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Thread: Car Mechanic Sh!t

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    United States Avalon Member Mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Quote Posted by avid (here)
    Sadly, Mike, I had a love affair with my wondrous low-mileage Audi. A fantastic sports model, just like its predecessor Corrado with amazing spoilers.
    Going to the garage meant me taking a can of bs repellant, as I was not stupid, old lady being hoodwinked. However, I seemed to get a decent honourable service from the Audi team, they were sad when I left them for a Mini Countryman as round here we have ghastly weather, floods, etc. Missing my Audi, it was a great car. I can sniff out technical bs a mile away, so ‘little old lady’ does never wash with me, henceforth the can of bs repellant quite handy.


    I wish I could bring you with me to the mechanic Avid My problem is that I'm a fundamentally agreeable person, and I think those vultures can smell it on me from a mile away. It helps me in some instances and backfires in others.

    I fell in love with audis as a kid. There was a remote control car I got for Christmas, purchased at Radio Shack, and it was an audi quattro. There was something about the shape of the car that was so novel and cool. In those days there were hardly any audis at all in America...it was mostly all these hulking fords and chevys and buicks etc. So the stylishness of the Audi was a real revelation for a kid like me.

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    Avalon Member Gemma13's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Yep, once upon a time mechanics were unsure of how much vehicle owners actually knew and if one tried to do the dodgy he was quickly given a bad rap and lost business; and for us girls we would always take a male mate, or Dad, so we didn't get the swindle.

    Like many who have posted, nowadays it's so hard to find a goodie. Being ill put the hobbles on my gypsy roaming so I was lucky to find an 'ol schooler who gives good service coupled to mates rates for loyalty. Had him for 9 years now and saved a fortune on my old Ford and now 2010 Toyota Cerato that was also gifted.

    Speaking of Pontiacs... my ex-husband knew I had a thing for Pontiac convertibles, a rarity in Australia of course. Phoned one day telling me to get to his work to see what was in the yard. And there she was! I was ecstatic and could hardly believe how incredibly lucky I was.

    Owner wanted to sell quickly and cheaply and then she was mine. The only thing needing to be fixed, after full mechanical inspection, was windscreen wipers. But the part didn't arrive for the auto-electrician to fix her and an unexpected issue prevented me from bringing her home for the night.

    The workshop burnt to the ground overnight from arson and with it my beautiful car that I only had the pleasure of driving for two weeks. His insurance eventually paid out four times what I paid, but it was absolutely no consolation.
    God giveth and taketh away!

    First photo when she got home to have a bath. Looks banged up but it's only mud from the yard and light reflection as she was in really good nick. Thinking of moving to Cuba one day where I can sit and drool all day:

    That's why Cuba is the way it is today—essentially a living museum for classic cars. [...] Cuban mechanics are truly the wizards and MacGyvers of the automotive world.
    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...3MxxBKwDSoYImU

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    Avalon Member Frankie Pancakes's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Well as click and clack the tappet brothers used to say the guy has a boat payment to make.

    Not at all unusual for cars to deteriorate with age mechanically and electrically. Older cars especially become money pits.
    Code readers and scanners can be had with varying amounts of sophistication. One of those will at least give you an idea of a problem and some really drill down as one problem could have many interrelated causes. If nothing else a scanner or reader will give you something to relate to or test the mechanic.

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    Canada Avalon Member TomKat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    I watch Scotty Kilmer on youtube. He explains what cars are money pits and to be avoided. Almost anything not made by Toyota or Honda is going to be trouble nowadays. Also, stay away from CVT automatic transmissions, which is where Honda can let you down -- they're even making motorcycles with CVT tgransmissions nowadays. As my mechanic says, CVT doesn't work.

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    Canada Avalon Member Ernie Nemeth's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    That made me remember my old Austin Mini. It seemed every weekend I was out there under the tiny hood, rocker cover off, adjusting the gaps back to the correct settings.

    The click and clack of tappets is maddening...

