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My brother wanted a new stereo, so I point him to Crutchfield. "They'll send you everything you need", I said. "You'll get a wiring harness and won't have to chop into the wires in your car!" I said. "Just follow the instructions and installation will be done in no time!" I came home the next day and he says "Bob, I need your help installing my stereo." Now how the hell could you need help with step by step instructions and everything you could need sitting in the same box? I ask to see that box, and find a set of instructions still sealed in cellophane, and sealed wire harness adapter, and the last six inches of the factory harness, delicately removed with the grace of an enraged chimpanzee. I'm beginning to realize that when he asks for my help, he's really asking me to do it for him. Instructions are for pussies.
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Sep 7, 2013 19:15
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I work on bikes, often old bikes, and I gotta say there's an awful lot of undeserved disdain out there for people who don't know poo poo about motor vehicles. That's fine with me, man. That's why I got my job. There's a lot of poo poo I know nothing about, like astrophysics and dentistry and Chinese history. You don't know what to do, you go to an expert. The problem comes with people who think they know something. What drives me batshit insane is when company shops won't listen to the drivers. My last shop visit went like this. Needed a B service, check steer tire for odd wear pattern, replace filters in cab. So Micheal J Fox changes my oil and sprays down my block and frame with oil, replaces the cab air filter, doesn't check the steer tire. This poo poo is common, so the whole shop comes to check out the strange wear pattern for the steer tire. The shop boss comes over and flips the gently caress out how I should be red tagged for leaking power steering hoses rawr rawr rawr, and by this time the outside tire service guy wanders over. So I laid into the shop boss, saying that I have written the hose up a couple of times since it first went into the shop (it was the first repair I wrote up at 30,000 miles, hasn't been fixed by 260,000, they just added a hose clamp to the hose) Then he starts going off on the strange wear patterns on the steer tires, I fire back that they refused to align the truck 90,000 miles ago, and then he freaks out and starts babbling about what shops I have gone to and why don't they fix poo poo, I then inform him that I have only been to this shop for repairs since getting the truck. Tire guy kinda laughed. Needless to say poo poo was silly, still haven't had the hoses replaced, and they changed the tire, but didn't align the truck. Still, it's better than the last time I was in the shop, in which they replaced my water filter, and didn't use the rubber gasket and I pumped my cooling system out in the middle of Nevada.
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Sep 7, 2013 19:31
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I used to not really use my parking brake until several years ago when my '88 celica popped out of gear and started rolling backwards across a parking lot, onto a busy 3 lane road (where it was rolling backwards with the flow of traffic), across said road, and nearly off a 50 foot embankment. The only reason the car wasn't destroyed is that I was able to catch up to it on foot, jump in the car(I had left the door open) and slam on the brakes just a few feet before it was too late. When the car came to a stop one of the rear tires was in the air overhanging the embankment. Looking back it was a pretty stupid to run after my car, but I just reacted in the heat of the moment. I never ever leave the parking brake off in any car I drive now. Also, my wife is the destroyer of headgaskets. She has ignored and failed to tell me about overheating issues and blown the headgasket on three cars. One of which I bought for her. I finally bought her a volvo 240dl and if she kills that thing I'm buying her a drat bicycle. In semi-related idiocy, someone broke into my '83 accord today to steal a set of $10 no-brand chinese speakers. At least that car is so easy to break into that they didn't damage anything.
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Sep 7, 2013 20:19
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After being at the KIA shop for a month now, I have learned that Kia customers dont give a flying gently caress about running on bald tires. Please rotate ~Sir, you have 2/32's on your fronts and I see wires on the back. So you cant rotate?
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Sep 7, 2013 20:27
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InitialDave posted:There is a base minimum level of knowledge that is expected if you're going to even get into a car. You know that the planet we're on orbits the sun, that you should brush your teeth, and that there's this country somewhere that is a source of pandas and cheap manufactured goods, right? Because that's the kind of level we're talking about here.
