[2 feet shorter]

The internet says that a 2009 Forester has 68 cu ft max cargo capacity, vs. 42 cu ft for the Fit.

Considering the Fit is 2 feet shorter in length, 4 inches narrower, 5 inches shorter in height and 750 pounds lighter, it would be rather a surprise if it could match the cargo capacity.

  Well the Fit owners make it sound like a TARDIS, so I thought it might come closer than it does. 26 cu ft is a lot of space to give up...although I still intend to pitch the idea when I can get her interested in a new car. She really doesn't want to part with her old Forester, and probably won't until an emergency repair forces her hand.

It occurs to me to ask why you removed the RE050s from a new Miata after only 500 miles?

The RE050s are not suited for track/autocross driving. Typically, changing out the OEM rubber is the very first thing anyone can do to a car to steal a little more performance.   With a few exceptions, OEM tires are pretty much fair to middling at best, as far as performance goes.

I'd forgotten that you race Miatas. Although I've always toyed with taking mine out on a track, I doubt that I ever will.

I think that my Toyos are better tires than the Re050s, and I expect that I can get quite a few more miles from them, so I'm going to resist the temptation to store a set of backup tires in my garage. Thanks again for the offer. I hate walking away from a bargain.

The internet says that a 2009 Forester has 68 cu ft max cargo capacity, vs. 42 cu ft for the Fit. I don't think the Bride is going to go for that much of a downsize. Too bad...it's $5,000 cheaper and gets 8 more mpg. (sigh)

The plastic underbody strip yielded compliantly to my gluey ministrations, and a few small strips of duct tape should keep it nice and solid. The thing looks like it was designed to break away easily.

So all that's left is replacing the spoiler. No urgency there. Maybe I'll fashion one from duct tape and glue it on.

Today I took some Krazy Glue to the rubber flaps on my sidewalls, and did an admirable cosmetic repair on the gouges. The car passed inspection. My Toyos have 15-20k miles of tread life left, which is why I was so reluctant to replace them. I resolve to allow a lot more room when backing into curbside parking spaces from now on. The wheels and sidewalls on the right side of my car have many scrapes and scratches. Those on the left are like new.

This afternoon I'm going to see if Krazy Glue can also address that plastic skirt piece. I have great faith in Krazy Glue and duct tape.

We need to replace the Bride's Lesboru later this year. She loves her Forester and would drive it until the wheels fall off, which is great -- gives us time to save up a down payment now that my Miata is paid off. But it's 9 years old and has 125k miles...I'd like to replace it before snow flies this year.

I've been trying to talk her into looking at a Fit. She wants another Forester. She likes driving a beater with lots of space for hauling around her junk. I don't know if the Fit is in the same league as the Forester for cargo room. Anyway, the testimonials here are encouraging. I suppose I ought to scare up statistics on both vehicles.   

I'm driving a 1997 Subaru Outback, and I was worried about cargo space.  I think that the Fit will have compareable, if not more cargo space than the Forrester.  Plus the gas mileage difference between the Fit and the AWD Subaru's will be huge.  My Outback is a PIG.

Her Forester approaches 25 mpg, thanks to having a standard transmission. Not too bad, but obviously not in the Fit's category. I wonder how permanently carrying 100 pounds of assorted junk would affect the Fit's ride and mileage.

We need to replace the Bride's Lesboru later this year. She loves her Forester and would drive it until the wheels fall off, which is great -- gives us time to save up a down payment now that my Miata is paid off. But it's 9 years old and has 125k miles...I'd like to replace it before snow flies this year.

I've been trying to talk her into looking at a Fit. She wants another Forester. She likes driving a beater with lots of space for hauling around her junk. I don't know if the Fit is in the same league as the Forester for cargo room. Anyway, the testimonials here are encouraging. I suppose I ought to scare up statistics on both vehicles.   

I also have a follow up question for Neal:     I read scattering of reports about reliability questions for the MINI last night.     Are these things reliable?

When I shopped the Mini four years ago, I reluctantly ruled it out because it was too new to have reliable reliability ratings. The few reports I could find were weak. The Miata, OTOH, had been getting stellar reliability and customer satisfaction ratings for literally decades, and that's what I ultimately bought.

