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#Post#: 415--------------------------------------------------
One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: AJ Date: July 28, 2017, 8:10 pm
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.......is that I have all the tools I need to work on my shit.
The starter in the wife's car died this morning...In the garage
thank goodness. Picked up a new starter on the way home and the
whole affair, parts house, to home, the changeout, and back to
the parts house with the core, and home...In two hours.
One of my major frustrations working on cars and motorcycles in
my youth was not having the tools I needed at hand to tackle the
problems. I no longer need to borrow tools or try to tackle
things with slip joint pliers..... ;D
#Post#: 417--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: indigo_dave Date: July 29, 2017, 7:35 am
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My way of dealing with the situations you describe was to start
buying Toyotas and Hondas. My last 3 vehicles were bought new.
I also have used synthetic oil, once my vehicle goes out of
warranty. I don't put a lot of miles these days (my Fit is
almost 8 years old and has about 62K miles) and only have the
synthetic oil changed annually.
An idiot's guide to happy driving
1987 Toyota P/U 186K miles when I sold it. The motor still
purred like a kitten. The A/C was broken.
1996 Honda Civic
2010 Honda Fit
#Post#: 420--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: AJ Date: July 29, 2017, 9:41 am
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[quote author=indigo_dave link=topic=51.msg417#msg417
date=1501331756]
My way of dealing with the situations you describe was to start
buying Toyotas and Hondas. My last 3 vehicles were bought new.
I also have used synthetic oil, once my vehicle goes out of
warranty. I don't put a lot of miles these days (my Fit is
almost 8 years old and has about 62K miles) and only have the
synthetic oil changed annually.
An idiot's guide to happy driving
1987 Toyota P/U 186K miles when I sold it. The motor still
purred like a kitten. The A/C was broken.
1996 Honda Civic
2010 Honda Fit
[/quote]
The wife's car is a 2004 Toyota Camry. 80k on it. Have had no
major mechanical issues with it. Alternators, batterires,
brakes. All of which I handle.
But she's wrecked it 3 times. Body work I don't do. Fortunately,
none of the incidents involved injury nor were her fault, so the
other people's insurance took the hit for the body work.
When it comes to vehicles...I always wring every bit of life out
of them. I've bought the lad two used cars...But we always buy
new....We just don't buy a lot of cars....We drive 'em 'till
they're done.
#Post#: 422--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: Luke17 Date: July 29, 2017, 5:43 pm
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Great that you can stiill do that stuff AJ...wish I lived near
you :)
I got lost in the shuffle when cars became to complicated for my
limited mechanical experience..
lucky to have two top notch certified independent Jeep and BMW
mechanics who do excellent work, very reasonable, and will
always discuss different price/ brand parts options ..based on
my driving needs.
The BMW guy recently talked me out of high priced Koni
shocks/struts ..
(I still do some minor maintenance..)
Had the same two guys for 17 years for all my Jeeps and Bimmers.
Loyalty, 'Dance with the guy that brung ya'
paying cash brings an even better discount.
#Post#: 423--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: AJ Date: July 29, 2017, 7:10 pm
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[quote author=Luke17 link=topic=51.msg422#msg422
date=1501368210]
Great that you can stiill do that stuff AJ...wish I lived near
you :)
I got lost in the shuffle when cars became to complicated for my
limited mechanical experience..
lucky to have two top notch certified independent Jeep and BMW
mechanics who do excellent work, very reasonable, and will
always discuss different price/ brand parts options ..based on
my driving needs.
The BMW guy recently talked me out of high priced Koni
shocks/struts ..
(I still do some minor maintenance..)
Had the same two guys for 17 years for all my Jeeps and Bimmers.
Loyalty, 'Dance with the guy that brung ya'
paying cash brings an even better discount.
[/quote]
You'd fit in well down here Luke. Loyalty is a currency down
here with the best folks. At work, we've been using the same
mechanic for work on our trucks that we don't feel..or are
simply too hot and tired to deal with...For 18 years now. He's a
dude that emigrated from Lebanon to New Jersey for a couple of
years, got naturalized, then moved to Texas. Worked for several
dealerships, Ford, Dodge, Chevy...Then a stretch at
Mercedes..Finally hung out his own shingle. He had a two car
garage at first. We had a Ford with a bad engine and we took
chance on him putting a crate engine in it for us. Did us a
solid and in record time. Been trusting him ever since. Now he's
got a 8 bay garage with 4 lifts and a body shop as well. He
still works too. I had him replace the water pump on my diesel 2
months ago. He called and said it was ready and he was covered
in grease and dirt.
Really interesting conversationalist as well. Well read fellow.
