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Somewhat shady life hacks

TreeClimber said:
It's amazing how cheap some of you fuckers are.

Life hacks; Keep your receipts, especially for auto parts for that wheeler that actually gets wheeled. Local Napa and O'reillys love to toot there horns when they sell you crap. I've got tons of replacement parts for free, by simply bringing in the original receipt and asking. Amazing how much junk has a 'lifetime' warranty. The parts counter people really don't give a hoot, as it's not their money.
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Make copies of those receipts, they'll last way longer. That thermal printed shit fades after a year or so.
 
Our trash service will allow you to purchase up to 1 additional dumpster for around $10/month. I've purchased myself and my neighbors an additional can for my use. :smokin:
 
When I was a kid we would add weight to scrap cars by running the hose in them to soak the upholstery, carpet etc. We started doing this because we compared weight on a highway scale to weight on a junkyard scale and discovered that the motherfuckers were shorting us. we came out way ahead, eventually.
 
Back when I was in University, funds were extremely tight and my car needed an ignition module. On this model it is attached to the distributor.

Prices for a new module were anywhere from $190 to $240. A wrecking yard a few towns over said they had one but I would have to buy it with the whole distributor for $90.

The yard was run by these huge, old Scottish guys. As it was not a "pick your own" yard we went with the owner to pull the part.

As he is pulling the distributor he asks me how much the module is new. Thinking I might be able to get his price down, I respond with, "oh around $140."

With out missing a beat, my girlfriend (now wife) says "you told me they cost $250!" Now, I think he is going to hike the price up...

The Scottish guy pulls the module off the distributor, grins, shakes his head and says "just give me $20."

I guess the story was worth $70 to him. Sometimes having your significant other with you can be worth it.
 
They used to guarantee Levis jeans for life, free from defects, when I started to wear a pair out, I'd tear the crotch out of them and go to Kohls and exchange them for a new pair. Them fuckers weren't cheap, I had to have exchanged 20 pair over the years until they ended that program.

Someone I know bought new tires, and on the first trip gashed a huge hole in the sidewall. Called up the seller and said that when he mounted the tire there was a large gash in the sidewall. They believed it and exchanged a $400 tire
 
DMG said:
When I was a kid we would add weight to scrap cars by running the hose in them to soak the upholstery, carpet etc. We started doing this because we compared weight on a highway scale to weight on a junkyard scale and discovered that the motherfuckers were shorting us. we came out way ahead, eventually.
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If I put my “Vehicle” and trailer on the scale just right I can get it to read an extra 40-60 lbs.
 
Aggie06 said:
I think O’Riellys will keep that record for you if you sign up for their rewards card and have it scanned when you make a purchase.
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yes they do
that little club card thingy, that is actually your phone number
 
2020AT4 said:
If I put my “Vehicle” and trailer on the scale just right I can get it to read an extra 40-60 lbs.
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As someone who deals with the certification of the scale at work, in NY to be used in commerce a scale has to within "3 grads" (3 increments) of the certified weights when certifying it.
So, if it counts in 20# increments (like many truck scales do) its certified to accurately read the weight on the scale +/-60#.
I have seen the wind change the weight of a truck on the scale by 80-100#.

Aaron Z
 
kf4zht said:
For the home depot tape measure guy - when I worked there we would grab a couple tape measures from tools and put them in convenient places around our department so people didnt go get more of them

I always put it back, and even put it back on the right peg
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I even put plumbing fittings back in the right bin

Lazy people are a pet peeve of mine, and I have a kiddo watching everything I do. I am tires of POS people and any doing my part to change things

and I love the tape measure ferry when it is just sitting there thanks :laughing:
 
kf4zht said:
For the home depot tape measure guy - when I worked there we would grab a couple tape measures from tools and put them in convenient places around our department so people didnt go get more of them

Protip - any home depot employee can give you 10% off if you just tell them you saw the same item cheaper at a local competitor. No proof or manager needed. Obviously it doesnt work on their house brand crap. And if you are buying enough for the bid room always do that.

I buy all my car batteries at costco. They don't have all the prorated, we have to test it, blah crap of auto parts stores. You take it in, they have the receipt on your account, give you the money back and you go buy another battery.
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From now on, I will stop putting the tape measures back in the tool section when I find them at random places.

I used to buy all my car batteries at Costco, but the Interstates completely suck now. Never get Interstate flooded golf cart batteries from Costso for RV's. They usually last 14 months, just a few months past the warranty so you are SOL.

Sort of a life hack; I use a car battery in the boat because marine batteries only have a one year warranty. They still go dead every two years on average, but at least I can return them.
 
Fucking tires, used to take 4 home every week, set them out for trash, after collecting 4$ each for disposal fee before I got my pa waste tire hauler permit.

Vt has 5c bottle deposit, When I’m filling up I check the trash for bottles and cans. Even if I’m not in vt, currently filling up a Gaylord box. When it’s full I’ll decide if I’m wasting time & energy.

