Junkyard Dog

I love going to the junkyard. Often there's some really sweet deals to be had. Like the set of alloy wheels with tires I bought for $250 that were in perfect shape or the spare fob I got for free. There's also something really cool about looking at all the smashed cars. What motor head doesn't like a good car crash. But sometimes going to the junkyard can be unpleasant, usually when having to deal with the people that work at the junkyard. For some reason customer relations is not a high a priority at junkyards so you always have to expect a little attitude in your service while there.

Case in point: Today I ventured out to the yard to find a replacement for the broken windshield wiper control arm in the Infiniti. It's a cheap little plastic and aluminum part that takes two minutes to swap out. When I informed the guy behind the counter that I was going into the yard to remove the part he rudely informed that I wasn't and that he doesn't sell just the arm you have to buy the whole wiper assembly for $75. First, $75 is a crazy price for a second hand wiper assembly. Second, removing the whole assembly would take a long time and in the process require first removing the one piece that I need. Third, no one will ever need the whole assembly because it's always just one piece that will fail. I tried to explain this to him but he had a fit and yelled at me that it's his junkyard and I don't tell him how to run it. I called the Infiniti dealer from the junkyard parking lot expecting an egregious price and a two month waiting time while they get the part from Japan but the part was only $20 and it would be there on Wednesday. I went back in and told the guy how much it was at Infiniti and he told me to f@*& off and buy it there. I will. If individual pieces of the assembly are that cheap new at the dealer, that guy will never sell that whole assembly. What a maroon. Lesson learnt: Always check the dealer first.

Another thing I've realized recently is that things like fuel, air, and oil filters should be bought at the dealer as well. The ones I've bought at Napa or Lordco have been of really low quality and these are important items that prevent future serious problems from occurring. Sure the ones at the dealer are a little bit more but they're specifically designed for your particular car and for performance cars like the G20 and the Miata that really matters and can make a big difference. If you drive a Sunfire you can keep buying your filters at Wal-Mart, they're pretty much the same as the ones from GM.

It's Getting Absurd...

This was the view from my car today. Today! It's days away from April and it snowed? And it was weird hail/snow­. Notice also how the windshield isn't clear; that's because the weight of the hail/snow broke the windshield wipers on the Infiniti. Yippee! I know I know it's record snow falls in Ontario and stuff but I don't care. I don't live in Ontario I live in Vancouver and this is just plain annoying. I want to be out there in the Miata driving around with the top down. Instead I'm going to be digging around the junk yard looking for parts to fix the windshield wipers on a car I'm trying to sell. (It's a great car by the way you should buy it.) Anyway I still don't believe people are causing global warming. Peace.

In other news; I recently noticed the Miata's battery is starting to loose it's charge. I sometimes sit in the car and pretend I'm driving it (don't judge) and when I would open the door the dome lights were kind of dim. I've had this old trickle charger lying around forever and I've never used it so I thought this would be a good time. I attached it and left it over night and when I came back in the morning the charger was super-duper hot and the Miata's battery was super-duper completely dead. Lesson learned: don't use old trickle chargers that you find lying around. So I attached jumper cables from the Infiniti to the Miata and idled the Infiniti for about 30 minutes. It seems to have put some charge back in the Miata's battery but there's a good chance I'$$ need a new one.

It's Getting Warmer...

That's right the earth is spinning and tilting this hemisphere toward the sun which can only mean one thing; Spring! It's been a long and cold winter but it's time to bring the Miata out of hibernation and out into the sunshine where it belongs. Maybe plop the girlfriend down in the passenger seat and enjoy some well deserved top down driving. I can't wait. There is of course the small matter of selling the Infiniti first, changing the oil, charging the battery etc. etc. I hope I find the time.

Hey anyone wanna buy a 93.5 Infiniti G20 with new tires and a new clutch?