Cars & Bikes, Driving & Riding

[count2infinity]

Lick the battery…

[mac5155]

As long as you don't ground yourself out too. Should be fine. I've never been shocked by any automotive type battery

[mac5155]

Settle a debate for me. Or at least provide your input.

When a 2 lane road goes down to 1 lane, which lane has the right of way? Is it always the same or sometimes different?

[MR25]

My assumption is that the lane that continues on has the technical right of way, since the people in the other lane must merge into it before their lane ends (i.e. the 579 north on-ramp from Veterans Bridge going toward McKnight where the right lane ends), and when it comes to merging, the person not merging/changing lanes has the right of way.

[DigitalGypsy66]

A 20-year-old son of a friend of ours was looking at a mutual friend's 528i. Believe it was a 2008 or 9 model. I warned both the kid and his parents about how expensive BMWs are to maintain, as my parents have two of them and spend thousands a year (at least). He bought it anyway and needed to replace the brakes. Evidently, each rear brake pad is $250 plus labor. So it begins.

Then they wanted to change rims, so the dad goes to put it up on a jack but is shocked to see the entire underbody covered in ABS plastic. Good thing he looked before beginning to jack it up.

Some people just don't listen.

[count2infinity]

I drive a 2007 Pontiac Vibe. I dig the hatchback, 4 door style of car. It's done its job. The next inspection that requires more than $1000 to pass inpsection, I'll likely trade it in for a new used car.

The other day I saw a Hyundai Kona drive by me on the highway. That is a slick looking car, IMO. I'm curious as to longevity since it's a relatively new model, but certainly will be something I go test drive when the time comes.

[dodint]

Evidently, each rear brake pad is $250 plus labor. So it begins.

$20 for a front axle set.
$41 for a rear axle set.
And it's not a no-name knockoff brand.
https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes. ... dard+Model

If they are a brand snob, here is a rear axle set made by Brembo for $62: https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes. ... dard+Model

If they had opened the owners manual they would see that there is a center jack point under the motor at the subframe in the front of the car. The rear differential housing is the rear center jack point. Those are the best places to get an even lift of the front or rear of the car. But if they wanted to just do one quarter of the car at a time, there are 4 jack pads positioned around the car near each respective wheel that they can use.

It sounds like they're paying a stupidity tax and not a BMW tax.

[CBear3]

Evidently, each rear brake pad is $250 plus labor. So it begins.

$20 for a front axle set.
$41 for a rear axle set.
And it's not a no-name knockoff brand.
https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes. ... dard+Model

If they are a brand snob, here is a rear axle set made by Brembo for $62: https://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brakes. ... dard+Model

If they had opened the owners manual they would see that there is a center jack point under the motor at the subframe in the front of the car. The rear differential housing is the rear center jack point. Those are the best places to get an even lift of the front or rear of the car. But if they wanted to just do one quarter of the car at a time, there are 4 jack pads positioned around the car near each respective wheel that they can use.

It sounds like they're paying a stupidity tax and not a BMW tax.

BMW parts can be expensive, but it's really the stealership rates that make BMW ownership difficult. I remember paying hundreds of dollars for an oil change and filter the first time I took my M3 in. You really need to learn to work on the cars yourself if you're going to won one long term (he says as his Mini's are both in pieces).

[dodint]

Sure, they can be expensive. But brake pads are like tires, they're consumable wear items with a healthy market. Walking into the dealer and giving a blank check and then complaining about the cost is nutty.

Brake pads require removing two bolts. Sure, the owner may not want to be bothered with that. But any shop in the world can do that work. Save the dealership service for stuff that is actually BMW specific.

[DigitalGypsy66]

There was something about wiring in the rear pads, some sort of sensor that needed to be calibrated in the correct order or something. He wasn't doing the work himself, this was through a local garage. Maybe the $250 was including labor?

[dodint]

The pad sensor does not require calibration. It's a $12 wire with a metal end on it. It sits flush with the brake pad and when the pad wears down enough the end of the wire starts to grind off, and eventually the circuit is broken which trips the pad warning light. There is one wear sensor per axle.

Maybe they sold them a brake system flush/bleed? It would be totally unnecessary but we're back to the uniformed owner situation in that case. BMW brakes can be bled without any special equipment; however, if there is air in the ABS module then the technician will have to use a BMW code reader/tuner to activate the ABS pump while the car is in the garage.

"Stupidity tax" was a little harsh, I admit. But the acceptance that the 'BMW tax' applies to every aspect of the car is something that is perpetuated (and complained of) by low information owners that don't understand the reality of their vehicle. Which is fine, they're appliances for some people, but why buy a premium brand just to whinge about paying a premium for upkeep of which you have a minimal understanding?

My having to replace my rod bearings as preventive maintenance on my Formula 1 derived V10 BMW motor is absolutely a BMW tax situation. Brake pads on a common 5-series that's 12 years old is just regular maintenance.

That said, I really enjoyed the reverse sticker shock when buying parts for my Mustang and SRT-4.

[Kane]

Yeah, but how much does the blinker fluid cost?

[mac5155]

My assumption is that the lane that continues on has the technical right of way, since the people in the other lane must merge into it before their lane ends (i.e. the 579 north on-ramp from Veterans Bridge going toward McKnight where the right lane ends), and when it comes to merging, the person not merging/changing lanes has the right of way.

I feel like this also, but the signs in both locations where we've had issues say "lane ends, merge right". Though, it feels like the right lane should merge left. But at the same time, the left lane is probably moving faster than the right.

[dodint]

[CBear3]

So that's a thing, huh?

[NTP66]

+1 on Centric pads and rotors. I've been running them for over a decade in my TL-S.

[dodint]

[NTP66]

What the **** am I looking at

[dodint]

An Aztek humped an i3. They had a back-alley abortion and here we are.

[NTP66]

Where was mikey’s clothes hanger when we needed one?

[Shyster]

Dammit, I couldn't remember what the ugly car was that was the recipient of the Aztek and i3 photoshopping. I just tracked it down: the 1998–2004 Fiat Multipla (I was thinking it was a Renault for some reason):

[dodint]

Oh great now there are two of them on the page.

[NTP66]

3 years, two bent wheels, one punctured tire, multiple phone calls and e-mails to both my district rep and PennDOT, and the main road in my township is finally being resurfaced! This legitimately feels like a day I should celebrate with cake and candles.

[dodint]

Speaking of, I read this article yesterday. PennDOT is mostly complete with sucking off the teat of the Turnpike. Which has left the Turnpike with $14B in debt, but at least they can recover now.

https://triblive.com/news/pennsylvania/ ... o-penndot/

My takeaway is that vehicle sales tax will probably increase in the coming years.

I also assume that many more bridge tolls and the like will be implemented soon.

[skullman80]

They started milling the main road by my house last week (Haymayker) that connects to business 22 and then the parkway/turnpike. They milled it last week, thought they were going to pave it this week.. but nope. I now wonder how long it will take for them to start paving it haha.