a year the thermocouple should be replaced. So your service guy is milking you for call backs by not replacing the thermocouple which will eventually die altogether and will need replaced. I’ve replaced countless thermocouples over the years. It’s a simple 20 minute job. Most thermocouples today cost less than 20 bucks. I remember when they cost $2.95. I always have a spare, just in case.

jmonroe

Once again, I think you nailed it and it was nicely explained....makes sense.
Our water heater is a rental unit and service is free........it is a rental because we took it over from the previous owner when the house was 2 years old....we had to take it over.

We hate renting water heaters, we probably paid for it 5 times over in 18 years...but, servicing was free.

The electric tankless is one that we own.

roadburner · June 2023

abacomike said:
My brother accompanied his best friend to their nearest Genesis dealership yesterday to buy a new 2024 GV80 V6 with the Prestige package. His friend had driven the BMW X5, the Mercedes GLE 450 and the GV80 V6 and fell in love with the Genesis. So they went in armed with Edmunds data and info to do battle, and after 5+ hours of war, managed to get the Brunswick Green with beige leather.

MSRP WAS $78880. They had an addendum for $1500+ for tire and wheel warranty, tinting, etc., which they negotiated down to $500. After a disastrous go-round with an incompetent salesman, they spent the rest of their 5-hour insurrection with the sales manager. With the factory rebates ($1000 + $500) and the AMEX incentive, they finally got a price $76000+++. Genesis Financial offered 5.7% interest, if I remember correctly, for 60 months. My brother called me from the dealership to help them determine the “buy rate”, and I told him it’s usually 1% below, or 4.7%, but the dealer insisted there was no lower buy rate since it was a special interest rate discounted for high credit rating customers. I told them to walk out because the dealership always gets a 1% discount for profit. Since the only green GV 80 V6 with the Prestige Package with beige interior up there is at that dealership, my brother’s friend decided to accept the finance rate.

My bother commented to me once they got home that he was exhausted from the ordeal. At least they thought they got a good deal which is really all that matters- and the dealership made some nice money on top of that.

I have no patience or energy to spend over 5 hours at a dealership negotiating for a car. My brother and I deal from invoice and only with the manager - one price and we walk and tell them to call us when they meet our price! 🤪😜

My overriding philosophy is that life is much to short to drive boring cars. A corollary is that life is to short to negotiate with dishonest idiots when purchasing a car. That's one of several reasons I won't consider buying a car from my local Genesis dealer- or from the entire Oxmoor dealer group for that matter...

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
Once again, I think you nailed it and it was nicely explained....makes sense.
Our water heater is a rental unit and service is free........it is a rental because we took it over from the previous owner when the house was 2 years old....we had to take it over.

We hate renting water heaters, we probably paid for it 5 times over in 18 years...but, servicing was free.

The electric tankless is one that we own.

————————————————
I never heard of renting a water heater. That being the case since you don’t own it who decides when it should be replaced? If the bottom drops out that’s obvious that it has to be replaced. But if it’s degrading over time can you decide to replace it when you want to or do you have get approval and possibly pay a fee if it isn’t a total failure. I can see where the owner would push back if it isn’t a total failure since they’d be losing rental income.

jmonroe

explorerx4 · June 2023

@jmonroe1,
Since I use latex paint, I don't keep any paint thinner around.
Just clean the soap and water and follow up with some Simple Green.
The bug and tar remover is safe to use on plastic, not so sure about paint thinner.

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

@stickguy said:

Started my travel odyssey of boondies to Dallas to spend a week in the heat sink. Albany to Detroit to Dallas. All the hot spots.

Wife getting a lesson in house issues. This morning the toilet seat cracked so she is now at Lowe’s showing for a new one and might get ambitious and try to install. I left some tools out for her. Wish I could see it!

Not sure why she is bothering since it is the powder room and she can just use the master bath right down the hall. But I guess it will give her something to do

————————————————

Blame that on me. Just this past week the toilet seat in the master bath cracked.

jmonroe

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

Once again, I think you nailed it and it was nicely explained....makes sense.

Our water heater is a rental unit and service is free........it is a rental because we took it over from the previous owner when the house was 2 years old....we had to take it over.

We hate renting water heaters, we probably paid for it 5 times over in 18 years...but, servicing was free.

