What are your next major purchases?

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Isgrimnur
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:45 pm Just bought a 65" Sony tv at Fry's for $1500. Sony BRAVIA XBR 65X810C

Went in for a Samsung at $1400, salesman managed to upsell me to Sony for $100 more. Too bad it's too late for me to get it set up tonight and I'm out of sick time.
Couldn't get it to turn on last week to watch the Buffalo game, and haven't had time to look at it in detail this week. I need to see if I can jiggle some connections and get it to work, otherwise I will be in the market for a new one after <7 years.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by TheMix »

That sucks. When our tv went, that's kind of what it looked like. But we found that if we got 2 inches from the screen and looked at just the right angle, with the right kind of show/image, it was possible to see it. In our case the tv was apparently coming on just fine, but the backlight was toast.

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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

There’s an indicator light on the front that’s usually in yellow standby, and it is no longer lit. And powering on brought the receiver online automatically.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by JCC »

Unagi wrote: Sun Sep 25, 2022 10:02 am First of all, that is hands-down lovely.
Funny. Lovely was the first word that popped into my mind too.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Got a GE Opal Nugget Ice Maker w/ Side Tank for the wife for Buy Presents for the Wife Month (October), but it came in a bit early.

I was skeptical about the SlickDeals plugin, but it steered me to Woot, which had it for 27% off list price.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Unagi »

Oh, I'd love one of those if I could justify the counter space.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by em2nought »

Isgrimnur wrote: Wed Sep 28, 2022 6:14 pm Got a GE Opal Nugget Ice Maker w/ Side Tank for the wife for Buy Presents for the Wife Month (October), but it came in a bit early.
Is the ice kind of soft nuggets like most Sonic's ice?
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

It is.

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Re: What are your next major purchases?

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I'll have a gin & tonic, lime
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Carpet_pissr »

New veggie card: $400 at most
Find/fix repair major water leak in house: $3K? (take 2)
College x 3 ?? $$$$$$$
New roof: $20K?
New floors downstairs: $7K?
General exterior house repairs and maintenance: $3500-$5K
If I was a good homeowner, I would include "foundation repair" here, but I have heard horror stories about contractors/companies in that field, so I am extremely wary
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by gilraen »

What's a "veggie card"?
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Enlarge Image
Spoiler:
It's me playing too loosely with words again...video card>vidgie card>veggie card. And now that I actually Google "vidgie card" absolutely nothing related to video cards comes up. I KNOW that I did not coin that term!!! I SWEAR
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Smoove_B »

Would not have guessed you were from the East end of London.

updates notes
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Sep 30, 2022 2:54 pm Would not have guessed you were from the East end of London.

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Aye, bruv! I'm bloody chuffed that it's finally out, innit? Bob's yer Uncle!!
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Isgrimnur wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote: Mon Nov 23, 2015 11:45 pm Just bought a 65" Sony tv at Fry's for $1500. Sony BRAVIA XBR 65X810C

Went in for a Samsung at $1400, salesman managed to upsell me to Sony for $100 more. Too bad it's too late for me to get it set up tonight and I'm out of sick time.
Couldn't get it to turn on last week to watch the Buffalo game, and haven't had time to look at it in detail this week. I need to see if I can jiggle some connections and get it to work, otherwise I will be in the market for a new one after <7 years.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by LordMortis »

Happy Birthday to me! I just dropped a grand on a new PC. My old one is rebooting any time I run a game with, you know, graphics after 30 minutes or less. I suspect it's only a dying a PSU after too many power outages over the past year but I don't keep the parts to test anymore. My old PC is about 8 years old so I guess it's time. This is my first major no non medical purchase since I bought a new furnace 4 years ago? Longer? My memory's gone out the window sometime ago and COVID isolation piled dirt on to its grave.

Time to do some budget evaluations but I knew this was coming.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by stessier »

The pressure regulator valve on our house stopped regulating pressure very well back in August, but we were still paying off our summer vacation, so I've been avoiding getting it fixed. This weekend I noticed that it's now leaking as well - so today it will be getting replaced. Will be weird to have normal pressure again.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by stimpy »

In the market to replace my 22 year old water heater tank.
40 gallon. 38,000 btu. Natural gas. Easy access.

First quote came in at $2300.
Um.......yeah. Nope.
Tank itself costs $525.

Next quote came in at $1800.
Better, but nope.

On to the next........
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Smoove_B »

Are they adding in hardware changes/updates to your gas feed or something? New things that are required by code or possible maintenance swaps for the line? Those do seem high.

Is getting the tank out a pain in the ass? Is it below grade and they'll need to spend more time (labor) emptying and carting it off? You said "easy access" but I wasn't sure if that was to the water heater or easy access to swap in and out as well (like it's in a garage or on a main floor).
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by stimpy »

Smoove_B wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 11:51 am Are they adding in hardware changes/updates to your gas feed or something? New things that are required by code or possible maintenance swaps for the line? Those do seem high.

