Topic: What did you do to your car today?

[tooscoops]

yet still.... i'll buy another jeep in a heartbeat....

totally agree though. guy installing the windshield just did a crap job. my shop should have picked it up in the pdi. but at least it's a quick and obvious fix...

[Firm]

The Spitfire engine compartment has some "splash valences" which were intended to keep water and debris away from the expensive bit. Believe it or not the originals where made from an oil treated cardboard. As soon as some hamfisted mechanic gets in there these valences tend up getting torn to bits. Using the remains of my original ones, and some careful measurements I was able to make some new cardboard templates. It test fit them to the car and have them fitting perfectly
Next steps will be to transfer these to some masonite board, paint black and install with new hardware. That part should be easy though.

[tpl]

I'd use Formica. Can stand water and the temperature differences.   Available in many, many patterns and colours as well. 

[tortoise]

Yesterday I had the wheels rebalanced on the 5 since there was a vibration after they were remounted.  Since the car was in a warm bay for an hour I then replaced the burt-out passenger headlight.  I had tried when it was -20 but the rubber gasket was rock solid and impossible to removed.  Despite this being the fastest I've changed a bulb I still wanted to punch a Mazda Engineer.

While at Costco I grabbed a new battery for the truck.  It had been struggling and totally ineffective below -20.  The new one is noticeably  better.

[redman]

Recently my front wheels felt off balance. I noticed that there was a lot of ice and snow on the inside of the rim.

Power sprayed rims and problem solved. Build up of ice and snow acted as a counter weight and was really throwing off balance.

[OliverD]

Recently my wheels felt of balance. I noticed that there was a lot of ice and snow on the inside of the rim.

Power sprayed rims and problem solved. Counter weight that the buildup added was really throwing off balance.

Happened to my car recently as well. It was so cold here that the wheels never warmed up enough for the packed ice and snow to melt until I drove the car over 100 km in one sitting.

[Arthur Dent]

The Spitfire engine compartment has some "splash valences" which were intended to keep water and debris away from the expensive bit. Believe it or not the originals where made from an oil treated cardboard. As soon as some hamfisted mechanic gets in there these valences tend up getting torn to bits. Using the remains of my original ones, and some careful measurements I was able to make some new cardboard templates. It test fit them to the car and have them fitting perfectly
Next steps will be to transfer these to some masonite board, paint black and install with new hardware. That part should be easy though.

Nice work. I make sure aluminum ones for my old '74 Spitfire years ago.

[SeaBlueS4]

Here's the damage...

Regular 1A service (oil change and inspection) and install new wiper blades, total bill with tax: $497.36

Wipers parts and labour before tax: $78.55

Total parts: $180.66
Total labour: $244.80
(plus misc and tax)

Wowzers! Is that a MB thing or a location thing???

Here in Ottawa, local indie charge for an oil change on the S4 is $120 - $140 (incl taxes etc) for the correct Audi spec oil. Not sure of dealer cost as everything has been under AudiCare so far, but I would guess $200, maybe $250.

I also did the wipers this time, $50 in parts, free install. A little pricey but the originals lasted 4 yrs until they started streaking so I don't mind paying a bit more.

Alignment was recommended, although not covered by AudiCare. I considered skipping it as tires have always worn evenly and there's no tracking issues but decided to do it anyway as it's not been done in 4 yrs. Again a little pricey at $240, especially if you do it every year as they now recommend.

Next service will be my first non-AudiCare and it's the big one (85k), mainly due to spark plug change. I think it's ~ $700 at the dealer, so will also get an indie quote. So far I like the dealer though. Free shuttle if that works for me, loaner (new A4) if not eg working from home / need car for errands etc. I think the loaner is offered for any service, not just while under Audicare / warranty but will have to confirm. Note I didn't buy the S4 from this dealer either. I would have to save >$100 on the service to make the inconvenience of indie worth it. Plus I do still believe (maybe wrongly) that it's worth having the same place get to know your car.

So, total 4 yr service costs have been

$750 AudCare 25, 40, 55 & 70K services
$260 2 extra oil changes from indie (I prefer a 10 - 12k interval vs 15k recommended and tried the 2 local indies just to see what they are like)
$240 alignment
$50  wipers

4yr total: $1300

Plus I should include ~ $1200 for 4 new summer tires needed last year.

No doubt the next few years will be a bit higher as the bigger services are needed, plus there'll be brakes and likely battery etc in the next 2 - 3 yrs but so far so good.

[Northernridge]

^It's a Mercedes thing at minimum but I have wondered if my local store would be under price-pressure if there was regional competitor like other jurisdictions...I kind of doubt it.

One has to go into FGC ownership with boths eyes open so I knew what I was getting into.

[KD]

My wife creamed the passenger side mirror while driving into the garage yesterday.  I was out cleaning snow from around the yard at the time.  She opened her window to make a jocular comment about what I was doing as she was approaching the garage and then CRUNCH...   The trim around the garage door was damaged in the process as well.  Of course by her reasoning it was partially my fault by the simple fact that my presence distracted her.    We just got the car repaired last week from the deer hit a few weeks ago. 

[Solstice2006]

My wife creamed the passenger side mirror while driving into the garage yesterday.  I was out cleaning snow from around the yard at the time.  She opened her window to make a jocular comment about what I was doing as she was approaching the garage and then CRUNCH...   The trim around the garage door was damaged in the process as well.  Of course by her reasoning it was partially my fault by the simple fact that my presence distracted her.    We just got the car repaired last week from the deer hit a few weeks ago.