The electric tankless is one that we own.

————————————————

I never heard of renting a water heater. That being the case since you don’t own it who decides when it should be replaced? If the bottom drops out that’s obvious that it has to be replaced. But if it’s degrading over time can you decide to replace it when you want to or do you have get approval and possibly pay a fee if it isn’t a total failure. I can see where the owner would push back if it isn’t a total failure since they’d be losing rental income.

jmonroe

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This might be more than you wanted to know about renting hot water heaters!

In some provinces, Ontario is one, more people rent a hot water heater than own one. It all started after WWII when people were short on money, so it was easier to pay a small monthly fee. And that continued and is true today, but slowly people are realizing a water tank usually lasts for 12 years max. If you rent it you can probably pay it off in 5 or 6 years, the rest is profit to the water heater companies. Since you are renting, they throw in free maintenance. They want to keep the old tank going as long as possible. Ours lasted 18 years, since they knew it was starting to go they offered to give us a new one, I didn't read the terms but I am sure I'd have to keep it for a certain period of time.
Ours lasted 18 years but we have been in Florida for almost half the year, for about 10 years now....so the old tank lasted longer than it normally would.

It used to be a hassle to get the water heater rental company to take away your old heater and get out of the contract unless you rented again. New laws make it easier to get out of a rental contract....usually the company installing a new tank or tankless completes the forms and takes away the old tank.

People are becoming smarter, and they are starting to realize that buying makes more sense than owning. And also keep in mind, in most cases a tankless heater is going to last at least twice as long as a tank, it is more efficient, more state of the art, no chance of rusting out or dumping 50 gallons of water into your house. Once the shower water is hot, might take 6 seconds longer....the temperature is constant and exactly the way you want it.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@explorerx4 said:
@jmonroe1,
Since I use latex paint, I don't keep any paint thinner around.
Just clean the soap and water and follow up with some Simple Green.
The bug and tar remover is safe to use on plastic, not so sure about paint thinner.

————————————————
I’d be willing to bet that any plastic that is safe to be cleaned with automotive bug an tar remover is safe for use with paint thinner. But that’s your assignment for this week so when you’re finished let us know the results. Unless you test a minimum of 10 different plastics, you’re sluffin.

jmonroe

fintail · June 2023

Sandman6472 said:
Many years ago, a motorcycle ran a red light and hit the front left side of my wife's Buick Skylark I was driving. He was totally at fault, me & the car to my right both waited a bit after the light turned green for us to proceed. He hit the Skylark and went flying over it and landed on the grand. He was pretty beat up & the cops ticketed him once things were all sorted out. Luckily, he wasn't hurt to badly but it was pretty scary to watch it all play out in front of me.
The Skylark was damaged on the left front but still drivable but did put a scare into me. Not sure what the allure of driving one is but see many down here doing crazy stuff.

FL probably has the biggest rep for insane bikers, coupled with the helmet laws there, I suspect insurance rates don't cover risk.

I used to be into bikes, but too many close calls and witnessing stupidity reeled it in. Today's driving landscape, with smartphone addiction on the roads, distracted/immature/armed/raging drivers, inconsistent enforcement and punishment, inconsistent road quality, and growing traffic volumes puts me off. When I moved to a smaller population area a few years ago, I thought I might get back into it, but some of the stuff I see has me on a permanent pause. If I am going to go, it's not going to be from being rear ended by Kateleigh or Aedyn in mom's RX who then gets a $200 fine for the action.

explorerx4 · June 2023

@jmonroe1,
Since you are the one promoting the abilities of paint thinner, I think it's up to you to prove it.
You're the one with the homework assignment.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:

This might be more than you wanted to know about renting hot water heaters!

In some provinces, Ontario is one, more people rent a hot water heater than own one. It all started after WWII when people were short on money, so it was easier to pay a small monthly fee. And that continued and is true today, but slowly people are realizing a water tank usually lasts for 12 years max. If you rent it you can probably pay it off in 5 or 6 years, the rest is profit to the water heater companies. Since you are renting, they throw in free maintenance. They want to keep the old tank going as long as possible. Ours lasted 18 years, since they knew it was starting to go they offered to give us a new one, I didn't read the terms but I am sure I'd have to keep it for a certain period of time.
Ours lasted 18 years but we have been in Florida for almost half the year, for about 10 years now....so the old tank lasted longer than it normally would.

