NON_POLITICAL China Coronavirus THREAD

Page 241 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
Over $100 for battery installation even you purchase the battery from the same place? I would bring it back and talk to the manager. And what the heck is battery service chemical? Talk about highway robbery.

I am not a mechanic and I did change my vehicle batter by myself just a few months ago.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,292
14,076
126
www.anyf.ca
Damn that is crazy to pay that much for just the install. I mean for most things sure, but something like a battery is not exactly that hard to do, especially in the comfort of a heated shop.
 
Last edited:

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Over $100 for battery installation even you purchase the battery from the same place? I would bring it back and talk to the manager. And what the heck is battery service chemical? Talk about highway robbery.

I am not a mechanic and I did change my vehicle batter by myself just a few months ago.
The quantity says "0.3" and I got a discount on labor so it worked out much less. Still way too much for something I assumed was included with the purchase like everywhere else and I would gladly DIY. The "chemical" thing probably means they initialized it with fresh electrolyte like I did when I replaced my motorcycle battery years ago.
 
Last edited:

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,340
136
Customer comes in and says that I shouldn't be talking to customers because if the virus. She was wearing a mask....on her chin.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CZroe
Nov 8, 2012
20,842
4,785
146
man that service charge for the battery and serpentine belt is horseshit

Eh, depends how hard they are to get to. If all you need for the serp belt is a long ass wrench for max leverage (like with my Acura) then yeah, that's fucking steep as shit and highway robbery.

$15 to replace the battery and perform a test on it? Eh, that's okay I guess. Small task, but still a task.


Personally I totally recommend everyone just YouTube Search "<Your Car> replace/repair <whatever you need done>". See how complicated it looks and then evaluate for yourself how bad it is.
 

mopardude87

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2018
3,348
1,576
96
Customer comes in and says that I shouldn't be talking to customers because if the virus. She was wearing a mask....on her chin.

Must be cause someone reported over to the white house that actually it can spread via talking or breathing. I believe there is a recommended 6 feet of clearance from others in their report? Someone posted it i believe here already but it may be in the other forums but its legit. Came right from CNN.

Makes me glad i stocked up for a entire month on food, essentials and my Indica :) Good till May.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
Eh, depends how hard they are to get to. If all you need for the serp belt is a long ass wrench for max leverage (like with my Acura) then yeah, that's fucking steep as shit and highway robbery.

$15 to replace the battery and perform a test on it? Eh, that's okay I guess. Small task, but still a task.


Personally I totally recommend everyone just YouTube Search " replace/repair ". See how complicated it looks and then evaluate for yourself how bad it is.
I revised the post because it turns out it was the chemical fee that was between $10-$15. The rip-off battery installation was closer to $30 after discounts. Definitely should've been included like it would be at AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts, Kragen O'Reilly's, NAPA, Pep Boys, etc. Figured it was industry-standard. I figured wrong.

My last car battery was replaced under the vehicle's warranty by the dealer (vent cap missing; bad in a year; only the dealer had serviced it). Been decades since I paid anyone for that other than DIY on my motorcycles so it kinda blind-sided me.

Eh, depends how hard they are to get to. If all you need for the serp belt is a long ass wrench for max leverage (like with my Acura) then yeah, that's fucking steep as shit and highway robbery.

$15 to replace the battery and perform a test on it? Eh, that's okay I guess. Small task, but still a task.


Personally I totally recommend everyone just YouTube Search " replace/repair ". See how complicated it looks and then evaluate for yourself how bad it is.

The serpantine belt service charge was for 0.5 QTY so it was half that and even less after a 10% service discount. Not sure how difficult it is on a manual transmission 2011 Corolla.

The left front bearing was covered under warranty because these guys replaced the front bearings as a set last April. Guess they aren't using OEM. :( That whole service with both front bearings cost me $900. I resolved then to DIY with OEM parts if it happened again but, well, I wasn't expecting it to happen again while under their warranty. Maybe they should stick to OEM. ;)
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
126
man that service charge for the battery and serpentine belt is horseshit
You know what else? That "diagnostics" fee. Clearly I had already diagnosed the bad bearing. That's in the description on top:
"CHECK FOR 150K SERVICE"
"CEL. AND TRACK OFF LIGHT" (Check Engine Light and Trac Off ie traction control disabled)
"BAD BEARING SOUND" (Ding ding ding!)
"BATTERY STRUGGLING"
It's literally their write-up of my description to them.

...and since the bearings were under their warranty and that is what triggered the CEL and TRAC OFF lights I should not have to pay for that diagnostic even if I didn't diagnose myself.

I'll be calling them back but their phones and Internet have been problematic for days (they had to use personal cell phones to reach me).
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
53,852
48,614
136
I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but it's not that easy. I've been in textiles for the past 25 years, and still working as essential for Medical, Military, Public Safety end uses. Some small scale (relatively) U.S. cut and sew facilities are trying to move to make surgical type masks, they are not the NIOSH type masks needed for critical use. The entire supply chain has been is disarray since the beginning of the year because almost all dyes and chemicals originate in China. Last week, we were informed the cut and sew facilities we ship to in Honduras and El Salvador shut down for at least the next month and are no longer accepting shipments. Retooling, resupplying, retraining in textiles, or making ventilators for that matter, probably can't happen soon enough. This is the result of a global economy and the pursuit of the highest profit above all. As in all things, we reap what we sow.

