I was impressed by a local car service workshop I had been going to. I had some trouble with an old car while driving on the highway. The car barely made it home. I found a repairer and the problem was quickly fixed. It struck me that the guy seeing the interstate number plates could have fleeced me, but he didn't. So, I developed a favourable impression of the workshop and staff, and that lasted until recently. It lasted until noises, clunks, and a vibration started coming from the back of the car each time the brakes were applied.
I had taken the car to this workshop based on my previous experience with them. I was genuinely impressed with the place; the guy who ran it seemed genuine too. Well that was until the brakes gave trouble. There were no horrible accidents caused by brake failure, just a horrible bill.
We’d come to Canberra from Melbourne and the car had to have a vehicle roadworthiness inspection prior to being registered in the ACT. It passed the roadworthy without incident, but there was a sound from the rear you could hear when the brakes were applied. My enquiry to the mechanic about the noise was that it was dust and nothing to worry about.
The noise did sound like dust in brake drums, because I know that sound. This car had disks all round. The months passed and the noise got worse. Before the car was taken to a brake specialist there were clunking noises and a noisy scraping sound that reverberated through the whole car. The brake pads had worn down to the extent that there was no pad left on one of the wheels. The noise was the sound of metal on metal, and the wear had been such that one of the callipers was damaged. If the brakes had been inspected property during the roadworthy check the $1000 expense of replacing disks and callipers may not have been required. During such checks, mechanics often check one side of the vehicle during their inspection and assume the other side to be the same. That may have been the problem, but I have to wonder if any brake check was done at all. The mechanic might take offence at that suggestion, but the bottom line is that the noise couldn’t have been dust and they missed picking up the brake problem.
Getting the finance for this property was a bit touch-and-go at one point. The last straw on camel’s back that nearly brought things to a halt was the solicitor’s fee. I was expecting them to bill me, oh, sometime later. No, they wanted their fee included in the settlement cheques. I didn’t really account for that and consequently had to use credit card money to help cover the cheques.
Banks have a killer interest rate on cash advances from credit cards. It’s not that borrowing on the card maxed out the card, but it came close. Then there were other expenses that did max out the card. As a consequence I’m having trouble getting the card’s debt cleared. I’ve had the property for about a year and I still have the credit card debt, and the way banks operate the cash advance interest will remain until all debt on the card has gone. A banking policy of kicking you when you're down; making things hard for you when you can least afford it.
So just when I wanted a steady uninterrupted flow of money to help pay off these debts we were asked by our tenant if we could fit new screen doors to the property. I don't know why we were so soft.
Showing posts with label car problems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car problems. Show all posts
09 November 2010
04 July 2008
Clearing out of Warrandyte
This was another trip to Melbourne. I had this grand plan of having an early night the day before, and then hitting the road during the early hours of the morning. As much as you might try, it’s almost impossible to break the circadian cycle. Our planning for this trip involved being in bed shortly after getting home from work, getting up at about 2.00am to drive the truck through the night to arrive in Melbourne in daylight. In this way we would be fresh enough to make the drive and get on with our work without much need for rest. We planned to have breakfast at Volumes, one of the local Eltham eateries, and then get to work. But it’s difficult to sleep when you don’t need rest, and the best I did was doze on Friday evening.
I got up about midnight after a very patchy rest. S didn’t sleep at all. We headed off, S in the ute and me in the truck. S had cruise control set on the ute which made it difficult for me to keep up with her. She could go up and down hills at a constant speed, whereas I found that difficult in the truck. Inevitably, we drove for a bit, got tired and had to stop along the way, just south of the Victorian border. S later had to stop again for a rest, while I kept going. It was drizzly on the way down the Hume Highway. It was a miserable dirty night.
I went straight to Fort Knox self storage while S was napping somewhere on the Hume Highway. I wish I had a camera with me when I opened the door to our storage. It was a sight to behold. I don’t know how I got everything inside. I set to work packing everything into the truck. The rain was clearing, and S arrived just as I was loading the desk. Loading took much longer than expected, and I was running out of energy.
S spent the rest of the day cleaning out the garage at Warrandyte. I forgot how much stuff we still had lying around the place. Of course, Melody had moved into our old house by this time. I began by loading the campervan onto the ute. I was tentative about doing this.
Loading the camper took me ages, but the repaired jacks worked just fine, and fortunately the anchors I had fitted to the ute were in the correct positions, which was a great relief. I was also dreading connecting the trailer extension lead, expecting to see problems with the electrics. The last thing I wanted was an electrical problem, but it was perfect.
I began loading a few boxes onto the truck that S had packed. It took so long. I don’t know how many times I’d walked up and down that driveway. It was tiring. There were so many little things to go into the truck that carrying everything down the long driveway and then walking back up that long, steep, drudge, time after time was painfully slow and sapped energy. We decided to borrow one of the trolleys from Fort Knox to see if it would help. The trolleys were heavy duty things, and would probably support the load of just about anything you might care to put on them. They were on casters and really so easy to manoeuvre.
It was a failed experiment, and we returned the trolley after using it only once. The trolley was a bit like the ones you see in railway stations or airports, hooked together to carry luggage, and pulled behind those funny little motorised vehicles, and about the same size as those trolleys too. I didn’t realise how heavy the trolley was, and it took quite an effort to push it up our drive. We got it loaded up with some of our boxes, but it took both of us all our energy to stop the thing from careering out of control as we took it down the driveway, because of the weight. The casters also made steering difficult as it tended to follow every variation in the driveway, rather than straight. The drizzle and wet drive didn’t help. What a flop of an idea.
There was nothing for it but to return the trolley and carry on loading the truck by carrying each box down the drive one or two at a time. Had I known the campervan would have gone on the ute without trouble I would have loaded it last and used the ute to ferry everything down the drive to the truck. But I didn’t want to have trouble and be trying to fix problems in the dark. The lesser of two evils. Though, it would have been a great time saver.
Eventually the day started to lose its light, and a continual drizzle settled in. There was a lamp in the back of the truck, but it was very bright and dazzling on the eyes, and would have flattened the battery quickly. So, I didn’t use it. There was a street light about a 100m away which shone into the back of the truck somewhat, and I found that car headlights shone into the truck as they drove down the street, and both provided adequate lighting for packing; funny about that. It’s interesting how your eyes cope with poor lighting conditions. The drizzle continued, and we gradually got drenched carrying the boxes to the truck.
S was buggered, and so was I to tell the truth. And, we went off in search of a place to stay, and called in at the Eltham Gateway motel. We’d both passed this place thousands of times while we’d lived at Warrandyte. It was funny to be staying there now. We must have been a sight; both of us wet, grubby, and untidy. We had been working hard and it would have been difficult to tell whether the dampness on us was sweat or rain drops; probably both. I was wearing t-shirt and jeans and when we arrived at the motel, it seemed a rather pleasantly mild evening. Everyone else was rugged up in coats and shivering; it’s all relative, I guess.
The spa bath after the day’s effort was irresistible, and we had a lovely meal at the motel restaurant, and a real bed. Our furniture hadn’t arrived in Canberra as yet and we’d been sleeping on a blow up mattress. The bed in the motel seemed luxury. I felt as though we were on holiday.
I got up about midnight after a very patchy rest. S didn’t sleep at all. We headed off, S in the ute and me in the truck. S had cruise control set on the ute which made it difficult for me to keep up with her. She could go up and down hills at a constant speed, whereas I found that difficult in the truck. Inevitably, we drove for a bit, got tired and had to stop along the way, just south of the Victorian border. S later had to stop again for a rest, while I kept going. It was drizzly on the way down the Hume Highway. It was a miserable dirty night.
I went straight to Fort Knox self storage while S was napping somewhere on the Hume Highway. I wish I had a camera with me when I opened the door to our storage. It was a sight to behold. I don’t know how I got everything inside. I set to work packing everything into the truck. The rain was clearing, and S arrived just as I was loading the desk. Loading took much longer than expected, and I was running out of energy.
S spent the rest of the day cleaning out the garage at Warrandyte. I forgot how much stuff we still had lying around the place. Of course, Melody had moved into our old house by this time. I began by loading the campervan onto the ute. I was tentative about doing this.
Loading the camper took me ages, but the repaired jacks worked just fine, and fortunately the anchors I had fitted to the ute were in the correct positions, which was a great relief. I was also dreading connecting the trailer extension lead, expecting to see problems with the electrics. The last thing I wanted was an electrical problem, but it was perfect.
I began loading a few boxes onto the truck that S had packed. It took so long. I don’t know how many times I’d walked up and down that driveway. It was tiring. There were so many little things to go into the truck that carrying everything down the long driveway and then walking back up that long, steep, drudge, time after time was painfully slow and sapped energy. We decided to borrow one of the trolleys from Fort Knox to see if it would help. The trolleys were heavy duty things, and would probably support the load of just about anything you might care to put on them. They were on casters and really so easy to manoeuvre.
It was a failed experiment, and we returned the trolley after using it only once. The trolley was a bit like the ones you see in railway stations or airports, hooked together to carry luggage, and pulled behind those funny little motorised vehicles, and about the same size as those trolleys too. I didn’t realise how heavy the trolley was, and it took quite an effort to push it up our drive. We got it loaded up with some of our boxes, but it took both of us all our energy to stop the thing from careering out of control as we took it down the driveway, because of the weight. The casters also made steering difficult as it tended to follow every variation in the driveway, rather than straight. The drizzle and wet drive didn’t help. What a flop of an idea.
There was nothing for it but to return the trolley and carry on loading the truck by carrying each box down the drive one or two at a time. Had I known the campervan would have gone on the ute without trouble I would have loaded it last and used the ute to ferry everything down the drive to the truck. But I didn’t want to have trouble and be trying to fix problems in the dark. The lesser of two evils. Though, it would have been a great time saver.
