In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
Sounds like he has waited to long after your offer of assistance.
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
Sounds like he has waited to long after your offer of assistance.
In reply to Antihero (Forum Supporter) :
He's your buddy, and you care, but berkeley that dude. You've done enough. Hes told you his intentions. Let him eat his E36 M3 sandwich.
4runner has been making a not actually bad sounding hum from the rear. We don't drive it much lately, but finally got it in, and diagnosis is bad wheel bearings. I'm not going to post the amount I was quoted, because I can't bear for you lot to tell me exactly how much I'm taking a bath on it. Spent two days floundering to get a second quote while overwhelmed with the rest of life. Finally sighed and pulled the trigger. I barely have time to call for quotes, much less do the work myself, and I can't bear for it to be down, and that has a cost.
E36 M3.
Dude, little brother if you can't understand the paperwork that your case worker is sending you to sign, why won't you accept my help as legal guardian so I can take care of some this for you?
Its your yearly ISP, you've signed these before and you were on the meeting where the goals were discussed.
Oh, right. Mom is nuts and you're still stuck on her teat.
Ok, I'll wait until COPD takes her (her choice to smoke nearly her entire life, I'll miss her, but she made her bed).
Until then I can't legally do E36 M3 to help you and every time I do, Mom goes the exact opposite direction and berkeleys it all into a cocked hat because she's angry at me and I won't satisfy her need by answering her texts or calls. For now since I'm staying away, she's headed in a positive direction, so sign it and lets move on.
Mike (Forum Supporter) said:4runner has been making a not actually bad sounding hum from the rear. We don't drive it much lately, but finally got it in, and diagnosis is bad wheel bearings. I'm not going to post the amount I was quoted, because I can't bear for you lot to tell me exactly how much I'm taking a bath on it. Spent two days floundering to get a second quote while overwhelmed with the rest of life. Finally sighed and pulled the trigger. I barely have time to call for quotes, much less do the work myself, and I can't bear for it to be down, and that has a cost.
E36 M3.
Those things are not an quick job to change, and it's not really a back yard kinda thing, unless your backyard includes an oxy acetylene torch and a fairly large hydraulic press.
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
I think that's what I needed to hear, TBH. Thank you.
Mike (Forum Supporter) said:4runner has been making a not actually bad sounding hum from the rear. We don't drive it much lately, but finally got it in, and diagnosis is bad wheel bearings. I'm not going to post the amount I was quoted, because I can't bear for you lot to tell me exactly how much I'm taking a bath on it. Spent two days floundering to get a second quote while overwhelmed with the rest of life. Finally sighed and pulled the trigger. I barely have time to call for quotes, much less do the work myself, and I can't bear for it to be down, and that has a cost.
E36 M3.
Replace wheel bearings with water heater...I know, I ranted about it last month when it happened; still "steamed" I guess.
$700 labor for a 3.5 hour job = $200 per hour but it was 2:00 PM and I had to get up at 3:00 AM the next morning so I surrendered to the extortion.
At least I fired my pool guy when he wanted $125 to clean the filter...It take me 45 minutes to do a top quality job so even if he matched my quality, he'd be asking for $167 per hour. Um, I'm a Staff Engineer for a Fortune 500 Medtech company and make significantly less...berrrrrrrrk you.
In reply to RX Reven' :
Are you counting travel time in that?
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to RX Reven' :
Are you counting travel time in that?
No but he has several other pools in the area so say 15 minutes for travel...that's $125 for one hour of his time.
We can go on and on about operational costs, no benefits, etc. but the bottom line is that for me to put $125 in his hands, I've got to make $166 in pre tax dollars.
I'm in California, costs & taxes are stupid high, the best strategy is to DIY as much as possible to avoid getting sucked into the system.
RX Reven' said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to RX Reven' :
Are you counting travel time in that?
No but he has several other pools in the area so say 15 minutes for travel...that's $125 for one hour of his time.
Except that he can't count on that economy of scale lasting forever. And why would he complicate his business by quoting different prices based on how many individual subscribers were in a particular area?
Hive, I appreciate the sympathy for the pool guy but I'm part of this transaction too...it's got to work for both of us.
After paying California's sole crushing taxes, I net about $75 an hour so presenting me with a bill for $125 is asking me to work for 100 minutes so I don't have to work for 45 minutes...it just doesn't make sense.
I don't know that he's getting rich...maybe he has a lot of down time, maybe his liability insurance is a fortune, etc.
But again, it's got to work for both of us and asking an engineer with 30+ years of experience to work 100 minutes to cover 45 minutes of basic pool service is ridiculous regardless of the why.
In reply to RX Reven' :
I've been on your side since the beginning 
The price is too high.
The reason why is not an issue
Mr. Peabody said:In reply to RX Reven' :
I've been on your side since the beginning
The price is too high.
The reason why is not an issue
Thanks man.
It seems I've struck a nerve and this isn't a hill I'm willing to die on so...
In reply to RX Reven' :
Oh, you've got every right to decide you don't feel like paying more than whatever amount it is that you're willing to pay for whatever it is.
But there is a difference between that and "They're charging too much."
Admittedly you never actually said it in those words.
I'm getting tired of buying parts twice when ordering online.
