There's an article in the latest Farm Bureau magazine about a bb operation down there somewhere. Not you?
Photo shoot anything lately? Random Photo Thread
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No sir. That's probably Bounds in Wiggins. They're the largest blueberry farm around us.
Yea, they're a biggin'.
Where we do have several hundred bushes spread over a few acres, the majority large scale u picks will plant roughly 2500 bushes per 4 acres.
I've never been to bounds, but we frequent Amber farms in waynesboro for our "replacement" tifblue and climax varieties. Last I was there, they were up to 5600 bushes. Bounds is about triple the size of Amber. MASSIVE.
They have a harvester and the ability to sell commercially as well as the u pick side.
I prefer to not have random strangers wander into our farm and therefore, when we acquired the property in 2019, we stopped advertising as a u pick to the general public.
My wife sells weekly to two local farmers markets and the rest goes to friends, family, neighbors, and church members.
Discussing labor times yesterday with the boss on a '19 suburban that came to us from one of our local chevy dealers. She had a leaking evaporator. We do seem to see this more on GMs but is happening more often across all manufactures.
With dealers in the area having labor rates in excess of $150/hr (chev $165 ford $179, some folks will flee to reputable independent shops in efforts to save what they can. This suburban is no exception. We "float" our rate for gas, diesel, year, the job, the person, etc. but the average job like this will typically get put at $100/hr.
And an evaporator on one of these ole girls pays 18ish hours. So you see the amount one could potentially save.
Now, generally you'd hear me complaining about a 4 hour job paying 1.5 or a 10 hour job paying 5, you know something along those lines. Not working in the techs advantage.
In this case, The tech is actually making out good and the customer is gettin it put to em. Although gm dashes are not modular like ford and dodge, it's still no different from its predecessor. If you've done the 00-07.5s (which paid around 5-7hrs), or the 2007.5s up to 2013 (which got changed from 8ish hours to 11) then you got the 14+'s in the bag.
Either way in this case it obviously works in the techs favor. Took about 2 hours to go from this
to this
Then had her all set around 4pm yesterday. Touch over 8 hours in the job.
Then you get the flip side of the spectrum. I get hit with this classic 98 dakota first thing this morning for an evaporator. This classic jewel almost pays a whopping 5 hours to hike all its bulls@$t out.
Hour 4 I finally get the dash and case on the floor.
Would have been well into going back together with everything on the 18 hour evaporator job, yet the 5 hour job is trying to eat my lunch LOL
With dealers in the area having labor rates in excess of $150/hr (chev $165 ford $179, some folks will flee to reputable independent shops in efforts to save what they can. This suburban is no exception. We "float" our rate for gas, diesel, year, the job, the person, etc. but the average job like this will typically get put at $100/hr.
And an evaporator on one of these ole girls pays 18ish hours. So you see the amount one could potentially save.
Now, generally you'd hear me complaining about a 4 hour job paying 1.5 or a 10 hour job paying 5, you know something along those lines. Not working in the techs advantage.
In this case, The tech is actually making out good and the customer is gettin it put to em. Although gm dashes are not modular like ford and dodge, it's still no different from its predecessor. If you've done the 00-07.5s (which paid around 5-7hrs), or the 2007.5s up to 2013 (which got changed from 8ish hours to 11) then you got the 14+'s in the bag.
Either way in this case it obviously works in the techs favor. Took about 2 hours to go from this
to this
Then had her all set around 4pm yesterday. Touch over 8 hours in the job.
Then you get the flip side of the spectrum. I get hit with this classic 98 dakota first thing this morning for an evaporator. This classic jewel almost pays a whopping 5 hours to hike all its bulls@$t out.
Hour 4 I finally get the dash and case on the floor.
Would have been well into going back together with everything on the 18 hour evaporator job, yet the 5 hour job is trying to eat my lunch LOL
Yet another victim of the "odometer bandits". 2017 showing 81k miles, by far the worst chain slap i've heard yet. Poor guy aint had the truck 6 months.
Had the typical cam phaser rattle which is a deeper thicker sort of rattle you'll hear on the top end at start up, but then had a constant, lighter knock that I normally associate with a broken chain guide.
Unfortunately, most of the way through the tear down, and I'm finding nothing but alot of sludge built up. A nasty ole high mileage 5.0 with probably 250k miles on it. I feel for the poor feller eating this repair.
The most sludge i've seen that was built up right behind bank 1's primary tensioner. I saw similar months ago on a 5.0 with 225k ish miles if i remember correctly.