Is getting the tank out a pain in the ass? Is it below grade and they'll need to spend more time (labor) emptying and carting it off? You said "easy access" but I wasn't sure if that was to the water heater or easy access to swap in and out as well (like it's in a garage or on a main floor).
So far all of the quotes have been sight unseen. Just asked basic questions over the phone. I do have a couple of places coming out on Thursday. And 2 places that want to see pictures first before quoting, which I'll take at lunch time today and send.
Should be an easy switch out. Highly unlikely any hardware needs to be updated or replaced.
Straight shot from basement up about 12 stairs right to back door.
It's in the laundry room, which is unfinished. And it's fully accessible.
There is a floor drain about a foot away, so easy to empty.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by disarm »

Have you considered going tankless? Something to think about...
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by LawBeefaroni »

Labor costs are the new thing now that supply is back.

A year ago roof deck quote was $8K. 6 months ago it was $20K due to "increased lumber costs." Now that lumber is below a year ago, it's $12K due to "labor."
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by em2nought »

disarm wrote: Tue Oct 04, 2022 8:50 pm Have you considered going tankless? Something to think about...
The problem with that is thick wires and large breakers unless you've got a newer panel that handles more load and a location near the panel.

Oops, I completely forgot that they have gas tankless systems. LOL It's probably easier to change from a gas water heater to a gas tankless than it is for electric.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Been thinking about new tires, as I was over 51k on the original set. Hitting some road debris took the timing out of my hands, as it ripped a chunk out of the right rear.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by coopasonic »

Isgrimnur wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 5:23 pm Been thinking about new tires, as I was over 51k on the original set.
I think I once got 20k out of a set of tires... we may drive in a different manner.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

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Perhaps
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by disarm »

Isgrimnur wrote:Been thinking about new tires, as I was over 51k on the original set. Hitting some road debris took the timing out of my hands, as it ripped a chunk out of the right rear.
I'm having new tires put on my SUV tomorrow. I got 54k miles out of the current set, which is pretty remarkable for a set of Goodyear runflats...the second set of these that I've gone through over the course of five years and 97k miles. Unfortunately, I have very limited options for replacements (only two runflat options exist in the right size), so I'm stuck paying $435/tire...$1800 to get me through another 2-3 years Image
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Madmarcus »

Quote of $8k for the lowest end furnace and air conditioner after the old furnace came up with a crack and a high oxygen reading. The second opinion guy never called back to set up a visit. I'm tempted to only replace the furnace but we are selling the house soon and the AC is from roughly 2005. Replacing it won't get us any more money but it might help get the house to sell faster.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Zaxxon »

Wait till Jan, get a heat pump, reap tax benefits via inflation reduction act.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by em2nought »

disarm wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:38 pm
Isgrimnur wrote:Been thinking about new tires, as I was over 51k on the original set. Hitting some road debris took the timing out of my hands, as it ripped a chunk out of the right rear.
I'm having new tires put on my SUV tomorrow. I got 54k miles out of the current set, which is pretty remarkable for a set of Goodyear runflats...the second set of these that I've gone through over the course of five years and 97k miles. Unfortunately, I have very limited options for replacements (only two runflat options exist in the right size), so I'm stuck paying $435/tire...$1800 to get me through another 2-3 years Image
Holy crap, I'd bet quite a few people sell their old run flats on facebook or craigslist and change over to normal tires with a spare. I almost bought a reese mount with a spare someone had used on their previously run flat equipped vehicle so...
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Madmarcus »

Zaxxon wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 11:41 pm Wait till Jan, get a heat pump, reap tax benefits via inflation reduction act.
I don't know how feasible that is but I'm investigating it. The scheduled yearly inspection showed high oxygen in the flue indicating that it was pulling in too much outside air and a possible cracked heat exchanger. How much of that is a hard sell technique versus a real threat? I don't know. Googling is getting mostly web pages that describe the combustion but don't really give any health and safety guidelines.

BTW, a huge thanks to you because it looks like there is a state rebate also. Together they really start making it look like a serious option even though so far the heat pump seems to be more expensive and we won't live in the house long enough to see any savings on fuel cost.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

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Madmarcus wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:56 amBTW, a huge thanks to you because it looks like there is a state rebate also. Together they really start making it look like a serious option even though so far the heat pump seems to be more expensive and we won't live in the house long enough to see any savings on fuel cost.
Yeah, I imagine you won't save overall since you're moving soon, but it'll be much more fuel-efficient and may work in your favor when selling the place (vs a plain-Jane furnace). If the rebates can make the cost somewhat comparable, might be worth it.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by em2nought »

Zaxxon wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 11:00 am
Madmarcus wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:56 amBTW, a huge thanks to you because it looks like there is a state rebate also. Together they really start making it look like a serious option even though so far the heat pump seems to be more expensive and we won't live in the house long enough to see any savings on fuel cost.
Yeah, I imagine you won't save overall since you're moving soon, but it'll be much more fuel-efficient and may work in your favor when selling the place (vs a plain-Jane furnace). If the rebates can make the cost somewhat comparable, might be worth it.
I know if I was buying a house in the north, having an efficient new system would be a BIG motivator toward buying that house versus a house that didn't.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

