Paying It Forward - A TITAN TALK EXPERIMENT...

[dan200]

Recently I had something pretty lame happen to me/my truck followed by something really cool happening to me because of Titan Talk.

First, the lame part...

I had removed the plastic cover on my pass side front pillar to run some wires up to my overhead console. When I put it all back together I used a socket adapter on my drill and screwed the "Oh SH1T" bar back in place but i had the power maxed out on the drill, and wasn't paying attention, and the bolt pulled right thru the plastic handle rendering the piece unusable, destroyed, ruined forever. To make it worse, the bolt snapped and i had to go thru the annoying process of backing the headless bolt out. This was even more annoying because the "Easy out" i had wouldn't bite on the bolt so i had to go at it from the back with needle nose pliers. This took forever!!!! I was now short an interior piece and half of the required mounting hardware... The bolt I could get for a few cents at any hardware store but, the handle I can only assume would be $39879384.00 from the stealership and would have to be special ordered...

I'm out of work right now so, going and buying a new replacement part was not something I wanted to spend money on. I thought to myself that there would likely be some unfortunate soul who wrecked his truck and and was going to part it out and I could score one here on the forum for a few bucks and bypass the stealership parts counter. I found somebody who had listed some interior parts for sale but, the handle wasn't one of them. Most wouldn't think of listing that part so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I was happy forum member "madrock" said he had one in the correct color and to make things even better, he was sorta local. We live in the same state and metro area but we are basically on opposite ends of town. After a few PM's and texts the price was set (10 bucks IIRC). I was going on a trip and we made plans to meet up when I got back at his work, which was waaaay closer to my my place than the long trek to his house.

I was super happy at the price and psyched the empty spot on my pillar would be filled again but unfortunately, things did not work out as planned because he forgot to throw it in his truck and bring it to work. "No biggie" I told him. Being unemployed comes with the benefit of a flexible schedule so we rescheduled. I was not bothered at all by this since I was getting my part nearly free. To top it off the dude couldn't be nicer. He was gushing with apologies for forgetting it. "Dude, don't worry about it. It's not like I cant drive and my life is hinged on this. It's no big deal, we will get it all sorted out."

For whatever reason, he then tells me he will just send it to me "FREE".

"WTF? really? It's not that big of a deal for me to come pick it up at your work and you deserve some money for this" I told him but, he insisted...

It took a bit before I got it because he had some health issues that took priority but he kept apologizing for being flaky. I kept reassuring him that I was not mad, bothered, or anything like that. I was happy he was doing this and that me being pushy about the situation would be asinine. "It's no big deal" I kept telling him.



This is awesome. I try hard to keep a positive rating on lifes "karma scale" and today, that paid off. Free car parts rule.

This whole event got me thinking. Some guy I have never met had just spent his own money to send me something for free. He was even apologetic about not being able to do it faster because he had been hospitalized for kidney stones and shipping it had been delayed. Think about it, a guy is suffering from razor sharp calcium deposits working their way thru his junk, and he still feels bad about not being faster to send a random stranger from the internet free stuff and covering the shipping costs himself.

This is the behavior of somebody whose moral compass is pointed in the right direction. His refusal to accept anything from me other than a "thank you" has prompted me to feel like I need to "pay this forward" so, I am.

I live in a state where front license plates aren't required but my Titan came with a factory front license plate holder and I dont need it. I have seen these go for cheap on here to people who need them but I am gonna do better than cheap. Its FREE (shipping included).

My only request is that whoever gets it helps to continue the "Pay It Forward" and hooks up another forum member with something for free. I think it would be cool to see if this could turn into into a long thread filled with posts about how this simple gesture of a free door handle evolved.

So, here it is, A free license plate holder wit all the mounting hardware included, packaged up and ready to be mailed.



This is what it looks like uninstalled...



Installed...



This is what it looks like after I took it off. I have a couple of holes in the plastic now but don't care. I actually like them... Eventually my bumper is coming off but until it does, those holes will be a reminder of my free handle. I smile every time I see them relishing in the fact that there are still generous people in the world.