Eventually the day started to lose its light, and a continual drizzle settled in. There was a lamp in the back of the truck, but it was very bright and dazzling on the eyes, and would have flattened the battery quickly. So, I didn’t use it. There was a street light about a 100m away which shone into the back of the truck somewhat, and I found that car headlights shone into the truck as they drove down the street, and both provided adequate lighting for packing; funny about that. It’s interesting how your eyes cope with poor lighting conditions. The drizzle continued, and we gradually got drenched carrying the boxes to the truck.
S was buggered, and so was I to tell the truth. And, we went off in search of a place to stay, and called in at the Eltham Gateway motel. We’d both passed this place thousands of times while we’d lived at Warrandyte. It was funny to be staying there now. We must have been a sight; both of us wet, grubby, and untidy. We had been working hard and it would have been difficult to tell whether the dampness on us was sweat or rain drops; probably both. I was wearing t-shirt and jeans and when we arrived at the motel, it seemed a rather pleasantly mild evening. Everyone else was rugged up in coats and shivering; it’s all relative, I guess.
The spa bath after the day’s effort was irresistible, and we had a lovely meal at the motel restaurant, and a real bed. Our furniture hadn’t arrived in Canberra as yet and we’d been sleeping on a blow up mattress. The bed in the motel seemed luxury. I felt as though we were on holiday.
Canberra to Melbourne
It was time for another trip to Melbourne. We picked up a truck from Sargent Rentals at Fyshwick this time. This truck was manual rather than automatic as was the previous one. It took quite a bit of getting used to. I didn’t get off to a great start, as I was selecting the wrong gears and was a bit unsteady on the road because of my fumbling with the gear shift. It’s not that I don’t know how to drive a manual. It was just a matter of getting used to the truck and I didn’t realize first gear would be so low. At least I’d gained some experience in driving a vehicle this size a few days ago.We loaded the truck with our empty cartons, a change of clothing, and some tools ready for the trip, and of course, the repaired campervan jacks.
The campervan jacks had become seized preventing me from bringing the campervan back to Canberra, and was presently stuck in Melbourne on our old property. This was a setback that had hopefully now been resolved. I took the two jacks to my trusty Belconnen mechanic a few days earlier to see if he could repair them. I guess I could have bought new jacks, but in the vicinity of $1800 I’ll try the repair first. And it worked. When I picked them up from the garage I was more than a little curious to find out how they were un-seized. Apparently, the mechanic had difficulty with them.
The solution ended up along the lines of securing one end of the jack to the hydraulic hoist of the type used raise cars into the air for service, and then securing the other end to the floor. The jacks were heated with an oxy acetylene flame, and pressure applied to the mechanism by turning the jack handle, while at the same time applying pressure by raising the hoist. I squirmed a bit when being told, but hey, if it works. Innovative!
I was so pleased they had been repaired. It wasn’t just the cost of the replacement jacks that concerned me. According to the web site I found, and thankfully they are still available, I may have had issues if I bought new ones. My campervan must be more than 30 years old. I bought it second hand and in one of the drawers was an old book of matches. The photograph on the book of matches was that of Prince Charles and Diana at their wedding. That’s getting back a few years. Anyway, according to the web site, you buy four camper legs, as they call them, in a set (I only need two), and you buy them with accompanying brackets. The brackets are fitted to the campervan, and the legs hook into the brackets when in use. Well, my campervan already has brackets fitted, neatly tailored into the aluminium sheeting and the structure of the unit. What’s the bet the new legs wouldn’t fit the existing brackets, and replacing the brackets would be a major ordeal. Not the sort of work you’d want to attempt interstate.
Anyway, our two cats will have a huge helping of food to tide them over for the weekend, and here goes another trip down the Hume Highway.
25 June 2008
Melbourne to Canberra
It was very late when we left. We had said to Melody we’d phone when we leave, but that didn’t work out. I doubt she’d appreciate being wakened at 4.00am.
We were both desperately craving sleep, but we had to continue working. Our cats had been drugged in readiness for the trip, but seemed wide awake. We got some drugs from the vet; cat valium, I guess. It was almost time to leave and we couldn’t get them to pee. Then they started to become wobbly on their feet, which was so bizarre to see. Drunken cats!
S wanted more things loaded into the cars. There wasn’t room. There should be a rule when packing. Namely: if one person is doing the packing and the other is bringing the stuff out. The rule is, when the car is almost full, but not completely full, the packing person should make an announcement: “Hey, the car is full.” That way, when the other ‘last minute’ items that must be packed are eventually brought out, and they will, there will be room for them. Of course, I guess you could just survey all the stuff that has to go and try and make an estimate. This is a difficult time.
To my regret I got grumpy with S. My grumpiness came out in my manner and in the things I said. I tried not to grump, but stuff slipped out. I was too self-absorbed in packing the car that I didn’t appreciate what S was going through in the house. I expect lack of sleep may have contributed. We had been going at it all day, and into the evening, and now it was some ridiculous time in the early hours of the morning.
So that was it. We weren’t able to shift everything, but we were out of the house. S had left a bottle of champagne as a welcoming gift for Melody. I had a final quick look around the house one last time; to make sure everything was out. And I took a few photos for the memory of it all. S wasn’t interested. I think she had had enough of it and just wanted to go.
So, we got under way, and with just a few hours remaining before sunrise we hit the road. We’d been on the road for less than an hour and I was hanging out for a place to pull over and sleep. I couldn’t go on. I spotted a parking bay. The first one on the Hume Highway just north of Melbourne past Craigieburn. I had to stop and rest. We slept for about an hour. It’s difficult to sleep in a sitting position. There was no possibility of stretching out because both cars were packed to the brim. There was no real sleep here. It was just a rest, and the rest didn’t seem to help that much. We were both still tired.
We were disturbed by dozens of trucks zooming by and shaking the car as they went. We eventually got on our way again. I’m supposed to be back at work in a few hours’ time. Ha. Oh, yeah, right.
I had Squeak in a cat box in the EXA, and she was surprisingly well behaved for the scaredy cat she is. S had Elsa also in a cat box, in the ute, and she may have had a reaction to the sedative we gave them before the trip because she was farting all the time and stinking up the car. Poor S had to put up with the smell. We drove for another hour or so, and I had to pull over at a service centre. Another place to park and sleep. We slept for another hour which again was another horrible rest. The cold weather didn’t help any.
We had a snack before leaving, and with daylight’s arrival staying awake was beginning to become easier. Then I had an interesting experience with a couple of police officers in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Melbourne and Canberra. I can’t remember where. Things were a bit hazy you must understand.
The road ahead was just a blur. A strip of grey-black that wriggled and rolled around in front of me, sometimes passing through towns, sometimes not. I’ve never been on such a boring horrible trip. Anyway, somewhere in the middle of nowhere David, my Virgin Home Loans contact, called to congratulate me that settlement went through, which was really nice of him. While on the phone, I spotted a cop car driving by in the opposite direction. The section of the road I was on was straight but undulating a bit. The cop car was over the hill and out of sight behind me in a few seconds.
I had a notion they might have spotted me with the phone to my ear. I pulled off the highway as far over into the dirt as I could, and stopped. I switched off the engine, continued talking to David on the phone, and waited. Either nothing would happen or there’d be a tap on the window.
The journey from Melbourne to Canberra is about an eight hour drive. What are the chances of someone calling, and a cop car passing, just at that instant? For the few seconds it takes to pick up the phone when it rings, why that particular time? The gods were against me. Had the call come at any other time or even a couple of seconds later this would not have happened. Bizarre.
I can just imagine it. Two cops driving and one eagle eye says to the other, “He’s on the phone. Got one.” They screeched to a halt, chucked a u-turn, on with the flashing lights, and raced after me. They probably thought it’d be something to do on a quiet afternoon.
So, I’m sitting there in the car, parked at the side of the road, and a moment later I caught sight of some flashing lights in the rear view mirror. A cop car was pulling up behind me. They didn’t stop me; I was already parked by the roadside. A knock at the window, and the young police officer says he saw me on the phone when they passed. They must have good eyes.
I admitted it. I couldn’t deny it. I still had the phone to my ear. I rang off, and gave my attention to the policeman. I said as soon as it rang I pulled to the side of the road. That’s difficult to dispute, particularly with me parked as I was. He said that I shouldn’t have answered it, and issued a warning. That was a narrow escape. I wonder how it would have gone had I kept driving.
Our traditional stopping spots when travelling on the Hume Highway were MacDonald’s (near Glenrowan) and at Gundagai. At both stops we allowed Elsa and Squeak a breath of fresh air outside the cars, and perhaps to take a toilet break. But at Glenrowan they didn’t want to leave the safety of their cat boxes. Squeak came out of her box at Gundagai. We put a leash on her, but she didn’t want to explore. There were a few dogs around the place, which may have put her on edge. At one point Elsa squeezed into the same pet carrier as Squeak; poor things: scared.
We continued, and once again had a late arrival, but this time it was at our new house. B, our Canberra real estate agent, had left a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses for us, but we had too much to do to sit and drink it. Perhaps we should have had some. Wasn’t that nice of her? Isn’t that great marketing?
We were both desperately craving sleep, but we had to continue working. Our cats had been drugged in readiness for the trip, but seemed wide awake. We got some drugs from the vet; cat valium, I guess. It was almost time to leave and we couldn’t get them to pee. Then they started to become wobbly on their feet, which was so bizarre to see. Drunken cats!
S wanted more things loaded into the cars. There wasn’t room. There should be a rule when packing. Namely: if one person is doing the packing and the other is bringing the stuff out. The rule is, when the car is almost full, but not completely full, the packing person should make an announcement: “Hey, the car is full.” That way, when the other ‘last minute’ items that must be packed are eventually brought out, and they will, there will be room for them. Of course, I guess you could just survey all the stuff that has to go and try and make an estimate. This is a difficult time.