It used to be a hassle to get the water heater rental company to take away your old heater and get out of the contract unless you rented again. New laws make it easier to get out of a rental contract....usually the company installing a new tank or tankless completes the forms and takes away the old tank.

People are becoming smarter, and they are starting to realize that buying makes more sense than owning. And also keep in mind, in most cases a tankless heater is going to last at least twice as long as a tank, it is more efficient, more state of the art, no chance of rusting out or dumping 50 gallons of water into your house. Once the shower water is hot, might take 6 seconds longer....the temperature is constant and exactly the way you want it.

————————————————
How did I know that?

jmonroe

Sandman6472 · June 2023

Luckily, the guy who ran into me was wearing a helmet as it probably saved his life. Not quite sure what happened with the insurance as my in-laws insured the vehicle as it was under their name with my wife. But even back then, I was always in the habit of waiting at a light that just turned green because of stuff like this. So many folks run lights that it's just best to wait a few seconds to make sure they get through if they're dumb enough to try doing so. Been honked at a bunch of times from the driver behind me but hey, I don't care as it's just not worth having a potential accident. And I'm never in that much of a hurry to floor it once the light turns green...life's too short to rush all the time.

driver100 · June 2023

I had a pretty new 1984 Camaro way back in 1984 and we were at a summer resort.
I parked in a temporary spot, I didn't like the parking spot because my car was at the end and closest to the road in and out.
Some kid was trying out his friends motorcycle....he never drove a motorcycle before. He revved up the engine, took off and he drove right into the drivers side mirror, which stopped him from gaining more speed and hitting a big tree.
I ran over and he said my car probably saved him from getting killed.
I told him, it won't help, I was going to kill him anyway!

I remember it cost about $450 to fix the mirror and dented door.

driver100 · June 2023

Sandman6472 said:
Been honked at a bunch of times from the driver behind me but hey, I don't care as it's just not worth having a potential accident. And I'm never in that much of a hurry to floor it once the light turns green...life's too short to rush all the time.

Sandy, these days the guy behind you could get road rage if you take too long. Now you have to worry about the guy in front and behind.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
Sandy, these days the guy behind you could get road rage if you take too long. Now you have to worry about the guy in front and behind.

————————————————
When didn’t you?

jmonroe

imidazol97 · June 2023

At lights, I look left then right to see if anyone is running the light even when I've had
green when approaching the light.

As for people running lights when it goes yellow
on them, that seems to fit with the entitlement attitude that the approaching driver
shouldn't have to stop, so they just sail on through. Our city has a 2-second period
where lights at 35 mph intersections are red both ways AFTER the yellow.

Again, I look left then right before starting across.
##############

Reminds me of an accident. Son and I were going to lunch. An older Cadillac ran the light and hit a Cavalier on the rear, spinning it around and changing the direction of the Caddy.

The Cadillac started to flee. I pursued to get license number. Cadillac stopped about 1000 feet away.

I waited on a side street watching the Caddy. When police finally came and approached the Caddy, the Momma who was a passenger and heavy set, told the officer he couldn't talk to her son, sitting in the driver seat.

My son gave his written report of seeing the accident and the Caddy running the light. The officer then approached the Caddy and removed the driver to the rear of the police vehicle for interrogation--despite the Momma's having told him he couldn't talk to her son, the driver.

driver100 · June 2023

@imidazol97 That reminds me of the Hot Bench show I watched this morning.
Lady A is driving late at night, falls asleep, and crashes into the parked car of Lady B.
She says she will pay for the repairs to the car....don't call the police.
Lady A says she had a few drinks and fell asleep at the wheel when she was coming home from work.
The judges ascertain the women had no insurance and no drivers license.
She was claiming harassment because Lady B kept calling wanting her money.
The judges awarded Lady B $2400 the value of the car (repairs were $4200) plus $1000 for what she was put through.

