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What are you thinking about?


pwny

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6 hours ago, theJ said:

Mini-vans are the truth.  SUV's suck.

Suck it SUV owners.

 

You did the right thing.

In fairness - it depends on what you're hauling. I haul nothing but me. I was the last person to sit in my own back seat. The SUV is solely for safety when I'm driving on ice and snow.... Nothing against Mini-vans at all but as a single person just trying to make it to my destination in the winter, an SUV serves its purpose  :) 

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5 hours ago, K9 said:

In fairness - it depends on what you're hauling. I haul nothing but me. I was the last person to sit in my own back seat. The SUV is solely for safety when I'm driving on ice and snow.... Nothing against Mini-vans at all but as a single person just trying to make it to my destination in the winter, an SUV serves its purpose  :) 

Meh, i'll take a car any day.  Never had a problem in snow or ice.  Most people site 4WD as a reason for the SUV (or fitting kids), but 4WD only really helps you take off in the snow.  It doesn't help you handle better.  That's what snow tires are for.

Anyway, i'll take the car.  Easier to park, fits in the garage better, seats just as many people, better mileage generally, less expensive, etc.  

I stand by the suck it comment*.

 

*you're free to like what you like

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2 hours ago, theJ said:

Meh, i'll take a car any day.  Never had a problem in snow or ice.  Most people site 4WD as a reason for the SUV (or fitting kids), but 4WD only really helps you take off in the snow.  It doesn't help you handle better.  That's what snow tires are for.

Anyway, i'll take the car.  Easier to park, fits in the garage better, seats just as many people, better mileage generally, less expensive, etc.  

I stand by the suck it comment*.

 

*you're free to like what you like

I cant do cars just out of comfort sake. Im a big guy When I see other big guys having to grab the door and roof then pull themselves out their cars. I dont know how they put up with it on a daily.

The worst part about cars for me is the stiff sport type suspension all of them get now. If cars floated like boats as they did in the 70s I could maybe adapt to one. But sitting at an angle with my feet near the level of my rear, 18-20 inch rim providing no real air cushion, then the sport suspension. I just feel miserable.

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3 hours ago, theJ said:

Meh, i'll take a car any day.  Never had a problem in snow or ice.  Most people site 4WD as a reason for the SUV (or fitting kids), but 4WD only really helps you take off in the snow.  It doesn't help you handle better.  That's what snow tires are for.

Anyway, i'll take the car.  Easier to park, fits in the garage better, seats just as many people, better mileage generally, less expensive, etc.  

I stand by the suck it comment*.

 

*you're free to like what you like

Yeah people really undervalue tires on a vehicle, as do manufacturers.  4x4 SUV’s and trucks especially.  Most come with cheap, P rated street tires almost exclusively due to cost and weight savings for better fuel economy.

For many people they’re “fine”, but simply getting good tires is probably the single biggest upgrade most of the folks could do to their vehicles.

If you want good traction in inclement weather, best invest in the only part of the vehicle actually touching the road.

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1 minute ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Yeah people really undervalue tires on a vehicle, as do manufacturers.  4x4 SUV’s and trucks especially.  Most come with cheap, P rated street tires almost exclusively due to cost and weight savings for better fuel economy.

For many people they’re “fine”, but simply getting good tires is probably the single biggest upgrade most of the folks could do to their vehicles.

If you want good traction in inclement weather, best invest in the only part of the vehicle actually touching the road.

I never laughed as hard as i did the time i saw a big monstrous 4x4 truck in the ditch next to a big curve near my house.  Almost certainly had no snow tires.  But he had 4WD!

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31 minutes ago, PARROTHEAD said:

I cant do cars just out of comfort sake. Im a big guy When I see other big guys having to grab the door and roof then pull themselves out their cars. I dont know how they put up with it on a daily.

The worst part about cars for me is the stiff sport type suspension all of them get now. If cars floated like boats as they did in the 70s I could maybe adapt to one. But sitting at an angle with my feet near the level of my rear, 18-20 inch rim providing no real air cushion, then the sport suspension. I just feel miserable.

Yeah i get that.

SUVs can still suck it though.

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I live in the PNW and of course we're having this huge heatwave. It was 115 yesterday, 111 the day before and today's 95 or something like that.

I've lived here for 6 years, and finally got AC installed last October so my house is nice and chill right now. Nearly all of my co-workers don't have AC and they're all telling me about how horrible it is and I feel (slightly) bad because I'm just sitting over here in my perfectly-cooled house not going through any problems whatsoever.