He could've had this truck inspected before purchase and any shop would've spent 2 seconds under this dude and said NOPE go pick another out guy.
Had the typical cam phaser rattle which is a deeper thicker sort of rattle you'll hear on the top end at start up, but then had a constant, lighter knock that I normally associate with a broken chain guide.
Unfortunately, most of the way through the tear down, and I'm finding nothing but alot of sludge built up. A nasty ole high mileage 5.0 with probably 250k miles on it. I feel for the poor feller eating this repair.
The most sludge i've seen that was built up right behind bank 1's primary tensioner. I saw similar months ago on a 5.0 with 225k ish miles if i remember correctly.
He could've had this truck inspected before purchase and any shop would've spent 2 seconds under this dude and said NOPE go pick another out guy.
Is the sludge a result of the high mileage or poor maintenance and cheap oil?
Most likely due to not changing the oil frequently enough. Ford recommends oil changes @ 10,000 miles. Most owners have found oil changes should happen at least every 5000 miles if you expect the engine to last.
In this case the sludge, physical engine appearance, condition of plastics, underside vehicle condition, interior wear are all indicators this vehicle is not "as fresh" as it was sold to be. And we come across this almost DAILY!
Used car dealers (i also believe used car sides of large new dealers do this too) are altering mileage at an alarming rate.
And your average joe thinks that since we've gone to digital odometers they can't be rolled back anymore. Which in fact its easier now more than ever.
I do agree the intervals set by manufactures are a problem......That is for us, not them. 10k miles is a alot. And some models are capable of consuming most of their oil in that amount of time later on in life. I used a hyundia as an example of this on a post on here not too long ago.
But as you all know mileage, maintenance, and oil quality can all contribute to this.
My point here is, if you're not sure, get your vehicle inspected prior to purchasing. Because majority of folks can lift the hood and in two seconds tell you this aint the one. And if the dealer tells you they wont let you go get it inspected WALK. They know you or your mechanic WILL find a good reason not to buy that one.
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This kind of abuse and fraud really pisses me off, but as you say, the current owner didn't do his due diligence.
I bought a 2024 F-450 a few months ago, and despite the local dealer claiming to have changed the oil before it was listed for sale, I still did an oil change a couple of weeks ago before setting out on a 3,500 mile road trip. The cost of 15 quarts of Schaeffer's 5W-40 oil, a WIX oil filter and even a $10 drain plug gasket were well worth it given the peace of mind of knowing for sure what was done, what oil was used, and when it was done.
I checked the tire pressures of all six tires before the trip, and the fronts had 90psi (correct), the inner rears had 80 psi (correct) but the outer rears had 55 psi (incorrect). The dealer said that they rotated the wheels before the truck was listed, but this lack of attention to detail is so typical today.
And that is one of the many reasons the only time my vehicles are at a dealer is for warranty work. I don't even use the initial free oil change because I don't trust them to do it right. I have seen numerous GM TSBs aimed at dealers using the wrong oil filters and there was a rash of problems when the C7 generation of Corvette came with dry sump engines on the Z51 and up editions. There are two drain plugs and most of the oil are in the oil reservoir canister and NOT in the very shallow sump but numerous owners had their cars horribly overfilled because dealership personnel were removing the sump drain and then adding the required 9.7 quarts into a system that often had 8 or more quarts already in it from the improper drain.
One of my neighboring farmers bought a new 2006 GMC 2500HD with a Duramax diesel shortly after I bought mine but he used dealership maintenance for everything. After a couple of years he told me his oil pressure gauge was acting odd. I checked the oil level and then took a look at the oil filter and it had the paint mark that goes on at the factory during final assembly to indicate it was checked. Moraine assembly plant builds the 6.6L Duramax and every one I had came with the original filter on extremely tight and the best way to remove it is with a pair of long handle filter pliers which must have teeth to bite into housing. They really put them on too tight and apparently the dealership guy couldn't ever get it loose so he just kept changing the oil but leaving the original filter on. My neighbor took it up with the dealership but he was mum about the outcome so I have a feeling it didn't go well for him.
And it isn't anything new, my 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado came with a couple of years of free oil changes and the dealership was 30 miles from my home. They did the initial oil change and reduced the hot tires down to the listed cold inflation pressure. For round 2, I told them not to touch the tires but of course they again improperly bled off pressure. For round 3, I put a note on the steering wheel and once again they did their thing and that was the last time I used that dealership for oil changes or any other maintenance.
During an oil change or tire rotation I have the opportunity to inspect much of the car and it is faster for me to do it than spend an hour travel time to a dealer in addition to an unknown wait time once I get there.
