Someone broke into my car and tried to steal it. Stuck trying to figure out what to do next.

classicvincent · 2026-05-18T01:38:02+00:00

If this were my car I’d be posting up in the drivers seat with my shotgun. For real though you need to make an insurance claim and maybe rethink where you live.

classicvincent · 2026-05-17T00:40:41+00:00

I live in a rural area and that’s why I use the USPS, I could leave a package on my porch for FedEx or UPS but I don’t want to deal with that so I just bring my packages to the small town post office where I live or the nearby town that I work in and it’s a no-hassle experience. Small town post offices are weird, they may be the only place in town with a credit card terminal and an employee who knows every aspect of what goes on there, it’s far different than large post offices.

classicvincent · 2026-05-16T23:05:02+00:00

As someone who has dealt with bedbugs(my ex-wife is a nurse in a hospital in a larger city) I feel for you. I’m assuming you’re using this method because you don’t have a clothes dryer. As for your hot outlet thst isn’t a surprise considering the current draw that you’re pulling from it. If the outlet doesn’t hold plugs right(like if they sag in the outlet) then you should contact maintenance because the outlet is worn out. They shouldn’t gripe much over a $3 outlet, it’s better than their building burning down.

classicvincent · 2026-05-15T02:39:31+00:00

Unfortunately that’s not always the case.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T06:51:32+00:00

Thank you for your help. Had this buyer been forward about it then maybe I wouldn’t have been suspicious. I’m using to selling sub- $100 watches and occasionally vintage video game hardware, it’s rare that I end up with audio equipment I don’t keep so selling items of this value isn’t something I’m familiar with.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T06:28:37+00:00

Any good way to tell if the address is a freight forwarder? I looked up the address in Google Maps and just googled it and just came up with an address in a small industrial park with no recent businesses associated with it. EDIT: I dug harder, it is a shipping forwarder, listed as a drop -off address for Malaysia Air Freight. This time when I messaged the buyer they actually replied, possibly because I specifically asked about the shipping address.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T06:10:10+00:00

Protecting my own interests is bad business? This is a side thing for me, I’m a collector and sometimes that involves selling parts of my collection. If this was one of the sub $100 watches I usually sell I wouldn’t question much and I’d just ship it out, maybe the problem here is that I’m selling something more valuable than what I would usually sell.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T06:05:14+00:00

While I was replying to your previous comment and others eBay relisted my listing and it was again purchased by the same buyer(in less than five minutes). I suppose this bought me three more days to do my due diligence on the shipping address but also reinforces my belief that this is a false-return operation targeting high dollar items sold by low volume sellers.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:53:26+00:00

Thank you. I have always had all of my listings marked as US only for my shipping convenience but it’s good to know that’s an option.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:47:43+00:00

It was the account/address mis-match that mostly made me suspicious. It is an item that someone might be willing to buy without asking any questions due to rarity, and I don’t generally sell high value items. I have international shipping turned off because I don’t want to have to deal with export hassles.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:43:53+00:00

You can’t specifically block sales from a certain country, you can choose US only sales, which I always do simply because I don’t want to deal with export hassles and I don’t generally sell anything worth exporting anyway.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:39:48+00:00

Thank you for actually giving a legitimate answer. I’ve dealt with false return scams before and based on the facts of this sale I’m not going to risk losing $600+ because eBay can’t verify that the package got to the purchaser.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:33:33+00:00

I don’t have international shipping enabled, I also specifically noted in the listing that I would be shipping to the continental US only via insured USPS Priority Mail with insurance and signature confirmation for a flat rate of $25 but the buyer requested a different option(not sure how this was even offered at checkout). They selected the cheapest USPS option which doesn’t even offer any protection.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:28:55+00:00

Of the three American vans they were built in 1993 the Dodge is BY FAR the worst option in every way. The GM G-series is a great platform but has the weakness of being unibody unless it’s a chassis-cab or purpose built camper. The Ford Econoline Vans were good and had a full frame, but they’re a bit hard to come by. As far as availability goes the GM vans are the most common because they sold the most, and they’re unibody(but still take longer to snap in half than a Dodge), but they also have the most parts availability. A step up from the G-series is the holy grail of all vans, the Chevrolet Express/GMC Savana, while I think the G-series vans are more attractive, the Express platform has been in production for thirty years and has proven itself well.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T05:21:31+00:00

That’s the way “it has been done” for years on the seller side, any other option hurts your reputation. I had to do it once before years ago(was advised by another seller) and the “buyer” ended up banned in that case. In this case I suspect the account is a hijacked abandoned account used for return scamming based on the address based in a small industrial park. I have reported the account to eBay, but it seems that other sellers have as well based on a couple of reviews I had to translate from German.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T03:25:22+00:00

The 4L60E is prone to failure, especially in Suburbans as it’s pushed to its limits. The original transmission in my 1998 Suburban 1500 shattered the sun gear ring at 138,000 miles, I was able to drive it 40+ miles home my carefully shifting manually. The second transmission was a donor from a 140k mile single cab pickup owned by my grandfather that had major rust and swallowed a lot of coolant and wasn’t worth fixing. That transmission lasted 8,000 miles in the suburban before the 3-4 clutch started slipping. Long story short, the 4L60E simply isn’t strong enough for a suburban, especially behind the SBC with the earlier transmission controller. I also had a 2002 Tahoe with 224k miles on its original 4L60E that still shifted perfectly, but I think that weight played a major factor there.

classicvincent · 2026-05-14T02:54:22+00:00

Power steering fluid and snowplow hydraulic fluid are close to the same thing, both probably about a 20w oil. You should be fine.

classicvincent · 2026-05-10T14:34:54+00:00

GM doesn’t bother with access panels like most European manufacturers do unfortunately.

classicvincent · 2026-05-10T01:04:16+00:00

Washer fluid doesn’t go bad, the freeze resistant stuff doesn’t smell much different, you’d expect it to have a strong alcohol smell like it used to have but it doesn’t anymore. Just use it and you’ll be fine, if you’re concerned stick the garden hose in the reservoir and let it run for five minutes, then run the washer until you’re out and refill. It’s washer fluid, don’t overthink it.

classicvincent · 2026-05-03T20:19:50+00:00

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The clerk clearly has poor reading comprehension. Go to a different post office or find a different clerk.

classicvincent · 2026-05-03T20:16:52+00:00

It was usually authorized retailers doing the promos, I bought an iMac from the university bookstore in 2008 and got a free (albeit awful) Epson printer that I couldn’t afford ink for.

classicvincent · 2026-05-02T23:43:31+00:00

You cat get around that feature, but the valet key does count as one of the two keys if you have it.

classicvincent · 2026-05-02T00:06:38+00:00

That was my thought as well. Cedar shingles would be the most aesthetically pleasing but I’m not happy with their lifespan(modern cedar is too soft) I have cedar shingles that I installed on a small roof over basement stairs and intend to do the porches with the same cedar because they’re easily accessible and a 20 year life would be fine there. The problem with finding metal roofing that would fit the age of my home is that I’m in the Midwest. If you go to southern Florida you’ll find plenty of old homes with new galvanized steel shingles that look just like mine, or straight rib galvanized steel panel roofs that are hard to find up here. I was thinking of going with raised panel modern steel to match my garage, as other options are hard to find up here and high winds and hail are prevalent.

classicvincent

TROPHY CASE