What's up today (bullchiting) thread.

That is all blown out of proportion, as long as you don't go shopping in say Houston like the spring after they had that big hurricane or like now in west Virginia or where ever they had those floods there probably no more around here than up there. They ship a lot of those to auctions away from here anyway!! Haha

In this state our laws probably are similar to other places. If my car is totaled out from a flood I have the option to buy it back. I can then "fix it" then sell it or sell it to be fixed or the auction sells it if you don't buy it back. It can still go back on the road. It will have a salvage title, but does not say flood car. But carfax will say it was totaled due to water damage. Now if not totaled and fixed and not turned in on insurance you have no way to know other than look in crevices for evidence.

 

Thanks!

Looking forward to moving, changing jobs, raising my baby boy that will be here in september.
All kinds of things going on for us in 2018.

I do however have to have surgery on my left ear drum on Wednesday. lol

 

That means you can’t use that excuse with your wife anymore! I didn’t hear you babe.

 

The plug ejection wasn't as bad as some make it out to be. They would happen on many of them, but typically not numerous times. Plus, after a while, the aftermarket got the fix down so well that you literally could do the the repair on the side of the road.
I'd rather have a plug ejection than a transmission failure, or a brake line failure.

 

Well, I've done more than my fair share of grousing about the heat this summer.

Today was a spectacular day, don't think it got above 74°F, and work is slow at the 9-5, so I talked to the boss yesterday about taking the day off, no problems.

So, after some coffee, hit what I had left.
Cleared out all the cut logs, cut & split the retaining log, and got after the shag hickory I had downed last year.

Was a nice productive day.

Did leave a few "to-do's" on the way, but ehhhh.



Nice part is, since Chazsbetterhalf is not able to currently do all she used to, a co-workers 12 yr old daughter has been doing a lot of stacking for us.

She's a great worker, we are both impressed by her.

I'm sure we're near or possibly above 6 cord split and stacked. And we're not into August yet.

Was a GOOD DAY!!

 

It's not full sized though, and not really a truck, in the exact same manner that the honda Ridgeline isn't a truck.
It's also a concept and it won't happen unless the chicken tax goes away. I don't think it will go away though.

Now, as an owner of an Audi that had the 12 year unlimited miles anti rust warranty, I can attest to how good they really were. Mine's on 14 years and zero rust, anywhere. I think Ford has the rust issues handled by going to all alloy bodies. Yes, I know alloy can corrode, but it's a lot more corrosion resistant than steel.

 

I'm 20. Saying that, I'm not just referring to my driving experience but vehicles that have been in the immediate family over my lifetime. Plugs.....just never had any need to, now some of the vehicles have had them replaced by previous owners.

1999 F-150 cost 4,000, had 4 years. 2004 cost 4,500, had 4 years. 2002 cost 3,000, had 3 years and thinking another year or so will finish her. didn't have those 3 trucks consecutively but rather owner ship periods overlapped. Average of roughly 1,000 bucks a year as far as purchase price. Honestly, they all had very little apparent rust at time of purchase, especially the 02 and 04, but went downhill almost overnight a couple years after. I won't deny we have been guilty of not always looking after vehicles as well as we could.

The southern truck is a good idea, especially for those within the US. Worth it if youre looking for a "classic". Almost sad that some people bring them up only to not look after them then they still rot out. Worth noting, I don't even have to cross a border to do that, up in Labrador they don't use road salt and much of the population is more inland. Due to that population being sparse, there isn't an overwhelming supply of used trucks, but they can be had. For the trouble of travelling, especially for a work truck that's gonna be abused anyway, it's easier to buy something cheap locally. I do often kill a few minutes by looking at vehicles for sale all over the continent, funny how much value holds differently from region to region.

We've had mostly ford trucks, more Chevy cars, couple dodges. honestly none gave major drive train trouble at all. I've been told Suzuki cars are junk many times. We had an aerio for 2 years which is still going today at 16 years old, should have kept that. And a swift for 5 years, only problem that car ever gave was a coolant line elbow failed. And that car got used as a truck. Hauled wood, lumbet, deep freezers, 1400+ cans and bottles at one point, you name it. Perhaps we've just been lucky as far as that goes.

I've gotten pizzed a few times with the ford's I've had, sometimes over the simplest thing, and said I'm never getting another ford. As if on cue, our gm would proceed to break soon after, or I'd hear someone I know mention their non-ford had a similar or worse issue.