To my regret I got grumpy with S. My grumpiness came out in my manner and in the things I said. I tried not to grump, but stuff slipped out. I was too self-absorbed in packing the car that I didn’t appreciate what S was going through in the house. I expect lack of sleep may have contributed. We had been going at it all day, and into the evening, and now it was some ridiculous time in the early hours of the morning.
So that was it. We weren’t able to shift everything, but we were out of the house. S had left a bottle of champagne as a welcoming gift for Melody. I had a final quick look around the house one last time; to make sure everything was out. And I took a few photos for the memory of it all. S wasn’t interested. I think she had had enough of it and just wanted to go.
So, we got under way, and with just a few hours remaining before sunrise we hit the road. We’d been on the road for less than an hour and I was hanging out for a place to pull over and sleep. I couldn’t go on. I spotted a parking bay. The first one on the Hume Highway just north of Melbourne past Craigieburn. I had to stop and rest. We slept for about an hour. It’s difficult to sleep in a sitting position. There was no possibility of stretching out because both cars were packed to the brim. There was no real sleep here. It was just a rest, and the rest didn’t seem to help that much. We were both still tired.
We were disturbed by dozens of trucks zooming by and shaking the car as they went. We eventually got on our way again. I’m supposed to be back at work in a few hours’ time. Ha. Oh, yeah, right.
I had Squeak in a cat box in the EXA, and she was surprisingly well behaved for the scaredy cat she is. S had Elsa also in a cat box, in the ute, and she may have had a reaction to the sedative we gave them before the trip because she was farting all the time and stinking up the car. Poor S had to put up with the smell. We drove for another hour or so, and I had to pull over at a service centre. Another place to park and sleep. We slept for another hour which again was another horrible rest. The cold weather didn’t help any.
We had a snack before leaving, and with daylight’s arrival staying awake was beginning to become easier. Then I had an interesting experience with a couple of police officers in the middle of nowhere somewhere between Melbourne and Canberra. I can’t remember where. Things were a bit hazy you must understand.
The road ahead was just a blur. A strip of grey-black that wriggled and rolled around in front of me, sometimes passing through towns, sometimes not. I’ve never been on such a boring horrible trip. Anyway, somewhere in the middle of nowhere David, my Virgin Home Loans contact, called to congratulate me that settlement went through, which was really nice of him. While on the phone, I spotted a cop car driving by in the opposite direction. The section of the road I was on was straight but undulating a bit. The cop car was over the hill and out of sight behind me in a few seconds.
I had a notion they might have spotted me with the phone to my ear. I pulled off the highway as far over into the dirt as I could, and stopped. I switched off the engine, continued talking to David on the phone, and waited. Either nothing would happen or there’d be a tap on the window.
The journey from Melbourne to Canberra is about an eight hour drive. What are the chances of someone calling, and a cop car passing, just at that instant? For the few seconds it takes to pick up the phone when it rings, why that particular time? The gods were against me. Had the call come at any other time or even a couple of seconds later this would not have happened. Bizarre.
I can just imagine it. Two cops driving and one eagle eye says to the other, “He’s on the phone. Got one.” They screeched to a halt, chucked a u-turn, on with the flashing lights, and raced after me. They probably thought it’d be something to do on a quiet afternoon.
So, I’m sitting there in the car, parked at the side of the road, and a moment later I caught sight of some flashing lights in the rear view mirror. A cop car was pulling up behind me. They didn’t stop me; I was already parked by the roadside. A knock at the window, and the young police officer says he saw me on the phone when they passed. They must have good eyes.
I admitted it. I couldn’t deny it. I still had the phone to my ear. I rang off, and gave my attention to the policeman. I said as soon as it rang I pulled to the side of the road. That’s difficult to dispute, particularly with me parked as I was. He said that I shouldn’t have answered it, and issued a warning. That was a narrow escape. I wonder how it would have gone had I kept driving.
Our traditional stopping spots when travelling on the Hume Highway were MacDonald’s (near Glenrowan) and at Gundagai. At both stops we allowed Elsa and Squeak a breath of fresh air outside the cars, and perhaps to take a toilet break. But at Glenrowan they didn’t want to leave the safety of their cat boxes. Squeak came out of her box at Gundagai. We put a leash on her, but she didn’t want to explore. There were a few dogs around the place, which may have put her on edge. At one point Elsa squeezed into the same pet carrier as Squeak; poor things: scared.
We continued, and once again had a late arrival, but this time it was at our new house. B, our Canberra real estate agent, had left a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses for us, but we had too much to do to sit and drink it. Perhaps we should have had some. Wasn’t that nice of her? Isn’t that great marketing?
21 June 2008
Canberra to Melbourne
On the trip back to Melbourne S drove the truck while I slept in the passenger seat. After a while, we took turns at driving while the other slept, finally arriving at Warrandyte in the early hours of the morning.
We could only afford a few hours sleep before getting up again to return the truck to the rental company by 8.00am. Though, to sleep in a decent bed was wonderful. It was only a mattress on the floor but it was Heaven.
I finished getting the anchor points fitted to the ute. Not a perfect job but good enough which will have to do until they can be tidied up later. I was content with my work, and ready to load the campervan. Then I discovered the campervan wouldn’t go on. This was devastating. I'd spent so much effort over the weeks to get to this stage, and now this. I could have wept.
The campervan is supported by four jack stands, with one positioned on each corner of the camper. Normally, it’s a simple matter of raising the van by using the jacks to lift it into the air, and when it is sufficiently high reversing the ute under it, then lowering the jacks to allow the van to settle onto the tray of the ute. The jacks unclip and are carried inside for storage until you get to your destination. Two of the four jacks were seized. I couldn't get them to move at all, and I felt that if I forced them something was going to break. I didn’t need this. Not now, when we have to be off the property.
There was no way I was going to be able to load the van without all four jacks. I slumped to the ground with my head in my hands and lent on my knees. I didn’t know what to do. I had to get them repaired or replaced. This was Saturday; nothing would be open even if I knew where to look.
I rang Melody regarding the problem, saying the van would have to stay on the block for a while until I got something worked out. Thankfully, she was accommodating.
We could only afford a few hours sleep before getting up again to return the truck to the rental company by 8.00am. Though, to sleep in a decent bed was wonderful. It was only a mattress on the floor but it was Heaven.
I finished getting the anchor points fitted to the ute. Not a perfect job but good enough which will have to do until they can be tidied up later. I was content with my work, and ready to load the campervan. Then I discovered the campervan wouldn’t go on. This was devastating. I'd spent so much effort over the weeks to get to this stage, and now this. I could have wept.
The campervan is supported by four jack stands, with one positioned on each corner of the camper. Normally, it’s a simple matter of raising the van by using the jacks to lift it into the air, and when it is sufficiently high reversing the ute under it, then lowering the jacks to allow the van to settle onto the tray of the ute. The jacks unclip and are carried inside for storage until you get to your destination. Two of the four jacks were seized. I couldn't get them to move at all, and I felt that if I forced them something was going to break. I didn’t need this. Not now, when we have to be off the property.
There was no way I was going to be able to load the van without all four jacks. I slumped to the ground with my head in my hands and lent on my knees. I didn’t know what to do. I had to get them repaired or replaced. This was Saturday; nothing would be open even if I knew where to look.
I rang Melody regarding the problem, saying the van would have to stay on the block for a while until I got something worked out. Thankfully, she was accommodating.
15 June 2008
Packing is so boring
The packing is taking much longer to do than expected. I found I get one of the removalist boxes almost full, only to see that there remains a little gap that’s too small for the next item. The gaps were too big to leave empty, but too small for much else. I didn’t want to leave any boxes only partially filled, yet I could not find a thing to put into the box to fill it completely. Bugger it. It’s so frustrating that in the end I just stuffed the gaps with cushions.
My eventual solution: pack two or three boxes simultaneously. Any items that don’t fit into one box often tend to more easily fit into one of the other boxes. Packing is so tedious; I wish I had started a lot earlier, and then the job could have been spread over a longer period and would have been less of a strain.
I didn’t get much done to the ute. The weather has been drizzly. Perhaps the weather is just an excuse. I have to fit anchor points to secure my campervan. I can’t seem to find the appropriate pieces of steel to do the job. I have lots of steel in the shed, but couldn’t find anything suitable. Perhaps this is avoidance behaviour. You see, I don’t quite know how to tackle the job. I have a general idea of how things should be, but can’t seem to make a start. I don’t want to make a hash of it. It’ll all come together when I get the correct steel for the job. Surely it will. It has to come together as there’s not much time to get things done.
And the clock ticks on. The removalists will be here soon. Got to go faster.
My eventual solution: pack two or three boxes simultaneously. Any items that don’t fit into one box often tend to more easily fit into one of the other boxes. Packing is so tedious; I wish I had started a lot earlier, and then the job could have been spread over a longer period and would have been less of a strain.
I didn’t get much done to the ute. The weather has been drizzly. Perhaps the weather is just an excuse. I have to fit anchor points to secure my campervan. I can’t seem to find the appropriate pieces of steel to do the job. I have lots of steel in the shed, but couldn’t find anything suitable. Perhaps this is avoidance behaviour. You see, I don’t quite know how to tackle the job. I have a general idea of how things should be, but can’t seem to make a start. I don’t want to make a hash of it. It’ll all come together when I get the correct steel for the job. Surely it will. It has to come together as there’s not much time to get things done.
And the clock ticks on. The removalists will be here soon. Got to go faster.
14 June 2008
Getting the ute ready
I began to figure out how to attach the campervan to the ute. Well, should I say how to secure the four anchor points which will locate and secure the campervan when I put it on. I had to remove the plastic liner that’s used for a tray in modern utilities. Tiffany might be surprised to see her car (my car) in pieces if she calls by. The plastic liner was difficult to get out – it had been glued in place (probably to stop it vibrating during travel) as well as being bolted in position.