I would hit up hotels lost and found for phone charger cords.

edit: When I buy new batteries I use the smallest battery I have for the core return save the heavy ones for the scrapyard where they pay by weight.
 
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I got thru the first page before TLDR.

The declared vehicle value... up here we just need a reason for a super lowball value; like high miles, damaged, rusty, engine/trans blown, etc. The agent lady suggested $200 for my last Cummins truck :laughing:. (They can no longer accept 'gift' as an exemption.)

I backyard-burn regularly, and recycle anything the depot takes for free. I'm not paying the gougers at the dump a penny more than I have to. They even charge for green waste now. :shaking:
WMO... much of mine becomes fuel.

The bylaw, permit, assessment assholes can fawk awph. No trespassing. Private. Nothing to see here. I already pay far too much for parasitic beauracracy.

In this day of smart-meters for your electrical service... lengthy power outages are opportunities. :idea:
 
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Thatg9659 said:
Vt has 5c bottle deposit, When I’m filling up I check the trash for bottles and cans. Even if I’m not in vt, currently filling up a Gaylord box. When it’s full I’ll decide if I’m wasting time & energy.
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I have a kid that had purchased a dirt bike at 8 doing exactly that...pretty nice bike too
 
bgaidan said:
They charge .10 per bottle but than weigh them to pay you back? Seems like it would be beneficial to find a way to make the empty bottles heavier.
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When I was a kid there use to be a machine called the golden goat that you could recycle aluminum cans in. Like a vending machine, no one around. We would fill the cans with sand from the alley next to the machine to make them heavier.
 
BDK said:
I used to buy all my car batteries at Costco, but the Interstates completely suck now. Never get Interstate flooded golf cart batteries from Costso for RV's. They usually last 14 months, just a few months past the warranty so you are SOL.
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So what you do then is set an alarm on your phone calendar for a month before the warranty is up, then you take your old batt in and get a new one.
 
Ransil said:
Renters Installing a fence at my Florida place i had an 8"auger bit i need to take down for them, put it in a golf bag, flew free with spirit air with old ladies military id.
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Stolen valor?
 
When we get rid of stuff we like to give it to the Goodwill and donate it

Whenever my 'thing' that I am giving away isn't good enough for them, I always throw it in a different vehicle go back and hand it right to the person that rejected it the day before

...they take it every time :laughing:

I have noticed that the reject out of a truck
but I have never had anything get kicked out from the car, weird
 
Chkn said:
In CA, Pulling the wrapper off the Gatorade bottle that said do not recycle magically turned it into recyclable plastic. :homer::lmao:
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That reminds me of back when Gatorades were in glass bottles and they sometimes had free giveaways printed on the bottom of the lid. You could tilt them just right and look under the cap before you bought it and pick one with a winning cap.
 
KungFooMASTA said:
That reminds me of back when Gatorades were in glass bottles and they sometimes had free giveaways printed on the bottom of the lid. You could tilt them just right and look under the cap before you bought it and pick one with a winning cap.
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You could do the same with the '90's 20oz plastic bottle giveaways from Pepsi/Coke if the label was oriented correctly and had seen a few winners already.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Man, nobody? I'm not sure if that makes me the shadiest mfer, or if everybody else is waiting out statues of limitation....



"My uncle knew a guy....."
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I'm not telling everyone what I know... then you all will know what I know and what you already know then you all will know more than me, and I don't want that.
 
DMG said:
When I was a kid we would add weight to scrap cars by running the hose in them to soak the upholstery, carpet etc. We started doing this because we compared weight on a highway scale to weight on a junkyard scale and discovered that the motherfuckers were shorting us. we came out way ahead, eventually.
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after you drain the fuel tank you put a bolt in the hole you drilled
now fill the tank with water
fuckem, they told me it was $50/ton on the phone and when I showed up they gave me $40/ton, first time in that yard, thought about filling it with water but didn't feel like having a guilty conscience

the first thing they did was fork the car off the trailer, flop it over and punch the tank, oil pan and trans pan with the forks
that same yard burned down a few months after this lol
 
My scrap yard is alright, and the rule is 4 tires per vehicle

So if I scrap a car with alloys, or tires I want to keep, i keep 4 dead tires stashed in the side yard, I throw them in the car and keep the tires and wheels on it.

Then those alloys get dismounted to scrap later, and the 4 deads get stuck in the side yard, I get paid for them instead of having them pile up and having to pay to dump:smokin:


I also do the light batteries for core charges, heavy batteries for scrap.
O rielys gives $10 store credit for a battery core, without a purchase, kinda nice when their valvoline premium blue 15/40 would go on sale cheap....
 
hooligan shmulligan said:
I have no problem getting one over on a scrap/junk yard pick-a-pull. Scrapers are by nature some of the most crooked shyster mother fuckers in the world.
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Dude at the local scrap yard bought the snapon tools that were stolen from me. 3k worth of tools for $40...didn't know that they were stolen :flipoff:. I wish that I had a picture of his face when my brother and I showed up with the their that my brother caught.
 
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