OT: Name some things that drive you fucking nuts

[forty_three]

9 years ago I thought my dryer died as the heat was done... I called a guy and he said Ill come out and take a look at it but maybe its just dead. the call out is $135...

I said dont want to buy a new dryer so Ill take the chance.

he came over. threw his hand in the compartment at the bottom (after unplugging it of course) and pulled out the heating coil (1000% Anakin Skywalkered) and put in a new coil.... an additional $25 for the part and its been running since.

Some things I will take a crack at. I replaced a system board in my dryer, as well as a glass top on my range. But the info out there about this fridge was all over the place as to why it was acting up. Could have been a 25 dollar part, could have been the 1000 dollar part. Didn't want to mess with disassembly, so I called the repair guy hoping it was the easy fix. It wasn't.

It sucks because we had just sorted out how we were gonna spend my bonus. Paid off some debt, put some money towards investments, planned a vacation and literally just decided on and scheduled the home improvement project we want (like they started the work today). Then this.

 

[dare2be]

We have a 20+ year old front load washer that is still going strong. Wife wants to update it to a more modern and bigger capacity and I keep saying well the one we have probably would outlast any new one we buy.

 

[forty_three]

We have a 20+ year old front load washer that is still going strong. Wife wants to update it to a more modern and bigger capacity and I keep saying well the one we have probably would outlast any new one we buy.

 

[mattola]

Some things I will take a crack at. I replaced a system board in my dryer, as well as a glass top on my range. But the info out there about this fridge was all over the place as to why it was acting up. Could have been a 25 dollar part, could have been the 1000 dollar part. Didn't want to mess with disassembly, so I called the repair guy hoping it was the easy fix. It wasn't.

It sucks because we had just sorted out how we were gonna spend my bonus. Paid off some debt, put some money towards investments, planned a vacation and literally just decided on and scheduled the home improvement project we want (like they started the work today). Then this.

system board on my dishwasher went and same guy said dont bother calling me out. just get a new dishwasher.

okey dokey

lol

 

[Comeds]

My dryer stopped drying so I called someone out to clean the dryer vent. Its on the 2nd floor and vents at the peak of the house. He cleaned it from the inside not wanting to put a ladder up and get it from the outside, but said he could get it just as good. Next batch of clothes did not dry either, he came back out and did it again and convinced me my dryer was the issue. I got a new one and guess what, it didn't work. I called a different guy out who climbed up a ladder on the hill beside my house in the rain and pulled out a giant wad of lint the other guy just pushed up against the vent. So I got a new dryer for no reason.

 

[jstewismybastardson]

Some things I will take a crack at. I replaced a system board in my dryer, as well as a glass top on my range. But the info out there about this fridge was all over the place as to why it was acting up. Could have been a 25 dollar part, could have been the 1000 dollar part. Didn't want to mess with disassembly, so I called the repair guy hoping it was the easy fix. It wasn't.

It sucks because we had just sorted out how we were gonna spend my bonus. Paid off some debt, put some money towards investments, planned a vacation and literally just decided on and scheduled the home improvement project we want (like they started the work today). Then this.

youtube is pretty great for how to repair videos ... example: if you have a dryer that no longer spins ... its quite a simple repair ... I watched a vid and was able to fix it myself with parts sourced from amazon

might look daunting at first but always look at the dude in the video and know ... if this stupid greasy looking guy can do it, you can too

case in point:

 

[Debbie Does]

I hate it when a story online has pictures that say "Does not depict the actual subjects. These are models." Then they show a picture of a lion or a dog. Or, it's a simulation or an animation.

 

[forty_three]

youtube is pretty great for how to repair videos ... example: if you have a dryer that no longer spins ... its quite a simple repair ... I watched a vid and was able to fix it myself with parts sourced from amazon

might look daunting at first but always look at the dude in the video and know ... if this stupid greasy looking guy can do it, you can too

case in point:
View attachment 396191

I have fixed a lot of things in my home and in my cars thanks to youtube. It's also helped me make the decision on whether I was going to call a repairman. Like with this fridge.

I replaced a AC blower motor in my car for 75 bucks and the dealer wanted 900. Replaced the mirror on the wife's car when the daughter smacked it off on the garage. Saved like 1200.

 

[mattola]

I have fixed a lot of things in my home and in my cars thanks to youtube. It's also helped me make the decision on whether I was going to call a repairman. Like with this fridge.

I replaced a AC blower motor in my car for 75 bucks and the dealer wanted 900. Replaced the mirror on the wife's car when the daughter smacked it off on the garage. Saved like 1200.

youtube is pretty great for how to repair videos ... example: if you have a dryer that no longer spins ... its quite a simple repair ... I watched a vid and was able to fix it myself with parts sourced from amazon

might look daunting at first but always look at the dude in the video and know ... if this stupid greasy looking guy can do it, you can too

case in point:

.
i have saved about $2K on doing my own car repairs because of youtube.

