The Car – Wrap Up

I meant to do a wrap up on my tale of woe involving my Mazda3.
Shortly after my post, I contacted a couple of lemon law attorneys about my situation. It turns out that the lemon law only applies to manufacturer defects, not dealer mishaps. I read the actual text of the statute and the fluff PDF the state puts out for the public and couldn’t find any such distinction, but I’m no attorney so what do I know.
I also checked ‘the Google’ for word combos like ‘Ricart’ and ‘Fraud’ and the first page that came up was this one, a page dedicated to Ricart (which hasn’t been updated in years and they didn’t return my email). According to that site, I was pretty much out of luck. It turns out that filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s office would get me referred to a mediation board run by the dealer’s association and staffed by car salesmen. Mr. Ricard supposedly sits on the board of said group. I have no idea if this is still true, or if in fact it ever was true, but even so it was going to be me against one of the largest dealers in the country. Not good odds.
I then took the car into Ricart and talked over my situation with the service manager, the body shop manager and their boss. I showed them the problems I had, the issue with the door seals and how I felt lied to. The big guy did all the talking and seemed generally concerned that I be taken care of. Maybe he’s just good at his job.
We made an appointment and the car went in the following Monday. I got a rental Corolla (yawn). Part of the deal was that I was to get to see what they found out when they opened up the doors. I went down there and it was a very dissatisfying experience. There was no smoking gun, no place you could point and say “See! That’s not right!” The body shop manager tried to play it off in several ways. Looks like someone tried to break into the car. The right and left trim were different. We even checked a very ratty Mazda3 on their used lot and found that not to be the case. He then called Mazda to see if the parts had changed causing them to fit differently. Nope.
In the end, after another week in the shop I’m told my car is done. They did not replace the door skins, they were able to straiten everything without that. I’m skeptical, but when I show up to get the car, they look pretty darn good. I’m pleasantly surprised. They reworked the putty that was a mess and somehow got the seals to line up like they should. I’m not sure how, and I’m not sure I want to know. I decided it was time to move on.
So I now have a car that I’m more or less OK with. I still love the looks, interior and how it drives. One good thing was that they also replaced my stolen rear emblem and touched the paint up for free.
I learned 2 lessons from this saga:

  1. Never buy a car from Ricart. Maybe I’m over generalizing here, but it seemed that this was par for the course for them. I’m not just talking about their reputation as evidenced by that web site. I’m talking about the demeanor of the staff. For the most part, they were not alarmed that this had happened. Nor did they even remotely share my feelings that this was out of line and even fraudulent. If anything, their attitude showed that I was a thorn in their side and they simply wanted to do what they needed to get me to go away.
  2. never buy a car with ‘minor damage’. If a dealer tells you that, run and don’t look back. If you must chase that savings, get a detailed report of that was repaired and look that area over very carefully. Even better, have an independent body shop look at it. Had I gotten a detailed report, I believe that I would have noticed the problems with those doors. I would have also known that the damage was not minor and would have likely passed on the car.

Well, you live and learn. I suspect that this isn’t over completely. Oh, I won’t have to deal with Ricart again, but as the car ages I suspect that those doors and the other repairs will not age as gracefully as the rest of the car. There’s really nothing more I can do and dragging it out further with legal action is only going to keep me emotionally worked up until it’s done. I’d rather just let it go. It’s only a car, after all, it’s not going to last ultimately.

Ezekiel -Chapter 29-31

Ezekiel 29:6 – Again – after I have rebuked you and disciplined you then you will know that I am Lord. It’s a constant theme.
Ezekiel 29:13-14 – It sounds much like the promises made to Israel. Gathering from being scattered, restoration of their kingdom. That is, until you read verse 15:

It shall be the most lowly of the kingdoms, and never again exalt itself above the nations. And I will make them so small that they will never again rule over the nations.