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Sep 7, 2013 20:28
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Seriously? Putting on a spare tire is pretty basic, everyone should know how to do that. There are step by step instructions in every owners manual for every car I've owned. I get not wanting to do it on the side of of a six lane highway, but if you're in the middle of nowhere are you really going to wait an hour for AAA to show up and do it for you? What if it's the zombie apocalypse? Do you walk in open zombie country or do you put the spare on? Because AAA dude is busy eating his family and your iphone is only good for throwing at zombies.
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Sep 7, 2013 21:01
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I dunno, a lot of the stuff I'm seeing here is insulting people for not knowing how to change a wheel. Why the hell should everyone know that? There's AAA, a million tire shops around the country, and tires hardly ever blow out, at least in my area. A lot of cars don't come with spares and the tools for it now, some cars have run-flats. And even if you know what you're doing, it's a pain in the rear end to do it on the side of the road and requires some muscle. See I don't get this. When owning a vehicle, you should do your best to maintain it. Even if it is just basic, simple maintenance, you should know how to do the following: * Check your fluids (Oil, coolant, transmission fluid, etc) * Check your tire pressure * Check your tires for wear (penny test) * How to use a jack * How to change your tire * How to jump start a battery If you do not know how to do any of this, and have no instructions, simply take 5 minutes out of your life and youtube it. There are thousands of video tutorials showing you how. If you only rely on AAA or what have you, what happens when you break down in an area that has no phone reception to call AAA? You're screwed if you don't know. Also, since I spend alot of time in remote areas and in the woods, I would never buy a car that did not come with a jack and a spare tire; that's just dangerous. Solar Coaster fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Sep 7, 2013 |
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Sep 7, 2013 21:04
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Solar Coaster posted:If you only rely on AAA or what have you, what happens when you break down in an area that has no phone reception to call AAA? You're screwed if you don't know. A majority of idiots live in urban areas. Most people that live in rural areas have a tendency to know a little bit more about fixing poo poo on the side of the road. This isn't 100% accurate summation of all people, but is a pretty solid observation.
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Sep 7, 2013 21:34
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I dunno, a lot of the stuff I'm seeing here is insulting people for not knowing how to change a wheel. Why the hell should everyone know that? There's AAA, a million tire shops around the country, and tires hardly ever blow out, at least in my area. A lot of cars don't come with spares and the tools for it now, some cars have run-flats. And even if you know what you're doing, it's a pain in the rear end to do it on the side of the road and requires some muscle. The instructions are in every manual for every car I've ever owned. And it needs muscle only if you've lost the jack and have to do it Superman the Movie style. People are just lame.
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Sep 7, 2013 21:35
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Saga posted:The instructions are in every manual for every car I've ever owned. And it needs muscle only if you've lost the jack and have to do it Superman the Movie style. People are just lame. Or if Donkey Kong put the wheels on last. I've had to take cars to tyre shops a couple of times because nothing I've had could budge the nuts. now the comment about people being able to change a tyre, that wasn't aimed at me was it? Because I was shocked that someone training for a technical field at university wouldn't even try to figure it out. I'm probably as  as hell but I always like to read the manual for new to me things. Now I say that I have one of the copies of the Niva's Operation manual sitting in front of me. Besides the sometimes questionable translation it's a shame car manuals aren't like that any more. It's vaguely reminiscent of a 1950's VW manual but a bit more hardcore. It has instructions on everything from opening the window to bleeding and adjusting the brakes, tuning the engine etc.The service manual is far more detailed, has many more things and does most things differently but the operation manual is designed so farmer Joe can keep his ride running and know how to look after it. I've even been a little nonplussed by some things in manuals. The user manual for the Fairlane is next to useless and doesn't even seem to give all the values I'm after, but does have a few useful things like a section on towing. In the end it comes down to needs. Most people don't need to know anything to operate their car, or at least that's what they believe.
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Sep 7, 2013 22:05
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I work at a beach resort. I can't count how many times someone has gotten a flat tire, dead battery, keys locked in the car, etc. They come to the front desk freaking out asking for help, and the front desk calls me. One of the first things I ask is "do you have AAA or any type of roadside assistance?" and 9 times out of ten they do and didn't even know it or forgot they had it. What loving good is it if you're too stupid to remember you even have it?
