ArmyofOne

I am a Soldier, Before that i was a Cellular Repair Systems Technician for Motorola ($$$$$), left my job at Motorola to fulfill my duty to my country, and I love it, so will probably remain as such for the next 17 years (Retire at 20 year mark). Currently an E4 (Specialist). I am Educating myself Currently through American Military University. I am earning a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice. EDIT: Holy old thread again batman!!!

I love ya NC, but im gonna have to disagree with you here. I had USAA (active duty service member), and for insurance, on the ZX-2 ONLY was $2775 every 6 months. It started out at about $1500 every 6 months. But then it jumped for no known reason, other than a ticket i got (71 in a 55) but come on, would 1 ticket raise my rates over $1,000 every 6 months? I THINK NOT! I was paying roughly $460 a month for full coverage after the increase, with no glass, no rental, no roadside, and a $1,000 deductible. I told them after a month of those rates that they had 36 hours to figure out why my rates jumped with only 1 ticket in that timeframe, or i would cancel and switch to geico, who had quoted me $1200 every 6 months, with the same driving record, $250 deductible, glass and rental included... I was 20 years old at the time, but $460 a month! I have an uncle with 2 DUI's in the last 5 years who doesnt pay that! Needless to say, they couldnt figure it out, so i cancelled, went with geico, and now pay $80 a month for full coverage, at 23 years old, with a sedan now instead of a coupe, same saftey features, no worse driving record than i had then, newer car, $250 deductible, glass, roadside, rental, and the new Mechical Breakdown coverage with a $100 deductible. Screw USAA Auto ins. their renters ins is good though. USAA Auto is good if you are over the age of 30 with multiple vehciles and toys (bikes, boats, etc...)

Well put SW! I remember the day you handed me my !Removed! for doing 83 in a 55 and getting busted... Going to iraq changed me for the better i think. No matter what anyone told me, before i went, i was reckless. redlining it from every light in ever gear, rubber and smoke flying on a daily basis. in addition to the wear and tear on my car, it was wear and tear on my driving record. In 3 months i got nailed for 71 in a 55, 37 in a 25 (on post, and in my defense, speed limit dropped suddely, BUT i wasnt paying enough attention) and 83 in a 55. i hadnt had my liscense even 3 days when i got 124 in a 65...My dad knew a cop so i got off fairly clean...but i shouldnt have, maybe it would have saved me from the other 3. Point is, i didnt go to iraq and spend 15 months doing route clearance (Blown up by 23 IED's, i have pix if you want to see them), just to come back kill myself in a car wreck being stupid. I now obey traffic laws, and even though i own a radar detector, i use it for one purpose only. To know where the cops are and when they are clocking me. I rarely break 80 on an interstate, and never break 75 at night...though 5mph makes little difference in an accident. Did it every occur to you that if a deer had run out in front of you at 72mph, you would have been FUBAR'ed. period. Suffice it to say, the only traffic law i break (on purpose) is the speeding one, to a lesser degree...i obey them in town and only take myself 5-15 over on the highways. I even got myself a car with a digital speedometer so i could not feign ignorance. Do not worry though, as you grow older, you will make smarter choices...hopefully. *Disclaimer*- THIS DOES NOT MEAN TO BUY A RADAR/LASER DETECTOR AND DO IT AGAIN.

no it is not a PC, i wish it was. LOL. i cant fint them anywhere around here. maybe online? people seem to be very happy with my work as is, and my prices. i am on an army post as i said, and all the single soldiers want their cars clean so they can impress the ladies :) i capitalize on that...is that bad?

thats what im saying...you pay 40,000 for a car, but are concerned about gas prices? thats why i drive what i do, gas prices. if not for that, i would have bought an LS400/430. (probably a 430 now). for the record, Unleaded here is 3.75 a gallon for REGULAR...i dont think its anywhere near that in texas. my dad still pays about 75 bucks to fill his F150...people i know that have them here, pay nearly $90-100. my dad yesterday said he paid 3.48 for gas, and while still outrageous, thats nowhere near what we are paying here in upstate NY.

yeah, i have fixed a few of them. piles of junk they are. :( too bad too cause when they work they are frickin cool machines...they wobble like a weevil but they dont fall down!

yes i have access to an orbital, its in my garage right now. thanks for the advice SW, i will take this into consideration

whoever just said they paid $2.12, i hope thats per litre, cause if not, I WOULD KILL to pay your prices...Gas up here just hit $3.70 a gallon for regular and $4.01 a gallon US for premium. I use the "cheap" stuff in the civic, cause I can :D

Ok here is the Mitsu Mirage, its a hoopdie, so i didnt charge anything, i just wanted to see if i could do it. Its the guy's run around the base car. he is out of town right now and he left the car with us. it runs good though, and has 229,000 miles without a problem. I think you can tell the half that was done, this was after Meguiars Claybar, Scratch-X, and ColorX, but before any wax. After Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Wax: and here is the 04 Jeep Liberty Renegade: Not much to say about the jeep except that it looked like any other black paintjob that had not been taken care of for the last few years. It was pretty bad. I charged him $100, and yes, i had to clay, but he didnt want the inside done, so i had to adjust price accordingly.

