And what did we buy today?

Because of my proximity to Hyundai dealership and me being lazy I went through three Hyundai cars in last ten years for my family - one new and two used. In each and every case reliability has not been even the slightest concern. Waiting for them to bring turbo diesel to Canada in 2021 and it will be my next car.

Oops, actually - four!
 
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It also helps to know cars and do your own repairs when at all possible. BMW is expensive if you service it at the dealer :)
BMW wants almost 2000$ parts and labour to do the rotors and pads on all corners.
I got Canadian slotted cross drilled rotors and carbon pads for 340$ and installed them in my dad's driveway.
As far as "reliable" though? I once had a misfire relating to someone before me installing cheap Delphi ignition coils instead of the Bosch. I replaced them, and the spark plugs, cleared the code, and that was that. It now has 240k on it. It's a 2011. Someone drove this thing a lot. I also got it for 6k when lower km models were fetching 12k.
I don't count things like a brake sensor wire that broke because someone installed it improperly before I had the car, or the MAP sensor I replaced based solely on the codes (The dealers mechanic just forgot to plug the MAP sensor in). I've never broken down in it and it always starts when I hit the button. Just my experience with this one anyway. I know a tonne of people have had issues.

I really wish I could drive my old 77 Impala again to compare the two (My first car was older than I am).

RE: Salt damage : Rust proofing is a good thing. I will be doing it to my car in the spring before it starts rotting :)
 
I don’t put a lot of faith in the consumer reports car ratings with the first year of a new model. One of the worst VWs I had the displeasure of dealing with was the ‘92 Passat, was rated as great at first, well big surprise, the dealer squawks hadn’t rolled in yet as it was the first year.
The next year it was rated as horrible. Ours had transmission issues after a couple years of very mild use, so it got traded in for a ‘94 Toyota Hilux, that thing lasted through 13 years of abuse serving a nursery business.

As for German cars in general, I’ve come to know them as maintenance nightmares, used to be a fan in the 80s, but those days are gone, long gone. I’ve worked as a BMW/Mercedes mechanic, also a stint at a Porsche specialist as well.

In the last 20 years I’d much rather get a decent low mileage Toyota and do some tuning instead of attempting to re-engineer a car that wasn’t reliable.

That’s funny about the Cortina shifter, had a ‘68 GT, was a neat car but too hard to find parts for so I sold it.

Today I bought a length of 10 awg wire to make another choke for the car that has an alternator whine.
 
Always throwing a wrench into things aren't you K-man?

That's more or less my job description. :D

People point me in some random direction and tell me to fix stuff.
I keep asking before leaving, to get whatever parts needed: "What is it?"
Reply is frequently "Don't know", either that or they tell me it's something completely different than what I find.

One of my frequent gripes is: I have little to no clue what I'm doing, just desperately trying to figure it out to get that random something running again.

Today I bought crypto, no clue about that either.
 

PRR

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11th March 2021 .... And what did we buy today?
A fokking $69 mouse. From a company which can't take care of simple business.....

Ordered 2 March. Confirmed instantly.
9 March still "preparing".
11 March found on my porch. Tracking still "Preparing".

TODAY, 19 March, I get the "is on its way" email.
Uh, no: tracks as "Delivered Thursday, March 11, 2021"

Considering the state of the world this year, 2.5 weeks is not so bad; except the shipping was expedient, the paperwork stalled.

I've had equally slack shipping on Amazon, actually Amazon Marketplace. There are several, perhaps MANY, vendors with false locations. I thought I was ordering from Pennsylvania but his two other addresses are east Europe. Essentially he drop-shipped from Chicago to me.
 
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A Craftsman 113 table saw, circa 1952. This 70 year old saw will replace my 20 year old Ryobi saw.

She's no beauty queen, but runs great with a 2HP motor. The cast iron table needed sanding to remove the typical surface rust. Wow! Sanding cast iron is a long and tedious job. :eek: I rewired the motor and switch using a new 25 foot extension cord so it can go anywhere in the shop. Also added a foot switch and some cable management. Varnish, paint, wax, polish.

Tomorrow a new motor pulley and drive belt should arrive, which will make for smoother operation. Then ready to make more speakers!
 

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Thanks leadbelly!

My Father's is a 2017, and I still think changing the fluid regularly is good idea on the new electronic trans. as the electronic solenoids are always vibrating from what I read causing wear particles. Maybe not all do this, but who knows!

The only issue I have with Toyota is rusting frames/subframes and I think any manufacturer using CVT's instead of a proper rebuildable AT trans is shooting themselves in the foot.
 
The bottom of the line Altec Lansing Bluetooth over-ear headphones, despite bad reviews. Normally I would never buy something like that, but I wanted something quick and my head was reeling from all the choices out there. I already own a lifetime supply of headphones but none are wireless.
 
I know what you mean - there's like a million headphones out there.

Awhile back I bought a Bluetooth transmitter for the receiver at the shop, along with a cheap set of Sony over-ears. The headphones were kind of a bust; they don't seem to want to stay on my big old noggin very well.

Rather than go 15 rounds with various wireless phones, today I took a different tack and got an earstudio ES100 MK2, which is a wireless Bluetooth receiver/ headphone amp (that can also be a USB DAC). It's tiny, great specs, plus a fancy but noninvasive phone app that lets you do all sorts of esoteric stuff.

I'm hoping this little pillbox will work well with all the wired phones I've already collected. Right now it's got me thinking of going into work on Sunday just to mess around with it. I'm a sick man. :eek:/