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About those kids who couldn't jump start a car.

I

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I read a post the other day about some kids who couldn"t figure out how to apply booster cables to a battery. Well, now I"ve got a story

I work with a guy at college who is absolutely fanatical about stock car racing, and his office is covered in memorabilia to make one think he might know a thing or two about mechanical things.

I was amazed at what I came across a couple of days ago, his motorcycle had a bad battery. His first problem was he couldn"t think of any other place to get a new battery but a motorcycle dealer. His second problem was he didn"t know how to change a battery. Not only did he take his bike to the dealer, but also had to have a mechanic change it for him. Yep, you guessed it, he was born and raised in the city. This same guy also tried to change a lightbulb in an older model mini van and was unsuccessful.

I guess the mechanics won"t be out of work anytime soon. I really took my mechanical skills for granted before seeing just how clueless many people are. I think there are more than a few that can"t even operate a screwdriver.
 
He sounds like a bench racer. I had a few customers at a shop I worked at who were a real pain in the ssss to deal with. Clueless, but thought they knew everything there was about their car. I don't mind if a customer watches me work and I acually enjoy it if they want to know how something works, but not if he/she tells me how to do a job I have done for 30 plus years.
 

I was wandering around in the local convenience store last night absent-mindedly fishing in my pocket, when a kid about 9 or 10 hollered at me from the end of the aisle - "Excuse me, Sir - you dropped some money" - and handed me a $10 I had dropped...

I almost told him to keep it, but thought that was a little excessive - and didn't have any change on me - he and his family were on the way out the door before I could get any...

Anyway, I've got a strong suspicion there is going to be about the same percentage of "good apples" to "bad apples" in this next generation as there has always been before...

Just my 2 cents,
Howard
 
I worked with a guy who didn't know what happens when you run an engine without oil and then asked what it means if an engine seizes. Some people just have no comprehension of how things work. Good thing that some people do. Dave
 
We used to refer to some guys in the Marine Corps as "the kind of guy who could screw up a crow bar".

Believe me, they're out there. Worse yet, they're reproducing.

When I was in the outboard motor repair business, I could never figure out why, when someone's outboard wasn't running right, they ALWAYS said it acted like the timing was off. Even if it was simply a bad spark plug. Most outboards of the era had the timing built in or had a cogged belt driven distributor, so there was no way the timing could be off unless the flywheel key sheared or the belt broke.

Maybe they just felt a need to act like they knew something.
 
I was in a buddys auto repair shop where he had a bare engine block on the engine stand. Another customer walked in and spied what must be his engine on the stand. He silently walked all around it, looking it over carefully. After a few minutes he looked up with wide eyed amazment and said " Why it's nothing but a bunch of holes ?? " LOL, the fellow had never seen the inside of an engine and had no clue what was in there.
 
Around these parts (MA) a failed battery means the wrecker picks up the car, hauls it back to the repair garage, and a new battery installed. Gots to be several hundred dollars to replace a battery. Could be less than half that if the owner called the autoparts store, had the battery delivered, and changed the battery himself.

I have a brother who can't even pull a dipstick. I stopped helping him many years ago. He must've have thought his "thank you's" were worth something. For twenty years, he mowed his 15,000 sq ft lawn with an electric mower and a mess of extension cords. He is helpless and hopeless.
 
I had never heard of "buying a new car for the warranty" until I worked with a guy who wasn't mechanically inclined back a few years ago. He believed in trading before the warranty was up on a vehicle. I should also mention this guy owed money like you wouldn't believe, and had practicly nothing to show for it. He somehow couldn't see incredible loss he was taking when he would trade in his slightly used vehicle.

I've also met people who firmly believe the stuff that auto parts stores sell is junk and they've got to buy genuine factory parts.

Most auto parts stores around here(VT) will change a battery for free, provided you have the vehicle with you.

It can sure cost a fortune if you don't have any talent. I also realise that if you lived in the city it would be hard to keep tools around in those apartments.
 
Car salesmen are usual the worst at knowing anything about the product. At one dealership,we got a repair order for one used car that had been sold. The instructions on the RO: "Repair Oil Leak In Exhaust"...because that's what the used car department manager had promised the customer.

That one cost the used car department an engine, and brought about an edict that NO used cars were to be sold prior to a mechanical inspection.
 
