PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

Dude, yeah, these new cars have 500 thousand buttons now. What is up with these car manufacturers thinking we like a crap ton of buttons in the interior to play with. Like the nee Corvette C8 which has buttons all up and down the center console. Where people rest their arms. Ghetto. Lol.

 

Here's a second gen with a TRD supercharger and 30 shot of nitrous
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/1gr-fe-f-i-mods-and-dynos.465243/page-3#post-13959543

 

That guy used a progressive controller. Only way to safeguard against the shock load of the juice. All others that have juiced with out a progressive controller have met sweet demise with their engines.

 

Most arenas and sports teams have clearly defined photo policies on their websites. You should not assume cameras are OK and instead, refer to the team policy or venue policy. It could also be the case the usher made a mistake-which is why knowing what the policy is might help you.

Teams do it for a variety of reasons including control of their copyrighted materials, interference with other fans enjoyment of the game, etc. it’s not at all uncommon practice.

 

Reasons I can think of include private property, privacy of customers, copyright issues, loss of revenue (pro photos sold by photog).

The Mall Cops are just doing what they’ve been told to do. If you persist, they can and will trespass you which means you cannot go back. Ever.

 

Well...

Should I?

I was at the Carlisle Truck Nationals earlier this month and the Ranch Hand booth had a wrecked diesel Silverado on display. This truck had crashed at about 70 MPH. The Ranch Hand prevented the engine from going through the cab, and the driver walked away.

The brush guard for my truck is only 89 pounds and I don't think it would effect my gas mileage much.

 

They call them damage multipliers for a reason. You are safe in a Tacoma without it.

 

NO

 

If it weren't for Pennsylvania's stupid requirement that my truck get a safety inspection and emissions test every year, I would never go to the dealership. I try to do as much as I can myself, and what I can't do I have my trusted mechanic do. To be fair, Thompson Toyota in Doylestown provides excellent customer service. They do not charge me for the safety inspection and they give me a free loaner vehicle. They also handled the rustproofing of my frame during the recall and add an extra year onto parts and labor warranties on top of Toyota's one-year warranty.

However, their prices seem to go beyond the usual dealership markup. Examples include trying to charge me about $1,700 to do a complete front brake job on my truck (calipers, pads, and rotors). Thompson also has a BMW dealer, and my friend got his BMW serviced there. He gave them a piece of his mind and they dropped like $400 from the price. This was essentially an emergency brake job brought on by a seized caliper, but I will NEVER get my brakes done at ANY dealership ever again.

Another example would be this guy I know who has a 2004ish Toyota Sienna with over 200K miles. The van is in great mechanical condition, but recently needed exhaust work in order to pass Pennsylvania's bullshit inspection. Thompson wanted about $2,700 to fix this exhaust problem. He took his van to the same independent mechanic I use, and he fixed the exhaust problem for somewhere in the $250-$500 range.

Yet another example would be in December 2018 when I took my Grandma's 2002 Lexus RX300 through the car wash with the radio on, and neglected to realize how the antenna worked. The antenna snapped off and Thompson Lexus wanted $800 to fix. I bought a new antenna on Amazon and fixed it myself for $20.

The same friend/neighbor who read Thompson the riot act when they tried to overcharge me for the brake job got fed up with the high cost of maintenance on his 2016 BMW and traded it for a brand new Lexus RX. Thompson just would not give him a deal, so he drove about an hour to Chester Springs and got the RX he wanted from a dealer there at a great price.

It seems like dealerships in relatively wealthy areas like Doylestown think that lots of money equals more dollars than sense...

 

Also, back in October 2015, my truck totaled a drunk driver's 2002 Mercedes when he ran a stop sign and hit me...

Unfortunately, it was dark and pouring rain when the accident occurred, and I did not get even one picture of the Benz.

