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Replies: 36
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Dealership service department.....
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Nov 17, 2025, 1:58 PM
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So son's Camry, my old one, with 241K miles, is making noises. Took it to the dealer. Dealer comes back with this:
Rear struts gone, $1800
Oil leak - $800
New axle - $1,000
And one other thing they fixed with the timing belt, forget the cost. Total was like $5k.
So, took it to "a guy I know"....shadetree guy
Needs left front wheel barring and fixing the oil leak, both total $600. (he's going to do these and son will have it back tomorrow)
Axle, no need to replace (yet), but will cost about $450 to replace, when necessary
Rear Struts, again still working ok, can wait 20K miles or so, at least. But when they do go bad, $750.
Car is perfectly safe to drive at highway speeds. No worries. Engine, battery, etc. all good.
He is going to fix the rattle the struts make for free.
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Orange Immortal [66092]
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what's the Kelley Blue Book on this car?
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:01 PM
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you should share that with the dealer quote guy.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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I told the dealer he just totaled my car. Which was his point.
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:11 PM
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They want me to come in and buy another car. Lol.
KBB is around $6k. Think range is $5-7K
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TigerNet Elite [74793]
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This is fundamentally false
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:25 PM
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the mechanic isn't getting paid salary my man. The mechanic and his service advisor are paid by the job and what the books says the time to fix will take.
Not everything is a conspiracy, it's just how it works.
Toyota service manual says it takes 3 hours to do the job; you pay the 3 hours regardless. The shadetree guy charges you for the 2 hours it takes him to complete. Same with parts pricing. He will go to NAPA and get the parts, Toyota is getting Toyota parts.
I am really baffled by this whole thread.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Wife's Honda went to the dealership for a repair.
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:43 PM
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They called me 45 minutes later, said the car was ready. Go into pay, and get the invoice. They told me what they've obviously told you. I actually broke the ice by asking what their labor rate is, and guy said $135/hour. Which is probably correct. I then asked why the labor charges were so high, think total was like 3-4 hours of labor. I showed the guy his call on my call log, and it was less than an hour after I dropped it off. He then said what they've told you, they can't help it, they have a set number of "hours" they charge for certain jobs.
That dealership's EFFECTIVE labor rate is $290 an hour, which I reminded the guy.
So yeah, I go some other place, they use whatever parts, and charge me the actual time they work. And that's how I run my business. Insurance companies would not put up with me charging them 3 hours to do something that takes an hour, and I wouldn't charge them that either. My HR manual says driving to Greenville and back is 8 hours, so I'll bill my client for 8 hours? Lol. Yeah, "the book" says I should charge you a half hour to leave a 45 second voicemail message. 
That is "how it works" though. And payday loans work, and pawn shops work, and loan sharks and bookies work, and Russian mafia loans work too. Just because that's how something "works", does not mean I will choose to be stupid. But hey, u do u boo.
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TigerNet Elite [74793]
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You angry and just described exactly what I told yoj
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Nov 17, 2025, 6:54 PM
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so you do you, but my time is worth more than spending hours at a dealership knowing I will take it elsewhere.
My car payment is at 580 and been that way for years with zero repair costs. I lease because I love cars and like a new car every 3. My lifestyle allows me to do that. Yours obviously doesn’t and that is ok. But don’t ##### at us about it.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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The dealership did what I took it there for.
Nov 17, 2025, 8:25 PM
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I will take it elsewhere for everything else I didn't take it there for. Had nothing been wrong, I'd still have taken it there to do what I wanted them to do.
My car payment is zero. I bought my car and paid cash (my lifestyle allows me to do that), so I don't have to waste thousands paying interest to a bank. I can do other things with that money.
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Ultimate Tiger [35930]
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Lawn people should use that. The book says it should
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Nov 17, 2025, 10:25 PM
[ in reply to This is fundamentally false ] |
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take 4 hours to cut my yard with a push mower, but they can knock it out in 30 minutes with their equipment, so just charge me for the full 4 hours.
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TigerNet HOFer [124201]
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When I told wife what the tires on her car were going to cost, she suggested I
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:01 PM
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call the local Toyota Dealership and see what they could do.
Bertstare.gif
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Mine matched the Wal-Mart tire price. Paid like $40 more for their install
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:13 PM
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and balance, still $200 less than Goodyear. So anyway.....
BUT, that allowed me to drive to Greenville and make $800, so the $40 to have it a day earlier was a reasonable tradeoff.
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TigerNet Champion [110300]
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Tires couldn't go 200 more miles in the condition they were in?
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:23 PM
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Was one tire, blown out, unrepairable.
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:45 PM
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So yeah. I mean I could limp along to Greenville at 60mph on a doughnut. Or drive wife's car. Or pay $40 more than Wal-Mart and $200 less than Goodyear, and be back in business.
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TigerNet HOFer [124201]
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Walmart was a 2 day wait, and I needed the car
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:47 PM
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My guy will have it ready tomorrow morning, and son of will survive.
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TigerNet Champion [110300]
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So why did you even take it to the dealer in the first place?
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:11 PM
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I figured you to be smarter than that, no offense.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Because they're good at finding issues, with the intent to rip me off of course
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:18 PM
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HOWEVER, once they come at me with a list of repairs (and their non-starter prices to fix the stuff), I can then go shop around, find out what's important or less important, and shop prices fixing it.
I took it there for the 240K mile service. I do this every 30K miles for regular scheduled maintenance (usually $200-250 or so). That's when they rattled off the list for the other stuff.
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Tiger Titan [50831]
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This seems dumb. They are good at finding issues?
