What's goin' on with everybody

Great wavy gravies, Scatman! Pretty much my whole day has been shot recouping from a no-start when I left outta here at 10 AM this morning. CLICK _ BUZZzzz zzzzt. Dead frickin' battery. My jump starter wouldn't kick it, so had it towed to the dealer. Sat there for almost 5 hours. They found the new OEM battery they installed 18 months ago was defective and wasn't holding a charge. They put a new battery in and ran a full check on the charging system.. that's working perfectly, so we'll see how long this battery lasts. It's a Group 78 battery and it's larger in dimension than the average car battery by around 50%. I had to cover the tow, but the battery was a no-charge replacement. YAYYY!!

That totally screwed my day as I had a couple of appointments I had to cancel/reschedule and more tomorrow if I hadn't gotten the car back today.

Also didn't eat anything after my 8 AM breakfast. I'm so hungry now I could eat a whole spoonful of oatmeal.
 
It's hot as hell here in Alas.. er.. Florida.

Spent the morning tracking down parts for my 22 yr. old car. Had it into the dealer again to diagnose the situation. Driver's door glass dropped down about an inch and couldn't be moved from there - the power window/lock/mirror system is not working. A major part required has been discontinued and not available aftermarket. Two other parts are available. So.. I've located a used part from what appears to be a reputable eBay seller and I takes my chances. My first time buying through eBay.

The other two parts actually come as one, new assembly (window regulator/motor). The discontinued part is the main door control module which handles all the powered goodies (windows, locks, mirrors) and without this there's no point in getting the other parts. So if this used part checks out ok, I'll get the others and have the dealer install them.

Right now the tech has the window fully up and closed, fixed into position so it shouldn't move. That'll keep the water out anyway.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up drinking irradiated nuclear wastewater. . .

a.jpg
 
spantini said:
It's hot as hell here in Alas.. er.. Florida.

Spent the morning tracking down parts for my 22 yr. old car. Had it into the dealer again to diagnose the situation. Driver's door glass dropped down about an inch and couldn't be moved from there - the power window/lock/mirror system is not working. A major part required has been discontinued and not available aftermarket. Two other parts are available. So.. I've located a used part from what appears to be a reputable eBay seller and I takes my chances. My first time buying through eBay.

The other two parts actually come as one, new assembly (window regulator/motor). The discontinued part is the main door control module which handles all the powered goodies (windows, locks, mirrors) and without this there's no point in getting the other parts. So if this used part checks out ok, I'll get the others and have the dealer install them.

Right now the tech has the window fully up and closed, fixed into position so it shouldn't move. That'll keep the water out anyway.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up drinking irradiated nuclear wastewater. . .

View attachment 130734
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...time for a new car?
 
No doubt about that. It's less expensive to fix up my old one which I've been taking real good care of, mechanically speaking. I figure I've got another 100K left on it if I don't screw the pooch at some point. This car should outlast me. I thought about getting a part-time job in my retirement just to cover expenses for a new(er) vehicle, then I decided against. I believe going back to work would hasten my demise.
 
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spantini said:
This car should outlast me. I thought about getting a part-time job in my retirement just to cover expenses for a new(er) vehicle, then I decided against. I believe going back to work would hasten my demise.
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My mother-in-law said that back when she got her Mercury Bobcat back around 1980. I think she was 70 at the time. She traded that one in on a Nissan Sentra after about 8 years.
 
That Nissan got a pretty good deal ;) It can be difficult to resist the lure of a new car. The two 2023 loaners (Buick and Subaru) I drove recently had arms which came out of their consoles and probed for my wallet. If I could afford the $700-1K/mo. for payments/insurance, I'd be in a new Buick faster than you could say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ten times. At this point in my life, it's not so much about the new car experience as the feeling of security, not having to worry about what's going to happen each time I go to drive it - much less stress.
 
Spantini, I've had new cars ('80 RX7, 90 Integra, 82 Mazda 626, 89 Toyota Camry) At the time, they were good for family cars, but I am like you, I just was reliable comfortable transportation. I love a cool sports car. I could buy a new 'Vette, or maybe Mustang or Z, but at this age, it's just not as practical as it was 40 yrs ago.

That is one reason that when I had the option to buy my company cars after the 2 yr lease, I jumped at the chance 3 times. The buyout was cheap cheap cheap vs a typical used car, and I was the only driver, so I knew exactly what shape the car was in after 2 years. I got my son a 2009 Pontiac Grand Prix with about 50,000 miles on it, I bought the 2013 Taurus, and when I retired I bought the 2016 Taurus and sold the 2013, 7 Years later, the 2016 has 75,000 miles on it and has no real issues. Tire and brakes are probably 10,000 miles away. The Taurus is far and away the most comfortable car I've ever had. On Easter, I drove 11 hours straight to Gainesville, and when I got there I was fine, ready for golf the next morning. A few years ago, I drove 9 hours to Charleston SC, got there are 4PM and spent the next 3 hours helping my son unpack put together furniture, and set up his apartment.