 

Maybe that’s just cause it’s in the middle of no where. My local dealer is Toyota of Pharr and they are extremely overpriced if compared to other Toyota dealers in affluent Texas like Toyota of Cedar Park or North Park Toyota

 

Several people on TW know that I briefly worked at a detail shop for a large "family" of dealerships here in Doylestown (not Thompson). During my ten months detailing cars, I took full advantage of my employee discount and got a few parts for my truck at greatly discounted prices. I briefly believed I would need to replace my timing chain, since my truck was approaching 100K (I am now at almost 104K). There's a garage owned by the same guy who owns the dealerships I worked for. Even though this garage is not associated with any one dealer, I still got an employee discount there. They quoted me $3,100 to replace the timing chain in my truck, and that's WITH the employee discount. By comparison, my independent mechanic will put a whol new (not technically new, typically remanufactured or junkyard) engine in most vehicles for $3,200! Not that my truck will need a new engine in this lifetime, seeing as at less than 104K it's barely broken in, but with only a $100 price difference I think I will take my chances with the timing chain and spring for the new engine if something catastrophic happens!

 

It's not in the middle of nowhere...

Thompson is in the county seat of Bucks County, and maybe an hour from Philly. I tried price-shopping once when I had to get the evaporator core replaced, and one of the dealers (Sloane Toyota in Jenkintown) had the gall to try to get me to trade in my otherwise good condition truck and buy a new car from them.

 

Hmm...seems to be the opposite where I'm at.

Look up Monterey County, CA which will include Carmel, Monterey, Salinas, Seaside, Marina, and you'll see these cities have houses easily at 650k to 2mil (for a 2 or 3 bedroom house).

Having said that, I also deal with very wealthy customers on a day to day basis most of those who are in the agriculture business and have their own vineyards for fun (Tanimura & Antle, Driscolls, Dole, Taylor Farms, etc).

Anyway, these people are very well off, but just because you're successful, and made of money, doesn't mean they'll spend it so easily. I find that they put in the most effort in attempting to save as much as possible, and even expect things for free due to their 'status', so there's that.

The ridiculous prices you've listed as examples are just that; ridiculous. But it has more to do with not wanting to perform said work, because they'll net more profit on say for example, a 2014 Silverado that needs a new transmission (and outside of warranty). You having your vehicle there is taking away the potential to work on a possibly larger job.

Unfortunately, a lot of these 'techs' at franchise dealerships are either;

their seasoned mechanics that knock out the big, customer pay jobs in less time than 'all-data' suggests or

lower level techs that are making their way up, performing simple jobs such as recalls, and maintenance

Your local mom and pop shops are the places to go to if you need work on your older vehicle, especially when it comes to diagnostics.

 

My aunt and uncle live in Monterey and they have a 2013 Prius V. I honestly have no idea if they get it serviced at the dealer now that it's well out of warranty. Knowing my uncle, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes it to the same guy who works on his VW Buses to get the oil changed...

 

And yes, I drove one of my uncle's buses last time I went for a visit (October 2017)...

I'm only 30, I have Aspergers Syndrome, and I can drive a stick shift!

 

Then you know Monterey is a very wealthy city.

Yet pricing around there is similar to what I've read for people in other states (as far as publicly listed quotes).

It's the "we don't want to work on your car" quote.

 

That's what my supervisor at the detail shop told me...

Luckily, my Taco has a chain instead of a belt, and my mechanic assures me that the check engine light will probably come on before the engine is in any real danger if the timing chain ever needs replacement.

 

My cousin has a 2017 Toyota RAV4 XLE AWD that she bought new. She wanted to get another Honda CR-V (she traded a 2013 Honda CR-V with over 130K miles for the RAV), but I talked her into getting the Toyota. The fact that she got 0% financing is just a small part of why the RAV is better. Anyway, she drives a lot for work (as evidenced by the fact that she bought the CRV used in September 2014 with about 40K on the clock and put over 90K on it in less than three years). She now has about 55-60K on her RAV4, and she is so fed up with the dealership that she takes its to a franchise place called Jack Williams. She loves Jack Williams because the prices are right and the people are honest, and the only reason I haven't taken my truck to a Jack Williams is because they don't have one in my part of Pennsylvania (she and her husband live about 75 miles North of me).

 

Regardless of its claims of front end protection, why would you choose this route versus a nice compact steel bumper? That guard weighs (89lbs)and costs($700) as much as an aftermarket bumper and you lose front ground clearance along with more added difficulty with simple DIY maintenance. Going with an aftermarket bumper versus this atrocious looking guard would be a no brainer.