The Mini has four more years of experience under its belt now, but I'd do a little more digging if reliability is as big a factor for you as it is for me. FWIW, Consumer Reports has ratings for the convertible S for 2005 and 06. The Mini's lowest marks were in Predicted Reliability (Good) and Ride (Fair). Under reliability, fuel system, engine cooling, and drive system all ranked below average in 05, but all of those ratings improved in 06, so that only Fuel System remained sub-par. I know people don't put much stock in CR, and those ratings are for older models...but it's something to look into anyway.

Why didn't they name this mission "Viking 3"? It feels like a rerun, except our greater familiarity with the Martian surface dulls the excitement that accompanied those first Viking panoramas, with their red rocks and pink sky. I hope Phoenix's science results are more definitive than the Vikings were.

Because, this is essentially the mission that replaces the failed Mars Polar Lander from years back. The mission that caused a lot of sadness and depression within NASA due to its failure. The one that made NASA second-guess itself. The one that made us wonder if we should just give up space exploration altogether.

The mission that failed to translate metric to english system measurements, IIRC. The Vikings landed in the most sterile desert, while Phoenix is aiming for the wettest place they know. But it's still a lineal descendant of the Viking landers.

Here's the case for hoping it doesnt find life. I don't agree, but it's a fun argument anyway. The setup:

If they were wise, they'd hope that our probes discover nothing. It would be great news to find that Mars is a completely sterile planet.

On the other hand, if we discovered traces of some simple extinct life form - a bacterium, some algae - it would be bad news. If we found fossils of something even more advanced, like a trilobite or even the skeleton of a small mammal, it would be horrible news. The more complex the life we found, the more depressing. Scientifically interesting, yes, but dire news for the future of the human race.

Why? To understand the real meaning of such a discovery is to realize just what it means that the universe has been so silent for so long - why we have been listening for other civilizations for decades and yet have heard nothing.

Tornadoes scare the bejezus out of me. I saw three of them, and the aftermath of many, many more, while growing up in Michigan. I have recurring nightmares about tornadoes, and even though they're exceedingly rare in New England, I still get the heebie-jeebies when the sky turns green and the clouds start to swirl.

Why didn't they name this mission "Viking 3"? It feels like a rerun, except our greater familiarity with the Martian surface dulls the excitement that accompanied those first Viking panoramas, with their red rocks and pink sky. I hope Phoenix's science results are more definitive than the Vikings were.

Given that California's domestic partnerships already gave gay couples the same rights and responsibilities as marriage from the standpoint of state law,  what does this change, other than having it called "marriage" instead of "domestic partnerships"?

As it was explained to me, "separate but equal isn't equal."

[but they have expensive bulbs that burn out]

2. Pick a technology. They all have pluses and minuses. Projection sets are the cheapest, but they have expensive bulbs that burn out, often have limited viewing angles, and might be a dying technology. Plasma sets are tremendous energy hogs that put out a lot of waste heat. LCDs can have washed-out black levels and less vivid colors. Read up on the pros and cons of each technology and choose the one that matters to you. We went with LCD for various reasons, including lower power consumption and a non-reflective, matte screen.

The bolded part is not necessarily true. A lot of the newer DLP sets are using LED backlighting which, if you do any research, should point you to those sets having a longer lifetime than even an LCD or Plasma set barring some kind of other internal malfunction.

I did not know that. That would certainly give projection technology a new shot in the arm.

Yup.  Big Space has finally got its hooks into him.

NASA very wisely established R&D facilities in every state in the Union, and their $14B annual budget is spread around accordingly. It enjoys very wide support. Pork for everyone!

I understood Obama's original desire to take a macro look at the manned space program. Moon/Mars is not necessarily the One True Path that must guide us for the next 25 years. But we're about to become dependent on Russia for manned space access for at least two years, and possibly longer if Ares/Orion hit development snags. Obama's earlier position would have not only closed off orbital access indefinitely, it would have dispersed NASA's talent to the point that we might not have ever been able to recover. That was an astonishingly short-sighted idea. I am very glad that, for whatever reason, he understands that we are committed to developing this vehicle to keep a basic, vital capability alive. We do not have the luxury of starting over.

Srsly. Spend the money combating things important

What "important thing" would NASA's $14B annual budget solve that outweighs surrendering manned space capability to the Russians and Chinese?

Do I try to sell myself, trade, or do I go down to somewhere like carmax?

