Expecting too much from non-car people?

I've got a few cousins who are car killers. They get a car and six months later it is dead. Not just "oh it needs an alternator" dead but "holy crap there is a hole in the block and the transmission won't shift out of park" dead. I've owned 37 cars at last count and only one from that whole group went out in grand "run it til it blows" fashion (and I paid $67 for that car). Everything else was either sold while still running, or got totaled in a not-my-fault accident.

I was asked by a family member if I had a spare car for one of these cousins. I said I have a spare car, but not for them. I figure that by the time you are in your 30s, it is time to take some responsibility for your life. If you are able bodied, you can fix a car (and some people here can prove that even if you AREN'T able bodied, you can fix a car). It may take a little time to find a fixer-upper, and a little saving for a cheap tool kit, but this is not magic. Repair manuals are available at the library. I'm sorry the car will probably be old and ugly, but it will get you from home to work and back.

Maybe I just expect too much and have been wrenching for too long. I am more than happy to help people fix their cars (and do so quite often). I open my garage for friends all the time. But for some reason a total lack of automotive responsibility is beginning to be a pet peeve of mine.

I hear you brother!!! The worst thing about "those people" is that they want to bring their broken POS to you because you "enjoy" fixing cars. Like I don't do enough favors for idiots during my busy day. I can't stand people who hide behind "I can't do that". No, you just think you are above learning how to do that.

I have a B-I-law like this - he blows up his cars but never checks/changes the oil. He is bringing up his daughter the same. We yelled at her one night for not checking the oil (nor changing the oil) on her car for almost a year. They look at me like I'm a 2 headed freak.

I can't blame you for your actions. I like buying the old cheap ugly cars, fixing them up and driving them. Now that my dad has a berkeleyed up shoulder, I've become the family fleet maintenance guy. Main problem isn't them ruining cars. My sister is a magnet for hit and runs.

tr8todd wrote: I hear you brother!!! The worst thing about "those people" is that they want to bring their broken POS to you because you "enjoy" fixing cars.

HA! Man I hate this one. Yes, I enjoy working on MY purpose-built race car I made in my garage all by myself. Sometimes I even enjoy the therapy of doing maintenance on things I own and pay for... even just something simple like the lawn mower but... um... yeah... get your rusty ass POS impala with 800 pieces of rotting french fries under the seats out of my driveway. It wouldn't need a berkeleying new engine if you had ever just once looked to see if there was any "juice" in it.

My girlfriend was like this when I first met her. She would try to impress me by taking her Accord to redline with 210,000 miles on it. When it would hesitate, she would say "oh, Professor Plum (her car's nickname) is upset with me and won't go fast". She also wouldn't curb wheels, she would ANNIHILATE a curb! She would say "whoops".

Now, she seems to be pretty good about looking after a car. I have taught her to check tire pressures, oil levels, waiting for a car to warm up in the morning, avoiding warping rotors during a hard stop, sets the parking brake before put the car in "park". Just taken some time

The whole "but you enjoy working on cars" thing amuses and simultaneously irritates me. I usually just shoot back, "No I enjoy keeping my money in my bank account". In reality, the parts I enjoy are the sense of accomplishment after it's done and the knowledge that it was done correctly. For me, the actual act of wrenching isn't really fun by itself, just it's by products.

Back OT - no, you're not expecting too much of them. The ability to keep a car from eating it's own drivetrain every 6 months (or more) isn't some special inside information that only us car guys know about. It's a basic life skill. I'm not even talking about performing your own maintenance. Just don't abuse the bejeebus out of it and take it in for servicing is enough.

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: My girlfriend was like this when I first met her. She would try to impress me by taking her Accord to redline with 210,000 miles on it. When it would hesitate, she would say "oh, Professor Plum (her car's nickname) is upset with me and won't go fast". She also wouldn't curb wheels, she would ANNIHILATE a curb! She would say "whoops". Now, she seems to be pretty good about looking after a car. I have taught her to check tire pressures, oil levels, waiting for a car to warm up in the morning, avoiding warping rotors during a hard stop, sets the parking brake before put the car in "park". Just taken some time

Ha! Michelle was the same when I met her (12 years ago now, jeez). One day she was supposed to meet me, but I got the "my car just stopped working" phone call. Weirdly enough, also an Accord. Come to find out that her motor failed in spectacular fashion while driving down the interstate - a rod made an escape route out the block. No oil at all. Turns out that her oil light would come on and she would just pour more oil into it until the light went off. Never actually checked the oil, even once.

