Life of Brian

I got nothing. Latte and a walk. Worked on a puzzle a bit. Miata is still at the Mazda Doctors Hospital. I’m waiting on a cost estimate to have the whole turn signal/light switch replaced to cure the intermittent turn signal issue. I’m not sure exactly how much it would have to be for me to say no. I’m one of those weirdos who use their signals, so it is annoying, but if it is in the high 3 figures, I might just live with it.

So, no Instagram posts anymore; I’ll just have to post here. Yesterday’s lunch at Lolo’s was August’s Farm-to-Pizza: Heirloom Margherita and I finished off the whole 10″ pie.

I can remember back in the day when I’d do my own oil change and tire rotation in the driveway, but today I took the Miata into the dealer to have them do it. I also want to see if they can fix the turn signals; about every third time when turning right, it wouldn’t start blinking. A quick jiggle and it starts up. I also asked them to look into why the car sometimes is hard to restart after a quick stop on a hot day.

About 10 minutes after I dropped off the car at the dealer, I received a text:
Hi Brian, this is Jessica, from Tonkin Mazda of Portland. We are actively looking to buy vehicles like the 2001 MAZDA MX-5 Miata you brought in for service. Can I text you my offer? Reply YES to see it. It’s worth considering! By texting YES you accept our terms of service (text TERMS for full details). Msg/data rates may apply. HELP for help. STOP to opt-out.

Wow! I wonder if they send that text to everyone who drops off their car for service? I get the intent; the dealer wants used cars to move, and if your current car is in for a repair, you just might take that offer. For funsies, I replied YES. They then asked for the trim (LS) and I added the optional 6-speed to the list. About an hour later:
Great, looking at current market values, we are thinking $6,800 to $7,600, assuming it’s in good condition. Is that something you’d be interested in?

I politely declined. I do wonder if they would actually cut a check or make it so it can only be used on a new vehicle… I do not wonder if Jessica is an AI agent; I will bet you dollars to doughnuts that she is.

For just a bit of more fun, I headed over to the Carvana website and entered my VIN. Then I answered a bunch of questions about the car. Five seconds later they offered me $8,600.

This morning’s sun was weak and orange in color. The smoke from the central and eastern Oregon fires has found its way over the Cascades to Portland. The smoke arrived early, but the fire smell didn’t make it here until early afternoon.

The main water line into the Quail Hollow community was leaking bad enough that they were way over budget. So since a month ago we have had three different days where the water was shut off for most of the day. Today was the third and hopefully the last.