Manufacturers have gone a bit cheap with this plastic liner thing. Not long after I bought this house I built a few stone walls around the place; retaining walls and steps. I’d go to the local quarry and bring back about half or three-quarters of a ton of rocks in the back of my old ute. But with this new plastic ute; I don't know. I wouldn’t be willing to load rock in this ute; the rocks might fall through the bottom. Though, it does allow easy access to the innards of the vehicle when removed.
With my first ute I bolted the anchor points, as specially made steel u-bolts, part way down the sides of the ute. That worked very well, but looked atrocious. Kind of industrial looking. With my next ute I fitted rope rails, which would double as actual rope rails. This was great, but it took ages to put it together in a way that looked good. So, I had something different planned for this new car.
What I was trying for this time was four simple anchor points, but not having them bolted to the outside skin of the ute. I was trying for mounts on the inside. Plastic ute liners are not structural things. So, I had to remove it to find out where the steel in this ute was located. Anyway, it’s a happening thing, thankfully.
Manufacturers have gone a bit cheap with this plastic liner thing. Not long after I bought this house I built a few stone walls around the place; retaining walls and steps. I’d go to the local quarry and bring back about half or three-quarters of a ton of rocks in the back of my old ute. But with this new plastic ute; I don't know. I wouldn’t be willing to load rock in this ute; the rocks might fall through the bottom. Though, it does allow easy access to the innards of the vehicle when removed.
With my first ute I bolted the anchor points, as specially made steel u-bolts, part way down the sides of the ute. That worked very well, but looked atrocious. Kind of industrial looking. With my next ute I fitted rope rails, which would double as actual rope rails. This was great, but it took ages to put it together in a way that looked good. So, I had something different planned for this new car.
What I was trying for this time was four simple anchor points, but not having them bolted to the outside skin of the ute. I was trying for mounts on the inside. Plastic ute liners are not structural things. So, I had to remove it to find out where the steel in this ute was located. Anyway, it’s a happening thing, thankfully.
13 June 2008
The legal stuff arrived
S did a stint of teaching at Monash. I returned a missing printer panel to a chap at East Bentleigh. I had sold an old printer to this guy on ebay, and months afterward realised there was a panel that had been left off, which made me feel bad. This was almost a year ago, and I only made this discovery while I was in Canberra. Anyway, this guy lived near to where I’d dropped S off. So, I paid him a visit while she was teaching. This chap was an enthusiast and bought the printer pretty much because it was a museum piece. He had collected a multitude of old computers some of which were quite impressive looking items.
We also spoke of the Monash University computer museum. He hadn’t seen it. It’s really a must see if you like that sort of thing. The museum has displays of calculating devices through the ages. Of all the items on display the one that got my attention and drew me up with a start was a terminal-come-printer of a type I had occasionally used when I was studying at uni. Things change quickly. Another interesting thing in one of their displays was an example of computer memory, which was essentially a wire spiral. I don’t really understand the principle involved in this, but presumably, by the time it took a charge to accumulate in the wire and dissipate, it stored the value for a short time. I wonder why a capacitor wouldn’t have done. An excellent display.
Melody called today. S made herself scarce, and I showed her around the garden and house, pointing out the various things, and gave her $350 for rent with our extended overstay. I said we’d leave the keys and garage door clickers on the bench.
A package of home loan documents (from Virgin Money’s solicitors) was sitting on top of the letterbox when we got back from Monash. Balanced precariously – thanks Australia Post. This was not a one or two page form to sign, but a massive bag of stuff to wade through. The swanky bag had “your home loan is in the bag” written on the side. Don’t you love it? I think it would have been fitting if instead the bag had the words, ‘we’ve put more hoops in the bag for you to jump through.’
A reading of the documents was more confusing than informative, but because it arrived late on Friday there was no time to contact anyone to clear up the issues. The document referred to monthly repayments – I wanted fortnightly repayments. They want insurance documentation for $210k, but I’ve already got insurance for $183k. And they want a rates notice! How could I possibly have a rates notice? I don’t live there yet. And they want an ID form sent via the Post Office. Most of the material they are asking for is in Canberra. I wish they’d said something to me before I drove down to Melbourne.
Tiffany dropped off the ute in the drive, but kept the ignition key. I gave her the cheque from the leasing company, and she completed the transfer of registration form, and passed that across with the RWC and car handbooks. This is step closer to actually having a car, but frustrating not to be given the ignition key. At least I can work on the ute and make a start to fitting the four anchor points that will secure the campervan that needs to go onto the ute. Everything is happening much slower than I’d like.
We also spoke of the Monash University computer museum. He hadn’t seen it. It’s really a must see if you like that sort of thing. The museum has displays of calculating devices through the ages. Of all the items on display the one that got my attention and drew me up with a start was a terminal-come-printer of a type I had occasionally used when I was studying at uni. Things change quickly. Another interesting thing in one of their displays was an example of computer memory, which was essentially a wire spiral. I don’t really understand the principle involved in this, but presumably, by the time it took a charge to accumulate in the wire and dissipate, it stored the value for a short time. I wonder why a capacitor wouldn’t have done. An excellent display.
Melody called today. S made herself scarce, and I showed her around the garden and house, pointing out the various things, and gave her $350 for rent with our extended overstay. I said we’d leave the keys and garage door clickers on the bench.
A package of home loan documents (from Virgin Money’s solicitors) was sitting on top of the letterbox when we got back from Monash. Balanced precariously – thanks Australia Post. This was not a one or two page form to sign, but a massive bag of stuff to wade through. The swanky bag had “your home loan is in the bag” written on the side. Don’t you love it? I think it would have been fitting if instead the bag had the words, ‘we’ve put more hoops in the bag for you to jump through.’
A reading of the documents was more confusing than informative, but because it arrived late on Friday there was no time to contact anyone to clear up the issues. The document referred to monthly repayments – I wanted fortnightly repayments. They want insurance documentation for $210k, but I’ve already got insurance for $183k. And they want a rates notice! How could I possibly have a rates notice? I don’t live there yet. And they want an ID form sent via the Post Office. Most of the material they are asking for is in Canberra. I wish they’d said something to me before I drove down to Melbourne.
Tiffany dropped off the ute in the drive, but kept the ignition key. I gave her the cheque from the leasing company, and she completed the transfer of registration form, and passed that across with the RWC and car handbooks. This is step closer to actually having a car, but frustrating not to be given the ignition key. At least I can work on the ute and make a start to fitting the four anchor points that will secure the campervan that needs to go onto the ute. Everything is happening much slower than I’d like.
12 June 2008
A leased vehicle
Wridgways, our removalists, got back to me with a quotation for undertkaing the job without doing the packing: $5592. They think that only one day will be required for pickup.
I drove into Melbourne to take some documents into Lou at DSP, and while there picked up a cheque for Tiffany to help pay for the car. DSP had already sent a cheque to Tiffany's car finance company the day before. So, that will pay out the balance, and that’s it. The car has been paid for. But Tiffany is still suspicious.
I suppose it’s only fair. Cheques do bounce. Although, its unlikely that a cheque from an organisation that’s owned by the RACV will have any trouble being cleared. Still, she doesn’t want to hand over the car until the money is in her account. I'll just have to wait.
I drove into Melbourne to take some documents into Lou at DSP, and while there picked up a cheque for Tiffany to help pay for the car. DSP had already sent a cheque to Tiffany's car finance company the day before. So, that will pay out the balance, and that’s it. The car has been paid for. But Tiffany is still suspicious.
I suppose it’s only fair. Cheques do bounce. Although, its unlikely that a cheque from an organisation that’s owned by the RACV will have any trouble being cleared. Still, she doesn’t want to hand over the car until the money is in her account. I'll just have to wait.
11 June 2008
Novated lease
I seemed to have spent most of the day driving back and forward between Eltham and Warrandyte faxing stuff to the leasing company and to my workplace in Canberra to get the ute purchase organised. Lou at Direct Salary Packaging was good to deal with, but things are still moving at a slower pace than I’d have liked. With a house to pack the last thing I want to be bothered with is sending faxes to all and sundry. I was curious to discover that DSP is owned by RACV, and of course, I get RACV roadside coverage under the package. Not the top offering of full service that regular members get with all the bells and whistles. I just get the emergency call service, but I’m not complaining. That’s great.
I called into the DSP office to finalise the arrangement. I think it’s good to meet people face to face. It gives you a chance to see who you are dealing with and gives them a change to size you up. The leasing arrangement covers vehicle insurance, registration, vehicle servicing, maintenance, and fuel costs. I just drive it and they pay for everything, which will be nice with increasing petrol costs. And somewhere along the line there is a tax break. The arrangement insists that you cover a certain minimum number of kilometres to be driven each year. I’ll just have to go for a few weekend drives if I'm not covering the distance, and not worry about petrol costs while I'm doing it. Oh, that’ll be so tough.
Wridgways rang: Following up on an earlier enquiry, if they don’t take our boxes it’ll save us $2134. There was no mention of the estimated cost reduction of doing our own packing, as they said the calculate that.
I called into the DSP office to finalise the arrangement. I think it’s good to meet people face to face. It gives you a chance to see who you are dealing with and gives them a change to size you up. The leasing arrangement covers vehicle insurance, registration, vehicle servicing, maintenance, and fuel costs. I just drive it and they pay for everything, which will be nice with increasing petrol costs. And somewhere along the line there is a tax break. The arrangement insists that you cover a certain minimum number of kilometres to be driven each year. I’ll just have to go for a few weekend drives if I'm not covering the distance, and not worry about petrol costs while I'm doing it. Oh, that’ll be so tough.
Wridgways rang: Following up on an earlier enquiry, if they don’t take our boxes it’ll save us $2134. There was no mention of the estimated cost reduction of doing our own packing, as they said the calculate that.
10 June 2008
More logistics
Fay, our Warrandyte conveyancer, rang to say everything was going fine. Hey. That’s a surprise.
She said settlement will take place at 11.30am on the 13th, that a cheque will be made out and sent to the Canberra solicitor to cover Stamp Duty, with the remainder left over for the purchase of the Flynn property. She also said that a section 27 form has been faxed to our real estate agent in Warrandyte to release the deposit to us.
