Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Big Lake, Alaska

Big Lake, AK Car Consumer Discussions

Re: Hey, jmonroe [mako1a]

by jmonroe on Sat Nov 28 11:44:36 PST 2009

Trooper got me for 79 in a 65 on the way to my Turkey and stuffing (the best part). 79 in a 65 zone ain’t nothing. My first car, a used ’56 Chevy Belair, could do that and that 6 cyl. was the definition of a dog. Sorry to hear you didn’t get the Happy Meal Deal. Maybe I should count the spark plugs. Maybe you got the BIG 6 ( I told that tale awhile back). All I did was touch the gas to pass for a second and saw the car in the median just as I hit my 5 second speed jump. We have a retired police officer that lurks here that would have probably done something like that “median” thing. BTW Wes, Great Lakes Hyundai still shows that black/black 2009 V8 Genny in stock. Don’t tell us you’re not allowed to get it. jmonroe

Re: Another car pricing site.... [wesleyg]

by jmonroe on Thu Nov 05 17:01:43 PST 2009

jmonroe: I dont know if you remember me but I'm the guy that said I lived 10 minutes from your Geni dealer etc. First off congrats on the Sante Fe that you allowed your wife to get. You’re a wise man. Now you’ll be able to get the car you want and still have all your body parts in working order to enjoy your new ride. ;) Yeah, I remember you. You’re the retired Ohio cop police officer that does a lot of lurking around here and only posts to let us know you’re still alive. You oughta post a little more, the dues ain’t THAT high. That lurking must have come from the profession you were in. You know, hiding in the weeds, behind concrete overpass abutments, riding around in innocent looking un-marked cruisers, etc. but you never got me; maybe Richard a few times but not me. :) If you’re serious about getting a V8 Genesis, Great Lakes Hyundai has three ‘09’s left, all with the Tech Package, as of this posting. I’ll bet you’re the type that would go for the black/black one that they still have now. The interesting thing about their price for that car is…it’s exactly the same price I paid in March. That might have been a good price then but not now. As for the buying experience I had with them, it was pretty good. Not too pushy but, Paul, the F&I guy, did try to sell me the usual stuff which I declined. FWIW, when I looked at their web site last week to see if they got the 2010’s in, not that I’m going to get one, I just wanted to see if they had them and what price they wanted for them. They didn’t show any but they had a big picture of the Equus saying come see it. They don’t show that picture now so they might not have it for viewing anymore. Just talking about the Equus gives me the shakes after what happened just last Sunday when Son #1 asked me if I was going to look at one. Out of nowhere when he came over on Sunday he asked me that question. His mother asked, “what’s an Equus”? He told her and her eyes got as beady as I’ve ever seen them and she said, “because of you we have a car in the garage that we didn’t need. Now you want him to buy a bigger and more expensive one. I’ll tell you this…if he buys that car it won’t be parked in THAT garage (as she points toward the garage) it will be parked in the garage of a house over there (as she points a few blocks away where there are nothing but new Mc Mansions). Hell, now I’m afraid to even go look at one because of the fear I have that she’ll rush out to a furniture store just to show me she’s not kidding. Keep in touch and let us know what you buy for yourself. jmonroe

Escape 08 stained seats

by escapeme on Wed Oct 21 04:43:00 PDT 2009

I bought my Escape slightly used from my favorite Ford Dealer as a former "executive car" (driven lightly by a Ford Executive) and was pleased with deal although in mourning for the Escape I traded in. I was worried about the light grey and tan cloth seats, but my kids are all grown and I figured I could keep them clean. The first week I had it the rain stained the driver's side. I jumped to the conclusion that the car seats had been cleaned when the car went up for sale and they did not get all the cleaner out. Then I've been mad at my daughter because she drove it to the lake and it came back with what looked like a huge coffee stain on the front passenger seat. She swore that they only rode in it with wet bathing suits. I've been yelling at the dealership about how they sold me a car they knew had problems. Both parties are off the hook now, but I am printing out this forum and taking it straight up to my dealer and the repair department and I am calling Ford. I've already posted this problem on Facebook, next is Twitter. I have had good luck cleaning the seats with my little carpeting steam cleaner that is for quick cleaning spills and spots. When you use it though, it produces all sorts of dark brown dirty water, which is why I thought it had been cleaned incorrectly by the dealer. I am not sure the stains go away, I just think it sort of stains it evenly so it looks better. I'm at 53,000 miles (I drive 50 miles a day back and forth to work) and I just had to replace the front brake pads and pay over $600 to replace some coolant coil thing. That doesn't seem right to me! I'm wondering if I should get rid of this car now, but it suits our needs so perfectly, I have no idea what else I would buy. That is why I bought a second one. My first one was yellow with the big plastic bumpers and leather seats. That thing looked new even though it was horribly abused and had 130,000 miles I wish I had paid to have the axle fixed instead of getting a new one! I am pretty sure that the gas tank and axle were ruined by the giant gravel on my country road I drove on for 2 years while they were getting ready to resurface it. The worst part is, that already no one is going to get a decent trade in on these vehicles and it is really embarrasing at work when I have to give someone a ride or pick up a visitor.