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Sep 7, 2013 22:35
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Astroman posted:This will indeed become more prevalent sadly. Apparently the new generation doesn't give a poo poo about car ownership. There's study after study, article after article, and poll after poll saying Gen Y doesn't like cars, doesn't care about them, and many have no desire to ever own a car. I'm fine with it. See I got it figured you can get mad about idiots and their stupid problems, or you can find a way to monitize it and profit from them.
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Sep 7, 2013 23:12
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I'm not a mechanic, so grain of salt and all that, but this "idiots with cars" thing goes both ways. There are plenty of guys working in shops that have no business touching vehicles. Stripped oil drain threads, hosed up wheel studs, etc. This is easy poo poo that routinely gets screwed up at shops. The other thing I would disagree with is the "if you have a car, you should definitely at least do (or know about) X, Y and Z". Do you guys all routinely get dental cleanings every six months? Do you floss every day? Do you get 30 minutes of exercise each day? Do you contribute to your 401k? The point is, car maintenance for a lot of people is just white noise - and very likely there is something important in your life you tune out much the same way. (We all do this - I'm not perfect) None of that is to take away from the extreme cases where people are trying to get stuff fixed for free by the shop. Those people are shitheads and deserve the angst.
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Sep 8, 2013 00:19
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:I'm not a mechanic, so grain of salt and all that, but this "idiots with cars" thing goes both ways. There are plenty of guys working in shops that have no business touching vehicles. Stripped oil drain threads, hosed up wheel studs, etc. This is easy poo poo that routinely gets screwed up at shops. Cars are one of the biggest financial investments people will make in their lifetime so knowing a little about them couldn't hurt.
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Sep 8, 2013 00:53
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Bang Me Please posted:Cars are one of the biggest financial investments people will make in their lifetime so knowing a little about them couldn't hurt. I disagree with the notion that a car is an investment. Given that they rarely appreciate, it makes much more sense to think of them as an expense. However a car is usually the second largest expense in a person's monthly budget, so it does make a lot of sense to have some understanding of them, lest the expense of ownership rocket away on you.
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Sep 8, 2013 01:01
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trouser chili posted:I disagree with the notion that a car is an investment. Given that they rarely appreciate, it makes much more sense to think of them as an expense. However a car is usually the second largest expense in a person's monthly budget, so it does make a lot of sense to have some understanding of them, lest the expense of ownership rocket away on you. I chose my words wrong but you got what I was saying. Not investment in the "will make money in the long term" sense, investment in the "this poo poo ain't cheap" sense.
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Sep 8, 2013 01:06
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Astroman posted:This will indeed become more prevalent sadly. Apparently the new generation doesn't give a poo poo about car ownership. There's study after study, article after article, and poll after poll saying Gen Y doesn't like cars, doesn't care about them, and many have no desire to ever own a car. This so so true its not even funny. Most people in my age group and below are about how a can get to point A to point B. I know the old guys said that you had to own a flashy muscle car or something to attract the ladies. Now a muscle car or really any car doesn't attract women. Explains why I always got the older ladies driving around in my E60 or my E39 (actually the E39 really seemed to attract em, no clue) Hell I don't know what does attract women any more. Depends on how many hash tags your facebook profile has I guess.
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Sep 8, 2013 01:13
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Leroy Diplowski posted:I used to not really use my parking brake until several years ago when my '88 celica popped out of gear and started rolling backwards across a parking lot, onto a busy 3 lane road (where it was rolling backwards with the flow of traffic), across said road, and nearly off a 50 foot embankment. The only reason the car wasn't destroyed is that I was able to catch up to it on foot, jump in the car(I had left the door open) and slam on the brakes just a few feet before it was too late. When the car came to a stop one of the rear tires was in the air overhanging the embankment. While it was perhaps foolish to do in retrospect, I must commend you for saving another 4th gen Celica from the scrap heap, even momentarily  .
