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Post by sunny225 on Mar 30, 2024 21:25:51 GMT
www.ericpetersautos.com/2024/03/29/embracing-disposability/Embracing Disposability Americans who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s – which lasted into the 1940s – learned through hard necessity about the value of frugality. About not wasting money on things they didn’t need. Especially things that caused them to waste more money. What is styled “keyless” ignition (and door unlocking) is a modern-times example of this. One of many, unfortunately. Until circa the late 1990s, you unlocked the door of a car by inserting a key into a slot and turning the lock open by hand. Similarly, you would start the car’s engine by doing essentially the same. Insert key into lock, turn – and hold, completing a simple electrical circuit that caused the starter to rotate the engine. When the engine fired up, you released the key – which remained in the lock – and drove until you reached wherever you were going. Then you turned the key to shut off the engine and removed the key from the switch, which locked the steering column to deter theft. Simple. Easy. Then along came gimmicky. The physical key was replaced by an electronic fob – and electronic push-buttons. The door unlocked automatically, just by touching the handle (the electronic lock recognizing the signal emitted by the fob). The engine was started by pushing a button – which registered the signal emitted by the fob and sent a signal to the computer to turn the starter, which turned off automatically once the engine started. What has been gained? And what has been lost? One no longer needs to reach into his pants pocket (or her purse) to find the key to unlock the door to the car. One no longer needs to exert the effort of putting a key into the ignition lock and turning it. Are you not entertained? more at link
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Post by farmrbrown on Mar 30, 2024 22:35:20 GMT
What I CAN tell you is that the VRBO houses I take care of all use the keypad door locks and they do have their benefits. However, there's is a key on a nail somewhere on premises that will allow me to stay on my couch and just take a frantic phone call from a unlucky and desperate guest who might be locked out on a cold dark night. Of course they might be too drunk to think of that option and decide to break the little window in the bathroom and try squeezing thru it instead. If that works, I can fix the window in the morning, but either way the guy on the couch has already thought this thru and awaits with a smile on his face, lol. (He also has a professional 'lock out kit' for cars too and will take bets on whether the dealership was right when they bought their impossible-to-break-in new car model)
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Mar 30, 2024 22:54:40 GMT
There may be a lot of truth in this, but when you’re disabled and trying to open your car door while holding a purse and bags of groceries in one hand and a cane in the other, I find I really love my keyless fob. I had to replace the ignition cylinder numerous times in my last car (which had an ignition key), which gets spendy even when your DSil does the job at a deep discount.
I’ll use an older wash machine or refrigerator without all the bells and whistles (I disconnected the ice maker on my last several fridges) but I’m not giving up my keyless fob. 😁
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Mar 30, 2024 23:55:51 GMT
Seems like every "convenience" just adds more things to break down, and can't be fixed, only replaced. That's why a few years ago we bought Speed Queen clothes washer and dryer. The washer has manual controls, no computers, plus, and easy work-around to increase the water in the washtub.
The lights went out in our kitchen fridge and yup, computer modules that cost an arm and a leg, not to mention the trip charge to come out this far.
The brake warning lights came on in the Suburban so I went to our mechanic's place to make sure I'd make it home. They checked out the brakes, no problems there, but the "module" was out. I'm still driving around with the brake warning lights on from time to time, but at least I didn't spend $1000 for that danged module.
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Post by rybach on Mar 31, 2024 15:01:20 GMT
The brake warning lights came on in the Suburban so I went to our mechanic's place to make sure I'd make it home. They checked out the brakes, no problems there, but the "module" was out. I'm still driving around with the brake warning lights on from time to time, but at least I didn't spend $1000 for that danged module. I remember when the solution to a problem like that was a little piece of electrical tape to cover the warning light on the dash. Nowadays with touch screens that doesn't work so well because the car wants you to acknowledge the fault and promise to take care of it soon.
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Post by woolybear on Apr 1, 2024 14:10:20 GMT
A car fob story as told to me by a friend at church. "R" bought a car that started using a fob. Car came with 2 fobs, one she used all the time and the other was in the house as a back up. Well one day her son was visiting her and helping her to clean up the flower beds around the house. Somehow she managed to drop the main fob into the rubbish and her DS hauled it off to the landfill. Later that day R wanted to move her car into the garage but couldn't find the fob. She searched high and low but no fob. She did find the backup fob, tried it on the car but it wouldn't work. She had to call a tow truck and have her car taken to the dealership. There she found out that since she hadn't been using the second fob the car's computer wouldn't recognize it. She now owned, basically, a brick. Dealership says they have to replace the computer to get a new fob to work (if I'm remembering correctly) to the tune of several hundreds of dollars. She goes one day over to the dealership to haggle around with them because she has an extended repair contract that should cover the fob mess (dealership was trying to weasel out of honoring the contract) As she's leaving the dealership a young man asks her "aren't you afraid that someone is going to steal your car?" her response " that would be great because it means someone knows how to start my car". After several weeks of haggling the dealership finally honored the contract and repaired her car. Almost everyone in the area around my age knows not to deal with this dealership because of their "tactics", but I guess she never got the memo.
