Teach me (?!?!?!?)

[cowlitzcoach]

With buses the final VIN and model year are determined by the body OEM. It is not unusual to find disparate years on bus body and bus chassis.

I owned a 1979 IHC Loadstar Carpenter bus for several years. It was a great bus but the build date for the incomplete chassis was 18-months older than the bus body. The bus was registered as a 1979 IHC Carpenter.

At one time most of the OEM body builders had fields full of incomplete chassis. In order to get good prices from the OEM vendor supplied chassis builders the body builders would have to guarantee they would purchase a minimum number of chassis. Which the chassis builder would ship out on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. If peak production at the body plant was ten buses per day you could use up a lot of uncompleted chassis in a week. But if sales were down and you were only making five buses per day the back lot would start to fill up rather quickly with incomplete chassis.

It isn't as bad as it used to be as most companies work on just in time inventory. But they still stock pile incomplete chassis in order to get specific options. I know that for a while if you wanted a diesel in a GM chassis you had to order them for delivery in October. You may not need that chassis until July but you got it in October because that was the only month that GM was going to make that chassis with a diesel engine.

[cadillackid]

both of my busses have chassis and body of different years..

my caprenter has a 1990 chassis and a 91 body..

the bluebird is a 2000 on the title with a 99 chassis and 99 engine...

ive seen up to 2 model year differences.. esp when a body style change was in the works by the chassis maker.. the body people may stockpile chassis if say chevy was going to change the platform the next year
-Christopher

[oricha1984]

I'm developing calluses on my fingers from searching online for my shorty or van . . . So annoying. . .
What I like sells for high. Hard to snipe a good one.

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[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

I'm developing calluses on my fingers from searching online for my shorty or van . . . So annoying. . .
What I like sells for high. Hard to snipe a good one.

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Some NICE GM van/bus 4 windows 6.0 LOW MILES for sale on Ritchie Bros. Check em out they're PERFECT for you!!!!

[oricha1984]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

Some NICE GM van/bus 4 windows 6.0 LOW MILES for sale on Ritchie Bros. Check em out they're PERFECT for you!!!!

Will do. The one I was looking at last time from them sold for 8k . . .

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[oricha1984]

TIME TO VENT !!!!

so I take my wife's car (2005 Toyota corolla) to get an oil change and tire rotation at a local shop I've used before.

The shop's owner tells me he is very busy that day and I might have to wait.
I suggest to leave the car at the shop and for him to call me when finished. I tell him I need it done by the next day before they close (that's 36 hr from drop off time).

I receive no call, so I decide to go pick up the car the next day at 4pm. When I show up, the paper work has not been complete it, the person checking me out has to go back to check with the mechanics to make sure it was done.
I arrive back at the house and I feel uneasy, so I decide to check the work done. And guess what, brake fluid cap lost, break fluid spilled.

I call the shop, they tell me bring me the car back, he'll call o'rraleys to buy another cap. I will have to wait until the next day.
I say nvm, I'll go buy one at AutoZone near my house.
Autozone, tells me I have to order directly from Toyota.
I call shop back, and they tell me someone will go tomorrow to get one from the salvage yard.

All this trouble for just an oil change and tire rotation...

[BurlKing]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

TIME TO VENT !!!!

so I take my wife's car (2005 Toyota corolla) to get an oil change and tire rotation at a local shop I've used before.

The shop's owner tells me he is very busy that day and I might have to wait.
I suggest to leave the car at the shop and for him to call me when finished. I tell him I need it done by the next day before they close (that's 36 hr from drop off time).

I receive no call, so I decide to go pick up the car the next day at 4pm. When I show up, the paper work has not been complete it, the person checking me out has to go back to check with the mechanics to make sure it was done.
I arrive back at the house and I feel uneasy, so I decide to check the work done. And guess what, brake fluid cap lost, break fluid spilled.

I call the shop, they tell me bring me the car back, he'll call o'rraleys to buy another cap. I will have to wait until the next day.
I say nvm, I'll go buy one at AutoZone near my house.
Autozone, tells me I have to order directly from Toyota.
I call shop back, and they tell me someone will go tomorrow to get one from the salvage yard.

All this trouble for just an oil change and tire rotation...

sorry to hear that man! more often than not they have kids between 16-18 do oil changes and tire rotations on cars at those quick in and out places. i've only been driving for 11 years but i have never brought a vehicle in to the mechanic and im on my 2nd vehicle ever (1st went over 350k miles.) anything short of an engine or transmission rebuild can be done by the common man. in the time it takes you to drive to drop the car off and pick it back up and wait in line and all of that good stuff you couldve walked out and changed it yourself in 15mins!


hope good fortune comes your way now and glad to hear your brakes didnt fail or anything because of that, not sure why your brake fluid cap would be off if they're just checking oil and rotating tires!

[BurlKing]

love this video. lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-avpx8UTakI

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

TIME TO VENT !!!!

so I take my wife's car (2005 Toyota corolla) to get an oil change and tire rotation at a local shop I've used before.

The shop's owner tells me he is very busy that day and I might have to wait.
I suggest to leave the car at the shop and for him to call me when finished. I tell him I need it done by the next day before they close (that's 36 hr from drop off time).

I receive no call, so I decide to go pick up the car the next day at 4pm. When I show up, the paper work has not been complete it, the person checking me out has to go back to check with the mechanics to make sure it was done.
I arrive back at the house and I feel uneasy, so I decide to check the work done. And guess what, brake fluid cap lost, break fluid spilled.

