Kwaree Blog

New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive Sedan

This was an exciting day. I had trouble holding back from writing yesterday because I wanted to wait for some pictures. I guess it was worth it – now I can write everything in one post.

Okay, here goes…Laura has been driving a 1999 Honda Civic since, well 1999. The car served her well. That is, until I got in it a few days ago to go for a ride. We knew that she needed a new car, we just didn’t know she needed it so soon.

After I drove her car for a few miles, I got out and told her that the last time she drove her car was the last time she was going to drive her car. That means that the car was finished. The front end was loose, the ball joints were worn and the tires were uneven. That was that. It even made some rubbing sound when the car turned to the left. Now, this isn’t to say that the car isn’t going to have a second life somewhere else, it just means that someone else is going to have to make the necessary repairs, not us.

Since we knew a new car was in the works, we had to make a few choices. Over the months, we narrowed things down to three cars. 1. The Honda Pilot, 2. the Subaru Legacy and 3. the BMW 328ix (I thought of this one last). One thing was for certain, we needed all wheel drive. This was an undebatable must. I didn’t want to stand outside on the driveway in my boxers on cold January mornings throwing salt on the driveway anymore. I am sick of that.

Laura kind of had her heart set on the Subaru. She is the type of person who gets used to one thought and really plans on that. It’s like when we used to walk by each other in college over and over and over again. I guess I wore her down and she finally went out with me. Anyway, she had been looking at the Subaru website for a while and seemed to be content with getting the Legacy. She wanted to visit a dealer to give the car a once over, so when her Honda finally gave out, we could just run over fast and pick one up. Yeah, that was before I drove the Honda and realized that she really shouldn’t be driving it, especially in the snow and rain.

Yesterday, we went over to the Honda dealer in Manchester, CT. We talked to a sales guy and took a Honda Pilot out for a test drive. I must say, the car drove beautifully. If you are in the market for an SUV, you should really check out the Pilot. It’s quiet and roomy. I liked it and Laura liked it, she just didn’t think she could fit in some of the more “skinny” parking spaces around here and there. I agreed and figured that we already had an SUV, so why get another one. It was good to get out there and drive one though, just to get it out of our systems.

For a few days, I had been really talking up the BMW. I wasn’t really sure about the Subaru anymore, just because I had already fallen in love with the BMW brand. I don’t care, tear the logo off the damn car and toss it on the ground. The cars are awesome and it’s really hard to go back to something else once you drive one. It’s so stupid, I know.

Since we were in the test driving mood and I had her in the car, I drove her over to New Country BMW in Hartford. This is the place I bought my car. It was so exciting. I love going to this dealership because everyone is really cool and they show you all the neat cars. I even got to bring Laura back into the service area for some quick pictures of the shop. That was awesome.

When we got there, I saw the guy who sold me the X5. He no longer works in sales, but introduced me to the sales guy I had secretly been talking to on the phone. Oh they were only too happy to see me. I asked if he was in the mood to take a quick ride in a 3 series, just so I could get Laura acclimated to the feeling of driving the ultimate driving machine. He was like, “Hell yeah, let’s go.” I drove, she liked, we made an offer. The highway is the perfect place to try out one of these road hugging pieces of perfection.

I know you don’t care about all my writing. You just want to see pictures of the New 2009 BMW 328i xDrive sedan. I’d be amazed if you even got through what I just wrote.

Okay, here you go…Laura’s new car (that I get to drive whenever I want).

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Buying a Used Car Online

Jay G writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of AutoLeeg, a popular car classifieds website.

Buying a Used Car Online

There are a couple of major benefits to buying a used car online. You do not have to spend hours going from one dealership to another. Even better, you will not have to deal with overly pushy salespeople attempting to sell you more than you can logically afford. You can always look through your local newspaper’s online automotive classified website.

Tip #1 – Before Buying a Used Auto

Before buying a used car online, learn everything you can about what it should and could include. Learn about both standard and optional automotive equipment and the fair market value for the used car. Also, consider your budget. Knowing how much you have available before you start looking will help narrow down your choices. You will also be less tempted by an unaffordable auto.

Examine exactly why you want to buy a used car. The way you will use it can have a big impact on what type of auto you purchase. If you need an automotive for family outings or carpooling, a 2-seater sports car will not work.

Tip #2 – Questions to Ask Auto Seller

Ask the seller the following questions before buying an automotive online:

* Why are they selling the car? Beware if their reason seems unreasonable.

* Do you have service records? Having the service records will let you know what required services have and have not been completed. This will help you determine possible costs after you have purchased the auto.

* Is the title in the seller’s name? It can be difficult and time consuming to get the title changed from a previous owner. Another possibility is that you or the seller may be unable to locate the previous owner

* Are there any liens attached?

* Can I have an independent mechanic physically inspect the used car?

* Can I test drive the used car before buying it?

Tip #3 – Pictures of the Used Auto

Whenever possible, check out the used car in person. Otherwise, ask for pictures of the vehicle from every angle possible (inside and out), including the engine. Although not a sure-fire way to verify if the seller is being completely honest, this can help you to avoid some surprises. Even with pictures, you still need to be careful. Read over the original description of the used car and verify that it matches the one in the photo.

Tip #4 – CarFax Automotive Report

Ask the seller for the vehicle identification number, which you will need to run a CarFax report. This is a necessary step to protect you from fraud. A CarFax report will show you most major completed repairs and whether the car has been involved in an accident. If the report shows the vehicle has been in a bad accident, but the seller says the car is in tip-top shape, consider buying a different vehicle.