I called by and picked up the cheque from the real estate agent. The deposit had been eaten into by the agent’s commission: $9230, advertising: $4115.74, GST: $1339.07, other expenses: $45 (I wonder what that was). The timing for this cheque was good, as I’d just stretched my credit union cheque account to the limit.
There was no sign of the Virgin Home Loan documents as yet, so I rang them. Apparently, they were very busy, but I was on the list of things to do their end. Well, at least the wheels were turning.
The lease for the car seemed to be a more difficult process than I’d expected, and not real cheap either. Though the exact costs will have to be worked out later, when I get some time.
A few things were selling on ebay: my old motor cycle, mulching machine, and of course the trailer were the biggest items.
She said settlement will take place at 11.30am on the 13th, that a cheque will be made out and sent to the Canberra solicitor to cover Stamp Duty, with the remainder left over for the purchase of the Flynn property. She also said that a section 27 form has been faxed to our real estate agent in Warrandyte to release the deposit to us.
I called by and picked up the cheque from the real estate agent. The deposit had been eaten into by the agent’s commission: $9230, advertising: $4115.74, GST: $1339.07, other expenses: $45 (I wonder what that was). The timing for this cheque was good, as I’d just stretched my credit union cheque account to the limit.
There was no sign of the Virgin Home Loan documents as yet, so I rang them. Apparently, they were very busy, but I was on the list of things to do their end. Well, at least the wheels were turning.
The lease for the car seemed to be a more difficult process than I’d expected, and not real cheap either. Though the exact costs will have to be worked out later, when I get some time.
A few things were selling on ebay: my old motor cycle, mulching machine, and of course the trailer were the biggest items.
07 June 2008
We bought a utility
I’d spotted a ute a few days ago that might be a worthwhile buy. My impression then was that it seemed in excellent condition and somewhat reminded me of a new car. The price they were asking was also in the range of the Red Book for this model, albeit at the higher end.
The owner had a couple of horses and she and her mother were tending them at her agistment property that fortunately was not too far away. The arrangement was to meet them there and check out the car at the agistment property. It’s strange how you can feel like you are in the rural backblocks when only a few miles from the suburbs. Her directions were good and we found them and the car at the side of a dirt track next to two beautiful horses. Does this seem suspicious? They seemed honest though.
We took Tiffany’s car for a test drive. S loved it. It was certainly very nice vehicle. My only reservation was that I couldn’t get a good wheel measurement. This has been one of my checks I like to carry out when buying used cars. I measure the distance between the front and back wheels, and if the measurement is not identical on both sides I pass the car up.
It seems to me that you don’t really know the history of a car when buying a second hand vehicle. I used to take a few tools, and a comprehensive check list. I would go through the interiors checking that all the instruments worked, taking notes on the condition of the upholstery and whether the seat mechanisms worked, windows and doors opened and closed and locked. I would methodically go though everything looking in the boot and under the body, as far as possible looking for damage. At one point I even removed spark plugs and tested the engine compressions. This all takes time, and sometimes a lot of time, but it can be worthwhile. If any of the doors don’t open or close well; like the one I’d seen a few days ago in a town just north of Melbourne it could be an indication the car has had crash damage and not repaired particularly well. A good check for crash damage is to bring along a good quality steel tape measure. Let me explain.
As you can imagine, when vehicles are manufactured reasonable care is put into ensuring the wheels are parallel to each other and, generally, sit on the ground on the corner of an imaginary rectangle. Now consider if a vehicle gets hit badly on one of the corners. It is very possible that the structure which supports the wheels will get twisted or bent with the result that one of the wheels will no longer rest in its proper position in that imaginary rectangle. It’s possible for a car to be repaired and effectively made to look good, but with the underlying vehicle structure (chassis) remaining out of alignment. To all intents and purposes the vehicle looks good, may drive okay, but may suffer poor road handling and be a danger to yourself and others. Reputable repairers will not allow this to occur, but not every repair will have been done well. A quick and easy method to give some indication as to whether this situation has occurred to a vehicle is to carefully measure the distance between the front wheel and rear wheels.
Here’s what to do: Park the car on solid, flat ground, with the wheels pointing straight when you are out on the road test. Get a friend to hold the end of the tape in the centre of the rear wheel (best if the hub caps have been removed) and extend the tape to the front wheel and note the distance to the millimetre to the centre of the front wheel. Do the same on the other side. The measurements should be identical. Be careful not to scratch the paintwork. If the measurements are different, skip this car.
Anyway, I couldn’t find a nice flat spot, which may have caused the suspension to affect the measurement. I also couldn’t get the hub caps off and had to measure from wheel rim to wheel rim, which may have been a little out because wheel rims sometimes get dented. My measurements were reasonably close, rather than perfect. We bought the car. I explained to Tiffany that I wanted to lease the car, and that a leasing company would purchase the vehicle. Tiffany seemed a little suspicious. All I need to do was get it organised. That'll be an interesting experience.
We were also in the middle of buying and selling a house, needing to get stuff shifted to Canberra, and needing to get our new car ready to carry our camper van, all of which takes time, and time was something we didn’t have much of. The car was so close to perfect that I didn’t mind too much in paying top dollar.
The owner had a couple of horses and she and her mother were tending them at her agistment property that fortunately was not too far away. The arrangement was to meet them there and check out the car at the agistment property. It’s strange how you can feel like you are in the rural backblocks when only a few miles from the suburbs. Her directions were good and we found them and the car at the side of a dirt track next to two beautiful horses. Does this seem suspicious? They seemed honest though.
We took Tiffany’s car for a test drive. S loved it. It was certainly very nice vehicle. My only reservation was that I couldn’t get a good wheel measurement. This has been one of my checks I like to carry out when buying used cars. I measure the distance between the front and back wheels, and if the measurement is not identical on both sides I pass the car up.
It seems to me that you don’t really know the history of a car when buying a second hand vehicle. I used to take a few tools, and a comprehensive check list. I would go through the interiors checking that all the instruments worked, taking notes on the condition of the upholstery and whether the seat mechanisms worked, windows and doors opened and closed and locked. I would methodically go though everything looking in the boot and under the body, as far as possible looking for damage. At one point I even removed spark plugs and tested the engine compressions. This all takes time, and sometimes a lot of time, but it can be worthwhile. If any of the doors don’t open or close well; like the one I’d seen a few days ago in a town just north of Melbourne it could be an indication the car has had crash damage and not repaired particularly well. A good check for crash damage is to bring along a good quality steel tape measure. Let me explain.
As you can imagine, when vehicles are manufactured reasonable care is put into ensuring the wheels are parallel to each other and, generally, sit on the ground on the corner of an imaginary rectangle. Now consider if a vehicle gets hit badly on one of the corners. It is very possible that the structure which supports the wheels will get twisted or bent with the result that one of the wheels will no longer rest in its proper position in that imaginary rectangle. It’s possible for a car to be repaired and effectively made to look good, but with the underlying vehicle structure (chassis) remaining out of alignment. To all intents and purposes the vehicle looks good, may drive okay, but may suffer poor road handling and be a danger to yourself and others. Reputable repairers will not allow this to occur, but not every repair will have been done well. A quick and easy method to give some indication as to whether this situation has occurred to a vehicle is to carefully measure the distance between the front wheel and rear wheels.
Here’s what to do: Park the car on solid, flat ground, with the wheels pointing straight when you are out on the road test. Get a friend to hold the end of the tape in the centre of the rear wheel (best if the hub caps have been removed) and extend the tape to the front wheel and note the distance to the millimetre to the centre of the front wheel. Do the same on the other side. The measurements should be identical. Be careful not to scratch the paintwork. If the measurements are different, skip this car.
Anyway, I couldn’t find a nice flat spot, which may have caused the suspension to affect the measurement. I also couldn’t get the hub caps off and had to measure from wheel rim to wheel rim, which may have been a little out because wheel rims sometimes get dented. My measurements were reasonably close, rather than perfect. We bought the car. I explained to Tiffany that I wanted to lease the car, and that a leasing company would purchase the vehicle. Tiffany seemed a little suspicious. All I need to do was get it organised. That'll be an interesting experience.
We were also in the middle of buying and selling a house, needing to get stuff shifted to Canberra, and needing to get our new car ready to carry our camper van, all of which takes time, and time was something we didn’t have much of. The car was so close to perfect that I didn’t mind too much in paying top dollar.
Car hunting continues
The used car section of the newspaper had a few utes advertised, but nothing seemed particularly inspiring. The carsales web site seemed to be a better resource. I just have to promote this site.
In a city the size of Melbourne you could be driving for miles on the off chance of seeing a good car, whereas the web site can sort by location which is a very useful feature, to say nothing of checking out a few pictures of the car too. I wonder if the days of classified ads in newspapers are numbered.
In a city the size of Melbourne you could be driving for miles on the off chance of seeing a good car, whereas the web site can sort by location which is a very useful feature, to say nothing of checking out a few pictures of the car too. I wonder if the days of classified ads in newspapers are numbered.
05 June 2008
Checking out used cars
I wasn’t able to locate a suitable used ute in Canberra, but I had spotted a few on the carsales web site over the last few weeks. I had been making enquiries about it by email, and arranged to see it when I got to Melbourne. So, we took a drive to a little town a few kms north of Craigieburn to see it.
The owner wasn’t present, but her mother was there. And so we had to put up with Carmel, an Irish woman who could talk you to distraction, but couldn’t say a thing about the car. It was an average vehicle, without a spare wheel, toolkit, roadworthy certificate, and had a driver’s door that wouldn’t close properly. I had to pull the door very hard to close it. And having to deal with Pat, the owner’s father, who would hardly budge on price. We eventually agreed on a price but I had to organise the RWC myself. Normally, that’s something the seller does. I couldn’t get the car booked into the local repair shop, which was another little town, even further north of Melbourne.