Honestly, Noone really makes an awesome truck. Or car. They're a mass produced item. They've all had recalls, they all will have more, they all have lemons and the ones that just won't die and make you wonder if they're running on ghost power, and just general flaws. And they all deny it any way possible. First year bugs are a thing, and you're going to have more of them when you change stuff up every 2 years. Which, they have to do to keep up with regulations. I don't think you'll see anything like the old chevy van again, generation lasting 25 years. I'm shocked the 4th Gen ram lasted 10 years, even with some changes.

You want to really impress me, show me a one off, custom built vehicle. I always laugh at how people say they built their truck. No, :insert brand here: built the truck, you modified the truck. Noone renovates a 100 year old house to new condition and says they built it.

Ironically, I hear a lot of ford fans say the square body was the last OK chevy. My good Ole sarcastic philosophy: it's a truck, it can be broken, and I'll break it somehow

My Aunt and uncle had a dog named chevy. More reliable than any machine and a whole lot cuter, he Got hit by a vehicle unfortunately.......

 

You better not say it was a Dodge that hit their dog.

 

Can't Dodge it, Ram it!
I'll just go to my room now...

 

I really don't know what it was.......

They now have a shaggy, hyper little fella named tiny. More fur than dog......

Real interesting spot they live in, a little gravel lane with 3 houses off of a 4-5 lane road that's a major inlet/outlet go town, and is home to most of the dealerships in town, mall, fast food joints, a college, big furniture stores, and a bunch of other such enterprises......

 

I'm not sure anything is worse than a brake line failure as far as imediate safety......depending on the situation, maybe steeering failure could compare.

Now, it is a fairly cheap repair by comparison as long as you don't crash.....

 

When I read the article I noticed it was a UniBody based on the Atlas. They have them in Europe, but they won’t make one like that for here because of the competition and less profit. If they built a full size it will have to be a body on Frame to have any credibility. I cannot understand why we can’t treat metals the same way for our cars. I know the northeast is where there are salt issues, but you would think they would make models use for us. I remember when there were rustproofing companies all over the place. Now I think only Ziebart still does it and they are no where near where I am. Plus, you have to get it touched up every year for the warranty.

If I’m not mistaken Audi A series are aluminum body. Still, one of my son's has an '05 VW that only has surface rust on one fender behind the passenger wheel. He’s been saying he will get to it, but three years later it still hasn’t gotten to where it is rust through. Every Japanese car we've had rusted. I had a Honda that the hood rusted through under the paint at 7 years. They had to repaint the trunk deck, roof and hood because of defective paint but they wanted me to pay for a new hood because it was past the six year rust thru warranty. Had a Chevy van that the sliding door rusted apart at the bottom while still under warranty. They replaced the door. A Chevy Lumina that the gas tank rusted out at four years old. You could dent the sheet metal on it if you flicked a finger against it. Still own a 2000 Ford E250 with nothing left above the running boards all down both sides. If it’s parked for a week without moving, it leaves a ring of flaked rust around it. Now we have a '13 VW Tiguan we bought in '15 certified used and I took an extended warranty on the major parts and drivetrain so I wouldn’t get too hammered if something went. I know they are more expensive to maintain, but we keep our cars usually for a long time and rust is one of my pet peeves. Even a car that is cheap to maintain you can’t afford to do significant rust repair on without it costing more than the car is worth sometimes. This is the pain of living I the northeast and having to drive in the winter.

Sorry for the rant guys.

 

The amarok is the VW pick up that you could buy, just not here in the US, or NA afaik.
The chicken tax would put a 25% tax on the amarok since it's not built in NA. So it would have zero chance of selling.

Thee 4runner is made in Japan. The Tacoma is made in the USA. Even though for a while they were on the same chassis, the chicken tax is why they are made here. There's no chicken tax on suvs, so the 4runner isn't made in Japan.
Tundra, Tacoma, Titan, frontier. All made in the usa so they don't pay 25% tarriffs from the chicken tax.

 

My daughter woke up early. Came downstairs, crawled into my my lap, and fell back asleep. Now I need to drop the kids off at the pool, but I dont want to wake her.

 

That hickory must smell great! Sounds like everything came together, great weather, a day off, a helper, and plenty of wood to process!

 

Who knows anything about renting cars at an airport? Is there one company that's better than others? Is there any benefit to reserving a car in advance, and how far in advance? Any negotiating tips? My husband is flying into Denver early next month, to visit a cousin with cancer. We are infrequent travelers, and don't know the car-rental drill. Thanks!