Heck, the biggest heat-related problem I've had is how much should I be watering my lawn so it doesn't die during this heatwave?!

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20 minutes ago, AFlaccoSeagulls said:

I live in the PNW and of course we're having this huge heatwave. It was 115 yesterday, 111 the day before and today's 95 or something like that.

I've lived here for 6 years, and finally got AC installed last October so my house is nice and chill right now. Nearly all of my co-workers don't have AC and they're all telling me about how horrible it is and I feel (slightly) bad because I'm just sitting over here in my perfectly-cooled house not going through any problems whatsoever.

Heck, the biggest heat-related problem I've had is how much should I be watering my lawn so it doesn't die during this heatwave?!

Was like that when living in Venezuela with the humidity. Go to bed on a mattress, wake up on a waterbed. I could smack my hand down and water would splash out. Strung up a hammock and had a couple good fans so heat could escape me. Still wake up with puddles on the floor. So yeah. I know they hurting.

Send them Christmas cards saying "Think cool thoughts". With the family photo taken place in front of the AC unit instead of a fireplace. lol

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2 minutes ago, PARROTHEAD said:

Was like that when living in Venezuela with the humidity. Go to bed on a mattress, wake up on a waterbed. I could smack my hand down and water would splash out. Strung up a hammock and had a couple good fans so heat could escape me. Still wake up with puddles on the floor. So yeah. I know they hurting.

Send them Christmas cards saying "Think cool thoughts". With the family photo taken place in front of the AC unit instead of a fireplace. lol

hammocks are nice during heat waves, for sure.  beds trap a lot of heat.

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My current car only needed to last me another 3-4 months before I got my new one, and it literally died on me driving home last night. Battery gauge started quickly ticking down, lights started flickering, then it died in the middle of the road. Good thing I was in a residential area and had a shoulder to pull in to. I just got a new alternator and battery about a year ago; normally those things have a 2 year warranty right? If I can get back up and running for less than $200, I'll do it. If not, I'm willing to go car-less for a few months.

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30 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

My current car only needed to last me another 3-4 months before I got my new one, and it literally died on me driving home last night. Battery gauge started quickly ticking down, lights started flickering, then it died in the middle of the road. Good thing I was in a residential area and had a shoulder to pull in to. I just got a new alternator and battery about a year ago; normally those things have a 2 year warranty right? If I can get back up and running for less than $200, I'll do it. If not, I'm willing to go car-less for a few months.

Heard of several people getting bad alternators the past decade. If the warranty isnt honored. Which it should be, places are pretty good about that. Hit up a junk yard. Those were at least working at some point. And most yards have the rig to test them before selling. Plus it will be 1/3-1/2 the price of new since you arnt looking to spend but so much.

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Also depending on the make/model of your car and where the alternator is seated you could save some money just by swapping it out yourself. It can be tricky if it's at the bottom of the motor. My daughters old Ford Focus had a bolt I could remove and swing out the engine enough to birth the alternator from underneath. My wife's Highlander it was near the top of the engine but I needed a special adapter to remove the serpentine belt. Tricky part is getting the serpentine belt off and back on. Might need an extra set of hands. I'm sure there is Youtube vids for your make and model of car showing the removal process.

 

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Just now, PARROTHEAD said:

Heard of several people getting bad alternators the past decade. If the warranty isnt honored. Which it should be, places are pretty good about that. Hit up a junk yard. Those were at least working at some point. And most yards have the rig to test them before selling. Plus it will be 1/3-1/2 the price of new since you arnt looking to spend but so much.

This would be the 2nd bad alternator I've had in the past ~7 years. That's how I know they have warranties on alternators. Good to know it isn't just me; I thought I just had awful car luck.

If the warranty isn't honored, I don't even know if it worth going through all that. My public transit route to work is pretty sweet, and my wife has a car that we take most places anyway.

I normally wouldn't mind just paying to have it fixed, but with the end in sight, it is so hard to justify.

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41 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

This would be the 2nd bad alternator I've had in the past ~7 years. That's how I know they have warranties on alternators. Good to know it isn't just me; I thought I just had awful car luck.

If the warranty isn't honored, I don't even know if it worth going through all that. My public transit route to work is pretty sweet, and my wife has a car that we take most places anyway.

I normally wouldn't mind just paying to have it fixed, but with the end in sight, it is so hard to justify.

Seems like the market has never been better for used cars. Since its not important to you. It might be best to get it going and taking advantage of the market. In this instance. Waiting around could cost you a lot more in the long run.

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