Danno

Barf, barf, barrrrrfffffff.

Ray, That's called an "incentive" in Arizona. In 46 other states it's called a kickback and is illegal. Arizona is one of only two (2) states that requires insurance companies to provide free (zero deductible) glass replacement. In the other 48 states glass replacement falls under comprehensive coverage and a deductible applies. Most motorists select comprehensive deductibles that are nearly as high as, if not higher, than the cost of a windshield. As a result, glass replacement vendors can't attract as much business as the ones in states like AZ, so they don't do it. In AZ, because glass replacement coverage is zero deductible (free), vehicle owners don't have any skin in the game. As a result, an AZ windshield will cost an insurance company 4 or 5 times what it would cost that insurance company in another state. That's why the glass replacement vendors can offer kickbacks to customers - they're trying to attract customers away from other glass replacement vendors. They still make big $$. I've seen many "consumers" who've replaced windshields 4 or 5 times a year. Why not? It's free. Right? And they give you money to do it. By the way, the average AZ kickback, er, incentive is $150 . . . as high as $200. The wife should have looked further. Might've gotten more model money. LOL. PS: Insurance paid for the window and the incentive and the vendor's profit. But, you (and we) paid for the insurance . . . and it is priced to accommodate the inordinately expensive cost of doing business in AZ, including the glass situation. PPS: And, those glass replacement claims are recorded forever on your claims history. They will factor into future premiums as well as the higher base rate for AZ. And make no mistake, Ray, I'm not scolding . . . just informing. Those who should be scolded include the glass replacement vendors, their lobbyists, and our state legislators. They created the situation. ??

Tom, Glass damage will probably be covered under your comprehensive coverage . . . unless your SF policy excludes it. If it's covered, it will cost you whatever your deductible is. Having said that, I'm no expert on PA policies. Every state is unique (different laws) and most insurance companies have their own philosophy within every state. Check the language of your policy . . . it will be clearly spelled out, or, see what your agent tells you. Your mileage may vary. ??

Nice job! And thanks for fixing the LIFEGAURD/LIFEGOURD decal debacle. It looks better spelled correctly. ??

pee in cup

Wish I had heard that before . . . ??

and purple hatband.

I can and will say "amen" to that! Had a VW Passat. Wonderful car until the warranty and extended factory warranty ran out. Then everything started going bad and EVERYTHING cost way more than real cars. It was taking me toward bankruptcy when the engine expired completely. Estimate for repairs was 6 or 7 times its value. Ended up getting $500 trade-in for a new Chevy. Over the years, I've owned 9 Chevys, 7 Mopars, 1 Pontiac, and the VW. I drove 2 Chevy and 3 Ford company cars. Out of the 11 Chevys + 1 Pontiac, all of the Chevys were virtually trouble-free and the Mopars were a little problematic but not bad. The 3 Fords were not bad, but not on my dime. The VW cost more in maintenance in the two years I kept it past the warranty expiration than the 17 other cars combined!!! Fine German engineering? You can have it. Fahrvergnugen? Far from it. ??

Oh. When I saw the title of the thread, I thought it was about the Kardashians. ??

silence is golden

collect California benefits

DESERT SCALE CLASSIC has been a critically-judged championship for 17 years, following in the 15 year footsteps of the Copper State Championship after its demise. Last April, due to Covid, DSC was virtual. It was a novel, innovative approach, and the first international online competition. Risky as the unknown can be, dscV16 turned out to be very well received and very successful. Covid seemingly won't let go, so DESERT SCALE CLASSIC will again be a virtual venue. The dscV17 website is up and running. We're planning to conduct our event in April - as we have for ten years. As an aside, we selected April as the event's calendar home so as to not intrude upon or interfere with anyone else's event. Only the NNL East was being held in April, but we figured we wouldn't be a threat to their participant base given the geographic distance. Even so, we talked with NNL East first, to assure we weren't stepping on any toes. [NNL West was held in February.] Although our main event is critically-judged by a panel, there is an aspect of the event that is peoples' choice / popular choice: you can call it "Judge the Judges." We run a separate contest-within-the-contest for our club members and we invite the championship entrants to vote on the models entered by our club members. The voting is limited to the championship entrants, so there's no electronic ballot-stuffing. These are some of the ways we reinforce the integrity of our event: there's no 'good-old-boy' trophy exchanging at DESERT SCALE CLASSIC, a reputation that dogged some other contests in past years. We're proud of dscV16 and how it lived up to our criteria and expectations. We're going to "Do It Again." We're proud to present dscV17. We invite everyone to check our website and see what we're doing and how we're doing it.

25 to life

stamping license plates

The Hobby Heaven issue has only one set (pair) of taillight lenses. ??

and knife slingers

she's a whack-o.

A V-7? ??

LOL. I've lived in this house 17+ years . . . here in the Sonoran Desert . . . and it has never snowed here. Got a light dusting once about 20 years ago when we lived in Scottsdale, but never here. And as Kurt points out, he's only about an hour (and 6,000 feet) from here. He got and is getting enough snow for ALL of us! Oh, and it is cold here. Cold for here. High today predicted to be 52 degrees; currently 45. ??

this thread unraveled

That's right, my friend. You're just north . . . and about 6,000 feet higher in elevation! After 26 years in the Colorado Rockies, I always say I don't need any more shoveling or scraping or chipping or freezing. Now, if I want to see/experience snow, ice, and cold all I have to do is drive an hour or so . . . I don't have to live it every day any more! LOL. Glad you have it and I don't. [But it is beautiful! A whole lot better when you can burrow in, build a fire, and work from home til it's gone.] ??

You remind me, Greg: bottle caps. I keep them and use them for small mixes of detailing paints or washes. Mix a little in a bottle cap, then throw it away when you're done that session. Super easy clean up - "toss it!" ??

my ex wife

It snowed a couple of hours ago. Yep, it FREAKING snowed here!!!! This is the desert. It never snows here. Brief, not much accumulation, but real honest to gosh SNOW!! First time in 20 years in this part of the Sonoran desert. ??

I use pill bottles to store super glues, bottled Tenax glue, even small paint bottles and thinner. The sealable cap makes for a nice containment vessel that adds spill protection. I use smaller pill bottles for used Xacto blade and scalpel blade safe-disposal. Tiny zip-lock bags (Hobby Lobby jewelry section) are great for keeping small parts or assemblies clean and safe after painting/detailing and while awaiting assembly. And, I keep larger subassemblies (seats, chassis components, engines, for example) in the cheap resealable plastic boxes that deli meat comes in (after eating the meat and cleaning the boxes, of course!). A plastic coffee "can" is a great size and shape for CD / DVD storage. I use old discs for pallets - glue, 2-part filler, or even paint. When they're done, I just toss them in the coffee can. When it fills up, I toss the whole shebang and start over filling up a new one. ??