The Automotive Thread

[JayKay PE]

use that you your advantage.  do your online research about pricing/options then play them off each other.  you can almost literally walk to the next one.  

Nah, they're all in cahoots with each other.  For me it's tiring because I'm literally like, "I know you're getting the car from BLANK.  I am only here because the Costco program for cars says that this is the price I'm getting and you're the only dealership that works with them.  We both know this is the price I'm paying, but keep asking me to upgrade and I'll just sit here."  

@Master slacker I don't think it'll be totaled, but whenever I think things are going JayKay way, they usually aren't.  So I'll keep my fingers crossed until the adjuster calls me, says it isn't too bad, and gives me a time line.  Aka; all I want for Christmas is my car.  

 

[Supe]

Just say "go write this up, or I'm walking out the door."  If they say anything other than "OK", pick up the paper with the price written on it, and start walking.  They will trip over themselves to chase you into the parking lot if you've called their bluff.

 

[Road Guy]

I like to argue and haggle at work and such but I just don't care to do that for my personal purchases, aside from my house - so I usually just go to CarMax and get a 1 year old vehicle, save some money and all the BS associated with dealerships.

 

[MA_PE]

Anyone heard for increasing the range of your remote fob by holding to your head??

Just learned about this on a car site that I frequent.  I guess it works!

http://lifeinboxes.blogspot.com/2008/02/mythbusters-can-you-increase-range-of.html

 

[csb]

Anyone heard for increasing the range of your remote fob by holding to your head??

Just learned about this on a car site that I frequent.  I guess it works!

http://lifeinboxes.blogspot.com/2008/02/mythbusters-can-you-increase-range-of.html

I learned this in 2002 in the parking lot of a St. Louis Olive Garden and it's magical. 

 

[Supe]

 

[JayKay PE]

Now that I'm not driving my car/do not have it nearby, I'm suddenly realizing how much stuff I threw in there.  Raining?  No extra umbrellas.  Tire pressure low?  No pressure gaugy thingy.  Horseback riding?  Half chaps were in trunk.  Uggggggh.

 

[Master slacker]

Half chaps were in trunk. 

 

[JayKay PE]

At least they weren't full chaps!  Gave them up when I went full-English.  No more tassels for me!!!! 

 

[Master slacker]

Saturday was a busy day.  Changed oil in two cars, changed wipers on two cars, rotated tires on two cars, changed coolant in one car, washed / waxed one car.  Was an excellent stay-out-of-the-house-because-the-neighbor's-kid-is-over-and-all-the-kids-are-f'ing-crazy day.

 

[Flyer_PE]

What a difference a year makes:

12/9/2017:

12/8/2018:

 

[MA_PE]

looks great!  nice job.

 

[Flyer_PE]

^Thanks!  Still a lot of detail work to be done but it's nice to hear it run again.  It's also nice that it's no longer a 4500 lb paperweight in the shop.

 

[JayKay PE]

AHHHHH!  That looks beautiful!!!  Did you just replace, or was some repair involved as well?  Any reason for the repair (besides not wanting it to be a paperweight?)

 

[Flyer_PE]

^Mostly repaired/rebuilt.  They didn't make very many of this model so parts can be hard to come by.  I'm doing the restoration more for entertainment than anything else.

 

[jeb6294]

Guess I need to find a new place to take the truck.  Used to go to the local Ford dealership for maintenance, but I don't think we'll be on speaking terms any more.

Beginning of October I went in for an oil change and had a coupon for their "works" deal...oil change and check all the vital stuff, rotate tires, etc.  One of the batteries was shot but it was less than 3 yrs old so they both got replaced under warranty.  Everything else was fine.  One of the things on the check list was brakes which they showed as yellow (green/yellow/red) which is 4/32" to 7/32" and "may require future attention".  Fast forward a month and a half later and I've got brake pads down to the metal.  Kicker is, when I had the brakes put on, they were doing some lifetime brake deal so even if they'd needed changed, it shouldn't have been an issue.

The red dust down the side of the truck kind of narrowed down where the problem was.  Tried calling the dealer a bunch of times, left voice mails, finally sent an email to the service manager and the general manager of the dealership.  Ignored by everybody.  So, Amazon for new rotors and pads, Harbor Freight to get a jack that would actually lift my truck, Advance Auto Parts for a new caliper and a few other odds and ends.  In the end, I'm out about ~$300 for everything, but I kept all my receipts and started looking up the steps to take someone to small claims court.

The spring clips the came out looked like they had been cut in half.  I'm wondering if they decided to take a shortcut to make install easier and I had a pad that was constantly rubbing.

 

[knight1fox3]

^Thanks!  Still a lot of detail work to be done but it's nice to hear it run again.  It's also nice that it's no longer a 4500 lb paperweight in the shop.

Does that thing have a heated seat and Bluetooth yet? Looks fantastic. I foresee you participating in a few tractor shows in the near future with how good of condition it is in now. There's one just down the road from us every year at the VFW. It's a fun time. :thumbs:

 

[Road Guy]

tractor is looking nice!

Jeb- that sucks - I would pay them a visit that way they cant ignore you!

I have gone back to doing my own oil changes / brakes / shocks, etc - everyone is either a crook or incompetent it seems - I had what I thought was a decent mechanic until I just got tired of him making mistakes and wanting me to pay for it...

 

[Flyer_PE]

@knight1fox3  The one show I know I'll have it at next year is Union Grove in September.  There's an annual show there anyway but next year they are hosting a GOTO (Gathering of the Orange).  Hope to hit a few others around the area before that one though.

@jeb6294 - I had the exact opposite problem with my former dealer.  They told me the rear pads on my truck were on the edge of going metal-on-metal.  Since the pads only had around 15k miles on them, I was concerned about the cause and decided to do the work myself.  Here is what I found when I pulled them:

I figure those pads were only good for another 50k miles or so.

 

[jeb6294]

Looks like small claims is enough of a PITA that I'm going to start with a BBB complaint, then if that doesn't help, I'll start filling out forms.

Got the brakes bled yesterday after work and then took it out last night for some erratic driving to bed the new pads.  Seem to be working well.  The middle picture I posted, you can see there's still a bit left on the outside pad, but the inside pad is obviously gone.  I made sure to get video of me checking the slide pins to show they weren't stuck.

I certainly don't have a problem doing my own maintenance, but it was just easier having them do it, and part of the "lifetime brakes" deal was getting your service done there so they could check the pads.