The random chat thread for throwing out things that don't matter

If you ever use a locking pin on a hitch, use never seize on it. Grease won't last for years but never seize does. you use yours more than most. I did also when I still farmed.

@desertwanderer It's not super common, but potentially annoying.  The shin killer aspect of hitches is another reason.  I've had four wheelers, dirt bikes and mountain bikes.  I've had some nasty spills on them and still my worst injuries are hitting my shins on hitches haha.

My door is hung really hung. First time doing one of these myself. Learning curve was painful but it works 

Searching for a weekend/fun car is an excruciating experience.  Facebook groups have ruined forums and searching some of them for decent candidates is a headache. Just seeing others WTB ads, people will respond with either pictures of their car they aren't selling, one they are selling for way more than the OP stated their budget was, or a car with none of the options the OP wants.  I've yet to find a decent website to peruse privately owned cars from across the country for sale.  Autotrader seems mainly full of dealers, craigslist is craigslist and so on.

Related, if anyone knows where an 02-04 c5z in millennium yellow or electron blue with black interior that someone has already installed bolt ons and a cam with around 60k miles or less for 20K or less is, point me in that direction haha.

Posted by: @nocoolname

Searching for a weekend/fun car is an excruciating experience.  Facebook groups have ruined forums and searching some of them for decent candidates is a headache. Just seeing others WTB ads, people will respond with either pictures of their car they aren't selling, one they are selling for way more than the OP stated their budget was, or a car with none of the options the OP wants.  I've yet to find a decent website to peruse privately owned cars from across the country for sale.  Autotrader seems mainly full of dealers, craigslist is craigslist and so on.

 

Related, if anyone knows where an 02-04 c5z in millennium yellow or electron blue with black interior that someone has already installed bolt ons and a cam with around 60k miles or less for 20K or less is, point me in that direction haha.

I have found over the last 10 years or so its difficult buying or selling privately. People are not very realistic to make a deal or reasonable compromise.  Im usually generous when I sell which is always price to move but still the buyers are generally clueless. It is perfectly fine for someone to be cautious with checking the vehicle out which is something I respect but people these days impulse buy and don't really know what they are in the market for.  Forget about the dealers, they are even worse with their Kelly blue book research.  

Fortunately for my other hobbies like photography the people that buy and sell equipment are much easier to deal with because they understand grading and market value.  This makes me think there is a divide with one segment of the population distracted with social media to such an extent that they are damaged when dealing with real situations wasting someones time. 

 I also think people put up there cars for a feeler with no real intention of selling  to see if they can have some rich idiot pay too much so they can part with it. Complete waste of time. 

@nocoolname

Hunting for any specific vehicle has gotten harder. I was using AutoTempest. It took me 4 months and multiple failed attempts to find the 09 Subaru Outback XT (5MT) I am picking up this weekend. The car I am purchasing was never even publicly listed for sale. 

Purchasing from an individual is what it is.... Wide range there. For my specific case, I came across a dealer who is a gearhead more than a dealer, who specializes in the kind of vehicle I am interested in. I may be paying something close to a retail price but the car is completely rebuilt. Worth it in my mind. 

Maybe broaden your search to similar vehicles ... If you come across multiple listings from a certain dealer, maybe get cozy with them and see if they can line up what you want. 

Get to ride the bike into work day is always a good day (worked themed kit just makes it extra special

I test drove a 2020 Mazda 3 Hatchback Premium since my Lexus got totaled. DAMN it's a good car. For under $29k it smokes the competition in interior and ride quality. The manual was bad though. Gotta wait a full second after clutch depression to let off on the 1-2 shift, rev hang is awful. Probably not worth getting, probably getting the auto if I end up picking one up. Otherwise SUPER impressed in almost all aspects.

@dev I'm definitely looking at private party over dealer.  Some sellers are reasonable, while others are completely out of touch.  It seems the out of touch ones are actually the older generation, like 50's to early 60s for the most part.  The only plus side I've found to facebook marketplace is you can kinda snoop on the sellers profile depending on their security settings.  See if they've posted videos of beating on their car, or what stuff they post about it to gauge how the car was treated.

@marsrock7 I've got a narrow range of a couple models, but may eventually open it up to P-cars if I don't find anything by winter.  I prefer private party purchases, especially if the person has had a lot of work performed or owned the vehicle for a while.  You can get a better feel of the person and history of the car, while a dealer, with a few exceptions like the one you found, are just trying to sell you a car.

Got the manual anyway. Welcome the Mazda3 Hatchback Premium 6MT to the family. Polymetal Gray exterior, red leather interior. All the bells and whistles, except a dang auto dimming mirror haha. 

Congrats on your new to you ride!  I hope have many years of safe and comfortable travel. 

Thank you Uncle Mush! 

@haloruler64 

Looks good! I like the color. Regarding the slow clutch action... Assuming it is hydraulic, there is probably a damper and/or check valves in the system somewhere. The goal is to "smooth" (ie, slow down) shifting for the layman. Hopefully this is the case, then finding and removing these pesky things will help. My TSX had a damper in the CMC and a check valve in the CSC. There were a couple of different ways to deal with it, I chose to just buy and bolt in the parts from an EM2 Civic. Direct replacement, and gave me direct control of the clutch. Good luck!

In other news, last Friday I went on a (suicidal?) mission. Flew out to Denver, picked up my 2009 Outback XT, and drove it 1000 miles home. 26 hours, and lots and lots of caffeine, but we made it!

Congrats on your new to you ride and safe trip home.  Have you slept yet since having all that caffeine?  🙂 

@uncle-mush

Thank you sir. And yes, definitely slept since then. Soon as I got home and showered off the long day I took a 4hr nap and got myself back on some semblance of a normal schedule. Took a couple of days to get back to 100% but wasn't too bad. 

My metabolism is pretty fast and caffeine doesn't last very long for me. I'm the kinda person that can wake up early, drink 2-3 cups of coffee and take a nap right after 😛