Post PICS of your latest purchase

[cp[mike]]

I've been a homeowner for 14 years now. Bought my place when I was 23. My town has gone downhill, though. Country club closed, old Victorian homes converted to multi-family rental properties, downtown is slowly and painfully dying... it's sad. I'm going to refresh a few things myself (re-tiling the bathroom, restoring my cast iron tub, laying down laminate flooring), listing for 20% more than I paid, and hoping to at least break even on my original purchase price. Preparing to bite the bullet and take a 20% loss if it comes to it!
Still, I'm glad to have a house to call my own. I've never rented. Went from my mom's house to my own. In some ways, it's restrictive... but in others, it's fantastic. I do kinda wish I rented when I was younger, so I could have more freedom to do stuff, rather than being tied to a mortgage (and the responsibilities that go along with home ownership!)

I wanted to a least rent one place, so I've been here 2.5 years. Enough for me to know that I want one of my own! I know what you mean about the dying... that's my parents area in NY, too. Fun to explore abandoned buildings but I couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore. I realized that I don't plan on leaving this area anytime soon, so time to start taking advantage of things around me.

Anyway, I just got a thing. Not as impressive as a house... but I snagged a base CTS CD/info unit to use in my CTS-V. The OEM nav unit in my CTS-V is absolute garbage. I want to replace it, but I don't want to lose the cool information that is displayed on it (outside temperature, MPG, etc...) Base models use a simple orange digital display to show this info, rather than the fancy nav screen. Therefore, with a little creativity, I get to keep that info (albeit in an uglier display) while giving myself the ability to upgrade to a fancy nav/media unit! Only $32 at the junkyard (didn't expect to find it... just went junkyarding with the wife for the first time. She's good luck!)

This isn't mine, but it's what I got... I'll be cutting the CD part out, and keeping the upper screen.

that's begging for a touchscreen media tablet mounted right in the center, overtop of the tape and cd slots!!

[AccordWarrior]

Congrats Mike on the house! It's both the best and scariest feeling ever. Prior to the wedding and finding out I'm having a daughter, it was the best feeling ever walking inside for the first time.

I purchased two things today:



and 30 of



for my LMs.

[Corweena]

Managed to score an unmolested Euro R spec downpipe for my FGK header. The polished one is dented, and I jut happened to find a mint one on eBay. Will soon be polished to match the top.

[CyborgGT]

A collection I hope to one day track down for whatever year of CB I end up getting, I found some RSX literature on eBay:



The big group on the left side, including the window sticker, is all part of the owner's manual:
- leather case
- original owner's anti-theft radio code
- original owner's roadside assistance card
- "Owner's Guide to Acura Total Luxury Care," basically a list of owner services: roadside, warranty, concierge service, owner updates from Acura, etc.
- smog rating for a 2002 base automatic (0.27, if you were curious )
- owner's manual and warranty packet for the original tires
- a guide breaking down the language of collision/body work
- 2002 RSX owner's manual
- dealer directory
- business card from original owner's place of purchase (this manual happens to be from Metro Acura/Volkswagen of Philadelphia)
- detailed warranty manual
- SRS guide (this one's actually really interesting, too; with info on different types of airbags, and how my passenger seat can tell if the person in it is leaning, like if they're asleep against the door, so it can turn the side airbag off)
- window sticker for an '02 base automatic (original owner's being Satin Silver Metallic with an Ebony interior, whereas mine's Desert Silver Metallic with a Titanium interior)

Silver packet is a pre-release (dated January 8, 2001) press kit for some of Acura's 2002 model year lineup: 2002 Acura RS-X (notice the hyphen!) Prototype, 2002 Acura 3.2 TL (incl. Type S), and 2002 Acura 3.5 RL. Inside is typed media info for each car, as well as a CD-ROM or DVD that I haven't yet checked out.

Big blue booklet is a dealership brochure for the 2002 RSX. It's even got full specs inside, including individual gear ratios, a dyno graph comparing the base and Type S (before the Type S's VTEC crossover, the base actually has more power, and noticeably more torque, lol), dimensions, fluid capacities, etc.

The three in the bottom-right all look to be Canadian market specific. Up top is a very brief, four-page flier. Narrow yellow book is a factory accessories guide. Large pink book looks to be a slightly less comprehensive dealership brochure.

[CyborgGT]

Finally, the good stuff arrives!

I don't yet have real paint equipment, but I have been getting pretty good with a rattle can. Going to see if I can do something as large as a bumper:




H22 head parts collection is finished off with S2 Pro 2s:

[Corweena]

when you're supposed to be spending money on a motor swap, but end up with more wheels too.....




On the plus side, I paid ridiculously little for them, the fronts are high disc to clear bbk, and I wanted a cheap set of wheels to daily so I don't eat up the tires on the Volks. Here's a pic with the CE28s, the Tracer Type Cs and the C2s. I'll always be a wheel whore, no matter how much I try and suppress it.

[Ralphie]

Well I posted in the other thread but I made a big purchase too.

Sold my 3 Bedroom ranch to buy a bigger house since my family is growing and we don't have enough room for all the kids shit lol.

The new one is 4 bedrooms, 3 baths....almost 2400 Sq ft.