Since that learning experience she's been out in the garage with me many times and I'm happy to report she's quite a bit more knowledgeable about cars than most of the guys she works with. So, not all of the seemingly hopeless people are really that hopeless.

I can relate. I have a BIL/SIL that ALWAYS ask what I think it COULD be and completely IGNORE everything I say. Latest with them is their AVEO, don't ask it was free to them, has an issue with a wonky TPS. They hit up the local retread auto place to find out what it is, then IMMEDIATELY call here to see what I have to say. I just ask the simple question, "Does it have a throttle cable and what code? I ask this because their next question always is "How much will that cost?". Their response was "I don't know." ARGH. I figure it is/was DBW, so put a throttle body on it. So, they are at a $500 repair to a repair shop that I could have done myself, but past history has done soured that relationship, when they don't have any money. But yet they have to have two vehicles and the other is a 4.6 powered Exploder and both vehicles emulate a rolling trash dump inside.

I can go on, but I'll stop there.

What gets me is one of these cousins is married to a guy who does construction work, so I know he is able to work. After my bad car wreck a few years ago I had to borrow her father's car (a '92 Tempo 3.0L, fun little car) until I could find a new daily drive (mine was totaled in the wreck). While I had the Tempo in my possession I swapped out the heater core, did the brakes, spark plugs, wires, and oil changes. I bought my little Saturn SC1, brought the Tempo back to my uncle and thanked him graciously. Six months later my cousin somehow gets her hands on the car, and around four months later the transmission was dead. Her and her worthless husband have killed pretty much every vehicle the two of them have ever owned, and I think it is about time he sucked it up and learned how to fix his own stuff.

My fav is when you notice a co-workers car with a problem, usually a low tire. Tell them to get it checked and 3 minutes at the air vending machine at the corner store would be a good start. 2 days later, the tire is even lower, they never put the air in or got it checked. I show them that the tire is wearing faster than the rest and without a bit of attention it will fail in about 2 weeks tops. Offer to show them the procedure for changing the flat because it will happen and I will not be helping change it.

They pass on the tutorial and plead that they will "do something about it"

2 weeks later I get a call about someone stranded with a blown out tire and a flat spare and cannot find the jack. Suddenly I'm the bad person because I cannot stop laughing and offering to get out of bed to help them for $100.

I get there and the temp spare is fine, the jack and stuff are exactly where they are supposed to be, 10 minutes, zoom zoom.

Info is passed that this spare is for about 50 miles only and MUST be fixed the next day. Since the co-worker is off for the next 2 days, figure they might handle it.

6 days later I am again a bad person for laughing at their misfortune of shredding the spare 75 miles form home at 11:00 P.M..

If you constantly fix the problems caused by someones apathy, stupidity or laziness, they don't have problems, You do! I have adopted a policy of giving the advice but not bailing them out when they don't take it.

Unless they are cute, then I get all stupid and stuff .

Bruce

I'm always amazed at the average person's apathy towards a machine that their lives/safety quite literally depends on whenever they drive it.

Especially with tires, the amount of bald/underinflated tires I see on a daily basis is absolutely mind blowing.

Matt B wrote:

DukeOfUndersteer wrote: My girlfriend was like this when I first met her. She would try to impress me by taking her Accord to redline with 210,000 miles on it. When it would hesitate, she would say "oh, Professor Plum (her car's nickname) is upset with me and won't go fast". She also wouldn't curb wheels, she would ANNIHILATE a curb! She would say "whoops". Now, she seems to be pretty good about looking after a car. I have taught her to check tire pressures, oil levels, waiting for a car to warm up in the morning, avoiding warping rotors during a hard stop, sets the parking brake before put the car in "park". Just taken some time

Ha! Michelle was the same when I met her (12 years ago now, jeez). One day she was supposed to meet me, but I got the "my car just stopped working" phone call. Weirdly enough, also an Accord. Come to find out that her motor failed in spectacular fashion while driving down the interstate - a rod made an escape route out the block. No oil at all. Turns out that her oil light would come on and she would just pour more oil into it until the light went off. Never actually checked the oil, even once. Since that learning experience she's been out in the garage with me many times and I'm happy to report she's quite a bit more knowledgeable about cars than most of the guys she works with. So, not all of the seemingly hopeless people are really that hopeless.

