Bargains, bargains, everywhere

I apologize in advance for the lameness of this post, but after an insane summer schedule followed by surgery and a three week recovery, "the funny" (or "the angry") is going to take a minute to regenerate.

Right after surgery, a letter came addressed to the previous homeowners. It said something about "GE Appliance"-something, so I figured it was something I should open and look at. It turns out, I was right:

Over several years, normal use of liquid rinse aid in some models results in a concentration of rinse aid on the wires inside the dishwasher door. In the affected models, the rinse aid can degrade the insulation on the wiring inside the door, which can cause an electrical short, overheating or fire if the wire comes in contact with the metal door. You should stop using these dishwashers immediately until you obtain more information.

I mean, who wants a flaming dishwasher?

Since Home Depot was having a sale, and GE was going to give me another $150.00 to replace a 6-10 year-old dishwasher, I decided it was probably the right thing to do. The deal broke down like this:



While I wasn't planning on spending any money on a dishwasher, it was likely that I'd have to replace mine sometime before I sold the house. $180.00 delivered and installed to do that is a pretty good deal.

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You may recall that I turned the WRX in last January, and ended up with my parent's 2002 Honda Accord. I've noticed that if the car sits for a day or two, it has trouble starting (but once I drive it, it charges right back up). I don't think that battery has ever been replaced, so I decided to start looking around for battery deals.

My first stop was Sears, even though they have pissed me off the last several times I've attempted to buy anything there. A Diehard Gold for the Accord is $109.00, which seemed a little high to me. I decided to do some looking around online, and I found this little gem:

Most auto batteries are made by just three manufacturers, Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls Industries. Each makes batteries sold under several different brand names. Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts.

So Sears and Costco batteries come from the same manufacturer, huh? How much is the comparable battery at Costco?

$54.49

I had to drive to two different Costco's last night, but I found one. Now I just need to put it in and I'm good to go.

My poor American Express.