Did I get taken?

Rod Speed wrote:
> George Grapman > wrote in message
> . com...
>
>>Rod Speed wrote
>>
>>>George Grapman > wrote
>
>
>>>>Anytime that I have moved I have done something like the following-loosen
>>>>battery cable or radiator cap. Tell mechanic I am having trouble starting
>>>>car or it is overheating.
>
>
>>>>The diagnosis tells you all you need to know.
>
>
>>>Harder when the car is basically undrivable with a very obvious problem.
>
>
>>My point, which eluded you,
>
>
> Wrong. As always.
>
>
>>is to follow my suggestion before you have a problem.
>
>
> Not even practical. A mechanic that is capable of working that
> sort of basic stuff out isnt necessarily going to be that great at
> a major repair like the one being discussed on value for money.
>
> And may not even be around anymore when the power steering fails.
>
> <reams of puerile sales ****wit **** flushed where it belongs>
>
>
Again , the point eluded your limited brain capacity. The idea is to
see if the mechanic was honest.Will he say you need a new radiator or
admit the cap was loose.? Same for the battery.
Speaking of jobs, what is yours? Collecting welfare checks does not
count,little boy.

--
To reply via e-mail please delete 1 c from paccbell

In misc.consumers.frugal-living marc > wrote:
> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to

[snip]

> labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
> to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I

You're not thinking about it from the right perspective. You didn't spend
too much money, you missed an educational opportunity. :-)

The car is worth <$2k. The cost repair is $1.5k. That means you don't have
much to loose. Next time buy yourself a set of decent quality wrenches, a
repair manual, and a steering rack (or whatever is broken). Read the
repair manual, search google groups, ask questions in the Chevy and/or
auto repair news groups, and spend the weekend giving yourself auto
repair lessons. Just take your time and think about what your doing.
The only way you learn this type of skill is by doing it. Eventually
you get better at diagnosing things, removing rusted bolts, etc, and
can most of your own repairs.

Doing most of the work yourself and taking the car to a tire or suspension
shop do an alignment is a lot cheaper than having the dealer do it all and
you know exactly what was done to the car and you know exactly how it was
done.

Yes, you might make mistakes, but dealer mechanics aren't necessarily
perfect either. I paid Peter's Honda in Nashua, NH to replace the
timing belt and water pump in my wife's car and do a recall service on
the ignition switch. The car wasn't ready on time. They charged
us an extra $25 to reconnect the alarm after the recall service
and used the wrong gauge wire connectors so it had neither ground
nor power. They didn't follow the coolant fill procedure, so it
wasn't full after running the vehicle, the valve cover leaked oil
because they never added gasket maker goo in the four points
indicated by the manual, and the timing belt was rubbing up against
a plastic insert under the valve cover making bad noises.

I spent hours tracking down fixing those issues myself. I found it was
much easier to clean up after my own mistakes because I knew exactly what
steps I did (and didn't) do during a repair. I swore I would no longer
give in to my lazy nature and pay money to a dealer to any do work I could
do myself.

George Grapman > wrote in message
. ..
> Rod Speed wrote
>> George Grapman > wrote
>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>> George Grapman > wrote

>>>>> Anytime that I have moved I have done something like the following-loosen
>>>>> battery cable or radiator cap. Tell mechanic I am having trouble starting
>>>>> car or it is overheating.

>>>>> The diagnosis tells you all you need to know.

>>>> Harder when the car is basically undrivable with a very obvious problem.

>>> My point, which eluded you,

>> Wrong. As always.

>>> is to follow my suggestion before you have a problem.

>> Not even practical. A mechanic that is capable of working that
>> sort of basic stuff out isnt necessarily going to be that great at
>> a major repair like the one being discussed on value for money.

>> And may not even be around anymore when the power steering fails.

> Again , the point eluded your limited brain capacity.

Again, you couldnt bull**** your way out of a wet paper bag even
if your pathetic excuse for a sales ****wit 'life' depended on it.

> The idea is to see if the mechanic was honest.

Fat lot of use that is if he aint around when you have the steering problem.

> Will he say you need a new radiator or admit the cap was loose.? Same for the
> battery.

Duh.