Hahahaha!

She told me she had an "engine failure" before I met her, in her previous Accord. Come to find out later from her dad, she did the same thing, SENT A ROD THRU THE BLOCK!!

The threshold to keep a car in reliable running condition is so low, I just don't get it. Change the oil, keep air in the tires, don't hit any potholes/curbs/etc., and go in for a tuneup every 3 years, and cars these days will [for the most part] keep running forever. I'd bet that the total cost spread out over the life of the car would work out to about $25 a month.

e_pie wrote: Especially with tires, the amount of bald/underinflated tires I see on a daily basis is absolutely mind blowing.

My girlfriend's roommate last year was like this. If she had been under 18 I probably would have looked into calling DCFS on her parents for letting her drive on it, but the parental situation is another bad one in that case anyways

The 2 front tires were so bald that she probably could have been ticketed for them. The right front was past the chords. I tried to fill it up with my compressor (to take it to the Discount tire 2 turns and 1 mile away) and it wouldn't fill up at all. Taught her how to change a tire, taught her how to check the air, and Grandma saved the day by buying her new wheels/tires. Then the car died again (probably could have been saved, but would have required a more talented individual than me), and Grandma saved the day again buying her a used Corolla. I should call and make sure that she is checking her oil and tire pressure.

mtn wrote: The threshold to keep a car in reliable running condition is so low, I just don't get it. Change the oil, keep air in the tires, don't hit any potholes/curbs/etc., and go in for a tuneup every 3 years, and cars these days will [for the most part] keep running forever. I'd bet that the total cost spread out over the life of the car would work out to about $25 a month.

Bingo! I have cars that I've neglected for YEARS. I change the oil and put gas in it. That is it. If it doesn't affect the car being drivable, I don't bother to fix it. That is what a beater car is for. Cars like these will run like crap, forever. You drive it like there is an egg shell on the gas pedal, and plan your stops a mile ahead. No big deal. But hand one of these cars over to a car killer and it won't make it six weeks.

The conversation usually goes like this:

Car Killer - "You gave me a lemon car. I don't know what happened, I was on I-75 and the engine just quit."

Me - "Didn't I tell you the car couldn't take running on the highway? I told you it can't run over 60 mph for more than a few minutes before slinging all the oil out of the front crank seal. Where are you?"

Car Killer - "Jacksonville..."

Me - "YOU LIVE IN ATLANTA!!!!!..."

Car Killer - "You said the car would run for another year. You lied."

Me - "I told you it would run another year around town, off the highways, if you checked the oil every day. I told you to buy oil by the case at Walmart and keep it in the trunk. When did you check the oil last?"

Car Killer - "I haven't, I thought you put oil in it when I got it a few weeks ago."

Me - (epic face palm, slams phone down).

That is how my last square nose Cavalier died. It didn't deserve to go out like that. That little car rocked. This particular car killer has come back to me several times asking to buy cars, but I finally started pricing them out of his range to get him to go away.

slefain wrote:

mtn wrote: The threshold to keep a car in reliable running condition is so low, I just don't get it. Change the oil, keep air in the tires, don't hit any potholes/curbs/etc., and go in for a tuneup every 3 years, and cars these days will [for the most part] keep running forever. I'd bet that the total cost spread out over the life of the car would work out to about $25 a month.

Bingo! I have cars that I've neglected for YEARS. I change the oil and put gas in it. That is it. If it doesn't affect the car being drivable, I don't bother to fix it. That is what a beater car is for. Cars like these will run like crap, forever. You drive it like there is an egg shell on the gas pedal, and plan your stops a mile ahead. No big deal. But hand one of these cars over to a car killer and it won't make it six weeks. The conversation usually goes like this: Car Killer - "You gave me a lemon car. I don't know what happened, I was on I-75 and the engine just quit." Me - "Didn't I tell you the car couldn't take running on the highway? I told you it can't run over 60 mph for more than a few minutes before slinging all the oil out of the front crank seal. Where are you?" Car Killer - "Jacksonville..." Me - "YOU LIVE IN ATLANTA!!!!!..." Car Killer - "You said the car would run for another year. You lied." Me - "I told you it would run another year around town, off the highways, if you checked the oil every day. I told you to buy oil by the case at Walmart and keep it in the trunk. When did you check the oil last?" Car Killer - "I haven't, I thought you put oil in it when I got it a few weeks ago." Me - (epic face palm, slams phone down). That is how my last square nose Cavalier died. It didn't deserve to go out like that. That little car rocked.