I've always found a trade-in to be a very valuable bargaining chit. Every time I've ever traded in a car, I've gotten more than I could have sold it for -- and saved the hassle of having to sell it. For some reason (accounting or commissions, I imagine) dealers prefer to get a higher nominal price and then discount it. I think they have considerable leeway over what they can offer for trades, since no actual money is involved -- it's all just numbers on paper.

Of course, the condition of your vehicle and its marketability will come into play. When I traded in my Saturn SC2, they gave me double what I expected because the body was in very good condition and the interior was clean. Sports coupes are always in demand. Since you are part of a tidal wave of people trying to ditch gas guzzlers right now, you're likely to take a hit whichever way you go.

I don't know anything about carmax.

While you are right about gas guzzler tidal wave, you overlook the fact that the FJ is somewhat of a niche vehicle.     I see quite a few brand new FJ's driving around town here.    They aren't your typical SUV.

All the more reason to trade it.

When we bought our Lesboru I was coy about whether or not I was going to trade in my Saturn. On the theory that the dealer will jack up the price if he knows that a trade-in will bring it back down, I wanted to get the best possible nominal price, and THEN talk about the trade/no trade aspect. I always intended to keep the Saturn. I don't know if that tactic made any difference or not -- refusing to commit before the price was settled drove the salesman crazy, so maybe there was something to my theory.

If the dealer won't give you what you think your FJ is worth, you can always sell it yourself after you buy your Mini. Like I said, I have always gotten more in trade than I thought I could get by selling a car myself. But then, I'm lazy about going through that process, so there's a hassle avoidance factor at work too.

1. Decide what size is right for you. If you have a small room and will sit close to the TV, you want a smaller screen than if it's farther away. Our TV is only about 8' away from our seating, so we found 42" to be plenty big. You don't want to have to move your head back and forth to see the whole image. I actually got some cardboard and made cutouts of a couple of candidate sets' dimensions, just so we could see how they would really fit our little living room.

2. Pick a technology. They all have pluses and minuses. Projection sets are the cheapest, but they have expensive bulbs that burn out, often have limited viewing angles, and might be a dying technology. Plasma sets are tremendous energy hogs that put out a lot of waste heat. LCDs can have washed-out black levels and less vivid colors. Read up on the pros and cons of each technology and choose the one that matters to you. We went with LCD for various reasons, including lower power consumption and a non-reflective, matte screen.

3. Do your brand research. There are tons of reviews online. I found that there is very little value to looking at them in showrooms, because the conditions there don't match your home, and because the retailers adjust their pictures so that the sets with the biggest markup look the best. Seeing is not believing. Since it is nearly impossible to compare picture quality yourself, pay a lot of attention to other features like sound, inputs, remote, etc. 

4. Pick a retailer. We saved a few hundred bucks by buying online. Many people are more comfortable with retail stores. They're all pretty competitive, and the deals are constantly changing.

Most of the sets on the market are pretty good. There is no clear best technology or size or manufacturer. You're probably going to be happy with whatever you buy, once you figure out which TV is right for you.

Do I try to sell myself, trade, or do I go down to somewhere like carmax?

I've always found a trade-in to be a very valuable bargaining chit. Every time I've ever traded in a car, I've gotten more than I could have sold it for -- and saved the hassle of having to sell it. For some reason (accounting or commissions, I imagine) dealers prefer to get a higher nominal price and then discount it. I think they have considerable leeway over what they can offer for trades, since no actual money is involved -- it's all just numbers on paper.

Of course, the condition of your vehicle and its marketability will come into play. When I traded in my Saturn SC2, they gave me double what I expected because the body was in very good condition and the interior was clean. Sports coupes are always in demand. Since you are part of a tidal wave of people trying to ditch gas guzzlers right now, you're likely to take a hit whichever way you go.

I don't know anything about carmax.

The internet has empowered the buyer by making it easy to find reliable cost and value information, and to play sellers off against one another. In the Olden Days one had to actually go from dealer to dealer and negotiate in person. It was wearisome and time-consuming, and the dealers still horded the information. The last time we bought a car (1999), the net was still a new factor. Dealers didn't know how to counter it yet. We insisted on using the Autobytel price as our basis for negotiation, then bought from the dealer who undercut it the most. Since then the process has gotten more and more transparent.