    As for CVTs, I don't know. But CV joints I had to constantly replace on my Civic. That was a job, what with ball bearings packed in grease constantly falling out of their sockets as I tried to fit the pieces back together. That was probably why they wore out so fast, after the third or forth fail and picking up the greasy and now dirty ball bearings. I probably didn't clean them off good enough before repacking them in grease...
    Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water...Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. Bruce Lee

    Free will can only be as free as the mind that conceives it.

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    United States Avalon Member Mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Well the 3rd time was a charm. He finally fixed it (i hope). Just to recap: the first time I brought the car in he put in a new speed sensor; the second time he put in a different speed sensor (the first sensor, apparenly, was defective); and this last time he rewired it all. The first 2 "repairs" fixed nothing. This time he seems to have sorted it out. Which makes me think of course that I likely never needed a new speed sensor to begin with...just needed some rewiring.

    I still don't feel totally out of the woods just yet. If I drive the car for another couple days with no issues I'll start feeling good about it. I'm still skeptical, but so far so good.

    I've driven the car home from the mechanics' and now to work, and the AT light (automatic transmission) has not come on, and there has been no clunky gear shifting either. Keeping fingers crossed. And thank God for my younger sister, who has been driving me around and letting me borrow her car for the last week or so. I woulda been screwed without her

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    UK Avalon Member avid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Quote Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
    That made me remember my old Austin Mini. It seemed every weekend I was out there under the tiny hood, rocker cover off, adjusting the gaps back to the correct settings.

    The click and clack of tappets is maddening...

    As for CVTs, I don't know. But CV joints I had to constantly replace on my Civic. That was a job, what with ball bearings packed in grease constantly falling out of their sockets as I tried to fit the pieces back together. That was probably why they wore out so fast, after the third or forth fail and picking up the greasy and now dirty ball bearings. I probably didn't clean them off good enough before repacking them in grease...
    After years of being patronised by garage ‘mechanics’, being a woman, I decided to take my mini cooper to bits, hired an engine hoist, digested Haynes manuals, and stripped my car down, replaced dodgy bits, got recycled parts and eventually put it back together, a filthy job. It passed its MOT with flying colours, engine compartment pristine, wiring checked. It lasted for years after almost being written off. I drew the line at bodywork, hate fibreglass, so sold it to a friend, who trashed it!!
    Never underestimate a determined woman who loves her sports prepared mini cooper

    Since then corrado, audi and now mini countryman auto, my fixing days are over…
    Last edited by avid; 2nd December 2021 at 20:27.
    The love you withhold is the pain that you carry
    and er..
    "Chariots of the Globs" (apols to Fat Freddy's Cat)

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    United States Avalon Member RunningDeer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t



    Quote Posted by avid (here)
    After years of being patronised by garage ‘mechanics’, being a woman, I decided to take my mini cooper to bits, hired an engine hoist, digested Haynes manuals, and stripped my car down, replaced dodgy bits, got recycled parts and eventually put it back together, a filthy job. It passed its MOT with flying colours, engine compartment pristine, wiring checked. It lasted for years after almost being written off. I drew the line at bodywork, hate fibreglass, so sold it to a friend, who trashed it!!
    Never underestimate a determined woman who loves her sports prepared mini cooper

    Since then corrado, audi and now mini countryman auto, my fixing days are over…
    Last edited by RunningDeer; 2nd December 2021 at 23:52.

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    UK Avalon Member avid's Avatar
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    Default Re: Car Mechanic Sh!t

    Quote Posted by Ernie Nemeth (here)
    That made me remember my old Austin Mini. It seemed every weekend I was out there under the tiny hood, rocker cover off, adjusting the gaps back to the correct settings.

    The click and clack of tappets is maddening...

    As for CVTs, I don't know. But CV joints I had to constantly replace on my Civic. That was a job, what with ball bearings packed in grease constantly falling out of their sockets as I tried to fit the pieces back together. That was probably why they wore out so fast, after the third or forth fail and picking up the greasy and now dirty ball bearings. I probably didn't clean them off good enough before repacking them in grease...
    Ernie, my days of using a ball-joint splitter are thankfully done
    The love you withhold is the pain that you carry
    and er..
    "Chariots of the Globs" (apols to Fat Freddy's Cat)

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