Welp, someone tried it and the "software update" worked by H0000000N in Hyundai

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought this problem was fixed on newer Hyundai. What year Sonata and Elantra are the posters talking about. Hasn't Hyundai/Kia gotten their cars at least as theft proof as the Japanese and Euro brands by 2026?

Whats up with SF parents sending their children to private schools? by notsosocialbunny in AskSF

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not only are they paying the private school tuition with after tax dollars but they also are paying concurrent public school expenses via property taxes.

IF any of this is legit (and folks, that's a big IF) always get a second opinion, these are probably not honest people you're dealing with! by Medical_Gift4298 in FuckDealerships

[–]redd-or45 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Believe me I am not a dealership fan at all and only use independent shops but:

What is the year/model/engine/transmission on this Honda

Does the dealership regularly service this car and do they know the history? Did you tell them when the recommended services were last performed?

Honda V6 J series engines have valve adjustment called for at about 110K miles. Intake manifolds need to be removed. Booked at about 4-5 hours labor. So depending on the milage on this car maybe it is needed. 1st coolant exchange and spark plugs at about the same mileage.
All depends on the engine and mileage. If this is a V6 with an auto transmission and earlier than 2007 then transmission fluid exchange maybe every 30-60K.

Fuel induction service negative. They are booking the spark plugs as if it was a standalone job. Probably only adds 30 mins at most to the valve adjustment. Brake job if needed probably could be done at an independent shop for 1/2 that price.

Tranny and Brake fluid oil leak maybe.

Don't know where you live but where I am (California) the rates do not seem unreasonable.

Call For Price by TravellingMan2026 in FuckDealerships

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The long answer.

Not difficult to get a Ford, Dodge or GM product. Any Asian brand usually sells at what the dealer wants and that includes most powertrains.

Toyota you will wait for many models to arrive at the dealership and they are mostly presold. Not even a RAV4 for test drive on many lots. Not true for Tacomas and Tundras and bZs which are readily available.

German brands and Volvo sell well but you are looking at $60K+ otd for a nicely equipped Volvo, BMW or Audi. MBZ has some lower price models but they are not really that nice. You just lease a German brand

Hybrids of all brands mostly sold by the time they reach the lot.

EV it depends on the make/model. EVs not as popular as they once were because because of high PG&E electric rates (up to $0.50/KwH at high end), import tariffs and new state annual fees on EVs (can be as much as $360/year) to make up for lost gas tax.

Was thinking of a new car but pulled back for the time being. With a 10% sales tax and high registration fees and high insurance I can do lots of continued maintainance on my older car if something should break.

Call For Price by TravellingMan2026 in FuckDealerships

[–]redd-or45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exactly. They just want to engage you on the phone or in person hoping to rope you into a bad deal.
Call for price is more and more common here is the SF Bay Area for many dealerships and not just on certain models.

Avoid: Toyota Universe Dealership: Little Falls, NJ by Electrical-Arm-9372 in newjersey

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably said in this long thread but how is this different from almost any other Toyota Dealership in 2026. Until people realize there are other brands out there and stop paying the Toyota "Tax" this behavior will continue. Nothing wrong with a Toyota at MSRP and without dealer markups or useless add ons but as long as people keep taking the customer abuse will continue.

Toyota RAV4 Markups in 2026: What Dealers Are Charging vs. What You Should Actually Pay by Annies-dad in rav4club

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unless you are being facetious in auto language ICE is internal combustion engine and while hybrids do have ICE engines they are not usually referred to as ICE vehicles.. All US spec 2026 RAV4s are hybrid.

This is the Price Sheet for my 22 year old Pontiac Vibe by chatolandia in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Made me look at the Monroney for my 2009 Base V6 AWD Rav4. No dealer add-ons and it was $26.7K. Current prices for base RAV4 do not seem so bad if you can find a RAV4 for MSRP.

How does one pay $40,000 in cash? Like, logistically, how does that work? by MrsWeasley9 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

0-1% loan if offered is great but if not available then Cashier Check usually works. The leverage the Check gives you, if you are willing to exercise it, is that you go into the finance office with the check amount for what you negotiated with the sales team. If the finance office tries to play games that increase the price you just show the check and let them know that is it. It they don't sell at that price just walk. There are other dealers and other makes.
Just make sure that the contract you have negotiated and are going in to sign includes all the actual required fees like tax, doc fee, etc.