Rodger
One of my neighboring farmers bought a new 2006 GMC 2500HD with a Duramax diesel shortly after I bought mine but he used dealership maintenance for everything. After a couple of years he told me his oil pressure gauge was acting odd. I checked the oil level and then took a look at the oil filter and it had the paint mark that goes on at the factory during final assembly to indicate it was checked. Moraine assembly plant builds the 6.6L Duramax and every one I had came with the original filter on extremely tight and the best way to remove it is with a pair of long handle filter pliers which must have teeth to bite into housing. They really put them on too tight and apparently the dealership guy couldn't ever get it loose so he just kept changing the oil but leaving the original filter on. My neighbor took it up with the dealership but he was mum about the outcome so I have a feeling it didn't go well for him.
And it isn't anything new, my 1989 Oldsmobile Toronado came with a couple of years of free oil changes and the dealership was 30 miles from my home. They did the initial oil change and reduced the hot tires down to the listed cold inflation pressure. For round 2, I told them not to touch the tires but of course they again improperly bled off pressure. For round 3, I put a note on the steering wheel and once again they did their thing and that was the last time I used that dealership for oil changes or any other maintenance.
During an oil change or tire rotation I have the opportunity to inspect much of the car and it is faster for me to do it than spend an hour travel time to a dealer in addition to an unknown wait time once I get there.
Rodger
When my girlfriend left this morning she called and said there's a piece of rope in the driveway you lost. (Piece of rope ???)
She is french. So I went to check it out.
Ya , the rope was right there. She had run over it's head.
Not my favorite of God's creatures.
She is french. So I went to check it out.
Ya , the rope was right there. She had run over it's head.
Not my favorite of God's creatures.
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What brand is he? Almost kinda banded like our chicken snakes around here.
The 1022 used to be my snake killin weapon of choice.
I mainly deal with speckled kings and water moccasins (cottonmouths) on our property. Mainly around our pond which is nicknamed Lake Moccasin.
King snakes are a goodin', they can stay.
But, a moccasin will actually stay in one place as you approach it. This is why my youngins arent aloud by the pond without me or my oldest boy (he can usually spot them before i can). But, I reckon this is why folks step on them frequently.
Bastards will also try to get in the boat with you if you aint careful. And if that happens you better be lucky like we were and have a 3rd place snake grabbin champion of the world with you to get it off the damn boat (competitions actually tomorrow Lake Washington, Mississippi y'all come on down.....I won't be there LOL.)
Short story long, got a gamo swarm xs that'll shoot 1200ish fps with platinum pellets and is like 5 friggin feet long. I can reach right up to mr. moccasin, barrel literally one inch from his face, and BAM SUCKA!!!
I believe it's a eastern milk snake.
I'd rather have a root canal then run across a snake.
On my kubota I carry a .410 with #2 or 4 shot. Yours there look like a fat mean B. No pellet gun for me killing that.
I have a gamo pellet gun. Not sure the model but a killer if you hit what you aim at. I've dropped squrriels running thru the oaks with a shot that have surprised me. And down they go.
I'd rather have a root canal then run across a snake.
On my kubota I carry a .410 with #2 or 4 shot. Yours there look like a fat mean B. No pellet gun for me killing that.
I have a gamo pellet gun. Not sure the model but a killer if you hit what you aim at. I've dropped squrriels running thru the oaks with a shot that have surprised me. And down they go.
Good info @BBFarmer. I buy new and two of my closest friends do the work. I'm on the road a lot and have them check everything over when they have it in for oil. I don't follow the manufacturers oil interval for oil changes. I run full synthetic and dump it every 8000km/5000 miles. Oil is cheap, engines aren't.
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Excellent post BBFarmer and I would add another caution and that is to be extremely cautious when purchasing a used vehicle still within the manufacturer's powertrain warranty if it is one of the vehicles that is commonly modified to increase power output. Most of those modifications leave a "signature" and manufacturers are well aware of which of their vehicles/powertrains are often modified and the corporate mothership will require snapshots of ECM data (and also TCM data in the case of many GM vehicles) before providing an in-warranty repair. Unfortunately the new owner finds out too late that the powertrain warranty is now void because of what was done by a previous owner and it is a very difficult, expensive, and generally not worthwhile legal battle to prove that it was done before the most recent purchase.
I don't buy used vehicles but if I was to buy a fairly new one with powertrain warranty, I would want it subjected to the same data query protocol that the manufacturer requires for warranty coverage.