<reams of puerile sales ****wit **** flushed where it belongs>

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:52:54 GMT, wrote:

>In misc.consumers.frugal-living marc > wrote:
>> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn the
>> wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it to
>
>[snip]
>
>> labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
>> to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I
>
>You're not thinking about it from the right perspective. You didn't spend
>too much money, you missed an educational opportunity. :-)
>
>The car is worth <$2k. The cost repair is $1.5k. That means you don't have
>much to loose. Next time buy yourself a set of decent quality wrenches, a
>repair manual, and a steering rack (or whatever is broken). Read the
>repair manual, search google groups, ask questions in the Chevy and/or
>auto repair news groups, and spend the weekend giving yourself auto
>repair lessons. Just take your time and think about what your doing.
>The only way you learn this type of skill is by doing it. Eventually
>you get better at diagnosing things, removing rusted bolts, etc, and
>can most of your own repairs.


Your advice isn't worth much if the $2,000 car is your sole means of
transportation.

Bob Ward wrote:
>
> > wrote:
>
> >Indeed. Daughter's regular membership got us towed to the local station, but
> >extreme measures were needed to get it home. Then we decided to send it to
> >the knackers we had to push it to El Monte on the freeway. Hint: An old tire
> >tied to the front of the pushing vehicle and/or the back of the pushed vehicle
> >makes things a lot less stressful.
>
> Did they offer you enough more to deliver it to the wrecking yard not
> running to make it worth risking your life and countless others
> pushing a disabled car on the freeway?

We're not stupid and we didn't endanger anybody, even ourselves. You push it
up to speed, let it coast, and when it slows down you come up, give it another
push, let it coast... By then we were really good at it.

> The pennysaver, greensheet and
> recycler are filled with ads from wreckers who will pick up your
> disabled car and still give you a few bucks for your trouble.

$200 vs nothing, and they didn't even want to come pick it up for free. It
was a holiday weekend, as I recall, and they were the only people open.

--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"The almost universal access to higher education here in the US has
ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers." -- Bob Hunt

On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 11:26:07 -0700, The Real Bev
> wrote:

>
>We're not stupid and we didn't endanger anybody, even ourselves. You push it
>up to speed, let it coast, and when it slows down you come up, give it another
>push, let it coast... By then we were really good at it.


You are so stupid that you won't even admit how stupid you are.

I'll bet you think you're real good at Russian Roulette, too.

Rod Speed wrote:
>
> The Real Bev > wrote:
> > Rod Speed wrote
> >> The Real Bev > wrote
> >>> Rod Speed wrote
> >>>> George Grapman > wrote
>
> >>>>> Anytime that I have moved I have done something like
> >>>>> the following-loosen battery cable or radiator cap. Tell
> >>>>> mechanic I am having trouble starting car or it is overheating.
>
> >>>>> The diagnosis tells you all you need to know.
>
> >>>> Harder when the car is basically undrivable with a very obvious problem.
>
> >>> A powerless-steering car is difficult to
> >>> turn, but otherwise perfectly driveable.
>
> >> The OP said
>
> >> >>>> I could barely turn the wheel.
>
> > Pretty wimpy, if you ask me.
>
> Irrelevant to whether trying what the crapchild proposed is feasible for him.
>
> > A 78 deVille has got to be harder to steer than a
> > 97 Chevy Cavalier, whatever that is, and I'm a gurl.
>
> Obvious lie. You're actually a raddled old bag with rather pathetic
> viking fantasys, do doubt a result of your gross drug abusing past.

Yup, it took me a long time to kick that Premarin, but I'm a better person for
it.

> >>> When my POS 78 Caddy blew a rod we pushed it 80 miles
> >>> or so on the freeway, the hardest part of which was the
> >>> sharp uphill turn into the driveway which turned out OK.
>
> >>> Rolling down Cajon pass with no lights
> >>> or engine at 2:00 am is a real kick!
>
> >> Pfft, you wanna try it in a landrover with no brakes at all, a coupla ton of
> >> soil samples, etc etc etc, much bigger drop than that. Pure doddle ya wimp.
>
> > Without brakes you should have the vehicles attached,
>
> Wota wimp.
>
> > with the pushing vehicle capable of stopping both in a pinch.
>
> Wota wimp.

It's not practical to race around in front of the brakeless car and make it
stop by letting it run into you. It's possible, but doing it in heavy traffic
is a real pain.