As cool as my RX7 was, I would have been twisted like a pretzel after 9 hours of driving!
 
TalismanRich said:
. . . As cool as my RX7 was, I would have been twisted like a pretzel after 9 hours of driving!
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HoooWeee! :D That made me think of me riding in the back seat of a '69 Mach I from Maryland to Atlanta, Ga. non-stop. I was in the Color Guard of my American Legion Post and we were selected to compete in national competition in Atlanta. Me and two other guys were jammed into the rear seat all the way down. It was several hours before I could straighten my legs out and lock my knees.

I had an '89 Taurus Wagon - one sweet car. I bought it new for my mom, then when she passed I got it back. Sold it when I moved to Florida.
 
spantini said:
No doubt about that. It's less expensive to fix up my old one which I've been taking real good care of, mechanically speaking. I figure I've got another 100K left on it if I don't screw the pooch at some point. This car should outlast me. I thought about getting a part-time job in my retirement just to cover expenses for a new(er) vehicle, then I decided against. I believe going back to work would hasten my demise.
Click to expand...
I have bought one new car in my 70 years. One of the worst decisions I have made.
 
I've never bought a new car. They depreciate the moment they leave the lot. Doesn't seem a wise purchase. I mean, unless you have that kind of money to throw away.
 
I've had 7 new cars over the years: 73 Chevelle; 76 Jeep CJ Renegade; 82 Olds Cutlass Supreme; 85 Ford Escort; 89 Ford Taurus Wagon; 2000 Chevy Silverado PU; 2006 Chevy HHR. I consider myself fortunate in that I had not one lick of trouble with any of those vehicles - except the first one (73 Chevelle) had a wonky speedo from the factory.. took 2 trips to the dealer to correct. There were also 6 pre-owned vehicles mixed in with that lot.

I never concerned myself with depreciation - I wasn't educated on the subject. As with many new car buyers these days, my only concern was a monthly payment I could afford.
 
I haven't any credit. I haven't bought anything on credit in about 20 years. I went to buy the used Corolla for the wife and they asked how my credit was. I said great. They come back to me and say you have no credit, you haven't bought anything on credit in eight years. I think about it for a minute and you know what, they were right. I had to get the wife to cosign on the loan to get the car and I was the one making all the money lol. I went into Tractor Supply about three weeks ago to buy a lawn tractor and decided to fill out their credit form. No interest for 48 months etc. I was turned down so I went to the bank and came back with cash. My wife could have bought it on credit.
 
I've been up and down that zero credit / good credit roller coaster several times. I'm currently in the latter stages of rebuilding zero to excellent credit. For many years I preferred paying cash as it was safer, easier and more expedient.
 
I am currently driving a liile Fiat Panda.
I couldn't afford a new one, so bought it at 2 years old, for half the price, with low mileage.
Nine years later, it feels as if I had it from new.
I previously had 4 cars from new.
 
spantini said:
I've been up and down that zero credit / good credit roller coaster several times. I'm currently in the latter stages of rebuilding zero to excellent credit. For many years I preferred paying cash as it was safer, easier and more expedient.
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My wife has a 900 credit score, mine was way up there at one time.
 
What's going on is...

I've had the radio on while puttering around, Pop station at times. I've heard it and now have this happy yet slightly melancholy Pop tune stuck in my head. Either haven't paid attention or they just haven't mentioned who/what it is. Seems someone in the past here in HR dot com has said there is a site where you can hum/sing a few notes of a song and it will suggest what song it might be? Although it's kind of stuck in my head I am a bit vague except for kind of a lead-in bit on the keys. Rather than hum/sing that bit I would probably just do it on my acoustic into my phone. I checked the Pop charts but didn't recognize anything as being the tune.
 
spantini said:
It's hot as hell here in Alas.. er.. Florida.

Spent the morning tracking down parts for my 22 yr. old car. Had it into the dealer again to diagnose the situation. Driver's door glass dropped down about an inch and couldn't be moved from there - the power window/lock/mirror system is not working. A major part required has been discontinued and not available aftermarket. Two other parts are available. So.. I've located a used part from what appears to be a reputable eBay seller and I takes my chances. My first time buying through eBay.

The other two parts actually come as one, new assembly (window regulator/motor). The discontinued part is the main door control module which handles all the powered goodies (windows, locks, mirrors) and without this there's no point in getting the other parts. So if this used part checks out ok, I'll get the others and have the dealer install them.

Right now the tech has the window fully up and closed, fixed into position so it shouldn't move. That'll keep the water out anyway.

Looks like I picked the wrong week to give up drinking irradiated nuclear wastewater. . .

View attachment 130734
Click to expand...
I have bought all kinds of car parts from ebay. So far have never received a defective or wrong part.
 
dogooder said:
I have bought all kinds of car parts from ebay. So far have never received a defective or wrong part.
Click to expand...
The seller has a 98% rating over the past few years, so fingers crossed. I received the part yesterday and it looks good - exactly as pictured on the eBay page.
 
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