Damn crows!

[cfitz]

I took a friend to dinner last night. The parking lot was jam packed, with cars circling around and around in search of non-existent spaces, so I thought I was really lucky when a group of people happened to pull out of a space right in front of me - a space right under a tree. I took it without giving it a second thought, happy to have found anything.

As we walked to the restaurant, I noticed that there were literally hundreds of crows flying around overhead. I picked up the pace, hurrying to get to the safety of the restaurant, having been successfully targeted once before by a bird in flight. We made it safely in, and enjoyed our dinner. My car, parked under the tree, didn't fare so well:



Damn crows! I could barely see out the windshield, never mind the hood. Hopefully I can get to the car wash tomorrow.

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[burninfool]

Maybe they were trying to tell you something.

[cfitz]

Could be. The question is, what?

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[BuddhaTB]

Sorry to see that cfitz.

The worst is when it happens right after you wash your car. It seems like birds are attracted to clean cars.
When I park at school, I try to avoid parking under trees, light post, wires, or anything that is hanging over the car.

[cfitz]

Thanks BuddhaTB. As you may have already guessed, I'm not too particular about my car, but this is ridiculous!

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[Spazmogen]

But where's all that snow gone?

[UALOneKPlus]

Sorry to see that cfitz. It's kind of wierd when you see all the crows / pigeons flight around in masses.

I remember seeing the migration last fall, and there were literally clouds of birds flying around, just an awesome and scary sight.

Nice car by the way!! I love that generation of Accords. Is yours a manual?

PS - hope a car wash gets all that muck off your car!

[dhc014]

How do those darn things do that much?!?

[cfitz]

But where's all that snow gone?

Amazingly, most of it has melted away now. Of course, the big mounds where we piled it up while shoveling are still there.

Nice car by the way!! I love that generation of Accords. Is yours a manual?

Thanks. And no, it is an automatic. I've driven manuals all life up until this car, but a 1+ hour stop-and-go commute eventually convinced me of the desirability of an automatic in some situations. I made up for it by getting the V-6. It was my first, and probably last, purchase of a more up-level car.

How do those darn things do that much?!?

It is kind of amazing. I can almost envision all 300 of them having lined up one by one to take turns at my car. But crows are quite big birds, so I guess ten or twenty of them in a tree could make that much of a mess without trying too hard...

cfitz

[eliminator]

Nice car, nevermind the birds, Hondas rule !!

[cfitz]

Nice car, nevermind the birds, Hondas rule !!

Thanks. But I'm not a Honda fanatic like many people. Before I bought mine I heard from countless people about how great Hondas are and how much they love them. Hondas seem to engender such enthusiasum and loyalty. But having owned one for several years now, in my opinion a Honda is just another car, not the second coming... Mind you, I'm not saying they are bad cars. They aren't. But they aren't automotive nirvana either. I personally liked my Toyota better. It seemed to be more solidly built.

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[BuddhaTB]

I personally liked my Toyota better. It seemed to be more solidly built.

That's very true. That's why my family picked the Camry over the Accord. Just look at the craftsmanship of the interior between the Accord and Camry. If you want to look even further, compare the materials and craftsmanship between a Lexus and an Acura. Enough said.

[eliminator]

How'bout the resale values !??

[BuddhaTB]

How'bout the resale values !??

That's one area where the Accord beats the Camry.

[cfitz]

How'bout the resale values !??

That's one area where the Accord beats the Camry.

In my view that is one area where all cars lose, and lose big time. Personally, I laugh at the car commercials that tout resale value, because it sucks for all cars. The commercials portray cars as if they were investments, when nothing could be further from the truth. And I think a lot of the Honda "resale value" is due to nothing more than the inflated prices that are charged to begin with.

I guess it is best to buy a two- or three-year old car and let someone else take the big depreciation hit, but I still like to have a new car from time to time. I get around the depreciation by driving the car into the ground - like my 15-year old Toyota. Resale value? Irrelevant. By the time they are 15-years old, none of them have any resale value.

cfitz

[BuddhaTB]

I guess it is best to buy a two- or three-year old car and let someone else take the big depreciation hit, but I still like to have a new car from time to time. I get around the depreciation by driving the car into the ground - like my 15-year old Toyota. Resale value? Irrelevant. By the time they are 15-years old, none of them have any resale value.

My dad always told me its better to spend the extra money and get a new car. With a used car, you'll never know how well the previous owner treated the car. Also the 3 to 5 year factory warranty is worth the extra money. With a used car, it may look mechanically sound, but there's always that chance of something breaking and needing to pay a lot to fix. The first car my parents gave me to drive was our '87 Toyota Mini-Van and that lasted until 2000 before we decided to donate it for a tax write off. Over the past 2 years, I've been driving my dad's old Mercedes. It's a 1981 Mercedes 300D Diesel. It's older than me by 6 months and it has over 207K miles on it. That's why my family is so high on Mercedes because their cars last and I drive a working example of that. From time to time I get to use the Camry whenever my mom isn't using it, but until I can afford the car I want, I can't really complain on what car I drive. I just keeps me motivated to graduate and finally get the car I want with my first big pay check. I guess one cool thing about my car situation is that I can tell my kids I drove a van and a diesel car before I got the car I wanted and they can't complain about what they'll be driving.

[cfitz]

I can see them rolling their eyes now. "Oh Dad, please! Do we have to hear that story again?"

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[eliminator]