Ezekiel 30 – It’s interesting that for all the nations around Israel, not necessarily enemies (maybe they were, I don’t know), but not friends either, God laments their destruction too.
Ezekiel 30:20 – God placed His sword in the hands of the King of Babylon. I’m not sure I’d want to take that responsibility, to wield God’s sword.
Ezekiel 31:8-9 – God here compares Pharaoh to a cedar and says that no tree in His garden was comparable, or it’s equal. Interesting, what does that mean? Perhaps it’s simply a commentary on his stature relative to the kings of Israel, meaning he held more power and influence. Not a commentary on his importance to God, but on his stature in the world.

Tagged! – Eight Things

We just got back from vacation this week and I’ve got several blog things to get caught up on. One is a followup on the car situation, two is a followup on my Movable Type post from a few months ago and lastly, but not leastly (leastly?), I’m long overdue to continue my posts on Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters.
Look for those coming up, but first, I discovered that Gary Petersen tagged me earlier this week. The meme is list of 8 things you, my flock of regular readers, don’t know about me. Hmmm, let’s see what I can come up with.

  1. I nearly didn’t make it into the University of Cincinnati. The Industrial Design department had a sort of an art test that I had to take as a part of the application. Being the dedicated student I was [cough, cough], I scribbled something on the sketch pages and sent it in. Mom called UC to inquire on my application (I was indifferent) and she was told it wasn’t that impressive. She talked them into having me down for an interview, she talked to me about maybe taking this a little more seriously and I brought my portfolio down during a pretty serious snow storm. They liked what they saw and I got in. Whew, and thanks Mom.
  2. A couple of weeks ago I had to move my 8′ x 10′ Tuff Shed across my yard because I misread my lot plan and had it installed in the gas pipeline easement. Thankfully, those Tuff Sheds are very sturdy with a 6″ tall steel frame, so it was pretty easy to jack up and roll around on some 4″ PVC pipes (like the Egyptians did building the pyramids). My friend’s 4WD ATV helped too.
  3. I owe meeting my wife to 2 of her prior boyfriends. She was actually engaged to one of them. He moved from Columbia MO to Indianapolis IN and she followed. When she became a Christian and he wasn’t interested, she broke it off. Later, she met a guy from Cincinnati and they started dating. It became serious and she moved to Cinci to be near him. Before she moved, she prayed and asked God not to let her move unless she was going to get married. A month later, they broke up. She and I met a couple months after that and were engaged later that year.
  4. When I was in elementary school, I loved the book Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH and read it several times. Super-smart rats with an underground mechanized society, what’s not to like?
  5. I nearly dropped out of college in my freshman year to be an auto body mechanic. It took my parents an hour or two on the phone to talk me out of it. Thanks again Mom (and Dad).
  6. I was in the marching band in both High School and college. It was a blast and I loved it. I was even a part of the honorary band fraternity, Kappa Kappa Psi. I was disappointed to have to drop band because of a schedule conflict after my second year at UC.
  7. I have a mild case of Scoliosis. The oldest daughter does too and it seems like #2 will as well. None thus far have required treatment.
  8. When we lived in the Detroit area I played, for a short time, in a church Motown/60s rock band named West Grand Boulevard. I played Alto, Tenor and Baritone Sax, tambourine and vocals. I was the ‘Ahhh’ in The Zombies’ song, ‘The Time of the Season‘. (You know, “What’s your name? (What’s your name?)/Who’s your daddy? (Who’s your daddy?)/(He rich?) Is he rich like me?”) It was a ton of fun, until they gave me the boot ’cause I couldn’t play in tune. Really.

There you go. Now I’m supposed to tag some more folks. That’s always the tough part. You hate making folks do stuff, but you gotta follow the rules.

Comment here or trackback when you’ve posted yours.

