Automobile Maintenance Thread

[lizard]

so whenever I hit a bump I've been noticing a shimmy in the front end of the car...

oil change, rods and bushings, 345$

fuck I was looking forward to a little disposable income.

 

[NAD]

That blows. Bushings suck ass to change but are usually pretty cheap to purchase. Stupid labor!

 

[lurch70]

man I hate when you need to spend unnecesarily for work on a car.
since I was 17 up until 32, i went through 4 used cars ... all American ... that used to drain my wallet with total BS and unexpected repairs.

the last car I had before buying the new MINI, was a Buick Riviera, which based on the receipts for all the repairs over the 2.5 years I owned it cost me about $250 a month in repairs, on average. So bucking down and paying an extra $100 for the finance charge on a new car made total sense.

Right now, even maintenance is included, so MINI/BMW covers all, oil, breaks ... all the regular shit. All I pay is the finance, and the best part about it is there is never that fear of when my car will break down.

Fuck, that used to suck to pay $400-$500 for crazy shit.

 

[Hell Mike]

Dunno what bushings are but the obvious question: Why not do the work yourselves?

 

[lurch70]

 

[NAD]

Why not do the work yourselves?

I do all my auto maintenance, the only work I ever have done is an alignment because well, you kinda have to. Whenever something would break down when I had old vehicles, I'd spend the weekend fixing it, or if I needed help with something went to my uncle who is a mechanic. Other than learning by fixing shit on my own, he taught me everything I know about cars. I've never once taken my car to "the shop" except for I had to have some warranty work on my dash in my last truck, which was free.

I also always drive Japanese cars, and not a lot goes wrong with them things.

 

[lurch70]

yeah, Jap cars are great, can't fit in the fuckers though.

 

[MFJ]

yeah, Jap cars are great, can't fit in the fuckers though.

^

I'll be getting my first car in a couple of months... Volvo wagon, I'm pretty sure

 

[lurch70]

^

I'll be getting my first car in a couple of months... Volvo wagon, I'm pretty sure

super cool ... very uber metal Euro machine

 

[MFJ]

hahahahaha right on! I figured it would be a nice car for me to have... my brother got a very used Volvo for his first car when he was sixteen and now 4 years later the thing is still running strong! Having a hatchback will be neat too, for musical equipment and stuff.

 

[NAD]

Having a hatchback will be neat too, for musical equipment and stuff.

Totally, that's why I got a wagon. Well that and I'm really a lesbian.

 

[MFJ]

245?

Probably the most common car in Sweden STILL...

It wouldn't be bad. Seeing as how I don't know shit about cars, my dad will probably aid me greatly in picking a model and stuff. Volvos are built ridiculously solid, I love them. People always complain about how hard it is to find mechanics that can fix this particular type of car in New England, but my friend's father makes a living fixing Volvos, so I think I'll be okay :Spin:

 

[NAD]

The first trip in a used car should be to go and buy the Chilton's or Haynes manual. Then if you need to do engage in any serious rebuild, the factory shop manual (these can be several hundred $$$ though). My last Haynes manual was torn to shreds by the time I sold my truck, <-- incomplete thought, cool

 

[Hell Mike]

There's an old geezer here in the village who's now really retired since long but keeps his garage functional and fixes people's carsfor next to nothing, but he can be slow getting to it at times and doesn't know shit about all thosefancycomputer-cars people use these days but well I have no idea what I was saying, I guess nad is infectu... infecti... rubbing off on other people.

 

[lurch70]

now that you mention that ... it's true, most Euro cars i can think of past or present ... always had round headlights

 

[Hell Mike]

key word was DOUBLE there, Volvo stuck to rectangular for quite a while just like SAAB

 

[NAD]

I fix my friends cars a lot, they give me booze as payment.

 

[MFJ]

Interesting, when I was just downstairs I was talking to my Dad about this particular Volvo model (245). I guess they had one 20 years ago.... and this one was a piece of shit. Regardless, he said it was a solid car and that it shouldn't be ridiculously expensive... I'll do some more research.

 

[Hell Mike]

Interesting, when I was just downstairs I was talking to my Dad about this particular Volvo model (245). I guess they had one 20 years ago.... and this one was a piece of shit. Regardless, he said it was a solid car and that it shouldn't be ridiculously expensive... I'll do some more research.

dude, emigrate to Sweden and get those fuckers thrown at you if you're rude at Joe's Used Cars & Fishing Equipment

 

[MFJ]

hahahaha, sounds like a plan to me! That's what the Study Abroad program is for!!