Doc1647545523

The solution is clear Sell the damned scooter

Again, thanks to everyone who posted advice and especially to everyone who PM'd me and offered to help him with the brake problem. It all had a happy ending: MD TRANSMISSION in Delaware inspected his brakes, heated the bolt and removed it, replaced the caliper, bled the system, and had him happily on his way in less than an hour at a charge of $50, less than one third what the other local shop said they would charge. He now knows one honest shop he feels comfortable going to for simple repairs/transmission work.

Sportbikes are totally impractical for anyone over 25. In fact, I think it's illegal in some states to ride crotch rockets if you're over a certain age, such as 25 or 30. You should just start with a cruiser type bike now so that you won't have to sell it in a few years. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1361302&postcount=23

Yasser, thanks for the photos. Who would have thought there'd be so many critics ... Granted, I'm biased because it's my car, but where h22 sees a closeup of a Bentley emblem, I see a winged B flying up in the clouds. Look again if you didn't see it (the latter picture). So, to me it's a clever visual pun. We all see things a little differently. I appreciate the talent Yasser has and appreciate that he shared his unique vision. I don't expect someone attending a meet to provide a photo documentary of the event. My .02

No way. Have you forgotten that there's a slight incline up to the parking lot?

Tell Pop to wash his A6 on his way home from work so that you can drive a clean car to the meet tonight. :grin2:

I think a CR biodiesel co-op would be uber-kewl. We easily have the know-how, and I believe we have a few Columbus locations we could use to dispense to our members. I know of someone sitting on 1000 gallons of waste vegetable oil, all in 5-gallon cubies, just for starters. It was free. Paul-Michael (FyrhzrdGT) and I have been talking about manufacturing biodiesel for almost a year. The start-up cost is hard to justify considering it would just be two of us using it (and each of us also drives gas cars for part of our driving). However, considering that almost all diesel vehicles can safely run on biodiesel, it might make better economic sense if we had our own customers (co-op). Many co-ops are selling biodiesel to their members for under $2.00/gallon. If we don't go co-op, Paul-Michael and I might go to either waste vegetable oil conversions (then, no need to make biodiesel fuel), or possible doing a supplemental mixture of 5 gallons per tankful of purified waste vegetable oil. The only cost in proecessing what we have will be the cost to remove the water and to centrifuge the oil. That cost is only pennies per gallon. Thus, for my Mercedes, it reduces the cost of a fill-up by $20. Just throwing the idea out there. If people are genuinely interested, feel free to talk with Paul-Michael or me. If we decide to go down this road, we'll post our own thread explaining the concept in more detail. Right now, I just want to plant the idea in peoples' minds as an alternative to possibly having to pay substantially higher prices for gas in the long term. No intention to hijack this thread.

Welcome to Columbus Racing. Good intro and great cars. Lots of activities in Columbus for car enthusiasts. Although it's not a Columbus Racing event, a number of us will be out tonight at Quaker Steak. Feel free to introduce yourself around. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92061 +rep

Looks as though it will stay dry today and tomorrow. I'm ready for some blue skies. Cya tonight, boyos.

I'd recommend Flat Tire (Josh) at Thiel's. Deal with someone you know personally. Josh has been a great friend and has always hooked me up with the best prices. http://www.columbusracing.com/forums/member.php?u=6241 PM me if you want his cell phone number.

Tim, this one can stand alone, but there is a bit of inside humor and nuance that you can miss if you're not familiar with some of the others. Except Tokyo Drift ...... no need to have seen that one. My recommendation is to rent F&F4 before going to Fast Five and then you'll catch almost everything.

Went to see it last night at the IMAX. I agree with what the previous posts say .... solid entertainment ...... no Oscar nominations, but the story had the main characters doing what they do best. I'd say if you're a fan of the first four movies, this one will be your favorite. If you couldn't stand the previous ones, Fast Five won't convert you to a believer. To enjoy it to the max, you do have to temporarily suspend your credibility sensor. Overnighting parts from Japan has now been replaced with a bunch of broke street racers overnighting a high tech, room-sized vault to Brazil. The ending surprised me ..... the scene after the credits surprised me even more.