No, this was just too much trouble for a car that I wasn’t 100% happy with.
I had a look at another ute, late in the evening. It was difficult to see much at night, but this ute was certainly a fine car. I had rang the owner in the afternoon after spotting it on the carsales website. She seemed a pleasant sounding young woman. We made arrangements to meet at a service station midway between my place and her home. The test drive went well. Without driving the car very far indeed, I immediately fell into the its-like-driving-a-new-car experience. Of course, this was at night, and that has disadvantages. Although the bodywork seemed fine, I might be missing a lot of flaws. But I was keen enough on it to want a second look in daylight. The car we saw in the morning wasn’t a patch on this one. We made arrangements to see it in daylight, but Sunday was the earliest opportunity I could arrange with the owner as she used the car for work and did a lot of country driving. This car was a definitely a possibility.
The owner wasn’t present, but her mother was there. And so we had to put up with Carmel, an Irish woman who could talk you to distraction, but couldn’t say a thing about the car. It was an average vehicle, without a spare wheel, toolkit, roadworthy certificate, and had a driver’s door that wouldn’t close properly. I had to pull the door very hard to close it. And having to deal with Pat, the owner’s father, who would hardly budge on price. We eventually agreed on a price but I had to organise the RWC myself. Normally, that’s something the seller does. I couldn’t get the car booked into the local repair shop, which was another little town, even further north of Melbourne.
No, this was just too much trouble for a car that I wasn’t 100% happy with.
I had a look at another ute, late in the evening. It was difficult to see much at night, but this ute was certainly a fine car. I had rang the owner in the afternoon after spotting it on the carsales website. She seemed a pleasant sounding young woman. We made arrangements to meet at a service station midway between my place and her home. The test drive went well. Without driving the car very far indeed, I immediately fell into the its-like-driving-a-new-car experience. Of course, this was at night, and that has disadvantages. Although the bodywork seemed fine, I might be missing a lot of flaws. But I was keen enough on it to want a second look in daylight. The car we saw in the morning wasn’t a patch on this one. We made arrangements to see it in daylight, but Sunday was the earliest opportunity I could arrange with the owner as she used the car for work and did a lot of country driving. This car was a definitely a possibility.
01 June 2008
More car hunting
I spent the day looking at more utes. Why do people over-price the stuff they want to sell? Do they really think their well cared for factory made second hand car is any better than the next person’s well cared for used car? Some difference above the norm is tolerable, but sellers shouldn’t put outlandish price tags on their things.
There was a Holden I saw at one of the car markets. It was a really nice relatively late model, but why were they asking over $19k when they should know the going rate. Everyone buying or selling a used car should consult the Red Book for a vehicle’s worth. I made reference to the Red Book, but the reaction was simply that they won't budge on the price. Okay, fine. I'll shop elsewhere.
There was also a Falcon in Craigieburn being advertised for $17,000 that seemed interesting. I spotted it on the carsales web site a few days ago. The Red Book listed the model between $15500 and $18400. So, depending upon its condition it could be worth considering. So long as it’s still available when I get to Melbourne.
There was a car market at Woden. There was nothing there for me at that market, but I spotted a campervan. I was curious about it, having one of my own. Though this one was a combi. As I approached, I saw someone inside. It turned out that it was the owners who were inside; sitting in it. They were a very young couple. Both of them were well wrapped up against the cold, and both of them had red noses and had the snuffles. I wonder if this campervan was their home. They were a cheerful pair, despite both having a cold. Youth is so optimistic. I noticed little columns of 5c and 10c coins on the table. They were checking their resources, I guess. When they sell their camper van, they’ll have some money, but perhaps nowhere to live. Poor souls. I felt for them.
There was a Holden I saw at one of the car markets. It was a really nice relatively late model, but why were they asking over $19k when they should know the going rate. Everyone buying or selling a used car should consult the Red Book for a vehicle’s worth. I made reference to the Red Book, but the reaction was simply that they won't budge on the price. Okay, fine. I'll shop elsewhere.
There was also a Falcon in Craigieburn being advertised for $17,000 that seemed interesting. I spotted it on the carsales web site a few days ago. The Red Book listed the model between $15500 and $18400. So, depending upon its condition it could be worth considering. So long as it’s still available when I get to Melbourne.
There was a car market at Woden. There was nothing there for me at that market, but I spotted a campervan. I was curious about it, having one of my own. Though this one was a combi. As I approached, I saw someone inside. It turned out that it was the owners who were inside; sitting in it. They were a very young couple. Both of them were well wrapped up against the cold, and both of them had red noses and had the snuffles. I wonder if this campervan was their home. They were a cheerful pair, despite both having a cold. Youth is so optimistic. I noticed little columns of 5c and 10c coins on the table. They were checking their resources, I guess. When they sell their camper van, they’ll have some money, but perhaps nowhere to live. Poor souls. I felt for them.
31 May 2008
Some logistics planning
I spent the day looking at a few more utes, private sales this time. Canberra used car buyers have the benefit of a great operation here. Around town on the weekend, various car parks in popular locations are set aside for the presentation of cars for sale. Anyone who has a car for sale may pay a fee, and would-be buyers are free to browse. It’s a very nice idea indeed. I spotted a couple of utes at a couple of these used car markets that took my interest and subsequently contacted the owners to arrange a test drive.
It’s been a while since I’ve been this close to newer utilities. Most of the newer utes I’ve looked at seem to be built with a lot more plastic that I’d like to have see on them. Constructing a commercial vehicle with a plastic tray seems darn silly to me. Sure it won’t rust, but will it be able to hold a load. Will you feel confident in throwing rocks and boulders into a plastic tray, as opposed to a steel tray? There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of choice whether you buy a Holden or Falcon.
I need the ute to transport a camper van that’s parked on the block at Warrandyte. This is the type of van that fits into the back of the ute – if you think of a caravan with no wheels, your half way to thinking of what it looks like.
Actually, there is a lot of transportation to be done in getting our stuff from Melbourne to Canberra, and not just our furniture and personal items. I got out a pencil and paper and began to go through the logistics. It may be difficult but not impossible. Here is one scenario. We’ll see what actually takes place when the time comes. Stuff has gone wrong all over the place so far. Anyway, the aim is to get our things to Canberra, and includes our:
So, here's my plan:
The problems will come with timing, bad timing, that is. If the lease of the ute can be worked out quickly and I get the caravan shifted early, that would help markedly. But if it takes ages, clashing with when we should be in the truck, then we will need to rethink everything. Or if I have difficulty getting the caravan on the ute that could be a problem too. If there are any problems such as this we may have to shift our stuff to one of the neighbours places for a few weeks. We don’t want to be renting this truck and getting in the way of the removalists.
I don’t have a photo of my own van, but here’s one I spotted on the web that gives an idea of what I have. These units are fabulous things.
There’s no trouble carrying them really, except that they weight the vehicle down a bit. The only real hassle is getting them on and off the ute. They come with four heavy duty jacks that raise them to a suitable height to allow the ute to slip underneath. You then lower the jacks and the van sits flat on the floor of the ute, and you secure the van to anchor points that you have previously placed in suitable positions on the vehicle. And this is one of my problems in buying a ute. I will have to spend time fitting the anchors to the ute before I can attempt to move it.
I’ve done this work before on two other utes I’ve had, but manufacturers keep changing things. Each one has been a whole new experience each time, and it’s a very fiddly task. The last thing I want is to have hassles at the end.
It’s been a while since I’ve been this close to newer utilities. Most of the newer utes I’ve looked at seem to be built with a lot more plastic that I’d like to have see on them. Constructing a commercial vehicle with a plastic tray seems darn silly to me. Sure it won’t rust, but will it be able to hold a load. Will you feel confident in throwing rocks and boulders into a plastic tray, as opposed to a steel tray? There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of choice whether you buy a Holden or Falcon.
I need the ute to transport a camper van that’s parked on the block at Warrandyte. This is the type of van that fits into the back of the ute – if you think of a caravan with no wheels, your half way to thinking of what it looks like.
Actually, there is a lot of transportation to be done in getting our stuff from Melbourne to Canberra, and not just our furniture and personal items. I got out a pencil and paper and began to go through the logistics. It may be difficult but not impossible. Here is one scenario. We’ll see what actually takes place when the time comes. Stuff has gone wrong all over the place so far. Anyway, the aim is to get our things to Canberra, and includes our:
- Stuff from Melbourne
- Ute from Melbourne
- EXA (which is in Canberra, with me)
- MR2 from Melbourne
- Camper from Melbourne
- Elsa and Squeak from Melbourne
So, here's my plan:
- Assuming I buy a ute in Melbourne, I’ll drive the EXA to Melbourne on one of my trips from Canberra
- Buy the ute, load the caravan on top of it, and drop it off in Canberra, and then drive back to Melbourne with the empty ute
- Pack up the MR2 with as much stuff as it can carry, rent a truck and pack that up too, and both S and me will set off for Canberra together in separate vehicles
- The MR2 gets left in Canberra, we unload the truck, and we both drive back to Melbourne in the empty truck, return the truck to the rental company, and drive back to Canberra with me in the EXA and S in the new ute with more stuff and our two pussy cats.
The problems will come with timing, bad timing, that is. If the lease of the ute can be worked out quickly and I get the caravan shifted early, that would help markedly. But if it takes ages, clashing with when we should be in the truck, then we will need to rethink everything. Or if I have difficulty getting the caravan on the ute that could be a problem too. If there are any problems such as this we may have to shift our stuff to one of the neighbours places for a few weeks. We don’t want to be renting this truck and getting in the way of the removalists.
I don’t have a photo of my own van, but here’s one I spotted on the web that gives an idea of what I have. These units are fabulous things.