 

[forty_three]

Adjacent annoyance - Every retailer has their own model numbers for the same products from manufacturers so they can deny price matching because they are not the "same". But it creates an annoyance because I needed to check the one I am buying has the right type of compressor and warranty. But since every model number is different, it'd harder to find.

Wound up buying an LG fridge from Costco, because they include delivery, install, install kit and haul away of the old one and was still 50 bucks less than just the exact same fridge before all the extras (with different numbers) at Home Depot and Best Buy.

I asked them to pre-fill it with Hebrew National hot dogs before delivering it. We'll see how that goes.

 

[Comeds]

VIP Tickets / incidents / treatment for executives for away from any of the real action. I dodged a bullet today. I called a super special VIP and she was mean from the beginning. Interrupted me saying "I'm going to tell you exactly what happened to avoid any confusion" and seemed ready for a battle. Luckily it was an easy fix and she was instantly all better and I did not have to ask why she was grumpy or tell her I could hear the frown in her voice and tell her she should smile more.

(I should be fair and say I have dealt with tons of "VIP"s who hate the attention too)

 

[Debbie Does]

The GF has a 2017 Mini. She loves it, and let's face it, it's a blast to drive.

A couple of days ago, an idiot light came on complaining about low oil. They have stopped putting dipsticks in these cars. Why? It's a short tube and a piece of metal. No electronics, no moving parts. But how does anyone know if it's a DO-IT-NOW problem or something that can wait a few days. Se needs the car tomorrow and our regular shop can't look at for two days.

Fortunately, we found another local shop that was able to take care of it on a drive-in basis today.

My car threw a Check Engine Light a few weeks ago, a few weeks before my inspection. I couldn't even make an appointment for 2 weeks. It turned out in this case that Check Engine meant a small gas cap leak. Easy fix, but it still took some huge piece of equipment to get that readout.

Damn, I wish cars could be simple again.

 

[dare2be]

My car threw a Check Engine Light a few weeks ago, a few weeks before my inspection. I couldn't even make an appointment for 2 weeks. It turned out in this case that Check Engine meant a small gas cap leak. Easy fix, but it still took some huge piece of equipment to get that readout.

We bought a $20 OBD reader that connects to an app on our cellphone to find out the same thing. A new gas cap later and all is good (after getting our local shop to clear the code)

 

[forty_three]

We bought a $20 OBD reader that connects to an app on our cellphone to find out the same thing. A new gas cap later and all is good (after getting our local shop to clear the code)

My code reader will clear codes too.

 

[mattola]

We bought a $20 OBD reader that connects to an app on our cellphone to find out the same thing. A new gas cap later and all is good (after getting our local shop to clear the code)

seriously, just a gas cap set off that engine light?

 

[dash]

seriously, just a gas cap set off that engine light?

Yup, one of the first things to check after filling up. Also, if you see a steady check engine light, it's probably something minor. It's when the check engine light starts blinking that you might have a major problem.

 

[mattola]

Yup, one of the first things to check after filling up. Also, if you see a steady check engine light, it's probably something minor. It's when the check engine light starts blinking that you might have a major problem.

we have a 2014 Kia Soul. We know ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about solid versus Flashing lol

 

[dash]

we have a 2014 Kia Soul. We know ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL about solid versus Flashing lol

Well, that's problem #1

 

[sbb122]

faulty gas cap will do it every time.

BP used to have Pro Care shops in the US. Similar to a Midas/Meineke joint.

Anyhow a friend of mine was leaking antifreeze and took it to them to have it looked at.

They quoted him $900+ for new radiator, all new hoses all new clamps coolant etc. This was back in the mid 80's mind you. I couldn't imagine the cost of that today.

Well it turned out he didn't have the money to put into that VW rabbit, so he took it back to the guy where he purchased the vehicle from.

This guy specialized in all VW cars, went and grabbed a new radiator cap put it on and no more leak.

These crooks wanted almost $1000 for a $6 radiator cap.

 

[forty_three]

faulty gas cap will do it every time.

BP used to have Pro Care shops in the US. Similar to a Midas/Meineke joint.

Anyhow a friend of mine was leaking antifreeze and took it to them to have it looked at.

They quoted him $900+ for new radiator, all new hoses all new clamps coolant etc. This was back in the mid 80's mind you. I couldn't imagine the cost of that today.

Well it turned out he didn't have the money to put into that VW rabbit, so he took it back to the guy where he purchased the vehicle from.

This guy specialized in all VW cars, went and grabbed a new radiator cap put it on and no more leak.

These crooks wanted almost $1000 for a $6 radiator cap.

That's why you can request they return any old/broken parts to you after any repair, which I always do. Won't stop them from replacing things unnecessarily, but it will make them think twice about saying you need a bunch of parts when they know a lot less will do it. Or fixing/cleaning a part and charging you for a new one.

Caught a shop back in MD doing that. They did a brake job for me "new rotors" etc. I said I wanted the old parts back, they tried to give me a brake disk that had a four bolt pattern when my car had 5. One call to the attorney general and I got all new brakes compliments of that shop.