I call the shop, they tell me bring me the car back, he'll call o'rraleys to buy another cap. I will have to wait until the next day.
I say nvm, I'll go buy one at AutoZone near my house.
Autozone, tells me I have to order directly from Toyota.
I call shop back, and they tell me someone will go tomorrow to get one from the salvage yard.

All this trouble for just an oil change and tire rotation...

Don't take this the wrong way- but you should save the $$ and do it yourself. from now on. That's easy maintenance stuff. And that way some idiot isn't messing with your car.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

TIME TO VENT !!!!

so I take my wife's car (2005 Toyota corolla) to get an oil change and tire rotation at a local shop I've used before.

The shop's owner tells me he is very busy that day and I might have to wait.
I suggest to leave the car at the shop and for him to call me when finished. I tell him I need it done by the next day before they close (that's 36 hr from drop off time).

I receive no call, so I decide to go pick up the car the next day at 4pm. When I show up, the paper work has not been complete it, the person checking me out has to go back to check with the mechanics to make sure it was done.
I arrive back at the house and I feel uneasy, so I decide to check the work done. And guess what, brake fluid cap lost, break fluid spilled.

I call the shop, they tell me bring me the car back, he'll call o'rraleys to buy another cap. I will have to wait until the next day.
I say nvm, I'll go buy one at AutoZone near my house.
Autozone, tells me I have to order directly from Toyota.
I call shop back, and they tell me someone will go tomorrow to get one from the salvage yard.

All this trouble for just an oil change and tire rotation...

Wait until you get a call from the shop for when the rocket surgeon backs over all 4 of your beauty rings on your 88 K5 Blazer.... Because when he did the alignment, he removed the rings to clamp on the equipment.
They wanted to replace with Chinese knockoffs... I said no, I want to see your receipt from GM for factory replacements! Your mechanic didn't run over Chinese knockoffs

[oricha1984]

Yup, I will be figuring out most of the routine stuff myself from now on.


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[DoubleO7]

Good thing you checked under the hood when you got home. The spillage might be from everyone you applied the brakes the master cylinder squirts straight up on some models.
Plus with no cap it would have sucked in water groom the air. Then big expensive and possibly dangerous problems show up.

[cadillackid]

Car shops area pain .. only issue with changing oil yourself is us city folk have no good place to deal with the mess and get the oil into containers an auto store will take.
I loved changing my own oil when I had a friends place that I could do it in his non manicured yard area so if you spilled no big deal, and he would thin it with kerosene , save it for winter so he could have a warm shop to work in.

I have to be careful of the old bitties or the tree huggers when I work on stuff at my house..

When I rebuilt the heating loops I the DEV I did the disconnects in the evening and had the hose running in the street so no one new I wasn't able to catch all the coolant..

Same will be with the redbyrd when I yank it's cooling system apart .
Christopher

[oricha1984]

The sad thing is that I could have gone to one of those quick oil change places, but I figure I give the mechanic shop my business. Since they are family own and local business.
Also, I though I would get a more personalized service...

The guy was telling me on the phone, "I ll give you a discount next time or I'll pay you back for the cap."
If I was the owner of the shop and something like that happens, I would basically not charge and offer next service free.
At this point I lost all confidence in them. Either way, I'm not much of a confrontational person so I'll just figure things out myself.

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[oricha1984]

it seems that many older Chevrolet vans that I see, they all have paint problems, many with rust on the front roof.
today i went to see a 2017 GMC cargo van. the paint on it didnt look like a brand new car.

do they just use cheap paint?

[cadillackid]

Gm had huge paint issues ESP in the 80s and 90s, then later on all car companies went to water based vs enamelmoil based paints.. I'm told for mainly cost reasons related to the environmental cleanup and preprocessing of the waste water from the plant.
I drive brand new cars and none of them any more have paint worth anything. As a kid in the 70s and early 80s, a bicycle handlebar against a car did nothing.. now days it goes to the metal.
That said if you buy a new van you do start out fresh and with the ability to protect and maintain the paint. Ie if you get a rock chip you can touch it up before rust starts.

Other thing is when looking st used surplus online is appearance meant zero to schools, cities, governments etc.. the workers don't care if they scratch up the van, maybe it's first driver does because it's fine and new but pass it down to different depts through the years and the interior gets ruined , scratches rust, etc and as long as it runs good they don't care.. usiually they do have a mechanical maint schedule, but the detail shop isn't one of the stops..

That said, if you found the perfect ft van and it just has scratches and minor surface rust you could buy it, spend 2-3k for a decent paint job or paint it yourself.
Right now new vans are pricey as the economy is decent and companies are replacing aged work triucks and vans, it's also why the good ones are going high on the auctions as well.. independent construction guys are nabbing them up because a lot of construction is booming right now.. at least in many cities I travel.
Christopher

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by oricha1984

it seems that many older Chevrolet vans that I see, they all have paint problems, many with rust on the front roof.
today i went to see a 2017 GMC cargo van. the paint on it didnt look like a brand new car.

do they just use cheap paint?

GM paint has always sucked.
Still rather have a GM van than any Ford.

[Tango]

Detroit and all the car makers have had huge issues with their paint ever since they switched to water based primer. Brand new vehicles have arrived at dealerships with rust popping through. The geniuses that came up with that idea thought they could bake the water away before it caused any reaction with the raw metal.

Not.

Really? Spray water on the metal and hope for the best?

[EastCoastCB]

My 2013 Subaru has THE WORST paint of any vehicle I've owned. Including mopeds.

[tobeamiss]

Originally Posted by EastCoastCB

GM paint has always sucked.
Still rather have a GM van than any Ford.

[emoji106]

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