Thanks madrock! My passengers really appreciate having something to grab onto when they climb aboard the Titan and I love that I don't have to look at that empty spot on my pillar every time I drive my truck. Next time you have some good luck, hopefully in Vegas, it might be because of your friendly gesture to a total stranger...

So, who needs a free license plate holder? First come, First served...

dan200

[galiath05]

good to know there are still decent people in the world

[madrock]

Hey man, I'm just glad I could help out in some way. I know how ridiculous Nissan is with parts liks this (i.e. $1,000+ for an overhead console that is known to break?? WTF?).

Like I said before, I feel bad because I promised to send it by a certain day only to get strep AND kidney stones back to back.

[triplethreat]

Great story good man madrock.

Sent from my HTC Glacier using AutoGuide App

[JBake]

This is an awesome story with a great write up. Something that seems sooo simple as an "OH S**T" handle sale, has turned into a great lesson of kindness.

[skyshark186]

Thats a great deal. Theres nothing like having a forum full of guys supporting one another.

As such.....Ill join in the spirit.

Ive got some parts I dont need, dont want, and will ship to someone who does free.

Ive got a full rockford system(shy the deck) that Ill piece apart to those who have blown some components of it. All of its in good working order. Let me know what piece you need and your addy and Ill get it in the mail.

[spoonman]

Awesome story and great idea.

I remember there was another pay it forward thread a couple years ago on here. I think there was also a pair of free headlights going around (for people to have a set while they modded their own and pass along when finished) for a while too. I wonder what ever happened to those two threads.

[Carbeaux]

I remember both of those, spoon. They just sorta fizzled out.

[Blobenator]

Awesome story!!
btw, love that movie!!

[KING_Polaris]

I kinda did the same thing last September during the Daytona Hooters meet when i had stumbled upon Halfoftwo's post request prior to the meet on the Daytona meet thread asking if anyone had a spare "5.6" tailgate badge so I knew I had spares in my toolbox and when I had arrived at the meet I went out to look for his truck and when I came across the owner I happily gave him the badge at no cost simply to help out another, someone who shares the same hobby as me, which is modding out their Titan.

[halfoftwo]

Ditto on great stories/movie. I was completely shocked when Polaris gave me the badge when we already agreed on a price and everything. That was my first Titan meet and never met anyone from here before and that is what happens. I thought that was pretty cool. This past Old Town meet was a prime example of fellow members helping each other out. Bills1974 had a cover that he tried to sell on here and no-one wanted it, I guess because it had a hole in it. I let him know that I would take it and I figured I'd get the hole fixed. Come to find out, the hole is about the size of my fist and not a big deal. I tried to give him money for this and he wouldn't take it. No matter how hard I tried, he wouldn't take any money. I wanted to give him something because I know how much they are. Not only did he give me that, he did two cowls with bed liner and basically installed fender flares and 3rd brake light on several other T's the day of the show.

Thanks to all the members on here that have helped others out, either with parts or advice. IMO, that's what this place is for.

[scottsbro23]

Good stuff right there...

3-4 months ago Jakejc was in need of an OEM Aux Port...I had an OEM faceplate with the port sitting in the garage so I told him he could have it. He asked how much and I said free. Well he instisted he pay me or give me somethin for it...so I said "just send me a couple Monster "M" stickers." Now a couple meaning 2, one for my T and one for my sons F150. Well Jake sent me an entire sheet of Monster logo's..(the one with the 2 foot tall M).

So I used the big one, gave my son and a budy a medium one. Had to save one for me incase I didn't like the look of the BIG one. lol

[skyshark186]

Forgot I also have a Rockford faceplate someone can have if they want it

[goree]

I have a OEM 3rd brake light ready for a good cause


Sent from Goree's iPhone using Autoguide

[midnight407]

I need that front plate mount and have a box of miscellaneous dash parts that are taking up room.