Well, I should come clean: The last time I bought a car was actually 2004. When you special-order a limited production model with exactly the features and color that you want -- and then agree to wait two months for the Japanese to build and deliver it -- you don't have a single bargaining chit. I did get a nicely inflated credit for my trade-in, and a below-market finance rate. And I had some kind of "family & friends" coupon for $500 off, so at least that was something. But yes, friends, I paid sticker price. 

Sticker price. Not a dime more.

Clinton and McCain both have strong pro-NASA positions. US space policy is one of three core issues for me. Bush committed NASA to the Moon/Mars Initiative, and with the shuttles retiring two years from now, there is no going back if we are to have a manned program at all. The last time I looked into it, Obama intended to suspend NASA's manned space budget pending a top-level strategy review, and divert the money to education in the meantime. This would have left the US without manned space access for the foreseeable future: what a bad idea. I sent a scathing email to his campaign explaining all of this. They didn't answer. So I reluctantly decided to oppose Obama, the enemy of human progress.

Tonight I discovered this:

Develop the Next-Generation of Space Vehicles: The retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2010 will leave the United States without manned spaceflight capability until the introduction of the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) carried by the Ares I Launch Vehicle. As president, Obama will support the development of this vital new platform to ensure that the United States' reliance on foreign space capabilities is limited to the minimum possible time period. The CEV will be the backbone of future missions, and is being designed with technology that is already proven and available.

Clearly, my email turned him around. I am now OK with him becoming president. You may proceed with your petty concerns.

Those car accidents?  We've seen plenty accident photos posted here and no one was screaming big brother for those.

"Accidents". Yeah, right. Those drivers know they're on camera.

 

Did you even read the link I posted?  The man drove a car off a bridge, and didn't do everything in his power to save his female passenger.  He gets no sympathy from many people for that incident.

He was drunk. He gets a pass.

What size are the Mazdaspeed tires?  something like 205/45 17s IIRC??

Edit:  I see they are 205/40/17's.  I have 4 195/45/17's bridgestone Re050s that I took of an '08 Miata with lest than 500 miles on the clock.  They're yours for the price of shipping plus 100 bucks. Let me know.

I do love my Bridgestone Blizzaks. But I'm finding a lot of complaints that the RE050s are intolerably noisy once they pass about 7,000 miles. Also that they wear out fast (<15,000 miles). I need to do more research. Thanks a bunch for the offer, I might still take you up on it. The price is sure right. 

Yesterday was my day for dealing with car maintenance. It's going to be the weekend before I can think about the tires, spoiler, and underskirt again.

You're driving a Miata, running Blizzaks year 'round and you're worried about tire noise????

No, the Blizzaks are my snow tires, and very good ones they are. Last winter the Miata successfully scaled a small icy hill that several 4WD trucks had failed (thank you, standard transmission!). I run my Toyos from mid April through Thanksgiving. The only problem is a deep sidewall gouge in one tire that technically should fail inspection. I can just slap my Blizzaks on the rear, drive 0.5 mile to the inspection station, then put the Toyos right back on after I get my sticker. It's a silly waste of time and effort, but it cuts my new tire expense to $0 for the time being. 

It occurs to me to ask why you removed the RE050s from a new Miata after only 500 miles?

[The Straight Story]

The Straight Story is another overlooked gem, from David Lynch. "Alvin Straight is a very old man with a quiet life in a small country town. When his brother gets seriously sick, he decides to put away their differences and visit him after many, many years. So, alone, he begins a long journey through hundreds of miles, just to see again his brother, even if it's the last thing he will ever do... Based on a real story." He makes this pilgrimage on a riding lawnmower.

What I don't get is how my wife's computers have chronic, perpetual problems.

My wife's computers have always been a source of mystery to me. She's not dumb or careless. But her machines always run slow and crash regularly, even though she knows how to run basic maintenance programs and I occasionally give them a good going over. Every computer dies a horrible death within 2-3 years, and is succeed by another computer that runs poorly. It must just be her deleterious effect on technology in general. Some wives just emit anti-tech rays.

And Starring Poncho Villa As Himself

http://www.hbo.com/films/panchovilla/

Like Shadow of the Vampire, this is a movie about the power of movies.

It happens to all of us. I once spent an entire morning diagnosing a crazy network problem only to realize that the network cable was unplugged.

That's why I don't mind isolated incidents of stupidity. Anyone can have a bad day when their mind is elsewhere. It's the repetitious stupidity that really irritates me.