The home inspection is Tues so Ill see the guts then but in the two walk throughs we did so far, its really nice. Only needs painting.

Cherry cabinets, granite counters. New appliances etc.

Now I just need to save up for a pool lol!

Wife's happy and I am excited to have a house that is "done", I say that subjectively as a house is never done lol.


Going to need a 2nd job though lol. Its a little more then we wanted to spend but its the neighborhood we wanted. Our house provides a sizeable down payment and we will pay off any debt we have left which will help us out but the overtime dried up at my main job, so im going to continue doing my photography and Im going to start driving for Uber so hopefully that can take care of all the bs bills.

[AccordWarrior]

That looks great!

I couldn't imagine being on house #2 at this point!

[F22Chris]

Wow that house looks really nice! I am digging the simplicity a lot.

[deevergote]

Looks awesome, Ralph! The landscaping looks great. Simple, but clean. Hopefully you can catch up financially so you can get back down to just one job. Your area is so crazy expensive... but I guess that really is the absolute best place for your kids to grow up.


I picked up a used top boot for the Miata. Got it for a steal on eBay over the weekend. The seller shipped it first thing Monday and it was waiting for me when I got home from work today!
Despite complaints on forums about it being a hassle to install, I found it simple. Took about 2 minutes, and it fits perfectly. It's an older one, too. Higher quality than the covers that came with newer Miatas.

[Ralphie]

Well that house might be done lol.

Inspection was Yesterday and it has MAJOR problems. Sucks, it looks as it does in the picture and it really is a lovely house but of course problems are easily masked.

Top 3 issues LOL
1. Extensive termite/carpenter ant damage in the garage area, where the garage doors are. Its so bad that the center beam running the length of the garage is failing. No bueno.
Also insect damage in the basement where the water shut off valve is. Could be more that is "unseen".
2. Mold in the basement, crawlspace that is attached to finished basement, and in the attic. The basement might be because the furnace went kaput and she does not have adequate ventilation OR insulation in the finished section. The rest is obv poor ventilation.

3. and the million dollar problem! Foundation cracks in the basement on the rear wall behind the sheetrock and also in the crawl space on the side of the house. The worst spot measured 1 inch out of plumb. Fuck my life. Probably due to excessive soil and poor irrigation which is pushing in.

Those problems on top of other issues such as a leak in the garage from an unoccupied space that cannot be accessed and multiple other little issues are going to be so costly that I doubt this women can afford them and I do not think she will take off what it will cost to fix them and we don't love the house enough to want to endure fixing all of it.

I guess this is fucking adulting. I am now out $600 for the inspection but obv its necessary.

Back to square one.

And in her defense, she is going through a bad divorce and her kids are in middle school so she definitely has her hands full and she does not seem to be a "handy" or knowledgeable female, so her husband was the one who handled all the maintenance and shit and since he has been in and out, they have let these things build up and now shes fucked as far as even getting an inspection approval to sell the house.

Welp lol.

[F22Chris]

Deev making me want a Miata again..

Sorry to hear about the house man, it sure did look pretty.

[deevergote]

Damn Ralphie. That's a shame. Those are the big problems to look out for. Pretty much the top 3! At least you found out before you bought it. That could've sucked.

[cp[mike]]

Well that house might be done lol.

Inspection was Yesterday and it has MAJOR problems. Sucks, it looks as it does in the picture and it really is a lovely house but of course problems are easily masked.

...

Those problems on top of other issues such as a leak in the garage from an unoccupied space that cannot be accessed and multiple other little issues are going to be so costly that I doubt this women can afford them and I do not think she will take off what it will cost to fix them and we don't love the house enough to want to endure fixing all of it.

I guess this is fucking adulting. I am now out $600 for the inspection but obv its necessary.

Back to square one.

So dumb! Sorry to hear, sir. My friend (remember Dave with the CD5? he came to a couple meets) just went through a similar experience - found a beautiful little house, recently renovated and landscaped. After paying $600+ for the inspection they discovered multiple foundation cracks, tons of mold, and basically ALL ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING WAS LEFT NOT CONNECTED. Seriously, the house was entirely a "fascade" with literal garbage behind it. That $600 was money well spent in saving you years and thousands of future problems! Just super shitty when you get stuck with a miss. Onto the next one? Hopefully youll find one that's even a better match for you

[AccordWarrior]

So dumb! Sorry to hear, sir. My friend (remember Dave with the CD5? he came to a couple meets) just went through a similar experience - found a beautiful little house, recently renovated and landscaped. After paying $600+ for the inspection they discovered multiple foundation cracks, tons of mold, and basically ALL ELECTRICAL AND PLUMBING WAS LEFT NOT CONNECTED. Seriously, the house was entirely a "fascade" with literal garbage behind it. That $600 was money well spent in saving you years and thousands of future problems! Just super shitty when you get stuck with a miss. Onto the next one? Hopefully youll find one that's even a better match for you

That's the dangerous thing about the house flipping trend. Some people do it correctly and some don't.

With the housing market being what it is (at least around me) houses are going for significantly over asking, and people are forgoing inspections to get these homes. I would be terrified to ignore an inspection, move in and then find out about these issues.

I had some termite damage in my garage which I knew about that was old that took some money to repair.