So i think i know enough to get started. I started my seasonal business detailing cars last friday, and i have to say its turned out well. Here are my prices: Small Car (civic, Corolla, etc...) Inside & Out package: $50 -Hand Wash, Hand Wax (flat surfases done with orbital) Tire Shine, Vaccum and Shampoo interior if needed, Glass cleaner, engine bay, Leather treatment (if applicable) and dash and trim shine. Inside and out+Claybar: $100 Large Car (anything larger than a Camry/Taurus) Inside and Out: $75 Inside and Out+Claybar: $125 (includes same as for small car.) Trucks and SUV's: Inside and out Package: $100 Inside and Out+Claybar: $150 Rubbing/Polishing compound + $20/hr to any package Extreme Paint Restoration quoted on case by case basis I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE KNOWN THAT I AM NOT SOLICITING BUSINESS FROM LOC, im posting my prices to find out from detailing pros if these are reasonable or need adjusted. So far, I have done a only a few cars as a "Semi Pro" but if business gets too good, i will have to get Insurance...just in case. Some of the cars i have done include: My 2006 Civic EX (duh) 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe (Slate Blue) 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe (Navy Blue) 1999 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer (White and Gold) 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 (Black) 1998 Buick Century 2000 Mitsubishi Mirage..I did it for free cause it was my buddy's Hoopdee and i wanted to see if i could restore it...i actually fared pretty well. Ill post a pic of it half and half. 2004 Jeep Liberty Renegade (black) I only use meguairs products, with the exception of things like rubbing and polishing compounds and things like this, so to start i can get them at walmart, ill begin ordering them from a supplier in the spring of 09. I wont use anything else, I love Meguairs. So LOC, do you think my prices are reasonable? I did a Black Chevy Tahoe and that was the hardest detail i have ever done, i hate solid black cars... ANy suggestions?

UPDATE!!! The civic badge is gone. The giant "H" is staying for the time being...cause there are holes behind it :( the badge is gone: and i did what you said, taped off the calipers and rotor surfaces, all new black paint under there now :D

If it drives well, I'd definitely buy it! Black onyx is a bad color for highway cars. Mine has some spots where the paint is thin, but from 4 feet away, it looks like new, so it doesn't bother me too much--certainly not enough to merit a repaint.Blake 260k, Should i Buy it? I was gonna say just ask blake...LMAO

Ask anyone on this forum, I had an ES250 for a good while, which i tore apart (nearly every bolt) and rebuilt from the ground up... if you put 18's on, you will have to lift. front *MAY* clear fine, but you will rub the every loving *BLEEP* out of the tires ont he back. the struts will rub the tires. I had a hard time with 17s and eventually went back to stock because the 17s i had were too wide and were rubbing in front on turns and in the rear over dips in the road.

easy for me, 30mpg city is my friend :D

are you joking? he will eat you alive! LOL

Of course it won't work with that attitude! With a little bit of effort, maybe it'll help. What do you have to lose, except a little bit of your precious time. ;) i dont know, but i never thought i would see the day when it cost 40 bucks to fill a honda civic... but then again i never thought i would see the day that a silverado would get 20mpg either...

LOL damn, you got me but if took of the "H" and put an "L" on it, i wonder how many people i could fool. Not here of course, but out in the world...

^new shoes and socks :D (brake caliper paint and tires :D ) ^gettin my tilt on... Yes, thats a quarter sized DING in the front door:eek2: And after the game, we can have us a cookout:woot: and then, while we are cookin, the kids can play soccer:woohoo: questions, comments, concerns?

Well LOC, all the snow is melted. Time for a spring cleanup and a good photoshoot. and you know me, anytime the seasons change, i have to take all new pictures...Its Tradition :) Luckily, right in my neighborhood is a nice park where they dont mind if you use the pavillions or the basketball courts :D Parking Lot: The camaro in the background bight look like hammered !Removed!...but dont even think of trying to race unless you are in a supra running 10's..cause he will beat you. It has a 454 S/Ced big block under that hood....:eek2: Anyone wanna Play some Basketball?

(^This was base coat only) After: ^got a little overspray, thats ok it will burn off. ^oops, more overspray...:SHOCKED: Oh, and the newly Debadged Rear... Should i lose the giant "H" on the back too? questions, comments?

I went with Subaru's World Rally Blue. The car is galaxy gray, but if it doesnt look right, i have a can of black rustoleum high heat, it goes over anything :D. I decided on Subaru World Rally Blue Metallic. I will do a How-To if anyone is interested. It really isnt that hard to do. Before: During:

Its about the size of a quarter in the pass door, is there a cheap solution to this? the metal isnt creased and the paint is not scratched...looks like someone took a ball peen hammer, wrapped it in a towel and whacked it :( i dont have dry ice readily available otherwise i would try that...this is a little too deep for that, but someone at work told me about "Ding King", its a suction cup you stick on and grab with a pair of pliers...anyone heard of it?

Yes that is one of 2 o2 sensors, the other one is even easier to get to, on the bottom of the car! at 21K, the tranny fluid looks about done...im gonna go ahead and replace it, probably with honda fluid. the dealer here will do it for 60 bucks, i will prolly just have them do it, cant go wrong with honda fluid. as far as toyota is concerned, i got an email from Ms. Nancy Fein, the Vice President of customer relations, she asked for more information regarding my experience, here is what i wrote back:

oh, you have no idea... LMAO!!! and yes i the car does feel top end car-ish...it feels soooo much bigger than it really is, and thats why i like it so much. the Matrix had more headroom, but...it was turning out to be a headache. +...i got a killer deal...366 a month for 60 months with a 5,000 dollar rollover from the matrix...i went in 5200 upside-down and i came out with a loan 2 years less, a car a year newer, and a payment 20 dollars a month lower than i went in with on the matrix...im still trying to figure out how this happened... :*scratches head*

2006 Honda Civic EX...WOW...the quality on this car, i cant believe its entry level... links cause the pix are HUGE... http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00499.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00498.JPG ^my buddy mike LOL http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00497.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00501.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00502.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00504.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00500.JPG http://www.clublexus.com/gallery/data//434...um/DSC00503.JPG