Just a few days ago I spent half an hour trying to figure out why the USB ports on my wife's port replicator had stopped working. Turns out the danged thing needs its power cord plugged in. 

I'm going to need a soaker hose when my rain barrel gets here. Low water pressure is the main drawback to using a barrel. Ordinarily I use the hand-held nozzle, because sprinklers are supposedly banned in our town -- a regulation that's widely ignored.

Herb gardens are easy, space-efficient, and rewarding for anybody who cooks at all. Last night's fish stew used fresh parsley that had overwintered. I think my oregano and thyme need to be replanted this year, though.

That's funny.  People just need to keep their personal information safe and they should be alright.

My BIL (the crazy one, not the lazy one) and his wife swear that they will never buy anything online because it's not secure. They were victims of identity theft nearly 10 years ago and they are still dealing with the fallout. The thief got their credit card and identity info when they rented a car at the airport. Which had absolutely nothing to do with the internet, of course, but as I said this is the crazy BIL.

Customers occasionally call me to place a telephone order because they don't trust ordering through my website. When you pay online your info passes encrypted and invisible to the merchant...but fine, believe whatever you want. I take their information down on paper, hang up, and then enter the order online exactly as they would have done. Except now I have all of their payment info on a piece of paper. Their paranoia ends up creating a new security vulnerability. 

me & IT:  "WTF?"
she: "Oh, that?  I spilled some water on it this morning, but I didn't think that would do anything to it!"

Similar situation a few years back, my wife called for help because her laptop wouldn't boot. It "just stopped working". Didn't even seem to be getting power. I checked all the obvious stuff, threw up my hands and told her I don't know why it would "just stop working". When I noticed that the keys were a bit sticky, she sheepishly admitted to dumping an entire diet coke on it. "I didn't want to tell you because I was afraid you'd get mad."

I got mad.

Bob Kerrey, who ran for president in 1992 and lost the nomination to former President Clinton, says Clinton's tactical errors in her campaign pale in comparison with a much bigger, much simpler reason for her troubles — mainly, that her opponent is a great politician.  "I'm not sure Bill Clinton could have beaten Barack Obama," he said. "Every mistake that she made, if she had not been running against Barack Obama, wouldn't even be a footnote. They're exaggerated. They're magnified because he kept out-raising her, because he was drawing enormous crowds, because he kept getting better.". 

I've got to buy one of those new election PC games when my stimulus check gets here. Bill Clinton vs Obama in a primary simulation would be fun.

I like the Prius. If I needed a family-type car, I'd consider one. But I don't remember ever applying for a man card, so I have no input on losing one.

What size are the Mazdaspeed tires?  something like 205/45 17s IIRC??

Edit:  I see they are 205/40/17's.  I have 4 195/45/17's bridgestone Re050s that I took of an '08 Miata with lest than 500 miles on the clock.  They're yours for the price of shipping plus 100 bucks. Let me know.

I do love my Bridgestone Blizzaks. But I'm finding a lot of complaints that the RE050s are intolerably noisy once they pass about 7,000 miles. Also that they wear out fast (<15,000 miles). I need to do more research. Thanks a bunch for the offer, I might still take you up on it. The price is sure right. 

Yesterday was my day for dealing with car maintenance. It's going to be the weekend before I can think about the tires, spoiler, and underskirt again.

Now the Bride is complaining that the whole upstairs smells of naphthalene. Yesterday she was complaining about the smell of cigars. Geez, woman, make up your mind.

So now I'm leaving a note for the people three doors up from us to tell them to stop letting their cats outside. Yay. Future neighbourhood drama.

Why would you do this?  There's no logical reason for your neighbors to even think about going along with that.  It's not their fault that your cats are acting the way they are.

Bad idea.

+1. Nothing would make us keep Iggy indoors, not even having lost our other cat to a coyote. We have had to confine him a couple of times for medical reasons, and it simply is not an option. He is utterly miserable when trapped indoors, and he devotes every waking hour to sharing the experience.

Cats need to be on leashes where I live. If they're not, they are fair game for animal control. As to Tymora and Tigrrr, you should tell Tigrrr to stop making "balls" jokes around Tymora.

I think that law might be on the books here, too. I know they're supposed to be licensed. It's absurd and unenforceable.