Enjoyed it at the IMAX. Saw a number of people I knew in the theatre and on the way out. I enjoyed it. And to think, it's all based on a true story. Those were some strong tow cables, eh?

I'll be at the theatre entrance at 11:50 or so, in case any of you need to have a chaperon. And from the looks of things, you'll need both a chaperon and a DD.

Easton IMAX tonight 12:01. Ticket purchased online. :fuckyeah:

I stand corrected.

I'll probably bring out the Flying Shenanigans, um ...... I mean the Flying Spur.

You definitely missed the memo, Brian. Clay posted numerous times, beginning at the end of the fall meetups, that having two locations caused a lot of confusion and didn't seem to produce any benefits. The few people who rolled out to Blocks were the same people who came to Lennox, they just had to drive farther. Lennox was always better attended. It's funny, though. The people I've seen post about Blocks being dropped were people I never saw go there, or perhaps only saw there once or twice all season. I actually liked Blocks better for the breakfast, but I prefer going to whatever location draws the most cars.

This is the first of the bi-weekly meets this year for the Sport & Import Car Club of Columbus. Last year they called these the "Fast & Furious" meetups. Since it's been so wet the last two weeks and Friday is forecast to be dry, I would expect there will be a pretty good turnout. I will very likely be inside eating, since it will prolly be too cool for me to be dining on the patio. Quaker Steak & Lube 8500 Lyra Dr. SICCC website: http://www.meetup.com/Columbus-import-car-club/ Perhaps some shenanigans later?

You got 100% (48 right out of 48). The average score is 73% Not really fair ...... drove quite a few of those cars. :fuckyeah:

I think he's finally getting wise. He actually thought that cars were just super expensive to repair. He didn't know what the average CR user knows. If you don't grow up around people who know about cars and you don't have some guidance from friends, you're not going to be very well-prepared to navigate the car repair jungle. The same can be said about computers, medicine, law. Most of us relied on our parents to help with major negotiations in purchasing things we hadn't yet learned about. This guy didn't have the advantage of having parents around to look out for him and to teach him. I think he's only about 20 and he's accomplished a lot, considering where he started. He just needs a little guidance on cars right now.

Thanks for the advice and the emails. I'm going to follow some of the suggestions and try to get this taken care of for him Saturday. I realize that you can't give a firm estimate without seeing the car in person, and I wouldn't hold any shop to a price if they got into something more involved than had been agreed. This is just one example of the way the shop's been charging him ...... none of the repairs he's described to me should have cost the prices he says he's been charged. I give him credit for trying to learn how to do some of the basics himself.

Considering some of the other cars on your list, it might be worth it to at least look at an '05-'07 Jaguar Super V-8 or XJR. http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r445/martyr65/fd_2005-jaguar-xj8-super-v8_lead1.jpg The Super V8 is my preference. These cars were 100k new but their values plummet the first five years. I think they are really undervalued. They are fairly rare and good examples can be found for 30k. Supercharged 4.2 V8 with 400 hp, over 400 torque, lots of wood and leather. http://www.motortrend.com/av/roadtests/sedans/112_0710_2008_jaguar_super_v8_luxury_sedans_comparison/index.html Here's an extra clean '05 that can probably be purchased for 20-22k. Pics show you the great interior detail & design. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MINT-SUPER-EIGHT-XEN-NAV-DVD-XM-WARRTY-TRADES-FREE-SHIP-/200600095895?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2eb4b28c97

You may be right, although he's been a "good customer" for them in that he pays cash and it sounds like they consistently overcharge him. He says no parts are involved in their quote. It was all labor, and all to install just the RR caliper. He said they told him they would need to use a cutting torch, and neither he nor his friend had one, so he felt pretty stuck. He says there's no other brake problem he's aware of or that they have told him about.

Some really good advice in this thread (minus the one directly above). They only thing I can add is to echo the comment that you've got a lot of poise and you communicate well. I predict you will do fine.