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At least you are fixing it yourself & saving the big $$$
My landlord from 30 years ago once sent the appliance repair guy out to fix the refrigerator--I watched him & noticed how easy it was & fixed plenty of appliances myself since then. If you contact the parts supply places they'll even help diagnose the problem

Sorry for the thread drift, but I'm glad I'm not the only one fixing my own appliances. If the car and appliance manufacturers relied on people like me, they'd go broke. When my wife and I got married 17 years ago, I bought a well-used, mismatched washer/dryer set. Over the years and many, many loads of laundry, I did occasional work on them: a cheap sensor here and a used $20 dryer motor there. We just replaced them last year, not because they quit, but because we found a much nicer, newer set at estate sales for under $100. I've lost track of how many times I've taken the dishwasher apart to clean or repair it. One of the guys at work has a problem with his dishwasher, and he calls Lowes to bring a new one and haul the old one off.

To each their own, but I honestly don't know how people can afford to live that way. Sometimes I get feeling a bit like a loser because everyone has nicer stuff and can afford newer cars, but then I figure I'm the better environmentalist. By being so frugal, repairing my old appliances and automobiles, recycling all my brass and lead, my "carbon footprint" is tiny. I've got that going for me...
 
Sorry for the thread drift, but I'm glad I'm not the only one fixing my own appliances. If the car and appliance manufacturers relied on people like me, they'd go broke. When my wife and I got married 17 years ago, I bought a well-used, mismatched washer/dryer set. Over the years and many, many loads of laundry, I did occasional work on them: a cheap sensor here and a used $20 dryer motor there. We just replaced them last year, not because they quit, but because we found a much nicer, newer set at estate sales for under $100. I've lost track of how many times I've taken the dishwasher apart to clean or repair it. One of the guys at work has a problem with his dishwasher, and he calls Lowes to bring a new one and haul the old one off.

To each their own, but I honestly don't know how people can afford to live that way. Sometimes I get feeling a bit like a loser because everyone has nicer stuff and can afford newer cars, but then I figure I'm the better environmentalist. By being so frugal, repairing my old appliances and automobiles, recycling all my brass and lead, my "carbon footprint" is tiny. I've got that going for me...
I just sold my '86 Mazda B2000 I got new on CL. I did all of the maintenance on that thing.. greatest car ever!
 
Wow, a one owner '86! Not many people keep a car for 33 years.

Like my wife's Saturn, though, it just keep running and running. It's hard to give up a solid old car that's been so amazingly reliable.
 
I agree with PNWguy. In 2014 I was looking for a used 4runner that was a few years old to save $. The price of the used ones were only a few grand off what a new one would cost. So I bought new.
 
So was able to go kick some tires today.

I was very close to being ready to sign on the line for my first choice if we could have gotten to a good price. Fortunately, I had the vehicle inspector check it out (there were some things we saw that were questionable)...he found several problems, including a leaking head gasket...deal breaker. Money well-spent to dodge that headache. That dealership was more than ready to sell me that vehicle.

I was able to track down my second choice, the one that had been moved to another nearby dealer and the price inflated about $3,200. Test drove it...not perfect, not my favorite color, a few more miles than I wanted, but liked it enough to try to negotiate...especially with the big flashing sign 'memorial day sale starts now!' or similar. Showed the salesman the price from the other dealership from about 36 hrs. before and wanted to start negotiating from there. Salesman had to go talk to the manager, which in this case, couldn't really fault him for. No go. There was no way they could get down to the lower price it had at the other dealership a day and a half ago. Big steaming pile of dung.:rolleyes:
We wound up walking.
They're obviously banking on the hope they'll do better over the Memorial Day weekend with their 'sale.'

I emailed the salesman from the original dealership from two days ago and said if he gets the vehicle back to give me a shout, maybe we could work something out.

Checked out at a third vehicle that looked good on paper, but once you saw it up close, it was far from good. Lower miles yes, but they had been hard miles. Pass.

This is starting to get to be more of a chore. I'm well past the 'average buyer' that visits 1.2 lots and buys a car (to stop the hip-wading through the BS). I've been to at least 5 lots now, up to ~175 miles away, 4 or so test drives. And this is with CarGuru's and other online resources.

Hoping maybe after Memorial Day, with the end of the month coming, a decent vehicle with a dealership willing to negotiate will materialize.

Time will tell.

And oh yeah, gotta get the dryer fixed tomorrow night.

BOSS
 
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Rule number 1) All mechanical things suck.
Rule number 2) All mechanical things will break.
Rule number 3) We are only disappointed when we have expectations.
 
If you are reasonably mechanical get one of the newer bluetooth OBD-II port scanners and do a scan on any vehicle you are looking at. They should tell you if anything has been "reset" recently or if there are any trouble codes.

I like my Bluedriver BlueDriver

I also use Car Repair by Make and Model to find out about the common problems for a car and it's model year. That can be a big help in knowing what to look for in advance.
 
If you are reasonably mechanical get one of the newer bluetooth OBD-II port scanners and do a scan on any vehicle you are looking at. They should tell you if anything has been "reset" recently or if there are any trouble codes.

I like my Bluedriver BlueDriver

I also use Car Repair by Make and Model to find out about the common problems for a car and it's model year. That can be a big help in knowing what to look for in advance.
That Bluedriver is pretty trick. Thanks for sharing.
 
Sounds like that vehicle inspector was money well spent.

Indeed. His price was VERY reasonable. You simply let the dealership know he's coming and tell him where and he goes and does his 1-2 hr. inspection. I gotta say, that's probably not the easiest job in the world...going onto a 'stranger's' lot and potentially blowing a sale and/or finding a major problem the dealership is now going to have to contend with.

As I say, we looked at it, saw a couple things, but nothing 'major' to our untrained eye, the interior was VERY well kept (I'd say a solid 9 outta 10) and it drove pretty well on a fairly good test drive (~20 min, including freeway). The dealership had had it for awhile, and IIRC they mentioned they had a couple mechanics. Not a peep from them.:rolleyes:

Boss
 
Well as it turns out, the quest has come to an end. I found that unicorn all us shopping for a used car hope for. Last night came across a 2010, one owner, clean Carfax/never wrecked sample with only 52,000 miles. Just listed. I jumped on it...this is the kinda car you kick yourself if you don't buy. Test drove and purchased this evening. Added a 5yr/80K extended service plan.

This one wouldn't have lasted the holiday weekend. As it turns out, thanks to yours truly, it didn't last 48 hrs.

The rare occasion for me where the stars line up and it works out. It took me a couple hours to get there, I was waiting to walk up and have the salesman be 'oh, that guy there just came in and bought it.'

Tomorrow, still gotta fix the dryer, but tonight, my new chariot awaits!:cool:

Boss
 

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