Learned quite a bit about Lebanon from him.
He had a strong dislike for Syrians before disliking Syrians was
cool.
#Post#: 424--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: Luke17 Date: July 29, 2017, 7:34 pm
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Very Cool to hear stories like that AJ...
Why is it we can get people to come to the US..learn our
language and become an integral part of our sphere in just a few
short years..
while we have a certain segment of peeps who have been living
here for over 250 years and are still playing the 'slave card'
as why they can't move on.
Even worse, in Philly,as well as other places, newcomers from
Liberia and other African countries are being reviled, robbed,
and chastised for getting and maintaining jobs, their kids are
brutalized and beaten by home grown thugs at school for
excelling in academics..
After 30 plus years of dealing with them on the job, I realize
there is no hope..close to 60 years of Welfare handouts sealed
their fate.
#Post#: 425--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: AJ Date: July 29, 2017, 8:27 pm
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[quote author=Luke17 link=topic=51.msg424#msg424
date=1501374884]
Very Cool to hear stories like that AJ...
Why is it we can get people to come to the US..learn our
language and become an integral part of our sphere in just a few
short years..
while we have a certain segment of peeps who have been living
here for over 250 years and are still playing the 'slave card'
as why they can't move on.
Even worse, in Philly,as well as other places, newcomers from
Liberia and other African countries are being reviled, robbed,
and chastised for getting and maintaining jobs, their kids are
brutalized and beaten by home grown thugs at school for
excelling in academics..
After 30 plus years of dealing with them on the job, I realize
there is no hope..close to 60 years of Welfare handouts sealed
their fate.
[/quote]
The welfare state created in the 60's unintentionally fostered a
new era of "Slavery". A Slavery of the mind. Where generation
after generation literally live off welfare checks, food stamps
and the like. Some think they are "owed" these funds, for sins
done by others...Dead for well over a century. Others are just
following the example set by those before them. This behavior is
well across racial lines. The educational system is at great
fault as well. Live in a nice neighborhood, you have better
schools. Live in a dumpy neighborhood...You get the picture.
Yet I'm constantly meeting people who break stereotypes. Who
rise above their poor beginnings and strive to better themselves
despite the odds being against them. People of all hues and
backgrounds. Hispanics who work their fingers to the bone doing
backbreaking work..Who aren't thieves, murderers or dope
peddlers, as our Idiot president would have us believe. Poor
black kids who bust their ass in school, on;y to go straight to
work in part-time jobs to help their families. Asian kids, who
excel at academics, then go to the store their hard working
parents literally live in, and work until they all are ready to
drop.
It's sad and tragic. Immigrants who play by the rules, work hard
and honestly...Are lumped into the pool with all the trash that
comes here just to game the system. Trump feeds this hysteria
every chance he gets.
I know who you are though Ron. And I know that you are as open,
as accepting of these folks as I am...I also know you can
probably look at a person and get their measure immediately.
Irregardless of their skin color or accent. You are a man of
real and honest character, and can therefore, due to your
training, and your vast experience dealing with the creeps and
assholes our society finds itself rife with, can see through the
veneer of the false and low. You were part of the thin blue line
that protected the rest of us.
I constantly battle with my own prejudices. I work in grocery
stores..All independents, all in poorer sections of town. I
can't tell you how many times I see people fill their carts with
groceries, pay for them with food stamps, then hop into shiny
new Escalades, Mercedes..etc..
#Post#: 427--------------------------------------------------
Re: One of the few benefits of growing to be old...
By: indigo_dave Date: July 30, 2017, 7:22 am
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"Slavery of the mind". I think you hit some sort of proverbial
nail on the head. I watched a woman on TV who's family moved
from Ghana to Colorado Springs. Within a generation this woman
has excelled and is the current head (CEO ?) of Uber.
People in poverty see education as a wonderful opportunity and a
bridge out of poverty. I was sitting in an Einstein Bagel shop
maybe 7-8 years ago. I noted to my friend how some people would
pull out a maybe 1/2 thick stack of napkins. Then I watched and
noted (to my friend) how one of these people would wipe her
mouth with a n apkin, then wad it up for discarding. A few
moments later she wiped her mouth with a new napkin and
discarded it. My friend said something to the effect of "a
period of deprivation could be a healthy thing".
I think we're spoiled as a society. People who are considered
"poor" would be considered privileged in some countries right
now. I'm not saying there aren't real problems. The racial
social thing ? I say we should institute REAL integration. Mix
everyone, then require everyone who's been mixed to "tow their
part of the line". You don't get to cling to your culture
identity if it's proved itself dysfunctional and destructive to
your culture.
If I were in control I'd surely be assassinated before too long.
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