When I lived in the city, it was hard to keep batteries in your car...it was even attempted AFTER I'd welded a chain to the hood and the core support, and secured it with a quality padlock.

THEN they took to cutting my tires, just for spite.

I don't miss living there.
 
He should of went to Advance Auto around here they will change your battery and windshield wipers if you buy them there.Also check your battery and alternater for free
 
My older brother worked as a jet engine mechanic for Delta in Atlanta for about fourty years. He takes his Harley to the dealer for an oil change and then whines about how expensive it is. Sheesh! In the words of Bugs Bunny....."what a maroon." TDF
 
We have had several used trucks sold with no inspection and then when the customer comes back and complain about something, find that if we had pre-inspected it should have been wholesaled. Had one the other day customer said it was hard starting. Someone told him it was an o2 sensor. It was the ignition switch totally shot. New switch and good as new.
 
Worked with a kid several years ago whose father was a professor at the local college.

He told me the story about one time him and a couple of friends were out in his dads Jeep (50's or 60's vintage). They took a walk and left the radio turned on. When they returned, not enough battery to start the Jeep.

Sooooo they took out #1 spark plug, poured in some gas and held a match to the plug hole. Almost blew the carburetor off the thing and then had to hike out and call dad. Then the kid tells me "I think it would have worked if the intake valve would have been closed".

BTW, I don't remember what subject his father taught, but the school had a world renowned Auto-Diesel program.

Dan
 

A lot of laughing and pointing fingers at "younguns" and "morons" on this thread, but my questions are: did anyone ever take the time to teach them how to charge a battery? Did they ever have a need before? Do they WANT to know how to do it?

I guess everyone on here was born with mechanical knowledge and ability and takes it for granted that everyone else should be also.

I, for one, am grateful that someone like my doctor decided to go to medical school instead of learning how to change a turn signal light bulb or do a tune-up.

I learn something new every day from someone (in person or on the Internet) and do not belittle people who know less than I do and would like to learn something from me.

I've tried to show my 3 daughters how to clean the bathtub drain from all their hair that clogs it up. 2 of the 3 said they would rather call a plumber to do it. I told them they'd better have good jobs. One's an attorney, other one is in Law School. They'll probably be able to afford it.

Plus, if we ALL did our own work on our cars, the mechanics who posted here would be unemployed.

Bottom line: different strokes for different folks.
 
JML,
Sort of agree, sort of disagree. Your 3 daughters KNOW how
and can make the informed choice, what always amazes me is
those who don't have a clue and buy whatever bs is told them.
Once filed a BBB complaint when I heard a tireman put a young
mother into tears accusing her of endangering her children by
running her tires low on air and she would need 4 new because
of imbalance.
 
I generally am not too hard on kids that don't know about mechanical stuff- I need to stay in their good graces, because you never know when you'll need one of 'em to get your computer unsnarled, or explain how to retrieve the messages on your cell phone. . .

We're all stupid, just in different areas.
 
granted, some things are easy for people with basic mechanical ability. as a shop owner, there are a lot of seemingly simple things that a shade tree mechanic will have trouble with on the newer vehicles. try and change a headlamp on a new style vw beetle!!! or pull a tail lamp. try and change a battery on some of the chrysler products that are located in front of the rt f tire, behind the wheelhouse shield. many cars have batterys located under the rear seat, full size buicks, or mercedes that has em in the trunk. we had a benz towed in with a dead battery. no jump point under the hood. solenoid trunk release. couldnt get the trunk lid open to to access the battery. owners manual does not recommend a battery booster pack. wound up getting a 2 cig lighter plugs and making up a harness to tie the benz electrical system into another vehicle to power up the solenoid to open the trunk to access the battery. pain in the butt!!!!!
 
I was helping out the widow neighbor a few years ago, fixing something for her in front of her house. I asked her teen aged son if they had a screwdriver I could use. He let me know very quickly and very clearly what an idiot I was to even think that they would be so crude as to have a hand tool on their property, let alone know how to use it.
 
Lol,some of you guys sound like my Dad.When I was a mid teen,I was always TOLD to do somthing ona tractor I never did before and was always in the barn when he did it himself,or school instead of TAUGHT.So I learned by the "Yell Stop" method,when the Yelling Stopped,I knew I was doing it right.Made me the nervous wreck I am today lol.pd
 
Wife had a '98 Concorde.....great car. About 5 years in, the battery went bad. I've been a farmer, mechanic, electrician, etc; basically for my whole life, thought I could fix anything. Finally found the battery; took the right front tire off; started taking the fender well/shield off. Said the Hail with it; boosted it off and carried it to the dealer.
 