And it isn't like you can apply an "Idiot Tax" on sales that go like this after the fact....

On the up side, I did get my free V8 Ranger donor truck from a car killer, so maybe things come around.

Don't help them - you'd be enabling them and they won't appreciate it. Let them deal with the consequences of their neglect, perhaps they'll learn that it pays to look after their things.

At least my car killer learned a little. Sold him a Lumina that I had acquired inexpensively. I told him it had a really small leak at the water pump and needed the coolant checked and topped once a month. Gave him a gallon of coolant too. Within 6 months he was back complaining the heat didn't work. I take the still full coolant jug out of the trunk and fill up the radiator and overflow. I then took the jug and gave him another full jug of coolant. 8 months later it didn't run right. Blown head gasket. No I will not help you replace the head gasket on the cheap. You need to find a shop and get it fixed to the tune of $2k. All because you were too busy/lazy/cheap to check the coolant once a month. The sting of losing his entire bonus to fix a car that I was very thorough to make him understand it was his fault and only his fault that it broke has changed his handling of cars some.

When my friend sold his EF SI, it was to an older couple who were buying for their grandson. The car was rough but it definitely ran and drive, started up every time, etc.
They test drove it and it drove fine, as it did every time I was in the car.
They call him the next day saying he sold them a junk car and they wanted their money back. Apparently, the kid took the car out on his own, and somehow (coincidence?) the car quits and won't start again.
My friend, who works at Honda, works with them over the phone trying to help them get it running again, and they take it to their "mechanic", who may possibly be retired.
One of the gems from their "mechanic", when he was checking everything out: "it has power on the valve cover"
???????????????????????
they said they have bought cars before, broken them, and then gotten some of their money back.
I tried to get him to give them $300 back (my 300) so I could have a $300 89 SI, but no dice=]
they sent him alot of pretty ugly texts "I hope you don't do this to anyone else" (to which his reply was "what? sell them a car that ran fine when it left my possession?") and they finally quit writing him when he sent them a 6 page text detailing why they need to shut the hell up and leave him the hell alone. lol

slefain wrote: Me - "I told you it would run another year around town, off the highways, if you checked the oil every day. I told you to buy oil by the case at Walmart and keep it in the trunk. When did you check the oil last?"

I had a 1984 Cutlass Supreme that I bought for $100 with worn valve seals. I checked the oil every Monday and usually had to add a quart. I knew that it would use 1 quart per 110 miles.

Yes, I was a bad person for the pollution I created but I was in a low financial spot of my life and used the car to drive 8 miles to work and I knew enough to stay off the highway nor to stray too far from home. The key was I was always aware of the oil situation.

corytate wrote: One of the gems from their "mechanic", when he was checking everything out: "it has power on the valve cover" ???????????????????????

Well there's your problem, an electrical short

Datsun310Guy wrote: I have a B-I-law like this - he blows up his cars

I had a brother in law who could never make anything with an engine last more than a year or so - cars, trucks, lawn mowers, chain saws, it didn't matter. His stock answer when asked what happened was, "it blew up." I was never sure if he meant that literally.

Had a neighbor whose daughter drove a Pontiac Bonneville. Don't ask me the year, to me they all look alike. To give an idea of how she treated this car, she'd come in or go out of the (slanted) driveway like a crazy person and grind metal every time. When she did this at, say, 11PM it would wake me up and I sleep like the dead.

Neighbor comes and gets me one afternoon, 'can you listen to this?'. I go listen, the Bonneville is doing its best to scatter cast iron all over the neighborhood. I ask the daughter when's the last time the oil was changed, oh a year or two ago. She's pissed because I told her the motor was toast, then she volunteers that this is the engine she had installed to replace the other one she blew up by not changing the oil (her dad volunteered that last bit of info). You'd think she would learn, but noooooo.