On 19 Oct 2006 07:38:51 -0700, "bf" wrote:


Prometheus wrote:
I'm still more than ****ed off at Ford. Spent $15k on a new Focus,
and the antenna got clipped off by the garage door when it was 6
months old. My fault, sure- but all it needs is a little sheet metal
mount that a new antenna will screw onto. They wanted $8 for that,
$40 for a new antenna (I was told I had to buy it if I wanted the
clip), $25 for them to recieve it at the dealership from the
warehouse, and I'd have to pay in advance and go back two weeks later
to pick it up in person.


When are you going to learn that the garage is for storing tools and
wood, not cars? LOL

Shame on you for wanting me to put my precious toys in a garage! I've
got an 1100+ sq ft. shop in the basement, where things are climate
controlled. Sheesh.

The coorporations got me trained now to expect to be reamed for
replacement parts and to be thrilled when I can actually get a
replacment part..

I'm indifferent to Ford.. but any other car company would've probably
done the same thing. The name of the game is to save 5 cents on an
attenna mount because we as consumers make price such a high priority..
If they upgraded all the little stuff like that, a Focus would probably
cost 1-3k more. You and I might be willing to pay the premium, but most
people wouldn't. If everyone thought like me, places like Harbor
Freight would not stay in business.

Obviously, everyone doesn't think like me (which might be a good thing).

Might be a good thing, but not on that score. We're too obsessed as a
culture with wanting everything now, and wanting it cheap. Then
people wonder why the manufacturing goes overseas, and the ones that
stay here don't pay squat. Most satisfying purchase I ever made was
an $80 radio I put on layaway when I was making minimum wage, and paid
for $5 at a time. Wasn't that it was that great- it was just
something to look forward to over the course of four months, and I
sure did appreciate it when I got it home... a whole different feeling
than just carting in a carload of crap from the Wal-mart to be used or
ignored- like the crap that comes in every other payday.

Now that's not to advocate poverty- but it makes a difference in how
you feel about things when they're just out of reach and you save for
and anticipate them. You end up choosing higher quality, caring for
them more, and generally appreciating the things you have more than if
you just put a pile of cheap junk on a credit card and shove it in a
corner at home.

If everyone thought like that, we'd be able to revive American
manufacturing and those jobs that were created might be a little less
pressure-oriented and pay better. Well, a guy can hope so, anyhow-
though it doesn't much matter, because it's not going to happen in my
lifetime.