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Sep 8, 2013 01:39
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Preoptopus posted:After being at the KIA shop for a month now, I have learned that Kia customers dont give a flying gently caress about running on bald tires. Pffft like you didn't get that at Sears. Speaking of, had a guy a while back wanted an alignment. Got it in the air and the suspension is a LITTLE loose. " well can't you align it anyway? " Sir I can grab your front tires and move the fronts an inch towards each other. Your ball oints are joints in name only at this point, and your rear trailing link has rusted off entirely. The car is extremely unsafe and there's no way we can align it without essentially a complete suspension rebuild. "Well just do the best you can to get it close, I'm in a hurry."
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Sep 8, 2013 01:50
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Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:I dunno, a lot of the stuff I'm seeing here is insulting people for not knowing how to change a wheel. Why the hell should everyone know that? There's AAA, a million tire shops around the country, and tires hardly ever blow out, at least in my area. A lot of cars don't come with spares and the tools for it now, some cars have run-flats. And even if you know what you're doing, it's a pain in the rear end to do it on the side of the road and requires some muscle. Can we agree that not knowing your radio can turn off is a little unusual then?
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Sep 8, 2013 02:52
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:I'm not a mechanic, so grain of salt and all that, but this "idiots with cars" thing goes both ways. There are plenty of guys working in shops that have no business touching vehicles. Stripped oil drain threads, hosed up wheel studs, etc. This is easy poo poo that routinely gets screwed up at shops. I think part of the reason I feel busy all of the time is because I'm the guy that does floss, does change his oil when he's supposed, does mow the lawn, etc, etc. Sometimes I think my life is one big maintenance event. 
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Sep 8, 2013 03:56
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Mat_Drinks posted:I think part of the reason I feel busy all of the time is because I'm the guy that does floss, does change his oil when he's supposed, does mow the lawn, etc, etc. Unfortunately the meaning of life is just seeing how much you can endure before you crack
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Sep 8, 2013 04:12
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I feel ya Mat. I see the maintenance stuff in life as incentive to downsize to the point that you have time to do the stuff you actually want to do and only exactly what you need to be comfortable. I feel like a lot of stress in life comes from owning too much damned poo poo, all of which needs maintenance/attention. Don't stop flossing though.
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Sep 8, 2013 04:14
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Fucknag posted:Pffft like you didn't get that at Sears. Toe 'n go, man. The customer gets what they want, and you get paid.
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Sep 8, 2013 07:22
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My Rhythmic Crotch posted:I'm not a mechanic, so grain of salt and all that, but this "idiots with cars" thing goes both ways. There are plenty of guys working in shops that have no business touching vehicles. Stripped oil drain threads, hosed up wheel studs, etc. This is easy poo poo that routinely gets screwed up at shops. I'd just be happy if they could figure out how to turn their lights on and where the turn signal is.
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Sep 8, 2013 19:20
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InterceptorV8 posted:I'd just be happy if they could figure out how to turn their lights on and where the turn signal is. A turning only lane isn't a lane you use to get next to someone and floor it to get ahead of them when the light turns green
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Sep 8, 2013 19:52
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Nodoze posted:A turning only lane isn't a lane you use to get next to someone and floor it to get ahead of them when the light turns green This is Philadelphia, son -- who waits for a green light?
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Sep 8, 2013 20:47
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Nodoze posted:A turning only lane isn't a lane you use to get next to someone and floor it to get ahead of them when the light turns green I'm 100 percent okay with this. What I am not okay with is when they accelerate like they have all day, then cut you off and drive 5kmh below the speed limit. This seems to be the case most the time, so I always give 'er a little bit to make sure the guy is at least serious about it. They still end up getting me if I am not first at the light though =(
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Sep 8, 2013 21:11
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I sold my old Volvo 850 to my father in law, for a song. His wife had to drive it to work one time, and came home at night. She got home and was furious that the headlights were so dim, and the interior lights didn't work. She has only owned Toyotas, and has never had a vehicle with a dash mounted light switch. She was engaging the wipers, attempting to turn on headlights.