Yesterday I called up the town and ordered a rain barrel. The first batch of 100, which sold for only $25 for delivery in June, was long gone...I'm sure those went strictly to insiders. The second batch of 90 was $70 for July delivery (regular price is $89). It will come too late to be of very much use this year, but I'm looking forward to getting it anyway. I've wanted to try one of these for years. Today I got out the ladder and cleaned out the gutters (the main one was completely blocked), so I am ready for my barrel.

This is the one I'm getting.

Today I finally (!) got out the ladder and climbed up to have a good look. I found a nice squirrel porch about a foot long and four inches wide, all lined with nice comfy chewed up paper and other detritus, leading through a hole into our walls. There it turns a corner, so I can't tell how far back the nest extends. The bad news is that it's too large and irregular an area for me to seal up myself, and the "porch" boards are rotten anyway. The good news is that a carpenter ought to have no trouble replacing the damaged area and covering it with a sheet of aluminum. It looks like a pretty straightforward job.

So I am off to the hardware now to buy some of that Mouse-Pruf II and a package of moth balls. I will shove the moth balls as far into their hole as I can, and leave the poison right near the entrance...just in case they come back. The squirrel noises stopped a couple of weeks ago.

In the weeks since this thread went dormant, I have found three dead squirrels on our property. Somebody else in the neighborhood must be poisoning them. Our cat is a good hunter, but not three-squirrels good.

Do you really need a spoiler?

It's just decorative, but if I remove it the bolt holes and glue stains will look worse than the broken spoiler. And the trim package would look kind of weird without one. It's pretty low priority, though.

Think how good you're going to feel when you go in for a checkup at the dealer and they tell you you need a timing belt.About $300 zillion. Plus parts.

Fortunately I only put about 5,000 miles a year on my car. It doesn't even get its first tuneup until 30,000. It will be six years old by then. I'm a long way from needing major repairs and maintenance. And there's a gas station repair shop that we've used for my wife's car a couple of times with good results, so the dealer will never be doing major non-warranty work. Diagnosing it, sure.

What's a flinker?

D'oh.  That was the real reason I posted and I totally got sidetracked.  WTF is a flinker?  Is that the same thing as keyless remote fob?

Yes, it's our generic term for any remote control. I have no idea where we picked up that word, but my wife and I have both used it since the world was covered in ice and dirt was a new invention. To unlock the car or open the trunk remotely is to flink it. To disable a car's alarm is to flink it. It must be a Michigan thing. Or maybe an old person thing. Or maybe an old person from Michigan thing. I don't know.

Oh then trade the car in for a similar chick car like the Sky or Solstice.  The Sky looks a little more manly.

Miatas are a gay car, not a chick car. And I so don't care about that. It is simply the best designed and most reliable roadster for the money. I've read that you can't raise and lower the Sky/Solstice top without getting out of the car. In the Miata I can just reach behind me and pull it up and forward. Takes less than 10 seconds. 

The dealer price on the Toyos themselves isn't too bad, $152 each IIRC. The rest of their price is for mounting, balancing, and doing an alignment (about $110). I could probably even get by without the alignment, but it has gone four years without one. Tire Rack doesn't sell Toyo. They have a Goodyear Eagle for $148 each that has the same tread pattern as my Toyos. My main constraint is wanting to match the two Toyos that are still in good shape. With a difference of $4 per tire, why not just buy the dealer's Toyos?

LM, those links are useful. One of those shops is within a few miles of home. I'll see if they can beat the dealer's price on Toyos. Then it's just a matter of finding somebody who'll do the service for a decent rate.

I use the dealership because I don't trust quickie oil change places. I've read too many message board threads and seen too many TV exposes about shoddy work and outright fraud. The dealership is usually one-stop shopping -- they have Mazdaspeed parts in stock and they know how to work on them so the convenience factor is a big plus. They also have a waiting room with WiFi and free coffee. Finally, Mazda Gallery's service dept. gets decent ratings for customer satisfaction.

But I agree, for major repairs I always try to find somebody else. Dealerships always default to the maximum amount of work they can sell. When I do encounter something unexpected like I did today, I look elsewhere for advice. I'm definitely going to find a used spoiler. I suppose a decent body shop can paint it to match.

The pisser is the amount of time that it's going to take me to track down the parts and service for the spoiler and tires. I thought the dealer would do the whole shebang inside of two hours today. And they would have if I'd coughed up the big bucks. Instead it has turned into a PITA. I just had no idea they would try to charge way over $1000 for a gorram piece of molded plastic. What a racket!