I'm not proposing that apparel factories be retooled to make surgical masks or ventilators. Washable consumer grade face masks should be well within existing capability. Such products would be for the general population so surgical and N95 mask production can remain dedicated for the parts of the workforce that require it.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
53,852
48,614
136
Growing reports that the US is buying loads of PPE on tarmacs across Asia that have already been sold to other places like Europe and diverting it to the US. What a fundamentally stupid place to be right now.

Also saw that Marc Benioff managed to arrange a cargo 747 full of gear out of China for SF in partnership with UCSF.

It's the Wild West out there people.
 

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,916
4,960
136
In another grim turn for the future, it seems the governments of the world are giving themselves enormous sweeping powers that may become permanent after the crisis has ended.

And it's not limited to just the 3rd world countries and corrupt nations like Turkey, it's democracies in the first world too.
Just for starters;

"Britain has a long history of democracy and well-established democratic customs. Nevertheless, a coronavirus bill that was rushed through Parliament at a breakneck pace affords government ministries the power to detain and isolate people indefinitely, ban public gatherings including protests, and shut down ports and airports, all with little oversight. "
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
71,292
14,076
126
www.anyf.ca
Growing reports that the US is buying loads of PPE on tarmacs across Asia that have already been sold to other places like Europe and diverting it to the US. What a fundamentally stupid place to be right now.

Also saw that Marc Benioff managed to arrange a cargo 747 full of gear out of China for SF in partnership with UCSF.

It's the Wild West out there people.

What a dick move, also heard they are telling 3M to not ship anything to Canada.

I hope we won't be pushovers like usual. May not be the best time for a trade war but we can't just take that either. We are working out a deal with Amazon Canada to get supplies shipped throughout Canada though so it will work out in the end either way.
 

rcpratt

Lifer
Jul 2, 2009
10,433
110
116
Oh, what I would pay to live in an alternate universe where we had a competent administration. It would be so interesting to study the differences in how everything plays out.
 

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
53,852
48,614
136
Oh, what I would pay to live in an alternate universe where we had a competent administration. It would be so interesting to study the differences in how everything plays out.

I imagine it would not include near total economic armageddon and a ton of corpses. Surely it wouldn't be pleasant but it wouldn't be this either.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Brainonska511

K1052

Elite Member
Aug 21, 2003
53,852
48,614
136
Won't the US have more corpses if we don't keep our respirators here?

Just asking.

Export curbs probably would not have been necessary if the government had acted earlier. Even now they are a really imperfect option since the market is still a free for all even inside the country.

The government has almost entirely abdicated its responsibilities to its citizen first out of laziness and incompetence and now out of fear of being blamed.
 

brainhulk

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2007
9,376
454
126
At my hospital I am given 1 n95 mask that I have to to place in a paper bag at the end of my shift. And then use again the next day. My manager saw me wearing my 3M p100 respirator I brought from home and he said I couldn't use it when going to the patient floors. He said everyone must reuse the hospital provided mask. I told him that rule is ridiculous, as my 3m respirator has a much better seal and I have a bunch of replacement filters at home and I can actually clean the inside of my respirator. He said I know, but this is hospital policy right now and I have to follow it.

Total Bullshit!
 

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,340
136
At my hospital I am given 1 n95 mask that I have to to place in a paper bag at the end of my shift. And then use again the next day. My manager saw me wearing my 3M p100 respirator I brought from home and he said I couldn't use it when going to the patient floors. I told him that rule is ridiculous, as my 3m respirator has a much better seal and I have a bunch of replacement filters at home and I can actually clean the inside of my respirator. He said I know, but this is hospital policy right now and I have to follow it.

Total Bullshit!
Call in sick for a week and see how they like that.

Or have a lawyer call the hospital. They looove lawyers.
 

ccryder

Member
Nov 20, 2008
156
110
116
I'm not proposing that apparel factories be retooled to make surgical masks or ventilators. Washable consumer grade face masks should be well within existing capability. Such products would be for the general population so surgical and N95 mask production can remain dedicated for the parts of the workforce that require it.

I agree with you completely. We have changed our schedule to ship antimicrobial fabrics to U.S. suppliers for this exact purpose. The problem is that the U.S. sewing facilities are small scale now, and will not be able to quickly meet demand. The textile manufacturers left in the U.S. are niche suppliers that typically work with small lot sizes and specialty fabrics that overseas manufacturers don't want. This is especially true in garment manufacturing. Most of our U.S. made fabrics are shipped to Central America to be cut and sewn, and those facilities that I deal with closed for at least the next month. There is some interest in the last week with inquiries for doing exactly what you describe, I'm just not sure it can happen as quickly as we need it to.