Re: cooter & jimbres [cooterbfd]

by marsha7 on Mon Oct 19 19:47:17 PDT 2009

cooter: "While I see it as shameless that companies like Honda and Toyota will fight to keep the UAW (or any union) out of their shop, it is also shameless to see how the UAW manipulates the system against the Big 3. They can say what they want, but in the end cooler heads should prevail."... Maybe this is where we part company, but Honda and Toy should be given awards for fighting to keep unions out...between stupid work restrictions that ONLY serve to union featherbed "creating" jobs (i.e. increasng payroll overhead for no reason other than to reduce work efficiency), Jobs Bank programs (the thought that such an idiotic concept could even EXIST simply galls me), and the "gimme gimme" welfare mentality that the UAW had (and still has), I fail to see how the UAW helped the Big 3 in ANY way possible over the last 50 years... Long before we had "union haters", like back in the 60s and 70s, we still had the old saw about not buying a car made on Friday (workers were drunk on payday) or Monday (workers were hung over from a drunk weekend)...that was the beginning, I would say...no one was "out to destroy the UAW" (like I am today), but the "UAW union mentality" was beginning to draw our criticisms back then...it has only gotten worse over the years...does mgmt have blame???...you bet...but much of mgmt's blame was in NOT standing up to the UAW's ridiculous demands like stupid work restrictions and floorsweepers making $35/hour... If you look over the last 50 years, I place most blame on the "perceived quality" of UAW Big 3 cars going down the crapper on those who made the car, and that is the assembly workers, the UAW worker, period... Most mgmt errors were simply in trying to avoid the UAW, and then capitulating...Saturn started out as a non-UAW concept in Roger Smith's mind, but then he capitulated to a UAW shop, so Saturn started out in the negative...none of the CEO's had the guts to take a strike over a few months, where they could have broken the back of the UAW...as fintail said, they were so worried about quarterly results when they should have looked at the long-term health of the company...breaking the UAW could have meant easier firing of worthless emplyees in one day instead of 2 years with UAW grievance procedures (which also should have been fought by mgmt)... Simply, the UAW had NOTHING to offer to make any car better, and I applaud Honda and Toy for fighting to keep them out...if I ran either company, I would set up a 100 mile radius forcefield (like Star Trek's "shields up") that was programmed to beam away anyone with UAW DNA that even THOUGHT of driving inside that 100 mile imaginary ring... That union destroyed American industry, along with every other union that demanded "highly skilled" wages for unskilled work... Everyone has the right to try and make what they can, but to be able to squeeze an employer with collective bargaining, and then be able to force the employer to deal with a union, well, you see the result...the work and the jobs are sent out of the country, because no one can look at the situation and simply speak the truth: the workers are not worth anything close to what they are paid, because the skill level simply does not command that kind of pay...whether UAW workers, garment workers, or whatever, it comes down to the fact that unskilled workers are paid far in excess of what their job is worth, so any employer worth their salt finds cheaper labor elsewhere...folding shirts, tightening lug nuts, sweeping floors, stocking shelves, manually unloading trucks, while all honest work, takes no skill whatsoever...period...to think that work demands anything over minimum wage is beyond ridiculous...just because someone is feeding a family of five does NOT change to value of the work itself...just because someone wants to buy a 3000 sq ft home on the lake does NOT change the value of the work...and if it wasn't for the minimum wage, that work would barely be worth maybe $5.00/hour, because anyone, yes ANYONE, can do it with about 10 minutes of training...stocking shelves does imply that someone stayed in school long enough to read the alphabet, but reading is NOT considered a skill, any more than brushing your teeth and bathing... Unions like UAW and garment workers have brainwashed and spoiled their members into believing that they are skilled workers who command top pay...I compliment them on their ability to brainwash so thoroughly, but they have lied to their workers like LBJ about the Gulf of Tonkin...they have NO skills and do not command anything over minimum pay...now they have no jobs because they still have this fairy tale brain about how skilled they are about folding shirts or sweeping floors...take pride in their work, yes, but highly skilled???...give me a break... Strong opinion to follow soon...

Re: 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6 R [rsholland]

by paisan on Sun Oct 11 12:04:45 PDT 2009

Hopefully all us loyal owners who thirst for a true sports sedan will not have flocked to greener pastures by then. :( I have no problem with the heart and soul being economical cars. Heck I'm the one who preaches to the STi folks how if it wasn't for the Forester and Outbacks, there would be no STi. I just want Subaru to produce a car for when STi owners "grow up" and want a big, fast, well handling car with a stick... I guess I'll have to live with my CTS-V for now :) -mike

Re: the Toyota witch hunt [steve_]

by mcdawgg on Tue Sep 29 19:33:12 PDT 2009

This is about the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen!!! A massive recall because people are not following the directions and putting after mats on top of the existing mats!! A little history: Back in 2008, Toyota issued a recall on the all-weather floor mats in 2007-2008 Camrys. Well, I bought a set in early 2007, and the instructions specifically said to remove the old floor mats and put these in place and be sure to use the clips. Guess what, I still have these old mats, and they don't move IF you use the clips (and this also means that you don't put them on top of the existing mats). Simple, right? Now, someone (the dealer in this case!) screws up big time and puts mats ON TOP of the existing ones, without the clips (of course), and now Toyota is recalling just about every car. Give me a break! If I was Toyota, I'd be thinking about going into another business right now, not because they don't know how to build excellent cars, but because people are going WAY overboard about things. What's next, if I go out and jump in the Lake Huron without knowing how to swim and without a life jacket, can I force the government to put up a 20ft high wall around the entire lake? The Lexus dealer was at fault here, not Toyota, so just give the relatives a huge amount of money and that's that. I do feel bad for the family, don't get me wrong, but don't force Toyota and every other maker to put out huge expensive recalls for nothing. You gotta draw the line somewhere! I guarantee that I can find things like this in any car if I try. I could rewire my cruise control switches to stay on and never cancel, even if I hit the brakes. So should they issue a recall for this and get rid of cruise control? I know this is extreme example, but I think you get my drift!