There’s no trouble carrying them really, except that they weight the vehicle down a bit. The only real hassle is getting them on and off the ute. They come with four heavy duty jacks that raise them to a suitable height to allow the ute to slip underneath. You then lower the jacks and the van sits flat on the floor of the ute, and you secure the van to anchor points that you have previously placed in suitable positions on the vehicle. And this is one of my problems in buying a ute. I will have to spend time fitting the anchors to the ute before I can attempt to move it.I’ve done this work before on two other utes I’ve had, but manufacturers keep changing things. Each one has been a whole new experience each time, and it’s a very fiddly task. The last thing I want is to have hassles at the end.
28 May 2008
Can legal people go any slower
B, the Canberra real estate agent, rang to hassle me. She wanted me to get on to my conveyancer. B could very easily become a pain in the neck. Anyway, she had a point: she asked if I could contact Vickie, from William Heague, and get the exchange of contracts pushed through. B is probably being pressured by the owners of the house in Flynn.
The settlement date change seemed to be known and agreed to by everyone except the legal people. Vickie won’t proceed with the exchange until all the paperwork is in order, and in particular, that Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer, confirms the settlement date with her, and Virgin Home Loans confirm the loan. There’s not much for me to do, really.
My contact at Virgin Home Loans is difficult to catch at times. He said the increase to $150k is okay. He asked about the documents I had faxed, as he hadn’t seen them as yet. I told him what I had sent and he seemed satisfied, and assumed they must be held up somewhere on his side. He also said he had “ordered” a valuation, but he was perplexed when I said no one has been contacted this end as yet about it. The person doing the valuation was supposed to contact the agent here in Canberra to set it up with the current owners, but no one has done that yet. Seems like Virgin haven’t quite got things worked out yet.
S called in at our Melbourne real estate agent’s office to present her thank you gifts that she had bought for them. She bought a gold pen, and she thinks he was pleased. Though by the sounds of what I heard, I gather he would rather have had a letter of commendation. Something for his portfolio, of course. While in the office, he asked if he could show Melody through. S doesn’t want to do this. I’ll do it. S is more enraged with Melody than me it would seem. Though I wasn’t impressed by her one little bit.
I have been spending some time checking out some more utes in the paper and on the web. There are a few possibilities here and there. I’ve also looking into Novated Lease. I wonder where it got that name from. I’m not sure if leasing is for us, but there really aren’t too many alternatives; this could be one.
S is feeling edgy about the contracts not being exchanged, concerned that the vendors may be anxious and leave the house in a poor condition when they vacate, because we don’t seem to be keeping our end of the bargain. She suggested I get Vickie to get a wriggle on, leaving the worry of settlement in Melbourne and the home loan in our hands.
The settlement date change seemed to be known and agreed to by everyone except the legal people. Vickie won’t proceed with the exchange until all the paperwork is in order, and in particular, that Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer, confirms the settlement date with her, and Virgin Home Loans confirm the loan. There’s not much for me to do, really.
My contact at Virgin Home Loans is difficult to catch at times. He said the increase to $150k is okay. He asked about the documents I had faxed, as he hadn’t seen them as yet. I told him what I had sent and he seemed satisfied, and assumed they must be held up somewhere on his side. He also said he had “ordered” a valuation, but he was perplexed when I said no one has been contacted this end as yet about it. The person doing the valuation was supposed to contact the agent here in Canberra to set it up with the current owners, but no one has done that yet. Seems like Virgin haven’t quite got things worked out yet.
S called in at our Melbourne real estate agent’s office to present her thank you gifts that she had bought for them. She bought a gold pen, and she thinks he was pleased. Though by the sounds of what I heard, I gather he would rather have had a letter of commendation. Something for his portfolio, of course. While in the office, he asked if he could show Melody through. S doesn’t want to do this. I’ll do it. S is more enraged with Melody than me it would seem. Though I wasn’t impressed by her one little bit.
I have been spending some time checking out some more utes in the paper and on the web. There are a few possibilities here and there. I’ve also looking into Novated Lease. I wonder where it got that name from. I’m not sure if leasing is for us, but there really aren’t too many alternatives; this could be one.
S is feeling edgy about the contracts not being exchanged, concerned that the vendors may be anxious and leave the house in a poor condition when they vacate, because we don’t seem to be keeping our end of the bargain. She suggested I get Vickie to get a wriggle on, leaving the worry of settlement in Melbourne and the home loan in our hands.
27 May 2008
Some maintenance
It’s true: credit cards work wonders in cleaning the frost off the car windscreen, and there was so much frost it looked like piles of fluffy snow at the edges of the screen. The poor little starter motor in my EXA is also sounding as though it has a sore throat or a cold.
It was just a sort of administrative day today.
Vickie, of Willian Heague our Canberra conveyancer: I dropped off the contract, checked that she would note that work needed to be done to the three wardrobes in the house, the garden shed was noted (I didn’t want it removed), got her to mark S and myself as joint tenants, and handed over the deposit bond certificate. She will contact Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer, and have her send a cheque to cover Stamp Duty, which has to be paid promptly (on or before settlement, I think). We should have a final inspection too.
Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer: I rang Fay to advise her of the changed date for settlement, but in her unique manner, she really wanted to know about the insurance details first. Melody is contacting her solicitor today, apparently. So this should (hopefully) work out! Fay said the normal cost of setting up a contract to rent would be about $180-$200, but not required as it is us who are renting. I don’t quite understand that.
Virgin Money, our home loan lender: I rang Virgin to check that everything was proceeding okay. It turned out that, despite someone phoning S and getting the credit card number from her, in case we “should we back out of the loan” after making arrangements to do a valuation, the number wasn’t recorded, and a valuation check hasn’t yet been organised. So, I gave them the credit card number again, and accepted their advice that a valuation will be organised. I must keep checking on them. It puts you on edge when people fail to do things that they should.
B, the real estate agent from Flynn: I emailed B her and subsequently spoke with her to keep her in the picture with developments. The developments being the new settlement date, valuation needing to be done, contract with Vickie, expected delivery of our belongings.
Mal, Westpac loans officer: He emailed me hoping I had a nice stay in Melbourne, which was nice of him, and he reminded me that his offer was still open. Well, that story has been put to bed now. It’ll be a Virgin home loan. I still remember his attitude and can’t get over it. Westpac will remain my bank; I wonder if he’ll remember me when I walk in there.
And S buys a few gifts for the helpful Melbourne real estate agents and their staff.
While all these house issues are going on things are building at work. I have a major deadline within a week and then when that’s done I want to shoot off to Melbourne straightaway afterwards. I also have a new task to come to gips with at work. I can’t focus on studying it. I find I’m filing, tidying up, and cleaning the desk. It’s avoidance behaviour.
It was just a sort of administrative day today.
Vickie, of Willian Heague our Canberra conveyancer: I dropped off the contract, checked that she would note that work needed to be done to the three wardrobes in the house, the garden shed was noted (I didn’t want it removed), got her to mark S and myself as joint tenants, and handed over the deposit bond certificate. She will contact Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer, and have her send a cheque to cover Stamp Duty, which has to be paid promptly (on or before settlement, I think). We should have a final inspection too.
Fay, our Melbourne conveyancer: I rang Fay to advise her of the changed date for settlement, but in her unique manner, she really wanted to know about the insurance details first. Melody is contacting her solicitor today, apparently. So this should (hopefully) work out! Fay said the normal cost of setting up a contract to rent would be about $180-$200, but not required as it is us who are renting. I don’t quite understand that.
Virgin Money, our home loan lender: I rang Virgin to check that everything was proceeding okay. It turned out that, despite someone phoning S and getting the credit card number from her, in case we “should we back out of the loan” after making arrangements to do a valuation, the number wasn’t recorded, and a valuation check hasn’t yet been organised. So, I gave them the credit card number again, and accepted their advice that a valuation will be organised. I must keep checking on them. It puts you on edge when people fail to do things that they should.
B, the real estate agent from Flynn: I emailed B her and subsequently spoke with her to keep her in the picture with developments. The developments being the new settlement date, valuation needing to be done, contract with Vickie, expected delivery of our belongings.
Mal, Westpac loans officer: He emailed me hoping I had a nice stay in Melbourne, which was nice of him, and he reminded me that his offer was still open. Well, that story has been put to bed now. It’ll be a Virgin home loan. I still remember his attitude and can’t get over it. Westpac will remain my bank; I wonder if he’ll remember me when I walk in there.
And S buys a few gifts for the helpful Melbourne real estate agents and their staff.
While all these house issues are going on things are building at work. I have a major deadline within a week and then when that’s done I want to shoot off to Melbourne straightaway afterwards. I also have a new task to come to gips with at work. I can’t focus on studying it. I find I’m filing, tidying up, and cleaning the desk. It’s avoidance behaviour.
22 April 2008
Another Melbourne visit
Just back from another Melbourne trip. With daylight saving gone it became a very dreary drive, but the audio books I took were great. I should have been listening to them ages ago. They keep you alert and some of the stories are so entertaining. It seems to shorten the drive.
It was a bad week with so many bills to pay. Some of them were late, some huge. The car insurance had gone up by $100 – great. It has left us short, and the cost of petrol edging up steadily doesn’t help. If for nothing else, my time in Melbourne gave S a rest with my help during my visit with the house tidy up sessions, prior to each open inspection.
The neighbour’s cat, Abo, seemed to have taken up residence in our place. I wonder if that’s because S has been feeding it and its owners hadn’t been.
I got the garage cleaned up and made a bit tidier, and some boxes of stuff were put into our storage space at Eltham. I spent some time rearranging the stuff that’s in storage to allow space for even more things if need be. Our little spot is now one-third empty; it seemed full before the tidy up. It’s amazing how much you can get in there if you pack it correctly. I should have done this much earlier, but there never seemed to be the time with so many other priorities.
Our fish is still dangling on the hook, but with no acceptable offers the property is still on the market.
It was a cold drive back to Canberra. I wasn’t going to turn on that smelly heater unless I had to. Some mice or rats had taken up residence in the car heater some months ago, and to say it smelled a bit was an understatement. The extra clothes alternative worked fine: two long sleeved skivvies under a hooded pullover, and a blanket over my knees. I must have looked a sight. It was pathetic, really.