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Post by David! on Apr 1, 2024 14:51:14 GMT
Most things have their place and have good and bad. The keyless stuff has been a God send to me. My hands look fine but I have limited mobility and using them can be painful. It’s hard to sign documents to all of this esign helps. Not having to reach into my pocket for van or house keys is nice and it’s easier to pay for things with my phone than to piull out a wallet and search for a card. Having and managing rentals makes electronic locks a life saver. It’s much like the electric vs ice cars. Neither is all good or bad, both have pluses and minuses depending on your circumstances. I do know that evs aren’t very popular here and let the avalanche of ev criticisms begin. 😂
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Apr 1, 2024 15:38:28 GMT
I figure whatever works for each individual is a good thing. We all have different needs. I certainly never thought I’d ever be buying a mobility scooter! Or needing a keyless fob. 🤷🏻♀️ Life changes and you go with what works best for you.
I have only one fob. I was going to order a 2nd one through the dealer when one of the employees came over and quietly told me I could get one online much cheaper, then go to a locksmith(?) and have it reset for my car. Since I often misplace things I intended to do that, but ended up attaching my fob and house key to the front of my purse. No chance of losing or misplacing it now, and it’s so handy when I have to get in or out of the car or in my house.
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Post by David! on Apr 1, 2024 15:48:29 GMT
wildhorseluvr , Key fobs are much cheaper online than a locksmith and heaven forbid a car dealer. A few years back I ordered a key fob online that worked perfectly for about $400 less than from a dealer. I tried attaching my key fob to my purse and realized I don’t have a purse.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Apr 1, 2024 15:55:31 GMT
wildhorseluvr , Key fobs are much cheaper online than a locksmith and heaven forbid a car dealer. A few years back I ordered a key fob online that worked perfectly for about $400 less than from a dealer. I tried attaching my key fob to my purse and realized I don’t have a purse. Purses aren’t that expensive, you know. 😉 I used to never carry a purse, just shoved things into my pockets but nowadays I usually have just a little more than what will fit in my pockets. DD and I both carry very small purses with crossover shoulder straps, I like being able to keep my hands free.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Apr 1, 2024 16:04:42 GMT
As for car dealers, after I got ripped off on the “brand new” tires they supposedly installed on the car I bought after moving here (rotted out in 2 weeks) I classify car dealers as worse than crooked lawyers. The fix he proposed to make things right was another huge rip off so I bought tires from Les Schwab. Cost me more than what the dealer proposed but I knew I wouldn’t get ripped off. I was supposed to be able to take my car back to get several free oil changes but never went back. They called several times trying to schedule me for the oil changes, I told them to shove them where the sun don’t shine as I figured they’d purposely screw up my car…I’d rather pay to to take it elsewhere.
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Post by Ozarks Tom on Apr 1, 2024 18:40:37 GMT
wildhorseluvr, You probably did the right thing, some car repair shops have their mechanics or service writers working on commission, and have been know to "accidentally" loosen a nut or bolt here or there that you'll notice going down the road and bring back for a big repair bill. It can be hard to find a repair shop to trust. Probably best to ask around among people who've lived there a long time.
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Post by wildhorseluvr on Apr 1, 2024 19:11:14 GMT
DD has found a place in another town to get fluids changed…fast, reasonable price, etc. She’s taken her car to a local shop several times and been pleased with their service, prices and customer service. Hasn’t had any more issues with her car since they worked on it so if I need anything done I’ll be taking my car to them. When you come from a town where you know everyone and how they conduct business, you’re really at a disadvantage when you move. We get most of our recommendations now from DD’s coworkers.
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Post by BrewDaddy on Apr 1, 2024 19:54:29 GMT
In my experience Schwab's went from the reliable go-to place to incompetence and just another rip off place. I'll pay someone to fix my flat tires rather than let schwabbie do it for 'free'.
bd
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Post by farmrbrown on Apr 1, 2024 22:38:32 GMT
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