(quoted from post at 12:02:36 03/27/09) Wife had a '98 Concorde.....great car. About 5 years in, the battery went bad. I've been a farmer, mechanic, electrician, etc; basically for my whole life, thought I could fix anything. Finally found the battery; took the right front tire off; started taking the fender well/shield off. Said the Hail with it; boosted it off and carried it to the dealer.
Click to expand...
Maybe the guy who couldn't find the dip stick had a 2004 Mercedes.....they don't have a dip stick.

Was cold front coming in, guy thinks he might be shy on anti-freeze, someone says put a drop light in there, he tells everyone the next day that he screwed a 200 watt light bulb into his garage ceiling fixture. :roll:
 
Everybody has their area of expertise. I can't fault somebody when faced with the unknown, when it takes a while to figure it out. That is if they care to try.
The teen kid without a screwdriver on the place. Was trying to save face for being inadequate.
I can't sing on key. Or spray paint sheet metal decently no matter how much I try.
 
I had a boss named Dave once. Great guy to work with, but I used to tell him "Hand over the tools." Some folks just shouldn't be allowed to have tools in their hands.
 
I can rebuild automatic transmissions, I routinely get the headaches that no one else in the shop wants, but when it comes to carpentry or wood working of any kind, I'm like that former boss I had. That's why you don't see any woodworking tools in my garage. To add insult to injury, my wife can drive a nail with a shoe better than I can with a hammer. I know, I've seen her do it...
 
Before I let our daughters get there license,they
had to be able to change a tire,drive a stick
shift and jump start a vehicle. They were not real happy with me. When our oldest daughter went
to college she was always jump starting guys cars
cause they didn't know how-3 one cold morning.She
was a little happier then. Chuck
 
While in college, my daughter was in considerable demand as a passenger for coming across the Cascade Mountains in winter, as she could have the chains on while the rest of the girls were still looking for their mittens.
 
(quoted from post at 11:29:00 03/27/09) JML,
Sort of agree, sort of disagree. Your 3 daughters KNOW how
and can make the informed choice, what always amazes me is
those who don't have a clue and buy whatever bs is told them.
Once filed a BBB complaint when I heard a tireman put a young
mother into tears accusing her of endangering her children by
running her tires low on air and she would need 4 new because
of imbalance.
Click to expand...

Gary, I gotta agree with you on the sales BS that people get who look vulnerable. Couple of things I DID insist on for my 3 daughters is that they learn to drive a stick and they learn how to take a car in for an oil change. So I made sure the "extra" vehicle they could drive was a stick pickup truck. It was either learn or walk. Before their solo trip to the oil change shop, I lectured that no matter what the guy said, just get the oil changed, even if he said the engine was going to blow up. Sure enough, each one came back with a list of all the things the guy said they needed. Every one was really not necessary and they would have racked up $75-100 bucks easy if they had given in to the sales pitch.
 
I'd be tempted to offer to teach you to sing if you'd get me up to speed on quantum mechanics and electromagnetic fields, but found by experience that singing is a genetic thing, and you can either differentiate between pitches or you can't. I've been a barbershop quartet singer for 35 years, and my wife's cousin was determined to get me to teach him to sing on key at a family get-together. We'd both been indulging in adult beverages a bit, so self-consciousness was not a factor. I tried every trick I could think of, and absolutely could not get him to be able to match a pitch. We finally agreed that it was a lost cause, and had another beer.
 
i doubt i could have changed a battery when i came here 2 years ago.

Things change. I wanted to learn everything mechanical i could from you guys and i learned everything i would listen to :)
 
Both of my sons got their vehicles but before they could drive them, they learned to change brakes, oil, filters, tires, jump start, and keep a driving /mileage log.

Seen too many youngins not even know where the dipstick was.......let alone open the hood!!
 
Of course we know how to jump start a vehicle. On our farm when I was a kid, nothing would ever start. Jump started more trucks, tractors, pickups, swathers, combines in a summer than most people will do in a lifetime.
 
Built to the specs mandated by the styling department, marketing and finance. And yet meet the government regulations for mileage and impact protection.
Some of those "once every 5 year" items get compromised by the "use every time items".
 
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