Fifty150

You are in the market for a used car, 5 - 8 years old. You need to look out for everything! As with any used car, check the VIN to see if there are any recalls or TSB work that needs to be performed by a dealer. Then have a good mechanic inspect it, and do all the service work that the previous owner may or may not have overlooked. All fluids should be replaced. Transmission, coolant, oil.....doesn't hurt to inspect the brakes, front wheel bearings, front axles......new air filter, cabin air filter, recharge the A/C, and it's probably due for new spark plugs. With the 1st generation, most of the vehicles were used for commercial purposes. If you get the commercial ladder racks, pipe carriers, or bulkhead screen divider, then consider that a bonus since those are very expensive. Even better if they installed a rooftop cooling unit and drove the van as a mobile walk-in freezer. They were driven harder. Sometimes overloaded. Shocks and springs may need a little attention. Any car that age could have from 50,000 miles, to hundreds of thousands of miles.......between service work & wear items, budget yourself accordingly. Don't spend $$$XXX on a used car, that you will have to put $$$XXX after you buy it. You could easily find within the first year of ownership, that you just paid for the privilege of paying for all the deferred maintenance that the last owner did not pay for. Even a new set of tires could be $300 - $500 - and that may the first thing you'll need. Look at the interior. Is it the configuration you have in mind? What condition is the cockpit? Do all the knobs & buttons work? Is the seat sunken in, worn, faded, and ripped? Is the spare tire still there? How about the body work? Is there rust? Are body panels straight? Do all the lights work? Is there a residual odor which makes you want VapoRub in your nostrils? Are there still logos or lettertype which identify that the van was used to transport cadavers? If the van was used to cater soup, salad, and sandwiches, it may be in better shape that a plumbing van with worn suspension. With any used car, you will luck out if you find one that belonged to a little old lady, who kept it in her garage, and only drove it 2 miles to worship services on The Sabbath. Or you get the Animal Control van with assorted animal odors of urine, feces, and different stages of decomposing roadkill. If you're paying attention, the dog catchers are carrying automatic rifles.

Genius. Made your own out of wood! You get the award for "creative idea of the day".

2017 & 2018 should be exactly the same. I like modifications just as much as the next guy. You want to make it different. Make it better. I just don't see how that could possibly make your drive any better. One of the things that I do like to do with the interior lamps is change the color to red. Preserves night vision. That does allow you to access the wiring harness, in case you feel the need to spice into it to add more interior lighting. LED strip lights are inexpensive, easy to work with, and come in different colors. You literally cut them to the length that you want, attach your positive & negative wires, and stick them where ever you want.

I don't know if there's enough space behind the headliner.

Look in the Gen 1 owners manual. If you don't have the manual, it's available online. It may be different.

Relearning the drive cycle is normal. Happens every time you disconnect the battery.

If a Jiffy Lube tech simply removed your screen, and "accidentally" forgot to install it after the oil change......most people would drive away and never know the difference. Sure, it may effect the aerodynamics & mileage. All the dirt, mud, water, and road debris would fly up in there. All of the extra cold air could effect your car's computer trying to maintain a proper operating temperature. But it certainly isn't a skid plate which offers protection from tree stumps, rocks, and curbs. What about all of those cars of yesteryear which didn't have a lower splash guard? I'm actually thinking of leaving it off the next time that I remove it.

The Transit Connect roof has holes drilled into it, and it is capped with plastic covers. I don't know if any of the roof rails, racks, crossbars are actually installed at the factory. I've seen the techs at the dealerships installing them when they prep the vehicle for sale. I am guessing that it is the seal around the hole where the roof rail mounts.

That explains every cheap part on the car......all that plastic, vinyl, loose parts that rattle, weather seal rubber strips held in place with cheap glue........ I think that almost every car sold today could be, and should be, built better with better parts, fit, & finish. It can be done. Cost is the only factor. If Transit Connect were manufactured to Lincoln standards......it would cost more than double. I bought a minivan which cost $$$XXX. I could have spent a lot more. I could have spent twice as much...... What do you get for $40K+? I have sort of accepted that I bought a car at the lower end of the price spectrum for new cars. I know that @ $20K+, I'm not getting a Toyota Sienna, or Honda Odyssey. I also feel that those vans are not twice as good, and even though nicer, not twice as nice.

Cost reduction = profit. Save $1 per fastener X 1 million fasteners = ??????

Both front sockets failed in unison? That's an anomaly. I can see one of them failing.....for who knows what reason. Easy enough to buy a socket, cut off the old socket, and splice in the new socket. I have the feeling that there is more to it.

Poutine is good. Strange that it never caught on & took off on US menus. That's what we really need. A "breastaurant" chain serving Canadian food, with waitresses in revealing outfits. Sort of like Twin Peaks, Redneck Heaven, Mugs & Jugs.........now what will we name it?

But it will be good for the economy......of those growing the corn.

Since you can see it, and see the leaves, can you get a vacuum hose with a crevice tool in there to suck it out? Try taking off that top dash trim above the radio, and the center console trim along the floor under the radio.. That may allow more access.

Just what is "brown gravy"?

Your 1,000 mile road trip would be a great MPG tracker. Does TX also use E10 fuel? Thanks to The POTUS, E15 is on the way.

Out of fuel. True test just like MythBusters. When you ran out of fuel, how many miles did you get on that tank?

Las Vegas has drafted Celine Dion. Can we export Fergie to Canada without Trade Tariff?

I'll get right back to you once I'm done with polishing the boots on my Mountie uniform, and eating my plate of Poutine. "Oh Canada"......can't get that tune off my mind.

By the way, utilities are a lot less out here. We do not spend money on heating the home, or air conditioning. My whole life, I kid you not, none of the houses or apartments I lived in, in The City, needed to be heated or cooled. Good insulation. Double pane windows. Skylights let light in. Eating out means you're saving more gas & electricity by not turning on the stove or oven. During the work week, I eat the free food in the corporate cafeteria. I drink coffee from the office coffee pot, and even refill my water bottles at work. Google, YouTube, Tesla, FaceBook, Twitter......and even non-tech companies all have company food for the employees. Where I work at, there's even beer in the company fridge. You don't wash dishes, bathe in the ocean as you're surfing, pee in the pool, so the water bill is even lower. I know a guy who walks over to the 24 hour Starbucks to use their bathroom, so he isn't flushing gallons of his own water. Now I just have to find a way to sneak fuel out of the company trucks without security seeing my siphon & Jerry Can. Almost want to get a job @ Google, just so that I can camp in the parking lot, shower in the company gym, and hit on all of those hot tech babes. https://www.businessinsider.com/couple-lived-in-rv-in-google-parking-lot-2016-3 This couple lived in an RV in Google's parking lot for 2 years and saved 80% of their income Kathleen Elkins Mar. 16, 2016, 10:28 AM

I pay the extra rent with the money I'm saving on wipers.

I reckon there's nothing "standard" about wiper blades.

Pinch Tab

How did wiper blades get so expensive?