seedsbelize 

In the waiting room at Honda. Wiper motor change. Three hours. Apparently there is a lot of disassembly to do. One of the C&V guys just got a new alternator in his Audi. $120 for the part and $1000 for labor.

seedsbelize 

And now I must get back to my newspaper. Carry on.

LesterOfPuppets

I'd put an alternator in an Audi for far less than $1000.

* If it's a 2000 or earlier.

Could possibly even go a little newer.

WhyFi

There's a guy in the neighborhood that has a Ur-Quattro - a dream car for me. I talked to him once, in the grocery story parking lot. It's just his car. He knows nothing about it other than that. That kinda bothers me.

datlas 

The Saturn wiper motor has a quirk, apparently the "park" mechanism was not working properly so my mechanic macGuyvered/bodged a cheap fix so when the wipers are "off" they are about 2 inches above the usual off position. It's much cheaper than replacing the motor which would cost more than the car is worth at this point.

#C&V'd

LAJ

Google "Service Position" on Volkswagon Audi Group cars. Once you get adept at that, the rest is child's play.

Bugatti? Service position is splitting the car in half.

datlas 

Paging Dr @Heathpack and/or other cat-knowledgeable folks.

I took Jackie to the vet yesterday. Good news is the vet says she seems to be overall in excellent health except for one minor issue. She got her shots and the bill was a reasonable $120.

BUT....the vet said Jackie has some tartar issues on her teeth and some gingivitis in her gums, and said that unchecked this could cause immune problems down the road, so they do suggest she get this treated.

The estimate for the dental work, including preop blood work, anesthesia, etc. comes to approx $800 which may not seem like a lot, but my wife totally balked "we are not spending $800 to get her teeth cleaned!"

So my questions are as follows:

1. Is there a food or oral crunch I can give her that will help her dental health, or is that a gimmick?
2. Is there any real danger to the cat's overall health (eg immune system) if we postpone or ignore the dental work, or is purely a dental issue?

I don't think they were deceiving me and they didn't really pressure me, but they did recommend we get the work done sometime in the future.

Comments? Do I need to go to catforums.org??

MoAlpha

Interesting ethical question. Hope you arrive at a good answer.

WhyFi

We went through the same thing with our (now deceased) cat. We just couldn't justify it, not as a stand-alone procedure, at least; I don't remember if it was her or if it was one of our other animals, but we did have a cleaning done at the same time as another procedure that required putting them under. As an add-on to that necessary procedure, the pricing was easier to stomach.

MoAlpha

My 2004 Honda Element is headed for that status. I just put 1800 worth of work into it, so my daughter will have a vehicle that stops, goes, doesn't shed mold spores into the cabin, and doesn't leak oil from the valve cover, when she visits for a couple of weeks this this month, but there were things I didn't fix. It hurts to think about getting a newer vehicle, parking it on the street, and driving it < 3000 mi/yr.

Great vehicle too. I have the rear seats out and it will hold all my sails or two bikes, upright with front fork mounts on a 2 x 4. Has variable rear-wheel drive too and goes like hell on the snow. Sad.

datlas 

Kudos. The Element is actually a pretty cool car and was on my "short list" of vehicles to buy when the Saturn dies. Sadly, they no longer make it so I would have to get a used one or update the list.

I am hoping to get 25 years and 200K from the Saturn.

#Fourmoreyears

datlas 

It's a really tough call. I am a softie and am leaning towards doing this, but mrs datlas leans the other way so my guess is we won't do it, or maybe punt for another year. I am open to other options of course. Maybe I can start brushing her teeth?!?

MoAlpha

Mazel tov!

I might get another one if I outlive this one; it's only got about 120k. The best current substitute seems to be the passenger version of the smallest Ford utility van. I think I got a courtesy ride to or from some airport in one and it was pretty nice. However, damned if I'm going to spend the cost of a set of racing sails or four or five good crabon bikes on something that just sits there losing value.

BillyD

Aesthetics is everything !

Whatever happened to the OCP movement, back in the days when we all just had fun and so many weren’t trying to be cycling experts.

LAJ

That's why I stopped going to Vegas. I love to gamble, and was fairly successful, but when my bet was equal to some high end bike bits, it became real. I get the chip psychology, and it's not real money, but when they transformed into a set of CF bars, or DT Hubs, it became much tougher to split those 2's when the dealer had a 6 showing.....

BillyD

Oh, you were serious.

Jadesfire 

Vet tech for 17 years. $800 for a teeth cleaning, even including pre-op blood work, is ridiculous unless they are also including possible multiple teeth removal in the estimate.
- However, I know we're in different cost-of-living areas- though her annual check-up bill is about what I used to bill clients in private practice and what I pay now as a pet owner. So just to give you some idea, a basic cleaning with no tooth removal (which it doesn't read from your description as though this would be necessary) around here would run around $200.

- Something you might want to check on is if there are any special deals coming up- quite a few clinics run dental specials once a year, usually in February (National Pet Dental Month).

-There are some commercially available treats and special brushes/toothpastes but a.) I've never seen anyone have any particular success, b.) they won't have any effect on the tartar that is already present, just slow the progression of further build-up- the plaque build-up already visible on the teeth would have to be professionally removed, and c.) often the treats that are marketed to pet owners can cause digestive upset.

Honestly, if she's a healthy adult cat with no other issues I wouldn't be concerned. If you should notice her having difficulty chewing (spitting out half-chewed kibble and/or favoring one side or the other), that would be a sign that something would absolutely need to be done. Getting the work done sometime in the future (meaning more likely than not years rather than months), or as an add-on during some other procedure that would require intubation, sounds 100% reasonable.

rjones28 

Our 2017 SportWagen just went past 42k miles. We've had it 22 months.

MoAlpha

Cool car. I like wagons and wish there were more on the market.

Trsnrtr

Nice retired racer ride, today. Stopped at my local greasy spoon for a salad on the way home. Apologies for the shiny, new, white bar tape.

BillyD

Great info @Jadesfire , I know @datlas loves you now.

WhyFi

Our 2012 SportWagen is closing in on 90k. We've driven it back and forth between the east coast and MN prolly 10 - 12 times; each trip is about 3k, so that's a good chunk of that 90k.

seedsbelize 

Still at Honda. The office guy, for the mechanics, invited me back into the shop to explain that the new wiper motor works in that Honda Fit but not in yours. We're now going through the car circuit by circuit. No, we don't do loaners. You're just sol. Instead of just having a car in the morning, you will have no car at all. Our Belize trip appears to be cursed.

MoAlpha

Wow, that sucks. I bet the coffee and donuts are long gone too.

rjones28 

Wagon with a six speed manual transmission.