New England B.S. Thread

Yes

We went on some nice twisties through a state park. Really nice on the bike

 

I'm on vacation this week and so far I'm batting 1.000 /s

Obviously Sunday was the tree debacle. Yesterday I received my Father's Day gift which was a part from the Tacoma company which shall not be named. I'm one of the very rare people who has had good luck with the stuff. I have the A-pillar grab handle which, while isn't 100% perfect is a solid 95% and I really like it. I also have the handle bowl LEDs which have been flawless. I ordered the window control kit which would allow me to control the windows with the key. It's a bit gimmicky but I've always wanted to do that, so I threw in an order. I got it yesterday and installed it after figuring out the instructions weren't super clear. I lock the truck and the windows go up and the sunroof vents. So I call the customer support number and was told "oh, that doesn't seem to work with sunroof trucks" What!? So...nowhere does it actually say it doesn't work with a sunroof, only a disclaimer saying it was tested on a non-sunroof truck. I set up an RMA and she's trying to charge a restock fee, which I'll fight or get AmEx involved if I have to. I say I set up an RMA as I'm still waiting to actually get anything. I know everyone gets bit, I guess it was my turn.

Today...I took the kids to daycare and after 6 years, 11 months and two weeks my OEM battery finally gives up the ghost. I ended up jumping the truck to get there and promptly forgot their breakfast. Of course, I forgot it yesterday too, so I'm trying to not do that again. I started working on my sound deadening project. I finished everything and my footwell LEDs aren't working and my dome light is being wonky. Wonky dome light usually means a blown body control module and huge $$$. I disconnected the footwell lights and the dome light fixed itself, so that's something. I noticed one of the rear wires for my rear lights was pinched in the seat so I'm wondering if I inadvertently blew up the PWM control module. The low feature works but the high feature doesn't. A new module is $20.00 so I'll just grab one of those if need be and see what happens. I have a message into the guy who designed the kit to figure out if I'm right, but at least it's a $20 fix and not a $500 fix.

I'm putting my LED underglow kit on the Vette tomorrow so that's going to be hilariously good or bad, I'm not sure yet.

Regarding insurance, I still think I'm overall ahead in terms of what I've paid in versus what I paid out. I got $60,000 in 2016 between the Mazda and my Tacoma and I didn't see any increases in premium (granted they weren't my fault, but my insurance company paid out). In hilarious news I asked for a quote for a WRX or an STi if I do decide to buy a third car (I'm stupid). A 2014 WRX would run me $1,150 a year, a 2015 STi $1,500. I pay $1,770 for the Jeep and Tacoma and then like $650 for the Vette. The ratings for the car was hilarious. I remember my insurance cut in half when I went from the STi to the Vette.

 

Yeah insurance rates are in part you, and in part the car. They look at statistics for how often that car is in at-fault incidents. And, for a WRX, you might not be surprised, it's higher than a lot of other vehicles

The Kia Stinger rates were astronomical, it was a dirt cheap V6, people were wrapping them around phone poles left and right. I assume they still are, but I have no idea.

 

They also, or at least used to, take into account where the vehicle is garaged. If you live in a town with a lot of crashes, statistically you are more likely to be involved in one.

Insurance companies make money by investing your premiums in the stock market and bonds. They make plenty and how much they pay out for accidents doesn't dent that. I hate that they can assess surcharges as if they are losing money if you're at fault in a crash.

 

There's a good chance that either he has no insurance or the van was stolen. I'd file a claim with my insurance and let them sort it out.

 

Oh, yeah, regions vary as well. RI is bananas for rates because...well, anyone who has driven here knows exactly why. Michigan is ridiculous because they're a no-fault state.

When I was in NH it was about 150$ for a 6 month premium. Then we moved to Providence and it was 250$ per month.

 

NH for me was about $500 more a year for 2 trucks

 

Well you went from middle of bumf*ck no where to Manchester, NH home of the crackheads, thieves and horrible drivers....

I'm still registered to my folks place in MA as I don't want to deal with NH inspection... however I'm licensed in NH.

 

Is NH inspection worse? I am going to swap over everything from MA to NH soon.

 

Yeah I was in Salem. And then moved to Providence.

We left Salem pretty much right when the old racetrack was sold off, I THINK they took down the stables while we were still there but that was it. Now it's Burlington 2.0.

 

Lol yea Westfield might be mostly quiet but I'm right next to Holyoke and Springfield which both made the national top 100 most dangerous cities

 

Oh absolutely. When I had my STi MA rated on a 26 or 27 point scale. The STi was a 25/26-7. Oddly enough my friend's 2006 WRX wagon was a 26.

Right now looking at the quote they rate on comprehensive and collision. My wife's JGC is 20 (comp) / 25 (col) and the Tacoma is 22 / 23. A WRX is 52 / 43 and the STi 63 / 58. I don't have current numbers for my Vette since I use a different company now but from an old sheet the rating was a 20.

I thought AWD was supposed to save you from left, right, left, tree.

 

I like when birds nest under my pergola because they keep the wasps away. There are lights and ledges all over the place to build nests on and the phoebes that come every year have a great out of the way spot. This robin decided my speaker was the best option.

 

I just don't want to deal with having to find a new connection for inspections. NH says no window tint on the front sides or windshield without a waiver. At the moment my doctor won't fill out the waiver because I haven't complained enough about sun glare - working on it slowly.

 

Ahh yeah I dont have any tint but I do have a smidge of wheel poke. I think itll be ok though

 

My oil tank is ancient and I want to get it replaced this summer before it starts leaking. I have a guy who does my oil boiler maintenance, but he does it as side work. He made a comment that he is giving up the more tedious side jobs last time I saw him and is probably going to stick to cleanings going forward, so I don't want to bug him with an oil tank.

My cousin-in-law (is that a thing?) is an HVAC guy, so I tried to contact him. He won't get back to me and my uncle says he never gets back to him either, so I gave up on that.

I picked a well-regarded small business and gave them a call today. They're going to come out this afternoon to give me an estimate. I usually have a connection when I need something done, or good feedback from someone I know so I'm not used to going into something without either. I'm just hoping they come back with a number under $3k.

 

My son kept his MA plates when he moved to NJ in 2005. He looked at registration and insurance and NJ was even worse than MA. Back then, NJ had free inspections run by state operated facilities, but even with that it was less expensive to keep everything in MA and run the risk of getting pulled over. Of course he also kept his MA license, so the risk was minimal.

Then he moved to AL and couldn't wait to change everything over!

 

Just don't let him hack it up with a plasma cutter!

They're not hard to remove, but I believe it requires a permit and generally the fire department to sign off. Make sure whoever you hire knows the regulations around tank removal and isn't going to cut any corners which could make your life miserable down the road.

 

Yup, when my mom had hers replaced the people who did it said to call them when the fire department looked at it and they'd come back and take the old away. Small town/volunteer department that they had no luck coordinating with to deal with it all at the time of installation. She called the fire department a bunch of times and they never returned her calls or came out. The contractor wouldn't take it out without them signing off. Eventually a friend and I removed it and he ended up cutting it in half and making a firewood trailer out of it. Nothing came of it when she sold the house, fortunately.

Hopefully the department in the town I'm in now is responsive. I think they will be.

 

I had my tank replaced as part of the boiler replacement ten years ago. We got a zero percent interest loan from Mass Save for the boiler, but had to pay about $2,000.00 for the tank and replacement. That included replacing the oil line as the buried in cement copper line no longer meets code.

They took the tank out complete and disposed of it. They also took the original 600 pound boiler and disposed of that. It took four of them to get that up the basement stairs.