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Sep 8, 2013 22:30
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My university is mid-fresher's week. The uni is in Scotland, but a lot of Americans come here, and somehow their parents have managed to hire THE LARGEST CARS IN THE COUNTRY. They also don't break any stereotypes about signalling, use of roundabouts, knowledge of signalling, or really any ability not to roll their multi-ton impotency wagons over my very short car. The standard of driving is so much worse than usual that were I marking driving tests for them I'd give them good points for getting the seatbelt (that they don't use) on without breaking their arm.
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Sep 8, 2013 23:15
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BrokenKnucklez posted:This so so true its not even funny. Most people in my age group and below are about how a can get to point A to point B. It's bullshit. For some odd reason people these days don't have a lot of disposable income and employment is hard to come by. Also, stop yearning for "the good ol' days" it's sexist bullshit.
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Sep 8, 2013 23:17
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I don't know man, I used to pull in tons of tail in my dad's IROC, or it could have been the mullet 
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Sep 9, 2013 00:08
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BrokenKnucklez posted:I know the old guys said that you had to own a flashy muscle car or something to attract the ladies. The hilarious thing about this statement is that flashy cars attract way more attention from men than from women. After all, how often do you see women pull out their cellphones to take pictures of Ferraris and Lambos (or classic muscle cars, for that matter)?
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Sep 9, 2013 00:11
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Women do notice your car, but low slung 2 seater sports cars are largely a turn off. A Range Rover, on the other hand,  It's a near perfect signal for "My boyfriend is both financially secure, or at least willing to invest in my lifestyle, and/or is a ASE master tech."Source: Go ask your women friends or SOs. I sold my hail damaged but mechanically fine Lancer Evolution a few months ago, and lets just say that I sure ended up meeting a lot of strapping young men driving slightly used M3s/G37s/S2000s at gas stations in the evenings. Throatwarbler fucked around with this message at 00:45 on Sep 9, 2013 |
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Sep 9, 2013 00:41
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I attracted my wife to be with a 91' Chevy Beretta in clear coat peeling red
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Sep 9, 2013 01:55
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Throatwarbler posted:Women do notice your car, but low slung 2 seater sports cars are largely a turn off. A Range Rover, on the other hand, I don't know if I would even agree with that. It could be, perish the thought, that women have as wide and varying tastes in cars as men do...
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Sep 9, 2013 02:19
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Vindolanda posted:My university is mid-fresher's week. The uni is in Scotland, but a lot of Americans come here, and somehow their parents have managed to hire THE LARGEST CARS IN THE COUNTRY. They also don't break any stereotypes about signalling, use of roundabouts, knowledge of signalling, or really any ability not to roll their multi-ton impotency wagons over my very short car. The standard of driving is so much worse than usual that were I marking driving tests for them I'd give them good points for getting the seatbelt (that they don't use) on without breaking their arm. After living in the UK, when this state vs that arguments come up, I now simply say that Americans as a whole are consistently the worst drivers in the Western world.
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Sep 9, 2013 02:38
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After riding motorcycles for three years in Japan, coming back here was a nightmare and I haven't been riding since 
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Sep 9, 2013 02:48
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InterceptorV8 posted:I'd just be happy if they could figure out how to turn their lights on and where the turn signal is. On a probably 10 mile trip home tonight around dusk (8 PM) I saw no less than three cars driving without lights. When you think about it, photo-resistors are far less than a dollar, and combining that with a dumb little timer is pretty much all one needs for automatic headlights. There's no real excuse why cars can't have them, right? Then I realize that turning your lights on requires only the mental recognition that "it is dark outside" and a flick of a switch. People are piloting 3,000 lb slabs of steel at 50+ mph, but are still too stupid to turn their lights on. There's no reason automatic headlights should exist. If you are so loving stupid that you can't recognize it's dark outside, then you should not be near a car. Hell, you shouldn't be near a bicycle.
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Sep 9, 2013 04:00
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Cars with dashes that light up when the headlights are off was the dumbest decision and its become really common.
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Sep 9, 2013 04:49
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