Last winter it was an axle shaft for the Sedona. It developed a clunk in less than a month and it wasn't worth the shipping cost to do a warranty exchange.
Today it was a cap and rotor for the Ram.
After my son installed the cap, rotor and wires we had an intermittent miss that got worse with increasing rpm. Rerouted the plug wires per the Dodge TSB, inspected all the plugs, and then gave in a went to get a replacement cap rotor and wires. Installed the local parts and the miss was gone.
I'm not sure if something happened during the installation, but this is the first time I've seen this type of failure on a rotor. It's obvious that it was the cause of the miss, but seems like a strange failure mode for an engine that would run.
First photo from left to right:
Old rotor, Rotor from online kit when removed to replace with locally purchase rotor, and the NAPA rotor:
online rotor before installation and old rotor
Ok, so some progress.....I talked to the friend more and he realizes that his plan is stupid now and is doing something different.
That's a win, current plan has some actual chances of success
In reply to proe163 :
Kayaks are better than canoes.
My dealership has an internal agency for Insurance Company A. I have Insurance Company B. The owner of the dealership wanted our agents to get quotes for Insurance Company A for all employees who have Insurance Company B-Z. So the insurance girl, who I've previously had arguments with about other work-related matters, comes, gets my information and gives me a quote that's half the price of what I'm paying now. But I've previously spoken with several collision shop owners about Insurance Company A and they all say, avoid it like the plague, that the company hassles about the necessity of replacing some components, wants to repair damaged components rather than replace, wants to use used parts or non-OEM parts. The same people have all said that Insurance Company B is much better, one of the best, usually doesn't ask questions or hassle the shop.
When she handed me the quote, I kind of feigned off with, I don't recall what I was paying currently, so I'd have to check, blah blah blah. A couple hours she comes back out and is asking me "Well, did you check the price? Are you going to switch?" I said I had, the price she quoted was better but I wasn't really interested in changing. Today, she hunts me down in the shop again and starts in with "Well, are you going to change to our company? We need to know." I say, no, not interested and she starts copping an attitude "Why wouldn't you want to save money, it's a no-brainer, etc. etc." Okay, I was trying to be polite and avoid a confrontation but now you've royally irked me. So I say why I won't change, and the advice I got from my acquaintances in the collision industry. She just says "Well, I'm going to tell [Dealership Owner's name]." Okay. Byyyyye.
Listen, if I'm not interested in something or say no, don't continue to hassle me. Because if you do, I'll really dig me heels in. And if you continue to hassle me past that, then I'll get mad.
Minor rant? I'm tired of being in the right lane and someone in the left lane floors it and cuts across right in front of me so they can turn right. Instead of just getting in the right lane and turning right like a decent person would.
Nickd - You may want to report that to the labor board. That sounds like it is toeing, if not crossing, a line.
In reply to mtn :
Her going to tell the owner is basically the equivalent of crying to a parent because you didn't get your way. But the "parent" isn't really sympathetic. She's actually done this before over something else. I was working on her car (which is a brand that we sell, that she bought from a competing dealer, ironically) and was trying to get information about what exactly it was doing and she got all pissed off and went "You just don't want to work on my car, I'm going to talk to [Dealership Owner's Name]." He came back that afternoon and asked me and the service writer what was going on, we explained it and his response was pretty much "Why did she feel this warranted my involvement? You were trying to do your job to better fix the customer's concern."
So, this morning I dropped the QX4 off at the dealership in hopes that they would be able to track down the noise in the front end that has been bothering me since I replaced the front suspension on it like 2 years ago. Got a text from them with a video link with their service guy going over what they found- frankly quite nice and very clearly showing what they'd found and explaining that they would be in touch with quotes for the issues they had found.
The problem is... the main problem that they found is basically that the front sway bar had been installed upside down and at extreme travel of the suspension had been contacting the tie rods that it passed over. And who was it that installed said sway bar upside down? Yeah- yours truly. -_-;
Waiting to see what they come back with on cost to replace it and the end links that are worn as a result (apparently the tie rods are far more resilient than the hollow sway bar and don't need replacing)... I'm guessing it's going to be enough more than my grabbing another bar off a junkyard QX4/Pathfinder and getting the end links from anywhere but the dealership that I'll just do it myself (and install it correctly this time).
Appleseed said:In reply to proe163 :
Kayaks are better than canoes.
This is a damn lie.
Is there anything in this house that doesn't need some sort of repair? Lawn tractor has a flat. Ordered.
The lawn tractor wheel has excessive play from the bushing being worn to twice it's intended diameter. Beat out old bushings. Ordered.
Upstairs toilet handle broke. Fixed.
Pool needs chemicals.
Bird feeders need filling.
Need to get back to the Nova.
RX-7 needs to be driven. How will the engine ever get broken in?
Lawn needs mowing.
Garden needs weeding.
Beer needs drinking.
Now, to set about setting some priorities.....
Scotty Con Queso said:Asked wife for a fit bit watch for Father's Day. Received fit bit watch for Father's Day with a threat that I better use it all day every day or she'd be pissed. Never mind. I don't want it. Send it back.
Put me in a bad mood most of the day yesterday.
Father's Day seems more and more like a joke each year. Sorry, dude.
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