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Madmarcus wrote: Tue Nov 15, 2022 10:58 pm Quote of $8k for the lowest end furnace and air conditioner after the old furnace came up with a crack and a high oxygen reading. The second opinion guy never called back to set up a visit. I'm tempted to only replace the furnace but we are selling the house soon and the AC is from roughly 2005. Replacing it won't get us any more money but it might help get the house to sell faster.
If I were you I would spend as little to none as possible considering you are moving. "New furnace" probably doesn't move the needle in the current real estate market. The fact that there is a house for sale on the market is the low bar these days apparently. Changing, but it's still pretty hot out there.

I think a lot of sellers think they can just tack on any expenses they put into the house to sell it as a line item, but it usually does not work that way. When we bought this house, the sellers tried to negotiate WAY up from my offer using the justification that they put $50K in landscaping alone into the yard, not to mention the pool they installed. As a buyer, I was like "SO?!? You made that choice and now you want me to pay for it? Nope!" They just could not stomach the fact that they had recently spent so much and were basically losing the majority of that value (an addon to the house would be very different, but I think "new AC/furnace" is more like "new landscaping!" than "added 1,500 SF".
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by ImLawBoy »

I dunno. When we bought this house last year, we knew going in that the HVAC systems were getting old and would have to be replaced before too long (already done one of them, but the other can hold out a little longer). That was definitely something we considered as part of the pricing. We likely would have gone higher if the systems were new.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by ImLawBoy »

I'd look at it this way - a furnace is a "must have". Landscaping is a "nice to have". If you're shopping for a house and you know you're going to have to upgrade the furnace vs. the house has a new, high efficiency furnace, I think that's definitely a factor in pricing and desirability.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Madmarcus »

ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:17 pm I'd look at it this way - a furnace is a "must have". Landscaping is a "nice to have". If you're shopping for a house and you know you're going to have to upgrade the furnace vs. the house has a new, high efficiency furnace, I think that's definitely a factor in pricing and desirability.
We tend to lean this direction.

Right now it is a 20 year old furnace that has a suspected cracked heat exchanger. Even if a home inspector doesn't flag the furnace as a problem I feel that I would have to report the out of spec flue oxygen content as a potential problem on the seller's disclosure. So anyone buying the house is going to figure they need to instantly buy a new furnace. I suspect that the house will sell faster if we can claim new furnace and warranty. Sure, it will be the furnace equivalent of the builder's grade cabinets that people sometimes claim but it will be new and meet more modern efficiency expectations.

For the most part this is a house that has been well lived in for 23 years. We've done maintenance and even redid the kitchen at one point but in real estate terms it is horribly dated and it comes with an overgrown yard (5 years of neglect centered on our expat years). I'd rather have people look at it as a manageable project not an instant money pit.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by malchior »

Madmarcus wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:08 pmFor the most part this is a house that has been well lived in for 23 years. We've done maintenance and even redid the kitchen at one point but in real estate terms it is horribly dated and it comes with an overgrown yard (5 years of neglect centered on our expat years). I'd rather have people look at it as a manageable project not an instant money pit.
FWIW you can spend a bit on the yard and get it all back since it'll be the first impression. A realtor once commented to me that it was the most efficient spend you can do when selling a home.

As to the furnace, I'd do it no matter what. The question to me is whether it makes sense to try to grab a tax credit or not, or if it makes more sense to buy 'average' equipment since the ROI on it is going to be fairly low. That requires some differential quotes.
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by Carpet_pissr »

ImLawBoy wrote: Wed Nov 16, 2022 1:17 pm If you're shopping for a house and you know you're going to have to upgrade the furnace vs. the house has a new, high efficiency furnace, I think that's definitely a factor in pricing and desirability.
Of course it's desirable, but again...this market. Unless things have changed significantly very recently (possible) or his neck of the woods is unique (also possible), buyers being able to find and attempt to buy a house is a win these days. I am definitely seeing more real estate signs around lately, so maybe things really have shifted away from the "zero or below inventory" levels that we were in not long ago. In that market, a new or not new HVAC is way down the priority list....top of mind is"can we actually buy this without paying $25K over asking, before someone else snatches it up?"
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Re: What are your next major purchases?

Post by YellowKing »

Carpet_pissr wrote:They just could not stomach the fact that they had recently spent so much and were basically losing the majority of that value
Thank God we had a good real estate agent that warned us about this. When we were selling our house, one of the pride points was our big deck and gazebo out back. However, it really needed to be re-stained and a couple of boards replaced. I was all ready to work on it and show it off as a selling point until our agent said "Do NOT do anything to it." I thought he was crazy - who wouldn't want an awesome deck and gazebo?

Cut to a week after we sell. I drive by the house and the new owners had ripped every bit of it out. Gazebo, deck, all of it gone. :shock: Point taken, Mr. Real Estate Agent. Point taken!
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