> > We've done that too. And another interesting kludge: When
> > we brought the monsterhome home it had fuel pump problems
> > and we couldn't get up out of a railroad underpass. Solution:
> > feeding in shots of starting fluid until we got out of the hole.
>
> Pfft, nothing special.
>
> > And then there was the other fuel pump problem which
> > involved me sitting in the back with a 5-gallon can of gas
> > on my lap with a siphon hose running down to the carb.
>
> Pfft, nothing special.
>
> You wanna try some of the places I've been to where there
> is no hope of any assistence what so ever ever showing up.
> If you cant fix the problem yourself, they'll find the corpse.

Big deal. Have you ever had to tear down a motorcycle transmission to unjam
some gears 30 miles from the closest road using only the tools and plastic
garbage bag that your mom had the foresight to bring along?

> > You candy-ass younguns got it way too easy.
>
> I'm older than you thanks.

Far be it from me to say anything like "Well, then, why don't you act like a
grown-up?" I'm much too nice a person to do a thing like that.

--
Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"The almost universal access to higher education here in the US has
ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers." -- Bob Hunt

The Real Bev > wrote in
message ...
> Rod Speed wrote
>> The Real Bev > wrote
>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>> The Real Bev > wrote
>>>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>>>> George Grapman > wrote

>>>>>>> Anytime that I have moved I have done something like
>>>>>>> the following-loosen battery cable or radiator cap. Tell
>>>>>>> mechanic I am having trouble starting car or it is overheating.

>>>>>>> The diagnosis tells you all you need to know.

>>>>>> Harder when the car is basically undrivable with a very obvious problem.

>>>>> A powerless-steering car is difficult to
>>>>> turn, but otherwise perfectly driveable.

>>>> The OP said

>>>>>>>> I could barely turn the wheel.

>>> Pretty wimpy, if you ask me.

>> Irrelevant to whether trying what the crapchild proposed is feasible for him.

>>> A 78 deVille has got to be harder to steer than a
>>> 97 Chevy Cavalier, whatever that is, and I'm a gurl.

>> Obvious lie. You're actually a raddled old bag with rather pathetic
>> viking fantasys, do doubt a result of your gross drug abusing past.

> Yup, it took me a long time to kick that
> Premarin, but I'm a better person for it.

Pathetic, really.

>>>>> When my POS 78 Caddy blew a rod we pushed it 80 miles
>>>> or so on the freeway, the hardest part of which was the
>>>>> sharp uphill turn into the driveway which turned out OK.

>>>>> Rolling down Cajon pass with no lights
>>>>> or engine at 2:00 am is a real kick!

>>>> Pfft, you wanna try it in a landrover with no brakes at all, a coupla ton
>>>> of
>>>> soil samples, etc etc etc, much bigger drop than that. Pure doddle ya wimp.

>>> Without brakes you should have the vehicles attached,

>> Wota wimp.

>>> with the pushing vehicle capable of stopping both in a pinch.

>> Wota wimp.

> It's not practical to race around in front of the brakeless
> car and make it stop by letting it run into you. It's possible,
> but doing it in heavy traffic is a real pain.

There might be other ways to stop a brakeless car.

>>> We've done that too. And another interesting kludge: When
>>> we brought the monsterhome home it had fuel pump problems
>>> and we couldn't get up out of a railroad underpass. Solution:
>>> feeding in shots of starting fluid until we got out of the hole.

>> Pfft, nothing special.

>>> And then there was the other fuel pump problem which
>>> involved me sitting in the back with a 5-gallon can of gas
>>> on my lap with a siphon hose running down to the carb.

>> Pfft, nothing special.

>> You wanna try some of the places I've been to where there
>> is no hope of any assistence what so ever ever showing up.
>> If you cant fix the problem yourself, they'll find the corpse.

> Big deal. Have you ever had to tear down a motorcycle transmission
> to unjam some gears 30 miles from the closest road using only the tools and
> plastic
> garbage bag that your mom had the foresight to bring along?

>> > You candy-ass younguns got it way too easy.
>>
>> I'm older than you thanks.
>
> Far be it from me to say anything like "Well, then, why don't you act like a
> grown-up?" I'm much too nice a person to do a thing like that.
>
> --
> Cheers, Bev
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
> "The almost universal access to higher education here in the US has
> ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers." -- Bob Hunt

The Real Bev > wrote in
message ...
> Rod Speed wrote
>> The Real Bev > wrote
>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>> The Real Bev > wrote
>>>>> Rod Speed wrote
>>>>>> George Grapman > wrote

>>>>>>> Anytime that I have moved I have done something like
>>>>>>> the following-loosen battery cable or radiator cap. Tell
>>>>>>> mechanic I am having trouble starting car or it is overheating.