Just For BEG …

I’m hanging with BEG for the week, chillin’ in the hills of SW Wisconsin. He mentioned that he likes how Pink’s site takes you straight to the comment when you click the link in the recent comments list at right, but in my list it doesn’t do that.
Now it does. 😀

Car Repairs

I’ve mentioned before how an easy way to save money, if you’re mechanically inclined, is to do your own brake jobs. Routine disc brake replacements (drum brakes, on the rear of many cars, are a bit more challenging) are easy to do and inexpensive. Most brake shops advertise a $80 – $90 2 wheel brake job, but it’s rarely that cheap. Your car isn’t one that can use those cheap parts and the there are the parts you need that aren’t included. Before long you’re up over $150. You can usually buy all the parts needed for under $60. Well under if you skip the dealer parts and get after market.
This weekend, I did a major brake overhaul on the Odyssey. At 143,000 miles it needed more than just new brake pads. The rears were pretty routine, rear brakes don’t do much of the work so they don’t wear very fast. In fact, there was still a little life left in those rear brakes and they had never been replaced. The fronts were on set number 2 and they were shot. They needed new discs as well as pads. All told, I spent $200 in parts for what would have likely been a $400-$500 brake job.
Anyway, so I spent the bulk of the day doing brakes. We had a bunch of extra kids over and when they went home, I asked of the girls wanted to help me finish up. That’s Jessica up top on the torque wrench (20 ft/lbs on the caliper bolts, Jess), Emily in her cat face makeup tightening the brake hose bracket (she’s got some strength, it was about as tight as I would have made it) and then Jessica the new torque wrench pro teaching Emily how it’s done.
It was fun showing them how things go together and explaining a little bit how it works. I remember spending time in the garage with Dad when I was their age. Dad didn’t do much beyond changing spark plugs and rotating tires, but it’s still fun remembering spending time with him in the garage. Later, little Audrey asked where the brakes were and Jessica was pointing through the wheels at the ‘black thing’ and the ‘silver thing’ and showing her what they were.
The only tiny regret I have with an all-girl house is that they are unlikely to share my, my Dad’s and my grandfather’s car passion. I wouldn’t trade my girls for anything, but I do at times wish I had a boy to do car things with. That’s why this day in the garage with my girls was so special.

Priorities

Missy recently was talking about relationships she missed. That got Kansas Bob talking about the cost of friendship. In his post, Bob quoted this scripture:

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Matthew 5:23-24

That got me thinking about priorities.
We, it seems, tend to think that ‘God things’ have a high priority. Things like attending church, the way we worship, communion and offerings and contributions. These are Important Things, things that must come first, or at least high on our list.
Look again at this passage and notice God’s priority.
The man is there to pay honor to god, to make his gift, to give his contribution, to write the check and God says stop for a moment and examine. He’s about to put God first. He’s about to proclaim his allegiance and God says don’t just yet. Why?
Reconciliation.
God says your honoring of me through gifts, gifts I’ve commanded you to make, is less important than your reconciliation to your brother. My gift can wait, go be reconciled.
That hit me powerfully when I read it earlier today. How often do we have that backward today? If you skipped church this Sunday to go visit someone you had issues with or had issues with you, would you be praised or chastised? Don’t we tend to emphasize the practice of religion over the practice of our relationships? We say, your relationship can wait, go worship God.
How ironic that so many are willing to sever relationships for the sake of ‘purer and holier worship’, when God says you should interrupt your worship to fix your relationships.

Ezekiel – Chapter 26-28

It’s amazing to me how God calls me back to His word. There was a time, if I missed a few days, that I heard man calling me back. The guilt of not having a quiet time, the thought that someone would ask me about it, would get me back into the Bible.
Lately, however, if I go for a time without focused reading, there comes a moment when I relize that I miss it. More than that, I can feel God, gently, tugging at me to read. It’s as if He’s saying “I’ve got more to tell you, come, listen to Me.”
The guilt was pressing, almost frantic. The pull is gentle, but determined and persistent. With the guilt, I didn’t miss the Bible or God. When I feel God pulling, I suddenly realize that I do miss Him. I like that feeling.
Ezekiel 26 – Funny, how I revel in returning to my reading, and then find little to comment on in my first chapter.
God here continues laying out his judgement on not only Israel, but on those around her. Tyre evidently rejoiced as Jerusalem’s fall, thinking that it would benefit them commercially. God say to them through Ezekiel, not so fast, your time will come as well.
Ezekiel 27 – But God does not rejoice in their destruction. Here He lifts them up, praising their one time splendor. He laments that such a mighty city should fall. Why and how should this be?
Ezekiel 28 – Here God tells us why:

Because you [prince of Tyre] make your heart
like the heart of a god,
therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
They shall thrust you down into the pit,
and you shall die the death of the slain
in the heart of the seas.
Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a man, and no god,
in the hands of those who slay you?
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”

Ezekiel 8:6-10

And to the King of Tyre …

You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.