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
@imidazol97 That reminds me of the Hot Bench show I watched this morning.
Lady A is driving late at night, falls asleep, and crashes into the parked car of Lady B.
She says she will pay for the repairs to the car....don't call the police.
Lady A says she had a few drinks and fell asleep at the wheel when she was coming home from work.
The judges ascertain the women had no insurance and no drivers license.
She was claiming harassment because Lady B kept calling wanting her money.
The judges awarded Lady B $2400 the value of the car (repairs were $4200) plus $1000 for what she was put through.

————————————————
Do the judges ever say when payment has to be made. Better yet what happens when the payment hasn’t been made by the deadline?

I guess those shows make for good TV ratings otherwise they’d be cancelled but it seems there are more and more of them.

Judge Wapner should be sued.

jmonroe

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:
@imidazol97 That reminds me of the Hot Bench show I watched this morning.

Lady A is driving late at night, falls asleep, and crashes into the parked car of Lady B.

She says she will pay for the repairs to the car....don't call the police.

Lady A says she had a few drinks and fell asleep at the wheel when she was coming home from work.

The judges ascertain the women had no insurance and no drivers license.

She was claiming harassment because Lady B kept calling wanting her money.

The judges awarded Lady B $2400 the value of the car (repairs were $4200) plus $1000 for what she was put through.

————————————————

Do the judges ever say when payment has to be made. Better yet what happens when the payment hasn’t been made by the deadline?

jmonroe

Good question - so I looked it up;

The amount of money people receive for appearing on Judge Judy varies, probably depending on how much time they actually spend on screen or other factors. Some litigants have reported receiving $500, while others have received either $250 or even as low as $100. If Judge Judy Sheindlin issues a verdict of a specific dollar amount, the plaintiff receives that amount in addition to their appearance fee.

Also, while the judgments are real, the defendants don’t actually have to pay the awards. Actually, the show pays the plaintiff whatever dollar amount Judge Judy awards — though there’s a limit of $5,000.

The appearance fee isn’t the only perk for ‘Judge Judy’ litigants.
In addition to receiving an appearance fee (and a monetary award if Judge Judy rules in their favor), people on the show also receive a $35 per diem for every day they’re in town for taping, plus the show covers their airfare and hotel expenses for their stay. Generally, litigants stay in Hollywood, Calif. for two or three days and don’t have to worry about paying for anything the entire time.

Always like to educate the masses

jmonroe1 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
Good question - so I looked it up;

The amount of money people receive for appearing on Judge Judy varies, probably depending on how much time they actually spend on screen or other factors. Some litigants have reported receiving $500, while others have received either $250 or even as low as $100. If Judge Judy Sheindlin issues a verdict of a specific dollar amount, the plaintiff receives that amount in addition to their appearance fee.

Also, while the judgments are real, the defendants don’t actually have to pay the awards. Actually, the show pays the plaintiff whatever dollar amount Judge Judy awards — though there’s a limit of $5,000.

The appearance fee isn’t the only perk for ‘Judge Judy’ litigants.
In addition to receiving an appearance fee (and a monetary award if Judge Judy rules in their favor), people on the show also receive a $35 per diem for every day they’re in town for taping, plus the show covers their airfare and hotel expenses for their stay. Generally, litigants stay in Hollywood, Calif. for two or three days and don’t have to worry about paying for anything the entire time.

Always like to educate the masses

————————————————
Gee, even the loser doesn’t lose. They’ll never run out of folks willing make fools of themselves for perks like that.

jmonroe

driver100 · June 2023

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

Good question - so I looked it up;

The amount of money people receive for appearing on Judge Judy varies, probably depending on how much time they actually spend on screen or other factors. Some litigants have reported receiving $500, while others have received either $250 or even as low as $100. If Judge Judy Sheindlin issues a verdict of a specific dollar amount, the plaintiff receives that amount in addition to their appearance fee.

Also, while the judgments are real, the defendants don’t actually have to pay the awards. Actually, the show pays the plaintiff whatever dollar amount Judge Judy awards — though there’s a limit of $5,000.

The appearance fee isn’t the only perk for ‘Judge Judy’ litigants.

In addition to receiving an appearance fee (and a monetary award if Judge Judy rules in their favor), people on the show also receive a $35 per diem for every day they’re in town for taping, plus the show covers their airfare and hotel expenses for their stay. Generally, litigants stay in Hollywood, Calif. for two or three days and don’t have to worry about paying for anything the entire time.