It was a bad week with so many bills to pay. Some of them were late, some huge. The car insurance had gone up by $100 – great. It has left us short, and the cost of petrol edging up steadily doesn’t help. If for nothing else, my time in Melbourne gave S a rest with my help during my visit with the house tidy up sessions, prior to each open inspection.
The neighbour’s cat, Abo, seemed to have taken up residence in our place. I wonder if that’s because S has been feeding it and its owners hadn’t been.
I got the garage cleaned up and made a bit tidier, and some boxes of stuff were put into our storage space at Eltham. I spent some time rearranging the stuff that’s in storage to allow space for even more things if need be. Our little spot is now one-third empty; it seemed full before the tidy up. It’s amazing how much you can get in there if you pack it correctly. I should have done this much earlier, but there never seemed to be the time with so many other priorities.
Our fish is still dangling on the hook, but with no acceptable offers the property is still on the market.
It was a cold drive back to Canberra. I wasn’t going to turn on that smelly heater unless I had to. Some mice or rats had taken up residence in the car heater some months ago, and to say it smelled a bit was an understatement. The extra clothes alternative worked fine: two long sleeved skivvies under a hooded pullover, and a blanket over my knees. I must have looked a sight. It was pathetic, really.
25 March 2008
On the road again
A short day at work at the end of last week, then I was off to Melbourne. I took some audio books borrowed from the local public library. This was great. I should have done this ages ago. I do enjoy the open road stretching in front of me, but sometimes you get fed up with the same stuff over and over again, and any delights there might have been while driving during the day are lost at night. I found the audio books filled the gap really well. You can get audio tapes as audio books as well as CDs. Some are read by the author, but I gather most aren’t. It sounds a bit weird with the reader trying to take on different accents and voices, and the gender difference can be just a bit too difficult for some readers and is kind of funny to listen to then trying to emulate another gender. But, for all that, I can thoroughly recommend you give audio books a try if you are involved in long distance driving. I was actually looking forward to the trip home when I could listen to the remainder of the book.
Anyway, at home, I had a tour of inspection of the house. The house was looking great. It was strange to see it looking so tidy. And the lounge, with the settee in a new position simply looked weird. Still, if that’s what our stylist thinks is a good thing, who am I to argue.
I experienced a few open inspections while there on this visit, so had my share of cleaning up the house prior to the inspections. There seems to be a virus in the house that keeps blowing light bulbs. It was really weird; perhaps it was just a bad batch of globes, but what can you do. You wouldn’t be very successful going back to the retailer, even if you did have the receipt, saying it’s blown, give me another one. You’d be laughed at. One of the car head lights also went out on the drive down to Melbourne too. We took a trip to one of the local lighting specialists. You’d think it would be easy to buy a fluoro tube, but no lighting shop had any in stock. It was a slim line thing for the kitchen bench, under the cupboards.
Still, we got some stuff done as well as having some fun. Got some rubbish to the dump. The bastards at the dump wouldn’t take our unmarked chemicals or paint tins. They wanted the old paint tins opened before accepting them, but flatly refused the chemicals. What are people supposed to do? This was the Eltham Council. Is the council trying to encourage you to wrap them with the rest of the household rubbish? It seem like they are. I don’t know how a Council can become so short sighted. They have an obligation to accept everything and accept the cost of disposal. Stupid twits. I don’t know what to do with the stuff. Does the Eltham Council want me to dig a hole in my back yard and dump it there? That would be dumb, but this council is certainly encouraging that.
We got some more stuff into storage. Through the garage is still pretty full. I fixed the bathroom cupboard door that threatened to fall off before our first inspection. These modern bathroom fittings are made of crumby materials. It’s a wonder they last as long as they do made out of the stuff that gets used now a days. Longer screws in the door fixed the hinge.
We spent some time tidying up the place. We spread some cream pebbles around some of the plants in the garden to tizzy them up a bit. The ferns growing out of our driveway repair that I’d mentioned earlier were all doing very well and were looking really good, the lawn was looking surprisingly lush too, and despite S saying the vegie patch looked rough, seemed fine to me.
I gave the drain at the side of the house a couple of vigorous pumps with the plunger, and it seemed to drain slowly. There is something mysterious going on down there. If I had more time I could do something better than poke bits of wire down and attack it with a rubber suction plunger. Digging up the place is something you don’t do in the middle of an inspection period. On the positive side, the drain was only to take away a few drips from an overflow pipe.
We bought some new plants and put them around the place, and put some flowering pots around by the water tank. The water tank was not one of the properties best features. It has seen better days and is showing a few rust spots here and there. Interestingly, when the tank is full it doesn’t leak and in fact the rusting slows. However, when the water level is very low, the rust spots grow. I guess that’s because air is circulating.
S’s becoming friends with the wildlife. There always have been a lot of birds (lorikeets particularly), possums and lizards in Warrandyte. The two lorikeets here are being fed with a preparation that’s available in the supermarkets. It comes as a powder and when mixed with water into a watery paste and put out in a bowl they just go mad for it. They figh
t each other off and the pecking order is very evident in their behaviour. But besides their nasty temperament toward each other some of the more bold, like these two, can come so close you would think they were tame. They are so cute. They stick their little tongues in and out to suck up all this nice sweet tucker. Also while I was there, I watched her pick up one of the possums that come onto our block. It was a baby when she first started to pet it, when I saw her I was shocked by what she was doing. It was almost the size of its mother. It probably has some very sharp claws and teeth. Still, if you are kind to animals they may well be kind in return.
I had mentioned earlier that the car had kept smoking following the repair to the turbo. On the trip back to Melbourne this had gradually cleared until there was no smoke at all from the exhaust. All it needed was a good drive. And the extra power was great too.
But on the way back the car began jumping out of overdrive. If I lent on the gear leaver I could keep it in gear. The teeth on the synchro must be wearing round edges. I got fed up with it after a while and stopped using overdrive and left it in fourth gear. It its not one thing it’s another.
Anyway, at home, I had a tour of inspection of the house. The house was looking great. It was strange to see it looking so tidy. And the lounge, with the settee in a new position simply looked weird. Still, if that’s what our stylist thinks is a good thing, who am I to argue.
I experienced a few open inspections while there on this visit, so had my share of cleaning up the house prior to the inspections. There seems to be a virus in the house that keeps blowing light bulbs. It was really weird; perhaps it was just a bad batch of globes, but what can you do. You wouldn’t be very successful going back to the retailer, even if you did have the receipt, saying it’s blown, give me another one. You’d be laughed at. One of the car head lights also went out on the drive down to Melbourne too. We took a trip to one of the local lighting specialists. You’d think it would be easy to buy a fluoro tube, but no lighting shop had any in stock. It was a slim line thing for the kitchen bench, under the cupboards.
Still, we got some stuff done as well as having some fun. Got some rubbish to the dump. The bastards at the dump wouldn’t take our unmarked chemicals or paint tins. They wanted the old paint tins opened before accepting them, but flatly refused the chemicals. What are people supposed to do? This was the Eltham Council. Is the council trying to encourage you to wrap them with the rest of the household rubbish? It seem like they are. I don’t know how a Council can become so short sighted. They have an obligation to accept everything and accept the cost of disposal. Stupid twits. I don’t know what to do with the stuff. Does the Eltham Council want me to dig a hole in my back yard and dump it there? That would be dumb, but this council is certainly encouraging that.
We got some more stuff into storage. Through the garage is still pretty full. I fixed the bathroom cupboard door that threatened to fall off before our first inspection. These modern bathroom fittings are made of crumby materials. It’s a wonder they last as long as they do made out of the stuff that gets used now a days. Longer screws in the door fixed the hinge.
We spent some time tidying up the place. We spread some cream pebbles around some of the plants in the garden to tizzy them up a bit. The ferns growing out of our driveway repair that I’d mentioned earlier were all doing very well and were looking really good, the lawn was looking surprisingly lush too, and despite S saying the vegie patch looked rough, seemed fine to me.
I gave the drain at the side of the house a couple of vigorous pumps with the plunger, and it seemed to drain slowly. There is something mysterious going on down there. If I had more time I could do something better than poke bits of wire down and attack it with a rubber suction plunger. Digging up the place is something you don’t do in the middle of an inspection period. On the positive side, the drain was only to take away a few drips from an overflow pipe.
We bought some new plants and put them around the place, and put some flowering pots around by the water tank. The water tank was not one of the properties best features. It has seen better days and is showing a few rust spots here and there. Interestingly, when the tank is full it doesn’t leak and in fact the rusting slows. However, when the water level is very low, the rust spots grow. I guess that’s because air is circulating.
S’s becoming friends with the wildlife. There always have been a lot of birds (lorikeets particularly), possums and lizards in Warrandyte. The two lorikeets here are being fed with a preparation that’s available in the supermarkets. It comes as a powder and when mixed with water into a watery paste and put out in a bowl they just go mad for it. They figh
t each other off and the pecking order is very evident in their behaviour. But besides their nasty temperament toward each other some of the more bold, like these two, can come so close you would think they were tame. They are so cute. They stick their little tongues in and out to suck up all this nice sweet tucker. Also while I was there, I watched her pick up one of the possums that come onto our block. It was a baby when she first started to pet it, when I saw her I was shocked by what she was doing. It was almost the size of its mother. It probably has some very sharp claws and teeth. Still, if you are kind to animals they may well be kind in return.I had mentioned earlier that the car had kept smoking following the repair to the turbo. On the trip back to Melbourne this had gradually cleared until there was no smoke at all from the exhaust. All it needed was a good drive. And the extra power was great too.
But on the way back the car began jumping out of overdrive. If I lent on the gear leaver I could keep it in gear. The teeth on the synchro must be wearing round edges. I got fed up with it after a while and stopped using overdrive and left it in fourth gear. It its not one thing it’s another.
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