And no, the Magnuson-Moss act does NOT force the manufacturer to prove that the modification was the reason for failure, the ball is in your court to prove it didn't. The M-M act was passed to prevent manufacturers from requiring that in-warranty consumables (filters, fluids, etc.) be purchased from the manufacturer's supply chain and that services be performed only within their dealer network. M-M prevents warranty denial for use of aftermarket filters and fluids that meet manufacturer spec but it was never intended to provide coverage for consumers who want to modify their cars to change the performance parameters regardless of the weasel wording using by SEMA and others. If you want to use a Fram oil filter during the warranty period of your new Ford AND that Fram filter meets Ford specs then they can't back out of a lubrication related failure because it wasn't a Motorcraft filter. But if you have the ECM reprogrammed to run higher boost on one of their tiny gas truck engines and burn up some pistons you are on your own.
A neighbor's son got burned big time with this when he bought a 2 year old half ton pickup through a private party and it started burning a huge amount of oil after a few weeks. The dealership laughed when he drove it in and showed him a picture of what his truck looked like the last time it was at the dealership when the prior owner was proudly showing off all his modifications and then they gave him a printout of their warranty scan of the ECM showing it was not stock. That was a very expensive lesson.
Rodger
Yes sir. Very good point. People get burned by this often.
In our area, the modified stuff that barely lives then makes it back into circulation with dealers and such mainly stays with diesels. Some poor guy grabs one second or third hand that's been on the "hot tune" most it's life.
This has slowed massively since the dealers stopped fooling with "deleted" trucks but you'll still see it.
Years ago, we had a big ole stop sign in our waiting room with the M M act. Basic consumers are not aware of these things. Mainly cause they're told this and that by their dealer, service advisor, writer, manager etc.
I've been with my current shop now since March of '11. But worked for 4 previous shops in my 25 year reign. One being a brief 14 month run at a dealer. It was a free for all, every man for himself. Which as techs, we totally are, its how it supposed to be. But like your buddies duramax, dude cant get the filter off and thats it. Even if they had more experience and could get it off, their laziness is like screw it. And new lube techs rotate in and out of dealers like crazy anyways.
The dealer had by far the highest amount of techs that were either far too inexperienced for the job (misdiags, part swapping, breakage). And when they did have experience, they'd get too lazy to fulfill the tasks properly or actually (and the only time i saw this) be dishonest in selling the repair, doing the repair, using correct parts, all the parts, etc.
BBF, glad you work for an honest dealership! It makes life easier for the customers AND you!
I grew up in Mississippi and at that time they required annual vehicle inspections (perhaps they still do) which was used by many less honest shops to sell unneeded service. Shortly before I left the state, I stopped at a Goodyear service center to get the sticker for my 1985 Monte Carlo SS and the "tech" ( I use that word lightly) had the car on the rack and tried to convince me at just over 4,000 miles on a new car I needed the ball joints replaced. I told him I didn't have time now because I was driving up to spend the weekend with my college frat brother who worked for the state consumer protection agency. Suddenly I didn't need the ball joints so badly according to his new analysis
My buddy was actually with the state tax commission but he had a few business cards printed up with his name, correct phone number, but showing the consumer protection agency as his place of employment. He used those at service places to avoid being hassled and it worked.My father had a Nash and Hudson dealership prior to WWII and I grew up with him repairing the family cars so I knew a bit more than the attempted scammer expected. I have raised my daughter to help me with oil changes, tire rotations, and she helped replace one of he MSRC shocks on my previous Cadillac just before she went to college. I want her to also know enough about cars not to be taken advantage of by the not so honest.
Illinois also has their share of scammers. I don't use quick change oil places but a family emergency came up and I needed to make a rush trip back to the Mississippi coast and stopped at a quick change place for an oil and filter change. While I was waiting, an employee came out with a piece of cardboard and a fluid stain on it to show me how horrible the rear differential fluid looked. I told him that was interesting because I had replaced that fluid two months ago AND there was no drain plug on that era GM car so you had to pull the housing off to drain and then use gasket former and let it set up before refilling it through the only opening in the differential at the top. He then stuttered out that it wasn't from my car but that is what most fluid looks like. I suspect they sell a lot of expensive service that they probably don't even do properly.
I have a great dealership I used when my Corvette had GM required service or warranty work. The general manager and sales manager are brothers and former students of mine and the service manager was the former service manager at the Deere dealership where I bought my compact utility and they take great care of me.