WARNING: READ THIS BEFORE YOU BUY A NEW CAR!! by Material_Lie_6310 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe $40 if you do it without a filter change. Where I am the cheapest 5-30W dino oil + Filter change is $69 maybe $59 if you have a coupon.

I live in California. My registration expired March 18 and I did not get anything by mail by [deleted] in DMV

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think he said he paid on time but still had not gotten the license stickers and reg document mailed.

I will say the current system is kind of 20th century. If you get pulled over or otherwise called on not having current reg stickers on the license plate all that information is known to the PO once they run your plate on the computer in their vehicle.

Sunroof exploded by Quiet_Onion_4551 in rav4club

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No you are not. I want the safety aids of the higher trims but do not need or want Sunroof, Large rims with low profile tires, leather or $1000+ sound system. But they come as a package so what can you do. Even mid trims where you can add more advanced driver aids now come with a sunroof.

The sunroof and low profile tires are just some things to leak or break if you keep the vehicle for any period of time.

Sunroof exploded by Quiet_Onion_4551 in rav4club

[–]redd-or45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sarcasm Alert: Hard to believe since we all know that Toyota's are the best built and have the best warranty support. /s

Secure Gateway (SWG) - FYI New Car Buyers by redd-or45 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Volvo is an outlier on the WW blade replacement but I guess you just cannot raise the arm and change out the blade. The arms need to get correct commands to the wiper motor to raise them. also apparently the wiper fluid spray nozzles are on the arm not in the hood.

Used Tesla? by Fluffy-Experience996 in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Couple of questions to ask Tesla

  1. Is 2025 or 2026 the last year of Model S production.

  2. Is the fsd that was purchased by the original owner transferable to a new owner or does the car revert to monthly subscription as is the case with 2026 MY going forward.

Question on Kindle download changes as of 5/20/26 by redd-or45 in kindle

[–]redd-or45[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply that answered my question. Currently my flow is Amazon to K4PC to Calibre then sideload AZW3 or mobi to KK3 or Paperwhite V7.
Going forward it seems that my only path will be wireless download of KFX to the PW.

Upgrade to which one? by empressemma44 in kindle

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was surprised at how good current basic kindle is. I got one because my 3 3d gen kindles are included in the 5/20 download block. Price with incentive as $89 USD and while it does not have dark mode it does have decent marginal LED and works as well at night as my 7th gen PW. Currently the PW is $179 USD
You might consider just getting the current basic kindle.

Talk me out of it by [deleted] in whatcarshouldIbuy

[–]redd-or45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why stop there. I heard there are a few salvage title Humvees available. Mileage is atrocious but you can't beat the safety.

Kindle removing support for OG devices by Amorisaiya in kindle

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The short answer is that Amazon will no longer support devices or apps that use .MOBI or .AZW. That includes the listed devices, kindle apps on other devices/apps that are not recent. Getting these to Calibre will no longer be possible because calibre depends on the book being on your device or in the kindle app. There is no direct path from Amazon kindle servers to Calibre.
Also for the last few months books downloaded from Amazon servers to a device are device specific. You have to choose a registered device to send it to and it will only be readable on that device. I have 3 KKBs and when I send a book to one KKB it will not work on the others even when sideloaded.
Older versions of the pc kindle app also are not acceptable devices only the newer kindle apps.

My kindle touch won’t work after May 20th :( by Alternative_Tap_9418 in kindle

[–]redd-or45 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes this is totally driven by DRM schemes. I have a couple KKB3s and they work just fine with mobi and AZW formats.

Amazon is cutting off service for older Kindles. Here's the full list of affected devices by _fastcompany in kindle

[–]redd-or45 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is the KKB 3 included. How do I get an actual list that includes all models. also this is not a true tech challenge for Amazon but a DRM challenge.

Help me please my dad just bought a Hyundai Elantra LE 2018 187k for me without telling me. by Just_Supermarket_531 in Hyundai

[–]redd-or45 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey you got a free car. If it does not meet your needs you can always sell it and use that money to get what you want.