That sucks, check the wreckers.  Got mine for $100 (for my previous 2008 Mazda6), and it's the heated ones.  Same color, and everything.  It was already taken off the vehicle...

[redman]

  ^^
^^^
Did something similar Valentines 2014. Reversed and hit snowblower with side passenger mirror.
 
Of course 2010 Legacy did not come with flex mirrors for some stupid reason but replaced them with 11 flex mirrors.

$500 later all was fine but pocket book.

Needless to say extra cautious when backing out now.

[Fobroader]

My wife creamed the passenger side mirror while driving into the garage yesterday.  I was out cleaning snow from around the yard at the time.  She opened her window to make a jocular comment about what I was doing as she was approaching the garage and then CRUNCH...   The trim around the garage door was damaged in the process as well.  Of course by her reasoning it was partially my fault by the simple fact that my presence distracted her.    We just got the car repaired last week from the deer hit a few weeks ago.

That sucks, check the wreckers.  Got mine for $100 (for my previous 2008 Mazda6), and it's the heated ones.  Same color, and everything.  It was already taken off the vehicle...

X2 on the wreckers. My mom did the same mirror/garage interaction with her Legacy. Found a color match mirror in Vancouver, was ~$100 shipped.

[KD]

My wife creamed the passenger side mirror while driving into the garage yesterday.  I was out cleaning snow from around the yard at the time.  She opened her window to make a jocular comment about what I was doing as she was approaching the garage and then CRUNCH...   The trim around the garage door was damaged in the process as well.  Of course by her reasoning it was partially my fault by the simple fact that my presence distracted her.    We just got the car repaired last week from the deer hit a few weeks ago.

That sucks, check the wreckers.  Got mine for $100 (for my previous 2008 Mazda6), and it's the heated ones.  Same color, and everything.  It was already taken off the vehicle...

X2 on the wreckers. My mom did the same mirror/garage interaction with her Legacy. Found a color match mirror in Vancouver, was ~$100 shipped.

The body shop i deal with thought they found one locally, but ours has the BLISS indicator in the mirror and the one he found did not.  He ended up sourcing one from NF and will install and paint it for $100 plus the part.  All in it will be ~ $325, so pretty reasonable.  New mirror would be more than double.  I'll fix the siding myself in the spring. 

[Fobroader]

My wife creamed the passenger side mirror while driving into the garage yesterday.  I was out cleaning snow from around the yard at the time.  She opened her window to make a jocular comment about what I was doing as she was approaching the garage and then CRUNCH...   The trim around the garage door was damaged in the process as well.  Of course by her reasoning it was partially my fault by the simple fact that my presence distracted her.    We just got the car repaired last week from the deer hit a few weeks ago.

That sucks, check the wreckers.  Got mine for $100 (for my previous 2008 Mazda6), and it's the heated ones.  Same color, and everything.  It was already taken off the vehicle...

X2 on the wreckers. My mom did the same mirror/garage interaction with her Legacy. Found a color match mirror in Vancouver, was ~$100 shipped.

The body shop i deal with thought they found one locally, but ours has the BLISS indicator in the mirror and the one he found did not.  He ended up sourcing one from NF and will install and paint it for $100 plus the part.  All in it will be ~ $325, so pretty reasonable.  New mirror would be more than double.

BLISS indicator?? Que?? Is that like a happiness monitor, "Dave, you need to smile more....Dave...dont make me tickle you...."

[KD]

   Good one!  Right now it's a BLISter...

It's too bad it didn't happen just before the deer whacked into her on the same side.  We could have blamed him. 

[random006]

I wiped the salt encrusted deposits off all the lights. 

[valuator]

I'll be looking for new wiper blades for the BMW....I don't feel like paying through the nose at the dealer, from what I've read online the Bosch Icon are a good substitute. Anyone with a better suggestion?

[SeaBlueS4]

Getting withdrawal symptoms as the TR6 is still in storage. All my gauges are in pretty rough from age, so I decided to clean them up. Since mine is in storage (and I don't want to risk breaking the originals), I've picked up replacements on eBay over the past few weeks.

Disassembled them, tested, cleaned and repainted and installed LED lighting in them. The old ones, with dim bulbs, corroded / flaking paint inside and discoloured lenses were all but impossible to read at night.

The fuel and temp gauges are an interesting design - fed by 10V from a regulator so as not to be impacted by changing battery voltage, they are basically a heating element around a bimetallic strip. As resistance from the fuel tank or temp sender changes, the current through the heater rises (or falls) and the needle moves. Anyway, all recalibrated and I now have a new set of gauges to install in the spring.

I have also done the speedo and tach, recalibrating them with a power drill, speed controller and optical tachometer. Have those to reassemble next. Try doing that on an S4 (on any modern car)!

A pretty fun project, and cost effective too. New gauges range from $150 - $300 each and professional rebuilding is roughly the same. I picked up these for $20 - $40 each, plus about $50 in materials for all 6 gauges. I actually ended up with some spares as which I might also clean up and sell on to fund the project.

Here's some example "before" and "after" pics - will have to wait for spring to see them in the car.

[Weels]

I'll be looking for new wiper blades for the BMW....I don't feel like paying through the nose at the dealer, from what I've read online the Bosch Icon are a good substitute. Anyone with a better suggestion?

Costco.  Costco rules.
I replaced the Subaru factory junk wipers with the Michelin blades.  $20 for the set. 1,000x better.