I pasted from another site: topsites LawnSite Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Richmond Virginia Posts: 13,619 Quote: Originally Posted by IRRITECH Rebuild your old equipment???? You mean you don't run right out and finance a brand new widget if the old one burps. I don't get the satisfaction I used to get out of doing that anymore. Bastards, just to get the coil replaced under warranty I have to pay them for the labor of installing it! They say it's the only way they can tell for sure the old coil is (was) bad, fine. But it costs almost as *(&%^ much as just ordering the coil. Which I can do that right from here, get it in the mail in a few days and install it. All in all that's no worse than to have to drive back-and-forth to the dealer. Then the last time I went through this nonsense it appears they didn't adjust the coil gap right! I just figured that out couple of weeks ago, pure chance, after the trimmer sat for another year not running. I had figured it would never run again... See... When I take a piece of equipment in... It costs dang near $120 every single time, lets not forget the $9 copper core spark plug. Do that 3-4 times and I could've bought a new one, but they crap out, too. So for the same money, I can just order a carb and a coil. The next trimmer I order, if I ever order another one (since I got all 3 of mine running now). Won't be coming from no local dealer. Because a few weeks ago I was so frustrated I was GOING to just get a new one. And I drove out there, walked in, only two people in front of me but way things were going... It didn't take long for me to see it would take an HOUR just to get service. I walked back out, didn't want it no more. It was that evening I decided to work on my old, non-running stuff. Now I got my dang running trimmers, took some time and doing but it wasn't as expensive. And this lesson is going to repeat itself time and again. Until service and workmanship and quality AND prices improve. Which, I won't hold my breath.

I purchased my domain name,www.northerntropics.com through yahoo domains, it cost me 2.99 the first year and 9.99 a year after that. I purchased a sams club business membership for $35 a year and besides the fact that I can go to sams club (don't do that much) as a member you get a free multipage website that's very customizable.I set up my yahoo website so that when you type in my web address, it forwards to the sam's club website, not my little generic starter page. I sell things on e-bay, and even if they don't always sell, you can mention your website there and that causes several hits a week. I listed 9 foot tall banana trees last week and even though I didn't sell them, that exposure only cost me $1.35 and it's global exposure. Great deal! If you have specific knowledge on some subject that you'd like your customers to be able to access, post an e-bay guide. Now I'm a top 5,000 reviewer, and that adds credibility too. I sell things which are pretty complicated to care for like lotus plants, and hardy musa basjoo bananas, and then I have a guide there that they can read and no one has to remember what to do. When I sell things at farmers market, I tell people about my care guides for the plants and give them my card so they can print them or look at them whenever they want to so that I don't get phone calls at 10 pm when frost is forecast asking what to do with their tropical banana plants in Indiana! Local Harvest only wants you if you're organic, right? So if you post on there, but you're not organic, that's just wrong. So it's not an option for everyone. Also there is a free sales ad site through our tv station in Indianapolis. I'm sure if they have it, other states do too! There's a link to my site just to show you what you can do with the free website through sam's club, it's not for advertising Sincerely Sandy @ Northern Tropics, Muncie, IN Here is a link that might be useful: northern tropics sams club website

Let this go down

Here is how it is done in Canada. Most of us have AutoPac. ( canadian communist auto insurance ). Without it you don't even get a drivers licence. Anyway we've have our share of floods. when the cars are write offs as in flood damage the V.I.N. numbers are stripped off. Yes they are all written off no exceptions. They tried fixing them and it never works for very long. The labour cost is too high. The vin numbers are registered in a Canada wide data base and can never be registered anyway in Canada or sold as driveable. ( they have no vin numbers ) There is a way around it but the cost is so high the average person can't do it and the paper work will kill you if you can afford it. All of those cars are stripped for parts. The sad thing is every flood car can be driven home. They don't care. It's a write off and stripped of the vin. Yes up here you can buy your car back if autopac writes it off on a normal accident. You get your money for the car less the salvage value they think it is worth. What you do is buy it back from them. They are now making it very hard for you to fix that car and re register it. Serious paper work is now needed and body integrity inspections for every aspect of the repair.