>>>>>>> The diagnosis tells you all you need to know.

>>>>>> Harder when the car is basically undrivable with a very obvious problem.

>>>>> A powerless-steering car is difficult to
>>>>> turn, but otherwise perfectly driveable.

>>>> The OP said

>>>>>>>> I could barely turn the wheel.

>>> Pretty wimpy, if you ask me.

>> Irrelevant to whether trying what the crapchild proposed is feasible for him.

>>> A 78 deVille has got to be harder to steer than a
>>> 97 Chevy Cavalier, whatever that is, and I'm a gurl.

>> Obvious lie. You're actually a raddled old bag with rather pathetic
>> viking fantasys, do doubt a result of your gross drug abusing past.

> Yup, it took me a long time to kick that
> Premarin, but I'm a better person for it.

Pathetic, really.

>>>>> When my POS 78 Caddy blew a rod we pushed it 80 miles
>>>> or so on the freeway, the hardest part of which was the
>>>>> sharp uphill turn into the driveway which turned out OK.

>>>>> Rolling down Cajon pass with no lights
>>>>> or engine at 2:00 am is a real kick!

>>>> Pfft, you wanna try it in a landrover with no brakes at all, a coupla ton
>>>> of
>>>> soil samples, etc etc etc, much bigger drop than that. Pure doddle ya wimp.

>>> Without brakes you should have the vehicles attached,

>> Wota wimp.

>>> with the pushing vehicle capable of stopping both in a pinch.

>> Wota wimp.

> It's not practical to race around in front of the brakeless
> car and make it stop by letting it run into you. It's possible,
> but doing it in heavy traffic is a real pain.

There might be other ways to stop a brakeless car.

>>> We've done that too. And another interesting kludge: When
>>> we brought the monsterhome home it had fuel pump problems
>>> and we couldn't get up out of a railroad underpass. Solution:
>>> feeding in shots of starting fluid until we got out of the hole.

>> Pfft, nothing special.

>>> And then there was the other fuel pump problem which
>>> involved me sitting in the back with a 5-gallon can of gas
>>> on my lap with a siphon hose running down to the carb.

>> Pfft, nothing special.

>> You wanna try some of the places I've been to where there
>> is no hope of any assistence what so ever ever showing up.
>> If you cant fix the problem yourself, they'll find the corpse.

> Big deal. Have you ever had to tear down a motorcycle transmission
> to unjam some gears 30 miles from the closest road using only the tools
> and plastic garbage bag that your mom had the foresight to bring along?

Never been stupid enough to bother with crap like that.

>>> You candy-ass younguns got it way too easy.

>> I'm older than you thanks.

> Far be it from me to say anything like "Well, then, why don't you act
> like a grown-up?" I'm much too nice a person to do a thing like that.

Obvious lie grandma.

Bob Ward > wrote in
:

> On Tue, 21 Jun 2005 15:52:54 GMT, wrote:
>
>>In misc.consumers.frugal-living marc > wrote:
>>> My old 97 Chevy Cavalier lost power steering. I could barely turn
>>> the wheel. Not knowing any mechanics in my immediate area I took it
>>> to
>>
>>[snip]
>>
>>> labor was $500 for 5 hours, with alignment and taxes etc it all came
>>> to $1,500. That's about 3 times what I thought it would cost. I
>>
>>You're not thinking about it from the right perspective. You didn't
>>spend too much money, you missed an educational opportunity. :-)
>>
>>The car is worth <$2k. The cost repair is $1.5k. That means you
>>don't have much to loose. Next time buy yourself a set of decent
>>quality wrenches, a repair manual, and a steering rack (or whatever is
>>broken). Read the repair manual, search google groups, ask questions
>>in the Chevy and/or auto repair news groups, and spend the weekend
>>giving yourself auto repair lessons. Just take your time and think
>>about what your doing. The only way you learn this type of skill is by
>>doing it. Eventually you get better at diagnosing things, removing
>>rusted bolts, etc, and can most of your own repairs.
>
>
> Your advice isn't worth much if the $2,000 car is your sole means of
> transportation.
>
>

And you have no place to do the work.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net