Paradise by the dashboard light...
Hooray! It (my nice new old dashboard, that is) finally got where it was going! I've been waiting on this for nearly three weeks now--the guy I bought it from on Ebay has pretty good feedback, but even his positive comments are peppered with notes about slow shipment. He seems to think that as long as he ships within the 30 day guideline set by Ebay that everything's hunky-dory, which is technically true, but not a great way to do business if you ship EVERYthing slowly. And he was nearly impossible to raise on the e-mail machine, which inspired no small amount of nervousness on my part. But, thankfully, it did ship and only took a week to get here from California, which I suppose isn't so bad.
Further, in what I think would be classified as a minor miracle, the thing got to the house UNDAMAGED! It was in two cobbled-together cardboard lamp boxes, and cushioned with newspaper. Not very confidence-inspiring as I pulled it out, nor was the fact that one of the mounting pins on the front edge had poked a hole through the box. But after getting all the paper off and taking a look at it, the dashboard was in perfect condition--uncracked speaker grill, uncracked defroster vents, and a pristine cover. In fact, it looks almost new. A nice thing, especially when you see the condition of the one that's in there now, which looks something like a relief map of the Grand Canyon. In any event, I'm still astounded that this big long hunk of plastic managed to make it all the way to Alabama in one piece. Now, if I can just get it installed without tearing anything up...
Luckily, there is this website from fellow 240 enthusiast Dave Shannon, who has the necessary pictures and advice.
Boy, I love them there Internets.
Further, in what I think would be classified as a minor miracle, the thing got to the house UNDAMAGED! It was in two cobbled-together cardboard lamp boxes, and cushioned with newspaper. Not very confidence-inspiring as I pulled it out, nor was the fact that one of the mounting pins on the front edge had poked a hole through the box. But after getting all the paper off and taking a look at it, the dashboard was in perfect condition--uncracked speaker grill, uncracked defroster vents, and a pristine cover. In fact, it looks almost new. A nice thing, especially when you see the condition of the one that's in there now, which looks something like a relief map of the Grand Canyon. In any event, I'm still astounded that this big long hunk of plastic managed to make it all the way to Alabama in one piece. Now, if I can just get it installed without tearing anything up...
Luckily, there is this website from fellow 240 enthusiast Dave Shannon, who has the necessary pictures and advice.
Boy, I love them there Internets.
posted by Terry at 8/30/2005 09:30:00 AM
3 Comments:
Terry, I am still catching up on my reading and have gotten this far (8/30) and just had to comment on Dave Shannon - his site is a great place for 240-ers and other morons to visit. What a great job he is doing. And I am having such fun reading up on your adventures.
Did you try WD-40 to degunk the coins etc under the seat? I also have heard that it works pretty well on many other things such as rubber bumpers. I recently got a replacement center console cover on E-Bay and it was a little scuffed and grimy, but cheap, and WD-40 made it look like new!
Dave really is a great source of info--talk about someone with the Volvo bug!
AS FOR THE SEAT COINS--no, it was too much trouble to mess with them, and I was hot and about to pass out, so I just left them there as good luck charms.
Ebay is good for parts IF you're patient and learn how much things actually are worth, and what questions to ask. Some folks seem really reputable, like the guy I got the taillights from, and others, well, they seem to be more in it for a hobby than as an actual business.
That's right. And true of any shopping on E-Bay. I always try to make sure I know what the thing would cost new and plan accordingly. So far, I have been very lucky with E-Bay. Only one crook a long time ago who didn't get paid anyway because I forgot to hit confirm payment!
Post a Comment
<< Home