Tip #5 – Automotive Pricing

Before shelling out money or agreeing to a sales price, visit the Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds website to find the fair market value of the auto. Do this after you have seen pictures of the car so that you can be accurate about the car’s condition. Keep in mind that the sales price listed online probably does not include sales tax, registration, financing fees, or licensing and title fees.

Tip #6 – Where to Buy a Used Auto

You have several options regarding where to buy a used car online. Try looking through online automotive classified ads or on dealer websites. Another possibility is visiting online auto auction sites. Whichever way you choose, always follow the previously provided tips before making a purchase.

For many reasons, buying a car online can be much trickier than buying one in person. This is especially true when you decide to buy a non-local car, as you normally will not be able to see the car in person before you get it. Following the tips above can do away with many of the pitfalls.

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Chimney Crown Repair and Cap

As I was outside today cutting down some more small trees, the chimney repair guys rolled down the driveway. I thought he said they were going to call to set up an appointment, but this was fine with me. The faster I can cross something off my list, the better.

The job was to repair the crack in the chimney crown and ad a cap. I found a nice site that offers reasons why repairing a chimney crown is important. I have a feeling this is one of those repairs that a whole lot of people ignore. I guess they will be forced to fix things once they start falling apart. Heck, I wouldn’t have even known about this if the chimney cleaning guy didn’t tell me. I did my own research to back up what he said.

Chimney crown and cap

The cap they put on the chimney is stainless steel and measures 13″x28″. It has a lifetime warranty. For the price they charged, it better.

There are some benefits to having a chimney cap installed as well. They are:

- the cap helps to prevent downdraft
- it helps to repel rain and snow
- stops animals from nesting in your chimney
- helps to improve draft
- helps the chimney crown to shed water
- stops or helps to stop the fireplace damper from rusting

With all these benefits, I thought getting a cap would be the prudent thing to do. I am a prudent person.

During a walk last week, I noticed that virtually all the new houses around here don’t have chimney caps installed. I guess it’s not that imperative for new construction. I am still wondering why that is. It is probably the duty of the homeowner to get that done after the house is built. It still strikes me as odd though.

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How To Fix a Loose Sliding Glass Door Handle

This just goes to show that I will actually post anything on this blog when I have the time. Now, to the fun stuff.

Ok, since we have moved into this house, we have had this loose handle on the sliding glass door that goes out to the porch. I always said that I was going to replace it, but never got around to it. It’s been over two years now and I suppose enough is enough. I can be lazy sometimes, but c’mon. How can I expect my beauty queen to use a door with a loose handle on it? I just wasn’t raised like that.

Since I had today off, I thought it would be nice to take a leisurely stroll down to Lowes in Middletown. I had to get some deer screening, posts (which I got) and the door handle for the sliding glass door. I picked up the other stuff and wandered over to the sliding glass door handle aisle. I looked at the selection and noticed that they didn’t have what I wanted. From looking online, I knew these handles were kind of expensive at $47.50 and $29.50. I always thought they were cheaper than that for some reason. I wasn’t too upset. Also, all I needed was the outside part. I grabbed something else instead…some nice stainless steel nuts and bolts.

I compared the threads with the bolts in the other door handle packages.

Before I go any further, let’s get down to the reason the handle was loose in the first place. The two screws that hold the thing together were kind of rusted in place. There was no way to loosen or tighted these two bolts. Over the years, I guess the handle loosened up and couldn’t be tightened. (Yeah, I should’ve cleaned that)

How did I get the handle off then? I drilled the two bolt heads off. Above is a picture of the door with no handle.

When I say rusted, I mean rusted. I thought that since I had that long bolt to work with, I could just grab them with my channel locks and twist. Well, I did that and here is what happened.

Hmmmm…what the heck was I supposed to do now? I had broken both bolts. They were really weak, by the way. I thought about drilling then out, by I couldn’t do that without totally messing up the handle. Instead, I got out my handy new Dremel and started cutting.

I knew the bolts couldn’t be rusted all the way inside the handle. After I grinded the handle all the way down to the bolt, I twisted them right out.

What a wonderful achievement, if I don’t say so myself. Before I did this, I came very close to running down to the hardware store for a new handle.

Here is a photo of the handle back in place…this time, nice and tight. The new bolts were threaded perfectly. I had to use those washers because the bolts were a hint too long. Also, I cleaned and oiled the sliding glass door track, which allowed the door to slide much smoother and easier. Now, there won’t be so much stress on the handle when we open the door.

Mad peace to you.

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A Noise Coming From My Front Brakes

For a few weeks now, I have been hearing a sort of a “grinding” noise coming from the front of my car. It’s not too loud of a noise, but a noise none-the-less.

I try to keep my car in tip-top shape. I learned a long time ago that if you let the maintenance of your vehicle get too far ahead of you, everything will seem to break at the same time. Let me give you a little background…I drive a 1998 Honda Accord. It has a V6. There, that’s the background.

The noise only seems to happen when I turn to the left. I have known since the beginning that this is the worn brake pad rubbing against the brake rotor. Here, you can find a nice short course on how brakes work. What strikes me is that I just changed the whole front system (pads and rotors) not too long ago. Well, it seems like not too long ago. When Paul and I went out to lunch yesterday, he told me it was the front wheel bearing. I told him that it was the brakes, but he didn’t want to listen. Today, I turned to the left and pumped the brakes. The noise came and went and Paul finally agreed that I was correct. Sometimes it takes a little arm twisting with Paul.

Anyway, a few days ago, I visited my favorite online car part website to purchase new front brake rotors and front brake pads. This website has some pretty good prices. Here is an example…I got the rotors and pads for about $70. The shipping was free because the order was over $49.99. Now, that sure beats taking the car to the mechanic!!!

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