Always like to educate the masses

————————————————

Gee, even the loser doesn’t lose. They’ll never run out of folks willing make fools of themselves for perks like that.

jmonroe

I wondered why the defendant would show up...now I get it, they don't actually pay it themselves but they will probably go on doing the same idiotic things since it doesn't cost them anything.

driver100 · June 2023

Mrs D100 wanted me to pick up a package of Nyquill. After pickleball I went to the indie drugstore a few blocks from the rec center, on the way home. I thought it would be faster to get the one item and I'd support small business.
I had to park on the public lot, and prepay for half an hour.....which cost me 2 quarters. Not a big deal but I did have to walk back a bit to see my license plate because the machine needed that info. Then I took the ticket back to the car and put it on the dash. Fine, then I go in the store, locate the Nyquill $18, and take it to the cash register. The pharmacist is helping a guy by explaining in great detail how his prescription is to be taken. After 5 minutes I ask 2 ladies behind him if they can help. They say just wait it won't be long. I wait 2 more minutes, no one is helping so I put the Nyquill back on the shelf...upside down so I can prove I didn't take them with me, and I walk out. I go right by a Wallymart on the way home...I go in, find Nyquill $12, take it to the self checkout.......in and out and in my car in 7 minutes total.
Do you think I will ever go to that drug store ever again?

andres3 · June 2023

I got a stupid speeding ticket the other week from a CHP Officer with woefully bad discretion and god-awful powers of observation.

I was going the exact same speed as a Mazda Miata soft top on 125 South as I was following them; they had actually passed me (perhaps they got a head start as they entered from Mission Gorge and I entered from a cloverleaf like ramp from the 52 East to 125S). The point is they passed and took the lead and I never passed them, nor did I have any intention to. I was mindlessly following behind them pacing them. I was exiting at the next exit on Navajo anyway.

CHP Officer on a motorbike pointing his radar gun with horrid discretion and poor powers of observation tickets me instead of them. There was also a recent model giant new Pathfinder (they are making those again apparently) speeding behind me which is HIGHLY likely the radar reading he attributed to me. (Noticed the Pathfinder speeding noticeably fast on 52E - only he accelerated slowly after the sharp cloverleaf so I passed him).

To add insult to injury I read this today about Mazda Miata's and their drivers, which makes the Officer's lack of discretion all the more egregious:

https://www.autoblog.com/2021/10/13/cars-most-reckless-driving-owners/

He claimed I was going 2 MPH more than the Miata (only asking questions AFTER handing me the ticket I obviously started questioning his sanity and logic with the certainty of the ticket being issued already).

The extra radar detector meant for my TTS sitting on the Credenza buried under some junk of my Wife's and Daughters is the reason for my procrastination in installing the radar detector (with M2 dash cam from Escort). Out of sight out of mind these days.

100% that radar detector would have prevented this law enforcement contact.

Talk about woulda coulda shoulda.

Sandman6472 · June 2023

I still always look left, right & then left again before pulling into an intersection from a light that just turned green. The last look left is just to make sure again that no one is running the light that could hit me. A lasting effect of that accident many years ago.

imidazol97 · June 2023

@driver100 said:
Mrs D100 wanted me to pick up a package of Nyquill. After pickleball I went to the indie drugstore a few blocks from the rec center, on the way home. I thought it would be faster to get the one item and I'd support small business.
I had to park on the public lot, and prepay for half an hour.....which cost me 2 quarters. Not a big deal but I did have to walk back a bit to see my license plate because the machine needed that info. Then I took the ticket back to the car and put it on the dash. Fine, then I go in the store, locate the Nyquill $18, and take it to the cash register. The pharmacist is helping a guy by explaining in great detail how his prescription is to be taken. After 5 minutes I ask 2 ladies behind him if they can help. They say just wait it won't be long. I wait 2 more minutes, no one is helping so I put the Nyquill back on the shelf...upside down so I can prove I didn't take them with me, and I walk out. I go right by a Wallymart on the way home...I go in, find Nyquill $12, take it to the self checkout.......in and out and in my car in 7 minutes total.
Do you think I will ever go to that drug store ever again?

And if you'd bought the Equate version of Nyquill, it would have been $4 for exactly the same chemistry. I use it myself.

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