But even good dealerships can go bad quickly with new management. I bought several cars and diesel pickups from a GMC/Cadillac/Olds dealer over the years and they were great. When I took delivery of my first Duramax Diesel, I brought the diesel tech a couple of boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to share with the other techs because he went above and beyond taking care of a software glitch from GM. However 10 years ago I was going in to order a replacement for my car and I had been using the same salesperson for over a decade and he looked extremely out of sorts. I asked him what was up and he told me that they were under new management and while he was at lunch another customer he had worked with for years had come in 2 hours early to take delivery of her new Escalade. The new policy was whatever salesperson delivers the vehicle gets the commission so he lost a huge commission on a long-term customer.
As a marketing prof, I have strong feelings about how salespeople should be treated and I figured any dealership that treated employees so badly would treat customers even worse. I followed my salesperson to a different Cadillac dealership in another nearby city (which has been great) and within 2 weeks 3 salespeople, the commercial fleet guy, the service manager, and much of the shop had also moved to the new dealership. I was glad they got out.
Rodger
That's so crazy to hear. And i've heard many stories like that having someone sell you something you dont need, or claim to have an issue that really isn't there.BBF, glad you work for an honest dealership! It makes life easier for the customers AND you!
I grew up in Mississippi and at that time they required annual vehicle inspections (perhaps they still do) which was used by many less honest shops to sell unneeded service. Shortly before I left the state, I stopped at a Goodyear service center to get the sticker for my 1985 Monte Carlo SS and the "tech" ( I use that word lightly) had the car on the rack and tried to convince me at just over 4,000 miles on a new car I needed the ball joints replaced. I told him I didn't have time now because I was driving up to spend the weekend with my college frat brother who worked for the state consumer protection agency. Suddenly I didn't need the ball joints so badly according to his new analysis
My father had a Nash and Hudson dealership prior to WWII and I grew up with him repairing the family cars so I knew a bit more than the attempted scammer expected. I have raised my daughter to help me with oil changes, tire rotations, and she helped replace one of he MSRC shocks on my previous Cadillac just before she went to college. I want her to also know enough about cars not to be taken advantage of by the not so honest.
Illinois also has their share of scammers. I don't use quick change oil places but a family emergency came up and I needed to make a rush trip back to the Mississippi coast and stopped at a quick change place for an oil and filter change. While I was waiting, an employee came out with a piece of cardboard and a fluid stain on it to show me how horrible the rear differential fluid looked. I told him that was interesting because I had replaced that fluid two months ago AND there was no drain plug on that era GM car so you had to pull the housing off to drain and then use gasket former and let it set up before refilling it through the only opening in the differential at the top. He then stuttered out that it wasn't from my car but that is what most fluid looks like. I suspect they sell a lot of expensive service that they probably don't even do properly.
I have a great dealership I used when my Corvette had GM required service or warranty work. The general manager and sales manager are brothers and former students of mine and the service manager was the former service manager at the Deere dealership where I bought my compact utility and they take great care of me.
But even good dealerships can go bad quickly with new management. I bought several cars and diesel pickups from a GMC/Cadillac/Olds dealer over the years and they were great. When I took delivery of my first Duramax Diesel, I brought the diesel tech a couple of boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts to share with the other techs because he went above and beyond taking care of a software glitch from GM. However 10 years ago I was going in to order a replacement for my car and I had been using the same salesperson for over a decade and he looked extremely out of sorts. I asked him what was up and he told me that they were under new management and while he was at lunch another customer he had worked with for years had come in 2 hours early to take delivery of her new Escalade. The new policy was whatever salesperson delivers the vehicle gets the commission so he lost a huge commission on a long-term customer.
As a marketing prof, I have strong feelings about how salespeople should be treated and I figured any dealership that treated employees so badly would treat customers even worse. I followed my salesperson to a different Cadillac dealership in another nearby city (which has been great) and within 2 weeks 3 salespeople, the commercial fleet guy, the service manager, and much of the shop had also moved to the new dealership. I was glad they got out.
Rodger
And like you're saying, stand your ground for a second and stuttering stanleys done made an ass of himself in the waiting room. But unfortunately, as you know its the less knowledgable that feller prays upon.
Wouldn't you know it, good ole ms done away with inspections. And actually being from the west coast, i always figured we'd be smog testing. I mean, they could mostly be an inconvenience. But for the person who really didn't know their tire was in cord, or the front end was fixin to fall out, it worked out good.
But for $5, there wasn't a shop in town that was going to bring that vehicle in, set it up on the rack, and give her a thorough inspection.
Then in 2015 it became a racial thing like most things do down here, and they deemed it wasn't cost effective and shut the whole thing down.