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CAR TALK (Read 12966 times)

Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #175 - Jun 24^th, 2015 at 7:30pm	Print Post
	YAY! The registration for the van was in today's mail. We will, of course, have to get a corrected one once the van is painted but for now, we're "legal" and can prove it. My driver's license and Spirit's photo ID also came today. I managed not to gag when I saw the photo on mine. I was expecting "horrible" and it is�since a.) no makeup allowed, b.) hair must be pulled back (can you say "peeled onion"?) and c.) no glasses because all of those things mess up the "facial recognition" software the state uses. Fortunately, I don't have to renew it until 2021 and maybe they'll have loosened up on the restrictions by then!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #176 - Jun 25^th, 2015 at 4:08am	Print Post
	Skywise is eaten up from nose to tail with curiosity about just what the IU Trustees used our little Freestar for before they sold it. He's pretty sure that some of the wires/cables were for a monitor of some kind and "something" was mounted on the dash with "something else" mounted on the climate/am-fm radio control console and another "something else" mounted on the side of the console on the passenger's side. We're not sure if the wire for the antenna is still there or if it was removed. We've found out that what we thought was a defroster on one of the back windows is really the antenna for the am/fm radio. I kinda wondered why there was no external antenna. I guess I won't be looking for an antenna "topper" now.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #177 - Jun 25^th, 2015 at 5:56pm	Print Post
	I've been prowling the web and have found instructions -- simple ones! -- for custom fitting a sunscreen for a car. I've also found instructions for making your own -- which should not be attempted unless you have a HUGE piece of cardboard like an appliance box. So I'm going to go with working with an existing sunshield. I'll start with a plain silver one to start and maybe get more daring later..... goes off thinking "STAR WARS"...
	« Last Edit: Jun 25^th, 2015 at 5:56pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #178 - Jun 25^th, 2015 at 7:27pm	Print Post
	I think I've figured out a way to make sunscreens for the front side windows using fabric and maybe insulating batting -- of which I have a lot. I'll start experimenting when I have the front windshield sunscreen done. The main idea with side window screens is not only to keep the heat out but to keep anyone inclined to break into the van from seeing the cb radio (once it is installed) on the dashboard which is the ONLY place in the front of the van to put it.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #179 - Jun 28^th, 2015 at 12:35am	Print Post
	I can't get close enough to see but it feels like part of the antenna on the van has been broken off. It feels jagged and not smooth like I expected. I'll tell Skywise when he gets home and he can look at it tomorrow. His eyesight is a LOT better than mine. On the plus side I found an item on Amazon that could make part of the installation process easier. It's a replacement power cord that plugs into the "cigarette lighter" (the Freestar has four or five of them) rather than being hardwired into the fusebox and grounded to the chassis (if I'm reading the instructions right) which would be one less complicated hassle. The antenna problem is bad enough!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #180 - Jun 28^th, 2015 at 12:54am	Print Post
	It looks like Best Buy is our best bet for installation. We already have the radio but we're going to need an antenna so we'll get their recommendation and get it there. They say on their website that they'll install your stuff even if you get it someplace else. The closest Best Buy is in Bloomington and it's right next to a Barnes & Nobel which means the girls won't be bored while the work is being done!


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #181 - Oct 26^th, 2015 at 10:25pm	Print Post
	Skywise was saying today that he expects to have replaced the car by this time next year. "I" expect to have the van paid off by March if not sooner since there is no "prepayment penalty" and I've made the equivalent of 16 payments since August. At the moment, our choice is a Jeep Grand Cherokee 4 x 4 , no earlier than a 2011. Of course, if we found a used 4 x 4 Ford Expedition with a decent sized fuel tank, we'd look hard at it but postage stamp sized tanks seem to be standard. Skywise wants a 4 x 4/AWD with some range and that means a fuel tank of around 20 gallons at least. sigh We're a Ford Family but we may have to adopt....


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #182 - Mar 12^th, 2016 at 4:33am	Print Post
	According to my precise calculations, with this month's payment, we will have overpaid our 36 month loan on the van by $4.00. More actually since there is no pre-payment penalty -- I checked for that before I signed the papers. If we haven't gotten the title by the end of the month, we'll be heading up there to find out when we can expect it. I will now start building up the down payment account for our next vehicle. A 2011 or newer JEEP Grand Cherokee with 4/All Wheel drive is still our top pick, mainly because it has a gas tank that holds more than a thimble full of fuel.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #183 - Apr 6^th, 2016 at 4:44pm	Print Post
	Well the search is on. While rotating the tires on the Taurus, Skywise noticed an appalling amount of rust and he doesn't think that it will last much longer. Upon sober reflection, he's decided that we really don't need a vehicle with 4 wheel/All wheel drive so the search has been thrown completely open. If I could find another Freestar with low mileage and a decent price, that would be wonderful. I will be careful of megabytes.... I promise. ETA: We got the title to the Freestar a couple of weeks ago. Just in time to start shopping again!
	« Last Edit: Apr 6^th, 2016 at 4:48pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #184 - Apr 6^th, 2016 at 11:07pm	Print Post
	I've been looking at vehicles. My eyes are burning/watering. sigh I think I'll put off serious searching until after my eyes have healed. Post # 37,444
	« Last Edit: Apr 6^th, 2016 at 11:08pm by Penthesilea »

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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #185 - Apr 21^st, 2016 at 2:59am	Print Post
	I "might" have found our second van. It's close to home -- on the way to Greenwood in fact -- and it certainly deserves a look. It's an '04 but it's low mileage for a Freestar and the price is certainly "doable". I'll see what Skywise thinks when he gets home.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #186 - Apr 26^th, 2016 at 4:03am	Print Post
	Penthesilea wrote on Apr 21^st, 2016 at 2:59am: I "might" have found our second van. It's close to home -- on the way to Greenwood in fact -- and it certainly deserves a look. It's an '04 but it's low mileage for a Freestar and the price is certainly "doable". I'll see what Skywise thinks when he gets home. This one didn't pan out but we may have a line on one in Bloomington. It's an '05 and the mileage isn't as good as the '04 but we found out -- via CarFax -- that it had been in an "apparently" minor accident. I don't know if that would have "disqualified" it but it was sold "pending" the bank loan going through so the point is moot.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #187 - Apr 26^th, 2021 at 6:36pm	Print Post
	After nearly 6 years, it's time to start researching a replacement for the Firestar. Once again, "rust" is becoming the problem.


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Penthesilea Forum Administrator Offline Warrior Queen, DarkLady, Phoenix, Ghostbuster Posts: 47422 Location: The Castle..... Joined: Jun 21^st, 2006 Gender:	Re: CAR TALK Reply #188 - Jul 27^th, 2022 at 8:55pm	Print Post
	Got the word from Bob's Car Care just now. The van can be fixed but there's a TON of rust on the underneath side. They advised that we start looking for a new minivan.


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