Ezekiel 8:15-17

Pride. Self importance. Arrogance, cost these men and their subjects much.
Ezekiel 28:24-26 – After Ezekiel prophesies against the surrounding towns, God gives him this work of comfort to Israel:

And for the house of Israel there shall be no more a brier to prick or a thorn to hurt them among all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord God.
Thus says the Lord God: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and manifest my holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they shall dwell in their own land that I gave to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell securely in it, and they shall build houses and plant vineyards. They shall dwell securely, when I execute judgments upon all their neighbors who have treated them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord their God.

Before, god said they would know that he is God by the punishment brought upon them. Now he say they will know he is God because of the security they have after he punishes their neighbors. Not only so, but after everyone, including Israel, gets their due, god will be honored when He lifts Israel up from among all of them.

Miss Belvedere


Last week my work time distraction was the unearthing of the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere from a time capsule in Tulsa OK.
Back in 1957, to celebrate the state of Oklahoma’s 50 year anniversary, they buried a time capsule in Tulsa to be opened 50 years later. In addition to the standard time capsule proclamations from local dignitaries and other 50s stuff, they buried a beautiful 1957 Plymouth Belvedere hardtop coupe. Those full size Chrysler products were among the most beautiful cars of their day. They also tended to start rusting almost before they left the lot, according to Dad. They also took guesses as to what Tulsa’s population would be in 2007. Person with the closes guess (or their heirs) would win the Belvedere in 2007.
Well, the 50 years was up this past Friday. On Wednesday they opened the vault in preparation for the big reveal. The top picture is what they found – Miss Belvedere in 3 feet of water, with evidence that the water level was much higher at some point. Not good. Word was, however, that they had wrapped the car in multiple layers of plastic, cosmoline and other stuff when they buried it, so maybe …
Layers, yeah right. As you can see, whatever layers there were were useless. Maybe I didn’t see the right pictures, but all that seemed to be around the car was a loose layer of plastic. My theory was that the folks that buried the car had little to no money, so they draped some plastic over the car and made up this story about the layers and the cosmoline, figuring that in 50 years most of the folks hearing it would be dead. At the very least, they would be dead so no one could hold them accountable or some ask them any questions. 😀
Miss Belvedere was a mucky, rusty mess. You could see water lines just above the wheel wells, at the top of the doors and at the center of the windshield. The interior & under hood looked like the inside of the Titanic. Maybe, just maybe, the body will clean up (you can see a promising spot on some pictures where they polished a bit of the front bumper), but it seems unlikely.
What a shame. When I heard about this a year or two ago I had hoped to see a dirt but pristine old Plymouth rise from the ground. Oh well. It was still a PR coup for Tulsa, one they hope to repeat in 2048 when the open the vault (above ground this time) that was sealed in 1998 with a 1998 Plymouth Prowler inside.
Check out pictures, article and video at kotv.com, more pictures at the car’s official website, buriedcar.com and even more at the Tulsa Chevy club’s web site including a lot of detail shots, including the undercarriage.

Blue Collar Opera

Consider this your feel good video link of the day. I’m not a big opera fan, but listen to this blue collar, cell phone store worker sing from the Brittan’s Got Talent. No, It’s not a spoof or lip sync’ed.
He won, and I think they could have pretty much scrapped the entire season and just given him the prize after this audition. OK, then we wouldn’t have heard the 6 year old sing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, so it was worth it.
I guess his (former) boss is a big opera fan, throwing opera parties every year, and had absolutely no idea he could do this.

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