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:21 PM
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Issues that either don't exist or partially exist? Why? Why would you do this? Can your shade tree guy not find issues? It's not like a Camry is some complicated or uncommon car.
Also, why TF anyone would go do time at a dealership knowing darned good and well they aren't going to hire them is beyond me.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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There were no fake issues. And the dealer told me the struts and
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:27 PM
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axle were not urgent. But this dealer has done this every time with Camry's, because around 250k miles a lot of stuff starts going. Was expecting several expensive things to come up. Doesn't mean I was going to pay them to fix them.
And with today's $600 charge, I think I'm up to around $2k in unplanned/unscheduled maintenance on 1 million miles of (x3.5) Camry's (one was totaled in a wreck - not my fault). So yeah, I'm fine with it all.
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Tiger Titan [50831]
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Ok, good stuff. Still not sure I comprehend the concept of taking your
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:31 PM
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car somewhere for no reason.
You trust your shade tree guy to fix your car, but not troubleshoot it?
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198408]
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WWOD?
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:37 PM
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Obed®
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TigerNet Champion [110300]
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Is it just a coincidence that the date of his last login is a
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:39 PM
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palindrome?
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TigerNet Elite [76716]
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Re: Is it just a coincidence that the date of his last login is a
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:44 PM
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198408]
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Listened to an interesting podcast on those boards with strings and notes
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:51 PM
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all made up for TV. No law enforcement purpose whatsoever, just for show.
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TigerNet Elite [76716]
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Great question.
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:41 PM
[ in reply to WWOD? ] |
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How nice it would be to be able to ask him.
I'm not sure how he knew all of that stuff.
Talking cars with him is like talking whisky with 19B.
But,
You know he was always willing to help.
Too bad he's not available now.
Really would be nice to have his input.
After all, even if we never followed his advice,
It was nice to hear from an expert.
Now we can only argue amongst ourselves.
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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I take it every 30k miles for factory recommended scheduled maintenance
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:57 PM
[ in reply to Ok, good stuff. Still not sure I comprehend the concept of taking your ] |
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I do oil changes, cabin and engine air filters, oil filters, tires, wipers, etc. Dealer, every 30k miles does the bigger stuff, like new spark plugs, flushing fuel injectors, transmission/brake fluid changes, etc, that comes up at regular factory-recommended intervals.
Decades ago Toyota literally had a schedule in the owners manual of the 30k, 60k, 90k, 120k mile recommended maintenance. After 120K, at 150K, it reverts back to 30K, and you go through the rotation again. Now Toyota stopped doing this and started spacing out the recommended maintenance because people like me were coming in every year or two, and that's it. But I still adhere to the schedule, and every 30K they do whatever is needed UP TO that mileage. I usually go ahead and let then do the oil and oil filter change and rotate the tires, but tell them to leave the cabin and engine air filters, and wiper blades off.
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Tiger Titan [50831]
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Boss I'm still talking about that Camry with 250k miles on it.
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Nov 17, 2025, 4:04 PM
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Change oil, shade tree. That's all she needs. And gas. Needs gas.
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198408]
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Many times they will match prices or quote close to discount
Nov 17, 2025, 2:22 PM
[ in reply to Because they're good at finding issues, with the intent to rip me off of course ] |
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prices - they want you to buy from them vs. go somewhere else and get tires and probably other work done.
Per my friend who was CFO for major dealership group in Gvl before they sold out to another major dealership group.
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National Champion [7517]
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I had rattly struts on a subaru forester
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Nov 17, 2025, 2:18 PM
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I replaced sway bar links. It stopped the rattle for the next ten years.
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Clemson Sports Icon [55940]
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You can't fix the #### yourself?
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Nov 17, 2025, 4:10 PM
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I just put new brakes on the truck myself. Saved a few hundred.
I have to buy a new hubcap because I didn't tighten one enough, but still got that sweet equity.
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TigerNet Grandmaster [198408]
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They still make cars with hubcaps?***
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Nov 17, 2025, 7:17 PM
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TigerNet Elite [76716]
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For trucks, but not like you are thinking. It just covers the actual hub.***
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Nov 17, 2025, 7:24 PM
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Son of, bless his heart, wanted to fix it. And I was all game.
Nov 17, 2025, 8:29 PM
[ in reply to You can't fix the #### yourself? ] |
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Except the two biggest repairs he'd need a lift. Axle and struts aren't a driveway ramp job compatible, unfortunately. And the bearing requires machining.
But that oil leak, I probably should have turned him loose on that.
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Oculus Spirit [43293]
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This is an outrage.
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Nov 17, 2025, 8:39 PM
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I shall instruct my Filipino manservant Josué to surely avoid such rapscallious proprietors when dealing with such matters for my estate.
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Orange Immortal [62355]
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Charging $1800 for rear struts is akin to a felony
Nov 17, 2025, 8:59 PM
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Get TF out of here with that crap
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TigerNet Champion [113051]
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Yep.
Nov 17, 2025, 9:10 PM
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My favorite was the $140 for screws (x3) for wife's minivan. They were like, well, we have to replace all three. I'm like ok, so $47 per screw? They're like yeah. I'm like bye. This was on top of their $290/hr labor rate (REAL, legit, HONEST, labor rate).
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Orange Immortal [62355]
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You and your son could probably do the struts yourself
Nov 17, 2025, 9:21 PM
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for like $650-$700 with parts from AutoZone or wherever. Just make sure to put a jack under the wheel assembly before you pull the strut.
Ask me how I know lol
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Orange Immortal [62355]
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Hayull, less than that probably.
Nov 17, 2025, 9:24 PM
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Haven’t priced them in a while. Maybe more like $250-$300.
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Replies: 36
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